A Few More Things

Here are a few more things that have been keeping me busy this summer:

• My parents celebrated 50 years of marriage in June. My sisters and I hosted a beautiful gathering for them. We spent lots of time planning, shopping, decorating, preparing food and enjoying their special day. The Hubs made a delicious five-tier cake for the day.

• Early in the summer, after Daughter S's graduation and just before Mother's Day, I treated my mom, my daughters and myself to a spa party. Two of my sisters and one of my nieces came along too. It was kind of a Mother's Day treat for all of us. We had so much fun! If you're looking for a place to get a pedicure or massage, you should check out The Spa of Buckingham.

• My sister and I have been trading off teaching the pre-school Sunday School class at our church. That's almost a full-time job right there!

• With the rest of my family, we hosted a farm tour and dinner for a group of young men staying at a state park in the area. These young men stayed for three weeks and worked at Holliday Lake State Park. They also enjoyed some of the recreational activities Central Virginia has to offer. They also got a look at some of the culture of our area, with the farm tour and other local attractions.

So I guess I've been even more busy that I thought I was.

Not Your Typical Back-To-School List

This is the first year we haven't sent anyone "back to school" since we put Son J on the green dot bus to preschool when he was barely four years old. That was a long time ago.  He's all grown up now and spends his time in the city, cooking up amazing treats like Danish pastries as big as my head. Daughter S graduated from college in May and has taken Little D and moved off to a different city to make the big bucks. Daughter P and her family are closer to home, but still no schooling for them either. And The Hubs and I are way passed that stage of life!

The Hubs and I at False Cape State Park

Anyway, it's got me thinking about all those years of sending the kids back to school. Back to school means the end of summer. Usually during the first couple weeks of school, kids are given the task of telling what they did over the summer. So here's a list of things that have been going on around Lanky Ridge this summer.

• We've been enjoying our empty nest. It's been very quiet at times, but we're adjusting. We've enjoyed a visit from some great friends from Maine. We played tourist with them around the area. We took a quick trip to the beach, just the two of us. Our first trip to False Cape State Park was very nice and relaxing. We got a travel trailer and we've been spending lots of our time getting it "travel ready" and we have a fall trip planned. It will be road-ready by then.
• For the first time in a few years, there's been a big garden at Lanky Ridge. With my busy work schedule in the summer, it hasn't been easy. We've gotten a lot canned. It works something like this: The Hubs has things picked, washed, shelled, and ready to go when I get home from work. Then we spend the evening canning and processing whatever is harvested that day. Processed jars are left on the counter over-night and cleaned, labeled and put away the next evening. We've done LOTS of green beans, some black-eyed peas, plenty of tomato sauce (both seasoned and plain), and relish. We've also frozen shredded zucchini and dried some herbs. We have more in the garden. Soon we'll can more green beans, dig up Yukon gold potatoes and sweet potatoes, and harvest pumpkins and more zucchini. There's a real satisfaction to knowing we have the food in our pantry and freezer. My go-to website for canning information? The National Center for Home Food Preservation here. And yes, my Extension Agent directed me to that website.
• The Hubs has been spending a little time helping out people we know with computer issues. He's a whiz at that and word has gotten around. People often call him for help and he's always willing to help. They can be ornery things (computers not husbands).

• We've both spent some time hanging out in the big cities. Whether staying with Little D when he's not feeling well enough to go to daycare so Daughter S can work at her new job, or running up to help Son J with a car break-down. Daughter S and I took Little D to see the dinosaur exhibit at a museum too.
  
• Hanging out with my cousins is not something we often get to do, there are 29 of us and we live all over the world. So when our cousin came for a visit from Germany, we had to plan something special. A few of us went for a bike ride across High Bridge Trail State Park. If you live anywhere near Central Virginia and you haven't been there, you should make it a priority to go. It was so awesome. And it's always fun to hang out and reminisce about our grandparents and growing up visiting them on their farm.
• With our newly-empty nest comes a couple empty bedrooms. So I moved my sewing room from a tiny space into a recently-vacated bedroom. The best part? My sewing room now has a window. Natural light is great for creativity, trust me! In going through my stash of fabric, I found a box of tiny squares that my grandmother had cut out and begun sewing together for a quilt. I knew it was there, but I hadn't thought about it in a long time. I've been working on finishing the quilt. It has many different fabrics and the pieces are very small.  It will be a true scrap quilt, which was her specialty. I'm thrilled to be finishing it for her. 

So that's my "what I did during summer vacation" list. What did you do this summer?

Things I LOVE

With Valentine's Day this week, I've been thinking about things I love. There are many things I truly love, like The Hubs, the kids and the grandsons. Then there are all those other things I "LOVE." Here's my list, in an order that makes no sense at all, not even to me.

1. Post cards.
2. Sunsets.
3. Vegetable soup without peas.
4. The color orange.
5. Fresh baked bread. Add real butter, and it's even better.
6. Comfy jeans.
7. Quiet time with Jesus.
8. Lemonade.
9. Campfires.
10. Cowboy boots.
11. Strawberries.
12. Cozy quilts.
13. Daffodils.
14. Dark chocolate.
15. Hand-made scarves.
16. Yellow kittens.
17. Picnics in the woods.
18. Country music. Unless Kid Rock is involved, then I'm out.
19. Maxi dresses.
20. Good books.
21. Flip flops.
22. Mountains.
23. Old-fashioned aprons.
24. Ocean sounds and smells.
25. The American flag.

What do you love today?

Frugal Fridays: Re-purposing

Here are some more ideas for re-purposing common items.

Cereal boxes...cut out flat sections and punch holes along the edges. Give them to your child along with a shoe lace. They can pretend they are sewing. (remember those "lacing cards" from kindergarten?

Wire coat hangers...Bend the sides in and then both bottom parts up to make a hook to hold cookie cutters, canning jar lids, rolls of tape, etc. It can be hooked into an existing peg board.

Old blue jeans...Make coin purses out of the pockets for kids. Remove two pockets from pants, sew a zipper across the top, and stitch the sides together.

Old credit cards...Make several guitar picks from one card. Make softer picks from milk-jug plastic or plastic lids.

Bacon plastic...The plastic piece that comes in the bacon can be used to make stencils, such as for painting country designs on the walls.

Old T-shirts...use an adult-sized shirt to make a child's superhero cape. Slit up the front, leaving the neck intact. Depending on the desired effect, the child can put his arms through the sleeves or not.

I've found there are many, many ways to use certain items. Blue jeans, old T-shirts, milk jugs, soda bottles, and anything that we use lots of. Chances are, if you have a lot of something, you can find something useful to make from it.

All of these ideas came from "The Complete Tightwad Gazette" by Amy Dacyczyn.

Another great resource for re-purposing items is pinterest. Trust me, you could spend hours researching ways to re-use stuff.

Frugal Friday: The Tightwad Gazette

I've been slightly lacking in postings for Frugal Friday lately. So here's a few simple quotes from "The Complete Tightwad Gazette" by Amy Dacyczyn. Hope ya'll enjoy!

There are multiple ideas about re-purposing items. Some of my favorites:

"A soda bottle...Make a drip catcher for a cooler that has a spout near the bottom. Cut bottle diagonally. Then cut a horizontal slot in bottle to fit over the vertical spout." Page 636

"A milk jug...Cut off and discard bottom third. Use as a microwave splatter shield." Page 637

"Old T-shirts...Cut into long strip 2 inches wide. Stretch this so that it curls to make a cord. Crochet into hot mats, doormats, and even baskets. Use colored shirts to create designs." also Page 637

"Plastic bags of all types...Collect in burlap bag and use as an archery target. Plastic bags will stop the arrow, but allow it to be removed easily." also Page 637

"Broccoli rubber bands...Use for a jar or bottle opener. Place band on lid and twist." Page 638

"Bubble wrap...Those who spend their days on their feet can use sections for insole cushioning. Lasts about six hours and doesn't pop when walking." also Page 638

In the beginning of the book, Mrs. Dacyczyn answers this question: "How do you pronounce your name? It's pronounced "decision," as in, "I made a decision to marry a guy of Ukrainian ancestry." Page 7. LOL. I just love that. She is so funny, and you wouldn't expect that in a book with this title. I also love how she refers to herself as "The Frugal Zealot."

If you don't already have this book, I strongly urge you to buy it. In the very least, check it out of the library for a while.

While writing this article, I tried to find the soda bottle dip catcher thing from Pinterest because I remembered seeing a photo of it. I was unable to find it, but I did find a million other uses for soda bottles. So if you have something in abundance (soda bottles, soup cans, baby food jars), consider searching for a re-purposing option on the web. You might be surprised at what you'll find.

Feel free to leave your own ideas for re-purposing in the comments section. We'd all love some more great ideas.

Resolutions: Update

Here's an update on my 2013 Resolutions:

1.  Complete a 90-Day Overview of The Bible study. This will keep me busy until the end of March (if I stay on track). I've done lots of Bible studies in my time and one I particularly enjoyed was a read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year. I did complete that twice, so I have confidence I can do this one.
I'm right on track with this one. I will admit, the 90-day Overview is not going verse-by-verse. It skips over some stuff and sometimes I wish I was doing a complete, verse-by-verse study.

2.  Plant a garden with tomatoes, peppers, green beans, potatoes (white and sweet), zucchini, pumpkins, watermelons, cantaloupe, and a few herbs. And can 50 quarts of tomato sauce and/or spaghetti sauce. We haven't had a garden for a couple of years because of time (summer is very busy at work). So this will be just a "going back to what's familiar" to us. The Hubs has agreed to help with this. I need to find more canning jars to do this, so if you know of an inexpensive source, let me know. Purchasing new jars is always an option, but expensive.
It's really too early for this, we still have freezing temps and snow in the forecast. But I've been looking at seed catalogs. And the Hubs and I have been talking about what to plant and where to plant it.

3.  Get my concealed weapons permit and purchase a handgun. This is something The Hubs and I have been planning for some time, but just haven't done it. I'm hoping putting it on this list will give us the needed push to get it done. We have a good local place for the class and will be signing up for it soon.
I've purchased my handgun and practiced with it. I'm signed up for a concealed weapons class. 

4.  Visit my friend Kim in Pennsylvania. We haven't seen each other in over ten years! The Hubs and I were heading in that direction right after Christmas, but the flu hit and we came back home. This will probably happen in March or April. Easy!
Haven't nailed down a date for this, but I'm working on it. Schedules are tight.

5.  Two date nights a month with The Hubs. 2013 will see our nest completely empty (barring any unforeseen circumstances) and it's finally "our time"! I think this will be the easiest one.
So far, we've had one. And I think that means we're on track...maybe a teeny bit behind schedule.
 

Banana Pudding Post or Deep Spiritual Stuff

This was posted a while back, but I've been thinking about it lately. During this time of year,we get to enjoy all the good foods of summer. We just had homecoming at church. We have a family reunion coming up soon. There's good stuff from the garden, like watermelon and tomatoes. So I was just thinking about that. And I thought I would share it with you all!

I made some banana pudding. And it's so good, it got me to thinking about all things banana pudding. If you told someone who's never eaten it, that you put vanilla wafers and banana slices into a big bowl, mix up some pudding and pour it into the bowl, then add another layer of vanilla wafers and banana slices and then another layer of pudding and top it off with a whipped cream or meringue topping, they would probably say, "Ew, gross!" But if you've ever had it, you know how good it is.

Now I can't think about banana pudding without thinking about my great Aunt Elizabeth. She made the BEST! It was kind of her specialty. Well, that and fried chicken. And biscuits. And deviled eggs. And pie, any kind. She was just the best cook. And she cooked the old fashioned way. Just like her sister (my grandmother) did.

Aunt Elizabeth's banana pudding was made from scratch. No instant pudding, no Cool Whip. I'm not embarrassed to admit that I used both in mine. Hers was just heavenly. I'm convinced that she's up in heaven right now making it for Jesus. And yes, I'm pretty sure Jesus loves banana pudding too. Even if it was never served in heaven before, when Aunt Elizabeth got there, it became a favorite. I'm sure of it!

Then I got to thinking, "Do we have to cook when we get to heaven?" That bothered me a little bit. I've always thought that there was no suffering in heaven. It wouldn't be suffering for Aunt Elizabeth to make banana pudding. But for me? Well, maybe just a little. Aunt Elizabeth and my grandmother cooked to show love, to comfort, to mother. It was their love language. And any one who benefited from their cooking loved it too.

Since there is worship in heaven and cooking for someone can be a form of worship, then I guess there is cooking in heaven. At least for those who love to cook. And being the good Baptist that I am, I know Jesus loves to eat.

So you see, it all makes since in my head. Aunt Elizabeth is up in heaven right now, making banana pudding for Jesus. And Jesus is loving that banana pudding.

So, that's my deep spiritual thinking for the day.

2013 Resolutions

Are you one of those people who always make resolutions, but never keep them? Or are you the type who says, "What's the point?" I usually make resolutions and sometimes I keep them and sometimes I don't.  I've found that if they are measurable and specific, I can mostly keep them.

No one really knows where this practice began. Whose idea was it anyway? Most likely, "new" year, "new" you mentality kicks in and people start to think about all the things they want to do in life. Time passes and we still haven't accomplished what we want to do. With a new year coming, we set goals. But do we really plan to meet those goals?

This year I have resolutions. I've tried to come up with some that are long-term and some that are quick and easy (or so I think!). I'll post them here so you all can keep me committed! We'll see how it goes. I'll check in from time to time and let you know.

So here are my 2013 resolutions:

1. Complete a 90-Day Overview of The Bible study. This will keep me busy until the end of March (if I stay on track). I've done lots of Bible studies in my time and one I particularly enjoyed was a read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year. I did complete that twice, so I have confidence I can do this one.
2. Plant a garden with tomatoes, peppers, green beans, potatoes (white and sweet), zucchini, pumpkins, watermelons, cantaloupe, and a few herbs. And can 50 quarts of tomato sauce and/or spaghetti sauce. We haven't had a garden for a couple of years because of time (summer is very busy at work). So this will be just a "going back to what's familiar" to us. The Hubs has agreed to help with this. I need to find more canning jars to do this, so if you know of an inexpensive source, let me know. Purchasing new jars is always an option, but expensive.
3. Get my concealed weapons permit and purchase a handgun. This is something The Hubs and I have been planning for some time, but just haven't done it. I'm hoping putting it on this list will give us the needed push to get it done. We have a good local place for the class and will be signing up for it soon.
4. Visit my friend Kim in Pennsylvania. We haven't seen each other in over ten years! The Hubs and I were heading in that direction right after Christmas, but the flu hit and we came back home. This will probably happen in March or April. Easy!
5. Two date nights a month with The Hubs. 2013 will see our nest completely empty (barring any unforeseen circumstances) and it's finally "our time"! I think this will be the easiest one.

So there you have it. Number 1 should be completed by the end of March, if I stay on track each day. Number 3 should be completed by the end of February. Number 4 should be completed by the end of April. Number 2 will be a little longer, but will have measurable milestones (plant by April/May, weed each day, harvest/process/etc. as I have tomatoes/etc.). Number 5 is the only one that will be on-going all year (beginning now and not completed until December 2013).

All goals are measurable and I can follow my progress on a daily/weekly/monthly basis. Please add comments and let me know YOUR resolutions. I'll help you stay on track too!

Oh, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!