I’ve always wanted one… a Farm Sink.  Some people call them Apron Front Sinks…

We call ours The Queen.

When it came right down to buying a kitchen sink, I was a bit intimidated by all the hoo-haa that goes along with installing a farm sink. These babies are high maintenance, they have to have supports to hold up the ample weight, the plumbing is a bit more difficult to hook up due to the cramped quarters in her nether-region, the base of the cabinet has to be redone to fit all her curves and she has to have her underpants( the cabinet doors) either modified or just plain re-made so her unmentionables don’t show!

But nothing intimidates The Husband, not even a super high maintenance kitchen vessel, so he insisted we put in a farm sink.

“I’ll figure out all the details” he promised.  I never doubted him for a minute because that man is over-the-top amazing.

When we were moving we found these doors I had saved from an old armoire.  The Husband made a headboard out of two of the bigger doors so I felt certain we’d find something great to do with these smaller ones.

“How about using these to cover up The Queen’s private parts?” I held one up like a trophy.

He wrinkled his brows but a week later…

TaaaaDaaaaa!

I told you, he’s amazing! (It wasn’t all that easy he had to shave down the inside to make them thinner, among several other adjustments!)

Overall The Queen was a lot of trouble but thus far she’s totally rockin the kitchen!

Reba-the-cat approves but resents the idea that there’s another Queen in the house besides her.

~Sending you love today my friends~

Hello my Friends…

Some of you know that I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease 12 months ago.

Because I read everything I could find in those first months after I was diagnosed, I think it’s important to put my story out there in case at some point in the future, someone is discouraged with their health and googles their symptoms or googles living with Celiac…and my blog pops up. I tried to put this into one post but it’s too much, so I’m breaking it up into smaller parts that I’ll publish once a week for the next 3 weeks…

If you’re bored out of your gourd with talk of autoimmune issues, I don’t blame you! Just ignore these posts, I’ll do fun stuff between the 3 Celiac posts! But like I said, I think this is important so here it goes…

***

Part One~Symptoms

A year ago when I was diagnosed, I was on my fourth doctor, all of whom had run every test you can think of…some of my symptoms were odd and not the ones you’d normally associate with Celiac, maybe that’s why none of my first 3 docs thought to test for Celiac. Don’t even get me started on WHY none of the doctors even considered doing a Celiac panel…don’t get me started because I might go off on Big Pharm and my bias against them which will inevitably lead me back to doctors in the United States who are way behind the rest of the free world in the diagnosis of Celiac Disease…really, you don’t want me on the soap box.

Anyhoo…

Whatever the reason, three doctors never considered doing a Celiac panel on me.

Here were the symptoms I listed for every doctor- (Like I said before,  I’m writing this because I wish I’d known that the symptoms of Celiac Disease were so much more than tummy issues when I was searching for what was going on with my body.)

Ok…here they are, the worst of my symptoms before going gluten-free…

*terrible pain (getting worse and worse) in my left groin

*excessive tingling prickles in my feet that kept me up at night-driving me CRAZY

*aching joints, to the point of often feeling like I had a high fever

*hip pain so severe that at times I had a difficult time walking up hills or stairs

*thinning hair

*Osteopenia

*swollen joints in my hands

*insomnia – for 5 years before my Celiac diagnosis, I never slept through the night without the help of sleep aids. I would wake and read in bed for 2 to 3 hours or sometimes just get up and do a project!

 * 3/4 of my eyelashes on my left eye fell out

*horrific heartburn

* sores in my mouth and peeling in my mouth that left the inside of my mouth raw, like it was burned

*nausea, like...I must be pregnant nausea- (I was so perplexed by the overwhelming nausea that I actually took a pregnancy test…I was 48 years old and took a pregnancy test!)

*excessive (even for me) anxiety

* debilitating exhaustion

And the final straw…* A 15 lb. weight loss in 3 months (without trying)

***

Many of the symptoms started 7 years ago and escalated with each passing year.  I had all the symptoms for 3 years before I was diagnosed.

After going from doctor to doctor getting test after test one of my doctors – a male- told me to just relax and enjoy my weight loss! Finally, my daughter Bethany insisted that I go to her GI doctor at Atlanta’s Piedmont hospital.

During my first visit, Dr. Jagiella listened to me, poked around a little and started listing things she’d check in my blood work, somewhere in her list of things, she mentioned doing a Celiac panel.

I rolled my eyes.

Because no matter what…I DID NOT have Celiac Disease. My BFF Julie has Celiac Disease and if there’s one thing I didn’t want to do it was to be forced to eat like Julie.

Dr. Jagiella called me shortly after my visit to say she’d never seen blood work so “over the top-Celiac”.

A week later a biopsy (of my lower intestine)  confirmed the blood work and I shuffled around for a month in a daze. But on the upside, everyone…and I do mean everyone I talked to and every blog I read, told me that I’d feel 100% better (quickly) after coming off of evil gluten.

Everyone except Dr. Jagiella.

Dr. Jagiella told me that I wouldn’t feel better for a year.

I rolled my eyes at her again and thought, what does she know, she doesn’t have Celiac Disease.

Turns out she knew a lot more than I gave her credit for…like the condition of my small intestine, which was apparently damaged.

Sorry to talk small intestines~

Okay, if you’re looking for a sunshine perspective I’ll give you one tomorrow. But today, I’m going to be honest with you, I did not feel better after going gluten free. I felt worse. Turns out my body wasn’t absorbing nutrients, I had weeks of iron infusions which helped only  a little and darn if most of my symptoms stayed with me at the same intensity for 6 months.

(Three months after the Celiac Diagnosis my Rheumatologist diagnosed me with Sjorgen’s Syndrome which does in all fairness have the side effects of fatigue and joint pain…so Celiac wasn’t the only thing wreaking havoc in my body)

***

The take-aways  here are simple…

1-Celiac Disease is an auto immune disease that causes lots of different symptoms.

2-You are in charge of your health. If you know something isn’t right with your health, don’t give up. I’m sorry, but you can’t completely trust your doctor. If you don’t get answers…keep searching.

***

~Thanks for hanging with me this past year my sweet friends~

What do you do to restore order in your world?

Everyone has some level of disorder. For some, the disorder blows in during the time spent at work. Others spend their days at home with their little ones under foot and find that most days it takes monumental effort to keep the chaos in check.

And then there are those of you with little people who work an outside job all day and come home to give everything you have left to your family. Bless you, bless you, bless you…

So how do you do it? How do you restore order and serenity to your little world?

For me it boils down to this:

ritual.

And the order-restoring rituals are most always beautifully simplistic.

Things like, a few minutes of quiet while soaking in a warm bath, a pause right in the middle of business to bend my knees in prayer, an early morning walk with Ollie-the-Beagle,  the repetitive act of folding clothes warm from the dryer…

Today it was washing fresh, chubby blueberries. Scooping up a palm-full and letting them roll through my fingers.

Breathe deep.

Popping one into my mouth, I can’t help smiling, because how can something so tiny burst with so much flavor ?

Give thanks.

~Thank you…for this sink full of fresh berries…for the taste of spring-time…the birds singing outside my window…for all shades of blue…for deep breaths and for making a house a home~

And right then, as order seeped back in, I decided to make a Blueberry Crisp, because you know me…nothing says ‘all’s-right-with-the-world’  like something sweet right out of the oven

Needing a quick and easy recipe, I consulted my favorite gluten-free cook:  The Gluten Free Goddess

Other than a simple bowl full of fresh berries, this is about the easiest and quickest berry dessert ever.

Gluten Free Blueberry Crisp

Recipe by Gluten Free Goddess

* 2 pints fresh blueberries, or any berries, picked over, rinsed, drained

*1/3 cup Spectrum Organic Shortening

The kitchen on Stone House Lane is one step closer to being done.

The Husband finished tiling the backsplash Sunday night and I finished grouting yesterday.

I have added putting in tile as #nine-hundred-eighty-seventh thing I’m not meant to do … nuff said.

I chose subway tile for the backsplash for a few reasons-

1-I love the vintage feel-it’s been around forever and the classic look stands the test of time, I DO NOT want to get tired of it because, I don’t EVER want to tile my backsplash again!

2-I wanted to calm down the counter top…if you remember, I originally wanted marble counter tops but they are just too delicate for me in the kitchen. My next choice was quartz that looks similar to marble…but The Husband yawned every time he looked at quartz. So we set out to find a granite that had a similar ‘feel’ as marble…soft, subtle, light.

This is not an easy thing to do…but, Jessica, at Crowe Custom Countertop, helped me find this Galaxy White (Sometimes called: White Galaxy or Bianco Galaxy) granite, which she thought, (and I agree) has a bit of a marble ‘feel’ with quartz veining that sparkles. (The Husband loved the sparkly veining )

When they installed the granite, it was a little louder than I hoped…I want a calming whisper not a blaring: “YO! Look at ME! I’m granite!’

The awesome Jessica, (with Crowe Custom Countertops) told me to WAIT until the granite was installed to pick my backsplash. Boy was she right!

Before the install,  I picked out and bought, samples of  glass tiles and a gorgeous mosaic. When I held them up next to the newly installed granite, they  took the noise level up a notch. Tooooo much pattern, toooo much movement. Just to much.

Sometimes, less is more.

So I decided to consider the tried and true (and super-cheap) white subway tile.

I’m telling ya, the effect was exactly what I was looking for…calming, light…with a bit of a vintage feel.

(It’s only my tiny opinion mind you, but loud granite and a loud backsplash tile can overwhelm a space. Do one, if you’re so inclined but maybe avoid doing both-just my opinion, and what do I know )

***

It helps me feel like I’m getting somewhere with this remodel and move when I remember how far we’ve come!

Okay…just breathe. It’s coming along.

~Sending you love this morning my friends~

Just taking a moment to say hello from the land of :

Holy Cannoli-Moving-is-Hard!

Slowly The Husband and I are getting things under control. I can’t wait to show you the results of Mr. Max & Buck’s (The King’s Carpentry)  handiwork all over the house. The photo above shows one of the things they did for us… the arch. There were two arch’s already and in an effort to open up the space even more they added the one in the center. We love the result!

***

Now after nearly two weeks of moving (And we STILL haven’t completely cleaned out the old house!)I have a few thoughts on the subject:

Moving is not for sissies – in case you didn’t know…I’m a big-ole sissy.

Moving is not for old people.- in case you didn’t know…I was born old.

 Moving makes even organized humans feel overwhelmingly disorganized…speaking for myself here.

You lose things when you move…like remotes and your favorite coffee mug and your mind.

Moving makes you forget your words…trying to ask a simple question comes out something like this:

“Do you know where that….you know that thing I need for the … for the thing I’m putting together in the…the other room … don’t look at me that way, you know what I’m talking about, I can’t think right now, but YOU had it yesterday…WHAT DID YOU DO WITH IT?????

Moving makes you snap at those you love…it’s gotten so snappy around here that The Husband and are beginning to burst out in hysterical laughter at our grumpiness, which is good because for awhile there was talk of killing each other.

Moving upsets the balance of the universe and may cause some people to hide in a corner of the closet under their favorite blue  blanket.

***

Sending love and hugs from under my blanket…

There are tiny corners of my life that are serene.

Not many, but there are a few.

Moving is a big deal, maybe I knew this before I don’t remember. Of course I don’t remember anything right now.

My mind is less orderly than my house.

How, I wonder, can that BE?

At some point in the past two weeks of (first) vacation, (then) packing and moving, I got glutened.

Twice.

So perhaps it’s the physiological reaction to gluten that’s pulling me under.  Or maybe it’s the basement with 27 boxes waiting to be unpacked or the upstairs with 3 bedrooms full of unpacked boxes. Whatever it is, I’m finding myself in a fog, wandering from room to room forgetting what I’m doing.

But in the confusion, I’m trying very hard to hear the God whispers and He seems to be urging me not to put my serenity on hold until my ‘world’ is under control, but to rest in the serenity I do have.

Even if it’s just a little.

So in the chaos, I’m sneaking in serenity-breaks. Pausing in one of the three places that are actually in control on Stone House Lane.

I stop.

I sit.

And take a moment to pray or journal or to read a Psalm.

Everything will get done. The gluten will leave my system. The boxes will get unpacked. The house will transform into home.

And I will have learned a little more about God’s grace.

~He is faithful~

~Sending you love my friends, love and a prayer for sweet serenity to saturate your day~

Hi peeps! This is Emma again. I am writing to let you all know that Mom is still moving into her beautiful new home and hasn’t gotten the internet set up yet! So, no posts for a few days but of course as soon as they get all settled in she will be back!

Hope you all had a wonderful Mother’s Day!

I’ve posted this quote for several years in May for my sweet friends who’ve lost their precious mothers. It says best, most of what’s buried deep in my heart…

“The terrible things that happen to us in this life never make any sense when we’re in the middle of them, floundering, no end in sight. There is no rope to hang on to, it seems.  Mothers can soothe children during those times, through their reassurance. No one worries about you like your mother, and when she is gone, the world seems unsafe, things that happen unwieldy.

You cannot turn to her anymore, and it changes your life forever. There is no one on earth who knew you from the day your were born; who knew why you cried, or when you’d had enough food; who knew exactly what to say when you were hurting; and who encouraged you to grow a good heart. When that layer goes, whatever is left of your childhood goes with her. Memories are very different and cannot soothe you the same way her touch did.”

~Adriana Trigiani~Big Stone Gap

***

Missing my mom today and praying for all my sweet friends whose mothers watch them from the other side of eternity.

love love love to you

Words have power.

Most everyone over twenty-five has learned this lesson. Me…

I’ve learned it over and over. What you say matters.

A couple of months ago I had a … Hummmmm, I’ll call it a disappointment. I let my guard down and allowed myself to dream a dream I thought was long dead and buried.

It was nothing huge, at least it wasn’t huge from an outside perspective. But from in here where I live, from this heart of mine, the impact of the resurrection of that dream and once again it’s death,  opened a hidden wound.

And for a little while, I hurt.

I have this friend Shannon. I met Shan through Sara (Gitzen Girl). Sara and Shan were best friends…still are I suppose, only Sara’s living on the other side of eternity and Shan is still on her earthly journey.

Anyhoo, Shan is this tender hearted soul who loves well.

She sent me a text in the middle of my melt-down, asking how I was…so I told her.

“I’m hurting. I allowed myself to dream a dream I thought long dead…and it isn’t working out…so here I am again burying this dream…and it’s hurting my feelings.”

I left out the details of the dream, because honestly, I was embarrassed and felt silly allowing myself to dream it again…

What she wrote back brought me to my knees. Literally.

“How brave you are to dream again Sweet One…”

Weeping, on my knees I felt Gods arms around me. He wasn’t looking at me like I was silly or foolish, His words to me were Shannon’s words…

How brave you are to dream again…

Those words have replayed in my heart a hundred times in the past weeks. Every single time I’m overwhelmed with two things…

How great is His love towards us

and

The power of our words

Shannon’s heart is tender and full of God’s love and out of her heart came His words for me.

And those words…they comforted.

They healed.

I pray that like Shan, my heart would be so full of Jesus that my words would be His words bringing comfort and healing.

***

Enjoy your day my friends…as for me, I’ll be continuing our move  from the Little White House to Stone House Lane~Smooches & Hugs

Oh my gracious goodness Friends, I’m a packing fool.

Sunday night when we got home from vacation, The Husband said he’d help me pack for a couple of hours since we were on San Francisco time and since “there’s a lot of packing for one person”.

...a lot of packing for ONE person?! Who’s that ONE person???

Before that moment I hadn’t given a thought to the fact that the packing was MY job! It’s kind of a no-brainer considering The Husband works 60 hours a week, but I hadn’t seen it until then.

Can I just say…TWENTY-THREE years of stuff and I’m in charge of packing it????????

AHHHHHHHHHH!

Actually, for two years we’ve been purging, so we live pretty lean. I’m not having to go through and throw out or donate…we’ve done that. Nevertheless, we still have a lot of stuff and I wasn’t kidding about being a packing fool.

Fool I tell ya.

Here’s what I mean…

 I packed all the food in the pantry and was forced to eat jelly toast for lunch. Finally in the late afternoon I broke down and went to Publix for peanut butter and bananas.

I mindlessly packed all the towels, something I didn’t realize until I got into my bath.

(note to self…a hand towel does not have enough acreage to dry off)

Toothpaste…packed. But I do have my toothbrush.

The Husband came home last night after stopping off at Stone House Lane to do a little work, he had a nasty cut on his finger…

“Ummmm, I need a band aid, any ideas?” He asked, looking at a room stacked full of boxes.

“You have Got to be kidding me?” I said overreacting. “You haven’t needed a band aid in five years and tonight, when they are packed somewhere in one of these boxes you need one….”

His eyebrows shot upward and he said something like forget I asked. (That may not have been his exact response…moving is hard on serenity people!)

Anyhoo, it’s very much like camping around here this week! I’ve packed all of our essentials and honestly I’m wondering if subconsciously  I did it on purpose. Like a mother bird pushing her baby out of the nest, me and The Husband, we’re so uncomfortable here that we’ll have no time to be sad about leaving the little white house. We are an orderly people and at this moment, we have NO order!!!!

Chaos proceeds simplicity.

Breathe.

Get up – finish packing.

Ok, I’m off to throw some other necessity into a box my friends.  A tiny prayer would be oh-so appreciated~

~Sending you love from ground zero~