Hurried Drivers and Near Accidents ~ Another Blogspot Draft

Sharing another blogspot draft that was never posted for some reason.  This one really caught my attention, considering the horrific death of our dog Gus, and hurried drivers.  This was written back in 2010.


  

I am finally fed up with drivers in a hurry, speeding by my home.  I am finally in the stages of requesting a small section of highway be marked, and painted a no-passing zone.

Yesterday, I was trying to turn left into my driveway, slowing down to turn.  A semi-tractor trailer passed me on my left at the same time.  I had to actually slow down more, and wait for him to pass, just so I could turn into my driveway.  

My kids have come close to near accidents with other drivers.  Another time, I watched out my window and my daughter was slowing to turn in (right).  The driver behind her blasted his horn, telling her to get out of the way, and she was going pretty fast for a turn.  I was fuming.  


I may even request that the speed limit be 5 miles under for that section too.  It's a long shot, but I'm going to do it anyway, for the safety of my family.  I'm also in the process of finding out if I can request a "no jake brake" zone.  It's marked less than a mile south of us, but driver's are already down to the slower speed limit by the time they get there.  We'll see what I am able to succeed with.

2013 update: I did write to the city to request the no-passing zone.  They denied it.

Baking and Cooking with Lard ~ Chocolate Cherry Crunches

(The upper two on the right were made with a half cherry and the others a whole cherry)

Another future goal of ours, is to raise pigs for meat, and of course have lard.  

I spend a lot of time researching ways to utilize something before we raise it for food. 

 

(Photo source: Amazon)

I have found this wonderful book at the library (again, a great place to read books for free).  However, I may have to add this book to my personal homesteading library. 

I did not have enough dough to cover 24 whole maraschino
cherries.  I started to cut them in half, however, in the end, preferred the whole cherry in the cookie.  Next time, I need to use less dough per cookie.

These would be great for Valentine's Day or Christmas.

I am sure the debate over shortening and lard will continue for years, and doctors will have their opinion.  But when it comes down to it, it's about what's real and what's not real.  And of course, everything in moderation.

The "Old" Ways and Laminate Floors

(Tiger warming on the carpet in front of the corn/pellet burner)

My son asked me, "what does it mean to want to go back to the old days?  Do you really want to go back to horse and buggy?" he asked.

My answer is always yes.  No gas, no oil, no car repairs, no costs of new cars/trucks, no insurance, no car tags each year, etc etc. 

Yes, the horse will need fed, and the horse poo will need shoveled, but there are new inventive ways today, where horse poo can be used for heating homes.

I'm one of those people who are tired of handing out their hard earned cash, caught up in the hamster wheel of "get paid to pay bills, to back to work again."  Hubby is tired of it too.

So...could I possibly convince him to rip out the carpets and put in laminate flooring?   It may take several years to do both areas downstairs, but I'm definitely going to try.  I'm sure the carpet keeps the floors warmer, but here's my statement, and I'm sticking to it....

The Vacuum

~It runs on electric (we have the highest in the county)

~It is constantly needing repairs as it is used daily

~the current vacuum we have needs a new belt.  I went to 3 stores to buy belts that are said to be used on our model.  Not!  After burning up two of the new belts and one not even being tight enough, I had to resort to going on-line and buying one (with shipping costs) for $7.02.  You'd think this is no big deal, but with the daily use, and having no other option but on-line buying for parts, it's more bother and cost than a good ol' broom and dust pan.

~ a broom and dust pan cost me nothing but physical work, and we could all use that in our lives.

~with our allergies, the carpet is a magnet for allergens and all of us could use a break from it.

~with kids and dogs, and having to haul in wood all winter, it would be easier to clean.

~no costly replacement for new carpet in the future.

~no expenses on carpet shampoo or using an electric carpet cleaner, and we would have more space not having to store it.

~it will be safer to have in the rooms with the wood stove and corn/pellet burner.

~I am constantly saving old sheets and other fabrics, for rag rugs, so rugs would not be a problem if needed, and would not cost me anything but physical work and thread (depending on if I braided them or crocheted them). 

The end result - Simplicity.  

The downside?

What will I use to suck down all the spider webs? Ha ha ha!

Maybe I can convince him of one room first, and see how it goes.

.....adding it to the "wish" list.    

    

 

  

Time . . .

Time goes so fast when gardening season arrives, so I am working double time to work on a writing schedule.  

It's been tough.  As soon as my feet hit the floor (literally), Tiger is meowing and under my feet until I feed him, and the other house cats.

But when I do that, I see barn cats peeking into the door for their food too.  Some times it's Aurora squeaking her paws downward, begging for her breakfast.

After that is done, I finally get the coffee brewing, and load wood to the wood stove.  However, to do this I have to go outside to get wood, as the last one up, did not bring any in.  Hmpf....

When that is completed, a half hour passes.  Or so it seems.

Then I finally sit at the computer, with work to start, and I hear the pitter patter of paws, and the jingling of dog collars.

I let them out to do their business, and when I finally sit back down, hubby gets up....."you ready to go to the gym?"

I think an office, far far away, would help me out right now.      

Excerpts from a Journal Junkie

from the family journal . . .

 ...we received a lovely sympathy card from one of my brother's and his wife.  The artwork on the card looks just like Gus. 

...two of the girls went sledding with friends.  They even tried to fit the dog pool in their car to take (didn't happen, ha ha ha!)

 

from the homesteading journal . . .

...still working on the goat stalls.  We can't wait much longer, as the roofing ripped off even more during the last snow storm.

...still researching more recipes that utilize our pantry/freezer stock.  A man my hubby knows has offered to teach us how to make wine from his nephew's pear trees.  It's not a necessity, so it's not really on the top of my list, but more so for a fun self-sufficiency experience.

 ...still hanging our laundry outside, despite the snow.  We have had good winds and sunshine, and it only took a few minutes to warm them in from of the fire.  Boy did my bedding smell good.

...adding up the egg totals for the remainder of 2012.

...used the last of my cooked (and then frozen) dry beans.  I need to get both crockpots cooking black and kidney beans this week.  This has saved us money and is so much healthier than using so many store brand cans of beans. 

  


from the handiwork journal . . .

...working on more Christmas ornaments.  A few can be seen on my S.C.R.A.P. Blog, but some won't be posted until next Christmas.

...working on sewing up yo-yo's with a large box of scrap fabric.  I am so thankful to receive these scraps from a dear friend.

...dug out my "unfinished" project list to work on as well.




from my personal journal . . .

...the lymph node in my neck is still swollen, but reduced in size.  It seems like it's taking forever, but the organic teas and oils are helping.

...I've been organizing my printed craft patterns again.  I got side tracked and now they are neatly being put into their 3-ring binders, and I even have tab dividers to separate the types of projects (and crochet and knitting projects are in separate books too).

...purchased a planner to keep track of my writing in this year (deadlines, contests, words written etc).  It's a good motivator. 



from the gratitude journal . . .

Today I am thankful for...

~ for warm slippers that hubby bought me for Christmas (am thankful for these to wear during the day when dogs drag in snow, and thankful for my gifted red knitted pair to wear at nightfall).

~ for my warm cozy bathrobe 


~ for the propane that is still in the propane tank

~ for beautiful winter sunrises, filled with gorgeous colors

~ for the eggs the chickens keep providing, and the delicious meals I can make with them (not to mention desserts)

~  for the library, and all the resources they provide.

~ for the delicious coffee's, hot chocolates, teas, and wine we received for Christmas.

~ for today's sunshine.

~ for God's Promises.

 


from the exercise journal . . .

...still doing a weekly weigh in, and keeping fit on a regular basis.  I have more weight to lose, but it's slowly coming off.   

Baking with Homemade Ingredients and Real Magazines

I don't subscribe to many magazines, but I do utilize my local library.   Just before the library closed for the holidays, I picked up a few of my favorites.  I also picked up one that I typically don't read - Ladie's Home Journal.

In this particular issue, I found another unique recipe, and one worth trying. Luckily, the recipes are also on-line, so I don't have to type it out, and I can direct you to the correct source.

Fruit Jam Crumble Bars
(Adapted from Ina Garten's Raspberry Crumble Bars)

I used the idea of Ina Garten's recipe, but utilized my home canned pear jam and homemade granola.  I initially wanted to use my canned wild black raspberry jam, but we ate it all.

I did not have sliced almonds and could have used more of the crust mixture, for the topping, but these were wonderful.  It was almost like eating pie with your fingers.

I used an 8 oz. jar of jam also, even though her recipe calls for a 10-12 oz jar.

And of course, my ultimate goal is to some day, use my own homemade butter.

Here is the link to the recipe for the granola.  It was in our local newspaper, and submitted by another writer who belongs to my Christian Writer's group. 

It was also one of the homemade gifts I gave this past Christmas.

Good Morning Granola

We are taking a trip to the library today.  They closed their doors just prior to Christmas and are opening them again today. 
  


 

Angel Cookies and Real Books

As you know, I am a very low-tech, or no-tech person.  I do not read books on electronic devices, nor read them on-line on my computer.  I like to hold the real thing in my hands, and enjoy it without batteries.  That's just me.

(note:  In no way, I am writing this to be hurtful to those who do use electronic reading devices.)