This week's lunch round-up: sick or not, the show must go on

Monday is the usual day to make all the lunch stuff for the week. Not easy to do this week. So I stuck with simple to prepare items. here's what I managed to do:

• a dozen boiled eggs
• refried beans
• herbed brown rice
• rhubarb sauce
• pancakes

That was all I could put together, and still seemed to take all of my energy and the entire day.

I've been moving very slowly this week, instead of my usual bustle around the house and garden. I did spend some time pulling up the pea vines and planting fall lettuce. And yesterday, I picked blueberries and made a large batch of blueberry muffins. So the week wasn't a complete wash.

Dinners have been interesting this week. Last night it was scrambled eggs, toast, sauteed apples, sauteed zucchini, and a green salad. Tuesday night, I just made chicken soup and tortilla chips. And Monday was leftovers from the fridge and freezer. I am sure that my family will be pleased to come home to an actual dinner tonight. I'm making garden lasagna and a salad. I found all week that my energy crashed every afternoon, so I'll make the dinner this morning while I can.

I appreciate all of your kind words, thoughts and prayers. You are all so sweet. Thank you!

I do think that I need to work on my schedule. I used to say that I work hard, but I play harder. Now I think it's more like, I work hard, but I crash harder. I began feeling off late last week, and it only got worse by Sunday. I really don't like losing most of a week, especially during summer when there's so much that needs to be done. I am working on a schedule for August that will hopefully allow me to take some time to just enjoy the summer.

And here's something exciting for me -- the class schedule for the local community college came in the mail this week. I'm thinking of taking a class this fall. Yes, I'm nervous. And I have no idea which class I'll take. There's a jewelry making class in the art department that looks interesting. As well as a lot of other art classes that I would enjoy. I'll have to see what's still available when I go to register.

Anyway, thank you again for your kind words. I hope that I am back on track now.

Not well this week :(

I'll be back soon. Feeling like I was run over.
Have a good week,
Lili

This week's edibles and other goodies: some "beauty" products and lots more pickles, I'm afraid

Not everything I create is for the stomach. Sometimes I branch out.

• I "made" some lemon lotion. Lemon is one of my favorite summertime fragrances. It's so light and fresh. I add lemon essential oil to small bottles of hand lotion, like the ones you get as samples or when staying in hotels.
• I made some lip gloss with the stub of a favorite old lipstick, some lip balm and a few drops of olive oil. I have a mild allergy to petroleum jelly, so most lip glosses don't work for me. A waxy lip balm blended with a little oil does work. And the lipstick gives it just a bit of color.
• And yes, more watermelon pickles! I made 3 more pints, bringing me up to 7 pints of watermelon pickles. I'm close to finishing with watermelon pickles. We'll enjoy these in winter.
• I recooked the cherry preserves that I made 2 weeks ago. The liquid never thickened, so I recooked the preserves with a bit of pectin. They set up immediately. I am so looking forward to the cherry preserves. They are one of my favorite varieties.
• I made a small batch of mustard for this weekend's cookout. I am really loving homemade mustard. It has so much more flavor that anything I buy at the store. And it's easy to do, too!

And that's about it for the week. Not as overtly productive as other weeks, but still I was able to get a few things done. I've been financially productive in other ways most of this week.

How about you? Did you create anything this week? Share, please. I love hearing what things you've been doing -- gives me ideas for our home and family.

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Have you ever discovered something at the very last minute?

First of all, the winner of the lavender oil mini-giveaway is entry number 12, Carol from CTMOM. Carol, please email me your mailing address, at lili.mounce *at* gmail.com. I'll get the lavender essential oil to you right away, if that will work for you.

A discovery, of sorts

I have this face powder that I wear once or twice per week. I've had it for a few months, and have thought perhaps I'm allergic to it. Every time I apply it, my skin begins to feel a tad itchy. I really thought I was allergic to something it contained, and was ready to throw it out.

But before it headed into the waste can, I wanted to try everything possible. My first thought was maybe the brush needed a good cleaning. So clean it I did, using some shampoo and lots of warm water. When the brush was dry, I tried it again. The irritation was still there.

My second thought was maybe the brush was one of those super cheap ones. So I tried a nice cosmetic brush. Again, itchiness. I washed this better brush, yet still the itchies. So, it would seem that I was simply allergic to one of the ingredients. Rats! I'm a label reader and careful shopper, so I thought this stuff would be okay with my skin.

About ready to toss the powder, which I hated to do, as this stuff is not cheap, I had one last-ditch thought. Maybe I could try using a cotton ball to apply the powder. And it went on smooth, with no irritation. Plus, using a cotton ball gave me a more natural look than the brush applicator.

This discovery changed how I apply all of my powder cosmetics. Perhaps my skin is simply too sensitive to use any of these "special" cosmetic applicators.

I now also use a cotton ball for my powder blush. I can use the same cotton ball for a couple of weeks.

And I've discovered that if I use a fingertip, powder eye shadow goes on smoothly, looks conservatively applied, and doesn't get in my eyes, as it did when using the applicator that came with the shadow.

I'm thrilled to not need to throw away any expensive cosmetics, and get better application overall. I love when I "discover" something like this!

Lunch round-up: a cooling trend starts the week

The weather has turned cool, here. It was almost feeling fall-ish the other day. I had to remind myself not to get too cozy and bundled up, as the hot weather would surely return in a week or two.

But, with cooler weather comes opportunities to bake again. So, for this week's lunch round-up, it's looking like:

• kale, rice and cheese casserole
• bean burger patties
• cranberry-orange muffins (need to use up last year's cranberries!)
• carrot sticks and 1000 Island dressing/dip
• watermelon chunks, as I have half a melon left to use

I got out of rhythm with yogurt and bread making. So this week, I also had to make 5 loaves of bread, and a large batch of yogurt. I picked up 2 more wide-mouth, quart canning jars the other week, so I can now make 5 to 6 quarts of yogurt at a time. I will make more yogurt each time, but make it less often. 

For lunches this week, family members can choose from the above list, or pbj sandwiches, yogurt with jam, and raisins. These are our "staples", and always available.

The kale, rice and cheese casserole is a lot like oven-baked macaroni and cheese, only sub rice for pasta, and add some onions and kale for flavor and nutrition. The kale part isn't a mom-thing, but my daughters actually ask for more veggies. I KNOW! Go figure! But I'm happy they like veggies. It's a lot easier to accommodate a veggie-lover than a veggie-hater.

As I knew this would be a long cooking day, the bean burger patties and some of the rice and kale doubled as dinner. I try hard not to make too much work for myself.

The aroma of the muffins was so tempting, I just had to eat one right away. There are some flavors that seem to go together to me. I like almond extract in many fruit desserts and pastries, such as cranberry, blueberry, rhubarb and cherry. I also like orange zest with these same fruits. I always put apples together with allspice, cloves and cinnamon. Pears seem to go well with ginger. Are there any pairings that you're particularly fond of?

And now, I'm dog-tired. I just knew this would be a long, long day!


Mondays are always my busy day of the week. There is so much that I have to catch up on from the weekend. Tuesdays, on the other hand, are one of my lighter days of the week. I've got a nice cup of coffee poured, the house is silent, before anyone else is up yet, and today I'll sit for a bit, before getting the kitchen cleaned up. Hope you have a lovely day!

~~ Cheers

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Do you make pickles and relish? I've been making watermelon pickles this past week

I make a few varieties of pickles and relish each year. I usually make dill green bean pickles, zucchini bread and butter pickles, sweet green tomato relish, dill green tomato relish, and these, sweet and tangy watermelon rind pickles. I use green beans, zucchini and green tomatoes from our garden. And for the watermelon pickles, I use the white portion of the rind of 1 large watermelon to make 4 pints of pickles. This year, I'd also like to add two more varieties of pickles. 1) something like an end-of-season relish mix, using all the bits of the tail end of harvest, and 2) a pickled shallot, as my shallots did very well this year. (Any recipes for either of these are welcome!)

Watermelon pickles 

From what I understand, pickled watermelon rind has a long tradition with feasts and celebrations of the southern states of the US. Watermelons thrive in the sandy soils of the southern US. And what could be more thirst-quenching than a juicy slice of melon on a hot southern afternoon? At 92% water content and a good source of electrolytes, the red flesh of the watermelon must have been to hard-working Americans, what Gatorade beverages are to today's athletes. And thrifty housewives surely would have recognized the value of the rinds for pickles.

Watermelon pickles are virtually impossible to find in local supermarkets, any more. And online, they sell for $6 or more per jar. But, as they're made from what most of us would toss on the compost heap, it makes good frugal sense to make your own.

I find that pickled watermelon rind is more versatile than most of the other pickles that I've made. 

• Pickled watermelon rind is a nice accompaniment to cooked meats. 
• Chopped up, I like it as "relish" on sausages in buns.
• It adds some tang when sliced and added to sandwiches and salads. 
• Sliced thin, and used as the sole filling on a bread and butter sandwich, watermelon pickle makes a nice "tea sandwich". 
• It makes a wonderful little bite when wrapped in thin-sliced bacon and broiled. 
• I also like to use it as replacement for some of the candied fruit in Christmas fruitcakes, as per the suggestion in the Joy of Cooking (rinse and chop before adding to batter).

Seeded watermelons make better pickles

Seeded watermelons have thicker rinds than the seedless varieties. So I buy the seeded ones. Plus, they're usually less expensive per pound, so a win-win situation. However, it's the seedless watermelons that are the ones often found in supermarkets. Where to find a seeded watermelon? I find seeded watermelons at farm and highway produce stands, often about 10 cents less per pound than the seedless ones.


How I make watermelon pickles
 
Basically I follow the recipe in Joy of Cooking. I modified it slightly, as I have whole cloves and cinnamon sticks, and not oil of cloves or oil of cinnamon. I have also used the ground spices with success. However, the liquid is not as clear as using the whole spices. And I make pickles from just a quarter of a watermelon at a time, as it can take us an entire week to eat a whole watermelon. So, my instructions will only make 1 pint of pickles, and will use 1/4 of a 12-lb melon. Size up the syrup measurements, as needed for the amount of pickles you wish to make.

I cut the watermelon lengthwise into quarters. Then I slice into 1/2-inch thick slices. I trim the green off the slices, first, then the red portion off the rind. If I won't be making the pickles right away, I save the white rinds in the fridge until I have enough for a batch. A quarter of a 12-lb watermelon will provide enough rind for 1 pint of pickles.

When ready to begin the pickles, cut the white pieces into 1-inch to 1 & 1/2-inch lengths. 

Place in a pot, cover with water and parblanch the rind pieces, just until it can be pierced with a fork or point of a sharp knife, but do not overcook (it takes between 7 and 10 minutes, depending on size of pieces, thickness of rind). 

Drain and rinse in cold water to stop cooking. Place drained pieces in a medium-size bowl.

Make syrup and bring to a boil, for 1/4 of a 12-lb melon (adjust the syrup proportions for more melon rind):

1 & 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup vinegar
12-15 whole cloves
1 piece of cinnamon stick (I break cinnamon sticks in half, lengthwise for these pickles, and use a half stick)

When syrup is just boiling, pour over the rind pieces, making sure all is covered with syrup. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap, and allow to stand overnight. (To insure the melon pieces remain under the solution I place a small plate on top of the plastic wrap.) My recipe (from Joy of Cooking) doesn't specify whether this should be kept in the fridge overnight or not. To err on the safe side, place the covered melon pieces in the refrigerator overnight.

Next day, remove bowl from fridge and allow to come to room temp for about 30 minutes. Remove the rind pieces, and reboil the syrup. Pour over rind again, and allow to stand overnight, in the refrigerator.

On the third day, allow to come to room temp for 30 minutes, then remove rind pieces, and reboil the syrup. 

Sterilize one 1-pint jar or two 1/2-pint jars, place rind pieces in jar(s) and pour hot syrup over, leaving headroom. 

Seal and process in a boiling water canner for 10-15 minutes (10 minutes, up to 1000 ft altitude, 15 minutes for 1001 to 6000 ft altitude -- as per National Center for Home Food Preservation). (For information on safe water bath canning, read this article by the NCHFP.) 

According to pickyourown.org and the recipe on the National Center for Home Food Preservation's website, it is "safe" to waterbath these pickles, due to the vinegar and sugar content. 

I store these pickles in the fridge for up to 9 months. Many folks store their preserves and pickles in a cupboard, but I prefer to err on the side of caution, and keep these in the refrigerator -- I'm paranoid that way.

These pickles are ready for the table after 1 week.

Any leftover watermelon pickle syrup makes a nice glaze for baked ham. Brush on in place of a brown sugar glaze, in the final baking period (about the last 15 to 20 minutes).


I wish I could show you a photo of my jars of pickles. I think they're beautiful in their own way, translucent pickles in light golden syrup. I leave 1 cinnamon stick piece in each jar, as well as the whole cloves.

Buying canning jars

I frequent second-hand shops looking for jars. Value Village has the highest price on canning jars around here, at as much as $2.99 for a quart-size jar. St. Vincent de Paul prices their jars slightly better, at 99 cents per jar. But my favorite place to buy canning jars is Goodwill. I have found canning jars for as low as 20 cents each, there. And of course, when talking with friends and neighbors, I often just put out the word that I buy used canning jars. Many times I've been offered several jars for nothing more than a jar of jam or some pickles in exchange. Many women simply don't have the time or inclination to can any more, and are happy to have their jars go to a happy home. :)


So, will you be making any pickles or relish this summer?

This week's edibles and other goodies: herbs and pickles

(FYI -- There's a lavender giveaway on yesterday's post, open until Tuesday, July 22.)

Another week of storing away a bit of summer, for enjoyment next winter.

I cut and harvested pineapple mint and peppermint to use in tea this winter. Freezing seems to hold more volatile oils in the leaves of some herbs, than drying. I froze individual leaves on a tray, then bagged for the freezer.

After washing the mint and pulling off leaves, I took the stems and a few of the leaves and made a mint syrup, to use in making non-alcoholic mint juleps (a la Disneyland-style). I made mint juleps sans the club soda, but used filtered water and poured over ice instead. It was refreshing! If you're interested, a Disney version of mint julep can be found here. Basically, it's lemonade concentrate, lime juice, sugar, creme de menthe non-alcoholic syrup and club soda. I made mine with lemon juice, lime juice, filtered water, my homemade mint syrup, and a lot of crushed ice. I didn't add any extra sugar, as the mint syrup was plenty sweet, and I prefer a tart beverage. I suspect the Disney Blog version would be too sweet for my taste, but my kids would enjoy it. Next time we make seltzer water, I think I'll try using some of that for mint juleps. A couple of weeks ago, we made seltzer water and used it to make red currant Italian sodas (using homemade red currant syrup from this year's currant crop).  

I took a second harvest of oregano and dried in the dehydrator. (Oregano is one of the herbs that is recommended for drying, as the flavor actually improves when dried.) I filled a pint-sized jar with loose-packed leaves. I'm hoping for 2 more jars this size to get me through all the pizza and spaghetti of winter, but I'll settle for 1 more, should that be the situation.

I made a half-dozen single cup coffee filters and a half-dozen tea blanks. I filled the tea blanks with loose tea, so I'll be more likely to enjoy this wonderful tea that I have. 

I made another 3 pints of watermelon rind pickles. I love using something that would just go to the compost otherwise. And the jars look beautiful, with the cinnamon sticks and whole cloves. When using cinnamon sticks in something like these pickles, where I want to leave the stick in the jar, I cut the cinnamon stick in half, lengthwise, with a heavy-bladed knife. Cinnamon sticks often are rolled up in such a way that you can split the stick right down the middle.


Did you create anything this week? Please, share!

Lavender: it's benefits, spending less on essential oils, and a mini-giveaway

I love the scent of lavender. I know it's not everyone's favorite. But we're all allowed to enjoy what we do. However, I don't want to spend a fortune on the essential oils. Spending less on essential oils, while getting all the benefits of lavender, fits my definition of value for money spent. I'll tell you where I buy oils in just a bit. But first, some info on the benefits of lavender and why it's my choice herbal for the bedroom.

Lavender has many properties which make it ideal for use in the bedroom.

• its antimicrobial
• it's a natural insect repellant (does Fido or Fluffy sleep in your bed? Fleas don't like lavender.)
• it's a natural sleep-inducer 

As an antimicrobial, it's been shown to inhibit growth of bacteria, including MRSA (the antibiotic-resistant Staph bacteria).

Lavendar has also been demonstrated to be an effective anti-fungal (good for mattresses, pillows and bedding).

It's also a known antiviral. A little spritz on common items in the house, such as throws, blankets and pillows, couldn't hurt when a family member is coughing and hacking their way through the day, in addition to using the lavender spray on bedding,

I also like to add a capful of the lavender spray in the rinse water in the laundry, when the towels are smelling a little funky.

Lavender is a natural insect repellent. In times past, it was a common practice to hang sprigs of lavender over doors and windows, as a natural fly, gnat and mosquito deterrent. And laying sprigs of lavender on doorway thresholds were known to keep crawling insects out of the home.

Storing silk or wool clothing/blankets for the summer? Spritzing your closet with lavender spray will keep moths at bay, as well.

For those with sleep issues due to anxiety, breathing in the scent of lavender is calming to the nervous system. It lifts moods and promotes relaxation. Some people report that inhaling the scent of lavender melts away tension headaches, even.

But, as Cat, from EcoCatLady pointed out, some people have skin sensitivities to lavender essential oil. Just an FYI.

Exercise caution when using essential oils

And for many people, any undiluted essential oil, directly applied to the skin can cause skin irritation or even burns. Oils for perfume or therapeutic use, such as massage, are usually embodied in a carrier oil. The carrier oil diffuses the product while maintaining the scent and healing properties.


Where I buy essential oils (and how I spend less money!)

There are several places that I've bought lavender essential oil. There are a couple of independently-owned shops in the Seattle metro area which sell essential oils. Their prices tend towards the high side. Then there's Super Supplements, a local health and supplement chain. Their prices are good and a great place if I need the oil that day. And then there's online. (Here are several online sources for quality essential oils while spending less money -- check out this article.) My favorite spot online for essential oils is Bulk Apothecary.

Bulk Apothecary's prices are great, and shipping can be low. *One caveat, there is no shipping information page on their site.* So, what I do -- as I add items to my cart, I have the shipping calculated. When I reach a certain threshold, the shipping costs jump significantly. That's when I put 1 item back, and delay purchasing that item until another time when I need more supplies, if possible. And, as always, I do a search for online coupons. Sometimes I find "free shipping" coupons, other times I find % off coupons.

If you look online for reviews on Bulk Apothecary, you will find a mixed bag of very positive and very negative shopping experiences. What I always remind myself is this. Who actually takes the time to write a review? It's usually people with extremely negative experiences. And they often plaster their reviews all over the web. This is evident in the details of their complaint. Those exact same details will pop up on review site after review site. So, I read the reviews, and prepare myself for any possible delays. And as with anything I order online, I never order something on short notice.

Here's my personal experience with Bulk Apothecary. On this last order, I had 5 small vials of essential oil. When I added a 6th vial, the shipping jumped from $6.95 to $11.25. I decided to forgo that 6th item, and stick with my original 5. (And just an FYI, when I had just 1 item in the cart, I believe shipping was about $2.50.) The $6.95 also met the threshold for Priority Mail, with tracking. The $2.50 First Class, Flat Envelope delivery is for small amounts of merchandise, and I believe it does not include tracking. I couldn't find anything on the USPS website that indicated tracking was included in First Class, Flat Envelope mail. Plus, I had an online coupon for 10% off any purchase.

I placed my order around 2 PM PDT, on a Thursday. By 9 AM PDT, Friday, I had shipping confirmation with a tracking number. So, less than 24 hours and my order was processed and shipped. By Monday afternoon, my complete order was in my mailbox. It was well-wrapped (each vial in bubble wrap) and placed in a padded envelope. Couldn't be happier.

Wherever you choose to purchase essential oils, make sure that they are pure essential oils, and not fragrance oils, aromatic oils or perfume oils, as those are often not natural, but are manufactured scents. (Craft stores often carry fragrance oils in with their soap and candle-making supplies. These are not the same as essential oils.) A manufactured scent may smell like the pure essential oil, but it doesn't have the unique properties of the essential oil (such as insect repellent, calming, or antimicrobial properties of lavender).

So now for the mini-giveaway

I have 1 small vial (.5 oz) of lavender essential oil that I will be happy to send to 1 person, randomly selected. If you're interested in entering this drawing, please leave a comment below. Rules for this giveaway:

• limited to those with a USA address
• comment must be left by 12 midnight, PDT, Tuesday, July 22
• winner will be announced in Thursday's post, July 24

And if linen spray doesn't interest you in the least, I will point out that lavender essential oil can be added to hand lotion, bath salts and bath bombs. I add a drop or two to those tiny hotel lotions, to add some lovely fragrance. And I've made lavender bath salts and bath bombs as gifts for several special occasions. And of course, a few drops of lavender oil in a basin of water infused with Epsom salt makes a nice foot soak at the end of a long day. Anyway, enter the drawing if this appeals to you.

~~Cheers

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This week's lunch round-up menu: deja vu?

So I'm repeating a few things. But if it works, why mess with it, right? Anyway, here's what's on the lunch menu for this week. I put it all together yesterday morning, and it's waiting in the fridge as I type. (Keeping a week's worth of lunch items on hand is awesome for me, too, as I end up snacking and lunching much healthier than if I have to start from scratch every day.)

• marinated lentil-barley salad with a mustard vinaigrette
• hard boiled eggs
• rosemary-oregano bread
• rhubarb-blackberry sauce
• salad bowl of greens w/creamy Italian dressing in a container on the side
• lemonade

To go with what I made yesterday is peanut butter, jelly, bread, raisins, bananas and yogurt. If something on the "menu" doesn't appeal to any one of us, we can always grab an old favorite.

I was tired and cranky when I got up this morning. It's been far too hot here, with no A/C, and just 1 dinky fan. So I opened the windows, put on some upbeat music, and danced my way to a full fridge.

~~Cheers

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My Cal. King fitted sheet dilemma, my bed-making routine, and lavender linen spray

The dilemma

For those of you who have read my posts religiously, you know that I've been scrounging for a solution to the worn fitted sheet for our Cal. King bed for several years now. It began in early 2012 with a worn spot in the bottom sheet, which I patched with Wonder Under. That kept everything together for almost 2 years. Then a new worn spot and a tear erupted. Again, I used Wonder Under and kept that tattered sheet holding together for another 5 months. At this point, the fitted sheet was simply too worn to use.

I've been shopping for a new fitted sheet, but the best price would mean ordering through Penney's for about $40. I'm considering that option. But here's my dilemma. We've been talking and talking and talking about getting rid of this Cal. King bed, and putting in a Queen bed. Cal. King's are hard to find linens for. They take up a huge chunk of the room space. And the sheets themselves fill the entire washer each week. I'm just annoyed by their huge size. It wasn't my choice, but was willed to me. I had a perfectly good Queen-size, 4-poster frame all set for this room (still in the attic), needing a mattress and box frame. But the Cal. King came to us, and we've been living with it for 12 years now. So, I've been putting off buying anything new for this bed, with the hopes we could down-size soon.

My temporary solution

In late spring, I came up with an old-time solution. I used 2 large, cotton flat sheets. I tucked the largest (King-size flat) in as much as possible, for the bottom sheet. Then I used my next largest  (Queen-size flat)  cotton sheet to use for the top sheet. It just barely fits, but works well-enough. This is simply the way all beds were made for generations, -- 2 flat sheets, one thoroughly tucked in for the bottom, and one on top, tucked at the sides and foot.

With using a flat sheet in place of a fitted, I do have to smooth and re-tuck the bottom sheet every day. But I don't find that to be bothersome, as my bed-making routine incorporates this step.

My bed-making routine

So, I wash the sheets once per week and the pillowcase twice per week. It's soooo nice to have fresh pillowcases mid-week!

Everyday, when I make up the bed, I pull the top sheet off to the foot of the bed, straighten and re-tuck the bottom sheet. Then I give a spritz of lavender linen spray over the sheet and make up the rest of the bed. The lavender linen spray is just one of those lovely things I do just for me. The whole room smells fresh, and the bed is delightful to slip into at the end of the day.

I don't stop with the spritzing of the sheets. When I change the pillowcases, on Wednesday and Saturday, I give a spritz of lavender linen spray on each side of the bare pillow, before slipping into the fresh cases. At night when I lay my head down on the pillow, I am relaxed by the lovely scent of lavender.

Homemade lavender linen spray

You could buy some pricey lavender spray. L'Occitane sells a 3.4 oz bottle of lavender pillow spray for $22.00. It is lovely, indeed, but overpriced for what you get.

I got hooked on lavender linen spray, several years ago, by a gift of expensive linen water. When I ran out, I decided to make my own. It's super simple to make, and for the price of 1 bottle of linen spray from the department store, I can make about a dozen bottles. If you check the label of any of the commercial linen sprays, the number one ingredient is WATER! You are basically paying for the bottle with a little fragrance thrown in.

Here's how I make mine:

• 2 ounces 91% isopropyl alcohol
• 4 ounces distilled water
• 15-20 drops lavender essential oil (not lavender fragrance oil which may contain synthetic ingredients)
• 6 to 8-ounce bottle with a fine mist spray (I reused my old linen spray bottle, but you can find suitable empty bottles in the cosmetic section of the drugstore) 
• optional--coloring (in a small dish, combine 1 drop red and 1 drop blue liquid food coloring with 1 tablespoon of distilled water.  Drop 1/16 teaspoon of this colored mixture into the bottle of lavender spray, at a time, until the desired color of finished product. Remember, keep the color very, very light. It's just to "suggest" the fragrance of the product, not color your linens.)

Add the first 3 ingredients to your spray bottle, and shake well. Add optional food coloring, until desired tint. Shake well before each use.

*if you're really afraid that you'll botch the coloring, here's how I came up with the tint that I like. I made a sample faux-liquid, using just water and the coloring. After, I mixed up the 1 tablespoon distilled water with red and blue coloring, I filled a glass measuring cup with 6 ounces of water. I added 1/16th teaspoon at a time of the color into the plain water. I dropped 1 drop of this colored water onto a square of white cotton, to make sure it wouldn't stain. I decided on just under 1/8th teaspoon total of the coloring/water mix for each 6 ounces of spray. Then, I used that amount (shy 1/8th teaspoon) of coloring/water for my lavender mixture.

Later this week, I'll tell you where I buy my essential oils, a little more info on lavender, and a little giveaway.

This week's edibles and other goodies

Midsummer, and it's time to create some goodies.

This week, I made 5 half-pints of sweet cherry preserves and 1 half-pint of sweet cherry syrup. I used the directions in Joy of Cooking for the preserves. The cherry syrup is simply the leftover syrup juice from the preserve.

I made 1  1/2 pints of watermelon rind pickles, again using Joy of Cooking's directions. I used whole cloves and cinnamon sticks in place of the spice oils called for.

I almost forgot, I also made a batch of laundry soap and liquid hand soap. I simply melted down 1 bar of allergen-free bar soap in a large amount of water. I don't add anything else to this, for laundry, due to allergies. We have soft water here. This likely wouldn't rinse out as well in hard water. But it is working well-enough for us. And the big bonus for me, my skin can tolerate it very well. For the liquid hand soap, I poured some of this melted soap into the empty soap bottles, and added some green liquid food coloring that I had mixed for another project. Lovely, sea green hand soap, for pennies a bottle.
That's all for this week's creative goodies.


Did you create anything this week? Share, please!

Even with a large garden, I still have to buy some produce in summer

About now, my family begins to tire of kale, Swiss chard, lettuce and snow peas. We live in a maritime climate where many produce items simply don't ripen until late August, and some can't even grow here (such as avocados and melons).

So, I have to supplement what we can harvest with some purchased produce. Supermarket prices on produce are outrageous on most items. One local store is advertising peaches for $1.99/lb this week! (I'm sure that supermarkets are counting on most shoppers to not notice prices.)

I only want to spend a small amount of our grocery money on fruits and vegetables during the summer. So I need to be very mindful of prices as I plan what to buy. I have 3 locations where I shop for produce, and fortunately they're all along the same highway -- Trader Joe's, Country Farms (the produce stand), and Cash and Carry. I shop Trader Joe's for bananas, Cash and Carry for dried fruit, like raisins (not fresh, but we consider raisins as part of our fruits and vegetables), and Country Farms for overall low prices, yes, but I'm most impressed by their mark-down bin.

Yesterday, I made my mid-July produce shopping trip. I spent $21.95 for fruits and vegetables that will last for about 2 weeks, supplementing what I can harvest from our garden. For my $21.95, I bought 20 bananas, 2 lbs raisins, 2  12-pound watermelons, 1 head garlic, 2 large cucumbers, 3 small avocados for salads (will be ripe in about 4 or 5 days), a bag of 1 1/4 lbs of broccoli florets (marked down for 99 cents), a bag of 1 1/2 lbs of Rainier cherries (marked down for 99 cents), 3 large green peppers (marked down for 99 cents), a bag of 7 small and 1 large very ripe avocados for guacamole (marked down for 99 cents).

The cherries, broccoli and very ripe avocados will be gone within 2 days. The green peppers will be chopped and frozen. One whole watermelon to be consumed in the first week. The second whole watermelon is in the garage fridge to hold until next week. The bananas are in varying stages of ripeness and will be used within a week. The 3 unripe avocados will be added to salads over the weekend. The cucumbers should last 10-12 days. The garlic will last until I harvest our garden garlic next month. And, of course, the raisins would keep much longer than they will last here.

What didn't I buy that I saw yesterday? In the mark-down bin -- 3 ears of corn for $1, heads of leaf lettuce for 99 cents each, a bag of 1 pound of cauliflower for 99 cents, aloe leaves at 99 cents each (don't know what I'd do with aloe), bags of corn husks for 99 cents (these would be great for tamales, but that sounds like too much work right now), a 5-lb box of small oranges  for $3 that looked past their prime (would probably have been good for juicing), a 5-lb box of daikon radishes for $3 (might be good pickled, but that would be a whole lotta pickled daikon, 5-lb boxes of overripe bananas for $3 (that's 60 cents/lb, I can do better at Trader Joe's at about 40 cents/lb). At Cash and Carry, they had fresh strawberries, cherries, blueberries and raspberries for more per pound than the supermarkets. I find I have to be careful buying summer produce at the Cash and Carry, as their prices can often be beat by supermarkets.

By the end of July, more will be ready in the garden for harvest, and we'll have the variety that we crave.

When I have to buy produce in summer, I do have a few guidelines that I go by:

• fruit needs to be very low-priced -- for fruit, under 40 cents/lb for most fruit. I make an exception for berries, cherries, peaches and grapes, but still look for those items at 79 cents/lb or less. For the most part, I buy watermelons, cantaloupe, bananas in mid-summer. Plus, I often find marked down fruit at the produce stand. This week it was cherries for 66 cents/lb. Even though we have some cherries on our trees, extras are always nice to have. I'll be checking road-side stands for peaches later in the summer.
• dried fruit at $2.50/lb or less for raisins, $3.00/lb or less for dried apricots and prunes, and about $4.50/lb or less, for dried cherries. One drugstore has had containers of dried fruit on sale meeting these prices, every summer for the past several years, and I'm hoping for the same this year.
• fresh vegetables at 79 cents/lb or less, and they need to be veggies that I'm not growing, or won't be able to harvest for another month or more.

If you grow some of your produce, are there items that you simply can't grow, but like to buy? A lot of supermarkets no longer offer marked down produce. I'm hoping that they offer this to local food banks and soup kitchens. Do any of your local stores have marked down produce? Do you have a price limit in your mind for how much you are willing to spend for produce?

You are sooo lucky!

I've heard that a lot this past year. "You are sooo lucky that your house is paid for and no matter what, you won't lose it!" "You are soooo lucky to have fruit trees in your yard!" "You are soooo lucky that your kids all got scholarships to college!"

I don't like to use the word "luck". Our culture has a completely different meaning for that word than I do. Our culture seems to think that "luck" has a large component of randomness. Luck just happens to some folks and not to others, or so it is implied in western culture.

The definition of luck, that I appreciate, is this. "Luck is when preparedness meets opportunity".

You can't have a house paid for if you don't put in the effort to make payments. We knew we wanted to have our house free and clear as soon as possible. We saved a little longer than many people thought we should (8 years), and put down almost half of the purchase price to get a lower mortgage. We began making extra principle payments with the very first scheduled payment, and were able to pay off our home in 14 years. It was hard work and discipline, not luck, that got that house ours, free and clear.

You can't have a yard full of fruit tress if you don't plant those trees, or at least buy or rent a house with existing fruit trees. Our very first rented house had an apricot tree and spot for a garden. I'd never planted a garden before in my life, but did so that summer. I was hooked. Our next apartment didn't have room for trees, but we grew tomato plants in pots on the deck. When we moved to Washington, we looked for a rental with space for a garden and existing fruit trees. We hit the mother lode, 2 apple trees, 1 crab apple tree, 2 plum trees, 1 pear tree and 1 cherry tree. My husband was unemployed when we moved into that rental. That fruit accounted for a good chunk of our diet that first summer. And when we bought our current house, we set out to plant it with all kinds of fruit trees, plants and bushes. It's not luck that we have enough fruit to last us over 6 months of each year.

Universities just don't hand out merit scholarships to anyone who applies. My kids worked very hard all through high school to earn those scholarships. I'm a mom, I'm supposed to say that I have the most brilliant kids around. But the truth is, as their mom, I can see their academic weaknesses. These kids have worked their tails off in school. Two of them did a summer of tutoring, to bring their math skills up. When one of my daughters was having a hard time in her History class this past year, she upped her efforts in a hurry. She didn't finish at the top of her class, but got her grade up high enough to maintain her academic scholarship for the next year. If you ask her, she'll be quick to point out that that was not luck. That was a boatload of hard work.


So I'm not lucky, but I am fortunate beyond measure. I've been provided for providentially, and someone, somewhere along the line has put in the work for me to have my fortunes. Sometimes, we put in that hard work ourselves, but sometimes someone else has laid the foundation for us, as when a parent or grandparent leaves a generous gift to their heirs. Some of us are simply more blessed in this area than others. But all of us have been given gifts by our Creator, to use to make our way in this world (that's the providence part). Some of us recognize our gifts early on in life, while others of us don't "discover" our gifts until later. But those gifts are present, nonetheless.

What about the lottery? "Oh, I wish I could be so lucky as to win the lottery." There is some randomness in the actual winning of the lottery. But even someone who wins the lottery had to buy that lottery ticket.  I am guaranteed to never win the lottery, as I won't buy lottery tickets.

Some preparedness has to be expended, if one is to be available to seize that golden opportunity.

You can study hard and you may not receive a scholarship. Or you can plant fruit trees and you still may not harvest much fruit. But if you never work hard in high school, you likely will not receive any scholarships. And if you don't plant fruit trees, then it's certain that you won't harvest any fruit. If we had skipped payments and defaulted on our mortgage, then it is certain that our house would not be ours free and clear, today.

So, with the next giveaway that I host here, I may say, "good luck" to you all. But really, you have zero chance of winning the drawing if you don't enter. You know, I think I prefer to say, "best wishes to you." That doesn't sound at all like randomness to me.

June grocery money jourmal, a revelation and the winner of a 1-year Victoria subscription

First off, the winner of the 1-year subscription to Victoria magazine. The randomly selected number is 3, Jo Ann. Congratulations! Jo Ann, please email me your mailing address, so I can fill out the forms. lili.mounce@gmail.com

So, we went over our budgeted grocery amount, not by a whole lot, but we did go over. I was beating myself up over this for a few days. Then I reread my grocery money journal for the month, and I could see for myself that I didn't buy junk (at least not a lot of it, some soda for special occasions, and colored sprinkles for cookies and cakes, but otherwise, that was it as "junk"). I spent our money wisely. It's not my fault that grocery prices have risen steeply in the last several months, or that our income has been cut significantly at the same time. I am working hard at this, and I shouldn't feel badly that groceries simply cost more than I can afford right now. Maybe next month will be better, as our garden is producing even more, and our pantry and freezers are well-stocked. It's discouraging, yes, but not a personal failure, simply something that is. I am working hard at something that just is hard.

In most of the other areas of spending, we are doing well. We continue to implement savings strategies on utilities, entertainment, leisure travel, clothing, gas for the cars and cleaning supplies. Medical expenses have risen and for our family will continue to go up for a while. We simply have medical needs right now for a couple of family members. Can't do anything about that. University costs have risen. Again, I have zero control over tuition increases. However, we are doing well with books and supply costs, either renting books or buying books used, online/from other students. And of course, property taxes rose this year by several hundred dollars. We'll just have to work around these areas that represent increased spending in our budget.


June 1.
We've been cutting and cutting and cutting, and we still need to cut back more. Next month, we have a further reduced grocery budget. We're scaling back to $165 in July, and seeing if it will work for us. This month we have $170. At the same time, I'm trying to "bank" more surplus for late summer/early fall stock-ups. All while grocery prices keep shooting upwards! We'll see how it goes.

June 1. It's a Sunday and the girls would like a ride to St Vincent de Paul, to check out their 99 cent clothing day. SVdP is on the main highway, so I turn this into an opportunity to make a run down to Trader Joes and the produce stand. At Trader Joe's I pick up 15 bananas, for a cost of $2.85.

The produce stand is just down the road. I get 1 cantaloupe (39 cents/lb), 1 cucumber (50 cents), 3 avocados (3/$1) and a bag of 5 large pasilla peppers (99 cents). I spend $3.58.

June 3. I checked the ads online for Walgreens, Fred Meyer and the Cash and Carry. Cash and Carry has a few things I'm interested in on sale. I buy 50 lb sack of onions ($8.81, that's about 18 cents/lb), 50 lb sack of stone-ground whole wheat flour ($20.08, 40 cents/lb), 25 lb sack of carrots ($6.98, about 28 cents/lb), a case of 6 #10 cans of diced, canned tomatoes ($15.96), a gallon of lemon juice ($4.97), a small box of cornstarch (99 cents), 3  4-lb jars of chunky peanut butter ($5.98 each, about $1.49/lb), 2-lb bag raisins ($4.59). Total spent $80.32, for a month to date total of $86.75.

June 5. Fred Meyer has eggs and milk on sale this week. I buy 2 gallons whole milk, $2.50 each (great for making yogurt) and 2  18-ct cartons of eggs ($2 each). While I'm there, I buy some ground ginger from bulk bins (66 cents), and I find balsamic vinegar mayonnaise on clearance for $1.32 per 30 oz jar. There are 4 jars left, but I only buy 2, for a total spent of $12.30.

June 7. Heading back to Fred Meyer on way home from dropping daughter at the park and ride. I buy 2 more gallons of whole milk (for yogurt), and 2 more cartons of eggs, plus I find 1 half gallon of skim milk on markdown for $1, and 2 gallons of 1% milk on markdown for $2. I'm set for milk for the month of June, now. Total spent today, $14, for a month to date spent of $113.05.

June 9. So, I'm looking in the pantry, fridge and freezers. It all looks pretty well-stocked. I will try to only buy stupendous deals and a little extra produce for the rest of the month. We may just make my goal of setting aside more money for the fall.

June 11. Fred Meyer for butter with a coupon, 1lb for $2, limit 2. I buy my 2 and pick up the non-food items I need here. Spent $4.

June 13. Safeway has cans of coffee on sale today only for $5. I buy 4 cans of French roast and spend $20. We now have enough coffee to get through the year and into 2015.

June 13. My daughters had a day off. When I asked what they'd like to do, they wanted to go to Goodwill. While there, I find seed packets for 29 cents. I buy 4 packets of spinach seeds. Spent $1.27

June 14. Albertson's has 2 lb blocks of cheddar for $4.99 w/ coupon (limit 1). I also need pectin for strawberry-rhubarb jam ($5.19). Spent $10.18.

June 20. Fred Meyer has eggs on sale with in-store coupon 4 dozen for $5. I check out the clearance rack and find blue sprinkles, perfect for 4th of July cookies, just 89 cents. Spent $5.89, for a month-to-date total of $154.69

June 23. Down near the produce stand, Country Farms, stop in and buy 1 eggplant (I'll make easy eggplant casserole, 79 cents), 1 head garlic (50 cents, ouch! can't wait for my garden garlic to be ready to dig) and a cucumber (50 cents). Total spent $1.79.

June 28. Walgreen's has 2-litres of soda pop for 79 cents each (plus tax), limit 3. I buy our Christmas tree decorating party bottle of cola, and 2 bottles of lemon-lime (one for punch for a special occasion and the other nice to have on hand in case someone in the family catches a stomach bug). I've got these at the back of the pantry right now, out of view, out of mind. Spent $2.60

June 28. I'm at QFC loading a bus pass onto my daughter's bus card and decide to check the dairy aisle for mark downs. I find 5 gallons of whole milk (4%), good for making yogurt, for $2.09 each, and 3 gallons of skim milk for $1.89 each. Total spent $16.12.

Month-to-date spent on groceries -- $175.20, $5.20 over budget. I'll deduct this from our running surplus from previous months, leaving $54.51 in surplus. We spent $40.88 per week, on average for the month of June, a really small amount for 5 adults, and I need to remind myself of that regularly.