(The Week) In Review

You may note that I have added "A Word from our Sponsor" to the top of my sidebar. I liked the comment so much (from the comment boxes), and from such good folks, I just couldn't resist displaying it prominently. I know it is partly vanity, but it is also true. I was never much of a pork man myself and neither was the family. But this home grown pork is goooooood!

There are a several pasture-raised pork operations in a, let's say, a 150 mile radius of us. There is a packing company in Kingstree, SC which caters to small poultry and hog farms who want to sell legal (USDA-approved). The problem is (due to the fact small farmers can't process their own meat legally without large investments and jumping through hoops), while this meat is surely as good as ours, it goes for $5 to $8 (and up) per pound, depending on the cut. Who can afford this? Why can't regular folks get access to this good pork? (that is out-door raised, on the ground, happy pig-pork)

The feds lock out the small farmer who would like to feed regular folks legally. (And note, virtually all of the food scandals and e coli/salmonella scares originate in USDA-approved facilities. What's wrong with this picture?)

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I think we were overstimulated as a family a week ago and it took its toll. Most of us have been down for the past week. For some it was a minor inconvenience, (a little stuffy, small cough, etc.) for others it has been more painful with high fevers. Fortunately, most if not all are on the upswing. And it is a good thing, we have a busy week ahead of us.

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Looks like we may really be getting ourselves a family milk cow this week! She is a 4 year old Jersey due to freshen in late May or early June. If we weren't CHAINED before, we will be now. Of course every time you chose something, like a lifestyle, you are rejecting everything else, like all the other lifestyles.

The family cow is big investment in time and money. We are not flush with either, but I think it will pay off in the long run. We drink enough 2.5-3 gal/day, plus butter, cream and any excess can go to the pigs. Plus, she is pregnant, so we will have either valuable heifer to sell or a steer to eat (or both). This will round out our livestock aspirations around here (oh, except for some turkeys and more chickens).

But of course we have work to do. We don't have a area fenced-in for the cow, or even a barn large enough to house her. We surely have much work to do.

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A few years ago when reading a borrowed copy of Restoration of Christian Culture by John Senior, I quoted him quite a bit here at Bethune Catholic. Browsing yesterday, I see that The Daily Eudemon has been reading it too.

I read Restoration and wanted to put it all (or a lot of it) in practice around here. We never did 'smash the TV' but our viewing is pretty limited to begin with. But here is the money quote which I am truly remiss in:

“those in the married state [should] offer a tithe of their time for prayer—about two and one-half hours per day.”

Father emphasized the necessity of prayer in his homily this past Sunday. Last night a friend of mine was telling me (over a beer) how we must truly desire Christ in the Eucharist and in our prayer. I see a recurring theme here.

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Finally, I think I got my taxes completed! I will give them another look over before mailing, but the hard work is finished.

My filing system is a shoe box under the desk. All receipts go in there, and at the end of the year I spend a day sorting and totalling. Once done, the taxes usually only take 1/2 day.

Oremus pro invicem!