Funny - when I thought of how to describe this summer, that Bananarama song "Cruel Summer" suddenly started playing in my head. :-) 

Seriously, it has been the weirdest summer ever weather-wise, with buckets of rain and nearly daily flooding up through June, and then barely any rain at all for the last couple of months. Needless to say, the garden season has been quite challenging.

Several of my new raspberry plants drowned and died early on, many tomatoes rotted on the vine before they were even ripe, and we also had problems with rot with the garlic and onions. August and September have been so hot and dry that it has been a challenge just keeping the garden alive, but somehow I have managed for the most part...

Personally, it has also been a busier summer than usual, with two separate vacations plus a weekend road trip, as well as the roofing project which took up our driveway for all of June and July, delaying our yearly delivery of wood chips until nearly September. The abundance of rain coupled with the lack of mulch meant that I spent much more of my summer weeding than I would have liked, and didn't get to many of the projects that I had intended.

However, the new metal roof is done and the recent rain we got last week sounded AMAZING! I am looking forward to (hopefully) doing the barn roof in metal at some point, as I have read some negative things about watering the garden with water off of an asphalt roof.

Our new patio doors should (finally) be installed at some point in the next week or two, and we have replaced the siding on two sections of the back of the house ourselves this summer (hot and tiring work, but kind of fun and rewarding, too).

Below are pictures plus a few more updates from the homestead this summer, including a couple of new food preservation experiments that we've tried recently...

When it comes to living a holistically healthy and balanced life, you may think of balancing your work life with your personal life, fitting more exercise into your daily routine, or eating a more balanced diet. But few of us - as adults - think in terms of whether we are getting enough "play" in our lives.

There are many studies and news articles about the importance of play for children's health and development, but what about adults?  Unfortunately, the concept of play is often seen as unproductive and immature when it comes to adults. In fact, many of us don't even remember what it's like to play! As this article points out, "in our busy, modern, and technology filled world we have been focusing too much on work, family, and structured routines and we have forgotten how to play."

In fact, play can be a very beneficial and important part of adult life, and can help us to lead healthier, happier, and more balanced lives!

Below are a few ways that play can benefit us as adults, as well as some tips for putting more play, novelty, and fun into your daily life.

I was looking for some interesting content to post for you this week, and I stumbled across this video from one of my favorite functional medicine doctors. I thought it sounded interesting enough and thought I would watch just a few minutes of it to make sure it would be suitable to share on the blog... But when I started watching it, it was so fascinating I got totally sucked in and watched the whole thing! :-) 

We are learning so much lately about gut bacteria and how the health of your gut impacts your overall health, from physical to mental. As it turns out, gut bacteria may even be linked to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinsons, ALS, and more!  This is a breakthrough idea, and it will take some time before it becomes accepted in mainstream medicine, but it has the potential to revolutionize medicine and the treatment of brain disease as we know it.

Whether you suffer from one of these diseases yourself, you know someone who does, or you simply want to reduce your risk, you don't want to miss this eye-opening video - especially if you use antibiotics...

Welcome back! Sorry for the long absence - after a weekend of traveling, and then spending all day last weekend putting up siding on the house, I wasn't able to share the homestead update I meant to... However, I'm back with your September freebie this week, and hopefully this whirlwind of a summer will slow down soon so I can get back on track!

Weight loss is something that so many people struggle with in America today, and while it's not healthy to constantly berate yourself for not achieving some "ideal" of how you should look, the truth is that being overweight is linked to many different health problems that can shorten your lifespan and diminish your quality of life. Working out regularly and eating healthy is, of course, the way to achieve and maintain a healthy weight - but we all know this already, so why are so many of us still overweight?

There is quite a bit of evidence that how your view yourself and your body can contribute to weight gain (or weight loss), and there is no doubt that many of us are what we would call "emotional eaters." In fact, many doctors and psychologists now believe that the most important factor in maintaining a healthy weight is actually your mindset.

This is the reason why certain tools and habits that can help you achieve a more positive body image can actually help you lose weight without even really "trying".  This month's free gift is about just that. Not only is the book itself free, but implementing the technique described in the book won't cost you anything either - and it only takes a few minutes!

Just click here to grab yours now, OR learn more and download your copy below...