A "Reel" Good Find

For weeks now, my dad's been telling us we should go to this massive outdoor flea market that he and his girlfriend like to go to in West Virginia. We kept agreeing that we'd go sometime, but we only finally got to go yesterday. It was absolutely huge, with a decidedly country feel to it. There were old tools, kitchenware, kids' toys, and military surplus among other things. My big draw was the cast iron. I'm in need of at least a chicken fryer lid and a dutch oven that go with my Wagner Ware collection. While I didn't find those, I did find a cast iron bundt pan, which is very difficult to find a good price. Mine cost $30, so I picked it up on the spot.

 

 

As we continued to walk around, the old tools started to catch Mr. B's eye. He found vices and hand drills, and other things that would be nice to have, but decided not to get them because we're trying to move. A couple of small gardening tools he couldn't put down - he bought a dandelion digger and a folding pruning saw. We assumed that we had each gotten something both practical and desired and that the day was a success.

In the last row, though, we found something that made us both giddy. It was an old reel mower that was in great condition. We've talked about getting a new one for a few years, but they're expensive and you can't try them out. This one was priced at $25 and as far as they cared, you could mow the grass near their stall all day if you wanted. It was surprisingly easy to push, and makes this great sound somewhere between the pull cord sound of an electric mower and an old sewing machine.

$22 later, and it was coming home with us.  As soon as we got home, Mr. B had to try it out. He got two rows into the yard and asked if I wanted to try. I found it so much fun that I finished the yard off for him.

 

I feel great pride in our new purchases. I don't usually shop much, but these directly contribute to our household productivity. They  make our home feel more like the 1930s lifestyle that we like to try to emulate. I'm excited for the day that we can find a house with a wood stove to cook with my cast iron on and come a little closer to living our dreams.

Housework with FlyLady

The other day, I had casually glanced at a friend's frantic plea on Facebook.  Her house was out of control and she needed help.  Many women who responded to her said "FlyLady.  She changed my life!"

So I decided to check it out.  I popped over to FlyLady's website.  It's really overwhelming if you take it in at once, but I wandered over to the BabySteps section.  BabyStep One:  shine your sink.  So I did.  And wouldn't you know, it felt great.  Once my sink was shiny and clean, I started cleaning my stove top.  Then the counters.  Then the cabinets.  That one little shiny sink spurred a clean kitchen revolution.

BabyStep Two:  Get dressed all the way down to lace up shoes.  Again, I didn't think this would be a big deal.  But I was MUCH more productive after putting on those shoes than I was before.  Maybe it's because I couldn't feel the crumbs on my feet, or I didn't mind walking out onto a hot deck to do laundry.  Or that I felt like I was doing a job rather than hanging around my house.

There are many more BabySteps (31 in all) but those two have been the most influential for me so far.  As proof, this is what I did today:

• Washed and dried bed sheets and bathroom floor mat
• Put out recycling for pick up
• Washed outdoor trash can
• Washed indoor recycling can
• Made breakfast
• Scrubbed toilet
• Scrubbed tub floor
• Cleaned bedroom
• Vacuumed bedroom
• Washed and dried diapers
• Sorted dirty laundry
• Put stain remover on stained clothing
• Put frozen onions into jars
• Made and froze peach pie filling
• Froze peach peels for future jam
• Made the bed with clean sheets
• Baked bread
• Made black bean soup for lunch
• Got a shower
• Ate lunch
• Did lunch dishes with Miss F
• Colored with Miss F
• Read with Miss F
• Swept the kitchen floor
• Picked up Miss F's mess
• Put clothes away
• Made dinner
• Went to work for four hours
• Scrubbed half-bath toilet

On top of that, I probably did five loads of dishes throughout the course of the day.  Compare this to my normal day: maybe a load of laundry, a couple of loads of dishes, and cooking/reheating three meals a day.  If I was lucky, I'd sweep the kitchen floor as well.

I don't know if it was thanks to FlyLady, but I'm very optimistic about all that I can do in the coming days, weeks, and beyond.

Contentment

The river trip this weekend was very relaxing and gave me a chance to think a lot about my life.  My mother took care of Miss F during the six hour trip down the river.  I kayaked down the river without flipping in Compton's rapids (a big deal considering they sent me to the ER three years ago).

A large part of the times, I was floating along side *B*'s parents or my brother and his friends.  But the other part of the time, I just got to take in the surroundings, breathe the fresh air, and just be by myself.

I enjoyed the beauty of the river and felt a pang of envy as I thought about how amazing it could be to live in the area.

But it was later that night in the campsite that I really felt contentment start to set in.  One of the girls on the trip stepped in poison ivy at our lunch stop.  Her lower leg was red and itchy.  No one had calamine lotion, and she was complaining about the pain and itching.  I popped up, spotted some plantain, and told her to chew (or rather pound due to the mud on the ground) the leaves into a paste and apply it.  I knew it worked on bug bites, but I wasn't sure about poison ivy.  Sure enough, she reported that it didn't itch anymore!

I was happy to be able to help, and I enjoyed the surprised looks I got from the "adults" of the group - 50 years old and better.  They had no idea such a ubiquitous plant did anything other than grow.  It was just a weed to them.  Rather than relying on plants for cures, we've been relying solely on pills for over fifty years.

As the trip went on, I found myself talking a lot about my knowledge of plants.  From dock to treat nettle stings to chicory as a coffee substitute, I was able to hold forth on a variety of medicinal and edible plants.  I was spotting stands of sumac trees and looking to find ripe berry clusters.  We're looking forward to making tea of those berries in the next month or so.

I realized on my way home, that I'm actually making measurable progress in my goal of being able to identify many common plants and their usefulness.  I want to be that old woman (one day, not yet) who can go out to her garden to pluck a cure for what ails you.  I want to be able to go out and forage a little snack from my surroundings.  As our garden grows into the garden of our daydreams and my knowledge base grows, I feel more and more at ease with the life I'm carving out.

In Search of an Apron

I currently own two aprons.  One is from Ikea.  It's very sturdy, but not very feminine (other than possibly in color).  I like that the neckline adjusts without having to tie and untie the neck.  But there are no pockets, just strange loops.  I can't quite figure out what they're for.

The other is very cheesy-girly.  It's also very thin and not absorbent.  It isn't useful for wiping one's hands off.

I'm looking for an apron, that's understated with a feminine cut, somewhat sturdy, with adequate chest coverage (many aprons are too small for me in that regard).  Every time I see an apron in a store, I put it on, but it's not what I'm going for.  I've patrolled around Google image search for a long time now, but I have yet to find one that is instant love.

What do you look for in an apron?  Do you love your apron?  

Homemaking in a Digital World

My grandmother has had a small metal clipboard in her cabinet below the oven for as long as I can remember.  It has scrap paper and a small pen attached.  I can distinctly remember her writing her lists on this pad:  grocery list, to do list, packing list, things she wanted to remember. 

For a while, I tried to do the same, but I always misplaced my pad.  I'd write things to remember on our chalkboard, but that never seemed to work out since I wouldn't transcribe it to bring to the store.

Then I started to use Google Drive, both on my laptop and on my phone. 

Groceries
I created a grocery list and shared it with *B* so we both can edit it.  On Friday mornings, when I go to the store, I text him and ask him to make sure he updates the list.  This is how he updated last week.  I love this guy!

His additions were an homage to the trip we took last week to Gettysburg, PA and the books on 19th century living that we've been reading lately. I literally laughed out loud in the grocery store.

On the second page of that document, I added another helpful section:

This way, we can see what we have either pre-made or in terms of available ingredients.  If I pick up, say red cabbage and some kielbasa at the store, I'll add that meal to the list.  That way I know we have everything we need to make it.  It makes the "what will we eat tonight" question a little less difficult.

Food Storage
I also keep the freezer and pantry inventories on Google Drive.  Out of all of the digital housekeeping I'm doing, this one doesn't work as well as I would like, but it's better than writing inventories that I lose. 

We've determined that I need to print out the inventory and tape it to the freezer and pantry doors so that we can mark off what we use as we use it.  As it is, I inventory once a month or two, which is nice, but not a very accurate representation of what we have at the moment.

Chores
I thought I was really clever when I came up with this, but *B* surprised me by adding another helpful hint to my digital housekeeping.  I was grumbling that I never remember the infrequent (i.e. not-daily) chores: cleaning the tub, changing the sheets, cleaning the oven, etc.  *B* suggested that I just put a reminder on Google Calendar. 

I did just that, and now I get reminders on the day that I designate for each chore.  I decided not to make the reminders as frequently as I want to do the chores.  The reminders are on a minimalist housekeeping schedule.  I have a feeling that if I were to make my reminders as often as I wished, I'd blow them off.



It's funny that in my heart-of-hearts, I desperately want to rid myself of technology.  But on a daily basis, I rely heavily on that technology to do the things I most enjoy.  It seems to be the modern conundrum: difficult to live with technology and difficult to live without it.

The Beauty of a Clothesline

I love clotheslines.  I love driving down the road and seeing someone's laundry flapping in the breeze.  It makes me really happy.  I asked *B* for a clothesline for a long time, but our yard is a little wonky given its steep slope.  Last year, I strung paracord across the deck and leave it there because it was annoying to put it up over and over.  But *B* hated it because he would clothesline himself (no pun intended) because it was black cord strung at about his neck height.

My mom gave us a retracting clothesline last fall, but we could never agree about where it should go.  It wasn't until *B* saw a graphic in his climate change class that showed how much energy clothes dryers used that I got him on board.  We took a drill and some hooks, and installed the retracting line on the deck.

So I decided that April is the month of no dryers.  And so far so good!  Diapers are most often the thing hanging on our line. I think it's good for them to be out in the sunshine to help disinfect them and make them smell fresh.

But we also hang our laundry.  We do the adults' clothing together and then Miss F's clothes by themselves.  It makes for an adorable laundry line.

Is that not the cutest clothes line you've ever seen??  The only downside is that I used about 100 clothes pins putting all of those little baby clothes up.

Usually I'm pretty good about being aware of the weather.  Only once have I been caught unaware by a little rain shower.  But I found that old paracord, and made a line in the basement. Since our front loader washer spins our clothes really well, I wasn't worried about drips.

So inside or out, I have no excuse now not to hang laundry.  While we're calling it no-dryer April, I'm hoping to keep this going as long as I can.  I see no reason that we can't do this at least until the weather (and our basement) gets to freezing temperatures.

Checking Off the List

I've had a hard time with stress about the baby for the last few weeks.  Finally *B* told me to write a list of all of the things that I worry about not having done.  This list was massive:

• Paint the ceiling in the nursery
• Fix the crack in the wall in the nursery
• Remove non-baby items from nursery
• Stain the deck
• Buy and install blinds
• Buy and install curtains
• Get crib mattress
• Get prefolds
• Stock diaper bag
• Paint baby's dresser
• Pick out homecoming outfit
• Pack hospital bag
• Hang plants in nursery
• Buy new vacuum
• Get hand-me-downs from *B*'s sister
• Fix carpet patches where cats did damage
• Fix doorjambs (not necessary but annoying)
• Paint trim in bathroom where mold had grown before new fan was installed
• Fix dining room chair whose supports had fallen out

So far, we're down to just this:

• Buy and install curtains
• Get crib mattress (we got one from SIL, but it's four inches too small!)
• Paint baby's dresser
• Pack hospital bag
• Hang plants in nursery
• Buy new vacuum
• Fix carpet patches where cats did damage
• Fix doorjamb

 *B* has been amazing about knocking out that list.  He took it on himself to clean, power wash, and stain our deck.  

 

 The deck mid-powerwash.  The left side is (mostly) cleaned and the right side is obviously still grungy.

 

 After the power washing, our deck looked really strange.  It seems the lack of stain for so many years did a lot of damage.

 

 *B* staining the deck.  It already looked better.

All finished!  You can see that the fencing behind the potting bench wasn't done.  *B* ran out of stain.  But it lets you see the difference in color between what the deck used to look like and how it does now!

While *B* did that, my mom and I did most of the nursery work:  painting the ceiling, patching the walls, and hanging blinds.  I mentioned the other day that our diaper bag was just about ready to go. Most of the things left on this list are either optional, or require funding that we don't have at the moment.

Preparing for a New Career

This pregnancy is flying by faster than I had expected.  I'm already in my third trimester with a little less than three months to go.  I've finally started showing in the last month or so.  I've always been heavy, so for a long time I didn't look that much different from what I was last year.

I've found that I am more domestic than I used to be.  I've fallen back into the routine of making our bed every morning - flat sheet and all - and I love the way it looks and how I feel when I'm done.  In the mornings, I'll find myself a little behind schedule because I'm washing dishes or putting away laundry.

I'm trying to make foods that we like from scratch.  I just tried whole wheat bagels yesterday from a recipe at Home Joys.  They were okay given that I was a little lax on the timing of things (they were a little chewy for my taste), but I am going to try them again - cinnamon raisin next time.  I made stock and wheat bread without hesitation or fuss, as if it were a normal Saturday afternoon activity.  Come to think of it, it is becoming a normal Saturday activity.

I've started an attempt to make liquid laundry soap.  I can only say started because I grated up the soap and got my borax and washing soda together when I realized that I don't have containers to store it in yet.  As soon as my current laundry soap is used up (any day now), I'll be able to finish off that project.  In that vein, I'm researching cleaning methods, tools to maintain my home, and making lists of things that I'd like to do while I'm home next year.

Where I was unimpressed with our garden last year, I'm taking much more care to get our plants started on time and manage our little sprouts.  Rather than feeling guilty about thinning seedlings, I'm pulling them out without much thought because I know we'll get a better yield when the strong ones have room to thrive.

I am scrutinizing our budget and we are watching where every cent goes.  By the middle of April, if all goes as planned, we will have saved all the money we need to live on next year while I'm at home.  That means that our goal is met in half the time we needed, so I might be able to stay home two years if we can save at the same rate.  I do have a small part time job as well that will help us stretch that money out.

With all of these things that I've been doing over the past few weeks, it hit me just this morning that I'm subconsciously preparing for my new career.  I'm falling into a routine and learning how to take care of my home and family.

Productive, But Not As Expected

The last three days have been both very productive, but my spring break plans have gone woosh right out of the second story window.

On Saturday, I worked all day long.  I used a coconut I picked up last week to have some coconut water, make coconut milk, and make some dessicated coconut meat.  Yum!  I fed my sourdough starter, and I am researching recipes for sourdough breads.  I started peas and lentils soaking for Curried Lentil Soup.  I made crispy pecans from Nourishing Traditions that are oh-so-tasty!  *B* made paneer, and I saved up a TON of leftover whey.  With the whey, I made whey biscuits to pop in the freezer.


Yesterday, my little brother was inducted into an honor society, of which I am a member.  It was a long drive - two hours each way - but it was good to spend time with him and his girlfriend.  I'm very proud :o)

Today was the day that everything was supposed to happen.  My mom was to come over at 8 am, we'd patch some joint tape that stripped away from a wall and repaint most of my bedroom.  We needed to power wash some chairs, and paint a metal table I had outside.  A lunch of fried oysters was our treat. 

Well, she got there at 9, but we weren't too bad off.  When she cut the tape off of the wall and removed our electric heater, there was black mold on the wall.  We went onto a website of which she knew, ServiceMagic, and looked up people to get estimates to fix the problem.  Within two hours, we had someone at my house!  While we were waiting for them, we did get the table painted and the oysters fried and eaten.  Yum :o)  I also managed to finish making the curried lentil soup I started two days before. 

So the company came over.  It turns out that there was a problem with the siding where the windows meet it, which had allowed water to enter the house.  Though I have another company coming for an estimate in, oh, about 15 minutes, it seems like we're going to have to tear out our carpet, cut out the wallboard under the window, remove the trim, and scrub and encapsulate the floor and studs.

So I've taken two things off my list (table and soup), postponed one (painting), and added dozens of more things that I need to do this week.  When spring break is over, I'm gonna need a vacation!

The Sweetness of Doing it Yourself

Tonight, *B* and I knocked out a whole bunch of projects that we've been putting off.  It's amazing how a few small changes make such a big difference. 

Some of the projects were little.  The globe fell off of the ceiling fan in our room weeks ago, and we never got around to putting it back up.  The curtains also fell down (a pattern here?), so we patched the holes in the wall and will put them back up tomorrow.

Some projects were a tad bigger.  Our windows leak both air and water like you wouldn't believe.  The air is awful because you can actually feel a breeze when walking by a window.  The water is only a problem with one set of windows.  There is what I can only assume is black mold that grows on our bedroom window frames.  I've never been able to scrape it off, no matter how hard I try.  More recently I've used vinegar, and it still does nothing.  Ideally, we'll replace the windows.  Until then, I'll probably have to remove the paint to get all of the mold.  Last year, we sealed the windows in with shrink wrap.  This year, we were able to put weatherstripping on the bottoms of the windows.  I can tell the difference almost immediately, and there's no effect on the use of the window.  In the picture below, you can see both the mold and if you look close enough, the weatherstripping:

While we were out getting supplies at Lowe's, we decided to spruce up the bathroom.  When Evie was little, she accidentally shredded the foam/plastic toilet seat that was here when we moved in.  We dealt with it, but it has annoyed me every day.  On top of that, the pieces in the bathroom don't look like they ever really meant to go together, so it's definitely my least favorite room of the house.  We have a white painted medicine cabinet with an oak-ish and faux marble sink.  The rest of the items in the bathroom are a kind of sand color.  So when we changed the seat, we got an oak-ish wooden seat.  It makes all the difference in the world.  Everything just goes together now and makes sense. 

We still need to replace the bathtub though.  It was an early 90s bathfitter job (I think) that was never properly done.  The pieces don't quite fit together:

 

The faucet was obviously not done by a professional because it doesn't actually reach the wall!  I can easily put my finger between the back of the faucet and the plastic of the tub.

This weekend, we'll finish by putting down a carpet strip where lovely little Evie tore up the carpet.  She's been a rather naughty cat over the past few weeks.  We lock her out of the room at night, and she tears at the door when she's hungry in the morning.  When I let her in, she tears at the bed!  I've been keeping a squirt bottle near me, but some damage has already been done at the interface between our bedroom carpet and the hallway carpet.  In the past, when she did this to get to a hamster, the carpet strip kept her from making it any worse.

 Finally, we decided to harvest our carrots and parsnips - in the dark.  There has been frost on the ground for a week, and the western part of the state is calling for 2-5 inches of snow this weekend, so it was time to pull them.  We got two and a half pounds between the two of them:

I'm ever so pleased that they did that well at least, considering I didn't thin them out at all.  Next year I know better.  We've begun planning our garden for next year and are very excited about some changes that will be coming about. Stay tuned for all the details on the new plan :o)

Homemaker Holiday

Monday was a glorious day.  I enjoyed almost every minute of it.  I cleaned my whole bedroom top to bottom and put new sheets on the bed.  I did all of the laundry and put away what was dry.  The towels will be put away after they come out of the dryer. 
I made applesauce and apple butter and canned it.  From a local Asian market, we get amazing fuji apples.  They're huge!

A quick applesauce/apple butter how to:

Peel the apples.  I've done it with and without peeling, and I definitely peel from now on.

 

 Cut them into quarters and core them.

Slice the apples up.  If you want chunkier sauce/butter, leave them bigger.  If you want smooth sauce/butter, dice them.

For applesauce, I threw them into a big pot on medium/high with half a cup of water and the lid on.

After twenty minutes, it's mushy.  I use a potato masher to get it to the consistency I like.

I do a hot pack, so I pour the sauce straight into sterilized jars from the pot.

Yum!

With apple butter, instead of using the stove, I put the apples into the crockpot with 2 cups of sugar, three sticks of cinnamon, and enough ground cloves and pumpkin pie spice to cover the top.

 The finished products:

Please excuse the messy counters.  If I always waited to have the kitchen clean to make things, I'd never get anything done.

For dinner, I made a turkey roast with mashed potatoes, roasted root vegetables, and snap peas.  With the leftovers, I made turkey shepherd's pie for later in the week.

We also managed to get some garden work done. Though I've let it go a bit fallow, this is our main flower bed:

*B* was working on composting old plants.  We've cleared out a good bit of our garden and planted potatoes.  Wouldn't you know it, when we cleared it, the squashes started producing.

On our neighbor's side of the fence, there's a ton of pokeberry.  While it's poisonous (though some eat it anyway), the berries make a really nice ink to draw with.

 This little guy was eating our carrots.  I think he's a black swallowtail. We let him live.

While out in the garden, I deadheaded my marigolds.  I remember my mom doing this when I was a kid.  The seeds store really easily.  Any savings is a good thing!

Check out the Tuesday Garden Party over at An Oregon Cottage.

Unbelieveable

The recent changes that have taken place in my house are simply amazing.  I even find it hard to believe from time to time.  But it's true - my house is clean and enjoyable, and has been that way for several days.  I have far less guilt about our living conditions.  It either used to be perpetually messy, or *B* would clean it after a hard day's work.  I can now say that we've done a good job cleaning together (with me doing a more than fair amount of the work).

We got some very inexpensive, festive pumpkins for the fall season.  Wicket liked them so much she decided to look at them while she inhabited our charity clothing basket.  The clothes were put in a box with *B*'s old toys and will be donated tomorrow morning.

The living room is tidy and vacuumed.  The windows are open so that fresh air can come in.  The fans are to keep up the circulation of air.  

The kitchen floor was swept and mopped today.  I cleaned out the fridge a few days ago.  All of the dishes are caught up, and tomorrow's dinner is ready for the stove top.  

Even the cats approve!  Well, as much as they ever do...

Simple Pleasure Thursday

I'm in that habit, again, of starting four or five posts and not finishing them. Today, this one will be published.

My simple pleasure for today is being entranced by a blog who reminds me of:

"A world where men were men and women were cherished and lovely.... A world of romance and beauty, of tuxedos and chiffon, a perfect world. "  -The Stepford Wives

Okay, not perfect maybe, but a satisfying world.


I've been reading the archives of Destination 1940.  While the blogger hasn't posted since May, her previous posts are fascinating.  In her experiment, she picked up a period housekeeping manual and a menu planning book.  Week by week, she's been adding more chores to her workload.  As I've been reading through, I've started on some of the suggestions.In some respects, she's got me doing more housework than I've done in a while. 

For example, I've started:

• opening windows as soon as I wake up
• pulling back the covers to air out the bed
• making the bed after my shower
• tidying up each room I leave (e.g. I took DVDs downstairs with me this morning)
• doing dishes before they pile up
• caring about how I do my laundry (I'm ashamed to say that I don't even break it down into darks and lights)

It's my hope that to some extent I can adopt some of the housekeeping strategies that she presents in her blog. Never know - maybe I'll have to stop feeling so guilty that *B* does most of the housework :o)

New Week, Fresh Start

We are at the beginning of a brand new week, and it feels good. 

Spiritual - Today, *B* and I went to church, and discussed Mass afterward at breakfast.  I really enjoyed teaching him about the things that Catholics do and do not believe.  Think of it as the religious version of Mythbusters.

Wedding - We stopped by my grandparents' house and borrowed a longer chain for the necklace I'll wear for my wedding.  All of the invitations are addressed (minus five for whom we don't yet have addresses).  I have the materials to finish putting the invitations together.  They should be assembled next weekend.  We bought a card box, and a blue garter (woo hoo!).

Housekeeping - For the last few weeks, we've been really behind on laundry.  I mean REALLY behind.  When *B* did laundry, it got tossed on our bedroom floor because we didn't have any more baskets, and neither of us had a neither of us had enough time to put it away.  Clean got mixed in with dirty, and it was a giant mess.  We rolled the whole lot of it down two flights of stairs.  We're two loads into it, and all of it is put away.  We can actually see carpet again!

I'm now off to make zucchini bread for my department as a Monday morning treat.  I hope your week goes as well as mine will!

The Dangers of Coupons

Growing up, my dad always complained that my mom never cut coupons.  "By cutting coupons for an hour, if you got $30 worth of coupons, you would be paying yourself $30 an hour" he always said.

The original owner of our house had paid for a 1 year subscription to a large, local paper, so we get the Sunday paper for a few months.  I decided I would start clipping coupons to help us out with the grocery bills.  Wouldn't you know it, our food bills increased.

Now, granted, this is my fault.  A coupon is not a magical "cheaper than all" card.  I found that by having a coupon, I allowed myself to purchase things I never would have before.  Specifically, I bought name brand.  In the last couple of months, we've had a fair amount Kraft Mac and Cheese, lots of frozen, pre-cooked chicken tenders, and more shampoo than I can count to name a few.  The only coupons that have actually helped us save are cereal coupons - I'm addicted to Frosted Mini Wheats and Cinnamon Toast Crunch on alternating months.

I imagine that it takes an immense amount of time to ensure that one saves the most on food.  I would think that's why homemakers are so very busy.

So here's my question to you:  Working women (or men - I don't judge), how do you keep your grocery bills down?  Do you keep a pricebook?  Shop generic in one store only?  Clip coupons?

Simple Pleasure Thursday

My simple pleasure for today is having time to clean my house.  Because today was the last day for kids at my camp job, I will have a lot more time to take care of my home in the future as well.  Tomorrow is camp clean up and Monday is a trip to an amusement park for a counselor treat.  After that, my mornings are totally free and open.

To celebrate this new-found free time, I crossed a bunch of stuff off of my to do list.  I vacuumed my whole house (minus the basement), I took care of the animals, I visited the garden, I helped *B* clean the kitchen.  I look forward in the coming days to being able to take proper care of my home.  I've been neglecting the very things that I love so much.  Rhonda at Down--to--Earth had posted on the joys of taking care of the home.  It's absolutely true.  And I feel so much better now that I've been able to fill that role again.

Gardens, Herbs, and Kitchen Tables

Today is a random collection of things that make me happy (and not-so-happy in the case of the last part).

I'm just so in love with how things have turned out, I had to put up another picture. The blue bowl on the ground is full of beer. We've had a slug problem, and they will be lured into the beer and drown.

Look at those gorgeous snap peas!

And a close up of the beauties...My peas will be harvested tonight for Sunday dinner!

My first ever tomato! (a roma paste tomato)

We realized that we don't really eat lettuce, so we ripped out all but four plants and put in extra squash instead. Why have it take up space when we don't want it?

My potential hibiscus are about to bloom. We'll soon find out if that is indeed what they are!

*B* made a gorgeous planter with a form of sedum (sedum hispanicum) we picked up at the local home and garden center.

I also tried my hand at freezing and drying herbs last night.

I picked some basil evenly from all plants.

I rolled one big leaf or two little leaves together from stem to tip.

I cut the basil rolls into strips (I believe it's called chiffonade).

I put the basil into ice cube trays, and filled them with water.

They freeze up quite nicely. When totally frozen, pop them out and put them into a labeled freezer bag. They're really good in drinks, or they can be defrosted for recipes.

I cut five sprigs of basil off of my plant and rinsed and spun them dry.

I put them on a paper towel to get rid of the rest of the water.

I pruned some leaves off the end (used later) and tied twine around the end. I found it best to make a slipknot, throw it over the sprigs, then tie multiple knots in it. I had more control over the stems that way.

Here are other herbs I harvested from bottom left, clockwise: parsley, cilantro flowers, mint, thyme, and the rest of the rosemary.

The thyme I froze flat and threw into a Ziploc. Each of the others went into their own cube, covered in water, and treated like the basil.

Yesterday, I also used my genius to re-purpose a too-small hamster wheel. Because we keep our hamsters in aquariums rather than steel sided cages, the water bottles are hard to accommodate. We bought a glass water bottle. I hooked the frame from our old wheel onto the top of the cage, and hung the water bottle from that.

Doesn't this look nifty??

My not-so-happy section: My grandmother bought us an oak kitchen table a few months ago. It is gorgeous. I've been trying to find a tablecloth for it, but have not yet had any luck. A couple of days ago, I noticed some water on it. I wiped it off and this happened:

Where I wiped took all the finish off. So here is my question for all of you knowledgeable people - how does one fix this problem and how can I care for the table in the future?