Better and better

Everyday, I'm feeling better.  I was honestly trying to cover up how poorly I've felt the past 6 weeks and now, I'm grateful to be sleeping at night, no more headache, excruciating pain in my back or legs.  

Today, it's been 2 weeks since I went to the emergency room and found out I had Bell's Palsy.  I started taking the antibiotic, 100 mg of doxycycline hyclate twice a day then, too.  One more week left.  I'm making probiotic sauerkraut (just cabbage and salt) to keep a good balance in my gut.  Many supplements, trying to not eat sugars and also lots of people praying have helped!

My husband's 3 sisters are visiting! We went to the Farmer's Museum today and rode on the carousel. Below, is some of the wall paper that is in one of the buildings

This neat horse weathervane is atop the blacksmith shop.

There's a place with tall wheat growing.  A basket in the midst of being made.  Baskets are so useful here, I use one daily for collecting eggs, also for a garden haul, like kale and chard.  Both are growing well right now.  I hope to have tomatoes in a month!  There's nothing like a fresh tomato.

This is a statue of James Fenimore Cooper in Cooperstown.  Our friend, Keith, has been in town and is writing a novel.  When he told us several things about Cooper and his books, it made me realize how I want to learn more of this local history.  I plan to read Cooper's The Leatherstocking Tales next. We went to the beach on the shore of Otsego Lake at Three Mile Point, which was owned by the Cooper family.

After church Sunday, I took a photo of Keith and George.  

Rainbow chard from our garden! It tastes so good!

Lyme battle

I got the results back on the lab tests from last week and found out I have Lyme. One common reason for the bell's palsy is Lyme. A nearby friend who has had Lyme for 40 years suggested I try the vitamin C and salt protocol initially developed by M Fett.  One takes 3 g of vitamin C and 3 g of salt (Himalayan) 4 times a day.

Sunday, I woke to bilateral facial paralysis. I was going to share a photo of myself, but have changed my mind.  I may once I improve.  

Chiropractic appointment went well yesterday. I'm taking vitamin B to take every hour and using this laser to run along my face from my ear along the jaw to the mouth and nose and forehead, where the nerves go... She adjusted me, opening up the 7th cranial nerve to allow for normal blood flow.  I found out that I have an irregular heartbeat, too, most people have a first strong beat and a second beat, less strong, while I am having the first weak and a second be strong.  So, the chiropractor put me on standard process cardiotrophin.  Overall, I feel a little better, some jaw improvement and this morning, I was able to close my eyes without using my hands.  The wind affects my eyes, drying them and the inability to blink is really hard to deal with.  I have eye drops.  Being on doxycycline means I am not supposed to be in the sun.  

A friend picked strawberries!  I plan to make jam! 

And Snowflake who is now 9 months old became a mother.  There were 3 kittens, but only 2 made it.  They are so sweet.

There's so much information on the internet that it's hard to filter through.  Some of my first difficulties for headaches, insomnia, restless legs and swollen lymph nodes.  I'm not really sure it's due to the Lyme, but am grateful it has subsided for now. I've been blessed by a loving family and great friends who are praying and offering to help. 

I can't smile

I went to the emergency room Tuesday morning because I thought it may have had a stroke. The right side of my face is unresponsive. I can't smile and my eye isn't working right. Thank God I did not have a stroke, but it turns out that I have Bell's Palsy, a temporary paralysis that happens to one side of your face. Talking, drinking and eating are hard!

To celebrate Pentecost and Trinity Monday, the monastery decorated with trees and beautiful greenery and flowers around the icons.  

Below, I thought this description of Bell's palsy was spot on, for me,

One may notice "pain behind their ear a day or two before they notice any weakness. Others comment that sounds seem abnormally and uncomfortably loud several days before the development of paralysis. Within a day or two, the paralysis usually reaches its peak. Most people start to recover within a couple of weeks and are completely recovered within three months"

From http://www.myhealth.gov.my/en/physiotherapy-management-bells-palsy/

Our neighbors pony gave birth!

I made cookies for a baptism!  My husband now has 2 Godchildren to pray for.  

Our 6 year old took this photo during the baptism.  After, I took this one of a friend reading to the siblings of the newly baptised, Juliana.

We got a Thrive market membership FREE since my husband is a veteran! It has great prices on natural laundry soap, foaming handsoap refills, grass-fed gelatin, oats, quinoa, many other organic pantry items and this tea, which I've had hot and used to make kombucha with... If you're interested, click here http://thrv.me/X39Xqm you'll get 40% off your 1st order and I'll get a $40 credit!

Farm wise, we are caring for a friend's 4 heritage hens and a gorgeous rooster, plus their white female goat, in the first photo.  The flies are awful around the cows.  The lambs are growing and their horns are as well.  I think one of our kittens is pregnant.  They will be 9 months old in a few days.  I called a vet in March when they were 6 months old to inquire about a spay appointment and was told to call back in May, as they were booked solid (I guess that's normal for the country?) and none of our neighbors have cats, so I thought it's not urgent. They've been great barn cats, we give them food in the morning and they catch mice often! We'll see what's next.  If kittens arrive, it will be fun for our boys and such a good lesson.

Making and mining

Peach jam!  First I scored each one, then boiled them for about a minute and peeled the skins off, chopped them up and cooked them with the Sure Jell pectin and sugar.  It didn't set up as well as store-bought jam, but we ate some on our peanut butter and jam sandwiches yesterday and it was just fine!

String cheese made into a mini octopus!

We went to the Herkimer "diamond" mine for a day with other homeschoolers!  It was great to be with friends.  Paul found several small quartz and we also brought some rocks with gray sparkly druzies.

I made panna cotta and we topped it with strawberry sauce.  We have plenty of milk! It's fun to try out new recipes.  I got this book The Art of Natural Cheesemaking by David Asher from the library and decided it was so good, we should buy a copy!  I bought it from the publisher, Chelsea Green, in Vermont.  We are trying not to buy anything through Amazon anymore.  I don't want to support them.  Anyhow, this book is excellent for those who want to make cheese using raw milk.  I want to try to make their string cheese next.

Swing

Cherishing the small things that are good right now. Little helper writing the date on the jar of raw milk from Bella, above.  

Last week to this week.  I ran a fever, and it blistered, so I started the antibiotics.  Also, on prednisone.  I had to slowly taper off.  For someone who isn't used to taking pharmaceuticals, but scared about the seriousness of this, it's been a lot of questioning and trust and prayer to know what to do.

My arm has been slowly recovering from the likely spider bite, that occurred 2 weeks ago.  Pain and tingling at the site still, although it is healing and better than it was... 

Insomnia due to the medication is awful.

I really haven't done much this week, but rest.  My husband has gotten a lot of work done on the walls surrounding the freshly poured concrete.

Below, we spent a couple hours on Lake Otsego on Memorial day Monday.  The water is still pretty cold.

Bracelets to sell.  There's a craft fair coming up and also weekly farm markets nearby.  I've been thinking it would be a good place to sell the bracelets I've made and maybe flowers.  I started growing zinnias. These are wildflowers above, whose names I want to learn.  I only know the buttercups.

We found a turtle in our yard later that day!

Rhubarb from a roadside farm stand on the way home from our library trip. I chopped it up and made a cake.

Blessed feast of the Ascension!  We went to the chapel of the 7 Holy Youths in Morris, NY.