Anybody Interested in Getting More Organized?

Ha-ha-ha-hee-hee-hohohoho!  No, dear readers, I'm not laughing at you.  I'm laughing with you.

Who among us does NOT want to somehow, someway, someday get more organized?

Julie Morgenstern is billed as "America's #1 organizer (who) tackles the time crunch and shows you how to get more done while easing your stress."  Can it get any better than that?

If you're interested in receiving this gently used copy of "Time Management from the Inside Out," just leave a comment saying that you'd like to have me send it to you.

Come on, folks, keep helping me pare down our still-too-full bookshelves!

Granddog Tucker is Such a Fussy Eater -- Not!

Good to the very laaaaassst lick!

"More, please."

"I am sooo hungry!  I'm feeling weak."

"My friend, Male Mallard Duck, is really hungry, too.  I guess we'll just wait here until something appears in our dish.  Sigh."

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 Yup, it's a dog's (and duck's) life, that's for sure.

 

Just Chit-Chat

I'm taking a rest from offering a give-a-way today.  Seems like the thing to do.

We've been back in the deep-freeze again for several days.  Last night it only got down to a couple of degrees below zero which seemed quite balmy.  It's not that we haven't been staying warm inside but we sure are whomping through the wood.  Papa Pea promises we have plenty of wood in the second shed to make it to spring but this time of year I always get a little nervous thinking about having to burn some wood that isn't properly seasoned.  I do know we have A LOT of wood cutting to do first thing this spring, along with splitting and stacking it in the two wood sheds.  Good thing we both enjoy wood working.  My body almost yearns for all that bending, stretching and lifting.  I'm ready to go at it.

My hubby made this peanut butter feeder for the birds out of a piece of maple many years ago.  As soon as the weather gets cold in the late fall, I pull it out of storage, put in the first filling of peanut butter and hang it outside a kitchen window for the birds.

Then keeping it filled is a regular task all winter long.  It's almost as if when the birds see the empty feeder taken in, they start lining up in a nearby tree waiting for the refilled feeder to come back out.  This little chickadee pictured above landed almost as soon as I turned my back after hanging the feeder on its hook.

We continue to be very short of snowfall this winter.  You can clearly still see the outline of the raised garden beds in this picture.  This time of year nothing should be visible but a flat expanse of at least a few feet of snow.

And speaking of the garden, I've had seed catalogs and order forms piled on my desk (in total disarray, I might add) for going on two weeks now.  I had a really good start on the task when I got involved in The Great Book Sorting Project, but in the past couple/few days since that's been finished, I haven't been motivated to dive back in and complete the ordering of the garden seeds.  Maybe today?

Nope.  I think not.  I'm taking this day "off" except for the absolute necessaries.  We have beautiful sunshine streaming in our south windows, and the combination wood stove/open fireplace in the living room is successfully making the room warm and cozy (despite an outside temp of only 3 degrees).  My plans are for sitting on the couch with my knitting and a stack of library books on ideas for deck design and construction.  Gotta get a handle on the re-doing of our south deck which is slated to happen this summer.

Have a great Sunday, y'all! 

A Book That May Cause You To Make Changes

The Safe Shopper's Bible is a hefty tome that is interesting to read and laid out in a format that makes it easy to look up the safety (or harmfulness) of thousands of products, some of which we use on a daily basis.

There are sections on household products, cosmetics and personal care products, and foods and beverages.  Some of the information may surprise you.  It opened my eyes to the harmful ingredients in many commercially manufactured products, and caused me to make changes in  some items I purchased and brought into our home.

Many of us have a desire to use products that are more natural and less damaging to our bodies and our environment.  The info in this book can provide a guide for you.

Be the first to comment that you'd like to receive this book, and I'll be glad to send it to you.

Hope you're all having a good weekend!

Oldies But Goodies

I've got some real treasures to post for the taking today.

Here is a set of four books containing knitting patterns that all of you ka-nitters out there will enjoy looking through.

They are all from the early to mid-1960s when I first started to really get into knitting.  Truth be told, it's kinda hard for me to part with these books, 'cause they sure do bring back a lot of memories.  However, two "savers" in the family (both Papa Pea and Chicken Mama) are quite enough, and I'm on a roll to get rid of "stuff" that, at this point in my life, feels as if it's weighing me down.

Some of these patterns don't look that different than ones you see in knitting books for sale today.

Very pretty, simple patterns you can do if you've done much knitting at all.

Even if you didn't want to knit a sweater, some of these beautiful patterns would make a gorgeous scarf or rectangular lap robe.  (The look this fella in the picture above has goin' is really stylin', isn't it?)

And here's an outfit that I'm sure many of you really need to add to your wardrobe.  (Seriously, doesn't it look like something you'd see on the red carpet today?)

If you'd like to receive the package of all four of these books, be the first to leave a comment saying so, and I'll ship these oldies but goodies off to you.

Cherry Muffins

I found the pictures of these Cherry Muffins in my camera tonight and realized I'd never shared the recipe here on the blog.

It was in November of 2000 (according to the notation on my recipe card) that I first made them.  Along with the date I wrote, "Super good muffins!!"   I've made them a few times in the last twelve years but not nearly as often as I perhaps should have.  (Maybe I have too many recipes?)

Anywho, I made them a week or so ago and they were pronounced PDG (Pretty Darn Good) by all who sampled them.

They would be wonderful for a Sunday Brunch or with a cuppa coffee at  afternoon break.

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CHERRY MUFFINS

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 teaspoon almond extract

2 cups fresh, frozen or canned pitted tart red cherries, drained

Topping

1 to 2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 to 2 tablespoons sliced almonds

In mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Make a well in the center and set aside.

In another bowl, combine eggs, milk, butter and almond extract.

Add to flour mixture all at once and stir just until moistened.  Gently fold in cherries.

Spoon into well-greased muffin tins.

Combine topping ingredients and sprinkle over batter.  Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of a muffin comes out clean.

Cool a few minutes before removing muffins to a rack.  Yields 12 muffins.

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Since the month of February starts tomorrow (eeek, how did that happen already?) and February is National Cherry Month (according to the Cherry Marketing Institute), why not give these a try in the next couple of weeks?