Christmas tree!

We wanted to wait until child #3 came home before we got our tree so he could be part of the traditional finding, cutting, etc.  Unfortunately, he got home a week before Christmas--so the pickins' are a bit lean now.  Here's our tree, in the midst of setup:

Getting Shroomy

I had a "doh" moment last week.

Last month in our RSM (that's what we call our monthly Relief Society Meeting) we taught the sisters some recipes that are contained in a jar.  It is from a book called "Dinner is in the Jar".  The ingredients are usually pasta, grains, legumes and dried foods and spices.  Add ons can be canned meat or vegies.

So . . . one of the recipes had dried mushrooms in it.  I thought it would be difficult to find dried mushrooms but Sam's sells them, and the price isn't too bad.  Then someone mentioned you could dry them yourself.  So this week as I was perusing the local grocery ads and saw that baby portabella mushrooms were on sale   I thought "Doh!  I could dry my own for half the cost!

So I did.  11 pounds worth.  My basement still smells like mushrooms.

Dried mushrooms can be thrown into anything.  They can be blended up into a powder that makes a nice rich broth.  Dried mushrooms are used in Lipton's onion mushroom packets.   I could make my own Lipton's!  Doh!

Happy little bellas just dying to be dried!

 All sliced.  You don't need to be too picky about size.  And don't wash them.  Just brush off the dirt.

 On my drying rack.  I got this at a garage sale years ago.  Still works!

 All dried after about 9 hours.  Looks kinda like a pizza!

 After drying them, I store them in a mason jar.  I got this handy dandy pump-n-seal a few years ago.  Here's how it works.  Poke a hole in the top of your canning lid with this official hole poker.  

 That wasn't hard!

 Then take these special seal tabs . . .

. . . and cover the hole.  They are designed to let air out, but not air in.  Clever!

 Then place your pump-n-seal over the hole and pump away. 

 Voila!  One bottle of sealed, dried mushrooms.  Bon a petit!

   Next . . . dried apples.  

Something Green

Hi!  I'm back.

The next picture on my list was something green.  I didn't want to go with the typical--an outdoor picture. There is plenty of green here.  At least there was . . . At any rate, I thought I would show what I had for breakfast one morning.

I have been making smoothies with fresh spinach but often had the problem of some in the bag going bad before I could eat it.  I sometimes forget I have spinach in my fridge . .

At any rate, I got the brilliant idea of using frozen, rather than fresh.  I could always have it available, it would add a nice cold splash to my warmish shake.  I hacked off a chunk and threw it in with some applesauce, carrots, celery, cucumber, flax seeds and a bit of water.  It worked great!  And I actually don't need to put in as much as I thought I would.  The applesauce adds a nice sweet taste.  I use unsweetened.  So here is my green shot:

Yummy, eh?  

I can hear my kids groaning.

So try substitute frozen spinach and see if you like it!

Clouds

Today is cloud day.  I had a lot of fun with this assignment.  When I woke up this morning it was a bit grey and I didn't think I would get a good picture.  We decided to go up north for the day and visit our property.  The sky began to clear the closer we got.  Here's my first picture:

Then I started to see possibilities from where I was standing:

As we were pulling into our driveway this caught my eye

 It's funny, when you  have a camera around your neck, you start to see things differently.  We were walking on a pier and the differences in the water on each side caught my attention.

A casualty of a windy day.  The bottom was full of water.  There was a box of Little Debbie Cakes on the front by the steering wheel.  I wonder if they meant to leave that behind.

We drove to our property and snapped more interesting photos.  We are planning on putting the property up for sale, but as I was walking through I felt sad at the thought.  It is so quiet and peaceful there, until . . .

 We left and were swarmed by the neighbors dogs.  Then I remembered why we wanted to sell.  

These dogs barked for at least 1/2 hour after we arrived.  And there is a dog kennel at the end of the street.  They usually start up at 9:30 pm and bark until 2 am.  Not our idea of peace and quiet.

It was a relaxing day just walking, looking and driving.  People up north live a different kind of life.  I like it.

Taking pictures. . . or trying to . . .

So, friends and family, here I am again. Blogging. No guarantees on how long it will last.

I was inspired by Mari's post http://www.just-me-and-t.blogspot.com/ and thought I would try to take some photos to improve my, er, lack of ability to take decent pictures. Here's the challenge:

Sounds, fun, eh?

So I decided to start by taking some up close photos of myself yesterday. Without makeup. Without a shower. Risky. Here's the first one . .

Hmmm, not so good. Camera too high. Trying again . . . How about one of those artsy sideways shots?

Oh dear. Camera is a bit too close? Bad lighting? Backing up . .

Oh my. Am I still breathing?

Husband?

Yes?

Can I take a picture of you?

Sure.

*Sigh*

So much for that!

But, today after a shower and some much needed makeup, I tried again. With photoshop. Amazing what that program can do. Here's my headshot:

Not bad!

And here's the next challenge:

Go Cougs!

The Big Storm

I thought ya'll would like to see what has been happening here over the last few days. It's been interesting! I assume you have all heard about the monster storm that was headed our way. Here's a little video clip:

Spring will come, eventually, I hope. I'm headed out to shovel!

Back again!

Well, after an 11 month hiatus, I've decided to blog again.

I guess after kid #4 left home, it seemed our life together here in the mitt was rather blah. All, I could write about was, work, church, hubby, repeat. Didn't seem all that interesting even to me. My kids' lives are WAY more interesting than what I am up to. But perhaps I can find something to share occasionally.

Lately we have been ripping up the house. I have been pressuring DH to do something about the lack of insulation under our entry way floors. When they were built, the lazy contractor couldn't be bothered to do it right. I have been freezing every year since. We finally found someone who was interested enough in the problem to actually come up with a solution.

He is the dad of a piano student. That helps.

The problem? The insulation had to be put under the floor.

The only access? Through the floor.

So, last week I spent many hours tearing up tile so the floor boards could be cut. The guy that put in the tile? He did it right. Unfortuntely for me. Here is a picture of the front entryway with the floor cut out.

We also decided, since we were in demo mode, to add insulation around the perimeter of our house, where the basement walls meet the upper part of the house. Here's a look:

My house looks like a war zone:

To be continued. . . when blogger allows me to upload more photos . . . .