A year ago today, my best good buddy Choca died in my arms. Many of you were part of my community here at the time and remember it. It kicked off a year of loss: our dog, our unborn baby, my job. This is why I was convinced Sassy wouldn't make it to 2022. Choca was my hiking partner for many years, and because she never said anything, I came to enjoy silence rather than the adrenaline and distractions of my life off the mountains. I think my career in TV news eventually ended because of that - as the silence allowed me self-relfection, which brought self-awareness, and with it, awareness of the world around me. Choca's death was a violent one in the sense that natural death, I've heard, isn't always how movies depict it. This was the first time I'd ever been there for a last breath and for months after it, I woke up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat and had other unexplained health problems. This may seem an odd reaction, but as a child I accompanied my doctor parents to hospitals and witnessed sickness and dying at a very young age. Avoiding death, while trying to understand it, became a driving motivation for me. Perhaps it is, in part, why I went to seminary and eventually became a reporter. I sought distraction from my own mortality while also seeking to control it through knowledge. A losing combination. In the book he wrote about his wife's death, CS Lewis said, "No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear. I am not afraid, but the sensation is like being afraid." That was my experience. And I had no choice but to sit through it. Then to confront it again and again throughout the rest of the year. But as I sat quietly, I realized something. I had believed that if I could unlock the secrets of death and finally come to peace with it- the ultimate question of existence that has eluded philosophers for centuries - I would finally come to know God. Instead, after last year, I now believe that I had gotten it backwards. Instead, it is coming to know God that brings one peace about death (and all other things for that matter). And thus begins a new journey, not of the head but of the heart. I'll end with another quote from a favorite Lewis book, the last lines of Til We Have Faces, “I ended my first book with the words 'no answer.' I know now, Lord, why you utter no answer. You are yourself the answer. Before your face questions die away. What other answer would suffice? Only words, words; to be led out to battle against other words. Long did I hate you, long did I fear you.” Blessings to all of you on your journey. Thank you for being a part of mine.
Carla the chicken regularly attends our homeschool courses, though she prefers recess and most of all lunch. Whenever my kids complain about doing work, I remind them that most schools around the world do not allow kids to bring their chicken.
Nutrition is a staple of our school - learning about it, growing it, cooking and eating. I also supplement my kids with fermented cod liver oil/concentrated butter oil from https://greenpasture.org/ which gives them a good food-based source of vitamins A, D & K along with healthy omega 3s. I take it daily too and it worked wonders for my chronic battle with cavities. Promo code “ALISON” at check out gets you 10% off.
I was a chronic first-thing-after-waking-up coffee drinker for probably 20 years. I didn’t think anything of walking from my bedroom straight to the stove to start boiling water for my French press. I thought that was “healthy” - especially since my coffee was organic. Little did I know the abuse I was putting my gut through, spiking stress hormones and increasing stomach acid.
When I hit my 40s, my body rebelled against my routine. I switched my morning drink to meat broth about 3 years ago. I learned from Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride (GAPS diet) that meat broth is better for beginners than bone broth because it has fewer histamines. Bone broth is still highly nutritious because the longer simmering time produces a high mineral content, once you've begun healing your gut with meat broth and your body tolerates it.
I still drink matcha or coffee but never first thing. I no longer “get right to work” while the kids are still sleeping. I start my day in silent communion with...
My friend's cow ran off during her grandson's birthday party. We went on the chase in her peach fields and found Emmy enjoying freedom with a side of fresh grass.
Emmy produces 6 GALLONS of milk a day at peak! It's full of vitamin K2 which our body needs to absorb vitamin D into our bones. That's why I take the fermented cod liver/concentrated butter oil from Green Pasture. Instead of JUST a butter oil or JUST a fish oil, it's both packed together so I get the most bioavailability out of both. It ended my battle with chronic cavities. Get yours at https://greenpasture.org/ and use promo code "ALISON" at check out for 10% off.
AI data centers use far more water than most tech giants report
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/ai-data-centers-use-far-more-water-than-most-tech-giants-report/ar-AA278rdF
Finally, the massive water consumption via electricity generation is called out. Which in some cases dwarfs the water consumed for cooling.
And don't buy Nvidia's claims to fix it all. While their latest is "better". It's in the context of them ALL consuming a massive amount of both water and power compared to other things.
How Bezos learned to love Trump—and win more contracts for Blue ... - MSN
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/how-bezos-learned-to-love-trump-and-win-more-contracts-for-blue-origin/ar-AA276qLp
Dictators love bribes. Especially when addicted to propaganda. The Washing Post becomes fair game.
