I have tried to blog, but I find I don’t have much to say. I wish I did. Maybe if I keep at it I will find more to write about.

So it seems my intentions were bigger than my motivation once again. Ugh! My mortality fills me with angst.

Here’s the best I can do today:
I stopped watching the news again, about a year ago. It never proves profitable to my spirit. More often than not it fills me with things I would rather not know. About 2 years ago, I stopped watching most  (not all, but most)  TV altogether. Fred bought these cool headphones that wire up to the TV and then he can watch it with the headphones on and mute the actual TV proper. That way I don’t have to listen to it at all, I just get my peaceful silence.

In return I have been using an e-book reader with a backlight. This allows us to keep the bedroom dark for Fred (he can’t stand the light on when he’s trying to sleep), while still allowing me the necessity of reading myself to sleep at night.

I can’t even explain how much these two pieces of technology have eased our relationship. We’ve been doing it this way for over 2 years now and I can honestly say, I don’t know how we lived without them. Funny how small things can be so annoying, such as the noise from a TV and the light from a lamp. We’ve worked it out though, and as long it works, I won’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

ON the website update front, I’m getting closer, but am not finished yet. Also, I’d like to blog some more about headcovering, but I’m still working out what I want to say.

Greetings to cousin Chris from all the VA family. Everyone just talks about you all the time and how proud they are of you for being so brave and facing your dragons with faith and strength. Hugs & Love—M

Hey yall, good to see everyone again. I’ve been working on some updates and I’m about ready to just update everything and then let the readers point out any thing I’ve missed or messed up. Let me know what yall think of that idea. The updates aren’t enormous, but they are a little more tidy recipe format, and hopefully some of the new recipes we’ve been using.

We are still Gluten and Casein free and hopefully will be for the rest of forever. My kids are still on the autism spectrum, one with Asperger’s and one with ADHD, but they both respond well to dietary therapy and I wonder now if I have celiac sprue, or maybe some other form of wheat or gluten intolerance because I feel better than I ever have since setting gluten and wheat by the wayside. It’s hard, yes, but wow are the results life-changing.

I’m working on some doll stuff. I collect and sew for dolls and I’ve not shared much of that over the internet, but I hope to share more as I’m inspired. I’ll probably get up a subdomain to Frugal Abundance and focus my doll stuff on it. I love to sew and making doll clothes is easy for me, so I’m hoping to put a few doll thing up for sale on the Doll subdomain. If I had daughters who played with dolls I wouldn’t enjoy dolls as much as I do. In my house though, it’s all boys, all the time. Sewing for dolls helps me increase the estrogen level in the atmosphere, even if it’s only vinyl estrogen, every little bit counts.

I’ve been visiting with Anna from Veiled Glory on a weekly basis. We have coffee while my boys are at Karate. I cannot describe the encouragement it is to share an entire hour every week with another christian, headcovering lady who shares the same values and the same desire to serve the Lord while living deliberately. I thank God over and over again for his generosity and grace.  I’m much better able to focus on my goals and zero in on the things I want to do, instead of getting lost in all of my options and not being able to see any specific tree because the whole forest has me overwhelmed.

All is well on the home front. Boys are doing better. Fred’s diabetes in under good control, my PCOS has improved, although I still hope to work towards improving it more. My Granny is healthier than she’s been in years and at last check my cousin is doing very well. The Lord blesses us so abundantly.

Hugs and affection all around. I hope to be blogging regularly, perhaps once or twice a week.

First off, I feel more confident, just because we’ve all become more used to it.

(GF=Gluten Free. CF=Casein Free)

I’ve learned that GF for autism is different from GF for celiac disease. For celiac it’s necessary to be extremely vigilant and watch for even the most minute traces of gluten. For autism, we’ve found that miniscule amounts don’t really make much difference one way or the other. That teeny tiny bit of  leeway makes it much easier to maintain our budget too. For instance I don’t have to buy the specialty GF cornflakes, I can but the regular ones which have some malt in them. Malt is usually derived from barley which contains some gluten. Regular cornflakes would be out of the question if we were battling Celiac, but with autism, regular cornflakes don’t appear to cause any reaction, at least in my kids. Like with all things though, Your Mileage May Vary (YMMV). I’ve also found that small amounts of soy sauce that contains wheat doesn’t seem to cause a reaction, I wonder if it’s because the soy sauce is brewed or fermented and that somehow the gluten properties are changed through the fermentation process. I have no proof or anything, just my own pondering. Since wheat-free soy sauce is cheap and widely available (Kroger Brand) I use wheat-free at home, but if we get fried rice out in public, then we don’t worry too much about where the soy sauce came from, because we know that tiny amounts won’t be any problem.

According to their labels, some foods are processed in factories that also process wheat or dairy products. There is a chance of cross contamination. For the most part, I don’t worry about cross contamination. I did once find a few milk chocolate chips in the bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips, but I simply removed them (they were a lighter color) and continued on with the rest. It wasn’t a problem. As long as the product I’m buying doesn’t contain any of the offending products in the ingredient list I trust the Lord when it comes to cross contamination. Non-Christians may find that difficult to understand, but it’s simply a normal part of the Christian lifestyle. Trust God with the stuff I can’t control, cause really He is in charge of all of it anyway. It’s a comforting way to look at the world.

We’ve developed a method for the kids to identify what they can and can’t eat, that’s pretty easy for them and I find it helpful too. We had trouble explaining to them that some foods they could eat in very small amounts and it would be still be okay, but other foods they shouldn’t eat at all, ever and then others were fine to eat in unlimited quantitites. We finally hit upon the Traffic Light: Red light, Yellow light and Green light.

Some foods are Green Light Foods. They can be eaten as much as desired and there is no need to worry about them. Fresh fruits, vegetables, Rice, Corn, Oats, plain meats, plain beans, soy milk, potatoes and others.

Some foods are Yellow Light. These can be eaten in small servings such as french fries from Fast Food stores (they often have small amounts of wheat added to them), Dark Chocolate (some has small amounts of milk and some do not. It’s not always convenient to read the label when out with friends, so choose dark chocolate, and you’re better off than eating milk chocolate.) Soy yogurt cultured with dairy based bacteria. Heavy Cream & Real Butter (they’re  mostly fat, and fat doesn’t have any protein in it, thus no casein) And lots of others.

Finally are the Red Light Foods. These are not eaten at all, ever, except on Christmas. And even then, it’s okay to refuse them. Except if you must eat them, it can only be on Christmas. These foods include flour, cheese, milk, ice cream, and the regular offenders.

This method of identifying foods has been a huge blessing on us. Asperger’s kids like everything to be in tidy boxes in their thought processes. Giving the kids 3 boxes to mentally divide thier food choices into has helped them be able to eat in the world and to make their own choices at pot lucks and family gatherings and restaurants. AS a matter of fact, the whole Traffic Light concept has made them much easier to feed and empowered them to take more control over their own diets. I find myself using it too, for high calorie and low calorie foods. Being allowed yellow light foods, in small portions makes a diet much easier to customize. Some days we don’t eat any yellow light foods, and other days, entire meals may be made up of yellow light foods (like fast food meals out with friends)

Altogether I am very satisfied with this diet and plan to stay on it forever and ever until we’re dead. I admit to not following it as faithfully as my kids have, especially over Christmas (ugh!) but day in and day out we all eat the same foods and the stress level in our home has really diminished with these dietary changes.

I’m open for questions now. If anyone has any, please feel free to ask. I’ll answer them as best I can.

Oh, and one final note, thanks so much to everyone who is praying for my cousin Christina and special thanks for all the comments on her blog. I cannot even express my gratitude, it means so much that yall are so willing to offer your support, strength and hope. Hugs & Love all around.

My closest cousin has breast cancer.  Her name is Christina.  She has 3 kids, runs an in home day care and is about my age. Here is her blog.

Specifically Speaking

She just found out about it, so if you get a minute, please drop by and offer her support. She’s having a hard time with this and figuring out how to meet all of her everyday responsibilities in addition to addressing this challenge. I know when I’m down that blog comments can really make a difference in how I feel, so I’m asking everyone to please visit her and offer a comment if you can.

You’re in our prayers Chris. We love you and pray for you daily (several times daily as a matter of fact.) Hugs & Love for you and the family.

Thanks Everyone! Y’all are the best!

I’ve been to my Granny’s to watch her recover from brain surgery. I’ve also had some really bazaar hormonal reactions to the GFCF diet. Good reactions, my body seems to be growing younger some how. Lost some weight without even trying, still obese, but less so. Got a new spark in my marriage and a big full load of adolescent puppy love for my hubby, have more energy than I have in years, since the PCOS set in over a decade ago, and my hair, well, it’s my favorite side effect: my hair is growing faster than it has since I was pregnant with Jamie, and so little of it’s falling out that all the birds who were using it to make their nests are fussing at me because their eggs are getting cold without my fur to keep them warm.

I had some breast pains, sort of  like when your milk comes in cause the baby cried, and the doctors did lots of tests only to discover that it was because of the hormonal changes. I’m getting closer to menopause, like the last hurrah of summer before the snow flies. And my summer is blooming brilliantly, which is sort of wonderful for a lady of almost 40 whose had some early winter years due to PCOS.

My granny had her brain surgery to remove the brain tumor which turned out to be the size of a grapefruit. It had roots that went down and around, so the surgery was a little dicey, but at 87, she recovered more quickly than women my age, and is now up and around–doing dishes, hanging laundry on the line, walking down to the mailbox, walking the dogs down to the creek, shopping at the Walmart (without the scooter cart, mind you, she pushes her own cart, under her own power). She was in the hospital for just over a week and now has a horseshoe shaped scar on the side of her head, but it’s a pretty scar as they go, healthy, healed up just as pretty as you please, and her hair is growing back nicely. I’m proud of my granny. She says she’s  feeling better than she has in 20 years, feels stronger, has better balance and is just doing so well that we sit around and praise the Lord all day long, because He is the only power that could make all of this turn out so well.

So, I’m here, I’m back at my computer, and hope to update weekly. Next time I write it will be about the boys and how they are faring on the diet, and how our family has adjusted to it.

Thanks for all the support. Hugs & Love–M

Just for the record, I am superstitious about writing menus. I suspect that the moment I write them they will turn into a ball and chain and transform me into an evil victorian school marm forcing children to eat mush and powdered milk for every meal. I try to avoid that scenario, but it’s still haunting me around the edges.

The next point I’d like to make is that I am making these menus because we are so hard hit by the current economy that my choices are either make the menus or eat every meal at my mom’s house. And the gas it would take to get there every day would actually cost more than groceries for the week. This fortnight I have $130 or $65 per week. I have been steadily emptying my freezer the past few months and also using up the stuff in my pantry. I have some dried veggies and beans that I haven’t opened yet, but I expect that I’ll be opening them soon as most veggies go out of season and get more expensive.

2008 has been a difficult year for us financially. We have a “New Normal” that is less prosperous than our “Old Normal” and we are still adapting to it. At least we’re out of the denial stage that was making us spend more than we could afford, because for a few months we didn’t realize that a new normal was upon us. So we kept up our old habits only to quickly realize that our old habits were too expensive and that we needed to economize IMMEDIATELY! Which we’ve done. Praise the Lord for the ability to that, and to still have such a luxurious life. Everytime I feel poor I look at my stove and refrigerator and the bags of beans and rice stocking my pantry and I thank God for His abundance. A frugal abundance to be sure, but abundance none the less.

DINNER MENUS–leftovers for lunch the next day

1. Bowl of Beans (Spicy pinto beans, cooked in crockpot overnight); Ketchup; Chopped Onions; Chopped Jalapenos; Fried Corn Tortillas; Fruit Cocktail (this is one of our favorite meals and very easy on the cook)
2. Roast chicken; Mashed Sweet Potatoes; HM stuffing (leftover bread); Peas; Cranberries from freezer made into relish.
3. Chicken Gumbo with Onion, Green Pepper, Okra, Frozen Italian Veggies, Hot Sauce & Tomatoes; Hoecakes; Gumbo broth is made from leftover chicken bones and any leftover chicken.
4. Lentil Stew with GFCF Dumplings (lentil stew from my old site, new recipe for dumplings made from rice flour and cornstarch to try out) Pineapple & Carrot gelatinized in orange & Pineapple juice.
5. Turkey Sloppy Joes with Chipotle for zing; HM rolls; HM Coleslaw; Potato Chips (naughty, I know), carrots & celery as alternative (or in addition) to Potato Chips.
6. Meat Loaf; Green Beans; Mashed Potatoes (instant cause I’m lazy); Broccoli & Cauliflower Salad (thawed broccoli & caulifower marinated in Italian dressing).
7. Snake Bites (chicken nuggets coated with seasoned, spicy cornflake crumbs); Carrot Raisin Salad; Oven Fried Potatoes; Boiled Squash & Onions.
8. Black Bean & Veggie Soup; Corn Tortillas fried in margarine; Fried Eggs to go in soup (one for each person)
9. Mock Lasagna made with layers of cooked really yummy and cheap oriental rice noodles; spaghetti sauce (from a can) with added sausage flavored TVP; HM Cottage Cheese made from Tofu and egg and a little mayonnaise; HM Fake Parmesan; Garlic Bread; Broccoli & Cauliflower Salad
10. Beef Stew made with Potatoes, Carrots, Onions, Celery, Tomatoes & some frozen peas; Muffins; HM Lime Juice Gelatin with some fruit, probably canned pears.
11. Dirty Rice made with Ground Turkey, Mixed Vegetables, Onions, a handful of added sausage flavored TVP and lots of red pepper; Mixed Greens; butter bread
12. Turkey Chili–1 lb of meat & 1 pound of dry beans, cooked in crock pot overnight; Tomatoes, peppers, celery; Cornbread; Celery Sticks (and peanut butter)
13. Chicken Rice Casserole (made from canned chicken from my pantry) with peas & mushrooms and white sauce made from HM Soymilk; Pickled Beets;
14. Choice of Butter Beans or Split Pea Soup–some hot bread–toast if necessary–oatmeal cookies if possible. Yum.
15. Fried Rice; Hot & Sour Soup with many Veggies & Tofu; Fried Spam coated in brown sugar before frying (I know, it’s horrible, but we love it) and then caramelized to a golden brown. Pineapple on the side.

DESSERTS & SNACKS

1. Rice Cakes spread with peanut butter and sprinkled with raisins
2. Rice Cakes spread with peanut butter and topped with bananas slices
3. Rice Cakes with Marshmallow Fluff & Chocolate Chips
4. Apples (from our tree)
5. Bananas
6. Celery with Peanut Butter and Raisins
7. Monster Cookies
8. Brownies
9. Cake (looking for recipe) with thawed frozen strawberries and Tofu whipped Topping to make Strawberry Short Cake of sorts.
10. Pizza Bread
11. Refried Beans & Chips
12. Sandwiches: Ham, Turkey, PB&J, Fried Egg, Tuna
13. Vegetarian Tacos made from TVP & Refried Beans, fast and easy–topped with shredded cabbage and well drained canned no-salt-added tomatoes. Also HM tofu sour cream if desired
14. Tater Tots as desired (kids make for themselves in big oven or toaster oven)

I have no idea how I’ll do about sticking to these things. I’m just going to give it a try and see how things go. The boys are now doing dishes, after school (at 3.pm) every day, it’s only the lunch dishes (mostly easy dishes from reheating leftovers in the microwave). This is the way I cook most of the time, only I’m not always so organized about it. Since I’m using up stuff already in the house, as much as possible, it was a necessity to make the menus to keep myself on track.

BTW, for breakfast we have both hot and cold cereal (with soymilk), Also fried eggs, fried turkey sausage; sausage gravy & biscuits; french toast, pancakes, fruit smoothies with added flax seed & soymilk, and that’s about it for our every day stuff.

I have been reading a book called Calorie Queens and have found it especially encouraging. It’s about a Mother/Daughter team who looked at the problem of weight loss and figured out what it would take to finally be successful at it, which they were. Their before and after pictures are amazing.

The basic premise is to decide who or what you want to be, and then behave in the way that a person of that size (or demeanor) would have to behave. For instance, a woman who is lightly active, middle aged and weighs 125-pounds, eats about 1500 calories a day and probably walks a few times a week. Thus to become a 125-pound woman who is lightly active I would have to eat 1500 calories a day, and walk a few times a week. If I’m not willing to do the behavior, then I will never have the results. If I want to be sort of woman who always has a clean kitchen or bathroom, then I have to be the sort of woman who spends time–daily–cleaning her kitchen or bathroom. For the kitchen it would probably be more like several times daily, not just once a day. Without doing the behavior, the results won’t come.

So I’m thinking up what kind of woman, what kinds of character traits, I want, and then considering if I’m willing to the do the work to acheive those goals. I don’t know for sure yet. But here is my list of brain-stormed goals.

I want to be the type of woman who . . .

1. Sees her doctor regularly for all the tedious maintenance details that come with aging.
2. Takes her pills on time, every day, twice a day.
3. Almost never eats processed sugar.
4. Isn’t tempted by chocolate, maybe even the kind of woman who never eats chocolate, maybe I want to be allergic to chocolate.
5. Weighs 125-pounds, or 150-pounds would be nice too.
6. Plans meals every week and sticks to the meal plans.
7. Wakes up at 6am and walks for 1 hour, 5 days a week, and then comes home and bathes and starts breakfast and then school.
8. Goes to bed by 10pm.
9. Bakes bread every week.
10. Makes cookies and muffins for my kids.

There are probably more I’ll come up with. I’m not honestly sure if I’m willing to the work to acheive these goals. I already am the type of woman who makes her bed every morning and seldom watches TV, and homeschools her kids inspite of the difficulty. So I know some things that I once considered impossible (like the homeschooling and bed making) are simply a part of my daily routine. Maybe some of the other goals can become like that too. I’m not sure . . . much to think about.

I honestly don’t know. I’ve been wracking my brain, trying to figure it out and I come up with more confusion than anything else. Last night, while the boys were in Karate, I went to the library and checked out some books. As I skimmed though them, I realized many had the same theme–they described what the author considered to be the healthiest type of diet for everyone. If everyone would just switch to that Author’s diet, then we could all miraculously be healthy and well. Most of the authors promise weight loss, improved vitality, youthful energy, clearer thinking, better skin and host of other benefits.

Over the years I’ve tried lots of different dietary regimens and read about many more. I’m trying, in my own little way, as a frugal mom and a wife with my own set of health challenges, to make sense of all of the conflicting advice and expensive suggestions.

And it’s tough! I’m not even close to understanding half of it. It’s like “The Perfect Diet” is the Holy Grail of our culture. Everyone is on a quest to find it, but no one ever does. I have jumped on that band wagon and searched along with everyone else and to me it’s been just as elusive as everyone else. The one thing I think is obvious, is that the Standard American Diet, is making us sick. It doesn’t give us health, it gives us disease. 

So anyway, last night I asked myself–What do I think makes up a healthy diet? What do I think would nourish my family the best? Then I started the following list. To be sure, it’s a work in progress. I have not refined it, only come up with a handful of goals, or ideas that seem reasonable to me.

1. Whole Grains are far better than processed grains. I believe that eliminating as many processed grains as possible can only add to my family’s health. Our main flour is brown rice flour, ground in our own electric grain mill. It’s the cheapest flour we can make (that’s gluten free) and I suspect, the highest quality. I also like oats, millet, and buckwheat. I think that serving whole grains every day, and maybe even at every meal, is a good way to go.
2. Beans are good. My family likes beans, they’re blissfully cheap, high in fiber, protein and (I believe) are more versatile than any other protein source. I currently serve them at least 3 times a week, but would like to serve them more often. Out of 21 meals a week, I think at least 5 and maybe 7 meals should be based on beans.
3. Fruits and Vegetables–Fresh & plain Frozen & Canned-no-added-salt-or-sugar need to take a higher priority in our meals. In a perfect world, I would grow all of our fruits and vegetables myself. That’s not likely to happen to anytime soon, so I make-do with what I can afford. I do not believe that any vegetables are bad–like potatoes and corn. I think vegetables are good, no matter what kind they are.
4. I believe that organics are superior to conventional fare. I can’t even come close to affording them, so the only way we’ll get them is if we grow them ourselves.
5. Honey and other “natural” sweeteners are probably better than sugar. We eat way too much sugar anyway, whether it’s natural or not.
6. I suspect that conventional meat, eggs and dairy products are swimming in all sorts of icky things because of the terrible way animals are fed and treated in giant feed lots. I know for a fact they do not taste as good as so called “Natural” and “Organic” animal products. I still don’t know what to do about this one. Eliminate all animal products because we can’t afford the “Good Stuff” or make regular animal products a progressively smaller part of our diet. Or splurge on teh good stuff every now and then. I do know that we can’t afford the good stuff as often as we’d like to eat it, which kind of makes me sad.
7. Eat more fish. This is a personal bias of mine. I would like to eat fish at least twice a week, and 4 times a week would be fine with me. The only thing is I can’t afford as much fish as I’d like. I do use canned salmon and canned tuna and while I worry about mercury in the tuna, I don’t worry about the salmon at all. And it’s high in Omega-3 fatty acids which is a very good thing.
8. Everything processed is bad (except plain fruits and veggies, see number 3). Varying degrees of bad, to be sure, but still bad. Processed semi-fruit, kid-friendly, sticky sweet things–ugh! Processed meats, processed cheese, white cotton bread. All bad, very, very bad.
9. Additives and preservatives are bad. Sodium Nitrite & Nitrate. BHT and BHA, MSG, poly sorbate something or other. And artificial colorings too, all very very bad. They trigger my kids bad behavior and make me feel sick to my stomach. I am avoiding these things like the plague. Only I’m sad because it means we don’t get to eat some things we really love, like ham and bacon.

That’s all I’ve come up with so far. Trying to make sense of this stuff is hard. It makes my brain hurt. But I’m going to figure it out for me and my family as best I can. Anyone else doing something similar? What kind of conclusions have you come up with?

My hair has always been one of my best features. Long, thick, curly, brown with red highlights. My sister-in-law says I have African American hair, and she’s not far off base. Well, when I got PCOS (or rather, when it “bloomed”), my hair started thinning. Everyone said to me “Well, you’re older now, your hair is bound to fall out more than it used to.” Hearing folks say that to me always made me feel resentful–with a vain, self-righteous anger, because how dare they lump me in with all the other women my age with thinning hair! My hair’s not supposed to thin because I don’t dye it. I don’t blow dry it. I only wash it a couple of times a week, because there’s so much of it, it doesn’t get dirty very fast. I’ve done all the right things to preserve my hair, but it was still falling out. I developed a receding hairline up near my temples and the top thinned significantly. Unless you’ve known me forever you wouldn’t notice the thinning, because there was still an abundance of hair, just not as much as there used to be.

Anyway, my point is that my hair was falling out and it was making me especially sad. Then something happened. I gave up gluten and casein. And now my hair is growing back. I’m serious. The hair I’ve lost over the past 8 to 10 years, is growing back. I have scores of little baby hairs growing back on the top of my head and in my receding hairline, which is now pro-ceding, not re-ceding. Praise the Lord.

If I had known my hair would grow back, I would have done this years ago.

Thank-you God, for my new Hair. Amen.

We’ve got school going well now. The boys needed extra help getting adjusted to their new schedules this year, which is why I had to take so much time off. I miss writing here on the blog, and building on my site too. Family has to come first though, because otherwise my priorities get messed up and everything crashes until I rebuild it the right way.

1. God
2. Fred/Marriage
3. Kids/Family
4. Home/Hospitality/Cleaning etc.
5. Website/Blog/Email

When I keep things in this order my life runs so much more smoothly. I get out of whack sometimes and have to remind myself of how to do it.

We’re on a super tight budget right now. I have $75 to $100 per week for groceries, including cleaning supplies, food, pet food, hygiene, and over the counter meds. It’s stretching my skills in a way I haven’t experienced in a few years. At the same time we’re maintaining our gluten-free, dairy-free diet. It’s taken a lot of adjustments, but we’re doing better than I thought we would.

We’re doing some of the things everyone else is doing–eating less meat, using more beans (a lot more beans) when we do buy meat we use the cheapest stuff like regular ground beef, ground turkey, chicken leg quarters etc. I’ve learned that most preservatives trigger my kids into bad behavior. That means anything with added sodium nitrates, BHA or BHT is out of the question. I’ve bought some of the new “natural” products like bacon, hot dogs and sliced ham lunch meat, and they taste very good. They don’t trigger my kids either, but I can’t afford them much because they aren’t exactly cheap.

At the same time, I’m carefully watching what I eat, trying to stick to an exchange plan diet and so far I’m enjoying it. I find it easier to do this type of plan while maintaining my itty-bitty budget than any other plan I’ve tried. I also think calorie counting is a good method for people on a budget. I’ve got about 80 pounds to lose and am not going to give up until one day, they are gone.

Any questions you have can go here on my blog, but I am also accepting email again, after several months off. I can be reached at frugalabundance(at)cox.net.