Tuesday, October 07, 2008


Calm autumn day on the lake

I've had my head stuck in the canner for far too much time lately and need to literally boot myself out the door to get some fresh air and sunshine. Though Mr. Miles and I try to go for a walk every day, mostly its wound up being in the evening and its falling dark so EARLY. Yesterday I saw a glimmer of sunshine so decided to march down to enjoy and capture some full sized photos of the showy milkweed before they are all gone, puffed away in the fierce fall winds we can experience, or even to be melted away into little matted 'furballs' by the occasional driving rains.

It turned out to be about an hour of just beautiful calm, and I relished just going for a walk with my camera, allowing myself some time to meditate on the Lord and get re-centered. Do you find when you get so busy you find yourself speaking to those around you in an impatient manner? I know when I get busy, my communication skills suck. I find myself expecting (especially by those closest to me) to just 'get it' in three sentences or less. Its times like these I catch myself and decide its time to take myself off and have a little talk with me. I make a mental list of priorities and decide that if I'm too busy - I have to do some 'weeding' of whats truly a 'have to do' or a 'want to do'. Separate the two, then set aside all thats whats crucial, whats not. We can't do it all, not at the best of times. Sometimes, when I get very busy - I would not like to be around me, I'd think I was too snippy and short!

This makes me think of a song I keep hearing by TobyMac - with the lyrics stating "I don't want to gain the whole world and lose my soul"

Being too busy can do this to you. It can be the BEST things to do, but if you turn into someone you'd not like to be around in the process - its not worth it. Its time to get alone with Jesus!

How about you? Can you tell when you're 'ramping up'? How do you cope?

The hardest victory is victory over self.

"And so, as those who have been chosen of God,
holy and beloved,
put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience."

Colossians 3:12




Jordana and Madison
credits: Fall Splendor Kit by Linda
(if you've not d/l Linda's free kit you better scoot over, its awesome!)

This layout is of my two grand-nieces (groan, is it GRAND already?) We don't get to see much of these two delightful little ladies as they live in another province, so I'm really grateful that their Gramma (JUDY - my sister in law) shares her photos with me so I can watch them grow up! More photos on Judy's blog!

I've been putting up food thinking of the long winter months, if I did not make it to the stores I'd like to be somewhat self sufficient in the food department. A few months back I found a little growing kit for sprouts and so I picked up some seeds at the local health food store and grew me some nice sprouts. I was tickled that though I was excited, Mr. Miles was THRILLED! He wanted to eat them at Day 2!









Its easy to make your own little growing kit if you don't want to buy one. I think children, in particular would love to watch this process!

What You Need to Start:

  1. Alfalfa seeds
  2. Clear glass mason jar
  3. Piece of clean pantyhose or cheesecloth
  4. Tablespoon
  5. Scissors
  6. Elastic band
  7. Water and Sink
  8. Cupboard that will stay closed! (dark place)
  9. A windowsill or area near a window that gets lots of sun
What you do:


Place 1 - 2 tablespoons seeds into mason jar and cover with 4 parts water to 1 parts seeds. Place cheesecloth or pantyhose on top and secure with elastic band. Put in dark cupboard. Soak seeds overnight.

The following morning, drain your soak water through the cheesecloth. Hold the jar under a swift running faucet until the jar is filled. Swirl gently and drain. Rinse sprouts every morning and evening. Rinse more often if desired, for slightly faster growth. Following the rinsing, prop the jar at an angle with mesh top facing down. This will insure proper ventilation during the sprouting. Place in dark cupboard each time.

Rinse at least 3 times a day - more often if you like.

On the fourth day, rinse thouroughly and place in a well lit area which receives sunlight (windowsills work great!)

Voila, they will turn green, ready to eat.

The little sprout kit I bought at a yardsale came from THE SPROUT PEOPLE. To find out more, about their products (and neat variety of seeds) just click HERE.



Lastly, with autumn on my mind, I've made a little giveaway for you. Enjoy!




Barb's FALL wordart/template element
fine for personal, commercial and sfh

download



13 comments:

  1. wow ..that lake looks so peaceful ...kind wish I was walking along the beach with you ...I am going to get Melissa to grow some Alfalfa seeds..they are so good on sandwiches ...well girl put your feet up and relax ...you have tomatoes to can next so take the day surfing the net ...love ya

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  2. Beautiful photo and thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts! beautiful page as well!
    Cheers

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  3. Very calm and serene photo - it was so wet and windy here in Ireland today!

    Yes - I definitely sometimes need to step back from overdoing things - I can feel that overwhelming sensation creeping up on me with so much "busy-ness".

    Lovely post as always - you restore my soul :)

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  4. When I get stressed ... I definitely get snappy!

    Relish is done and we are on to do the last of the pears!

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  5. I love coming to your blog... I am so glad you are here.

    Hugs... Joy

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  6. I love that first photo, so calm and serene.

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  7. Ohmigosh what an amazing photograph. And an inspiring post, thank you for visiting my blog - I've just bookmarked yours!

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  8. Good Morning Barb:)
    Your pic of the lake is wonderful.You have got to love living near it!Won't be long and you will have to polish up your skates again.:)Don't forget the padding.LOL
    I get snippity too when I get busy and stressed.Diabetes and menapause don't mix well.hehe I am so glad Jim loves me.:)I would love to have a lake to walk to and sit near and focus on ME and how I react to things.You have a gorgeous prayer closet.I bet you can't help but feel close to the Lord there.:)Jim use to take long walks and talk with the Lord.He would come up to me and say..I'm going for a walk..and I knew what he meant.He learned so many truths from the Lord on those walks.We live on hills now and walking has become difficult...but we still find that alone time.:)Mine is when everyone leaves and I have the house to myself.:)Lately if I get stressed about life and what's going on around the world..I will no sooner start to pray and the Lord will give me a song and I know everything is okay and he is in control.What a comfort!:)It's soo cool!I know what he meant when he said "I will send you a comforter".:)
    I am glad you stopped to smell the roses.:)Now get back in there and finish those tomatoes that Judy said you had to do.hehe
    Thank you for stopping by again and leaving a cute little poem.How sweet.:)I love it!
    I am still loading programs and transferring files etc.It's time consuming..but since I learned how to do it..Jim lets me.Bummers!:)
    I guess I had better go now and let someone else comment.hehe
    Have a fantastic day!

    Hugs,
    Valinda

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  9. Good morning Mrs. Miles :)Love your blog.. thank you for stopping by to say, "hi" :) Hope you have a great day too! :)

    Bekah_E

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  10. Beautiful photo and a great scrapbook page too.

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  11. AWWW that photo is just stunning! And yeah - I get snappy when tired and in a frazzle-lol. and everyone scatters. Then it's time for a nice long soak in the tub- with just me and the bubbles and a candle for a while ;-).

    Oh Barb those sprouts reminded me of the *heads* we used to have as kids- they were made from stockings and had faces painted on them- you had to water them on the top to get the *hair* to grow- we loved it- as we used to chop the hair all the time- lol

    Thanks for popping in- even just a HUG from you is special- I know how hectic you are at the moment.

    ((HUGS))

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  12. Love the wordart, thank you!

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  13. Oops... is this link no longer active? Or did something get messed-up? After hitting 'click here to download' I get 'the file link that you requested is not valid'

    Just wanted to let you know.

    ReplyDelete

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