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.

Fire

Being outdoors is great, when it's not too hot and not too cold, often this time of year, with the exception of days like today, it's raining.  About a week ago, we went camping.  This was the roaring fire we sat by with friends and sipped on wine and felt the warmth of friendship.

Spent most of the day indoors yesterday, however, with the recent rain.  Little mechanic here.  George will be 2 in 2 weeks.

A friend and I went hiking.  This meadow with all the goldenrod was beautiful.

Just before Communion my husband started a fire to get lunch going.

Outdoor Liturgy!  Have you been having services outdoors?  It's a beautiful place, surrounded by His creation, with the trees in green, yellow, orange and red.

Water

There's something tranquil about water, maybe it's actually the wind making ripples over it, or that it cleanses.  We have quite a few lakes near us.  The state parks in Ohio are FREE (unlike some other states) and open to everyone.  

Above, Cowan Lake state park where we went Friday, and below is Stonelick Lake, where we went yesterday.

Muddy and enjoying every minute.

Laying in the shallow water, where it is warmer, finding pretty pebbles.

Little boss baby.  See that pointing finger?

So good to spend time together.

A scrumptious cherry cheese crown for our daughter.

And this little fellow sure enjoyed his sweet:

Hope the rest of summer is good for you.  We are still having days reaching 90 this week.  

I'm looking forward to the cooler fall days!

P.S. I might be a little extra sentimental over donuts, as tomorrow would have been my dad's 70th birthday.  And he loved Dunkin Donuts.