Beyond the Garden Gate

Living in Oregon means we get a beautiful bounty of pears every summer. I have never seen so many different kinds of pears in my life, honestly! Although I only shared pictures of one kind in this post They are incredibly delicious fresh… so sweet and watery that the juice just drips from your mouth as soon as you bite into them. But because they are so plentiful we also have to come up with ways to use them so we not only eat with them, cook with them, and store them for the long winter. Between pear butter, dried pears, and canned pears it makes sense to bake with them too! I had a couple that were starting to look quite sad and if you follow me on Instagram (@americanflavorlatinspice) you know how much I dislike throwing food away and will come up with ways to use it. Like the english proverb “waste naught, want naught”. We are incredibly blessed by God and he in return asks us to be good stewards of those blessings. So that meant for me getting creative in the kitchen! We had a fam...

  Waste naught, want naught We had family come for a surprise visit for a week and a half and we didn’t follow our meal plan or food burdget at all and that is OK, life happens, sometimes you fall off the budget and that is why budgeting works it allows for those flex times without having to worry! Besides for us family is one of our top values so spending more time with them is worth it.  We will get back to it next week. But now is when the saying “Waste naught, want naught” comes in! Yes we could have thrown away the sad veggies that were left behind and gotten new ones but we are called to be good stewards of our blessings and that includes the people in our lives, food, money, and things. I accept sometimes there is nothing you can do like the 2 cucumbers I chucked because they turned liquid in the back of the fridge (good thing they were in a plastic bag) but the rest we used up right away in a crazy veggie scramble eggs, dinner sides/lunch today, and the giant zucchini ...

  With everything going on in this country and world my mind and soul keep comming back to the Mercy Chaplet. For those unfamiliar with this prayer it came from Jesus appearing to a nun, now Saint, Faustina who wrote all of it in her diary. I will share parts of her diary where it is highlighted the importance of the prayer. It was intended primarily as a prayer of intercession, a way of opening the floodgates to the Father’s mercy, so that He can pour out His merciful love upon the world through His Son.  It is hard for me to watch how many people support a political party that is ok with abortion. I often wonder as a Christian if I voted for that party would I be asked to answer for all those lost babies and lost souls at judgment day? Just that thought sends shivers down my spine. I have to accept though that even though I have an issue with the personality of the leader I still need to put my personal judgements about the person aside and focus on the bigger picture: ...

  We live in a tiny apartment and one of the reasons I kept giving myself for feeding my discontent was that it is too small to welcome people. But as years have gone by and God has made it clear THIS is home, even though we have tried looking for a house to buy with no luck. It has given me a chance to work on my mind set, to make peace with it, to look for the possitives, and remind myself how I feel is created by the thoughts in my head the apt is neutral. So I have stopped giving into the excuses. The size of a home should not stop us from welcoming loved ones, from giving their weary souls a place to rest, to get together, to enjoy our short time on this earth with family and friends sharing stories of the “olden days” (like my kid calls them) and laughing. Our homes are our ministry, it is how we show love and soemtimes guide people to heaven. This little apartment has seen joy and un measurable grief, We have gathered here to celebrate and to mourn. The doors beckoned loved ...

  “As the years pass, I am coming more and more to understand that it is the common, everyday blessings of our common everyday lives for which we should be particularly grateful. They are the things that fill our lives with comfort and our hearts with gladness — just the pure air to breathe and the strength to breath it; just warmth and shelter and home folks; just plain food that gives us strength; the bright sunshine on a cold day; and a cool breeze when the day is warm.” Laura Ingalls Wilder

  Today we made lavender sugar scrubs. It was a sweet and magical time spent together. Laughing and dancing in the kitchen, just you and me, surrounded by one of our favorite smells. I wonder if someday when you are older, and I am a mere memory, the smell of lavender will transport you to your childhood… To those days spent picking lavender in the stunning fields, the sound of the bees like a wild river while you were hunting for grasshoppers, watching your mama cut meticulously and almost ritual like each stem and placing it on a basket to later delicately arrange them in her flowers, the jazz playing, the sound of laughter, and sweet aroma of making sugar lavender scrubs to then run to the sink to try them, and later drowsing into a land of dreams after having your pillow sprayed with that comforting smell. To me smells can instantly transport me places and flood my mind and heart with memories. I wonder if lavender will be one of those smells for you … Lavender Pillow Spray 1 o...

  I feel like life is overflowing with craziness, its is not that I believe COVID is a farce, I do accept the fact that there is a virus, yes it is deadly but I also see the statistics where it shows has a high % of survival rate *I do want to share my condolences to those who have lost family and friends to it* and I also agree people should be cautious, take care of themselves, and use common sense. BUT I also accept and have always been aware that death has always been on the table, it is a part of life, no matter what we do there is a higher power that is in control and when our time comes it will come. I am sure you have heard of cases, I lived it with my sister dying in her sleep the night before her son’s wedding, and we can also see the opposite situation in all those other instances that people survive against all odds. I think maybe I just have been around death so much in my life that I have made my peace with it and my faith helps to remind me I am not meant to live her...