The Chores List

Okay, I'm going through a little learning curve right now. Without the boring details, it boils down to me feeling like I do everything at home, and that is probably a result of me trying to be in charge of everything here at home.

So, I say to my handsomer half, "Hun, do you think we could officially designate some household jobs, so I know what I actually need to do and what you'll be planning on doing? Because, Honey, I feel like I'm doing everything."

Now, I want EVERYONE of YOU to send me details on how you've managed this aspect of your healthy, vibrant marriages. How do you "share" the household work between the homemaker and the breadwinner? (royal.spamcan@gmail.com, and he forwards it to me.)

Here's what we've got so far, which list was intended as the minimum jobs possible to run our house on:

Chicken duty AM: Royal
Chicken duty PM: Elizabeth
Menu planning and Grocery list prep: Elizabeth
Grocery shopping: Royal
Bills: R and E
Dishes: R start a load at night, E empty in morning
Trash: E
Dinner prep: R
Dinner cook: E
Breakfast: R
Lunch: E
Laundry: R wash and E dry, R fold, E put away
Personal scriptures and prayers: R and E

The Christmas Spirit

I think I've found the secret to feeling the Christmas Spirit.

So, my devoted audience (I love flattering myself....),

Try this one out, and let me know if it isn't true every time...

1. Find someone much worse off than yourself- lonely, or poor, or both- children are best. For instance, orphans, etc.

2. Spend lots of time thinking of how you could bring cheer into his life.

3. Spend some time giving to him. You can give time, attention, entertainment (sing to him, play an instrument, etc.), gifts, foodstuffs, etc. This is very fun in person, but if you are giving material objects, a secret santa approach is also very rewarding.

4. Drink some holiday beverage; eggnog, hot cider, wassail (stephen's gourmet defines good wassail), hot chocolate.

Now, can anyone use this formula without feeling the Love of Christmas?

The 20th of December

Its the 20th of December,
and all through the house,
a few creatures are stirring
including the computer mouse.

Our stockings are hung on the wall behind the tree,
And my girls know I'll fill them with candy and things.

We believe in Saint Nick, who lived long ago,
But I don't feel the need to teach the magical guy at the south pole.

Grace let me know, though, a few weeks ago,
"Mom, I DO believe in Santa Claus."

And I smiled and said, "Dear,
That's great. A lot of people do."

When friendly store clerks ask her,
"Who's coming to see you soon?"

I quickly interrupt with,
"Grandma Gail!"

For the Mormons: A forum question

For those of you who are Mormons,

Please mention here (comments) how you are going about getting your 3-month supply as mentioned in the new Church Pamphlet, "All is safely gathered in" (Is that the title?)

Are you doing it all at once? What about fresh ingredients, lettuce, etc.? How are you rotating?

Please include any tips and all details.

We are officially out of debt!

We finally paid off our last student loan!

Thank you for all your support, prayers, and in some cases financial assistance!

We are DEBT FREE!

The Amazing Shrinking...

Radio trivia:

What is the only part of a woman's body that shrinks during pregnancy?

A: Her brain.

Madagascar the Animated Movie

In case you haven't seen it, Madagascar is a great movie. You'll laugh more when you watch it a second or third time. Its a fun evening. I am officially adding it to my Christmas wish list!

Disclaimers:
1. There are several disturbing euphemisms, example: "Hoover Dam!"
2. There is one questionable song, "I like to Move it, Move it", in which the Lemurs dance. The version in the movie is edited nicely. The version in the credits after the movie isn't edited.
3. Those are all I can remember, but I'm sure there are more... I just love this movie.

13 Chickens and 58 Eggs later

Tag You're it!

I've been tagged (thanks Emily!)

So, here goes:

6 things people might not know about me:

1. If I were not Mormon, I would be Amish. I aspire to someday be able to provide for my family using Mother nature plus the help of family and friends. SOMEDAY I don't want to have to rely on Walmart.

2. One of my life goals is to found a high school that teaches teenagers real world skills. "Practicality High." Not exactly technical school, although it will have that aspect, but I am talking about emotional health, moral strength, financial responsibility (you have to have and use money to learn it), and family-management (I'm talking about old-fashioned home-ec.). Plus, we'll teach some money-making skills with local professionals teaching and getting free labor off the kids. (Landscaping, auto-mechanics, and Aquatic instruction all come to mind.)

3. My biggest parenting weakness is inappropriate anger and strictness. (Poor Grace!)

4. My biggest struggle in marriage/homekeeping looks like Me struggling to buy groceries, make dinner on a fairly regular basis, and not detesting every part of the process. (Poor Royal!)

5. I plan to retire very early. I don't intend to stop working at all. But, I'd like to have the freedom to choose my work! I'm willing to be a serious tightwad to make this possible. I think I'd like to farm for awhile. (20 years or so). I follow the bio-intensive method of gardening, found in the book How to grow more vegetables by John Jeavons. Or, Square-foot gardening. They are very similar. I am determined I could retire on $500,000.

6. I am accomplished in Sign Language, but have no credentials. Plus, its been awhile since conversing with any Deaf folks. But, our Amish friends down the road do have a Deaf teenage son! (Might get some practice in there.)

Tag you're it! Heather, Heidi and Brent!

"Not a very poetic title"... or "Elizabeth vents"

An Ode to Growing Fat while Pregnant

O Girth of mine,
Thou art a spring of life.
Life from another place
stretching forth my boundaries.

Softening all the edges
Of my body.
Really, I'm looking rather
Bloblike.

Which is why my current picture
won't be appearing here
with as much frequency
as it might otherwise be.

My Vanity is exceedingly great
to the overcoming of my sensibility.
So that even while I understand
the beauty, the process, and the necessity for it,
I am prone to cringe about my increasing girth.

Our First Jack-O-Lantern

"First you take a pumpkin,
Big and Round and Fat
Then you cut the top off;
that makes a hat.

Then you cut a hole
For the nose, the mouth, the eyes...
Making for the children a Halloween surprise.

Lemonade, anyone?

Grace held her first Lemonade Stand on Oct 20th.

She made around $12.

She gave 10% to the church, %45 to the family debt, and spent the rest on herself.

We got our First Dozen!

Monday afternoon we got our chickens.

Monday was the long-awaited day of Royal finishing the chicken coop. It is superb! The window really makes it more useable.

Royal has had ants in his pants to get the actual chickens for weeks, so we did NOT wait until the interior of the coop was all fixed up before we went to purchase and transport the beautiful birds. In other words, our poor little 7 large hens, 1 large rooster, and 5 bantums did not have roosting space or nests, and our waterer and feeders were sitting on the ground rather than hanging from the ceiling. (Thats very bad news for chickens since they knock the containers over as soon as possible..)

Note that I am blaming this poor decision entirely on my poor husband, who really can only be called somewhat responsible. I must admit, I didn't sensibly protest. After 4 weeks of anticipation, I guess we just couldn't resist another week.

Anyway, Monday afternoon we got our chickens.

We bought our 6 dark ones from our Amish friends, the Yoder family.

We bought the other bunch from a friend who wanted to downsize his miniature flock. (pictures to come.)

After 3 days now of scrambling to make this coop fit for a flock, we are almost comfortable with the chickens' living conditions.

Grace picked up our 12th fresh, full size egg this morning! One dozen! Here's the chicken chart we made to keep track!

My Girls in October

We live next to a Cemetery...

Daddy Feeds the cows

stitches, removed in September

10 stitches, close up.

Making Royal Dizzy

Royal called me this morning to chat while he had some empty time at work.

After a few minutes, I mentioned how nice talking to him unhurriedly was.

He said, "Talking to you makes me dizzy."

"Why?! Am I talking to fast?"

"Oh, no. Its just that there is a round conference table in here, and I pace around it while we're on the phone."

Man child

We are expecting again!

And, as of today, we found out we are having a BOY!

Of course, it could be a girl with a side of pickles...

Medway Ohio Corn Maze

Our Fearless leader... who memorized the maze map. Slender, beautiful, and expectant mommy...

Our fearless leader reveals that he didn't memorize the last half of the maze... and we're all growing weary.

Medway Ohio Adventures

Feeding the Goats
Sharing with Grace





Fun with our cousins....

We caught a big fat one...

Well, on the subject of fish, an update is in order.

In our metal tank, only one lone survivor still swims about. We haven't yet put any protection for the little guys in there. (Just got a cinder block today, though...) And, one day, the water got pretty low. After we filled it up with chlorinated water, we got 6 floaters all in one morning.

In our plastic white tank, we still have at least 12 good, growing fish. However, the tank has regrown all its former algae glory. It is fully green again. So, I'm not sure if my idea was correct that the fish keep the tank clean. At any rate, those fish are at least 30% bigger than when we bought them. They are staying well-fed.

But, we didn't catch a big, fat fish. We caught a big fat mouse. We're hoping this is the last one of the season...

Well, if you count your chicks before they hatch....

We didn't get our calf.

What can I say? In a way, I'm heartbroken. But, it is a very small way. I still hope we can get one after Mr. Farmer weans his calves this month. He felt so bad about the whole thing falling through, he offered to buy me one from the auction yard next week. I told him I am fine with waiting until his calves are weaned. That was our original plan, anyway. Getting a calf from the auction yard, you never know what diseases he brings home.

Lots of good things arise from this little heartache. First, I feel like I have finally found what I would love to do. (Raise something living, in addition to kids of course.) Second, I can go to my new niece Reili's blessing this weekend without someone else bottle feeding my calf. Third, I now have a few supplies for a calf, and Mr. Farmer and I have a place for him to go. Fourth, I now have a wonderful book on starting out with cattle.

20 fish, 30 fish, goldfish, dirty fish?

Okay, that title was supposed to be a take on Dr. Seuss's book. How many of you got it?

Well, anyway....

Our Farmer (see earlier post) keeps cattle. And the cattle have water troughs. And our farmer is, shall I say, very laid back about all things hygienic on his farm. So, anyway, the water troughs have been filthy for some time. Which was driving me crazy. (Cows have feelings too, right?)

So, I asked mr. Farmer (names have been changed) if I could put some Goldfish in his cattle watering troughs to keep them clean. Mr. Farmer was totally cool with that idea, even a little intrigued. So, I emailed my Riding Instructor and got all the details on keeping fish in troughs. She told me to expect about a 50 percent rate of survival of the fish we buy.

Last Friday, we decided a goldfish adventure was just the family fun we were in the mood for, and we headed to the pet store. We even found a "One Free Fish" coupon in the phone book. Grace called it her ticket.

The guy at the pet store was also very laid back. We asked for 20 fish. $2 worth, plus the ticket. After filling a clear bag with a big crowd of 10-for-a-dollar frightened fish, he asked us if we had far to drive. I was curious why it mattered since we were planning to go shopping and maybe run a few errands before going home. He said he could add oxygen to help the fish live longer, which he did. I thought the fish would be okay in the bag for a few days, and at this point I realized I better find out.

"How long will they survive in the bag?"

"Oh, maybe an hour with the Oxygen."

Apparently realizing how unprepared we were to keep these fish, he added, "Why don't you keep your free fish coupon for the next time you come in?" I later realized he probably predicted we would kill all 30-or-so. That made me laugh, realizing he was probably right and secretly hoping he was wrong.

So, we went straight home to find some container to hold these poor 30-or-so fish until we could clean out the filthy troughs. (I was going to add the fish to clean troughs, and then let them maintain the cleanliness.)

A 3 gallon bucket was our golden boy.

Well, the next day Royal and I cleaned both troughs out. Much less trouble than I had expected, really. And, we put about half in each trough. No fish died up to this point. (SCORE!)

Today is Monday. 2 days later, Our death count is up to 9. We have 8 living in one trough (metal) with no cover, and about 16 living in the other trough (plastic) with a cinder block for protection.

It feels great to be caring for something living. And, it feels great to see those beautifully clean troughs.

A Really Good Book about Sex

You may notice, if you study this blog scrupulously, that I've added a book about Sex to my favorites list. I just have to explain myself a little.

Kosher Sex explains sex in the sacred, beautiful light it deserves. Boteach (author) teaches some Jewish beliefs about the centrality of sex to a marriage, and how nothing could be more special, or bring two people closer than proper sexual relations WITHIN a marriage. He goes into great detail about how sex before marriage actually destroys one's ability to be completely trusting and innocent when married. He also explains some things that can inhibit a couple's sexuality, and he explains why masturbation and pornography can never bring a couple closer, only make one another more replaceable.

I love this book. I read it twice before I had to return it to the Savannah library. I recommend this book for all people who want to someday have a great sex life with a committed spouse. I did not find it explicit or offensive in any way. (There are no illustrations, but a few strange quotes at chapter headings.) I found it uplifting, profound, and deeply connecting with my religious beliefs.

Please email me if this book enriches your life. (If you want to share. No details, please. royal.spamcan@gmail.com)

Have you ever really lived in the country?

The first morning I spent at our new home was a Saturday. I had come alone to wait for our movers. I did everything I could to put our new, empty home in order. It took me about 15 minutes. Then, I sat outside on the big swing under our big shade tree. There is something very different about shade here. Shade in AL and GA isn't really any cooler than the sun because of the extremely high humidity. Here, in the shade, it is ALWAYS cooler. A lot cooler.

First, all I could hear were the bugs singing. Then, cows mooing. (We have a herd of cows behind our backyard.) Then, I heard a clip-clop, clip-clop sound. I waited and watched to see what it could be. A horsedrawn buggy full of Amish neighbors soon appeared. They waved and continued down the street and out of sight.

Royal and the girls came before the movers. That was fortuitous because it allowed us to decide together which bedroom would belong to whom. The girls busied themselves on the 2 childsize swings hanging on our big shade tree. They were only content with that for about 2 hours.

So, that was my first morning. Since then, we've become good friends with our Landlord who farms behind us. He lets us feed the cows at night, and occasionally takes Royal out to help with farm chores or other misc. work. We LOVE it more than I could have guessed. We've told Mr. Farmer that we'd love to someday raise chickens. He immediately said we could do it here, in our backyard. He would help us build a coop! Yeah, this is cool.

To Sneeze or not to sneeze is never a question.

Let's start my description of our new idyllic home with my only complaint.

I've never had allergies before moving here.

Please email me any ideas for battling them without medication. royal.spamcan@gmail.com

I'm taking prescription antihystamine eyedrops, claritin, and a daily dose of local honey. So far, I haven't clawed my eyes out. I've only wanted to.

We're no longer on the road!

Dear Fans,

My apologies for the LONG wait for more lovely posts.

To chronicle our exodus summarily:

July 22- Aug 3: Royal travels to Southeast Alabama to work TDY and visit his Mom and family
Aug 3-4: Royal brings Elizabeth and children to Alabama to stay with him at his Mom's house.
Aug 4-11: Royal and Elizabeth visit family in Alabama, meanwhile:
Sunday night, Aug 5, Royal hits a deer and totals our beloved Intrepid
Tuesday, Aug 8, We buy a relative's car to continue the Exodus
Saturday, Aug 11, we drive north to Central KY to find a place to live
Aug 12: Go to new church congregation (called a ward), meet people, drive to Lexington to stay with Elizabeth's Mom while we look for housing in KY

Aug 13-17: Search desperately for something large and inexpensive, meanwhile:
Monday, Aug 13, Royal throws out his back while in town (all the driving is very hard on his lower back.)
Tuesday, Aug 14, Elizabeth narrows search down to a tiny rental house and a larger trailer in a park.
Wednesday, Aug 15, Royal goes to sign lease on tiny house- which he hadn't previously seen- and sees a Dr., Chiropractor, and physical therapist (all in one day.)
Thursday, Aug 16, We have a little Bday celebration.
Friday, Aug 17, we drive all the way back to Savannah to close the sale of our little home.

Aug 18-23: Sell and empty our home. Prepare to drive back to KY.
Aug 24-26: Stay with Elizabeth's Mom and wait for stuff to arrive

Aug 27: First night in our new home. It is completely wonderful. More on that to come.

Aug 28-Sep 3: Unpack most everything. (THANK YOU, ROYAL!!!!! He worked like a slave.) Elizabeth develops deathly allergies to heaven-only-knows-what.

Sep 4-7: Royal brings us with him to work TDY at FT. Campbell. We stayed in a hotel.

Sep 8-9: Home sweet home. Allergies return. Elizabeth goes to an urgent care clinic. We meet our church friends again.

Sep 10-14: Another week at Campbell in a hotel. Meanwhile:
Tuesday, Sep 11, Grace smashes her head into a corner in the hotel corridor, and receives 10 stitches in the ER.


Wed, Sep 12, We rent gamecube game Cars. It's very fun.

Sep 15-present: WE ARE FINALLY BACK FOR "GOOD"!!!!!!!!!

Moving, Moving, Moving, keep those doggies moving...

Well, we're outta here! I won't say out of the south period because we're moving to the big KY. People there still speak with southern accents.

The thing I like about the big KY is that the bugs don't speak with a southern accent. Which is why, the mosquito population is miniscule compared to coastal GA. Them darn Skeeters just don't like the cool evenings in that sophisticated part of the northern South. They have glow bugs up there! GLOW BUGS. I mean fireflies. A magical modern mystery which I personally find enchanting. They don't even bite! Which is why I say they have no southern accent. They haven't been shown how to prey on the flesh of other hardworking people, unlike the bugs in coastal Georgia.

We also saw some Amish people while we were driving around! We would love to live among/near the Amish! Them there's some people with values, morals, and good work ethic.

Well, so long for now. And, if you're one of our dignified, educated (or educationing) friends in GA, I just have one more thing to say. Okay, two.

1. We'll miss you. (Our friends here have been devoted and few in number.)
2. I can't think of the other one.

Hasta La Vista, Baby!

RELIEF SOCIETY WHAT????

In my church, we have a completely lay ministry. (Everyone who works at the church is a volunteer.) Actually, everyone who joins my church is expected to work in whatever capacity they are asked to.

So, how it works is, the Bishop is the man "in charge" of a congregation (called a ward.) Sometimes he preaches on Sunday, but usually he asks other members to give short "sermons" (on an assigned religious topic) to the congregation. We call that "giving a talk". So, different members of the ward do the preaching.

Anyway, the Bishop works with 2 other volunteer men to find people to do the church work. He prays with those men about who the Lord would like to have serving in any given "job"(we say "Calling"). Then, he asks that person if they are willing to do the task. If they say yes, the Congregation is given a chance to vote to sustain or object, and then the individual receives training on how to do the calling right.

Well, 2 weeks ago, I was asked to serve as Relief Society (Our women's organization) President. It is one of the biggest jobs in a ward.

So, I'm praying that the Lord will make me into whatever it is he would like me to be. I can't imagine a calling I might be less adequate for. You can pray for me too, if you get a moment.

So much for my sweet, peaceful, lazy summer... ;-)

Marital Advice in the Scriptures

As proper and happy marriage has been one of my goals since childhood, I have often asked the question, "Why isn't there more guidance for couples and marriage in the holy scriptures?"

Well, yesterday I had an insight which is neither original nor unique. Yet, it answered my question. The answer is:

"All of scripture is marital guidance."

Which I take to mean, all true principles found in God's word also apply to happy marriage. Let me give you an example.

Take the scripture, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ." Romans 1:16

Personal meaning might be something like I am not afraid to be a Christian in public places. As in, I am not afraid to pray over my food in a restaurant, or I am not afraid to be honest in situations where it is unpopular, or I am proud to know my Lord.

But, as marriage guidance it might mean that You and Your spouse should not be embarrassed to have Christ in your home. You're not embarrassed to read the Bible together. You're not embarrassed to have His picture on your wall.

So, now I see that the scriptures can be likened unto a couple as well as unto an individual. Wow!

There is a plethora of marriage advice in there!

The Jury is In

Well, I only got one vote emailed in. It was to make my next major goal Learning Spanish, which I am doing a (very) little.

Anyway, in spite of minimal poll results, I have decided what my next "major" pursuit will be, and it turns out it didn't make the original list. (See last post.)

It could generally be termed Health.

My new health goal includes the following:

First, learning how to eat well on my current budget and with my current family

Also first, tweaking my personal fitness level.

Second, learning more about food.

And, eventually: Growing more of our own food, Using some all around good supplements, Learning how to preserve food, using food storage, learning about relationship between diet and female hormone-related mood-swings, etc.

Our current family project is to take on Dr. Weil's program called 8 weeks to optimum health. (Check out the book at your library!)

We're trying to successfully do "one week" every month. So, for 4 weeks, we'll be trying to master Week One of his program.

Optimum Health sounds exactly like what I'm looking for, and most of what he says is extremely intuitive and makes common sense. I'll let you know as we progress.

Speaking of week one, I better go take some Vitamin C!

Summer Days

Well, my days of teaching Seminary are at an end.

It is a wonderful time for me. I'm able to do things I didn't have time for before, for example take a shower. I actually responded to an email this morning. I have time that is disgressionary! It is so cool! I've just joined a gym, and I've been to 4 workout classes already. (More on that in another post.)

Now, I'm trying to decide which personal area I want to set goals in. Let's have a vote!

I could start working on:

Scrapbooking (finish my wedding album for starters...)
Learning Spanish
Social dancing
Playing the Piano
Playing the Violin
Singing lessons

What do you think? email me at royal.spamcan@gmail.com

Actually, that's royal's junk mail address, but he forwards everything to me!

We love you all!

Apples to Tomatoes

Sienna hasn't been as talkative a child as Grace was. And we've never minded that. But, recently her language and vocabulary have exploded.

She was calling everything that looked edible and round an apple. (pronounced " 'a-poo" with accent on the a as in apple.)

And, we are growing several tomato bushes in the garden. They have been loaded with green tomatoes for awhile. So, every day (for months) in the garden, Sienna would touch a green tomato and say, "A-poo". I would say to Sienna, "No, baby, that is a tomato." And, then one turned red. And I would say, "It is a tomato, Sienna".

Last week, she found a ripe strawberry on our single strawberry plant. I waited for the usually "A-poo". She looked up and squealed, "Tomano!" (pronounced like tomato). Now everything red is a tomano. I'd say that is definite progress!

Blueberry Merry

Well, if you carefully read a post I made months ago, You know I planted 3 blueberry bushes this spring. I've wanted to plant fruit for years, and I have always been too afraid to do it. Well, I did it! and this morning, we picked our first batch of ripe berries. We got about 15!

We had a problem with disappearing berries for awhile. We would get a berry almost ripe, and then it would suddenly vanish. Royal suggested we use netting. So, we made some pretty primitive nets for the bushes. The next day, I found a surprise in my net! A live bird caught himself in the netting! I freed the bird on the condition he tell all his friends that if they don't stay away from my berries, they won't get off so lucky! It worked! The birds have stayed out of the netting since then, and our berries have stayed on the bushes!

We got a picture, but I don't have it yet.

PS: my beloved canon just broke. Don't buy canon. I should have listened to the Jungheims and bought Nikon. Anyway, pictures are harder to get now. So, sorry if they are less frequently posted.

A Call for Quick, Simple Recipes

Dear Readers,

I'm looking for Quick, simple recipes that you use commonly. Please email them to royal.spamcan (at symbol) gmail.com

Here's one of my favorite, from the box:

Sea Shells Con Broccoli (From Mueller's pasta box)

16oz Pasta Sea Shells
4-8 cups fresh chopped broccoli florets, uncooked
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 cloves garlic, minced or 1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tbsp dried rosemary
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped fine
1/4 cup white grape juice concentrate
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

-Cook sea shells according to package directions, adding broccoli tha last 2 minutes of cooking itme
-Drain cover and set aside
-Heat oil in large skillet, add garlic, basil, rosemary, and tomatoes. Cook 2 minutes.
-Add juice and reduce by 1/2. Add broth.
-Toss in broccoli and sea shells, stir until heated through.
-Add cheese and season to taste with salt and pepper.


The way I changed it was,

I do not add broccoli to pasta,
Instead, I add broccoli with garlic, etc, to hot oil. I stir fry for 2-3 min, then add juice and broth.
Then I simmer broccoli with other ingredients for 2-4 minutes.

Also, I didn't have sundried tomatoes. I just added fresh tomatoes.


This recipe is DELICIOUS!! PLEASE send me more! royal.spamcan@gmail.com

Garden Harvest

Today we harvested the first fruits of our garden. Our small garden has grown very well this year. It yielded 1 medium sized tomato, 1 not quite ripe blueberry, and one small okra pod (a favorite of mine). We are, of course, expecting much more in the weeks to come, but this was a tasty start. I fried up the okra and ate it myself, and we all shared slices of the tomato. Elizabeth was surprised at the deep red throughout the flesh. She's used to store-bought tomatoes, picked before ripe--while they're still green, I think. Grace didn't want to share the tomato as it came from "her tomato plant." I also sampled a Nasturtium leaf (tastes like radish).

As I planted six or so okra plants, and as they produce ripe pods every two days, I imagine we'll have plenty of okra to share with the neighbors.

Cheers from the wonderland,
Royal

The Bath Girlfriend

Seven more days of seminary... and I mean days of class.

Wow! The end is in sight!

This morning I was letting Sienna out of her high chair after breakfast when I said, "You need a bath, Girlfriend!"

Her hair was characteristically stiff and pointing stiffly in every direction.

Just then, Grace asked me, "Who will be the bath girlfriend?"

The Tightwads are Back (Via a threat to our cush job)

For those of you who didn't previously enjoy our family newsletter, we ran a regular column about things you can do to squeeze more out of your money. We call it our Tightwad tidbit, and I'm including one below.

We've been quite comfortable with our Dave Ramsey cash budget for 2 years now. But, the Union at Royal's workplace is threatening his job. (He refuses to join the Union or sign anything agreeing to support the Union.) So, he has been threatened twice now that he will be fired- soon.

On that note, our tightwad tendencies came rushing back in, and our budget suddenly got a LOT more modest. We are saving all excess cash for the ominous unemployment on the horizon.

Just at the right moment, my Mom shared a recipe with me that we have found delicious and infinitely more palatable than oatmeal. (My girls love oatmeal sweetened with jam, but I would rather skip breakfast than eat it.) I hope this little blessing can come in handy for you, too. It really tastes good, inspite of being cheap and healthful. Go figure!

The TMM Tightwad TIdbit for 2007 #1

Cheap and delicious breakfast (actually pleases picky eater Mom, 1 yr old, 4 yr old, and Big Daddy)

1/2 cup *cracked wheat berries
Just under 1 Cup Water
2 Tbsp light brown sugar

1. Add water and wheat to bowl.
2. Microwave for 2-3 minutes. Watch, it will "grow" over the edge like oatmeal.
3. Stir and leave in microwave to thicken. Approx. 3 minutes, or enough time to do your daughter's hair and brush your teeth, or empty your dishwasher, or load your dishwasher, etc.
4. Stir in brown sugar, and feed to family when cool enough to eat. I usually find after the thickening period, that it is cool enough. This yields one serving. If I make four servings, I sometimes still don't get any after the girls are done eating. (My girls really have appetites.)


*Cracked wheat: how do you get it?

As a mormon, we buy wheat berries in 100 lb bags for dirt cheap from the local Bishop's storehouse (because we like to have food on hand for emergencies). I'm talking about $0.25/lb dirt cheap. If you are non-mormon, email me and I'll try to hook you up with a local "provider". You can buy wheat from health food stores, but it is usually at about %500 markup.

*Cracked wheat: how do you crack it?

Take wheat berries and put them through a hand mill (hand crank wheat grinder) at a very coarse setting. It is about half way between whole wheat berries and flour. The wheat berries should look like they are cut into thirds or so.

You can also put them in a blender and experiment with the amount of time.

I think some electric wheat grinders also have very coarse settings that would work.

Everyone is a Farmer

As we read the scripture Genesis 1:26-27 yesterday morning, Grace asked what dominion means. I told her, "It is being in charge of something." So, Adam had dominion from God over the "fish of the sea, and the fowl of the air, and the cattle, and every creeping thing which creepeth upon the earth."

Grace's face lit up. "So, Adam was a farmer!"

"Exactly!", I said, delighted. And added,"All men have dominion over these things, Grace. That means we're all farmers in a small way."

Grace's face lit up again. "Everyone is a farmer?"

"Right!"

"So, Daddy is a farmer, and Sienna is a little farmer!"

"Right!"

Then we sang the Primary song from Grace's Sunday school, "Follow the prophet" to the following words:

Adam was a Farmer,
First one that we know.
In a Place called Eden
he helped things to grow.
Adam served the Lord
by following his ways.
We are his descendants
in the latter days.

This morning, Grace caught me off guard when she said,"Sienna is a little farmer."

Until I remembered how we are all farmers, taking care of God's creation.

For the Love of Binki

Well, twenty months old and hopelessly attached to that plug. What else can I tell you?

We've decided this next weekend, we will break the addiction... except for sleeping times. We've been warming her up to the idea. But, right now Sienna is refusing to go without a binki. She is exercising her whining muscles in preparation for the battle.


Our war plan follows: put up all the plugs except one, which will be literally tied to Crib slats. Wait for several days until constant toddler irritation recedes.


Any other helpful ideas?

You HAVE to go see Meet the Robinsons 3d

Well, we got to see Meet the Robinsons last Friday. It was 3d, and it was cool. Definitely 4 thumbs up from us. Almost as cool as the free polarized shades. Well, judge for yourself.

And, Royal's a lot taller than me.

Maxims to Live By

You might call this post "Mantras to Live By" instead, as I repeat some of these sayings to myself when I'm facing a hard decision. But that's getting ahead of the story.

One of my grandfathers, whom I'm partly named after, died Tuesday before last. I saw my brother Roy at the funeral. We talked a lot and I told him how one time I was running from a punishment at home and he ran after me and essentially said, "If you run, it only makes it worse." Now this phrase, recycled, has become a mantra of mine, "You can't run from your problems. It only makes them worse." I used to recite it when I felt like chickening out. That saying helped make a man of me, so thank you, Roy. I'll always remember that moment; it changed my life for the better.

There have been other words spoken to me that seemed to have the ring of truth in them, and that I've remembered (or forgotten) in various forms. Here's a list of things I've recited at difficult moments, sayings I heard and liked, and one or two just silly things:

Talent is nice, but it's the ones that stick with it that succeed. - John Jennings, my junior high art teacher. I turned it into, "If I never give up, I'll eventually succeed at art."

You will never regret doing the right thing. (In the long term, at least. On the short term sometimes I'm not so sure.)

In the end, you will be exactly who you choose to be and you will receive exactly what you really wanted.

There's always kinks in the hose. (I came up with this metaphor. It's a euphemism for another common phrase I've heard.)

If aliens invaded right now, wielding only a giant magnet, they would win.

I don't have to wait for someone to ask for my help. I can just go and help.

First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win. - Ghandi

The way we treat everyone around us is very important. The most important thing, in fact.

No matter what you do, sometimes you will hurt people. (I realized this after dating a girl just to be nice, only to find she thought I wanted to marry her. So I stopped dating her. Seems no matter what I'd have done, I would have ended up hurting her. Which leads to another mantra . . . )

Never, ever date someone just to be nice.

Sometimes, even if it's not your fault or you didn't mean to, you just have to say, "Sorry". - From an Ensign or New Era article

That's like nailing jello to the wall.

If you don't forgive, you can't be happy.

I must exercise.

No matter how complicated or difficult a thing is, if you practice it enough, you can do it. (one of the few useful things I learned playing video games.)

With great power comes great responsibility. - Stan Lee, creator of Spiderman via my stepdad.

Doing the right thing for the wrong reason is good, because at least you are doing your duty. And eventually, your heart may change and then you'll be doing the right things for the right reasons.

We're all brothers and sisters. Every last one of us.

Everyone, everyone, EVERY ONE experiences terrible pain in life. (From my mission after speaking to thousands and thousands of people.)

It's not where you are that matters, but in which direction you're heading. -A youth sunday school lesson. I cannot remember who taught it to me. Far better to be in the pit of despair climbing out than on top of great hieghts falling down.

Well, that's about all I can dig up from the root-filled corners of my mental garden. But I believe all these sayings and live by them. (Watch out for giant magnets!)

-Royal

Shiny = Fancy

I get the privilege to see my Mom today in Warner Robbins. She's usually in Lexington, KY, but currently visiting my brother's home.

He's got 3 cute kids, and the toys to prove it. My two girls couldn't imagine a more engaging play place. So, I'm enjoying a rare respite from toddler boredom. (Its a disease that comes at intervals. The main symptoms are a toddler climbing on and/or destroying more that one valued family heirloom every five minutes or so. The other main symptom is a mother wrapping up a day at home with the kids by going to bed at 7PM on drugs and crying herself to sleep.) Yeah, we've been suffering from an acute case of toddler boredom and teething this past week.

And now, my blogging is occasionally interrupted with Grace's joyful voice,

"Look, Mom, its a mixer!"

"Isn't this pipe fancy?"

"Ooooh, isn't this fancy?"

I'll take it!

Royal's new blog away from this blog

Royal has been a little industrious lately... here's the link to his personal compilation of instructables.... or in other words, detailed how-tos.

http://www.instructables.com/member/royalestel/

The Flying Scrooge

Or, in other words, Royal's latest building project....

The Ornithopter

The Orni what-er?

Its the flying home-made gadget resembling a dragonfly that Royal constructed from office supplies. Then, of course, he posted detail by detail how to do it yourself on instructables.com!

You have got to see this! Here's a sneak peek...

http://www.instructables.com/id/E6HII1H1JREZIXCMII?ALLSTEPS

What's in a Word?

Grace has always been a talented speaker. And, when she wants for a word, she invents descriptions that are creative and clever.

So, see if you can guess what the following definitions refer to:

1. Pinching scissors

2. the Loop stick hanger

3. Nuts shaped like little hot dogs

4. Baby chewing suckers


Give up?


1. cooking tongs

2.Wire Hanger with a paper tube on the long side

3. Cashews

4. pacifiers.

Smiter Bad Guy

We have a new superhero around these days. He goes by the name, "Smiter Bad Guy."

Grace thought of this name. The term "Smiter" originates from "smite" as found in the Book of Mormon. She is frequently inspired by vocabulary we find in the scriptures. Infact, most of our daily family scripture time involves explaining definitions for all the new words in the one verse we get through. Smite was a particularly applicable word to Grace's life, and she has remembered and used it since we first came across it.

So, Smiter Bad Guy is a character, disguised as a little girl, that carries a large weapon disguised as an oversized leaf rake (don't be fooled by its innocent appearance!). He depends on local Good Guys to deliver enemies to him. The enemies are usually disguised as Lawn and Garden implements.



Then, he takes the enemy to an unoccupied part of the yard, lays him down...





and smites him once with the weapon.









That destroys any enemy we've found so far. Thanks, Smiter Bad Guy, for keeping the yard a safe place to live!

Daily Early Morning Seminary

I'm teaching Early Morning Seminary these days.

Its... real early.

So, think of me around 6:15 AM.

What's that, you say? You're still in b... NO! Say its not true!

I'm not listening... Nananana nanaaaaa.... I can't hear you....

I have to go to bed now. See ya.

Running on Chalk Fumes

Well, I dicovered an ususual source of fuel for Sienna's car. . .



Sidewalk chalk! I'm not sure who first tried it, Grace, or Sienna. But, at any rate, one stick'll last over a week of driving! Who knew?

And the other power driving that thing would be Baby power. It's about 1/5 one horsepower unit. Just adorable!

Giving Blood

Some talented Red Cross salesman called me the other day.

He told me about how special and rare my blood is. (I've given here before, so they should know!) He explained the very unusual quality it has, which allows it to be administered to infants and cancer patients. And he finally explained the shortage of this special blood in our area right now.

What could I say? I was flattered into making an appointment.

So, this morning, I marched into the Red Cross office full of self-importance and generosity.

And a pint or so lighter, I went on with my slightly light-headed day.

If you've got clean blood, Just Give!

I'm contemplating posting a pic of my wound. It looks really bad this time, but I'll spare you all.

Adventures in Gardening

I have been trying to grow a "successful" garden for a few years. My main motivation is the appeal of self-sufficiency. My secondary motivation is saving a few bucks.

Last year (2006), we were in a rental home during planting season, and put a few herbs in pots.



In May 2006, we got back home and put in some Zinnia seed. They grew for Grace! I'll try to post some wonderful pics. They bloomed through December 1st! (far left pic)















The Year before that (2005) we were in 2 different rental homes during planting season. We didn't plant.

The year before that (2004, I suppose... how time does fly!) we built 2 small raised garden beds. The only picture I have is the strings marking the squares. You may wisely note that each bed is completely shaded. Hmmm... why didn't that ever occur to me?



Grace helped me plant carrots seeds, and something else that also didn't grow. This was my poor attempt at Square foot gardening.

So, this year! 2007! No time like the present, eh!

This winter, I read the excellent book, "How to Grow More Vegetables" by John Jeavons. It is a "biointensive" method of gardening, which translates to 1. you plant "tightly", similarly to the square foot method, and 2. you carefully "grow" your soil so that your garden can always be self-sustainable, without fertilizers and other things being trucked in from someone else's land.

Jeavon's perspective of sustainability has really drawn me in and changed the way I look at the soil, the earth, and the things I consume. This may sound weird, but I now feel closer to understanding the earth and how all we have comes from it. Jeavon's doesn't do any preaching in his book, but I've grown so much from reading it! I recommend it highly, and please do yourself a favor and get it free from the library! It has been around at least 30 years.

Back to my garden in 2007, So, we picked a sunnier spot for this year's garden. Royal helped me prepare the soil. Along with our 6 tomatoes, 6 peppers, and one strawberry plant (thought Grace would love that), we splurged and bought 3 blueberry bushes! (I've wanted to put in some kind of fruit for about 5 years.)

Today, Royal put in some okra seed, and I tossed in a few basil and Nasturtium (flowers that repel bugs in theory) seeds.

In our remaining shady raised garden, Grace put in Cosmos Flower seeds several weeks ago, and today she put in Zinnia's from 2 years ago. Maybe they'll grow. I've kept them in the freezer carefully.

So, Wish us luck! If we live here through August, maybe we will get something. As we pray for a harvest, nourish our plants with great care, and keep the Sabbath day holy, we are very hopeful for some food blessings.

Pretty Pretty Princess

This is the toy referenced in the next post.

Here is Grace's new game, with Mom playing along. (It's actually pretty fun.) This is a dress-up board game.