Brief Update

We discovered what killed the rabbit.  Apparently domesticated rabbits (meat, fur, pet, competition, etc) are so far removed from their wild cousins that they basically need air conditioning.  It is not enough to have food, water, shade.  They need ice bottles to snuggle up to and a climate controlled environment.  This goes against what we try to achieve.  Allowing the animals to live in a natural environment where they can free-range as much as possible, have ample food, water, and shade, and enjoy life.  Not live in a confined environment.  Apparently, domesticated rabbits also do not do well as a colony.  Which, again, goes against what we try to do.  Individual cages in air conditioning is not free-range.  So, rabbits are on hold for now until we figure something out.  

The chickens, however, are having a bit too much free-range.  They ate my lettuce again and are giving themselves dust baths in my lettuce bed.  I am eyeing them for the stock pot.  Just go one day without laying and see what happens.  Revenge is a dish best served with mashed potatoes and gravy.

I worked tonight while in considerable pain.  My stupid sciatic nerve decided to give me fits.  While I am sure there were some people annoyed when I said "I can't walk or bend, but keep me in this spot and I will be fine" they worked around my limitations.  I worked drive-thru passing out food.  I did very little stocking and running.  I did absolutely no iced-tea.  That drove me nuts.  I like to stock my own stuff and spend slow moments doing things like making and filling iced tea, doing dishes, and basically doing my job.  I don't like not being able to do these things.  But, tonight, I stayed put and did what I could while in a lot of pain.

People are goofs on night shift.  They throw things at each other in fun and make like they are going to hit or kick each other.  Granted, they are just playing, but it is strange to see.  Even the managers get involved.  One of the crew asked me if I was "One of those people who don't cuss."  I told her that I don't cuss.  I also told her what I told my (now) seven year old.  "People who cuss are just expressing their lack of intelligence."  She had said that she cusses like a sailor (I bit my tongue) that she knows it offends K, but she can't help it.  Yet, she tries to watch herself around her 5 month old.

That tells me that she can help it since she is not only aware, but aware enough to try to stop for her child.  She just doesn't have the respect for herself or others to stop for them.  She chooses to continue.  Granted, I did not say any of this to her.  She was too busy trying to justify something that she obviously knew was wrong and was not willing to hear differently.  If she didn't know it was wrong, she would have never even brought it up.

What did bring it up was when I said "Crap" when I bent over to grab a sleeve of cups and had a hard time getting back up.  "Crap" is my BIG BAD WORD.

Marxism in America

This article is very insightful and very telling of where we are heading.

It must be said, that like the breaking of a great dam, the American decent into Marxism is happening with breath taking speed, against the back drop of a passive, hapless sheeple, excuse me dear reader, I meant people.  
  
True, the situation has been well prepared on and off for the past century, especially the past twenty years. The initial testing grounds was conducted upon our Holy Russia and a bloody test it was. But we Russians would not just roll over and give up our freedoms and our souls, no matter how much money Wall Street poured into the fists of the Marxists. 

Those lessons were taken and used to properly prepare the American populace for the surrender of their freedoms and souls, to the whims of their elites and betters. 

First, the population was dumbed down through a politicized and substandard education system based on pop culture, rather then the classics. Americans know more about their favorite TV dramas then the drama in DC that directly affects their lives. They care more for their "right" to choke down a McDonalds burger or a BurgerKing burger than for their constitutional rights. Then they turn around and lecture us about our rights and about our "democracy". Pride blind the foolish. 

Then their faith in God was destroyed, until their churches, all tens of thousands of different "branches and denominations" were for the most part little more then Sunday circuses and their televangelists and top protestant mega preachers were more then happy to sell out their souls and flocks to be on the "winning" side of one pseudo Marxist politician or another. Their flocks may complain, but when explained that they would be on the "winning" side, their flocks were ever so quick to reject Christ in hopes for earthly power. Even our Holy Orthodox churches are scandalously liberalized in America. 

The final collapse has come with the election of Barack Obama. His speed in the past three months has been truly impressive. His spending and money printing has been a record setting, not just in America's short history but in the world. If this keeps up for more then another year, and there is no sign that it will not, America at best will resemble the Wiemar Republic and at worst Zimbabwe. 

These past two weeks have been the most breath taking of all. First came the announcement of a planned redesign of the American Byzantine tax system, by the very thieves who used it to bankroll their thefts, loses and swindles of hundreds of billions of dollars. These make our Russian oligarchs look little more then ordinary street thugs, in comparison. Yes, the Americans have beat our own thieves in the shear volumes. Should we congratulate them?

These men, of course, are not an elected panel but made up of appointees picked from the very financial oligarchs and their henchmen who are now gorging themselves on trillions of American dollars, in one bailout after another. They are also usurping the rights, duties and powers of the American congress (parliament). Again, congress has put up little more then a whimper to their masters.  
 
Then came Barack Obama's command that GM's (General Motor) president step down from leadership of his company. That is correct, dear reader, in the land of "pure" free markets, the American president now has the power, the self given power, to fire CEOs and we can assume other employees of private companies, at will. Come hither, go dither, the centurion commands his minions. 

So it should be no surprise, that the American president has followed this up with a "bold" move of declaring that he and another group of unelected, chosen stooges will now redesign the entire automotive industry and will even be the guarantee of automobile policies. I am sure that if given the chance, they would happily try and redesign it for the whole of the world, too. Prime Minister Putin, less then two months ago, warned Obama and UK's Blair, not to follow the path to Marxism, it only leads to disaster. Apparently, even though we suffered 70 years of this Western sponsored horror show, we know nothing, as foolish, drunken Russians, so let our "wise" Anglo-Saxon fools find out the folly of their own pride. 

Again, the American public has taken this with barely a whimper...but a "freeman" whimper. 

So, should it be any surprise to discover that the Democratically controlled Congress of America is working on passing a new regulation that would give the American Treasury department the power to set "fair" maximum salaries, evaluate performance and control how private companies give out pay raises and bonuses? Senator Barney Franks, a social pervert basking in his homosexuality (of course, amongst the modern, enlightened American societal norm, as well as that of the general West, homosexuality is not only not a looked down upon life choice, but is often praised as a virtue) and his Marxist enlightenment, has led this effort. He stresses that this only affects companies that receive government monies, but it is retroactive and taken to a logical extreme, this would include any company or industry that has ever received a tax break or incentive. 

The Russian owners of American companies and industries should look thoughtfully at this and the option of closing their facilities down and fleeing the land of the Red as fast as possible. In other words, divest while there is still value left. 

The proud American will go down into his slavery with out a fight, beating his chest and proclaiming to the world, how free he really is. The world will only snicker.

News Article

I have been meaning to share this interesting and disturbing news article for a few days now, but have been putting it off.

A snippet:
Once reserved for cases in which the life of the baby or mother was in danger, the cesarean is now routine. The most common operation in the U.S., it is performed in 31% of births, up from 4.5% in 1965.

With that surge has come an explosion in medical bills, an increase in complications -- and a reconsideration of the cesarean as a sometimes unnecessary risk.

And along with that, increased difficulties with breastfeeding, increased formula use, increased risk of future medical problems for both the mother and the child.

As the No. 1 cause of hospital admissions, childbirth is a huge part of the nation's $2.4-trillion annual healthcare expenditure, accounting in hospital charges alone for more than $79 billion.

I strongly suggest everyone see the movie The Business of Being Born.  It covers that in much more detail.

"Cesarean birth ends up being a profit center in hospitals, so there's not a lot of incentive to reduce them," said Dr. Elliot Main, chief of obstetrics for Sutter Health, a Northern California hospital chain.

And that right there is a huge crux of the problem.

What is sad is even though our country is great, we don't exactly have the lowest rate of infant mortality.  According to the World Fact book (updated May 14, 2009 so VERY recent), Cuba does better than us.

These numbers are per 1,000 live births.

180 United States 6.26
181 Guam 6.05 
182 Cuba 5.82  
183 European Union 5.72  
184 Italy 5.51
185 Isle of Man 5.37
186 Taiwan 5.35  
187 San Marino 5.34  
188 Greece 5.16  
189 Ireland 5.05  
190 Canada 5.04  
191 Wallis and Futuna 5.02 
192 Monaco 5.00  
193 New Zealand 4.92 
194 United Kingdom 4.85 
195 Gibraltar 4.83  
196 Portugal 4.78  
197 Australia 4.75 
198 Jersey 4.73  
199 Netherlands 4.73 
200 Luxembourg 4.56  
201 Guernsey 4.47  
202 Belgium 4.44  
203 Austria 4.42  
204 Denmark 4.34  
205 Korea, South 4.26 
206 Liechtenstein 4.25  
207 Slovenia 4.25  
208 Israel 4.22  
209 Spain 4.21  
210 Switzerland 4.18  
211 Germany 3.99  
212 Czech Republic 3.79  
213 Andorra 3.76  
214 Malta 3.75  
215 Norway 3.58  
216 Anguilla 3.52  
217 Finland 3.47  
218 France 3.33  
219 Iceland 3.23 
220 Macau 3.22  
221 Hong Kong 2.92  
222 Japan 2.79  
223 Sweden 2.75 
224 Bermuda 2.46  
225 Singapore 2.31

Because they list from worst to best, I did a mental flip to see where we would be if they listed from best to worst.  We would be #45.  That means 44 other countries/properties/whathaveyou do a better job when it comes to infant survival.

Friday Update

ELECTRICITY: Gulp. I can’t say I’m surprised. This is what I was expecting last week. The dehumidifier had been running constantly. The A/C had run some this week. We are heading into A/C season and I need to remember that the A/C is a huge electricity drain. I need to go back and remember some of the things we had done to minimize the A/C usage. Now that the leak in the basement is fixed, we can use it once it finishes drying. (And the mushrooms are gone. Yes, we had mushrooms growing out of the carpet in the basement near the hot water tank.)
Meter reading: 73857
Usage: 459kwh
Average per day use: 66kwh
Percentage: 218%

IDC: Our garden is starting to grow. I even have surprise lettuce growing in with the cucumbers where the children dumped a lettuce packet.
I picked up several bags of beans for storage. I was going to pick up a 50# bag of potatoes, but I don’t have time right now to can them.

GARBAGE: I took three bags into town this week. I am sure I will have more next week. The three bags seem to be a running trend. One bag from actual household use and two bags from the cleaning of the garage.

GASOLINE: Both the truck and the van got filled this week. While diesel has gone up, it is considerably lower that regular right now. We have the filter we need now for the system. Now, we need to drain the bottom six inches and filter the rest through. Once it is filtered through, we are going to put a second hole for a hose about six inches up and run that through the filters while keeping the bottom there to use to drain anything (water, etc) straight out.

MONEY:
Gas – Truck: $57
Gas – Van: $50
Eating out two meals and a dessert: $136
Rural King Feed: $106
Rural King Other, Goodwill, Dollar Tree: $178


HOMESTEAD: It looks like Tama, our surprise goat is deaf. So, she will not be bred. We got six more pullet chicks at Rural King the other day and they seem to be thriving. Our grey rabbit that had the surprise litter died the other day. In trying to figure out what was different about her vs. the other rabbits, the only difference is the water. She got tap water and the others got rain water. So, it looks like even though our water is “good” in that is has no lead in it, there is enough other processing/purifying that it is not good for rabbits.

HOMESCHOOL: Not much got done this week with homeschooling. Yes, some basics got done, but not a whole lot else.

GOALS ACCOMPLISHED: I am still working on balancing my home life and my work life. A few other things did get accomplished this week. The leak in the basement is fixed. The soap bottles and dispensers arrived yesterday. More soaps got wrapped. We are playing with the set up for the Hoppes Homestead table. All in all, we have been busy.

NEW GOALS:
1. Fill soap dispensers
2. Finish wrapping the soaps
3. Mow the grass
4. Clean the basement
5. Clean the garage

What's that, Ma?

I can't hear you!  

It looks like Tama is deaf.  I am blaming the inbreeding.  She seems like an otherwise healthy, strong goat.  But she does not answer her mother and she does not respond to sound.  This is not good.  She initially looked nice and healthy and free of genetic defects, but the deafness is not something I want handed down.  Being free-range, that is a liability.  Deaf goats (or any deaf animal) will not be able to hear predators.  Nor will they be able to hear the alarm sounded by the other animals when predators are around.  So, we will not be breeding her.  That makes me sad.  She is so adorable and has beautiful markings and floppy (nubian) ears.  Passing those traits along will not be happening.

In other news, we got our soap pumps and bottles today for the liquid soaps.  I am shocked at how quickly they came.  I am also thrilled.  They seem to be working great.  This will be wonderful and in plenty of time for opening day of the Farmer's Market.  We still have lots of soaps to wrap.  I need to get more lye and some cinnamon.  We have no cinnamon soap.  We picked up baskets of different sizes and designs yesterday while at Goodwill.  I've been playing with the table display with the baskets.  So far, I am not 100% happy with it.  I like it, but I am not settled.  I haven't quite found the "This Is It!" set up yet.  Once I am happy inside, I need to set it up outside.

I also need to pull the other table out and set up for La Leche League and see what that is going to look like.  I am thinking bungee cords to start off with.  We will need to wind-proof the display.  I am also going to need to get a cash box for Hoppes Homestead and a donation box for La Leche League.

For right now, though, I need to get ready for work.

A day off

And we spent it renewing the vehicle registrations.  Since it was also Charlie's birthday, we took him (and the other two) out for dessert.  It was funny.  Here we are at Outback having a Chocolate Thunder from Down Under and he is asking about the cake I am going to make him.  (I'll be making it tomorrow since I didn't have time today.)  He prefers my cake to a chocolate brownie with ice-cream, whipped cream, and fudge.  I'm flattered.  

We also went to Goodwill today and I picked up a few dresses and a couple of skirts.  The skirts are for work.  The one I was given is too big and too short.  (Short for my comfort level.)

We went to Rural King and picked up feed.  We also picked up a few other things that I don't remember.  My brain is fried.  

I was playing with the display table today for our soaps at the Farmer's Market.  The girls wrote on the cloth, a couple of soaps, and stabbed one with a pencil.  I'm going to set it back up in the bedroom.  I need it out so I can play with it and see how I like it.  The pumps and dispensers for the liquid soap has been ordered and will be here in a couple of weeks.  I am hoping they get here before the opening day of market.

Well, I am going to go to bed now since the children are in bed and quiet.  I am tired.

Called In

I have been called in tonight to work 5-9.  K called while I was finishing up the homeschool class.  Not a big deal.  We were mostly just sitting around chatting at that point and oohing and ahhing over the baby.

Today's class was catching water.  How can we do it?  Why would we do it?  Is it drinkable?  If not, how can we make it drinkable?  A brought in some water she collected.  A and M didn't bring any in because with the micro-climatic environment, it didn't rain again at her house.

Rules for collection.
1.  No sinks
2.  No tubs
3.  No toilets
4.  No fish tanks
5.  No modern plumbing

That also means leave the neighbor's pool alone.

The homework assignment (of sorts) is to record how much water they use.

Memorial Day

Let us not forget what it is truly about. (Video)

While we are remembering them, let us also not forget those who are fighting a much more invasive, silent war.  

To those who have lost someone in the service, thank you for the sacrifice you have made so that others may live a bit more freely.

I am exhausted

I slept for squat last night.  I was home alone.  SIL took the girls over night so I could work today.  George and Charlie are in Sycamore, IL.  They will be home tomorrow night.

I got called in three hours early and stayed an hour and a half late.  I work again tomorrow night then I have the next three days off.

The girls are home tonight and they are not exactly behaving.  Granted we didn't get home until after 10:00, but they are still up and not showing any signs of going to sleep.  I feel like junk.  I am fighting a head cold.  I just want to go to sleep, but I can't until they are asleep.

I did learn the secret recipe for the sweet tea at McDonald's.  One POUND of sugar per GALLON of tea.  I'm considering walking around with insulin to use on people to counter act the effects of the high sugar content.  Ok, not really.  But that is a lot of sugar.

I have plenty more to share, but I am tired and sick.

Friday Update

ELECTRICITY: We’re down. That’s a surprise. We’re not down a lot, but we are down. And, we have the humidifier running on constant. This is strange. But, I am not going to complain.  
Meter reading: 73398
Usage: 290kwh
Average per day use: 41.4kwh
Percentage: 137%

IDC: Not much got done in terms of planting, etc. But we have been eating what has been canned. I did get a part time job at McDonald’s to help with the small extras. Things like fixing the van. Minor stuff like that. We also want to build up an emergency savings account, pay the van off, then add that payment into the truck, then again into the house once the truck is paid off.

GARBAGE: I took three bags into town this week. I am sure I will have more next week.

GASOLINE: Gas prices have gone up. Next week, we need to get a filter so we can get the WVO system up and running again. Ironically enough, diesel is lower than regular gas at the moment.

MONEY: We have none of this.

HOMESTEAD: We got ourselves a nice little surprise. One of our goats who was not supposed to be pregnant gave birth to a little doeling. She is adorable and is nursing well. She likes to hide. With our brood, I am not surprised. I’d like to hide sometimes as well.  
The rabbits got separated and we will need to watch for bunnies. The rabbit who gave a surprise litter was given a Vit B shot since she is not looking good. She’s not looking bad, but she is not looking 100%. It looks like she may have an eye infection which George is going to investigate more.  

HOMESCHOOL: Charlie is still working on math and the whole borrowing. He knows how to do it, but given a sheet with a mix of “needs to borrow” and “doesn’t need to borrow” and he gets confused and borrows on ALL of them.
We made mint jelly with the wild edibles class and it tastes wonderful. The children enjoy it with their peanut butter sandwiches. They are having a jelly that THEY made.

GOALS ACCOMPLISHED: The bedroom is mostly finished. The furniture is moved. Now, it is just a matter of organizing what it left.
The basement is not done. I am waiting until the leak is fixed.
The desks have been moved and I like the desk where it is. I am going to want a couple of “in/out” boxes on it to help me stay organized.
The clothes got done yesterday and Hannah had more clothes handed down to her, and some of her clothes got put in the donation pile. All winter clothes are hanging in the closet in the basement.
On a sad note, they now have no skirts made by me. All the skirts I had made for them have been out grown.

NEW GOALS: I am not putting anything here this week. My biggest goal is to work out how working affects home life and balancing that out.

McWorking McGirl

I am now working at McDonald's.  I had my orientation today and start tomorrow.  The extra income (what there may be of it) will go towards paying off the vehicles sooner.  After the van has some much needed repairs done.  Then the van will get extra payments done.  Then once the van is done being paid off, that payment will roll into the truck payment.

We have a new baby.  We were looking at Star and had made the comment of "She looks pregnant."  She had a barrel belly and her vulva was sticking out.   So, I was going to go back and look at when we took her twin brother in to be butchered.  I go outside today before heading to orientation.  There is an extra goat.  I look around and there is no sign of a recent birth.  I had seen Star's vulva earlier (her tail was pointed towards the house) and there was no sign of blood.  Yet here is a kid who still has an umbilical cord attached, but is nice and clean.  She was obviously born sometime yesterday judging by the looks of her.  She claim Star as her mother.  She is nursing great.  

But still no sign of the actual birth.  So, Star will be on the milking stand today and join Flora, Gi-gi, and Robin in being milked.

We have a new baby girl goat.

I'm still here

I am tired.  I was up at 6:00 this morning to help someone.  (I help on Mondays and Fridays.)  Then I came home and did a bunch of cleaning.  I didn't get back to the grass.  (I mowed the back yesterday except for one small patch.  I was going to finish it and do the front today.)  

Garbage got taken into town.  I went to C's to hang out for a couple of hours before the WW meeting.  (Oh, yeah.  This is supposed to be a "Weigh Day" post.)  I lost 3.2 lbs for a total of 25 pounds.  This also means I got my 10% key chain.  So I am happy about that.  Although the group and the leader seem fine with my loss, I just got scolded by the internet site saying I lost too fast.  Whatever.  I'm eating and I'm losing and I am not sticking my fingers down my throat so I really don't care what the website says.

Can you tell I am still having mental issues with life right now?  I'm copping a snotty attitude with a website.

Anyway, I am heading to bed.  I have a long day tomorrow and I am not seeing any wild flowers for the wild flower jelly.

I don't feel like blogging

But, I am going to anyway because I am having a bit of depression and I am going to not let it get me.  So blogging and doing other things I normally do, although I may feel like I am dragging myself to do it, will get done.

I went to the baby blessing today and it was beautiful.  I am thankful that we went.  A lot of beautiful things were said and shared.  There was a cook-out after of burgers, hot dogs, brats (no, not the children), and lots of other yummy food.  I am sure I blew my points.

When we got home, I took a nap and didn't feel like getting up.  I struggled to get out of bed this afternoon.  I really didn't want to.  I wanted to stay in bed, under the covers, and avoid the world.

George's computer is shot.  He got a virus some how and now he can't even boot it.  He tried doing a system restore and that didn't work.  The business aspect of our lives is on his computer.  I have no idea what we are going to do.  This laptop, he can't use very easily.  I just did some quick mental math on when we might be able to afford another cheap computer and it will be at least a year.

I'm thinking of going to Employment Plus and see what they have to offer.  I had called McDonald's and was told that "all positions are filled this week so try again next week."  So, it is time to look other places.

Friday Update

ELECTRICITY: I can’t believe it is Friday again. There are not enough days in the week. We went up which is not a surprise since I have the dehumidifier running in the basement and that is a huge suck even with it being an energy star.  
Meter reading: 73108
Usage: 322kwh
Average per day use: 46kwh
Percentage: 153%

IDC: More soaps got wrapped. Lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, and green beans got planted. Potatoes got moved. Onions got recovered. (As in they got covered again. Stupid chickens.) Ham and beans got canned this week. Lots and lots and lots of beans.  

GARBAGE: I know I am going to have quite a bit of garbage. I’ve been cleaning our bedroom. I am also going to have a huge bag going to Goodwill.

GASOLINE: We have no money and the truck has maybe ¼ tank of gas. The van is hovering around half a tank thanks to a wonderful friend of mine.

MONEY: We have none of this.

HOMESTEAD: Rain, rain, and more rain. Lots and lots and lots of rain. And a rabbit that gave birth with tragic results. The chicken house got moved and the chickens are going to be in a separate area from the goats. Fencing has to be put up and it looks like we have enough to do this right. We are also going to put a cover over the top. We are thinking of using orange snow fence since it is cheaper, more flexible (since it is plastic) and the chickens won’t be stupid enough to fly into it. (Hopefully.)  

HOMESCHOOL: This is on track. Piano lessons are cancelled for the month due to lack of funds, but everything else is still doing well. The wild edibles salad (in answer to a question) tasted wonderful. The greens are rich and flavorful. Some are mildly sweet and some have a mild bitterness (like the dandelion greens) and it plays off of each other very well. Kind of like spinach and buttercrunch lettuce playing together on the taste buds.  
The US geography is going very well and I am starting to build on what we started. The trucker sends e-mails and text messages about where he is and where he’s headed and I track it during the week. Then on Thursday, we map it all out. Having his cell phone, we can also call him with questions.  
The text he just sent me:
Nolges, AZ to El Paso, TX to Nashville, TN.
Charlie is reading so many books now that I can’t keep track. I am thrilled he loves reading.  
His math is coming along very well. He is definitely ahead of his age group. He is borrowing and carrying doing double digit math. I think he is almost ready for triple digit and soon after, simple multiplication.

GOALS ACCOMPLISHED:  
The garden has been reseeded.  
My conversation with God has been answered. He held off rain so I could plant the seeds.
The ground is still too wet for the walk path.
The garage and shop are still a garage and shop. When I take garbage in, I also try to remember to fill a bag of garbage from the garage to take with me. That is about the only way I can do it right now. I am taking this one off the list.

NEW GOALS:  
1. Finish bedroom. Including moving the dressers.
2. Clean basement (including drying the storm room) and see if screen door fits the basement door. 
3. Get desks moved around. Hubby wants to move his computer (again) and take over a different desk. When he does that, I want the desk he has to set up in the bedroom. With the LLL stuff, and soap stuff, I can keep it organized.
4. Sort the children’s clothing and put away the winter stuff.

Good-bye, Betty

Betty Culler died last night.  She was a sweet, adorable, stubborn, spirited, strong, independent, caring, compassionate woman.  The children refer to her as "The Feed Lady."  She is - was - the owner of Eel River Marketing.  She not only had the feed business, she also had a soy product business.  Her and her son own and ran it.  Her son is going to continue running it I'm sure.

Less than half an hour after I had gotten home this morning from helping a friend of mine, I had received that phone call.  I sat on the stairs and cried.  Charlie asked me why I was sad and told him that "Miss Betty" died.

I went to take refuge outside and work the ground.  I checked on one of the rabbits and I did not know she was pregnant.  She had given birth to eight babies and rejected every one of them.  So I had to pick up eight dead newborn bunnies, plus the after birth (and one of the bunnies was still in the sack) and clean all that up.

I moved the potatoes so the fencing could go up and buried the green growth from the potatoes so that more potatoes can come out of them.  Then I planted lettuce, carrots, cucumber, and green beans.  I started moving other things around to try to get this garden to work since everything (except the potatoes) have to be replanted from seed.  

Tomorrow is a baby blessing.  I am going to that since the baby's mom is my best friend.  The gift that I want to give the baby we aren't going to be able to get until the first.  I already told D that so she knows it's coming.  I also want to make something.  But I need to be careful with ingredients.  I have no idea what I am going to make though.  Maybe monkey bread or something.   

I'm Tired

Over 8,000 miles

That is how many miles our trucker buddy drove this past week.  The children love following him and finding the states he has been through.  Next on the agenda is getting them to memorize the states.  I know there is the 50 Nifty song, but they also need to be able to locate the states as well.  Ah, well.  A bit at a time.  I am just lucky some days that they actually stay focused for 30 minutes.  

We had rain last night (as if we can go more than a couple of days without) and so everything outside is wet and muddy.  The children played outside.  M's and mine.  And they came in covered in thick layers of mud.  It was like they caked mud on themselves, let it dry, and caked on more mud on top of that.  It was in their hair, stuck to their clothes, several inches thick on their hands.  They even covered the slide with it before sliding down the slide.  I have a theory when it comes to children.  it is a child's job to play and get dirty.  I think these children put in overtime today.

M had all three of her children with her.  So the baby was here as well.  J is a preemie and has an OT that sees him.  When M moved, she moved out of the region the OT works and she told the OT that either she continues or J is not going to have OT anymore because M does not want to have to break in anyone new.  Meeting the OT, I can't say that I blame her.  She is magnificent.  The OT had been going out of her region to continue to work with J.  Today, she came here to work with J.  She is going to continue to come here which is fine by me.  M comes for the homeschooling.  Stays for a couple of hours because we are also friends, and the OT comes, stays within her region, and works with J.  It is a win-win-win situation all the way around.   

I need to get up early tomorrow.  I have things to do.  I still have not heard back from McDonald's so I am going to have to look that number up and give them a call.  Or call K.

I spent a good portion of the day cleaning our bedroom.  I had also done all the laundry so that is caught up.  (Once the clothes on the line finish drying.)  The livingroom got vacuumed and the couches got vacuumed, flipped, vacuumed under, and flipped back up.  So, all the crud that was under and in them is out.

I also made about four pounds of mozzarella cheese so I decided to make some dough and we had cheese pizza tonight.  We'll have the left-overs for lunch tomorrow.

I did make a small dent in the bedroom, but it still needs a lot more work.  It has been a catch-all for so long for so many things that it is past time to clean it out.  The Christmas decorations need to go back down to the basement.  The broken rocking chair needs to be gone.  The dresser that doesn't get used needs to go somewhere else and get used there.  (I am thinking Charlie's room.  Or put the dresser that is in the girls' room in Charlie's room and put the long dresser in the girls' room.  Hmmm.

Yesterday, George did a lot of work and hurt his body bad.  He is paying for it today.  If he doesn't move, he only hurts a little.  As a result, he did not go to church tonight.  He couldn't move.I am angry at myself for allowing him to do too much.  But, it needed doing and it is stuff that I am not capable of doing.  Thankfully, it is also stuff that shouldn't have to happen again.  Although I don't know how many times we have moved that chicken house now.  Plus, it is up on railroad ties.

My wrists hurt.  They are all scratched up from the male rabbit.  I started them breeding and the male is supposed to be brought to the female.  Well, the male does not like people.  He scratches pretty good.  And, he drew blood.  He is lucky he is the only male we have right now.

We've had storms and strong winds whipping through here today.  Tomorrow morning, I am going to have to do a loss/damage assessment and I am not looking forward to it.  I don't know how many chicks are going to survive these storms.  This has been a bad year and it is draining.  I realize it is a part of farm life, but it is a sucky part.

Wild Edibles

Today's lunch was a cumulation of the last few weeks of Wild Edibles.  I made a salad of all the things we covered that are edible.
Hosta
Dandelion Head
Dandelion Green
Clover (new for today)

We had White Pine Tea to drink with it.  I did open up a can of tuna and tossed it in there.  There was no wild onion because it got all mowed down.  But, we did discuss it.  

Actually eating what we found naturally growing in our yard was pretty neat.  And, I am not going salad shopping again.  Unless it is the middle of winter.  Or the ground gets washed away by the MORE rain we are supposed to be getting.  

We did have some new people join us for the homeschool class.  Because Wild Edibles will be running through the summer, friends of mine who public school will be coming to join us.

I finally finished canning all the beans.  Actually, I gave up and froze two gallons.  Running out of jars and stuff helped with the decision to just toss the last of it into gallon sized jugs and throw them in the freezer.  Although I did have to pull out some frozen milk so as soon as that is done thawing, I'll make mozzarella cheese.  Maybe I'll make some pizza.

I cut the rest of the soap that got pulled from the molds the other day so they could finish drying.  I wrapped the eucalyptus and checked on the coffee and mint soaps, but they need a little more drying time before I wrap them.

I am waiting on making the liquid soaps until I get some pumps.  Or some jars to store it in until I get pumps.  So, in a few days, I'll make the liquid soap.

I was researching how to make lotion and while I have a pretty good idea now, I am working out how to keep many of the ingredients local.  The goat milk obviously comes from my goats, but the rest of it, I'm not sure.  I will have to see where I can either find the ingredients locally or see if locally owned stores carry them.  More research is definitely needed.

Weigh Day

I have had another loss of 2.4 pounds.  This also means I got another gold star.  I have a total loss of 21.8 pounds since joining Weight Watchers.  I am happy.  If I kick it into high gear this week, I could quite conceivably lose 4.2 pounds and get my 10% next week.  (And another gold star.)  

Tomorrow is my Wild Edibles class and since I have not had time to collect enough wild flowers to make wild flower jelly (not to mention the fact that I have no jars, lids, or rings since I have been canning a bunch of beans) I am going to make a salad out of all the stuff we have covered so far and add in something new.

I should be hearing about the job at McDonald's in the next couple of days.  I am going to request night shift since I have no time to work mornings or days.  The only nights I will not be able to work are Monday (WW) or Wednesday (church) otherwise, I am good to go.  Whom ever does the scheduling will also need to understand that I will take time for church events.  I will hand them that schedule well ahead of time so they know to give me those times off.

Next week, I lead my first LLL meeting and I am nervous.  One on one, I'm fine.  Community events and outreach, I am fine.  Have me lead a meeting?  *gulp*  I'm a coward.  I know I'll be fine.  I'm just afraid I am going to say something stupid or do something graceful like fall flat on my face as I enter the library or something.

A poem for all mothers

Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing and butter the bread,
Sew on a button and make up a bed.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(lullaby, rock-a-bye, Lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(pat-a-cake, darling, and peek-peek-a-boo).
The shopping is not done and there's nothing for stew
And out in the yard there is a hullabaloo.
But I'm playing "Kanga" and this is my "Roo."
Look! Aren't his eyes the most wonderful hue?
(lullaby, rock-a-bye, lullaby loo).

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
For children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I'm nursing my baby and babies don't keep.

Ruth Hulburt Hamilton, 1958  (I changed "rocking" to "nursing.")

Happy Mother's Day to all mothers out there.

VA Rant

A VA hospital in Florida has a history of using dirty equipment and giving their patients Hep C and HIV.

There have been many news articles covering this topic.

And more news coverage.

But does the VA care?  Nope.  What is there reaction to this now?  Prove it.

This makes me angry.  Furious.  How dare they!  How dare they give such shoddy care that they infect these people with deadly diseases and not even own up to it?  I am livid.

Yeah, I've been playing

I changed my colors again.  I don't know if I like it or not.  So, if you have an opinion, please share.

The Herb Faire went well today.  We have (as of the time I left) another page and a half of people interested in Terre Foods.  I also think I got sunburned.  There was a display next to us where a gentleman was selling these ceramic plates with a built in shredder/grater thing.  I don't NEED one.  I WANT one.  Really bad.  Commercialism strikes again.  Thankfully, we are poor right now.  So, not only did we not get that little plate, but we also did not get any herbs.  Next year, I am putting aside $200 for the Herb Faire.  George also picked up some information for us to look over to see if we (Hoppes Homestead) can have a table there and how much it would cost.

I told G (one of the people on the Steering Committee) that at the Downtown Farmer's Market, Hoppes Homestead, Terre Foods, and La Leche League better have all the tables together.  He said he will have them in a horse shoe and just set me on a swivel chair.  I can have a spinning good time!

The rabbits habitrail has been moved.  They stomped the grass down so I put them in a small hutch while I moved the conglomeration that I put together.  I am leaving them where they are tonight since they are enjoying the clover and that will give the habitrail a chance to settle over the grass and the grass to peek up through the cages.

My SIL gave us a bunch of ham and I cooked a big box of northern beans with the ham and will be canning it tomorrow.  I used my 40 quart stock pot and it is full to the top!  It was definitely a very good find.  I no longer lament about not having a stockpot big enough to suit my needs.  Now, it I could just have a bigger sink so I can wash it....  =)

Friday Update

ELECTRICITY: Is it Friday already? Wow, this week went by fast. Too fast. My usage stayed the same. (Remember, last week was a five day reading. This is a seven day reading. So, the percentages and per day use reads the same.)  
Meter reading: 72786
Usage: 239kwh
Average per day use: 34kwh
Percentage: 113%

IDC: We haven’t done anything except “eat the food.” That, we do very well. Hehe. I have done no planting, harvesting, storing, prepping, or anything. I am seriously slacking. But, it getting ready for the upcoming Farmer’s Market, I am trying to get soaps wrapped that are past due to be wrapped, and other soaps made, poured, cut, and dry. I also have the ingredient lists done and George printed them out for me and they are on the soaps. (I need more oatmeal labels.)
But, to be truly independent, I am hoping this will help us to work towards paying off our mortgage sooner or our vehicles sooner. (Or cover the cost of feed.)

GARBAGE: I dropped off a couple of bags with my SIL on Monday. I am also getting better about recycling again. Now, I just need to teach my children.

GASOLINE: A filter is needed for the WVO system so that is on hold.

MONEY: We have none of this.

HOMESTEAD: We started drying out again only to have it pour on us last night. It came down in sheets and I swear the lightening strikes were right on the deck outside our bedroom window. The hatched chicks are out and about with Momma chick. Our milk is back up to close to a gallon again. It is amazing what happens when animals are able to go out and browse.  

HOMESCHOOL: Charlie is doing very well. We just got done playing a game of Scrabble and he came up with a lot of words. He is playing it by himself right now.

GOALS ACCOMPLISHED:  
Everything is still wet. It is a swamp out there. I don’t know when these projects are going to be done, but I am tired of seeing them.

(NOT) NEW GOALS:  
1. Finally finish the garage and shop.
2. Get the walk path done.
3. Get the plants in the ground.
4. Have a long conversation with God about the inconvenience of the rain and us trying to get things done.

Reel Fun

I did some mowing today with the reel mower.  I got the playground done as well as the area down to the playground and a patch heading out towards the shed.  It is a good work out.  Not just in the walking, but also in the arms and shoulders pushing through some of the thicker clumps.  It does not like the thick clumps or any little twig.  It took several hours to do the bit that I did.

I pulled the soap from the molds this evening.  They look good.  I also sliced the mint soap and have that drying some more.  Either tomorrow or Saturday, I will slice the coffee and honey.

I took Charlie and Bethany to visit Miss B in the hospital.  They couldn't hug her or touch her or even her bedding due to a procedure she had done involving nuclear medicine.  (There was a precaution warning above her bed.)  Tomorrow, they should be able to give her a hug.

We also took the children to piano and have decided to just let the rest of the month go.  L said it wouldn't hurt them any.  So, I am feeling a little less guilty.

George and I talked about the display table for the Farmer's Market and how we want it to look.  I need to call K and H and ask about a 6' banner for our table area.  I need to find out how much it will cost and if it can get by market.

And I just talked with him.  His machine is broken.  Hopefully, he can get it replaced in time for market.  If not, that means shopping around which I would really hate to do.  I know these people and know that this is most certainly a family owned business and they do good work.  They did stuff for La Leche League which came out really nice.  We still use the yard sign with the LLL logo for many different things.  Most recently, Earth Day.  So, I would like to keep giving them business where and when I can.

Anyway. among the other things discussed was business cards.  They have been ordered and should be shipped within a few days.

We've also discussed photos, the ingredient list which I mentioned previously, and brochures of some kind.  I need to look into brochure outlines and try to figure out what I would like on them.  I have a generalized idea, but I need something more concrete.  Once I start playing with it, I hope to get a better idea.

Soaps, Soaps, Soaps

I have spent the past couple of days building my supply.  In the molds, I have mint, coffee, and (a new "flavor) honey.  Yesterday, I cut the cedarwood, plain, and eucalyptus for final drying.  I spent today wrapping over 50 bars of oatmeal.

Tomorrow, the mint should be ready to come out of the molds and I can make some hemp.  Once the coffee and honey are out, I can make some plain and lavender.  The next batch after that will be lemon balm.

I also want to dig out my 35mm camera and snap some pictures of the goats and have them developed at Mic's Pics.  He makes me look good when it comes to photography.  Actually, since he can develop from digital, I can just take the digital camera and snap pictures and bring the thing in for him to develop from that.

I also want to get an ingredient list made up.  It's super easy since I don't put a lot in my soaps.

Plain:
Saponified Oil
Goat Milk

Oatmeal:
Saponified oil
Goat Milk
Oatmeal

Honey:
Saponified Oil
Goat Milk
Honey

See a pattern?  Of course at the DTFM, I will have a "location listing" of the ingredients.  The milk from my goats.  The oil from a locally owned company.  The honey from a local bee farm.  The oatmeal from a local Amish farm.  The mint from my garden.  The lavender and lemon balm from a friend's garden.  The ingredients that are not local are still kept simple.  I use essential oils (cedarwood, hemp, patchouli, eucalyptus) instead of alcohol based, artificially scented, synthetic ingredients.

Anyway, I need to get a certain four year old back to bed.

Busy

I have decided that there aren't enough hours in a day.  

I got approval this morning to have a table at the Downtown Farmer's Market.  After talking with the main contact person on the steering committee, he asked me to send in an application for La Leche League to have an informational table as well.  

The Terre Foods steering committee had a meeting this evening and the ISU graduating students put together a very impressive business plan and marketing strategy including projecting costs, profits, expenses, and everything else that goes into starting a food co-op.

We picked up our feed today and found out that the mother of the place is in the hospital.  I went to visit her before heading to the Terre Foods meeting.

So today was spent this morning doing Wild Edibles (hostas are edible and taste like celery with a mildly sweet after taste) followed by picking up feed followed by D and her family stopping by to drop of buckets (and I am really thankful she stopped by since I rarely get to see her) followed by me heading to the hospital followed by the meeting then home in time for bed.

Tomorrow, I plan on spending some time on the house and the farm before heading back to the hospital for a while then coming home and getting everyone ready for church 

After a gain last week, this week I lost 1.8 pounds.  I am happy about it.  I'm just wishing it were a but more.  But hey.  It's a loss.

In other news, the back yard, playground, and front are all mowed.  Now, it is just a matter of keeping up with it with the reel mower.  We are going to rearrange the yard (again) to move the chickens so they can hopefully stay out of where I plant.  I can't replant until that is done.

I also got my blood tests back from the doctor.  My cholesterol is 133, my triglycerides are 54, my fasting sugar is 76, my liver is perfect.  My kidneys are perfect.  Everything looks great.  So the weight loss is perfect timing.  I'm losing the weight before it affects my health.

Did I mention???

Did I mention that the lawnmower, while working through jury-rigging and mickey-mousing does  not shut off unless it runs out of gas?

I am just thankful that it is working right now.  Until I broke the handle.  So it has to be fixed again.  

I see the sun!

It is such a beautiful thing to see especially after all the rain and everything.  The ground is still very wet and there is still standing water.  But I saw the sun!

We went to Rockville today to take a look around the auction and it did not seem as organized as it usually is.  People seemed to be coming in late and setting up late.  We went to look for turkeys and vegetable plants so we can try to replant everything.  As it stands right now, we have no food planted.  Everything has either frozen, rotted, or got eaten by the chickens.  The turkey population is now zero thanks to the rains and being stomped by the goats trying to stay dry.  Milk production is down as well because the goats are not going out in the standing water or ankle deep mud to try to get some natural browse.  As a result, the are eating just what we put out and like anything else, if they don't have at least some of what is currently growing, the milk production drops.  Thankfully, we have tons and tons of milk in the freezer still.  Since we have already paid for this month, this month will be our last month for the cow share since we (obviously) don't need it anymore.  It was great when we had several long months of no milk.  But we have milk coming out of our ears now and I don't see us going long stretches like we did before with no milk of our own.

I am having to cancel piano lessons for this month because we have too many other things requiring our financial obligation.  One being Downtown Farmer's Market.  It costs money to get a table and I really think we will do well with our soaps there.  (If my application is approved.)  The other (as I have already mentioned) is having to replant everything and getting more fencing to keep the chickens out of my vegetables so they can actually grow.  Although I would love to be able to replace the turkeys, I don't think we can afford it right now.  Maybe by July.  I don't know.  I do know that the six chicks we got at Rural King are not going to go out for at least another week since we have more storms coming on Wednesday.

George got one of our gas powered push mowers to work by putting together bits and pieces from other things.  So he is out mowing the grass that is too tall (and wet) for the reel mower.  Once that is done, I can keep up with it with the reel mower no problem.

Anyway, I need to go out, put the goats back in (they just got loose) and take over mowing.

Friday Update

ELECTRICITY: Keep in mind that this reading is for five days. I did learn something today. This laptop draws so much power that a 100 watt inverter that we got for the truck gets automatically shut off if the truck is not running. And I don’t mean turning the key so you can listen to the radio. I mean actually having the engine running. Otherwise the drain from the laptop when plugged into the inverter trips the inverter. WOW! Anyway, when taking into account the per day usage, we are down again. This really isn’t a surprise. I would like to find some power strips. I know we have some around somewhere. I just don’t know where they are right now. This site has an amazing list of the stand-by usage of a lot of common items.
Meter reading: 72547
Usage: 159kwh
Average per day use: 34kwh
Percentage: 113%

IDC: Sharon  has a wonderful update and explanation for year two. In the categories, I failed miserably this week. I have done no planting, harvesting, storing, I did get items for our first aid kit this week and we did get a few more chicks. But not a whole lot got done in this.  

GARBAGE: I think we are about the same here. I know e-scrap is coming up on May 16 (attention local folks) so we can get rid of a few items that we’ve had to hold on to.

GASOLINE: I don’t think either of us got gas this week. I know I am getting impatient for the WVO system. But it has done nothing but rain so we can’t get a whole lot done outside. Including cleaning the garage.

MONEY: Bill paying was today. I also went over our budget again and am not happy. I need to go through it again.

HOMESTEAD: Just call me turkey killer extraordinaire. We have no turkeys left. They’ve been stomped by the goats. Thanks to the massive amount of rain, the milk production is down, egg laying is down, and the animals are all trying to stay in this one small area that is normally big enough to accommodate all of them except when they are stuck there for several days trying to stay out of the rain. Plus, there is the whole sinking in the muck. I went out tonight to take care of the animals and when I went to take care of the rabbits, I took the cinder block off the roof of the dog/rabbit house to change the straw and give fresh food and water. When I dropped the cinder block on the ground, I heard the water just below the surface actually make waves. It was strange.  

HOMESCHOOL: Charlie has started reading The Count of Monty Cristo. He reads without prompting and he actually finds himself in trouble sometimes because he is reading when he should be doing other things. He is a lot like me in that regard.

GOALS ACCOMPLISHED:  
We got the animals if you got the wood. There are zero goals accomplished. We did get more of the walk path done, but it is not completed. I got some of the yard picked up between down pours. Tomorrow is supposed to be nice so maybe stuff can get done then. I am tired of feeling like I am on pause.

(Not so new) NEW GOALS (Do they look familiar yet again?):  
1. Finally finish the garage and shop.
2. Get the walk path done.
3. Get the plants in the ground.
4. Carpet clean the master bedroom.