first things first....

i love canning!

love everything about it.

but, february in michigan, doesn't always provide ideal circumstances. 

however,  i found a super easy, super quick canning recipe for different syrup recipes.

i chose to can, "apple pie syrup," today!

here's the recipe!

2 c. sugar (i used brown)

1 c. apple juice

cinnamon stix

(i used pumpkin pie spice instead.. just eye-balled it)

mix it, boil it and skim off the foam.

pour into sterilized canning jars and seal. i water-bathed mine for 15 minutes.

this was enough for 2 cups... (mine was 1 1/2 cups, so i ended up making more.)



imagine how sweet my tiny little house smelled!

bring on the pancakes!

i found an old card table, for $2.

i had a vision.

i really, really wanted to try my hand at mixed media, junkyard art.

so, i did.

with scraps of scraps of recycled junk.

i used stickers from garage sales (note: the keys are stickers---don't they look real?)

and ripped up pieces of calendar's, useless vintage books and games, and newspaper clippings.

then, with reclaimed white elmer's glue- i watered it down to a modge-podge type consistency, and smothered, dipped and without any thought, rhyme or reason.... started the "masterpiece."  i finished it off, with my hot glue gun and goodwill fringe.  i'm in love.  love it, love it, love it! 

now............ my blue eyes are looking for more mixed media art projects to dip and glue!  wouldn't this make a fantabulous wall covering?  smile, wink, nod.

is that you looking over my shoulder?

so, you're trying to see my latest, greatest

winter project, are you?

well friend, you're just going to have to wait until tomorrow's post....  because it's "drying."

what's new?

a new read:  the beach house by jane green.  it's a light, quirky novel. 

a new netflix dvd waiting to be watched:  eleanor roosevelt :  american experience

a new canning recipe i'll be trying soon:

apple pie syrup

something new i learned today:

dr. william beaumont.  i thought it was important for tommie (and of course me) to know about this great man and his amazing patient, mr. st. martin. i threw together a homemade little unit study together.

something new i think i'll try tonight:

organizing things tonight, so that my morning routine is easier AND trying out a new mango-peach body lotion.

check back tomorrow... and see my finished project!

smile, wink, nod!

today finds

 me confused

and angry over

the state of the world.

(i'll leave my thoughts on wisconsin teachers for another day)

as i waited in a long line of

traffic at a local gas station,

trying to save .20 cents a gallon,

i watched the people around

me... pumping gas.  looking like

they were desperate and euchred.

the drivers waiting in line,

had the same look.

well, except for the two men

who ran in to buy two cokes.

how high are these prices

really going to climb?

according to some experts,

prices could reach $10. a gallon.

thinking that they're likely to

reach $4. a gallon by weeks end,

has a stifling effect on me.

so, what are the prices at your pump?

which state do you live in?

here in mid-michigan, $3.35.

i'm thinking i should either get a bike or a horse.  how about you?

lighter note:

i enjoyed listening to the birds sing, outside today.

and

WE JUST WATCHED THE SPACE STATION SOARING THROUGH SPACE!  utterly awesome!  just incredible. 

a corner of my kitchen.............

 here's a little peek at a corner in my kitchen....  smothered and stacked with shabby chic junk.  i strung white twinkle lights around the corner cabinet... need i tell you how scrumptious this looks at night?


my favorite piece is the green bird cage. 

can you spot the emu egg, in my corner cabinet?

next up?  i'll be experimenting... whipping up gluten-free banana-strawberry bread. 


until we meet again, why don't you scoop up these freebies:  here and here.

friday:

listening to:  the titanical wind blowing outside and entertainment tonight on t.v.

mood is: hyper. thinking of all the craft projects i want to do this weekend.

reading:  he chose the nails, max lucado.

from the kitchen:  an empty hungry howies pizza box, from me and my boy.  leftovers for my gluten-free husband.

wearing:  vintage grey dress, black sweater coat, footless tights, rhinestone vintage pin and braid.  flower clip in my hair.  make-up wore off.

thinking:  about the wisconsin protests, syria and egypt.

must-do-this-weekend list:  clean my upstairs, organize jewelry, clean cupboards and drawers, make gluten-free mixes and bake gf cookies.

and hopefully crafts! 

now... it's off to play around on the internet and try to change the look of my blog!

happy friday night!

saving on groceries

yesterday, after careful coupon stratergizing... i went to kroger's with my list and coupons in hand...

happy to report, i saved 45% on my grocery bill.  i saved a total of almost $88.00!

i was giddy, when i received the products above, for free... after coupons and overages, that is.  not shown:  anoher bag of frito's-which the boys inhaled.

and, giddy was i... when i bought these items for under a dollar!

honorable mentions:

welch's grape juice for $1.70.

"i'm smiling, nodding and winking!"



happy valentine's day!

i love...

the first sip of hot coffee, snuggling under a blanket on the couch and drifting off to sleep, mr. magoriums wonder emporium, my collection of vintage hats, little debbie snack cakes... all of them, louis armstrong, modern family, the middle, hard-boiled eggs cut up on toast, the color turquoise, braids in my hair, polka-dotted socks and footless tights.  i love black eye-liner and cat-eye glasses, i love wearing tank tops over thermals, and the smell of musk perfume.  i love backgammon and chess and scrabble.   

thursday afternoon, cold, freezing afternoon... found me, my tommie and my mom, playing an intense game of scrabble.  my mom can really knock your socks off, with this game.  obviously.  she came up with the word, "brewings," it is a legitimate word.  and it was worth a whopping 148 points!  i probably don't need to tell you who won that game!?  way to go, mom!

thursday found us doing a "what's inside the snowball you're eating?" experiment. this is just a little section of what was left after the snowball melted.  to add to the drama, we made slides of some of the debris and found a whole other world exists inside these little flakes!  we examined at 40x power.  i swear, i will never look at a clump of snow, the same way again.

me.... sharing an insanely cheap tip.

above.... do you know what this is? 

if you've guessed the wax bag that cereal comes in, inside the box, you're right! 

since going gluten-free... we've been flying through boxes of gluten-free cereal (you can make so much with it). 

realizing all of the packaging waste we were throwing away, i figured out how to save money and help out the environment....

i simply trim off the bottom and top of the bag.. and cut along the seam.  viola'  you have a nice sheet of wax paper... ready to use!

(i use wax paper for carmel corn and puppy chow!)

smile, wink, nod.

this week at kroger's i paid $1.15 for 3 tubes of colgate-cavity fighter and 3 softsoap pumps!  and just today... i received a nice envelope full of high-volume, amy's organic coupons.  how did i get them?  by hand-writing them a snail mail letter, thanking them for gluten free products... which i do buy each week at kroger's!
thanks amy's and thanks kroger's!

************
my nose is cold.

i'm in the middle of writing a murder-mystery script for 20 players at the mansion, where i work...it's about saudi arabia and egypt. deadline is friday. i did not know coriander came from india. but, i'm thinking my main character will over-dose on coriander or cumin?  

the babe john goodman

sunday found us watching the movie, the babe (babe ruth) with john goodman.
very excellent. he sure had a twisted personal life, but such an awesome baseball player!
rent if you can. and don't forget the popcorn. heavy butter and salt! smile, wink, nod.

today,

i stayed in all day.  much like this caged bird!  it was a day of virtually pushing myself to tie up some dangling-loose ends around the house.  i fought the big urge to go thrift shopping. i fought the urge to flop on the couch and read.  this here february, is making me lazy.

my major achievements today?

organizing all of the recipes i've printed off in the last year.  i put them in an ugly binder.  didn't get the chance to pretty-it-up... but will.

cleaned the basement. filled two large trash bags, one junk box and many bags for goodwill.

HOW DO I ACCUMULATE SO MUCH?

oh. and i made oven-roasted chicken.  a whole chicken.  from an organic chicken farmer-friend.  it still had the neck attached!  okay... this was a bit weird.  i called my friend rhonda, who is a fabulous cook... she said it was mighty fine to leave the neck on.  also, telling me people in china find the chicken necks a  delicacy (she lived in china for 2 years)!  we didn't actually eat the neck.. but, i did save it to make homemade chicken broth.

so how about you?  have you ever ate the meat off a chicken neck?

smile, wink, nod.

hey friends...

i recently discovered a few

really nice coupon, freebie and

mega-money saving sites!

plug your printer in and check these three out:

http://www.couponmountain.com/

http://www.survivingthestores.com/

http://www.afrugalchick.com/

well, here i sit... not on my computer, but my son's.  waiting for my beloved toshiba computer to be released from the hospital. i can't wait to get that baby home, i have so many cool pictures to download and share. 
so about the snow.  we did get around 10 inches.  but, for some reason, it seemed uneventful.  if i've said it once, i'll say it again.... i wish it was snowman building snow.
my boys spent the good part of the day digging us, our neighbors and our tenants out.  i had high hopes of doing this, that and the other.  i ended up taking a good long nap...only to wake up and feel even groggier. i should of never taken a nap in the first place!
i'm noticing i'm complaining a lot here, today.  bare with me.
my boy just challenged me to a game of scrabble... i must say good-bye for now and play.