Preparing To Brave The Next Flood Of Life

 Day 15 Take 2 

September 28, 2022 

I find myself getting ready to expand my horizons yet again and continue my education a little farther. This training thankfully is a short training and should expand me a fair bit in a short period of time. 

Getting prepared to brave the next flood of life involves finding a photo of myself and writing an introduction. The introduction is not the problem. The photo on the other hand is a bit of a challenge. 

I’m not a fan of photographing humans and I’m not an exception. I do keep photographs of my favorite humans for the sake of memories. The honest stories told by the faces of children are a pleasure to photograph but when it comes to posing for a camera, especially my own I find it utterly ridiculous. This is why many of the pictures of me involve such props as excessive glitter, flying pics onesies, goofy safety glasses, rainbow mermaid pants or my person favorite excessive amounts of dirt. 

In the process of finding a suitable picture to go with the story I will be telling in my introduction I had to flip through a few years of pictures. To my amazement I had taken some before pictures from before I gave up all those times ago. The amount in which my body has changed since I have embraced a rest based lifestyle is amazing. I have been missing my rest based lifestyle and 15 minute workouts those days.

Making the commitment to get fitter and fix my diet has made a world of difference. It’s been at least 4 years since I could even dream about being capable of doing the things I’m doing now.

18 hours a day I’ve been working for 15 days now. Yesterday I did not sit between the hours of 5:15 pm and midnight. Coming home tonight I jumped in my truck and trailer and like I hadn’t missed a day in the past two years I backed that truck and trailer right up the driveway and to the air compressor to pump up the one flat tire. 

The rust had eaten away at so many of the non essential elements of the trailer. The fenders are in rough shape and this made me check the frame once again. 

It’s still good. This up and coming vet appointment is raising my cortisol levels more than I care to admit. 

Tire was pumped up and ready to roll. Fresh shaving and a hay net placed into the trailer ready for to provide road trip snacks. 

I grabbed Tonka and put him in the trailer. He was a little antsy but he’s a good enough boy to tie so I left him tied and went off to get Punky.. We got two feet in today. 

The smell of smoking salmon filled the air. There was fish to process. Tomorrow is a new day and I will take my tiny win. 

*** Photo Credit Kim Madore on my first ever ride to the Psuada shipwreck. Kim, if your're reading this thank you for taking the picture I will be using in the training intro I have to submit tonight. 

*****

If enjoyed this make sure you sign up for our book by entering you email address in the link below. 

https://mailchi.mp/835777505688/its-coming

Taking Out The Trailer

 Day 14 Take 2 

September 27 2022 

The driveway is unusually steep and windy and the large canyon like grooves that appear from the force of the winter rains makes it that much more difficult. 

It was over a year and a half since I had hooked up the truck to my horse trailer. I’ve been dreading this moment, worried deep down inside that my ability to drive the rig was dissolving as fast as the rust was taking over. 

I looked at the trailer everyday with guilt as I watched helplessly while the rust spread like a plague on its steel. 

How many times had I given directions to people and told them they would know when they got to my house because you’ll see the unloved looking horse trailer part way up the driveway. 

I love my trailer. She’s never let me down and I’ve put her through a lot. I put the old farm truck, who was also looking a little worse for wear, in 4 wheel drive and slowly began to back the truck and trailer up the steep and winding driveway. Thankfully my trailer driving skills were not nearly as rusty as the rig. 

The first corner is a bit of a doozy and that’s where I decided I would stop. Taking the bottom half of the walk up and down with tools and supplies was good enough for me. 

Every year every horse trailer owning horsey woman pulls out her trailer and does her due diligence. First the shavings are scraped out then the matts removed to expose the naked floor. Thankfully the floor was in mostly good shape with only one small space needing to be addressed this year. 

Next the walls are smacked with a hammer or other big thing that makes holes. The idea is to make sure that no matter our pissed off our equine babies are that they can kick and scream all they like and they’re not going to kick right through hurting their poor little legs. Not to mention stripping off their tendons or getting a nasty slice that will certainly require a tetanus shot if they’re close to due. The walls like the floor were sound enough for the up and coming trip to the vet. 

The frame was next on my list and just my luck both days I had planned to do this the weather was good. Life however has a nasty habit of ruining everything as soon as I write down my plan. In the future I will remember to scheme in silence so the future doesn't know what I have in store for it.

The first I planned to hook up the trailer was the day that Punkin choked. The next was yesterday but the fish people came and we processed salmon instead. So here I was outside in the rain crawling under my rust bucket praying to every god, spirit and imp that would listen that the frame is still safe. 

Rest never sleeps. My dad taught this to me through his love of music as a child and not a day has gone by in the past year that I haven’t looked at the unloved looking horse trailer and thought about how simple the truth can be. Rust never sleeps but maybe if I can find my balance of energy out and rest in and keep a tight rein on my finances I can out work the rust this winter and pimp my horses ride. It shouldn't be too tough because the frame is still in good shape. 

*****

If you enjoyed this make sure to sign up for our book. Just click the link below and when it’s published we’ll send you an email. 

https://mailchi.mp/835777505688/its-coming

Smokies First Salmon Run

 Day 12, Take 2 

September 25 , 2022

It was a day of rest and reflections. Tucked up on the couch Bandit, one of our 10 month old tabby kittens, kept me on the couch and made sure I rested. 

I thought about priorities and how often I forget to put myself on that list. Thinking only of what I need to get done to make myself happy with my accomplishments. 

Without a strong and healthy body however I won’t be able to keep up with the challenges of keeping my mind happy.

Day 13, Take 2 

September 26, 2022 

The morning started off feeling like I needed a lot more time in bed.

Packing the horses buckets out to their shelters my arms grew weaker and began the familiar burn of what I’ve been calling my “muscle reaction” for lack of a better word. 

How does one go from so strong to so weak overnight?! 

Then I remembered I had been experimenting with plant proteins again and that also seems to land me in this position. Maybe one day I’ll learn…. 

The fish people came today and left us with 15, ten pound coho salmon. There went my nice easy evening. 

The fish came fresh from the Yakoun River, a few kilometers from the house. 

Salmon is a staple in the pantry, the culture and the life cycle or many parts of the Pacific NorthWest. The ritual of the salmon spawn feels so incredibly natural and right here on Haida Gwaii with it’s rugged wild nature. It just is a part of life, it brings life to the shores of our communities and through the death of the salmon everyone is fed. The bears, the eagle, the sea lions, the orca (killer whales) the crab, the soil and yes the humans too. 

Today was Smokies best day ever. She watched in complete amazement as Brent and I processed our years worth of fish. The whole 2 hours of butchering she watched, hypnotized by the process of us processing food. Food she thought was extra special. 

I cleaned up the kitchen and she was right there helping. Watching every jar get packed, every bag marinated for the smoker and every vacuum sealed filet go into the freezer.

*****

If you enjoyed this and would like to know when our book is ready just click the link and fill out the form below. 

https://mailchi.mp/835777505688/its-coming

Punkin Chokes

 Day 11 Take 2 

September 24, 2022 

The blankets were warm and cozy and I could have stayed in bed all day.That should have been my first warning. I should have stayed in bed. 

The sky was gray but dry and I knew that I could multitask if I only had one fire. I decided to start the easy fire. 

First I put some hay into the bottom field for the horse with the intention of keeping them out of the smoke. 

I put the sticks that had burnt last time onto the fire and set up my fire shatter kit like I have been doing up until now. Finding dry enough wood to get the fire started was getting more and more difficult but I wasn't going to let it beat me. Not today. 

Nearly an hour later I resorted to starting a grease fire to get my yard clean up done. It was working but it needed to be thoroughly tended.It was now taking too much time and resources to justify burning. This would be my last one this year. 

Tonka decided that he didn't want to be fed in the bottom field this morning and broke into the garden to eat. Punkin was so upset that she couldn't get into the garden too that sen refused to go to the bottom field to eat. 

I finally took pity on her and brought some hay into her shelter so she could at least snack while she miserably watched her pony get all the good stuff. 

The fire was well on its way to being hot enough to load up and leave for a bit so I could start working on getting the rig set up. 

Punkin came running out of her shelter desperately trying to get something out of her mouth and trying to nibble teeny pieces of gras, which she promptly spat out. 

I watched in horror, terrified she had just eaten a fish hook. How would she have eaten a fish hook? There is no fish hook. That’s just your imagination. 

She sorted herself and went back to eating. 

Roughly 5 minutes later she came out of her shelter and flipped her top lip up at me. The colic face. 

“You’re not colicing”  I said. She flipped up her lip and looked at me desperately for help. Dropping everything I went over to her and took one look at her contracted abdomen. It flinched when I touched it and her lip flipped up again. 

Immediately the colic protocol went into action. I grabbed the happy tummy paste, made the special mash and ran out of the bar with the lunge line in my hand. 

First I pried her mouth open to make sure there wasn’t a fish hook. As I already knew there was no fish hook. My imagination could stop that now. 

She didn’t want the happy tummy paste. Normally she likes it but I made her eat it anyway. This colic seemed worse than the last one. 

Her lip flipped up and this time her shoulder shook, the muscle tissues twitching uncontrollably. Ahhhh seizure!! It wasn’t a seizure. I knew better. Lip flipped up again. 

“Oh my goodness you’re not colicing you’re choking aren’t you!” I said out loud to her as I rubbed her neck. Using everything I know about equine anatomy and the esophagus in general imagined a lump and worked the tissues of her throat to help the process of swallowing. It seemed to be helping. 

Punkin had choked on me once before as a yearling. Her and Tonka were racing to gobble the food and they both choked. Tonka cleared his and Punkin needed the vet. There was no vet today, just me, and we were going to have to get through this together. 

“You and me we're going to move through this together” I told her. “We’re just going to keep moving forward.” 

4 Kilometers and two hours later she nibbled some grass and had the tiniest sip of a puddle. Soon after she was nibbling the rain soak grass which quickly turned into grazing. I gave her the space to eat enough to make her feel better and we took our time. 

With Punkin on the mend and feeling much better I went back into the house I had melted down. I snuggled up on my couch and buried myself under a mountain of blankets where I hid until the world in my head was a little kinder and my body could handle the pressure of movement once again. I had worked so hard all week there was no energy left to handle this emergency but I did now there was nothing left.

******

If you enjoyed our writing and would like to know when we have our first book published, put your name and email address into the form in the link below. 

https://mailchi.mp/835777505688/its-coming

Gulls In The Wind

 Day 10, Take 2 

September 23, 2022

Gray was all I saw. Gray, gray and more gray. It bothered me for a minute then I stopped it. We need this rain, without it the magic of Haida Gwaii will be lost. 

I knew I was right. The desert type landscape of the BC interior was spreading. In the 3 years since I had last driven the province I noticed a dramatic change in the “dry line”.

There is a line where the world stops being green and becomes brown as you drive from the North into the South. I call this the dry line, and it has moved almost at least one whole town further North. Heat, a silent and slow killer, steadily marching its way up the planet. 

The rain drizzled on and off all day. Gray, gray, gray. Wet, wet, wet. 

I went outside for a walk on my afternoon break and stopped to admire the oddity of the Sitka spruce trees. I found myself quite taken with them upon returning to the island after our road trip. Their awkward asymmetrical branches reaching to the horizon on all sides with lots of space for the wind and weather to blow through. Their tall fluffy awkwardness really pleases my eye. 

Thinking about how much I have been admiring them lately I went out in search of one of these beautiful trees. Then suddenly they all became camera shy and tucked in the puffy awkward branches and hid from me. 

I was sure I was starting at one yesterday in the hospital parking lot. Why wasn’t it there? Had I imagined it? 

A gust of salty wind gusted in face and the trees above swayed. 

Ooooohhhhhh it’s windy!!! That’s where they went. Of course I thought they were camera shy. Doesn't everyone live in my make believe world? Not the trees apparently. 

The branches of the Sitka were no longer awkward and outstretched. It was as if they had firmed up and tucked them in. I watched the trees twist and the wind. Whining and creaking under the pressure of it’s force. 

I have always been a fan of the wind. It’s raw awesome power can be so gently tamed in the form of a zephyr or it can bring the power of the heavens to door steps of the earth, crashing through merger human structure with the force of a hurricane. 

The seagulls were all coming out. In great numbers they soared above the creaking trees. Celebrating the coming of the season. That’s when I realized the experiences of the wind for each of us. To me it was refreshing and exciting, to some humans maybe just another weather to complain about in polite conversation. To the trees and the plants it was a workout and a test of strength. Bending and twisting the fibers of their being, either forcing them to grow stronger or breaking them instead. To the seagulls it turned the expansive sky into a fairground allowing them to twist and dive as they ride on the mighty currents of its awesome power. 

*****

If you enjoyed this and would like to know when have our first book ready you can click the link below and enter your email address. 

https://mailchi.mp/835777505688/its-coming

The Impossible Fires

  Day 9 Take 2 

September 22, 2022

And there it was crashing on the roof of ambition, soaking my dreams and making mud in paddocks. It came down hard, hard enough that I instantly regretted not having waterproof footwear that was cute enough to wear to work and fit my orgerishly wide feet. 

Wet feet for now. It’s only at work and they do dry throughout the day. I tried to not let the damp in my running shoes bother me. It wasn’t long before I was running fast enough tending to all the needs of all the people who needed me that I forgot that my feet were unhappy with their current lifestyle. 

Suddenly everyone was leaving and I realized it was time for lunch. I looked outside for the first time since I walked into the clinic in the pouring rain this morning. It was beautiful and sunny. Good Old Haida Gwaii I thought. 

We have a rule around here, if you don’t like the weather, wait 10 minutes. If you don’t want to wait 10 minutes then go for a drive. 

I left the clinic and was pleased to meet a very dear friend in the parking lot I hadn’t seen for several months. I felt the warm of the sunshine on my skin while we caught up quickly and then went to “our spot” to meet Brent for lunch. 

Every day at 12:05 I meet my husband at the pier, dock, warf? I never know what to call it so I just call it “our spot” 

The sun shone with a little more summer lovin left to give on the first day of autumn and I was grateful for every drop of it, watching the sea birds make pretty patterns in the ocean in front of me while I ate my luck with my favorite human. 

It was a treat to come home to the sun still shining. 

The rest of the work day vanished into the chaos and I was glad that the sun was still shining. 

On the way home he said to me “If you can get that fire light after last nights rain I will be amazed”, “but I bet you $5 that you won’t be able to get that fire light”

For 7 years I’ve been told by so many people that it was going to be impossible to burn that pile of sticks and mud. 

Armed with my fire starter kit I headed out to the yard more determined that ever to get my fires going. 

I’m am now $5 richer, I might even be $10 richer because I got both those fires going. And for the next 3 hours I ran what I refer to as The Fire Relay. Stoking and tending to one than over to the other clearing everything in my path. 

There were stumps, some of them I could barely lift. I picked them up and carried them to the fires. 

The world around me grew dark and suddenly I realized that I had worked way too late and way too hard. I stopped to look up at the all the hard work I had done. The forest all the way from my neighbors fence to my house was clear and I could see right through…… 

Oh no!! I could see right through!!! What had I done! 

Thankfully I am a resourceful woman! Into the house I went to make some curtains. Tomorrow I will start to plan some trail obstacles that are pretty,  permanent, waterproof and can withstand hurricane force winds. This seemed like a pretty tall order but after tonight I will never let anyone tell it’s impossible for me to do something ever again. 

*****

If you enjoyed this and you would like to know when we have our booked published please click the link below and enter your email address. 

https://mailchi.mp/835777505688/its-coming

The Twisted Road of Time - A tale about ADHD

 Day 8 Take 2 

September 21, 2022

The alarm went off at 6:00 am just like it does every weekday, but for some reason I couldn't figure out what that sound was. Finally I realized it was the alarm and I had to wake. The morning right from the start had happened to me instead of with me, as if I had fallen off the horse of time and was being dragged by my foot in the saddle kicking and screaming all the way into the day. 

It wasn't until recently that I found much pleasure in the drive from Port Clements to Masset. The winding road is a corridor through the forest from the edge of the small mountains that Port Clements rests in, and the Pacific Ocean where Masset lives on its shores.

In part of the tree corridor there was an almost white mist that hung in a thin layer over tops of trees. As if I giant spider had woven a web in tall trees like it was grass and dew had collected on it over night now catching the morning sun. 

I thought about how big the spider would have to be to weave a web in the trees that are taller than most buildings on our island. Then I was thankful that there are no such spiders and that this was a mist and not a web. 

The twisting of the road continued, all I wanted to do was go back to sleep. I was terrible company this morning and wished I could have been a little more human for my husband this morning, after all it was his birthday.

The new patch of mist wove its way around the tree tops. Loosely ambling around the forest canopy. It caressed the top of the hill as we climbed into it. And just like we drove in, we drove out to another section of blue sky. 

I stared vacantly out the window, hoping that I will wake up and function before it was tie to go home for work. I had been able to get my brain working by about 9:00 am before leaving for holidays. Now it wasn’t ready to do anything until 7pm. I had been left in the wild of my imagination for over 2 weeks and came back rather useless. My nocturnal nature had taken over and ruined the year of hard work I put into being in a normal routine successfully. Hopefully it won’t take too long to get control of the wild nocturnal creature I would like to be and return myself to the mostly high functioning hot mess I need to be. 

The structure of work is good for my brain. 

A big struggle I have always faced with ADHD is the hyperfixation. Getting lost in everything, lying to myself about my control of time. That’s a funny thing about time. We can not control it, it is not an idea, it's an absolute law. A law that does not bend no matter how hard I try. 

The day was beautiful again, keeping the unburnt brush in my back yard nice and dry.  Knowing that I only had a small amount of time to get some land care done tonight I locked the horses in the bottom pasture. Cross fencing is such a wonderful tool. 

Having learned the secret recipe for burning Haida Gwaii wood I quickly set to work building two fires this time so that I wouldn't have to sticks across an acre saving me time. 

At first I felt guilty for not working the horses or working out again.Having a good deep think about what I was going to be doing with the land once the ground was accessible quickly cleared that. I envisioned myself and Punkin riding the various drops and corners through the forest, admiring the stunning sunsets while we played in our little backyard paradise. I daydreamed about finally having a space big enough to drive Tonka in saving his poor old legs from more miles on the pavement. 

It occurred to me tonight that making my dreams come true wasn't just about making quality space for the horses in my schedule and energy output but for making a quality space to enjoy that time spent with them as well. 

I set my timer and worked as hard as I could, clearing as much as I could for an hour, allowing me the time to go back inside and nurture the relationship with my favorite human on his birthday. And surprisingly more got done in one hour tonight than in several last night. Working with the laws of time had worked in my favor. 

\

*****

If you enjoyed that and would like to know when out first book is ready click the link below and insert your email into the form. 

https://mailchi.mp/835777505688/its-coming

A Fire Within a Fire Without

 Day 7, Take 2 

September 20, 2022

Still feeling a little out of sorts with my day, the first thing I did when I got home was do one more chop on Tonka’s old cart. The process of cutting through the thick steel frame rattled me. Not only physically but mentally as well. That cart had packed myself, my friends, loved ones and nearly every child that has been a part of my life for the past 19 years. One cut was all I could handle today. One cut towards my Chopper was enough to get me closer and enough to let me mourn the death of the old cart all at once. 

I went inside and the weirdness of the day followed me into the house. All I wanted to do was curl up on the couch and become one with my sorrows. 

There were so  many reasons to feel guilty for doing this but my brain had had enough already today and wasn't willing to take anymore. Even the choice as to which horse was supposed to go out tonight was too much. 

I gave my mind some space and backed off on the pressure. It was after all Brent’s birthday tomorrow and I had a cake to bake, I would start there. 

German chocolate cake with coconut pecan frosting was his cake of choice every year. I always cut the cake in two and add a can of cherry pie filling to the middle. 

The kitchen window looks out into the horse's paddock. There were branches and sticks stern about. My attempts to stack them neatly destroyed by years of hurricane force winds. I wish I could just burn them I thought to myself. 

Then it hit me. They were dry! Those branches and sticks that cluttered all my favorite outside places were dry for the first time in ever!! And maybe the last time ever. 

I ran to my secret lighter stash and popped a lighter into my bra. As soon as that cake was done in the oven I was heading outside to burn the 7 year old pile of slash that was so rudely taking up far too much space in the location of my future indoor riding arena. The indoor riding arena that I have been dreaming about and ever so slowly working towards for over 20 years. 

The timer dinged. Stick a toothpick in the cake. Dammit!! Not ready yet. Two more minutes of finding something to do while waiting for the cake to come out of the oven, and thankfully that 2 minutes was all the cake needed.

Outside I went armed with fuel and 3 large bags of shredded paper. They hadn’t helped me much in the garden but they were definitely flammable. 

I have lived in houses smaller than this slash pile, and for 7 years I have been trying to burn it. The edges have now rotted and there were sinkholes made of mud and decomposed brushed at the edges. Not only was it taking up space but it was going to leave mud behind! I’m done with mud. Especially in my arena. 

I tucked the 3 bags of shredded paper into edge of the middle of pile and put a little fuel on it. 

Standing back I carefully light the paper. 

It flickered and nearly went out. Barely burning, light the end of a match that has already seen it’s light it died. 

So much for shredded paper idea. 

I tried again my, this time in more than one spot and a little closer to the fuel. There was some protest from the flame but it persisted non the less. 

Dragging the dry wood out of the wet woods I started to pile it onto my tiny flame. Finally the pile was going to burn. I had a good feeling about this. 

The flames grew, as long as I continued to feed them. So that;s what I did. Two and half hours I pulled pieces of finally dry wood out of my way and fed them to the fire that reclaiming a spot of land I have never had a chance to use. 

I watched the sun through the darkness of my forest while it slipped away in a brilliant band of deep orange light, very much like the deep orange light of my fire. 

While the fire in the sky turned dark I kept working and thinking about the fire within myself, reflecting on my passions and the thoughts that fuel my actions. 

*****

If you enjoyed this and would like to know when our book is ready here’s a link 

https://mailchi.mp/835777505688/its-coming

And Then There Was Bread

Day 6 Take 2 

September 19, 2022 

It was the moment of truth. I had been playing mad scientist both in the kitchen and outside with Tonka’s pony cart. Both of which had proven very successful so far. 

I hadn’t worked out. I didn’t get my kilometer but I made some real progress in getting myself set up for the long haul in both these important aspects of my health goal. 

Tomorrow I had to go back to work after nearly a month off but first I had to deal with it. I had put it off all day, leaving it for fear of what I might find, let alone taste. 

I had made excellent high protein bread and sliders this afternoon and I was on cloud nine. This could cause me to come crashing down if it was another atrocity. 

I opened the door and walked into the dark sun room. The sun had gone down over an hour ago. The sound of the hot tub humming along with the beat up old dehydrator was surprisingly pleasant. Grabbing the machine I went back inside to face what had become of the dead zombie goo. 

I opened the dehydrator lid and looked at the hard rippled disks. I stared at them for a moment then broke off a corner. Thank goodness I had had the good sense to spread the good as thin as possible because had it been any thicker these rippling disks could be easily made into weapons. For a moment I thought about the possibility of hunting with bullets made from dehydrated dead zombie goo.

The taste was doable. It was almost green tasting if that makes any sense at all, green as in green grain, or something unripe. How on Earth could it taste unripe? It did, ever so slightly but it did. 

I broke the incredibly hard disks into cracker size pieces and thought about all the success I had. I made bread. Yummy, wonderful, not too gritty, high protein bread. Depending on the size of the slices there is anywhere from 6-10 grams of protein per slice and roughly the same in carbohydrates on most of those carbohydrates are fiber so do they really count? 

Lentils flours have always been kind to me. Time was ticking away, if I was going to start work on rebuilding Tonka’s pony cart I was going to have to stop messing around and just pick one. 

I chose red lentils and as a whole grain to accompany the lentils to complete their protein I chose rye. Rye flour is a gluttonous flour but I have never had a problem with it.

Two parts lentils, one part rye. I milled enough to make a test recipe and two batches of bread. 

The red lentil flour was the most beautiful color of creamy orange. Hot shoe orange is my favorite color (Or hot poker orange for those of your who have never seen a horse get shoes) but red lentil flour orange is a very close second. 

I mixed the freshly ground flours together by hand in the flour catching compartment of the old flour mill. The orange of the lentil flour held its beauty even with the gray of the rye flour mixed in. I stirred and sifted the flour with my fingers, feeling its warmth and softness on my hands. 

Wanting to increase the nutritional content of the recipe and give it some bend and stretch I decided to add my Super Seed blend. 

Super Seed Blend 

2 TBS Chia seeds

2 TBS Flax seeds

2 TBS Pumpkin seeds 

2 TBS Sesame seeds 

¼ cup Sunflower seeds 

¼ cup Hemp hearts 

Not wanting to eat all these seeds in my food I decided to put them all into the coffee grinder instead of just the flax. 

Being a little gun shy from yesterday's dead zombie goo, I decided it would be a good idea to test this flour. My dad’s special pancake recipe always worked perfectly for testing flour. I went with 1 part super seeds and 3 parts lentil blend. 

I was very pleased that the pancakes cooked all the way through and rolled up beautifully! We had a winner! 

Next I dug out my old lentil bread recipe. This is another item I had miraculously put away.  With a few tweaks on the old recipe I came up with this: 

Red Lentil Rye Bread 

In a small bowl put: 

2.5 cups warm water 

1 TBS Coconut sugar 

1 tsp dry instant yeast

In a larger bowl mix together: 

(If you didn't mill you flour together - if you did then it’s 3 cups of the lentil rye blend instead of below) 

2 cups red lentil flour

1 cup dark rye 

1 cup super seed blend 

1 tsp salt

Poor you yeast mixture over your flour mixture and blend well with a serving fork (Or whatever you like to stir things with) 

Then add ¼ cup of olive oil. 

Poor into parchment lined loaf pan and cover gently with plastic wrap. Just enough to keep some of the heat and humidity in there - don’t let it touch your batter. (Like a nosey neighbor peeking through the blinds I couldn't take my eyes off it while it rose - and to my delight it did rise!) 

Let rise for 30 minutes. Then preheat the oven for 325. 

When the oven is preheated put the pan in and bake for 30 minutes. Turn up the temperature to 350 and bake for another 30-40 minutes. 

Take it out of the plan and paper and let it cool on a rack before opening it…. if you can - we couldn't. 

While the bread was in the oven I put on my head lamp and headed outside. There was a project I promised both myself and Tonka I would start on tonight. 

The flaming orange and white sparks flew from my grinder and into the dark. I put down the grinder to clean my safety glasses. I had been so excited to start this that I didn't even clean my glasses first. The second shaft of the pony cart that Tonka and I had been using for the past 19 years was now removed from the body of the cart. I started chopping at the cart some more and to my amazement the grinder blade ran out before the bread was ready to come out of the oven.

“Brent do we have more grinder blades for the grinder” I asked him, and you could tell he thought it was way too late for me to be this excited. 

“Yes” he said “but you should use the metal blade for the sawsall” He told me a with a quick explanation as to why it made more sense. 

I was cool with that. The sawsall and I get along really well. So excited to continue working on this project I told him I was going to call it my Chopper. Every girl needs their own Chopper? Mine just has a pony power instead of horse power. 

Now all I have to do is figure out how to give it a super slick paint job that’s Chopper worthy. 

*****

If you enjoyed today’s snippet please feel free to share it with a friend and enter your email address into the form in the link below to be notified when the book is published.  

https://mailchi.mp/835777505688/its-coming