Grandma Bonnie's Closet

Preserving Your Wood Furniture Naturally

2013-05-14T00:21:00.001-04:00

Product Review

Thanks to Scott's Liquid Gold I have been give the opportunity to begin preserving and restoring my dining table back to its formal beauty. My dining table and buffet hutch are made from a dark wood. This set has been in our home for a very long time. With daily use the original luster and shine has faded. After trying this polish for about two weeks I was amazed at the improvement in the shine and beauty that has returned.

The product is made from a blend of natural organic oils that clean and moisturize wood. Keeping wood moisturized helps to preserve the wood. Scott's Liquid Gold is not a furniture polish it is considered a wood cleanser and preservative.The product does not contain water, wax or silicone.

Below is a photo of the first time I tested the product. I have circled the newly polished area in red. I hope you can see the difference.

This wood cleanser works great on wood furniture, unfinished wood, paneling, and most any wood furniture. Not only is it a great furniture cleanser but it can polish brass, stainless steal and chrome.
I have a little tip to share with you on the best way to use Scott's Liquid Gold or any furniture polish. Spray your rag not your furniture. Spraying your rag will insure an even glossy shine to your furniture.
Check them out on Facebook.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Mother's Day

2013-05-12T00:09:00.000-04:00

Happy Mother's Day. I hope you have a great one.

Farm Field Trip

2013-05-07T19:12:00.000-04:00

This week my granddaughter's kindergarten class had a field trip to a farm. Although I was unable to be there to enjoy the experience with her I was sent some awesome pictures of the trip. Pumpkins mother was able to chaperon on the trip and shared the fun with me.

Pumpkin holding a chick. What a cute little fluff ball. You would have thought all the little girls would want to hold a little baby chick.

That sure is a fluffy calf. At first I thought it was a pony.

Now, look where Pumpkin has got her head. She sure is not afraid of animals. Must be because she has been around animals since she was a baby.

Last but not least Pumpkin learned to milk a cow. She has one up on her grandma. I have never learned to milk a cow. What do you think readers? Was that a nice field trip for kindergarten? Have you ever milked a cow?

Shopping Online

2013-05-03T17:19:00.000-04:00

Disclaimer: Sponsored post from Cultfurniture.
Opinions expressed here are my own.
I wasn't always a fan of online shopping. As only those who have been following Grandma Bonnie's Closet for a long while would know. I am an old fashioned shop in the store kind of gal. I enjoy the touch and feel while buying gifts for my family and friends. The one thing I do not like about shopping is the crowds in the stores. So I decided to embrace change and try shopping online a little more. I have learned to enjoy shopping online. I like to sit in my comfy chair, sip my cup of tea and just browse for hours on end. I have reaped the benefits of shipping to family and friends far from home. You all know I have grandchildren spread out far and wide. What you may not know is I have family over seas in Europe and Asia. There was a time I would purchase gifts and ship over seas for birthdays and Christmas. If you have ever had the pleasure of shipped over seas you know the time and process of filling out customs forms. Not to mention the high cost of shipping. Often times shipping with out insurance. Well, I now have the answer to this problem thanks to Cultfurniture I found a great store that ships to UK and Europe. They have a large selection of modern furniture, accessories, clocks, and art work. I found the perfect coat hanger and pink office chair that would make a great graduation gift for my niece. She has just graduated from college and will be setting up her own office.
Cultfurniture accepts Visa, MasterCard, PayPal and other forms of payment. There shipping costs average from £5.95 to £15.95. With there shipping times estimated 3 to 7 days. You just can't beat an online shopping experience with easy and affordable shipping to the country of your choice. If you stop on over and visit their site you will find it easy to navigate. Pour yourself a cup of tea and plan to spend a little time browsing. Just don't say I didn't warn you. You may be there for a long while.
Do you enjoy shopping online? Do you have family over seas?

Off Visiting

2013-05-02T22:06:00.000-04:00

I have been off visiting my grandsons. I will be away for a couple weeks. I have a photo to share. I just love this shopping cart. It made shopping a pleasure. I sure do wish every market had them. How do you like to shop? With children or alone?

Birds, Boys, Bridges And More

2013-04-20T21:20:00.002-04:00

First off I really need to invest in a good camera. My little point and shoot is fine for every day use but it is not good for getting long distance closeups. That being said I have been watching all the bird that come to our pond to drink and bathe. I have seen so many beautiful birds I wanted to get dome pictures. Well, I tried getting up close and simply can not with out chasing them away. So the best I could do was snap a few photos from a distance. They are not the best but I think they will do.

I believe this is an Northern Cardinal. He has been stopping by every day. I am wondering where he is nesting.

I am guessing totally on this one. I have been doing some research and I believe this is an American Goldfinch. I saw about seven or eight of these pretty little birds hanging out in our apple tree. If you can identify either bird with these terrible pictures let me know in a comment.

Over the last few days we have been building a bridge by our pond. Keep in mind we have no carpentry skills and certainly no bridge making skills. We used wood from an old pallet and some left over wood from our deck project.

While we were our working on our bridge Little Bug wanted to help. Moving all that dirt was hard work and loads of help.

Our bridge has a few little details left to finish but our grandchildren can now feed the fish with out falling into the water. What do you think?

That is Pooh Bear and Little Roo. They sure are growing up fast. They are going to be visiting with us this week. I may not be blogging much while they visit.

You had to know this was coming. I could not forget my granddaughters. Pumpkin and Sweet Pea. They are my little princesses. I hope you all have a great week. I will be back soon.

Reading Eggs For My Grandchildren

2013-04-19T20:45:00.000-04:00

A few months ago I was given the opportunity to try the Reading Eggs Program for my grandchildren. I was offered this trial for a review of their program. The program is great for children ages 3 to 13. I actually sat down beside my granddaughter Pumpkin and guided her through the site. We explored together. Then I let her on her own to see how easy it would be for Pumpkin to navigate the site and all its pages. Pumpkin is 5 years old and in kindergarten. She had no problems using Reading Eggs and enjoyed the fun learning games.

I simply was amazed that educational games were not too easy or too hard for her to play. As she progressed through the levels the games got a little harder and she was able to catch on with out getting frustrated.

I am sure you are asking "What did you like most about the program?" I liked that the vocabulary words for Pumpkins age level. They were the same vocabulary sight words she was working on in her kindergarten classroom. Playing all the reading games helped her to practice her vocabulary words in a fun way.

Reading Eggs would make a nice birthday gift for a your child, niece, nephew or grandchild. If your grandchildren live far from you this would be an easy gift to give. I know how much fun Pumpkin had playing and learning at the same time. I don't even think she realized that she was playing educational games. Just stop by Reading Eggs if you would like to sign up for a free trial and see if your child or grandchild like this program.

5 Tips To Help Make Your Vegetable Garden A Success

2013-04-18T16:27:00.001-04:00

By now you might be able to guess I am anxious to get my vegetable garden going. I have been scouring the Internet and reading all my gardening books for all the best tips in growing a great vegetable garden. I figured as I am working on my garden I would share the information I found with all my gardening friends.

1. Save all your egg shells for your garden soil. What I do is crush the egg shells in to small bits and add it to my garden soil. This will give a boost to your vegetables. I also throw a handful into the holes where I am planting my tomato plants. This will help prevent blossom end rot.

2. Sprinkle a hand full of coffee grounds around your vegetables. The coffee will slowly release nitrogen which is very beneficial to your vegetable plants.

3. 1 tsp of Epsom salts and 4 cups of warm water sprayed on your plants will produce a boost in fruits in about ten days. Now this I have not tried. I have sprinkled Epsom salts on the soil around my plants. I will try this tip and see how it goes.

4. I found this on Pinterest. DIY plant food. I am going to try this.

Mix 1 cup coffee grounds, 2 crushed egg shells, 1/16 oz. ammonia, 1 cup water, 1/8 tsp Epsom salts. Stir well. Spoon this around the base of your flowering plants, except African Violets.

5. One last tip. I am planning to use this watering method with some of my vegetable plants. I found it on Pinterest of course.

Last years photo of the Mini Farm Sustainability Project. I am lending the same raised beds this year to their project. We can't wait to learn more from their gardening techniques.
I hope you will be able to benefit from some of these gardening tips. If you have any great tips to share please leave them in a comment. Happy Gardening.

My Garden Planner

2013-04-13T18:02:00.000-04:00

It's that time of year when everyone is planning their vegetable garden. With dreams of beautiful vine ripe tomatoes turning their rosy red cheeks up to the sun. I do need to get out doors and get my hands in the dirt. Although it is still cold out there is something we can all do now while we are waiting for the weather to warm up a bit. We can plan our garden on paper. Most every gardener does their planning differently. A few years back I was the type of gardener that just bought plants and seeds. Planted them in the tilled soil, watered, weeded and hoped for the best. Some years I did better than others but over all my garden did poorly. For the last few years I have been putting more effort into my garden and a large bounty of fresh vegetables has been my reward.
First off I plan my garden out on paper. Did you know that some vegetables have friends and other vegetables have enemies. Well, not really enemies but their called antagonists and friends would be called companions. While planning I first read the package instructions. How much sun and room do the seeds need to grow at their best. Is the plant a cool season vegetable or do they need to be planted after the threat of frost has passed. Then I check a chart I have that will tell me which plants I want to place each vegetable beside. I use this chart so I do not plant enemies together.

For example:

The Tomatoes plants companions are basil, borage, carrots, celery, chives and dill. The antagonists for a tomato plant are beets, cabbages, fennel and rosemary.

You can find that chart here.

Then I make a graph of my garden. I plan out each section carefully. making sure tall plants do not shade vegetables that need full sun. I try to plant water loving vegetables on one side and those that do not need watered every day on the other end. I think you have got the idea. This year I found a garden graphing tool on line. It was easy to use. Just put in your garden size click on the vegetables you want on your graph and drag them where you need them. Then print the graph.

You can find that tool here.

I keep all this information in a loose spiral notebook. This makes it easier when I am in my garden planting I do not have to stop what I am doing and hunt through my gardening books to find this important information. In my notebook I keep a page for each plant type.

For Example:

Grape Tomatoes

Started in pots: 4/9/2013 Planted in garden: -------

Germ 7-10 days Depth 1/4in

Spacing 3ft/2ft Harvest 60-70 days

Full sun

Antagonists: beets,cabbages, fennel and rosemary.

Companions: basil, carrots, celery, chives and dill.

I attach the seed package to the page.

As the season goes by I keep notes about the plants. Such as when I fertilize, how well the plants are producing and if the plants get an infestation I record what I used to treat the problem. All of this information will come in handy so I know if I want to purchase this variety of tomatoes next year. It can also help me learn what types of gardening techniques work best.

Have you planned your garden yet? What are you planning to grow? Do you have a favorite vegetable to grow or eat?

Starting Vegetable Seeds With Recycled Containers

2013-04-11T20:32:00.000-04:00

Even though it's still cold and actually raining like crazy outside at this time. I have been planning my summer vegetable garden. I have been saving lots of food containers for this project. I like to reuse as many plastic containers as possible. I though about buying those nice little gardening posts that degrade in the soil once planted. It would be nice to have such gardening supplies but I am a penny pincher by nature and lets face it reusing and recycling is free.

First collect your supplies.

Spade

Soil

Seeds

Containers

Glue

Pen

Garden Record Notebook

Poke holes in the bottom of your containers. Three to four holes will be sufficient.

Optional step: Glue the container lids to the bottom rim of the container. This should catch excess water.

Now add soil to the containers. I am planting tomatoes in these containers so I added crushed egg shell to the bottom layer of soil. Then I added more soil on top.The egg shell will help prevent blossom end rot on my tomatoes.

Next press seeds into the soil. I pressed three seeds into the soil cups. I will thin and keep the best in the pot until time for planting in my garden.

I labeled each container with seed type and germination rate. If some seeds do not sprout in time I can quickly add more seeds.

I used deli containers, fast food containers, vegetable containers that held mushrooms and strawberry containers. The last container I used was a deli chicken container that I made a little green house for my grandson and his eggplant seeds.

Well folks that's all for today. How are your garden plans coming along? Have you recycled anything lately?

Conscious Box Three Months Subscription #Giveaway

2013-04-11T00:03:00.000-04:00

When I first heard about Conscious Box I was very curious as to what they were all about. I did a little research and came to the conclusion a Conscious Box subscription was just the perfect way to test new Eco-friendly products that conform to my families way of life.

I know most of my friends try to use planet friendly products that are also healthy for their family. With a subscription to Conscious Box you will be able to try products from 10-20 business that have been handpicked for their healthy, natural, non-toxic and Eco-friendly nature.

If you would like to see what they are all about you can stop over and check out Conscious Box at your convenience. Conscious Box has been kind enough to offer the readers of Grandma Bonnie's Closet a 50% off discount for any Conscious box subscription. Use the code: LOVELIFE

If you would like a chance to win a three month subscription to Conscious Box($59 value) enter the raffle copter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer:
Grandma Bonnie's Closet will receive a promotional item in compensation for hosting this giveaway.

Surviving A Power Outage In Reasonable Comfort

2013-04-08T16:35:00.001-04:00

Recent long term power outages the last few years have got me thinking about ways to make life bearable during a power outage. The longest power outage I have experienced was about five days. That was during a blizzard when I was a teenager. I can remember we had a coal burning stove in our kitchen and a wood-burning fireplace in our living room. This was during the Energy Crisis in the 70's. My parents had added the wood burning fire place and coal stove to reduce our energy bills. I can remember the neighbors not having it so easy. They depended on electric heat and did not have a fire place. Of course they were invited to ride the storm out in our home but being that the storm was in full force they did not want to risk venturing out into the storm.
Thinking about the past has reminded me that being prepared can make the difference in having a tolerable experience or suffering a great deal. Now I ask, "How are we prepared today for a long term power loss?"
Below is a list of preparations we have made or are making as a family to prepare for emergency power outages..

1. A non-electrical heat source. Such as a kerosene, gas or propane heaters.
2. A cooking source. Gas or charcoal grill (for outside use only), portable propane camping stove or canned heat with a folding camp stove. Canned heat can be found in most camping supply stores.

Sterno type.

Single burner folding stove.

3. Several light sources. Flash lights with extra batteries, candles, and oil lamps. You can find a DIY for homemade oil lamps here. Do not forget matches or lighters.

4. Portable energy source if possible. Not necessary but highly recommended. A small portable generator would be nice to have. This would keep your refrigerator and freezer working to save food from spoiling.

5. A non-perishable food source for at least three days. Canned and dried foods will keep for months or years if stored properly.

6. A battery operated radio. This may be your only news source for a while if phones are not working.

6. Last but not least some little extras to help pass the time. In a world of electronic gadgets we need to remember with out power our entertainment devises may not remain charged for long. A few new unread books, magazines, and crossword puzzle books are great for personal enjoyment. A board game or two might be great for family fun. For our grandchildren we keep a few new coloring books, crayons, puzzles, and a paint or craft set. These can entertain children for many hours.

I keep most of these items in a plastic tote. With the exception of our kerosene heater, oil lamps and camp stove that are kept in our utility closet. I have recently added to our emergency tote one large first aid kit, hand sanitizer, wet wipes and a list of emergency contacts.

How are you prepared for emergencies such as a power outage? Do you have any good advice?

Growing An Apple Tree From Seed

2013-03-30T17:19:00.000-04:00

Happy Easter

A few months ago I started growing lemon seeds after reading about growing a lemon tree from seeds on Pinterest. My lemon tree seedling are doing fantastic. So I got to wondering if I could do the same with some organic apple seeds I had on hand. I thought why not give it a try I had nothing to loose.
I started out with five little seeds from a nice organic apple of which I do not know the type. I was using the seeds from one of my grandsons apples he had from his home. First I washed the seeds gently. Running warm water over them while rubbing between the palms of my hands. I placed them in a bowl of room temperature water and let them soak for about five days. I them planted them in potting soil. I kept the soil moist but not overly wet. It only took two weeks for the seedlings to poke their little heads through the soil. Now I thought how nice and easy that was.

Then I decided to look up instruction on how to care for my seedlings. The funny thing is there is so much information on line and each has a different point of view. Many articles say you can't grow apple trees from seeds. The idea is you need to graft your seedling onto root stock of another apple tree. The root stock is usually a stronger, hardier tree type such as a crab-apple tree. Now folks I do not claim this information is correct it is just some of what I have read.
I know for a fact that apple trees can be grow from seed with out grafting. Growing from seed is how it was originally done back a long time ago. The reason commercially grown apples are a product of engineered grafting is because everyone wants to know what taste to expect from a certain apple. The taste of fruit from apple trees grown from a seedling is not predictable.
As for the care of my seedlings. I will be potting them in individual pots that I can keep on my patio the first year. I will do this to prevent a mowing accident or a critter from munching on them. On their second year I will plant them in a protected area away from the deer who like to munch on my garden.
apple trees that are grown from seeds should be able to produce fruit on or around their sixth year of growth. If I am still in the blogging world at the time they produce fruit I will happily blog about their progress.

Could This Be The Last Snow Of The Season?

2013-03-27T20:31:00.002-04:00

I was sitting at our window this morning watching a robin that has been hanging around for a few days now. She seems to have an injured leg. I have been watching her hopping around our pond eating little bits here and there. This morning while watching her I got to wondering if the melting snow drifts in our yard would be the last of the snow this year. I really do hope that this warm spell is here to stay. I am a little itchy to get to work in my garden.
Little Bug Stopped by for a visit today. I could tell he was feeling a little cooped up right along with his grandma. So, I decided we had better enjoy the last of the melting snow together. I gave him his sand pail and a garden spade and let him play in what little snow we had left in our back yard.

"I'm going to dig a tunnel"

"Grandma, my feet are stuck!"

"Grandma, you can't catch me!"

Little Bug's visit gave my spirits a big lift today. I hope it will last until Easter. What kind of day did you have today? Do you think we will get any more snow? Is this warm weather here to stay?

Easter Bunny Cake

2013-03-25T21:43:00.001-04:00

While off visiting my grandsons we had the enjoyment of making an Easter Cake. My grandson loves to help when ever I am baking so he was right in their learning how to frost a cake. I don't think I have ever taught a three year old how to frost a cake before. The experience was pure joy. Now I have made many nice Easter cakes before but I think this one was so easy and fun for my grandson that I will be making another this week with my granddaughters.
We used a cake mix. I normally make my cakes from scratch but it was much easier for my grandson to use a box mix. we prepare the cake as instructed on the box. I baked the cake in a 13 x 9 inch pan. When the cake was cooled I cut to pieces for ears and the remaining cake I cut in half and stacked.

My grandson iced the cake with butter cream frosting. we then covered the cake in shredded coconut. Last, we decorated with our favorite candies.

Have you decorated any cakes lately? What dessert do you have planned for Easter?

Disney Pixar's Brave Merida Costume

2013-03-24T17:23:00.000-04:00

My grandchildren love playing dress up. That's is why I was so excited to review the this beautiful costume from Costume Discounters. After looking over their girls costumes for hours on end my granddaughters decided their favorite costume was the Child Disney Pixar's Classic Brave Merida costume.
Can you imagine when our package arrived how happy and excited two little girls could get? I could hardly wait to see my granddaughters in this costume. The dress is a beautiful blue with sheer gold trim and has a cameo pin of Merida as an accent. With a straight neckline and diagonally cut sleeves and a flared skirt any little girl can become princess Merida.
The features I like best on the costume are the gold brocade trim on the dress bodice, the fine gold trim on the sleeves and the gold metal buckle accenting the belt.
The costume is easy for my granddaughters to wear with out help. The dress closure is Velcro and the belt is also attached with a Velcro closure.
My thoughts about the costume will be that any little girl would be thrilled to wear this costume for Halloween or dress up every day.
The costume came with a gold belt that completes the costume perfectly. We were so excited to try the costume on that we forgot to get pictures of the belt on the costume. But do not worry we got some pictures of the belt after my granddaughters were tucked into their beds.

Velcro closure at the neck.

Gold brocade hem.

Sheer gold trim on sleeves.

Cameo pin.

Gold belt.

Being a customer at Costume Discounters has kept me informed of all the costume news on what is now trending in children and toddler's costumes.

Everyone knows how children love to play pretend dress up. My grandchildren are no different. We all enjoy seeing our children or grandchildren playing princess, pirates or even the Easter bunny! Being able to give them many costumes to dress up and play their favorite character will encourage creativity. This will help our children to grow into creative adults.

What activities do you encourage to help develop creativity in your children or grandchildren?

Spring Thaw

2013-03-09T22:14:00.001-05:00

The last two days have been warm enough to thaw our Koi pond. I was happy to see all the goldfish and Koi come up for a meal. We have got lots of young that survived the winter. I always worry about the small fry when the pond freezes over. I am thankful we did not find any dead fish when the pond thawed. Since the pond is a little over 4 feet deep we don't generally have to worry about it freezing totally. I have only seen it freeze to about three feet give or take a few inches.

They sure were hungry. Do you see all the little ones? This is the first year that I have had so many young fish. As you can see in the pictures I have got to skim the leaves off the surface. I just have been too busy spring cleaning. Now that I am thinking of it I should add cleaning the pond to my spring cleaning list! What have you been up to lately?
I will be traveling the next two weeks to visit my grandsons. I will not have much time on line. I will try to stop over your blogs but may not do this every day. Have a great weekend.

A Spring Dress Custom Made Just For You

2013-03-09T16:56:00.000-05:00

I just received two custom made dresses that are perfect for Easter. When I first heard about custom made dresses from eShakti I was a little skeptical that each dress could be made fit to order. Many women are unique in body size making it hard to find the perfect fit dress right off the rack. I am one of many women that is not blessed with the perfect hour glass shape. That is where eShakti comes to rescue for women like myself.
When I visited their website I was very pleased to see the large selection of dresses, tops, and skirts. They even have a great selection of custom bridesmaids dresses.
I selected the dress styles I liked. Then I choose the sleeve type and length. Next I picked the neckline and hem length. At this point I could choose a dress size from the listing of standard sizes or input my measurements for a a custom dress made to fit me. Of course I selected to input my measurements.
The first dress is a Shirred denim chambray maxi dress. I liked the thought of a casual denim maxi that would be great for casual dress up. I added my own red blouse and shoes to complete the outfit.

Hem

Waist

The second is a Collared floral dress in camo print. It has a wide scallop trimmed collar and floral embroidered flared skirt. I selected a calf length hem and three quarter length sleeve. I plan to wear this dress for Easter.

Hidden zipper on the side under the sleeve.

Elastic smocked center back waist.

Scallop trimmed collar.

Beautiful floral embroidered details on flared skirt.

I totally love both dresses. I recommend any woman having difficulties finding a dress that fits well off the rack try ordering from eShakti. A little advice when measuring your self for a dress get help from a daughter or friend. Proper measurements are the key to a great fitting dress. I learned from my mistake of measuring my self. The maxi dress is a little long because it was hard for me to get a correct length on my own. The waist on my new floral Easter dress is also a little wide because of the same measuring problem.

Hook up with eShakti on Facebook and Twitter.

Disclaimer: I received the above mentioned products for an honest review. The opinions above are my own.

Spring Cleaning Part Two

2013-03-05T13:47:00.000-05:00

Well, my spring cleaning week is going fairly good. I am still sticking to our one rule. Just in case you haven't read my rule, " If it has not seen the light of day in the last year it's out of here!" It certainly has not been easy parting with so much of my belongings. I have made two trips to the donation box and my husband is going to make a trip to the dump this week. Over all it has been a hard but rewarding week.
Pictures from my grandsons weekly visit.

Very serious painter.

Two brush painting.

We have not started teaching correct pencil grip. That is on our schedule sometime this spring. I did try to teach Little Bug how to hold his scissors and to cut. The photo above looks like he has the correct idea. Unfortunately that was not the case. He has the will just not getting the open and close motion down yet. If you know a good technique in teaching scissors skills please share with me. It has been ages since I have taught this skill.
How is your week going? Have you started your spring cleaning?

Exclusive For My Readers

2013-03-05T12:40:00.002-05:00

A special discount code GRNDMBNNES just for you! 20% off when you shop at eShakti.

Valid now until 3/20/2013. If you are looking for an Easter dress or spring dress this is the time to try a customized dress from eShakti.

eShakti dress review coming soon on Grandma Bonnie's Closet.

Note: (*conditions apply)

Code has to be entered in the 'Promotional Code' box. No Minimum Order Value. The discount code is not case sensitive. The code can be used any number of times until the validity period. This code can be clubbed with any other gift coupon or gift card in the same order. This discount code is not applicable on our Overstock category. Not applicable on previous purchases.

Disclaimer: This is not a paid post. Grandma Bonnie's Closet is not and will not receive monetary compensation from this discount code. I am just sharing the savings with you.

Spring Cleaning!

2013-02-28T18:36:00.000-05:00

I am so tired of winter and wishing that spring would come early this year. A few years back I would not have made that wish. I always enjoyed winter, cold and snow. Well, I decided to give spring a big push and do some spring cleaning.

All this week we will be cleaning our closets, cupboards and storage shed.
I made one rule we will follow this week. If it has not seen the light of day in the last year it's out of here! The only exceptions I will make is for books, jewelry, my wedding dress and perhaps my husbands tools. I hope we will have lots of closet and storage space when I am finished.

Our grandson visited this week. Here are some photos.

Grandma, I need to fix something!

My magazine rack must have needed fixing!

What have you been up to this week? Are you ready for spring?

Growing A Lemon Tree

2013-02-25T20:36:00.000-05:00

Just an up date on Growing a lemon tree from seeds. It has been about a month and I wanted to share with you how well the seedlings are doing.

Mid January

You can read the post about starting a lemon tree from seeds here.

One month later. February 25th.

Over the weekend I spent some time with my grandson Little Bug at the Build and Grow Clinic. We put together a monster truck.

It was a fun learning experience for both of us. Have you ever been to a Build and Grow Clinic?

Paleo Cut Out (Sugar) Cookies

2013-02-18T15:55:00.000-05:00

As promised I am sharing my new Paleo cookie recipe I have been working on. It took a few practice batches for me to get the cookies the right texture and taste. They are not as sweet as regular sugar cookies. The almond flour gives these cookies a semi sweet nutty taste.

Paleo Cut Out Cookies

Ingredients:

2 Cups Almond Meal Flour

1/4 Cup Coconut Oil

1/8 Cup Raw Honey or Maple Syrup

1/8 Cup Coconut Sugar ( or other sweetener such as honey or mayple syrup)

1 Egg

1/2 Tsp Baking Soda

1/4 Tsp Sea Salt

1/4 Tsp Vanilla

Arrowroot Flour as needed.

Preheat oven to 350F. Warm honey and coconut oil in a double boiler. In a medium bowl add the melted honey, coconut oil, egg, and vanilla, mix well. In a separate bowl mix together almond flour, baking soda and sea salt Combine the dry and wet ingredients together mixing well. If the dough is very wet add a little arrowroot flour until the dough forms a wet ball. The dough will be wet and a little sticky. This is the character of almond meal. It does not absorb moister as well as wheat flour. Wrap the dough in cling wrap or parchment paper and refrigerate for 30 min. Once the dough has become firm it will roll easily. Roll the dough between two sheets of cling wrap or parchment paper. Then cut with desired cookie cutters. Place on lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for 10 min. until edges are lightly browned. I used small cookie cutters and got 20 cookies.

This is a batch I made in my crock pot. You can read about Crock Pot Cookies here. Have you whipped up any special or healthy recipes lately?

Crock Pot Cookies

2013-02-13T20:10:00.001-05:00

As promised here is the second half of our busy weekend post. Sunday's main event went down a lot quicker than our long Saturday.

We were expecting our grandson Little Bug to visit on Sunday afternoon. When ever Little Bug stops over to visit he likes to have a treat or two from grandma and grandpa. I usually make him cookies or buttermilk biscuits. Both are his favorite. I do plan to share these two recipes with you all soon. They are very unique recipes as they are gluten free and paleo based. I made up the cookie dough and set it in the refrigerator to chill. Then I put dinner in the oven to bake. I decided to mix up a batch of biscuits to go with our dinner.

Just as I turned to set the biscuit dough on the stove top to rise a loud bang came from inside the oven. A big puff of smoke came out the back of the oven. The control panel on the stove top went blank.

Not sure what happened at this point my husband turned off the breaker to the stove and set about lighting the grill out on our deck. While my husband finished making dinner on the grill. I fretted over not having a treat in our house that Little Bug would be allowed to eat. Then I remembered seeing a recipe some where about baking a cake in a crock pot. If someone could bake a cake in a crock pot I figured I cold bake cookies in my crock pot.

This is what I did. First I turned the crock pot on high(with the lid on). I found a 7 inch cake pan that fit nicely inside. I rolled out and cut the dough. I fit cookies in the pan. Then I laid three spoons in the bottom of the crock pot to keep the pan off the bottom and allow air to circulate under the pan. I put the pan in the crock pot trying to keep it in the center with a little space on the sides. I first set a timer for 20 minutes and checked often. After 45 minutes the cookies were done.

Our visit with Little Bug went over perfectly. He had his special treats and I learned a new cooking skill. My oven is not working until now. We are waiting on a part that had to be ordered. Next time I buy a new stove I will not be buying one with a digital control panel. I will get an old fashioned gas stove! Lesson learned modern is not always great.

Our Weekend Comes To An End!

2013-02-11T21:36:00.001-05:00

I was so happy to see Monday come around. Although we had a fun weekend planned it turned out to be not so fun. Sometime on Friday I realized we had a pipe leaking in our laundry room. I shut off the valve to our water line and figured the hubby could fix it Saturday morning.
Early Saturday morning Hubby got all ready to go into the crawl space and find that pipe. Now, I have been under the crawl space a few time my self and it's not pretty or easy. I am standing in the laundry room so I can hear my hubby below. I hear lots of muttering and banging going on. As we both knew he had to remove the plastic overlay from the floor boards and release the water that was caught in in the plastic and insulation. We had two layers of insulation put under the house. (Saves a fortune on the heating bill.)
Then I hear hubby getting very frustrated. He found lots of water, wet insulation and no broken pipes. At this point I do not like what I am thinking. Not in the wall! Please not in the wall. I send up a few prayers.
Then my dearest returns muddy, wet and wanting a shower. I can't hardly blame him. He tells me we have to take the wall out behind the washer. We move the washer into the kitchen. Then I cringe as he takes out the wall. I want to praise my hubby for his neat work. He was careful to keep the opening as small and uniform as possible. Now, there were three pipes in that wall! Not one of those pipes looked bad. I could see where the pipes go into a hole in the floor wedged between to very large and thick beams. While my husband checked the pipes he had me turn on the water. The water sprayed out from the hole in the floor that was between the two beams. The pipe had a hole a little bigger than a pin hole
I could see fixing that leak was not going to be easy. The leak in the pipe is lined up right in the middle of the floor. Not below or above just in that three or four inch thickness. That hole did not have much room. My hubby could barely get one finger in there to see where the leak was.
We devised a plan of sorts. I stayed up top and wrapped the pipe with my two pointer fingers. I used red plumbing tape. Now, hubby was under the house again. He put a clamp on the pipe and slide it up on to the red tape. While he held the clamp with his one finger I screwed the clamp while almost standing on my head. You see screw drivers do not bend and there was no space in that hole to hold it sideways. I think that clamp had a mind of its own. Just slipping, sliding and turning every which way. I stood my ground though bloody fingers and all. It's fixed temporarily until we get in to town and buy some pipe. It all turned out OK and hubby got his hot shower.

I have got another story to tell that happened on Sunday. It's not quite as exciting as Saturday but it is worthy of its own merit.
Can you guess what's going on in the photo below?

I am sure you know they are cookies but that is all I am going to say for now. I will share the rest of Sundays story next time. I hope you had a great weekend. Was it as exciting as ours was?