A to Z about me

A. Age: 46 yrs

B. Bed size: Queen
C. Chore you dislike: dusting

D. Dogs: Casino and Tuffy
E. Essential start to your day: Eating breakfast with Mike
F. Favorite color: all shades of green
G. Gold or silver: I’d take either *wink*
H. Height: 5' 9"
I. Instruments you play(ed): none, I’ve tinkered and played via ear on a piano
J. Job title: Wife, mom, 'retired' home school teacher (after 17 great years),farmer

K. Kids: 2
L. Live: Montana
M. Mom’s name: Betty
N. Nicknames: Honey, sweetheart
O. Overnight hospital stays: when our two children were born, that’s it and let’s hope it stays that way!
P. Pet peeves: People who are late
Q. Quote from a movie: “Life is Like a Box of Chocolates“; Forrest Gump
R. Righty or lefty: Righty
S. Siblings: a younger brother
T. Time you wake up: 5am but on weekends we get up at 5:30 to feed then sometimes sneak back into bed until 7-8ish
U. Underwear: Always yes! Reg. In Spring Summer and Fall and long in winter
V. Vegetables you don't like: Brussels Sprouts, I’ll eat them but not fond of them
W. What makes you run late: vehicle breaking down. I’m always early otherwise
X. X-rays you've had: very few, one 22 yrs ago for pneumonia and dental
Y. Yummy food you make: Any of our homemade, homegrown, home raised food
Z. Zoo animal favorites: I’ve never been to a large zoo, but I will add that I am fond of colorful birds and Big Cats

We've been tagged....:o)

I was tagged by Mark to do this list of fours.. I haven't done any tags in a long time.... and I happen to have some free time today! 
1. Four TV shows that you watch:
Okay but all of ours are oldies;
The Walton's
 Little House on the Prairie
 Mash
 The Beverly Hillbillies
2. Four things you are passionate about:
Faith
Family
our farm
our animals
3. Four words/phrases you say a lot:
Smile your face might crack!
It's a long ways from your heart and it's all uphill
What the Heck
Oh My,What a Day
4. Four things you've learned from the past:
Don't play with anything that will one day be bigger than you!(IE: a calf)
If you eat it you WILL gain weight
Children grow up and have their own opinions
Sometimes you just can't beat death, no matter how hard you try( IE: animals dying)

5. Four places you would like to go:
Ireland
Australia,
 Switzerland
Alaska
6. Four things you did yesterday:
Went to the bank
Went to a Christmas tea party
Baked Christmas goodies
Did chores in the dark
7. Four things you are looking forward to:
having more time with my husband
Christmas
Spring
baby animals
8. Four things you love about Winter:
It's our down time, so we rest and catch up on other indoor projects, such as reading, crafts, cooking...
The warmth of our wood cook stove and cooking on it again
a fresh blanket of glistening new snow and a hot cup of herbal tea with honey
Snuggling with my husband to stay warm at night.

I'm leaving this open to whoever wants to consider themselves tagged, I can't pick just four and I know some people don't like to get tagged. Let me know if you choose to participate and I'll swing in a read your answers*wink*

Okay, this morning we had......

3/4 " thick ice on all the animal troughs, now that's scary! The hoses are also frozen as well as one outside faucet, so back to hauling water in 5 gallon buckets already*sigh* The temp. this morning at 6:30am was 18F, Brrrrr..... The chili sauce turned out great with some tweaking, we don't like it to hot( spicy) and we made a huge pot of chili and still canned 8 pints of sauce, YEAH! As Mike was heading out the door to work this morning, it's his weekend, he quietly said, "Come here." Out in the garden were two deer, I thought one looked like it was a spike( buck), but as they both trotted off, we saw that they both were spikes. This triggered a memory from a few summers ago of a skinny, scruffy looking doe who came and ate lettuce from our garden. She NEVER bothered anything else, so feeling a bit sorry for her condition let her graze on the 50ft row of lettuce, besides it grows right back*wink* Several weeks went by and she got accustom to our comings and goings and would eat with us as close as 25 ft. I thought she probably had a fawn hidden close by and later in the summer we finally saw her in the bottom of our pasture( she'd hid them in the brush and small trees down there) with not one, but twin fawns. Now after this morning I wonder if maybe these aren't those fawns? It's nice to have these memories to ponder, and especially enjoy the wildlife, now that gardening is over, LOL! On today's schedule apples! We have a bushel basket of apples picked off the ground and some that were damaged are getting soft, so.... we NEED to take care of them promptly. I'm thinking sauce and a crock pot of butter from these apples. We'll can more pie filling from the good apples picked off the trees. I'm running low on quart jars and down to the last 3 dozen pint jars as well. A few years back we'd roughly counted our jar supply and all total( qts. and pts.) we had a little over 1,000 and last season our neighbor gave us several boxes of pints. I do have a few boxes in the loft of the garage, but many of those are mayonaise jars and such, so not good for pressure canning. They do work okay for water bathing though. Since this head cold hit, I've been somewhat sluggish and today I'm just feeling plain ole' lazy, LOL! I do feel better and even my nose has cleared but...... Do you ever have those days where you'd just like to curl up with a book, write a few letters or just take a nap? That is how I've been feeling and even though Mike has encouraged me to take it easy, the produce won't wait until I'm feeling 100%, so we whittle away at it each day. The tomatoes( remember we had 2 bushel baskets and a milk crate full of green maters) they are down to 1 bushel basket and ripening at a nice pace. We find enough ripened for a big enough batch, every other day. We still have 6 heads of cabbage on the front porch to make into freezer slaw, but alas have to wait to dig carrots to finish that job. Once all this produce is taken care of, then Cortney and I have plans to get Jon's old bedroom converted to a spare/ craft/ sewing room. We each have projects planned for Christmas gifts, but need a place where we can work and then just leave it, without having to clean it up and put it away to eat supper. This is going to be so nice to have, but it is going to require cleaning up a bit, getting rid of an old computer desk( was Jon's but he didn't need it) and repainting, over his camouflaged wall. Okay this is turning into a rambling, I think I'll fetch myself a cup of hot tea and read for a bit in my book, The Diary of Mattie Spenser by Sandra Dallas. I was in search of a new author, I get in ruts, and found this ladies books. I bought two, the first was entitled; The Persian Pickle Club and it was pretty good for fiction. The Diary of Mattie Spenser is not a fiction, but rather taken from a real diary of a woman who traveled to CO via wagon and her experiences on the new frontier. There are portions of the book not appropriate enough for Cortney to read, referring to marital duties, U-hum, otherwise it is a delightful book. Thanks for stopping in and may your weekend be wonderful!

My friend Cindy asked how far the river is from our house. I'm
terrible with measurements, so I asked Mike and he said approx. 500 ft.
Let me say when it's high water season, it's plenty close enough! It sounds
like a freight train and looks like a raging chocolate river.

This is Mike, Cortney and our dog, Lacy the day we first looked at
this property. It was in late Oct. The edge to the right of Mike is
a good 8-9 ft drop off to the river bed. This view is looking East,
our house is to the North( left of Cortney)

This view is looking West.

North

South

This is an satelite map of our property. I've marked
our property lines, house, barn,garden and river. When
I shrunk this down, it doesn't show the bottom portion
of our property. The river makes a bend to the North
our property follows this bend to the first property line
on the North side. I hope that makes sense.


I'm going to get pictures of high water this year
and I'll post them.

Okay, I found info. and need to recant, in using elderberry against Swine flu( H1N1) or Avian flu(H5N1)!!!

Posted for those stocking their preps - a bit of a surprise for me!

http://www.the-health-gazette.com/he...ral-antivirals

Natural AntiviralsSubmitted by Health Gazette on Thu, 2006-05-11 08:55.

Alternative MedicineRegular readers know that I have no time for the nonsense relating to imagined bird-flu pandemics. However. I regarded the following item of sufficient novelty to be of some interest. You may judge its merits for yourself.Research suggests certain natural foods may be as effective against virus H5N1 as commercial antivirals.(PRWEB) May 10, 2006 --

A Biology teacher from Australia, named Stephen Jones, has done extensive research into the H5N1 virus and compiled a list of natural foods that are effective against it and listed others that are detrimental.The list may come as a surprise to many people since foods such as spirulina and echinacea are listed as detrimental. This strange occurrence is largely due to the fact that the virus is immune to 2 cytokines that the body produces (TNF-a and IL-6). Cytokines are compounds produced by the body’s immune system that attack and remove foreign bodies. The problem is that when a foreign body is immune to certain cytokines, the body sees that its immune response is not working and tries even harder, which can lead to what is called a cytokine storm, where the body becomes flooded with these compounds and they eventually destroy the body itself.

Foods such as Echinacea actually stimulate the production of these specific cytokines; hence consuming it is not a good idea if one suspects they may have the virus.During the 1918 Spanish Flu many healthy young people died from cytokine storms due to their immune systems overreacting. Consuming foods which suppress the production of cytokines TNF-a and IL-6 and enhance the production of the ones that actually are effective against the virus will aid the patient greatly.Other foods that create mucous in the respiratory tract, such as bananas, are also listed as detrimental due to the fact that the predominant breeding ground of the virus is the respiratory tract and another way in which a patient may suffer is due to the body's over production of mucous in this area.Folk Medicines and Herbs to use and avoid with Bird FluBelow is a list of foods that are said to contain substances that are natural antivirals, immune boosters or they decrease cytokines TNF-a and IL-6.

Alternative medications that are most likely to help us during a severe pandemic:

Garlic (allicin) - Very effective antiviral. Best if fresh (raw) and crushed. Must be consumed within 1 hour of crushing. Dosage is initially 2 to 3 cloves per day but later reduce until no body odour occurs. No toxic effects noted. (Pubmed PMID 9049657)

Vitamin C - Boosts the immune system and is an antiviral by blocking the enzyme neuraminadase. Viruses need neuraminadase to reproduce. There are anecdotal stories of people taking large amounts of Vitamin C (children ½) surviving the Spanish Flu. Research shows that it may reduce the production of cytokines TNF-a and IL-6. A study on 470 people involved giving the test group 1000 mg hourly for 6 hours and then 1000 mg 3 times daily after reporting flu symptoms. Symptoms decreased by 85%. (Pubmed PMID 10543583, 634178, 16169205, 12876306)

Green Tea (possible Tamiflu/Relenza alternative)- Very effective antiviral. Also decreases the production of the cytokine (catechins) TNF-a. Inhibits neuraminidase. May have antiviral activity that is equal to other antivirals such as Tamiflu. (Pubmed PMID 16137775)

St Johns Wort (Hypericum) - Very effective antiviral. Also decreases the production of the cytokine IL-6. Hypericum is an extract from St John’s Wort. There have been some very successful field trials in commercial flocks infected with H5N1 in Vietnam. (Pubmed PMID 7857513, 11518071, 11362353, 7857513, 11518071)

Vitamin E - Immune booster. Also decreases the production of the cytokine TNF-a. (Pubmed PMID 155882360, 10929076) Experiments involved using mice. Very suitable for immune compromised people, especially the elderly. Effects enhanced when taken with Vitamin C.

Apple Juice - Antiviral. Fresh apple juice including the pulp and skin has greater antiviral activity than heated commercial apple juice. More research is needed. Effectiveness on H5N1 is unknown. (Pubmed PMID 32832, 12452634)

Resveratrol - Antiviral. In addition to inhibiting neuraminidase, Resveratrol also sends a message to cells to stop manufacturing viruses. This is a proven antiviral found naturally in red wine, peanuts, mulberries, Japanese Knotwood root (richest source), raisins and red grapes. Resveratrol supplements are relatively inexpensive, are more stable than wine and is available in liquid form for absorption in the mouth. No toxic effects noted. (Pubmed PMID 1583880, 12817628, 15985724)

Scuttellaria (Skullcap) - Antiviral. A herb used as a tea. It has no side effects and is also a mild tranquilliser. Research suggests neuraminidase, which is a substance needed by the H5N1 virus to reproduce, may be inhibited.

Cranberry Juice - Early research shows that it may be an antiviral, making viruses less able to invade or multiply. Effectiveness on H5N1 is unknown. (Pubmed PMID15781126)

Cat’s Claw (Uncaria tomentosa) - Decreases the production of the cytokine TNF-a. Also boosts immune system. The number of white blood cells was significantly increased during treatment. No toxicity was noted. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?CMD=search&DB=pubmed) Active constituents can be found in the leaves, bark, vine, and roots. Water extraction from bark used. Children and pregnant women are to avoid. Has a potentially damaging effect on the DNA of proliferating cells. (cancers, foetuses, growing children)

Curcumin (Tumeric Spice) - Decreases the production of the cytokine TNF-a. This is the yellow compound in turmeric spice. Research shows that this may be very good for preventing a cytokine storm although this is not proven. Must be taken with food or gastritis or peptic ulcers may occur. Pregnant women and feeding mothers should avoid this. The medicinal properties of curcurnin cannot be utilised when used alone due to rapid metabolism in the liver and intestinal wall. When combined with Piperine found in black pepper the absorption is increased with no adverse effects. Obtainable from health stores in tablets, liquid, capsules already combined with piperine. Dosage is 500mg to 4000mg daily.

Astragalus root (Astragali Radix) - Boosts immune system. (Pubmed PMID15588652)Tea tree Steam Inhalation - Reduces the cytokine TNF-a. Add 2 drops of tea tree oil in a bowl of steaming water. Cover head with a towel and inhale for 5 to 10 minutes. Relieves congestion and fights infection. Its effectiveness is unknown. (Pubmed PMID 11131302)

The following substances may be best to avoid during a H5N1 pandemic

Elderberry juice (Sambucal) - AVOID - Increases production of cytokines TNF-a and IL-6. This substance is very effective against the common flu but may not be desirable for the H5N1 virus. Increases in these cytokines may trigger a lethal cytokine storm. (Isr Med Journal2002 Nov;4:944-6)

Micro Algae (Chlorella and Spirulina) - AVOID - Increases production of cytokine TNF-a. (Pubmed PMID 11731916)

Honey - AVOID - Increases production of cytokines TNF-a and IL-6. (Pubmed PMID12824009)

Chocolate - AVOID - Increases production of cytokines TNF-a and IL-6. (Pubmed PMID 12885154, PMID 1091792

Echinacea - AVOID - Increases production of cytokines TNF-a and IL-6. Although it is often used for normal flu, research shows that it may increase the chance of cytokine storms for H5N1. (Pubmed PMID 15556647, 9568541)

Kimchi - AVOID - Increases production of cytokines TNF-a and IL-6. (Pubmed PMID15630182)Dairy products & Bananas - AVOID - These foods increase mucous production.

References:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/ (search using Pubmed ID number listed after each food)

Something a little different. I took this from Aunt Jenny's blog and thought it would be fun to answer these as I was a early to mid teen in the 70's. I'm not one of those women who are afraid to share my age; I'm 43, soon to be 44 in June. It means so little to me, LOL! I had to actually stop and figure out just how old I am, in fact I put down the wrong age on Jenny blog in the comments( blond moment)!!!! Anyway, I thought it would be a fun trip down memory lane. 70's CHILD? IF you were a little girl in the 70's... You had that Fisher Price Doctor's Kit with a stethoscope that actually worked. No You owned a bicycle with a banana seat and a plastic basket with flowers on it. Yes, it was the cool thing, that banana seat anyway. You learned to skate with actual skates (not roller blades) Yes, this was a weekly activity with my friends. I never did get the hang of skating backward though. You thought Gopher from Love Boat was cute (admit it!) I only saw this show a couple of times, so I don't remember Gopher, I do however remember the Doc, he was funny. You had nightmares after watching Fantasy Island . No, and again only saw it a couple of times but I love thriller shows. You had either a 'bowl cut' or 'pixie', not to mention the 'Dorothy Hamill'. People sometimes thought you were a boy. I wasn't allowed to have long hair,my Mom hated stringy hair. I always looked like a bucked toothed freckle faced boy! This part of what I have long hair now, rebellion of a sort*wink*, and my Mom comments all the time, about how a woman my age should have short hair.*sigh* You had rubber boots for rainy days and Moon boots for snowy days. Yep, had both. I remember those rain boots were a pain to get on and Moon boots made you feel like you were walking on air. You owned a 'Slip-n-Slide', on which you injured yourself on a sprinkler head more than once. No, we swam in the ditch and made a mud slid down into the water(can you see that bucked toothed, freckle faced tomboy yet, LOL!) You owned 'Klick-Klacks' and smacked yourself in the face more than once ! Never own any, friends had them, we had Yo-Yo's Your Holly Hobbie sleeping bag was your most prized possession. No, everything I loved revolved around horses. You wore a poncho, gauchos, and knickers. Had a poncho but never wore knickers, just cut of jeans. I remember Star and Hash jeans were all the rage when I was in 7-9th grade. If you didn't own a pair you were a nerd-ola You begged Santa for the electronic game, Simon.My brother got one for either his Birthday or Christmas, most all of my gift related to me or my horse. You had the Donnie and Marie dolls with those pink and purple satiny shredded outfits, or the sun shine family No, I do however remember watching their show on TV. You spent hours in your backyard on your metal swing set with the trapeze. No, but friends had them, we instead played with matchbox cars, baseball, football( the neighborhood was full of boys I was the only girl) You had homemade ribbon barrettes in every imaginable color. No, my hair was short, so why bother. You had a pair of Doctor Scholl's sandals (the ones with hard sole & the buckle). No money was tight and they were expensive. I did have a pair of clogs, with the wooden sole and cork on the bottom, they were my favorite shoes! Otherwise we ran barefooted all summer. You also had a pair of salt-water sandals. Never heard of them, not much saltwater in MT You wanted to be Laura Ingalls Wilder really bad; you wore that Little House on the Prairie-inspired plaid, ruffle shirt with the high neck in at least one school picture; and you despised Nellie Oleson! Again TV wasn't allowed much, but I did read the books via the school library. In about 9th grade in Home Ec. I made a prairie dress, I wore it out, literally. You wanted your first kiss to be at a roller rink! First Kiss, Yuck, boys were for playing baseball, football and climbing trees with( again see the tomboy side?) I do however remember the first dance I attended in 9th grade and I dance with only one boy, he was the most popular boy in school and HE asked ME to dance! His name was Chip and he was, as we became friends in later years a real gentleman. PONG! ('video tennis' ) was the most remarkable futuristic game you've ever heard of !Never heard of it, in fact never played a video game until I was in college( Pac Man) Your hairstyle was described as having 'wings' or 'feathers' and you kept it 'pretty' with the comb you kept in your back pocket. When you walked, the 'wings' flapped up and down, looked like you were gonna 'take off' .Feathered was had to do, at this point my hair was short and permed kinky curly, so all you had to do was wash and pick it out! You know who Strawberry Shortcake is, as well as her friends, Blueberry Muffin and Huckleberry Pie. I remember seeing these items in the stores, but never own or watched anything to do with them. You carried a Muppets lunch box to school and it was metal, not plastic.I took cold lunch in a sack, I do however remember having a box, I think it was plastic and had a horse running on the front. You and your girlfriends would fight over which of the Dukes of Hazzard was your boyfriend. Again not much exposure to TV. YOU had Star Wars action figures, too! My brother did have a few items. It was a big event in your household each year when the 'Wizard of Oz' would come on TV. We did watch it, but not every year. You often asked your Magic-8 ball the question: 'Who will I marry. Shaun Cassidy, Leif Garrett, or David Cassidy?' Never actually owned one, but friends did. I remember dreaming about Shawn Cassidy, but couldn't stand Leif Garrett( one of my best friends loved him though, her room was covered in posters) You completely wore out your Grease, Saturday Night Fever, and Fame soundtrack record album. I never owned one, my folks thought they were to well... risky. I did go to the movie Grease and loved it! You tried to do lots of arts and crafts, like yarn and Popsicle-stick God's eyes, decoupage, or those weird potholders made on a plastic loom. We made these in school, art class. Otherwise I liked to draw, horses of course! You made Shrinky-Dinks and put iron-on kittens on your t-shirts! I have no idea what a stinky dinks are and most of my clothes were hand me downs from my cousin. I really liked this as she was stylish and I had really nice clothes for school, otherwise I wore wrangler or rustler jeans and a T-shirt of some sort. You used to tape record songs off the radio by holding your portable tape player up to the speaker..No, but I did have my own record player and 95% of my albums were western singers( Kenny Rogers, Dolly Pardon, Crystal Gayle, John Denver( I still love his songs) and I did have the sound track to Star Wars. You had subscriptions to Dynamite and Tiger Beat. No, it was considered a waste of hard earned money. You learned everything you needed to know about girl issues from Judy Blume books.No, I didn't like mushy books, but had a friend who devoured Harlequin Romances. You thought Olivia Newton John's song 'Physical' was about aerobics. Honestly I don't think I really gave it much thought. You wore friendship pins on your tennis shoes, or shoelaces with heart or rainbow designs.No, I wore cowboy boots, clogs or went barefoot You wanted to be a Solid Gold dancer. No, but loved their shiny outfits. You drowned yourself in Love's Baby Soft I do remember having this, my favorite was from Avon, called "Sweet Honesty" and I still like it, but they stopped making it years ago. You glopped your lips in Strawberry Roll-on lip-gloss till it almost dripped off. What I remember is the Chocolate/ strawberry lip gloss, it shimmered and it tasted like chocolate. I also remember Bubble Yum gum, being a big trade item! That was fun! Let me know if YOU do this one!