Ao5

SQUEEEEE!! Hubba has gotten the job!! YAY!! In about 6 weeks we'll be in Wyoming. He put in his 2-week notice at work today & his last will be July 11. Between here & there, Hubba has training to attend in N GA. He'll be gone M-F & home on weekends. We'll be taking a trip to TN to see the wonderful out in-laws (Yes they read my blog, hehe). The trip is close to 1600 miles. We plan on stopping of course. I can't wait for the boys to see the arch in St. Louis. I remember driving by it whenever we drove from Omaha to GA when I was a kid. One time I got SO MAD at my parents because they didn't wake me up to see it, LOL. I'm hoping we pass through Hannibal, Missouri as well. My Grandma took me to the Tom Sawyer caves when I was a kid. I LOVED IT!!! I want to take the boys as well. My bestest friend of 16 years lives in the Omaha area, so we'll be stopping there. I haven't seen her in 12 years, and I've never met her boys. I can't wait!!! ...

We have a cat. She's usually really good at using the box. For some reason she decided to go in a box of tulle. We're packing so I'm thinking the stress of all these boxes & new people in the house has made her batty. I'm posting this recipe here so I won't lose it, LOL!!! I also sent this to a friend that was asking about the smell of vomit in her car. I figure if this stuff works on cat pee, it should work on vomit too. Homemade cat urine smell remover: 1/4c hydrogen peroxide 1/4 c baking soda 1/4 c white vinegar 1 T. dish liquid Here's what I did: mix well & put on area to be cleaned. Rub in well (I just used my hands). I sucked it up with our carpet cleaner, then used vinegar & water in the cleaner to go over it again. The vinegar reeks, but once it's dry, the smell of the vinegar is gone, along with the odors.

My youngest is 4. He already knows how to make his bed. Albeit imperfect, he is learning. Now is a GREAT time to teach him, as warm weather is upon us & he's down to just a sheet. We've been working on it for awhile, but he got so frustrated trying to wrangle his big thick blanket. The keys to teaching any child a chore, and teaching them to actually do it are consistency & starting them young. If you make it a daily routine it becomes as habitual as eating, playing or going potty. Starting them young makes it as natural as walking & talking. Here is my little making his bed. You'll see in the last picture how chuffed he was to have done it!!!

I have yoghurt cheese going in the fridge right now. Here's how I'm making it. You need: 1 jar of homemade yoghurt Strainer Something to catch the whey A coffee filter Sit your strainer atop your "catcher." Put your coffee filter inside the strainer. Pour your yoghurt into the coffee filter. Sit everything together inside your refrigerator. The longer you let it drain, the harder your cheese will be. Your cheese is similar to cream cheese! If it's a bit too tart, add some sweetener (honey, sugar, nectar, etc). Use it to spread on thick toast, bagels or even tortillas (the kids love the last one!).

I made yoghurt yesterday. I was planning on it anyway, but I also had some soured milk that I thought I'd try for the occasion. Here is the "recipe" I used & how I did it: 4 cups slightly soured skim milk 1-1 1/3 cups dry milk powder 3-4 T local honey (optional) 2 T store bought yoghurt with live cultures Bring soured milk & milk powder ALMOST to a boil. Remove from heat before it begins to boil. (you will see tiny bubbles begin to form around the edge of the milk surface). Add yoghurt. Mix well. Add honey, mix well. Pour hot milk mixture into clean mason jars. I like the wide mouth for several reasons. One of those reasons- to make yoghurt cheese (that's my next post!!). Set 3 trays on your dehydrator & turn it on. Set your jars on the top try. Lay dehydrator lid on top, and drape a hand towel over the whole thing. Let this run for about 6-8 hours. Your mixture will thicken as the time goes on. It is naturally sweetened with the honey, but feel free to ...

I've been busy canning good things the past couple of weeks. I just LOVE seeing the jars all lined up on the counter, and I love even more, the pantry shelf full of home canned goodies!!! He re are some pics of the last couple of weeks good stuff: 4 qts, 2 pints spaghetti sauce, or 5 qts all together 3 pints pizza sauce 2 1/2 pints carrots 3 pints pork stew & 3 pints of twice processed pinto beans 13 pints pinto beans 23 jars total of the beans, pork stew & carrots.

That's what I have today, & it's not the touch of gold. I tried to vacuum. Got about 1/8 of the living room done & I smelled that burning rubber smell. Took it apart & everything is intact, so I cleaned it well & put it back together. Now I can't get the handle to release and lay down. Grrrrr..... Before I started vaccing, I started a pot of coffee. Went in after I "tried" to fix the vac to get some coffee thinking it should be done by then. Yeah, it was done alright- all over the counter, cabinets and floor. The latch for the pause feature was stuck. This thing is only a couple of months old!!! I got it all cleaned up & am running a bleach pot through with a towel all around it, LOL. So now I have a nasty carpet, a stinky kitchen, a bucket full of rags, no coffee & a headache! Hey, at least I tried, right?!?!?

We looked at a LOT of homes on Saturday & 2 more on Sunday. The 2nd one on Sunday I was there about 3 minutes & said "I'm done." It smelled HORRIBLE, it was all sorts of falling apart & just GROSS!!! I mean, don't get me wrong, we can handle a home that needs TLC, but carpenters we are not! HUGE difference between downright fixer upper & a house needing some TLC. Out of the 6 or so (I lost count) we looked at on Saturday, this is the only one that really has stayed with us. Priced 13k over our budget, we're hoping to negotiate it down, based on 2 things- it just went into foreclosure & it needs a bit of work (the TLC kind, not the " ohno where does this wire go, " sort of stuff). It has 3 bedrooms on the main level, a nice open floor plan and a basement stubbed for a loo & framed for finishing. Curb appeal One of the secondary bedrooms: Secondary bathroom: The other secondary bedroom: Laundry closet These are taken of the living r...

Today for lunch, I raided the pantry for something "new & exciting" for lunch. I ended up making chili cheese fries, which I hadn't had for quite some time. The kids have never had them (I know, I'm such a horrid Mum! LOL). Afterwards I was approached by my oldest..... Sebastion says- "Mom those were so good, I'd say it was fine dining." I need to get them out more. *sigh*

Among the other things I use vinegar for, here's my latest trick! I can't believe I'm showing you this, but this is 1 1/2 years of build up. And yes, I have scrubbed it before & it didn't do much. I sprayed it with straight vinegar & walked away. I came back with a green scrubbie pad, a toothbrush & a couple of cleaning rags. This is a VERY old stove, so there are some marks I'm unable to remove- like discoloration to the enamel, burn marks, chips, etc. As an FYI, I didn't use the bristles of the toothbrush for scrubbing. I put the scrubbie over the handle & used it to get into the hard to reach spots. For the corners I simply stuck the handle wrapped scrubbie into the corners & twisted.

The past 3 days have been so busy around here, and today will be no different. The past 3 days have been spent grocery shopping, running errands & working around the house. With us moving soon, I've been packing up little used items. I moved most of the stuff from the HS room into the dining room, so I can use the HS room as storage. Today I'm working on the house- got my typical weekly things to do & I want to try to get at least 4 napkins made. Hope you have a blessed day!

So I was trying a new recipe. It called for buttermilk. I thought EW, but decided to try it anyway. EW! was right & within 24 hours, the house started to smell like a baby's bottle left in a car on a summer's day for a week. Next time I try sans milk

I started a new sourdough starter with a new recipe. Will report back in a few days. Also made my first loaf of HM bread in quite some time! Starting to feel so much better again- YAY!!! Will have to post about my new dietary changes as well soon!

I REALLY want one of those grabby thingies where you push a button on the handle end & the claws open & you can grab stuff that's hard to reach. I used to see them all the time in the Dollar Tree, but alas, now that I actually WANT one, they are nowhere to be found (affordably anyway). There were 2 socks behind the washer & dry. Actually there were 3, but I only SAW 2. What's a girl to do with no grabby thingie? *sigh* Hey! It worked!!!

I've been baking! Friday it was Peanut Bu tter Cookies. The darling Keena n he lped me with those. He espe cially loved squ ishing them with the fork. I didn't get pics of that part though! Yesterday I went grocery shopping as I was out of some baking staples (*gasp* I KNOW!!!). I'm fully stocked. Er, I was til I started baking again today. I went thru almost a dozen eggs & 2 pkgs margarine. To day's session rewarded the freezer & tupperwares with lemon bars: A Double Chocolate Kahlua Cake & icing (these are frozen separately & will be assembled when I thaw them): And 2 batches of Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies, some with nuts, some without: