Happy New Year To All My Readers!

Now 2010 comes to a close. Thinking back I remember how it was in 1999 when everyone was fearing what was going to happen when the year changed to 2000. People were stocking up and learning what they thought they needed to know. Some people gave their supplies away after that. Surprised me that anyone would do that! After you have the supplies stocked up why did they want to give them to food pantries or dump them? It was a good start on having some security. Regardless of whether you are a homesteader or just a person living in a normal life.

I don't really make resolutions, I call them goals. I will be making a post about them tomorrow. Today I spent the day with my father, who at 91 is pretty agile and quick. He still works on his car, house, garden and has wonderful sense of humor. I love him dearly, and every year I fear will be his last. I am thankful to God to have had him this long. Him and I spent a lot of time together when I was growing up. He was that kind of father.

Today I also spent some time with my son and seeing the new place he lives at now. I admit, I was wary of him living with my niece, Lisa and her family. But I have mended those fences. I have decided it was time to have a "forgiving heart" and this is where I was tested constantly. This year I will do my best to live my faith as an example to others. And this was the first step.

So my last day of 2010 was satisfying and enjoyable. I hope your's was too, and hope you and your family have a great year to come in 2011. See you next year!

Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole

Peaceful Forest Homestead 2011 Garden Plans

Raised beds in the back yard under the white stuff!

This year's garden is long gone. But it was a good gardening year for us and one of the best we've had in all the years we lived here. Could be I am more experienced now. The worst thing that happened this year was the Late Blight hit my tomatoes for the second year in a row. I told about it in this post, Late Blight Destroys My Tomatoes Again! This coming year I am planning on giving my garden a rest from tomatoes. I will buy them from the farmer's market this year. 

The funny thing is that both years I have done what they tell you to do. I pull up all the plants and take them to the land fill. But I still got the blight this year. My father on the other hand, had the blight last year and did not take his dead plants to the land fill. He just threw them in his brush pile. This year he had good tomatoes and never got the blight. It made me sick as my tomato plants were beautiful.

I did manage to get a lot of cherry tomatoes and we ate the fresh all through the late summer and fall. I did not plant these and they grew in my raised bed that the year before had grown garlic. So at least we had some for salads.

Raised beds under the snow in the side yard.

This coming year's garden is already in the planning stage. I started lots of my seeds in the house last year, even the ones I don't usually start inside. I was thankful I did that as I got a real good head start on the garden. The zucchini, yellow summer squash fed us all summer. The winter squash fed us all through the fall and now we are using the ones I canned like the Hopi Pale Grey Squash and pumpkin.

I am checking on my seeds since all the catalogs are now arriving daily. The main thing I need to do this year is to purchase some blueberry bushes. I have wild ones all around me but they are a very small berry. I want the big ones with larger yields. Strawberries are another thing I'd like to work on. I had trouble with my first strawberry bed as they were in a circle and they just kept putting down roots and it became a big mess. I pulled them up and took them out of there. I need to research how best to do them. My father grows them in regular garden rows. He doesn't use raised beds at all.

I am making a list and will make good use of every inch of my raised beds and gardening areas. The plants we grow must be foods we really love and will eat. If I plant anything new, it will be only a few plants to see if it is something I want to invest my garden space in. I guess you could say I am eager to get into the gardening mode again. It is a lot of work, but the enjoyable kind. What about you? Are you planning your garden already? What changes are you making this year?

Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole

Updated 2018

The Key To Low Carb Cooking

A Low carb supper

I am excited today because I have posted my very first guest post on another blog! Living A Changed Life is a fantastic blog written by Jennifer, who has photos showing how she lost a tremendous amount of weight! Be sure to go to her About Me page while you are there this morning to see the photos. My guest post is titled, Low Carbing And Loving It, and I'd love for my readers to stop by there and give some blog-love. Please leave a comment so I know you have been there!

The key to low carbing is to be able to cook from scratch. I have had comments about how expensive they think this way of eating is. But if you start adding up those loaves of bread, potatoes chips, potatoes, ice cream, rice and pasta, you will see a savings that can go toward the foods you thought were so expensive.

Meat is the center of a low carb meal. It doesn't have to be expensive steak. It can be cheaper cuts of meat. What you need to get started is to get some good low carb recipes and work from them. I make a variety of dishes and they are tasty and we look forward to them.

For example:

Sausage, Pepper and Onions is really good. My husband will eat the sausage as a sandwich as he does not care for peppers or onions. But it is a good low carb meal and I love it.

Chicken with hot wing sauce. We love this and have it often.

Turkey salad, this is one of those fast foods for us. Mix the turkey with mayonnaise (Yes, you can have it on low carbs and not the low fat variety!) and make a tossed salad and top your salad with the turkey salad. Mmmmm!

Pork Chops we like a lot. I cook them in my big covered roaster and they come out tender every time.

Casseroles that call for cracker or bread crumbs can still be made by substituting almond meal or flaxseed meal for the crumbs. Any recipe that calls for milk I use heavy cream for. And any recipe that calls for potatoes I use cauliflower for. I use zucchini from my garden for making many dishes, but the Zucchini Lasagna is one of my favorites by far.

I have completely banned white flour, cornstarch, and white sugar from my house. If it is not there I won't be tempted to use it. To tell the truth, the meals taste better without it. If I want gravy with my roast beef or turkey, I do what low carb chef, George Stella advises in his cookbook, Livin' Low Carb, "classic French cream reduction." That is using cream with the meat stock and some butter and reducing it to the thickness you want. A lot more taste than cornstarch or flour!

The trouble with low-fat, low calorie diets is they don't give you enough food to eat. It doesn't taste particularly good, and you feel deprived. I know, I was a Weight Watcher for many years. Lost weight, gained weight, over and over again. Now the low carb eating plan gets you into losing weight before you even realized that happened! Within the the first week, I lost 12 pounds which is unheard of for me, a slow loser. Are you a slow loser? Then you know what I am talking about. You are thankful if you've lost  a half a pound! Now I am eating bacon and eggs for breakfast and feeling better than I ever did on any diet! And losing weight too!

What is wrong with cooking from scratch? It is cheaper in the long run. My pantry seemed empty at first without the canisters and jars of flour, sugar, cornstarch, cornmeal, pastas, and don't forget rice! Everyone has to have rice, right? Not in our house. The funny thing is we ate a lot of rice and  beans before I started low carbs, then my husband admitted to me that he never really cared for them. So we easily eliminated them.

After you have gone through the Induction period, you will find that you are eating less food. Yes, you will. You will not want 4 slices of bacon, only 2. Not 3 eggs, only 1 or 2. It is how it works scientifically in your body. Everyone is different so you may need more food than the other person, but it works. Give it a try.

Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole

Updated 2020

Bonanza Sales Will Build My Little Red Pony's Box Stall!

Today is the start of the last week of 2010. I plan on making the best of it. Yesterday we had the anticipation of waiting for a blizzard that other areas of the northeast were getting. We got the wind and with the temperature of 10 degrees, I am sure the wind chill factor was in minus digits. But we survived it. I prayed all night that my horses were okay in it. Especially with Tawny standing out in the middle of the paddock by herself. And the other two must have been in the barn. She really needs her own stall. So I am working on raising the money for the wood to make the stall inside the barn. I am sure the other two will be VERY jealous.  But they are the ones keeping her out, which they didn't usually do until the last few months. Of course, it could be the bad ruts in the path that she doesn't want to walk in. Horses are VERY careful of their legs and feet and will do what is best for themselves on their own.

I am increasing my items in katlupe's Booth, which is where I sell used books and other items on Bonanza. Since I started working on it more, I see my traffic has indeed increased. All the proceeds from this booth, with the exception of the ones from the guitar strings, will go to the care of my horses. The wood won't cost much since I can get it from the sawmill. In NY you can't use rough cut wood on your house but you can use it on buildings for livestock. It is so funny about that law because rough cut is bigger and sturdier, not planed. But it is considered not safe enough for a house. What does that tell you about the people who made that law? Making you buy planed wood to make more money for the big lumber manufacturers is what I think. I love rough cut the best and use it when I can.

Anyway, I am going to use all the money I make from Bonanza to go toward building a box stall for Tawny. In the future, my husband will build a third one, but for the most part, Dark Shadow will not want to be separated from Georgie Girl. Even if she would be in the next stall, but she'd get used to it. I think we would only put them in stalls when there is a need for it. I like to give them free choice. When the paddock is wet though, if they were kept inside in their box stalls it would never develop ruts to begin with. So there would be no problem. Georgie kicks Dark Shadow and Tawny out when she gets her night hay in the barn. So regardless of the weather they have to leave. This way, they would be in their own nice, safe, dry box stall.

I have been having lots of fun making handpicked lists on Bonanza. I have made three if you would care to view them. One is called "Homesteading Journey" and is a list of homesteading tools. The next one is called "I Love Cats" and is cat items for sale all over Bonanza. I love that list it so cool! Check it out. The last one is called "Less Than A Dollar" and is all items that cost less than a dollar of course. But the shipping is extra so the total is not less than a dollar. Couldn't find any items that cheap that had no shipping. I will be making more of these lists because I had so much fun putting it together. You also get to see other sellers' items and stores while doing it. Gives me ideas.

Hope you all had a good holiday and are looking forward to the new year. I am. I have lots of plans for the upcoming year and can't wait for it to get started.

Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole

Updated 2020

All The Best From Peaceful Forest Homestead!

Hoping everyone had a really great Christmas! 

Merry Christmas and To All A Good Night!!!

Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole

Christmas Eve On Our Peaceful Forest Homestead

Georgie Girl

Merry Christmas to your house from our's. Our animals don't seem to know we are celebrating, as every day is the same for them. When you own livestock you must take care of them and do chores regardless of  holidays or any family emergency. I know when my husband was hurt at work his boss came to take me to the hospital. Before I could even leave, I had to feed and water my horses. Then I had to catch my pet hen and get her inside. Feed and get all my cats and dog in the house. Then I could finally leave, and see how my husband had survived an accident at work when he was almost killed.

Dark Shadow

So all days of the year, you have to be able to feed, water and care for your animals. Horse stalls need to be cleaned out. Hay needs to be brought in when we are almost out. Which yesterday my husband had to do that job. Pick up hay and then load it upstairs into our barn.

Tawny

We are definitely celebrating the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ! Hope everyone has a good Christmas Eve and a Merry Christmas too! For us, Christmas will be a nice dinner here at home with just the two of us. That is fine with us. I like having a stress free holiday and that is how our holiday is now. So God bless all my readers and know that each and every one of you is important to me. After all, you are reading what I write!

Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole

A Christmas Tree At Peaceful Forest Homestead

When we moved here in 1999 the woods came right up to the house. On the other side of the driveway, we had mostly trees until we started clearing it for our future horses. My husband brought this little tiny evergreen tree out of those woods and planted it for me at the end of our driveway. It was knee high to a grasshopper at the time. Now this tree looks beautiful standing at the end of our drive way.

I have another small one on the front edge of the lawn. You can find these little evergreen trees all over in the woods and the places where some of them are growing they would just never survive there on their own. Not enough sunlight comes in due to the large trees over them. So you are really saving them by replanting them in your yard or wherever you want it. To buy a pine tree at a nursery is pretty expensive. You can find a lot of these and they are like a little plant. You might even think they won't grow but I have found them to be pretty sturdy. Surviving the winter snuggled down under a snow bank.

Since I do not put up a Christmas tree, this is what I consider my Christmas tree. I am not killing it and I can look at it all year long. What a beautiful sight!

Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole

Wordless Wednesday In The Middle Of The Forest

Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole

Long Winter Nights On Peaceful Forest Homestead

"Need some help?"

Cold weather brings about those thoughts of certain foods to me. Like stew, chili or a pot of a good hearty soup.  Nothing is better than coming in the house after being out in the cold and smelling something good cooking on the stove. I like to just let it simmer all day on the wood heating stove. Of course, that drives my husband crazy! He gets hungry just at the mere mention of food. You'd think he was a big guy with all the food he likes to eat. But he's not carrying any extra weight at all.I think it is because he is always working and doing physical jobs. Even if he doesn't have to, he can't sit still for too long.

"I thought I saw a kitty cat!"

We eat salads all year long, though I do enjoy soup too. I can eat just soup for a whole meal with some homemade bread or rolls. It fills me up pretty good and that is what I am planning on doing. Making up some soups and can them so that I can have some whenever I want. Having the food available in the pantry in jars is like having a fast food restaurant that serves healthy, good quality food without any of the secret additions, like MSG, sugar, corn syrup, etc.

Raised beds under the snow.

Since we don't get a lot of sunshine in upstate New York at this time of the year, it is important to get some extra vitamin C. Some of that, some outside time for a bit of exercise and good, comforting, hot foods really go far in relieving that winter depression many people get this time of year. Two keys to getting through a winter in a cold climate like this is to have a supply of firewood so you don't have to get it during the winter at all. The other thing is to have your pantry and root cellar full of food. When you are cold, if you eat, it will warm your body up. Pretty quickly too.

That is also true with your critters. Our cats and dog want food almost immediately in the morning, though our cats eat pretty much all night long. I will hear them crunching when I am sleeping. The horses might get shivering in the morning, but as soon as they can get some hay inside of them they start to warm up immediately. Georgie Girl especially has to be watched for this.

"I promise I will NEVER complain about hot weather again!"

What I do in the evening when my husband goes outside to give the horses' their night hay and water is to fix some hot cocoa. Then when he comes in, he has something to warm him up. He looks forward to it and it is a small treat that he enjoys. Especially if I have marshmallows to put in it. I figure he has to go out in the cold and thaw the pump, and carry water to them, as well as pass their hay around the paddock. And it's cold out there!

I hope everyone is warm and cozy if you are in a cold climate. And if you are in a warm climate........lucky you!

Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole

Almost Christmas - Ninety Days Till Spring!

Christmas is coming!

Christmas will be here in only five days! Then everyone will start counting how many days it is to Christmas again. I always count how many days it is until the first day of Spring, which is March 20th. Not counting today, it is 90 days. That doesn't sound like much does it? But I know they are 90 hard days, depending on the weather. The thing is that when you live in the city or even a town or the suburbs, the weather does not effect you as much as when you live in the rural country. Sometimes moving back to that type of life sounds inviting. But you know what? I remember very well why we wanted to live out here like this. I honestly do not think I would ever be happy living that city life again. Especially after having the freedom of living in the country.

Living in the country means you have snow clean up. Shoveling paths to the manure pile, to the place where I dump the kitty litter and the drive way of course. We have many paths for various reasons. The path to where we put the hay for the horses in their paddock is easier. You can follow their paths and not have to make your own. My husband likes to put it out in several piles spread out so no one can hog it all, and it makes them have to move around. Especially in the winter that is important.

I am counting the days until Spring because I want to get a head start on my garden this year. Like I did last year. Usually I don't start squash and pumpkin seeds in the house, just put them right in the ground when the ground is ready. But this year, I started them inside and was even able to get the plants in the ground early, because our weather was perfect this past year. So my crops were awesome and I had plenty. 

I am in the middle of planning my garden right now. It is what I think about when the weather is bad. I can plan it and picture it in my mind. Making sure all my garden space is used smartly. This year I am planning on buying some blueberry and raspberry bushes. We have wild of both growing around us, but to get really big berries, I need to plant some domestic bushes. Blackberries seem to grow big, wild, but not the other berries. Strawberries is another area, I need to work on. They are a low carb fruit that I buy a lot of, and would like to grow my own supply.

Another project I cannot wait to work on in the Spring will be our flower bed out front. I started it a little last year, but this coming year I really want to develop that. I want lots of flowers out front. Before I only wanted to plant food, but flowers give me pleasure, and I deserve some of that too. What are you thinking about for your garden? Are there some plants you are not going to plant this year? I am not planting tomatoes at all. That is a first for me. I will have to buy mine from a local organic grower I know. But I need to rest my garden ground from the Late Blight this year. Two years in a row of being hit with that did it for me. They take up a lot of time and space to lose the whole crop every year now. So I am not growing them.

Have fun getting your last minute Christmas shopping in this week! I don't have to worry about buying anything but our groceries for our dinners. One for Christmas Eve and one for Christmas Day. I may make some Christmas cookies for hubby as a surprise. He deserves it. He takes good care of me and our family of critters.

Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole

Memories of My Life - Chapter Nine - Homes Of My Life

I lived in this house in Harpursville, New York on Route 7, from 1954 until 1962, when my parents moved my brother, Mickey, and me to Florida. I didn't want to go because my next door neighbor told me that Florida had lots of bugs. This house was a wonderful old house with 14 rooms in it. We did not use the upstairs at all and that was one of my favorite places to play. It wasn't heated so I didn't go up there much in the winter. Looking at the house from the picture, it doesn't look that big. It was though. All the rooms were really big. Our kitchen had an old fashioned pantry attached to it, that my parents made into a laundry room, with a brand new washing machine and dryer. I remember it had a Hoosier in it and my father took it out! Can you imagine? 

We moved to Crescent City, FL in 1962. This was my favorite place to live! We lived 8 miles from Crescent City on Fruitland Road, and had no real close neighbors. It was great. Loved the big oak trees in our yard with Spanish moss hanging off them. We were only a mile from the St. John's River and not that far from many lakes, such as Lake George and Lake Stella. We swam in Lake Stella all the time. It was so much fun living there. I have reconnected with many of my friends from there on Facebook.

My grandmother's house on Snow Road in Harpursville, NY, in this photo looks abandoned, and it was. My grandmother went to live her daughter, my aunt. Here it was sitting empty and nobody would bring her up to it because they were afraid they would not get her out of it. And that was probably true. She loved this house which she always referred to as "the farm." It was a farm when she bought it. Ninety-nine acres of land that included a barn, and two chicken houses. We loved to pick blueberries here and she had so many on her land. I wish I had pictures of the inside of her house as I picture it in my mind many times. When I can't sleep I just picture her in her house and all the rooms and how they were arranged. 

I moved to this house in 1975 with my own family. My son was five years old and this is where he started school. This house is on the outskirts of Union Center, NY on Cornell Hollow Road. . Two neighbors to the left of the house but not real close. Nobody across the road. So it was pretty private. This area had very friendly people and one lady came to the house when we moved it with food and brownies. After that, one day a week all the housewives would meet at someone's house for coffee and goodies, and the kids would play together. It was a nice area. 

We moved to this house on Third Avenue in Vestal, NY in April of 1977. Now we had lots of neighbors here! It was a development and all the houses were pretty close together. Here my son had a whole slew of friends and it was a good neighborhood for him. Note: This house is now gone since it was flooded in 2011 when Vestal was badly flooded.

I loved living in this house!

In 1981 we moved to this house on Parkwood Road in Vestal. I loved this house and would have never left it if my husband hadn't broken up with me. I know now, I should have stood my ground and stayed in it. He turned out not to be what he seemed. But I didn't find that out until he died this past July. Anyway, I moved from this house in 1989. After that my whole life changed. I have evolved to a whole new lifestyle, but it was not all at once. I am not sure what is in my future as I grow older. Maybe I will have to give up the "modern homesteading" life. Maybe not. Depends.

Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole 

Updated 2018

Think Happy Thoughts, Think Happy Thoughts

katlupe's evergreen tree

I am one of those people who hopefully, look forward to the new coming year. Every year I have high hopes of life being better than ever. Can it be so? When you think about it, each year over means I am one year older. My life as I know it, has increased the odds of losing significant people in my life. Or my pets, who I love dearly. I hate to look on the bad side of things, but it has gotten to the point where instead of looking forward to better times or a great life, I worry about who I will lose in the coming year. Be it a member of my family, a friend, a pet or a celebrity I admire, or now an online friend.

So instead of focusing on such downers in this holiday season, I am focusing on only the good thoughts and hope that my outlook will improve and lighten up. Things I am looking forward to this coming year are:

• To actually make money on my blogs so I can focus on my writing instead of scrounging for sales on Bonanza and my websites.
• To finish updating my eBooks and market them to a bigger audience. If so, I can write more eBooks.
• To really work on my novel and get it finished.
• To make a dent in our house remodeling which is being held up by money mainly. This includes bringing the water into the house so we have running water, insulation all done, wiring all inside and up to code, floors, walls, windows, kitchen finished, downstairs bedroom and bathroom all according to our plans.
• To add the lean-to on the back of our barn, so we can build box stalls inside and I can get Tawny inside when the weather is bad. The other two girls won't let her in the barn even to get water lately. My husband has been carrying buckets of water out to her so she can drink.
• I would like to buy a second vehicle without a payment instead of having to drive the truck everywhere.
• Spend more time with my horses.
• Work doubly hard on our preparedness goals! 
• Concentrate on our budget so that every single penny is spent diligently.
• Develop a homesteading course for people who would be interested in spending a week-end camping here and learning the modern homesteading lifestyle for their life.

These are not New Year Resolutions, they are my goals and things I really need to work on. I am trying to make our life easier. And as crass as it sounds, money has to be one of those things. I wish I could say I don't need it and if it comes so be it. But things are very tough right now and the cost of living keeps getting higher and higher even though our wonderful Social Security system keeps telling us there has not been an increase in the cost of living since 2008! Who are they kidding? What planet are they living on? Whoever is in charge there and made that decision is truly on drugs! Pretty soon all the people on Social Security such as my 91 year old father, will have to apply for welfare and food stamps to live. So I have to take into account that my blogs need to bring in enough to keep them going.

I didn't mean to go off on that subject. It is just an irritation to me. I am planning to make a little bit of changes around here and am looking forward to it and that is what my list is all about. What about you? Are there things you need to focus on this year? Things you want to change in your life? Not just money, it could be other things too. Tell me about them in the comments. 

Come back again and please have a safe, happy homesteading day!

Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole

Today's Post Dedicated To My Mother On Her Birthday!

Aunt Edna & Uncle Eddie Chrzaszcz, Aunt Francis & Uncle Frank Harding, Hazel & Michael Dran

Today would have been my mother's 87th birthday. Yesterday would have been her sister, my Aunt Edna's 88th birthday. My mother died in 2002. And my aunt died on December 1st of this year, in a trailer fire with her son and my cousin, Michael. 

My parents got married on August 28, 1942 in Orlando, FL where my father was stationed in the US Army. He loved that time of his life. Now, at 91 years old, he talks about that time with such good memories. My mother had gone down to FL to marry him. They got married and she worked at the Vogue Theater as a cashier. In those days, she said the movie stars  came to the theater because of the war. They were boasting the morale of the servicemen who went to see their pictures. So she met a lot of the older stars when they came into the theater.

At Lake Eola, October 1942

Many of their photographs from Orlando were taken on this little bridge at Lake Eola. They spent a lot of their time fishing as that is something they both enjoyed and did often. Even as they were older until my mother could not do it anymore due to her health problems. She had become very sick with Cushing's Syndrome in 1978 and at that time, they removed her adrenal glands. It was do that or she'd die. Now I don't think they do that, but don't know for sure.She had been a very active woman, loving to fish and to swim the most. 

My mother & father in 1942.

My mother received an allotment check from the Army while my father was stationed there. He got really sick with ulcers and was in the hospital for a few months. He was so sick they told him not to get out of bed to salute the officers when they came through. Everyone else had to because most of them were trying to get out of the Army and weren't really sick. He didn't want to get out. But he ended up being discharged and sent home. 

Our first house on State Road in Binghamton.

My mother spent one of her allotment checks she received from the Army to buy a coat to wear on the train coming back to New York. Since she had worked the whole time she was in Florida, she had saved every one of those allotment checks. So they weren't home very long before they bought their first house. This is where we lived when both of us kids, Mickey in 1950, and me in 1952, were born. 

Mickey & me - he still dresses that way!

My parents were very thrifty and frugal. They were married for seven and a half years before they had children. They bought houses to fix up and then sell while they lived here. One house they bought for one dollar was an old school house. My father fixed it up and made it into a regular house, and put the blackboard into our house, I always remembered that blackboard! They fished all the time. Back then you could eat the fish you caught in the Susquehanna River. It was safe! Not like now. My father was a good hunter and hunted a lot. Plus, they foraged for berries and things in the woods and land around them. My mother knew a lot that she learned from my grandmother, who could find, grow or make food out of anything! 

katlupe

So that is just a little bit about my family. My family has changed since I had my child. My mother completely changed when he was born. I have to admit, I wish she had stayed the way she was. Being a grandmother seemed to bring something out of her that I had never seen before. I like to think of her the way she was when it was just the "four of us." 

Happy Birthday in heaven to Mom and Aunt Edna! I love you and miss you...........

Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole