Drinking Vinegar

I can’t believe I’m saying this… but I have drank a cup of organic apple cider vinegar every day for about two weeks. This just proves that I will do just about anything if I think it will keep me from getting sick! ;o)

Before you get the idea that I am just taking a few swigs out of the bottle I should tell you that I do doctor it up a bit before sipping. And I didn’t come up with this idea myself. I have several friends who do it and I finally decided to give it a shot. (Reading posts from numerous friends about nasty coughs, sore throats and barfing didn’t help.)

Apple cider vinegar is good for lots of things that ail ya from colds, to cancer, diabetes, cholesterol, blood pressure, weight loss, digestion, arthritis, fungus, yeast…

This isn’t for whimps! I can’t convince anyone else in my house to do it at all. (Babies!) But there are a few tips that I have learned over the past two weeks that I believe has made it a bit easier to swallow…

Pour 1 Tablespoon of organic apple cider vinegar (unfiltered & unpasteurized) in a large mug. Don’t use anything smaller than 8 oz. Diluting it helps.

Add 1 heaping teaspoon of raw local honey. (also good for allergies)

Fill mug with hot (not boiling, I think that makes it taste worse) water. Stir to dissolve honey.

Drink up! Repeat once daily (if you can…)  ;o)

The War on Weeds

Weeds are a continuous battle but we are slowly winning the war! We just have to keep up on it and not let them dig themselves in or gain any ground. I wish we had taken more pictures of how truly HORRIBLE our yard was when we first moved in. I love before and after pictures! While the weeds have been pretty tenacious during our winter truce, despite the cold and rainy weather we’ve been having, they really were not as bad as they’ve been in the past. Whew!

So here are today’s before pictures…

Apparently the weed block I laid down under the sand is NOT an effective weapon against weeds. Especially the very hearty horsetail! (don’t get too comfy, you won’t be around for long)

Our best weapon of defense is just to pull, pull, pull! You see those little vermin pop up their heads and you just rip them right out! This takes a little more time but is well worth the effort…

My favorite secret weapon is salt and vinegar! It’s a great non-toxic yet highly effective weed killer! Just don’t use it too close to things that you do not want to die. Here’s a link to the recipe for salt & vinegar weed killer.

So after a lot of yanking and some spraying, we are looking much better! And I’m sure my neighbors appreciate it, too!

I even uncovered enough rhubarb to make 5 tiny little rhubarb crisps for dessert! (Here’s the recipe for rhubarb crisp)

I just hope we get some more so I can make these little guys again!

I was able to get rid of most of the weeds here but also discovered that the chickens tore up most all of our strawberries! Arrrrr!!!!

But rhubarb and weeds are not the only thing I found growing today…

Chives!

Now I’m going to have to make a pot of baked potato soup…  

All That Noise For Nothing

I could hardly believe it when the boys came in and told me what the girls had dug up in the compost pile. And I mean from deep in the compost pile…

Last summer there was all kinds of talk about the new SunChips bag. And it wasn’t good… Everyone HATED the horrible noise it made! I could not imagine how a bag could possibly make such a sound as to generate that much animosity. So I went out and bought one for myself… They were right! That single SunChips bag made enough noise to wake the dead!!!

So why all the noise??? In order to have a compostable bag. The package made the claim that the bag would be completely composted in 14 weeks. Our bag made it into the pile the first week in August, about 28 weeks ago. Here’s what it looks like this morning…

Yup, pretty much what it looked like way back in August. Well I guess it was a little more dirty and wrinkled…

As you can see, the rest of my “garbage” has turned into lovely rich compost (and some of it has only been there about a month). So what’s up SunChips???

I went to the SunChips website to do some research. Maybe I misunderstood the timeframe of total compostability??? Nope, it’s 14 weeks. But I guess my pile doesn’t maintain the necessary +130 degrees that is needed to break down the bag.

But I did notice something else at their website about these lovely new bags… “For now, because we're committed to composting, we will continue to use the current 100% compostable packaging on specially-marked 10 ½ oz. bags of our Original flavor SunChips® snacks. All other flavors will transition back to traditional packaging while we put the finishing touches on the next generation of compostable bags. SunChips® snacks in traditional packaging will begin to appear in stores in late-September to early October.

Why are we making the change? - While there was a huge amount of enthusiasm surrounding the launch of our compostable SunChips® bag, we've also received feedback regarding how the new packaging has affected the consumer experience, including its noise. In response, we’re taking steps to improve our 100% compostable bag in order to address your concerns. We have several new compostable package options in the works that look promising and look forward to introducing the next generation compostable bag to consumers in the near future.”

So, we obviously weren’t the only ones who were adversely affected by the horrible crinkly sound. I have to say, thanks for listening SunChips! I’m sure my ears and my compost pile will appreciate it!

Rubbing Out Stains

Like usual, I started out the morning by hanging a load of laundry to dry. Unlike usual, Zack’s new khakis had huge dark blue ink stains all over them!!! Why the ink couldn’t have gotten on one of my two painting shirts that were also in that load or one of the boys’ t-shirts, I don’t know??? No, it had to be Zack’s I’ve-only-worn-them-once khakis!!!

But I kept my cool, went to the trusty internet, googled “how to remove ink stains”, and found a few suggestions: hair spray, rubbing alcohol and nail polish remover.

First I tried hair spray. No luck. Then I went to the rubbing alcohol. When the cotton ball started to turn bright blue, I knew we were in business! About 15 blue,alcohol-soaked cotton balls later I had removed what looked like most of the blue ink.

So I threw them into the washer with warm water, heavy wash cycle, and a scoop of my homemade laundry detergent and hoped for the best…

It worked!!! No more blue ink!!! ( I wish I had taken before/after pics)

Unfortunately, when I took Chris’ good jeans out of the dryer I found the khakis weren’t the only victims after all… :o(

that’s what Zack’s pants looked like only a WHOLE LOT MORE

Paper Pots

My sister Theresa brought the cutest little newspaper pots with her starts for the Seed & Start Swap. The really cool newspaper from the Chinese restaurant and the handmade tags really made them special and unique.

The great thing about them is that they are quick, and easy to make and probably won’t cost you a thing. And you can plant them right into the garden just the way they are if you want to.

So, here’s how to make your own little paper pots out of items you have just lying around the house…

All you need is newspaper, scissors, a tall narrow glass and some tape

 

cut your newspaper into strips that are a single sheet thick

roll them around the glass, leaving some hanging off the end of the glass

fold the newspaper at the bottom of the glass like you would when you are wrapping a present and secure it with a piece of tape

 

slip it off the glass (you can fold the top over into the inside of the pot if you want to reinforce the top or make it a bit shorter)

I made these pots quick as a wink

But I warn you, it does make your hands pretty black! :o)

Clothespin Apron

When you hang laundry it's nice to have the clothespins handy. A few years ago my mom bought me this nifty clothespin apron. But after much use, it was beginning to look a little ragged.

Sonja sent me a link to a blog with a cute pattern for a clothespin apron. I was inspired! So I took a bit of scrap fabric and made my own. It's not exactly like the pattern, but it only took me an hour to throw together and it works! I hung an entire load of laundry just this morning in nothin' flat!

that's the very cute, but not so handy, clothespin bag I made while we lived in MN

hanging on the wall behind me

Marigolds- Miracle Or Myth?

I had a few marigolds left over from our Mother's Day projects at Family Nite at church. I heard a rumor that marigolds would keep the deer out of your garden. So I decided to plant them in one of my new beds and see what happens.

The deer around here are pretty bold, seeing how they know we can't fire a gun in the city limits, and are not afraid of doing just about anything for a free tasty meal. They'll even walk up to your wheelbarrow to eat the rose clippings out of it, while you are pusing it!!! Somehow I find it hard to believe that a few little yellow flowers will be intimidating enough (despite their rather pungent odor) to deter these guys from using my future garden patch as a veritable smorgasboard this summer. If my once flourshing strawberries are any indication. They are now merely a fleeting memory of what could have been strawberry shortcake, strawberry pie, strawberry jam...

So, if I wake up in the morning to find thirteen stubby little green stems in my garden bed I will assume it was nothing more than a rural myth.

Smells Like Dinner Time!

My friend Kate shared this with me and I just had to share it here.

It won't let me embed it, so I'll just have to post a link instead... Bummer!

http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/pampers/981315/

Dryer Balls

I try to use the dryer as little as possible the past 8 years. In the summer when it's raining or during the rest of the year, the only things that go in the dryer are bath towels, jeans, and the whites.

To help them dry faster and fluffier, I use dryer balls. They look like a little blue dog toy, but they work great! They help keep things from bunching up in the dryer. I've used only 2 in the dryer for years now, but I just found a second pair cheap at the Grocery Outlet and the package said 4 worked even better.

So far, so good... Now if I could just find a way to keep my darn dirty clothes from reproducing so quickly. My friend Kate suggested leaving the light on in the laundry room to cut down on the "funny business". (I tried, it didn't work) LOL

Bag Dryin'

Most days this is what you will see on the towel rack above my kitchen sink...

I realized that I was spending way too much money on plastic bags for storing or wrapping things when I was getting them for free with the food I was buying.

So now I wash my bread sacks or ziploc bags, hang them to dry and use them again. There is a limit as to how many times you can use a bag, but you know it when you reach it. I also never re-use a bag that I used for meat. They are just too hard to get really clean.

And to think I used to laugh at my grandma for washing pieces of foil and using them again.

Grocery Store Wars

This is a really funny and clever movie that Zack found for me and I just had to share.

Christmas Tags

I got this idea from my mom, who has done this as long as I can remember. We use our old Christmas cards from the year before as gift tags. It's a great way to recycle all those Christmas cards that your friends and family took so long to choose, write and mail to you.

And they look good, too!

Cookie Jars

Here's a great use for canning jars that has nothing to do with boiling water. They are great for freezing in. This year I used them for freezing Christmas cookies in.

Christmas Napkins

I just love having cloth napkins. It has saved me money, as well as space in the landfill. Just throw them in with a load of laundry...

With Christmas approaching, I figured I'd better have some holiday napkins to use. So, I bought a few cheap kitchen towels from Dollar Tree, cut them in half, hemmed the cut edge and now I have 6 new Christmas napkins.

No More Room

Although I told myself I was done with canning and freezing for the year, I can't turn down free homegrown food. When the Lord provides, you jump on it. So I borrowed my friend Sara's canner and dehydrator and set to work.

I put up 9 pints of salsa, 9 quarts of applesauce, apple butter, mincemeat, and dried quite a few apples and pears for snacks.

I was kind of nervous about canning for the first time on my own, but only one jar didn't seal. I was pretty happy!

The boys also went to spend the night with friends this weekend and spent the day on Saturday making apple cider. We got to bring home 5 large containers of really yummy cider!

But now our freezer and pantry are really full!

I Love Fall

I love fall! I love the colors changing to the vibrant colors of autumn. But most of all, I love the fact that fall signals the time that I start cooking again. I cook all year round, but fall is when my serious cooking and baking starts again. I bake cookies, make applesauce, granola, oatmeal, breads, soups, all sorts of stuff that I don't have time for in the summer. I just wish the rain didn't have to start now, too. :o(

The past couple of days I have been enjoying the bounty of friends' gardens and filling my freezer and cupboards with tons of stuff.

I decided to start a new blog of recipes I love rather than having them on our sidebar. So check out the link from our family blog for recipes of the things I have made this week.

Behind The Pegboard Wall

When you start looking behind walls, you never know what you will find. Well, we mostly knew what was behind the pegboard wall in our laundry room. It was the back of the wet bar in our family room.



So when the bottom panel fell off, I decided that maybe it didn't need to go back. The pipes and studs are now partially exposed as well as the concrete subfloor. Or at least what I thought was subfloor. As I was preparing to do a little rearranging, I saw a speck of pink in the concrete.



Wanting to see where this pink was coming from, I grabbed my bag of rags and my apple cider vinegar cleaner. All it contains is cider vinegar diluted with a bit of water. But boy, did it work wonders on that floor! It was really dirty, but the acv took it right off with just a little bit of elbow grease and some old socks.



So here's what the original floor looks like. By the way, it's still there under the new vinyl.

Not Exactly Painting Weather

Chris took off this week to paint the house. It has needed it since we moved in, but we finally decided it was time. We just had to replace the old color. I really couldn't tell you what the old color is because it's really not even a color. The best way to describe it would be it is the color of that crayon you always wanted to use in kindergarten when you were drawing a picture of yourself and you wanted that "skin color". Think of that color only more boring and drab.

The forecast for the week of our big painting project... RAIN. And for once, they were right. Yesterday, Chris pressure washed the house in the rain while my mom and I canned, cooked and froze all day. (see entry below) We were thankful for the cooler weather though. Today, the rain held out long enough for us to paint one side of the house. We didn't get any trim done, but the main color is done. And we like it so far!

Our house was built in 1972 (a terrific year!) and so I wanted to keep the new color in line with the style of the house. Among the contestants were olive drab, goldenrod, or rust orange. But we also decided to go with Metro Paint (see the Leingangs' Recommend or go to the link on our sidebar) and therefore we were more limited in our color selection. So the winner was....

stirring the paint

the first swipe of paint

it's dark brown (sorry, espresso)

The trim will be khaki and the garage doors and front door will be white to match the windows. To see the progress, check back soon. More pictures will be coming weather permitting.