Reclaimed Wood Projects

Here are a few things things J made me, all from reclaimed wood.

This is just a shelf he made with no purpose in mind. I filled it quickly.

These are some spice racks. I am very short so reaching and seeing things on the second shelf is difficult. The things I use most are in the holders and easily accessible.

A simple way to organize measuring spoon by size.

Spice Blends

This will be just be a quick explanation of premixing spices.

Get all the spices you want in a mix. Find the right size spoon for each one.

Mix one or two batches in a bowl at a time.

Then pour it in a container. Label it.

Then label the back with the ratios you used. For Pumpkin Spice I use 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/8 teaspoon ginger, and 1/8 teaspoon allspice. 

To Crock or Not to Crock

For anyone who knows me, this is a common sight in my kitchen.

I am always running a crockpot. If we eat meat with bones in it, the bones get put in a crockpot with water and cooked on low or keep warm  for a day or two.  When it's done,  I can it  up and put it away.

I also render fat and make spaghetti sauce in a crockpot.  I use them to make the house smell nice with water and citrus fruit peels or essential oils.

But lately, I have to wonder how much energy are all these crockpots using.  Last year, I actually measured one. I forgot the numbers. It wasn't overly important because most of my crockpots are different sizes and brands.

Then I heard people discussing the Instapot. I had no idea what it was so I looked it up.  I like the idea behind it. I have my dad's old pressure cooker, but I am scared to use it due to its lack of a manual and age. (My dad passed on 9 years ago so I can't ask him.) Then it hit me: I could use the pressure canner to make the stock right in the jars.

The first time I tried this, I put a ham bone with fat in a half gallon jar and processed it for 25 minutes, the length I would process stock.  When it was done, it looked pale and didn't seal.  I tried it again, this time I processed it for an  hour; its color looked good.

Next I did pork stock made from pork chop bones.  In each jar I added some of the juice in the pan.  I did the same with chicken bones. All the stock has turned out with a nice color.

It does look less pretty due to the bones floating around in it, but I am enjoying having less ( some times no) crockpots plugged in and taking up a whole counter.

Waste

Waste bothers me. Period. I gets under my skin. It just sits in land fills possibly polluting.

I like to dumpster dive. I can't tell you where because it's highly frowned upon. At this one particular non-profit's dumpster, I find a lot of blankets. Some smell; some are ripped. It's disgusting to see all the waste because I know they are not ready to be garbage.

I take the blankets and other goods and give them new life. Blankets are washed and line dried; it make take a few days of airing out to get them fresh. I fix them up, usually a few new stitches and seems. I give them to a woman who works with low income people. She hands them out to those in need.

Other goods are washed as well. I usually keep them until I meet someone who needs what I have.  Here are some things I have rescued from dumpsters:

blankets (obviously)
double stroller
cat house
animal dishes
infant life jacket
cups
plates
dog jackets for the winter
Barbie clothes
a step stool
tables
Dutch shoes
paints
stationary
pictures in nice frames
clothes that have never been worn
baby swings that work
random toys
pots/pans


Many nonprofits have so much that they just toss what they have. Or they sell clothes to factories by the pound to use as rags. While I don't want to discourage people from giving to nonprofits, I hate seeing waste. Maybe your old things can put be on Craigslist or set in the front yard with a free sign. Try getting in touch with social services; they might know people who can't afford to shop at second hand stores.  If you exhaust all other options, maybe it is time to donate to a nonprofit.  Just think twice before you toss things out because not everyone can live upriver.

Random Ranting from a Lunatic Mind (Much of Which is Parenthetical)

It's that time of year that stores fill with packs of pencils, pens, and paper. Whole isles are dedicated to school supples instead of the usual  half the right side of one isle. It's easy to get caught up in all the sales.  It's not just school supplies, it's new clothes too. And new back packs even though there is nothing wrong with the ones we already have. And new shoes too. It's fun to shop. (Developmental psychologist have made it that way.)

It's that time of year when cashiers, librarians, and the odd person with whom you strike up a conversation at the grocery store while trying to select the best apples feel the need to ask, "So are ya ready fer school to start?"  They expect parents to answer with an enthusiastic "Yes!" and for children to answer with an exasperated  moan or sigh accompanied by an eye roll with the optional "No."  But not everyone sends their children to school. Some of us like our children and enjoy spending time with them. (And before someone gets on their high horse to say, "Well check your privilege. Not everyone can afford to homeschool. You are  clearly part of the white upper middle class,"  let me say that I am poor. We dance with poverty line.)

For those of us who chose home education or some other form of non-5-days-a-week-schooling, September has a different feeling. For me, it's harvest time. I spend a lot of time standing over a canner while listening to the hum of a dehydrator if the sound of Five Finger Death Punch and Wardruna doesn't overshadow it. My fingers develop calluses from handling hot jars. My feet ache from standing in the kitchen. My skin actually looks good because it's constantly being steamed. My nails are still stained from dirt. (The dirt stain usually lasts until October for me.)  For others, school never ends and lessons are completely year round.

For those who don't send their kids to school, it can seem odd that everyone is talking about school supply lists (Can you believe what they want us to spend on a calculator?), which teachers retired (It's about time Mr. Gordon is done; he was just riding the time clock), how long Mrs. Smith will be out of teaching while she recovers from her new baby, the new dress code the school implemented (no leggings or sweat pants, no spaghetti strap shirts even for elementary school kids,  nothing that can be seen as offensive, no scarves, no body jewelry, etc.).   The idea of compulsory school seems odd to many people. As parents, we protect our children in numerous ways: helmets, knee pads, elbow pads, and wrist guards for riding bikes, roller blading, and skating; 5 point car seats until they weigh 65 lbs.; scissors that can't even cut; bed rails for a 5 year old even though the bed is only 6 inches off the floor and the bed is a queen size. But for some reason, most people just send their beloved offspring to school without a thought. Do you know the person who is in charge of your child for 6 hours a day? If you do, do you like them? What about the bus driver? Do you know them? Do you like them? If the school district hadn't decided that these people are capable of taking care of your child/ren, would you want your child/ren around them?

My family is riddled with teachers, guidance councilors, and other school administration. To be honest, I wouldn't want my kids around some them if I wasn't there. My uncle had planned to be a gym teacher. While prepping for his student teaching, he found a job that would pay him more than teaching would. By then my cousin had been born so he took the better paying job. (I don't blame him.) Honestly, he is homophobic and a little racist. He doesn't understand that not everyone likes sports. (This concept boggles his mind.)  My aunt is a teacher. I find it hard to hold a conversation with her. The answers she gives are short and designed to end the conversation. I also find her very disrespectful to her parents. These aren't people with whom I want my children to spend time especially without me; if they are to spend time with them, I want to be there to explain what is and is not acceptable.

But for many people, these thoughts never occur. They simply get a letter saying who their teacher is for the year. The children may have heard rumors about their teacher and groan, or hopefully they get excited because they got the teacher that has a couch and radio in their room. (My mind: Where is that couch from? Is it their old couch? Did they have sex on it? Did their kids pee on it?)

My children, W and E, and have been in a charter school that only meets once a week since kindergarten. The school is small. The day is short (9-3). Parents are welcome and encouraged to attend a parents meeting where we discuss curriculum, food, teaching styles, food, outside of school activities, food, methods of discipline, and food.

W has a reading disability that is holding him back in other subjects.  I have done everything (and more) the school has told me to do to help him.  Nothing has worked.

 I had to make a decision: he would go to school. Because the school is public and because of the rules, all students at the charter school are allowed to take 2 classes a semester at the regular middle and high school. I talked to the administration at both the charter school and the regular school.  The agreement was made he would attend school for the first three hours (classes/periods) of the day: language arts, homeroom (this one doesn't count as a class he takes), and Read 180 (a class for the lowest level readers). I picked his language arts teacher, Mrs. M, who would also be his teacher for Read 180. My bonus daughter, A, had her a few years earlier. I had her  20 years earlier.  I requested a math teacher for his homeroom teacher. (His math is hard, and some times I can't help him with it.) I bought him school supplies. We went to open house and met his teachers. I knew his homeroom teacher, Mrs. W; she had been his tumbling coach 7 years earlier. I explained he would only be there for the first 3 "hours."  Both teachers were understanding.

So I had accepted he needed more help than I could provide and because of this he would go to building with people I don't know and be subjected to whatever they tell him: carbs are good for you, Columbus discovered America, and Abraham Lincoln was opposed to slavery.  I had a health teacher in 9th grade who told us sex was only for procreation. Yes, at a public school. (Apparently, she didn't know about oxytocin releases and how good they are for you regardless of wanting a baby or not.)  That was bad enough, but then I read an article that was about Monsanto reps going to schools to talk about what a great company they work for and the dangers of sharing seeds.  Most people wouldn't think twice about these things.

I do. A lot.

I have met a few people who feel all homeschoolers are religious nuts who want to shelter their children from the evils of the world and to teach that the is a 6,000 year old disc covered by a dome. That's not me. I am more likely to correct someone when they say that neanderthals are our direct ancestors. (They are not; they are more like the cousins of our ancestors with whom we bred on occasion but preferred to kill off.)

I want my kids to know how to grow, cook, and prepare food for themselves, to use a saw, level, and screw driver/gun, and to change oil and a tire.  I want them to know there is nothing wrong with doing these things for themselves. You don't need to pay someone to do every minute chore for you. I want them to know it's ok to not follow the crowd because crowds are mobs, and mobs are dangerous and generally stupid.

How do I do this when they are surrounded by other people who are taught that hive mind is a good thing? How do I do this when he will be subject to adults who rely on peer pressure to get things done?  How do I teach them to value their goals and accomplishments when in order to get good grades they need to have the answers and goals the teachers want?  How the fuck do parents deal with this for 180 days a year for 13 years?

New Washing Machine

For a year, we had a washing machine that refused to spin.  I needed a quick fix and didn't have several hundred dollars on hand with which to purchase a new washer so I bought an antique, or maybe just vintage, wringer.  Because I didn't buy the wash board, since the washing machine still agitated, we had nothing to which to attached it. But our laundry would finally be wrung out! 

At first, it was a 3 person job.  One person, held it steady on top of a saw horse. Another person fed the laundry in. (This was an art form to be learned.) The last person caught the laundry.  This only lasted a week until J did his laundry and found it tedious.  He built a stand for the wringer.

The first 5 months of this, I honestly wasn't bothered it. But after that, it got old. Our basement is cold making it less than pleasant (and let's be honest: I live in the First World so when I say something is less than pleasant, there are many people in the world who would love to be in my place).  Wringers also doesn't get out as much water as the spin cycle on a modern washing machine which led to almost every thing had to go through the dryer in the late fall, winter, and early spring. I also broke many zippers, buttons, clasps, and hooks.  On the plus side, my sewing skills did improve.

On Mother's Day, I was waiting for the liquor store in the grocery store to open. I took a look "For Sale" section of the bulletin board.  There was an apartment sized washer for sale for $125. I called and went to look at it. I asked a friend to pick it up in her vehicle. (I could have picked it up, but I would have had to remove the car seats, some things I had no interest in doing.)  J hooked it up and now I no longer have to wring out my laundry. 

Next on the agenda is an oven that keeps constant temperature!

Wrapping Paper Update

So my grand plans to save potato chip bags and use them as wrapping paper failed. I tried wrapping a present this weekend, and the tape wouldn't stick. So back to the drawing board.

Coffee

The mere mention of coffee is some circles ignites serious emotions. It's not difficult to find memes about how important coffee is to some people.

Some love it to a discomforting level.




Some come up with whimsical ways of expressing their addiction to it.




Some have a cute way of showing the variety of options from which to choose.





Until a few years ago, I wasn't a coffee drinker.  I would have the occasional late to combat a head ache that ways days old and not subsiding, but that was it.  I couldn't understand (and honestly, still don't)  all those people who  couldn't perform a menial task because they "hadn't had their coffee yet."  It felt like the last addiction that was socially acceptable.

(I don't have many smokers in my group, and those that do smoke, hide it.  Gone are the days of when smoking while in the presence of other people's children or standing in line is acceptable.  As the daughter of two heavy smokers, I greatly appreciate the lack of social acceptance of smoking.)

Anywho, a few summers ago, I watched my friend's 3 children for the summer. I also had my own 3 children to watch.  As if that wasn't enough, some times a friend would spend the day with us. It was a lot of kids: a 12yo girl, a 9yo boy, an 8yo boy, a 6 yo boy, a 6yo girl, and a 6mo old baby with another 9yo boy on occasion.

It was a lot, and I was tired. So I started drinking coffee.

I had known for some time that coffee is generally grown in warmer, humid regions that were previously rainforests by workers who are paid pennies if paid at all.  It bothered me. Why should someone work that hard for so little money and have their land raped so I could have a cup of fucking coffee?

So I went online and found some coffee is "Rainforest Alliance Certified" and  "Habitat-friendly Certified Organic Shade Grown."  What could the problem possibly be? Any guesses? Yes, it is expensive. So I drank it less.  A 12oz. bag lasted 3 months.

J, however, still prefers the coffee from the store: standard coffee with a flavor of Highlander Grog.  It is whole bean and more expensive than grabbing a can of whatever is sold in 3lb. cans but less expensive than my coffee. He also drinks it every day.  Sometimes though he doesn't take it all to work, but this never happens on the day I want coffee.

I noticed he would just dump the rest out the day next morning while he made fresh coffee for the day.  I don't care for waste so I thought about it. I started pouring the leftovers into a quart jar and putting in the fridge.  On my canning day, I would can it and have coffee for the emergencies when we are out of coffee and the snow it too deep to run to town or when the power is out. We have a gas stove so we can still heat it up on the stove.

That made me happy for awhile. Then I had another idea. After Jon leaves for work, I reuse his grounds.  I make half the amount he does. Once the coffee is made from the grounds for a second time, I pour the coffee through the machine so that the grounds are used thrice. I still have to add a ton of cream (not creamer, why the hell add all those ingredients to perfect cream?) and sugar because that is how I drink my coffee, but it taste the same.

After that, I put the grounds a sealable bag in the fridge.  Once it is full, I spread them out on a cookie sheet and let them dry.  Once dry, I rebag and freeze them.  In the spring, I mulch the blueberries with them.

I still buy the highly certified coffee. I use for when I make coffee first, Jon goes camping, or I make coffee after I drank all the other coffee; the last situation usually only happens when I have company. So that is how I deal with drinking something I know isn't the greatest for the planet.

A Confession of Guilt

I do many things in order "to save the environment." Many things. I have been known to dig through friends' garbage, remove things to bring home and recycle, feed to my critters, or compost.  I will rip up six pack rings that are in the garbage. I reuse resealable: the kind you flat out buy and the kind that shredded cheese comes in.  I carry (or I make my son carry) grey water from the kitchen sink to the compost to keep it wet and to hopefully extend the life of our septic tank. Much to my dismay there is one thing I cannot seem to give up: I drive a lot. Constantly.

A few years ago, I was without a car for two weeks. I rode my tryke everywhere.  Trips to the store were less frequent.  If I forgot to get sour cream for taco night, we had tacos sans sour cream. (I had hoped I would lose weight, but sadly I gained two pounds.)  I felt great about driving less.

The down side was I bought every things at the regular store because riding to the thrift store was a bit too much.  I couldn't make it to most of the farms I like to patronize.   One friend did give me a ride to a farm to get eggs so I bought 4 dozen.  Like a good poor person, she refused to take gas money so I bought her a stroller at a rummage sale the next week. Ahh, bartering.

Lately, I have been driving a lot. I have been taking the kids to museum or the aquarium, to see animals at various places that the Zoomobile visits, to farms to buy meat, to the skating rink an hour away.

There is a new thing to add to the list: the grocery store.  Yes, I have one within walking distance.  There is a smaller one slightly farther, and of course we have a Wal-Mart in town. I don't shop at Wal-Mart.  The smaller store is not open on Sundays when I do my main shopping.  They also don't have produce which is the bulk of what I buy on a weekly trip.

The main store at which I shop has been bought out by another company.  They upped their minimum wage to $9.50 and gave more people a week of vacation.   Sounds great, doesn't it?  But they also increased the prices of many things I buy.  They made some men trim their beards, and I am very pro-beard. They got rid of  overtime.  Everyone has to wear an ear piece now.  I have sympathy for people having something in their ear all day. It's annoying and distracting to have other voices in your ear all day.  I also get an ear ache when I use one.

A friend of mine has also noticed this.  She has similar feeling to me. We decided to drive 2 hours one way to a great store, Woodman's, once a month.  Their minimum wage is $11.50 or $12.50.  They also offer benefits. Their prices are great.  Their selection is fabulous.  They even have a wide selection of organic produce. We will also be going to Aldi when we take the kids skating once a month.

It's a lot of driving.  We carpool which helps, but I still feel guilty. But I suppose that is the price to pay to live in an area surrounded by lakes that provide fresh fish and wild rice as well as a home to many birds that my hubby hunts, woods that provide venison, small game and plenty of space to forage, as well as small family farms that produce pastured meats, fresh fruit, vegetables, honey, maple syrup, and hand made arts.

Darn it!

I am not picky about many things. But one of the things of which I am a snob is socks.  Yes, socks.

I was not always this way. I used to plain, white, cotton wear socks until there was little more than a few threads.  My toes stuck out at the top while my heals stuck out too. It honestly just didn't bother me.

Then I met J.  It was summer so socks were not a concern. As winter took over, my feet were always cold, with or without holes in my socks. J just looked at me and shook his head. He told me to wear wool socks. Wool socks? I had never seen them at Wal-Mart or Target. Where would I find said socks? He seemed baffled that I had never owned wool socks. I was shocked by his bafflement. Seriously, where are these wool socks?  In eighteen years, I had neither owned a pair nor known where to purchase them.

At the time J's mother, S, owned a store that sold high-end outdoor clothing.  For Christmas, I got wool socks. (And long underwear that were polyester which I found out is very important in choosing "longies" as I call them now.)  I was hooked! Now all my generic cotton socks seemed like little more than anemic impersonations of socks.

Fast forward a few years, and all those wool socks have holes in them just like my cotton socks.  J had always brought them to S who some how fixed them.  It was time to learn, and it proved to be easier than I thought.

1. Start with a sock with a hole in it.

2. Get a darning mushroom. If you are like most people living in 2016, you don't have one. That's ok; you can use many things. I use a mason jar. You just need something cylindrical that won't lose its shape when you apply pressure. You will also need yarn and a darning (tapestry) needle.

3. Insert the mushroom (or whatever you chose) into the sock turned inside out. 

                                       

4. Thread the needle and start to weave it into the sock. You will want to start next to the hole, not in the middle of it. 

5. For the next step, I used a different color for visual ease. Do they same thing in the opposite direction, weaving the yarn into the yarn already there. 

                                    

6. When I am done with that, I like to stitch a circle around your work area. Once I get back to the starting spot, I weave in and out of the stitches. 

                                       

7. Turn the sock the correct way and enjoy!

   

                                      

In Defense of Clutter

Many of the blogs and books I read are about people (some families, some couples, some singles) who are city mice trying moving to the sticks to become country mice.  I love to read about their adventures, accomplishments, projects, and mishaps.

One of the more common, if not the most common, project to do downsize.  People look around their home and think, "Do you really need all these things?" Honestly, no. People don't NEED much, but many things make our lives easier.

Our home is big, about 1700 sq. ft. without the 900 sq. ft.  basement.  We also have a garage that I think is a two car, but J insists that it's a 3 car.  He thinks if he didn't have all his wood and tools in there, it would fit 3 cars. I have my doubts. We also own a pole barn referred to as "the shed." It's a lot of space, and we use all of it.

My best friend, SC, has never seen my home. I have never seen hers either. We live 1000 miles apart. She  likes clean lines and clear counter tops so even though she has 2400 sq. ft. she often wants more space just so things don't feel so cluttered.  She has often asked me, "What do you have to put in all that space?"

Well a lot. We have 5 people in our home.  J's oldest son no longer lives here, but when he did, it was a household of 6. And we have taken in the some friends in time of need.

I also watch my friends' children in the summer. I have enough bikes for everyone who comes to our to play. I think we have 12. They are of varying sizes from toddler tricycle to adults bicycles and one (my) adult tricycle. We also have one of those bike trailers that little kids ride in. We don't just look at all our stuff. We use it.

People often come to home unprepared for outdoor play.  Have no fear: I have what you need!
*Some friends drove 400 miles to visit us and discovered their daughter only had nice shoes to wear. She also had no swim suit and it was summer. I had both.
*A group of friends came to play in winter. Not all had all the necessary clothes. I had plenty of extras.
*My friend's son outgrew his rain boots mid-season.  She came over and we went shopping in my basement. She found what she wanted and didn't need to spend $25 on new boots. She also didn't have to scour the thrift stores in our area to find rain boots size 8. I loaned them to her until her son out grows them. Then she will return them to me, and I will use them for the little girl I babysit.

That list could be almost endless.

Many of the men in my family (husband, dad, brother-in-law) do construction for a living.  They often build or remodel houses for people who are well off. They are the kind of people who simply get new appliances because the ones they have are old. They still work, but they are old.  We take them and store them in the shed.

When the oven that came with our home started to not hold temperature well, I simply went to the shed and got a different one. When the washing machine started to not spin well, out to the shed I went to get another one.

This past summer, we raised meat chickens. I was pretty excited. Butchering time came around, and I made mistakes and quickly corrected them. I learned to make pate and found out it is delicious! (Seriously, I hate liver, but if one simply adds enough butter and garlic, it's pretty good.)

Sadly, when cooking time came around, we were all disappointed. The birds were all tough and stringy. The solution? Cook them all in crock pot and can all the meat. So that is what I did.  I lined one of my counter tops with my large but short crock pots and cooked them.  When they were done, I pulled the meat off the bones and put it in a reused ice cream pail and put it in the fridge.  Then I took the bones and put them in tall crock pots, added water, and let that cook for a day or so to make delicious stock. I continued this process until all the chickens were cooked.

Once they were all cooked, it was canning day. My canner holds 20 pints at once.  This held most of the chicken.  In all I got 24 pints of chicken ready to eat. Then I canned the stock.  On it's own, it looked pretty anemic so I decided to cook it until it reduced to about 50% of what I started with. Now it looks so much better.

Why do I mention this in post about clutter? Well, most people couldn't do what I did because they only have one or two crock pots. I have 13. That seems ridiculous to most people. Not to me. I use them. I do have two that are the same size, but most vary in size and shape. They also vary in cooking  temps. I even have small owns that I use as air fresheners.

At this moment, I am cooking chicken bones in a tall, green vintage crock pot to make stock. In a tall white one I have a pork bone cooking also to make stock. In a shorter white crock pot, I have a (nitrate and nitrite free) ham cooking for dinner. In an oblong silver crock pot I got as a wedding gift, I have two beef bones cooking to make bone marrow custard (I have never made this recipe and am very excited about it). And a tiny one giving off the smell of Thieves Oil.

It might be trendy right now to downsize and purge, but I will stick to having all the things I (and my friends) need.

Fish Stock

Once of the many things I make and can is fish stock. I had been making it for a few years before I read a few cook books that have recipes for fish stock.  Although I don't add any spices or herbs to it, I felt pretty fancy for figuring out a recipe on my own.

Start with fresh fish. These happen to be crappies caught today by J.

Fillet them and they will look like this.

Remove the guts. If  you have birds, cats, or dogs, they will enjoy the treats. Other animals probably will too, but we have birds and cats. Also, I suppose you could save the livers to make pate, but they are so tiny, it would take too long to get enough to make it. But if you happen to have a lot of fresh foods (say, if you are on a very successful fish trip), it might be worth it. 

Take this whole part and either boil it now or put in a bag.  To that bag, add the skins and ribs. 

Put the bag in the freezer until you have enough to make stock. I usually use an old tortilla bag (I have never made a good home made tortilla); when it's full I put the scrap in a spaghetti pot. Fill it with water and boil. I tend to boil it for at least an hour. Strain it. Use it immediately, freeze it, or can it. I can it and use it to make fish chowder. 

To be honest, this will make your house stink. If you can make it outside, I highly recommend it.  I don't have an out door kitchen; so I usually make apology brownies when it's all done. 

Fillets. 

Cook, freeze, or can the fillets. 

Laundry Soap

I have read countless recipes for home made soaps of all kinds and have wanted to make soap for some time.  I was very nervous about using lye. I am very klutzy and worried I would get chemical burns or blind myself.

My first attempt at soap was a complete failure. I tried a crock pot recipe and nothing happened. 

On my second attempt, I actually made soap. Granted, I don't like it, but I made soap. I made it so long ago, I don't remember the recipe I used.  It doesn't matter since I don't like. I think I used beef tallow as the fat. I added no scent, but it has a mild scent. It's pretty soft, too soft to grate. 

For over a year, I have looked at this soap wondering what to do with it.  Finally I got the idea to make my own laundry soap out of it.  Google to the rescue again!  Compare and contrast. Compare and contrast. Once again, I decided to make my own recipe. 

I chopped up some soap and weighed it, 8.7 0z, 247 g. 

I added it to  a pot.

I added two quarts of water, heated it up, and stirred. 

Once the soap dissolved, I didn't like the texture. It was too thin. Chop chop chop.  Weigh, 6.1 oz./173 g. Add. Mix. Wait.  This time I walked away too long and it boiled. 

While I was away, I got a 5 gallon bucket and scrubbed it out. I filled it about 30-40% full with hot water,  added a box of borax, and mixed it all up. I poured the soap-water mixture into the bucket and stirred again.  Hopefully, this works. I will report back once I do laundry. 

Breastmilk Lotion

I had been having some skin issues and mentioned it to a friend for whom I babysit. She jokingly said, "Too bad you still don't have any breastmilk."  She was referring to her breastmilk that I kept for her daughter.

I said, "Actually, I do." She thought it was odd that I kept the breastmilk after he daughter was weened, but she also knows I hate to get rid of things that have value. She suggested I use that. Why hadn't I thought of that? I don't know. It's very strange that I hadn't since I used my breastmilk while I was lactating on my dry skin.

So last night, I jumped on the internet and googled "breastmilk lotion."  I found a few recipes.  I had some ingredients from each recipe, but I never had fall the ingredients for any of them.  I compared them and made up my own recipe.

1/4 c. cocoa butter
6 oz. breast milk
1 T. safflower oil

Of course, I forgot to take pictures of the process. I generally don't take pictures of what I do so it taking some getting used to.

I thawed the breast milk. I cut off a chunk of cocoa butter and put it in a double boiler. I wanted 1/4 cup and didn't have enough in there. So I added more. I got what I wanted and added it to the milk. I used an immersion blender to mix them together and put it in the fridge. About an hour later, I checked it. I still had chunks of cocoa butter in it  making it not smooth. I added 1 T. of safflower oil and returned it to the fridge.

The first thing I did this morning was try it. It is very thin for a lotion especially a homemade lotion which are usually very thick and too heavy for my face.  This is perfect.  It smells like a delicious chocolate. I put some on my face. I love it. I love it. I love it.

Garbage

I hate garbage. I hate the idea that something will sit in a landfill forever doing nothing productive. I cringe when I see people throwing recyclables or compostables in the garbage.  I have been known to actually pick things out of other people's garbage, bring them home, and put them in the right receptacle.  Yes, I get weird looks; I really don't care.

In our house, we have very little "garbage." I find a use for a lot of thins most people simply toss.
Some people compost. If they have a food item that cannot be composted, it goes in the trash. Not us. *Our rabbits get fruit/veggie scraps. (Check on line before giving rabbits any food.)
*We save our onion skins in a gallon freezer bag for naturally dying Easter eggs.
*Veggie scraps (that the rabbits can't eat such as lettuce cores, peels, broccoli stumps, etc.) also get saved in a  gallon freezer bag for making veggie stock.
*Veggie water (water in which you cooked vegetables) gets saved in an ice cream bucket in the freezer until it is full. I use this water to boil the above mentioned veggie scraps for veggie stock.
*Meat/Egg scraps get fed to the cat.
*Egg shells get dried and ground up for gardening.
*Stale bread gets made into croutons.
*Food scraps that the rabbits can't eat, and for which  we have no other use) get fed to the chickens.

Then there are things that are not food but must be dealt with.
*Metallic chip bags  saved for wrapping paper.
*Glass jars tend to be saved for storing left overs as I am trying to phase out plastic containers.
*Plastic bags get put in their appropriate bag in the stair well as mentioned in a previous post.

Whenever we eat meat with bones in it (which is most of the time), I cook the bones and fat in a slow cooker for about a day. It makes wonderful stock. When I am done canning the stock,  we set the bones next to the compost and wild birds and our chickens pick them clean.

When J brings home fish, he cleans them. The guts are a much appreciated treat for the chickens. I keep the carcasses in an old ice cream bucket in the freezer. When it is full, I boil them to make fish stock. Admittedly, this has an awful odor. Once I strain everything out, the stock gets canned and the rest goes to the birds, another much appreciated treat.

J also water foul hunts. We know a man who happily takes the large flight feathers for making fishing tackle.   The rest of the feathers get composted. Some people say you shouldn't do that, but we do and have had no problems. I scrape the fat and render it down. From the offal, we eat the heart (usually that day) and the liver (for pate).   Oddly enough, even though our cat hunts and eats her prey, she won't eat any of the left over offal. The rest of the guts we give to the chickens. They eat a good deal of it.

Appliances and random things destined for the trash, J takes apart. The metal parts get taken to the recycling place for money. The non-metal parts hopefully get put in the regular recycling been; if not, then they go in the garbage.

Everything else, which isn't much,  goes in the garbage. We only use a bathroom sized garbage can  which is lined with old grocery bags in our kitchen.  We usually take the garbage out every 24-36 hours.

Plastic Bags

Almost everyone I know has a stash of plastic bags some where in their home.  If you don't, I hope that is due to the fact that you simply don't use them and not because you just toss them in the trash.

When I shop, I try to remember to bring my reusable bags. I do on occasion forget.  Lately, when this happens, I ask for paper. If the store is really busy and they have already started bagging the groceries in plastic, I just take the plastic. I so use them in garbage cans for the house and in the car so I don't worry too much.

I really dislike throwing plastic bags in the garbage and our garbage removal company says not put them in the recycling container. So what does one do with all those other plastic bags that end up in your home? What does one do with all the ripped plastic bags?

I organize them, label, and store them in the basement stair well.
*I keep a big bag of plastic bags that have no rips and can be used as garbage bags.
*I keep a small bag of small plastic bags that are too small for the garbage but you never know when you need a small bag.
*I keep a bag of bags that have holes in them.  This bag also hold all the sandwich bags that are no longer usable. I simply cut off the seal and put them in with the other bags. When the bag is full (and I remember), I take them to the grocery store and recycle them there.
*I keep a bag of bags that intentionally has holes in it, like grape bags.
*I keep a bag of bags that are  resealable and meant to be disposable, like the kind of bags in which shredded cheese comes.  I have been trying to use these instead of buying more resealable bags. Does it really make sense to throw out the cheese bag and then buy sandwich or quart size bags? Not in my mind.
*I keep a bag of bread and bagel bags.

Wrapping Paper: Why Buy It?

This year while wrapping presents, we ran ran out of wrapping paper.  Yes, we have gift bags some where. Where exactly, I didn't know, and I was not about to search for them. What to use? Newspapers? It was a possibility, but not very fun to look at. We had a bunch of paper grocery bags I had been saving for an art project so I got some down from their perch. I cut them so they would be flat and removed the thick bottom section. After I wrapped each present, the kids drew pictures on each one.

A few days after Christmas, we had some friends over. They brought with them some bagged popcorn, and when the bag was empty (like normal people) they threw it out. Can you  imagine: just throwing out a non-reusable, non-resealable bag?

I have a hard time throwing things away; I don't like to waste. So I removed the bottom seam from the bag and cut along the tear that was already in the bag. Then I washed the bag.

I plan to use it for wrapping paper. We don't buy  a lot of things that come in bags like this. At least, I don't think we do. My plan is to save them through out year. It will be interesting to see how many we accumulate. I do plan to ask my friends for their bags when we are at a function together like a picnic or beach day.  I don't think I will be lacking when presents need to be wrapped this year.

Want to save money on cleaning supplies?  Read on.

When I was pregnant with my son, I loved the smell of cleaning agents. I would walk down the cleaning isles at the store for fun and smell  the different scents, especially the laundry detergent. What wonderful sounding names, "Mountain Breeze," " Lavender Fields," "Clean Linen," "Spring Rain."  They all sounded so beautiful, and they all smelled great.  

After my son was born, I started to think about all the chemicals in those cleaning agents. Did I really want all those unpronounceable concoctions near my new baby? No, I didn't. So I stopped buying them.  I  don't buy many cleaning supplies anymore.

For windows, I  use a bucket of soapy water and a rag. Some times, I use vinegar, but I don't like the smell.  Some essential oil can be added to the vinegar for a different scent.

For cleaning the bathroom or kitchen sink, I use a mixture of dish soap and baking soda.

For cleaning the hood above the stove, I again use baking soda.

For general dusting, I either use dish soap in a bucket of hot water or I substitute the dish soap for Murphy's Oil.  I have read that olive oil can substituted for Murphy's Oil, but I have never been happy with the results.

I do still buy dish soap and laundry detergent. I would like to make my own, but so I have not been happy with any of my results. (I use "soap" and "detergent" inter-changably even though I know better.)  For my dishes, I make sure the soap is not anti-bacterial. For laundry, I go for a scent free. I have been experimenting with essential oils, but so far I have not found a combination I like. I also keep a small bottle of bleach on hand for things that MUST be bleached.

For cutting boards, I wash them as usual then  I spray peroxide on them followed by a vinegar spray.

What does that leave me with? Dish and laundry detergent, bleach, vinegar, baking soda, and some Murphy's Oil.

Even after filling up the dishwasher and doing dishes by hand (I am done doing dishes when the clean   side is full), I still have dishes left. Many of my friends can't sleep until all the day's dishes are washed. Dirty dishes have no such power of over so they will get washed with the breakfast dishes. 

So here is the mess I made just making dinner (spaghetti and sausage) and dessert (cupcakes). The cupcakes were a new recipe and a bit messy. Otherwise, spaghetti doesn't usually cause such a mess. And, it's not all from dinner; there are some dishes left over from throughout the day.

One of the homesteading skills I really enjoy is canning. It is a lot of work; it takes time and energy, but when all is done, you have food. I am lucky enough to have a large basement and a husband who can build shelves. This is not one season's worth of work.  This is years of work and learning. 

When we bought our home in 2008, we had a small "pantry" in the basement. It consisted of 6 or 7 shelves about 3.5 feet wide and about 2 feet deep.  I thought, "If I could fill these shelves with home canned food, I would be happy." Seven years later and those shelves have been replaced by second-hand and homemade shelves that take up about a quarter of our basement. 

Well what's in all those jars you ask? I can many things: stocks (ham, chicken, pork, beef, fish, vegetable, venison, duck, goose, and rabbit), meat (all the things listed previously), peaches, applesauce, pears,  peppers, ginger tea, greens, salsa, tomatoes,  beets, beans, pickles,  lard, bacon grease, duck fat, goose fat, jam, (oddly enough no jelly), marinades, croutons, spaghetti sauce, and soup. I probably forgot a few things. 

As it is winter, canning has slowed down a bit, but I will post when I can some thing. I will try to take pics during the process so you can see how messy things can be.

I generally do not enjoy homesteading blogs that only include pics of things that go right. Their "messes" still seem pretty and quaint. Not mine. They are real, and I hope to share them with you.