Favorite Quotations

Since my facebook favorite quotes is getting kind of long, I decided to do a blog post on it. I will be doing these occasionally. Feel free to add your own favorites on my Facebook page. :)
**note - I cannot guarantee the authors on all of these. Some are status updates from friends on Facebook, others, just stuff I like**

There Are Eyes That See But Say Nothing At All..There Are Ears That Hear But They Don't Recall..In This City Of Ours. So We Followed Your Man Back To Your Front Door And We're Waiting For You Outside, 'cos Not Everybody Here Is Scared Of You. Not Everybody Passes On The Other Side. No Police, No Summons, No Courts Of Law.. And We Could Spent Our Whole Lives Waiting For Some Justice To Be Done.Unless We Make Our Own. - via Jeff G.

talk is cheap because supply exceeds demand - Jen G.

“Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach" - Tom Robbins (via - Jen G.)

Luck favors the prepared. - The Incredibles

“Cleaning and scrubbing can wait for tomorrow,
For babies grow up, I’ve learned, to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust, go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby, and babies don’t keep.”
Author Unknown (via Tabitha D.)

its not a cry that you hear at night, its not somebody who's seen the light. its a cold and its a broken hallelujah. - Leonard Cohen

more to come. hope you enjoyed these. leave your favorite quotes on my facebook page! I would love to hear from you.

Peace and Love,
from and swamps of the PeeDee

Got Gear?

I've been doing the happy dance all afternoon. A good friend dropped off a couple presents for me and my husband today. We each got a misch metal ferro rod with antler handle and a key chain pill case with cotton balls saturated with Vaseline already inside.
Some of you are not familiar with bushcraft. I know I mentioned gear in "Me and My Multitool". Well, as it turns out, women (at least, this one) like gear too. I love the art of bushcraft, but I am not very good at it, yet. I can build a shelter, I know a few wild edibles where I live, and can start a fire with a Bic, but that's about it.
Not anymore. I have now started my gear collection, and will continue to put together my kits.
Kits, you say. Why do you need more than one? Well, most bushcrafter's have their EDC (every day carry) kit, and then a bigger kit for when they go out into the woods (or into the bush, hence the name, bushcraft). This is not just camping. You don't carry a cooler, you (most of the time) don't carry a tent. You definitely aren't sleeping in an RV. Bushcraft is more along the lines of "tribal knowledge". Old ways of doing things. This is not ultralight backpacking, it's not normal camping.
So far, the only gear I have is a small multi-tool, my new ferro rod, and my vaseline/cotton ball filled pill case. I do not, as of yet, have a pack or a decent knife. I will continue to post as my gear collection and my knowledge base grows. When I learn something new, I will share it (failures and all).
I'm know some of you are wondering why I made this post. Honestly, I just wanted to brag a little. I'm so happy to finally have some gear to call my own, and will be much happier when I have mastered it...though, I'm sure, that is a long time coming.
I plan on getting my pack at the flea market. Just going to start with a used alice pack. Got my eye on a couple different knives. One I am definitely getting for my EDC is the Blind Horse Knives Patch Knife. Got to find an ankle sheath for it. If any of you out there know where I might find one of these, please let me know. Also, looking for suggestions on a good knife for my pack (I am looking to get a big chopper, and a smaller fixed blade utility knife {think RAT3 - the old style, before it was RC-3}). I like the RAT3 because the handle is short, and fits my hand well, and it is good quality. I would like to find a chopper with a smaller handle, but still good quality, full tang, carbon steel, etc.
Please share your comments/suggestions here or on my Facebook page.
Peace and Love!
from the swamps of the PeeDee

PS - I would not know any of this information if my husband had not become obsessed with Mr. Dave Canterbury 2 years ago, when he started watching the Pathfinder videos on YouTube. So, a big thanks go out to my husband, Ryan, and to Mr. Dave, for sharing his knowledge, and helping us all learn together. Also, a big thank you goes out to Ken for my new gear, and to all the other Pathfinders who have become friends and have shared their knowledge with us all.
*Two is one, one is none.* -Dave Canterbury.

Midwives for Haiti

Had to share this. Found it on Facebook. Here's a quote from the Facebook page:

Haiti has the worst maternal mortality rate in the Western Hemisphere. Midwives for Haiti is a non-profit that is changing that by training skilled birth attendants in Haiti to save the lives of mothers and babies.

Company Overview:

American nurse-midwives and other health professionals donate time in Haiti (and fund-raise in the US) to support the program. We train Haitian midwives in basic skills in 6-12 months. M4H now has Haitian staff, textbooks in Creole, and collaborates with other Haitian organizations. We are a baby non-profit, but we are growing!
Board members include Terrie Glass, Stephen Eads, Ken Heatwole, Jessica Jordan, Brenda Burgess, Stephanie Shareck Werner

Mission:

Reduce maternal mortality and improve the health of women and infants in Haiti by training skilled birth attendants.

Products:

Our vision: All Haitian women will have access to prenatal care and deliver with the assistance of a skilled birth attendant.

If you are able to donate, please do so. With the recent tragedies in Haiti, this is needed more than ever. Click the link above for more information, and/or to donate.

Pet Product Review: Arm & Hammer Essentials Corn Fiber Cat Litter

I know some of you probably aren't cat people. My husband isn't really a cat person either. The only cat he ever liked was his cat, Slater, who unfortunately passed away shortly after we got married. Since that time, we have not had an inside cat...until now.
One of my hubby's childhood friends (still a current friend) and his fiance (congrats J. and A.) so generously gave us a cat. When we got her, I went out and bought some normal dollar store cat litter. That was the worst idea ever! The cheap stuff is just that, CHEAP. No clumping, no odor control, no nothing. Worst dollar I ever spent. So, while at Wal-Mart earlier this week, I looked for some good quality litter.
Why spend good money on something that your pet is just going to poop in? Well, I wanted quality stuff, that would be easy to use, wouldn't smell, and did not cost a fortune. I found it.
Arm & Hammer has a line of products called Arm & Hammer Essentials. The cat litter is corn fiber. It is a super-clumping formula, controls odor so well that you wouldn't know we had a cat, and isn't too expensive. An 11lb bag is around $8, which is about the same as a 20lb bag of regular clay litter. Seems pricey, but it's supposed to work so well, that you don't have to completely change the litter as often. So far, it has lived up to it's claims. And our cat seems to like it; no adjustment period or problems at all. I know cats can be a little finicky...they were once worshiped as Gods...and they have never forgotten this. :)
I am very impressed with this product and would recommend it to anyone with a cat. For the tree-hugger's out there (no offense to anyone...I consider myself a tree-hugger!) it is biodegradable. I would not recommend putting it in your compost pile or anything (as cats can carry some pretty nasty diseases) but if you have a field or some woods near your house, then you could just dump the leftovers out. They will break down.
Hope you found this review helpful. If you know of anymore eco-friendly pet products, let me and my readers know in a comment here or on my Facebook Page.

Me and My Multitool (or...the inner workings of the male brain, from the female perspective)

If you are married, I'm sure you've seen some crazy stuff. I know I have. Here's a short list of some of the weird things I've seen, heard, or just noticed (repeatedly) after 6 years...

1)Men like tools. Multiple tools, many of which perform the same function. However, they will only use a few of these on a regular basis. There will be 1 favorite (in my experience, it will be a multi-tool or a knife)

2)A man will use said favorite tool for everything, from working on his vehicle, to cleaning under his fingernails (or, as I have personally witnessed...multiple times...pulling off a dead toenail/fingernail that was damaged due to improper tool safety)

3)Men have a different definition of clean than women. To a woman, clean means clean, freshly laundered, hung up or folded and put away. To a man, clean is the equivalent of warm...hence the putting of dirty clothes in the dryer for ten minutes before wearing (for the 4th day in a row).

4)Men hate doctors. To avoid going to the doctor, a man will go to any lengths. This includes, but is not limited to: duct tape, lighters/hot knife, super glue, fishing line, or animal fat. Yes, I said animal fat. I have a friend, who, when he gets a deep bad splinter (read: large shard of wood - he's a carpenter), he will take raw fat back and rub into the wound. This causes an infection, which in turn, pushes the "splinter" closer to the skin surface making it easier to remove. Once removed, one of the above methods will be used to close the wound. Band-Aids are very seldom employed for such an injury, and antibiotics are out of the question (because that would require a trip to the doctor).

5)Men like gear. Gear is different from tools. Gear refers to tents, tarps, packs, cordage, knives (knives fall into both categories of tools and gear), canteens, old metal coffee cans, scrap pieces of wire (for modifications to gear), and anything else that a sane female would probably consider trash. The gear does not have to be in good condition.

6) Men like modifications. This is why gear does not have to be in good condition. Even if it's brand new, a man will always find a way to make something "better". They will take a perfectly good pair of pants and cut the bottoms off to make shorts, and then cut the pockets off the bottoms to attach to another piece of gear.

7)Boots and Cars. These two would normally require a whole blog to go over, but I wanted to provide a brief overview. Boot are expensive, and when they get the ones they have drooled over for months/years, they will not be quite right...ever. Cars are not expensive. The modifications made to these cars, however, will be. The key to cars (so to speak) are: big motors, big tires, negative gas mileage, and loudness.

This is just a random sampling of stuff that I have noticed. If you know of something that should be on this list and isn't, PLEASE leave a comment here, or on my Facebook page. I like to know in advance what I am getting into. :)

Hope you enjoyed this.

Peace and Love,
from the swamps of the PeeDee

How to Boil an Egg

I know what some of you are thinking....how hard is it to boil an egg. Well, trust me, it's harder than you think. But after years of watching the cooking shows on PBS, I finally got it down. So here it is...How to Boil an Egg (the Jaque Pepin way).

Place your eggs in a pan with cold water. Make sure the eggs are completely covered. Salt the water if you wish.
Put the pot on the stove and turn it to High.
Wait for the water to start boiling good.
Put a lid on the pot, and turn the eye off. Set your timer for 8-9 minutes.
When the timer goes off, immediately take the eggs off the stove and submerge them in ice water. This will stop the cooking process.
Keep them in the ice water until completely cool (of course, you can eat them while they are still warm, but do not let them sit and stay warm, as they will over cook.)
Once they are cool, store in the fridge. I don't let boiled eggs sit in the fridge for more than about 3 days. I've had food poisoning more than once, and do not take chances. If you find some info on exactly how long it is safe to keep boiled eggs in the fridge, please let me know.
If, when you peel the eggs, there is a green line around the yolk, then the eggs are overcooked, and will have a slightly off smell. You can still eat them, but they will not be as good.
Hope this helps.

Peace and Love,
from the swamps of the PeeDee

Got Kids??

Well, the holiday's are over. Presents unwrapped, decorations put up (if you're lucky), and things are starting to get back to normal. My question is, what to do with all this stuff?
We have 3 kids, our oldest just turned 4, our middle child will be 3 in February, and our youngest is almost 6 months old. So we got A LOT of stuff for Christmas.
We hosted Christmas Eve at our house this year, for the first time. For about 3 days, our house (at least the visible parts) were cleaner than ever before. Now, 2 weeks after Christmas, we are living in C.H.A.O.S. all over again (for the non-Flybabies reading this, CHAOS is Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome). So what to do.
I am interested in all ideas. How do you find time to clean, cook, spend quality time with the kids, quality time with your significant other, run errands, keep up with laundry, and all the other things that come with being a mom. Please, I am begging!! I love the FlyLady site, but it just is not working for me (or maybe I am not working hard enough...because the site makes it seem so simple). Our house is constantly a wreck, I am constantly behind on laundry, dishes, general cleaning....
Any and all advice will be more than welcomed.
Thanks in advance.

with love,
from the swamps of the PeeDee

Murphy's Laws of Parenthood

This may have been done before, but since it has been going on around our house a lot lately, I thought I would prepare some of you child-less people for what is to come. So here they are:

Murphy's Laws of Parenthood

1. When preparing for a family get together or party, your dog(s) and or your child(ren) will poop, pee, or spill something on your carpet ten minutes after you finished steaming it (& 2 hours before the guests arrive, because you did this last, so that you would not have to deal with this situation).

2. If you are having a party with seldom scene old friends, the day of the party, your septic tank will back up into 1 of your bathrooms. Resulting in 1 bathroom being shared by 8 adults and 1 child.

3. If you spend more than a minute deciding where to place your grocery list so you won't forget it, then, trust me, you will forget it.

4. When Christmas shopping, it does not matter how many time you check your list, how many times you go through the presents, you WILL forget someone! If you have children, then 1 child will end up with more presents than the other. And YOU will pay for this dearly in years to come (the severity of the payback depends on the age of the child getting fewer presents).

5. If you have 2 children sharing a room, and they are really close in age, then you will almost NEVER be able to find 2 matching shoes that fit the child you are trying to dress (unless you are a major neat freak, in which case, you're invited for a free "vacation" at my house!)

6. As a parent, you will eventually (or constantly, depending..) crave peace & quiet. And you will get it...but pretty soon it will dawn on you that it has been a very long period of peace & quiet. When you check, you will find your child(ren) sitting in their room making scrambled eggs (with real eggs!) on their carpetted bedroom floor.

7. When you wake one morning, you will hear nothing but silence. So peaceful, so very seldom that you get to enjoy waking up before the kids for some serenity with your coffee. You will very slowly get out of bed, stroll lazily towards the kitchen, savoring this oh so rare moment. You will casually start making coffee, then possibly go sit at the table and enjoy the quiet while the coffee brews. You turn your head to look out the window and admire your back yard, and you will see... your children. Outside, in the cold, in nothing but t-shits ( literally, no diapers, no pants...nothing) rolling around on the frost covered ground playing with the dogs.

8. You will one year decide to have your child's birthday party at a park. Here are 2 possible scenarios....
1) you get to the park to find about a dozen other parents who had the same idea. You end up with a couple picnic tables about a half mile from the play ground. You will lose half of the pizza's to ants, that come from nowhere and get into everything. Right as you're starting to eat, someone (thanks mom) will point out that you forgot to buy bowls and spoons for the ice cream. Mad dash (again, thanks mom) to the store to get bowls & spoons, but by the time everyone is ready for ice cream and cake, the ice cream has turned to soup! (This was the first attempt, as a "learn the hard way" kind of person...I did it again)

2) Since the party is at the park, you invite lots of people (say 75-100). After all, how hard is it to grill hot dogs? You figure on about half the people showing up (standard rule where I'm from, maybe not so in your area), so you buy 10 packs of hot dogs & buns, get the charcoal, & stay up the night before making 50 cupcakes. You get to the park, put together the grill, get the coals going, & start grilling. You then realize the party start time is long past, and only about 10 people are there (and 1 child, other than the birthday girls siblings). So you eat, open presents, & start packing up. You now have 50 hotdogs & buns, 35 cupcakes, 25 bottles of water and 3 12 packs of soda that you must decide what to do with. You consider giving it to the people who show up as you are leaving, but they have their own stuff, so you take it home. (3 months later, we still have half a case of water and some sodas sitting on our porch, and numerous packages of hotdogs in the freezer...)

This is just a random sampling of the sitcom worthy events that go on when you have kids. Everyone has stories like this. I would love to hear some of your favorite "Murphy Moments". Leave a comments, or post on my Facebook Page Wall.
Lots of Love,
from the swamps of the pee dee

What is Normality??

According to Webster's Online Dictionary, the definition of NORMAL is : conforming to a type, standard, or regular pattern.
There was a lot of talk over the holidays revolving around what is and isn't normal, in regards to family life.
I think this is a topic that very few people are qualified to discuss. After all, who is normal? I know I'm not.
We were all created by God, as special, unique, one of a kind creatures. There is no one out there exactly like you, or exactly like me. So why, if we are all a little bit different, is there such a controversy when someone goes beyond "a little different" to what some people call crazy.
I believe that God has a plan for each and every one of us. No one knows what God's plan for them is, so why should we assume that we know what is best for others?
And I wonder what Jesus would think if he knew that his birthday celebration was spent bad mouthing people who were not there to defend themselves and give their side of the story.
Live and let live people. If you disagree with someone, fine. That's your right. Everyone is entitled to their opinions. But that does not mean that your opinion is a fact. Just because you don't agree with someone or understand something, that does not automatically make it wrong.
We should all be more concerned with what we are doing, how we are living our lives, and what we are doing to HELP those who may need our help, instead of concerning ourselves with how we can change someone else to fit our standards.

Getting a pet for Christmas?

Well, seeing as Christmas is 2 days away, it might be a little late for these words of advice, but I felt the need to share this anyway.
So, your kid, your significant other, your parent, whoever, has said they want a dog/cat for Christmas. You think, that's fine, we can adopt one from the shelter. So you wait, because you can only hide a living present for so long.
But, there's a hitch. This year 2 days before Christmas is a Wednesday, and our local shelters are not open on Wednesday's. The one in the next county was open today, but they closed at 2 (and they were not advertising this anywhere, you had to call to find out). Both local shelters are closed tomorrow (Christmas Eve). So, the only place you're going to find that "perfect" pet for your loved one (or yourself) before Christmas is either a pet store or in the newspaper. Good luck. (or maybe I should say, better luck next year...)

More Money Saving Tips for the Holidays

Okay, so I remembered some more things that may help you with your finances this Holiday Season...

1) Use comics from the Sunday newspapers for wrapping paper. I say the Sunday paper, simply because those are the only ones printed in color. Feel free to use the weekday comics too, but I would add a colorful bow or gift tag to spruce it up.

2)Another wrapping paper idea is the plain brown packaging paper that you use for wrapping packages to ship. You can dress it up with curling ribbon, raffia, pretty gift tags, or be brave and let your kids decorate it with finger paints or holiday stamps.

3) Do not spend money on gift boxes. Save all good condition bags and boxes from all birthday/holiday parties. Use them, even if they don't quite fit the season or the occasion. The packaging really does not matter. When you run out of saved bags and boxes, hit up your pantry. Yes, your pantry. Got one pack of graham crackers left in the box, well put the last package on the shelf, and viola, you have an instant box, ready to be wrapped. You can use any kind of box...cracker, cereal, even coffee cans. Get creative and keep more of that hard earned money in your pocket!

Love to all, and Peace on Earth!

Surviving Shopping for Santa

Okay, so I'm pretty much done with my Christmas Shopping this year. I may have a few more presents to get, but those are just extras, and maybe some to donate. I went out last Saturday with the intent of finishing, and that is what I did. I left my house around 10 AM, went to 6 different stores (Walgreens, Peebles, Pattycakes, Toys R Us, Jc Penny, and Rite Aid), and was home around 4:30. I saved roughly 40% average on all my purchases, but that's another blog altogether. What I want to do is share some tricks that helped me finish early this year (rather than running around 2 days before Christmas, like in years past) and how to avoid crowds and traffic when you are out on a high volume shopping day.
First, start shopping in the early fall. All the summer stuff will be getting marked down 75% or more. I've gotten $20 purses for $3 this way. When you find a really good deal, buy more than one. Even if you're not quite sure yet who you're buying it for, you'll figure it out. And if you end up with one or two extras, you either have 2 extras for yourself, or you can be the epitome of true holiday spirit and donate the extras to a shelter for homeless people, battered women, a food bank (yes they give out personal items too, though I'm not sure about purses...) whatever your charity of choice.
Next, if you are planning a big shopping day, like I did, then you need to start thinking about it in advance. I'd say a week or more, depending on your financial situation. You want to shop with cash. This will help you stick to a budget. So, if you won't have the kind of cash you need on hand, then you will need to work it into your budget as soon as possible. Some people set aside money every month for gifts that they know they will have to buy.
Once you know how much you have to spend, get out your notebook, pen, sale ads, and coupons. Also, have your Gift List handy. Start your search. Look through the sale ads and cross check these with your coupons. Also, be looking at your Gift List that way you know what you are looking for. I was also shopping for household essentials when I went out, and by doing all this shopping together, I saved even more money (again, an explanation will come on this later).
When you have determined what you want to buy at which store, make a master list, with the stores and the shopping list for each one, all together (mine ended up being about 2 pages...that is with a bunch of cross outs, stores I skipped, and spaces between the stores). I did this randomly and numbered mine so I knew the order of the stores I was going to. I started with the closest one to my house, moved in a circular direction through the stores I wanted to go to, and ended up at a store with an easy and quick route home, but on a different side of town.
The key to moving quickly through crowded stores and holiday traffic is knowing your town. I took every back road and neighborhood shortcut that I could. Instead of sitting in bumper to bumper traffic and getting into a 15 car turn line to go to Toys R Us, I took the back way and was there in 3 minutes. For navigating through crowded stores, I think the only thing you can do is hope for good timing (lucky for me, it was lunch time when I got there). Toys R Us was extremely crowded, but somehow I got in, got what I wanted (which was the last one on the shelf), and got out in 15 minutes. There was no fighting, no pushing, and very few long lines. Maybe I was just lucky. Also, 2 very nice gentlemen helped me put my item ito my cart after I almost dropped it on my foot. Jc Penny was crowded, and ended up not having what I wanted, but the sales people were pretty helpful. They could not fulfill the offer on my coupon, and really didn't offer any consolation to me. But when I was paying, I talked my way into an extra % off of some of the items I was getting. So, if you go to a store, and they can't honor a store coupon, you may be able to talk your way into an extra discount in exchange.
So, I wish you luck in your holiday shopping this year. May you find everything you are looking for, may it be on sale, and may you enjoy the love and laughter that comes with being around so much love this holiday season. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanuka, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Solstice...that's about all I know, but I know there's more. Whatever you are celebrating, may you be surrounded by love and happiness and may you and yours be safe.
Peace and Love,
from the swamp lands :)

Life Without a Microwave...1 Year Later

Okay, so about a year ago, I decided that we no longer needed a microwave. Not really sure what my reasons were at the time, but I have to say that I haven't missed the thing. (we donated it to a local women's shelter). I think we (I) decided to get rid of it after reading about all those chemicals in plastics leaching into the food when you cook it in the microwave.
So, 1 year later...haven't missed it at all...but we have had to do some readjusting. The first issue that came up was popcorn, of all things. We were buying the ones you cook on the stove with the tin foil tops, but those are kinda expensive. So we eventually moved to buying it in the big containers and cooking it in a cast iron dutch oven on the stove. Still haven't gotten the 'movie popcorn' flavor, but I don't think that's a natural flavor anyway...I'm satisfied. We do our defrosting in the sink or in the fridge, and reheating on the stove or in the oven.
All in all, I say that microwaves are just a waste of money, a waste of counter space, and a burden on your health. Just some thoughts to consider. I will post some links on the dangers of cooking in the microwave a little later. Time for bed now, got church in the morning.
~cheers

My First Canning Experience

Okay, so in the past 4 years, I've had 3 children, whom I love dearly. However, this has prevented me from ever getting a decent garden going. My husband and I have tried for the last 2 years. The first year I think we went too big. This past year we had a baby right in the middle of the summer, so we had no time to take care of stuff (even though we did go a lot smaller this year). The only thing we've had success with 2 years running is mint (how hard is that! it will go everywhere), rosemary, and garlic. The garlic has been my favorite, but that's another post altogether.

Okay, so we did not get a good crop of anything this year. So off we went to the farmers market to get some stuff to put away, while we had the money to do it. We have gotten (total) 1 bushel of peaches, 1/4 bushel of okra, 3 quarts worth of green beans, and 1/4 bushel of squash.
The peaches were what I started with. Seemed simple enough. The book said, peel, slice/dice, cook in syrup, put into jars and boil for 20-25 minutes. Okay. Well the first 1/2 bushel took me 6 hours to can 6 quarts of peaches. The second took only about 3 hours, so it does get a little easier, but let me note that peaches are a pain in the rear to prep for canning.

In between the two peach canning (successful) attempts, I thought I would get to the okra before it went bad (or Ryan fried it all). So I pulled out my pressure canner (bought at a yard sale about a year ago and been in a box in the closet since then) and started reading. Again, seemed simple. Prep, fill the clean jars, put into canner, and cook the appropriate amount of time (I think it was 10 minutes). I chopped up 7 pints worth of okra, cooked according to directions, fill the jars, and into the canner they go. But when I locked the lid into place, steam was still coming around the sides. It finally slowed down and was coming out the top, so I let it heat up as instructed, then put the weight on. But no jiggling. Not a peep. Not sure what I did wrong, but I decided (though it was tough, until I thought about someone getting sick) to toss all that okra. I felt bad because I had already given a jar to a family member, but I made sure to call him and let him know to toss it because I wasn't sure if I did something wrong or not. If you have some tips on this, please let me know.
Until I get it figured out, all veggies (short of tomatoes, or pickled stuff) will be frozen or dried (we did get 1 pint jar full of dried okra, and 3 so far out of the squash).

By the way, squash chips are a great snack, and my kids love them (we're talking yellow crookneck squash) because they are sweet. Good as a snack mix with rasins, seeds, and cereal peices.

Next project: Making my own sourdough bread starter, and hopefully some good bread. Will keep you posted.

The book I keep referring to above is call KEEPING THE HARVEST. The link is to look at/purchase the book on Amazon.com. You can get a used copy pretty cheap. I want another book, haven't decided which one yet. This one is good for basics though.

The photo is 3 pints of spiced peaches, and 1 half-pint of peach/apple/strawberry jam.

**Useful tip, right after you pull your jars out of the canner, use a black crayon to write the contents and the date on the top. That way you know whats in it, and it will help you remember not to reuse the lids)**

Better Bread for Kitchen Klutz's

Ok, so I am not the best cook in the world, though I pride myself on creativity. I have had my fair share of snafu's in the kitchen.
Like when I was about 12...here's how the train of thought went...when you bake a potato in the oven you wrap it in tin foil and it's supposed to cook faster...but cooking in the microwave is faster than cooking in the oven...so my 12 year old brain said that if you wrap the potato in tin foil AND cook it in the microwave, it will cook super fast...the end result: eerie popping noises and blue flames coming from the microwave. So that's how I learned that lesson.
And recently (as recently as today, actually) I decided to test out a bread recipe that was published in one of my favorite magazines (Mother Earth News, see bottom of post for link). So I make the dough, get the oven ready as directed, and start to put things in. It says to preheat the stone and the broiler pan, and when oven is ready to put the bread on the stone, then put the water in the pan and close the door quickly. I did this exactly as directed (or so I thought). In my haste to get things ready, I just grabbed the first large rectangular pan in the cabinet, which happened to be a glass casserole pan. So, into a 450 degree oven goes the stone and the glass pan. Once preheated, I grabbed my loaf and slid it onto the stone without a hitch. Then I added the water to the "broiler" pan...this was followed by a very loud cracking sound as the glass pan splintered all along the bottom and I had water sizzling on the floor of my oven. So very carefully, I removed the loaf, still on the stone, and then, even more carefully (after all the water had leaked out or evaporated) I removed the now defunct casserole dish. I replaced this with a true broiler pan, filled with water, put the bread back in the oven and baked as directed. The photo above is of the finished loaf. My VERY first loaf of homemade bread! The basic recipe and instructions are below...
(ed. note - I did not come up with this..it was published in Mother Earth News, and the article was adapted from a book, ARTISAN BREAD IN FIVE MINUTES A DAY by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois)

MASTER RECIPE
Makes 4 1 pound loaves

3 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 T. granulated yeast
1 1/2 T. coarse kosher salt or sea salt
6 1/2 C. unsifted, unbleached, all purpose white flour

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Heat water to about 100 degrees F (just warmer than body temp)
2. Add yeast and salt to water in a large, lidded container (I used a plastic Tupperware cake holder, trust me, you need something this big) Don't worry about getting it all to dissolve.
3. Mix in flour by gently scooping it up and then leveling the top of measuring cup with knife; don't pat down. Mix with a wooden spoon, high capacity food processor/ heavy duty stand mixer with a dough hook until uniformly moist. DO NOT KNEAD!
4. Cover loosely, Do not use screw top jars as they could explode from trapped gases. Allow to rise at room temp until it begins to collapse, or at least flatten on top, about 2 hours, but up to five hours will not harm the results. you can use a portion of the dough any time after this, though refrigerated dough will be less sticky and easier to work with.
5. Prepare a pizza peel (I used a large plate, as I do not have a pizza peel) by sprinkling liberally with cornmeal (I used all purpose flour the first time, but cornmeal does work better...flour gave the bottom a spongy texture ). Sprinkle surface of dough with flour, then cut/pull off a 1 pound piece (about the size of a large grapefruit). Flour your hands, gently stretch the sides of the dough around the bottom, so you end up with a ball with 4 bunched ends on the bottom.
6. Place dough ball on pizza peel (or plate) and allow to rest for 40 minutes (it may rise a little).
7. Twenty minutes before baking, preheat oven to 450 degrees with a baking stone on the middle rack. Place an empty broiler tray for holding water on another shelf.
8. Dust the top of the loaf with flour. Slash across the top in whatever pattern you choose. These slashes will help the dough expand during baking.
9. Slide dough onto baking stone. Then quickly pour about a cup of water into the broiler tray and close the oven door to trap the steam. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the crust is brown and firm to the touch. Allow to cool completely, preferably on a wire rack for best flavor, texture, and slicing. The crust may initially soften, but will firm up again when cooled.
10. Refrigerate the remaining dough in your lidded (NOT air-tight) container and use it over the next 2 weeks. You will find that even 1 day's storage improves the flavor and texture of your bread. The dough can also be frozen in 1 pound portions and thawed in the refrigerator prior to baking day.

5 Minutes a Day for Fresh Baked Bread - Mother Earth News Full Article

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day - Amazon link to buy the book

Hope you enjoyed this....and please leave comments about how your bread turned out, or some kitchen mishaps you would like to share :)

**just a note, the second loaf turned out much better than the first. the crust was firmer and did crackle when i took it out of the oven...could have had something to do with the broiler pan mishap during the first attempt...the oven was not at temp when i put the first loaf in, so the crust was a little too soft, even after cooling**