Joy

Today's a beautiful day!  Many are celebrating the incarnation of God, the birth of Jesus and I pray that He give you peace + joy today, and everyday.  Sometimes we have to really look...

"Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people."

 — Luke 2:10

Sunshine and snow.  It was 17 degrees Fahrenheit when we went out for an hour walk this morning.

This is Gatlinburg.  Most of the shops are closed, but it's still fun to walk and look at the decorations.

Rocks for sale!  We were so excited to see quartz, amethyst, citrine, and shungite

(which I learned may help shield electromagnetic fields).  

The moon shining brightly last night.

Challenges

My hand surgery went well.  I now have three screws in my phalanx.  Yesterday, the 5 stitches were removed.  It's still hard for me to move that finger, to use a knife to cut bread or vegetables.  Little challenges.  I'm honestly so grateful I didn't hurt a toe or my foot, something that would keep my from walking.

I plan to close up my instagram.  It's been a few years since I stopped using facebook.  I hope to connect with people in real life, here or through mail!  Ever since I was a young girl, I have written letters.  

Opening up our mailbox in December and finding real letters and cards with Christmas greetings brings me joy!

I hope to reactivate my Etsy shop to sell diffuser bracelets, maybe some of my drawings and note cards.

Tomorrow is Saint Nicholas Day (old calendar) and we will give each other gifts here at home.

Have a lovely weekend!

Fasting

He still takes morning naps quite often. I've been trying to get him to eat lunch, then take one nap after... 

Today, I'm just enjoying his warmth and holding him.  I am grateful for the extra peace I'm feeling currently.  I have a broken bone in my finger and have surgery this afternoon.  Fasting is SO hard, especially when I just want a drink of water, but for safety, before general anesthesia, as is recommended...I can do this!

We had our 1st snow last week!  It makes me feel great... the white brightness and cold air that comes with snow.

We baked gingerbread over the weekend!

With just lemon icing we made...

A few more of the bracelets I've made...  I'm giving them as Christmas gifts.  And selling them for $10 each.

My mom printed these off for me, since we don't currently have a printer.  The first few bracelets that went out either had no note or a simple handwritten one.

Earth

I feel better, even when I'm not really ill, if I am outdoors everyday for a while.  It's been colder here.  32 F this morning.  

Have you made Dalgona coffee?  It can be made vegan, just whisk together 1/4 c. sugar 1/4 c. instant coffee and 1/4 c. boiling water until frothy and if you want it to form soft peaks, 3 minutes...  Pour 1 cup cold cow's milk, almond milk, or your favorite alternative and add ice.  I think there's science behind this, as cold sits below and the hot whipped coffee rises to the top!  Sunday was #NationalBundtcakeday so I made one, with vanilla, coffee and chocolate batter!

The earth beneath my feet, the fresh air in my lungs.  My friend suggests submerging your barefeet in a natural stream for all the negative ions.  It's grounding, which is good for your body with all the electronic pollution or EMF (electromagnetic fields or radiation) we can't see. 

I started making diffuser bracelets!  They are made with wood and stones, and will naturally diffuse essential oils while you wear one.  Some will be Christmas gifts.  I've already given one to my 3 year old Goddaughter, one to each of my daughters, mailed one to Iowa and another to Arizona and plan to give one to my niece in Canada.  I will be selling these.  Just $10 and will accept Venmo or Paypal!  $4 extra for shipping.  

The stone here is Amazonite.  It's likely the 3rd stone on the breastplate of Moses.  It can also help block harmful EMFs.  My husband has been wearing one he made for himself about 2 weeks ago.

This is one of my favorites.  That is pink jade + beautiful round wood beads.

We just celebrated George's 2nd birthday!

Wind

Yes, the wind blew the smoke in our eyes, but it was such a lovely day with friends.    

My husband was asked to be Godfather!

And I prepared + baked an election day cake! There's still plenty of time for you to bake one.

I used sourdough starter.  In the small measuring cup is sorghum molasses, cinnamon, cardamom, clove, nutmeg, ginger...

I soaked dried apricots, plums, dates + raisins in white wine for 24 hours.  I mixed the sourdough starter with milk + flour and let it ferment for 12 hours at room temperature.  Then mixed the butter, sugar, eggs... Let rise 2 hours.  Baked.  And the end result:

The whole recipe, from Old World Levain, can be found here.