Is there any flower more heartwarming than a sunflower's bloom in late summer/early fall? This sunflower bloomer was an optimist in my garden this summer.  In spite of harsh circumstantial reality, it chose to sprout up inside a small pot planted with potatoes. In true symbiotic rhythm, the potato and sunflowers grew happily together all summer, amazing me, and all who witnessed it! When the potatoes were ready to harvest, we found the potatoes nestled into the roots of the sunflower.  After pulling out the potatoes, I repotted the sunflower, and it has grown happily since, after a time of readjustment. 

A sunflower growing in the same pot as a potato

Once again, winter has arrived in March! Many people in the comments shared that they have had an unusual winter, just like us here in North Idaho.  In late January, we experienced frigid temperatures, with the lowest reaching -23 degrees, not factoring in windchill.  A chinook or warming wind arrived two days later, increasing temperatures by over 60 degrees in just one day. This rapid warming caused all the accumulated snow to melt, giving us a taste of spring and allowing me to do some gardening. February followed a similar pattern - abundant rain, with occasional snow, but a hint of spring in the air.  March came and it's been nonstop snowing ever since. Every day in March has seen snowfall, and today marks the 4th day.  Despite my love for snow and knowing how much we need the moisture, I am not complaining, but sharing how strange this winter has been! 

My garden is under its new blanket of March snow!

Little bits of joy - sunshine sparkling on the crisp snow on my clematis - awaiting spring patiently! Winter showcasing its glorious beauty!  I think Riley likes the sunshine too!  Oh! It is a glorious day when the sun comes out with peeks of blue skies!

Last week, as Riley and I were walking, we saw this large elk herd on our neighbor's property.

Elk are very skittish, and as soon as I stopped walking, and took out my camera - they moved quickly away, back into the cover of the forest.

In my keto journey, I've been using almond milk, and making my own rather than using dairy.  All in limited quantities of course - but here is my process for making almond milk.   HOMEMADE ALMOND MILK 1 cup organic almonds 5 cups water Dash of salt Mix all ingredients in a bowl, cover, and let sit overnight.  In the morning, drain the liquid. Add almonds to the blender, with 5 cups of fresh water. Blend on high until smooth.  Using a nut milk bag, or clean tea towel, strain almonds from the milk, squeezing until the almond meal is dry.  Pour milk into a glass container. Stays good for 4-5 days.  NOTE: Almond meal can be dried and used as almond meal flour - spread on parchment paper on the sheet pan and bake at 200 degrees until dry to touch about 1 hour. Refrigerate. Then... once you have your homemade almond meal from your almonds - you can stretch that 1 cup of almonds a little farther, and you can make homemade Sourdough Almond Crackers!  HOMEMADE SOURDOUGH ALMOND CRACKERS 1/2 cup almond meal 1/4 cup bacon grease (melted butter can also be used) 1/2 cup sourdough starter, freshly fed 1 tsp sea salt 1/2 tsp seasoning of choice - Everything Bagel, Italian, garlic etc.  Mix all ingredients together until it forms a ball. If the dough is dry, add more bacon grease until you have a workable dough.  Cover in a bowl and refrigerate. After at least 30 minutes, place the ball onto a parchment sheet placed on a cookie sheet. Place a parchment paper over the ball. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to the edges of the sheet, until very thin.  Slice the dough with a sharp knife into small squares.  Bake at 350 for 20 - 25 minutes. Remove from oven, and allow crackers to cool on cookie sheet. Store in an airtight container.  My favorite way to enjoy these crackers is to mix a pouch of Lemon Pepper tuna (or any tuna you may have, about 6 oz) with 1/4 cup cream cheese spread, 2 Tbsp diced onion, and enjoy with the crackers.  A delicious snack :)  I am of the mindset to use up every bit of everything I can and make it useful.  Isn't it great that from 1 cup of almonds, you can get 5 cups of almond milk and 1 cup of almond meal which can be used in other recipes‽ ?! By the way - I learned something this week! Do you know what an interrobang is? (I used it at the end of the last paragraph) Well, I did not - but it is this little punctuation marker created back in the 1960's indicating a question asked in an exclamatory manner.  It looks like this ‽  It is basically an exclamation mark and a question mark together. Have you ever used or seen one of these before? I thought it was a fun piece of information to learn :) You can find more information about interrobang here on the Merriam-Webster site :)  Interrobang

I've got seeds started in the greenhouse! I use seedling mats to keep them warm. I have not had to heat my greenhouse this year. If the temps drop down into the teens, I will put out a heat lamp, but the seedlings are fine on the mat with temps into the 20s.

I don't buy expensive pots to put my seedlings in. I simply use plastic grocery store containers with plastic lids.  I make holes in the bottom for drainage and keep the containers covered.  This process has worked for me for many years!

My neighbor's Australian Shepherd puppy, whom I've been "puppy-sitting" is wiggling her way further into my heart! She is just so adorable.

She and Riley enjoy playtime in the garden, a safe place where she can run to her heart's content without too much freedom. In her puppy stage, she has no clue about roads and wild animals, so this is a safe place for her to play unleashed for now - at least while it is still winter!

She and Riley are masters at their silly dog games!

Riley is a good "momma" influence to Bejeweled and makes me think... is it time for me to get another puppy?

After playing in the garden, she was so exhausted, covered in snowballs, that she just collapsed once we got inside!

Sound asleep by my chair as I worked on this blog post :)

On the 28th of February last year, I took Annie on her last walk. We knew she had been failing, and I had found a back brace for her that enabled her to walk. She was so happy in that snowstorm as we walked. I let her off the leash, and let her explore to her heart's content.

Annie never liked the camera, and would never look at the camera.  Thankfully I did get this picture of both of us enjoying the snow just days before she passed.    On March 3, 2023 - a day that hurts to remember still - Annie couldn't walk to the door. I had to carry her to the car. I was home alone, and somehow, I managed it. She was in pain and I was sobbing. At the vet's office, we found she had advanced-stage cancer, and we had to let her go. I called my family on a conference call, and the vet kindly gave us all the time we needed, as each one of my family members told her how much they loved her.  Her passing left a gaping hole in our life.  She was a dog that understood me, and loved us - we were her world.  She and I shared a love of the snow, and walking together - we both would happily walk all day long if we could!  We know she lived her best life with us, and though we will always miss her, she was a special one-of-a-kind dog - and we've had a lot of dogs.  Her memory will never be forgotten.  This passage of scripture has spoken to my heart this week - I wanted to share it with you:  Verse 5 "Blessed is the man whose strength is in Thee", really ministered to my heart. How I depend on the Lord for His strength - I go from strength to strength, leaning always on Him for all things.   I worked on a new video this week - one that you can use as background music for your Easter/Lent/Passover time of remembering the Lord.   If you watch the video closely, you will see a picture of me enjoying a sunrise on the shores of Prince Edward Island.  We visited the Island while in New Brunswick visiting my Gram in October 2022 as she was so ill.  It was a special morning, the sunrise was so magnificent as it rose over the Charlottetown,  PEI harbor, and the song I chose to pair it with is "It Is Well With My Soul".   Indeed, that song still ministers greatly to my heart today.  Life is full of ups, downs, joys and sorrows, health and sickness, worry and praise.  But - through it all, I can still say, It Is Well With My Soul.  May this video be a blessing to you, and please know that each one of you remains in my prayers - the days we live in are troublesome, and worries are many.  Prayer sustains us! We must keep our thoughts on Him while looking at all the beauty He has created in this world for us to enjoy.  God bless each of you!

Summer is drawing to a close here in our beautiful North Idaho. I had lows in my garden of 38 degrees in July! We've had many nights in the low 40s in the last couple of weeks.  My plants are doing their best, as I support them and give them everything I can think of to help them - but we all know that Fall and the first frost are close at hand... 

Resurrection Sunday Thoughts

As we remember Calvary’s work over 2000 years ago, the centrality of the gospel message speaks to us today, perhaps more clearly than ever before.  Even though 2000 years have passed, the message is still the same.  Eternal life was bought for us in a way that our humanity would never have chosen.

 Here we are, friends! We've made it into 2021, and 2020 is now truly a year that is in hindsight.  How thankful I am for the many mercies and love of the Lord on our family throughout the past year, as He always has.  And whatever this year holds before us, I look into this year through a "glass darkly" yet with complete faith and trust that the Lord's provision will be sufficient, no matter what our earthly circumstances or political stage looks like.

When I walk each morning, it gives me a chance to spend time in the Lord's creation, and to bask in the beauty of His world.  There is something so comforting about looking upward to the skies, and to the horizon beyond me, and to the world in front of me, and to realize that our Lord does ALL THINGS WELL.  It is in those times of walking with Him, praying, and spending time in the Word in the morning before I leave, that I find the strength, peace, and joy to carry on with each day He has given me breath to enjoy. 

As so often is the case, here in north Idaho, January can be a very foggy, gray month.  The fog hangs low and thick, and the horizon often may not stretch much farther than the breath you breathe.  And it can seem in those gray, foggy days that the skies, mountains, and familiar horizons have forever disappeared into the mists that surround your present being.  Yet, in our heart's mind, we know those familiar landmarks are there, even when they cannot be seen. Soon though, in its own time, the sun will break through the clouds, and shine its light onto the world, illuminating clearly that which could not be seen just moments (or days) before.  

The reality is that the sun is always shining, 

up above the clouds, 

and it is just the clouds obstructing the sun's rays 

that prevent the light from shining.  

The mountains have not moved, the horizon has not changed, nor has the forest disappeared from sight.  It just takes the sunshine to bring back into focus what we knew was there all along. 

Just as it is at night too... many times in the darkness of the hour, it is hard to believe the reality of what we know to be true.  Sometimes the darkness can cause us to doubt what we know.  Yet... without fail, the dawning of the day always comes, and sunlight floods into the darkness, and truth is made known. 

January Fog

Dear Friends, 

Today I am going to break from my usual photo-filled posts and share with you something that I believe will encourage your hearts.  

A photo of our ladies prayer and tea table

I hold weekly tea and prayer meetings in my home, and I also share in the leadership of a ladies' bible study group that has been meeting for over 30 years.  Recently the Lord inspired me to write a study on the book of Esther, and I want to share it with you.  

Please feel free to share this bible study wherever you would like, I would only ask you link back here for credit. 

This lesson was a source of great encouragement to my bible study ladies, and I pray that it is a blessing and encouragement to you as well :) 

Thanks to all of you who prayed and shared wonderful words for my Gram and Aunt Jenny after a fire destroyed their 103-year-old home on September 27. You can read more about that story here.  

The Lord has been so good and faithful to them!  A modular home was located and will be moved to the home site sometime in the next week or two for them! A basement has been reconstructed as well, and next spring, a new porch will be built for my Gram to enjoy her flowers again.  It is amazing how family, friends, and the community have come together to help them.  Clothing has been provided until my Gram exclaimed "I'll never be able to wear it all!" and she has been overwhelmed and thankful for the outpouring of love.  Thanks to those of you who prayed... your prayers have been felt, and we are so appreciative! I had my aunts read to Gram all your sweet notes that you left on my post, and she was so blessed by them. I am thankful for all of you and your prayers and friendship have meant so very much!