My father came off the ventilator yesterday. While I am off to visit him, go check out these fellow bloggers;
April Dawn brings us some April Showers. She lives in a Big Long Baby Ruth, and tells us of her life in an enthusiastic and playful posts. Right now she is talking about men with rough hands and how she like to watch her husband work. yep, I am right there with her on that one.
House-poor, Homesteading, Happy has some wonderfully insightful post on Jo and her life.
gtr stumbled onto my blog only yesterday. He left some great comments, any one that comes here and leaves multiple interesting replies will get my attention. He is Raising Frolic and talking weather. Go check out this homesteader and the way he lives.
And here is an oldie but goody. Marina is telling Tales of a Texas Farm wife. I have known her for 4 years, and she is just now getting her farm together. I assumed she was taking baby steps, but now she is leaping.
Remember that today is the last day to enter and win some noodles. I will be back Sunday to talk cheese.
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Saturday, March 03, 2007
Friday, March 02, 2007
Myth, noun, 2. a widely held but false belief
I will apologize in advance. I can not remember where I read or heard this recently, I am sure it has come from numerous places.
I have apparently fallen victim to the myth that organic foods cost more than non-organic. I am relieved to know that it was just me and that when I went into the grocery I was just misreading the price tags. Like last night I saw that organic milk was $5.00US for a ½ gallon while 1 gallon of non-organic was $2.39US. I am just flabbergasted that I could fall for such a myth. I mean I paid far too much for the organic greenhouse tomatoes, I guess I paid the non-organic price.
When I read someone claiming that organics are not more expensive then non-organic it causes me to question the author. Where does this person live? Are they talking about the health price we pay? WHAT??
It takes more time and energy to raise organic fruits and vegetables. The price in labor itself is higher. Yet it really shouldn't be that much higher when it comes to things like milk, unless of course they hand milk the cow themselves. {they don't they use machines}.
I am happy to tell people that can afford it, that they would feel better if they ate organics. But you will not find me talking to the general population about the myth of prices. There is no myth, and unless you can buddy up with a local farmer, most people are not going to be able to afford to buy organic. {ok you caught me talking about it} I grow organically, that's the only way I could afford to eat primarily organic foods. Take away my homestead and I would be shopping at Wal-mart, buying their so-called organics.
It bothers me the way that some authors will talk down to people that can not afford their way of life. The way they belittle those that could not afford to live the author's holier than thou ethics. And that my friends bring us back to the Hate those little green people post. It goes both ways. You can not lie, scream, cry, throw a tantrum, or lecture if you want people to see your point of view. {I find sarcasm works wanders, but that is a personality flaw} If you truly care about the world around you, find a new way to educate people about your values. Actually take a moment and go out into your community to meet your neighbors and find out if they are wanting the same things as you. And if so, brainstorm to find a solution to help your immediate area. Please do not berate, belittle nor blatantly lie to them or to us. We might not be completely educated in your little world, but we are not stupid and learn quickly.
Nope, not lecturing, I'm just saying.
Oh and why don't you smell that your dog has been skunked until it has been in the house for a few moments?
I have apparently fallen victim to the myth that organic foods cost more than non-organic. I am relieved to know that it was just me and that when I went into the grocery I was just misreading the price tags. Like last night I saw that organic milk was $5.00US for a ½ gallon while 1 gallon of non-organic was $2.39US. I am just flabbergasted that I could fall for such a myth. I mean I paid far too much for the organic greenhouse tomatoes, I guess I paid the non-organic price.
When I read someone claiming that organics are not more expensive then non-organic it causes me to question the author. Where does this person live? Are they talking about the health price we pay? WHAT??
It takes more time and energy to raise organic fruits and vegetables. The price in labor itself is higher. Yet it really shouldn't be that much higher when it comes to things like milk, unless of course they hand milk the cow themselves. {they don't they use machines}.
I am happy to tell people that can afford it, that they would feel better if they ate organics. But you will not find me talking to the general population about the myth of prices. There is no myth, and unless you can buddy up with a local farmer, most people are not going to be able to afford to buy organic. {ok you caught me talking about it} I grow organically, that's the only way I could afford to eat primarily organic foods. Take away my homestead and I would be shopping at Wal-mart, buying their so-called organics.
It bothers me the way that some authors will talk down to people that can not afford their way of life. The way they belittle those that could not afford to live the author's holier than thou ethics. And that my friends bring us back to the Hate those little green people post. It goes both ways. You can not lie, scream, cry, throw a tantrum, or lecture if you want people to see your point of view. {I find sarcasm works wanders, but that is a personality flaw} If you truly care about the world around you, find a new way to educate people about your values. Actually take a moment and go out into your community to meet your neighbors and find out if they are wanting the same things as you. And if so, brainstorm to find a solution to help your immediate area. Please do not berate, belittle nor blatantly lie to them or to us. We might not be completely educated in your little world, but we are not stupid and learn quickly.
Nope, not lecturing, I'm just saying.
Oh and why don't you smell that your dog has been skunked until it has been in the house for a few moments?
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Hate those little green people
I keep going back and forth this morning on what I wanted to write about. I should do another gardening post, but another blogger and something I saw on the news have my attention.
I was flipping through the channels when a woman on some news channel caught my attention.
I can be flaky at times {or says my husband} but this woman was off the charts. I felt so sorry for her and her ability to cling to her hatred. She was yelling and spiting as she did so. Her anger could be seen in her muscles and tendons. She wouldn't allow the other's on the panel to talk, and when she did, she could only personally attack the speaker or rehash something she had just said. It was painful to watch, but I suddenly turned into a rubbernecker, and found myself entranced into watching her tirade. At one point you could see her fist clench as though she was going to hit the speaker next to her.
You are probably wondering what the topic of discussion was. Abortion? Animal rights? Human rights? No, those things I can understand why people get so emotional about. This woman was seething over environmentalism and the fact that Al Gore won an Oscar.
I do not see a reason to disclose this woman's political affiliation due to the fact that it would seem as though I am lumping them together. I know many people in the same party that are not like this woman.
She continued to say that Gore was a hyprocrit {this was before the national media started asking that question} To be honest I have not seen An Inconveinent Truth, and have no plans to see it anytime soon. So I have no opinions on that movie, nor Mr. Gore's lifestyle. What I do know of Mr. Gore is that he is trying, and just in making an attempt has always been great in my books. We all make mistakes, we all have our imperfections. I have cheated when it comes to homesteading. Sometimes you just get so tired and overwhelmed that a quick fix helps things along. Yet even with my cheating, I'm still trying to do my best.
I really do not care if Mr. Gore flys in private jets. I drive an F150, yes, gas guzzler, and that won't change until I can get some draft horses and a wagon. My husband builds motorcycles for a living. My household consumes energy daily. My house is an old mobile home, my computer is not green. I use propane and have a lagoon. I have a personal library, the books use paper. I am building a log home {will talk about the differences in log vs conventional homes later} We use a gas powered rottotiller. And I collect various things that may have been produced over seas. My point is, unless you are living primitively, you will never be completely one with the enviroment. Small steps lead to larger changes. And I for one could never hate someone because they are not flawless.
As a community consumerisim is important. As consumers it is important to spend our money in places that have the same or close to, beliefs as we do. I buy groceries from a locally owned store, yet most of their products are not from local manufactors. I grow and raise most of my food, and not because of my impact on the environment, that is just a perk. I homestead because of money and because I enjoy the work. I never intended to say otherwise. I shop at a farmer's market when it is season. Yet some of these farmers come from over 100 miles to sell their wares. I will not chastize them for this. We as individuals decide the fate of our lives by our actions. We have always bought and traded for things. It is part of survival, yet this woman talked as though she worshiped this golden money cow. I fear she was never taught the difference between a need and a want.
I could have turned out differently. I came from a home with many things, then I had nothing. And once again I find myself in a place where I can have many things. Sometimes there is that urge to buy, just so I could have it. When you have nothing because it's been forced that way, you {I mean I} tend to want. Having things and having money is so much simpler then having nothing. Somewhere my wires became crossed and I decided that I didn't need the things that I wanted, I wanted the things I needed.
This woman, I do feel sorry for her, seemed to be the type that buys her wants. She came across as someone without a compassionate bone in her body. She is the antitheses of what I want to be. And for that I am glad she is around. I needed someone like her to show me that I am not insane for choosing my lifestyle. I am not that angry. Would I be if I had chosen to go the other way?
The woman I am talking about is not a rarity. There are many like her out in the world. I would love it if she could calm down for just a moment so that she could tell me way she hates people like me so much. I do not lecture, and I never cared for people that are the End of the Word types. No one can force you to be greener, and their decisions to do so will have little impact on your life if you will it that way.
By the end of the program I felt sad for her. She is too wrapped up in the off chance that she will lose her way of life because of one movie, because of one man. How horrible it must feel to be that paranoid.
Update on my father: he came through the surgery just fine. They are hoping to get him off the ventilator sooner then they had previously told us. Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers.
I was flipping through the channels when a woman on some news channel caught my attention.
I can be flaky at times {or says my husband} but this woman was off the charts. I felt so sorry for her and her ability to cling to her hatred. She was yelling and spiting as she did so. Her anger could be seen in her muscles and tendons. She wouldn't allow the other's on the panel to talk, and when she did, she could only personally attack the speaker or rehash something she had just said. It was painful to watch, but I suddenly turned into a rubbernecker, and found myself entranced into watching her tirade. At one point you could see her fist clench as though she was going to hit the speaker next to her.
You are probably wondering what the topic of discussion was. Abortion? Animal rights? Human rights? No, those things I can understand why people get so emotional about. This woman was seething over environmentalism and the fact that Al Gore won an Oscar.
I do not see a reason to disclose this woman's political affiliation due to the fact that it would seem as though I am lumping them together. I know many people in the same party that are not like this woman.
She continued to say that Gore was a hyprocrit {this was before the national media started asking that question} To be honest I have not seen An Inconveinent Truth, and have no plans to see it anytime soon. So I have no opinions on that movie, nor Mr. Gore's lifestyle. What I do know of Mr. Gore is that he is trying, and just in making an attempt has always been great in my books. We all make mistakes, we all have our imperfections. I have cheated when it comes to homesteading. Sometimes you just get so tired and overwhelmed that a quick fix helps things along. Yet even with my cheating, I'm still trying to do my best.
I really do not care if Mr. Gore flys in private jets. I drive an F150, yes, gas guzzler, and that won't change until I can get some draft horses and a wagon. My husband builds motorcycles for a living. My household consumes energy daily. My house is an old mobile home, my computer is not green. I use propane and have a lagoon. I have a personal library, the books use paper. I am building a log home {will talk about the differences in log vs conventional homes later} We use a gas powered rottotiller. And I collect various things that may have been produced over seas. My point is, unless you are living primitively, you will never be completely one with the enviroment. Small steps lead to larger changes. And I for one could never hate someone because they are not flawless.
As a community consumerisim is important. As consumers it is important to spend our money in places that have the same or close to, beliefs as we do. I buy groceries from a locally owned store, yet most of their products are not from local manufactors. I grow and raise most of my food, and not because of my impact on the environment, that is just a perk. I homestead because of money and because I enjoy the work. I never intended to say otherwise. I shop at a farmer's market when it is season. Yet some of these farmers come from over 100 miles to sell their wares. I will not chastize them for this. We as individuals decide the fate of our lives by our actions. We have always bought and traded for things. It is part of survival, yet this woman talked as though she worshiped this golden money cow. I fear she was never taught the difference between a need and a want.
I could have turned out differently. I came from a home with many things, then I had nothing. And once again I find myself in a place where I can have many things. Sometimes there is that urge to buy, just so I could have it. When you have nothing because it's been forced that way, you {I mean I} tend to want. Having things and having money is so much simpler then having nothing. Somewhere my wires became crossed and I decided that I didn't need the things that I wanted, I wanted the things I needed.
This woman, I do feel sorry for her, seemed to be the type that buys her wants. She came across as someone without a compassionate bone in her body. She is the antitheses of what I want to be. And for that I am glad she is around. I needed someone like her to show me that I am not insane for choosing my lifestyle. I am not that angry. Would I be if I had chosen to go the other way?
The woman I am talking about is not a rarity. There are many like her out in the world. I would love it if she could calm down for just a moment so that she could tell me way she hates people like me so much. I do not lecture, and I never cared for people that are the End of the Word types. No one can force you to be greener, and their decisions to do so will have little impact on your life if you will it that way.
By the end of the program I felt sad for her. She is too wrapped up in the off chance that she will lose her way of life because of one movie, because of one man. How horrible it must feel to be that paranoid.
Update on my father: he came through the surgery just fine. They are hoping to get him off the ventilator sooner then they had previously told us. Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Preparing for the potato
March is the best time for potato planting in the Heartland. If you haven't yet, you might want to go out and pick up seed potatoes. You can find local seed potatoes in your locally owned family hardware store, or create your own with grocery store bought {though this is a gamble}, or catalog orders. There are over 1,000 species of potatoes to choose from.
There are several ways to plant and grow your potatoes. We tried the common in the ground method, but it failed us two years in a row. We decided on using the lazy bed last year and had great results.
To start, make sure you are not planting in the same area as tomatoes or eggplants did the year before. Potatoes do not like rich soil, so no fertilizing! Or if you are going for the container method; Plant your seed potatoes in the bottom of a tall container, like a clean garbage can or barrel. Place about 6" of soil in the bottom first and then spread out your seed potatoes, usually you will use about five seed potatoes for this. Keep adding soil or mulch as the plants get taller. {I have done this in an old bassinet}
Potatoes like water, so make sure they stay hydrated, about an inch a week.
You do not want to allow the tubers to be exposed to sunlight. Exposure means green skins that can be slightly toxic. DO NOT EAT THEM!
To keep your recently cut up seed potatoes from rotting in the ground, keep them out overnight to callus.
Have any growing suggestions? Or what species of potato are you growing this year? I am going with several types, my favorite of which is the Yukon golds.
Update on my father; he is going into open heart surgery this morning.
There are several ways to plant and grow your potatoes. We tried the common in the ground method, but it failed us two years in a row. We decided on using the lazy bed last year and had great results.
To start, make sure you are not planting in the same area as tomatoes or eggplants did the year before. Potatoes do not like rich soil, so no fertilizing! Or if you are going for the container method; Plant your seed potatoes in the bottom of a tall container, like a clean garbage can or barrel. Place about 6" of soil in the bottom first and then spread out your seed potatoes, usually you will use about five seed potatoes for this. Keep adding soil or mulch as the plants get taller. {I have done this in an old bassinet}
Potatoes like water, so make sure they stay hydrated, about an inch a week.
You do not want to allow the tubers to be exposed to sunlight. Exposure means green skins that can be slightly toxic. DO NOT EAT THEM!
To keep your recently cut up seed potatoes from rotting in the ground, keep them out overnight to callus.
Once your plants have flowered and the stocks have dried up and died, it is time to carefully dig them up. If heavily mulched in a barrel or lazy bed, you can winter store them where they lay.
preparing new potatoes for canning
Update on my father; he is going into open heart surgery this morning.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Home on the Range
A couple of things before I get into today's topic;
The comments to the Entry called Water are great. Thank you!
Also the Make it from Scratch Carnival has been posted, check out what unique items were made.
onto the topic,
My aunt has asked me just about every time we talk on the phone, why I live in Kansas. I have also noticed a few anti-Kansas statements floating around on a few of the blogs I have read. Ok, maybe not completely anti but at least how boring this state is. After college we had several places, around the world, that wanted my husband to come work for them, instead we decided to come back to Kansas and not because we had family here.
What other state has a blizzard warning, tornado watch, flash flood warning, high wind advisory, and a severe thunderstorm warning going on at the same time?
We can have 117 tornadoes in one day, and only have few buildings and crops damaged.
Our towns stay relatively small, not because our kids are leaving, but because people in other places think we are ultra conservative, backward thinking, Bible belt beating, Creationists, and they are not willing to move here. {we are not all like that, but we enjoy the fact that most people think we are. It helps keep our farmland from being built on}
Kansas was founded amid a war and 70 years later survived the Dust Bowl. The people here know how to be caring and how to make the best of the worst possible situations.
We have the largest ball of twine, and the deepest hand dug well in the world, how can you beat that?
Crime is low and that's not just because we are allowed to carry concealed hand guns.
We have a rich history of Old West criminals and gangster hideouts.
Only western Kansas is flat. We have an incredible scenic route through the flint hills.
Wonderful Lakes.
Cost of living is lower then most other states.
Kansas Pride. There is a museum in every town, a historic marker at every rest stop.
Contrary to what the National Media tells you, we have good schools.
Kansas has strong winds and fertile soil. We can go through all the seasons in a single day.
Dorothy is from Liberal.
Maybe I shouldn't write for the Kansas Board of tourism, but the point is that there is something for everyone here, just as long as you take the time to look. I love the openness, the violent storms, the comradery of this state. Otherwise we would have never have moved back.
Can you give me one good reason to visit your home state?
The comments to the Entry called Water are great. Thank you!
Also the Make it from Scratch Carnival has been posted, check out what unique items were made.
onto the topic,
My aunt has asked me just about every time we talk on the phone, why I live in Kansas. I have also noticed a few anti-Kansas statements floating around on a few of the blogs I have read. Ok, maybe not completely anti but at least how boring this state is. After college we had several places, around the world, that wanted my husband to come work for them, instead we decided to come back to Kansas and not because we had family here.
What other state has a blizzard warning, tornado watch, flash flood warning, high wind advisory, and a severe thunderstorm warning going on at the same time?
In Kansas you can see, not just feel, swing season. {the time between winter and spring}
to the left you can see spring, and on your right, winter.
We can have 117 tornadoes in one day, and only have few buildings and crops damaged.
Our towns stay relatively small, not because our kids are leaving, but because people in other places think we are ultra conservative, backward thinking, Bible belt beating, Creationists, and they are not willing to move here. {we are not all like that, but we enjoy the fact that most people think we are. It helps keep our farmland from being built on}
Kansas was founded amid a war and 70 years later survived the Dust Bowl. The people here know how to be caring and how to make the best of the worst possible situations.
We have the largest ball of twine, and the deepest hand dug well in the world, how can you beat that?
Crime is low and that's not just because we are allowed to carry concealed hand guns.
We have a rich history of Old West criminals and gangster hideouts.
Only western Kansas is flat. We have an incredible scenic route through the flint hills.
Wonderful Lakes.
Cost of living is lower then most other states.
Kansas Pride. There is a museum in every town, a historic marker at every rest stop.
Contrary to what the National Media tells you, we have good schools.
Kansas has strong winds and fertile soil. We can go through all the seasons in a single day.
Dorothy is from Liberal.
Maybe I shouldn't write for the Kansas Board of tourism, but the point is that there is something for everyone here, just as long as you take the time to look. I love the openness, the violent storms, the comradery of this state. Otherwise we would have never have moved back.
Can you give me one good reason to visit your home state?
Monday, February 26, 2007
Water
We have the Romans to thank for our use of running water, though it wasn't until the 1880s and 1890s that plumbing began to look like it does today. What changed? The venting system, before this time indoor toilets were vented incorrectly leaving a stench in ones home. Diseases like Typhoid fever, cholera and dysentery were the biggest threats to survival in the early years of the 19th century, when the plumbers and sanitary engineers had done their work in the construction of our cities , in places like New York City, these diseases began to vanish.
The Homestead put in a hand pump on an out well near the house sometime last year.
Because of the problems we have with electricity going out at odd times, we felt it was a necessity. Score one for forward thinking. Our thoughts were when push came to shove we would still have available water on our land, which because of the hand pump, we do. But can we live without running water? We just found out that we can, and now understand why the pioneers only bathed a few times a month. Pumping and carrying buckets of water into the house to be heated and then poured into a tub takes a lot of time and effort, not to mention the frustrations of not being able to have your own clean unused bath water when it comes to being your turn.
We have gone a few days without access to said indoor running water due to a mis-diagnosed problem. We assumed that the control box for the well pump had simply gone out. Indeed it had, but it wasn't a simple matter. We replaced the control box and once again had running water for about a week. Then the control box went out once again. This time my husband spent more time under the house trying to find the root cause, while I stayed inside just hoping we didn't need to hire an electrician. It turns out that our bladder had a small crack and was sucking in air, causing multiple problems. The bladder had to have a small trench dug so that it could be removed from out from under the house and a new bladder to be installed. It's not easy dragging a 200 lb plus, water filled bladder out from under a mobile home.
We are now, once again, with running water. And it is my hope that I do not have to go into town with greasy hair and smelling like I rolled around in the barn, for a few more years. But here on the homestead, you never know.
Could you live comfortably without indoor plumbing?
The Homestead put in a hand pump on an out well near the house sometime last year.
Because of the problems we have with electricity going out at odd times, we felt it was a necessity. Score one for forward thinking. Our thoughts were when push came to shove we would still have available water on our land, which because of the hand pump, we do. But can we live without running water? We just found out that we can, and now understand why the pioneers only bathed a few times a month. Pumping and carrying buckets of water into the house to be heated and then poured into a tub takes a lot of time and effort, not to mention the frustrations of not being able to have your own clean unused bath water when it comes to being your turn.
We have gone a few days without access to said indoor running water due to a mis-diagnosed problem. We assumed that the control box for the well pump had simply gone out. Indeed it had, but it wasn't a simple matter. We replaced the control box and once again had running water for about a week. Then the control box went out once again. This time my husband spent more time under the house trying to find the root cause, while I stayed inside just hoping we didn't need to hire an electrician. It turns out that our bladder had a small crack and was sucking in air, causing multiple problems. The bladder had to have a small trench dug so that it could be removed from out from under the house and a new bladder to be installed. It's not easy dragging a 200 lb plus, water filled bladder out from under a mobile home.
We are now, once again, with running water. And it is my hope that I do not have to go into town with greasy hair and smelling like I rolled around in the barn, for a few more years. But here on the homestead, you never know.
Could you live comfortably without indoor plumbing?
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