some interesting websites…

Food Storage and Preservation
The Survivalist Blog
Discover a Hobby
Seasonal Craft Ideas
Jar of Nothing
Fall Field Guide of Nuts (article)

Oaty Crackers

When the hubby wanted to make hardtack for last weeks re-enacting adventure, I did what any supportive wife would do–I used my mad Google skills while I mocked him mercilessly for his geekiness (which I find sexy) and his lack of taste buds (which are an asset for my occasional cooking experiment).

And while we explored the world of hardtack (from the historically accurate and boring to its many trying to make it tastier varieties), I stumbled upon this FANTASTIC and simple little recipe.

A Sailor’s Diet
In one container combine the following:
2 1/2 cups old-fashioned or quick oats.
3 cups unbleached flour.
1 1/2 teaspoons salt.
1 teaspoon baking soda.

In a separate container, mix:
1 1/2 cups buttermilk.
3 tablespoons honey.
1/2 cup melted bacon drippings or shortening.

Combine the two sets of ingredients. When the dough is thoroughly mixed, roll it out on a floured board to a thickness of about a quarter inch. Cut out circles of dough with a large drinking glass dipped in flour and put them on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake for about 5 1/2 minutes at 450° F. Let the hardtack cool on a wire rack before serving with jam or jelly.

from http://kenanderson.net/hardtack/recipes.html

Cooking Notes:
*we added an extra squeeze (proly an extra tablespoon) of honey
*we used butter flavored crisco for the shortening
*the dough will be very dry, if it is too dry to work, add a wee bit of extra buttermilk

This is awesome with strawberry jam, and great fun for small children.

Procrastinator

I have a thousand things I NEED to get done, and no desire to do any of them (I justify the avoidance with USA’s NCIS marathons).

Unfortunately this has been the state of the weather for about three weeks now…and the place is beginning to reflect my three weeks of funk, particularly since we have been playing outside all day on the odd day of sunshine.

I have a gazillion things to do from grocery shopping and cleaning to getting my physical for going back to school before the insurance runs out and paying bills to working on the kid’s baby books and working on our re-enactment clothing.

All I want to do it curl up with a trashy romance novel and a hot chocolate. But that would involve going to the store for chocolate and going to the library for a new book.

Empress of the World

I found this totally old post from the pagan forum, and it amused the heck out of me…

The thread OP was to “imagine a new country was created and you became its first ruler. You are asked to write the law and the first thing you need to do is to write 10 rules that your people will have to live by, what are those rules?”

1. Pay homage to your leader (me) every Tuesday, in return—free ice cream
2. No stealing.
3. 4 day work week…fri, st, sun are holidays…but must be spoken in pirate…
4. No violating another’s person, except in self defense or defense of another.
5. No violating the rights of belief, or action of another.
6. Freedom of the expression…(speech, press, religion, etc)
7. You must either pass a parenting test or attend and pass parenting classes before raising children (really—saw a GREAT example of this today)
8. You must complete 2 years of some sort of civil service, volunteer service or military service (ie—police, volunteer fire fighter, nurse, teacher, Peace Corps, etc) in order to vote.
9. Murder, rape, child sexual abuse and habitual or severe child/spouse are punishable by death–death sentances are carried out on Fridays of the week of conviction and aired on prime time TV…
10. Persons committing minor crimes are to be put in stocks in front of the courthouse for people to throw tomatoes at—tomatoes will be provided…

What would your 10 rules be?

Home Blessing and Cleansing

A home is built with peace and love,
not with wood or stone;
A home is a place where happiness lives,
and memories are sown.

Ah, moving time. That blessed and glorious time of year for the changing of the apartments that comes with military life…or in this case, the end of military life. After six years of indentured servitude to the United States Navy, I am once again a free agent–well, almost…technically I owe two years to the Individual Ready Reserve and could feasibly be recalled to active duty. But I can wear my nose ring, dye my hair and have funky colored fingernails if I want to, so its all the same to me.

The hubby (escaping from the Navy 3 months prior to myself) and I have moved back to my childhood and family hometown, and into a decent and cheap (which is good since I’m unemployed, and he’s still looking for a job where he won’t be out of work half the time) town home. Being that we are in a somewhat stressful family situation, and that the previous tenants left under somewhat auspicious circumstance (she left him for another guy or some such), called for an unusually (for us) thorough home cleansing and blessing (the house feels much better now).

Touch the lintel and touch the wall,
Nothing but blessings here befall!
Bless the candle that stands by itself,
Bless the book on the mantle shelf,
Bless the pillow for the tired head,
Bless the hearth and the light shed.
Friends who tarry here, let them know
A three fold blessing before they go.
Sleep for weariness – peace for sorrow
Faith in yesterday and tomorrow.
Friends who go from here, let them bear
The blessing of hope, wherever they fare.
Lintel and windows, sill and wall,
Nothing but good, this place befall.

from http://www.neworleansmistic.com/spells/whitespells/houseblessingprayer.htm

As a pragmatist, I believe in doing what works…and in my experience, home cleanings and blessing work. Personally, I recommend that anyone that moves into a new space, particularly if they rent or are moving into a place of high turnover (dorm room, BEQ or barracks, etc), performs a home cleansing and blessing–REGARDLESS of religious preference. This isn’t just a Pagan thing. I also recommend that the home should be re-cleansed and blessed after any major fight, bout of illnesses, etc, and if someone is living in long-term digs (yeah for you homeowners!!) on at least an annual basis (spring cleaning anyone?).

So why bother? Well, pardon the UPG, but bother because it makes the space yours. Home cleansing clears the air–metaphysically, philosophically, whatever mechanism floats the boat. It allows the slate to be wiped clean, while the home blessing allows the blueprint for going forward in the space from that moment on.

May this home be a place of happiness and health, of contentment, generosity and hope, a home of creativity and kindness. May those who visit and those who live here know only blessing and peace.

one variation of the Birkat Habayit

Cleansing the home starts with actually cleaning. Pick up the broom and sweep. Bust out the bucket and the mop, the rags and the spray bottle. Liberally use elbow grease. Visualize your home clean and clear of negativity, anger, impatience, selfishness, arguments, and all those petty moments and feelings that might have accumulated, whether it be from your occupancy of the space, or from prior occupants as you clean. I would recommend natural cleaning products–lavender, lemon, cedar, rosemary, tea tree and peppermint are some of my favorite essential oils for cleaning products and are easily used with good ole Dr. Bonner’s, baking soda and vinegar…however, if you are not familiar or comfortable cleaning with these, use what makes you feel the space is clean (despite my preference for natural cleaning products, I spend enough time in the pool, that for me the smell of bleach is mentally the most divinely cleansing aroma I can think of, so when I feel that I need the big guns, I go for it).

Cleaning With Essential Oils

Once your home is physically clean and mentally cleansed (or in conjunction with the physical cleaning and mental cleansing), feel free to banish/remove/purify/etc (choose the terminology/methodology that best suits your beliefs) the house of stagnant, unwelcome energy/feelings/vibes/juju/entities/etc, in a manner that is keeping with your religious preferences and theological opinions. Smudging, ringing of bells or chimes, sprinkling of salt or herbed water are all ways to cleanse and purify the space of negativity or undesirable energies. Personally, I am fond of a good smudging with some sweetgrass (smells better than sage) and a energetic bell ringing (performed by the munchkin–Sophie loves to make noise).

After the home is clean and cleansed, invite good *whatever* (spirits/energy/juju/etc that you are a fan of) into your home. A house blessing/protection spell, ritual, prayer, whatever–from KISS to big elaborate ritual can be useful in this regard. We generally keep it short and sweet, and tangible. We sharpie under cabinets and window sills, in door jambs and closets and appropriate blessing verse. “Let love and laughter bless those that live here, May peace and passion dwell in their hearts.” in the main rooms, and “May the hearth and heart of the home bring sustenance to the body and soul” in the kitchen. Another favorite, to fill the home with good energy is a house warming party (if you just moved in), or a gathering of your favorite people in general, to fill the home with positive energy (make sure you don’t invite drama-types).

Home Cleansing and Blessing Variations:
Imbolc Cleansing and Blessing
Multi-faith (with hoodoo tendencies) major house cleansing
Hoodoo Home Blessing
Liberal Protestant (United Church of Christ) Home Blessing
Catholic Home Blessing
Uber-Fundie Christian Home Cleansing/Blessing (included because I found it depravedly amusing)

Valued Ideal and Ideal Values: Experiental Gnosis

There are three principal means of acquiring knowledge. . . observation of nature, reflection, and experimentation. Observation collects facts; reflection combines them; experimentation verifies the result of that combination.

Denis Diderot, 18th century French philosopher

At the heart of Paganism, I think there lies the idea (whether many of us consciously acknowlege it or not) that our paths are  living entities of their own…making our religion(s) a journey, rather than a destination.  When it comes to spiritual knowledge, I prefer the term gnosis–I feel that it implies an active sort of learning, that of seeking and finding and growing, a kind of reinforced integrative and intuitive process, rather than the passive absorption of information.   Gnosis is not unique to Pagans (duh…look at Gnosticism), but our emphasis on experience-driven gnosis being the key to validity is unique.  Knowing (gnosis) is experiental, and to some extent, experimental. Generally speaking, in most of the Pagan community that ideal is respected (at least in abstract), even if it (or its outcome) is not always liked.

Much of the need for respect as a virtue/value/ideal comes from plurality, and plurality, when it is all said and done, results from the simple fact that we all grok sacredness differently.  So what does this mean?

In grasping experience some of us perceive new information through experiencing the concrete, tangible, felt qualities of the world, relying on our senses and immersing ourselves in concrete reality. Others tend to perceive, grasp, or take hold of new information through symbolic representation or abstract conceptualization – thinking about, analyzing, or systematically planning, rather than using sensation as a guide. Similarly, in transforming or processing experience some of us tend to carefully watch others who are involved in the experience and reflect on what happens, while others choose to jump right in and start doing things. The watchers favor reflective observation, while the doers favor active experimentation.

from Experiential Learning Theory: Previous Research and New Directions

It means that we shouldn’t just practice our professed faith, we should live it.  Experiental gnosis requires one to go forth and experience.

So get off the damn computer and experience something divine.

…I for one, am taking the kids to the beach to play–even though it is after bedtime.

(and, yes, this has been another blog in honor of Pagan Values Blogging Month…better late than never!!!)

The beauty of an truly capitalist system…

Evidence Given Before the Sadler Committee

[Parliamentary Papers, 1831-1832, vol. XV. pp. 44, 95-97, 115, 195, 197, 339, 341-342.]

Joshua Drake, called in; and Examined.

You say you would prefer moderate labour and lower wages; are you pretty comfortable upon your present wages? –I have no wages, but two days a week at present; but when I am working at some jobs we can make a little, and at others we do very poorly.

When a child gets 3s. a week, does that go much towards its subsistence? –No, it will not keep it as it should do.

When they got 6s. or 7s. when they were pieceners, if they reduced the hours of labor, would they not get less? — They would get a halfpenny a day less, but I would rather have less wages and less work.

Do you receive any parish assistance? — No.

Why do you allow your children to go to work at those places where they are ill-treated or over-worked? — Necessity compels a man that has children to let them work.

Then you would not allow your children to go to those factories under the present system, if it was not from necessity? — No.

Supposing there was a law passed to limit the hours of labour to eight hours a day, or something of that sort, of course you are aware that a manufacturer could not afford to pay them the same wages? — No, I do not suppose that they would, but at the same time I would rather have it, and I believe that it would bring me into employ; and if I lost 5d. a day from my children’s work, and I got half-a-crown myself, it would be better.

How would it get you into employ? — By finding more employment at the machines, and work being more regularly spread abroad, and divided amongst the people at large. One man is now regularly turned off into the street, whilst another man is running day and night.

You mean to say, that if the manufacturers were to limit the hours of labour, they would employ more people? — Yes.

Mr. Matthew Crabtree, called in; and Examined.

What age are you? — Twenty-two.

What is your occupation? — A blanket manufacturer.

Have you ever been employed in a factory? — Yes.

At what age did you first go to work in one? — Eight.

How long did you continue in that occupation? — Four years.

Will you state the hours of labour at the period when you first went to the factory, in ordinary times? — From 6 in the morning to 8 at night.

Fourteen hours? — Yes.

With what intervals for refreshment and rest? — An hour at noon.

When trade was brisk what were your hours? — From 5 in the morning to 9 in the evening.

Sixteen hours? — Yes.

With what intervals at dinner? — An hour.

How far did you live from the mill? — About two miles.

Was there any time allowed for you to get your breakfast in the mill? — No.

Did you take it before you left your home? — Generally.

During those long hours of labour could you be punctual; how did you awake? — I seldom did awake spontaneously; I was most generally awoke or lifted out of bed, sometimes asleep, by my parents.

Were you always in time? — No.

What was the consequence if you had been too late? — I was most commonly beaten.

Severely? — Very severely, I thought.

In those mills is chastisement towards the latter part of the day going on perpetually? — Perpetually.

So that you can hardly be in a mill without hearing constant crying? — Never an hour, I believe.

Do you think that if the overlooker were naturally a humane person it would still be found necessary for him to beat the children, in order to keep up their attention and vigilance at the termination of those extraordinary days of labour? — Yes; the machine turns off a regular quantity of cardings, and of course, they must keep as regularly to their work the whole of the day; they must keep with the machine, and therefore however humane the slubber may be, as he must keep up with the machine or be found fault with, he spurs the children to keep up also by various means but that which he commonly resorts to is to strap them when they become drowsy.

At the time when you were beaten for not keeping up with your work, were you anxious to have done it if you possibly could? — Yes; the dread of being beaten if we could not keep up with our work was a sufficient impulse to keep us to it if we could.

When you got home at night after this labour, did you feel much fatigued? — Very much so.

Had you any time to be with your parents, and to receive instruction from them? — No.

What did you do? — All that we did when we got home was to get the little bit of supper that was provided for us and go to bed immediately. If the supper had not been ready directly, we should have gone to sleep while it was preparing.

Did you not, as a child, feel it a very grievous hardship to be roused so soon in the morning? — I did.

Were the rest of the children similarly circumstanced? — Yes, all of them; but they were not all of them so far from their work as I was.

And if you had been too late you were under the apprehension of being cruelly beaten? — I generally was beaten when I happened to be too late; and when I got up in the morning the apprehension of that was so great, that I used to run, and cry all the way as I went to the mill.

Mr. John Hall, called in; and Examined.

Will you describe to the Committee the position in which the children stand to piece in a worsted mill, as it may serve to explain the number and severity of those cases of distortion which occur? — At the top to the spindle there is a fly goes across, and the child takes hold of the fly by the ball of his left hand, and he throws the left shoulder up and the right knee inward; he has the thread to get with the right hand, and he has to stoop his head down to see what he is doing; they throw the right knee inward in that way, and all the children I have seen, that bend in the right knee. I knew a family, the whole of whom were bent outwards as a family complaint, and one of those boys was sent to a worsted-mill, and first he became straight in his right knee, and then he became crooked in it the other way.

Elizabeth Bentley, called in; and Examined.

What age are you? — Twenty-three.

Where do you live? — At Leeds.

What time did you begin to work at a factory? — When I was six years old.

At whose factory did you work? — Mr. Busk’s.

What kind of mill is it? — Flax-mill.

What was your business in that mill? — I was a little doffer.

What were your hours of labour in that mill? — From 5 in the morning till 9 at night, when they were thronged.

For how long a time together have you worked that excessive length of time? — For about half a year.

What were your usual hours when you were not so thronged? — From 6 in the morning till 7 at night.

What time was allowed for your meals? — Forty minutes at noon.

Had you any time to get your breakfast or drinking? — No, we got it as we could.

And when your work was bad, you had hardly any time to eat it at all? — No; we were obliged to leave it or take it home, and when we did not take it, the overlooker took it, and gave it to his pigs.

Do you consider doffing a laborious employment? — Yes.

Explain what it is you had to do? — When the frames are full, they have to stop the frames, and take the flyers off, and take the full bobbins off, and carry them to the roller; and then put empty ones on, and set the frame going again.

Does that keep you constantly on your feet? — Yes, there are so many frames, and they run so quick.

Your labour is very excessive? — Yes; you have not time for any thing.

Suppose you flagged a little, or were too late, what would they do? — Strap us.

Are they in the habit of strapping those who are last in doffing? — Yes.

Constantly? — Yes.

Girls as well as boys? — Yes.

Have you ever been strapped? — Yes.

Severely? — Yes.

Could you eat your food well in that factory? — No, indeed I had not much to eat, and the little I had I could not eat it, my appetite was so poor, and being covered with dust; and it was no use to take it home, I could not eat it, and the overlooker took it, and gave it to the pigs.

You are speaking of the breakfast? — Yes.

How far had you to go for dinner? — We could not go home to dinner.

Where did you dine? — In the mill.

Did you live far from the mill? — Yes, two miles.

Had you a clock? — No, we had not.

Supposing you had not been in time enough in the morning at these mills, what would have been the consequence? — We should have been quartered.

What do you mean by that? — If we were a quarter of an hour too late, they would take off half an hour; we only got a penny an hour, and they would take a halfpenny more.

The fine was much more considerable than the loss of time? — Yes.

Were you also beaten for being too late? — No, I was never beaten myself, I have seen the boys beaten for being too late.

Were you generally there in time? — Yes; my mother had been up at 4 o’clock in the morning, and at 2 o’clock in the morning; the colliers used to go to their work about 3 or 4 o’clock, and when she heard them stirring she has got up out of her warm bed, and gone out and asked them the time; and I have sometimes been at Hunslet Car at 2 o’clock in the morning, when it was streaming down with rain, and we have had to stay until the mill was opened.

Peter Smart, called in; and Examined.

You say you were locked up night and day? — Yes.

Do the children ever attempt to run away? — Very often.

Were they pusued and brought back again? — Yes, the overseer pursued them, and brought them back.

Did you ever attempt to run away? — Yes, I ran away twice.

And you were brought back? — Yes; and I was sent up to the master’s loft, and thrashed with a whip for running away.

Were you bound to this man? — Yes, for six years.

By whom were you bound? — My mother got 15s. for the six years.

Do you know whether the children were, in point of fact, compelled to stop during the whole time for which they were engaged? — Yes, they were.

By law? — I cannot say by law; but they were compelled by the master; I never saw any law used there but the law of their own hands.

To what mill did you next go? — To Mr. Webster’s, at Battus Den, within eleven miles of Dundee.

In what situation did you act there? — I acted as overseer.

At 17 years of age? — Yes.

Did you inflict the same punishment that you yourself had experienced? — I went as an overseer; not as a slave, but as a slave-driver.

What were the hours of labour in that mill? — My master told me that I had to produce a certain quantity of yarn; the hours were at that time fourteen; I said that I was not able to produce the quantity of yarn that was required; I told him if he took the timepiece out of the mill I would produce that quantity, and after that time I found no difficulty in producing the quantity.

How long have you worked per day in order to produce the quantity your master required? — I have wrought nineteen hours.

Was this a water-mill? — Yes, water and steam both.

To what time have you worked? — I have seen the mill going till it was past 12 o’clock on the Saturday night.

So that the mill was still working on the Sabbath morning? — Yes.

Were the workmen paid by the piece, or by the day? — No, all had stated wages.

Did not that almost compel you to use great severity to the hands then under you? — Yes; I was compelled often to beat them, in order to get them to attend to their work, from their being over-wrought.

Were not the children exceedingly fatigued at that time? — Yes, exceedingly fatigued.

Were the children bound in the same way in that mill? — No; they were bound from one year’s end to another, for twelve months.

Did you keep the hands locked up in the same way in that mill? — Yes, we locked up the mill; but we did not lock the bothy.

Did you find that the children were unable to pursue their labour properly to that extent? — Yes; they have been brought to that condition, that I have gone and fetched up the doctor to them, to see what was the matter with them, and to know whether they were able to rise or not able to rise; they were not at all able to rise; we have had great difficulty in getting them up.

When that was the case, how long have they been in bed, generally speaking? — Perhaps not above four or five hours in their beds.

from http://www.victorianweb.org/history/workers1.html#sadler

End Game

When the last living thing
Has died on account of us,
How poetical it would be
If Earth could say,
In a voice floating up
Perhaps
From the floor
Of the Grand Canyon,
“It is done.
People did not like it here.”

Kurt Vonnegut

AHHHHH!!! ITS THE END OF THE WORLD

*snicker*

Blood Poisoning

Water is the blood of the Earth, coursing through rivers and streams, into the oceans, evaporating into clouds in an endless cycle, and without it, there would be no life…

Poisoned Waters (Frontline)