Money Secrets of the Amish

Who couldn't use more pocket money? No one I know would turn down free money.  By saving money rather than spending it, you are, in essence, giving yourself free money. If you actually physically took the money you saved by using the tips in this book, you would fill your piggybank quite quickly.  The overall theme is“use it up, wear it out, make do or do without.” 

 Most families have to live by these principles to survive in this economy.  We may not even realize we are doing it sometimes. Do you flip over the ketchup bottle to get the last squirt or toss it before you have to shake it to get more?  You are using it up.  Do you wear a pair of shoes until it gets a hole in the bottom or just until they get scuffed? You are wearing it out.  Have you ever 'made do' with something rather than buying a new one?  What about just doing without?  It can be done, despite what TV commercials will tell you.

Lorilee Craker's book "Money Secrets of the Amish" will deliver many ideas that you may not have thought of for saving money, whatever the size of your family!  Booksneeze sent me a free copy of this book to review.  I am not required to post a positive review, but this one earned it. I do recommend this book for anyone looking to save money, a lot or a little at a time. It all adds up to extra cash you to use as the Lord directs!

Catch-Up Post

We've had so much going on lately that blogging has fallen by the wayside.  Therefore, a catch-up post in in order!

Of course, I have to include the family Easter picture.

My father-in-law, sister-in-law and all three cousins came for a visit!  While the guys went to the range to shoot a while, we went to The Dizzy Park, ran around and fed the ducks and geese.  What fun! My SIL and I also made Creamsicle Jam together.

My dear Oregon in-laws are coming for their annual visit later this month and we are beyond excited.  We love this special time of year!!  It's often the first hot streak of the year while they are here, but our weather has looked like this lately, so they might get lucky. The forecast is variable, calling for temps from the mid 60's, mid-70's to low 80's for their visit, with low chances of rain, even.

I've been working on our front yard landscaping.  It's been the same for ten years and the plants were getting pretty tired looking.  On a whim, I ripped everything out one morning and began anew.  I'm making a special little spot we're calling "Shady Grove" for the little  girls who love hidden places to read and do schoolwork.  It's coming together nicely and I should be finished this week.  I haven't taken any pictures yet, though.

I am collecting items for a Sidewalk Sale at church to benefit Abbott and a least one other Reece's Rainbow child.  The announcement was in the bulletin last Sunday. Please pray that we raise local awareness of the need and also lot of money to donate!

My Honey and I took our eldest daughter EmBlem and her friend R. to Six Flags last week to celebrate Em's 16th birthday.  We had a great time.  I sure do love roller coaster-ing. Colossus is still my favorite ride, with Ninja a close second, but I rode Scream for the first time and liked it, too.  The girls even rode the bigger rides like Tatsu and X-2.  Brave things!

I am making a cute retro granny square afghan to donate to a giveaway or auction, as the Lord leads.  It's working up fast and I really like how the colors look together.

We had a swarm of bees across the street in a neighbors bush on Easter Sunday afternoon.  We really didn't want them sprayed so we called all the bee collectors in the area.  Only one would come out that day.  He was something else.  He did collect the swarm.  We got to watch the process close up. One of my girls walked up to the swarm barefoot, though, and as we were saying, 'Go put on shoes!" she stepped on a bee in the yard and got stung.  This was her first sting. She is not allergic, so yay! Her remark?  "I thought it would hurt more than that to get stung."

All in all, it's been a great spring!  What have you been up to?

Happy Autumn!

We are in full swing with autumn activities. Watching and cheering for our favorite football teams, making lots and lots of applesauce and apple jams, butters and jellies, beginning the seasonal canning of beans, soups and stews, waiting anxiously for the leaves to finally turn and fall, so they can be played in...

We are done with our first term of school. We're going to be on 'vacation' for a week or two, meaning that one big job around the house gets done each day, then everyone has free time. The main jobs on the docket: The Great Clothes Swap, featuring a thinning of clothes this year, Cleaning Bedrooms to the Edges and Corners, including closets and under the beds, a thinning and organizing of the library, including pictures when done, shampooing of the carpets of the living room and family room and a scrubbing and bleaching of kitchen counter grout. I'd sure like concrete counter tops! The Lambies are hoping for a fresh coat of paint on their bedroom walls. We will see. That seems to be a job that needs more time than we will have.

What's been keeping you busy?

Dulaman and The Voice

We just love listening to this group. They are just about the ONLY female group I like. Usually I find womens' voices grating, unless mellowed by a man's. Isn't it strange that I like these high-pitched tones?

A Meme

Ginger tagged me for this fun, little meme. Play along, if you'd like!

1. What do you normally smell like? plain old me. I don't wear any scents.

2. How far away do you live from your parents? about 16 hours

3. Are you happy with your job? Extraordinarily happy

4. What did you get in the mail today? A statement, a security key and a piece of junk mail

5. How do you like your steak cooked? grilled by my husband

6. What do you usually order at Taco Bell? I don't eat at Taco Bell

7. Have you ever sat all the way through Gone With the Wind? No, but I have read it. It's good!

8. Have you ever been to Mt Rushmore? No

9. Where is your favorite place (that you have actually been to)? The beautiful Sequoia mountians

10. What is your favorite candle scent? I don't burn any candles.

11. Have you ever smoked cigarettes? Sadly, yes, but the Lord set me free over twenty years ago!

12. Have you ever been to NYC or LA? I've been to Disneyland once.

13. Are you currently planning a trip? Yes, a day trip or two into the cooler weather.

14. Do you prefer to pack your own groceries? I don't know. The Lambies always pack them.

15. What is your favorite snack? Crunch and Munch

I tag Mother Of Blessings, EmBlem, Girl of God and Trixie

The 56 Signers

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?

Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died.

Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured.

Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.

They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

What kind of men were they?

Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated, but they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured. Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.

Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.

Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.

At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.

Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.

John Hart was driven from his wife’s bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished. So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and silently thank these patriots. It’s not much to ask for the price they paid.

Remember: freedom is never free!

Chooks! Pt. 2

The chickens are growing quickly! I thought I'd give you a new snapshot or three of the little darlings. She how many feathers they have now?



They are able to flutter-fly and get on top of the feeder and water bottle, as well as jump to the edge of the container they are in. The kids like when they escape! I keep the lid on unless someone is sitting with them to prevent lost little chickies.

They are such funny little creatures. The children love giving them worms and crickets. They fight over them like nothing you've ever seen!



I am going this afternoon to get a couple more chicks. A feed store in another town just got a shipment of assorted breeds. I believe I will choose Ameraucanas. They are the ones that lay blue, green, and sometimes, pink eggs. You can't tell what color they will lay until they begin laying. I hope we get one of the rare-pink-layers.



ETA: I was able to get the new chicks! Here they are:



Aren't they adorable? We added them to the pen and physically protected them from the pecking for a while, before my Honey decided to separate them altogether. I really, really didn't want to wake up tomorrow to pecked babies.



We are hopefully finishing the coop this weekend so the older ones won't be in the house too much longer. Soon they will have beautiful, roomy accommodations. We'll likely get another clamp light and give the tiny chicks their own home regardless of the coop progress. In a couple of weeks they will be big enough to stand up for themselves.

Bees and Tomaters

I stepped outside for a moment and was struck by the sound of buzzing bees. I LOVE the sound of bees in the blossoming trees. It makes me think of springtime, warmer temperatures and fresh tomatoes. I miss fresh tomatoes terribly right now!

Update on Darlens

From the Rescue Center:



Please keep remembering to lift Darlens and the other children up in your prayers.

What a Hunchback!

Troubles has been a bit ill lately, and has napped a few afternoons. While in the mend, he ran out of gas the other day and fell asleep on the living room floor, in the most unusual of positions!



His scapula is protruding! Must be the doublejointedness that runs on my side of the family.

My Oldest Thing

(originally posted on my other blog 7-09-08)

What's the oldest thing you have? Here's mine:

It's not too much to look at, but it's a great old book from 1743. It's bound with hide and written in Latin. It's Volume Seven of a series on Catholic teachings, I think. I'm pretty sure this page mentions the sacraments of baptism, confirmation and eucharist.

I don't read Latin, so I'm not certain of the specifics. If you can translate, please comment!! It has a coverplate from Sutro Library in San Francisco, CA as a lovely valley with a few log homes and a man with a pickax working on the soil.

I got a bit curious about my old book last night. I didn't have the Internet when I bought it! I googled Sutro Library and found it still exists! I also read about Mr. Sutro, who loved books, was mayor of San Francisco for a short time, made millions in the railroad industry and mining, built the Sutro baths, (I had heard of them, but hadn't put the two together). Some of his library was burned in the 1906 earthquake, but some still exists in the Sutro Library. Here's a link about him.

Adolph Sutro

I called the Library this morning and described the book and asked if they had any information about it's history. The lady on the phone took the information, searched in the computer, took some more info about the book, then asked if she could have the Head of Antiquities call me tomorrow. She said "This is very interesting....I know she will be eager to speak with you."


Here's hoping they want the book back for a cool $25G! One can dream, right?? I actually had it appraised years ago. The hippie with the pot smoke floating about his head said it was worth about $200.


I'll let you know what happens with it!

*Update* The Librarian called me back and said that they do indeed have a copy of the book, and she hasn't any idea how this copy ended up in a swap meet in Rocklin, CA. Poof- there goes my 25G...oh well.

Who's On First?

Here's a peek into how things sometimes go in our home.
(originally posted on my other blog 11-09-07)

I went to The Common Room and found this entry by JennyAnyDots. I watched the very funny videos with the Lambies. After viewing the parody of "Ticket To Ride", the Lambies wanted to watch the real Beatles perform it, so we did. As we listened, this is what was said:

EmBlem: "Who's alive, Mom?"
Momma: "Two are alive and two have passed away."
GirlofGod: "Who had a wife?" (mis-hearing who's alive)
Momma: "They were all married, as far as I know."
Polly: "They were all married?! GROSS! That's a sin"

Whew....it's a wonder anyone learns anything sometimes!