Caprese Salad

OK, maybe I have been watching entirely TOO much of the Food network. BUT we are trying some pretty tasty food. I am currently in love with the Heirloom tomato pack from the Green Barn.
 It is the next best thing to fresh tomatoes from the garden.  


Caprese Salad
Ingredients:
As many tomatoes as you want. In summer I slice the large ones, now I am cutting these yummy cherry tomatoes in half.
Glaze with Balsamic vinegar of Modena (you can make your own balsamic vinegar reduction, but I LOVE this stuff. My sister in law found it for me several years ago. )


Real Mozzarella cheese
Fresh Basil leaves
Olive oil for drizzling
sea salt and pepper


Slice tomatoes in half, top each half with a cube or the cheese, add a small piece of the fresh basil, add top tomato. I put a toothpick through the cherry tomatoes. You don't need a "top" with regular tomatoes. 
Drizzle olive oil and the Balsamic glaze over the tops. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper.  Serve with a crusty bread, or with beef for dinner. We eat them with everything! 

Again, I remind you I am NOT a photographer, I am a cook! 

Leap Day 2012

I guess I never really noticed Feb 29 before. And there is really nothing special about it this year, other than it is snowing? I got to thinking.. hmm every 4 years, now THAT might be do-able. I am not much into New Years Resolutions, etc. But maybe if I look back in FOUR years and see if anything has been accomplished, or changed much, maybe I will have a chance!!

The snow looking out my "office" window. About 6 trees are now GONE. 

You can see the log piles.. We are hoping to enlarge the garden. 

New this year, is turning John's room into my "office?. Warren calls it my command center. I have my sewing, crafting, computer, and every project under the sun going on up here... John has pretty much moved out. He is attending Gonzaga University in Spokane and in summers he works elsewhere. This summer it will be at UC Santa Barbara in California in their Quantum Computer "group". I do not know what this is, but he assures me it is on the edge... with John, I am pretty sure of that. 


Also I have taken up "swimming". I am not a real swimmer, but I do like it and enjoy flapping around the pool for 30 minutes a day. It is good for me. 


My current sewing projects include: baby buntings for the NICU, Making slippers out of felted sweaters, I have a few purses cut out, and bibs, and baby shoes and "mug rugs" for coffee cups on the desk. 


I have started trying to scrap book a bit after about a 10 year lapse. 


I plan to enlarge the garden spot, We had 6 trees cut down last week to make room. Also Sunday we thought it would be a GREAT idea to get a couple weaner pigs. The grand boys thought they could help with that. I told them how much FUN pigs are, and I really need them to go along with my 24 chickens! 

Eggs-$2.00/dozen

Add to this the fact that Warren is a turnaround planner at the refinery and they just had a very significant fire, and he has not seen the house in daylight since summer... (well, weekends) a lot of the general house/yard chores fall on me. 


SO I will post a report on Feb. 29, 2016 and let you know how all these projects went for us!


I really do love my life, my family and all that goes with that. I have always been very thankful I could stay home with my kids and did not have to go away to work. 


I do volunteer at the Thrift Store, which I love. Lots of wonderful folks there. 

My "office". Lots of projects. 

We have lived in this small house about 24 years. We  have a little living room and dining room. This is where it all has happened for many years. I have always sewed and scrap  booked at the dining room table. So when I go up to my office, Warren always asks where I am and what I am doing! 

This is my real live Joann's cutting counter. I was pretty sure I had to have this when the were remodeling and giving these away. It is great for cutting quilt pieces. Now that it is here, it will never leave. It took 6 men to haul it in. Warren says when I am done with it, we will chop it up for firewood, as there is no way to get it OUT otherwise. he put some really nice doors on it, so I hate to see it chopped up. As you can see, more projects...

The dining room table. A few projects of the day, here. This DOES get cleaned off by the time Warren gets home from work. 

This is Chucks old dining room table, we brought it in for Thanksgiving seating, and well, I decided to take up with my scrap booking...

This is the current pile of books by my chair. I tried to take a picture of my living room and kitchen, which currently ARE clean and pretty much stay that way with only 2 of us and a dog. 

He does not REALLY have his own laptop and pillow, it just looks like that...

March of Dimes March for Babies

We are marching for Team Cohen and Carter in the March of Dimes March for Babies, in Seattle on May 5. 

Every day, thousands of babies are born too soon, too small and often very sick. I'm walking in March for Babies because I want to do something about this. And I need your help.

My identical twin grandsons were born at 25 weeks. Cohen spent 130 days in the NICU at the UW. Carter is our angel in heaven. Please continue pray for Cohen's AMAZING progress and health! He is our HUGE (but little) miracle! Thanks to all the nurses, drs and all who supported my daughter and son in law!

Please support my walk. Making a secure donation is easy: just click the 'donate now' button on my page. 

http://www.marchforbabies.org/GrammaCAR

Thank you for helping me give all babies a healthy start!

The mission of March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality.

Thank you for your support! 

To all of my MANY followers... All 2 of you! you can get a widget for your website to vote for COHEN! 
Lets get those votes going.

I guess I do not know how to add a widget... 

Snowed in, sorta. Today's Ramblnigs

Snowed in, Sorta

Jana wanted someone to write  a blog so she had something to read. She has the adorable baby to write about and take pictures of. I  have the dog. And he has made it known, he is NOT going outside for ANY more pictures! He has a heated mattress beside my desk and that is where he prefers to be. 

Marty-Pretending to be asleep so he does not have to go outside

He DID go out yesterday, before the winds started. But got high centered

He wanted back in RIGHT away. 

I have gotten out for several snow shoe trips around the 'hood and that has been fun. But the low temp got to 7 today and winds and blowing snow have made things a bit treacherous. Some sites say wind chills as low as -2. 

Here is a video of the snow in our neighborhood...

I had to go out and tend to the girls and my eyeballs got all dried out from the wind and my nose hairs froze. It was a quick trip. One of the eggs had all ready frozen solid, in the shell. 

Then I spent some time washing eggs. LOTS and LOTS of eggs. 

So being inside for a few days has been great. I COULD get out, but why? Our neighbors have a big drift in front of their house, where someone always tries to "shoot the wall" and gets stuck in the middle. I really don't want to be that person this year...One year it was higher than the milk truck. 

As I was thinking over what I have done today, and yesterday, I kind of made a list of "you know you have been snowed in for too long when..." I don't think I have ever thought I was snowed in for too long. I love the snow and the weather. I love the break from rain.  This is a compilation of 35 years of living out in this county. All the things we have experienced.  I know we don't have it as bad as the rest of the country most years. 

You know you have been snowed in too long when:

You convince yourself that 3 grilled cheese sandwiches for breakfast is ok. 

You use all the stuff in the cupboard to make "Chex Mix" because it sounded good, but you don't actually HAVE any chex cereal.

You spring clean the WHOLE kitchen because you have been up since 3:30 am to send your husband out into the storm to go to work. THEN decide to make soup and can it, trashing the kitchen again.

THEN decide to make "real" baby food for you newest grandson, from your garden carrots, so he has something to snack on when he comes to visit. 

This is a "warming trend"

You are making coffee and drinking it out of a canning jar, so you don't have to bother with a refill

You bought chalkboard paint and want to get your moneys worth, so anything not being used is now a chalkboard...(any body want one?)

You wonder if THIS sign caused all this.

You gut  all the closets in the house to organize them. But now have to put it all away

You decide to get some chicken feathers for your husband, who ties flies, as you are SURE he will want to start in when he gets home from work. Dry them on the heater vent and then wonder what all the white stuff is floating all over the house

You bundle up all the kids and take them out to the road to watch the garbage truck go by, as NOTHING has been down your road in a week. 

You hear shouting."She can fly she can fly!"You look out the window to see your 4 yr old sailing across the yard attached to a 1 ton plastic  feed bag. Dear brother wanted to see if she could fly in a 40mph nor'easter. Yes, she can fly, she only weighs 30 lbs! 

Your 6 yr old daughter comes in and both her front teeth are missing, they fell out on the ice. Her brother goes back out in the storm and finds the teeth, so the tooth fairy can come!

Getting dressed is putting  on you clothes and then putting your bathrobe over it all to keep warm. 

Dressing your kids in their snow suits to go to bed, as you only have wood heat. 

Your husband and boys hike over to the neighbors with 5 gallon buckets to bring home water so we can flush the toilet, as the water has frozen again...

Then sit down with a canning jar full of coffee. I am looking at the pictures the kids got me for Christmas. Remember all the happy and crazy times. Hope that they remember their childhood with some good memories. I know I did  not always do things right, but I loved it all so much.. I so appreciated being able to be home with my kids and not have to work. Things were tight, but we survived it all. It is a joy seeing them with their own families and the memories they are making. It is far more fun to have a snow man, snow woman and a snow tractor out in your front yard, and then noticing they are wearing all MY snow stuff! 

I have been blessed. Thank you Lord!

Oh good, it has started snowing again...

You can find Jana's blog here

and

Karen's Blog here

THIS cracks me up. SO true if you watch any Seattle news.. That is if your satellite dish is not full of snow...

Ways to Save Money

I know we all walk around and turn off lights and shut the doors. Most of the "money saving tips" I read, I have done for years. With 5 kids and all that goes with that, we had to. NOW we are kind of feeling like retiring in a few (many) years might be a reality. At least from a job where people expect you show up! With getting older, you finally realize you need to take care of yourself and eat well. I found this list on a place I was looking to find heirloom seeds. If I am gardening, I want to grow good food and not Genetically Modified food. So I found this site. I wish I could take credit for all the ideas, but they are found here.

We are not fanatics about the food we eat or anything, but are just trying to do better. I know you can NOT separate a Rinehart from his ice cream!! 

Some places we have been using...

The Green Barn

Farmer Bens

Twin Brook Creamery

Second Chance Thrift Store (the ultimate recycling!)

The Lyncs Recycle Center

Food Inc

Yes, Amazing, I know! It was the only produce picture I had this year. The FIRST tomatoes after a rainy, rainy, rainy, summer. I was happy to have any! 

I finally did get with it, after a long spring and summer with a lot of time spent on the road...

BUT by fall, THIS little guy came home! He loves his Twinbrook Creamery egg nog!

From Backyardheirloomseeds.net

Saving Money Tips- STRETCH your dollars!!

USE THE SUBSTITUTE CLEANING RECIPES BELOW AND SAVE BUCKETS OF CASH A YEAR~~ REALLY!! Save $30-$40 a mo. on cleaners!

Make your own laundry soap! Works and smells GREAT andonly .01 cent a load. I used this site and added a bit of dry calgon for scent. I have 5 little ones and like the clean looking and smelling clothes this soap gives our family (many times daily).

I USE THIS ONE DAILY AND IT SAVE US BIG BUCKS! 

Use VINEGER rather than costly cleaning products!   Works just as good if not better.     (google: 101 ways to use vineger)

Use your crock pot 2 times a week.

Garden!! go figure....

Have a family game nite rather than going out.

(a 2 fold blessing)

Make your OWN coffee at home. Keep supplies on hand at home and resist, resist, resist the urge to stop at a stand!

Refill your water bottle and brown bag your daily lunch.

Slow down on junk food purchases! Pop, cookies.....maybe only "do junk" on family game nite.

NO NO NO to credit cards! pay it off- but you already know this.

Draw names and MAKE Christmas gifts this year!! Make it fun!

Top picks from about.com  are...cookies in a jar...bath salts...daddys caddy... stepping stones... Nana's angels tshirt...coco jars.. printable calendars...printable coupons...candy jar...hollow book....tea cup / jar candles...memory jar...slime,dough,paint....coffee can stilts.

Buy the items you use alot in bulk.

Make a shopping list and stick to it!

Don's spend big money entertaining your children.

Children want most is your time, not your stuff- play/read with them.

Use craigslist and re-use sites for items you need.

Lower that thermostat a few degrees and wear socks!

Shop with coupons and store flyers.

When shopping for standard items (clothes, sports equipment, older games, etc.), start by shopping used.

Swap babysitting with neighbors and friends.

Learn how to cut hair. With my large family we save 1,000 a yr....wow!

Maintain your own car.

Use the library for books and movie rentals- redbox is good too.

Downsize.

Go hiking and camping for this years vacation.

Cancel your phone and use your cell phone. (majic jack works)

**Remember- you can do it! Use a determined % of the money saved each month and get out of debt.**

From there you can save- save- save!!

Good luck!! I bet you can save at least  $1,000 dollars easily.

King Tides!!

I had read that there were King Tides last week. I have never heard of these, so I read up and it sounded cool. The state department of Ecology was asking folks to submit their photos of the King Tides! WOW, I hoped we could see something with all the crowds that were sure to be out there! On December 28, at 8 am, the tides were to be +10 out at Birch Bay. I love salt water in any form, so I talked Warren into getting up and driving out about 7 am to see these tides and maybe some wild waves and adventure...I was glad  he said he'd go because he drives out there every day for work and he is on vacation this week! Of course the phrase "we can go out to breakfast after" had a little something to do with everyone's sense of adventure. I asked Chuck and John if they had ever heard of King Tides (hmm maybe I know something John doesn't!). They had not heard of them.  I waited for the question of the day... "what are they?"  I was able to explain what I had discovered..."King tides" — are higher-than-usual winter tides. These watery phenoms occur when the gravitational pulls of the sun and moon reinforce one another." So they asked if they could come along, too. I thought with the large amount of rain, rising river and King Tides, we could see some one of a kind event! 

So we were up at 6:30 Dec. 28, heading out at 7 am. We drove down to Birch Bay. It looked like it pretty much always does, of course the sun was not up yet, so we walked and waited. Well, maybe it was the bay thing... so we drove to Sandy Point. Hmm looks nice, sun is out, wind and regular old water. Not another soul around. All was not lost.  We had a fun, early trip to the water, a nice fresh air walk and Breakfast out. It was fun to do something with the guys, that as adults, we could all enjoy. It brought out some stories of trips to Birch Bay, crabbing, camping, and the buckets of rocks we all seem to collect anytime we go anywhere! The NEXT King Tides are in January. I am still wondering why I have never heard of these before. 

Chuck washed over by a rouge wave

Chuck, Warren, John, up before the sun

Chuck, Carol, John FREEZING!

Sun is up... No wild waves

The guys, still freezing

Finally breakfast!

Chuck the Salty Sea captain

And a game of giant checkers