Early Spring planting

I apologize for both not posting and also not answering emails---I have been very sick. It has been a year or so since I last was sick but boy did I get it good this time. Boredom has finally set in though and I decided to expend a bit of my energy and post a little something today ;-)

Spring planting ---without covers, greenhouses or cold frames will start here in the next few weeks. Peas of course along with carrots and transplants of other "colder" veggies started in the cold frames. Yum---oh how I look forward to it since this is the time of year when the weeds grow slowly and its all about the veggies :-D
Kale is the one that I wanted to talk about today though. It is also one that I had started in my cold frame earlier in the year and ---except for those the chickens nibbled on one hot day when the cover was off----they are ready to move out and into the regular beds. I also have my large plastic juicy juice bottles waiting to cover them in case a particularly cold day or two comes along after they are moved---- but over all they should do well.
Though I did not grow up eating kale (or any greens for that matter) it is hands down one of my favorite veggies. In soups, fresh, on sandwiches, salads and many other dishes I could eat it very frequently. I do love home grown best though. I have never yet figured out if it is just because it is home grown, so therefor fresher, or if it is a different better tasting variety than we buy in the store. However it is ....my taste buds say that my garden grown kale is what they prefer.
As I said previously we have eaten kale a variety of ways but I was looking the other day for a few new ideas and found these recipes entitled 7 kale recipes from around the world (from the Seasonal Chef) . Maybe one of them may entice you to expand your kale repertoire or to try it if you never have previously.

Seven Kale Recipes From
Around the World

Spicy African Kale and Yams
Chinese Sesame Kale
Austrian Kale
Braised Tuscan Kale
Italian Pork Chops with Kale
Bean and Kale Soup
Caldo Verde (Portuguese Kale-Potato-Sausage Soup)

Kale has earned a spot on many nutritionists’ lists of Top 10 Healthiest Vegetables. As a member of the Brassica family of plants, along with the likes of broccoli and cabbage, it is chock full of phytochemicals that are believed to help prevent cancer. It’s also extraordinarily high in carotenes, which are a good source of Vitamin A, which is good for everything from vision to bone growth, and Vitamin K, which is good for the blood. It’s nutritional attributes don’t stop there. Kale is also an excellent source of raft of other nutrients, including Vitamin C, manganese and calcium. Best of all, kale is good to eat – and is easily incorporated into a wide array of dishes.

The best variety of kale for cooking, in my opinion, is an old Tuscan heirloom known by a variety of names including lacinato, or cavolo nero, or blue or black or dinosaur kale, the latter because of its crinkly texture. Baby red Russian kale is the best variety for salads.

The first of these recipes is from Vegan World Fusion Cuisine:Over 200 Award-Winning Recipes, by Mark Reinfeld and chefs from the Blossoming Lotus restaurant in Hawaii. Some of the others are adapted from this extensive list of kale recipes.

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Spicy African Kale and Yams

1 large bunch Kale, 4 cups chopped, pressed firm
4 cup Garnet yam, rinsed well, chopped
1 ½ tablespoon olive oil
2 cup Purple cabbage, sliced
1 ½ cup Onion, chopped
3 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoon salt, or to taste
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon ginger, peeled and minced
1 teaspoon serrano chile, seeded and diced
Hot Sauce, to taste

1. Rinse and drain kale well. Steam kale and yams. Kale should still be colorful and yams should still have some firmness.

2. While kale and yams are steaming, place oil in a large sauté pan and heat on medium high. Add onion, garlic, ginger and chili pepper, cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

3. Add cabbage and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add small amounts of water if necessary to prevent sticking. Place in a large mixing bowl with remaining ingredients, add kale and mix well.

4. Add yams and gently mix well.

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Chinese Sesame Kale

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound kale (about bunch)
2 teaspoons sesame seed oil
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
Salt and pepper, if desired

1. Mince the garlic cloves. Wash the kale and shake it over the sink. It should remain a little wet. Remove and discard the stems from the kale and tear it into bite-size pieces. Save the stems for another use, such as vegetable stock.

2. Heat the sesame seed oil in the skillet over medium-low heat. Add the minced garlic to the hot oil and sauté for about 20 seconds. Add the kale and water to the garlic and oil, and cover the skillet.

3. After 1 minute, stir the kale, then re-cover. After 1-2 more minutes, when the kale is wilted, stir in the soy sauce and sesame seeds. If desired, add salt and/or pepper to taste.

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Austrian Kale

2 bunches kale, washed
1 clove garlic, minced
½ medium onion, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoon oil
1 ½ cup chicken stock or bouillon
4 medium potatoes, quartered
1 stalk celery, chopped
Sour cream, for garnish

1. Cut the kale leaves into 1/2-inch-wide strips. Blanch them in lightly salted boiling water for one minute. Set aside.

2. Saute the garlic and onion in the oil until lightly browned. Add the chicken stock, potatoes, celery, and blanched kale. Simmer together until potatoes fall apart and lose their shape. Stir; season with salt and pepper, garnish with sour cream and serve.

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Braised Tuscan Kale

4 bunches kale, stems removed
Salt as needed
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ white onion thinly sliced
½ rosemary sprig
1 dried small red chile
2 garlic cloves thinly sliced
¼ cup chicken stock or water

1. Coarsely chop the kale leaves and blanch them in boiling salted water, about 3 minutes, then drain.

2. Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat and add the onion, rosemary and chile. Cook for 2 minutes, then add the garlic and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. When the onion is translucent and starting to color, 3 to 5 minutes, add the kale.

3. Cook the kale over medium-low heat for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring often. The kale will turn a deep, almost black color, become soft and then almost a little crisp. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt. If the greens get too dry during the cooking, stir in a little stock or water.

4. Spoon into a serving bowl and serve.

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Italian Pork Chops with Kale

2 lbs kale
1/4 cup olive oil
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
4 thick pork chops
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
1 cup hot water
1 small can tomato paste

1. Soak kale and rinse it thoroughly then simmer for 20 minutes in pot of salted water.

2. While kale is cooking, heat oil in large, deep skillet. Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes over low heat. Add pork chops and saute for 5 minutes on each side, then season with salt, pepper, and fennel seeds.

3. Dissolve tomato paste in hot water and add to pork chops. Cover and cook on low for 30 minutes, adding water if sauce gets too thick.

4. Drain kale and stir into tomato sauce. Cover and cook for another 10 minutes.

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Bean and Kale Soup

1/2 lb. dried Great Northern beans
Water as needed
Olive oil as needed
1 onion, chopped
2 small carrots, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
4 cup shredded kale (1 small bunch)
1 boiling potato, diced
2 cup chopped Swiss chard bunch (1 small bunch
1 large tomato, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
1 tablespoon minced parsley
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
Salt to taste
Freshly-ground black pepper to taste
1 cup freshly-grated Parmesan cheese

1. Place beans in large saucepan with enough cold water to cover. Let stand at room temperature overnight.

2. Drain beans and return to saucepan. Add enough water to cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until tender, 1 hour 30 minutes, reserving liquid. Transfer half of beans to food processor or blender and puree. Reserve remaining whole beans.

3. Heat 1/4 cup oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrots and celery and saute 5 minutes. Stir in kale, potato, pureed beans and enough reserved bean cooking liquid and water to make 6 cups. Heat over medium heat and simmer for about 30 minutes until vegetables are tender.

4. Add chard, tomato, garlic, rosemary, parsley, thyme and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer until chard is tender and flavors are well blended, at least 1 hour, adding additional bean liquid if soup is too thick. (Soup should be quite thick.)

5. Stir in reserved whole beans and simmer until heated through, 5 to 10 minutes. (Can be cooled and refrigerated overnight.) Ladle into heated soup bowls and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Top each bowl of soup with spoonful of olive oil, if desired.

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Caldo Verde
(Portuguese Kale-Potato-Sausage Soup)

1 large yellow onion, peeled and minced fine
1 large garlic clove, peeled and minced
4 tablespoons olive oil
6 large potatoes
2 quarts cold water
1 pound chorizo or similar sausage
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 lb. kale, chopped

1. Saute the onion and garlic in three tablespoons of oil. Add potatoes and sauté for five minutes. Add water, cover, and boil gently for 20 minutes until potatoes are falling apart.

2. Meanwhile, chop and fry the sausage in a skillet and drain, then add the kale, remaining tablespoon of olive oil, salt and pepper, and simmer for five minutes. Stir sausage and kale into pot of boiled potatoes. Cook for about 20 more minutes and serve with dark bread.

Public Comment needed----especially in Tennessee

Today I noticed as the "ticker" thing scrolled at the bottom of CNN that there is a company that plans to bring nuclear waste from ITALY and then process it not far from my family in Tennessee before shipping it to Utah to be buried.

Now I say---What the Hell?!?!
I personally am against building more nuclear power plants and I am absolutely against bringing in nuclear waste from OTHER COUNTRIES (for heaven's sake!)

So I did a bit of research and sure enough---they've known since last year. Of course they aren't making it widely available as only some smaller newspapers have picked it up previous to CNN it looks like. Here is one out of Tennessee:
Herald Citizen Online
And here is a small piece of article from the Jackson Hole newspaper:

The company would bring waste through the ports of Charleston, S.C., or New Orleans. It would be 1 million cubic feet, mostly paper, plastic, wood, metal and ion-exchange resins from nuclear plants.

The waste would be processed, burned and recycled at an EnergySolutions plant in Oak Ridge, formerly owned by Durateck, about 25 miles west of Knoxville.

It's estimated about 8 percent, or less than 1,600 tons, would be sent to the EnergySolutions landfill in Clive, Utah.

Anyway it looks as if the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is taking public comment until March 12th (The agency published a notice in the Federal Register on Monday. It is allowing 30 days for people to seek a hearing or request to become an intervener on the plan from Utah-based EnergySolutions Inc. ) which is NOT long from now. Please help people like me who will live close and also those directly affected living in TN and Utah and contact the NRC to tell them that you disagree with this!
Here's a link to the NRC and I will tell you right off it is not easy to find your way around. I couldn't find anything directly with this petition. However I did find their "rule" page for public comment here. I know it's not easy---but please ....

Tagged

Val Granger from the Woolly Shepherds Diary tagged me the other day for a "meme". Should I say Thanks Val? :-D Maybe not!

Anyway I am suppose to tell 5 things about me and tag 5 others.

1. I am an easily bored person hence the reason why I always seem to have so many projects going at once. But I do finish them---eventually :-D
2. Mexican food is my all time favorite and I could eat it every day
3. I hope to buy a new car (actually used---but new to me) in the near future to replace the very very old truck I am currently driving. I am aspiring to a diesel Mercedes--not a gasser. Oh yes---with leather seats so my badly shedding dog can ride with me.
4. I like beer---rarely wine.
5. I prefer bluejeans to anything else and I liked living in Texas because most of the time a dress up occasions meant you could still wear bluejeans (new of course) and boots.
I'll give you a freebie too:

6. I hated dresses even as a child---but I do occasionally wear them.


I will be tagging:

Nancy of Keeping the Farm since I have never tagged her yet
Robbyn of The Back Forty
Dani of Seven Trees -- another one I have never tagged yet.
Lisa (and Frank) of Mack Hill Farm --they also raise Icelandic sheep
and last but not least
Woody of Woody's Rocky Ridge---so I can see what a guy will post as his 5 things

Small bite to eat?

Here's a good blog site that my husband sent to me with lots of perennial favorites including Girl Scout style "samoa" cookies and my favorite----whoopie pies! Yum!

So now everyone can make homemade versions of all our favorite girl scout cookies---plus more goodies---which I am sure will be absolutely delicious since homemade almost always is :-)

Baking Bites a blog for those who love food. (photo courtesy of baking bites blog)

My sideline project

As IF I didn't have enough to do I have another small project going:

A hat for my head (I do have short hair after all and it gets cold).

I got the pattern from Knitpicks catalog---it was a freebie pattern. It's called rings of cables and it is very easy. I am knitting it in some brown Alpaca (given to me by a fellow spinner --Susan Darling) that I had spun a while back. I decided last night maybe I would add a few rows and maybe some curly cues on the top in some bright crimson merino roving I purchased recently at a show. I started spinning it last night but I am not sure there will be enough for curly cues on the top---just the color band in the middle. Maybe...we will see. I only purchased a few ounces since I didn't have a specific project in mind for it at that time.

Anyway---it will be done soon as long as I don't put it aside for too long while I do other things. It is knitting up quickly ---nothing like the much larger projects I normally choose. Maybe from now on I will knit hats and socks instead of shawls :-)

A few random thoughts

Just a few random thoughts to throw out for everyone to mull over. Things that for some reason or another have come up and I forgot to say.

Don't forget when choosing your livestock for your farm (no matter the size) to consider "types" that were raised for your climate and have been adapted to various situations that arise---more an issue for those of us in the south, especially the "deep south". Things to consider are food intake needs (we don't all have, nor can we grow, large pastures of clover and alfalfa), heat tolerance, problems with disease or parasites, and docility (some people prefer slightly less domesticated animals and some more so)

Also--remember that there are livestock genetics being lost almost everyday as commercial farming pushes them aside. Don't forget groups like the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy when searching for the perfect breed for your farm. Help save a breed if you can and it fits your farm and goals.

I ate chicken last night for dinner---tyson boneless & skinless. How do they alter the flavor AND worse make the texture like over cooked fish? (Just kidding---I really know but I wanted to throw that out there for all of us to think about) We couldn't eat it all---I had to cover it up with baked beans to get over the funky flavor and texture. Yik. The rest went to the dog----as if he needs that crap in his body right? :-)
Home grown is best---that way we for sure know what's in it. Second best? Why raised by a local farmer (and organic if possible).

A quick link for all the "sustainable, raise my own, environmental, watch dog politics" people out there: http://www.7trees.org/phpbb/
Find information, help and discussion groups for all these issues plus more. (Thanks Dani for passing it on!)

Did you know we are still officially in a drought here? Already we are 2" down for the year. However worse is that the nuclear power plants in some areas may have to be shut down for lack of water for cooling. See this article for more info. Just one more reason why we should go with solar or wind---no need to shut them down during a drought. WAIT---they may even help stop severe weather change if we switched to them. Oh yeah.......no money for the oil companies in those technologies.

Lastly----Did you vote in the primary if your state was involved with Super Tuesday? My husband and I voted for two different people---hopefully one of our choices will rise to the top :-) Good luck to all of us aye?!!

My last update on cement floor staining

So we finished the other half of the floor in our downstairs and I have some more things to recommend that I learned.

First---what I did different in the second room.
Instead of (per manufacturer directions) just putting on the stain and leaving it to dry randomly, I went back in and re-spread it after it was about half dry. Using an old broom that we had originally spread it around with I pushed the still wet spots around until the floor was again evenly covered and wet with stain. Then allowed it to dry all the way. In the end I think I got a slightly less mottled look than I did in the other room----a bit smoother and more consistent. I like it better personally.

Second--what I read after we did the first room and I would like to pass on.
Wet your floor down first---lightly. Not only does it allow more time to move around the stain before you get a "dry line" but it also supposedly reduced "blotchy-ness" I can see that it might have helped us to do that as we have a few spots were we can tell it was the specific spot were the stain was poured onto the floor. Another way to reduce "pour edge" is to use a sprayer---all plastic one---which we did not have. We could have done both these things in the second room but I wanted the two rooms to at least somewhat resemble each other so we didn't.

Anyway---as I said I am happy with the look but I now know a few things I would do differently the next time IF I did not want the same look. I will say for sure that if we decorated in the southwestern or rustic style, I would absolutely do it exactly as I did it this time. For a more modern look----I think I would apply the new things I learned when doing it this time like the water and the sprayer and re spreading halfway through.

Guinea Hog Update

Well, it wasn't until Hayden emailed me specifically about our guinea hog Pumpkin that I realized I had not written much about her and how we have progressed since first acquiring her. My apologizes to everyone that I have forgotten to update our progress.

She has grown quite a bit in the 3 ish months that we have had her---but she's still small by anyones standards. Also, as I think I have mentioned before she worked out great as a garden tiller. We owned a pot bellied pig years ago that was not anywhere close to as good of a tiller as Pumpkin is. As a matter of fact---Hamlet (the pot bellied pig) would wander our yard and the neighbor's and never did "till" up anything. Pumpkin is not quite that trustworthy. First because, as I said, she tills like no bodies business. Secondly I would say that she is less domesticated seeming than Hamlet was. Now that doesn't mean that I feel that I couldn't have her for a pet if I wanted, nor does it mean that she is aggressive at all but she is a bit more "forceful" in her desires than Hamlet was.
We have also heard from Heartease Farm (they raise Icelandic sheep like us and also guinea hogs) that they had to put rings in their hogs noises because they were having a problem with them "tilling" the pasture as they ranged with the sheep. So....I hope that helps with the question of digging up the soil.

As far as how we have kept her and caged her what follows is her "normal" routine and how she lives:















She is in a 10x10 dog kennel which is perfect for her. It is too heavy for her to lift up and get out of. Because of the size and weight she would have to dig a hole under it the actual size of her body to get out. She doesn't do that---so it works. Sometimes it looks as if she could---but when rooting around she really doesn't have a rhyme or reason so she just doesn't ever get her holes large enough. Also, we shift the cage periodically. After about a week and a half has gone by we move her cage by at least half the cage width. This is easily accomplished by two people and pretty easy with just one person. Since the corners are meant to come apart they pivot. So I pick up one side and move it forward a bit which torques the cage out of square. I then go to the other side and move it---putting the cage back into square again. I do this until I get the cage to where I want it. In the time we have had her (mid October 2007) we have moved her cage to cover an area of about....40 x 30. A few spots need her to come back to them since the grass was particularly dense and it still needs more tilling. Some areas are ready to plant if I wanted to and the weather was good and some areas---because it rained while she was in that segment ---need a bit of smoothing by me before they can be planted.
So..what will we do with her when the garden is planted? Well, if we work it correctly there should be a few beds that need her periodically during the growing season. Also, I will put her in the chicken pen where the chickens and sheep have compacted the soil pretty badly. I think it would help that area to have her work it over a bit for the chickens to scratch in more effectively. Incorporate that high nitrogen chicken poop too. One thing: I will have to make sure she can't get in the coop since she LOVES fresh eggs and their shells. She would be able to reach the bottom row of nests and could helpy selfy.











Feeding: As you can see in the picture we use low items for food and water---the waterer flips up when she digs near it so it doesn't get broken. She gets dirt/mud in everything so we do scrub everything out at least once a week. We also scatter whole corn as I have mentioned on the ground along with anything that comes out of the kitchen. You do not have to feed pigs/hogs meat if you don't want to but we do (except for pork---we do not feed that to her). Hogs are naturally carnivores. Pumpkin eats every scrap that comes from our kitchen ---even the "yikky" parts we won't eat, leftovers out of the fridge as long as they aren't spoiled, and any meat scraps that come through. I don't feed her raw meat---pigs are susceptible to the similar diseases as humans so I don't take a chance but of course in the wild she would eat raw meat. Eggs, leftover breads, cereal crumbs, avocados, fruit, juices, milk, cheese, noodles etc etc. Anything we would plus more. The only thing she has not eaten yet is potatoes. She doesn't like them.
We also put things like coffee grounds and other things on the ground in her pen to till into the soil. If she likes whatever it is she will eat it. If not, it gets worked in.
Oh yes---as a back up for days with no leftovers or food scraps she get purina hog chow. About 3/4 cup twice per day with about a cup of whole corn sprinkled for her. We have just recently purchased our second bag so it goes a long long way.
Remember too that pigs/hogs are good for cleaning up windfall fruits in orchards , nuts and other things like that.
We also have people who would like to "borrow" our Pumpkin and her cage to work their garden. Other than some squealing and grunting when it's meal time she is easy on the ears and easy to take care of so if you had like minded neighbors I don't believe it would be hard to find numerous places to keep your pigs throughout the year if your garden was smaller than ours.

Oh yes---we have had a number of people comment on Kune Kunes to us too since we have mentioned that we would like one.
Kune kunes are not yet in the U.S. IF someone were willing to go through the process of importation, and its piles of corresponding paper work----you would have many many people eager to purchase from you. Another idea is to try and get embryos sent over---again still fraught with paperwork. Barbara Webb who first brought Icelandics in to the U.S (and only from Canada no less) spent 3, or maybe it was 5, years getting approval. It is a long drawn out process---but not unattainable for someone willing to try. I just haven't wanted to mess with it, maybe someday though. Also---Stuart and Gabrielle had Kune Kunes if you would like to quiz someone about them and how they cared for their pigs/hogs. They are in Brittany though---and they ate theirs recently so really they don't have them anymore :-D

A bit of politics--Yikes!

While looking for some information this morning in regards to politics (yikes---but if you've read my blog for long you know I am political) I stumbled on an interesting article I would like to post below.

First though before you read it I would like to voice a few things about picking Presidents.

One---do I always HAVE to vote for one party and never ever afterwards change again? What if I liked the democratic candidate last time but this time I like a republican one? Will I be shot or something by some party police or maybe a neighborhood watch?

Two---do I HAVE to choose my candidate based on one hot button issue only or can I look at all the candidates and their responses to all the issues. Then make my choice based on the one I feel had the most and best ideas to help.

Three---do I HAVE to choose only the one I feel can win? Isn't my vote for someone as President tantamount to saying to my Congress people and Senators "DO IT OR ELSE"? So technically shouldn't my choice be able to accomplish things because the jerks that stand in the way will loose their job?

Four---Should I risk "wasting my vote" by voting for someone that may not win because I want to back a winner? And yes, you do hear people say this out loud often: "I like so and so, but they won't win so I think I will vote for (fill in the blank with a media spotlight person) instead".

Five---do I HAVE to GIVE UP based on the fact that everyone says "it doesn't matter ---no one listens to the American people and the powerful make all the choices". Really----do I HAVE to?

Neither Clinton nor Obama (see following article) are my first choice though I may end up voting for one of them in the long run because of our very very democratic two party system. However I will not waste my super Tuesday vote---I will vote for the person still in the race that I actually like. Do I completely 100% agree with this person? Heck no---but I feel this person has good ideas, votes as they speak, and isn't in bed with the establishment. Wins my respect every time.

This is from pastandprologue.wordpress.com titled "Feminism is dead and Hillary proves it"

I didn’t plan to use my debut post talking about the presidential campaign. Certainly not talking about Hillary Clinton. But as a young woman, I feel that someone has to comment. The headline isn’t misleading or designed to get reads- its real: Feminism is dead and Hillary Clinton proves that. I’ll explain below.

In yesterday’s New York Times
Gloria Steinem felt it necessary to rally the old hens of feminism and pull a sympathy vote for Hillary Clinton. And, she made it happen, the women of New Hampshire turned out in droves to essentially say “pass the ball to the girl”.

It was the perfect storm really the ABC debate was made to look like a pile on of all the boys on to the girl. Then the Clintons went on the offensive, Bill is angry, Hilllary is crying. Finally, she pulls the trifecta: Gloria Steinem comes out of the woodwork to turn the New Hampshire primary into a referendum on sexism. While I don’t think Hillary’s teary moment was fake it clearly did her a favor.

The Steinem article was rife with half truths, about both Hillary and Obama. Steinem wants to claim that Hillary’s play-dates with Benazir Bhutto & other world leaders equal on-the-job training. That’s simply not true, her whirlwind globe trotting as first lady doesn’t equal any more experience than Obama’s internationally based childhood. Her one big initiative during her tenure as first lady, her health care plan was a flop and a give away to insurance companies. If President Bush’s record of astounding failure is what we’re setting the bar at here I suppose the failure of Hillary’s intiative gives her credentials. She wants to claim that Hillary’s slightly longer time in the Senate is enough to overshadow Obama. To me, that isn’t enough to do much more than further ingratiate her into the same old Washington establishment that hurts this country rather than helping it.

She further claims “worry” over Obama’s dependence on the old. That’s a laugh Hillary is literally and figuratively married to the past. And behind her on the podium after both her speeches in Iowa and New Hampshire is the same cast of characters that surrounded her husband in the 1990s. So exactly who is focused on the past here? It seems to me that, its hard to be a change candidate when you’re flanked by the same old people. And the only people you’re talking to are old women. Hillary has made it clear she’s committed to lobbyists or she wouldn’t have given such a prominent position to Penn. How is that a candidate for change? Another candidate from the same old families, in the pocket of the same old companies.

What surprises me is Steinem came to her position as an activist and an agent for change and now she’s supporting the idea that voting for a woman just because she’s a woman is somehow better, as well as our duty to the sisterhood. How is that feminism? Running for president is about being put through the blender - especially when you invite it by going negative and using the Karl Rove playbook as she has. Now it’s too much, because she’s a woman? Now we’re supposed to give her the sympathy vote? How is that not more ammo for the naysayers against feminism, who think we are too weak. How does it advance women if women aren’t allowed to vote for Obama because we feel he brings more to the table, and not vote for Clinton because we feel she doesn’t have the right stuff? What happened to our right of self determination? Blind loyalty to gender or race is just as dangerous as any of the other worries Ms. Steinem voices in her article.

Obama speaks to me as a younger voter, not just a woman. He is inspiring, his policy positions are weighty and realistic. He’s asking for post-partisanship. And bringing every one up. He is the 21st century. It’s clear to me he has at least some idea what technology is about, what the issues I face are, and he know’s what it’s like to work through school and to make his own opportunities. His history with drugs, life, and growing up is well documented in an open and honest account. An accounting of the past that no other candidate seems able to muster. Obama is more than a candidate, he is an idea coupled with a movement toward progress. Something Ms. Steinem claimed to stand for previously.

Hillary doesn’t speak to me as near as I can tell she’s only interested in talking to those who are the same as her. Well enough off suburban boomer liberals who’ve sold their ideals own the river for a 401k and a sensible suit. Now, these women have a sense of entitlement about them I find equally off putting behind the bully pulpit or, when they look at you smugly in the office. They wear their war scars on their sleeves “I fought to get you here”. I don’t contest that point and I appreciate it. What I don’t appreciate is hearing those same feminist slogans when your actions support an establishment that consistently sets us back, rather than brings us up. For Steinem, this is apparently “getting more radical with age” to me, they were just voting for themselves which isn’t radical, it’s typical.

What worries me is the cabal of female “leadership” we’ve put forward lately. Condi Rice, Nancy Pelosi, and Hillary? Elizabeth Hassleback of all people is on the list of most powerful women? Why? Because she was on a game show, makes poor conclusions about american politics, and now she’s on the View riding the coattails of Barbara Wawa? Sorry but that makes us look far weaker then a yes vote for Obama. I have a hard time believing I’m supposed to be looking to these people as role models when Condi can’t find a sentence with both hands, Nancy caves faster than a house of cards, and well my thoughts on Hillary are outlined above.

Yes I’m supporting Obama because he has new things to say, new perspectives, authenticity, and gravitas. And if that’s a betrayal to the sisterhood, just call me, one of the boys.

oh my aching bathtub

This summer I wrote about my two side by side outdoor cast iron tubs that my husband and I relax in after a hard days work (the animals also use them as drinking troughs). A nice day and a beer and they are great to go out and soak in and talk and relax.

BUT

last night a HUGE HORRIBLE wind storm knocked two trees across our troughs. No fence was lost during this and luckily no sheep either since they were in that pasture. However, both (yes, both) our troughs were hit and though still usable they will no longer be able to be quite as full since it broke both tubs. Just kind of small area but about 5 or so inches down the side and about 10 inches wide. Kind of like this shape: D but turned 90 degrees. So unfortunately we will be soaking a bit shallower this summer. Bummer. At least we still have them minus their chunks. Could have been worse by far! I have to admit---I thought I might loose my roof last night it was so bad and have my new downstairs paint job ruined so I consider us lucky :-)

Finished (with part 1)

So here is our floor completely finished with 3 coats of "wet look sealer" on it. Pretty nice. I still feel it's just a bit too dark but....I am much happier with it sealed.
You can see it on the one side of the room with the tan sofa on it and the other (slightly more mottle side) of the room gives a different perspective. I had to work so that the windows didn't show in the floor pictures. They are so shiny their like dark mirrors almost. (Dusting may be an annoying issue in the future......)
Overall it's MUCH better than what we had. The sealer is great even though I make dusting comments---so glossy and silky underfoot. Before it always felt, no matter how clean the floor was, that your feet were dirty and you needed to scrub them off before getting into bed. Now, they don't at all. Wonderful. I think I am almost more impressed with the sealer rather than the stain :-D
Now---we are moving all the furniture into that room and are going to finish the other half. We still need to caulk some molding on the ceiling, paint the whole thing, sand and clean off gunk on the floor then we will be ready to stain and seal again. Really this part is the quickest part. It sounds as if it will take a while but the caulking is almost done (just a few spots where so much furniture was stacked from the other room I couldn't get to the spots)and painting will only take a couple hours. The floor clean up will be a few hours too. No big deal. By next week---voila! A whole brand new downstairs. Yeah!
Then of course I need curtains, new headboard, rugs, pictures hahahaaha Never ending!! But at least that's the "funner" part that includes shopping and much less manual labor!!

We've already been asked a number of times about this since we started if others can do it and my answer is: Yes, it is easy. Yes, overall it looks good and Yes, even the most basic of "beginner" home remodeler can handle this project.
As I said---start with your garage floor (which is what I should have done) to kind of "learn" your stain. I think overall it will give that small bit of practice first. The cost is negligible. Every bit of this project is cheap. I have maybe $100 invested in the part I have done. That includes everything from sand paper to scraping tools to a new roller, dye and sealer. Definitely one of the cheaper projects with great impact. If you make your own stain using the link from the other day (or find another site) it would be even cheaper. I would absolutely practice on my garage with home made stain just to make sure it was going to end up being the color I thought it was though.

Thanks Robbyn for the nice comment :-)
By the way I like your new header picture---very attractive and almost the same color as my floor!

Have a great day all.

cement sealing

So as a continuation of our cement staining saga I will explain how we have proceeded from where I left off.

After allowing the floor to dry---some spots took longer than others---we did as the manufacturer suggested and scrubbed the floor with a stiff brush and clear water. Following with a wet vac and sucking up the dirty water. You can supposedly mop up the watery filth---but I don't recommend it. We just happen to own a wet vac but if you didn't it would be well worth renting one (or a floor carpet cleaner if you couldn't find a wet vac to rent).

Now to a couple of issues. I personally like a mottled look however some people would consider it to be not mottled but blotchy. Word use depends on your interpretation of the results I think. Anyway---where it puddled the stain did come out darker. It also was darker and lighter depending on wear patterns of our floor. Since it is a 30+ year old floor it is not in as good of shape as a brand new one and there are more "use areas" than a new one would have. I believe that I could go back with a sprayer and hit the lighter spots again if I wanted to make them a bit closer to the darker ones aka less blotchy. I won't however---as I said I like it. It looks a bit like old leather with all the crazing, color differences and the small (but few) cracks.

Secondly---as I wrote the other day I mixed the stain 50/50 with water. I think if I where to do it again I would start with more water. It was a bit darker than I would have originally chosen (too late to change now though) and it would have been easy enough to do a second coat. However I am not unhappy---just wiser if I ever do it again.

Lastly I have included a few pictures of it being sealed today. These pictures are of the first coat of Behr brand masonry sealer high gloss . I purchased it from home depot --about $24 a gallon and I used about 1/2 for first coat on my 24 x 12 foot room. I will put on at least one more coat but I have to let it dry for 4 hours before hand. The blue you see in the picture goes away as the sealer dries---though I worried a bit at first :-)
For this particular "mottled" floor the high gloss looks better and so each following coat will give it slightly more gloss with a maximum of 4 coats per manufacturer. I will do two--maybe 3 coats. We will see---it just depends on how much gloss comes through with each coat.

Overall it has been a cheap and easy way to finish the floor. Especially if like us you can't have carpet for some reason (ours is allergies but moisture or high traffic use also comes to mind). With a bit of practice and experimenting I think I could get much better at it and maybe achieve slightly more interesting and consistent results. A garage comes to mind as a great place to practice if you were so inclined--- then just cover it up with garage paint when your done :-) No one would be the wiser.

Cement staining ---again

So, after some prep work on our old (old old old) stained, paint dripped on, chipped up, bumpy cement floor----we now have put on our first application of concrete stain. (Shown in these pictures about 2 hours after and still drying)

Our prep work consisted of first using a window scraper blade to scrape off loose paint and carpet tack glue that had been dripped onto or applied to the flooring over the years. Then we hand sanded with some sandpaper and some water to keep down dust. We used a 35 grit paper made for a belt sander and a 50 grit disc made specifically for sanding cement counter tops. This helped to get up the rest of the paint and snap lines from old wall placements and some other oddities that wouldn't come off easily. We also had some cement "drips" that left bumps, so we smoothed them down too. Lastly we patched with cement (not concrete) the holes where we had removed nails from old wall sills and carpet tacking. Then we sanded those flush if they weren't already.

Now here are a few things I learned about applying the concrete stain. Yes, it stinks and worse---creates some fumes from the acid reacting to the concrete. So, use a mask suited to this and ventilate well---I didn't this time but will next time. I feel as if I have a bit of a catch in my throat from it--not bad but.... I of course was squatted down using the paint brush and pouring it from the bucket so I think I just got a bit more of it in my face since it fumed for just a bit after pouring. I was much more careful after the first couple of pours but will absolutely use a ventilator next time. Good thing the room wasn't large since it is important not to stop or you can get an very specific line that shows where stopping occurs. Notice the line we chose to stop at in the picture. It is where the sleeping part of our room moves into the sitting area so it was a good spot to stop. (We currently have all the bedroom furniture there so we can only do one section at a time).

Also, they say use an all plastic sprayer to apply it. We did not have one and so we used a paint brush to get up near the edges and an old broom to move the stain around with. As long as you keep a wet edge and a bit of puddling (they say wet---but no puddles) it is not a problem. We didn't have problems with the puddles (see some still in the pics where the floor dips) but they did take longer to dry.
Since I was using the Kemico brand---I mix it 50/50 with water for the first application. I can put on another application if I would like to darken it but I think, even after cleaning it when it dries, I will be happy with the strength of the color. We will then neutralize it with baking soda water and then seal it with something for a shiner look.
Overall---it looks "cooler" than I thought it would. I think I will like it and it does look as if the color matches the slate tile used in our hallway, which is good. If for some reason I decided I don't like it---tiles are in our future.
I will post pics after we seal it so you can see the final results. I think though that it is going to be pretty nice considering we started with such a beat up old floor.

Moving Along with some concrete staining

Sorry to be gone for so long. My computer has been fixed for about a week now---but I developed other interests while waiting for it to work again :-)

As you all know we have been/are remodeling our house. I did finally finish my tile work in my kitchen (including the hundreds of cut tiles---each 3/4") except that it is not grouted. I am still sampling and mixing for the correct color---put off at times as other things intrude. Each time I make a new sample board I have to wait at least one day for the tile mortar to set then I grout and wait another two days for the true color to come out. I need to make another sample board (again) of two or three mini tiles so I can try out some more different proportions of color. As soon as I settle on the right (read perfect) grout color---it won't take long to have a finished product. Yes, I am a bit of a screwball as I search for the "exactly" right thing.

Anyway---as we waited for the new computer parts to arrive and for sample boards to dry we have begun work on our bedroom. The ceiling is painted, the walls are almost finished being painted. One wall is missing it's paint since it is a different color and I forgot to buy it when I was at the paint store. Molding is going up and now I am about to stain the cement floor. Our bedroom is a converted open face basement. It was originally a business in the lower part of our house and had partition walls, millions of phone lines and plugs in the ceilings. It even had a very large non removable "NO SMOKING ALLOWED" sign on the old sliding door. All that is now gone---and looking much nicer I might add even in it's not quite finished state.
Anyway---as I said I am about to stain the concrete floor since we will not (because of allergies) use a wall to wall carpet. We could use tile for a slightly fancier look---but it is not in our budget right now and besides we have always liked the look of stained concrete. Long popular in California and Texas---we were exposed to it long before it became so hot through out the rest of the country and have had many "Stained concrete! I can't imagine not covering it up. Are you sure it will look good?" reactions.
Years ago, during a trip to Texas, I forayed into Dallas and bought Kemiko concrete stain in cola (scroll down to see colors) in anticipation of this time. Lately however, I was thinking I might like to add a bit of randomness to the color and, since it is very expensive (because of the danger) to ship acid stain chemicals through the mail---I searched for sites on making my own. The shipping cost can almost double the price since they are considered hazardous chemicals.
Here is one site on concrete staining: my search term was "homemade concrete stain"
There are other links and sites than just that one of course. Hope this helps some others get some ideas and maybe save some money. I will eventually show finished pics---please have patience since I do the work as time and finances are available (I do always finish though!)

Glad to be back---hope everyone is having a good winter.
By the way---it's almost time for PEA PLANTING here!

Pardon Me

Thank you to all the well wishers for all the positive comments on my previously mentioned problem. Things are much better around here (well somewhat anyway if you exclude the in laws) however our house was struck by lightening! Whack isn't it!!?? Those freak storms that came through were like summer but worse, more lightening and more thunder. We lost a number of transformers in our area along with phone and cable for a short time. No one is hurt---nothing is really damaged BUT my computer is out after the surge jumped through the cable moden into our router and then of course fried my computer. So please PARDON ME as I have to borrow one until mine is repaired ---which means I only have access while my family is home. Debate as to repair or replacement has slowed the issue so please be patient while "we remodel" hehehehe Hope everyone is well. Good week to you :-D

Your watching my life----(maybe I am watching yours)

So...absent from this blog I have been for a while. Sorry. Our last situation I posted about, though not resolved, is quiet. That I believe is because we live so darn far away :-) Makes it much easier to ignore those that are trying to ignore you hahaha

Remodeling is going on briskly here. Scaffolding for the job of siding repair will show up at the end of this week. Grout samples for my kitchen are being perused and the last of our work downstairs will soon be done including hanging those surround sound speakers I have been storing for 4 years. All of that will leave us with 1 bathroom and some trim work to do basically. Yeah!
We are also deeply tangled in all the things required of a recent job change. Health insurance paperwork, 40lk and pension rollovers and all their choices, life insurance policies (going out on our own) and a myriad of other small but not inconsequential things related to all of this. Yik.

So, since my life is boring and too hectic to mess with right now I leave you with this very very disturbing piece of information I found as a blip in the Time magazine.
It is an organization called Privacy International and they are a human rights group.
Recently they put out their new study of "leading surveillance societies". I am sure most American's will be shocked to know that based on a set of criteria that we rank very low. Right down there with Russia and some other bad boys. O.k---it seems most of the world is becoming a "bad boy" lately, however I can't say I am completely shocked. Just by trying to feel "safer" we are allowing terrorist groups (name any of them) to win. Oh well---I do my letter writer and Senator calling part little as it may be. Anyway---check out that last link. Scroll down and look at all of it since it is very interesting. Quite eye opening to say the least.

And for a quick late add in how about this news from Yahoo about America placing last out of 19 industrialized countries for preventable health care deaths.
Boy---do we need to wrangle in all these Congress people and Senators and get them to do a damn job other than interrogate baseball players about whether or not they are taking steroids.

Wow! Thanks!

Thanks everyone for all the replies and emails in regards to yesterday's post and offer of possibly "low price" irish dexters---- but I can take no more names. Sorry. Obviously many many people are interested and I am sorry I don't have more to sell (especially cheap ;-D hahahaha) I REALLY appreciate the fact that disregarding the price so many of you are willing to jump into my family issues----I know there was an incentive but that could scare off some even though!
I will keep everyone who contacted me in the loop and if we don't receive our check within a fair period of time I will start contacting you on a basis of first contact, first serve.

Thanks again and hope all of you have a super great day and stay warm!

New year---same crap

Oh does that sound like a pessimistic person?
Well, I am not really trying to be but...if you are interested in owning an Irish Dexter keep reading. I warn you though the story is long but it does come to the point of owning an Irish Dexter.

About 6 months ago because of the drought we asked my mother and father in law if they would consider coming and taking our 2 pregnant Irish Dexters and our Irish dexter bull to stay on their 52 acres. See they already had 2 heifers and a bull of their own, and though they didn't really need another bull they were interested in expanding their herd.
I told them, since at the time all our money was being spent on hay, that if there was a female calf born they could keep it as their payment for help because of course I wasn't trying to take advantage of them and I knew that the animals would require transport and time. If by some unfortunate event it was both bull calves we could sell them or eat them and we would compensate them financially because as THEY said: they didn't need any more males.
So, to get to the point they agreed that they would be HAPPY to keep our cows for about a year until the drought broke. Fine. All good right?

Recently my husband got a new job and because of this ( and some other good things I can't speak of yet) we need to reduce or even dispose of all our animals. Sad yes but it is for the potential achievement of an 18 year goal coming to fruition so who can turn their back on that right? Right.
Anyway sheep, cows and probably eventually our Guinea hog sow and all our chickens will be going. My goal is total dispersement by the end of the summer of 2008 at the latest--- with some going now to help us finish the remodel of our home for potential sale.
So to get to a point with this long story, we decided to ask the in laws if they would like to buy our whole herd of cows for a substantially reduced price. However....they thought our price was too high AND until we could take our cows back (they needed to keep them until the two calves were weaned they said) they were going to de horn our 3 year old cow (telling us the night before they were to do it---which we stopped) AND they wanted both bull calves by said cows for their payment AND we needed to come quickly and pick up the older bull which they didn't want and so were reducing our already discounted price by more than we paid for him (and they know what we paid for him by the way). In other words, though I tried to avoid all this initially by trying to hash out all the aspects of who would pay for what before they picked them up----they now felt that they had done us SUCH a great favor that we should 1. Give them both calves and 2. sell them both heifers for a very reduced price AND pretty much immediately come and get the bull. They also went on to say that our cows were a major inconvenience and that they were keeping them from taking ANY vacations (but their 3 cows and 4 horses weren't at all I guess). This was as they hung up the phone on my husband.

So, the next day I called them and apologized (trying of course to smooth feelings) for not realizing that the cows were such a hassle. I told them if they had told us we would have made arrangements in a new york minute to have them off and gone.*I offered a number of times to sell the one cow with horns because they did have some hassle with her but they ALWAYS told me NO!*
I then went on to tell them that "hey---I have a buyer who will pay twice and a half what you are offering us but she needs to work out getting them shipped so we can quickly get them off your property" I said that if the shipping fell through that I would just go down my list of other prospects and find each cow a home FAST. So they wouldn't be hassled any longer.
They told me that I had this all wrong and those calves were theirs as payment and I could NOT remove the two females from their property until they said the calves were ready to be weaned.
"I beg to differ---those our my cows and I have the papers" "I will gladly sell them and then you can send me a bill for their care and transport which I will pay and you can use it to buy a new young female Irish dexter to expand your herd with since that was your original goal correct?"
"yes---and we had to put it off to care for your animals. We did that as a favor to you since you are family"
"Well, then surely you don't want either of those two bull calves and this will work out for the better anyway"
"You owe us those two calves"
"Look---I need some money now and I will pay you compensation for your time and trouble---but I AM selling MY cows quickly so take them for the price I offered or I will have a buyer pick them up soon."
"hold on"

Then: "If we pay the price will you send the papers?"
"of course---and you can do what you will with them"
"Fine---I will send you a check and now that you have put the cows between us we are finished"

So. I have (again hahahahha) ruined my husband's relationship with his mother and father. The first time was when I married him. Though they did eventually forgive him after two years when my son, their first grandchild, was born and treated me well after that and I them in return. By the way---don't leave a comment about how I shouldn't feel bad because truthfully I don't.Why? See, my MIL doesn't speak to her only other son either. Why you ask? Because his wife allowed her mother more time with her new child (their first and it took ten years to conceive her because of problems) than my MIL got to spend with the new baby. So after the baby's 5th week (yes you read correctly) of life my mother in law quit speaking to them. The child is now over two. Of course during most of those initial 5 weeks my MIL was "sick" with whatever new ailment she comes up with at the time and she told them not to bring the baby over nor could she come there.
By the way, she also doesn't speak to: Her sister, her brother, her other brother, her mother (and she's now dead), her nieces or nephews, any friend I have ever met (all now long since having done something horrible to her that she can't speak of, nor will she ever speak to them again) and she is hard pressed to "allow" her husband to interact with his family anymore (all of whom she speaks badly off except my FIL's mother). It gets worse year after year after year. It wasn't always this bad---but never was it completely good either. The woman obviously has issues that need to be addressed by drugs AND a shrink.

Anyway---here's the Irish Dexter deal.
IF I do not get the check within three weeks and because I stopped the other sale my buyer falls through and you happen to be somewhere close to East Texas were you could pick up two 3 year old heifers with month old bull calves and a dun colored Irish Dexter bull (2 years old) I will make you the deal of the century. Seriously A Super Deal. Unfortunately I will cut my nose off to spite my face---because of all this no talky talky crap. I would eat the dam things before they will steal them for cheap from me irregardless of the help that I fully acknowledge they gave. We do have other family there so I can get the cows off the property, get the health certificate and move them two houses down to await pickup.
Interested? Get on my contact list at my email address which is alandtc (at---but use the swirly thing) catt.com

And hey! Have a super great New Year's week everyone. Even though we have had this minor "glitch" life is good and we are loved :-)

How Fun

Ever wanted to help someone that you knew really needed help? Well here's your chance to be a micro lender. The other night I watched a show on PBS that had a bit about KIVA.ORG . It is a non profit group that is for micro lending to others around the world. The part I thought was really cool is that you can view the profiles of the people that need to borrow money. You can read their stories of why they would like to borrow money and a bit about them, see a picture of them, even email and speak with them. Neat isn't it. Another plus is that you don't have to be able to lend them all of the money they need. You can lend any portion of it you want to and other "micro lenders" from around the world will chip in with you and help them too. Also as a bonus, one "micro-lender" in San Fransisco said "the best part is you get paid back and you can then turn around and help someone else with the same money again and again"
So even if you only have $10 you may be able to help many many many people with that same $10. Cool isn't it?!
Check it out and see if you might enjoy being a micro lender.

Not quite finished

Hope everyone's holiday time is going well. I know some of you have snow---hopefully it didn't create problems for you as it came down.

I just wanted to post a few pictures of our tile work in our kitchen. Actually my husband wanted to show some friends so I am putting them up before it is actually done. However---you can get an overall idea of what it will look like. I still need to finish the small cut tiles that fill in corners and edges and to grout but well....it looks kind of cool doesn't it :-) The edging at the top is some 1" aluminum that my husband cut and installed. It makes a nice "stop edge" since we don't have upper cabinets.
The color in the second picture is a bit more accurate though not 100% true. I have forgotten how to change my camera to daylight (versus indoors or fluorescent lighting etc) so I keep getting a bit of over exposure on my pics. I will figure out how to change it again eventually but until then--- well sorry but the pics are kind of bright.

Oh yes, here's the link back to my post on making these grids of tile: Making tiles
Yes, it was a bit tedious but as you can see---well worth it.

Have a super great holiday season whichever holiday you may be celebrating!!

All Organic! Yippee!!

Great article that I am passing along that came out of the New Farm newsletter. If you don't receive the New Farm monthly newsletter from the Rodale Institute---you may like it. I know I do. Here's an article they link to in Natural Products Magazine:

(This paragraph from the New Farm):

Richard Heinberg, one of the world's leading experts on oil reserves, used last week's Soil Association Lady Eve Balfour Lecture to warn that the lives of billions of people are threatened by a food crisis caused by our dependence on dwindling supplies of fossil fuels. The only way to avert a global food crisis, he said, was a planned and swift reduction in the use of fossil fuel use and a switch to organic or other zero petro-chemical input farming systems.

All farming will be ‘organic’ 100 years from now — oil expert - November 30, 2007

An alarming vision of how the world will look after the oil runs out — but also of a crucial role for organic farming — has been given by a leading ‘peak oil’ expert.

Richard Heinberg, one of the world's leading experts on oil reserves, used last week’s Soil Association Lady Eve Balfour Lecture to warn that the lives of billions of people are threatened by a food crisis caused by our dependence on dwindling supplies of fossil fuels.

Peak oil, explained Heinberg, is simply the point at which global oil reserves reach their maximum output and start to decline. Some experts believe we have already reached peak oil, others say it is 10 or 20 years off.

Heinberg claimed that a combination of factors — higher oil prices, the loss of farmland to biofuel crops, climate change and the loss of natural resources — exacerbated by population growth, would lead to an unprecedented food shortage.

The only way to avert a global food crisis, he said, was a planned and swift reduction in the use of fossil fuel use and a switch to organic or other zero petro-chemical input farming systems.

He said: “Climate change is undoubtedly the biggest threat to mankind ever seen. But in the short-term, peak oil is going to hit economies and communities harder and faster. If we don’t do anything to deal with our addiction to oil over the next few years, economies will be in chaos and tatters — and they won’t be in a position to manage the huge challenges that confront us globally.

“The transition away from oil is inevitable. And it’s going to lead to huge changes in our food production systems. The critical thing is that we manage and plan the transition. This is an unavoidable, immediate, and immense challenge that will call for unprecedented levels of creativity at all levels of society.

“A hundred years from now, everyone will be eating what we today would define as organic food, whether or not we act.

“But what we do now will determine how many will be eating, what state of health will be enjoyed by those future generations, and whether they will live in a ruined cinder of a world, or one that is in the process of being renewed and replenished.”

Baby chicks for us :-D

Well, I don't have a picture of them yet but I now have

TWO broody hens!!

Go cuckoo marans!

I had noticed a few days ago that they where grumpily ensconced in a nest box one morning and still there in the evening when I went back. I say grumpy since they make all those grumpy growling sounds when you come around too close. I told all the family members to leave them alone so they could finish their job so we could have babies in about 21 ish days. That puts us at about....the beginning of January I believe. Kind of cold---but their moms should be able to keep them warm.
I have been wondering what ours will look like since we have such an array of birds here---but any that will be hens will be good additions to the flock and very welcome. Remember that I lost quite a few birds early in the season when they were smaller. Probably about.....15 hens I think. Plus a number of roosters which aren't nearly as big a deal as the hens. So more egg layers will be fine with me.

Since these two hens are so late in going broody (odd I thought for the time of year) if our little chicks make it they will be ready to lay eggs right in spring time. How fortunate AND I don't even have to have them in the house this year! Another yeah!


Here's a good link on using broody hens instead of incubators and another about broody hens and their care with slightly different information.

So....what about war?

Not long ago we started an in depth session of bible study offered by our church. This is a two part series that consist of meeting for about 2 hours a week for 32 weeks. We took the first part a number of years ago---the "beginner" part ---and are now taking the second part which I would call the "advanced beginner" coarse :-)

Anyway, this past week was the in depth study of the ten commandments. This is a particularly sticky issue with me and if you will stay with me I will ramble around to a point.

As with all things when you get to the commandment "thou shall not murder"---there are many opinions on the exact meaning of that command since some remember the phrase as saying "thou shall not KILL (not murder).

If you have never come across (or even knew you could look it up) the actual Hebrew word to get a greater understanding of the translation , you can see it here under: ratsach

Now many people have spoken with me on this subject as I continually try to grasp an understanding of it from a Christian perspective. Usually those that take the translation as you won't murder say that the bible justifies killing for specific purposes and so there for that is why the translation speaks the way it does. They go on to say that as a Christian as long as we are justified in our reasons---it is o.k and possibly even sanctified.
I won't go into all the reasons for "justified" killings or wars since most of us---Christian or not ---have heard them whether they are biblical or more current.

O.k--moving forward into the issue with war.
One example a biblical teacher once gave me for this in regards to war was that the soldiers where doing their duty and they weren't killing in anger---and that it was generally justified so there for o.k. This man was an ex soldier from the Vietnam era just to help you understand the whole issue but of coarse even he gave me that well over used "remember WW2" reason for it being o.k.
However I continually struggle with the idea that a man (or woman) in a foreign land, bombarded daily with others trying to kill them---won't fall to the "other side" of that statement and turn it into murder. Intentional or not. Obviously the people that live in that land can make a greater case for their killings being justified since they feel they are protecting family and property.

Then there is the other issue of the taking back of the land of Israel. So so so many Christians that I speak with say, emphatically, that Palestinians need to go and if they won't---the Israels have a right to forcefully evict them OR kill them if they resist. Why? Because this is a biblically "sanctified" war. Sanctified by God.

History lesson: the jews where forcefully removed from Israel during the Roman era and have pretty consistently been trying to "go home". During those 1500 hundred years or so others have moved in and settled there. Also, during WW1 and then on through and ending with WW2 other countries (England very heavily and then the U.S and it's allies) have "fiddled" around in that area. So....

So....what about the people that have had family living on some of that land for the past 400 years? Are they personally responsible for the Jew's loss? If the Jews come in and forcefully remove them from their land should they not at least be compensate for it? See this article here at dollars and sense.
Besides---maybe they too want to stay there and don't want to go because they have family and history right there also.

O.k---don't tell me the same thing I always hear "the Muslims are trying to kill them and they are defending their selves" I know that. But I still haven't come to my point if you will hang on.

Many years later, I got a new thought on this issue and I brought up the American Indians as an comparable analogy to the Jew/Palestinian issue. I pointed out that the American Indians were also forcefully removed from their property. So...shouldn't my husband (who's grandfather lived on a reservation in Montana) be able to go up there---pick a piece of property we like----and take it without compensation to whomever currently lives there? Especially if they are of European descent. If you want to take it even further--my husband was never personally compensated by anyone for his historical loss of his family heritage and land so wouldn't it be o.k for us to do that?
The answer to my question is that the land wasn't specifically given to them by God (they just migrated here) and that they didn't attempt to consistently get their land back like the Jews have. Ha!

Now to totally change subject (but not really) here's another issue.

As a Christian aren't we suppose to be against abortion? Well, to put my feeling right out there let me say that I always said this:
I personally am against abortion but feel that the government should stay out of it (they shouldn't fiddle in people's personal life) and everyone should make their own choice. Hence---it should not be outlawed.
However recently I heard a man on t.v say this in response to that oft spoken statement:
"Well," he said, "many people believe that slavery is wrong but if we had said, I don't personally believe in it but everyone should make their own choice, then we would still have slavery."
Extremely good point which I will admit makes me at least slightly re think my stance.

Unfortunately though many a case can be made for slavery in the bible---both old and new testament. God didn't say a thing about it other than you should let them rest on the sabbath and Jesus pretty much didn't say anything about it one way or the other. So, if I can coerce or physically force someone into slavery to me---can I claim it as my religious right?

As far as I know there isn't one reference specifically addressing abortion in the bible---other than "thou shall not murder". I would pretty much say that most woman that get abortions are not, thinking back to the example given to me by the older soldier, murdering their unborn children with hatred in their hearts. I mean--- going by the definition that some people are trying to pass off as the correct one to interpret "thou shall not murder".



SO THE POINT I AM TRYING TO MAKE IS


Isn't there a point as people ---- Christians or Jews or Muslim or Buddhist or whatever----that MORALLY (irregardless of which book we read) we are responsible for correct action? No matter how we try to interpret it out of the Bible? Come on---we know right from wrong. I have had some try and tell me that I have to remember the historical context ie: God was speaking specifically to the Jews. So....does that mean only that Jews can't kill Jews? Or maybe Christians can't kill Christians----but everyone else is far game as long as they aren't of the same beliefs? What about a Catholic and a Methodist? Or a Protestant and a Seventh Day Adventist---is each group fair game for the other?

Can we really say that we personally or our government or France's or Venezuela's or whomever's---can say with certainty that we or they has had God tell us for sure who needs to be bombed,killed or put to death? If we are so great (both as a country and also as a person) shouldn't we take the MORAL high road?

Unfortunately, and probably for good reason, I have never heard it called the Biblical high road.

So...what about the case for War?

Cupcake pincushion

Just a little something cute I mocked up to see if I would like it. Pretty nifty use for leftover bits of yarn and fleece isn't it? I will sell it at my booth this weekend and if I can---I will make a few more.

I found the instructions for something similar on line and, though I made a few minor adjustments to it, I think it works fabulously.

I will place the instructions below so you can try it out yourself if you are interested. The changes I made were:

1) Using a slightly different stitch pattern for the "frosting" part. I don't think I will use the exact same one again but I do think it worked out a bit nicer than the original pattern. It was a type of small bobble for the first two rows of frosting stitch---which I think makes it look as if it fluffs out over the cupcake. Just increasing the stitches might give the same effect but be slightly easier.

2) I wove in a piece of thread using a needle, right at the top of the cupcake (where it meets the frosting and from the same yarn/thread as I knitted it from) and tied it to keep the cupcake side from pooching out of shape from the stuffing. Using the needle pull the ends of the yarn into the cupcake to hide them.

3) instead of a plastic insert/water bottle to keep the sides and bottom from deforming we used the string as I mentioned above at the top and a small circle piece of felt that we lightly needle felting to the bottom. The round piece of felt is on the inside so you don't see it but it was thick enough to stabilize the bottom. If you don't needle felt (easy easy) then you could lightly tack it in place with matching yarn. Nicer I think than the plastic. I did have to wet the cupcake at the bottom to help the fibers release the strong "point" from where it was started and help it flatten out before I had the circle felted in place.

4) I used clean, but not good enough for anything else, wool fleece for the stuffing. That's not necessarily a change so much as that is what I had on hand versus what I didn't (polyester stuffing in this case). If you ask around you can find lower quality fleeces to stuff your projects with for low prices. When using it I first wash the fiber. Let it dry. Then hand pull it to fluff it. Even if it is somewhat matted you can work them into the center of the object. Works like a charm and is hypoallergenic too since dust mites can't grow in it. Don't throw the object into the washing machine to clean it though---only hand wash---or it will felt into a hard mass.

5) Use a good thick yarn for the "cherry" on top. It really makes it stand out---but of course is not necessary.

This pattern abounds on line so it's easy to find if you lose it.

Materials
worsted weight yarn in cake, icing and cherry colors
size three or four double pointed needle set. (dpns)
stuffing
needle
plastic cap, or bottom of plastic water bottle, to fit into the base of the cupcake


With cake color, cast on 6 sts on dpns.
Row 1 (and all odd-numbered rows): k all sts
Row 2: kfb into each st (12 sts)
Row 4: [kfb, k1] across (18 sts)
Row 6: [kfb, k1] across (27 sts)
Row 8: [kfb, k2] across (36 sts)
Row 9: p all sts (36 sts)
Rows 10-19: [k1,p1] across (36 sts)

Switch to icing colour.
Row 20: k all sts (36 sts)
Row 21-30: p all sts (36 sts)
Row 31: decrease 6 sts evenly across
Row 32: p all sts (30 sts)
Row 33: decrease 6 sts evenly across (24 sts)
Row 34: p all sts (24 sts)

Place plastic lid into the base of the cupcake and fill with stuffing.

Row 35: p2tog across (12 sts)
Row 36: p all sts (12 sts)
Row 37: p2tog across (6 sts)

Switch to cherry colour.
Row 38: k all sts (6 sts)
Row 39: kfb into each st (12 sts)
Row 40: k all sts (12 sts)
Row 41: k2tog across (6 sts)

Cut yarn, leaving a 6-inch tail. Thread needle with yarn, and run needle through remaining sts. Fasten tightly and knot. Pull knot through the center of the cherry, with the needle emerging at the base of the cherry. Wind the yarn tightly around the base of the cherry ( I did not do this as it looked better without it), pass it through the cherry again, emerging at the top. Trim yarn to resemble a cherry stem.

This is a quick couple hour project. Good luck and send me a quick note if you make one since I would like to see it!

Jailed for a post?

Holy Cow!

Are we in trouble now and I didn't even know it.

A recent posting on Anita's blog directed me to some others to research a new bill --H.R 1955----recently passed in the House and on it's way to the Senate. See it and it's information at the government site that tracks bills and their progress through the House and Senate here. No---you probably haven't heard about it (and according to the last link it will only cost you a dollar per year) but you dam well better speak up and say something right now. This kind of bill isn't the type you sit on the sidelines and say "well, I'm awfully busy---the others I know will write to the congresspersons and senators." This is very very serious. The bill is also known as The Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism and Prevention Act of 2007. Here is an excerpt from a newspaper describing the bill put forth by Democratic Congresswoman Jane Harman of California:

Harman's bill contends that the United States will soon have to deal with home grown terrorists and that something must be done to anticipate and neutralize the problem. The act deals with the issue through the creation of a congressional commission that will be empowered to hold hearings, conduct investigations, and designate various groups as "homegrown terrorists." The commission will be tasked to propose new legislation that will enable the government to take punitive action against both the groups and the individuals who are affiliated with them..............

Another excerpt:

Harman's bill does not spell out terrorist behavior and leaves it up to the Commission itself to identify what is terrorism and what isn't. Language inserted in the act does partially define "homegrown terrorism" as "planning" or "threatening" to use force to promote a political objective, meaning that just thinking about doing something could be enough to merit the terrorist label. The act also describes "violent radicalization" as the promotion of an "extremist belief system" without attempting to define "extremist.".............

The article does point out that it will primarily be directed at Muslims and Muslim organizations but, really, are you completely comfortable that this "commission" can monitor itself and follow the rules. When has ANY government, in ANY country, EVER been able to do that? Don't fool yourself---this is an extremely dangerous road we are dancing in the middle of.

See many many more links about the bill at Time Goes By blog site.

Fair Wages for Whom?

Hmmm...Tough topic to say the least but I wanted to address some things that have come to my attention recently in regards to fair wages.

First last week I read the following about Greenfield Farm organic co-op which was started in Ohio by a group of Amish:

Our feasibility study showed that 50 percent of Americans don't care what they eat as long as it's quick, cheap and tastes good," Wengerd says. "The other 50 percent care, but maybe 20 percent are willing to pay a premium for it. They're looking for wholesome food that is safe and they want to buy it from people they trust."

20%?!?! Well, to say the least that is not very many. Oh yeah---in the scheme of things population wise I am sure it is a lot of people but well...really it's not even a quarter of the population.

O.k. so the next part that came to my attention has to do with my own products. Yarn, fiber, fleeces etc.
We have a local show coming up (Christmas on the Square in Chickamauga, Georgia) and we will be renting a booth there to sell our remaining pelts, fibers,yarns and fleeces from this year.
Recently I put some of my yarns in the local hometown museum ---per their request. I went recently to pick them up to take to this show I will be going to. Unfortunately none of them that I had left there had sold. The lady who runs the museum told me that she gets raves over my items but they don't sell because everyone feels they are too pricey. Well, for one---it is a "small hometown" museum not MoMA in New York City by any means of the word, so of course people don't walk in expecting to find "quality"products that are somewhat costly. Nor are they expecting one of a kind art. Which is basically what my yarns are. And two---it's not that they necessarily go there specifically for yarns or fibers either. But...

Anyway what does this have to do with the above title? Well, fair wages---for me of course.
Let me just lay out what goes into developing my items start to finish and as you read it remember that many "value added" products from other farms have just as much effort in them as my products do. Then the next time you are considering specialty items---whether it's art, yarns, gourmet foods, organic products or whatever-----you can decide if the price really is worth spending based on a greater understanding of the work that may be involved.

So, yes, my products can be expensive. Why? Well, because in the end everyone touching my product, except for me, receives a "living wage". I suppose that living wage is open to interpretation but let me give you some examples of things that reflect the cost of my finished products. No where in this little "dialog" will I subject you to the "I have to spend my time feeding and caring for them" cost either. Why you ask? Because that particular "wage" is paid back when I have good food from my farm on my table. I do not pass that particular cost on to those that buy my added value items.

So, for the complete cost of fleeces and yarns here we go:

First: I shear my sheep. And lets just pretend that whatever lambs they have pay for their for their feed throughout the year. At this point my wool starts at zero dollars. However---it takes me about 15 minutes with blades (initial investment of about $400 dollars) and some electricity and shearing oil to get the fleeces off my sheep. I get about 2 to 1/2 pounds of usable fleece off of them after I spend time skirting manure and the worst junk out of them (another 15 to 30 minutes of my time per fleece). If I don't skirt---the mill can potentially refuse my wool or worse the end product might not be the best.
How much should I pay myself? What is my time worth here?

Second---I box my fleeces up and spend my husband's money to ship them to a mill. This includes the gas to drive them to the post office.
Not all mills are equal in either price or quality of finished product but the average to wash, card and turn my fleeces into basic roving is about $11 a pound based on sending in at least 5 pounds of fiber (some require no less than 8 pounds) of each color I want run. If I don't have the minimum I either have to store the fleeces until I do or pay a set up fee ranging from $10 to $25 dollars extra per batch.
Do I pay myself for the labor of boxing and shipping like I would receive if I did that job for another company?

Third---I pay to have them shipped back to me.

Fourth---I take my product and using my electric scales weigh out 2 ounce sections of roving, wrap it in a paper label I make from purchased supplies (marked with my farm name, price, weight and fiber content). Do I pay myself for the time invested? Should I consider the electricity? Obviously paper and ink has to be considered.

Alternative fourth---I dye my fiber (my best seller by far). This uses not only the dye I purchase from a company paying others at least minimum wage, but my time, my gas to run my stove, vinegar to set the color and my water that I purchase from the city. It is also wrapped in a label.

Last option----I spin the wool. Dyed or natural matters not. To make a fairly bulky 2 ply (the quickest to spin) requires about 2 hours of my time to get about 100yards from start to finish and about 3.5 to 5 ounces of fiber depending. There are people that can spin faster but most spin at about my rate. If I spin something thinner it requires much more time. Lace weight takes a long time. I don't spin that for sale anymore---only personal use. So should I charge $2 or $3 or even $5 dollars and hour for spinning (less than minimum wage) or more?

So....basically the point I am trying to come to is what IS a fair price for something. For me my competition is cheap labor yarns in the $4 range, made by large companies in other countries, who get volume breaks and buy wool from farmers that raise sheep for meat. Most of those farmers consider their wool a throw a way side product. No matter that I try and raise a premium product that's sustainable and organic my price for my labor is what kills me.
So consider that the next time you are trying to decide exactly how much are you willing to pay.

Think about also, that if I charged just $3 a hour for my labor, the cost of living in the U.S does not allow for me to be able to support myself on that price---if that were my sole supporting job I mean. Of course, just considering my wage at $3 an hour and no cost for washing, shipping, dying etc, the price for my yarn is about $2 higher than the "average" competition already when I spin yarn. How could a person in the U.S even make a living on something like that. To bad that some of these skills will fall to the wayside because of our "advances in technology". All these technologies do cost us though. The unseen costs of water use, electricity, large buildings to heat and cool and all the concrete invested in the parking areas etc etc.

Another thing you may not have know is that most farmers that sell to the local "wool pools" average about .50 cents per pound of wool. Even for a large sheep that is about $4. Just enough to pay the guy who shears the sheep. Or maybe they made .50 cents or a buck per sheep. Whoopee!---their going to get rich on that aren't they!

When we, as Americans, are trying to decide how much to pay people for something we have to remember not to compare their job here in the U.S to the same job in say...China or India. Not only do those people in those countries make less, but even if they make a "good wage" for their country---- their cost of living is still quite a bit less than living here. In the end it gives them an advantage when comparing my product made here in the U.S to theirs. By the way---look at the label the next time you buy yarn. Most all of it is made overseas. Just like a lot of things we buy now.

So flip that object over----even if you still buy it---and look to see where it was made at the next time you are out shopping. You might be surprised at how infrequently you see "made in America".

Don't get me wrong---I am not whining about money. Well, in a general sort of way I am.
However I do want people to understand exactly what is encompassed in the cost of a farmer's prices.
As I said I wouldn't in the beginning---- I didn't even touch on the time I spend feeding or caring for my animals---nor food costs or fencing. At one time land prices were set, per acre, at the price of the lambs that a person could get off them in one year. After that---your land was paid for and you could profit from that point on. No longer is that the case for farmers. Land is very expensive and that is just the first hurdle before feed, animal purchases, labor, equipment, storage facilities and on and on.

Here's an article on wealth and income inequality. to top it all off. It has some corporate issues in it----but I am not even trying to bash corporations or anything. I just want people to consider wages and what people really need to live on.

Have a great day all!!