Afternoon from the Mountain

We are still snowed in which is fine, as I have plenty to keep me on the homestead.  I washed floors today and did some more school work, dishes after heating water three times.  I only have one type of water at the moment as the hot water line is frozen solid thanks to our -3 degree F temps of last night.  I am grateful to have one type of water at least and a way to heat it.  When through some more papers and draws in the house, a little before spring house cleaning.

I also sat down today to order new seeds, I am looking forward to a good growing year and if not I do have the hydroponics systems.  I cannot wait to grow greens in them.  It is all so existing, new radishes, carrots, tomatoes, and cucumbers or and Dutch blue peas.  I love growing the foods my ancestors could have grown; there is something so pure and clean about it.  It just makes me happy to play in the soil.  I have a goal of once again selling fresh produce as well, it all takes time.

Speaking of time, the show we were going to has been rescheduled till March 7th, and my soap will be done by then and so will my lip balms.  Maybe the new jewelry I ordered as well.  I order new cases for the rings and the glass that I have made, so it is all coming together.  I am so looking forward to going!

Our latest ongoing project is going off the grid.  So far, the security lights are doing an excellent job and I really like that extra 20 bucks a month, since I am not spending it on the power.  I have been shopping for solar panels and kits and what I have found is a package that for $4000 dollars will provide the main house will all the power it needs.  We can even afford it, well almost!

I did the math as to how it all breaks down.  If I could make $133 dollars for one month, I would have the money.  In comparison to our monthly electric bill which can be anywhere from $150 to $350 per month.  If I looked at the money, I am looking to spend in compared to the bill we currently have it would be $333.33 for each month for 12 months and I would own it.  It comes with a 25-year warranty, so in essence I would be getting 24 years of free power.  Since I am figuring on the amount of energy I use averaged out at around the same quantity, somewhere around $333.33 per month than in the 24 year of its promised life, I will make $96,000.  Not too shabby and I will never have to deal with the power company and their toxic sprays ever again.

Otherwise, I have no new news to offer; I just add to this note a request that you all stay safe and think about how we treat the world around us. 

Be blessed dear ones…

Shekhinah

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OPJXMN4

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RYI7M1Q

Good afternoon from the mountain....and the weather is looking bad

A good very cold afternoon from the mountain, we are now within an hour or so of the first part of the storm hitting our mountain.  It is already dreadfully cold, so much so that even the flies have left and well good ridens to them and their kind.  It is not snowing or raining yet, which just means there will be more when it does come.  We are expecting 5-8 inches of snow today and a few more tomorrow.  We are ready though. 

We have food for all the livestock for the next three weeks and enough for ourselves as well.  Heaters going on the pipes, little baby birds safely stashed in heated places.  We have heaters going on the pipes so we should not lose hot water this time.  The temps this week will be as low as 4 degrees; I feel that even a polar bear might shiver at the thought.  Not to mention it is warmer in Alaska today than it is here.

That said, peas are in the ground, potatoes are ready to go into the ground.  The potatoes growing in the basement should produce a nice crop of potatoes by Mid-March and the hydroponics system is looking great.  I have new tomatoes plants growing that will be ready to move into the system in about a week, so by April we will have fresh tomatoes.  It is all very exciting.  Our turnips outside look great and we should be able to cook some more up soon.  The leeks are coming along nicely as well.

As to other life issues the boys finally learned to tie their own shoes, I am so happy.  They are doing great in school and learning all kinds of wonderful things.  We have even talked about going to the spelling bees here in our state, when I find out where they are held.  They are growing up so fast.

I of course am still writing but I have not published anything else, save the two books.  School has kept me remarkable busy and lacking in all manner of free time.  But I assure you all that it will not last forever and I shall endeavor to finish at least one book this month. 

In other farm news, our first goose egg of the season was laid today; I hope to begin selling them soon.  I have a current outstanding order to fill so I am glad to have the first egg.  Our other birds are starting to pick up on laying so we should soon be doing a bit better.  We are also in the process of taking the well of power and switching at least it over to solar.  It should help to lower the power bill and give us peace of mind. 

The one thing I cannot do without is water…No other new things to talk about so I will get back to cooking and preparing the house for this dreadful weather.

Be blessed

Shekhinah

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OPJXMN4

Good evening from the Mountain and a peek of America's college system

Good evening from the mountain, I have been almost totally consumed with school for the past few weeks so I am sorry for not touching base with you all sooner.  The farm is slowly coming back to life and so am I, spring is creeping up on us ever so slowly.

I have started some tomatoes, some beets and some peas.  I want to plant some more turnips, but have not had the time.  Some of the birds have started laying eggs, that makes me happy.  We have new puppies, not so happy about that...but it is what it is!

Aside from that I have been doing tons of school work as I have shared with you below.  This is one of the reason America can not compete with other countries.
Below is an assignment for a discussion board in one of my classes at Ozark.  I swear the drivel they put into the heads of our youth is ridiculous.
I want to say for the record that not all people are the same, nor should they be judged that way. A tall person could have a far different "body mass" than a short person and both could be in perfect health.  It is nothing short of stupid to tell someone they will be sick if they do not measure up.

Then I think, hmm I wonder how many people kill themselves every year trying to reach this level of perfection or kill them selves as a result of not being able to.  I am all for people being healthy, I really am, but have a realistic goal and process for gaining this.  Not all people need to be thin or even want to be.  Only communism dictates such doctrine as all are equal and if not they will be made to be.  I ask did we lose a war?  Are we so image minded that we will buy into the dogma of BMI?

Just maybe our health issues and weight issues as a country stem from the overly processed food we eat, just some food for thought.

This was the question:

Please use this discussion thread to discuss how body composition assessment can help you each, as individuals, change an attitude of ignoring personal health and weight management issues into planning behavior change and long term success.  (ie. Why is it important to know your body composition and how can you use it to make behavior changes and monitor progress?)


Honestly I am unimpressed with the results and I personally will not use body measurements in this way.  It reminds me of the people who believed you could use measurements of people’s craniums to tell if they were sane or normal, how intelligent they might be, etc.  It even went as far as to tell if someone might be a criminal and even was used to diagnose health conditions by “real” doctors.  Hitler used a similar process to decide what the perfect person was.  Anytime people start relying on such methods, they fall prey to a replacement theology of pseudo-scientific hogwash.  Not only are these methods not accurate but they are dangerous giving people a false image of self.  Many women today live under the terms of beauty as defined by men and not nature.  On this I will chose to disagree with our book.

Stuff like this just really makes my day!

But back to the books for me...

Be Blessed
Shekhinah
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OPJXMN4