Still Finding Cash

Valentine's Pizza

2012-01-29T23:29:00.004-06:00

With Valentine's Day approaching, a heart shaped pizza says, "I love you", to the family without spending a bundle.

I just used a box, pizza kit that usually makes 2 medium pizzas. The crust dough is simple to put together and I let mine "rest" for 25 minutes for a lighter crust which allowed time to prepare additional toppings.

Using a cookie sheet, I was able to easily shape a 14" x 17" heart, making for a big, family sized pizza.

I had the idea to use half strips of string cheese to fill the crust and it worked perfectly.

No need to be fancy. Just pinching the crust around the cheese works well.

Spread with sauce, add toppings, bake as directed and..............

YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!

January Spring ????

2012-01-27T12:30:00.006-06:00

Tank top or long johns? It's hard to figure these days. Sunny and bright. Pouring down rain. Oops, cold front moving in! That's a typical winter here in the northernmost part of the Florida panhandle but it usually isn't quite this confusing in January. Fighting a cold that won't go away and the ravages of the aging process, I was pretty well down in the dumps this morning when I noticed something unusual in the the shrubs across the lawn. Ha! One of my Azaleas is blooming. And that's not all. I noticed that the dogwood buds have set, the Spirea is in new leaf... and little flowers are popping out all over. My Meyer Lemon tree is going absolutely crazy with blooms. And, oh, did I mention that it will be in the 20's at night, day after tomorrow. Go figure. Where's the box of tissue?

Strawberrylicious Valentines for $5

2012-01-23T00:27:00.001-06:00

Beautiful chocolate covered strawberries cost $50 a dozen plus time spent online to order and time to wait for delivery.

I would never have thought of something like this as a Valentine's gift for my husband until he made rave comments when he saw a television commercial about them. Checking several sources online, I found the cost to be $36.95 - $49.95 per dozen PLUS delivery which took all prices above $50.

Fortunately, I remembered that I had both vanilla and chocolate Almond Bark left over from Christmas and found this box of 15 huge strawberries at Walmart for $5.00. Just 90 seconds microwave heating time to melt each of the flavors and I was in business. 10 minutes, max, from start to clean-up. I saved a minimum of $45 and my husband will be thrilled.

The "Large" egg was included in the photo so you can see the great size of the berries. Also, I left half of them plain in an attempt to salvage at least a fragment of my diet.

Easy Ornaments for Gifts or Tree

2011-12-21T11:04:00.005-06:00

Pipe Cleaners to the rescue. About the time I ran out of my previously purchased decorations for packages, one of my daughters grabbed 3 pipe cleaners and pinched and twisted the above holly leaves and berries into existence. It took her a matter of seconds and intrigued me enough to give it a try myself. The holly and snowflakes each used 3 pipe cleaners, the bells and tree each used two. Just take a closer look; they're not hard to figure out. And, with a package of 55 pipe cleaners selling for $2, they end up costing only about 4 cents each. (For reference, the tree is 5" tall.)

Gift Tags - DIY

2011-12-04T12:36:00.009-06:00

Easy, adorable & inexpensive. Fast, felt, gift tags even double as ornaments.

Plain, white, peel n' stick labels adhere beautifully to felt and provide a writing surface for the "To" and "From" information needed for gifts. Stick it on, cut out a simple pattern and embellish with whatever is on hand. I snipped a few twigs from the yard to serve as tree trunks and sandwiched them between the felt and the label and added a small dot of glue, as an added precaution, but I don't think it was necessary. No-sew simple. A great activity to keep the kids busy and included in the preparations.

Studio Update - December

2011-12-03T08:31:00.000-06:00

I thought the onset of Florida winter, with its intermittent rain and cold spells, and the inevitable busyness of Thanksgiving and Christmas would bring progress on the little studio to a halt but I overlooked the tenacity of my son and his wife. A little at a time, not every day or even every week, but with a flurry of activity here and another there, they are still bringing my dream to life. There is now a step, a porch and a porch roof and as they add sheets of tin to the the steep pitch, my husband and I work slowly to fit and install the antique door and windows.

With money and time in short supply, this project would never have gotten off the ground had it not been for my son. "It won't be quick," he said, "but it's not impossible."

There are philosophical lessons in his words. Lessons that I learned from my father and obviously passed along. One step at a time. Never give up. Never lose faith. Pray as you go and don't forget to be thankful...I am.

Idea Starter - Twin's Cakes

2011-11-21T21:22:00.004-06:00

I had an original idea for cakes for my twin grandson's third birthday. With little money and less time, it is not well executed but you get the idea...and the party was themed around cars.

A quick trip so the store for a single cake, a bag of cookies and some icing. As you can see, I cut the cake in half and trimmed for the windshields and hoods. Beyond that, you can take your time and do a much better job than I did. Imagine the cars being two different colors. Think if there had been a good job done of piping the windows. How cute these could be. Cookies for the tires. Gumdrops for the lights.
But, my grandsons loved them just the way they were and went immediately for icing covered "tires".
If you give the car cakes a try, please share your photos with me and I'll post them.
Enjoy.

Sweat, Sacrifice and Love

2011-11-10T00:07:00.006-06:00

The tiny studio that made its way from my dreams to a drawing pad sometime last winter, captured the imagination and heart of my son, Trace. With spring came his determination that the studio would become a reality and in the glow of autumn color it is. In early spring came a Saturday surprise of cinder blocks and 4x4s. I might have been able to stop right there. Just seeing the footprint in place seemed to satisfy something in me. But the dead tree that needed to be removed spurred a level of activity and added a sense of excitement to the project as if it were actually leading to something real.

This morning, as Trace and my daughter-in-law, Susan, set about another day of labor on my behalf, I was, quite simply, overwhelmed.

Every step of construction had seemed to be a kind of completion in and of itself, the day the floor was set, the day the walls were framed, the day the exterior sheeting was finished. They were great moments and there was great satisfaction. And between each step, there were long periods when life would return to normal and the little building would sit quietly and wait.

But this week, when the gable ends went into place with my crazy oval window cutout, the ridge timber set and the rafters perfectly cut and spaced, a different kind of excitement took place. There was celebration of accomplishment with great smiles and "job well done"s. But there was to be no familiar pause between stages. With the oncoming rain, here was suddenly a rush to dry it in and the hurry felt uncomfortable.

The work on the roof was genuinely difficult. It began each day at first light and continued long past dark and something in me ached for the labor that was being done on my behalf and without my help. I've spent all evening thinking about this; what was the source of my ache, my discomfort? And, as I've pondered the matter, I've continued to see my son's face as he kissed me goodbye this evening...exhausted, sweaty and smiling.

Just a few minutes ago it came to me.
What a silly thing. How seriously we take our roles in life. How many years do we labor for our children? How many sleepless nights do we spend as they step awkwardly toward adulthood? Somehow, the birth of our children prepares us for those things. But what in life prepares us to relinquish that role? At what moment do we recognize that it is they who will labor for us and they who will spend sleepless nights as we step awkwardly toward old age? My moment was today.

Halloween...ALREADY???

2011-10-31T21:42:00.007-05:00

Welcome once again to my versatile front porch table. This time it's turned upside down, its standard position for holding winter fire wood, but holding bales of pine straw instead. To make better use of funds, I've opted for pine straw instead of hay and will use it later to protect bedding plants from the winter's cold. And, I'm hoping for double duty from the planters as well, using Crotons for color instead of Mums. I'll plant them later to replace things lost to this summer's drought.

The grand-babies got a kick out of the "Candy Corn" painted pumpkins though I must give credit for the idea to some fabulous magazine. I would love to mention which one but I must have flipped through dozens while at Mayo last week and sadly don't remember.

Since most of the pumpkins will be cooked and processed for Holiday pies, my only real splurge was the crow and I just couldn't resist. In another setting, he might look a bit sinister but with all the squirrels and birds on, around and thourgh my yard and porch, he seems to be just another visitor and I like him. I'll turn the Jack-o-lantern face around after Halloween and he can stay in place as a decorative vase through Thanksgiving.

My sister told me about creating the dolls with a bit of candy and hot glue. What a great, cost-saving surprise to find the combination of lollypops, Dots and Tootsie Rolls all in a single variety pack.

After the pumpkin carving and porch decorating, the grand-babies and I made "Pepitas" - roasted pumpkin seeds. Placing the pumpkin "goo" and seeds in a bowl of cold water, tends to do most of the separating for you. The seeds let go and float and can be easily scooped from the surface.

Drain. Toss in a plastic bag with oil and salt. Drain again and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Try adding some Cayenne or Cajun Spice Mix if you want a little zing. Fresh, crunchy, and FREE greatness. Yummm.

Spring Dreams - Autumn Faith

2011-09-29T13:01:00.023-05:00

About the time the Dogwoods and Azaleas and Wisteria were in full bloom and the spring sun was fully into yummy, mellow mode, and people were tempted to say, "It doesn't get any better than this"; it did. Having been on the tenuous precipice of the the "unwell" since Christmas, I had become remotely resigned to giving up the building of my little studio any time soon. Then the music began.

To the random tap-tap-tap rhythm of hammers, the staccato injections of "how-tos" and "dos" and "don't dos", rose the melody of children's laughter, to a crescendo of giggles that would wain only to rise again and again. Then a litany of doctor's visits began and summer came and summer went and I have no idea how it passed so quickly. The almost month long visit of my daughter's family flew by as if passing in only days.

The planning of a 50 year high school reunion that began in January as a committee of two, took a heart wrenching turn when my dear friend of 57 years died suddenly on a golf course a month ago. No time for grieving, I had just become a committee of one. And, at the changing of the seasons, to complicate things even more, I found myself five hours away from home, wandering aimlessly through the diagnostic routine of the Mayo Clinic with nothing but the needs of the reunion on my mind.

I've been home a few days now. With the reunion plans fairly well in hand, I have finally experienced a sense of competition, a genuine belief that it will actually come to pass. So, this morning, for the first time in weeks, I granted myself permission to retreat with my morning coffee to my chair on the front porch, a most favorite spot in my world. For a moment, the low, early sun captured my attention with it's long, lazy shadows and fresh, yellow light. Then my eyes fell on the lonely, little studio, unfinished and abandoned, the siding stained by the needed gift of rain, the primed and pretty floor littered with curling and colorless leaves. My heart sank and a sense of melancholy threatened. But, from somewhere, the distant sounds of children's voices laying lightly on the heavy morning air, reminded me of the joys of the spring building project, the happy faces, the satisfaction. If there is built nothing more than that, the tiny studio will have been a blessing.

The 50 year class reunion is just a week away. My work is all but done and I look forward to posting highlights of this labor of memorial to my good friend who will never be truly gone.

And September will end and November will begin with return trips to Mayo - Jacksonville.

It is a curious thing to me that the book written by Lady Lucia Edmondson, the mother of the woman for whom I was named, is titled "Scrambled Impressions at Mayo Clinic". Though my copy, passed to me by my mother, was lost decades ago, I was stunned to find one online. It is signed exactly as our copy was. Wouldn't it be serendipitous if the self same book had come full circle?

At any rate, my posting will be sporatic for a while. I intend to work on my own "Memories at Mayo" and will share them with you. In order to keep this disjointed, little journey of mine accessible to you, I'm going to label this post and subsequent, related ones - "Faith and Flutterbys". And for those of you who were not raised in my household, a flutterby is another way of saying butterfly. What a neat message of hope that seems to me to be, that my studio project is not abandoned; it is simply in a cocoon stage and will emrege, in it's time as the lovely little retreat I intended it to be.

Away from the Action until mid October

2011-09-12T00:51:00.005-05:00

Well, I've done what a lot of us do these days and overextended terribly. So, while I'm chasing my tail for about a month, I won't be able to experiment with new ideas or research solutions. I will, however, pull up some great Autumn archive materials and keep them front and center. So, check in often.

AUTUMN IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER
So it's time to start thinking about things like
POPCORN BALLS
(see below)

3 Popcorn Ball Recipes

2011-09-10T15:41:00.000-05:00

I'm trying 3 different recipes that I've never tried before, collected ages ago, some from family members who are no longer with us. In each case, I'm giving the recipe a twist.

This first one, my Grandmother's, is the oldest. The photo is my grandmother, me and an unknown baby. The worms, mixed in and sprinkled on are a just-for-fun addition.

This is Recipe #1

Muddy, Wormy Popcorn Balls

1/2 c Molasses
1/2 c. Corn Syrup
2 tsp Vinegar
1 Tbsp Butter
5 - 6 cups Salted Popped Corn (1 Microwave Bag)
1 bag of Gummy Worms

Combine first 3 ingredients in pan over medium heat. Cook to a brittle but not crack ball stage. Remove from heat. Stir in Butter. Pour over popped corn & stir to coat. Shape into 6 to 8 balls.

Opinion: This was by far the easiest, quickest recipe. I think the flavor is 'old time' perfect. The worms, mixed in and sprinkled on, are just-for-fun additions, perfect memory makers for an evening of thriller movies with the children.

This second one is more for adult tastes.

.....................................

This is Recipe #2

Almond & Raw Sugar Popcorn Balls
2/3 c. Light Corn Syrup
2 c. Raw Cane Sugar
2/3 c. Boiling Water
2 Tbsp Vinegar

Combine the above ingredients in a heavy pan, then add:
2 tsp Cream of Tarter

Boil to soft ball stage. (Notice the rich nutty color from the raw sugar) Remove from heat. Stir in:
2 tsp Almond Extract
1/8 tsp Baking Soda.

Pour over 2 bags of Microwave Popcorn (appx. 10 cups) to which 1 cup of Sliced Almonds has been added.Mix and mix and mix well. Butter your hands. Form into balls. Cool on wax paper. Makes 8 large balls.

WARNING: Hot sugar is really, really, really hot. Be careful not to burn yourself.
Opinion: This is my second favorite. Love the way the addition of the baking soda caused the entire mixture to froth up. This may be the reason it coats the corn more easily.

..............................

This is Recipe # 3

This recipe made more than twice as many popcorn balls. They were slightly smaller than recipe #1 but I think the real difference is that they didn't pack together tightly. The pieces stuck lightly to each other and the resulting balls are significantly lighter in weight and less dense than the first batch. Another difference is that this mixture cooled very quickly making the mixing process a bit more difficult. I had to work very fast.

"O" My Goodness Colorful Popcorn Balls
In a heavy pan with buttered sides, combine the following:
2 c. White Sugar
1 1/2 c. Water
1/2 c. Light corn Syrup
1 tsp. Vinegar

Cook to hard-ball stage. Remove from heat and add:
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Pour over 2 bags of freshly popped microwave popcorn (appx. 10 cups*) to which 4 cups of colored cereal has been added. Work as quickly as possible, mixing well to coat. Butter your hands and form into balls. Makes 18.

* If you are using regular popcorn instead of Microwave bags, add 1/2 tsp. Salt to sugar mixture.

Opinion: This recipe was a bit more difficult in the coating process and hardened very quickly. I really struggled with it but it was worth the effort according to the grandchildren.

Goodnight! IT'S IRENE! Hurricane 2011

2011-08-24T13:46:00.002-05:00

With Irene, the first hurricane of the season to actually threaten the US, it seemed a good idea to re-post this. If you live in a large metropolitan area, the most important piece of information I can personally offer is this: EVACUATE SOONER RATHER THAN LATER. You will not be the only smart person hoping to avoid traffic gridlock by an early departure and the roads will be packed far earlier than you think. So, leave a day, or even two, earlier than you think is reasonable.
A special thanks to Congressman Jeff Miller, of Florida, for providing the following detailed information, reprinted here with permission.

WHEN THE STORM FIRST THREATENS

Move quickly without panicking.
Start Monitoring the news.
DON'T be misled by landfall predictions; strong winds could arrive hours before official landfall.
DON'T heed or spread rumors.
Review emergency plans with your family.
Practice where to go in the house as the hurricane intensifies.
Get supplies.
Follow instructions in this guide for food and water.
If you plan to leave, start packing.
Limit traveling to necessary trips.
Refill any special medications.
Fill up your car's fuel tank.
Make sure you have a spare tire; buy aerosol kits that fix and inflate flats.
DON'T fill gasoline cans; they are a fire hazard.
Check battery, water, and oil.
Check flashlight and radio batteries and have extra on hand.
Charge rechargeable cellular phones, drills, flashlights, lanterns, batteries.
Get cash.
If time allows, get key important documents - passports, wills, contracts, insurance papers, car titles, deeds, leases and tax information -- into safe deposit box. If not, put them in a home safe or other safe, dry place.

WHEN WARNING IS ISSUED

Get shutters, siding or plywood in place on windows.
If you haven't sunk sockets, nail wood in with masonry nails.
Move vehicles out of flood-prone areas and into garages if possible. If not, park cars away from trees and close to homes or buildings.
Move grills, patio furniture and potted plants into house or garage.
Clear yard of loose objects.
If you want to do any last-minute pruning, you must take the clippings inside; trash pickup will have been suspended and you'll be creating a nice pile of missiles.
Remove swings, and tarps from swing sets.
Tie down anything you can't bring in.
Check again for loose rain gutters, or moldings.
Prepare patio screening. It is built to sustain 75 mph winds but as it fills with wind it can separate from the frame. Officials recommend you remove a 6-foot panel on each side to let wind pass through. Pull out the tubing that holds screening in frame to remove screen.
Remove roof antenna; unplug antenna wire from set first.
Remove roof turbines and cap the holes with screw-on turbine caps. Unsecured turbines can fly off and create large hole for rain to pour through.
Secure anything inside your home that can be thrown around.
Tape or tie cabinets.
Remove items from counter and table tops.
Close closet doors.
DON'T turn off your natural gas at the main meter. Only emergency or utility people should do that.

WHEN THE STORM IS HOURS AWAY

It is now too late to do most of what needs to be done. There is still time to:

Put on your medic-alert tag.
Fill your tub and bottles with water.
Prepare food and water according to rules in this guide.instructions provided in this guide.
Shut your water at the meter to prevent contamination.
Secure and brace external doors, especially double doors.
Move as many valuables as possible off the floor to limit flooding damage.
Move furniture away from windows or cover with plastic.
Continue to listen to radio and television for instructions.
Stay off the roads. It's too late to get supplies, and you'll be competing with people trying to flee unsafe homes.

Stay inside. Conditions will deteriorate rapidly, sometimes hours before landfall and often at night.

DURING THE STORM

Stay inside!
Stay away from windows and doors.
DON'T use telephone or electrical appliances.
If storm becomes intense, retreat to designated interior hurricane safe room.
If you fear your house will come down around you, get into a bathtub and place a mattress over you.

AFTER THE STORM

DON'T leave your home or shelter until emergency officials tell you it's safe.
You may only be in the eye, with half the storm -- sometimes the stronger half -- still to come.
If you're not at home, don't return until you get the all-clear.
Roads may be blocked by debris.
Wait to learn from broadcast reports or shelter officials which roads are passable. Driving will be treacherous. Traffic lights will be out and streets filled with debris and downed power lines.
If your neighborhood floods during the storm, listen to the radio for instructions. Rising water may require you to leave even after the storm has passed.
Watch and listen for reports of storm-spawned tornadoes.
DON'T call police, emergency or utility officials unless you have a life-threatening emergency.
If you must call loved ones to let them know you're all right, be brief to free lines for others.
DON'T touch power lines. Watch for downed lines. Assume all lines are live unless told otherwise.
Watch your step. The area will be covered with broken glass and other debris.
Parts of your home, your porch, tree limbs and bridges may be weakened and could collapse.
Watch for insects, snakes and other animals - even alligators - driven out by high water. Puddles may conceal dangerous debris or contain sewage or chemicals.

THE DAY AFTER

DON'T sightsee. Roads will be clogged.
You may have to show proof of residency before being allowed back into your neighborhood.
Use cell phones sparingly; they may be the only working phones, and only a limited number of cells will be operating.
Battery use is limited.
Also, Many cellular phone towers may be down and cell phones may not work.

Eggs-Eggs-Eggs - 5

2011-07-31T00:28:00.008-05:00

People with chickens crack me up. No pun intended.
Now, you can be sure that raising chickens is no easy task but if you have a large family to feed, I can understand it being well worth the effort. What has me tickled is the two families I currently know who raise chickens for eggs. One is my daughter who, with her husband, eat quite a lot of eggs but not the dozens they gather regularly so they give most of them away. Surely it is a blessing for their friends but..........??? Then, there is my friend down the street who has taken to selling her eggs (which is great for me) because her rather large family just doesn't like eggs. Hummmm?!

Anyway, I thought, for both of them, I would come up with some uses for their abundance of eggs. Some links are posted below and the recipe for "Overnight Eggs" follows. I will have more links & recipes in a few days.

Alton Brown's Angel Food Cake - takes 12 eggs
Baked Egg Custard - takes 4 eggs
Grandma's Lemon Meringue Pie - takes 3 eggs
Egg Tempera Paint - takes 1-2 eggs

Each time I post something new, I will change the number in the title so check back.

Overnight Eggs

In bottom of 9" x 13" sprayed pan, place:

6 slices White Bread - cubed

Cover with:

1 lb Cheddar Cheese - shredded

Top with some or all of these optional ingredients:

1/4 cup Onions - chopped
1/4 cup Green Peppers - chopped
1 cup Ham - Chopped
1 can Mushrooms - sliced

Beat together:

8 Eggs
4 cups Milk
1 tsp Dry Mustard
1 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper

Pour egg/milk mixture over all, being sure to completely cover everything.
Cover pan tightly with foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
In the morning, bake, uncovered, for 1 hour at 350 degrees.
Served with fresh fruit, this makes an easy and absolutely wonderful breakfast/brunch for a large family or guests.

RAIN - Some is Better than None

2011-07-19T14:09:00.003-05:00

What a wonderful surprise to seek out a suspicious noise and find it to be the sound of windblown rain tapping at the screen door.

It wasn't a lot of rain (barely a quarter inch) but it was enough to bring hope, and for the next two days, I felt my spirits rise with each passing cloud.

On day three, the rain came again leaving a full inch behind. So that's an inch and a quarter just in the last week. It's a long, long way from ending our drought and even a greater distance to recovery. We remain in Water Conservation Mode for now but, as I said, it does hold hope. Perhaps our weather patterns are changing. Perhaps my little paradise will flourish again, if only for a short while, before winter sets in.

"Blueberry Dats" - Stovetop Cobbler

2011-07-16T13:53:00.005-05:00

Inexpensive. Easy. Delicious. I guess because my EEG was scheduled at lunchtime, the tech, Cynthia, and I began a conversation about food. As the test was lengthy, so was the conversaton and it inevitably turned to Southern Foods and "old ways". During our discussion of cobblers, she shared the story of her family's favorite...made by her father and called "Blueberry Dats".

Today, being our first gray and rainy day in three months and with a container of blueberries as well as the required roll of refrigerated biscuits in the refrigerator, I decided to give the stovetop cobbler a try. It is beyond good and it's simple. Although I didn't measure as I went along, I didn't have measurements from Cynthia either. So, I'll estimate for you as she did for me and hope yours turns out as well. It seems fool proof.

BLUEBERRY DATS
2 cups fresh Blueberries in 3-qt saucepan.
Cover with water 1" above berries and boil 10 minutes or until berries plump and begin to burst.
Add 2 cups more water and 2 cups Sugar with a dash of Salt. Bring to a rolling boil.
Reduce heat to slow boil for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in 1 Tbsp. Ground Cinnamon.
Open a can of Refrigerated Biscuits and cut each one into small pieces with scissors, letting them drop into the boiling syrup.
Cover and let simmer 20 to 30 minutes.
Remove from heat and let stand until ready to serve.
Serve this warm with a scoop of ice cream in a fancy dish with a sprinkle of cinnamon on top and a mint sprig garnish and you will have a gourmet-looking dessert that actually tastes heavenly.

Water Conservation During Drought

2011-07-12T00:22:00.007-05:00

A year ago, about this time, my Cypress pond looked like this. My flowers were in bloom and the garden was off to a good start. Not so this year.

Today the herons moved in to feed on what is left of the fish
in what is left of the pond.

In the last 90 days, we have had less than a collective total of 3/4 of an inch of rain. For the last 30 days, each afternoon weather report has offered the hope of a 75%+ chance of afternoon thunderstorms. And, it has stormed. We see the lightning and hear the distant thunder and if we get in the car and drive for 15 minutes in any direction, we are likely to get wet. But my neighborhood seems to exist under an giant, unseen umbrella and we passed desperate two months ago. First, the garden slowed down, stressed by the temperatures hovering around 100 degrees day after day. My watering of containers changed from once to twice daily and still the leaves would wilt. When the shrubs around the house began to show signs of stress, I set out the sprinklers, along with shallow containers to measure water amounts, moving to another location when a 2" soaking had been achieved. I realized I was fighting a losing battle when the brown grass began to turn black as the roots actually deteriorated and several shrubs, some distance from the house, actually died. Now my smaller trees, like the dogwood, look as if they are in trouble.

---These have both died---
Last week I noticed a change in my well water. The iron content is greater and there are tannins, all signs that the well water level is dropping. So, conservation is now a necessity. Here are the things we're doing to reduce our water usage:

Brushing teeth with the water turned off.
Placing a 1/2 gallon jug of water in the toilet tank to reduce the amount of "flush water".
Reducing shower time and frequency by half.
Hanging bath towels to dry and sanitize in the sun after showering to launder less often.
Combining darks & lights into a single load of laundry.
Eliminating use of the dishwasher.
Keeping a dishpan of soapy water in the kitchen sink for quick hand washing.
Watering container vegetables using a watering can instead of the garden hose.
Cooling water used for cooking pasta & vegetables for use on garden containers.
Accepting the fact that some plantings will be lost.

For us, the drought is a matter of inconvenience. For the area farmers, it's a tragedy. Corn crops are ruined. Cotton did not even come up. The loss of summer grasses and winter hay endanger livestock and much of the livestock is having to be sold for lack of water.
These are difficult times but we will all get through them. Somehow, we always do. And I've noticed that, whether we were inclined to roll up our sleeves or get down on our knees, when we look back on hard times, we seem to have gained strength or pride or self-confidence in having come through them.
IF YOU HAVE IDEAS FOR WATER CONSERVATION OR DEALING WITH DROUGHT, PLEASE SHARE THEM BY LEAVING A COMMENT.

Fitting a Bar-B-Q for 25 into the Budget

2011-07-10T22:51:00.012-05:00

Although we build our Independence Day celebrations around the history marked by the occasion, we also look forward to the food, family and fun of the equally traditional 4th of July Bar-B-Q.

This year, we themed it as an old-fashioned, red, white and blue, birthday party and it couldn't have been any better with lobster and crisp linens.I love the versatility of my chalkboard. It's just a piece of Masonite that I painted with blackboard paint and placed in an old frame, distressed to "shabby chic" with a coat of white paint and sandpaper. When the chalkboard is not heralding some special event, I use it as a fireplace shield. It almost disappears behind the firescreen and hides the unsightly, sooty view.

Everyone attending shared in both the effort and the cost by bringing something. The drinks cleverly kept with the color theme with the blue labeled bottles of water and red cans of Coke. The wash tubs were perfect containers and my prized, very old chair made a perfect stand.

Although new and a gift from a daughter, the frosty lemonade container looked equally old-fashioned sitting on an old step stool and made it easy for the children to get their own refills.

All decorations were from years past, just re-purposed. The patriotically painted, slat basket was the ideal container for baguette halves. And although I didn't think to get a photo of it, we used an old, weathered section of redwood fencing set on sawhorses as a buffet/serving table.

So as not to break my self-imposed budget, a couple of months ago I began purchasing and freezing the slabs of pork ribs and beef brisket. Here's my hint for not slaving over a grill for hours while you have guests: Brine the ribs and apply rub or marinade to the brisket overnight. Spend your time at the grill early in the morning. Then, sauce and wrap each slab or brisket tightly in double layers of heavy duty foil just when they look gorgeous, long before they are actually done. Keep them on a heat-controlled grill or in the oven at 185 degrees for 2 to 6 hours and remove 15 minutes before serving time to let them rest. The flavor will be wonderful and the meat will fall off the bone. AND...that's great for everyone except me. I like my ribs the genuinely old-fashioned way... where you have to tear the meat from the bone with your teeth like a hungry dog. To that end, I cooked one slab completely on the grill and tossed it, uncovered, in the oven for about a half hour to reheat before serving. (in photo above)
Click HERE for Brunswick Stew Recipe using leftover bar-b-q.

My Texas daughter brought CORN SALAD...scrumptious! Here's the recipe:

1 Red Onion - diced
6 cups Corn (fresh or frozen)
1 bunch Cilantro - chopped
1 carton Grape or Cherry Tomatoes - cut in half
1 Jalapeno - finely diced
Feta Cheese - crumpled
Juice of 2 Limes (& zest from one)
2 Tbsp Butter

In Butter, saute 1/2 of the Onion. Add Corn. Remove from heat and add everything else. Salt to taste. WONDERFUL!!!

We used the red & white & blue serving bowls and star-spangled dinnerware from last year...

and a daughter found these wonderful paper baskets for the children. (Don't know how or why this child is holding a white Styrofoam cup instead of a red one.)

In addition to red, white and blue decorated cupcakes, we had a cool, light and fluffy concoction made with lemon Jello and whipped cream, topped with strawberries and blueberries...

homemade ice cream sandwiches were made with big oatmeal cookies and rolled in red, white & blue sprinkles. And they would have photographed much better had I not spent time trying to find my camera. They really are cute, tasty and easy...just remember to make them ahead of time and freeze several hours before serving.

In the middle of a terrible drought, we didn't dare bring out any fireworks but the children were more than happy with glow sticks and sparklers after potato sack races and 3-legged races and relay races and laughter and giggles that still ring in my ears.

Holidays & Kids Plays

2011-07-07T00:30:00.015-05:00

There may be no better teaching tool than to involve children in a play, especially when there is no stress and it is actually "play" itself. This year, with no time for rehearsal or learning lines or making costumes, we cobbled together enough historical fact and fun and makeshift costuming to have an absolute ball.

With 12 grandchildren participating, the 2 older teens, who helped with staging and the 10 little ones, ages 2 to 11, we found roles for everyone. A granddaughter, with a chest of treasure, was wrapped in a bathrobe and crowned with foil-covered poster board. Here she is studying the lines of "tax and tariff" King George.

Act I, Boston Harbor, 1773: the teens slide the jon boat into the scene where tea from Great Britain is to be unloaded but the cost is too great.

The colonists suggest that some dress as Indians, to board the ship and throw the tea into the harbor. After the teens pull the jon boat back out of the scene, our little Indian, dressed in dishtowels and with a feather in a headband, sneaks across the scene after the jon boat.

At the close of the scene, the colonists having declared "We'll just drink COFFEE", the participants take their bows.

A last minute thought for distinguishing the founding fathers and players of import was the addition of "powdered wigs" which were nothing more than plastic grocery bags gathered at the back and tied with strips of black fabric. Signs were worn by two of the players identifying them as Paul Revere and Patrick Henry.

A step ladder was used for the church tower in which two lanterns were lit, signifying that the British were approaching across the Charles River and not by land sending Paul Revere to ride his stick pony into the audience whispering to each member to secure their arms because the British were coming.

Having learned recently that Paul Revere was actually arrested by the British and warned them not to go into Lexington allowed us to insert an actual quote of another Colonial prisoner as the Lexington church bells (our dinner bell) rang out, "The bell's a'ringing! The town's alarmed, and you're all dead men."...and our "red coats" fled.

Whereupon our powdered wig clad, Colonial notables gathered to write the Declaration of Independence amid comical comments about it's length.

After some editing by Benjamin Franklin, the three older children read the entire document before the cast gathered for final bows.
It was fun. It was funny, historically accurate and memorable. What a great way to start a 4th of July celebration.

4th of July Ideas - Easy/Affordable

2011-07-01T12:53:00.004-05:00

I am re-posting 4th of July Ideas from 2010 for those of you who missed them. An inexpensive but memory-making event.

2011 Independence day ideas will be posted after the fact.

Independence Day Festivities

2011-07-01T11:25:00.000-05:00

This year we are seriously getting back to basics, celebrating the birth of our nation with all things American - Baseball, Hot Dogs and Apple Pie. We are doing it simply, inexpensively and with a touch of nostalgia. It will be a day with family and friends coming together for fun, food and a fresh look at all that is wonderful about being an American.

Here are some ideas, some links and some of the things that we will be incorporating into our celebration. Pictures will be inserted into this posting as things materialize. Some will be posted after the fact so I hope you'll check back later.

(Click HERE for a quick link to the recipes - posting June 20)

Fly the flag proudly.
Print copies of an "Uncle Sam Wants You" poster or images of the flag, found HERE, to use for invitations or decor.
Set outdoor tables with red and white or blue and white checked table cloths tied at the corners with blue ribbon or use red ribbon from Christmas supplies.
Use your red candles left over from Christmas.
Craft Ideas - link HERE
Decorations - link HERE
4th of July Craft Ideas from Disney link HERE
Don't feel crafty? Try clusters of red, white and blue balloons
Have limited funds? Decorate with red, white and blue crepe paper streamers
Fireworks - if allowed should be handled by adults with safety in mind - tips HERE
CD of patriotic music
Invite a member of our military to join your family affair
Hand out pocket sized copies of the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Link HERE
Say the Pledge of Allegiance once guests have arrived - Link HERE
Read the Declaration of Independence. Link HERE
Read "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere" - Link HERE
Print the words to the National Anthem("Star Spangled Banner") to sing before playing baseball - link HERE
Print the words to "God Bless America" for the children to sing before the meal - link HERE
While eating, ask each person to tell what freedom means to them
Paint T-shirts with patriotic colors. No need to be an artist...wide stripes and crooked stars are perfect or see how to paint eagles with children's hand prints - HERE
Play games:

Baseball - gather gear from those who play or get set up with Nerf ball substitute so adults and children can play together. Bases can be made of fabric bags (like smaller pillow cases) and filled with sand or mulch. Set up a blackboard as a scoreboard.
Horseshoes, Badminton and/or Croquet - if you have them
Lawn Darts - using homemade beanbags instead of darts - for safety. You can sew beanbags OR you can do what I'm doing...making use of those unmated socks. Fill about 1/3 full with beans and tie a knot in the area of the heel. It makes a beanbag perfect for an underhand toss, holding the top of the sock and swinging the weighted foot portion.
Three-legged Race - in teams of two (preferably about the same height). Team members stand side-by-side and have their "touching" legs tied together so that they run as a single unit from the starting line to the finish line.
Potato Sack Race - In lieu of burlap bags (which should be available from a feed & seed store), use old pillow cases or plastic garbage bags. Each racer stands inside their bag, holding it up with their hands and hops to the finish line.
Wheelbarrow Race - Again, teams of two. One member (the wheelbarrow) lies on his stomach on the ground while the other team member (the pusher) lifts their legs by the ankles (like the handles of a wheelbarrow). The team member on the ground then pushes himself up with his hands (as the wheel) and begins to walk with his arms toward the finish line.

Menu
Hot Dogs:

Slaw Dogs
Bacon/Kraut Dogs
Chili Cheese Dogs
Plain Ol' American Hot Dogs

Potato Chips
Southern Potato Salad
Easy Baked Beans
Watermelon
Iced Tea & Lemonade in big jars tucked into washtub of ice
Sugar Cookie Stars
Homemade pies in appropriate colors - Cherry, Apple, Blueberry
Homemade Ice Cream

Independence Day - Recap in 10 Parts

2011-07-01T04:50:00.000-05:00

This year, we were especially mindful of the meaning of Independence Day and our reason for celebrating. Yes, we played and cooked out and decorated in red, white and blue but throughout the day, we incorporated thoughtful activities and paused to reflect on the enormous sacrifices of our patriots, past and present, and our incredible blessing of liberty.

ONE
Our 4th began on the 3rd when the little children came over

to paint their patriotic T-shirts. We saved the expense of buying fabric paint knowing that house paint won't wash out of clothing and will wash off of children. The kids were given their choice of techniques: potato print, drizzles, sea sponge, and/or foam brush.

They came up with their own designs and the only adult interference was the little stars added to the twin's creations. Click HERE for more photos, details and tips.

TWO
The pennant garland, made of scrap fabric stitched to a length of twill tape helped define a game area. Flags lining the front walk were a daughter's bargain, $1 for a single, flag-patterned yard of fabric found in the off-season, cut apart and stapled to dowels. The front porch had been decorated with red, white and blue since Memorial Day.

THREE
The 4th began with a mid-day gathering around the flag pole for the Pledge of Allegiance and the little children led the singing of our National Anthem.

FOUR

Homemade pickled eggs and hot, spicy pickled sausages, blue and white corn chips served in a red bowl with a side of home-canned salsa, the 4-generation standby of potato chips with sour cream/onion dip, crackers and
a daughter's shrimp dip helped stave off hunger until the day cooled enough to fire up the grill.

Pitchers of lemonade and sweet tea were refilled from giant jars and jugs kept on ice in an old, oval wash tub and star shaped sugar cookies, iced in red and blue were a hit with the little ones. Securing table cloth corners against the breeze.

FIVE

Everyone was free to find an activity to their liking: baseball was less hazardous, required less skill and was more appropriate for one or two or three to play with the use of a sturdy foam bat and wiffle balls. Tic-tac-toe was set up on the grass using five scrap 12" X 12" tiles and caning jar rings and stars cut from laundry detergent bottles and glued to the caps. Unfortunately, interest in the tic-tac-toe was short lived. However, the "Sock Toss", our safe version of lawn darts, was a huge hit with the adults as well as the children. It also made great use of those pesky unmated socks we all accumulate. There were 5 white socks and 5 colored ones. The "feet" were stuffed with a zip type bag of dry beans and a knot tied at the "heel". They were perfectly weighted and slung from their tops to the hula hoop target 15 or 20 feet away. Our scoring went like this: outside the ring, not touching = no score; outside the ring but touching = 5 points; inside the ring, but touching = 10 points; inside the ring, not touching = 15 points. GAME was to 100 points.

SIX
A little pool time was a definite blessing as the late day sun erased our shade.
SEVEN

I think the best of the best was the races. Adults and children were laughing to the point of tears through the Sack Race, the Three-Legged Race and the Wheel Barrow Race. The finish line was established using a couple of tomato stakes from the garden, topped with small flags. The "potato" sacks were made by a daughter, from fabric left over from some long-ago project and, yes, they were purple. She asked the little children what colors combine to make purple. Of course, they answered "red and blue"
...Taa daa!

EIGHT
We read the poem "Paul Revere's Midnight Ride" and I was flabbergasted at how much my four, home schooled grandchildren knew about the American Revolution and the founding of our nation. We sang "God Bless America", prayed for our country and fired up the grill as the children's bubbles drifted into the shadows. We had long hot dogs and fat ones and kosher ones with "fixin's" for 4 variations. I did make one change...rather than wrapping the Kraut-Dogs in bacon, precooked slices were just added to the buns. We had Oven-Baked Beans and my Southern Potato Salad and another daughter brought her signature Pasta Salad. Dessert was two pies instead of three: one blueberry and one apple/cherry so we still had red, white and blue.My daughter-in-law made bite-sized Apple/Cheesecake Crepes (a Betty Crocker recipe) sprinkled with fresh strawberries and blueberries from her own back yard. I completely forgot about making ice cream. No one noticed.

NINE

As darkness approached, we lit the candles on the tables and the ones hanging in the trees. The little birdcage candleholders were a last minute yard sale find with my painted wooden stars added.

The kids went through a couple boxes of sparklers and the delay on my camera prevented me from getting the wonderful photos I had imagined. The fireworks, provided by a daughter and son-in-law, lit the sky accompanied with the traditional "oohs" and "aahs".

TEN

My 4th of July surprise came late last night as I was downloading pictures.It seemed we had an unexpected angel with us. My only "sparkler" photo.

15 Real Ways to Beat the Heat

2011-06-15T11:14:00.001-05:00

After a week of triple digit temps here in June of 2011, I've decided to repost this from August of 2010: Toward the end of winter I long desperately for summer, for flowers and gardening, swimming and picnics and generally enjoying being outdoors in shorts and sunshine. Spring tiptoes in like the answer to a prayer and all is wonderful in my world. Unfortunately spring turns into summer and each year it comes as a surprise that a hot summer can be as difficult as a hard winter. In the sweltering heat and humidity of Florida in late July and August, I find myself wishing for winter again. Perhaps it is God's way of having us always look forward to something.

Over a lifetime, I've put together a mental list of ways to keep my cool. This year, I wrote it all down and did some research to make sure my inclinations were backed by science.
Here's the list:

Avoid make-up whenever possible. Skin needs to breathe. Pores have a purpose and clogging them with make-up is like wearing a blanket on your face.
Keep your hair off the back of your neck. The nape of the neck is very sensitive to touch and interprets the smallest breeze as a wash of cooling air. Also, hair gathered loosely in a clip allows for more air circulation along your scalp than when it is pulled tightly in a pony tail.
Cool pulse points, especially at the inner wrists, inside the elbows and behind the knees. Pulse points are places where blood runs just below the surface of the skin. Cooling the blood, cools the body. This can be done with cool running water, a damp cloth or an ice cube wrapped in a cloth.
Keep a bottle of Witch Hazel and a container of cotton balls in the refrigerator. A cotton ball wet with Witch Hazel cools pulse points, both when applied and as it evaporates and it is great for removing make-up and removing the oils that accumulate on the face when we're over heated.
Drink water. Stay well hydrated. This is always good advise but it is especially important in the heat as the natural cooling processes of the body can deplete the body's reserves and cause dehydration stressing the body's organs. Avoid caffeine and alcohol because they increase dehydration.
Adjust the Air Conditioner to a higher temperature and use fans to move the air. The moving air will feel just as cool while the higher artificial temperature reduces the difference between the air indoors and outdoors.
Wear loose fitting clothing. Air circulation is always key to keeping cool.
Wear natural fabrics - cotton or linen.
Avoid use of fabric softeners on clothing during hot weather months. Fabric softeners coat the fabric fibers reducing or even eliminating their absorbency. Even our wonderfully soft and fluffy towels will not remove water from skin nearly as well as those rinsed with plain water.
Avoid large meals heavy with protein and fat. They put more stress on the digestive system and as it works harder, it produces internal heat. Smaller, more frequent, lighter meals will actually help beat the heat.
Eat Jalapenos - or other hot peppers. This might sound strange but it's true. Check it out HERE.
Add lemon juice to your water - eat alkalinizing foods. Maintaining a proper bodily pH balance is important to proper system function, one of which is cooling the body. Find food lists HERE.
Get your laptop off your lap. You may as well be sitting on a heating pad.
Don't neglect your feet. The inner arches of your feet are also pulse points and need air movement to keep cool. Set your feet free. Sandals are not just for fashion they are practical.
Sleep with your feet out of the covers. Again, it's a lot about air.

This is my personal list. There are many others that include things like standing in a bucket of ice or lying in a bathtub of cool water. You bet. They work. But I've tried to share the things that I do on a daily basis that are practical and achievable whether you stay at home or work in an office or in the field. Let me know how they work for you by leaving comments (below).

Brunswick Stew using B-B-Q Leftovers

2011-06-10T06:32:00.006-05:00

While experts debate the origins of Brunswick Stew between Virginia and Georgia, my family might be closer to the truth. For as long as I can remember, and believe me that's a very long time, Brunswick Stew has always been the meal that follows a huge afternoon bar-b-q regardless of the location. As much a part of the Southern Tradition as fried chicken, biscuits and gravy, is the thriftiness involved in Southern foods and Brunswick Stew is just another example of wasting nothing.

Southern hospitality requires that no one leave the table hungry and the result is always leftovers. Hence, the stew pot - usually a cast iron dutch oven. Into it goes the remaining bar-b-q pork and chicken, pulled from the bone. Plates of sliced tomatoes and onions are tossed in. Leftover corn is cut from the cob and added, a jar of home-canned tomatoes tenderizes and moistens while the addition of butter beans serves as a thickener. Tabasco or Louisiana Hot Sauce give it a traditional, Southern "kick". The concoction is given a good stir, covered and left to rest on the hot grill as the embers diminish over a number of hours. Some time, into the evening, it is announced that there is stew for anyone who is again hungry. It's an informal sort of thing; some helping themselves, some not. Always, there is a great deal of left over "leftovers" and the pot is carried to the kitchen to be refrigerated and served to family the following day.

The Brunswick Stew I remember and make is never exactly the same from one time to another but it's always close and the difference doesn't seen to be a "better or worse" kind of thing. Sometimes I make it using the pre-cooked meats of a bar-b-q. Other times, I start from scratch, with Brunswick Stew as my actual goal, which only adds the step of cooking chicken and pork in the oven or crock pot before actually starting the stew. BRUNSWICK STEW

6-8 cups of pre-cooked & boned chicken and/or pork or both
1 large onion - coarsely chopped
1 quart of canned tomatoes - undrained
1 can butter beans - drained
1 can creamed corn
1 can whole kernel corn - drained
Salt to taste
Tabasco or Louisiana Hot Sauce - added a little at a time until the flavor suits
Bar-b-q sauce - add 1/2 cup if you are not using previously sauced meats

A couple of things to remember are:

It is a slow cooking process - a crock pot works well for this - 8 to 12 hours works for me.
The final product should have solids and liquids evenly incorporated into a semi-stringy (sounds terrible, doesn't it?) but wonderfully tender mass.
The butter beans, tomatoes & onions should be more or less indefinable, with the crunch of corn present.
The bar-b-q taste should be subtle but "there" (a little goes a long way).
The Tabasco or hot sauce should be present but not hot.
I have never known anyone to add potatoes, although, if the result is not thick enough, some instant mashed potatoes sprinkled in will do the trick.

Power Outage - Smart Moves & Stupid Ones

2011-06-08T07:53:00.009-05:00

Parts of the Florida Panhandle have been in desperate need of rain. My poor pond decreases by inches every day and is down almost 10 feet, so I was thrilled when storm clouds began to gather...but a little concerned when the rain came with hail.

With the storm and dinner time approaching simultaneously, I had headed to the kitchen to fix the quickest meal I could think of. With pre-cooked rice and pre-cooked and cubed chicken in the freezer, stir-fry was only minutes away from the table. While the frozen packages got a quick thaw in the microwave, I began to cut some fresh onions, celery, carrots and broccoli. Then the lights flickered once and were gone.

Five minutes later, the storm passed on, leaving only an eighth inch of rain in the gauge, the thunder muffled by distance, the clouds lighting up, one after another, as if in conversation. With darkness due at any moment, I sat on the sofa watching the flicker of candles instead of television. My mind was still on dinner. I was so close. At the point of suggesting that we go out for dinner, I suddenly remembered the propane burner that is a part of our gas grill.

Problem solved. In five minutes we would eat. First the raw veggies got a quick stir in hot Sesame Oil.

Then the pre-cooked and thawed chicken went in.

Once the chicken was thoroughly hot, I added the rice and an egg to toss around.

A little Szechuan and Soy Sauce, a thorough stir, and I called it quits. Dinner in less than 5 minutes. Under other conditions, I might have added straw mushrooms and water chestnuts but the wind was again picking up and the thunder moving closer.

Darkness fell with a thud, that deep black that you cannot see into. The wind and light show settled in for the duration and, as hours passed, it became obvious that power would not be restored any time soon. So, I set about preparing the house for the night. Candles were extinguished. The little battery operated radio was set to our nearest, semi-local station, a flashlight was placed on the bedside table and I was about to turn in when I had one of those thoughts that makes one wonder...
I remembered seeing a DC adapter in the box with the radio and headphones and speakers. "Aha! If I use that, I can leave the radio on all night without worrying about running down the batteries." I got the adapter from it's storage place and plugged it into the radio and then into the wall - nothing. "Hum?! Maybe the plug won't work while the radio has batteries in it", I reasoned. Somewhat pleased with the quickness of my mind, I opened the battery compartment, and paused. My eyes fell sheepishly on the plug in the wall - the plug in the electrical outlet in the wall. "Duh!" I snickered out loud and went to tell my husband what a screwy thing I had done. He made me feel so much less stupid. As my story approached the point of considering whether or not the radio would work with both batteries AND the plug, I could see his mind switching into problem-solving mode. I just stood there watching his wheels turn. He looked at me curiously because I had stopped mid-sentence. "Plug, honey", I said, "electrical plug." The expression on his face was priceless and I felt so much better knowing that I was not alone in expecting power while knowing very well that there was none.
We take so much for granted.

A couple of ideas that work well for me: 1) I turned this chandelier into a candle-lier by moving the rod so that the globes face up instead of down. The globes hold votives in glass containers and give enough light over my work space to keep me going.

Solar powered path lights, can come inside to keep rooms from being completely dark and they make great night lights.

Unlike candles, they are safe and can be left unattended all night. Just remember to return them to the outdoors the following morning so that they will recharge.

Quiche - the EASY Way

2011-05-29T22:30:00.004-05:00

Quiche has been one of my all time favorites. I've enjoyed some wonderful flavor combinations in a number of delightful cafes. But I've always hated making it myself. Oh, the filling ingredients are a breeze but the crust has never come easy to me no matter which recipe I've used. I've tried ready-made pie crusts but they are too oily and get soggy. So, I quit making quiche altogether even though I had gone to the effort of making my own, personal quiche pan/dish.

When I made the pan/dish, I thought I'd be clever and print my filling recipe inside. Silly me. Once the crust was in, I could no longer read the recipe. Duh ! Sometimes, I wonder where my brain is.

Anyway, this is my recipe. Super simple. I've even substituted condensed milk for the cream and had it come out just fine. The "filling" can be any combination of things you particularly like. I'm fond of spinach and mushroom (with grated onion added to the drained spinach) and a bit of feta cheese tossed in for good measure. Other favorites are asparagus and ham, broccoli and chicken, and bacon-tomato-feta & black olives. Whatever you like.
BUT THE KEY TO "EASY" IS MY DISCOVERY OF A NO-FUSS CRUST
Today, desperate for quiche at any cost, I actually lined the bottom of the sprayed pan with Saltine Crackers and topped them with a sprinkling of Swiss Cheese. As a crust it worked out great. I'm thrilled. Using the crackers instead of making a crust cut the prep time to almost nothing. Give it a try. You'll be surprised.

I grabbed a couple of links you might be interested in:
click HERE for filling combinations and alternative filling recipes, and
click HERE to find a huge assortment of quiche and tart pans.
Enjoy!

8 Recycling Uses for Plastic Bottles

2011-05-27T14:15:00.008-05:00

Before discarding that next plastic bottle, take a look at it with new eyes to see if it has an additional use.WATER & SODA BOTTLES

1- Try cutting the bottoms out of 1 and 2 liter bottles, removing the caps and planting them upside down in your flower beds. Filling them with water when your plants need a drink will direct moisture deep into the ground, to the plant roots, where it's needed.

2- Surely most have gotten an email about adding a bottle top to a zipper type bag. It seemed like busy work to me since the bags already open and close. But I tried it on a large bag of rice and it's really quite handy because the bag can be reduced in size as the contents are used. Simply cut the neck of the bottle off, as shown above, and thread the open top of the plastic bag through.

To keep the bag from slipping out of the bottle neck, I've folded it back and secured it with a rubber band. Replace the cap and there you go!

MILK BOTTLESMilk Bottles have many uses.
3- One of my favorites is as a freezer container for casseroles. When the bottle is cut just below the handle (as shown), the resulting "bowl" holds the right amount for a square casserole dish. For a layered casserole, layer the contents in reverse order. When you're ready to use it, turn it upside down in the casserole dish to thaw.
4- The "milk bottle bowl" is also a good size for freezing an ice block of punch. Freeze additional punch instead of water and it will not only stay cold it will not dilute the punch.
5- The "milk bottle bowls" are also great inserts for the summer picnic cooler to keep items from ending up in the melted ice water.
For the Garden:
6- With the bottoms cut out, they make perfect, little greenhouses for starter plants in the early spring, protecting the tender leaves from the cold. Save the bottoms. They can be planted, (with the top edge just at the top level of the dirt) and filled with water for trapping insects and slugs.
In Addition:
7- Milk bottles and gallon bleach bottles, when filled with water, make great hand weights and they are absolutely FREE.

FLAT BOTTLES WITH A SIDE HANDLE

8- I was introduced to this bright idea while out to sea, on a boat with no head. You can take it from there. The size and shape of the cut bottle helps level the playing field between little girls and little boys when nature calls at inopportune times.
Click HERE to link to a ton of unusual uses for plastic bottles - from making mouse traps to building houses with them.

Memorial Day - 2011

2011-05-23T23:32:00.008-05:00

There will be no Memorial Day family bar-b-que at my house this year. I won't even make it to the service at the war memorial. I am under the weather and most of my children are far away. So, this year, instead of being busy with preparations and planning a moment of reflection, I find myself just remembering... remembering "thank you"s to the Military at airports, the previously unknown Sailors we'd invite to share Thanksgiving dinner, the flag I placed at my father's grave and the flag folded in silence and given to my niece at the funeral of my little brother. Memorial Day is confusing to me. In part, I am strengthened, standing tall and proud, uplifted by the Lee Greenwood song "I'm Proud to be an American - where at least I know I'm free..." The other part of me is reduced to tears as the haunting notes of "Taps" sounding from a solitary bugle replay in my mind. I think of my brother and father and husband and of the boys in my high school classes who traded youth for a uniform and I want to say "thank you" but some are no longer here. Then I notice the red, white and blue of our flag against our clear Florida sky and I know that as long as that flag flies, as long as there are those of us who truly cherish our liberty, our fallen are never forgotten. Every Memorial Day, I find myself balancing on this same emotional see-saw, and every Memorial Day, I eventually recover my equilibrium. What I conclude is this: that Memorial Day actually is a two-sided coin: the heartbreaking sadness of sacrifice and the abundant blessing of the liberty it has secured. THANK A SERVICE MEMBER AND FLY THE FLAG PROUDLY
(All photographs on this blog are protected under Copyright)
I give permission to download and use any of my American Flag photographs.
Click HERE to access the collection.

Being Prepared for a Sudden Emergency

2011-05-18T22:30:00.010-05:00

UPDATED NOTE:Prayers for the Joplin, MO tornado victims of yesterday.
There is a significant difference in an emergency and a tragedy. This year has already taken "emergency" to the extreme. We are witnessing the tragedies of earthquakes & tsunami in the news, millions of acres burning in Texas, record setting tornadoes in Alabama and other southern states, the Mississippi is flooding...and hurricane season is just days away. No amount of preparation will see us safely through all circumstances but it will help is through most of them.

Whether at home or away, with family or with family scattered, most emergencies happen without warning. In the immediacy of the moment, your mind will rush to a number of things: what is the phone number of the children's school, how much cash is in my wallet, what do we do for food, we only have the clothes on our backs. And, if the emergency leads to actual loss, contact information will be most needed and loss of family photos will be most heartbreaking.
Click HERE to access an entire section on Preparedness. In the meantime, here are some basic preparation measures that all of us can take if we will only take the time:
An emergency kit in the family car:

Change of clothes/shoes for every family member
Water (gallons)
Blanket(s)
Food (MRE's or even protein bars)
Hand sanitizer
Wet wipes
Personal needs (glasses, contact solution, inhalers, meds, etc.)
Cell phone charger
Flash light & extra batteries
Matches or cigarette lighter

Information to bury or hide securely to prevent theft:
(** indicates need for a hard copy as well)

Cash (a few hundred to a thousand dollars in $5's & $10's) Click HERE for 9 ways to make $$$ fast.
Flash Drive containing: Account & Phone numbers for Bank, Insurance, Utility & Services** - Contract & payment information** - Address Book** - Medical Information** - Photographs - Email contacts - Computer account(s) passwords
Individual photographs of family members w/ descriptions & contact information written on the backs
Several days of critical medications
Credit Cards not usually on your person

9 Ways to Make Money FAST

2011-05-14T23:22:00.009-05:00

Whether the need is to have extra money or to have enough money, getting our hands on it quickly can sometimes be a challenge. See if any of these methods would work for you.

Have a GOOD Yard Sale* - (see below)
Sell items on eBay - consider those gadgets you've had for years & don't use
Sell larger items on Craig's List - baby things, exercise equipment, furniture you can do without
Become a weekend "Honey Do-er"** - (see below)
Cancel or reduce the package size of cable or satellite TV - pay yourself
Cancel cell phone plan(s) & change to pre-paid service - pay yourself
Brown-bag lunches - pay yourself
Eliminate sodas & bottle your own water - pay yourself
Increase insurance deductibles - pay yourself

* A GOOD Yard Sale begins with a GOOD newspaper ad. Highlight major items like "boat", "freezer" and major categories like "furniture", "guy stuff", & establish a "tone" for the sale, eg. "clearing out 20 years accumulation" or "decorator changing gears" or "empty-nester reclaiming space". Give date, hours, address, phone number. Make plenty of GOOD signs using 1/4 to 1/2 sheets of light colored poster board with large, black lettering and bold directional arrows. Pre price all items. Keep smaller items on tables if possible. Remember that items on the ground will appear to be of lesser value. The higher an item is placed, in elevation, the more prominence it is given and the better price it will bring. Make sure items are clean and well displayed. Be sure to collect your signs after the sale if finished.

** Make flyers headlined something like "Help Clearing Your TO-DO List" and distribute in your neighborhood and among your friends (especially to seniors), offering up to 2 hours of weekend assistance for a flat fee or $10 to $20 an hour. List a few examples of the things you would be able to help with like trimming shrubs, organizing the garage, washing cars, washing ceiling fans & light fixtures, changing linens, cleaning blinds, washing interior windows, etc. You'd be surprised how many people could use just a little help and if they think they can get it for a couple of hours on the weekend without breaking the bank, you might find yourself with some very steady customers.

Providing Shade for Tender Plants

2011-05-11T09:44:00.004-05:00

As the morning sun begins to top the trees, some time around 9 AM, the Cilantro along the deck rail stands proud and tall, leaves glistening with the evening dew. By 11, the surface soil is dry and calling me to water, careful not to wet the leaves. The futility of this late morning ritual became evident a few days ago as I became aware of the increasing number of browning leaves, sunburned to a crisp by the heat of the afternoon. Checking the watering needs, I found that the soil completely dry to the bottom of the planters even before the sun went down.

With twice-daily watering already becoming a burden, my mind began to stray to possible sources of shade, preferably something that would filter the sun rather than block it out altogether. From twigs with paper flags to cocktail umbrellas taped to wooden skewers, it seemed my direction got more outlandish with each flitting idea. But the thoughts all had a common theme, something on a stick. Ah-ha! Silk flowers. Remembering the bag of tulips, used as decoration for an event a couple of years ago, I found myself on the deck in the middle of the night planting fake flowers.

Whether this idea was a stroke of genius or not is yet to be determined but, in theory, the approach is a sensible one. The plastic stems should be safe in the soil. The leaves and flowers do provide a measure shade which will vary with the intensity and direction of the sun. And, the stems slip out of the soil for harvesting as easily as they slipped in.

And, other than the fact that it's a little late in the season for tulips, they look nice, almost natural, in the boxes that were rapidly becoming useless in the scorching sun. And the Cilantro is oh so happy.

Garden Mixture of Food & Flowers

2011-05-02T09:05:00.004-05:00

Now that I have land enough for a 'proper' garden, age and ability limit my space. Filling pots on the deck with a mixture of flowers and foodstuffs accomplishes the multiple goals of being decorative, functional and thrifty. Here, Basil provides a backdrop for the graceful Blue Salvia, a growing habit shared by the abundant Rosemary. The Rosemary shares space with Parsley and Sweet Red Peppers, in their own pot, will be anchored by the red Dalia. With a later addition of something white, this corner of the deck will be ready for a red, white and blue Fourth of July.

The Cilantro planted from seed in the railing boxes, is ready for use and new seeds will fill spaces left from the season's continuing harvest.

Because I can no longer bend to meet my garden at ground level, I'm working on a couple of plans to literally bring the ground up to meet me. It's a simple matter with unlimited funds but my goal, as always, is to do it with as little cost as possible. I'll keep you informed.

Homemade Mayonnaise - Easy & Great

2011-04-22T11:12:00.007-05:00

I'm thankful my car doesn't run on mayonnaise. As the price of gas has almost doubled in the last 10 years, the price of mayonnaise has more than quadrupled. I used to make my own just for fun or to save a trip to the store when I'd run out. Now, making it has become a part of my thrifty kitchen routine. It's not difficult. The taste and texture match or beat the best and most expensive. And, it doesn't contain a single ingredient that I can't pronounce.

MAYONNAISE
(Recipe from my father in 1981)

Salt - 1 tsp.
Dry Mustard - 1/4 tsp.
Paprika - 1/4 tsp.
Cayenne - dash

Whole Eggs - 2
Vinegar - 2 Tbsp
Salad Oil - 2 cups
Lemon Juice - 2 Tbsp

(Mix all dry ingredients first)
Blend in Eggs followed by. Blend well.

FROM HERE, THE MIXING IS IMPORTANT:

Add 2 cups of Salad Oil and 2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice like this:
First, add salad oil, one teaspoon at a time, until 1/4 cup has been added.
Add remaining oil in increasing measurements, slowly (1 1/2 teaspoons, 2 teaspoons, etc.)
Alternate the last 1/2 cup of oil with the lemon juice.

Finally, beat in 1 Tbsp Hot Water.

I use a blender but, toward the end, when the mayonnaise gets really, really thick, I have to stop it a couple of times to scrape down the sides and stir. Transfer to clean jar(s) and refrigerate.

Makes a bit more than a pint (almost 3 cups).

Tweak the recipe for your own variations.

Substitute 1/2 to 1 cup of evoo for an equal amount of the salad oil for that olive oil flavor.

Or, try these additions at the end of the mixing process:

If you prefer the "salad dressing" flavor over that of mayonnaise (or to sweeten for a perfect Cole Slaw dressing) blend in 3 Tbsp of sweetened Condensed Milk.
Add 1 cup of crumbled Blue Cheese for a truly fresh and aromatic salad dressing.
Add powdered Ranch Dressing Mix, a little at a time, until your favorite flavor is reached and thin with water to your desired consistency.
Add 1 Tbsp each of Sweet Relish and Ketchup plus 1 tsp yellow Mustard for "Sandwich Spread".

IMPORTANT NOTE:
If you are in doubt about the safety of using raw eggs, pasteurized eggs are available, though more costly. Having enjoyed homemade eggnog and homemade mayonnaise since childhood, I never hesitate but you should do your own research. A web search on safety will flood you with cautions and the USDA's "No, no, no's". This LINK contains information that I think is less biased...your choice. But whatever you decide, handle all foods properly and keep mayonnaise (and foods containing mayonnaise) refrigerated. I consider this recipe safe to use for a week or two but it seldom lasts that long.

Make Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Eggs

2011-04-17T09:55:00.006-05:00

Saving on things like Easter candy is not as hard as it might seem. One of my favorites has been the chocolate covered marshmallow eggs. Once upon a time, they were inexpensive. These days there is less money left over for fun stuff and the prices just aren't what they used to be.

Yesterday, I stumbled upon marshmallows at the grocery store. I noticed them because they were not on the candy aisle or on the baking/goody-making aisle but turned up on the juice aisle tucked below the endless rainbow of bottles and mixes. In addition to the regular marshmallows and the minis, I was surprised to find colored ones, flat ones, stacked ones and gigantic ones. No wonder shopping has become stressful. But that's another story and don't get me started on cereal variations.Anyway, and probably because I had just made the chocolate covered peanut butter eggs, I thought I might try coating a few marshmallows. But, by the time I got home, just dunking the marshmallows in chocolate had lost its appeal. "If they were only shaped like eggs", I thought. Hummm. Not as easy as my mental image. Even with the scissors dusted with powdered sugar, they still gathered goo and had to be scraped clean with a knife from time to time. My egg shapes were far from perfect but close enough. I tossed the trimmed marshmallows in a bag with a little powdered sugar and it kept them from sticking together perfectly. My hands were tired from trimming with the sticking scissors after a bakers dozen, and since this was a trial endeavor, I stopped there.

With so few to coat, I microwave-melted only a single square each of chocolate and vanilla Almond Bark and added solid shortening for thinning, according to the package directions. Dipping was easier than ever because I stabbed the marshmallows with a small skewer (even a toothpick would work). Then, just spooned the coating over. One thing I did discover was the need to tap off as much of the extra powdered sugar as possible. Anyway, the entire project was super simple and incredibly inexpensive. It would be a fun activity with children regardless of the season.

One of these days, when I have endless hours to search, I'll try to find my old West Virginia recipe for making the real chocolate coating which, as I recall, included paraffin. In the meantime, the Almond Bark works great and nothing could be easier.

Making Chocolate/Peanut Butter Eggs

2011-04-14T20:49:00.008-05:00

It's difficult to break away from traditions like baskets full of Easter goodies even when the budget is groaning. But I remembered a long ago spring in West Virginia when a group of wonderful, farming mothers taught me to make candy and thought I'd give it another go.

The recipe is incredibly simple: equal amounts of smooth peanut butter and powdered sugar. 1/2 cup of each made these eight eggs. The mixture will be very stiff and if you can work in a little extra sugar, all the better. "Flour" your hands with powdered sugar and roll into egg shapes. Leave the eggs to sit on waxed paper for several hours to dry as much as the humidity will allow.

Melt about 1/2 square of Almond Bark. Put a dabs of melted Bark on waxed paper and top with each egg as you go. Dust your hands with powdered sugar if needed for easy handling. Allow the Bark to harden completely before handling further. These "bases" will give you something to grasp while dipping the tops of the eggs. If the base spreads out as it hardens, cut off the excess with kitchen scissors to maintain the 'egg' shape.

Once the Bark base is hardened, melt 1 1/2 squares of Almond Bark and stir in 1/2 tsp SOLID shortening - NOT oil or butter. Holding the eggs by their bark bases, dip into the melted Bark and place on a wire rack to harden.

Your eggs will likely come out much smoother and prettier than mine. I was using a mixture of new almond Bark along with some that I had saved from a previous use and the old Bark did not melt completely so I got lumps. Know what? The kids will never notice. Aren't they wonderful? The kids that is.

Anyway, enjoy your eggs. They take a little time but are certainly easy and cost next to nothing to make. Sure beats a dollar a piece at the grocery store and we can actually pronounce all of these ingredients.

Tie Dye Easter Eggs - FREE

2011-04-12T16:06:00.006-05:00

There's never a need to spend a cent when you can use the things you have on hand.

Vinegar (white or apple cider), standard food coloring, a few rubber bands and a wrinkled plastic bag are all that's needed. Oh, and a few hard boiled eggs!

Wrap rubber bands around some of your hard boiled eggs. Pour a small amount of vinegar into a little bowl. With your finger, moisten the surface of one egg at a time with the vinegar. Lightly touch the tip of a food coloring bottle to the moist egg. Quickly, pat the wet color surface with the crumpled plastic bag or hold the bag in your hands and roll the egg between them. If you want to use more than one color, leave a portion of the egg white and add the new color directly from the bottle, patting with the bag as you go. Try not to overlap more than two colors or they will blend into a yukky brownish color.

Unless you are fond of colored fingers, it is a good idea to wear plastic gloves. If you forget or, like me, don't care, a little bleach will bring you back to normal.

Sit the eggs aside to dry. After they have dried, remove the rubber bands and rub the surface with a drop or two of olive oil for a porcelain looking surface.

To see an earlier post about drawing silly faces with a Sharpie on plain white eggs and growing green hair atop the eggheads, click HERE.

Rethinking the Garden with the Budget in Mind

2011-04-12T11:28:00.005-05:00

With the downward spiral of the economy and food and gas prices racing to all time highs, even some of my most thrifty concepts are being fine tuned. One of those is my garden. Usually filled with flowers and crops that I only "hope" won't fail; this year, I'm more serious about the decisions being made. For instance, I've always grown jalapenos even though those locally grown are available at the store for a fraction of the cost. This year, I will buy them instead. The same situation exists with tomatoes. In my area, they require a great deal of care, constant struggle against leaf devouring grasshoppers, careful attention to moisture control and protection from late summer's extreme heat. When I discovered a half bushel at the Farmer's Market for $10, I couldn't justify my efforts, much less my potential failures. I began to consider the things we eat on a regular basis...not only the fresh produce but the canned and frozen vegetables as well. I took a look in my pantry, revisited some old shopping lists and gave thought to our ordinary weekly menus.

I cannot grow corn in a pot on the deck.
35 heads of lettuce, all maturing at the same time, cannot be consumed quickly enough or canned or dehydrated or frozen.
Dried beans are far too inexpensive to take up valuable (and limited) space in the garden.
There is too much clay in my soil for potatoes.

So what are my options? Red Bell Peppers are so expensive at the store these days that I removed them from my shopping lists altogether. However, I can grow them as easily as I've grown Jalapenos in the past. Green Bell Peppers have risen in price a bit but continue to be purchased. They, too, can easily be grown in containers and freeze fairly well. Organic carrots are also pricey but easy to grow. Broccoli, cauliflower and assorted greens grow well here as a fall crop, when overnight temperatures begin to cool. I grew them in Alaska but never even thought of them here. Cilantro is also something I buy regularly. A single packet of seeds will meet my summer needs and the excess can be dried for winter use.

In addition to reconsidering the things I will grow, I've given a great deal of thought to the occasional bargains that come our way. Georgia peaches are sold in season here, at roadside stands and can be bought in bulk and canned for much less than frozen slices or cans at the store. There is absolutely nothing to canning them, freezing them or even putting up spiced peaches for the holidays. When bananas go on sale, they are natural candidates for the dehydrator. And, speaking of dehydrating things, a daughter has had success dehydrating tomatoes and canning them in oil for "sun dried" tomatoes at a fraction of the cost. So, these are the things that accompany my transition into the sunny season. As I put things together, work them out and determine if we are actually able to eat better for less, I will let you know.

Gardening - "First Things" in 2011

2011-04-12T10:34:00.007-05:00

After waiting for spring for so long, it seemed a shame that I should fall ill just as it arrived. Even so, it gave me a chance to rethink the extent of the gardening I would do this summer. My conclusion? KEEP IT SIMPLE!

Sometimes, simple is more difficult than one would wish. First, I decided that I would not go to the expense and effort of growing tomatoes this year since I discovered them by the bushel at the Farmer's Market at prices my most frugal growing efforts could not match. That freed up 2 very large containers for other use. After deciding on radishes and carrots, I discovered the need to battle burrowing squirrels for the right to use the space. I won! Link to the battle and conquest HERE.

Now the first radishes are ready for the table and as they are picked, carrot seeds will begin to fill the empty spaces. Judging from the abundance of radishes, and if the carrots do half as well, I'll have plenty of them for canning. That will require the purchase of a pressure canner but will allow me to put up so many more good things over the summer. So look for upcoming posts on canning the caning efforts as well as this season's gardening as I explore new ways to grow more in less space and with less work.

Stewed Tomatoes - Yankee Style vs. Tomatoes in the South

2011-04-12T07:34:00.006-05:00

Serving tomatoes as a side dish has fallen strangely out of fashion. I don't know why. As a child, in the deep south, with country gardens producing incredible abundance, tomatoes were served at every meal. Plates of freshly sliced tomatoes were always on the breakfast and dinner tables and a tomato sandwich was standard fare at lunchtime throughout the growing season. I'm not talking a BLT, just two pieces of bread with mayonnaise and a thick slice of dripping tomato inside.

Through the fall and winter, with the gardens tilled and planted with winter crops of collards and turnips and the like, when the canning was finished for the season and the kitchen smelled of fresh baked bread, the flavor and acid punch of the tomato still made its way to the evening table. Canned, as they were in my childhood, with nothing added but water and salt, the tomatoes were emptied into serving bowls and eaten as they were, straight from the jar. The texture was different but the taste was that of the summer.

Canned tomatoes would be left to drain in a colander, chopped and added to salads or the jar of tomatoes, liquid and all, would be added to a pot roast for flavor and to tenderize the meat. Such were the tomatoes of my Alabama mother.

My Pennsylvania father, however, had quite a different view of the lowly fruit. He liked them mushed about and cooked to a frazzle. He thought sugar should be added to cut the acidity. But then, he thought sugar belonged cornbread as well. Either situation was enough to send Mother into a tizzy, ranting about her "Yankee" husband. Since she also referred to herself as a "war bride", I must have been 8 or 9 before I sorted out the chronology of WW II and the war between the states. In my childhood home, it seemed they were concurrent.

Be that as it may, my father liked Stewed Tomatoes. Mother considered them almost a sacrilege. Perhaps it is as a tribute to both of them that in early summer I look forward to my first dripping tomato sandwich and in the cold of winter, cook up a pot of Dad's...

YANKEE STEWED TOMATOES
serves 4 to 6

1 qt. canned Tomatoes - chopped
1 Tbsp Sugar (optional - I don't use it)
1 tsp Baking Soda
2-3 cups bread cubes (white - even old buns will do)

Empty contents of quart jar of tomatoes into a DEEP saucepan. Bring to a boil. Stir in sugar. Add baking soda and be prepared for the tomatoes to erupt into a rising mass of foam. Stir. Remove from heat and stir in bread cubes. Allow to sit for a couple of minutes. Stir again before serving.
A good accompaniment to roasted meats: beef, pork, chicken.

FOR INSTRUCTIONS ON CANNING TOMATOES, CLICK HERE.

$25 Desk becomes "Shabby Wonderful"

2011-03-31T23:39:00.004-05:00

This quite old desk was bought at a yard sale and has kicked around the family for years. Originally mine, I gave it to one daughter when I moved to Alaska. She gave it to another daughter when she changed direction and eventually the desk came back to me when I came back to Florida. Perhaps it was a little worse for the wear, but who could tell. It was dark with age, scratched and dented already. I had tiled the top with 10 cent white wall tiles ages ago to cover the peeling veneer. But it was serviceable and usually confined to a studio or work room.

Eventually, I needed to use it in a more noticeable location and decided to paint it white to go with the tile top. The really outstanding "shabby chic" finish was a complete accident. I forgot to prime the old wood first and it began to bleed unevenly into the white paint as it dried. At first I was downhearted, staring at the need for a much more time consuming job. Then I thought to take some sandpaper to it. The result was classic aging but the crowning touch was realizing that a tin panel piece of my wall art (a $1 yard sale purchase) was the perfect size to provide a privacy panel for the desk. Again, paint on, rub it off, scrub it off, scrape it off. Instant "old". The use of E-6000 glue, and tape to hold the panel in place while it cured, and I was in business. This was one of the easiest furniture projects I've ever done and the result is that an antique dealer recently offered me $300 for it. No sale. It may have started out as a make-do project that went awry but it ended up being one of my favorite pieces.

Springtime Calls for Aprons

2011-03-28T19:28:00.006-05:00

Spring makes me smile. Whether this time of year has us looking forward to spring blossoms or spring cleaning or getting a vegetable garden started with thoughts of fresh vegetables on the table or jars of fresh-canned goodness growing in numbers on our pantry shelves, spring seems to bring us home to a simpler time and to our roots. And, what takes us back to simpler times faster than putting on an apron. I remember my mother's Hostess Aprons and my grandmother's kitchen apron. I have an apron for painting and have made my children and grandchildren Crayon aprons. There's something about being 'dressed for the occasion' even if the occasion is getting down on hands and knees and dirty in the soil of a garden. Aprons also make great, unique gifts - tucked in a tote of bar-b-q utensils or a housewarming bucket of cleaning supplies. One of my favorite websites is Amelia's Aprons, featuring handmade creations from the Edwardian style to the little pocketed garden apron I've shown here. Take a look. You just might find something to make you smile, too.

Make Old Candles New Again - FREE

2011-03-28T09:04:00.006-05:00

I've struggled with the ugliness of pillar candles for years. Being far too thrifty to throw away so much perfectly usable candle, I've tried cutting away the bulging excess or dropping a votive into the recess...totally unacceptable solutions to the problem. When I saw this old iron at an estate sale last week for $1, I couldn't resist buying it. Notice that it is NOT a steam iron and has a solid sole plate without steam vent holes. "Perfect", I thought and couldn't wait to give it a try.

With the iron set half way between the coolest and hottest settings (between Silk and Wool on this iron) hold it upside down, vertically over a Pyrex measuring cup. Holding the ugly end of the candle to the iron doesn't require pressure. It begins to melt immediately at just the right speed. There is no smoke, nothing to be anxious about, just a steady stream of melted wax sliding off the tip of the iron. It worked like a charm. So easy and so logical.

The end result was four candles as useful as the day they were purchased AND I ended up with 1 1/4 cups of perfectly reusable candle wax which I will feature in an upcoming post.

A couple of things to note are these:
Pinch the brittle, burned part of the wick off before you start. When the wax is melted down far enough to reveal 1/4" of wick, you can stop (as I did) or you can melt it down a bit farther to snip the darkened tip off the wick. Also, since the wax in the measuring cup is already melted, you will be able to pour it immediately into candle molds or just into a different container for storage. I prefer to let it harden, microwave it for a few seconds, to release it from the edges, so I can save it in the shape of the measuring cup that I will use for melting it later. Also, any solids, bits of dust, burned wick pieces or soot, will settle to the bottom of the undisturbed measuring cup and can be scraped away, .once the solid wax is turned out, leaving some pretty nice wax for future use.

I hope you search for an old iron and give this a try. It really was so fast and easy and is a true money saver.

Silly Easter Eggs & Pound Cake

2011-03-27T12:08:00.009-05:00

Uh Oh! Did we do that?I've seen these silly egg faces in email forwards over the years. Usually they've been arranged in clever photo still-life's with eggs broken in a puddle of innards or screaming beside a skillet containing one of their friends. Though I get a kick out of the professional photos, I guess I'm not that motivated. But I did remember that I made faces and stands years ago for grandchildren who are now expecting children of their own. On that long ago occasion, I planted Alfalfa to grow as hair. Here in my corner of the Florida panhandle, where the late 20th century is yet to arrive, Alfalfa seed is unavailable for sprouting as a food source. So, I've had to make do with Bermuda Grass seed and will post a photo as soon as these characters develop "hair".

The process is incredibly simple. Try to crack your eggs above the center line so you have more "face" space. Rinse and set aside until enough are accumulated for your project. Make stands or "necks" by rolling cardboard into tubes about the diameter of a quarter and an inch or so tall. Wrap the tube "necks" with white paper and decorate with whatever scrap materials you may have on hand: bits of ribbon, lace, gimp or buttons or simply draw a collar with colored markers or fabric paint. If using fabric paint, remember that it needs quite a bit of time to dry. I forgot.

Fill the egg shells with potting soil and water carefully. I use an eye dropper for watering.

Sprinkle the soil surface with seeds, cover them with a tiny bit more soil, water again and place them in a sunny window...watering daily.

If you are only making a few, it might be fun to make a cartoon conversation "balloon" to display a caption. My captions are: Bottom Left - "Uh oh! Did we do that?" Top Left - "I got red paint on your Easter Dress!" Top Right - "Don't lick your face. Use a napkin." Bottom Right - "Good Grief!"
HERE ARE SOME FACE IDEAS TO GET YOU STARTED
If you need an excuse to crack a bunch of eggs, give this Pound Cake a try. It's a family recipe handed down by my step mother, is "no fail" and unbelievably moist and delicious.

Lora's Sour Cream Pound Cake

3 c. Sugar
1 c. sour Cream
6 Eggs - separated
2 sticks Butter - (do NOT substitute)
3 c. Plain Flour
1/4 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Preheat oven to 300. Cream butter and sugar together until very creamy. Add egg yolks, one at a time while beating well after each addition. Sift flour 3 times. Add soda to sour cream and stir well. Add flour and sour cream to butter-sugar-egg mixture. Beat well. Add Vanilla and fold in egg whites. pour into well greased, lightly floured tube pan. Bake at 300 for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Cool on rack.

*****
EGG "HAIR" UPDATE
After almost 2 weeks, there is finally some "green" up top. I don't know what I was thinking time-wise, other than I expected to be tying pony tails and trimming flat-tops by now. But there's still more than a week before Easter. Sure wish I could have used alfalfa seed.

Keeping Squirrels Out of Plants - UGH!

2011-03-26T23:12:00.007-05:00

As day dawns, I am most often found curled in a chair on the porch with a cup of coffee waiting for my world to come to life. It begins softly and slowly, like the movement of the light growing from a dim glow, casting vague shadows across the lawn, to the promise of the rising sun. Out of the silence there comes an occasional chirp of a bird, then a little distant squirrel chatter and as the daylight grows, so do the elements of my morning symphony.

As the owl's ado echoes over the pond and the doves begin to coo under the Wisteria, the squirrels emerge with reckless abandon like kindergarten classes turned out to play. They chatter and squeal and chase each other around tree trunks. They run across the power line to my roof and leap from the roof to the Hickory at the corner of the porch.

Then they set about their business of burying bits of this and that and digging up things they buried before. They scurry and munch and seem to wink at me as they pass. If there were two or 10, I might be tempted to try to tame them, to teach them manners and feed them away from my plants. But I live in Oak and Maple and Hickory filled woods and am overwhelmingly outnumbered. I counted 13 in a single Maple tree one morning with no shortage of others on the ground and in other trees.

You would think that with so much land and so much vegetation that a potted plant on a wooden deck would have little appeal but every carefully tilled and tended square inch of soil seems to beckon them to assist in the gardening. They had no appreciation at all for my tidy rows of radishes sowed in last years big tomato pots. Before I could share the precision of seed by seed planted rows, the squirrels had completely rearranged them in the most disorderly fashion. I almost cried but opted for a hardware-cloth cover instead. Now that the radish plants have leaves enough to cover the soil, I will remove the wire soon.

The window boxes along the deck railing, which held last spring's lettuces, is planted with Cilantro this year. What a mess they made of those. So, on went coverings of hardware cloth and I think I will try to leave it in place if it looks like the stems of the Cilantro will grow through the spaces. Hardware cloth is available with wider spaces but this is what I had on hand (a $1 purchase at a yard sale. I knew it would come in handy some day).

The hardware cloth seems to be a good solution for the herb and vegetable starts but would sort of defeat the purpose of flowers, don't you think? So, I tried hot pepper flakes. Don't bother. They didn't help at all and I might even find peppers growing among my posies as a result. But CAYENNE PEPPER certainly seems to be doing the trick, so much so that today I bought a jar with a shaker lid just for use outdoors.

But it rained today and I'm curious to see if a week of Cayenne Pepper has been enough to deter the rowdy rodents for a while or if I will need to rush outdoors, shaker in hand, each time the rain subsides. I'll let you know. In the meantime, I'm thoroughly enjoying blooming Azaleas and Dogwood trees, squirrels and all, and the emergence of spring bulbs like these African Lilies and am looking forward to the abundance of color and the edibles that summer will bring.

And I look forward to seeing my furry little rodent friends over coffee in the morning.
UPDATE: The Cayenne Pepper is working like magic even 3 days after a rain without reapplying. But I did sprinkle a little more on today. Give it a try.

Brick Path Destination

2011-03-23T23:02:00.013-05:00

A TREE GOT IN THE WAY! With the little brick path detour neatly heading in the direction of my future studio and the studio yard somewhat defined, we set about establishing corners and laying blocks in anticipation of a building project in the not too distant future...my long awaited, little, garden studio.

That's about the time we noticed the long split in the trunk of a seemingly thriving but lightning-struck tree that was leaning precariously over my would-be roof. I thought the tree would be fine since it held a full display of new spring leaves. Fortunately I was overruled.

My husband had hardly begun to cut when, in an instant, the tree snapped and hit the ground. How there was life left in that tree, I will never know because, as you can see, it was hollow to the root...an accident waiting for a wind.

So, the tree was felled and firewood cut and in a week or so construction will begin. But the 12' x 16' studio is unlikely to be finished any time soon. I'm committed to building it with savings gleaned from bargains, spare change and a great deal of faith.

My hope is that it will look something like this but already I have lost access to the leaded window in the gable. Bummer. But I'm sure something equally appealing will turn up.

In the meantime, I have a date with this little guy and about 30 of his closest friends. I love watching them and they love digging in my garden and flower pots. I can tell you now that pepper flakes are no deterrent and will have an opinion on Cayenne Pepper by morning.
YEP! THE CAYENNE PEPPER WORKS LIKE A CHARM.

Brick Path Extention

2011-03-22T08:21:00.001-05:00

The brick and gravel garden path just about exhausted my supply of materials. Wanting to branch off the path to a specific destination left me in a bit of a quandary. I had already mixed two materials and felt that I needed some level of consistency before breaking into the flagstone path that I envisioned for my personal space.

Scavenging every available brick from my little brick wall and flowerbed borders and any place else that they might be hiding, I managed to round up enough to make a smooth transition.Abandoning the use of gravel for a short space, and using only the brick, continues the original look to a logical point of departure. From the closing of the gate, the path will continue with flagstone.

To construct the path extension, first, I laid the bricks in a pattern that suited me. The outside, border pattern is called a "soldier course" and the staggered interior pattern is called a "running bond". I have no clue why I know that. Then I marked the outline by cutting into the soil with a shovel, removed the bricks and dug the dirt away to make a level bed the proper depth. After replacing the bricks directly on the soil, I mixed brick mortar and filled the major gaps to help hold them in place. The bricks along the outer edges were secured with a mortar filled trench. I realize that without setting the bricks in a complete bed of mortar, they are likely to settle, become a bit uneven and encourage an occasional weed to to take root in the gaps. Great. That's exactly the rustic, aged look I want and if the flaws become too severe, it's a small task to reset a single brick or two.
To access the "how-to" post about building the brick and gravel path, click HERE.

Ingredients for a Successful Party...

2011-03-07T10:49:00.011-06:00

Family, Friends, Food & Love.Having two children with February births, exactly 51 weeks apart, has recently developed into a joint celebration. Though I kept them separate through their childhood years, they don't seem to mind sharing the occasion now that they are grown and have children of their own. The only snag being that our long-time family tradition has been to prepare the most favorite meal for the guest of honor. That resulted in a double meal of Shish Ke-Bab and ham with sweet potatoes. I tried a Sweet Potato Salad and you will find the recipe HERE. It was a great hit.

Because most of my guests travel from out of town, a party here is generally a two day affair with plenty of time for hanging out, having fun and catching up. For a time, all of the children seem to belong to all of the adults as rides on a 4-wheeler and

football in the yard

and even bouts of tickling and wrestling take place.

The birthday gift that had most meaning (and was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone) was a book made by my son's 4 children.  Each had written and read their "story-poem"...one was about a worm that lived in a jar and had a baby worm and went to the store to buy a white horse named Alice.  Another was a poem that rhymed on almost every line about a guy named Bill who lived on a hill "way down yonder in Caryville".  He had a friend named Phil who took a pill and I can't remember what else but it went on and on and on and we laughed so long and hard that it hurt.

But there was a solemn side to our gathering. An unexpected, but most welcome guest, was my stepdaughter who made a 13 hour drive to attend her dying mother in a nearby town. Under the circumstances, though hugs were abundant and tears were held at bay, there seemed to be an underlying awareness of the value of our lives and the blessings we enjoy. There was a closeness between adults and children as though we were asking ourselves what others would remember of us when we are no longer here. Children snuggled with uncles...

and uncles, lost in thought, considered the miracle in a tiny hand...

and taught a nephew to make a train whistle out of cupped hands.

A dozen pictures must have been taken of one of the toddler twins who had just discovered that pockets can hold many things as he added rocks and twigs to his collection of toy cars and favorite giraffe.

My photographer daughter, Michelle, captured this image as her little niece walked along our country lane and it touched my heart, reminding me of much simpler times.

So, the party and the pictures and the passing of a family member has set me to thinking...I began this blog in an attempt to inspire and encourage others who, much like me, must make do with less than we'd like from time to time. It's curious to me that through all the ups and downs of my life, I've never thought of my self as unfortunate. I suppose it is that being blessed with the richness of family and friends and loyalty and love, I have never thought of myself as poor, even when I have been. Now, the weak economy in so many parts of world has some of us concerned and finds some of us struggling...
and I have an idea...
for years, I've wanted a studio and for years it hasn't happened. THIS YEAR I intend to see it built, not as some grand extension of our home but as a simple out building with the advantage of allowing us to live in it, "off the grid", if need be. In a few days, I'll post my drawings and will update my progress regularly so you can see where it is that my "almost free" garden path leads.

Easy Homemade Oil Lamps

2011-02-21T20:13:00.019-06:00

Never buy candles again.With spring approaching, our thoughts turn to reclaiming our yard, planning a garden and the hurricane season. Normally I stock a supply of candles and wince at the cost, wishing I had more oil lamps. I don't know why but I suddenly remembered that my mother used to make them in mason jars. So, I thought I'd do some experimenting and go for "pretty" while I was at it.

1- Use 100% cotton wick material...a strip of cotton fabric or twine will do. I used cotton "filler cord" from the fabric department, 10 yards for $2.29. That's a lot of wick! 2- cut your pieces (6" to 12" long) and soak them in water. Shake off the excess and cover them with salt for several hours so they will burn slower and longer. Remove the salt and let the wicks dry.

3- Select your containers. I chose a candle glass, a sea shell and a little vase I made years ago. 4- You will need wire to stabilize the wick. I used 18 gauge "bright" floral stem wire, 18" long.
5- The purpose of the wire is to hold the wick either up from the bottom of the container or down from the top. So, fashion it accordingly. One thing I learned is that the only part of the wick you want exposed to the air is the 1/4" above the wire that you will light. You will see that I made a small metal sleeve to surround the wick in the little vase. I should have done that with the sea shell and I did coil extra wire around the descending wick in the glass.

6- Test the positioning of your wires in the containers and when you are satisfied, thread the wick through and crimp the wire snugly around the wick. You want it to to be tight but still allow you to pull the wick up once it has burned down.

Use only olive oil as it will not smoke, doesn't smell and, amazingly, it will not burn. You cannot set it on fire - go figure! In fact, if you have fashioned your wire to hang from the rim of your container, you can simply dunk the flame into the oil to put it out. I would suggest covering the lamps with plastic wrap and a rubber band when not in use to keep the oil from evaporating. I'm going to try infusing lavender in some of my oil to see if I will get that wonderful fragrance.
Also, I found this site (LINK) that gives instruction for making the type of clay oil lamps used by the ancients. You might enjoy it. I'm going to give it a try.

I have a party to plan for the weekend and will post the highlights.

Rainbow on the Water

2011-02-19T23:16:00.006-06:00

Have you noticed that life's greatest gifts are most often free? I can't begin to tell you what a miraculous sight this was to me this morning. For years my husband and visitors have spoken, on occasion. of the rainbow on the surface of our cypress pond and try as I would, I could never see it.

In the still of a Spring morning, the surface of the pond is often dusted with a fine layer of pollen. Until today, it has only made me think of the dreaded allergy season and I have anxiously waited for the slightest breeze to clear the surface and return the mesmerizing reflections that I love so much.

I don't know how or why it is that I actually saw the colors this morning because I'm colorblind and see almost no colors at all. But this morning, for a few minutes, I received one of those incredible free gifts. From the palest lime green, to a soft aqua, to a beautiful baby blue, blending into a lovely, light lavender, then into a perfect pink, and to peach and finally to a sunny yellow in the distance: I saw the colors, each and every one of them. Now, I know how it is that others have found the dusty pond so beautiful. I ran for the camera and couldn't wait to share the pictures...and I couldn't wait to share my excitement. I'm sure that science would attribute my momentary, morning vision to a particular angle or intensity of the sun or refraction or something like that. But for me it was a miracle moment and it filled my entire day with all the hope and promise that comes with a rainbow...my very first rainbow on the water.

Making a Unique Child's Shelf Unit

2011-02-07T21:32:00.010-06:00

I've been trying so hard to think Spring into existence but it isn't working. These arctic fronts just keep rolling in. I thought getting down to 29 overnight again was something to grumble about until I spoke with my Alaska daughter today. She reported the noontime temperature at -4. Brrr. It reminded me that I only need to be patient a couple of weeks longer while Alaska won't see Spring until late May. I can hardly believe that I used to consider that "normal". But Alaska winters provided tons of time for projects.

Then I remembered this little shelf unit for toys that I made for one of her children and thought you might enjoy the simplicity of it. The construction is so very simple and the materials list consists only of

2 - 1" x 12" x 8' boards,
1 - 1" x 2" x 8' board and
a bundle of survey stakes.
The few shingles (only 24) can usually be obtained without charge from a construction site with a polite request and a smile.
A couple of hinges, a little paint and you're in business.

INSTRUCTIONS:
Cut one of the 1" x 12" boards in half (= 2 boards @ 4' long each) for the sides.
Miter one end of each of these boards at a 45 degree angle so the roof will fit snugly.

From the second 1" x 12" board, cut 5 shelves at 12" long each.
The remaining 3" (more or less) should be cut almost in half for the roof.
(You will need to take into account the thickness of the board as one piece will overlap the other when they are attached to each other at the roof ridge. The idea is for both sides of the roof to be the same length. Trim one if necessary.)

Mark your shelf locations and glue and screw them into place.

Glue and screw the roof boards into place.

Paint the entire assembly.
FOR THE PICKET FENCE:
First, paint all your pickets.
If I remember correctly, I shortened the survey stakes a bit so that they would come just above a shelf edge. From the 1" x 2" board, four pieces are cut a little longer than the survey stakes so that they provide four legs at the corners. The 1" x 2" pieces are trimmed to points at the top end to match the pickets and are glued and screwed into place. Along the sides, between the 1" x 2"s', I painted two horizontal stripes white to simulate the horizontal boards of a fence. The pickets are then glued into position on top of the horizontal stripes. The same general spacing is used for the gate and the vertical pickets are glued and tacked to actual horizontal pieces made from two additional survey stakes.
Add hardware and shingles and you're done. Isn't it cute?

The (almost free) Garden Path

2011-01-26T09:09:00.010-06:00

Sometimes things bug me to such an extent that I jump into a project with a force that neither lack of funds nor lack of experience will prevent. That was the case with my garden path.

The troubling issue was my unlovely, arrow-straight sidewalk that spans the distance from the driveway to the front porch steps. It seemed that no amount of plantings, and there were many, would soften the edges. And, if that were not enough, there was actually a "view" just beyond the abrupt end of the sidewalk. We have a lovely Cypress pond visible only a few feet from where the sidewalk ended.I wished for a concrete extension but couldn't afford it, which turned out to be a good thing. Behind the garage a pile of left-over bricks had been ignored for some 20 years. Discovering them when we bought the house had been one of my great excitements but I had not come up with an idea for their use...not until the thought of extending the sidewalk. There weren't enough for a solid brick walk but certainly enough for an edging so I set about step one with no idea at all what step two might be.Having carefully laid an outline, I couldn't bring myself to take the bricks up again in order to set them properly in mortar. Instead, I came up with the idea of troweling a trench on either side of the bricks, pouring in dry concrete mix and watering it in with the garden hose. After three years, it seems to have worked wonderfully well.Leveling the path as I went, unfortunately, raised it above ground level at the end. Fortunately, the old concrete picnic table, left to us by the previous owners, sat upon pedestals that had crumbled almost to dust leaving me with two usable benches but no table. The bench tops made perfect steps at the end of the path. The bench bases were fitted with wooden tops so seating was salvaged and the path came to a suitable conclusion.The only actual money spent on the path was for two bags of concrete and several buckets of pea gravel...less than $40 total. I had compacted the sand below the path and watered sand into the gravel, making it firm and reasonably solid under foot.And as long as I was in the yard with the shovel, and not wanting the new path to wash away, I thought to dig a "dry creek bed" to channel the hard rains that gush from the porch roof valley. That required another $15 in gravel. I chose a different and cheaper type.OK, so then I got carried away. The question was how and where to stop the gray gravel of the creek bed when it reached the lawn. Well, the previous owners had circled a Dogwood tree with four of those scalloped, concrete, 1/4 circle edgings. Since scallops are not my cup of tea, I had removed them and didn't one of them call out to me to become a little bridge? Used as support and topped with bricks, it gave a reasonable stopping point to the creek bed.The remaining bricks formed a somewhat whimsical broken wall allowing me to define the line between the front yard and the expanse to the pond.

Thoroughly carried away with the project by this time, I cleared an area in which I intended to plant lush, tropical vegetation, completely forgetting that I had no money for such frivolity.

Believe it or not, Yard Sale plants, cuttings from around my yard and end-of-season sales have filled the space and my country home in the woods is feeling more like Florida every day.

Which brings me to today's project...not that something bugs me so much as it is calling to me...a little something that could be done and therefore must be done. Here's a hint: Goodbye little brick broken wall. Goodbye little brick pillar...and Oh, how I wish for spring! I'll keep you posted.

My Fickle Heart

2011-01-14T10:10:00.003-06:00

As 2010 passed into the History books and 2011 rushed in with sunshine and plans for my new garden spot, with a sense of euphoria, I proclaimed to anyone who would listen that I expected this new year to be one of the very best. I imagined smiles on every face and troubles melting "like candy drops". That lasted for less than a week. Then the temperatures plunged. Ugh! After the coldest December in Florida's recorded history, January determined not to be outdone. Temperatures in the 20's, night after night, after night until our entire pond was completely frozen over.

Mind you, I'm from Alaska where we anxiously wait for the lakes and rivers to freeze enough to drive on and across and to spin our trucks in great circles on the ice...but in FLORIDA? My heart was sinking and I found that happy, hopeful new year feeling slipping away.
What are the birds to do?

My birdbaths are frozen solid. The birdhouses are anything but welcoming. Even the squirrels refuse to leave the comfort of their nests and scurry about until high noon.
And at noon, I still found frost on the shaded ground.

But today, frowning (and shivering) as I walked through my frozen yard with the camera documenting the fact that spring was unlikely to come at all, I happened to look up. BUDS! I could hardly believe my eyes. The Dogwood trees are budding.

Even after six weeks of the most incredible cold and killing frosts, these promises of spring appeared almost magically. Suddenly I had hope again. Suddenly I was ashamed of my gloom. And just as suddenly I remembered the often repeated words of my mother, "When you are feeling down...look up".

Now, if I can just keep remembering that throughout this whole year, it might actually be as glorious as I thought it would.

2010 Recap

2011-01-13T11:56:00.002-06:00

With 74 posts to the blog in 2010, only four short of 1 1/2 per week, I didn't do as well as I had hoped but better than I thought. Accumulating extra cash by not spending as much as we have come to believe we need to, remains the focus of this blog. One of the best ways I know is cutting the grocery bill while eating even better at home. Under the Label "Cooking: Recipes & Methods", there were 24 actual recipes, 5 entries about home canning and 1 genuinely cost-cutting trick to saving both money and time.

16 posts dealt with "Holidays & Special Occasions" touching lightly on Easter, going in depth into Independence Day and returning to the inexpensive but memory-making basics of Thanksgiving and Christmas.

"General Thrift" (5), "Trash to Treasure" (4), and "Gardening" (6) centered around things that were going on in my own world. But the six part series on "Preparedness" was a genuine labor and worth visiting, if you haven't, and revisiting even if you have.

Some of the things I intended to do, I didn't. This year, I have no intentions at all. I found that I posted 13 entries under the label "Just Chatting" and with a few exceptions, enjoyed doing those most of all. That leads me to believe that I might become even chattier (is that a word?) this year.

For better or worse, I'll be here...Still Finding Cash...time...hope...and happiness. Hope you will, too.

Sweet Potato Salad

2011-01-05T13:06:00.001-06:00

The next time you're serving ham, give this a try. It's a great "make ahead" dish.

2 lbs sweet potatoes or yams, peeled, diced, cooked in salted water until tender, drained & cooled
1/2 cup Sweet Onion, chopped fine
4 Green Onions, sliced thin
1 Red Bell Pepper, seeded & chopped
1/2 cup Mayonnaise
2 Tbsp Orange Juice or 1Tbsp Orange Juice Concentrate
1 Tbsp Paprika
1 tsp Curry Powder

Mix all together. Chill 2 hours or overnight.

Shish Ka-Bab - oh so easy!

2011-01-01T12:40:00.002-06:00

Soak wooden skewers in water for at least 20 minutes so they won't burn.

INGREDIENTS (Makes 30 ka-babs)

1 pkg pork tenderloin
2 lbs sirloin tip or top round steaks
1 fresh pineapple
3 green bell peppers
1 red bell pepper
2 bags boiling onions
2 packages button mushrooms
2 lg cans whole potatoes
Cherry tomatoes (optional)

Cut pork and beef into 1 1/2" square pieces
Marinate beef for tenderness
Boil onions (with skins on) until almost tender
(let cool, cut off ends and peel)
Cut pineapple & peppers in 1 1/2" squares
Cut any oversize potatoes in half

Skewer in the following order:
Green pepper - beef - onion - mushroom - red pepper - potato - pineapple - pork - green pepper. Brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt & pepper.

Cook over hot grill or 2" under broiler for 7 minutes, turn and cook 5 minutes more. (If using cherry tomatoes, add to the skewer tip when the skewer is turned.)

Making Christmas Memories ...

2010-12-22T10:59:00.007-06:00

with Little or No Money.

I remember the wonder of sleeping under the Christmas tree as a child. It was our night before Christmas eve tradition. There were no DVD movies or pizza delivery. It was very simple...pillows and blankets and p.j.s and three very quiet children each peering up into the branches laden with shiny ornaments and the streaming silver icicles that would catch the colors of the lights with their gentle movement. It was a magical sight, ripe for our imaginations, and mesmerizing to sleepy eyes.

I remember my father making fudge and getting to lick the spoon and I remember wrapping the perfect squares in wax paper to fill tins for gifts. This year my little granddaughter dips pretzels for a gift...an easy task for a little one who wants to feel grown up.

I remember the years when we cut our own tree and I remember the years when we ran through the chill evening air of a tree lot inspecting size and shape. Though our suggestions seldom influenced the final decision, our participation somehow seemed vital and added to the thrill of the tree.

I remember the Christmas that my father built my little sister a miniature kitchen stove and sink and it impressed me so much that a lifetime later, I designed and built one for my first granddaughter.

I designed it so that the all the pieces could be cut from a single sheet of plywood. I will try my best to locate my plans and post them in plenty of time for next year.

It is with such joy and warmth that I remember my mother making decorative candles and the yule log she made and the delightful aromas that drifted from our kitchen day after day and stockings filled only with oranges and apples and nuts and a candy cane. I also remember later years with the living room filled to over-flowing with presents and the stress of budgeting for 5 bicycles, a brass bed and a diamond ring in the same year. Of the differing memories, it's the simple ones that seem the sweetest and this year, it is those memories that I hope to help create.Dream beautiful dreams, little ones!

My Christmas Colors - and other things

2010-12-17T11:37:00.028-06:00

SEEKING TO EXPRESS THE REAL MEANING OF CHRISTMAS

In the midst of the glitz and glitter, the clamor and crush of the shopping scene and the high stress, low budget of this Christmas season, I feel the need to insert some sanity, seek out meaning and secure some level of peace for myself and my family. The following list is where I'm starting my thoughtful journey in coming up with reasons for the trappings of the season.

CHRISTMAS COLORS

RED - the blood of Christ
GREEN - the color of money, reminding us that the love of it can be the "root of all evil" and the only time Jesus did anything out of anger was to overturn the tables of the money changers in the temple
WHITE - the color of snow and symbol of Christ's purity...and we say "pure as the driven snow"
BLUE - the color of the sky for Christ came down from heaven and rose up again
SILVER - for the 30 pieces of silver paid to Judas for his betrayal of Jesus
GOLD - for the streets of heaven and the gift of one of the wise men to the infant, Jesus

CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS

TREE - an evergreen to represent everlasting life

LIGHTS ON THE TREE - represent the stars in the night sky
ANGELS - for the angels who brought glad tidings to the shepherds
ROUND ORNAMENTS - for all the planets God created and hung in the sky to circle the stars

TEARDROP ORNAMENTS - for the drops of water at baptism

BELLS - for the bell that rings out to guide lost sheep back to the fold
DOVES - for the Holy Spirit

FRUIT - for the fruits of the spirit
GRAPES - for the blood of Christ in the Holy Sacrament
WHEAT - for the bread which is the body of Christ in the Holy Sacrament
CANDY CANES - shaped like a shepherds staff ( in a "J" for Jesus) and colored for his blood and purity
CANDLES - for light as Jesus is the "light of the world"
RIBBONS & BOWS - remind us that we are bound together in Christian love, like the old hymn..."Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love..."
GIFTS - because the wise men brought gifts to the infant Jesus...because Jesus taught that giving is a way of showing love...in fact, the Hebrew letters that spell the word "love" in Hebrew translate independently as "I" "GIVE"...and because God gave His son as a sacrifice for us and continues to give us His gift of Grace.
SWEET TREATS AND FEAST - as a manner of celebration

A silly note: I like the convenience of an artificial tree but wish in my heart it was real, so I created a bit of an illusion by standing a piece of firewood at the base to cover up the totally obnoxious POLE that looks nothing like a tree trunk. Worked great, don't you think?

I wish you and yours the very merriest Christmas, filled with family and love and continued blessings.

Cold Weather - Hot Russian Tea

2010-12-08T23:32:00.003-06:00

Call it Hot Russian Tea or Tang Tea, my kids and I have enjoyed this steamy, aromatic drink since I first heard of it in the 70's. If you've never had it, give it a try. If you haven't had it in ages, now's the time to revisit a bit of the past. Make it for yourself or package it for gifts. I found some pretty little canisters but a jar with a decorated lid works just as well for gift giving.

HOT RUSSIAN TEA
Mix all ingredients together in a very large bowl. Use 1 or 2 heaping spoonfuls per cup of hot water. Inhale, sip and enjoy.

3 cups Sugar
19 oz. container of Lemonade Mix
20 oz. jar of Tang
3 oz. jar or unsweetened Instant Tea
2 Tbsp ground Cinnamon
1 tsp each of ground Cloves and Ginger

THANKSGIVING - Without Food Photos

2010-11-29T10:07:00.012-06:00

I've seen about all the pictures of perfect turkeys and displays of food that I need for a while, so I thought I'd get past the tummy filling treats and party planning and cut to the really important aspects of our 2010 Thanksgiving celebration.

It started with cooling weather and falling leaves.

There was silliness and excitement as family came in from out of town

and the energy of children playing in the autumn air

and little ones gathering leaves into piles for play.

It included Aunts and Uncles and Mothers and Fathers and Grandparents taking pictures of memories in the making and ended with sweet goodbyes and a little help getting ready for the greatest celebration of the year - Christmas.

I learned something this Thanksgiving, proving that you're never too old to learn. I learned to let go. I learned that stress is actually a choice we make, and this year, I chose not to invite it. I actually took my cues from the children who were eager to simply enjoy.

By keeping decorations simple and asking some of the family to bring side dishes, I was able to concentrate on the birds and major items and the timing. Not one but two turkeys came out perfectly - tender and moist and as pretty as any picture you've ever seen. (I used the old standby, Reynolds Wrap "tenting" method which has never failed me.) By setting up a self-serve buffet, we managed to properly seat and feed 23 people comfortably and efficiently in my small space.

Ahhhh, by the way, I had a seating idea that might be worth passing along. With smaller children seated at by and girl tables and adults to be seated at a collection of card tables, I wanted to mix it up a bit to avoid teens isolating themselves and timid adults clinging quietly to their partners. So, the tables were numbered and place cards were handed out to each guest. Then the guests were asked to withdraw a numbered bean from a bowl. The beans were prepared with glue dots on the back so they could be attached to the place cards which the guests put on the appropriate tables. The combinations worked out wonderfully well. Some husbands and wives were separated. Teens found themselves seated with their elders and some of the less vocal guests found themselves at tables filled with lively conversation. It was a process that I will definitely use again.

The success of this Thanksgiving gathering has started me rethinking some things that have gone without thought for far too long. Christmas is one of them. I've dealt with somewhat austere holidays in the past. Perhaps that's the reason that I've gone overboard in one area or another for many years. One of my most stressful categories has been that of decorating. I've accumulated enough decorations to overdo every room in the house. Generally, I take my time and enjoy putting them up but always dread taking them down and packing them away. I spent some time reflecting on the Christmases of my childhood. There was simplicity coupled with absolute wonder and I wonder where all that magic has gone. It seems to me that as the piles of goodies under the tree grew larger and larger, the appreciation, joy and peace of the season grew smaller and smaller. This year, I'm going to try to reverse the situation and will share my success or failure with you throughout the month.

Reduce Christmas Costs by Planning Early

2010-10-27T23:34:00.018-05:00

I heard on the news that it looks like practical purchases will top shoppers lists this Christmas season. No reason not to take that one step further to make sure we get the biggest bang for the smallest buck.

$35 - Slouch Jacket
One way to do that is to think "vintage". There is quite a difference in vintage or antique items and "used"ones, particularly if the used ones weren't great when they were new. I've known for years that you can buy antique furniture for less than new and, more often than not, the older things will be made better, with better materials and better craftsmanship. $55 Leather Bomber Jacket
But it just dawned on me that you can do the same things with personal items and buying "vintage" is very different from shopping at a thrift store.
$10 Vintage Doll Stroller
Since I opened my online store on etsy.com, I've been getting acquainted with the site. It's fascinating. Oh, sure, you can spend big and really, really big but you can also pick up incredible bargains. I searched in the "Vintage" section for just a few minutes and found these items as an example. $12.50 '60's GE Mixer
I'm not suggesting that you run to the site and start buying. I'm just giving you an idea of the variety and cost. There are tons and tons of items on etsy and, I'm sure there are other sites out there as well.
$20 Size 5 Coat
So, the task, while we wait for Thanksgiving, is to start thinking about Christmas and about the needs of our families. Make a list and start checking things out online and don't forget to look for "vintage" items.$5.50 - 2 Hardy Boys Books

You Can Turn "Making Do" into "Best of All"

2010-10-24T22:11:00.019-05:00

Sometimes we feel overwhelmed when reality comes crashing into our images of the perfect event we'd like to plan. Sometimes we don't even plan them assuming that our space or money or time constraints make such gatherings impossible. If you fit into any of these categories, please listen. I watch the same cooking and decorating and party planning television shows that you do. I've even pulled off one or two of those elegant events in my time. But I now have the advantage of age and hindsight and the events that I remember most fondly were the ones where heart was the most abundant commodity...the ones where friends and family gathered without the tensions of propriety and perfection.

Almost 20 years ago and recently released from the hospital into a wheelchair after a terrible accident, I was to host Thanksgiving, my favorite of all holidays. Unfortunately, since I couldn't navigate the stairs, our big bed had become the centerpiece of the living room/dining room. I suppose could have canceled but that has never been my way and I'm so glad I didn't.
DON'T LET THE HOLIDAYS GET YOU DOWN
If we could fit 17 people comfortably into such a small space, you can too. And, because the guests decided to help with dinner by each bringing a dish, the cost was inconsequential for each of us. Instead of mindless, small talk over pre-dinner cocktails, the men busied themselves with moving furniture about and fabricating my make-shift table while the gals organized things in the kitchen, tasting each others dishes and laughing about I don't know what.
My dining table was even too small to set up for buffet service. But, we solved that problem with a series of boxes and paint cans under the table cloth. The serving dishes were then staggered, like houses up a mountain, with their edges overlapping and the children got a kick out of decorating the "empty" spaces with mountains of kale and fresh harvest vegetables.

A sheet of plywood was placed across the foot of the bed in the living room and covered with a table cloth. To seat 12 adults, 2 long benches were brought in from outdoors, seating 6 adults along the 8' side and 3 chairs were placed at each end. (I had my lovely chair on wheels) The coffee table was moved to the dining area of the room and provided seating for the 4 children.

I can smell the turkey, the sweet potatoes and pumpkin pies and feel the warmth of that evening as I write this. There was a fire crackling in the wood stove, new snow on the ground, a moose wandering through the yard, giggling children, hot cider and more time spent around that table than any other before or since. It was my favorite of all Thanksgivings and it could have been among the very worst.
A couple of ideas that I came across recently include, removing a door to open up space and placing it on an ironing board to use as buffet space AND use two table runners along the edges of a table instead of placements or a table cloth.
Here are three links to additional small space entertaining ideas. Particularly, read the comments at link "one". ONE, TWO, THREE

So much of life's goodness is wrapped up in the attitude we bring to it. Of course, I wish you prosperity, but health and love and simple sharing are the keys to happiness and I wish you those things most of all. May you and yours be blessed as we move into this holiday season.

Cute, Versatile, Inexpensive, Fall Decoration

2010-10-14T02:48:00.006-05:00

I saw one of these someplace but don't remember where. At any rate, I don't want to take credit for coming up with it, only for passing the idea along.
How simple! If you have firewood or access to someone who cuts it, all you need is a slice off of a log. Mine is about 2 1/2" thick and about 6 1/2" to 7 1/2" across. The handle is made of 25" lengths of grape vine but I suppose any vine would do. Wire the two ends of the vine together, bend it and attach it to both sides of the log slice with screws. What a pretty little centerpiece for a fall table.

And, my daughter had the idea of setting up a small nativity scene on it for a rustic themed Christmas. It would also be great with a fabricated bird's nest filled with colorful boiled eggs for Easter. If you have any other use ideas, please leave a comment.

I also put a couple in my ETSY Store.

I Miss Autumn in Alaska

2010-10-10T22:37:00.008-05:00

OK, so I complained about the heat and finally got some cool weather. Even bought some mums and made an effort to bring a little Autumn color to my front porch. But then...a little foot surgery has kept me sitting for a week or more when I would like so much to do something Fall-ish... like, maybe rake leaves...all 50 of them. Ha!

Actually, I can't do much of anything right now except wax nostalgic so I took the plunge and started going through old photographs. Came across this picture of my "old" back yard in Alaska and wanted to share it. I can smell the wood smoke and feel the chill in the air just looking at it. What a great time we had in that old log house. I'm thinking about including our projects there as a part of this blog. We did so much for so little. For example, in the photo, the deck around our fire pit was free, as a neighbor offered it when they changed from a boardwalk to a gravel path at their cabin. My little potting shed cost less than $150 following my plans for using every square inch of a few sheets of plywood. Once it was built, we faced it with beautifully aged, discarded fencing.
As much as I like going forward, I also get a kick out of looking back and think I WILL share some of my Alaska projects right here. Stay tuned.

Fall - Money & Time Saving Reminder

2010-10-04T13:41:00.008-05:00

What a treat it was to wake up this morning with a little chill in the air. It looks like Fall finally fell. That got me thinking about all the wonderful comfort foods that accompany the season and I needed to spend some time in the kitchen today anyway.

I have a couple of time and money saving tricks that I've used for years. The one that serves me best is cooking in bulk. Since I'm having a small surgery tomorrow and might not feel like cooking for a few days, today was the perfect time to pull out all the stops. I only spent 45 minutes in the kitchen but here's what I've done:

The crock pot is doing its own thing with a massive quantity of stew
The stove top cooked a pot of rice while I got chili cooking in another pot
The oven whipped out a pan of brownies, 18 muffins and a pone of cornbread
The refrigerator now holds a good supply of chicken salad for sandwiches or stuffed tomatoes or stuffed avocado halves

And, I'm out of the kitchen until later on when I'll package meal-sized portions for the freezer. I love cooking like this because mealtime becomes just a matter of heat and eat and the cost savings is huge. Here are the links for my chili recipe and the crock pot stew. The chicken salad is outstanding and really quick to put together. Here is that recipe:

Chicken Curry Salad

Chicken - 1 can - 9.75 oz - drained
Granny Smith Apple - 1 - washed, not peeled - diced small
Celery - 2 stalks - chopped fine
Mustard - 1 tsp
Curry Powder - 1/2 tsp
Mayonnaise - enough to moisten

That's it. Mix it all together. Makes great sandwiches or serve as salad on tomato flower, avocado half, pineapple rings or lettuce leaf.

Distracted

2010-10-02T07:06:00.005-05:00

OK, so I've neglected the blog for a little while but it's only because I've been so busy doing so many things that I will be telling you about. First and foremost, I'm in the process of setting up a shop on ETSY.com. For someone who knows so little about computers, that's a daunting task. In fact, when I started this blog, I barely knew more than how to turn the computer on, send and receive emails and type documents. So, the blog has been a learning experience, so much so that I think I'm ready for another one. We'll see.

If all goes well and my brain doesn't short-circuit and the computer doesn't explode, I should have the shop online and open within the next day or two and you will be the first to know.

So, what is it that I will be doing there? Pretty much what I do here. Well, not cooking but all the other stuff. I have a habit of making things and a house that will not hold them all and children who are probably tired of trying to find places to put the things I pass along. My choices were to stop making things - oh no - or to find another place for them. An online shop seemed a natural and was certainly in keeping with my theme of "still finding cash".

That having been said, I'd better get back to work. Just wanted to let you know that I haven't forgotten you. Psst...did you notice the picture of my little angel? Isn't she an a-door-able door decor?

Delightful Synchronicity

2010-09-26T01:34:00.004-05:00

Well, the staggering, oppressive heat, breathlessly stagnant air and endless weeks without rain no sooner got the best of me than I found myself rejoicing. This was an incredible day. It started miserably enough with having to rinse the road dust from the car before I could even get in and go shopping. As I cranked the air conditioner, adjusted my sun glasses and flipped down the visor to shield myself from the blazing sun, I found myself wondering how I could at least pretend that Fall was approaching. There has been absolutely no inclination to pull out Autumn decorations and it's even been too hot to tend to end-of-season gardening matters.

The thought of 'pretending' passed from my mind almost as soon as it entered and I found myself sinking into that occasional "I miss Alaska" funk. The dirt roads that usually give me so much pleasure as they wind from farm to farm, past open fields and through the shaded tunnels created by the overhanging oaks looked somehow devoid of life. The late-season offering of weeds and wild plants that always overtake the roadside ditches were especially unlovely and dull. I noticed the Goldenrod beginning to bloom, it's bright yellow flower tassels barely discernible beneath the layers of dust.

Then I noticed something extremely unusual. My thoughts lingered on the Goldenrod. Normally, I would have cursed it knowing that it would wreak a havoc with my sinuses in a day or two that would last for weeks. But this morning I actually saw it as a sign that Fall really might be on its way. My spirits were lifted a little and I began to think of the lovely Fall colors and my intention to purchase big mounds of mums for the front porch. "But, it's too early", I told myself. And, I hadn't completely convinced myself to spend the money. At $20 a plant, that would add up to $60 and if the price had gone up this year, it could be, maybe, $75. humm.
I just didn't know. I put the thought aside so that I wouldn't be disappointed.

I usually shop at only one store but it doesn't carry my old-fashioned, percolator type, coffee filters, so I needed to run into a little local shop somewhat out of the way. When I pulled into the parking lot, I could hardly believe my eyes...potted cushion mums almost as far as the eye could see. Still unconvinced that I wanted to spend the money, I tried to stay on task, "Coffee filters. Coffee filters", I told myself. But then, just as I stepped from the car, a woman with a hose came out to water them. Before I could stop myself, I heard myself ask the price. "FIVE DOLLARS?!?!" I couldn't believe it and before I knew what had happened, I was joyfully loading three of the monster plants into the back of my car. I almost forgot the coffee filters completely.

I was so excited with my find that I got to the big store and finished my shopping almost before I knew I had arrived. Hurrying my cart to the checkout lane, I happened to pass a display of all-natural, pressed apple cider. Now, that is a staple at my house during cold weather but certainly not appropriate quite yet. Still, as though on auto-pilot, I grabbed a gallon and hurried on.

Anxious to get home and place my flowers, I hardly noticed the clouds roll in and was almost finished putting groceries away when I thought I heard the faintest sound of distant thunder. I looked up from my work and, sure enough, the sun was gone and the sky had grown dark.

Within minutes, the breeze kicked up and leaves began to flutter to the ground. I was suddenly a woman on a mission. The cinnamon candles I had just purchased on sale and tucked away for the holidays came right back out. I lit them and placed them everywhere. Suddenly it felt like Fall had arrived. I opened the front door just as the rain began to fall bringing with it all the sweet smells of clean air. I just stood there, looking, listening, absorbing the glory of it all. Then I remembered the cider.

For fully two hours, I sat on the porch watching the rain fall, listening to the thunder roll across the sky from horizon to horizon, sipped my hot cider and smiled. Flowers that I had not intended to buy - cider that willed its way into my cart - candles that were for another purpose, could it get any better than this on the day that Autumn finally arrived?