by Nicole | Nov 9, 2015 | Inspiration
This past week I was given the opportunity to experience one of the most common tasks from a very different perspective. My washing machine (which wasn’t very old by the way) totally quit working. Apparently the Brand and model I owned was the “Edsel” of washers. I quickly found and purchased a new one, only to be put on a week long waiting list before it could be delivered.
I first want to be very clear about my thankfulness and gratitude that I have had a working washing machine, in some capacity, my whole life. Secondly, I am incredibly grateful that we had the money to replace this broken machine, when so many others may not. What I was able to experience for a very short period of time was my utter complacency for the simple things that I take so for granted every day.
All five of our children are grown and graduated. Our youngest son still is around during the week as a woodworker with my husband. I say this to remind myself that my laundry loads are currently not as large as they have been in the past, but due to the nature of very dirty work, I still find myself doing an average of two to three loads a day if I want to stay caught up.
During the week that I was waiting for my new machine to be delivered, I went to the local laundry mat two different times with five loads each time I went. Again, I do want to say how very grateful I am that I live in a country where laundry mats are plentiful and accessible. My husband asked me if I wanted him to get out our antique wash tubs and wash board. I very quickly declined. So the alternative to going to the laundry mat was not appealing at all. (For gosh sakes, I’m not having to carry my laundry on my head down to a dirty river to wash them). What I experienced made me very appreciative and opened my eyes to so many of the simple, everyday things I take so for granted.
I first loaded all the dirty clothes into separate trash bags so that it would be easy to place them in the machines at the laundry mat. I had three large bags full. Then I loaded two laundry baskets, hangers, laundry soap and dryer sheets. I drove twenty minutes into town and went to the bank to get quarters. I thought I would only need one roll ($10), but I ended up getting two rolls ($20) just in case.
I drove to the laundry mat and started unloading all my stuff, which took several trips, and started to familiarize myself with the different kinds of machines and what each machine would cost. I decided to go with the most cost effective machine at $1.75 each. Other machines could cost $4 per load or more. What I quickly found out was that the machines I chose could not handle the size loads I was used to, so I had to divide what I thought was three loads into five smaller loads. After adding the soap and the quarters to each machine, I found that one machine wasn’t working, so I had to move the load with the soap in them to a different machine.
As I grew a little frustrated with the process, I became aware of the other people in the laundry mat. It seemed like I was placed in a very different culture than what I was previously use to in the comfort of my own home where I do laundry so routinely. There was a mom dealing with a crying infant and a toddler who was trying to comfort the baby as she loaded her laundry. There were a couple of different men doing their laundry waiting for the larger capacity washers that cost $4 per load. There were women sitting and reading a book or texting on their phones as they waited for their clothes to dry. The smaller dryers were .25 cents for every 5 minutes of time, while the larger dryers started at .50 cents and then went to .25 cents for every extra 4 minutes. There was a woman who forgot her laundry soap and was emptying her purse to see if she had enough change to buy soap from the vending machines. All the while the screaming infant was waiting for mom to be able to stop and comfort her and the sibling walked around talking with total strangers trying to give away a penny she found on the floor. By the time my clothes were dry, this same cute little outgoing girl came over to complement me on shirts that I was hanging up and telling me how pretty she thought they were, and continue trying to give me the penny she found as a gift to me.
The laundry mat was a very common weekly experience to a variety of people. It could be that they too were in a situation with a broken washer, or that they needed a larger washer or dryer for larger comforters or coats, but I sensed that it was more a way of life for them. Maybe they couldn’t afford a washer or dryer; maybe they lived in locations were there wasn’t one available; maybe they moved often and didn’t want to hassle with larger appliances.
Those five loads of laundry cost $18 to wash and dry and I had to repeat that same process again before the week was over. In addition to the cost, there was the time investment to drive in, to wait for each load to wash and then dry. One load of heavy towels continued to make the machine off balance so I had to stand there and rearrange the wet load every 2 to 3 minutes until it finally spun out. I had to continually check the dryers to see if I needed to add another quarter before I could fold and hang up the clothes, load them back in the car, drive home, unload and put away. The total time was at least two hours. I was so spoiled by being able to just drop in a load anytime I had minute and then do something else while the clothes washed or dried. Maybe I could start dinner or clean a bathroom, vacuum or load the dishwasher.
Apparently, I needed to expand my thankfulness and extend my time at the laundry mat, because less than a week after I received my new washer, my drier totally quit working. As I write this, I am still waiting another day for the repair man to let me know if it can be fixed or not.
This week in the laundry mat, I saw a variety of men doing laundry. Being blessed as a stay-at-home mom, laundry was mostly my job. It seemed almost foreign to me to see men waiting on washers and driers and folding laundry. I again considered the variety of circumstances that would allow them to be there. I also began to contemplate women and men all around the world without running water, maybe forced to wash clothes in dirty rivers and streams, maybe without soap; refugees with only the clothes they have on; war zones; persecution……
I recently read the book “One Thousand Gifts” by Ann Voskamp which helped to start me on my journey to daily fight for joy in all circumstances and situations and to take the dare to give thanks right where we are. I see clearly how very blessed I am just to live in America, let alone focus on the extravagant gifts I take so for granted each day.
This situation allowed me to look closely at my own shallowness; the pettiness of simple inconvenience. I pray that I will continually grow in thankfulness and gratitude and clearly be aware of the outrageous grace I am blessed by the Lord to experience each day.
– Melanie Dearing
by Nicole | Feb 23, 2015 | Inspiration, Nutrition, Recreation
Surprise! We are working at trying to bring all our blog posts up to date. So, you may be asking, “What has been going on with WellStone Gardens for the past year?” Here is a quick and condensed version on the nutrition side.
We had a busy summer on the farm with a bus load of inner-city students and their mentors coming out for an afternoon of fun and food. We created a new name for the farm – South Grand Farms – which has its own facebook page and group, (links are below) as well as YouTube channel. We do have a video of our church coming out for a picnic and a day of fun. If you haven’t seen it you can log into you tube and type in southgrandfarms in the search bar; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiBQ3lc11zU. We continued to have college kids come out on Friday Nights and Nicole organized staff members to help with all events. We completed our third annual Plunger Games with new events down on the river. More video’s are coming soon!
WellStone Gardens hosted a six week long healthy cooking class series at the Cass Career Center. We are now hosting those classes here on the farm twice a month, as well as in other locations as opportunities arise. Workshops include food samples, recipes, demonstrations, instruction and interaction. LiveBlueKC also hired WellStone to teach a couple of healthy cooking session for children in Prairie Village and Zona Rosa. It was great fun making healthy power balls with kids!
This month we had fifteen new people join our classes here on the farm. We started sending out post workshop surveys This Saturday, February 28th, beautiful Casa Somerset in Paola, KS will be featuring WellStone Gardens Healthy Cooking 101 from 11:00am – 1:00pm! Final registration ends this Wednesday, February 25th.
We have started sending out post workshop surveys and having the participants give feedback on their favorite recipe. The favorite chicken pot pie recipe winner this month is listed below (we tasted 3 different ones and a fabulous shepherd’s pie, as well as sides and dessert! If you want all the recipes we are working on a way for you to purchase them online. Many are original. To TASTE these yummy foods, come to a workshop!)
Paleo Chicken Pot Pie
Adapted from: peleoinpdx.com
For the filling:
- 2 Tbsp grass-fed butter (I used ghee- clarified butter)
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 large stalks of celery, chopped
- 3 large cloves garlic, minced (I used crushed)
- 2 large carrots, chopped
- 1.25 cups butternut squash cubes ( I have used it with and without the squash- both are good)
- 1/4 cup chicken bone broth
- 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk ( I used Trader Joe’s heavy coconut cream)
- 3 cups leftover shredded boneless skinless chicken thighs (I used organic from Costco)
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley (I used 2 tbls. dried)
- 1 cup fresh green beans, cut into 1 or 2 inch pieces (I used French cut)
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, carrots and celery, and stir. After a few minutes, add the squash. Stir and continue to cook.
- Stir in the chicken and add the broth. After a minute or two, add the sea salt, pepper, turmeric and fresh parsley.
- Next, add the coconut milk and green beans, and stir well. Cook 3-4 more minutes and if mixture seems like it needs more liquid, add a bit more broth.
Remove from heat and pour mixture into a 2-quart casserole dish. Sprinkle almond flour topping evenly over the top (recipe below) and place in oven, uncovered. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown on top.
For the topping:
- 1 cup blanched almond flour
- 3 Tbsp grass-fed butter
- Pinch of sea salt
In a small skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the almond flour and a pinch of sea salt. Mix well, until almond flour is coated in the butter (it will be in small clumps). Remove from heat and use atop of the filling, once it’s been poured into the casserole dish
Our March Healthy Cooking Workshops are moving to Tuesday nights here at the farm on the 3rd and the 10th from 6:00 – 8:00. Our workshops are always fun and interactive! See it, taste it, live it! Get healthy!
Friday Nights Facebook Group Link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/312671425556409/
South Grand Farms Page Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/southgrandfarms
by Melanie Dearing | Apr 12, 2014 | Inspiration
Would you, like the explorer’s of old, risk it all and sail to the ends of the earth; climb the highest mountain; or hack through the deepest jungle to discover vast wealth? Would you believe there is a treasure hidden much closer, shrouded in the mists of an eternity written deeply in your heart? Would you believe these riches are worth whatever sacrifice you have to make to discover them? Would you believe that settling comfortably for anything less is “fools gold”? C. S. Lewis said it so well, “We are far too easily satisfied”.
Are you searching,
deeply,
for anything at all?
Are you a treasure hunter?
by Melanie Dearing | Apr 4, 2014 | Inspiration
What do the sun, the earth and our hearts have in common? All three sustain life, all three are on fire and all three are taken for granted. We take for granted that this massive ball of fire we call the sun is going to show up tomorrow and make life possible. The same holds true for this planet we call home. The core of our earth is 2000 degrees hotter than the surface of the sun and without the intense forces at work in that liquid fire deep under our feet the surface of this planet would resemble cold dead Mars. We take this for granted as well and that’s o.k. because there is another fire that should be commanding all of our attention – a spiritual fire, deep in the core our or hearts.
All of us are instinctively aware of the centrality of the heart in our every experience. To the word heart we add descriptive words like hard heart and tender heart; light and heavy hearted; heart felt; heart sick; brave hearted and faint of heart. I could list dozens of examples. These words and our thoughts about them are so common they’ve lost their deeper impact; at least they had for me, until one day I read these simple life changing words, “Above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life.” Proverbs 4:26
Is our heart really the wellspring of who we are? As I thought about it, I realized I had always sub-consciously believed that. As I studied, I was surprised to discover the word “heart” was used almost 1000 times in the Bible alone. We sing songs, write poems and make movies about the heart. All peoples, of every nation, in every age, have spoken of a deep mystery somewhere in the core of our being. It’s what we mean when we say “our heart of hearts”. When someone says, “from the bottom of my heart”, they are speaking of a deeper spiritual whole-heartedness. We use words like shallow and lukewarm to describe half-heartedness. Phrases like heart-strings, my heart’s desire, and the cry of my heart, refer to a deeper, far more passionate reality. They speak of FIRE.
You’ve heard the expression “fire in their eye”. Eyes don’t burn – hearts do. It’s from the fire that a mother stands over her child and dares a dangerous world to take one step closer. It’s from the fire that you and I stand beside her when the world finally overwhelms her. It’s from that same fire that a kid at school stands up, regardless of the cost, and defends someone against cowardly gossip and bullying. Soldiers run through bullets to help a fallen buddy, not because it’s the brave thing to do, but because of honor and love for their brother, and that medal of honor is forged deep in the white hot flame of their hearts. It’s only in that flame that our wounded hearts melt and we forgive; completely; in a deeper, self-sacrificial love.
It’s also from the fire that a three minute song can unexpectedly break through our busyness or moodiness to move us so deeply. It’s only from the fire that we experience the wonder and the awe of stunning sunrises, sunsets, hummingbirds and butterflies. Cinderella stories in March Madness aren’t about basketball skills, they are about heart. The Arts aren’t about performance – they are about fire!
It always amazes me that I can walk into a theatre and watch a short 2 ½ hour movie that moves me so deeply. There in the darkness, I experience a seismic shift that breaks open the upper crust of my hurry, worry or my self-centered, shallow pettiness, to glimpse something burning deeper; so real; so raw and fierce it takes my breath away.
It also saddens me that in a few short hours or days afterwards that crust closes back over; back to the “real” world. But I can’t forget that fire. I refuse to forget, because I know it’s down there, like a constant flame; a beautiful haunting heartache. It’s a fierce whisper calling me to something far more real than this cheap everydayness I so often settle for. That fire is a promise of hope and glory in a world filled with pain, suffering and so much shame, fear and guilt. It’s from those depths I hear the promise that I will discover ever more deeply all that’s worth living and dying for.
My next post will be part 2 of a systematic, deeper exploration of the 4 levels of our heart. I’ve come to believe we don’t know ourselves nearly as well as we think, and deeper, richer wisdom is worth searching and fighting for. It’s a game changer and I’ll spend the rest of my days in a relentless pursuit of that wisdom – whether I live one day or 30 more years. That’s a life well lived
by Melanie Dearing | Mar 21, 2014 | Inspiration
The fast pace and busyness of life can often prevent us from stopping to “smell the roses”. This hurried lifestyle can lead to a variety of issues, but one of the most personal can be health problems. Poor habits in both diet and exercise can have a negative impact in the way we feel and in the way we live out our lives.
The soil for WellStone Gardens was cultivated over many years through a variety of life circumstances and experiences. The path has been winding and rough, but always leading in a specific direction. Education, inspiration and application. I believe years of experience has helped this to be very fertile soil and has created much passion to help cultivate others.
Making healthy lifestyle choices sounds easy if you say it fast. Educating about available options for health can be considered the “seeds” we can help you to decide to plant in your life. We would desire to come alongside individuals, companies, organizations or churches help set goals and educate in healthier eating plans. To educate through a seeing, tasting, doing approach. To help with organization, resources, cost effectiveness and time management.
The inspiration is how we can help to “water the seeds”. We can help with everything from ways to plant beautiful raised bed square foot gardens, or to help design personal lifestyle changes that fit individual needs. The objective here is to inspire “growth”.
The application piece could be considered the “fertilizer” piece. How can WellStone Gardens continue to encourage life- long, on-going, permanent “produce”? We can also help with larger group health event planning with children and adults or host events. The goal is to develop community and provide resources.
Life is a garden. Let WellStone Gardens help you experience it in a whole new and adventurous way.
by Melanie Dearing | Mar 21, 2014 | Inspiration
Entering a new season of life is always an adventure. Through the years I have taught Kindergarten as well as at-risk, inner-city high school students. I have helped to homeschool four of my own five children, as well as help in a co-op to educate children in seven other families. I have worked as a parent liaison with a Virtual School to encourage other homeschool parents. I have worked as a community educator teaching living history in a log cabin as well as in the woods. The common thread is that I have a passion to teach.
Another on-going interest of mine has been dealing with my own personal health as well as the health of my family. As a mom and a grandma, as well as working with a variety of active youth who have frequently stayed in our home, food always seems to take an important role. I am becoming more and more aware of the powerful interplay between food and health. With the rising cost of healthcare, I am constantly researching, investigating and exploring the importance of what I eat. I am truly beginning to understand and believe in the concept of food as medicine. What I eat can be used to either nourish me or not. At worst, it can even do me harm. This process takes much time and energy, but I love what I am learning and experiencing. Like any passionate teacher, my desire is to come alongside other people, companies, or organizations and help teach them what I have learned.
My favorite method of education has always been to see it, taste it, do it, live it. When working through the art of meal planning, I have been frustrated with recipes that are a total failure. I go to all the trouble to search for the recipes, go buy the ingredients and make the meal, only to be very disappointed with the taste. I am launching WellStone Gardens in part to teach using cooking demonstrations so that people can see and taste recipes and decide if they would like to eat it on a regular basis as part of a healthy option.
Another part of my frustration has been where to buy healthy recipe ingredients as cost effectively as possible. I would like to help compile an on-going list of resources for health conscience consumers. Local and organic would be my preference. When you live in Archie, Missouri, that can be a little challenging. Growing your own with square-foot gardening raised beds is something we have developed and can share.
Time management and organization also have needed to be researched and explored. This is an ever-changing process that is tweaked constantly. I would hope others could benefit from things that are helping me in the kitchen as well as exercising.
I am interested in developing a network of people and resources dedicated to helping everyone involved live a more active and healthy life, physically and spiritually. I plan to teach cooking classes, host health events and work at helping others plan their own health events.
