After 12 years of almost daily pain, and several days to weeks each year of utter incapacity – it’s hard to explain really, like life itself has been sucked out of you – I’ve been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. This lifeless feeling has prevailed since April this time, not letting up ever entirely. This has made the realities of running a homestead a glaring issue to be faced. There is always something to do on a homestead, always weeds to be pulled, produce to be processed, meals to be lovingly cooked, hungry creature mouths to be fed, house chores to be done, fences to fix, the list is endless. There is normally precious little time for the breaks to enjoy what all of us work for – deep peace and appreciation for our natural world. There is really no time for incapacity – no time when ‘nothing’ can be done.
With the mobility and balance issues and extreme, indescribable fatigue – I’ve been able to do very little in the gardens, very little around the house, and consider it a blessed good day if I can make our supper. The stairs in the house have become the most frightening part of my every day. Waiting on starting a treatment, it has been explained to me that the cost will be more than we can pay when my benefits are dropped – the job that paid for the environmental improvements to this home now slipping quickly away. I discovered the Swank MS Diet and have returned to veganism and an extremely low fat diet, following Dr. Swank’s plan, in combination with a lot of factors from Dr. McDougall’s plan. Still researching my herbs, I believe nature has what we need to treat anything – we just haven’t found a lot of it.
Danny has been the greatest support a girl could ask for, but has his own issues to deal with that are doubling the difficulty of keeping this homestead going. Oskar has been my constant companion, and Jet and Bella have become avid hunters and protectors of the property.
Wild Rose Herbs is closed. The domains were sold. Please do not contact wildroseherbs.com in search of my products.
As we struggle to find a new order at Dharma Dogs Farm, we’ll keep you posted.
Peace,
michele
It’s a beefsteak, and we’re having BLTs – I’ve got homemade wheat bread, Lightlife veggie bacon, and vegan nayonnaise. We’re having homemade french fries (baked potato strips) and vegan cole slaw (previous recipe) and fresh canteloupe.
by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau and we are finding tons of yummy recipes. This book helped me get over my first fear – that my favorite staple food, pizza, would be off limits. She has several vegan pizza recipes in the book that inspire much more flavorful pies. I am starting to wonder why I ever liked the cheese-laden slices I was used to eating. There are also some good recipes for ‘cheese’ sauces, cheese block and tempeh bacon, which will come in handy when those tomatoes get ripe!
. So much of what I found in this book rang true to me, from poisons in our food, to the real causes of cancer, and the inhumane treatment of animals. I immediately began rethinking everything I was eating – no longer eating anything made with eggs unless the eggs came from my own coddled hens. Casein became an enemy – causing cancer almost as certainly as bleach will. I even investigated the alcohol we drink – and personal products we are using.