The Answer for a Kitten Who WILL NOT Use the Litterbox

 

As y'all know, this spring our we'll-get-the-cats-spayed-sometime attitude resulted in - surprise! - two litters of kittens arriving at our home. (You want a kitten! You know you do!! Yes! Email me!) And one of the kittens, to our profound surprise, had a deep antipathy for the litterbox - as in, "You can put me in, but I. will. not. comply." Sure, he would use just about anything else - our blankets, our sheets, clothes left on the floor, the carpet itself - but the litterbox he avoided like the plague. (Our attempts to put him in resulted in his impersonation of a fully-loaded feline spring.)

We were really at our wits' end over this issue. I couldn't get sheets and linens washed before he'd ruined the next set - and, as you all know, washing cat-urine-soiled laundry is not an easy task. (Translation: I was going through one five-pound box of Biz laundry additive per week.) 

So, I headed over to our local pet supply store and begged their help. The gentleman whom I petitioned for aid directed me to (drum roll please!)...

Dr. Elsey's Kitten Attract Litter

We brought it home, made up a new litter box, and placed said erring kitten within. He sniffed! He pawed! He did not shoot out of it like a loaded cannon! And, miracle of all miracles, he used it!

And we have never had a problem with him again.

So, quick public service announcement, if you ever find yourself in possession of a renegade feline who is marching a picket line with "Won't use the litterbox!" signs, this is truly a miracle-working product. Give it a try. Our family loves it.

* I am not receiving any compensation of any kind for this product endorsement. *

Let's talk about the use of the {Vitamin K + Vitamin C} Protocol to Treat Morning Sickness and Hyperemesis Gravidarum

 

This spring, I was super-excited about something that I hoped to publish next year - namely, that I had found something that helped my morning sickness.

If that's not earth-shattering, nothing is.

However, when we miscarried our baby in mid-May (at 11w4d), there were signs - no definites, but certainly strong indications - that our baby may have died long before the actual miscarriage, possibly at the very beginning of the pregnancy. This often results in a pregnancy with reduced pregnancy symptoms. Thus, I can no longer state with any authority that I have definite results for this method working for me.

However, I can say this:

(1) I did still have strong pregnancy nausea, starting at the usual time (3w4d), and

(2) I noticed definite improvement when I used this method - both when I started it, and again when I increased the dose.

That being the case, I wanted to present the data to my readers so that they can do the research themselves, and discuss it with their midwives/physicians. Let's get started.

Before we start, let's quickly differentiate between a remedy and a coping mechanism.

These are my terms, not taken from any source. 

In my personal terminology for pregnancy nausea, a remedy and a coping mechanism are different entities. A remedy is something that actually reduces my pregnancy nausea. A coping mechanism, on the other hand, is something that, while not reducing my absolute level of pregnancy nausea, helps me to cope at the nausea level where I am. Does that make sense?

Coping mechanisms are legion. Some that I use include a protein shake before bed, eating immediately upon getting up, getting more sleep, dropping outside activities, etc. We all have these.

Remedies, on the other hand - something that actually works to reduce my base level of nausea - are incredibly rare. That is, they are a dime a dozen - just check the internet! - but the ones that have actually worked for me are virtually zero. Here are some of the ones that I've tried:

• Bentonite clay
• Ginger
• Preggie pops
• Eating hardboiled eggs before bed
• Herbal morning sickness remedies
• Weekly B6/magnesium shots
• Probiotic therapy
• Basic dietary changes (Paleo, gluten-free, dairy-free, etc.)
• Dramamine

The only remedies that have worked so far for me would include the following:

• Very-low-carb diet, done for 6+ months pre-conception 
• Medications (Unisom, Zofran)

As I never want to do the very-low-carb diet again (and didn't have time anyway, as this pregnancy surprised us), and I hoped to avoid medication, finding another remedy that worked was super-exciting.

What "it finally worked" method are we talking about?

I refer to the Vitamin K + Vitamin C remedy.

If you've spent more than 30 seconds online researching morning sickness remedies, you have run across the Vitamin K + Vitamin C remedy for morning sickness. Trouble is, there's almost no information, details, or advice on how to make it work. It will inevitably be cited thusly:

"Vitamin K and vitamin C , taken together, may provide relief of symptoms for some women. In one study, 91% of women who took 5 mg of vitamin K and 25 mg of vitamin C per day reported the complete disappearance of morning sickness within three days."

I see that I actually posted that information on my blog when I discovered the reference - specifically in 2008 (over fifteen years ago!) - in the article Research: Vitamin K and Vitamin C.

But although I have known about this for many, many years, I have always feared to try it due to the high dose of vitamin K involved. (Daily dietary needs for vitamin K are usually listed in micrograms.)

However, this time around, I really wanted to stay off of medication. (Don't we always.) So I started researching to see if I could find out more - both about safety and efficacy. Firstly, I found this article giving some details about the protocol:

Morning Sickness: Vitamins C & K

Looking up the doctor mentioned in that article, I found a presentation of the detailed results of the study mentioned above - go to slide 35 in this presentation by Dr. Jeremiah Wright.

The basic results of the 1952 study were to have been as follows (quoted from the above presentation): 

"In the study, 70 women with mild to severe nausea and vomiting of pregnancy took simultaneously each day vitamin K3 (5 milligrams) and Vitamin C (25 milligrams).

                ▪ 64 reported complete remission in 72 hours.

                ▪ 3 were relieved of vomiting, but not nausea.

                ▪ 3 obtained no relief."

In it, he also gives the citation for the original study - here it is, for anyone who wants to look it up: 

Merkel RL. The use of menadione bisulfite and ascorbic acid in the treatment of nausea and vomiting of pregnancy: a preliminary report. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1952;64:416-418

I also found a podcast/radio show in which Dr. Wright discussed his efforts to publicize this method of pregnancy nausea control:

Nausea Caused By Pregnancy and Preventative Vitamins 

I also found another doctor discussing his use of K2 (in the form of intramuscular injections) for pregnancy nausea. He discusses a case in which K2 injections did not work - or did not work on their own - but his background experience was that this method almost always did work:

Hyperemesis Gravidarum: Reversing Autotoxic Hormone Reactivity/Antihormone Therapeutics

He writes:

"Until this year I have had nearly 100% success with intramuscular administration of vitamin K2 (menatetrenone) 2 cc at 10 mg/cc for nausea and vomiting (N/V) of pregnancy in scores of patients. Thanks to Jonathan Wright, MD, for teaching this many years ago... With N/V of pregnancy, I usually administer vitamin K2­ 2 cc daily for the first couple of days until the N/ V stops and then weekly or as needed. Sometimes one shot stops it for the whole pregnancy."

I also found, when I looked up my own post from back in 2008, the following quote from another physician:

 "For morning sickness, I recommend 100 to 200 milligrams of B-6 and 10 milligrams of vitamin K a day. Occasionally, more than 200 milligrams is necessary, but this amount should be taken under a physician's supervision. I also give patients an initial injection of vitamin K, which works in a day or two. Taken orally, the Vitamin K takes somewhat longer to produce results - about ten days." - Superimmunity for Kids by Leo Gallard & Dian Dincin Buchman, p. 47

Safe and effective? This was super-exciting stuff. But...

Are high doses of vitamin K safe for pregnancy?

There are two questions: (1) Are high doses of vitamin K safe in general, and (2) Are high doses of vitamin K safe for pregnancy.

The research that I found was surprisingly reassuring. Besides the doctors quoted above (all of whom used very high doses of vitamin K with pregnant women, with great success and good outcomes), I found a number of physicians quoting the use of very high dosage vitamin K as safe for both pregnancy women and the general population. Here are some of them:

For the general population:

From LiveStrong:

"The recommended daily intake for vitamin K set by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academies of Medicine (FNB) is 120 micrograms for men and 90 micrograms for all women, including those who are pregnant and breastfeeding. These RDAs aren't hard to achieve through a balanced diet, and the National Institutes of Health reports that vitamin K deficiency is very rare.

"The FNB sets upper, tolerable intake levels (ULs) for vitamins that pose health risks when taken in excess. However, there is not a UL for vitamin K, because there have been no reported adverse effects from vitamin K excess in any amount from food or supplements in the general population." (emphasis added)

From National Biochemistry (NBI):

"The amount of MK4 (a type of vitamin K) used in studies is 45-135 mg, which is 500 to 1,500 times greater than the IOM adequate intake. Thus, an important question is whether or not it’s safe to consume vitamin K at this high dose. The short answer is unambiguously, Yes. MK4 is safe even at doses much higher than the top amount used in clinical trials.

"US Institute of Medicine (IOM) conclusion:

"The Tolerable Upper Limit (TUL) is the highest daily dose that is safe for almost all individuals in the general population to take on an ongoing basis. The IOM concluded that for natural forms of vitamin K, of which MK4 is one, there is no known TUL. This means that the IOM considers vitamin K to be extremely safe, even at very high doses." (emphasis added)

From WebMD:

"When taken by mouth: The two forms of vitamin K (vitamin K1 and vitamin K2) are likely safe when taken appropriately. Vitamin K1 10 mg daily and vitamin K2 45 mg daily have been safely used for up to 2 years. It's usually well-tolerated, but some people may have an upset stomach or diarrhea." (emphasis added)

 

 For pregnant women: 

 From Sanford Health, showing that high doses of vitamin K are used therapeutically during pregnancy already, for purposes other than pregnancy nausea:

"Vitamin K is important in helping blood clot. Though extra vitamin K is not needed during pregnancy, women who are pregnant and using anti-seizure medications are at increased risk of vitamin K deficiency in their baby. These women should take oral vitamin K, at a rate of 10 mg daily, from 36 weeks until delivery." (emphasis added)

From Oxford Academic (Volume 78, Issue 10, October 2020), regarding high doses of vitamin K for use in osteoporosis in pregnant women:

"Vitamin K2 at 45 mg/d has been used as a safe treatment option in a case series of pregnancy-associated osteoporosis... There is no known toxicity for vitamin K2, and no tolerable upper level has been set for either K1 or K2 in pregnancy as there have been no studies on reproductive or teratogenic risk." (emphasis added)

When you start looking at links, opinions do vary. Some do not recommend vitamin K supplementation during pregnancy. Some say it's okay up to a point. Some say that it's perfectly safe and that there is no upper limit on safety. For myself, I was confident from my reading that therapeutic doses of vitamin K were safe during pregnancy. 

Additionally, it has to be taken in perspective. If I do supplement with high doses of vitamin K, and it works, then I am exposed to a very-mostly-likely safe vitamin. If I don't supplement with vitamin K, then I will most certainly be taking Unisom (doxylamine succinate), which is an artificial drug and has been several times implicated in risks for the unborn child. I think I'd probably take my chance with an all-natural, already-present-in-the-human diet supplement if I have that choice. 

Who should not supplement with vitamin K:

The only firm contraindication seems to be for people who are taking the drug Warfarin. From the NBI article:

"People who take the drug warfarin (Coumadin) should not take MK4. Warfarin is a blood thinner that works specifically by blocking vitamin K’s actions in the blood clotting cascade. Providing vitamin K as a dietary supplement counteracts warfarin. People taking warfarin should absolutely not take MK4 and they shouldn’t take any vitamin K-containing products without first consulting their healthcare provider." 

What about the different forms of vitamin K?

Vitamin K is actually a family of closely-related vitamins, rather than a single compound. There are three forms of vitamin K:

Vitamin K1 and K2 (and there are two forms of K2) are found in nature and are naturally present in the human diet.

Vitamin K3 is an artificial form.

There are some concerns with toxicity from high doses of vitamin K3 - although the doctor mentioned above still used it very successfully for morning sickness treatment. 

Vitamin K3 is not available over the counter in this country at the present time (that I know of). Vitamin K1 and K2 are widely available and can be purchased over the counter (OTC).

How I put this protocol into practice, and how it worked for me:

This spring's pregnancy was a complete surprise - it was much sooner than expected, and at my age, I wasn't sure if another baby would be on the horizon at all for us. So I was not doing any preparations at all - no dietary changes, no supplements, no nothing. 

I got a positive test - quite randomly! - at about 3w4d. My pregnancy nausea started, much to my annoyance, later that same afternoon. While it may or may not have been as strong as with a healthy pregnancy, it was definitely present, strong, and followed my usual pattern. (Week 3 = nausea starts. Week 4 = I'm still okay. Week 5 = I need help.)

I immediately started researching the Vitamin K + Vitamin C method (for some reason, it came to mind strongly in a way that it hasn't in previous pregnancies). I believe that I started using it at 4w2d. And here's the thing: I felt an immediate and powerful improvement in my nausea levels. (Translation: I took the remedy at night, and felt much better the next day.) And while I continued to feel worse as the pregnancy progressed (which is normal), I was functional. I could get up on time, and eat most foods. I did not have to obsessively eat the same thing over and over until my cravings changed. I did not need to take medication. I could keep things down. While I had a lot more on-the-couch time, I was much more "okay" than usual. I didn't descend into the depths of despair. And I only threw up about five times, total. It wasn't a miraculous nausea-cleared-up-completely! sort of thing, but it was profoundly effective and positive. If I'd increased the dosage more - which, again, I wanted to do but was afraid to try - it is very possible that I would have seen even more awesome results. 

I ran into two snags with the protocol:

(1) The original protocol wording that I found said to use the method for a month. That landed me straight into week 8, when I was feeling pretty awful and was in no way ready to give it up cold turkey.

(2) During week 9, I started feeling that I need some extra help. My two options were to increase my dose of vitamin K, or to go back to using the Unisom protocol to some extent.

In an effort to get more information, I reached out via email to two of the doctors referenced in the articles above. To my surprise and dismay, I never heard back from either of them. This was a deep disappointment, as I would have greatly valued their input and advice regarding this method, and was willing to pay consultant fees. If I had felt more confident and energetic, I would have called up their offices to try to deal with the red tape involved in consulting them through their official practices. However, I was feeling (1) awful enough not to be up to the challenge, but (2) not awful enough to be desperate. So that didn't happen.

Another option for me would have been to go to the naturopathic college medical clinic that we have here in the Phoenix valley. However, the same attitude of "I feel too awful to go, and not awful enough to be desperate" kept me from trying it this time. However, I would definitely be up for that in the future. This would be a good way to consult a physician regarding dosage safety, as well as to have the IM injection method of delivery possible, which is often more effective than oral delivery, but which I cannot do at home. 

Some of this information above regarding the safety of super-high dosages of vitamin K I actually didn't see until writing this article, which I regret, because I would have continued to increase the dosage when I felt that I needed it if I had felt comfortable with the safety. As it was, I did increase my vitamin K dose during week 9 to about 7.5 mg, and again felt an immediate improvement. I held that dosage steady until our loss at 11w4d.

Some may wonder if the placebo effect had anything to do with my improved levels of nausea, and to that I will say that I am sure that there was no placebo effect going on. 

Some years ago, I read in "The Case for Miracles" (Lee Strobel) that some conditions are well-known for being vulnerable to improvement due to the placebo effect; other conditions are much less affected by it (in the book, the example given was hearing loss).

In my experience, I have found that pregnancy nausea is not at all affected by the placebo effect - I have tried so, so many nausea remedies, and no matter how much I want a given remedy to work, or how I believe that it is going to work, or how I know that it has worked for other people, pregnancy nausea just doesn't budge. It is implacable. I think other pregnancy nausea mamas will back me up on this one. So when I find something that I sense really works, I have no problem in being confident in my assessment, simply because I have seen how ruthless pregnancy nausea is, and how unaffected it is by my wishes and beliefs. 

A few details:

For vitamin K, I used the Super K supplement - two pills at first, and then three when I increased the dosage at 9 weeks.

For vitamin C, I just used an over-the-counter 1000 mg vitamin C pill. The protocol calls for an absurdly low amount of vitamin C (25 mg), but there is no absolute need (that I know of) to achieve that low dosage. 

My conclusions:

* I believe that the Vitamin K + Vitamin C combination is safe, and I have experienced that it is effective. 

* To say this authoritatively, though, I would have to use it throughout a healthy pregnancy with full symptoms.

* I do not believe that using this protocol caused our miscarriage, as physical evidence showed likelihood of a very early loss - possibly even before I began using the protocol.

* I do not know if this method could help HG sufferers - though several of the doctors above stated quite firmly that it could - but I believe that it would be a good auxiliary treatment even if other treatments were used at the same time. 

* As usual, I think that the best time to research all of this would be pre-conception, when one is not panicking over rising nausea levels. I plan to make some contacts and appointments to discuss this with caregivers, in order to be ready for next time, should there be a next time. (Very likely there won't be, at my age, but one likes to be prepared.)

I would love to hear thoughts, experiences, or input. As always, comments must be rational, conversational, and kind, and offered in the spirit of charity (i.e. no "you are an idiot, woman!" comments). 

I very much hope that this information can be of use to mamas out there. 

As always, this is not medical advice. Take the information and the articles to your midwife, OB, naturopath, or other physician. and get his/her take on it.  

A Spring Full of Unexpected Surprises (Books Lately, April 2023)

I originally styled this post as a fun-and-funny pregnancy announcement for baby #8, whose due date would have been sometime around Thanksgiving, and whom we ended up losing in May at the end of the first trimester. I will get around to telling that story sometime. 

The same weekend that we discovered that we had gained a new team member, we also noticed that both of our adopted strays were looking... suspiciously plump. And yes, they were both expecting. April brought, along with morning sickness for me, two litters of kitties - five on Easter Monday, and four more two weeks later. 

We are now trying to find new homes for said kitties. Do y'all know how hard it is to find people who want kittens? Yowza. We have notified social media, my husband's coworkers, our family, our church, the homeschooling community, neighbors, and practically everyone we've known or met over the past forty years - and have had very little luck. Still working on that problem.

In the meantime, we are enjoying said kitties - there's nothing like opening a sock drawer and finding it full of kittens.

From litter #1

From litter #2

And so, continuing where I left off...

If you're all wondering why I have an insanely long list of books this month, pregnancy nausea = lots of neglected housework + lots of down time spent reading. I have also been doing a lot of pre-reading for three literature-based homeschool courses (Modern History, British Lit 1, British Lit 2) that I am writing for our 16yo. When those lists are finished, I will definitely publish them here!

One note: I have considered the issue of whether or not to note my negative impressions of books that I read. The "only positive things" rule is a possibility, and not a bad one. However, it could also be considered as less than completely honest - and I also do not want to be guilty of recommending books without adding warnings about potential textual pitfalls. Thus, I will attempt to be positive in the main, and will do my best to observe the law of charity when I do feel the need to add a negative note about any book.

One other note: I love back-and-forth conversation - just not trolling and "you are so stupid" comments. Please feel free to engage in discussion, as long as it is rational, conversational, and kind. 

Palo Verde blossoms - the desert's last gift to us before the summer grind begins. 

Books Lately, April 2023

For Adults

Under the Tuscan Sun: At Home in Italy (Frances Mayes) – Nonfiction narrative. An American couple buys and renovates a vintage home in rural Italy. Filled with details about their home renovation and their life in Italy, with lots of funny interactions with locals and adventures in learning about Italian life. The one downside is that the book at times felt interminably long. However, it was a good read, and I enjoyed it. There is a sequel that I have not yet read: "Bella Tuscany: The Sweet Life in Italy."

If you enjoy this genera, you might enjoy one of my favorites, "A Year in Provence" by Peter Mayle. The setting is rural France. 

The Last Bookshop in London: A Novel of World War II (Madeline Martin) - Historical fiction. A young woman, moving to London, works in a bookshop during the London Blitz. Enjoyable, readable, fun. Not a deep book or a deeply memorable book (a month later, I can barely remember reading it - though that's probably my fault, not hers), but good. My one worldview pique was a brief flare of feminism (my lifetime arch-nemesis), but otherwise, fun and unobjectionable. And a book in praise of books? Gotta love it. 

Hello, Habits : A Minimalist's Guide to a Better Life (Fumio Sasaki) – Remember the fellow whose minimalist lifestyle allowed him to pack his apartment, move, and unpack his things in his new apartment... all within 90 minutes? He's back with a sequel to the original "Goodbye Things: The New Japanese Minimalism" - this time a book about habit formation. I enjoyed this very much.

Forever, Erma: Best Loved Writing from America's Favorite Humorist (Erma Bombeck) - I remember my mother having books by Erma Bombeck, so was interested to see what I thought as an adult of her writing. Reading her was great fun. While the writing is now dated, and I didn't agree with all of her opinions, there is no doubt that she was a kind and funny lady. I was especially interested to learn that she lived and died in my current home city - a fun and surprising discovery. 

Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist (Brant Pitre) – I've heard about this book for years, and it really was as good as everyone said it was. This was doubly meaningful for me, as I have an unfortunate tendency to find anything concerning the Old Testament rather dull. But dull this book was not. I'm looking forward to reading Pitre's other works. 

The Decadent Society: How We Became a Victim of Our Own Success (Ross Douthat) – In this book, Douthat details societal decadence - moral laxity, self-indulgence, the waning of innovation, etc. - and examines the West in this light. The big question, then, is where will we go from here? Will the West fall to a more vibrant and virile civilization? Will we experience renewal from an unknown source? I enjoyed this book - certainly the first half. After that, I felt that it got more diffuse and wandering - perhaps not surprising, as the "what next?" question could possibly go in so many directions. While I love Douthat, this wasn't my favorite of his books - but it was an interesting read. If you read the comment section in the link above, you'll see people giving great for-and-against arguments for this book. I recommend skimming them.

The Battle for the American Mind: Uprooting a Century of Miseducation (Pete Hegseth) – This one definitely wins an award for this month - it was a wonderful and very important book. The text comprises a history of American/Western education, with an especial focus on the concept of paideia - something that is difficult to translate into English, but comprises elements of a civilization's spirit, worldview, source of culture, and vision of the good life. From the book, "Paideia, simply defined, represents the deeply seated affections, thinking, viewpoints, and virtues embedded in children at a young age, or, more simply, the rearing, molding, and education of a child." The author shows how the paideia of American education has progressed from traditional Christian/Western paideia into progressive paideia and is now fully controlled by Marxist paideia - and the answer to that problem. Whether you have children in school, or school them at home, this issue is vitally important to all of us. I highly recommend reading this book, and passing it on to others. 

Warriors Don’t Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High (Melba Pattilla Beans) – Non-fiction narrative. One of the original black students to enter Little Rock High School tells the hair-raising tale of her time at that school. A heartbreaking story. While I had heard for years about this event, I had no idea that it was so intense and long-lasting. I highly recommend this book. 

To Love and Be Loved: A Personal Portrait of Mother Teresa (Jim Towey) – Biography and memoir. Written recently by a man who knew Mother Teresa personally. While I grew up hearing of Mother Teresa, I knew almost nothing about her. This book was an absolute joy to read. Highly recommended. 

Tolkien: Man and Myth (Joseph Pearce) – Biography. I was a latecomer to the hobbit party. As a child, I was not particularly fond of "The Hobbit," and I found "The Lord of the Rings" completely mystifying. (It didn't help that Tolkien had a penchant for choosing close-sounding names - Eowyn/Eomer, Theoden/Theodred, and my all-time mystery, Sauron/Saruman. I never knew what was going on.) But after falling in love with the movie trilogy (the first one, not the second one), I gave LOTR another try - and fell in love. Tolkien's worldview and theological insights are some of the deepest I've found - and he manages to convey them perfectly without a hint of any formal religion at all. I have now read LOTR multiple times - at least once a year - and love it more each time. Reading this biography of Tolkien was a joy. 

How to Ruin Your Life By 30: Nine Surprisingly Everyday Mistakes You Might Be Making Right Now (Steve Farrar) - Christian non-fiction. A book for teens and young adults, giving wisdom on how not to make a mess of their getting-started years. My feelings on this book were mixed. On the one hand, I felt - quite frequently - that some issues were soft-peddled and were never quite addressed with the firmness and clarity that I thought necessary. However, he obviously wrote from the heart, and he had good advice. I especially liked his description having written down, while in college (or thereabouts), a list of his "strong Christian" friends, and seeing, through the years, how a huge majority (I believe it was 50 of 53) later walked away from Christ. This matches my experience. It's a sobering wake-up call - just because you have a strong faith as a young person does not mean that you'll keep it. (I'm thinking of Joshua Harris.) Anyhow, while this book didn't quite meet my expectations, I appreciated it. Also, this is - I believe - actually a sequel, written for a younger crowd, to the original book, "How to Ruin Your Life By 40," which I haven't yet read. Let me know if you've read that one, and if so, what you thought of it. 

The Four Witnesses: The Early Church in Her Own Words (Rod Bennett) - A biographical account of four of the earliest church fathers - Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr, and Irenaeus of Lyons - relying heavily on their personal writings and the writings of their contemporaries. I was prepared for this to be on the dry and dull side; to my surprise, it was not. It was fascinating! I am looking forward to reading the sequel, Four More Witnesses: Further Testimony from Christians before Constantine (which covers the lives and writings of Hermas, Clement of Alexandria, Hippolytus, and Origen). The author, Rod Bennett, has also written numerous other books, which I hope to check out soon. 

Re-reads

Rose Cottage (Mary Stewart) - I was a huge Mary Stewart fan in high school - especially of her Arthurian series. (Warning: contains highly inappropriate material; I recommend editing if you are going to have these around.) "Rose Cottage" is a light romance novel in post-WWII England, and it's always been a favorite. It is, however, hard to ignore one of the main themes of the book - to wit, that "sexual immorality isn't the problem, it's the religious meanies who dare to criticize it who are the problem." And I answer to that, nope, God gave us moral rules for a reason, and they should be obeyed and enforced, for a reason. So, while I still enjoy this book immensely, I am not unaware of the underlying moral problems with the worldview presented therein. 

For Children & Teens

A Long Way From Chicago (Richard Peck) – Tall-tale style fiction. A boy and girl stay with their eccentric grandmother during the Great Depression. The downsides are occasional vulgarity and a great deal of lying (from the grandmother!) - the positives are a well-written, funny story, done in a quasi-tall tale style. After considering it, I passed this book on to our eldest, and he loved it. There is a sequel, "A Year Down Under," which I also enjoyed.

The Blackbird Girls (Anne Blankman) – Historical fiction. Two girls become friends as they deal with loss and change in the wake of the Chernobyl disaster. Oh, boy, did I ever have mixed feelings about this book. On the positive, it's an incredible story, and very well-written. On the negative, the author chose to include extremely dark family themes into the story - a father who beats his daughter and intentionally burns her with a lighted cigarette, a mom's boyfriend who forces the mother to beat her daughter, and the girl who eventually is aided in escaping from her family and goes far away to live incognito with another family. While I otherwise loved this book, I chose not to add it to our family reading list due to the dark themes. If you are considering giving this book to your teens, I recommend pre-reading first. 

The Story That Cannot Be Told (J. Kasper Kramer) - Historical fiction. A girl and her family survive  the last days of Communist Romania. Sorry to say, I just couldn't get into this book. No serious objections, though. If you love this book, write and tell me about it. 

The Hobbit (J. R. R. Tolkien) - Fantasy. I just finished reading this aloud to our children. Surprisingly - I have never been a huge fan of this book - I enjoyed it much more as a read-aloud than I did reading it personally, probably because reading it aloud kept me from skipping all of the descriptive parts! Our children loved this. 

Rufus M. (Eleanor Estes, #3 of 4 in the Moffats Series) - Fiction. I have mentioned the Moffats series before, and I just love it. Slow-paced, gentle, innocent, with hilariously funny artwork - it is a beautiful piece of early-twentieth-century Americana. There are also lots of learning moments about life a hundred years ago - coal-burning stoves, horse-drawn conveyance, kerosene lanterns, etc. Highly recommended. 

Swallows and Amazons (Arthur Ransome) – Fiction. I love this book! Wonderfully gentle and funny, with plenty of children-only adventure that always appeal to young readers. (Think the Boxcar Family series, Enid Blyton's Adventure series, Carol Ryrie Brink's "Baby Island," - all of those wonderful books in which children have on-their-own adventures.) I also love all of the literary allusions (which illustrate to me how poor my own education was - it's always good to be humbled) and all of the folk songs and sea chanties that the children sing together (which similarly illustrate to me the declining level of our own current culture, in which most folk songs have been eliminated). All joking aside, it's good to see glimpses from healthier times to guide us in remaking our own family cultures amongst the wreckage of the West. I find books like this both convicting (culturally and educationally speaking) and encouraging. The one hard part about this book is that it is filled to the brim with sailing terminology, which to a non-boater like myself is rather unintelligible. Some time ago, I did attempt to learn the terms by watching instructional sailing videos, but it did not help. I think that sailing must be best learned hands-on. However, this book is a treasure. It is also the first in a rather large series, all of which I hope to collect. 

Half Magic and Seven Day Magic (Edward Eager) – Fiction. Whether you like these books or not will depend on your stance on the use of magic in literature. If you're okay with it, these old books (and others by Eager) are charming. Their artwork is delightful, and they are also filled with literary allusions to other works (E. Nesbitt, etc.), which make them an ever-evolving joy.

A Bear Called Paddington (James Bond) – Fiction. We all love Paddington! He is one of the great classic British characters, along with Winnie the Pooh and others. We love the sweet hilarity of this book. 

The Four-Story Mistake (Elizabeth Enright, #2 of 4 in the Melendy Quartet series) - Realistic fiction. I grew up on the Melendy Quartet series, and adore it. In my mind, it is a picture of ideal childhood - what everyone's childhood ought to be. (I'm not talking particular details, like having one's mother die, but in  the sense of joy, love, freedom, innocence, the outdoors, and a truly joyful family experience.) I use these often as read-alouds. If you haven't yet caught up with this delightful series, you're in for a treat. 

And a few recipes, but not many, since I wasn't actually cooking during the past month or two. (Unless pouring cold cereal counts as "cooking."):

Hot Cross Buns - For Ash Wednesday or Good Friday. Delicious. 

Keto Lemon Cheesecake Bars - Nobody liked it but me, but I thought it was great! (That's pretty much the fate of all low-carb desserts around here.)

And with that, I wish you all a happy and blessed Eastertide! Have a wonderful month, and I'll see you all next month! 

Hello, and Farewell for Now (Quick Family Update)

 

For those thousands of eager readers out there wondering, Why is Diana so late with her April 2023 edition of "Books Lately"? - I wanted to check in with a quick family update. (Perhaps not "thousands" of readers. But I did want to check in with my faithful readers - all three of you!) 

To make a long story short, we spent this spring battling morning sickness with a pregnancy that I was going to be announcing with my next blog post. However, just before I hit the "post" button, we began to see signs that something was going badly wrong, and the baby miscarried at the end of the first trimester. 

Things then proceeded to get even more complicated the following week when I ended up being hospitalized for complications following the miscarriage. 

Thus, with morning sickness, a week-long loss, a hospitalization, and now trying to work my way back to normal life (not to mention the craziness dealing with two surprise litters of kittens from our adopted strays!), life has been one crazy mess. 

I will be posting my April "Books Lately" post soon, however. I will also - eventually, though not soon - post a birth story for our little one who didn't make it. Also, at some point, I will have a post to share about morning sickness research that I did during the pregnancy. None of it will be fast, but I'll get there sometime. 

In the meantime, your prayers for our family are welcomed, and I will be praying for you all as well. 

Love to all!

Books Lately, March 2023

March was a most interesting month. Sometime soon I will tell you all about it! But for now, let's talk a few minutes about teenagers. 

Ahem.

Parenting teenagers has been a most intriguing experience, and I won't say I've done a stellar job so far. It's been more like "muddling." We have experienced far more - both good and bad - than I ever expected, and it's been an adventure in prayer. It's also been an adventure in intense marital conversation, as my husband and I meet time after time to discuss, "Okay, what should we do about such-and-such?"

One challenging area (out of many!) has been dealing with the coming spectre of what-to-do-after-high-school. 

For my parents and me - and, I think, my generation as a whole - it was easy. In fact, it was a conversation that didn't happen, because the question wasn't asked. The answer was college. There was never a question of IF I was attending college; it was simply a matter of choosing which college to attend. While I no longer accept that as the sacred cow that it once was, it did present a very simple pathway for the future. 

Nowadays, it's not so easy. There are many more options, and college no longer has the rosy promises that it once had anyway - being that the market is saturated with college graduates, and many colleges (most?) have now turned into indoctrination camps. (Which is what my college was, too, though I was too naïve to realize it until years later.)

All that being the case, our current eldest teen has no interest in college anyway, so that question of "what next?" is a daunting one.

Have any of you out there dealt with this issue? 

Parenting teens is not for the faint-of-heart. (Or rather, it will turn the faint-of-heart into warriors, because that's the only option for not dying in the process.) I am already waiting for the day when our teen is grown and married with teenage children of his own, so that I can sit back and say, "HA!" (Is planning retribution that far in advance wrong?)

And with that, let's move on to the books from this past month!

 

After the Natural Law: How the Classical Worldview Supports Our Modern Moral and Political Values (John Lawrence Hill) - Oh, boy - this was GOOD. Short summary: Beginning with Thomistic philosophy from Medieval ages, the author works through worldview philosophy (materialism, determinism, etc.) to the present day. This is a great primer for those looking to study historical philosophy, and also a great work to begin understanding our present chaotic position in the post-Christian West. Challenging reading, but extremely well-written and highly rewarding. 

If you're interested in more "how did we get into this mess?" books, try one of my favorites - Carl Trueman's "The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution."

Lord of the World (Benson) - This book blew me away. Written in 1907, it is a fictional vision of the end of the world according to the Christian vision of the rise of the antichrist and world totalitarian government. The two main character sets are (1) a Catholic priest, and (2) the family of a man who eventually becomes a member of the antichrist's inner circle. 

Being that the book was written well over a hundred years ago, it was interesting firstly to see what prophetic elements the author got right and wrong. For example, he rightly foresaw the decline of the Christian religion and the rise of both government control and secular humanism, as well as the widespread use of euthanasia, but did not foresee the breakdown of the family and the rise of the sexual revolution and critical theory. (In 1907, only the most prescient thinkers saw anything along those lines coming.) But this fellow was very clear-thinking, and he got a lot of things right.

This book was incredibly, incredibly dark - another surprise from a vintage book. I actually took the technique of speed-reading through parts of it to make it to the end of the book, as I was determined to finish it and find out the ending. Part of that is that is from my having spent considerable time stressing over is-this-the-end-of-the-world issues stemming from the COVID shut-downs over the past three years (government overreach and totalitarian control, population tracking, closed borders, vaccine passports, etc.), and so some of the material felt uncomfortably close to home. 

My own introduction to end-times literature came in college, when I heard a mention of a certain popular rapture-based end-times book series. Having been raised in a liberal church that did not preach any end-times theology, I had never heard of eschatology in any form, and I devoured the series. While I appreciate that series, and the role it played in my spiritual growth, "Lord of the World" is much, much better. If you can take dark literature, I highly recommend this book. It's a winner. 

Back to Virtue (Peter Kreeft) – I have heard Peter Kreeft called "this generation's C.S. Lewis," and I thoroughly concur in this view. Every one of his books that I have read has been a gem - and this book is no exception. In "Back to Virtue," Peter Kreeft writes in detail Christian virtue - both virtue as an ethical system in itself, and about particular virtues (and their respective vices). Highly recommended.

Symbol or Substance? A Dialogue on the Eucharist with C. S. Lewis, Billy Graham, and J.R.R. Tolkien (Peter Kreeft) - I have been doing a lot of reading on the Eucharist lately, and this book is a gem. Written as a fictional dialogue between three famous theological characters of the twentieth century, the book debates the three major views of the Eucharist, including J. R. R. Tolkien (Roman Catholic = transubstantiation), C. S. Lewis (Anglican = Real Presence), and Billy Graham (Baptist = memorialist). Many other related topics are also debated and discussed. Masterfully drawn, and a very enjoyable read. 

And a few recipes...

Easy Fluffy Homemade Waffles - We enjoyed these very much! As a side note, I love Lindsay's videos, which are top-notch (most are about cakes and cake decorating), and her frosting tutorial is my go-to review video almost every time I make a birthday cake (which, with ten people around here, is pretty often). 

Roasted White Sweet Potatoes - I was wondering what on earth to do with these queer-looking sweet potatoes, but after trying this recipe, I am in love. Try it - you'll love it. 

Roasted Broccoli and Mushrooms - Farewell, steamed broccoli! It's been fun! (But not that fun.) Broccoli is sooo much better roasted, and the combination with mushrooms was delicious. I'm pretty much finding out that any vegetable is better off roasted than steamed. There were no leftovers. 

Dairy-Free Cream Puff Filling - I used the filling part of the recipe from this site (not the puffs themselves, as I didn't have rice flour on hand). Oddly enough, it turned out well (I was expecting the cream to smell/taste nauseatingly of coconut, as most coconut-milk recipe products do, but it didn't. It was delicious!) This would make a lovely dairy-free vanilla pudding. (I reduced the sugar to 1/3 cup.)

As for the pies this month...

Um, they didn't happen. I think I've fallen off the bandwagon. 

But anyway....

Happy Holy Week and Happy Easter, dear friends! I'll see you next month! 

Books Lately, February 2023

 

February was an interesting month.

First, we got sick. (Mystery bug.)

Then, we got sick again. (A nasty cold.)

Lastly, we got sick again. (Flu.)

And that about sums it up.

In between all that, we had a lot of fun with various things - Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent, a trip north to visit grandparents, and lots of work finishing up our family projects for Christmas. (Yes, really.) Those included the making of our Christmas eggnog (yes, in February), creating a Christmas wreath (we started this a year ago), and making clove oranges (this one took only ten minutes, phew!), all of which went surprisingly well. (Except for a snag with one of the clove oranges, which disappeared mysteriously when the toddler got into things. We couldn't figure out where the orange had gone, until it occurred to me that I'd been smelling an odd citrusy-clove smell whenever I ran the garbage disposal in the sink. Oops.)

Clove oranges, plus a spontaneous Christmas project by the 8yo. 

And now, onto this month's books!

Books Lately, February 2023

Three Men in a Boat (Not to Mention the Dog) (Jerome K. Jerome) – I can't believe I've gone this far in life and not read this little gem of a book. So sweet, and so hilariously funny. I highly recommend nabbing a copy.

When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Movement (Ryan Anderson) – From one reviewer, "If you are at all concerned about this issue, and feel troubled and needs [sic] some clear insights and answers to your questions, this is the best place to start, and probably the only book you'll need to read." Great book.

The Cheese Trap: How Breaking a Surprising Addiction Will Help You Lose Weight, Gain Energy, and Get Healthy (Neil D. Barnard, MD) - Years ago, I decided to quit dairy cold turkey. Two things surprised me: (1) some unexpected health benefits, such as weight loss and the complete disappearance of my monthly ovulation pain, and (2) even more surprising, the fact that during the first two weeks of getting completely off of dairy, I actually went through what can only be termed withdrawal. (It was weird.) Ever since, I've been fascinated by the topic of dairy. This book is very informative. A couple of issues:

• Nutritionists in the U.S. can basically be divided into two camps - the low-fat vegetarian camp (fruit, vegetables, and grains are good; meat and fats are bad), and the paleo camp (vegetables, good fats, and meat are good; grains and sugars are bad). The author is clearly in the first camp, and that set of assumptions is present throughout the book.
• That being the case, the title of the book is a bit misleading. What the title and cover *say* are "give up cheese!" but what the author actually means is "give up cheese, all dairy products, and all animal products like meat and eggs!" Again, a bit misleading.
• Lastly, while I appreciate the section on the inhumane treatment of dairy cows, I don't think that that material is pertinent to the question of whether or not dairy is healthy for humans. Farming practices can be changed for the better. The issue at hand is not ethics or good/bad farming practices, but whether dairy as a food product is inherently good or bad for human health.
• The author does not mention the A1 vs. A2 milk protein debate, which I found disappointing. (Perhaps, as the author is a vegan, he considers the "are some milk proteins better than others" question to be a moot point.)

I should probably note that I'm not anti-dairy. I do think that what we modern humans have done to dairy has made it into a substance that causes health problems for many people. But if dairy is in its original state, I think it has amazing health benefits and is a valuable food source. I just don't think I'm ambitious enough to search out that kind of dairy (or pay for it!). However, this book is a good resource, and I'm planning to try some of the dairy-free cheese recipes. (Translation: Bring on the cashews!)

My Beloved: The Story of a Carmelite Nun (Catherine Thomas) - I have always been interested in the phenomenon of monastic life. While my favorite autobiographical account of monastic life is and remains The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton, this one is a close second. The book is an autobiographical account of a woman's youth, her decision, in the 1920s, to be come a nun, and her life as a nun into the 1950s, when the book was penned. It is a fascinating historical account, and a beautiful spiritual memoir as well. Highly recommended. 

Current Read-Alouds for Children

The Middle Moffat (Eleanor Estes, book #2 of 4 in the Moffats series) - I love the Moffats series. So slow-paced, so gently funny, so real to everyday life and the experiences of childhood. Also, a great book for giving children (and adults!) insight into American life in the early 1900s - coal stoves, handmade clothing, horsedrawn conveyance (giving way to automobiles, alas). This series - and other books by Estes - are a joy.

The Duchess Bakes a Cake (Virginia Kahl) - I ran across this picture book randomly, and loved it. Superbly funny, skillfully illustrated, and containing - what a change from most modern children's books! - really well-written poetic verse. I will definitely be looking out a copy for our own family library. 

American Girl: Kirsten and American Girl: Molly (American Girl) - I enjoyed these series very much as a child, and my 8yo is now loving them. I have heard that some American Girl series are awesome, and some are not - if any readers know which are which, I'd love to know more. Leave me a comment! 

Our Christmas wreath craft!

And now, a few recipes (maybe more than a few)

My Granny's Cocoa Cream Pie - After our 8yo lost the notebook where I keep my husband's family recipes, I had to come up with an alternate chocolate pie recipe. This one was great! My changes were the following: (1) I scalded the milk before adding to the other ingredients - this massively speeds up the cooking process. To make this work, I liquified the other ingredients with a few tablespoons of water. You could also just use part of the milk before you heat the milk. (2) I folded a few tablespoons of butter (actually, butter-flavored coconut oil, but I digress) into the final pudding for extra richness. My husband's grandmother used a full half cup of butter - you can't beat southerners for butter! - but I can't bring myself to add quite that much. 

Old Fashioned Egg Nog - I used a half-teaspoon of cinnamon in place of the cinnamon sticks, and also reduced the sugar by one-third (and added a wee bit of stevia). I also followed one commenter's suggestion to reserve one cup and the cream to whip and then whisk in before serving, for extra body. The entire family loved it. 

Sausage and Rice Casserole - Easy! Healthy! Fast! Yum. I doubled this and put it in a 10x15 pan - perfect for a larger family - and served with steamed carrots. 

Corn Dip - This is so incredibly good. The jalapenos are optional, and my copy of this recipe didn't have green onions, so those are also optional. Additionally, I could only find larger can sizes for the corn, so I slightly upped the mayo and sour cream to concentrate. Mmmmmm.

Shoofly Pie - TakeThemaMeal.com is my favorite meal sign-up program, and their recipes are awesome too. Sign up for their mailing list, and you'll get lots of great and helpful articles and recipes in your inbox. This recipe was one of them! It turned out well, and the family - surprisingly, for Shoofly Pie is an unusual taste! - loved it. 

Fluffy Vegan Banana Pancakes - What do you do when egg prices sky-rocket? You look for vegan pancake recipes! And while I am not a vegan, or a proponent of veganism, I have noticed that vegan baking recipes are often as good - or better! - than regular recipes. This one was delightful. 

Chiles Rellenos Casserole - This was a favorite from childhood, the recipe to which I lost about twenty years ago. Then, last week, it suddenly struck me - "To the internet!" Thankfully, the recipe is still out there in cyberspace, and it is now back in my repertoire. Because I don't usually keep ground turkey on hand, I used ground beef. I doubled the recipe and put it in a 10x15 pan. Mmmmm.

Pioneer Woman Fruit Cake - My first fruitcake, and a roaring success it was. The family fought like rabid dogs over the crumbs. Because I don't care for a heavy taste of alcohol, I used a syrup with a hint of brandy (rather than straight brandy) for the moistener at the end. To quote from the review I left: "I soaked my fruit in a mixture of half brandy and half apple cider, and for moistening the cooked fruitcake I made a rich syrup (2/3 cup sugar, 1/3 cup water, made with water simmered with orange rind, for flavor) plus a tablespoon of brandy." Next year I will make even more fruitcakes! Many more!

Pies This Month

Week #1 - Chocolate
Week #2 - Shoofly
Week #3 - We blew it. Sick. No pie.
Week #4 - Still sick, still blowing it. No pie. 

That's all, folks! I'll see you in April, and have a happy Lent until then! (And Happy St. Patrick's Day!)

Books Lately, January 2023

 

What do you do when you love to write, and still, years later, don't have the time?

Good question. I'm still working on an answer.

And yes, I have read Jennifer Fulwiler's excellent book, Your Blue Flame. I loved it.

But I still don't have time. 

(I did try the whole "get up at 4:00 a.m. to write" thing. I lasted two days before I collapsed. Back to the drawing board.)

In the meantime, I did come up with the idea of posting my monthly reading log. I'll provide brief comments, and readers are welcome to chime in. I love to hear your thoughts.

A few ground rules:

(1) I will post books under the month in which I finish each book. Thus, if I started a book in 2017 and finished it in January 2023, under January 2023 it shall go.

(2) This is not a complete list. I will not be listing books that have to do with issues I feel are too personal to discuss publicly. Just an FYI, y'all.

(3) As always, discussion should stay at least relatively positive. Comments in the "You are an idiot, woman!" genre should generally remain unsaid. Also, know that books these days can be a mixed bag. My listing a book does not mean that I am giving a full thumbs-up to 100% of the book's content. Use discretion. 

Our New Year's 2023 started with a gorgeous double rainbow...

... followed thirty minutes later by our FIRST-EVER hailstorm here in the valley! (We've lived here for twenty years!) Our children were so excited! This reminds me that perhaps I should make time for a family update sometime... perhaps soon!

And now, moving on to January 2023 books!

No Apologies: Why Civilization Depends Upon the Strength of Men (Anthony Esolen) - Before you read one more word of this post, go to your local library or bookstore and pick up this book. Right now. Before you do anything else. (I'm waiting, y'all.)

Goodbye, Things: The New Japanese Minimalism (Fumio Sasaki) - Guess how long it took this chap to pack his apartment, drive his stuff to his new place, and unpack? (Drumroll....) Ninety minutes! Wow! The book is, obviously, extreme, but there are great minimalist lessons here. 

The Deep Places: A Memoir of Illness and Discovery (Ross Douthat) - I picked up this book because I have greatly enjoyed Ross Douthat's previous works, such as Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics. I had no idea that this most current work was about Lyme disease. But now I know a lot about Lyme disease, and so will you after you read this book! (And I will never, never, ever go anywhere NEAR tick country. Ever.) Downsides include various dives into U.S. politics and Covid politics, but aside from those, the book is a gem - especially for anyone wanting to gain or share knowledge about life with chronic illness (Lyme disease or other).

The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World (John Comer) - Written by a Protestant pastor. So good. 

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Re-reading this for the first time since high school. It's pretty good. If you love funny writing in this style, try P. G. Wodehouse. (Spoiler alert: Wodehouse is better. But this book is pretty funny too.)

Just Show Up: The Dance of Walking Through Suffering Together (Kara Tippetts and Jill Lynn Buteyn) – Written by a woman dying of cancer, and a friend who accompanied her on that journey. Good stuff. I hope that a later edition of the book will distill the main points into an appendix so that each reader doesn't have to go through the book making notes. One of my favorite parts was the bit about being gentle on oneself regarding one's hospitality style. Like the author (Jill), I am a "give me two weeks' notice" kind of woman when it comes to hospitality. Her encouragement to work with our styles rather than fret over our deficiencies was wonderful. 

Lazy Genius Kitchen: Have What You Need, Use What You Have, and Enjoy It Like Never Before (Kendra Adachi) – I will quote from my Amazon review: "The content is amazing, the writing is skillful, interesting, and funny, and the layout is super-practical and helpful. Additionally, as a side note, the book is aesthetically delightful - the paper, the fonts, the colors, the binding, the artwork, are all done to perfection. It is a literary, culinary, and aesthetic joy." I am now off to read the original book, "The Lazy Genius Way: Embrace What Matters, Ditch What Doesn't, and Get Stuff Done."

The Perfectly Imperfect Home: How to Decorate and Live Well (Deborah Needleman) - Lovely thoughts, lovely pictures. However, you still have to have some basic talent to work with. (I'm missing that part.) But I did pick up some good hints! (Such as, "Every room should have one antique." Okay, I can do that. Maybe.)

Current Read-Alouds for Children

The Bobbsey Twins of Lakeport (Laura Lee Hope) - I loved this series as a child, and my husband is now reading these to our children. 

The Lighthouse Mystery (Boxcar Mystery series by Gertrude Chandler Warner) - Another much-loved childhood series. 

A Bear Called Paddington (Michael Bond) - We love Paddington! My husband plays an online audio version for the boys at night. (We have all memorized the theme music.)

Bonus! A few awesome new recipes from this month...

Caramel Popcorn - This is the kind of recipe that makes people act like ravaging beasts. Seriously.

Crockpot Mississippi Pot Roast - The best recipes are (1) healthy, (2) delicious, (3) fast. Usually, you can only net two points out of three for a given recipe. This is one of those recipes that garners all three points, and it is utterly amazing. Next time I will add baby carrots to the crockpot. 

Almond Flour Chocolate Cake - Gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free. So good that no one knew it was healthy, and they still gobbled it up - and it was delicious. Only downside... it still has sugar in the form of honey, so not okay for people doing keto or low-carb. However, I have found that - goodness gracious! - there is a keto honey substitute out there! I bought some and am going to make the cake again for my dad. 

Upon thinking about it for a few days...

I realize that I am actually using my "blue flame" - but only in the ways that directly bless my family, rather than personal ways (like writing). Specifically, I have been working on finding homemaking tasks, especially cooking-related, that speak to my deepest loves. One way that I am expanding my personal joys this year is in the baking of pies. I adore pie-making... but I never make them. This year, however, my husband and I have combined forces to make two never-happening things - pies, and family devotions - happen at last. Every Saturday, I make a pie. And we have a family devotion. The pie happens after the family devotion, and not otherwise. Motivation, y'all. In January, our pies were...

Pumpkin

Apple

Pecan

Lemon Icebox

Let's see if I can keep this one up!

Another homemaking love that I have pursued of late has been - drumroll, please! - fruitcake. Yes, seriously. I adore fruitcake, and have been *meaning* to make one for, um, decades now. This year, I finally made it happen. Oh, so delicious. Other cooking projects on the horizon are pierogi and pasties. 

Have a great month, everyone! I hope to check in again in March!