GI Jim just posted about herbs on his site http://preppingandsurviving.blogspot.com/. This ties in well with what I was going to post today. While we all try to stock up on medicines from the store and pharmacy, using herbal medicines is often an easier way to go. If you try to use these items now, prior to supply problems it won't be something new and different you'll have to learn during times of stress. There are lots of books you can read, or information you can pull off the Internet about herbs, spices and natural remedies.
I don't catch a cold too often because I try really hard to keep my hands away from my face, which is one of the main ways germs are spread. But sometimes I don't succeed. This week when I was down in LA I ended up catching a cold. I sat in class with my nose running and me sneezing. While one person offered me a Sudafed, another offered me a cup of tea. (Yes, I took both!) What if the Sudafed wasn't around? What if you didn't do anything smart like stock up on medications or on herbs?
There are plenty of medicines you can create by using what's around you. For example, I don't have a pine tree in my yard but a neighbor does. Or the local park will. No matter where you live in this country you are probably not more than a few hundred feet from a pine tree. They have green needles all year long. Pick a handful of the needles, cut them into about 1 inch or smaller slices, and put a handful into a cup of just boiled water. Seep the needles until the water is cooled down enough to drink it. You've just made an excellent cold remedy that cost you nothing and works great. If you want to add a little honey or sugar go ahead. Another recipe for colds is honey and cinnamon on a spoon a couple times a day.
What if you have a stuffy nose? In California we have eucalyptus trees everywhere. You don't eat the leaf but you can boil them up and breathe the vapors, or just breathe the vapors from the crushed up leaves if you don't want to boil them up. What do you think Vick's Vapo-Rub is? It's just petroleum jelly and eucalyptus oil. I will take some of our horseradish root and grind it up, add a little vinegar and beet juice, and eat it. Or, just smell it! Either way, you will be unstuffed quite quickly. My most favorite and best remedy? Chicken noodle soup!
Yesterday Boy had a doctor appointment. This was a regular doctor who hands out prescriptions all day... The doctor wanted to shake my hand hello but I declined saying I was just getting over a cold so I'm sure he would prefer not to shake my hand. Not only did he say it wouldn't be a big deal because he keeps his hands away from his face but he told me another way to help get rid of the cold.
Take your two hands and put them together like you are shaking hands. If you keep your wrists straight one of your pointer fingers should be resting just past the bone at your wrist if you go in a straight line from your thumb down. Note that spot. Take your two hands and put them together again only this time have your other pointer finger touching that spot on your other arm. Now that you know the two spots use your thumb (one at a time) and rub that spot. As you are rubbing try to get in between the bone and ligaments to get a deep down massage. Do this for one or two minutes. Then switch and massage the other arm in the same spot.
I found it refreshing that a medical doctor was suggesting Chinese acupressure. No wonder I like that doctor!
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Safety. At what point do you stop and say this isn't right?
With the temperature at work the other day a whopping 14, we had a discussion about safe practices. We told each other of horror stories about people using their GPS's and taking roads that weren't open during winter and then getting stuck. We heard about close calls and also deaths. At what point, while you are driving down a mountain road following someone elses tracks, when their tracks end do you keep going? How long are you going to drive before you ask yourself, "should I turn around"?
Where is the little voice in your brain that says something isn't right. Stop. Think. Retreat.
I am still in Los Angeles at a training for my new job. I go home tomorrow. At the training class today one of the topics was safety. They were trying to pound in to our heads that nothing we do for work, or for play, should be done in such a manner that we are not safe. Is it worth killing or harming yourself by your actions? Wouldn't your family rather have you home in one piece rather than you do something unsafe and get hurt? Again we had discussions about people doing stupid things.
I read today about how some people in Russia were riding down a hill in a zorb and went off the track, rolled a mile futher than it was supposed to go and flew into a ravine. One died, the other is badly injured. I also read about someone riding a snowmobile pulling a sled wwith a bunch of people on it. The snowmobile went over the side of a hill and six of the people on the sled being pulled were killed. At what point should someone say stop. This isn't going like I planned. This is too dangerous. I need to step back and think.
I called home tonight to see how everything is going. Girl has been following directions this week. She's called right before she and Boy leave for school. She calls and texts when they get home. I missed her calls today because of the training, so right before dinner time I called home.
They were eating dinner but she answered anyway. Our house rule is we don't answer the phone during dinner, or if we do we say we are eating, is it an emergency? If it's not an emergency we will return their call after we eat. No over the phone conversation is worth missing out on at the table conversation. I said that I was glad she and her brother were being good. She asked if I wanted to talk to oldest grandson, the 18 year old who is watching them while I'm out of town. "No, I don't need to talk to him. It's dinner, go back to eating." "But he wants to talk to you."
Oldest grandson got on the phone and said he needed to tell me something. The story went like this:
I was trying to start a fire in the wood stove... I'm thinking he smoked up the house and the alarm company sent out the fire department. No, wait, the alarm company didn't call me. Back to his call...
I was trying to start a fire. It wouldn't start. So I got the lighter fluid out. I was starting the fire and the lighter fluid blew up. It caught the wood floor on fire... Is the house OK?
It caught my fingers on fire... Are YOU OK?
Sure, it's all fine. I cleaned it all up....What about the kids?
They are fine. They watched it happen....And you are OK?
Yes. It's all cleaned up. You wouldn't even know anything happened I think...
After the shock of what he did wore off I asked why he would ever think about starting a fire that way. Have YOU ever seen ME start a fire that way? No? Then why would you think this was safe? You saw your uncle do it that way before? Well, my son is an idiot! Why didn't you just turn on the heaters? The house has two perfectly good propane heaters that are vented into every single room in that house. Why didn't you just turn on the heater?...I don't know.
I know. He wanted to play with the fire and it shut down his sense of right and wrong. There were so many different times in this situation that he could have, should have, said to himself what he was doing wasn't safe. He is fortunate he didn't get hurt. He won't ever do it again and hopefully Boy and Girl got frightened enough that they won't ever try that stupid stunt.
When I get home tomorrow night we will be having our own household discussion on safety. I'm sure Boy and Girl knew it wasn't a good idea but were too excited to watch the fire flame from the lighter fluid that they didn't tell their cousin that they didn't think it was safe. We've had safety conversations before but obviously we need it again.
Where is the little voice in your brain that says something isn't right. Stop. Think. Retreat.
I am still in Los Angeles at a training for my new job. I go home tomorrow. At the training class today one of the topics was safety. They were trying to pound in to our heads that nothing we do for work, or for play, should be done in such a manner that we are not safe. Is it worth killing or harming yourself by your actions? Wouldn't your family rather have you home in one piece rather than you do something unsafe and get hurt? Again we had discussions about people doing stupid things.
I read today about how some people in Russia were riding down a hill in a zorb and went off the track, rolled a mile futher than it was supposed to go and flew into a ravine. One died, the other is badly injured. I also read about someone riding a snowmobile pulling a sled wwith a bunch of people on it. The snowmobile went over the side of a hill and six of the people on the sled being pulled were killed. At what point should someone say stop. This isn't going like I planned. This is too dangerous. I need to step back and think.
I called home tonight to see how everything is going. Girl has been following directions this week. She's called right before she and Boy leave for school. She calls and texts when they get home. I missed her calls today because of the training, so right before dinner time I called home.
They were eating dinner but she answered anyway. Our house rule is we don't answer the phone during dinner, or if we do we say we are eating, is it an emergency? If it's not an emergency we will return their call after we eat. No over the phone conversation is worth missing out on at the table conversation. I said that I was glad she and her brother were being good. She asked if I wanted to talk to oldest grandson, the 18 year old who is watching them while I'm out of town. "No, I don't need to talk to him. It's dinner, go back to eating." "But he wants to talk to you."
Oldest grandson got on the phone and said he needed to tell me something. The story went like this:
I was trying to start a fire in the wood stove... I'm thinking he smoked up the house and the alarm company sent out the fire department. No, wait, the alarm company didn't call me. Back to his call...
I was trying to start a fire. It wouldn't start. So I got the lighter fluid out. I was starting the fire and the lighter fluid blew up. It caught the wood floor on fire... Is the house OK?
It caught my fingers on fire... Are YOU OK?
Sure, it's all fine. I cleaned it all up....What about the kids?
They are fine. They watched it happen....And you are OK?
Yes. It's all cleaned up. You wouldn't even know anything happened I think...
After the shock of what he did wore off I asked why he would ever think about starting a fire that way. Have YOU ever seen ME start a fire that way? No? Then why would you think this was safe? You saw your uncle do it that way before? Well, my son is an idiot! Why didn't you just turn on the heaters? The house has two perfectly good propane heaters that are vented into every single room in that house. Why didn't you just turn on the heater?...I don't know.
I know. He wanted to play with the fire and it shut down his sense of right and wrong. There were so many different times in this situation that he could have, should have, said to himself what he was doing wasn't safe. He is fortunate he didn't get hurt. He won't ever do it again and hopefully Boy and Girl got frightened enough that they won't ever try that stupid stunt.
When I get home tomorrow night we will be having our own household discussion on safety. I'm sure Boy and Girl knew it wasn't a good idea but were too excited to watch the fire flame from the lighter fluid that they didn't tell their cousin that they didn't think it was safe. We've had safety conversations before but obviously we need it again.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
More dead ducks and missing chickens
I like my new job with the exception of the hours. I actually work less hours than my old job, even with the 3 hour a day commute added in, but this job doesn't give me the flexibility to work at home. This means that I leave before the sun comes up and I get home after the sun goes down. Sure it's only four days a week but for those four days I really have no idea what is going on around the property.
I ask the grand kids to check on things but they don't do the greatest of jobs. I know they are young so I can't rely on them to do a whole lot on those four days. After all, they still have to get their homework done and even play a little. I am out of town for the next few days and they are being watched by the 18 year old grandson. He's not really reliable in doing farm chores. Today I did give the kids a task.
After they finished their homework I wanted them to give the chickens and ducks in the front pasture some grain in the small pen area. I wanted them to catch all the chickens and ducks and put them all into the chicken coop. That will not go over well with the chickens in the chicken coop but at this point in time it's our last resort.
This morning I didn't have to leave before dark since I had to go to Los Angeles. I saw a dead duck in the front pasture and a bunch of feathers in the front lawn and also in the pasture. I counted the live ducks. Three. We started off the fall with 11. How about the chickens? There were 11 of them too. Now there are six. So into the coop they go.
My experiment of putting the fowl in the front pasture to save on feed costs is a failure. I asked a biologist friend if the falcons that nested on my front porch last year would come back and nest again, and if they would kill the fowl and leave it on the ground. His response was yes, they would kill them but not leave them, unless they were too heavy to carry off. They'd expect to come back and pull the meat off. But I was getting to the carcass first on the chickens and ducks that they left. So the fowl has to get locked up. No more free range for them. It's going to cost more in feed so I'm going to have to be more serious about the number of chickens and ducks I keep.
My new supervisor offered to lend me a new Reconyx camera to try to capture the falcons on camera. I'm going to take him up on the offer. This means I'll leave a couple of the fowl out front to lure the birds back. I'll let you know how it turns out.
I ask the grand kids to check on things but they don't do the greatest of jobs. I know they are young so I can't rely on them to do a whole lot on those four days. After all, they still have to get their homework done and even play a little. I am out of town for the next few days and they are being watched by the 18 year old grandson. He's not really reliable in doing farm chores. Today I did give the kids a task.
After they finished their homework I wanted them to give the chickens and ducks in the front pasture some grain in the small pen area. I wanted them to catch all the chickens and ducks and put them all into the chicken coop. That will not go over well with the chickens in the chicken coop but at this point in time it's our last resort.
This morning I didn't have to leave before dark since I had to go to Los Angeles. I saw a dead duck in the front pasture and a bunch of feathers in the front lawn and also in the pasture. I counted the live ducks. Three. We started off the fall with 11. How about the chickens? There were 11 of them too. Now there are six. So into the coop they go.
My experiment of putting the fowl in the front pasture to save on feed costs is a failure. I asked a biologist friend if the falcons that nested on my front porch last year would come back and nest again, and if they would kill the fowl and leave it on the ground. His response was yes, they would kill them but not leave them, unless they were too heavy to carry off. They'd expect to come back and pull the meat off. But I was getting to the carcass first on the chickens and ducks that they left. So the fowl has to get locked up. No more free range for them. It's going to cost more in feed so I'm going to have to be more serious about the number of chickens and ducks I keep.
My new supervisor offered to lend me a new Reconyx camera to try to capture the falcons on camera. I'm going to take him up on the offer. This means I'll leave a couple of the fowl out front to lure the birds back. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Fencing and pastures
Girl and I worked on the fencing until we ran out of t-posts. We put in about 400 feet of fencing. It's amazing how many t-posts I can use at a time! With a t-post every 8 feet that would be 50 posts. Some of them were already in, but Girl had to pound in about 25 posts. She does a great job getting them in a straight line and standing them up straight. She does a better job at this than I, and I make sure to tell her so! We got everything fenced as I had pictured in my mind. There are seven separate pastures our back - two are 175x175, three are 150x160, one is about 50x50 and the long driveway pen is about 600x15. I would like to split the first pasture that's 175x175 in half but I don't have anymore panels or posts. Posts are easy to get. They will fit into the back of the pickup. It's easy to drop $100 on 20 posts (always get USA not China) and throw them into the back of the pickup. The panels are a different story. My little hauling trailer is only 8 feet. I can't put the panels in them. I borrow a friends 12 trailer and the 16 foot panels will fit in that with them hanging over the back. It works but it's a hassle. Maybe I should be looking for a used 12 or 16 foot trailer. They aren't really that expensive and I wouldn't be relying on someone else who live 20 miles away.
The animals can be locked in or out of any of the pastures. I have a pasture grass driveway going down the fence line. Each pasture area has a gate that can be opened and closed onto the driveway area but also a get connecting each pasture. The animals can eat down one pasture and the rest can be left to grow. Once they eat that one down they can be moved into the next pasture. I should be able to rotate them well enough that I'll never have to buy any hay.
I don't really buy any hay now, except for when I feel sorry for them and want to give them treats. With the mild winter we've had so far the pastures haven't gone completely dormant. All of them have at least two inches of greens and some as much as four inches. Once the warm spring comes the pastures will grow to two or three feet high. Sometimes even taller.
In one of the pastures I planted oat a few years ago. It got more oat growing in it that then other pastures but not enough to sustain us. In the next few weekends, after it dries out a little (we got rain last night) I will be able to disk the pasture. Then planing the oat seed will work better. I'd like to plant one of the pastures in oat, one in wheat, and one in barley. Two I'd like to put in better pasture mix.
One of our neighbors planted oat in his 200 acres. He hires someone to disk the land each year and in exchange that person also mows the oats and bales them. He keeps it all in exchange for disking the land. Well, I don't want to hire the person to disk and then mow and bale and keep it all for himself. I want to be able to disk my pasture (I have a small disk for my small tractor) then plant the oats and not mow or bale. I figure if I leave them in the pasture and collect the seed, then I let the animals in to eat the forage, it will be a good situation for all of us. I can use some of the seed to replant and some of the seed can be made into oat flour or cut oats for oatmeal.
Same with the wheat. If I planted this 1/2 acre in wheat it would provide enough wheat on a permanent basis for us to eat, plus enough to replant each year, and some to throw to the chickens. Not that I would harvest the wheat now, I would wait until either I've retired from work or the SHTF, whichever comes first (or they both may happen at the same time).
I've also been told that you can pasture the animals on the oats or wheat for a few weeks in the spring and that won't hurt anything on the growing cycle of the grain. If you think about it, you mow the lawn and it keeps coming back. If you put the animals on to mow it down, as long as you give it enough time to come back and set the seed head you'll be OK. The pastures should also reseed themselves so unless TSHTF and I need to intensify the wheat, oats, and barley pastures, this new technique of rotating pastures should be self sufficient and self sustaining. Just the way I like it!
The animals can be locked in or out of any of the pastures. I have a pasture grass driveway going down the fence line. Each pasture area has a gate that can be opened and closed onto the driveway area but also a get connecting each pasture. The animals can eat down one pasture and the rest can be left to grow. Once they eat that one down they can be moved into the next pasture. I should be able to rotate them well enough that I'll never have to buy any hay.
I don't really buy any hay now, except for when I feel sorry for them and want to give them treats. With the mild winter we've had so far the pastures haven't gone completely dormant. All of them have at least two inches of greens and some as much as four inches. Once the warm spring comes the pastures will grow to two or three feet high. Sometimes even taller.
In one of the pastures I planted oat a few years ago. It got more oat growing in it that then other pastures but not enough to sustain us. In the next few weekends, after it dries out a little (we got rain last night) I will be able to disk the pasture. Then planing the oat seed will work better. I'd like to plant one of the pastures in oat, one in wheat, and one in barley. Two I'd like to put in better pasture mix.
One of our neighbors planted oat in his 200 acres. He hires someone to disk the land each year and in exchange that person also mows the oats and bales them. He keeps it all in exchange for disking the land. Well, I don't want to hire the person to disk and then mow and bale and keep it all for himself. I want to be able to disk my pasture (I have a small disk for my small tractor) then plant the oats and not mow or bale. I figure if I leave them in the pasture and collect the seed, then I let the animals in to eat the forage, it will be a good situation for all of us. I can use some of the seed to replant and some of the seed can be made into oat flour or cut oats for oatmeal.
Same with the wheat. If I planted this 1/2 acre in wheat it would provide enough wheat on a permanent basis for us to eat, plus enough to replant each year, and some to throw to the chickens. Not that I would harvest the wheat now, I would wait until either I've retired from work or the SHTF, whichever comes first (or they both may happen at the same time).
I've also been told that you can pasture the animals on the oats or wheat for a few weeks in the spring and that won't hurt anything on the growing cycle of the grain. If you think about it, you mow the lawn and it keeps coming back. If you put the animals on to mow it down, as long as you give it enough time to come back and set the seed head you'll be OK. The pastures should also reseed themselves so unless TSHTF and I need to intensify the wheat, oats, and barley pastures, this new technique of rotating pastures should be self sufficient and self sustaining. Just the way I like it!
Friday, January 4, 2013
Things Are Getting Paid Off
I just finished my third week on the new job. I didn't leave the old job until Wednesday of this week. That means for over two weeks I worked 80 hour weeks. I didn't have much time to think but every time I thought about it being a little overwhelming I just reminded myself that I'm getting two paychecks for those two weeks. But now the first job is done. I no longer work for the state. When the next disaster hits the state I wonder if I'll wish I was there in the thick of things. Only time will tell.
The state had to pay me for my unused vacation time and holidays. It left me with a little chunk of money. Enough, in fact, to pay off the bug-out place. It's all mine! Of course, son and daughter-in-law and cute little grand kids are living in the house, but now, it's about time I start working on the cabin. I'm going to wait to do the majority of the work come spring or summer but for now, I can start dreaming and planning and saving up some money.
The cabin has two rooms, two exterior doors, five windows and electricity. There is water at the faucet right outside the door. The cabin is also raised off the ground a foot or two so the interior can be plumbed. I never even took exact measurements of the place; it's probably around 15 x 30. I will next time I go out there so I can draw it out and then cut out cabinets, furniture, etc. on some construction paper to try to figure out how it will be set up.
Today was a red letter day for oldest daughter. Four years ago she and her husband picked out a very good, somewhat expensive used van. They had no money and less credit. We made a deal. I'd buy the van, put hers and my name on the title, but the loan was only in my name. Most everyone said I was taking a risk. And it would be true if it was son and daughter-in-law who never pay anything that they owe. But I had faith in oldest daughter and son-in-law. True to their word, every single month they paid the loan, the insurance, and got the thing smogged and titled on time. December was their last payment. The title came in the mail today so daughter and I headed out to AAA (faster than the DMV) to give her clear title. Get me off!
She never had auto insurance before. Years ago she drove without insurance. When the state required it they ended up not registering their vehicles just so they wouldn't have to pay anything. I put an end to that since they were driving a vehicle that I was liable for. Because she had no clue about insurance I called up USAA and got everything squared away, not only for the van but also renters insurance on the house. It's my house they live in but I kept telling her that if the place burns down the insurance will pay for the house but not cover any of their stuff. After the guy at USAA and I talked we got oldest daughter on the phone and sealed the deal. She now owns her own van, free and clear, and has insurance in her name for the house and van.
The only thing I owe any money on is the main house. No credit card balances, no car loans, nothing. This is a good way to start the new year.
Tomorrow we are going to finish up the fencing in the back yard, or at least finish up with the materials I have on hand. Girl is good at pounding in t-posts. She gets them in straight and with little effort. I didn't get to it the other day. I decided to do nothing outdoors, although I did have big plans on accomplishing so much that day. Instead, I cleaned the inside of the house. Sort of a spring cleaning of the cabinets during the middle of winter. But the weather is supposed to be good tomorrow and then rain on Sunday, so tomorrow is the day for the yard.
Getting back to storing food, Winco has powdered hummus in their bulk foods for a not too expensive price. I know you can cook the garbanzo beans and then add garlic and other spices to make hummus but this is easy and can be stored in a smaller space. You add equal amounts of powdered hummus and water. Let it sit a few minutes. Add a little olive oil (about a tablespoon for every cup of mixed hummus) to give it a smoother consistency and taste. They also have powdered falaffel mix, which is also made of garbanzo beans. This is not ground as fine and also has different seasonings added. With the falaffel mix you just add water, let sit for a few minutes, then fry in a little oil. That's delicious when eaten on homemade flatbread. I've bought several pounds of each. I put them in the freezer to kill any moths or other bugs. Then I pack them into small Mylar bags, suck the air out and seal, and I put some into pint canning jars and keep that on hand for use now.
The state had to pay me for my unused vacation time and holidays. It left me with a little chunk of money. Enough, in fact, to pay off the bug-out place. It's all mine! Of course, son and daughter-in-law and cute little grand kids are living in the house, but now, it's about time I start working on the cabin. I'm going to wait to do the majority of the work come spring or summer but for now, I can start dreaming and planning and saving up some money.
The cabin has two rooms, two exterior doors, five windows and electricity. There is water at the faucet right outside the door. The cabin is also raised off the ground a foot or two so the interior can be plumbed. I never even took exact measurements of the place; it's probably around 15 x 30. I will next time I go out there so I can draw it out and then cut out cabinets, furniture, etc. on some construction paper to try to figure out how it will be set up.
Today was a red letter day for oldest daughter. Four years ago she and her husband picked out a very good, somewhat expensive used van. They had no money and less credit. We made a deal. I'd buy the van, put hers and my name on the title, but the loan was only in my name. Most everyone said I was taking a risk. And it would be true if it was son and daughter-in-law who never pay anything that they owe. But I had faith in oldest daughter and son-in-law. True to their word, every single month they paid the loan, the insurance, and got the thing smogged and titled on time. December was their last payment. The title came in the mail today so daughter and I headed out to AAA (faster than the DMV) to give her clear title. Get me off!
She never had auto insurance before. Years ago she drove without insurance. When the state required it they ended up not registering their vehicles just so they wouldn't have to pay anything. I put an end to that since they were driving a vehicle that I was liable for. Because she had no clue about insurance I called up USAA and got everything squared away, not only for the van but also renters insurance on the house. It's my house they live in but I kept telling her that if the place burns down the insurance will pay for the house but not cover any of their stuff. After the guy at USAA and I talked we got oldest daughter on the phone and sealed the deal. She now owns her own van, free and clear, and has insurance in her name for the house and van.
The only thing I owe any money on is the main house. No credit card balances, no car loans, nothing. This is a good way to start the new year.
Tomorrow we are going to finish up the fencing in the back yard, or at least finish up with the materials I have on hand. Girl is good at pounding in t-posts. She gets them in straight and with little effort. I didn't get to it the other day. I decided to do nothing outdoors, although I did have big plans on accomplishing so much that day. Instead, I cleaned the inside of the house. Sort of a spring cleaning of the cabinets during the middle of winter. But the weather is supposed to be good tomorrow and then rain on Sunday, so tomorrow is the day for the yard.
Getting back to storing food, Winco has powdered hummus in their bulk foods for a not too expensive price. I know you can cook the garbanzo beans and then add garlic and other spices to make hummus but this is easy and can be stored in a smaller space. You add equal amounts of powdered hummus and water. Let it sit a few minutes. Add a little olive oil (about a tablespoon for every cup of mixed hummus) to give it a smoother consistency and taste. They also have powdered falaffel mix, which is also made of garbanzo beans. This is not ground as fine and also has different seasonings added. With the falaffel mix you just add water, let sit for a few minutes, then fry in a little oil. That's delicious when eaten on homemade flatbread. I've bought several pounds of each. I put them in the freezer to kill any moths or other bugs. Then I pack them into small Mylar bags, suck the air out and seal, and I put some into pint canning jars and keep that on hand for use now.
Monday, December 31, 2012
How do you get kids to do what they are supposed to do without supervision?
I can't believe how incredibly disappointed I am in the two grand kids. Normally I wouldn't write about such things but it was such an eye opener for how little I can count on them when I'm not overseeing what they are doing. If we work together they are usually pretty good at getting a task done. Boy much of the time will do any and all tasks I assign just so he can show me how grown up and helpful he is. Girl is getting into the preteen see how lazy she can be...just on this side of getting in trouble for helping as little as possible. I'm not angry with them, just disappointed and dumbfounded at how wrong I was that they were ready to be given a little independence.
Today was the big day of me letting them stay home by themselves for the entire day while I was at work. They'd never been left home for more than two or three hours at a time. Today was going to be a long day. I leave at 5:30 and normally arrive home at 7:00. I figured I'd be working a shorter day today and would get home around 5:30 or 6:00. Sure they could have failed worse than they did, but they didn't only because they didn't think about it! If they were a little older they would have gotten into much more trouble. They couldn't have done any less of what I was expecting them to accomplish.
Here's the list that I left them with this morning. They were both awake when I left at 5:30. They ended up going back to bed, which was good. A few less hours for them to not do what they were supposed to do. Here's the note I left them with:
1. Last night when I went to put the dinner dishes in the dishwasher I noticed that it was only half unloaded and the towel left in the dishwasher. Boy, please unload the dishwasher (his normal M-F chore before breakfast) and Girl, load the dishwasher up with last night's dishes since I couldn't do them because you didn't finish unloading it (her normal weekend chore).
2. Each of you put your own dirty dishes in the dishwasher after breakfast and lunch. - normally I tell them to put them in the sink and I load them into the dishwasher.
3. No phone, computer, or music until all the chores are done. - regular household rule for all of us.
4. Don't forget to make your beds. - regular rule for all of us before breakfast.
5. Your clothes are in the drier. Please put them away and also the clothes in front of your place at the kitchen table. - Always a hard task...don't take the clean clothes and stuff them under the dresser or on the closet floor.
6. Get the leaves raked. Give the leaves to the sheep. - This was supposed to be done on Saturday but we had fun this weekend and didn't get around to the extra chores.
7. Each of you give the chickens and ducks in the front pasture 1/2 scoop of grain. Throw it out there as far as you can. They will like that! - Normally they fight over who gets to feed the front fowl.
8. You can have candy after lunch!
9. Pretzels and hot cheese puffs are for snack.
10. Make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch, cereal for breakfast.
If they worked diligently they'd have to work about two hours. Of the list, they did accomplished #8, 9, and 10. They started #6 when I called at 4:30 to tell them I'd be home before 6:00.
What did they do instead? I put them in a list...
1. Cooked popcorn in the microwave. Burned it because I could smell it 6 hours later.
2. Got into the home store and ate a can of bean dip. Not with the chips, just the bean dip.
3. Ate my cotton candy, which I bought the other day and announced that we are going to have this for my birthday!
4. Got into my CDs and played the music.
5. Texted and called her friends.
6. Played the PS2.
7. Played tag in the house.
8. Got on the computer.
9. Used the good dishes for breakfast and lunch.
10. Got into the home store and drank soda.
11. Made and drank a 1/2 gallon of koolaid.
12. Played football.
Are any of these items really a really big deal? No, absolutely not. They didn't get into the alcohol. They didn't burn the house down. They didn't have friend over. They didn't watch R rated movies. I locked the safe so they didn't get into the weapons. They didn't leave the property. Nothing so terrible so it seems to the outsider that I'm overreacting.
If they had accomplished what they were supposed to accomplish the only items on the second list I would have been upset with were making the popcorn and playing tag in the house. Instead I'm left with two children who can not be given simple directions and have me be able to expect, or trust, that they will be followed. This test of reliability was a simple one. I thought that they'd be so excited to show me how grown up they were that they'd do what they were supposed to PLUS do the other things. They failed miserably because I don't see eating candy, pretzels and hot cheese puffs in addition to breakfast and lunch and doing nothing else on the list as a success.
We were going to go out to dinner tonight to celebrate New Year's Eve and my upcoming birthday. I canceled that and we had leftovers instead. I laid it on really thick about how mad I was at myself. How could I have thought that they'd be mature enough to be able to stay home by themselves? That was just as irresponsible of me to leave them alone as it would have been to leave their five year old cousin home alone. I really blew it. I guess I messed up taking this new job. I will probably have to quit it and I won't be able to get my old job back. We'll have to move and live in a dive apartment in a gang ridden neighborhood because I blew it thinking they'd be old enough to watch after themselves. My fault. Sorry kids. I didn't realize just how wrong I was in thinking that they'd be able to be responsible.
They were sad little pups on their way to bed. I figure Boy will probably have nightmares tonight. He usually does when his conscious in bothering him. Girl knows that she is probably going to be losing her phone and computer for a good long while. She was hiding her tears.
My worry is if TSHTF. Will they be total failures at that too? Will they put all our lives in danger because they can't even do the simple task unsupervised? They do fine supervised but as soon as the supervision is gone they do nothing. Or was this their test of freedom and "being grown up" and the next time they will preform properly? What if I got caught in a snowstorm and didn't make it home that night? What if?
So tomorrow, instead of having a great and happy new year's day, they are going to be doing what they were supposed to do today...and then some. And on Wednesday and Thursday of this week they will go to son's house to be babysat. He will make sure they don't get to have much fun either. I'm sure he has a whole list of chores for them to do.
Today was the big day of me letting them stay home by themselves for the entire day while I was at work. They'd never been left home for more than two or three hours at a time. Today was going to be a long day. I leave at 5:30 and normally arrive home at 7:00. I figured I'd be working a shorter day today and would get home around 5:30 or 6:00. Sure they could have failed worse than they did, but they didn't only because they didn't think about it! If they were a little older they would have gotten into much more trouble. They couldn't have done any less of what I was expecting them to accomplish.
Here's the list that I left them with this morning. They were both awake when I left at 5:30. They ended up going back to bed, which was good. A few less hours for them to not do what they were supposed to do. Here's the note I left them with:
1. Last night when I went to put the dinner dishes in the dishwasher I noticed that it was only half unloaded and the towel left in the dishwasher. Boy, please unload the dishwasher (his normal M-F chore before breakfast) and Girl, load the dishwasher up with last night's dishes since I couldn't do them because you didn't finish unloading it (her normal weekend chore).
2. Each of you put your own dirty dishes in the dishwasher after breakfast and lunch. - normally I tell them to put them in the sink and I load them into the dishwasher.
3. No phone, computer, or music until all the chores are done. - regular household rule for all of us.
4. Don't forget to make your beds. - regular rule for all of us before breakfast.
5. Your clothes are in the drier. Please put them away and also the clothes in front of your place at the kitchen table. - Always a hard task...don't take the clean clothes and stuff them under the dresser or on the closet floor.
6. Get the leaves raked. Give the leaves to the sheep. - This was supposed to be done on Saturday but we had fun this weekend and didn't get around to the extra chores.
7. Each of you give the chickens and ducks in the front pasture 1/2 scoop of grain. Throw it out there as far as you can. They will like that! - Normally they fight over who gets to feed the front fowl.
8. You can have candy after lunch!
9. Pretzels and hot cheese puffs are for snack.
10. Make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch, cereal for breakfast.
If they worked diligently they'd have to work about two hours. Of the list, they did accomplished #8, 9, and 10. They started #6 when I called at 4:30 to tell them I'd be home before 6:00.
What did they do instead? I put them in a list...
1. Cooked popcorn in the microwave. Burned it because I could smell it 6 hours later.
2. Got into the home store and ate a can of bean dip. Not with the chips, just the bean dip.
3. Ate my cotton candy, which I bought the other day and announced that we are going to have this for my birthday!
4. Got into my CDs and played the music.
5. Texted and called her friends.
6. Played the PS2.
7. Played tag in the house.
8. Got on the computer.
9. Used the good dishes for breakfast and lunch.
10. Got into the home store and drank soda.
11. Made and drank a 1/2 gallon of koolaid.
12. Played football.
Are any of these items really a really big deal? No, absolutely not. They didn't get into the alcohol. They didn't burn the house down. They didn't have friend over. They didn't watch R rated movies. I locked the safe so they didn't get into the weapons. They didn't leave the property. Nothing so terrible so it seems to the outsider that I'm overreacting.
If they had accomplished what they were supposed to accomplish the only items on the second list I would have been upset with were making the popcorn and playing tag in the house. Instead I'm left with two children who can not be given simple directions and have me be able to expect, or trust, that they will be followed. This test of reliability was a simple one. I thought that they'd be so excited to show me how grown up they were that they'd do what they were supposed to PLUS do the other things. They failed miserably because I don't see eating candy, pretzels and hot cheese puffs in addition to breakfast and lunch and doing nothing else on the list as a success.
We were going to go out to dinner tonight to celebrate New Year's Eve and my upcoming birthday. I canceled that and we had leftovers instead. I laid it on really thick about how mad I was at myself. How could I have thought that they'd be mature enough to be able to stay home by themselves? That was just as irresponsible of me to leave them alone as it would have been to leave their five year old cousin home alone. I really blew it. I guess I messed up taking this new job. I will probably have to quit it and I won't be able to get my old job back. We'll have to move and live in a dive apartment in a gang ridden neighborhood because I blew it thinking they'd be old enough to watch after themselves. My fault. Sorry kids. I didn't realize just how wrong I was in thinking that they'd be able to be responsible.
They were sad little pups on their way to bed. I figure Boy will probably have nightmares tonight. He usually does when his conscious in bothering him. Girl knows that she is probably going to be losing her phone and computer for a good long while. She was hiding her tears.
My worry is if TSHTF. Will they be total failures at that too? Will they put all our lives in danger because they can't even do the simple task unsupervised? They do fine supervised but as soon as the supervision is gone they do nothing. Or was this their test of freedom and "being grown up" and the next time they will preform properly? What if I got caught in a snowstorm and didn't make it home that night? What if?
So tomorrow, instead of having a great and happy new year's day, they are going to be doing what they were supposed to do today...and then some. And on Wednesday and Thursday of this week they will go to son's house to be babysat. He will make sure they don't get to have much fun either. I'm sure he has a whole list of chores for them to do.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Getting organized with our new life
I'm very grateful that I have a new job. I loved the old job, and I was extremely good at it. In an economy like we have, and a government like we have, I've been ridiculed for leaving my "cush" state job to go into the private sector. Being driven to give work my best, I wasn't one to take advantage of the state. I put in my time and more. I didn't worry about being laid off or fired but with that came lack of pay and benefits that kept getting undermined. It used to be if you worked for government you'd get less pay but great benefits. (Government rule of thumb - the less educated you are the government pays better than private sector wages. The more educated you are, you are better off in the private sector when it comes to pay.) I wonder what type of person is going to replace me at the state job. Now, I know one of the people I supervised will at some time promote into my job, but who will take theirs? Because of the new retirement rules it will probably be some slacker who won't mind the less pay and less benefits in exchange for not being able to get fired no matter how lousy of a worker they are. I'm still in awe over the pay and benefits of the new job. I get paid more, they offer better retirement than the state, and I get raises and bonuses! But they can on a whim fire me or lay me off.
I had to return my super deluxe Reconyx spy camera. I think I hated to see that go more than the work truck (and not having to pay for my gas). The grand kids and I went to Dick's sporting goods yesterday. It's a new store in the big city near where we live. They had several game trail cameras in stock - although no Reconyx. I bought two at $110 each. I returned them today. They were lousy. I set one up on a chair in the dining room. I pointed it down the hall. I even told the kids that they'd be on camera every time they came out of their rooms and went into the hall. Before I went to bed I paraded up and down the hall several times. This morning I checked to see the pictures and it only captured about a dozen shots. So back they went. Does anyone own any of these types of cameras? I'm looking for something that doesn't cost as much as the Reconyx (about $600 each). But I need it to work so if that's the cost then that's the cost.
With my new job I'm figuring I can spend somewhere between $500 and $750 a month on preparing. But this doesn't just mean buying cool toys. December's prep money was spent buying insulation and wallboard for the bug-out house, which we worked on last weekend. Comfort is important, whether it's in our house that I hope to be able to stay in or the bug-out place. This weekend I spent much of my time working on the fencing in the back pasture. I've had the pastures divided into three parts but I wanted to divide it even further. The back pasture is about 3 1/2 acres and it's are being split into seven separate pastures. The fencing is the heavy duty cattle/hog panels. They are 16 feet long and 4 feet high. I have a 5000 foot roll of wire that I use to wire the panels together. Have fencing tool, can build fences! I didn't get them all done. I'm about 20 panels short plus about 20 t-posts short. Not too long ago I bought about 50 or 60 t-posts. I like using them as I never seem to have enough.
I also want to change the fencing around some of the fruit trees in the front pasture. I had originally cut the panels in half and put the trees in the middle of an 8 foot square fenced area. That didn't work! The sheep were able to push on the panels enough to eat the trees. Not learning my lesson I added a fifth panel. That will be enough to keep them away. No, it didn't. Another year of them pushing on the panels to get to the trees. Before the winter is over I want to put full 16 foot panels around each tree. If I put a t-post in each corner and also one in the middle of each panel the tree will be 8 feet from the side. Even the tree branches will be too far for those pesky sheep to reach. Since each tree has 4 or 5 8-foot panels already, I only need about 20 more panels for the front.
Let's see. That's 40 panels I'm short. At $20 each on sale, that's $800 plus t-posts. Another minor project costing major money! If I buy the camera and the panels, I've spent my prepping money through the spring!
The grand kids did get in some fun this weekend. Extra grand kid came over for the weekend so the three kids and I went to the movies. It's hard to find a movie that two girls and a boy will all like. Since they are all 10 and 11 I am very careful about what movies they watch. Or at least I'm careful with the two that I'm raising. Oldest daughter lets other granddaughter watch TV and movies that I won't let Boy and Girl watch. I'll allow some PG and all G movies. That doesn't give us much of a selection of movies. I picked two - Wreck it Ralph and The Odd Life of Timothy Green. Boy got done with his chores first so he got to pick. You guessed it. Wreck it Ralph. It was a cute kids movie. We will watch the other movie next weekend if Girl gets her chores done without too much nagging from me.
With this new job I leave very early in the morning and get home after our "normal" dinner time. Everything is changing. For the first two weeks of my new job I had the grand kids farmed out. Tomorrow I have to go to work and I'm going to leave the kids home. They have their regular chores to do and a chore to do that should take them two hours. Other than that, they can play, read, ride their bikes in the yard, and go over to the next door neighbor's house. We'll see how they do. In one more week they start school so we don't have to worry about both their school and my new job yet.
I have tomorrow night's dinner already cooked. I just need to heat it up when I return home. My breakfast is packed into my backpack. The kids normally make a bowl of cereal on school days (unless I cook something) so they are going to just do their regular breakfast tomorrow. They usually make their school lunch so it shouldn't be much different with them making their lunch at home tomorrow at lunch time. I told them they can't cook anything.
Girl and I went grocery shopping today. I pretty much bought my normal...wander the store and buy more things to stock in our home store. We didn't need anything. We never do since I have so much food on hand. Even so, I always stock up on more. The kids like Top Ramen but you have to cook that on the stove. I found some in the Styrofoam cup that you just add boiling water and let it sit for three minutes. They even have two or three pieces of dried carrots and peas in the container so they can call it noodles and vegetables! The kids will be able to heat the water in the microwave and then make the noodles if they want. It's not as cost effective buying it in the cups but it's more convenient and at this point I need to get a few convenience items for them. You'll still not catch me buying frozen meals! I'd rather make my own and freeze them myself. The kids can use the microwave to heat them if that's what I'm going to do in the future.
This past two weeks I've gotten myself organized enough that I'm getting to bed early, I'm keeping up with the dishes and laundry, and I've even gotten more organized on the outdoor chores. I'm writing lists for everything. To do lists for me and for the kids. Give it a few more weeks and the new routine will seem like old hat.
I had to return my super deluxe Reconyx spy camera. I think I hated to see that go more than the work truck (and not having to pay for my gas). The grand kids and I went to Dick's sporting goods yesterday. It's a new store in the big city near where we live. They had several game trail cameras in stock - although no Reconyx. I bought two at $110 each. I returned them today. They were lousy. I set one up on a chair in the dining room. I pointed it down the hall. I even told the kids that they'd be on camera every time they came out of their rooms and went into the hall. Before I went to bed I paraded up and down the hall several times. This morning I checked to see the pictures and it only captured about a dozen shots. So back they went. Does anyone own any of these types of cameras? I'm looking for something that doesn't cost as much as the Reconyx (about $600 each). But I need it to work so if that's the cost then that's the cost.
With my new job I'm figuring I can spend somewhere between $500 and $750 a month on preparing. But this doesn't just mean buying cool toys. December's prep money was spent buying insulation and wallboard for the bug-out house, which we worked on last weekend. Comfort is important, whether it's in our house that I hope to be able to stay in or the bug-out place. This weekend I spent much of my time working on the fencing in the back pasture. I've had the pastures divided into three parts but I wanted to divide it even further. The back pasture is about 3 1/2 acres and it's are being split into seven separate pastures. The fencing is the heavy duty cattle/hog panels. They are 16 feet long and 4 feet high. I have a 5000 foot roll of wire that I use to wire the panels together. Have fencing tool, can build fences! I didn't get them all done. I'm about 20 panels short plus about 20 t-posts short. Not too long ago I bought about 50 or 60 t-posts. I like using them as I never seem to have enough.
I also want to change the fencing around some of the fruit trees in the front pasture. I had originally cut the panels in half and put the trees in the middle of an 8 foot square fenced area. That didn't work! The sheep were able to push on the panels enough to eat the trees. Not learning my lesson I added a fifth panel. That will be enough to keep them away. No, it didn't. Another year of them pushing on the panels to get to the trees. Before the winter is over I want to put full 16 foot panels around each tree. If I put a t-post in each corner and also one in the middle of each panel the tree will be 8 feet from the side. Even the tree branches will be too far for those pesky sheep to reach. Since each tree has 4 or 5 8-foot panels already, I only need about 20 more panels for the front.
Let's see. That's 40 panels I'm short. At $20 each on sale, that's $800 plus t-posts. Another minor project costing major money! If I buy the camera and the panels, I've spent my prepping money through the spring!
The grand kids did get in some fun this weekend. Extra grand kid came over for the weekend so the three kids and I went to the movies. It's hard to find a movie that two girls and a boy will all like. Since they are all 10 and 11 I am very careful about what movies they watch. Or at least I'm careful with the two that I'm raising. Oldest daughter lets other granddaughter watch TV and movies that I won't let Boy and Girl watch. I'll allow some PG and all G movies. That doesn't give us much of a selection of movies. I picked two - Wreck it Ralph and The Odd Life of Timothy Green. Boy got done with his chores first so he got to pick. You guessed it. Wreck it Ralph. It was a cute kids movie. We will watch the other movie next weekend if Girl gets her chores done without too much nagging from me.
With this new job I leave very early in the morning and get home after our "normal" dinner time. Everything is changing. For the first two weeks of my new job I had the grand kids farmed out. Tomorrow I have to go to work and I'm going to leave the kids home. They have their regular chores to do and a chore to do that should take them two hours. Other than that, they can play, read, ride their bikes in the yard, and go over to the next door neighbor's house. We'll see how they do. In one more week they start school so we don't have to worry about both their school and my new job yet.
I have tomorrow night's dinner already cooked. I just need to heat it up when I return home. My breakfast is packed into my backpack. The kids normally make a bowl of cereal on school days (unless I cook something) so they are going to just do their regular breakfast tomorrow. They usually make their school lunch so it shouldn't be much different with them making their lunch at home tomorrow at lunch time. I told them they can't cook anything.
Girl and I went grocery shopping today. I pretty much bought my normal...wander the store and buy more things to stock in our home store. We didn't need anything. We never do since I have so much food on hand. Even so, I always stock up on more. The kids like Top Ramen but you have to cook that on the stove. I found some in the Styrofoam cup that you just add boiling water and let it sit for three minutes. They even have two or three pieces of dried carrots and peas in the container so they can call it noodles and vegetables! The kids will be able to heat the water in the microwave and then make the noodles if they want. It's not as cost effective buying it in the cups but it's more convenient and at this point I need to get a few convenience items for them. You'll still not catch me buying frozen meals! I'd rather make my own and freeze them myself. The kids can use the microwave to heat them if that's what I'm going to do in the future.
This past two weeks I've gotten myself organized enough that I'm getting to bed early, I'm keeping up with the dishes and laundry, and I've even gotten more organized on the outdoor chores. I'm writing lists for everything. To do lists for me and for the kids. Give it a few more weeks and the new routine will seem like old hat.
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