Barbie Dolls And Mothers

This is a book that I have for sale in my ebay store.

Last week, I sold three Barbie doll dresses that I had in my ebay store. I felt good about it since, the buyer seemed like she really cared about her purchase. You see, I did not make these myself, I wish I could say that I did. But my mother made these. She could crochet for hours. Her stitches were always perfect. I can look at other people's crocheted items and they just never compare to her's.

When she became pregnant with me, she wanted a girl so badly, that she started crocheting fancy dresses. She figured that if she had another boy, she would give the dresses to one of the family members that were pregnant at the same time. It turned out that three of my aunts and one cousin, were also pregnant at the same time. She told me that she thought someone would possibly have a girl. Well, that year, 1952 must have been a good year for girls! As they all had a girl! But I got all the dresses.

This is a jumpsuit that I have listed in my store. There are more items available there.

All my years at home, she crocheted all my dolls' clothes. Especially, the Barbie dolls, as they were my favorites. I still have the dolls and the clothes. I haven't sold any of them. The doll clothes that I am selling are ones she had made for me to sell. She also crocheted over fifty baby sweaters that I will be selling also. The best part of that is that she was bedridden the last few years of her life, suffering from Cushing's Syndrome. But this gave her something to do, and she did beautiful work, even with her hands shaking and living on pain medication.

When I was a teen ager, she sewed all my clothes. Back then, Cher was my idol. So she made me those bell bottom outfits just like Cher's. My clothes were different from everyone else's and back then, that was a good thing. It meant you were an individual and you stood out from the crowd.

She died in November of 2002. I miss her dearly, and she will always live on in me and my brother. She was a great mother and when I see the kind of mothers there are now, I thank my lucky stars I was born to her. She did work out, but we lived in small town areas and most of the time in the country. We were not glued to a television, and sometimes when she came home from working, her and my father would just take us swimming or some other fun thing.

Anyway, if you have time to check out my store in the next day or so, you will be able to see some of her doll clothes. They are beautiful, and I do wish I could find some more, after these sell. I was never good at handiwork myself. These will make some little girl a wonderful gift, as they can be played with and washed in a machine safely.

Copyright © 2005  Kathleen G. Lupole

Back To Work Today

Georgie Girl and Dark Shadow Relaxing!

Today, I finally got my power system back! I am like a addict getting her fix. I can't help it and I do not apologize for the fact that I love working on my computer. It is what I do. I remember very well, those days of going to a job and doing what someone else told me to do for a few lousy bucks in my pocket, that barely paid for my gas to get there! Who wants that kind of life anyway? It's true if you ask around, that most people hate their jobs, and especially hate it when they have to go to work.

So this morning, my wonderful husband fixed our system and got me back online! My work is way behind. I have my eBay store and I was trying to list enough things to get it up to 1000. But now I am far behind my goal. I had 560, but people kept buying things! I guess I shouldn't be complaining about that, and I'm not. That's what I want.

Today, was a rainy rainy day in upstate New York. Our horses hate rain. But they love snow. They would rather have snow any day. Even summer weather doesn't please our girls as much as a heavy snow fall! They hate bugs, storms, hot days, etc. But when it snows, they are running and rearing up and playing like young fillies. They love rolling in the snow! Two of our girls, Georgie Girl and Dark Shadow, want to eat their grain with the snow. So I end up looking for snow and putting it next to their grain so they can eat happily. Right now, the rain washes away the snow, but this is January and I know it won't last. Not here. In New York state.

I will be back tomorrow so till then...... have a great day!

Cold Days Of January

This is Patches!

The last few days have gotten cold again so I am busy trying to stay warm. We have two wood stoves in our house. One is a big Alasksa wood heating stove. It is a big sheet metal stove, with two big cooking surfaces on it. I love it. I heat all my water on that stove and since it's right next to my bathroom, it's pretty easy to carry the water to the bath tub. Some day, we will have the gravity fed water system in, maybe this coming summer. But for now this is what we use and I am quite happy with it.

Our other wood stove is a Jewel wood cookstove, made by The Detroit Stove Company. It is black cast iron and has Zinc fancy work on it. It is old and has some cracks and broken spots on it. But I am able to cook and bake with it. In fact, I cook my Thanksgiving dinner on it every year, and it comes out looking like the dinners you see in the pictures. I cook the best meals on that stove! My breakfasts can't be beat!

Since my system is down right now, (I am working off my battery, and right now I am charging my computer battery off the little bit of power that I can get from the sun today) I am trying to do little bits of work, as I can. I think we are going to plan on purchasing a wind turbine this year. I wanted to add more solar panels, but think the wind turbine would be a good addition for the winter months, when we do not get much sun. Our system keeps changing it's design as we live with it and see what we need.

Sun Is Shining In New York Today!!!!!!!

Georgie Girl and Dark Shadow

Today is a warm day for January in New York state. Usually our Januarys are pretty cold and snowy. Our woodstove has been banked back most of the night. I do have two kerosene heaters that I can usually use when it's too warm for the woodstove. But with the price of kerosene I have really cut back on using it. Our lighting in our house is mostly kerosene lamps, and I have cut back on how many of those I light presently. That's the nice part of using solar, that is when you have sunshine, is that you can use the electric lights and the cost is free. I mean, six years without paying a electric bill really adds up.

I am waiting for my control box to come from Backwoods Solar. We bought quite a few parts of our system from them, as they cater to the off the grid home. I also purchased my gas cooking range from them. It is a stove that does not have the glow bar in the oven that doesn't work without the electricity. Doesn't make sense why they put that on the newer stoves. Mine doesn't even have a timer or a clock or a light inside. I don't waste power on the little things. And I love the stove, but I also have a wood cookstove (and that doesn't have those little "yuppie" things either!).

I have to work fast on my computer today, as our system is down. I just come on to check my website and then get my packages ready to mail out. My feedback on eBay is up to 472 and I am dying to get to that 500th feedback! Then I get a new star! But it is my own goal to get there by the end of this month. I just set my own goals and then try to accomplish them. I do the same with our homestead.

There's a picture of my horses, Georgie Girl and Dark Shadow at the top of this page. They are completely devoted to each other. Georgie Girl is the boss mare and very intelligent. They both had the same father. But they weren't close until we bought them, and it seemed like they knew they were going to be leaving that farm together. They bonded then, and have stayed that way all these years. We have had them here for almost six years now, it'll be six in May. Tawny, who is their niece, came two years later. She is the low horse on the totem pole, but she is tough and can take it.

I'll be back tomorrow as long as the sun shines in New York!

Copyright © 2005 Kathleen G. Lupole

Power System On The Blink!

Today, I must do a short blog as my power system has gone on the blink. I am waiting for the part to come from Backwoods Solar. Our generator is the type that is DC power only, and it has a control box that has quit working. So we are trying to keep busy on our homestead with other jobs instead of working on the computer. Not easy when you have a online business! 

This is not a problem with solar it is a problem with one of our components that makes up our system. Not solar. It shouldn't be a problem that will happen very often. I have a feeling that someone who helped my husband install the system did something wrong while he was helping and my husband did not check his work. So as soon as we figure it out and can repair it we will be back up with power.

Copyright © 2005  Kathleen G. Lupole

Find the horse in this picture!

Today, I have written on two different sites about not being accepted by family and friends for doing certain things different from the norm - or what is considered norm today. On my Homesteading Today forum, we were discussing the fact, of how others treat you because you chose to live without television and other such things in your life. Like I told them. when we moved here six years ago, we had a big screen television and I felt it would be out of place in our home. For one thing, our home is off the grid, so we would not have even considered wasting our power on a big power hog such as that. Another is that the center point of our living room is a big Alaska woodstove that sits on a big hearth. I did not think the tv would belong in that room. So we gave it to my step daughter, Hollie.

But I am not saying we do not have a smaller television. We do, but what we watch on it, is video or dvd movies. And not that often. It's more of a treat. And it is upstairs in our bedroom, so it's not just sitting there waiting for someone to turn it on. But you go to other people's houses and they have them on all the time. They never turn them off unless they go somewhere. Even when they have visitors they sit and watch it. Watching television is boring to me. I'd rather be on my computer doing something constructive with my time.

My husband's family, especially puts us down for living this lifestyle. And not only because we want to be homesteaders and raise our own food, but also, because I am an online retailer. They just don't take it seriously. It's not a real job to them and it's like having a hobby or something. I realize it is because they do not know the first thing about computers. They like to brag that they do not even know how to turn one on! Like that is something to brag about!!!! I figure they will all be left behind.

My question is this, why do people feel that they have the right to say derogatory things about someone else's lifestyle? And when their lifestyle leaves much to be desired? I mean, it's not like we are breaking the law or anything. I have a legal business lisence and file my sales tax every three or four months. So I am going to start telling these people to keep their opinions to themselves. And maybe I will start telling them what's wrong with their lifestyles. They are the ones who are all stressed out and running to the doctors all the time. Not us! Maybe, that's a sign that this lifestyle is good for your health and your peace of mind.
I'll never give it up.....

Here is a link to some really great looking tee shirts. You will also be helping a wonderful cause. You see, the USDA is doing it's best to make regulations state by state that all our homestead's animals have to be I.D.ed. And what that means, is that they can control the small farmer. It's suppose to be for meat animals, yet I understand, that horses are being included. We are definitely living in a goverment state. People, we are loosing our American rights, the word FREEDOM does not apply to the USA anymore. So check out this site and buy a shirt or two. Here is the link:

www.cafepress.com/stopnais