Friday Frenzy

Another day, another game plan that is destined for modification on the fly!  There is are many things I NEED to get done and even more I WANT to do.  I really need a Time Turner, I think.  Maybe a wee bit more "me" time on the internet first (Damn you, Pinterest!), then I'll get going.

Primary on the agenda: housework.  Doing laundry and trying to size down the family wardrobe; WAY too many clothes!   Time for me to give up the battle with many of my shirts too.  I'm hell on clothes, being a messy creative type in both Kitchen and Craft, so many of my tops are stained beyond belief and there really is no saving them.  Boo is growing so dang fast, she hasn't even been able to wear many of the adorable outfits she has before they are too small.  I swear she has Amazonian genes and I blame The Husbeast.  That family grows them big!

Thinking maybe some Lentil soup in the crock pot for dinner later.  I have some small french bread rolls in the freezer that would be quite tasty with it.  Hmmm, have to check to make sure I have some lentils.  It would be a good excuse to crack open a quart of my tasty basil tomatoes that we canned too.  Win/Win!  I keep planning on making some Cowboy cookies, but by the time I have the time and space free, I'm just plain worn out and achy.  Maybe tonight will be the night.  I can have Spud and Boo help out.  I think it would be a fun family activity (so sayeth Mom until the clean-up comes lol).  Ever the optimist, I guess.

I'd also like to carve out some time later for a bit of crafty fun.  There are Pocket Goddess I want to sculpt, my Tarot bag to finish knitting, and a winter hat for Boo to crochet.  I wonder...if I hide in the basement under the pile of laundry, do you think I can score a few minutes to myself?  Hmm, it bears consideration.

I definitely need to schedule some meditative down time.  My inner temple is in horrible need of dusting and cob web clearing.  It's no fit place for neither man, nor beast, let alone the divine spark.

Well, time to get cracking!  This household isn't going to manage itself.

Later, Darklings!

Food Preservation Is An Addiction

The Husbeast gave me the best Yule present ever this past holiday season:  A vintage 16 quart Magic Seal pressure canner!  (oh and the Presto 7 piece canning accessory kit)

Picture from the E-bay auction, pre-cleaning

Since then we have been canning meat and veggies like crazy!  In fact, we had to raid my mother's old canning supplies since we ran out and had more canning to do.  This actually worked out well, since she feels she is far too busy to be doing canning anymore and we promised her we'd share our tasty bounty with here whenever she wanted.  Win/Win!

We have some pickles, cabbage, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, stew beef, ground beef, pork chunks, chicken chunks, and pounds and pounds of BACON all canned up and shining with yummy goodness.  I will admit, I giggle a little when I look in my cupboards or in the basement pantry and see these wonderful filled jars standing in rows.

Next to these tasty treasures are jars of dehydrated vegetables.  Our food dehydrator is another wonderful kitchen implement I don't know how we ever did without!  Pull out a handful of veggies, soak for a bit, cook them up, and it tastes damn near fresh!  Even the corn tastes just like you cut it off the cob.  So good!

Product photo.  Ours has additional trays

I still want to find an old cast iron meat grinder, a grain mill, apple peeler/corer, Popcorn air popper, and a vacuum sealer to help finish up my "must have in the kitchen" list.

I feel proud that I am making a healthy change for my family.  With the dehydrator and the addition of the canner, we can have "convenient" foods on hand, but without all the unhealthy additives and preservatives.  No unpronounceable ingredients on the menu, just good food.

Is it wrong that I get such a delight out of hearing the wonderful PING! of jars sealing?

If it is, I don't want to be right!

Later, Darklings!

Happy New Year! Or How Freedom Dies

A new year, new challenges, and new discoveries to make!

I was feeling pretty good about the start of 2012.  I spent new years eve with a good friend and my family (excepting The Spud, who was enjoying another weekend with Nana), gaming, snacking, and laughing.  Much fun and frivolity was had.  I awoke with the awareness of a fresh new year to celebrate and, if need be, conquer. Rawr!

Then I did my morning internet ritual:  Checking e-mail, reading blogs, perusing Facebook updates.  Then it hit me.  A link to an article on Natural Health News :

R.I.P. Bill of Rights 1789 - 2011

Kind of an eye catcher and hear stopper, isn't it?  Despite promises that he would veto the NDAA, President Obama signed it on New Years Eve.  Yes, while most Americans were ensconced in merriment and revelry to celebrate the passing of the old year, our president was violating his oath of office and committing treason against the very nation he is, allegedly, in place to serve.  Happy new year indeed, but for whom?

Now, unlike many American citizens, I like to keep in the know about what our government is doing both at home and abroad and I have been horrified since this Bill was first brought to light.  I've written my Congressmen repeatedly about it, hoping to appeal to some sense of sanity.  They all blew me off with the standard tag-line: "It doesn't apply to U.S. citizens, just terrorists".  Ah, but that is either a bald face lie, or they are COMPLETELY ignorant of the legislation they are voting on.  I am very proficient in reading comprehension; I'm a damn bibliophile for Bob's sake!  I've read, re-read, read it to others, talked about it, researched it, and did everything possible to make sure I wasn't misunderstanding the text.  Nope. I was right and it hurts to be thus.  We have been sold out.

I'm still in a state of shock and horror.  I knew it was coming, but the eternal optimist inside kept hoping that  intelligence and justice would win out.  Well, it's readily apparent that neither exist in Washington D.C..

Our country, our people, & our freedom have been violated.  The NDAA is an illegal piece of legislation and everyone who endorsed, and/or signed it, is a traitor to our nation and enemy of the state (legally speaking).

I wonder, though, how many people will even notice.  After all, they can't be bothered to put down their iToys long enough, nor turn off the pseudo-reality television, and keep themselves informed.  Major news media doesn't touch the real issues and is an exceedingly bad joke.  I guess when friends and family start disappearing without a trace and people start feeling like nameless extras in a WW2 era flick, someone might take a moment and say: "Hey, somethings not right here.  What's going on?", right before they themselves become one of the missing.

Oh, did you know Russell Brand and Katy Perry are getting divorced?  How about Andrew Lloyd Webber and his claim that the Olympics will hit theaters?  OMG, Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol grossed over $35 Million at the box office this weekend, totally trumping Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.  Wow, Beyonce may be ready to give birth!  I gotta go, I have to check to see what's trending on Twitter before I'm out of the loop! 

Later Darklings!