Start with God, End with God, God in the Middle

Beginning my blog with one of my favorites…the comfort of Psalm 23. 

Friend Karen and I got to hit the rails to trails bike path on a picturesque Saturday but I had about a 15 minute delay due to those pesky charlie horses in my feet. However, despite physical side effects like this, there’s really nothing as sweet as spending time with Christ centered girlfriends who uplift me, encourage me and are always available to lean on when I need a compassionate ear. 

After my infusion I got to pick up my usual 3 loaves of organic sour dough sesame bread from Dan the Baker in Columbus, OH! I treated myself with this fresh strawberry (illegal) croissant topped with edible flowers!! Chloe is one of the gentle souls that walk this planet and she made me a delicious cappuccino with a floral pattern. Ok, going back to WFPB greens, grains, legumes, seeds, veggies and fruit! 

Rockford, IL where my parents and sisters live was just one of the loving sanctuaries I got to visit in this past three week period between infusions. I got to hike, bike, stay up late talking, ate nutritious food and learned a lot. Growth is my word for 2025 I think. 

Memorial Day gave my parents, sister Melissa and niece Breanna an opportunity to drive to the country where we visited some of my family plots at Irish Grove cemetery. My Grandpa Vince Richardson grew up close to here and I loved hearing the old stories of his simple farming lifestyle. He was born in 1915. His parents and grandparents had their headstones there and I got to see the marble edifice of my great grandfather Patrick Richardson whom I was named after! Even though I’m no longer a professing Catholic, I wonder if there’s a way I could be interred next to them some day? I’m hoping it’s not for 45 more years! We had a good laugh imagining where we all be placed and we stood on the very plots of ground…as living head stones!!!

My sweet sissy, Melissa, making me homemade açaí bowl!! Choosing to eat WFPB is much easier because of her!!

Because I was much closer to northern Wisconsin on this trip, I took advantage of proximity to a dear friend that I met a few years ago. Brenda is always referred to in my mind as my Gratitude friend. When I was re-diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer in April 2022, she reached out to me from a women’s mountain biking Facebook group connection we had briefly and she quickly became one of my daily encouragers. We hiked in the gentle rain a couple days and in truest Brenda fashion, she helped me work on my biking skills…this time it was cornering. I love how God knits beautiful souls into the tapestry of my life. 

This special lady became the reason God both used me and blessed me. My niece, Stephanee has had 4 surgeries in the past couple months and needed her Aunt TT to have a week long slumber party. It was such a joy to spend true quality time with her including teaching her how to chiffonade basil for a family recipe I call Corn Off the Cob summer salad. It’s so simple and oh so refreshing. Corn, purple onion, basil, olive oil, vinegar and honey!! Yum

 One of the coolest experiences I’ve had was being invited to share my story for a chocolate company, The Conscious Bar, so they could make a testimonial marketing video. They finally finished editing it and now I can share!! What a blessing again how God uses nobodies to highlight His goodness and miracles!! Please buy their chocolate. Ignore the investment. It’s healthy and guilt free chocolate!!