Tidying and airing

Yesterday was very warm and sunny, so we managed to wash and dry 5 loads of laundry on the clothes line.  I dragged the down comforter, pillows and wool mattress pad outside to bask in the sun all day.  The wool mattress pad firmed right up and feels brand new again.  Everything smells fresh and clean again.  The next nice day will see curtains on the clothes line.  Then throw rugs, etc.  I think we'll invest in a rug scrubber this year, finally.  I would rather have cork/bamboo floors, but right now we have carpeting.  Loads of it. 

I also must say I love our new dishwasher.  It's a small portable deal, but worked well for the 3 of us.  I resisted buying one for years.  Not for the love of hand washing dishes, but... well, I'm not sure why now.  I hope to always have one.  I don't mind hand washing the stuff that can't go in the dishwasher, but the weight of everyday hand washing loads of stuff is removed.  Ahhh...

Absconded

The bees weren't flying about when they should've been doing their warm winter days housekeeping.  In the old hive, there isn't a bee to be found.  ????  In the new hive, maybe 100 dead bees in a pathetic little cluster.  No honey at all in the old hive, and some in the new hive.  WTF???  I think I'm done with bees for a little while.  At least until I sort this crap out.  Maybe if we're lucky, a wild swarm will move in.  A package of bees with queen is too expensive to keep replacing all the time.  I have a great supplier of local honey just around the corner.  Reasonably priced and the honey is fantastic.

This year we'll plant way fewer paste tomatoes.  We are never able to get a large enough crop and have to buy what we need for canning anyway, so that space in the garden can be used for other stuff.  Probably only a few pumpkin plants this year as the freezer has loads still from last year.  I need to start making lists for seed buying.  Definitely kale.  It is always the big winner in our garden.  It feeds us well into the winter, too.  I would like to make a small hoop house to protect those plants better and make access to them in the winter snow easier. 

I really enjoy growing different kinds of hot peppers (although I don't eat them much), and more celery this year.  I love growing celery.  The leaves are super easy to dry and I don't have to buy it from the store.  More root crops and beans that will go into the freezer.  Maybe a large freezer for storing more food.  Not sure about any of this, but thinking. 

The thought counts

So, it's Valentines Day.  But no flowers or heart shaped boxes of candy here.  I looked at the flowers in the grocery store yesterday.  Sad, wilty and they all smelled the same.  Strongly of... what?  Not flower.  We did receive a lovely valentine in the mail.  Thanks, by the way.  You know who you are.

Oh, yeah.  Valentines Day.  We opted out of flowers and store bought candies quite a few years ago.  I think it pains my husband a little, though.  Not that he doesn't agree that the flowers (and their origins) aren't sad and the chocolates leave something to be desired.  He would readily buy me flowers and chocolates.  Sometimes, it's nicer to do something rather than buy something.

So my Valentines Day present was that he fed, watered, and released the chickens for me this morning... filled the water filter with water... filled the kettle and cleaned the tea pot, making them ready for me to just switch on the stove to start my morning tea.  Not a big deal?  Well, I thought it was.  I reveled in not trooping out in the sloppy snow (Oh, yeah... winter decided to visit) to take care of the chickens.  It's all in the little things.  What a sweet thing for him to do and think of while he was at work last night.  Ah, love.

As my present to my men, I'm making a roast chicken with salad, steamed cauliflower & baked, spicy fries (homemade).  I'm also going to make some killer brownies.  These things mean more to us than the other stuff.  

Now February...

...but still clearing up the messes of January.  This has probably been my best winter yet as far as doing... well... anything at all.  Yoga classes mean do it or else, so that's accounted for.  The cold (but not winter) weather isn't kind to stretchiness in general, but that will change when things get warmer. 

E (the lad) was in a ditch when we had a bit too much snow and damaged the fender of the older car.  So, we took it to a local fellow and he did the painting and finding of said fender and put it on quickly today.  The color is a bit darker than the original, but our '99 Saturn wagon doesn't look like the Terminator anymore. 

Tomorrow evening we're going to visit the only local (and not estranged) family that's left to us.  We can't wait!  They are G's aunt and uncle.  We love them and their daughter & son in law and their daughter.  Good people all around.  This has been the only real time he's had to do something... anything, since he's working so much.  So excited!!

What else... oh, the chickens have decided to start laying eggs and they mean it.  I do love eggs, but this is so silly.  It's a good thing everybody we know likes eggs, too.  Especially, super fresh, organic eggs.  We are overrun, really.

Oh, and the weather calls for mid 40s/sunny during the day and mid 20s at night.  Not complaining here.  Very nice indeed not to feel as though my shoulder is hanging by a thread because of shoveling the driveway every other day.

Saw the sweetest ferret today.  Not as sweet as Zippy the Magnificent, but close.  Hmmm...

 

Of January (stealing blog titles)

The weather has been up and down here.  Mud and snow... or mud then snow.... then rain... then snow... or mud.  blech.  So the body can't get used to this and feels undecided at best. 

This time of year isn't my favorite.  No bike riding, no gardening, no sunshine... just refer to the first sentence.  But, also not much snow shoveling.  Which is great for bad shoulders and driving in general. 

Our wee lad will be 20 next month.  Yes, years old.  I'm stunned too.  He has grown into a fine, polite, talented, focused (mostly) young man.  I guess we did something right along the way.

Baking should happen today.  Tidying of crap laying about, dishes washing right now, chicken feed brought in, laundry slowly worked on (necessary when you hang everything to dry inside in the winter), and probably something else I'm forgetting.  Oh, yeah... a career to build.  Ha!  Or something like, mumbling... 

Oh, and I love my family. 

Weather or not...

Now it's ridiculously warm for January in NE Ohio and we have sheets out drying on the line. 

Soup

So, it's been ridiculously cold and the chickens/ducks need water that isn't a slushie.  Who would want to drink that when it's 15F outside?  So, I take a bucket of "HOT" water down and mix it with the slushie water for them.  They look so happy about it. 

New again?

Yes, it's the new year.  Happy, Happy.  The hopeful time of year.  Hopefully, there will be plenty of this and not too much (if any) of that.  You know what I mean... or at least have an idea.

I'm very happy the holidays are over.  We had a great xmas eve and an even greater xmas day.  So wonderfully peaceful and comfortable with lovely family and interesting conversation/food.  Just satisfyingly simple and full of ease.  Joy itself, really.

New Years Eve was half good and half bad.  I could go on and on with phlegm filled rancor, but I will restrain myself.  I'm feeling better today, finally, and can expend some precious energy for said restraint.  New Years Day was filled with laying around, blowing my nose, and generally being sick and tired.  But, it was quiet and was spent with my men.  Very nice.

I will say that I don't think too highly of people that only feed their small children candy, pop, and junk.  Aren't we (who are parents) as parents responsible for the future (and present) health of our children?  Just saying.  Children aren't accessories.

Brown, hot and plenty of it

Pot pie for supper.  It's made with broth from the carcass of a chicken I roasted the other night.  That roasted chicken turned out fabulously, I might add.  The meat for the pot pie is from roasted turkey leg saved from our T-giving dinner.  So, basically made with whatever veggies were on hand and left over meaty stuff.  Cheap, easy and filling.  I can't stress enough how many inexpensive meals can be had from a whole chicken.  Roasting a chicken is an incredibly easy supper... just add some potatoes and whatever other veg you might enjoy and you have a cheap, filling dinner for 3-5 people. 

Enjoy the pot pie love...

Why pay?

I was asked recently why I would pay for email service.  I knew why, but couldn't spit it out when put on the spot.  So, here are some other peoples reviews of Runbox.  Oh, and I only pay $20 a year for what I need.



http://www.yelp.com/biz/runbox-berkeley

7/22/2011

After being very disappointed by Yahoo's bully way of making their users choose the "new" version where they can screen all your e-mail content, etc. (making you even more transparent for the government) I decided to look further and choose another provider.

RUNBOX was the best one that I've found and I'm very happy that I took that decision. All my e-mails have now been transferred over from Yahoo, and I'm gonna delete and cancel my account with Yahoo.

I trust this company way more than any other provider in the US.

10/4/2006

I've been a Runbox user and fan since 1996. With all of the free email offers out there, why do I use a paid service? One main reason is that if something goes sideways (twice in ten years, nothing lost), they're responsive and responsible. My email, files, etc. are securely backed up. If something goes wrong with your free service...they owe you zip.

Another reason is that Runbox is a Norwegian company, and complies with European data security laws...not our weakened U.S. laws. Plus, there are no ads, they support any email client, webmail access, secure access, messages up to 100 mb, email aliases, email consolidation, you can use any "reply-to" or "from" address, and I can store 10 gb (or more for extra) of email. Plus, each account comes standard with a gb of file storage.

Another reason is that Runbox keeps improving the service. They just added web hosting, including 200 MB storage and 4 000 MB data transfer per month.

Plus, they have a referral program so that you can earn some money for referring people. I've never taken advantage of that particular benefit, but if you wanna sign up, message me and I'll be happy to send you the link!

It's $50/year, but it's worth it when you consider you'd pay more than that just for the web hosting. I leave all my email online so that in case of disaster, I've got access to all of it. And thanks to European privacy laws, I sleep better at night.

Gingersnap re-post

I'm re-posting this recipe because it's good for my soul.

Gingersnaps

1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp salt
Granulated sugar

Mix brown sugar, shortening, molasses and egg. Stir in flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour. I never do this.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Shape dough into balls about an inch or 1.5 inches across. Dip tops in granulated sugar. Place balls, sugared sides up, about 3 inches apart on cookie sheet. Bake until just set, 8 minutes. If you make the balls larger, go for longer. Let them sit on the cookie sheet for 15 seconds, then remove to cooling rack.

Inhale.

Time keeps moving

Is happiness a choice?  Is freedom a choice?  Would you make those choices if you could?  Why can't you?  What about me?  Can I make those choices?  What would I lose and what would I gain?  What can I live without?  Is money the only security?  How much free time do you have?  How much time do you spend with the people you love or doing what you love?  What would you do if you could do what you love to do to make money?  Would you be okay with making less money if you did what you loved?  Why does it always seem to come down to money?  How would you feel if you didn't have to make a house/car/credit card payment every month?  How would you feel if you ate food that you or your family grew/cooked?  What do these questions do to you?  How do they make you feel? 

Disposed

Do you remember lay-aways?  Most department stores had this feature where you could pick out what you wanted to buy, bring it to a counter in the back of the store, they would tally it up and give you a receipt.  Every week or whatever the time frame, you would come in and pay on that purchase until it was paid for and then you got the stuff.  No debt, no need for credit cards or interest on them.  Just pay every time you could until it was yours.  Where did that go?  I remember doing this for xmas toys for our son at Hills.  I also remember when you could buy stuff at Hills and it would last.  I still have a rain coat I bought my husband before they closed down.  Still works fine.  I just wonder about all the cheap crap that is being purchased this holiday season.  We have a wonky toaster.   I think the timer is a bit off, but it works okay.  We have had this toaster for close to 20 years.  I don't want to buy a new one because of how crappy the quality of things are now.  Disposable isn't good.  Like disposable plates, napkins, cups, etc.  That is paying good money for something you intend to throw away.  Think about that. 

Buy nothing day...

...or, hang with your family day!  We had a slow, small T-giving dinner yesterday, followed by a lovely campfire.  Yes, we had a campfire on T-G day.  The weather was warm during yesterday and today, so hanging laundry, walks, camp fires and biking! 

G and I went for a nice bike ride today.  We have to get them in whenever possible now that the weather will be turning cold soon.  Maybe another ride tomorrow, too. 

Holidays are not my favorite thing, except for having time together with my guys. 

Tell it, Bill baby