New Life For An Old Mantle

 
I can't believe that it has been two months since my last blog post... Life has  been busy here on the farm and with work, so with whatever time has been left has gone to my husband and kids.  We have added 2 heritage breed pigs to the list of animals on the farm, bred the goats and are waiting for babies around mid June, and lost one of our beloved dogs. When I don't have a paint brush in my hand, more than likely it's a feed bucket, and when I'm not cover in paint I'm probably covered in dirt from outside.  I am happy beyond words with my life right now, and am afraid to blink as it might go away.

Ok, so you know I've been busy, which also means that I have not had much time to work on my own house.  I'm pretty happy with the main floor, so my foucus has shifted to the upstairs, specifically the master bedroom. I always see the finished look in my head before I start a room, and until I get all of the key pieces on hand I tend to hold off on decorating a space until I find the piec that is my jumping offf point, then I am able to pull it all together pretty quickly.

When we first looked at our house before we bought it, I knew that the master bedroom would be a bit of a challenge to decorate.  Since the house was built in 1895, at a time when people used armoires not closets, we lucked out because the porch off the bedroom had already been converted to a generous walk in closet and master bath.  Since we have the closet, we only really need one dresser in the room,  and ours fit nicely in to the bay window.  There is an awkward wall, not long enough for the dressser, and since it leads to the bathroom, can only accomidate a shallow piece.  Of course, the romantic in me wanted a mantle on the wall, not only because it provides an area for display, but would also add some old charm to the now new bedroom.

I hunted for months while out buying for the shop, and finally found me that was not too long and not too tall.  Finally, last week I saw her in an antique store in my town, and loaded her up and brought her home.  One of the nicest things about this mantle is that the back trim  pieces were cut to accomidate the moulding in the room.  Hanging the mantel was easy.  It could be propped up, and I've done that before in a room, but with animals and being that it's on what I wam our cnsider to be a  well traveled path in the room, I wanted it to be secured.  I purchased 2, 100 pound picture hooks, as well as 2, 100 pound D rings.  The mantle only weighs about 50 pounds so I am pretty sure it will be ok.

After attaching the 2 D rings to the back side of the mantle, I measured up the wall and attached the two picture hooks to the wall.  After all of the hardware was on, I simply moved the mantle back, slipped the ring on the hook, and callled it done! Now, if my mantle had not had the notch cut out to accomidate the moulding, it still would have been okay using the hardware I did, it just would have protruded from the wall a bit more.  Once I had the mantle in place, the headboard was next on my radar.  That went up the next day, and will be in my next blog post.

I hope you have an inspiring day, and don't forget to stop and smell the roses once in a while!

Cheers!
Joanne

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Healthy New Year!

Everyone always says "Happy New Year", but I think I want to say "Healthy New Year" instead.  I know this is the time of year that everyone is resolving to eat healthier, lose 10 pounds, and exercise more. I have not made a resolution , per se, but a commitment to myself to listen to my body, slow down when I need to, speed up when I should, and get back to healthy , cleaner eating.

A few years ago I felt meisrable.  I was bloated, lethargic,  and had gained about 10 pounds.  Several doctors visits later, it was revealed that I had something called EOE, which basically is an allergic reaction in the esophagus.  After allergy testing we further discovered that I was allergic to basically every thing in the environment, as well as several  foods.  This was really great to find out because then I could eliminate those foods from my diet.  The problem was that there are so many that I basically had to pick and choose what was eliminated based upon how they made me feel.

At the very top of the list, scoring higher than anything else was yeast.  Eliminating yeast is really, really hard! We know it's in bread, so that's easy, even though I was a sour dough bread addict, but it's in just about everything you don't expect! Salad dressing, crackers, ketchup, and the list goes on.  Also right  up there for me  are: avocados, bananas, strawberries, cherries, peaches, tomatoes and  green peppers. The bananas, avocados, strawberries, and peaches I avoid like the plague because they cause an anaphylactic reaction that lands me in the hospital.

When I got the EOE diagnosis I immediately changed the way I ate, and immediately felt better.  I read every label, avoided everything with yeast, and ate super healthy.  I lost the 10 pounds, and over all felt 100% better. I kept this going for a good year or so, and then fell off the wagon so to speak, by working a few of the things that make me feel so horrible back in.  It was kind of like a bad co dependent relationship.  I could live without them, but wanted to try to make it work.


So what led me back to the occasional slice of pizza , the regular twice weekly serving of a tomato based meal? Laziness. I have no excuse other than laziness.  I could say it was because of work , being to busy, not having enough time, but that would just be an excuse.  Not only have I gained the 10 pounds back, but I feel horrible again.  I don't need to search for answers about how to feel better, because I already know what they are.  If I eat a cheeseburger with the bun and feel horrible 30 minutes later, I only have one person to blame, ME!

I have made a commitment to myself for 2017  to be more accountable to myself for what I eat.  Not because I want to lose 10 pounds (even though I hope to in the process) but I want to get back to feeling good again.  I want to remove those things from my diet that are bringing me down and replace them with the things that make me feel good, and no better time to start than today.  The holidays are behind us, the extra sweets and holiday food are gone from the house, and I've got a delivery of organic meat arriving tomorrow to fill my freezer.  So, today I go back to the way I ate two years ago, and the way I should eat every day of my life.

I am not a nutritionist.  I am a middle aged woman who has done a lot of cooking in my life, and has always tried to feed her family well and in a budget.  When I set out to start a blog I wanted to incorporate some simple, healthy, budget conscious meals with you, so today I'll share with you my favorite morning smoothie.  I had the first "getting back up on the horse" smoothie today and I'm wondering why I ever gave them up.

 Smoothies are a great way to pack a lot of vitamins, minerals, and probiotics in to one POW to get your day going. They are great to make and take with you, or sit and sip while enjoying a good book.  I tend to keep a lot of fruits and veggies on hand So use what I feel like  to make my smoothies. Keep in mind, I have to avoid two big smoothie staples, so you could of course add a banana, and strawberries. My basic recipe for a powerful smoothie is:

1 cup green veggie, either kale or spinach
1 scoop bone meal protein powder
1 cup yogurt
1/2 C almond milk, low fat milk, or water
1/2 C ice
1/2 C fresh fruit like pineapple, berries, banana

Throw all ingredients in blender and enjoy!
Healthy New Year!
Joanne xoxo