Making the blog better--one comment at a time

The title is in reference to the readers, not me. Once again, I have received an awesome comment that warrants its own blog post. Many thanks to V, who wrote the following:

"A button light is pretty simple. Take a small amount of oil and pour it into the bottom of a jar or other clear, glass container. Take an old button, preferrably metal or another material that won't melt. Thread a thin piece of cotton material through the button hole so that when left on it's own, the button holds the fabric straight up. It's recommended to not pull the cotton all the way through, just enough to form a lightable wick. Leave material on the other side of the button for both weight and to soak up the oil to the flame. Drop the button carefully into the oil (it helps to pre-soak the end of the wick you intend to light with a bit of oil) and then light the wick when you need to use the lamp. You can use almost any type of oil, I traditionally use olive oil or canola in a pinch. "

I was very excited when I read this comment--thanks again, V!

I have been wondering exactly how to make a button light ever since I fairly recently reread The Long Winter, by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I don't have any metal buttons that I know of, but it looks like it's time to look for some. Interesting that just last night I was talking to someone about preparedness, and she said that the place to look for ideas was in the Little House books. There are a lot of ways to "make do" there, such as the button light, and you gotta love having more detail on exactly how to make use of such resources, such as above. Thanks for making the blog better with your comments--the more people there are that know about more options, the better off we all are...

Have you called yet?

This is the same post that I put over at my other blog just now, because it is that important. Before you begin reading, I just want to say that our Idaho Senators are Senator Crapo and Senator Risch. I hope that they get more calls on this than ever. Thanks. Marie


I usually don't talk about anything political on this blog, but I think this issue is so critical that I am now. Perhaps you have heard about the fact that a section of the healthcare legislation requires Catholics to act in ways that are contrary to their beliefs.

I disagree that they should have to do that. Fortunately, according to an e-mail that I received yesterday, some people in Washington also disagree that they should have to do that (understandably, considering that they have sworn an oath to uphold the Constitution, and religious freedom is part of the Constitution) and the Blunt Conscience Protection Amendment will be voted on soon. Unfortunately, the timing of the vote is unclear, so time is of the essence for the phone calls to your senators. 

I consider this issue to be non-partisan, and want to protect our Constitution. The e-mail I received talked about a movement that Glenn Beck that has organized, and included the information that you can find here. If you go to the link, you will find out what you can do to stand up for religious freedom--in step-by-step detail. There is even a link so that you can find out who your congressmen are, and information in case you want to e-mail your representatives. 

If you already know all the information that you need to know, and just want to call the Capitol Switchboard, the number is (202) 224-3121. Ask to be connected to your representative, and they will put you through to that representative's office. 

Glenn Beck's campaign is called "We are all Catholics now". You may be familiar with the poem talked about here, where the basic idea is that when someone doesn't stand up for other people there are fewer and fewer people to stand up at all.  We have to stand up for each other when it starts, so that we can stop it before it goes any farther.

I'm not a Catholic, but I will stand up for their right to have religious freedom. I called my senators this morning asking them to support the Blunt Conscience Amendment. Sometimes we don't know what we can do when things that are obviously unconstitutional are paraded before us, but we can do something now, and quickly, before religious freedom is taken away. When enough people are willing to speak out, things happen.

United we stand.

Need info on Wordpress

I am considering switching my blogs over to wordpress, but have only ever blogged on blogspot. If anyone has answers to the following questions, I would greatly appreciate if you left info in the comments:

--I have only gotten to what amounts to the first page in wordpress, because it then gives you a chance to pick free, or to pay for your blog for $99/year. I ( probably along with 99.99999% of the blogging community) would prefer to have the free option, but there is a big difference (understandably) between what one is able to do when blogging free and when paying for it. So my first question is, when it says that with the free option that you don't have the "no ads" feature, does that mean that once you start blogging, random ads pop up on your page? That issue is my biggest concern--you may have noticed that I don't advertise (outside of links within the posts or on the blogroll, or when I find a reaaaallllly good deal and mention the business offering said good deal) on my blogs, and would prefer not to start now. I am not a professional, and am just trying to help others while I am trying to learn myself.

--Would you still continue to read my blogs if they did have the random ads on them? (Yeah, always amazing to me that people read my blogs. Many thanks... :)

--What is domain name and mapping, which is not included in the free package, but is included in the paid package?

--If you have switched to wordpress, did you delete your original blog after importing the info? Seems like that would be the best option, but am wondering if others have kept both blogs, and then only added new posts to the newer blog.

Granted, that is only on the sign-up page, and I may find that I have other questions later, but you have to start somewhere, right? Anyway, if you have any info to share, please do, and thanks in advance.

On an Idaho water supply note, I have now heard from three people that despite our really weird (almost) no snow winter, there isn't really a threat of drought because there has been enough snow in the mountains to make it so that it's not an issue. I'm grateful for that!

Whole wheat waffle recipe

It was not surprising to see my husband making waffles recently--but it was surprising to see the batter in the blender. Turns out he was making his mom's recipe that she made while he was growing up--and thanks to his mom, who gave me permission to post the recipe on the blog:

Whole Wheat Waffles

1 cup wheat

1 cup milk

Blend wheat and milk in blender 2-3 minutes. 

Add another 1/2 cup milk. Blend another 2-3 minutes. 

Add 2 eggs and 1/2 cup oil (scant). 

Add:

1 tbs. sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons baking powder

Blend for about 1 minute. Pour from blender onto hot waffle iron.

Yeah, I was impressed. I love recipes where you just start with the wheat kernels and work from there. The only thing we would do differently, and that didn't make this recipe the biggest hit with the children, was the fact that there was some crunch to the waffles--not a lot, just some of the kernels were not as well blended as they could have been, so we would blend the wheat a little more, as my husband's mother suggested. The waffles were tasty, though... :)

If you try them, hope you enjoy!