MamaBearNo1's Xanga

Happy Birthday

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 18:11:22 GMT

Happy Birthday to my Awesome Husband ... the one that just turned 55 so he can order from the Senior Menu...

and the one that never hesitated when his mother-in-law came to live with us the day before his birthday....

I chose well...

Doing what we should have done 15 years ago! When we were younger!!

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 17:51:13 GMT

Well we have started on an addition to the house. My mother is moving in with us and our house is the size of a cabin... so we need a space for her to have her own privacy - bedroom, bathroom and a great room for all of us. But first we decided to put it on top of a basement as we do not have one and every time we build we wish we had one... so we took the giant step.

Now we can't walk off of the porch easily - there is a narrow path... We have a small plot of land and a lot of dirt to move... no where to put it! We have piles all over the front area of the house. The driveway's turn around area is completely different, fences have been taken down... and because of the hard sandstone Jim has had to dig through, an 8 hour job has taken 4 days!

So we won't be ready for Nana when we go get her next week...

And I wonder why I am not sleeping!

Things to ponder

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 09:07:29 GMT

I have been very busy lately. We have been hatching out eggs, 2 hens are also setting on eggs, so we will have a lot of chickens this next year, for which I am grateful. At least our eggs and some meat will be fresh and free-ranged - organic... I sometimes worry about everything that is put into food... especially milk ... Read about what has happened to our milk supply and find out about the campaign for raw milk Has the addition of these hormones and whatever else that is put into our food affected our health? Are girls developing at a much younger age? Is autism an end result of things in our food? A lot of studies seem to feel that it is possible...

With the price of everything going up so drastically, maybe an old fashioned Victory Garden is needed by everyone. The Victory Garden came into being during the food rationing of WWII "The sole aim of the National War Garden Commission was to arouse the patriots of America to the importance of putting all idle land to work, to teach them how to do it, and to educate them to conserve by canning and drying all food they could not use while fresh. The idea of the 'city farmer' came into being." Everyone can grow something that would help their food supply... containers of tomatoes can be eaten as fried green tomatoes, fresh tomatoes on a salad, or even canned into tomato sauce... A few plants of zucchini can give a bountiful supply... fry them, saute or even dried into chips! I read once where a woman had no garden space. But as she was taking her usual walk, she notices a lot of unused land along the way... through the woods, by a river... so she came back and sowed some seed. Later that summer she went back and saw the bounty she had sown... the plants had thrived without any effort and she had plenty of vegetables to pick... very clever... And no weeds to pull!

I have to admit, I do not have a green thumb ... it is very black. My sister-in-law once told me that giving me a plant was basically putting it on death row... So, the produce I have canned over the years has come from local farmers. Sometimes you can find a Pick-Ur-Own farm and spend some time with your kids learning about where their food comes from. A great experience. We picked a lot of strawberries when the kids were young and then made jam... I think teaching children how to grow food and preserve it by canning is extremely important... and not all that difficult to do. Did you know that you can make a soft cheese spread from a gallon of milk? We have make soft cheese from a quart of milk. Put it on crackers and it is delicious!

Find a farmer's market or a farm near you and see if you can't buy eggs or produce from them. Know where your food is coming from and what is put in it.

15 years ago, I fed my family of 5 (3 children ages 3, 5 and 7) for $20 a week. With the prices today, I can still do it on $50 a week... I am putting together a recipe book with advice on how I did it, with recipes and grocery lists. If you are interested in being on the waiting list for the book, let me know.

Westfall Horsemanship isn't all it says it is...

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 23:41:20 GMT

You know it is a shame that the world has become what it is.

Take for instance, my daughter, Bethany. She worked for Stacy Westfall for 2 years, first as an apprentice, and then she became a major part of the business. Many horses were trained by Bethany and then "finished" by Stacy. She was in charge of the barn after the other 2 apprentices left. Her hours were long as she trained horses, fed the horses, cleaned the barn and any other menial job she was given. She never got a raise, even when the other apprentices were gone and she was doing the job of 3... And for far less than minimum wage... No benefits, nothing...

She was told, that although Stacy didn't have an official "certified apprenticeship", she would have something in writing at the end of her training.

Of course, now that Bethany has been let go, she has nothing in writing and not even a link to her website... www.newworldtrainingcenter.com

So, for everyone that thinks Stacy Westfall is a sweet, kind person - as we did- we are finding out that things are not always as they seem.

Writing 2 books

Thu, 08 May 2008 20:32:06 GMT

After living as frugally as we possibly could, I found that under dire circumstances, I could feed our family for $20 a week... With people struggling now financially, I have compiled everything I used and have done to be frugal. Some things you may already know, some things may be new to you... but anyway:

I am writing a book on our experiences the first year living here. The book will include how we built our block house without electricity.

I am also writing a book on how to feed your family for less. This includes recipes for a month, the monthly grocery list is included, along with the price of each meal.

If you are interested in either book, email me and I will put you on the waiting list.

Personality ID

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 11:22:21 GMT

I took a personality profile and this is what I was labeled:

Encourager:

General Description
As an Encourager, you are very relationship oriented and respond naturally to the needs of others. You want to be seen as an excellent listener who can respond to the challenge of helping others in practical ways, including solving personal problems.

Typical Areas of Strength
Encouragers, like you, are typically energetic, friendly, encouraging, patient, understanding, loyal, steady, dependable, and are willing to listen to the needs of others.

Typical Areas of Struggle
You often shy away from conflict and may avoid making difficult people decisions, rather than hurt the feelings of others.

Your Preferred Activities
Because you cooperate well with others, you function best with access to people who need assistance, encouragement, development.

Your Communication Style
You communicate through carefully chosen words, gestures, body language, facial expressions, and listening skills to communicate your concern.

Monday, April 07, 2008

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 13:45:13 GMT

I have to brag a little. Jim and I went to Summersville to the Pallet Plant, where he parks his semi over the weekend. I ride with him every Monday, then drive the pick-up back home. It is a ritual for us to stop at the Chevron station and get a cup of coffee.. sometimes we share a cookie.

Anyway, today we were in there getting our coffee, being our usual goofy selves. When we went ot pay, the woman at the cash register said, "I just have to tell you this. You are the happiest couple. Every time you come in here you are talking and laughing."

That is a good testament to the saying - "Your life is only as good as your attitude"

Of course, it wouldn't be a complete story if I didn't add that my husband of 27 years then said to the woman something to the effect of 'keeping her in place" or some such nonsense...

Well, I am off to the vet's office - sick sheep.

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 14:43:55 GMT

Well, I am feeling better today... 5 days is long enough for me to be in bed. Jim took care of everything though, which was nice as Maiann was also laid up.

Bethany has started training Stacy Westfall's horses on the waiting list... She is an excellent trainer . http://www.newworldtrainingcenter.com/

Ug

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 12:31:49 GMT

Flu season... we were fine until Mariann came home with it... so far Jim has avoided it...

Leap Year

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 22:25:25 GMT

Doesn't the winter seem so much longer when there is an extra day in February? I look forward to getting through February - it means the winter is almost over and we can start looking th March for warmer Spring-like temperatures.

*sigh* Winter is so much longer this year!