When Can I Start Wearing That Red Hat?

There is a poem that I've heard of that talks about wearing purple and a red hat. It was written by English poet Jenny Joseph. The gist of the poem to me is that when you're old enough, you can pretty much do whatever you want and nobody can tell you otherwise. In other words, you have the freedom to be eccentric and not be judged as crazy.

My question is, when do I reach this "old age"? The other day I was contemplating the contents of my closet. I was dressing for a family Christmas gathering and trying to decide what to wear. Have you ever had a pair of shoes or earrings that you wanted to wear and so you planned your outfit around it? Well I wanted to wear my heather grey and purple shawl. I made this shawl from a pattern purchased by my daughter as my Christmas gift last year. I am very proud of this shawl and wanted to show it off.

Now the acceptable thing to wear as this was a casual gathering was jeans and a top. Since it is the middle of December, it would require a warm top. When I picked the colors for my shawl, I didn't take into account that I had very few tops that would "match". My mother raised me with clearly defined guidelines i.e. you don't wear plaids with flowers or polka dots; your colors must "match" by either being in the same hue or in appropriate contrasting colors. There is also acceptable attire for specific environments - business attire for work, etc. We all say we don't care what people think, but that's not true when it comes to our clothing - unless you shop at Walmart. (Inside joke for Candy.)

So I asked myself, "Am I old enough to wear purple and the red hat yet? Can I dress the way I feel and not care about what others deem appropriate?" I didn't want to wear jeans. I like loose and flowing, but I don't have much of that in my closet due to the aforementioned expectations. I ended up wearing a very flowy set of pants with a fine wool scarf tied around my hips, a white sleeveless shell covered with a thin grey sweater and my shawl. Very layered and flowy! No one said a word one way or another. Were they being polite? Or am I old enough to wear what I please and just be accepted that way?

Warning - When I Am an Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple

By Jenny Joseph

When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple

with a red hat that doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.

And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves

and satin candles, and say we've no money for butter.

I shall sit down on the pavement when I am tired

and gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells

and run my stick along the public railings

and make up for the sobriety of my youth.

I shall go out in my slippers in the rain

and pick the flowers in other people's gardens

and learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat

and eat three pounds of sausages at a go

or only bread and pickles for a week

and hoard pens and pencils and beer nuts and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry

and pay our rent and not swear in the street

and set a good example for the children.

We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?

So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised

When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

Warning - When I Am an Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple

By Jenny Joseph

When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple

with a red hat that doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.

And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves

and satin candles, and say we've no money for butter.

I shall sit down on the pavement when I am tired

and gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells

and run my stick along the public railings

and make up for the sobriety of my youth.

I shall go out in my slippers in the rain

and pick the flowers in other people's gardens

and learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat

and eat three pounds of sausages at a go

or only bread and pickles for a week

and hoard pens and pencils and beer nuts and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry

and pay our rent and not swear in the street

and set a good example for the children.

We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?

So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised

When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

We Can't All Be Doctors and Lawyers and Such

There was a time when high school taught us practical skills. There was home economics where they taught you to cook and sew. There was metal shop and wood shop in which you learned not only to build something with your own two hands, but how to visualize, plan and read a pattern. You learned how to apply those math classes you were required to take. Supposedly due to budget cuts these classes are no longer offered. (They don't teach you how to drive a car anymore either.)

These hands-on classes were replaced with computer classes and preparation for college. They expect young people to know "what they want to be when they grow up". This is a cute question to ask a child when they're young enough to play dress-up, but not a 15 year old adolescent. By the time they graduate, they are expected to have a life plan all laid out and ready to follow. If their parents can afford a college education, they're very fortunate; otherwise they're expected to spend the equivalent of buying a house to finance their college degree. I don't know who thought up these standards, but very few young adults know what they want to do with their future let alone teenagers.

I started working when I was 15 years old. All I needed was a work permit which indicated that my parents approved of me working and that my employer was aware of my age. I worked every summer during high school; so did my brothers. By the time my children were in high school, work was getting scarce. My daughter was lucky enough to get work serving coffee, but my boys couldn't find the type of work they wanted (garage mechanic or welding) because they weren't 18. My oldest son was able to find a Mexican restaurant that willingly trained him to cook. This was actually the end of an era; it's very difficult for a high school student to find work anymore. Those jobs are taken by college students or graduates who either can't find work in their field or don't like the career choice they were forced to make in high school.

About the time I graduated from high school there was a song that was really popular in country music. Some of the lyrics read, "Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys. Don't let 'em pick guitars or drive them old trucks. Let 'em be doctors and lawyers and such." Now I really liked this song, but I recently realized that the expectation or skewed view in America is that we should all be doctors and lawyers and such. We all should get a college degree whether we can afford it or not. We should all aspire to making as much money as we possibly can and this will bring us happiness. The way to achieve this goal is to get a college degree - the higher the better. Some would go so far as to call it "The American Dream".

There are several problems with this ideology. One as stated earlier is the cost. It is so prohibitive to most people and yet we keep shoving our young people over this cliff. Also, expecting our teenagers to know what they want to do with the rest of their lives to make the expense of that college education feasible is ridiculous. I've had at least 12 different jobs in my lifetime and I still don't have a "career title" - and I actually have an AA degree.

Then there's the guilt. Why do we make people feel guilty for not having a college diploma? Or if they get that diploma, why do judge them as a failure if they end up working in another field? What gives us the right to judge at all? I have met so many people that changed their mind about their career choice once they started their college education. Some changed their major (several times even) while others stuck it out and then sought other employment when they realized they weren't suited to the work.

Last of all, we can't all be doctors and lawyers and such. When I worked in the hospital I would often comment, "Sure we need the nurses, doctors, various techs that all required a so called higher education; but how would the hospital function without the housekeepers, cafeteria workers and maintenance crew?" These people were vital to the operation. They worked the hardest and received the lowest pay.

Today I read an article that some of those high-tech computer jobs that were the so-called "wave of the future" are no longer available. In fact I recently heard a report that there are plenty of "blue collar" jobs available, but there are not enough trained people to fulfill these positions. People that would have been taught these skills in high school at one time or maybe received on-the-job training.

So I honor all those hard working people out there, whether you have a college degree or not. I'm proud of my husband who worked as an Industrial Electrician, my daughter the Coffee Barrista and my son who welds on four-wheel-drive vehicles. Hold your heads up and take pride in your work. And while you're at it, spit in the eye anyone who judges you as unsuccessful.

(Disclaimer: I have nothing against doctors and lawyers.)

Lessons I Learned When I Bought My House

My daughter is house shopping. She's still a little way off from moving in, but they are looking. When we spoke on the phone the other day she commented that she definitely didn't want a "fixer upper" because it didn't fit their personality. I'm so glad she recognized this trait in herself and her husband. After our conversation, I started reminiscing about when we bought our house 21 years ago; and I remember some of the mistakes we made. We were so naive. I want to share a few of the lessons we learned and maybe it will save my daughter and others some hard knocks.

• First of all, be realistic about what you can afford. Your monthly payment is just the beginning. There will be taxes and insurance to pay. There will also be expenses for maintenance. Unfortunately the roof will wear out, the water heater or furnace will go out, the fence may fall down or your sewer may back up. If you are spending every dollar available for your house payment and other daily costs of living, you may end up unable to repair those things that wear out.
• Don't use the same realtor as the seller. They are likely to offer to work for a lower fee, but the bottom line is they'll still make more money if both you and the seller are paying them a fee. One of the reasons you want a good realtor is because they will keep your  best interests at heart. If you share the realtor, they will do whatever it takes to make the sale.
• If you are a first time home buyer, either get your own appraisal done or have an experienced home buyer walk through with you. Even though the appraisal is usually required by law, they may not be as thorough as your own appraiser. We ended up having problems with the plumbing in our bathtub that I am still dealing with to this day. I never thought to see if the drains worked well or if the pipes leaked. Go ahead and climb on the roof. Turn the heater on in the middle of summer or the Air Conditioner on in winter.
• Don't borrow money for your down payment. If you can't afford a down payment, you can't afford a house! I maxed out a few credit cards AND we borrowed money from my in-laws. Within a short time my husband was unemployed and we ended up working with a credit counselor to pay off most of our credit card debt. We opted not to declare bankruptcy, but we still ruined our credit for seven years. (They don't always tell you this will happen when you go for credit counseling.) Seven years is a long time when you want to buy a car or furniture. Oh yeah, we didn't pay my in-laws back for a long time and that debt really caused some friction in our relationships.
• Don't buy a house with the thought that you will move in a few years. In fact, buy your house with the intention of living there forever. You never know what hardships or circumstances may arise to prevent you from moving. We bought our house with the intention of selling and moving to the country in 5 years. We heard that we would build enough equity in our house to get a good down payment for a larger property in the country. That was a BIG lie. So don't buy a 2 bedroom if you may someday need a 3 bedroom or 4 bedroom house. Don't get stuck with a tiny house when you know you need a family room, office, hobby room, etc. If you enjoy entertaining or hosting family gatherings, keep in mind the need for space.
• Check out the neighborhood during different times of the day. Also do a drive through on the weekend. A neighborhood that seems quiet during the week may be really noisy on weekends. This also gives you the opportunity to check out the traffic, pets running loose, children, etc. Do NOT take the seller's word that a prospective house is in an ideal neighborhood. Maybe they really want out. Don't assume they are honest. If you get an opportunity to meet the neighbors, that's even better. First impressions are very important.
• Make sure you like the landscaping. If the yard is not landscaped, plan on spending 10% of the cost of the house in laying out your yard. If you don't like to do your own yard work, plan on the cost of hiring a gardener or get a landscape with very low maintenance. If you enjoy gardening, then make sure you have plenty of room to accommodate your hobby. Remember old shrubs and trees can be removed, but it is expensive. Paving and concrete is even harder to remove. If you enjoy BBQing and entertaining, look for a place with a patio, etc. Also ask yourself if the yard is large enough for pets/children if you plan to have either.
• There are some items that can be used for bargaining such as paint and flooring. Point out to the seller if the carpet needs to be replaced or the walls need new paint. Ask them to lower the asking price based on these cosmetic items. Be sure to put enough money back to cover the costs of paint, carpet, etc.
• This leads to the next point - allow yourself time BEFORE you move in to make any changes such as painting and carpeting. It is much easier to take care of these chores when you don't have to move furniture around or sleep in a house that smells like paint. Our house closed on the same weekend our rent ran out. We had to move immediately.
• Keep in mind the cost of appliances, furniture, window coverings, etc. The house may not come with all the appliances such as a washer and dryer.  (Make sure the built-in appliances such as the stove/oven and dishwasher do work.) Also, your furniture may not suit your new living space. The cost of window coverings/treatments can also add up. Windows vary in size so much that the curtains you currently own probably won't work for your new home.

I'm sure there are other things I haven't thought of, but these are some of the main points I can speak about from experience. I'm not trying to take the joy out of home ownership. It's just keeps you from being disappointed if you face the facts up front.

Preparing for Christmas

Every year there comes a time when we start to prepare for Christmas. Now I'm not talking about spiritual or emotional preparing here; just what you do to prepare.

Some people follow a set tradition every year. They shop on certain dates; they bake cookies or trim the tree. Maybe they go Christmas caroling. This can be very rewarding and keep you organized but there is a down side. What if an emergency comes up? Or you just get behind? This can add to the stress and anxiety that can ruin Christmas if you're not careful. If you're not a person who can stay on track then I would say this may not be for you. It can also exclude you from new experiences because they're not part of your tradition.

Personally I have such a wide variety of interests that my activities change from year to year. One year I made gift boxes for everyone I know. Another year I only had time to gift the names that were drawn for the family gift exchange. Last year I gave out home canned jams and jellies. This year I'm working on crocheted gifts. This is very time consumig so I may not do a lot of decorating or baking. I kind of roll with the punches so to speak. In the past I would set myself up for failure or disappointment because I would expect so much more from myself than I was capable of accomplishing. It also made it difficult to stop and enjoy the moment.

I do create a mental list of things I would like to do just to prioritize what is most important to me. If I don't get around to those items toward the bottom of the list, there's always next year. Mostly I just want to enjoy myself as I prepare for one of my favorite holidays of the year. There is such a focus on the actual event that sometimes we forget to really experience the journey to get there. If I don't really like what I'm doing than why should I force myself to go through the motions just because that's the way it's always been done.

So what are you doing to prepare for Christmas?

I Have a Brush Pile Outside My Window

I sleep with my window open - summer or winter. When it's cold, I can always add more blankets and I sleep like a baby. I like the window open because I get to hear the birds announce the day. In the summer time I hear blue jays and sometimes mockingbirds. I also hear crows which I don't particularly like. They used to fly over on their way to the country, but now they often stay in residence of the neighborhood. I know some people like crows, but I don't. I'll shoot them if I have a chance.

Anyway, I digress. I have purposely stacked small branches trimmed from our trees outside my window to create a brush pile. Why the brush pile? Currently the birds I hear in the morning are sparrows. Recently I added branches from the Lambs Quarters "weeds" that I let get almost as big as trees. They are covered in seed that the birds like to eat. For being fairly plain birds and small compared to others, sparrows have the most beautiful song. I love to hear them sing all day long. Their song is so peaceful and calming.

To some people sparrows are a nuisance as they can eat a lot of chicken feed if they have access, but I don't mind. My Aunt Jackie used to throw wild bird feed to them on her patio and now I understand why. Maybe she was also giving God a hand as the Bible mentions  that God sees a sparrow when it falls and that He provides for them. I think it gave her comfort. All I know is that I really enjoy their singing.

If you want to hear some beautiful music just create a brush pile and maybe throw out a little seed.

Soup Weather!

It's starting to cool down, finally. Here in the central valley of California we are experiencing 70 degree highs and 40 degree lows. For us, that is fall weather. My friend in Oregon said their highs are our lows so they're already in the 30's at night. Brrrrr.

The good thing about the cooling temperatures is that it's time to make soup. Too many people rely on canned soup when homemade is so easy and so much better. If you're a gardener like me, soup is a God send. You can put almost anything in soup and it will taste good, especially if you use lots of herbs and seasonings. The greatest soup failure is that it can be too bland.

Yesterday morning I woke up and decided to make soup for dinner. My husband and I were planning to work in the garden all afternoon and soup sounded so good. Time to raid the freezer. I pulled out some beef chunks that I had previously cut from a chuck roast, a bag of tomatoes, some green beans and corn, some frozen greens. In other words, some of those vegetables I had frozen through the summer.

When we came in from the garden, I brought in some potatoes and carrots. Things were beginning to thaw out and I was ready to start cooking. It turned out that the beef I thought was pre-cooked was raw, so I quickly changed my plans. Stewing beef (chuck or round steak) needs to cook for awhile to get tender and I wanted soup within an hour. If you are in a hurry for soup, use sausage or ground beef. I have used polish sausage or kielbasa in the past, but I had some good German Sausage. (See previous post about my trip with my mother.) The sausage was in casings, but I squeezed it out and made little chunks in a little olive oil in the bottom of my soup pot. After browning the sausage, I added onion and sauteed until transparent. I added a quart of frozen ham stock and then I added potatoes, freshly pulled carrots, frozen greens which included lambs quarters aka weeds, and some shredded zucchini. I salted and peppered and added some cayenne pepper. While the soup simmered, I took my shower and by the time I got out supper was done. I didn't use a recipe and it turned out to be very tasty.

So what did I do with the beef? Well that's the soup I made today. I browned the beef in a little olive oil. I added some onion and garlic and sauteed until the onion was translucent. I added about 2 T of flour and stirred it all up. Then I added about 2 cups of water and about a quart of frozen tomatoes. I threw in a half cup of barley, about 3 medium potatoes, about a cup of carrots, some frozen green beans and corn. For seasoning I put in some salt, pepper, dry mustard, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne, horseradish sauce, thyme and bay leaf. In other words, whatever you have on hand that you think will taste good together. I added another 2 cups of water (enough to fill up the pot which holds about 1 gallon). Now as I'm typing this, dinner is simmering on the stove.

My point is you can make soup out of just about anything you have on hand. It doesn't require an exact recipe and will usually turn out pretty good. Just think of the things you might eat together and throw it all in a pot with some liquid. It's great for leftover vegetables or meat. I like the fact that all those vegetables from my garden are being consumed with all the vitamins and minerals intact and not being washed away down the drain. You can also create these great soups in the crockpot and come home from your busy day to a home cooked meal.

I would like to say that Thyme is an essential for soup. My mother told me how her mother always added Thyme to her soups and as I've been studying herbs I found out that Thyme enhances the properties of other herbs it is used with. It seems it works on flavors as well. You may not have room for a garden, but it's easy to grow a few herbs in a pot. Thyme doesn't take up much space and a little goes a long way. I also like to use bay leaf; especially in beef based soups. I'm lucky because I bought my mother a 4 inch bay plant years ago and now she has a TREE! All the bay leaf I can use.

Next time you can't think of something to fix, make soup.

A Day with Mom - It doesn't always have to be on Mother's Day

I took Mom, aka Grandma Bailey, to Reedley yesterday.  The reason this was such a big "to do" was that my mom loves to be around her family. Nothing makes her day like being in contact with her children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren. On the other hand, I'm a loner. I'm perfectly happy staying home and gardening, crafting or reading. (I love being around family too, but I have to be in the mood. Of course when it comes to my own children, I'm always in the mood. They live too far away.)

I'm also not much of a shopper, but if we were making the trip, I planned to make a day of it.

A while back a friend of my mother's gave her some sausage that he bought in Reedley. Reedley was originally a Mennonite Community and Mom was raised Mennonite in Manitoba, Canada. That sausage was known to her as Farmer Sausage and brought back sweet memories. Her dad always made Farmer Sausage and it was delicious. I asked my uncle for the recipe one time and he told me it was written on the barn wall. Anyway, Mom asked me to take her to Reedley so she could buy some Farmer Sausage. Her friend said he bought it at the Main Street Cafe.

Having asked me a few months ago to make the little trip - it's only about 35 miles away - we finally went. We browsed through a few boutiques and two thrift stores. At the Mennonite Relief Thrift Store we each found 2 sweaters for $3 apiece. Mom bought her great-grandchildren Ethan and Renae some story books & I bought some books for my Grandson Dylan. By then we were getting hungry so we went to Main Street Cafe for a lunch of German Sausage sandwiches. The first bite was like tasting memories. We bought 10 pounds apiece of Farmer (German) Sausage to take home. I had come prepared with a large ice chest so the meat would not thaw out while we continued to enjoy our afternoon. I took Mom to the quilt shop next. I had been there once before and knew she would enjoy looking around. We saw a quilt in progress as they always have a quilt framed up that they're working on. My Grandma Plett, Mom's mom, has made several quilts for the family that we all enjoy. It brought back fond memories of my grandmother. We met some neat Mennonite people that she could talk to about her heritage. They could tell by her accent that she was from Canada. That was funny because she's lived in the US for over 50 years. The quilt shop also now features items for sale from Ten Thousand Villages which is a fair trade organization that encourages people from third-world countries to become self sufficient through selling their crafts. (Fair trade requires that the women are given equal pay, that the children attend school and protects against child labor among other things.)

Once we left Reedley, we got turn around on the way home and drove through London. We stopped by the Bravo Farms Cheese Factory in Traver for some cheese and to get chased by a little goat wanting food. I asked Mom if she was too tired or if she had time for one more stop. She was still good to go. I took her by the Hobby Lobby store in Visalia so she could price yarn. She knits and crochets gifts for her family and is ready to start on Christmas presents.

By the time we got home, it was nearing sunset. All in all it was a full day, but great fun. Now I can veg out for a day as my hubby is hunting.

My Bunnies - Past & Present

In late April I went to buy a couple of rabbits. I had been wanting to add rabbits to my "farm" for at least a year and was just waiting for the right time i.e. when the area I would house them was cleaned of junk and I could convince my husband. (He doesn't take much convincing as he lets me do whatever I want.) I had raised rabbits before and knew they were fairly easy to care for. Their "poop" pellets make the best garden fertilizer as there is no need to "age" it like you have to do with chicken manure. Rabbit meat is really good for you as it's high in easily digested protein (they suggest it for children and the elderly) and very lean. The trick to raising meat rabbits is practicality. You don't get attached to the babies even though they are very cute. You either sell them or butcher them - they are food just like chicken & beef.

I saw an ad on Craig's list offering a male, female and baby for $3 each. He said the male was black, the female brown and the baby was brown & white. I knew right away that these weren't the "preferred" breeds (New Zealand or Californias) for meat rabbits, but it was a start and the price was right. So following the guy's very round about directions I went to pick them up. When I got there he said the buck (male) was missing so his wife had instructed him to give me the other two. The price just got better. The owner explained that he had allowed his rabbits free run of the dog kennel, but they dug out. He was going to use them for bow hunting practice and cook them on his outdoor fire pit. But when his kids saw the baby bunnies come out of the burrows all over their yard, they just wouldn't eat them. His wife had decided she wanted a garden so told him the rabbits had to go - trap and sell them. I could tell these were transplanted city folk, but I figured they would learn. If the "tame" rabbits didn't eat her unfenced garden, then the cotton tails and jack rabbits would. I don't think the guy had been feeding the rabbits. They were just living on fox tails. No wonder they wanted to eat her garden.

So I brought home Momma and Baby. I asked my little friends Ricky and Christopher to name them. Momma became Daisy and Baby took on the name of Twinkle. Turns out Twinkle's a female (doe) also - sweet! They had to live in a bird cage for a little while until I could build the cages I had purchased.

Daisy - notice the orange fur?
It was very coarse and she has
no dewlap.

Twinkle

Momma and baby.

I had bought some cages from The Tractor Supply store, but they were un-assembled. I had also posted a want ad on Craig's List. The same day I posted the ad, someone else posted an ad for a rabbit cage & chicken cage. The price was very reasonable considering no assembly was required and they had a roof already built on. (Most cages come as a wire box and nothing more.) It worked out the woman selling the cages lived here in town, so my hubby and I took his truck to pick them up. The cages turned out to be very roomy and were ideal. I had a spot on the east side of my house that was in full shade, away from the dogs and fairly quiet.

Nice large cages.

Plenty of room to grow.

The next step in building my rabbit program was getting a buck. It just so happened that my niece was moving and needed a home for her son's rabbit, Barney. I offered to take him off her hands, give him a nice home, show him a good time and not eat him. It was a done deal. Barney turned out to be fairly big even though he's part Lion's Mane. He has funny tufts of hair growing between his ears and he's developing a fu-man-chu mustache. Now I'm just waiting for the weather to cool down so I can start breeding. The heat is very stressful on rabbits. I put large frozen bottles of ice in their cages on the days when it gets above 95 degrees. I know I could have waited for fall when the weather cooled off, but for me the time was right in April.

Twinkle in front of Daisy. She's
getting almost as big.

Daisy. Notice the double chin? It's
called a dewlap and is a sign of health.
She didn't have this when I got her -
probably that fox tail diet she was on.

You'll also notice her coat is darker.
I think the orange was due to sun
exposure. It's also much softer.

Twinkle is very playful & inquisitive.

Beautiful markings.

By the size of her ears, she's not
done growing.

Barney (I call him Herman.)

Notice the developing mustache?
He also has tufts of hair between
his ears.

He's a handsome guy.

Learning

I guess you never stop learning. Which is a good thing. I have opened an Etsy shop with the encouragement of my daughter. As I may have mentioned earlier, I joined the ranks of the unemployed in May of this year. When I went to visit my daughter who lives in Washington, she suggested that I sell my homecrafting projects/extras on Etsy. Well I worked on computers everyday at my previous job, but setting up an Etsy shop is a whole new experience. It's one thing to work with software applications on your computer, it's another to set things up on the Internet. (I haven't had any formal training like some of you out there.)

I finally posted a few items to my Etsy shop and it was terrifying for some reason. I think I was also afraid it would steal some of my new found freedom. Today I added my Etsy shop to the sidebar of my Blog. Another new learning opportunity. I guess it goes to show, even this old dog can learn new tricks. The name of my shop? DLC Homecrafting what else. (DLC are my initials.)

Celebrating Our Freedom

The Fourth of July means one thing in general to American citizens. We are celebrating our independence from tyranical rule by the United Kingdom (aka Great Britain).

Last night as we were sitting out in front of our home watching the "legal" fireworks being enjoyed by our neighbors, we also saw quite a few of the "illegal" fireworks. They were awesome! My husband made the comment that several people would probably be arrested for celebrating their freedom. I searched the local papers and there were no instances reported where a fire was started due to fireworks of any kind. So why are these spectacular fireworks illegal? If they are going to confiscate fireworks, they should donate them to the following year's fireworks show since Tulare almost had to cancel them due to lack of funds.

As a child in Wisconsin on at least one 4th we gathered around a pasture to watch fireworks. It must have impressed me since I still remember it.

Personally, the Fourth of July marks the day my Dad quit fighting cancer and went to heaven. My son was 12 and it had a huge impact on him as he was the oldest grandchild and greatly influenced by his Grandpa Bailey. My daughter was affected because the next day was to be her seventh birthday. What a bitter-sweet celebration.

Back to the present, I also searched the local news to see if there were any reports of run away dogs. There weren't any. We know of at least one. It was a little Chihuahua and I have never seen a dog run so fast!!! He whipped by with his ears tucked back so quickly we nearly missed him. A young man rode by shortly afterwards on a bike, but he couldn't catch him. No telling where that poor dog ended up.

As to our dogs, Ashton and Pete snuck into the garage and lay in the shadows. When David realized they were there, he told them to get in the back. They both went, but Pete kept sneaking back in. Hense the nickname "Sneaky Pete". After awhile we moved to the back yard since there were several sky high displays going on north of us.

Ashton is about 11 1/2 years old and I can remember many, many 4ths spending time with him as he would bark and carry on when the loud booms and whistles started up. If I would let him in the house where he could lay on the dining room floor, he was calm. This year I observed him as we were all in the back together and I realized something new. Ashton was not afraid of the fireworks, he was pissed! When a really loud, bright fireworks would go off, he would run forward toward the display not backwards cowering. He was trying to protect us! Wow, what an amazing dog.

Ashton with Pete in the background.

So we had a good July 4th celebration without spending any money and even learned something new.

Jim's visit



Jim playing catch with Chris Bailey.

My brother Jim came for a quick visit so we had a BBQ. I hope everyone had a good time. I hope they got plenty to eat. I made beans, macaroni salad and a zucchini slaw (had to sneak in that zucchini). We had hamburgers, brats & hot links. As I was busy organizing and cooking, I managed to take a few pictures. They are available for viewing on my Face book page.

This morning as I lay awake at 6:30 am in spite of not going to sleep until 1:00 am, I started thinking over the evening.

Dylan brought some samples of produce from his garden including a GIANT zucchini, a Roma tomato & an okra pod. I didn't get to visit with him as much as I would have liked, but that is the nature of a big BBQ and what happens when you're in charge.

Deanna is the family caretaker and made several offers to help. She's also a great mommy to Carson and their soon to arrive second son. I didn't get pics of Carson this time, but have taken several in the past which you can see in my other Face book albums.

Our friends Chris & Linda came with their son Christopher. (Ricky was visiting elsewhere). He is just too cute and knows how to boss his mom around. Is that something that the baby of any family excels at?  Our friend Jesse was also there. He calls me his "other mom". These guys are just like family to us. Jesse offered to come and do any handyman worked we needed to have done. We've had him do work for us in the past like build our east fence/gate and paint our eaves. I told him we're broke right now and can't afford to pay him. He said, "Oh no. You don't have to pay me; I'll do it for free." Is that awesome or what? And recently when we needed some branches trimmed, Chris climbed up on our roof and sawed away while David stood below to catch them. See, family!

Deanna didn't realize she was supposed to pick up her sister Kayla, so Kayla had her mom Rochelle bring her. Now John and Rochelle have been divorced for years. Rochelle has treated my brother like shit (excuse my French), but they lived together for many years even after getting divorced. Earlier this spring she told my brother it was really over and moved out. My brother was really torn up over it. So then she shows up at my Mom's for Easter. Then instead of just dropping Kayla and Maddie off, she stayed last night. From my understanding, most people ignored her. She just doesn't get it. You don't see my ex or David's ex hanging out at family gatherings. (Disclaimer - I don't mean to hurt any one's feelings, but this is my blog and I get to say what I think.)

I also think that cell phones should be banned at family gatherings, but maybe the owners would feel like they lost a limb. Or maybe some people would be so bored they wouldn't come. Or then again, maybe they would be more focused on the current conversations and observant of what is occurring around them.

I did get a few minutes to visit with Jim and I'm hoping everyone else did too. I thought it was interesting how we try to find points of interest when we talk to someone we don't really know that well to keep from feeling awkward or just have something to say. Candy asked Jim about the Broncos. Steve's a Broncos fan and so they commiserated their poor season together.

We talked gardening and chickens. Jim says Denver now allows backyard chickens. So does New York. My town will come around in about 5 years even though we're a so-called agricultural community.

I asked him about Terri, his wife and what projects she has going this summer. Terri is a school nurse and so each summer during her "time off", she works on projects around the house. This year she's varnished some doors, painted a hallway/stairway (I think) and is wallpapering. I found out she has quite the garden in her backyard. They grow tomatoes and squash among other things.

I asked Jim about his children. We haven't seen them in 12 years. I don't think Jim realized it had been so long. We missed seeing them grow up. Maybe that's why I try to keep track of my great nieces and nephews since my brother's kids got away from me.

Maggie just graduated high school and is working as a life guard. She had the same job last year and was able to return as some kind of supervisor so she got $4 more per hour. She's driven. She will do anything to earn money like take care of the neighbors' cats and dogs. She already has several thousand saved up in the bank. Maggie is a lot like Jim; he used to mow lawns at the age of 7 and he would NOT loan you money. He was smart about money even back then.

Matt is 21 and has had his share of accidents. He's a pretty easy going guy and I think Jim has a hard time understanding him. But they seem to have a close relationship. They recently went to a reggae concert and got locked out of the house. Jim told the story of their attempts to wake Terri and Maggie to no avail. They ended up with the fire department providing a ladder so Matt could climb in his bedroom window. (Jim was too big to fit.) Terri and Maggie were fine; just fast asleep. This led me to realize that my brother inherited Dad's ability to tell a great story.

I remember Dad pushing back from the table when we had company and telling his stories. Maybe that's why I always loved having company for dinner.

So all in all, it was a success. It just flew by so fast that I'm glad I had a chance to mull it over this morning.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Top of Wind Chimes in my garden.

Wind Chimes I bought in
Oregon.

I get up in the morning and it seems I have a million tasks to perform so I tell myself that I'll blog in the evening; but then I'm so tired I can't think straight so I just go to bed.

Last night I was up until 2:18 am pressure canning my grandma's recipe for cabbage soup. I made the mistake of quadrupling her recipe. Now mind you, my grandmother was cooking for a family of 10 - they were Mennonite. When you start with a 5-gallon pot full of soup it takes awhile just to get it to boil. I didn't start until about 12:30 pm since I spent the morning in the garden harvesting and pulling weeds. After which I had to clean and refrigerate the harvest. I was tired before I started.

This morning I didn't wake up at the crack of dawn and finish weeding the garden as planned and now it is too hot. I think I will just write a little.

My last blog was anticipating my trip to visit my friend JoAnn in St. Helen's, Oregon and then on to my daughter's in Bremerton, Washington. The trip was enjoyable to say the least and went by way too fast. JoAnn and I ran out of time before we ran out of things to do. Now I have an excuse to go back. JoAnn loves to journal so I got her started with her own blog. We visited Blue Heron Herbary where I spent money on goodies and plants. We visited the Chinese Gardens in Portland where I got some neat pictures and had some really good tea. We got lost on the way there due to navigator (that's me) error. I used Google Maps for directions without knowing the address and we ended up at a closed Chinese restaurant. That evening we went to visit JoAnn's daughter, Amy under guise of a Tupperware party where I spent a little more money. Then on Saturday, we went to Powell's Books in Portland where I bought several books. My cheap trip on saved airline miles was getting expensive and I still had several days to go. Besides it was fun and I knew my frugal daughter would keep me from spending money. The best part of my trip was visiting. It was great to see my friend of 29 years and catch up. It was fun barbecuing with Misty, Richard, Madelyn, Becca, Jesse and Jesse's brother Jordan. And it was wonderful just having hours of time to talk with my daughter. She's so far away. (To see the rest of my pictures visit my Facebook album.)

Becca, Jesse, Madelyn, Misty, Jordan & Richard checking
out the 3D television.

After a week from home, I had plenty to do when I returned; but I was tired and took the weekend to recuperate. (I was also a little down after the high of seeing everyone.) But a garden waits for no man and there was work to do. I transplanted some seedlings I had started. Seeded new peppers that never came up. I harvested beet seeds, peas, green beans, cabbage and green onion. I tied up tomato plants. I also wanted to make some cotton dish cloths, but I didn't want them to be plain, unbleached so I hand died them.

Elder Blossom Jelly

Last Sunday my husband and I went for a Jeep ride to Eshom Pond. We wanted to check and see what the fishing situation was and just enjoy the drive. I took pictures of wildflowers - lots of pictures. Then on the way home David took me by "my" Elderberry patch and I picked both Elder blossoms and ripe Elderberries off the same bushes. Ain't that a kick. That meant Monday I was cleaning berries and blossoms. I dried three quarters of the blossoms and used 4 cups to make Elder Blossom Jelly. The dried blossoms will go into my special blend of Becca's Tea. I also purchased a flat of Boysenberries and made up some seedless jam. On Monday I also pressure canned 11 jars of Chicken soup. I still have the Elderberries to process. I think I'll make my Elderberry Syrup; it's better than Airborne for preventing a cold. I'll also make jelly. Then I have to deal with the cherries and strawberries in my freezer. I made Cherry Jam, Cherry/Strawberry Preserves, and Black Forest Preserves before I left on vacation, but I ran out of time to use all the cherries up so I still want to try making a Cherry BBQ Sauce.

Whew, that is not where I intended to go with this blog. You may wonder why all the gardening and canning? Well I never was a girl scout or boy scout, but I believe in being prepared. Our economy is very shaky right now and I am currently out of work. Anything I can do to help save money is a good thing. Also, the big farm conglomerates are adding so many chemicals to our food that I prefer to have at least a little control over what I eat. I can't be totally self-sufficient since I live on a large city block; but I can make the best of what I do have. I'm starting to jokingly call it My Five Acre Farm.

My friend JoAnn gave me a book entitled Into the Forest. The story tells of two teenage girls who are left to fend for themselves when their parents die. The economy has collapsed. There is no gasoline, electricity, phone or internet. They live in the forest on their own and are running out of food. They do not have the knowledge to live off the land or fend for themselves. I do not want to be like these girls. I want to be prepared as much as possible. If I never have need of these skills and knowledge at least it's been a fun learning process.

Update to Making My Own Potato Boxes

You may remember we started out with the base of my potato boxes.

Then we went up a level.

As the potatoes grew, the boxes grew too.

Until you get to the top of the posts.

Now I'm just waiting for the blossoms to indicate the potatoes are forming. When the tops start withering, it's time to harvest.

NOTE: 8/30/2011 Okay, the potato boxes didn't work very well. I got potatoes, but they were ALL in the dirt, none in the straw. So did my dear husband say anything about the $100+ we spent on the boards, nails, etc. Not to mention the time? No bless his heart he just enjoyed the potatoes we did get. I think what went wrong was using only straw in the boxes. We should have used compost & dirt as well as chopped straw. The straw worked great as a mulch, but didn't stay close enough to the vines to promote additional root growth. Also, the straw settled into the boxes until they were only half full. I guess you live and learn.

Anticipation

Last night as of 10:00 I wasn't even packed. Oh sure I had done laundry, but my suitcase was empty.

For the last 20 days I have been counting down to my trip to Oregon and Washington. I have worked furiously in my garden trying to prepare to leave it for a week. Sure my husband will water, but he probably won't pick my peas. I'm just glad he's willing to take care of the rabbits and pick up the eggs from the chickens.

Then I unexpectedly had the opportunity to pick cherries. It takes a lot of time to process 5 gallons of cherries. I ended up canning 16 pints of cherries, plus Cherry-Strawberry Conserves, Cherry Jam and Black Forest Preserves. I still have about 2 1/2 quarts left. I also have strawberries left that I bought to add to the conserves. I ended up just popping them in the freezer. I'll take care of them when I get home.

So why am I so excited to be going to Oregon and Washington. I'm visiting my friend JoAnn in St. Helen's for the first time since she moved there 5 years ago. I've really missed our times together. We've both been so busy that we haven't really stayed in touch. I've heard so much about her home and gardens, I can't wait to see them.

Then I'm on to Bremerton, WA to visit my daughter. I am so looking forward to some mother-daughter time.

At 10:00 last night I suddenly got that little boost of energy I needed. I packed my computer, my carry on bag and my suitcase. Then I fell into bed exhausted. As I was about to fall asleep I realized I forgot my shoes and nightclothes. Oh well, it would have to wait until morning.

I had set my clock for 6:00 am thinking that would give me an hour and a half to get ready. Actually it gave me 2 1/2 hours. With plenty of time I re-packed my bag, printed my ticket (which I couldn't do yesterday for some reason), checked the weather and even had time for a quick post. But now my hubby is chomping at the bit and it's time to go.

Pictures From My Garden

Digging for gold (egg shells) in the compost pile.

One my eggs, bunching onion flowers/
seed heads and some seed packets.

Last years Jalapeno plant made it through
winter by covering with plastic. Notice all
the new leaves.

Beet seeds, lots of beet seeds.
Beets create seed the second year.
I'll save some for garden and feed
the rest to my chickens - they love
them.

Peas.

Jalapeno has also starting to bloom.

Herb bed at north of garden.

Another shot of herb bed.

Pineapple sage - not yet blooming.

Oregano - harvested about two/thirds and ended up with a quart of dry leaves. 

Lavendar in foreground and silver thyme behind.

Carrots nestled in with peas.

Chamomile with water droplets.

Chamomile blossoms - what is used for tea.

Close up of water drops on Chamomile.

Dogged Determination

Have you ever heard the term "dogged determination"? I think I figured out where it came from. I have two dogs and when they decide on a course of action, there is no stopping them.

My smallest dog, Pete was determined he would get into my garden. It didn't matter that he'd been scolded repeatedly or even swatted a time or two. He just waited until it was dark and we were in bed for the night. Now I don't know what he was after that was so important, but he was truly determined. He would dig under the fence and I would fill his hole with dirt. I even put his own poop in the hole or piled rocks on the dirt. He would just dig somewhere else. One night he dug under the gate. I was fed up! He got in my garden and was digging for gophers. He trenched their tunnels and in one night he dug up all my carrots, green onions and lettuce. He caused more damage than a whole family of gophers. Now Pete doesn't like water. In fact he hates it so much he won't even step in wet grass. So to try and cure him of wanting to get into my garden, I tied him into his hole and sprayed him with a water hose. It may sound mean, but it worked. At least for a little while. Then he decided to bypass the digging and just squeeze between the wire fence and the wood fence. This time I blocked the hole with a peice of wood, piled rocks in front of it and poured bleach over the rocks hoping the chlorine would hurt his nose just enough to keep him out. The last time he got into the garden at night, he used our shepherd, Ashton to push through the gate which was latched with a piece of wire. I didn't want the dogs in the garden because I worried they would go after my chickens. I don't know what those dogs were after, maybe a cat but I heard Pete barking outside my window and knew he was in the garden. I got dressed at 2:00 am and went to chase them out. Ashton ran right out the gate, but Pete ran into the chicken coop to hide. He got into a corner and I didn't think I would ever get him out. If I tried to reach for him he would growl at me and snap his teeth. I tried to scoot him out with a shovel, but he wouldn't budge. Finally I gave up my struggle and went to wake up my husband. Maybe Pete would come out to him. Well my husband didn't want to wake up so I went back outside and Pete had finally come out. He had dogged determination that only caused me major frustration.

Another example is my dog Ashton. (Yes, he belonged to my daughter before she left for college, but I've had him longer and possession is 9/10ths of the law.) Ashton is showing a good example of dogged determination. You see he has very bad hips. We've been giving him medication for several years, but he is progressively getting worse. He no longer can lift his hind leg to pee. He can't really run, but he does trot - kinda'. If he tries to make a sharp turn his back legs just give out. But he's a happy dog and he won't give up. He just keeps going day after day. I came home a few weeks ago and my husband said he didn't think Ashton would last out the summer. I couldn't believe he was that bad, but he is. Some days are better than others, but my point is he doesn't give up. He doesn't lay down and have a pity party. He just keeps trying. I don't think there's such a thing as doggy suicide.

My husband also has dogged determination. He has suffered a severe back injury and has been deemed disabled. He doesn't give in though. If there is anything that needs to be done, he'll do it. He may pay for it later in pain, but that doesn't stop him. He'll mow the lawn, so I made it smaller. He helps around the house. I just let him do what he can and don't freak out if the house isn't super clean. He helps in the garden too, but I try to keep him from overtaxing himself. He sleeps a lot more, but I think it's how his body deals with the pain.

I recently lost my job, but I hope I show some dogged determination of my own and just press forward. I'll learn some lessons from my dogs and husband and just keep placing one foot in front of the other until I'm working again. That's dogged determination!

My Friend JoAnn

JoAnn

I just spent 3 and a half hours on the phone with my friend JoAnn. What's really sad is that we haven't talked to each other in 3 years. We've both been too busy with work and every day living.

I called JoAnn this morning because I'm planning a trip to visit my daughter in Washington and JoAnn lives in northern Oregon so I figured I could see her too. We had the best talk on the phone. Maybe the fact that she lost her job in March (which I didn't know until I called) and I lost my job yesterday had something to do with it. Maybe since we both have more time on our hands we gave ourselves permission to take time to talk. I don't think most of us realize that the curse of e-mails, text messaging and social networking is that we don't really talk anymore. We tend to forward someone else's cutesy joke or just post a quick comment on someones "wall", but we don't really communicate.

JoAnn and I met when my son was 2 years old. I was a single mom going back to college and she was taking the same entomology class I was in. We hit it off from the start and have been friends ever since. We both enjoy gardening, herbs, chickens, rabbits, doves, preserving food, sewing, etc. We've been through a lot. We've raised our children. She has grandchildren and I have great-nieces and nephews. We've had marriage difficulties and health problems. We've lost parents to cancer. Through thick and thin we've been friends. My son turns 31 tomorrow.

Now JoAnn has lots of friends. She's just that type of person. But me, I'm more secluded. I have very few friends. So if I value this friendship so much, why have I neglected it. True, JoAnn lives a lot further away than she used to, but that's no excuse. Today as we spoke on the phone, we clicked again. There was no awkwardness (except when she answered the phone and didn't know who I was). We just started talking like we spoke to each other every day. Right before we hung up she said thanks for the call, it was like an early Mother's Day gift. Wow, that made my day. Friendship is precious and we shouldn't waste it.