A Journal for Me and A Journal for You

Pin It After showing my husband the little pocket size datebook that I made for his mother (see previous post), he asked me if I could make him a Birder's Journal to keep track of the bird sightings he makes on the Island.  I was tickled - "Of course, with pleasure!".  A friend then asked if I could make up a Dieting Journal for her to track meals and exercises.  "I'd love to!"  Nothing pleases me more than making a little treasure for someone.

I used the same weekly planners previously purchased at JoAnn.  To embellish the datebooks with the personality of a Birder's Journal and a Dieting Journal, a vintage image was attached to the front cover.  The Graphics Fairy (http://graphicsfairy.blogspot.com) has so many vintage advertising postcards with birds, it was hard to choose just one.  A silver place setting image seemed perfect for the Dieting Journal.  If you are looking for vintage images to use in your projects, I suggest you check out The Graphics Fairy.  Everyday the Graphics Fairy posts vintage images in the public domain for anyone to use.  Each Monday she features projects made with images she has posted, and these journals are on her Brag Monday List this week.

Wishing you a week filled with surprises and delights!

11JAN11 Update:  I've linked this posting to Today's Creative Blog.  Click on over to see many other ideas from those who have got Their Craft On too.

Cheap Eats: Pulled Pork and Apple Pie Floats

Pin It For dinner tonight, I decided to make pulled pork with bread & butter pickles and coleslaw followed by apple pie floats for dessert.  It was the perfect dinner to chow down while watching a football game.  Speaking of which - Go Seahawks!!!  Even if you are not a Seahawks fan, you had to enjoy watching Marshawn Lynch run for a 67-yard touchdown - hoot hoot!!!  Now, I can't say the Seahawks have inspired me of late, but tonight they did.  After the game, this little card was crafted for my current Send Love Today assignment.  My SLT assignment is a teen boy from Massachusetts - think he'll like it?

Back to the pulled pork and apple pie floats.  At Cooks.com I found an easy  recipe.  Of course, I changed it up a bit to accommodate the ingredients I had on hand and to suit our taste.  I also cooked it all day in a crock pot - this slow cook really intensified the flavor.

Ingredients I used:
    1 (4 lb.) pork shoulder roast
    1 (16oz) can of tomato paste

2 tbls. firmly packed brown sugar (Splenda)
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1/4 c. red-wine vinegar
1/4 c.Red Wine left over from last night's dinner
4 tsp. soy sauce

2 c. water

Put all ingredients in a crock pot and cook at least 6 hours (I cooked it over 8 hours on medium). When done, lightly skim any fat that has floated to the top.  Then gently pull/shred the meat apart with two forks.  Mix in with the sauce. 

This is the finished product served on fresh onion rolls with bread & butter pickles and cole slaw on the side.  It makes enough for 8 sandwiches.  The pork had been previously purchased when on sale for on 99 cents/pound and then frozen.  The most expensive item was the package of Franz onion rolls at $4.50 for 8 (next time I'll have to make my own).

For dessert, I tried a new treat - apple pie floats.  Here's my take on the recipe: you will need vanilla ice cream, ginger ale, apple cider, caramel syrup, caramel sauce, apple pie spice.

Scoop ice cream into a fountain glass (2-3 scoops).  Mix 50% apple cider with 50% ginger ale and a splash of caramel syrup.  Place spoon and straw into the glass.  After the foam has settled, drizzle a little caramel sauce over the ice cream and sprinkle with a dash of apple pie baking spice.  Enjoy - you worked hard this week!

Seeking His Guidance

Pin It In the first posting on January 1st, I mentioned that my new year's resolution is to be a better steward of the many blessings Our Lord has bestowed on me.  I am turning to scripture seeking guidance on how to be a better steward.  Although I frequently engage in a daily devotional, often using inspirational readings from Christian authors, I have never been able to get through the entire Bible.  These authors of the various devotionals that I used provided wonderful thought provoking text.  This year, I'm seeking God's Word without going through any one's filter - quietly listening for His guidance.

The  One Year Bible NLT is commonly used as an easy guide without commentary to read through the Bible in one year.  This website provides a free One Year Bible Reading Plan (printable 3-page pdf) if you prefer to use your own Bible (click here: One Year Bible Reading Plan).  A Kindle version is now available for you lucky ducks who own a Kindle (click here: One Year Bible NLT).

So, how do you find Our Lord's Guidance?  Does it come from a daily devotional?  Does He speak to you in your dreams?  Does He gently guide you on your journeys or rather knock you off of your feet in an effort to gain your attention?  When He opens doors have you been prepared for those new opportunities?  Please leave a comment and share your thoughts.

May Our Lord bless you today with the desires of your heart.

Cheap Eats: OxTail Soup

Pin It Cheap eats but oh so good ...

Doug went to the local farmers' market the other day and returned with two pounds of oxtail bones.  He purchased them from a local rancher (Shorts Family Farm) who raises grass fed cattle.  I've never made oxtail soup before, but I'm game.  I found a recipe at Cooks.com that looked pretty good - I modified it a little bit to our liking.  You should be able to find oxtails at your local butcher shop for about $2/pound.  I'm told that years ago it was common to see them in the meat department.

You will need: 2 pounds of oxtails, 2 tbl olive oil, 1cup barley, 2qts water, 3 cloves garlic (minced), 1 large onion (chopped), 2 large carrots (peeled and sliced), 2 celery stalks (thinly sliced), 1 tsp dried parsley, 1 bay leaf, salt, pepper, 1 can chopped tomatoes.

(Steaming veggies made for a fuzzy photo)

In a large Dutch oven, brown oxtails over a high heat in olive oil; cook just enough to color them.  Add onion, garlic, celery and carrots and saute until the onion is soft.  Stir in  barley, oxtails, bay leaf and tomatoes.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat.  Cover and simmer for 2 hours. Add salt and pepper to taste.  Continue to simmer until the soup has reached the thickness desired and the oxtail meat is falling off the bone.  Before serving, skim off any fat from the top of the soup and remove the bay leaf.

The soup was very good.  I'm glad I added the tomatoes.  In the future, I would also add a little bit of chopped stew meat.The oxtail broth had a very complex taste.  Great served with a full-bodied red wine and crusty bread.

Manga!
 

(Un)Deck the Halls

Pin It Seems like so many people are already taking down their Christmas tree and lights.  Not me.  I prefer to wait until Epiphany has passed.  I love Christmas lights and seeing the special holiday decorations.  Each year, my husband gives me an ornament at the start of the Christmas season.  What a special tradition - I now have eight in my collection.  I also covet my mother's and grandmother's vintage ornaments, so I don't rush to store them.  I soak it all in so that the memories of Christmas past linger just long enough to get me through to next year.

Waste Not Tips for Storing Holiday Decorations:
1.  Take pictures of any tablescapes or vignettes that you particularly liked.  Store a copy of the pictures with your decorations, then next year when you pull everything out you will have a visual reminder of where things go. Easy and stress free decorating.  Also printout any special family photos of Christmas past and store with your decorations.  Next year, you'll have photos handy to place into frames for display.
2.  Use leftover white/brown paper or tissue paper to individually wrap your ornaments.  Many shippers are using white/brown paper as filler in the boxes.  You can also use old, clean rags and such. Store small ornaments in egg cartons or clean take-out containers.  Don't forget to repair any broken ornaments before you store them; you won't fix them next year when you open the box.  Save broken ornament caps & hooks as well as extra light bulbs & fuses to replace parts in your collection.  Use leftover packing peanuts or bubble wrap to fill the empty space within the storage box and further protect your treasures.
3.  As you take off the Christmas tree lights, wrap them on large pieces of heavy corrugated cardboard from a cut-up box.  No more hairballs of lights next year!
4.  Label the storage boxes (all four sides is best) with its general content.  I like to use Red/Green markers which makes it very easy to find the boxes in the attic.  If you use plastic storage containers and live where the temperature fluctuates throughout the year, it is a good idea to place a pouch of desiccant in the container.  I save those little pouches of silica gel when I get them and then just toss them in.

Take time to properly store your holiday decorations so your special treasures are safe and sound until next year.  Remember your ornaments will be vintage treasures for your grandchildren one day.

Send Love Today

Pin It One of the organizations that I craft for is Send Love Today (http://www.sendlovetoday.org/).  Through this non-profit organization, cards are sent to patients suffering with brain cancer.  This is an organization very near and dear to my heart.  For the next two months, my assignment is to send a weekly card to a 13 year old boy in Massachusetts suffering with anaplastic ependymoma.  Here is a look at the Happy New Year card that I made for him.  The image of the vintage postcard is from the The Graphics Fairy (http://graphicsfairy.blogspot.com/).  Everyday the Graphics Fairy posts vintage images in the public domain for anyone to use.  Each Monday she features projects made with images she has posted, and this little card is on her Brag Monday List today.

Don't you just love the look on the face of this snowman!  Too cute! 

I encourage you to join Send Love Today.  Although I prefer to make my cards, you can send store bought cards as well.  If you don't have time to commit on a weekly basis, you can also submit cards to the organization for distribution.  Brighten some one's day with a simple card and note.

A Sunset Hike

Pin It What a beautiful day to live in the Pacific Northwest!  The Olympic and Cascade mountains that surround the Island were in their glory today - singing their praise to God! They look so majestic with their snow-capped peaks glistening in the sun and even more regal with the blue waters of the Puget Sound in the foreground.

Although a bit nippy in the shade, it was quite pleasant in the sun (as evidenced by the thermometer hanging on the window - yes, you read it correctly - 80+ degrees in the sun).  A perfect day to grill out - grass fed beef and Alaskan salmon.  Unfortunately all of our homegrown potatoes are long gone, so we settled for organic Brussels sprouts from the market (my mother's request).

After dinner, we took a sunset hike with Maggie along Isthmus Beach and the South lagoon.  This is one of the prettiest but less discovered hikes around.  It's one of those hikes that gets 10 stars for pleasure but only one star for effort.  We were on the lookout for otters as just yesterday Doug spotted an otter eating clams near its den.  We were entertained by hundreds of ducks.  The two most common in the lagoon were Northern Pintails and Goldeneyes.  Now, if you are like me, a duck is a duck - right?  Not so.  As I was informed by the resident VMD, there are two major categories of ducks - Dabbling Ducks and Diving Ducks.  Dabbling ducks are found mainly on smaller ponds and marshes in shallow water.  They feed at the surface by dabbling their bills in the water or by upending to reach deeper (I love when their duck tails stick out of the water!).  Their legs are placed farther forward on the body so that walking is easier, and they are able to take off directly from the water without running.  The Northern Pintails are dabbling ducks.  Diving ducks on the other hand are generally found in deeper water and feed by diving underwater.  Their legs are placed far back on the body making walking difficult, and most require a running start to take off from the water.  The Goldeneyes are diving ducks. It should be noted however that dabbling ducks can dive and diving ducks can dabble if necessary.  Now you know.  You can learn more about these beautiful ducks at http://www.birds-of-north-america.net/.

Enjoy all of God's little creatures today!