Psychic Plants

I was reading about some experiments done on plants relating to their ability to sense things. I found this fascinating and plan to do some research into it. The gist of it was that one man named Cleve Backster designed a polygraph for plants that enabled him to record the emotions of plants. Apparently, they’re psychic too, as when Cleve began to think about burning one of the plants, the needle on the chart shot upward. This little tidbit makes me think of that movie What the Bleep Do We Know? and the effect thoughts had on water. If you’ve never seen the movie, I highly recommend it. It certainly makes you think, and gives a lesson in quantum physics. There’s also a movie/lesson on YouTube on quantum physics that Tristen absolutely loved. Check it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfPeprQ7oGc.

There was another researcher named Sir Jahadish that, after thousands of experiments, concluded that plants indeed have intelligence, moods, and a marked personality. A plant pulled out of the ground (think weeding the garden) experiences shock similar to an animal or human being beaten senseless. They also showed to have feelings toward their caregivers, and when a well-treated plant’s caregiver experienced pain or anxiety, they felt it too.

How is this info going to affect my planned garden? Not so much. I do think I’ll be talking to all the babies more though, and thank the plants personally when I harvest food from them. I wonder if loving your plants adds to the nutrition value?

The progenies daily consumption of victuals encompassed:

green smoothies-baby lettuce mix, bananas, apples, ojs
banana
celery bites
carrot cake
pumpkin seed milk with carob
strawberry orange juice
carrot n cuke pulp salad with fresh herbs, evoo, acv, aminos, sea salt

Fluffy sweet dreams to you, dear readers,
~~~Sharilyn

Pinewood Derby

Tristen’s pinewood derby was today. His car was awesome—a blue Lego with a Lego driver holding a Cubscout flag. :o} He came in third place as far as racing. Yeah! Go Tris!

Rowan and I worked on organizing the playroom. We built a shelf out of 6 boxes and duct tape. Way to reuse! Go Blue!----I mean Green (in a non-Spartan way)! Rowan loved the shelf and proceeded to take almost everything off it after getting it organized and filled. Yup, she’s 20 months old.

I was thinking about seed milks today, and was wondering why I had never read about a chia milk anywhere, so I decided to try to make one. I ground up about 1/3 cup of chia seeds with the coffee grinder, put them in the blender, and added a couple cups of water and a little honey. Two cups of water was definitely not enough, as it almost immediately gelled upon blending. I added two more cups, blended, and tasted. Hmmrrrmph. Didn’t taste that great and it was still kinda thick. A banana, some carob, and some frozen strawberries later and we had chia milk shakes! The kids scarfed ‘em down. Mommy did too! Try it – and get some extra and more absorbable calcium into your body. **Cheers**

Food for the kids today included:

raw goji-blueberry pancakes
bananas
raw carrot cake (Love the stuff!)
apples
spring mix salad with fresh herbs and garlic
pumpkin seed milk
chia banana strawberry carob “milk” shake

~~Sharilyn

Pretty Powdery White Stuff That Just Keeps Coming and Coming and Coming and . . .

Nice kitty . . . .

Five more inches. Two days ago we had two more. Another couple days prior we got about six. All on top of the eight or so that was already there, albeit packed down a bit. Then the pretty powdery white stuff blows across the shoveled drive and walk, cuz it’s powder. So we (I say we, but it’s usually moi.) shovel it off again. Actually I like to shovel when it’s so light. Muy difacil. Fresh air, sunshine.

Tris completed a bit more on his derby car and it’s coming along nicely. It helped that school was canceled due to the inclement weather. Then we worked on our project a bit more.

Rowan discovered Legos. Seeing that Tris had his bucket-o-Legos down so he could model his car after one, Rowan got involved. She loved the Lego train and would try to ride it. We also practiced colors. “Yellow” comes out “Oh-woah.” Then we sorted and built. Fun!!

Tristen ate:
raw strawberry pancake
pumpkin seed-banana milk
carob-avocado parfait with blueberries and strawberries and mulberries
slice of bread
banana
carrot salad with liquid aminos, onion, garlic, kelp

And Rowan ate:
raw strawberry pancake
pumpkin seed-banana milk
orange flax crackers
carob-avocado parfait with blueberries and strawberries and mulberries and walnuts
more banana milk, lots!
carrot flax crackers

“Mine is the sweet, sweet sound of my children sleeping.”

Luminosity,
Sharilyn

Camera Issues

My digital camera broke! I am seriously disappointed about this. The batteries died right after I clicked a picture, somehow causing a jolt. Now the computer in the camera won’t recognize new batts because it died before recording the pic and some how went bzzzzthp. The project I mentioned a couple days ago requires a digital camera, and now I’m not sure about what we’re going to do.I’ve thought about this so much—are higher powers telling me that I need to focus on something else? Is something else on it’s way? I’m not sure, but am up against a deadline of February 1st to complete this project, and I need a way to take pics. Until then, I guess I’ll just post older photos. I trust you Spirit.

Rowan has been so funny these last two days. Whenever I yell upstairs to Tristen or Rich they respond with a loud, “Yeah?” Rowan has begun imitating this, so runs to the bottom of the stairs and hollers, “Yeah??” whenever I call to either. She has such a pipsqueak voice normally, but can really bellow it out when she wants!! ~~giggling~~ Such a character.

Tris and I are trying to get his pinewood derby car finished for the race this coming weekend. Hopefully I’ll find a way to post a pic of the finished car. Rowan and daddy (well, just daddy) are/is furtively working on a car, too. Men can be so funny when it comes to wood crafts and build-your-own toys.


Today the kids ate:

sesame banana milk
oatmeal with blueberries
lemon-berry tarts—made with pumpkin/date crust, avocado-lemon filling, and berries on top
bananas
raw carrot cake
pumpkin seed milk

Tristen also ate some mixed nuts with gogi berries and a fresh out of the oven slice of bread.

~~~Tris, Ro, & Sharilyn

Sore Feet

Here's a pic that got corrupted of the free organic oranges we got. When I gave Tristen some of the fresh juice, he asked if I had added honey! No, baby, that's how they're supposed to taste! Not too pretty to look at, but infinately better for you.

Today was busy and activity filled. Tristen and I have been working on a project together for quite some time, and it is finally nearing fruitation (Love that word!). We spent a couple-few hours on it and I expect to be spending a lot more hours on it in the next couple of weeks. We’ll tell all about it soon.

We also spent a good portion of time in the kitchen making food. First we made lots-o-orange juice, then cookies, then lunch consisting of cut up veggies and flax crackers with cheese sauce which is pictured below, then we made Lemon-berry tarts, some bread for Rich, and finally fruit smoothies. I also managed to get the piled up dishes done and the kitchen cleaned up, as it’s gotten behind by a day or two.


Here’s the recipe for the cheese sauce we made. It’s based on a recipe from Rejuvenate Your Life, by Serene Allison.

Cheezy Spread
½ to 1 red bell pepper
1 cup cashews, ground in the coffee grinder
1 T. sesame seeds, ground with the cashews
1 T. Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
1 tsp. Celtic Sea Salt
a small slice of onion
1 clove garlic
juice of ½ to 1 lemon
water as needed.

Blend everything except the cashews and sesame seeds, then add them in. Add water if needed a little at a time. Scrape the sides as you go to get everything nice and smooth.

This is the best tasting raw cheeze sauce I’ve come across, and both kids LOVE it. We use it as dips for veggies and crackers, and on raw pizza. I’m not sure how long it will keep, as it always gets eaten up within a day or two.

Another simple cheeze spread that I love is a jar of tahini (ground up sesame seeds) with minced garlic cloves and the juice of a lemon and some sea salt. You can make a little at a time or a whole jar. It keeps about a week.

After spending most of my day standing mainly in one spot, my feet are tired. I may just give them a ginger and cayenne soak.

Today Rowan ate:
orange juice
banana oatmeal
veggies and flax crackers with cheese sauce
sesame seed milk
grapefruit, cranberry, lemon, orange, mixed berry, banana smoothie
salad with cuke, tom, carrot, romaine, and onion in ACV and herb dressing
more smoothie, sans grapefruit, cranberry, and lemon

Tristen ate:
orange juice
dried coconut
sesame seed milk
lemon-berry tart
veggies and flax crackers with cheese sauce
orange, mixed berry, and banana smoothie
slice of freshly baked bread
freshly shelled almonds


Hugs,
Rowan, Tristen, and Sharilyn

Extracting Essential Oils From Herbs

Most people don’t know how easy it is to extract the essential oils from herbs they’ve collected. One of the easiest ways is to soak the herb in oil. Using a nonmetal container, pour enough olive or safflower oil to cover your herbs and let stand for at least 24 hours. Strain, pressing the blossoms or leaves to release more oil. Repeat using the same oil and more fresh herbs. Repeat this six to ten times. Store the oil in a tightly sealed bottle or container. Add to baths, soaps, candles, what have you.

Another way to extract the oils is by using undenatured ethyl alcohol. I prefer to use Everclear vodka, as I wouldn’t eat/drink ethyl alcohol and therefore, don’t want it on my skin. (Actually, I wouldn’t drink Everclear either, but it is edible. I use it for most of my cleaning in place of bleach.) The procedure is the same as above, though after soaking, you can either use the fragrant alcohol, or separate the oil out. To separate, place it in the freezer. The oil will solidify and can be scraped off the non-frozen alcohol. Always be cautious when using pure essential oils as they can burn.

Have a fragrant day!

~~~Sharilyn

Carrot Juice Buzzzz

Well I did it again. I drank carrot juice in the p.m. and it is now 3AM Friday morning and I’m still an energizer bunny. I couldn’t help myself, I was just seriously craving carrot juice! I thought I was gonna hit the sack earlier when I was talking with my mom, but after getting off the phone and remembering to water the plants, getting sidetracked by the new newspaper (we don’t have television, so it’s one of my few links to the outside world and I can get anxious to read it), and researching some herbal preparations in the book I just got at the library tonight, I wound myself up again. Hopefully I’ll manage a few ZZZZs before the sun comes up, or rather, before the kids get up.

Tristen and Rich came up with a fantastic (so I hear) dressing today. I listed the ingredients below. I never would have thought to put carob on a salad. Cinnamon either. Just goes to show how un-conformed children are to the “norm.”

Today Tristen ate:
oatmeal with honey
carob sesame milk
½ avocado
banana
raw chocolate cupcake with coconut icing
salad-cukes, carrots, romaine with, get this, ACV-EVOO-honey-orange juice-carob dressing
raw chocolate ice cream

Ro-Ro ate:
oatmeal with honey
banana sesame seed milk
another ½ bowl of oatmeal
carrots and sweet potatoes
carrot-cucumber juice
freshly shelled walnuts and almonds

~~~Sharilyn, Tristen, and Rowan

Let There Be Light

My babies (plants) have a new light source, and the shelf for the window is in the works. I can’t wait to get the shelf put together—then I can get preparations underway for this years transplants. We’ve been meandering through the first of the seed catalogues to arrive and have our tongues hanging out over some of the plants we want to try to grow. Stevia is one. I heard that it’s finally making it onto the mainstream market—someone saw a commercial advertising stevia as a replacement for sugar. Yeah! It’s such a fantastic alternative to other sweeteners, and so much healthier. If you want some detailed info on stevia, you can go to http://www.stevia.com/. There's some great articles; one in particular on the hazards of sugar was quite eye-opening.

Tristen and I worked on his pinewood derby car for scouts today. He’s making a Lego car (out of wood not Legos). I can’t wait to see the finished product. He’s got such a creative mind.
We also juiced half a crate of oranges today. Whew! That can be time consuming. But it’s wonderful to spend time together, talking about different items of interest. He also had some wonderful ideas of what to do with all the orange pulp from juicing. Orange-flax crackers are in the dehydrator as I type this.

Tristen ate:
oatmeal with honey and cloves
raw apple pie
coconut water
flax crackers
more apple pie
orange juice
sesame seed milk with carob

Rowan ate:
banana-sesame seed milk with spirulina
sweet potatoes
tomatoes
flax crackers
sesame seed milk
orange juice

Hugs to all,
Tristen and Sharilyn

If It Ain't One Thang . . .

Once again, Rich’s car’s having issues. The front break line snapped. O.K. So the next day Rich goes to fix it . . . and the brand new back tire’s flat! ROFLOL. I just can’t help it! We got a hold of our mechanic, who said bring it right in. Rich gets the spare on and the break line crimped off, but can’t get up out of the drive because it’s too icy. Then he can’t get back to the house cuz it’s too icy and now the spare is almost flat from spinning, so he parks in one of the cow pastures. (The driveway’s ½ mile long.) I think Rich has had it with the car; we’re still waiting on the new one to “magically appear.” Se la vie. LOL.

Tris is home from his fathers, 7 ½ lbs. heavier. It is so frustrating to see my child leave, healthy and vibrant, only to return after 14 days having unhealthily gained over 13% of his original bodyweight. Not to mention the emotional changes and return of his allergies.

So, Tristen spent most of Saturday and Sunday drinking fresh juices and herbal teas, and eating fruit. Hopefully his body will slowly detox over the next couple-few weeks.

Today Tristen ate:
oatmeal with honey and cloves
fajitas with salsa, sans the chicken, corn, fruit, and muffin
chocolate-coconut milk
oat-flax-carrot crackers
salad-romaine, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, rosemary, mint, thyme in ACV dressing

Rowan ate:
coconut water
oatmeal with apples and honey
cherry tomatoes
sweet potatoes
salad, as above
oat-flax-carrot crackers


Tris, Ro, and Sharilyn