Pickled

When you have a blog about doing things, you wind up taking a LOT of photos while you do things. In my mind I have formulated so many posts, but hardly find the time to post them. Here are a couple of pickling images I found while I was cleaning up files today.

Canning is hard work, but fun to do with friends. Robin came over a couple of times to help with canning tomatoes and cucumbers. The tomatoes were not from our co-op garden, but rather from her neighbor that had extra Better Boys. The cucumbers, however, are most certainly from the garden. How they will taste when we open up the jars is yet to be discovered, since we had a variety that we suffer through the bitterness at the table. The two jars that we have sampled have been very tasty, but not "spicy" as the label indicated. Our jalapeños were so unpredictable this year!

So far we've thoroughly enjoyed the pickles. The only jar so far that didn't taste spectacular was a "questionable" batch of very bitter cukes that we took a risk on. They didn't get enough moisture in the garden, or got too much heat (or both!). Either way, no bueno. Now we know!

My Favorite Autumn Skin Savers!

This dry fall weather is already showing up on my skin. You know, the tell-tale signs of sandpaper fingers and dry (very, very dry) legs. So I'm beefing up my moisturizing! Here are a couple of things that have really helped me, as well as sticking to a night-time routine. Just a hint, if you click on the images or links it will take you to where you can buy it, or see more information on the product.

My favorite face oil has recently come from Everyday Minerals. I am loving this oil, which doesn't stay greasy on my face, and has the same healing effects as the Flexitol, but without the fragrance. I've used this in the morning by itself, spot treatment on top of my Daily Moisturizer, and as a night time moisturizer. Let's remember people, more oil balance in your skin means less wrinkles. As my skin dries out with age, I'm realizing that trying to stop the oily days of my 20s was detrimental to my skin.

Sometimes when I don't have time to wash my face (or I'm traveling), I use a Burt's Bees combo that I love. The Facial Cleansing Towelettes smell nice and fresh, my skin feels cool and a bit tingly for a bit, then I moisturize with the Night Cream. My face feels so nice the next morning!

 

Hype or no hype, the fact is that coconut oil is... an oil. It IS from nature, and this organic extra virgin version is free of chemicals and added nonsense. It's edible. It's topical. I use this instead of body lotion, as well as spot treatment for dry areas on my face. The tough part is when the room is cold and the coconut oil is a solid, so I have to scrape up bits to warm in my hand from wayyy at the bottom of the container. Time for a new container!

Ooh, did I mention that this is one of my subscribe and save items on amazon? It comes in a 2-pack and I instantly have one for the kitchen, and one for the bathroom!

Last, but certainly not least... The amazing-phenomenal-breath of fresh air-hand salve to save the day! I carry this in my purse and use it on my hands, elbows, legs, feet, neck, ears, yada yada yada. I LOVE THIS STUFF.

Spell, read, write, learn vocabulary, and discuss character.

Who knew inspiration could come from Hello Kitty?

My daughter's mealtime activity book has a page that tells the child to "Think of words that describe Hello Kitty and start with the letters that make up her name." Then, it asks to do the same for your own name. It became an amazing opportunity for her to practice spelling, writing, and learning new vocabulary. Not only that, but it really gave her a nice character boost at breakfast -- you can't go wrong having a positive discussion about who she is, what she sees in herself, and what I see in her.

As you can see, I let her spell on her own, as well as helped with other words when she asked for assistance.

I also began to see it as a good exercise for adults that need a reminder of the positive characteristics that have been developed in maturity. Why not be playful in thinking of good adjectives? I recall going to a women's event at church where they asked us to write a descriptive word above our own names on our name tag. It had to be an alliteration, so that made it extra tough. Try it sometime, and try to stay positive. It can be fun, exposing, difficult, liberating, and easy, ALL at the same time.

I know most of you don't have Hello Kitty activity books, but I think it's easy enough to take a blank piece of paper, write your child's name vertically, and be free to be generous with the adjectives. If you need some help with some words, or need inspiration, take a look at Galatians 5:22-23.

Love it or leave it.

I've had many conversations in the past few months that have led to questions about products that I like to use at home. I've directed some folks to my "Products I Use" page, but I have decided to add things to an amazon store to give readers a better glimpse of the products and pricing. I don't have an exhaustive selection, but it's a start! Please don't hesitate to ask questions about any of the products and I can publish any type of review that you like.

The most recent addition is a supplement that I've had questions about recently. I've literally spoken to 4 people about it in the last week, so I thought it was time to post it here for future reference...

I was searching for a meal supplement that would help with some "in between meal needs." I discovered that I needed extra protein, a bit of sugar, and it would be nice to include some digestive help. Enter Amazing Grass Amazing Meal. Organic chocolate to boot!

Check out Page 2 of my aStore for a direct link to the product.