Beating Cancer... 31 Days to Healing

We're a day late to the party!  But we're here and ready to dance!

Yesterday was the launch of the 31 Day Writing Challenge 2017.

And I was no where near my computer.  {So Much Happening Right Now!}

But we are diving in today.  Big.  Because even a day late can't stop the excitement bubbling up over this year's topic...

Beating Cancer!  Yes.  Beating Cancer... 31 Days to Healing

If you or a loved one are facing the formidable diagnosis of cancer, then please, please join us.

There is Hope.  There is Good News.

And that Hope comes in the form of the largest, most comprehensive study ever undertaken on the coorelation between our diet and cancer.

It is called The China Study.

It is compelling.  It is radical.  It is beyond exciting.

In a nutshell, we are going to discover if it is possible to not only reduce our risk of getting cancer in our lifetime, but perhaps even reverse it.

And we are going to take it a part piece by piece and put together a plan.

A plan to give each one of us a path to walk, a framework for taking back our health... a clear, decisive blueprint for Beating Cancer!

Day 1     What is the China Study?
Day 2     The Secret Ingredient
Day 3     Is It Just Another Fad?
Day 4     Lessons from China...
Day 5     Stop Feeding Your Cancer
Day 6     A Sunday Truce
Day 7     A Dark Secret...
Day 8     Is It Really that Simple?
Day 9     Guiding Principles, Part 1
Day 10    Guiding Principles, Part 2
Day 11    The Good News... Or the Bad?
Day 12    Now to the Bad News...
Day 13    A Sunday Blessing
Day 14    Brain Cancer and a Case Study
Day 15    Getting Personal...
Day 16    A Little Grace...
Day 17    The China Study in a Nutshell
Day 18    Tips for the Journey...
Day 19    Where Do We Start When our Mind Goes Blank?
Day 20    A Sunday Prayer
Day 21    A Tex-Mex Hit!
Day 22    Another Case Study...
Day 23    A Message from the Professor
Day 24    The China Study: Center for Nutrition Studies
Day 25    Helyn's Plant-Based Kitchen
Day 26    What I Ate Today...
Day 27    A Sunday of Thanks
Day 28    The China Study and Pancreatic Cancer
Day 29    A Eureka Moment
Day 30    Forks over Knives
Day 31    The China Study Resource List

In Grace and Love,
Always,
Jane

The Lake Place has a Foundation!

It's been a while since I've updated our progress at the lake place...

And that would be because Life at the Lake moves SLOW!!!!  Agonizingly slow!

We have bulldozed and cleared land, laid a driveway, drilled for water, dug a septic system and plugged into the sun... all the while dreaming of the day we could break ground for our log home.

Hallelujah!  That day is here!

(The dream might have given us a gray hair or two, just sayin')

To get you up to speed, here's a rundown of the last few months.  After choosing Satterwhite Log Homes as our builder we got busy working on log home plans...

and then got ourselves a Building Permit (or Development Certificate as it is called here in backwoods country!)...

and finally we were ready to break ground and get that foundation in!   I might have a few pics... (or twenty)...

Ready for concrete!!

Right about here the concrete guys gave me an old nail and said

"Time to sign it."

  I was unprepared for the moment... Should it be a handprint?  Just our initials?  Definitely the date... Maybe our favorite verse?  

And the concrete wasn't waiting!  So, here goes...

It's official... We have a foundation!

And the plan, per our concrete team, was to come back the following week to finish the porches and carport foundation.

That was the plan...

And then it rained.

And rained.

And rained some more. In Texas. In the summer.

Wrong. Very Wrong...

And then, just when we thought things were drying out, a tiny dark cloud formed over our place.  The radar shows that little dot of rain and mayhem popping up out of nowhere... it dumped an inch of rain before the weatherman even knew it was there!

What we learned about patience this summer could fill a book.

I might not want to mention that our concrete team took another (BIG) job in a drier locale and found themselves tied up until this week past.

Eventually, though, the plan seemed to come together 

( I may not want to mention that we got a wee-bit ugly with our concrete team,

truly, waiting 10 weeks to pour porches seemed a little excessive...)

From June 29th to September 11th...

Not exactly the timetable we planned,

but the foundation is in!

Sometimes (almost always) the dream is worth the wait!

If you are stuck in the rain and mayhem of the unexpected,

don't let it drown out the dream,

it really is worth all the hair-pulling, teeth-grinding, stomach-knotting moments...

Keep moving forward.  The sun is bound to come out sooner or later!

Now let's have us a log-raising!!

Exciting Breakthrough for Cancer Fighters!

Have you heard about the China Study?

Well, let me tell ya... it is a game-changer!  And I can hardly wait to share the good news.  Actually I was going to wait for the 31 Day Challenge in October to begin... but how to wait??

For anyone struggling with cancer, heart disease, diabetes, or a myraid of many other devastating illnesses this study is a must-read.

In a nutshell, the China Study is the most comprehensive, long-term study on the relationship between our diet and disease, especially cancer...

... and we are going to tear into it come October!  Our 31 Day Challenge for 2017  {so excited}

But until then, here's something to hang on to... There is Hope.

So. Much. Hope.

The China Study doesn't just tell us about the connection between our diet and disease, it reveals the way to stop and in many cases even reverse these deadly diseases.  And it is so very do-able!

Come join us October 1st... I promise you won't be disappointed!

To Health, to Life, to the Fight.

All My Love,
Jane

Lessons learned from a FireAnt Hill...

As if to compound an already horrific situation , the people of south Texas have survived Hurricane Harvey's fury only to find themselves under water, and at the mercy of huge floating piles of hungry fire ants... Can you imagine anything more diabolical??!

           ~ photo by Bill O'Zimmermann

All that rust-colored "debri" in the water?  Those are floating piles of fire ants!!!!

                          ~ photo by Daniel Schneider

And for those friends who are not familiar with this Texas pest, they are pint-sized little terrors.  A bite from one of these miniscule bugs will sting like fire... hence the name... stings like fire I tell you!  And you won't be in Texas long before gaining a healthy respect for these blasted critters.

Thanks Hurrican Harvey!  An ecounter with one of these floating ant hills you left behind will be sure to ruin our day!  Unbelievable!

Truly, it is almost as terrifying as finding a snake (or two or a hundred!) on your boat...

(Surely this picture is photoshopped... I have no idea... but I apologize for any nightmares that may ensue... can't even breath... just stop already!!)

Ok, but back to the floating fireants... it's one of those phenomens of nature that defies logic. Well, if you are a scientist you could explain all about their little waxy bodies repelling water and their ability to float while hooking their little legs together...yada, yada, yada... they are still tiny little terrorist bugs that you want to avoid at all costs.

The only upside to the floating fire ant piles is that you can see your opponent, hopefully, long before you get too close.

Because in their natural environment... like our lake place... they build huge fire ant homes and live underground.  Well, that is until you disturb them.  Like with your foot, or your boot... or a stick. We kind of know. It's happened...

And this fire ant hill is a solemn reminder of the way cancer hides underground, growing and growing until it finally erupts with a venom that is terrifying.

A cancer diagnosis is sucker-punch scary.  It can knock the wind right out of your very lungs and overwhelm your fragile heart with a stinging fear.  The attack is relenteless, and seems to be nightmare-never-ending...

But there is Grace.  There is Hope.  You will find your footing.  I promise you.

You will begin to move forward.  Into the fight.  Back into the living, shaking that paralyzing shock.  Give yourself time.

Lean into family and friends.  Do your research.  Trust your gut.  Then get out the Amdro.

Well, that's what we call it in Texas.  Amdro.  Amazing, Amazing Stuff... When we see those growing fire ant mounds, we go on the attack first before they do.

Amdro

Kills Fire Ants Dead!

We buy stock in Amdro (no, we don't, but we should!)

Amdro is a smelly pellet that fire ants seem to love, go figure.  They take this smelly pellet down deep into their underground home and feed it, like the finest elixir, to their queen, and the next thing you know... deader than a doornail. Yay!

But the thing is, we have to be disciplined and vigilant. And treat the mounds with Amdro early. Or we'll end up walking thru that fire ant mound and get the snot stung right out of us (Texas-speak for lots of swearing and jumping up and down).

So that's the lesson learned from the fire ant hill.  No matter what we face in life...

Be proactive.

Be disciplined.

Be strong.

Learn all you can about your opponent.   And don't be afraid to fight with everything you've got.

Trust me, we're Getting Out the Amdro down here in Texas!  

{Sure hope it works on floating piles of fire ants!}

Praying for Texas

When we need an anchor in the midst of our storms...

                                                           ~ Guiseppe Barranco

Lifting up all in the path of Hurricane Harvey and the devastating aftermath. May God's Protecting Hand hold all safe, in the eye of the storm, until the fury passes and the sun returns...

My Love, Always,
Jane

The Closet Astronomer...

Y'all.  There was a total eclipse of the sun today!  Just in case you haven't heard about it yet...

Because I know that some news stations may not have carried the exciting news.  You know. Like they were living under a rock or something.

And it was crazy.  We were all telling each other 'Don't Look at the Sun.'  To be sure, that's good advice, but really?  Since when do I have to tell my peeps not to look at the sun?  You'll burn your retinas I say... I've never said that before, just wanted you to know.  I'm not a helicopter mom or anything.

But, truly, what a day!  We just had a total eclipse of the sun... well, we didn't have one here in North Texas.  It was just a partial eclipse.

The moon only blocked out 75% of the sun's glow.  And we sure waited for the moment we'd shiver in the dark... until we realized that the sun has the power of a kazillion mega-watts, even at 25% power! Who knew?

And so, here are the highlights of our exciting day...

Getting Poppy into position with our far-from-sophisticated Solar Pinhole Viewing Contraption...

Good news, he did not look directly at the sun.

Ignore the crude file folder and feast your eyes on that pinpoint dot!

It is a Solar Eclipse happening, for real!

And we didn't burn our retinas... because, we followed NASA's brilliant guidelines and DID NOT LOOK AT THE SUN!

But then I couldn't resist a selfie with the Eclipse...

But we all know my dismal selfie-abilities... thank goodness, my back was to the sun and my trusty  phone camera has a flip mode.

(Eyes were never in jeopardy, do not fear)

And that is a picture of the sun at full eclipse in North Texas.... Hmmm.... 

If I only knew what that little half moon blip was in the lower center of the frame...

 maybe Venus?  or Jupiter?  or the Gorgeous North Star? 

The astronomer in me has no idea.  

But I do know that in the year 2024, North Texas will be in the path of Totality for the next Big Solar Eclipse!  I feel a party coming on...

Join me?!!  Yes!

It will be Amazing!!

I Have this Hope

Because, sometimes, we need to be reminded...

When it feels like the night will never end..

Resolving to Trust His Grace...

"In the flood or fire, You're with me and You won't let go."

                                                       ~ Tenth Avenue North