Survival
My father, along with his 7 siblings had a rough life surviving by eating weeds, milking a cow, hunting and gardening. The neighboring rattlesnake colony provided many a meal for this desert dwelling bunch!
Even after much success in life, my father’s provident living habits carried through, and continued to bless our family and neighbors with an abundance of home-grown food.
In my teens, nearly everyone that came to visit commented that our backyard was like the garden of Eden. To be honest, I just saw it as an allergy-inducing chore pit. It wasn’t until many years later that I realized the value of that kind of security.
Getting sick
As a product of the 80’s my diet was terrible, and by the end of my last college year, I found myself getting tired from the littlest things. I had inexplicable pain in various places in my body and I couldn’t hold a thought.
At 25, my doctor branded me with this weird condition called “fibromyalgia” or FMS, and told me there was no cure. He said “It is unfortunate but you’ll be spending the rest of your life looking for ways to cope”. I bet you can imagine how hopeless that felt.
The journey gets real
Consequently, I tried in vain to improve my sorry state by just eating “healthy” and exercising a lot. But little did I realize I was making things much worse with a low-fat diet and way too much exercise. Not knowing what else to do, I made a desperate decision to get some sunshine and enjoy some time with my grandparents while they were still alive. I shoved everything I could fit into my little Honda Accord and drove down to AZ and set up a fitness studio.
It turned out that the landlord of the building was in the process of creating a support group for people with FMS! In short, her research led me to a symptom-free life…and therefore to a place of deep appreciation for the lifestyle that my father had exemplified! She graciously endured a few funny looks as she worked to convince me to eat butter and tallow. 😊
Her website, fibromyalgiarecovery.com, explains a lot of what she found, which empowered us both to become symptom-free for over a decade now. More like 15 years!
A hurricane taught me
Before being blessed with children, my husband and I took a trip to New Orleans. You can read here about what we what we witnessed as we ran for safety from hurricane Katrina. I learned some vital survival lessons, and just how fragile our lives really are. Seeing thousands of people suffering and feeling helpless triggered a passion to become more self-sufficient and encourage others to do the same.
A fruitful life
Before getting my health back, above all, I would have never dreamed, I’d be growing my own food and raising livestock. Nor did it ever cross my mind that we’d be leveling it by hand…with a shovel. And doing this in my “free time” between raising kids, cooking from scratch, milking goats {and yes making cheese and soaping}, pulling weeds, building fences, turning compost {and hitting the gym after}, church involvement, and blogging. As a result, my life is joyfully full.
Our philosophies
- We’re restoring soil without store-bought inputs, mostly. Bedding and livestock feed are exceptions right now but the gears are turning to find ways to grow all that too. Although I’ll probably never get around to growing kelp. 🤔 lol
- Our livestock is always treated with herbs first, and in cases where those aren’t enough, essential oils are our heavy hitters. Certainly, there have been rare exceptions, but they are shrinking as I am becoming more proficient with plants.
- Hugely influenced by Joel Salatin, we’re working out the logistics of enlisting enthusiastic creature help. It does something amazing to my soul to see our livestock keeping everything tidy. Even if it means that our orange trees have awful haircuts.
- Nature is always right so we’re learning to work with her.
- Food can the best medicine.
My dutiful father, helping us get our place in working order.
My complete FMS recovery details
You can read more about Liz Jaconelli’s story of recovery from FMS @kellythekitchenkop.com: Part 1 here. Part 2 here.
Please enjoy and pass it along to anyone you know who could benefit.
Best Regards and welcome to Orange Grove Road.
Liz Jaconelli Graduated from Central Washington University with a degree in Family and Consumer Sciences. She opened a fitness studio where she worked as a personal trainer while helping clients achieve their fitness goals, consequently developing a passion for holistic health. Then after having children, Liz became a full-time homemaker. She went on to complete all but a few classes toward a degree in Holistic Nutrition from Clayton College but they shut down unexpectedly, leaving her unable to complete the degree. She now uses the knowledge gained, caring for her family and her little homestead, as holistically and sustainably as possible.
Contact me:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2017-2019 Elizabeth Jaconelli