Old Fashioned Or New Technology?

Our house in 1999

I have been amiss in writing on this blog since May of this year. I have been really working on my home-based business and that includes my website Solar Baby. For that site I have been detailing my own efforts at building our alternative energy system. Since it is a fairly technical subject it takes more research on my part. Making a living from home isn't as simple as putting a website up and watching it bring the money in. I wish it was!!

Our home in St. Petersburg, FL in 1994

Recently I have connected with a friend that I lost contact with. Her and her husband were featured in a magazine that my husband and I read. The article was about the best places to live to run a home-based business and they were featured in the St. Petersburg, FL section. We ended up meeting them and moving there only to find out that Florida was not the best place for a home-based business. So both of us ended up working in the fast paced Home Shopping Network. It was not really for us as our hearts were still in running our own home-based business. That was many years ago and now when I recount to my friend how our lives have changed.....I am amazed!

Front yard now!

Living on our off-the-grid homestead in the middle of the state forest to so many people seems that we are trying to live old fashioned or before technology. But that is not the case at all! We are of the future. Using some of the old ways and many more of the new. Very many of the old ways have helped us get to where we are today by sacrificing. Such as:

• I have been washing my laundry by hand for over ten years now.......not many people would be willing to do that today. As soon as our water is brought into the house, I will be using my brand new washing machine that is waiting to go into action. Can't wait!


• My husband completely built our two story barn with manual hand tools, with the exception of his chainsaw for cutting the boards.


• He has even used a scythe for cutting our lawn......did not like it at all, but he did it for one whole summer. He still uses it for cutting down growth in our paddock (our horses are so fussy they will not eat everything that grows out there!). He now uses a Neuton electric lawn mower and does not cost us one cent as we charge it with our own solar system.


• We used kerosene lamps for most of the time we have lived here.....at one time we had 14 of them and lit them every night. Two were lanterns that hung outside and my husband used one for going out to the barn to give the horses their night hay. Our light usage now is free as we have lights in our kitchen that turn on with a normal switch and really light up the kitchen.


• We still carry in our water from the hand-dug well which is pumped by a pitcher pump. This will be changing by next year I hope.


• Our hot water is heated by our stoves....either our wood heating stove, wood cook stove or our propane cooking range and poured into the bath tub or the sink for dishes. We plan on using water collectors in the future.


• By far, the hardest thing I have had to sacrifice has been no refrigeration. In the winter here in upstate NY it is very easy and no effort at all. But these warmer months have tested my patience many times! Since we are reworking our root cellar it is not cool like it usually is in the summer. One whole wall is torn apart and lets warm air in. When that is finished it will be better than ever with the changes completed. So for the time being I have been using an ice chest in my pantry, which is also torn apart. I have to buy ice every time I go to the store and it does not last more than one day. This is the second time I have lived over a year with no refrigeration. The other time I kept fresh water from our well in the ice chests and changed it several times a day. I guess back then I wasn't quite so busy as I find it hard to do that now. I will be purchasing a Sundanzer refrigerator and freezer, which are two separate units. They are built like a chest freezer, but one is a refrigerator. They use about as much power as a laptop each. So they are coming! Need to get two more solar panels before we add them though.

The thing about these old fashioned ways is that they usually don't cost anything. Except for the kerosene for the lamps. So while we save our money to put in the technology to bring these conveniences to our homestead, we still use these old ways of doing things. The technologies that we plan to use will cost us money up front to bring them in, but in the long run they will pay for themselves with no other cost. Then some of the old ways are still the best ways.....like the wood cook stove or the wood heating stove. My husband plans on adding radiant floor heat using evacuated tubes, but we will always have a wood heat stove and I would NEVER give up my wood cook stove. Though I plan on replacing my old wood cook stove with the Pioneer Maid. New technology on an old fashioned product???? We'll see when I get it.

I will touch back on some of these ideas in future posts. And especially as we complete some of our projects. Have a wonderful homesteading day and enjoy your summer!

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2009  Kathleen G. Lupole

Keeping Our Faith In Los Baño

We all face illnesses, financial hardship, family problems and just regular day to day stress of living in this modern world. How many times in our lifetimes do we think that life is just too difficult and wish we did not have go on? I have felt that way many times through out my life.....yet my problems did not seem to be that bad when I heard of other people's problems.

Just recently I read a book about people who had to face a severe hardship that looked like there was no end in sight. In 1941 after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, American people in the Philippines, of whom most were missionaries, were put in prison camps. At first they were all in hiding, but soon the Japanese issued the order that if they did not turn themselves in they would be shot. The ones who did not, were indeed shot.

Our Aunt Lois Hess Lupole, was a prisoner in Los Baños Internment Camp, Laguna Province, on Luzon, in the Philippines at age five with her family. She gave me the book, Escape At Dawn written by Carol Terry to read. Carol Terry was a young missionary on her way to India. She told of the hardships that they had to physically endure. Many of the people were old and not in good health after a few months of starvation, living on slugs and weeds and much worse. There were families with children, as our aunt's. Can you imagine the feeling a mother or father would have knowing that your children were starving and there was absolutely nothing you could do? One father stopped eating and divided his share of what food they were given between his wife and child. They were there for three years which to all of them seemed like forever.

When they first came to Los Baños Internment Camp, the guards took all their books and writing materials away from them. Which included what? Their most important possession! Of course, all their Bibles! Finally they asked for the Bibles back and the guards had a meeting and decided they could have the Holy Bibles back but not the New Testaments. The guards did not know that the New Testament was in the Holy Bibles too!

The one thing that was constant in all the hardships they went though was their belief in the Word and their faith saw them through. Right up to the end with everyone suffering from Beriberi which is what you get from being malnourished and eventually you will die from it. Many people did give up hope. Carol Terry tells of going off by herself to be alone with God. To talk to him about the situation they were in and ask for his assistance. She kept her faith and never said or thought that God had abandoned them. As many of the others felt the same way even in a death camp being guarded by Japanese soldiers who hated Americans. One of them would put some food in front of a child's nose and then eat it in front of the child. They tortured these people, as well as others in unspeakable ways.

A Philippine man was sent into the American soldiers camp by the Philippine guerrillas to tell them that there were over 2000 people being held in the Los Banos prison camp that was many miles back into the Japanese territory. The message was then sent to General MacArthur. After that, it became General MacArthur's uttermost goal to free those people. I won't go into the behind the scenes details of what the American soldiers had to do.....but when the prisoners started seeing American planes dipping their wings to them........they had hope! God had answered their prayers. They were still starving and were scared that the soldiers wouldn't make it in time but they knew they were aware of them being there at last.....after 3 years.

One night, one of ladies said she saw a vision of angels coming from the sky. The next morning, February 23, 1945 at dawn, the United States Army's 11th Airborne Division, assisted by Philippine guerrilla forces, carried out a lightning-swift raid forty kilometers behind Japanese lines and rescued 2,147 American and Allied civilian prisoners of war, men, women, and children. Most of the Japanese garrison were killed; the rest scattered. The prisoners had to be taken out of there safely through enemy territory by the soldiers. Going across a lake on amphibian type vehicles.....we are talking about over 2147 people who were so starved they could barely stand let alone walk. It was found out later that the prisoners were scheduled to be executed that very morning at roll call. Did God send those American soldiers or what? Their prayers were answered!

Not one prisoner was killed or seriously wounded; all were transported safely behind American lines. Not one paratrooper of the battalion directly involved was killed. In a crucial blocking force to the west of the prison camp, four 11th Airborne troopers were killed. The Philippine guerrillas suffered two men killed. Tragically, shortly following this magnificent rescue, Japanese forces returned and wreaked vengeance on the town of Los Baños, massacring some 1500 helpless Filipino civilians.

Carol Terry prayed all through her ordeal and risked her life many times through out this ordeal. It never crossed her mind that God was not with them. In the end she felt that God gave her this burden to bear to make her strong for what she would have to do in her life. In her case it was being a missionary in India at a little girl's orphanage. Now I will look at my burdens to bear in a different manner. Keeping your faith in the Lord and knowing that he is with you no matter what. Even if it seems to you that he is not there, he is. Just have faith that you will get you through it with him.

Our Aunt Lois said that her grandmother always knew they would be rescued and come home because she prayed for it. And she had faith.

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2016 Kathleen G. Lupole

Updated: August 2016

Mother's Day 2009

This photo is of my own dearly loved Mother, who passed away in 2002. My fabulous father who turned 90 years old today and I was lucky enough to visit this morning as he started to work on his large garden. We shared a wonderful morning with him today! In the photo is also my “Cowboy” brother, Mickey, who I will be visiting this Saturday. And the little girl in the photo is.......you guessed it! Me! Wow, time just flies doesn't it???

Such a special Mother's Day this is for me since I am fortunate enough to be a mother, a role in my life that I truly treasured. My husband, Larry and I were both lucky enough to have wonderful, loving mothers. The kind of mothers that many children of today never know. I want to thank God from the bottom of my heart for giving us our mothers and our grandmothers who helped form both of us, to become the people we are today.

In the spirit of mother's day I would like to read a couple of things which I did not write but feel are appropriate for our day today. The first is a poem written by our Uncle Bernard Lupole, who passed away on January 13th of this year, one day before his 92nd birthday. Larry's Dad's oldest brother.

"Memories"

I sat in my chair by the fireplace

Watching the embers die,

And as they flickered and went out

I thought of days gone by.

It was not many years ago

My mother sat with me,

But God has taken her away

till dawns eternity.

Her picture over the fireplace

Me, to her bosom pressed,

Was taken many years ago

I as a babe was dressed.

If I could have my mother

Right here with me today,

I am sure I'd never laugh and scoff

When mother tried to pray

Mother, mother, mother,

You're all the world to me

With the help of Christ, I'll live the life

Until your face I see.

This is another writing that I found that reflects on us Christian mothers. John Killinger's book, Lost in Wonder, Love, and Praise includes the following affirmation:

I believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God,

who was born of the promise to a virgin named Mary.

I believe in the love Mary gave her Son,

that caused her to follow him in his ministry

and stand by his cross as he died.

I believe in the love of all mothers,

and its importance in the lives of the children they bear.

It is stronger than steel, softer than down,

and more resilient than a green sapling on the hillside.

It closes wounds, melts disappointments,

and enables the weakest child to stand tall

and straight in the fields of adversity.

I believe that this love, even at its best,

Is only a shadow of the love of God,

a dark reflection of all that we can expect of him,

both in this life and the next.

And I believe that one of the most beautiful sights

in the world is a mother who lets this greater love

flow through her to her child,

blessing the world with the tenderness of her touch

and the tears of her joy.

Low Carb Frugal Shopping 2009

Let's face it.......buying food in 2009 is very expensive! Switching to low carb eating has changed the kind of food I purchase. I had plenty of food stored in my pantry and now my poor husband ends up eating it! Potatoes, beets, carrots, dried beans, rice, pasta, cornmeal, bread flours, etc. Look at the kind of food I was eating! All very high carbs! It's no wonder I felt so bad. Now I am changing the way I buy and what I can store. I would like to see my husband switched over to this Low Carb plan too. He could just start on the maintaining program. He is a willing subject as he thinks the other way of eating is not healthy.

I have always grown lots of salad vegetables. Especially greens and different varieties of lettuce. They are very easy to grow and can be started early directly in the ground as soon as your frost date is reached. I have two planters that are like sinks.....one is a double sink that is used in milk houses for washing the milking equipment. It is above my waist so I do not have to bend down or squat to pick. I have another one that is a double galvanized sink that is what people used for washing clothes and they would attach a wringer to it. Both of these I use for growing my salad greens. Just fill it up with seeds. They grow close but I like it that way. I can pick them every day through out the summer and some of the fall. You can plant in any container you find. I get my compost from my manure pile. With three horses you get alot of manure! Our horses do not take any kind of drugs or medications so it clean compost.

I have raised beds all over the place. I fill them with tomatoes, green beans, spinach, swiss chard, green peppers, hot peppers,onions, zucchini, yellow summer squash, pumpkins and winter squash. Some of them will not be ready in the summer......more like late summer or early fall. So what I do is to go to my local farmer's markets and buy there and get enough to eat fresh and to can for the winter. If you can find heirloom seeds you can save the seeds from your plants and not have to purchase them next year. I have one cherry tomato that I bought about 4 or 5 years ago that grows wild all around us. It is wonderful! Then when my plants come up I have more to can or store (I have an old fashioned root cellar and can store fresh vegetables and fruits down there as well as some home made cheese).

I have two raised stone beds that I planted strawberry plants in last year. I am waiting to see if they come up this year like they are supposed to. They kind of took over the beds and I wasn't sure if they would survive. Last year I also planted a huge garlic bed with some awesome garlic I got from my friend. One other plant I started last year was my Rhubarb and I am looking forward to seeing how that comes up. I am hoping to add berry bushes. I already have wild blueberries, elderberries, raspberries and strawberries, but would like to add the domestic kind. The wild ones are good, but so tiny. Asparagus beds is something I need to add as well.

I love the idea of growing most of our food. This year I would also like to put in some Stevia plants. My friend had it growing in her garden last year and that was the first time I tried it. So I could see drying alot of that. I have always grown herbs and will just throw a handful of different ones in our salads. I dry them for the winter and use them mostly in cooking but also make teas or infusions with some.

All I would have to do then is to order fresh meats from local farmers who offer it for sale. Anything you want that you don't grow or need more of, you can buy at the local farmer's markets or farms. Sometimes you can get good deals on it if you buy it in bulk. Put "Local Harvest" in Google and you will find a search engine that will give you a list of local farms and markets and CSA's right near where you live.

All of this food is less expensive than what you purchase in a grocery store......and much better quality. I am making a plan for purchasing the meat as I do not own a freezer or a refrigerator. So I have to bring it home and can it immediately. According to NY state law I believe the meat has to be flash frozen by the processor anyway, so I have time to let it thaw out a bit before I cook it for the canning process. Canning meat is not as hard as many people think it is. I really like it as it flavors up real good in the jar and it lasts for years (if it makes it that long!). Remember when you do this yourself.......you know what is in it!

katlupe

Uncle Bernard Lupole 1917 - 2009

Uncle Bernard died yesterday. Our telephone message system didn't work yesterday so we didn't know till today. We went to spend today with Larry's Dad for his 89th birthday and found out. Uncle Bernard would have been 92 tomorrow. He lived for over 19 years with cancer. Changed his diet and that is what made the difference. When his doctor told him that he had cancer, he smiled and said, "Oh boy! I'm going to heaven!" The doctor looked at him as if he had lost it. So now he shall.........

Uncle Bernard's first wife died long before I met him. He remarried and found himself a wonderful wife, Aunt Lois. She said when he asked her to marry him, her father warned her that she would be a young widow one day as he was so much older than her. Well I am happy to report that they were married for more than thirty years! Very happy years too.

Everybody thought he should have been a pastor. He was a strong spokesman for the Lord. When he visited people in the hospital or nursing homes before he left he would always offer up some prayers...........other people would always ask if he was a pastor. No, but he should have been. Yes, heaven is rejoicing today as Uncle Bernard Lupole has come home!

Who Says Solar Does Not Work????

Today is our little girl, Nikita's 11th birthday! I never thought I'd haver her this long. One thing is that my animals do live long lives and they are basically very healthy. She is very overweight and I wish I could put her on my low carb eating plan. But she wants NO carbs at all. Her being a big dog, she loves her raw meat. But I can' afford to feed her that all the time and she does not understand.

People do not understand how we live if we are not using grid power. They think we are out of power if they do not hear from us for a certain amount of time. I cannot stress enough to others, "We are NEVER without power." You are. Our system just keeps working regardless. Maybe we have to run our generator to charge our batteries in the sunless state of New York, but we still have power.

When there is a storm here we do not have to worry about our power going out. It is on. Only if we unhook it for some reason would we be off our system. Our power is in fact, more reliable than the grid power. I know someone who had a solar fence charger that was defective or the battery would not work, so she would say all the time (in front of me knowing very well that is how I live), "solar does not work." Who is she kidding? I know it works! Plus, if my batteries were defective and would not hold a charge they wouldn't work either!

I think people are scared of using it. Scared of not having the power. To tell you the truth, if it wasn't for me liking my computer so much, I wouldn't even care if I had power or not. I could live without it and keep doing like we are doing right now. Washing laundry by hand, using kerosene lights, carrying our water in from our hand dug well, etc. We have done all that most of the going on ten years that we have lived here anyway. I used to write by hand and I'd really hate going back to that as my hands hurt sometimes.

I am really looking forward to getting our conveniences put in. Using my new washing machine will really improve my laundry day! Having running water in the house is going to be fantastic! I do hate the carrying of the water buckets though my poor husband ends up taking the chore from me most of the time. It used to be my job, but when my knees got so bad he started doing it.

I knew when we moved here that I'd be sacrificing many things that I was used to using. But what were we really giving up? Really? Neighbors? I was never the kind to visit next door or hang out with my neighbors......even when I lived in a fancy neighborhood in Vestal, NY. I have always kept to myself and did things alone.......until I met my husband. Him and I seemed to be perfectly matched. We like that alone time. We can sit next to each other all day and not say a word. Later we talk for hours until late into the night. I never knew anyone who I could tell my every single thought or idea to and not have them laugh at me.

When we first moved here our only visitors were our grown children, my Jeff and his daughter Hollie Sunshine. Both of them loved being here with us out in the forest. It is like being the only people in the world.....until a vehicle drives by to remind you that we are not. We never used to visit anyone except for our parents and my brother, Mickey. Then my best friend moved close by and we used to go to her house all the time. She got mad at me because she thought my blog on myspace was about her and it was not. But she convicted herself by thinking and believing it was.......it was a Christian based blog and she is not one. Anyway, after that friendship ended we had discovered we had neglected many things on our homestead by visiting and socializing. So we have done alot of things this past year on our place and it is improving.