A little bit of prepping for a cold, dark winter

I lit a fire in the fireplace and heated water for a large mug of coffee. I just came downstairs after sewing a patch on Indy's denim jacket , which she'd been asking me to do. Upstairs consists of two small rooms, the first one is for painting and sewing, and the second is Indy's room.
Downstais is a large kitchen and a living room the same size, a small alcove where I sleep, entrance hall, toilet, bathroom and now a small laundry /dressing room, which used to be a sauna. We have a 100 years old log sauna in the garden with no running water or electricity. The house itself was built in 1935 from logs as well and it used to be a farmhouse.

I peeled off the layers of particle board and plastic. The old floor planks are each one unique, and beautiful with their imperfections. How many feet have touched them, I wonder? This one wide plank had been badly hacked, apparently to fit under the subsequent flooring. I sanded and sanded some more, and it still stands out, but I love it. The finishing isn't even, but I don't mind. I only had a couple of weeks to fix the floors before we moved in!

The bathroom addition was built 30 years ago and I'm just about finished renovating it now. It is beautiful with stucco, Moroccan tiles and an old bathtub and vintage or vintage style elements.
I will post before and after pictures of the house soon!

I still have some work to do in the garden before winter comes. I should protect the fruit trees and berry bushes I planted, and I have some spring flower bulbs to plant still. In the middle of the dark and cold of the winter, I have the springtime with all the flowers to wait for.
I have planned to build a small greenhouse from old windows, and grow more edibles next year. I grew some potatoes, herbs, tomatoes, and bell peppers this year. And we got some raspberries and blueberries, even though it was the first year. There were already some redcurrant and blackcurrant bushes and a red gooseberry bush, which made tons of berries, so I froze a lot too. I only have small freezer in my fridge-freezer combo, so I need to get a bigger freezer.
As the world seems to get crazier by the day now, I have relaxed my standards of storing, or not storing things. Living in a house alone with my daughter it makes sense anyway. The stores are not too far away, but what if they deny access to the stores close by us, because I won't get the c-vaxx? I don't want to drive to a store all the time because I run out of things. Obviously we don't have tons of room for extra stuff in this small house, and with only a small shed for firewood and a few gardening things, I still won't turn into a hoarder.
I like to keep firewood, batteries, instant coffee (because even a zombie apocalypse is more survivable with coffee, I tell you!), dry yeast, flour, baking chocolate, nuts, dried fruit, cooking oil, some water, things like that. Extra wool blankets for super cold nights. I have electric radiators, but so far this fall only Indiana keeps hers on. I light the fireplace and at night I snuggle under multiple wool blankets. And I wear wool socks, because the floors are cold. Perhaps we need more rugs.

I still want to dig a well for water, I used too much water this past summer because it was scorching hot for weeks on end and I had little fruit trees and things to water. And I want to install a wood stove in the kitchen, that is next on my wish list for the house. We do have a firepit outside, so I can make my coffee there if we lose electricity this winter!

I do not miss our old city at all. We still attend the same church, as it is only a 40 minute drive from us. We also attend a Bible study here in our new hometown so we have made new local Christian friends. I'm also making friends with local homeschooling families, so that we have more of a social life. For a long time Indy was too sick to have the energy to really do much, but she is much better now and gets bored and lonely if we just stay at home too much.

As I read through my old posts, I saw myself talking years ago that the world seemed to have gone mad. If I would have to say something to my old self at the time, I would say: "You've seen nothing yet, so buckle up!" As it happened, both my personal life and the world in general was since sucked ever deeper in a vortex of crazy.
I see scared people all around me. Believers are scared, non-believers are scared. People are either scared of a virus and dying, or they are scared of being stripped of their rights, God-given liberties and bodily autonomy. I would be in that latter category, except I'm not scared. I'm definitely not scared of dying. I know that every second, every breath, is at the hand of my Lord. There have been some very dark moments when I wished I could just die. And I knew that I wouldn't, because I would not die one second before it is my appointed time. To be honest, I've had moments when I worried a little about my financial security. Sometimes it's more difficult to trust God in the small details, as if he would think them too small to attend to! It is not so. Some people feel like we shouldn't bother God with petty details, but I have to admit I've prayed for a parking spot when I have been running late, say, to Indy's doctor's appointment. In a moment of exhaustion, frustration with myself (why didn't we leave earlier?) it has not seemed a petty detail, as I've had tears in my eyes, like it was almost the last drop that I could possibly take. But he is a God who cares about every detail of my life. He wants me to talk to him about everything, the good and the bad, big and small. And God has a sense of humor. He does, did you know that? He sometimes makes me laugh. Like the time when I was first alone with Indy, a little over seven years ago. I was thinking about money, how to support myself. In little over two weeks' time I found eight coins on the ground. It seemed like every time I went outside, I would saw a coin on the side of the road, on the woodsy path next to our house, under the grocery store packing area. As I picked Indy from her pre-school and we went to the supermarket nearby, she said: "You are probably going to find money again mom". "Probably not, you don't just find money on the ground every day" I replied. And less than a minute later I found another coin and we laughed. After the eight coins, I said to God: "Okay, I trust that you will take care of us, you can even drop money from the sky if needed!".

Having gone through soul crushing times, having lost a lot, at some point you just get over fear. You survived all that, and you are still here. You survived even though you felt you wouldn't, couldn't possibly go on another day. And you surrender it all to God, little by little. And it is not that you don't care about anything anymore. No, it's that you care more freely, without fear of loss. You start to live one day at a time and life becomes simpler, lighter.

Don't let hardships turn you angry and bitter and self-pitying. Surrender to God, trust in him, as he is forever good, forever omnipotent, always gracious, infinitely just, he is perfect love and finally, he is holy, holy, holy!

First blooms

We went to see our woods for the first time in months. It was a cloudy and a little rainy day.
I found this peculiar blooming bush with the most delicate little flowers. I don't know what it is - none of the blooming trees and bushes I know are yet blooming.

I haven't posted anything in a while. I feel like I am starting to sound like a broken record. I feel like I shouldn't post unless I feel like I actually have something to say. I don't want to waste your time reading forced posts, which I wrote just to have something to post.

But the idea of simplicity is timeless. The idea that we shouldn't be greedy and hoard more than we need will never get old. The recent tragedy in Bangladesh, where a large clothing factory providing underpaid labor for many clothing brands, collapsed because it was not properly maintained and security checked, killing hundreds of workers, was another reminder that should really sting us deeply.

Do we know where the things we consumer are made?
Do we know how they are made, and what the real costs are?
Do we honestly think that other human beings should pay with their own lives so that we can have cheap clothing?
If not, why are we refusing to acknowledge the facts, why are we still continuing to support the brands using what is no better than slave labor? Is it because they are so far away from us, we can almost pretend they are not there?

I have been reading lots and lots. It's good, it reduces my time spent on the computer!

Honestly, lately I have been dwelling on spiritual matters much more than simplicity and minimalism. Simplicity makes room for this, obviously, as my mind isn't busy thinking about STUFF -or lack thereof- all the time.

I want to share this drawing of angels that Indiana made recently, and with this I wish you all a blessed spring time!

Simple food

A couple of you asked for some recipes of healthy treats I make, smoothies and stuff.
The problem is that I hardly ever follow any recipes, so I don't have specific amounts of anything. I tend to just wing it, whether I'm cooking or knitting or whatever.

But I can write a little bit about how we eat and give you recipes of sorts -or at least explanations on a couple of things we frequently make.

I'm a really lazy cook. On my own I would never ever eat two warm meals a day, some days I would eat none. We almost always have one-bowl meals. It's usually rice or pasta with some sauce with it.  Bolognese sauce, and fresh avocado with fresh basil, leaf parsley and parmesan cheese (flavor with salt, lime juice and fresh red chili pepper) are among favorites. The avocado recipe is super easy, you just mix everything in a big bowl and add the cooked pasta.

I can't imagine spending two hours in the kitchen preparing dinner.
What also makes it "simple food" is that I don't offer many different dishes at once. We may eat baked potatoes with cheese and just have some raw veggie bits with them. Often I "deal" with the veggies by peeling carrots and giving them to eat while the hungry ones are waiting for dinner.
We don't have a lot of food waste, because I make sure we eat left-over before making new food, and I think also because of creative cooking - if there is something in the fridge that needs to be used, I use it in a dish where I would normally not use that ingredient. I also sometimes create new dishes from leftovers, by adding stuff to them.

We really love salads, and when I make a salad I make a big one that we can eat for two or three days. Because I'm lazy, and it's a lot of work to wash and peel and chop all the ingredients, and it feels like less work to do more at once ;) Indiana doesn't eat salads, so I will just give her the usual carrot sticks and bell pepper slices and some fruit, and she will eat those with some frozen food like veggies patties or falafel, or if we are also having salmon or something, she will have that with her veggies. If she is still hungry she can have some bread as well.

I'm not above letting her eat toast or cereal for lunch sometimes. She may eat goat cheese straight from the container.

I do use convenience foods. I don't feel too guilty about skipping a meal because we had too many snacks. I love it when we eat out and I can skip cooking for the day.

It's all food, and it's still much more varied than most people in the world have, even if it's not always the healthiest possible option.

And now for the delicious treats our kids and husbands will devour and  get a bunch of healthy stuff at the same time :) They are also super easy to make.

Smoothies:

-Frozen fruit or berries. We use strawberries the most because they are Indiana's favorites, but also blueberries and raspberries and currants and even lingonberries (tart). I also buy frozen mango, because that happens to be found at the store and those are good to use in  yellow smoothies :) You can mix any combination of course.

-Any juice. We also sometimes use coconut milk or almond milk or rice milk or soy cream.You just add enough liquid to cover the frozen stuff and add more if it seems too thick.

-Honey to sweeten

-I usually put in a  couple of raw free range eggs for super healthy protein, but you can skip them if you don't like the idea. I can tell that I have been doing this for 9 years and nobody ever got sick. I learned to use raw eggs like this in Cambodia.

-I almost always add banana for the thick consistency. I may add other fresh fruit too.

- I often add frozen or fresh spinach or some other green stuff. If you don't put too much nobody will say a word :) You can of course put in other veggies too, like carrots.

Good combinations include: Strawberry-coconut, Mango-orange juice-banana, Blueberry-raspberry-spinach.. but the variations are endless.

Tofu pudding:

-A block of soft tofu

-Maple syrup (or honey) to sweeten

-Vanilla (we use vanilla sugar)

-A heaping tablespoon of almond butter

-Dash of cream or soy cream (you can even skip it but it makes for a milder taste)

Blend everything until the tofu is smooth. This is the basic recipe, but the last time I made this I also added in the left overs from a chocolate spread (that my husband likes to eat with rye bread).

For variations, your imagination is the limit. You can add some frozen or fresh fruit, berries or other nut butters. You can sweeten with brown sugar.


I think most people know this one, but I will still tell you about one other favorite,

Banana Ice cream:

-Bananas, sliced and frozen (flat, so they don't clump together). Blend until the consistency is like soft serve ice cream. You can add frozen strawberries(or other frozen berries) but really the only thing you need is bananas!


For me, simple eating is about not making a big fuss, not getting stressed about it, not having strict rules. I'm so glad I no longer react to gluten, and that Indiana is not quite as sensitive to dairy anymore. Her mild milk allergy is the only restriction right now. We eat when we are hungry, not at a specific time. This gives our life flexibility. If I don't have to have a strict schedule, I won't impose one on myself, though I do realize some people rely on them for their life to run smoothly!

Do you have any favorite simple foods or recipes to share? I'm always glad to get new ideas!