75 Extraordinary Uses for Baking Soda

Found this little tidbit, 75 Extraordinary Uses for Baking Soda, on lifehackery.com and thought I'd share. Hope this finds you well!

Hangin' out at Historic Boone Tavern in Berea, Kentucky

Built in 1909, Boone Tavern's historic status is reason enough for a visit but their recently acquired status as an LEED Gold Certified Green Hotel gives them even more to crow about. And having a nice parking spot reserved up front for green vehicles was a nice touch too.

Way back when, Hubby and I stayed at Boone Tavern in Berea, Kentucky, to celebrate our 1st wedding anniversary. This time around we were celebrating our 30th! We try to make some little jaunt every year around this time to commemorate our "I DOs." Last year, we sashayed to San Diego, but this year I was feeling nostalgic and wanted to revisit Boone Tavern and Berea. Wasn't a hard sell...Hubby loves this place too!

Smaller 1st Floor Lobby

Time to check in...once we ditched our luggage, we were frequent flyers on these stairs.

2nd Floor Lobby. Just out the window is one of the Berea College buildings.

No plastic entry card around here--only an actual KEY will get you into this joint! With only a two night stay, there was no need for maid service. Just a small, painless concession to green living.

Our room was t-tiny but plenty big for us. (We're used to a full-sized bed. They have larger beds of course, and those rooms are larger.) All the furniture in the rooms is "handcrafted cherry, oak, and pine furniture made by Berea College Student Crafts over the past 100 years."

Our room package came with breakfast vouchers for the restaurant, so I couldn't talk Hubby into eating our lunches or dinners at the Tavern. Of course, that didn't keep me from sampling their desserts in the comfort of our own room!

Soo, where should we go next year for our anniversary weekend? Any ideas?

Minimal animal protein and dairy for life--can she do it?

Made spaghetti recently with only a 1/4 pound of Italian sausage, and Hubby didn't even notice I'd reduced the meat! Had enough leftovers to make chili, and since it was chock full of black beans, onions and peppers, Hubby didn't even notice that there was VERY minimal meat. Any time I make chili or other casual, stain-producing meals I use our oldies-but-goodies cloth napkins. BTW, Grandbaby serenaded us during this lunch with her baby drum--that girl can jam! ;)

My most recent pot of Potato Soup contained only scant pieces of chicken from the homemade broth made from the carcass of my most recent Roasted Chicken (a variation of this one). Actually, the majority of our meals contain minimal meat, except for the first night of eating a newly roasted chicken or smoked pork loin, for instance. My challenge will be to keep Hubby from eating mega meat on those first nights, to spread the animal proteins even further. Aside from any health benefits, no doubt this challenge will save us money!

Oh, yes, I DID eat my chocolate ice cream with peanut butter mixed in while in my car with a copy of The China Study glaring up at me! The kinda folks who praise this book are impressive, to say the least, including a Nobel Prize winner. Not even finished with the book, I am convinced that eating MINIMAL animal proteins/eggs and MINIMAL dairy is the way to go for optimum health. (Starting right after eating this free ice cream gotten with a previous purchases reward card!)

A BIG Thank You!
Thanks, Yummy Little Cooks, for thinking me Liebster Award worthy! Of course, her lovely, absolutely yummy site would definitely make my short list of the blogs with less than 200 followers that I enjoy immensely. (Never got around to becoming a "follower" of any blog; I subscribe to folks' RSS feeds.) I have a tough time making lists because I hate leaving anyone out, so very many of you edu-entertain me. I will have to name another five very soon!

1. Yummy Little Cooks (Like my own private cooking school with glimpses into an exotic cuisine.)
2. Minting Nickels (Dunno how many followers Lindy has, but she makes me laugh while reminding me of my goal to save $$.)
3. Simply Self Sufficiency (Becky mixes frugal, simple living with preparedness.)
4. Sue's Garden Journal (When I visit Sue's site, I feel like I'm looking over the shoulder of a master gardener.) 
5. Living a Little Greener (Bruise Mouse offers a little bit of everything. Always worth a visit.)

   Time to close this post and go read an intriguing article over on Organic Soul's site: Fighting Your Nature Deficiency: Tips for Natural Health. Oh, and I cannot wait to try this recipe over on Seasaltwithfood's site: Baked Potato Skins Pepperoni Pizza. Where are you headed next??

Boomerang stuff interferes with my journey to minimalism

How am I supposed to become a minimalist when DD keeps bringing back stuff that we'd given to her? When DD went off to university, we furnished her condo with stuff collected over the years. These rainbow glasses I'd bought at an auction for only $7 bucks (in a box full of other stuff!) no longer fit in DD's life now that her home includes rambunctious kids. (We later came across a set of these at an antique store for $20 per glass.) Though I love these as much as she still does, I know I won't use them, so they've gotta go. *sigh*

As she was growing up, each year on DD's birthday we included a "good gift," something she could use later in life. For instance, we got her a couple of crystal lamps for her second birthday. Even though she hasn't kept all those gifts she received through the years, she's commented to me that she wished we still did that. Yet another birthday "good gift," this key caddy sat at DD's back door until Grandbaby's high chair recently claimed its floor space.

I'd been wanting a new fireplace tool caddy for ages (though it never made the priority list), so froggy turned the trick!

DD doesn't always bring me cluttering stuff; she brought me this turnip last week. Where she works, people often bring in produce to share. Determined not to let it go to waste, I peeled the turnip right away and cooked it in my small slow cooker with a little sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper.

Oh, happy day--my seed order arrived yesterday. I'm still finding it hard to believe that Hubby (chief gardener around here) agreed to add starting all these seeds to his to-do list!

To brighten up this gray winter day, I'm looking for adventure, so this is where I'm headed next: Top 10 Adventure Blogs. Where are you headed next?

Meatless Monday: Lucky in love AND eggplant; From Bermuda grass to backyard farm in just ten years!

Oh, YES, my hubby DID can this tomato relish yesterday. He washed and waxed my car today. Gotta love a man who's handy in both the kitchen AND the garage!! When MIL declared she'd not can again, Hubby couldn't bear the loss of her delicious tomato relish and began canning it himself. He doesn't follow any canning rules, but the stuff hasn't killed us yet. ;)

Someone gifted me with four medium eggplants, hence the Eggplant-o-Rama!! Aunt K's Eggplant Casserole just out of the oven here; Eggplant Parmesan ready to go in.

LOVE Julia Child's The Way to Cook," tho' she might not approve of the way I use it. I've a bad habit of taking the easy way out with her recipes as my guide. Used a jarred tomato sauce for my eggplant Parmesan. And because I didn't have another recipe in mind for any leftovers, I used WAY more sauce than Julia recommended. Guess what? Tasted great despite me! (If my brain were awake when I'd made this, I'd have frozen some extra sauce for future pizzas. *sigh*)

Eggplant Parmesan...even simpler but just as tasty as lasagna!

   Started this post yesterday when I came across this great video of a man brave enough to transform his quarter-acre backyard into an urban farm!!
   This video of Richard Heinberg, retired-professor-turned-urban-farmer, is worth a look around but also worth a listen if you're interested in sustainability and the "simple" life. Who knew simple could be so complex?! (Thanks, Unstuffed, for finding this great video!)
   After our first frost Sunday morning, here in western Kentucky we're having a return of mid to upper 70's temps for a few days. LOVIN' that!! Our tomatoes are dwindling but still hopeful about the bell peppers. Hubby just planted some kale. What's up in your neck of the woods?

Teeny twist on tiny houses: a tipi!

Despite the fact that it rained on us now and again, we had a great time camping at Land Between the Lakes. More specifically, at Hillman Ferry Campground on Kentucky Lake. Definitely a fabuloso, unplugged time, and I hope to share some pics soon.
   Meanwhile, hope you like the video. Could YOU live in a tiny house...or tipi??
P.S. The latest copy of Mother Earth News magazine was in my mailbox today. Yea! Love that magazine! They have a homesteading blog some of you might enjoy checking out! It's where I found the tipi video, btw. If interested, see The Happy Homesteader. (Gotta go...it's margarita/movie night!)

Mending my Amish bread recipe and my belt; Pioneer village

Amish Friendship Bread. This is my second baking; first recipe didn't have enough sugar in it to suit Hubby. This recipe is still not as moist as the one I used years ago...and lost along the way. I'll keep tweaking the recipe 'til it's the yummiest ever! Any advice??

Some stitching on one of my belts came out; for $10 bucks, it was good as new. Took it to a joint in town called Raine's Shoe Hospital. ALWAYS leave that place with a smile on my face, because the owner/operator always has a smile on his face. Somewhat of a cobbler philosopher, he says things like, "My daddy always told me that life's only hard if you take it hard."

Why NOT use every last bit?
It's paid for and what's fun about spending money on toothpaste!!

Met DD and the grandgirls at a local park on Saturday to check out a free event at its pioneer village. This re-creationist found her milk strainer at Goodwill. She said no one there knew what it was. Well, I didn't know what it was either. Does milk fresh from a cow have to be strained???

Couldn't get the grandgirls to try out this yoke, but this little fella was game!

   As camping days ARE cheat days, I'm hoping to be sitting around a fire roasting marshmallows sometime soon. Raining, raining for now. Wish me luck! Whassup in your neck of the woods?

Flopped pizza dough made a fine focaccia!

Thought I'd share the rest of the story about the other half of my pizza dough from the other day. First half didn't raise much, so I ended up with a thin crust pizza, which tasted great btw. Left second half of the dough out to see if it would raise if given more time, and guess what? I FORGOT it!! By that evening the dough was only slightly raised and somewhat crusty on top. Having nothing to lose, I went ahead and patted it into a pan and poked holes in it for focaccia. It worked!! (Usually sprinkle focaccia with oregano, but I ran out last week and haven't had the chance to replace it.) 

Sweet Potato Harvest 2011. Hubby says there are about 40 more potatoes out there waiting to be dug!

Hope to get in some camping this week! Anything fun on your agenda??

10 Tips for a Zero-Waste Household by Bea Johnson — YES! Magazine

10 Tips for a Zero-Waste Household by Bea Johnson — YES! Magazine

Longstanding love affair with Lincoln Boyhood Park

Lincoln Boyhood Living Historical Farm. This recreated log cabin is only one square foot larger than the one President Lincoln lived in as a boy in Indiana. The pegs jutting out of the wall to the left of the fireplace are steps up to the attic. Abe and his brothers climbed such steps to their beds each night.

Having visited many times since I was a little kid, I'd always called this place Lincoln State Park, but evidently the Lincoln Boyhood Living Historical Farm is a National Park.

This seasonal ranger said the shoes were made to be worn on either the right or left foot and that, back in the day, shoes were rotated from foot to foot, so that if something happened to one, a single shoe could be bought to replace it. Now, how frugal is that!?

LOVE these pegged shutters! Having finished installing my folks' new replacement windows, Hubby priced vinyl window shutters for them yesterday @ around $45 to $55 per pair. For some reason I couldn't convince him that he should make some pegged shutters instead. ;)

Lawn darts anyone? I managed to land only one of these corncob/turkey feather darts in the hoop lying on the ground by the tree.

How's that for a sturdy chicken yard fence? One of the rangers said that the eggs are the ONLY thing produced on the farm that they are able to share and take home at the end of the day, but I got the impression that eggs get wasted, because the workers can only use so many. *sigh*

Located in the memorial center, this may well be the largest braided rug I'll ever see.

Recent purchases of the truck and dishwasher really dipped in the till, so "brown bagging" lunch was the money-saving choice on this day's excursion. I keep forgetting to put some picnic flatware in our day cooler. We keep some plastic utensils in the cooler's side pocket and have washed and re-used them for ages.

"Labor is the great source from which nearly all if not all human comforts and necessities are drawn." Abe Lincoln

   On that note, time for me to go labor a little...laundry and ripe bananas are awaitin'! What labors await you today? Necessities or comforts?

A good day: Spent it cooking while admiring my new dishwasher!

Posting this just because I get such a kick out of seeing what others are eating! My lunch today centered around foods that needed to be eaten: roasted yellow squash, cabbage and onions with crumb topping; baked beans that let me use up some leftover black beans and leftover cane syrup, plus a tomato and yellow pepper; and finally, tomato and cottage cheese sprinkled with seasoned salt.

Soo proud of myself because I managed to cook up all the yellow squash that was in the fridge. Hubby picked loads of it a few days ago...sure didn't want to waste it! Several squashes went into the oven roasted veggies; cooked four lightly for freezing; and I cut one up into a veggie soup for tonight's dinner.
   On the one hand: YEA, I used up the last of the squash! On the other: BOO, the garden with all its fresh gifts is petering out!

New dishwasher finally arrived. We bought a better brand this time. (Translation: more $$$.) SURELY (Shirley!) a dishwasher should last more than five years! Hubby took the old one out last night. If he's not too tired when he gets home from working on my folks' replacement windows, maybe he'll install the new dishwasher tonight. Drying beside the food processor are my new pie shields I bought the other day. Still kicking myself for spending money the other day on NEEDS not WANTS, but these pie shields will save me from having to use aluminum foil on the longer baking pies.

The new dishwasher. Just having this gorgeous creature waiting in my kitchen (instead of on back order) is enough to make me swoon!

Hubby went dishwasher shopping without me. Sure HOPE he compared yearly operating costs before deciding which to purchase! That's his Cherries and Cream Parfait thawing...I froze what was left from our family gathering, so I wouldn't eat them!

And because I'd rather end a post with food than an energy tag, here's my lightly cooked yellow squash. Once they cooled on the counter and released as much water as I thought they might, I drained them. They'll cool completely in fridge, then head to the freezer for future use.

Managed to sneak a pepper and a tomato into my baked beans this time.

   Yeah, Wan, baked beans again!! ;)
   What's waiting in your fridge that needs to be used up? Or is everyone more efficient than I am...do you manage to use most of your produce as soon as it's picked or brought home? Wish I did!!

TreeHugger: Ecohome Design Awards Test Meaning of Term 'Sustainable'

Gotta love TreeHugger, and really connecting with this article:
"Ecohome Design Awards Test Meaning of Term "Sustainable"
Though Hubby and I are nowhere near zero-energy energy usage, a girl can dream can't she?

Sharing the blooms, the vows and the blowout!

The little wisteria sprig we brought back from my aunt's yard in Pensacola last year has grown like crazy and has been blooming in our western Kentucky back yard since the first of July! 

I don't like to think of myself as a close-minded blockhead, but at 50, I do sometimes have trouble making changes stick. When it comes to being green, I fail as often as I succeed. When I fail at living green, most likely I'm failing at being frugal too. When I fail at being frugal, I'm failing to save money. *SIGH*

   Yeah, there's a reason for my whiny confession! I'm goaling to incorporate some green changes that I hope will make me THINK GREEN more often. Whether you join me or not, you're now my accountability partners, don'cha know!

   High time to ACT instead of just read about changing my life. A YES! Magazine article, 10 Ways to Change Your Life: Not Just Your Lightbulbs, has finally pushed me over the fence on two green changes. Witness here my solemn vows:

1. Instead of serving all-veggie meals willy-nilly, I vow to join ranks with the Meatless Monday folks (like Jessica Simpson).
2. Instead of simultaneously surfing/blogging while watching TV/movies, I vow to take a mini-"Eco-sabbath" for AT LEAST ONE uninterrupted 4-hour block of unplugged time per week...and work my way toward a 24-hour once weekly unplugathon. (Exceptions: fridge, freezer and air conditioner/heat pump.)

   Okay, baby steps, I know, but even baby steps can move you in the right direction, eh? Anybody else vowing any new baby steps lately? Feel free to share a link to your posts!

Had a blow-out in one of my dishwashing gloves--the right hand, as always. I'll save the still-good left hand glove and turn it inside out the next time a right hand glove gets a nick & needs replacing. Thanks to Amy Daczyzn's Tightwad Gazette for that little repurposing tip.

On my mind: Edible landscaping and using up zucchini!

Okay, I'll give this edible landscaping a shot...in a little bed at the front entry no less! To an existing bit of blue rug juniper, a couple of small bushes, some chives, white phlox and a mum, I've added red cabbage, fennel, thyme, Greek oregano and Texas tarragon. Added a couple of non-edibles: two coleus whose variegated leaves will add a blend of green plus the deep red color as found in the cabbages. I figured I'd let this bed grow a tad and then fill in with some types of flowers once I decide what more color is needed to keep it from just looking like a vegetable patch. Wish me luck!

Toted my plants bought on clearance home in the marine cooler that pretty much lives in my car. Absolutely LOVE having a cooler ready on hand whenever I need one!

Hey, I'm keeping up with the zucchini so far!! Used up the harvest today with a zucchini gratin and a crustless zucchini quiche. I love pie crusts, but trying not to eat anything but "slow carbs," except on cheat days.

Little grandgirl hands were a big help when adding herbs and layers of zucchini, onions, panko crumbs & dairy to the gratin.

I thought I had heavy cream in the fridge, but Hubby had used it all for his coffee! Had to fall back and punt: used a mixture of sour cream and mayo instead.

   Isn't it fun to be in the thick of summer nowadays? For those of you down under, I guess the reverse is true: likely you're happy to get a bit of a cool down! Wherever you are, hope today shone brightly upon you, whatever the temperature or weather!!

   Thanks, Rhonda at down-to-earth, for sharing this On My Mind concept. What's on your mind today? Share your link here or on down-to-earth.

A perfect day in Mr. McGregor's garden; Still looking for my fav crab dip recipe

The hopeful little flower gardener! Hubby couldn't convince her that the cut flowers wouldn't grow, but she learned soon enough when she came back later in the day. After first fussing that we hadn't tended her garden, she accepted that flowers must have roots to grow. Think the same may be said of us all?

If you see Peter Rabbit, please tell him to STOP eating our swiss chard!

Helpful little hands made making the hot crab dip more fun. Lost my fav recipe, so will keep looking for it. Maybe I'll find one here among Food Network's 20 Crab Dip Recipe Collection.