Dementia for 2

I know I have not blogged in months and I must admit I have just not been in to it for a while.
A lot has happened in my life and I think I am still trying to get the dizziness to stop. I will try to stay on point with this but please bear in mind it has been awhile!

My daughter "B" moved to Florida about 2 months ago. I miss her terribly and am afraid she made this move too soon and without enough preparation. But, she is young and I am sure she will be okay it is just going to take her a little longer than she anticipated.

We drove from Elvisland to Palm Coast with all of her stuff. I am not going to go into all the gory details because I am not sure I can do it without using some colorful adjectives. Suffice it to say I do not want to make a trip like that again anytime soon.

I managed to get separated from B and hubs just outside of  Tuskegee Al. Even though I know how bad the economy is, I was not prepared for what I saw there. Empty houses, abandoned buildings, overgrown lots, it was quite disheartening. I realized at that moment that our country is "closing up shop" one small town at a time.

I look around the small town that I live in and and I think that since we are so close to a large city, I just didn't really "see" what was going on. Large chains have bought up most of the mom and pop type stores here. Pawn shops and Title Loan offices are everywhere.

Housing is just horrible. Builders are just now starting back up and even then it is very slow. Rental property has loan shark pricing and that is for a borderline decent house in a borderline neighborhood. Apartments are worse.

I hate to see all these little towns just cease to exist. I don't think that the powers that be have even given it a second thought. the brass ring isn't found in a small town. But, if you are a farmer and you have to travel over 50 miles just to buy a loaf of bread, what's the point? We are losing the family farm to the bigger corporate farming companies and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight.

I hate to think that my hometown will one day cease to exist along with so many others. But, the last time I was home, the last breath was being drawn. I don't know the solution to this problem but I do know that soon the American small town will be spoken of like so many things.....in the past tense.

I have not blogged in a while due to my illness. It has taken me quite a while to get over this bout of pneumonia. I think I am finally out of the woods.

Granny has been in the hospital for a week battling the same thing. They also found fluid build up on her heart. The doctor has decided to treat her with aspirin. We are praying that this works out for her. She should be going back to the nursing home today.

I don't usually write about my family in such a frank way, but I fell compelled to tell my son's story. I am hoping this will help others that are dealing with similar situations.

"J" has an addictive personality. He is very soft hearted and compassionate and children are just drawn to him. However, he like all of us has made some very poor life decisions. The main one being his love of drugs. He thinks I am blind to this because I don't always say something about his condition when I know he is strung out.

A few months ago he moved to Texas. This was very hard for me to deal with since I have never been separated from either of my children. We talked about this decision before he left and we both knew this was the best move for him at the time. "J" moved there specifically to dry out. He spent 2 weeks in hard withdrawal before he could even leave the house.

Once he was clean, he started trying to find work. I don't have to tell any of you how incredibly hard that is right now. Things did not work out for him for a variety of reasons and he is now back at home. I am overjoyed that he is here. He has been able to secure a job through the help of family and friends. Best of all I have the "J" that I know and love back.

The lesson he still has not learned will probably lead him back to his old lifestyle. This lesson is simple. You cannot hang out in the same places with the same people if you are clean. These people will constantly try to get you to partake in the things you used to do. Right now he is still able to say no. But I fear there will come a day when he will be unable to say no. I have been there done that.

He and I have talked about this at length. I have explained to him that the next time he gets in this situation it will be worse and much harder to get clean. I cannot make him change these things in his environment. I am praying for him and when it comes up we do talk about it. But the fear for him is great in me.

If you are in a similar situation, I cannot stress enough how important it is that you change your environment. These people are not your friends. Those old haunts of yours are not safe. Everything must be different if you are to succeed in your quest to remain clean.

When you think of being kind, what comes to your mind? This is a discussion I have been having with others lately. The answers have been as varied as the individuals. I must confess I myself seem to have a perverted sense of just exactly what this word means.

According to the dictionary, the word kind means:

1. Of a friendly, generous, or warm-hearted nature.
2. Showing sympathy or understanding; charitable: a kind word.
3. Humane; considerate: kind to animals.
4. Forbearing; tolerant.
5. Generous; liberal.
6. Agreeable; beneficial.

The reason that I bring this up is a study I have been doing on the Fruit of the Spirit. One of the characteristics listed is kindness. I have put this study down because I have realized that I do not want to be kind. I consider it a sign of weakness. I see kind people pushed around all day and I do not want that to be me. But God desires that I be a kind person.

I keep running all these scenarios in my mind and I always seem to feel angry and defensive just thinking about them. To be kind in the face of rudeness or verbal abuse or just plain indifference is a very daunting task.

To be kind I have to be forbearing when my husband speaks to me in a sharp or condescending tone unnecessarily. I have to have a warm heated nature in spite of the things that are being said or done to me. That is definitely not in my nature. I am more apt to tell you exactly what I think and can be quite sharp in doing so.
I do not want to come across as a cold hearted person but at the same time I do not want to be a doormat either.

Kindness is more about actions to me but I am coming to the realization that kindness is about words and attitude also. Some of the people I have spoken with have politeness confused with kindness. While I do feel that these two things can go hand in hand, I also think you have have one without the other.

I tend to use my work environment as an excuse for being unkind. The problem with that is that Christ walked with the lowest of the low and still remained kind.That tells me that it is possible to be kind regardless of your environment. I also want to use my past as a crutch. While my past has shaped me it does not have to rule me.

I am not sure if I will be able to understand enough to conquer my trepidation over this issue. I do know that God has convicted me about this and if I am to progress in my journey, I must make some changes in my thinking.

I am sure there are not that many people out there that are unaware of the devastating weather that hit the south these past few days.

Since Memphis is situated on the banks of the Mighty Mississippi, this is of great concern to all of us that live near there. They are predicting that the river will crest somewhere around the 10th of May. All around us, rivers and creeks are filled to capacity. I cannot remember seeing flooding like this around here.

Since I work in a casino that is on the river, we have all been concerned about our jobs. The gaming commission has decided that all of the casinos in the area must be closed by 2p.m. on Monday. They are estimating that we will be closed for about 3-6 weeks. Fortunately for us, they are going to pay us. We do not know exactly how much as of yet, but I am just grateful it will be more than the 200 I would collect from unemployment.

I am also grateful for the short vacation! My son immediately said to me, "Now maybe you can get some rest mom." I am looking forward to having a few weekends off and helping some of my family with their yard work.

God has been so gracious to me to put other means of employment in my path and this extra money will truly be needed during this time.

Hopefully I can get some photos of all this for y'all to see in the not too distant future.

The only concern I have is when we go back to work. The last time they closed a casino due to flooding, there was a serious problem with Water Moccasins also known as Cottonmouth Snake, in the building and hiding in the slot machines. Hopefully, they will secure the buildings enough so that won't be a problem.

Please remember all of us in your prayers. So many have already lost their homes in the area and I fear more will lose theirs within the next few weeks.

I have been composting for several years now. I did a lot of reading on the net before we built our first compost bin. Everyone seems to have their own system and you can find hundreds of ways to "properly" compost. There are some "tricks" to help speed the process along, but for the most part nature does have to take its course.

I have 2 compost bins. We built the first one and my son bought me a second one. I must confess, I do like the one we built better. It is larger and easier for me to turn and empty.

We built our bin out of pallets. You can find these just about anywhere if you look. Some home improvement stores will even give you some of theirs if you ask. We got ours from construction sites and from the curb of homes that were laying sod in the summer. We used 3 pallets and some extra plywood for the front. The pallets make up the sides and the bottom. I also purchased some plastic mesh from Home Depot to line the inside. I used the plastic kind because over time the metal mesh will rust and come apart. I don't have a top on my bin so I use a tarp weighted down with boards. This works for me because I don't have to worry about the wind blowing the top down on me and I can adjust the tarp to make sure I have it covered nicely.

As far as the actual composting goes, I just throw it in there without any layering. The first summer I put all "green" stuff in there. Grass clippings, raw foods from my kitchen, etc. Then in the winter, I took leaves and put them in there. Some people use the "lasagna" method. Green brown, green brown you get the idea. Since you will be turning your compost, I don't bother with all that extra work. You do want to make sure that you turn your compost enough to get a good mix. This helps in the decomposition of some things.

There are others that will also layer a soaker hose in their compost bins. While I think this is a really good idea, I cannot seem to remember to do it to my own bins when I empty them. Watering is important to decomposition. I do water mine if it has been dry for several weeks. Otherwise, if I know it is going to rain, I just remove the covers and nature waters for me.

There are things that I don't compost because I cannot find any articles that recommend them. I don't compost any dairy or meat products except fish or shrimp. I only compost those items if they have not been cooked in any seasonings. You can search the web and find a plethora of articles on what is compostable and what is not. As far as turning goes, some folks turn their compost daily. I only turn mine when I have to water it or I add something new to the mix. I also compost tea bags, coffee grounds and egg shells. If you grow roses, you know these items are excellent for your beds.

I have had great success with my composting adventure. This past summer when I had to replant some of my house plants, I used my compost. I also added some to my garden and have started a new flower bed with just compost. The good thing about compost is that you know there are no chemicals in your soil. The soil also holds water better so less watering is needed. I noticed a significant growth in my plants once they were planted in compost.In the garden compost is an excellent fertilizer. I used no chemicals on my garden this past year and was very satisfied with my results.

Composting is very easy to do and you don't need a large container or a lot of space to compost. You can use just about any size container to start a compost bin. You could even use no bin at all and just pile up your compost. My mom has used this method and it is by far the easiest way to compost.

If you have children, composting is an ongoing science project. My grandson loves to turn my compost to see how many worms he can find and how much is actually ready to use.

The last thing I want to touch on is smell. I was concerned that my bin would start to smell and bring on undesirable animals. Your compost should smell like the forest floor. If you notice any rancid odors, you have put something in their that should not be composted. If you go only with raw food items, you should be okay.

I hope that you will try composting. I think you will enjoy using your own dirt in your planting projects.

I am very thin. I mean VERY thin. I have had every test known to man run on me to make sure I have nothing physically wrong with me. I eat at all the wrong hours. I have been known to binge on battered, fried, dipped and swirled foods. Still no weight gain. I have done the whole Ensure, protein shake, etc. thing. Still no weight gain.

So, I have learned to live with this. The problem is that I have an extremely hard time finding clothes that fit properly. I am too tall for petites and to skinny for misses. I have been known to shop in the juniors section and even children's section.

But, I love thrift stores! Believe it or not, I can find clothes that actually fit. I have been able to find name brand clothes with price tags still on them for a fraction of the cost. I am talking Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, Liz Claiborne!

I prefer the Salvation Army stores over others. They are bigger and have better sales. All of their items are priced with a colored coded tag. Everyday a certain color is on sale. In my area on Wednesday, all clothing is 50% off!

Thrift stores also offer furniture, nick knacks, linens, books,etc. I have stumbled across many antiques items in thrift stores for a song!

I also like to go to consignment shops. You can find more upscale clothing in these shops. I have been able to purchase suits, shoes, handbags, and other accessories for a fraction of the retail cost. You can also take your clothing there and resell it. Usually, they will tell you about what you can resell it for. Some shops have a time limit on the price before they knock it down. Some consignment shops will only let you have it on consignment for a certain amount of time before it becomes the property of the shop or, you can pick your item up if it doesn't sell. Rules vary from shop to shop so be sure to ask questions before you leave your item.

If you are the type of person that enjoys the hunt as much as the sale, then thrift stores are the way to go.

My friend Small Footprints has a very interesting environmental blog. She throws the gauntlet back at us every Wednesday with a new weekly challenge. I don't always participate, but I do try.

As many of you know, I occasionally throw newspapers. I often write about my "treasures" that I have picked up along the way. Since I have 2 compost bins, it can be difficult to find enough "brown' material. What I have started doing is taking bags of leaves from homes that I deliver newspapers to.

I know this sounds weird, but you just have to know me to fully grasp the hilarity of me racing out of my car at 2-3am to put bags of leaves in the back. The good thing about this is that I am able to get leaves for my compost bins and my garden plus I can reuse some of the plastic yard bags. The bonus is these people are now recycling without any effort on their part.

I have been doing this for several years now. My mother used to laugh at me until she saw just how rich and black my dirt was last year. Now she also has a compost bin and I can't wait until the spring when we can spread her "new" dirt in her flower beds!

Carla is my grandson's mother. We first met on very bad terms. Since my son was determined to be with her, we developed our own relationship. I had to spend a lot of time on my knees to get to that point.

Since Carla is closer in age to me, we eventually developed our own relationship.
I first noticed the way she talks. she always says "I walked, or we walked,etc." This is unusual because Carla has been in a wheel chair for over 10 years. She was in a car accident when her daughter was still a toddler.

She was blessed to have survived the accident at all. While she doesn't remember the accident, she does remember the events leading up to the accident and her recovery after. Drugs and alcohol were involved and she is fortunate that no one died.

I remember the first time we went anywhere. I cannot remember if it was the supermarket,or some other store. I just remember looking for a place to park. I thought it was cool that we could use her plaque since this entitled us to park rather close. However, once we got there I was amazed and then angered at all the cars with no tags or plaques that entitled them to park there. That was my first real eye opener into my surroundings and the shortfalls that I now see almost everywhere.

The limitations that we place on those that we deem "handicapped" is horrible. Carla is only limited by her chair. She cannot eat in some restaurants, go to any historic sites be they homes or movie houses. She has to have a car big enough for her chair and her son.

While I may not agree with some of Carla's choices regarding her life, I do envy her spirit. She is very easy going and laid back. She is almost always happy and up beat. She reminds me of all the happy hippies I used to see when I was very young. We could all learn from a woman like Carla.

July 24 is a day set aside to think of those in your life with disabilities. As you go about your day, I ask that you look at your surroundings. Ask yourself if you were in a wheel chair could you go there? What about if you were blind or did not have all your limbs. How easy would it be for you to cook a meal sitting down knowing that your stove was too high?

We all talk about changing the government, environment, our cities and towns. What about just making it easier for others to enjoy what we seem to take for granted?

I have watched Carla overcome many things in the time that I have known her. But, the one thing she cannot overcome is the way we as a people treat those in her situation. To still have her free spirit and to love God through it all is a lesson we could all learn from.

I could see the look on my daughter's face when I told her that I would be attempting to cook this week without using the stove or oven. Picture a deer in headlights with a plate of food in its hooves and you have her look.

That is the new challenge from Small Footprints this week. This will be a hard challenge indeed. I make cornbread almost every night that I cook. I might break down if I see tears but I am going to try and be strong.

However, I will be learning just what all I can cook in my crock pot and my slow cooker this week. Since we all work nights but have different days off around here, I am hoping that this won't be that hard.

Except for the cornbread.

I encourage you all to mosey on over to Small Footprints and read her blog. She has some very interesting articles and some challenges that we can all try to reduce our carbon footprints.

I like my cornbread made in a cast iron skillet. Muffins just don't "feel" right to me. No sugar, just fresh and hot from the over with lots of butter! This is not a pic of my own cornbread, but it still looks delish!!

While I could never be Lee Stroud, I do try to live a little greener life these days. I find that it takes a conscious effort and some planning to live like this.

My newest adventure is to read my food labels more. This is a real chore for me since I absolutely HATE to go to the grocer. I just want in and out. Even though I go in the wee hours of the morning, it still such a chore! All that label reading...ugh! But, I have noticed that a lot of quick foods are very high in sodium. This has caused me to rethink what I put in my lunches. No more fast food from the grocer if I can help it.

I also have a compost bin that I have decided is too small. Hubs and I built if from pallets and it has lasted about 3 years now. I thought of buying one of those enclosed tumbler types, but, they are quite expensive. So I found some plans on the web to build my own for around 60 bucks if I can reuse some of the items required. If not, it still won't cost near what they are going for.

I have replaced most of my light bulbs with the new florescent ones. These are more expensive but they do last longer. I also discovered that Home Depot will take the burned ones and recycle them for free. So now I know where to take them when I have to replace them.

I use those reusable grocery bags to cut down on my plastic use. These I love! I find that the cashier will put more in these bags than they do those plastic ones. I also reuse my produce plastic bags. I will eventually buy some reusable produce bags, but for now, I have plenty of these to use til I have to recycle them.

Since my glasses kept disappearing from the kitchen, I started using jelly/pickle/mayo jars several years ago. The reasoning behind this is simple. If you want to take a glass with you, take one of those so I can keep my matching glasses. Unfortunately, now that is about all I have in the cupboard. If I ever do any real entertaining, I will have to invest in some decent glasses.

When the kids come over for dinner, they always want to take home the leftovers. This is a good and bad situation. Good because it frees up room in my fridge. Bad because they take my Tupperware with them never to be seen by me again. So I have started saving my butter/cheese/cool whip type bowls. Even stuff I get from the deli that comes in a resealable bowl I save. Now when they come over, they can take stuff home in those. What is funny about this is they will bring that stuff back for refills. Go figure.

I also recycle cans, newspapers, etc. I have a lot of mixed metal in my garage that I need to get rid of soon. Magazines can be donated to your local schools,libraries, or even nursing homes.

So there is my green list. I do have some things I want to accomplish this year to live a little greener. I don't know if I will get to all of them since some are quite expensive, but every little bit helps. I have found that I save money in the long run by doing some of these things, and that is never a bad thing.

So this week's challenge by Small Footprints is what we down her in the south call a real booger bear.

Are you ready for this? No paper towels for a week!! 7 whole days. The Styrofoam thing was really tough because there are so many things that you buy that are only packaged with Styrofoam. But this...well this really takes some creativity on my part.

I don't use a lot of paper towels but when I do, it seems as though that is the only thing that will do. We use a redneck version of a cloth napkin and I use old towels that I have torn for drying dishes and the like.

But...when I cook I wash my meat and lay it on paper towels to dry a little before cooking. In order to reduce my use I have decided to use my colander to replace the paper towels.

I also use paper towels to dry my cast iron cookware. I have begun to use towels for this also.

The problem is french fries. I love french fries! But I have to find an alternative to drain them on. I used to use paper grocery bags but they seem to be extinct. I guess I could also use my colander for that too. We will see.

Anyway, the good news is that my family is starting to get into the groove of this. Hubs is all over it but my daughter B has been a little reluctant. But she is making a serious effort to get on board and I applaud her valiant efforts.

If you follow Small Footprints, then you are familiar with her weekly environmental challenges. If not, you should pop over and check out her blog. She has some very informative articles and great tips for living a greener life.

This week's challenge is about plant of all sorts. So, I thought I would write about some of the plants that I have and how easy they are to grow.

The first is the Rose Of Sharon tree. You should plant this in early spring, but you can start it in a pot in your home and move it to the yard in the spring. You don't have to go out and buy this tree if you know someone that has one. Just clip some branches off of an existing tree. You want your clippings to be about 2 feet long. I started mine in just a jar of water. Once you clip them, they will lose their leaves but these do come back. I left them in water for about 2 weeks and then planted them in the yard. They come in a variety of colors and you can also find the single or double flowering kind. The make a good privacy border or filler for a spot in your yard.



The other plant that I started from clippings, is the Forsythia Bush. This is a beautiful bush with small yellow flowers. It also can be pink or white depending on the variety. I did not do so well this year with my transplants mainly because of the heat. So, if you decide to start one of these bushes, I would suggest that you do it when it is cooler so that the shock won't be too much for it. I am going to get more clippings from my mom this weekend. If left unattended, these can grow quite large. So prune them if you don't want a huge bush.



You can also start many houseplants from clippings. You will need some type of jar/bottle and a windowsill. Just put a little dirt in the bottom and fill with water. Add your clippings and when they take root, move to pots.

A lot of friends will trade plant clippings. If you receive any clippings and you are away from home, take wet paper towels and wrap the clippings in them. Put this in a plastic bag and they should keep for several hours. Below are some common houseplants that can be started from clippings.

They are: Wandering Jew, Airplane or Spider plant, and Money plant.

Happy planting!

Once again Small Footprints has given us a very daunting challenge! Do not buy anything for a week! Now she limited this to unnecessary items. The exception being food,health, and safety products.

Since we only have one regular income in my house at the moment, this is not a hard challenge for me except in the area of shoes. I have a real problem with shoes. I just cannot turn down a cute pair of heels especially if they are on sale. I do need some new work shoes but I can put that off for a week.

This idea came form her friend at Sober White Women. Since I reuse a lot of stuff and I am starting to repurpose more, I thought I would share some of my ideas with all of you.

I have a basket by my back door filled with old towels from my own linen closet and from yard sales. I use them to dry off my dogs when they come inside. When these towels get too thin for this purpose or tear in awkward places, I cut them up and use them as rags for washing car, dusting, etc. You can also use old cotton socks for dusting. They fit on your hand and work really well.

Since hubs does home repair, we try to repurpose any thing that is still usable that he replaces. This has included cabinets, vanities, and the like. What he cannot reuse, we recycle if possible.

I have a small garden and my mom's friend is an avid hunter. So I have a freezer full of deer, and fresh veggies that I put up myself. So I only have to buy staples at the market. My goal is to only shop once a month.

My daughter and I are the same size and when she tires of her clothes, I get first dibs so I have not bought jeans in over a year. But her taste in shoes is sorely lacking.

****UPDATE****
Last weeks challenge was to go one day without driving. It was hot as Hades here Wednesday, which was my token day. My grandson and I did not go anywhere. It was still in the 90's at 6pm so I opted to refrain from walking my dogs with him in this heat.

I threw papers Fri-Sun. Since I needed to pick up the route list for the route I was to throw, and she wanted to meet on Wed., I asked her if she could just leave it at the office on Thur. morning so I would not have to drive. I did have to pick up my grandson but all in all, I did pretty well without driving. I thought I would have a ton of things come up that would prevent me from participating in this challenge, but it worked out and we stayed home and finger painted and made scrapbook pages for Granny. It was a very fun day for the both of us:)

Small Footprints has really been laying down the gauntlet lately. She has been issuing challenges for her readers to try on Wednesdays. Most of them have been fairly easy to accomplish. But this one will be hard for me.

This week's challenge is to go one WHOLE day without driving. Since my job is 32 miles away, biking is out of the question. I also throw newspapers on occasion, so nix those days. But... Wednesday I am off work and I am not throwing papers! So I am doing all my far away errands today and my grandson is coming over tomorrow. I thought I would involve him in this little venture and see what he comes with as an alternative to driving. It is supposed to be 98 here tomorrow and with the humidity, the heat index should be in the low 100's. I don't think we will be spending much time outdoors. Maybe in the late afternoon, he and I can walk the dogs together and he can get a different take on the neighborhood.

I think this is by far the hardest challenge I am undertaking, but it will be fun to see what I can come up with as alternative transportation.

One of the blogs that I follow is Reduce Footprints. She has been doing some very interesting posts on Wednesdays. They have been somewhat challenging in that you asked to change some of your habits to reduce your carbon footprint. Some of my more conservative friends may think this is not necessary, but if you look at from a financial point, you will save money and help your local businesses out.

This week's challenge is to eat locally grown food for a day. This is going to be hard for me. Even though I live in the Bible Belt, there just are not many local farmers that sell to the public. So I am having to put some real thought into this.

Fortunately for me, hubs and I work different shifts, so I only have to cook one meal for us to eat together. For meals that we eat apart, I don't eat a lot of meat, so local fruits and veggies for me.

So here is my menu per her request:)

Roast - this will be deer roast that I got from a friend of my mom's Since he is an avid hunter, I have a freezer full and I know this is local.

Steamed green beans bought from the farmer's market.

New potatoes with bechamel sauce. I have checked my milk and it is not local so I will have to improvise.

Since I do have local flour and free range eggs from a friend at work, I will be making my own bread.

I hope that some of you will also try this challenge. If you are already a label reader, and have a good local farmer's market, this will be a no brainer. For the rest of us, well....we can do it!!!

Have fun and let me know how it goes.

Article One of the Constitution covers the right to copyright and patent with regards to writers and inventors. For 200 years Congress would not allow the patent of living organisms. This was deliberately excluded from the Constitution on moral grounds.

In the 1930's plant breeders were given the right to patent their work, however, this did not include future generations of seeds. In 1978, the first living organism was taken to the U.S. Patent Office. Dr. A. Chakrabarty, a genetic engineer working for General Electric, developed an oil eating microbe. He tries to patent it and it was turned down. To make a long story short, this goes all the way to the U.S.Supreme Court. The court decides that he can patent this and their decision states in part,"A live, human-made micro-organism is patentable subject matter under [Title 35 U.S.C.] 101. Respondent's micro-organism constitutes a "manufacture" or "composition of matter" within that statute."

This paves the way for companies like GE, to start getting patents on numerous living things. From microbes to genes, to seeds. During the Regan administration patents on animals, human gens and body parts were obtained by large corporations. So if they own the gene used in a particular type of research and you use it, they own your research. This has never been voted on by Congress or the people of the United States.

Since we are talking food, Monsanto owns the patent on 11,000 seeds. What are known as "heirloom" seeds are becoming a thing of the past. Because of this type of practice, farmers are being sued and states are passing laws forbidding anyone but family owned farms to be in their states.

We have government agencies in place that are designed to be responsible for the safety of genetically modified foods.

Department of Agriculture - They are responsible for assessing the environmental impact of GMO crops and regulating GMO field testing. In a study of over 8000 GMO field applicants, the USDA did not regulate a single environmental assessment.

FDA - The FDA determines the safety of foods and food ingredients. Although the FDA consults with food developers about their data on the safety and nutrition of GMOs, submission of such data to the FDA is voluntary. A GMO judged to be "substantially equivalent" to the existing crop, except for its transgene, does not require rigorous safety testing.

EPA - This agency is supposed to regulate insecticides. Monsanto's "BT Corn" has a natural insecticide engineered into every GMO ear of corn grown with their seeds.

I realize this is a pretty technical post. I feel it is important to know who is to protect the American people and what they are really doing. Food and medicine are things we cannot live without. We need to know how GMOs are affecting our medical circles and what we can do to protect ourselves and our children.

Here are some more facts to go along with the video.

1. In the mid 1990's the Green Revolution morphed into the Gene Revolution.

2. Monsanto the makers of Round Up, profited from this technology by making its seeds "Round Up Ready". Now farmers have to spray seeds when they go into the ground instead of on an as needed basis.

Monsanto has patented over 11,000 seeds. This is bad news for today's farmers. I have listed some links below for you to peruse at your leisure. This is the story of just 2 farmers. I am sure there are many more out there who were to afraid to speak out.

Percy Schmeiser vs. Monsanto

Rodney Nelson

In our continuing quest to eat healthier, we have started reading labels, cutting back on sugars, and processed foods, and in some cases, growing some of our own food.

When you go to the produce section of your local supermarket, you are thinking how fresh and tempting all that produce is. But if you stop and think about how the produce made it to your supermarket and what exactly happens in the growing of our food, you might not want to buy that lovely ripe red tomato.

The average mileage for food to get travel to get to your grocer's is 1500 miles. We buy apples shipped from China. I have looked for a list of all produce shipped to us from overseas, but that information is hard to find.

I don't know if any of you remember the "Flavor Savr" Tomato. This was the first genetically engineered food to reach consumers. Calgene, the company that produced the tomato, did 3 volunteer studies on rats with the tomato. Some of these rats developed lesions in their stomachs. The tomatoes were put on the shelves for our consumption anyway. Since the tomato did not hold up in shipping, it was later removed from store shelves.

We have Grace Booth to thank for making us aware of the fact that we are eating genetically modified food.

Unfortunately, none of the government agencies that are supposed to be protecting us from these type of things are doing their jobs. More on that later.

What I am noticing is how deep the company Monsanto is in all of this. As many of you know, Monsanto is the maker of Round Up. In my subsequent posts, I will be exploring the depths of Monsanto's involvement in our food supply.

Next we will talk about the Gene Revolution and how that has affected the food we eat. Until then, start a patio or container garden, visit your local Farmer's Market, you will glean a much greater appreciation for the produce you eat.

I have recently learned of the strong arm tactics that are used by insecticide and herbicide companies to control our food supply. I was shocked and amazed that this has been allowed with no knowledge or vote by the people of the USA. I don't want to get on a political rant, or sound all "mother earth", but this has really made me mad.

Here are some stats for you to think about:
1. Less than 2% of Americans are farmers.
2. 90% of the varieties of vegetables grown in the beginning of the 20th century, are now extinct.
3. In the 19th century there were more than 5000 types of potatoes grown worldwide. Now only 4 varieties are widely grown.
4. Also in the 19th century the USA alone grew more than 7000 varieties of apples. Now according to the US Apple Association, the US grows about 2500 with only 7500 varieties being grown worldwide.

During WWI, nitrogen based bombs led to nitrogen based fertilizers. There are several sites you can Google to read on the link between the 2. I am only providing 1.

During WWII, nerve gas was invented. This was slightly modified to make insecticides such as DDT the hero of a generation. Now we are all familiar with the toxic effects of DDT.

All of this new technology promised higher crop yield, and cheaper food. By the mid 20th century, this technology along with new developments in plant breeding led to the Green Revolution.

Now we have large fields of only one crop being grown. This can lead to insects and disease. Remember all that stuff you learned about crop rotation in school? So farmers start spraying their fields. The more they spray, the more they have to spray. Jump to the 1970's. A company named Monsanto invents a herbicide to all of us by the name Round Up. This becomes the most popular herbicide in history.

The problem with this herbicide as we will learn in future posts, is that it has led to increased costs, polluted waters and increased health risks.

Now that I have scared the wits out of you, I want to encourage you to think about what you are putting in your mouths. Eating is a very intimate thing and we should all be very cognizant of what we are really eating.

I know the photo I chose is not of food, but the magnificent California Condor is the poster child of the effects of DDT. Just a gentle reminder from me of what just one animal has suffered.

I love summer in the deep south. You don't know heat until you have lived here. Humidity so thick it looks like gas fumes across the streets. Mosquitoes as big as birds and the smells! The smell of rain in the air that never comes or the smell of jasmine in the morning. I just love it!

The casino I work at is in the middle of what used to be a cotton field. My drive to work is 32 miles one way. In the summer when the cotton is ready to be picked, it looks like fields of snow. What a glorious site. I can't forget the gardens. Rows and rows of peas, tomatoes, corn, squash, okra, peppers, you name we can grow it.

You would think with all this great fresh food that Farmer's Markets would be in abundance here. Not so, much to my chagrin. It is really hard to find a Farmer's Market or an Organic Grocer for that matter.

I did find a website that lists all the "pick your own" type of farms in the country and there are a few in my area. I can't wait until things start coming into season so I can try my hand at canning and preserving. This will be my first year to try anything like this and I am very excited.

I hope that I am not biting off more than I can chew, but I am thinking I can get the kids to help and hopefully between the 3 of us we can put some good stuff in the freezer this year to cut our food costs this winter.