Whirlwind and Great News

I know, it has been a while.  Since the last time we blogged, Grace started a 40 hr/week class, we had a flood, Feast of Tabernacles and all the other life happenings haven't stopped either.  It's been so wonderful!  Not much time for blogging however.  Let's start this off with the good news...


Lynay-s is a featured local artist in the Silver Moon Gallery at Park City Mall (Lancaster, PA). Check out the store's website:  www.thesilvermoongallery.com

We currently have four pendants on display, and will be delivering many more within the next few weeks.    It's a great blessing to be on display with such fine artists local and national, we couldn't be more thankful!  If you're at Park City sometime soon, make sure to stop in and find our stuff!  You'll see our business card beside our display.

Feast of Tabernacles was a blast.  It was so uplifting, inspiring and full of the Great Spirit!  I've never felt anything like it in any years previously.  We were overwhelmed with joy and blessings.  Mike and I were the youth leaders for ages 12+ and had 27-30 kids in our group.  It was a handful, but so fun!  Pictures soon...

 Hurricane Lee dumped 10-20 inches of rain on Lancaster County.  We are already WAY over our records for this year and are forecasted to get 6-12 inches of SNOW TONIGHT...Before November 1st!  I've been warning our snow crew of a wet and blizzardy winter.  Now they'll see why.  The tides off the coast of Washington and California predict it perfectly every year.  Back to Lee, however... 

A few feet of water in the basement, lost a lot of stuff, but haven't felt better!  We can fit all our possessions in the van now.  It is so liberating!!!

We were blessed to receive funding for a new guitar from our fellowship family and gifts from friends and family as well.  The love of the Father truly provides. The insurance covered the house's heating system. 


It took me a while to write this, it is now snowing and coming down at around an inch an hour.  A baseball sized snowflake just fell on our windshield!  Going down to Smoketown because Mike is on call tonight and we want to be ready to bunk before the roads get super bad.  Already have over an inch and it looks like it may be 6-11 more inches.  Again, NOT EVEN NOVEMBER YET.  :)

Peace, Love, lynays
Grace

More later

 We love fermented foods.  If you don't know anything about it, it's the natural and original way to pickle things.  True sauerkraut is lacto-fermented, NOT pasteurized and soaked in vinegar.  The difference is an amazingly healthy antibiotic, probiotic and health tonic vs. a sodium loaded junk food.  Check out this link if you want to know more about the history.  Lacto-Fermentation

 Here we are washing jars.  Got them super cheap at our local MCC (Mennonite Central Committee) thrift store. 

 Here are lids, cherry tomatoes from the garden and free cucumbers from our Amish raw milk suppliers.

 I put all the tomatoes into boiling water and immediately removed them directly into ice water.  This keeps the nutrients and causes the skin to separate from the tomato.  Dip out the tomato, peel the skin, place pulp in green bowl and skin in white for compost.

 As described above.

 Skins!

 Pulp.

 Tomatoes in ice water.

 Just one of the three bowls of our tomato harvest that we fermented.  I've got 3 more bowls to ferment today.

 Ugly cucumbers.

 Here is the end result of our salsa.  Make sure tomatoes are cup up really good, add in onion, garlic, some green pepper, a little salt, whey (left over from making yogurt), tons of HOT PEPPERS and cover tight.  This is THE BEST hot salsa I've ever had!  Great thing is, 1.  It's raw.  2.  It's a probiotic.  3.  It is really hot and spicy.  4.  It's almost completely free!!! (Just maybe a penny for each jar (the salt and whey byproduct from making yogurt)).  5.  It is super fast and easy.

WHEY

 Cucumbers in water and whey/salt/spices.

 8 jars of cucumbers, 6 jars of kickin salsa

 Sauerkraut:

 Add cabbage, cardamom seeds and whey and salt.  Mash (by hand) for a while till there's a lot of juice.

 Cabbage is incredibly juicy when bruised.  Who knew?

 There was tons of juice.

 Then just put it into jars and let sit.

2 hours worth of work, $1.50 worth of materials, enough health food to last a family 6 months.  This will KILL colds, flus, stomach ailments, any sickness or candidas.  This will give you energy, fix your intestines, stomach, colon with beneficial bacteria, thus healing your body.  Great for many many ailments.  It's a no brainer!

Water Can Zine Issue 1 Release

Here is the first ever issue of THE WATER CAN, a lynays quarterly zine.  To subscribe or to subscribe for someone you know, to the snail mail version, please send an email to lynays.give  @  gmail.com with name/address and preferably either a phone or email. We would gladly send one.

Pages 1 and 2
Pages 3 and 4

Enjoy!

Homemade Laundry Detergent

 We tried this recipe on www.hillbillyhousewife.com (CLICK HERE FOR RECIPE)  to make our own liquid laundry soap.  The articles I've read on numerous websites report that this method only costs 2 cents per load, whereas even the worst and cheapest detergent at most stores averages at 9 cents per load.  This is pretty substantial in my mind so I had to try it.

Here is the grating of the soap (I didn't use Fels Naptha because I wanted to try a local soap first).

 Here is the mixture heating and the ingredients minus the bar soap (in the pot).  I got the washing soda and borax at our local grocery store.

Here it is cooling.

RESULTS:

The process took a total of 10 minutes to make 2.5 gallons.  It was cheap, easy, and we are now through with the 2.5 gallons of laundry soap.  It worked TERRIFIC on all our clothes including the diapers.  I will never buy soap again.  This is easy and cheap and smells GREAT.



Next post...our new concentrated powdered version of homemade laundry detergent.

What Season?

Lately, (since August 1st) it's felt like September!  The summer seems to be running away very fast and the last few weeks have been temperate, windy, rainy, overcast.  It's a real phenomenon in my life experience.  As a tribute to the coming fall, I've put a picture of a cappuccino from scratch that we (famously and) regularly make here.  If you happen to be here and are curious, just ask and we'll whip one up for you:

That's Nutmeg sprinkled on the top of frothy steamed RAW Jersey milk and espresso (chocolate too) in a vintage Japanese made beer stein.  

They are so good.

ONTO MORE HEALTHY THINGS:

 And since "flu season" is coming, here's a simple home herbal tea to mix up.  It will cure colds, congestion, coughs, aches, pains, stomach ailments etc.  etc.  And almost all the ingredients should already be in your spice cabinet.   Just find the ones that you have, throw a tea together and feel better almost instantly:

1 Part Oregano (incredibly effective cold and flu remedy, intrigues the immune system promoting health and vitality)
1 Part Thyme (again, an amazing remedy for all things cold and flu, as above)
1-2 Parts Peppermint, Spearmint or Wintergreen Leaves (In case you didn't know, mint is an incredible plant.  We use it as a tea internally, also in a bath or rubbing a drop or two of the oil externally to remedy everything from aches, pains, headaches, anxiety, sleeplessness, sore throats, swollen glands, congested lungs, congested sinuses, allergies, etc.)  You can find it in most meadows, along side (relatively non polluted roadsides for health reasons) roads, in streams, on wet banks in the sun, etc. and pick, replant at your house or dry for year round use.

1 Part Ginger (Stomach ailments, good for the immune system, tastes good, sweetens teas, etc.)
Pinch of Cinnamon, Fennel Seeds or Aniseed (as a natural sweetener and cure all stomach ailments, lack of energy, immune booster)

You can always use Echinacea leaves or roots, home-ground Black Pepper, Cayenne Pepper, Lemon Peel or Lemon Juice, Onions, Horseradish, Garlic (or Garlic Powder), Sage and many more for all sorts of ailments.  


TEA RECIPE:  I boil water, then pour it over my herbs (in a mason jar on a very warm surface) to fill the jar, wrap in a towel and cover tightly with a lid keeping the essential healing oils in.  Let sit for 10 to 30 minutes in the warm place.  You can strain the herbs.  I take them internally because I don't want to waste any nutrients, but you don't have to.  


For pulling congestion or infection out of the body through the skin (from a localized area like the lungs or an internal ailment), don't forget about potatoes or mustard!  Slice or grate potatoes, pack onto skin, cover with a towel, bandage or ace bandage (hot is good, but it can be room temperature) and let it sit as long as you can.  Potatoes will pull any infection right through the skin.  I used it for mastitis and an abscess and it really really worked!  It burned, because the infection was bad, but it worked better than anything.  The fever decreased within an hour of application and continued to fall over a few hours.

For mustard, make sure you don't put it directly on the skin (for ground mustard powder made into a hot paste).  Fold the hot paste between a piece of fabric and apply to skin for 1 minute.  Then take off and wait a bit.  Repeat if necessary after an hour or so.  For regular mustard, heat it and rub it right in.  Put a hot towel over it.  Rest for a LITTLE WHILE like 15 minutes.  Rinse.  Reapply every hour until you start getting substantial relief.  Use topical remedies in conjunction with soothing effective internal ones.

Hope no one gets sick, but the seasons are changing and that's when my body is tested the most.

Love,
Grace

Cherry Tomato Harvest and Snack

 When our cherry tomatoes first came up, we were dying to have some fresh fruit of the summer.  We ran up to the grocery and got some pumpernickel bagels and made these awesome and nutritious snacks!

Immunobooster Snack:

Pumpernickel Bagels
Toast + Smear with whipped dill cream cheese (whip cream cheese, add fresh dill, herbs and celtic sea salt)  (or Greek Yogurt)  + Place Halved cherry tomatoes on top + Add diced garlic and a smidge of Celtic Sea Salt

AND

VOILA= an awesome snack that tastes good, is potent and perfectly in season.