Winter Update

Well it's been a cold winter here in Florida. The frost has killed off our tomatoes and peppers but the root vegetables have survived as well as cabbage. So we will have to start over for a tomatoe/pepper harvest. I have been keeping busy crafting christmas/yule gifts and even joined a couple of craft swaps that have send out dates in January just for the crafting fun of it.

Yesterday was profitable in that I came across one of those curbside alerts where someone is cleaning out a rental house and throwing out the previous tenants stuff that was left behind. I missed out on the rattan loveseat (someone snatched it before I could get a friend to come help lend a hand) but I did luck out on a 100 gallon aquarium setup, only thing missing is the stand which I can make for around $90. I hate waste but love it when I come across some wonderful freebies because someone does not know how to donate to local charity/thrift stores. And living in a college town definitely has it's dumpster diving perks. I have so far gotten every tv I own from a dumpster, furniture, antiques, camping gear, and my friend got a brand new iPod just because someone did not know how to charge it first and threw it away thinging it was broke. NUTS! All they need is a little TLC and some repair and bammo you got yourself a cheap addition to your home. I have taken old gym equipment that someone has thrown in the dumpster, cleaned it, then taken it to a resale sports store and made some money selling it. Someone else will get it cheap to use and I got some easy free money. So as much as they annoy me with their wasteful ways I gotta be thankful for them for the free bounty they have provided me throughout the years.

Harvesting

Recently I have been enjoying the produce from my very own garden. First it was sweet potatoes. I planted some sweet potatoes plugs and forgot about them. When I finally remembered that I planted sweet potatoes and went digging, had a lovely harvest and delightful mashed sweet potatoes side for dinner. Wonderful thing about sweet potatoes, they will grow just fine neglected. I plan to save some plugs for my parents so they can let them grow wild on the back section of their property. The arugula is now ready for harvest but unfortunately I do not like to taste of arugula, so my friends who do like arugula have hit the arugula jackpot. The radishes are ready as well and was a delight to eat tonight after sauteed in butter with salt and pepper. In about a week, the beets, lettuce, and possibly cabbage will be ready and now I must scavenge my old cookbooks for recipes to try. The tomatoes and peppers have flowers or tiny fruit growing, really look forward to that harvest.

Given this economy you would think there would be more pushing for people to grow their own food like they did in the depression era. Most I hear is a little news bite here and there. I think a tax break for people who grow their own food and free classes and materials to get started would be great. They have this wonderful program called GIFT Gardens that was here in Gainesville. It was a program for low income families to get a free square foot garden stocked with vegetables and a experienced gardener to help supervise and teach the family how to grow and maintain their garden so that people can have healthy meals for free. Not only would the families have this tasty garden that they can reuse over and over again and save money buy not buying vegetables but growing their own and encourage healthy eating. Unfortunately it seems our local government decided not to fund the program this year but instead put all the money toward food banks. So it looks like they will not be able to give any more gardens away. I really think this is bad promoting or something because how can this program NOT help. Food banks provide food true but the families will have to continue going back again and again for the food wheres this gift garden will enable them to get food and then proceed to grow their own again and again. It's like that saying about how you can give a man a fish and he can eat once but teach him how to fish and he will never starve.

Fishing... low cost and Fun!

I have recently been taking up an old favorite hobbie of mine, fishing. It's cheap which makes my wallet happy. Relaxing to get out into nature and enjoy the scenery which makes my mind happy. And if I catch something, free food which makes the stomach happy. The only thing not happy about it right now is the lack of funds for gas money to get to the fishing spots and no boat. I plan to one day own a Kayak (Hobie!) but until finances get better it will just have to sit in the dream category. I have been having fun relearning all those camping and fishing knowledge that has fallen to the wayside due to disuse. Pulled out a lot of fun old camping books that talk about hunting and survival. Also pulled out the old fishing books that talk about bait and tackle. I was fortunate in that while searching for some supplies at the local thrift/pawn stores I was able to come across some lovely local finds.

At the local pawn shop I got a nice salt water fishing rod for a good price. My current collection of fishing rods happen to be geared toward freshwater fishing and just was not strong enough on the previous fishing trip on the coast. Had a devil of a time reeling in a red drum that I caught. I had a heck of a time finding some crab traps, luckily one of the bait and tackle shops that I use had some and I was able to bring home some blue crab for dinner. While going over my fishing supplies and making a list of items that would be nice to have I thought about supplies I could make. I had a bait bucket but it was small and did not keep the bait alive long since it had no aerator to get oxygen in the water. I remember seeing a youtube video some time back about making a live well out of an old cooler. My landlady had a cooler out by the side of the house near the trash that looked like she was throwing away so I called her up and asked her if I could take it to try and make a live well out of it. I got the ok and within less than 30 minutes and $8 on an aerator I had myself a homemade cooler turned livewell. It worked great! The only downside I could see was that the cooler was not one of those wheeled versions so I had to carry it which was a little heavy when you add water and the catch. I'm thinking if I come across another cooler with wheels to try again but until then will look for a luggage carry rack at the local thrift stores. And last but not least, the prize find.. a late 60's Duel fuel coleman 2 burner camp stove mint in box with some camp cooking pots and pans which looked to have been never used all for $3.00, talk about a deal.

I was hoping to get out again before scallop season ends so I can do some scalloping. Unfortanately, cannot afford gas. Oh well there is always next year. Until then I will just have to keep an eye out for some more lovely old camp gear and wait for another opening to get out and fish.

Do not adjust your television...

After much discussion with my fiance, we decided to turn off our cable. I had no problems with this as most of the shows I watch on cable I can see for free on Hulu.com (yea hulu!) and we needed the money to be put to better use. No sooner than we turned off the cable my laptop blinks out. It seems the monitor is fried. Thankfully, the rest of the laptop is fine and as I always keep my leftover electronics (thanks dad for passing on that habit) I just pulled out ye olde monitor and plugged it into my laptop. Tada for temporary fixes until finances are better.

This weekend I hit up the local thrift stores looking for some clothing as mine is getting a little raggedy. As far as clothing goes I only found a nice pair of jeans but ran into the problem of either it being not my size or too pricey. I did luck out in other areas. I got a lovely toaster to replace the one that broke down, what looks to be a brand new 70's green fondue set, an American Gothic puzzle, a batch of thank you cards for the wedding next year, and last but not least the other love of my life (other than my fiance, cat, and crafts) some books. I got an 1878 Home Economics book which is full of all kinds of information on how to run a 1878 house. A 1943 book on knitting and a 1935 book on crochet. And last but not least, 5 cookbooks to add to my cookbook collection. I love thrift store scavenging. Too bad the ones around here seem to be hit up hard. Really picked thru.

Another postive note is that in two weeks from now I will be getting a raised bed garden and look forward to growing tastey food and learning about canning.

Now I am off to play with my fondue set, mmm tastey beef fondue.

Unpacking at a snails pace..

Well I know it's been a while since I last posted. I have moved into a house. I am really loving the house. Lots of space and oppertunity to have friends over. One thing I am greatly looking forward to is having my own craft room. I will even have a sitting room/library to put all my books in order. My only problem is that while I have the space, items, and know what I want that space to be in the end I am having trouble getting to that final stage. It's like I know what A and C is but have no clue about B and how to join them all together. End result, unpacking at a snails pace. Very slow and unsure. I believe I will just toss my hands up and kidnapp my mother to help me organize. She is good at that. Until then, unpacking at a snail pace one box at a time.

One of the fun things about this is finding items that have been buried away and being able to pull them out and put them on display. Current find, my grandmothers Smokey Moutain Pottery souvenier that she bought while on vacation in NC back in 1943. That belgium waffel maker that I did not have the kichen space for back in my tiny apartment now has room and I do believe I know what I will be making for breakfast tomorrow morning. Belgium waffels with strawberries and whip cream.

Car troubles and naughty temptations..

Well my trusty rusty finally died on me last week. And with a limited budget I have been car hunting. While searching for a car, I came across a very tempting ad. The ad was for a 1945 Dodge Coupe for $1,500. The body needed a new paint job and this was definitely a fixer upper but darned if it wasn't one heck of a naughty temptation. In the end, I was a good girl and purchased a used 2006 Mazda5 that was in great condition and had excellent milage.

But still the mind likes to dream and that 1945 Dodge Coupe is certainly playing a large part in it right now.

Something to sink my toes into..

After getting out of the shower and sinking my toes onto cold tile I have decided that I needed a little rug to sink my toes into. And since I am an avid collector of craft, diy, and how to books from all different eras I figured why not make something from one of my fun vintage craft book collection. So I have pulled out the first rug book I came across, Beautiful Rugs Star Book No. 73 published 1950. I am browsing to see what appeals when I come across this braided rug pattern that reminds me of the one my mom had when I was a child. I do believe we have a winner. Although there was a lot of fun funky patterns. One for a horse, leaves, a duck, even a mexican having a siesta. Looks like my addiction to collecting old crafty stuff is going to pay off and keep my toes warm. Now I just have to remember where I put my yarn....

Salad, thou hast decieved Paula

Ever order something and get something that was totally not what you were expecting? I have had a few surprises in my life with this but nothing like what poor Paula experienced upon ordering the nacho salad.

We were not that hungry so Paula and I decided to order a small lunch, especially as Paula was planning a big dinner in about 4 hours from then. I was having trouble between getting a soup or sandwhich, hungry enough for a soup but was not sure if it would fill me. So I got a half sandwhich and a soup. Paula wanted a simple salad but was craving nacho's so she decided to get the nacho salad. Now when my order came I was a little surprised as the "half" sandwhich was the size of a whole in my opinion. But my surprise was nothing compared to Paula's "salad". It was delivered on what looked like one of those platters you would serve a whole turkey on during Thanksgiving. I think the picture I took of Paula when the waiter placed that nacho salad in front of her says it all. It took three take out boxes to carry that salad home. Now if only I could get a income tax return that was as surprisingly large as that salad....

Books books and more books.

I love books. Got a collection of books and keep adding to them. Some fiction but mostly "how to" and diy books. My most recent aquisitions are 7 diy books. I got the Consumer Reports book on Auto Repair, a book on RV restoration and repair, 3 books on how to preserve and store your garden harvest, and two cook books. One of the cookbooks is the 1885 Nevada Cookbook. I love old cookbooks, you can get some great tastey recipes from there. My favorite cold slaw recipe came from the first World Trade Fair's Cookbook. The preservation books will be good for learning about how to make the most of my garden harvest and they have some interesting recipes. I figure the RV repair book might come in handy as one of my wishlist hope to own and use before I die items is an Airstream. I love the look of those silver bullet trailers. As I cannot afford the price of the new ones, my best bet will be to get a fixer upper. I got the autorepair book because I would like to learn more about how to fix and maintain my car. Would save me money and it is useful knowledge to have. I have books all over the place. In the bedroom, kitchen, living room.. the only place I do not have books is in the bathroom, too wet and tiny. I am addicted to books that teaches something usefull or fun. I got craft books from all different eras, ettiquet books, repair books, books on origami and napkin folding.. if it teaches something that I am interested in or might be interested in doing at some point I will get it. Speaking of which, I think there is a book calling me now..

Frosted Ducks

The reason I live in Florida is the fact that it is warm. No snow and ice to slip and slide on. No frozen toes. No runny nose due to cold. So it's really annoying when we have cold weather here because not only is it cold but it's that damp cold that seems to seep right through those so called "protective layers" and freeze the bones. I have to suffer through the runny nose and the frosted toes through layers of socks and boots. My poor southern body just was not made for cold weather. I am like some kind of Irish/English/German American two legged lizard that absorbs the surrounding temperature and tries to leech of heat from any source available (sorry sweetie, god made you a human furnace to keep me alive). I have been to snowy areas and lived in snowy areas but I always move back to florida for one reason and it's the same reason the ducks fly south for winter. So I don't freeze my tush off in winter. A frozen duck may sound kinda funny in a slapstick kinda way but in the end you feel sorry for the poor feathered s.o.b. as you shake your head and walk away. Unless you are one of those northern abominable snow people who like to play hockey with iced ducks.

Cooking and Foodie Memories

With all the garden bed prep work and seed planting, I have been dreaming of vegetables and tasty meals. Fresh squash from the garden cooked with some butter and served with some saffron rice. Fresh tasty peppers stuffed and served with some homemade tomato sauce. Getting fat just thinking about all the yummy food I can make from my garden. Paula and I have started out good so far with our seeds, lots of sprouts. Only problem is that we have a bit of a cold front here right now so have to wait to plant them into the garden bed. We're thinking of scavenging for some old wire hangers and bending them into a U shape to put over the container we have the sprouts in, and then putting some clear vinyl over it to make a taller greenhouse to give them a little more room to grow.

With all the vegetables we have been plotting to grow I have been thinking of food preservation and canning to make the most out of our future harvest. I have fond memories of different canned foods received from gardening friends. Peach jams, kosher dill pickles, and dee-lishious tomato sauces. After some research, I have decided to try both the water bath and pressure canning recipes and compare. I have the equipment just not the experience, so I have been asking a lot of questions and reading on the subject. Thankfully, Paula has some experience so this will not be a total shot in the dark attempt on my part. Another bonus to growing my own vegetables is the savings on my checkbook. The cost of vegetables has gone up insanely, vegetables laced with gold or expensive pharmaceuticals, so growing my own will save me money. And by preserving the harvest it will last longer and be more savings. Super all around.

Last but not least, I have also been researching different canning recipes and fresh vegetable cooking recipes. I have come across I highly recommended kosher dill pickle recipe, http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Dill-Pickles/Detail.aspx , that I really look forward to trying. I am collecting recipes to try with my future harvest. I also have been re-watching a lot of my favorite cooking pod casts and blogs for ideas. I love Cooking with Clara and have her book and video on my wish list. If you don't know about this awesome granny then check out her website, http://depressioncooking.blogspot.com/ . I found her while looking for some depression era recipes way back when she first got on YouTube and feel in love. While cooking she talks about her memories of the recipe and things that were happening in her life when she learned it. If you like history and cooking, then you will love Clara. Also have been browsing the blogs for recipes too as I hear they are ripe for the picking when it comes to tasty recipes.

Help out the newbie! If you have any canning recipes you would recommend or just recipes involving fresh veggies that you would like to share then don't be a stranger, share! Who knows maybe someone will post something you would like to try. :)

Worms, seeds, and new oppertunities.

I have been researching into worm farming and composting. Today I have started my first attempt at a worm farm/compost bin. I bought a cheap plastic storage bin, drilled some holes into the lid and sides, and ripped up some newspaper/cardboard to put inside. After putting the scredded paper mixture into the bin with some soil and wetting it I set it aside. Tomorrow I will try my hand at grubbing for worms to put into my bin. Should be fun and messy.

After getting my worm bin prepared, I then proceeded onto planting some seeds for the future garden. I have started : carrots, brussel sprouts, spinach, kohl rabi, peas, and green onions. I am going to look up how to make some newpaper pots to make more pots for more seeds. I am also going to have to swing by the seed store and pick up some more squash, cucumber, and tomatoe seeds. Mmmm plotting the future tasty meals and canning projects in my mind right now.

This after was a fun get out of the house time with Paula as we went to the local "casino" and played the digital slots. Came out $3 ahead, got a free lunch, and some tickets to a local raffle for a scooter. So overal not bad. Also, I got a phone call from a doctor I used to help out with in the office who wants to hire me to work in her office again. And on the upside she mentioned she could help me with earning my CNA. Sweet! A new job in an area that I am looking into entering as a new career. Things are looking up. Now if only the chain of bad luck that has been following me can stay far far away...

This Crazy Life

I went to school to change careers. Naturally since I had no clue what I wanted to do I went to the career center to do all those tests that give suggestions as to what you would be good at. The only thing I knew at the time was that I wanted to be able to work from home if possible because my mother was sick and I wanted to be there for her. Also, I felt I would be happier being able to work and then play with out the commute inbetween. So after taking tests and talking about the many different "work from home" jobs, it was suggested that I go for medical transcription. It is a mobile job and it is also in high demand so getting a job should be no problem. I thought "Great!". Boy, what did I know...

After taking a bunch of medical and other required courses (thousands of dollars in loans as I did not meet whatever the government thinks is poor) I come to find out that while medical transcriptionist are in high demand the demand is for experienced transcriptionist. SO, a newbie with a shiney new degree is SOL. Nice, huh. By this time it's too late to back out so I complete and finish the degree. While taking all of these classes and talking to other student, I learn about the medical coder/biller course. The difference between this and the medical transcriptionist course is that the medical coder/biller course offers job shadowing (which lead to 90% of their students being hired upon completion of course). I'll just go finish this course as I have already taken a lot of medical courses that is required for the certificate. HA! Not only does my previous courses not count (even though I have not noticed a single difference between them after having taken "different" medical courses) but I had to scrounge up the money out of hand because I no longer qualify for loans, my grades are good just I'm too rich because I choose to work and pay my rent instead of being homeless or mooching off of other.

Now, while this is going on my job is closing our store and my hours are being cut. This means very very little money to pay rent and afford food much less school. By this time I am ready to scream and pull my hair out. I have to stop school and try and find a job. I have done enough schooling I should be able to get a job as a clerk or receptionist in a hospital. After many applications I am feeling very discouraged. I'm no dunce but darned if this life is not out to make me feel like one.