City vs Country

Fellow Bloggers

Have you ever considered whether living in the country is better than living in the city or vice versa? There are obvious benefits to living in either place and depending on where you grew up tends to dictate which you prefer.

Living in the country brings clean air. There is no smog but there can be definite ordors in the air in the country. It is also much quieter. No sirens, cars racing past, horns or just ther normal city sounds. Country sounds include birds, wind/breezes, leaves blowing and at night crickets and tree toads. Country living allows you to grow your own produce in gardens. Something that can also be done in the city, but in the county it's typically on a larger scale. Neighbors are definitely not near as close to you as they area in the city. You can run and holler in your yard and not worry about offending anyone.

Downsides of living in the country are that you aren't as close to the stores as maybe you would like to be. Every thing requires that you have to drive a distance to get to it. There are also different types of wildlife that like to visit your yard. Deer will come and eat your flowers. Turkey, squirrel, rabbits and possum are just a few of the critters that will travel through your yard. Racoon like to make themselves at home in your garbage cans or anywhere they can cause a little mischief.

Living in the city puts you near everything. Movie theaters and stores, schools and libraries; everything is typically within just a couple minutes from you. There is always something to do and neighbors are abundant.

Living in the city also allows for noise. There is always a car racing by or an amnulance/police car with a siren going, a neighbors dog barking or other city noises that many get used to hearing. Crime is always something that one has to be concerned with. Locking doors is a must in the city.

A case could be made for either country or city living. It seems though that the harder, safer life is in the country. You work hard and sleep heavy. The easier, more dangerous life is in the city. Things are there are the touch of a finger, but you need to be leary of people you meet and make sure to protect everything you have or own. There is no right answer to the question, It all depends on your preferences and maybe how you were raised. For me, it's all about the country but not so far from the city that it's a pain to go to town. How about you?

Childhood :)

Time to blog again...

When you were little, did you believe in Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy? Or did your parents just keep things on the up and up and tell you that there was no such thing and just give you the gifts themselves. Where did these tales come from; how did they get started? Do you remember your favorite Christmas?

I'm not sure of the origins of Santa Clause but I was told that it had a religious background and that the Dutch originally brought it to the America. I'm glad they or whoever did. Christmas has always been a favorite holiday of our family. I remember how I wondered and wondered for the longest time about how Santa could bring all those presents into the house and put them under the Christmas tree when we didn't have a fireplace and chimney for him to come down. It was also a favorite tradition to bake a batch of cookies and leave out a place full of them with a glass of milk for him to have when he came.

He always brought the right presents too. My brother and sister and I would sit and go through the catalogs circling the things that we wanted to get for Christmas. We'd tear out the pages and send them to the North pole about 2 weeks before Christmas. The hardest part was having to be good for two weeks without any slips in order to get all the presents on the list that we sent.

The Easter Bunny always came as well and he brought gifts as well. We couldn't figured out how he could bring the gifts because he was so small and didn't have a sleigh like Santa. Then our parents took us to the mall once to meet the Easter Bunny and then it all made sense. The Easter Bunny was big and could carry the presents to our house. He would come on Easter morning and leave eggs all over my grandma's yard that were filled with candy and money. After we opened our presents at our house, we would go to grandmas and find the eggs.

The Tooth Fairy was even more sneaky. Each of us had a pillow with a small pocket on the front of it. When we would lose a tooth, we would put the tooth in that little pocket and then the pillow would go under our pillow. Then, in the middle of the night, the Tooth Fairy would sneak in and take the tooth out of the pillow and leave money in its place. How the heck did that happen without us knowing! However it happened, we were always so excited to look under the pillow. As soon as we realized that one of out teeth were slightly loose, we worked and worked until that tooth came out so we could get the tooth pillow out and have more money to put in our piggy banks.

Funny the things that little kids believe in. Sad when we all grow up and those beliefs go away. Things were so much more fun when we were nieve little ones. Sometimes I think it was a happier time.

Politics (AKA annoying)

Hello blogger friends....

Democrat, Republican, Liberal, Conservative...are you tired of hearing about it and seeing it on TV? The ads...the ads...the ads....ENOUGH!! The sad part of it all is that the majority of what is said is only half truths to make things suit their needs.

For those of us who aren't old enough to vote, or maybe even the ones who are going to vote for the first time this year, it makes it difficult to even want to vote because of all the badgering of the parties. My mom has a rule about commercials. If the product in the commercial bashes a competitor, she won't purchase it. If the company has to stoop to the low level of talking bad about the competitor then it's not worth buying. Both companies are in the business of selling their product. They sould sell their product based on it's merits.

The same should go for the political field. The commercials just get so depressing. Each of the candidates should just give the facts and allow the public to make their choice on their own individual merits. If the have to stoop to the low blows, what are they showing us really? Does this show us that they will do a better job than the other if elected President? It doesn't and personnaly, I think they should stop already. The election is still over a month away. Allow us the time to see the positive things that they have done. Maybe put some ads on about that without bashing their competitor.(259)

-Ardeeemilla :)

Hello bloggers...

Ever watch Little House on the Prairie and wonder what life would have been like for you if you had lived back in those days. Laura Ingalls Wilder is an inspiration for many and her true life stories and books she wrote about them have taught many life lessons to many.

Growing up in the middle of the big woods had to be hard. But families back int those days didn't know any different. They lived by themselves with neighbors miles away and created their own entertainment. Their belongings were their prized posessions and meant the world to them, and in some cases, life or death. Now a days kids spend more time at their neighbors or friends homes than they do at their own. Spending time is borning and the only things to do by yourself are things that most don't want to do like clean your room. :)

People work hard to make money and buy things. But the difference now a days, especially with kids is that if it breaks, it's not a problem. We can always buy another one. It feels like unapreciativeness. We are a wasteful people now. Back in those days, things lasted from generation to generation.

If people had to milk a cow every morning by hand just to have a glass of milk, would they. If children had to walk to school for miles now adays, would they? Chopping firewood at night, cleaning the horse stalls, eating stew more than once a week...would you do it?

A life of simplicity has advantages. It teaches one true work ethic. It makes you appreciate the real things of value in life such as family. Things have changed drastically over the years. Things today are hectic and … electronic! No electricity back then. Could you have survived?

-Ardeeemilla

Blogger Friends...

Did you know that Wisconsin is the state that is referred to a “gods country”? It's beautiful there. It's one state in this country that truly has and changes through every season. In spring, the weather is wonderful. It stays between 40 and 60 degrees. It rains often which starts the grasses and trees growing. It's also the time that many women start to make plans for the flowers that they are planning to put in their flower beds for the year. It's fun to see all the different vendors get their green houses up, knowing soon the flowers will be shipped in and ready to be sold.

Squirrels and rabbits start to play in the fields and birds start to build their nexts. It's the time of the year when everything everything is reborn and everyone is playful from the long winter that just ended.

Summers in Wisconsin mean field work, baseball and camping. It's fun to load the car up, fill the tank with gas and go until you run out. When you get to that spot, that's where you pitch your tent. Camping in Wisconsin brings all kinds of excitement. Deer are plentiful and sometimes like to wander into your camp. Summer weather can be warm, and not much different than Iowa, just slightly cooler.

The end of spring into summer is beautiful due to all the flowers popping up, but truly fall is is one of the most colorful seasons in Wisconsin. Unfortunately it doesn't last long. It's the end of September into October when the leaves on the trees turn to most gorgeous colors. Thousands of people travel down the roads of Wisconsin just to see these colors. It's also a time of harvest. Apple orchards, gardens and corn fields prove to reaffirm all the work that has taken place through the spring and summer months. Moms can their produces and get ready for the winter months. Dads harvest their fields and store the rewards for the animals to have during the winter as well.

Winter is cold in Wisconsin. This is one tihng different from Iowa. Wisconsin gets more snow than Iowa, lower temperatures and can be somewhat windier. However, the people who live in Wisconsin know how to enjoy winters too. Snow skiing, ice skating, fort building...all things you will see everywhere. Wisconsin...a favorite place to go.

-Ardeeemilla

Homade Flour Tortillas :)

Hello bloggers!

Tonight, my mom and I made home made tortillas. Ever had them? They are the best. Nothing like what you get in the store. And they are really easy to make. There are only 4 ingredients needed to make them. Let me tell you what to do.

Flour, Salt, Water and Oil...that's all you need. When my mom cooks, she really doesn't use recipes. It's all by sight and feel. If I had to guess, I would say that she puts about 2 cups of flour on the counter. She doesn't use a bowl to do this. She takes about a half a teaspoon of salt and sprinkles it all over the salt. She makes a hole in the center of the flour and puts about 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil in the hole. She then starts to work the flour into the oil. Using her fingers, she incorporates the oil into the flour. Once the oil is well incorporated, she then pours warm water, about ¾ of a cup into the flour which she has made another hole in the center of. She starts working the water into the flour. This forms the tortilla dough. She can feel from the dough whether it needs more flour or a little more water. Once the dough is just right, she breaks off pieces of dogh and makes small balls. Each dough ball will make one tortilla. She sprinkles a little flour on the counter and uses a wooden down as a rolling pin to roll out the tortillas.

The tortillas are cooked on a comal which is a heave metal flat pan. The cooking of the tortillas is the hardest part of the whole process. There are three flips to each tortilla and it's important thats all you do or they get hard. So once the tortilla is rolled out, it goes to the comal. It will start to have amall bubbles. Once the whole tortilla shows bubbles, it's time to flip it. The bubbles that were just created will now really blow up. If your tortilla doesn't have the bubbles, it's not going to be very good. Sometimes you can help the bubbling process by pressing on the tortilla. My mom uses a towel to press in just the rights spots softly. Where she presses, a bubble forms. Sometimes, she flips it back to the first side just to make sure that it's cooked al the way. When it's done, it goes to a rest on a towel an cool. Then the next tortilla goes to the comal! That's it other than to make something to put in the tortilla! Sometimes I like to butter the the tortilla and sprinkle sugar on it. Home made tortillas are the best.

-Ardeeemilla :)

Whooping Cough

Hello blogger friends...

Today I brought home a form from school for the Whooping Cough vacinnation. My parents want me to get it. I have shots! But my grandfather had whooping cough this year and it wasn't fun. It took the doctors a long time to finally figure out what he had. He knew he had a cough and thought it was just a cold. So he took cold medicine from the store. But then his cough got worse. So worse, that when he he would start coughing, he would cough and cough until he would pass out. The problem was that my grandfather is retired and doesn't work. So he would be home, start coughing, and pass out when no one was around. So he went to the doctor. The gave him some antibiotics. He thought this were going to get better. They didn't.

Still coughing, still passing out, feeling terrible. Finally one day, he passed out and when he woke up, he couldn't remember what had happened. It scared my grandmother so much that she made him go back to the doctor. They ran more tests and again, told him that it was just a cold. So as he was getting ready to leave, he started coughing, with the doctor in the office. Just as you would expect, he passed out right in front of the doctor! But this time he really did it good. When he went down, he went face forward. He broke his glasses, cut his head open and gave himself a black eye. He had to have stitches in his head and he tore the retina in his eye. But the doctor saw what happened and ran him through more tests. Whooping cough was the ultimate ruling. They gave him different medications and it took a while, but he finally got better. Trust me...I'm getting the vaccine!

-Ardeeemilla :)