2014 Day 2: Struggles Mighty

I love the idea of resolutions. I love the idea of the hope and cheer and confidence that people have when they proclaim them. I often try too, and fail. Things like this do not work for me. My friend Natalie says that attaching the label of resolution to an important goal is like setting a laser beam on destruction and ruining it from day one....or something like that. Goodness, I do understand that.

I also understand the need to have a fresh start, a clean plate, a newly washed slate. For me it is like getting a new notebook and beginning something exciting. Just like that though, staring at the blank page can bring on panic and induce anxiety= writer's block!

Isaac and farming have both taught me that goals are attainable and that progress measured in inches is still progress. If I don't make a list, create a plan, then I have no map. Sometimes that is fun, other times it leaves me lost and frightened and the sun sets on opportunities I miss out for not being where I need to be on time.

Here are my goals for 2014, the things I would like to do.

1. Travel for a week on my own or with friends, to Europe I hope (travel fund is growing, goal is almost met). 
2. Get those things out of the draft drawer of doom and out into the world. See what happens.
3. Write 5 new poems a week. They will be terrible, but practise is something I desperately need to get my feet under me. 10 years without poetry has been hard on me.
4. Read more for fun.
5. Learn to cook these things: roasting garlic in the oven, flan, and chocolate peanut butter cups. 
6. Connect more with my friends, face to face. Nourish those friendships.
7. Can enough salsa (learn how to use pressure canner without (unreasonable) fear). Enough is 100 pints or 50 quarts. Less if it isn't as tasty as store bought.
8. Meet all the neighbours on our road. Schedule play dates with folks who have kids my kids ages.
9. Plan a trip to see someone I love dearly who lives where it is warm.
10. Connect more with people who publish.
11. Row in the flat bottom boat once a week in good weather, while Lily fishes.
12. Blog once a day, no matter what.
13. Mail out 60 pieces. 60. That's a lot. 5 per month isn't a lot though, that is doable.
14. Keep my hair dyed red or purple. I like how I look with bright hair. 

That's my list. That is what I will keep to. Our goal for the farm is a separate list, the homeschooling goals are too. Chad and I plan to finish the cook book together and publish it as an E-book.

What lovely things are you dreaming of friends?

2014 Day One

Baked 7 pies. Made black eyed peas and hamhocks with greens. Kept the kitchen clean even though I made 7 pies. Coresponded with two Spring term students. Played legos. Encouraged a friend. Ate nearly a bag of kettle chips without sharing.

I took a lot of photographs, found time to sit down and blog.....missing my cord to transfer said photos to blogger.

So, instead of that here is a picture of pie.

This week I will finally post my recipe for peach pie. That was a long time coming, eh?

Best of 2013 Part 2: Oh My, the Deliciousness.....

Oh My, the Deliciousness.....  Until 2013, I never considered myself a food blogger. Early in the year a woman from a different part of Iowa emailed me and asked me to be part of a food blogger gathering. I was panicked as I agreed to be on this list and part of the gathering. Other bloggers on the list were folks I read weekly and admire, some have published cookbooks! No way was I good enough to be included. I felt like a big faker, but I went to Iowa City anyway. I was not sorry and I learned that we are all on different journeys and certainly different stages of growth. I am blessed to be included in such a fantastic and generous group of bloggers.

It has been good for me to view my blog through the lens of food blogger too. I created the Farmhouse Kitchen tab and I am working on making food posts Pinable and printable.

The following posts are not necessarily the top ranked by views, they are simply my own favourite posts. For some I loved the pictures, others have a new place on our table, and the rest are family farmhouse classics.

Dirty Wild Rice Dressing   

This recipe was created by accident. We needed to sell more sausage at Sample Sundays and folks kept asking us for recipe ideas. I had previously failed at making Dirty Rice, even out of a box. I sat down with about 20 recipes and compared them. I compiled a list of ingredients that I wanted to use. 2 hours before getting on the road for Sample Sunday, I pulled out those ingredients and started cooking. While the rice was simmering, I packed kits so customers could make this at home (still hoping it would work.....)

We sell out the kits every single time. It is so simple and so very good.

Alligator Soup 

This recipe was Lily's idea for her birthday. Hyvee had alligator in the freezer section. I do not approve of the confinement farming used to raise the alligator, so it is not something we will make often, but there is a seriously lack of alligator recipes online that are not breaded and deep fried! The complex flavour is lost in the hot oil, this soup is way better.

Banana Spice Oatmeal 

Holly had a hand in the kitchen when we made breakfast this day. Bananas are yellow, if you know Holly, you know that is all they have to be! 

Super Hero Soup (Hamhock and Beans in a French Pot) 

Another Sample Sunday kit in the making. Good grief I love this red pot. My kids love this soup best of all. 

Ribs and African Peanut Sauce  

A favourite of Chad's. This recipe is like the one he used originally to get me to eat pork ribs for the first time. I was hesitant because at that point in my life, I would not eat any meat with bones. (Nope, only blenderized meat mush made into patties for me! Oh my yuck.) However, I was pregnant with Holly and hungry. This recipe evolved from that.

Grilled Farmhand Sticks  

A summer favourite when we are super busy and need to eat on the chore run.

Red Chicken in a French Pot   

A farmhouse classic. This recipe is easy and nourishing.

And the best for last? Yes, please!

Iced Coffee and Maple Syrup   

This.  If you have never tried real maple syrup in your coffee before...do it. You will not be sorry. No, you will thank me and share this recipe with all your friends. This is the iced version. The hot version is: 1 3/4 cup of hot coffee, 1/4 cup of 1/2 and 1/2 or whole real cream (up to you) and 2 T of real maple syrup. Your welcome.
 

Friends, again I thank you for all your support and kind works of encouragement. I look forward to 2014 and all the amazing food that I get to cook and share! 

Best of 2013: This is What Winning Looks Like

2013 was cruel. The year knocked me face down in the snow and ice and then stomped all over me. 2013 tried to take me down. 2013 tried to passive aggressively spread rumours and undermine my confidence. The year was persistent and mind boggling obsessive and mean.

I was not about to take this or that or anyone's shit anymore. I did not just get up and punch 2013 in the face. I did not use the same dirty tactics. Instead, I got my feet under me and went on my own way. I ran into the arms of my family, I leaned into my work, I was more giving and generous, I made a goal to write every single day, and I made sure that I was nourishing myself spiritually and emotionally daily. Every now and then 2013 would step out and remind me that it was all about her and she hated me, but I looked that self hate in the eyes and was terrified of the pain and suffering and the anger. That is not who I wanted to be at all, ever. That was enough to keep me on my feet and moving.

This is what winning looks like.

So, for you friends, those whose generosity and support walked with me on my journey.....Thank you. Thank you so much for your friendship, for reading here, for kind words, and for just listening. Thank you for being here. Thank you for not walking out on me when I needed you. Thank you for not standing by while life beat me up. Some of you are new friends, some I hope to meet, and some have been here for a very long time. All of you, thank you.

I present to you the best of 2013 on this blog. These are the posts that were shared and shared again. These are the most read of all time in the 7 years I have been writing here, aside from the blog post about rendering lard!

The Girls in the Locker Room
This post was about an experience I had at our local public pool with my daughters. It is still being read and shared almost daily, so it must have really hit home. Every now and then I get a private email asking if the girls I wrote about or their mothers ever got the message and the answer is I have no idea. I think they must have, being a small town, but if it worked, if my message made a difference to them, no one has told me. In the meantime, it has reached a lot of people and made a small difference in the conversations that have been created both in folks who disagree with what I said and in those who have been there themselves, self harming.

To The Universe I Say, Bring It.
This post is my favourite of all time. Chad wrote this one for a conference my friend Molly was speaking at and I cried when I read it and then asked him to share it here. We are blessed in so many ways by Chad and his role of father in Isaac's life is one of the crucial keys to Isaac thriving in the shadow of his 22q deletion diagnosis.

Why I Stopped Writing, Part Two
This was part of a series in which I write about why I struggle to find my creative voice. I never imagined anyone was reading it!

Something No One is Talking About, This post is about how children are treated in the medical world, the language we use, and how they are less than human in the way we address their fear and their bodies. My concern is that we are grooming them for victim hood. I have no easy answer, just observations.

Immunity
This post is about what we do for our own family in light of Isaac's 22q related immune deficiency. I was encouraged to write about these things because of how healthy Isaac is despite his lab work and on paper immune response. He gets sick less than other 22q kids and even less than a normal school child. Why? I have no idea, but these are the steps we take to help things along.

Mercy in a Ziplock
I wrote this post because I was being crushed by the holiday blues. I kept hearing folks say they were approached by someone in need but had nothing to offer on hand. Sometimes we need a list and a kit, so here you go.

Bonus:
This one did not rank very high, but was my most cherished post. This one, folks, was a long time coming and very hard earned. Way to go Isaac!
Surprise! 

Thank you again, friends for reading, for sharing, and for being so awesome. There were many directions and possibilities that stewed and bubbled and even festered at the beginning of the year, but without all the support and love that I was blessed with...... I would not be thriving.