undacova mutha

Planting, Building and Finding water...

2010-06-02T13:01:00.002-03:00

So here we are, already into June and time has been flying by so fast I can hardly believe it. Life is so busy here that there's really no time to look at clocks or calendars... Time is not irrelevant, but here, more than ever,it seems to be another bizarre fabrication of our insane society.

We go to sleep when it's dark and wake when the light begins to return and the rooster crows. There's no tv or internet to keep our brains busy, so we do real life stuff,(ie:chores :) -and listen to cbc radio2, (the local stations are like audio junk food, all ads and crap music with absolutely no real substance whatsoever...)

We have 30 meat chicks on the go, potatoes are planted, and we found a spring! We've been boiling lake water and carrying drinking water in, so this development is very exciting to us. It's up-hill from the cabin, and not too far away, so it should be relatively simple to set up a gravity line to a reservoir closer to where we are...

I was talking to our closest neighbors recently, they were kind enough to invite us to dinner last week, and they are interested in doing a sort of co-operative gardening project, they have land and we have workers. This is perfect for us, as we are living on virgin land that needs so much work, and they are on land that's been farmed for generations... And I have lots of seed potatoes left to plant, so YAY!

Our meat chicks are getting a deluxe hexagonal log dwelling, the bugs have been decimating the spruce trees and if we don't use the wood one way or another it will just rot into the ground. The other day we found an ancient spruce tree fallen, too big to get my arms around, it had bug damage at the core and just snapped right off at ground level. Still good for firewood, but what a waste of lumber...

I really wish I could post some pictures, but I haven't quite figured that out yet...
Soon, I promise!

Thanks for reading my meandering thoughts, it's nice to think that someone is listening!

♥ ♥ ♥Renee J.♥ ♥ ♥

How we save $ on and conserve nutrients in hot rice cereal...

2010-05-15T10:55:00.001-03:00

We used to buy Bobs Red Mill rice poridge at $5.49/7.50g. It's a great product and I would buy it again, but I got this great grain grinder on sale for around $15. at Princess Auto... Now, we buy a 2kg bag of long grain brown rice and run it through the grinder once or twice. 750 grams of that rice costs us about 1.50, well worth the time and energy spent grinding. 2kgs of the pre-ground stuff would cost $14.64, so the grinder paid for it's self after 2 bags of rice... Also, because the rice is ground immediately before cooking, it has higher nutrients than if it sat on a shelf for who knows how long waiting to be bought...

Undacovamutha*Renee Janet

Still Plugging Away At It Tho...

2010-05-09T18:53:00.001-03:00

This week we put a "new" window in the cabin, we'd scavenged it from an old mobile home last year and all the window trim and paint were on hand from past projects. We're getting really good at doing stuff like that for free, and it's more than a little gratifying to be able to use things we saved or collected over the years... I wish I could post photos, I would show the daffodil yellow wall and crisp white window trim, it is stunning.

Undacovamutha*Renee Janet

Mothers Day is a GREAT idea! I choose Sunday...

2010-05-09T18:23:00.001-03:00

THIS IS A TEST!

2010-05-02T18:19:00.001-03:00

Here I am, sitting on the dock at the lake, trying to figure out this mobile blogger thingie. I tried to post a photo yesterday, but it showed my secret mobile blogging email addy... SO, I changed it and here we are again. Fingers are crossed!

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Sent via Bell Email

We are here...

2010-05-01T10:27:00.003-03:00

We are finally all moved and settled, living off-grid in that one room cabin on the lake... Eagles calling to each other wake us early in the morning, along with the crows of Foghorn, our American Leghorn rooster, the latest addition to our small flock. Loons are going off at all hours of the day and night, and the other morning we saw two of them doing what must have been some sort of mating ritual, they were almost running on the water with their wings, like windup toys, going around and around the lake tirelessly for at least 15 minutes, very strange indeed.

We've built a henhouse, set up a laundry shed with a generator, washer and propane dryer. Six people make a lot of dirty laundry in a hurry, so that was a real priority for me after a few trips to the laundrymat in town with a dozen loads to do. A bathtub will be installed as soon as I can find a big old clawfoot tub for cheap or free...

A garden is going in as we speak, sunchokes(jerusalem artichokes), oregano, potatoes, salad stuff, and lots of flowers are on the go, the kids have started some sunflowers, beans and birdhouse gourds on a window and they are increasingly excited to see their plants growing and stretching out towards the light...

We have no internet connection but I am learning to use my mobile phone for email and will soon work my way through the stacks of unanswered mail, my sincere appologies go out to all who've been neglected over these last few months.

Update: still moving...

2010-02-13T11:35:00.003-04:00

We ended up having to move again in November, after,(among countless other issues...), the cozy little place in the woods turned out to be a rodent infested mold factory. Once winter really hit, the upstairs was too hot for us, while the downstairs was cold and damp because the wood stove was upstairs, and heat rises. I had some fans set up to circulate the warm air better, but eventually it started to smell strongly of mold down there, and the mice in the walls were keeping us up at night. I'll never understand how such tiny little critters can make so much noise...

So we moved to this other place, closer to town, on a great piece of land with a river in the backyard... The house is smaller again, but there are a couple of outbuildings to store our stuff that doesn't fit in the house, and I'm finding it much easier to keep the place clean without most of our furniture and books in the way. There's also a fireplace here, a new experience for us, rather like a campfire in the living room... I've been doing a good portion of our cooking on the open fire, because I left our super nice gas stove at our old house for my brother and his woman when I thought we were going to have somewhere to live with a stove in it, (stupid move on my part for sure...) and the two second hand electric stoves I tried to buy didn't work out.
(Story and pictures to follow at a later date.)

We were hoping to be here for at least the summer, but the place was for sale and it sold, so we need to have another plan by the end of April. I want to build a yurt, cord wood, or dugout home, or buy a converted bus... but I'm not exactly sure where or how yet, and I'll have to get rid of most of my/our stuff, and I have no money. Details, details...Palace Yurt by Little Foot yurts at the 2008 evolve festival in Antigonish County

Cordwood building and close-up of inside wall, in Ship Harbour Nova Scotia

Hello again!

2009-10-20T08:18:00.010-03:00

These heathens do grow like bad weeds...

Hello all! To be online again after such an extended absence is a major relief. It was the first time since '97 I've had no internet for more than a month... We were so poor all summer that we had to let the phone and internet go. I have become so very good at being frugal, my new motto is, "If it's free, it's for me!". Also, somehow it seems like the less money and fewer ingredients I have, the better my cooking gets. Not sure how it happened, but more on that later for sure...

We moved away from our house in Havre Boucher, where we lived for the last 8 years, (my Grandmothers old place and one of my most memorable childhood homes). It's in an old acadian fishing village in northeastern Nova Scotia, my ancestors have lived there at least since the early 1800s and likely long before that too, so I do have plenty of family and acquaintances in and around the community but very few real friends, sadly there was hardly even anyone to say bye to when we left. Oh well, c'est la vie.

Now they're having this big RC church sex scandal there because one brave soul finally exposed the abuse he suffered at the hands of the late Father Alan MacDonald, who was a well respected local priest in the 70s. I think that the shit hasn't even started to hit the fan yet, there were a LOT of altar boys this predator came into contact with who are still messed up, the stories have been circulating for years, but nothing was ever done by the church or lawmakers, despite having been informed of at least some of the incidents, up until now. We shall see. I don't understand how money could ever compensate for a ruined life anyway, all this energy should be put into preventing anything remotely like this from happening to any innocent child ever again. You might say,"at least he wasn't after the little girls too", but plenty of them were molested by the dentist in Antigonish while they were under the gas getting fillings they didn't need... Nothing was ever said or done about that either. Can you imagine trying to measure such things in dollars?

We spent most of the summer in a one room cabin on a lake, seriously considering the possibility of relocating there permanently, but being the main dish washer/laundry person and cook in the family, with so many people to look after, I decided that we do need running water and electricity. So after managing to sell that uninsulated albatross of a house we were in, (albeit for way less than its worth, but to a family member and for enough to cover most if not all of my debts, no worries or complaints here :), we are now house sitting this wonderful cozy little house in the woods.

There's a woodstove here, which is another requirement for any place I'm to live in. There is also an oil furnace, but I haven't yet called the oil company to fill the tank, and that must be done before winter, it's on the list... We've been heating the place with free wood so far, since the beginning of September, (well dried scraps from local sawmills are free for the taking as are wind-falls and driftwood...)

This place is well-insulated enough that when I light a fire, it actually gets warm in the house, a completely new experience for me. There's a shed in the yard for my laying hens, an old fashioned claw foot bathtub, beautiful wood floors and walls and a huge screened in deck. Things are definitely looking up.

Cops seize $29,000 from B.C. man, who says he was collecting cans

2009-07-07T23:39:00.000-03:00

When Trent and I lived in Vancouver we used to go to Wreck Beach, this wonderful clothing optional beach out by UBC. It's at the bottom of about a hundred fairytale steps cut into a steep rain forest hill under towering trees amidst lush ferns and exotic wildflowers. At the bottom of the stairs, (once you're past the disgusting but necessary johnny on the spots), this incredible sandy expanse full of Huge driftwood logs, (reminiscent of "The Beachcombers"), and an incredible assortment of the most wonderful, weird people I have ever known or seen... There were the regulars who actually lived there or in their vehicles and did, as far I could tell, most of the maintenance on the stairs, kept the beach clean, drove off any perverts or obnoxious fully-clothed voyeur type folk, and were the real activists in the beach preservation society... There was a plethora of vendors from morning 'til sunset, including Terry the pizza-by-the-slice guy who'd announce his arrival with a stack of pizzas by playing a tune on his bugle, Matt the jello shooter dude, the couple who sold bathing suit bottoms and sarongs, two major burger vendors, my personal favorites were Lucy the sandwich lady, "Sammitches...empanadas wit' hot sauce...sammitches...", and 'Watermelon', "Woo-hoo for melons... woo-hoo!", I sold jewelery, sunglasses, hackey-sacks and Guatemalan purses for this crazy old Quebecois guy called Michel for a short while... There were also of course always lots of people with coolers full of, "Icy cold bee-eer", for sale...

And then there was Frank, the guy who collected empties. He was there from dawn until dusk, picking up cans, all day every day. We'd see him on his way up the stairs with multiple jumbo garbage bags full, a few times a day. I'd sometimes idly wonder about how much money he might be making with his truck full of empties like that everyday, but rarely thought of him again until today I read this news article about some guy who got stopped in New Westminster BC, and the car smelled of marijuana, so the officers searched the vehicle looking for drugs. They found $29,000 in plastic baggies in his car. He says he had the cash because he's been collecting soda cans. . . I wonder if it's Frank?
The Canadian Press: Cops seize $29,000 from B.C. man, who says he was collecting soda cans

N S POWER HERBICIDE SPRAYING

2009-06-28T07:43:00.008-03:00

N S Power is spraying herbicides on the trees along the routes of their power poles and lines. This is happening in Lunenburg County, in Halifax County and in other counties as well – possibly all over the Province.

The herbicide they are using is Tordon 101. This is a combination of 2, 4-D and Picloram. Both of these herbicides are toxic and can have dire consequences to mammals, birds and fish that come into contact with it. It also contaminates ground water.

2,4-D a chlorophenoxy herbicide, (one of the ingredients of the defoliant Agent Orange), is a known carcinogen and endocrine disruptor, this was made clear over a decade ago by Dr. Theo Colborn, author of Our Stolen Future.

"Despite industry efforts claiming the safety of this chemical, there is a large body of evidence indicating major health effects from cancer to immunosuppression, reproductive damage to neurotoxicity. The teratogenic, neurotoxic, immunosuppressive, cytotoxic and hepatoxic effects of 2,4-D have been well documented.

The report by the Ontario College of Physicians linked 2,4-D exposure during pregnancy and childhood to a two-fold increase in the incidence of leukemia
and in their study they also found links to sterility, respiratory problems, atrophy and non-hodgkins lymphoma.

Sweden, Norway and Denmark have de-registered the use of 2,4-D. The Province of Quebec enacted legislation banning the sale and use of toxic lawn and garden chemicals, such as 2,4-D in 2006. More than 70 Canadian municipalities, including Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Halifax have pesticide/herbicide bylaws. The list is growing monthly.

Pesticide companies say that the Pesticide Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) of Health Canada has approved 2,4-D, and it is safe when used as directed.

But 2,4-D manufacturers spend millions of dollars each year pressuring governments worldwide to re-register 2,4-D based on safety studies which they fund. W5, an investigative news program, exposed another pesticide industry strategy by reporting that PMRA receives 25% of its funding from pesticide manufacturers.

When a government agency responsible for reviewing and certifying a product receives funding from the manufacturers of that product, all transparency and accountability is corrupted.

In 2003, the Auditor General of Canada stated: "...the PMRA is not adequately ensuring that many pesticides used in Canada meet current standards for protecting health and the quality of the environment".

The Auditor General of Canada concluded that “the lack of reliable information on pesticide use, exposure, and impacts is a major hurdle that continues to interfere with the Agency’s ability to regulate pesticides..."

For more information on 2,4-D see the following link

www.sierraclub.ca/national/programs/health-environment/pesticides/2-4-D-overview.pdf)

N S Power does have an alternative – they can cut the trees and brush that encroach on the power lines. Safer for all involved, especially the workers doing the spraying or cutting...

If you are worried about the plants, animals, people, and especially the precious groundwater being poisoned, please call and express your concern.
(The person to contact at N.S. Power is Robert Young at (902) 456-1820.)

The RAW MOM SUMMIT

2009-06-24T09:26:00.006-03:00

This is an absolutely incredible series of teleconference interviews available free on mp3 for a limited time... After listening for a couple of days, all I can say is WOW. It's about time.
(I am not affiliated with the raw mom summit in any way at all...I even missed the first 2 days!)

What to do about Fertility, Ovulation and Conscious Conception?
How to prepare for a Healthy Pregnancy, Labor and Childbirth?
What is Attachment Parenting?
Which natural remedies to use when your children are sick?
How to feed a meat-eating partner if you are vegetarian or vegan?
What should you feed yourself when you're overwhelmed with cravings?
How to get kids excited and involved in their own food-prep?
What to do when our kids rebel against our healthy diet?
What is going on with the Bees and why is it so important?
How to shrink our Carbon Footprint?
What is Sustainability and Permaculture?
What Super Foods are BEST for kids?
Exactly what IS the healthiest diet?
What are the best ways to Raise Children Naturally?
What are the lesser-known common pit-falls of a Raw Food Diet?
Which foods help or hinder our Hormones?
What are the issues around Veganism, B-12 and Protein?
What do Raw children eat?
How to get picky eaters to crave their veggies?
Which foods help kids transition and stick to a healthier diet?
What are the other Top Lifestyle Factors besides diet for longevity?

The RAW MOM SUMMIT is from June 22nd to June 30th. Every day of the Summit, you will receive a link to a special web page where you will be able to access the recordings for that day. You'll also be given access to a private community forum.

For nine consecutive days starting Monday, June 22nd through Tuesday, June 30th, there will be 3 interviews every day, including Jean Liedloff, the author of the ground-breaking book, The Continuum Concept, Susun Weed 'the voice of the Wise Woman Way', and many other brilliant people.

Each interview will be available free for 24 HOURS from initial broadcast.

Then the page will be password protected for UPGRADED participants only...

($97.us, w/ tons of great freebies and a money back guarantee.)

You won't be able to listen to the sessions whenever you want through this event. You will only be given access on specific days. You'll get the broadcasting schedule for these calls and access to each call will be given for 24 hours.

You will only be able to listen to each call during the specific times that they are broadcast, not during the entire event, and only for a limited 24 hours after.

Racist PETA Does it again...

2009-06-12T11:16:00.002-03:00

What the heck are those toxic, misogynistic, over-privileged, simpleton PETA people thinking, when they create things like these horrible cartoons and idiotic media campaigns?

How is characterizing a race of gentle, thoughtful, sensitive people as slavering monsters chasing down the poor, innocent seals with caveman style clubs supposed to help anything? They were here, living off of, and being at one with the land since long before white man ever even thought to record his-story. To call this a mockery and degrading to the Inuit is a gross understatement.

If anyone in white bread, middle class amerika has an issue with how animals are treated, then just maybe they'd better deal with the more pressing, (and slightly more local!), issues like factory farms and the pet industry where animals translate into dollars as opposed to the thinking, feeling, interconnected with us beings that the Inuit and so many other aboriginal cultures have always known them to be. If some of the original peoples of this land are still able to hunt and make any sort of traditional living, for goodness sake let them be!

Joy in Death

2009-06-08T14:12:00.002-03:00

Joy in Death

If tolling bell I ask the cause.
'A soul has gone to God,'
I'm answered in a lonesome tone;
Is heaven then so sad?
That bells should joyful ring to tell
A soul had gone to heaven,
Would seem to me the proper way
A good news should be given.

Emily Dickinson, (1830 – 1886)

RIP Grandma

2009-06-07T21:06:00.001-03:00

Grandma is dying.

2009-06-05T10:38:00.002-03:00

My Grandma has had alzheimers disease for a long time. She's been shut up in an old folks home for a few years now, getting fat on food that she'd never ever have eaten by choice, and being given drugs to keep her quiet and easy to manage... She was for most of her life, a vibrant, forward thinking woman who raised ten children, sending most of them on to college, university or trade school. Some of them did very well for themselves and were unquestionably financially able to afford the best of care for her. Instead of arranging for someone to care for her in her home, or one of theirs, they had her move into the local government funded seniors apartment complex, even though she had multiple chemical sensitivities as well as major allergies to cigarette smoke and mold. The place was built on a swamp for goodness sake... It was all downhill from there.

Things here now, and a haiku...

2009-06-02T00:35:00.002-03:00

Stinging Nettle

Apple blossoms

apple blossoms sing
perfection in a blossom
sweet succulent spring

Dandelion flowers

Hillbillies!!!

2009-05-12T11:02:00.002-03:00

The dirt bike winged up the gravel road with its chubby, frizzy red headed rider and scrawny, pimply, greasy longish-haired passenger, both around 12 years old...

I and the young'ns were just settling down for a nice snack of spelt baguette with lingonberry spread and goat cheese, by the little fire at our latest picnic spot near the pond beside the road on our land. Being the sociable person that I am, I waved as they went by, even tho I'd rather not see anyone there.

After ten minutes or so they go by again, and then again a bit later... This was getting irritating, but it's a public road, no houses on it or anything, but certainly there for everyone to use. But the last time they went by one of them sang out in his girlie little boy voice, "hillbillies!", repeating himself a number of times until he was out of earshot. I laughed at first, it was so silly, then I thought about my kids having to hear that nonsense from those prepubescent little shit heads and started to get a little bit annoyed.

I didn't think they'd come back after that, but then I heard the bike again. They came up the road and pulled off on a side logging road across the way like they wanted to see what we were doing without having to talk to us...

Well then I was livid. I grabbed a handful of rocks and went down to the road, called the little feckers out and when they came out to the road, I just lost it on them, screaming and hollering about how they'd picked the wrong time and place to be calling people names and skulking about like that and that I wasn't about to put up with any shit from two disrespectful little bastards such as themselves. (I don't really mind being called a hillbilly, to be perfectly honest it was the principle of the thing, but hellbilly is probably a more accurate description of our little tribe!)

They were speechless at first, then the fella on the back said, "It wasn't us!". I said,"I saw you, don't lie to me little boy." "Well, we're sorry then." "Ya, now you are..." I put the run to them and then made a phone call to arrange for a local fellow to meet them at the end of the road to warn them against bothering us anymore. Hooligans. (I'm turning into a cranky old lady! HA!)

The kid on the front of the bike looked kind of familiar, and I found out later that his father is someone I knew well as a child, his Grandparents, (very nice people), live two doors down from the house we live in now, in a different community a fair distance away... Go figure.

Another beautiful old church gone forever...

2009-05-10T19:56:00.007-03:00

One more landmark piece of time-story destroyed in the name of progress.

St. Joseph’s Church was, until this past Friday, located on the corner of Kaye and Gottingen streets in the North end of Halifax right next door to CFB Halifax, Stadacona...
In 1865 Daniel Sullivan, an alderman, donated a lot of land at the corner of Russell & Gottingen Streets, at a site he wanted a new Church to be built on to serve the needs of Catholics in the North end. The work was finished in 1867, and that year 50 families were members of this church.

On December 6^th, 1917, the Halifax Explosion killed more than 400 of the parishioners, and completely destroyed the church. A basement church was created in 1920 and served the parish for the next 40 years. In 1932 there were 600 families worshiping there. The upper structure of St. Joseph’s Church was begun in 1959 and completed in 1961. In the 1950’s the parish had grown to about 1200 families, but by the time of its closure in 2006, the church population had decreased to about 150 families.

The property developer says that some stones salvaged from the church are going to be incorporated into the new condominium tower. What a loss.

Kids need whole, unprocessed real food.

2009-04-24T19:13:00.005-03:00

To avoid GMO's, one must stay away from, soy, cottonseed oil, canola oil, and corn, and animals fed such things, just for starters. This rules out most conventional restaurant food and lots of stuff at the grocery store too...

Children with their developing bodies, face the greatest risk from the potential dangers of GM foods, as they are more susceptible to allergies, nutritional deficiency, antibiotic resistant diseases and other unforeseen, possibly horrifying, side-effects. Schools in the UK and parts of Europe banned GM food years ago. Parents, in response to the obesity and diabetes epidemics, ADD/ADHD, and the increased understanding of the impact of food and behavior, are learning to adapt their families diet to a few new rules... Some school systems have made healthy changes to their meal programs in recent, and new parents are consistently the largest group of new buyers of organic food each year. To get info on how to take action in your own community and school, see: GM-Free Schools Campaign

Spring peeper frogs (Pseudacris crucifer)

2009-04-24T11:02:00.002-03:00

Frogwatch is a volunteer frog monitoring program where people watch for and report frog activity. Their site has a plethora of information on how and why to do so, including this scary stuff:

"Around the world amphibians are declining. This is occurring in pristine wilderness areas as well as severely modified suburban wetlands. It is unlikely that there is only one global cause of this decline, rather amphibians are being affected by a variety of causes, including increased UV radiation and chemical pollutants. Some species, such as the Golden Toad of Costa Rica and possibly as many as seven species from Australia are now extinct. The loss of the Golden Toad is particularly sobering as it became extinct despite the fact that its habitat was protected in a large nature reserve.

No Canadian species have become extinct, but the Northern Cricket Frog, which was limited to extreme southwestern Ontario, has not been seen in Canada in over a decade. The disappearance of species at the edge of their ranges is troubling, but even more disturbing is the collapse of a species across much of its range. The Northern Leopard Frog was once one of the most common frogs in western Canada, yet in the late 1970s it vanished from much of its range. Dead frogs were found in some areas in Manitoba, but in other provinces the disappearance went virtually unnoticed. Today, the Northern Leopard Frog is considered endangered in both British Columbia and Alberta.

Possibly even more threatening than the introduction of exotic animals is the spread of foreign microorganisms. Scientists have recently discovered one or more fungi that are responsible for mass die-offs of frogs in both the rainforests of Panama and Australia. It appears that the fungi that caused the die-offs were not native to these sites but have been introduced. For some reason the fungi became infectious parasites that ultimately killed their hosts. It remains unclear whether the frog populations were healthy before the fungal infection, or whether there is another factor to explain the frogs' susceptibility to the infection."

Spring is finally here!

2009-04-22T14:10:00.003-03:00

We've been out playing in the woods lately, walking and dreaming about where to build a camp, trying to de-stress and just remember how to slow down, get grounded, and relax.

My videos are getting better, not that that's saying much! I haven't had the patience to learn how to edit them yet, one of these days...
I'm hoping to spend most of this summer out there in the open air. I was walking around our property the other day, and under the thick humus and moss, I found the dry stone outline of an old foundation! It's old enough that it has a mossy tree stump within it's perimeter. I'm going to ask around and see if anyone knows whose place it was, or better yet, I'll go check at the registry of deeds... Their records go back to 1785.

True Beauty

2009-04-21T08:05:00.002-03:00

Hats off to Susan Boyle, from Scotland, who was on one of those talent shows...
She is wonderful.
I don't watch very much tv, it's all internet for me so I've just now seen
this video for the first time, and I am speechless.

She's as lovely to listen to and watch as Connie Talbot. :)

Best PMS Question Ever...

2009-04-05T17:23:00.003-03:00

Q:How many women with PMS does it take to change a light bulb?
Woman's Answer:
One!
ONLY ONE!!!! And do you know WHY? because no one else in this feck'n house knows HOW to change a feck'n light bulb! They don't even know that the feck'n bulb is BURNED OUT!! They would sit in the dark for THREE feck'n DAYS before they figured it out.
And, once they figured it out, they wouldn't be able to find the god damned light bulbs despite the fact that they've been in the SAME CABINET for the past 17 YEARS!
But if they did, by some miracle of the Goddes,
actually find them,
2 DAYS LATER, the feck'n chair they dragged to stand on to change the
STUPID light bulb would
STILL BE IN THE SAME feck'n SPOT!!!!! AND UNDERNEATH IT WOULD BE THE WRAPPER THE FREAKING LIGHT BULBS CAME IN!!! BECAUSE NO FECKER EVER PICKS UP OR CARRIES
OUT THE GARBAGE!!!! IT'S A WONDER WE HAVEN'T ALL SUFFOCATED
FROM THE FECK'N PILES OF GARBAGE THAT
ARE A FOOT DEEP THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE FECK'N HOUSE!!
IT WOULD TAKE AN ARMY TO CLEAN THIS PLACE!
AND DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON WHO CHANGES
THE FECK'N TOILET PAPER ROLL !!

I'm sorry...
What was the question?

Is water a human right? Respect, Protect, & Fulfil...

2009-03-23T22:47:00.007-03:00

Is this really happening? How could the right to water be a question in anyone's mind? Instead of trying to control and profit from water, we need to work harder to keep it clean and free.

ISTANBUL, March 22 /CNW Telbec/ - Over twenty countries have officially

challenged the Ministerial declaration released today at the World Water
Forum, which defines water as a human need rather than a human right, through
a counter-declaration.
 Latin American States have played a key role in gathering signatures onto
a declaration that recognizes access to water and sanitation as a human right
and commits to all necessary action for the progressive implementation of this
right...
...The People's Water Forum, a civil society and labour coalition
representing nearly 70 countries, has called for water to be recognized as a
human right and for an end to the World Water Forum.
 "This is a victory for all our groups who have been working for over 15
years for water to be recognized as a human right," says Maude Barlow, senior
advisor to the President of the UN General Assembly.
 Discussions are ongoing and more countries are expected to sign on to the
counter-declaration.

Sunday, March 22, 2009 According to Maude Barlow, Canada and the United States were the only two countries that had gone on the record at the UN in blocking a resolution that would see access to water and sanitation recognized as a human right. "Recognizing water as a human right is vital to ensuring that governments address the reality of more than a billion people who are currently without access to clean water," Barlow said. "Unsafe water and sanitation are the source of 85 per cent of all disease and one in every six people on Earth has no access to clean drinking water.

What is a human right?

Human rights are protected by internationally guaranteed standards that ensure the
fundamental freedoms and dignity of individuals and communities.They include civil,
cultural, economic, political and social rights. Human rights principally concern the relationship
between the individual and the State.Governmental obligations with regard to
human rights can broadly be categorized in obligations to respect, protect, and fulfil.
(WHO, 2002).

Respect. The obligation to respect requires that States Parties (that is, governments
ratifying the treaty) refrain from interfering directly or indirectly with the enjoyment
of the right to water.
Protect. The obligation to protect requires that States Parties prevent third parties
such as corporations from interfering in any way with the enjoyment of the
right to water.
Fulfil. The obligation to fulfil requires that States Parties adopt the necessary
measures to achieve the full realization of the right to water.
Everyone has the right to a standard of living
adequate for the health and well-being
of himself and of his family.
— Article 25, Universal Declaration of
Human Rights (1948)

Article 12 of the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights recognizes “the right of everyone to the enjoyment
of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.” Article 24 of
the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) further guaranteed that children
are entitled to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, which
requires States Parties to take appropriate measures to combat disease and malnutrition,
including within the framework of primary health care (which includes the provision
of clean drinking-water) (UNHCHR, 1989).

Friendly Fox...

2009-03-21T21:52:00.006-03:00

When I was a child I would have these really intense dreams about foxes in the woods at night, not necessarily bad or good, very vivid tho. I would often awaken from sleep with these smiling fox eyes almost glowing with some all knowing inner light, staring back at me from the inside of my own eyelids... I always did have a thing for foxes, so wild but still adaptable to anywhere.

This picture here from NS museum, is about what I'd expect a fox to look like.

I took these pictures from my back door, a couple of weeks ago.

Trent and Ted were out working in the yard when it just trotted past, checking them out, then when they came in to tell me to look, it came around the other side of the house to the back door, stopped, looked around and came right up to the door. That’s where I shut the door and took the picture thru the glass but the flash blocked most of that one out, all you can see is the tail, but it was right there… It had no fear of us whatsoever; I was a bit worried about it being diseased, but it’s not obviously unhealthy, look at that bushy tail and shiny coat… Tho I did wonder why is it so red around the eyes? And when it looked right at me like that, I got chills. So calm, cool and collected, almost unearthly...Its eyes are glowing 2 different colors in the flash too, what is up with that? It was like a pet dog just checking us out, unlike any wild animal I’ve ever seen before…

Then, it just strolled away to the neighbors, no hurry, no worry...

"Because the disease is almost invariably fatal in humans once the symptoms are in evidence, rabid foxes should be avoided. When rabid, the normally shy and elusive red fox shows no fear of people, is often seen in daylight, and may foam at the mouth in advanced stages of the disease. Children should be warned to avoid bold or apparently friendly foxes. Rabies is transmitted through the bite of an infected animal. If a person is bitten, the wound should be washed immediately, and a doctor should be seen on an emergency basis. Rabies is a reportable disease and as such must be reported to the nearest veterinary authority, usually the District Veterinary Officer of the Animal Health Division, Food Production and Inspection Branch of the federal Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food. The brain of the animal involved should be submitted immediately to a Federal Veterinary Laboratory. Delay could result in the death of the person bitten."
From: The Hinterland Who's Who

Mammal Fact Sheets: Red Fox

Buy Local...

2009-03-09T23:58:00.001-03:00

A cool email I got today.

An unemployed man started the day early having set his alarm

clock

(MADE IN JAPAN )

for 6 am.

While his

coffeepot

(MADE IN CHINA )

was perking, he shaved with his

electric razor

(MADE IN HONG KONG ).

He put on a

dress shirt

(MADE IN SRI LANKA ),

designer jeans

(MADE IN SINGAPORE )

and

tennis shoes

(MADE IN KOREA )

After cooking his breakfast in his new

electric skillet

(MADE IN INDIA )

he sat down with his

calculator

(MADE IN MEXICO )

to see how much he could spend today. After setting his

watch

(MADE IN TAIWAN )

to the

radio

(MADE IN INDIA )

he got into his

car

(MADE IN GERMANY )

filled it with

GAS

(from Saudi Arabia )

and continued his search

for a good paying CANADIAN JOB.

At the end

of yet another discouraging

and fruitless day

checking his

Computer

(Made In Malaysia ),

Joe decided to relax for a while.

He put on his

sandals

(MADE IN BRAZIL )

poured himself a glass of

wine

(MADE IN FRANCE )

and turned on his

(MADE IN INDONESIA ),

and then wondered

why he can't find

a good paying job

in CANADA ..

Y'all gotta keep this one circulating, please!

Doctor recycles prescription drugs to the homeless

2009-03-05T12:38:00.002-04:00

Dr. Jeff Turnbull, chief of staff at the Ottawa Hospital, and Dr. Ron MacCormick, an oncologist in Sydney, N.S., (Home of the notoriously polluted tar-ponds cleanup...) want provincial governments to establish regulations that would guide doctors who want to recycle unused prescription drugs that would otherwise be thrown out.
"I think it's a common sense issue where we could come up with common sense guidelines to direct this," Turnbull said. His patients include people who have lived on the streets for years, and those who don't have a drug plan or a health card. The medication that is handed out is not yet expired. MacCormick, who works in an area of Cape Breton where there are high cancer rates and low incomes, said he completely supports the call for provincial regulations on the issue and the need to recycle prescription drugs. "I would do whatever I could to get that drug into their hands and not let technicalities get in the way of me getting that drug," he said.

According to the Ontario College of Pharmacists, the Drug and Pharmacies Regulation Act prohibits the re dispensing of drugs that have been returned to a pharmacy once the dispensed drug has left the pharmacy...

In a statement, the college said: "This protects the public from potential harm in receiving a drug that may have been tampered with or altered in some way, and is based on the premise that all patients — no matter what their financial status or abilities — deserve drugs that are of high quality; this cannot be assured where returned drugs are “recycled” or re-dispensed to patients."

Health Canada said the issue falls under the jurisdiction of the provinces and territories. The Food and Drugs Act applies to the sale of drug products, not the dispensing of them.

It said the dispensing of approved drugs donated by patients to a doctor or pharmacist would fall under the practice of medicine and pharmacy, which is the responsibility of the provinces and territories.

(From CBC News.ca)

Technology for Country Folk...

2009-03-03T18:36:00.003-04:00

25 Random Things

2009-02-08T09:13:00.001-04:00

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged.

1. I live for my kids. They are my raison d'etre.
2. I keep my hair cut short.
3. I love all shapes and sizes of hats, except those fugly ball caps.
4. Black is still my favorite color for clothing, accessories, and vehicles.
5. I live in a house built by my Grandmother's Great Grandfather in the late 1800's.
6. I'm staining my kitchen hardwood floor the colors of red wine and chocolate. Very nice so far.
7. One wall in my living room will soon be saffron yellow, ("it looks like mustard, Mama"...lol!)
8. I can see, hear and smell the ocean from my window.
9. T and I have been together for damn near 15 years.
10. I use unscented laundry and dish detergent.
11. We raise our own chickens and turkeys almost every summer.
12. I buy local, free-range eggs, 5 or 6 dozen at a time.
13. We get grass fed beef from a local farmer.
14. My car is older than I am.
15. I ride a motorcycle. (Suzuki Savage 650)
16. We've burned >11 cord of wood so far, and winter is only half over.
17. We have no animals here now.
18. I'm addicted to fine, dark chocolate like Lindt 65% Madagascar, chilli or cherry-chilli...
19. I like a nice, dark beer like Propeller porter or Guinness.
20. I quit smoking cigarettes over a decade ago.
21. Once upon a time, before children, I was going to be a model.
22. We moved back home from out west 10 years ago this month. Sometimes I wish we were still there.
23. I'm getting a bit of gray hair, and I like it! Call it highlights if it makes you feel better... lol!
24. After having every color hair you could imagine over the years, I don't dye it anymore.
25. I collect angels.

Food Safety as a Personal Responsibility...

2009-02-01T09:40:00.004-04:00

On learning of the latest rash of sickness and deaths caused by more bad food recently in the US, I felt like we were relatively safe. Maybe I was even a little bit smug. After all, due in part to various wheat and dairy allergies in our family, we don't eat a lot of factory-made or packaged foods, especially products like cookies and ice cream that would have this salmonella contaminated peanut butter... I cook almost everything from scratch, and even if we do have peanut butter on hand it's always organic, lately we use more almond or sunflower seed butter anyway. We buy our beef, eggs and whatever else we can locally, and we don't eat fast, or as we name it, crap food. I think about this stuff more than anyone else I know, and I'd like to be able to think that our family's food supply is safe.

Then on Saturday, the Canadian Food Safety Association released an update on affected Canadian made food products, (before reading this, I was blissfully unaware of just how many there were already onthe list), and some of it is stuff I might buy once in a blue moon, like certain gluten free bars or cookies... I don't think I've bought any of that sort of thing for us in a while, tho I conceivably would because I trusted some of those brands, and this bothers me.

Another nasty facet of this issue is the fact that some of this bulk peanut product was shipped out from Georgia as far back as January 1st, 2007. Even without the bonus bacteria, I think it would be at best all oxidized and rancid, most likely poisoned with some toxic mold if it's a couple of years old...

There's also a company in Canada that returned a shipment of peanuts to Peanut Corp this past April because of metal fragments in it. Should that particular stuff not have been destroyed as inedible? Scary how it's all about the bottom dollar, I don't know how some people live with themselves.

According to officials, over 500 people have been sickened, and at least eight may have died because of this awful mess, and more than 430 products have been recalled so far.
Personally, if I was suffering from salmonella symptoms like diarrhea, fever, cramps, nausea, headache and vomiting, for four to seven days. (which sounds suspiciously like when I had "the flu" a while back...) I'd honestly have to be more than half dead before I actually went to the local ER, as would many folks I know, so I think these figures are likely seriously underreported.

There is a newish Govt Web site called Healthy Canadians - Your Source for a Healthier Lifestyle www.healthycanadians.gc.ca which allows people to search for recalled food or children's products that are unsafe, combines recall information from Health Canada and the CFIA databases, and allows searching by keyword, date, product or company name, and you can browse through product issues dating back to 1995, including some pictures to help identify problem products. Again, I am shocked at the sheer number of food recalls that I had no idea about. I'm putting my email on this list serve to receive notice when these things happen...

So... cook your own food! You can do it! I know you can... Don't ever just trust any gigantic food Corp to provide you with safe and nourishing food. Only YOU can do that. One of these days soon, I'm going to start a food blog to share how we make our healthy food taste so darn good!

Good Luck to everyone in their own food adventures, and remember; if you can't tell what it was before, then maybe you shouldn't be eating it!

Death sentence for being elderly and insolvent?

2009-01-27T15:59:00.004-04:00

I was horrified to read about this 93 year old man in Bay City Michigan, who died of hypothermia, after his power was callously cut off in mid January. A city utility worker had just recently, installed a electricity restricting device that limits power use and blows out like a fuse if it goes over a set level, because he owed, "over $1,000". Power stays off until the limiter is reset. The power company keeps it there for 10 days, then shuts the power all the way off if the bills aren't yet paid or set up to be paid. It's not clear whether or not anyone contacted this guy to tell him how the thing worked or if he even knew that it was there.

The manager of Bay City Power, Robert Belleman, said that their policies will be reviewed, but he doesn't believe they did anything wrong.
"I've said this before and some of my colleagues have said this: Neighbors need to keep an eye on neighbors," Belleman said. "When they think there's something wrong, they should contact the appropriate agency or city department."

They should be ashamed of themselves for shutting the power off and denying heat to an elderly person in this frigid weather, in effect killing him, -not trying to put the blame on the neighbors...

When Marvin Schur's body was eventually discovered by a neighbor, it was below freezing in his house. His furnace was off and the insides of his windows were covered with ice. He died, "a slow, painful death", according to the medical examiner who performed the autopsy.

still here...

2009-01-24T14:00:00.002-04:00

I see that it's been a full month since I last posted, feels like a lot less, probably because I've been constantly sick and way overtired for so long that the days are often indistinct... I am completely all around exhausted.

If I could get some time off, sleep as much as I want and relax for a week no, two weeks straight, I'm sure I would be fine. That's not going to happen here anytime soon tho, I haven't had a week to myself since before having children... Over ten years now. It's not like there's anyone or anything specific stopping me from going somewhere or doing something, but I'm so busy with mothering and homemaking that it just never happens. I need to figure out how to extract myself from this reality for a while and go somewhere to recharge and de-stress. I'm not complaining, my life is good. If I had a van or rv, I'd just drive somewhere and park there for a while... Maybe I could find a cheap or free cap for the truck... Even winter camping looks appealing right now. I have always wanted to sleep in a snow shelter, maybe this is the winter I'll do it. At least that's in my price range!

Anyways, we all made it thru another long December and most of this cold January. Spring is on the horizon, the family is warm, dry and pretty darn well fed. I've been looking at the seed catalogs lately, I think I'll order from Richter's herbs in Ontario again this year... They have an incredible selection and super customer service. I also like Veseys in PEI...

We've had such a hard time keeping the house warm this winter, I want to be in a smaller, better insulated, more all around ergonomic dwelling than our aged farmhouse that lets the cold and wind blow right thru... After much consideration over the last decade or so, I most like the idea of something the shape of a yurt, built with locally scavenged wood, partially underground for insulation, with a sod roof, (sod reserved from the original excavation), and south facing windows for passive solar heat... I want polished dirt floors, a clawfoot tub and a little wood stove in the bathroom... A friend recently drew this to my attention, inspiration! Wow.

And now, a taste of our fantabulous east coast talent, from his latest album "Situation", Buck 65!

Foolishness Therapy for Holiday Stress...

2008-12-24T11:42:00.005-04:00

Warning: Only for those w/ a good sense of ha-ha...

An elderly woman walked into the Bank of Canada one morning with a purse
full of money. She wanted to open a savings account and insisted on talking
to the president of the Bank because, she said, she had a lot of money.
After many lengthy discussions (after all, the client is always right) an
employee took the elderly woman to the president's office.
The president of the Bank asked her how much she wanted to deposit. She
placed her purse on his desk and replied, '$165,000'. The president was
curious and asked her how she had been able to save so much money. The
elderly woman replied that she made bets.
The president was surprised and asked, 'What kind of bets?'
The elderly woman replied, 'Well, I bet you $25,000 that your testicles are
square.'The president started to laugh and told the woman that it was impossible to
win a bet like that..
The woman never batted an eye. She just looked at the president and said,'Would you like to take my bet?''Certainly', replied the president. 'I bet you $25,000 that my testicles are not square.''Done', the elderly woman answered. 'But given the amount of money involved,if you don't mind I would like to come back at 10 o' clock tomorrow morningwith my lawyer as a witness.' 'No problem', said the president of the Bank
confidently.
That night, the president became very nervous about the bet and spent a long
time in front of the mirror examining his testicles, turning them this way
and that, checking them over again and again until he was positive that no
one could consider his testicles as square and reassuring himself that there
was no way he could lose the bet.
The next morning at exactly 10 o'clock the elderly woman arrived at the
president's office with her lawyer and acknowledged the $25,000 bet made the
day before that the president's testicles were square. The president confirmed that the bet was the same as the one made the day
before. Then the elderly woman asked him to drop his pants etc. so that she
and her lawyer could see clearly. The president was happy to oblige.
The elderly woman came closer so she could see better and asked the
president if she could touch them. 'Of course', said the president. 'Given
the amount of money involved, you should be 100% sure.'
The elderly woman did so with a little smile. Suddenly the president noticed
that the lawyer was banging his head against the wall. He asked the elderly
woman why he was doing that and she replied,'Oh, it's probably because I bet him $100,000 that around 10 o'clock in the morning I would be holding the balls of the President of the Bank of Canada!'

****************************************
One day, a man came home and was greeted by his wife dressed in a very Sexy nightie. 'Tie me up,' she purred, 'and you can do anything you want.' So he tied her up and went golfing.

*****************************************
A woman came home, screeching her car into the driveway, and ran into the house. She slammed the door and shouted at the top of her lungs, 'Honey, pack your bags. I won the lottery!' The husband said, 'Oh my God! What should I pack, beach stuff or mountain stuff?' 'Doesn't matter,' she said. 'Just get out.'

*************************************
A Polish immigrant went to the DMV to apply for a driver's license. First, of course, he had to take an eye sight test The optician showed him a card with the letters
'C Z W I X N O S T A C Z.' 'Can you read this?' the optician asked. 'Read it?' the Polish guy replied, 'I know the guy.'

***********************************************
Mother Superior called all the nuns together and said to them, 'I must tell you all something. We have a case of gonorrhea in the convent.' 'Thank God,' said an elderly nun at the back. 'I'm so tired of chardonay.

************************************************************************************
A cabbie picks up a Nun. She gets into the cab, and notices that the
VERY handsome cab driver won't stop staring at her. She asks him why he is staring. He replies:'I have a question to ask, but I don't want to offend you.'She answers, 'My son, you cannot offend me. When you're as old as I am and have been a nun as long as I have, you get a chance to see and hear just about everything. I'm sure that there's nothing you could say or ask that I would find offensive.''Well, I've always had a fantasy to have a nun kiss me.'She responds, 'Well, let's see what we can do about that: #1, you have to be single and #2, you must be Catholic.'The cab driver is very excited and says, 'Yes, I'm single and Catholic!''OK' the nun says. 'Pull into the next alley.'The nun fulfills his fantasy with a kiss that would make a hooker blush. But when they get back on the road, the cab driver starts crying.'My dear child,' said the nun, 'Why are you crying?''Forgive me but I've sinned. I lied and I must confess; I'm married and I'm Jewish.'The nun says, 'That's OK. My name is Stanley and I'm going to a Halloween party.'

*************************************************************************************
A wife was making a breakfast of fried eggs for her husband. Suddenly, her husband burst into the kitchen. 'Careful,' he said, 'CAREFUL! Put in some more butter! Oh my gosh! You're cooking too many at once. TOO MANY! Turn them! TURN THEM NOW! We need more butter. Oh my gosh! WHERE are we going to get MORE BUTTER? They're going to STICK! Careful. CAREFUL! I said be CAREFUL! You NEVER listen
to me when you're cooking! Never! Turn them! Hurry up! Are you CRAZY? Have you LOST your mind? Don't forget to salt them. You know you always forget to salt them. Use the salt. USE THE SALT! THE SALT!' The wife stared at him 'What in the world is wrong with you? You think I don't know how to fry a couple of eggs?' The husband calmly replied, 'I just wanted to show you what it feels like when I'm driving.'

***************************************************************
Fifty-one years ago, Herman James, a North Carolina mountain man, was drafted by the Army. On his first day in basic training, the Army issued him a comb. That afternoon the Army barber sheared off all his hair. On his second day, the Army issued Herman a toothbrush. That afternoon the Army dentist yanked seven of his teeth . On the third day, the Army issued him a jock strap. The Army has been looking for Herman for 51 years.
*******************************************

A Newfie decides to travel across Canada to see the Pacific Ocean. When he gets to Nanaimo, he likes the place so much that he decides to stay. But first he must find a job. He walks into the MacMillan-Bloedel office and fills out an application as an 'experienced' logger. It's his lucky day. They just happen to be looking for someone. But first, the bush foreman takes him for a ride into the bush in the company pickup truck to see how much he knows. The foreman stops the truck on the side of the road and points at a tree. 'See that tree over there? I want you to tell me what species it is and how many board feet of lumber it contains.'The Newfie promptly answers, 'Dat dere's a Sitka Spruce and she got 383 board feet a' lumber in 'er.'

The foreman is impressed. He puts the truck in motion and stops again about a mile down the road. He points at another tree through the passenger door window and asks the same question. This time, it's a bigger tree of a different class.'Lord tunderin'! Dat's yer Douglas Fir and she got 690 board feet.' says the Newfie.
Now the foreman is really impressed. The Newfie has answered quickly and got the answers right without even using a calculator! One more test. They drive a little farther down the road, and the foreman stops again. This time, he points across the road through his driver side window. 'And what about that one?'
Before the foreman finishes pointing, the Newfie says, 'A Yeller Cedar, 242 board feet at most.'The foreman spins the truck around and heads back to the office a little pissed off because he thinks that the Newfie is smarter than he is. As they near the office, the foreman stops the truck and asks the Newfie to step outside. He hands him a piece of chalk and tells him, 'See that tree over there. I want you to mark an X on the front of that tree.'The foreman thinks to himself, 'Idiot! How would he know which is the front of a tree?'When the Newfie reaches the tree, he goes around it in a circle while looking at the ground. He then reaches up and places a white X on the trunk. He runs back to the foreman and hands him the chalk. 'Dat's da front a' dat tree fer sure.' the Newfie states, cocksure.The foreman laughs to himself and asks sarcastically, 'How in the hell do you know that's the front of the tree?'The Newfie looks down at his feet, while rubbing the toe of his left boot cleaning it in the gravel and replies, 'Cuz someone took a shit behind it!'
He got the job . Three weeks later, he became the foreman.

**************************************************************
When Cardboard Men Come In Handy
A car gets a flat on the interstate one day. The driver eases it over onto the shoulder of the road, carefully steps out of the car and opens the trunk.
He takes out two cardboard men, unfolds them and stands them at the rear of the vehicle facing oncoming traffic. The lifelike cardboard men are in trench coats exposing their nude bodies and private parts to approaching drivers.
Not surprisingly, the traffic becomes snarled and backed up.
It isn't very long before a police car arrives. The officer, clearly enraged, approaches the driver of the disabled vehicle yelling, 'What's going on here?'
'My car broke down, officer' says the driver calmly.
'Well, what the hell are these obscene cardboard pictures doing here by the road?' he asks.
'Helllooooooo!!!!' says the driver. 'Those are my emergency flashers!'

********************************************************************
Grandmas don't know everything

He'd been playing outside with the other kids for a while when he came into the house and asked her,'Grandma, what's that thing called when two people sleep in the same room and one is on top of the other?'She was a little taken aback, but she decided to just tell him the truth. 'It's called sexual intercourse, darling' Little Tony just said, 'Oh, OK,' and went back outside to play with the other kids. A few minutes later he came back in and said angrily Grandma, it isn't called sexual intercourse. It's called Bunk Beds. And Jimmy's mom wants to talk to you.

******************************************************************************
WHERE WOULD YOU BE?
IF - YOU HAD ALL THE MONEY YOUR HEART DESIRES?
IF - YOU HAD NO WORRIES?
IF - YOU CAME HOME AND THE FINEST MEAL IS AWAITING YOU?
IF - YOUR BATHWATER HAD BEEN RUN?
IF - YOU HAD THE PERFECT KIDS?
IF - YOUR PARTNER WAS AWAITING YOU, WITH OPEN ARMS AND KISSES...
SO, WHERE WOULD YOU BE?
HELLOO!!!!!!!!!
YOU'D BE IN THE WRONG F#*@ING HOUSE!

********************************************************************************
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire Newfie Style

Mick appeared on the Newfoundland version of "Who
wants To Be A Millionaire" called "WHO WANTS TO
BE A NEWFIONAIRE" and towards the end of the
program had already won $500,000.

"You've done very well so far," said the show's
presenter, but for $1,000,000 you've only got one
lifeline left, phone-a-friend. Everything is riding on this question.
Will you go for it?"
"Sure," said Mick. "I'll have a go!"

"OK. The question is: which of the following birds
does NOT build it's own nest ? (a)Robin ( b)Sparrow
(c)Cuckoo (d)Thrush."
" I hasn't got a clue," said Mick, "So I'll use my last
lifeline and phone my friend Paddy back home in
Come-Bye-Chance."
Mick called up his mate, told him the circumstances
and repeated the question to him.

Fookin Ell, Mick!"cried Paddy. "Dat's just simple logic....it's
a Cuckoo."
"Are you sure, Paddy?" asked Mick. "I'm fookin sure" replied
Paddy. Mick hung up the phone and told the TV presenter,
"I'll go with cuckoo as my answer."
Is that your final answer?" asked the host.
"Dat it is Sir."

There was a long, long pause, then the presenter screamed,
"Cuckoo is the correct answer! Mick, you've won
$1,000,000!"

The next night, Mick invited Paddy to their local pub to buy him
a drink.
"Tell me, Paddy? How in God's name did you know it was the
cuckoo that doesn't build its own nest? I mean you know fook-all
about birds."
Fer fooks sake!" laughed Paddy. "Lord tunderin Jaezuz
everybody knows a fooking cuckoo lives in a clock!"

*************************************************************************************
Rufus and Clarence
===================
There were two old men living in the backwoods of the Ozarks
.... Rufus and Clarence.
They lived on opposite sides of the river, and they hated each
other. Every morning, just after sun-up, Rufus and Clarence
would go down to their respective sides of the river and yell at
each other. "Rufus!!" Clarence would shout.
"You better thank yor lucky stars I cain't swim ... or I'd swim this river and whup your behind!!" "Clarence!!!" Rufus would holler back."You better thank YOUR lucky stars that I cain't swim ....or I'd swim this river and whup your skinny behind!!!"
This happened every morning for twenty years. One day the Army Corps of Engineers comes along and built a bridge. Still, every morning, every day for another five years this yelling across the river goes on, even with the bridge. Finally .... Mrs. Rufus had had enough."Rufus!" she squallers one day. "I cain't take no more!! Every day for 25 years you've been threatenin' to whup Clarence. Well, there's the bridge .... have a go at it." Rufus thought for a moment. Chewed his bottom lip for another moment."Woman!" he declared, snapping his suspenders into place,"I'm gonna across that thar bridge and I'm gonna whup Clarence's behind!!!"
He walked out the door, down to the river, along the riverbank, came to the bridge, stepped up onto the bridge,walked about halfway over the bridge, looked up .....
TURNED TAIL AND RAN SCREAMING BACK TO THE HOUSE, SLAMMED THE DOOR, BOLTED THE WINDOWS, GRABBED THE SHOTGUN AND DOVE, PANTING AND GASPING, UNDER THE BED!!!!!
"Rufus!" cried the misses."I thought you wuz gonna whup Clarence's behind!!!" "I was, woman, I was!!" he whispered."Rufus!" cried the misses. "What in tarnation is the matter?" "Well," muttered the terror-stricken Rufus, " I went to the bridge .... I stepped up on the bridge .... walked halfway over the bridge .... looked up ...." "And?" asked Mrs. Rufus, breathless with suspense. "And," continued Rufus, "I saw a sign that said ..."Clearance, 13 feet, 6 inches" .... he ain't never looked that big from the other side of the river" !!!

***********************************************************************************
A friend, who worked away from home all week, always made a special
effort with his family on the weekends. Every Sunday morning he would take his 7-year old granddaughter out for a drive in the car for some bonding time. Just he and his granddaughter. One particular Sunday however, he had a bad cold and really didn't feel like being up at all. Luckily, his wife came to the rescue and said that she would take their granddaughter out. When they returned, the little girl anxiously ran upstairs to see her grandfather.'Well, did you enjoy your ride with grandma?''Oh yes, Papa' the girl replied, 'and do you know what? We didn't see a single dumb bastard or lousy shit head anywhere we went today!' Brings a tear to your eye doesn't it?

*************************************************************************************
A small boy was lost at a large shopping mall.
He approached a uniformed policeman and said, 'I've lost my grandpa!'
'The cop asked, 'What's he like?' The little boy hesitated for a moment and then replied,'Crown Royal whiskey and women with big tits.'

*************************************************************************************
My five-year old students are learning to read.Yesterday one of them pointed at a picture in a zoo book and said, 'Look at this! It's a frickin' elephant!'
I took a deep breath, then asked...'What did you call it?''It's a frickin' elephant! It says so on the picture!'And so it does...
' A f r i c a n Elephant '
Hooked on phonics! Ain't it wonderful?

*************************************************************************************
INSIGHT, by George Carlin... if you missed it before...
GEORGE CARLIN (His wife recently died...and George followed her, dying July 2008)
Isn't it so very eloquent...and so very appropriate.

A Message by George Carlin:

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge , but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life, not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom but not our prejudice. We write more but learn less. We plan more but accomplish less. We've learned to rush but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete...

Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember, to say, 'I love you' to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

If you don't send this to at least 8 people....Who cares?

George Carlin

Winter Solstice

2008-12-21T22:28:00.005-04:00

Things will only get brighter from here on in. After the longest night and the shortest day of the year, we are ready for the return of the warm sun. Here in Nova Scotia we've still got a few more months of winter to look forward to, but the very lengthening of the days is warming to the soul, and the winter sun is intense; when the wind dies down, it can be very pleasant and warm in the afternoons. Right now tho, the winds are blowin' a fearsome gale and despite the fact that we're running two wood stoves at full blast, this drafty old house is freezing cold. By this time next year I'd like to be in a smaller, more easily heated, possibly dug-out home in the woods... For now, we'll keep tending the fires and bundle up even more than usual. Stay Warm and Be Well!

Smells like Christmas...

2008-12-15T20:49:00.009-04:00

Bah Humbug!
Baled balsam fir trees-December 2008

Christmas stresses me right out. Traffic is heavy, grocery lines are long, annoying music gets overplayed and people, myself included, are driven insane by the blatant commercial bullshit. When our first child was born, as non-christians, we decided that we were not going to 'do' Christmas. In a multicultural mecca like Vancouver, this was not so odd. When we moved back to our extremely religious, (Where if you're not a roman catholic you're usually at least a christian.), east coast home town, people here thought we were insane to deprive our darling child of such a wonderful holiday. We decorated a tree and exchanged gifts, but we didn't lie about any of them being from some stranger in a red suit or go to church... We try to be as honest as possible with our children.

Last year instead of buying the regular obligatory family gifts, we bought chickens, goats and household emergency kits for people who really need them, from oxfam unwrapped. You get a card with a picture and description of the gift on it to symbolize the gift, while the things and money will go to people who really need it.

This year we will give some of our home raised chickens, crafts, artwork and photos. Stuff will get bought for the children, and I put a deposit on an acoustic guitar for myself, but we have enough decorations so we don't feel the need to buy any and we raised our own free-range turkeys this year, (which would be worth it for the taste even if it wasn't a big money saver). When we lived out west, we'd have a pot-luck on winter solstice. I miss that. Next year, I hope to be organized enough to have a real Buy Nothing Christmas . There are so many great ways, and plenty of good reasons to simplify the holidays. What do you do to keep it simple during the holidays? Do you celebrate at all?

And now for a word from Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping...

And The Stop Shopping Choir!

Bookworm Award

2008-12-14T14:04:00.009-04:00

(Backyard path in snow.)

A bookworm award...
I was tagged by MoonRaven.

RULE ONE, I have to grab one of the books closest to me, go to page 56, type the fifth line and the next two to five lines that follow.

RULE TWO, I have to pick five people who love books and who could receive the Bookworm award with honor.

First part:
To Engage Cooperation
1.Describe. Describe what you see.
2. Give information.
3. Say it with a word.
4. Talk about your feelings.
5. Write a note.
-From 'How To Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk'
by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish

Second part:
Carrot Quinn ,
Kate@living the frugal life,
solstice dreamer,
SacredSuzie, and
Cheeseslave.

A few telling questions...

2008-12-08T22:36:00.007-04:00

I'm deleting lots of moldy old email tonight, and I found this weirdly interesting one to edit into a post. Seems to work, but how well?
(What is "different if not abnormal mind" supposed to mean anyway? Lol! In my circle of friends and family, it was more like 50/50... Are we so very odd? :)

I'm one of the 98%...

This is quite amazing.

At the end of this post, you are asked a question.

Answer it immediately. Don't stop and think about it.

Just say the first thing that pops into your mind.

This is a fun"test"... AND kind of spooky at the same time! Give it a try, then post your result in the poll and you'll see how many people fall into the same percentage as you. You'll understand what that means after you finish taking the test.

Now... just follow the instructions as quickly as possible.

Do not go to the next calculation before you have finished the previous one..

You do not ever need to write or remember the answers, just do it using your mind.

You'll be surprised.

Start :

How much is:

15 + 6

3 + 56

89 + 2

12 + 53

75 + 26

25 + 52

63 + 32

I know! Calculations are hard work, but it's nearly over..

Come on, one more!

123 + 5

QUICK! THINK ABOUT A COLOR AND A TOOL!

Scroll further to the bottom.....

A bit more...

You just thought about a red hammer , didn't you?

If this is not your answer, you are among 2% of people who have a different, if not abnormal mind.

98% of the folks would answer a red hammer while doing this exercise.

If you do not believe this, pass it around and you'll see.

Who needs steel?

2008-12-07T19:14:00.002-04:00

Henry Ford demonstrated that the plant hemp could be transformed into a lightweight material stronger than steel. The perfect material for car bodies.

Update

2008-12-07T16:05:00.005-04:00

3 weeks since I last posted, so much has been going on; I haven't been sleeping well for months, I wake up at 2 or 3am with w/pain and burning that seems like it might be carpal tunnel, but it's accompanied by bad circulation and numbness. Nothing seems to help, so I lay awake until it's time to get up. Lately I'm too tired to get up early and use the computer as per usual, so I'm behind in everything...

We sold a big truckload of 350 christmas trees last week, I only put one on the truck myself because they are so heavy but I sure took lots of photos!

I plastered, caulked and painted a small drafty room off the living room, T installed a light and some flooring, now we have a warm, bright, study area for the children to do their schoolwork and a place to organize all of the teaching aids and learning supplies I've accumulated over the last decade. I expected this task to take a few days, after all the renovating and organizing, here we are weeks later and I am exhausted... (I'll post about this soon, I'm very happy w/the result)

On top of all that, we finally got the call from the school board about our homeschooling/unschooling... I'm going to speak to someone about it tomorrow. I don't keep every little thing they do, but I have plenty of..."proof", that they do some schoolwork. Here in Nova Scotia, we don't get to claim any tax credits or anything like that for homeschooling. I would move the family elsewhere before I put any of them back into the school system here. I can't wait to hear what they have to say about our methods... *fingers crossed*

I spent the morning yesterday, accompanying my sister in law to the federal penitentiary that my brother is currently incarcerated in for, "family day", so she could be turned away by the guards for no given reason except that the dog was barking at her, (it was barking at the handler and the guards too...). She had passed the metal detector, ion scanner test and had even offered to let them strip search her but to no avail, they wouldn't let her in, (along w/ almost 1/2 of the other visitors), and she was so upset. It's been over 5 months since she's seen him. I won't go in there anymore myself and now, neither will she. What a horrible dehumanizing place.

So much more to say, no energy now.
Tomorrow.

100 000 miles!

2008-11-17T13:34:00.007-04:00

The odometer on my car rolled past 100 000 miles to start over at 000000 yesterday...
Almost 60% of those miles we put on it in these last 6 years of working, schooling and playing.

When I first saw this car I thought it was the ugliest thing I'd ever seen, next time I looked I kinda liked it, after that it was love.

The exterior was this pukey orange with a white top, and the interior was beige, in great condition except for the cracked seats and nasty carpet, and it was a 4-door!

We were driving an '80s Bonneville at the time and it was pretty cramped what with the 2 baby seats and booster seat but I couldn't see myself ever driving a minivan...

Anyways, this old malibu was sitting at this tiny car lot in town for years, buddy was asking way too much money for the shape it was in, it looked perfect from a distance but up close you could see the rust underneath, and the flapping fenders. After weeks of negotiations, we got it for around half of what he was asking. We were pleased and so was he.

Since then, we've put at least that much into bodywork but it's been worth it, considering what a new, or used car can cost these days. When it comes to doing engine work to this car, parts are surprisingly cheap and pleasingly simple, no computerized anything, just mechanics... It's running kind of rough right now, might be almost time for that engine overhaul we've been talking about for years.

When the bodywork was done in '07 we put one of those CounterAct corrosion control devices on the car, bought at Canadian Tire where the fellow in the automotive department assured us that this was the model we were looking for even after we asked if it shouldn't be the truck version because our car was so old and heavy relative to a new one... Well it didn't work a bit and now that the rust is back with a vengeance, I'm feeling ripped off. But I still love my car.

Freezing fish in an ice glaze.

2008-11-10T09:32:00.008-04:00

First I flash froze the fresh, whole fish loose on pans in the freezer.

When they were solid,
I dipped them in water and refroze them a number of times
until they were encased in a 2-3 mm thick layer of ice.
This keeps the fish in better shape as it prevents oxidization and freezer burn.

Then I bagged them up, to be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months, and thawed in the fridge as needed.

One liners

2008-11-10T08:59:00.003-04:00

One liners

Energizer Bunny arrested - charged with battery.
A man's home is his castle, in a manor of speaking.
A pessimist's blood type is always b-negative.
My wife really likes to make pottery, but to me it's just kiln time.
Dijon vu - the same mustard as before.
A Freudian slip is when you say one thing but mean your mother.
I used to work in a blanket factory, but it folded.
I used to be a lumberjack, but I just couldn't hack it, so they gave me the chop.
A hangover is the wrath of grapes.
Corduroy pillows are making headlines.
Is a book on voyeurism a peeping tome?
Dancing cheek-to-cheek is really a form of floor play.
Sea captains don't like crew cuts.
Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?
A successful diet is the triumph of mind over platter.
A gossip is someone with a great sense of rumour.
Without geometry, life is pointless.
When you dream in colour, it's a pigment of your imagination.
Reading whilst sunbathing makes you well-red.
When two egotists meet, it's an I for an I.
Too often, we lose sight of life's simple pleasures...

How do they circumcise whales?
They send down four skindivers.

"Doctor, Doctor. I feel like a pair of curtains!"
"Go home and pull yourself together."

Researchers have discovered that excessive masturbation can cause sudden attacks of dyslexia. Hwoever htis is olny ni extreem cas s off ovre doing it. K.O?

One good pun deserves another

A bicycle can't stand on its own because it is two-tired.
What's the definition of a will? (It's a dead giveaway).
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
A backwards poet writes inverse.
Acupuncture is a jab well done.
She had a boyfriend with a wooden leg, but broke it off.
A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.
If you don't pay your exorcist you get repossessed.
With her marriage she got a new name and a dress.
Santa's helpers are subordinate clauses.
When a clock is hungry, it goes back four seconds.
The man who fell into an upholstery machine is fully recovered.
You feel stuck with your debt if you can't budge it.
Local Area Network in Australia: the LAN down under.

"If it wasn't for the invention of the Venetian Blind it would be curtains for all of us"

A dentist to his patient: "Your haliotosis is so bad when you burp your teeth duck!"

A small boy is lost so he goes up to a policeman and says "I can't find my dad."
"What's he like?" the policeman enquires. "Beer and women," replies the boy.

(From Thats A Bloke .com)

Holy Mackerel!

2008-11-09T20:07:00.004-04:00

Someone dropped off a bunch of fresh whole mackerel for me while I was out the other day.
How beautiful these fish are will never cease to amaze me, they have such ethereal iridescent colors. I froze some in an ice glaze, to be blogged tomorrow, maybe...

I canned a few in jars in a pressure cooker, for 100mins @ 10lbs pressure, with salt, onions, mustard seed, black pepper and white balsamic vinegar; my first experiment with canning any meat or fish, and I must say it turned out delicious...

I filleted some of them and brined them in a salt and brown sugar brine overnight in the fridge, rinsed them well and dried them on racks in front of a fan for an hour or so until they formed a dry skin or "pellicule". Then I placed the racks in the preheated smoker, put the pan of oak barrel biscuits on the element and shut the door, closing the smoker vent halfway. I brought the temperature up and maintained it fairly high for a few hours, adding more oak biscuits and rotating racks as needed, then I kept it low for the rest of the night, leaving it to cool in the morning. This will keep 2 weeks in the fridge and needs to be frozen for longer storage. Yum.

Obsession?

2008-11-02T19:11:00.003-04:00

A psychiatrist was conducting a group therapy session with four young mothers and their small children.

"You all have obsessions,"
he observed.

To the first mother, Mary, he said, "You are obsessed with eating.
You've even named your daughter Candy."

He turned to the second Mom, Ann: "Your obsession is with money. Again, it manifests itself in your child's name, Penny."

He turned to the third Mom, Joyce: "Your obsession is alcohol.
This too shows itself in your child's name, Brandy."

At this point, the fourth mother, Kathy, quietly got up, took her little boy by the hand and whispered, "Come on, Dick, this guy has no idea what he's talking about. Let's go pick up Peter and Willy from school and go get dinner."

sweet remedy - The world reacts to an adulturated food supply

2008-10-30T11:15:00.002-03:00

Aspartame was not originally intended to be a food supplement,
someone in a lab tasted it by accident during drug testing and the rest is history...
sweet remedy - Google Video
Toxicity and Effects of Aspartame Use
(can cause panic attacks!)
The following is directly quoted from here.
Selection of Health Effects from Short-term and/or Long-Term Use Note: It often takes at least sixty days without *any* aspartame or NutraSweet to see a significant improvement. Check all labels very carefully (including vitamins and pharmaceuticals). Look for the word "aspartame" on the label and avoid it. (Also, it is a good idea to avoid "acesulfame-k" or "sunette.") Finally, avoid getting nutrition information from junk food industry PR organizations such as IFIC or organizations that accept large sums of money from the junk and chemical food industry such as the American Dietetic Association.

Panic Attacks (common aspartame toxicity reaction)

anxiety

Seizures and Convulsions

Dizziness

Tremors

Migraines and Severe Headaches (Trigger or Cause From Chronic Intake)

Memory Loss (common Nutrasweet toxicity effects)

Slurring of Speech

Numbness or Tingling of Extremities

Chronic Fatigue

Depression

Insomnia

Irritability

Marked Personality Changes

Phobias

Rapid Heart Beat, Tachycardia (another frequent NutraSweet reaction)

Asthmatic Reactions

Chest Pains

Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)

Nausea or Vomiting

Diarrhea

Abdominal Pain

Swallowing Pain

Itching

Hives (Urticaria)

Other Allergic-Like Reactions

Blood Sugar Control Problems (Hypoglycemia or Hyperglycemia)

Menstrual Problems or Changes

Impotency and Sexual Problems

Craving for Food

Weight Gain

Hair Loss (Baldness) or Thinning of Hair

Burning Urination

Excessive Thirst or Hunger

Bloating, Edema (Fluid Retention)

Infection Susceptibility

Joint Pains

Brain Cancer (Pre-approval studies in animals)

Death

More here:

And here:

Damn Good Dogs

2008-10-29T11:53:00.015-03:00

I was looking at pics of someones beautiful dogs the other day and it really reminded me of some wonderful dogs we used to have. Our dog Daemon had the most incredible personality, he was so calm and patient, he pretty much always had a smile on his face. It was almost funny when someone would be afraid of his big teeth because he was only grinning! He was a blond American Staffordshire terrier, (I never did call them pit bulls because people seemed to look at them differently when they heard that name...), w/ dark around his eyes and muzzle, he was so very handsome. He was an almost iridescent silver-grey when he was born, we were lucky enough to get the pick of the litter, all the other pups in that litter were either bringle or red... We chose Daemon and also took Rowan as company for him, the little red runt of the litter. She was cute as hell too and it seemed somehow silly to just have one dog, when we had so much space where we were living at the time. There were packs of coyotes out there too, you could hear them howling at night. We were living in an old, formerly abandoned farm house that was on 45 acres in the middle of nowhere, at the dead-end of a dirt road that had only 2 other dwellings on it... We were set to buy the place, but the deal fell thru and we were expecting our twins by then so we ended up moving to another old house, but this one was in civilization, ie; on a paved road in a small community w/ lots of neighbors... Rowan was always smaller than Daemon but she made up for that w/ her bad attitude! She was constantly needling him, nipping and teasing him until after putting up w/ it way longer than I would've, he'd finally lose it and snap at her. She would often end up bleeding and then usually get an infection. I'm fairly sure it was at least partially due to the food we gave them. We were giving them the best dry food we could buy locally, but it was still packed w/ corn and wheat which are not things dogs would naturally eat by choice, and are often allergic to, much like some people... In retrospect, if I'd known about the raw meat and bone diet that I had my brothers maltese and malti-poo on when I was dog-sitting them years later, she might have had a better chance... She eventually had stinking, pussy open wounds all over her head and torso, despite the medicines and creams from the vet along w/ the different natural remedies we tried over the years, and she was still tormenting him and getting hurt... She passed away in November, 2000 and is resting at our old place.

Our current home has more neighbors, but there's 8 acres or so behind the house down to the water, plenty of running room, and Daemon and our new red bitch, (from the same parents), Angel behaved themselves so very well for a long time, we had free-range chickens, turkeys and lots of barn cats w/o any trouble from the dogs until one day we saw Daemon kill a cat. I think he was just playing at first when he gave her a little shake, but that was it for poor little Minty...
He saw how upset everyone was and never let us see him do it again, but when we were out, chickens would disappear...
Then a turkey was hunted and killed by Rowan, and when a piglet escaped from the pig-pen they both had fun playing w/ it. We were at the lake one day when our good friend called to say that he'd stopped by for a visit and had been greeted by 2 happy, tail wagging blood covered dogs and a half dead piglet. They didn't kill it, they just chased it and maimed it, our friend had to put the poor pig down. As horrible as that was, thank goodness it was him who found that mess and not someone who'd have called the cops or animal control. After that we had to keep them in or tie them and they could break any chain or cable if they wanted to, even aircraft cable. Luckily they were fairly happy where they were even tho they were tied, sweet things... Daemons neck was as big as his head, so a collar was almost useless w/o just about choking him, he also could slip any collar off whenever he felt like it just by backing up at the end of the chain. Very smart dogs they were. Once they had the taste for blood tho, they continued killing our chickens and turkeys and worst of all, started threatening the passers by on the road in front of our place.

They had to go and there was nobody to take them. Our county is one of those that passed one of those stupid bylaws against "that kind of dog" after we already had them, but no one ever complained about ours so that never really affected us except for when we wanted to get into obedience classes, (the guy that taught it in the nearest town would have nothing to do w/ our dogs), and when we were looking for a good home for them. They're now buried out back.
So very sad. I miss them.
It will be a long goddamn time before I ever get another dog.

The red dog is Angel, (but Rowan was almost identical), the blond is Daemon and the little white boxer mix was my brothers dog we were keeping for him while he was away...

No pectin grape-apple jelly

2008-10-28T18:19:00.003-03:00

There's still some cucumbers left and way too many green tomatoes,
now there's apples and grapes to deal with...

We picked a bowl of apples and one of grapes.
The grapes were mashed into a pot w/ some water,
brought to a boil and simmered on a low fire for 15 mins or so.
The apples were quartered into a big pot, just barely
covered w/ water and simmered for a longer time.
Both mashes were left to drain overnight in a cloth lined strainer.

My favorite part was testing the juice for pectin.
Pour 1tsp of the strained juice into a bit of rubbing
alcohol, and if theres enough pectin it will gel up...
So you can pick it up with a fork...
How cool is that?

Raising meat king chickens

2008-10-25T15:35:00.008-03:00

(This was originally posted on my myspace blog last year...)
June 26
We picked up our day old meat-king chicks at the local farm and garden co-op today. We are starting out with 62 birds that cost $1.15 each. We already own all the feeders and waterers we will need from previous years, so that will cut the costs a bit. We also bought 8 bales of shavings, (I like how clean and fresh the kiln dried shavings are), and 2 bags of unmedicated chick starter. We had to go to a different feed store to find the unmedicated crumbs w/ no animal protein, all they had at the first place was the medicated stuff. I would prefer to have an organic chicken feed but it is not sold locally. I'm putting a tablespoon of vinegar to a quart of their drinking water to help prevent coccidosis.
We placed the bales of shavings around a large flat cardboard box, to form a brooding area, and hung a heat lamp overhead. I put a digital in/out thermometer in at the edge of the brooder to monitor the temperature.

July 3

The chicks are growing their white feathers in, they almost have full white wings! One of the chicks had to be culled, it'd been looking sick since we got them, and I couldn't put it off any longer. It was less than half the size of the others and looked like it could hardly stand up anymore. I also expanded their area by flattening the box and moving some bales of shavings out of the way, and brought in 2 larger waterer's and a big feeder. I put the waterer's up on some bricks to keep the shavings out. The children have been busy picking flowers and bugs for the chicks, it's so funny to see one of them pick up a red clover flower and run with it peeping, while the others try and catch the enticingly dangling blossom... It looks like a little game of soccer! They've also been getting worms and ants delivered and they just go nuts over them. I put a few rocks and sticks in for them to climb on, I've never heard of anyone doing that before but I did read somewhere that meat kings do much better with exercise, and they started climbing up and jumping off the rocks right away!

The Last Wild Rose

2008-10-24T17:07:00.002-03:00

Most of the wild roses here are gone 'til next year, the hips are red as are some leaves. Out for a walk the other day I spotted a beautiful flower and bud, sheltered between the nettle patch and a wild apple tree, about 6ft up on an 8ft tall rose bush...

Strauss Herb Company AGAIN NEEDING TO DEFEND ITSELF and indirectly all of us - Vancouver court case - we all need to attend | The Healing Journal

2008-10-21T15:57:00.003-03:00

Strauss Herb Company AGAIN NEEDING TO DEFEND ITSELF and indirectly all of us - Vancouver court case - we all need to attend | The Healing Journal

At issue: if you can extract a prescription substance from a plant, then the plant is a prescription drug and is only available by prescription. Please pass on to everyone who cares and bring your friends and family. This can be one of those situations where one person tells another who tells another person... and we can all act and fill the Vancouver court room on October 16th through 23rd. it is absolutely essential to defend herbs AND natural health products. See you there.

There is a list of prescriptions substances in the drug regulations. Everyone agrees that you cannot take something listed as a prescription drug and add it to a natural health product. However, this is not enough for Health Canada which came out with an interesting policy in the fall of 2004. According to the new policy, if you can extract a prescription substance from a plant, then the plant is a prescription drug and is only available by prescription.

The list of plants from which you can extract prescriptions substances is long, and includes very common things such as green tea, black tea, and cocoa (chocolate). It also includes common foods such as eggs, carrots, milk, broccoli, etc. No one knows how many plants this new policy will cover.

One concern is that uracil is on the prescription drug list. Most NHPs contains uracil which is the main building block of RNA. If this policy stands, then Health Canada could use uricil as an excuse to drive many NHPs they do not like off of the market.

The Court case is on October 16, 17, 21, 23 and 23 in the Federal Court in Vancouver (701 West Georgia Street, Vancouver).

So far, Health Canada has only targeted red yeast rice, gotu kola, yohimbe bark and cowhage or velvet bean.

If we lose this case, then Health Canada will have a powerful weapon to drive NHPs from the market. It is important for the Court to know that this is important to average Canadians. If we can fill the court room, that sends a message that the case is important.

If no-one shows up, then the Court will assume that this is not important to Canadians. Health Canada will be arguing that the policy is needed to keep Canadians safe. Canadians need to let the Court know that they want access to NHP’s.

Oh the pain!!!

2008-10-21T14:13:00.004-03:00

I had a little twinge in the right side of my jaw the other day, soon after recovering from a small infection in my left nostril, (my nose was sore for a few days I treated it w/ echinacea tea/extract and ester-c orally and saline in my nose, I didn't think much of it and thought that it was dealt with), yesterday morning I felt it in my ear and by afternoon I was incapacitated by the pain, scary for me because I'm someone who can usually deal w/ pain, no problem - I figure it's mostly in my mind. (I've given birth w/ no drugs or yelling, and I do some body-piercing, so I figure I know a little bit about pain)

This time was different, I could hardly think or move. I did an onion poultice which helped for a short while and made some garlic oil on the wood stove, otherwise I just lay there with a heating pad over my ear.

Luckily, I had an audio book of Ishmael by Daniel Quinn that I hadn't listened to yet, so I put that on and closed my eyes... It's a really good book, part fiction part anthropology about how our so called civilized culture justifies destroying every other species and culture for immediate gain, unaware/uncaring of the natural laws and balance that govern all life on earth. Wow...

Onion poultice:
I cooked one onion in a small covered pan w/a bit of water on the wood range until it was mushy.
Then I let it cool a bit, wrapped the pulp in cheesecloth and held it on my ear. aaahhhhhhhhh... Blessed relief! It worked beautifully while it was hot and I rewarmed it a few times in the leftover onion juice in the pan to make it last longer...

Garlic oil:
I peeled and sliced a whole head of garlic into a custard cup, sat it in a pan of water like a double boiler and simmered it on the cool side of the stove all afternoon and evening before straining...
I like to make a garlic based ear oil w/ other herbs like mullein flowers, plantain, calendula and comfrey, but I didn't get any mullein flowers in my garden w/ our cold, wet summer this year and as a result neglected to make my ear oil...

*I went to the Dr today and got a prescription for antibiotics after he said I have a bad bacterial ear infection... I also got some benzocaine drops for the pain and some super-probiotics to re-populate my gut flora. I still feel crappy but not in so much pain, thank goodness.

mustard pickles and pepper jelly

2008-10-16T19:20:00.006-03:00

The mustard pickles are done, green salsa and pepper jelly processed & put away... And there's still a plethora of green tomatoes and cukes to process... Tomorrow I plan to make green tomato ketchup and chow chow. But what to do w/ the rest of the cucumbers? I'm wondering about jam or jelly?...
The red pepper jelly was an almost complete success, I was a little disappointed at the lack of a spicy bite but the kids just LOVE it... On rice crackers w/ unripened goat cheese... mmmmmmm I'm going to make another batch right away w/ no sweet peppers for us adults...Here's what I did:
2 Cups red peppers seeded and chopped, (1 big sweet one and the rest hot)
5 Cups honey
1 1/2 Cups apple cider vinegar
1 pkg pectin

I blended the first 3 ingredients in a blender until pureed, then it was gently warmed over a low fire for a few minutes, and then chilled overnight... Next day I strained the mix, added the pectin, boiled it for a couple of minutes, and poured it into sterilized jars, (the plastic freezer jam jar wasn't sterilized but that one will be gone by tomorrow!). After that, I ground fresh black pepper over each jar and put the lids on. I'm keeping this in the fridge, but don't expect it to last long enough to worry about it going bad!

With goat cheese on black sesame rice crackers...

Investment advice?

2008-10-15T10:33:00.002-03:00

If you had purchased $1,000 of Delta Air Lines stock one year ago, you would have $49 left.
With Fannie Mae , you would have $2.50 left of the original $1000.
With AIG, you would have less than $15 left.
But, if you had purchased $1000 worth of beer one year ago, drunk all of the beer,
then turned in the cans for the aluminum recycling REFUND, you would have $214 cash.
Based on the above the best current investment advice is to drink heavily and recycle…..

The last red tomatoes...

2008-10-14T10:26:00.005-03:00

On my kitchen sink is a cactus planter I recently put together from some of the cacti that were in my flower garden this summer, a little dish of the last few cherry and roma tomatoes that were able to ripen on the plant, some green tea soap and a cup w/ some sweetgrass growing in it...
This is the amazing volunteer sunflower that's flowering in mid October!

The slugs and snails ate the leaves all to pieces, it got almost no full sun, but is still thriving...
Now I'm inspired to feed the birds out front w/ black oilseed all around the yard,
all winter to see just how many volunteer sunflowers will show up in the spring!
That's my kind of gardening!

Pico de Gallo

2008-10-13T20:22:00.004-03:00

I have to admit that I've been wanting to make pico de gallo ever since I first listened to this song "Pico de Gallo" by the band Trout Fishing in America at the Winnipeg Folk Festival in 1997 or '98 when I had only one baby in my sling and we could still go wherever the wind blew us...

Chorus:
Pico de gallo, you oughta give it a try-o
Even if you're from Ohio, it'll get you by-o.
Don't get it in your eye-o unless you want to cry-o
So come on, don't be shy-o, eat some pico de gallo!
It's got jalapenos, I reckon y'all have seen those.
They're kinda hot for gringos and probably flamingos.
Just add some tomatillos, onions and cilantro, Chorus
It was Cinco de Mayo, and I was down on the bayou, With my good friend Venus de Milo We were watchin' Hawaii Five-O, She wanted some French fry-o's, or maybe apple pie-o
And I said why, oh, why-o? We got pico de gallo!Lime juice and tomato, you got pico de gallo!

Pico de gallo, you oughta give it a try-o
Even if you're from Ontari-i-o,
it'll get you by-o.
Don't get it in your eye-o
unless you want to cry-o
So come on, don't be shy-o,

eat some pico de gallo!So come on, don't be shy-o, eat some pico de gallo!

I also thought pico de gallo, (spanish for roosters beak!), had to have tomatillos, but as I realized today when I looked for a recipe, it applies to all sorts of different kinds of salsas. I looked at a bunch of different recipes and had to create my own using what I had on hand...

Pico de gallo:(Green Salsa)
3lbs of tomatillos
3 Hungarian hot wax peppers
1 head of garlic, peeled
3 small onions peeled and cut in half
5 green tomatoes cut in half
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 Cup of apple cider vinegar
1 heaping tsp of coarse grey sea salt
1 tsp of cumin seeds
Fresh ground black pepper to taste

First I roasted the first five ingredients in a couple of dry cast iron pans until toasty on the outside and soft on the inside, then I toasted the cumin seeds and ground them in a mortar and pestle with the salt and pepper. Finally, I blended everything to a coarse pulp starting with the onions and then garlic, hot peppers, spices, tomatoes, tomatillos, lime juice and cider vinegar. Then I put it into 119ml canning jars and processed them in a boiling water bath for 15 mins.
(This recipe filled 10 jars with about 1/4 C. left over. )

I also started an experimental sweet and hot red pepper jelly, with sugar, honey and cider vinegar that's been gently warmed, and is brewing as we speak.
-To be continued tomorrow...

And as for those mustard pickles, the cucumbers and onions finally got peeled, chopped and salted late today, so hopefully I can finish that in the morning. Here it is held down by a plate, weighted w/ a yogurt container full of water...
(The yellow flower sicking out from behind the stack of jars in the window, that kind of looks like a dandelion is actually a volunteer sunflower that just started blooming the other day. It's extra cool because it sprouted from old seeds I fed to the chicks that I kept by the window this summer...

More on all this tomorrow.
G'night.

Farmers Market and Processing some Foods...

2008-10-12T11:05:00.007-03:00

Yesterday I went to the farmers market and bought 3lbs of tomatillos, first time using those! 5lbs of assorted hot peppers, hungarian hot wax, jalapeno, a sweet and a hot red variety, (I'm not sure of the names). I got 3 huge bunches of kale, a huge tote bag stuffed full, can't decide w/to do w/ it, either chopped and frozen or maybe kimchi...

A 1lb bag of wild rice, dried chantrelle mushrooms, pears, green onions, purple onions, and a couple of lbs of tomatoes on the vine.

I can't believe I'm buying tomatoes at this time of year but this was such a cold wet summer here that only a few ripened up on our plants and we ate them all tout de suite.
I'm going to have to make up a bunch of green tomato chow-chow w/ what's left...

The bread guy was all out of spelt and kamut bread, I'd wanted to get some of his spelt bagels and kamut baguettes but oh well, next time I'll get there earlier... And I feel like I should be making more of my own breads anyway, so I bought a bag of chia seed, some amazing blueberry juice and a bottle of this very interesting hair and scalp conditioner made of seaweed and seaweed oil, no perfume or other nasty ingredients, it smells like the actual ocean! Not some chemical companys' stupid idea of what fresh is...

I meant to bring my broken rose quartz necklace back to the girl who made it and ask her to fix it for me, but I forgot it at home. I'll remember it next week...

Also on the agenda is processing some of our massive harvest of cucumbers into mustard pickles, using an adapted version of my MIL's recipe; With sea salt instead of pickling salt, honey instead of white sugar, spelt flour instead of regular wheat, and cider vinegar instead of white...

Maritime Style Sweet Mustard Pickles

24 Cups cucumbers
8 Cups of peeled, chopped onions
1/2 Cup coarse sea salt

Mix together in a large bowl, place a heavy plate on top, and let stand overnight.
Drain well and rinse lightly in the morning.

Mix together in a large pot and put on low stove:
4 Cups local honey (I will prob reduce the honey and add stevia...)
3 3/4 Cups apple cider vinegar
2 Cups of water

While this mixture is gently warming, combine:
1/2 Cup liquefied honey
3/4 Cup spelt flour
3/4 tsp celery seed
2 Tbsp dry mustard
1 tsp turmeric

Add some of the warmed vinegar mix to the spice blend, stir,
then pour this paste into the pot of vinegar mix and stir occasionally as it comes to a low boil.

Add cukes and onions and simmer 30 mins.
DO NOT BOIL!
Put in sterilized jars.

-All my preserving books say to give pickles a 10min boiling water bath to kill mold spores after putting into clean hot jars, but multiple generations of both T's and my families did it this way w/o incident so I think I'll take my chances. My pantry is also quite cold in the winter so stuff stores well. You might want to do the b/w bath just to be safe...

Makes 11 500ml jars.

This stuff is great on the side of almost any hot or cold dish.

Hopefully, I will post some pictures of the results here tomorrow.
( If all goes well... *fingers crossed*)

Getting to know me...

2008-10-09T11:14:00.002-03:00

My kitchen wood range is a waterford wood stanley from Ireland, (I got it 2nd hand for $150), I love it. On the stove is my Himalayan salt lamp, the kettle, a tea pot full of vanilla rooibos and I'm reheating a pot of homemade free range chicken soup.

Here is a survey I received yesterday and forwarded on...

1. What is your occupation right now? Full time SAHM /fire maker / cook /domestic slave /occasional body piercer...

2. What color are your socks right now? Black as usual.

3. What are you listening to right now? Crackling fire in the woodstove

4. What was the last thing that you ate? Chicken soup.

5. Can you drive a stick shift? Yes

6. Last person you spoke to on the phone? T

7. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Yup, all these years later, still luv ya!

8. How old are you today? 34

9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV? They still have SPORTS on TV?!!! Jk lol

10. What is your favorite drink? Good dark fair trade organic coffee w/ stevia & ricemilk.

11. Have you ever dyed your hair? Yup

12. Favorite food? Avocados w/ goat cheese and hot sauce on kamut bread…mmmm

13. What is the last movie you watched? Juno

14. Favorite day of the year? My next day all to myself! (not holding my breath…)

15. How do you vent anger? I either clean, yell, or go for a walk where there are no people...

16. What was your favorite toy as a child? Books.

17. What is your favorite season? Fall.

18. Cherries or Blueberries? Blueberries

19. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back? If they feel like it…No pressure from me folks!

20. Who is the most likely to respond? IDK… Like I said, no pressure…

21. Who is least likely to respond? See above.

22. Living arrangements? Old house in the sticks w/ wood heat…

23. When was the last time you cried? After visiting my Grandma in the Alzheimer’s wing of the nursing home.

24. What is on the floor of your closet? Boots and my bike helmet

25. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending to? J

26. What did you do last night? Dishes and laundry…sad but true!

27. What are you most afraid of? Tsunami (-I know it’s silly, but the ocean is right there, we’d be toast…)

28. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers? None

29. Favorite dog breed? Tie between Yellow and chocolate Lab…

Any smart, friendly, not-yappy dog, who’s not up in my face or in my garden, is cool w/ me tho…

30. Favorite day of the week? It’s all the same fucking day, man…(J.Joplin)

31. How many states/provinces! have you lived in? 4 provinces

32. Diamonds or pearls? pearls

33. What is your favorite flower? Wild rose

This is what the weather's like here now, so windy and damp that it feels much colder than it really is. It's a great day to be inside tending the fire.

Hot Sauce!!!

2008-10-07T17:36:00.000-03:00

My hot sauce is always different, depending on the kind of peppers I can get and what else I have on hand. About 5 or so years ago around Christmas I made about a half a dozen different versions, ranging from mild roasted garlic and Anaheim pepper sauce for the kids, (yes, my kids like hot sauce!), to this jam-like habanero pepper, mango and pineapple sauce,(w/a touch of stevia), that tasted sweet for about half a second and would then set your face on FIRE!
My friend to whom I gifted a small jar of this innocuous looking but super hot stuff delighted in offering guests a whole spoon full of the 'jam'... You could hear the screams from miles away!
Funny thing is that once in a while someone who tasted it back then will ask me for the recipe!

I planted plenty of peppers this year, but we had more rain than sun and they did quite poorly. So this time I had to use peppers from the grocery store.I usually use lemon juice alone but today I only had 1/2 a lemon so I used apple cider vinegar which is very yummy too.

Here's what I added to this batch:

4oz Ancient Hots mysteriously hot peppers seeded w/ stems removed
7 med onions peeled and quartered
1 head of garlic peeled
cider vinegar and some lemon juice
a fair handful of salt, maybe 2-3 Tbsp. taste it and you'll know if it needs more

Blend peppers, onions and garlic in batches by pulsing until mixture is consistently smooth but still chunky, adding liquid as necessary. Salt to taste. Spoon into clean jars.
This is a fresh relish type sauce, and it's best eaten right away...

Store it in the fridge, and depending on how much salt and lemon juice/vinegar you use, (more acidity= longer life), use this up by 1-3 weeks.
This recipe made a bit more that 3 pint jars full, plus about a custard cup extra. (for right away :)
*We ate a pint jar full in less than 24 hours! No shelf-life issues here!

Try this with what you have on hand! Let me know how it goes! xoxo

Stevia

2008-10-05T09:45:00.000-03:00

When I first heard of the sugar free sweetener herb called stevia, (in the mid 90s), I couldn't wait to try it. It was fairly inexpensive, a couple of bucks for a bottle of green powder that was super sweet with a weird almost bitter aftertaste. I used some in tea and experimented with it in baking, it was good in the tea but really nasty in any baking I did. (I later learned that sugar not only tastes good, but it improves the texture of baked goods.) A friend of ours at the time had a fresh stevia plant, and she liked to put it in her pasta sauce...

When T and I were on a candida diet and were trying to eliminate sugar, we bought a bottle of white powdered stevia to sweeten our coffee, over 10 years later that's what we still use.

We tried the alcohol based extract, if any got on the threads of the cap it would glue the bottle shut.

The glycerite stevia is great for making lemonade or iced tea, tho a little sticky and messy for separate cups of coffee or tea and it gets less sweet the longer it's been open...

There are little packets of stevia that mimic packets of real sugar or artificial sweetener, but I always found them to get all hard before the box was done.

More recently I've found these little stevia and chromium pills that are super convenient and easy to measure but cost more per serving and I'm not quite sure what the chromium is for...

Here's my lemonade recipe:
I put some ice cubes in a quart jar, juice a couple of organic lemons and pour over the ice cubes, squirt in 2 or 3 droppers full of stevia glycerite and fill the jar to the brim with filtered water. Stir with a wooden spoon, taste and adjust lemon and stevia accordingly, adding more of sweet or tart as you like it... This makes a great slushie w/ lots of ice and extra lemon and stevia.
(T likes his w/ less sweetener and a bit of vodka... I like mine w/ more stevia and H2O... ;)

For a strawberry smoothie, put frozen strawberries in a blender w/ some stevia and ricemilk, (if I could get local raw milk I would happily use that instead), and blend. Too many berries and you'll get an almost solid sorbet-like dessert you can eat w/ a spoon... mmmmm!

My current favorite iced tea is vanilla rooibos, (I got a bunch on sale), I just brew any yummy tea double strength, add the stevia while it's hot and pour it over ice after it's cooled down.

I also use stevia in my spelt/kamut pancakes and waffles, banana bread, punkin pie and crumble, but I can't post any decent recipes for those yet as I don't usually measure ingredients. I will try and measure next time I bake...

ThingsMotherTaughtMe

2008-10-04T21:08:00.000-03:00

THINGS MOTHER TAUGHT ME

1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE! "If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning"

2. My mother taught me RELIGION "You better pray that will come out of the carpet."

3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL "If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"

4. My mother taught me about LOGIC "Because I said so, that's why."

5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC "If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me."

6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT "Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."

7. My mother taught me IRONY "Keep crying and I'll give you something to cry about."

8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS "Shut your mouth and eat your supper"

9. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM "Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!"

The Flight Attendant...

2008-10-02T20:21:00.000-03:00

A guy is sitting in the bar in Departures at a busy airport. A beautiful woman walks in and sits down at the table next to him. He decides because she's got a uniform on, she's probably an off-duty flight attendant. So he decides to have a go at picking her up by identifying the airline she flies for, thereby impressing her greatly.

He leans across to her and says the Delta Airlines motto "We love to fly and it shows."

The woman looks at him blankly. He sits back and thinks up another line.He leans forward again and delivers the Air France motto "Winning the hearts of the world." Again she just stares at him with a slightly puzzled look on her face.

Undeterred, he tries again, this time saying the Malaysian Airlines motto "Going beyond expectations."

The woman looks at him sternly and says "What the fuck do you want?"

"'Ah!" he says, sitting back with a smile on his face. "Air Canada!"

Early fall leaves...

2008-10-01T13:24:00.000-03:00

Fall is here! I took these pictures the other day when we took the back roads home from town, we got the car hung up on a washed out road for a short while on a mountaintop dead end, got her unstuck, backtracked and found the turn we should have taken 5k back... Fun fun fun!!!

I really love driving the dirt roads in an old car or truck. It always makes me want to give up on civilization altogether and live far away from everyone in a cabin or yurt or tent even. (I bet a renovated school bus or cube van would be perfect for us too...)

Sea water for sale, not going cheap...

2008-09-30T09:00:00.000-03:00

Get 'em while they're... wet?
I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this in Sobeys. Is anyone really that gullible?
According to tradition here on the east coast, you are supposed to cook shellfish in sea water, but if it wasn't so easy as going down to the shore to grab some, we always just put a bit of salt in the pot... @ 2.64/liter, this stuff costs more than gas!

THE MAYONNAISE JAR AND 2 BEERS

2008-09-28T14:09:00.000-03:00

(Instead of forwarding them, I'm just going to post the good emails here from now on...)

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours
in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 Beers.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in
front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large
and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He
then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the
jar He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas
between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was
full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.
Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the
jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous 'yes.'

The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and poured
the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space
between the sand. The students laughed.

'Now,' said the professor as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to
recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the
important things---your family, your children, your health, your friends
and your favorite passions---and if everything else was lost and only
they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house
and your car.

The sand is everything else---the small stuff.

'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there is no
room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you
spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have
room for the things that are important to you.

'Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Spend
time with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with
grandparents. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to
dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house
and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf ball first---the things that
really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.'

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the Beer
represented. The professor smiled and said, 'I'm glad you asked.'
The Beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem,
there's always room for a couple of Beers with a friend.'

What's growing on in the garden?

2008-09-22T20:27:00.000-03:00

Some of the veggies currently growing here are:

Winter squash...
Loads of cucumbers!

A beautiful cucumber flower.

The best cauliflower ever!

Not too shabby green cabbage...
My purple cabbage and broccoli were almost completely decimated by the slugs and snails...

Lawnmower Madness.

2008-09-21T15:20:00.000-03:00

Why ever do they mow so very very much?

(All photos are of volunteer plants that just grow by themselves in my yard.)

(mouse ear hawk weed, red clover and wild carrot mixed w/ the grass)

So, I do understand and agree with the concept of having a nice, well kept green space around a home, or other building...

Within reason. Not that I do much mowing around here. When I do feel it necessary, I use a quiet electric mulching mower and only go as far as the long extension cord reaches. I do some veggie and flower gardening and plant the occasional tree or shrub here or there, but the rest is left to go wild. The wild plants give the yard character, cost nothing to maintain and as a bonus, attract pollinating insects, birds and wildlife.

I can logically see that an evenly mowed, healthy lawn could help keep the bugs down around the home by providing them with fewer breeding places, it is less of a fire hazard in the dry summer weather than long dry grass and weeds, it's great for sitting out or kids playing, and not least of all, it looks tidy.

As for me, I would like to eventually have our whole yard fenced in with free range rabbits, chickens, and ducks, to keep the grass and bugs down, but then I'll need to fence in some of the gardens. I want to do lots more mulching too... Maybe next spring.

(borage growing up through the grass)

What I will never understand is this DRIVE so many people have to produce an unrealistic lush
green velvety smooth lawn, (of just grass!), covering acres of fertile, formerly food producing ground. We have neighbors to the East, South and West of our land, who have beautiful manicured yards, a few of them have veggie gardens too, but most of them have lawns that take so long to mow, it's pretty near time to start mowing again when it's finished. They mow for hour after hour, days at a time, (weekends and holidays), mowers mindlessly droning on and on ceaselessly as tho it was a well paid job. Quite often there's a few going at once...

(wild asters)

Not only are they wasting time, producing noise and air pollution with their inefficient stinky gas burning ride on mowers, but on top of that they are also often introducing both potentially and proven harmful herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers into the local ecosystem. We are downhill from all the neighbors and I'm sure at least some of their runoff goes through the brooks on our land before it runs into the ocean...

What to do?

(wild carrot that got mowed a couple of times)

Mother of 4 gets yelled at in local convenience store.(update)

2008-09-16T20:59:00.001-03:00

This storekeeper I've known all my life, he's even a distant relative, (42nd cousin or something), completely flipped out on me yesterday morning, screaming at me, spit flying, red in the face w/ veins popping and everything. I still feel traumatized.
I have never had any negative issues w/ him before. He's always been super nice, friendly and helpful... And up until yesterday morning I got along just fine w/ him. I really thought he liked me. My mistake I guess... Is he that 2 faced or am I so blind? I am just totally in shock, and my feelings are still very hurt.

I went to Garys' store to ship a bicycle off to my eldest child, who's staying out West w/ my Mom, on the bus night before last. I realized that it might be a problem to ship such a large item so I left the boxed-up bicycle in the car at first and brought in the way bill from when it was shipped here, that had the weight and other details on it. The woman who was working seemed to have a problem w/ doing the bus thing, (Idk tho... maybe it was just a problem w/ me?...), so I offered to come back in the morning. If she couldn't do it, I was happy to return the next day. I wasn't being loud or pushy. She said "No, I'll call Gary." She called him and proceeded to fill out the way bill wrongly, saying that I needed more details like Moms' address, (that I didn't know off hand and it got shipped here w/ just my phone #, no addresses...), and she was being very rude, saying things like, "Well, do you HAVE a postal code?" I brought the bike in anyway and paid for the shipping. (And, she just charged me the $93 that the original speedy shipping to here from there was. When I later sent it off from town, it was $62...)

I was kind of offended by her rudeness and when I got home T thought I should call Gary right away and complain, but I figured w/ev she might be just having a bad night, (Idk her at all...), and that I'd call Gary in the morning just to make sure the shipping thing was ok...

Well, I can't imagine what she said to him because he calls me first thing in the morning and starts in on me about how there needs to be a shipping address before he can send it off. I said "it's going on the bus, not getting delivered to her house, you don't need her address" He insisted and I said that his employee was rude to me anyway and I'd just come get the bike back and hung up the phone. I immediately went to the store and he yelled at me LOUDLY for the whole time I was in the store... Didn't let me get a word in edgewise. "Nothing is ever good enough for YOU Renee! First it was the snowsuit thing! And the condition they were in Renee!!! And now this! And you never paid your late charges!" wtf? I was floored...
He yelled me right out the door! As I was carrying the bike out I was so upset that all I could sputter out was, " You ignorant, old, FUCKER! Lol!
(Hardly fitting I suppose, he's not old, and perhaps a bit stunned but not too ignorant, he's got his finger on the pulse of the community, his store is gossip central, and e's usually civil... I suppose at least I said something. I can hardly think or talk when I'm that angry.)
In retrospect, wtf is there to say in such a situation? I was in tears by the time I got home. I can deal w/ people being mean when I'm ready for it, when it's expected I can take it and dish it just fine. But when it's someone who's blown sunshine and flowers out their ass at me for no obvious reason every other time we ever spoke, who starts going postal on me like that, my wall is down
Later, I called the bus line to see if I really needed the address or if he was just being a bitch, and it turns out that I was correct in assuming that an address was unnecessary.
I shipped it from the town bus depot later w/ a phone number and no shipping address...
Gosh, thanks for all the great help Gary!

So, FYI:
The snowsuit thing was these snowsuits I bought for my twins that wore right out. They have this kidvantage guarantee at sears that says if it wears out b4 the kid grows out of it they'll replace it or fix it. And, apparently... now he tells me, (never said it to me b4 now), that they were in too bad a shape to return? Am I somehow interpreting this guarantee wrongly?
This is from the sears.ca website

Our KidVantage® Wearout Warranty is simple:

it covers all children's apparel and footwear as long as the child for whom you bought the item continues to wear the size
if the item wears out, Sears will, at its option, either repair or replace it with the identical item in the same size, or if it's unavailable, a similar item of equal value in the same size
it covers children's sizes from infants' up to 18 in apparel, and up to senior kids' size 6 in footwear, with proof of purchase
all replacements or repairs can be handled through your nearest Sears Catalogue location

When I called them, they told me to talk to Gary. He told me to call them.

My boy had no snowsuit to wear and so the twins were taking turns playing outside in the snow. I will not buy kids clothes from sears again.

(The batman suit wore out almost immediately and they simply didn't have another to replace it so he finally got a replacement one like his sisters' that hadn't fallen apart just yet. I did do a bunch of repairs on them myself also b4 bringing them back to my "nearest sears catalog location for replacement or repair")

Well, my boy went thru a snowsuit b4 x-mas and after that was replaced, he and his sister ripped multiple seams and zippers out of their suits. Am I supposed to suck it up and buy another set of snowsuits or fix them myself again because they are so poorly made? In all my spare time? Or should I demand that they honor their guarantee? I only figured that it was ok to buy the stupidly overpriced snowsuits from sears because of that damn guarantee. Otherwise I would've just gone to the Bargain Giant or Sprawlmart where the quality is the same at half the price. I don't think my kids are so rough on clothes that a $100. kids snowsuit shouldn't fall apart like that in 2 months. The bloody stupid things had reinforced knees and elbows but the seams and zippers were coming out. Yes, they play hard like kids do. If someone doesn't like doing returns than maybe they shouldn't deal w/ such crappy clothing that has a guarantee on it.

And as for the late charges!!! Twice I tried to give him money towards those late charges and he wouldn't take it from me. I'm not sure why. Do I look that poor? I don't think so, maybe I do.
It made me uncomfortable, but I figured he was just trying to be nice so I didn't push the issue and paid some on it when someone else was working. He YELLED at me about it after this?

Then, last time I rented movies from there, one of them didn't work in my machine, again. This was about the 5th time this had happened, whenever I returned one that didn't work, whoever was working would say something to the effect of; "I don't know how to give you your free movie, talk to Gary next time you're here to rent one." Well I never got one replacement movie. So when I returned this last one I told the girl who was working that evening and she said, "Well. SOME people just SAY that movies don't work just so they can get a free one..."
How fucking insulting.
I'd spent hundreds of dollars there just renting movies over the last couple of years.
Never again.

Next time I was at the store I decided to pay off my late charges and get my name right off of their computer. I had the cash in my hand to pay w/ev late charges were there, but J, the person who was working that evening, couldn't get the stupid computer to do it, (thru no fault of her own...), so I just paid the $20 it said and left it at that...

I honestly tried to pay those late charges.
And even if I had not, there was no call for him to yell at me like that.
I will happily spend my money elsewhere from now on.

UPDATE-(Oct15-08) We haven't shopped @ Garys in almost a month, and I figure that by being forced to make-do w/ what we have instead of running out to grab something, not counting movies, we've saved somewhere between $100-$150 on incidental, overpriced crap that we just don't need, so far...
So, I really should thank him, I guess, for showing me ho much of a valuable customer I was...

RIGHT HERE AND NOW...

2008-09-15T11:27:00.000-03:00

RIGHT HERE AND NOW... I'm happy to announce that this is a perfect moment. It's a perfect moment for many reasons, but especially because I have been inspired to say a gigantic prayer for all of you. I've been roused to unleash a divinely greedy, apocalyptically healing prayer for each and every one of you -- even those of you who don't believe in the power of prayer. And so I am starting to pray right now to the God of Gods ... the God beyond all Gods ... the Girlfriend of God ... the Teacher of God ... the Goddess who invented God. Dear Goddess, You who never kill but only change: I pray that my exuberant, suave and accidental words will move you to shower ferocious blessings down on everyone who reads this benediction. I pray that you will give them what they don't even know they want -- not just the boons they think they need but everything they've always been afraid to even imagine or ask for. Dear Goddess, You wealthy anarchist burning heaven to the ground: Many of the divine chameleons out there don't even know that their souls will live forever. So please use your blinding magic to help them see that they are all wildly creative geniuses too big for their own personalities. Guide them to realize that they are all completely different from what they think they are and more exciting than they can possibly imagine. Make it illegal, immoral, irrelevant, unpatriotic and totally tasteless for them to be in love with anyone or anything that's no good for them. O Goddess, You who give us so much love and pain mixed together that our morality is always on the verge of collapsing: I beg you to cast a boisterous love spell that will nullify all the dumb ideas, bad decisions and nasty conditioning that have ever cursed the wise and sexy virtuosos out there. Remove, banish, annihilate and laugh into oblivion any jinx that has clung to them, no matter how long they've suffered from it, and even if they've become accustomed or addicted to its ugly companionship. And please conjure an aura of protection around them so that they will receive an early warning if they are ever about to act in such a way as to bring another hex or plague or voodoo into their lives in the future. Dear Goddess, sweet Goddess, You sly universal virus with no fucking opinion: I pray that you will help all the personal growth addicts out there become disciplined enough to go crazy in the name of creation, not destruction. I pray that you will teach them the difference between oppressive self-control and liberating self-control, awaken in them the power to do the half-right thing when it is impossible to do the totally right thing. Arouse the Wild Woman within them -- even if they're men. And please give them bigger, better, more original sins and wilder, wetter, more interesting problems. Dear Goddess, You pregnant slut who scorns all mediocre longing: I pray that you will inspire all the compassionate rascals communing with this prayer to love their enemies just in case their friends turn out to be jerks. Provoke them to throw away or give away all the things they own that encourage them to believe that they are better than anyone else. Show them how much fun it is to brag about what they cannot do and do not have. Most of all, Goddess, brainwash them with your freedom so that they never love their own pain more than anyone else's pain. Dear Goddess, You psychedelic mushroom cloud at the center of all our brains: The curiously divine human beings reading this prayer deserve everything they are yearning for and much, much more. So please bless them with lucid dreams while they are wide awake and solar-energy-operated sex toys that work even in the dark and vacuum cleaners for their magic carpets and a knack for avoiding other people's hells and their very own 900 number so that everyone has to pay to talk to them and a secret admirer who is not a psychotic stalker. Dear Goddess, You fiercely tender, hauntingly reassuring, orgiastically sacred feeling that is even now running through all of our soft, warm animal bodies: I pray that you provide everyone out there with a license to bend and even break all rules, laws and traditions that keep them apart from the things they love. Show them how to purge the wishy-washy wishes that distract them from their daring, dramatic, divine desires. And teach them that they can have anything they want if they'll only ask for it in an unselfish way. And now dear God of Gods, God beyond all Gods, Girlfriend of God, Teacher of God, Goddess who invented God, I bring this prayer to a close, trusting that in these mysterious moments you have begun to change everyone out there in the exact way they've needed to change in order to express their soul's code. Amen. Awomen. And glory halle-fucking-lujah.

Anonymous.
(I did not write this, but I wish I knew who did!)

Adventures in emergency care...

2008-09-14T02:36:00.001-03:00

Usually when anything happens to one of us here at home, we can handle it quite nicely ourselves. But when 7yo.Teddy slipped on a chopping block and split the back of his head open yesterday, first I gave him some homeopathic arnica and rescue remedy, got the blood stopped, (the back of his shirt was drenched), and a clean washcloth w/ ice in it to hold on top of the rapidly swelling gash. He was really scared, I had to convince him that he wasn't going to die...

After I got a look at his wound, I immediately decided to go to outpatients to see if he needed stitches or had a head injury. It happened around 3pm, we got to the hospital at 3:30ish and we didn’t get out of there til after 8pm.
The stitching procedure took 20 minutes, there weren't a lot of people there, nobody was bleeding but this brave little 7 year old, and we still had to wait that long.

OH WELL, Miss Robyn did a fine job of entertaining everyone in the OP waiting room!
She said HI! To EVERYONE! And played peek-a-boo too!
She's so sweet and happy, people can't help but smile along with her.

Luckily, their Dad showed up after a bit, so I didn't need to bring all the kids into the inner-emergency room waiting room, just Ted and I went in. Good thing I had my camera to keep us busy in there because we waited a looong time there too.While it looked to me like the Dr. was oh so busy chatting up the nurses at the nursing station and doing paperwork!

Ted asked "could we just go now because I'm hungry and I don't care if I have a big scar on my head or not anyways!". I said that we may as well wait because we'd been there so long anyways, even tho I kinda felt the same...

So, I took pictures of what his head looked like to show him,
(He was ok w/ getting the freezing needle as long as I got it on camera!) Brave little man.
So I took some video of the actual stitches getting done.(To be seen on you-tube at a later date!)
It was cut to the bone; you can even see his skull on the video. :( No cracks tho. :)

This is how the blood soaked through the gauze pad after we got to the hospital, (we had stopped the bleeding and I lightly taped some gauze over the cut before we went).
We were kept waiting so long that he’d started bleeding lots again…
What kind of a heartless system keeps a hurt child waiting like that? Sick. My tough little guy didn't fuss at all tho.

This is how the stitches ended up; there are 8 that show, and lots more on the inner tissues.

The Dr. was nice and calm, he even kept his cool when I refused to let them give Ted the dpt vaccine.

He's still taking homeopathic arnica to promote healing, as well as ester-c, echinacea and super acidophilus to prevent infection.

I'm glad we went to the hospital, as much as I might complain about waiting times and disagree w/ some, (ok, a lot) of their standard procedures, they really did help us when they finally got around to it. Modern medicine has it's place, especially in an emergency situation and I for one do appreciate being able to make that choice.

2008-09-11T20:31:00.000-03:00

Bagels w/ pb&j for brekkies, leftovers for lunch and for supper, mixed greens salad w/ carrot, cuke, tomato, sweet peppers, grapes & goat mozza AND BBQed chicken breasts w/ rosemary mashed potatoes ...
Good food is so good.

No more school... so far so good.

2008-09-09T19:29:00.000-03:00

So here it is, more than a week into September, and we are quite successfully unschooling the 7-year old twins. Really, it's just an extension of our usual daily life, we're just trying to break things down a bit and let them get involved even more...

So far we have been harvesting seasonal veggies from the garden and making amazing salads and soups, talking about where our food comes from and why we buy locally produced and/or fair trade and organic food if possible.

They cooked hamburger hash,(local beef and all the leftover cooked veggies in the fridge w/ herbs from the garden,very tasty! ) for lunch yesterday and scrambled (freerange-fertilized w/ parsley, green onion and goat cheddar...yum!), eggs for breakfast this morning.

We've been to the farmers market, picked blueberries, plums, apples and cherries. We also raised some chickens and turkeys for meat over the summer, and we'll soon buy a side of grass fed local beef to fill up the rest of the deep freeze.

They are also spending as much time outdoors as possible while the weather holds, when it gets colder, (could be weeks or months,...), we end up staying indoors a lot more. Then we will do more reading and computer stuff than free play.

I know we need to do more academia type stuff, but still can't decide on any specific curriculum. I saw one on ebay that consists of a set of cd's which is a self-directed learning system covering p-12 subjects, that isn't divided into rigid grades, each child would go at their own pace unhindered by age specific expectations. It has worksheets that get printed as needed. Sounds very interesting...

I also have a few games that I'm going to try and work into our daily routine, board games like jr scrabble, boggle, sneaky snake,(a counting game), and some spelling, reading and math computer games...

I'm trying to keep it simple, but it's feeling so complicated already!

School's out for summer...

2008-06-24T13:24:00.000-03:00

When I was a child, I hated school. I was shy, I didn't know how to talk to anyone and I would've been just thrilled to be left alone with my books and crafts. We were poor, (not that I ever knew or thought about it), and we lived in a rough neighborhood in the slummy north end of our historic east coast city.

For grade primary I went to a private school in the somewhat wealthy South end, which entailed my going there, often unattended, on the city bus.

There was an older black lady I usually sat with when I was alone who got off at the same stop as me. On her way to her job no doubt. I sensed that she was looking out for me and gravitated towards her. Now, I wish I knew her name.

It cost 10 cents for the child fare at the beginning of 1979 and 20 cents by the end of it, now the child fare on metro transit is $1.40...

After going to "The Academy" for a year, I wanted to attend the same school as my big brother and then my Mother could no longer justify the astronomical yearly tuition of $500, and so I was enrolled in St.Pats, just up the street, the second school in a string of a dozen or so educational institutions I would eventually attend. It was rough. Especially compared to the la-la land of privilege place I'd attended my first year. I hated school so much that later decided that I was not going to have any children so as to not put anyone through what I felt I needlessly suffered while being educated.

As a young adult out on the west coast, I discovered the homeschooling and unschooling movement and changed my mind. Maybe I could have kids in good conscience after all...

When my first baby was born, I started collecting educational materials. By the time she reached "schooling age" I had decided that unschooling was the way to go. We were by that time relocated to that particular east coast small-town bible-belt area both us parents are from. We tried the relaxed approach for a few years, but when she turned 8 , Frances still couldn't read and I was exhausted from caring for her and the twins 24-7 with no family support, so I enrolled her in school. I'm still not sure it wasn't a huge mistake. She still doesn't read or write well, but she is brilliant at math.

The twins were enlisted a year later, at 5. Teddy hated it at first, until he discovered soccer. Joy is like mini-me! She learned to read early, and could happily sit in a corner and read all day long. Says she has no friends at school. :(

My baby Robyn, is not yet 3 years old. She is a little ray of sunshine who would be so dimmed by school. She was born trauma free at home unattended, and then we participated in a skin to skin contact study where we had bare skin contact for at least 6 hours a day for 6 months... She is the happiest, brightest, most well adjusted child, not only of mine, but that I've ever known... I really think that this one, especially, would be best off kept away from school.

This year, my twins in grade one, caught lice, numerous colds and flus, were given fluoride against my wishes, given candy almost daily, serenaded by Ronald MacDonald, visited by the police, brought on field trips to fast food restaurants,(and bought pop there by a teacher who knows they don't usually get junk food!)...ETC...

What rings in my mind is that I knew better all along.

I will not send them back next year.

Enough is enough.

Maybe we are just not "school people"

Pediculosis- Head Lice

2007-11-22T08:31:00.000-04:00

Pediculosis-Head Lice
(pe-dic-u-lo-sis)
Head lice are tiny crawling bugs that live on the human head for up to 30 days and can lay 50-150 eggs. The eggs hatch in 5-10 days and mature into adults in 2 weeks. They cause intense itching and irritation, and can be difficult to get rid of.

School is headlice heaven...
Apparently, from what I can gather, head lice are as prevalent as the common cold in our modern school system. It's not about how dirty one is, the little vermin actually prefer a clean scalp as it lets them get to the blood more easily. They are spread with head to head contact and by sharing personal items like hairbrushes and hats. Lice cannot fly, hop or jump and usually stay on the body, but can attach to things like clothing or furniture, and transfer to your child from there. When not on a body, lice will die after 24 hours. If there's an infestation in your child's school, it will take the co-operation of everyone involved, (students, parents, teachers and administration), to fix the problem.
-Infected children need to be kept home until they have been treated for the lice and there are no more eggs visible on their hair.
-Parents need to be vigilant and inspect children's heads regularly, if they've never seen a louse or a nit, they will have to educate themselves on what to look for. (Lice are small, grayish or white,1/16-1/8 inches long shaped like a sesame seed or football. Nits are lice eggs and are tiny things stuck firmly to the hair shaft.) Being light colored, lice and eggs can be difficult to detect on blonde hair.
-Teachers can watch for scratching and irritability, both major signs of an infestation. School admins. can institute rules to avoid transference, like having the children place their outerwear in their backpacks, on their chairs, or in plastic laundry bags. A "no nit policy" will also help to avoid recontamination.

Pediculocides(chemical head lice treatments) are POISON!!! And they don't always work...
Chemicals commonly used in treatment of head lice, like permethrin, pyrethrum, piperyl butoxide and sometimes lindane or malathion, can cause serious problems in sensitive or allergic children and adults. The scalp is very permeous and will absorb directly into the bloodstream whatever is put on it. The bugs are also adapting and becoming resistant or immune to the chemicals, making these products completely useless at times. If you do choose to use them anyway, please get the MSDS(material safety data sheet) first and read it. A lot of info doesn't make it on to the label.

So, what can you do?
There are some natural products available at the health food store, drug store, grocery store or from the internet to treat lice. Being natural doesn't necessarily make them safe.
-Tea tree oil shampoo is a common treatment, along with the tea tree oil. It works great for some people, and for some others it causes an allergic reaction. Do a patch test first...
-Other essential oils can be used, including: eucalyptus, clove, lavender, rosemary, ylang-ylang, lemon, geranium and myrtle to name just a few. Some of these oils can burn the skin (or worse) if not properly diluted in a carrier oil. Please consult a trained aromatherapist or other natural health care provider before using any EO treatment...
-Neem oil is said to kill and repel the head lice, but it smells rather unpleasant.
-The olive oil method is the current most recommended natural way to go. It suffocates the little suckers. Saturate the hair and scalp with copious amounts of olive oil, wrap with plastic,(shower cap, bathing cap, or saran wrap), cover with a towel to catch any leaks and leave overnight or for 8-10 hours. Then shampoo hair, divide into sections and comb out the nits with a good metal nit comb. (I've heard of using petroleum jelly, and I'm sure it would work, if that's all you have, but good luck washing it out!)
-You can use mayonnaise instead, regular mayo, not lite or salad dressing, wrap the head and leave overnight or 8-10 hours like the olive oil. This will be much easier to wash out, makes the hair shiny, and the vinegar in the mayo is supposed to loosen the nits...
-Some folks have had brilliant success with the conditioner method, using loads of conditioner, and then combing for hours. This one is great for long haired children...
- A teaspoon of baking soda in a quart of water used as a final rinse makes the hair much easier to comb through.
- Shave off the hair. No hair = no head lice. Obviously not a valid choice for everyone...
- Heat from a hair dryer or a curling or flat iron is said to kill nits in longer hair, but can't be used on small children or for nits close to the scalp.USE EXTREME CAUTION WITH THIS METHOD.
-The best, and really the only way to completely get rid of them is to "Embrace your inner monkey" and comb and comb them out until they're gone. Keep checking for them every week or two, whether you know of an infestation or not. Early detection is the key.
-Homeopathic sulfur is said to repel head lice,(consult your local naturopathic Dr.)

Delousing the housing...
Sweep, vacuum, mop, wash clothing and bedding in hot water, and/or dry in the dryer on hot for 30 min. Things that can't be washed can be bagged and set aside for two weeks or so.
Home insecticidal sprays are unnecessary and can be toxic.
Pets don't get pediculosis, so they will not need to be treated.

undacova mutha

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We are here...

Update: still moving...

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Cops seize $29,000 from B.C. man, who says he was collecting cans

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Grandma is dying.

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apple blossoms singperfection in a blossomsweet succulent spring

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Oh the pain!!!

mustard pickles and pepper jelly

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Pico de Gallo

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Mother of 4 gets yelled at in local convenience store.(update)

RIGHT HERE AND NOW...

Adventures in emergency care...

No more school... so far so good.

School's out for summer...

Pediculosis- Head Lice

apple blossoms sing
perfection in a blossom
sweet succulent spring