Good morning, dear readers! It is an unusual Saturday morning. Why? Because I am virtually alone. Dearest has taken Beau (names have been changed to protect the innocent) to his yearly physical (didn’t mind delegating that one!), and Fairy Princess and the Muffin are still snoozing. So, here I am at at the computer, drinking my breakfast and writing. Drinking my breakfast? Why, yes, I am sipping a wonderful smoothie consisting of homemade kefir, a banana, 9 strawberries, one scoop of whey protein, and a teaspoon of raw honey. It’s really quite good.
A dear friend of ours, the Mad Scientist, began several months ago fermenting a vast array of delicacies, and when her kefir cultures multiplied like bunnies, she gave some to us, and so began our kefir adventure. It’s only been a couple of weeks, but we are enjoying the oddity of fermenting milk on our countertop and then drinking it. What is kefir? Well, as best as I can tell, it is a probiotic cultured milk product. It contains over 50 probiotic strains of bacteria which are supposed to produce very good gut flora, among other things. You could compare it to buttermilk, I think. So far, all we’ve done with it is make smoothies, but I am discovering that there are myriad uses. For example, I’m planning to make my own kefir sour cream for this week’s Tuesday Taco Night. I’m also going to try substituting kefir for buttermilk in my pancake recipe. They’ll never know. And then there’s kefir ice cream. I can’t even talk about that yet. I must procure an ice cream freezer! I’ll let you know how it turns out!
By the way, the Mad Scientist is also fermenting in her lab (aka dining room) sauerkraut and kambucha. I’m not quite ready to join her on those adventures, but I’ll happily partake of the fruits of her labors. Speaking of adventures, we embarked on another one in March. His name is Pippin, and he is now four months old. No, I did not give birth to another child. Pippin is our puppy. He is a border collie, long-haired dachshund, Australian shepherd, corgi mix. Yes, he’s a very conflicted little fellow. He has short little corgi legs and a long dachshund body, beautiful light green shepherd eyes, and a handsome border collie face. He’s ferocious and chicken-hearted, playful and adventurous. Mostly, he’s full of love and mischief. We are still in the throes of housebreaking, which means poor Pippin spends most of his time in the kitchen, where his messes are not so devastating to the flooring. He is definitely a people puppy. I am convinced that God bred him specifically for our family. I have refused pet ownership for 18 years, but somehow, in his gentle, inexplicable, wise way, the Holy Spirit turned my heart toward this puppy for the love of a boy. Beau needed a dog. I didn’t realize it then, but so did his dad. So, I clean the messes, fill the water dish, and walk the puppy. He is too sweet not to forgive.
There are other new adventures in our lives, and there are several lapping at our toes, calling us to wade in. I’ll have to fill you in on those developments later. For now, I pray that your Saturday and all your other days will be orchestrated by the One who knows you best and loves you most, and that all your paths will take you closer to Him.
Happy Saturday!
Contemplations and Revelations 