July First?!!?

Someone did not want to walk with me this morning.  

She was happy to walk after she had a bit of a morning nap. LOL  She and Stacia walked a mile today. 

We were sitting outside enjoying lunch when we heard a big cracking sound and I saw a tree fall. Just like that - our wood supply is taken care of for the year. This is a birch. I hate losing Birch. It wasn't even a windy day. 

It broke in two....

It still had lots of green on it...

This is the time of the year when we can barely see our home from the woods at the back of the property. 

The butterfly likes the lilacs as well as we do. 

This was my big project today. 

32 pints of salmon....more tomorrow? 

Michael finished up installing the new hot water heater/pump in the RV....we realized EVERYONE has Friday off and Thursday night is going to be BUSY at the campgrounds....we are currently on a mission to avoid people. These two facts are not compatible. Camping trip #4 of 2020 cancelled.  THIS ONE is simply being postponed until everyone else goes back home and the campgrounds are deserted again. 

July FIRST! Whew....what will the 2nd half of 2020 be like. LOL 

Dandelion Salve

*I was searching this morning for the recipe for Dandelion Salve. It wasn't on the blog! Wait - I found it in drafts. I guess this is about the time I got too busy to keep up last summer. LOL I decided to merge it with today's dandelion post. 

My annual joke is that I count on two crops - dandelion and chickweed. I discovered the chickens love to eat chickweed...and now I know what to do with dandelions too. Who decided these little flowers were weeds???? Here is info which motivated me.  The Ultimate Guide to Dandelions.  Here is another article about the healing/medicinal properties of dandelions. It covers everything from massage oil for sore backs to wart removal. Note, you may not like the author's worldview.

Krista began the harvesting the dandelions this year, and I've been picking Dandelions nearly every day since. The yard is finally clear of them...but they'll be back because I didn't pull the roots. 

Lucille is a skilled Dandelion harvester

After being picked they need to dry....

I discovered the dehydrator works well for this step. This gets the water out so you don't end up with a sludgy oil. 

I had too many flowers for the gallon jar. Press them into the jar and fill the jar with olive oil - or whatever oil you want.  These are now sitting in a dark cupboard for 4 - 6 weeks. 

This is the basic recipe I followed. It works well. You need Beeswax, Coconut Oil, Dandelion infused oil and essential oils - whatever you want. 

Strain out the dandelions and get all the oil you can. 

Melt beeswax and coconut oil in a double boiler, add Dandelion oil and essential oils. Pour into jars. 

Isn't this a cheerful color? Tips I learned...I'll use more essential oil this year....mine smelled like Dandelions and while some say that's a charming summer smell....I'd prefer lavender or citrus or something.  Make sure your beeswax is completely melted.

I do believe the bees are attracted to this...but it could be my imagination.

Walking and Wellness

When I began thinking of why I hadn't been blogging, two words leapt to the front of my mind...garden and walk....and I figured I'd just do two long posts and catch up. This is the walking one.....and since it's the last day of the month, it turned into a recap of my wellness journey in June (at the end). 

This morning Stacia and Millie went for a walk with me. It was our first time to try a walk with Millie in the neighborhood. She did pretty good. She was a bit unnerved by big dogs barking at her, but she gamely kept on. We're going to have to figure out where we want her to stay when we have her on the leash...but she'll learn as we learn.

Oh my puppy loving heart!

It's pretty apparent when Millie is done. She walked about 3/4 of a mile with us. That's a good start. We walked by the house and dropped Stacia and Millie off - I continued on for a 6 mile walk.

Ah - so sweet

I set a goal to walk 20 miles a week….and so I've been walking through May and June. When I started a mile was a good day, I've done over 6 miles a couple of times recently.

One day in May I was walking when these two ran by....I'm content to walk. LOL 

May 10th - Stacia and Krista

Such a pretty area! 

May 13th 

When I'm tired of walking "the loop," I walk around town....and during Dad's Physical Therapy. 

May 21st

Some mornings are misty....my favorite farm. I am thankful I was up to see this. 

May 26th....

Spectacular walking scenery...

May 28th 

On the 31st this gal showed up in the hood.....

One thing I have loved about walking is being able to really notice things in the area as opposed to zipping by in the car. This day I noted several places out here have old, original buildings they've left on their place. I think it's cool. The old cabin which was on our place burned down before this house was built. 

Still some snow on June 1st. 

I remember clearly the day I tried a new street and the views just kept getting better and better. I can't get enough of these mountains - even on cloudy rainy days. 

Walking with Benny is always an adventure. 

 Baachan! Watch out. Bad guys! 

And then....about mid-June....color started showing up.  Walking allowed me to notice all the changes along the side of the road. I resisted slowing my pace to take pictures for about a week. I finally just slowed down mid-June and grabbed photos. 

This is the day I conquered my, "all or nothing," mindset. This has plagued my wellness journey for decades. You know...."I've already blown it, may as well start over on Monday...."  "I can't run, what's the point of WALKING!"  "I don't have time for a long walk, I'll go tomorrow." 

June 18th 

I didn't have TIME for a 5 mile walk before Bible Study with Stacia....but I DID have time for a 2.5 mile walk.....then we walked another 1+ mile together during study and THEN we walked AGAIN after dinner. I ended up the day with 6 1/2  miles....on a day when I "didn't have time to walk." 

I was feeling good after my mindset change....and then the next several days...it RAINED...and so I walked in the rain. I didn't melt. I decided I will miss walking in the winter and so I'll just do it every chance I get in the summer....rain or shine. 

The mountain disappeared - it was cold and my pace was much quicker.

June 20th - started out raining and got better as I walked. 

I love this spot....

A quick afternoon walk with Stacia on the 22nd of June

Look hair is combed and there is make up. ::snort:: 

THEN MILLIE JOINED US

June 26th  - Oh I LOVE THE SUN! All 21 hours of it!

I never would have guessed walking would become such a part of my morning. I've walked my way through this Covid season.  I watch YouTube messages, I polo with sister friends and my cousin (not sure why I don't call), I process what I've read in the Word, I pray....

A summary of my wellness journey in June....I participate in challenges with @thegotgoalsgirl (Instagram/You Tube)….June's was #FineTuneJune2020....each week had a different focus, but the overall fine tune message sums up my month. 

For a variety of reasons (budget being one) I decided to go with a cheaper app ($3 a month instead of $20) that would track my meals. I took the money I saved and invested it in joining a weekly small group online.  There isn't a local workshop that worked - I'm not driving to Anchorage or paying $60 a month to attend WW Zoom meetings.  I'm putting out about the same amount monthly and now I have the app and weekly meetings that I enjoy.

I was TERRIFIED to leave WW...and then I had the "tool talk" breakthrough late in May. I used both apps for a week or two and noticed something shocking. I was EATING MY WW points....I was NOT going over....and I had stalled for about 6 weeks.  Even when I lost it was about 4/10th of a pound a week.  The new ap can track calories, carbs etc...as well as points...and I SAW I had been averaging 600 -800 calories a day. Wow...adding calories has started me losing again.

I've lost 4 lbs in June.  

I've walked 105 miles.   I don't miss the elliptical. 

I'm 8 lbs from my WW goal....but that's another thing I changed this month. I've chosen to deliberately put more focus on the daily practices/habits I'm gaining than in the "goal."  Those habits are ones I will need to continue...I'm focusing on what I need to do to maintain....and the weight will stop coming off when it does. 

I'm content. 

Monday, Monday....

I walked 5 miles today and was THRILLED to be out walking again. I'd hurt my toe last week and hadn't been able to get much walking done for the last few days.

It's a race to see which arrives home first - me or the rain. I beat the rain today. I love walking by this farm and seeing what's growing.

The test result we were waiting for was inconclusive. Out of an abundance of caution, we have chosen to return to quarantine - or at least really shrink the bubble.  To be honest, we were heading to Valdez today. As soon as the test result came back negative we began to  "move out."  I believe it was the Holy Spirit who whispered something we'd not considered to Michael's heart...."Do you WANT to be camping if Dad T gets ill?" No, we don't. We have a lifetime to explore Alaska. It's ironic we've had a camping trip on the calendar every THREE WEEKS all summer and we  have YET to go out ONCE.

"Stay at home" in our household means those working at essential jobs will continue to work.  The rest of us will  go back to curbside shopping, avoid gatherings and people who do not live in our home, and if we do happen out will wear a mask. We'll do projects around home, go for drives, walks and hikes. We may even go camping overnight somewhere local (we're fully self-contained).  This will protect anyone we may come in contact with - and that's our goal. Our prayer is Dad does not get sick. We'd love you to join us in that prayer.

Sadly, Lori's (the black cochin broody hen) nest today showed a cracked egg and an under-developed chick. She's still setting.

The boys were home waiting for test results and they MOWED THE LAWN...this is a BIG deal around here. It takes all of us working for several hours. We made huge progress.  Nolan and I even consolidated brush piles. I think cutting a tree down is the easy part - at least it's just the start of dealing with it. LOL

And just like that I have a green layer in the lasagna bed to cover the brown layer we added this weekend.

Michael and Dad went after the blooms and seed pods of Devil's Club. 

I called the RV park we had reservations for in Valdez and moved the reservations to August. They were MORE THAN HAPPY to do this for us.

I attended a  wellness coaching session. This is what I'm doing in lieu of WW meetings and membership. I am tracking with the app I already mentioned, and attending these coaching sessions with a You Tube gal who inspires me. She's lost 194ish pounds...and she's real about her successes and struggles.  It's working. It has been good for me to have both calories and bites as the data helps me see why I was stalled. LOL

Stacia made a yummy dinner - Chicken Parmesan, Garlic Green Beans, Salad, Perogies and a sugar free pudding dessert. Yes, sugar free.

I picked some food from the garden - mostly thinning rows out -  but it makes good eating. 

Buttercrunch lettuce, Red Leaf lettuce, Radishes, Onions and Spinach 

We continue to try to avoid our teething puppy's sharp teeth. Tricks and tips are welcome. We've given her a peanut butter jar with peanut butter, a kong, a rope, a pvc pipe and a pair of jeans which no longer fit me. She chews them all and comes back for US.