Treasures May 29, 2008

It has been a day for finding treasures!!

I went to get my pedi today. Afterwards, I went to the nearby thriftstore, continuing to look for a breadmachine. This time they had 3 and I scored one for $5. Online search for a manual shows this model retails for about $200, so I’d say I got a good deal.

I also found a vintage yogurt maker for $5. It has manuals and recipes etc. Seems like a weird thing to be excited about, but I had seen on HBHW a recipe for home made yogurt, so that’s what got it into my head. If I can make yogurt that’s additional savings, since my kids eat quite a bit of it.

On the way home, an adorable little fluffy dog (exactly what I’ve been looking for for months) was tearing down the road at mach 3 headed right for the highway. I coaxed him into the car and brought him home. I had a feeling where he was from, and I was right. But it was fun to play with him for a little while before I took him back home. The kids were disappointed–me too, but he just wasn’t the right dog for us. Besides, we can’t afford another dog right now with the vet bills, the kenneling etc.

Off to make a loaf of bread, yippee!!

The Quest May 28, 2008

My quest for the right solo song for the 18th is still ongoing. After dedicating last Sunday to the task and making no progress with the small accompaniment library I have, I contacted my church music director about coming in and browsing the churches library. I will be leaving shortly for that, as soon as Keith and Alex get back from grade rewarding ice cream trip.

In the meantime, having exhausted Rhapsody on Sunday, I have been listening to Pandora Radio. If you have not checked out this website, you should. I realized that I enjoy the arrangements of the group Selah, and so I went and added to my extensive radio listings and created “Selah radio”. Pandora will choose and play music by Selah, and by other artists similar in style and content. No downloading, but it’s a great way to browse while surfing. I have a list now of a few ideas should I not find anything in the church library. My favorite station is the Mozart station–I like to have it playing while I am writing or working. It is non-distracting and whitening.

I’ll keep you posted on the quest for the perfect song.

EDIT: My choice

Memorial Day May 26, 2008

For the most part, today I am going to be cleaning. We have invited over some family members for a cookout later, and realized it’s been far too long since we have had company over–the house the pits!

As much as I hate housework, I do love to cook and entertain. I have plans for new recipes. Some are already finished:

I have never made my own potato salad. I tried this recipe and as of last night, it’s totally delish! Sweet and tangy, yum yum! I made it ahead of time because I think that potato salad is one of those things that is better after it flavors through a while.

I just finished a new recipe for homemade ice cream and it’s in the deep freeze hardening. We’ll see how the texture is after freezing, but the flavor is the best yet. AND–it’s no cook!

I am also planning these, but haven’t gotten them done yet:

Strawberry Limeade

Apple Strawberry Spinach Salad

Also on the menu is hamburgers, corn on the cob and watermelon.

We told the kids we will finish up the fireworks that we couldn’t do all last year because of the drought. May as well use them up since we will be in MI this year for the 4th and they have different laws there.

Holidays are about family to me. I feel like of all the things I miss from living near family, celebrating holidays is the number one. Growing up, every holiday was spent with one side of the family or the other. For so many years now, we’ve lived away from any relatives. Therefore, more often then not, holidays were just like any other day–except maybe we didn’t have school if it was a weekeday. Now that we live here, I thought things might be different, but that seems not to be the case. It’s one of those things that I have to tell myself that even though I think my kids are missing out, THEY don’t know they are, and they will just have different memories of childhood then I did–and that’s ok.

We are all excited to host a quiet event today though, with K’s relatives. I am sure it won’t last very long, but at least it’s something. Besides, I had a reason to get my house clean and try out new recipes.

Best Intentions May 24, 2008

I am starting afresh here. No reason not to, it’s been AGES since I posted.

After the neverending winter boredum, spring has been project intensive, esp for Keith. We have 3 gardens, and he designed and built a rain catchment system, in anticipation of a drought. It is mind boggling how little rainfall it takes to collect 170 gallons of water! He is catching off only 1/4 of the roof, and yet one rain has it all overflowing.

We have a cornfield, and a garden with potatoes, carrots, peas, squash, and watermelons. So far, only the potatoes are doing anything, and I am quite sure there is no way we’re ever going to be able to eat that many potatoes! He does such a great job keeping the house going, both inside and out. Which reminds me….

:Laundry break:

We are trying to become more self sufficient and cost efficient. (That’s a nice turn of phrase!) Following the lead of some of K’s relatives, we have decided to shut down much of our house at the breaker box. Any thing plugged into an outlet that has a light (clock or led or whatever) draws power, and therefore, it gets shut down when not in use. Hot water heater, TV, microwave, etc.  It’s made a big difference in our relatives electric bill, so we decided to give it a shot. We have not gotten a bill yet, but we’ve been watching our meter, and it’s been a big difference, so there must be something to it!

Speaking of energy savings, Keith wants to begin making airfoils for a windpower company. Windgenzen.com has a low cost class to learn to make the foils and then you can become a vendor for them. He is very interested in any sort of alternative energy, both wind, solar and bio-fuel. Since he also enjoys woodworking, this was a real fit for him. He’s excited to give it a try. He is gone at the moment getting some free Bamboo plants. He wants to make things out of that wood, like toy bows and the like. I think it will add a fun jungle feel to the treehouse.

My attempts at cost efficiency begin with recipes and ideas found at Hillbilly Housewife.com. I have been learning ways to save money on the food bill by cooking things from scratch as much as possible. I am trying to get away from those 30 min quick meals too.  We plan to buy into a cow and get it slaughtered, and the meat should last us a year roughly. Last year, we got a quarter of a cow and it lasted us about 6 mos. Not like we strictly ate beef, but I didn’t buy any either!

In the fall, we plan to buy chickens. I don’t know how we’ll feel about killin our “pets” for meat, but we’ll have the eggs, and we can sell them for a good price.

The children are out enjoying the weather and having a squirt gun fight. We tried to go to a family fun fair today, only to find out this was the wrong weekend for it, whoops!