Rude Comments

I guess it was only a matter of time. If you have a blog long enough, you are bound to start getting very rude and attacking comments posted to it. Tonight I began getting them. I moderate all comments that get posted. These, due to their attacking nature, have been rejected. The person who posted them said nothing in the comments that had any value. Childish name calling and disrespect won't be tolerated in the comments posted.

"Anonymous" (the person never gave a name) obviously has issues with our lifestyle. All I can say is that this person is welcome to not agree with how we live our lives. Each family must decide for themselves what is best for their own family. Just because we choose to life this way does not mean we feel it is right for everyone. It happens to be what we enjoy though.

If someone has a problem with our way of life or that I refer to my husband as Beloved, that is their right to have their own opinion. I also have the right to live my life as I choose. If that includes referring to my husband as Beloved, that is my right. Just for reference, Webster's dictionary gives the meaning of "beloved" to mean "dearly loved, dear to the heart." That is what my husband is to me. He is dear to my heart. Yes, I capitalize it, just as others would capitalize any other endearment that they used to refer to their loved one. Nothing "disturbing" about that.

Some of the changes that we have made in going from using all the modern conveniences to doing things more like the "old way" have been ones made together. Other changes, such as my choice to do laundry by hand have been my own. I enjoy doing the laundry by hand. It is not the drudgery that many people think it is. Currently, we do still have an electric washer & dryer that I can use anytime I decide to. I just prefer to not use them. I find it relaxing to wash by hand. There are times when I do use the machines, but not as often as I used to. I do know however that if I told Beloved that I wanted to give up doing laundry by hand he would be very supportive of it.

There are always going to be decisions that we make that will cause people to fuss. Please get a grip! We are not asking everyone to make the choices that we have made. Good grief. Yes, we are enjoying that we don't have much of the modern technology in our home. There are some things, such as the computer, however that will stay as long as we have a purpose for it. Right now, the computer & internet provide us with a way to stay in touch with family & friends, research, and to earn a bit of extra money from time to time. If the computer ever lost it's purpose we would get rid of it too. I find it funny that there are people who actually think we are odd for still having a computer & internet when we have given up so many other things.

The point is, this blog is a tool to share the journey we are on to simplify our lives. There are decisions that we will make that others would never choose for themselves or their families. That is fine. What is not fine however is for people to take it upon themselves to make rude remarks and childish name calling in comments to my blog. I do not judge you or your lifestyle. You are free to live as you see best. I ask that you offer me the same respect and not judge me or my family.

I will be saying a prayer for the one who posted the nasty comments tonight. This person needs prayer.

Grain Mill Discouragement

I have the Blendtec (formerly called K-Tec) Grain Mill. I have been using it for nearly 3 years now. In warm weather the mill grinds wheat very quickly and I can mill a week's worth of wheat without any problems.

During the winter however, I am having difficulties. The mill gets so warm while milling the grain that it causes humidity. The humidity is built up in the mill causing the flour to cake up on the underside of the the top (the actual mill portion) and also in the air flow areas. If you look at the picture, on the right hand side of the mill there is a small air flow outlet that has a sponge-type piece stuck into it to prevent any flour from blowing out the vent. That area gets very gummed up with flour each time I mill during cold months.

This problem is a real hinderance to my baking & cooking. We do not use white flour. Instead, I mill whole wheat flour. It is much healthier and also losts less than buying an equal quantity of wheat flour. So, now I am wondering how to solve this problem at least for the rest of this winter. We heat with wood, so the house is rarely as warm as a home with central heating would be. I have tried milling in both a cooler area and a warm area of the home with the same results. I can only mill about 6 cups of grain before having to thoroughly clean out the mill, letting it completely air out for a few hours to evaporate any moisture inside the mill, then mill another 6 cups of grain. A tasks that only takes 30 minutes at the most during the summer now takes all day.

If anyone has experience with such a problem and has found a way to help lessen it, I would love to hear from you. I am hoping to save up enough before fall to get a non-electric grain mill to use as we are going to be going non-electric. It will require me to mill wheat as I need it instead of milling a week's worth at one time, but that is fine. For now, I am just trying to find a way to get through the rest of winter with this mill not giving me such a problem.