When fighting hives...

...sew LuoPads.

Explorations

Whether ill from over-extending or not, every doctoring trip has to include a little exploring.

Look closely for a spot of red - a male cardinal that surprised us up a steep bluff road.

Our friend, the Mississippi.

Home Away

Chemical sensitivities mean difficulties with hotels. And so with God's intricate provision we found a chemical free home to rent for Hannah's and my recent doctoring. We couldn't have been more pleased. A few of the delights were...

...beautiful spaces to relax in.

...flowers everywhere.

...a coloring book to keep our hands busy while talking over speaker-phone with the hospitalized contingent of the family.

Blessings in the Storm

I like pictures that shows off beauty, grace, blessings. For that reason you will often see close-up shots on my blog - a photo where I zero in on a bit of beauty that catches my eye, beauty that is often amidst chaos, disorder and the less-than-ideal.

That is the case with this picture. In it you can't see the hundreds of dandelions that have accumulated over the past years of no chemicals to protect Hannah and me in our recovery from already overloaded systems. You can't see the weary faces of a family worn by years of illness and fighting for health. You can't see a wheelchair holding Dorothy's weak and painful body. And you can't see Dad's heart that, unknown to us at the moment, had suffered a heart attack two days previously.

What you do see is a moment enjoyed in the midst of life's challenges. A moment enjoying God's blessings and in particular Mom who has a Sunday in May set aside in her honor every year.

While I don't have snapshots of these beautiful moments, let me describe a few more:

- The next day when peace filled our hearts as Dad took two ambulance rides and became the owner of a stent in his heart

- An oldest sister who changed plans and took time out from the demanding greenhouse season to help pack and drive Hannah and me to our allergy and Lyme doctors appointments (a five day commitment)

- Eight hours of sleep reported from Mom and Dad on night number two in the hospital

- Miraculously little heart damage and a living Dad to come home to

It would take all day to tell you of all the beautiful snap-shots God gave us in the last week. Blessings in the storm.

Frozen Dinners

The kitchen has seen a lot of us lately. After a month or so of draining the freezers of our homemade frozen dinners, it has been high time to restock. And so all meal making is super-sized.

Asparagus harvest has been on the large side, too. More for the freezer!

Greenhouse Day

The thermometer reads eighty-five degrees Fahrenheit. Jason and Maren are busy, busy watering, selling, restocking, planting. Today Dad is helping them out, but a few days ago we all headed over for a time to simply enjoy and shop.

Professional Endeavors

Between Lyme exhaustion and the changing pace when spring arrived, I have not had much time for professional endeavors. Yet I managed to move uncut tags from the to-do into the ready-to-use folder last week.

Sunday Inspection

It seems I usually take a stroll around the yard on a Sunday afternoon at this time of year. Call it my weekly plant growth inspection.

A Pretty Weed

Pear

Canada Red Chokecherry

Juneberry/Saskatoon

Spearmint

Peony

Pansy - self seeded from last year's pot

Working Ahead

Spring is trying to come, but Hannah is wisely building up her stock of Scandinavian mittens and her newly unveiled hats for Etsy.