beef or pork ribs
favorite seasonings
barbecue sauce (optional)
Cut the ribs so that they will fit into your slow cooker; season them on both sides as desired. Stack them in the cooker; do not add any liquid. Cover and cook on low for five or six hours. If desired, finish cooking on the grill when you add barbecue sauce during the last half hour of cooking, or just keep it in the slow cooker to finish.
1 pound (2 and 1/4 cups) dry split peas
1 ham hock or ham bone
1/2 cup diced onion
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
1 carrot, peeled, thinly sliced
3/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1 potato, peeled, sliced thin or diced
3/4 teaspoon marjoram
1/2 teaspoon thyme
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for two hours. Reduce to low and simmer for four hours. Refrigerate leftovers promptly. This is a very thick soup that is good when it is chilly outside.
We are beginning to prepare for our annual Thanksgiving open house. Toward that end, we have just spent some time getting our “emergency” food supplies organized. I combined multiple packages (one pound plastic bags) of black beans, split peas, lentils, pasta, brown sugar, and powdered sugar) into labeled, covered containers that will fit more easily into the cabinet. No more plastic bags of anything will be stored in the cabinet. It is much easier and more frugal to combine the small bags of foods into the covered containers. We used a glass container, plastic, gallon-sized ice cream containers, margarine tubs and other containers we already had on hand. We do plan to purchase more containers eventually, but we will do so only after we decide how they will be used.
Tomorrow is the ninth anniversary of my grandmother’s death. Hard to believe it’s been that long, but I still remember the phone call from my Aunt with the news. Shock. Loss. Huge, crushing grief. All of those emotions and reactions have given way to peaceful and happy memories of her. She gave me the gift of childhood, and taught me a lot of practical skills that have carried me through well. I miss her; I always will, until we are reunited in God’s kingdom one day. We had her funeral on our fourth wedding anniversary. At the end of this week, we will celebrate thirteen years of marriage, longer than either of our first marriages lasted.
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I ordered and received Maria Gracia’s My Oh-So-Organized Filing System. Yesterday, Jay and I completely emptied our filing cabinet, and took everything into the dining room. He got one of our plastic packing crates for trash, and one for items needing to be shredded, and we set to work. We put the filing system’s labels on file folders, according to our specific needs. Then we went through every single hanging file, file folder and sheet of paper we own. We discarded enough to fill our trash crate, and put some into the shred bin. Everything else went into appropriate folders. The process took six and a half hours, and we were exhausted by the time we finished…but now, we can literally put our hands on any single piece of documentation in seconds. It is so worth it to have spent the time. The system is easy to use, as we discovered today when we had a few stray items to file. I put labels on three drawers of the filing cabinet until we know where each category is by practice/use. The fourth drawer is for notebooks for my job, which were taking up floor space until this morning. I felt a huge sense of relief when I realized that nine years of tax documents are arranged by date order, newest first, in one single folder that is not bulging, with paper falling out of it. That was when I knew this system is a keeper. The extra file folder labels that we do not need currently are stored for future use, as our needs change. This is one more area of disorganized clutter we no longer have to deal with, and it is so welcome.
Today, we took a complete, paper and pen inventory of food items, cleaning supplies, paper products and toiletries in the entire house, and I’m going to use that information to compile a master shopping list, and a price book for grocery shopping; it will also be turned into lists of the contents of pantry and cabinets for easy reference and tracking. We will mark items off as they are used, to avoid buying duplicates of things we don’t need. For instance, we have 8 bags or other containers of pinto beans. This supply should last a few YEARS!
Like most people who surf the internet, I have a list of sites I visit frequently. The other day, I found WebMon. This little gem helps me stay sane, already. I simply added my list of frequently visited URLs, and each time I start my computer, it checks for updates to those sites, and I double click each one to open it in my browser. I can add new sites any time.
Since I am interested in organizing and frugality these days, I am finding a wealth of new sites on these topics, and reading new content is a breeze with WebMon. Continue reading
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This tip is hardly new….but it is new to me. I actually found this yesterday online, but I discovered it for myself this weekend. I have never liked folding contour (fitted) sheets. They always ended up in a ball, were never neat, and were awkward to store. So I did a quick Google search for a video on how to fold them, and found several. Once I had the contour sheet folded, I decided to stack it with the flat sheet and a single pillowcase, then I put the entire stack into the second pillowcase and folded the open end of the second pillowcase over. Now, our linen closet has ample room for storing six complete sets of linens on a single shelf, and there is no need to search for matching pieces of each set…and the contour sheets no longer fall off the shelf. Inspired, I think. To keep your linens fresh, place a fabric softener sheet in each of the containing pillowcases. The really nice thing is that I can grab a single case and have the complete set of linens to make the bed. I can also easily store extra linens in the guest room without using much closet space.
I was reading a news story on CNN yesterday, and noticed a “survey” called “The 13th Juror. The question asked was, “Is (name of person) guilty of murder?” This bothered me greatly. How on earth is anyone supposed to be able to make such an assessment when no evidence has been seen by the person asked the question, and no testimony has been heard, (excluding what is found in the media, which is sometimes biased)? The whole idea gives me the creeps. Maybe I’m old-fashioned.
I am the first to admit: I have always hated to get rid of anything that might be remotely useful. I have referred to myself as “the queen of making do.” I grew up in a fairly large family, and one just never knew if “things” discarded would ever be replaced. Then, for a decade, I was a single mother of two with a very limited income…and again, there was that feeling of “what if I need it later?” This began to change when I met my current husband, and he came over to help me move some living room furniture one day. It started small, as these things often do, and has gradually taken hold in my life, and, by extension, my husband’s (although now, I am more likely to sell, toss, or donate unneeded items than he is). We bought a new home in November, and the desire to keep the environment clean, in good repair and free of clutter is becoming ever more central to my way of living. It is joined by a growing desire to “go green” in small ways I am just beginning to grasp and incorporate. More about that later.
I am discovering that clutter is debilitating. It just saps my energy and overwhelms me. So…I have begun to take my life back. A few years ago, I got rid of outdated and worn out clothing (with the “help” of my daughter who decided to clean my closet when I was not at home one day. It made me so angry…but she was right.) I had so many clothes, I could lose garments in my own closet. Continue reading
I have moved this blog to WordPress after almost four years with Blogger. I have been wanting to make this change for a while, and I have to say I’m impressed with what I’m seeing thus far. Eventually, I plan to get a paid webhost account for my own website, and will then be using WordPress there, but this makes a good bridge. I’m looking forward to getting established here. I was very nervous about changing to WordPress, but I found a good tutorial with a little research, and it has been easy to do. I did have trouble importing my blogroll, but I will get it sorted out as I go along.
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I have found several websites that I read often for tips on saving money and keeping things organized. I thought I’d share them, and I will update the list from time to time:
The Simple Dollar
Being Frugal
Get Organized Now
LifeHacker
I got most of my container herb garden planted, with a good early start this year, unlike last summer when I started in mid-July, which was just too late. I planted tomatoes and parsley in two pots that are outside the office window in the front yard. I planted oregano, chives and thyme in another large container, bell peppers in another. I planted some coleus, which is attractive and easy to grow. I re-potted an aloe plant that is currently in the office on the filing cabinet. I still want to get an avocado seed or two. I need to get more pots to plant the rest of my herbs. It feels so good not to have all of my plants on a cramped patio. Most of the pots I used yesterday are in the back yard.
Jay did some caulking around the two doors we had widened; still need to paint them. He got a lot of unpacking done this past week while he was on break. We decided to do the planting in the garage, so he moved the card table out there, and we shut the girls up in the house so they wouldn’t get out; we had the garage door open for extra light. Jay came in to get some water, and I heard him talking to Darla. I had done some laundry, and left the empty laundry basket on the floor. She had turned it upside down on top of herself, and she was effectively in jail.
Posted in gardening
I was born with, to quote a friend of mine, “different abilities.” I have problems using my left hand due to one of these congenital different abilities, Cerebral Palsy. I type with only two fingers of my left hand. Another friend, who had a stroke two years ago, found a website that intrigued me.
About One Hand Typing is a site put together by a woman who lost most of her left hand in an accident when she was ten years old. She has created a system of typing using her right hand and minimal use of the rest of her left hand. I was very interested in the way she explains this, and tried a couple of her tutorials on the site. There is also a video of her actually typing with one hand. I noticed that she put her phone number on the site, and called her. She is genuine, so I ordered the CD. It’s amazing. When I’ve had some practice, I will be faster, but it is so much less strain using one hand. I also recommended the site to another friend who said it may help her get a job.
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I made a comment to a friend recently that perfectly sums up what is happening with regard to getting settled in our home. I said, “It’s just like the nesting instinct expectant mothers get…without a baby.” Jay is on Spring Break this week, and when he is not studying for a test coming up next week, he is unpacking, cleaning, and working in the yard (once it dries out; we’ve had some rain.) Yesterday, he unpacked five or six large plastic crates and several boxes. It is so nice not to have to walk around those.
Speaking of babies….Lauren just called and said her visit with the OB/GYN went well. She had a sonogram, and her due date is October 20. She had thought it would be in December, and I thought it would be in November. The baby is doing well, and in several more weeks, we will know its gender. Dylan and Ryan both have well-child checkups (and shots for Ryan) today.
My grandmothers were both very wise women. They told me, “the more often you count your blessings, the more blessings you will have to count.” That is a statement I have found to be true. I’ve recently discovered yet another blessing. My daughter is expecting her third (and last) baby. He or she will likely arrive in November or December. We hope this one is a girl, but most of all that he or she will be healthy and happy.
Posted in family
