themartianchick

I think that the point of this legislation is to provide some outlet for an abused child to speak out. School teachers are mandatory reporters and get to see their students every day to know if they have bruises on them (as an example). Some homeschooled kids don't come into contact with people outside of their family. While I'd like to believe that children live in safe environments and with people that will not abuse them, I do know that it is not always the case. If the family is particularly controlling, then the child may never have a chance at getting help.

I don't think that this was meant to be an intrusion, but a safety measure for children that might be unable to advocate for themselves.

I'm not crazy, but I can play crazy on television.

Let's see... My family no longer buys expensive breakfast cereal. Instead we clean out the dryer vent and pour milk on it for breakfast. It has plenty of fiber!

We don't actually wash dishes. We stack them up on the counter and then add hot water to make soup for dinner. Soup is a yummy and nutritious meal!

We walk everyplace that we go. I sent my hubby out to look for spare change along the side of the road in 1998 and he hasn't gotten back yet. I've heard the neighbors snickering about him running away from my cheap-o ways, but it absolutely isn't true. He just doesn't want to come home without enough money to buy that screw that I lost long ago!

Awww...come on!!! Dontcha wanna be FAMOUS for being CRAZY?

I don't see any roots yet, Philbe! I may be able to just let them grow in tap water. The other one was just placed in the water two days ago, but I haven't seen much happening with it yet. I just sliced off a thin layer of the stump at the bottom to ensure that the plant would be able to draw water. I just tweeted this photo out and it got a lot of attention from my followers. In my mind, I am envisioning a low trough with a couple of rows of these stumps growing new heads of lettuce... especially in the winter. If this works, then I might never have to buy romaine again. I have three more heads in the fridge and plan to do the same with them when we're done eating the lettuce.

Greenie O'Wobbles...

Awww... I have just got to get another dog!

To answer the original question...Nope! We still have a couple of mortgages on rentals to pay off. No car note, though.

The romaine lettuce has grown about an inch since I placed it in the window. Not enough for a sandwich and only the center portion is growing. I will try to remember to post a photo.

What a nice story! I'll bet that a experience like that will resonate with a lot of the children that got to pet the lamb.

I stuck the bottom bit of some romaine lettuce in a dish of water to see if it would continue to grow... We shall see, as it's only been three days.

Praying for a speedy recovery, Sue...And seconding that your hubby will need to actively advocate for you with the medical personnel. (That means to lie back and allow him to take care of you!)

I don't have a clue. I was going to say that it looked like a two man saw lying on top of an early roto-tiller!

It is so hard to let go of the ones that we love. I'm so sorry for your loss. Our family still has not replaced the dogs that we lost years ago...Maybe this year we will do that.

Very interesting! I make ginger beer and I have recipes for a few other sodas like rootbeer, but the recipes call for yeast to produce the bubbles in the soda. I've never seen it done this way. My recipe requires less babysitting ad I can bottle it in wine bottles with screw caps. The one time that I tried to bottle it in a wine bottle with a wire cage, it somehow blew the wire cage off and the cork shot up to the ceiling. I wasn't home when it happened but the rest of the family said that it sounded like a gunshot!

Wait ... do you get to pay for everyone's dinner too? Kids.

 

I'd counter-offer ... you and dh go to Olive Garden, and bring take out back for the kids

I have trouble finding good wooden ones. I buy plastic ones that are pretty strong from Dollar Tree. I looked on their website, but I don't see ones like mine anymore. Mine are very big and they have a very strong spring.

I'm so glad that you found us here!

Thank you all... Last night, I also realized something else. I must have had Bob on my mind last week because I dreamed about his house last week. I can't remember which day it was because my husband was at home for the week with his neck issue (so each day felt like a weekend). Hubby and I always talk about odd dreams, especially if they contain a deceased loved one or are particularly odd.

I had a weird dream where my children were small and we were at my parents' house. We went for a walk across a field and suddenly, one of my kids needed to use the bathroom. I told her to knock on Bob's door and ask if she could use theirs. I've never been in this house before, but someone opened the door and let her in. Her sister and I followed and had a nice conversation with some of my childhood friends that don't live in that house. Someone took the time to read the kids an entertaining story. Bob wasn't there, but when I asked about him, I was told that he was in school in Pennsylvania. In the course of our conversation yesterday, he mentioned that he had gone to college in Pennsylvania.

It took until last night for me to put two and two together. If it hadn't been for the fact that my hubby and I were laughing about my strange dream, I would have thought that I made it up. We both thought it was hilarious that I would tell a 3 year old to walk over to a home and knock on the door and ask to use the facilities!

Many years ago, I found myself unemployed due to being downsized from a wonderful company. They had a generous severance package and for the first time in my life... I had time to figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life without much regard for money. I guess that the job had made me really sleep deprived, but I didn't know it. It was summertime and I was able to really relax. I started having really odd, vivid dreams. I was convinced that the dreams meant something and I would lay in bed in the morning to try to figure it all out.

The dream about Bob's house had the same vivid feel to it. In light of what I now know about his life, I am starting to feel that maybe there is some message in it for him. As I mentioned, my children were small in the dream and someone read them a story. I'm now wondering if Bob has ever considered writing a children's book.I recall that he also had some artistic ability and was always getting caught drawing things on the back of his homework papers. I may just call him and ask if he would be interested. His stories kept me entertained. If he's never considered it, then maybe he will. His health problems prevent him from working and he seems to need something to do. I don't know if I'll share the contents of my dream with him yet...That might be too weird...but maybe it wouldn't!

I suppose that I could have posted this in the Streams of the Desert section, but it isn't specific to being a believer. There was an old friend that I'd been looking for from elementary school. Actually, there are a few that seem to have dropped off the planet, after high school graduation.

Bob was special to me. He was the kind of kid that the public schools would probably recommend for Ritalin therapy. He was hyper, fun and smart as a whip! I always measured my stories against the ones that he wrote in elementary school. He showed a rare talent for writing and had one of the most creative minds that I have ever known. When the teacher would ask him to read his stories to the rest of the class, we would be practically rolling on the floor because they were always hilarious. Bob always included his classmates in each story and made sure not to make us into laughingstocks. Instead, he would be the butt of the jokes in his tales. I always wondered where he had landed in life. I half-expected that he'd landed in Hollywood as a scriptwriter for a sitcom or something.

Since "Bob" (not his real name) had a very common first and last name, He was impossible to track on Facebook and none of our other friends from high school seemed to know anything about him.

I saw his name on my LinkedIn page today as someone that I might know. I immediately sent a request. It turns out that he is still in the area and he asked me to call. We spoke for over an hour. We talked about old times and about the things we'd been involved in for the past 20+ years. It was absolutely wonderful!

One thing that has stayed with me in the past couple of hours since that conversation was a sense of gratitude. Bob and I are the same age and yet my life has been a piece of cake compared to his. There have been a lot of health setbacks and a rocky marriage in his life. He lost his dad a few years back and his mom has been struggling emotionally since then. His health is still not good and every day is a difficult. During our conversation, he kept talking about how grateful he was to still be here on earth and that God must have a reason for allowing him to be here.

I kept thinking about the everyday happenings that I moan and groan about and how minor they really are in the grand scheme of things. Bob struggles every day and doesn't really know if he'll be here to finish raising his child and I whine when my husband tracks mud on the floor. I really have nothing to complain about and I've decided to stop fussing about the little things. It's funny, but the moment that I made that decision...I instantly felt that it was the right one. I've said more than a few prayers for Bob since I got off the phone, but I have no doubt that he probably said a few for me! He's just that kind of guy...

That's what I was thinking, Jeepers. There ae lots of things that I'd love to be able to can, but I know that I can't. There is a lot more diversity in the American diet and a lot of ethnic cuisine is now mainstream. Is there any money in running a canning test kitchen?

It is so nice to have you here!

A question for Violet -

Is the issue the acidity? I am posting a recipe for sofrito below that I found online. I've never used it, but it seems like it is so similar to most spaghetti sauce recipes. Is there a way to get a recipe tested for canning? I know that when I can, I tend to add extra lemon juice or citric acid to make sure that the acidity won't cause a problem. I can be a lazy homesteader, so I tend to freeze or dehydrate things far more often than I actually can.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/sofrito/

It does sound like sofrito. I make pico de gallo and I can't imagine ever trying to can it. It is good because it s made with fresh ingredients and served fresh. Pico is the only way that I eat raw tomatoes. I started making it because my Cuban neighbor brought me some tomatoes from his garden years ago and I wanted to be able to say that I'd actually eaten them. I had eaten pico in a restaurant before and found a recipe for it online. The basic ingredients are finely diced tomatoes, lime juice, onions & cilantro.

Thanks, Becca Anne!

Welcome Back! It sounds as though you did all of the things that we advocate here when money is tight. I'm so glad that things are looking up for you! Pull up a chair and stay awhile!