Easter Greetings

Happy Easter!

Keeping It Real - Feeling Displaced

We are in literal upheaval around these parts. I am writing this post from my temporary station... in my bathroom.

And  you thought I was kidding. Nope. Not kidding. The guys are sanding our wood floors as I'm writing this. I've only got about an hour before I have to pack my bags and leave. Actually, I've already packed my bags. We have to be out for the night because of the fumes from the finish that they apply on the wood. Or we could sleep with gas masks on. By the time this is posted, we'll be allowed back in our home, so it's not too long of a time -- only one night. It's just a really inconvenient time for all of this to be happening. And no. I didn't plan it all for this week, of all weeks. This was supposed to happen two weeks ago, but there were some rough patches in the wood floor installers schedule, and they couldn't get to our job til this week.

Our family room is a literal gathering place for chairs...

My bedroom looks pretty much like this. Yes, that is a bicycle built for two... and yes, I have run into the handle bars in the middle of the night. Who runs into bicycle handle bars in their bedroom in the middle of the night?

And this is my kitchen. Ugh. I have too much to do for my kitchen to look like this.

I have had some practice this week in "letting the small stuff go". I just stroll through my house as if there isn't a thing out of place and as if I haven't got anything in the world to do but stroll through my house.

I'll be loitering around doing work in the garage and the backyard whilst the workers are in my house. I have plenty of outdoor work to do, so that should keep me busy while complete strangers are hanging out in my house.

And in a couple of days, when normalcy returns, I will get back to blogging about things that I find more useful.

March Week 4: Rice -- white, brown, instant

This week's food storage item is a simple one:

March Week 4: Rice -- white, brown, instant

We eat mostly brown rice in our family, so I buy bags of brown rice and store them in a tub (just to keep them from slipping and sliding all over the shelf). I also buy a case of Minute Brown Rice whenever there is a case lot sale, just to have on hand. Sometimes I need to be quicker about cooking my rice, if you know what I mean, and then Minute Brown Rice is just the thing.

Now, one thing that I LOVE to do is go to the Family Home Storage dry-pack cannery and load up on things that I want to have on my shelf for a really long time. One of the items they offer is White Rice, as pictured above in the can. I canned the rice in March of 2011, and it will be good for 30+ years. Can't ask for much more than that!

This is a photo of our youth group working at the dry-pack cannery as part of our Amazing Race Youth Conference that Bob and I were in charge of. A whole other story for a whole other time... so, so much fun!

I printed the below form a year of two ago, and as you can see, they have quite an offering of goods for food storage.

The prices listed are the prices that the items cost after you have canned them yourself at their facility. Also, I might mention that in order to can the items, you will obviously need to live near a dry-pack facility.

You can find the form by going to LDS.org and then down on the left-hand side of the main home page, you will see Provident Living. Click on that, and then click on Becoming Self-Reliant, then Food Storage. When you get there, there is a whole myriad of really useful information. You can get your own, updated order form, find a Home Storage Center, purchase items online, and get information on anything from storing drinking water, to finances, to short and long term food supply. It's definitely worth checking out, and the information is very useful!

Now, go and decide how much rice you and your family will need in the coming year (and way beyond, if you have access to longer-term food storage items), then add it to your grocery list. Next time you're at the grocery store, pick up the items, and get them on your shelves. Doesn't that feel great?

If you would like the full info on the Week-By-Week Food Storage Plan, just click on the tab at the top of the page. It also has the information as to how you can get a copy of the weekly schedule as well as the complete inventory sheets.

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men

What do you do when you plan a "all-day" backyard workday and you wake up that day to find that this is what your backyard looks like?

I even had Bob and Robbie all set to come and help. I had such plans for last Saturday...

And to make things worse, this is what the inside of my house looks like...

We had wood delivered almost 3 weeks ago for wood floors in a dining room, and also to replace the damaged wood floor in our den. The thought was, to have the wood acclimate to the dryness and warmth of our home, and then install it a few days later. Well, two weeks after the pile was delivered (and sitting right outside my bedroom door at the perfect height to whack our shins with, I might add), I called the wood floor guys and asked when we might expect them to come. "Hmmmm? Well, I think we could make it there towards the end of the week. We'll install on Thursday and Friday, then refinish it the following Monday and Tuesday." Cutting it close for Easter, I'm thinking, but okay. I'm game. They did come on Thursday afternoon and part of Friday, but had to use today to finish it up. They have now installed it all, and I love it, but now we'll play the waiting game for the sanders and the finishers. Did I mention I have the annual family Easter-egg hunt and barbecue at my house on Saturday? I guess the good news is, the house is in such turmoil, it will be really easy to hide the eggs so that no one will ever find them. Actually, we will be doing it all outside, which is a real bonus, except that it may or may not be like a jungle out there. Hence the need for last Saturday's all day work day. Again, the good news is that it will be easy to hide the eggs, and the bad news is that there is a good chance the eggs might never be found.

There is still snow out there, but I'm on my way out to brave the cold and the snow. I've got to get some work done in the yard, even if just a good start. I'm planning on being outside every day this week, so I'm hoping that means I should be able to get most of it done.

For now, I will choose to ignore the furniture that is literally piled up inside the house, and the layer of sawdust that has settled over everything. I can't do much about that, and it will be better to be outside so I don't have to look at it and get that panicky feeling.

If you have been a reader long enough to have read last summer's posts, you'll know that I have a deathly fear of snakes, which is another reason I like to get out and work in the yard on days like today. I know that with snow on the ground, the snakes aren't coming out, so I'm safe and have no need to have my heart in my throat the whole time... just waiting for a snake to be underneath a pile of leaves I'm scooping up.

So, out I go. I'll be back tomorrow with our Week-by-Week Food Storage item of the week.

My favorite tool for spring yard clean-up

This little guy is my best friend this time of year. I use it SO much as I'm doing the spring yard clean-up. I'm not sure why I had to take the photo right next to a very sad looking euonymus. To be honest with you, all of my euonymus are looking sad, because the deer feast on them all winter. It takes a good couple of warm spring months for them to start looking normal again. Poor things.

Anyway, back to my tiny rake. It has a regular long handle -- almost as long as a regular rake, but the rake tines only span about 7-8 inches, so it fits just about anywhere I need it to.

I particularly like to use it when I'm cleaning up the dead, old growth from plants like the Sweet Woodruff below, or even Snow-In-Summer. I LOVE it for that.

After I've raked through it, and cleaned up all the dead leaves and vines, it looks like the photo below.

And now the ground is clean and debris-free so that the plants are able to see the sun and get growing!

Another use for my little red rake is to clean up the clematis. I just rake through the crazy vines and all the dead leaves from the previous year come loose and fall to the ground. The vines look so much better after I've taken the rake to them. All ready to start growing for the year!

I got my rake at Home Depot, but I'm sure they are at most home and garden centers. At this point, I wouldn't know how to do my spring clean-up without it. It makes such a difference when you have tools that actually make your job easier as you're working.

The Ultimate in Repurposing

Bob and I pruned our 29 Asian pear trees (a cross between an apple and a pear -- a Nashi pear!). We spent all day long Saturday pruning, but we got the job done.

As we went along, we were delighted (okay... maybe it was me who was delighted) to find nests in most of the trees. We started noticing all of the different materials the little birds used while making their nests.

Next time you're asked whether you want paper or plastic at the grocery store, think about how practical this little guy was. Look closely at the bottom of the nest, and you'll see plastic grocery bags.

And here's another that used a plastic bag. If you look carefully, you can see the plastic on the inside of the nest and coming out of the side. Its all packed in with mud, so it's not going anywhere!

And this one was built using some green netting that could have been used to hold fruit in.

And this next one has some red stringy substance woven in with the little bits of straw.

Several of them were smart enough to snatch up some of our dog's fur when he shed his winter coat last year. I bet that was so cozy to nest in!

Now, this obviously isn't a nest in a tree, but this is one of four lanterns that are on our house over the deck. Three of the four lanterns routinely have occupants in them. The birds just seem to add a few more bits of this and that every year, and then settle in. I love when the little bird has laid her eggs, because then you can see her in the lantern looking out at you as you go about your business out on the deck. She keeps a pretty good eye on anyone out there, and if you get too close, she'll fly out of the nest, swooping down and very nearly giving the passer-by a heart attack. Two of the lanterns sit right outside my bedroom door, and I can't decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I love to hear the birds singing to each other, but they do start their singing pretty darn early!

I have photo after photo of many more nests, but you get the idea. These little birds are so darn resourceful. I love that! Now, if only they could make nests out of the piles of branches we pruned from the trees...

March Week 3: Spices, herbs, seasonings

This week's food storage items are:

March Week 3: spices, herbs, seasonings (salt, pepper, seasoning salt, taco seasoning, chili powder, etc.)

As with all of the other weeks, store what your family uses. The one exception to that is that everyone should have iodized salt on their food storage shelves. It doesn't expire, so you can buy a case (or more) and you won't have to worry about having to throw it out... ever! There are many, many uses for salt, whether it be used with food or for cleaning. I store quite a bit of salt, and I will only have to re-buy it once in a long while -- perhaps when I see a good deal in a case lot sale.

If you go through other seasonings or spices, it wouldn't hurt to add them to your list. I use quite a bit of cinnamon, taco seasoning, seasoning salt and pepper, so I like to have at least one large jar of each on my food storage shelf. When I run out in the kitchen, I take from the food storage so that I am naturally rotating through my storage. These other items do have an expiration date and will lose some of their flavor after time, so don't overbuy.

Decide what you and your family will need as far as spices, herbs and seasonings go, add it to your grocery list, and next time you're at the grocery store, buy what you need and get it on your shelves. Easy peasy and it takes literally 10 minutes of your time! ...And you don't have to think about any more food storage til next week!

If you would like the full info on the Week-By-Week Food Storage Plan, just click on the tab at the top of the page. It also has the information as to how you can get a copy of the weekly schedule as well as the complete inventory sheets.