The Untold Secret of Christopher Columbus

This is what happens when you have a princess/ballet crazed five-year old in your house. She automatically sees a tutu and sparkles.



Poor Chris. Nice gams though.


I guess this also explains the very fashionable sails.

Ouch.

Note to all of you homemakers out there:

If you are putting up some seasonal produce and it includes peppers,
wear gloves.

No matter how hard or often you scrub your hands, there will still be hot pepper oils under your nails that will inevitably find their way to your eyes.


The 10 pints of salsa and 3 pints of relish are a happy sight though.


Or would be if I could see through my stinging eyes.

Tomatoes

I had written off my tomatoes this year. The horn worms wanted them, the slugs wanted them, and I am a squeamish pest battler to say the least. I figured that though my vines were prolific, I just couldn't keep the pests at bay without spraying all sorts of chemicals.

Add to that the fact that we only had 3 days this summer when the temperature rose above the 90 degree mark. We just hadn't had enough sun to ripen them properly.

Imagine my surprise tonight when I was on my way out to the compost pile and noticed quite a bit of red peeking through the jungle that had developed when the pole beans decided that the huge tomato vines would make a good trellis.

Tomatoes!

Ripe Tomatoes!

Piles of Tomatoes.

Sydney and I filled three dutch ovens and my biggest colander with plum, cherry and a few globe tomatoes. She kept saying "It's a tomato fiesta!".

I'll have enough for 9 pints of salsa and 4 or 5 quarts of sauce. I can taste it already.

I almost hate to eat those beauties above because they are so perfect!

No Shampoo

Lest my friends think I am insane, here is a little explanation post that was sparked by a comment that I left on another blog.



All my life I have had straight hair. Super straight hair. Hair so straight that I have had perms that lasted less than twenty four hours. So straight that for high school prom, the beauty shop slicked my whole head with gel, wrapped my hair in curlers, and baked it under the dryers. I had the lovely, high-piled, curly up-do that was all the rage then, but my hair was as hard as a rock. Completely stiff. It took five washings to return it to normal.

So, as anyone with straight hair can tell you, I have always had a struggle with hair products. Almost anything (that I am willing to pay for) weighs down straight hair. Even the wrong kind of shampoo can leave your hair stringy and lifeless. This has led to a lifetime of less-than-enthusiastic hair care. Why bother when no matter what you do, it looks the same.

But...

About a year ago, I had someone suggest to me that I stop using shampoo altogether. After I looked at them like they were crazy, I did a little research and found out that my friend was not as crazy as I thought. So a new regimen was born (and has continued).

So here's what I do:

For my "shampoo"
I mix one tablespoon of baking soda/bicarb with one cup of warm water.

The ratio is important. If you want to mix more at a time, you can, but just keep that 1T to 1C ratio. I use a whole cup when I wash my hair, but I have long hair (four or five inches past my shoulders), you may not need as much. Too much baking soda/bicarb and you will have crispy, dry hair. Too much water and it may not clean effectively.

For my "conditioner":
I mix one to two tablespoons of vinegar (I use apple cider vinegar)to one cup of warm water.
(I actually make a double batch because I find that I need more for rinsing my long hair)


I mix this up fresh every time I wash my hair. It only takes a few seconds. But if you want to mix up more and keep it in bottles in your bathroom, just follow the ratios and you'll be fine.



So I wet my hair thoroughly and pour the soda mixture over my scalp a little at a time gently working it in as you go.

This is the part that may throw some of you because there is no lather. We have been conditioned to think that foamy bubbles=clean. But trust me it is working.

I let it stand for about a minute and the rinse out with cool water, completely flooding your scalp. Don't skimp on the rinsing. I made that mistake once after I had been doing this for a few months and afterward my scalp was so itchy that I though I was having an allergic reaction, lol! (the vinegar also helps with this because it neutralizes the soda)

After my hair is well rinsed, I pour on the vinegar mixture, and massage into my scalp. Let stand for one or two minutes. Then rinse with cool water.

Towel dry and you are done.


A few notes:

Cool water is important. It calms your scalp and is nicer to your hair than hot water. I normally wash my hair in water that I would consider too cold for a shower, wrap my head in a towel, then crank on the hot and finish my shower.

There is an adjustment period. Your hair has to "detox", especially if you use a lot of product. For about a week or two, you find your hair feels or acts different. The same is true if you are traveling and the water has different mineral content, so be aware. I'm not talking "Bride of Frankenstein" different, just a difference in texture and touch.

If you use styling products (i.e.-hairspray, mousse, gel) you should comb out your hair before washing. It helps to loosen the gunk and allow the soda to do it's thing.

This will make your hair clean. Literally "squeaky" clean. I find myself going longer and longer between actual washings. At this point I only actually wash my hair two times a week with warm water rinses whenever I shower in between to remove dust and dirt.

Yes, in the shower, your hair smells like vinegar, and I know that this is a smell that most people don't like. But it fades as soon as your hair is dry, I promise. Your hair will smell like clean hair, which is to say, like nothing. No perfumes or scents. If you like a little "smelly" for your hair you can add a few drops of essential oil to the rinse. Lavender and citrus are nice, Tea Tree can even help with dandruff and scalp issues. I've even used Vanilla extract. Experiment.



Why this works:

Traditional shampoo is a detergent. So, by it's very nature it strips your hair of everything, both good and bad. That's why we need conditioner; to put back all of the natural oils that the shampoo stripped away. That is also why your hair gets greasy. Your scalp is trying to compensate for all of the missing natural oils.

Baking soda/Bicarb doesn't do that. It removes the dirt and debris and leaves your hair and it's oils alone to do their own thing. The vinegar makes your hair shiny and soft, while also neutralizing the soda.



So there it is. My foray into the "crunchy" hippie lifestyle. I love it. My hair has never been healthier or shinier. It actually has body and doesn't go flat two hours after I leave the bathroom.

And the icing on the cake?

IT IS CHEAP!!!

Here the Midwest US the supplies cost me about six cents a wash, and they keep on the shelf indefinitely. Take that, $35 dollar bottle of shampoo!!

Firehouse Tour

Now you know why I post so rarely.

We're always on a field trip, lol!

Field Trip!

Scenes from a recent field trip to a local airport. Although, it's only technically an airport. It has a runway and hangars, and a few die hard local pilots; and that's about it.

But the kids had such a good time. They even got some pilots together to take off and land every five minutes or so while the kids were out by the runway. It was magical!

Pita- The Recipe

Heavens! I didn't even think of giving you all the recipe!

I originally found my recipe here at The Fresh Loaf.

And let me tell you, if you are interested in baking your own bread, of any kind, this is the place for you. Along with recipes and tutorials, they have a forum where people just like you have made the same mistakes that you have made and they discuss how you can fix it. It's kinda like having an experienced bread baking mentor right there in your computer.

I've done things a little differently though.

I use 1 1/2 cups AP Flour and 1 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour. I add my honey and warm water together, then bloom the yeast in the resulting mixture. And the biggest change, I cook mine in a very hot cast iron skillet instead of in the oven.

The rising time is much shorter than conventional bread (I can do a whole batch, start to finish, in under two hours) and I actually split my dough into 12 pieces, instead of 8, because we use them for sandwiches. In fact, this is the only bread that I bake some weeks, lol!

Enjoy!

Pita

My very homely but oh-so-delicious homemade pita bread. I can't believe I ever bought this stuff ready-made. It's so easy to make and so much more tasty than store-bought. The whole house is addicted. Sydda even eats it plain!

Picture Post

A little pictorial evidence of what we have been up to lately.



My new pantry shelves. A huge improvement over what I had before.And I even have an empty shelf left!


Our raised beds. The green that you can see in this photo has already doubled, even though this was only taken two days ago. Way in the back you can see my new compost bin. A lovely custom design that takes advantage of the giant slope that is our yard.


The inaugural load of wash hanging on my new clothes lines.

The last board being nailed in place on the new bridge. And..


Ta Da! All done.
Everything pictured so far was built and designed by my husband. And not only that, everything except the pantry shelf was made from repurposed materials, so the costs were minimal. Sometimes it's like I live with this magical genii. All I have to do is ask and POOF, he creates it! I'm so blessed!


And finally, the lovely view of God's handiwork that the last few days of warm weather have made possible. I love opening the curtains in the morning!

Productive

Oh April, how you tease!

Today it is grey and rainy. After a lovely weekend of working outside and our first sunburns of the year, we are once again stuck inside. But we have been busy.

My husband is constructing a bridge to cross the little stream at the bottom of our hill. Now we will be able to take better advantage of the rest of our property.

The raised beds are constructed and cold-weather lovers planted. We should see the peas, spinach, and lettuce poking their heads up soon with all of this rain.

My tomatoes, peppers, and marigolds are flourishing in our livingroom window. I love the big southern-facing windows that are in our main room! I use them for so many things.

My ever-continuing home bread experiments are going well. Although, the lack of sun today has led me to find an alternative heat source for my rising dough. I'm giving my crock pot a try. I placed three drinking glasses inside the heating element, turned on low without the crock, and placed my loaf on a plate balanced on the glasses. It seems to have worked very well, and the loaf just came out of the oven looking beautiful.

My handy husband is also midway in building a new set of shelves for my pantry. All of my cans, bags, and boxes have been moved and dusted in anticipation of their new home.


I guess that we have been productive enough to make up for our rain delay.

Man's Best Friend?

The drive home from church today found me, as it usually does, chatting with my daughter about her Sunday School lesson. With this being Palm Sunday, I was pretty sure what to expect.


Me: So what was your lesson about today?

Sydda: Um... I don't remember. (also usual, lol.)

M: Did you do anything special today? (I knew they were supposed to have a "Palm Parade")

S: Yeah.

M: Like...?

S: Um... Oh! We talked about Jesus riding into town on a dog.

M: A dog?!

S: Yeah, a dog.

M: Do you mean a donkey?

S: No mom. A dog. (said with her best teenage disdain)

M: Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey.

S: No, I'm pretty sure that my teacher said a dog. And everybody shouted
something at Jesus and threw down their plants.

M: Oh? They threw down their plants?

S: Yeah, and shouted something... I can't remember.

M: Hosanna?

S: Yeah! That was it!

M: Sweetie?

S: Yeah?

M: Jesus rode a donkey, not a dog.

S: ...

S: Oh.



And then ensued a discussion of the Palm Sunday story. It's funny how mishearing a word can change your whole perspective of a story, lol.