A Holiday Challenge

We Have Unofficially!

Snow!

We usually have our first steady snowfall the day after Thanksgiving - and it came! It's not supposed to stick past Wednesday - but we'll see. Until then we'll enjoy it!

---

Frank and Theresa Thanksgiving 2013

Happy Thanksgiving!

xox

Happy Birthday Kimberly!

That's What I'm Talking About!

Charlie's Latest Art

 My brother Charlie, in California, made the garden art below. He made some very creative gates, shown here.......

 and a fence for our Mom.

He keeps an eye on her and her squirrels!

"Hi sherry

Here are a couple of garden art caricatures I made with rocks and metal

I got mom a wireless camera to keep an eye on the squirrels you could access it via the Internet after I set it up I'll send you the password

That should be fun

Love and my best to all

Charlie"




(What Charlie may not know is almost every week Liz sends me a great squirrel photo which I pass on to Mom via email. Here are just a few...aha... look under 'squirrel' on this blog for the back story....)

X O X

Sickies Watch too Many Videos!

Really?  

Since I'm watching (and have been for a while) a lot of documentaries on the latest studies regarding what helps people stay healthier in general, and what helps them heal when they're sick, I decided to put some of those videos on my blog in the right hand column under the books I've read lately.

  I also put some of our favorites, and some of the food related videos on here also. I didn't put ALL of the videos we watch, just sharing the latest. For instance, I put the Ted Talks, Life Hack documentaries, but only watched those pertaining to my health, like Amy Cuddy's 'posture' talk,  Jane McGonigal's 'game' talk, etc. 

If you have a video you'd like me to list, email me the name.

---

When You Have Lemons...

November through March is typically Lemon Season. Bob went with me to our naturtal food store, and of course, I came home with a half case of lemons to process. 

We ran out of our 3 year supply (!) of frozen organic lemon juice this year. We also ran out of store bought, organic lemon zest which goes great on ice creams, in cakes, etc. Liz and I love zest! So...

Today I started to make frozen lemon juice and dried zest from the same organic lemons, but a lot of them were still green when I brought them from the mud room.  So, I brought them inside to warm up and hopefully turn yellow. Liz has a really easy to use juicer on her Bosch so I borrowed that.

A 'zested' lemon before being rolled against the chopping block to be 'plumped up', then cut and juiced.

Leftover lemon skins, with or without zest, can be wiped down chopping blocks and wood surfaces,  with it and some salt or no salt. Let stand for 15 minutes - then wipe. Lemon oils make a good disinfectant, oiler, and smell great!

So really, the entire lemon can be used. We give the leftovers to our chickens.

When zesting, I like to use the zester with little holes - with the black handle. It makes the zest on the right.
The zest/grater makes a finer product - on left -  but is easier to use. I finish up with that one.

Dried zest in painted lid jar. Jars ready for freezing.

Lemon juice ready for the freezer.  When needed, it can defrost in the refrigerator, then stay in there for 6 weeks or so. It's good for marinades, dressings, in many recipes, to stop fruit from browning, and so on. It also has medical properties -  spray lemon water around the house, in the air; or boil, then simmer some to fill the air with natural bactericides; it bleaches hair, and food spots on linens - especially out in the sun.

Just sayin'...

X O X

Wedding...Wedding..Wedding!

My head is full of the upcoming wedding of Frank and Theresa!

It's so exciting!

 Liz is the Maid of Honor and into all of the details as Theresa decides them. 

Colors, dresses, reception venues, etc. Theresa's mother also has good taste and helps her a lot!  Theresa, whose style is like a colored Shabby Chic, is already choosing very tasteful and classy details.

Frank is helping all the way, he's especially making sure he likes the food, which so far is Italian - from scratch! 

They are finally meeting with the Priest tomorrow and setting the dates for the Wedding, and also the Betrothal, ceremonies and other details. So far, the Wedding is still set for next August 30th. 

Theresa's colors are Tiffany Blue and Gold.

We can't wait to share this special day with our families and friends...!

  X O X