Satellite internet

HELP! If anyone out there is familiar with DSL via a satellite, please email me. We are trying to figure out what we want to do for the internet at the farm. No land line so that is out. The only two wireless satellite servers I have heard about are Hughesnet.com and Wildblue. I think Dishnetwork owns the Wildblue service. Anyway...........expensive, $80/month. Not sure what other options we have. I am NOT going the dial up route. Been there, done that. I have seen satellites for both these companies in the area so some people are using them. That's the only thing I'm just not sure I am ready to "give up" just yet! But who knows, I just may. The library in Mt Ayr has wireless access so........................once a week I just might jump in the ole buggy and the horse and I will travel 12 miles for Internet access! I can check out books and then the next week return the books and check email. Works for me! (maybe I should be looking for runners for that buggy in the mean time)

Vegetables

While at the Sustainable living fair LaVern and I had the most delicious taco and I can't wait to try it at home. It was from a vendor so they had the big flat iron grill thing. It was small chunks of sweet potato, black beans with sauted onion and green peppers. I'm guessing all sauted with olive oil. Then served on corn burrito shells that had been lightly warmed on the grill. Topped with a red cabbage slaw that I think only had a lime juice with cilantro sauce. Very good and ALL VEGETABLES. My mother would be proud. I am looking for a good.....but SIMPLE....vegetarian cookbook. Something that a beginner would use but with recipes with "common" ingredients so if you know of any......send the names to me! Great appreciation in advance.

Sustainable Living Fair

Back home after a long weekend in Colorado. LaVern and I went to the 10th Annual Sustainable Living Fair in Ft. Collins. It was awesome! We went both Saturday and Sunday. They had over 75 free workshops both days and then LaVern went to 2 extended workshops, one on wind power and the other solar. I was able to sit in on a one hour talk by Frances Lappe, activist and author of "Diet for a Small Planet". Also a workshop on Organic pesticides and fertilizers which was terrific. Another was Introduction to Qi Gong. I'll have to blog that another time! The entire experience was humbling. It was exciting to see younger people there sharing our concerns for our planet and people. When this started ten years ago it was a one day event held at the CSU campus with about 500 people attending. Now it is a two day event held in a large open field and they were expecting 20,000 people this year. LaVern and I came away with affirmation that we are going in the right direction by focusing on renewable energy, organic and simple living.........even though we are starting a little late in life!

Squab...taking flight

Our baby doves, otherwise known as squabs, have taken flight and left the nest. Amazing! I guess that doves almost always lay 2 eggs and the incubation only takes two weeks. From there they are fledgings in 11-15 days! This is one of the squabs and he?she would rear up and puff out when we came to the door. We are assuming they have migrated. Dove's migration is from Sept thru Nov. The immatures move first followed by the adult females and then the adult males. They migrate during the day in flocks at low altitude. Some overwinter in the area however. LaVern just stopped by the office and saw I was blogging about our babies leaving the nest and he said we had a problem!??? He had cleaned off the light fixture and later when he went out he said the mother bird was back. He tried to shoo her away and she would NOT leave. I said "Uh Oh"..............doves can have 6 broods a year!!

Dog Tired

Garage sale Saturday morning at our house for our dear neighbors that we moved to VA. I sorted every single one of those boxes. It actually was quite fun because it was someone else's "stuff"! But by day's end we both were dog tired. Even Owyn had a tough day as he was awake all day and no naps. That is him about 6 pm Saturday evening, sound asleep. Definition of dog tired in the dictionary is "utterly exhausted". Yup...that would describe LaVern and I and Owyn is a good example of how we looked. The day was good and we felt the garage sale went well. Once again I was asked why I was doing this and again I stated that I was just "paying it forward". If we all paid forward a good deed to someone else just imagine how much better the world would be! Paul in 1 Corinthians says it best, "Do everything in love."

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. Take joy.

Health

Alot of talk these days is about health care. For us it is not the lack of it but rather the cost of it. I am going to the chiropractor this afternoon. Low back has been aching since returning home from the Virginia trip and getting ready for a garage sale. I listen to my body. It is wiser than you realize. I've always believed that my body knows what I need, and tells me so. It is also attuned to my surroundings. I read that researchers have even discovered that there are brain cells in your intestine! I do not have the answer to our national health care crisis but I do know that change is needed. The cost of it is mind boggling. Maybe that is why alot of people are seeking alternative care, chiropractic, reflexology, acupuncture, etc. Once again............we are going "back" to what worked before! Will stop by my folks and give my dad a haircut. Months ago he came home shocked at the price of his haircut. Now my dad has very little hair left so I was shocked also. I bought a pair of electric hair clippers and now cut both his and LaVern's hair. It's actually quite easy. My mom told me that it was just on the news that the sale of hair clippers had gone up 28% since the recession started. I was not surprised. Another example of going back to things that were done and used and WORKED ages ago. Me...........I just quit cutting my hair!!

Counting each moment as Holy

Ruth Rochelle....Went to walk with the Angels up to Heaven's door 8-24-09

Not a "close" friend but a wonderful lady who inspired the passion for primitives to hundreds of people. LaVern and I had the pleasure of going to her primitive antique show in Bradford, TN. a couple years ago. I had been purchasing from her online and corresponded via email. She was a delight and it was an honor to meet her in person. She made us feel like old friends immediately. As you can see from her smile she delighted in each and every day and spread it to everyone around her. I am confident she took joy and counted each moment as Holy. The river of time flows swiftly by. The seasons are a circle that go around and around. Looking back at what has been I realize that those fleeting moments are precious. By counting each moment as holy, it brings clarity to what's most important to me right now. Each moment IS a gift from God. "Take care of the minutes, for the hours will take care of themselves". Lord Chesterfield.

Friends and allies

This is my dear friend Mary as she was contemplating articles in a book. This wonderful rug hooking store is in Garden City, KS, Cricket Street Wool. This is only one little portion of the store. I didn't come home with 3 bags full of wool on this trip but easily could have!
I believe that friends can be my greatest allies in the quest for a simpler, more meaningful life. Mary is such an encourager. She always has creative ideas for me and will lend a helping hand whenever she is called. It seems like when I am weary and need that little lift, God places Mary in my presence and I find that much needed courage. Isaiah 41:6 Everyone helped his neighbor; and said to his brother, "Be of good courage!" Thank you, Mary, for making my life more meaningful.