Author: ObtainingMercy

Clockwise, from the top:  raw sunflower seeds, raw onion rings, kiwi fruit, apples, sweet potatoes, and in the center bananas.

The
onion rings are coated in a yummy, crunchy dip, and taste much like
fried onion rings, only they are raw and healthy! lol!!! 
The sweet potatoes tasted rather bland, even with sea salt on them.  The ones baked in the oven were WAY tastier!!! 
The sunflower seeds were soaked in salt water overnight and then dehydrated.  Very good for snacking or on a salad.
The kiwi fruit, apple and banana taste really great!  I can't wait to mix up a raw trail mix with these three!

The
dehydrator we bought is quite noisy.  Somehow, I didn't expect that. 
We put it on top of the refrigerator for now, but we'll probably move
it out to the porch for the next batch.  The noise is just too loud
when the a/c is running too.

I will be purchasing flat sheets to
go in the machine that you can pour out mixtures onto.  That way I can
make tortillas, fruit roll ups, crackers, cookies, etc.  But who knew
that would be so pricey?!!  Along with shipping, they will cost about
$13 for 2 of the smooth sheets.   
And, yes, I thought of wax paper; but I read several reviews that say
it just doesn't work, and it adheres to whatever you are drying. 

So,
we'll be experimenting with a few more things, as soon as we get the
new sheets.  Until then, I'm planning some more onion rings.  They are
great for a snack or on a salad.  I think they are my favorite food I
dried, besides the banana chips.  They are my all-time favorite!  I'll
be doing lots more of those!

And – just to keep things exciting
– I went out yesterday with the dog, to pick a few oranges.  We have a
nylon-coated steel line that we clip to the dog's collar when he is
out, as our yard is not completely fenced in.  The line is connected to
the orange tree. 

Usually when I walk inside the circumference
of Newton's lead, I step on his lead so he won't dance around and
tangle me up in the line.  Yesterday I forgot.

Apparently I had
one foot on each side of the line, which is a blessing, so when he took
off at full speed, it only caught one of my ankles.  I did not fall down (thank You, Jesus!). 
I just hollered!  He stopped immediately and came back to me.  I
hobbled into the house to see how bad the damage was.  The line
actually burned my ankle where it wrapped around, and of course,
bruised it.

Today, it is pretty swollen and very red and hurts any time my skin moves, which is, you know, every time I move. 
But pain relievers helped, as did an ollllllllld bottle of Bactine that
my mom had handy!  Thank the Lord that it was a spray, so I didn't have
to touch it.  The burn hurts worse than the bruise.

So, I'm
hobbling around a little, but it's Doug's half-day, so he has taken
Isaac for a ride this afternoon (to pick up meds) and I can grab a good
book (thanks, cousin Joy!!!) and read and rest.

May your day be blessed with a clear path to the fruit trees!!! 
Alesha