Family Vacation

Back in June we were finally able to take a family vacation to New Hampshire.

We made the obligatory visit to Storyland.

More on that later.

 We visited Glen Ellis Falls.

The falls were just stunning and the spray of the water was so cool and refreshing.

I had a heck of a time climbing all those stairs back up though, thought we were going to have to call the forest ranger for rescue.

 The Condo we stayed in was just beautiful. It had 2 full pull out beds and a private master. The kitchen was tiny but fully functionable. It was good to be able to cook some meals and not have to eat out all the time.

 When we weren't out seeing the sites, we stayed at the resort and played in the heated pool.

The two jacuzzi's made me quite happy.

I drank some Good Merlot. See? The label says so.

 We drove up to Cathedral Ledge.  I was thankful for that.

There really is a feeling of it being a spiritual place when you are this high up.

 Mountain climbers actually climb this ledge.

Ummmm-no thanks.

 I prefer this view-with fencing to keep me on the mountain.

Stewie, my husbands service dog, went everywhere with us.

 We took another hike to Diana's Baths.

 This was a much easier hike for me as the paths were level and even and no stairs.

 The water was so peaceful to listen to as it trickled over the rocks.

 Diana's Baths is a multi-tierd waterfall. It is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.

But the water was so cold.

I mean cold like your feet are in a cooler of icecubes cold.

 The kids found some really cool fossil rocks here. The curve of the rocks from water splashing on them for hundreds of years was just amazing to look at.

 There were lots of shallow areas for wading and exploring.

 Every corner you turned there were these glorious little waterfalls.

 And little holes and indentations where the force of water has made it's way through.

 And at the base of the waterfalls there were basins and swirls of water.

 On the walk back I noticed all these butterflys. There had to be at least 30 of them. I read somewhere that they lick the soil to get the minerals out of it.

 I sat with them and they just flitted beside me and landed next to me.

 I found the rocks and the water powerful yet soothing.

 Such an amazing place.

Ahhh yes, And then there is Storyland. My 14 year old declared he was too old to attend and happily stayed at the condo to swim and read.  We promised him free food but I have to say the vegetarian choices at Storyland are quite limited.

Tae insisted on driving the antique cars. Larry and I sat in the back.

Good thing Tae wasn't really responsible for driving.

My insurance rates would be astronimical.

But life is good when you can share a burger and soda with your big sister.

 Storyland has a great gift store with all of these crazy hats.

I had a blast with the kids!

 We practiced our Buddhism while at at Chinese Food restaurant picking up dinner.

Tae and Larry got a little goofy with the Hagar the Horrible hats.

 These glasses totally freaked me out.

I wouldn't buy these for Tae.

I had nightmares of him standing by my bed in the middle of the night

 chanting Red Rum, Red Rum!

 Goofiness.

 Cinderella's pumpkin.

It didn't go anywhere but is always a photo opportunity.

 Tae pie.

These are the cool fossil rocks we found. They have leaf imprints on them.

 It's always fun being with the kids.

They make me feel like a kid again.

But at the end of the day my tired and cranky kids needed to learn a hard lesson.

I offered to throw eggs at them but instead we treated them to miniature golf.

Hope you have been able to fit some vacation and family time into your summer.

Bev

Deformity

Remember the Mandrake roots in Harry Potter?

A real Mandrake Root looks like this.

 My garden carrots look suspiciously similar.

Although they don't scream when I pull them out of the ground.

A Wonderful House Blessing!

We had a wonderful House Blessing yesterday.

 Many of our church family came and brought food and gifts.

 We had a water bowl for putting in stones of blessings.

A larger candle to start the blessing and then each family

did a reading and lit a smaller candle.

These were the words we shared:

A House Blessing

We dedicate and bless this home with the prayers and love of all who have gathered here today. May the candles we light help to carry our prayers and illuminate our spirits.

 We light a candle to understanding.

We dedicate this home to deep knowledge.
May its joys and sorrows be shared and the individuality of each person

who lives and visits here appreciated.

 

We light a candle to love.
We dedicate this home to work, and rest and play.

May our home have joy and high fellowship,

with kindness in its voices and laughter running within its walls.

May the children know strength and courage and joy in all that they do.

 We light a candle to joy.
We dedicate this home to friendly life.

May its doors open in hospitality

and its windows look out with kindness toward other homes.

We light a candle to friendship.

May its duties be performed in love,

its furnishings bear witness that the work of others

minister to our comfort,

and its table remind us that God works with us

for the supply of daily needs.

 

 We light a candle to cooperation.

We dedicate this home to the appreciation

of all things good and true.

May the books bring wisdom,

the pictures symbolize things beautiful,

and the music bring joy and inspiration.

 

 We light a candle to appreciation.

We dedicate the time and talent of those who live here

to help build a world in which every family

may have a home of comfort and fellowship.

 

We light a candle to service.
We dedicate this home as a unit in the Church universal,

an instrument of peacemaking,

a place of worship and love and laughter,

and a threshold to life eternal.

 

 We light a candle to spiritual enrichment.
As the flames point upward, so our thoughts rise in gratitude

for this home, the people in it,

 and in prayer, we ask for blessings upon it.

 My Beehive beverage container looked great with lemonade.

 The table was all set with wine.

A fabulous Sangria came out later.



 The little ones wandered the yard and played with the chickens.

 Everyone gathered under the canopy for the blessing.

 Reverend Tricia led us to the chicken coop. Yes, even our chicken coop was blessed. We'll see if it results in a better egg production from the girls.

 The chickens weren't thrilled to be participating however

 and took a bit of effort to catch.

 Tae finally caught chipmunk (the chicken) who seemed quite amused at the whole situation.

 We made our way around the house and blessed the threshhold as well.

After the blessing we dined on some wonderful cookout food and everyone swam in the pool.

Later in the evening, our friend Laurie and her husband Bob, took our family and some other friends out for a sunset cruise in the boat on the pond, which is more like a lake it's so huge.

 It was the perfect end to a perfect day.

 I gues I should feel lucky that the teen wanted to sit with me.

 The water and sky was so blue. It was so relaxing and the weather was perfect.

 MaryAnn, Zorro and Laurie check out the water out the back of the boat. I'm sure there is a nautical term for "the back of the boat". Let me know what that is.

 Tae made sure that Captain Bob drove correctly.

 Captain Bob did a fine job.

It was his Birthday too, Happy Birthday Bob!

Jet skis and boats were everywhere.

I couldn't ask for a more perfect day.

To be blessed by my church family in prayer, gifts and friendships.

I am ever uplifted by them.

Life is pretty darn awesome.

Bev

House Blessing Preparations

I have been cooking all day. Here's the menu for tomorrow's house blessing/cookout.

Layered Pesto Torta with homemade pita chips

Cheese platter/Kalamata olives

Garlic Goat cheese and crackers

Gazpacho Shooters

Grilled/Marinated Chicken and vegetable skewers

Baked beans

Green Salad

Orzo Salad

Broccoli Salad with Bacon and Balsamic dressing (I could eat this forever)

Sangria, lemonade, wine, iced tea, water, coffee

Popsicles

Ice cream cake

Lime Cream Torte

Cookies

Pictures, our candle lighting reading and recipes will be posted over the weekend.

~Bev



A House Blessing

We had a church service auction and our minister auctioned off a House Blessing.

This weekend our family will be blessed.

 We have about 25-30 people coming-all church friends. 

After the House Blessing we will have a cookout and some swimming in the pool.

 I've pulled together my linens for the table and some shish-ka-bob skewers.

 My friend Tracy gave me these canisters.

 I removed the lids and will use them as plastic ware servers.

I also bought lots of candles for the House Blessing Reading, some blue gems to put in water for those that want to speak of blessing in their lives and have purchased a small gift for our minister. She has been an Interim but has blessed us this passed year with her wonderful ministry. The house blessing is this Saturday. I'll be sure to post pictures of the event.

We are so fortunate to have a wonderful UU church community.

The Beehive

I just bought this new iced tea dispenser today.

It's very old fashioned looking and I'm very happy.

Happy 4th of July!

We spent the Fourth of July with some church friends. We shared a meal and dessert first. They live on the water and we were able to go out in their boat and watch the fire works right over the water. What a lovely evening. I never realized how loud fireworks are until you are right under them.
I did manage to forget my camera but had my cellphone. The pictures aren't great and don't really capture the beauty of the explosions.

We left the dock around 8:30 and the sun was just beginning to set. Gorgeous sky and weather.

Wispy Clouds and tangerine sky as the sun set beyond us.

The husband and daughter sat up front. There was much glare from the sunset.

Such beauty.

And the colors were amazing.

Chrysanthemums.

We were very close the barge that lit the fireworks. Did I mention they were loud?

Just Gorgeous. I really wish this one came out clearer.

And this one too. It was like a fountain spray.

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend.

Changes

I am going to be overhauling the blog in content and design. Please excuse while we are under construction.

Lots On My Mind

We spent a week in New Hampshire on a lovely family vacation. I knew before I left that something was wrong health wise again. I'd been feeling awful and had increased generalized pain.



My knee swelled up. Sexy isn't it.

I came home to 4 phone calls on my answering machine. Two from my primary MD and two from my Rheumatologist. My Lyme test was positive again. I immediately burst into tears. I knew it was but you get to a point with chronic lyme that you dismiss symptoms and don't believe what your body is telling you. Please God let it be anything but that.

In August of 2008 I was bit by a tick. In knew I was bit but didn't know how sick it would have made me. Within 3 days I was gravely ill and told I had Erlichiosis but that a 21 day course of Doxycycline would have me fixed up in no time. Well I improved some but by December I was deteriorating further. I had trouble walking and concentrating and couldn't type. I had word finding difficulty and a worsening headache that wouldn't go away and if I worked a night shift as an RN in the ICU, it would take me 3 days to recover. But the headache. Dear God the headache. Symptoms still vary day to day. My arms go numb making driving difficult. My muscles twitch and groan at the slighest exertion. My left eye droops. Sometimes it takes what seems forever to get through one paragraph in a book.

More bloodwork revealed that I also had Babesiosis and I would need IV antibiotics. But I had an anaphylactic reaction to the antibiotics after 5 days and then spent 10 days in the hospital being pumped full of steroids, IV fluids, narcotics. I had MRI's, lumbar punctures and had my gallbladder out.

Since that time it's been an ongoing battle. I've educated myself and despite my doctors believing I have Fibromyalgia, insisted on the Lyme test again. I see a Lyme specialist in a few weeks. Not sure if I am happy about that or just terrified. I have had 5 positive Lyme tests and 3 different tick borne illnesses. There is pain every single day and I walk with a cane. I have word finding difficulty. I'm on permanent disability and have a handicap parking permit. When my disability was approved the relief was great financially but I sat there and stared at the approval and thought, "Congratulations, you're disabled."

People look at me and see how much I do accomplish on a daily basis. I volunteer at my church, in my homeschool group and do a ridiculous amount of things for my family. Yet every single day putting my feet on the floor in the morning is an accomplishment. Shaving my legs is an act of God.

I push myself every single day to accomplish the most basic tasks. I have to. I worry how much damage this freaking vector has done to my body. I wonder if my strength will ever come back or if I will have a day without pain or without some weird symptom wreaking havoc with me.

Yet the CDC insists all my symptoms are in my head. They have set medical protocols that are damaging patients. There is an old Audubon saying, "When the bird and the book disagree, believe the bird." Or maybe it's the "if it quacks like a duck" saying that needs to be recognized.

I take care of myself the best I can. I rest, eat right take the homepathic treatments as well as the antibiotics. Yet somedays even this is futile. I move on because I have to. Because if I give in to this disease, it will swallow me whole. Because each time I give in or let others make a decision for me, I lose a little piece of who I am.

Imagine trying to do just your daily chores. Things like showering, washing dishes, reading the paper, folding laundry, stirring a pot of sauce. No big deal, right? Now try it wearing 50 pounds and with your dominant arm tied behind your back. Not so easy. Oh you may get it done but how tired are you? How much pain are you in? Do you feel good about the job you did? Who had to help you? How did you get that pot of sauce off the stove with one arm? How does the laundry look after folding? Oh but wait, you must also care for 3 kids, pets, clean your home, grocery shop, go to the bank, tend the garden, prepare dinner and follow a recipe. See where I'm going with this?

There is a spoon theory that I like to tell people about. While the woman who wrote it has Lupus and not Lyme disease-it's a great analogy.

I am hoping the Lyme specialist can help. I'm desperately out of spoons.