That's quite a promise! I do believe in my "Bee Balm." I've been making this thick lotion for over ten years now. I use it twice a day as my facial moisturizer; it's also amazing on any dry skin -- elbows, feet, fingers -- anything that suffers in dry, winter weather.
My latest Youtube video is about this Bee Balm.
Beau makes a lovely appearance, as you can see. We chat about the value of natural ingredients in skin care and you learn a bit about my grandmother.
I hope you enjoy! Please do gather ingredients and make this balm at home. You will not regret it. And if you don't have grapefruit essential oil, another oil will do -- lavender is fine. Tea tree would be good too, although not as nice-smelling.
Love to all! Don't forget to "like" and subscribe, if you feel inclined.
Hello, friends! If you are of a certain age close to my certain age, you know how challenging it is to learn new techy stuff. I'm not sure why ... but I decided that my long-neglected "M.K. Christiansen" youtube channel needed an electric jolt to bring it back to life. 😁I've been an amateur youtuber at best -- no bells and whistles on my videos. Well! All that has changed (a bit). Adam downloaded some editing software, and 24 hours (and a headache) later ... TADA! Better, funner videos!
There's pretty intro music, and fades from one clip to the next. 15 minutes of fun in my studio. It almost makes sense! I hope you enjoy it -- a bit of sewing woolen vests, a bit of alpaca fleece (also long-neglected), and a bit of watercolor commentary. There will be more to come.
If you are willing, please go "like" the video. (It's a 'thumb's up' sign under the video.) And if you would, click on the red Subscribe button. It will not pester you at all, but it helps me as I try to revive this little project. Thanks!
How hard is it to turn lemons into lemonade, as they say?
How hard is it to come out of the deep places of suffering, into hope and joy?
Really hard.
A friend recommended three videos from Paul Miller, whom I'd never heard of. He understands the pattern of the Christian's life in a way I'd never seen described before. He calls it the "J-Curve." In the first video, he describes the suffering he and his wife experienced, and how he learned to love her:
The next two videos were chapel messages given at Covenant College, my alma mater. I cried as I watched this next video. I've always struggled with this Bible verse: "That I may know Jesus, and the power of His resurrection, and join in the fellowship of His suffering, and be conformed to His death." I didn't understand how my suffering could mystically be joined with His suffering -- how did that work? But I felt certain that if I didn't understand how to do that, my own repeated sufferings in life were not going to have the effect God wanted them to -- that I would be left swirling in a repeated whirlwind of suffering and not understanding why. Paul Miller seems like a humble man. Rather, he is a humbled man, who has lived this pattern of mini-deaths and recovering redemptions (or resurrections -- whatever you want to call the upward swing). He can tell me how to do it, because I want that. I have been pummeled by recurring suffering too often in life, and this last round in the boxing ring with Mr. Suffering during Adam's illness has nearly done me in.
This third video is excellent. He digs a bit more into how many Christians have zero understanding about the gift of suffering, so they live in the opposite, horrible pattern: the Failure/Boasting chart. If you've suffered, and also been beat up by the church when you are down in the pit of it, this video is for you. If you feel church leadership is more of a power structure, with hardly any compassion for the downhearted, this video is for you.
My old self is wondering if I will have success implementing his message -- that would be thinking in the Failure/Boasting model. It's not about "success." I think it's more about prayer. As he says, the moment when you are weeping and begging God for help, pleading Him to hear and intervene in your deep suffering, that is the moment when you are in the Garden with Jesus, and understand a little piece of His suffering. I need more of that kind of prayer. I want to receive my past sufferings as gifts from God rather than painful history to be rehearsed and hated. I hope these messages are as encouraging to you as they've been to me. Much love, dear friends.
Like us, some of you are cooped up at home for the duration of the Coronavirus event. I hope you're doing more than watching your various screen devices, but we will all need entertaining things to watch in the coming weeks or months. (Oh, let's hope it's not months!) Anyway, here are a few few suggestions, things we've been watching lately: 1. The Famous Five -- on Youtube. This kids' TV show from the 1970s is just fun and slightly adventurous. They get into scrapes, and then get themselves out. 2. Liziqi -- on Youtube. A young Chinese woman has the most gorgeous channel with so many videos of her farming, building, sewing, gardening, and especially cooking. Relaxing background music, plus meals with her elderly grandma. This is relaxation! 3. James Townsend -- on Youtube. Adam loves this fellow's videos. He's a history buff with elegant shows. He cooks authentic early American food. Adam even bought Townsend's version of Ben Franklin's eyeglasses! 4. What's Cookin'? -- on Youtube. I love this series of cooking-from-around-the-world videos in English. The music is delightful, and the culture is enriching. I may have recommended them before. 5. Jeri Landers of Hopalong Hollow - on Youtube. Do you love felting, richly illustrated children's books, herbs, gardens, and other comforting homey things? Jeri is amazing. You'll find her little art cottage a cozy, comforting place to visit. 6. Dr. Westbury - on Youtube, a lot of videos of gorgeous music sung by Cathedral choirs. Very beautiful, very British. 7. English Heritage - on Youtube. English Heritage has an amazing Youtube channel. Homes Through History, What Was Life Like?, and other great playlists to explore. 8. The Repair Shop - on Netflix. A group of restoration experts welcome challenging projects from Brits, family heirlooms that need tender fixing. 9. If you have yet to see The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society movie, or read the book, you should probably do it now.
We've watched lots of other things, many of them rather indifferent, and some that I can't remember! But these will give you some interesting choices. Today, I also: *cleaned two crystal candle chandeliers that sit atop my piano, *wrote to our Compassion children in Africa, *sent a package to a friend in a hard-hit virus city, *played the piano and sang and made a youtube, *planted peas *took a nap I still plan to: *make 1/2 of a cake. We don't need a whole cake in the house! *edit a chapter in my book. Maybe. Maybe not ... *go into the garden. It's been so rainy! I hope your time of enforced being-at-home is a joy to you in many ways. See it as an opportunity to enrich your home life, not an opportunity to worry or be frustrated. And for all of you who cannot stay home, who must go out, God go with you and protect you! It's a nasty virus, but still just a virus after all, and many of us will get sick regardless of how careful we are. It's all about how we behave in the middle of it, right? If staying home saves the life of, or the health of, only a single other person, or assists our healthcare professionals as their work load becomes heavier, then I'm glad to stay home. How thankful I am that I have four acres to walk around on, and not just a balcony in a high rise apartment! And I'm thankful for all of you, dear friends out there. Let's all share our love and comfort in the coming weeks and remember that it's a BIG world, and God is in all of it.
Hi, everybody! Yes, I'm still here. Granny Marigold said she's enjoying the story but misses knowing what we're up to. "Surviving Summer" about sums it up -- does that sound whiny enough? Haha! (You might want a cuppa. This could take a while.) Books: After the John Masefield books, I read this one:
Also a beloved English children's book, I did enjoy the story. But something about Aiken's voice was too pedantic and predictable. Plus, something was lacking. Now I've moved on to this delightful English children's book:
This one is better. Ransome is perfection itself in entering that realm that Adam and I call "kid world." He understands it and has the children speak and live it. He said of the book, "I could not help writing it. It almost wrote itself." You can tell. It's a delight, a summer story about four siblings who explore a lake and its islands on their little sailboat.
Both books are adventure books, a genre that most children enjoy. I've discovered though, that in order to connect with a children's book -- to have it enter my soul and never leave -- it must be a book of magic at some level. I don't like wicked magic, nor lots of sorcery, etc. But I love reading about children who understand better than the adults around them that there's a spiritual world, a world of supernatural realities around us that affect us and that we affect. Call it magic, or call it what you will, but that, in a book, draws me in. Next I'll be rereading this gem, and getting a good dose of adventure and magic both:
What else have we been doing? Perhaps this little ditty of a poem will express my feelings:
When, in August, I am overcome
with the sun's anxiety
and the heat's depression,
I remind myself it is the season
of sadness for me,
of worry for me.
I remember then burrowing my hands into soil in the greenhouse
in February,
~ my season of happiness ~
when little bubbles of joy
rise unexpectedly within,
when the cool air and rain splattering
and promise of snow
make my body sing.
I can just hear some of you shaking your heads in despair and muttering, "She's a lunatic." Haha!
What does a heat-hater do in August? She sits on the couch with her knitting ...
Infinity scarf to sell at the market
... and watches Netflix and Amazon Prime movies and TV shows (Thank you, you-know-who!!) Here's what I've been watching recently:
Horatio Hornblower (show) ****
An Inspector Calls (movie) ****
I Capture the Castle (movie) ***
The Treasure Seekers (movie) ****
The Durrells in Corfu (show) ****
We'll Meet Again (show) ***
Enemy at the Door (show) ****
Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
(movie) *****
(Those are my "star" ratings.) That last one I watched yesterday afternoon, and I will certainly watch it again soon. It merits two viewings. Plus, we went to the cinema for our anniversary date and saw Christopher Robin, which was quite good. Adam wants to see it again sometime. Adam and I have very different preferences in screen entertainment. I can watch sadder things than he can. I can't tolerate some of the silly, goofy things he enjoys. Our go-to evening date show is reruns of Star Trek, Next Generation. It reminds us of our newlywed days.
Adam baked apple fritters this morning to take to a friend.
I nibbled a couple with a glass of milk.
If you like tips about good TV shows to watch, here's one: BBC's "Victorian Farm." It's on Youtube (free!!), is interesting and educational and well-made. Imagine those old U.S. Frontier House or Pioneer House shows, except minus all the petty drama, with professionals who know what they're doing, and best of all ... British accents.
Two men and one woman, all experts on Victorian farm life, spend a year rebuilding a Victorian farm and all its work.
Today I've painted a little --
And I baked cookies. I've taken great liberties with my mother's Oatmeal Cookie recipe. I suppose I'd call mine Oatmeal-and-Friends Cookies.
Perhaps it's yummiest just like this.
I prefer a chewy cookie with lots of texture, and as much as possible, a healthier cookie. I'm enjoying a couple with my late-morning tea.
Here's the recipe, with my changes: 2 cups oatmeal 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. cinnamon 1/3 cup sugar 1/3 cup brown sugar 1 cup of golden raisins and dried cranberries in whatever proportions you like Mix these ingredients in your stand mixer until the fruit is coated. Then add: 2 large eggs 2 Tbl. honey 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1/2 cup of butter/oil. (I prefer butter, so I use 1/3 cup of butter and 2 Tbl. veg. oil.) 1 cup of chocolate chips (or however much you like) -- I prefer a mix of milk chocolate and semi-sweet. Mix well. Put on ungreased cookie sheets in rounds and flatten a little. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until golden brown. I cut down the sugar in this recipe to the bare minimum, but sweetness is added from the honey, raisins, and chocolate chips. There's much complexity of flavor and texture in these cookies. I did a little knitting this morning too. And in addition to binge watching "Victorian Farm," I made a little video for you all. Granny Marigold asked for a bit more info about drying herbs for tea, so here it is!
There's also info on the video about the scarf pattern I'm knitting and the homemade lotion I use. Thanks for visiting, friends. Our weather is improving today. Adam is whacking away outside. And guess what? I have a broody hen again! Yes, I do!! She drifted into that comatose state a couple of days ago and has spread herself out over some eggs in the nesting box, bless her heart. Her name's Sylvie, and she's half silkie.
If anybody is wanting to watch, here are some of the videos I've done recently. Just today, I took us on a little tour of my yarn stash, plus a look at the rigid heddle of my loom and a talk about what yarns work well with it. (Perhaps I should take a vow of no-more-yarn-purchases for the rest of the year? I probably have enough for the rest of my life.)
Before that, I videotaped (why do we still say that, if there's no tape involved?) myself weaving a bluish scarf. I wasn't planning to be in the video, but it ended up that way.
Before that, I showed the yarns I was choosing for that weave, plus some other items in my studio, including lemon balm and mint, hanging to dry for tea.
I don't want to bore anyone to tears with my videos and chatting, but if you enjoy them, I'm glad. I find some Youtube folks to be quite calming and nice to listen to, while I'm doing other crafty things. It's almost like having another crafty/yarny person there with you, instead of knitting alone :) Oh -- and if you enjoy it, please click "subscribe." I think you will get an email when I post a new video. But only if you want to. I think I enjoy making these videos because I used to be a teacher and I'm used to hearing myself jabber on to a captive audience! The drying herbs have come down off their string. The tea tree soap has been labeled and boxed for market. Recently I also took a twin bed sheet (from the thrift store, $2), and cut it down and re-stitched it to make a new tablecloth for my market table. The sheet had elastic all the way around, so *hopefully* it will not blow up or blow off on windy days. And last night I repaired a big L-shaped rip in our bottom bed sheet. I am thankful I know how to sew. We continue with soggy, cold weather. It does not feel like spring. Adam works outside when it's not raining, but he ends up achy and needing a hot bath. My plant starts in the greenhouse are fine. No carrots up yet. He planted a Rose of Sharon bush on the farm, that a friend gave to us.
And look what came in the mail! My daughter is having a bridal shower. I'll be driving there (a long trip, for me) and meeting everyone, later this month. That's the next big to-do!
I spent much time today in my studio, enjoying the quiet.
This fine fellow appeared at my bird feeder in early evening. I have several pairs of cardinals who frequent our back yard.
I shared this apple blossom before. God's handiwork is perfect.
I didn't intend to duplicate His art, but to involve myself in its beauty -- to paint it is to participate in it, to study its beauty more closely than just to observe it. I left the flower white and began with the background.
I liked it at this stage, but like most of my watercoloring, it seemed pale an insipid.
So I outlined it using colored pencils. I think I did not improve it at all, rather the reverse.
Our church is having a Seder Supper this week (Thursday, 6:00, all are invited), and today Adam made the matzos -- the unleavened bread served with this special meal. I did a video of the cooking.
I had a couple of them with my dinner of pasta and red sauce -- made from my canned tomatoes from last summer, and with herbs snipped from the garden this evening.
When I returned from a friend's house, Trixie was so excited to see me that she gave me a little scratch. It reddened and swelled up. Scratches from pets' claws often itch and feel irritated.
Immediately I applied some of my Healing Herb Ointment. I like to experiment on myself, haha :)
the scratch at 4:15,
immediately after scratched
the scratch at 5:15, an hour later
Below, the scratch at 7:00. The swelling is gone, and the redness nearly gone.
I'm very pleased with it. I gave a tub of it to an elderly friend with a bad skin rash that the doctors have been unable to treat. He enthusiastically told me that it has relieved the itch and improved his skin. That makes me happy too. I'm betting by tomorrow morning my scratch will have disappeared. (Update, the next morning:
I also made a Youtube video today while I combed and dizzed some alpaca fiber, just combing and chatting. I'm not sure if these videos are appealing or not, but if they're only good so that Adam can listen to my voice after I'm dead and gone, it's okay. I enjoy listening to a lady Youtuber who combs fleece, so maybe others will enjoy this video too: "Combing Fleece, Talking Peace"
I stay in my studio some days because it's peaceful. Peace of the body, peace of the mind, peace of the spirit -- I think they are intertwined in complex ways. Combing fleece doesn't give a peaceful spirit, but it's a little step. It gives me time -- to think, to pray, to consider others and their needs, to consider God and His plans, to remember my own life, my choices, the successes and mistakes. When I'm busy with activities that stress and deplete me, the thinking doesn't happen and the peace doesn't come. Peace to you, dear friends.
I'm tuckered out! Today I mailed off one shawl/scarf, and started a second one on my loom. I also made a batch of luscious lavender soap. Watch along with me on a video tour through the house, doing creative things:
Well! Here's the soap, poured safely into its molds:
The new shawl/scarf is coming along nicely. How did all those crazy yarns do, together?
That fuchsia-purple really jumps out. Overall, the weave has a pale green tone, and the pale orange and pinks do well. I'm pleased. Will I finish it tomorrow in time to take it to the market on Saturday? I call it a shawl/scarf because it can be worn over the shoulders, like so: That's the one I mailed off to a friend this morning. It's 10-and-a-half inches wide, enough to drape over the shoulders. The new one is 12" wide. You can also double it, and put the ends through the loop, like so:
And ... it's a scarf :) I used some of the same ideas in that piece -- a stripe of black, tones of pink and green, some silver bling.
The soap is curing, and I'm headed for a nice soak in a hot tub of water. Oh -- on the video, I mentioned that Adam was making something today, and my brain got side-tracked, and I didn't tell you what he was making. He made me a wind-chime! I found this website as a guide. Adam had some old copper piping in the barn.
It's not quite finished. He needs to retie those strings, and put back on one pipe. I think I'll paint/color all the wood. I love the sound of wind chimes! It will add so much to the feel I want in our home. And he only spent 53 cents on it; nearly everything was here on the farm. Cheerio, folks! Off to the bath tub!
I'll start out with the video tour I made yesterday of our herb garden and other yard interests. I posted this video on my farm blog, but some of you might have missed it there. It's my very first "vlog"!! I now have a Youtube channel! (I apologize for not always keeping the video on target - I was too worried about the microphone and audio. I'll get better!)
Our yard/farm is a mucky mess right now. We're only a few feet above sea level, so any good night of rain leaves us with big puddles. Adam and I went to a new flea market last Saturday, across the Neuse River in Newport. It's a big outdoor/indoor flea mall.
So much stuff! And so many people who get up early to rummage around in all the stuff :) It was fun to watch. Below you see some of my wares and other vendors' tables in the background.
It was fun to have so many customers, crowds milling about. I do hate to leave the Oriental Farmers' Market, but to be honest, the customers just don't come anymore - it makes me sad. I love Oriental, but I can't spend every Saturday morning staring at empty Hodges Street :( We vendors don't really know why the market there has changed, but it certainly has. We rose at 5:40 a.m. on Saturday to make the ferry across the river, to arrive at the Newport market and set up before 8:00 a.m. I don't enjoy that early bit either, haha! But Adam will come too each week, so we get to be together, which makes it all worthwhile. Sales were good for a first week. We'll go back and settle in there, and any week I can't seem to make it across the river, I'll hopefully tack myself onto the Oriental market again, if there's room. I sold this shawl:
Now I'm making a new one for this Saturday's market:
Hopefully today I'll sew a little apron/pouch for the market to put around my waist for keeping my money in. I've needed one -- here's the remnant of fabric I plan to use:
This is today's light lunch.
A zippy Honey Crisp apple and some natural, chunky peanut butter - yummy combo! Adam taught me how to cut an apple into pieces without having to awkwardly carve the core out of each section -- just cut around the core, instead of through it. Does that make sense? One of these days I'll do a quickie video about cutting an apple - haha! I hope you have a peaceful day. I'm spending my day in my studio, doing little things like painting/weaving/sewing/soap business. I'll also practice the piano a bit for the coming Easter season. Doing laundry too. It's cold and rainy outdoors ... still ... and we wait still for warm days to dig in the soil.
