From My Home to Yours
~ Do the next thing ~
That's been my motto this week ... just do the next thing!
Here's what that looked like ...
Day 13 in my #everybitcountschallenge found me turning a surplus of jalapeno peppers into chipotle peppers. I sliced each pepper in half lengthwise, sprinkled with olive oil, liquid smoke and sea salt and mixed it all up well. Then I laid them out on racks over parchment lined baking pans/dishes and let them dehydrate at 200 degrees in the oven for approximately 6 hours. Once dried and cooled, I jarred them and added them to my refrigerator. Hubby, thinking they were for snacking (no, no, no) tried one and popped the whole thing in his mouth. He had quite the experience getting his mouth, esophagus and stomach to stop burning. I told him they were not for snacking, but for seasoning purposes when cooking or making salad dressings. What I really wanted to know though, was about the flavor. Had I gotten the flavor right, did they taste like chipotle peppers. He said the flavor was perfect, but with a 'certain look' in his eyes and expression on his face, he pronounced rather empathically that it would be a while before he used any! I love that man!!!
(collards and cabbage plants freshly planted and watered in ... the larger collard plants on the left are a bit droopy, but they revived and are all settled in as of this writing)
Before we close out this post, let's take a stroll out to one area of my fall garden. I purchased cabbage plants while we were traveling from a Mennonite store and then when we got home, a friend gave us collard plants that were ready to plant. So, one morning this week, I took myself out to this raised bed and planted them ... collards on one side and cabbage on the other! That takes care of that raised bed and by Thanksgiving, we should be eating fresh cabbage and collards! I'll take it!
Later in the week, the same friend gave me 4 rutabaga plants, so I planted them in a different raised bed. I had never eaten rutabaga to my knowledge until this summer. I always thought I didn't like them ... until I tried them in a roasted vegetable melody. Can we just say, yum!
While I was planting the rutabaga plants a red wasp stung me on my hand. Ouch! I dropped my gardening tool and ran for the house (yes, I ran)! I knew exactly what I needed to do and headed for my medicinal pantry as soon as I got in the house. I pulled plantain oil off the shelve, saturated a cotton ball with it and started applying the oil on my hand. My hand was swelling quickly and the area where the stings were was hurting. Yes, stings, the wasp got me twice through the gloves I was wearing. Within a minute, 2 at the most, the throbbing pain was easing up and I was able to get a better look. Off and on all that day I kept applying the plantain oil, the next day it was considerably better, still swollen but not as bad. Plantain oil and or plantain vinegar tincture are staples in my medicinal pantry ... and this is why! I'm not a doctor, nor do I have any medical training, I'm just sharing what works for me.
I promised an update on our big financial goal of paying off the vehicle we purchased earlier this year sooner rather than later by making 2 payments per month. We made a change in that plan because we realized that if we paid extra on the principal instead of working ahead on making payments, we would be able to save ourselves a bunch of interest. This month, the extra we could pay went straight on the principle instead of getting further ahead on the payments! New goal: pay something, no matter how small on the principal amount out of each paycheck! (This is in addition to the regular payment we make each month.) We are determined to keep working at this until the deed is done!
It's been a week of going to my heavenly Father in prayer with a concerned and sometimes heavy heart more than once. As you can see, I don't have a lot to share of physical things done in my home this week, but the spiritual aspect of my being/home has been busy sorting through, pondering and praying. I don't even know if that makes sense ... it's just where my head and heart are right now.
And finally, ladies, I posted a mini study on 'Brokenness' over on From This Heart of Mine. If your world has ever lay crumbled at your feet, then you'll want to take a look at this study. (I wrote and posted this study early in the week ... little did I know that there would be a need later in the week for it.)
That's all for this week!
I hope you've found something in my ramblings that will help and or encourage you in the upcoming week.
You might be interested in my other blogs ...
