Homestead Laundry

Good Morning!  I awoke to the sound of rain.....again.  The last three weeks have been overcast and rainy, leading to a farm full of mud.  Everything is muddy, even the sheltered livestock pens.  The chicken yard, well, let's not talk about the chicken yard.  I was thinking of replacing them with ducks anyway.

The rain has certainly made homesteading not the most pleasant of adventures.  Besides trying to keep the livestock dry and fed, I've been trying to convince the 10 and 8 year olds that playing in the muck is not the most enjoyable thing in the world or should be limited to once a day.  Don't get me wrong.  I'm actually a great proponent of dirty kids.  They should get dirty.....daily.  But when the dirt is mud and the play times are mixed in with indoor times necessitating a complete change of outfits.....well, let's just say that my laundry basket looks like it exploded.

And the rain isn't making that any easier either.  Two years ago I put the older 4 children in charge of their own laundry, giving them their own baskets, a specific laundry day, and two rules:  use only cold water and only use the dryer in inclement weather.  For a while, read that:  a couple of weeks, everything perked along fairly well.  Until one of them "forgot" to do their laundry until late in the day.  I graciously allowed them to use the dryer.  Then all of a sudden children who can recite whole scenes from movies they saw once five years ago couldn't remember their wash day or to put them on in time for them to be hung out to dry.  Frustrated was a kind word for the way I felt.  I was tempted to just get rid of the dryer but the frugal side of me just couldn't get rid of something that worked.  So I took it to the Lord.

Yahweh is the protector of the frustrated and downtrodden and, if you are a homeschooling mother whose children outnumber you 6 to 1, you have been there at least once.  If four of those children are 18 and older, you've been there lots.  And, if those children have been raised to be independent thinkers who don't just follow the herd, you live there.  Two weeks after I began praying to Yahweh about how in the world to resolve this without resorting to my "Attila the Hun" impersonation (I've really been trying to cut down, honest) my dryer died.  Oh, hallelujah!  I don't think I've ever been so happy to lose an appliance.  Ray tried for a week to fix it.  "It" turned out to be a part that would cost half the price of a new dryer to replace.  Ray spent another week trying to figure out a way to finance a replacement before he realized I wasn't interested in replacing it.  Like it or not, no one was using a dryer.

That was a year and a half ago.  I've never really looked back, although the children have.....and often.  To handle situations like winter and the current monsoon season that we are enduring I purchased a drying rack from Amazon.com for the small stuff and set up an old damaged flagpole someone had given us to hang shirts and pants on hangers.  It works fairly well, except for sheets and towels.  I've been trying to get Ray to install a longer clothes horse, and here, that would suspend from my 12 foot ceilings and be lowered/raised by a pulley system for those items.  But, until now, I've been able to get those things done and hung outside on a regular basis.  At least regular enough for me to feel that the gain isn't worth the argument.  Now, however, I could really use that.

But, eventually, we will get some sunshine.  And I will be ready to grab my chance for some clean-air fragranced sheets and open aired towels.

Now, it's time to get started on another day.......and a load of clothes.

May Yahweh bless you in this new day!

Laurie

A Sense of Community

Good Morning!

To me homesteading is all about becoming more self-sufficient.  It's about relying on yourself for most/all of your needs.  And then sharing what you have learned/created/grown with others. The Amish have been doing this for centuries and are masters at it.  Spurning any government help, they remain a symbol of what America used to be:  a group of communities united together, sharing both the joy of the good times and the sorrow of the bad.

But, as our faith in God has been replaced by a "faith" in our government to provide all we need we have become a lazy, obese nation of self-centered individuals who don't even know the family/people next to us.  We get up, go to work, come home, sit in our air-conditioned houses, doodle on the computer, never really seeing those who live near us.  We know longer know or care about the lives of those living around us.

We currently live on a somewhat busy highway between a small town and an even smaller town.  We are usually out gardening, mowing, taking care of our animals.  After 14 years of living here and raising our children, we have gotten to know a lot of the "old-timers" in the community.  Three of my older children have worked in the local hardware store, the heart of any small town.  One has worked as a volunteer in the county government and is now Director for the Chamber of Commerce in the town.  She knows, quite literally, everyone.  Another worked as a real estate agent/office manager for a real estate company in town for several years before moving to the larger city close by when that office was closed.  Still another works both at the hardware store and a local diner.  The ones still at home make themselves available to help others in the community with odd jobs around their places.  We have, as a family, been active in the community, usually simply as an extension of our life.  Our children play softball, football, and are active in 4H. We have held fundraisers and attended fundraisers.  We have spent countless hours in our yard sitting on the tailgate of someone's truck and just talking about life.....theirs, ours.  Since we home church with several other families, and are therefore not supporting a building, upkeep, and various other programs, we are free to use our tithe to help out our neighbors in need and other local groups whose workers we see every day.  This kind of sharing is not a natural part of my personality, but I was raised with a compassion for others and a strong sense of "the right thing".  This, and a strong sense of community are things which we have tried to teach our children.

Our lifestyle has been noticed by many as they travel the highway in front of our home.  We have earned the respect of some, the envy of others, and the ridicule of a few. 

Now, governments across the country are trying to take over the lives of those wishing only to be left alone and provide for themselves.  Their reason:  independents are hard to control.  It is only by making us dependent on the government for everything that they can seek to control us.  The fact that most of their tactics are unconstitutional doesn't faze them.  After all, they have the current President as an example of how to work around that document and the Congress set to balance their power.  But, this powerplay is nothing unusual.  Our government has been occupied by greedy, corrupt individuals since its creation.  What is different is the willingness of our fellow countrymen to stand by and allow this powerplay to go unchecked.  The lack of community and subsequent desensitization has taken its toll.  We no longer care what is happening to others across the land, as long as it doesn't interfere in our lives.  As long as the government continues to see that we have water and food and healthcare, etc., we don't care that they are stripping others of their property and their rights.  As long as we can continue to get our daily facebook fix and pass along the latest twitter by some useless Hollywood idol, we are content.  We can ignore the plight of those who are being kicked off their property by local governments because of future development plans, those who are being jailed for storing rainwater on their property and providing unprocessed food for consumers hungry for the real thing. and those who choose to live without government assistance.

But you can do something.  Get the word out.  Share these stories on facebook and twitter.  Donate to people who can help those being threatened, such as the Home School Legal Defense Association and the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund.  Write letters to your congressmen.  Call them.  Actually get involved.  It is only by increasing the pressure on these governments that we can change the road we are headed down.  And always remember, just because you may not be a homesteader or a prepper or a constitutionalist or an independent spirit, it doesn't mean that you shouldn't help protect them.

First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for the Communists and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me. 

 

Pastor Niemoller

 May Yahweh bless you in this new day!

Laurie

Respect, Dignity, Tolerance

     I have been following the Chick-Fil-A  drama with avid interest.  For those of you who have been living in a cave for the past two weeks, Dan Cathy, the CEO of privately-held Chick-Fil-A, was interviewed on a Christian station as a private citizen, one whose views are protected by the 1st Amendment (so far).  It is unfortunate that his paid position came into play.  Immediately following the airing of the interview several governmental figures came out against not only Mr. Cathy, but also Chick-Fil-A.  Some of these figures, most notably Rahm Emanuel of Chicago, Tom Menino of Boston, and Vincent Grey of D.C., went so far as to say that Chick-Fil-A was no longer welcome to set up shop in their towns.  This is rather cavalier of them considering the high unemployment rate in each of these towns (9.8%, 5.7%, and 9.0% respectively as of May 2012).  I wonder how the people themselves, especially those who may have benefited from those lost jobs, feel about the possible loss of jobs attendant with this stand.
     There were also plenty of people who came out in support of  Chick-Fil-A, such as Mike Huckabee, the former presidential candidate.  It was he who gave birth to the idea of a Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day to give everyone interested a chance to show support for the food chain and its first amendment right to voice their opinions.  I was overjoyed by the number of people who responded to Mike Huckabee's call.  According to Facebook, over 668,000 people indicated that they would attend the event.  From the lines reported all over the country, most if not all plus some actually did.  My family also attended and enjoyed a really good meal.  I must say that we do not eat out much, but that Chick-Fil-A has always been one of our favorite places when we did.  The atmosphere at the restaurant we went to was very courteous and upbeat.  No one was upset at having to wait and I must admit that the service was absolutely wonderful.  Especially in comparison with other fast food restaurant's service I have received.  I was very impressed, both with Chick-Fil-A and my fellow Americans.
     I have not been as impressed with the behavior of those in opposition to Mr. Cathy's views.  It seems that the only response the left can come up with is playing the "hate" card, much like their overuse of the "race" card.  There was no sign of "hate" or even "intolerance" at any of the sites I saw reported on.  There appears to be a major difference in the definition of "intolerance" between the two views.  I also hold the belief in Biblical marriage, that of 1 man to 1 woman, as do apparently the majority of people in 30 other states in our union.  I have been known to donate to groups following my belief system, as do Mr. Cathy, Chick-Fil-A and 100% of all other people.  It's called "putting your money where your mouth is" or "walking the talk".  Why would anyone give money to a cause they don't believe in?  Does this mean that I "hate" those groups with whose ideas I don't agree?  No.  The ability to allow others differing points of view without lowering one's self to petty confrontations and declarations of hatred and mistreatment is part of what defines a mature adult.
     America was founded on the idea that all people should be able to express their views without fear of the government.  It was never intended to force everyone to support views with which they do not agree.  Several years ago a major country singing group voiced their disgust with the sitting president.  They had every right to do so.  After their opinion was aired on major networks, radio stations, music stores, and a number of individuals declared that they would no longer play/buy the groups cd's.  These people also had the right to pull their support from a group they did not agree with.  "Hate" never came into play.  These people were simply using a tool at their disposal to, in a mature manner, show their disapproval of the band's actions.
     I support the right of parents to homeschool their children.  This does not mean that I "hate" public schools or those who attend them.  I don't agree with most of the left's views, but I will always defend their right to express them nonviolently.  I just wish to be treated with the same respect and dignity that they want for themselves.
     Respect, dignity, tolerance.......really are a two-way street.
     May Yahweh bless you in this new day.

Laurie