The Way to Happiness
Going Off Grid Tomorrow
Tomorrow we will be off-grid. Yep, we are going fully non-electric! Pay it Forward Sisters, I already have your mailing addresses written down and will be in touch via post office mail soon.This is all happening much faster than we planned, but the Lord is in charge and where I should feel panic, I am totally at peace. I am grinding as much flour as possible today and making as much preparation as needed.
This will affect the blogs however. I will not have alternative energy until autumn when our new home is built. So, this will be my last blog entry for a time. I won't have email after tonight, so if anyone wants to stay in touch, you will need to contact me with your address via this email address (okprairiemom@gmail.com) by tonight.
May the Lord's blessings be with thee,
Paula
Sewing Day Tomorrow!
Today we had a particularly exhausting day, so tomorrow I am taking a day to sew. One of the times that my fibromyalgia gets to me is when I over-do it and get too exhausted. Tonight, I am feeling it. I am really tired, yet not able to get "settled" enough to sleep.With all the thunderstorms we are having tonight, I had to light the wood stove to keep the house from getting too chilled. Otherwise, by morning the house would be cold and hard to warm up again. The heat from the stove feels so good on my back as I sit here typing.
We were in Oklahoma City today and as we were starting for the store before coming back home, the tornado sirens went off. The tornado touched down, but not near us. We heard the sirens twice more before leaving OKC to return home.
After a long day in OKC, my whole body is achy so I am going to sew and work on projects that are not too strenuous on my body tomorrow to give myself time to recover. I am wanting to get more made for my Etsy store, but haven't been able to get as much done as I wanted. Tomorrow will be a good opportunity for me to do it. Maybe even the next day also. I would love to be able to get more things listed this week.
From The Homestead here (don't trip on the soapboxes, please...)
Our tax Refund.Well, I don't really care to call it that. Sure, it is technically a 'refund' but still...it's just an interest-free loan to the government that they are giving back to me. I really would have preferred keeping the money in our pockets all year long, but hey, that's another post altogether.
Either way, we apparently loaned the government a pretty decent amount over the course of last year, and it's on it's way. Paperwork hoops have all been jumped through, i's dotted and t's crossed in their proper manner.
On the plans for this refund? Well, Dewey has his eye on a backhoe. I'd like to get all my school wish list in place.
However, what's going to happen with it is we are going to stimulate our own economy. We are paying off the bigger of the two loans, and then doubling up on the smaller loan and knocking it out of the way as well.
Yes, seems a bit backwards. Ramsey says snowball it from smallest to largest. That's good advice. I'm not saying anyone should do any different. But for us, that big loan is the thorn in our sides. We at the very least will pay a huge lump down on it, then refinance it so we can double it up anyway. Whatever gets it gone works for us.
These loans are the reason Dewey is working in Arkansas. He's on his last trip home now. They are jumping up to running 2 full-time crews, with him doubling his hours as well. Whatever isn't paid off with that refund, will be within no more than a handful of paychecks with those kind of hours.
See, tax season ain't so bad, if you're going to be doing it anyway. Personally, I think you shouldn't be doing it that way, but that's part of that whole other post I mentioned...
As it stands, if you have to get a refund for all that involuntary lending you did while working, make sure you put it to good use. Dot those i's and cross those t's on paper and commit to that plan without fail. Don't just spend it away on little things. Make it truly make a difference in your lives for the long-term. Don't, not in these days and those to come, make a decision based on short-sighted wants. Set your plans in stone -- not sand.
Soapbox #1:
Those octuplets. Yes, quite the hot topic on every blog and board discussion. I applaud that woman. She held her convictions despite the known outcome of controversy. I don't think I'd have done what she did, but still....she didn't kill off the inconvenient ones for her own comfort.
Don't give me any garbage about how will she afford all those kids. If you want something, you find a way to afford it....why is she any different? She isn't asking for handouts (yes, she is being paid for her interviews I'm sure...I would expect to be paid for being drug through the crap they are doing, too) and she isn't living off the State. I correct this...she receives a whopping $490 a month in food stamps. one or two of her oldest have disability issues and a part of a government program to help with their medical needs. That's just a thoughtless, world-grown point of argument. It's bunk.
I'm not saying she went about all of it the right or the wrong way. I don't personally know all of the story, and judging by the bits and pieces already shared of the Dateline interview, we will never know the whole, TRUE story of all of this. Dateline isn't presenting this in a 'neutral' light at all. I was very offended by some of Anne Curry's questions...especially those about what possessed her to even think of having another child. This is only 'controversial' because we are a group of looky-lou accident watchers.
"She is a single mother and it will take an entire metropolitan area to help raise these children". Does that sound like a neutral interview to you?
That totally irritates me. Whose business is any of this anyway? When did we decided we had any right whatsoever to be police force over the free choices of women to have children? This isn't China...we don't have a one child per policy here...yet, anyway. Good grief, whiners...you just gave how much of your tax dollars to bail out those big banking groups and then they go ahead with business as usual, hosting mega parties and business conferences just throwing money out the window? Go police them.
And the woman's mother and her interviews being 'leaked' here and there. She has all but come right out and said she hates her own grandchildren. She complains they are messy. Her tiny apartment is trashed with them there while their silly mother is off tending babies she never should have had. She has no room for all those kids...she has had to set things up in 'shifts' so everyone can even eat.
Sorry, Grandma Suleman...get over it already. Why not help teach those children how to help around the house. Why not get the older of the bunch to be your helper, make it a game, make it a fun thing. Yes, most of them are very young and probably not much in the way of help really...they are going to be "messy". That would be called LIFE WITH TODDLERS. hello....thousands of mothers deal with that day in and day out...and don't even have 6 children! It's not something unique to having what she considers a bent-wrong daughter. In fact, I would have to argue it all speaks volumes of her own parenting skills.
I feel very sorry for Nadya and her children. This is a difficult time for everyone, yes. Her mother can harbor all the ill will and ill feelings and lack of love she wishes on her daughter, but to spray it over on those children and babies?! That puts her worse that pond scum in my book. Those children are completely innocent. Not one of them said "hey, I wanna live in that dysfuctional family setting, please send me there God!" God knit them together into this family for a reason. HIS REASON. They are a GIFT. Doesn't make one iota of difference in how or why they arrived in this family. They are her grandchildren, plain and simple, and they deserve her love. She can shove her daughter to the curb for all I care, but to take her hatred out on her grandchildren is just plain wrong and about as unGodly as anyone can get.
And for those seemingly fixated on the fact that these babies are being called A, B, C, D, E, F, G and H. Move on already. Watch even parts of any interview and you'll see they have 'real names' not just lettering. Lettering is the easiest way to track multiples in an NICU setting and keep things straight.
UGH...give me the next one and get me off this one...
Soapbox #2:
More items added to the growing list of peanut 'stuff' recalled. They discovered it in some of the MRE foods sent down to ice/storm victims. Now we just give away the tainted stuff in hopes no one will notice, heh? Emergency-need folks, poor schools....who's gonna notice?
This list is growing more and more. And it's not even recent activity -- they are covering the entire 2007 year now. That's 2 years of products out there...
Soapbox #3:
And the mercury in all those other products? you knew high fructose corn syrup was a bad thing...didn't think it was this bad, did you? It's in your Coke, your ketchup, chocolate syrup and even your Nutrigrain bars (would that be NUTRI as in NUTRITION?NUTRITIOUS??? For crying out loud, even SMUCKERS has it. Smuckers....that company that portrays itself as wholesome family goodness in every jar.
Here's the rest of the listing.
And we need how much more information out there to know that you just aren't safe eating anything you have bought and paid for these days? I'm not being sarcastic here....I'm being dead serious. What exactly IS safe anymore? What are you and I really feeding our children, believing it to be a healthy choice?
No, not everyone is going to drop off society as it stands and go 'hippie' on the homestead, foraging for wild foods in the untouched land around them. Not everyone is going to change their lifestyle of habits and grow a garden and raise their own food supplies. It will never happen.
And not all who say Lord Lord will ever see anything but this side of those clouds in the sky.
If you can't see a really scary trend here in all these recalls of virtually every item you have ever thought of buying....if you can't see that from time to time certain little 'bones' like this seemingly leak out secretively to The Press...maybe I'm not the only one living under a rock here. Everyone is triumphing the government for 'catching' these items and doing their part to take care of us. I don't buy it one bit. It's just propaganda. Throw the dogs a bone and they stop barking for a while and sit back on their heels feeling content they have done their best.
At least the FDA caught what was happening. We can't fix what we don't know is happening. It wasn't the government, you know. They sub-contracted out the 'long arm of the law' to local and state health watchers. Hmmm....says alot about their wisdom, and the oversite of the local government, heh?
Yeah. And when did they really know this was happening? Ans how long was it allowed to go on? And who got paid to watch it slip by? Big Brother is really on the ball when its in his own court.
But, I know. I'm just weird :o) I accept that. I'm different. I like it that way.
I'm back... and what news do I have to share!!
Dear friends, it's been too long since I last wrote. I hope that everyone's homestead is thriving and that 2008 was a bountiful year in harvest and increase. We had a good year gardening at the new land we were buying and it was a pleasant summer.The first big news... we are in the Ozark, Arkansas since mid-November. I still can't explain how it all came about, perhaps the Spirit leading us there is the easiest way to understand. Whew, what an early fall we had. It took 4 trips to move everything, one just for the sawmill. Praise Yahweh God all went well, and we even made it over the Jasper hill after over-heating.
So here we are, living with a family on the crowded second floor, and getting anxious to find a suitable farm to rent. A handyman special with a few old outbuildings would do us just fine. Trading labor for part of the rent would be really good to find too. There is another plain family with 5 young children who would like to find something similar close to us. Anyone has a lead to such a place? We want elevation of around 1500' and up, somewhere in the Arkansas, Missouri or Oklahoma area.
The second big news... Yahweh willing, by early October we will have a new baby to cuddle and love. And that's my reason for being anxious to find a place of our own. I'm beginning to feel the wonderful early symptoms of pregnancy:-) This child has been wanted for just about a year, so I'm thankful for all the little discomforts.
Spring is approaching rapidly and gardening time is around the corner. Is everyone ready for it?
That's it for now. We're living off the grid and computer time is limited but I'll try to keep in touch often.
Yahweh bless,
Christina
Update for Prayer...
Here's the latest -- Billy has extreme case of pneumonia, which is being treated on the back-burner currently.His first and most important issue is that he does indeed have TB. Apparently a very deep, long-term case of it untreated or recognized. The doctors said that they are hopeful it has been "incapsulated' until just recently. They don't know yet.
Billy has had several years of drug problems, very on again and off again, and recently went into a clinic to get himself clean. This clinic apparently treats meth addiction, oxycotin, etc. Billy has been being treated with a liquid methodone and that is what brought him down into what amounted to a comatose state.
The pneumonia is serious, but a secondary issue at this stage with the TB. His lungs look like popcorn they say.
Right now they are treating him with some sort of medicine used for meth OD. He has little to no muscle tone at all, his liver is basically gone, but his blood sugars have come down.
That's really all we know at this time. His immediate family and known contacts are to be tested for TB in the coming days, and from there, I'm not sure what else will go on.
We haven't seen Billy since Jacob was burned. He was driving truck at the time and was close to Memphis so he came to the hospital to see Jacob. I'm not concerned really about the TB, but I will be in prayer as to whether we might be tested just in case.
Do keep everyone in continued prayer if you would.
Update: His doctors, the same ones so sure it was TB, are now saying it is not afterall. The meth OD drugs are working well and they are addressing the deep pneumonia as the important issue today.
This is why I have a distinct dislike of doctors. I understand they like to cover their backsides and are usually looking worst-case-scenario so you feel so much the better when it doesn't happen, but this is ridiculous. They were so sure it was TB, now they are so sure it isn't.
I will keep updating as we hear more information.
Urgent Prayers, please
My sister-in-law called this morning to ask us to lift prayers for her son. He has been in the hospital since being found passed out yesterday. They suspect tuberculosis at this point.I don't know much at all about TB, except that I remember having that skin prick test done, watching for that little bump and such. What I've read, it can be extremely serious, very contagious, and sometimes fatal if left long-term untreated at all.
Please lift Billy in prayer today, and his doctors and all involved in his treatment and care, for their wisdom and discernment. Lift his family in prayer of comfort and peace through this trial in their lives as well.
It is all in The Lord's Hands. If it's His Will, there will be peace and healing for all involved.
Grain Mill Discouragement ~ Update
I am so discouraged with milling my own wheat flour. I have an electric mill that I bought 3 years ago that works very well. The problem? Humidity. With the cold weather I have noticed a problem. Every time I mill the wheat the heat caused by the milling process brings up the humidity level and the mill gets coated with a layer of damp flour on the underside of the bowl that attaches to the mill. The humidity also causes the mill to clog up in the areas where it needs the air flow. So, instead of being able to mill enough wheat to do a week's worth of baking I am having to mill only 1/4 that amount of wheat at a time. Here is a picture of the mill I have. It is a Blendtec ( formerly called K-Tec) mill.
During the warm weather months, I do not have this problem. It is very frustrating. I make everything from scratch including breads, pasta, snacks, etc. I really need the grain mill to function properly. I cannot afford to replace this mill with a different brand. By next winter we will be going non-electric anyways. I am now thinking that I may have to save up a bit sooner for a non-electric mill. So, I am looking for a low cost one that works easily enough that even with my fibromyalgia I will be able to mill the flour for my baking. Being a non-electric model, I will likely only be grinding what I need as I am ready to use it. No need to mill a week's worth at one time. I don't know yet what I will do with the mill I currently have once we go non-electric. I have some people that I know of who bake often enough that they may be able to use it.
If anyone has suggestions or ideas on how to solve the problem, please share your ideas. I try to mill only when the room is warm (we heat with wood) and I even have the mill in the same room as our wood stove so that the air is as dry & warm as possible. Trying to mill grain in another area that is not as warm, the humidity problem is even worse.
UPDATE ~~~ I called Blendtec about the problem. The also thought the problem was moisture in the grain. My solution: I am putting the wheat I am wanting to mill into a roaster pan to set on top of the large vent on our wood stove. The stove has a vented "lid" on it above the firebox which allows heat to circulate. The vent is large enough that the roaster will not fully cover the vent. By putting the roaster on the vent, the heat from the stove will dry the grains without becoming hot enough to cook the grains. Though in thinking about it slightly toasted wheat grains given breads a more "nutty" flavor so if they did toast a bit, it wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. The grain on the stove smells wonderful!
Pay It Forward and Sewing Update
There is room for one more in my Pay It Forward. You can read about it here. I already have 2 people (Sister Brenda/halflinger and Sassyfras) signed up. Today I am working on making the little gifts that I am sending. If all continues as it is right now, I will be ready to mail these out the end of this week.I have been sorting through my patterns and found that I have a great deal of them (21) that I need to find new homes for. They are all very modest style clothing for little girls. Most sizes are preschool/toddler age. They are new, uncut patterns. I am thinking of selling them as one lot. I will post the patterns and size ranges tonight or tomorrow. I will package them up and see what the approximate shipping would be. I know that a flat rate priority mail box that these fit in would cost $9.80 (US currency) to mail here in the US. So, I am going to see if sending it using a standard box would cost any less. That will affect what I charge for the patterns as I want them to be affordable.
I am changing my plans for my Etsy shop. I originally had wanted to make baby items but with the new law, I have had to rethink what I am going to make. So, I am going to focus on aprons and items for women. Some are little gift-type items but most will be things that are functional. A basic item that will be available as of this week will be the aprons that I make. These are not the smaller ones like what women wear as a more of an accessory. I make aprons that give ample coverage that wraps around the sides of your hips. If you have even brushed your hands down the side of your hips when they were covered in flour you will understand why! LOL These aprons will be a constant item in the store as of this week.
Thoughts and Ramblings
Over the past few days, I have been getting new sewing projects cut out and ready to sew this week. I was able to get a start sewing a few things. Abigail now has a new pair of slippers. She loves them! As soon as she woke up from her nap, Beloved showed her the new slippers. Immediately, she wanted to wear them. Normally, I have problems keeping slippers on her feet. She much prefers being in socks only or bare footed. I have to admit that she comes by that naturally. I hate wearing shoes of any kind and unless it is cold, I am bare footed also. Anyhow, Abigail now wears the new slippers every day. I am going to make her a couple more pair so that I can have extras for her to wear when this pair is in the laundry. I have a pair for Micah and myself cut out and ready to sew. Beloved already has his slippers and is enjoying them also.Today, Abigail started actually being cooperative about the toilet training. It has been a real task working with her on this. She will be 3 yrs old in March. I am wanting her toilet trained before warm weather arrives. She loves being outdoors so much that if I wait until warmer weather to help her develop this skill, she won't be as willing to come indoors when necessary. So, we are working on it now. We actually made some progress today. Only 2 pair of pants ended up in the laundry. Much improved over the 6+ pairs a day going into the laundry. I have some trail mix that she especially loves. So, as a special treat, she gets a small amount of it every time she sits on her little potty chair without a fuss. Yes, it is bribery. I do plan to change things around a bit once she is in the habit of cooperating by sitting on her little chair. Then she will get the special treat only when she actually uses the potty, instead of each time she sits. After months of struggle, I am doing it in a way that I know works.
Tomorrow, I am going to be sewing up some Pay It Forwards. I posted about it on my other blog and had 3 people sign up pretty quickly. I had not heard of the Pay It Forwards until recently on a blog that I read. It is such fun that I am going to offer it here also. For those who do not know what Pay It Forward is, here is how it works. The first 3 people who post a comment saying that they would like to participate will get a handmade gift from me. Please wait until I confirm that you are one of the first 3 who posted before doing anything. Once I confirm that you are one of the first 3 to sign up, you then post on your own blog about the Pay It Forward and make the same offer to send a handmade item to each of the first 3 people to sign up. The ones who sign up on your blog are then expected to offer the Pay It Forward to 3 more people on their blogs. It keeps on going and going.
There are very few rules:
* Pay It Forward items are to be handmade and sent to the recipients within a reasonable amount of time. Some blogs say that you have a year to do it, but it is always much faster. As I stated, I am already making the items this week so that I can get them mailed by the weekend.
* If you sign up, you must be willing to carry the Pay It Forward on to 3 people on your own blog. Of course, this is done on an honor system.
* The items you make to send to your participants can be anything. It does not have to be anything large. Just has to be handmade by you.
The Pay It Forward is a very fun exchange. If you would like to participate, you need to post a comment to this blog expressing that you want to sign up. I will contact the first three people so that I can get the mailing instructions for sending your items. Please do NOT include your mailing information in the comment.
***** This is my personal rule for the Pay It Forward. I am opening this up for those with blogs on Homestead Blogger only! No sign ups for anyone without a Homestead Blogger blog will be counted as one of the 3 participants. Also, do not post a comment as "Anonymous" as I will not be able to recognize you as someone with a Homestead Blogger blog.
Thanks!
Winter Storm
This morning we woke up to the trees and ground covered in ice. Not really thick, but enough that Beloved wasn't able to go to work. We are currently at 22*F and the overnight temps will reach the low teens with more freezing rain & snow to come. As I look out the window, there is lots of ice and snow already. Lot of our area anyways. If the main road is not clear in the morning, Beloved may be home another day.
We sent the day working on things here in the house. Rearranging things that needed to be done. Beloved helped to set up a laundry rack for me in the front room near the wood stove. We are going to be hanging on laundry on it to dry. We also have a wooden rack that is meant to be a DVD rack, but we are using as a drying rack for towels and smaller items. It has been quite cold outdoors, but the house has stayed warm enough. We were blessed that the firewood we bought is a very heavy hardwood that burns a long time and still provides a lot of heat. I am not sure what type it is, but we are enjoying it.
I am getting a new sewing area set up near the woodstove. What a treat it will be to be able to sew on a large desk. Beloved was given a large computer desk with a hutch on top that he now has the computer set up on. The old wooden desk that we had the computer on is now my sewing desk. It has enough space for both the overloc and the sewing machines to be on it at one time.
Tonight, I am making lentil & barley soup for dinner. It is a very simple dish. I am making it with both the green and red lentils. I cook the lentils in water until nearly done. Then add finely chopped onion, barley, and crushed garlic, salt & pepper to taste. You can add a bit of tomato sauce if you wanted to. I also wil sometimes add diced carrots to the soup. It is a very accomidating recipe. Nothing is measured, just add what looks and tastes good to you.
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