Herbs, Succulents, and Gluten

Beyond periodic photos of my delightful onion bloom, I have not taken many photographs over that last week. So I'll rely on a few taken by my farmer and brother-in-law to fill in the gaps. The biggest subject of photographs has been our garden plot at the farm. It has exploded! The corn is already up to my farmer's waist (and he ain't short). Also, we had been wondering if our pepper plants may have gotten a bit stunted while they wait to be planted...Oops! They didn't let that stop them though! 

Outside the realm of edibles, my farmer surprised me with some adorable succulents that we planted in a cute planter my sister-in-law gave me. Here's to hoping they outlive all my previous cacti. 

While I didn't have a very painful reaction to gluten as I feared I might, it has still been enough of one to eat a more gluten-limited diet in the future. Not something I have to avoid entirely, but also something not worth indulging in too frequently either. I'm very thankful that I don't have to worry about cross-contamination risks as gluten is hidden in so many things. How did gluten affect me? Well, in the large dose taken the first two days of reintroduction, I suddenly had a lot of acne, a small mouth sore, increased allergy symptoms, bloating, gas, and irregular bowels. Like I said, not fun. But when I ate a little pita bread later in the week without any other gluten that day, the reaction was much much milder. So, a bite here and there won't hurt me, but I'll definitely keep building my gluten-free baking skills for the long-term!

This past weekend we decided to sell some of the excess herbs from our home garden and were blown away by how popular they were. We made a "roasting blend" of herbs along with single herb bundles and then rigged up a way to hang them artistically from the booth. The market crowd loved them, so we grabbed a few more plants to add to our small herb garden. I'm looking forward to creating some more blends as soon as our basil plants are mature enough!

Random other update is I donated lock number..7? I’ve lost count, but I hope it contributes to lovely wig for someone in need.

We took to the woods for a Sabbath day hike to fill our souls with creation, tea, and quiet companionship. Sometimes a break from the noise and bustle of the modern church service is just what the spirit needs. Soaked up all the shades of green and forest blossoms. Marveled over creepy-crawlies and fungus. We lived a little of Emily Dickinson’s poetry: "So instead of getting to Heaven, at last -- I'm going, all along."