State of the Comic --Edited and Updated

Well guys, I'm not getting anything done on time this week. It's been a stupidly stressful week and my creativity is right out the window. I'm hoping that later on in the week I can catch up and get an update online--

but we'll see.

Observations of the week:
1) people stink
2) people who stink normally don't improve
3) people who stink don't mind spreading their stink on to you.

Edit: Many of you know I work in arts education. I try not to talk a lot about it here, because quite frankly-- it's damn depressing. This last week all those little statistics you read about came home to me. Childhelp.org says that 12 out of 1000 children are abused... so 1.2 out of every 100. I have pushing 400 kids in my school. That means about 5 are abused. I believe it.

If you look at mental illness, Wikipedia tells us that mental illness is pretty prevalent. So add another 3 to 10 out of 100 who are bonkers and need help.

So every week, I see 30 kids who are a challenge. I've got three autistics, one lays on the floor and throws fits and screams, a handful of seriously ADD/ADHD children, one of which has a poop fetish. I have two who have sexually abused a younger sibling and are being investigated by the police. I have several with parents in jail for drugs who have been neglected. I have two who are so aggressive and violent that they are constantly in the office for threats or confrontations.

I wasn't trained to be a therapist- and some times the stress of it all is overwhelming. I'm so looking forward to Thanksgiving break. I need it. Bad.

-Aggie

My happy things

Today has been very hard at work. We've been inspected the last two days by outside accreditation teams. I've had a small griping at, and I've been told by a co-worker some disturbing news.

There are days I don't like my job a lot. I have to force myself to remember why I do it. First I do it for the pay. I have a family to take care of. Secondly I do it because it's what I'm good at. What I'm trained in. Thirdly, I only work 180 days per year. Fourthly, I get great vacations and benefits. Fifthly, it's art related. Sixthly-- sometimes I feel like I'm making a difference in the world.

So today is my day to remind myself of the good things. I have a wonderful boyfriend. Reinder is funny, talented, smart, cute and above all-- very incredibly good to me. I have good kids. I have a darling cat and a couple of nice dogs and three very adorable goats. I have a job that allows me to have this home in the country where I can have my little pets. There's a studio on the second floor.

Yeah.. I'm convincing myself to keep on going. Sometimes.. that's all a person can do. Thanksgiving vacation will be coming up soon, and I'm gonna focus on that. Everyone has to have something to look forward to.

-Aggie

NaNoWriMo

I'm having so much fun with NaNoWriMo this month! So far as of today I have 20,147 words, nearly half the requirement to be a NaNoWriMo winner.

To see my NaNoWriMo Page and click to become one of my Writing Buddies, Click HERE. Reinder, Aeridus, Dylan, Hogan and a few others are linked there-- and you can check up on them too!

To read the Second American Gothic Daily Novel in it's ROUGH DRAFT form, Click HERE. It's called "The Vampire's Spy" and it's available at Deviant Art. Because of the subject matter, you will need to sign in to read it.

Have fun!
-Aggie

NaNoWriMo and Update schedules

This year I'm going to give NaNoWriMo a shot-- to start writing the second American Gothic Daily novel. I have an idea of what I want to write, but I haven't gotten very far on it. Maybe this will kick me in the ass some.

What that means is that November will be a month filled with writing writing and more writing.. probably less drawing. We'll see. I have tomorrow's update drawn, inked and ink washed. I just need to scan it and text. It will be ready Monday afternoon.

Hope everyone had a good Halloween. I know I didn't. I spent the evening curled up in bed half asleep. Saturday I also spent in bed tired. I needed a bedpig day to catch up on rest. Today I spent the first half of the day cleaning my kitchen, doing dishes, sweeping and organizing the fridge. After that, it was to the grocery store and writing out some bills. The emergency room visit last month came up to 180.00 after insurance. My other son Badger needs 170.00 for his Honors Club trip. After paying the regular doctor co-pays and some other misc. bills-- I watched 600.00 leave in 20 minutes. Not funny.

*sigh* At least dinner was great: home made pizza, with ground beef and pepperoni, parmesan cheese and home made sause. Yay!

Aggie

Goodbye Feral Chicken

I always thought it would be coyotes or foxes that would do in Feral Chicken, the last of four chickens who were abandoned here when the previous owner could not catch them. She was smart for a chicken. She feed herself well, made friends with the dog named "Bonehead" and lived under the porch.

Sadly, today my other dog Dagmar finally caught up with her. She broke free from her tie out during her potty break, snatched up Feral and ate her.

The left overs Bonehead finished off. Funny how he was so easily swayed to eat his little girlfriend.

So now all I have is 30+ white feathers scattered in the yard. I told the folks in IRC chat tonight that I would have given her a little funeral but there's no body left. Foxy suggested a pyre. That made me think of barbecue. Then I suggested a road trip to KFC. <_<

I'll miss Feral. Having her definitely changed my mind about chickens. I had once hated them. Grandma Margaret had them and loved them all. She even collected porcelain chickens (her bedroom was done in chickens while my bedroom was done in plaster cast angels and saints who stared at me in my sleep...another weird story for another day perhaps) But now? Now I have a better appreciation for the dumbest bird on the planet. They're not as stupid as we are led to believe.

Goodbye Feral. Maybe next year I'll get some orphingtons in your honor.

-Aggie

Wishlists

I always have a hard time coming up with things I want. My lists are always short-- or worse-- horribly expensive.

In the last two years, I've bought many of the things I've always wanted: a new stove, a nice fridge, an ice cream maker, goats and a convertible. I have gotten a few new pieces of jewelry, a stock pile of red sweaters and an awesome television set, a wacom tablet and a large format scanner. What more could a girl really want?

I don't like trendy clothes very much. Knick-knacks make me vomit. I don't get into scrap booking, electronics or collecting. Mother always collected Blue Danube china, and while I too have my favorite china pattern, I've decided that collecting it can wait another decade when I can get a nice hutch to put it in. About the only thing I really ever squeel over any more is art supplies.

Today I started looking for something I've wanted for about a year now: an electric mattress pad cover. Long ago growing up in northern Indiana, January often hit -75 F below wind chill. We lived underneath ratty old electric blankets-- the lumpy wirey kind that made you suspect you'd be electrocuted at any time. Times have changed. Now it's an electric mattress pad on my shopping list.

This afternoon I went to Home Depot and picked up four bales of blown insulation so I could start re-insulating the attic. When the house was remodelled and new drywall installed, the previous owner didn't replace the insulation. Last winter was not horrible (being here in the South) but since they jacked up the electric rates 10% as of October 1st, insulation and cost cutting measures are looking pretty good. Last January the heating bill was 240.00. It's normally about 100.00 a month because I run the washing machine, dryer, television and computers all the time. If a 100.00 electric matress pad and 100.00 of insulation helps knock that down some, I can't complain. They will pay for themselves over the next winter or two.

The next trick will be finishing the insulation. I put the four bales in this afternoon-- only 10 more bales to go. The packaging recommends a minimum of 4 inches. I figure that if I do a few bales at a time, I can get it done over the next three months myself with no problem.

Now... to get started on tomorrow's update....

Guest Comicking again

Coming up soon will be a page done for Joseph over at Ataraxia Theater. The page is cut into four strips, and each strip is published one per day.

The image you see is just the basic art once it's scanned in. To read the text and find out what's happening with these two women in bed, you'll have to go read it. Sneaky aren't I?

-Aggie

This week-- Probably no Update

Sorry for the lateness in informing everyone about this week. Reinder is here for Fall Break and I'm not near the computer much at all.

We've been trying to get out of the house-- going to Tennessee parks and going on walks, hikes and dinners. Anything to get away from screens, keyboards and mouses.

He leaves Saturday afternoon, then I will be hustling to get some drawings done-- getting ready for Monday's return to work.

Have a good fall break guys.. I'll be back soon.

-Aggie

NSFW Happy Birthday Foxy

Turnsky over at Foxfire Chronicles had a birthday last week and I missed it, so I'm making up for it with boobies.

Yay boobies.

Palin and AIP... Moo?

While Mrs. Palin was never registered as a member of the Separatist AIP, her husband Todd was.

She spoke at their last convention and I really gotta wonder.... is it terribly smart to associate with these folks? The AIP apparently has ties to other separatist organizations like the Southern Independence Party of Tennessee.

I tried looking up the "Southern Independence Party" and found this stuff here:

Southern Independence Party Website, saying it's not the same as the Confederate States of America... Moo?

The Federation of Southern States and their "Southern Independence Party"-- Wow.. these guys are special.

Once you read these two pages.. the rest just start looking all the same. Just pick a southern state. The League of the South is very active, as well as many other Neo-Confederate groups.

These people just make the rest of us Southerners and country folk look really bad. Is it any wonder that the North, the East coast and the West coast look down on us??

I feel sorry for McCain. He picked Palin quickly and for reasons that seemed great at the time. Obama had just picked Biden as his VP choice and McCain needed someone who would be cooler than Biden and lure in those disappointed Hillary supporters. Alaska's Governor seemed like a perfect choice. She was a charismatic conservative from an oil state. Her pregnant daughter would appeal to Right-to-Lifers and her big family to the average American mom. Now we're finding out she really did push the ethics question in Troopergate, and she's just not what this great country needs. She doesn't care about America. She cares about Alaska.

I miss the Old McCain from 2000. One time McCain pissed off the Religious Reich back in his first presidential bid-- back when I had respect for him. He used to have the balls to say the Republican party nuts were held by Pat Robertson and the like. Watching the old videos, he looked so much younger and vibrant. Now he looks worn and tired. McCain was a great choice in 2000 and would have done so much better than W. He's not a good choice now. Now he's got brown smears all over his nose and I just can't respect a man who will get on his knees for the Neo-Con votes.

Sorry John.... thanks but no thanks.

-Aggie

Animal Behavior

The last few days have been full of animal hi jinks around here. The dog broke loose from his tie out run and jumped into the goat pasture. Thankfully he didn't attack the goats, but then again, he didn't have much time to. Squirrel caught him and we put him in the front yard.

Dagmar, my other dog has been inside more. I love her to death, but in the middle of the night she loves to stand next to the bed and lick her lips. That's how she wakes me up to tell me it's time to go potty. If she wants petting, she will stick her head under my hand-- but no.. all night long I heard slurp slurp lick lick snort snort until I throw on my shoes and take her out.

Buttercup, Daisy and Iris are much happier now that the male dog is out of their pasture. They were caught today standing up on their hind legs snacking on honeysuckle and being very cute.

Pyewacket the cat has been peeing in the canned goods inside the pantry. I finally figured out why. When Badger cleaned out his box, he accidentally left the litter scoop inside the box. Pye didn't want to go near it. Scoop removed. Problem solved.

Can I have weekend nao? =^x^=

-Aggie

The D word

Today as I listened to my morning dose of NPR (middle of the road), Fox News (conservative) and breezed through Commondreams.org (Progressive), I saw the word Depression for the first time in real terms.

I don't like fear mongering or worrying about something that might not happen. I remember the concerns over Y2K and how so many people decided to build bomb shelters, bought a year's worth of MRE's and stocked up on gas masks, portable water and ammo. We prepared a little, read some books, got a week's worth of things-- but that was a good idea anyway. Not long after that we had power outages and tornado weather. Things you should be prepared for anyway.

The hand crank radio I still use. It sits in my kitchen. Flashlights never go out of style. Neither does knowing how to cook from scratch. The propane cook stove has seen years of hard use at camping events and my cast iron dutch oven is well loved. Some things are worth knowing and doing, even if we live well. They're just plain fun.

If we go into a recession this is what we must prepare for:

-increase in prices
-higher unemployment up to 10% of population
-cutting of services
-restriction of credit

If we go into Depression, it's basically a recession over several years.

-increase in prices
-higher unemployment over 10% of population
-cutting of services/government services/basic services
-restriction of credit (consumer credit cards/auto loans/house loans)

This last week, I've explained this to two different people, and both conversations went kinda like this:

"Think about it Tom. If people lose their houses or their jobs, they aren't going to be paying their property taxes. Sales taxes are going to drop. Tennessee will not have enough money to pay teachers and cops. Who do you think they will rid of first Tom? The student aides, the part time employees... the non-tenured folks. Then they will cut art and PE next. Of course I'm concerned Tom. "

Tom nodded. "Surely laid off teachers could find work though..."

"That's not entirely true. If we go up to 10% unemployment, you're looking at a lot of people out of work who are not paying taxes. They stop paying Direct TV. AT&T. Verizon Wireless. They stop paying for the little luxuries. They'll cancel thier car insurance just so they can pay the car payment. They'll stop putting money in savings accounts just so they can pay for food and gas. When the middle class stops spending...you're gonna see a lot of folks outta work."

Tom suddenly got very silent. He replied "I guess we're gonna see a lot of people trying to steal stuff too. You do funny things when you ain't got food." We both nodded and decided it was time to talk about something more cheerful.

My second interesting conversation was with my 14 year old boy Squirrel. Squirrel was eating his food and said "I don't get it mom. What's the big deal?" I took in a deep breath and said, "Well honey. This means your future is screwed. In five years when you want to go to college, there won't be college loans out there for you. I wont have the money to send you because I'll be spending it on things to survive. If you do get a good job somewhere, you might not be able to get a car loan or a home loan. In the future when loans are available, they will require an even bigger down payment. You're gonna have to be even more responsible with your money than my generation."

About that time, his grandfather got antsy and decided to leave the table. I continued, "It's very likely Squirrel, that you will be living with me for quite some time. As an 18 year old fresh out of school, no one will hire you because you have no training or skills. You're going to have to compete against people who are 25, 30.. age 40 for a job."

Squirrel nodded, and his younger brother Badger got very quiet.

We have much to think about boys and girls. If we have 10% unemployment (one in ten) it's going to be bad. One in 8... one in six.. it's going to be really ugly.

-Aggie

I can't stand this..... thing....

My reasons are pretty obvious. I'm a Witch with a capital "W", I don't find her Pentecostal church choices very amusing (I was assaulted once in one-- nothing says "fun" like a forced exorcism), Spiritual Warfare shows total disregard for anyone's freedom of choice (the Constitution says you can be a Wiccan, but we're gonna hunt y'all down anyway).

I don't like her folksy way of talking. It's a ploy to cover up a severe lack of understanding and research. She did'nt know what the Bush Doctrine was, or for that matter... couldn't describe a bit of legislation her dear friend John passed during the debate. She just covers up bull with a smile and some spunk.

If you're gonna play with the big dogs.. don't you think you should know how Democrats describe Republican policy? How about knowing your own Republican party? Hello? Cluephone??

What she can do as a govenor is beside the point. I'm sure she was a decent govenor to a state with a small population of 683,500. It's like being the MAYOR of Nashville (Nashville has 619,600 people). Would you want the mayor of Nashville to possibly be president should John fall over from a heart attack??

Her failure is that she knows little about the lower 48, nothing about Federal politics and doesn't seem to have a clue how bigger states run. California is the 7th largest economy in the WORLD. If she had run California, I might have been more impressed. Alaska is #45.. right under Sudan.

Sorry.. she has NO experience worthy of putting her in Federal office. She has no experience with diverse populations, large urban cities... Why did she even accept this nomination? I suggest it was greed. Instead of admitting she was not up to the task of federal government, she jumped on that opportunity quick. Even if John loses, now she's made herself a game player for the rest of her days. Oh yes... personal power and greed...

Happy Birthday to Hogan

Happy Birthday to Hogan of the Crossover and Cameo Archives, Cameo Comic and Evil Overlords United. He's currently working on the 2008 Halloween Havoc- Congrats for surviving another year. Just think.... another year or so and we can start working on Crossover Wars II.... :P

It's not bewbies....

Here I have some fan art for my friend Dylan, whom many of us know as Figgy... or as I often call him..... Dylarpillarbunneh

Dylan has had a series of set backs with wrist injuries. They are keeping him from playing guitar and singing. I think he's pretty talented. I stink at singing and I certainly can't play guitar.

He has said that he will feature his new art in one of his upcoming vids. That's cool.. 'cause then I get to share billing with Oona.

Family Life *sigh*

This week has been Hades.
I spend a lot of time right now on the road, taking my spawn to football and soccer games and practices. Wednesday night, the night I planned on coming home and scanning in some art... having a little "me" time before bed, turned into Emergency Room sitting.

My oldest takes Concerta, a form of time released Ritalin. It's fantastic for his squirrel like tendencies (that little squirrel Pill-Z from Foamy is just like my boy... Kervorkian Scarf and all). Unfortunately, it's an appetite suppressant and Squirrel-Boy doesn't think much about eating or drinking all day long.

So basically what happened is that Squirrel-Boy didn't drink anything all day, skipped lunch, only ate a light breakfast and then went to football practice. Squirrel-Boy passed out, they called the ambulance, and I got to sit in the waiting room while he got two ringers worth of IV fluids. His blood and urine tests came back saying "Yep. The squirrel is dehydrated"-- so now he gets four days of no PE and extra liquids and food.

What was also interesting to find was that he had ketones in his urine-- which means that he's now burning muscle mass and losing weight. So now Squirrel has to eat a much bigger breakfast under my watchful eye, two high-carb weight gain bars for snacks and eat his lunch in front of coach.

Mom used to get me this horrible stuff called "tiger's milk". It was a high protien, high vitamin milk additive that was supposed to be chocolate flavored. Tub caulk was more like it. When I was little, I was anemic and had low iron-- so now I'm looking into finding some sort of organic equivalent for Squirrel. Orange Pop has suggested stuffing him with peanut butter... to which I can remember enjoying peanut butter and banana yougurt shakes much better than the "tiger's milk". If anyone has any high-calorie yet no-chemical/no preservative suggestions... Please let me know!!

-Aggie

Picking Your Battles Wisely

adMy best friend and I talk for about an hour a day, usually seven days a week. Tonight's epiphany was this:

We can't fix the bailout. We can't fix our banks. We can't fix our economy. We can't fix the consumer spending system we have ourselves in. Just what in Hades can we fix?

You see, OrangePop and I love us some yummy socioeconomics. We like it served up with a ton of research and links on the side, often with a dollup of tea snorking humor. She's a sociology major and I'm an art education major who enjoyed a few too many sociology classes in college. Explains much don't it?! Damn tree hugging Progressives....

Anyway-
I'm sick of the news. It gives me a headache. I'm tired of explaining it to others and trying to get a mediocre grasp on it myself. The results of it are far reaching and ultimately shitty. There is nothing good to come out of it that I can see so far. So girlfriend and I finally just said to ourselves "let's work on what we can fix."

What we can fix is our home budget, our credit card debt, our diets and purchases. We made a renewed commitment to learn more about the things we can fix -- like her barn. It needs a new roof and some repairs. I need to learn more about chickens too. I've managed to keep Feral alive (well.... let's be honest.. Feral has managed to keep Feral alive) but I'd like a few more. I need to re-read my gardening books, get my soil ready for next spring's work, clean up the burn pile I'm going to turn into a composting area.

We need to make "worse case scenaro" plans incase of deep recession or major economic depression. Can we continue to make our mortgages? Would we give up internet? Would the Direct TV satelite dish get cancelled? What would we do if we lost our income? what if the price of food sky rocketed? How can we save on gasoline?

Yes, these are almost doomsday thoughts, almost as depressing as the Bailout talks. What gives Orange and I some comfort though is that we are both very resourseful girls, and we've worked hard for our minifarms and the dreams of being self sufficient. We've started making steps to get there-- be it fresh eggs, home made bread or goats in the back yard.

When we look at how we live in comparison to how city folk live-- we some how know we'll make it okay. While everyone else is in line at soup kitchens, we'll be trading eggs for flour and watching our tomato plants grow. While others are living in tent cities, we'll be snacking on walnuts from our own nut trees and figuring out what to do with five bushels of cherries. (I had to throw cherries away this year. I had too many to possibly eat) It will be a lot of hard work, but better hard work than starvation, and if hard times never happen-- oh well--- our lives will still be much richer for the effort.

She and I are going to TRY to slow down on the bitching about the government. We can't be watchdogs all the time. It's not like we are going to start a successful revolution. What we can do though is share our thoughts on mini-farming, kitchen witchery and getting back to Mama Nature. Time for me to pick my battles a little more wisely-- and change the things that I actually have the power to change.

-Aggie

Things that Brighten My Day without Alcohol

XD I can't wait for Reinder to see this one XD

Palin and Hunting Real Witches

I'm rather disgusted. There is no way in Hades this woman is getting my vote. Ever.

Aggie

Happy Birthday Reinder

Bread

I stunk at making bread until I watched Father Dominic's show "Breaking Bread" on PBS. My loaves always came out like dirt bricks. (discovered I had no patience and was trying to rush it) His basic bread recipe is what I always use now:

2 cups warm water
2 tbs sugar
yeast
1/4 cup oil
6 cups flour

I skip the salt since I'm not allowed to have it. You mix it by hand until it's a little sticky. Knead for 6-8 minutes so the gluten will stretch and catch the carbon dioxide released by the yeast. Cover the kneaded ball in oil, cover and let rise for an hour or longer. You'll know it's ready to go when you push it and it springs back.

Put it in an oven on 375 for 30 minutes or so.

Right now I'm making a wheat bread. In my large 8 cup measuring cup, I put in half white flour, throw in some whole wheat flour and top it off with some cracked wheat. It's a tough chewy bread that is great with fresh butter.

Bread Pudding:

What happens to that stale bread? I keep it and make breadpudding, which keeps in the fridge well and makes a fast breakfast.

2 cups milk
big scoop of butter
2/3 cup sugar
3 or 4 eggs
spot of vanilla
enough bread to cover
berries or raisins if you've got them

tear all the crusts off your bread and tear into chunks. You need a lot of bread- and this works good for half a loaf that's stale and no one wants to touch. Mix up the other stuff and throw in the bread, making sure it's all covered and soggy. Bake at 350 to 375 till it looks nice and toasty on top-- usually about 30 minutes. I use a pyrex cake pan.

Aggie

Rural Life

Rural life is definitely a choice, but it's a fun one. These pictures are of my back yard. The dog is Bonehead, sitting with the chicken named Feral. They are enjoying the dirt spot made from the giant kiddie pool over the summer. The bread loaves are the ones I forgot to tend to when I was talking outside for a time. I threw them hurriedly onto a cookie sheet and they turned out great. You can also see my backyard when the full moon comes up. It was incredibly blue and beautiful. The last picture of my oak trees is an attempt to explain to Reinder what "glowy" is. The sun as it goes down over the forest across the road casts warm yellow on the tops of my trees, then makes the area very warm and glow-y.

My oak trees are about 100 years old. Before I had two stumps ground down in the back yard, I counted the rings and discovered them to be about 100- 120. The house I live in has a much older foundation too.

-Aggie

Book Banning Palin?

In the last few days, rumors have flourished over the internet about Palin possibly saying "Sambo beat that Bitch", but I'm going to hold off on believing those until there is better proof.

This next story though disturbs me a lot. Not just because it's about book burning, but it's about her making LOYALTY TESTS to her employees. Since when do we really make you kiss Satan's brown pucker to show how much you care?

"In December 1996, Emmons told her hometown newspaper, the Frontiersman, that Palin three times asked her -- starting before she was sworn in -- about possibly removing objectionable books from the library if the need arose."

What kind of psycho-hose-beast does that to those underneath her? That's no way to start an administration!! If you're going to fire people for thier support of your running mate, then just be honest about it and not play these stupid games.

Of course I'm still pretty concerned about the abstinence only sex ed programs being touted by the conservatives and Palin's obvious success at teaching her own daughter... but hey.. she's helping the whitey cause. She and her daughter are popping out more white babies so whites can remain the dominant race for just a little while longer. (Census Bureau figures state that whites will be in the minority come 2050 something. Sociologist John Palen quotes higher birthrates amongst impovrished minorities who cannot afford healthcare, birthcontrol or abortions Sociology for the Twenty First Century... BTW--Dude.. I love you.)

And yes I'm still pretty concerned about creationism being taught in the schools. When we all start worshipping the same God because we're forced false science down our throats, we can all appreciate His Plan for us. You know that plan right? To carry our rapist's unwanted seed to term, to be unequal in pay, rights and privledges, to be ignorant and stupid because our education system already favors males anyway. Yes yes... we really should be the dumbest nation on earth and happily sit by as other countries pass us by in technological advancement. Let's all wave sweetly to China now boys and girls!! That's where all our dogfood and lead based toys come from! YAY!!

Cheaper and Better by Nancy Birnes... a rant on cleaning chemicals

Cheaper and Better by Nancy Birnes is a fantastic book. I own two copies, one of which I loan out then demand back after I start feeling it's absence. All of the recipes inside just might qualify for "organic" since none of them ask you to purchase weird chemicals or preservatives.

Other reviewers point out that many of the recipes are just down right too labor intensive to use, like the one for shampoo with 14 ingredients. Yes, that's kinda true.. but they miss the point. Making your own shampoo from scratch is a LOT cheaper than the herbal equivalent. My last bottle of organic lemon shampoo was seven dollars. We're not talking about replacing the one dollar cheap stuff imported from Taiwan of questionable content and overpowering floral perfume. We're talking here about replacing that seven dollar bottle that was purchased for my increasingly eco-conscious mind. I may not make the "Cheaper and Better" herbal shampoo this year, but it's nice knowing I can in the future when I have a little time on my hands and I wanna try something new and fun.

OrangePop33's recent blog post about the autism/vaccine link got me a little railed up about chemicals once again. For those who don't know about my hatred of Monsanto and Dupont.. let me quickly inform you. Chemicals, such as Round Up herbicide, are tested as "safe" for being in farm field run off which then trickles into our drinking water table.. but then NO ONE requires them to test Round Up in combination with other chemicals such as Scott's Grow fertilizer, SevenDust bug repellant and the ever popular pharmecutial Prozac that is now showing up in city drinking water from so many people pissing it out. We really have no clue how safe the chemical cocktail we're brewing is.

Dickson has settled a long running lawsuit by African Amerian families who's drinking water was contaminated by a local land fill. For years, they were informed thier drinking water was safe, but the court found them victims of racial and social class discrimination. What I found most interesting about that case was that the land fill was the one who paid up.. not the product manufactures who make the contaminants these unfortunate people drank!

So what does this have to do with Cheaper and Better? LOTS

About 90% of keeping your home, property and auto clean is prevention. The other 10% is cleaners and good old fashioned elbow grease. Why can't we go back to all natural cleaners like our grandparents used to use? I don't remember plain old bleach, baking soda, Borax or ammonia causing cancer and birth defects. "Cheaper and Better" gives lots of great recipies for cleaning solutions and fluids that are less harmful on the wallet AND the environment. We don't need a 4.00 bottle of Febreeze to keep our couch smelling wonderful and nice when a 50 cent home made recipie will do perfectly fine in a recycled bottle.

So folks.. if you get a chance, get yourself a copy of "Cheaper and Better" if you can. It's no longer in print, but available at used book stores. I like www.bookfinder.com for searching multiple used book stores for the cheapest price, and there is always interlibrary loan.

Have fun making your own shampoo!
Aggie

Emotional Abuse and leaving it

I have a friend who used to live here in Tennessee with me, but when her husband lost his job at a local factory for punching the daylights out of another worker, they packed up and moved out west to where his family was.

At first, it seemed like a great idea. Her in-laws seemed supportive and were willing to help them out some. They helped them find an apartment, get employment and started spending time with their young grandson.

Recently I got a disturbing message from her that he's been hospitalized for mental issues. She's been trying to leave him. Too poor and without her own stable income to file for divorce, she has been saddled with him yet again. His family has become less supportive, I think in some hope that she will take care of him so they don't have to.

I often wonder why so many really good people surround themselves with these horribly abusive, mentally ill or co-dependent people. “Co-dependency” was such a buzzword ten years back, but I think there is still great value in the concept.

http://eqi.org/eabuse1.htm

Dependency and co-dependency are hard situations to break yourself from. You always hear about people who break their dependencies on drugs or alcohol and we applaud them for their efforts. What we often do not hear about is emotional dependency and financial dependency and it's ugly big brother codependency. I'm afraid the system does not reward those who are brave enough to break out of it.

No one wants to admit that their loved one is emotionally dependent or codependent and addicted to another person for survival. In my friend's case, few are going to pat her on the back when she gets this blood sucking leech off her except maybe me. What she will hear is the “it's such a shame your marriage didn't work out” or “I wish you guys could have worked it out” or the ever popular “maybe if you had been a better wife, maybe he would have been a better husband”.

The mentally ill are quite charming people, especially the bipolar ones and manic depressives. When on a “high” cycle they are energetic, inventive and delightful. You can't help but fall for them. Then when they crash, they generally mope around and it's not that big of a deal until you want to leave them. In my friend's case, she left and he went off his rocker so bad he's hospitalized. What exactly can she do? This is his first time of really proving himself a danger to himself or society. Even though she and I have known for years he's an emotionally abusive and physically abusive cad, he's never been arrested for assault. Nothing is documented. It's now a case of he-said-she-said, and if she tries expose his past abuse, she'll likely be accused of making it up in front of the divorce judge.

What in the world do you do in a situation like this?

1. Realize that you have been in a situation of emotional abuse and it's okay to leave it. Forgive yourself for making mistakes-- don't kick yourself in the butt for staying so long. You are a worthy person.

2. Plan for when it's best for you to get out. It may not be today, but it may be next year or four years. Do you need an education? Do you need a job? Enough money saved up to get out? Figure out what is best for you.

3. Set your goals and stick to them. You are the only stable thing in your life. Don't let their instability keep you from your goals.

4. Keep an accurate journal of all occurrences, witnesses and proof. You never know when it may come in handy. I used to write in spiral bound notebooks that were locked away, but I've known others who have secret journals kept on private blogs. I also know that over time, abusive people try to convince you that things that happened in the past were viewed incorrectly by you. You may begin to doubt yourself because you forget little details. Having everything written down helps you remember all the little details.

5. Keep copies of your important documents somewhere safe. If you ever do need to leave quickly to save your own life, you'll need copies of your banks accounts, credit cards, drivers license etc.

6. Get a line of credit in your own name and keep it up to date. It will help you improve your own credit score and you never know when you may need it to eat on, get an emergency hotel, or gas to escape. If you don't have a private checking account, get one. The abuser cannot get to your personal earnings and savings that way.

7. Make sure that things you pay for, you have your name on. Nothing sucks more than making car payments, then finding out later the title was in their name only. If you take that car very far, they can accuse you of grand theft. It also sucks to try and kick someone out of your apartment or home, only to find out that it's all in their name. Be sure of what you own and don't own, the rights and responsibilities for each.

8. Talk to a lawyer about your other legal rights, or at least do a lot of research online.

9. Talk to a therapist. Your abusive person may not want you to because they fear you telling all the dirty secrets to them, but this is something you need for your own mental health. Understand that a therapist isn't there to fix you. That's not their job. What they do is ask you lots of questions and let you come to your own conclusions. They will help you find your own answers. The other thing great about a therapist? They aren't family or friends who will try to influence you or gossip. A therapist is bound by confidentiality laws.

10. Know what your insurance benefits are. This is important if your abuser is the sponsor and you are the beneficiary. Can they get you off their insurance with a simple phone call? Or must they show divorce papers?

11. Accept that your abusive person's family may or may not support you when you leave. Often they know that person is abusive and they are hoping you will keep on supporting them so they don't have to take any responsibility in it. If there are children involved, understand they may or may not help with the children at all.

12. Understand that it may get a whole lot worse before it gets better. Abusive people often go off the deep end when you leave. They try getting you back with guilt trips, emotional manipulation, violence, threats or finances. If children are involved, they may try to use the kids too. Be prepared for anything and plan accordingly.

13. Find out what would happen if you took you and your children out of state. One friend of mine was physically abused and she took her two children out of state. The husband called the cops and had her arrested for kidnapping. She had not notified any family or friends where she was going. That was a big mistake. If she had notified her family first, told the cops where she was going, went to a domestic abuse shelter, or asked a lawyer about it first, she might not be paying a huge amount of child support to children she are not allowed to see until they turn 18.

14. Understand that you cannot ask for child support in most states until you file for separation and/or divorce. You must have a temporary hearing for the judge to award the child support payment. If you are counting on child support to help pay for you and your children, think again. If they quit their jobs in protest, refuse to work, or do something equally as ridiculous, you can't get water out of a stone. Child support is determined according to their income, your income, the number of days spent with the mother, the number of days spent with the father. A man making minimum wage may only have to pay 150 to 200 a month. That's not even enough to cover the cost of school lunches for a month, medical co-pays and some groceries.

15. The only way for a “free” or so called “cheap” divorce is for both of you to agree on everything and sign without use of a lawyer. Abusive people will NOT sign easily. Most divorces will cost 1500.00 to 2000.00 per person upfront, paid as a retaining fee to your lawyer.

16. Network. The best thing you can do is make your own circle of friends and family. Abusive people often limit you to their friends, their family, their coworkers-- things they can control. You should always have your own friends, networks and support systems that they have NOTHING to do with.

17. When it's all over and done with... try not to get into that same situation again. Statistics show that abused people often fall back into familiar territory because it's what they've always known. Make new goals for yourself and stick to them. You're worthy and deserve great things.

ZOMG .... Where have you been all my life???!!!!

After watching way too many episodes this weekend of Primal Grill, I decided it was time to expand the patio line up. I've never owned a charcoal smoker.. never even really considered it seriously. Some of the homesteading books I have talk a lot about smoking hides and smoking hams and they show these small shacks known as smoke houses. Being a Yankee in the South... I'll admit... I've been a bit confused until now.

When I wanted good smoked bbq here in Tennessee I usually just went out and bought it from Whitt's, Strouds or Bobby Q's. Well... I won't be doing that anymore.

I've discovered meatitarian delight: the home charcoal smoker. I'm in love... or at least a deep case of high protein lust.

Hitting the K-mart to pick up some bottled drinks for the lake today, I noticed the fall clearance sale on grills. Nestled in there was a cheap little baby that looks a lot like the one pictured. At $30.00, I snagged it up and giggled all afternoon long about it as it sat in the trunk of my car.

While I took my youngest child to soccer practice, I had 12 chicked drumsticks precooking in the oven in a spice rub at 225 F so they wouldn't over cook while I was gone and set some oak to soak in water. I came home, got the smoker started, piled on the oak... and OH MY F*@KING GOD the yard smelled fantastic.

Two hours later, I was in bliss. The chicken had been smoked at around 175 F and had a dark color. The applied sauce was dehydrated well and made a lovely tangy zing. It was the best chicken I'd ever had. Period. Better than Bobby Q's... better than anything I'd had in Nashville. This has to be the best 30.00 I've spent in the last two years.

Next stop? Ribs.... no... make that a large roast... or... no... maybe more chicken... hum... what to do?! :D That Philly cheesesteak recipe was looking pretty awesome.... I don't see me loosing weight any time soon.

Aggie

Aggie's Version of "What Not to Skimp On"

Reinder has been talking about things he won't skimp on. We've been thinking about it more after reading some personal financial sites and this article about "what not to skimp on". I've been jotting down lists of things I won't skimp on and why as a study in my own shopping habits. Here they are:

Herbs and seasonings: they can make a cheap cut of meat worthwhile. There are some neat tricks though--- get yourself a good cookbook or look it up on the web. Recently I found five or six recipes for garam masala... and since the stuff is near four dollars at Kroger for a small glass bottle, making it yourself from scratch will save a bunch. It's not as complicated as I thought.

Shoes: If you're on your feet a lot, get the best you can afford. Your back and legs will thank you.

Sheets: Nothing sucks more than washing your cheap sheets for the first time and they come out of the wash with pills (little lint balls that then turn to sandpaper on your skin). That happened to me and I will never buy cheap crappy sheets again. I'm also a total bedpig. I possibly spend more time in my sheets than I do in jeans.

I remember my great grandmother's linen/cotton sheets and pillow cases lasting 20+ years because they were rotated, washed and sun dried. Body oils and bacteria will actually ruin the organic fibers of your sheets, so wash often.

Perfume: My 15 year old bottles of high end perfumes smell as wonderful today as they did when I first got them. Sadly, my 3 year old bottles of cologne have not fared as well. Perfume is made with oil where as cologne is alcohol based. If you go through cologne like crazy, then buy it instead of perfume as you will go through it before it ever turns rank.. but if you're like me and you only use perfumes on occasion-- get the good stuff. You won't be throwing it out.

Art supplies: that is a whole discussion in itself. I suggest getting the The Artist Handbook of Materials and Techniques by Ralph Mayer. He goes into the chemical compositions of all art supplies and discusses archival qualities. There are reasons Renaissance art is lasting 500 years, and yet Victorian era paintings are disintegrating right before our eyes in the museums.

Sex Toys: no explanation needed.

Hard Flooring: you'll almost always get your investment returned on ceramic tile, marble and hardwoods. Where you can save money is by learning to install it yourself. Classics are classics for a reason.

Faucets: nothing sucks more than faucets that leak. They get hard daily abuse, buy something durable. Goes along with the kitchen sink too. I prefer stainless over porcelain. To save money, you can often find stainless sinks in places like Habitat for Humanity's "Restore"... a thrift store for construction goods. Garage and yard sales are a great place too. As for faucets: Moen and Delta all sell replacement parts at Lowes and Home Depot. Even if you get a used Delta from a garage sale, the replacement parts are cheap and worthwhile.

Wool rugs: not only do real wool rugs and carpet keep from showing hard wear, many become collectible art. My 15 year old 100% wool prayer rug in my dining room looks like brand new. Sadly, my less than 18 month old carpet in my living room already shows traffic patterns. Here in a few years, I'll chuck it, put down hardwood, and try to find a large wool hand woven. Check estate sales- 50 and 60 year rugs just need a car wash, some woolite and a week in the sunshine to dry.

Jewelry: Get a few, really really good pieces that you will be proud to wear the rest of your life and then pass on to others. I never buy costume jewelry anymore. It's horribly trendy and almost always turns my skin green anyway. A good pair of gold hoops, a few nice colored gem rings (one pastel, one bolder color and one neutral) will get you through all of your wardrobe. Currently my favorites include a diamond cocktail ring I got from Walmart on deep discount after Mother's day. It was originally 450.00 and I got it for 125.00. My garnet ring was also from Walmart, heavily discounted after January. I have a kunzite ring and an aquamarine ring on days I wear pinks or pastels (bought from estate sales). Cubic Zirconia post earrings are a must. I always seem to lose earrings, so I never buy the real thing. I do get nice settings though. A well crafted setting makes everyone believe the CZ is real and not fake. As for watches, I am hell on them, so I have to buy something durable. I like to pick two toned styles (with both gold and silver) so that it will match everything. I never buy watches with diamonds around the face. They look grandmotherly to me, and I would loathe replacing a lost stone.

Appliances: I like to purchase the best I can afford, but in the plainest model. I don't need fancy bells, whistles and timers. What I do need is quality that will last. My last stove prior to this halogen one, I had to repair a few times in the back when the wire would burn at the element attachment point. The timers, dials and clock never seemed to work right either, and the heat was always uneven. I wasted a ton in burned food. My new stove is as plain as it gets with only a basic count down timer, but it's very even and has fantastic consistency. That matters most. Small appliances can bite the big one. They never seem to last no matter what the brand or quality. You only need a few anyway: a 110v slow cooker, a 110v convection oven (uses less electricity than that 220v monster), an Oster Kitchen Center (they stopped making these a while back but you can still find them used on eBay-- they do it all) a coffee maker and a toaster. Everything else is just laziness. Sorry.. but I think the George Foreman Grill is hideous. Grill= fire...and there is no fire in a George Foreman grill. It's a f*%king SANDWICH MAKER with a disgusting Dupont chemical fest non-stick coating that kills birds.... which leads to lastly--

Organic metal pots and pans. A good stainless steel or cast iron pan is a lovely thing.

Sick and tired of being Sick

This is day 9 or 10 of being sick.

Normally I would get sick really fast, get a high fever, lay in bed for two days, then get over it. Not this time.

This time I started breaking out in red spots all over my left leg. It was not funny last night to try and sleep with what looked like 50+ chigger bites. Since that could be a sign of Staph infection (or worse, meningitis) I finally trotted my butt to the doctor.

Being that it's Saturday, my regular doctor was closed. I went to a local walk in clinic. Since they didn't take my insurance company, I got a big taste of what it's like for the rest of the world. It was 85$ for the visit and another 33$ for the steroid shot I got in the hip.

So now I am on a crap load of antibiotics and steroids. The doctor could not identify the red spots since he wasn't a dermatologist. I wasn't running a fever at the time, so he didn't suspect staph or meningitis at all. He did say though that if I don't get better in the next few days, I need to trot my butt back to the doctor.

In the meantime, I am tired, cranky and kinda whiney. I know it will pass soon, and hopefully my creativity will come back. I have little or no desire to draw. Sleep is usually most on my mind.

*sigh*... hopefully things will get much better soon
Aggie

Dylan Plays

Dylan is a long time reader of AGD, and friend of mine from IRC chatrooms. Every week he has a new video for me to view, and I really enjoy seeing his hedgehog Oona. She's incredibly beautiful. Sometimes she stars in Dylan's videos.

Enjoy!!
Aggie

Me, My Doctor and My Telephone

It never ceases to amaze me how things can FUBAR so quickly.

I've been running a fever for five days, the last two much more bearable, but still uncomfortable enough for me to bitch about it. After prodding from Reinder (actually... he didn't have to say much at all.. the "I'm beginning to worry about you" pretty much settled my mind on it. I don't like him to worry about me) I called up the doctor for an appointment.

It was 4:30 and the appointment secretary was gone for the day. I got some other receptionist and she said they would call me back.

Then the phones go dead. I check the lines throughout the house, looking to see what was the matter. Everything checked out okay-- no telephone was left off the hook. I knew I paid the bill, so being cut off wasn't it. With a sigh and a shrug I go into town to run my errands..........only to find half of the road full of construction equipment and some 10 to 15 telephone poles broken like sticks.

Apparently in their quest to kill some gorgeous trees for road expansion, they accidentally pulled down the overhead lines which made a domino effect of the poles. Not only are there giant oaks and other hardwoods felled by the side of the road in uncaring lumps, but thick black line crossing driveways and business entrances.

Talk about graceful. I thought my cat Pyewacket was as swift as they come... nope. I was wrong. A lone AT&T technician was out there playing with some wires not far from his little white pick up truck. Oh yes.... they're all "swift" today. Right up there with "cunning", "clever" and "deft".

So I have no idea if my doctor will have the common since to call me back on my cellphone, or if they will try to call me on my broken landline. Considering that they are less than 700 feet away from that said broken landline, I have my money on "keep calling Aggie via broken landline because it's more ironic and imbicilic.

In the meantime, I've started shoving nasal sprays up my nostrils for some relief. It's now narrowed down to "sinus and ear infection" as the cause of my misery. I'm expecting a fat bottle of antibiotics (which I loathe). As much as I'm suffering through it at work (today sleeping during my lunch break on the hard floor with an empty shoe box as a pillow), I'm becoming quite the whiner the rest of the time. How Reinder has put up with me, I have not a clue.

The only good news is that I *DID* manage to wireframe the next page of AGD. I can ink it tomorrow during lunch, scan it tomorrow night. If all goes well, it will be up first thing Wednesday morning.

So for now, I'm off to sleep. It's about the only thing keeping me going right now.

Good night all. Hope your local utility departments aren't as bassackwards as mine apparently are.
-Aggie