Modest Dressing

I am a convert to modest dressing.  I have only been conciously trying to dress modestly for about eight years now.  Prior to that I was all about fashion and being "appreciated".  I have to put that in quotes because the kind of "appreciation" I got was not really what I was looking for.  In my pursuit of guidelines for modesty, I ran across a book by Colleen Hammond called "Dressing With Dignity", in which she discusses some very unpleasant but true facts about how we dress and how we are treated.  I did some research on my own, and concluded that her evidence was real.  In defense of women, I am not just speaking of us, here.  Modesty is just as important for men.  Women may not be as visual in nature as men, but we do take notice of physical attributes.  And in looking around me when I'm out in "the world", I realize just how important it is to encourage our children to dress modestly.  I mean, is it really that "cute" when little children run around topless, or a first grader bends over and you can see her entire torso?  Do we really think pedophiles are limited to the internet?

While there are many degrees of modesty, from fashionable to frumpy, I think most agree that basic modesty includes covering all cleavage and "privates".  This would include not only necklines and waistbands (as opposed to hip bands), but also sleeve lengths and hemlines.  Ms. Hammond's book gives one of the best basic guidelines I have found.  To paraphrase:  a woman's neckline should be such that cleavage is covered and when you bend over you are not giving a display; sleeve length should be long enough that when you lift your arms, you cannot see through to undergarments or what is underneath.  Also, fabrics should not be sheer or see-through. 

For myself, I prefer dresses and skirts, and I like my hemlines to be mid-calf or below, without slits, wraps or buttons that can inadvertently open to show my legs.  I like my legs just fine, but I don't feel I have to show them off to everybody anymore.  In cooler weather, I add a layer of leggings and socks under the dress.  I prefer my sleeves 3/4 length  or longer, I can always roll them up.  Again, I wear an extra shirt in cooler weather, a sweater is also an option.  I do wear shorter sleeves in hot weather.  I do not bear the burden of excessive cleavage, however, I do try to keep my necklines up near that little dip in my collarbone (forget what it's called).  Sometimes this involves adding a pin to close a low neckline a bit higher, or wrapping and tying a pretty scarf.

As far as head covering, sometimes I do and sometimes I don't.  This is more because of the fact that I have very fine hair that doesn't like to cooperate, and blows wildly in the slightest breeze.  I frequently wear scarves and hats, and have always enjoyed them.  I always try to wear a chapel veil in church, though there are many times I forget, and once in a while choose not to.  But that is a whole 'nuther issue.

Swimsuits are a challenge.  Though there are many options and offerings for modest clothing, there is a severe lack of choices in the swimsuit area.  I love to swim, and for years now, I have been wearing long shorts and a long sleeved tshirt to swim.  I have tried different materials, but unfortunately, the skin tight spandex seems to be the best choice for comfort, quick drying, and coverage.  Lately I have run across some great styles in modest swimwear, and hope to make a new modest swimsuit for myself for next year.  My favorite style is from Simply Modest, and consists of leggings ending just below the knee, and a tunic style shirt with short sleeves (which could be lengthened) and the tunic ending just a few inches above the knee, thereby covering the hip and buttocks area.  I am not sure how this would do in the water, but from my experience with the tshirts, I believe the spandex on the torso would stay put, while the longer area may ride up in the water, but could be smoothed back down upon exiting.  Another trick to keep in mind here, is choosing a patterned material for the top to de-emphasize the cling, and a solid, darker color for the leggings, for a slimming effect.  As for men and boys, I appreciate the long, baggy trunks, held up, of course, to cover their "cleavage", and the mesh shirts, popular for many sports are preferable, in my opinion, to a bare chest.  On a purely practical level, the more covered you are, the less need for sunscreen.

So there you have it - my take on modest dressing.  Now that I'm started, I'm sure I'll have more to say in future posts.

Recycling - Sorting and Storing

Recycling is a big part of our homesteading lifestyle.  Getting the best and most possible use out of everything we have just seems like good sense since we're trying to live simply and keep expenses down.  It also helps to have a place to put things so they are not cluttering up our life.  So recycling is not just about saving every scrap, but also putting it to use. 

For large items, such as lumber, scrap wood, posts, fencing, and potential water tanks, etc., we have a "bone pile", a designated area of the yard where these things are stored until needed.  Things such as "oops" paint, caulking, and other chemicals or supplies that would not do well out in the elements are stored in a shed.  For aluminum drink cans and other household recyclables, we have an old dog run where we have sorting bins.  One for aluminum drink cans, another for tin cans, one for plastics, which are further sorted by number or letter code at the recycling center, one for newspapers, cardboard, glass, etc.  We find this keeps these items from blowing around the yard with our frequent high winds, and the sorting bins keep the project manageable and easier to haul to the recycling center.  Also, when a need arises for a gallon plastic jug, or some newspapers, we know exactly where to find them. 

Inside the house, there is a smaller scale sorting system.  All junk mail, as well as waste from bills, etc., gets sorted into files:  letter size pages with one side blank are used in the copier for copies that don't need to be "official"; smaller papers and envelopes with a blank area are filed for further processing into notepads, which we go through an abundance of; burnable, non-glossy pages are put in the firestarter box, along with toilet paper rolls, cereal boxes, and other small, burnable packaging; glossies go in the trash, as they don't burn well.  When we had a paper shredder, we would shred alot of our junk mail, including glossies, to use as bedding for the animals and nest boxes.  From there, it would go into the compost heap or be used as mulch.

In the kitchen, vegetable and fruit trimmings and peels go into a bucket for the compost heap; other scraps go into a bowl for the dog or chickens; eggshells are dried in a pie pan in the oven (on pilot light), then crushed and fed back to the chickens;  coffee grounds and tea bags go into the compost bucket.  We have a trash can and a recycle can.  All cans, glass, and plastics get rinsed out and placed in the recycle can, later they are sorted into thier containers in our sorting bin area.

In the laundry room, worn out clothes, towels and bedding are washed well and placed in the rag basket.  Some are taken to the workshop for use there.  Some are placed in a mesh bag out in the tool shed to be used as oil rags or for other outdoor purposes.

Of course, many cities now have recycling programs as part of their trash pick up service.  Even so, in the city one can still set up a system that works for their particular situation.  If there is a recycling center nearby, you may wish to bring some items in for cash.  You may want to have a compost bin for your garden; you may want to recycle junk mail for the copier or notepads, as we do; worn out clothes and such are always good for cleaning rags.  In future posts, I will examine each area of potential recyclables, talk about how we repurpose them, and offer other ideas in each category.  Here's to a greener life;)

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

by Jamie Ford, (c)2009, http://www.randomhousereaderscircle.com/

An old hotel, a Japanese parasol, a secret World War II internment camp.  What do any of these have to do with a Chinese widower trying to get on with living?  "Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet" tells a story of lost love, family betrayal and wartime oppression, set in Seattle, Washington.

Henry, a Chinese boy, and Keiko, a Japanese girl, become best friends shortly after the start of the Great War.  When Japan bombs Pearl Harbor, the United States government starts "relocating" U.S. citizens of Japanese descent as well as Japanese immigrants, forcing them to abandon homes, businesses and treasured possessions.  Ford's depiction of the internment camps, though not as inhuman as the Nazi concentration camps, is nevertheless a frightening image of what a government is capable of, given too much power.  As grown-up Henry works through his grief and guilt after the death of his wife, events unfold that give him new hope and purpose in life, and maybe, in love.

This was our September Book Club read.  At first I thought it was a romance, which I don't care for.  After sneaking a peek at the first and last chapters, however, I realized it was historical fiction, which I greatly enjoy.  I could not put it down, and I appreciate that it addresses one of the "dirty little secrets" of our great country.  One of the benefits of books and now of the digital age, is the ability to expose such wrongs and make the general public aware, so that we can prevent them from happening again.  I highly recommend "Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet" for middle schoolers through adults.

http://www.randomhouse.com/book/54454/hotel-on-the-corner-of-bitter-and-sweet-by-jamie-ford/9780345505347/

I checked this book out of the local library, through our Book Club.  No compensation was received for this review.

Coyotes in the Classroom

Coyotes took over the schoolroom on Tuesday.  When we went out to feed our animals we discovered several holes in the chicken coop just about the right size and height for a coyote snout.  Add to that the fact that I've been waking up the last few nights to their howling, and what else could we do?  One more night and those holes would be big enough for a grown coyote to go through and we would be waking up to no more chickens.  Not to mention the two huge turkeys who will soon be making their way into the freezer.

Fortunately, the last time we had this problem, several years ago, I scrounged a number of pieces of sheet metal to block off the problem areas most of the way around the coop.  So just a few yards of flimsy wire netting remained to be reinforced.  I explained the problem to my student, and had him inspect the damage.  He agreed with me on what needed to be done. We managed to scrounge up one more length of sheet metal, and several pieces of plywood that were not much good for anything else, but perfect for this. So while he held up the "walls" and fished for nails, I hammered away.

After hours of laboring in the late summer sun, we were finally satisfied that our poultry were protected and called it a day.  We retreated to the house for shade, cold drinks and a late lunch.  With our schedule thrown into chaos, we spent the rest of the week catching up.  I am happy to report that we are back on track and ready to begin week 4 of third grade right where we are supposed to...at home;)

Half Broke Horses

Half Broke Horses, by Jeannette Walls, (c)2009, SimonandSchuster

This was a book club read, primarily because much of it takes place in our own area of Ash Fork, Seligman and Red Lake, AZ.  We also found out that the husband of one of our members grew up with the author's grandmother, Lily Casey Smith, who is the subject of the book - boy, that was an interesting discussion!  After reading Shy Boy, the descriptions of breaking the ranch horses was rather disturbing.  But there is one section where the truck Lily and her daughter are driving breaks down in the middle of the range and the best option is to coax a wild horse into helping them.,  It was nearly Shy Boy all over again.  But only for that brief moment.  The most interesting part of this book was the description of daily ranch life and travel during the Great Depression and the Great War (WWII).

To read about how children were reaised and treated at that time made me glad for improvements in attitudes toward childrearing.  At 15 years of age, after spending 10 years working her father's ranch and breaking horses, Lily Casey Smith rode solo, on horseback, from New Mexico to Northern Arizona to work as a teacher in the district of Red Lake.  Her courage and resolve were inspiring.  There are also stories of Lily and her siblings narrowly surviving flash floods, tornadoes, and living in a sod house. 

I could relate to her feelings about the big cities of Chicago and Phoenix.  Culture and modern comforts are nice, but too many people.  My favorite lines are when Lily tells her husband "In the city people worry about themselves.  In the country we worry about the weather and the livestock." 

No compensation was received for this review.  I checked this book out from my local library;)

Shy Boy - The Horse That Came In From The Wild

Shy Boy - The Horse That Came In From The Wild, by Monty Roberts, (c)1999, HarperCollinsPublishers

I love this story about Monty Roberts' introduction to the wild mustang and his happening upon the language of horses which led to his great success in starting and rehabilitating dozens of horses, travelling the world to teach others to do the same.


Roberts tells the story of the wild horse, from its' origins in North America and migration to Europe and Asia, to its' arrival back in North America with Spanish explorers. From herds of millions which once roamed the great plains, to a few thousand survivors of government roundups, sport hunts and starvation. He also narrates the evolution of horse training, from brute force, to gentle cooperation. Nearly all these techniques have been around since man first decided to ride a horse but brute force tends to be thought the quicker, more popular way to "break" a horse. To get a horse to want to cooperate often takes more time and patience than most people have. Roberts shows in Shy Boy's story, that taking that time is far more important in the long run than just quickly getting a saddle on. The proof is at the end of the book, when Shy Boy make his final choice between the herd and his gentler...

No compensation was received for this review.  I checked this book out from my local library;)

Using Bar Soap

In my other life, when I thought of bar soap, it was an icky, slimy mess in the shower.  Then I embarked upon the homesteading life.  When I acquired my first goat, Jenny, I began to wonder - what ELSE can I do with all this milk?  The idea first came to me while I was browsing through my old Reader's Digest "Back to Basics" book - SOAP!  I threw the idea out at a 4H meeting and was met with instant enthusiasm.  So began my journey into producing homemade soaps and skin care products.

Though I occasionally make a liquid soap, by far my favorite is still the goats milk bar - with lavender and tea tree, or rose oil, or chocolate fragrance.  To get the most enjoyment, use and longest life out of your bar soap, here are some tips to consider.

- keep it dry.

There are alot of pretty soap dishes available, but you don't want your bar to be sitting in a puddle of water.  It will melt into goo.  Make sure you dump the water out every time you use it (and train the kids to as well).  It also helps to elevate the soap slightly. 

- expose it to air.

Soap takes five weeks to cure after it's made.  It continues to cure until it's used up.  Curing ensures that saponification is complete and the soap is gentle (meaning it won't wash the paint off the barn!).  It also allows excess water to evaporate out of the soap, making for a harder, longer lasting bar.  Exposing it to air will not only help keep it dry, but allow it to continue curing, making it clean and lather better.

- use it all up.

What do you do with those skinny little soap chips at the end of the bar?  Let me count the ways:
- put them in a cotton, organza or other fabric "soap" bag and continue using until they're all gone.

- save in a quart jar and when it's full, put the chips in a saucepan, cover with water and boil until dissolved.  Pour into a square cake pan and let harden, then cut into new bars (never use soap pans for food preparation after making soap).  No curing needed - this is called "remilled" or "french milled" soap.
_ add a little extra water while soap chips are boiling to make a gel and pour into an empty gallon jug and use for laundry soap.
_ my favorite:  put soap chips in and old (clean) sock, then get it soaking wet and clean the soap scum off the sink and tub - works much better than any cleanser I've tried.

So if you've been using a liquid pump soap, complete with unrecognizable and synthetic chemical ingredients, why not give old-fashioned bar soap another try?  And if you're already a convert, try some of these tips to get more mileage out of Mrs. D's great soap!