So, so busy here.

Losing energy....

Falling slowly.....

I've been so busy that I think my life has decided at the keen age of 35 (Hey, I'm not afraid of saying my age! If you're afraid of age you're afraid of fun!) that there are too many "things"  going on to visit here, or other places like usual, so therefore I must tend to these "things" so that I can come back here and do...well, "things" here...

Hrm...

Anyway, these "things" are a major attack on my house. Spring isn't too close, but you know what? It's close enough. I'm tired of feeling locked up in my own house because of the freaky weather. Rain...snow....hot....cold....argh! Exactly what is Mother Nature thinking of these days? Well, actually, it's not Mother Nature's fault. It is ours, but I won't get technical. We all know what I'm meaning.

So...  um.....

These "things" are being dealt with here at home with a keen attack from four sides, and me cozy in a bunker of thought. Well, a lot more than thought, but still..I like to think I have a cozy spot for thinking while I'm attacking my homefront with a loaded broom. (And rags...and cleaners..and...mmmm....homemade cleaners that don't smell icky like chemicals...)

I will be back on here soon to write more and post more and do things more because I do love it here. I miss reading everyone's stories and finding out what everyone is doing, and of course finding yummy recipes....

So...

I've taken some time to blink from the Battle of Pre-Spring Cleaning...

But now I must return to the field! Hur!!!

(You may now shake your heads in bewilderment and say "She's nuts." )

Carry on!

If it's growing on your property it's not crazy to put some wild things to use! Living on a 49 acre mountainside for several years helped me find a lot of "free" food. Sure, it's wild food, but guess what? It's goooooood food!

One of the best wild foods I enjoy are dandelions! Mmmmm....I love dandelions! To date I've used them as greens, wine, and tonics! Just remember, don't get them on any highways or other people's properties. They could have used pesticides and chemicals on them as weeds to get rid of them or hinder growth, and you do not want that in your body! You should have plenty of dandelions on your own property, and if you do, take real good care of them! They are a treasure, not a weed!

How can something with high magnesium, calcium, potassium, and vitamins A and C be bad for you? Well, it is a diuretic, so use them sparingly, but...use them! Yummy yummy good in your tummy! Ok, before I get carried away, let me put ideas here:

About.com has a nice recipe I found and use often now, though I did have a fritter recipe for the blossoms from a neighbor before, but I find About.com's recipe a bit better! (Sorry Pat...ahem..)

Frittered blossoms
Pick fully opened blossoms, the bigger the better. Trim stems very close to the heads. Soak in cold salt water for two or three hours. Rinse under cold running water and drain.

You'll need:

• One inch of oil in heavy pan
• 1 and 1/2 cups of finely crushed cracker crumbs

Make an egg batter:

• 2 tablespoons of milk
• 1 egg
  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon parsley
• 1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese

Roll drained blossoms in cracker crumbs, then in the egg batter, then cracker crumbs again. Fry in hot oil until golden brown, drain and serve warm. These taste a little like mushrooms.

About.com has a lot more information there as well to check out on these tastey plants. I use the greens in salads, mix them up with spinach on lasagna or in noodles, and I enjoy them wrapped around zucchini blossoms with some red wine vinegar sauce.

Yes, they're yummy! So, don't diss the dandelion. Embrace it's yummyness! Here's one I found on about.com that I plan on trying, I haven't done this yet. I will this summer!!!

Jelly
This golden clear, delicate tasting jelly is glorious with biscuits and gravy on the first snowy morning of the year.

You'll need:

• Quart of fresh, bright dandelion flowers
• 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
• 5 1/2 cups of sugar
• 1 package (1 3/4 oz) powdered pectin
• paraffin

Using enamel or stainless steel pan, boil the flowers in 2 quarts of water for 3 to 5 minutes, cool, and strain, pressing the liquid out of the flowers gently. Measure 3 cups of the liquid, add the lemon juice and pectin. Put into a deep jelly kettle and bring to a boil, then add sugar and stir to mix well. Stir and boil for 2 1/2 minutes, or until mixture sheets from a wooden spoon, pour into jelly glasses and seal with melted paraffin when cool .

The other wild foods that are common:

There are soooooo many more! I suggest reading on-line, educating yourself before eating, and double check with identification, and enjoy eating in the wild!!!!

Mmmmmm....

I've looked at some maps recently and discovered that many of the roads near the farm that were mere numbers on a simple map are now named roads! I bet, if I ever travel there again, that they finally paved those roads too. I'm partially surprised by this, partially sad, and the other half of me is pretty much unmoved. My life is here now, after all, but you know, there is always a little something of you left behind in a house or in a piece of land. The farm is no exception. And changes have hit it, much like changes do in old places that belong and stay in memories.

So, the mountain range, as far as I can see fit on maps, is named Clinch Mountain. It's a section of the Appalachian Mountains, from what I've read, on the Tennessee side. It's also a mountain area that runs through Virginia. Tennessee and Virginia basically do a little "swing your partner" and "heel to toe" anyway in that area, so it's not to be a surprise that there are a lot of wild stories out there of what side the mountain is on and so forth. When you have huge mountains, steep angles, and a lot of rural farmers...well, there could be a lot of ta-do's if they want, or they could keep it simple and just be neighbors! I'm sure hoping a lot of folks are just being neighbors. We've got enough drama in the world right now!

Anyway, Clinch Mountain. We're on the rugged side though, sadly. The road near the farm, from what I can tell, is probably called Clinch Mountain Road. (Original, no?) On the Tennesse side, that is. Cross over into Virginia and it's still a number, number 629.

Now, if you grab a map to see, which is always fun, I'll lead you to the farm.

Find a map somewhere, Mapquest is good, and go to Gate City, VA. Find it, and then come back. Don't worry, I'll wait here.  Ok, now, once you found Gate City, VA, trail your little finger there along the road 23/421. Take that West along the map.  Now, don't go too far. If you went up towards Clinchport there, you've gone too far. Get reaaaaaal close up to the map now, and pause on 23/421 just at the curve where it does a quick north there at the railroad track section that goes north, south, and east, west. That's where 629 is, it cuts off of 23/421 and goes west.

Follow 629 west as it turns into Clinch Mountain Road. Somewhere between where you cross into Tennessee and somewhere before Wake Forest Road (I believe..these are new names to me..) and somewhere after Virginia Road, is where the farm would sit. If you're heading west on it, as I lead you, the farm would be on the left side of the road there abouts.

Now, if you notice, Hancock County and Hawkins County lines up there in that area real nice? The line is the top of the mountains. One side, the side of the farm, is on Hancock's side. The other side was the other side of the mountain, Hawkins County. Real easy to figure out on land, but on a map? It looks dorky. Trust me, that mountain is huge, and it has brought awe to me, and made me feel so, so small each and every time I've looked at it in person.

Now, if you pan back a bit on the map (if you're using mapquest), there's a road, number 70. That's the road that goes to Kyles Ford (North on 70), where I mentioned turning left to head into Sneedville. Now, the map on MapQuest doesn't show it, but there's a river there. It runs in the middle of Kyles Ford Road and Horton Ford Road.

There's a lot of roads that aren't show on MapQuest, because I recall going to that river a few times from the farm through a simple turn off and a few turns. So I guess people are lazy and can't go check it out  Or they're really, really scared of the locals? Ha! That's funny. There are a couple of nuns there, some families, and a lot of farmers. Not one of them would harm anyone, either. They'd feed ya, but harm ya? No!

So, there you have it. The farm's area. Oh, if you take 70 south, it'll eventually twist and turn you around and down the other side of the mountain and lead you into Rogersville area. That's a nice area. I've always heard more about Rogersville than Sneedville. Honestly, both are nice towns, but I actually enjoyed Sneedville. Small, older, charming. It wasn't a bad place at all and it was comfortable. Even the small grocery store there was nice.

Ah well, changes have come to the area. I'm sure the towns are both even bigger than ever.

Changes come and go, but at least I still have my memories!

I was looking over the Consumer Reports ratings chart for the car seat experiments they've completed, and I was pretty worried. My Mom even called, stating the news had several pieces about the car seats and how bad they were failing tests. So I started reading up myself on-line, as I don't normally watch much TV dealing with news because it is depressing as can be, and just couldn't believe how bad some of the seats are.

I've been using a Cosco brand chair for my son, Daegan. It was also my daughter's seat when she was a baby. She's going to be put in a booster chair soon, but for now she's still in a car seat with the pull down bar because she can't gain the needed weight for the booster for our State requirments. However, I'm still concerned. I know we don't have the rated chairs that were looked at.

Now, part of me is worried, but the other part of me is not, as we are very, very safe drivers. Neither my husband or I have ever been in a car wreck, caused a car wreck, or had any accidents. We're very careful and always have been. We feel that our driving skills work out well, and since we don't travel often on fast roads we have a relatively good chance of avoiding any problems. But, there is always a chance.

We can't afford to get new car seats. After this report, I feel outraged that car seat companies would be so ignorant to test car seat safety under the reported average car wreck speed. What in the world are they doing to consumers? I never would have thought that someone who should have safety in mind first, and not money, would put something out there that is considered safe, but it isn't really safe at all.

It was said that cars, on average, wreck at the speeds of 35 or over in most cases. The average number listed at wreck sites were 38 miles per hour. The car seat tests were done at 30 miles an hour on most models. Not over 35 miles an hour.

What are these people trying to accomplish other than making money?

Silence in the gallery I see.  

If all they want is money then perhaps they should start selling ocean front property in Utah. Why? Because they can apparently sell anything to anyone without much problem!

Now, I need to go and get a new car seat fund started up, so excuse me

Why can't the media put out more positive stories like they did recently with the people of New York? Why can't some of them focus more on that than the ugly news of the world? I was so uplifted when I read about several people in New York City who helped save others from a terrible fate. God does have Angels on the ground, and not all of them have visible wings.

Two men, just walking around like thousands of others in New York City, heard screams up a building, and saw a little boy hanging from the fire escape, ready to fall. Three year old Timothy had just gone out there, the babysitter had been distracted, and the next thing - he was dangling from the fire escape. The poor little thing hung on as much as he could, and while he fought his fall, Julio Gonzalez and Pedro Nevarez moved to stand directly under the little one to catch him if they could.

Timothy did fall, and he landed hard on Pedro's chest, knocking him off balance as Timothy bounced into Julio's arms! Timothy has as mall cut on his forehead that was treated, but he was smiling and happy and safe. If it wasn't for those two wonderful men, who just happened to be passing through, the outcome of that could have been much, much worse. And, the sad part is this: several others were there, just standing around, and watching. They didn't do anything to help, they just stood there. It's a sad thing to hear.

The other story is about Wesley Autrey, who saved Cameron Hollopeter after Cameron fell down into the tracks of the subway. Cameron suffered a seizure, and during that attack near the tracks, he fell in. Wesley moved swiftly, dove on top of Cameron, and rolled him into a gap that sits between the rails. The train had passed a few cars over the two men, but neither were hurt by it. Wesley, another angel without wings...

God does work in mysterious ways

A medium sized kit is something that is not usually thought of in a car, but it's not a bad idea to have one. Keep it in the backseat with a extra seatbelt over it if you have space. Keep it in a under-the-seat-bin if you have one of those cargo type under-the-seat locations. Or just keep it behind the seats where feet can't hit it. The size I consider medium sized is about the size of a cooler that holds a six pack of pop cans. Not bottles. Cans.

You can tuck a small kit in along with this kit, as well as extra goodies. Here is what is considered for a medium kit, in my ideal pack:

• rubber gloves; latex gloves (4 pairs) *
• sterile dressings *
• saline solution toweletts or baby wipes are fine*
• rubbing alcohol toweletts or iodine toweletts *
• antibiotic cream or liquid *
• burn ointment or burn wipes*
• adhesive bandages of all sizes*
• eye drops *
• thermometer*
• medications for kids *
• medications for adults *
• any prescription medication (update as needed) with printed information *
• prescription materials (needles for diabetics, blood reading gear, wrist blood pressure monitor, etc..) *
• tweezers *
• permanent pen and paper (to record temperatures or numbers on bandages as well as on papers) *
• scissors *
• sewing kit *
• petrolium jelly packs *
• activated charcoal *
• adhesive tape *
• hot pack *
• cold pack *
• glow sticks *
• syrup of ipecac *
• small flashlight *
• replacement batteries *
• emergency blankets (2 at least) *
• bandanas or cloth napkins (trust me, they're good for lots of things) *
• first aid booklet *
• zip lock baggy with extra cash and ID's as well as medical information*
• More rubber gloves
• butterfly closures
• fingertip bandages
• knee bandages
• elbow bandages
• extra gause wraps
• extra sterile dressings
• safety pins
• q-tips
• finger splints
• sterile eye pads
• liquid bandage
• adhesive fabric
• moleskin
• blister treatments
• insect bite kit
• snake bite kit
• waterproof matches
• candles (UCO Lanterns)
• masks
• extra pieces of like items from the small kit (extra gloves, blankets, etc..)

And yes, it will all fit into the small case and fit quite well. Remember that you can make your own kit up. Following on-line survival sites or emergency kit lists can help you. Talk to the Red Cross as well, and see about getting pamphlets and information from them if possible.

Also, if you haven't already, train in CPR and First Aid with a classroom at your local hospital or with the Red Cross, or some other means. It can save a life.

* Aready in a small kit

With nearly 50 acres of land, which was basically half of a mountain, there was a lot of walking available to do when there was time or when we fancied a good walk. The house was down at the very base of the mountain, in a narrow valley area that basically followed the mountain side by side. I'd say the valley was no more than a few acres wide, and the road was in the center. It curved and followed the mountain all along the way to the main road in both directions.

When you own half a mountain side you begin to wonder about it's top. I would sit in a small field in front of our house, which used to be covered in rows and rows of cedar trees that were taken down to make open space around the farm house, buildings, and barn. That field had a sure shot all the way up to the top of the mountain. I would sometimes glance up there, wondering about it, and then look back to where I was, and follow the mountain back up again. It wasn't an easy walk if we were going to ever go up there.

I had mentioned that the land had once been property to a logging company. They had a road zig zagging all the way up from the gravel road (the main road in our area) to mid-way up the mountain. It had been decades and decades since anyone had used it as a road. But it was a good marker for walking up the mountain. So one day we packed up a lunch and some drinks and headed up that way. We didn't know how long it would take us, but we weren't too concerned. We knew that we'd be alright either way. No hunters were about at that time, and there hadn't been any sightings of wild cats or bears.

As we made our way up, it was an easy walk at first. Actually it was very gentle and soft. The redbuds had just become full in bloom, dogwoods were peeking about, and everything was lush and feeling new and fresh. It was almost like a painting. The only problems were fallen trees in our path, boulders here and there, and the concern of copperheads. They were usually not too keen on meeting anyone, but you know, sometimes they had days where they felt like shouting to the skies. Especially if they're stepped on!

We went up the mountain half-way without much problem, other than my shortness not handling some of the larger trees too well that were in the way. Being only 5' 4" compared to someone who was 6' tall was a challenge. A leap here, a bound there for him and things were prefect! Me? Oh no no no. No leaps and no bounds here.

First came the inspection of the structure. A foothold? Where is a foothold...oh dear, there isn't one, I need to crawl over it! So, then there was inspection for a hand hold.  After that it was scrambling, grunting, pulling, pulling...and of course by the fifth tree I had to crawl over, under, or through...well, my clothing looked more like camoflauge than jeans and a t-shirt!

At least I made it half-way up the mountain!

At that point we were able to look up the mountain some more. The angle of the sloap to the top of the mountain from the end of the logging trail was astonishing. I know that it wasn't 90 degrees. But I tell you, I bet anything it was around 65 or 70. We were able to get a good idea of what we needed to do to finish our hike up the mountain. And we talked about the best route while we sat and ate. It had taken us about four hours to hike to the area we were at. We couldn't see the house from where we were, or the barn, or anything on the valley. The trees were way to thick, but we knew the general area it was in. I wish I could have seen that section. I bet it was really, really great.

Eventually we finished looking at the mountain, packed up our garbage, and headed back down the trail. This time moving easier and a bit faster, as it was down hill. I had an easier time with the logs, after knowing the best places to cross or crawl over (or under), and we made it home a bit sooner than we imagined. As I stood in the field in front of the house, and looked up into the darkening mountain rocks and forests, I felt a slight urge to go back. Twilight was coming swiftly, lightning bugs were flashing, and the breeze was warm.

I knew at some point we would be up on the mountain top, and see what we could see...

But when?

Okay, I don't usually watch much T.V., and when I do I usually don't even watch the commercials much. Tonight I'm doing a few things on our computer and I have the T.V. on a show I enjoy. One of the commercials was a McDonald's commercial for breakfast.

It starts out with a lovely sunrise behind a silouette of trees as a farmer walks out of his nice farmhouse and over towards his barn. As he does, he lifts a coffee cup up to his lips and silently enters the barn, smelling the morning air...and probably the fresh hay nearby. As he quietly walks into the middle of the barn he pauses and looks around as if he's very happy to be where he is. I was thinking, wow, I wish I could do that...

...until he blurted out at the top of his lungs like a rooster....!

He woke up the rooster, hens, pigs, and cows...and he cackles and says, "How's it feel!?"

Gooooooodness!

I've made a few changes for one of my favorite times of the year, which is Valentine's Day. I just enjoy the atmosphere in our house, the fun the kids have, and the colors that it can bring out - which is pratically anything in crafts and with the feeling of love

I'm hoping to do more posts soon, but we have to go out and about. The first time I've been out since December 21st!! I don't enjoy going out much around here much anymore. The people are rather hyper or rude around Christmas. Stress levels too high. All sorts of things go on.

I'm glad to be going out, but I'm not looking forward to it if people are still....cranky...!

We'll see how it goes!

We'll be keeping our decorations up just a bit longer. My daughter fell asleep in her new snow white sleeping bag/pillow combination "thing" well before 10PM, so she didn't make it to New Years. But that's alright. She wouldn't understand right now anyway. We have had a time explaining to her that Santa is now on vacation and won't return till next season. That will be an interesting time indeed.

My husband and I had a nice date night, and I enjoyed his company very, very much. We've not had a long weekend in some time, so this weekend has also been great! I made him a Mexican turkey egg bake for breakfast that was oh so yummy this morning. Then we had summer sausage, mozzerella wrapped in some Italian meats and marinated  then sliced up for crackers. We had two mustard sauces. A tangy Dijon type mustard and a Cranberry Mustard that was very nice with the summer sausage. I also pulled out some jalepeno and cheddar cheese that my husband had wanted. A huge splurge for us, but it was delicious as can be. That lasted us very well, so we only had a small bit of bread for a snack before bed. We didn't pig out at all, and I think we did a great job of not over eating through the whole season!

In the morning I'll make a potato breakfast pie that will warm up the house and then probably start some potato soup for lunch and some to go with dinner if there is any left!

Well, I better get some rest. It's nearly 3:30AM here, and the babies will be up early in the morning as always.

Warm blessings and love to everyone, and may your New Year shine bright in your hearts.

Once we were settled pretty well on the farm we started to get animals in. Chickens came in from family. I've never traveled with hens. It was an odd experience. The roosters were loud. We ended up with too many roosters, so one had to be um...dealt with. Uh, yeah. Taps wasn't played, but I felt sorry for him.

We put the chicken's coop at the side of the upper shed. It wasn't too far from the house. It was wired in with chicken wire and some wood, and a top was put on. It wasn't much, but it kept them happy at least. We got eggs from them occasionally. I think if we had a better roost and house for them they would have done a more better laying, but at least they did what we needed. There wasn't an army to feed, only three of us at the time.

A few weeks later, the dog showed up. I don't even remember when exactly. I just called it Dog. It slept around. It visited. And he didn't bother our full time dog, which was really not a dog in my eyes. The Dog stayed a few days, and then up and left. He'd show back up later. I guess he rented land on many properties. If it smelled yummy I'm sure he lived in for awhile.

The dog of ours that I didn't see as a dog was Little Bit. He's gone now, but, he was a pomeranian. They're protective little balls of fur that really don't resemble a dog. They resemble a dust mop! But boy, what a protective dust mop he was! And he was adorable. He was the second pom we had. Our first was Dancer. He was a red one and he was gorgeous. Little Bit was Dancer's son, not by blood though, more like through adoption. LIttle Bit was full blood and registered, his name was Dancer's Little Bit of Precious. Precious was the name of another pom in the family. Hey, creativity is a must with pom names!

We also had a female come in a few months after Little Bit became "ready". He sired a few babies here and there, and we made some extra cash from selling the pure bred pups to some, and gave some to friends. They were good dogs, and they kept us company. Just what you need in a animal anyway, right?

Let's see...what to write about. Ah, the roads...ah, yes, the roads.

The road to get to the farm was long. If you went left at the driveway, you could go for several miles to a fork in the road. Go up the large hill and mountain and you'd get up at the mountain top near the 10 foot by 10 foot post office for the region. It was made of block, cement, and a new roof. It wasn't that pretty, but it served it's purpose. That road where the post office was led to two towns. If you went left, and down over the mountain that way, you'd end up in Rogersville, Tennessee. If you went right, you'd end up near the Sneedville, Tennessee area. I think you had to cross a bridge near the river and take a left to get to Sneedville though, if I recall correctly.

Oh, back to the fork in the road. If you went left at the fork, and not up the mountain, it wound about a bit and ended up hitting pavement. Finally, pavement! Then it would hit the same road that was the main road from Rogersville toward Sneedville, but you'd be on the lower half of the mountain.

If you went right back at the driveway of the farm, though, you'd wind and turn and dip through gravel road for awhile and finally, once you hit the Virginia side of things, you'd find pavement. That pavement lead you out of the mountain area and into a more civilized zone of things. It wasn't as quiet, and there was a small General Store at the end of the road. It had small things in it. Ya know, the whole time I was there in that area, I never went inside that old place.

The end of the road there met up with a highway. Now, let me see...that highway was named, and I can't recall the name at all. If you went left....you'd end up somewhere I don't remember. If you went right, it'd lead you into Gate City, Virginia. That's where a grocery store was, a vetranarian was, and a few other things. I never went into that area much. I hit the grocery store sometimes though. I worked at a dog kennel in that area for a few months. But most of my work was over in Kingsport, Tennessee. To get there from the farm you went through Gate City, Virginia and then back into Tennessee. State lines were sure awkward down there.

Kingsport is near Johnson City and that area of Tennessee. It's the North East area.

Well, anyway, at the end of the farm road, right by that General Store, we had to make a stop when we were coming in. We had just been to my Mom and Dad's place in West Virginia (about three hours away), and we had a huge wardrobe on top of the car we were taking to the farm. It was to hold clothes in the closet area. (We enclosed the upper porch off the bedroom and made it into a closet.)

The wardrobe was shifting a bit from the long haul over the mountain, so we parked near the store there to fix ropes. As we were doing that, I heard this strange cry from the shrubs and tall grasses that divided the highway from the farm road. It wasn't much space, just about 15 feet or so. There were a couple of drainage ditches and pipes along that, and garbage and toss aways from rude people who littered instead of kept bags in their car. I kept looking, thinking the cry was some catbird.

It wasn't. It was a cat!

The poor little kitten came mouthing out of that ditch, where the pipe was,  non-stop until I came and picked it up. At the time, it looked like a chunk of coal. Gray and black and browns with cute yellow-green eyes begining to form from the awkward kitten blue color. We asked the General Store owner about the kitten, as we stood outside, and he said someone dumped a box of kittens. This one was the only one he'd seen for awhile.

We took her home.

How could we not? No one else would!

But, we had a problem. We already had a cat at the farm. He was about one year old at that time, barely that, and he was a big boy who was used to being the baby of the house. What would he think of this baby coming into the picture?

Ohhhhhh boy I was wondering.

In the car I turned the kitten over, and saw she was a girl. My Vincent (the orange one) was already fixed, so I wasn't concerned, but I knew we'd have to get her fixed as well. But first, a bath! We got her cleaned up. To this day I think she remembers that bucket...goodness, it makes me laugh and shudder at the same time.

But don't you know it, her black and gray and browns dissapeared and she turned out to be gray and white!? The vet, once we got her to one, said she was half Siamese and half tabby. He could see the Siamese in her bone structure and paw shape. I was surprised, but happy. I didn't mind what she was. She was full of spunk, she was bossy, and she was fun. Just what my lazy old orange Vincent needed in the house!

We had her for some time, without a name. We kept thinking Spot, because of a spot on her nose...or Koala Bear...she looked like one from a profile...but nothing really helped out. My son, once he could talk and so forth, finally gave her a real name. She became Darling Little One, and became his cat.

Vincent was mine. Darling became his.

Time has flown by, we've moved countless times, and the cats are still with me. My son, who lives with his Daddy in another state at the moment, has other cats around him, but Darling (who had a name change four years ago) still loves him as her own, and she also owns my daughter and my youngest son. She has claimed them, this time around. We don't call her Darling anymore. She outgrew that name by her actions and her old age.

Her name is now Oy, as in, Oy Vey. And yes, she lives up to that name very, very well.

She has survived her brother, Vincent, who died of Kidney failure. She's still strong. She's still got some kick in her step. She still makes us smile. I'm not sure how long she'll still be with us, she's getting on in age, but we'll keep her close as can be, and as happy as we can while she's still with us.

Darling Little One

aka

Oy Vey

I went over what we do for our cars back in another post. As an update, we've not gotten our "new" car yet. We're still looking, and as of the 1st of January, 2007 (Wow...2007... )..we'll have a nice down payment for that car! So, that's a nice plus. We're using our Christmas money gifts as an added bonus for that down payment. I had a lot of things I needed, not just wanted, but....we need the car more than those things right now. I know this deeply. Therefore we do the car first. The other needs can come this year.

Now, back to the car.

As Army folk we've got tons of information and ways of protecting ourselves due to training. Not only the Army person (my husband) of the family, but also as members of his family we have openings in various areas and places to learn a lot from specialists through our Family Readiness Group. Luckily I'm the FRG Leader of our Unit and I have been able to open doors to a lot of reading materials and things I normally wouldn't have found.

So, what I'll be talking about is what we need to put in our cars to keep safe. There is a lot of talk about this on Crystal Miller's boards and we've talked a lot there about Emergency Kits. This is something that is very important. Especially after the accidents we've seen in the news of late. The media may be bad for a lot of things, but I think that covering those accidents and showing people how bad things can happen, and do happen, helps inform people that emergencies are going to come up - and we should be prepared.

Go Packs are packs each person in the house should have for themselves during emergencies. These are not to be confused with Emergency Kits in cars. Go Packs come in varied sizes, and one size does go in the car. This is to be placed with the emergency kits in the car. I'll deal with the Go Pack in another post.

And yes, I said emergency kits, as in plural. People think having one kit will help. Yes, it can, however if something happens to the car...or to you...and you can not get to the kit where you keep it, having several in the car will help you. An example of this: The car flips, turns, and wrecks badly. You're all alright, relatively, but the kit has been tossed from the trunk and lost and/or strung out all over the road in pieces. Another instance is you are trapped in the car. You can't get to the trunk to get to the kit. (Actually you may be able to depending on the make of the car. That is another post.  ).

Despite your best efforts, you can't get to the trunk. Therefore, how can you help yourself or your family? This is why you should have at least three kits in your car. Now, these aren't huge kits. I don't mean duffle bag sized items. Just simple kits that you can make yourself will work just fine.

You can pack a lot of items in a kit and keep it in the glove compartment. This is one prized location for a kit because it's a protected zone in the car. Another location is under the seats of those flip up chair type cars. Have under seat cargo area? Use it for a medium sized kit. Tuck two other small kits under seats or in side doors or pocket panels on the back of chairs. The type that's the size of a six pack cooler or so can fit in the cargo area or in between two child seats. You can reserve the trunk for the larger sized kit.

Small Kit Contents:

These fit in small areas. Glove compartment. Side pockets. Under seats. Back pockets. Use a zippered, cloth make-up kit. Use a velcro open/close fold up pencil pouch. Make your own like I am....use something that will hold things and still go in the glove compartment or area you've decided to keep the small kit.

• rubber gloves; latex gloves (4 pairs)
• sterile dressings
• saline solution toweletts or baby wipes are fine
• rubbing alcohol toweletts or iodine toweletts
• antibiotic cream or liquid
• burn ointment or burn wipes
• adhesive bandages of all sizes
• eye drops
• thermometer
• medications for kids
• medications for adults
• any prescription medication (update as needed) with printed information
• prescription materials (needles for diabetics, blood reading gear, wrist blood pressure monitor, etc..)
• tweezers
• permanent pen and paper (to record temperatures or numbers on bandages as well as on papers)
• scissors
• sewing kit
• petrolium jelly packs
• activated charcoal
• adhesive tape
• hot pack
• cold pack
• glow sticks
• syrup of ipecac
• small flashlight
• replacement batteries
• emergency blankets (2 at least)
• bandanas or cloth napkins (trust me, they're good for lots of things)
• first aid booklet
• zip lock baggy with extra cash and ID's as well as medical information

A rolled up kit sewn just for these items with pockets made just for these items is keen, but if you can throw all of these in a small travel sized kit that fits in a glove compartment, so be it. Get it into baggies to keep sterile and safe from liquids. Keep it in the same bag each time.

You look at this list and say "Can all that fit!?"  Yes, it can. Just pack it up relatively organized and well and it will fit into a glove box. Travel sized items, not full sized items. Use small eye drop bottles. Use small travel sized items. Get wipes instead of bottled alcohol. You can do a small kit like this, just keep small in mind. Not a full bottle of medication, just five or six days of medication for one person. Keep those in baggies too along with dose information.

Remember, think safety, but think small too. This is a small kit. Not a full sized kit. So basics are keen.

These kits are for your family so make sure you make them for your family. Each family is different and each family will need or want different things depending on the region they live in. If you have a lot of snakes in your area that may be poisonous, get a snake bite kit for each kit. If you have bad insects that can bite you and gnaw on you, get insect bite kits. Want more thermal camping emergency blankets? Add them.

The best thing about the kits is you are making them for you. There are no rules. Add what you want. It will give you peace of mind.

Up on the next post is what I pack in a medium sized kit. It's a medium sized hard cooler It keeps a six pack nice and happy and it keeps a few other things in it, if that's what it would be used for, that is.

I can't even speak right now. My throat gave out on me ages ago. It's been an interesting challenge to talk to people. And this has brought me to thinking that learning some sign language (a subject talked about on Crystal Miller's message boards) would help with times like these. Although, I must say, doing charades lately has been interesting...and sounding like some broke voiced child when I talk is...sort of amusing. Well, sort of.

I'm not on medications. I don't like taking many things for small problems like this. And this is really just a small thing. A little cough, a little stuffy nose, a little...loss...of...voice....

Well, anyway, I want to get better so I can have fun with my kids. It's Christmas weekend, after all, and I want to make it somewhat fun and not blah due to being...icky.

As busy as I've been and as sick as I feel I've not had the chance to really post like I like to. I'm also thinking that I won't post again until after next week. But, that's all depending upon how busy we are for the holidays.

My poor husband has to work every day but Christmas. Not much with days off where he works. Not during major holidays that is. Hopefully he'll get rest while he can. It's a hard job, and he's done this job, while holding another job and going to a University. He's got a lot on him. I'm surprised he's not collapsed

Well, my daughter is wiggling. I brought her out here to rest some. She was upset in the crib, though I don't know why. So I took her out here in the living room area so that she could sleep - and her Daddy could rest. She was keeping him awake. So I made sure to get things back to a peaceful rest time. She can snuggle with me near the baby

Preparations are important before Winter even comes to your area (if you get winter...). Checking over your car and getting it "winterized" is probably a good chore to do toward the end of Autum. (Duh!). So I thought I'd go through what we do to our cars, and what I've been taught to do since I could wash a tire on a car with my Dad watching over me holding the hose...

We actually didn't do this for this season yet because, well, we're getting a "new" car. Working on our present car when we're going to get rid of it seems to be a waste of money. But, when we do prepare the car, this is what we'll be doing!

The first thing I was told to do is drive my car around to warm it up. This is basically a way to get rid of moisture in the engine's exhaust. You don't want to wait too long to get this step to work. Sometimes it's too cold (in some areas) to try this when winter already hits! So, go out, drive around some, and enjoy one last semi-decent day for driving!

While you are out, it is somtimes said that a good undercarriage scrub will help go a long way once winter hits and salt hits the roads. So go to a car wash, or do it at home like we do, and scrub that undercarriage real good. Then wash the car itself. Once that is done, head to your favorite gas station and fill up the tank with some good fuel and an engine cleaner.

Why an engine cleaner? Welllllll, they boost fuel efficiency, they eliminate sludge and slime that is produced by engines over time, they cut emissions down, extend engine life, prevent carbon fouling which can rob power from a good engine, and, well it just preserves and restores fuel to a fresh state, and keeps it that way. There are many types of brands of these available at Automobile Parts stores. I suggest reading the bottles and finding what you can afford, what you like, and so on. There are different kinds for different fuels so make sure you get the right stabilizer for your car!

The next step, after your car is cleaned up reallllll nice, is to wax it. Trust me, wax your car. Even if you think "Eh, it's not exactly a show room piece...", do it. Do a real good job of it too. The wax will help protect the car from some of the icky stuff that's about to pound into it with the force of cold and elements!

Once that's finished, grease the doors and other hinges that need greased, and check pieces inside that may need some WD-40 or something similar. The more these are coated and protected the more the winter can't hurt them, or have them freeze shut. Ew. So check those areas! A manual on your car can help you locate important areas to grease and check on for this proceedure.

Now we get serious and under the hood. Check the battery and it's charge. Make sure it's in good shape. The cold can suck a battery dry. So checking it periodically after low temperatures and storms is also a good idea. Clean the battery connections off if necessary, too, it will help the battery stay in tip top condition. If you can, keep a new battery inside where it is protected to make sure you have a backup, just in case. You will also need to:

• check the oil, replace and change out everything if needed. The filter and the oil.
• check the coolant area. Get some anti-freeze in there. Make sure you do it per specifications for your automobile. They're all different. Your manual will tell you what to put in it.
• use WD-40 on bolt heads, tie-rod ends, and electical terminals under the hood as well. Don't get wild with it, just a few sprays here and there will help. It will protect these things from the cold.
• check tire pressure and tires. Replace the tires if needed. Some say to add tire pressure to the tires in winter. My Dad has on a few of his cars by about 8 pounds. I've never done that, but I probably should. Cold air makes tires contract so air will be low in tires. And don't forget to check your spare tire or your donut out. Keep it in top condition, use WD-40 on it's bolts and things to keep them lubricated to get them off easily and to protect them from the cold. Check your jack as well, some can rust.
• check your windshield wiper fluid. Get something in that container that will be good for cold, cold, coooooold weather! Not sunny days in summer. You dont want them to freeze up on you if you get splashed with some slushy muddy stuffs on the road. Store the unused cleaner in the trunk, just in case you need more. Salt, dirt, scum, and just everything winter brings is much tougher to clean off of windshields so you'll be using more. Keeping some close is not a bad idea. It's being safe.
• While you're in that department, check your windshield wiper blades. If they are old or look worn out or torn, replace them as soon as you can.
• Brakes are another concern on cars in winter. Slippery, cold, icy roads mean a lot of trouble when you need to stop. So make sure your breaks are in the best of conditions.
• check lights on the car, the heater, and the defroster.These are very, very important for more than one reason. So don't skip this step if you feel like skipping one or two.
• check all the ties and clamps on hoses on your car, check belts, check equipment to make sure everything is clamped down or bolted down properly.
• check the air filter, replace if needed. That's another important area.

Once you go through everything with the engine (be sure to check your manual for other items that are relevant to your specific car) you need to check the interior part of the car. With the mats of the car, with salt, snow, and melting it is a good idea to get a back up mat set to change around. Get a set that's simple and fits with your car. You don't have to get too expensive.

A friend of mine actually made protective covers for the cars she and her husband own. She uses a vinyl table cloth, cuts to fit the area using the mats from the car for a guide, sews the edges up, and puts them under the mats to protect the flooring. Then she puts the mats "up" to dry in her garage with simple clamp like hangers she picked up from shoping at a department store. The other set of mats then go in the car, leaving the used one's out to dry. She switches mats every other day or so. This may sound like a lot, but her car is clean as can be, and not worn out anywhere - and her mats are still very, very nice!

The last thing to check is the most important, if you ask me, cause I'm a Mom: The items to keep in the car. This will be in a new post all on it's own!

I lived on a farm in North East Tennessee for several years. This farm had no running water, no electricity, no phones. We had three rooms. To get to each room, you could not walk indoors. To go from the room we called the living room to the room that we designated the kitchen, we had to walk out onto the wooden porch, down a set of stairs, and into the kitchen through another door. To go to the room designated as the bedroom, we had to go out of the kitchen or the living room, and depending on which location, we had to go up one or two flights of wooden stairs to the next wooden porch and in through another door.

Now, this can be very confusing, I'm sure, as you had to live there to understand what I mean by out and in. It's hard to explain. I've created a picture. And I know somewhere that I have photographs of this farm. We took a few pictures of it back in the day with a friends camera. Of course, now I wouldn't know where to look for the pictures of the house, the barn, the coops...but I know they are around somewhere. I guess digging them up would be harder than just doing a sketch. So I'll try a "sketch" instead.

Now, let me see if I can show you what is what.

1. Kitchen (rough timber floor and sanded timber walls)

2. Living Room (rough timber floor and sanded timber walls)

3. Bedroom (sanded walnut beams and rough timber floor)

4. Attic (beams in ceiling, rough wood timber floor)

5. Living Room Porch (rough wood timber)

6. Kitchen Porch (old slab foundation)

7. Bedroom Porch (rough wood timber)

8. Rough Timber Stairs (Put in after we moved in)/Old Ladder to Attic (already in)

9. Old wood stoves (Put in after we moved in)

That's about it. Now, we know a few things about the farm, but only after we lived there for a few years. We found out from family that the first house on the property was actually built way back in the holler. We found remains of a house and road way back there when we hiked the 50 acres we owned. There was a few old fencing poles up and some rocks where a foundation had been set up. But that's all there was.

The house stayed there for awhile though. The house we moved in was actually built closer to the road because it was made for the neighborhood. Or, well, the region. It was the schoolhouse for that area for some time. They built the main floor of it, two doors, with one window. It had a nice chimney, too. It operated for several years that way. The teachers, who owned the main home up the holler, charged only 5 cents for the kids for a weeks time.

A fire took the first house back in the holler. No one was hurt, but the damage had been done. So the family decided to sell the house to some loggers. A logging company moved in, made a huge road go up the mountainside, cutting into a lot of trees, property, and making a huge muddy mess the first month they were there. While that was going on they set out to make an addition onto the schoolhouse section.

They built right next to the schoolhouse, carved into it as well, and made the addition separate from the rest. So what is now the kitchen is the original kitchen. What is the bedroom was bunkhouse 2. What is the living room, which was the schoolhouse, became bunkhouse 1. There was no stairs between the main sections, but from the bedroom to the attic they carved a hidden door, cut over to the attic section with a crude wooden ladder hooked into the walls and the chimney, and into the attic area.

From what I could tell from what we found up there they hung meats and things to dry as well as tobacco inside. It stored a lot of things like wood for winter too. The wild thing, with the door hidden like it was, and things found near the chimney - stairs leading to the base of the house using the chimney as stone steps...well, we figured it was on the underground railroad. There were some papers with names, ages, and the family said none of them were students. They had an old record book from the time teachers were present. So we believe the names were slaves who passed through. We couldn't verify at the time, and I don't have the paper now, but if I did I'd look that up for sure with the internet.

When we took over the place there were no stoves, no electricity, no water, no phone. It was basically a real mess. There was an old pump house that had been put in with the loggers. I'm not quite sure when they put it in, but it barely worked at the time. There was a pump house around it, neglected as all get out. It had a lot of work needed.

There were some coops and hogs sheds and a big, huge barn that set across the creek. I felt like I was where I needed to be when I saw that old barn. I didn't mind the house or how the pump house looked, or even the old outhouse there. I loved that barn. Big, tall, old rough timber standing like a monolith in those cedar trees. It was wonderful to me.

It took a long time to get that place up to where we could live in it. Stairs were put in after knocking out walls side to side of the chimney. One set going down from the living room to the kitchen. One set going up from the living room to the bedroom. We closed off the back door on the living room, keeping the front door on the living room on it.

The back door to the old kitchen was replaced into a window. The front door to the kitchen was kept. I liked having two doors and two sections with two porches. The porch off of the bedroom was enclosed soon enough and became a closet. The front porches on the kitchen and living room remained as is.

We put in wood stoves in the living room and the kitchen. The one in the kitchen was actually the small one. The living room was the larger one. I cooked on both. The kitchen didn't have any cabinets or furniture, and the foundation was leaving it. We jacked it up as best as we could and let it be the way it wanted after that. A new window was put in the living room and the kitchen. There was an original window left though. It was still in good shape, and that was in the kitchen on the back wall. It looked out over the blackberry bushes and the garden area.

Boy that was a sight in bloom...

We whitewashed and cleaned and scrubed and painted that place up nice. It was a great thing to leave the bedroom alone though. The walnut wood of that room was gorgeous. So much so that we decided to not paint it. It was just too much to even touch it with a drop. We also let the attic be.

Once the house was alright we attacked the outhouse and the pump house. There was an old coop near the house, too close for my comfort, so we had that knocked out. We used the wood to redo the roof of the outhouse and one of the coop walls on another building. I scrubbed that outhouse till it was without any dirt or smell. Then I whitewashed it and coated it nicely with some clear coat.

I put in a magazine container with a lid, a toilet paper can that opened and closed with a simple touch of the foot, and a basket of goodies needed just in case. Things like sanitizing wipes, lotions, and a sealable garbage can to keep the trash in. We didn't want any critters visiting. There was a nice lantern hook, a extra battery pack and it's flashlight, and of course some lye to toss into the hole. I didn't like putting the lye in. I wanted something else, but at the time that's what we did and what we thought to do. I've read alternative things we could do, but back then we didn't really have a library near or a internet to get to.

I'll continue this on later when I have some rest. It's getting on here in time and I need to get to bed! Thank you for reading and visiting. Wish I could offer you some tea and cookies or something for your troubles. God bless and warm wishes. Part 2 coming later.