Hoppes Homestead Learning Academy

New Blog Home

2011-09-29T13:25:00.000-05:00

I have a new blog home. If you are interested in knowing where it is, please post your e-mail address in the comments. Comments will not be published so no worries about your e-mail address being made public here from me.

Been a few days

2011-08-24T15:42:00.000-05:00

I'm a slacker.

This past weekend was Oldies in the Ozarks. Saturday, the children had a blast. I was working with the others from the fire department at the shooting gallery and the trout fishing was right next door. The people at the trout took a shining to my children. (Either that or my children suckered them pretty good.) My children managed to get the same dead with them that I made. Help, and you can shoot for free. They told the children that if they help with ice (too keep the temp down so the fish will bite) that they could fish for free.

My children were reinforced with an important lesson that we have been teaching them. You have to work for what you want. It is not just given. It is a value that we have been instilling in them and has been backed by total strangers. They had as much fun, if not more, than those who were going around spending their parents' money. (And I heard more than once out of children that the best part of the day was "draining my dad's wallet." Joke or not, it shows a very sad mindset of how many children are raised.)

Saturday night, storms came through and destroyed the shooting gallery. (As well as tents, a gas station sign, knocked down trees and power lines, etc.) We were on high alert stand-by for quite a few hours. Thankfully, the storms passed, the electric company was quick on repairs, and we were able to get a few hours sleep before going back to the festival the next day.

When we got there, the parts of the shooting range that were not destroyed were being taken apart and the event was no more. So, we ended up getting the rest of the day off. Sort of.

I did get my medical bag and it includes a cpr mask, bag valve, glucometer, pulse ox meter, thermometer, bp cuff, stethoscope, and a bunch of other stuff. I am glad to have it and can replace the "consumables" such as pressure gauze, tape, etc as needed, when I retire (can you retire from a volunteer job?) from being a first responder, the bag gets turned in.

Monday was spent at home (I think. I don't remember Monday too well.)

Yesterday, I had a few meetings. One was a staff meeting and we got the schedule worked out for the office. (Soul Haven) I also got confirmation for our new office. We also went over some of the policies and procedures and rewrote it to suit a non-shelter program.

Last night was Ozark Neighbor Exchange and although a part of it did get a bit tense, it was informative. We got target dates for a few things and other items needed to be taken care of, but will be covered at the next meeting.

Today we had a meeting with a client and I am excited.

I have a shopping list in my head of things that I need to pick up at the Evil Empire.

Tomorrow morning, I am meeting with a couple of people to discuss logging on my property and tomorrow afternoon, we are picking up 100 square bales of hay.

I'm ready for a nap.

Long Week and Long Weekend

2011-08-19T19:21:00.000-05:00

This has been a long, busy week. Calls on Monday, a call on Tuesday, trying to get work done at the program on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, followed by my final exam on Thursday night and receiving my certification and getting certified with a glucometer and a glucogon injection. Very specified training with the injection and very specific instructions that include calling the medical director personally before administering it. It is optional to carry it in our bag and I am going back and forth on it. In the end, I probably will because I know the population spread here and response time with EMTs. (Although I must say I am impressed with how fast Air Evac is.)

Tomorrow and Sunday, we are going to be at Oldies in the Ozarks working with the fire department. The children are going to be with us and having fun. We will have to explain to them that "No, Mommy and Daddy were not alive in the 50s. We are not that old." I get out of the whole 50s costume that others are going to wear under the guise of "Oh, gee. I'm sorry. I have to wear my Fire Rescue t-shirt. Gee, darn."

I am going to make sure we have plenty of water since it is supposed to be over 100*. We are going to toss a mattress on the bed of the pickup and bring our canopy to go over it. That way, there is guaranteed shade and a comfortable place to lay down.

Although our primary public will be assisting with the fire department booth (shooting for bragging) the secondary will be keeping an eye out making sure people don't get sick in the heat.

I plan on having fun this week-end and introducing my children to the 50s era.

I'm Official!

2011-08-19T08:29:00.000-05:00

Is it Friday yet?

2011-08-16T20:38:00.000-05:00

Ok, so technically I don't have a "Friday." The past couple of days I have been busy. Yesterday, I had an appointment cancel and it was a good thing. There was a wreck. SUV vs cement truck. While we were cleaning up that wreck, there was another one and the next county over had to be called in to assist. Once that was all done, we were debriefing and there was another medical call. The whole day was shot in terms of doing anything myself.

I also learned yesterday that we are going to be down First Responders for various reasons. By my calculations, if things go as described, I will be the only trained full time First Responder. There will be only one other trained one and he works full time. We need more trained First Responders.

Today, I called and cancelled an appointment so I can get some stuff done. The appointment has been rescheduled. I found some great resources to start up a support group, met with someone from the sheriff's department to talk about Soul Haven and be able to coordinate with them on stuff, and spoke with the coalition about a couple of things. About five minutes after I got home, I got called out on a First Responder call.

Tomorrow, I hope to do nothing but relax. Everyone, stay healthy and don't get in a wreck. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

A road runs through it

2011-08-14T20:22:00.000-05:00

We are standing in the middle of the road. Looking to the left (above) or to the right (below) as far as the eye can see and beyond is our property on both sides of the road. Our house is half a mile off the road. (No, we don't normally play in the road. We were going for a walk.) The picture below, Husband is standing at the opening to our driveway. And, yes, the girls are barefoot. I know. I am a horrible, horrible neglectful mother. My girls walk around barefoot. (Yes, that is sarcasm. In all seriousness, I get annoyed when they are barefoot. But short of stapling their shoes on them....)

These pictures were taken with my cell phone.

I love my life

2011-08-13T18:21:00.000-05:00

No, that is not sarcasm. That is genuine. I love my life. I love my family. I love my community. Are there a few knuckleheads that stick their nose where it doesn't belong and try to stir the pot? Of course. But, you get that anywhere you go. However, in small communities, they make themselves known pretty easily.

As for my life and day to day stuff, we spent the day yesterday in Springfield seeing a specialist only to be told Charlie has flat feet. There are no extra bone. There are no bones fusing together. The growth plates are all normal. He just has flat feet. That is why he is destroying shoes and appear to be walking on the insides of his feet. The specialist said to buy him good, sturdy, high top shoes or boots with a solid high arch. Then he looked down, saw Charlie's shoes, picked one up, stuck his hand inside, and said "This is perfect." So, once again, we spend the day at the doctor over an issue that we have already taken proper corrective measure on, and are sent on our way with no need to go back. On the one hand, it is annoying to have a day disappear because of sitting in a waiting room or driving 100 miles one way to see someone. On the other hand, it is nice having that reassurance from a specialist in the field telling us "This is what is going on. This is what you need to do. Keep doing it." I was also reassured that there is a good chance he will outgrow this since he is still growing.

Today was supposed to be illicit drug training, but it had been rescheduled. So, we spent the day setting up the paintball target range sponsored by TAVFD for "Oldies in the Ozarks." As I watched my children help with set up and watched the firefighters work around them and include them in the work, I was once again amazed and thankful to be living in this community. These aren't just people doing a job. No one gets paid. These are people doing this because they care about the fire department and they care about the community and they care about people. All people. My children are not getting pushed away just because they are children. They aren't "in the way" (although I know a few times they were.) They are welcome, they are put to work, and they are made to feel valuable. Even if their only job was holding strands of rope to tie down the tarp, that was an important job. They were included in teasing and jokes and they teased back. They go up and will slip their small hand into a large, calloused hand of some gruff guy. They trust. They have never been given a reason to not trust. Knowing only safety, security, and love, that is what they expect from everyone. They have never known any different. I pray they never learn any different.

I was dropping a key to the Soul Haven office off at a volunteer's house and we got to talking. I have three meetings on the 23rd. I have a Soul Haven staff meeting followed by a La Leche League meeting and that evening is Ozark Neighbor Exchange. Yes, it will be a busy day, but each of these things are important.

The staff meeting is a monthly meeting (although this month it got pushed back a couple of weeks) and it keeps everyone in touch with what is going on, cases, and how each one is doing along with any other issues that may arise.

La Leche League is also important. Moms need these meetings. It helps them connect with other moms and gives them a chance to talk, ask questions, and learn not just about breastfeeding, but about themselves as mothers and as women.

ONE is also important. It is fairly new and it is basically people in this community striving for this area to be self sustaining. Buy the wheat from the local farmer. Don't have it shipped in from Montana. The cattle that is raised here? Butcher it here and sell it here. Don't ship it off to some far off slaughter house and have it sold across the country while the beef we buy here comes from California. ONE also does barter and skill trades. There are some sessions I am going to sit on that I know a bit about and can share (such as seed saving) and there are other sessions I am going to sit in on because I want to know more about it (such as seed saving.) Yes, I repeated myself. I am not heading up any workshops to the surprise of some people.

I actually had someone ask not if but "Which ones are you heading up?" I told her I wasn't and not because I wasn't asked, but because I don't have time. She was kind of stunned. I said no to something. That's not supposed to happen. I am supposed to go in and head up and lead and take charge. That's my personality. Well, I am trying to reign that in. Besides, I have three other things that require me at a moment's notice to drop everything and run.

Fire/First Responder
Crisis Call for Rape or Domestic Violence
Breastfeeding Help

While I am getting better at delegating, I still need to watch that I don't try to do it all. Even something as simple as going to the thrift store for towels and bedding and stuff, I have a hard time delegating. "I can do this." It feels strange to say "Since you are going to Gainesville before me, could you stop at the thrift store and____."

Anyway, I am really starting to ramble here and probably not making sense. So, to sum things up, Charlie has flat feet, the fire department is setting up a shooting range for children and adults alike to shoot, and I have three meetings in one day on the 23rd and hope I remember them all.

One more week

2011-08-12T11:45:00.000-05:00

One more week and I will have my certificate showing me as a Certified Emergency Medical Responder. I am excited. I have my certificate showing I went through Chemical Suicide training, then I will have this, and in September (it was supposed to be tomorrow, but has been rescheduled) I will go through training for illicit drug use. I still want to do haz-mat training and rapid vehicle extraction training. Next time they come up, I will definitely sign up. Last night, we learned rapid triage using START and JumpSTART methods.

Today, Charlie has an appointment in Springfield to have his feet and walk looked at. Hopefully, he is fine and I am just being hyper paranoid and he is just being lazy with his shoes. But, I'd rather have him checked out and if there is an issue and he does walk on the insides of his feet (as his last pair of shoes showed) then it needs to be corrected.

We came up with an idea for the flooring in the kitchen and I think I like it. (It was my idea to begin with.) Use the million small rocks we have around, clean them, pour cement, put the rock over the cement, and once it's dry, cover with a clear coat to make it smooth and easy to clean.

We have the garden plot lined out for next year and are spending from now until planting season building it up with compost, horse and goat poop, old hay and animal bedding, paper, feed bags (made of paper), etc. Paper and feed bags break down. It is a decent sized area and is going to be my canning garden. My eating garden is going to be closer to the house.

Why I Love My Friends

2011-08-11T12:00:00.000-05:00

Remember Troll (Oregonfriend) with the dire warning that I am placing my family in danger of dying from some horrible illness because we had squirrel with our dinner?

Remember her saying (constantly) about how she knows what she is talking about? (I know of what I speak.)

I have to applaud her and her wisdom. She is such a fountain of knowledge. Without her, people all over the world without access to Google would surely die a horrible, horrible death.

And this leads me to why I love my friends. Human Ape is a dear friend of mine. I have known her since the end of my pregnancy with Bethany. We met and hit it off. Although our spiritual beliefs are vastly different and my lifestyle is her worst nightmare (her own words) I consider her one of my dearest friends. She has the guts enough to tell me when I am acting stupid, has been a rock for me when I was having the year from hell, and we have shared more coffee than I can count. This is not just someone I know online. This is someone whose kitchen I broke down and cried in when people close to me died. She also knows when people are trying to give me crap for the sole purpose of their own personal amusement.

So, when Human Ape had a minute, she did a quick search and found the fountain of Oregonfriend's education and experience. Oregonfriend left out the fact that she googled it and it was in answer to a question that someone asked. "My uncle shoots and eats this all the time." Apparently, looking at said uncle and the fact that he is still alive to do this repeatedly is lost on the person. There is also a whole host of information in the comment section about how lean wild rabbit and squirrel are.

So, according to Oregonfriend (based on her repeated comments over the past few years), eating lean meat, fresh eggs, fresh veggies, fresh fruit, whole grain breads, and legumes are not a healthy diet. I am guessing the ramen noodles and hot dogs we had for lunch a few weeks back would be more to her liking.

Anyway, Oregonfriend has been outed (again) as someone who likes to run off at the mouth with no genuine basis of knowledge in what she is talking about.

Stay classy, Oregonfriend.

And, Human Ape, thank you for the wonderful gift of outing her for me.

Why I allow idiocy through

2011-08-09T10:12:00.000-05:00

I have decided to take a few minutes to explain why I allow idiocy through.

"Oregonfriend" has been a reader and commenter (criticizer) for a couple of years now. She, and others like her, comment to try to get me riled up through mean comments and try to put me on the defensive.

What needs defending?

In her mind, anything outside of suburban America is a recipe for disaster. She, and her buddies, have made comments that are outright lies, made false accusations, and try to piece together half sentences to justify their meanness.

Some comments have included things like me lying about my husband being diabetic. (Reading comprehension is lost on these people.) Accusing me of lying about Husband being bit five times in a few days by a brown recluse spider last year.

Then there's the idiocy where they put in their own brand of understanding. Raw vegetable plate means my children only get celery sticks. Honey for wound treatment (a valid medical treatment) means I am going to the grocery store instead of using raw honey direct from the bee farmer. (FYI, raw honey does work and is excellent for moist wound healing. Another FYI, some hospitals use maggots and leeches on their patients. I do not. I don't see myself handling leeches and any maggots I might happen to come across on a very rare occasion is chicken food.)

Oregonfriend makes the comment quite often that she knows what she is talking about. She knows all about domestic violence and how the system is severely broken, yet waves an accusing finger at me for daring to pick up the shattered pieces of my life and make the decision to live. She implies that I did nothing to try to fight for my other two children stating that she would have worked three jobs if it were her. (I was working four at one point and ended up in the ER because I was literally killing myself working myself to death.) She would have done "anything." I did do "anything." It was when I became a stripper out of desperation for money for attorney fees. (One of the four jobs.)

Oregonfriend claims that my pioneer lifestyle is going to get one of us killed. I will not say that this is untrue. Anymore than I will say crossing the street is going to get someone killed. People die crossing the street. People die driving down the road. (As I have witnessed being called on scene.) People die in boating accidents.

Oregonfriend claims that I am pretending to be an EMT. I am NOT an EMT. I covered this in the last blog entry.

Oregonfriend claims that how we live is dangerous and my children will grow up not being able to function in society. They will grow up knowing how to feed themselves and their families. They will grow up knowing the value of hard work. They will grow up with an understanding that honesty, integrity, hard work, and self discipline are valuable. All of these traits will carry them farther in life than anything else we can give them. What they learn here growing up will carry over into whatever aspect of society they want to live in.

So why do I allow for her comments? Because sometimes stupidity just needs to be pointed out and laughed at. Because she is a good reminder to me that there are mean people in this world whose sole purpose in life is to try to make others hurt. Because in a way she reminds me of my mother in law.

My mother in law was not happy unless she was complaining about something or criticizing someone. My mother in law and I butted heads a lot. But I loved her dearly. I learned to ignore the criticism and listened to what she was saying underneath. "Pay attention to me." It was how she expressed the fact that she needed focus and attention so she would feel loved.

So, I allow "Oregonfriend's" comments through to tell her that yes, we will pay extra attention to you today so you can feel some love.

Troll Speaks Again

2011-08-08T19:33:00.000-05:00

You ought to find a safer source of protein. Yet again, you and your husband are taking silly stupid risks with your children and you own health. As if being obese and attempting to be a 'pioneer' isn't enough, now you are eating unsafe foods?
When are you going to come to your right mind? How are you going to deal with this mess you have made when you are a widow and how would your husband deal with all of it if something happens to you? Pretending to be an "EMT" does and and will not prepare you for that day. I know of what I speak.
For your children's sake, wake up.

When eating wild rabbit or squirrel meat, you should be aware that there are some dangers.

Rabbits and squirrels can ingest the tapeworm eggs that are present in dog feces. These eggs can hatch inside the animal and the larvae can migrate to all parts of the animal's body, within the tissues. If eaten in this state the infection can be passed onto a human. The tissue of the animal should be inspected thoroughly before consumption, and the signs to look out for include a bad smell, discoloration and the appearance of abscesses. Parasites can also be present on any wild animal. The entire body of the animal, both internal and external, should be checked prior to consumption, with particular focus on the kidneys, liver and muscle tissue.

A common disease in rabbits is tularemia. This affects the eyes of the rabbit and can be passed onto humans if the rabbit is not cooked properly. The bacteria are killed during the cooking process, and the most common cause of the disease being passed onto humans is when the animal is butchered without gloves.

Squirrels carry prions, which are infectious particles in their bones and their brain. The brain of a squirrel should never be eaten as cooking will not entirely destroy the prions. Prions are similar to the infection that causes mad cow disease. The rest of the squirrel can be eaten but should be cooked thoroughly prior to consumption.

Because grocery store meat is so much safer. How many recalls (well after consumption) have there been? Troll is also assuming we know nothing about eating wild game. She knows so much but hides behind the anonymity of the internet. (She also seems to be working under the assumption that we eat our meat raw and that we are still categorized as obese and that I am pretending to be an EMT.)

For clarification purposes:

1. I am not an EMT. I am an Emergency Medical Responder. (AKA First Responder.) There is a difference. I don't do IVs or slice open a person's throat. (I know how, but that is outside my scope of practice.)

2. I wear gloves when I butcher an animal. So does Husband. It does not matter if it is wild game or an animal we have raised.

3. For all the fear mongering that Troll has thrown out there, wild game is safer than what you get in a grocery store that has gone through an assembly line slaughter house or raised in confined feed lots.

I decided to allow for Troll's comment because there is a speck of truth to what she said. Wild animals do carry parasites, gloves should be worn when butchering (and every single person I have ever met who butchers their own animals do wear gloves, but just in case someone doesn't...) and if an animal appears sick, smells bad, etc (most hunters know what to look for) don't eat it.

As for the rest of what Troll has said, she can bite me for all I care. Why she continues to read here when she has no respect for me or my family, I will never know. However, she is all knowing and is just continuing to read so she can have something to gossip about.

As for being pioneers, I have to laugh at that. I don't think the pioneers had solar panels, played Black Hawk Down, or had a Wii fit. I'll double check that when we get around to visiting the Little House museum. In the meantime, I am going to prepare for the outhouse races coming up next month.

Bye, bye Rocky

2011-08-07T17:54:00.000-05:00

You taste just like chicken.

We had squirrel for dinner tonight. There was a squirrel up in a tree and Husband got it in one shot through the heart. He used the pellet gun. He was kind enough to skin it for me since I was heading out to the laundromat. We had it mixed with rice, peas, and green beans. When Husband made the shot, Charlie goes "Our first kill here!" Needless to say, we haven't had time to hunt even though it's been on our list. So, we took the opportunity when the squirrel presented itself up a tree to shoot it for dinner. We'll have beef tongue another night.

The kitchen sink is set up except for the drain. We now have running water besides a hose through a wall. YIPPY! Thank you, Husband.

I am still loving living here. It is quiet and peaceful. There is such a serenity about this place. As hard as it is some days building our lives here and getting things set up, it is still more than worth it.

Almost done

2011-08-06T16:43:00.000-05:00

First Responder class is almost done. I have two more weeks and then it's done. For three years. Then I get to go through this again. I am excited to have the class finally done. On the other hand, I don't do well on tests. So, I'm a bit nervous about the final exam. Some answers don't make sense to me. "What do you do with a child who is not nauseous or vomiting, but is dehydrated." Fluid would be the obvious answer. But, it is wrong. The correct answer is O2. If it's any consolation, the instructor (who is a doctor) disagrees with the book on that.

Yesterday, I spent the day at home with nothing scheduled on my part. Husband spent time at the fire department working on a couple of trucks with one of the other fire fighters. I got a bit done around here, but it doesn't look it. Everything is a mess again. Such is the life with children.

We got a couple of round bales of hay and got a good deal on square bales. In a few weeks, we'll be picking up and stocking the hay for the winter. We'll have 100 square bales to last us all winter! YAY! I had posted on Craigslist that I needed hay. My regular guy was out. I got a couple of replies and one of them was fairly close to us. So, we met and I got two round bales and he is holding 100 square for us.

We went to a few yardsales today and I found three dresses for Bethany and a skirt and dress for Hannah. There were some power tools that Husband found that work. One of the tools he found is a craftsman steel drill, another is a bosch reciprocating saw and the other hand held power tool is a makitta (sp?) circular saw. All but the circular saw works and the circular saw is an easy fix. He got all three for $5.00. Darn good deal.

Charlie is cooking dinner tonight. Mac and cheese with hot dogs and peas mixed in. Healthy? Nope. But, he wants to cook and it's cook's choice.

Not much else is going on here. I am still super excited about the Soul Haven having an office. I will be working on Tuesday with one of the volunteers to get the office set up.

Amazing Laundry

2011-08-04T08:04:00.000-05:00

Ok, so laundry itself is not amazing. What is amazing (besides the stuff I found myself washing) is what else happened yesterday.

As for what I found myself washing, I am not really surprised, but more like baffled. Yesterday, a friend of mine was telling me that on her back porch, the temperature was 121*. I believe it. When the weather people talk about it being 106*, they are talking north of us. They are not talking about right here. With the temperatures in mind, (and the fact that I am doing laundry with a bunch of other people so all the machines are going in a place with zero air conditioning) I am coming across a scarf, thermal underwear, long sleeved shirts, etc. WHY AM I WASHING WINTER CLOTHING?

Other things that happened yesterday. First of all, I slept through a 1:00am phone call from the police. Apparently, Tuesday night I was so tired after fire training that I left my wallet in the bed of the pick up and it slid out. It got ran over multiple times. One of the officers found it on his way home. I now need another wallet.

I called him back to verify that it was mine and ended up waking him up. (Sorry!) I stop by his house on the way to the laundromat and get it and get a glimpse of his corral. I want a closer look so I need to find out when he is off so I can take a look around.

After that, I stop by a friend's house who carries my soap on commission and grabbed a couple of bars to fill an order. (It has been way too hot to make soap. Not just because soap is a heat generating process, but because it won't set in these temperatures.) She has been keeping the soaps in the fridge because they've been getting soft in the heat. As a result, I need to print off new labels. No big deal. I think I actually have some labels around. The soap itself is fine, but the label is kind of worn from going in and out of the fridge.

After that, I head to the post office to ship the soaps and discover that I really should have brought a shoe box. The little flat rate box was too small. The next size up was too big. So I filled the extra space with newspaper and sent it on its way.

Then, I go to the bank and get money for the laundromat and explain what happened about my wallet and the fact that my bank card has a nice bend in it. (As does my license, DOD ID, fire fighter ID, medicine woman ID, etc.) So, she put in for a replacement for me and we both had good humor about it. (Thank you, God for small communities!)
Finally, I make it to the laundromat. I get the laundry going and turn to the soda machine and am greeted with horror. My Diet Coke has been replaced by water! If I want water, there is a sink! I want my Diet Coke! But, no amount of scolding the machine would make it go back to its Diet Coke supply. So, I end up drinking Dr. Pepper.

Finally finishing up at the laundromat, I call Whispering Pines. I had talked to the before about the possibility of renting one of their cabins as an office for Soul Haven. I was supposed to see them the previous day, but we had water and water tank issues with the animals. So I finally get to see them and talk with them and they are fully supportive of Soul Haven and SOUL HAVEN NOW HAS A PUBLIC OFFICE!

I called the volunteers and shared the news with them and we will be working out a schedule to have the office open on week days so people can come, get information on domestic and sexual violence, meet with people to do public awareness events, etc. Being what it is, if there is a middle of the night crisis call (actually, I should say when) there is a place we can bring them where they can get cleaned up and get some sleep while phone calls are being made. (For sexual assault, this would be after a hospital visit of course.)

I am very excited by this and the potential means that Soul Haven can do so much more.

Rant Over

2011-08-02T16:08:00.000-05:00

So, my rant from earlier is over. I am going to hold off on ranting about the 120* heat. It is supposed to cool off to 100* later this week. I am not going to rant about how nothing is getting done because it is too hot to work.

Plants are dead or dying. However, I do have one small tomato. I am going to save the seeds from it since it seems to be drought resistant. The rest of the plants are not doing well at all. (Actually, the tomato plant that has the one small tomato isn't doing well either.) Even my cotton plants are shriveled up.

The water tank for the animals sprung a leak so the 275 gallons we put in it last night all ran out on the ground. I was not happy when I saw that this morning. So, we need to haul an extra tank of water to fill it back up once the leak is fixed. We have a temporary fix right now, but a more permanent fix will need to be done once the heat wave breaks.

Sky is doing very well in is new home. He has quickly figured out that Casey is the matriarch and is his superior. She eats first. She drinks first. She gets scratched and pet first. She will push him out of the way to make sure this happens.

Yesterday, bills got paid and while I was doing that, Husband and Charlie did electrical work on one of the firetrucks. I am proud of them for their work and very impressed with Charlie for his ability to focus and with how quickly he learns.

Today, the heat is very bad and tomorrow it is going to be very bad. Husband is showing signs of heat related issues. I wish he would stay home tonight, but he wants to go to the fire department meeting. I understand his reasoning for wanting to go. I know he needs to be there. I just hope he recovers some before going. And yes, I will be going with him.

Anyway, I need to get our stuff together and make sure that when we go to leave that the only thing Husband needs to do is get in the truck and everything else has been taken care of.

Politically Incorrect

2011-08-02T11:00:00.000-05:00

There is some hoopla about how there were a couple of lesbians who rescued some campers during the shooting in Norway. My opinion: Who the hell cares! Congratulations! You're lesbians! Who the hell cares? I don't give two hoots what you do in the bedroom.

Gay, straight, bi, swingers, bdsm, whatever gets your rocks off, your sex life should not come into something like this. If there were a big deal about two guys or a heterosexual couple doing the same thing, focusing on their sexual orientation would be just as annoying.

Am I supposed to bow down and kiss their butts because they happen to be lesbian? What if there were a headline that read "D/s couple saved a bunch of kids from a crazed gunman." Again, who the hell cares?

When are we going to get past the whole shoving your sexual orientation in my face and because it is same sex I should be even more amazed at anything you do? You're a married couple? Great! Hold hands in the photo-op but don't make your sex life the headline.

Or better yet, have it be an equal opportunity program.

"Heterosexual couple saves lives today!"
"Heterosexual firefighter ran into a burning building."
"Straight Pride Parade This Weekend!"
"Straight cop arrests straight man in armed robbery case."
"Brawl breaks out at a straight bar."
"Heterosexual woman tackles potential rapist saving the life of a heterosexual teen-age runaway."

See how ridiculous this all is? Who the hell cares what their sexual orientation is?

Lesbian or not, kudos to your bravery. The fact that you are a lesbian has nothing to do with it. Keep it out of the headlines. It has nothing to do with what you did.

Horsing Around

2011-07-30T08:30:00.000-05:00

Ok, we haven't been horsing around, but we do have a new horse. He is a gelding and was advertised for $160.00. Husband was the first caller so we got him. He's 4 years old and is an appaloosa. So, we are heading home right now with our new horse. He's been ridden, but before anyone else rides him, Husband is going to take him out a few times.

In other news, Charlie had a blast with our first responder class last night. It was skills last night and we covered vehicle extraction, back boards, neck and spinal injury, joint dislocations, fractures, profuse bleeding, impaled objects, etc. Charlie was our "pediatric patient" and he loved getting bandaged, splinted, immobilized, etc. There was even a pediatric back board that Charlie got strapped to. Then, to show it's effectiveness, he was flipped upside down. He laughed and thought it was the greatest thing. (The adults don't like the feel of being flipped.)

We are still in the middle of a drought even though you can still see the effects of the flooding and the dams releasing water into the lakes to prevent further flooding in other areas. It did rain last week for about half an hour and that was it. (Other areas, it rained for over an hour.) I'm going to start researching drought planting for next year. I know there is a way to plant in drought prone areas, but I don't remember what it is. I read about it a couple of years ago. I didn't register a whole lot because it was not a concern I had at the time. It's ironic that living a mile or two from the lake yet are in a drought.

We still aren't home yet with the horse. This has been a long day with a longer drive.

Ok, this has officially been a two day blog entry. I am on day two of working on this blog. it has been one thing after another.

The pause yesterday that I never got back to (long day with a longer drive) was a problem on the drive home. We stopped because the trailer had started swaying a bit. That usually means a big problem. So, we pulled off, got out, and checked the tires (fine) and the horse (not fine.) The horse stomped his foot through the floor of the trailer. It got scraped up and was bleeding. So, we unloaded the horse and I walked her around while a friend of ours went home and got a piece of wood to cover the hole. Ironically enough, right when we pulled off, he was driving by and made a quick pull into a driveway behind us to check on us. He asked what was wrong, we told him what was going on and he went home, got a piece of wood, and came back.

That gets fixed, we reload the horse, and continue on to the gas station. (We are only about 15 miles away from home at this point.) At the gas station, I go in to get some much needed ice and I see a friend of mine working behind the counter in a lot of pain.

Quick eyeball has me seeing heightened levels of pain, very pale complexion, and shallow, rapid breathing using the upper portion of the lungs to breathe. I tell her she looks like crap and ask her what's going on. She tells me, points out some swelling, and I told her I will be back to take her to the ER.

We get the horse home (finally!) and I transfer my stuff to the van. I can't find my wallet. Not wanting to take forever to look for it, I head out (no wallet so no license or ID) and take Husband's ATM card with me and go back to the gas station. She is ready to go and her boss is there to make sure she has everything. (And to hit her over the head and knock her out if she gave me a hard time.)

Anyway, she got taken care of and got answers to what is going on.

During all this and the drive back home (we went to Branson) I get two things from Husband about stuff going on at home.

1. Bethany cut her bangs to the scalp.
2. Amanda had been found. By the children. We knew she went off to die somewhere. It's what animals do. The children had complained of a "dead animal" smell under the house. Thinking it was either a forgotten nest of eggs or a dead chicken, they were sent to investigate. You can imagine the trauma of that. Amanda was a favorite dog. All the children loved her and she always stuck close with them when they went into the children.

Amanda was a Great Pyrenees. They are livestock guardian dogs. Amanda adopted the children as her "herd" and would guard them and herd them. She was also old. So her up and disappearing came as no surprise. Sad, but not surprised.

So anyway, we've been busy and even taking the time to do a blog entry, even when I think I have the "ideal" time to do it (sitting in a vehicle going down the road where I don't have to jump up every five minutes) I am still plagued with interruptions and too busy to blog uninterrupted.

The horse came with the name "Sky" and the children like it so we'll keep it. Amanda was cremated last night. My friend is not dying. I decided to skip out on fire training this morning and sent Husband and Charlie so I can get things caught up at home.

DONE

2011-07-25T21:13:00.000-05:00

The roof over the girls' lofts is done. It got finished a couple of days ago. Today, the clean up from the construction got finished. YAY! I am hot, sticky, smelly, sweaty and am going to be taking a bath here is a few minutes. I am looking forward to sinking down in the tub and relaxing.

The skylight over the loft makes a huge difference in light. I am really enjoying it. When we go to raise the roof on the front end of the house (in a couple of months) I am hoping to have a skylight put in there as well. Although I doubt we will find one for the same deal we found the other one ($5.00 at a yardsale) that doesn't mean I can't keep my eyes open.

FYI - Before I forget, yahoo mail has been acting strange. I know group posts have been affected (either getting completely lost or taking days to go through.) I have no idea if any other yahoo mail is being affected. So, if you are trying to e-mail me, use my other e-mail account.

Anyway, in other news, a family if 8 is coming for a visit hopefully this week-end. That was the plans made, but as we all know, plans can change at a moments notice. Especially with SIX children. I think I have sleeping arrangements all figured out. I am going to be washing extra bedding when I do laundry on Wednesday. (They are due to arrive on Thursday.)

There isn't much else going on. I am still keeping an eye on my daughter's facebook wall and I have to say I am very proud of her. She spoke about how everyone is more concerned with Amy Winehouse than about what happened in Norway. That thrilled me to no end to see that. I still wish I could see my other daughter's wall, but she has hers as tight as I keep mine.

There is some speculation as to whether or not these three know about the other two and the answer is yes. Well, Charlie and Bethany do. I doubt Hannah gets it or cares. She's 4 so why should she.

What they know: I was married before to a man that hurt me a lot. I had two children. He got custody. It's what the judge ordered. I tried to fight it, but I lost. They don't need to know the details of how many or what kind of jobs I had to scrape together money only to have it never be enough to hire my own attorney to try to fight for me or the fact that postponements kept happening to dry up any money I did have so the attorneys who did take me on would drop me a few weeks before my court case came back up.

"She can't even keep a lawyer. How is she supposed to take care of kids?" Or, this line by his lawyer "Just because a man is abusive to his wife, it does not mean he is now or will ever be abusive to his children." That was a good one.

Bottom line, you can't fight money when you're poor white trash. Works great in movies, not so much in real life.

So yes, they know they have two sisters "out there" and someday, God willing, they will meet.

Only have a few minutes

2011-07-23T18:43:00.000-05:00

I only have a few minutes here for battery life, so I am going to do a very quick update.

There was a couple of days this past week when we thought the truck was going to be repossessed. I had the paperwork in hand stating the deal we made with the bank which would, in the end, have the truck paid off SIX MONTHS ahead of time. (I thought is was longer, but apparently not.) However, someone forgot to talk to someone else who forgot to tell the repo guy don't bother. When the repo guy called, he wanted directions to my home to get the truck. Uh, do you really think I am going to willingly give you directions?

Anyway, I called the bank the next morning, spoke with the head of collections, and she quickly sorted it out. I called the repo guy back and he told me he got the message. I told him "I need to hear you say you are not going to come and get my truck." He did. So, I'm happy.

We met with someone who is going to get us in bees next year. I am looking forward to this. Not just for the honey, which will be amazing, but for the wax aspect of it so I can start making my own balms and ointments. There have been a few things I want to make - am capable of making - but I need bees wax.

We have a family of 8 coming to visit us next week (in less than a week) and I am excited. I am looking forward to them coming for the weekend and hope they have fun while they are here.

Husband is just about done with the lofts and the roof between them. There is a skylight in the roof now and it makes a HUGE difference. I have been worried about him working in this heat, but he has been taking it super slow and taking lots of breaks and staying hydrated. I like the look of the roof so much that I jumped at Husband's idea of extending the line to the front of the house. I don't know if I want that first or the add-on first.

Anyway, the battery is going to beep here in a minute so I am going to sign off.

I forgot to share!

2011-07-18T20:27:00.000-05:00

Friday was a meeting for the auxiliary for the fire department. There's been some brew-haha over a bunch of stuff and I wanted to know what was going on. After finding out everything and being asked if I would be willing to step in (I made my opinion known) and take over, I said no. That's right. I said NO to taking over and keeping going this organization that has great potential and ability to do wonderful things for the community. It ended up folding. Hopefully at some future date, it will restart, but as of now, there is no more auxiliary. I said NO. I almost said yes. But when would I have the time?

More of the roof got worked on today. Charlie was up there helping. He said "It's so hot, I can feel it through my shoes." He also got an object lesson of "Listen to your mother" today. He was hot and thirsty and instead of sipping water, he chugged it. And promptly vomited it.

The roof will hopefully be done in a few days making the girls' rooms one large room. The solar panel will be put up and a sky light will be put in which will bring a lot of light into the house.

I did two large and one small load of laundry by hand today and I have to say (and I know I've said this before) that the clothes are actually coming out cleaner than going to the laundromat. Tomorrow, I will be doing more laundry.

Got a phone call today which made me very happy. My van had broken down last week. A part that we had saved up money for to get replaced new had broken. It was a part that was close to $300 not counting labor. Brand new replaced a couple of months back. It broke. I was rip roaring angry. It got towed to where I had it replaced and said "Make this right."

The auto parts store where they got the part from paid for a replacement part and is paying for labor (faulty part) and the only cost on my part is the towing. I was allowed to pick my van up this afternoon and can pay the towing bill (they paid the towing and I pay them back) next week. I am very happy and very thankful.

Now if I can just convince the children to not wake me up at 6:30am after doing a 1:00am emergency call. I have been very tired today.

It's been how long?

2011-07-17T14:16:00.000-05:00

So, it's been a while since I blogged. I have just been busy. I did find a way to ease the time demands on my life a bit. Since I have not been doing well with my soaps at market and spending the day in the heat just sitting there was getting to me, I spoke with a friend of mine. I sat at market for her last year to sell her produce for her. She is selling my soap for me this year along with her produce. She'll get a 25% cut. (The soap is $4.00/bar and she keeps $1.00 for herself for doing this for me.) I know it doesn't sound like much, but she is more talented than me and it will add up. She also decided to put them out at her produce stand at her home. I thought that was very sweet of her. Since she does use my soap, she can also give personal testimony.

Anyway, that frees up two days to do more stuff around here. And, it gives me time to study more for my First Responder class. We have four more chapters to cover plus skills. I do have to wonder who they are going to bring in for "Emergency Childbirth" skills. I do have to warn my children to quit forcing me to put my skills to the test. We cover head trauma and Hannah decides to fall on her head. What's next? Mass casualty incident? Yeesh!

About my other two children. The ones I found on facebook. I have decided to not contact them yet. The youngest is 16. The oldest just turned 18 a few months ago. (She was born the day Waco burned. Her 2nd birthday was the Oklahoma City bombing.) I will wait until the youngest is 18. Yes, I am a coward. I also have valid fears.

The roof is being opened up right now to raise it up for the girls' room. They will have one large room instead of two small lofts. This should only take a few days. Once this is done, we can start work on the extension. I'm excited.

Hannah Update and "Stuff"

2011-07-11T19:04:00.000-05:00

I took Hannah into the clinic today and she is fine. She will continue to ooze a bit from her head for a while as a scab tries to form, but other than that, she is fine. Because she was favoring her arm, x-rays were taken to make sure it was ok. Because she is so young, comparative x-rays were taken of the opposite arm. She is fine, energetic, and full of mischief.

I knew she fell off the tree stand. I knew (after she fell) that there were rocks on the tree stand. (According to her, Bethany and Charlie put them up there.) I find out today at the clinic that she had been throwing rocks and she tripped over the pile of rocks on the tree stand she had been throwing from. I will have her look up words such as "irony" and "karma" at a later date.

As for the other issue, I was debating even posting this rude comment because of the spite, anger, and incredibly ignorant attitude behind it, but instead, I will address it and hopefully further the education of my readers on the issue of domestic violence and reality vs tv show drama.

If I remember correctly, you left your ex husband because he was abusive, yet left your children there. I understand the need to get away etc, but not going back to get your kids I will never ever ever understand. You appear to be reasonably smart women. You have a voice, yet you never used it to protect your children. You went on, had another family. WOW! You have a crap load of answering to do, I would be worried if I were you too.

First of all, I did not "leave my children there." I fought for them and lost. Family and civil court do not follow the same "rules" as criminal court. Custody cases, divorce proceedings, restraining orders are all done in civil court or family court. There is no "beyond reasonable doubt." Yet, the order of the judge is just as binding as in criminal court. If I had grabbed my children, I would have either led my life hiding from the law, flee the country, or gone to prison.

Yes, I had a voice. My voice at that time was stifled by a man who had tried to kill me. Who had squashed it into the ground so much, he knew how to act and what to say and how to get his lawyer to shut me down. I am not the same person now that I was then. Then, I was not strong enough to fight back. I did not have inner strength and I did not have money for an attorney. (Remember, this is family court. There are no assigned attorneys. However, one can be bought as my ex- did.)

There is a very good link here that talks about (California specific, but applies to pretty much any state) about family court. There is also a story here about a woman who had to kidnap her children and flee the country and get amnesty in a different country because of the failure of the court system in this country when it comes to domestic violence.

Yes, I went on to have another family. It was not something I set out to do. When I met my husband, I specifically told him that I refused to get married ever again. "Been there, done that, nearly lost my life" was how I put it to him. Having another family is not something I will apologize to anyone for.

My biggest worry in contacting (besides everything I shared yesterday) is awakening the wrath of my ex-. What kind of backlash will that have? Will I put my children here in danger?

As for the rest of it, Oregon Friend, you need to educate yourself on what domestic violence is, how it impacts a person's life, and how the system works to routinely fail the victims and the children. Start by reading here and then try working in a shelter. Help some of these women through the system then get back to me and tell me what a crappy peson I am and how I am the one who failed. When you are done judging me and the rest of the victims and you finally learn that it is the system that is supposed to protect us that fails us most, maybe you can get out of your little suburbanite lifestyle and work to fix it before you destroy a women who has already been victimized repeatedly by the broken system with your clueless judgements.

After all, how dare I not only survive, but I got strong enough to live. Shame on me for surviving the system that failed me and daring to try to change it through my own work here.

Do I or Don't I?

2011-07-10T22:04:00.000-05:00

I have faced that questions many times in the past. I faced that twice tonight. One, I made up my mind using skills I have been learning as a First Responder. The other, I have yet to make up my mind.

In the first, Hannah fell six feet from a tree stand/tree house and got hurt. She was crying a lot (obviously) and bleeding a lot. Looking her over, the blood came from a scalp laceration which means there is a lot of blood by nature. Her arms also hurt, but there are no breaks. Sore to the touch, but she still has grip. She is favoring it, but a wrap to give it extra support while she sleeps brought immediate smiles. Her head has a gauze on it and it is wrapped. Keeping it in place while she sleeps will be a bit more difficult. There are no obvious signs of a concussion and she is in bed with us tonight to keep an eye on her. So, we decided to not go to the ER unless things change. Having the emergency radio, Doc's number in my phone, my medical bag, and (if necessary) a drive directly to the ambulance bay if I feel the equipment on the ambulance is needed.

The other is more complex and less direct. I found my other two children on facebook. One has an open page, the other is locked down much like mine is. Do I contact them? Do I let them know I found them? Do I tell them who I am? My immediate response is YES! But I am not the one who raised them. Who knows what their view of me is. Would contacting them cause them harm? Would not contacting them and them finding out later that I did have a way to finally contact them cause them harm? They can not find me on facebook even if they wanted to. (Although there are plenty of other ways to find me. I do not want to hurt them. I also want to make sure that I am not being selfish. I want to contact them and hug them and find out all about them. I am also afraid. I admit it. So is my desire to contact them, yet being hesitant born out of selfishness? I don't know.

Exhausted

2011-07-09T19:57:00.000-05:00

I am exhausted. Yesterday was farmers' market and it was a bust. I made no money. I would have been totally miserable except that there was a lovely couple who was next to me who I also happen to be friends with. We had a wonderful day hanging out and talking about everything under the sun.

After packing up, I joined my husband who is collecting salvaged material from a closed down bar that is being converted into a restaurant. Five minutes after getting there, I get called out on a first responder call.

After the call, I head back and help finish up. We get back and both of us are just too tired to unpack. So, we leave the truck loaded and agree to take the van to the firehouses today for cleaning, inspection, and maintenance. A lot got cleaned out and an old truck got stripped and is retired. It was kind of sad to see "Big Red" without the lights, hoses, pump, etc. But, she is past ready for retirement. A truck that had not been working is now back in service. I now have to have a conversation with Hannah about how a white firetruck is just as good as a red one. (We had a similar conversation about yellow trucks.)

Anyway, I got good and grimy. I have to climb onto the truck and just about sit on the engine block to check the belts, fluids, hoses, etc. We also put the children to work. Charlie sweeps the bays and the girls walk around picking up bits of trash and cigarette butts. They get a penny per butt. Everyone works.

When we went to the main station, I left Husband and came home to drop some stuff off and was going to head back, but I ended up with a flat. On the bright side, it happened in front of the house so I was not left stranded. On the not so bright side, I had his phone as well as mine. So, I had to unload the truck from last night (very heavy load with lots of wood and sheet metal) before we could head back.

On another good note, I have frames for next year's raised beds. Well, some of the framing. I am going to need more. Lots and lots more. But, we have a good start.

Tomorrow, we will be picking up more materials and sorting through stuff hopefully getting the leanto for the animals set up. While that is being done, we have to get water. The 20 minute torrential downpour we had Thursday did not hit here. It dumped just past us. (It dumped where I was driving.)

Oh my gosh!

2011-07-07T23:06:00.000-05:00

I can't believe I haven't blogged since Sunday! Gee wiz! Let's see. Monday, I don't remember. Oh, wait. Yes I do. Monday was the 4th and we were recovering from a long week-end and did stuff around here.

Tuesday, we made our land payment, drove around enjoying the day, running a few errands, and had training that night where I learned how to put on, breathe with, and change out a scott pack.

Wednesday, I did farmers' market, picked up my canner that a friend borrowed, spoke with the owner of the discount grocery store, and spoke with a guy who specializes in solar.

Today, we had an amazing day. We went to pick up a round bale of hay and I had the money in my hand. I'm trying to pay him and he just wants a couple of bars of soap. I have no soap on me and two bars is not an equal trade monetarily speaking. He didn't seem to care and said I could get the soap to him whenever. But that's not all.

He wants us to audit his home and his buildings for getting off grid. He also wants us to draw up plans for future buildings to keep them off grid and let him know how much this stuff will run, etc. He is willing to give us all the hay we need through winter and do excavating for us if we do this. Plus, he wants to buy a year's supply of soap. I just about cried. First of all, auditing someone's home is something we would do for free. "This is what you're using. This is where you would need to cut back on usage. This is what you would need to get to keep up with what you use. This is how you could do this and these are the people to talk to about getting good deals from honest people on this stuff."

We've done this with people. For free. And he is wanting to trade knowledge for hay. And detailed knowledge for work. He wants to help up get a well. We get the money together and buy the parts and he will work with someone to get the drilling done and do the excavating.

He asked me straight out what I wanted from him when we got there because we had talked in the past. He has 500 acres that he uses very well. We have 200 and we just moved here a little over a year ago. I want to use our land without stripping it. He has river bottom. So, it is naturally stripped. This means he didn't have to worry about clearing land. I'm trying to keep a balance between what we want and what we have. The wild (animals, plants, etc) is part of our food. I am not going to get rid of food to grow food. But I do need to grow food. More than the pots of vegetables that I have right now.

Baby steps, Kim. Baby steps. I need to continuously remind myself that it is going to take a few years and clicking my heels together while patting my head and rubbing my belly is not going to make things go faster. Talking with people like this gentleman who has an established farm and seeing how he does things with his diversity shows me what is possible with what I do have. We are going to have to thin, but we don't have to strip. We aren't growing grains.

Cheap! Cheep!

2011-07-03T21:55:00.000-05:00

We went to a trade gathering today. It is a monthly event and I am very excited about it. It was my first time going and I am going to have to bring my soaps next time.

We picked up our wheat order while there and got 400# for $80.00. I need to get a hold of the farmer directly so I can talk with him. It's a holiday week-end so I am going to wait before I call him back. Anyway, I am very happy to have my wheat. I am very happy to have made the contact that I did and be able to have faces to go with the names that will take forever to remember.

We get home with our wheat and see a mess. The goats had knocked over the trash and it was a disaster area in front of the house. Sighing, I send the children to pick up the trash as we start unloading the wheat when I hear one of the children yell out "We got a chick!"

I look over and sure enough, under the steps there are two baby chicks. My focus shifts from unload wheat to set up something for the chicks. As I head towards the house, I see the momma hen. She had disappeared for a while then I saw her behind the house the other day. So I knew she hadn't been wild animal food. I just figure she had been hiding like the other hens had been until we caged the six roosters we're going to butcher. We got them caged and the hens came out of hiding. There were too many roosters to the number of hens we have.

So, I didn't think anything more about not seeing her for a while then her showing up. However, she is apparently our broody hen. Not surprising given her breed. She's a silkie.

So, I send the children under the house and under the stairs to gather the chicks and the momma. After much scrambling, laughing, teasing, and gentle grabbing, we finally got them. The final total is 10 chicks. I'll sex them later.

Life on a farm/homestead/ranch/whatever you want to call us is never dull. However, when there is new life and unexpected life, it is the most exciting.

And yes, the trash did eventually get finished being cleaned up and the wheat did eventually get finished being brought in.

Good Deals

2011-07-02T14:25:00.000-05:00

We got an 80 watt solar panel yesterday for a really good price. We went and spoke with the people and got to see how they work them in their home. We also got a solar charge controller. I also found a canner at a yardsale for $10.00. It has a clamp on lid like mine and does not require a gasket also like mine. I also found a couple of loaf pans that will work very well in my wood cook stove which means I can start baking quick breads again. I missed that this last winter.

The other neat news is we stopped at a family farm stand in a small town we passed through to pick up the solar panel. We decided to wait until we were on our way home so that any produce we would get would not wilt.

THEY GROW BANANA TREES! We are now talking about how to feasibly grow a couple of banana trees. We will need a greenhouse for winter time. I also picked up some "birdhouse gourd" plants which will store well during winter. (The gourds once they grow.) I got four cells and each cell had 4-5 plants in each. I also picked up a small basket of mixed produce. ("This basket is just stuff I dropped" was his explanation of why half a dozen tomatoes, several bell peppers, summer squash, and zucchini were all in there for $2.00.) I was talking about our soap and the lady asked me about loofah. I had grown it in Indiana, then the tornado hit before it had a chance to produce. So, they gave me a peeled loofah, an unpeeled loofah, and loofah seeds. I am wandering around their place basically drooling over the variety of plants, herbs, and everything else. Then I come across cotton. Cotton plants! I have too keep verbally reminding myself "food for my family first." They have a wide variety of mint (soaps!) menthol plants (medicine!) textile plants, and on and on and on. The guy (as I'm picking out the gourd plants at $0.50 per cell) tells me to take a cotton plant and I look at him. "Really?" I try and fail at keeping the excitement out of my voice. "Well, grab two just in case."

So, four cells of gourd plants with close to a total of 20 plants, peeled and unpeeled loofahs, loofah seeds, a basket of mixed produce, and two cotton plants. Grand total: $3.00. He told me and I just looked at him and he repeated himself. He refused to take more. Yeah, we're going back.

Bills also got paid yesterday with the exception of having to go to Yellville. Husband's plates are up for renewal this month so we will take care of land payment and plates at the same time.

Tonight will be fireworks. All the fire fighters are meeting at the firehouse a couple of hours before the start of the display to make sure everyone is organized.

Just about done

2011-06-30T14:07:00.000-05:00

A few more posts and the gate is all that is needed and the fenced in area is done. I am so thankful. This will be so good for the animals, especially Casey. It's hard work and it's taken a while, but we've done it. Even in a heat advisory.

Yesterday was farmers' market. It went ok. While we don't get the traffic that we had become accustomed to in Indiana, we are still selling soap. The main reason for lack of traffic is lack of population. Those that are here have already bought soap and will buy more when they use up what they've bought. The good news (for the customer) is that the soap lasts a while. The bad news (for us) is that the soap lasts a while.

Last night, we taught someone how to can. He canned a goat and decided he most definitely needs a turkey fryer type set up to do summer canning. He has an outdoor kitchen set up as well, but his side burner on his propane grill would never support the weight of a canner filled with water, glass jars, and food. So, we went inside to do the canning.

The night before, there was a meeting of Well Fed Neighbors Alliance meeting and unveiled was a new co-op called Ozark Outlanders Cooperative. Local farmers bring their produce to the grocery store where it is sold. There will be weekly meetings for a while which will taper off to every other week. But farmers are already lined up and ready to sell. Cattle are raised here, sent to Kansas City for butchering, then shipped all over the place and what is in our stores come from other areas at a huge mark-up. Cut out the diesel. Set up a local processing plant. There will be a chart showing what farmers are growing and what needs to be grown. This area until around 70 years ago was not only self-sustaining, but also provided for other areas. We are no longer self-sustaining, but we will be again. It is no where near as complicated as people make it out to be. To get around USDA guidelines, you can't sell (individually) over a certain amount. But, if multiple farmers are selling, that is not an issue. (With the exception of the eggs.) Also, we can look at the wall and say "Hey! ____ grows and sells xyz. I need xyz, but have no money. I have abc. I'll give him a call." I'm getting 10 bags of wheat, 50# each for $8.00 a bag. Try finding a better deal. No chemicals and not cleaned. I will have to clean the chaff myself, but dumping a bag on a sheet on a slightly windy day will take care of that. And, the chaff the chickens will eat.

Tuesday afternoon (I've been a bit busy) was the local La Leche League meeting and I took a few minutes to talk with the bartender (yes, this sentence makes sense) about Soul Haven and she is not only going to keep information behind the bar, but also give me a call if there are situations that come up.

I think I'm caught up now.

No Fence Work Today

2011-06-27T18:38:00.000-05:00

Instead, Husband needed a recovery day. Putting up fencing is hard work and takes its toll on him. This is one of those things I was talking about the other day where I want to keep going, but need to wait. I don't mind because I know that things will get done. I just need to remind myself that my schedule is not the set schedule.

Today was spent on soaps. Pulling them from molds and cutting them. Packaging others in preparation of Wednesday. We also did a trash burn and a "dump run" of our non-burnable trash. We also put our propane fridge upside down on the back of the truck to shake it up. Tomorrow, we will try to get it working again.

We have also instituted the three strike rule with our children. Tired of yelling and repeating myself constantly and being tuned out, we sat the children down and had a little talk over breakfast. We discussed the new schedule that has the lighter school schedule (math and writing with bits of science and history rather than a full on schedule of winter months) along with once a day milking (we are getting so much milk that the dogs think milking time is their own personal treat time since we're having to dump milk and they drink it up greedily and happily) and wood gathering is a one hour a day event instead of the normal two due to the summer heat and used the opportunity to talk about the new guidelines. (That is the longest sentence I ever wrote.)

Basically, the premise is is focused on family movie time. Three marks and no movie. Arguments over schoolwork, not collecting wood, and fighting/being mean to each other will get marks. Three marks and bed without a movie. Since movie time is the big thing, this will hopefully work. As it stands right now, each child has two marks and movie time is in 30 minutes.

Tomorrow is the monthly La Leche League meeting and I doubt anyone will show up. I am ready to throw the towel in on the meetings. People will call for help, but they won't go to meetings. It is still a "hidden at home" thing and not an in public thing. Oh, well. One thing at a time.

We've also been working on the Soul Haven website again and got some format issues worked out. I keep trying to pass on the job of director to someone else, but no one will take it.

I got a phone call today from UPS or Fed Ex or whomever saying there is a package for me from Westfield, MA. I told them to deliver to the hardware store. I have no clue what it is. The guy was calling from Atlanta, GA. So, I guess in a few days there will be something for me in town. He had said they tried to deliver to the post office, but the post office does not accept packages. He tried to find a way to deliver here, but it's not going to happen.
"Well, what about a neighbor?"
"The nearest neighbor is in the same boat."
"What is the name of your town?"
"We don't have a town. The nearest town is ____ and the hardware store accepts deliveries for people."
"____ is the nearest town? You don't have a street address?"
"Correct. There is no street address. ____ is the nearest town. Deliver to the hardware store. My husband's medications from the VA go there."

I think I confused him. But, it's normal life here. The people at the hardware store are wonderful and have actually take the time in the middle of winter to deliver packages to people who couldn't get out. They have not had to do that with us and they keep a fridge for medications that arrive that require refrigeration.

So, in a few days, I will find out what this mystery package is.

Visitors

2011-06-26T18:15:00.001-05:00

People visit my blog. Granted, I don't have the traffic that say Wyatt does or many other people. Most people find my blog through searches for other things. They either continue to visit finding my life fascinating (or a horrifying train wreck that they can't seem to pry themselves away from) or they go about their business never to see me again. (Until the next time they start searching for sawdust toilets or milking goats or picking blueberries or embedded ticks or sun sickness or pigs or Deputy Shane Charles or _____.)

So, where do these people come from besides the good old USofA?Singapore, Canada, India, United Kingdom, Belgium, Italy, Mongolia, Germany, Denmark, Indonesia.

Mongolia? Really? (Our guest who was researching sun sickness as it turns out.)
Singapore? We have a few visitors from there amazingly enough.
I know who visits me from Canada. (Waves.) And I know she is not the only one.

It really is amazing and humbling that people from all over the world, no matter how many or how few, have not just hit upon my blog but have taken the time to read it. I am sure many of them think to themselves that they just wasted however many minutes that they will never see again. But it is still amazing.

Back to the farm/ranch/homestead or whatever you want to call it. We have two sides of the fence done. The other two sides will be done tomorrow. After that, we will get the gate up, put some support posts in, get a round bale, get the water tank set up with a water trough, and the animals put in. The area is going to be for the horse, the non-milkers, and the male. We are drying up a couple of milkers. We were hoping for a fall kidding season, but it looks like it will be a winter kidding season. (CRUD!) However, this will give us year round milk.

I am really excited about this pasture. The deadwood is enough for winter heat and a couple months of cooking. With the deadwood being pulled out and cut, the area is looking nicer and nicer.

Bath time for the children is soon, so I need to get things ready for them. That and they are running in and out tattling on every little thing. Translation, they need my undivided attention and need to be guided to more constructive activity before they get themselves in trouble.

Bzzzz

2011-06-25T18:25:00.000-05:00

That is the sound of a chainsaw. We've been cutting and clearing the perimeter of the pasture. We took a break during the hottest part of the day to get water, diesel, gas, and run a few errands. When we came back, it was still very hot. A little more work was done, but we aren't pushing it. It will be done by the end of next week at which point we will get a round bale of hay to drop in there for Casey and the goats. We're also going to put Maggie in there with them. We will still need to pick up a water trough. That is on our to get list.

We are working on a summer schedule now with heavy work being done in the morning and school work being done later in the day. Unfortunately, the children are trying to interpret this as "Play in the morning and play in the afternoon because we alway play in the afternoon" and nothing is getting done without argument. So, if they don't do their schoolwork, they go to bed when family movie time comes in the evening after dinner.

Lumber will be gotten for the roof raising on Friday. (Hopefully, the fence will be up by then.) Once that is done, the project is to raise the roof between Bethany's and Hannah's loft and make theirs a large room. We will put up a half wall and remove one ladder since they won't need a second one. At the same time, we will be putting a ceiling over the bathroom so I can pee in peace at night without little eyes looking down on me from above.

Hannah drew a picture today. She had Husband, me, Bethany, and her. But, Charlie was missing. I asked where Charlie was.
"He's in hell. He was bad."
"How was he bad?"
"He was mean to me. He took my paper."

This morning, I was trying to get Bethany to clean her room. Finally, she says (as she is oh, so gently cradling her baby doll) that she doesn't want to clean her room.
"I didn't ask you what you wanted. I'm telling you what to do."
"Cleaning my room ain't fun that's why I'm not doing it."

And people think my children are incapable (or unwilling) to express themselves. They say something like that and I just look at them and ask in disbelief "Have you met my children?"

Laundry Day

2011-06-24T12:24:00.000-05:00

Normally, I would be at the Farmers' Market selling soap, but today has become laundry day. We ran into someone we know (not hard to do) and mentioned we are on our way to do laundry. He mentioned he does his on Sunday morning. Well, while I strive for doing laundry at least once a week, there are times when a few days beyond a week go by and I find myself looking for clean underwear. Thankfully, I have less underwear than anyone else in the family so I know there is no fear of someone else running out before I do.

The girls, making friend wherever they go, have been asking if they can go back to the blueberry place to visit their new friends. Not content with "Well, I'm sure we will run into them again" I have had to remind them that they live around here. That has only mildly appeased them. At least for this minute.

I have also discovered that I am very absent minded. I thought I had the necessary paperwork with me to mail back to the coalition, but I apparently left it at home. Popsicle Sticks! So, after laundry and going home, I am going to have to leave again right away to get to the post office before they close.

I was going over in my head last night all the certification stuff from the American Heart Association and the new guidelines. Apparently, some of the new stuff having to do with defibrillation surprised some people there. But, that is what the training and certification is for.

I do have to laugh though. One of the things shown was what to do with someone who is hairy. They actually said - and showed - put the patch on, yank it off hard to remove the hair, and replace the patch. OUCH! But, as they said, the guy won't feel it. What about when he wakes up? "Thank you for saving my life, can I have something for this painfully bald spot on my chest?"

Anyway, I need to check the laundry. I am also still researching new curriculum for Charlie. He needs to be challenged more. Two grades above his grade level and he still gets bored because the work is too easy. So, I am wondering if a new curriculum wouldn't help.

Long, busy day

2011-06-23T23:59:00.000-05:00

Today, we got up early to meet someone to go blueberry picking with. At $9.00 a gallon (half the price of anywhere else) we jumped at the opportunity. However, miscommunication had us miss each other. But, we went anyway.

I thought we were meeting at 8:00 and waited until 8:30. She thought we were meeting at 9:00 and waited until 9:30. Whoops. But, we went and had fun and met a few people there that live in the same general area we do. (The blueberry farm is 2 hours away.) The children had a blast as well until Bethany got stung by a bee. The stinger came out easily and she was right back to picking and playing after a band-aid was put on her finger.

After picking two gallons (and eating a third) we went to Ava. (I asked the guy at the farm how much he charges for blueberries consumed and he just laughed.) There, I stopped at NAN and spoke with the Medicine Man there at length about various things including the quality of various essential oils and the value of herbal medicine. I even spoke with him about Husband's seizures. He gave me some ideas and we're going to try them. This guy knows his stuff.

After Ava, we're on our way home so I can get to my class tonight and we hear a call come through about people yelling for help. They, thankfully, did not need our help. The police responded with a boat. I don't know if they were caught in weeds or out of gas. (Depends upon who you ask.)

At class tonight, it was CPR certification. We are among the first in the area to be certified using the new AHA guidelines. Infant, child, adult CPR, Rescue Breathing, Heimlich Maneuver for the medical professional. I will get my card next week at class.

I was looking at my goals I had for 2011 the other day. (Side bar.) I am actually getting them accomplished. While this is not a full blown EMT class, it is a step in that direction. I am not sure I would want full EMT, but I am not opposed to the idea. What I wanted was training in emergency medical care as the level I am getting. Be able to do something or assist or provide care while waiting for the paramedics.

The pasture is currently being worked on. It will be done by next week. We have the fencing and are clearing the dead wood.

Clearing the dead wood is getting our winter wood stacked as much as we want and even more so than what I initially planned.

The lofts are going to be worked on in a couple of weeks. We just need the materials which will be picked up next week. The bedroom and milking parlor are going to be done at the same time either next month or the month after.

The only thing we haven't actively put on our schedule for the next couple of months is more solar, but are working in that direction.

Some work never ends

2011-06-21T18:36:00.000-05:00

There is some work that will never end. Some of that work is clearing land of downed trees. We are clearing an area for pasture for the horse and non-milking goats. We'll be getting field fence next week and start slowly drying up two of the milkers for breeding and fall kidding. This will keep us two in milk at a time year round.

I allowed a comment through from our Oregon Friend. She claims genuine curiosity while still feeling like we are making reckless decisions. Her biggest claim is Husband and I being overweight (ignoring the massive weight loss over the past year or more) and being in poor health. My health is fine. (As long as I remember to take my Levothyroxine ahem.) Husband's health has improved. We came down here with him being insulin dependent and now he is diet controlled diabetic. His last A1c was 6.9. (Or was it 6.8? It was below 7.0 which is amazing since five years ago he was over 9.0.)

Oregon Friend also seems to be ignoring the children and how they have benefited. Living in "Rural Suburbia" where we moved here from, you would think one acre surrounded by fields would be wonderful and healthy. However, that was not the case. "Rural Suburbia" mixed two wonderful things together - agricultural chemicals and industrial chemicals - and made a toxic soup causing my youngest to turn blue on a regular basis. Something we have not had to deal with here. When we go back to Indiana to visit, in a few days, she is back to being blue. We had gone through all kinds of tests for her checking her heart, lungs, sleep apnea, etc. We ourselves exposed her to a butt load of radiation with the C-T scans and everything else trying to find out why our youngest was suffering cyanosis. Yes, she had a hole in her heart. It healed. She continued to turn blue. We move out here and there are few chemicals in the air and she doesn't turn blue. She runs and plays and has energy she didn't have before.

Our ability to handle or not handle a medical emergency will never be answered to Oregon Friend's satisfaction. If I were to live between a trauma specialist and a 24 hour ER (yes, there are ERs that are not open 24/7), it would still not be good enough.

I do what I can for my family and I am not going to endanger my child's health (guaranteed) over the possibility that something *might* happen. If something happens on the roads, I know every single person that would respond. There are no strangers here. (There are strange people here, but they are not strangers. LOL) If something happens in my home, being an Emergency Medical Responder, I have direct contact through the radio to EMS, paramedics, a doctor, and can get a hold of air-evac faster than my neighbor up the road whose children are all younger than mine.

If something happens with my husband, the response would be the same as if I were in Indiana. VA ER which (like there) is hours away. Only here, I would have a team of professionals working along side me as we went. (I did not have that there.) I also have someone to watch my children should I have to take him. (And this person has watched my children overnight during an emergency.) Plus, the person who would be watching my children is also a fire fighter so he would also know something was up long before I called him.

Yes, a male watches my children in an emergency. I am sure that is going to go over well with Oregon Friend. Once again, I am placing my children in danger because *gasp* the person's reproductive organs are on the outside rather than the inside. We all know that men are evil and incapable of taking care of children. His only concern when I asked (and he knows I don't ask easily and don't leave my children easily) was if he had to wipe any butts. He did not want to do that and was relieved that it was a non-issue. My children can wipe their own butts and tie their own shoes. (They just don't keep their shoes tied.)

Anyway, all that to say that Oregon Friend's comment has been allowed with more questions answered on the taken at face value of genuine curiosity with the understanding that she will never be satisfied until we have been brought to heel in middle America suburbia with an ER next door. Although at that point, she would probably find something else to criticize.

We're healthier now that we have been in a long time. Weight has come off a lot. The only on going issue that will continue to be an issue regardless of where we are or what we are doing are the seizures. And, I have found (or I should say a Native American Medicine Man shared with me) something to help with the brain fog that sticks around for a day after a seizure. It doesn't help with the exhaustion, but the foggy brain issue now only lasts half an hour to an hour. And, it was something that I had on hand for a few years now, but didn't know this particular application.

Back to pasture. We've been working this one area and had been waiting for an opportunity to do a brush pile burn. Rain had been forecast a lot with no rain in sight. There was a 50% chance today (yeah, right) and we even had black clouds roll in. YAY! Rain coming! Let's burn! We have our pile, light it, and it gets going. Then, the wind shifts. CRAP! And, the wind picks up. DOUBLE CRAP! So, we pull out the rake and backpack sprayer. We have to put the fire out to prevent it from spreading and getting out of control. So, no brush burn today. But, as we've been piling brush to burn, we've also been cutting and stacking wood for winter. We go through two cords a month during winter. Sometimes more if it's bitter cold outside. We went through a cord a week a few times this past winter. So, we pile now and when winter comes, we can be cozy warm and relax until next spring when we work on clearing out more dead wood and work to prevent forest fires. (Said with a glance left towards Texas and Arizona.)

Picture Time

2011-06-19T18:05:00.000-05:00

Soap

2011-06-18T20:20:00.002-05:00

I love my life. I really do. We made choices to live the life we do. However, there are days when it would be nice to just pack up and go somewhere for a week or two so I can visit people. Or just get a wild hair and say "Hey! Let's go see Mt Rushmore!"

But, short term satisfaction would be long term shooting ourselves in the foot. It's highly irresponsible to do something like that. Besides, I've been to the grocery store. It's healthier and cheaper to raise the animals ourselves.

Today, we cleared more dead wood to work on clearing out what will be fenced in pasture for the horse and a few goats. The children didn't feel like doing it and Charlie actually lost his books for a week. He was sitting on the couch reading and I sent him outside to work. He goes outside, sits on a chair, and keeps reading. Nope. Not acceptable. We've gone round and round on his reading instead of working. So, no reading for a week. And no, I have no concerns about him "losing his love of reading." He's like me. He won't ever lose the desire to read anything he can get his hands on.

The other thing we got done today was soaps mixed and poured.
Coffee
Oatmeal
Mint
Cinnamon
Ginger

I also inventoried and see that we also need to make
Tea Tree
Plain
Lavender
Citronella
Cedarwood

Yes, we have lots of soap to still make. I also have scary ideas going through my head about other things we can be doing. But, that will wait for another day.

Mild Sun Sick

2011-06-17T21:21:00.000-05:00

I did farmers' market today and got burned. Yes, we have a canopy and yes, I was under it. However, the sun was still coming in from the side and I was also moseying around the produce stand. Plus, I had Hannah with me and she was running around. She, however, is not burned.

Charlie and Bethany stayed home with Husband and they cut logs and began clearing a pasture for some of the animals. They also did a garbage run. Tomorrow will be doing more clearing and outdoor work. I want to get as much done before the really bad heat hits. I still remember last year and the temps over 120* with the heat index. I don't want to be doing heavy work in that heat and I don't want my husband doing heavy work in that heat.

I'm still irritated with myself for allowing a comment from Eugene, Oregon not only to go through, but make an actual post about it. I allowed the comment. I knew the comment had a suspicious tone to it, but I allowed it. It was only after I made the blog entry concerning it that I even bothered to check where it came from.

I know not everyone agrees with how we live. We don't vaccinate. We cosleep. I nursed while pregnant. I nursed past the age of two. We're conservative. We wear skirts and dresses. The males don't wear shorts. I'm a domestic violence advocate. I'm a La Leche League Leader. I homeschool. I kill animals for food in front of my children and allow them to help pluck. We live off grid and still enjoy movies. We get two channels on our TV. We have Wii Fit. We have computers and phones, yet we have no power lines going to our property.

Because we have made these choices, we have become the subject of speculation (whatever) and ridicule by people who come up with all sorts of horrible worst-case scenarios. I remember one being concern about an ambulance not being minutes away. Yet, last night the paramedic was sharing stories about various calls he has been on. He moved here from the city and city response times aren't any better based on his over 25 years experience. The other concern is fire. We have the same equipment on hand here that the department uses. Backpack water sprayers. Our water tanks hold 250 gallons. The water tanks on the back of the trucks hold 300 gallons. We dealt with 1000+ acre fire here in the backwoods. The response from the different fire departments was amazing. It took hours to bring it under control, but it happened. The focus was saving homes, not the forest itself. There's wildfires burning out of control in Arizona and it's getting worse. We've been discussing whether Husband would go if we were asked since this is the specialty here. (Don't ask us into a city. We would be lost with buildings bigger than a two story house.) We don't know yet.

Anyway, fire and medical have been the two biggest concerns that I classify as legitimate for people who do read or do know us and are not familiar with how things work here. We got it covered about as well as anyone else. Maybe a little bit more since we've actually bothered to get trained on what we need to know to not just protect our family, our home, and our property, but also to help care for and serve our community.

Last night's class

2011-06-17T16:36:00.000-05:00

Thursdays around here means me getting ready for first responder class. I usually take a bit to make sure all my homework is done and things around here are set for me to be gone for a four hour class. I leave just before dinner and don't get home until well after the children go to bed. (Class is 6:00 to 10:00 at night.)

Yesterday, I had an outreach meeting at 2:00 to discuss how to raise the education level around here about what domestic violence is. It's one thing to say "Know the warning signs" but if you don't tell them what the warning signs are, they won't know what to look for. (This is also a community where the basic mind-set is that it's ok to hit your wife, just not to the point of hospitalization.)

Anyway, that meeting was yesterday afternoon and given the time frame, it didn't make sense to go home after the meeting just to turn around and head back. So, I did laundry and went over my stuff at that time.

At class last night, we did hands on everything. We practiced putting in a nasal cannula, bag to mask resuscitation, suctioning, proper use of O2 dosing with nasal, bag, assisted breathing, mask, etc. Then we did patient assessment and exam including vitals. We were able to take turns doing the interview, taking vitals, and being the patient. Doc called out what we had and we had to determine if it was safe. My "patient" was a drunk with abdominal pains who was threatening anyone who would go near him. "I am NOT going in there." He then reported that the police have been dispatched and the patient was calm. So I go in.

I do my interview and I have to say that he played a very good "insane drunk" role very well.

Then I got my revenge. Mine was easy to play. Female patient with abdominal pains. I'll pretend I'm pregnant and in labor.
"Have you had pain like this before?"
"Last time I gave birth. Is my baby going to be ok?"
"We're doing everything we can." (Proper answer.)
Why won't you give me a straight answer. What's wrong with my baby? There's something wrong with my baby and you won't tell me. Is my baby ok? OW! "
"Your baby is fine." (WRONG!)

Everyone was cracking up over the performance. To be fair, there was a good laugh going on with me over my drunken abdominal pain who miraculously also developed other pain that wasn't there before his "fight with the cops" and me having to go from subtly asking about drug use to directly asking.
"Don't worry about the police officer over there. This is our discussion. I need to know this so I can let the hospital know and they can properly take care of you. Ok?"
"Oh, I ain't worried about no cop. I can handle him!"

While we were all laughing through this, we also realize that these interactions are what we will be running into in real life and at that point, we won't be laughing.

Many of the people in the class have already been doing first responder stuff without the training and have been able to share their experience in the class. "I had this one case where ___ and I did ____ and ____ was the result." While I know I could technically go on calls since I am on the fire department and am a fire fighter, I have chosen to wait until I have the full training (a few more weeks) before I start responding.

My battery is starting to die, so I am cutting this short.

Reply to Anonymous Comment

2011-06-15T21:52:00.000-05:00

It appears they get ill with some rather serious issues. Do you have access to 911 service quickly? I know you claim you and your husband have some medical training, however, having the real training and ability to take care of a issue when it is your family is a bit different.
Thank you for posting pictures. Can you post more? The inside of your home? I am curious how you live.

What serious issues? High glucose levels? Scary, yes. But having a diabetic husband, I know how to handle it. Charlie being sick? Charlie vomiting? I take him to the doctor and find out he is allergic to an antibiotic he has had before. We go back to the doctor and doing what I did (stopping it at first suspicion followed by regular doses of Benadryl) was the right thing to do. Blood work confirmed everything.

Medical training: I am half way through my emergency medical first responder training. When someone calls 911 requesting medical services, I will be the one who responds. I will be the 911 responder. The person doing the training is not only a first responder himself, but is also a medical doctor. He is also assistant chief with the fire department. This also means I have his home phone number, cell number, and can communicate with him on the fire radio. He also lives close by relatively speaking. Is that sufficient enough?

Are you really curious or is it judgmental curiosity? I'm beginning to wonder. Do you want blue prints of the inside of my home? All you have to do is read my blog and you know exactly how I live. You know my thoughts, my feelings, my hopes, my fears, the day to day grind, the highs, the lows, the exciting news, the frustrating moments and everything in between.

I don't mind posting pictures when asked. I know I mean to post them more often because of this adventure we are on called life. However, when that request comes with an opportunity to questions every detail of my life (again, genuine questions don't bother me) then I get suspicious. Why are you "curious?" Why do you want to see specifically the inside of my home?

2011-06-14T19:43:00.000-05:00

We've started dumping cedar chips around the front of the house and will eventually go all the way around. We want a nice thick layer. The cedar we get for free from a local lumber yard. Anyone can go at anytime and take all they want. You load it yourself and "watch out for the forklifts." This is also the area where we are setting up the outdoor kitchen. And yes, those are groceries that still need put away on the steps there. That water tank feeds directly into the house. No going outside to fill up 5 gallon buckets like when we first set it up.

There has been a lot of flooding due to the dams releasing water to help relieve pressure. As a result, the shore line is up about a mile from where it usually is. So, we did our fishing lessons in what would normally be a dirt road. We did an excellent job fishing in the trees and catching limbs. It was fun and funny.

To give an idea of how high the water got. (It actually got a few inches higher than this, but the water has since been very slowly going down.)

Power line underwater.

We were over a friend's house and outside there was a double rainbow. It was beautiful.

Husband had fun with one of our pictures pointing out some of the off grid "green" aspects of our life. The back there is where we are adding on our bedroom. We will be giving Charlie our room while we take the add-on. This will keep the children closest to the heat source in the winter. And (adult selfish speaking) we won't have any children above us.

There was a shoot in town recently. This is the outdoor shooting range. To give an idea, Husband took this picture from the side of the road.

Our table at the local farmers' market. This was taken a couple of months ago which is why the jackets.

I thought I uploaded pictures of our livingroom extension, but I can't find them. I must have made a mental note to do so and never actually got around to it.

Allergies

2011-06-13T21:22:00.000-05:00

My son has allergies. Well, allergy. Come to find out, he is allergic to a medication that he has taken no problem before. He is allergic to Keflex. I don't know if it is because it's a generic or if there was something wrong with this lot or what. Either way, he is never getting Keflex or any of its generics ever again as long as I have a say.

The appointment itself was long because we were a walk-in. As you probably know from yesterday's post, I was going back and forth in my mind what it could be. Allergies? Measles? Something else? The first reaction to seeing the rash was "Drug rash." And while I would have readily agreed with that if we hadn't gone the Benadryl route as well as having stopped the medication two days previous, the nurse kept talking about sun exposure and the rash. She did not listen to the fact that the legs (not only do the females not wear pants, the males do not wear shorts) and the soles of the feet also have a rash. Plus, that does not explain the watery diarrhea or the fever (yet), or the head-aches, or the fact that his vision went black earlier. If it is drug (and it is) great. We have a diagnosis. But don't get tunnel vision to other possibilities.

But, we have our answers and for his gut, we'll be doing garlic and yogurt which the NP is all for. As a side note, I am not allowed to see my son when he is getting looked at in his underwear. He is too big and I'm just his mommy. He wanted me to leave. Little stinker is getting big.

We have lots and lots and lots of milk. We're getting over two gallons a day. Anyone want milk? I should be making cheese and yogurt and ice-cream, but I have not had the time. Maybe I'll make ice-cream later this week. Bethany will enjoy that.

The girls were getting underfoot earlier and I was telling them to go outside and play. Hannah says "I know what game we can play!" I holler out "So do I! It's called 'Obedient Children!'" Hannah replies "No. Not that. Something else." I had to stifle a laugh.

We heard four wheelers this evening so Husband saddled up Casey to go check it out. He didn't find anything so it is most likely an adjoining property with seasonals or vacationers. As long as they respect the property lines, I don't care. We had a few problems last year, but it was our first year. This is our second summer and they know we're here.

I was just sitting here reflecting and I am definitely happy here. I am very content and at peace living here. The work is hard, but it is very rewarding. With the help of God, we have accomplished a lot. We still have a lot more to do, but it will get done. I am thankful that we found this place. (Actually, I should say Husband found this place.) I love it and I'm glad we're here.

Tired

2011-06-12T20:24:00.000-05:00

I don't know why I'm tired. I've been taking my levothyroxine. (As an amusing side note, spell check does not recognize the spelling of my medication and one of the suggested corrections was outrageousness. I can see the similarities.) Anyway, I have been going over page after page after page on the computer trying to put together pamphlets and information packets. My eyes are crossed at this point. I texted a friend stating that with all the numbers, facts, statistics, and stories going through my head, I am thinking all men on the planet over the age of 10 need to go. Then I relented and allowed for her husband and my husband to continue to stay.

There are good, decent men in the world and they do outnumber the bad. But I was surrounded by the bad stories for a few hours too long. So, I took a break and did some mindless stuff.

I have also been researching Charlie's rash and fever. Yeah, his fever is back and it is high again and he has a rash to go with it. We were thinking the rash might have been an allergic reaction to his antibiotic, but two thoughts came to me. One is that rash would have appeared sooner. But, given that if there is a mild allergy and each exposure makes for a bigger reaction, then it might have been delayed. Two is if it were a reaction, the lack of antibiotic today (we withheld just in case) combined with Benadryl would have made the rash at the very least lighten.)

The rash is even on his palms and his feet. It's on his face, neck, arms, and is spreading towards his trunk. It looks like measles, but what is making me think it's not is the lack of symptoms in the mouth. It's viral whatever it is. So, clinic tomorrow. I am sure our NP misses us. After all, it's been almost a full week since our NP last saw us.

If it is measles, then I am going from feeling really bad to feeling like the worst person in the world. Not because I don't vaccinate, but because I know vaccinations are not 100% and I exposed someone else's children to this. As a general rule, I keep my children home when they are sick. I thought Charlie was fine when I took him with me yesterday. He looked fine, acted fine, had no fever, was eating, and was playing. He was a 9 year old healthy boy. And before my eyes, I watched him go from playing to feeling a bit off to wanting to lay down in a restaurant. He had a fever by the time we got home. I sent a text to the mom to let her know that Charlie had a fever so she can keep an eye on her children and know what to watch for. Once I know more, I'll let her know.

Anyway, I gotta go. It's milking time and one of the goats is being a pain about going in and getting milked. If she doesn't want to get milked, that's fine. But she does need to go in for her own safety.

Ticked

2011-06-12T08:37:00.000-05:00

Husband and I were watching Patriot Games last night. (Yes, I know the movie veered from the book quite a bit, but that beside the point.) The children were all snuggled in their beds sleeping. Theoretically.

Movie ends, we head to bed and on the floor by the door of our bedroom are a few locks of hair. I recognize the owner immediately.

"BETHANY! GET DOWN HERE NOW!"
Immediately out of Bethany's mouth and she's scrambling down the ladder, "Hannah did it. I didn't ask her to. She made me."
From Hannah: "No. She asked me to."
Bethany comes in full view. I gasp and have to turn away.

When Husband gets a look, he just about cries.

My back still turned on Bethany so I can remain calm, not go into full nuclear melt-down, or burst into tears, or start screaming like a maniac (I am actually at the silent anger) I call Hannah down and tell her to bring me the scissors.

She brings them to me, tells me that Bethany cut her hair too (I look and there are only a few locks missing, very easy to hide) and take the scissors.

The scissors are the ones I bought them that were supposed to cut only paper. Not hair, not skin, not clothes. Just paper. I tested a pair when I bought the three pairs. I even made sure they were ambidextrous.

I took a look at Bethany this morning and I'm still angry and sad. Why she did this, I don't know. She had been getting braids and pony tails put in her hair and all kinds of "pretties" for her hair that she likes.

Even when children are quietly sleeping, they still get into trouble. I am sure 1,000 years from now I will laugh about this.

Long Drive Good Meeting

2011-06-11T17:18:00.000-05:00

I had a wonderful meeting today and got a lot of wonderful ideas to help the organization. Although a 70 mile one way trip, it is well worth it. I am thankful for the feedback, insight, and inspiration I receive from her.

I brought Charlie with me and he still isn't right. He didn't eat much (we met at Ryan's) and ended up asking to lay down in the booth. I'm going to call the clinic on Monday and get him seen again.

I called up an acquaintance earlier today on the drive there. We had met at the laundromat a few months back. Being a fellow homeschool mom, we exchanged numbers. I'm going to meet up with her on Thursday. She was saying that her children had been asking to see our children. They remembered that our laundry day was Monday. (We've since changed that.) They would ask incessantly to go there to see my children. My children do the same thing so I had to laugh about that.

Life is still going on and with the exception of meetings, I am currently able to do all my work from home. The meetings themselves, I am usually able to have a child or two with me.

There really isn't much else going on. Just normal day to day stuff. The children get baths at night and wake up in the morning covered in dirt. (Ok, not really. They usually wait five minutes before getting themselves covered.) Basically, same stuff different day.

Busy, busy, busy

2011-06-11T00:52:00.000-05:00

That is how my life has been. Busy. No, I have not been spending days at a time away from my family. I have, however, been working on the soap business and a bunch of other stuff.

The livingroom is done and it looks wonderful! I am so happy with it. It is amazing what a difference 3-4 feet can make. With it extended, we have room to have the futon, rocking chair, coffee table, and television. All of our VHS tapes are on shelves now. Things are looking great.

Up next, shelves for the 3,455,928,389 books around here. That and the outdoor kitchen. We have the materials, now it is just a matter of time. After that, joining the girls' rooms to make a bigger room with a higher roof, plus adding on a bedroom. That, we need some materials for.

Charlie is feeling better. I think he is a bit sun sensitive right now due to the antibiotic. He is enjoying playing outside, but is avoiding direct sunlight. The sun hits him and he starts to feel icky again. So, we're still keeping a close eye on him.

I've been doing a lot of computer work getting different stuff going. I also got a bunch of soaps done and put together for a pow-wow that a friend of ours is a vendor at. She's selling her genuine homemade Native American jewelery and selling "Genuine White Woman Goat Milk Soap" for us. Having a drop of Indian doesn't count. I have to be pure and braids in my hair aren't enough. So, she sells for me at places she can vendor at and I sell her stuff for her along with my soaps when there are dual events.

Other stuff going on.... The new dog we got at the feed store is adjusting well. He is playful and hyper and annoying just like a puppy should be. He is learning to sit and lay down on command. Hannah has been leash training him.

Mr. Stinky is going into rut again. As a result, he is starting to stink again and act disgusting again. He is a very affectionate goat and loves to be pet and rub up against you. But when he's in rut and he stinks and sprays, his stink gets rubbed on you.

Tomorrow, I have a meeting in West Plains. I'm trying to decide which child to take. I'm thinking Charlie. He's been a bit clingy lately. It's partly due to him having been sick, but there is something else as well. So, I'm thinking the drive there would be a good opportunity for us to talk.

Drip, drip, drip, drip

2011-06-08T18:51:00.000-05:00

That is the sound of sweat coming off me. Thankfully, in the event of a heat emergency, the camper does have functioning air conditioning. So, we cleaned it up a bit and come here when the heat starts making us sick. (Like if we are working and sweating and we stop sweating.) We are staying hydrated as well as we can by drinking tons of water. But it seems like we sweat it out as fast as we drink it.

We are not cooking very much because of the heat. The down side is we are not drinking very much coffee. While probably good for our health, it is bad for our head. And our mood. LOL Husband did make a wonderful dinner last night since I was running a couple of errands and getting a couple of prescriptions filled. He made grilled chicken, grilled potatoes, and grilled asparagus. It was wonderful and flavorful. There was very little left over. Unfortunately, the girls did not care for the asparagus. (What do they know?) Charlie did not eat because he has been sick.

Today, he is doing better. He helped with soaps, has eaten some, and is still taking it easy. Up to this point, he wasn't moving off the couch except to go to the bathroom and that was an event. He has been given antibiotics and it seems to be making the difference. I called the clinic when Charlie was not only not wanting to be bothered, but he said he didn't want to read. That would be like Bethany saying she didn't want to talk. So, I called, gave the symptoms and then told them "And he said he doesn't want to read."

Today, Charlie also showed me that not only is he his own person, but he has his own tastes in music. He was flipping through the radio stations in the van (I keep it on country) and he stopped at classical music, sat back, and listened. He also refused to get out of the van when we stopped because he wanted to finish listening to the piece being played. He listened to Mozart, Bach, Tchaikovsky, and who knows what else. When we got home, he still did not want to get out and was calling the girls over to have them listen. He enjoys classical music. Not just playing it on the piano, but actually sitting back and listening to it. Who is this kid and what happened to my son? This is most certainly not my doing!

Our soaps are going to an Indian Pow-wow with a friend of ours. She's heading to a pow-wow this week-end and is taking some of our stuff with her to sell with her stuff. She gets 25% of sales. Bars are $4.00 and she gets $1.00 out of that so $3.00 would be coming back to us. Some people have tried to suggest having an increased prices when other people carry our soaps, but that doesn't seem fair to me. If I were to go in, see some soaps, look on line and find out that I can get it directly from the manufacturer for cheaper, then why would I pay more at the store? (Or flea market or fill in the blank place.)

I did have my first international order. It went all the way to Canada. I had to fill out a customs form and everything. We do need to put on the site that the price of shipping is included for Continental US Orders and all others have to pay extra for shipping. Learning curve there. I never thought I would be having an international order. (Yes, it still makes me giddy. Thanks, L!)

There really hasn't been much else going on. Casey went for a walk and decided to visit a stallion. I don't think they did anything, but it did make for an interesting night of getting up every five minutes to see if she was back. We were going to check with a couple of neighbors to see if she wandered their way because she had not come home, but a neighbor beat us too it. She wandered into their yard and was looking longingly at their stallion when the cattle farmer saw her and put her in the corral. He called us the next morning to see if we lost a horse. A couple of quick descriptor questions had her as ours. That was when he told us about the stallion. We get there, Husband saddles her up and rides her home. He looks good on a horse. *drool* I took a picture and sent it to my best friend and she texted back "Save a horse, ride a cowboy."

Hot and made hotter

2011-06-05T17:51:00.000-05:00

It is hot and humid. And I spent several hours at the laundromat surrounded by someone with so much laundry they were using all the machines and still had triple the amount left. They emptied the change machine and I didn't know it until I snagged the few machines I needed that they emptied and put soap in. Thankfully, they exchanged money with me. $10 bill for $10 worth of quarters.

I understand using a LOT of machines and having a LOT of laundry. We've been there. We've done that. I felt bad for them. The place has no air conditioning, and with the heat we've been having combined with the heat of washing machines on hot and hot dryers going, it was miserable. There are a couple of loud industrial fans which make the environment even more miserable. All that combined and the family interaction had the family there snipping at each other.

I was very glad to be home. Getting out of the van and the first thing I noticed was the peaceful sounds of birds and insects. Instead of smelling the chemicals and perfumes of laundry soap and dryer sheet combined with cigarette smoke, I am smelling horse and fresh air. I see Hannah and she smiles, walks up to me, leans against me as we walk and tells me all that has been going on the few hours I was gone.

The first thing I felt was the air being a few degrees cooler under the canopy of the trees with the warmth of the sun peeking through. I walked up to my husband and he put his arms around me. He understood. Home is the best place in the world. And home is in my husband's arms with a child leaning up against me, another holding onto my skirt, and the third poking his head out still dealing with being sick.

WOW! I'm a slacker!

2011-06-04T15:41:00.000-05:00

I could have sworn I updated my blog about Bethany. I know I texted a bunch of people as well as updated my facebook, but I guess I forgot to blog. Or maybe I should say I have not had the time to blog.

Anyway, Bethany is fine. She needs to be more active to burn sugar or she will have high fastings, but her A1c is fine and when she is active the day before, her morning fasting is fine. So while there is a chance she may become diabetic, she is not now and as long as she remains active, she won't be.

On the home front, the livingroom is almost done. I am so excited about it. It will be big enough for the television, futon, wii, rocking chair, and should we decide to get one of those "wrap around" couches in the future, we can swap out the futon with it. The VHS tapes are going to go on shelves that Husband will put on the wall. He will do like he did in the kitchen and have them between the studs. They will be a "natural" insulation. In the winter, we will have curtains over the shelves of books and tapes.

There was a funny situation with the hardware store. I had asked for 40' of aluminum screen. (It's the cheapest and doesn't rust.) This is for windows, rain barrels, and doors. Well, it was measured out, cut, and brought to the register. We left without it yesterday. I go in today and it had gone with someone else. Not only did we forget to pay for it, someone else bought it and brought it home without having ever asked for it. Weird. So, 40' had to be measured again and since we weren't shopping for other stuff, we didn't have to worry about it getting forgotten behind the counter.

We went to a few yardsales today on our way to get water and found some good deals. We found a votive candle holder that we are going to use in the bathroom so we can have relaxing light when we (adults) take a bath. We also got 13 books of which are 10 Disney for the children, one on quantum theory for me, an herbal medical book for reference, and a murder mystery. Husband thought the one on quantum theory was for Charlie. While Charlie might be interested in it in a few years, I don't think he would grasp some of the concepts right this minute. Although he is free to read it anytime he wants. Hannah found herself a pair of shoes, we got a couple of boxes of crayons, a set of wire shelves, and something else. All in all, we spent less than $20 and got some really good finds.

Charlie was complaining about his stomach hurting when we got up and followed it up with him complaining of being hungry. I didn't think much of it. He had two helping of breakfast and we went on our way. As we are out, he was looking more and more limp. Then he starts saying he has to throw up. We're going down the road with no place to pull over during one of the busiest times of the year in this area. (Village wide yard sale.) So, the window gets rolled down and he is sticking half his body out the window as we are going down the road at 55mph and he is vomiting. When we get over the bridge, we pull over so he can finish in peace and his face is just covered with his breakfast and stomach bile. I felt so bad for him.

We get home and I have him lay down on our bed with a fan on him and I take his temp. 100.5. Poor kid.

In other news, we did have to haul water today for the first time in weeks. We definitely need more tanks. We will be getting more water on Monday. We have lots of plans we are working on around the house. One is the hot water tank. We've decided where it is going so we just need to put the stand there. The other is the outdoor kitchen. We have metal corner frames that are pretty. We're going to set those up, screen the whole thing in, and have a set up outside so we don't have to heat up the house to cook. We use the barbecue grill to cook on. It's not just for burgers. Put a cast iron skillet on it and we grill up vegetables, make pancakes, put on a pot for soup, and basically use it as we would a cook top stove. It works out really nice like this. We want to make picnic tables and have some chairs set up so we can relax out there. We need to bring in more cedar chips to make the area look nicer, but we'll hold off on that until it is up, screened in, and the animals are not in it.

Appointment Made

2011-05-31T18:39:00.000-05:00

An appointment has been made. I called the clinic first thing this morning and there is an appointment at 8:30 tomorrow morning. So, we wait and see. But it does look like lack of physical activity is what makes her sugar go up and stay up. I've tried doing a 2 hour on her after she eats, but it is a guesstimate of when that 2 hours is because she is constantly hungry and constantly eating and constantly moving and constantly drinking.

When I mentioned the lack of sugar in the urine, Husband told me that he has never had sugar in the urine and neither has his father. So lack of sugar in the urine is meaningless at this point. We will find out tomorrow what the tests show. I pray I am just a hyper-paranoid mother and am laughed out of the office while being ridiculed for subjecting Bethany to these tests. On the other hand, if I don't do these tests and something is going on, I will never forgive myself.

In the homefront news area, the livingroom has been expanded out three feet and we put a window in where there was none before. It looks really nice and will be finished up in the next few days. We just need to finish the flooring, one side, and the trim as well as put up one more small section of wall. It looks really nice. I like it. I've been taking pictures and will take a few more. Once it's done, I will take some final pictures and get them uploaded. Oh, that reminds me. I was going to post some pictures here. I need to get on that. They're on facebook, but not the blog.

I'm dwelling on tomorrow's appointment. I gotta stop that. But both girls are being seen. Oh, I forgot to mention that. Hannah is going in as well because a lymph node in her neck is swollen and not going down. I gave it a certain amount of time for it to go down since it was not bothering her. (Highly active, no fever, etc.) It hasn't gone down so an appointment got made. So while I was going to be making the appointment anyway for Hannah, the fiasco with Bethany just made it a double appointment.

Anyway, I am going to get off here and check on how the milking is going.

ER Visit

2011-05-29T19:30:00.000-05:00

We took Bethany to the ER. This morning, her sugar was 218. It was also a fasting number. I wanted to deny what I saw, but knew I couldn't. I retested half an hour later. Maybe I did it wrong? Maybe she stuck her finger in a bowl of sugar and the alcohol didn't wash it off? Maybe woodland fairies hijacked the meter and replaced it with one that gave high readings?

Regardless, with a number this high, we needed to take her in. As we were gathering stuff up and finding a sitter for the other two, I decided to test her again. (Still fasting.) It read 208. So even if it were an "off" reading, this is evidence that it wasn't too far off. Husband even tested the meter on himself and it still fell in his normal range. (He tested lower than Bethany.) Plus, if the meter were reading high, then yesterdays readings should have ALL been high.

We have bowls of cereal and head out stopping first to drop off Charlie and Hannah. We then head to the hospital where Bethany wins them over with her outgoing personality sharing every detail of our life including finding the dog at the feed store and the fact that we have cedar chips in our front yard. (Spread.) I have no clue where she gets this from. I share nothing about our lives with total strangers on a daily basis. (Was that the internet getting ready to explode?)

I lost count of the number of people asking about her giving a urine sample AFTER it had already been taken down to the lab. I tell them someone already took it (twice) and it is down at the lab. I even tell them who walked away with the urine. 5 minutes later, someone pops in and asks again.

We did watch Hoodwinked and some movie on the Hallmark Channel about a long lost father coming home to die.

Shortly after we got there, a finger stick was done and her level was 123. Ok. She was up and running and playing and active and jumping before we left and she was running and jumping in the exam room. (This child does not stay still.) However, this would also qualify as a two hour since this was roughly two hours after eating cheerios.

Blood was drawn. A CBC and a CMP were done. (Blood count and metabolic panel.) I don't have the numbers, but was told they were normal. Plus, there was no sugar in her urine. (I guess they found both samples.)

While I am relieved that her body seems to have balanced itself out, I am still confused as to the fasting numbers. I will be taking her in Tuesday morning to have her checked out. But, she is not in danger of suffering from ketoacidosis.

I would like to thank everyone who has been praying. Please continue to do so for this is not over yet.

Yikes

2011-05-28T12:14:00.000-05:00

Ok. Granted, yesterday was a busy day of eating out and running around. Plus, the children did finish off Charlie's birthday dinner with a very rich chocolate cake. However, when I tested all the children this morning, Bethany's fasting was 148. Charlie and Hannah were fine. Bethany was not. What prompted me digging out the glucometer and strips was the fact that when Bethany was snuggling this morning, her breath was sweet smelling.

Looking back over the past couple weeks, I have noticed the smell on her breath, but not as strong as this morning. (Maybe because she was nose to nose with me?) Plus, she has been drinking a lot of water and peeing a lot. The drinking and peeing are classic signs, but how many times have I called the doctor (and blogged about it) in the past only to have it be them being highly active or it being the middle of summer? So, I ignored it. After all, I am already a slightly paranoid mother. Especially when it comes to the possibility of them being diabetic. So I ended up ignoring signs for a couple of weeks here even though I still routinely have A1c tests done on them. Now, Bethany did just eat half an hour ago so I will do a two hour on her and watch her all week-end. I will be calling the clinic on Tuesday to have her checked.

I don't like this. I do not want to have a child who is diabetic. What gets me is I have been focused on Charlie because of the male tendency towards diabetes (and dropping dead) that I have ignored the female trend. I didn't take into consideration the fact that Bethany and Hannah are the first female born Hoppes' in three generations. There is no female trend to go on if there haven't been females born. Yes, I am an idiot.

Lots and lots of prayers are needed. While I do not want a diabetic child, I will deal with it should it be so.

Nine Years

2011-05-27T16:54:00.000-05:00

That is how long it has been since I gave birth to this squirming, wiggling, little, micro version of Husband. He came out the spitting image of Husband and still looks just like him. About the only "thing" he got from me is a passion for reading and will read anything he can get his hands on.

He has a lot of physical strength and very little coordination. He has a curiosity that is endless and will watch and learn. With some things, he has no fear. With other things (such as powerful storms) he gets a bit fearful and looks for reassurance.

He has taught me more about boys and what it means to be a boy than I ever thought possible. And in some situations, I ever wanted to know. For all the homeschooling and being his mom and guiding him and teaching him, he has taught me just as much if not more about life, patience, love, and God.

Happy birthday to my precious and precocious son. I love you, Charlie.

Critters, Pickups, Guns

2011-05-24T20:34:00.000-05:00

I have all the makings of a good blog post.

The critters are all in their new area. Fencing got moved today while the ground was soft. Rain makes pounding through rock easier. Casey had been tied to a tree, but she quickly got herself loose so she free-ranged today and hung out around the house. She would stick her head through the front door to see what her humans were up to. She has quite the personality and definitely loves being around people.

I went into town today to pick up a bag of ice and some soda. I thought I had enough diesel to make it there and back no problem. Unfortunately, that did not happen. I ran out on the way home about two miles from home. I was going down hill and lost power. Lights and radio still worked so for a few seconds, I didn't know what was going on. All I knew was I had no power and no power steering and was going down hill on a winding dirt road. By the way, brakes don't work when there is no power either.

Once I realized what was going on as I was frantically trying to steer a truck that could not be steered and pumping brakes that were not working, I was able to maneuver the truck to the side, and on a slight incline was able to stop it, throw it in park, and shut it off to keep from killing the battery.

I also realized at that point that once I did manage to call for help and have someone come with some fuel, I was going to have to pump the fuel pump which is awkward given the location and me not being 6 feet tall.

I learned two things from this. Although I walk around armed 90% of the time, the other 10% is when stupid crap happens. (Although I could have grabbed either the rifle or the shotgun which we keep in the back window the majority of the time.) The other thing is we ARE getting a fuel tank for the bed of the pickup. I am not having this happen to me again. I don't mind climbing onto the engine block in a skirt to pump the fuel through the lines. I do mind being stranded in a spot where I was surprised I was able to get cell reception. (As long as I stood outside the truck a few feet away and didn't move. Inside the truck was zilch.)

Help did finally arrive and I pulled out the checkbook and was told to put it away. Payment for coming from 25 miles away and buying the diesel to bring me? Chicken and fresh goat milk. And some ribbing because he bailed me out several months back when I had a shredded tire.

Tomorrow, we will be running a few errands, picking up feed and groceries, and getting that fuel tank. I have a meeting at noon I can't miss and because it's in West Plains, we decided to do our shopping tomorrow instead of waiting until next week. It's the nearest Aldi's.

Anyway, I am keeping an eye on weather because we are going to be getting slammed again. This is supposed to go on for a couple more nights then the front that has been stalled over this area spawning nightly storms and horrific tornadoes to the west of us will finally move on. I will be very thankful of that. Nightly hail, downpours, winds, lightening, and thunder strong enough to shake the house is getting a bit annoying. I'm ready for drier weather. (Remind me of this in August and September.)

Just Because

2011-05-24T14:37:00.000-05:00

These are supposedly questions to determine if someone has a codependent personality. Amy left a comment that I allowed to go through stating that I'm codependent and my life will continue to be crazy until I fix myself. I am looking at a chicken that was let in and roosting on the back of the couch while my children are eating cheese chunks and my husband is taking a nap and I am thinking to myself "How will 'fixing myself' keep the chicken outside?" My life, by nature (or because of nature) is chaotic on a daily basis. But it is a good chaotic. The goats wander in the house. The horse sticks her head in the door. The children cut up blocks of cheese (using a butter knife) to take outside for a picnic leaving behind cheese crumbs on the floor. I'll call after them to clean up their mess and they will. And they will leave behind a bigger mess having cleaned that one up. Does any of that make me codependent or is it just part of being a mother?

Anyway, I decided to answer these questions found on some on-line quiz. I am sure some people will look at the answer and say "She's codependent!" Others will look at the quiz and say "She's not codependent, but she's still nuts." Either way, I don't care. But I did find some of the questions amusing. Others of them, with the way they are worded, every dedicated medical professional, fire fighter, EMT, First Responder, and police officer would qualify as codependent.

Do you have a hard time saying no to others, even when you are very busy, financially broke, or completely exhausted?
No. Actually, I say "NO" quite a bit. If someone is in need and I am incapable of helping them (emotionally, financially, time, beyond my abilities) I send them to someone else who is better able to help.

Are you always sacrificing your own needs for everyone else?
Always? No. Sometimes, yes. Who doesn't? It's part of being a wife and a mother. I sacrifice sleep when a child is sick. I sacrifice "me time" when it seems like Husband has been feeling neglected. By the same token, when I am not getting enough "me time" I go hide somewhere with a book for a bit.

Do you feel more worthy as a human being because you have taken on a helping role?
Worthy? No.

If you stopped helping your friends, would you feel guilty or worthless?
Hasn't happened yet. And is it a real friendship if it is one way? Someone always taking and not giving? When friends need help, I help them. When I need help, I have friends that help me.

Would you know how to be in a friendship that doesn't revolve around you being the “helper”?
Hmm.... I don't know. Mandie, do I know how to be in a friendship that doesn't revolve around me being the "helper?" Granted I live several hundred miles away and we still talk and you still smack me upside the head when I need it. Do I know how to be in a friendship that doesn't require me being the helper all the time?

If your friends eventually didn't need your help, would you still be friends with them? Or would you look around for someone else to help? Again, I will turn to Mandie since she is my best friend and I saw a baby come out of her. I've helped her when she's needed it. She's helped me when I needed it. I've smacked her upside the head. She's smacked me upside the head. We've known each other for a few years now. We're still friends. (And yes, I have other friends. But she's my best friend so I am allowed to use her.)

Do you feel resentful when others are not grateful enough to you for your efforts at rescuing them or fixing their lives? No. My resentment comes from being lied to. That is where I take issue with people.

Do you sometimes feel like more of a social worker than a friend in your relationships? No.

Do you feel uncomfortable receiving help from other people? Is the role of helping others a much more natural role for you to play in your relationships? I don't like asking for help, but that does not mean I won't accept help when needed. But I don't know too many people who like asking for help.

Does it seem as if many of your friends have particularly chaotic lives, with one crisis after another? No. I have friends who have lives. Life is chaotic at times. But crisis? No.

Did you grow up in a family that had a lot of emotional chaos or addiction problems? Yes. However, I refuse (and get annoyed with people who do) use a bad childhood to excuse poor adult behavior.

Are many of your friends addicts, or do they have serious emotional and social problems? No. Not unless you count autism as a social problem. I have a couple of friends who are mildly autistic. That is not a problem. Just as long as I remember for them when it comes to very important stuff and "delivering information" I give it and let it go so it can be processed and then discussed a few days later.

As you were growing up, did you think it was up to you to keep the family functioning? No.

As an adult, is it important for you to be thought of as the “dependable one”? This is laughable. I am the "absent-minded" one. If I say I am going to do something, I'll do it. But you have to call and remind me because I will have slept at some point between the promise and the time for me to deliver.

Soaps!

2011-05-23T18:25:00.000-05:00

We are surrounded by soaps! I am pulling soaps from molds and cutting them to size. I have Rose Hips, Mint, Tea Tree, Lavender, and Citronella. Because of everything being wet from the rains, the soaps are not wanting to be pulled from the molds. They were dry enough, but seem to have absorbed some of the moisture in the air making them now not quite dry enough to pull. This is making for a soapy mess.

I also have clothes on the indoor line that are dealing with the same fate. I hung them to dry when we got home last night and they have gotten to that "damp needs another 15 minutes in the dryer" type dry and just holding there.

We were going to move fencing today, but with the storms, metal fence, and lightening, we decided to hold off. We'll move the fence another day. I don't want to get hit.

There was a house that did get hit earlier today and it was toned out. Husband was getting up and getting his boots on getting ready to respond, then he realized that we don't have the fuel. So, he had to sit a structural fire out.

I have been trying to do work on-line for a new advocacy program for this area. But I've had such bad connection that I decided to just wait. I was going to talk with the coalition today, but that went by the wayside as well. Reception during lightning storms is spotty and I get a lot of static. So, the coalition will wait until tomorrow.

Hannah asked me earlier today if I can make bread tomorrow. I can do that. I don't mind. I will make sure I set the yeast to proof as soon as I open my eyes.

They really do enjoy having me home and I am glad to be home. I was never burned out from the long hours I put in. That did not bother me. Helping people is just what we do. It's a no-brainer. However, I was burned out from the broken promises, the two-facedness, the outright lies, the back-pedaling with more lies to cover up or "explain" the previous lies, and all that type of garbage. It would be laughable if it weren't such a serious issue and people's lives weren't at stake.

Anyway, tomorrow, I am going to be baking bread. I am also going to look for a cake recipe for Charlie. His birthday is Friday and he said he wants to bake a cake. I asked him "Do you want a homemade cake that I bake or are you saying you want to make a cake yourself for your birthday."
"I want to make it myself."
"You want a box mix or you want it from scratch?"
"From scratch."
So, for his birthday, he wants to bake his own cake.

Meeting Done

2011-05-22T20:56:00.000-05:00

Well, the Board Meeting was tonight and we are done. The lies, being called on lies, and the backpedaling are all too much. One too many lies have been told by the person who owns the building and controls the money. When confronted with evidence to his multiple lies, he back tracks and comes out with another lie. Every advocate has turned in keys completely fed up. As Husband was walking out, he said "I now have no advocates at all." Well, guess what? People get fed up with lies and broken promises pretty quickly.

I feel relieved that this part is over. However, this guy is (locally) pretty powerful. He used to be mayor and has strings that he can pull. At the very least, he can make life difficult for us when we go to Gainesville for business. Right now, I have to go there weekly for FR classes.

In other (happy) news, we taught the girls how to fish and retaught Charlie. The water is very, very high so we were cramped on what would normally be a one lane dirt road. We each did a very good job casting and catching. We would cast into the trees and catch twigs and leaves. I have some pretty good pictures that I'll post later. (If I remember.) Right now, there are strong storms and possible tornadoes heading our way.

We have the generator going and the children are watching a movie. They were given a choice of what they could watch. I just got done reading about Joplin, MO and the the same storms that spawned that twister is heading our way. (It's actually hitting us as I type.) Charlie decides he wants to watch Twister. The one with Meg Ryan. Good choice, Charlie.

Still Here

2011-05-21T17:51:00.000-05:00

I guess I'm a heathen. Either that or there was no rapture. I don't believe in the rapture to begin with so all this hype had me quite amused. I joked around about how I would go and abscond with other people's stuff particularly ATVs, pontoons, guns, and ammo. It was a nice distraction from reality. The sad part is, for many, they truly believed in this. Bottom line is there is no rapture. No where in the Bible will one find the word rapture.

In other news, Husband has been teaching the children how to cast so they can fish. They have been asking to go. Begging, really. I am looking forward to seeing them throw their own line in the water. I know they will enjoy it.

To change subjects, people annoy me. I despise liars. There were three fires in two days. Yes, fires. Even with how wet everything has been. One location was lit two days in a row. Trying to find access to it, we drove all over the place because it was in the bottom. We went up this one road asking if there was access. "No. No access here. You have to go down around that way and cross the creek. Yadda, yadda, yadda." There was access. On the backside of his property. But, he didn't want fire trucks in his driveway or along the back of his property. it was HIS PROPERTY the fire was heading to. But no. He lied about access and how to get to it. (We found out the next day when the fire restarted just how to get to it and it did not require crossing a creek and tearing up the fire trucks or our truck.) I'm half tempted the next time there is a fire out there and it is heading up the hill through the trees to his property to let it burn. "I'm sorry. I thought you said there was no way to get to the fire from here. I know we saved your home twice before, but the lack of allowable access from here prevented us from saving your home this time." Too bad we can't do that. Well, we can. No one HAS to respond to a fire. Thus the term volunteer. But, morally, we will. The fire fighters are above the petty "haves" and "have nots" that some people seem to have and hide behind two-facedness. The really sad part is these people have no idea just how close the fire was to them. They have no idea that two days in a row, there home and property was saved by the very fire fighters they denied access to. I can tell you one thing. I will not go in their business again if it can be helped.

Tomorrow is a board meeting for Silverleaf. The last board meeting, not enough members showed up to have a board meeting. Hopefully, people show up to this one.

I've been lazy these past couple of days. I've also not felt good. My intestines have been acting up. They do this when there is a lot of stress. Or, I should say, when stress that has been built up is let go. Yes, my body is weird.

My van is in the shop. There is a broken something underneath that is supposed to be bolted together, but isn't. Hopefully it can be fixed without it costing an arm and a leg.

Talk about depressing!

2011-05-20T15:46:00.000-05:00

I'm researching domestic violence statistics to find the most recent ones as well as domestic violence and shelter safety. This stuff is depressing to say the least. And, if I let myself go down that road, hopeless. It's too much. There's too many cases and so much death related to this subject.

In other news, my FR class went well last night even though I was late. The reason I was late? I was at the scene of an accident while Husband was at a fire. Once the fire was under control, he was able to leave so he could come to the accident and get the girls. (He had Charlie.) I wasn't even called to the accident. I just happened upon it and was at that point committed. Thankfully, there were no injuries. But the person happened to be someone I know. So, I stayed, got her home safe, and then headed to class. I showed up just in time for break. We went over a few techniques and how to properly put a patient on a back board as well as various other things. A lot gets covered in a four hour class. This means I need to take the time to study every day.

Things have been quiet so I have been able to be home with my family. I am really enjoying it and they are liking me being home. However, they do know that if there is an emergency, I will have to leave at a moment's notice. Ugh.

Home Sweet Home

2011-05-16T20:19:00.000-05:00

I am actually home with my family. I have been with my family for more than 24 hours straight now. WOW! Life with the shelter is slowing down a bit which means my family gets me back. For this, I am thankful.

I do not, nor will I ever regret working with victims of domestic violence. It is a job I will continue to do. It's just nice seeing my family and snuggling with my babies. (Yes, even Charlie is a baby. I don't care if he is going to be nine here in a couple of weeks.)

We sold the yellow goat tonight. It was not a sale we were intending, but these people needed a milking goat for a bottle baby goat that is small. We ~~have~~ had five milkers. We don't need that many. So, we sold them one, gave them basic instructions, and told them to call if they needed anything or needed help with anything. They tried to give us some dogs and cats. No thanks. We are interested in a single female cat to keep indoors to keep the woodland rodent population down. But that's it. No more. I am going to call E and see if she can bring a kitten when she comes over on Thursday.

My children have missed me. That's for sure. But they know that helping people is important and know that my being gone means I've been helping people. They know it's a domestic violence shelter, but they don't know what domestic violence it. (Thankfully.) They just know that people go there who are hurt and scared and I make them safe and happy.

I feel like I am a bit out of kilter with the flow of the home. I know that tomorrow I will find the rhythm, but it is still strange feeling out of step.

Hannah just drew a picture of me and wrote my name under it. "WOWWY" I think she wrote her M upside down. I also have seven fingers on one hand and four fingers on the other. Her picture of herself has five fingers and eight fingers. Yeah, I love being home. :)

Day Off?

2011-05-12T12:19:00.000-05:00

So, why am I at the shelter? My Thursday day person called 5 minutes AFTER she was supposed to be here claiming being sick. This job isn't for everyone. I get that. I really do. But volunteer or not, there is still a personal responsibility. You don't call in after your shift is supposed to start. You call in (if you are truly sick) when you first get sick to give other people sufficient notice.

Anyway, I have the girls with me. Husband and Charlie are at the farmer's market. My class is tonight and I still need to study up for it. Missing the last hour of last week's class has me a bit nervous about tonight and what I might have missed during that last hour.

I love what I do. However, I am tired. I am stretched. My core volunteers are stretched. I know when one person gets back from out of state, things will get a little better. But what we need are people who are reliable. I don't care if you can only do one shift a week. One shift is one less shift I have to do or T has to do or whatever. Get here when you say you are going to be here. If being hit with reality spooks you and you decide that reality is not all it's cracked up to be and you can't handle it, say so.

Anyway, I am changing my name and my phone number and disappear for no less than 16 hours when I leave here this afternoon.

My Family

2011-05-10T21:47:00.001-05:00

I got to spend the day with my family. Although a few hours were put into the shelter moving furniture and cleaning out a storage room, I did get to spend that time with my family. Farmer's Market was taken care of and the children got to run and play.

They are also still taking care of most of the milking. Charlie has really gotten good at it. He went from a couple of months ago hardly able to get a squirt out to now milking full on and getting a good stream going. He just needed more time to figure out the hand grip and coordination. I don't know if it is a left-handed thing, a boy thing, or a Charlie thing, but either way he's got it down now.

He has not broken any bones with his new bike yet and he is wearing protection when he rides. However, I know his parents. You take a child with little coordination and place him on a bicycle in the middle of the forest with a rocky terrain and throw in his genetic line....

Thursday is my next First Responder class. Here's to praying I don't get called out again. While I am thankful I have an understanding instructor, I don't want him to think I am taking advantage of his generosity in me getting pulled out to deal with an emergency.

There isn't much else going on. A lot of running and a lot of the same. The pregnant goat has been named Eternity. She is going to be pregnant for an eternity. Anytime I look at her and she starts acting like she is going to go in the next 24 hours, her behavior changes back to "normal." Dumb goat. She won't have those babies at a time that is convenient for me. She will wait until there is some type of chaotic situation going on where all of our attention is focused on something life threatening or something and she will start bellowing out as loud as she can and have some kind of complication where I have to reach into her birth canal and pull the kids out. And she will do this just to inconvenience me. I know it. I will be on my way to the shelter for some emergency while at the same time Husband is responding to a fire call. Just wait and see.

Working and Parenting

2011-05-07T20:35:00.000-05:00

Is it possible to do both? Can a mother work or volunteer outside the home or will she do irreparable harm to her children? Is it possible to balance both? Anyone who knows me knows that I am a firm believer in babies needing to be with their mommas. That said, I also believe that babies need their daddies as well. These children have both. It is possible for children to have their primary parent be their father and still feel loved, secure, and know they come from a home where they are cared for. While they do miss me while I'm gone, they get plenty of snuggles, cuddles, lovey-doveys, and mommy time.

My question is would people be as judgemental if roles were reversed to "normal" and it were Husband working (if he were capable) while I stayed home? Would people be making the comments to Husband if he were working full time without pay while I was home? I doubt it.

My children are not in daycare. They are being cared for by a parent. By their father. And, when I am home, both of us. Not strangers.

Long Week

2011-05-06T09:23:00.000-05:00

At 3:00 this afternoon, I will have put in over 77 hours in 6 days. My one day off yesterday was blown out of the water and last night, I left First Responder Training early. (Thankfully, the instructor was wrapping up and he knows who I am. He also happens to be the Assistant Fire Chief. Small towns work in our favor sometimes.)

I am not complaining about what I do. Honest. I love my job. I do hope I get paid someday. (I WILL get paid someday. I hope.) I just don't like the super long hours. When Bethany is making comments like "Are you coming over for dinner?" it breaks my heart. I know this is temporary. I know that more help is coming. I know that once people are trained in the intake process (actually being able to sit through one) I won't have to be here for every intake. Intake will still be a two person process, but I won't always have to be the second person.

One of my personal philosophies is "A cry for help should never go unanswered." Right now, my body is crying for help. My blood pressure is up. My normal is 144/62. It's 120/90 right now. I've been going so much lately that I never noticed an embedded tick until I got hit with "tick fever."

Yeah, that's another thing. I finally made an appointment with the clinic because I had this what I thought was a mole suddenly growing up near my temple. It had never been there before. I tried picking at it. It wasn't going away. It was getting bigger and getting a red ring around it. So, being sensitive to the sun and knowing that I burn in 2.3 seconds and have had more than my share of sun stroke episodes, I became slightly concerned. Ok, I was paranoid. So, I get in to see my NP whom I love and is wonderful and she takes a look. A tick was embedded and my skin had basically encapsulated it. I never noticed a tick on me. I have not been home in the forest long enough to get ticks! Yet, here was a tick. Embedded. How did I not know there was a tick? And it burrowed under my skin! And my skin wrapped itself around this tick!

She takes care of it and after a few seconds of "Eww, that was totally nasty" I decided that compared to other things it could have been, I think I am ok with a tick.

This also explains the low grade fever I've been running for the better part of a month and my swollen glands.

So, ticks, tick fever, children thinking I don't live at home anymore, high blood pressure, and insane hours.

But, the policies and procedures manual is done and now I need to work on some other stuff. But first, I need to get more coffee.

Bin Laden Dead

2011-05-02T09:06:00.000-05:00

I heard about this around 1:00am. (The goats woke us up and Husband was having a hard time getting back to sleep, so he hopped on the internet, found out and told me.)

The first words out of my mouth: "Wow. Obama must be desperate."

Since finding out the details (many of which seem to conflict) I am left with more questions regarding the validity of his death. (I've often wondered about his existence, but I will get into that in a minute.)

Last Sunday, Obama theoretically gave his go ahead for Seal Team 6 to take out Bin Laden. Bin Laden is taken out yesterday. In the span of less than 24 hours, he is killed in a gun battle (yet none of our guys were injured), his remains were taken into custody, he has been positively identified, and he is buried at sea. Yet, the White House refuses to release to the public evidence that this individual, who has been accused of committing the worst act of terrorism on this country, claimed responsibility for the Cole (Navy Ship), and has trained future terrorists, is dead. What is being asked is not an unreasonable request. People want proof that the individual responsible for the death of 3000 people in New York, Washington DC, and Pennsylvania is dead. People want proof that the individual who dragged us into a war that has gone on for nearly a decade is dead.

Why I sometimes doubted his existence. It seems like when the government wanted to implement some sort of control or pass some sort of law or policy that was an infringement on our basic rights or a violation of the Constitution, some new "tape" would come out with Bin Laden talking about future threats to our country. Or "chatter" about terroristic threats picked up by anti-terrorist organizations would find its way into the news. It always seemed a bit convenient to me.

Plus, let's look at logistics. Here is a guy who is supposedly a brittle diabetic on the brink of renal failure living on dialysis and he escaped cave after cave after cave. (He was "found" in a mansion this last time where he was supposedly killed.) My husband is diabetic. Living in a cave with no electricity and on dialysis is a bit far-fetched.

Working Hours

2011-04-30T20:37:00.000-05:00

Well, I think we have a tentative working schedule which means I am now only working 72 hours a week. I am hopefully going to have another person working one day a week which will have me 64 hours a week. And this is just for in the office. This does not count the hours I put in at home.

The good news is I have a more stable schedule and will be home plenty of nights for supper, movie, snuggles, and bedtime. This makes me very happy.

In other news, the pregnant goat is still pregnant. She is going to be pregnant forever. As for the rest, they are amazing milkers. The children have gotten really good at milking the goats. The goats settle for the children and really only get frisky and start dancing when they are nearing the end. I am really proud of the children for being able to do the milking.

I am still functioning on tired, but things are coming together. I am able to get a bit more sleep.

Rescued!

2011-04-28T19:12:00.000-05:00

I love my job. Really I do. I just don't love being away from my family for 36 hours straight. However, God smiled upon me this evening and has made available another person to fill in for a few hours so I can come home and spend time with my family and (although doubtful it will happen) take a nap.

As I am sitting here blogging, I am listening to my family putter about. Husband is milking and Charlie is paying attention and asking questions. "How do people understand goats? How do goats understand people?" Good questions. He cares and wants to know. He wants to learn.

Hannah is playing with the piano. She wants to start up with lessons again. She tried lessons before but she wasn't ready emotionally.

Bethany is fluttering here and there starting on this then starting on that.

The training I was supposed to do tomorrow I had to cancel due to conflict issues with other schedules and school cancellations. I have to drive someone somewhere and this can't be put off. So I put off the Safe At Home training until the next training session. Unfortunately, this means waiting six months or more.

Next week starts my official First Responder training and from what I understand, it's a once a week class at night which works perfectly for me.

Well my family is demanding my attention so I must go.

HORRORS

2011-04-26T11:24:00.000-05:00

We have sunshine and blue skies! Horrors! What will we do? How do we handle this? How will the girls wash their hair 1,000 times a day? How will we ever survive?

Oops! Weather forcast calls for more rain this afternoon into tonight and overnight and through the day tomorrow. Whew! That was close.

In all seriousness, though, I am done with rain. With more rain coming, I am setting up our "transportation tank" to collect even more water. Might as well. We were talking about getting a couple more tanks anyway so this is a good opportunity for us to do so.

I called the VFW to cancel the monthly La Leche League meeting. I radioed into dispatch that both of us are out of service until further notice. I also let them know that any calls up this way, no one can respond to with the exception of air-evac. And that is only when they are able to fly.

I am finding out that I am not good at stranded. We have everything we need to sit for a good long while if needed, but I don't like it mentally. I have a long list of things that need doing and no way to get it done. So, I am working on something I have a hard time with. Delegating. Asking others to do things I had in mind to do. I have it a certain way in my head and I am having to let it go and call on other people and ask them to do it. And, allow them to do it however they decide. It might not match what is in my brain. Yes, I'm neurotic. Or is it psychotic? Or maybe it's both? Either way, I am having to let go.

But I still need to get to the office and get the 50 million other things done! GAH! Pant, pant, pant. Breathe, breathe, breathe. Ok, I feel better. As long as I can get out for Friday's training.

Wet

2011-04-25T20:03:00.000-05:00

The rains continue. The children have not lost their fascination with washing their hair in the rain. I had to turn Hannah around and send her back outside in a down pour since she still had soap in her hair. Thankfully, it isn't a cold rain. The daytime temps have been in the 70s. We are still keeping the barrel stove going to help dry out shoes and clothes and keep the inside dry from all the damp air.

I had to work from home today since we are now stranded. But what better place to be stranded than in the comfort of our own home? We have everything we need here. We have food, water (lots and lots and lots of water), plenty of wood to burn to dry ourselves out (even if starting wet wood is annoyingly difficult), and have not experienced any power outages. I am going to look into getting more gas cans, though. We have to 6 gallon ones and the rest are 2 gallon ones. I want a few more 6 gallon containers for the generator. We haven't run out of gas for it, but I don't want to either.

All of our water tanks are full. We filled three 275 gallon tanks in 24 hours plus two 50 gallon barrels. It is making us want to get more tanks. It rains like this, we put the overflow into other tanks with a gallon of bleach, and put a cap on it and we're good to go for drought season. (Remember us not having rain for close to two months?) One thing is for sure. We're not going to have to haul water for the next day or two!

All this rain did point out a couple of leaks that need to be fixed in the roof. Not surprising since the manufacturers did not put roofing paper on the roof except for along the peak. Elsewhere, there is none as we found out when we raised the roof in the center.

There is a lot of work I am eager to do or see done. Thanks to the rain, I am seeing streams and creeks that have until now been dry. Setting up a dam, we can have small ponds in the future.

So, although over a foot of rain is annoying, it is also showing us what we have, what is possible, and what we can do with what we have.

Easter Day

2011-04-24T17:31:00.000-05:00

Today is the celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord. We spent the day talking about His greatness and how He created everything we see around us. We discussed the Resurrection and had to have a minor talk about not "playing crucifixion." Apparently Charlie tried to put a nail in Hannah's wrist. No blood drawn. No trauma except for my mental trauma as I had to say "NO PLAYING CRUCIFIXION!" After I said it, I had yet another one of those "Did I really just tell my children that? Shouldn't this be an obvious?"

Sigh. I have new gray hair and a few more wrinkles now than I did before that happened.

We are still getting hammered by the storms that keep coming through. The van is parked because of the high, rapidly running water. The truck can make it. The van has no hope of even trying. It would stall and get washed away. It's paid off. I don't feel like trying to replace it and having to deal with new payments.

We drove around a bit and looked at the flooded areas and washed out roads. With some of these places, if there were a fire, they'd be SOL. There's no way anyone would be able to get to them. Thankfully, with all the rain, the radio has remained silent.

As I type, I am hearing thunder rumbling in the distance. We are going to get hit again.

We have the barrel stove going. Not because it is cold, but because everything is wet. We're trying to keep things dry as the children run in and out. They are having fun in the rain and as long as there is no strong wind or lightening, I'm ok with it. They come in dripping wet, grab a snack or a drink, and head back outside.

The goats have taken to sleeping under the house and if the horse could fit, she'd probably be under there as well. Poor girl is stuck finding shelter in the horse trailer. She does have it better than a lot of horses around here. At least she has shelter. Some don't.

One good thing about this rain. We filled up our barrels to over flowing, filled up our 275 gallon tank, drained it into the animal tank, and we're refilling it. We've been looking at run-offs to see where we should build a retention pond. We have several good ideas in mind. If we had a bulldozer or a tractor with a blade, we could do it easily with the ground being wet. But, we don't have those so we will have to dig by hand using shovels.

Looking up, I am seeing the mushrooms I strung up not too long ago. They dried out, but are rehydrating because of the amount of moisture in the air. So, a lesson learned here (a "duh" moment) is that drying on a string works very well in a dry atmosphere. During monsoon season, it does not work as well.

Today

2011-04-23T18:58:00.000-05:00

Today was a very educational day for me. I had classroom style training regarding first responder handling of chemical suicide. I have decided that people are nuts, and I will never look upon a vehicle on the side of the road the same way again.

In other news, we have had nothing but rain and severe storms. We are flooded and everything is a mess. The van is not going anywhere because of parts of the road being washed away and streams that normally get drove across turning into rapidly running rivers. The truck can get through, but not the van.

The children are definitely feeling the effects of being cooped up due to the storms. They can play out in the rain (and enjoy doing so) but when it gets bad (hail, lightening, etc) they have to come back in. They are so used to being able to just run around outside and play freely that they are getting cabin fever.

The good news is our rain system is getting a good workout. :) We have not had to haul water in quite a while. Yee-haw!

Umm.... A tornado just hit Isabella. For reference, this is where we go to the laundromat. It's about 20 miles from here driving time. Closer as the crow flies. Yeah, these storms are nasty. But, we seem to be ok so far. We will just continue praying that we will continue to be ok.

I have two very pesky children who are insistent upon having my undivided attention.

Long Day

2011-04-22T20:18:00.000-05:00

Today was another long day, but that's ok. Things got done and stuff is getting organized and pulled together.

Anyway, I spent yesterday home with my family. I did a bit of work from home and enjoyed walks around the property and spending the day with my family. Last night, some storms came through and the children had fun. They played in the rain ahead of the lightening and "took a shower and washed their hair." Granted once the lightening approached, they had to come inside.

What I found slightly amusing (ok, I giggled) is the fact that a bold of lightening hit a transformer and caused a black out in the entire area. We heard the reports over the fire radio (we stayed on stand-by) about everything being black and going out and firing up generators for the stations. We remained unaffected. If it hadn't been for the fact that we are with the FD, we would never have known. We were snug and cozy in our home with lights on and everything.

Hannah just came up to me and said "We got some cook wood for you so you can make bread." Think she's hinting for something? LOL

Anyway, I am going to enjoy this week-end. Tomorrow is scheduled maintenance at the fire department. Then the rest of the week-end I am looking forward to resting and relaxing and enjoying my family. I know Sunday is Easter Sunday and I don't know what the plans are. But as long as I am with my family and serving God in my daily life, that is all that matters.

A few more hours

2011-04-19T20:42:00.000-05:00

A few more hours and I will be able to go home. I came in last night and have been up since yesterday morning. I have been here close to 24 hours now. But, things need to get done so I am making sure they get done.

We also had tornado watches going on and one actual warning. We had hail, rain, lightning, green sky, and what not. I kept in contact with Husband. I was more worried about home than I was here. I heard over the fire radio as I was on the phone with Husband for everyone to hunker down. That it was going to be a good one.

I miss my home. I miss my family. But I will be home in a bit. I will even be able to go home early tomorrow after I come in if everything goes according to plan. YAY!

I miss my family and I will see them soon. I will have to be talked in most of the way home because I have had very little to eat today and have been up since yesterday morning. The crash is coming soon. I've been running mostly on coffee.

Relaxing Day

2011-04-17T12:04:00.000-05:00

Today is going to be a relaxing day. Or at least it has been so far. We slept until 8:00 and had brunch. The children munched on apples while a platter of pancakes was being made. I did the milking with the children's help. They get started and I join them. They love the "I can do this" moments and having them start with Shakala (or however that name is spelled that Bethany decided upon.) Shakala is very gentle and easy to handle. I head out there when she is about half done and finish her off then we get going on the other goats. The ones that need hobbled and don't like being milked. I hobble them and do one side while the children take turns on the other side.
The beautiful weather has my clothes dry and waiting to come in. The umbrella clothesline is great. I am thankful we finally got it set up. We were able to take down most of the rest of the outdoor clothesline leaving up a small section for sheets and blankets and stuff.

More soap is going to get made today. Husband is getting the oil from storage to do it. I am also going to get filthy today doing planting. I am enjoying life. There is a contentedness today. A peacefullness that I am embracing.

Ahhh. :)

2011-04-16T22:45:00.000-05:00

Listening to Bethany play in a tub. Watching television with my husband. Hannah is asleep on the couch. Charlie waiting for his turn in the tub. Life is good.

I am loving my family and I am loving life. Although today ran away from us due to work issues, life is still good. We had a campfire dinner and got some brush burned. We are having raised beds all along the driveway. We're going to have the children collect rocks to encircle the raised beds and I am going to plant like crazy.

Tomorrow will be a relaxing day. We'll get some soap done, but other than that, there is nothing planned outside of church. I like calm, content feelings.

No Court

2011-04-13T08:49:00.000-05:00

Over 500 miles. That is how far I drove. I had been trying to get a hold of my lawyer since DECEMBER. He never calls back despite the numerous messages I leave.

Yesterday, I call again and tell the receptionist "I have court tomorrow. I have been trying to get a hold of (lawyer) since December. I have a right to counsel and he is the attorney assigned to me. I am driving from Arkansas and I want to know what the heck is going on. If I don't get a chance to talk with him before tomorrow's appearance, I will be livid."

He calls back about 10 minutes later. (Shocked me.) I try to find out what is going on and he is thinking I missed a payment because of a five Friday month.

"No. Everything is on record. I am ordered to pay X. With a four week month, I am paying above that on a consistent basis. I have not missed a single month. For proof, I send it postal money order, delivery confirmation, return receipt. That is proof in triplicate. Keep in mind that these payments are being taken out of my husband's VA Disability income so technically, he does not have to allow this. It is also on record that I can't work because of his disabilities. Me working a full time job is a hardship. (As has been proven yet again when I was working all those hours at the shelter.) So, no I have not missed payments and I am halfway through Illinois right now driving from Arkansas to make this court date that from what I understand was not supposed to happen."

Him: "Well, there's a new prosecutor who is gung-ho (blah, blah, blah something about Democrats vs. Republicans) I will call the prosecutors office and see what is going on and what I can do."

45 Minutes Later:
"I spoke with the prosecutor's office and spoke directly with the prosecutor. You don't have to be here tomorrow. There will be one more review case and that should be the end of it. You will get a notice in the mail when that will be so turn around and go home or go visit the Arch."

Brain explodes. I am 30 minutes away from my SIL's.

Band of Brothers

2011-04-10T18:28:00.000-05:00

I just got done with the series Band of Brothers. For those not familiar with the series, it follows Easy Company from training to the end of World War II. It is a very true life account and has multiple interviews with the still surviving (and a few who have since passed) vets that went through the horrors of war. D-Day, Market Place, Battle of the Bulge, and on and on and on. They had the highest casualty rate of any company. They also had the toughest of any company. The toughest men and the toughest situation in the war.

As they were fighting, they knew nothing about what they were fighting for in Europe. They knew they were at war with Japan yet they were in Europe. They knew they were fighting the Germans and Germans were bad. (It says so in the newspaper.)

In Episode 9 (there were 10 episodes) they find a concentration camp. The translator (and after having been in Europe for several years and never seeing home you get pretty good at German) finds out that this concentration and the prisoners there are not criminals. They are Jewish.

Supposedly, during WWII, when faced with budget cuts to the arts and humanities in order to fund Churchill responded "Then what are we fighting for?"

Someone quoted this in response to an interview with the possibility of budget cuts to places like National Endowment for the Arts and other such institutions.

First of all, if Churchill really did say that, he's an idiot. Second of all, comparing cutting budgets today to try to balance a multitrillion dollar deficit to WWII is idiotic at best. Because we all know that this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qk9GzQc2s6o

is just so comparable to http://www.mfa.org/exhibitions

What is more important for today? Saving someone's embroidery or saving our future generations from a financially bankrupt nation?

waiting

2011-04-09T17:35:00.000-05:00

I don't like waiting. Husband is at a fire and he has not checked in yet. I know he's not supposed to yet. I know he's fine. But I don't like waiting at home for that phone call to let me know that he is alright. I'm going on the next call and that's final! (So say page 3.)

In other news, I had a wonderful time at the BACA cook-out. I met a lot of great people and got to meet the people I would have the most interaction with in my advocacy work. I love it. The whole visual concept of these big scary bikers being advocates for the most helpless of all when it comes to victims of abuse.

Let's see. What else has been going on. Oh, I'm trying my hand at drying mushrooms. I found a great deal on mushrooms, so I picked up a little extra and have them strung up. Since I no longer have a dehydrator, I am hanging to dry. If I do well with this, I am going to try other things. If it doesn't work, then I will see where I went wrong and try again next time there is a sale. We all love mushrooms with the exception of Charlie. They are also a good source of zinc which is great when a person is sick. It helps with the immune system.

We have also been over run with red wasps. They are annoying and I want them to go away. So far, I have not found a way to make them leave or make them want to find another place. I've been killing them as I can and am trying to avoid using chemicals to do so. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Gov't Shut Down Or Why I'm not worried:

2011-04-08T19:07:00.002-05:00

On 17 occasions since September 1976, Congress has allowed appropriations to lapse, requiring the government to begin shutting down non-essential operations.

Fiscal Year 1977

• The government shut down on Thursday, Sept. 30, 1976, for 10 days.

Fiscal Year 1978

• The government shut down on Friday, Sept. 30, 1977, for 12 days;

• Monday, Oct. 31, 1977, for eight days; and on

• Wednesday, Nov. 30, 1977, for eight days.

Fiscal Year 1979

• The government shut down on Saturday, Sept. 30, 1978, for 17 days.

Fiscal Year 1980

• The government shut down on Sunday, Sept. 30, 1979, for 11 days

Fiscal Year 1982

• The government shut down on Friday, Nov. 20, 1981, for two days.

Fiscal Year 1983

• The government shut down on Thursday, Sept. 30, 1982, for one day; and on

• Friday, Dec. 17, 1982, for three days.

Fiscal Year 1984

• The government shut down on Thursday, Nov. 10, 1983, for three days.

Fiscal Year 1985

• The government shut down on Sunday, Sept. 30, 1984, for two days; and on

• Wednesday, Oct. 3, 1984, for one day.

Fiscal Year 1987

• The government shut down on Thursday, Oct. 16, 1986, for one day.

Fiscal Year 1988

• The government shut down on Friday, Dec. 18, 1987, for one day.

Fiscal Year 1991

• The government shut down on Friday, Oct. 5, 1990, for three days.

Fiscal Year 1996

• The government shut down on Monday, Nov. 13, 1995, for five days; and on

• Friday, Dec. 15, 1995, for 21 days.

Deputy Shane Charles

2011-04-07T12:42:00.000-05:00

As I was telling someone earlier, I heard this on the radio this morning. He is not from our area, but it doesn't matter. Anyone who sends out an officer down call, the responders getting shot and killed in front of him, and laying there waiting for 2 1/2 hours seeing his fellow officers dead bodies and wondering if he is going to die before help arrives deserves all the cards he can get. If you can find the time to drop a card in the mail, please do so.

Virginia Deputy Sheriff Shane Charles is at the Shepherd Spinal Center in Atlanta. On March 13, Shane and Deputy Eric Rasnake responded to a trespass call. They arrived to find a sniper with a .223 caliber rifle, scope, and bipod who shot both deputies. Shane put out an officer down call. The next two deputies who arrived – Neil Justus and Billy Stiltner - went in to rescue the injured officers, and both were shot and killed by the sniper. Shane told me that the closest SWAT team to his town was 2 hours away This SO is a 33 person department. Losing 2 deputies and having 2 critically injured has been tragic. Today I spoke with a dispatcher who was on duty that day and she cried. It goes without saying that the department is going through the classic response to a traumatic incident. Shane told me yesterday that it appeared the sniper was in a dispute with a neighbor, and he went to the back of the neighbor’s property to shoot the entire family. These deputies are true heroes. Shane is paralyzed from the waist down, but he believes he will walk out of the Shepherd Center. He is going through physical therapy and will have more surgery (he has a shattered vertebra that they will operate on soon). Last week, while still in ICU, Shane was very depressed and he and his family were all alone. But that didn’t last long at all when the LE community found out he was here!! Shane has become much more positive. He has started a great patch collection, he’s receiving cards and letters and words of encouragement from all who visit him. Shane’s family is so grateful that people care. I am not exaggerating when I say that the Charles family are the most humble people I’ve ever met. They come from a tiny little town in coal mining country, and they are proud people. Officers from several agencies have come to see him, even two officers from Macon! If anyone has the time to visit him at Shepherd’s, he would be thrilled. Shane described the incident and how he laid in the yard for 2.5 hours waiting to for someone to get to him. The cards he is starting to receive really cheer him up, and he reads them all. If you have a school and the kids would like a project, sending him cards is great, or a poster or something made by children. The address to send things to is: Deputy Shane Charles, Room #411 Shepherd Center, 2020 Peachtree Rd., NW, Atlanta, GA 30309

Monday, Busy Monday

2011-04-04T19:22:00.000-05:00

Today was spinning, laundry, water, errand day. The children love spinning, but I think they just love the attention more than the actual lesson. After all, S and C are Papaw and Nana. I think Charlie feels a bit left out. But since he has no desire to learn how to spin, he hasn't really complained too much about wanting to go.

Spinning day is going to change for whatever day is convenient for C. Mondays are busy for them as well since they run a newspaper. So, what works for her will work for us. I jokingly suggested having spinning at the laundromat, but there are times when that place is over crowded as well. Come summer, the laundromat will be nauseatingly hot.

Today, along with errand running, water, spinning, laundry, I also got yogurt finished, cheese draining to make feta, put soup on the stove to heat up for supper tonight, and made granola. What is interesting is I used peanuts instead of walnuts or almonds for the nuts and it's good. It gives it a different crunch flavor than the expected walnut taste. I did it for financial reasons ($1.??/pound as opposed to $4.??/pound) and will continue to do this for taste. The other thing that got accomplished today is I got some turnips planted. No one here likes turnips, but we like the greens. So, the turnips themselves will be used as animal food and the greens will be for us.

Tomorrow, a friend of mine is coming over and we will be discussing the shelter. Hopefully, things are finally changing for the better. We will also be discussing other things. Someone told me a whole bunch of stuff and was quite bitter and angry. So, I need to get her side of it and find out how this will affect the future of the shelter.

The meat in the freezer went bad. The freezer had not been run for a few days (unintentional) and the expected result happened. So, what I need to do is get more canning jars and when we have meat, can it right away. No more chest freezer until we get a propane one. I'm going to keep my eyes open for a used one. Although I doubt we could get the same kind of deal as we did with the propane fridge, a girl can always hope. (The fridge was free and there is a small freezer on top which is good for ice, ice-cream, and small stuff like that.)

The Real Ozarks

2011-04-03T20:41:00.000-05:00

There is a free magazine that just came out called "The Real Ozarks." Since tourist season is just getting started around here, the Ozark County Times put out a publication explaining this little area of the world. There is one article entitled "A People Rich In History" that I am going to copy here. It so perfectly describes the population and environment here. I found myself nodding and smiling as I read.

There are lots of Ozark things throughout the Midwest: Ozark towns, Ozark businesses, Ozark lakes, Ozark organizations. But in all of America, there is only one Ozark County, and those of us who live here know it's a special place with a remarkable heritage.

That's not to say it's easy to live here. It takes a hearty constitution and a lot of gumption to live in a place where the summers are hot, the winters can be icy, the roads crooked, the economy struggles, and the facilities are few. We've got chiggers, snakes, mosquitoes, poison ivy, and armadillos that love to dig up the garden.

Yes, it can be hard to live in Ozark County. But many folks agree that once you've lived here, it's hard to live anywhere else.

There's something magical about those mornings when the mist hugs the hollows just as the sun creeps over the hills. And what can compare with a night sky so clear and dark the stars seem close enough to touch?

The rush of the rivers' see-through water, the rhythm of the lakes lapping against the shores, the sounds of the woods and the scent of hay fields freshly cut... these things can haunt you when you leave to live in the city. I heard a man say as a high school reunion, "I was gone from here 30 years, and every day I was away I knew I would eventually come back."

It's not just the rugged land, the clean air and the clear water we love. It's the sense of independence we enjoy in our rather isolated corner of the world.

And, it's the people. As ornery and aggravating and hard-headed as we can be, we're quick to come running when help is needed. We care about each other. City people hear a helicopter flying overhead and wonder if it's something that might be on the evening news. We hear a helicopter and wonder who's hurt or sick - because it's probably someone we know - and we pray they make it to the hospital.

We love to tell jokes and share a laugh, but we cry together too. When we take our turn on that awful front row as a funeral, we're comforted by the friends and family sitting behind us, surrounding us with love and sharing our grief.

We still have pie suppers for families in distress, we play music the old fashioned way, and we feed our neighbors' pets and livestock when they're away. We live in beautiful homes with well-kept lawns... and ramshackle trailers surrounded by weed-spiked junk. We're opinionated and stubborn, quick to resist anyone who tries to take away even the least of our rights. And one of our most enduring and ironic hillbilly characteristic is our mischievous pride in being unpretentious.

It isn't easy to live in Ozark County. Never has been. Maybe that's why there are less than 10,000 of us scattered over the county's 731 square miles. This is no place for sissies. But, for the most part, there's one thing that unites us with each other - and with our past: we're here because we want to be.

That is the perfect description I have ever read for this little neck of the woods I now call home and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I love honey

2011-04-02T21:27:00.000-05:00

I can't wait to get bees of my own and be able to harvest my own honey.

The children have been hanging on to this wet deep from the toes cough. I have been giving them honey, but it hasn't really been helping with the source of the cough. I had been warned that this super high fever that hit Hannah (and to a lesser extent the other two) would have this cough when the fever was over. Ok. I can deal with that.

However, what I did not anticipate was them (Bethany especially) coughing so hard she would vomit. Crud. Honey is not handeling this. The doctor's office isn't going to do anything. They need echinacea. I have the root powder. I don't have an encapsulator yet. (Or what ever that thing is called that you make capsules with.) Even if I did, Hannah is not capable of swallowing pills yet. Bethany is barely able to.

Mix it with honey!

So, I did. I took a huge glob of honey (roughly about two overflowing tablespoons) and mixed in a rounded spoonful of echinacea. I gave each of the children a spoonful of the mix this morning. They didn't cough all day. I gave them another spoonful tonight. I have not heard any coughing.

I was talking with a friend of mine this evening and was telling her about it. Apparently, this is not a unique idea that I had. There is this thing called medicine honey balls that has the same basic concept. DARN! And here I thought I had this really neat, novel idea that was all me. Nope. I just ain't that special.

Anyway, not only did they not cough, they seem to have gotten all the energy they lost over the past week back. We went to different yard sales and flea markets. I got a series of Jane Austin books, a hand crank ice-cream maker, some skirts for Bethany, a few winter shirts that will go in storage and a few other things. We also found a really good deal on feed at a feed mill and if we were to order 5-6 tons of feed, they will deliver. That would be about 6 months worth. We have no place to store it. We'll deal with 1000 pounds at a time. Not 10,000 pounds.

We sold Davarge last night. It was a total surprise. We had placed the ad in Craig's List a couple of weeks ago and there was no follow through on some of these calls that we got. We finally said "forget it" and decided to not re-run the ad. But, someone called yesterday (and kept calling on our old phone) and said they wanted him, could they come tonight, etc. They showed up with a horse trailer. They are going to use him for breeding for mules. He will be very happy. (Our old phone number will be shut off on the 7th.)

Oh, we got the things for the van. We are going to change the fuel filter, air filter, oil filter, and oil. The oil has not been done in forever and the others have not been done the entire time we've had the van. It is past time and I still need to go to Indiana. Hopefully, this will be the last time I have to go there for court. It will be a go there and come back the next day. It's a super quick trip. We have milking goats, a goat about ready to kid, and a husband who is staying behind with the children. With spring, work has tripled and that means I can't be gone like I was back in January.

Anyway, it's late and we have church tomorrow so I need to get to sleep.

Sickness hangs

2011-03-31T19:16:00.000-05:00

Although the worst of the sickness seems to have past, there was a rebound effect that left poor Hannah with severe abdominal pain and a returning fever last night. She was very restless last night moaning in her sleep complaining of her tummy hurting. Thankfully, that too seems to have passed.

Bethany has been coughing quite a bit and I am going to make sure she has honey before going to bed. She has coughed hard enough to vomit a few times.

I have been working on our budget and trying to get things on track and running smoothly. Tomorrow, I will be making the final payment on the van. CELEBRATION TIME! We will be rolling the van payment into the truck payment next month and getting that paid off 13 - 14 months ahead of schedule. Things that we have been talking about are becoming a reality. I am very excited. If things go according to plan, September of next year, we'll be making the final payment on the van. YAY! We have actual dates now rather than vague guesstimates of when things might happen.

Being back on the envelope system is really helping. It's keeping us in balance and not leaving us wondering where things went. Stuff is budgeted out ahead of time and once that envelope is empty, that's it. No taking from one to put in another.

One of the things we are planning on getting is a turkey fryer. Not to fry turkeys, but to do summer time canning. I am not heating up a wood cook stove and sweating over it keeping it fed in triple degree heat. I had enough of feeding fires in the massive heat wave while trying to cook over a camp fire.

We went over plans and materials list for the additions on the house. We're going to have the milking parlor in the back and the goat area will open to the door for the milking parlor. We are also looking at materials for the addition for what will be our bedroom. We know what we have and are just figuring out what we need.

Well, I need to get these children some honey and enjoy the rest of Part 2 of Band of Brothers.

Blurg

2011-03-29T17:59:00.000-05:00

Well, not everything got done today that I hoped. But, some things did get done including more soap poured. I now have citronella, tea tree, and another oatmeal poured. That will be ready to be pulled and cut in about a week. The other soaps will be ready for wrapping and shipping in a couple more days.

I went through a bunch of spices and got them sorted and put into jars. Some shelves got stabilized and put to use. Nothing much else got done since today has been rainy and dreary and non-motivating. Tomorrow, I have to do laundry. I have two baskets staring at me wondering why they are still sitting there.

With all the rain, we are having to burn wet wood. I hate burning wet wood. It takes forever to catch even when it is added to an already going fire. I will say, though, that us turning the barrel stove the way we did makes for a much warmer livingroom. The other day, I was taking off my sweatshirt and wearing a short sleeved shirt because it was so warm. Yes, we are still moving things around trying to figure out the best flow and how things work best. And no, the barrel stove did not have anything in it when we turned it.

Sick, sick, sick

2011-03-28T21:15:00.000-05:00

How appropriate that we go from 666 to sick, sick, sick. Yeah, I have a warped sense of humor.

Hannah's fever peaked at 105.1 (yes, you read that correctly) this morning so I took her in. Apparently, there is a virus going around that is causing really high fevers. Ears are fine, strep came back negative. No vomiting or diarrhea. Just the fever. From what I was told at the dr. office, the CDC has guidelines now that any fever that has nothing else going on with it (such as strep, vomiting, etc) is classified as an "influenza type virus" so my child (and the rest of them) have the flu.

Bethany and Charlie have fevers now as well and even with the fevers, they are bickering and pestering each other. Some things remain regardless of what is going on. I am sure that Husband and I are next in line since the children like to cough right in my face.

By the way, between fires, falls, and fevers, I for got to share. My pap came back clean! No cancer! This is my first clean pap in a couple of years. I am so relieved. I am going to have to go for follow-up paps every few months until I get three or four clean in a row. But I have a completely normal pap result!

We had quiet winds and a bit of rain over the past couple of days so we did some burning today. We are still burning around our house and I am more anxious than ever to get it done. The wildfires we had scared the tar out of me. There is an orange light pole a few miles away that you can see through the trees going down our driveway at night. It's just a glimpse, but that orange glow makes me look twice now and I will probably continue to do so for a while even though I know what it is.

Tomorrow's tentative agenda depending upon how much the children allow us to do will be soap making, shelves, and reorganizing the kitchen. I am also hoping to get started on cheese since we have an abundance of milk. I just want to make some basic herbed cheese. Nothing fancy. If I am feeling really energetic, I will make some bread, but I doubt I will get that done. When the children are sick, they get clingy. Understandable, but still frustrating when I am trying to get stuff done.

Blog Post 666

2011-03-27T15:59:00.000-05:00

Yes, this is blog post 666 for this blog. When you add in Bravenet and Livejournal (my old blogs) I have no clue how many posts I have made over the past 4.5 years I've been blogging. I just have some amusement with the fact that this is 666 for this blog. I'm not superstitious enough to believe that some horrible thing is going to happen and the devil is going to come forth from this post.

Right now, Husband is in town with Bethany to pick up some children's ibuprofen. Hannah has been running a fever. It looks like it is finally coming down without the medicine, but since it did hit 105* we decided to go get some fever reducer. What we did in the meantime was rub her feet, hands, and back with a cloth wet with rubbing alcohol. (This is different than an actual alcohol bath that people fear. Filling a tub with rubbing alcohol and placing a child in it is dangerous.) I am amazed at the difference in her. She is now talking incessantly, has perked up, and her fever is down to 101.5. Make that 100.9 It is still going down. Hallelujah!

Today has been pretty much a wash in terms of projects. Hannah's sickness has forced us to take a day off. We need to remember to take Sundays off without having one of us being sick. A day of rest is important. We've been commanded to take it, we should do so without being forced into it.

We have lots of projects in store for this week and I am looking forward to doing them, helping with them, and seeing them done.

What Happened?

2011-03-24T19:30:00.000-05:00

Well, the fires have been allowed to burn themselves out. Bulldozers came in via the Corps of Engineers to make break lines. Some fires jumped those while others behaved themselves and stayed put. In the end, over 1000 acres burned and three homes were destroyed.

While this was going on long into the night, there was another blaze burning hundreds of acres on the north side of Theodosia. The fire department was called to that and the property owners who called it in met them and told them that there was nothing back there and to let it burn. The fire department shrugged and said ok and left.

Today, while looking at the aftermath, we are amazed at the destruction and even more amazed that nothing more than a few of our acres were burned and yet it never came near us. Going back here into the peninsula, you would never know that there were major fires going at the same time burning homes and property. Yet, you drive in where people forget that there are roads and people living and you see the destruction.

What started the fires is people burning trash. One man had been arrested (most likely done to save his life) and may be facing charges. http://www.kspr.com/news/local/kspr-dugginsville-mo-trash-fire-man-in-custody-20110324,0,5794702.story?track=rss

This story here as printed is a bit confusing as it is covering two different fires (north of Theodosia while Dugginsville is south of Theodosia) however the video is accurate. http://www.ky3.com/news/ky3-wildfires-burn-in-southern-ozark-county-20110323,0,3155084.story I will say that the guy pronounces Dugginsville wrong. It is not "DOOginsville." It is "DUGginsville"

Closer to home, no fires have been rekindled near us, I am fighting a cold on top of allergies, and generally feel cruddy. However, I am very thankful that I am here with my family to feel cruddy, that our home had not been destroyed, and no one called Husband away to fight other fires. (He wouldn't have gone anyway. Today was a definite keep family close day. Yesterday was just too close.)

Fire

2011-03-23T23:04:00.000-05:00

Lots and lots and lots of fire. Or, should I say fires. There were multiple fires on our peninsula. There still are. And they converged. There are multiple fires that are out of control that have jumped across the roads. Chief has been interviewed by the television station and when there is a clip for that, I'll link it.

Now, what has my biggest fear been out here? Wildfires. What is happening now? Wildfires. So far, we are ok. Hundreds of acres have burned so far. Houses have been destroyed out here on the peninsula. Multiple stations have responded.

Even with all this going on, there have been lots of other fires as well today. Everyone has been busy fighting fires. I've been praying that our home remains safe. At one point, we thought it had been destroyed. Fire has hit our property, but our home still remains. We are going to (for now) sleep here tonight. The wind has laid down. Fire departments are still out there. They know we are here. We have the children on the futon in case we do have to leave quick. We are going to keep an eye on the line. We have a "When it hits X we are leaving" mark in sight.

In other news, we got new phones and new phone numbers. I'll post those tomorrow when I am coherent. I will also let everyone know how the night went.

Is it bedtime yet?

2011-03-22T19:09:00.000-05:00

I am tired and I am still busy working in the kitchen. Yes, I'm barefoot (except for the socks) but I'm not pregnant.

I have the last of the bread in the oven, leftover pork and bean soup canned, chicken soup started, and my 16QT dutch oven on the stove filled with pork. I am making that into BBQ pork to can. Thursday, I am going to raw pack some pork to can for different soups and stews.

In the middle of all of this today, I had to leave for the monthly La Leche League meeting. If people show, I have a meeting. If no one shows, I use the opportunity to work out our next month's budget and shopping list.

Among the many things that are going to be happening Thursday (or hopefully Wednesday) is going to be another batch of soaps. The last batch is almost ready to be wrapped and we haven't had time to do more. Then we started running low on gasoline for the generator. Yes, we need to use the genny for the mixing. We were hoping to not have to and eventually we won't. We just need more batteries. Or someone who feels like mixing for 20 hours straight. Otherwise it is an electric drill with a mixer set to run for 90 minutes. It's the only part of the process that uses machinery and that is because I am lazy.

I love cooking with wood. I really, really, really do. However, it is annoying having to remember to feed the fire to keep the temperature up. I know it will eventually become second nature but until that happens I keep losing heat during vital times like baking bread.

Tomorrow is errand running day and I am thinking I am going to nap while I'm driving. I am tired. Allergies is what is dragging me down. Apparently I am allergic to cedar pollen this year and it feels like bronchitis. My sinuses get filled and is gets down into my upper lungs. I end up coughing hard and it hurts. I went to the doctor for this last month so I know what is going on now, but it doesn't feel any better.

Oh, I almost forgot! Our water tank fell over early this morning. What is ironic is it fell over about the same time as a couple of earthquakes 100 miles from us. (For those that have been wondering, the earthquakes in the Greenbriar, AR area is about 100 miles as the crow flies. There are multiple quakes each day in the 2.5 range with the occasional 4.0.) We joked about it being the earthquake that did it.

Anyway, with the knocked over tank, we decided that it's a sign to redo the water tank system as we've discussed. So, that is going to get set up. We lost about 150 gallons of water, so while annoying in the loss, it wasn't a total loss. We still have another 200 gallons or more.

Burning is not happening tonight. Every time we think it's ok to light the area we set up, gusts of wind pick up. So, there will be no burning. Although it is neat seeing trees that are standing, dead, and hollowed out flame up inside and have torches of flame shooting out the top and sides. When that happens, the first thing we do is look around for when it collapses and make sure it's safe if it falls outside the zone. Then we stand back and enjoy the show. I have got to get some pictures uploaded.

Child Birth

2011-03-21T18:11:00.000-05:00

Err... Umm... Goat birth. We have a goat in labor right now and I am a bit concerned. She is small and young. This is a first kidding for her. We have her separated right now and I keep checking on her. Thus far, we have a broken water and discharge streaked with a bit of blood. I always get nervous with a first timer. Will she be ok? Will the baby be ok? Will there be rejection? Will I have to pull? What if the kid is breech? (It's harder to reach in with a first timer than it is with experienced mama goats.)

In other news, we are doing another burn. We are working our way to 100 foot radius right now and will work our way further out. The fires across the lake and the smoke highly visible is another reminder of just how vulnerable we still are. With deadwood and leaves and everything left untouched for a decade or more in this area, fire spreads quickly. It is understandable why people burn large areas. (Although it still baffles me with the whole concept of light a match and walk away.)

Wednesday, we need to get more propane for the fridge. We had maybe half a tank when we hooked it up and it ran out. In asking about where we should budget it, I think I hurt Husband's brain. Well, propane is a fuel. However, it is being used to preserve our food. So does it go in food budget or fuel budget? We eventually decided to budget it under food. Then, I asked "Well, since the generator is used to keep the freezer working, should that be food or fuel? Or should it be a different category since we have also used the generator for other things?" He walked away from me and refused to continue the discussion. We'll be keeping it under the fuel category.

We've also decided on how and where and what for the extension on the house. We will be adding two rooms to the back of the house. One will be a milking parlor that is not accessible from the inside so it won't technically be a room on the house, but the shelter of the house will be used to make the other walls. The floor will also be concrete and it will not be level with the house.

The other room is what was going to be Charlie's room, but will be our room instead. It won't be any bigger or smaller than the room we currently have, but we also won't have a child right above us. So, Charlie will get our room and we will get the new add-on. The new add-on that we will be building will in the winter time be the coldest room. Not wanting Charlie to get cold (or any of the children) we decided that this would be our room.

Before this happens, we will be raising the roof between Bethany's and Hannah's lofts and having a little doorway for them between the two areas. That needs to get done first before the additions can be put on.

Lots of exciting things are going on around here and I can't wait to get some pictures once we get started.

SCORE!

2011-03-20T20:37:00.000-05:00

We scored huge today. We got lumber, sheet metal, fencing, and other building material type stuff for free. All of it in good shape! This means that many projects that have just been waiting on finances can now get done.
The down side is I am suffering from a mild case of heat exhaustion, chest congestion due to high cedar pollen, and a low grade fever. I am very tired and feel cruddy enough that I took some Benadryl a few minutes ago. Husband heads out to milk with a “Good night. See you next week!” He knows what this does to me. I will be out cold unable to be revived for hours. Half a dose knocks me flat. I took a full dose. I want to breathe while unconscious.

The children I was babysitting: We went to return them that night because I had had enough. I was at the end of my rope and decided to throw in the towel. Husband went to bring them back. He returned with them. No one answered the door. Door bell, banging, roar of a diesel engine, horn blasting. Nothing brought them out. So they stayed the night. And, during the night the middle child ended up with a fever and vomiting. I called the mom and she said “Well, if she has what I had, I wasn’t vomiting so…. I guess I should cancel working with the horses over at ___ then, huh?”

She gets here and of course the children go running out to their mom and she puts them in the van, looks at the sick child and said “Well, she seems to have perked up.” I looked at her, pointed out the glassy eyes, red cheeks, still warm to the touch, and quiet.

I said nothing about the lice. I will wait to talk with her.

I have been thinking about them and their situation. There are no books. They have the King James Bibles, the 1611 King James Bible, the Latin translation of the Bible, and catalogs. There are no children’s books. She doesn’t correct speech problems. She plans on homeschooling. When and how does she plan on teaching her children to read if she doesn’t even read to them and the children don’t have books?

This has all also brought forth other questions in my head such as birth certificates and social security cards. I’m not saying the children don’t have them, but I doubt they do. She homebirths (not an issue) unassisted (not my choice, but again not an issue) but never even sees a doctor. Her children have never been to a doctor. She never goes to a doctor and her husband never goes to a doctor.

I know there are people who don’t believe in going to doctors (I’m not one of them, however, I don’t hold them in the high regard that most people do) but when a child has a huge lice infestation, sores on the scalp, severe speech issues, a professional needs to be seen.

And for crying out loud, DO NOT HAVE YOUR BABY ON YOUR LAP AS YOU ARE DRIVING DOWN MY DRIVEWAY! GAAAHHHHHHH!

I care about her. I really do. She bends over backwards to help people. She wants to make people happy. However, she is ignoring her children’s basic hygienic needs.

Benign Neglect

2011-03-17T18:30:00.000-05:00

That is how I would classify the children I am watching. Basically, the mom is super busy raising, training, and selling horses and running a farm while the dad works full time and then spends his time home working on projects. The yard looks like an organized junkyard. The children are loved. They are not ignored. But they are not bathed regularly, there is a huge lice infestation (which is where our children got the lice) and it is so bad that the boy has sores on his scalp. The dirt is so bad that under the dirt, there are sores.

I had a great reason to bath her children today. The boy took off his clothes, swirled them in mud, flung mud at everyone, and coated himself in mud. I also used to opportunity to do a lice treatment.

The boy has a severe speech issue (and I am sure the girl does as well. The baby is too young to know about yet) and she doesn't see it. When transferring the children to the truck (I am watching them overnight and met her at the trail head first thing this morning) I did not see that the baby who is in a baby carrier was not actually strapped in. She lives 25 miles away. That baby spent the whole ride here not being strapped in her carseat!

Basically, the children do what they want when they want. The boy got in the sugar one day and I took it away from him and the mom said "Oh, I let him have it. He feels better when he does so I figure he just wants it when his sugar is low."

I don't care if children run around barefoot, but if they have cuts on their feet, it is time to put a stop to it. For the record, my children like to go barefoot, and when they get a cut on their foot, I point out that this is why I tell them to wear shoes. Then they wear shoes for a while. The mom and children go barefoot all the time.

She has been very sheltered so there are things she just doesn't know. However, there are other things that she needs to know. Carseats are not just the law. There is a reason for infant carseats! If it were a 5 year old not in a booster, it probably wouldn't phase me. But an infant?

Lice can go unnoticed. However, when there is a huge clump of lice eggs that is evident from 5 feet away, there is an issue.

Children get dirty. They get filthy, disgusting, horribly dirty. However, they also need to be cleaned when they get dirty. I know having to heat water up is annoying. (Believe me, I know it is annoying.) However at least she has running water to begin with!

There are no toothbrushes packed. There was no clean shirt packed for the boy. There are no pajamas packed. No hairbrushes packed. Nothing. She did grab extra cloth diapers. But the only diaper cover is the one the baby is currently wearing.

And, Hannah said she brushed the girl's hair this morning. Looks like we'll be doing lice treatments here again. Crud. Neurotoxins, here we come. And, the hairbrush (as well as all the other hairbrushes just in case) will be soaking in bleach water. I am not messing around with lice. Not with the infestation I saw on the boy.

I need to figure out how to talk to the mom. I like her. I care about her and I care about her children. I am worried about them. I just need to figure out how to approach her about all of this. For all my grandstanding here at times, I am really a coward at heart. I do not like deeply personal conflict and this is deeply personal. It's her children which means it is her heart.

Avoiding Blogging

2011-03-15T21:51:00.000-05:00

I've been avoiding blogging because my mind has been filled with what has been happening in Japan. There are doomsdayers all over the place. What to believe? How much to believe? What about the lives lost? What about those who are still waiting to receive help? How to get help to them that will actually get to them? (Unlike other disasters where you donate and the donations never actually make it to the people.)

By the way, if anyone is interested in an organization that could use support and is actually helpful, I strongly recommend Doctors Without Borders.

It does get a person thinking, though. There is panic. People are reacting and possibly over reacting to the situation. There are all kinds of groups and whatnot stocking up on potassium iodide and potassium iodine. I'm even getting stuff in my spam folder on this. (Along with meeting hot single women, pharmacy aid training, and warnings that my chase account and bank of America accounts need verification information.) There have also been news bits about places running out of this stuff.

Are we headed for a nuclear winter? I doubt it. Not today anyway. At least not from Japan. That doesn't mean I'm not concerned. There are nuclear reactors here in America. They are in quake zones and tornado-prone areas (anyone remember the b-grade movie Atomic Twister or the other b-grade movie Atomic Train?) as well as other areas that have their own specific brand natural disaster.

My point is that even though Japan may not affect us personally in terms of quakes, fallout, radiation, tsunamis, etc and maybe the economic impact of all of this might not be a blip on our radar, it is a sharp reminder that what happens there can happen here. I live a couple hundred miles or so from the New Madrid Fault Line. People have been talking about the Big One that will rival the one from 1811/1812 where the Mississippi ran backwards. As I said, it gets a person thinking. What will happen if????

We talk about it. I waited a few days before telling the children what has been happening and showed them a couple of news videos. They naturally asked questions. We assured them that we will be ok should something like that happens here. No tsunami will hit us here. If there is a quake, we will take cover. If the house gets flattened, we will rebuild. We did assure them that no matter what happens, we have God on our side. That offers more assurance and brings more peace than any words I could possibly say. I need to remind myself through all of this that ultimately God is the one in control. He knows what is going on and He will protect and deliver. That gives me more comfort than any scientific article I could read or any predictions that someone may try to make or anything else anyone might try to say.

If all that sounds disjointed, it is because all of this still feels disjointed. I try to make sense of it and I can't. So, I am going to put it aside and share what all else has been going on.

I made chicken and rice soup yesterday and spent today canning it. I successfully canned on my cook stove. YIPPEE! While I was doing that and had the fire going hot in there, I decided to bake. The bread came out like biscuits because the yeast had expired. But, they are still good and the children kept snagging them as I was putting them on the cooling rack.

I also made some drinkable yogurt and Greek style yogurt. The drinkable yogurt I mixed with peaches and the Greek style I mixed some raw honey in. Again, the children (Bethany especially) loved it and wanted a lot of it. Then Bethany starts with the whole "I love this so much and I missed it so much and I also miss the ice-cream you made. When will you make me ice-cream again?"

It looks like we may be selling Davarge on Thursday. I am hoping. He is friendly and affectionate. He is also stubborn and won't do as he's told unless he feels like doing it. He is also dangerous to load. So, he is gone. When I mentioned the possibility of another donkey, Husband said that there will be no male around here more stubborn than him. Then I asked about a jennet. (Female donkey.) I won't repeat what he said to me about that.

SOAPS!

2011-03-10T20:31:00.000-06:00

They be mixed and poured and are now forming in their molds! YAY! We have a coffee, a mint, and an oatmeal. We'll pull them out of the molds in a few days, cut them to size, and allow them to dry (which takes a few weeks) and then wrap them and ship them out.

Husband is working on the website. Or trying to. We seem to have run into a bit of difficulty. We didn't hold onto our name so it has been taken. At least the .com part has been. So we are going to try to gather up the rest (.net .us .fillintheblank) This way we can hopefully hold onto Hoppes Homestead even if we can't have it be .com.

I picked up some yogurt at the store so I will be making cream cheese tomorrow. Since I have no starter, I am having to use store bought yogurt. I really miss making this stuff. I am so thankful to be able to get back into doing all of this. I am actually going to hold off on making bread so I can have the whey.

Not much else is going on here. I got some cleaning and rearranging done. I am basically doing Spring Cleaning one area at a time. While doing this, I am figuring out that we need a tack room for the saddles, bridles, ropes, etc. They keep getting shifted, but there is no permanent home for them yet. It is driving me a little nuts. But what can you do? Building a tack room is not a high priority right now. We'll figure something out. I have an idea, but it will most likely make my husband scream so I will hold off on mentioning it.

It has been one week since my pap smear. I will find out in another week or two if there is any change. I hate waiting. I have no patience for it. Do I or don't I have cervical cancer? Is it still in its precancerous stage or has it worsened? Or (ideal) has it gone away and my pap was completely and totally normal?

Well, the children are in bed. (Not asleep, but in bed.) It is quiet. The moon is bright. I am going to waste time on the internet until it is time for me to go to bed. (When the children are asleep.)

Wednesday Already?

2011-03-09T17:32:00.000-06:00

There is a recurring theme in this family. Wherever we have lived, no matter how many there were, no matter how much I have thinned out and donated, the same song always rings from my mouth.

"We need more bookshelves." It never ends. I am always in need of shelving for my books. I donate books to different places. I drop books off and leave them for others to enjoy. I have gotten rid of boxes and boxes of books. Yet, they still accumulate. I have books. I like books. I like to read. I like to learn. I like to be able to look things up quickly. And face it, there are many, many, many times when a book on hand is faster than the computer.

Charlie has been doing very well with his schoolwork. He has figured out (once again) that getting it done means he gets to play. Granted, this is a brand new concept for him (sarcasm) so maybe this will reduce the nagging that seems to spew forth from my mouth.

Bethany's reading is coming along great. She has a desire and a love to learn so building on that allows for a rich opportunity to build on that. Whining and pestering and nagging over schoolwork is never-ending. And I don't mean trying to get out of it. I mean wanting to do it RIGHT NOW.

Hannah is the same way. But her focus right now is more of "I need help, I can't, please pay 100% attention to me and what I am doing." That is fine sometimes. I don't mind. But when I am running around the table trying to pay attention to all of them at once while nursing a really bad headache makes for annoyance.

Tomorrow, we are going to be butchering the rest of the roosters. He will kill and skin or pluck and I will gut, wash, wrap, and freeze. This will happen at the same time soap is being made. (Yes, I am multi-talented.) I am also hoping to get some cheese made. I know Husband misses his feta and I miss yogurt and cream cheese.

Can I just say I am really enjoying having a working fridge with a freezer compartment? The propane fridge has been working for almost a week now and there have been zero issues with it thus far. YAY! food has been staying cold. The freezer has been freezing great. It is at it's coldest setting, but I am still hesitant to turn it down (up?) quite yet. There are no handy numbers to decipher where I'm at on the knob. Knowing my luck, I'll end up turning it off. One knob controls both the fridge and freezer. Do I leave well enough alone and (possibly) use more propane than necessary or do I live on the wild side and turn the knob?

My $0.02

2011-03-08T13:07:00.000-06:00

I've seen a lot about the Westboro Baptist Church and the Supreme Court ruling and all kinds of things happening and have remained pretty quiet about it. But while I wait for the wood cookstove to get hot enough to bake bread, I will take a few minutes to address this and a couple of other issues.

I despise the WBC and what they do. They are a bunch of hateful people who spew garbage in the name of religion. They take any opportunity they can to get in the news to feed that spread. The Supreme Court ruled in their favor. I was actually surprised and pleased. Why? Because as hateful as they are, they are practicing freedom of speech.

Freedom of speech does not mean freedom as long as it is in line with my beliefs or is all pretty sunshine and flowers blowing out of someone's butt crack. It also means hearing the garbage that comes out of other people's mouths.

Someone can stand on a mountain top and say all women are nothing but chattel and should act as such. As much as hearing that would enrage me and I will argue against that, I will also fight for that idiot's right to say stuff like that.

Some of the fall out of this is tires being slashed. That is criminal behavior and that I can not defend. However, I can laugh myself silly over shops in the area refusing to do any kind of repairs.

The Wisconsin teacher issue. The posts and comments on other blogs do better than I could.
http://supportyourlocalgunfighter.com/2011/02/wi-teachers-students-cut-school-to-protest/
http://supportyourlocalgunfighter.com/2011/03/scott-walker-king-of-the-verbal-smackdown/
http://althouse.blogspot.com/2011/02/how-much-respect-did-demonstrators-show.html

There is no money. What do they want the state to do? Cut police and firefighters? Do rolling blackouts for firehouses? That is working well in other places. You can read about it here.
http://firstin.wordpress.com/ Read about response times, deaths, and the fact that nothing is being done to stop it. I'd rather have teachers pay more for health care (where they would end up paying about the national average) and have a fire department ready and able to help than give into the temper tantrums of teachers who exude incompetence and start closing down fire houses and have people die.

But then again, that's just me.

Busy, Busy

2011-03-07T19:52:00.000-06:00

We have been busy with milking, wood gathering, chick care, schooling, and on and on and on. Although life has taken on a hectic pace that is common this time of year, it is also rewarding seeing things happening. I have a few seeds planted and am doing container gardening this year. We will probably be doing container gardening next year as well.

We've been butchering the roosters quite a bit. It is good eating meat that did not come from a grocery store. Although it happened comparatively little, it did happen more than I liked. We were able to get creative more through offers from other people who needed help butchering than anything else. "If you help up butcher this deer, we'll share the meat with you." This was deer that was given to them from someone else who hunted it and field dressed it, but had no room in his freezer from other deer he hunted. We got deer meat just by helping with butchering. Same thing with pig we had. We helped butcher and some of the meat was shared. And the same with turkey. So, grocery store meat was relatively little. But, I still had to buy it. There is a huge difference in taste.

We had fresh chicken, potatoes, and carrots for dinner. The chicken we had tonight has flavor in the meat. The chicken from a grocery store is flavorless. People don't believe me when I try to explain it. But, once they've had it, they can taste the difference.

What is funny is Hannah saying she did not like the carrots we had. I asked her why. "Because they are not raw." She's spoiled. She likes her vegetables raw. I'm the same way. My children know what store bought chips are and call them "bag chips." When they want "Potato chips" they are wanting me to slice up a raw potato and give it to them. (Yes, they are strange.)

We've worked out the juvenile exchange program. R's children will be dropped off Friday and her and her husband will come back Saturday afternoon to pick them up. They will help with shoeing Casy and anything else we might need help with. Either next week or the week after, I will be dropping off my children on Friday and pick them up Saturday afternoon and help her with her stuff and Husband will help her husband with stuff. So, next Friday, I will have a just turned 1 year old, almost 2 year old, 3 year old, 4 year old, 6 year old, and 8 year old in this house. G, G, B, G, G, B. I'm already tired just thinking about it.

My herbs came in. I ordered lavender powder, echinacea powder, and ginger powder. A pound of each. A friend of mine (actually a couple friends of mine) have capsule making things and I get to learn how to make these into capsules.

We got a phone call today. A friend of ours quit the volunteer fire department. Apparently, a couple of dingbat fire fighters have a habit of showing up impaired at fires. If you are fighting a fire, the last thing you want is the person on your back supporting you being drunk. So, he quit. It has happened multiple times and he's sick of it. I don't blame him.

Tomorrow's agenda: Butcher two roosters, plant more seeds, check Charlie's schoolwork from today, and get them working on tomorrow's work. I also am going to make chicken soup from tonight's left-overs and make more bread. (My children complain from lack of bread.)

The basic flow for now has been me taking care of the inside and Husband taking care of the outside. Soon, he is going to collapse from doing too much so I need to take over the outside a bit at a time. I know once some stuff is done things will be easier on him (and me) but for right now things are still difficult at times. But we knew that the first five years would be the hardest. It is going, though, and it is going well. His wrist is still bothering him (I still think it is broken) and he is having to work around that. That does not make things easier.

Some other tid bits going on here. We found a bio-orb on the property. We are now putting scraps in it instead of feeding it to the animals. We have a genuine composting thing that the critters can not get into.

I also got strawberries today. 50 plants for $30.00 She also threw in a handful of extras "in case some don't do well." Ok. Thank you! I appreciate it! She also happens to be a homeschool mom of seven! WOW! The children range in age from 13 years to 15 month twins. 13, 11, 7, 5, 3, and the twins.

Hannah is lowing our speech. All of us are now having a hard time saying "animal." We keep saying "aminal." When trying to help her pronounce it correctly, she comes out with "aminimanamal." We are all now saying "aminal."

We've been discussing the addition we plan on adding. We're going to start on it next year. We're going to put the addition off the dining room and it will be Charlie's room. His is first. He needs it more. He is growing like a weed and is quickly outgrowing his loft. So, he gets the first addition. We know what we want and where it's going. It is just a matter of time and materials. Time of which we won't have until next year. Until then, he get to enjoy his loft and make the same complaints that I have made since the day Husband and I first lived together. "We need more shelves for books." Yes, he is my son. He reads constantly. And, I am losing battery so I must go.

Oh, but not before adding this. When our batteries hit 11 volts, our dining room light goes out. This doesn't happen often but every once in a while. (Like at night and no wind blowing and we have computer, phones, etc all charging at the same time.) And it just now happened.

Bethany: "Why did the light go out?"
Husband: "Why do you think? Someone forgot to pay the electric bill."
Bethany: "What's an electric bill?"

I had to explain that some people pay others to provide electricity for them. It was a good laugh on our part.

Electronics

2011-03-04T13:55:00.000-06:00

They are evil, but necessary. That is what I am deciding right now. My phone which has been on its last leg for a week or two now finally finished falling apart last night. Yesterday, the cord to the laptop finally gave up the ghost. It's been working off and on and finally quit when my phone finally broke. (Well, cord died yesterday and phone died last night.)

So, I am without anything unless I really work at it. For example, I am using the old desktop we brought with us from Indiana to do this entry while the generator is running. Since I don't like to run the generator for single, specific things unless necessary (and me blogging, while enjoyable and stress relieving is not necessary) I am taking advantage of the fact that Husband is working with power tools to get this in.

In other news, we have refrigeration! I don't mean we have a cooler that we keep bottles and jugs of ice in to keep it cold. I mean our propane fridge is working and cold and freezing stuff and keeping things cold like milk and cheese! YAY! Yes, I am lame. I am all excited over a fridge. But it is our fridge and we are able to run it without draining our batteries. And, it was free. And it works.

We went to the fire department meeting Wednesday night. I am not interested in fire fighting. I am interested in First Responder/Paramedic. But, part of being with a volunteer department is attending the meetings. Most fires around here are grass and woods. They were saying they fight about 10 house fires a year. "And they do a very good job. Every foundation is still standing." IOW, the house is destroyed by fire and they just keep it from spreading.

I did learn that although there are fire codes, there are no laws either locally or county wide to enforce these codes. The SCHOOL is not up to fire code. But, they can't close it down until it gets to code. Even if they could, there is no money. So, the children around here go to a school that (going by the descriptions I heard) is a death trap in the event of a fire. If someone is in the basement, there is no way out. There are parts of the school that have no windows and only one door in and out of that area. And there is nothing the fire chief or anyone else can do because there is no law that states that if a building does not meet certain codes, it can be shut down. Yet, if it were to catch fire, the fire department would do an excellent job to keep the fire from spreading (there is a gas station two doors down) beyond the building. Woods and grass, they do a good job with. From the sounds of things, building not so much. Although they did make the comment about field burning (an annual event here) "Well, did the grass fire stop at the road? Then it's controlled."

Yeah. The fire department for this area. Although, to turn it around, how would a city fire fighter deal with the rugged terrain of a forest? You work with what you know.

I did find out that the tanks on the backs of the fire trucks hold close to what we haul on the backs of our truck. Our tanks are 275 gallons. The fire department is 300 gallons. They do have a pumper truck if they happen to be right near the lake and fighting a fire and they need more water.

I'm trying to think of other things going on. I got a couple of roosters butchered today. I will be doing two a day for the next week and filling the freezer. There was one I butchered where when it was hanging upside down and I cut into the neck, instead of the blood running down, it was spraying out the side. It got me good. It did that twice. The second time, I was able to turn him quickly before I got sprayed. I don't mind butchering, but I don't like getting sprayed.

There is one rooster that I'd just as soon put a bullet in. I had him by his feet and he flipped his body up and pecked me before I got to the rope. I held on, but he twisted himself and got loose. Darn bird. I was mad. I came in yelling "Where's my gun?" But, I decided to not go grabbing it.

I had a pap smear day before yesterday. I will find out in three weeks if the precancerous cells have gone away, stayed the same, or gotten worse. Three weeks. I don't like waiting.

I found some neat workbooks for the children. Unfortunately, they only go up to Grade 4. BrainQuest is the name of it. It covers all the subjects in one thick workbook. I like it. I like the lay out of it. It is a good easy work for Charlie if he is not up to being challenged. Bethany likes it as well. It gives her a sense of "This is MY schoolwork" rather than dealing with something I put together for her.

I'm sure there's more, but the generator needs to get shut down.

I tried to blog last night....

2011-03-01T11:31:00.000-06:00

But my battery died.

I have decided that my children are banned from clothes. I am constantly asking them "Did you bring down your dirty clothes?" They always say yes and that they have no dirty clothes in their rooms. Ok, fine. This has gone on for months. I am also thinking that they have a serious need of clothes because they are wearing the same clothes constantly. Poor Bethany need some clothes. Charlie needs not just clothes but socks as well. I haven't gotten to Hannah's stuff yet.

I go up to their lofts to check their rooms and give them a sweep and do an inventory of what they have so I can make a list for yard sale season.

They have TONS of clothes! Clothes that I forgot about becuase I had not seen them in forever. They were also all dirty if not from wear (and caked in mud or half inside out half right side out, etc) then from being stomped on and mixed in with the dirty clothes. I was not happy to say the least.

So, yesterday I went to the laundromat and spent instead of $13.00 on laundry, over $30.00 on laundry. Yeah, I was aggravated. I did meet someone who I had unknowingly met before. We talked on the phone once and talked online a couple of times. She's a local homeschool mom and I had kept her number for when I had time to actually either start a co-op for homeschoolers or something. I didn't know who she was when I was talking with her at the laundromat. But I gave her my number and she called so I would have it. When I looked at the number on the phone, her name was there. So, I need to call her and say "Guess what?"

After putting the clothes in the washing machines yesterday, we went to The Spinning Lady and the girls had to explain how they ruined their fiber and they have to work to earn more fiber. So, they are going to do some weeding for The Spinning Lady to earn replacement fiber.

In other news, we were able to replace our daily water usage and then some with the rain we had. The rain system is working. It will work even better when we get more gutter up and are able to catch more rain. This whole thing really excited me. We use water. It rains. The water we used that day was replaced and then some.

We are at a playground on the way to Yellville and my children are having fun so I must pester them as is my right as their mother. Last one to the swings is a rotten egg.

Been several days

2011-02-27T20:00:00.000-06:00

A lot has been going on over the past few days. We've been super busy with spring time on a farm. We have kid goats now which means we've been milking. I called a few of my favorite customers from last year to let them know that we will be making soap again and ready to ship about a month from now. I wanted the first few batches done to be their favorites. So I called and I will be making oatmeal, mint, plain, coffee, and citronella. I think the citronella is because the first ticks of the season have arrived.

All the kids we have this round so far are bucklings. Not a single female among them. They have beautiful markings, but that's about it. I might try my hand at preserving the hide when the time comes to butcher them for meat. I know that the amount of whatever it is in the brain is supposed to be enough for the hide of that animal. But, I need to do more research between now and then.

The chicken coop got done and it looks great. I love it. Husband did a good job with it. I will be getting pictures tomorrow and I'll post them. (I also have plenty of other pictures that need posted.)

I baked a whole bunch of bread today. I even made cinnamon rolls for breakfast tomorrow. I need more cookie sheets so I can do more sandwich bread and less dinner rolls. But, the time for that will come. Meanwhile, no one is complaining about being made to eat hot from the oven dinner rolls during a dinner of beef stew.

The other day we were at a friend's house and she had gotten me a birthday gift. Or rather three gifts. All cast iron. A 16QT dutch oven. A 6QT dutch oven.and a long oval deep I don't know what you would call it cookware. The lid also doubles as a griddle. I love it. All of it. I have been wanting at the very least a dutch oven for the longest time. I never dreamed of having one that big. It's funny how it happened. She has a 14QT that she was making stew in and I called Husband over, pointed to it and said "I want." She stepped away, went into the other room, came out with a box and said "Now is as good a time as any. Happy Birthday." My jaw dropped. I opened it up and lo and behold. Then she comes out with more boxes. All the cast iron cookware I could ever need. I already had skillets. I was just needing (want need, not need need) a dutch oven and maybe one or two other things. And she got me all of this. I am indebted to her forever. She was grinning from ear to ear over this.

Wednesday I go for another pap test. One of these days I will stop having precancerous cells showing up. But until then, I keep getting tested. The only reason the doctor is not being more aggressive is because I tested negative for something like 13 different HPV viruses. (I'll have to go back to confirm that number.) Wednesday is going to be a busy day. We are going to drop the children off with the cast iron friend, go to West Plains and hit Aldi's, then go to the doctor, then come home, unload the groceries and get them put away, then go to the monthly meeting at the fire department where I get to find out about first responder training for the ambulances. This would be the first step to me going through EMT/EMS training. This is the stuff I want to do before I even consider going for midwife apprenticeship. Although not a requirement, with the remoteness of everything here, it is something I want to do for my own peace of mind. Let's face it. One deputy to patrol 750 square miles and the fire department is 100% volunteer with a total of 6 people for the local area of 60 square miles (four of which are over 65 years old) and the paramedics for the whole county is a total of five people and two ambulances, having the training even if I wasn't looking to become a midwife just plain makes sense.

Anyway, we have been busy with kids and goats and chickens and children and spring.