Get Your Dirt On

Things I really feel dumb about buying:

*Zucchini (I don't buy this at the store anymore, so I only eat it during the summer)

*Potatoes (this is my first year of growing a bunch.)

*Dirt

Really, is there anything dumber than buying dirt?  I don't think so.  Yesterday I dragged Tom out to Menard's and bought three cubes of dirt. Yes, I said cubes. Instead of those unwieldy and bulky gigantic bags of dirt that weigh fifty pounds, there are now cubes of dirt. Awesome, yes? But still dumb.

Today the plan is to fill the two raised beds with the dirt and plant my fall garden. I bought beets, kale, turnips and radishes from Baker Creek.  I've not done a fall garden before, so I am excited. Not so exciting are the butternut squash vines trying to smother everything.  I shouldn't complain, though, because it's food.

I've already pulled out the spent broccoli plants and one of the zucchini that was being destroyed by the squash bugs. Those things are really annoying!

Raised bed ready for planting, sharing space with the surviving cucumber plant.

One  of the many volunteer butternut squashes.

Summer Goals and no A/C

Summer is officially here; school has ended and there's been a collective sigh in the house. Now if only the weather will clue in...

It's always a good thing to have goals, so here are mine:

*work on potty-training with Foo-Foo. Not exactly a fun time (is it ever?) since he doesn't really seem to care too much, but he does like wearing underwear, so it's a start, anyway

*walk at least 5 days a week, I'd like it to be 6. These walks are normally 60-70 min, unless I have the boys with me and we go to the park. Then and easy 30min.

*Keep writing. I've submitted to six agents so far, and have plenty of manuscripts to work on, so all's good in that area.

*have activities for the boys to do a couple of days a week. Right now tin can robots are in the works.

*Finish painting entryway, dining room and bathroom, then get to work peeling off border in the boys' room. I swear, wallpaper hates me. Really, it does.

That's it for now. Wait, what's that about no air conditioning?

It's no secret that I hate the stuff, and it keeps kids from going outside in the summer. We had a few days of brutal heat last week, and we were probably the only ones who didn't turn on the A/C. I'm not sure if we're saving any money running fans, but the benefits are pretty good. The boys went outside where it was cooler without me having to shoehorn them out the door, as I've had to in the past to get them out of the coolness.  Pretty awesome, I'd say. Plus, at least for June the weather appears to be in the upper 70's-to upper 80's, not a problem.  To me, it's worth it.

I really believe being dependent on A/C makes people not so tough, not able to handle the heat. Don't get me wrong, I like having it on in the car and when I go places, but at home I quickly tire of it. I hate being cold when I want to be warm, like when I get out of the shower. Hate that so much.


That's what's happening around here.

The Grabbing Hands Grab All They Can

So Thanksgiving is over, barely noticed by any retailers. It seems the holiday in which you're to give thanks for what God has given you has been eclipsed by the holiday in which you scoop up all that you can at cheap prices, pepper spray in hand.

While I love Christmas and what it stands for, the holiday seen around town, in magazines and on television has little to do with Christ being born. It's all about stuff--stuff for  your kids, your friends, your dog, all grabbed with both hands, and nobody better get in your way.

Kind of ironic, isn't it?

Anyway, we put up the tree this afternoon. While it's still a beautiful 6 ft (7?) fiber optic tree (no strings of lights for us, pls), the decorations are purely Charlie Brown. I don't think I've bought Christmas decorations since we lived in Bakersfield. In 2003. Heh.

So, that is something I need to pick up sometime. I always want to hit the stores after Christmas to pick up decorations on sale. Maybe this time I'll actually get over there.

Nah.

DIY Cinnamon Scented Pine Cones

Nothing says Autumn more than cinnamon and spice, and what better way to project that than with cinnamon pine cones? (we'll just ignore the fact that it's 80 degrees today; it's October, that's what counts.)  While searching the internet for a way to make the pine cones, I came across two main recipes: the first, no doubt the longest lasting, takes 8 weeks and uses cinnamon oil rather than powder. The second, which I'm sharing here, is the quick version. Since I have an abundance of pine cones in my yard, my only expense was pickling spice, which I picked up at Meijer  for around $3.49. I already had plenty of ground cinnamon, cloves and spray adhesive. So if you have to purchase any of those items, the cost will be a bit more.

Cinnamon Pine Cones

*assorted pine cones, about 8-10 per batch, deciding on the size. Mine were the long, skinny type.
*1/4 cup pickling spice
*1/4 cup ground cinnamon
*1/4cup whole cloves or 1/8cup ground cloves
*spray adhesive
*trash bag

1. mix spices together
2. put the pine cones in the bottom of the trash bag in a single layer.
3. Spray the adhesive directly on the pine cones, taking care not to breathe in the fumes. Quickly close the bag with your ands and shake vigorously to turn the cones over.
4. Open the bag, allowing pine cones to settle into a single layer again, and respray with the glue.
5. Empty the spices over the pine cones, close bag and shake again to distribute.
6. Dump the pine cones out onto newspaper and allow to dry.

Flax Snacks

A quick little recipe for some yummy and healthy no-cook snacks!

Flax Snacks

3/4 cup ground flaxseeds (buy whole, grind yourself in a coffee grinder)
3 Tbl whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbl Cocoa
2 Tbl peanut butter
1/4 cup honey

Combine first four ingredients:

Add peanut butter and honey (mix with your hands) and form into balls.

Store in the refrigerator.

You could also add coconut or even chopped nuts and roll in cocoa.

Rocky buggy time

Rocks are fun! Rocks are cute! Rocks rock!!

Buggy

The weather has been great here in NW Indiana, and I"ve been outside working on my garden, which is getting pretty crazy, as I knew it would. And look what I've found crawling around:

Apparently Japanese beetles are Indiana's main pest, next to mosquitos, that is. At first I was just tossing them into the plastic jar and slamming the lid on real quick. Then I started throwing the bugs into a mixture of water, dish soap and oil and that really did the trick. So far I've taken off a ton of Japanese beetles, some cabbage worms and a few cucumber beetles, which are so small they're hard to catch. I usually go out to the garden a few times a day to pick off pests. It's fun!

Yep, I'm weird.

Upcyling/Recycling

I've really been getting into the recycling craft thing. The best part is that I've been making some useful stuff--much better than a toy out of a toilet paper tube that will eventually be thrown away.

The first project was a revamped mirror I got at a thrift boutique. Note: if a shop has the word 'boutique' anywhere in the name, it's not a thrift store. Ok, got it.

I made some ugly light fixtures from our house in Illinois into planters. Can you dig it?



Next up was the old wooden ottoman that belonged to my grandmother. I've been dragging that thing around for eight years a while now, always with the intention to redo it. Well, I finally did! After gluing the pieces, I scored some half-price upholstery fabric at Joann Fabrics and then had to wait until the weather warmed up before I could use the spray adhesive. For some reason my family objected to being poisoned from the fumes. Whatever.  The weather rose above fifty degrees and I got to work gluing on the foam we'd saved from our Sleep Number bed. So good to finally use some of that stuff! No doubt the movers thought we were pretty odd. I think it turned out just okay, sort of lumpy, but it was my first time upholstering anything, plus at least it's finished. What do you think?

ugly gray foam--def an improvement from plain ugly wood.

The finished project. Foo-Foo seems to like it.

The other things I've been doing are making some bulletin boards using some of the cardboard currently taking up  residence in DynoDad's garage and some cloth I've had lying around. I only have to attach ribbon to hang and then I will post pictures. 

The final project is a redo of an awful stainless steel trash can I bought a Lowe's when we moved to Illinois, not realizing it required special trash bags to work correctly. I tried regular ones for a time, but then gave up and shipped it out to the garage. I didn't want to toss it because I knew I could find a use for it. And so I have. I only have a bit more to do and then those pics will be here as well.

Spring--for real this time

I think I got a little ahead of myself last time I posted. But the long winter is finally over, and Spring has arrived. Things are green, green, green! The grass (weeds) needs mowed today--it's on DynoDad's list. On my list today: not housework! Cleaning inside is a rainy day thing. So if you want to visit and would like a nice house, then visit when it's raining, okay? ;) 

Here's what's been keeping me busy lately:

Just a little flower/herb garden; of course I didn't buy enough scallops at Lowe's.

The garden site. Not very big, but a good start for this year anyway.

Romaine lettuce finally growing. i'm not sure what the two holes are....did a rabbit jump in?

Kale and Swiss chard. Notice the professional, straight rows.

Valkyrie wondering what the heck I'm doing.

Azaleas along the front of the house. They appear to be doing okay, considering I had to add soil when I planted since the whole flower bed is nothing but sand under those river rocks. Very strange.

Planting is up next, and finding more space for all the seeds I have. (yes, I got a little crazy with the seed catalogue!)

I love this time of year!

Spring!

I *think* it's safe to say that Spring has finally arrived here in NW Indiana. At least the nights are staying above freezing. I've started a bit of my planting, nothing major, just some kale, chard and lettuce in my two whiskey barrel halves. I also planted some canna seeds and a runner bean or two on the deck in a pot. I know, I  know, waaaay to early but I couldn't help it! The main project are my raised beds that will go in down by the fence. (photos,yes soon).  Dyno Dad will have to help me with those.

Also on the agenda is a sandbox for the kids. We have one of those Little Tyke turtle sandboxes, but it's just too small for three boys, so we're going to use the old Sleep Number bed frame we saved. It will be huge! Hopefully we'll get to that this weekend if the weather cooperates. (doubtful)

I love being able to get outside! I'm going to start running around the yard as well for exercise. Much more fun that doing P90X in the house.

Yay Spring!!!!!

Turd Words

This morning the girls had an appointment at the doctor for an immunization required by the state of Indiana, so about ten o'clock we all piled into the kidmobile and headed toward the office, which is pretty much out in the middle of nowhere, but not for long. The area is building up at an incredible rate.

As far as background goes, the word 'turd' factors prominently in the conversations around our house, mostly used as an insult "You're a turd---guy!" (Levi's favorite thing to say when he gets angry at a sibling). As we drove along the conversation naturally (?) turned to the kids' favorite word. They amused themselves (and me) by creating new 'turd-words'.

Count Turdula
Turd-sylvania
Turd-pire
Vamp-turd
Turd-key
Turd-ish
Turd-akistan
The Magical Turdini

You get the idea.

So. Who wants to ride along next time?

Gettin' Crafty With It

Just a few photos of the Christmas gifts I'm frantically trying to complete before the big move. (Still in limbo here, if you're wondering. Hopefully that will change on Monday)

This is a paint bucket I cleaned and decoupaged with sheets of music, mostly from an ancient copy of Handel's Messsiah. I used Mod Podge to stick, and then covered the entire can with a light coat. I also painted the rim and handle pink, and inside there's a pink octopus.  It turned out pretty well, I think.

Here's another can decoupaged with color copies of a childhood book. This one turned out real cute. The paint cans didn't take too long too do, an afternoon and evening. A very satisfying craft. (Emily called me the Recycle Queen, but I would't go that far.)  I have two more cans drying in the garage. Evidently clear plastic paint cans can be purchased at craft stores, but I'm of the opinion that you should reuse whatever you can, even stuff that's usually thrown in the garbage or even into the recycling bin.

This decoupaged box is nearly finished; only a little more sanding and then I will pollute the house or garage (hmmm, poison the dogs or my children..?) and spray it with a sealer, as Mod Podge can be tacky unsealed. The top is several layers of Mod Podge, enough so that the top is entirely smooth. Some people have said it looks painted, but at any rate, it looks awesome.

I'm also refurbishing tin cans into buckets for the boys' teachers, hence the Recycle Queen moniker. Tomorrow we'll make cookie ornaments using a recipe from The King Arthur Flour 200th Anniversary Cookbook, along with egg yolk paint. Should be fun! And messy.

Pickled Ginger

Mighty Mom and Dyno Dad spent last weekend searching for houses, which is not as fun as one might imagine. It involved a lot of driving, from around Naperville to Indiana Friday, Saturday and Sunday. But--we had a pretty nice room at the Westin (yay for points!) and ate some real tasty food each night.

Friday night we ate at Holy Mackerel!, the seafood side to the famous restaraunt Harry Caray, which we didn't try. Harry Caray was the voice of the Chicago Cubs for many years, which I didn't know. I don't really pay attention to sports.

Then Saturday, after a much more productive day (we found a house we like) we travelled back to Chi and ate at Ra, a sushi bar. I'd never had sushi before, but was willing to try it. It was delicious! We had both raw and cooked sushi, and I have to say that the pickled ginger was out of sight!  My fave was the spicy tempura shrimp. The yellowfin tuna and salmon was also good (raw), but i didn't really care for the California roll. I'm not a big fan of Nori.

So all in all it was an enjoyable weekend. The kids had fun with Grandma and Grandpa trick or treating and making cookies and generally having a great time.

I have four pint jars of pickled ginger sitting on my counter. Now all I need is some sushi....

What happened to that list of books?

Image via Wikipedia

I do this every year. January rolls around and I get this cute idea that I'm going to keep track of all the books I read for the whole year, because I know I read a lot of books, and I'd like to know how many to to satisfy my own curiosity. So I did well the first few months, and then around March, I began forgetting to write them down, and hence they didn't get into my book log on writing.com. I haven't updated that thing since May--and it wasn't complete.

Some people have asked me where I find the time to read, since I have so many kids and dogs to take care of. The thing is, we all make time for what's important to us. In my case, it's reading and to a lesser extent, writing. Reading a book is my escape; it always has been. Before I had kids I'd lose myself totally inside the story--so much so that I couldn't hear people talking to me. I can't do that any more, for obvious reasons, at least not to the extent I once did.

So I'm kind of bummed about the book list thing. Maybe some day I'll be able to stick with it. I doubt it, though.

Before and After

Sans makeup

The full workup

Glamorous, no?  My skin felt nice from all the skin care products sampled. Mary Kay has some really nice products, especially the mascara! My eyelashes need all the help they can get.