A Spider From my Garden - He Mends his own web!

To truly appreciate todays photo you should click on it and open it in its own window so you can see it large.

As my readers know I have a garden. Last night I was picking green beans to give to a friend at work when I decided to give her a nice ripe tomato as well. Much to my surprise a beautiful spider was living between two of my tomato plants and what caught my eye was his/her web.

It looks as though the spider has a sewing machine tucked away and mended its web by using a zig-zag stitch right down the center! It was so awesome I had to grab the camera. I also found it interesting that the center mending zig-zag was a different quality of web as you can see from the photo. A thick white webbing verses the typical thin thread.

Beautiful!

A new venture for us: Buying half a cow

As a child growing up in a busy household with three younger brothers somewhere in the heartland of America, there was a portion of the grocery store that I never shopped in with my parents. The meat department.

And when I learned how to brown ground beef there was a step I never had to do. Draining the fat. I never thought about it. Never knew that anyone did. Let me tell you why....

Years later, my new sister-in-law called me one day and in the course of conversation asked me if my family didn't drain the fat from the pan after we browned ground beef. I asked her why she would ask such an odd question and her response was that she and my brother argued over draining the fat from the ground beef. He didn't do it which upset her and he told her we never did that growing up. She, knowing my love of cooking and baking couldn't believe this.

I was never a real fan of ground beef and had sat through many lectures at the kitchen table while a teenager after I picked out the ground beef from my chili or taco salad. A hamburger from McDonalds I could eat, but chunks of ground beef? Not so much. So it's no wonder that I never bought nor ate ground beef after graduating and moving out. It was only after speaking to my SIL and discussing ground beef that we came to the answer together; we didn't drain the fat because there was no fat to drain!

My SIL's family grew up eating ground beef from the grocery store. My family grew up eating beef we bought straight from the farm and had butchered to our specifications. All our ground beef came wrapped in white butcher paper with our name stamped on it in red ink. Their ground beef came in a clear package with a bloody pad at the bottom of it. Our freezer was stocked full of white wrapped packages year round as we continuously bought our beef and ham this way.

We knew no other way.

And our ground beef, when browned, would yield hardly a teaspoon of fat, at that. There was nothing to drain.

Mystery solved.

And now, about 15 years later it's come full circle as I prepare to buy half a cow from... my brother and SIL! Yes, they, still married and with three teen and pre-teen boys raise cows, pigs and sheep and have a few horses in the mix as well. His call this week was to see if we wanted a side of beef as he just took it to the butcher. It had to hang for about 10 days and then would be ready to cut to our specifications.

I haven't a clue what I'm doing. I've never in my life bought a 'side' of beef but with three teenagers and a husband and a love of grilling steaks and burgers I'm anxious to cut down on our grocery bill and feed my family healthy, organic beef - raised by my own nephews and brother. The initial cost will be huge - probably $600-800 total (I have to find out the weight of the cow and decide what cuts of meat we want) but it's a good investment and hopefully we'll be set for beef at least until next Spring or Summer!

I'll keep you up to date as I venture into new territory for me - as I know nothing about the process and will be calling the meat locker later today.

UPDATE FOUND HERE.

A few rocks and a couple candles....

This morning as I sip the last of my morning coffee before heading upstairs to get dressed for work I was glancing through my files for inspiration on something quick to write about this morning as the day has already gotten away from me with only minutes left to spare.

I came across a photo I took about 2 (?) years ago of the candles that were in our Family Room. I still have the tray and I still have the rocks, although the candles currently in place are newer, beige colored that match the color scheme of the room they are in.

Finding a cheap tray is easy - whether you are looking at your local Walmart or Target or in an accessory shop, home goods store or even your local party store (note: they have everything from cheap plastic trays to nice wood serving trays for serving wine and cheese!).

The bags of pebbles are also easy to find and are incredibly affordable. I've purchased rocks at Michael's craft stores (the most expensive place actually...) and Pier One Imports (surprisingly affordable) but the best rates are going to be at Walmart or the Dollar Store.

Purchase 3 or 5 candles depending on the size of your tray and nestle them into into the rocks.

I always like to light the new candles - only for 10 minutes or so, to give them a 'not brand new' look as seeing new, unlit and unused candles at someone's home tells me they are using them just for show and although it's a personal thing, I like the look of a candle that's been lit at least one. It seems less pretentious to me. More welcoming. More comfortable.

Giving a Gift of Tea? Check out this Tea Bag Gift Bag

When I saw this photo in one of my craft books I just thought it was the cutest idea! Easy to make with just some folding and hot gluing, it's the perfect bag for giving a gift of tea bags, homemade tea mixtures, etc.

Made from a piece of interfacing that you can buy at any craft or fabric store either in a package or by the yard, fold it to resemble a tea bag and hot glue in place. Add a string and small gift card stapled on like many tea bags and you have the perfect cute little creative package.

A Chance to Win a Free Flip Mino Video Camera for Your short Review on Travel

As a small child one of my early memories is kneeling at our coffee table with crayons and paper in front of me and drawing a picture of an airplane flying through the sky. I was about 3 or 4 years old at the time and I distinctly remember calling out to my mother behind me in the kitchen, "How do you spell California?" and as she spelled it for me I painstakingly wrote it across the top of my paper. From an early age I wanted to fly, I wanted to travel and I wanted to see the world.

Although life took me down a different road that included marrying a 'home body' and having 3 children in 5 years, fate has kept me pretty much in the USA except for a couple brief trips to Mexico and Italy. My 'baby' brother has lived the travel life I yearned for, traveling first to Russia when he was 17 and then traveling with the military and on his own over the next 12 years. He's single and often just gets a whim to go and he's off. We never quite know where he's at until we get a text with a photo of the original London Bridge, or a pyramid or I get a late night phone call from him, standing on a street in some random city and asking me to check the internet for the best hotel deals within a mile radius of where he is.

I love his freedom, I love his spirt. There is a website that is perfectly suited for travelers by providing personalized travel recommendations based on the parameters you set. You have a budget, a time of year you can go and a few other options, you enter them and find out some great travel recommendations. It's called FatPassport and to help spread the news about their site they are sponsoring a FatPassport Giveaway. A sleek, new Flip Mino video camera for your next travel adventure! To enter, users must register on the FatPassport website (linked above) and write a short review of their favorite travel destination. Your review is your entry. The giveaway deadline is July 31 (P.S.T.).

Children's Crafts: A Pencil Holder (or flowerpot, crayon holder, pen holder....)

When my kids were small they would run into the house after getting off the school bus, carefully holding their latest and greatest 'gift' for me. I received numerous pencil holders over the years, some from clay, others as simple as yarn wrapped around a soup can.

When we did this craft at home, I used one of my favorite quick craft books (Awesome Crafts for Kids) and painted little flower pots, then added glitter, buttons and ribbons for decor.

All you need is acrylic paints for the base color
A flat, wide paintbrush
a small 4 inch clay pot
buttons
ribbon
glitter
craft glue or hot glue (up to you based on the age of your kids and your level of help)
small craft paints

Use the flat brush to paint the acrylic paint all over the clay pot. Let it dry. Glue whatever buttons, ribbons or 'doo dads' on you want - and you can use glitter and craft paints to add finishing touches. Dots, stripes, squiggles, fake little flowers with button faces... let your child's imagination run wild, let it dry and organize your many 'things'!

Almost Like Cash - A Sears Gift Card for the College Bound Kid

She is tucking away money from her paycheck. She saves the babysitting money she is earning from her last days babysitting for neighborhood children before she goes off to college in just a few weeks to start her quest for a degree in Criminal Justice. She's fully prepared to live on Ramen Noodles and canned spaghetti and she's already the coupon-queen, finding coupons in the local paper for everything from granola bars to a dinner for two at the local restaurant.

She's my daughter and she's a college-bound student.

I can smile because she's mine and I can laugh because I've told her she isn't going to be hurting for money that badly! She's got much of what she needs already, a food account for the cafeteria and of course... Mom and Dad standing by to help in a pinch!

We're checking out the last things we need at Sears CampusReady to finalize the dorm room and for those of us that need a few hints, you can check out the CampusReady on Facebook application for your room design and matching up with a roommate just to name a couple. (If you don't know what Facebook is, ask your kids. Everyone under 25 knows what it is and they can enlighten you.)

For a easy gift that keeps giving check out the reloadable gift cards you can purchase in-store. Used at both Kmart and Sears, that pretty covers anything your child could need from a last minute blanket, to a hoodie sweatshirt, Pop-Tarts, a laptop computer or shampoo. The parent can load funds onto the card online or in store and the student has an emergency stash of 'almost cash' to use for all those last minute items.

Almost Too Simple! Colorful Rock Crafts

It's almost too simple. It's almost laughable. But as a Mom of three kids who did this craft with her children twice when they were younger I am telling you... they loved this craft. I loved it because it was as simple as going out to the backyard landscaping and grabbing a few rocks and then finding the pencil box of discarded crayons. Add a piece of foil and you've got a craft ready to go!




Find rocks that are semi-smooth for even coverage. Using bright crayons, color as much of the rock as you can using patterns, swirls, solids... whatever your little helpers can come up with.

Place the rocks on a foil lined cookie sheet and bake them for 15 minutes at 200 degrees to melt the crayons. Don't handle them right away as they are hot! Let them cool and then have the children grab an old sock, turn it inside out and let them rub the rock to polish it up and make it shine.

What an Egg Head! Simple Crafts for Kids

"I need another craft! Quick! And it has to be easy!"

No problem!

What about making an egg head?

Whether you use tiny preplanted herbs, a plant or flowers or you choose a fast growing seed like a cheap package of grass seed, these little eggheads are fun and easy to make. The hardest part may just be getting the top of the egg off without cracking the rest of the egg. After that? Child's play.


Using a knife, tap the top of an egg to crack just the upper portion so you can remove the top and pour the contents out. Save them for a yummy omelet after your craft is done!


Prepare an egg holder by cutting a toilet paper roll or paper towel roll into two inch pieces. You can glue a strip of construction paper around the tube to make it bright and colorful.

If you add little buttons to resemble a shirt and even pipe cleaner arms you can complete your egg-heads 'body'.


Now comes the fun part! Use permanent markers to draw funny or cute faces on the front of your egg shell. Careful! Don't press too hard or you'll break the shell.


Fill your egg with one or two tablespoons of potting soil. Sprinkle grass seed for an adorable head of 'hair' on your egg within days, or for instant success for the hurried and hectic craft planner, have tiny little plants or flowers available for replanting in the potting soil.

After the fun is done you can actually plant the little egg-head in the soil to recycle this craft! It's a fun way to 'start' seedlings inside the house and as long as you enjoy pound cakes, angel food cakes and omelets, you'll ever been short on egg shells!

Instant Rings for Dress Up - A Simple Craft with Pipe Cleaners!

This is an impromptu craft I used many times over when my two girls were little. Even their brother wanted his own 'rings'! (Of course he was 3 at the time... I doubt he would want to be reminded of this fact now that he is almost 17!).

This craft is so quick and simple!

PIPE CLEANERS
OLD BUTTONS OR CRAFT BUTTONS with a 'shank' on the back (not flat)
SCISSORS


Cut the pipe cleaners to about 4 inches long to start. Thread a button of choice onto it and place on the finger to 'size'. Wrap it around and twist once to keep the sizing and then remove it to trim the wires and carefully wind and wrap them around each other to tuck away the 'pokey' part so the little fingers don't get poked.






Instant dress up rings!!!



.

Quick Summer Craft for Kids - Decorated Shoe Laces!

Last night I briefly watched some old home movies of my kids when they were smaller. Seeing my 13 year old as a tiny little 1 year old toddler or that adorable 4 year old in her Winnie the Pooh slippers brought a smile to my face but it also brought back a lot of old memories!

This morning as I decided what today's article would be about I decided to dig out some of my old craft books I used when the kids were younger. I was a full time Mommy during part of my children's childhood and doing a daily craft or activity was typical. This is one my kids went on to do by themselves and with friends, and my 13 year old still decorates her shoes with pens and markers!

For young children make sure you cover the table top with brown paper or even wax paper or thick newspapers to protect the surface as you'll be using permanent markers.


Decorated Shoe Laces

Brown paper bags to cover the table
Flat shoe laces for tennis shoes
assorted permanent (Sharpie) markers
masking tape


Tape your shoelace into place on the brown paper to hold it in place so you can decorate in a pattern without it moving too much. Using the permanent markers, decorate one side of the shoe lace, let dry and flip over to decorate the other side. Don't hold the marker in one place too long or it will bleed through the other side in a big blob!



`

Harvest from the Garden

It's that time... the time of the year when my garden starts to help out with our grocery budget by supplementing our meals with home grown vegetables! From just 4 short little 8 foot rows of green beans we've harvested about 3 gallons of beans in just 1 1/2 weeks. The carrots are just now ready and the jalapeno's, green and red peppers along with the tomatoes are coming in wonderfully. The onions are on their way and the garlic will be ready to pick once the leaves are 50% brown, but with the scapes trimmed they are now just growing in size.

What a blessing and for this I am truly grateful. Not only for the food it provides to help with our food budget but for the time I spend alone in the garden pulling weeds and picking the harvest when I can lose myself in my thoughts and spend time singing, praying or just thinking. Gardens are good for so many things!

Children's Crafts: Let's Make Homemade Clay Beads!

For some the summer is underway and in full swing. For others it's going way too fast and the end is almost near as their school districts start in early in August and the kids see the last few weeks of summer coming. For others summer has been a long, drawn out time of trying to find things to entertain their kids with and they've run out of idea's.

One idea too tuck away in your mind is homemade baking soda and cornstarch beads. Faux 'clay' beads if you will... at a childs level. Easy to make and non-toxic you can then add cheap craft beads and a string of yarn to design beautiful necklaces and plan a day of dress up and fun for your little ones. When your kids are older (as mine are) you'll be surprised at how the 12 and 13 year olds will still be interested in making the beads, only this time by themselves without any help from you and they get quite detailed in the design. My oldest daughter (18) uses idea's like this for last minute crafts for the children she babysits. A fun idea for any age! *The photos are not of my hands. They are photos I found in a craft book I own from Better Homes and Gardens.

Kids Craft Beads

Dough:

2 c baking soda
1 c cornstarch
1 1/4 c water
plastic straws
toothpicks or small paintbrushes
food color or non-toxic paint
aluminum foil

The dough is salty and will dry out your hands so have lotion on hand for later. Prepare a cookie sheet with a sheet of aluminum foil over it. Stir together the baking soda and cornstarch in a saucepan. Add the water and stir over medium heat until the dough starts to look like mashed potatoes. This may take up to 10 minutes. Pour the clay dough onto your aluminum foil and cover with a damp cloth to keep it from drying out. Allow it to cool before you handle it. Whenm it is completely cool you can start to make beads. Keep the dough covered or in a plastic container until you are ready to use it.

Break off a small piece of dough. Shape it as you wish in balls or squares, etc. Cut your plastic straws to about 2-3 inches long pieces and insert the straws into your beads to make large holes for stringing. Use tiny toothpicks or small paint brushes to 'paint' your beads with food color or non-toxic paints.





If you prefer, color the entire batch at once and cut or craft the beads from it. Using a handful of the dough, mash it a bit into the shape of a hot dog bun. Add bits and drops of food color to the center and gently fold it into itself and roll into a log shape or triangle or square. Break off pieces for shaping or slice them using a butter knife. Make holes in the beads as you did before with straw pieces.


Lay the beads on your aluminum foil covered cookie sheet and allow to dry overnight. They will need at least 6 hours to dry and maybe more if you live in a humid area or it's been raining. When dry they are ready to be strung on yarn to make beautiful necklaces or bracelets.

In the Middle of Wanting to Transfer my 8mm Cassette Tapes to DVD

This is a long, ongoing process but I've decided to write about it as I know there are others in the same boat as I.

Back in 1994 we bought a camcorder. We chose a Sony Handycam for all the right reasons and loved it for years. It only used 8mm cassette tapes - which are different than Hi8 and definitely different than the VHS-C tapes that *most* camcorders used. The VHS-C tapes were the little cassettes you could literally 'pop into' an adapter VHS tape and play or record on your tv and vcr. The 8mm tapes are different in that they can only (yes... ONLY be played back through the camcorder. ) There is no adapter for 8mm cassette tapes to be easily transferred to a VCR tape. If you are told there is the person is either just misinformed, confusing VHS-C tapes or is outright lying and trying to sell you something.

Knowing this background you'll appreciate the fact that when we moved to our current home in 2004 we found the camcorder no longer worked. It powers up just fine and the viewfinder worked but it would absolutely not accept a cassette tape. Any cassette tape. It will hum and close and pretend to like it but then it pops it right back out and refuses to play or record or even function if there is a tape in it.

I found this out when I was attempting to hook it up to transfer the last 3 or 4 tapes we made in 2000 - 2001 to VHS so I could then transfer everything to disc. At this point we were now left with 10 years of home movies completely useless to us, trapped inside cassettes.

At this point I looked at my options which included

1. sending my cassettes to someone on the internet that could transfer for them for me
2. hiring a company locally to do the transfers (Walmart does them!)
3. Buying a new camcorder
4. Finding someone that owns the equiptment and either borrowing or having them transfer for me

I absolutely did not trust sending the only tapes I have of my children's childhoods through the mail and the cost of online services was astronomical. I tried to find a friend or co-worker than still owned a working, similar camcorder but our circle of friends came up short in that department. I gave all the tapes to a very good friend who thought he had the equipment to do so but found it was not compatible and after about 5 months of holding my tapes hostage finally got them back to me. I decided in the end to use Walmart. Their prices were going to run me about $300 to do my casettes but I talked myself into it as the end result would be worth it. Memories are priceless.

As I sifted through the cassette tapes I realized I had movies that included the birth of my children and just couldn't bring myself to allow perfect strangers to see this important, life changing event in my life. Frankly I don't trust the people working in these positions and knowing such a personal moment could be viewed by potentially millions of people (depending on what they do with captured images and video and where they post it...) I just was saddened by my choices. (Yes I know they probably don't CARE about the birth stories or video's of some anonymous woman... but I care.)

In the end I've decided to *attempt* to transfer them myself. The initial investment included buying a used camcorder, which I've now done and hopefully will be receiving the package in the mail this week.

I will then have to purchase an adapter to plug the camcorder in to attach it to my computer and hopefully burn my memories onto a DVD. It will be a learning process for me but my investment thus far is rather small - just a fraction of what transferring them through a company would be.

I'll let you know how this goes.

Homemade Stuffed Crust Pizza

In 1998, purely by accident, we started a family tradition. My husband worked Friday nights so the kids and I would watch tv together while enjoying popcorn. Soon that included candy and before I knew it I implemented 'Family Pizza Night' with pizza for dinner followed by a movie and popcorn and candy and later, as the kids got older, soda.

Homemade pizza became a weekend staple at our house and although we had to revamp the schedule when my daughter was a Freshman in high school and cheered for varsity football games every night, we simply moved Pizza Night to Saturday night and for the past 'almost' 12 years now we've had this family tradition that kids and my husband won't let me out of... homemade pizza! Even my kids' friends know pizza night is Saturday at 6:30 and all are welcome, but you never know what kind you'll get. I make 2-3 pizza's and although I almost always make a pepperoni, the other versions vary each week from chicken ranch to bbq chicken, Greek inspired with feta cheese and spinach to my daughter's boyfriends favorite, sausage. One of their all time favorites is 'stuffed crust' pizza which is incredibly easy when you start with string cheese!


Roll your pizza crust out so the crust is about 1 1/2 inches larger than usual and hangs over the side of the baking stone or pan.



Roll up a stick of string cheese, continue all the way around your pizza and use your fingers to press the dough together and seal it.

Continue to top your pizza the way you normally would - with the sauce and toppings and baking as usual. Instant stuffed crust!