Be It Ever So Humble

Water storage

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Mordecai) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 20:43:00 +0000

We just used our water storage for the first time. When we ran the kids' baths last night, they came out yellow! I called the city water people this morning and it turns out they're flushing the system, and that the water is perfectly safe and drinkable, although they advise against washing your whites in it.

In any case, between the time we noticed the yellow water and the time I was able to call the city, we used our water storage. I've been filling up my empty, rinsed-out gallon vinegar bottles with water since we moved into this house, and we have quite a collection now (we go through a lot of vinegar!). Here are some tips on how to store water by the books—it looks like I should be bleaching my bottles first, and they're the wrong kind of plastic, oops!

I'm happy to report that the water from the bottles tasted great. We went through about two gallons between drinks, brushing teeth, and making breakfast.

I hope we will never be in a situation where we need to live off our stored water, but I'm glad we had this small opportunity to try it out. It made me aware of how much water we use, and it's a lot!

Although our collection of water is growing steadily, I would still like to have a couple of these filter bottles on hand eventually—they would be awfully useful in an emergency.

One last thought: hand sanitizer might be a good supplement to water storage. Although we continued to use our yellow water for washing, hand sanitizer would be nice if you had no running water at all.

Do you store water?

12 ways to reduce food waste—and save money

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Mordecai) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Image courtesy of magazineart.org

Plan a menu before you shop—and stick to it.
Check your fridge/freezer/pantry before you plan your menu, and see that your menu uses the foods that need to be used up.
Process your fruits, vegetables, and meats. Within a few days of your shopping trip, wash, dry, and chop any fruits and veggies that can be prepared. I know I'm a lot more likely to use nice, washed salad-ready lettuce than a giant, wilting head of dirty lettuce.
Reduce your portion sizes. Not only will you and your family eat less, there will be less waste left on your plates after the meal is over.
Make a plan for your leftovers. We usually eat them for lunch the next day. If you're not going to do that, what are you going to do with them? Serve them for dinner again? Put them in the freezer? Make them into something else? Do it.
The day before your next shopping trip, check the fridge. What can you do with what you have? Sometimes I find I can make it a few more days or even a whole week before I visit the store again.
The day before your next shopping trip, see how many of your remaining fruits and veggies you can use up. Here are some ideas. Then see #2 above.
Don't buy more snacks before you eat the old ones. I am terrible at this—we have so many little odds and ends in the snack cupboard. Maybe some homemade trail mix is in order—my kids will often eat things in trail mix that they won't touch otherwise, especially if I add a little bit of something special, like chocolate chips.
Buy less. I always buy too much candy—it always lasts us weeks and months, and it's not even good for us. If I can use a lighter touch at the bulk bins, I'll throw away less.
Keep a well-stocked pantry, so you will have the resources at your fingertips to use up those odds and ends you need to deal with.
Learn to cook confidently without a recipe, and to change recipes to use what you have. As you cook and experiment more and more, you'll learn what works and what doesn't. I'm so glad I have the chance to do this while my kids are still young and relatively laid back.
Remember where your food comes from, and remember the price that you and others pay to get it on your table. Remember the many who don't have enough food, and be grateful.

The denture tablets did it

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Mordecai) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Image courtesy magazineart.org

I had a clear and white pitcher that was badly stained by grape juice. Want to know what got it off? Denture tablets. I filled the pitcher with very warm water, put in about six tablets, and let it do its thing (the box said it's done working when the water turns from blue to clear). There were some stains remaining, so I scrubbed them off—they had been loosened by the cleaner. A quick run through the dishwasher, and it was almost as good as new.

Next I'm trying them out on my thrifted milk glass vases with gunk at the bottom.

Five ways to eat potatoes for breakfast

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Mordecai) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:01:00 +0000

The Potato Eaters by Vincent Van Gogh

My potatoes never seem to last as long as I hope they will, probably because I don't have a nice cool place to keep them.

Red Chief has been obsessed with latkes ever since he had a taste of them in his school lesson on Hanukkah, so they've been a regular part of our breakfast menu for the past month.

I've tried to stay away from frozen potato products ever since I learned how many of them have additives, especially oil. It doesn't take long to grate or chop a few potatoes—and I rarely bother peeling them.

Latkes
Hash browns
Potatoes, sliced or cubed and fried (you can do this with pre-cooked potatoes, or raw potatoes, which will take a lot longer) (mmm, if you have bacon grease, it's definitely the thing to fry them in)
Mountain man breakfast (some combination of potatoes, cheese, eggs, veggies, and bacon or sausage cooked in a Dutch oven—I've never actually made this, but we had it sometimes when I was growing up and it's so good. Probably not on my healthy list though. Here's a recipe for an example.)
Baked. (Non-standard, I know, but I like dinner foods for breakfast. You can have baked potatoes ready for you in the morning if you poke them, wrap in foil, and cook in the slow cooker on low all night. This is great if you want to use a recipe in the morning that calls for cooked potatoes, too.)

I'm trying to think of other ways to use up potatoes. Feel free to chime in if you have ideas.

White bean soup with garlic

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Mordecai) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 02:58:00 +0000

I have been making this soup for a few years now, and as I made it again tonight, once again I was amazed to see my kids actually eating it—and liking it. This recipe is cheap, healthy, simple, and we all love it. You'll need to start this about three hours before dinner (and soak the beans the day before).

White bean soup with garlic
adapted from this recipe

1 pound white beans (such as great northern)
water (4 quarts or more)
3 bay leaves
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

The day before, pick over, rinse, and soak the beans.

About three hours before dinner the next day, drain and rinse your beans and put them in a large pot (I like to use my six-quart Dutch oven). Add about 4 quarts water and the bay leaves, and bring to a boil.

Maintain a gentle boil for about an hour, or until beans are done. Add salt. Keep simmering for another two hours. The beans will fall apart and thicken the soup. I usually help them along a little with a potato masher, but I stop short of puréeing the soup. You will need to turn the heat down as the soup gets thicker to keep it from burning. Add more water as needed to get the texture you want—I usually end up adding quite a bit more.

About fifteen minutes before serving, heat the olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes together in a small saucepan or skillet. Let them bubble together for a minute or two, then add in two ladlefuls of soup. Let them bubble together for another minute or two until combined, then add back to the pot.

Taste your soup and add salt to taste, and maybe two teaspoons of balsamic vinegar, if you like.

Serves 4–6.

Variation: add fully cooked braised kale before serving.

Big to-do list

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Mordecai) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

This weekend I overhauled my schedule.

It has been so long since I updated my daily plan sheet that I still had Red Chief doing preschool. Now I have spots each day to check off his homework, violin practice, job, clean room, and science experiment (yes, I try to do science with him every day because it's so important to him). Tiger Lily is doing violin too (for about three minutes at a time), and I want to start preschool with her soon.

I also created myself a weekly plan sheet, with a checklist for the things I hope to accomplish each week. I have a different list for each day—Monday kitchen, Tuesday upstairs, Wednesday laundry, Thursday living area, Friday bathrooms, etc. Some days' lists look dauntingly long, but I know that if I just get to work it really isn't that much to do.

Sometimes I remember things I need to do, but I know I can't do them right away. I made myself a giant to-do list to match my other planning sheets, and I thought others might find it useful too. I use lists like this as a brain dump, so I don't have to keep worrying that I'll forget things. It's very freeing to write things down and know that the paper will keep track of them for me so my brain doesn't have to.

If you would like to print a copy of my big to-do list, you can download it here, or click on the image above. Just click on "Download Original" in the upper right corner when you get there.

Several ways to eat bread for breakfast

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Mordecai) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 21:07:00 +0000

Poached eggs on toast
French toast
Scrambled eggs and toast with jam
Soft-boiled eggs with toast soldiers for dipping in the yolk
Soft-boiled eggs mashed on toast with salt and pepper
Avocado mashed with lemon juice and salt spread on bread
French bread with Nutella
BLTs
Breakfast sandwich with tomato and fried egg
One-eyed sandwich (bread with a hole cut in it, buttered and fried with an egg in the hole)
Bread with cheese (unmelted), with fruit on the side
Welsh rabbit
Whole wheat bread with hummus
Stale bread broken up in a bowl with hot vanilla poured on top (not sure about this one)

Today we had bread with avocado for breakfast and it started me thinking about different ways we could eat bread for breakfast. I need this list for when we have a stagnant loaf of bread on the counter.

Do you have any ideas?

Robe and pajama pants

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Mordecai) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 23:40:00 +0000

Here is Red Chief in his new robe and pajama pants. He has been asking for a robe, so I did it. It went a lot better than the last robe I attempted, probably because I have more experience now, and because this fabric is much easier to work with.

I had just enough yarn-dyed plaid flannel from my mother-in-law to squeak out this robe, but I had to piece the sleeves and leave off the pockets. The fabric for the pants is also from my mother-in-law. The thread was on hand, and the pattern (New Look 6931) cost a whopping 29¢ at a thrift store.

This last photo shows Red Chief doing his favorite thing lately: curling up into a little ball like the cat. We're trying to choose carpet for a room upstairs and he keeps vetoing different samples because they don't make him want to curl up into a ball.

Food waste

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Mordecai) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 23:24:00 +0000

Image courtesy magazineart.org

When Mr. Mordecai and I were first married, we were on a very tight budget, and we didn't waste any food. We cleaned our plates; we used food before it spoiled; I even saved vegetable scraps to make broth.

Fast-forward seven years, and I am ashamed to say that we have gone downhill. While I don't feel guilty about not making vegetable broth, I do feel guilty about the amount of food I throw away. Occasionally I toss too-old leftovers or spoiled produce, but most of our waste is uneaten food from our kids' plates.

The natural answer would be to make sure the kids clean their plates, but I don't want to teach them to eat more than they need. I'm going to start serving them smaller portions. Since I started paying attention to waste a few weeks ago, I'm fast learning how much they'll probably be able to eat.

I'm going to try to help my family waste less food. Do you have any ideas for eliminating food waste in the kitchen and at the table?

Another little dress

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Mordecai) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 23:43:00 +0000

Here's another dress I made from the same pattern as the last one. They look different, don't they? I used an off-white sheet for the sleeves, bodice flap, and skirt. I made the bodice, back and overskirt from this lovely purple print from Erin. I moved the bodice flap to the back and made six small buttonholes on the front bodice sides, then added a lace. I'm using 1/4" bias tape until I can find the black cording that I meant to use. Either I lost it in my mess of sewing things or one of the kids took off with it. Both are likely.

This dress, by the way, didn't cost me anything—the fabrics were both pass-alongs from others; the bias tape was a scrap, and the thread was on hand (the brown thread I used for the purple fabric belonged to my grandma!).

My sewing inspiration lately has been coming from Project Run and Play. I love that they're having a sew-along. I'm not committing to sewing along every week (I can't see myself sewing outerwear), but it would be very good for my sewing skills! It gave me the push I needed to finally try buttonholes for the dress I made for Tiger Lily. I just cut out a robe for Red Chief for boys' week. I can't tell whether I'll actually be able to finish it this week—it looks like it'll be a busy week! Red Chief has been wanting a robe for quite awhile, so I'm glad to have a reason to get started on it.

2012 reading goals

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Mordecai) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:11:00 +0000

Read two abridged classics

Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb
Favorite Greek Myths by Mary Pope Osborne

Read two science books

The Diversity of Life by E.O. Wilson
The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene

Read three classics I haven't read before

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
Inferno by Dante Aligheiri

Read a book about grammar or the English language

The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester

Read a book about literature

The Trials and Tribulations of Little Red Riding Hood by Jack Zipes

Read a book by C.S. Lewis

Mere Christianity

Read two books about parenting/kids

Teach Me to Do It Myself by Maja Pitamic
Teaching Your Children Values by Linda Eyre

Read two books about Suzuki violin

Teaching from the Balance Point by Ed Kreitman
Nurtured by Love by Shinichi Suzuki

Read something by Enid Blyton

First Term at Malory Towers

Read five books I own that I haven't read before (subject to change)

Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes
The Twenty-One Balloons by Pene Du Bois
The Enjoyment of Music by Joseph Machlis
Honolulu Story by Leslie Ford

Read two church books

Against the Odds: The Life of George Albert Smith by Mary Jane Woodger
The Remarkable Soul of a Woman by Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Read two homemaking books

More-with-Less Cookbook by Doris Longacre Janzen
I Am a Mother by Jane Clayson Johnson

Books that come out in 2012 that I want to read

Incarnate by Jodi Meadows (January 31)
Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale (January 31)
Fever by Lauren DeStefano (February 21)
Storybound by Marissa Burt (April 3)

2011: Year in reading

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Mordecai) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 18:25:00 +0000

Here is my original list of reading goals for this year, completed.

Finish (re)-reading the Oz books

The Lost Princess of Oz by L. Frank Baum
The Tin Woodman of Oz by L. Frank Baum
The Magic of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Glinda of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Read about Eloise Wilkin

The Golden Years of Eloise Wilkin by Deborah Wilkin Springett

Finish reading Home Comforts by Cheryl Mendelson
Read two parenting books

The Book of Nurturing by Linda and Richard Eyre
Parenting with Love and Logic by Foster W. Cline

Read two classics I haven't read before

Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
The Odyssey by Homer
Under the Greenwood Tree by Thomas Hardy

Read Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Read a science book

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

Read a book on grammar or the English language

The Adventure of English by Melvyn Bragg

Read a book by C.S. Lewis

Till We Have Faces

Read To the Rescue: The Biography of Thomas S. Monson by Heidi S. Swinton

Since I finished a little early, I added a few more books to my list:

Read a book about arthritis

The Arthritis Foundation's Guide to Good Living with Rheumatoid Arthritis by Dorothy Foltz-Gray

Read a book by Shinichi Suzuki

Ability Development from Age Zero

Read Daughters in My Kingdom

I liked having more direction to my reading this year. Usually I just read whatever I feel like reading, but following a list helped me get some books read that I've been wanting to read for a long time. I also enjoyed being able to pursue some subjects and authors I'm interested in. Making a list and sticking to it is certainly more satisfying and more improving than my usual whatever-looks-good attitude (and I managed to do plenty of that sort of reading too).

This year I read 101 books total for myself (including the 19 from the list above), and I read 571 to my kids (that number is probably low; I didn't record what we read this year as vigilantly as I did last year). Also Red Chief read several beginning books to us this year! That makes me happy.

I am still thinking about next year's reading goals.

A little dress

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Mordecai) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 02:13:00 +0000

Yesterday I got a sewing itch and I made this little dress for Tiger Lily. I followed the Junebug tutorial by Craftiness Is Not Optional. I used this video to learn how to make buttonholes sans attachment.

This was my first time doing sleeves, making buttonholes, and drafting a pattern. I still can't believe how cute it turned out and that it actually fits her! And I can't believe that I can make buttonholes—I have passed up so many projects because I didn't think I could do them.

I used a thrifted sheet for the dress, but lest you think I got out of this cheap, I paid over five dollars for the buttons and almost three for thread to match them. Ugh. Still cheaper than a new dress, though! Tiger Lily is growing out of all her dresses, so I hope I can get a few more done before I lose my sewing itch.

The Money Saving Mom's Budget

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Mordecai) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

The Money Saving Mom's Budget by Crystal Paine is an easy and quick read, and chock-full of ideas for saving money. We start with the basics: budgeting, getting out of debt, saving money on everyday necessities.

I really like that Mrs. Paine focuses on goal-setting. Although I'm pretty frugal overall, I think that setting goals would get me a lot father—goals give you something to work toward.

I couldn't help comparing this book to Dave Ramsey's The Total Money Makeover: they both advocate getting out of debt, not getting into debt in the first place, and living frugally and within your means. What I like so much about The Money Saving Mom's Budget is that Mrs. Paine goes more into the nitty-gritty of making it happen: it's one thing to say you're going to spend less on your grocery bill; it's another thing to actually do it, and it's not as simple as it sounds. Crystal takes you through this step by step, as well as offering lots of other ways to save (or make) extra money.

I'm a pretty frugal person, but I love that this book still gave me a lot to think about and lots of ideas to try. Now to get moving!

Crystal Paine blogs at Money Saving Mom.

I received a review copy of this book in exchange for my review.

Merry Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Mordecai) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Image courtesy magazineart.org

If you need something to get you into the true Christmas spirit, take a look at these videos about Christ's birth and childhood.

You can get some really high-quality, free Christmas music here: just click on the year you want, click on English, then download the songs. Or you could listen to the whole devotional. I love the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

A Thousand Ways to Please a Husband with Bettina's Best Recipes

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Mordecai) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

My husband recently purchased a Kindle, and for my inaugural read on the gadget, I chose to read a book that is out of print. I'm always coming across charming old books on Project Gutenberg and elsewhere that I want to read, but they're not available at the library and I dislike reading whole books on the computer. Now that we have a Kindle, I'm looking forward to being able to read more old books.

I started out with A Thousand Ways to Please a Husband with Bettina's Best Recipes, originally published in 1917. I've never seen another book like it—it's a bunch of household hints and recipes put in story form. Here's the review I wrote on Goodreads:

The year is 1917. Bettina is a newlywed, but she somehow knows everything there is to know about cooking and housekeeping, and friends flock to her for advice. Covering the first year of Bettina and Bob's marriage, we follow them through meals, parties, houseguests, friends' weddings, and even a bit of matchmaking. Household tips are not very subtly inserted into each part of the story, and each chapter ends with Bettina's recipes.

I got no end of fun out of this book in the beginning, but it's a bit long and started feeling repetitive after awhile.

You can read this book online or download it for your ereader here: http://www.archive.org/details/thousandwaystopl00weav

Endpaper from the book

Ready to clean

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Mordecai) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

I used to clean toilets during college. Also vacuum, empty trash, and all sorts of other small thankless tasks that are so necessary. My official title was Student Custodian. I honestly didn't mind cleaning the toilets all that much. It was just another part of my job, and it wasn't so hard.

Skip forward ten years, and cleaning the bathroom is the job that I put off for the longest around the house. Of course it gets dirtier since I clean it less often, so whenever I do finally get around to it, it ends up taking forever.

As I was cleaning the shower last week, I noticed that my hand was getting fatigued from all the spraying (I spray the whole thing down with this). I longingly remembered the spray bottle that I used to use in college. It was huge. You pumped it several times and then it would spray continuously.

Then I thought, "Why can't I have one now?" I found this on Amazon and ordered it straight away. When it came, I filled the bottle with a big batch of my shower cleaner. (And I labeled it, because I'm trying to get better at labeling my homemade cleaners.)

When I went to put away my newly filled bottle, I had an aha moment. Cleaning used to be so easy because everything was ready for me. I had all the right equipment at my fingertips on a handy cart. My spray bottles were always full; there were always clean rags; everything had its place.

And so I reorganized my bathroom cleaning supplies. I got rid of the things that don't work for me. I put my supplies into a bigger tote, as the old one had been overstuffed. Now I just need to buy a smaller bottle of bleach that will fit into my tote, and I will be ready. Instead of grabbing my bathroom cleaning tote plus five other things, now it will all be in one place, ready for me.

And now for step two: actually cleaning the bathroom. Regularly.

I think step three will be figuring this out for other rooms in the house.

See more bathroom tips and ideas at Mama's Laundry Talk.

Recently tried recipes

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Mordecai) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Cranberry orange bread. This is a keeper! I used 2 cups cranberries and chopped them in the food processor. I'm sure it would be even better with nuts, but we didn't have any.
Chocolate chip pumpkin bread. Another keeper, although next time I'm using less nutmeg. I used regular chocolate chips instead of mini, but I chopped them in the food processor so they wouldn't sink. I also cut the sugar in half with no problems.
Rootbeer pulled pork. This was pretty good. The rootbeer added just a hint of odd flavor that I didn't love. Every time I make pork lately I realize once again that I just don't love pork. I guess I should stop making it. But if you like pork, I would recommend this recipe.
Soft and chewy peanut butter cookies. We all loved these. I like them so much better than the usual crumbly sort of peanut butter cookies.
Latkes. Red Chief had these in school last week and begged for them at home until I finally made them one day for breakfast. They're not too much trouble to make in the morning, and I like the change of having something savory for breakfast—so many breakfast dishes are sweet. These turned out well and we'll make them again. I had to add a bit of extra flour, and I used 1/2 teaspoon onion powder in place of the onion—it was just too early to grate onion.
Pull-apart buns. I made these to go with the pulled pork, but between a doctor's appointment and a power outage, things didn't go exactly as planned. They were quite eatable, though, and I'd like to give them another chance under better conditions.
Whey muffins. I made these to use up some whey I had from draining yogurt. They were okay, but I wouldn't make them again. Instead I'd just use whey for liquid in one of my usual recipes.

Using melted sugar to assemble gingerbread houses

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Mordecai) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

As I was searching for a royal icing recipe this week to make our graham cracker gingerbread houses, I came upon a tip hidden in the reviews. The reviewer said that melted sugar makes excellent glue for the setting up the houses—it sets up almost instantly and it sticks well.

I tried it: I melted about 2/3 cup sugar in a small pan. Try not to let it burn like I did: it smelled awful and it looks like chocolate on the finished houses. I was too lazy to start over, since the edibleness of the houses is secondary to the fun of the activity, in my opinion.

When the sugar was melted, I took it off the heat and quickly assembled my prepared cracker pieces by dipping the sides of the crackers in the melted sugar and setting them on my foil-covered cardboard. Try not to get any melted sugar on your finger like I did. It really hurts. (You probably won't want the kids helping with this. My kids were helping their daddy disassemble a fax machine in the next room while I did this, and gingerbread houses held no interest for them at the moment.)

I made up a batch of royal icing for the decorating later—obviously the melted sugar wouldn't work for that; the candy would melt right into it. But I would highly recommend the sugar for assembling the houses. It works!

Really?

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Mordecai) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 04:45:00 +0000

Becoming LDS won the Temple Print giveaway, and she chose the beautiful print you see above. And you know something funny? She hosted the same giveaway, and I won hers. I chose this print:

Have you ever had things turn out kind of funny like this—in your favor, but maybe a bit uncomfortable because it seems like you did it on purpose, but you didn't? Yeah, that's how I feel. But the random number generator has spoken. I even took a screen shot, see?

In any case, don't forget to stop by the shop sometime, and if you find anything you love, you can use the coupon code happyartist10off.

Seven kitchen tools worth using

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Mordecai) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

. . . but only if you wash them up immediately after using.

Microplane grater. I love this for zesting citrus fruit, but it's hand-wash only and dangerously sharp, so if you let the zest dry on, you've got one scary clean-up job. I rinse it thoroughly after use and dry carefully with a towel going the opposite direction that I would use when grating.
Garlic press. It makes quick work of garlic (especially the one I linked to, Zyliss—you don't have to peel the garlic first), but it's awfully hard to clean unless you do it right away. I keep a toothbrush by the kitchen sink for clean-up jobs like this, because otherwise I can never seem to get all the garlic out of the holes.
Knives. I love my knives, especially my huge, sharp chef's knife. The dishwasher dulls the blade, so I wash it by hand. If I let it sit after using instead of washing it up and putting it away immediately, not only is the big, sharp thing scarier to wash, but it's also sitting out where my kids might be able to get it.
Salad spinner. Dried-on lettuce is surprisingly hard to get off! Plus between the bowl and the basket, it takes up a good quarter of the dishwasher. I rinse it out with a little soap after I use it and let it air dry on a towel.
Large mixing bowls. They take up too much dishwasher space—washing them right after use is the best way to go, I think.
Anything made of wood. Wood doesn't go in the dishwasher, and soaking isn't good for it. I have a wood citrus reamer, and I've found it's just not worth my time to use unless I wash it up right away after I use it.
Cast iron. You could let it sit dirty on the stove for two days after using it (ahem, not that I would ever do that . . .), or you could clean it up right away and put it back on the still-hot burner to dry. My cast iron stays in much better shape when I clean it up right away—it doesn't like to sit in a wet sink or be soaked. It is usually much easier to wash when it's still warm.

What would you add to the list?

Talent: Share it!

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Mordecai) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

See Mark 4:21. Every time I see this scripture I think of a quote by Marianne Williamson: "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.' We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." (A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles", Harper Collins, 1992. From Chapter 7, Section 3])

Just a little reminder for myself. Do you enjoy sharing your talents, or do you find it easier to hide? I have to admit that I often find it easier to hide—it's so easy just to be average and not show everyone what makes you different. But the world would be a pretty sad place if everyone was afraid to do what they're best at.

The creative list

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Mordecai) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Update after the break.

two baby blankets
two gallons of liquid laundry detergent
two digital scrapbook pages
a new hairdo for Tiger Lily
a recipe for stuffed shells
three apple ornaments
another baby blanket
a lopsided birthday cake
a bedtime story for Red Chief that helped him behave in church the next day
a breakfast cookbook
lots of granola
favor bags for Red Chief's preschool party
more granola
an angel food cake
a two-week dairy-free menu
dairy-free chocolate pudding
a matching concert poster and program
an invitation
an orchestra concert (as member)
hot dog muffins
two more baby blankets
a daily homework/home-preschool plan for Red Chief
green eggs and ham
a blackberry pie
a chocolate chiffon cake
a rice baby (a doll filled with 10 pounds of rice for a church activity this summer)
an apron
a tablecloth
another tablecloth
another orchestra concert
coco-mints
replanted the front flower garden
planted the vegetable garden
a bow tie for Red Chief
orange spice cookies
pizza
a pinafore
two pillowcases
a huge list of things to do over the summer
a doll quilt
recipe for Mexican brown rice
a beaded skirt and bloomers for Tiger Lily
a jumper for Tiger Lily
a bug pillowcase for Red Chief
made Red Chief's holey pants into shorts
a roast chicken and vegetables dinner
some pajama pants that I was very pleased with until I tried them on and they were too small!
a baby blanket and two burp cloths
ginger newts
a strawberry-cream birthday cake
lots of amazing bread
a pocket
two pairs of pajama pants/bloomers (that fit)
a tiny apron for Tiger Lily
a chocolate birthday cake (that turned out one of my nicest ever)
a bonnet for Tiger Lily
bloomers for Tiger Lily
a new housework schedule
lots of ways to use zucchini
chocolate-coconut artisan bread
baby blankets
burp cloths
baby tag blanket
another stuffed dinosaur (hmm, I'm pretty behind on this list, not sure I ever posted about the first one)
homemade yogurt
lots of great French bread
new display for my mantel
a very nice lemon cake
some amazing chicken soup for a sick little boy (starting with a whole chicken!)
several weeks' worth of Bountiful Baskets menus (which I think are more challenging—and more rewarding—than normal menus)
a decoupaged Christmas ornament (like these)
chocolate-pomegranate cookies

—————

frozen yogurt
pants for Red Chief
photo blocks for Christmas gifts
a gallon of apple juice
French buttercream frosting (and a cake to go with it)
dishwasher detergent
Thanksgiving night turkey soup
peppermint pinwheel cookies
laundry soap
a poster and program for my orchestra
two orchestra concerts, as participant
a poster for a Christmas party

Five things I want to clean before Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Mordecai) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Blinds—I never dust them!
Windowsills—the ones at kid-level get pretty grimy and fingerprinty.
China cabinet—see dust and fingerprints above. Plus it's a good excuse to look through all my old cookbooks. And polishing wood is fun.
The fireplace—it's front and center at Christmas, and it's usually dusty and fingerprinty (hmm, I'm sensing a theme)
The computer desk—umm, you guessed it, more dust and fingerprints!

Are you doing any Christmas cleaning?

Five funny old ads

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Mordecai) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

I love looking at old books and illustrations. Here are some ads that I've come across that I'm not really sure where to put, but I just have to share them. Click on images to enlarge. All images courtesy magazineart.org.

P.S. Have I ever mentioned how grateful I am for modern medicine?

P.P.S. And have I mentioned yet that you can enter the Happy Little Artist giveaway until tomorrow morning?