Vaughnshire Farm

I have been following the “Raw Milk” issue here in Tennessee. In 33 out of the 50 states it is legal to sell raw milk. Tennessee happens to be one of those states where it is illegal. However, for those who diligently seek raw milk, you can get it in the local Amish communities. I am hoping to get a cow! However, because of space and time, a milk goat will have to suffice.
In my research and search for raw milk, I ran across this group: Weston A. Price Foundation. Although I don’t personally agree with every point they make…it is a different sort of thinking about nutrition than what we are told to think. My goal is to remove the modern American processed foods from our diet and replace with whole foods that our great grandparents grew up on–food from the farm.

For example here is the Weston A. Price recommended diet for the pregnant and lactating mother:

Diet for Pregnant and Nursing Mothers

1 tablespoon cod liver oil daily, (mixed with water or a little fresh juice)

2 8-ounce glasses whole milk daily, preferably raw and from pasture-fed cows (learn more about raw milk on our website, A Campaign for Real Milk, www.realmilk.com)

4 tablespoons butter daily, preferably from pasture-fed cows

2 or more eggs daily, preferably from pastured chickens

Additional egg yolks daily, added to smoothies, salad dressings, scrambled eggs, etc.

3-4 ounces fresh liver, once or twice per week

Fresh seafood, 2-4 times per week, particularly wild salmon, shellfish and fish eggs

Fresh beef or lamb daily, always consumed with the fat

Oily fish or lard daily, for vitamin D

2 tablespoons coconut oil daily, used in cooking or smoothies, etc.

Lacto-fermented condiments and beverages

Bone broths used in soups, stews and sauces

Soaked whole grains

Fresh vegetables and fruits

AVOID:

* Trans fatty acids (e.g., hydrogenated oils)
* Junk foods
* Commercial fried foods
* Sugar
* White flour
* Soft drinks
* Caffeine
* Alcohol
* Cigarettes
* Drugs (even prescription drugs)

In my post Theodore Roosevelt - Larger Than Life I completely underestimated the complexity of one of the greatest occupants of the American white house. Truly, I don’t think there could be a more complex person to write about. The oddest part of it all is that Teddy Roosevelt did not consider himself anything beyond average. In an assessment of his own ability he wrote:

In most things, I am just average; in some of them a little under, rather than over. I am only an ordinary walker. I can’t run. I am not a good swimmer, although I am a strong one. I probably ride better than anything else I do, but I’m certainly not a remarkably good rider. I am not a good shot. I never could be a good boxer, although I do keep at it, whenever I can. My eyesight prevents me from ever being a good tennis player, even if otherwise I could qualify. I am not a brilliant writer. I have written a great deal, but I always have to work and slave over everything I write. The things I have done are all, with the possible exception of the Panama Canal, just such things as any ordinary man could have done. There is nothing brilliant or outstanding in my record at all. page 125

Here is an average man with his average Rough Riders!

Not only was President Roosevelt an incredible leader as a statesman, he also excelled in many many other subjects. His son Archie said, “In one afternoon I have heard him speak to the foremost Bible student of the world, a prominent ornithologist, an Asian diplomat, and a French general, all of whom agreed that Father knew more about the subjects in which they had specialized than they did.” He was a ferocious reader, who on an average week, would read six volumes. On a better than average week he would read more. Lord Charnwood said of him, “No statesman for centuries has had his width of intellectual range”.

While finding time to read this wide range of subjects he also found time to write and share his knowledge with the rest of the world. He wrote 43 books in his lifetime ranging from his classic work “The Naval War of 1812″, to wild west adventure stories, to insightful biographies on such men as Gouverneur Morris, Oliver Cromwell, and of course his auto-biography. His volume on the Naval War of 1812 is still studied at the Naval Academy today and was published when he was 24 years old.

There are many other interesting facts and intricacies about the man who was Theodore Roosevelt, but my favorite aspect of his life is that of his family. While not a perfect father he was an active father and a very involved father. Dr. Grant tells of a visit to the white house by the Japanese Ambassador who was surprised to find the leader of the free world on his hands and knees chasing a “gaggle of children” down the hall outside the oval office! It was his home, that is his family household that was his source of strength. His family was not another item on his to-do list in another long day of details, but it was the very foundation that made him who he was. He said:

There is need to develop all the virtues that have the state for their sphere of action; but these virtues are as dust in a windy street unless back of them lie the strong and tender virtues of a family life based upon the love of the one man for the one woman and on their joyous and fearless acceptance of their common obligation to the children that are theirs.

If your looking for a good biography, I could not recommend one stronger than, Carry a Big Stick, The Uncommon Heroism of Theodore Roosevelt, by George Grant.

Sign’s of simple, but hard working times.

Produce from simple hard working times, still grown today.  A gentlemen said the tobacco grown in northern Tennessee is a type not found anywhere else in the world.  It is used for a very niche market; the outer wrapping of high dollar cigars… Another Tennessee Original.

Just a short distance down the road are some of Tennessee’s award winning wines, located at Chateau Ross.  Ross, thanks a million for the tour, we enjoyed every sip of it!

The Large Family Logistics website has a great family / mothering blog—click here to read some birth stories she has been posting lately.

32 weeks pregnant and slowing…… As these last weeks approach, I have grand nesting plans. The problem is that my grand plans and my physical ability don’t match. I will try and aim my focus on completing those tasks that will aid in an easier last part of pregnancy and postpartum time. Some things on the list are:
1. stocking the pantry
2. buying extra necessary supplies to avoid trips to the grocery store (laundry soap, paper plates, diapers, etc.)
3. Store several weeks worth of freezer meals. Supper and lunches are helpful. Calzones, pizza pocket type sandwiches are great for the freezer and heat up nicely. Supper freezer meals are quick and complete with a fresh salad and some bread or a steamed veggie.
4. Store away extra toys and stuff. Limiting the toys, storing away or getting rid of clutter that will make keeping house difficult. (Why, I should do this regularly!)
5. Order enough prenatal vitamins for the postpartum time— mother’s milk and postpartum teas, herbs, iron building herbs.
6. Gather birthing and baby supplies.
7. Round up helpers. Mother’s helpers for the toddlers, helpers for housekeeping and meals.

Upon our trip home from the the regional NCFIC conference this weekend I came across a monument to a young man I had forgotten about. Sam Davis, A True Confederate Hero and the youngest recipient of the Confederate Medal of Honor, is little known today.

Even less known in the youth today is the character and maturity this 21 year old man possessed when he was illegally hung as a spy on November 27th 1863.

Born on October 6th 1843, Sam knew enough about his beliefs and had enough consideration for the future to make the decision to join Co. I of the 1st Tennessee Infantry Regiment of the CSA in April 1861 at the age of 18.

Having distinguished himself in the east during the Cheat Mountain campaign under General Lee, young Master Davis continued to serve with honor and valor in the western theater in the battles of Shiloh, Perryville, and Stones River. Early in 1863 he became a member of “Coleman’s Scouts”, a group who worked behind enemy lines disrupting communications. It is in this service that he showed the true mettle he was made of.

In November of 1863 as Master Davis traveled toward Chattanooga he was captured by Federal troops. He carried highly sensitive communications on him that were an embarrassment to General Bragg as they showed he had an informant on his staff. Continue Reading »

Theodore Roosevelt - Larger Than Life
Author - Matt Donnelly
Publisher - Linnet Books North Haven, Connecticut

Over all a disappointing read, I’m not sure if it’s because I had high expectations of the author or Teddy Roosevelt. Many folks I know hold him in high esteem and there is much about him to admire, but according to the tale spun by this author there seem to be some glaring inconsistencies.

For instance, the author’s understanding that Roosevelt thought the government should bear the burden of the poor while at the same time holding his father’s views that it was part of the duty of individuals with wealth to serve those who were less fortunate. It seems to me that these are two conflicting views. One subscribes to a more biblical understanding that charity is a free gift based on a compassionate heart. The other says that it is forced by the sword of the state. This is either an inconsistent belief or an inconsistent assumption of someone’s belief.

This type of modernizing the past along with some liberal interpretation of facts surrounding the War Between The States, and the praise of feminism leads me to believe it is the author not the subject that is lacking.

It has a good time line and is a good overview of the larger facts that do not give room for outside interpretation, but I think I will still have to pick up a copy of “Carry a Big Stick: The Uncommon Heroism of Theodore Roosevelt” by George Grant and see what I can learn from someone with a more biblical worldview.

Vision Tennessee’s new blog. Check out the link.

Never mind that Planned Parenthood received the largest amount of federal money in Title X and Title XX funding ever under the Bush administration this year, never mind that they have a national fund raising machine, and never mind that the going rate for abortions is $717 a pop according to the latest Medicare submission codes. (reference code 59840) Planned Parenthood is whining because they can’t raise enough support from those in TN to have a pro-abortion license plate!

One might think that an international organization with an 800 million dollar budget would enjoy the free debate brought on by expressive license plates. But not Planned Barronhood, no they must have the courts step in to “level the playing field”. After all, it wouldn’t be fare if some upstart little local pro-life organization was able to raise more local support than this multi-national organization. After all it might make them look bad in the international court of public opinions.
Link

November 9, 2005

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush nominated a Republican regulator from Tennessee Wednesday to serve on the Federal Communications Commission.

Nominated was Deborah Tate to fill a vacant Republican seat on the panel.

Tate is a director on the Tennessee Regulatory Authority and previously served as chairman of the authority from 2003 to 2004.

In 2003, she was appointed to the FCC’s Federal-State Joint Conference on Advanced Telecommunications Services.

Tate was an assistant to former Gov. Don Sundquist.

She must be confirmed by the Senate.