I'm Seeing Red

I love yard sales.  There is something so invigorating about buying something that you need for so much less than what it retails for in the store.  I have bought clothes, furniture, dishes, linens, and even Christmas and birthday gifts at yard sales. 

If you think it's weird or disgusting to buy gifts at a yard sale let me ask you one question.  What is the difference between new Lego's and yard sale Lego's?  This was what got me thinking about whether it really mattered if some of my children's gifts were second hand.  Besides, I don't want my children to only value things that come in shiny new wrappers. 

I've also noticed that I can often find higher quality items that I could never afford new at garage and yard sales.  Many of my yard sale bargains have outlasted things that I bought new.

This is my latest yard sale purchase.  (No, I'm not talking about the dog.)  I bought eight red cloth napkins for 50 cents a piece.  My kitchen is red and these napkins look perfect there.  They don't look too bad on my clothesline either with all the green grass in the background.

  I also purchased a couple of pillow slips that are striped and match my boys sheets.  For some reason they are extra hard on pillow slips and they wear out before the sheets.  Possibly because they get used for impromptu sack races across the family room.

Last, but not least I bought a Jenga game.  This game retails for around $15.00 new, and I paid $1.50.

The best part about it is I didn't make a special trip to save all this money.  I was on my way home from running some errands, saw the yard sale and stopped.  So, I didn't spend any extra money in gas. 

 That's why I'm seeing red or maybe I should say green. :)

What Sunday Looks Like

                               

Here's a little glimpse of what Sunday looks like at our house.


The day starts with coffee--of course.


Hubby usually makes breakfast--scrambled eggs, and fried potatoes.


I throw together something for lunch.


While making sure the children know their memory verses for Sunday School.


We scurry off to church while dinner bakes in the oven--often a roast or whole chicken.


Come home and after devouring our yummy lunch we collapse in our beds or on the couch for a nap.


When we wake up we usually have popcorn as an afternoon snack.


Then it's back to church for the evening service.


Home again for an after-church-snack.......leftovers, tacos, or burgers on the grill.


While we listen to Sunday night stories on the radio.


All-in-all it's one of the most relaxing days of the week.


What does Sunday look like at your house?

Cheesy Asparagus Soup

I've been thinking about asparagus a lot lately--maybe because I've spent the last two days freezing it and pickling it.

Mostly I've been marveling over how much I love it, considering that as a child I despised its flavor.  I can still remember gagging down the required mouthfuls, and trying to think if there was anything I hated more.

Somewhere along the years I decided it was actually tolerable, and then good, and then I started craving it's green springy flavor.  As soon as the first signs of spring appear I start dreaming about asparagus dishes.  A good incentive to clean out the last of it from the freezer.

This recipe is excellent for those cold winter days when you are hungry for soup.  Usually I make it with frozen asparagus.  The creamy base makes it a dish that will sometimes appeal to those who aren't as fond of asparagus. 

10 ounces fresh or frozen asparagus

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup butter

1/3 cup flour

2 cups milk

8 ounces cheddar cheese

2 teaspoons chicken bouillon

Cook asparagus, and onion in 3 cups of water with bouillon until tender-approximately 5-10 minutes. ( you don't want it mushy--just tender ) Do not drain.  Meanwhile make a white sauce with butter, flour, and milk.  After it is thickened add salt, pepper, and cheese stirring until melted.  Combine white sauce with cooked asparagus and onion and serve.  Yield 4-6 servings.

Cleaning Blinds

                                     


Even tho they are not my favorite window treatment I have quite a few venetian blinds throughout my house.  Probably my main reason for disliking them is their tendency to collect dust and how difficult they are to clean.  In the past I cleaned them by swishing them in a bathtub of warm water with dish soap and ammonia in it.  The problem was they didn't seem to get all that clean.  Somehow the dirt and dust seems to cement itself onto those little blind slats, and it won't let go.

If you remember my list for last week included cleaning the blinds in our master bedroom.  These were especially dusty because we had done some drywall work in the master bathroom and the drywall dust was thick on the blinds.

I was filling the tub with hot water when I realized that I didn't have any ammonia in the house.  I frantically searched my mind for an alternative to wash the blinds in and on a whim I squirted a tablespoon or two of laundry detergent into my water.

Amazingly, the laundry soap seemed to work better than anything else I've ever used-including ammonia.  The blinds came out looking shiny and clean.

I thought that I would pass on the tip to all you blind owners out there.  I used Tide laundry soap, and I made the water as hot as I could.  I let the blinds soak about 5 minutes, and then sloshed them around a little-pulled them out and drained them on a couple bath towels on the floor and hung them while still damp. 

When you hang them make sure all the slats are separated and the blind is open otherwise they will not dry fully, and depending on the moisture level in your home they might mildew.

Kasey

This is our one and only cat.  Actually we are his people.  Those of you who have cats know that you don't ever really own them, they own you.

He is an outside cat about 90% of the time.  He occasionally comes in the house and allows Scamper to torment him briefly before he unsheathes his claws, and shows her who is REALLY in charge.

He does a good job of keeping the mouse population to a minimum around our homestead.  In exchange we feed him cat food and allow him to take naps in our flower beds, and on top of our gas grill.

He has two habits that are rather annoying.  He cannot be petted without kneading something soft (my lap) and he also drools when you scratch his ears.  Besides those two minor faults he is an exemplary cat.

My husband ( a non-cat-lover ) puts up with Kasey's presence, and Kasey, in typical cat form, chooses to snobbishly ignore him. 

Out of sheer boredom Kasey will sometimes saunter over to our next door neighbors to fight with their cat.  Our neighbor lady solves this by shooting them with her water pistol--a very effective treatment.

An Experiment

One of the things I enjoy most about gardening is trying something new. 

 For the last several years we have been plagued with tomato blight.  I know that it comes from the soil, but we have tried pretty much everything we could think of including spraying with chemicals to try to eradicate said blight with very little success.  Some years it seems less severe, and mulching heavily helps a little, but for the most part I simply plant plenty of tomatoes and plan on losing the plants after several weeks of production.

This year I'm trying something new.  Can you guess what this is?

If you said tomato plants you would be right.  However, they aren't planted in the garden.

 I planted the usual amount in our garden, but I reserved three plants for a little experiment. 

Three weeks ago we cleaned off the compost pile and spread it on our garden.   The soil underneath the pile was black and rich--as it hadn't been completely removed for several years. 

My husband suggested that we move the compost pile several feet--since we have two chicken coops right now and the current location would have been directly in front of one of the coops doors.

Over the next few days I kept eyeing that rich soil that had been hidden by compost.  Surely I could use it for something .

Then a light bulb went on in my head.  Why not try growing a few tomato plants there?  So, Monday I planted three tomato plants there.  I hope the compost is rotted well enough that it won't burn the plants.

  It's my little experiment for the year. 

 

Rhubarb Sauce

                     

This is a unique recipe, and one that is surrounded with fond memories for me.  My mom would usually make several rhubarb pies, and possibly a rhubarb crunch and then toward the end of the season she would make a batch of this.

  I have an odd attraction to sour flavors, and this sauce was-in my childish mind-the definition of perfection.  A mix of tart and sweet with a pale pink color that attracts your attention because it's so obviously not artificially colored.

 Oh yes, and it's simple to make which wins it a place in my recipe box.

                             

3 cups finely chopped rhubarb

1 1/2 cups water

4 Tablespoons granulated tapioca

1 cup sugar -you can use a little more or a little less depending on how tart you like it

Cook rhubarb and water until soft. ( It only takes a few minutes.)  Add tapioca stirring to prevent lumping, and bring mixture back to a boil, and then turn off the burner.  Add sugar and stir until dissolved.  Pour into serving dish and chill.