Long Lost Blogger

Hi, it's been about two months since I posted anything and that's probably because there's not a lot to post. Well, maybe that's not true:

We've been running amok this summer. Went on a family trip to Sawyer, MI, where we picked blueberries, swam in Lake Michigan, climbed the Dunes at Warren State Park, and spent time with family. I took the kids to the county fair, we spent a day at the State Fair (planned intentionally so that I could be sure and see the dairy cattle), took the kids fishing (once), went swimming and hiking at Shakamak State Park, spent a week with the in-laws during the 4th of July celebration, which was also the sesquicentennial of Sheridan, IN. We've been running about. My Niece is getting married this weekend, and my youngest will be the ring bearer.

With all of that, I managed to do some reading and math with the kids once in awhile. We started our school year here yesterday. I'm doing two curricula at a time now, and I was pretty worried about how I'd juggle it, but maybe it's not going to be as bad as I'd imagined. I could be worse! Lol.

On the home front.... we had a contingency offer at one point, but he wanted immediate possession and we weren't willing to give that, so it didn't go through. If the other guy sells his house and ours is still for sale, he may well come back with another offer. We had a showing about the middle of June, then didn't have another until July 29th. We've had a few more since then. The housing market, like everywhere, is just the pits right now. But it's picking up around here. We had a showing and found out that ours is in the top two of this couple that looked at it. She likes our house, he likes another. BUT one of their parents live on the next street over from us, so that may be a selling point. Hope to hear something soon.

Melora's job as a flight nurse is going well, but it's taking her away from home a lot, as it's easier for her to go to her parent's house between shifts than coming two hours home, just to turn around and go back. This is kind of a bummer for us, but it's only temporary. If we sell our house, and can't find what we're looking for in Sheridan or nearby, my sister-in-law has offered us her place. She lives in an upstairs apartment above her art studio. She's remodelling a front room as a master bedroom and all five of us could sleep in it! Her husband is stationed in Vermont for three years with the military and she said she'd just go be with him while we were there. Her mortgage is half what ours is now. That way we would have a place to go and not be so pressured to buy someplace that wasn't exactly what we wanted. We'd just have to put all our stuff in storage for a while. Not the optimal situation, but it's an option.

There was a place we had our eye on that met our criteria very well. Newer house, close to her parents, barn/pasture, land to spread out..... It got an offer and out from under us it went. Bummer.

So that's what's going on. Otherwise, I've been reading the works of James Herriot (Yorkshire Vet) and watching the series, "All Creatures Great and Small." Great stuff.

Lessons from a Farm

This is my most recent 'finished reading' book. The author is Jerry Apps, published by Voyageur Press, 2005. I read this on recommendation of The Deliberate Agrarian, Herrick Kimball, and I'm glad I did.

Mr. Apps recounts his life growing up on the family farm in the little community of Chain O' Lakes, Wisconsin (Near the village of Wild Rose), back in the 1930's through 50's. He recounts many of the daily and yearly chores that marked life and made it good. On several occasions, he laments the purchase of 'new' technology that made life easier, like an automatic milking machine, a television set, a corn binder/thresher. He laments these things because they heralded the end of a way of life, one where people came together, shared their lives, knew each other, and had real community. Each chapter is prefaced with an excerpt from his mother's money ledger, the excerpts introducing the subject of the chapter.

In this wonderful little 223 page book, we look back into the real life of an early American farm family. We share the joys of getting electricity in the house, of a good grain harvest, we get a small taste of sweat and toil of everyday life, and we hear some of the heartbreak that was as much a part of life then as it is today.

But I want this to be more than a book report (sorry if it's gotten boring). In the chapter called 'Windstorm', we're told of the spring of 1950 when a windstorm like no other blew through and literally took the barn off it's foundations. The milk cows had to be moved to a neighboring farm for several weeks while the barn was repaired. Unfortunately, the cows acquired brucellosis, or Bang's disease, while there and had to be sent to slaughter. These two calamities made life very difficult for the Apps family for some time after. The strawberry and cucumber patches were expanded to help provide a little more income until the new cow herd was up to full size and production. What struck me most profoundly out of all the book was what Mr. Apps says next:

"There was little complaining about the hard work or reduced income. Without saying anything, Pa convinced me and my brothers, through his actions, that the family had to work together as a team if we were to survive these hard times. Each of us, without bragging or talking about it, was proud to help; each of us knew our contribution was important to the farm's survival. Those years brought our family as close together as it had ever been." (p. 200-201)

Ok, some lessons... First of all, most families today aren't playing as a team, shucks, the members aren't even playing the same game. Second, it's the onus of the father to show the way. That's how it is with most things... faith, work, family.

I've often wondered recently, with economics being what they are, if things got worse, would people be as resourceful as they were back during the Great Depression? I'm not so sure. First, things would have to get so much worse than they are before people seriously start thinking about alternative means of survival (gardening, chickens, doing without, etc.). But I'm just not sure that many of today's families have the basic fabric fabric necessary to hold together and pull through. I think we're too soft, too accustomed to creature comforts that we'd just about die without our cable or internet (when was the last time you actually wrote a letter - you know, with paper- and mailed it to someone? I know I can't remember when. It's a lost art). This is just a side comment though. But I'd be interested in knowing what you think.

The big lesson to me is the responsibility that is mine. Oh, I've known about it, but this little book just kinda brings it home again. If my kids are going to learn the intrinsic value of contributing to the family economy with their work and effort, I'll have to lead the way and teach them. Not an easy task when the human nature desires to avoid work and difficulty, if you call hoeing a garden a difficulty -which it certainly can be.

The other lesson is more about the work part. Hard work. Some things aren't so hard, like hoeing the garden. That's just monotonous. But there are days when work has to be done whether you want to do it or not. A lot of folks don't know hard work. I wonder if I do. Will I/do I have what it takes to tackle hard work? I've worked hard before, but will I pass that on to my kids?

Here's the really personal part. I can take this little challenge one of two ways. I can look at it as a positive encouragement and run with it, and/or I can see it as 'one more thing' that I'll probably not do to well with and give up. I can be quite pessimistic at times, but I'm not as bad as I used to be. So I'll likely take both approaches, depending on the day and my mood. Being a father is a never ending job. The good thing is that I don't have any crazy notions of being the perfect dad - I screwed that up LONG ago. I'll settle for being as good as I can be, and if that earns me a 'great dad' once in awhile, all the better.

What is my problem?

Crimony Pete! It must be part of my "Jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none" (JOATMON?) nature. I start things and don't finish. It seems that I'm rather notorious about it at present.

As you can see from the above picture, I've got several books, all in a different state of un-read (like un-dress). Two movies I've been watching off and on for days, two knitting projects... and I picked up some double pointed knitting needles yesterday to try my hand at that! I've also got two other books on the shelf that I haven't begun yet, but are awaiting my perusal at some point.

In my own defense, it's not uncommon for a knitter to have several projects going at once. Also in my defense, I did just finish a book yesterday called, "Watch For a Cloud of Dust." It's a fun, memoir type book containing the musings and recollections of a southern veterinarian. Fun reading and some good laughs.

I think, as I sit here, that perhaps my habit of going from one thing to another may have something to do with the season. It's winter, and as I've said in previous posts, I hate winter. I soooo need spring to come. All in good time, my pretty, all in good time. But what I mean is, that I'm restless and anxious for warmer weather. Ergo, I am restless in my activities, not settling for long on any one thing.

Alas. I remember back in college once. Of all things, I decided I wanted to go and reread a rather lengthy book I had in a class once. It's a wonderful book called, "Witness" by Whittaker Chambers (thank you Dr. Alan Snyder, wherever you are!). But I had other classwork to do, a social calendar to keep, my public to address... er, well, ok, maybe not that. But I had other things to do as well. I found myself feeling all uptight and bent out of shape and couldn't figure out why. Now, hang with me, there's a point to all this. I decided to visit my psychology prof., Dr. Judy Huffman. Those of you in Marion and know her, give her a shout for me. Anyway, I unloaded on her and told her what was going on and asked for help. As I'm talking to her, she takes a pad of paper, a red pen and draws a red flag on the paper and waves it at me. In a nutshell, I was overdoing it. Giving myself too much to do and expecting things that weren't necessary. She gave me the ability to allow myself to put the big ol' book away and not finish it, AND not feel guilty about it.

Well, I don't feel very pressured to finish any of those things in my picture. I started them for pleasure and I'll finish them for pleasure, not pressure. So I don't really feel badly about having so many unfinished tasks, but it did strike me today that I've really got a lot of things wanting my attention. Things that just aren't all that important.

I may just put one or two of those books away for awhile.

A Little Contradiction?

I recently ordered two books on Amazon. One I'd read about on a Homesteading site or in a magazine somewhere. The other, I saw at a Barnes & Noble recently. They both came to the house within days of each other, and both ended up on our coffee table side-by-side.

The result was somewhat humorous.......



HA HA HA HA! Ok, what gives? Well, the first book, "The 'Have More' Plan" is a book that was written back in the 50's (I believe) by Mr. and Mrs. Robinson, a couple that left the noise and pollution of New York City for a life in the country. It was their effort to educate others and help people see what kind of life there was to be had in living in the country. If you can get past the dated pictures and weed through the bad advice (like using DDT laced pesticides on your garden, or battery raising chickens), it's not a bad book at all. The Robinsons were actually recommending a life of country living, aka homesteading, as being a life where you could 'have more'. Not more in terms of cars, house, clothes... wealth as defined by culture. But rather, a wealth defined by hard work, good food, clean air, family, and self-reliance.

The second book, by Peter Walsh of TLC Channel fame, is his take on regaining control of your 'stuff'. This isn't another "how-to-organize-you-closet-in-fourteen-easy steps" book. His whole premise is that our culture has become one of 'stuff acquisition' to the point that our stuff now owns us rather than the other way around. People's lives are falling apart due, in large part according to Peter, to their homes being out of control. The one place they should be able to go to recuperate, recharge, and regain some sense of themselves is so full of junk, they can't think straight. He doesn't talk about how to store things. He talks about getting rid of things. Cleaning up, clearing out, mastering the stuff. He looks at the reasons behind why we keep all the things we don't think we can part with, and challenges us to make hard choices.

Well, even before I got the book, something in me snapped. I started cleaning out. (Which did help my mood a bit- see the previous post). I went through all kinds of stuff and took tubs of papers, catalogs, magazines, household stuff, nonsense... all to the recycle center or Goodwill. Our computer desk is actually cleared off and doesn't look a wreck. Melora has room for her school books on the shelves, my sock drawer isn't so full I can barely shut it, and our kitchen is a lot more empty of plastic containers.

Well, the two books do look rather contradictory sitting next to each other. But when you know what they're both talking about, they're not too far off from each other. In their own ways, they both seem to say, "Less is More"!

Something different

Well, not much has happened in the past few days, so there's not a lot to write about. A neighbor friend of ours bought us tickets to the annual Kiwanis pancake breakfast, so we went there this morning. One of the perks of homeschooling... we got to all go out for breakfast.

Something you may not know about me - I'm a Superman fan. I've always like the Man of Steel and enjoyed reading his comics (though I rarely bought one as a kid). But I just think Big Blue is cool.

I've been doing some reading lately. A week or two ago I finished a book by an archaeologist/philologist (a person who studies languages). The book was written in the 80's. I actually forget the name of the book, but his two other books on the same subject were called 'America B.C.' and 'Saga America'. His position is that Bronze Age Europeans actually traversed the Atlantic and visited North America centuries before Lief Ericson did, as our modern history books tell us. There are actually numerous sites in Canada and the U.S. that are near copies of European Bronze Age dolmen, stellae, burials, etc. These folks would have come over before the last ice age would have made that kind of sea travel impossible. Many of these are inscribed with early Celtic, Scandinavian, and Basque writing, called Ogam and Tifinag inscriptions. Most archaeologists have dismissed these inscriptions as mere decoration or 'wear and tear' of centuries of weather. However, to the trained eye, they tell a very real story, relaying the voyages and accomplishments of European traders and kings - most notably, a Norse king named 'Woden-Lithi'. Sorry, but I can't even remember the author's name right now. Good reading with a lot of pictures to illustrate his points, though.

Another book I'm looking at right now is called 'The Irish in Ireland'. It's a brief history of Ireland from pre-Celtic peoples, to more modern history. It's VERY brief.

I've got my eye on a couple of other books to read when I'm done... A new book just out called 'Liberal Fascism' which shows how many of the policies of liberal politicians through American history are actually rooted in Fascism. It's a scholarly work, and not the ravings of a craze 'Right-Wing Bleeding Heart'. The author doesn't leave off without a word or two about the need for some caution and care by the more conservative side of politics.

And finally, 'The Good Old Days'. It's a collection of interviews, diary entries, testimonies, letters, etc. of Germans involved in the real front-line killing of the Holocaust during WWII. I understand it's not for the faint of heart. But I'm always fascinated by peoples' personal stories, and especially when I can find out the answer to, "What in the world were they thinking?"

I get these books at the library. Good thing too, or I'd be flat broke, have no space in my house at all, and have a very unhappy wife.

All of these right along with the two or three other books unfinished on the shelf to pick up at leisure, several books borrowed from a friend, some homesteading magazines, and a couple of other books I checked out at the library. Go figure.

Well, I guess I did have something to say.

A Good Read

I spend a lot of time in the winter indoors. Wow, what a surprise! Not.

But I generally can find a few good books to entertain myself with over the dark winter months. Sometimes to the chagrin of my wife. You see, I can get really absorbed in a book, to the point that anytime I have a free moment, I've got my nose stuck in a book. Well, I haven't been THAT bad lately, but I have found some excellent books to read.

I've been reading almost everything I can get my hands on about farming, animals, gardening, preserving, etc. I've read quite a lot this winter. But recently, I got some books from the library by an author named Gene Logsdon. Mr. Logsdon lives in norther Ohio and has written over 20 books about farming, gardening, etc. He incorporates a lot of very useful information with some anecdotes that are usually quite a lot of fun to read. He's got some good ideas and seems to be well versed in his topics. If he doesn't feel he knows quite enough about something to make a solid statement about it, he tells you, then he tells you what other people say or do about the subject. I've read "Wildlife in the Garden" and am currently reading "All Flesh is Grass" about pasture farming. I've also got "Living at Nature's Pace" to read too.

If you're at all interested in gaining more knowledge about homesteading, farming, living a slower life, or how to do any of that, find one of his books and give it a read. I think you'll be glad you did.