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Thursday, February 13, 2014

Happy Valentine's Day and Happy Birthday Grandma......


I interrupt Don and Toni's Story to celebrate my Grandma's Birthday. Happy Birthday Grandma. She went to be with the Lord a few years ago. This is a picture of her at her best...doing what she loved...fishing. My grandma LOVED the outdoors. She was quite a women.


This is a frame I made from a small canvas, using scrapbook paper, lace, and a color copy of a butterfly (Thank you Lisa!) With a little help from my friend Lisa her picture came to life. I proudly hang her picture where all of my treasured items are...In my master bathroom. 

My Grandma grew up during the depression. She was a tough women. I loved growing up being around her and her brothers and sisters who all lived in the same town. I would sit around the kitchen table and listen to her talk with them telling stories about their lives growing up. She supposedly got into bar fights and was called in by her brother, Uncle Bobby to lend him a hand when he got into trouble. As a kid I loved telling my friends "my grandma has tattoos". 

She would tell me "see what they will look like when you get old". That must have stuck with me because between that and not liking the idea of ink on my skin I never got a tattoo. 

She had the biggest heart of anyone I knew, other than my mom. I watched her live the Christian life that made a real impact on me. She always was there for family and friends, regardless of any type of trouble they may be in.

As a child I remember going into the local convenience store where a young man sat on the ground outside. When we came out she handed him a loaf of bread and some other food items. I remember that really making an impression on me as a kid, that she really cared about people in a tangible way and I wanted to be that way.

When I was in elementary school we had a fundraiser event, she came to watch us kids who weren't involved with the events. It was my favorite memory of school. We all skated on the outdoor basketball court while my grandma watched us. She interacted with all of us kids and pretty soon they all were calling her grandma...

As a teenager I never felt judged by her, she made her opinion known but she loved us unconditionally. One night on her way to church she picked up a few of my Aunt's (we are 6 months apart) friends who were riding their bikes along the way. They pile into her car, bikes and all while sporting their Megadeath and Metallica T-Shirts. She loved us all very well....

She was a very hard worker, working in cotton fields growing up, moving across the country looking for work. My mom told me that my grandma hitchhiked with her from La. to Michigan looking for work. I just can't imagine what that must have been like. 

She was extremely creative too. She made my mom's clothes changing up the patterns to make something different than the norm. She poured, painted, and glazed ceramics. She was very involved with the local Senior Citizen Center. I loved going there with her. They all had the best stories.... 

There just isn't anything like growing up with really good grandparents. Both my grandma and grandpa were there for me growing up. They played cards and games with us teenagers. They drove us to football games and dances. My life wouldn't have been the same if they weren't in it.

I could go on and on about my grandma.... She is truly missed. 
Thank you Grandma for being my grandma.....I love you dearly

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Highlighting the Talents of Others Series: Living the Simple Life in Western New York-- Don and Toni



    Meet Don and Toni from Western New York:                      
                                                                     
Picture taken at the recycling center
 as we hunted for treasures,
  it was raining that day and Don found an umbrella
Toni with 'Dini"


This Series begins with Don and Toni, my husbands bother and sister-in-law. These pictures sum them up. Don is a character. It's never a dull moment with him. He always keeps me laughing and enjoying the moment while teaching me about his "inventions" that I will be sharing during their series. Toni is holding her pet chicken Dini, nick named for Houdini because she always finds her way out of the chicken coop.
They "Live on the Land" here in Western New York which is where their story begins....

Toni's Mother and Father were factory workers. She wasn't raised learning how to live off the land. Her father was a World War II Vet. When Don and Toni got married Don was in a band, (He is quite the musician, it runs in the family. I'll be telling more of his story later) Well, she told me she wanted a different life for her kids so she started reading Mother Earth News. She mentioned how old hippies started going back to the old way of living. ( I love the word hippie. I think I would have been one back then with a few exceptions)

At age 28 Don bought her a cast iron wood burning stove. This is when she got into baking old recipes and slowly adapting them into healthier versions using olive oil, flax seed, and whole wheat. (She makes her own lard from leaf fat from a pig. It is lower in cholesterol than butter). She learned how to can from her mother-in-law and took right to it. She canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, pizza sauce, ketchup, spaghetti sauce, peaches, pears along with many other vegetables she grew. She started raising chickens for their eggs which she continues to do.
                                                   
She grinds her own flour too. This is me learning how hard it is. Toni uses this tool as her upper body workout. Boy were my arms tired! Where's the electric version! After we ground up the wheat for flour we made home made rolls for Thanksgiving dinner. Yum!!

Toni taught me how to make dough for the rolls. I have to say it was a really nice day learning all of this. I enjoyed doing the work but I don't know if I would like to do it on a regular basis. She barters with neighbors with her eggs and bread. They both do seasonal work for a local farmer and the benefits are usually left over veggies, which we got in on in our last visit. Lots of broccoli and butternut squash.



                   
           YUMMY Thanksgiving Rolls....

 I couldn't talk about her homemade bread without talking about homemade pizza's in her Handmade

Outdoor Oven

This is just one of her BIG projects you will see in this post.Toni started out by using local clay to create the oven, then after a really long process she built this brick foundation so it would sit up high enough off the ground. The arbor was built out of an old satellite dish. (notice the top has plants growing on it) We all got to make our own pizzas. I enjoyed the process.                 

Toni had homemade pizza sauce, homemade pizza dough, and we cooked it in a handmade clay oven.
         The taste was excellent but the experience was even better.

Toni gives in to her creative side....
                                 Michelangelo look out!!!!

 The Main Bathroom  
       I asked Toni what got her into painting and she told me that her grandma always tried to get her to paint but it wasn't until after her kids were born that she decided to do something for herself so she took a painting class. It got her out of the house and gave her an outlet to connect to other women. She started working on projects with the other women painting together scenes on wood. It evolved into stenciling on the ceiling. The best thing to do during the New York winters!     



Main Bathroom Ceiling all hand painted using stencils
           
The Living Room
 

         
The Dining Room




Boy would my neck be sore after all that. That is quite a feat.
Great job Toni!

Now that you've seen the beauty inside the house let me show you the serene nature that surrounds the outside of their home.




HOME GROWN HYDRANGEA'S !!!
                                                                                     

      Toni grows my favorite flower..the Hydrangea. I always harvest them when we visit in the summer time. I dry them, then use them in my floral arrangements. One of these days I'll learn how to grow my own, but until then I'll just take Don and Toni's.....


               Cherry Trees....
They have quite the harvest here, they grow their own black walnuts, cherries, pears, and even mushrooms. I came across this mushroom in the yard. I couldn't believe the size of it.
     



   I couldn't forget about the chickens...
  This crazy thing came running after me when I walked by taking       pictures I thought it was the rooster  attacking me but then I read
  the sign.....it's just an attack chicken.
                                                           


        I have many favorite things I like to do on our visit. One of them is to go to Barn Sales, yes you heard me correctly they don't just have yard sales here they have BARN sales....Boy do they know how to have a sale. I find my best junk, I mean antiques here. This was my favorite item on this trip


I asked Don and Toni how they save money while living on the land. They gave me several great ideas I thought I would pass on to


you. Since they grow a small garden they sometimes have to water it by hand. So they catch rain water in this drum to use for future watering. Another cost saving item is the use of solar power.


Don uses numerous solar panels to operate different items. The chicken coop lighting operates off a solar panel. He has larger panels to generate electricity for certain indoor appliances. Check out his lighting inventions.

  

Don uses these outdoor solar lights and places them in a votive to distribute the light as a nightlight in the house. He has these set up throughout the house. Notice below how he pieced together a candle holder with a globe then placed the solar light on top.    
Very Creative Don! 


Don uses these crates as a recharging center. The holes are the perfect size for them to fit in.




The Kelley Kettle. Don showed us this neat product. It's great for camping. It's stainless steel. You use it to boil water. It is all in one. You make a fire inside it and it heats up the water contained in the walls of the kettle, then within minutes we had hot water for tea. Don just uses the small twigs around the yard for fuel, no gas bill with this product!



They save money in many ways. They barter food with locals; Toni barters her bread for blood sugar testing supplies and chicken feed as well as water for their well when it gets dry. They save energy by using their wood burning stove. They reuse rain water caught in barrels to water the garden. They shop for clothes at yard sales and thrift shops. They "shop" at the recycling center where they take us to hunt for treasures. I found pieces of an old iron railing that I used as decor in my living room. They found a keurig coffee maker once. Toni gets magazines there. I even found several home decor magazines there before. People drop off various items and you are free to take what they leave behind. They unplug all of the regular appliances at night to save on electricity. They use the solar panels to operate the TV and stereo. They filter their own water using a Berky. 

Stay tuned for Part II of Don and Toni's story. In the next post I will share more about Don and his talents as a graphic artist and musician.