NIA's new video

This new video is on Youtube.  Very good video, Please watch it!  It is so much better to be prepared even if everyone thinks you're crazy.  They thought Noah was crazy too...

Hope you all had a very Wonderful Thanksgiving!

Denise

NIA's New Video Goes Viral






On Wednesday, November 24th, the National Inflation Association released a shocking and stunning video entitled, 'The Day the Dollar Died', which shows the world exactly what could happen to the U.S. economy in the very near future during the first 12 hours of a U.S. dollar collapse. Although the video itself is fictional, NIA believes a U.S. dollar collapse is inevitable and there is a strong likelihood that the U.S. will experience an outbreak of hyperinflation this decade. 'The Day the Dollar Died' is a wake up call for Americans who aren't yet stocking up on gold, silver and food supplies. The U.S. dollar's day of reckoning is coming and only Americans who prepare now will survive.



In just 42 hours since its release, 'The Day the Dollar Died' has already been viewed over 145,000 times on YouTube. It is currently YouTube's #1 top favorited news and politics video. Approximately 1,200 people have commented about the video on YouTube alone, with thousands of more comments having been made about the video on hundreds of Internet blogs that have featured it. An amazing 93.5% of those who have watched 'The Day the Dollar Died' have given it a thumbs up.



All of the discussion about 'The Day the Dollar Died' comes hot on the heels of NIA's October 31st release of its latest critically acclaimed full length documentary 'End of Liberty', which shows how Americans are rapidly losing their liberties and freedoms, and how our country is headed for a complete societal collapse. 'End of Liberty' has already received about 1/2 million views in less than one month.



On November 5th, NIA released a report with its projections for future U.S. food prices based on the recently announced $600 billion in quantitative easing by the Federal Reserve. Several days later, NIA's food inflation report was featured live on Fox News by Glenn Beck, who was recently ranked by Newsweek as the #2 most influential political figure in the country. On November 12th, NIA's President Gerard Adams was a guest on the Fox Business Network, where he spoke about the potential for food inflation to take over as America's biggest crisis in 2011.



NIA is not a political organization and does not support Republicans or Democrats. NIA exists solely for the purpose of educating Americans to the truth about the U.S. economy and inflation. Americans live in a country where 99% of those who studied economics in college were taught voodoo Keynesian economics.



Keynesian economists have the mistaken belief that all recessions are bad and must be suppressed by government interference in the free market. They believe that by the Federal Reserve manipulating interest rates to artificially low levels and printing trillions of dollars of fiat money out of thin air, they can create jobs, economic growth, and wealth. They believe that a little bit of inflation is good for an economy.



Keynesian economists fail to realize that when price inflation breaks out, it becomes impossible to contain unless interest rates are immediately raised to a level that is higher than the real rate of price inflation. Unfortunately, due to the current size and scope of our national debt and unfunded liabilities, NIA believes it will be impossible for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates higher than the real rate of inflation. Real interest rates are likely to stay negative until the U.S. dollar collapses and is officially declared dead and worthless.



Gas and grocery bills for all Americans have been rising substantially in recent months. The average American has been seeing health insurance costs spiral out of control on an annual basis. Students have been suffering from college tuitions rising like there is no tomorrow. Massive price inflation is all around us, yet the mainstream media continues to ignore the truth and reports the government's phony CPI numbers as gospel.



Politicians in Washington from both sides of the aisle have been colluding with the media in order to brainwash Americans into believing inflation is not a problem and that their real fear should be deflation. Deflation is a good thing for middle class Americans because it means their money is worth more and their incomes and savings have more purchasing power. Inflation is only good for the politicians because it allows them to steal the wealth of middle class Americans and redistribute it to their banker friends on Wall Street who don't produce anything of real value.



There is no reason for a lawyer or banker to make more money than a farmer or factory worker. This is only made possible by the system we have today, where Americans get suckered into electing representatives who promise entitlements that the government can't afford without printing the money to pay for them. When the dollar bubble bursts and the system collapses, the free market will allow farmers and goods producers to become wealthy while lawyers and bankers go broke.



Most Americans are naive enough to believe that because the U.S. has survived for so long with such a huge national debt and continuous budget deficits, the country will be able to continue down this path forever without any consequences because after all, this is America we are talking about. The truth is, our national debt has grown by 70.7% over the past five years, compared to 41.8% during the previous five years, and 14.3% during the five years before that. Meanwhile, our GDP has grown by 17.9% over the past five years, compared to 27.5% during the previous five years, and 32.9% during the five years before that. We have gone from our GDP growing more than twice as fast as our debt, to our debt growing at nearly quadruple the speed of our GDP. A train wreck is getting ready to happen and this train wreck is literally unstoppable.



To watch 'The Day the Dollar Died' for free please visit the NIA video page at: http://inflation.us/videos.html



It is important to spread the word about NIA to as many people as possible, as quickly as possible, if you want America to survive hyperinflation. Please tell everybody you know to become members of NIA for free immediately at: http://inflation.us

Raining on my parade...

Yes it's raining again.  It rained yesterday and it's supposed to rain tomorrow.  This is good...just wish it was a warm rain.  I got chilled yesterday when I went out to feed the chickens and couldnt get warmed up all day.  DH put a tarp up for them yesterday and after the rain slowed down I went out to get most of the pooled water off of it.  When all that rain sluiced off of the tarp it started a little stream down the middle of the chicken run.  It was so funny cause the ladies just looked at it as it was running towards them.  I told them you need to back up a little bit here it comes and they did but not fast enough lol.  They dont seem to mind the wet but we hate to see them getting cold and wet.  So afraid that they would catch cold.  Do chickens catch cold?  I suppose they do though I cant imagine them sneezing.  Wait...that's a cool picture in my head...sneezing chickens. Just the picture not the actuality of it.  I dont want to lose any of my girls to a cold or anything else for that matter.  Funny how you get attached to animals. 

I hung out clothes on Saturday and Mollie our oldest cat decided he wanted to go out with me.  We used to have the cats out all the time but decided to have them inside so we wouldnt have to worry about a car hitting them, etc.  Since we have the backyard now fenced and Mollie isnt the younin he used to be (he's 20) I thought why not let him out to enjoy the weather while he can.  He really loved going out and ended up laying on the warm cement for about a half hour by himself.  Today he decided to go out with DH when he went out to drain the tarp and when I saw him he was back inside looking all sparkly (raindrops)  He didnt stay out too long but wanted to be "helping" DH.  The ladies arent too sure of him but he's a pussycat (pun, couldnt resist) and wouldnt hurt them.  He doesnt have too many teeth left.  I guess he could gum them if he actually could move that fast.  Poor old thing has arthritis.

PS:  The reason he's called Mollie is because his full name is Molasses.  It's just easier to call him Mollie.

I really wanted to hang clothes out today too but no go because of the rain.  Guess I'll have to wait until Wednesday. 

I have been using up the beans I pressured canned.  Wow, they're great.  Just like canned from the store only I know what's in my canned beans.  If you ever have a chance to pressure beans, do it.  It saves so much time in the long run.  I made chili with them the other day and had just enough left over for my lunch the next day it was so good. 

Our tomatoes out in the greenhouse got nipped (frosted) a little bit last week.  DH put a heater out there but it has a shut off feature so if it isnt sitting on a hard surface it isnt going to run.  I didnt check it.  I thought he knew about this because I did tell him when we first got it.  It does have a light that lights up on it when it is sitting right...two nights of frosts later...he says I wonder why the tomatoes look so bad on the very top of the plants?  He had the heater sitting on an upside down plastic bucket.  Needless to say when he moved it to a flat wooden box it worked and we havent had any trouble with the low temps.  I need to plant my potatoes in the greenhouse.  The garlic and walking onions that I planted last month have come up in the regular garden.  They need to be mulched and this coming spring we'll have some fresh garlic, potatoes and onions.  Cant wait.

A month ago I had an infection in my adrenal gland behind my ear.  I thought I had the mumps.  So glad it wasnt the mumps.  Doc put me on antibiotics.  It hurt when I ate...every mouthful...  It finally cleared up and I am back to eating hard stuff like meat, toast, etc.  Hard to believe how much something like that hurts.  Of course I have never heard of anyone getting an infection in their adrenal gland before (only me, right :))  Doc said the antibiotics should clear it up but if it didnt I might have a stone in there and he would have to refer me to a surgeon.  A stone?  That was a new one on me.  PTL it cleared up and I'm OK now.  If it ever happens again I'll know what it is at least. 

Right now I'm reading Broke by Glenn Beck.  It's a pretty good read.  I thought it might be kind of boring since it's about finances (and I really dont like math) but it goes through our country's history.  I'm about half way through and will let you know if the rest of the book is as good as the first part.  I got it on my Kindle and paid the most I have paid for a digital book $15.  I love my Kindle...

DH decided to put down the laminate flooring we got back in July.  He started in his exercise room.  It looks really good and a lot more expensive that it actually was.  Of course he needed to get a few more tools to finish the job so today he went and got them.  Should make the job go much faster.  He wants to do my craft/computer room next.   I think he is crazy.  So now I'll have to take off a few days to move everything out of the room, pull up the carpet so we can lay the new floor.  Don't know when I can do this.  Work is pretty busy lately but he wants to get it all finished (including the living room) by Thanksgiving...like I said he's crazy lol.

Well all for now,

Denise

Hug a soldier today!

Let him know how much you appreciate his service to defend this country.  To all the veterans out there, THANK YOU!

I also would like to thank my relatives who served those who are still with us and those that have passed on.  Love you guys and gals!

I'm flying my flag today.  Hope you will too.


Talk to ya later!

Denise

Can't believe she actually stood up to them...

Sarah Palin Food Inflation Controversy




Sarah Palin on Monday made a speech at a trade-association convention in Phoenix urging Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to “cease and desist” his “pump priming”. Palin said the United States, “shouldn’t be playing around with inflation.” She went on to say, "All this pump priming will come at a serious price. And I mean that literally: everyone who ever goes out shopping for groceries knows that prices have risen significantly over the past year or so. Pump priming would push them even higher."



After obtaining a copy of her speech, the Wall Street Journal's Sudeep Reddy wrote an article criticizing Palin's comments about food inflation, saying that, "Grocery prices haven’t risen all that significantly, in fact. The consumer price index’s measure of food and beverages for the first nine months of this year showed average annual inflation of less than 0.6%, the slowest pace on record." NIA finds it unfortunate that Reddy has been brainwashed into believing the government's phony consumer price index (CPI) numbers.



The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)'s CPI is not a reliable indicator of U.S. food inflation or any type of price inflation. NIA estimates the real rate of annual food inflation in the U.S. to already be 5% and projects that this rate will rise above 10% in early 2011. NIA believes the BLS has been using both geometric weighting and hedonics to artificially manipulate the CPI downward. The U.S. government has a strong motivation to keep CPI increases as low as possible because since the year 1975, retired Americans receive annual Social Security payment increases that are tied to the CPI. NIA calculates that based on the way the BLS's CPI has understated the real rate of price inflation, Americans on Social Security should be receiving payments that are more than double what they receive today. Unfortunately, the government just announced last month that Americans on Social Security will receive no payment increase in 2011, despite the fact that food inflation will likely become the biggest crisis of the year, much larger than the mortgage crisis we have today.



When calculating food inflation, the government uses deceptive geometric weighting, which gives a lower weighting to goods that are rising in price and a higher weighting to goods that are falling in price. If the price of steak is rising while the price of hamburgers is falling, the CPI will give a lower weighting to steak and a higher weighting to hamburgers. The government justifies this by saying that expensive steak prices mean Americans are more likely to eat hamburgers. Therefore, the CPI no longer accounts for the price to maintain the same standard of living. The CPI is now calculated based on the realization that America's standard of living has been in decline and the expectation that it will continue to decline in the future.



Americans subconsciously realize that it is becoming a lot harder for them to make ends meet and put food on the table, but they don't realize that inflation is the cause of it. All Americans have heard stories from older relatives about how Hershey bars 45 years ago cost only 5 cents. Americans are aware that the U.S. has already experienced massive price inflation, but they don't look at inflation as a problem because these food price increases occurred over a very long period of time. NIA estimates that at a very minimum, the same U.S. price inflation that occurred over the past 100 years, will occur again over the next 10 years as the Federal Reserve's money printing causes the world to lose confidence in the U.S. dollar.



There is a misconception in America that wages have risen at the same rate as price inflation, when this is simply not the case. The median household income in the U.S. was $11,800 in 1975 and today is $49,777. If you go by the government's CPI, $11,800 in 1975 dollars equals $47,208 in today's dollars. If the government's CPI is to be believed, Americans are earning higher real incomes today than 35 years ago. However, the truth is, once you discount the effects of geometric weighting and hedonics, the median household income in 1975 of $11,800 actually equals $154,000 in today's dollars. This explains how in 1975, a father was able to support a family on just one income and college students were able to afford their own tuition with just a part-time summer job. Today, both parents need to work and families need to get deeply into debt just to survive.



The U.S. government is currently printing money just to survive. The Federal Reserve has held the Fed Funds Rate at 0-0.25% for nearly two years and just announced that it will be printing an additional $600 billion in new U.S. dollars by the end of June 2011. Since the beginning of September until now, just in anticipation of the Fed's upcoming quantitative easing, we have experienced the largest ever short-term increase in the history of agricultural commodity prices with corn rising by 32%, soybeans rising by 32%, orange juice rising by 12%, coffee rising by 19%, and sugar rising by 66%. These agricultural commodity price increases will begin to work their way into grocery stores nationwide in the weeks and months ahead, as food manufacturers and retailers are forced to raise their prices.



Food manufacturers and retailers who don't immediately raise prices and pass their rising costs on to U.S. consumers will likely go out of business. Sara Lee just announced yesterday that their first quarter profit fell 32% as price increases it enacted during the quarter were not enough to cover steep increases for agricultural commodities. Dean Foods saw their stock decline 18% yesterday to a new 52-week low due to escalating costs for butterfat, a key ingredient in its creamers and ice creams. Dean Foods' butterfat costs were up 70% over the same 2009 period.



The U.S. has no way of paying off its $13.7 trillion national debt and $80 trillion plus in unfunded liabilities without printing the money and creating massive price inflation. China’s Dagong Global Credit Rating Co. lowered its credit rating for the U.S. to A+ from AA on Tuesday with an outlook of "negative", saying the Fed’s plan to buy government debt will erode the value of the dollar and “entirely encroaches” on the interests of creditors. The Fed, by buying U.S. treasuries, is effectively monetizing the debt. In fact, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard W. Fisher admitted yesterday that the Fed is monetizing the debt, saying in a statement, "For the next eight months, the nation’s central bank will be monetizing the federal debt."



Bernanke testified under oath on June 3rd, 2009 in front of Congress saying, "The Federal Reserve will not monetize the debt." This was a lie and perjury. With baseball great Roger Clemens being indicted for lying to Congress under oath about a personal matter that is trivial compared to this, Bernanke should also be charged with similar crimes.



Although NIA believes Palin made a major mistake by supporting the government's $700 billion 'Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008', we give her credit for helping expose to the mainstream public that a massive inflationary crisis is ahead due to Bernanke's destructive monetary policies. On December 16th, 2009, the same day Time Magazine named Bernanke 'Person of the Year', NIA named Bernanke 'Villain of the Year' and said in an article that day, "When it costs $20 for a gallon of milk in a few years, Americans will have nobody to thank more than Bernanke."



The average American family currently spends 13% of their total annual expenditures on food compared to 34% on housing. As the Federal Reserve monetizes our debt and creates massive price inflation, these two numbers will reverse. For every 1% rise in consumer wages, NIA expects to see about a 4% rise in food prices. There are currently 42.4 million Americans on food stamps, up 17% from one year ago. The government does not have the resources to make these entitlement payments without printing the money and creating massive food price inflation. Ironically, food stamps are actually making those who receive them, need them even more.



If the U.S. government is somehow able to make it to the 2012 election without going bust due to a worthless U.S. dollar, by then it is likely that the average middle-class American will be dependent on the government to survive. Obama's strategy to get re-elected is to make as many Americans as possible dependent on him and scared to elect a true Libertarian candidate like Ron Paul, who will dramatically reduce government spending in an attempt to prevent hyperinflation. We must all work together to spread the word about NIA and educate as many Americans as possible to the truth about the U.S. economy and inflation.



It is important to spread the word about NIA to as many people as possible, as quickly as possible, if you want America to survive hyperinflation. Please tell everybody you know to become members of NIA for free immediately at: http://inflation.us


It amazes me that they (the government and media) think we are sooooo stupid.  The prices are going to go through the roof and where will we be 10 years from now, even 5 years from now, heck even next year?   We keep working and working and more people are losing their jobs and the rest of us working stiffs are paying more and more taxes so that we can support the people who are losing their jobs and getting unemployment and food stamps...what happens when we all lose our jobs?  Where will the government get the money to pay for all of this?  Oh that's right when we all lose our jobs the government will just "borrow" from other governments and when the other governments want their money, what then?  Will we still be the United States of America?  Or will some other country own us?  Think it cant happen to us?  We owe money out the yazoo to other countries and they are getting fed up with us. Look at what happened when China came out about the US dollar just a few days ago.  What happened?  The dollar fell.  Guess what folks it wont be long before we are paying more to eat than to pay our mortgage or rent.  Nice that our leader decided to spend sooo much money to go to India.  Nice vacation for him dont you think?  Took the wife and who knows how many secret service people to protect them...just when people are losing their jobs...so nice of him to care so much about us.  Nothing like pandering to a country where all our jobs are going...no offense to any of my readers from there.  I'm just kind of ticked off that all our jobs are being outsourced when there are plenty of people here looking for jobs.  Of course there are those who really dont want to work but that's another story...

Off my soapbox for now.  Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Talk to ya later,

Denise

Stats

Wow if you have never checked out the stats section of your blog you really should.  All I can say is wow!  There are people reading my blog from around the world!  So nice to meet all of you!  Thanks for stopping by.  Today alone I had 21 visits from people from the Ukraine.  The Ukraine!  I'm speechless and in total awe of technology today.  Welcome all my potential friends, Welcome!

Talk to ya later!

Denise

Dot

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD7eagLl5c4&feature=player_embedded

Amazing!  I cant imagine how long this must have taken to set up...

Prepare for the worst

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=po6HhQ1ZRxE&feature=player_embedded

It is better to be prepared...

NIA email I received today...

Please read this and start stockpiling your staples cause its coming folks, its coming...

NIA Projects Future U.S. Food Price Increases

The National Inflation Association today announced the release of its report about NIA's projections of future U.S. food price increases due to the massive monetary inflation being created by the Federal Reserve's $600 billion quantitative easing. This report was written by NIA's President Gerard Adams, who believes food inflation will take over in 2011 as America's greatest crisis. According to Mr. Adams, making mortgage payments will soon be the last thing on the minds of all Americans. We currently have a currency crisis that could soon turn into hyperinflation and a complete societal collapse.

"For every economic problem the U.S. government tries to solve, it always creates two or three much larger catastrophes in the process," said Adams. "Just like we predicted this past December, the U.S. dollar index bounced in early 2010 and has been in free-fall ever since. Bernanke's QE2 will likely accelerate this free-fall into a complete U.S. dollar rout," warned Adams.

NIA projects that at the average U.S. grocery store it will soon cost $11.43 for one ear of corn, $23.05 for a 24 oz loaf of wheat bread, $62.21 for a 32 oz package of Domino Granulated Sugar, $24.31 for a 32 fl oz container of soy milk, $77.71 for a 11.30 oz container of Folgers Classic Roast Coffee, $45.71 for a 64 fl oz container of Minute Maid Orange Juice, and $15.50 for a Hershey's Milk Chocolate 1.55 oz candy bar. NIA also projects that by the end of this decade, a plain white men's cotton t-shirt at Wal-Mart will cost $55.57.

NIA's special U.S. food price projection report is now available to download for free at: http://inflation.us/foodpriceprojections.pdf

The report highlights how despite cotton rising by 54%, corn rising by 29%, soybeans rising by 22%, orange juice rising by 17%, and sugar rising by 51% during the months of September and October alone, these huge commodity price increases have yet to make their way into America's grocery stores because corporations have been reluctant to pass these price increases along to the consumer. In today's dismal economy, no retailer wants to be the first to dramatically raise food prices. However, NIA expects all retailers to soon substantially raise food prices at the same time, which will ensure that this Holiday shopping season will be the worst in recorded American history.

If you are an NIA member and have a question about the U.S. economy or inflation, please browse through our ‘NIAnswers’ database and if your question hasn’t already been answered there, you can either submit it on ‘NIAnswers’ or email it to us at: editor@inflation.us

If you are a member of the media and would like to schedule an interview with NIA’s President Gerard Adams about inflation, please send an email to media@inflation.us or if it is urgent you can call us directly at 1-888-99-NIA US (1-888-996-4287).

== They have been right about a lot of stuff so far and its never a bad thing to be prepared for the worst.

Talk to ya later!

Denise

Beautiful week

It's been beautiful here all week.  We're supposed to be getting some rain on Sunday/Monday.  We really need it.  I didnt bake bread the other day.  I baked muffins!  With sourdough!  And they tasted great!  I know, I know stop with the exclamation marks...lol.  Anyway if you are interested in making some sign up for the sourdough lessons - the button is to your right.  The add-ins I used the first time were golden raisins and blueberries.  The second time I made them (I think I need an intervention) I put in some dark chocolate chips and nuts....mmmm good.  Today I am making some bread though.  I think I have figured out how not to have it so sour.  We'll see how this batch turns out.  I need to grind some flour first.  I wont even mention the fact that I dropped DH's glass top to his oatmeal jar on the floor when I was trying to make the second batch of muffins.  It shattered into a million pieces...luckily all the cats were sleeping and the broom was real close cause I was in my stocking feet...

DH did clean out the chicken run and got all the cobs and dried up watermelon skins off the ground.  It looks much better.  Today I planted some collards (never tried growing them before) and started some cabbage as well.  I repotted the basil as it has grown too big and looked kinda sad.  It was in this growing mix and I dont think it is real dirt so hopefully they will like their new pots and grow big enough for us to have some fresh and dried this winter. 

DH had off yesterday and I took off the day from typing as well.  We went to Garden Cove (a local whole foods grocery) and got some good stuff!  We even picked up some fresh cilantro and fresh dill to dry in my dehydrator.  He even helped fill a couple of the trays for me...such a nice hubby :)  I even had some thyme I had growing outside.  I cut it back the other day so put that in the dehydrator as well.  I had dried some basil and some stevia in it before and the dehydrator does do the job.  Love the fact that I wont have to buy most of my herbs from the store anymore.  I'll be checking the dryness today and if they are dry enough will be putting them in some jars to store. 

The chickens are still laying and havent started to molt yet. 

My sewing machine is giving me fits.  The bobbin is catching up all the thread for some reason.  Will have to get my book out and see how to troubleshoot it...ripping out five or six times really sucks...:(

I ordered another kombucha from Ebay of all places.  I hope that this time I will be able to actually make it.  The last two times the mother died on me ...well actually it was dehydrated so it just didnt come back to life so I guess I didnt kill it.  I got some organic green tea at the store just in case it was the tea I was using that was not good.  I need to bottle up some of the kefir I have done too today.  Busy, busy, busy.

Hope your day goes well today!

Denise

Pickles done...

I canned 6 pints of dill pickles this morning.  I have never done dills before just sweet.  Tasted the brine and they are definitely going to be dilly...yum.  DH is off today and is going to clean out the chicken run.  The corn cobs and left over veggie skins have to go.  I'm going to try baking some more sourdough bread today.  Wish me luck!

Talk to ya later!

Denise

How to bathe a cat...

Some people have the misconception that cats never have to be bathed. That somehow they "lick" themselves clean. Well contrary to this popular belief, cats do NOT have some enzyme in their saliva that resembles Tide (with or without bleach).




Cats, like their nemesis, the dog, do get dirty and have a variety of odors, from smelling like the outhouse where you camped last year to the same odor as your dog's breath. (Remember, your dog will try to eat anything.) Now we all know that cats HATE water. And we know that giving the cat a sedative to ease this process of a bath is out of the question.



So, the best approach is both sneaky and direct. Remember now, this is not the dumb dog who can be led to tub with lies and a trail of Kibbles and Bits.



Although your cat has the advantage of smarts, quickness and total lack of concern for you, you have the advantage of size, strength, and the ability to wear protective garments.





First, dress for the occasion. A 4-ply rubber wet suit is suggested, along with a helmet, face mask and welders gloves.

A Bathtub with a glass enclosure is preferred to the one with a shower curtain. A frenzied cat can shred one of these in about 3.5 seconds.

Have the Kitty Bubbles and towel in the enclosed bathtub area before hand. No, blow drying the cat after the bath is not suggested.

Draw the water, making it a little warmer than needed as you still need to find the cat. Position everything strategically in the shower, so you can reach it even if you are face down or prone in the tub.

Find your cat. Use the element of surprise. Pick the cat up, nonchalantly as if you were simply carrying him/her to the supper dish. No need to worry about the cat noticing your strange attire, the cat barely notices you anyway.

Once you and the cat are inside the bathroom, speed is essential. In one single liquid motion, shut the door to the bathroom, step into the shower, close the sliding doors, and drop the cat into the water. While the cat is still in a state of shock, locate the Kitty Bubbles and squirt whatever part of him is above the water line. You have just begun the wildest 45 seconds of your life. Remember that cats have no handles and add the fact that he now has soapy fur. His state of shock has worn off and he's madder than a wet hornet.

As best, you can, wearing welder's gloves, try to field his body as he catapults through the air toward the ceiling. If possible, give another squirt of Kitty Bubbles with his body now fully exposed.

During the 5 seconds you are able to hold onto him, rub vigorously. No need to worry about rinsing. As he slide down the glass enclosure into the tub, he will fall back into the water, rinsing himself in the process.

Only attempt the lather and rinse process about 3 times. The cat will realize the lack of traction on the glass by then and will use the next attempt on the first available part of you.

Next, the cat must be dried. No, this is NOT the easiest part. By this stage, you are worn out and the cat has just become semi-permanently affixed to your right leg. We suggest here that you drain the tub and in full view of your cat. reach for the bottle of Kitty Bubbles.

If you have done step 10 correctly, the cat will be off your leg and hanging precariously from your helmet. Although this view of the cat is most disgusting, he will be in a much better position for wrapping the towel around him.

Be sure cat is firmly wrapped in towel before opening tub enclosure. Open bathroom door, put towel wrapped cat on floor and step back quickly, into tub, if possible, Do not open enclosure until all you can see is the shredded towel.

In about 2 hours it will be safe to exit the bathroom. Your cat will be sitting out there somewhere looking like a small hedgehog while plotting revenge.


----Actually it is much more fun just having a shower curtain...:)  Cat hate after a bath doesnt last long either.  Hunger always wins out...lol.

Talk to ya later!

Denise

Chicken and some flower pics

My butterfly bush decided to bloom some more this fall.

See you can see the dead blooms from this summer in the background. 

Several of the girls...

I dont think they really like their pics being taken.  I wonder if the cant see after the flash?  :)

Remember the little frog on my door screen several months ago?  Well DH found him out in of all things the paint tray which was filled with painty water.  He seemed Ok.  Dont think that paint water was so good for him so....

We made him another place to go.  He left though.  Must not like clean water.

Giving me the chicken eye...

Not much grass on this side.

We're going to be making a movable chicken run for them.  DH wants to try plastic pipe to make it easier to move.  Anyone had any experience making one out of plastic pipe?

Talk to ya later!

Denise

Lincoln County Tennessee Fair

We went to the fair in September, cant say we were too impressed though...It was kind of disappointing.  I really thought they would have more animals than we saw.  The day we went they only had chickens (3 different breeds and only about 40 of them), pigs (only 2 different breeds) and some miniature donkeys and ponies.  Oh and they had some horses but we didnt go to the other side of the fair for that.  No cows, goats, etc.  And when we went into the little buildings they had for the 4Her's contests and the produce I was shocked because there were no quilts!  No knitting either...  But boy did those young 4Her's really have alot of things in there.  They were so crowded together that you could hardly see anything.  I really have to say that the judges really had their work cut out for them on giving out the ribbons.   Here are a few pics.  This is cotton.  See the boles.  If you have never seen cotton growing it is really pretty.  It first gets these little pink flowers on them (the white cotton does anyway) and then as they get bigger the flowers turn white.  Then the boles are formed from the flowers.  It grows as a bush with the lower most branches getting the boles opening first.  The boles open up and there's the cotton.  Pretty amazing plant actually.  When a whole field is covered with the opened boles it looks like snow.  That's the nice thing about cotton.  Now the bad thing about cotton at least near where I live is that they spray it with all these chemicals to keep the weeds down as it is growing and to kill the bole weevils.  Then when the boles have opened early in the fall they spray a defoliant on it.  To make matters worse when we bought our home in this subdivision being from the north we had no idea that a cotton gin was sooooo stinky.  During the last part of September and through November outside of our house smells like a cross between something dead and dog poop.  Needless to say I cant hang up any clothes to dry and sitting outside during this time is not something I really want to do. 

More pics of the fair.  See all the brown eggs?  Hubby said our eggs were much nicer looking.

This was sooo cute I couldnt resist taking a pic.  It is a frog made out of a gourd.

Honey exhibit.  See the frames.  Those are filled with honey combs. 

They also had food items, cakes, pies and canned goods.  I really wanted quilts and needlework though...:(

More to come!

Denise

Finished knitted items...

My new cardigan I completed.  Loved the yarn.  It is RY Luxury Cotton DK 50% cotton, 45% viscose and 5% silk #263 which is a beigey brown.  So soft and I loved the pattern as well.  It has decreases along the front cable to define the waist.  I used two different sized buttons because when I went to the dreaded Wal-Mart I picked up three cards with one being smaller than the other two so decided to see if I had any buttons in my stash that would work better for the smaller ones and I did!  They are clear glass and are a little bit bigger than the others but they work and I like it so that's all that matters ;)  Oh and the pattern came from an old Creative Knitting Mag.

This is a tank top.  I had some yarn (Cascade Yarns Rio 75.9% cotton, 24.1% viscose in color #244) and couldnt find a decent pattern so I just made the pattern up.  I have the pattern written down and will put it up on the blog here in a few weeks after I write it out from my short hand...lol.  The yarn was a worsted weight and much prettier in person.

A little lacy vest done in Jo Sharp's Alpaca Silk Georgette 40% Alpaca, 40% Merino and 20% Silk in #755 Musk.  Now this pattern was a little strange as the lace pattern is not only on the front but on the back as well.  The pattern is from Nashua Handknits Seashore Spring and Summer 2007 book.   All the yarn above came from the WEBS yarn site. 

Here is a pic of my new basket I ordered from Southern Plate.  It is commemorating their 2nd anniversary and has dividers in it for your silverwareand plates in the back.  It's an American Traditions hard maple basket made in Ohio and they use vegetable dyes.  They are really well made and were a lot cheaper than Longerberger baskets which if you have any of those you know what I am talking about.

Will post more later!

Denise

Two Really Good Programs

on CNBC that we watched:  Trash Inc: The Secret Life of Garbage and Liquid Assets: The Big Business of Water.  If you get a chance try to catch these programs when they repeat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfH46DTAkxo

Here we go...

Groundbreaking study shows Roundup link to birth defects




International scientists confirm dangers of Roundup at GMO-Free Regions Conference in Brussels



Brussels 16 September 2010



Glyphosate, the active ingredient in the world's best-selling weedkiller Roundup, causes malformations in frog and chicken embryos at doses far lower than those used in agricultural spraying and well below maximum residue levels in products presently approved in the European Union. This is reported in research (1) published by a group around Professor Andrés Carrasco, director of the Laboratory of Molecular Embryology at the University of Buenos Aires Medical School and member of Argentina's National Council of Scientific and Technical Research.



Carrasco was led to research the embryonic effects of glyphosate by reports of high rates of birth defects in rural areas of Argentina where Monsanto's genetically modified "Roundup Ready" (RR) soybeans are grown in large monocultures sprayed from airplanes regularly. RR soy is engineered to tolerate Roundup, allowing farmers to spray the herbicide liberally to kill weeds while the crop is growing.



At a press conference during the 6th European Conference of GMO Free Regions in the European Parliament in Brussels Carrasco said, "The findings in the lab are compatible with malformations observed in humans exposed to glyphosate during pregnancy." Reporting of such problems started in 2002, two years after large scale introduction of RR soybeans in Argentina. The experimental animals share similar developmental mechanisms with humans.



The authors concluded that the results raise "concerns about the clinical findings from human offspring in populations exposed to Roundup in agricultural fields." Carrasco added, "I suspect the toxicity classification of glyphosate is too low. In some cases this can be a powerful poison."



The maximum residue level (MRL) allowed for glyphosate in soy in the EU is 20 mg/kg. The level was increased 200-fold from 0.1 mg/kg to 20 mg/kg in 1997 after GM RR soy was commercialized in Europe. Carrasco found malformations in embryos injected with 2.03 mg/kg glyphosate. Soybeans can contain glyphosate residues of up to 17mg/kg.



In August 2010 Amnesty International reported that an organized mob violently attacked people who gathered to hear Carrasco talk about his research in the town of La Leonesa, Chaco province. Witnesses implicated local agro-industry figures in the attack.



Carrasco is also the co-author of a report, "GM Soy: Sustainable? Responsible?" released on September 16 by a group of international scientists. The report documents a bulk of evidence in scientific studies on the harmful health and environmental impacts of GM RR soy and Roundup.



The many people who have suffered from such spraying include Viviana Peralta, a housewife from San Jorge, Santa Fe, Argentina, who was hospitalized together with her baby after Roundup spraying from planes flying near her home. Peralta and other residents launched a lawsuit that resulted in a regional court ban on the spraying of Roundup and other agrochemicals near houses.

What next?

Talk to ya later!

Denise

Weird happenings...

DH went to work today and after his shift was over (he works at a grocery store) he stopped to talk to one of the girls who bags groceries and gets the carts out front.  They were talking and she said I guess you arent wearing your vest...puzzled DH and he said no I wear an apron.  Then she opened her orange safety vest and there she had on a bullet proof vest.  DH said he had to keep a straight face but cracked up later in the car.  He said she was a little strange anyway.  I guess her brother actually let her wear his vest to work.  Makes you wonder exactly how that conversation started...and she's 18 years old...makes me glad I work from home it really does.

Talk to ya later!

Denise

Nothin better...

Than taking a bath, going to bed with line dried sheets on the bed...aaahhh!

Kefir

I almost forgot to tell you about the kefir I started.  It worked!!! So happy it did.  I strained it yesterday and added some vanilla.  When DH came home from work we both tried a little bit.  It was good!  You have to start with a small amount.  It will clean all the toxins out of your body and you know what that means...lol.  I started another batch but will probably do a second fermentation on it to give us enough time to drink the gallon I just did.  With only two of us here it will take us a while to drink a whole gallon. 

I got my mixer today!  It's lovely.  Cant wait to use it.  DH is going to grind some wheat for me today and we are going to have a pizza with dough made with the mixer.  DH is off today and trying to paint the fence...notice I said trying.  He got a little sprayer and it was supposed to work but it doesnt seem to want to lay down the paint right (DH is not a very patient person and wants it to work right now) so of course he had to go to the store and get some rollers and a paint pan since the sprayer wasnt working for him.  This fence is costing us more and more...

On a more positive note, the weather is beautiful out and starting tomorrow I'm taking off a few days myself.  We are planning on going to the Lincoln County Fair in Tennessee.  Cant wait until tomorrow.  Well I better get back to work so I can get all this typing finished before midnight...just needed a break from it so what do I do but type on my blog...I'm a strange person...bruhahhaha.

Talk to ya later!

Denise

And It's a Home Run for the Sourdough!

The zucchini bread was wonderful!  It rose enough to make two really nice loaves.  DH liked it and so did I.  I modified the recipe.  Here it is:

Zucchini Bread

Preheat oven to 350.

3 eggs     2 cups sugar     2 teaspoons vanilla    2 cups shredded zucchini
2 cups flour        1 cup sourdough      1/2 teaspoon salt      2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
1 cup chopped nuts     1 cup raisins    8 oz crushed pineapple drained    1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Mix it all together and put into 2 4x8" greased loaf pans.  Bake for one hour.


And here's the lemon blueberry square recipe that I modified:

Lemon Blueberry Squares

Preheat oven to 350.

2 eggs     1 cup sugar     1 teaspoon lemon juice    1 cup sourdough    1 tablespoon lemon zest
3/4 cup blueberries     1/4 teaspoon salt    1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Grease 8x8" pan.  Mix ingredients together.  Pour into pan and bake 25 minutes if using fresh blueberries or 35-40 minutes if using frozen blueberries.  Cool completely and dust with convectioner's sugar or just serve warm with milk on top.

*Tossing blueberries and raisins with a teaspoon of flour will lessen them from sinking to the bottom of the pan.

The crushed pineapple was a weird ingredient and I wasnt sure I would like it.  I'm not too crazy about pineapple but it tasted really good.  The pineapple makes it more moist and if you noticed there is no oil/butter in either recipe.

I won't be experimenting for a couple of days so everyone will have to wait for my next cooking excursion...I know you are sitting on the edge of your seat. lol.

Talk to ya later!

Denise

Sourdough experiments

Well I ordered my kombucha culture a while ago and when it didnt do anything I wrote to the company and told them what I did and how it didnt do anything.  They nicely emailed me back and said that they would be sending out a new kombucha that day and gave me some more suggestions on how to make it work.  When I opened the package not only was there the kombucha culture in there but they had also included a sourdough starter as well.  Score!  Just was looking into starting my own and there it was for FREE!  So I started the kombucha - it's still in my closet the warmest spot in my airconditioned house and still not doing anything but I have hope...  I started the sourdough and it's working!!!!! So cool to not to have to use yeast.  So I made two loaves of sourdough bread.  They rose nicely and looked good but when I opened the oven they were pretty flat.  Kinda disappointing but they tasted really good.  Froze one loaf and kept the other one out for eating with our eggs.  DH only had one complaint though...said it was a little sour...hmmm.  Told him to put some apple butter on it.  Sad face turned into a happy face!  Ohh it tastes good with this on it.  Of course the wife is always right about sweet things... lol.  So I told him if he ground some more wheat for me I would make some more bread and pour off the hooch...strange name for the watery stuff that rises to the top of the starter.

Friday I was in the mood to experiment a little bit more with my sourdough so I made lemon blueberry squares.   Kinda flat again but tasted really good like a blueberry buckle sorta.  DH liked those.  And yes I poured off the hooch before making them.

Today I decided to try to make zucchini bread with the sourdough.  It's in the oven right now.  Smells really good.  Afraid to look though....it's probably flat.  Anyone know how to get it to raise more?  My sourdough has lots and lots of bubbles...Any help would be appreciated!

Talk to ya later!

Denise

Weirdness

Yep got some Chinese food tonight and opened my fortune cookie...one side was in English and the other...was in SPANISH!  Please explain this to me.  You would have thought it would have been in Chinese.  Your local Chinese restaurant is now politically correct...I guess.

Update on Speghetti sauce

Well I put water on the stain immediately and it all washed out except for one little pencil eraser sized spot right in front.  Think I'll sew a button on it...lol.

Pretty proud about my chicks laying over 200 eggs last month.  We average about 7 eggs a day.  Dont know whether that means someone is not holding up their end of the bargain or not.  It doesnt matter though cause we are going to keep them until they die of old age anyway. 

It warmed up yesterday and hit 90 again and it is shaping up to be even warmer today.  Wash is hanging on the line and the dishwasher is running.  Clean sheets are on the bed.  Good day today!  Going to make a chicken casserole tonight for supper.  I took some pics today of the things I have finished knitting and will be posting them later. 

Hope everyone has a very nice day today!

I hepped up on vitamin D from being out in the sun and all the fresh air, can you tell?

Talk to ya later!

Denise

I hate speghetti sauce...

well not really but maybe I shouldnt have been making sauce today cause the blender started to leak at the bottom.  I grabbed the blender container, saw that the bottom was leaking, ran to a bowl I had sitting on the counter and yes stupidly very stupidly unscrewed the bottom of it....sauce exploded into the bowl but didnt miss me.  It came to visit a while on the popover I was wearing...lovely just fantastic.  I threw it into the washer and am keeping my fingers crossed that the stains will not be there.  Hadnt worn that popover since the spring too.

But the sauce tastes good

Talk to ya later!

Denise

Rained again today!

Another couple of storms went through again today.  Yesterday we had a total of 4 inches.  There was flooding in the northeastern part of the state so bad the state police blocked off roads and several families were evacuated from their homes.  We did some adjusting to the chicken coop yesterday between the raindrops.  DH cleaned the coop while I was making supper and I helped him (ran and got tools for him as he was in the coop).  We moved the fan from in front of the door to back by the window and moved the feeder from there to in front of the door.  It seems to be working pretty good so far.  This way when it rains and we close the door the food wont get wet.

For supper we had klushki (sorry not sure how to spell that).  I changed it up a bit.  Usually you just cook wide egg noodles, cook up some sausages or hotdogs, slice them up and then cook down some shredded cabbage in butter.  I cooked the cabbage in some bacon grease and added some frozen peas that I had leftover from the night before.  Threw it in the oven in my cast iron enameled pot with the lid on at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.  I really liked it with the peas in it.  They added some color.  Cant have enough green stuff you know. 

I have been trying to cook down my quartered pie pumpkins.  Who knew that it would take so long...but it smells good in the kitchen lol.

Talk to ya later!

Denise

We have rain...

Yesterday DH decided to wash some of his work clothes and hang them out on the line.  Then it started to rain and then we lost our electricity for about an hour and a half.  He was going to run out and get them but I said no just let them out there they are soaked and they might dry before dark.  Hmmm. Guess what?  They did dry a little cause they werent dripping when I brought some of them in so he had something to wear to work today but they took a full 45 minutes in the dryer.  So much for saving money.  Anyway we left the rest of the clothes out on the line overnight thinking that they would be dry by about noon and you guessed it...it's now pouring out.  Rain water softens everything right?  These clothes are going to be the softest ever!  Looks like I'll be bringing them in this evening and putting them in the dryer.  Cant complain to much about the rain though and it has definitely cooled down.  The chicks are very happy. 

Cant understand why DH was grumpy yesterday.  Kept mumbling something about grass cutting...

Canning

I canned a lot over the weekend.   I canned some peach preserves, peach pie filling, and some apple butter.  I still have some peaches which I plan on turning into spiced peach jam and some more apples left as well which I plan on making applesauce out of. 

Apple butter and peach preserves.  I'm using my new labeler to make labels for each jar.  It is great, wish I would have gotten it a long time ago.

Sideways pic of my new pressure canner.  Couldnt figure out how to turn it sorry!

The mess of pickles I made a while ago.

My lavender jelly made with MY lavender, I'm so proud of myself using my lavender and actually making jelly not sauce...Yeah Me!

Salsa - homemade - yum!

Dont know whether you can see him or not but this is a little itty bitty frog that was on our screen door one night.

There he is!

and there he is again!  He was only about an inch long.  Hope he made it through the hot weather cause I havent seen him since these pics.

And I think I'm all caught up now on my pics!  I will have to make some more of the things I have completed knitting.

Talk to ya later!

Denise

Jack Daniels distillery museum

Here we are going into the museum.  On the right is my DH and on the left is his friend Archie.  Archie visited us for a few days.  He is in the Navy and is stationed in Mississippi.

This is part of the display.  The bottles in the middle show different strengths of the whiskey and the big barrel is what they use to age the whiskey. 

Archie and his friend Jack lol...

This is the cave which has a natural spring which is used for the distillation process.  It was almost 100 degrees the day we went to see the museum and when we started up the little walk to the cave you could just feel the cold air coming off of the water.  Jack Daniels actually bought the surrounding acreage around this spring and cave so he could have the best water for his product.  Very smart man - knew even back then about the pollution.

This is the safe that actually killed Jack.  Well sort of, he kicked it and was a diabetic and got gangrene and died.  Kinda sad.  It musta really hurt too.

This is us leaving the museum.  What you cant see is Archie's purchases!  They cant sell the whiskey except in the museum as the county is dry.  There werent a lot of pics I could take as you arent allowed to take pics of the actual whiskey making process.  It was very impressive and interesting.  The tour is free although why people would bring small children to it is beyond me but some did. 

This is on the way to our car.  I was trying to show the planters made out of whiskey barrels.  They were really pretty.  They make all their own barrels.  I really liked the tour and the history was really interesting even though me and my DH do not drink their product.  On our way there we stopped by Falls Mill so Archie could see how that worked.  I think he really enjoyed himself and DH was really happy he came to see us.

See how happy?  I had to spring this pic on them at the last minute before Archie left.  DH doesnt like his picture taken.  While Archie was here DH and he went to see about getting a gun and bought many beers and talked a lot.  Me, well I got to relax and didnt go to see about getting a gun, didnt drink any beer and talked a little lol ;)

It's raining

See me doing a happy dance!!!!!  Hubby might have to actually mow the grass...;)  And it actually only was up to 99 today!

An actual post...

Yeah it's hard to believe but I'm actually posting (typing) a new post.  With help from my DH we canned peach preserves and peach pie filling today.  He mostly just cut up the peaches but it did help believe me!  I still have some more peaches and will be making some spiced peach jam with the rest of them.  We even got some apples so I am planning on making some apple butter or apple sauce.  I think I need a bigger pantry cause it is filling up fast!  I even gave some of the items I canned away to a friend who visited us a couple of weeks ago.  I will be posting pics from his visit and other things that have been going on as well.

The funniest thing happened today.  DH was out changing the chicks water (we are doing this up to three times a day because of the heat) and of course Lucy wanted to be petted so he picked her up (I was watching out the kitchen window while I was stirring the preserves) and all of a sudden there was this gusher that came out of her...I was laughing so hard.  DH put her down in the run and turned around.  He was wet from his waist on the left side all the way down to his shoe!  He was laughing too.  He said that isnt the first time he has been pooped on.  Lucy peed on me a couple of days ago but his was definitely poop.  Too funny.  He said she was laughing when he set her down on the ground...;)

Other than that not much going on around here.

Talk to ya later!

Denise

Melt up video

Story of stuff - kind of long but very good

Story of cosmetics

bottled water video - sooo true

GM plants show up in the wild

http://news.discovery.com/earth/gm-plant-canola-wild.html

Is this scary or what?  It was bound to happen...

Why housewives will save the world

I thought this was really true and although I am not a housewife per se my mom is and this really hit home for me.  Enjoy!

Why housewives will save the world




_____



Once in a while a reader is astonished to learn that I am, quite literally,

nothing more than what I've always claimed to be: an opinionated north Idaho

housewife . I am not a journalist, or a

reporter, or anything loftier than a keeper of the home. I use the

denigrated term "housewife" deliberately because I am proud to be a member

of this elite group.



If you associate housewives with dull women too dumb to do anything but wipe

noses and clean toilets, I'm here to tell you otherwise. I will even make

the extraordinary declaration that it is housewives who will save the world.

Or at least, our nation.



The standard assumption about housewives (besides the obligatory doubts

about our intelligence and educational level) is that our husbands make so

much money that we can "afford" to stay home with the kids. This assumption

always sends us into peals of laughter because it is so seldom true. Let's

face it, the term "thrifty housewife" was coined for a reason.



Housewives spend years learning to be thrifty. We shop at Goodwill, not

Nordstrom. We mend holes and patch jeans. We purchase basic food items and

cook from scratch. Most of us don't do this because we are green and

environmentally conscious. We do it because it's cheap and it keeps us home

with the kids.



Many housewives supplement their husband's income with cottage industries. I

do freelance writing. I know a woman who makes brassiere holsters for

handguns (yes really . this is Idaho, remember). Yet another woman makes

reusable feminine hygiene products. Yet

another woman sells items on eBay.



None of us is sitting around watching soap operas and eating bonbons. We're

too busy making our home welcoming, too involved in looking for additional

ways to earn money, too occupied in finding yet more techniques to trim the

household budget so the bacon stretches further.



We praise our husbands for bringing home this bacon, however modest in size

it may be. It's our job to stretch that bacon so it lasts the whole month.



A housewife takes her marital vows seriously and does whatever it takes to

make her husband feel like a man by giving him respect, dedication, love,

faithfulness, a warm home and happy children. Housewives don't (or

shouldn't) speak disparagingly of their husbands. We praise them. Praised

men are happy men.



And that's why I believe the housewives of America will save this nation.



When the chips are down, the housewives rise up. We work harder, stretch the

dollars further and discover creative ways to do even more things from

scratch. We become cleverer and more resourceful at "making do."



These may seem like such small, trivial things. How will baking our own

bread or making our own laundry detergent save the nation? It may not . but

it could save the family. And if a family is saved, then bit by bit, family

by family, the nation is saved. See the logic?



What I mean is this. On a massive scale, our nation's problems are far

beyond our individual ability to do anything about them. Housewives cannot

stop the insane spending spree our government has embarked on during the

last 50 years. We cannot keep the economy from its free fall.



But we can help ourselves. Inch by inch, foot by foot, we can keep our

family afloat. If our husband loses his job, we tell him he's still manly

and sexy. We give him the confidence to look for work. We tighten an already

tight belt even more. We pick up part-time employment. We write more

columns, make more holsters, sew more feminine hygiene products and clinch

another eBay sale. We stroke our husband's fevered brow and whisper that it

will be OK, we'll weather this together, we'll stumble along doing whatever

it takes to keep our family whole. We don't let the cruel winds of financial

hardship rip our family apart. We are the glue that binds it.



You see, the role of a housewife is so much more than wiping noses and

cleaning toilets. Feminists have looked with contempt at housewives for

decades and have tried to convince our daughters that only lofty careers and

hefty paychecks can fulfill a woman. But housewives know better.


Men work hard at jobs they often dislike to provide for their families. For

a man, it is not his job that grants him identity, fulfillment and meaning;

it is his wife's praise and admiration. The wise housewife honors her man

for his dedication and sacrifice. The smart housewife becomes the kind of

woman her man wants to come home to. This is the glue.



A glued-together family stays together no matter where they are. If they are

evicted from their home because they can't afford the mortgage, then they

rent a cheap single-wide. The housewife will then turn it into a beautiful

haven because she knows it is not furnishings but love that makes a home.



When the hurricane roars during an economic storm, it will be the thrifty

housewife who will bear her family aloft through hard times. Her frugality,

common sense and familial glue will keep the boat afloat until it lands on a

more fruitful shore. As the waves settle, she will continue to bind, weave

and mesh her family into a seamless harmonious whole. In return, she is

blessed a thousandfold for her actions.



On the surface, it may not seem like wiping noses and cleaning toilets can

have any significant impact on saving our nation. After all, these acts are

not spectacular achievements like winning a court case, negotiating a

contract or curing someone of cancer. But the foundation of a nation is a

solid family unit. It is the humble, collective efforts of housewives that

build those solid, happy families. Nation upon nation is built on this

foundation. Without housewives, such a foundation would not - could not -

exist.



Don't thank us. We're just doing our job. But please, remember to put the

toilet seat down.



Bill and Tina Kroshl

Talk to ya later!

Denise

Sew Mama Sew

They are giving away a new Husqvarna Viking serger at Sew Mama Sew.  What I wouldnt give for a serger.  They are perfect for sewing any kind of seam making the seam more durable.  Serging curtains and other home items is great.  Much better than messing around sewing the hems and such by hand or regular sewing machine. 

If you are interested in entering the contest for the serger head on over there to sewmamasew.com to find out all the particulars.  If I dont win, I hope someone who reads my blog does!!! Good luck everybody!

Crossing my fingers and toes

Denise

Ooops there goes another one

another egg that is.  Seems one of the girls has decided to lay her eggs up by the waterer.  hmmm.  It might be the smallest one, Lettie.  The others pick on her so she is kind of a loner.  I sure do wish she would lay it in the nest box though.  We are up to six eggs a day.  They are really noisy when they are going to do it too lol.  I told my husband that it probably freaks them out the first time they lay.  Minding their own business and then ooohh have to go to the bathroom and ouch out pops an egg.  Anyway we need to eat some eggs cause they are piling up ;)

Talk to ya later

Denise

More eggs please

The girls are up to 5 eggs today so only 3 more have to start laying.  I guess our talk a week ago got through to them lol.  My lavender jelly did actually set up!  I'm so proud of myself, I actually got jelly to work.  I had it on toast this morning (homemade wheat bread) and it tasted so good.  DH got out the papaya salsa last night and really liked it.  He ate 1/2 pint of it. ;) 

We got our dehydrator the other day.  It's an Excaliber.  Cant wait to try it.  You can even do yogurt in it.  Need to try that out.  I was going to buy a yogurt maker but if I can use the dehydrator that will not only save me money but also space in my kitchen. 

I started our first batch of kombucha today.  Will have to let you know how it turns out. 

It's all good!

Denise

Canning, canning over the ocean blue...

Sorry I'm feeling a little silly today.  I canned cucumber relish today.  Got 5 1/2 pints.  Smelled pretty good.  Still have some pepper relish that I did last year that we havent eaten yet though.  Got some pears and apples and will be making some good things with them. 

I still have some cukes and green and red peppers left...we wont go there

Talk to ya later!

Denise

Wanted chicken escapee...reward

Just kidding about the reward although we did have one of the ladies make a run for it this morning.  Hubby woke me up and said one of them is loose and I need your help catching her.  So I whipped on some clothes and went outside.  He was talking to her trying to get her to come closer, no deal so I kind of herded her towards him and he caught her.  This is the second time one of the ladies decided to take a little take off ;)  The first time she went out the coop door and landed on the top of the run wire.  She was looking down at all the others "how did I get up here and how do I get back to you guys?"  Hubby was freaking out.  He was afraid that she would fly over the fence.  I dont think that any of them would.  They just want to be closer to us and dont have a problem going back in the run or anything.  Today the one that escaped (Matilda I believe but I was only half awake) flew out the egg box as hubby was trying to put in new bedding.  She was just doing her little chicken dance around the outside of the run like she belonged there. 

We have been getting one egg a day.  7 total so far.  The shells are pretty hard so I guess we are giving them enough calcium. 

Our blueberries are doing fine.  I am collecting them every other morning.  They are slowing down in production.  The pieces of garden hose are working really well to keep the birds away from the berries but dont seem to make a difference to the bugs which nibble on some of the berries.  I suppose they were thirsty since we hadnt gotten any rain for a while but they should stop because we did get rain yesterday and today.  I hung out clothes today thinking to get them dry before the rain started...WRONG...it poured on them but I just left them out in the rain since according to the radar the rain was supposed to stop before afternoon and it did.  Boy did the rain get them soft! 

I made some wheat bread today from the wheat that we ground yesterday.  I should say that hubby ground it and ground it and ground it.  It takes a while to get fine flour.  As I said I made bread but and here it comes...it didnt rise as much as it should have.  I was so discouraged.  Hubby said that he would eat it though anyway.  I cut it up a little while ago and tried a piece. It actually is pretty good even though it is really heavy.  I think I might have had my water a little too hot for the yeast.  I said that I would make more but didnt have enough flour to make another two loaves...hubby gave me this look, you know, the look.  I guess he didnt want to grind any more wheat...guess I'll wait another couple of days before I mention it again.  I would have ground some more today but my wrists are kind of sore from the kneading.  You had to knead for 15 minutes and then let it rest and then knead for another 10 minutes.  I'll toughen up though and be making bread out the yazoo in no time ;)

Hubby's co-worker brought him some more cukes along with some green bell peppers yesterday.  I went through my cookbooks and have found a cucumber relish that I am going to try.  Got some red bell peppers tonight at the farmer's market so maybe tomorrow I will make up the relish.  I had done relish a year ago but it was my grandma's recipe for green pepper relish.  Really good!  And very useful in other recipes.  You can make your own tarter sauce with it, use it in sandwich spread (Grandma used to use a can of deviled ham and add relish and mayo to it) and of course use it on hotdogs and hamburgers.  Yesterday I made up 5 pints of mild papaya salsa.  I had a can of papaya in my pantry that had been there for a while.  Dont know why I had it just did so used it up.   I have a couple of cans of crushed pineapple and found a canning recipe using that so will be making up some other "stuff"...

Hope everyone has a great week!

Talk to ya later,

Denise

Found another egg

Yes there was one hidden in the nesting box in the corner that I didnt see when I went out the first time.  No wonder they were so loud this morning.  There must have been two laying at the same time.  They didnt want me messing with the eggs, they wanted me to pet them, silly girls. 

Talk to ya later!

Denise

First Egg!!!

I'm doing a happy dance today.  One of the chickens laid the first ever egg for us this morning.  I even called my hubby at work to tell him.  I know, nuts right? 

Talk to ya later!

Denise

Fireworks

Last night (the fourth) and the night before (the third) we had neighbors shooting off fireworks.  I must say when you live in a subdivision you really really dont need those loud things going off.  The houses are pretty close and everyone ends up with bits and pieces of firework stuff in their backyard.  It was one of the reasons we put up a fence.  Needless to say the girls did NOT like the loudness.  And hubby did not appreciate the fact that they shot off fireworks until 1:30 a.m. on the third and 11:30 on the fourth cause of course he had to work in the next day.  I went out last night to check on the chicks and they were out of the coop piled up in a corner of their run and were very upset.  They stayed out all night as far as we can figure and I sure do hope that they will be roosting in their own little coop tonight.  I dont think it is good for them to be out like that laying on the ground.  I was so happy when I got up this morning and they were none the worse for wear.  I was so afraid that one or more would have kicked the bucket from the stress of those fireworks.  What really gets you is that the ones setting off fireworks dont work their on welfare.  The neighbors that work could not afford so many.  Ticks me off!  Spending my hard earned pay for fireworks...any way I'm just glad the girls made it through the night. 

Since I had off over the holiday (I have such nice bosses ;) and no they dont read my blog)  I canned some pickles.  Hubby's co-worker was nice enough to bring in cukes and banana peppers for him.  A whole shopping bag full that his neighbor gave him well actually left on his porch (sneaky gardener lol)  So I found an old recipe that used onions, peppers and cukes for pickles.  I got 11 pints.  Now ask yourselves what are two people going to do with 11 pints of pickles, why give some away of course.  Cause there is no way we would eat that many pickles.  We just dont eat pickles all that often.  Today I canned some lavender jelly.  Cant wait to taste that.  I got 9 4oz jars of that.  I think I'm going to have to buy more canning jars.  Now if I can just find more space....

Talk to ya later!

Denise