A petition to protect ourselves

Jerek's cousin-in-law created an online petition to sign if you agree in our right to keep (own) and bear (carry) arms in the United States.

http://www.petitiononline.com/SSA2009/petition.html

Once it reaches 3.1 million signatures (only 1% of the US population in Jan. 2009) it will be submitted to Congress. This petition is partially in response to the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTq2NEUlhDE

He says:

"I don’t think a little online petition will do much, but it can be a good reminder to our government about what we care about. Like sticking a post-it note on the desk of all 535 members of Congress. (100 Senators, 435 in House of Representatives)

Did you remember that when the states adopted the Constitution they met and drafted amendments to it and sent that list back to the Federal government? Those amendments are called the Bill of Rights. The States stipulated the right to bear arms, and it is well known that at the time the intention was to enable the people to protect themselves from potential tyranny of their government like they had while under British rule.

My Sham-Wow call to action:

I know you probably get email that asks you to forward them on, let’s face it…this is another one. If you don’t feel comfortable forwarding the email, no problem. Maybe you could link to the petition on your website(s) or post a link in a forum or blog you read? The important thing is that you take some kind of action. So many emails come through that say to forward them but what does that really do? Nothing. In this case you’ve got a non-committal option to take action, just sign the petition and maybe let other people know about it too. No flying to DC for a rally, no debate with people whose intellect your not so sure about, just a few clicks here and there."

--Robert Ault

North Bend, Oregon

The constitution can be read in its entirety online at:
http://www.constitution.org/constit_.htm

Along with the full Bill of Rights submitted as explanatory and restrictive clauses to the constitution:
http://www.constitution.org/billofr_.htm

Lastly the additional amendments that have been added over the course of history:
http://www.constitution.org/afterte_.htm

Bread recipe

Here is the recipe for the bread I have been making. There are many more recipes in the book or on their website at www.artisanbreadinfive.com but this is the main one. I may take some pictures of the next loaf I make if I remember.

The master recipe is adapted from Artisan Bread In Five Minutes a Day

3 cups of lukewarm water
1 1/2 tablespoons yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
6 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour, more for dusting dough

In a large bowl or plastic container, mix yeast and salt into 3 cups lukewarm water (about 100 degrees). Stir in flour, mixing until there are no dry patches. You can mix this with a wooden spoon or in a large mixer, like a Kitchen Aid, with a dough hook. You do not need to knead this just mix well. Dough will be quite wet. Cover, but not with an airtight lid. Let dough rise at room temperature 2 hours.

Bake at this point or refrigerate, covered, for as long as two weeks.

When ready to bake, sprinkle a little flour on dough and cut off a grapefruit-size piece with serrated knife. (I find for my family I need a larger portion than this)Turn dough in hands while coating lightly with flour to lightly stretch surface, creating a round loaf. You do not kneed the dough at this point. Just form it into a loaf. Place the dough on pizza peel or a greased cookie sheet sprinkled with cornmeal; let rest 40 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough or refrigerate it.

Place broiler pan on bottom of oven. Place baking stone ( I don’t have one and it still turns out fine)on middle rack and turn oven to 450 degrees (I do 475 ); heat stone at that temperature for 20 minutes.

Dust dough with flour, slash top with serrated or very sharp knife three times. Slide onto stoneor put cookie sheet in oven.Pour one cup hot water into broiler pan and shut oven quickly to trap steam. Bake until well browned, about 30 minutes. Cool completely.

EDIT. I forgot to include this dough makes a large batch that you store in the refridgerator until needed. It can keep i nthe fridge up to 2 weeks and the longer it rests in the fridge the more sourdough-y it tastes.

Up your nose with a rubber hose!.... or a googly eye. Your choice.

I can't tell you about girls yet, but boys are crazy and do stupid things. For about 2 days that I am sure of, Tait has had a stuffy nose. I just assumed he was getting a cold since that is the usual around here this time of year. I also noticed when he talked, his nose made a rattly almost buzzy sound. I just figured it was snot in his nose since what else would it be right? I even called my friend who was supposed to visit that day with her 2 girls not to come because we were getting sick.
Well last night I was playing with him and had him in my lap tickling him. I was asking if random body parts hurt and then would tickle it when he would say yes to every one. When I asked if his nose hurt he say yeah ( with a buzz/rattle sound). Well i looked at his nose as he tipped his head back and saw something weird stuck in his left nostril. At first I thought it was a booger, but it looked too big to be a booger. Jerek went and got me the tweezers and I ended up pulling one of these googly eyes you glue on crafts out of his nose. Instantly he was breathing normal and no more buzzing was coming from his nose. Oy. If this is the type of things he is doing at 2 I don't want to know about the coming years. For your viewing pleasure I have added a picture of the eye that was lodged in his nose for 2 or possibly more days. Enjoy!

More no 'poo

I forgot to add this link when talking about no 'poo. It talks about one woman's personal experience with not washing her hair with shampoo, but only using water.

No 'poo and stuff

So, i have been on a homemade kick lately. There seems to be an infinite supply of recipes, how-to's and instructions on how to make anything you need from scratch.
I have made a lot of foods from scratch as that is how I was taught to cook.i can make most anything from scratch given i have the right ingredients or a recipe. I can improvise if I need to. I feel this is something I am good at.
I have recently been making homemade bread for dinner most every night. It is something I really enjoy making and what could be better than fresh bread for dinner every night? I have been using a recipe from a cook book called Artisan Bread in 5 minutes A Day
I LOVE this cook book. You make a big master batch of dough that you keep in the refrigerator and each day you cut off a piece, raise it for an hour and bake it. It makes really good bread too.
I have also been making my own dishwasher detergent. It works really well and is a lot cheaper than premade stuff. And a tip I learned is you don't really need ti fill the soap cup all the way 1 tablespoon works good and 2 tablespoons for really heavy loads.
Next I am going to make my own Laundry detergent. I have a friend who swears by it and it ends up costing .01 cents per load. Yes you read that right. Point zero one cents per load.
You can make home made window/all purpose cleaner easily and cheaply. I personally think this works better than Windex or 409.
This last week I have been going no 'poo. That means no shampoo. You scrub your scalp and roots with baking soda and rinse the ends with apple cider vinegar. There are a lot of harsh chemicals in shampoos that are absorbed into your skin very easily through your scalp. Here is a good article on that.
I get some of my inspiration from this website. This lady makes a lot of things from scratch and has raised and home schooled 8 kids.

ZZZZZZZZZZ...

It is so exhausting waiting for mommy to make dinner.

pictures

I have had many requests that I add some new pictures of the kids to my blog. Here you go.

We went to the zoo last week . This is a replica of a bald eagle's nest. With 4 little chickies!

This is Alison in her stroller at the zoo.

Jerek and I went to go see my sister and her family in California a few weeks back and here is a picture of her little girl faith with Alison. Faith is on the left, Alison on the right. They are about 5 weeks apart.
More Faith and Alison. Faith on the left Alison on the right.