Carrots! Yum!

Back in April, I posted about planting carrots. Sunday, we enjoyed the fruits (two of them in fact, well, I guess the roots) of the harvest!

Molly was so incredibly excited. The Little Finger carrots seem about perfect size. The Atomic Purples are still a little short and thin, even though the plan was to harvest them small. I suppose that's a good thing, because apparently Molly keeps checking which one she's pulling, and recovers it if it's a purple, because she claims she likes the orange better. She sure ate the purple, and its greens, like it was going out of style!

I have to say, the raised box of carrots has been wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. It took some time to mix up the soil mix we used (peat, a couple of types of compost, some vermiculite) but we have had absolutely no maintenance to do. Molly watered on a daily basis in the beginning when it didn't rain, and about every other day once they got to decent size. And by "watering" I mean she filled up a small watering can, squatted down, and poured it around the box haphazardly while she chatted with the plants. No weeding. No stressing. Oh, and harvesting? Yeah, we followed the greens to a root, she used her little index finger to loosen the soil around the top (mostly to check the color), and we gently tugged to pull them out. Rinsed off in hose water, munched right there. If you look closely on the purple carrot, it has already had a bite taken off of it.

I'm already working on deciding how to set up raised beds over than whole section of yard for next spring. We'll also probably plant some carrots for fall in this bed once it's fully harvested, as well as a second we'll make and put right next to it.

Yay carrots!

Running away to friends.

Tomorrow I'm heading to Indiana to the Higher Things conference at Purdue. I'm not officially going to participate, but I have a little favor I''m doing for a friend Friday and Saturday, so going up there early to be able to visit with friends was just too wonderful to pass up.

I miss people. It's hard living out in the country. I love my husband, and it's been really nice that we've actually been able to get away together several hours every now and then. Sunday afternoon we went on a hot date to Aldi, Kroger, and Starbucks. Mock if you wish, but Michael's needs made it hard to get away until he got to a certain level of independence (in a lot of ways, it's the difference between a 2 year old and a 4 year old), as well as Molly and Alexis maturing.

But getting back to missing people. Yeah. It's hard not having friends around here. When we went to Louisiana back in March, I made some decisions that brought about some changes, and they apparently aligned with others' decisions about changes regarding me as well, so instead of easing back and protecting myself, I found myself rather blowing out in the wind. And that's okay. It's really for the best. It just wasn't expected. Then again, is anything ever?

So, this week I see friends and extended family at HT at Purdue. I get a couple of nights (maybe alone, maybe with a friend or two, depending on their circumstances) in a hotel with a pool. I get to hang out with an extra day with a really cool kid before he takes off to the other side of the world (and get another night in a hotel room with him and Alexis). Hopefully I can ride the happy wave for a while, then come home and do some cleaning and organizing, because August will be a busy month. Two of my dearest friends will be visiting at separate times through the month. Oh, and we can't forget the local town picnic the last weekend of July to kick this all off. I also will be turning 41, but I'm sure that's an observation for another day.

I can't wait to be around people I love who love me in return that aren't my immediate family. That makes for a happy Faith.

Happy as the Arch under a blue sky with puffy clouds.

Howdy Stranger.

It's been a while since I posted. It's been a rough month. Let's correct that: It's been a rough several months. There have been a lot of changes happening here, and while ultimately they are all for the best, they still bring growing pains. I don't like growing pains. Really.

This past week I've tried to stay lower carb than I had been. I finally started feeling rather decent. Yesterday I blew that with a couple of huge iced drinks from Starbucks and some fries at Red Robin. But that's okay. On a whole-week basis, the difference is huge.

I went for a walk this week. I stayed home for 8 days. Okay, that may not sound good, but for me, it is. Normally I find excuses to leave home strictly because my anxiety levels are maxing out. I did have to miss the graduation ceremony and party for some dear young friends, but that was because I was feeling rather sick last Saturday... sadly, likely my blood sugar going nuts from too much junk food and not enough protein. Yesterday I went to the St. Louis Arch and took pictures of strangers. Stalking people is amusing. And I've found that no matter the age, nationality, race, sex, etc., nearly everyone acts the same at the Arch. It was amusing, and enlightening.

I was lucky enough that a little two year old saw me aiming my camera at her, and came running to me. Her dad let me take a gazillion pictures of her while they were waiting for her mommy. Unfortunately, the light had changed and I didn't adjust my camera settings, so they were grainy and blurry. Some were salvageable, however, and I hope they like them (dad gave me his email address). And when I came to the computer this morning, I found that I had inadvertently taken a picture of the two of them earlier. So, here's that picture (as it doesn't reveal their identity), and a spare.

Some photo progress.

I'm getting a little bit better handle on this camera thing. Yesterday was the local Homeschool Prom, and they have a tradition of taking pictures outside in the late afternoon before heading to dinner then the dance. Last year, I took a ton of pictures, and very few were usable without hefty editing. This year, a good 80% or more were sharp as a tack, and didn't need as much cropping. So, I'm getting the concept of working in natural light down a bit better, as well as framing on the first shot rather than taking a larger scene and hoping that there's a usable crop in there somewhere.

I don't want to post anything here without the permission of the other kids' parents, so I'll just throw in one of the solo shots of Alexis, unedited. No color fixes, no sharpening, no cropping, nothing, just SOOC. Tada!

My baby!!

Next weekend, a nearby small town is having a local festival. I'm tempted to go and shoot pictures of random people. I need to get over my feeling that I'm creeping people out by aiming a camera at them. Well, maybe I am creeping them out. Still, it would be good practice. We'll see.

Evil Gluten

I was glutened earlier this week. Normally by now I'd be feeling mostly normal. Alas, that is not the case this time. I'm not sure if it's because I've been pushing myself rather than resting, if I've been carbing it up more than usual, or if this particular poisoning was just so bad combined with the length of time I've been GF (I haven't had more than what I assume are ridiculously tiny traces only a few times since Christmas).

Serious brain fog. Electrical zaps to nerves. Low energy (but I've pushed through to go to the zoo in St. Louis, as well as spend a day outside working in the yard). Anxiety out the wazoo.

I'm really just putting this here as a record. Not looking for sympathy, or suggestions. I'm just frustrated that just when I really thought I had a handle on this thing, I had to go and screw up by eating at a restaurant without making my needs known. Never again. Ugh.

Playing.

My dear mother- and father-in-law are visiting for a week or two. Today they played outside with the kids, and I was able to get a few pics of the little brats that actually turned out okay. I LOVE the smile on Michael's face, but I have that horrible merge with the playset ring. Bah!!!

Warrior Girl

Smiling!

When did she grow up?

Understanding.

Really, I don't understand people. In the last two weeks, I've seen a side of someone that has been dear to me that, honestly?, I wouldn't wish on an enemy. I've watched, endured, the slow, painful death of a friendship. And I've taken it mostly in stride.

My husband has been wonderful. He has encouraged me to trust myself. He's let me wander in my own emotions on this. And while he could totally put his foot down about all of this, he hasn't. He has absolutely been my rock.

On the flip side, I was contacted by someone who had been a source of much pain over the years, nearly a decade's worth, with some very appreciated words of reconciliation. While I forgave long ago, it was nice to hear.

I don't think I'll ever understand people. Somehow I thought that surrounding myself with certain types of people would protect me, somehow. In my mind, the pain of the past was such a burden, something to be forgotten, buried, and my future was so full of people who helped heal.

Yeah. I was wrong about that. And yes, while parts of the past are best left dead and buried, I'm beginning to see that there are things in my present that need to lie with them. There are people in my life now just as poisonous to me as anything from my previous struggles.

Perhaps that phone call was as much for me as it was for him. It showed that I really can let some things go. Love, even just - or maybe especially - friendship, doesn't mean I have to be some masochistic martyr. While I can be called to love someone through their misery, it doesn't mean I have to allow myself to be abused.

Man, it really sucks when you wake up and realize that yes, people can suck, but you have no one to blame but yourself if you don't walk away.

This is gonna suck.