Random thoughts on a Saturday

 

Beautiful graphic by Abby at Little Birdie Blessings

 Just a few minutes to blog today so I will just share a few random things.  

🌿  I wanted to share the carrot recipe I used on Easter.  I changed it a lot and can't now remember where I found it, but will share it as I made it.

ORANGE-MAPLE GLAZED CARROTS

1 1/3 cup orange juice (I purchased a small bottle of the fresh squeezed juice from the supermarket), divided use
2 pounds baby carrots
1/3 cup maple syrup
Freshly grated nutmeg
1/3 cup butter
2 Tablespoons cornstarch

Place 1/3 cup of the orange juice in a small bowl or custard cup and set aside.

Pour remaining 1 cup of orange juice into a medium saucepan and heat to boiling.  Add the carrots and stir to coat with juice.  Cover and cook for 15 minutes or so.  Stir in the maple syrup, freshly grated nutmeg to taste (recipe called for 1 teaspoon, but I wasn't sure how the kids would go for it, so I used probably 1/2 teaspoon or a little less), and the butter.  Stir until butter melts; cook, uncovered for another 10 minutes or so, or until nearly tender.  

Mix the cornstarch into the reserved orange juice; mix well and stir into the carrot mixture.  Cook, stirring, until mixture thickens somewhat.  If you think you'd like it thicker, mix up some more cornstarch in a little water or juice and add that.  (The cornstarch was my addition as I didn't think the carrots could be described as "glazed" at all.  Just carrots cooked in orange juice.)

Makes about 6 to 8 servings.  We thought they had a very nice flavor and made a good side for Easter dinner.

 🌿  Just looked at a writing prompt for today.  One was to list 5 things blooming in their garden.  Sadly, my garden is under inches of snow.  Possibly some shoots are up, like bloodroot or maybe even daffodils.  But they are not visible.

🌿  I'm getting back into making kombucha.  So far, so good!  

🌿 Cleaning the attic is proceeding apace!  We try to do a little bit every week and think we are a little over half done.   We are doing this by bringing boxes down a section at a time, and going through them in the living room where it's warmer and more roomy.  The stuff we save! I believe my hubby said that almost everything left up there still to go through is in plastic totes, so that will be a lot easier.  The cardboard boxes we've been going through have been such a mess.  Mice have really had their way up there for years.

Several of the local grands had been planning to help us with this project (and they may yet get in on it, or on the garage attic when we do that) but I am really just as glad they were quite busy with other things the past few weeks.  Dealing with mouse nests and food caches is just messy.

🌿  I finally finished the study Stand Firm, the Daily Grace Co. study on the armor of God.  What a blessing!  I think I will start their study on the book of Habakkuk next.

🌿 For those who are thinking something looks a little different with my blog, apparently The Cutest Blog on the Block, where I had obtained the blog background I'd had for years, is no more.  I can't tell you how shocked I was, at the end of a volunteer work day on Tuesday, to find the backgrounds missing from both of my blogs, and The Cutest Blog on the Block domain name apparently available for the taking.  

What to do?  I liked those backgrounds a whole lot!  The next day I did a little looking around and I am moderately pleased with what I found for my Christmas blog, but I'm not really crazy about the one for my Kitchen Table.  It will do for now, however.

All right, back to the kitchen!  Our local daughter had a birthday yesterday, and we are celebrating with supper this evening. 

December 6 -- Making space for Christmas

 

On December 1, I began putting away the fall decor and getting out the Christmas things.  

I have a smallish box full of fall decor plus a large plastic bag of silk fall leaves.  This year my daughter had a larger table to decorate for Thanksgiving and had borrowed some of my things to use.  When I went to put those away, plus the fall decor I had used throughout the season,  I was struck by how many things there were in that box that I never, ever use.  Small things, to be sure, but still -- taking up valuable space.  So I decided to do as I had done previously with the Christmas decor and sort it out now, before putting it away.

Wow, what a worthwhile project that turned out to be!  I was able to clean out the box, throw some things away, send some things to the thrift store, and everything that remained fit neatly into the box -- and the lid even closed!  That hasn't happened in years, all because I never took time to really look over what I had.

So I highly recommend others to do the same with their fall decor.

I haven't posted a "Making space" in months, so what I'm enumerating here is from September 3 through December 1:

To our camp —
A small enameled cast iron oval Dutch oven with cover
A small baking sheet
A metal cover to fit most saucepans

To the trash —
A carry-on bag that has seen far better days
2 reusable shopping bags that are too small
A vintage beach bag
An inexpensive tote bag with clear windows for photos
A doll-size yellow zipper
A duffel bag that’s become too battered to use
8 or 10 bits of gold cord and small gold ribbon bows
A few faux cattails
A wooden cornucopia magnet (missing its magnet)
A handmade topiary tree table favor

To the thrift store —
A canvas book bag with zipper top and one zipper compartment (a freebie from somewhere)
A never-used canvas carry-on bag from Golden Grahams/Lucky Charms
2 books
6 handcrafted pumpkin head mini scarecrow dolls made from spools and twine
An Avon Halloween ornament
A turkey table favor made from a pine cone and craft foam
A wooden “Pick Your Own Strawberries” sign with 3-D strawberries *
2 wooden strawberries *
1 small Constant Comment tea canister

* As noted before, this is the sort of thing that happens when you have, or when people think you have, a strawberry collection ... 

Just a note too that I have been SO thankful I took that Dutch oven to the camp.  (It had belonged to my mother.)  It is so versatile and I've been able to use it for everything from reheating soup to making box mac'n'cheese.

Have you stashed away your fall decor yet?  If not, why not go through those totes or boxes before you put them away -- and make more space for Christmas!

Making space

 

 Time for another post as to what all is leaving or has left here recently.  Here goes:

August 17-31
Some from the linen closet, some from the craft closet, some from my dresser and elsewhere

To the trash —
 Some old makeup — lipstick, pressed powder, etc.
A bunch of partially used travel size toiletries — probably 2 dozen or more items
A strawberry bath pouf  — as noted before, this is the sort of thing that  happens when you have, or when people think you have, a strawberry collection
Remnants from some type of craft foam kit
A pair of comfy cotton pajama pants that have completely lost their elastic

To the thrift store —
2 bars of unused soap
2 small empty glass apothecary jars
An Oriental Trading kit to make 6 fall decorated votive holders
A bargain pair of green capris that I’ll never wear
4 vintage restaurant creamers with some cracks, etc.  Hopefully they are a fun find for someone!
A set of red nesting heart-shaped tiny tins
A set of Christmas pillowcases bought on clearance and used once — they don’t fit our pillows
A bright pink hand towel with a strawberry design (see bath pouf above)
A glass floral bowl and 3 rose-shaped floating candles (gift set I didn’t even know I had)!

To my young granddaughter —
Some chunky foam stamps in fun designs like shells, butterflies, western gear, frogs, and more

To our little camp —
2 dish towels
A wonderful Coleman rack for cooking over a campfire
A ceramic penguin lamp from my childhood — need to buy a shade, but this will work in the grandkids’ sleeping and play loft
A pretty decorative fall plate that will be nice for fall decor here

And that's it for now!

Making space ...

 

August 16 — Wow, it has been awhile.   Becki at Field Lilies has been making space again and she's been inspiring me.

Even though I haven't posted about it, I’ve been accumulating things for the thrift store:

Three ziplock bags with filled with greeting cards that I will never use.
Assorted small frames
Assorted magnets I’ll never use again
Some booklets of iron-ons for crafting
Several books we won’t finish reading
A nice navy blue checked shirt of my husband’s; it’s a very large XL and makes him look as if he’s lost 50 pounds.  (He keeps pulling it out of the closet and wearing it and someone invariably asks him if he’s okay.)
A blue glass swan
A Power Mate Jr. attachment to a vacuum cleaner we no longer own
A white glass vase with a motif of pink roses

These things came from here, there, and everywhere around our house, but the last three above -- swan, vacuum attachment and vase -- came from the linen closet, which I am focusing on this week.  Everything listed below came from there, too. 

To our cottage —

A package of green mesh shelf liner
A towel rack we aren’t using here

To the trash —

A huge bag of assorted towels, baby blankets, etc. that got stained with some unknown substance while stored on the lowest shelf of the linen closet.
An old shower curtain I’d been saving to use at the beach — it got stained too
A tapestry rug with a fun design of lighthouses; barely used, but the rubber backing has disintegrated, so …

I have the lowest shelf of the linen closet now fully decluttered.  There are three or four more to go.  I've snatched things off them here and there, but hopefully I can get the rest of the closet completely decluttered this week.  We will see!

Goodbye, Old Blue

If you have spent much of any time in rural New England, you know that as a people we are prone to saving things that might be useful again someday.  One of our poets, Donald Hall, wrote a book of essays titled String Too Short to Be Saved.  He took the inspiration for this title from a container he found (I think it was an envelope, but it may have been a box) in the old family homestead, with just this label on it.  The pieces of string it contained were too short to be useful, but they had been saved anyway. 

Many New Englanders take this frugal habit to the extreme and save very large items like vehicles, campers, and even houses for potential later use.  Most of the people I know have an additional, unused vehicle somewhere on their property, and some have several.  Often, these are hauled out into the woods and sometimes they sort of sink out of sight out there. 

 

Old Blue here, this early 1970s pickup, was originally my Dad's, then my hubby's.  It plowed snow for many years and made countless trips to the dump.  But the time came when Old Blue was no longer roadworthy in anyway, so out to the woods it went.

We had decided that this would be the year that Old Blue would go to the scrapyard.  In our view, it was just time to get this vehicle out of our woods, along with some other bits and pieces of scrap metal.

But one day this spring, someone stopped and talked to my hubby, asking if he might take Old Blue off our hands (and off our property -- yay!).  Mr. T was happy with this solution, and they agreed that sometime this summer they would make the move.

They had to wait until the ground dried out from mud season.  So a July Saturday was recently agreed upon as The Day.  Of course, no one could have predicted the several days of monsoon-like weather that happened this week,  and the ground was pretty wet, but they proceeded with their plan this morning.

 

 And there goes Old Blue!  Off to a new home with plenty of company and the potential for future usefulness.

I'm posting this mostly for my Nevada daughter, but knew other readers would find it entertaining as well.  Hope you've enjoyed this look at real life in rural New Hampshire!

Making space ... week 12

 

Yes, I'm still trying to make some space.  Here's the tally from March 9-20:

Things from here and there

To the trash:
Many containers of dried up play dough, plus assorted cutters for same
A bunch of brand-now, but inferior crayons
7 (yes, seven!) partially used bottles of lotion in various scents
3 large, dried up glue sticks
A remote so old we don’t know what it went to

To the thrift store:
4 boxes crayons
2 boxes white chalk
2 boxes colored chalk
2 boxes jumbo colored sidewalk chalk
3 glass candleholders — 1 votive, 2 taper size
1 box vintage yellow taper candles in the “slim” size
7 floating candles — 6 “candy corn” and 1 star shape
1 baby outfit from my daughter’s infancy
Other odds and ends of kids’ clothing — 2 very nice sleeveless dresses size 8 (won’t fit any granddaughters for a few years yet, so …); a pair of corduroy pants, same size; 1 white polo shirt, same size … probably more.
A decorative ladybug made to resemble a strawberry (this sort of thing happens when you have, or when people think you have, a strawberry collection)
A navy blue striped long-sleeve tee
A pretty plaid shirt with silvery trim and black velvet collar (it has never fit …)
3 other plaid shirts; I love them but they will never fit again

Plus, I did give some items of kids’ clothing to my daughters for their kids.

Hoping to post another list in a week or two!

Making space --- Week 11

 

 It's actually later than week 11, I'm sure, and it's taken me far more than a week to dispose of all these items, but I'm finally posting some totals from my recent decluttering efforts.

February 13 - March 6:  

Things from here and there

To the thrift store:
Assorted unused birthday cards that I’ll never use
1 “cut glass” bud vase
1 small glass dish with poppy decals
1 red acrylic sweater
1 pair of khaki pants
1 blue flowered vest — I still like it, but have replaced it with a blue paisley vest that I like better
1 pink seersucker bathrobe I’ll never wear again
5 collectible bells that were gifted to my daughter as a teen
5 glass votive candle holders
An unused candle in a tin
A dozen music CDs and a couple cassette tapes
A large container of oversize lego-type bricks and the parts for a plastic marble run

To the trash:
A “Made in Turkey” vase, clear glass with violets painted on it — as soon as I started to wash it, two cracks developed
Two handmade candles with a “grungy” look made by rolling them in melted paraffin, then spices
A half-dozen nearly used jar candles
A Christmas pillar candle with no scent left
A child-painted wooden plaque that had seen far, far better days
A pair of brown jeans that I loved to death
A pair of black cotton knit pants, likewise
A pair of socks (with a small hole) that just doesn’t fit well
A tube of envelope glue
3 “eye of God” ornaments made by grandchildren
2 large hot glue sticks
Reading glasses that don’t work for anyone
An old sweatshirt I never wear
A favorite sweater with too many rips and holes to wear again
A bunch of CDs and cassettes
Many items I'd kept for kids to "dress up" in

Cleaning out second bathroom drawer:

To the trash:
1 plastic medicine cup
1 used tube of travel toothpaste
Some hair removing mitts that don’t really work
Some Avon fragrance samples
A ziplock bag full of skin care samples that are far outdated
A tube of hand lotion that just isn’t good anymore

Cleaning out the “junk drawer” in the kitchen

To the trash:
12 pencil-top erasers
1 package removable adhesive
5 pieces chalk
1 floor protector for chair or table leg
3 pencils with nonworking erasers
1 plastic protractor
3 metal compasses
1 hat for a Fisher-Price little person
2 calligraphy pens with no points

To the thrift store:
A container of replacement pencil leads

To my Christmas wrap storage:
2 rolls of sweet Christmas-themed packing tape

Cleaning out a large, deep drawer where we kept all manner of photos:

To the trash:
Probably hundreds of useless photos and negatives
A fancy family photo album with one large photo in it; this album is broken, moldy and unusable

Plus, I've actually thrown away many more things that I just haven't taken the time to write down.  This looks like quite a list, but I have a long, long way to go with this decluttering task.

Making space ... week 10

 

Yes, it's another Making Space post.  A few more things have left the house in the past week or so and I'm working on yet another box for the thrift store.

February 5 — cleaning out a drawer where I keep candles

To the trash —

A bag of 8 smallish candles — the type used in Swedish angel chimes.  These had once been red, but have faded to pink.
A partially burned set of wavy dark red tapers.  Pretty, but unlikely to be used again.
A handmade white Christmas tree candle made by me, many decades ago.  Once white, it’s now stained and discolored.  I’ll never burn it, so out it goes.
A used up candle in a tin
A used up jar candle

To the thrift store — 

A pretty resin candleholder with a flower garden theme  -- I love this, but hate dusting it so it's been stored.  Someone else might as well be enjoying it.
A set of hanging candles with a gingerbread man theme
A floating candle in the shape of a mitten
2 small figural Christmas candles — one a drummer boy and one a toy soldier
3 jar candle toppers — so pretty, but a pain to dust, and I rarely buy large jar candles anyway.

🌿   🌿   🌿   🌿   🌿   🌿   🌿   🌿   🌿   🌿    🌿   🌿  

And from a few other areas here and there

Also to the thrift store —

 * A blue plaid thermos -- I hated to let this go.  It's the wide-mouth type and is probably from the 1970s, so not that old.  But my daughter didn't want it and my hubby didn't think he'd use it, so out it went.  I hope someone witll be overjoyed to find it.
* A large blue glass vase

Also to the trash:
A Folger’s coffee canister saved for storage
Two plastic-covered metal shelf dividers I’d used in craft storage

And that's it for now!

Making space ... week 9

 

Okay, I'm calling this week 9, although I have a couple weeks worth of decluttering here. 

 January 18 — From some of my seasonal decorating stash:

To the trash: a decorative egg-shaped soap with lily of the valley motif
To the thrift store: 8 more plastic Easter eggs

From more of my stash of craft materials:

To the thrift store: a jumbo ziplock bag filled with fabric trims of all types and colors (photo below); a bag of assorted Thanksgiving crafts for kids;  spool upon spool of unused 1/8” ribbon.  (Someone gave me this big bag of trims, but really I know I am so unlikely to use it, I just had to pass it on.)

To the trash: a bunch of short odds and ends of ribbons and trims.

January 25-29 — From a tote of Christmas decor in the attic

To the trash:
A decorative hanging ball covered with gilded pinecones, suspended by jute twine — pinecones are falling off it and it’s just not pretty anymore

To the thrift store:
A stuffed bear holding a velvety gift box
A bagful of silk holly, some of it “snow covered”, and a few pine cones
A Christmas table runner that’s not my style
A snowman lamp that’s not really my style anymore
A wall hanging, same
Several pewter-look ornaments
2 square hand-decorated Christmas candles
2 partial sets of iron-on letters for personalizing Christmas stockings
A decorative wooden box with Christmas theme
A lighted folk-art type wooden reindeer
A few bits and pieces of handmade ornaments and some ribbon
Several ornaments I just won't use again

To our camp:
A lighted evergreen garland
Two silk holly garlands
A woven rug in a quilt pattern design of red and green
A Christmas wall hanging I think would look good there
A gallon ziplock bag of assorted ornaments that could work for a camp Christmas tree

I'll likely be writing on my Christmas blog about the above list.  In this large tote from the attic, one of the things I found that I didn't even remember having was a lighted evergreen garland.  I thought of taking it to the camp because it would look nice there year round.  From there, as I found the other items listed, my hubby kind of ran with it and now we are contemplating having Christmas there next year!  Amazing the things that happen when you declutter!

Making space ... week 8

 

 I've been steadily plugging away at decluttering in various areas -- these are all areas that were out of sight, but I still feel great to have so many things leaving my house!

January 5 --To the thrift store: 5 or 6 iron-on craft transfers — bought to use on sweatshirts back in the day.  4 spools of thread, one white and three black.

Cleaning out that second shelf in the corner kitchen cabinet and also the top shelf in an upper cabinet.. 

To the trash: 5 plastic ice-cube trays; 2 metal ring molds; a broken deviled-egg plate; a cracked melamine plate

To our camp: 8 Corelle plates

To the thrift store: 1 Tupperware jello mold; 2 decorative tins; a 1-quart Corning ware casserole with cover; 2 stainless steel nesting bowls.

To our local daughter: a pretty blue glass pitcher; a 2-quart clear glass Fire King pouring bowl.

January 13-15 — sorting, tossing, donating items from some of my craft supply storage.

Tossed — a partial package of jersey loops for making pot holders; a bundle of raffia; old, woodgrain contact paper saved to use in a dollhouse; 2 kid-painted wooden signs (I saved the best ones); an opened package of colorful crafting feathers; pom-poms that had seen better days; an open box of plastic straws dedicated to crafting; assorted odds and ends of VBS and Sunday school crafts; a broken wooden Christmas plaque to paint (and presumably glue); a dozen or so nearly-used thread spools; my grandmother’s pincushion, a round plastic box of straight pins (much shorter than today’s pins and so not really useful); a stenciled wooden cheese box filled with a tangle of leftover crewel yarn and some skeins of off-brand embroidery floss.  (I kept a few skeins of floss.)

To the thrift store: a paper punch,  2 types of decorative sewing trim; 4 small soft-sculptured doll heads; 3 small grapevine wreaths; 2 plastic hangers (kids size); a package of multicolored plastic coffee stirrers for crafting; a fabric “praise banner” for kids to paint; 1 bag plastic Easter eggs; 2 spools metallic craft ribbon; a large bag of assorted pompoms; the makings for satin “Victorian hat” Christmas ornaments; odds and ends of plastic canvas; odds and ends of magnetic tape; a hem gauge (I think it’s called); 2 packages of cover-your-own buttons; 2 packages fabric crayons; assorted metal buckles; a half-dozen spools of thread; 2 skeins black yarn; a box of vintage button & carpet thread; an unused candle wicking wall hanging kit with a strawberry motif.

To my local daughter: odds and ends of craft materials that her kids will use.

To sell on Etsy: a vintage white plastic buckle for a dress belt.

To our camp: 2 kid-painted wooden signs; a wreath hanger I’d been hunting for; a handmade recipe card holder.

Gift items have also been stored up here.  I’d moved most of them to a different area, but forgot some. 

So, to the thrift store: a lighted floating “color orb”; to the gift chest: a set of 3 “Autumn Romance” votive holders.

I didn't count the items, but that's a lot of stuff.  So thankful to have it going elsewhere!

Making space -- week 7

 Okay, I'll confess -- I really have no idea what week we are on.  Life has been crazy.  But this is week 7 for me, I guess, so here's some of what I've been decluttering lately:

December 16 — to the thrift store:  another Christmas CD, a box of vintage glass Christmas balls in gold color (hopefully it will be a “find” for somebody); a ziplock bag containing assorted Christmas decor winnowed out as we trimmed the tree; a set of LED blue Christmas lights with white wires (we used this on an outdoor tree last year and the white wires were really unsightly, so I don’t see us using it again unless we for some reason acquired a white tree.  Not likely.)

January 4 — cleaning out the bottom shelf of a corner kitchen cabinet.   To the thrift store: a small crockpot; a ceramic flower basket;  a blue glass pitcher, pretty but doesn’t fit with any of my dishes; 2 clear glass bowls with pouring spouts; a plastic salad bowl and 4 individual salad bowls that match it; 4 Tupperware sandwich containers with lids; a Tupperware container for a bar of cheese; a mold and doll for making a doll cake; a Texas Ware bowl; a popcorn jar.  To our camp: a Pyrex bowl/casserole dish; a stainless steel bowl, a small glass storage jar, the type with a rubber gasket.  I also put a bunch of stuff in the trash.

Clearing out a craft tote that was under my bed; this was a tote that had been my mother's.   I could see it held craft materials so I had saved it.  Here's what I kept out of that (admittedly small) Rubbermaid tote: a bottle of gold beads and one of gold sequins. and two brand-new stencil brushes.  

To the trash: 4 bags of old potpourri (this was lovely, locally made high-end potpourri, but it was so old.  It had to go!);

To the thrift store: 3 packages of flexible magnetic strips; a box of assorted ribbon and ribbon roses; 5 packages of stencils; 4 miniature chipboard market baskets; a handmade Christmas ornament with a teensy teddy bear inside; a new bottle of potpourri oil and one of tacky glue; a package of wooden heart shapes.  

Much more decluttering to come in the days ahead, but this is a great start!
 

Making space -- week 6

 

 So I need to get this posted even though I suppose Sunday technically is week 7 of the Making Space challenge.  

December 9 — to the thrift store: 3 Christmas CDs (listening to them and winnowing them out), a pair of decorative-edge scissors and a rack for holding scissors; 2 hardcover books I decided against reading.

December 13 -- to the trash: 5-6 boxes of outdated jello; 2 boxes of outdated pudding mix; a jar of very, very outdated fig pastry filling.

Also to the trash -- a tall kitchen bag FULL of worn-out hats, gloves, sweaters, etc.

To the thrift store: 3 hats and a pair of 1980s leg warmers!

To a lady who felts wool sweaters and turns them into mittens: a black trash bag full of old wool sweaters neither of us will ever wear again.  

We usually set up our Christmas tree in front of the picture window of our living room.  A cedar chest ordinarily resides under that window and we always move it to make way for the tree.  This year I decided that we would declutter the contents of that chest (a project that's been on my list for months!) when we moved it.  Hence, all of the woolens being disposed of.  It feels great to have that project taken care of!

Making space -- week 5

 

 I have a pretty exciting list to share this week.  At least it's exciting to me when I think of the many items that have left or will soon be leaving my house.

November 30— cleared out the baking drawer where I keep extracts, sugars and sprinkles, etc.  Threw away:

 1 large package of plastic recipe protectors — destroyed by blue food coloring
1 nearly empty jar of blue past food coloring (aha!)
1 clean spam can with ends cut off — saved to use as cookie cutter
1 partial set each Mickey and Minnie mouse cake decorations
2 partial envelopes unflavored gelatin (I have gluten free baking recipes which call for a teaspoon of it)
Partial packages of vanilla pudding mix and strawberry jello mix
Full, outdated and hardened packages of lime and raspberry jello mix
1 plastic measuring tablespoon
Partial, old containers of red and green decorating sugars and Easter chick decors
1 container vintage silver dragees
1 small tin shaker
1 metal cake decorating tube
1 bottle raspberry flavoring for candy
Partial envelopes of vanilla powder and vanilla sugar

And, to the thrift store: 1 vintage plastic cake decorating tube

Gave away to friends: 1 nutcracker and 2 nut picks (they needed them and we had extra)

Placed with my gift wrappings: 1 ball of thick kitchen string (too thick for its intended use)

December 1 --
Next, we tackled the baking shelf in the pantry.  Threw away:
1 outdated can peach pie filling (exp. 2012)
2 outdated cans coconut milk (exp. 2011, 2014)
1 partial package red candy melts
1 3-oz. jar lemon curd (exp. 2018)
1 tiny container baby prunes
1 nearly empty jar assorted sprinkles

Over the next couple days we went through more of the pantry shelves.  And threw away:

an outdated can of ravioli
2 cans of outdated bean sprouts
2 cans outdated tomato paste
a bottle of outdated lemon juice
partial packages of outdated rice and pasta

I also threw away:
3 old calendars I had kept for crafting purposes
1 kitten-themed child's plastic sewing box from the 1960s (see illustration below)
1 hairbrush I've never liked -- had to use it in a pinch this week and remembered why I don't like it.
A pair of my husband's slippers -- he got a new pair and these have seen far better days.

My kit was pink, sort of a marbleized look.  Lid was clear.

 

And also to the thrift store: a never-used ice pop maker, and a hardcover book.  

Another box of things is headed for our cottage.

It's been a great week on the decluttering front!

Making space -- week 4

 

This past week was crazy and busy and included a holiday, but I managed just a teensy bit of decluttering anyway; undoubtedly a good idea with Christmas decorating on the horizon.  

Here are my very small accomplishments this week:

November 25 — a pair of pajama pants, a hand towel, and a washcloth, all worn beyond repair, but I’d been continuing to use them.  Tossed out!
Also, 10 1960s magazine pages — large size, like old Better Homes & Gardens issues, scanned for use in graphics and now tossed into the trash.

November 26 — While hunting for pumpkin in my pantry [yes, on Thanksgiving morning!😓], I discovered 2 cake mixes with “Use by” dates of 2016.  To the trash they went!  Shows how long it has been since I used a cake mix!

November 27 — To the trash: 1 cassette tape, a cake mix with a 2019 date and a box of graham cracker crumbs with a 2018 date.  A hardcover book headed for the thrift store, now that I’ve read it.

Certainly I'm hoping for greater progress in the week ahead!  I need to declutter some areas in the kitchen to make way for Christmas baking and to make space for any needed ingredients.

Making space -- week 3

 

 Well, I have done very little decluttering this week.  We were away Monday, Tuesday, and most of Wednesday -- a lovely getaway to the ocean which I will hope to blog about soon.

Friday and Saturday have been full to the brim with hospitality, friends and family and all of the cooking and cleaning that accompany such happy times.   Again, some of these are things I hope to blog about one day soon.

On Thursday, I did manage a little decluttering — I cleared out a basket I keep near my chair in the living room.  Lots of correspondence info and devotional type stuff.  This has been on my list of places to declutter for months.  Here’s what I removed to the trash: an unused band-aid, a nearly empty tube of nourishing foot cream; a package of lens cleaning wipes that turned out to be useless; 4 defunct pens; 2 defunct highlighters; a bouncy ball with no bounce (toys are stored in the cabinet underneath this basket!); a half dozen outdated church directories.
 

I also found some things to give away: 3 sets of Scripture memory cards, also a paperback book.  And I typed up a couple of quotes I found scribbled on bits of paper in this basket, and filed them in the appropriate folders on my computer.

I think that adds up to around 20 things gone this week.  I have some great ideas for areas to tackle next week, when I hope to get much more decluttering done!

Making space -- week 2

 

I'm joining in with Becki, over at Field Lilies,  with her decluttering effort called Making Space.  Why not join in, and maybe write a post a week about how the endeavor is going?  I've been working at this, and here's my Week 2 report:

 November 9 — a piece of cardboard (the back of a stationery tablet). along with a matching sized piece of carbon paper.  Stashed in my stationery cupboard, it was obviously something I’d used in crafting or writing something or other, quite a few years ago.  No idea what the project was anymore.
November 11 — 6 mugs being rehomed to our little camp.  We found a great Black Friday deal on a Keurig for the camp, but we’ve realized that not every mug is a practical size for it.  I winnowed out my mugs yet again and chose some of the larger ones to take to the camp.
    I also went through my dishtowel/dishcloth/potholder drawer and threw away 1 potholder.  4 potholders are going to the camp, where the only two I have there are rather thin but have sentimental value.  I am also taking 4 dish towels to camp.
November 12 — a glass tumbler with log cabin scene going to the camp.
A paperback book, a heavy glass stein, and a slate wall hanging with a teddy bear motif headed for the thrift store.
I cleaned out my utensil drawer and threw away the following: 2 old containers of dental floss which I kept there for splitting cake layers (haven’t done that in years!); an old metal pastry blender and donut cutter; a tupperware gadget for buttering corn; assorted plastic ware and plastic cooking gadgets like pasta measurers, etc.  A metal gadget which seems to have been a spout topper for a tea kettle.  I don’t even remember what it is or why it was stashed there.
November 13 — to the trash: 1 rusty melon ball cutter.
Headed for the camp: 2 ladles, one large and one small, 2 pie servers, 2 paring knives, 2 large knives, 1 bottle/can opener; 2 sets metal measuring spoons; 1 apple corer/slicer.

I've been trying to work at the 2020 Holiday Planning Challenge with  A Virtuous Woman which started Monday, November 2.  Maybe some of you would be interested also.

  I'll do more of a report on this over on my Christmas blog, where I'm trying to keep up with it but am off to a very slow start.  All that to say, it's the reason I've been tackling my kitchen drawers at this time.  This has definitely been helpful to my participation in Becki's Making Space feature!

Making space -- Week 1

 

 What is this about, you ask?  Remember how Becki,  over at Field Lilies,  was doing a decluttering challenge through October?   Well, Becki has a new idea for all of us who'd like to work at this in the days and weeks ahead.  You can read about it here: Making Space.  Why not join in, and maybe write a post a week about how the endeavor is going?  I'm going to try it, and here's my first installment:

First, I'll share what I decluttered from the time I last mentioned Becki's October challenge:

Oct. 20 —From the nightstand to the trash: an empty container of Working Hands cream; an empty tube of Crabtree & Evelyn Hand Therapy; 2 empty tubes of Gold Bond Cream; an empty notepad; 1/2 jar of exfoliating foot wipes; 1 empty tube of Vaseline Advanced Healing Cream; a bunch of notes from my kids that I’ve sentimentally saved for years (having gone through such things in the clean-out of the old homestead, I know they will be disgusted that I saved them all this time).  I also found a bookmark someone had gifted my husband —still in its original packaging — that will be headed to the thrift store.
Oct. 30 — numerous church bulletin fronts — saved to use for Sunday School bulletin boards and other uses.  4 annual church reports from the 1980s.
Oct. 31 — an old makeup bag and its contents; 10 expired tubes or bottles of over-the-counter first aid type products; 2 freebie luggage tags, a used gift card.

Now, here's what I've decluttered in November so far (it's not much because we've been away from the house a lot):

November 6 — an extra mirror, taken to our little camp (where there were none)
November 7 — 2 plastic serving spoons, 1 large metal scoop, 1 metal ladle, 2 metal spatulas/pancake turners — taken to our camp (these are all items that have been taking up precious hanging space or drawer space)

Becki is aiming to declutter maybe ten items per week.  I didn't quite get there this week, but I'm inspired!

We've stayed overnight at our camp the past couple of nights, and the first time I remembered to take along a serving spoon for a crockpot breakfast oatmeal.  Then I took the spoon home. 😏 For this morning, I'd also prepared a crockpot breakfast -- an egg bake -- but realized we have no serving utensils at all over there.   

This is a rustic place and the amenities are very limited, but I'm sure we're going to find that more items we'd like to declutter from our home could be used over there.  

How about you?  Want to get some decluttering done and have fun and write a blog post a week in the process?

Fall follies

 

 Just a random potpourri post of a few fall things.   We'll start with fall cleaning, which I seldom do, preferring to work on cleaning projects all year round, but ...

🍁  As mentioned earlier, I've been so inspired by Becki and her 30 Days to Less over at Field Lilies.  The idea is to get rid of 1 item on Oct. 1, 2 items on Oct. 2, and so on.  One ends up with quite an impressive total if the plan is followed.  Even though I'm not actively participating in the challenge (and will be out of town part of October), I've been decluttering daily and keeping track of items I'm getting rid of.  Here are the stats as of October 17:

Oct. 1 — popsicle stick picture frame
Oct. 2 — bag of clothing left  with us for my daughter’s family (probably 8 or so items in the bag); an extra dictionary taken to our cottage
Oct. 3 — items for thrift store: 1 shirt; 1 pair overalls; 1 denim jacket; 1 dress; 1 jumper; 1 box dryer sheets
Oct. 4 — 6 vintage magazine pages (I brought these home to scan and they’ve been in a pile on my desk.  There are more …); 1 ceramic shade and plate to use with a jar candle — thrift store.
Oct 5 — 6 colorful bandannas I never wear or use; a slip; a couple of detachable lace collars — all these will go to the thrift store.  3 vintage kids’ books on rocks, etc. — took these to our cottage; if kids don’t read them there I will sell on Etsy.)
Oct. 6 — 32 catalogs tossed out; 1 wood burned plaque someone gifted to my hubby (it’ll go to the cottage where it will fit right in with the eclectic camp decor)
Oct.7 — 1 large round basket to the trash, along with maybe 15 or so old, tired kids’ books and a tiny pitcher with no handle.  2 kids’ books and a tiny owl pitcher will be given away.  6 kids’ books will be sold on Etsy, and 5 will go to the cottage.  1 miniature ginger jar and 10 kids’ books are on their way to the thrift store.  

Headed for the cottage ...

Oct. 11 — a favorite calendar page I often used as wall art.  Somehow it got damaged by moisture.  It was in a folder with other printed art that I rotate in and out of frames seasonally.  Others are damaged also but I haven’t yet been able to bring myself to look closely and throw out more.
Oct. 12 — a tired kitchen towel with a strawberry design; 2 pieces of mail I’ve been putting off dealing with and now they’re outdated; a package of construction paper (taking it to the cottage).
Oct. 13 — a book that belongs to someone else to be returned to the owner; a bunch of old sentimental papers from 2010 and earlier — tossed; several catalogs tossed; an old songbook and a Christmas carol book to be sold on Etsy; two old hymnbooks and a school music book to the trash; a nonfiction book headed to the thrift store.
Oct. 15 — To the trash: a broken comb, 3 manuals for hair dryers I no longer own, 2 hairbrushes, 8 worn-out hair elastics, a beaded sun catcher that’s seen better days, a protective quilted sleeve for a curling iron, 2 shower caps with worn out elastic, a plastic barrette, part of a brush, a magnetic bobby pin holder, some sort of oversized white shoelace, a fine-tooth comb, a bundle of hairpins, 1 bottle dried-out nail polish.  To sell on Etsy: 2 vintage Rexall lipsticks, a silver trimmed brush and comb set.
Oct. 16 — to the trash: 2 "home fragrance sachets" that have lost their fragrance, 3 native American dolls (part of my daughter’s childhood doll collection) that had seen far better days; 2 handmade paper tepees, likewise.
Oct. 17 — 13 floppy disks (haven’t had a computer that used them in [gulp!] well over a decade; a Tracfone User Guide, a bunch of defunct computer information; 2 ultra thin business-card size calculators that don’t work.

I had to say goodbye to this beautiful calendar page.  It was stored in a folder but somehow got damaged.  The tag, made by a friend, was safe since it was on my wall.

 More to come!  I'm thinking I might just keep this up every month!

🍁  All manner of leafy fall fun has been happening over at our little camp.  Josiah and Arielle came over and raked leaves into huge heaps.  The first day, this happened:

The next day, they raked an even bigger pile of leaves, with the idea that Grampa could jump in it.  Those of you who follow @lifeonabackroad on Instagram know that he did! 😁

 In the process of raking that pile, Josiah found a frog!  As you can see (maybe!) this frog had the perfect camouflage for hiding in a pile of leaves, but Josiah managed to coax him out so he wouldn't get jumped on. [Hint: the frog is about in the middle of the photo, just above that sort of orangey leaf.]

🍁 Pumpkin spice and all things nice!  This was the theme when our granddaughter Julia's orchestra group did a concert atop a mountain.  This also involved a gondola ride to the summit.  I'll share more of our pictures later, but here are a few for now.

This last one was taken from the gondola on the way down the mountain.

 

This photo of Julia (left) and her friend Jen was taken by Jen's mom after the concert.

 The parents brought pumpkin treats to share after the concert.  Julia's mom , our daughter Carrie, made pumpkin whoopie pies which disappeared almost instantly.  They were scrumptious!  I asked about Carrie's recipe, and she said she uses this one: Pumpkin Whoopie Pies from Annie's Eats.

Photo from Annie's Eats

And also in the pumpkin spice category,  my hubby found a great deal on New England Coffee at a local supermarket and brought home three of these:

Photo from New England Coffee

Oh, so good.  We always enjoy this in autumn, and we hadn't found any at a reasonable price this fall.  Now we have!  He'll get more if he can find it.

And just one more photo, snagged from Carrie's Instagram:

Rainy days can happen in autumn, and we were thankful for a good day of rain last Friday.  Still, we went to the camp in the late afternoon, and a game of Scrabble ensued.

Oh, and I just have to include these scans of the front and back of a very intriguing oak leaf:

Front of leaf

Back of leaf

Doesn't it look like it is edged in jumbo rickrack?  You can see why it caught my eye.

Laboring over a Hodgepodge post

Yes, somehow it's Wednesday again, and time for the Wednesday Hodgepodge, where Joyce asks the questions and bloggers provide the answers.  It's always a lot of fun (and sometimes challenging).   It's also a good way to come up with an interesting blog post.  If you'd like to join in,  just head over to From This Side of the Pond and get the questions from Joyce, then answer them on your own blog.  Here are this week's questions, based off Labor Day and work:
1. Something you've done in recent days or months that might be described as a labor of love?  

Cleaning out the old homestead.  Doing so, and working at selling the contents was something I was required to do by the terms of a trust, but it was still a labor of love since I have worked very hard to be a good steward of the things I've found and also to pass on to family members things I think they would like to have.

Like vintage hats to little girls, and a whimsical pitcher set to a cousin.  (My grandmother collected pitchers.)

 
2. Last time you 'worked your fingers to the bone'?

See above.  And below.  That's the dining area.

3. According to a recent survey people named the following ten jobs as the hardest-nurse, doctor, paramedic, police officer, firefighter, surgeon, healthcare worker, bomb squad, farmer, and prison warden. Of the jobs listed which would you say is the hardest? The one you'd most like to do? Least like to do? What's one job you would add to the list?

I'd say the hardest job right now is police officer.  On a national level, the police officers' jobs have become so much more dangerous than ever before.  On a local level, they're expected to to enforce unenforceable town ordinances which they don't even agree with.

The job on the list that I'd most like to do -- well, it's still not an easy one, but I think the one I'd most like personally would be farmer.

The job I'd least like to do -- oh, it's a tossup.  Almost any of them.  Police officer, probably.

A job I would add to the list -- right now, teacher. 

4. A recipe you make that is labor intensive, but worth it?

 Cheese Danishes.  I usually only make them now for very special occasions, like Easter, but I used to make them on a regular basis.  There are just a lot of steps to making them, and you have to start the day before, but they certainly are delicious.  The photo below is from Pixabay.  I have never tried topping off the cream cheese filling with fruity ones, but you know, I think I will try that!

Image by pixel1 from Pixabay

5. Last job you did or task you completed that required teamwork?

See #s 1 and 2.  I couldn't have done it without my wonderful hubby.  Yes, every last storage area (and there are many) is completely emptied.

6.  Insert your own random thought here. 

Speaking of my wonderful hubby, Labor Day was his birthday!  Appropriately, he spent the day working with our son-in-law and grandson on a carpentry job, then we celebrated at night with family.   (I took along the Never-Fail Chocolate Cake, always a sure hit for his birthday or any occasion.)  This photo is from several years back, but he hasn't changed much (although Arielle sure has -- that's a recent photo of her, in the hat, above!).  So thankful for this wonderful, godly man and the blessing he is to everyone who knows him.

Oh, and much more random -- look at this gorgeous red leaf I found in the driveway today ...

And this labor-intensive Hodgepodge is a wrap!  Happy Wednesday, all!

Catching up

Now this is getting ridiculous -- blogging once a week or less is just not the way I prefer to blog.  However, I know that these days it is not life as usual for most of us, and I am no exception. 

So first, I hope that each of you is having a good week so far and that if you are among those who ordinarily celebrate St. Patrick's Day that it has been a fine day for you.  For a great St. Patrick's Day read, may I suggest Blessed, Not Lucky by Abby at Little Birdie Blessings.

I made some gluten free, refined sugar free, Irish soda bread for our Sunday snack time at church and it went over well.  Today we're not having anything Irish (in spite of some Irish heritage on my dad's side), but I've put together a casserole with leftover turkey.  Trying not to waste any food these days!  It was a new recipe and eventually I'll blog about it.

I've not taken time to share much concerning COVID-19.  There is so much information out there, and some of it is conflicting.  I will say that I was pretty conflicted about it in my own mind for awhile.  Not worried, not afraid -- I know for sure that my all-wise, all-powerful God is in control of every facet of this situation.  But so much information concerning possible causes, the sure knowledge that in our town grocery shelves are emptying as fast as they are stocked,  and the nagging feeling that maybe as citizens we aren't being told everything, had me sort of riled up inside.  On Sunday I came to a conclusion about this: none of that matters in the end.  It's here, it's real, it's serious -- and regardless of the cause or whether we like it or not, we have to deal with it.  And the only way I can deal with it is by remembering what I know to be true about God, and by seeking to live my life in light of that.

Although I haven't done this personally, I've seen that a number of other Instagrammers have been sharing powerful Scripture verses almost every day.  Those are a huge encouragement.  And some bloggers have been writing wonderfully encouraging posts.  Here are a few that I heartily recommend:

What to Do When You Don’t Know What to Do, by Whitney at Come Home for Comfort.  Whitney shares from her own quiet time and a look at Proverbs 14 some intensely practical, helpful, and God-honoring ideas.

And from Brenda at Coffee, Tea, Books and Me, two wonderfully helpful posts:

Turning My Thoughts to That Which Brings Peace and
Cultivating Peace in Turbulent Times.  In fact, if you browse around more on Brenda's site, you are likely to find even more posts you will want to read.

I hope that these posts will encourage you as they did me!

Let's see, what else?  My life has been so busy lately that I just don't get much time at the computer.  Hence my lack of posts.  I currently have eight posts started -- everything from the 40-day sugar fast to summer memories to books recently read to easy recipes and more.    I can't even begin to speculate when I will get to finishing and posting these, but I will do the best I can as I really miss blogging regularly.  My Christmas blog has suffered even more from neglect than this one!  And again it's not for lack of ideas, but time.

My major busyness has been spending a couple of hours each day at my childhood home, trying to clean it out.  I've also had to declutter here at our home, to make room for things I'm keeping.  Drinking glasses (or maybe you call them tumblers) are a case in point.  I had some green ones and some amber ones, along with a special set of strawberry themed glasses and then various odds and ends of other glassware.  To make room for the green set I found at my parents' home (which I'm pretty sure I had given them originally, but was still in the box), I had to remove the amber ones and the odd ones.  Off to the thrift store they went!  Mr. T also found a set of 12 glasses with sort of a white gingham look, and he felt there are are often times when we could use a set of twelve.  He's right, and with all that I removed from our own cabinets there was plenty of room for them.  (Eventually I'll do a post on that decluttering, too!)

We've also been busy with some church related things -- hospitality for pulpit supply friends, and, most recently, helping to prepare our church building so that another church body can use it for Sunday afternoon services, having been displaced from their rented facility by recent events.

Of course we are trying to walk as often as possible and stick with the sugar fast.  We're just finishing up Day 23!

Our supper is nearly ready so I'd best go and set the table.