Laura Ingalls Wilder

One of the books that didn’t go to the give away pile or the dumpster in our most recent clean out was “Little House in the Ozarks; a Laura Ingalls Wilder sampler, The rediscovered writings.” (1991)  Before her novelist daughter Rose Wilder Lane began editing her fiction, Laura Wilder had written for many farm publications, and even other women’s magazines. If you are withdrawing books from your collection, you must never open them and browse.  They won’t make it out the door.  There are snippets in this book of stories that will later become part of her children’s fiction series. Nothing else will get done once you start to read.

The book is divided loosely into themes, it is not chronological and doesn’t have an index.  If you see something you like (I did) and don’t stick in a bookmark, you lose it (I did).

From Good Reads website:

In more than 140 articles and essays collected here for all to enjoy, this beloved author's writings on American life during a simpler time abound with humor and spunk that transcend the years. Laura Ingalls Wilder -- beloved author of one of the world's most treasured children's series, the Little House books -- wrote articles on a dizzying array of topics; articles that sparkle with her timeless wit and wisdom. Her interesting and insightful views on the changes motor cars and highways brought to her small town; the need to conserve natural resources; the role of women in the work force and in politics -- nothing seemed to escape her keen observation. With a foresight that is astounding, Wilder's many articles examine in depth the ways of life in this country during the late 1800s and early 1900s with a wisdom that holds relevance for our lives even today.

“Whom will you marry?” appeared in the June 1919, McCall’s magazine, and after much reflection when a younger woman asks her about becoming a farmer’s wife (he’s coming home from the war and she needs to give him an answer), Mrs. Wilder concludes at the end of the long article, not unexpectedly:

“If you want ease, unearned luxuries, selfish indulgence, a silken-cushioned, strawberries-and-cream life, do not marry a man who will be a farmer.

If you want to give, as well as to take; if you want to be your husband’s full partner in business and in homemaking; if you can stand on your own feet and face life as a whole, the troubles and difficulties and the real joys and growth that come from them; if you want an opportunity to be a fine, strong, free woman, then you are fitted for the life of a farmer’s wife, to be his partner, the providence of your own little world of the farm and bread-giver to humanity, the true lady of the world.”

Thank you for that, New York Times

Thanks to the New York Times investigative journalism, we now know more about Marco Rubio than Barack Obama. We know he took out student loans to go to law school and paid them back (shocker), that he lost money on one home sale during the housing bubble (wow), that he had 4 traffic tickets in 18 years (ouch), and he has an $80,000 boat bought after he got a $800,000 advance on his book. Gee, Bill Clinton can get more than that for two 15 minute speeches for foreign governments, and his speaking fees went up after Hillary became Secretary of State. NYT called Rubio's debt staggering, but Saturday one of their reporters, Lee Segal, wrote a piece on how to stiff tax payers and universities by defaulting on student loans.

http://freebeacon.com/politics/financial-expert-quoted-in-nyt-rubio-hit-job-is-obama-donor/

Can't wait to see what Soros money can dig up about Scott Walker. . . although actually just because David Brock is grateful for Soros' generosity doesn't positively identify his fingerprints all over the Rubio story. It was just the smell in the room.

Office clean out at the Bruces—it’s trash day

Yesterday we carried three sacksful to the church library and Tuesday an unbelievable amount of books and magazines to the public library Friends sale drop off.  This is what is left.  Stuff no one wants.  But it’s interesting to look through.  Codes.  Books and books of codes. Now all irrelevant, and there are new codes to keep architects, engineers, electricians, plumbers, and city planners and engineers in business. Plus a lot of Bible study workbooks, 10-15 years old, never looked at after the class, and of no use to anyone else.

What’s wrong with mothers these days?

Seems to be my week to rant about mothers. Yesterday is was mom walking across Tremont Road and using her phone on a gorgeous day outside ignoring her little daughter; but today, it was gorgeous mom, impeccable clothes, in 92 degrees, blazing sun pushing the baby stroller along Kenny Road (no shade) with her under one year age child practically naked with no canopy for cover. The sun exposure that causes melanoma is brief, intense exposure - a blistering sunburn. People in my neighborhood are in a great demographic--well educated, wealthy, married, beautiful homes, good schools--but that apparently isn't enough to develop common sense.

Update Thursday, June 11:
At the booth next to us at the Rusty Bucket were grandma and grandpa with their two adorable little grandchildren . . .grandma was talking on her cell phone and grandpa was scrolling through his messages. Kids sat there with nothing to do. Sigh.

Memories of Dad

When I was a teen-ager, my mother would often remind me to put on an apron when working in the kitchen. Sort of irritated me, but after all, she was the one doing the laundry. When I was 60 and visiting my parents, I'd just chuckle when my father would say, "Baby, put on an apron." (Didn't mind being called Baby because that's about as affectionate as he got, but having him tell me to wear an apron. . well. . .). This morning I put on my new light teal shirt (meeting friends for coffee at Worthington Panera’s) and looked down and there was a food splatter. I'd worn it on Sunday and made cabbage soup with a chicken broth base. I dabbed at it with cold water without much success, but I'll forever hear Dad when I put it on.

Time to vote with Republicans for change?

Quote Guttmacher and get called a Bible thumper

I have no idea who Marsha Holderfield, a commenter at the Daily Beast is, but she called me a right wing bible [sic] thumper who watches Fox (she didn't use that term) and said I was an embarrassment to women for citing statistics on abortion and the role Planned Parenthood plays in eliminating minority babies (38% of the pregnancies of black women). So I responded:

Marsha Holderfield, have you read the Planned Parenthood web site and literature? This is directly from them, as are the stats (Guttmacher Institute) on abortion. Planned Parenthood receives over $360 million annually in our tax dollars, and gives $2,142,076 to their “research” arm, Guttmacher. So unless you think Guttmacher is "right wing" or Fox moles, you're just wrong and have added nothing but insults to this discussion (you're hoping I'll give you that link to their masturbation guide for children, but I won't). And what is your problem with Fox News? Not enough left wing opinion like ABC, CBS and NBC mixed in with the hard news? People who watch cable news (about 40%) are much more engaged than those who watch broadcast (about 70%), and people who watch Fox also watch CNN and MSNBC and their local outlets. (Pew Research, "How Americans get their News"). There; I've written a paragraph without insulting you or calling you names. Let's see if you can do that. It will be good practice for your next job interview.

I mention job interviews because employers can search the internet too, it's not just the NSA or the IRS. They look for racism, sexism, ageism, hateful comments, unpaid bills, bad grammar and English, and who your friends are. I heard a Repo man on the radio say he's been trying to impound a car for six months, but the owner kept evading him and the bank who had hired him. On her Facebook page he saw that her mother died, so he went to the funeral home to remove her car. If I were still working I wouldn't be posting on FaceBook. At least not about politics.

The Anima Christi

Soul of Christ, sanctify me.
Body of Christ, save me.
Blood of Christ, inebriate me.
Water from the side of Christ, wash me.
Passion of Christ, strengthen me.
O good Jesus, hear me.
Within your wounds, hide me.
Never let me be separated from you.
From the malignant enemy, defend me.
At the hour of death, call me;
and bid me come to you.
That with your saints I may praise you
forever and ever.

Amen.
(Attributed to St. Ignatius Loyola, but authorship uncertain)

Communion today.  With merging services this will be a first time for us to serve with this group. We call it a grace operation.

I've read the poem in Latin, and the modern English translation, but like this old one best (although some older ones use thee and thy). Looks more accurate and is also more poetic.

Hillary Clinton’s gender gap

The CNN poll via Byron York as reported in James Taranto’s WSJ column:

When asked whether [Mrs.] Clinton “cares about people like you,” 57 percent of women said yes, while just 36 percent of men said the same—a 21-point gender gap.

* When asked whether Clinton “inspires confidence,” 57 percent of women said yes, while just 41 percent of men said so—a 16-point gender gap.

* When asked whether Clinton “is honest and trustworthy,” 49 percent of women said yes, while just 34 percent of men agreed—a 15-point gender gap.

* When asked if they have an overall favorable or unfavorable opinion of Clinton, 54 percent of women said favorable, while just 38 percent of men said the same—a 16-point gender gap.

A bit of trivia on OSU minority enrollment 100 years ago

The worst thing you can do when de-cluttering, particularly removing books, is to peek inside. I was doing pretty good yesterday until I opened a small volume and found a list of African American veterinary students who attended Ohio State 100 years ago. It was a research project I never finished (in part because I was denied access to administration records on course work due to privacy concerns) from 16 years ago. I glanced through the list and Google called, so I searched the name of Charles Huston Minor, who graduated in 1916. I found out he later got an MD from OSU in addition to his DVM and practiced in NY where there is a database on the web of licenses. Also found photos in a 1920 Makio (OSU yearbook--every issue published from 1880 to the present is available) of him and fraternity brothers. Google never ceases to amaze me--a lot of this wasn't available 16 years ago, when I had to browse old class photos hanging in the vet hospital and figure who were minorities.

One hundred years ago blacks were accepted in the college, but not women. Also male foreign students from Asia and South America. Lest we think "progress" it's important to remember that horses had been the primary focus of veterinary medicine, and automobiles, trucks and tractors were replacing them, drastically diminishing the importance of veterinarians. Therefore, in order to survive, I suspect the school began accepting minorities--for whom there really wasn't much future in this field except working for the government in health inspection. The percentage of blacks in vet school was higher in the waning years of the horse than 100 years later during the small animal, exotic and avian era.

http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.kvma.org/resource/resmgr/imported/8-04-The%20Early%20History%20of%20the%20Horse%20Doctor.pdf

Campaigning events

Hillary Clinton gave a speech at a very poorly attended gathering at a historically black college in Texas where she told them scare stories of Republicans trying to take the vote away from them with a voter ID, something they need at the bank, the airport, and any government building. Maybe she thinks they never leave town or use a bank? Maybe she doesn't know that in the last 2 elections blacks voted at a higher rate than whites. Maybe she doesn't know even a majority of Democrats approve of voter ID to eliminate vote stealing. In which cities do the dead vote? Those run by Democrats!

New York Times is reporting on the combined traffic tickets of the Rubios.  Desperate!  Snoop some more. In 18 years--there must be more.  Mr. Rubio with four and his wife with 13.  Are they bad drivers or do Florida police target Cubans?  And Hillary Clinton is a billionaire crime queen, but where's the outrage?  Besides, she has had a driver the last 20+ years.

http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/06/05/marco-rubio-and-his-wife-cited-17-times-for-traffic-infractions-2/?_r=0

Liturgical dance?

I first saw liturgical dance when I was 18 at Manchester College.  It didn't impress me then, and still doesn't.  But at least it was school girls then and they didn't dress in their underwear.  I've seen a number of suggestions for what this might be trying to say, but I wish I could see the expressions on these older men's faces (Metro New York ELCA [Lutheran]  Synod) in the audience.  Perhaps I've misinterpreted this and someone can clarify.

Beans, greens and onions—Joel Fuhrman

This morning I woke up too early to get up, so I turned on the TV and PBS was having its fund raiser.  The program was about weight maintenance, so I watched it.  Fuhrman talks about nutratarian eating which in my opinion is just vegan under another name because he didn’t mention eggs, dairy, fish or even fruit (except he likes berries and some tomatoes).  But I noticed what he recommends is essentially what I’ve been doing since Christmas, but I have fruit and some meat, eggs, milk and yogurt.  He says you should eat very large helpings of these 3 things.  He’s REALLY excited about onions. So here’s his beans, greens and onions plan with large servings.

1. A large green salad - Along with other favorite salad veggies like romaine and tomatoes, be sure to include raw cruciferous vegetables and raw onions.
   • Cruciferous veggies can include shredded red cabbage, arugula, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels Sprouts. Lightly steaming some cruciferous vegetables can better bring out their health properties. Cruciferous veggies activate detoxification enzymes in the body, block abnormal cell division that can lead to cancer, and interfere with growth of fat and help remove fat from the body.
   • Raw onions are rich in phytochemicals that fight disease and helps us maintain our weight. They contain flavonoids, quercitin, chromium, organosulfides, polyphenols, phytosterols, all super good for you! A massive European study showed a 50% to 85% reduction in all major cancers in those eating about a half cup of onions a day. Also favorable bacteria grows in our digestive tract from eating onions. And this favorable bacteria helps prevent diabetes and heart disease.
   • Don’t ignore the importance of choosing a tasty but healthy Salad Dressing. It is important to eat some oil with vegetables to facilitate the absorption of ’fat soluble’ nutrients. But remember that each tablespoon of oil contains about 100 calories! So experiment with nutrient dense oils that also contain anti-cancer properties. Blend up a dressing of seeds and nuts and avocados of which their oils will contain natural anti-cancer properties. Include the juice acids of oranges, lemons, limes and naturally flavored aged vinegars with your favorite herbs and spices.
2. Bowl of vegetable bean soup – Along with your favorite beans and spices, include mushrooms. Beans and mushrooms are both best eaten cooked. Make a big pot of a bean “Super Stew/Soup” on the weekend and eat all week! ( Here is one recipe that you can even freeze in dinner size containers for quicky meals)
   • Beans are high in fiber and high in slowly digestible starches. So beans keep you satisfied for hours. They also contain resistant starches, which are starches that do not get absorbed in the body. Dr. Fuhrman says ..”these starches allow the calories of beans to pass right through you and right into the toilet!”. He says beans are the food most correlated in multiple studies for life longevity. One study documented that for each two tablespoon of beans eaten death rates decreased by 8%!
   • Mushrooms are actually a Superfood! One study showed that just 10 grams, about the size of your thumb, can lower cancer rates by over 60%. And when you combine mushrooms with greens, breast cancer reduction was close to 90%. Mushrooms also normalize hormones and resist fat storage. Remember, just a little bit goes a long way!
3. A large serving of steamed green vegetables - Some vegetables release certain properties when raw and other properties when steamed. Have a large serving of a variety and mixture of steamed veggies such as steamed greens, asparagus, string beans, artichokes, snow pea pods etc. You can fill your tummy with as much as you want! No tiny diet portions here!

Fuhrman likes to use the term G-BOMBS to help you remember.  Greens, beans, onions, mushrooms, berries, seeds

Health and Fitness: Keeping Your Golden Years Golden, guest blogger Helen Hilton

As they approach retirement, many people choose to stop focusing on health and fitness, instead leading increasingly sedentary lifestyles. This is a grave mistake. Exercise and healthy eating can actually help to slow many of the effects of the aging process. As our God-given bodies begin to age many of us choose to accept and embrace this aging process, but many more struggle to accept their changing abilities and those extra aches and pains that they feel at the end of the day. The good news is that you can choose to minimize the effects of the aging process on your body and that it is much easier to achieve than you might think: Staying healthy and feeling your best is important as you age, and the two sure-fire ways to ensure that you remain as active and health as possible are to eat well and to exercise regularly:

Eat Well, Live Well

Healthy home grown fruits and vegetables should be at the heart of every meal you eat (the five a day rule has been in place for a long time and it continues to hold true), but there is more to eating well as a senior than simply maintaining the same healthy diet that you have enjoyed during your younger years. You should begin to opt for low fat dairy products in order to lower your blood pressure and reduce your risk of hypertension. You should also avoid too much red meat, instead opting for plenty of low fat but protein rich chicken and fish instead. Finally, it’s important that you do remember to eat three healthy meals every day: as we age our appetites tend to get smaller, and whilst it is OK to eat smaller portions to suit your appetite, you should avoid skipping meals which can have a massively detrimental effect on your overall health and wellbeing.

Exercise and Repair Your Muscles

Exercise is important at any age, but it becomes increasingly important as we age. As well as benefiting our physical fitness and health levels, exercise can also improve how you feel mentally and emotionally, and generally contribute to your quality of life. As we age our physiology begins to change, leaving us with reduced muscle mass and weaker and more brittle bones. After the age of forty the metabolism also slows down, which can lead to weight gain. All of these factors combined serve to make exercise vital to the aging population. Exercise can improve your core strength, rebuild your muscle mass, and help you feel more supple and revitalized. The more you exercise now, the easier you will find it to continue having good mobility as you age. Despite this all being good, common sense, an incredible 78% of men and women over the age of 40 either don’t get an adequate amount of exercise or simply choose not to exercise at all. You only get one body, and it’s an important responsibility to take care of it to the best of your ability for the full length of your life.

Active Minds Lead to Active Lives

As well as ensuring that you take good care of your body, it is also essential to ensure that you take care of your mind and nourish your mental, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing. Mental health issues and alcohol abuse are common problems that affect women of the baby boomer generation, though these issues are largely unreported by the press. The fact is that as they age their pace of life slows and for many women this can lead to a sadness brought on by an inability to cope with change. Depression also affects one in five seniors living within the United States: many older people are lonely and struggle to cope with their new position in society. It is therefore important to keep your mind as active as your body and remain active within your church and your wider community. As well as protecting your mental wellbeing, this proactivity can also help to keep dementia at bay and ensure you can continue to serve and support those around you.

Five ways to protect your eyes from age-related macular degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a condition in which the macula, the part of the eye that's responsible for your sharpest and most detailed vision, begins to thin and break down, causing vision loss. If left untreated, it can lead to blindness.

There is no surefire way to prevent AMD. However, there are things you can do to delay its onset or reduce its severity. Here's how:

1. Smoking can speed up AMD damage. If you smoke, quit.

2. Sunlight is thought to possibly promote AMD. Protect your eyes from the sun by wearing sunglasses and broad-brimmed hats.

3. Research also suggests that certain nutrients help prevent macular degeneration. Eat a diet rich in fresh fruits and dark green leafy vegetables — such as spinach, collard greens, and kale — that are rich in lutein and zeaxanthin, which are key for eye health.

4. For people at high risk of developing the advanced stages of the "wet" form of AMD, high-dose combinations of antioxidant vitamins and minerals may lower their risk by about 25%. However, supplements don't seem to help people who don't have AMD or who have early AMD.

5. Ask your doctor about supplements if you have intermediate or advanced dry AMD or wet AMD. It's unclear whether omega-3 supplements are beneficial for AMD, but eating fish and other foods high in these nutrients may still be worthwhile for preserving optimal vision and overall good health.

We’re not sure, but

we think Lotza is between 85-88 years old in human equivalence.  She sleeps a lot, has a problem with stairs, loves the warmth of our laps (more than usual), and is deaf.

Another great loss under Obama

Last July and August even the liberal news sources were reporting how much of our equipment and ammo Obama had lost to ISIS. And it hasn't gotten better, but he's still patting himself on the back for the great job he's doing and some of you are falling for it because you so wanted him to succeed.

http://hotair.com/archives/2015/06/01/just-great-iraq-may-have-lost-more-than-2000-humvees-to-isis/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/30/isis-weapons_n_5725418.html

http://nypost.com/2015/05/23/isis-rises-the-economy-falters-and-obamas-legacy-falls-apart/

Cauliflower Soup, my recipe

In an effort to add more vegetables to our diet (above 5-6), yesterday I made this delicious soup and there's not a drop left! Amounts are guesses the way our grandmothers did it.

Half a quart of chicken broth/vegetable broth (I had both on hand so mixed them)
Half a head of cauliflower (could be more or less, but it's what I had)
About 1/4 cup of chopped onion (could be more)
One large white potato cut into pieces (this is for thickening the soup, so don't use red unless you want runny soup), but it also serves, in my mind, as a vegetable.

Tender cook this and run through a blender. Add some Half n half. Again, I eye-balled this.

Because cauliflower is rather bland, I added just a smidgen of hot mustard, and I think that's what did it. Not enough to taste it, but it did give it some zip.

It was a cool, spring day, so it was just perfect. My side dish was sliced cucumbers and big giant strawberries, so that was 5 fruits/veggies for one meal.

Most of the recipes I scanned add cheese, but that's just more calories and this was very hardy and delicious without it.

The Jenner hysteria in the media

There are people who are amputees by choice; it's got a fancy name--Body Integrity Identity Disorder--and I'm sure someone's making mega bucks studying it and facilitating in the surgery. I know they have websites; probably even FaceBook pages seeking acceptance, honor and attention. Not unlike the formerly famous athlete named Bruce who is being applauded for being courageous for removing body parts (not sure he’s done that yet) and having his face and chest remodeled. There are millions who are just not happy in their own skin and body. Entire industries cater to them. Perhaps they need to volunteer in war torn countries where buried bombs are a problem, or with war vets, or auto accident victims in order to appreciate their God given and designed bodies.

Pro-life sermons

I got this e-mail yesterday:

"Dear Pro-Life Friend, When was the last time you heard a pro-life homily?"

That's easy. Never. You? Also, only one sermon on marriage--in about 70 years (don't remember those before that). So let's not blame the unbelievers, or the "liberals."

I can find good Catholic sermons on the internet on the purposes in God's creation and sexuality--just wish we had them in our tradition. The Catholic church is the only institution in the world strong enough to stand up to governments (although in some countries it cooperates with government), and in the U.S. I'm afraid it too will be silenced. Our churches, Protestant and Catholic, need more attention to the first 4-5 centuries of the church to see how to deal with a pagan culture and remain true to Christ.

"A society lacks solid foundations when, on the one hand, it asserts values such as the dignity of the person, justice and peace, but then, on the other hand, radically acts to the contrary by allowing or tolerating a variety of ways in which human life is devalued and violated, especially where it is weak or marginalized. Only respect for life can be the foundation and guarantee of the most precious and essential goods of society, such as democracy and peace." John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae