Found: Missing Piece Of The Puzzle

I love the band Journey. Steve Perry's soaring tenor voice sends chills up my spine. This morning I was watching CBS Sunday Morning and saw a piece about how Journey had found a new lead vocalist by taking a midnight surf on Y*u*Tube.

His name is Arnel Pineda and believe it or not, even though he looks 20, he is 41 years old! His story is an inspiring one, from being homeless to fronting one of the best known bands around with a voice that, I have to say, is almost a perfect rendition of Steve Perry. I'd buy their new album. Judge for yourself.

Harvest The Rain

So far this year rain levels here have been pretty good. Everything is growing and looking wonderful. I can't wait to start harvesting fresh vegetables.

Last year was a different story with an almost 16 inch deficit in rain. I've decided that I want to set up a rain barrel system to harvest some of the rain now for the drier months. I have to get my husband on board to help me.

In surfing the internet I found a wonderful article about harvesting rain at Mother Earth News. Great info for those who are interested in building their own rain system suitable for whole house use.

Then there is the pdf file The Texas Manual On Rainwater Harvesting. Pretty dry reading but it contains fascinating facts about how rainwater is captured and used in different parts of the country and world. Did you know that The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Research Center in Austin, Texas, harvests 300,000 gallons of rainwater annually from almost 19,000 square feet of roof collection area for irrigation of its native plant landscapes?

And finally there is this article from the Maryland Environmental Development site with even better info on a simple barrel system that seems more in keeping with a small home garden.

What I Saw: It Was 30 Years Ago Today

My husband came up to me this morning, smiled and asked a question that I have learned to fear...."Do you remember what today is?" "Hmmmm....Wednesday?" I asked lamely. "Yeeessss....but what day is it?" "Uhhhhh....Garbage day?" I stuttered. It was no use....I was in trouble. I thought it was guys who could never remember important dates! Unfortunately, in this case, it is me. Sigh.

Actually, in my defense, it is Wednesday and garbage day. It also happens to be the 30th anniversary of the day I met the man with the memory of an elephant.

He planned a sunset picnic at the lake to celebrate. We walked on the shore, ate great food and watched the sun set. It was beautiful and romantic and made me very glad for the man with the mind like a steel trap.

Real Financial Heros

Journey North

I wonder when the hummingbirds will be back at my feeder this year.

Do you wonder if the Monarchs, the Robins,hummingbirds or whooping cranes, or any of the signs of spring have shown up yet?

Then check out the Maps and Sights at Journey North.

A great resource for teaching your kids about migration or maybe learning a little something yourself.

Cuppycake Love For Laura

Saturday Savings

Great deals this week. $26 dollars in register rewards back at Walgreens and a total of $4.56 out of pocket. I've got another batch of goodies to photograph yet. All bought with register rewards. I'll have the pics up later. The toothbrushes came from CVS. $0 out of pocket (paid for them with a gift card) and $11.97 in ECB bucks. For more Saturday Savings check out Money Saving Mom.

Living Green =Saving Money?

Thinking green and trying to live green is on everyone's mind these days. It really makes sense not only for our environment but for our pocket books as well. Every where you look stores are selling the latest, newest, good for the environment goodie. Do we really need to buy more? Wouldn't it be smarter to use what we already have?

My grandparents were some of the most frugal people I have ever known. They were green when green wasn't cool. They recycled everything that could be recycled. They did it not with the idea of saving the environment but with the goal of not being wasteful. Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without. Nothing was too small.

My grandfather took the time to straighten bent nails from projects and reused them. My grandmother saved scraps for quilts and string from feed bags. She even taught me the fine art of dumpster diving when I helped her and her sister in law collect fabric from the place the local shirt factory dumped their scraps. I still have quilts made from those scraps. When I wanted drawing paper it was most often the blank insides of a junk mail envelope. I wasn't going to be allowed to draw on school paper that they had paid good money for!

Even with all the saving their home was never cluttered because they used the things they saved. I grew up watching that and they set a great example to follow.

Today living green is what is fashionable. I wonder how Grannie and Pa Pa would feel about being so cool? That makes me chuckle! I think my grandparents would think it funny too.

While surfing I found a great little project for using those mesh vegetable bags, and this one which is another use for those junk mail envelopes. Both are by Girl on the Rocks and they are frugal and green. Are you going to save the world or save a bazillion dollars? Nope. But it might get you to thinking about other things you can do and if we all make a few changes...who knows.

What I Saw: Roadside Americana

Found at the Museum of Appalachia in Norris, Tennessee. If you click on the bottom picture it will enlarge and you can read the story of these signs and the man who made them.

Beautiful Blogs: Primrose Design

Janet's blog Primrose Design is a collection of beautiful pictures and great stitching tutorials. She teaches you how to make just about any stitch you might want to use. Makes me want to pull out the needles and thread and stitch up a master piece. What? It could happen!

Photo: Property of Primrose Design

To Do List: Try New Things: Violet Jelly and Dandelion Syrup

Patty at Morning Ramble has a recipe for Dandelion syrup on her blog. I have plenty of Dandelions so I thought I would give it a try. The soaking Dandelions didn't look so appetizing. I wasn't too confident about how it was going to turn out. I kept a positive attitude and continued on.

After following the directions I had a nice thick golden colored syrup. That taste like...well...syrup. I can't say that I taste something that taste like Dandelion. All I know is that it is good.

After success with the Dandelions I was fired up to try something else. I have been wanting to try Violet Jelly for a couple of years. I found a great recipe and tutorial at Prairieland Herbs.

I picked Violets out of our yard. It took about 20 minutes or so. I just plopped down in the middle of a patch and cleared them out. I followed the recipe and because it was late after I soaked the flowers, I refrigerated the liquid from the violets overnight. Making the jelly only took about 45 minutes total. I think it is delicious. It has a light floral taste to it. It is delicious on toast with butter. Here are the results. Isn't it beautiful? I love the lavender color. The tall bottle is the Dandelion Syrup.

Finally, inspired by my success I decided to use some fruit I had that I was afraid would spoil. So I made some Pear and Pecan Conserve and Plum preserves. I just had enough for a jar or two so I just threw them in the water bath with the jelly.

I put some extra in a decorative jar I had and we have been enjoying it with some buttered biscuits.

This has been fun. Who would have thought weeds from my yard would taste so good!

Technorati tags: violet, jelly, frugal living, homemaking, violet jelly<

Sunday Musings

My kids are all grown and I don't have any grandchildren yet. I miss little people in my house. Surfing around You Tube I found this adorable video of a little girl who loves to sing hymns and I decided Sunday would be a great day to share it. I hope she brightens your day.