We Aren't Camping - ::snort::

I rarely have time for a walk before Thursday a.m. Bible Study with Stacia. My day began with THIS pretty, instead of a mountain view. What a fun surprise! 

 We have a patch of wild strawberries. I've kept them weeded and  pruned for 2 years. We got teeny berries...which the birds and critters ate before we got to them. I haven't done a THING with the bed this year. I didn't even pull the dandelions....and this is the biggest berry we've gotten. Au'Naturel  may be my new garden philosophy.

We are still "keeping the bubble" small at our house...meaning the bubble of social contact. I'll be honest quarantine feels harder now than it did in March.   We didn't go inside Sophia's today. Millie was happy to be allowed to go with us through the drive through....

Lest you think she is always well-behaved in the car....

We ate our breakfast and discussed our study of Thomas in a local park. We stayed far from everyone.  We decided to drive out to the swimming hole....there were tents/ RVs etc....it's going to be a busy weekend out there. We made a good choice to stay home - hard to keep social distance in a crowded location. We are planning our 5th trip (and no, we HAVEN'T gone on any of them) for Sunday or Monday when no one else is at the campground.  We took the time to figure out HOW big RV's are getting out on the sand....and to video the route for Michael's consideration. Camping with water and mountains for FREE - might be something to think about...then again...there was evidence of rather "red-neck" like behavior....trash, shot up windshields...

Millie has to behave even on the BEACH. Stacia's a good puppy mama. 

I bet *her* babies will never throw bricks in the air to see what happens, or drop a sibling from a tree...I digress. 

Yep - "the" camping spot for me.  We took the time for a bit of a walk - 1 1/2 miles...not a great walking day - but a spectacular setting. LOL 

When we got home I discovered Dad isn't feeling well. We're not sure what is going on at this point. We aren't leaping to the "Covid" conclusion. We're watching, hydrating and resting... 

Michael was consolidating wood in the wood shed to clear one side for the trees we've been felling. I helped him.  I'm actually fit enough to be helpful this year.  Stacia came out and joined us....

And then - I played with Salmon. 

I need to empty the "fish freezer" before  Dip Netting in 2 weeks. Last year, cutting the skin off nearly got the better of me....it took FOREVER....but I really, really don't like the skin in the jars. ::snort::  Jacque, a local friend, shared tips with me.   I've spent quite a bit of time with salmon the last couple of days. I'm getting pretty durn fast at getting the skin off.... Things are going much faster with her tips, and John and Nora (also local friends)  loaning me a second canner. I continue to look for another one to purchase.

Krista likes the 1/2 pints of salmon to take to work. Today, I put up 48 1/2 pints....I still have enough salmon to do another batch of either pints or 1/2 pints. Not sure which I need most...

I also saved a lot of tail sections (boneless) to make salmon jerky. I need to search out a recipe. I made teriyaki and pepper jerkies last year. Most in the family voted for the teriyaki  over pepper (which didn't have sugar)...actually I suspect I was the only one who voted for the pepper variety and I liked the teriyaki better too. ::shhh:: Krista told me as the teriyaki aged it got salty.  So.....I will look for a marinade and then work on that too.

I wonder, could I make teriyaki with monk fruit or stevia? Would it be o.k. to can with it? Anyone know?

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.