mrshoppes

09:10 pm: Finally starting to get it together

I am getting some of my baking recipes together.  I've had them here, there, and everywhere with only some of them in one location.  Well, I am almost done and am printing out what I have along with saving it in works.  I am also printing a second copy for a friend from Danville.  She started on the same dietary journey we began several years ago.  Having started just a few months ago, she is having the same struggles we did with "where is the variety" not knowing just how huge the variety is.  Having been there ourselves, I am printing out what I have to give to her.  I am also going to bring some whole wheat brownies so she knows how they taste.

In other news, we got our buck and named him Buck.  We put Gi-gi in with him and immediately demonstrated his affection for her.  She was running and he was chasing.  She looks like a pip-squeak next to him.  We have got to get some pictures.  He is gorgeous!  We tried putting Buster and Chevron in with him so he would have more company, but they just jumped over the fence and back into their own area.

The children had a blast with Dana and I am very thankful that she was able to take them.  I owe her HUGE!  I can't imagine traveling over 300 miles one way and coming back immediately with the two of them in the back bickering.  Hannah slept most of the time.  Every time we stopped, we picked her up, woke her up, played with her, and kept her awake and interactive so she would hopefully sleep last night.  Well, we tried.  She eventually passed out around 3:00am.  She was not tired and was not going to be talked, coaxed, tricked, or manipulated into going to sleep before she was ready.

When I went to pick up Charlie and Bethany, we went to Dana to the parade in Jasonville and I met her family.  They are very warm, welcoming, and hospitable.  I really enjoyed myself.  There is a tradition in Indiana when it comes to parades.  Throw as much candy out to the side of the street as possible for the children to scramble around and hoard as much as possible.  My children have more candy right now than they have ever had in their entire lives combined.  They have had more candy today than they have had in the past six months or more.  And that is ok.  This is a once in a great while thing and part of being a child.  

I also told Dana that she had to come home with me.  She didn't.  But get this.  She had asked when their bed time was and i had said that Charlie goes to bed at 8:00 and Bethany goes to bed at 8:00, 8:15, 8:30, 8:45, 9:00. 9:20, 9:50, 10:00, 10:30, 11:00, and will finally stay in bed after being yelled at for the 1,000,000,000 time.  I'm talking to her last night and she tells me the children are in bed AND ASLEEP!  I am talking to her at 8:30.  The children were in bed and asleep at 6:45.  Little stinkers. 

I do feel bad for Dana.  She saw first had the effects of milk with Bethany.  It was not intentional by any stretch of the imagination.  Milk is a hard one.  It is in so many things.  Including frosting.  Which she gave Bethany not realizing that milk was in it.  She felt horrible and I felt so bad for her.  But as I told her, WE have accidentally given Bethany things with milk in it without realizing.  And we are her parents.  Thankfully, it was a very small amount and the explosive diarrhea was not long lasting.

Speaking of food allergies, it looks like Hannah's illness may be allergy related.  We had gone to Outback and there was nothing she had that was TOTALLY new, but different enough to cause a digestive reaction.  The amount of the vomiting followed by a complete emptying of the intestines compete with smelly, stringy mucous is a definite reaction to food.  The question is, what?

What she had:
Bloomin' Onion, but she has had onion before.  Just not deep fried.
Brown Bread, but she has had bread before, just not THAT bread.
Carrots.  She has had carrots many times.
Snow peas.  She's had that before.
Tomato.  She's had that before.

It could be what the vegetables are cooked with.
It could be what is in the Bloomin' Onion batter.
It could be something else that is cooked in the grease.  (A person with a shrimp allergy not able to have fries that are cooked in the same grease as shrimp for example.)

For now, we are not going to be eating at Outback.  We don't eat there very often, but we will be avoiding it now for more than financial reasons.  At least until we figure out what it is.  It could also very well be just the fact that she had greasy food with the Bloomin' Onion and her body is not used to it.  We don't eat a lot of greasy food.  This is definitely a guessing game at this point.

Sensitivities are easier to handle than outright allergies.
Charlie is sensitive to processed sugar and many of the chemicals in food.  It affects his behavior.  The occasional bit of sugar or dye or whatever is fine.  Just not too much of it.  I know that for the next few days he is going to be a bit out of control.

Bethany is sensitive to chemicals in processed foods as well.  She becomes out of control.  I know that the next few days are going to be harder than normal with her.  It already has been simply because we were apart for a couple of days.  But it is going to be compounded by the dyes she had in the candy she got at the parade.  But with this being a once in a while thing, it is ok.

Outright allergies.  The absolute "No, she can NOT have this" are the hardest.  And if this is an allergy with Hannah (I am hoping not and hoping it was just too much grease, but all signs indicate otherwise) we need to figure out what it is.  It could also be something I had that was transmitted through the milk.  Something in the BBQ sauce or how the chicken was cooked or what was cooked on the grill before the chicken.

I do have to brag about Dana.  Not only did she survive my children, she also takes beautiful pictures.  Bethany is the top photo.  "I Love This Photo II"  entry.  http://mysimplegifts.blogspot.com/  Isn't she absolutely talented?

11:11 pm: I refuse to be silenced
I'll just do a copy and paste.  This is related to the other day where I was to to keep my trap shut on TVNL.  I tried, but I couldn't.  SO I started a thread and Catherine took it down in less than 5 minutes and unregistered me.  For your viewing pleasure.  Sorry for the repeat from the other day.  I was copying that into the post so others would know exactly what was going on.  I doubt Catherine even read the post.

I have been restricted here. This thread will probably disappear. I have tried handling this through PM and have gotten no where except with threats of banning. That is fine.

Here is everything with a link to my blog which people here can NOT erase:

http://mrshoppes.livejournal.com/39086.html?view=82862#t82862


As an interesting side note, apparently people have a hard time with the concept of homesteading. On a message board http://tvnewslies.org/phpbb/index.php someone had posted pictures of a couple of goats asking if they were mine. I had said no and went over to the Animal and Pets forum and posted pictures of our animals with who and what they were. Indy being a milker. Buster being due for slaughter. A hen laying an egg in a feed bucket. Things like that. Same stuff I had shared here. I got a private message this morning.

"Mrs.Hoppes...

I have deleted your "homestead" photos that you posted in the PETS forum. I found them to be obscene, rude, and insensitive. You've seemed to relish the use of the word "slaughter" on this board ever since your arrival. If you had bothered to read any of the threads in the PETS forum, you would know that the great majority of TVNL members are pet and animal lovers. Many are vegetarians and many would have been just as angered as I was at your audacity in choosing a PETS forum to post about killing animals.

I can't control what you do on your so-called "homestead," but I CAN control your behavior and what you do on this board. Do not refer to your slaughtering schedule again. Do not post any more photos of your animals that you so gleefully label as "due for slaughter." In fact, stop posting photos altogether.

You will receive no other warning. Continued postings of the kind I deleted will result in your receiving a very long recess from TVNL.

Catherine"

I had responded with the following:

"1. It is a pets AND ANIMAL forum.

2. It is not "gleeful" it is a fact of life.

3. It was a spin-off from another poster in the introductions asking if some goat pictures he posted were my goats.

4. Vegetarianism is a choice. So is raising our own animals. Both vegetarianism and raising our own animals result in animals dying.

5. My animals are raised humanely and slaughtered humanely unlike factory farming which I abhor."

Her reply:

"You've been given a directive and you respond with more narcissism and excuses. Lady, that won't work here.

Because of your over-all attitude, you are now confined to posting only in the American Poli-Talk Forum until further notice. Your posts are to stay on topic and there will be no further display of your personal life and practices. If you post in any of the other forums, the posts will be deleted and your account will be temporarily suspended. The mods and I will decide when and if you can come back to TVNL."

Anyway, I guess introducing myself, stating upfront that we raise our own animals for milk, eggs, and meat in my very first post was not enough of a warning for some people and replying to a question in a forum dedicated to animals is only acceptable for some but not others. It is also not enough that what I posted does not violate any terms of service either. Just that someone with control of the board doesn't like it.



And a comment follow-up by someone here who did not leave a name, but I unscreened because I do allow people to share their views on my blog for others to read.


From: (Anonymous) Date: September 29th, 2007 06:06 pm (UTC) (Link)
(IP Address: xx.xxx.xxx.xxx)
Select:

They aren't anti-homesteading. They are anti-homesteading-in-your-face-like-it-or-not.
(Reply to this) (Thread)





From: mrshoppes Date: September 30th, 2007 02:23 am (UTC) (Link)
Select:

No. They are anti anything different than their agenda or ideas. An administrator who would twist a post the way she did on what is supposed to be an unbiased FACTUAL board makes me wonder just how factual or unbiased the board really is. As I said, there was NOTHING in my post that went against the TOS so the removal of it was highly uncalled for and slamming me and my lifestyle the way she did was wrong. Stating that she could not control what we do on our "so-called homestead" implies that she has a very serious problem with the concept of homesteading (made very obvious by telling me to shut-up about any aspect of our life in the future) and that if she COULD control what we do on our homestead, she would.

VERY, VERY wrong.
(Reply to this) (Parent)







I wonder how long this will last. I look forward to comments, replies, and a countdown to destruction.

I was going to let it go, but I can't. Being told to shut-up about who I am the my entire life is unfair unless every single person on this board does the same thing. That includes people who share about being a teacher, being a parent, what they are having for dinner, their pet dog or cat, hunting, fishing, and every other aspect of their life.

My homesteading is my job, my lifestyle, our food, our milk, our eggs, our survival, and is not just what we do but who we are. That means crying my eyes out when a 4 day old kid (one of a twin) dies in my arms. That means sitting in a cold barn on a hard floor in the middle of winter while Robin kids. (Yes, the same Robin who is due to kid.) That means going out in sub zero weather to break the ice on all the watering bins several times a day. That means burying 15 chickens that had been destroyed by coyotes. That means crying while causing pain to a goat milking her every two hours because she had mastitis. Knowing that is is painful for her, but knowing that the alternative is a long and painful death. (Mastitis in goats is VERY different than mastitis in humans.) That means cheering when a newborn kid stands up and nurses for the first time. That means laughing at their antics. That means going out in 115* weather to milk. That means going out in below zero to milk. That means tracking possum and snakes who steal eggs. And yes, that means slaughtering.

It is hard work. It is labor intensive. It is an emotional roller-coaster with LOTS of highs and lows. Celebrations and heart-aches. Telling me to shut-up about homesteading and my personal life is telling me to shut up completely.

History is full of people who have been told to shut-up and listened. And they aren't around anymore.

I refuse to shut-up about who I am and what I am about. Homesteading is just as important as anything else and has just as many people fighting against it in Congress (major agricultural corporations and factory farmers) as anything else going on. Too many people are telling homesteaders to shut-up. That living the way they do is wrong. That the gov't should be controlling the food supply. (Where do you think all the food recalls are going to head to? There are people working FOR this very thing right now.) That us raising our own food is wrong.

I refuse to shut-up about this either here or in politics or anyplace else where corporate america would try to have me shut-up.