Wednesday, July 31, 2013

July 31, 2013 Laundry

     Good morning. Yesterday's big job was washing all the clothes in Mom's closet. First I washed the jeans and pants cause I knew they would take the longest to line dry but I didn't think about the jackets and coats. Anyway I got all of it done up to the jackets that I washed but the sun went down before I could put them on the line to dry and also the coats. So I am glad that I have a dryer because rain is in the forecast for today. I sorted all the clothes once they were dry and got a box full for the church yard sale. But there will be more after I finish.
     I know that when I hang out clothes on the line to dry the neighbors who pass by must think that my dryer has broken, for why else would I be line drying clothes?  To tell the truth I really like it. I enjoy being out side. I like using free energy to get the clothes dry. I like not heating up the house by using the dryer. I like getting away from all the issue inside the house even for a few minutes while hanging, checking, and taking down clothes. When I was washing all the contents of  the linen closet I had my husband help me put up even more line to dry on. He lovingly calls it my spider web.
     So in doing all this line drying I began thinking about the 'proper' way to hang clothes to dry. You know the way it was done by our grandmothers. There seems to be a proper way to hang everything. And back in the day you was looked down upon if you hung your clothes wrong or washed on the wrong day. Monday was wash day, and Monday only. If you had the wash hanging out on a Thursday you were committing an awful faux pas. Well now days it seems that just using a clothes line is an awful faux pas no matter what day. Anyway I found conflicting data on hanging pants upside down or right side up and the same with shirts. I guess it is a matter of opinion. So I decided to do them both ways then turn them after a while. It seems where the clothes pins were the clothes were still wet so turning them helped. Oh well they all got dry and to me that is what counts.
     Today I must finish up then on to some other crazy idea, I am sure I will come up with something. Have a good day.

                                                      April Whitehair

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

July 30, 2013 Green Beans on the Ceiling

     Good morning. I woke up early then everyone else woke up shortly after. So no quiet me time this morning. Oh well. At least my husband understands that I need some quiet private time to think and type each morning. Mom on the other hand never understands even when I say please let me have a few minutes, she keeps on talking. I guess I should be thankful that she can still talk. I know one day I will miss it.
     Garden check showed nothing new. Except maybe a few more green bean that I had not seen before. And a long awaited baby, baby bell pepper. I just may have bell peppers after all. I think I have finally decided to join that seed of the month club that I was talking about. My husband says it is ok. Maybe I will do that today. It will be exciting to get new seeds every month. I will keep you posted as to what seeds I actually get each month. And if anyone is interested in joining just ask and I will give you the info where to join.
     I have realized that the amount of produce I will have this year will probably not be enough to warrant the purchase of a canner. But maybe that will be something I will work on saving for during the winter so I can have it for next year. I am sure I will have some embarrassing stories of my mistakes while learning the art of canning. I have been reading and studying up on it and it sounds a little complicated. But for me I only learn something by doing not by reading. I have to have hands on experience to understand and learn.
     Mom use to can a lot when I was a kid but it was treated as a scary and dangerous thing. I was never aloud to be present when she did certain things. One time she had a jar of green beans explode, there was green beans all over the kitchen. I remember seeing the aftermath, green beans on the ceiling. That was frightening to a little girl.
     I have lots to do today. I have been considering washing all the clothes hanging in Mom's closet. And let me tell you that is a lot of clothes. Some she hasn't worn for years. Some that don't fit anymore. I may be able to get rid of several things and place them in the church rummage sale if I can get it done before this weekend. So I shall go and see if I can get started on that. Have a good day.

                                                                 April Whitehair

Monday, July 29, 2013

July 29, 2013

     Good morning. It is quite early. I just couldn't sleep any longer. Yesterday was a good day. All of my sisters stopped by and visited. All at different times. Of course I was cooking during my oldest sister's visit. I was frying fried green tomatoes for our lunch, which my sister couldn't help herself, she had to try a few. I think she liked them. Our lunch may have looked strange because it was garden lunch day. At least once a week I will serve only things picked fresh out of the garden. We had sweet banana peppers, cucumbers two ways (soaked in salt water and plain), and like I said before fried green tomatoes. We all got our bellies full. Mom will eat all the fried green tomatoes she can get. Each time I make them she will say, " I haven't had these in years."
     Garden is doing well. There are blooms just starting on the birdhouse gourd plants. Several sunflowers have opened. A few green beans. And lots and lots of sweet banana peppers and cucumbers. There is several blooms on the pumpkin plants but no baby pumpkins yet. And I noticed yesterday one bloom on the watermelon plant.
     I am thinking about joining a seed of the month club. It is roughly $40 a year. You get 8 packs of seeds the first month and 4 packs each month after that. They are all non-gmo seeds. If I started now I would have a nice variety by next year. I have been contemplating this for a while. If I would buy, only the packs of seeds that I want to grow, in the store they are $1.50 at least a piece. That would be more expensive but I would get only the ones I wanted. But with the club I would get seeds I may not want but I may try something new and like it. Plus non-gmo seeds are hard to find sometimes. That way I can save seeds for the next year. The plants I am growing now, their seeds will be useless next year because all but the lettuce is gmo and/or hybrid.
     I have a busy day today. I have a favor to do for my sister, then my husband wants to go play golf with a friend, so I will be busy at home. It seems like there is something I am forgetting. Hope it is not to important. Well we shall see. Have a good day.

                                                               April Whitehair  

Sunday, July 28, 2013

July 28, 2013 A memory from a nurse.

     Good morning. Everyone is asleep here, which is good for me. Mom told me at least a hundred times yesterday that she wanted to go home. Um she is home. This has been her house for about 50 years. Trying to reorient her does not work most of the time. So I asked her where she lived and she named the road that she use to live up when she was a teen. Anyway I think that was where she lived then. This is very frustrating to me because I never wanted her to go to a nursing home, at nursing homes you always hear little old ladies say "I want to go home." It is heart breaking when they want to go home or at least see there family and no one ever comes.
     I use to be a nurse and I have worked in a couple nursing homes. I can tell you that I had never seen any kind or type of abuse by any of the staff. I never would have stood for it. I loved all my residents. I cared for them as if they were my own mother or father. There were several times when death was very near and they did not have family beside them that I would stay after work just to set by them talk, pray, sing, and just be there so they were not alone when they breathed there last breath. One lady will be in my memory for ever. She was newer to the facility maybe a week or two, she was not under my care that day, I was assigned on the other side of the building. I heard the commotion over the intercom, one nurse calling for help from others. Like all the other nurses in the building we all went running. After an assessment of this resident by all the other nurses they left the room to get supplies, call doctors, and call family. I had nothing to do, in regards to the notifications and preparing. So I did what I saw that she needed most. I pulled up a chair to her bed side and held her hand. She was blind, but she was able to speak. She told me she was afraid. I comforted her as best as I could. She sat straight up in bed breathed her last breath and passed away. She was a DNR (do not resuscitate). I got up and informed her nurse who was at the nurses station. I was with that woman and held her hand when she needed it the most. I know in my heart that I was where I was suppose to be, doing just what I was meant to do. That lady was not alone. And neither shall my mother ever be.

                                                                            April Whitehair 

Saturday, July 27, 2013

July 27, 2013 Drones!

     Good morning. Yesterday evening we had the party for Mom and my niece. It was a good time. It seems that when ever we are together there are many laughs. Good memories made and memories remembered. The cake I made turned out good, looks and taste. Here is a picture.


 
 
                                                                                                                                                             
     During the clean up from the party I spotted something in the sky. And they were drones! At first there were two of them, one flying one way and the other flying the other. This caused quite a lot of excitement for me and my sister. These were the first ones we have seen. I never thought I would see them flying over such a small town like ours. They were either circling and coming back around or there were many of them because they passed over around four times or there were eight of them. It happened between 7:30 and 8pm. I tried to take a picture but my camera wouldn't zoom in close enough. This is a picture that I took. The drone is the tiny spec. Note no exhaust trail. And they made no noise.
   

     My niece was worried because she had never seen or heard of them before, she is ten. I was telling her that they are unmanned aircraft just flying around taking pictures of our beautiful country side. "Could they shoot us?" she asked." No." I said "We live in the great USA and they are being controlled by our government they would never hurt their own people." Did I tell her a lie?

                                                                         April Whitehair


Friday, July 26, 2013

July 26, 2013 Party Planning.

     Good morning. I am up and have already baked a cake. Now to let it cool so I can put icing on it. We will be celebrating Mom's 73'd birthday and my nieces 10th birthday. My sister is getting her a pony cake. I think my little pony, I would love a my little pony cake. They were one of my favorite things as a kid. So I decided that a separate cake for Mom might be special. It hopefully will be a heart shaped white layer cake probably with just white frosting and maybe a decoration of some kind. I say hopefully because it isn't finished yet, who knows how it will turn out. I am not very creative. But I will try. The reason it will be just white cake and white icing is because that's what I have on hand. I always try to keep a box of cake and icing because you never know when or why you might need it. It has came in handy a time or two.
     Yesterday's laundry was an undertaking. I washed all the sheets, blankets, and pillow cases that was in the linen closet. And let me tell you there was a lot, seriously! Anyway after washing and hanging them all out to dry I decided that there was way to much. Plus most of them we didn't even ever use. So I decided to sort them and pack away the ones that doesn't fit any of the beds in the house. Now if there is ever an issue with a bad odor in there I wont be washing all those again. They are all done and put away. Oops I forgot about the three blankets still hanging on the front porch. So I guess I am almost done.
     I have a lot to do today to get ready for the party. Hopefully it will be nice out and we can spend most of the time outside. We have a large front porch, great spot for birthday parties. Many a birthday has been celebrated out there. I shall go and get busy. Have a good day.

                                                                 April Whitehair

Thursday, July 25, 2013

July 25, 2013

     Good morning. Yesterday I noticed that all the sheets and blankets in the linen closet had a bad smell. So I worked on washing them all evening and night and got them hung out on the line before sun up this morning. I still have several blankets to wash and hang out. I don't have any more room on the line. Even thought my husband strung up four more clothes lines for me yesterday evening, they are all already full. I did realize that there are way to many sheets. Most of which we don't even have a bed to fit them. So after they dry I will be sorting and packing away most of them. Now where the bad odor came from I am not sure, but I did find a paper towel with some kind of unrecognizable rotten food in it. Probably something Mom had hid in there at some point. I will wash out the shelves and probably sprinkle some of those Downy Un stopables in the corners.    I hope that will help.
     After yesterday's malfunction with the post I was writing I was thinking of quitting. But to be honest I really like blogging. I like to express my thoughts and feelings about various things and also I like to write an account of my daily activities so that one day I can look back and remember things that I have done. With that being said I have been thinking of my long ago dream of becoming a writer. I have always had a very vivid imagination but putting it to words that others may enjoy is a different story. I just may try to write something. I have many ideas. Not really fiction but more along the lines of opinion and religion. I will be praying that God puts the right words in my head and gives me the ability to express them in the way He sees fit.
     I will go and finish up the laundry. Have a good day.

                                                                           April Whitehair

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

July 24, 2013

     Good morning. Not much new in the garden. We think my husband's tomato plant has died or most of it anyway. But he was finally able to get one good red tomato off of it all, the other red ones that he was able to pick was mostly ate by something or badly diseased.  There are a couple more sunflower blooms and several more that look like they will be open in the morning. I was able to pick several sweet banana peppers yesterday morning and cut them up and put them in the freezer. The green beans that I spotted the other day are getting bigger. The bean plants are now growing into the tree that overhangs that wall. I will have to get out a ladder to pick them.
     I am so frustrated, almost to tears. I had just sat here and typed a whole page and somehow it has all disappeared. I guess it wasn't the right time to post those thoughts. Maybe some other day I will try and tell you what it was all about. But for now I am about ready to throw in the towel with this whole blogging endeavor. We shall see if I can continue to post or not. I am just frustrated and need a break to get my thoughts sorted out.
     I shall go. Have a good day.

                                                            April Whitehair

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

July 23, 2013

     Good morning. Yesterday I took Mom to visit her twin sister on their birthday. The visit was short. Mom got stuck repeating on a picture of one of her sisters that has recently past away. She would see the picture and ask who it was and we would tell her and she would ask how she was then she sister would tell her that she has past, Mom would get upset and look away then back at the picture and ask again who it was. Repeat, repeat. After doing this she turned to me almost in tears and said she didn't want to go up the big hill, her sister lives down a very steep driveway, I said we would have to so we could go home and she took that as it was time to go home. After lots of hugs and kisses all around we left. So it was a short visit, but I didn't realize just how short till we got home and I seen the clock and realized we were there for only about half an hour. But at least Mom got to see her sister.
     One of Mom's nieces stopped in to see her and say happy birthday and gave her a card and a gift. Mom likes to get visitors. I on the other hand always feel like my house isn't clean enough. I know that people stop by to visit not look at the house but with me being a homemaker and caregiver as a job it seems like I should have a spotless house and no dirty dishes in my sink. I just can't do it. My house is not disgusting  just well lived in. Plus we have a dog and four cats, so I shall blame it all on them. No, but really I try to have a decently clean home, I am more concerned about germs than clutter. One day I may keep a clean spotless home but I wouldn't bet on it.
     Yesterday for lunch we had cucumbers and fried green tomatoes. Both fresh out of our garden. I just love being able to feed my family with the food that I have grown and not spending much money getting it to the table. The garden is doing good. I picked the last of the peas to be used as seed for next year. I have been reading where people will plant more stuff now in place of the things that they have finished harvesting. I don't think I will be doing that. I am not sure what I would plant.
     I should go and clean this house. Maybe... Have a good day.

                                                               April Whitehair

Monday, July 22, 2013

July 22, 2013 Mom's Birthday.

     Good morning. It is Mom's 73 Birthday! Well even with all my procrastination I think we have came up with a plan in regards to her party. My sister reminded me that occasionally we will do a combine birthday party for Mom and her granddaughter who's birthday is only four days later. So I think that is a great idea. I will still try and take Mom to see her sister sometime today.
     A quick look at the garden showed five very small green beans. Yay! It is about time. Also there are three blooms on the pumpkin plants. And two sunflowers have finally bloomed. The blooms on them are small but the plants are so tall, which I find strange being that they are dwarf sunflowers.  I am waiting for the lettuce to grow seeds but for some reason they haven't yet. I really want to try to collect those seeds because that is the only truly organic plant that I have. And there are blooms on two of the bell pepper plants. The cucumber plants are producing like crazy. We have already picked and ate several cucumbers and they are very good.
     I have a busy day ahead. I must go get to it. Have a good day.

                                                                  April Whitehair
    

Sunday, July 21, 2013

July 21, 2013

     Good morning. Not much time this morning to write. I seem to be running behind and still have to get ready for church. Note to my sisters, Mom's Birthday is tomorrow. Not sure if we will be doing anything. Her birthday has snuck up on me this year. I could make a cake or buy one. But I am sure we will do something. She will be 73. I have be trying to take her to her twin sisters on her birthday every year. So we will try to do that sometime tomorrow.
     As I have stated I am running late. I shall write more tomorrow. I have been thinking about not writing at all on Sunday's, but we shall see.
     Have a good day.

                                                            April Whitehair

Saturday, July 20, 2013

July 20, 2013 No apologies here.

     Good morning. Well actually almost afternoon now. I was awake earlier and started to type something and decided it was better to go back to sleep for a while. But now I am finally awake and everyone else here is napping. Yesterday my husband and I went for a long drive to a place where he will be working next week, just to see that we could find it and know he could get there without any trouble. I love long drives on back country roads. My Dad use to take my Mom and us girls on long drives to the middle of nowhere it seemed and we always had a good time. He would stop at a convenience store and buy us a soda pop and a candy bar or stop at an ice cream shop and get us an ice cream cone. We were always happy to get those things, it may have been a cheap mini vacation but to us it was an awesome adventure. Now with the price of gas it might not be so cheap. It is still the best way to spend the day with someone you love. Now with my mindset of prepping, survival, and homesteading it is a great joy to see others with gardens and chickens and the way they use the land they have. It gives me ideas that I have never thought of.
     I had recently read a story wrote by a man that had lived in a big city through a war in far away country and how he and most of his family had survived and what they do now to prepare for the possibility of an upcoming crisis.  It was a very interesting read. Even though he lived in a big city at the time, most of the difficulties he faced would be the same as the ones we all would have to face in the event of SHTF. Reading this has not only given me ideas of what to have on hand at any given time but has caused me to think more on the topic of the struggles America has faced. I have been reading about The Great Depression and stories told by those who have lived through it. And looked at many pictures taken during that time. Growing up I had heard about it but never really gave it much thought. Now I am encouraged by these stories and inspired by the strong people of our great country. And I have thoughts about how a depression of that magnitude would look in this day and age. It would look mostly the same I think but with lots of useless electrical appliances strewn about in yards. Notably I am thinking of a time where electric is no longer available, affordable, or only available to the few. Never learned skills of this generation will be in great demand and it seems to me suffering will be greater to those who are born and raised with the entitlement mindset. What a poor disservice parents have done in raising children to expect to be handed every wish and whim. I also must say what a poor disservice the educational system has done in not educating the young on skills that are necessary for basic human life. And only thinking of prosperity as a viable outcome.
     I must stop now and clarify that some of my thoughts and sentiments may not be accepted and agreed upon by those who read what I write, but to this I do not apologize. I only state my thoughts and the truth as I see it.
     As it seems the day is running away from me fast I shall go and try to capture what is left of it. Make this day a useful one and be proud of what you have accomplished when you lay your head on your pillow tonight.

                                                            April Whitehair

Friday, July 19, 2013

July 20, 2013

     Good morning. It is still so hot outside. It should be cooler next week according to the weather, plus we are suppose to be getting some rain. We had to water the garden again last night. This heat makes the plants very thirsty. I have so many sweet banana peppers to pick today and cut up to freeze. I did this last year and I still have some in the freezer. I use them in fried potatoes and meatloaf and anything else I can find to put them in. I do the same for bell peppers, but this year I don't have any peppers yet on those plants. The sunflower blooms are so close to being open. I keep thinking any day now. The birdhouse gourd plants have grown a lot since putting the trellis behind them. No blooms on them yet. We were able to pick three more cucumbers which I will slice and soak in salt water. That is what Mom always did,  yummy.
     I am so frustrated with this computer. I keep hitting some button inadvertently and it makes it impossible to correct any mistake. I don't know what button I am hitting so I don't know how to fix it. Anyone have any ideas? Usually if I make a mistake I can go in and correct it. Like if I type 'of' instead of 'on' and I try to go back and back space over the 'f' and try to replace it with the 'n' it takes away the 'f' and the space after the word and then when I hit space it takes away the first letter of the next word and on and on. It is hard to explain. Anyway I must end now because I wont retype everything I have already typed to correct a small mistake.
     Have a good day.

                                                                 April Whitehair
     

Thursday, July 18, 2013

July 18, 2013 A happy moment.

     Good morning. Yesterday was so hot there was a lot of clouds and thunder but no rain. So last night around 8pm I was out watering the garden. The dirt around the bell pepper plants was so dry that it had large cracks, hopefully the pepper plants will survive. The garden walk through this morning showed that everything seemed to like the watering last night. There is one bloom on the pumpkin plants and many blooms on the green bean plants. I also noticed last night that there are a couple cucumbers that are ready to be harvested. And two of my husbands tomatoes are turning red, I think his plant may just survive.
     Trying to sort and pack totes for the storage building that we built has been impossible in this heat. But not wanting to stop the progress all together I decided to work on it later in the evening. So last night after watering the garden I sorted and packed four more totes. It was still hot but better than trying to do it earlier in the day. My Mom gave all us girls, and my sisters have carried on the tradition with there kids, a Christmas decoration for I think our first Christmas. They are a plastic decoration that you put a light in. My sisters' have a Santa, a reindeer, and a snowman I think I am remembering that right. And mine was a candle with Noel wrote on the front. Well during a move some years ago I had lost it and sadly thought it was gone forever. Well last night while sorting out some old boxes guess what was in the bottom of one of them. Yep, my candle! It was such a happy moment. I hugged it and said a little thank you prayer, I think I would have cried but a car drove by and I realized how crazy I looked hugging a Christmas decoration in the middle of July in my front yard.
     Yesterday was Mom's bath day, which means Mom gets a bath, her dog gets a bath, and her bed sheets get changed. She hates to get a bath. If I would leave it up to her to decide when she takes one she would never again get a bath. I can tell that soon she will have to have an appointment with a podiatrist, foot doctor, to cut her big toe nails. The rest of her toenails are easy to cut. But what I can remember of her Dad, who also had Alzheimer's, he also had very thick impossible to cut big toe nails, that grew so long, Yuck, the thought of it makes me sick to my stomach. I was only five when grandpa died, so to a five year old it was traumatic to see toenails like his. I vow to not let hers get like his.
     Well the day seem to be full of cleaning house, laundry, and staying inside in the ac. Have a good day.

                                                                    April Whitehair

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

July 17, 2013

     Good morning. Its to hot when you have already sweat this early in the morning. My husband and I put the trellis, that my sister and her husband gave us, up behind the birdhouse gourd plants. With only a minor incident when the trellis swung around and mowed down three of the plants. But I was able to stand them back up and hopefully they were not damaged to bad. Not much else going on today. I plan to stay inside in the ac for most of the day. So I will probably get some house work done.
     Yesterday was long and boring. Any day that I can't get outside to play in the garden seems boring to me. Wasn't it just last week that I was complaining about to much rain now I am complaining about to much heat. I just can't be happy.
     We were able to pick two green tomatoes, two sweet banana peppers, and a cucumber for dinner last night. It makes dinner so much better when you grow part of it in your own garden. Also my husband was able to pick three strawberries for a pre dinner snack off his strawberry plants.
     Mom seems to be worse everyday. I found her at 4am crying in the kitchen she said she was crying because she had just found out that her mom had died. Her mom died over 30 years ago. And this morning she was upset that she didn't go to her family reunion. She went. She wouldn't believe me or my husband when we told her that she was there. I had to show her pictures of her and her twin on Face book at the reunion. I still don't think she believed me. Well to day is her bath day and she hates it. I honestly hate it also. It is so hard to bath your own Mom. But the way I think of it is she bathed me for many years when I was a baby I can bath her now when she needs me.
     Well I seem to have come up with some things to do today. Have a good day.

                                                                     April Whitehair

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

July 16, 2013 Garden review again.

     Good morning. It sure is hot outside already. We finished the floor in the storage building yesterday. But now it is way to hot to do much sorting and packing, I was able to put the totes in the new building that I had packed last week. It is so nice to see it with totes in it. I think it will be full in a short time. Why do I have all this junk? Well it is not junk to me.
     Garden update time again. The good things first. Cucumbers are doing great, we have a couple that are ready to be picked and lots that are still small. I am a little surprised how well they are doing. They are planted in a spot that doesn't get much sun and gets a lot of rain, but they are thriving. Green bean plant are doing great. The string trellis that I made is working out wonderfully. The green beans have lots of blooms but no beans yet. Sunflower plants are so tall and they are the dwarf variety, seeds that I have saved from last year. The flowers are almost open maybe in a day or two. The pea plants have died. There are a few pea pods left that are still green I will pick those when the pods turn slightly brown and open slightly it use them as seeds for next year. I am trying to let the lettuce go to seed also for next year, but they are taking so long. The pumpkin plants are doing great, they are getting so big no blooms yet but the leaves are big and the vines are growing. The birdhouse gourd plants are growing and looking good. I didn't realize that they needed to grow up a trellis but that is ok my sister and her husband just gave me a large trellis that I will place behind them. I don't think the watermelon plants are doing well at all, just goes to show that gmo plants from last year, there seeds do not produce as their parents did. Sweet banana pepper plants are producing more than I can use, but that is ok I will cut them up and freeze them to use through out the winter. The bell pepper plants are small but continue to grow. One has a bloom so hopefully a pepper soon. Now about the tomato plants. My tomato plant is doing good. The tomatoes are many and look good, the vines are good also except for some of the lower leaves have turned yellow from all the rain. Now my husbands tomato plant that he treated with Miracle-Gro is looking very bad. There was a lot of black tomatoes and lots of black vines. I don't think it will recover. I think it was all the rain that damaged it. I feel kinda bad for his plant but I wonder if I can say now that I won the experiment on the use of Miracle-Gro verses egg shells? I think that is all the plants that are in the garden. I have decided that next year there will be two gardens. One that my husband can do what ever he wants and one that I will grow only organic non-gmo plants.
     I have to go get the day started. Have a good day.

                                                                      April Whitehair

Monday, July 15, 2013

July 15, 2013 A review of yesterday's reunion.

     Good morning. Yesterday was my Dad's side of the family reunion. It was such a good day. It got hot but not as hot as it was last year for the reunion. I believe there was around 50 people there, which is less than usual. Several people just couldn't make it. But we understand that not everyone can travel here every year. We have many family members that live in other states and with jobs and the economy it is difficult to return home every year. But we had a lot of food, and very good food at that. We all ate way to much and set around and talked. My family is very close and there are lots of ornery funny people. A lot of jokes were told. A lot of memories were made and shared. After eating one of our main activities is shooting guns. We have been doing this for as long as I can remember. Skeet shooting is a highlight for all. Everyone shoots at least once, most shoot several times. It is a time for the adult males to show off there guns and for the children to be educated on gun safety. And I can tell you that we all in this family have inherited the ability to be a good shot, evident by the little ones that can hit the skeet that are flying through the air on their first shot. A lot of children never have been around guns before and have not idea how to be around guns safely, this activity is such a learning event. The kids think it is fun but what they don't realize is that they are being taught many lessons with the adults by there side. This is where I have learned most of my gun respect and lessons as a child and I am proud that the future generations of this family are learning the same.
    After the skeet shooting comes the time to eat homemade ice cream. Even though we are all still to full to eat anything, everyone somehow finds a way to eat at least a cup full. Plus it is very cooling during a hot day. This is also a tradition that we do every year.
     After the eating and skeet shooting and eating ice cream comes the time to just sit around and talk. Many people leave during this time and there are only a few that are left, well maybe 20 or more stick around to just hang out and be together, its like we just don't want the day to end. Then someone, my niece, says that she is hungry again. I don't know how she could possible be hungry after all that eating. But then we know it is time to set out all the left over food again and start to eat again. Like I said we are very good eaters. Even though we all are saying there is no way we could eat another bite, we all go back through the line and get at least get one more plate full. Then we are really done. We can hardly move but then it is time to clean up, putting up the tables and chairs, cleaning up all the food and dividing up what is left. Many hands make light work and it all gets done quickly. By the time we get home it is around 8pm and all we can do is lay down and go to sleep.
     Mom had such a good day. Everyone in this family seems to love her and respect her. They all care for her and look out for her. Everyone is willing to offer a helping hand with her. It makes me so happy to see the respect they give her. It is hard to pick a favorite moment concerning the family's treatment of Mom but this morning what sticks in my head is when we all were watching and shooting the pistols, my cousin well actually he would be my 1st cousin's husband, he offered her a chair to sit in and pulled up a chair and set beside her and they just talked and watched the shooting. This may not seem to be a big deal to anyone else but he is a very quiet type and to me seems not very social. But he took a special step and offered her a seat and offered to spend time with her. Something so small seems so huge to me.
      I had such an enjoyable day and can't wait till we do it again next year.
     Have a good day.

                                                              April Whitehair 

Sunday, July 14, 2013

July 14, 2013 Reunion #2

     Good morning. Yesterday was a long day and I am very tired this morning. We had a wonderful time at Moms reunion and ate way to much. We did a lot of setting around talking, reminiscing about Grandma and Grandpa, catching up with family we hadn't seen in a long time and definitely eating. It was nice to see Mom hugging all her brothers and sisters. She remembered all of them, I think, but I don't think she really remembered anyone else. She definitely remembers her twin sister, she loves her so much. It was nice to see all the love and caring showed to her by her brothers and sisters. It touched my heart when one of her sisters sat with her while eating and helped her by getting her drinks and coffee and extra deserts and just talking with her like she was her old self. Something so little is so meaningful to my Mom, so meaningful to me. It is very interesting to see those who approached her with love and caring and those who avoided her. She is the oldest of that family, the big sister.
     The auction went well. My husband bid and won a gift for me, it was a snowman candle holder with a candle in it. A good prepper item. I bid on and won food storage containers, I paid 13 dollars for them, you can't see what is in the boxes till you win the bid and open the box. But I am always glad to get storage containers, I seem to never find a bottom and a lid that match when needed. I also won a blanket in the raffle. The kind where you have to cut and tie the two pieces together. So it is more like a project than a prize. But it will be a good blanket for Mom.
     Something else I observed at the reunion was my niece, 17, and nephew, 14. They are such good and caring young adults. They love and care for each other like no other brother and sister I have seen before. I am sure they fight at home like all siblings do but yesterday they showed so much maturity. My niece got a gift from the drawling then when it was her brothers turn and there was nothing left that a young man would want, she gave him her gift and chose something else for her self, even though it wasn't what she really wanted. That is the definition of unselfishness if I have ever seen one. My sister and brother-in-law have done an excellent job in raising two fine young adults.      
     Today is Dad's side of the family reunion. Last night after the other reunion we went up to my uncle's house to get things set up for today's reunion. Even when working we have a good time together. It is nice to see all the children and young men working. The children working hard side by side with there cousins and the young men working side by side with the older men. All learning irreplaceable lessons.
     Today is church then the reunion. I have so much to do. Have a good day.

                                                                 April Whitehair

Saturday, July 13, 2013

July 13, 2013 Reunion #1

     Good morning. This is to be a long weekend. Today is Mom's side of the family reunion and tomorrow is Dad's side of the family reunion. I have lucked in to inheriting the dish that Mom has always made but now is unable to make due to her Alzheimer's. Probably the easiest thing to make, cheesecake. So I have made two, well actually it is four boxes, two in each pan. Everyone loves them and the pans come home empty or almost empty every time. Mom, before she got Alzheimer's, shared her secret on how to make them so good and I hope I do them justice. Everyone seems to like them whether Mom makes them or me so I must be doing it right.
     I come from families that are both great cooks. We really can do some eating. We all eat till we just can't eat anymore than we eat some more. Yes we are that good of cooks and maybe even better  eaters. Definitely no dieting this weekend.
     The reunion today is so much fun. Mom gets to see her brothers and sisters that she doesn't get to see much. Then after all the eating they have a auction, were we all bring a wrapped gift of some sort and everyone bids on them. The money goes for the things needed to put on the reunion the next year. The wrapped gifts could be anything. And with some of my Uncles it is hard to tell what kind of gag gifts they would bring. It is always exciting to see what you bought. Some gifts sell for a dollar and sometimes I have seen them sell for twenty. It just depends how ornery my family feels. Last year my husband got a nice set of storage containers of all sizes, I think he spent 16 dollars for them, but it was fun and I will always have a gift that my Uncle gave, he now has cancer and is fighting it very hard. That same Uncle the year before bid on something and won and he gave it to me,  Which he does often, he will win and say give it to her, which could be anyone of his nieces, or sisters or anyone else in the crowd. I just love that man. I so hope he wins his battle against cancer. Well the gift he won and gave me the other year that I was speaking of was food canisters that has bears and fall leaves and cabins on them, not something I would pick for myself, but sense it was from him I will treasure them for ever, actually they sit on my dresser in my bedroom, collecting spare change and batteries and the like. They will always have a special place in my heart and my home.
     Well today is going to be a long one and I need to get it started. Have a good day.

                                                                        April Whitehair

Friday, July 12, 2013

July 12, 2013 The Power Outage

     Good morning. I was unable to post yesterday because of a power outage. To most people loosing electrical power is a major disadvantage but for a prepper it is a blessing. Yes a blessing, a chance to try out your preps and see the areas that you have forgotten to prepare for. New areas of concern have come to mind and new ideas are forming.
     The power went out the night before last and lasted about 19 hours. During the first hour of the power outage I set down and by candle light I wrote the 'old fashion way' by pen and paper, my thoughts. And I think I would like to share them with you. So below will be what I wrote.

7-10-2013                  8:30pm
     Well the electric went out about 40 minutes ago and I already am bored and mad at myself for not being better prepared. I call myself a prepper but really I think I am just a want a be. Mostly I am mad that I can't watch Big Brother on tv. It's suppose to be on right now and it's driving me crazy. What does that say about my priorities?
     A couple of minutes before the storm hit we all were standing outside talking to my sister/neighbor and she said we were going to get a big storm. Well I had not watched the news or the weather all day. And for the last several weeks we have been having bad storms with only a flicker of power outage. So I was not to worried. Then my husband said we have been lucky so far. When he said that I knew he just cursed us so I jumped up and went to run water. We live in the country so when the power is out so is the water. I was able to fill the kitchen sink, the tub, the washer, and two totes. Then the storm stopped and I was glad it had not effected the power but only a few minutes later poof the power was out. Now I'm glad I got all that water ready. It is hard to tell how long we will be without power. But this lack makes me think of other things that I wish I would have done. Like make more ice, stacked the freezer better to hold in more cold, made my husband one more gallon of tea. But over all the thing I wish I had done while prepping for who knows what is bought a generator. At least with one I could be watching Big Brother!
     Also being a prepper in thought makes me wonder if this power outage is only because of the storm or if SHTF has actually happened. I don't even have a radio that I can use to hear the news. I have two cd/radios but both take more batteries than I have. Guess I should have thought about that before...
     The list is endless of what I would have done differently or better or more of.
     How would we as a people know if SHTF happened. How much in the dark 'so to speak' would we be? Would the information come word of mouth from person to person. Would there be even  radio news to listen to if we had that ability.
     I am poorly prepared for any and all instances. This I have come to strongly realize. Though I am not afraid, maybe naively so. I don't expect others or our country to support me and mine during our countries time of need. I have faith of God that He sees all His children through.
     I may go wash dishes in the water I ran before it slowly slips away. Something to do to keep me active and hopeful to the future. God bless and keep moving. May God guide your steps.
                                                                         April Whitehair


     So that is what I wrote. I wrote it and put it away and did not think about it again till I started writing this post today. So I pulled it back out and read it for the first time. I think it is so telling of what my thought and feelings were at that moment. I think that if you want to be better prepared for power outages or other difficulties you should set your self down during a temporary power outage and write how you feel and what your actually thinking about. Then when your mini crisis is over and life goes back to normal you can read what you wrote and see the things that you need to work on.
     I woke up yesterday morning with the power still off and decided to try out some ideas that I had been thinking on. One of my main concerns was dealing with the lack of water. So I got up early and got dressed and gathered three 2liter soda pop bottles and set out for the natural water source I had scouted out months ago. I collected the water and carried them home. I set the water to boil like I had read to do and set down to rest and read through a survival book that my husband had bought. I read over the pages that concerned finding and purifying water. Well first I should have read the book first, secondly I should have filtered it first before boiling it. Well I let it boil for about 30 minutes the filtered it through a coffee filter. But to my surprise the water was slightly yellow. Not sure the reason for that. It will be one of the things I will research before I would have to actually need to use the water. But over all it was a good experiment to see if I could do it and what I need to change to fix the problems.
      Well as I said the electric came back on and all is well again. I am off to do what needs done. Have a good day.
         
                                                                                April Whitehair
                                                                        

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

July 10, 2013

     Good morning. Yes it is raining again. My poor tomato plants are starting to look bad due to all the rain. Everything else seems to be enjoying all the rain. We were able to pick and eat more fried green tomatoes yesterday. Mom loves them so much and so does my husband and I. I have yet been able to let any tomatoes get red before picking and frying them. But with all the smaller ones on the plants there will be plenty to get ripe.
     Yesterday I worked on sorting and organizing some of the stuff that will go into the new storage building. I completed all the clothes. Well to be truthful all I really did was transfer all the winter clothes from boxes and bags into totes. I didn't do much sorting but in my defense it was to hot to try on and decide if warm winter clothes still fit and needed to be kept so I decided that is better to be done when it gets cold out, like next winter. And now I am out of totes. I need to buy more but those things cost money and I think I will have to wait before I can purchase anymore. By standing in the old house and scanning and doing a basic estimated count of how many totes I will need it appears that I will need a total of 23 smaller sized ones. That will be a lot of money whether I buy the smaller ones or the larger ones. Keeping clothes to me is not a hoarder issue in my opinion. You never know when you might need other clothes whether they are to small or large or just not your style anymore they might come in handy sometime in the future. You might know someone who is going through a difficult time and need clothes and you could be able to help. You could use old clothes for fabric to make other things. Or some day you may just need to wear what ever you have even if it is stained or out of style. Clothes are expensive and when I buy something I try to take care of it so it will last a long time and I have a hard time parting with it. But usually when I do decide to get rid of clothes I first think if I can use it for other things but if it is good and no holes or stains I will donate it to the church rummage sale.
     Mom just woke up and asked how she got here. She has lived here for over 40 years. She is getting harder to reorient. Not much to do about that. She looks at me now like she has no idea who I am. Like I am a stranger. And like she is in a strange place. I don't know how to help her, I don't think there is anyway to help except to be here and try to be as compassionate and supportive as I can.
     I must go and see if she needs anything. Have a good day.

                                                                         April Whitehair

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

July 9, 2013 Garden

     Good morning. A quick and rainy walk through the garden this morning showed some good progress. I have some blooms finally on the bean plants, I was beginning to think that they were going to be all leaves and very tall. Our tomato plants are over full of tomatoes, what ever will I do with all these tomatoes? The banana pepper plants are doing wonderful, we had fried potatoes with sweet banana peppers in them last night for dinner and they were very good. The sunflower plants that I planted from seed that I collected from last years dwarf sunflower plants have now grown so tall that they are taller than I am. And there are lots of them. I will have lots of seeds this harvest and with any luck lots of sunflowers next year. I have lots of cucumber plants that are growing like crazy but only one cucumber that I can see. Not sure why but there are lots of blooms so there should be more cucumbers soon. The pumpkin and gourd plants are growing also.
     I went to the Dollar Store last night in the search of some totes that I need to repack our stuff to be placed in the new storage building that we are close to completing. Well the Dollar store was out of totes, can you believe that? But luckily the Family Dollar had plenty to chose from and I was able to buy six of them to get me started with the sort and packing. How did I accumulate so much junk? I do have a hoarder gene in my DNA, which I am actively fighting. But there are some things like childhood things that hold many good memories that I just cant part with. Those things I will keep, I just can't part with them. But I do hope I can cut down everything to about half. We shall see. Now with all this talk about it I want to get started. So I shall go and get to it.
     Have a good day.

                                                                 April Whitehair

Monday, July 8, 2013

July 8, 2013 Storage Building Part 2

     Good morning. Yesterday we completed the storage building except for the plywood floor. We will need to wait for a dry day and the use of my sister and her husband's truck. Which she is probably reading this before I even have a chance to ask, so hey sissy can I borrow your truck sometime? Hopefully her response is yes, then we can get the building finished. But then the real hard work is on me to do. I must go through all the stuff we had packed away and stored in the old house next door, that is now falling in, when we moved from our house to live here with my Mom when she started needing help due to her Alzheimer's. We had to move all our stuff from a two bedroom house into our bedroom that my wonderful brother-in-law attached to Mom's house. Which was impossible so thankfully the owners of the old house next door allowed us to use it as a storage place for all our extra stuff. That is what is great about living in a community of caring family members, when someone needs help there is always someone who is willing and able to help. I did go through the stuff last summer and get rid of about half but I want to resort all of it and hopefully get rid of about half of it again. Then I will pack what I want to keep in plastic totes and label it all before putting it in the new storage building. I am so excited about this building, I have been wanting and planning for it since we moved in here.
     Well with a few things to do around the house and a lot of sorting to do I must go and get things started. Have a good day.

                                                                         April Whitehair

Sunday, July 7, 2013

July 7, 2013 Storage Building

     Good morning. Yesterday my husband didn't go golfing he decided that we should build the storage building. We had bought the storage building kit during the winter when it was on sale and waited for nice weather and time to build it. It was way to hot yesterday to build it, in my opinion. After about 3 hours of steady work and lots of sweating I got sick and could not continue. We took about a 20 minute break and sat in the ac and I had cool wash rags over my face and back of my neck. Then back at it for about 30 minutes then I got the dry heaves. Yes I am not use to working out side in the sun and heat. I usually only work outside first thing in the morning before it gets to hot or after the sun goes behind the trees in the evening. So after getting sick I was done. I felt so bad that I could not continue. I felt fat and lazy. Well we stopped for a while and got some rest and ate and let the sun go down some then we went back at it. We did not finish it last night. It got to dark to see and we heard thunder off in the distance, not good to be holding on to a bunch of metal when the lightening strikes. So we stopped for the night. But now we have to finish today. I hope that it is not as hot today but by the way it feels already it is going to be very hot. We are suppose to be getting some rain also but I hope we can get it finished in between the rain drops.
     I have a busy day that I must get ready for. Have a good day.

                                                                           April Whitehair

Saturday, July 6, 2013

July 6, 2013 Fresh Peas

     Good morning. My husband is already up and out, trying to find a place to play golf. Hopefully he can find a place to play that isn't to busy. I don't have many plans today, some laundry and some other house work. Yesterday I picked some peas, not many but all of us here got a taste. It was my first time cooking fresh out of my own garden peas, I didn't cook them long enough and they were still a little to crispy. But they had a good flavor. I will be growing peas next year but in a larger amount. I did a little garden maintenance yesterday. My husband's tomato plant has out grew it's place in the garden and over took some of the bell pepper area so I had to transplant seven bell pepper plants. I hope they survive the move. Well I need to get started and get something done today.
     Have a good day.

                                                                     April Whitehair

Friday, July 5, 2013

July 5, 2013 Fireworks and Grocery Shopping

     Good morning. Yesterday was the 4th of July. Mom was invited by her daughter to go to her best friends house for a cook out celebration. Mom was happy to go even though while getting her ready she asked about 50 times who was picking her up and where she was going. My sister said Mom had a good time and ate a lot. By the looks of the pictures Mom did have a good time. I am so grateful for people like my sister and her best friend and their friends and family that are so accepting of my Mom. They all seem to be so caring, supportive, and loving. Outings like this is just what Mom needs. She deserves to be able to get out of the house and spend time with others. I don't do much with her it seems, life is busy enough for me just keeping the house going and all of us fed that the times I can get out I like to spend it alone with my husband or alone time by my self.
     So yesterday while Mom was out I went grocery shopping by my self. I hate to grocery shop with anyone else with me. So shopping gets two things done, grocery shopping and alone time. I plan for my shopping trip by making a large list, collecting and organizing coupons, loading digital coupons on to my store card, and planning to go when my husband is home so someone will be here for Mom. Except for yesterday my sister picked up Mom, so my husband had some alone time for himself which he chose to nap the whole time. I shop at Kroger's once a month to buy a large amount of the food supplies. Then the rest of the month I go to the local IGA to get a few things. They are to expensive to do all my shopping there. I also go to the Dollar Store to pick up some things like paper products, coffee, creamer, cereals, and soda. Things are a lot cheaper there than buying them else where. I rarely ever shop at Walmart, especially for food. They say they are cheaper than other stores around but by my experience I always pay more there. Maybe it has something to do with the digital coupons that I use at Kroger's. Well the shopping is done for the month except for bread which I only buy at the IGA because I cant buy it at Kroger's, their bread isle stinks like moldy bread all the time. I think that that smell permeates all the bread and I cant eat bread that smells bad. I would rather buy it at IGA or make my own from frozen bread dough. I do use coupons but I only buy the things I need and will use. Its a waist of money to buy something you don't like or use just to use a coupon. Sometimes I will use a lot sometimes a few. Yesterday I used three at the Dollar Store and one at Kroger's. But the month before I used several of them. It just depends on what I need.
     Last night my husband put on a fireworks display for Mom and me right in front of the house. They were local bought fireworks. Our state has laws against some fireworks. But it was nice for Mom to get to see them, she had always enjoyed watching them, but this year she didn't seem as excited. Oh well I enjoyed them.
     Have a good day.

                                                         April Whitehair

Thursday, July 4, 2013

July 4, 2013 Fried Green Tomatoes!!

     Good morning. Everyone is awake and good this morning. It is America's birthday. We don't have any plans to celebrate, we might go watch fireworks tomorrow night. If we had a grill we would have hamburgers, but I hate any food cooked on charcoal so it would have to be a gas grill. Maybe one day we will buy one.
     Yesterday we picked a couple green tomatoes from the garden, yes they were from my husband's tomato plant. We had fried green tomatoes! They are my favorite thing made from the garden. I wait all year for fried green tomatoes. And they definitely didn't disappoint. Everything else in the garden is growing well. The peas are ready to pick but I am not sure about them only some are ready what am I suppose to do with a few peas? I will have to look into it.
     It feels like it will be another hot day today. I should go get started with all the things I want to do before it gets too hot. Have a good day.

                                                                 April Whitehair

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

July 3, 2013

     Good morning. So I have decided to just use the date as the title of each blog post because it started to get hard for me to think of a title for each post. But I am sure if there is something specific that I write about I will add a title to the date for easier finding. Anyway I am awake and my home is already up and active. Mom is up and about, I have been noticing increased confusion for the last couple days, not sure if it is just a bad couple of days or the progression of the Alzheimer's. Last night she came to me and told me that I could go on vacation and that she would be ok here all by herself. Some of you know that I have just gotten back from vacation and she had her own sort of vacation to her oldest daughters house then she got to spend time with her other daughters while I was away. After trying to reorient her, which didn't work, I just said ok thanks and then changed conversation. What else should I have done?
     Yesterday evening my husband was mowing the yard and I was walking Mom's dog and my cat, the baby, Itsy Bitsy was walking with us, which he does often. He always seems to be right behind me following me everywhere I go. Lucky and I was going up the steps to go back in the house and a car was coming down the road. Itsy Bitsy was still across the road walking in the ditch. He didn't hear the car till it was to late. He has always been scared of any vehicles on the road. He tried to run across the road but got hit by the car. I seen it all. The car never stopped, didn't even slow down. He got hit by the tire and got tossed into the weeds. I instantly freaked out. That is my baby boy. My husband heard me scream and came running. We ran for the hill across the road and did a mad frantic search for him. Through the weeds, thorns. poison ivy, brush, and berry vines. I was unable to do much at first I just stood there and cried for my baby. My husband was looking like crazy up and down the ditch, up the hill through and under the thorns and poison ivy. We could not find him. After 45 minutes of frantic searching up and down the hill, lots of yelling for him and even more crying. I decided to go put better shoes on, I was in flip flops, so I could search better. I walked in the house and there on the living room floor was Itsy Bitsy. Looking at me like what are you crazy humans doing out there yelling like that. I yelled for my husband. And picked up Itsy Bitsy and loved on him like he had never been loved on before. I made him walk to see if he was hurt and he was perfectly fine. No cries of pain, no cuts, no nothing just an ornery cat who was enjoying all the attention he was getting. I quickly did a head count of all the other cats we have, maybe it was one of them that I saw getting hit. Nope they were all fine and accounted for. So I went down to my sister/neighbor's house and walked around and did a head count and check there. No injured cats there either. I don't know how it happened, how he survived without even a scratch. But we are so very glad. I kept him in my room with me all night being an over protective mommy. This morning I did let him back outside. He ran around playing with his brother while my husband and I did our garden check. He is an inside/outside cat. He grew up here and loves to play outside. I could never lock him up in the house for ever. I want him to be happy and being outside makes him happy.
      The road is so close to my house. It is a one lane road, but the people who live around here drive way to fast on it. There is always a number of kids that play and ride there bikes up and down the road right in front of my house plus all the animals and my Mom who walks her dog often on that road. You would think people would know better than to drive so fast in areas where they could hit someone or something. One thing I do know is that Mom has Alzheimer's and she has lived here in this house for 40 plus years, she has every right to be outside and do the things that she enjoys. I also know that if anyone ever hits her with their car while she is walking her dog or just taking a walk I will not rest till they pay for their irresponsibility. That is one thing you can be sure of.
     Ok I have said my piece and need to go. Have a good day.

                                                                     April Whitehair

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

July 2, 2013

     Good morning. My energy has returned sense yesterday's lack of energy episode. I was able to get most of the weeding done in the garden yesterday evening. But it got dark before I could get to the cucumbers. I am hoping that I can finish it today. I would like to get some more shredded paper placed around the plants that I haven't done yet. The shredded paper does really help keep the weeds down but with all the rain I am afraid that the paper is holding to much water but when the sun comes out it dries up quickly. There is no lack of rain in the forecast. I wish I had some large plastic barrels to collect rain to use when we stop getting all this rain. Though I have been keeping an eye out for some I have been unable to find any. I have been thinking about buying some large plastic trash cans to use.
     In this house there is never an end in the laundry that needs to be done. I don't think I will never be able to catch up. But even if I do it wont be done for long. I wish I could hang out blankets and towels on the line but with no end to the rain in sight I think it will be a while before I can do that.
     Well Mom is up and about, I must go and see if there is anything I can do for her. Have a good day.

                                                               April Whitehair

Monday, July 1, 2013

Under the Dome, and Books

     Good morning. It is a little later that I usually write. I am having a hard time motivating today. I do that sometimes my brain will say get up and do this or that but my body says NO. I am not sure why, it just happens every now and then. I am finally up, setting outside, typing and hoping that the fresh air and sunlight will give me my oomph back. We shall see. I have lots I want to do and even more that I don't really want to do but need to.
     Last night was Big Brother. I love Big Brother! I have been a fan for many years. I have even got my husband watching it with me. So I am sure I will comment on it several times over this season. Also last night was the premier of Under the Dome, it was a very good episode. I cant wait to see the rest. If you watched it last night, near the beginning with the cow was the greatest, total OMG and yucky!  FYI for me OMG means oh my goodness, just thought I would share. I have a feeling that the Under the Dome show will be right up my alley. I hope it shows some of the difficulties of living in an secluded state so that we all can get more ideas in relation to prepping and survival.
     By the way my library of prepping and homesteading is growing with the purchases of books from our church yard sale. I think it may have looked strange to some the books that I bought but I think they all will fit nicely among the others. I bought two on sewing, one of which is an old school book from the seventies, so the styles are outdated but the basics are all the same. Another of the books is a homemaking guide published in the 1937. I am reading it now. Wow have times changed. There is a lot to do with etiquette, and a lot that doesn't apply today. But some things never go out of style or shouldn't go out of style. Plus there is a lot of info on things that interest me and things that would be good to know or at least have the ability to look up if a situation arises that I would need it.
     So anyways I am going to go try to get some things done. Have a good day.

                                                                     April Whitehair