We are progressing along. Physically both of us have reduced our weight. More than anything now, we are learning how to keep food amounts reasonable. I believe this is the first step in a long journey.
Spiritually, we continue to enjoy the church we have found. We both do more each day by incorporating spiritual things into our lives. We spent time searching for a group to share our spiritual life with about two years ago. Since July 2021, we have found a spiritual home for ourselves. I would imagine that we never thought that would happen for us. It is a way for our family to grow even more stable.
We have struggled with putting out a blog, video, or photo. Whether political discussions or health discussions about COVID, we have tried to make it through while not aggravating the situation with friends and family. It wasn’t that we didn’t have a perspective. It has been that we did not see a benefit in arguing with anyone about it. We see life and the world one way. That does not mean that the way we see it is the correct way. We all benefit from allowing people to express their views and ideas. If my family wants to have the option to share our opinions and thoughts, we have to be open to others sharing their views and thoughts with us.
I have sought out and looked for something I could feel comfortable sharing with others along those lines. As we begin the year 2022, I believe I have found something. During the next six months, David and I will start a new journey to better health. A step that we are taking in that journey is changing our nutrition. During this time, we plan to document and share with you our progress. We will be open about our progress.
Part of this journey will appear physical. But we have also made changes in our spiritual lives. We sought a space for our spiritual lives to grow and change. We found that and will share more about that in the coming months.
There are things we do to try to improve mentally and spiritually. To borrow a goal from Mama – “Wear out instead of rust out.” This path isn’t a goal for this year. We do this all the time. We are choosing to share this journey during this year initially.
As we have pushed forward with some changes, we have felt increased conflict in other parts of our lives. Some people freely share the good and bad things that happen in their world. We are choosing to go forward from this point, being open about life and the changes it brings. Life is a journey, this is our journey, and this is one outlet for us to share it.
As time passes and life moves forward, we may change what we share and mention here. The choice now is to show you the physical changes due to a shift in our nutrition. The hope is this will be a way for us to see the changes and allow you to ask questions. It may also be the easiest to notice and share.
While this post is by Dalton, David has a chance to edit, review it, and make changes before it is shared online. He will write articles in the coming months. I am moving forward with this because of my enjoyment and what I learn from others who share their journeys online.
The gas insert for the fireplace has been completed. Doing this will allow us to enjoy more space in the house easier and year-round. The intention is to be able to heat the living room better at a moment’s notice.
Now we will remove the old gas wall heater, patch the wall, and start painting the walls this fall/winter.
We are weeks away from finishing the electrical upgrade. Upgrading the electric service seems to have a lot of different things in progress at one time. We are winding down the exterior projects as the cooler weather approaches.
The hope is that it decreases stress and reduces anxiety. It is exciting to see progress happening, but we can’t keep up this level of progress. While it is exciting to get a trench dug and a conduit in place in the backyard, it isn’t something you can see casually like a new curtain or rug.
The next major project will wait until sometime in the spring of 2021.
David’s future art studio has a new door. The race is on to get as much done as possible before the winter comes. The goal is to get all of the external upgrades completed as soon as possible.
The windows are next on the list. The electrical service is after that. Then the plumbing, interior wall placement, and insulation.
We will also be putting the gardens to bed and moving plants in the back yard to get ready for the deck installation.
The plan is to be finished with all the renovations within 40 months. We have already started shifting projects into colder and hotter months. That way, we can continue to get things completed and taken off the list. The list is fluid to a degree. Our hope is it will allow us to get some major projects completed during the next 40 months and, at the same time, juggle the smaller tasks to fit within this time frame.
The next major project will be getting a deck built onto the back of the house. That is scheduled to take place in the warmer months of 2021. Smaller tasks include installing a gate, finishing the exterior walls on the older home on the northeast corner of the lot, and connecting electrical service to that house. Before the deck goes in, the water heater has to be upgraded. That is probably the next task to complete.
I briefly skimmed an article months ago. It described how important bees are to the food we eat. I had known this before but wasn’t sure how to explain it to someone.
I water part of our garden by hand every day, sometimes twice a day on sweltering days. I focus on the sidewalk gardens on the edges of our property. There are five trees planted that be we are hoping it get established over the next two seasons. Along with the trees are several lavender bushes and a white clover groundcover that is beginning to grow.
When I am out watering, there are many pollinators on the bushes. It is usually bees, but sometimes butterflies. I have seen hummingbirds on the trumpet vines. The other day a gentleman was walking by with his young daughter. She noticed the bees and began screaming in fear. Her father tried to keep her calm.
A honey bee pollinates every third bite we eat. Every THIRD bite. I understand many people are allergic to bee stings. I realize the need to be cautious. I choose not to swat or kill the bees. I am thankful the bees are here.
I have attached a short (nine-minute) video I found on Youtube.
The projects for this weekend include organizing the linen closet. One of the things about living in a small space is that things need to be very organized. Other things that impact being more organized are working from home and having more time at home and fewer options for doing other items on the weekend. So we end up doing things at home that enhance our nest.
Typically, during the warmer sunny times of the year we do more things away from home. The colder wet winter months tend to be more of a time to stay home. This is not the case this year.
So, many of the things we put on the list of projects get done slowly over time. Now, we do more things on the list and keep going forward. That is why I’m organizing the linen closet.
steelereed.com 