Merry Christmas!

"Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" 

- John 1:29 -

P.S. You haven't been seeing much from me lately, because I am now over on Instagram for Hannah's and my knitting business. Follow us here: @the_nautical_nordic

Thanksgiving 2018

Holidays are always a challenge with chronic illness, yet this year was a tiny bit easier than the past four years. Slowly healing is happening. 

We spent this Thanksgiving with a few aunts and uncles, one cousin, and his family.

Aunt Ruth organized Thanksgiving crafts...

...and these gifts from Solveig were a result. 

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever."

- Psalm 107:1 -

Amen!

Easy on the Gut Nuts

Hannah and I love nuts, but they haven't loved us. Until now. Besides rotating eating each kind of nut only every fourth day to keep our nut allergies low, here is what we do.

- Easy on the Gut Nuts -

1 T. sea salt

boiled water

2 c. nuts

Dissolve salt in boiled water in a glass bowl. 

Add nuts.

Cover nuts with more boiled water; stir.

Let soak overnight.

Rinse and drain.

Spread on baking sheet, and bake at low temperature until fully dry - a few hours.

Notes: 

Our oven bakes as low as 170° F, so that's what we use.

To test for dryness, take a nut or two from the oven and let come to room temperature. If they have a normal nut consistency at that point, they are ready.

If you have many cooks in your kitchen, put out a "do not turn on oven" sign!

Voting on the Prairie

Rearranged

Rearranging the everyday makes it new again.

Morning Light + Clean Room

I cleaned Hannah's and my bedroom yesterday, and now I don't want to be anywhere else. Let's just say it's been a while. A new flare of adrenal exhaustion is a result, so I may just get my wish of living in here. 

Autumn Drive

We were a little late in our autumn color drive. The brilliant color we hear our area had this year had given way to early hard frosts. 

Nevertheless, we enjoyed subtle colors of the landscape, carpets of fallen leaves and a few brighter spots mixed in.

October Snow

True Woman '18

This week was one to challenge the body but refresh the soul. Mom, Maren, Hannah, two Kathy's (though one was Kathe with an "e") and I gathered in the bakery* for two evenings of soul challenge and refreshment. While the live stream is past, I plan to watch some replays while my body recovers from the week. You can join me here!

*We still call the addition The Bakery even though it has become more of a family/craft room.

Repotted and Washed

Bouquets for the Lake

The night before our lake vacation, Hannah rescued some flowers from the coming rain.  Mom and I were the holders of these bouquets as we drove out to the cabin.

Ready to Sail

Today proved a good day to sail. Over the course of the day we all managed a beautiful ride. Thirteen miles per hour was our record speed.

Glorious Flowers

Dad, Mom and I went on a tour of gardens yesterday. Maren and Jason also went on the tour but at a different time, so we never met (though we did meet Jason's parents at our last stop). It was a beautiful break from daily routines. These were two of the most glorious flowers we saw.

Star in the Cabbage

Not from our garden, but beautiful and delicious anyway.

Rose Season Again

Saved from the rain.

Old and New Treasures

In February we women used up some used-book-credit which we earned by donating many pounds of used books to our local store. Hannah and I added some of our favorites to our collections, and we all found a few new treasures.

April 23: Storage Cabbage

On April 23 Mom gave our storage cabbages a haircut. With new growth cut off and dry outer leaves removed, we continue to eat well from last years garden bounty.

Easter 2018

Ours was a quiet Easter. Due to chemical sensitivities, Hannah and I haven't been to church in a long while. Nevertheless, we did attend this special Sunday via Skype. Thank you, Hannah, for the idea, and Dad, for carrying out the plan church-side. Maren and Jason came in the later afternoon after attending to their little plants in the greenhouse.

While much of the family had a more traditional meal of ham, potatoes and raisin sauce, Hannah and I had a new allergy friendly meal. These recipes will be made again!

 

Roasted balsamic chicken and vegetables

Whole fruit strawberry-blueberry jelled salad

"Because He lives, I can face tomorrow..."

March 30: Crocheted Lace

I went a bit crazy with crocheted lace this early spring. What else do you do when you are primarily stuck on the couch, must keep your hands busy, your yarn is out of stock and you have a suitcase full of old crochet thread in the basement?

March 30: Preparing for Summer...

...when wool socks are no longer in vogue and I forget which pairs belong to me. A bit of pink thread sewn inside the cuff should aid my memory next fall.

March 9: Hannah's Orchid Garden

March 30: Bedroom Decor

Hannah and I share a bedroom, and so we share decorating duty in that room. These are the areas under my charge.

A shelf made by Mom in her younger married years above my bed is home to two Japanese styled paintings. Artistry of my cousin's wife.

I like to keep my bedside table both pretty and functional:

A plant to add life and warmth [air purification is a nice by-product of beauty].

Lake Superior rocks, because I love them.

A Japanese china bowl that looks nice in the day and holds lip balm and pedometer at night.

My dresser currently holds a small collection of wooden items, a couple rocks, a tiny pinecone and a pot of wintered-over rosemary.

Yes, you did see rocks in each picture. I was the child who on walks needed a belt to keep my rock weighted pants up. While I am more particular as to which rocks make their way into my collection these days, they still have the tendency to hop into my pockets.

The North is Still the North

After our wintered-over plants enjoyed a few balmy days acclimating to the outdoors, they have had to be brought into the more temperate climes of the front entry for a few nights. Tropical and dessert plants don't really get along with our northerly spring temperatures.

March 9: Laundry

Mom and Hannah are the main laundresses in our household. They have their work cut out for them each week.

In April we were still using our trusty wooden drying racks to dry clothes, sometimes outdoors but usually inside. Now our retractable clothes rack is being put to good use... except when a load gets forgotten in the washer 'til late at night, and a load must be hung indoors.

March 7: Tomato Canning

Canning days don't have to be in the autumn harvest season. The freezer made life easier last fall. Quarts of ready-to-grab spaghetti sauce and whole tomatoes make life easier now.

And Again

As I mentioned earlier, using up scraps and finishing handwork projects is my free time activity this winter. This striped pillow cover belongs to that category.

A different kind of project completed by Dad and Mom was the redecoration of Maren's room, now turned guest room. Down with the old wallpaper, on with a fresh coat of paint and in with new furnishings from Grandpa and Grandma's former house.

Using Up

This knit pillow cover is one of the several use-it-up projects I have undertaken in my spare time this winter. I'm not a fan of too much spare yarn sitting around.

A Flipp'n' Birthday

Our friend, Joey, taught us the title to birthdays that sit at the beginning of the month. Flipp'n' birthdays are those that we are surprised by when we flip the calendar to a new page.

While flipp'n' birthdays are usually those that are ill prepared for, all was well in order for Jason's special day at the beginning of March. Maren had made his favorite pie (lemon meringue) and even had fancy candles on hand. What did end up a surprise to all was that not only did these candles have sparklers built in, a playful feature we were expecting, but also re-lit upon being blown out. Somehow that fact had slipped or perception. Excitement!

Not My Ice Palace

This picture is a couple months old but too fun to miss. Having the name "Elsa" does not automatically give one snow and ice palace creating abilities.* Nevertheless, some talented workmen did saw out and construct this castle out of a local lake.

*Check out the movie "Frozen" if you are wondering what I mean.

102

Maren, Hannah and I were unable to celebrate with Grandpa until the day after his monumental birthday. We were blessed to be with him on one of his good days. One of his comments during our visit was, "I haven't told you how I learned English." And so he told of his little neighbor girl who took four year old Grandpa in hand and taught him his second language. You would never guess that he started out life speaking only Norwegian. He, at 102 years old, has more correct English than me.

When the Furnace Fails on Sunday

Frost this Morning

Signal Flag and Lace

Maritime Signal Flag B and a bit of knit lace, freshly blocked (steamed flat)

The flag is now in my Etsy shop and the lace hand sewn onto pillow cases.