i got the fever................ WARNING PHOTO heavy

spring fever it would seems......AGAIN
so these thankfully were on sale at homedepot.....i got three and really would have liked to get more (light blue, a clear purply purple and a white with yellow)--- they looked healthy and are loaded with buds..so they're here now---i have to repot the old ones i have..... and i am going to see about a pebble tray for them
meanwhile we're bracing for a storm..... up to 8'' of snow possible overnight tonight-20 with windchill

i am still wanting a terrarium, but maybe i'll do a water one...... with water plants instead of tropical?
now for today's look back to the archives humor post.......HERE
it is so appropriate for today as it happened during this time of year.....
in painting news.....the quail painting is progressing

oh and...... we have a new duckling..... she is about 3 months old, and had damage to her foot with the extreme cold ......so she came here to live.... bernie is torn about it.....he feels bad for her but at the same time, doesn't want another duck
she's very very scared..... she saw her nestmate/brother get dispatched and processed right before she came. they don't forget that.
so she's resting in her crate..... today i have to bath her and clip her wings
i think she'll be ok, and if i could only convince one of the girls to accept her we'll be great.....it would be best if the younger girls accepted her.....as she is their niece
and we're going to need a name for her i think.....no?

in cooking......i am working my way through chopmeat, (1.99 a pound at giants- i got about 20 pounds and then they ran out...so i got a raincheck too)

chili
meatloaf
salisbury steak
enchiladas

all for the freezer

ok everyone....those who are facing this storm......stay warm and safe
those who aren't
enjoy your week
i am going to start cooking now while watching the snow get heavier

take good care......

today's funny.....

today's blast from the past funny post

and before i forget it

HAPPY NEW YEARS
i wish you all a happy, healthy, magical, dream fore-filled new year
i wish you laughter, love, cheesecake, icecream and lots of interesting memories made
i wish you good books, good friends, and a good many sunny days

see you in the new year......

some humor from the archives

http://notashyviolet.blogspot.com/2005/02/how-did-shrew-get-in-attic.html
Saturday, February 12, 2005

How did a SHREW get in the attic?

We had a shrew in the attic, not like in Shakespeare's 'Taming of the Shrew' but a real live dead shrew..... sort of a mole like creature, which I thought lived underground or at least NEAR the ground. But no we found one in the attic.
ok well rather Bernie found one in the attic.
He brought it down and informed me ' I don't think it is a mouse' .........ya think?
no it wasn't a mouse.
and it stank................ badly........
(stunk? what ever is the verb for that....is it a verb? gees it is a long time since I had grammer and such)

We wrapped it in napkins and plastic bag for a coffin and unceromoniously dumped it in the garbage.
The Laperm's were VERY interested in the garbage after that but fortunately, lacking opposable thumbs so far have not figured out how to get into the kitchen covered can. ( say that three times fast...... with coffee in your mouth....go ahead......I DARE you hahaha don't blame me if you do however)

Ok that all leads up to the actual point of this story, ( and yes you smart ass I actually DO have a point)

The nice man with the last meal bucket will be coming today to help escort any other rodent beings that have entered our home in the two months prior to his visit, to the pearly gates of rodent heaven

Now before you send me hate mail about rodent right to life. Let me assure you that for 15 of the 19 years we have lived in this little stone house in the woods..... we have not bothered the uninvited mouse guests. Indeed we have unwittingly FED the little buggers, cat food, bird seed, cookies, bread, my good dress shoes........... candles........ you name it
I repeated would stand in different rooms and ask the mice to please vacate the premeses as we couldn't really all live happily ever after with dancing rodents........giving birth to 5 bazillion babies an hour...... I did not want a sign over our home with the quote........over '5 million mice sold' to paraphrase a famous yellow arch.
Needless to say the mice turned a deaf ear. Mice know a good deal when they land in it.

Ok so what changed my mind?

well you all know I make soap right? cp or cold processes soap.........
well now you do know
and so do the mice
I make great soap
Mice like soap
Mice EAT soap
that cuts into profits
and then the laperms started to catch the mice and kill them
in light of those two facts, plus we would have dizzy dancing mice in the kitchen when the laperms CAUGHT the mice but didn't finish the deed........
so the mice had to go
we made sure they have a wonderful last meal..... from the sounds of it..... it is mouse thanksgiving.
the attic is littered with mouse skeletons
and tiny mouse ghosts too I would imagine, but maybe not as they all seem to be very happy up there.
And today because of the shrew, the baits will be renewed.......
and more mice will go to the light
til next time
vi
ps: please send all hate mail toidontgivearatsass@whatdoyoumean.com

where in we talk about some odds and ends

HERE is today's funny post from the past (once a week on tuesdays normally ok?)
i've been thinking, while we test our 'emergency preparedness system'

besides not having enough milk for drinking, (we do have nonfat dry and some *not many* cans) 

we also don't have 'don't feel deprived' things

like that great sale on lightfast colored pencils we missed due to unexpected bills...

although i have a stash of yarn, and beads

and i have made double sure i have water color paper put by

i've been thinking, i need to stash gift cards to the art supply, yarn, grocery...... 

and not the cc/debit prepaid cards......cause they charge you a fee...and they charge the merchant a fee (that sure doesn't seem right to me......what do you think?)

but mostly STORE gift cards do not charge a fee nor do they expire....and most have either an e-card or free shipping on the gift card itself

i am so adding that to the list, along with dried whole milk, dried eggs, and a few other odds and ends

(and a LARGE cold frame-wired over to thwart the damn squirrels that ate most of my winter crops this year)

a fast pantry note, if you are working on a pantry, please let me know either by email (see the email me thingie up on the right?) or in comments,

cause if you need specific questions answered chances are good i either have the information or can direct you to were you can find the information.

these days, frugal is the new 'in' thing.....so is frugal green....both very good things. 

also buying local and from small companies.... to folks local to us (no matter where in the world you live)

we live very frugally here, for us at times it has been a necessity and at times it's been a choice, even when we didn't need to.... frugal has bad press but we decided that we could and should live a bit lighter on the earth......

and i want to pay that idea forward (so ask any questions on 'how to' )

ok this will post tomorrow morning

so good morning!

for me it's actually monday afternoon, and i am rooting around in the house looking for shells to paint

take good care

vi

how to make stock, more pantry notes

here is a past post for you to laugh over, it's from when Thaddeaus Peabody was young (we all know and love the little devil cat from hell right?)
it's called 'are you sure you are a cat'

a bit more pantry notes:
essentials- things like baking soda and baking powder, salt, herb/spices, sugar, flour, various oils and flavorings, rice, pasta, cocoa, jello,  home canned pickles.....things like that
things we need every day, i try to always have a backup on the shelf. i occasionally do run out but it's pretty rare now.
i have a list for this too.
i also have a smallish cabinet for some of this
now if you have your list of meals, this list, and an idea of what you'd like put by, we can talk about what type of freezer containers for the meals, and jars for either the dried stuff and the home canned stuff.
i use a vacuum sealer, freezer containers, and currently for the milk i froze, empty spring water bottles. (those are for short term freezing of milk)

for the emergency pantry, i keep actual cooked meals in the freezer and home canned jars of foods such as stews, that really helped during the power outage we had with hurricane sandy. i was able to reheat food on the wood stove. *** i use the OLD corning ware that can go on the stovetop and in the oven, not the french white stuff that is not stove top safe

the turkey stock i froze the other day, is in quart round freezer containers, labeled with the month/year and the type stock 'turkey' ....
if you get into the habit of every time you make a chicken or a turkey, and you use the leftover carcass to make stock, you shouldn't ever have to worry about having stock in the freezer again.

*** a fast way to make stock- you can reroast the carcass or bones to make the stock a darker color, but i don't always do that...i do however scrap the 'fond' out of the bottom of the roasting pans, and i save ALL the leftover juices for the stock.

fill a stockpot with cold water, add the carcass or bones, and if you want to use them, vegetables such as onion or leek, carrot, garlic, celery, and possibly if you like the taste a parsnip.
(save the parsley and or dill for later on in the cooking process)
simmer for a few hours, adding water if you have to
if you do salt, (i don't usually) use kosher salt, as the taste is better i think.

don't be afraid to taste your stock, and also if you need to ....let it simmer down and concentrate it to save room.
when it's finished, strain out the bones, and the veggies.....
you can put it in the fridge overnight then remove any fat layer that's on the top, but i do keep some fat with the stock...... as my dad used to say, 'you need some of the fat' turns out he was right, as there are fat soluble vitamins in it!

stock in the freezer is something i've always done, i've also canned stock for the pantry
that is done in a pressure canner at 10# for my elevation, 15 minutes.

i am also hoping to get around to listing some of the books i love for canning, dehydrating, and putting food by.
plus maybe a list of some of the varieties of veggies i grow for freezing and canning...
if you are interested please let me know.

now the other thing i wanted to tell you folks, i am thinking of moving the blog to wordpress, i've been with blogger for about ten years now, and i am thinking that it's time to move on
i have over 1600 posts here, some useful, some funny, some just daily life, and a few vents on when stuff goes wrong.
right now i am extremely disappointed in google, and blogger so i am going to think seriously about this
if i move to wordpress, it would be a paid website hosting due to the sheer size of the this blog,
which means i would also have to really decide to actively make this a job. that is in addition to painting...... i think i could do both interchangeably
if you have any opinions on this let me know ok?

til next time

vi

a blast from the past..

i have been sending links to some of the really funny posts from my blog to a friend of mine, periodically to make her laugh.

she's had a rough year with some really serious losses, and it's the least i can do to make her laugh for a second or two.

i thought maybe some of you folks would like a laugh too, because there are times during the holiday season and throughout the year that you just need to laugh, to read something funny or silly. so i was sort of thinking about how to do that.... i was going to set up a page and then tag the posts (i am still going to tag the posts) 

but i realized that maybe i needed to do it regularly? 

now the first link i sent to my friend was this one "i come by it honestly"

it is about the time my parents got stuck in my front door.

i swear sometimes i needed a laugh track for parts of my life

this was was pretty funny. (and if you do go and read it, and find it funny let me know- it is a true story, and still cracks me up- my family was nuts i swear.....)

now i need to come with a tag for the old funny posts, so if you have any ideas let me know.

comments are open.... (HINT HINT)

next up, a continuation of the current painting in progress, (the other day i showed you the layout, now there is the beginnings of the first color washes on it)- i know i like to see how things progress and i thought maybe you folks would like it too-- i won't be able to paint on it as much as i would normally, due to the ongoing work on getting the first nest series, the bird series etc ready to list on etsy. 

i am trying so hard with that. it's taking longer then i thought as i have to keep stopping for either camera battery recharging or other unavoidable things. but i am continuing. - i have also found unbendable mailers for the prints. 

i found a way to do them as cards as well, but the cards would have a retail of about 3.00 each, so i am not sure (the kickstarter i was working on last year, priced the cards out to be affordable as sets, but that was from a large volume order through a local printer, not done in the studio)

detail of painting

ok .....in knitting news, i am working on the vine lace pattern, and am reduced to counting after i work every single row!- it's ok though as i still find it relaxing,......although it would be better if i didn't have to. counting however is better then tinking (knitting backwards) ** if you want to knit this stitch it's in one of the walker treasuries, let me know and i'll dig it out

now this post i am typing at night, it's actually monday the 2, but it'll post in the morning. tomorrow while you are having your coffee, i will be slaving away over the hot lights, shooting more photos of my work. (apparently doing that correctly is an art in itself)

anyhow let me know if you enjoy that archived post, because then i'll put more links up to the funniest posts (funny stuff seems to go in cycles around here..... the latest cycle is more creative as opposed to funny but the funny cycle will return, it always does)

take good care

until next time

vi