Heartless

I read this book with my book club and I loved it! It was a cute romance filled with Alice in Wonderland throwbacks. It’s the story of the queen of hearts before she became queen. It leaves you guessing and wondering how she could ever become an evil head offing person! She loves to bake and dreams of having a bakery one day so that was fun. A good clean action romance.

Geekerella

I listened to this book recently and I loved it! It was predictable because it is based on Cinderella. It is set in the south in modern day and revolves around a sci fi tv show that is being remaked into a movie. I loved all the adaptations and cosplay and insights into the worlds of sci fi fans and famous actors. There was little swearing and they even use a different sci fi made up word for some. It was cute and I enjoyed listening to it. For young girls: there is one minor character who is hinted at being a lesbian and she likes a girl and holds her hand in the end. It is very subtle and they could just be friends, not affection is mentioned other than they spend time together and hold hands. 

I bought this book for Nonny for Christmas. We decided to read it for my book club and I was overjoyed! It is a really fast and interesting story set in non other than Florence, Italy. On her mothers death bed she begs her to go meet this man who was her friend the exact same years ago as she is old...so...its got to be her long lost father she has never met or known about. She goes to Florence and has a crazy time trying to piece together her mothers life while she was living there 15 years ago. Along the way she finds love, and GELATO!!!

It was so fun to read because I recently went to Florence and when she talked about the Duomo, the Ponte Vecchio, and the obscure gelato place that was heavenly I reminisced about when I experienced them. It was like I was back there. I just HAD to eat some gelato while I read this book, although it is not the same frozen from the grocery store as it is in Italy.

All in all, a very fun book, albeit a bit predictable. Maybe I've just read too many romance books, but I figured out all the secrets in an instant. It was still very fun to read. She is coming out with a new book "Love and Luck" in May about a girl who travels to Ireland. So...MosleyGirlsTrip 2019 to Dublin???

My Lady Jane

I LOVED this book! I enjoy learning about English royalty, and romance, and fantasy books and this one has all of those. It is a hilarious and frustrating story about Lady Jane Gray, if she had lived and lived in a world that had people who could turn in to animals at will. There were several references to Monty Python and the Holy Grail as well as quotes from Shakespeare (attributed in the book to one of the main characters, hey he could have been Williams inspiration right?!). It was a fun read and although I said it was frustrating, it all came together in the end.

It is written by three authors with each one taking a main character and telling the story from their point of view. It was seriously fun and enjoyable. Pick it up or borrow my copy because I bought it!

Far From the Madding Crowd

This book is by Thomas Hardy, an English novelist of the early 20th century.  The heroine is Bathsheba, but she is a tragic character, struggling against her passions and social circumstances, a favorite topic for writers of this time.  Three different men love her and want her as their wife, but her capricious folly and skewed ideas of what love means cause her to make tragic choices.  The writing style is very descriptive and I especially admired his description of a stormy night where I could feel and wind and cold and see and hear the lightning, etc.  It is also a lesson in the agrarian life of its characters.  The societal dos and don'ts limit the desires of the people and cause scandal and distress to the townspeople.  Bathsheba is a strong, independent woman, but succumbs to her misled passions, realizing too late the consequences of her rash choices.  I enjoyed the book.  If you've read it, tell me what you think the title represents!!

This book was just lovely. It saved me on my 9 hour flight from Venice to Canada where I hadn't downloaded the app to watch movies on the plane. I freaked out for a minute then realized I had this book to read!

It is set in Ireland as the author is a famous Irish novelist. Chicky is a girl who leaves her homeland for New York and returns years later. She buys an old house and sets up a bed and breakfast. The story begins with her story, and then each chapter is the background and story of characters who come to stay at her bed and breakfast for a week in winter. It really is like reading a bunch of short stories, but they all connect somehow. Characters are mentioned in others chapters and then you get to learn their background during their own chapter. Well written and an easy read. It was fun and made me think about going to Ireland someday, but not in winter!

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

I listened to this book while cleaning at night and during the day (thanks Poppy!)  She starts by giving some background on what a happiness project is. Then she lays out her happiness project and what she did and learned throughout the year. She has lots of research on happiness and has several quotes that are very enlightening. I plan to get the physical copy of the book for Christmas so I can underline and highlight it. There is even a coloring book with some of her best quotes on Amazon!

What she did was pick 12 general areas to work on each month. January was Energy, February was Marriage, one month was Work, etc, etc. Each month she had smaller checklist goals that she would follow. For her energy month it was declutter, get more sleep, etc. Her goal was to make them habits and continue doing each months goals in addition to the current month she was in.

I found it very interesting to listen to. She had some good points, but here were some of my favorite/ones I remember:

-Be yourself. Sometimes we think, I shouldn't feel this way or need this, but I do, and thats ok. (She mentioned she loves getting gold stars for anything she does. She shouldn't need them, but she wants them)

-50% of your happiness is genetic. The other 50% is your life. So you do have a lot of control.

-Realize that you might be doing things "for other people" but you are really doing it for yourself. And that's ok.

-Kids DO bring happiness. She sighted some article that said having kids lowers your happiness because you lose freedom. She called BS and said she is able to enjoy more things that she would not do or experience if she didn't have kids. (Go to zoos, watch silly cartoons, etc)

Thats all for now. A great book with great ideas. It motivated me to clean out my closet and be a better mom.

Dressing Your Truth by Carol Tuttle

I just hosted my book club for this book last month. I was very interested in it after Caitlin mentioned they had read it in her book club.

The opening is all about laying the foundation for her profiling system. She emphasizes that each type of energy is beautiful and everyone has all types in them.

The meat of the book is detailing qualities, challenges, examples of the four energy types. It was fun to read and highlight the parts that were true to me. I immediately profiled myself a type 2. I highlighted almost the whole chapter.

The end is all about how to purchase her online product and why you should spend so much money on yourself because you are worth it, etc. I skimmed most of it.

Our discussion was fun and we had mostly types 3's and 4's with me the only 2 and another girl maybe a type 1. I made cookies to match each type (type 1 of me, or maybe type 2 for the attention to detail). Funfetti cake cookies for Type 1, Almond Poppyseed for type 2, Dark chocolate orange for type 3, and shortbread half dipped in dark chocolate for type 4.

This book is intriguing because I like to profile myself and be a part of a group. As I was reading the Type 1 section I thought, "This is me! I am optimistic, like to make things fun, etc". Then I started reading Type 2 and thought, yep this is me. I struggled through type 3 as it was nothing like me at all, and possibly Logan. Then I ready Type 4 and thought, "This is me! No wait, this is more Logan". So I figured I was a type 2 with a small type 1. And Logan was a type 4/3. Lovely, I hope they get along as well as we do. But then I looked at the clothing she suggests and I was way bummed. Type 2 should wear flowing and gray undertones. Boring! I love my bright yellow shirt and my white and dark color striped shirts! I wished I was a 4. So I reread 4 and thought ya, I am quiet and I LOVE rules, and I like to be alone sometimes. So maybe I am a 2, 1, and 4. Logan said it was all baloney (so type 4) and detailed to me how it was so. He did say that I look best in natural and neutral colors (boo). So, I think I will wear whatever makes me feel happy. I definitely won't wear any type 3 stuff because I don't feel comfortable in it.

The book was fun to read and gave great topics to discuss. Read it and tell me what type you think you are! I have my suspicions for all of you, but she says in the book "Only YOU can type yourself!"

I just finished this book last night for my book club. It was lovely! It's set in Regency times in England. A young woman solicits help from a man to find her betrothed whom she hasn't heard from for quite some time. The story is about their quest to find him and what happens along the way.

Within the first two chapters I had the whole story figured out. I read it quickly so my suspicions could be revealed true. It did seem to drag a little as I was anticipating the ending resolution. Overall it was a fun read.

The main character is a headstrong lady who prefers to do things on her own because she can and has no need for a man to do things for her. I was worried this would be another "female empowerment" issue (I for one don't enjoy those because I like men being gentlemen and women being ladies). But the male character gave a really strong argument on why it is important for men to be gentlemen and for women to allow them to serve them. She says,

"Nathan, I want us to be equals in this. If I am capable enough to do something, why shouldn't I do it? Why does that have to be unladylike, just so a man can put himself above me?"

He replies, "I have no such designs, I know that we are equals. I accept it and rejoice in it. In fact, I think you are far above me, which is as it should be. But for Gosh sake, Moira, let me have a little dignity as a man!"

He then goes on to say that he is a gentleman and he knows of no other way to be, if she doesn't let him be a gentleman then he will feel he isn't doing his best or being true to who he is.

Cute story.

How Will You Measure Your Life? by Clayton M. Christensen

This book was given to Logan by Poppy. He never read it and my book club chose it for our February book. So I read it and discussed it with Logan :) It has little paragraph summaries at the end of every chapter so he might just read those real quick to get the main ideas.

 It was a bit rough training my brain to read a non fiction book. The first section is all about business and uses business terms and ideas. I got through and it started getting good! I love analogies and this entire book is one big analogy. How you have a successful career/business are the same things that will give you a happy and successful life. The first section was about finding happiness in your career. I discussed with Logan his job and work atmosphere and he found it very enlightening. I tried to connect it to my "career" as stay at home mom and it was a stretch at times, but it worked.

The second section was about finding happiness in your relationships. We have to invest in relationships early on so we can get the returns when we need it most. I loved his ideas about raising kids. We need to teach them how to process things and situations to help them grow and be successful people, rather than just give them "stuff". We need to stop outsourcing our childrens education on hard work to other people. He mostly meant not letting our children do things like clean the house or mow the lawn but paying someone else to do it. The most important thing he talked about was culture. He first talked about the culture of a business, what is allowed and what is expected of employees and employer. Then he said that we need to create a culture in our home or one will create on its own. Figure out the basic principles you want your children to have or emulate. Then you live your life and create or foster experiences that will teach those values. For him one value was to work hard, so he always had a kid in the yard with him when he needed to mow. I think this is really important. If we don't create a culture that we approve of and work towards, a negative or lazy or even rude and damaging culture could materialize.

The last section was about living a life of integrity. It was short and to the point. Don't lie and always keep your promises. Just once will never be just once.

Maisie Dobbs

I just read this book for book club. I really really enjoyed reading this book. So well written and in the middle section reminded me of Downton Abbey. Clean and a great read. It kept you second guessing until the climax!

The Wicked and the Just

I stumbled on this book when I was looking for other books like "The Dark Unwinding". Let me start off by saying they are not similar books (other than the fact that the heroines are around the same age).

Here is the Amazon synopsis: Cecily’s father has ruined her life. He’s moving them to occupied medieval Wales, where the king needs good strong Englishmen to keep down the vicious Welshmen. At least Cecily will finally be the lady of the house. Gwenhwyfar knows all about that house. Once she dreamed of being the lady there herself, until the English destroyed the lives of everyone she knows. Now she must wait hand and foot on this bratty English girl. While Cecily struggles to find her place among the snobby English landowners, Gwenhwyfar struggles just to survive. And outside the city walls, tensions are rising ever higher—until finally they must reach the breaking point.

Ok so I was excited that the main character's name was Cecily, until you start to realize she is a spoiled brat. Then I expected Gwenhwyfar to be her counter and to be the good one but again you realize she is also a brat. That said, I liked the story. I knew nothing of the history of that time period in Wales. It was really interesting.  And as always I am amazed at how unkind mankind can be to each other especially in a world where they are working for mere survival. Oh and the book is a bit challenging to read at least in the beginning because they use a lot of Welsh words and the sentence structure and even the cadence of the writing is just a little foreign.

All that said I would recommend this book if you are interested in learning about the history of the time period or just want an interesting read. I wouldn't say run out and read it because it is not going on my top 10 but I probably will still read it again someday. It just isn't a super happy read because it is more about human nature at its worst. Also it doesn't have a real solid ending (which is true to life but leaves you wanting a bit). However I feel like one character, at least, redeems herself in the end. You will have to read it to find out which one:)    

The Dark Unwinding and A Spark Unseen

Jeanette was the one who first told me about The Dark Unwinding. She said she had found a Steampunk book that she was excited to read. I read it with her because I thought it looked like a fast read and would be fun to talk about. I was going to put the Amazon synopsis on here but I think it gives too much away (especially if I included the second book's synopsis before you read the first). Basically it is a Gothic Steampunk romance and the fun is in not knowing what it is about.

I really really enjoyed it! The characters were varied and interesting. The setting was elaborate and fantastical. The story was unique and unpredictable. I would say this author has a gift for creativity. However what she does not have a gift for is dialogue. I felt like the interactions between the characters were weak and did not promote the relationships that were forming. I felt like I was rounding out relationship details as I went along in my head. If I was her editor I would have made her go back and fill in some conversations. Also it read like a movie especially at the end, lots of unnecessary destruction. Additionally she was a heroine that I did not usually relate to, which is fine, I simply was not always in her cheering section.

The second book has a story as interesting as the first but it was told in only a matter of a few days, had some gaps that could have been filled in to make it better, killed off a character I adored, and made me question how great her relationship was to the man she liked. However again I didn't see everything coming and I was interested and read quickly. And like the first book I quite often thought what she was doing was not how I would have handled the situation at all. Additionally there was more unnecessary destruction that would make for a great movie.    

So overall a fun read when you have a few spare hours and want something entertaining and not too taxing on your brain. I would love to visit any of her book settings! And wear the fancy clothes:)

I would be interested to hear what you have to say on the subject Jeanette?!

(Oh and on a side note, I thought it was interesting how Katharine counted in her mind in certain scenes. It kind of bugged me and yet it helped slow the scene into a sort of slow motion and put you in her place. I have a couple more things to say after you have read the book, I don't want to spoil it!)

Constance

We read this book for book club in the month of November because one of the ladies in our group said she loves to read it every Thanksgiving. It was not what I expected. From the cover I thought it would be more of a young Laura Ingalls Wilder tale but a reviewer on the back cover described it as a historical romance. I think it is somewhere in the middle. It covers the span of six years and is predominately not a romance. Although she does kiss more boys than I thought people of that era did;)

What I really liked about the book was how much it made me think about what it would have been like to live there (and how utterly hopeless I would have felt at times). I also learned a lot of history and I love that in a book! What I didn't always like was Constance. I felt like she teetered between being a silly girl and a strong woman. Even in the last two entries she was saying silly things and I was hoping she would grow out of it. However it wasn't bad enough to be distracting, I just couldn't always root for her.

Over all I would say for sure read this book at least once. It is an easy book and you will learn a lot. I loved her step-mom and her dad. They were both great characters for different reasons. Here are some quotes I liked from the book:

   "...there are many times when a woman needs someone to talk to....there are other times when a woman has thoughts she cannot share with anyone, and yet she must needs rid herself of them, if only to see them more clearly."  (p.16)

"Believe me, Con, my belly and my backbone have become close friends." (p. 102)

"Perhaps 'home' can be where one comes from, as well as where one lives." (p.112) So true!

The love discussion on page 164 and the WillofGod discussion on page 176 (I am too tired to type the entire paragraph of each. Sorry.)

I hope you read it and I hope you enjoy it.

123 Magic

This is a review of a DVD i watched that is also a book.

The man who wrote the book has a system of discipline where you give the kid 3 counts and then send them to timeout. The counts are given for "stop behaviors". These include screaming, whining, arguing, tantruming, etc. You should not give them counts if you ask them to do something and they don't do it, that is a "start behavior".  His two rules for using the three counts are that you don't talk to your children and you don't get emotional. You say, "That's one (5seconds) thats two (5seconds) that's three go to timeout" and then you usher if needed the child to timeout. Do not say anything or get emotional about it. Children are in timeout for one minute per year old they are. If the offense is severe (swearing, hitting, breaking an item) then you add five minutes to their normal time. He suggests the no talking because parents do a talk, persuade, argue, yell, hit routine with children and this was created to stop that. he suggests not getting emotional because then your children fear you or receive a "reward" in making you upset. he said that children feel inferior and like to see how they can make effect on the world around them. This is why they like to throw rocks in a pond, they get a big splash. He suggests that a yelling father or stressed out mother is a splash. If you talk to your children it creates a reason to fight you back. As children get older they will try to reason their way out of it. Start the timer once the child is in timeout and not tantruming (if applicable). If they leave timeout before the time is out, start over.

He suggested that adults have a "little adult" view of children and expect them to listen to reason and remember that when they got in trouble for doing an activity they will remember to not do it again. He stated, "The role of a caregiver of children should be titled Wild Animal Trainer". Children do not listen to reason at a young age, they listen to their own splash. 

When children test and manipulate you they are trying to get their way through emotional pressure. This is where many parents of today give in. Keep your cool and don't give in. Give them counts for badgering you, physically acting out, or threatening you.

My thoughts while watching this were at first as if a giant load was being lifted off my shoulder. If all i have to do is say, "that's one, that's two, etc" then i would lose a lot of persuading and stress. Disciplining is very taxing when you have a smart and determined child. I felt i could use this method and feel good about my mothering at the end of the day. I sat my 3 year old down and told him we would be starting this method and showed him his timeout spot, a carpet by the front door away from any distractions. It worked! Most times i only have to get to 1 and he stops the behavior immediatly. There are occasions when he has decided he is going to do the behavior and doesn't fully understand the reason why it can't be done. Or he just feels like stretching his lungs out. Where the feelings and emotions are real and I don't want to teach him to not have them, the method of their release does need to be taught as unacceptable. Once he realizes that having a tantrum about the fact that i peeled the banana and he wanted to is unacceptable, then I teach him that he can use his words and talk to me. I forgot a key thing in this 123 magic method is that when the kid comes back from timeout you DON'T TALK ABOUT IT. You move on with what you were doing. For most kids they have already forgotten what happened and have moved on/ forgiven you for committing the heinous crime of peeling open a banana for them. I like this part of the method. I would always try and explain to my child and ask, "why were you in timeout?" And i would get frustrated that he would seriously give me a confused look like that was so years ago.

One issue i take or question i ask is, what is the point of a timeout? If it is to make the child feel "bad" for what they did, then I will say my 3 year old never feels remorse for more than 20 seconds. Is it to remove the child from freedom and entertainment? Then i will say my 3 year old finds entertainment in 10 seconds with anything he can get his hands on (clothes included). Is it to give them time to reflect on what just happend? Then i would say my 3 year old does not have the mental ability to reflect. I assume that the purpose of the timeout is so the child sees that if they behave in a way, the parent takes control. It is a type of punishment that is not beating them, yelling at them, taking away a prized item of theirs, etc. It is a "if you do this, there is a consequence". To that i say, ok.

So it is working for me. The timer is started over several times until my 3 year old finally just lays down on the carpet. And as i said i usually only have to say "that's one". I have developed my own counting method to get my children to do "start behaviors". My husband gets sick when he sees parents count to three to get their children to do something and then never follow through. So we have adopted the countdown method. We say "you can put your dishes in the table or i will in 5..4..3..2..1" and then we do it. With a boy who is growing independent this is a gold mine. He wants to do everything by himself and melts down if you do something (the peeled banana). And we are sure to follow through and do it if we get to one so he knows we mean business. I am all for teaching your kids and explaining things to them so they understand, but i think i will expect them to listen and understand when they are older, like 8 or something.

Happy

This is not a book but a documentary on Netflix or Amazon. It is called "Happy" and it documents people from around the world and interviews psychiatrists and psychologists on what makes people happy. I loved it!  It was very enlightening. A couple of highlights:

*aerobic exercise increases your dopamine and is equivalent to "shooting up with drugs". Dopamine is your happy juice that tells your brain that you are happy.

*the minute after birth the first thing you do is nurse. You have no idea who your mother is but you trust her to provide your first and essential need in life. Your mother, in turn, also has no idea who you are but sacrifices to give you your most essential need in life. So we are compassionate and loving people.

*The five things that were common among their findings of happy people were 1)playing 2)doing something meaningful 3)having new experiences 4) friends and families 5)appreciating things.

A must see!

The A.D.D. Nutrition Solution

I got this book to assist in my education of A.D.D. as we are concerned Daniel is showing signs. I really enjoyed reading this book and found it enlightening and insightful. I made sure to take her points and theories with a grain of salt and not get too "carried away" by them. I wanted to make my own decisions about what I believed and would adopt as my own. For instance, she insists on switching soy milk for cow milk for various reasons and I personally believe in drinking real milk and have familial issues with soy. She also suggests taking several supplements and that is too many pills to swallow for me :)

She begins the book by discussing what A.D.D. is, how it presents itself in children and adults, and how it is dealt with by doctors and families. She explains the symptoms of the two types (my lucky husband has both) and details what is normal child behavior and what is A.D.D. This was good for me in helping to determine if my child was presenting signs of A.D.D. In discussing the current treatments of A.D.D. and AD/HD she points out their flaws. One of which is that parents and teachers alike think of drugs as miracle pills and they don't have to make any modifications to their lifestyle or teaching methods. Convenient.

She discusses the make up of the ADD brain and the things that make it different from a non ADD brain. This was fascinating! When you eat sugar, your body produces insulin to distribute the sugar evenly to your body. The brain is the last to get its share and in non ADD brains there are two hormones that allow the insulin to calm down and give the brain the sugar it needs. In the ADD brain these two hormones are deficient and the brain does not get its needed sugar. Therefore, the ADD child becomes hyper active or risk taking to get those hormones working properly to allow the sugar in. Very interesting.

After defining true ADD and AD/HD, she gives her nutritional solution to stop aggravation of the symptoms or keeping them in control. She discusses artificial sweeteners and what they do to your body. She discusses carbohydrates, fats, fatty acids, etc. Her main points of what you need to eat are:

*Stay away from additives as much as possible (she explains what they do to the brain functions)
*Eat proteins for breakfast
*Eat foods in season to maximize their nutrients (tomatoes in season (summer) are deep red because they contain lycopene which protect the skin from UV light, tomatoes red out of season are injected with additives)
*Avoid sugar as much as poosible, try honey molasses or fruit sweetner
*Eat proteins as they are essential for brain cell communication and ADD people have poor protein digesting capabilities.
*Eat more fruit than just apples, bananas, and oranges (mangoes, pineapple, berries, cherries, melons)
*Increase your intake of DHA Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, this is what your brain is mostly made of.
*She is a proponent for nursing as no formula currently (1999) has any of the fatty acids and LCP's which are deficient in the ADD brain.
* Because our fish is not ocean fresh and our meat is corn fed, this causes our intake of essential fatty acids down 50% of what they were 60 years ago, so buy organic and local as much as possible to ensure natural nutrients.
*Allergies are rampant in individuals with ADD and a natural anti histamine can be found in pine bark and grape seed extract. Taking these will result in increased attention and reduced hyperactivity.

A lot of main points, I know. These are mostly my main points I have taken away from the book. She discusses in depth all her reasons for and studies proving these suggestions will effect the ADD brain. It is good information if you or one in your family has these symptoms or in general for good health. Just don't get too caught up in everything she suggests because living in the world we live in it is virtually impossible to get all the nutrients you need and stay away from all the harmful additives and sugar. I have tried diets and it is way too much work and are drastic changes to our current eating habits. Just be aware and make better and healthier options. I can already say that having eggs and bacon or sausage for breakfast instead of cereal and milk has made many a boy happy at my house, and I'm happy too:)

P.S. We are thinking about raising our own chickens for eggs!

The Dirty Life

The Dirty Life: On Farming, Food, and Love by Kristin Kimball
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Someone lent this book to Jeremy to read a long time ago. One technique I'm using for de-cluttering my house is returning things from my home that don't belong to me back to their actual owners. (Obvious, right?) So I finally sat down to read this so we could return it.

The author tells her story of "city-girl-mets-hippy-farm-boy." Interviewing him on his sustainable farm, and becoming interested in him and his "manly work", eventually hooking up with him and moving to a new area to start a larger farm, and finally get married.

Her boyfriend's vision was a whole-diet farm. So where some local farms will offer the community weekly or bi-weekly baskets of produce for their membership, he wanted to provide everything for the whole diet: milk, meat, eggs, fat, and something sweet like maple syrup, along with a basket of produce. Along with that goal he wanted to run his farm sustainably through using draft horses and renewable energy sources. The author does a good job of not glossing over the tough aspects of starting up a farm from scratch--which are plentiful--without sounding too whiny. And it was interesting to see the progress of how they went about trying to create this farm.

(On a side note, there were two sentences in the book I had a problem with because of their sexual nature, one sentence describing an intimate moment, and one retelling a dirty joke. I really had to ask why they were necessary. Sometimes it really feels like people are trying to prove something through including unnecessary lines like those.)

In terms of philosophy, although I respect the idea of the whole diet-farm, I wonder if it is actually counter-productive to some of the ideals her husband believes in. The cost of the yearly membership to Essex Farm is $3700 for an adult (I looked up their website) and $3300 for a second adult. And for children it is $120 per year of their current age. So for a membership my family would have to pay $8,920 for the year. And yes, it is meant to supply all our food needs, and they let you take all you want to can and preserve extras for the winter etc, but that is $743 dollars a month to feed my family, and next year with the boys a year older it would be an additional $40 dollars a month, or $783 a month.

Where is that money supposed to come from? I'm not saying the food is not worth that much, I believe in paying farmers a good wage, but I'm asking where it is supposed to come from. He detests commercialism, and consumerism, and "the man", and electricity, but for people to afford buying his food they have to go out into the economic world that he claims to be against in order to earn the cash to buy from him. He requires that by the very nature of being a whole diet farm. He leaves no way for people to offset the costs of their membership in a natural, sustainable way. For example, I can't be a dairy farmer, or an orchardist, and earn money from that and just go to his farm for my other produce needs or my meat. I have to go to him for everything, and he wouldn't even be interested in bartering or trading with me, because he does it all. So he requires that all the members have the type of job that pays large amounts of cash in order to support his "sustainable farm".

And along with that he is monopolizing the business from any other small farm farmers in the region. If he offers only one type of membership--a whole diet--and requires such a large fee to do so, then his members will not have money or need, after picking up their food from his farm, to go support any other regional farmers that sell, just eggs and chickens, or similar. Instead, he employs ten full-time farmers working for him on his farm. It seems if he were really so against the commercial system (he only buys second-hand clothes, etc.) that he would be more encouraging of similar choices in others. In which case it would make more sense to perhaps support and be a part of a local network of a number of small farmers in order to provide the whole diet for a membership in the network, rather than just supporting his farm.

Simply, in our family, we raise our own chickens for our egg needs and some of our meat needs, and we keep bees to provide for a major amount of our yearly sweetner-usage. We also do gardening that supplies small amounts of produce for our family. We do these things naturally and chemical-free. We do it because we think it is good for the earth, and it offsets some of our food costs. However, a membership at Essex Farm would be a discouragement from our doing those things since they would be redundant to our farm membership benefits, and increase our yearly food budget even more. Ultimately, if multiple people stopped their small-scale home efforts to just use the farm membership benefits, I feel that is a net loss both to the earth, and the type of sustainability and stewardship mentality that farmers like her husband are trying to promote.

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These is My Words

These Is My Words by Nancy E. Turner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"These is My Words" is a historical novel of a girl growing into woman, as a settler in the Arizona Territories. I loved imagining life in my Arizona way back then. And definitely loved the love story of the book. The book is not all roses, however, showing many or the real and heart-breaking struggles of the people of those days.

Some of my favorite quotes:

Sarah referring to her mother said, "She says a move is a time for lightening your load and starting things new." (3) That one just stood out to help motivate me to declutter for our upcoming move!

"Taking up marriage is a good excuse for taking up cursing I think." (248) Sounded good to me, though most of the ladies at book club added, "or having children!"

"Children are a burden to a mother, but not the way a heavy box is to a mule. Our children weigh hard on my heart, and thinking about them growing up honest and healthy, or just living to grow up at all, makes a load in my chest that is bigger than the safe at the bank, and more valuable to me than all the gold inside it." (303) This quote just went along nicely with a train of thought I've been having lately about children being both a blessing and a burden. I was so sad for Sarah, when she talked of her baby girl just crying nonstop, for years.

"It seems there is always a road with bends and forks to choose, and taking one path means you can never take another one. There's no starting over nor undoing the steps I've taken." (309) Sometimes it's hard to look back and wonder what might have turned out differently with different choices, though that type of thinking leads right into the last quote I marked.

"Mama told me to make a special point to remember the best times of my life. There are so many hard things to live through, and latching on to the good things will give you strength to endure, she says." (327) And that is a good enough lesson for all of us.

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My Side of the Mountain

My Side of the Mountain/On the Far Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Just finished reading aloud with Owen. I remember reading it in 5th or 6th grade by myself and loving it. This is a great story about self-reliance, and learning to live off the land. As a child I was fascinated and dreamed of going away to live in my own secret place, eating plants and making my own nature home. I definitely enjoyed reading this book again with Owen, and he enjoyed it as well.

At one point while reading we were looking on the store shelves for a car-washing chamois (shammy) called for in Owen's Wizard Craft book for making a coin pouch. (He's simultaneously been reading Harry Potter.) The chamois at the store was much larger than we needed and therefore more expensive, and so I went to explain to Owen what we might try instead. I said, "What the instructions want is some fabric that looks like leather, so do you know what we could do instead?"

"Kill a deer?!" He said.

So I about died. "Yes, kill a deer." How can I argue with that? If what he learned from this story is that when he needs some leather he can go kill a deer then I am a happy person. Good bye "Made in China", Hello self-reliance!

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