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Winter Greens

Happily, we are still having sixty-something degree days here in Texas! Our garden doesn’t look as glamourous as it might in the spring, but we have been pleased with its continued production. Our fall crop has carried over and we’re up to our ears in pesticide-free radishes, purple cabbage, broccoli and an assortment of salad greens. Plus my herbs, green onions and garlic have all held up splendidly.What we don’t eat, like leaves & stems, Philip juices into medicinal chlorophyll cocktails! In layman’s terms chlorophyll is the direct result of a plant soaking up sunshine. It harnesses the sun’s energy and makes the good stuff green. Among its many health benefits, chlorophyll detoxes the body of cancer-causing toxins and fights infection. To learn more about why you would benefit from an alkaline diet click here.

Cushy Feet

This is an average children’s play mat painted and stenciled to be used as a kitchen, bath or mud room mat. I bought mine at Walmart for $15 and it was a Dora the Explorer theme until I covered it in grey.

You’ll need:
Puzzle Mat
Primer & Paint (choose a paint with primer mixed in and save a step!)
Stencil (or you can freehand a design if you’re brave)
Polyurethane (2 coats to waterproof your mat)

If you think you’d like to try one for yourself here is some more inspiration. Good luck!

Sew Fun

One of my New Year’s resolutions was to learn how to sew. The matriarchs of my family are all quite competent with a sewing machine. With all these seamstresses at my fingertips I’ve never needed to learn for myself. Now, however, I am wanting to make things for the house or do quick mends and eventually I want to teach Kylie and Avery.

So, I’ve begun my quest. My grandmother has donated one of her old Singer’s, as well as a lot of the necessary accouterments. My first project was a couple of throw pillows. It was actually pretty easy after I figured out how to spool the bobbing thread, replace the needle I broke, and learned the “hidden stitch” that discreetly closed the pillow! So for $9 of fabric I made to pillows that would have run $25 or more ready-made. I’m feeling good about this.

It Is Well

I found this idea on pinterest and re-created it. The example shown below is hanging in our bedroom, but again it made for some creative Christmas gifts. I did several in different color combinations and surely it could be done with numerous hymns, quotes, scriptures, etc.

The story behind It Is Well With My Soul

The hymn It Is Well With My Soul was written by a Chicago lawyer, Horatio G. Spafford. Spafford and his wife, Anna, were also prominent supporters and close friends of D.L. Moody, the famous preacher. In 1870, however, things started to go wrong. The Spaffords’ only son was killed by scarlet fever at the age of four. A year later, it was fire rather than fever that struck. Horatio had invested heavily in real estate on the shores of Lake Michigan. In 1871 all of his holdings was wiped out by the great Chicago Fire.

Aware of the toll that these disasters had taken on the family, Horatio decided to take his wife and four daughters on a holiday to England. And, not only did they need the rest, DL Moody needed the help. He was traveling around Britain on one of his great evangelistic campaigns. Horatio and Anna planned to join Moody in
late 1873. And so, the Spaffords traveled to New York in November, from where they were to catch the French steamer ‘Ville de Havre’ across the Atlantic. Yet just before they set sail, a last-minute business development forced Horatio to delay. Not wanting to ruin the family holiday, Spafford persuaded his family to go as planned.
He would follow on later. With this decided, Anna and her four daughters sailed east to Europe while Spafford returned west to Chicago. Just nine days later, Spafford received a telegram from his wife in Wales. It read: “Saved alone.”

On November 2nd 1873, the ‘Ville de Havre’ had collided with ‘The Lochearn’, an English vessel. It sank in only 12 minutes, claiming the lives of 226 people. Anna Spafford stood bravely on the deck, with her daughters Annie, Maggie, Bessie and Tanetta clinging desperately to her. Her last memory had been of her baby being torn violently from her arms by the force of the waters. Anna was only saved from the fate of her daughters by a plank, which floated beneath her unconscious body and propped her up. After being rescued, Mrs. Spafford’s first reaction was complete despair. Then she heard a voice speak to her, “You were spared for a purpose.” And she immediately recalled the words of a friend, “It’s easy to be grateful and good when you have so much, but take care that you are not a fair-weather friend to God.”

Upon hearing the terrible news, Horatio Spafford boarded the next ship out of New York to join his wife. Bertha Spafford (the fifth daughter of Horatio and Anna born later) explained that during her father’s voyage, the captain of the ship had called him to the bridge. “A careful reckoning has been made”, he said, “and I believe we are now passing the place where the de Havre was wrecked. The water is three miles deep.” Horatio then returned to his cabin and penned the lyrics of his great hymn.

The words which Spafford wrote that day come from 2 Kings 4:26. They echo the response of the Shunammite woman to the sudden death of her only child. Though we are told “her soul is vexed within her”, she still maintains that ‘It is well.” And Spafford’s song reveals a man whose trust in the Lord is as unwavering as hers was.

It would be very difficult for any of us to predict how we would react under circumstances similar to those experienced by the Spaffords. But we do know that the God who sustained them would also be with us.

No matter what circumstances overtake us may we be able to say with Horatio Spafford…

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul!

It is well … with my soul!
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Salsa Verde

I had twenty pounds of green tomatoes that froze on the vine, but they made an excellent salsa verde. We’ve eaten our fair share and nearly everyone we know got a jar for Christmas! Below is the recipe I found on modern comfort food.

2 pounds firm, green tomatoes, cored and quartered
1 medium-sized yellow onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 fresh green Anaheim (or other large, mildly-flavored) chili pepper, stem and seeds removed, quartered
3-4 green jalapeño chilies (for a medium-hot salsa) or serrano chilies (for a hotter salsa), stems removed, quartered
3 garlic cloves, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon honey or sugar
1/3 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves (coriander greens, dhania, etc.), coarsely chopped