Summer Update

So, normally I would have posted a Menu Monday yesterday. Hmmm.... Okay, I just couldn't keep up the facade this week. Fact is, I'm not cooking this week.

The lad got back from his Civil Air Patrol trip to Space Command Familiarization Course on Sunday night... with a puppet!

I, meanwhile, have been recovering from foot surgery, which is why I am not cooking and not meal planning.

Hubby just put together a very loose idea of what the guys would eat (Chinese, hot dogs, chili from the freezer, etc.). Rather than be stressed trying to put together a Menu Monday blog entry about it, I decided to just skip it.

While recuperating I finished a knitted baby hat to donate to my favorite charity, Online Angels (in Pottsville, PA).

 
So son and I are working this week on his college applications. He's going to do the IEW SAT Essay Intensive (from High School Essay Intensive), and he's working on math review.

In the product review arena, currently using in our home:
No Nonsense Algebra,

Reign of Terror, 

and The Everyday Family Chore System.

So that's about it for my current update. What's going on in your home this summer?

"Poor" in the 1960s vs. "Poor" in the 2010s

I'm not sure why I started thinking about this, but since I did I thought I'd write a post about it. It contains enough of my childhood that it counts as a "family story" that I think my kids and niece and nephew will like.

In the 1960s, my family was poor. I didn't know we were at the time, but I know it now. What was my life like?

• Child care: if my mom needed to go some where and needed child care we went to Gram's, Aunt Carole's or the neighbor's. There was no "Day Care" in my world. It may have existed somewhere, but I was not aware of it. It may not have even existed yet.
• To save money, Dad kept the hot water heater turned off except when we needed baths or showers.
• There was no such thing as a disposable diaper. Mom bought cloth, and one size fits all -- you just pin differently for boys vs. girls and the pins also adjust the size.
• There were no plastic pants. In the summer kids in diapers were just kids in diapers. When the diaper was wet (or other), Mom knew it quickly and it got changed. If something else got wet... Oh well. She cleaned it up.
• Laundry was washed, and then hung out to dry. We owned a dryer part of the time, but we didn't use it if we could use the "great outdoors".
• One car. Mom didn't drive anyway. She didn't have a license. If she wanted to go somewhere, she rode her bike. If one of us was going with her, we rode behind her on the rack.
• Restaurants ...I didn't know about them. We ate at home.
• Dinners - Mom's budget for groceries was $15, and she had to find a way to feed us on that. Chuck was sometimes $0.15/pound, so that's when she would buy it. A cheap night was sausage and eggs on toast. It might be a British dish. One slice toast, one patty, canned tomato, juice.. We would also eat fish n' chips n' vinegar, and fried beef liver. Lunch, I remember canned soup. I remember water cress sandwiches at Grama's.
• Clothes. We were thankful when we had them. Gram sewed. I had no coat until she made one for me. She sewed a furry hat and a matching muff for me as well. Our dresses looked like upholstery fabric because they were made from leftover upholstery fabric. Hand-me-downs were a way of life -- I had an older sister.
• School milk and lunches - Milk was two cents a carton back then, so it was pretty inexpensive, but we still took our own. I had a nice little lunch box with a Thermos bottle, and we took our lunch to school every day. Once, though, I bought my milk and didn't drink it, so I saved it. That was when I learned that milk went sour if you didn't refrigerate it. Yuck!
• Working moms -- moms that got jobs drove school buses, worked in the school cafeteria, or worked during the day in a local sandwich shop. These jobs did not require that they arrange child care.
• Heating and air conditioning - Dad turned the heat wayyy down at night. We heated with oil, and the truck came once a winter. We supplemented with our fireplace, burning wood that came from our property. Air conditioning? Never heard of it. We had a fan. Even the grocery store didn't have it. Sometimes we'd stand by the store's freezer section a short while to cool off. Mostly we went to swim in Aunt Carole's pond.
• Telephone - there was one telephone in the house, and it was a party line. If you picked it up to make a telephone call, someone else might already be using the line and you would have to wait.
• Television - there was one set, it was black and white, and using it did not cost any more than the cost of electricity. There were from four to seven channels, and the channels signed off at a decent hour with the Star Spangled Banner playing while the screen showed an American Flag blowing in the background.
• Christmas - in 1965, my Christmas gifts were: a Raggedy Ann doll and a Bazooka gun.                         (I was a tomboy.) My dad wanted Mom to just give me one gift, but she put her foot down.
• Toys: My brother had a set of wooden building blocks and a set of Lincoln logs. If I asked permission, I could sometimes play with them with him. Most of the time we played in the dirt under the back overhang, or swung on the swing set. We also rode our bikes, which I had one because my grandmother (the "rich" one - the one that worked outside the home) bought for me for my 5th birthday. Lois and I also had Barbi      and Skipper  dolls. Mom made clothes for them. I still have them, and my Skipper, but I cut her hair. And I remember we had Colorforms.  I don't remember what they were of, but I still have a set of Colorform letters.
  
•  One of my favorite toys was a conveyer belt                                                                          I'd been given for playing in the dirt. We'd send dirt up to the top to dump into my brother's dump truck.
• We spent hours making dirt roads to go over with our toy cars.
• We didn't have the money, so we didn't go to the doctor until we were sick. Then he gave us medicine (or stitched us up), and we went home. We only went back if we didn't get better. We paid the bill over time.
• Life in my childhood was, "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without." Lois's clothes were made to fit me. I wore what I had for my feet. I had no hat, nor coat, nor gloves til Gram made one. I wore what I had, cause it was what I had. I never went to a clothing store til I was 12 years old, and then my year's clothing budget was $20 for everything.
• As soon as we could earn money, we did. It meant we could occasionally buy lunch at school, or a new dress, a Charms pop from the school store, or an other piece of candy. Before that, we didn't have the money so we went without.

Life of the "poor" as I see it today:

• Everyone seems to have a cell phone. Why is this something the "poor" have?
• Everyone seems to pay for cable or satellite, and most have TEVO, as well as a DVD players, and probably a subscription to Netflix. I don't even have Netflix.
• Everyone seems to pay for trash pick-up. My hubby drives to the dump each week.
• People on public assistance have Coach bags and iPhones. We never went on public assistance. We went without.
• The "poor" seem to eat out constantly. What's up with that? I can't afford to eat out, and I'm NOT poor now!
• When I was in school I was mocked for having holes in my tennis shoes and in the knees of my slacks (high school). Other poor people lived in (literally) clapboard shacks, but they drove Cadilacs and wore stylish clothes. It was all about how you were seen by others. What things were like at home didn't matter.
• "Poor" kids buy their lunches, snacks, junk food and such at school. How can they afford that? I was borrowing money to buy a 20 cent bowl of chicken soup when I forgot to bring my lunch, and I was hard pressed to pay my friend back, ever.
• Now, thanks to the "unaffordable" health care act, poor people have to pay money and still not go to the doctor. Some of the money I used to pay to go to the doctor now goes to our increased cost for our plan, and my deductible is now so high that I will be paying 100% for everything unless something catastrophic happens, because I pay 100% until I reach my deductible, and I'm not likely to ever reach it.
• The typical "poor" family seems to have at least two cars. Why? We lived in the middle of no where when I was a kid. If we needed/wanted to get somewhere and the car wasn't available, we didn't go.
• If someone else has something that the poor person doesn't have, I hear, "That's not fair!" and someone in government is trying to make sure the poor person gets it. For free. Without working for it. If the poor person has something that the working person doesn't have because they can't afford it, I hear, "Oh well. Life's not fair." Someone in government is trying to make us all financially equal so that the hard-working person does not ever have more than the person who will not work. The "unemployed" can't afford to get a job, because unemployment pays so much that to take a full-time job would be a cut in pay. It's just wrong.

Well, I guess that's about it for now. Let me know if you have any thoughts or anything to add. 

My vegan journey

In November, 2011, I posted a blog entry here that I would be changing to a fat-free vegan diet based on How to Reverse and Prevent Heart Disease, by Caldwell Esselston, Jr. I was making changes in my diet because:

• my blood pressure had been consistently higher than I was comfortable with, whenever it was checked, for many months;
• my cholesterol was checked and came back at 243, which is too high.
• I'd been on a slow weight loss journey for many years, and following Weight Watchers had thought I was following a healthy plan. I was shocked when my cholesterol came back with elevated numbers, and I did research to find out what changes to make to my diet to correct the situation. This plan appeared to fit the bill. Additional weight loss would be an added benefit.
• My grandmother died (albeit, she was 93) of heart issues. My dad died (albeit, he was 80) of heart issues. I had been aware that he was struggling with cholesterol issues, but I'll never know for sure at this point what all those prescription pills on his television were for. My uncle, Dad's brother, died the next year, of heart issues that he had struggled with for years.
• My mother and my aunt (her sister) both died of forms of cancer. A fat-free diet is also what cancer research points to for reducing cancer risk.

 

So at that time, in 2011, I was able, after following the diet strictly for three weeks, to have my cholesterol and blood pressure checked again. I had lost 13 pounds in those three weeks. My cholesterol dropped from 243 to 187, and my blood pressure had dropped (don't have the exact numbers in front of me) from concerning to numbers like those of a teenager.

After the initial three week period, I continued to follow the diet plan fairly strictly for a full year. It wasn't going over well with my family, though, even though I was serving the family regular meals and was just following the vegan plan quietly on the side. I had cholesterol numbers run again in 2012, and they weren't as low, but they were still in the "acceptable" range. I began to slack. By the second year (2013), I was slacking more and more. The weight would go two steps down, one step up. But remember, the weight wasn't the main reason I had started this special diet. 

In 2013 I again had my cholesterol tested. This time it was back up to 241, even though I was still largely following the vegan diet. I was slacking enough that it was obviously affecting the numbers. The doctor said not to worry about the numbers, because my "good cholesterol" was high and my "bad cholesterol" was low and in the acceptable range. But in addition, as I approached some recent surgery, I was finding that medical personnel were having to take my blood pressure twice at appointments because the first reading was coming back at a concerningly high reading (140/110 or something). It would drop by the end of the appointment, but I wasn't satisfied with that.

My hubby finally supports me, understanding that I'm not on some crusade or campaign, but that my personal family history and medical records support the wisdom of this diet for me. So, while I still love my Ben and Jerry's Vanilla Heath Bar pint to share with my hubby, I have told him that I need to get strict again and get back on the "straight and narrow", for my long term well being. I am still 20 pounds from the top of my goal weight range, and I would probably be most happy if I lose at least 30 pounds.

 But weight loss not being the primary reason I follow this diet, suffice it to say that I am back to my primarily strict vegan diet.

Breakfast today was cooked whole oats topped with frozen blueberries. Lunch was home-made black bean soup, a salad, and wasa crisps. Dinner will be ravioli, salad and garlic bread for my family, but I will probably have whole wheat gnocchi, sauce and salad.

I'll post my menu plan for the week tomorrow, as usual. It might not really indicate what vegan meal I eat for dinner each night, but I'll be eating vegan. I've got a lot of dishes planned for myself, but I'm not sure yet what order I'll prepare them in. I'm also the queen of eating the same food day after day after day. It's not for everyone, but it keeps me fed. I've developed the self-control at this point, and the one thing most likely to derail my strict plans is not having something available to eat that I've got ready at the right time, rather than temptation. So I like to keep a vegan dish at the ready that I can just scoop out and heat, especially for the busiest days.

Feel free to comment, if you wish. Hope you've enjoyed reading.

 

 

An Update

I had shoulder surgery yesterday to remove a bone spur on my left clavicle, where it meets the shoulder joint. Am now recuperating in a sling. One-handed typing.

I prepared and scheduled some posts in advance, but real-time posts will be on hold for a week while I heal. Thanks in advance for your understanding.

No "Mother's Journal" post this week. So I'll give our highest highlight:reading aloud Holes (the book the Disney movie was based on). Son always loved the movie, and we're both thoroughly loving the book!

Pain med catching up with me;  time for bed. Please pray for my healing and rehab. More itch than pain right now.

 Also pray for Levi S., Son of TOS Magazine owners. Was in a bad motorcycle accident this week. Apparently stable, but will have a difficult and painful recuperation ahead. Thanks.

What the Fox Say...

I understand this has already gone viral, but I just saw it for the first time and loved it, so I thought I'd share. I love much of what Ylvis does.

 Here's the original YouTube Video:

Guess What Today is!

Avast!  Ahoy, me maties! It's "Talk Like a Pirate Day!" in its 12th year. Who knew?

So leave your bung hole. Grab your grog, and look for unsuspecting land lubbers to spread the word. If ye must home school, warn yer little ones t'be good or  you'll feed 'em to the fishes.

So get on with your day if you must, but remember t' talk like a pirate today! 

Links:

English to Pirate Translator

Talk Like a Pirate Song

For one day a year we talk like buckaneers, so shout "Ahoy! Heave to!" and join our Pirate Crew!

Okay, and this is totally unrelated to TLAP Day, but I was looking for links and things and came across this music video by Ylvis called "What's the Meaning of Stonehenge" -- warning, some adult content, some F-bombs thrown in near the end, but really hysterical...

Update on Life

Well, my blog was pretty quiet this week. I never got my menu plan posted, so I'll post two weeks tomorrow. Here's how things went:

Sunday: My dear #2 child got married. It was a wonderful day. I have no photos to post of my own, so I'll borrow one from another source:

 

Barn wedding. She's dancing with her dad, and she's absolutely gorgeous!

Monday: My sister that lives with us had a medical emergency. We had to have her transported by ambulance. She's okay now; came home Tuesday.

Tuesday: We could see that our sweet Milly was not doing well. Made a vet appointment for first thing in the morning.

 

Wednesday: Milly was unable to void. Her history suggested UTI, but there was none today. Examination revealed an (for her age) inoperable internal tumor. They voided her by needle aspiration. We were perscribed medications to see if it would enable her to continue her life peacefully at home until there would be a quiet end.

Thursday: By bedtime it was clear that Milly still could not void, and she was absolutely miserable. We took her to the vet ER and they voided her by needle aspiration. We went home planning to attempt a catheter to enable her to void until she could end a quiet, natural death at home. 

Friday: Milly was anesthetized and for three hours two different vets and all their techs tried to get a catheter in, but the blockage was too great. Reluctantly they brought us the news. They voided her by needle aspiration and permitted us to take Milly home to say good bye to the family. Unfortunately bride daughter could not say good bye. What sad news to receive while on your honeymoon. Milly was HER dog. She's been with us since 1/1/00. ::sigh::

Saturday: We returned to the vet and had to say our final good bye to our sweet girl. A sad week. Thank you for prayers for my kids, especially the sweet bride.

2012 - Looking Back over Our Year

There are many ways I could highlight the events of 2012 in my family. Here are fun events from our year.

January:

Winter Weather Walk (Outdoor Hour Challenge) 
 

and Chickadee Study part 1

Composer Study: Mendelsohn

The Pentagon and the Capitol Building

February:
Chickadee Study, part 2


Twig Study (Outdoor Hour Challenge)
 

Mullien (Outdoor Hour Challenge)


 Artist Study: Caspar David Friedrich
 

March

Nature Study: Moon


Field Trips: Nasa Goddard, Greenbelt, MD

and an exhausting ice skating trip...

Warm weather has arrived early; home schooling at its best:


Nature Study: Cherry blossoms and crab apples:

Nature Study: the turtles are hatching in the creek! A baby snapping turtle and a baby red slider (sorry about the blurry photo)


April:
Needs no explanation... 

Field Trips: Mt. Vernon
 
 and Baltimore Zoo:
 
 
May:
My 2nd homeschooled student graduates college! 

 Nature Study: Stink Bug:

 

 June:
 Nature Study: 2nd Snapping Turtle! We didn't get too close to this one...

 
 My son likes to hang out at the creek a lot... I guess that's why we have so many studies there...

My son begins to make things to enter in the County Fair in 4-H.

  
 July:
 Independence Day:


The ribbons are from a previous year. And the projects pile up...

And we learned that Aunt Debbi has Stage V Breast Cancer... :(  ...and she begins to fight it...

August:
Last minute projects for the Fair...

 And then the awards are given... here are a few examples of his awards. Oops! Wrong year! Where are my photos of this years projects? I have no clue.

 

September:
First day of School

October:

 Nature Study, in which we find a "Wheel Bug". Experiment result - they do not eat worms.



Field Trip: C&O Canal

Homeschooling in flannel jammies -- that's part of why we homeschool, right?


November:

Boy Scouts extended hike and sleepover on the C&O Canal.

Thanksgiving of course.

December:

Boy Scouts work at Antietam Battle field, putting out illuminarios for the annual lights to remember the fallen in our nation's deadliest-ever battle. And a cold night's campout.

 Nature Study: Birds

 Christmas.

There are so many more things we did. I had blogged it once, but blogger ate it. This one turned out different, but nice. Also check my pages above for more things related to this year. Thanks for reading.

To read more Crew Blogs where we look back over our year go to the Schoolhouse Crew Review Blog.
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