NEW GROWING CHALLENGE; The Weekly Challenge Update

Sharon's Independence Days Challenge- Year 3, week 3
1. Plant something: Nope, but got three beds ready
2. Harvest something: Sprouts
3. Preserve something: Made up a big mix of homemade instant Oatmeal and stored it in the Oatmeal canister.
4. Reduce Waste (recycle, reuse, reduce, repair or compost something): Dumpster dove to retrieve some milk crates and a big old plastic tub to mix “Hypertufa” in
5. Preparation and Storage: Made up a big mix of homemade instant Oatmeal
6. Build Community Food Systems: Attended the “Empty Bowls Event” in my city
7. Eat the Food (cook or eat something new): Some carrots and onions in more Curried Carrot Soup


Freeze Your Buns off challenge- Not so bad as the temps here have been above normal

One Small Change- Well I am claiming SUCCESS with the paper. Less in the recycle box at work. For this month I am thinking eliminating some of the heat loss in this old barn. Anything I do will help lower the power bill as well as my house is total electric.

GROWING CHALLENGE- EXTREME EVANGELIST EDITION

Yes Melinda is starting early this year, The Extreme Evangelist edition is one were the challenge is to:

1-Grow 3 Crops from Seed this Year.

2-Plant the Seeds in 3 New People- inspire 3 new people to grow crops from seed this year

3-Tell the Stories About Your Seed Planting Here

4- (The Extreme part) Grow 3 crops from seed, and save the seed from each of those 3 crops to grow them next year. That means you do have to buy open pollinated seeds (not hybrids), and learn a bit about the crops so that you save the seed well enough that they’ll produce a good quality crop next year.

Sounds like a lot of work and a lot of learning and a lot of fun!

Cuteness

Romeo and Topaz share a saccharine moment.

Addition: Topaz is Martin's Chocolate Lab- His mother's retired seeing eye dog. A grand old lady of dog, whose hobbies are getting in the garbage, eating garbage, playing, eating garbage, barking and eating garbage. She is rather old right now probably not much time left. As she is Martin's dog not mine is why I don't write much about her. I have written about her in the past as the "Spaz".

Empty bowls Filled, then empty again...Delicious!

The lunch bowl- great size for oatmeal in the morning

Well I took Mom up to the Empty Bowls event. I got a nice handmade bowl filled with Tortilla Soup. The soup was donated by local restaurants (mine came from the Mark restaurant) and cafeterias and all looked and smelled good. Mom had a Squash soup (came from the 909).Would have been perfection, and the event certainly was. And many were impressed with the real spoons (no plastic) and everything disposable was compostable. Paper napkins, paper coffee cups (yes I took muggsly but it seemed wrong to fill up my gargantuan mug. Anyway would have been totally perfect- But I wanted to walk from Mom's to the event- (It is simply across the field in the park next to Mom's building- but Mom wanted to drive as she wasn't all about walking an "uneven field" with her knee. "Uneven?" I said "That is an athletic field, trust me it's one of the most even surfaces in town.
Well I lost that argument. So we drove 4 blocks to the Community Art center. You pick your battles. Anyway I got a nice bowl. They even washed it after. But later in the day I got hungry- I was finally putting in the new light fixtures in the garage, and had on my Carhartt work coat. So i went in and cleaned up, put my work coat back on and went for the supper sitting and met up with some friends.

The Supper bowl- Hmmmm... Ice cream???

I got another great bowl, this time I chose Chicken Noodle Soup (from Kennedy High School). A tad salty for my taste- but then Chicken Noodle usually is. But very good. Good thing I wore my working coat- one of the gals working the event passing out the bread and cookies said You look like you are a working man and found me a good sized roll to eat with my soup! It pays to advertise! Anyway- Good day- I got light in my garage, filled up on soup, and was able to support the Highline area food bank and the local art community. Guess that's more than a two-fer. Sounds like a three-fer to me. I even got some work done on a couple of items that will appear on my etsy shop! Any way, it looked like they were on their way to a sell out. The local potters donated 1006 bowls. That should come out to $10,060 raised! 90% will go to the food bank and 10% goes to fund children's programs at the art center!

Whenever I attend an event like this, I am always reminded of one of my favorite T- Shirts- "It will be a great day when the schools and libraries have all the money they need and the air force has to hold a bake sale to build a bomber!" I love productive days!

Empty Bowls Fight Hunger

Feeling Hungry? Around Burien? Why not attend the Empty Bowls event for lunch or supper? You get a handcrafted bowl, soup, bread and the satisfaction that it all goes to a good cause!

Area potters have teamed up with the Highline Food Bank and Discover Burien to host Empty Bowls 2010! Empty Bowls events can be found around the country raising money to combat hunger in our communities. Potters have donated bowls to be filled with soup at this fun event…all are invited!

At the Burien/Highline Empty Bowls Event, your $10 minimum donation will get you the opportunity to pick out a beautiful handmade bowl, as well as a simple but wonderful meal of soup, bread, drink and dessert donated by area businesses. 90% of proceeds will go to the Highline Food Bank, which serves over 750 area families per month, 10% of proceeds will go to help provide arts programming to low income youth in Burien.

Friday, January 29, 2010

11:00AM-2:00PM & 4:00-8:00PM

Moshier Community Art Center

430 S. 156^th, Burien

$10 minimum donation

Interweb Review: Cheap Thrills edition

Lots of news coming over the Internets and blogs this week- I thought I would let others do the work for me (at work they call that the boss) and link y'all toward the places to go on the Inter Web to find all this great info!

Bush Pilot DID repair plane with Duct Tape: First off, a lot of folks say this is urban legend, a myth and such; guess what folks- it really did happen. And 2- Duct Tape can fix anything.

Cheap Entertainment: News from Lori Bongiorno at Yahoo Green about the different ways to rent movies. Good News For us Wii Owners- We will be able to stream Netflix this spring!

Food Packaging is unnecessary and evil: No Shit? I just saw individual packs of Pickle chips for the first time in the store. And hey, while I like pickles, If I go out and buy a snack pack there better be pudding or Jell-o in it. I put that right up there with Boiled Eggs encased in plastic (Guess the original shell that has worked for years is no longer good enough) and string cheese.

Speaking of Food- Food Trends for 2010: Shopping at the Farmer's market is in; as are cookbooks, new food labeling and getting junior out of in front of the TV.

Home Improvements are to be big in 2010 as well: Maybe this is the year I get those jobs done once and for all. Hope springs eternal.

Other places to get books- More cheap Entertainment: Melinda did the hardwork and searched out options for low cost books. Better get out my Dewey and Sketch Library Card!

Earth friendlier Magazine Organizers

As promised, here are a few magazine organizers I made out of cereal and cracker boxes. I prefer to use up gift wrap on mine, although I got creative one day

and made a decopauge using old car pics out of magazines for my car mags.

Easy to make- just follow the directions here. And yes I keep the bag the cereal is in. I use them as a non stick paper to roll cookies out in. Or in place of wax paper when preparing a meal- but they do melt in the oven. I also use them when I cover something in the microwave!

This blog is linked to: trash to treasure tuesdays at "Reinvented blog";
Diy Day at Soft Place to Land and 2nd Time around on "A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words blog"

Since you are here, why not enter my blog-iversary giveaway?

BLOG-IVERSARY GIVEAWAY: String Holder

Ever have trouble keeping hold of a ball of string? Kitty won't leave your ball of yarn alone? How do you keep that curling ribbon in order at Christmas??? That what got you down??? Well fret no more- 'cause right here on Rob's World, I am giving out one handcrafted String holder. Just stick a ball of twine, string, yarn, curling ribbon through the hole and your problems are solved. Usual giveaway rules: to enter make a comment, winner will be picked by random, Giveaway ends at midnight, January 31, 2010. Good luck to all

SUNNEN Solar Powered Work Lamp Winner

I have to tell you I was kind of worried about this giveaway- A few people opted to buy their own so another could be donated. But I loaded up the info to Mr. Random Integer Generator and he came up with a winner...
AND THE WINNER IS:

Comment number 6- Fleecenik Farm!!! And I hope she, Mr. fleecenik and her kids find good use for the lamp. Another give away tomorrow.

I got lego... actually K'Nex boxes- The weekly challenge Update

View Blog
Independence Days Challenge: Year 3, week 3
1. Plant something: Planted some Rhubarb and a raspberry bush in some pots, and put the pots on my wagon to wheel them in and out until spring, when I can plant them
2. Harvest something: Sprouts
3. Preserve something: Nothing
4. Reduce Waste (recycle, reuse, reduce, repair or compost something): Made some magazine holders out of Cereal Boxes; Made a lamp and a candle holder out of a thrift store candle holder; Used some found old K’Nex boxes for tool boxes at work (they really do make great toolboxes for some of the specialty tools I use like drain kings. No toy pieces though. :(
5. Preparation and Storage: Getting my seeds together both the seeds I order and the Seeds I saved from last year
6. Build Community Food Systems: Got an idea to turn a trailer I have into a mobile garden to demonstrate the ease of planting in a raised bed and shared with other community garden members
7. Eat the Food (cook or eat something new): Used some pickled onions in a salad

Freeze Your Buns off challenge- Were did winter go? With the warmer temps we have been having, I notice I don’t go over to the thermostat to override as much.

One Small Change- I noticed my “Recycle paper box”at work is not as full. Must have something to do with reusing the paper first for notes; or it could mean I am not working as hard- Nope must be the first one.

New Look for Ready Made

I had hoped it would be just a bad rumor. Apartment Therapy had a preview of Ready Made - all re vamped. I just love Ready Made Magazine- one of my all time fave's. I got the mail yesterday and there was my mag- This month's edition was a nice surprise- not only did they re-vamp the look of the magazine, they sent it without a plastic cover! Just a simple mailing label on the front cover was all they needed! I know, in this digital age I shouldn't be getting any magazines or catalogs. But I love this mag! I keep them forever. And of course, my favorite section- The MacGyver section were the editors come up with an idea for reusing something had not changed at all- People still making tables from hangers. Lamps from records. You get the idea! And the idea's I get from the mag save a lot more trash from the waste stream than Throwing away a magazine! But don't worry I have a surprise to show on Tuesday on how I keep my magazines in order. The natural Eco way! (how's that for a tease?)

Raspberry Wishes and Rhubarb Dreams

The warmer than average tempertaures here in the northwest that are causing the Vancouver Olympics to put into action drastic plans if too much snow melts, is causing problems here as well. It fools me into thinking that spring is right around the corner, and that it is okay to plant stuff already. Well, that and Lowes has their seed potatoes out already- and raspberry, blackberry, rhubarb bulbs. I have seeds coming in the mailbox. LOL I am possesed by a growing demon. I can't wait until spring to plant stuff. So I am sitting here with this Rhubarb plant and a raspberry bush. So I planted them. Now don't freak out. I planted them in some large planters. Then I put them on the wagon I bought at the thrift store. That way I can wheel them in and out of the garage, waiting for winter to be officially over, Then I will transplant them

NW FLOWER AND GARDEN SHOW

Okay I can't hold my excitement. The NW Flower and Garden Show is just around the corner. February 3-7th, at the Washington State Trade and Convention Center, in Seattle. Why, Rob, do you attend a flower show, when you are a he-man manly-man man? Well I like to garden. And I like to get ideas for my yard, like the one year a fence for around the garden, made of broken shovels, tools, and an Ironing board. You know... Shit I will never make. And B- there are new products to see and not buy! (The scourge of all trade show salesman- people that have no intention of buying) But seriously, I do enjoy the show. And I enjoy the creativity. So I am getting my back pack ready-
Water Bottle, Check.
Lunch snack and Light Rail Money? Check.
Muggsly? Check

AWW Dad... Let me go... I got my pack, and I can help you carry things home... Pleeeaaase let me go with!

Dog Treats, Dog Leash? Check---WHAT? No Romeo- you cannot go with me. You be good and protect the house. Sorry Buddy. Too Many people. And too many trees planted- You would go into cuteness overload. Really.And with all those trees planted you know what would happen.
Anyway- If anyone wants to meet up- send me an email at robj98168@yahoo.com and we will go have a coffee or something. There are a ton of eating and restaurant type places there.

Inspiration from the Internets

Well I have wanted to write a blog post about some of the inspirational places I go for ideas about junking and re-use in general.So here is a few of the great blogs I have visit. Some of them I have added to my blogroll, and some are great for a visit!

OUT OF OFFICE This is apparently a blog from Fed Ex, and yes it promotes their products and services. But it also gives a person great ideas and such for creative items. Written by Fed Ex employees.
About.com:Family Crafts technically isn't a blog, but this Sherri Osborn is not technically Ozzie's wife. She does write a blog about crafting. I find a lot of great ideas there for gift making, using junk to make stuff, and releasing my inner-child.
Junk Market Style is another great place to find inspiration. People all over the country share Items they make from junk. Written by Sue Whitney, She has been featured on NBC's Today show and many others and is creator of JUNK MARKET STYLE magazine and many other "junk publications".
One more place I go to for inspiration is Beth and Lisa's Salvage Studio blog. You didn't think the idea of using brass lamps to make birdbaths just popped into my head, did you? It is these gals idea. They also wrote a book, the Salvage Studio and give workshops on junking and crafting. You can hear Beth talk about outdoor entertaining Salvage Style at this years Northwest Flower and Garden Show! (More about the show tomorrow).

So there you have it. A few of the places on the "interweb" that I go to for inspiration. Along with all your blogs! Were do you go for inspiration?

Coffee Lamp

I had an old thermal Coffee carafe that had seen it's last pot of coffee. Not wanting to throw it all away, I removed the glass thermos and made a lamp out of it. the Base is from some brass urn lamps I turned into planters, so I got to reuse parts that I saved. Not sure about that shade though... maybe need to get my creative freak on about that one.

This blog is linked to: trash to treasure tuesdays at "Reinvented blog";
Diy Day at Soft Place to Land and 2nd Time around on "A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words blog"

While your here, why not enter my Blog-iversary Giveaway for a solar powered work lamp?

2nd Blog-iversary Giveaway No 2- A Solar powered work lamp

Anyone who might follow this here blog knows I am a big supporter of alternative energy. In my world, President Obama's economic stimulus would go beyond finding alternative sources of energy and the economic stimulus would provide solar and wind power for all. Screw the fat cats on wall street and car makers in Detroit. Anyway, enough of my political ideology rambling, and on to the give-away- I will send the lucky winner their own little piece of Solar power, An IKEA "Sunnan" work lamp. And since IKEA does the following, it is a TWO-FER!!! (You know how Rob likes the TWO-FERS!):

"Now at IKEA stores worldwide, for every SUNNAN solar-powered lamp sold, one lamp will be given to UNICEF to light up the life of a child.

The first shipments of donated lights are destined for Pakistan, helping
children in camps for people who had to flee their homes, and remote villages in
Balochistan and the North West Frontier province. This unit will enable children
to play, read, write and study at night, even if their homes have no
electricity. Millions of children can’t draw, write or read after sunset,
limiting their horizons and possibly their futures. IKEA hopes our lamps are a
small but important contribution to improving the lives of children in
developing countries.

IKEA has made an especially sturdy SUNNAN for the
developing world, designed to resist the wear and tear of difficult living
situations, including a battery capable of withstanding high temperatures."

from the IKEA Website-Seattle Community and Enviorment page

So you win, a child in a developing country wins! To enter all you have to do is enter a comment, If you have a blogger account with email info- great! If not, please leave a way of contacting you (email addy) - Give-away ends at midnight PST on January 24th. Winner will be picked by Random Number Generator

Snack Attack Giveaway WINNER!!!

THE WINNER IS:

I couldn't Pick a better winner: the winner was number 26, Trudy -Her Blog, or rather Marlene's "I am Marlene, Hear me roar!!!" is a blog written by her 3 1/2 year old pug. And not biased because I use to have a pug, Y'all remember Spike?, and another dog in the blog world in the running for cutest pooch! I am glad to be sending this out to "Marlene", I may have to throw in a couple of Dog Cookies so she knows it's for her! Thanks for all who entered. Another Giveaway Tomorrow!

Weekly Challenge Update

Sharon's Independence Days Challenge- Year two, week 22
1. Plant something: Nope
2. Harvest something: Sprouts
3. Preserve something: Had a bag of greens- turnip, kale that I did not use for pot luck -Blanched and froze them for use later;
4. Reduce Waste (recycle, reuse, reduce, repair or compost something): Bought some old obects D’art at thrift store- turning them in to new useful items; Took and old thermal coffee carafe and turned it into a lamp
5. Preparation and Storage: Found an old Radio Flyer wagon at the thrift store- will get much use around the garden!
6. Build Community Food Systems: still working on the Ryobi cultivator I got for the community gardens.
7. Eat the Food (cook or eat something new): Nope. I did use what I had available making a version of PB Crunchers


Freeze Your Buns off challenge- Not so bad this week. Temps have been higher, so easier to “freeze my ass off”

One Small Change- Still doing great on this. LOL I never knew how much paper was wasted until I started cutting it for my own notepads. Have to think what to do for next month.

VOTE FOR BLITZKREIG

Blitzkreig and his pack! Photo Courtesy Condo Blues

Todays post is in honor of a great dog. Not Romeo. If you follow Condo Blues, you know that Lisa's puppy, the One Eyed Wonder, Blitzkreig, is in the running for the Bissell MVP contest. And you probably know that I am on her case as Romeo is Cutest. Dog. In. The. World. And I am ruthless. But I concede that Blitzy should win, as he works so hard for the good of others. Blitsy is a peke whom was abused by a former owner, and luckily Mr. and Mrs. Condo Blues rescued him and gave him a new and remarkable life, full of love, and toys and treats. If Blitzy wins, he will donate the $10,000 prize to The Capital Area Humane Society in Columbus. A very worthy cause indeed. I do know if Romi entered and won, he would blow it on Chicken treats and pull toys. Cause that's how he rolls. So go vote for Blitzkreig and help out lots of animals!

No Space Gardening

Live in an apartment or condo- want to grow some fresh veggies? Have no room?
There are many answers for folks with no room to garden. Some of these links are local Seattle links, the rest everyone can use!

1. P Patches- Contact your city on info for community gardens, for a small fee, you may be able to rent a garden space

2. Urban Garden Share- In the Seattle area, Folks with room to garden who, for a small share of the garden bounty, or in some cases for free, will let you garden in their space: as of 10/8, there were over 10 gardens listed in the Burien area http://www.urbangardenshare.org/

3. Container Gardening- Great way to grow some veggies with a limited amount of space. If you have a balcony or terrace, you can grow a whole assortment of veggies to help supplement your food budget

My vertical garden

4. Try making a Vertical Wall garden- simple to make, just take a hanging shoe organizer, fill some used paper coffee cups with potting soile plant a few seeds in each one and Voila! a garden that not only gives you fresh veggies and herbs, but looks pretty good hanging up on your wall. Good info on making your own here
5. Try growing sprouts- Growing your own sprouts is fun and easy if you follow the six rules of sprouting:
1. Rinse often (2-3 times/day).
2. Keep them moist, not wet.
3. Keep them at room temperature.
4. Give them air to breathe.
5. Don't grow too many in one container.
6. Keep them in a dark place.
The first step is choosing which seeds to sprout. The standard sprout is the alfalfa sprout. This is the sprout often served on salads and sandwiches and your favorite restaurant or deli. However, there are many other seeds that make excellent sprouts, each with their own flavor and nutritional composition. You can sprout barley, broccoli, buckwheat, cabbage, fenugreek, garbanzo, green peas, lentils, mung beans (found in Chinese food), radishes, red clover, wheat, soy beans, sunflowers and more.
About Seeds
I have bought regular lentils and beans from the store; and they have worked fine. However, must add the following: Always use seeds packaged for sprouting. Buying bulk seeds and grains may seem cheaper than seeds packaged for sprouting, but they may not be worth it. Unless they are packaged as high-germination spouting seeds, only a portion of them will sprout. The ones that do not sprout, will likely ferment and spoil the batch. Do not use seeds meant for planting. They are often treated with chemical pesticides, fungicides and mercury coatings. Also, do not use seeds that have molds growing on them. Molds produce toxins which can cause food poisoning.
Growing sprouts in a jar:
The easiest method is to grow sprouts in a glass canning jar. Any size jar will do. To provide plenty of fresh air, cover the top of the jar with muslin, cheese cloth or nylon mesh screen and secure with a rubber band. You can also buy specially sprouting lids designed for this purpose.
Step One: Soaking
For a quart-sized jar, put 1 ½ to 2 tablespoons of small seeds (up to 1 cup if using larger seeds like green peas or garbanzo) in the sprouting jar. Cover top of jar with cloth or sprouting lid and rinse the seeds in warm (not hot) water. Drain and refill so that water is about an inch above the seeds. Let the seeds soak 8-12 hours (overnight). Protect from light by covering with a dish towel or placing in a cupboard.
Step Two: Rinsing
Rinse 2 to 3 times per day for 2 to 3 days. After thoroughly draining the rinse water, lay the jar on its side to spread out the seeds. Do not expose to light. After 2 to 3 days the sprouts should be filling up the jar.
Step Three: Removing Hulls
After 2 to 3 days the sprouts will have thrown off their hulls. To remove the hulls, place the sprouts in a bowl and run cool water over them. Most of the hulls will either float to the top or sink to the bottom making them easy to remove. (Note: not all seeds have hulls.)
Step Four: Harvesting
Rinse sprouts in cool water and remove any remaining hulls. Drain in a colander, but do not allow the sprouts to dry out. Place in an air-tight bag leaving room for air circulation. If your sprouts need to develop chlorophyll or carotene there is one final step. (The seed package directions should tell you whether greening is necessary.)
Step Five: Greening
Once the hulls are removed, place the sprouts back into the sprouting jar or into a clear plastic airtight bag. Put the sprouts in indirect sunlight. It takes about a day for the chlorophyll and carotenes to develop. Once the sprouts are ready rinse, drain, and eat, or refrigerate.
Storing: Sprouts will keep for about a week in the refrigerator if you rinse them once every day or two. Be sure to keep the sprouts from freezing as they are frost sensitive.
Seeds are easy to store. Put them an a glass jar with an air-tight lid and keep them in a cool, dark storage area. They will keep for a year or more.

Something new up, Courtesy of "Cheap Like Me" is Organic Acres, a CSA type garden where they do the work and the growing to your plans and their land; and in the Portland area- The Backyard Farmer, who will come and do your garden work for you-Both Cool Ideas.

BILL! BILL! BILL! BILL!

I was planning a soapbox post on alternative energy... and thought, "Man I get so tired of preaching" and Romeo and Sammy Cat said "Papa don't preach get Bill Nye to do it for you!" So, just so I didn't have to listen to my dog and cat break into a Madonna Songfest, here is Bill Nye, The Science Guy talking about alternative energy from RePower America:



And of course The Bill theme:

ReCycling Styrofoam!

A post that would make Fake Plastic Fish Cry tears of joy! While reduction would be better, there is now a business that recycles styrofoam! We now have a place to recycle Styrofoam! IKEA SEATTLE has a recycling center, and they accept Styrofoam. Very convenient- they are about 1 mile from work. The Styrofoam is recycled next door at StyroRecycle, where the styrofoam is ground up, compressed and densified into blocks, which are then manufactured into plastic products such as: picture frames, TV & computer cases, office equipment and other plastic products. Nice to know. Would be even better if they picked up the styrofoam in our recycling, but hey, I'm all for the baby steps. Here is hoping the StyroRecycle makes a go at it, proving once and for all that green economics work.
Click here for a PDF of their brochure!Another great thing at
IKEA is purchase a SUNNEN Solar powered Lamp, and Now at IKEA stores worldwide, for every SUNNAN solar-powered lamp sold, one lamp will be given to UNICEF to light up the life of a child. The first shipments of donated lights are destined for Pakistan, helping children in camps for people who had to flee their homes, and remote villages in Balochistan and the North West Frontier province. This unit will enable children to play, read, write and study at night, even if their homes have no electricity. Millions of children can’t draw, write or read after sunset, limiting their horizons and possibly their futures. IKEA hopes these lamps are a small but important contribution to improving the lives of children in developing countries.
These lamps are so cool- set them in a sunny window in the morning, and at night they give light. How cool is that? I support companies with a sense of community and responsibility, so yes I do support IKEA. Lovable little swedes!

Get off my Case!

Is that what my uncle, the tractor dealer said when some dumb kid climbed on one of his tractors?

Or is it the real post for trash to treasure Tuesday- :)

The Problem: Needed a tool box for my soldering tools

The Solution: I found an old camera box in one of the Surplus Bins at work. As long as it is used at work, it's okay to take my company's surplus or dumpsters. (Sounds crazy I know) Anyway- the camera box was perfect, with the right sized compartments for my soldering torch, paste, bottle of propane, tools and parts! A little bubble wrap, (plentiful in the garbage cans) for cushioning and I have a great tool kit for when solder jobs come up. And for free!

This post is linked to Trash to Treasure Tuesday on Reinvented Blog; as well as 2nd Time Around Tuesday on "A Picture is Worth a 1000 Words Blog"

Butterscotch Crunchers

Y'all know how I can't stick to a recipe. Sometimes it's successfull, sometimes FAIL. This one is Success. At least in my opinion for what that's worth. Anyway I was perusing through the Cook Book in the first of my Blog-Iversary Giveaways, And saw a recipe that sounded kind of strange, yet interesting.
The original Recipe is for a cookie (no baking so might be in the Candy family) Called PB Crunchers. Of course having Butterscotch chips and when peanut butter chips are called for is the first problem in making a recipe to spec. ALso only having walnuts and not Peanuts (as called for) is the second problem. Anyway I did the right thing and used what I had. So here is the recipe:
2 cups of Chow mein noodles (1 can)
1 bag of Butterscotch Chips
1 cup of crushed walnuts

In a medium bowl, melt the Butterscotch chips. I used the microwave on 30% power. You could use a double boiler or the oven I reckon. When the chips are melted, stir in the Chow Mein noodles and nuts. Mix well. Then fast, drop the mixture onto wax paper or parchment paper, a spoonfull at a time. Let cool. That's it. Done. Don't do no more.

I could envision doing something like these using Milk Chocolate Chips and Potato Sticks in place of Chow mein noodles and Butterscotch chips. Only because I love Chocolate covered potato chips. I would think this recipe would be good with White chocolate chips as well.

Somebody pass me the Insulin.

This post is DIY post for Trash to Treasure Tuesday at Reinvented Blog-Why- cause I'm kinda trashy and I changed the recipe.

BLOG-IVERSARY GIVEAWAY: Snack Attack!

Well that time of year again- we are comming up on the 2nd anniversary (or rather "Blog-iversary) of the day I started this blog. And what better way to do that than a GiveAway. And this one is for the kids! I am giving one lucky little Martha or Emeril their own copy of the cookbook- Better Home's and Garden's SNACK ATTACK- were they will learn to make fantastic dishes, and of course clean up the entire kitchen and bathrooms. What? Sorry Legal department has a problem with the clean up part. They say that only happens on Fantasy Island. Anyway the contest is open to all, To enter simply leave a comment to this blog post, and remember, if I cannot link to your blog or email, please leave an email with your comment. This giveaway ends next Sunday, January 17, 2010. Winner will be picked by Mr. Random Integer Generator. Good Luck to all

Carrot Soup!?! The weekly challenge update

Sharon's Independence Days Challenge- Year three, week 01
1. Plant something: Some sprouts
2. Harvest something: Some sprouts
3. Preserve something: Froze leftover Curried Carrot and Apple Soup, made some trail mix from the leftover nuts, raisins, from a salad I made for a potluck, added some carob chips
4. Reduce Waste (recycle, reuse, reduce, repair or compost something): Took apart wreaths from the holidays- saved the frames, spread the evergreen clippings from the wreaths to compost around my huckleberries- they love acidic soil!
5. Preparation and Storage: Nothing
6. Build Community Food Systems: Worked with some guys from SuBu on helping an organization create their own community gardem
7. Eat the Food (cook or eat something new): Used my Swiss Chard stalks and some onion and carrots in Curried Carrot Soup


Freeze Your Buns off challenge- Still freezing, Still at 65/55 temps. Somebody remind me why I do this???

One Small Change-Have started off well. Made a pad to keep my reused paper for notes in. Pretty simple- just cut two pieces of cardbard about 4 X 6, put the cut paper from print outs, etc. in the middle and secure with two Binder Clamps

Still finishing up after the Holidays

Just doing some last minute crap, getting rid of any sign of the holidays. I took the wreaths down, removed them from the frames, saved the frames, composted the needles by spreading them around the aciditic loving huckleberries. I will use the frames next year, just clip some green, and new wreaths!

Thrift Store SCORE!!!

I had a day off yesterday so I went around to my various thrift stores around town. Boy did I ever score at the new thrift store, Yard Sale. I found a bag of Angel Napkin Rings. I say Napkin rings because I wouldn't know what else they would be used for. Luckily the Ring part just snaps off after a little friendly persuasion form yours truly.

I kept four as Napkin Rings for a Christmas present for mom for next year (She collects Napkin Rings in the hopes that someday her son and some of her other relatives might be couth enough to use them in the proper manner- not for snot rags). The rest will become Tree ornaments. The rings I removed will become napkin rings again with something else attached to them. Also I scored 2 wine boxes, a rolling pin, and a scrabble game ( I buy old word games for the tiles to use in other things) and Scrabble dictionary. Nice Haul if I say so myself!

Angels - De-Ringed

My Own Stick Light

I needed a clamp light at work- but didn't want to pay the price of one or buy something new- so I got my Creative Freak on and put one together myself. I found a clamp with a magnet on it and took a "Stick Light" one pf those LED lights that you stick up in a closet or somewhere dark, put some Velcro on the clamp and some on the light. And Presto- I have a light that clamps to ledges and such,or clamps on to my hat or coat pocket and as a bonus is magnetized so it sticks to pipes and other metallic objects. Makes working in dark spaces a whole lot nicer, and doubles as a flashlight!

The Velcro makes it nice to remove the light.

Magnetic it sticks to the car!

Curry Carrot And Apple Soup

I was perusing the AARP online Magazine (OK I was looking for membership for my ancient yet firm ass) And I came across this recipe for Curried Carrot And Apple Soup. Willing to try most anything once I knew I had all the ingredients. But alas, did not have celery. So I went out and cut a couple of stalks of Swiss Chard and used chard stalks instead. The only other thing I did different was the recipe tells you to put some of the veggies into a food processor. Well mine was in the dishwasher so I just used a potato masher, it did fine. I skipped the yogurt part as well. The carrots and curry combo are very sweet with an Indian taste. (Must be time for some Vindaloo) The apples add a bit of Twang. Really nice recipe. Cheap, Hearty and filling. Wish I had it a couple of months ago when I was up t o my ears in carrots. Oh yeah- I didn't have Mackintosh apples so I used Gala instead. And you can see by the chipped Dallas Ware Mel Mac bowl I don't throw anything out (My mom had those bowls for years- they are my fave soup and cereal bowls)

One Small Change Challenge

Well you knew I wouldn't pussyfoot around too long into a new year without a new challenge. I was reading Fleecenik Farm Blog and read about Hip Mountain Mama, in her hipness, is challenging all bloggers to do one small change a month until Earth Day in April to create change. Now I do most of her suggested things, but there is always room for improvement.
For my first month- I am going to try Printing Double sided. Now at work our printers are set up to automatically do this (print on both sides of the paper ondtead of making 2 seperate pages per job). I still get job reports and such that are on one page- But there is where I will make a bigger change- Since I get so many single sided print outs and such instead of recycling them- I will save them for scratch paper and notes, then recycle them! Making my printing choices better for the earth. And her forests.

Build an Earth Oven

Cool Pics Link 1
Cool Pics Link 2

Sorry about the pic links- had to delete the pic as It is Copyrighted.
Had to delete the SlideShow also due to Copyrights- But I linked it so you can see these great ovens
It is worth looking at the links and slide show.
My friend Brooks' wife Marya builds earth ovens. Very cool. And you can bake bread in them. Great another project to add to the list. Some of these are really ornate!

Tie A string around my Finger

Almost forgot it was "Trash to treasure Tuesday" Give me a few weeks of an I will forget the routine! This week I solved two longtime problems in my house- How to keep my garden twine around without it getting tangled and twisted; and What to do with those phony nut cans and coffee cans (from Trader Joe's) The answer- A Twine Holder:


I took an ordinary empty nut can
Cut a hole in the lid, with a slit in the hole

I considered wrapping it in gift wrap for more of a design, but went simple and just peeled off the label, and use a sharpie to write "Twine". The slit in the hole of the lid is to lock the twine in place for easy access to it


This is a Trash to Treasure at ReInvented Blog Post

Lighting up the World

What do you get when you combine a globe, a gin bottle, some beach glass and fringe? Well if you're me, you take the globe apart at the equator, add some fringe and use it as a lamp shade. Then you drill a hole in the bottom of a gin bottle and put a lamp kit in the bottle and stuff it full of beach glass. You Get a lamp!!!

This post is participating in 2nd Time Around Tuesday on "A Picture is Worth a 1000 Words Blog"

Okay- Christmas Ain't Over tell I Say It's Over

Every guy should have just one Hum Vee- I know Ah-Nuld Told me.

I have a thing for Chevron Cars. I got a couple of miniature Chevron Cars awhile ago.

OK I know, Christmas is over, but I can't stop making a few ornaments! This is for next year for a car themed tree I want to do. It will be a small tree but very cool with ornament s made from diecast cars and a few car parts on it!

Foraging my goals

Well y'all ready know that I did not meet my Home Improvement goals, but what about my garden goals? What do I want to learn for 2010? Well... I would like to learn how to grow my own tea- chamomile, in particular. So I am doing study mode. In chamomile. It seems doable. Of course all the seed and plant suppliers just say is "The Flowers make wonderful teas" Like that is an instant growth message. Take it from someone who can't grow broccoli, Getting a chamomile Plant to flower ain't going to be easy. I just have no confidence. Of course I could make Dandelion Tea, but since it works as a laxative, maybe not. I already have enough shit in my life.

I do have an affinity for chamomile tea. It relaxes me. Makes me calm. Just like I drink Mint Tea when my stomach has an ache, I drink chamomile when I get stressed. Also I want to get into this lemon verbena thing everyone else knows about. I already have a lemonade recipe using lemon verbena as an ingredient.

And Thirdly I want to learn about foraging. I would like to be able to identify Lamb's Quarters, and eat them without poisoning myself. I think I have some growing around the deck, but am not sure. I need foraging lessons!

So that is my goal list for 2010 in the garden!

As Far as foraging, I already pick dandelions, and blackberries. But that is about as far as I go.

UPDATE: I ordered seeds for Lamb's Quarters as well as chamomile and threw in some amaranth from Seeds Of Change...By growing the lambs quarters, I can then ID the plant! And don't laugh- I know I ordered weed seeds- Worked for Borage!