Queen's Edge Farm: The President's Speech

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

The President's Speech

While I didn't find his speech today controversial, it also was nothing new. Parents and teachers tell their students/children this every day. Nothing he said will inspire the group as a whole, there may very well be one that he touched, but that is the case with teacher's every day.

People are wondering why parents did not want the President to address the kids since the speech was so benign. Think about it. He is a socialist, controversial man, so is it any wonder we would expect him to continue with more of his same rhetoric? More than likely he had a different speech prepared but after the flap, he came up with something simple. So simple, it was really a waste of time to hold the event. He has more important things to do than to speak to a bunch of kids who could care less.

Having said that, Lauren and I did watch the address on CSPAN and discussed it afterwards. She basically thought the entire thing was a waste of her time to listen to, but that is typical with kids. I did push her to pay attention to his words and to think about what her contribution would be to our country. We also discussed what her academic goal would be for the year and how she would accomplish this goal.

I don't think the speech was particularly "awesome" as I kept hearing on CSPAN. It was quite obvious calls were screened to only have those in support of the president speak.

I give the Office of President the respect it deserves, and believe our children also should respect the office, if not the person. The speech that was given was appropriate, though not necessary.

I attempt to teach my children to have respect for those in authority over them, while also teaching them to stand up for the true authority in our lives, the Word of God, and as Americans, the Constitution. If a president goes against the Constitution (the highest law in our land) and especially the Word of God, he is not to be obeyed or respected period.

2 comments:

Bob Westbrook said...: Deceit is a central tenant in Islam. A wolf in sheep's clothing successfully pulled off a point of honor in that culture. Obama was raised moslem and is moslem as evidenced in his speeches in Cairo and the Mideast. So he'll shift and change as is convenient.; September 8, 2009 at 6:51 PM
Amy E said...: I wholeheartedly agree. He is definitely a shape shifter. I can see directly behind his false smile. The first time I saw Bill Clinton, it was in passing on the TV. I had no idea who he was, but I sensed the same thing in him, he actually scared me when I saw him. Barack Obama even more so. I am not a diehard Republican and give every politician a chance to prove themselves, but there is nothing positive about having him as the President. I don't claim him as mine, just like I didn't claim Clinton or Bush towards the end of his presidency. It's all such a mess.; September 8, 2009 at 10:41 PM

Grandma's Yummy Cinnamon Rolls

2 pkgs active dry yeast or 5 tsps if using bulk yeast
1/2 cup warm water (not too hot)
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup shortening, butter, margarine
2 tsps salt
2 cups milk, scalded
1 1/2 cups cold water
10 to 12 cups flour (white or whole wheat)

Yield: 4 loaves

Soften yeast in warm water, springkle in a tsp of the sugar
In LARGE mixing bowl blend sugar, shortening, salt and milk until shortening is melted. Add cold water, cool to luke-warm. Stir in yeast. Gradually add flour to form a stiff dough. Knead on floured surface until smooth and satiny, 5 to 10 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turning dough to grease all sides. Cover with foil or damp towel. Let rise in warm place (85 to 90 deg) until light and doubled in volume about two hours. Punch dough down by plunging fist in center. Knead dough for about 5 minutes.

Roll out one fourth of dough to a 16 X 12 inch rectangle. Brush with 2 TBSP of melted butter. Combine 1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar, 1/3 cup sugar and 1 1/2 tsp of cinnamon (or more to taste). Sprinkle mixture over dough. Starting with 16 inch side, roll jellyroll fashion. Either cut into 16 1 inch slices or leave as a whole loaf. Place on a greased pan, cover and let rise in warm place until light, about 30 to 45 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees about 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Mix one box 10X sugar with 2 tbsps water. If too stiff, add more water until icing consistency, add a drop of vanilla too. Spread on baked bread while bread is still warm.

2010 Homestead Stats

Laundry Soap

Homemade Laundry Soap:
1/3 bar Fels Naptha or other type of soap, as listed above
½ cup washing soda
½ cup borax powder
~You will also need a small washpan or bowl that holds about 2 gallons.

Grate the soap and put it in a sauce pan. Add 6 cups water and heat it until the soap melts. Add the washing soda and the borax and stir until it is dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 4 cups hot water into the washpan. Now add your soap mixture and stir. Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir. Transfer soap (using a funnel if necessary) into empty plastic laundry holders, milk containers (I use my empty glass milk bottles and old Fab containers) Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel. You use ½ cup per load.

Wild Mustang Grape Jelly

Wild Mustang Grape Jelly

5 cups grape juice (about 3 1/2 pounds of ripe grapes)1 (1 3/4 ounce) box of sure-jel pectin7 cups sugarBefore getting started it is best to clean the entire kitchen, making sure the sink is empty. Bleach the sink and all utensils used in making jelly (I do this as I sell my grape jelly as part of my homesteading business.)

Wash the canning jars in warm soapy water, and rinse well. Set off to side.

Place a large pan of water on the stove to heat. Once it starts steaming, place lids and rings in the bottom, and 2-3 jars (depending on if you use actual jelly jars or pints) to sterilize.

Next make the grape juice using clean washed grapes (make sure you use rubber gloves when picking or washing wild grapes)To 3 1/2 pounds of clean grapes (6 cups of grapes) add 1 1/2 cups water.Bring to a boil and simmer covered for 10 minutes.Strain and squeeze out all of the juice with cheese cloth (see paragraph below)
I didn't have cheese cloth, so I poured the grape mixture into a large spaghetti strainer with a large pan underneath. I had to stir it around some as the skins and seeds would sink to the bottom, and clog the colander up. Stirring allowed the liquid to drain out. I then used a large metal spoon and squished it some to get more of the juice out.

In a very big pan, put 5 cups of the juice (it’s okay to add no more than ½ cup water to even out amount)Add the fruit pectin to the juice.Mix well.On high heat, bring to a full rolling boil, and boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly.Stir in sugar all at once, and bring back to a full rolling boil, again boil hard for 1 minute stirring constantly.
Remove jelly from heat, skim off foam
Use a large spoon inserted inside the jar to lift CAREFULLY out of the water. DO NOT TOUCH THE INSIDE OF THE JAR OR THE RIM WITH YOUR HANDS.
Ladle jelly into hot jars, place a lid and ring onto jar (do not tighten yet).
Set jars to the side. After a while you should start hearing “pings” as the jar seals.
When jars are completely cool, tighten rings and store on pantry shelf.**SIDE NOTE: Wild Mustang Grapes are normally ready the end of June, so be prepared. Keep an eye open for vines on the side of the road, or any that friends and family may have growing in their yard. Many people just let them grow and don’t do anything with them, so it shouldn’t be hard to find a good supply. Also, the more you pick off the vine, the more the vine produces new grapes, so you probably won’t EVER run out of grapes to use until the vine dies or you get sick of making jelly. Good luck and feel free to contact me at queensedgefarm@yahoo.com for questions.