Laundry in the Snow

I was probably the only one in my county that put laundry out to dry while it was snowing.   It proved to be worth it.  The wind kicked up, and the sun came out.  Everything dried.

On another note, I finished a crocheted shawl for my 16 year-old for Christmas, using the 1/2 dc stitch.  Then today I made this "poncho" for my 11 year old with a rose colored yarn that would look great over a white turtle neck sweater.  Apologies in advance for the poor lighting in my house when I took this photo.

I did not use the yarn that the pattern called for, but used yarn a friend gave me.  It worked pretty well and I'm happy with the final poncho.  Here's the pattern I went by:  Posh Poncho.

Canning Apple Pie Filling

I am starting with a 1/2 bushel Fuji apples.  My wonderful mother brought me these from the orchard.  I have never canned apple pie filling, so I hope the lady at the orchard picked out a nice apple for canning (as she said they would be).

We peeled and sliced and filled the 7 quart canning jars.  My 18 year old son, who was home, and didn't have to leave for work real soon, helped me.

I took the extra sliced apples, and leftover syrup, and made 2 pies for dinner.  Yes, those are frozen pie crusts.  You caught me. I have cheated a bit today.  They were in the freezer, and the needed to be baked anyway.  I added a crumb topping with flour, brown sugar, butter, and oats.  They are still baking.

And I have these many apples left.  I may can 7 more quarts if I have enough jars.  Probably tomorrow, not today.

Here the the jars after the boiling bath.

And the final jars cooling!  Phew!  I did it!  Now we just have to make some more pies and give this recipe a taste.  Of course, the two baking, have the same syrup too.

First Snow of 2010

It actually started snowing last night, but not enough for any to stay.  This morning it's snowing those beautiful, fat and lazy snowflakes.  I wasn't the only one excited to see the snow.  My kids loved it too.  We'll see how long their excitement will last when it's snowing so thick we need to shovel snow - ha ha ha!

Leftover Turkey

I'm blessing the family today with a modge podge soup of sorts.   I'm not using a recipe.  I simply took some organic, free range broth, added leftover turkey, and several items I froze from garden.  I hope it tastes good!  I even added some frozen yellow squash, and swiss chard.  Yum!

The weather is chilly, which is perfect for enjoying hot soup.  The sun is shining too.

Frozen Towels and Wall of Thanksgiving

It's just another weekend laundry day around here.  I literally had to yank my towels and washcloths from the clothesline.  They froze to the line, where they were pinched by the wooden clothespins.  Even if I had a million dollars, I would still hang my clothes out when ever possible.  Even in the snow.

The barn cat's water bowl froze over, but the chicken's did not.  It's pretty cold and by 1:00pm today it felt like bedtime.  The cloud cover, and lack of sunshine is a bid depressing.

My 14 year-old daughter cut leaves from construction paper and each of us wrote something we are thankful on them.  The hall way wall is now the "wall of Thanksgiving."  It's another memory we'll share together.

Black Friday Sales ~ Stay Home or Go Out?

Yesterday, my husband plopped the local newspaper onto the bed.  I picked it up, and for a minute, thought he had brought home a Sunday newspaper.  There were so many ads in the newspaper, I don't think there was much of the "news" in the paper to read.   Really?  Do we need to have so many ads in our paper?

Well, as many people take this shopping experience seriously, I stay home.  Far, far away from the pushing and shoving and name calling.  Many moons ago, I too joined the crazy group of shoppers.  Only for me, I shopped for half-price toys for my kids when they were younger. 

A few years later, my husband couldn't understand why I didn't shop on the Friday after Thanksgiving anymore.  He decided he would get up at 5:00am and head to Wal-mart.  Well, he arrived, turned out and went to a Bob Evans for breakfast, and returned home.  He tells his story each year now, telling people they have to be "crazy" to shop during this day.

After his experience, he too, will never shop for "Black Friday" sales again either.  I can say that most items go on sale later anyway.  As for me and my family, for now anyway, we will be staying out of the stores.

Just because it's on sale, doesn't mean a person needs it to live.  Many sales ads that drag folks to the store cause them to spend frivolously.  It's more about the thrill of the hunt for a "deal" and not so much for providing basic living essentials.  A shopper really needs to have self-control during the holidays.  Don't get sucked into the sales ads this year.  You may need those extra dollars next year, after the holidays.

Laundry Soap Making Day

Today I making another batch of laundry soap.  This time I am making it with Zote, but it's still not turning out the way I'd like it too.  I may have to switch containers and store it in a plastic bucket with a lid. 

The sun is out and the wind is pretty strong, so it's a good laundry day for drying my bedding outside.

My kids are cleaning house for a school break/movie night party.  The rules have always been that if they are doing the inviting, then they do all the cleaning.   They are mixing up a bottle of vinegar/water to wash down the bathroom.

As for me, I have writing to finish.  It's day 23 of the NaNoWriMo and I've been able to keep up despite household chores, kids and hurting myself.  Yep.  I managed to pull a muscle or pinch a nerve or something and my head is throbbing.  I can't lean my head back or to the left either.  It's been pretty painful.   I better take something for it, because I have a school conference tonight. 

Hummus ~ And and another blanket

I made homemade hummus today and I'm having a hard time keeping my 8 year-old out of it.  I like to let the flavors infuse, while allowing it to sit in the fridge for a few hours.  I have to admit, after I tasted it on a cracker, I had a difficult time putting it away too.  We love homemade hummus and it's healthier too.  I use real lemons for the juice and natural tahini in it.

Hummus

2 - 15 oz. cans of garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed

4 garlic cloves, minced

2/3 cup of roasted tahini (not raw)

juice of one fresh lemon

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Add additional water if it is too thick (depending on what size your lemon is).    Place in refrigerator for a few hours before serving.  Add more garlic for a stronger flavor.  Serve with fresh vegetables, pita chips, or reduced fat crackers.

Makes about 3 cups.

And yet I have started another crocheted blanket, using the same colors as the last.  It is an easier pattern and will have a different edge when it's finished.

Celebration!

My 16 year old was inducted into the National Honor Society yesterday.  I had no idea what a huge thing this was, until I saw the ceremony myself.  She is the first of my kids to join.  In honor of her celebration, I baked Trapper's Oat bread and made homemade hot cranberry punch.

I dug out my old nut chopper to chop the walnuts.  I laughed when I heard that one of my kids was asking the other, "What is this thing?"

NaNoWriMo ~ Day 17

I plan to exceed 28,000 words today, possibly 29,000.  There are definitely days when I doubt and wonder why did I do this?  Is it worth the messy house?  Is it worth the headaches and sore body from sitting so long writing?

My novel is crazy, outrageous and downright close to reality.  I have to keep chugging along and do this.  It's even causing my family to become absorbed into the government conspiracies that I have included.  We laugh about it, stretch our imaginations and laugh some more.

My husband is even talking to his co-workers about my novel.  They are giving him ideas to include, and he had even called home to share the ideas with me.  To humor him, I have included most of them.

This is an "anything goes" novel, editing not allowed, and no backing out allowed.  No matter how bad my head aches.

Migraine and Running Buck

Woke up with a migraine this morning.  We have to split more wood tonight and I am hoping I get over this before my husband arrives home. 

I have to share with you that our oldest dog ran after a buck the other night.  We had a laugh over it, because we are wondering what he's thinking he'll do if he ever catches one. Ha ha ha!

We are also experiencing night poachers around our property.  It's bothersome to know that they are out there, as we walk our dogs nightly, and in the dark some times.   We are not sure what they are hunting, but the gun shots are pretty much a clue they are hunting deer.  This is just one of the things we have to deal with by living in the country.  People that can't follow the law are the people who encourage the government to place more restrictions on gun ownership and freedom to protect oneself.

Pumpkin-Apple Butter

I managed to make my very first batch of Pumpkin-Apple Butter, and we all love it.  I had been buying Apple butter from the orchard, but have now taken the time to make it myself.  I like the pumpkin in it too.  Who knows, maybe my family will be getting a small jar for Christmas too.

I made 4 1/2 pints to give this recipe a try.  I will definitely be making this recipe again.

The recipe is a crock pot recipe, and is in the book Creating the Happiest of Holidays, book 2, by Leisure Arts.

No luck convincing my husband to go camping ~ Splitting more wood

I almost had him convinced, but the weather is changing rapidly and wood is needed for winter - chicken feathers!  It's going to be in the upper 60's today, but after that drop back down.  Today is a very sad day here.  The front porch furniture must go into storage.  We'll take one last view from the front porch and treasure it until spring.  Meanwhile, I'll have to dream about camping until the work is finished.

If I have time, I'll freeze more chopped green onion for winter.  I am really going to miss my garden this winter.   I already brought my rosemary and starter of lemon verbena inside.

Camping Weekend

I can't believe the weather this November.  This weekend is perfect for camping.  Now if I can just convince my husband we don't need to split wood, and to go camping spontaneously, life would be even better.   Maybe I can convince him of camping just one night.  Either way,  I would love to enjoy some campfire cooking and time alone.  A hike in the woods would be wonderful too!

Freeze, Fog and Writing

We've had fog delays for 2 days, but today it's worse.  I just put my towels on the clothesline and had to laugh because there was a layer of ice on my line.  The sun is out, and I am every so thankful for the sunny days this November.

I managed to cut and freeze several jars of green onion before it was too late.  I've been so far behind this year.  I may take a look at my chives today and see if I can cut some of that too.  We can use it all winter long.

As for the National Novel Writing Month, I have written 17,004 words as of yesterday.   Woo hoo!  What a triumph as a stay-at-home mother.  Because stay at home has been synonymous with lazy, we don't get the credit we really deserve.  Ask my husband and he'll tell you why he'd rather have me home than at work all day, including that he's eating a healthy piece of baked Tilapia for his work lunch today (no fast food).  I do admit, that some housework goes undone to participate in NaNoWriMo, but it's only one month out of the year.  In five years no one will care if the bathroom was a mess or if the bed was not made.  Live life, and do what you have wanted to do.  Don't wait like I did.

Homemade Crochet Christmas Gift Ideas ~ Giving Homemade This Year

10 Ideas for Crocheted Christmas Gifts

This is a list compiled from 
the Internet.  Check
Your Local Library for Books and Magazines for
More Patterns and Ideas

My Reading Room

The weather was in the 60's yesterday so I took my favorite lounge chair and hiked it out on the property.  Within a few minutes of reading my book, our black lab wanted to play catch.  After I told her to "go get a stick" she proudly brought me a stick just short of 6 feet in length.  She even played fetch with it!  Ha ha!  The barn cats came to my chair to get a rub down, purring up a storm.  They love attention.

The sun is shining again today, so the laundry is already hanging outside, Black Bean soup is simmering in the crock pot, and my Trapper's Oat bread is cooling for after school and lunch packings.  I have a busy day today and plan to write my 1700 words for NaNoWriMo novel, and freeze green onion for the winter.  I still need to mix up a large salad for dinner and bake Tilapia also.  My kitchen is already filled with joyful smells (and Christmas music - he he he!).

First thing my 8 year-old said to me this morning

"Mom, I think it's about time we played some Christmas music."

Ha ha!  That's my girl!

I broke 10,000 words by noon!

The NaNoWriMo Web site is once again experiencing overload, and I am unable to access it to post my word count.  As of now, I am up to 10,002.  Despite a dog whining to go out, a daughter running into my writing room to scream, "We're getting a 23 pound turkey for Thanksgiving!" my 11 year-old dropping and breaking a glass that I had not even put into cupboard 2 hours ago and from my mother, my 8 year-old later stepping into the glass with bare feet and running tip toe to me crying, the very load Colbert report my 18 year-old son insists listening to while washing dishes, and a beeping of the washing machine signaling that it needs to put put outside on the line, I am still reaching my daily word count goal.  

Wood splitting day is approaching, so by bedtime, my goal is to double today's word count.

I think the kids will be cooperating from now on.  Two of them have been added to my novel.  They've been warned.  Bwahahaha!!!

Starting Saturday ~ Living Life!

What a gorgeous sunrise we had this morning.  I am sitting in my writing area, in front of two open glass doors, watching the peaceful sunshine, trees blowing in the breeze and the bright green winter wheat fields.  KennyG is as loud as I play it.  What a wonderful, and uplifting way to start my Saturday. The corn burner is keeping me toasty while I sip a steamy cup of soothing coffee. 

Yep.  Life is good!

Marathon cleaning day today.  I'm waking up the kids and putting a rush on chores.  It's too gorgeous to spend the day inside today.  My word count for NaNoWriMo is double today. 

Despite a cat fight outside my bedroom this morning, waking me up at 7am after I fell asleep, after my husband woke me up at 5:20am, I am starting the day fabulously.  We do really need to do something about that rat of a stray that won't go away. 

I have my first dedication!

This morning my 8th grader showed me her 18 page poetry project.  She was to collect poems, and write some herself.  She loves poetry.  As a child, I loved to write poetry, but my poems had to rhyme.  She dedicated her poetry project to me.  Check it out!

I feel so honored, and had to laugh too!

Hope Chests ~ Leave a Legacy

At one point, I actually had an article published with suggestions on what to put into a child's hope chest.  Today I read through this book from library, and felt it was worth sharing. 

Day 3 ~ A Good Start

Although I have a raging headache, I've managed to write this morning.  Despite laundry, sick kids and baking trail bread, I've written 957 words so far, and it's only 10:22am here.

My writing area is adorned with empty plates, an empty coffee cup (which needs filled up right now), and lots of old clipped magazine and newspaper articles.  It's actually been quite fun these first 3 days.  It's definitely a huge change to my daily routine.


Daily Word Total: 1800
Word Total to Date:  5361

There are a lot of people writing novels this month.  Today, I could not access the NaNoWriMo Web site at all.  Busy, busy, busy.

Day 2 - Go Mom Go!

Daily Word Count: 1974
Total Word Count to Date: 3561

It's day 2 of the month long novel writing month.  I've been able to write through leaps of dirty laundry, mounds of dirty dishes, and administer love and medications to 3 more sickies in the house.  It's only one month and I deserve to do what I've wanted to do for my entire life, so they will just have to deal with the mess or pitch in.

I almost forgot it was a school day, until my 6th grader's bus pulled into our drive.  With so many home sick I lost track of everything.  Thank goodness the youngest is feeling better, and that means one more goes back to school tomorrow.  Woo hoo! 

Writing today was much easier than the first day.  I went into this with a blank mind, no story at all.  I started out spending the first day tinkering with story ideas.

We have had our frost, so cleaning out the garden, putting porch furniture away, and splitting more firewood will be a challenge for November.  I have however, told my husband he is not allowed to read my novel until the month is over.  He's acting like a baby.  Too bad.  A writer Mom needs her space to some extent. Ha ha ha!  Who knows, I could include something related to him in it.  Now that would be a hoot!

Word Count ~ NaNoWriMo's Web site very slow

I have been unable to access the NaNoWriMo Web site this evening.  There must be so many people writing this month, the site is extremely slow and won't even load for me.  I attempted to log in my word count.  No such luck.  It took me until 11am to even get a plot, characters and setting.  It took me two stories to figure out what I wanted to write too.  This is hard work, but I'm glad I did it. Next year it won't be so difficult.  My goal was 2,000 words today.  I found it very difficult to concentrate after the older kids started arriving home from school.  I better get up earlier tomorrow.

Today's Word Count:  1,587 
Total Word Count to Date: 1, 587

The Count Down Begins ~ Day 1 of NaNoWriMo

I signed up for National Novel Writing Month yesterday despite child kids.  Today is day one of novel writing in 30 days.  I have one child home sick, so this will be a challenge for me. She's been vomiting for 2 days and from what the school is telling me, "it's going around."

I did start the day early by washing the laundry and hanging it on the line before 8am, however I think I will need to get up earlier this month.  I did get the joy of watching the most beautiful sunrise while putting the clothes on the line.  The colors were bright pink and blue. It was a pleasant way to start the day.

Other obstacles I have this month, are dogs and cats and housework.  The housework I can delegate, and will, but the dogs are another thing.  Right now one is whining to go out, and he's already been out.  I am sure it will be interesting on how well I do write.

Meanwhile, my daughter who is not able to keep down liquids, is full of anxiety due to a school story she was to write last week.  It's been bothering her for days now.  So she is now propped on the bed, with a clipboard, pencil and paper.  I guess after explaining what I am writing, and how important it is to me, she decided to start creating a plot for her story.  To inspire her, I gave her an over-sized ring for muse.  I told her that bling on her fingers will help her get her story on paper.

She had squares drawn on her paper to section out her characters, plot, and setting.  She's trying a Popsicle right now, so I hope it stays down so she can start recovering.  Even though I have encouraged her to sleep a bit more,  she is holding tight to her pencil.

The weather is also an obstacle.  It may be too cold to write where my "writing area" is currently located.  We don't have the corn burner ready, so we may have to move to the living room, were I can put a fire in the wood stove.

Thank goodness the sun is shining.  It sure helps keep me motivated.  I will also need to get my daily exercise to stay healthy.  I'm not sure which one I will do today, but my options are the treadmill (needing a new motor), the heavy bag, speed bag, free weights, and stretches.  I may start with exercise to warm up these young bones.

Unadorned Pleasures in Life

After reading ladaisi's blog post about her "optimistic" list, I decided to write my own.  It inspired me to go and read the original post at the Optimal Optimist blog also.  And in no particular order, here is my list:

1. The smell of sheets after they have dried on the line outside.
2. Hearing the rain fall.
3. Listening to my rooster crow in the morning.
4. The smell of coffee brewing.
5. Listening to a marching band.
6. The feel of cold sheets and pillows.
7. Sitting in my rocker on the front porch.
8. Cooking a meal over a campfire, including making coffee.
9. Sipping hot cranberry punch on a cold day.
10. The feel of sunshine on my skin
11. Writing with a new pen.
12. The smell of fallen dry leaves.
13. Looking at my flowers outside.
14. The taste of the omelets that my husband makes for me.
15. The smell of an evergreen sprig.

Thanks to both of your blogs, you have inspired me and have encouraged my kids to do the same! 

Writer's Survival Kit ~ Kid Made

My 8 year-old daughter made this survival kit for me at my desk.  It's a piece of paper, with 2 pockets glued to the front, filled with wintergreen lifesaver candy and tootsie roll pops!  It's attached inside my roll top desk with poster putty.  The arrival of November 1st is closer than I want it to be.  I am actually starting to doubt myself and I should not be.  NaNoWriMo month - hear I come!

Confessions from a Journal Junkie

In the process of cleaning up the bedroom, I decided to clean out my nightstand.  My night stand has a drawer and a cupboard underneath.  I have not yet tackled the drawer on account of what I found in the bottom half.  I have to confess - I'm a journal junkie!

In my nightstand I found:

~ 25 unused journals of various styles

~ 1 completed journal

~ 2 unused prayer journals (I have a 3rd in my desk I am using)

and I also found:

~ 3 World War II, autographed, books with real stories, not read yet

~ 1 paperback Christmas book by Catherine Palmer

Oh, and that's not all the journals I have.  On top of the night stand I have a basket with 2 notebooks for note taking, and one journal.  I also have a travel journal, camping journal, gardening journal, journals to write about each child and who will receive those journals when they graduate, a homemade gift journal, a journal to record books I have read, a journal to write everything I borrow from the library (they do not keep track anymore at the library), a journal I wrote when my mother was in and out of the hospital, and many more.  Yep.  I'm a journal junkie. 

The funny thing is that my current every day journal is a plain spiral notebook, and the ones in my nightstand are hardcovers or moleskin covers.  I'm beginning to wonder if I feel they are too nice to write in.  I guess I better not ask for journals this Christmas. 

I have also encouraged the kids to write in journals.  One daughter journals about her volunteer jobs and horse riding, and another journals about her dog.  I also encouraged my 13 year-old daughter to write during her jaw surgery recovery, when she could only eat liquids.

Although I have taken my journaling to high level, I don't regret keeping them. 

Sun Chips ~ They bagged the bag~ More trash in our landfill now

Can you believe that the compostable bags Sun Chips was recently sold in, is no longer made?  People complained too much to the company because the bag was too noisy!  Don't people know how to use a bowl?  Good grief!  Frito-Lay should not have stopped making the biodegradable bag.  It was not a good choice on their part, in keeping our Earth clean. 

Watch The Colbert Report to see the news:
October 6, 2010 Colbert Report

Camping Recipes for Breakfast

The cool nights here are perfect for a few more fall camping trips.  I found this Web site

Red ribbon week for the kids

Today is "interesting hat day" to celebrate a week long red ribbon week at my kids school.  In a last minute search, I remembered a hat I sewed for another daughter several years ago.  The school system they were in at the time required them to create a Renaissance costume, and wear it to school.  I had sewed a hat for my daughter's Swordsman, and yes there were woman who did that back in the day.  Anyway, the hat was tucked into the dress-up/costume boxes over the years and today was getting good use of it.  I have to say that I can't believe I sewed that hat.  I'll try to get a picture of it when my 8 year-old brings it home today.

The hat looked similar to this hat

Thanksgiving Articles

Reflections: Giving Gratitude on Thanksgiving Day

Tips for using leftover potatoes

Tips for Donating Food to Charity


Unique Ways to Send a Thank You

Making Progress

I'm making progress in tidying up the house before my husband returns.  Yesterday I wrote an an article, "How to have a weekend getaway in your home" and also spent 3 hours sewing.  The sewing project was sitting on my sewing machine, and cluttering up the bedroom.  Therefore, I decided to get started, and clean up the bits of clutter.  I also managed to sew a leg back onto my youngest daughter's stuffed frog.  I see she wants a cat tail sewed back on a stuffed cat, but I cannot find the body to it.  Hmm?

I have managed to take 1 very large load of recycling to the recycling center, and the kids put the leaves into the compost.  Once I have the odd jobs finished, I can get back to writing more articles.  Thankfully, the weather was windy today, and the laundry dried quickly outside.  I have several writing magazines that have not been read yet, and are sitting in a pile.  I've since stopped those subscriptions and have been borrowing from the library.  It helps tremendously on cutting down on clutter.  I'm also more prone to read them before they are due back, unlike if I get them in the mail.

Curtain from Jeans

I started to sew a curtain from old jeans.  The squares I am cutting are 10 x 10 inches.  I am making 5 squares wide by 8 rows long.  This curtain will help keep winter air from coming into the house via the garage.  It's heavy so it should help keep the air in the garage when anyone opens the door connected to the house.  It's hard to explain how it's built and how I'll be using it, but the dimensions will pretty much fit a doorway or the size of a half-shower.  I'll post the link to the directions on the S.C.R.A.P. blog for another way to recycle jeans.  The photo above shows one strip sewed together and a few cut squares.  This is the first time I have used a quilting pattern or used my rotary cutter.

Dead Mouse in the House

"Mom there's a dead mouse upstairs!"

That was the greeting I received this morning when I entered the kitchen.

I'm pretty certain I know which cat caught it too.  Jasper.  He was walking around the table sniffing, and the next thing I know, he's on top of the table looking around the counter tops.  Last night I heard a huge commotion in the kitchen.  This morning things were strewn about on the counter tops as well.  I'm glad they caught it, and glad they chose not to eat it. 

I think they all need a special treat today.

Hankering for another Crackly Pear Cake

I have not baked this pear cake since last year.  It was delicious.  We do not have pear trees on our property and we were unable to get them from a family member this year.  We plan to plant more citrus trees next spring. 

It would be nice to make this cake next weekend, to welcome my husband back from a week long business trip.  And while he's gone I think I will work on cleaning up the place, including raking leaves to add to the compost bin.  I think I'll spruce up the bedroom, take recycling to the recycling center and a few other chores my husband does not enjoy doing.  I need to have my writing space clutter free for the upcoming writing month as well.  I better make sure the fridge is stocked well and the kitchen decluttered too. 

The case of the missing box of tea bags

We all got a chuckle this morning.  Someone left the container that stores boxes of tea bags, on the kitchen counter last night.  This morning the boxes were all over the counter and floor, and one box was missing.  We found it in the living room, near the wood stove, full of teeth holes.  One of the cats smelled the catnip that is in the Tension Tamer tea bags, but he failed to get the box open.  We will surely laugh every time we open that box of tea! Most likely, it was Jasper.

Friday Sunrise

This morning's sunrise was full of changing colors.  It was fun to share it with my 8 year-old, who is well enough to return to school today.  We saw colors of peach, pink, gold, lavender, blue and yellow.  What a wonderful way to start the day today.  Not many kids take the time to enjoy a sunrise, but I try to share those moments with them when ever I can.

Progress on the next blanket

This current (crocheted) blanket now measures 68 inches wide by 21 inches long.  This pattern is much more challenging and requires more concentration.  The stitches used are basic, but it takes more thought and requires less distractions and interruptions, than the last blanket.

Spontaneous Hiking Trip ~ Poor Man's Banana Tree Leaf

Due to one of the kids telling us they had a birthday party invitation today, we took a spontaneous hiking trip, following dropping her off.  It was a perfect time to hike.  There were only a few people on the trail, and the leaves were absolutely breathtaking.  I love the reds, oranges, and yellows.  I could not help but bring a few leaves home and decorate the house with them.  I picked up the 15 inch Poor Man's Banana tree leaves for the kids.  They will make wonderful back feathers for a "Tom" turkey craft.  A good coat of wax paper should hold them through the fall season indoors.

During our hike, you could hear and see the acorns dropping from the tall trees.  We picked up a few of those to decorate for Christmas ornaments too.  Maybe we'll make a few painted singing angels with them.

Sandwich Bags

I had to laugh at my eight-year-old daughter the other day.  We try to use reuseable containers in their school lunch bags, but sometimes there isn't enough room for them.  We resort to plastic sandwich bags, but only to a minimum (the goal is to do away with them).

"Mom! How to you work this thing?" she said while handing me the sandwich bag.

We switched from ziploc type bags to fold over bags to save money.  We can get 3 times the amount of sandwich bags for the same price of zip style.  She had never used this type of bag and it's the style my mother always used to pack my lunch as a child.  It never dawned on me that times have changed that much, and so fast, for even little things like sandwich bags. 

Freelance Writing On-line ~ The Cons

Anyone submitting articles for helium.com are also rating helium articles.  This means that you must take time out of your day to carefully, and honestly, rate other writers, as well as write quality articles.  The stressful part, is that not all "writers" have experience in writing, and therefore rate articles too quickly or judgmentally. Some times, I wonder if the person rating it even reads the entire article.

Many times, my articles that have been rated to a lower status of all submitted articles on one particular title, produce a higher earning for me.  And as for earnings from on-line articles, they are so much more difficult to earn and require a lot more articles to be written.

I think today, I will be ordering a few, up-to-date resources, from our library.  It's time to get serious with this freelance business.

More Tips on Stretching Meals ~ Dry Kidney Beans

Use leftover kidney beans (instead of canned kidney beans), from making red beans and rice, and make chili.  Today we are doing that.  I added fresh tomatoes from our garden.  Our garden is still yielding us Roma tomatoes.  Although the green peppers are smaller for this time of year, I diced several of those from the garden too. 

I started to clean out our garden for the season, and pulled about a dozen and a half good sized beets.  I'll roast those with onions and fresh rosemary from the garden too.  We still have some turnips and squash also.

Splitting Firewood by Hand ~ My First Cord of Wood

Start date 9-13-2010

In Progress 10-11-2010

There is more wood stacked to the left and to the right that cannot be seen.  And there are pieces that were stacked but not split also.

The stack of wood to the right, in the above photograph is about 5 1/2 feet tall by 1 1/2 feet wide by  10 feet long.  The stack to the left is also 10 feet wide, but not that tall and also 1 1/2 feet wide.  The stack to the right is older, dry wood for this season, and the stack to the left is split wood for next season.  You can see in the lower left corner, that I have a lot more wood to split, and I have successfully cut my first cord of wood.

Today, I need to purchase a new sledge hammer.  The one I was using, had a wood handle and it was pretty beaten up when I started splitting wood.  I also split wood with a maul ax and was successful with that too.  I now know how the pioneers stayed in shape.  This is very hard work.

Making it Last ~ Over 90 cookies with 1 can of crushed pineapple

Since we are completely out of canola oil, and a few other baking ingredients, I chose to make these pineapple cookies for the family.  I'm hoping they last throughout the weekend.  If you have one can of crushed pineapple (in natural juices), you'll find this recipe frugal and delicious! 

Pineapple Cookies

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup shortening, organic (no hydrogenated fats)
Mix the above three ingredients. Then add:

2 eggs, farm fresh, beat well.  Then add:


1 20 oz. can crushed pineapple (in natural juices), drained and juice reserved
1 1/2 - 2 tsp. vanilla extract

In another bowl, whisk or sift:
4 cups of flour
1 tsp. salt
1  1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Mix dry mix to wet mix, and stir until completely blended.

Drop onto lightly greased cookie sheets by teaspoon (it will spread out).  Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes, or until golden around the edges.

Mix amounts of powdered sugar to reserved pineapple juice to a consistency you prefer.  Frost cooled cookies.  Enjoy!  Makes a little over 90 cookies if you use pampered chef's smallest cookie scoop (teaspoon).

Low Provisions

I have to admit, that when we are low on pantry supplies, low on food in the freezer, accompanied by low finances, I can get depressed.  However, I love to be creative in the kitchen, and make new recipes with whatever we have on hand.  I also find inspiration from other sources.

Our family loves to watch Little House episodes, and it often reminds me to get creative.  We recently watched the episode where they are in an abandoned house in a snow storm, and are about to shoot their horse for food.  Thankfully, an Indian comes to their rescue.

This week we are out of canola oil, about out of flour, sugar, brown sugar and milk.  I decided to put some of the remaining flour into homemade biscuits, and make homemade gravy with the marked down sausage I had in the freezer.  Thanks to the chickens we'll enjoy eggs too.  Because I am aiming to get away from processed foods, I chose to make an cake from scratch, using canned fruit.  I can't wait to can pears, apples, and other fruits next year.  I will find so many ways to cook with them.

Thankfully, the good Lord urged me to buy a few extra pounds of butter when it was on sale for $1.50/lb.  Those had gone in the freezer, and have helped with baking biscuits and making lunch packings.

National Novel Writing Month ~ Should I do it?

For two years now, I have contemplated participating in NaNoWriMo.  It would certainly give me the deadline and motivation to write a novel and actually complete it.  I've been slacking over the last year, and with the large garden we grew, haven't gotten back in my "groove." 

Starting November 1st to November 30th, people from all over, participate in this wonderful oppurtunity.  I would have to abandon all thoughts of writing up a plot, characters, and story in advance.  The idea is to start fresh from day one.  Can I do it?  I guess I won't know until I try it.

Leftover Coffee

Typically, we never have coffee leftover after I've been up.  However, today I did.  I decided to use 1 cup of it to make 1-2-3 Coffee Bars for after school and lunch snacks.  Not very healthy, but frugal.

The rest of it will go in the fridge, for iced coffees.  The weather is good today and it sounds about as good as homemade iced tea (made with green tea of course).

Our coffee grounds are always composted or sprinkled in flower beds after we make coffee - nothing wasted.

If my kids had a video camera. . .

My kids would have filmed me last night if they had the chance.  I was be-bopping back and forth in the kitchen trying to get all of the garden veggies sliced and diced for roasting.  I typically have things under control, but not last night.

After I put the baking dish of delicious and fresh vegetables in my oven, I started to make stove top tuna and noodle - a family favorite.  It took me 15 minutes to realize I forgot to add the potatoes and carrots to the roasting pan, quickly pulled it out.

"Oh no! I love potatoes," said my thirteen-year-old daughter

I was frantically moving around the kitchen (potato and carrot peelings flying in mid air), between one pot on the stove top, and preparing the potatoes and carrots, when my sixteen-year-old said, "gosh Mom we need to catch you on film.  We'd make a lot of money on funniest videos with you!"

Now doesn't that make a mother proud? Ha ha!