February's Arrival and a WINNER!

The first day of February is here... and so we are getting closer to Spring, even if it may not feel like it in our neck of the woods!  About the middle of February, I begin to anxiously anticipate warmer days spent out in the garden! However, I am still contenting myself around the house, finishing up some organizing projects, cleaning and doing all kinds of chores that require my attention inside. I'm enjoying a cup of King Cole tea this afternoon, as I sit here sharing my thoughts and pictures with you! 

This picture was taken one morning as blue skies broke through - oh Hallelujah! {smiles} 

I do have an exciting announcement to make! I would like to congratulate Jennifer who blogs at CubbyCrafts who has won my giveaway of Cheryl Smith's book Homespun Devotions! Congratulations Jennifer! I will email you and let you know, and get the book in the mail to you soon! For those of you would didn't win, and would like a copy of this book, you can find it here on Amazon! 

For those of you who grew up in the North, like I did, do you remember these flying carpets? I remember we had them as kids. Their name is spot on - we loved getting on them when the snow was crispy and hard-packed - boy did we fly!  They are a thin piece of blue plastic that curls up. You sit on the "flying carpet" and literally, you will fly away down the hill! We were in a local store here recently and I spotted them. I'd never get on one now, I'd be a crash patient, no doubt! {Ha!}

The sunset was so pretty a couple of evenings ago, and I captured the soft light from my handmade "lantern" filled with fairy lights too.  I think I wrote about this teapot lantern I made before in a previous post. 

My sweet little girl was waiting for me to finish dinner and sit in my chair.
She has become such a sweet lap girl! 

We've had some very cold weather here again! It dipped down to -6, and still, we walked! Everything was a bit frosty, so I wore a face mask, it was so cold that my eyebrows and eyelashes had turned to ice. 
 I'm glad to report it has warmed up to the 30s again :) 

Miss Riley's nose all frosty too! 

I have difficult news to share about our precious Annie-Girl. She is a German Shepherd-Husky mix, and we had hoped that she wouldn't inherit that breed's tendency towards bad hips, but it has become apparent that she has.  Now, her legs give out on her quite frequently. It has been okay walking with her in the snow, but since the snow has melted back, her legs are giving way, and her feet are dragging.  This has been going on for a while, and she never has complained. 

On this particular day, towards the end of our walk, I noticed her back paws were both bleeding, as the pavement had tore up her claws.  I used a wonderful product on her paws - Vetericyn - it is a veterinary-grade antibiotic spray. It has worked wonders on all my animals, and it did for Annie too. Her feet healed up within a couple of days. However, it is very sad that we cannot let her walk with us anymore, as she just cannot keep her feet from dragging. It is heartbreaking! She is taking it in good strides though and seems to understand. 

I was returning home yesterday and saw this handsome fella run across the road in front of me. I stopped, and he did too. And he posed! I think he has a smirk on his face. The pictures are taken through the glass window of my pickup, so they are not very clear, but you get a good idea of how big he is! 

Handsome as he is, he is not welcome around our animals! If he keeps his distance - fine and wonderful. Sadly, he was out in broad daylight and was not afraid of me. He stood and watched me inside my pickup. Then, my husband followed his tracks around our yard, and we know he is up to no good, as he was prowling close to our chickens.  We hope he found nothing of interest and moves on (my chickens are fenced up now because of coyote issues in the past). 

The days are getting longer! And as the days draw to a close, often we are treated to magnificent sunsets - how I love them, and look forward to the beautiful skies before darkness arrives!

This weekend we have two weather systems moving into our area, and we are told to mostly expect rain from them. This has been such an unusual winter, with most of our snowpack arriving in December. Throughout the month of January and into February, we've received mostly rain, even though we still have quite a bit of snow on the ground.  

Beginning in January, my husband and I decided to take sugar out of our diet - as well as bread/grains and potatoes.  We have done this on and off in past years, but are trying to shift our way of eating like this to be more of a permanent lifestyle rather than a short time of doing it.  The no-sugar lifestyle is amazing because instead of using sugar to feed your body's energy needs, your body begins to use up fat, which is a remarkably better source of energy.  We always notice increased energy, mental clarity, and stamina, as well as just feeling so much better.  

I thought I would share what one day of no-sugar eating looks like for me.  I wake up in the morning and drink my coffee black - which I've been doing for several years.  After my quiet time with the Lord, I feed the animals, and go for a 2-3 mile walk (sometimes longer, depending on how much time I have).  

Upon returning from my walk, I will eat a small piece of fruit (banana/orange/blueberries) and either have a salad, maybe an avocado made into guacamole, or a boiled egg. 

For lunch, I will have leftovers from the evening meal before, or another salad. For the evening meal, our favorite meal is a baked/roasted/air fried piece of meat (chicken or beef ) with a vegetable side, a coconut flour egg bread, and a salad.  

I also like to make soups too, where I can use vegetables from my garden. My favorite soup so far that is potato-free is Taco Chicken Soup.  It is quite easy to make, and just about any veggies that you have on hand can be used in it.  Here is my recipe below: 

Taco Chicken Soup

2 chicken breasts, cooked (about 2 cups shredded chicken)

1-quart jar tomato sauce (I use my home-canned tomatoes)

1 14-oz can Rotel tomatoes (tomatoes with chilies)

3 cups chicken broth (I use my homemade bone broth, but any broth works)

1 cup corn (I use my corn from the garden, frozen, or canned works)

2 cups zucchini (I use frozen diced zucchini from my garden)

1 can tomatilloes (if you can't find canned, you can use salsa verde) 

1 can beans of choice - we like Ranch style beans, also black beans are great too

1 container whipped plain cream cheese

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (I like Bragg's)

1 tablespoon taco seasoning (or 1 packet) 

Salt/pepper to taste

Toppings: 

1 bunch cilantro, washed, leaves chopped

Sour cream

Cheddar cheese

Diced avocado 

Crushed tortilla chips

Mix all ingredients together in a large stockpot on medium heat, until cream cheese has completely melted.  Top soup with desired toppings.  Enjoy!  

(We find that the cream cheese "marries" this soup's flavors, so don't leave it out!) 

Have you tried going on a low-sugar lifestyle? I'll admit it is difficult to stay on it because fast food is so prevalent in our society.  So many things have sugar in them too! That is why I find that cooking my own food makes everything so much better, especially when I am able to use foods I've canned from my garden.  

I've also found the air fryer to be a very helpful tool in my kitchen, and I use it to roast vegetables like butternut squash, broccoli, carrots, etc.  We plan to keep sugar out of our diet as much as possible, eating more vegetables and meat.  Both of us feel wonderful as we continue to eat this way.  Perhaps I'll share more recipes in the future that I've found to be helpful, made without traditional sugar. 

Leaving you with this beautiful video that I made some time ago. May it be a blessing to your heart! The cares of this world do seem like too much to bear at times, but how wonderful it is to know that Jesus is the Rock we can stand on, our stronghold in the hour of need. 

Psalm 18:2 

The LORD is my rock 

and my fortress and my deliverer; 

My God, my strength, 

in whom I will trust; 

My shield and the horn of my salvation, 

my stronghold.