Recently in The Frugal Housewife Category
The drought hit us pretty hard in this part of Virginia. Pumpkins aren't as plentiful and in most places they are priced at a premium. One place was selling them for $2.77 per pound. Last year they were .39 cents per pound. I can't see paying that for a pumpkin and only using it for a day or two and pitching it out. That is a waste of food, if not for people then for animals. The frugal part of me just comes up short and I told the kids no pumpkins for the front porch this year.
Instead we took that same money and bought fun-kins. The faux look-alike pumpkins that won't rot, we can use every year and I don't have to feel bad about wasting food.
We waited until the craft stores where putting them on sale to move 'em out and we picked up several Sunday evening. I spent a little time yesterday carving them. If you haven't yet carved one of these don't be fooled. They are nearly as hard to carve as a real pumpkin. I used the same technique for transfering the pumpkin face then used an exacto knife to carve the lines. My hands were tired by the time I finished all of them. It ws work people! I used photoshop to make some face patterns. I printed them out to use as my guide for cutting. Using a stick pen I made little dots through the paper template then cut out the pieces following the dots.
You can see that Fingers McGillicutty had a great time being in the middle of it all. I did the carving and he carried them out to the porch for me. He gets very excited over everything. He wants to be in the middle of it all. He was climbing up and down on the table and chairs. He took the little pieces that came off as I carved and carried them around like priceless treasures. He is so funny. It is really hard for me to believe that in about a week he will be 21 months old. Already. He has left his baby stages very quickly. He is talkative but it is the baby talk that only the trained ear of a mother is able to interpret. Don't even ask Steve what he just said. He just stares at you with that look of a deer caught in the headlights.
I had been wanting to do the 'boo' set of pumpkins every year and finally this year I made them. With these foam pumpkins you can't use candles or the oil lights for lighting. I refused to buy those battery operated things that flash so annoyingly. Besides Halloween night is not a good time to have flashing lights in the dark that might set off some schitzo feind on a Jason or Michael Meyers trip and ruin a perfectly good evening. Also what a huge waste of batteries that I could better use in my camera making photos of my kids and the cute trick or treaters that come to my porch.
For this very out of the way place we get a lot of trick-or-treaters. alot who are too old to be out trying to get some candy. I am going to be mean this year. Anyone who looks like they are 14 or older I am turning them away with treats. Last year far too many teenage boys came to our house not once but TWICE trying to get candy. What is up with their parents letting them go out alone knowing they are scrounging for candy and in some cases pushing little kids down to get to a door first. I am not putting up with it this year. I am going to say, "NO," and send them on their unmerry way. We get about 200+ kids and that is ALOT of candy. And great day in the morning have you seen the price of candy this year? Are they lining the little foil packages with precious metals now days? I think I should dress up as the Grinch and be done with it. LOL
Ok. So. Moving on.
In keeping with the chicken theme I have had going lately I would be remiss to let you all down without at least one more post featuring poultry of some sort. Here it is. This is my rooster jack o'lantern. I wish I had gotten a couple more of the really big pumpkins and done a hen on her nest to go with the rooster. We did go back to buy another big pumpkin but the craft store was all sold out. Imagine that. Two days before Halloween and the stores are selling out of decorations. What ever will we do when there is nothing left to buy at the after halloween sales? That is usually when I buy a few things to have for the following year without having to pay full price.
These pumpkins are lit with the replacement lights that are sold in the Christmas section. You know, the ones that you insert into a little hole in the back of a little village house or store. Now I shouldn't have to invest in pumpkin decor for a very long time. or perhaps we could add just one to the collect each year. That would be fun.
Before I go and start sorting out my candy to give out tomorrow night I have to tell you something about my goats. Cindy, the not so nice doe, is sick. She has little sores on her udder bag. I called the only goat vet in our area for hundreds of miles and she will be coming by sometime this morning to check her out. Also, we have been making some super nice homemade soaps to add to my baskets for Christmas gifts. Goat milk soap is some of the best for your skin. I have goat milk. PLENTY of goat milk. I'll make some photos to show you all of the process of transforming oils and fats and lye into some of the most luxurious soaps you can buy. Yes, I said lye. You cannot make soap without lye. Once the chemical process has taken place there is no lye left in the mix. It is the process of saponification. If someone tells you lye soap is harsh to your skin tell them they know nothing about soap. And tell them that bar soap mess they buy and shell out big bucks for is chemicals and actually a detergent they are washing their face with. Not soap at all. Wait till you see my goatmilk and cornmeal exfolliating bar! Or my goatmilk and lemon kitchen soap. Or my goatmilk and grits gardeners hand soap. Good stuff!
Go get ready for Halloween. See you tomorrow.
Past experience with an old hovabator over 15 years ago left me not wanting to try and hatch eggs myself. The thermostat was wonky and unreliable. Even replacing it with a new wafer it was a pain to get the temp set and maintained. With things changing and solid state thermostats available I thought I would give the idea another go. I cringed every time I looked at the price of incubators with all the bells and whistles. Over $200 in some cases for all the extras. I could not and cannot see that expense for a styrofoam box! I started collecting pieces and parts and figured this girl could make one. And so I did. This is my effort at putting together a reliable incubator. So far it is working fine. I have it running now so I can work out the adjustment on the thermostat for consistant temperature. Supplies:
Welsummer Chickens Today is Day #1 of Welsummer Hatch Watch 2007.
We make our own compost. It is not hard to do. You can do it in an outdoor plastic trash can with a lid. We just do it on a larger scale.
Warm, clean and free.
Our compost is a mixture of the remnants of about 15 giant round bales of hay that were left scattered in our field and around the fence line by the previous owners, animal poop, yard clippings, orchard clippings, weeds, and the kitchen garbage of vegetable matter only.
Pile it up, mix it up, wet it down. Keep it turned, keep it damp. The bacteria present will begin to get very active. On a cold morning you can see steam rising. When you turn it you can feel the heat. It can get hot to the touch. Natures way of cooking makes a very clean, dark brown dirt.
The cabbage have tripled their leaves in a week.
Yesterday I spread 15 scoops from our front end loader in the garden and around the grapes and fruit trees.
The peas have doubled their size in a week.
All of the plants love the nice rich tea that runs off when it rains. Compost tea is full of all the nutrients your garden plants need to grow and produce. I know it sounds gross to think of things rotting and decaying but when the cycle is complete compost is clean, doesn't stink at all. It smells fresh and clean.
The corn hasn't sprouted yet.
We are very careful not to put any meat scraps, oils, etc into the compost pile. We do not want to attract wild animals or rodents. Neither do you. If you make your compost use only vegetation and plant waste.
The potatoes are peaking out from the soil. They are purple skinned.
When I was spreading the compost I found some things we did not put in there. I have no idea where they came from.
It is sort of gross but interesting, too.
First, I shoveled up a scull. I have no idea what it came from. It looks to have the beginnings of horn bumps on the top of the scull.
Second, I came across a jaw bone with teeth. It is not the same or part of the scull that I found. This was found in a different section of the compost pile.
Third, I found a fully intact sea shell. Both halves still closed and the membrane sealed together. Do you think a bird could have dropped it?
It takes me longer to do tasks now than it used to. When Colby is home in the mornings she watches Steven and the tasks roll right along. When she leaves for work and its just me and Steven things slow down and sometimes come to a grinding halt.
Some days he is content to wander and play in the grass. Some days he climbs on the tractor and 'drives'. There are times he plays in the dirt. Then there are the days when he will not stay close to me. Days when he runs off the minute I turn to do something. Days when he is bound to fall head first into the koi pond. Those are the days I give up and we go inside. The past few days have been pretty productive. Today is already looking like it won't be so productive. Steven has been up since 4am whining and tossing and fretting. He only gets still and cat naps when I am holding him.
It is 7:15am. I am already exhausted and pushed to my limit. I have so much that needs to be done today.
Anyone want to come play with him while I get my chores done?
P.S. - I know I have a ton of email and comments to answer but I haven't had time. But I will. Maybe this afternoon or tonight.
With warmer weather and lots of rain things are very busy on this little farm. It takes me an entire day to cut the grass, mow with the push mower places the rider can't reach, then trim with the weed eater and put out round-up as needed along the paved drive and tight places where weeds grow. Not to mention picking up limbs that drop from the trees. The pruning and cutting back as needed is another entire days work. Once the big stuff is done in early spring it doesn't need to be done again until nearer to fall. Thank goodness! Steven put up this rustic looking arbor for the grape vine to grow on. The vine was a tangle of knots and a lump of mess left by the previous owners. I have managed to prune, cut and mow as well as try to train the vine into some bit of order. Compared to the heaping mess blobbed on the ground this is a hundred times better. It took several hours to get the vines untangled and tied in place.
We'll have to use bird netting this summer if we want any grapes. Steve and I also made these arbors of pvc and chicken wire for the peas in my garden to grow on. The total cost for them both was about $20. They should give plenty of room for the peas to grow on and make picking lots easier as the peas will hang down through the wire. Thanks gravity!
The peas have sprouted. The very long awaited for fig trees are beginning to show signs of green budding. I am so excited over these trees! We have planted three of them -a very cold hardy variety.
Fresh figs are incredible! The blueberry bushes are looking wonderful, too. We planted four of these.
I made blueberry yogurt muffins this weekend. Check the recipe journal. The fig trees and the blueberry bushes were purchased from Lowes. I know many people who do not like buying plants from Lowes. I am willing to give it a try because of the cost difference. The fig trees from a nursery would cost me nearly $100 each up here. I found these at Lowes for $10 each. I think that says it all. The blueberries are very healthy looking and the price was far better than any place we had found also. Lowes will replace these plants or will refund our money if they fail to thrive within a year. Most places I know will not make good on their plants for a year. Right now I am just anticipating fresh figs and blueberries. What a luxury it will be! The damson trees I got from the National Arbor Day Foundation last year are look amazing this spring. They are now about 3 feet tall and growing beautifully.
Damson jam is a luxury. The dutch early cabbages are doing great.
18 cabbages. So far the tomatoes are growing vigorously. Some even have blooms on them.
14 tomatoes. Not near as many as normal. This area near the koi pond is a troublesome lot. It always overgrows quickly with vines and clover. J. and Gracie pulled out the clover. I put down black ground cover. I then put in a bed of hosta that I bought from a PTA sale. Ten bags of mulch later and this place might finally be under control. The area is very shadey and the hosta should really thrive.
I love the look of lush hosta. I love seeing small plants go in knowing the following year when they come back they will be amazingly big and incredibly beautiful. So now you know what I have been doing the last few days. We have also been working on the chicken barn. Those photos are a post all on their own. I'll get to it very soon. Have I shown you my little monkey lately?
He self feeds. I keep the peel pulled down. He loves bananas.
Does he look 15 months old? He eats an entire banana every morning for his breakfast. I wonder how long before he decides he is finished with them as his fruit of choice. I am buying fresh bananas twice a week otherwise they ripen on the counter too quickly. He seems so grown up lately. Feeding himself and drinking from juice boxes. He prefers to do things on his own. He also climbs far too much. It is wrecking my sanity.
Anne from Cooking with Anne did a post on her pantry staples. Those things she wouldn't be without.
Some of you might even remember the post I did on keeping my pantry stocked. I think I may have Bettina's syndrome and her idea of an emergency shelf.
Any way -
Anne's list is a great list. I keep most of those things on hand also. You never know when you might have last minute guests or need to make the budget stretch for another few days or a week.
Here you can find my standard pantry and cupboard items that I pretty much have on hand all of the time. Open my cabinets and plunder around and you'll find all sorts of things.
My make-do and make-it-last list is different.
Part of me is the ingrained be preparedness of growing up with a grandmother who canned and prepared a lot of summer produce. The other part of me thinks about FEMA's emergency preparedness recommendations and takes heed.
I probably wouldn't go to as great a lengths if I still lived in Georgia but with us living so close to D.C. and seeing how grocery stores empty out in bad weather I can imagine if we went into a state of emergency there would be NOTHING to be had in the stores around here.
We live in the rural country side. We figure if something major happened the cities would most likely evacuate to us. We base this on the fact there is an underground shelter a few miles away that is intended to house important members of Congress and supposedly the Vice President.
There may seem like a lot on my list but there are six of us here much of the time. FEMA recommends that we be ready with an emergency food and water supply just in case a disaster should occur. (Do you know you need to store 1 gallon of drinking water per person per day? For us we would need to store at least 18 gallons of potable water. That is alot of water. Nursing mothers, babies, elderly and sick people need to consume more. Plus water for other needs.)
Here are things I try to keep on my shelves -just in case. I do rotate out flour, meals and the like so that it is not more than a month old. When I empty a bag I use the reserve bag then replish that with a new bag.
Baking Goods
-Flour
-baking soda
-baking powder
-powdered milk/buttermilk
-Crisco and/or Lard
-Vanilla Extract (real vanilla, my mother brings it back when she goes on her fall cruise to the Bahamas or I buy it at Costco for a fair price in a large bottle)
-Yeast (one of the small 3 pack strips)
With these items I can make, biscuits, pancakes, waffles, muffins or any number of quick breads that do not require yeast. Pancakes and waffles are excellent for both breakfast and supper. My kids find it a real treat especially during the cold weather months to have pancakes for supper. They also are huge fans of cornbread.
Can Goods (at least 2 - 4 cans each)
-Green Beans
-Whole Kernel Corn
-Tomatoes
-Light and Dark Kidney Beans
-black beans
-Pintos
-Turnips
-Carrots
-Peas (Sauers only!)
-Tuna
-Chicken
-Peaches
-Pineapple
-Cranberry
-Fruit Cocktail
Jarred Goods
-Spaghetti Sauce
-Jarred Salsa - (there is a lime and garlic and a black bean and white corn salsa that is Walmart brand that is great to pour over chicken and bake or to add to rice and serve as a mexican style rice, or layer with hamburger, tortillas and cheese for a casserole.
Condiments
-Mayonnaise
-Ketchup
-Yellow Mustard
-Specialty Mustards
-Soy Sauce
-Worcestershire Sauce (with ketchup, mustard, worcestershire and spices I can make BBQ sauce, tomato gravy, etc.)
You never know when a can of vegetables will come in handy. Either to stretch a meal or to add to a soup or stew to make it go just a little bit farther. I have a selection of other things we like on hand at most times as well. Soups and crackers and other things the kids like both canned and dried. Gracie is a big fan of romein soup. She has been known to survive a week or more on that stuff for supper every night. Not that I don't cook. There are days when I know she won't touch anything I have cooked because she doesn't like it.
I also keep the canned beans because they do not need hours to cook like the dried ones do.
Dry Goods
Beans and Peas (dried limas, yellow and green split pea, black beans, kidney beans, black eyed peas, white beans, navybeans, pintos, etc.)
Rice (risotto, basmati, jasmine, japanese rice for sushi, etc.)
Cornmeal (yellow and white)
Pasta (several varieties)
CousCous
Barley
Grits (in the winter my kids want grits every morning, especially Gracie)
This includes things that are prepackaged like a quick mac and cheese, dirty rice, spanish rice, red beans and rice, yellow rice, etc. Things that will not go bad even if they sit on the shelf six months or more. They also require no special storage just a closed dry place.
Many things I buy when I have a good coupon or the store has a buy one get one sale like pickles, olives, sauces, carnation milk, eagle brand condensed milk etc. I can't even list everything out there on those shelves. I do keep check of things and rotate them out before dates expire.
A supply of seasonings
-Mrs. Dash
-Pepper
-Salt
-Garlic Powder
-Chilli Powder
-Onion Powder
-Cinnamon
I have a stockpile of tiny little jars and bottles of spices. I am sure alot of us do. Buying even the tiniest of spices available for just one recipe we are left with a nearly full jar of something we don't use often. You name it I probably have it. This list above was just the basics.
With onion and garlic powder it makes up for not having fresh onion and garlic to season things with. Chilli powder is a quick kick-em-up.
I also keep a jar of local honey, air tight pouches of tea bags, and an extra small can of coffee. I buy peanut oil for the fryer in the 2 gallon container. Peanut oil keeps well, it has a very high burn temp and things will cook without being greasey. A 5lb bag of sugar will last us almost a year. I use it for baking for the holidays and for birthday cakes. Sometimes I may need to buy two bags depending on how heavy my baking will be especially at Christmas.
If we were to lose power for a couple days or longer I have the wood stove we can cook on. During the cold months when I burn the stove daily I practice and challenge myself to see what I can cook, what I can learn to cook and how to regulate the heat to cook all sorts of things. The kids laugh at me and make fun but they always gobble up whatever it is I have prepared. Especially pancakes and sausage. (see previous post).
I also have a couple gallons of fresh water. I probably should think about setting in a few more -just in case. 6 people for 3 days is 18 gallons of water. That is so much water!
I also keep my tank filled on my truck. I encourage Colby not to let her tank get below half full. I keep the tractor and cans filled with diesel as well.
I keep first aid boxes upstairs and down also in our car and trucks. We also have a medicine cabinet and drawer in the bathroom filled with all sorts of things. When I buy over the counter medicines for the kids I usually buy the Walmart brand where you get two bottles for less than one of the name brand. We have plenty of bandaids and the like. I also keep a bottle of alcohol and peroxide. I have witch hazel as well. Back in Georgia I kept it in the fridge. Here I don't. I don't know why. Perhaps too many hands going in and out of my fridge all of the time.
If we had to I know we could do fine for a good while without feeling like we are doing without because I also have a deep freezer I keep stocked with premade meals, extra meats bought on sale, etc. If I needed to preserve things in my freezer I do have a supply of jars and a large pressure canner. I have a small supply of pickling lime, pickling salt, vinegar and whatnot on hand most of the time as well.
For his big Christmas gift Steve's parents gave him a large generator. If we had to use it we could power our refrigerator and/or freezer for a while until we could eat what was stored in there.
A few years ago Steve picked up one of those radios that you wind up and it generates its own electricity to run on for two or three hours at a time. We also tend to have extra batteries due to the kids having several items that require batteries.
We have not set out to be prepared for a disaster. A disaster is the last thing on my mind. But I do think about it sometimes. You know, just in case. We seem to be pretty well set on the home front if we had to be.
We also have a few spirits on hand. You know, the kind used for snake bites. (Hahaha!)
How about you? Do you keep a standard stock of staples for your family? Do you keep a emergency supply in your pantry?
I did!
What I had planned to do before my mother came at Christmas has been done in this past month. I painted the baseboards and the window frames in my kitchen. Finally!
Sometimes I cook on the woodstove. Why waste electricity?
Look at those pretty white baseboards!
Not only did I do the painting but I have managed to also complete one set of curtains for my windows.
See the unpainted things that never got painted at Christmas?
Looky there! Curtains!
These curtains are a project I have worried over for almost two years. Yes, two entire years. I flipped flopped on the curtain/no curtain issue many times not wanting to put up a curtain that would close in the room and block out the wonderful sunlight this room gets all day long.
I purchased this fabric online a month or two after we moved into this house. It was always earmarked for curtains. Either in my kitchen or my bedroom. The kitchen won.
It is a great toile print of a barnyard scene with an old red bard and rooster. Although I had ordered 10 yards of the fabric there was not enough for two windows of this size and the smaller window at the end of the kitchen. Nice. Because this print is out of stock. It is a two year old print that has long been gone.
I have wanted in some way to have gingham in the kitchen but I didn't want to go overboard and look like a barn dance in here. So I thought about it alot. I looked through thousands of patterns for curtains and draperies. It wasn't until recently that I was inspired by a designer kitchen advertisement to make the curtains you now see.
Not too much gingham. The perfect matching crimson. Nice fabric for draperies. The first set I made I lined them. The lining blocked out too much of the sunlight. I do not want this kitchen to be dim. I like it flooded in natural sunlight. So I ripped out the lining and remade the curtains without it.
I like the look of the yellow walls, red accents and white trim in this room. The appliances are stainless steel with black trim. I have begun to add black and cast iron things to the room to flesh it out. The heavy black cast iron is a great contrast to the more feminine white ceramic pieces and china in the room.
I never planned to paint those cabinets white. It was sort of a last chance to have a nice looking kitchen without the expense of new cabinets. These are just too good of shape to toss for the sake of cosmetic wants.
I never planned to paint the walls yellow. I never had a color in mind but yellow just wasn't one of my choices. One day I saw a yellow cloth given as a gift in something when Steven was born. My brain said paint the kitchen that color. And so we did. Last July.
The black granite of the countertops was simply what was available without a special order. The price was right.
The white cabinets and black countertops deemed the black hardware the wiser choice. I chose them online based solely on price. I think they work.
With the brick red floors I already had a lot of red accents. The rugs and towels, the wall plates, the roosters and painted sign. As things began to come together I realized the little sofa was red with yellow(ish) and black plaid stripes. It just works without any conscious effort on my part.
Eveything is really beginning to come together after alot of hard work. I am really beginning to see and feel the room as a part of the house and not as an addition without much thought to the rest of the house.
This has been a long time in coming. I started painting the cabinets (3 coats of primer 2 coats of paint) and continued on when Steven was just a newborn. I have progressed over the past year slowly. Very slow. My infant grew into a giggly baby and then into a busy toddler and now a non-stop very active little boy.
Meaning it took me this long because instead of painting from the bottom up I painted from the top down. Little people under three feet tall do not listen to you when you tell them not to touch the wet paint on the baseboards.
I suppose you already knew that. I should have.
Speaking of which ...
Steven, 14 months old
His smile pretty much says it all.
What I planned to do: Prime and paint large window frame in kitchen. Prime and paint small window frame in kitchen. Prime and paint corner of baseboards behind woodstove. Scrub kitchen floor with ammonia then wax to a gleaming shine. Begin painting the dining room to coordinate with the lovely finished kitchen. Make curtains for kitchen from fabric purchased nearly two years ago that is now discontinued and can't be found anywhere at allwhatsoever. Work in backyard, spray clover and weeds, trim up and clean up noticable public areas that are showing signs of neglect from the last snow storm. Pot up plants for hanging baskets for front porch. Scrub planters for front porch and place lovely ferns on either side of the front door. Fill planters with lovely flowers for the front porch steps. Work on blog template requests. Finish quilt. What I accomplished in 1 week: Prime and paint large window frame in kitchen. Prime and paint small window frame in kitchen. Prime and paint corner of baseboards behind woodstove. Make two of eight curtain panels. For three days get Colby to work. Pick Colby up from work. Try to find rims for her Explorer that do not cost $400+ each. Cook three meals a day, every day for children home on Spring Break. Bring in firewood and keep fire going in woodstove due to temperatures barely cliimbing into the 50's all week. Wash dishes. Wash clothes. Wash dishes. Wash clothes. Wash dishes. Wash clothes. Rinse and Repeat. Wash dishes. Wash clothes. I am really struggling to get things done today. Colby doesn't have to go to work so she is going to help me with Steven today. Maybe I'll get to the point I can show you a few photos tomorrow. Then I dropped a piece of firewood. It nearly broke two of my toes. One toe is cut and bruised. There is no way I can wear a closed toe shoe but the foot is so ugly in its current state that my cute sandles and slides don't look so cute with black and blue and bloody toes poking out the tip.
Make sure you visit us over at Mamarazzi. Updates daily.
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Yesterday I got nothing done. Nothing. Not one thing. After a busy week, busy weekend, and not enough sleep the grey morning and cool air left me lazy beyond lazy. I napped a few times yesterday, nursed the baby, visited a few of you and not much else beyond preparing supper.
Last week was a flurry of activity as the pool was finished. Now we are just waiting for the builders to schedule the cover fitting and the concrete work needed to anchor said cover. Which reminds me I need to buy chlorine tabs.
Mother's day was busy. I recieved lovely cards from everyone. But even on Mother's Day there is much to be done and one is still Momma, the great be all wonder that makes everything function properly.
My kitchen project is kind of in a holding pattern. I haven't gotten much done than where I stopped in the middle of last week. But I do plan to plow ahead quickly this week and get things moving again. because next week I have a summer class at the community college I am really looking forward to taking. It involves local history and a field tip or two involving some very old and historic homes I am nashing my teeth at to get to see.
This is how it is going so far -
I took the kitten to the vet last night. The vet just went on and on about what a well behaved little boy he was. He sat on the stainless steel table and never tried to run away while she checked his ears, felt for his boy bits and gave him 4 vaccinations. Not one meow. Just mild mannered and uninterested in her for the most part. He lay on the table, rolled onto his back and let her check his fur. Upon examing she exclaimed, "He has the most beautiful fur for a kitten." He sat up on his hind legs like a damn Puss'n Boots figurine and let the vets aide clip his razor sharp claws.
The little shit didn't get all randy and aggressive and try to bite at their hands with his needle like teeth when they played with him. He was petted and talked too like he was a child!
That's o'kay, I thought, put on a good front for these people but you are not fooling me. I feed you and it is MY husband that lets you in the house at night. I know your real colors.
He showed his true colors just before he was to make a clean escape in his little cage with the soft clean blanket lining the bottom against the night chill. When the vet stuck the long stick up his ass to get a sample he did everything in his power to get away but none of it worked. He was held by the scruff of his neck and made to withstand the indignity of it all.
Serves him right. Little faker. He is also scheduled to get his manhood nipped in the bud the Monday morning after Thanksgiving.
See? I am doing good by this kitten. And if you don't think so you can whip out your checkbook and pay the vet bills that cost me a whole months worth of groceries and an electric bill this past month.
Let's talk about something else - I feel a bit faint -
Cool Stuff
How many times have you made cupcakes and your kids begged to take one to school for snack but by the time it made it to school it did not resemble anything that looks like a cupcake? There is a solution! Look at this cool little plastic tumbler called Cup-A-Cake. I think this little jewel is going to revolutionize school snacks and bring cupcakes back into the spotlight as the worlds most perfect snack.
This next cool thing was brought to my attention by my good friend Hope -who doesn't have a journal or a bl*g but she really should because she is witty and funny and has grown children and a husband and could give us all a deep incite into so many life experiences on so many levels. She could even tell us hilarious facts about certain rockstars from the day but alas she doesn't take my hints and urgings and has not one stitch of words for us to read.
Instead she passed me the link for a decorative crockpot so you too can have a Nascar star or Mary Englebreit signature design sitting on your kitchen counter. Check out Crockpot Caze. While these certainly are decorative I am holding out for my old plain white one to eat the dirt so I can get a stainless steel crockpot.
Household Tip:
You know when you go to a nice hotel the bathroom has those little bottles of shampoo, bath gel and a showcap? Who still uses a shower cap? It is not 1975. No one I know gets their hair teased and sprayed and formed into a helmet these days. So what can you do with a shower cap?
Take home that shower cap and put it in a place where you can find it. I have uses for it. You will too.
When you are prepping a room for painting you can use that elaticized piece of plastic to put over the smoke and/or fire alarm to keep from painting it along with everything else.
Place it around the bottom of a houseplant to catch the drips when you water the plants.
They can also be used to as shoe covers to keep from tracking in on the floor or covering shoes when packing a bag for travel.
Friday Show and Tell:
Blackbird's Friday Show and Tell subject is our favorite cup or mug. Well ... I don't have one ... but my kids do. They have seasonal mugs they drink from. Pumpkin shapes, Santa faces, easter eggs all sorts of things I indulge them with. Colby however has excellent tastes. Her favorite cups are the pieces she gets for her birthday each year. I order them about 3 months in advance from Russia. Straight from the factory. They come carefully wrapped and packed, post marked there and read "From Russian With Love..." It tickles me to see the packages when they arrive. The real beauty in these peices is that no matter how many you purchase while they look the same each one is handpainted and therefore just the tiniest bit dfferent from the others.
So, here is one of the favorite and prized teamakers in my house, Lomonosov Porcelain made in the St. Petersburg factory since 1744 -
Cobalt blue "Tenderness" tea cup, lid and saucer, handpainted and accented with 22kt gold
I woke up in a fair mood this morning. Over the following hour my mood shifted and not for the better. I am in a hateful grouchy mood. Looking at me gets you a death ray stare. Speaking to me pegs my you-pissed-me-off meter. How easy it would be to unlatch my jaw and swallow people whole when they get near me. I am laying the blame on pregnancy hormones.
I fear you think I am a Susie Homemaker and everything is to the standards of June Clever at my house. It is so not the case. My house gets messy. My hardwood floors show dust. I can see dust bunnies under the big TV armoire. Laudry piles up. I have a basket waiting to be folded. If I spend a day cooking alot nothing else will get done.
And you know what? I doesn't bother me at all. Things out of order and out of place would send my mother and grandmother into a full fling tizzy. I mean they would need a valium if they didn't clean everything to perfection. Me? I am not so spastic. It will get done when I get to it. If not it will still be there in a day or three.
I learned along time ago not to sweat the small stuff. Life is just to short to worry about everything. Does it nag me my house is not always spotless? Yes, it does, but I don't let it cause me stress. Which is why I am perfectly comfortable to show photos of my freezers and mudroom pantry. Several of you have requested these.
Click on the thumbnails to see the larger image.
I haven't had time or the energy to paint the inside closet and you will see the garish green and stained paint. When we first moved in this was a coat closet. I don't need the coat closet. I needed a place to store items that I keep on hand as extras. There isn't much I can't prepare with this pantry as my backup.
Both freezers are full and ready for winter. We have two because when we lived at the townhouse there was only room for the small freezer. When we bought this house I wanted a giant freezer but I had trouble getting rid of the small freezer -no one wanted it. The cost of the giant freezer was $800. OUCH! I got the medium size freezer for $350 and the two of them have as large a capacity as the giant freezer, maybe larger.
Things in the freezers include, fresh summer corn on the cob and creamed corn, fruits, lots of chicken stock, all sorts of meats, (including lamb, pork, beef, chicken, fish and shrimp), soups and stew I have made and put up, tomatoe sauces and whole tomatoes, any number of assorted vegetables, breads and muffins I keep to send with Steven to work daily for breakfast, cookie dough, cheeses, sandwich meats, ready to go meals, timtams :), ice cream, ready to heat and serve taco/fajita meats, premade BBQ, roasts and meat pies, -you name it, it is most likely in there.
Inside my refrigerator where I have spent the week cooking, it is nearly empty save for fresh veggies and fruits, milk and other dairy products, luncheon items, butter, apple sauce, whipped cream for the kids hot chocolate, jasmine tea, eggs, made a couple leftovers and all of the condiments we love. Gracie loves egg nog. she always has. As soon as itbegins to appear in the grocery store I buy it for her. She looks forward to this time and year and is greatly disappointed when it leaves. I do keep an emergency can of bordens egg nog in the pantry for those emergency attacks that might occur in March.
I told you before we are condiment people. all of us seem to have out favorites when it comes to condiments. Steven is a tobasco and hot pepper sauce guy. The kids love all varieties of jellies.
I cook with alot of different things and I love mustards, expecially for really nice super sandwiches. The Sara Lee deli mustards are very good and very affordable. There is always at least 1 (or 3) of some kind in the frig and a brand new spare in the pantry.
The spice cabinet is more than just spice. I have a lot of different herbs and things here but I also keep opened boxes of brown sugar, cornstarch, canisters of dried beans and fruits as well as things for baking.
I have started collecting my nuts and food coloring and those tiny one shot bottles of liquer for baking during the holidays. I find it is much more economically friendly to my budget to buy a few things along starting in summer than to have to buy everything in November and December for special dishes.
There are local wines in the rack that we have tried and like. As well as wines my mother likes that I keep on hand in preparation for her visits. She is able to come up only once or twice a year and I like her to have things she likes and to be very comfortable while with us. I strive very hard to be a prepared and gracious hostess, especially to my family.
There are wines that I like and can't drink right now. The Australian marriage wines in red are yummy.
I have a center island that I keep all of my day to day items in. open flour and sugar in canisters which when finished I use the flour and sugar in the pantry and buy fresh flour and sugar to replace it. I rotate stock so everything is fresh. Can goods and all sorts of pasta and things are kept in there as well. You might find quick baking mixes, instant oatmeal and cereal in there too. I love home cooked meals but I am not against taking a short or two when needed in a pinch or I don't feel like doing it the long way.
In another cabinet by the stove I keep canisters of more dried beans and peas, as well as mixed beans for soups, grits, coffees, dried creamers and milk, canisters of pasta and various tall things that won't fit in other cabinets.
*****Updated to add this photo for Judy*****
This past weekend at the pumpkin patch
Judy, I would have to guess he has gained at least 30 lbs. When we met he was skin and bones, yellow tinted skin, ulcers, literally almost a skeleton. His eye were dark and slightly sucken. He did not eat well at all and did not try to take care of himself. He was on the tail end of years of negelect in a bad marriage and even worse nasty divorce, followed by a realaitonship with a woman who lied to him and he found out was married. He had really given up and thought he would be lucky to live another year.
Seriously, he will tell you he expected maybe to live one more year or be in the hospital in severe care for system failure. He intended to never have anything to do with women again. He was finished and would be a bachelor till the end. I guess someone had other plans for him. :-)
I put him on vitamins, all sorts of heavy herbal treatments and whole natural foods to heal his body and those damn stomach ulcers. It has taken a year and a half to get him to this point now.
He weighs 155lbs @ 6'2". He is still quite thin. His skin is tanned from working in the sun. His eyes are sparkling and full of mischief. He laughs often and loudly. His waist is now 32 inches. And OMG is he handsome!! Photos always come out badly because he doesn't like photos taken. :-/
I have always had my girls in the kitchen from an early age. By the age of 15 Colby could put a meal on the table as well I can. She loves to cook, to experiement and loves a wide range of foods she may not have been willing to eat if she had not helped to prepare them. Whoever said it is not your children's responsibility to help out with kitchen work and other smaller siblings have their head up their butt and more time on their hands than they know what to do with. My girls are expected to help cook as needed, for example when we are running late or have a big dinner for guests or just when we want to bake cookies or make something special. They are in charge of cleaning the kitchen after supper. Everyone helps for the betterment of the entire family. They are also responsible for cleaning their rooms and bringing down all of their laundry. They are also responsisble for the condition of their bathroom. They live here, too. We all have a job to perform. Chores have never hurt a child. I find it makes a better adult. Girls cannot become great mothers and wives without being taught how. I do not want to see my girls struggle with trying to figure out how to cope with a home and family to raise when they get older. Things learned now will come naturally and they too will have children to teach how to care for themselves and a family. I was raised to be a damn good wife and mother. I think I live up to that expectation and want no less for my own daughters. When this baby boy is born I have the exact same high expectations for him as well. Boys can cook, help with laundry, take out garbage and help clean the yards. I am an equal opportunity mother.< /end rant> What's in your pantry?
