Linda's Contemplations

Curly Pete

2011-12-08T21:25:00.000-08:00

November 3rd:

November 28th:

Same boy.

...and a brother is born for adversity.

2011-09-01T11:02:00.000-07:00

This morning, Thomas (5) and Daniel (3) were running a race downhill on our driveway when they bumped into each other and fell. Daniel got up, brushed himself off, and went his merry way. Thomas, seeking attention, laid there and bawled. As Thomas was trying to get up, his youngest brother, Peter (22 months), ran up to him, hit him as hard as he could on the top of his head, and then ran off.

What's a mom to do? :)

World Wide Knit in Public Day

2011-06-17T22:14:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is WWKIP day!

My first reaction is, "That's goofy."

But after evaluating myself, I probably think it's goofy because...

...I don't know how to knit or crochet. I've tried and haven't made it very far. The Moxley girls in Virginia got me to do a couple rows, but they were the ugliest rows I've ever seen.

...or maybe I've always been jealous of people who can knit and crochet.

...or maybe I'm jealous because they can spend time riding in a car, looking out the window, talking, AND knitting all at the same time (they don't even look at their knitting!). Who knows...

Come to think of it, don't knitters always knit in public? I've seen them knit in the car, knit on the bus, knit in the cafe, knit in church, knit at baby and wedding showers, knit when you invite them over for dinner, they always have their knitting/crochet bag with them wherever they go. But I have never seen groups of people getting together just in order to knit together. That's a new one to this non-knitter.

If you're inclined to go meet with other knitters and sit around and knit with them, you can look up a KIP in your area by going to the WWKIP web site.

(By the way, I have always admired those of you with your talented hands who can create such beautiful blankets, socks, doileys, scarves, hats, sweaters, doll clothes, and all the other things you knit and crochet. I really do wish I knew how to do that!)

You know you're in the boys room when...

2011-04-29T10:30:00.000-07:00

...you're kissing your son goodnight and a piece of dirty boys underwear comes flying across the room and lands on his face. (I'm glad it was his face and not mine.)

If you're wondering, the underwear was thrown by Peter in his crib. How it got there is beyond me, but it grosses me out to think about it.

Bucket full of goat heads

2010-07-21T20:42:00.000-07:00

Ticks

2010-07-21T15:02:00.000-07:00

Just pulled Ruthie's 18th tick off.

Stephen and Sarah Hainline's Wedding

2010-06-12T20:36:00.000-07:00

Today Sarah and Stephen got married!!

They had a beautiful wedding, it's too bad we couldn't make it, it was 2789.58 miles away according to MapQuest, too far to go there and back in an afternoon. But we are thankful that we got to watch it live on the internet! Technology is amazing.

Joe took one picture of us "at" their wedding:

We were all able to attend except for Daniel who was taking a nap.

Part way through I couldn't resist taking pictures. I know, of a computer screen? Call me crazy, but I did. I wonder if any of the other 28-31 computer viewers took pictures? (The bottom of the video kept telling us how many viewers were watching - I think it meant how many computers were watching.)

Earlier in the day I was thinking to myself, what do you eat when you watch a wedding online? Popcorn? No, that'd be too noisy. So I didn't get anything. But Joe did, he kept passing us pieces of licorice, it was really good and very quiet. Sorry we didn't get dressed up for the wedding Stephen and Sarah, we ran in from chores (and marketing on my part) to watch you get married and right after went back to finish our chores.

Dean talking to Sarah and Stephen:

Stephen saying his vows to Sarah: (Both of their vows were very meaningful. Actually, we couldn't hear everything because our connection wasn't fast enough and it would skip.)

Sarah saying her vows to Stephen: (Sarah was a very beautiful bride!! Stephen looked rather handsome as well!)

Stephen putting Sarah's ring on her:

Laura handing Stephen's ring to Sarah: (Good job not dropping it!)

Sarah putting Stephen's ring on him: (Good job Sarah, at my wedding I tried to put it on Joe's right hand and he had to correct me. :) )

Lots of gazing: (They are obviously in love with each other, they did a lot of gazing and I can tell that their smile muscles will be tired tonight.)

Taking communion:

A picture of the wedding party during communion: (Everyone was so pretty!)

Lighting the unity candle:

Ron about to pray for Stephen and Sarah:

Their first kiss! Praise the Lord for two godly people being a good, Christian example to everyone around them. Stephen seemed nervous, but he courageously accomplished the task:

More gazing. (Stephen is gearing up for THE KISS. We were cheering you on, something we could do staring at a computer screen that we wouldn't have been able to do if we were there.)

The kiss: (it was very sweet)

Followed by some cuddling: (Look at Ron's smile. :) )

And then a hug:

Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Hainline:

Off they go to a life full of blessings:

I thought it was cute that all four of the flower girls left their baskets on the platform:

Directly following the ceremony they played a slide show. We oohed and aaahed over many pictures. But we cheered when we saw this one:

We said, "Hey! We made it into their wedding! Hooray!" (For those of you who don't get it, in the above picture Sarah and Stephen are at our house last October helping process turkeys.)

Two pictures of Mrs. Van Cleve, one hugging Sarah:

And one hugging Stephen:

We saw the Felmley's giving you hugs, but the battery on my camera died right then. Too bad. It was hard for us to see everyone together without us. We really wish we could've been there. We love you all and miss you deeply.

After this the balcony camera turned off and only the platform camera was on, but the quality on that camera was very poor so we couldn't watch anymore.

We are very happy for you, Stephen and Sarah! May you stay close to the Lord, and He will bless you abundantly in your lives and your future generation's lives.

Muscles

2010-06-12T08:10:00.000-07:00

Pointing at his arm, "See these bump kind of things? These is muscles!"

~ Thomas, age 4

Recent Walkie-Talkie Conversation

2010-06-10T17:51:00.000-07:00

Four walkie-talkies: Joe had one at the Hacken Field, Hannah had one at the upper water tank, Ruthie had one in the Living Room where she was playing with Peter, and I had one in the Broiler Field.

*Tweeeeeeeeeet!*, Joe pushed his Call button on his walkie-talkie to get someone's attention.

Ruthie: "Yes, sir?"

Me: "Yes, sir?"

Ruthie: "Yes, mam?"

Joe: "I'm trying to get a hold of Hannah."

Ruthie: "I'm not Hannah."

Joe: "I'm trying to talk to Hannah."

Ruthie (louder): "I'm not Hannah!"

Joe: "Ruthie, quit talking so I can talk to Hannah."

Hannah: "Yes, sir?"

Me: (Laughing out loud in the Broiler Field.)

A Hungry Cook

2010-06-04T16:09:00.001-07:00

Do you ever get so hungry that you just stand in the kitchen and stare at the counter not knowing what to cook?

Retail marketing

2010-05-27T18:58:00.000-07:00

I'm entering receipts right now and just noticed on a Kmart receipt dated May 9, 2010 that it says at the top, "BACK TO SCHOOL SAVINGS AT YOUR COVINGTON KMART".

Either they have lazily left it on from last summer or they are torturing the poor children with advertising for next years supplies before they are even out of school this year.

For Lydia

2010-05-27T17:10:00.000-07:00

Dear Lydia,
I told you that I would post a picture of Joseph with his missing front teeth. It cost me a Tennessee quarter but I finally got it:

Some of the others wanted pictures of their teeth also.

Thomas and Daniel:

Ruthie and Daniel:

And Peter:

Isn't it fun to lose your teeth!

Have a good day!

Love,
Mrs. Murphy

Disclaimer for products sold in America

2010-05-27T14:32:00.000-07:00

I saw the following statement on a product on Amazon:

"Legal Disclaimer:
We do not in any way represent that any part we sell is legal to possess in your jurisdiction. Check with your local authorities to ensure it is legal for you to possess before buying!"

By that disclaimer you'd think we were looking at something shady.

I'll tell you what it was. It was a... Range Finder. Gasp!

People use those when golfing to find the distance to the hole. Some people even use it out hunting to check the distance to the buck. I've read about sailers using it to check the distance to shore. If Joe had one he would use it for sizing paddocks for cows.

This is outrageous. There should be laws. Let's call the authorities!!

But before we do, please pour me a glass of raw milk.

The Hunters Cabin

2010-05-26T16:39:00.000-07:00

This cabin is in a corner of one of the fields, the Cabin Field. It is fully furnished, has power, but no running water. There is an outhouse behind it.

Jon's catch of the day

2010-05-26T16:06:00.000-07:00

Mr. Six Footer is still lurking out there somewhere. This one was only 3' long.

Black Rat snakes are beneficial to farms because they eat rats. But little children trump snakes.

Joe picked up two more mouse and rat controls yesterday when he picked up the goats:

What does a father of seven look like?

2010-05-26T13:32:00.000-07:00

Jon out turtle hunting

2010-05-25T16:59:00.000-07:00

I heard several shots so I hope he got some.

Before you say, "ahhh," these are snapping turtles. They eat ducklings and the feet and/or legs off of bigger ducks. Around here, people aim for them when they are crossing the road. We've seen both turtle road-kill and snake road-kill.

I just heard the report that he got three! Good job, Jon!

Why I am Quiting Facebook

2010-05-17T10:08:00.000-07:00

Here are my reasons in the order most important to me:

1. The ads -
I have installed plug-ins to remove Facebook ads but recently some ads have reappeared. I assume Facebook works around the plug-ins to keep slapping us in the face with their disgusting ads. I assume to keep removing the ads I would have to keep searching for and installing the latest plug-in. But I'm not willing to spend the time doing that and I don't appreciate it being suggested that having purity in our marriage is an unobtainable [or unmaintainable] goal.

2. Lack of privacy -
It used to be in Nazi Germany that the government collected and maintained all kinds of records on its citizens and then used it against them. Today we voluntarily give up information about ourselves... welcome to Facebook. I will not allow Facebook to keep collecting data on me and using it. Do a search for "Facebook privacy" and see what you find! To see how Facebook has changed its privacy policies over the years click here.

3. The addictive nature of Facebook consumes too much time -
How many times have I just wanted to check what someone commented and found myself spending 30 or more minutes strolling through the pages of Facebook friends? Too many.

I am not the only one fed up with Facebook. These people are too:
We're Quitting Facebook
Top Ten Reasons You Should Quit Facebook

By the way, if you only "deactivate" your Facebook account, Facebook keeps all your information and "friends" can still tag you in photos, invite you to events, ask you to join groups, etc. And if you ever try logging on in the future, wow! all your information will still be there.

To delete yourself from Facebook (hopefully permanently, but I'm not convinced of that) click here for the 5 (yes, 5!) simple steps.

That brings me to reason #4 - It's unethical of Facebook to make it so difficult to quit.

I'll see you in blogger-land friends!

[Edited: May 19, 2010 - - I really need to add two more reasons for Why I am Quitting Facebook. And they should be numbered 0.1 and 0.2 - both coming before #1.

# 0.1. Clicking around -
"Wow! I haven't seen Sally McHuggelhoffer (fake name) for years, I'll go over to her profile and see what she's been up to. Isn't Facebook amazing, it brings people back together." So over to Sally's profile I go. "I wonder if she has any children? Let's click on her photos." Now I've subjected myself to Sally's photos of their last Christmas, BBQ, and outing at the beach. The pictures may not be bad, but they may be bad.

OR - ...over to Sally's profile I go. "This is an interesting friend she has." -click- and then, "boy, that is an interesting friend that Sally's friend has." - click - And if this isn't controlled you can see how someone could end up in what seems like the red-light district of Hong Kong.

#0.2. "You've been tagged in a photo!" -
For some of us, "who cares," right? But what if you didn't get saved or you just didn't mature until later in life? That makes a difference. And then some knuckle-head with decent intentions puts a picture of you in their photo album and "tags" you so now all your "friends" can see it. What if that picture is of a situation that God saved you out of and as far as you're concerned it is way back in the annals of your past, you've forgotten all about it, you purposely don't talk about, and now all of a sudden the Devil is waving it in your face again?

I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O LORD, will I sing. I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me. (Psalm 101:1-3)

My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. (Proverbs 1:10)

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish. (Psalms 1:1-6)

...end of editing.]

Jon Criss Fan Club

2010-05-14T16:17:00.000-07:00

Lately, each time Thomas sees Jon he says, "Jon, let's play!"

If Jon had a fan club, Thomas would be Club President.

Blog posting regarding chicken processing

2010-05-13T09:38:00.000-07:00

Karen, a lady who helped us process chickens yesterday, wrote a nice post on her blog regarding her experience. You can see it here:
http://holesinmyjeans-kpannabecker.blogspot.com/2010/05/not-for-faint-of-heart.html

You know someone was homeschooled without TV when...

2010-05-09T17:54:00.000-07:00

...you tell them, "Good thing you ate your Wheaties this morning."

And they respond with, "No, I didn't have weenies but I did have sausage!"

The Danger of Eating

2010-05-05T14:08:00.000-07:00

Famous Quote by George Bernard Shaw:
"Statistics show that of those who contract the habit of eating, very few survive."

Jon

2010-05-02T16:20:00.000-07:00

We are very thankful to have Jon Criss with us for the month of May. We picked him up at the Roanoke Airport last night.

On his first full day he experienced 83 degree, very humid weather, our most humid of the year so far. He also got to enjoy doing chores: feeding 600 hens and opening their nest boxes, moving, feeding, and watering 1875 broilers in 25 broiler shelters, and feeding 1000 broiler chicks in the brooder, all before going to church. We had good fellowship with the Moxley family in Millboro Springs, ate lunch with them and then came back to enjoy afternoon chores: moving 250 beef cows, feeding and watering all 2875 broilers again, gathering about 500 eggs and closing the hens' nest boxes, fixing water lines (a never ending chore), and I'm sure there is more because they haven't come in yet even though homemade ice cream awaits them.

I'm sure you all in Washington will miss Jon this month but know that we will take good care of him, Joe will polish up his political views, we'll put him to more work than he's ever done before, and with his help we are hoping to be able to settle into a routine and enjoy family devotions once again. We are even considering letting Jon return to Washington in June! ;)

The Republican Party and Planned Parenthood

2010-04-28T18:50:00.001-07:00

The Republican Party and Planned Parenthood
Posted by Laurence Vance on April 28, 2010 06:28 PM

I have seen it reported in several places that Planned Parenthood, one of the world’s leading abortion providers, received government grants and contracts of $350 million for fiscal year 2007-2008 and $337 million for fiscal year 2006-2007. I verified this information for myself on the Planned Parenthood website. I also discovered that Planned Parenthood’s fiscal year ends on June 30. This means that Bush the Republican was the president during this time. But after doing a little digging, I also found out that Planned Parenthood received government grants and contracts of $305 million (34%) during fiscal year 2005-2006. During this time we not only had Bush the Republican president but also a Republican majority in Congress. Yet, Planned Parenthood was still funded. And we are supposed to take Republicans seriously when they complain that Obama isn’t likely to appoint an anti-abortion judge to the Supreme Court? Why wasn’t the Republican Party that concerned about abortion when clinics affiliated with Planned Parenthood performed 264,943 abortions in 2005?

This is “The Republican Party Is Not the Lesser of Two Evils, Example No. 5,396.” For example No. 5,395, see here.

Moon Art

2010-04-02T04:33:00.000-07:00

A few nights ago Joe had me help him test the water system. I was down at the pump reading the gauge while he was timing flow at various points. I'm not sure if I explained that right, but that's not what I'm aiming at in this post.

I had long periods of waiting, so I started taking nice pictures with my camera and those weren't turning out so good. So then I started fooling around with my camera and came up with this:

Stephen & Sarah got married last night

2010-04-02T04:21:00.000-07:00

Last night after Ruthie went to bed she lined up all her dolls and stuffed animals on her bed to watch a wedding. Stephen and Sarah were getting married!

Sarah is in the purple because, "A man would never wear purple to his own wedding!"
And Stephen is in the blue because, "Men wear blue."

Congratulations Sarah and Stephen! Your wedding was beautiful.

Happy, Healthy Chocolate

2010-04-01T15:22:00.000-07:00

Not such a sin: Chocolate is being hailed a superfood because of its antioxidants

Once regarded as a health sin, chocolate is now being hailed as a superfood because of the high levels of health-boosting antioxidants it contains. Other ingredients include theobromine, which is good for the nervous system. A recent study at Imperial College London showed chocolate can suppress persistent coughing. Another compound, phenylethylamine, is thought to have a mood-boosting effect.

Meanwhile, antioxidants in chocolate are said to protect the skin against UV damage. They also boost cardio-vascular health (these health benefits all accrue from dark chocolate, as it is higher in cocoa solids). In fact, so good is chocolate that it's no longer just a healthy indulgence - some doctors are now recommending it as a form of treatment. Dr K.K. Atsina, formerly of the University of Ghana Medical School, has used cocoa powder 'as an adjunct to treatment of hypertension and diabetes in my clinic for a very long time'. Another Ghanaian doctor, Professor F. Kwaku Addai, writing in the journal Medical Hypotheses, describes how he recommends two to five cups a day to help protect against malaria. 'I used to get malaria at least once a year,' he says. 'But since 2004, when my family started drinking unsweetened natural cocoa mixed with hot water, we have not had it.' He says other doctors use it to help with everything from eyesight to asthma.

Closer to home, patients of Professor Dan Reinstein, a top laser eye surgeon at Harley Street's London Vision Clinic, are encouraged to eat 'as much as they can' 30 minutes before surgery. 'Patients who eat chocolate prior to laser surgery are less jittery, more alert and more co-operative than those who receive sedatives,' he says.

'For example, with a relaxed, attentive patient I can perform a routine procedure in less than three minutes. 'But the same procedure can occasionally take much longer if the patient is tense and worked-up.'

The natural high many experience after eating chocolate is not, it seems, just in our minds. Professor Donatella Lippi, a medical historian at the University of Florence in Italy, has researched the history of cocoa. She says: 'In the past few years, natural substances such as flavonoids - high concentrations of which are found in cocoa - have been considered as antidepressant treatments.'

Chocolate can also be used to balance low concentrations of brain chemicals, such as serotonin and dopamine. These important chemicals are both involved in mood regulation, food intake and compulsive behaviours. Eating a moderate intake of dark chocolate is also suggested by psychiatrists because of its antidepressant-like effect.

In fact, this therapeutic use of chocolate is ages old. Professor Lippi says: 'In Europe, the relationship between chocolate and medicine dates back to Columbus's voyages to the New World. For example, in 1577, Francisco Hernandez (court physician to the king of Spain) affirmed that chocolate was used to treat liver disease.'

In a treatise published in 1662, Henry Stubbe, the personal physician to Charles II, reported that English soldiers who were in Jamaica lived on a diet of cocoa paste mixed with sugar which was then dissolved in water. Stubbe noted that chocolate could also be used as an expectorant (which can ease respiratory difficulties), a diuretic or an aphrodisiac. It was also suitable for treating hypochondriacal melancholy.

In other words, just eating some chocolate can make you happy.

By George Winter

Uh, oh

2010-03-14T12:41:00.000-07:00

Daniel watching Thomas...

How to Remove all the Ads on Facebook

2009-12-18T16:02:00.000-08:00

Hooray! I figured out how to remove the ads in the right sidebar on Facebook!

1) Use Firefox for a browser
http://en-us.www.mozilla.com/en-US/
- install

2) Install Greasemonkey ad-on
- click on "Tools" in menu bar
- click on "Add-ons"
- search for "Greasemonkey"
- install and restart Firefox

3) Install "Remove All Facebook Ads" script
- go to:
http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/13787
- install and viola! the Facebook ads disappear!!

"No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service"

2009-12-17T21:07:00.000-08:00

Do you remember the sign that used to be on the door of every establishment, "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service"? (Am I showing my age?)

I haven't seen this sign for many years, either because it has disappeared, I have selective seeing, or I have a bad memory.

When I was young, I used to joke that maybe the sign meant that they don't sell shoes or shirts and they don't have service. Or maybe it meant that as long as you had a shirt and shoes on you could get service, pants are optional.

Seriously though, I would like to start seeing that sign be put up again (especially on some church doors!). Although, I think today's society would interpret the word "shirt" differently than they did 30 years ago. Instead of it meaning something that covers you from neck to pants (or skirt) and has some sort of sleeves, it would mean any amount of threads that go across your mid-section. The definition for "shoes" probably hasn't changed too much. As far as "service" goes, I think the definition has been mostly forgotten.

"What am I getting at," you ask?

Facebook.

We are new members to Facebook and have discovered some things about it:

It is a great tool for advertising.
It is a great tool for networking with people.
It is an amazing tool for finding long lost friends.
It has bad advertisements.
Not everyone picks dressed pictures of themselves for their profile.

As far as advertisements goes, I've heard that somehow those can be eliminated from your Facebook page. I'm still trying to figure that out.

But the profile pictures that some people pick for the whole world to look at, especially some Christians, bewilders me. Some women have clothing on that would be considered a gift from a bridal shower. Some men don't have any shirt on at all. I would understand this from unbelievers, but Christians? Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I think followers of Christ ought to wear modest clothing.

So Joe and I have adopted a policy for our Facebook "friends": "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service." We don't care about the shoes part. But if one of our "friends" decides to get undressed for their profile picture, then we will silently remove them from our "friends" list. We don't want to look at their skin and we don't want to be guilty of any of our other "friends" (and especially our own children) who are looking at our "friends list" to see their skin and possibly have sinful thoughts.

If everyone had this same policy, then people who poorly choose to put a picture of themselves scantily clad on their profile, would eventually lose their "friends", and maybe they would put a better picture up.

In some pictures it is difficult to see what the person is wearing, or they are wearing something that shows some skin, but because of body position or shadows, etc., the picture isn't offensive, and we aren't that picky. I'm just talking about the obvious ones.

PS.
From the Merriam-Webster Dictionary (2009):
Shirt, noun, - a garment for the upper part of the body as a: a cloth garment usually having a collar, sleeves, a front opening, and a tail long enough to be tucked inside trousers or a skirt b: undershirt.

PPS.
I was too chicken to say anything about this on my Facebook page, that's why I put it on my blog.

Green Fairy Quilts

2009-12-15T12:32:00.000-08:00

Green Fairy Quilts: Time for another giveaway!!

I found an amazing quilter, Judi of Green Fairy Quilts. She makes and sells patterns and she also quilts (meaning, you make the blanket and she will machine quilt it - sew all the fancy designs in it). She is having a give-away tomorrow night and I thought it'd be fun to try to win. I don't have time to even think about quilting right now, but who doesn't like to win something? That is why I am posting about her and her website because it counts for five entries in her drawing. From what I've seen, it is a family-friendly website and her talent is one of a kind.

Check out the quilting job she did on this piece:I would love to learn how to do this!

Vacuum?

2009-12-09T10:04:00.000-08:00

We've had central vacuum in our house so we will need to purchase a vacuum for our Virginia house. Does anyone have any recommendations for a powerful, yet quiet vacuum? Upright or canister?

Everyone loves to hold a baby!

2009-12-07T20:36:00.001-08:00

... or two!

Karen is holding her Hudson and my Peter. Peter is 11 days younger than Hudson.
It's a rare treat to be able to hold another living soul that weighs less than 10 lbs.

Aunt Heidi:
Cousin Ryan. (Can you imagine being able to hold your cousin like this? How precious!)
Bill VanCleve was the first person in church to hold Peter:
And then his wife, the lovely Cynthia:
Cousins, Katherine and Peter:
Grandma Murphy:
And pretty cousin Nichaela. Doesn't Peter look content?
Karen and I holding our two little pumpkins:

Thanksgiving Trip to Liz's Home

2009-12-07T14:45:00.000-08:00

For Thanksgiving weekend we were blessed to have spent our time at Ron & Liz's home near the Columbia Gorge. Liz is Joe's sister, I've written about their family here, here, and here.

On our trip we passed four wonderful mountains.

Mount Baker:

Mount Ranier with Seattle traffic in foreground:
(Joe climbed to the top of this mountain in 1997.)

Mount Adams:

Mount Hood:

Chipper is the resident pet at the Green's home. He isn't too fond of children, but somehow Ruthie was able to make friends with him.

Meaghan is their youngest child, and is only 8 hours younger than Hannah. Left to right: Daniel, Joseph, Meaghan, Hannah, and Rebekah:

Grandma, Joe's mother, lives close to Liz. Here she is with her grandchildren: (L to R - Hannah, Rebekah, Daniel, Ruth, Thomas, Grandma, Joseph, and Meaghan.)
Uncle Mike, Joe's brother, is helping Joseph with an electronic set Joseph got for his birthday.
Joe was able to visit the house he grew up in. The current owners were kind enough to let him take some pictures.
This is Northwestern Lake on the White Salmon River. It is just below Joe's childhood home. When Joe was young, he and his brother, Nick, would tie a long rope to their bikes and ride them off the end of the dock and pull them back out with the rope.
View looking southeast when crossing the bridge to Hood River, Oregon:
View looking west down the Columbia River when crossing the same bridge:
On our way home we decided to go through eastern Washington to avoid the Seattle traffic. We were able to get many nice pictures.

Columbia River:
Train being swallowed by the rock along the Columbia:

We stopped at a rest area to eat our sack lunch and found some great climbing trees:
Coming into a valley north of Yakima:
Crossing over Snoqualmie Pass:

Thank you Ron, Liz, Katherine, Nichaela, and Meaghan for a wonderful weekend!

Moving Update

2009-11-17T16:15:00.000-08:00

I have a new post at www.inpasturesgreen.com called "Moving Update". I will be posting there more and more to encourage traffic on our new website. Sorry for the hassle, but if you want to read the post, you'll have to go over there. :)

Finally, an offer!!

2009-11-12T14:26:00.000-08:00

After two months on the market and twelve different families looking at our house, we finally have an offer!

The realtor of the the last family to tour our house said that if we don't want to take our dog with us, she'd be glad to take her.

[Added later... Just to clarify, we have had no offers on the house - zero, only on the dog.]

Why one-year olds make bad babysitters.

2009-11-10T18:06:00.000-08:00

Our favorite bassinet is a laundry basket. Don't be alarmed, we prefer it to any other because: 1) we already have it, 2) it's cheap, 3) we only use it as a bassinet for 2 or 3 nights, and 4) we don't have to worry about storing it anywhere because 5) it has multiple uses. [Joe later added that 6) it is easy to carry.] That being said, Peter spent his first two nights in his "bassinet".

(I know what you're thinking, "PINK blanket??". Again, please don't be alarmed. We didn't know whether God would give us a boy or a girl and with our house being on the market, we couldn't get the whole arsenal of boy and girl clothes & supplies out of the attic because we didn't want to clutter up our house more than necessary. That is why Peter is wearing blue but is covered in a pink blanket. Don't worry, he'll grow up to be more of a man than most of you men out there.)

Notice in the picture above that Daniel is admiring his new baby brother in the bassinet.

Please notice that Daniel put his sister's doll, a "baby", in Peter's bassinet and got in with it. Pretty cute, eh? (At this point Peter was not in the bassinet but on the bed with me.)

Now notice what Daniel is standing on.

That is why one-year old's make bad babysitters.

New Blessing!

2009-11-09T19:06:00.000-08:00

Last week God blessed us with a precious baby boy! His name is Peter Bernard. Bernard is his grandfather's name (Joe's dad) who went home to be with the Lord three years ago.

Peter, less than two hours old.

Proud Daddy.

Thomas & Peter.

Middle of the night when Peter was born. Joe delivered the baby this time! One of his many talents.

Daniel is finally a big brother.

Granny & Peter.

Hannah is now a big sister to six!

Rebekah, Joseph, and Ruth adoring Peter.

Rebekah & Peter.

Mommy & Peter.

Living Room, Dining Room, Kitchen...

2009-10-30T02:19:00.000-07:00

I find myself, at 2:20 AM, walking circles through my downstairs.

Living Room, Dining Room, Kitchen, Living Room....

Every few circles I take a break in the kitchen to snack on cookies and milk.

This seems to be tradition. Very shortly before a new babe is born I find myself walking somewhere in the dark. In the summer I walk the driveway (yes, in the middle of the night - did it with Ruthie, wearing my fuzzy pink bathrobe). In bad weather I walk in the house. It's either walk and let gravity work with my contractions or lie in bed and let my contractions keep me awake.

We'll keep you posted...

I lost my hand towels

2009-10-23T10:48:00.000-07:00

Having a house on the market presents a bunch of challenges. Especially with a homeschooling family (always home) of six children (lots of messes).

My lack of memory doesn't help things either.

We had a house showing two days ago and one thing we do is switch out our favorite stringy towels for new ones that we don't like to use but look prettier. Well, my thread-bare green hand towels were clean so there was no need to put them in the regular hide-out (wash machine) so I hid them somewhere else.

I can't wait to find them again.

We are moving!

2009-10-20T22:00:00.000-07:00

Sometime before the middle of January we will be moving to Millboro, Virginia to operate Buxton Farm!

I have written extensively about it on a new web site I have created, so please read the story at In Pastures Green.

We also have set up accounts on both Facebook and Twitter. If you are members of either one, we invite you to be a friend/fan of In Pastures Green.

We also would appreciate it if you could link to our new web site, leave comments, subscribe to the RSS feed, and become fans at our Facebook and Twitter sites. The more we weave a web towards and around our web site, the higher up on the search engines our site will go and that will add to the success of our farm.

I will keep this blog for our more personal family stories, but will also be blogging on In Pastures Green about our farming adventure. It is a real web site (rather than just a blogging site) and has been rather challenging for me to set up. I thank Nathan Wenneker in Tennessee and my brother-in-law, Mark Martin, in Washington for helping me! It is still a work in progress, so if you feel like I am missing something please tell me.

We will miss everyone in Washington State. (I feel like typing that last sentence about ten more times. We really will miss you.) But this opportunity is obviously from the Lord, and so we will move.

Enough already... get over to In Pastures Green and read the story!

Who owns the organic industry?

2009-09-28T19:31:00.000-07:00

After a quick Google search under "who owns organic", I found a link that describes the major corporations who have purchased the "small" organic labels. It is put together by the Cornucopia Institute.

The best and healthiest food is what a person can grow and make themselves.

Second best is to buy it from a local farmer whom a person can look in the eye and ask questions and look at how the produce and animals are raised.

Third best is to buy certified organic foods, but still watch the ingredient labels.

Fourth best, is to shop the outer edges of the supermarket. Avoid all the inner aisles where most of the processed foods are.

Tying for fifth best, inner aisles of the supermarket, restaurants & fast food. (Okay, maybe the inner aisles of a supermarket has a slight edge on restaurants and fast food.)

Sixth best, pray that the food you're putting in your mouth won't hurt you too quickly.

Seventh best, I don't have a seventh best.

Oh That Little Bit Won't Hurt Me!

2009-09-28T18:42:00.000-07:00

I took the below article from this website. She focuses a lot on dyes (food colorings), but the same principle applies to all additives, chemicals, toxins, that are added to our food, drink, and things we put on our body.

Here is her article...

I hear it all the time, "Oh that little bit won't hurt me!" Is that true? No, because you never consume "just a small amount!" Find out how much your "little bit is!"

It's very true that products/foods may only contain a minute amount of something bad, therefore if you consumed it only once it probably wouldn't make a big difference. Sadly that isn't the case because so many things you consume has only a "little bit" but when it starts to add up your poor liver and immune system will be caving in under the weight of it ALL…

Food colors for instance, the FDA http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/colorfac.html approves them for use and describes each and it's usage as;

FD&C (Federal Food, Drug & Cosmetic) Yellow No.6;
which is used in cereals, bakery goods, snack foods
and other foods.

FD&C Blue No.1
Brilliant Blue FCF Bright blue; Beverages, dairy
products powders, jellies, confections, condiments,
icings, syrups, extracts

FD&C Blue No.2
Indigotine Royal Blue; Baked goods, cereals, snack
foods, ice cream, confections, cherries

FD&C Green No.3
Fast Green FCF Sea Green; Beverages, puddings,
ice cream, sherbet, cherries, confections, baked goods,
dairy products

FD&C Red No.40
Allura Red AC Orange-red; Gelatins, puddings, dairy
products, confections, beverages, condiments

FD&C Red No.3
Erythrosine Cherry-red; Cherries in fruit cocktail and in
canned fruits for salads, confections, baked goods, dairy
products, snack foods

FD&C Yellow No.5
Tartrazine Lemon Yellow; Custards, beverages, ice cream,
confections, preserves, cereals

FD&C Yellow No.6
Sunset Yellow Orange; Cereals, baked goods, snack
foods, ice cream, beverages, dessert powders, confections

How many of those foods have you consumed today?
Betcha it didn't end up as JUST A SMALL AMOUNT!

What are those additives of many colors made of?

99% are synthetic, because they are cheaper and makes more money for the manufacturer.. Would you go to the gas station and buy oil to eat or drink? Not at all, but when you consume dyes you are eating and/or drinking petroleum (crude oil). That is exactly what the majority of
dyes are made from! Our systems are not designed to consume crude oil in any manner. The other .09% is made from some funny little red cochineal bugs. That's right cochineal bugs (insects) in your food. If it's red it may be colored with bugs! And the other .01% of colors comes from vegetables.

Oh by the way, when the FDA calls it vegetable dye that doesn't mean it's made of vegetables, but that it can be used on vegetables and other foods! Just a tiny little mislead there!

Example of how it's NEVER "JUST A LITTLE BIT."

You wake up in the morning and take your shower, usually filled with *chlorine by-products. Then your soap or shower gel, shampoo and condition your hair usually contain one or more dyes and other chemicals. You get out of the shower or bath and slather on deodorant/antiperspirant (Your friends and coworkers appreciate that gesture.), which contains more dye and other chemical components that have been shown to be carcinogenic along with aluminum to congregate in your brain, and found in large amounts in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. Women apply moisturizers to the face and whole body along with other cosmetics. Each one of them contains one or more dye with other chemicals, also shown to be carcinogenic. Men put on the after shave and smart ones apply a moisturizer to their skin and body, all containing hormonal imbalancing chemicals and dye. All of those things put on the body is absorbed through your skin into the organs of your body. That's before you start the day. See what chemicals in our shampoos and body products do to us http://www.envirodocs.com/chemicals.htm

Next comes breakfast; most of you will down a cup of coffee and a pastry/donut/breakfast bar or bowl of cereal with milk. The coffee sets your heart to racing and your systems into a frantic jump for a few hours. Those quick breakfast foods contain sugar and honey and/or syrup, which speeds up your systems more and also contain one or more dye. See the chart above and how many dyes are allowed in cereal, they also have sugar/honey that helps your systems speed up even more, helping to wear them out, and the milk is a pus filled substance that contain all kinds of hormones, antibiotics, chemicals and pesticides, which the cow takes in through her foods or is given in injection by the dairymen to make them more money, which shorten the lives of the cow and you. All of these before you even start your day. I won't even begin to talk about your McDonalds, Burger King, Taco Bell lunches filled with fat, dyes, chemicals and pesticides.

Do you still think "that little bit won't hurt you?"

Dyes alone without all the other junk is enough for your liver and immune system to yell STOP if they could.

So many people react to dyes alone in such a manner to make their day a bad one and their life a sad one. Dyes are known to cause inability to concentrate as well as create hyperactivity and the extreme in children of bouncing off the walls (ADHD or ADD) in some. The day and the hyperactivity gets worse as more dye and/or chemicals are ingested throughout the day. Add that to the other chemical pollution in your water and environment and you have a head on collision for crashing your health.

Other problems noted with dyes alone include depression, fear, and phobias, irritability, and can even though the FDA refuses to accept the fact, I have seen them set off asthma attacks in some. How about IBS (irritable bowel syndrome)? I bet if some IBS sufferers would cut out the dyes and chemicals in their foods they could be free of their misery…

If you think I'm being paranoid take notice of your grocery store's healthy food section… How big is it? Usually very small! Does that say something about the majority of the other foods on their shelves? I think so.

When purchasing food and body care products read the label and stay away from foods and drink containing chemicals you can't pronounce and food dyes. Foods should consist of fresh or frozen to avoid most additives, even with frozen you have to read labels… Fresh, unless organically grown fruits and veggies must be washed thoroughly before eating!

Those simple precautions can create a healthier happy family and you!

*See chlorine dangers in your water at http://www.envirodocs.com/chlorine-2002.htm

Be healthy,
Lena

Final Ice Cream Update

2009-09-28T15:05:00.000-07:00

Western Family:
They asked for personal information like address, city, state, zip code, phone number, which store I shop at, etc. They promise not to share the information. I responded back on August 3rd stating that I live and shop in Washington State. Apparently I didn't get personal enough because I haven't heard from them since.

Edaleen Dairy:
I sent them two emails, they sent me none.

Schwan's:
They can't answer my questions unless I tell them my account number which I don't have one.

Breyers:
They responded with this -

Hello Linda,

Thanks for writing!

Because our products are formulated for use by the majority of our consumers, and not specifically for those on restricted diets, it is possible our product formulations may change at any time. As a result, we cannot provide a list due to several factors:

- Lists of this type reflect products as formulated at a specific time
- Possible that more products/varieties may have been added
- More important, changes in existing products may have occurred

Therefore, we suggest READING ALL INGREDIENT LABELS CAREFULLY.

We hope this information is helpful!

Your friends at Good Humor -Breyers

I responded back to them with this:

I understand that your formulations may change from time to time. Therefore, I will clarify my question:

Are any one or any combination of the following ever used in Breyers ice cream products:
Aldehydec 17
Alginate
Amylbutyrate
Azo dye
Benzyl acetate
Butyraldehyde
Dietheyl Glycol
Diglycerides
Dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate
Disodium phosphates
Ethyl Acetate
Glycerin
Microcrystalline cellulose
Monoglycerides
Piperonal
Polysorbate 60, 65, and/or 80
Propylene glycol
Sodium carboxyl methylcellulose
Tetrasodium pyrophosphate
Vanillin

Thank you very much for your time,
Linda

To which they never responded. I can only speculate why they did not want to respond.

(Why do these companies keep using the word “formulations”? I’ve never asked for someone’s “formulation” when wanting to know how to make their chocolate chip cookies.)

Dreyers:
They responded with this:

Dear Linda,

Thank you for your email requesting nutritional information on Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream. In an increasingly health-conscious society, I am always pleased to respond to our consumers' questions regarding our products.

We follow all FDA guidelines when labeling our products. For more information about food labeling requirements, I recommend that you visit www.fda.gov.

We hope that this information is useful to you and we appreciate your taking the time to contact our company to share your concerns.

Sincerely,

Monica Perez
Consumer Response Representative

I wasn't satisfied with their answer, so I responded:

Dear Monica,

Thank you for responding.

I understand that you are under obligation to follow FDA guidelines. This is what concerns me because the FDA allows ingredients to be included in food that do not need to be listed on the ingredient list on the package.

Therefore, I will be more specific in my question.

Are any one or any combination of the following ever used in Dreyers ice cream products:
Aldehydec 17
Alginate
Amylbutyrate
Azo dye
Benzyl acetate
Butyraldehyde
Dietheyl Glycol
Diglycerides
Dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate
Disodium phosphates
Ethyl Acetate
Glycerin
Microcrystalline cellulose
Monoglycerides
Piperonal
Polysorbate 60, 65, and/or 80
Propylene glycol
Sodium carboxyl methylcellulose
Tetrasodium pyrophosphate
Vanillin

Thank you,
Linda

To which they responded:

Dear Linda,

Thank you for your email requesting nutritional information on Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream.

As we indicated in a previous e-mail, we follow all FDA guidelines when labeling our products.

We do in fact use some of the ingredients that were listed in your e-mail. If any of the ingredients are used in the Dreyer’s Ice Cream, that ingredient would be listed in the ingredient statement on the label. If any ingredients contain more that one ingredient, the sub ingredients are listed in parenthesis. The only exception to this would be the listing for Natural and Artificial flavors.

We hope that your questions and concerns have now been sufficiently answered. Should you require additional information, please feel free to contact us.

We at Dreyer's Ice Cream appreciate your interest in our company and our products. We value our consumers and we thank you for the opportunity to respond to your concerns.

Sincerely,
Josh Thomas
Consumer Affairs Manager

Costco's Kirkland Brand Ice Cream:

I asked them:

Brittany,

Thank you for responding.

I shop at the Bellingham, Washington Costco. No, I don’t know the product number. The product is your Kirkland brand ice creams.

Specifically I want to know if any or any combination of the following is added to Kirkland ice cream:
Aldehydec 17
Alginate
Amylbutyrate
Azo dye
Benzyl acetate
Butyraldehyde
Dietheyl Glycol
Diglycerides
Dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate
Disodium phosphates
Ethyl Acetate
Glycerin
Microcrystalline cellulose
Monoglycerides
Piperonal
Polysorbate 60, 65, and/or 80
Propylene glycol
Sodium carboxyl methylcellulose
Tetrasodium pyrophosphate
Vanillin

Also, who manufacturers Kirkland ice cream?

Thank you for your time,
Linda

To which they responded:

Dear Linda,

Thank you for your email to Costco Wholesale.

The Kirkland Signature Ice Cream is all natural. The only ingredients in the product are the ones listed on the ingredients label. Additionally, vannilin is not used in our product.
We are not able to provide the name of our supplier, as we have signed a mutual confidentiality agreement and are bound not to release that information.

Thank you,
Michael
Costco Wholesale Corporation

I found it interesting that they specifically mentioned they don't use Vanillin. Why didn't they mention any of the other ingredients I listed? Could it have to do with the FDA rules that say they don't have to list everything? But I guess they said they do list the ingredients in the products.

Blue Bunny:
I asked them the same question as I did the rest and included my long list of, what should I call them? "ingredients" doesn't sound right, "chemicals" maybe, "toxins" probably. Well anyway, Blue Bunny responded and said they do indeed use some of those listed but they list them on the ingredient list on the package.

I end my quest to find truth in labeling in industrial ice cream. The bottom line is that it sounds like some companies list all the ingredients, even the ones they don't have to, and the others won't answer my questions because of a smoke screen like I won't tell them my personal information or in the cases of Western Family, Edaleen Dairy, and Breyers, they ignore me.

My suggestion...

Make your own ice cream. That way you know what is in it.

By the way, I’ve been picking on only ice cream. Ice cream is not the only culprit on the shelf, all the foods we eat need to be questioned. (Have you looked at the ingredients of your bread lately? or the ingredients from baked goods from your local bakery? or.......)

Homeschool Freebies

2009-08-11T13:01:00.000-07:00

This is a neat web site. Everyday (I believe M-F), they have something free to download but it is only free on that one day. From curriculum samples to books. I recently discovered it so I haven't seen the assortment of materials they offer.

Homeschool Freebie

Today's freebie is an 81-page book called, "Boys' Book of Model Boats". It explains what makes a boat float, the shape of the hull, how to make simple boats, how to make a boat run on steam, how to make an electric submarine-chaser, how to make boat fittings, how to make a model floating dry dock, how to make sailing yachts, it also contains a boys' dictionary of marine terms. It was copyrighted in 1920.

I'm sure there are boys of all ages that would enjoy this book.

(I wonder what tomorrow's freebie will be?)

Cashew King Stir-Fry

2009-08-08T17:46:00.000-07:00

Tonight we ate King for dinner, he was very tasty.

Hannah and I used his meat and the stock we made from his bones in "Cashew Chicken Stir-Fry". All the vegetables we used were from the garden (zucchini, snap peas, beans, carrots, and broccoli). We figure that even though we fed King for 15 months, he gave us seven pullets (young hens) which will give us eggs and three cockerels which we will eat so King has earned his keep and therefore is free. The vegetables were very close to being free as we only had to pay for the seeds. So for our dinner the only purchased items we used were cashews, garlic (we could've used home grown but wanted to use up the ones from the store), ingredients that went into the sauce, and rice. All in all, a very inexpensive dinner, especially when you consider that we made enough for four dinners (in our case 32 plates worth).

We praise the Lord for giving us good food grown at home!

Quote of the Day

2009-08-08T11:55:00.001-07:00

"Ski-mooze" means "excuse me"
"Mow-lawner" means "lawn mower"
~Thomas

Banana-Orange Bread

2009-08-08T11:33:00.000-07:00

We have a tradition in our family that on Sunday mornings we eat homemade banana bread for breakfast. There are a couple of reasons for this, 1) it is a quick breakfast with little preperation which helps us get out the door for church quicker, and 2) Sundays are special days so we start it off in a special way.

We like to add things to our banana bread to make it even more special. Sometimes we add raisins, pineapple, peaches, apples or just eat it plain. (On extremely seldom occasions I put nuts in. The reason for this is that the cook doesn't like nuts in her banana bread - or in carrot cake, or brownies.)

My recipe for Banana-Orange Bread changes the ingredients slightly and this is what I want to share with you today.

Banana-Orange Bread

Yields: 2 loaves

2 cups sugar (in this recipe I use Rapadura in place of sugar, this can be bought at your local Co-Op or through Azure Standard)
3 medium sized bananas, mashed or in small pieces (the more ripe the better!)
1 cup butter, softened
Grated rind from 2 medium oranges
1/2 cup orange juice (fresh squeezed can't be beat!)
2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
4 cups flour (I use soft white whole wheat flour that I grind fresh)
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter bottom only of 9X5 or 8X4-inch bread pans. In large bowl, blend first 7 ingredients; beat 1 minute at medium speed. Stir in remaining ingredients just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 60-75 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool at least 5 minutes in pan; remove from pan, let cool completely. (I leave mine in the pans overnight, covered with a towel and remove just before I slice it and warm it for breakfast.)

If you are nutty, add 1 cup chopped nuts.

Slice and serve warm with butter and a tall glass of cold milk!

Enjoy!

(Mine is in the oven as I type, we'll be eating it tomorrow morning for our Sunday breakfast! Yumm.)

Blue Bunny Response

2009-08-05T21:41:00.000-07:00

I received a response from June, a Consumer Relations Specialist at Wells Dairy Inc. ("Consumer"? I thought I was a "customer".)

At the bottom of her email it says that the text of the email is owned by Wells Dairy Inc., so I will not copy it but just tell you what she told me about Blue Bunny ice cream. After all, the text in the emails in my inbox are owned by me.

First, she thanked me for contacting them.

Second, she said that they do indeed list all their ingredients on the ingredient list on the package. They also list the ingredients that their suppliers list on their ingredient lists, in other words, not all their ice cream is made entirely by Wells Dairy Inc., she gave some examples of some chocolate products that they purchase from other companies that they incorporate into their Blue Bunny ice cream. (This tells me that they cannot possibly know what all the ingredients are since the FDA does not require their suppliers to list all the ingredients.)

That was the extent of the email.

Now, let's look at some of the ingredients they DO LIST!

Blue Bunny does list the ingredients of their products on their web site. But in searching for Blue Bunny ingredients, I found this chef's blog, I hope he doesn't mind that I copy it. The words from his blog are italicized, my comments are not italicized and are blue (I'm not sure who Hungry Girl is?):

Friends, Hungry Girl has struck again. ‘Member when I was all appalled about the Cap’n Crunch Debacle? Well, this time, she would have us believe that we should be Happy to feed Blue Bunny Birthday Party Ice Cream Sandwiches to our children (or in my case, kittens) because they only contain 160 calories, 3.5 grams of fat, 27 grams of carbs and >1 gram of fiber. Oh, Dear, sweet, well-meaning Hungry Girl, I beg to differ with thee. What’s this Incredibly Long list of unpronounceable words? Why, I do believe it’s an Ingredient List. Let’s take a little look-see, shall we?

Light Ice Cream: Milk Fat and Nonfat Milk, Corn Syrup, Buttermilk, Whey, Sugar, Blue Frosting {Corn Syrup, Sugar, Water, Stabilizers (Food Starch-Modified, Cellulose Gum, Dextrose, Carrageenan, Gum Arabic, Potassium Sorbate as Preservative, Citric Acid, Tricalcium Phosphate, Silicon Dioxide), Titanium Dioxide for Color, Artificial Flavor, Blue 1}, Maltodextrin, Sequin Candy {Sugar, Corn Starch, Rice Flour, Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (Soybean, Cottonseed) Partially Hydrogenated equals Trans Fat - this clogs up your arteries and gives heart attacks - this was the first ingredient we irradicated from our pantry, Gum Arabic, Xanthan Gum, Confectioner’s Glaze, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Mono & Diglycerides, Polysorbate 60, Titanium Dioxide for Color, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Red 3, Blue 1 Lake anytime you see the word "Lake" behind a color think Aluminum because these colorings have aluminum in them}, High Fructose Corn Syrup this was the second ingredient we irradicated from our pantry, Contains less than ½% of Natural and Artificial Flavors, Propylene Glycol Monoesters, Mono & Diglycerides, Guar Gum, Carob Bean Gum, Cellulose Gel, Cellulose Gum, Carrageenan, Vitamin A Palmitate. Wafer: Bleached Wheat Flour, Sugar, Soybean and Palm Oil, Corn Syrup this was also the second ingredient we removed from our pantry, Food Starch-Modified, Salt, Vanilla Flavor, Baking Soda. (straight from The Horse’s Mouth)

About those stabilizers in the Blue Frosting? Do you see how many there are? Look at all the ingredients in the Blue Frosting Bracket: Corn Syrup, Sugar, Water, Stabilizers, Titanium Dioxide, Aftificial Flavor and Blue 1. Without the stabilizers, you wouldn’t have icing. You’d have some crazy kind of simple-esque opaque blue syrup. The stabilizers are there to ensure an Icing-like Consistency. Thanks, Team Stabilizer.

I highlighted the Sequin Candy component because all of the ingredients in the brackets are a bit disturbing. Honestly, I think I’d rather eat real sequins.

Let’s just take a peek at the non-bracketed ingredients for the ice cream:

Milk fat and non fat milk–apparently, these two ingredients cannot coexist in the Blue Bunny factory, even though they happily coexist in the carton of milk in my fridge. I guess the Blue Bunny folks are just playing it safe. Because they are concerned for us. Personally, I try to avoid dairy products that are not made from raw milk from cows on grass. To read more about the dangers of milk (not raw milk), click here. Besides growth hormones, conventional milk is laced with pesticides! In fact, pesticides are so much a part of our diet that it is showing up in mother's breast milk.
Corn Syrup This is almost as bad as High Fructose Corn Syrup (see links below under HFCS) - to be avoided 100% of the time. If you care about your health and the health of your children, do not buy products that contain this ingredient.
Buttermilk Click on the link above about the dangers of milk.
Whey (also separated from its milky friends. The Blue Bunny folks are being careful and Makin’ Sure)
Sugar
The aforementioned Blue Frosting
Maltodextrin This is used as a fat replacer. It contains MSG.
Sequins
High Fructose Corn Syrup HFCS needs to be avoided 100% of the time - do not buy products with this in it unless you are comfortable with obesity, diabetes, and a host of other problems! Read about the dangers of HFCS from Dr. Mercola and the Weston A. Price Foundation.)
Natural and Artificial Flavors (but only less than 1/2 of 1%. I thought that natural flavors and artificial flavors together comprised 100% of all possible flavors. I guess the Blue Bunny folks found some Third Category of Flavor–maybe the mother ship beamed it down or something). Whenever you read "Natural Flavors", "Artificial Flavors", "Spices", or "Seasonings" think MSG. Food manufacturers often (but not always) hide MSG under this disguise. Also, this web site says that what the label calls "pure food colors" or "artificial flavors" are made from coal tar. Coal tar is notorious as a causitive agent in producing cancers of the stomach, bowel, kidney, liver, and other organs.
Propylene Glycol Monsters (oh, okay, it’s really Monoesters. Whatever). Propylene Glycol is similar to Diethyl Glycol - they both are used in antifreeze, they keep the ice cream from freezing too hard and forming ice crystals.
Mono & Diglycerides Mono-Diglycerides are nearly the same as hydrogenated vegetable oils which is Trans Fat. Read more about it here and here.
Team Stabilizer, comprised of The Gum Brothers (Guar, Carob Bean, and Cellulose), their cousin Cellulose Gel and the Bad Kid from the beach, Carageenan Stabilizers are used in place of egg yolks. I don't know much about most of these, but here are two doctors (Mercola & Weil) that suggest avoiding carageenan, this ingredient has been shown to cause cancerous tumors in the stomach and ulcers in the instestine. Even the FDA suggested limiting its use back in 1972, but rescinded its suggestion in 1979. (Does anyone smell money?)
Vitamin A Palmitate

And that doesn’t even count the “wafer” ingredients. Friends, I am at a Loss for Words. I mean, are they serious? They expect moms to feed this to their kids? And the Brunette Cartoon Hungry Girl has bought into this for some reason. I am going to believe that Hungry Girl doesn’t want us to slowly poison our children/kittens. I’m just going to believe that she’s basing her assessment on the calorie/fat/sugar/fiber information. Look deeper, Hungry Girl. They put the ingredient list below the little box because the bottom of that black box is a cue to Stop Reading. And if we take that cue, we will never really know what we are eating.

These ice cream sammiches are relatively low in calories because the Blue Bunny people have performed Industrial Food Sleight of Hand and replaced most of the fat (except for bad fats, like partially hydrogenated vegetable oil) with sugars and stabilizers.

Ask yourself, do you really want to give your kids this stuff? Do I really want the kittens to eat this stuff? Should anyone eat this stuff? I’d rather have some full-fat premium ice cream in moderation than fool myself into believing that these guys are Guilt-Free!

Back to Linda...

Now the above example hopefully is the worst faux ice cream that Blue Bunny makes. But ask yourself this question -

Can a company that puts all those toxins into ice cream and market it to our children be trusted?

(By the way, I am responding to Wells Dairy Inc. to ask about specific ingredients. I'll keep you posted.)

Industrial Ice Cream Update #2

2009-08-05T10:50:00.000-07:00

The only response I have received thus far is from Western Family. They wanted to know where I live, which store I purchase their product from, and specifically which product I am inquiring about.

I replied that I live and shop in Washington state and to simplify things I am inquiring about their vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate ice creams.

Hopefully that will be enough information for them. I'm not sure what difference it makes as to which store I purchase the ice cream from or what my address is. I know they certainly don't make the products different for someone who lives on Main Street versus 3rd Avenue. (My opinion is that they are making it difficult for the consumer to get any information.)

This morning I sent inquiries to Schwan's and Blue Bunny for the first time. And for the second time to Edy's, Breyers, Dreyers, Costco, and Edaleen Dairy. I simplified it for all of them as well and only asked about their vanilla ice cream and in once case also their mint chip ice cream.

By the way, Blue Bunny is owned by Wells Dairy Inc. They claim to be the world's largest family owned dairy (or on one web site "dairy producer"). They employ about 2200 people and I couldn't find one picture of a cow anywhere on their website but I did see a picture of a very nice, very large corporate headquarters with tall flags out front and lots of glass windows. I was hoping to see Mrs. Wells out there milking a cow. A product that says "family owned" does not provide any clues as to the health of the product, just like a "family owned home" does not make the home an ideal place to visit. On the Wells Dairy Inc. home page they have links as if to say they either own, distribute, or are affilated with Blue Bunny, Foodservice, Bomb Pop, and Weight Watchers.

I'll keep you posted.

Berry Ice Cream Recipe (& Strawberry)

2009-08-01T15:48:00.000-07:00

Makes 1 quart

2 cups fresh berries, such as raspberries, boysenberries, or blackberries, fresh or 10 ounces frozen berries, partially thawed
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon arrowroot
2 cups heavy cream, preferably raw, not ultrapasteurized
1/2 - 3/4 cup maple syrup

Variation: Strawberry Ice Cream (this is Joe's favorite!)
Use 2-3 cups fresh strawberries, washed and hulled and add 1/4 teaspoon almond extract.

Process berries in food processor for several minutes. Add egg yolks, cream and arrowroot and process until well blended. Gradually add maple syrup until desired sweetness is obtained.

Follow freezing instructions for vanilla ice cream.

(When I made the strawberry variation, I used frozen strawberries partially thawed. I also doubled the recipe and used the food processor for the strawberries and then transferred it to my mixer and added everything else.)

Again, you'll want to use the highest quality eggs you can find, see my note under vanilla ice cream.

Vanilla & Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Recipes

2009-08-01T15:36:00.000-07:00

This is from "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon.

Makes 1 quart

3 egg yolks
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon arrowroot
3 cups heavy cream, preferably raw, not ultrapasteurized

Variations: Chocolate Chip Ice Cream (one of my favorites!)
Add 1/4 chocolate or carob chips, finely chopped (chill chips and chopper first so the chips don't melt and stick)

Beat egg yolks and blend in remaining ingredients.

At this point, you can either pour it into an ice cream maker and make according to the instructions...

OR, if you don't have an ice cream maker, you can do what I do...

... leave mix in mixing bowl and place entire bowl in the freezer for 2 hours. Remove from freezer and with a whisk attachment, mix well and return to freezer. After 2 more hours, remove from freezer and whisk again. This time put your ice cream into your final storage containers and freeze until desired hardness.

This works great!

By the way, this recipe does not get cooked so you'll want to use the highest quality ingredients you can find. I only use eggs from hens raised outside on pasture.

If I didn't have access to eggs from pastured hens and had to use any kind of store bought eggs, organic, natural, or otherwise, I would use a recipe that required cooking first. But you can still use my freezing method.

If you have no arrowroot then make it without! Simple.

Industrial Ice Cream Update

2009-08-01T14:32:00.000-07:00

So far I have sent out requests to six different ice cream labels. My request usually goes something like this:

"Your ice cream is enjoyable. But I have recently learned that the FDA allows some ingredients to be included in ice cream that do not need to be listed on the ingredient list on the package. I want to make health conscious decisions for my family and was wondering if any of your ice creams contain ingredients that are not listed on the package? If so, what are they?"

I have not received any responses yet.

Here is who I sent the requests to:

1) Edy's, and 2) Dryers
Both are both owned by Nestle who also manufacture Nesquick, Perrier, Purina, PowerBar, Gerber, Nescafe, Coffee Mate, Aero, Alpo, Carnation, Cookie Crisp, Multi Cheerios, Deer Park water, Dibs, Fancy Feast, Hot Pockets, Jenny Craig, Juicy Juice, Kit Kat, Lean Cuisine, Pure Life water, Smarties, Stouffers, Taster’s Choice, Tidy Cats, Wonka, and many, many more products.

3) Breyers.
They are owned by a huge global corporation called Unilever. They sell many products such as Lipton, Hellmann's, Slim-Fast, Knorr, Country Crock, Bertolli, Sunlight, Surf, Comfort, Dove, Lux, Ponds, Vaseline, and a bunch of others that I've never heard of.

4) Edaleen Dairy.
Compared to the others on this list, this is a miniscule company and is local to where we live in northwest Washington. I'm assuming (or hoping) that this company is the most honest out of the bunch that I've sent requests to.

5) Western Family, which is the same as Shur Fine.
This is owned by Unified Grocers (who recently acquired Associated Grocers) which also owns IGA, Golden Creme, Natural Directions Organic, Special Value, and Springfield. I suspect and have heard rumors that Unified Grocers aka Associated Grocers supplies the store brand foods also, like Albertsons brands, Haggen brands, Safeway brands, Win Dixie brands, etc., but I cannot confirm this.

6) Costco.
I couldn't find any web site for Kirkland Signature so I sent my request to Costco. I wonder if Unified Grocers supplies Kirkland Signature?

I'll be sure to post any responses that I get. Also, if you know of more ice cream labels that we should check out, let me know.

Before you take another bite of that ice cream...

2009-07-30T15:43:00.000-07:00

Most people are aware that there is a whole list of ingredients that the FDA does not require to be listed on ingredient labels. Some ingredients that are listed are bad enough, but to not require ALL the ingredients is hypocritical, dishonest, unsafe, and certainly exhibits that the FDA does not have the consumer's safety in mind. (As a side note, take a look at the 3,000 ingredients that the FDA allows to be added to our food, 1,000 of which have not been tested for toxicity - click on "launch database". This list also exhibits that the FDA does not have our safety in mind.)

What does this have to do with ice cream?

In the past, ice cream was made with cream from real milk, eggs, vanilla, and sugar, cranked out and frozen in the old home freezer. It was a dessert that families treated themselves to only occasionally. Today it is cheap, or not so cheap, but it is in every corner store, grocery store, gas station, and just about every freezer. What we may not realize is that we are treating ourselves, families, and friends to a cocktail of poisons!

Let's look at just a portion of ingredients that ice cream makers are allowed to put in without listing it on their ingredients labels:

Eggs are too expensive, we'll make more profits with this...

Diethyl Glycol: A cheap chemical used as an emulsifier instead of eggs is the same chemical used in antifreeze and in paint removers.

(If you don't believe me, type "Diethyl Glycol ice cream" into your favorite search engine; there were too many results to for me to link to. An article on CNN reports the toxic chemical Diethyl Glycol added to children's pain reliever to be the cause of 25 childrens deaths in Bangladesh in the past six weeks.)

Out with vanilla, let's replace that with...

Piperonal: Used in place of vanilla. This chemical is used to kill lice. (Search for "Piperonal ice cream", again, many links.)

According to Oregon State University, piperonal is "used in strawberry, cola, cherry, rum, maple, nut, and vanilla flavorings in beverages, ice cream, ices, baked goods, gelatin puddings, and chewing gum. Used chiefly in perfumery." Oh yeah, let's include the warning: "ingestion of large amounts may cause central nervous system depression."

Out with real cherry flavor, let's put in...

Aldehyde C-17: Used to flavor cherry ice cream. It is an inflammable liquid also used in aniline dyes, plastic, and rubber.

Pineapple anyone?...

Ethyl Acetate: Used to give ice cream a pineapple flavor -- and as a cleaner for leather and textiles. This isn't like lemon that can be both eaten and used as a cleaner, ethyl acetate has been known to cause chronic lung, liver, and heart damage.

How about nut flavor?...

Butyraldehyde: Used in nut flavored ice cream. It is one of the ingredients of rubber cement. It also may be an irritant and narcotic. Butyraldehyde is also used in butter, caramel, fruit, liquor, brandy, and nut flavorings for beverages, ices, candy, baked goods, alcoholic beverages, and icings. Are you getting paranoid?

Banana flavor?...

Amyl Acetate: Used for its banana flavor. It is also used as an oil paint solvent. Have you ever read a warning on your ice cream that amyl acetate can cause allergies and sinusitus (sinus infection)?

And our favorite flavor, strawberry...

Benzyl Acetate: Used for its strawberry flavor. It is a nitrate solvent. According to the Merck Index, if ingested benzyl acetate can cause GI irritation with vomiting and diarrhea.

Did anyone become suddenly depressed like I did after reading the above? Your first instict, like mine was, will be to pick-up some ice cream in the store, turn it around, and look for these suspicious ingredients on the list. But THEY WON'T BE THERE! Remember, the FDA does not require them to be listed!

In my quest for ice cream truth, I have discovered many people who have gone before me and discovered the same things. This particular man caught my attention, he also bemoans industrial (store bought) ice cream and gives an excellent alternative, DIYIC, Do It Yourself Ice Cream, and even includes a great recipe with options and tips on how to deal with old fashioned ice cream because it behaves a little differently than what we are all used to buying, after all we would never consider adding antifreeze to our DIYIC.

Keep looking for my next post with the ice cream recipe that I use.

I know what you're thinking, "But I don't have an ice cream maker!" Neither do I. Stay tuned.

Is autism linked to vaccinations?

2009-07-25T15:28:00.000-07:00

"As the federal government worked to prevent scientists from studying vaccines, others have stepped in to study the link to autism. In April, reporter Dan Olmsted of UPI undertook one of the more interesting studies himself. Searching for children who had not been exposed to mercury in vaccines — the kind of population that scientists typically use as a “control” in experiments — Olmsted scoured the Amish of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, who refuse to immunize their infants. Given the national rate of autism, Olmsted calculated that there should be 130 autistics among the Amish. He found only four. One had been exposed to high levels of mercury from a power plant. The other three — including one child adopted from outside the Amish community — had received their vaccines."

Read the entire article here.

Special Chicken Processing Day

2009-07-20T12:00:00.000-07:00

I wasn't sure what to call this post:

"9 Alarm Clocks"
"Hi, I'm a cockerel and my name is Early."
"4:00 AM"
"Who got the baby up!?"
"Now it sounds like an elephant!"
"Grumpy Us"
"I wonder if the neighbors hate our us or just hate our roosters?"
"For Our Health"
"For Our Sanity"
"We Ate One of These for Dinner"

We had one rooster, 15 months old - his name was King, and eight (8!!) cockerels - their names varied according to the time and our mood. (By the way, a cockerel is a rooster that hasn't reached his first birthday yet.) Of the 8 cockerels, 3 were 3 1/2 months old, and 5 were 4 1/2 months old.

King, our rooster and one of the younger cockerels were in with the Barred Rock flock which is further from the house.

The other seven cockerels were about 50 yards from our bedroom window, and being summer time we keep our windows open at night. They were in with the Rhode Island Red flock.

When the cockerels first started exercising their lungs I thought, "Who got the baby up at 4 AM and put him in the hallway!?" It sounded terrible.

As the cockerels got better at crowing, they started to sound like party horns. Very annoying at 4:00 AM. Did I mention this happened EVERY DAY! Without exception!They started maturing and their cock-a-doodle-doos sounded like elephants. Remember, 50 yards outside our bedroom window.

Since the seven cockerels varied in age and maturity, most mornings we had elephants, crying babies, and party horns going off every few minutes for hours starting at 4:00 AM. Not exactly what I would call the Hallelujah Chorus!

We kept wondering how much this was bothering our neighbors! We kept wondering if everyone noticed the bags under our eyes and our short tempers.

I finally figured out the true reason farmers like to have lots of acreage, it's to put the chicken flocks FAR AWAY from the house!

We finally couldn't take it any more! I'm sure our health was suffering. Our relationships were being strained. Aaaaahhhh!!

Last Saturday was Rooster & Cockerel Dooms Day.

Here are 4:05 AM, 4:12 AM, 4:23 AM, & 4:29 AM in the killing cones:

Otherwise known as "Loud Mouth", "Ugghh", "That Sounds Terrible", and "We have to do something about this".

They had their final crow.

We processed them as a family and had a lot of fun. Instead of averaging 70 birds per hour, we average 9 birds per 2 hours. But it was a great family day. I highly recommend it.

I got pictures of all the children helping. This was their first time processing birds.

Here is Joseph, he is taking the lungs out. That bright pink blob on the table is a lung. The bright color means the bird was healthy.

These birds were less meaty than typical broilers, they are bred for egg production not meat production. But some people say the flavor is better, although they must be slow cooked. You wouldn't want to BBQ one of these, the meat would be too tough. But they make wonderful stock.

Rebekah's turn to take out the lungs. On the left, Joe is showing Joseph how to separate the liver & heart from the rest of the innards.

Ruthie got into the action. She didn't want to get her hands messy. Which was surprising to me because she is the one who prefers to play with the boys in the mud. But she eventually got those lungs out. Good job Ruthie!

Thomas did a great job de-lunging also:

And Hannah... she's taking the lungs out in this picture, but she really excelled at removing pin feathers.

We processed the eight cockerels first and saved King for last.

Isn't he a good looking rooster?

After he bled out we examined his spurs. You can see them in the above picture, they are mid-way up his leg and point inward. They are a hard, pointed bone that he uses to poke and scratch with. I've heard of roosters scratching children's eyes with these spurs. Ouch. A rooster can really be a risk on a farm. (We kept his wings clipped so he couldn't jump up very high.)

Here is a picture of his foot and spur. The spur is by Joe's thumb:

And a close-up of the spur:

By the way, after any of our chickens get scalded and plucked, their feet look white and clean. Thomas is holding King's foot (you might want to click on the picture to see the foot better):

Rebekah was the honored one to de-lung King. This picture shows King's yellow fat real well. That is a sign of eating grass.

As soon as we were done processing, Joseph brought in two small cockerels and we slow cooked them for dinner. I made two dishes of chicken pot pie, it was delicious! I don't think I've ever seen Joseph eat so much.

Now, how did we sleep Sunday morning? Wonderfully well!!

Columbia Gorge

2009-07-13T13:42:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we visited Joe's sister's family, Liz & Ron, Katherine, Nichaela, and Meaghan:

They live in Willard, it is smaller than Los Angeles:

It is near the Columbia Gorge (on the Columbia River) and across the river from Hood River and Mount Hood:The Gorge is a popular vacation spot for outdoor enthusiasts and nature lovers.

There were many people playing a sport that is new to us. There were wind surfers and surfers who were attached to a small parachute that pulled them across the water.

We had our own fun at Uncle Ron's and Aunt Liz's house:

They have a nice playhouse with a slide, swing, and rope ladder:

Since Joe grew up in this area it is always a special place to visit. It is one of the most beautiful places in Washington.

We had a wonderful time of fellowship with Ron & Liz and also with some people that we met, Andy & Lisa and their family and Ron & Carolyn and their family. We had a great church service with all these people and some others.

Our visit was too short. We hope to go again.

Beautiful Pies

2009-07-05T18:32:00.000-07:00

Pie crusts are not my thing.

I can make great tasting pie crusts; I could just eat the dough. But for all the world, I cannot make a pretty pie crust.

(Although once years ago, I did win "Best Looking Pie" at a church picnic. Yes, I can hear you laughing... No, I wasn't the only entry. My recipe has changed since then, I use butter now instead of the petroleum product Crisco and haven't perfected it yet, and might not ever.)

Two nights ago we had our newlywed friends, Paul & Elisabeth, over and I planned on making two strawberry pies for dessert. Of course, the day went by too quickly and I was in a hurry to get the pies done so they could start chilling in the refrigerator. I made my delicious pie dough and got my two pie pans out... oops, I forgot, one pie pan was being used and I didn't have time to transfer the food out of it, wash it, and use it; I was forced to use a 8x8 square pan instead. I've never had a square pie before.

To make strawberry pies, the crusts need to be baked first. This is where it always turns ugly. My pie dough recipe has a lot of butter in it (hence, the good flavor) and when it's baking, the dough on the sides slide down and I end up with a pie crust blob at the bottom. It still tastes good but does not look like a pie and certainly doesn't serve up like a pie.

Since my square pan had sides that were more vertical than the pie dish I assumed worse results there.

Here is a picture of my two baked pie crusts:

I found it amazing that the pie crust in the square pan stayed up. The crust in the pie dish all fell in except one little portion.

I went ahead and used these ugly pie crusts and the dessert turned out to be a great conversation piece. Paul decided that the square pie was called a "cube" and maybe through history people started calling it a "cubeler" which slowly turned into "cobbler".

The portion of the round pie that stayed up on the edge, I gave that piece to Elisabeth and she said, "Oooh, I got the pretty piece!" Elisabeth is great.

I like this poem because it speaks of the "square" pie. At least that's how I interpret it.

In Praise of Pies

Oh my eye! What a wonderful Pie,

With its shape so enchantingly square.

The glaze on its crust is a feast for the eye

And its fragrance is filling the air.

What comfort I'll find, of the old-fashioned kind

With this good homely food on my plate.

A reminder of days before work's daily grind;

Of a mother who cared what I ate.

Though I know I could choose to eat any cuisine

That the world has to offer, you see,

Despite all that I've tasted and all that I've seen -

A good pie still does it for me.

Deborah Pearce

Nitrates, Nitrites, and Sugar Mountain Farm

2009-07-03T08:02:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, Mr. Jeffries of Sugar Mountain Farm in Vermont wrote a post about his mouth-watering hot dogs that they had made from their pastured pigs. It made me want to move to Vermont. I put this comment on his post:

I agree with Brandi, you're killing me.

I am pregnant and have been craving hot dogs badly but would never touch the store ones. Would you ever consider mailing some to Washington State? (I'm half kidding of course. The postage to keep them cold by shipping overnight would be outrageous.)

We are planning on raising pigs next year. How did you ever find a butcher to smoke them and not cure them with nitrates/nitrites? How do you do your bacon, sausage, and hams?

I enjoy your blog! Keep up the good work.

Mr. Jeffries replied with the following information about nitrates & nitrites. A confusing issue for most people, including me. He also copied it into a comment on my blog and was gracious enough to allow me to make a post about it so it is right out in the open. Here is is:

Over on my new hot dog post you asked about where we found a place that would do the dogs and without the nitrates/nitrites...

It took a lot of searching to find someone with the right equipment for making the hot dogs. Unfortunately it is so specialized that there is nobody in Vermont who can do it. We have to drive a full day down to Massachusetts and back to drop off meat and then again to pickup the finished hot dogs and kielbasa. When we have our schedule working right we drop off the next batch of meat when we pickup the previous batch of finished product. Unfortunately it doesn't always work out that way.

They, Chicopee Provisions, are a 'small' smokehouse, about 40 employees. We're small potatoes for them at 300 to 1,000 lbs at a time. They slip us into their open scheduling slots between their main batches. Fortunately we can be flexible so it makes for a good fit and we appreciate that they do our small time stuff. To make that happen we deliver frozen meat to them so they can keep it in their deep freeze until they have an opening in the schedule.

As to the nitrate/nitrite issue, we had to do a special formulation and labeling for that which took several months through FSIS/USDA. See the various articles about meat labeling that I wrote. I've been doing a lot of reading about the whole nitrates/nitrites issue. I remember back in the 1970's when there was the whole scare around it prompted by deaths in over dosed lab rats.

The levels were cut in meats, especially in bacon which is often cooked at a higher temperature, but there is the flip side that these compounds (NaO2 & NaO3) stop botulism making for less food poisoning - the traditional reason they have been used for hundreds or even a thousand years in curing meats.

Recent research has shown that we produce some naturally, that vegetables are a far higher source (10x) than meats and that these compounds actually protect against stomach cancer as well as protecting against food spoilage and poisoning. One of those good-news-bad-news stories.

The big thing I read in the research is don't over heat the meat when cooking as that is what produces the nitrosamines - the chemicals that cause cancer when consumed in large quantities by lab rats.

On the bacon and ham, ours are cured with them because we can't get it done without. The smokehouse who does our bacon and hams needs such a large batch that we can't do it. There is one smokehouse in Vermont that will do it without but we had a very bad experience with them and I won't work with them as a result.

My conclusion is that it is a matter of degree. Don't be a lab rat consuming large quantities. But that is probably a good rule in general. Where I can I prefer to keep things simpler but I'm not worried about a little.

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
in the mountains of Vermont
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/blog/
http://HollyGraphicArt.com/
http://NoNAIS.org

Yesterday, I spent a good amount of time on the phone trying to locate someone here that would cure or smoke ham, bacon, sausage links, and hot dogs. I found someone who would do a no nitrate/nitrite and no MSG cure for ham and bacon but he would need a minimum of ten pigs which is the minimum number of pigs we would raise. But he doesn't do any casing meats (sausage links or hot dogs). Another company does a no nitrate/nitrite cure for casing meats but they put MSG in it. I think MSG is worse than nitrates and nitrites. I found someone who would do a sea salt cure with optional brown sugar added (I could provide the brown sugar). And I found someone who would smoke the whole pig or portions of a pig (this is how we get Canadian Bacon, yumm).

So I emailed Mr. Jeffries asking if I could copy his comment into a post and also asked some questions about the above information.

Here are his comments:

Sea salt cure:

"From what I have read don't do the sea salt cure. The added metals
that are in sea salt can cause problems during curing and smoking. Go
with plain salt. Kosher salt is often mentioned as being pure."

Smoking the meat:

"Theoretically there are carcinogenic things in the wood smoke. I
think the risk from reasonable consumption levels is low."

His conclusion is one I agree with:

"Don't be a lab rat consuming large quantities. But that is probably a good rule in general. Where I can I prefer to keep things simpler but I'm not worried about a little. "

None is best, but if there is a little then don't eat a lot.

But in the mean time we are getting closer to locating someone who will process the meat in a healthly way.

If you are ever in Vermont, be sure to visit Sugar Mountain Farms!

Another first egg!

2009-07-01T19:30:00.000-07:00

Hooray for the Rhode Island Reds!! They laid their first egg today and it weighed in at a whopping Medium! We are very impressed, the first egg from the Barred Rocks last year was a puny Pee Wee size.This egg came one whole month earlier than we expected. It won't be long before we are swimming in eggs again!

Joe Installing the Invisible Fence

2009-07-01T16:58:00.000-07:00

I like this picture of Joe and had to include it on my blog. He is installing the wire for the dog fence across the driveway.Not bad for having a nerdy office job, eh?

Sammy, our new dog

2009-07-01T15:44:00.001-07:00

"We can get a dog if... it is past it's puppy stage, doesn't dig, doesn't jump up on people, doesn't poop everywhere, doesn't chew on everything, and it has to be free."

This is what Joe said when I asked if we could get a dog. He thought I'd never be able to find one with those requirements, I also had my doubts.

We both wanted our children to grow up with a dog, plus it is nice to have a dog to help watch over things. Also, we just don't have the time to deal with puppy antics, it would have to be older and more mature. Getting one for free would be a bonus.

But one day...

I called on this ad that advertised a two-year old UKC registered Golden Retriever. They did not list any price. I asked the owner about the dog's temperament; does she dig? does she jump up on people? where does she poop? The owner gave me all the right answers. I then proceeded to tell her about us and where we live. The owner thought Sammy would love it here.

Then I asked, "What are you asking for her?"

"$300." (Gulp!)

I told her what I was really looking for was a mutt that was free but she didn't put a price on her ad so I thought I'd inquire. She then told me that she would entertain any offer. I said I would have to talk to my husband and call her back.

There was no way Joe was going to go for this and neither would I. He was at work and I wasn't able to talk to him.

An hour later the owner called me and said, "Really, whatever offer you make, I'll probably accept it. I can't afford to buy dog food for her anymore."

I said I hadn't had a chance to talk to my husband yet and would call her back.

At dinner I told Joe all about this UKC registered Golden Retriever. (By the way, I don't really care about the registration, a mutt really would have been fine with me.)

Joe said, "No, I said the dog would have to be free. There are enough mutts out there that no one wants, we'll wait for one of those." I figured he would say that, and I agreed

So I called the owner back and told her that we will wait for a mutt that was free. She said that she would do whatever it takes to get us the dog because she really thinks that Sammy would like it at our place and with us.

I said, "What is takes is for her to be free."

She said, "Okay."

Amazing!

Joe wasn't as excited as I was (mainly because of all the anticipated upcoming work involved).

The next day the children and I looked at Sammy, Joe couldn't come because he was at work. While I was trying to decide whether or not to take her, Sammy jumped in our van, sat on the blanket I brought along for her and looked at me as if to say, "I'm ready, let's go home."

That did it. We now own a dog.

By the way, using my best judgment, I gave the owner $50 for a token of appreciation and so she wouldn't hold any grudges against me. She was appreciative. Joe agreed that I made a wise decision.

We had a great first afternoon with Sammy. And when Joe got home from work, guess what? Sammy jumped up on him! We have learned since then that the only people Sammy jumps on are visitors. It's pretty embarrassing.

Sammy is a very loving dog. She loves us, she loves every one that comes here, she loves all the neighbors, she loves the neighbor dog's bone, she loves a different neighbor's leather gardening glove, she loves an unknown neighbor's stuffed animal, she loves sitting on a neighbor's front porch after she waded through mud (this neighbor is three houses down from us), and she loves to sit in the middle of the road.

We've only had to pick her up from the dog pound once (a $101 learning experience). So our free dog has now cost us $50 for the previous owner + $101 for the dog pound + $6.95 for a dog tag that we should've bought right away.

And now we need to solve this problem of her visiting all our neighbors.

After looking at different options, we decided to install an "invisible" fence around our 5 acres. The cost, $451. (Our free dog now costs $608.95.)

In this picture, Joe and the children are installing the fence. Joe just cleared a path through blackberries and pulled out an old half-buried barbed wire fence with his pick-up truck, he only broke one strap doing that.

We finished installing the fence last Saturday and started training her on it. She learned very quickly that going near the boundary would first make her collar vibrate and then give her a shock!

We walk her along the boundary and let her wander close to the invisible fence. She hates it! I still have rope burns on my fingers from one of the times that she felt her collar vibrate and tried to bolt back to her dog house. I couldn't let go of the rope fast enough. She now associates going for walks with the leash with getting shocked. We didn't mean for this association to happen, but she's very intelligent and that is what she has concluded.

We are a little concerned about her now because she just wants to stay by her dog house and not wander too far. I guess in time she'll figure out where she can and cannot go.

All of us have grown to love Sammy. She is a very sweet dog and fairly obedient.

If you come and visit us, let me say ahead of time, "I'm sorry that our dog jumped up on you. We are working on that." (She is getting better already and is more selective as to which visitors she jumps up on.)

Mixed Bag

2009-06-23T12:56:00.000-07:00

Joe and the five oldest children dissected owl pellets. (For those of you who don't know what an owl pellet is, it is what falls to the ground after the owl drops it from his back side.) Some people go from farm to farm and offer to buy owl pellets so they can study them. They found a bunch of mouse bones:

And something that looks like claws:

And something much more exciting... Our friends, Paul & Elisabeth committed their lives to each other at the end of May. We've known Elisabeth for many years and are very happy that she patiently waited on the Lord for a good man.

One of the children rescued this little bunny from the jaws of Fuzzy. He was unhurt but very frightened. We let him loose in the woods. (I wonder if he got caught again?)

We said goodbye to some friends and neighbors, Jay & Michelle. They moved to Maryland. We miss them.

And we had a visit from Joe's mother and sister Mary. We don't get to see his mom very often so it is a treat when she comes.

Four Birthdays in Two Months

2009-06-22T20:15:00.000-07:00

Birthdays keep us busy from November thru June. During the last two plus months we celebrated Thomas', Ruth's, Daniel's, and Rebekah's birthdays.

Thomas turned three:

Ruth turned five:

Daniel turned one:
And Rebekah turned eight:

We always have fun celebrating each others birthdays! And now we have a birthday break until new baby is born in November and then Joseph's birthday near the end of November.

Jacob's Visit

2009-06-22T17:29:00.000-07:00

At Polyface in 2007, Joe worked with a handful of apprentices/interns from around the country. One of them was Jacob from Alaska. He is in the blue shirt:
L to R - Joe, Matt (Maryland), Nathan V. (Minnesota), Jacob (Alaska), and Nathan W. (Texas):
This spring Jacob came for 2 1/2 weeks to help Joe around our little farm. Joe had a long To-Do List and Jacob rose to the challenge. I am not even going to attempt to list everything he helped with because I know I'll miss most of it. Let's just say that our friends at church felt sorry for him before he even came.

One of the bigger projects he helped with was putting a water line in for the south pastures. That took several days and much frustration with the rented ditch digger. Twice Mr. Parker, our neighbor, had to pull it out of the muck with his tractor.

We all really appreciated Jacob coming and his tremendously good attitude.

(Anyone that would decorate and wear a birthday hat for a three year old has a good spirit.)

Thomas really liked Jacob and would follow him around, hold his hand, and sit with him in church.

Thank you for coming Jacob! You and your family are welcome any time you happen to be passing through.

Hannah's Ducks

2009-06-22T17:23:00.000-07:00

On April 2nd, Hannah received her ducklings. They were very cute, more so than baby chicks. They would peep the same as chicks, but when they ate they would shake the food down. At first the shaking concerned us but when we figured out it was normal then it became comical.

Hannah ordered five Indian Runner Ducks and five Welsh Harleqins. They sent 13 ducklings and two died early on. Of the eleven left we think that four are Indian Runners, four are Welsh Harlequins, two are Pekins, and one is a Khaki Campbell. I'm not sure if our assessment is correct or not, maybe someone who knows ducks can look at our pictures and correct us. But if we are correct I wonder why the hatchery messed up? It doesn't matter much to us because we like them all.

Her ducklings grew very quickly and at two months old they were considered adult ducks. That would have been around the beginning of June.

The ducks are a true entertainment piece around the farm. They march everywhere like a highly organized army but without an obvious leader. Chickens will scatter and look out for number one, but the ducks will never leave each other and do everything together.

They are more respectful than chickens and will stay off of the patio and porch after a few times of being shooed.

The ducks love water and will run towards the hose whenever they hear or see anyone use it. They stand by and wait to be sprayed.

Ducks are great for eating slugs and bugs. They are wonderful foragers and really like the lettuce treats Hannah gives them from the house.

Ducks are very funny! Even if they never start laying we will still enjoy their company, although Hannah is hoping to start a business selling duck eggs and also breeding the ducks.

Broody Hen - Post Partum

2009-06-22T17:15:00.000-07:00

Our faithful Broody Hen successfully hatched ten chicks. They hatched right on their due date, April 2nd, 20 days from the beginning of her sitting on them. If the eggs were placed inside a man-made incubator, they would've taken 21 days to hatch. Momma's do it better.

Day 1: We thought we heard cheeping and patiently waited for the little, fuzzy chicks to appear. What a miracle that life can come out of a hard egg shell.

Momma's tail is up so high because she is making room for her little brood:

Day 2: This is the first day that Momma had her chicks on grass. Chicks raised by man in a brooder house normally don't go on grass until around Day 21. It was clear that she was teaching them what was good to eat and what to avoid by different sounds she would make and the different reactions of the chicks.

When the chicks needed warmed, Momma would call them to her and they would all dive underneath her soft belly feathers. They would stay there for 10-15 minutes and then come out again to continue their foraging lessons:

The chicks at the back end would stand on their tippy-toes in order to get up inside Momma's soft, warm feathers:

It didn't take long for Momma to bring them out of the Hoop Coop and into the sunshine:

Somewhere around 8 weeks old, Momma hen decided the seven pullets (baby hens) and three cockerels (baby roosters) needed to be on their own. She would not allow them to come into the nest box at night and forced them to roost on the perch by themselves. Momma hen started laying eggs again and wanted to go back into the main flock. We banded her leg and put her into the main flock, then watched her fight for dominance with the other hens. She really whooped them! I guess being a Momma makes one really tough because when we took her out of the flock to sit on the eggs she was nowhere near the top of the pecking order. Now she is either the #1 or #2 hen, just under King, our rooster.

We put the pullets and cockerels in the main flock and they all escaped except one cockerel. Then we put them into the flock of Rhode Island Reds and the pullets escaped but the two cockerels remained. The seven pullets are still running loose with Hannah's ducks. They are not the best animal to have loose because they don't mind any one and poop everywhere. Our plan is to clip their wings and put them back in with the Reds. We chose to put them in with the Reds because they are only one month apart in age, whereas they are one year younger than the main flock of Barred Rocks. We want to get as much laying out of them as we can.

These pullets and cockerels are by far the smartest chickens we have. They are excellent foragers and wonderful escape artists. I attribute this to being raised by a loving and caring Momma who took the time to teach her babies.

Where have I been?

2009-06-22T16:44:00.000-07:00

I took a break from blogging because I quit nursing and am pregnant again. These two events make it so I don’t sit down during the day to nurse (and blog) and I am extra tired which makes mornings and evenings an impossible time to blog.

A couple of weeks ago, Joe thought I should set aside at least one afternoon each week to blog to keep up recording some of our family events. And then last week someone that I think I do not know, Squaw Creek Ranch, left a nice comment on my blog and convinced me to take the time to blog again. Thank you! Whoever you are Squaw Creek Ranch, I'd like to get to know you.

I will spend the next few posts trying to summarize the last few months that I missed.

November 10, 2009

2009-03-24T22:43:00.001-07:00

Broody Hen - Day 11

2009-03-24T22:12:00.000-07:00

Broody Hen is the most faithful mother I've ever seen. She will not get off those eggs for much of anything. It appears that she is eating little but there is evidence that three times she has gotten off her eggs and had an explosive poop. I've read about setting hens doing that and it is true.

A couple of times I thought she was dead because she had her head tucked in and wouldn't budge. One time she wouldn't respond to my talking, pleading, clicking, etc., so I reached in to touch her. She must've sensed my hand because she pulled her head out and hissed at me.

I've given her a few treats. She likes scrap bread. Doesn't like cabbage. Tolerates apple cores.

She has passed the half way mark and has only nine days to go. She's amazing.

The other broody hen...
She loves to sit on eggs, most of the time. We made her a special spot away from the main flock in the other half of the hoop house and gave her twelve eggs to sit on. She sat great through the first night. But the next day she escaped back into the portion of the hoop house that houses our flock for winter and we found her in the community nest boxes sitting on some other eggs again. It wasn't that she wanted to sit on different eggs (last week I tricked her into sitting on rocks), it was that she missed her social life in the flock. She wants to sit on eggs AND gossip with the ladies at the water trough. She's a bad mommy. We have no patience for useless hens like her.

We had to compost the twelve eggs we gave her to sit on as they very well could have started to grow embryos and who would want that in their chocolate cake or scrambled eggs?

So whenever we see her sitting on eggs we pull her off. If she doesn't shape up soon she'll meet the same fate as the broilers in June.

Broody Hen - Day 2

2009-03-15T13:36:00.000-07:00

Broody Hen is faithfully sitting on her twelve eggs. I haven't seen her move at all, but I am not watching her constantly either. We've been feeding her treats like lettuce and tomatoes and to show her thanks she tries to peck our hands. I think she really just wants to be left alone.

In the middle of her first night alone a big south wind came up. Joe and I woke up at 2 A.M. and I panicked thinking that her hoop coop was going to blow away. So we both went out and staked it to the ground. Farming is not a 9 to 5 job.

On Friday night we tried to candle the 13 original eggs Broody was sitting on but we didn't see anything. It might of helped if we had a stronger flashlight and knew what we were doing. So we cracked them all open and to our surprise found that eleven eggs had growing embryos inside them. We had no idea that King was such an efficient rooster! Instead of 10% fertility like we originally guessed, he's keeping the hens 85% fertile!

While collecting today's eggs, there was another hen who was exhibiting broodiness. If this keeps up we'll have to quit selling eggs and start selling chicks.

Our due date is April 2nd!

2009-03-13T21:15:00.000-07:00

And we're expecting twelve, an even dozen!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

About a week and a half ago we had a hen go broody on us. All she wants to do is sit on eggs. All day and all night. Once a hen goes broody she quits laying eggs, so unless she can hatch some eggs for us or break her broodiness, then she will get culled and turn into delicious chicken and dumplings.

We decided to let her be broody and see what happened. But we needed to do something with her quickly because she was taking up valuable space in the nest boxes. She would just sit on her eggs and growl at any hen or human that got too close to her box. Plus we figured that only about 10% of our eggs are fertile because we have only one rooster for 82 hens, so the eggs she was sitting on were mostly sterile.
Feeling sorry for her because she wouldn't move and want to give up her clutch of eggs to another hen, I put grain and apple slices in her nest box, and I even tried to give her some water once. You will notice that I have my hand in my sleeve because the hens to her left and right kept on pecking my hand.
She refused my offer for drink but she did eat whatever food the other hens wouldn't steal from her.

Finally, last Saturday, March 7th, we had some time and finished the Gobbledy-Go (the hoop coop for our turkeys) and put it in the front yard. We decided this would be a good Maternity Ward. This location is best for Broody Hen because our house will shield the cold northeast winds that we get. We moved Broody and her clutch of eggs to their new home. It is a good thing I wore my gloves because she complained loudly and kept pecking at me. But she settled down quickly in her Maternity Ward.

We picked out five of our best looking hens and King, our rooster and put them in the front yard also. After a few days this would guarantee some fertile eggs for Broody to sit on.

This is our make-shift nest box that I designed and Joe built for Broody and the five hens:

After four days we started collecting eggs from our five fertile hens. We had four on Wednesday and three on Thursday.

God created the chick embryo inside the egg to start growing only after it has been at the right temperature and humidity for a certain length of time. Because a hen can only lay one egg every 25 hours, this enables her to lay multiple eggs and after several days start to sit on them. That way all the chicks will start growing together and hatch within a sixteen hour period. Isn't God amazing? He thought of everything.

On Thursday, Hannah and I decided that Broody needed a much better brooding box if she's going to be a good mommy. So we built the "Queen's Palace".

I read at this great web site that a broody hen needs a space about 24" X 30" and 16" high with a nest box inside. This will allow her and her chicks to stretch without going too far. It was suggested that the food and water be placed inside the broody box. But we will try to keep it on the outside.

We have a new rabbit cage, I measured it and it came out exactly 24" X 30" and 16" high! It was meant to be. We brought it into the garage and custom built a cardboard shield on all sides of it. Then we built a nest box out of cardboard. And like typical women, we didn't measure the door of the cage first to see if the nest box would fit through it. But God was looking out for us and it went through the door perfectly.

On Thursday afternoon we put the Queens Palace in the Maternity Ward. You can see it next to the original milk-crate nest box:

The other five hens must have really liked the Queen's Palace because all five hens layed an egg in it on Friday. So now we have a total twelve fertile eggs!

This afternoon (Friday), I added the seven eggs layed previously to the five from today. Then I picked up Broody Hen and gently placed her inside of the Queen's Palace on top of the fertile eggs. She only complained a little when I picked her up from off of her original eggs. But she seemed very happy to be in the Queen's Palace.

After the sun went down tonight, Joe and I returned King, our rooster, and the five fertile hens to the main flock. We thought Broody would like to be left alone. We also didn't want to leave the other nest box in the Maternity Ward and have Broody get confused about where to sit or have one of the other hens fight with her to get to the preferred nest box.

This brooding instinct has been bred out of the modern egg laying hen. So to have one of ours go Broody is wonderful!

We can see inside the Maternity Ward from several windows in our house and whenever I look, Broody is faithfully sitting on her eggs. The only exception was once yesterday afternoon, during the warmest part of the day, I saw her stretching her legs, scratching a little in the grass, eating and drinking. Then she got right back on her eggs. She's pretty smart to wait until the warm afternoon. I wonder who put that knowledge inside her little pea brain?

I've read that chicken eggs in an incubator take 21 days to hatch. But eggs sitting under a motherly hen take only 20 days to hatch. I guess God made the hen better at hatching eggs than man.

I'll keep you posted as to Broody's progress. I suspect the next 19 days will seem pretty uneventful.

The Slough of Despond and The Hill of Difficulties

2009-02-21T23:41:00.000-08:00

We've been reading through "Pilgrim's Progress" as a family. It's a wonderful book written by John Bunyan in the 1600's. In the book, the main character, Christian, travels through many difficulties on his way to the Heavenly Kingdom.

The children must really be enjoying the book because the other day Hannah took me into our woods and showed me the Slough of Despond and the Hill of Difficulties:

Beautiful February!

2009-02-21T23:09:00.000-08:00

We have had a nice stretch of weather. Sunny and warm - in the 50's! It is like spring in February.

Because the weather has been so nice, we forsook some indoor chores and headed outside. This last week we cleaned up the flower beds, pruned some trees and bushes, made pathways through our strawberry patch and cut the runners, cleaned out the brooder house to get ready for chicks at the end of next week, raked and cleaned out the west garden, tore apart the roto-tiller and ordered parts, and the children ate lunch outside on Friday!

We hope everyone has been enjoying the weather as much as we have!

This is a Chinese Witch Hazel tree in our front flower bed. It is not blooming early, it always blooms in winter. It is our Winter Cheerful Tree:

The tulips are showing!

Although it was only 52 degrees on the north side of the house, the sun warmed up the front porch on the south side very nicely!Our strawberry patch:

Thomas likes to watch Mr. Parker drive his tractor:

Since it is still February, we will keep the buckets filled with straw over the outdoor faucets just in case we get another freeze:

We are looking forward to Spring!!

Love

2009-02-21T22:29:00.000-08:00

Daniel

... and Thomas.

Church Potlucks

2009-02-21T21:58:00.000-08:00

I really enjoy everything about church potlucks. I like it when it is suggested, when it is planned, and I really like to eat all the different foods. The fellowship with fellow believers is a bonus. But there is one day I sometimes dread, and that is the day before the potluck. If I have a firm idea of what I am bringing then that day is not bad. But if I don't know what I am bringing then it is nothing but dread all day long. The smaller the church is, the bigger the dread. In a large church you can sometimes get away with bringing a wimpy dish, but not in a small church. In a small church everyone knows which dishes you brought; and if there was a lot leftover (tasted bad) or if your dish went quickly (tasted good).

Tomorrow our church is having a potluck. Today is Dread Day. I struggled all day long with what to make.

Lasagna? No, I have no noodles.

Soup? How do I transport it and keep it warm?

Sweet Potatoes? No, I brought that to the last two potlucks.

Roast? No, the meat is frozen solid, and Karen called and mentioned she is bringing a roast.

Finally, at 5:00 PM I remembered that I have some cooked chicken in the freezer. CHICKEN SALAD SANDWICHES! That is what I'll make. I got it out and the amount in the bag is kind of iffy (more dread). I wonder if anyone will notice if I sneak in some roast beef. No, can't do that. So I committed and I let it thaw. I made bread for dinner and made some extra for the sandwiches. After the children went to bed I started to make the chicken salad. I had all the ingredients and it worked out good. Because the amount is still dreadful, I decided to make two loaves of banana bread to bring also.

It is now 10:19 PM and I am up waiting for the banana bread to bake. I keep having thoughts of waking up early and making more food for the potluck but my mind is a clear slate and unable to think more about it.

I hope Karen makes a big roast.

One Boy, Two Boys, Three Boys

2009-02-14T21:09:00.000-08:00

We learned some wisdom awhile back. When you are looking for some workers remember this:

One boy is one boy.

Two boys is half a boy.

Three boys is no boy at all.

MSG: Think before you eat

2009-02-14T17:46:00.000-08:00

What do these have in common? --

Ranch dressing

Planters Salted Nuts

Doritos

Boars Head cold cuts

Progresso, Lipton, and Campbell soups

Pringles

Supermarket sausage

Boullion

Carageenan (very often found in ice cream)

Braggs Liquid Aminos

Soy Sauce

Body builder drink powders containing protein

Self-basting or injected turkey or chicken

"Natural flavors" or "spices"

Malted barley

Sodium caseinate

Autolyzed yeast

Take-out pizza

Most baby formulas

Many foods at McDonalds, Burger King, Taco Bell, and Dairy Queen

Most all the food at KFC

Dry milk and whey powder

Fresh produce sprayed with Auxigro in the field

They all contain MSG or free amino acid glutamate in high enough concentrations to cause reactions to people sensitive to it. And this short list is by no means exhaustive.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

MSG can contribute to a variety of health problems (see here, here, here, and here, or google it):

headaches

high blood pressure

hypoglycemia

diarrhea and gall bladder attacks

sterility in female animals

obesity

ringing in the ears

irregular or racing heartbeat

induce asthma

over-stimulation of nerve cells until they die

a contributor to Multiple Sclerosis

Diabetes

damage the retina and cause various vision disturbances

fatigue

burning sensation

numbness

tingling

facial pressure or tightness

difficulty breathing in asthmatics

contributes to brain tumors

contributes to neurodegenerative disease such as ALS, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease

sudden cardiac death very often associated with young athletes (MSG & Aspartame)

Because of MSG, I have personally experienced irregular heartbeats, vision problems (crystal-vision in one or both eyes), headaches, tingling, numbness, and facial problems, and three years ago two different doctors diagnosed me with possibly having Multiple Sclerosis, resulting in numerous expensive and worrisome tests. Many of those problems were definitely associated with eating MSG laden food and I suspect the rest of them were also.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

Here's the kicker... So called "Clean Labels" that claim "MSG-Free", "No MSG", "No MSG added", etc. are most likely lying! The corrupt FDA (the government agency that claims to protect our health) has not enforced this labeling since 1990. Food manufactures know this and thereby deceive the public with a "Clean Label" claiming no MSG.

Here are some examples of a "Clean Label":

Franco-American Space Goofs shaped Pasta with Meatballs in Tomato Sauce "No MSG". Here are its ingredients that sometimes or always contain or create MSG: Soy protein isolate, Enzyme modified cheddar cheese, and Enzyme modified butter

Briannas Home Style Blue Cheese Dressing "NO MSG". Here are its ingredients that sometimes or always contain or create MSG: Cheese culture, Enzymes, Buttermilk powder, Natural flavor, Citric acid

Lawry's Tenderizing Beef Marinade Spices & Seasonings "No MSG Added". Here are its ingredients that sometimes or always contain or create MSG: Modified Food Starch, Natural Flavoring

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

Children and unborn babies are most at risk from MSG. MSG can freely enter the brain of a child and it can penetrate the placental barrier and affect the unborn as well.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

There are many links to the dangers of MSG and what foods and ingredients contain MSG.

Here are some:

MSG Truth
MSG Myth
MSG: If it’s Safe, Why Do They Disguise It on Labels?
Monosodium Glutamate
Misleading and deceptive use of "No MSG" to hide MSG

And a here is a video documentary (one hour twenty-nine minutes long) about MSG and aspartame. My internet connection is slow and downloading videos takes a long time so I have only watched about 30-45 minutes of this particular documentary. But it was very eye opening!

Video clip from 60-Minutes (13 minutes long)

A shorter video (6 minutes long) is here about MSG. It is actually part one of a series.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

The best way to avoid MSG and Soy is to avoid all processed foods.

Buy your food from your local farmer. Ask him if and what he sprayed his fruits and vegetables with, what fertilizer did he use, if and what he medicated his animals with, what he feeds his animals. Find a farmer that appreciates God's creation and shows respect and honor to it. (Proverbs 12:10 - A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast...)

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

"Buying directly from a small local farmer is too expensive," you say.

I promise you that doctor appointments, nerve tests, headache medicine, MRI tests, neurologist appointments, time lost to vision problems is far costlier. I can show you my receipts.

Also, McDonalds, Pepsi, Doritos, and most processed foods are far costlier per meal than good homemade, locally grown, healthy, farm fresh, farmer loved and cared for, food grown on fresh pasture and in the sunshine food.

Here is an article about eating healthy for less cost, "Cut Your Food Bills in Half - It's true! You can enjoy better and healthier food, while spending much less to feed your family". I don't agree with everything in the article, but it does have some good advice.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

Even if half of all the above is true, wouldn't it still wiser to avoid MSG?

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

Life Changing

2009-02-14T15:25:00.000-08:00

This is not just about homeschooling. Not just about curriculum sales. Not just about how to raise children.

It is all that... but is is also a whole lot more.

The Christian Heritage Homeschool Conference is about changing America through families and through individuals.

Most people agree that something is wrong in our country, but most people cannot pinpoint the cause.

If you've never heard Voddie Baucham speak, come and have your eyes opened to the cause of our problems, and to the solution.

Happy Birthday Hannah!

2009-02-10T22:34:00.000-08:00

We just celebrated Hannah's 9th birthday and are very thankful that God blessed us with her!

Hannah, 10 months old with Grandpa Murphy:

Hannah holding her new baby Rebekah:With her cousin Meaghan (who is 8 hours younger than Hannah - Happy Birthday Meaghan!!!)

Picnic lunch in Daddy's pick-up truck:

In our "little old house":

At Grandma's house (Joseph is on my lap):

One of Daddy's favorite pictures of Hannah at Birch Bay:
Hannah with her younger sisters and one brother:

Starting to grow up and lose teeth:

With her baby Thomas:

With her two sisters and two brothers in Polyface's barn:

Holding a three week old broiler:On Mr. Sproul's horse Derby:At the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia:With her two younger sisters and three younger brothers:

For her 9th birthday she had a yellow cake with strawberries and whipped cream!

We hid her presents all over the house and tied them together with yarn.

She had to follow the yarn from present to present.
She found a duck from her brothers in the boy's closet:

She found a rug from her sisters on the school shelf:

And she found a new bicycle in the garage:

We love our Hannah!

Just because it's homemade doesn't mean it tastes good.

2009-02-01T17:39:00.000-08:00

Hi, my name is Daniel. I am 8 months old. My mommy feeds me everyday, in fact several times each day. I like what she feeds me. She tells me it's healthy and I believe her. But one day...

She said she made homemade yoghurt. All my brothers and sisters said that is was good. I believed them. Mommy told me that she didn't sweeten my yoghurt because it would be healthier for me and it would be good for me to get used to eating sour foods.

The first bite was a bit of a shock. Not only was it cold, but it was sour.

The more she fed me, the more concerned I got.

I looked at Rebekah. Uggh. This is not good.

I couldn't help it. My face scrunched up in sour pain.

Is she ever going to stop?

Oh no! Here comes another bite!

Mommmmmmm! I DON'T LIKE YOGHURT!!!

A note from Mommy: Yes, his story is true. But it didn't last long. After that last picture, I fed him some yummy pureed home-grown pumpkin. He did indeed liked it. Since this first yoghurt episode I have fed him sweetened yoghurt. I sweetened it with a bit of maple syrup. He liked it and kept begging for more. I love my Daniel!

The Illinois Human Experiment

2009-01-31T08:24:00.000-08:00

Sally Fallon wrote this open letter to Mr. Obama. I suspect that this is an experiment to see what Genetically Modified Soy does to the human body. I say that because it is very difficult to find soy in America that is not GM and the health problems these prisoners have are similar to other reports we've read when GM feed was given to animals. (By the way, Certified Organic foods are not supposed to be GM.) The open letter can be found here, but I copied it below:

-----------------------------

AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK OBAMA

From Sally Fallon Morell, President, the Weston A. Price Foundation

November 16, 2008

Dear Mr. Obama,

Congratulations on your recent victory in the American presidential elections. As the president-elect, you have many issues to consider as you prepare to take office.

One issue I would urge you to focus on concerns a grave injustice taking place in the prisons of your home state, namely, a prison diet that is slowly killing the inmates assigned to the Illinois Department of Corrections. This is a diet based largely on soy protein powder and soy flour. As you stated on last night’s 60 Minutes Program, America does not condone torture. I think you would agree that what is happening in the Illinois prisons is a form of torture.

Soy protein and soy flour are toxic, especially in large amounts. The US Food and Drug Administration lists 288 studies on its database showing the toxicity of soy. Numerous studies show that soy consumption leads to nutrient deficiencies, digestive disorders, endocrine disruption and thyroid problems.

Even the most ardent supporters of soy, such as Dr. Mark Messina, warn against consuming more than about 20 grams of soy protein per day. But the inmates in Illinois are getting upwards of 100 grams per day—beef and chicken by-product mixtures containing 60-70 percent soy, fake soy meats and cheese, even soy added to baked goods. The soy products are produced by Archer Daniel Midlands, which contributed heavily to the campaign of Rod Blagojevich. The change from a diet based largely on beef to one based on soy happened in 2003, when Mr. Blagojevich began his first term as governor.

The national office of the Weston A. Price Foundation has heard from dozens of inmates begging for help. Almost all suffer from serious digestive disorders, such as diarrhea or painful constipation, vomiting, irritable bowel syndrome and sharp pains in the digestive tract. One reason for these problems is the high oxalic acid content of soy—no food is higher in oxalic acid than soy protein isolate, which can contain up to 630 milligrams per serving, at least six times higher than the amount found in typical diets.

Oxalic acid is associated with kidney stones, but the sharp crystal deposits can form in almost every tissue in the body--in the heart where they can stop electrical signals; in the bones where they can displace bone marrow cells, leading to anemia or immune deficiency; in the brain where they can impair the transmission of signals; and in the skin where they can cause fibromyalgia.

Other problems reported by the inmates include acne, hair loss, depression, lethargy, allergies, heart arrhythmias, passing out after soy consumption, frequent infections and constant feeling of cold. Many of these are symptoms of low thyroid function. The estrogen-like compounds in soy are known to depress thyroid function.

When the prisoners seek medical treatment, they are told that soy does not cause the problems they are experiencing. Even those who vomit or pass out immediately after eating soy cannot get an order for a soy-free diet. They are told: “If the soy disagrees with you, don’t eat it. Buy food from the commissary.” And since most of the inmates cannot afford to purchase food from the commissary, they are faced with a choice of serious health problems or starvation. Several have had sections of their colons removed when a simple return to a nutritious, soy-free diet would have solved the problem. One inmate who passes out whenever he consumes soy was given a pacemaker.

Several inmates have filed lawsuits. One inmate has been subjected to illegal and life-threatening retaliatory actions as a result of his filing two lawsuits claiming inadequate medical care. Pro bono legal help is urgently needed for these cases.

According to law, prisoners are entitled to “nutritionally adequate food” (Ramos v Lamm, 639.2d 559, 1980). According to Illinois law, “Infliction of unnecessary suffering on prisoner by failure to treat his medical needs is inconsistent with contemporary standards of decency and violates the Eighth Amendment” (Key Note 7. Criminal Law 1213).

The justification for the switch from beef to soy is to save money. But according to one court case, “A lack of financing is not a defense to a failure to satisfy minimum constitutional standards in prisons” (Duran v. Anaya, 642, Supp. 510 (DNM 1986), page 525, paragraph 6). And it is not clear that the soy diet is saving the state of Illinois any money, not when you consider the greatly Increased medical costs that have ensued, and the risk to the state of costly lawsuits. The state of Virginia provides grass-fed beef to inmates at no cost to the state. Lowrisk prisoners raise the beef at Sky Meadows State Park. The surplus is sold to the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, resulting in a net gain for the prison budget. All over the country prisons are instituting creative ways to save money while teaching inmates new skills, including gardening, animal husbandry, beekeeping, food processing, composting and recycling. Only the state of Illinois has chosen to poison its prisoners instead.

It is said that a nation is judged on the way it treats its prisoners. The American prison system is predicated on the premise that criminals can be rehabilitated. To feed prisoners a diet that can permanently ruin their health robs them of any opportunity for rehabilitation, renders them unfit for normal life when they are released, and will impose an unnecessary burden on the state’s medical services. It constitutes a medical experiment and amounts cruel and unusual punishment, which must be stopped.

Mr. Obama, you can stop this cruel soy-feeding experiment with one phone call. I urge you to be that champion of fairness and justice that you promised during your campaign by making that call.

Sincerely yours,

Sally Fallon Morell, President
The Weston A. Price Foundation

The Weston A. Price Foundation is a non-profit nutrition education foundation dedicated to restoring nutrient-dense foods to the human diet through education, research and activism. The Foundation is spearheading a national campaign to warn consumers about the dangers of modern soy foods. Please visit their website http://www.westonaprice.org/ to learn more about the Foundation’s Soy Alert! campaign.

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For more information about the dangers of soy, click here.

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Like MSG, soy can be hidden on the ingredient label under different names. I Googled "names of soy ingredients" and found several helpful web sites among them this one and this one.

Ingredients containing soy:

Edamame
miso
natto
shoyu sauce
soy albumin
soy fiber
soy flour
soy grits
soy milk
soy nuts
soy sprouts
soya
soybean (curd, granules)
soybean butter
soy protein (concentrate, isolate)
soy sauce
tamari
tempeh textured vegetable protein (TVP)
tofu

Additives that may contain soy:

hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP)
flavoring (including natural and artificial)
canned chicken broth
vegetable broth, gum, and starch
bouillon cubes (beef, chicken, vegetable, etc.)

I've heard that some people are so sensitive to soy that it bothers them to eat animal products in which the animal had soy in his diet!

These aren't the good 'ol days anymore.

Garden Diary

2009-01-31T08:20:00.000-08:00

Our 2008 garden season has come to a racing end. It's between us and the moles as to who will get the rest of the carrots.

Yesterday, I picked carrots for soup and several of them had nice tops but that was all they had, the bottoms of those carrots were eaten away. Today we will pick the rest of them and store them in the garage.

Garden Diary

2009-01-14T14:52:00.000-08:00

Garlic - I don't remember when, maybe last October, we planted garlic bulbs for next year. About one-third of our herb garden is filled with garlic bulbs.

Onions - We used the last of our onions in December. Plant 2X in 2009.

Cabbage - the last 4 or 5 heads went soft in storage in the garage and ended up going to the chickens (they really liked that). I used my last cabbage for Christmas dinner. Next year I need to turn it into sauerkraut sooner.

Oregano, Thyme, Sage - still enjoying our dried herbs!

Pumpkin Puree - We have enjoyed a few pumpkin pies and Daniel has enjoyed his pumpkin baby food! We have many, many cups of puree in the freezer still. I think it'll last us until next October.

Beans, Peas, Broccoli - Still in the freezer waiting for me to turn it into baby food.

Potatoes - some of our potatoes partly froze and were ruined. Joe went through our supply twice to pull the bad ones out. But we have been enjoying home grown tasty potatoes. We haven't had to buy any for months now.

Carrots - To my surprise our carrots not only survived our two week freeze but came through with little to no damage! The last week or so we've been enjoying fresh carrots from the garden!

SEEDS - I ordered all our seeds already. They are certified organic (my biggest concern is that I grow non-gmo food) and I bought them from Abundant Life Seeds and Seeds of Change. I found that potato starts are much cheaper from Seeds of Change.

Laying hens last day outside

2009-01-10T12:30:00.000-08:00

I meant to post this back in December but it got lost in the shuffle.

Somewhere around December 12th was the last day the chickens got to be outside. We moved them into the Hoop House to keep the cold weather off them. It'll be nice when they get to go outside again. We give them hay, scraps, things we find around - after the snow melted off the garden, I gave them a radish bush that went to seed, they ate the seed pods. We and they are looking forward to spring when they can go onto pasture again!

I took these pictures on their last day outside. That night we moved them into the Hoop House and the next day and for the two weeks following the temperatures dropped way down reaching to below 10 degrees.

Gathering on the hoop coop:

King and his ladies:

King in mid-flight:

Heard there are bugs in here.

Days of Perseverance

2009-01-10T11:52:00.000-08:00

We are now in Day 7 of Potty Training.

Day 5 is titled “Lazy Day”. Everyone of my children has gone through the lazy days of PT. This is the time when the excitement wears off and, like the Hebrews, looks back to the old ways in Egypt. It was easier back then before PT, you didn’t have interrupt playing to go potty. So on Day 5, Thomas entered Lazy Day. He didn’t have any successes until after lunch and a good talk with me. After that he did great once again.

Today, Day 7, I’m labeling “Overconfidence Day”. This usually occurs only with boys, although some times with girls too. This is the day that pride takes over and they know it all. They forget all about position and the bathroom gets showered when he goes potty. It is noon and we are on his fourth set of clothes.

Overall, Thomas is doing very good. I am pleased with his progress.

Quote of the Day

2009-01-09T13:55:00.000-08:00

Last night Joseph and Thomas were carrying the potty seat up the stairs to the upstairs bathroom.

In his deepest, most manly voice Thomas told Joseph, "Us mans! Wight? Big mans like Daddy!"

Too bad Vets are only for animals

2009-01-09T10:19:00.000-08:00

Last Friday we got Fuzzy neutered (yes, she's a boy). We didn't even have to mortgage our house for his surgery. It was affordable.

Today, one week later, the vet's office called to see how he was doing.

When's the last time any of us received that kind of service from our doctor?

Potty Training

2009-01-06T15:11:00.000-08:00

We are in currently in day 3 of Potty Training with Thomas, our 5th child to be potty trained.

Before I get too far into this post, I understand that this can be a sore subject for many people and can also be a springboard for gossip. I am not intending either with this post, I'm just excited for Thomas and want to share some things I've learned on the highway of life.

Here's a list of things I've heard from other people:

"You should train newborns by holding them over the toilet so they don't like going in their diaper."
"Let the boys aim at Cheerios."
"Never use sugar treats to potty train."
"Don't use food treats at all."
"Use sugar treats."
"Use stickers."
"Decorate the bathroom and have a potty party."
"Invite the grandparents over and make a big celebration that Johnny/Susie doesn't wear diapers anymore."
"Let the child carry around the potty seat so he can go potty wherever he is."
"He's too young."
"He's too old."
"He's almost three and he's not potty trained?!"
"Did you hear how long it took So-and-So to train Bobby?"

...and the list goes on.

All that to say, I understand that there are as many ways to potty train as there are children. BUT here is my story. Dissect it, get disgusted with it, like it, it doesn't matter to me. I just hope it helps someone.

With my first three children, I had a very difficult time potty training. Later on I found out that they did fine, it was me who needed the training.

I wait until my children are in the latter part of 2 years old to start. To me it makes sense to wait until they have more wisdom. I've always been awed by mother's who could train them at a younger age, I say that is really great!! I've never learned their secret and wish I had.

With Ruthie and now with Thomas, I've had an easy and enjoyable time with potty training. I'll say what I do in hopes that it'll help someone potty train their children. If you have special tricks your mother and grandmother used, then use them. But if you're struggling, then consider my method.

Here are the supplies I use:

Potty seat - plain works fine, don't get anything that changes colors, sings songs, or needs batteries. It's exciting enough for the child to see that he wet the bottom of the bowl.

Stool - this serves two purposes, 1) an older sibling can sit and encourage the child, and 2) the child can use it to reach the sink and wash his hands.

Sticker chart - again, don't get sucked into any commercial gimmicks. I buy plain white poster board and cut it into fourths. I save the other three sections for the other children. This makes a nice size that is easy to hang in the bathroom and is easy to save. My older children like to look at theirs when a younger child is potty training and they like to show the trainee. It's encouraging. I noticed on Rebekah's sticker chart that I made it out of cardboard, that's usually free.

Wipes - for the accidents that will happen.

Stickers - get whatever you want, but get a variety. When child #2, 3, 4, 7, or 9 starts potty training, don't feel like you need to buy new stickers. You'll have left overs from the previous children. Don't worry if the sheets are not complete. Children don't care, I promise. They also don't care if the stickers are big or small. I've been surprised by my children picking the tiniest sticker over some flashy big one.

Day time training pants - I used to use whatever Target or Walmart sold. I still have those and use them for back-ups with plastic pants over them. These work fine, but be prepared for leaks. With Thomas I discovered Imse Vimse training pants. These have been the best I've ever used. They are more costly, but in my opinion worth it. In our first three days of P.T. I've had only one leak. And no plastic pants are needed with these.

Night time pull-ups - like Huggies or Pampers. I start using these the night of Day 1 of P.T. I don't use these for day time because they are just like diapers and the child can't feel he's wet. That's bad for training. The only reason I use these at night is because they pull-down and up easy.

Timer - the stove timer will work fine for this.

Treats - I've learned that smaller is better. My favorites are chocolate chips, raisins, and nuts. I offer them all to the child and let him choose.

Toddler bed - we bought a solid homemade wood bed at a garage sale for child #1, painted it white so it could go back and forth between girls and boys. We've gotten several hundred dollars worth of use out of this $15 bed. (Crib mattresses fit in toddlers beds.)

Here is a picture of my set-up:

This is the guest bathroom right off of our kitchen. We are in this area of the house quite a bit so it makes sense to use this bathroom. At night we move the potty seat to the upstairs bathroom that is closest to the children's bedrooms. The potty seat is never in any other area of the house. The child needs to learn that there is a special room for going to the bathroom in. Notice that the sticker chart on the wall right where the child can see it when he is going potty. This is important.

My Procedure

Several weeks or days before:

I get the potty seat out of storage and put it in the bathroom. I explain what it is for and let the child and older children get all excited about it. If the child shows interest, I let them give it a test drive. But I don't push anything yet.

When I feel the child is ready then I'll start the next day. Be sure you have your supplies ready and in place. And pick a day that you'll be home all day. By the way, don't expect to get much done on the first day of P.T. Just relax and try to enjoy your child.

First day of Potty Training:

I put the training pants on him and dress him with sweat pants or a dress for a girl. Ease is the goal.

As soon as I get him up in the morning and clean him up from night time diaper mess, then we go to the potty seat and give it a try. All the while telling him that he doesn't wear diapers any more, he's a big boy. Wow, look at your new training pants. Here's your sticker chart. On and on.

Reward system - Thomas get's one chocolate chip, raisin, or nut for trying. This is if he only tries and doesn't produce. If he wets in the potty seat, then he gets three chocolate chips and gets to choose a sticker and place it himself on the sticker chart. If he poops then he gets six chocolate chips and chooses two stickers to place on the chart. During the first day or two I'll write something next to the sticker, like, "First Potty!! January 4, 2009 :)".

Timer - this is crucial to beginning potty training!

After every attempted try and after every success, I time 15 minutes on the timer. When it beeps, I say, "It beeped, that means it's time to go potty again!" I blame it on the timer that we have to try it again. This wording seems to work well because how can you argue with a timer? We do this during all waking moments. We continue using the timer until the child has less accidents and starts showing that he can tell me that he has to go potty before he wets his pants. When that starts happening then I use the timer less and ask "Do you need to go potty?" more.

Nap time and bedtime - I use the Pampers or Huggies pull-ups, they work better for big soaks than Imse Vimse. I do not wake up the child to go potty, but I tell him that he is only allowed to get out of his big boy bed if he has to go potty. Then he can get out and come tell me.

Expect the child to wake up wet. Don't scold him for it. Just encourage him and tell him that pretty soon he'll wake up dry and won't that be exciting! For some children this could take years. For other children this happens rather quickly. Things to help in this area are limiting liquids after a certain time in the evening and if the bed wetting goes on, you can try to take him potty right before you go to bed which means waking him up. For my #2 child this worked. We took her potty around 11 PM everynight for several months. And then she started staying dry all night. But for child #3 this didn't work because he slept so sound that we would have to hold him up on the toilet because he couldn't wake up. But for children #1 and #4, they learned quickly on their own to stay dry at night time without any aid from us.

When the child wakes up dry, then hooray! Make sure you get him on the potty seat quickly and while he's sitting there, pick out a "stay-dry" sticker for him to put on his chart and then give him two sets of three chocolate chips, three for staying dry, and three because he just wet in the potty seat!

Specific times I always take them potty - first thing in the morning, right before any meal, within 10 minutes after any meal, right before nap time, right after waking up from nap, right after an accident (see next paragraph), right before we go out anywhere, when we get home, I think you get the picture. See "Timer" paragraph above for other times.

Accidents - The child will fail and when he does don't scold him for it. I say that it is okay, but next time put your pee in the potty seat instead. And then I put him on the potty seat and explain that this is where your pee goes. This step is crucial to training. I let him sit there for a while and we talk about anything, not necessarily P.T.

Washing hands - I've learned that if you wash with soap and water after each time, the child's tender skin will get quite dry as it is not used to being treated like that. So I've switched to just rinsing their fingers. And ocassionally we do the full blown water and soap wash. When the child's hands get too dry they will itch it and then it'll start to bleed. Then you have another problem to deal with.

Cleaning the potty seat - after he has a success, then dump it into the big toilet, wipe it with toilet paper, rinse it, wipe it again, and let the child flush. It's fun to say "bye-bye" to the pee.

Drinks - In the morning I make sure Thomas gets lots to drink that way we can practice a whole bunch. In the evening I limit his drinks to help him to stay dry at night time.

Boys - I train them in the sit-down, point-down position. This is far less messy. (No Cheerio games.) My oldest boy is six and he still sits down to go potty. (Except when he's outside.)

Solids - Children tend to not want to poop in the potty seat until they are comfortable with wetting in it. That's okay. If your child has this kind of accident, take him into the bathroom and take his soiled training pants off, clean him up, and shake the solids into the toilet and tell him this is where poop goes. "You're a big boy now and you don't do this in your underwear." Then sit him down on the potty seat and encourage him to try to go potty now. If you are happy and can keep him happy it'll be easier on him.

Excitement - During the first day be excited! Let the child gather the whole family into the bathroom and show everyone the wet in the potty seat! The sticker on the chart! Wow! This is great! Good job Thomas! You're a big boy now!

Let the excitement slowly wear off over the next several days. I've experienced that the child can get too much of this and it ends up having the opposite affect.

Rewards - Be diligent during the first few days with the treats and stickers. After the third day or so, let the child remind you and let them forget sometimes. As it becomes more routine to use the potty seat then the child will start to forget the rewards. That's good.

Bad attitudes - this is the only time in the P.T. process that I discipline the child. If he starts to exhibit poor attitudes or "I don't want to" attitudes, then I discipline him and encourage him to sit on the potty seat and try. After all, "you're a big boy now and we can't let our underwear get wet..."

Going potty with the child - I usually only do this once during the first day of training. I make sure I am wearing a big, loose skirt that will completely cover my knees and up so the child doesn't see anything inappropriate. The reason I do it is to kick-start the child so they realize the reason they are sitting on the potty seat. It lets the child hear the wet go into the toilet and it encourages him. Otherwise I would discourage this practice. I've heard of people showing children way too much in order to potty train them. This is unecessary, inappropriate, and the Bible speaks against the child seeing the nakedness of their parents. (Remember what happened to Noah's son when he look on his father's nakedness?)

The end of Thomas's first day - Thomas had ten stickers on his chart at the end of day 1. Some children really understand quickly. Half way through his first day of P.T. he began to tell us that he had to go potty right after he went his pants. I call this progress because he starting to think right! By the second day he was able to tell us before he wet his pants and then we made a mad dash for the bathroom and had success. On the third day he had no accidents!

None of my other children learned it this quickly, except Ruthie. I used the above method with both of them. But I would expect that most children still wouldn't learn it this quickly. Be patient, loving, and encouraging.

If you have older children, read on...!

This is where things get exciting! For boys I let the older brother(s) help and for girls the older sister(s). I let the older ones take the trainee potty. This does three things, 1) it encourages the trainee because the older one will tell stories and distract the younger one from the "work" at hand, 2) it teaches the older one how to potty train so that they'll know how when they get married and have children, and 3) it frees up mother to do other things!

This is important =>
When an older child ("trainer") helps the trainee, they get the same reward as the trainee with the exception of the sticker! This encourages the trainer to keep training!! All my older children have been wonderful trainers. And they help remind the trainee to go potty because they, the trainer, want a treat. This is great!

If you are diligent for just a few days, you will have a potty trained child and no more diapers to change. Your child will also be happier because he is a big boy now!

Our home in the snow

2008-12-29T20:16:00.000-08:00

Playing in the Snow

2008-12-29T17:48:00.000-08:00

For two weeks we had great winter weather. Most of the time it was too cold and windy to go out.But once it warmed up into the high 20's, we headed outside.

It is tradition that within the first two minutes of being out that the children's boots, hats, and gloves either fall off or are in need of adjustment.

Daddy and Joseph:We first headed to the hill in our backyard.

Daddy blazed a sledding trail:Then Thomas and Daddy went. One good thing about being little is that you get to ride both down the hill and back up: Then Joseph and then Ruthie:Lastly, Hannah and Rebekah got to go:Thomas acted like a true boy. He sat down and threw snow for quite some time:Joseph loves being outside in the snow:

Thomas had been talking about helping Daddy shovel snow for several days and finally got his chance:

Ruthie:

Daddy and Hannah decided tofollow deer tracks, it led them into the woods:

Cocoa thought that staying inside was his best choice:

Our view

2008-12-29T15:21:00.000-08:00

This is the beautiful view God gave us from our home. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. Psalm 90:2

We are like our chickens

2008-12-29T14:24:00.000-08:00

The forecast was for northeast winds, snow, and temperatures in the teens. We waited until the day before the cold was to come to move the chickens into the big hoop house. We moved them when it was dark because the chickens are more docile then. Several trips were made with our wagon loaded with hens. The children and I voted that Joe would pick up King, I really very much in no way didn't want to touch him.If we hadn't of moved them they would have had to live in this: We didn't get a chance to clean up the hoop coop or the fencing because the weather turned bitterly cold. Joe tried to pull up the fencing but it was solidly frozen in the ground.

Here is their winter home:

They occupy the east half of the hoop house:As you can see, there is no grass to rotate them on. We try to supplement their feed with green hay and extra scraps from the kitchen. I also have some beans that were picked when they were too mature and stringy which I didn't realize it at the time, so I blanched them and froze several gallons. The hens have been getting these from time to time. Their egg yolks are just now starting to pale from the lack of green grass. It'll be nice when spring comes and we can get them back on fresh pasture!

Shirley, one of our friends gave them almost 1,000 worms for a Christmas present. They went absolutely nuts over them!

How are we like our chickens?

The hens don't like it in the hoop house very much. They would rather be out on pasture digging up grubs and worms and eating fresh grass. They think that all that is still available but for some reason they were put into the hoop house and put on wood chips.

What they don't know is that for the last two weeks the temperature has been below 25 degrees for most of those days, there is snow everywhere, and the northeast wind is blowing.

What they don't realize is that their protector has put them into the hoop house with a nice thick layer of wood chips in order to keep them warm and protected from the winter weather.

We are like the chickens.

God may put us in a position or allow us to get hurt and we think that all is going against us. Our green pastures are gone, the sun no longer warms our backs. But what we may not realize is that God may be allowing that to happen in order to protect us from some greater evil, or to make us think of our lost condition and turn our hearts toward the Salvation of our souls, Jesus Christ.

1 Thessolonians 5:18 says, In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

It is God's will that we continually give thanks to Christ even when we appear to be in dire straights. Remember, God loves us.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Jeremiah 29:11

Friends

2008-12-26T20:05:00.000-08:00

Isn't this a nice looking family?

These are the children that God blessed Dean & Debbie Criss with. They go to our church; Dean teaches and preaches part time.

Pictured from left to right they are: Sarah (24), Laura (22), Jon (20), Phil (19), Hannah (17), Rebekah (16), Susanna (14), Matthew (11), Joe (8), and Lydia (5).

This family has been a source of blessing to us ever since we met them.

We first casually met them at a church we used to attend when they visited in hopes to find a place to worship. We were instantly attracted to them as a family. We saw in them what we wanted for our family. They appeared happy, honoring, obedient, and they seemed to have Christ in the correct position in their lives. They were unlike any family we knew at the time.

Unfortunately, at that first meeting we didn't get to know them, I barely learned their last name. But God created a desire in our hearts to find them so we started to pray about it. God answered our prayer and had us run into them in the Costco parking lot! Well, it was only me, so it was a bit uncomfortable because I only saw Dean and some of the children, I guess Debbie was still in the store. We didn't exchange phone numbers or anything. So we prayed some more.

We then ran into them again at the Christian Heritage Homeschool conference which we almost didn't go to because Thomas was only 14 days old. This time Joe and Dean exchanged business cards.

Shortly after that we had their whole family over for dinner. And we casually kept in contact since then via dinners, potlucks and such at our house or theirs. Last spring God laid it on the hearts of the fathers of some families, theirs being one, to start a church. They invited us and we've been meeting ever since. I could go on about how much of a blessing our church is, but I'll save that for another time.

We thank God for the Criss family and we keep them in our prayers!

Secret of the Lusitania: Arms find challenges Allied claims it was solely a passenger ship

2008-12-22T08:51:00.000-08:00

By Sam Greenhill

Last updated on 20th December 2008

Her sinking with the loss of almost 1,200 lives caused such outrage that it propelled the U.S. into the First World War.

But now divers have revealed a dark secret about the cargo carried by the Lusitania on its final journey in May 1915.

Munitions they found in the hold suggest that the Germans had been right all along in claiming the ship was carrying war materials and was a legitimate military target.

The Cunard vessel, steaming from New York to Liverpool, was sunk eight miles off the Irish coast by a U-boat.

Maintaining that the Lusitania was solely a passenger vessel, the British quickly accused the 'Pirate Hun' ofslaughtering civilians.

The disaster was used to whip up anti-German anger, especially in the U.S., where 128 of the 1,198 victims came from.

A hundred of the dead were children, many of them under two.

Robert Lansing, the U.S. secretary of state, later wrote that the sinking gave him the 'conviction we would ultimately become the ally of Britain'.

Americans were even told, falsely, that German children were given a day off school to celebrate the sinking of the Lusitania.

The disaster inspired a multitude of recruitment posters demanding vengeance for the victims.

One, famously showing a young mother slipping below the waves with her baby, carried the simple slogan 'Enlist'.

Two years later, the Americans joined the Allies as an associated power - a decision that turned the war decisively against Germany.

The diving team estimates that around four million rounds of U.S.-manufactured Remington .303 bullets lie in the Lusitania's hold at a depth of 300ft.

The Germans had insisted the Lusitania - the fastest liner in the North Atlantic - was being used as a weapons ship to break the blockade Berlin had been trying to impose around Britain since the outbreak of hostilities in August 1914.

Winston Churchill, who was first Lord of the Admiralty and has long been suspected of knowing more about the circumstances of the attack than he let on in public, wrote in a confidential letter shortly before the sinking that some German submarine attacks were to be welcomed.

He said: 'It is most important to attract neutral shipping to our shores, in the hope especially of embroiling the U.S. with Germany.

'For our part we want the traffic - the more the better and if some of it gets into trouble, better still.'

Hampton Sides, a writer with Men's Vogue in the U.S., witnessed the divers' discovery.

He said: 'They are bullets that were expressly manufactured to kill Germans in World War I - bullets that British officials in Whitehall, and American officials in Washington, have long denied were aboard the Lusitania.'

The discovery may help explain why the 787ft Lusitania sank within 18 minutes of a single German torpedo slamming into its hull.

Some of the 764 survivors reported a second explosion which might have been munitions going off.

Gregg Bemis, an American businessman who owns the rights to the wreck and is funding its exploration, said: 'Those four million rounds of .303s were not just some private hunter's stash.

'Now that we've found it, the British can't deny any more that there was ammunition on board. That raises the question of what else was on board.

'There were literally tons and tons of stuff stored in unrefrigerated cargo holds that were dubiously marked cheese, butter and oysters.

'I've always felt there were some significant high explosives in the holds - shells, powder, gun cotton - that were set off by the torpedo and the inflow of water. That's what sank the ship.'

Mr. Bemis is planning to commission further dives next year in a full-scale forensic examination of the wreck off County Cork.

Handel's Messiah

2008-12-13T22:27:00.000-08:00

Tonight we went to a wonderful concert at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Bellingham. The Lynden Choral Society presented portions of Handel's Messiah. Laura Criss, one of the daughters of a family in our church played the violin in the concert. Everyone did a fabulous job.

I had never been in this church building before, it was beautiful and the acoustics were perfect. They did not use a sound system and we could hear the ladies with tiny voices all the way in the back row.

Granny and Grandpa came with us and the children were very good throughout the entire concert.

My favorite song was the Hallelujah Chorus. What a wonderful song! I'm thankful that my children were able to hear it performed live. And I'm also thankful that it is still tradition to rise while it is being sung. My second favorite song was For Unto Us a Child is Born.

I had never seen Handel's Messiah before and didn't know that the words are entirely from scripture! The director of the choral wrote a welcome letter in the program and I think a portion is worth repeating. He wrote about Handel:

A passionate and fervent man, Handel composed "The Messiah" 267 years ago in 1741. Without leaving his house, he wrote this oratorio in 24 days, sometimes incorporating previously composed music. While working on the "Hallelujah Chorus", it is said Handel was found with tears in his eyes, exclaiming, "I did think I did see all heaven before me and the great God Himself."

What a wonderful gift that song has been through the centuries! I found this on Wikipedia about the Hallelujah Chorus:

In many parts of the world, it is the accepted practice for the audience to stand for this section of the performance. Tradition has it that King George II rose to his feet at this point. As the first notes of the triumphant Hallelujah Chorus rang out, the king rose. Royal protocol has always demanded that whenever the monarch stands, so does everyone in the monarch's presence. Thus, the entire audience stood too, initiating a tradition that has lasted more than two centuries. It is lost to history the exact reason why the King stood at that point, but the most popular explanations include:

As was and is the custom, one stands in the presence of royalty as a sign of respect. The Hallelujah chorus clearly places Christ as the King of Kings. In standing, King George II accepts that he too is subject to Lord of Lords.
He was so moved by the performance that he rose to his feet.
He arrived late to the performance, and the crowd rose when he finally made an appearance.
His gout acted up at that precise moment and he rose to relieve the discomfort.
After an hour of musical performance, he needed to stretch his legs.

I happen to believe it was either the first or second points or both. But no matter what the true reason, the tradition has been held in order to honor the one King of kings and Lord of lords, Jesus Christ.

Grandparent's Day

2008-12-13T09:21:00.000-08:00

Last week we finished studying our first unit in Tapestry of Grace, a Bible based history curriculum. We've been enjoying it and have learned a lot. The first unit took us from Creation, through Ancient Mesopotamia, the Patriarchs, Ancient Egypt, the Exodus, and ended in the Wilderness before the Isrealites crossed into Canaan.

We decided to have Grandparent's Day for a few reasons, 1) to show Granny & Grandpa what we've been learning, 2) to encourage the children in their studies, and 3) to stretch the children and have them make oral, musical, and visual presentations.

Here is the program we followed:

"The Whole Duty of Children" by Robert Louis Stevenson

poem recited by Hannah

The Beginning of History, Genesis 1:1

recited by Hannah, Rebekah, Joseph, and Ruth

The Ten Commandments

recited by all four children together

and then one at a time (#1-Rebekah, #2-Hannah, #3-Joseph, #4-Ruth, #5-Rebekah, #6-Hannah, #7-Joseph, #8-Ruth, #9-Rebekah, #10-Hannah)

"The God of Abraham Praise"

sung as a group, by memory

Psalm 23:1, in English and Spanish

recited by all

Papryrus

Presented by Hannah

Pharoah Tutankhamun

Presented by Rebekah

The Valley of the Kings

Presented by Joseph

"Sun of My Soul"

piano recital by Hannah

After our program the children were free to show Granny and Grandpa all their work and books they've been studying.

Joseph is showing Granny his arithmetic book:

Grandpa took some liberty to quiz Hannah and the others on the maps they created:

Rebekah is showing Grandpa her lapbook:

Thomas got into the spirit of things and started coloring:

We finished the night by eating ginger snap cookies that Granny baked. A great time was had by all and we plan on doing it again. Doing the presentations was a very valuable learning experience for the children!

Here are some of the curriculum and work the children are learning with:

Bible - King James Bible

Math - Horizons by Alpha & Omega, Dinner table discussions

Phonics & Language Arts - A Beka

Writing - A Beka

Reading - A Beka, Tapestry of Grace, and miscellaneous choices

Time - Horizons, and Kumon

Science - Apologia and Dinner table discussions

Spanish - The Easy Spanish

History - Tapestry of Grace (which includes many books, encyclopedias, hands-on work, etc.) & other books, articles, lessons chosen by us, Dinner table discussions

Religion & Politics - Dinner table discussions

Piano - Mommy using James Bastien, hymn books, and others

Arts & Crafts - A Beka, Baking, Painting, and Self-taught Art

Home Economics - Consists of daily and weekly scheduled chores and duties including cooking and baking

Relationships & Parenting - this is taught throughout the day everday

Farming - Gardening (includes planning, chores, sowing, harvesting, storing, and miscellaneous work), Composting, Laying Hens, Broiler Chickens

WMDs? Terrorists? Oil? No, just Money!

2008-12-09T09:22:00.000-08:00

I ran across this article a few days ago that exposes one of the pure evil reasons for why we are in Iraq. It's a little long, but you can handle it.
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The Assault on Iraqi Agriculture ---
U.S. Agribusiness Targets the Fertile Crescent
By Daniel Stone

August 2006
Blessed with abundant fertile land and water, Iraq, the cradle of civilization, the center of the Fertile Crescent of ancient Mesopotamia, the birthplace of agriculture 13 centuries ago, has, in the past, not only been able to feed itself, but to supply other areas of the world with its bountiful harvest of grains, pulses, dates and vegetables. How unfortunate that now these proud people are receiving most of their food as "aid." Over the past 20 years, due to the Iraq-Iran war, the two U.S. Gulf "wars," and the brutal, illegal, U.S.-driven sanctions over 13 years, during both Republican and Democratic administrations, Iraq's agricultural sector has been devastated.

20 Years of Bombing, Sanctions, Oil-for-Food, and Depleted Uranium

In 1991, the U.S. deliberately bombed Iraq's civilian infrastructure of water purification and electrical plants, and then prevented Iraq from rebuilding same by imposing sanctions (more accurately a "military blockade" - an act of war). In both 1991 and 2003, "US bombing raids targeted cattle feed lots, poultry farms, fertilizer warehouses, pumping stations, irrigation systems, fuel depots and pesticide factories ---the very infrastructure of Iraqi agriculture." It will take years to restore these operations under good conditions.

Under the U.S.-driven sanctions' rubric of "dual use," the most common and necessary materials were blocked from entering Iraq. For instance, some parts for irrigation systems were banned, thus preventing the repair and use of irrigation. Consequently, only half the irrigable southern part of Iraq is now irrigated and properly utilized. Similarly, parts and materials for water-purification systems were banned by the U.S., resulting in widespread disease and death, particularly among children under age five. The lack of the most basic medicines during the years of blockade compounded the deaths, estimated as high as two million, mostly children. The hundreds of tons of depleted uranium the U.S. illegally expended in weapons' discharges in Iraq both in 1991 and in 2003 account for many anomalous birth defects and soil contamination. Our aerial bombing of, and sanctions on, Iraq over the past 15 years are perhaps the world's most blatant example of state terrorism in recent history. Two heads of the Oil-For-Food ("OFF") Program --- Denis Halliday and Hans von Sponek --- quit in disgust, refusing to be a part of what they saw as a genocidal process of slowing murdering Iraqi civilians by sanctions.

The Oil-For-Food Program --- Agribusiness Disguised as Aid

As the OFF Program related to Iraqi agriculture, it was a severe disincentive to farmers. Except in the northern region, the OFF Program was prohibited from purchasing locally-produced food. The OFF Program was characterized by some critics as a scheme to guarantee oil supplies to the west, and to create food dependency in Iraq. Now over half of Iraq's food is imported, and a significant part of the population is dependent upon government-financed food rations for survival.

U.S. Policies --- Fox Put in Charge of the Chicken Coop

As Heather Gray has pointed out, "Wars are invariably a pretext for economic expansion and opportunities for corporate greed." What better target for U.S. agribusiness than a U.S.-occupied country such as Iraq? Such a country would be powerless to oppose the re-writing of its laws, and the conversion of its sovereignty to becoming just a vassal state, a colony, a breadbasket for the "Homeland." No better evidence of this was the installation in April 2003 of Daniel Amstutz, former Cargill Corporation executive, to oversee the "rehabilitization" of agriculture in Iraq.

Cargill, a violator of the rights and independence of family farmers throughout the world, is notorious for using massive subsidies from the U.S. government to dump vast amounts of grains in poorer countries. This action "undermines small farmers, helps to destroy the local food production systems, and forces dependence of small farmers and local rural economies on corporate agribusiness."

U.S. Policies --- GMOs and the Detrimental Effects of Order 81

After the so-called "transfer of sovereignty" in June 2004, when former Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) administrator L. Paul Bremer III left Baghdad, he left behind the 100 orders he enacted as head of the occupation authority in Iraq. Of Bremer's 100 Orders, Order 81 contains the edicts (paragraphs 51 - 79) pertinent to agriculture. Order 81, while claiming otherwise, will actually reduce biodiversity and thus lead to a monoculture susceptible to disease, increase chemical use, and pave the way for Genetically Modified Organisms ("GMOs") to dominate food production in Iraq.

In fact, Order 81 was written to promote the patenting of seeds and the sale of GMOs. Before the U.S. illegally invaded and occupied Iraq, it was not legal to patent seeds. Now, under U.S. decree, to patent varieties of seed, all that is necessary is to be the first to "describe" or "characterize" them. Even though technically, the Iraqi farmer is not being stopped from saving and sharing seed from traditional crops at this time, nevertheless there is now also nothing stopping Monsanto, Cargill, Dow, Syngenta, Bayer and other multinationals from "describing" or "characterizing" those traditional seeds, and thereby patenting those seeds in the future. And, when they do, the Iraqi farmer then will be prohibited from saving and sharing those seeds that have been passed down from generations, and will have to buy them from "the company store," "trapped into a high-cost cash crop economy from which he will find it impossible to escape."

Iraqi farmers can be sued now by Monsanto "if their non-GMO crops are polluted by GMO crops planted in their vicinity."

A Canadian farmer, Percy Schmeiser (percyschmeiser.com), was sued for such. No one came to his aid, and so Monsanto was able to win judgment, even though the court waived monetary damages. So it is important that people defend small farmers against the corporations. And, if Iraqis ever get their country back, they must immediately repeal the 100 Orders of Paul Bremer.

Order 81 was not written to rejuvenate Iraq's agriculture nor protect biodiversity, but to protect the "intellectual property rights" of U.S. biotechnical and agribusiness corporations, such as Monsanto and Cargill. Iraqis were blocked from having any input regarding the language of Order 81. To compound this injurious legislation, the Bush administration issued an "executive order" to indemnify corporate looters from prosecution.

The broader U.S. plan is to incorporate Iraqi agriculture into the web of U.S. agribusiness, with Iraq growing a few high-yield cash crops for export to the Homeland (the U.S.) instead of growing basic crops to feed the Iraqi people. Subsequently, state-run food companies will be privitized, farm subsidies will be eliminated, and food prices will increase, all in keeping with the same U.S. agenda world-wide. Driving Iraqi farmers into a privitized free market will destroy small family farms in Iraq just as similar policies have done here in the U.S.

Small farmers are the best caretakers and sustainers of the land, as well as the most efficient food producers per unit of land. Since they are closer to the land than the agribusiness giants, they know best how to care for it, to nurture it. So agriculture should remain primarily local, and not global. The essence of food security is in locally controlled and produced food.

Iraqi Agriculture as Part of the Larger Picture in Iraq and the World

As Iraqi agriculture is a part of, and affected by, the overall situation in Iraq, it is important to know the larger picture. For instance, how is American "reconstruction" going?

"In fact, reconstruction has failed. Almost three years after the war began, oil production is well below pre-war levels, Baghdad is getting only an average of 3.2 hours of electricity a day, and more than 60 percent of water and sanitation projects have been canceled.

"So now, having squandered billions in Iraqi oil revenue, as well as American taxpayer dollars, we have told the Iraqis that from here on it is their problem. America's would-be Marshall Plan in Iraq, reports The Los Angeles Times, 'is drawing to a close this year with much of its promise unmet ...'"
- Paul Krugman, "State of Delusion," New York Times, 02-03-06, p. A27

The Bush Administration has been accused of "incompetence" in the handling of the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq. However, the agenda of the Bush Administration's neo-conservative cabal, which runs America's foreign policy, was always to destroy Iraq as a sovereign nation, to colonize it, not to "democratize" it, or in any other way reconstruct it, except in our own image and under our total control. Even before they became major figures in the Bush foreign policy team, David Wurmser, Richard Perle and Douglas Feith predicted in 1997, as members of the "Project for a New American Century," that a post-Saddam Iraq would likely be torn apart by sectarian conflicts, but advocated that the U.S. "expedite" such a collapse anyway.

In conclusion, we can see how the predatory capitalism practiced by American agribusiness in Iraq fits into the larger world picture described by A. V. Krebs:

"Food, next to life itself, has become our greatest common denominator. Its availability, quality, price, its reflection of the culture it feeds and its moral and religious significance make it quite literally history's 'staff of life.' Today, in the never-ending worldwide struggle to determine who will control its production, quality and accessibility, food is no longer viewed first and foremost as a sustainer of life. Rather, to those who seek to command our food supply it has become instead a major source of corporate cash flow, economic leverage, a form of currency, a tool of international politics, an instrument of power --- a weapon!"
- A.V. Krebs, The Corporate Reapers: The Book of Agribusiness (Essential Books: 1992); Director of the Corporate Agribusiness Research Project, PO Box 2201, Everett, WA 98203. He publishes a free e-mail newsletter, The Agribusiness Examiner; email avkrebs@earthlink.net; web site www. ea1.com/CARP/ .

Daniel Stone is a member of the East Bay Coalition to Support Self-Rule for Iraqis ("EB-COSSI"), a collection of individuals and organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area dedicated to non-violent activities to assist the people of Iraq in achieving self-rule, so that they can live healthful, prosperous lives. To accomplish this end we are working through lobbying, education, and other means.

The members of EB-COSSI have been inspired by Voices for Creative Nonviolence (vcnv.org) to table at San Francisco Bay Area Farmers' Market in the winter of 2006 as part of Voices' "Winter of Our Discontent" Project to distribute articles and information about the plight of Iraq and Iraqi farmers in particular. Voices for Creative Nonviolence is an organization working since 1996 to nonviolently challenge the economic warfare being waged by the US against the people of Iraq. Voices continues its work today, acting to end the illegal, immoral US occupation of Iraq.

Artisan Bread - Wow!

2008-12-06T12:30:00.000-08:00

I made my first ever loaf of Artisan Bread. Are you impressed?

I will let you in on a little secret... it is overrated. The taste and texture is really wonderful, but the good news is that it is the simplest bread I've ever made, that's the overrated part.

All it really is, is really wet bread dough, shaped into whatever you want or however it turns out, some flour thrown on top, some random or patterened slashes cut into it, and then baked in a hot, steamy oven.

The mixing of the dough takes less than five minutes and there is no kneading. That's right! No kneading. After the dough rises for two hours it sits in the refrigerator for three hours to several days. When you need fresh baked Artisan Bread you simply cut a piece off the size of a grapefruit, shape it, let it rise for 40 minutes and then bake it for 30 minutes. Easy. Then you too can impress your guests with homemade Artisan Bread!

I have some gueses as to why it is called Artisan:

Some culinery geniuses named it Artisan to make it sound like one needs a degree or be extra artistic to make it and therefore this elite club can charge more money for this product.
The same culinery group of geniuses named it Artisan so that we, the consumer, can impress our friends when we serve it to them and also look rich in the checkout lane.
This blob of bread with flour thrown on top and some random slashes in it can only be appreciated through artistic eyes.

If anyone wants the recipe for impressive Artisan Bread, post a comment and I'll post the recipe in a reply comment.

The Invisible Aircraft - is this true?

2008-12-05T22:11:00.002-08:00

The Invisible Aircraft
By Sergei N. Stepanenko,
Contributing Editor
St. Petersburg, Russia

In the mind of 21st century man, the expression “invisible aircraft” conjures up “Stealth” technology, i.e. an aircraft invisible to radar. But in the 1930’s it meant just what it said - invisible to the human eye. As far fetched as it may seem, was there ever an attempt to build an invisible aircraft? Indeed there was.

It was in Russia, in the mid 1930’s that such a project was actually undertaken. A serious program to develop an invisible aircraft was launched. They would begin with an aircraft design already proven and in the inventory. As the intended mission was to be reconnaissance, they deemed that a basic airplane would suffice for their needs and selected the Yakovlev AIR-3.

In the straight forward thinking of the time, to build an invisible aircraft simply meant ‘build it from invisible materials.’ The materials, they reasoned, would be invisible if they were transparent, or if they reflected light. It was decided they would build the skins of transparent Plexiglas, and if the wing spars and other inner structures would be covered with mirroring amalgam, they too would appear invisible. If the engine cowling, cockpit panels and undercarriage were painted with white paint impregnated with aluminum powder and lacquered, they too would reflect light and appear invisible. Trusses, struts, ribs and even each revert would be aluminum, polished to a mirror-image, reflect light and become 'invisible'.

But did they succeed? Was the aircraft ever built? Did it ever fly?

The marvel happened on the 22nd of November, 1935 when the aircraft made his maiden flight at a secret airbase near the town of Vologda, to the North-West of Moscow Just after the engine was started, the aircraft became virtually invisible to the spectators. They were left to guess that the plane ran, took off and flew away only by the noise from the engine. The escort aircraft, tasked to follow and make a photographic history of the ‘invisible’ flight, immediately lost sight of its target. It was only after a successful flight and landing, after taxing to a spot in front of the spectators and cutting the engine, that the aircraft “condensed” and became fully visible again.

Alas! In spite of its initial triumph, the story of the “invisible aircraft” was short. The project never progressed beyond the flight test stage. As it happened, the Plexiglas grew dull over time and thus ‘visible’, and radar came into wide use.

Unfortunately, as with many top secret projects, there are no original pictures available.

The specifications are:
Weight max 805 kg
Max speed 160 km/h
Ceiling 4000 m
Wing span 11.00 m
Length 7.05 m
Height 2.30 m