Lundberg Family Farms

If you are looking for a good rice product look at Lundberg's site.  They sell at national retailers.  The following is an excerpt from their email I recently received...

Lundberg Family Farms® proudly sponsored the first ever Non-GMO Month in October

by participating in the “Celebrate your right to choose Non-GMO” campaign on Facebook.

The Facebook application educated users about GMOs, the Non-GMO Project, and featured

brands participating in the product verification program, including Lundberg. It also

raised funds for the Project with vendor sponsors donating $1 for every click from users.

The process of genetic modification, which takes place in a laboratory, typically merges

DNA from different species, creating combinations of plant, animal, bacteria and viral genes

that cannot occur in nature or in traditional crossbreeding. 
Studies, meanwhile, increasingly show a correlation between consumption of GMOs and an array

of health risks. As a result, more and more consumers are seeking non-GMO choices, and Nielson

reported in February of last year that “GMO-free” is now the fastest growing store brand label claim.

The Grocery Manufacturers Association estimates that GMOs currently are in approximately 80%

of conventional processed foods in the United States, but they are not labeled. To fill the information

gap, a “Non-GMO Project Verified” seal has been created. Manufacturers earn the seal through

compliance with rigorous GMO avoidance standards, including ingredient testing, as part of the

nation’s first third party non-GMO verification program.

Lundberg was among the first companies to have their products verified by the Non-GMO Project

and is currently working on adding the “Non-GMO Project Verified” seal to the packaging

of 82 rice products that have been “Non-GMO Project Verified”.

I thought the 80% of processed foods are GMO was very interesting...

All I can say...

is it is a good thing that Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow because if he had I think a lot of people would have made a trip to Punxsy to see him and it would not be pretty :).  Poor little groundhog...LOL.

Stonyfield's email just got today on GE alfalfa

I just got this email today from Stonyfield.  If you didnt know, now they are also going to farm GE rice that has had human DNA put in it.  Wrong, wrong, so wrong....


As you know this past Thursday, the USDA announced its decision to deregulate genetically engineered (GE) alfalfa. Alfalfa is an important crop for many organic dairy farmers and despite a growing body of scientific evidence against GE crops, the USDA decided to allow planting of GE alfalfa without any oversight or protections for organic farmers. We believe that the USDA decision favors the interests of the biotech industry, and deals a major blow to both organic farming and the public’s right to choose foods free of GE contamination.




It is crucial that those of us who care about organic and feeding our families food free of GE ingredients join together and act. We hope you’ll take the time to read this letter below from Maria Rodale, Michael Pollan, and the organic community and learn how to take action.



We also hope you’ll share it with your on-line and off-line communities. Here is the direct, easily sharable link: http://huff.to/g0qE1u



LETTER FROM THE ORGANIC COMMUNITY



We stand united in opposition to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) decision to once again allow unlimited, nationwide commercial planting of Monsanto’s genetically engineered (GE) Roundup Ready alfalfa, despite the many risks to organic and conventional farmers.



Last spring more than 200,000 people submitted comments to the USDA highly critical of the substance and conclusions of its draft EIS on GE Alfalfa. Instead of responding to these comments and concerns, including expert comments from farmers, scientists, academics, conservationists, and food safety and consumer advocates, the USDA has chosen instead to listen to a handful of agricultural biotechnology companies.



USDA’s decision to allow unlimited, nationwide commercial planting of

Monsanto’s GE Roundup Ready alfalfa without any restrictions flies in the face of the interests of conventional and organic farmers, preservation of the environment, and consumer choice. USDA has become a rogue agency in its regulation of biotech crops and its decision to appease the few companies who seek to benefit from this technology comes despite increasing evidence that GE alfalfa will threaten the rights of American farmers and consumers, as well as damage the environment.



The Center for Food Safety will be suing on this decision.



In the coming months, we will be seeing USDA proposals to allow unrestricted plantings of GE sugar beets, and GE corn and soy crops designed to resist toxic pesticides, such as 2-4D and Dicamba, highly toxic pesticides that pose a serious threat to our health and the environment. To win these critical and difficult battles, the entire organic community, and our allies in the conventional food and farming community, will have to work together.



Now is the time to unite in action. We need to work together to restore sanity to our food system, stop the deregulation of GE crops and join together against the forces that are seeking to silence hundreds of thousands of Americans.



As we move forward, we are united in opposing genetically engineered organisms in food production and believe that pressure to stop the proliferation of this contaminating technology must be focused on the White House and Congress. The companies responsible for this situation are the biotech companies whose GE technology causes genetic drift and environmental hazards that are not contained as the deregulation of genetically engineered alfalfa goes forward. The organic community stands together with consumer, farmer, environmental and business interests to ensure practices that are protective of health and the environment.



We urge you to join us today.



Sign up to receive action alerts:

http://cfs.convio.net/site/PageNavigator/Register



Consider making a donation to the legal effort ahead:

https://secure3.convio.net/cfs/site/Donation2?1311.donation=form1&df_id=1311&JServSessionIdr004=vqetvh6lh5.app306a



Let the White House know that you do not support the deregulation of GE alfalfa:

http://ota.capwiz.com/ota/issues/alert/?alertid=24747501



Sincerely,



Christine Bushway, Organic Trade Association

Jay Feldman, Beyond Pesticides

Michael Funk, United Natural Foods Inc (UNFI)

Elizabeth Henderson, NOFA Interstate Council

Gary Hirshberg, Stonyfield Farm

Liana Hoodes, National Organic Coalition

Kristina Hubbard, Organic Seed Alliance

Faye Jones, Midwest Organic Sustainable Education Service

Robby Kenner, Robert Kenner Films

Andrew Kimbrell, Center for Food Safety

Russell Libby, Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners (MOFGA)

Ed Maltby, Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance (NODPA)

Robyn O’Brien, Allergy Kids

Keith Olcott, Equal Exchange

Michael Pollan, Author

Maria Rodale, Rodale Inc.

Eric Schlosser, Author

Robynn Schrader, National Cooperative Grocers Association (NCGA)

George Siemon, Organic Valley

Michael Sligh, Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI)

Megan Westgate, Non-GMO Project

Maureen Wilmot, Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF)

Enid Wonnacott, Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA-VT)

New Films coming out...

Well just heard that they will begin filming The Hobbit this month.  It's going to be a two parter.  Cant wait to see it.  Some of the cast from Lord of The Rings is going to be in this one.  They even said that Christopher Lee (who is 88) will be reprising his role.  I am pretty sure that it is going to be just as good as the original trilogy.  It is supposed to come out in 2013.  Long wait for hopefully a good movie.

On the other hand I just read that they are going to be filming another movie.  It's called Abraham Lincoln-Vampire Hunter...Huh????  This vampire stuff is just getting way out of hand.  They say that movies reflect the mood of the people.  I guess we are just surrounded by vampires, well I'm not, just the people in Washington maybe LOL. :)

In my opinion there havent been very many good movies lately.  I think the writers arent in touch with reality in some ways.  Funny movies just arent funny.  Replacing some good laughs with swearing and gutter humor really isnt working.  TV doesnt have any really funny shows on.  I guess maybe I'm getting too old.  I remember when you watched Lucy, Barney, the Fonz, Laverne and Shirley and they were funny.  Sure they were silly but it was a nice vacation from reality.  TV doesnt have anything on that is worth watching really and the good shows that they do have on they cancel for lack of viewership.  Where do they get the numbers?  I watch some shows dont get me wrong but no reality shows.  Dont get those at all.  If I want reality all I have to do is go to the store.  There's a big dose of reality.  I want fantasy, just get away type of shows where I have to maybe think about the show during the week.  I loved Lost though some people didnt get it and you really had to watch it from the beginning to halfway understand it.  It had a religious ending which some people didnt like but I thought it was great.  After the first season I could see the religious underpinnings which really came to the forefront during the last season. 

I guess what I am trying to say in my rambling way is that movies and TV shows need to do something whether that is just making people laugh to taking them to a different place and time or into situations where they would never be to trying to make a difference in their lives whether it be from laughing and enjoying themselves to making them think or making them forget.  Movies and TV are powerful.  Although they are not the end all and be all by any means.  I could live without TV but not without books.  Books make you use your imagination and that is something we all could use a lot more of.

Well now that I have just about made a circle and not made any sense I'll close for now.  Hope everyone made it through the bad weather.  It was sure cold here this morning and yesterday the wind was whipping around so it made me think it was colder than it was.

Talk to ya later!

Denise

NIA on State of the Union Address

Obama Fails to Address Inflation in State of the Union




President Obama's State of the Union address last night did not make one single mention of inflation, when it is the belief of NIA that massive price inflation (especially food inflation) will become America's top crisis by the end of this calendar year. Obama's speech also failed to mention the Federal Reserve, the Federal Funds Rate being held near 0% for over two years, and the Fed's latest round of $600 billion in quantitative easing. Unless Obama addresses our nation's fiat currency system, nothing else he says has any meaning at all.



After the U.S. lost 8.36 million jobs over a two year period from December of 2007 through December of 2009, our economy has recovered 1.12 million jobs as a result of the Federal Reserve and U.S. government spending $4.6 trillion on bailouts and stimulus programs. That is over $4 million spent for each job created. Instead of bailing out Wall Street and allowing non-productive bankers to receive record bonuses, the U.S. could have sent a check for $550,000 to each middle-class American who lost their job.





When a central bank prints trillions of dollars out of thin air, you are going to see some type of a nominal uptick in economic statistics. Obama can brag all he wants about over 1 million jobs being created, but he continues to ignore what the ultimate cost of it will be. When a government has an annual cash budget deficit of over $1 trillion that cannot possibly be balanced by raising taxes, massive inflation is the inevitable outcome. Our real budget deficit, once you include increases in our unfunded liabilities for Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, is already north of $5 trillion. NIA believes the U.S. is now at serious risk of experiencing hyperinflation by the year 2015.





Obama proposed in his speech that "we freeze annual domestic spending for the next five years" saying it "would reduce the deficit by more than $400 billion over the next decade, and will bring discretionary spending to the lowest share of our economy since Dwight Eisenhower was president." The truth is, Obama's proposals, if successfully implemented, would not reduce the deficit by $400 billion over the next decade. They would only cut $400 billion from proposed spending increases. NIA doesn't understand why Obama would even waste his breath talking about reducing the deficit by $400 billion over the next decade, when the Federal Reserve is creating $600 billion in monetary inflation over a period of just eight months. Americans who listened to Obama speak last night wasted over an hour of their time, because until the Federal Reserve raises interest rates and stops printing money, it will be impossible for the U.S. economy to truly recover and become healthy.



Even if the U.S. government cut all discretionary spending down to zero, we would still have a budget deficit from Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid alone. Surprisingly, Obama admitted that most of the cuts he proposed "only address annual domestic spending, which represents a little more than 12% of our budget." When referring to the Deficit Commission's proposed spending cuts, Obama said "their conclusion is that the only way to tackle our deficit is to cut excessive spending wherever we find it". In what was Obama's most shocking statement of the night, he went on to say, "This means further reducing health care costs, including programs like Medicare and Medicaid, which are the single biggest contributor to our long-term deficit."



This is the closest Obama has ever come to admitting that major cuts to Medicare and Medicaid are necessary, if we want to have any hope of ever balancing our budget. However, NIA is taking Obama's comments with a grain of salt. He immediately changed the subject in the very next sentence, claiming his health care reform law that was enacted last year "will slow these rising costs". He then continued to defend the law saying, "repealing the health care law would add a quarter of a trillion dollars to our deficit."



One week ago, the new Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives voted 245-189 to repeal Obama's health care reform law. The House's vote to repeal it is meaningless because it would never pass the U.S. Senate and even if it did, Obama would simply veto it. NIA believes the law should be repealed because it is impossible for government legislation to bring down health care costs. Only the free market can bring down health care costs and the health care reform law will impede the free market more than any piece of legislation has ever impeded the free market in any industry or sector in history. In our opinion, the new health care law is guaranteed to add trillions of dollars to the deficit over the next decade and there is absolutely no chance of Obama ever making the necessary dramatic cuts to Medicare and Medicaid until the U.S. is already in the middle of an outbreak of hyperinflation.



When it comes to Social Security, Obama said we need a "bipartisan solution to strengthen" it and "we must do it without putting at risk current retirees" and "without slashing benefits for future generations". In other words, nobody in Washington is even going to bring up the possibility of cutting or eliminating Social Security, because it would be political suicide for them. We need more honest representatives in Washington like Ron Paul who aren't afraid to speak the truth about the need to cut entitlement programs and inform the American public to the consequences of our government's deficit spending.



Most Americans think they don't have to worry about our country's national debt because our grandchildren are the ones who will ultimately be responsible to pay it off. Unfortunately, it won't just be our grandchildren who feel the pain of our deficit spending and monetary inflation. All Americans with incomes and savings in U.S. dollars along with all foreigners holding dollar-denominated assets will begin to feel the pain of our government's destructive actions in the very near future through massive price inflation and the U.S. dollar losing nearly all of its purchasing power.



One thing from last night's State of the Union address is very clear, Obama is not serious about cutting spending and nobody in Washington has any expectation of the U.S. ever returning to a balanced budget. NIA believes that this past week's dip in the prices of gold and silver is an unbelievable buying opportunity for Americans who already own precious metals as well as those wishing to buy precious metals for the first time. Sure, both gold and silver could dip lower in the short-term, but we can't try to time short-term fluctuations and we need to stay focused on the long-term destruction of the U.S. dollar. In future State of the Union addresses to come in another year or two down the road, the entire focus of the President's speech will likely be on inflation and the collapsing U.S. dollar. When that time comes and mainstream America becomes aware of what NIA members have known for years, we could easily see $5,000 per ounce gold and $500 per ounce silver, and everybody will regret not loading up as much as possible at these levels.



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

Hubby brings me a present

Hubby had off today and after fixing the truck (that's a whole other post) he decided to go take our recyclers to the recycle center.  When he came back he told me there was a present in the back of the truck for me.  Now I'm thinking what in the world cause he isnt a junker and doesnt usually pick up things.  Well I went out and looked in the back of the truck and there was a case of 12 wide mouth quart jars.  He said that they were sitting beside the recycling bins.  The thing was that they were still in the original packing and were brand new.  He did open the plastic to make sure that none of them were broke before bringing them home.  The only thing I saw wrong with them is that some of the bands were starting to rust.  So I got 12 new canning jars for free!  How great is that?  I figured someone was cleaning out their mom's house and decided to recycle them.  Although why they didnt even take the lids off and such is beyond me and also our recycling place doesnt take glass so maybe they thought someone could use them...The things people throw out are amazing sometimes...

Talk to ya later!

Denise

chick pea recipe

See the pic?  It tastes much better than it looks. 

To make:  Dice two potatoes and one small onion.  Saute in butter til onions are translucent.  Add one can of chick peas (I used my home canned ones) and one can of diced tomatoes with liquid.  Cook til the potatoes are done and chick peas are softened.  If you need more liquid, add some chicken stock.  To spice it up some I added garam masala about two tablespoons, some salt and pepper.  I ate this with some bread and butter but you could put over rice or noodles for a completely different taste sensation. 

If you try this recipe let me know how you prepared it.

Talk to ya later!

Denise

Snow

Here are some pics I took during our big snow storm of 8 inches.  It's a lot for down here in Alabama so pick yourself up off the floor from laughing so hard ;)  The pics are also showing off our new fence system (two dog pens put together) and the behind the coop is the little building we built to keep the chicks out of the weather.  That's DH checking on the chicks...

Knit alert!

Yes I finally finished the skirt that I started knitting in the summer.  The waistband was kind of freaking me out but it turned out pretty nice.  In my journey to use up old stuff, I used an old waistband from some worn out underwear (shh dont tell).  The underwear I cut up for rags and I am really hating to throw out something useful and the waistbands were not in bad shape, still stretchy so I used one of them for the skirt.  The skirt itself was a really dull knit after all the interesting bells and lace at the bottom - just straight knitting up to the waistband.  I inserted the elastic and sewed the top down about an inch for the elastic casing.  Cant wait until it gets warm enough to wear it.I have some other knit things going on and will post them as I complete them...

Talk to ya later!

Denise

Kombucha and dehydrating veggies

 This is our quart of kombucha just fermenting away.  It will turn into vinegar if you let it go long enough.  Which is what happens when you forget about it...LOL.  If you are interested in making kombucha which is tangy sweet with lots of probiotics, you need to get a scoby.  The scoby, also called mother, is the fungus looking thing at the top of the jar.  I ordered mine from one place where it had been dehydrated but even after they sent me a second one I just couldnt get it to do anything so I ordered this one off of Ebay.  Kind of strange to get it in the mail.  It came hydrated in its own kombucha liquid.  To make it you take some boiled water (chlorine is a no-no), add sugar and steep some tea (with no additives).  I used green tea but you can also use black and white teas.  The scoby will tint.  If you use white sugar and white tea the scoby will be whiter and the liquid will be clearer too.  After you have it fermenting a couple of days up to a week another baby will form on top of the mother.  I usually compost the mother and use the baby for the next batch. 

On to dehydrating.  To begin I cut up all the veggies into 1/4 inch to 1/8 inch slices and spread them out on the racks.  Here are mushrooms.  I bought them on sale at Publix when they had buy one get one free deal going on.

 Also at Publix they had buy one get one free on celery so I dehydrated them too.  I even used the leaves.  They will add a lot of flavor to your soups and stews.

Here is the same batch after dehydrating. 

Here is my dehydrator looking in from the front.  It has five racks.

And here are some onions I dehydrated.  It is amazing how little space they take up after they are dehydrated.  I put them in jars and store them in my cupboard.  I also did some peppers and carrots.  To rehydrate just throw a small amount into your soup.  For the mushrooms we use them on pizzas so to rehydrate them we put them in some hot water and let them sit for 5-10 minutes.  Dehydrating is a wonderful thing I have found and so glad I bought the dehydrator.  It has freed up space in my freezer and fridge and now things arent going bad before I use them.  I'll have to remember to take a pic of the finished jars so you can see how much I actually did.  I'm still experimenting with it.  Next on the agenda is to dehydrate some sourdough starter.  Will let you know how that turns out...

Talk to ya later!

Denise

3 Item swap

I'm really late about posting this but back in December I signed up for a 3-item swap on MaryJane's Farm forum.  The three items were to be one handmade item, one store bought item and a recipe.  I sent a lavendar sachet that I made (hand sewn and my own lavendar), two recipes, a angel coffee cup and a little santa pin.  I only took a pic of the sachet and here it is:

Here is what I got in return:  A container of organic coffee, a handmade pincushion and a recipe.  Here is a pic:

Oh and she had used as filler in the box some "old" she said fabric.  I'm going to use it in a quilt.  Waste not want not :)

Talk to ya later!

Denise

New Years Resolutions for Cats...

Thought this was really funny so I'm passing it along

It's that time of year. Here's a list a cat might compile, if they could write (and if they actually cared)




I will not flush the toilet while my human is in the shower.

I will not puff my entire body to twice its size for no reason after my humans watch a horror movie.

I will not slurp fish food from the surface of the aquarium.

I will not lean over to drink out of the tub, fall in, and then run screaming into the box of clumping cat litter.

I will not use the humans' bathtub to store live mice for late-night snacks.

I will not eat large numbers of assorted bugs, then come home and barf them up so the humans can see that I'm getting plenty of roughage.

My human will never let me eat her pet rat, and I am at peace with that.

I will not help myself to Q-tips, and I will not attempt to stuff them down the drain to dispose of them.

I will not perch on my human's chest in the middle of the night and stare into her eyes until she wakes up.

As fast as I am, I must remember that I cannot run through closed doors.

I will not back up off the front porch and fall into the bushes just as my human is explaining to his girlfriend how graceful I am.

I will remember that I am a walking static generator. My human does not need my help installing a new board in her computer.

Birds do not come from the bird feeder. I will not repeatedly knock it down and try to open it up to get the birds out.

I will remember that my human really will wake up and feed me. I do not have to pry his eyelids open with my claws.

I will remember that a warm pepperoni pizza is not a good place for a nap!

I will not hide behind the toilet so that I can pat the human on the backside when he sits down just to make him levitate.

I will not drag dirty socks up from the basement in the middle of the night, deposit them on the bed and yell at the top of my lungs so that my human can admire my "kill."

If I sit in the sink while my human is brushing his teeth, I will not get angry when he spits toothpaste on me.

I will not complain that my butt is wet and that I am thirsty after sitting in my water bowl.

I will not knead my male human's groin at 3 AM with claws extended. It seems to cause him some discomfort and he wakes up all grumpy.

I will not attempt to stop the human's snoring by sticking my paws into his mouth.

I will not use my psychic powers to project myself into my human's dreams when I am hungry, causing her to dream that I am a talking cat, and I can say "Where's my supper!"

I will not run through the house with a condom wrapper in my mouth when my human's grandmother is visiting.

I will not teach the parrot to meow in a loud and raucous manner.

When my young humans are playing with modeling clay, I will not remove solid waste from my litter tray and roll it onto the kitchen floor.

When the humans play darts, I will not leap into the air and attempt to catch them.

I will not display my worm collection on the kitchen floor on a rainy night. My human does not like finding it with her bare feet.

Craft Giveaway - check it out!!!

Too cute!

7-Eleven Secretly Reduces Size of Super Big Gulp

Very Interesting article from NIA 


7-Eleven Secretly Reduces Size of Super Big Gulp


An NIA member just sent this to us with the suggestion that we do a future documentary on all of the retailers and wholesalers that are secretly reducing the sizes of their products with no warning to the public, while keeping their prices the same.



Apparently, 7-Eleven just reduced the size of their Super Big Gulp drink from 44 oz to 40 oz and the price has remained the same at $1.50. This is food inflation by deception, but it is indeed another form of food inflation. The real cost for a Super Big Gulp at 7-Eleven just rose by 10%, but this will never show up in any government CPI numbers.



Super Big Gulp fan says 7-Eleven duping the public out of 4 ounces

By John Kelso from the Austin American-Statesman



One thing I admire about Austinites is how they’re all over any wrongdoing that comes along, large or small. Or, in this case, super.



Take Paul Sunby, 50, a biologist with an environmental consulting firm who is all over 7-Eleven for “trying to dupe people” over the actual size of its Super Big Gulp fountain drink. Sunby said the convenience store has reduced the size of the drink from 44 to 40 ounces in a sneaky way — or as he put it, “cleverly, quietly, and diabolically.” Meanwhile, he said, the price remains the same: $1.50.



Paul, who is married to one of our business reporters, Lori Hawkins, said he noticed this transgression last summer when the store stopped selling Super Big Gulps for a couple of months, then started up again with a new cup. The old cup used to say Super Big Gulp on it, along with the 44-ounce size. But the new cup, while saying Super Big Gulp, included no size info, Paul said.



“They still say Super Big Gulp, but they no longer had the 44-ounce size printed on them, making people think they’re the same thing,” Paul groused.



Sunby said the new cup just didn’t feel quite as large as the earlier version, so he decided to measure. Was the wool being pulled over the eyes of the big soda-pop-drinking public?



“The first time, unofficially, I just took the new cup and filled it with water up to the top, and poured it into a legitimate 44-ounce cup from Exxon Tigermarket, and noticed that it didn’t fill it up all the way,” Paul said. “It was a quarter-cup short. So then I actually filled it back up and poured it into a measuring cup to get the full measurement, and determined it is a 40-ounce cup.”



Sunby said he wouldn’t be upset if it just said “40 ounces” on the side of the new Super Big Gulp. “They still called it a Super Big Gulp, when in fact it’s no longer,” he said. “It’s somewhere between a Big Gulp and a Super Big Gulp. It’s a Not So Big Gulp. To me, the Super Big Gulp is deceased.”



Sunby thinks this is important because, as he wrote in his e-mail, the term Big Gulp “seems to have a place in the fabric of some segments of society.”



“The Super Big Gulp is an American institution, in my mind,” he said. “How many truckers have made it across I-10 because of the Super Big Gulp?”



I called up 7-Eleven corporate to try to get to the bottom of this. I spoke to a woman named Keisha, who said she couldn’t give me her last name. I asked her if 7-Eleven had changed the size of the Super Big Gulp without informing the public. She looked it up, then said, “It says it has been changed to 40 ounces, this information I have in my system.”



So I asked her if 7-Eleven had made a public announcement about the change.



“We don’t have announcements; we just have information, so I’m not sure if we ran an announcement or not,” she said. Then she gave me case No. 1101030132. If I hear anything more, I’ll let you know.


ALSO-
Watch your bacon sizes as well, they are no longer 1lb packages most have gone down to 12 ounces.  Dont be surprised if the size of your bread loaves goes down as well.  In the last three weeks my husband said that the price of bacon went up $3.  And that's on the sale price...I think I need to start canning meat...:)

Talk to ya later!

Denise

Update on the flooring

On Thursday we started the flooring in the craft/computer room.  Needless to say there was a lot of stuff to be moved out of there.  Hubby just kept shaking his head and mumbling dont know why...:)  Told him not to open the closet (good thing we didnt have to do that floor in there yet).  It is a good reason to get rid of some stuff though.  I even (gasp) got rid of some yarn.   But everything needs to be looked over and either donated or sold.  We didnt get the room done but almost.  It took a lot of time to take off the baseboards, pull up the carpet, pull up the little wooden strip with nails and pound down the nails into the cement.  We have a cement slab and it was easier to pound down the nails than try to pull them up cause if you try to pull them up some of the cement usually comes with them.  Then we laid down the foam (this is for a floating floor) and then I stayed on the floor fitting the pieces while hubby went out and cut the end pieces I needed to complete each section.  It went pretty quick but we tuckered out.  Must have been all the moving out of stuff LOL.  Needless to say we were very sore the next day.  I'm still a little sore.  My upper downer is pretty sore.  Hard to sit down and even harder to stand up.  Getting old and too fat I guess for this kind of stuff.  We are planning to finish up the floor here next week when hubby has another day off and then we will have to go to Home Depot to get some half round to put with the baseboards to make it all look professional.  Will try to get pics but half my "stuff" is in other rooms and I put together my computer just last night. 

The truck still isnt working.  Hubby got a brand new battery but it wouldnt start.  He thinks its the starter.  He has put one of those on the truck before so maybe we will be getting that part and he can put it on when he has time. 

We're supposed to be getting up to 7 inches of snow and if it snows that much he probably will not be going to work.  They dont have snow plows here that I know of and usually use sand on the roads if we get dustings of snow.  It's not the snow that worries my hubby just the crazy people down here that have never driven in it.  Kinda scary.  He works at Kroger and they were so busy yesterday that he had a hard time putting out lunchmeat there were so many people in there.  Its crazy to have to run to the store immediately because of a storm coming but thats what they do.  No planning.  And the things that they buy kind of crack me up.  Its always toilet paper, milk and bread.  We lose electricity your milk will go bad (in the summer) and what they dont need something to put on the bread?  We're set unless we lose electricity but even then we'll be OK.  We have a fireplace and some fake logs.  They dont make much heat but some and if worse comes to worse we can go get a kerosene heater although hubby's sinuses cant take that smell too much.  We have the cats for heat too :)

Has everyone got their seed catalogs yet?  We have gotten so many.  Cant wait for spring!

Talk to ya later!

Denise

Bad day for hubby

The day started out Ok.  We went to Tractor Supply for some chicken feed and then came home.  He made big plans today you see and wanted to get everything done on his list.  Of course he never completes the list because he always has too much on the list and never has enough time to do everything.  Then he ends up beating himself up because he didnt get his list done...sigh.  Well the truck stopped running the other day so the next thing on his list was to check the battery.  So I had to mail my Christmas package to my parents and brother out today (dont ask...no I mean really dont ask) and he said we would go to the post office and he would stop at the parts store to see if they had the right battery in stock and ask how much it would be.  Well we did go to the post office and I mailed the package out (was less than I expected but glad the rates hadnt gone up yet) and then we went over to the parts store.  They had the battery in stock.  The price really didnt matter as if he needed a battery of course we would get one.  We went back home and he pushed the truck out of the garage.  He cleaned the terminals and I started the car after he put the jumper cables on the batteries.  The truck started after a few minutes of waiting and what does he do but shut it off...sigh again ;).  Of course it wouldnt start again so off he goes to get a battery while I stay at home and do the transcription.  He took the old battery with him so they could check it.  The battery was 5 years old so he got another one.  He comes back with a battery and a battery terminal cleaner, goes out and puts the new battery in the truck and it STILL WOULDNT START...not a good day like I said.  He ended up going to Harbor Freight for a battery tester (as he had broken his today) and a battery charger.  He finally comes home and the truck STILL WOULDNT START.  It just makes this wonderful clicking noise.  Needless to say he didnt get his list done and was depressed about it all night poor baby.  Tomorrow when he comes back from work he will check all the connections and wires to make sure nothing is disconnected.  If he cant find the problem I guess we will have to have it towed to a garage and let them see if they can fix it.  It could be the starter or the alternator.  Keep your fingers crossed its just a loose wire.  Alternators are expensive.  Starters he can replace himself but not the alternator...

I had a rather good day on the flip side of today's "list".  Maybe because I didnt have a list?  Chicks gave us five eggs today and it was a beautiful sunny day what more could you ask for...well dont ask hubby that :)

Talk to ya later!

Denise

Turkey Casserole

Just wanted to let you know what I did with all the leftovers we had from Thanksgiving.  I made a casserole.  It was really yummy and we ate it all - no more leftovers!

Here is what I did:

I had 2 cups of stuffing leftover so I put that in the bottom of a greased casserole dish, layered some turkey (about a cup but you could add more), buttered peas, corn, chopped onions (not leftover), poured the leftover gravy over all and topped with 4 cups of mashed potatoes.  Covered it with tinfoil and put in the oven at 350 for about 30 minutes.  We didnt have any cranberry sauce but I think it would really have tasted good with this casserole.

If anybody tries this, let me know how yours turns out.

Talk to ya later!

Denise

Happy New Year!

I know I'm late...and have been absent from this blog for a while.  I have no excuse just being lazy I guess...

Let's see for Christmas I knitted two shawls for my mom one for summer and one for winter and I knitted a wool sweater for my dad.  I started another cardigan for me and will be casting on another pair of socks for DH. 

We will be putting in a new floor in my computer/craft room just as soon as I can clean it out to do so...sigh.

I didnt decorate much for Christmas, wasnt in the mood for much but we did have a white Christmas of about three inches of snow which was nice.  Mom and Dad got me a butter churn (too cool) so now if I can get some cream I'm all set to make butter.

The snow melted and then it rained and flooded but not near to us.  We had high winds though but the temps were in the 50s and 60s.  Now it's back down to 30s and low 40s in the daytime again.

We put out the new heated chicken waterer and it works like a charm.  We put up a new enclosure for the chicks right before the snow came and good thing too cause the old one collapsed from the snow.  Chickens dont like snow...didnt know that but they dont.

I've been spinning some yarn and when I get enough spun I'll ply it and then wash it again to set the spin and hang it to dry.  Plying was kind of freaking me out but I did it no problem.  Dont know why I was freaking out about it.

Cant believe that 2011 is here.  Where did all the time go?  My resolutions...well I really only have a few.
I want to learn more about everything.  Small resolution dont ya think? 
I want to be more tolerant of people.
I want to be more accepting of myself and not say negative things like I'm too stupid to do that (see plying above).
I want to get rid of most of this stuff that is cluttering up this house.  It's starting to really bug me.
I want to really start blogging more cause you know what an interesting life I lead (ha!)

No resolutions about losing weight.  I just want to eat healthier and get out in the open air more.

I think those are reasonable resolutions, dont you?

Talk to ya later!

Denise

A Great Email explaining the difference between liberals and conservatives

A young woman was about to finish her first year of college. Like so many others her age, she considered herself to be very liberal, and among other liberal ideals, was very much in favor of higher taxes to support more government programs, in other words redistribution of wealth.




She was deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch conservative, a feeling she openly expressed. Based on the lectures that she had participated in, and the occasional chat with a professor, she felt that her father had for years harbored an evil, selfish desire to keep what he thought should be his.



One day she was challenging her father on his opposition to higher taxes on the rich and the need for more government programs.



The self-professed objectivity proclaimed by her professors had to be the truth and she indicated so to her father. He responded by asking how she was doing in school.



Taken aback, she answered rather haughtily that she had a 4.0 GPA, and let him know that it was tough to maintain, insisting that she was taking a very difficult course load and was constantly studying, which left her no time to go out and party like other people she knew. She didn't even have time for a boyfriend, and didn't really have many college friends because she spent all her time studying.

Her father listened and then asked, “How is your friend Audrey doing?”

She replied, “Audrey is barely getting by. All she takes are easy classes, she never studies and she barely has a 2.0 GPA. She is so popular on campus; college for her is a blast. She's always invited to all the parties and lots of times she doesn't even show up for classes because she's too hung over.”



Her wise father asked his daughter, “Why don't you go to the Dean's office and ask him to deduct 1.0 off your GPA and give it to your friend who only has a 2.0. That way you will both have a 3.0 GPA and certainly that would be a fair and equal distribution of GPA.”

The daughter, visibly shocked by her father's suggestion, angrily fired back, “That's a crazy idea, how would that be fair! I've worked really hard for my grades! I've invested a lot of time, and a lot of hard work! Audrey has done next to nothing toward her degree. She played while I worked my tail off!”



The father slowly smiled, winked and said gently, “Welcome to the conservative side of the fence.”



If anyone has a better explanation of the difference between conservative and liberal or progressive or neocon I'm all ears.



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

If you ever wondered what side of the fence you sit on, this is a great test!



If a conservative doesn't like guns, he doesn't buy one.

If a liberal doesn't like guns, he wants all guns outlawed.



If a conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn't eat meat.

If a liberal is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for everyone.



If a conservative is homosexual, he quietly leads his life.

If a liberal is homosexual, he demands legislated respect.



If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation.

A liberal wonders who is going to take care of him.



If a conservative doesn't like a talk show host, he switches channels.

Liberals demand that those they don't like be shut down.



If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn't go to church.

A liberal non-believer wants any mention of God and religion silenced. (Unless it's a foreign religion, of course!)



If a conservative decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it.

A liberal demands that the rest of us pay for his.



If a conservative reads this, he'll forward it so his friends can have a good laugh.

A liberal will delete it because he's "offended."



Well, I forwarded it to you.