Happy New Year --- Let's Get Organized

Hello and Happy New Year!  I hope 2014 is kind to you.

My goal for this new year is to be a tad more consistent with my posts. Uummmm, let's see how that works out *BIG GRIN*............ and to get more organized.  I am making small inroads starting with Christmas stuff.

As I was working on getting all the Christmas decorations down and put away in between the birth of my new granddaughter, Patton Lea, a bout with the flu and becoming very frustrated with it all, I decided that one of my goals (not a resolution, just a goal) is to get more organized.

I began the process  with my Christmas decorations, and I put together a fairly good sized box and gave it away to a family just starting out. Remember just starting out and buying a thing here and there year after year?  And then one day you look around and say to yourself "Good grief, where did all this stuff come from?"  That's how it starts. The "stuff" that consumes Christmas joy.  I loved giving this sweet family a head start on their own "Good grief moment years down the road! 

So I made a bit of  progress --- but it isn't nearly enough.  The biggest problem is I rarely have time to deal with it before Christmas and after Christmas I just want it all put away.  Out of site, out of mind, I'll deal with it next year.  And it never happens.  But I did make a bit of progress:

• Took all my gift wrapping supplies (which is mostly Christmas) out of one of those gift wrap organizer bags and put it all in a box.  For me, it's easier to deal with and it actually takes up less room. Not as pretty as the cloth organizer, but it just works so much better.
•  The gift wrap tubes of paper are now secured with empty toilet paper rolls cut down the middle lengthwise and placed over the tube of paper to keep it from coming unrolled.  This sounds a bit tacky, but it's recycling at its basic best and believe me, it is so much easier to deal with than a piece of tape that is more often than not a bugger to remove.  This has been all over the internet and it's quite ingenious.
• I took the recycling a bit further and dug some of the large plastic blueberry boxes I had in my plastics-to-recycle bin and used them for a couple of storage solutions. 
• A coffee container also came to good use and I plan on using more of these as I get them.

The large plastic containers, 3.5 quarts I think they are, that I buy blueberries in to freeze for winter use were perfect to store gift bows in.  I can see what is inside and they do not become crushed. 





 Previously I had my strings of glass and plastic bead garlands in a flimsy gift box that over the years has never kept the beads contained nor protected.  There's that "I'll deal with it next year" mentality rearing it's ugly head.  I do know I want to keep my bead garlands, but a better storage solution had to come about.  The empty coffee "can" was my solution. They all fit inside and once the lid is snapped on, they are completely protected.  The fact that the container is square is a plus as it will take up less space than a round one. 

An empty Cinnamon Bun container was the perfect size for another item I know I will be keeping.  The mini red silk poinsettia plant and the little red elves have always been displayed together.  The elves belonged to my mother, and I bought the silk plant to go with them when the elves were passed on to me.  I hope to pass these on to one of my granddaughters.  The little breath mint tin holds ornament hooks; this was another item that had previously been stored in a box that had seen better days.  I will probably use another of these tins for storing the suction hooks that I use quite frequently.

So.  It's not a lot of progress, but it IS progress.  Now that I have an idea of what I can do to store my Christmas decorations better  I will be saving these containers from the recycling bin and will continue the organization process for this glorious holiday next year.  A little bit at a time, my friends, a little bit at a time.

Long time no see

Hello there!  Long time no see, right?  I am not going to go over where I have been or what has happened, as I know most of you subscribe to my other blog which is now More Paper Kisses and Inky Wishes, and if you want the skinny please go HERE and you can check it out.

I will, however, post a pic of the newest member of the household.  Small Fry, AKA FRIES. Now Burger has a companion and I have BURGER and FRIES!  LOL.  Nine months old and full of energy, chews on everything, and does everything Burger does.  He's the cutest little chiweenie ever!

I found a really good, quick, and easy recipe for an autumn goodie that I know I will make again, again. Since it is the end of summer weekend and it's a rainy day what better way to usher in the start of fall than with a yummy little something?  Thanks Lorna for posting this!!!

MINI FALL PUMPKIN PIE CROISSANTS

These start with 2 tubes of Pillsbury refrigerated crescent rolls. Roll each crescent roll out and cut lengthwise in 2. This recipe will make 32 mini croissants. Each croissant will get a generous teaspoon of this luscious cream cheese pumpkin pie filling:

4 oz. (1/2 block) of softened cream cheese
1 cup of canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 – 2 T pumpkin pie spice (adjust to taste)
3 – 4 T sugar (granulated or powdered; adjust to taste if you want the filling sweeter)

Beat the above ingredients together until fluffy and creamy and spread about one teaspoon of filling over each triangle of dough.
Mix together 4 T sugar and 1 T pumpkin pie spice and roll each pumpkin pie croissant in it!Bake at 375* for about 13-15 minutes (this time is for on a baking stone) – you want them to be lightly                                                                                                                                browned and the dough baked through.

It's good to be back in the blogging world.  Thanks for stopping by Two Dogs!

Hello all!  I wanted to share the photos of the two-month anniversary of THE BIG SNOW STORM with you.  I am SO glad to see the snow retreat.  Today is sunny and there is a breeze blowing so that should aid in even more melting.  YIPPEE!!!!!!  I will make this brief as I have more cleaning to do in the sun room; trying to make room for repair work as soon as it dries out in there.  May take awhile, but I want to be ready to go when it does!

I am back to hauling fire wood to the house in the wheelbarrow, a relatively easy task with bare ground showing and what remains of the snow being frozen in the early a.m.   Spring will be here soon!  Sometimes it's hard to remember that, but it will be.

Thanks for stopping by Two Dogs.  Have a fabulous week!

Hello!  How's winter been treating ya?  I love summer but always look to winter as a time to snuggle in, catch up on crafty things, read, relax, and plan for the warmer months.  Whew, not this year.  It's been nothing but work, work, work just trying to keep things going around here. Chopping ice away from the garage door so I can get the car out, shoveling this dang white stuff, digging out the wood pile to get a few sticks to make a cozy fire.... it takes its toll and there's not much energy left to do fun stuff.  Besides who can work at fun stuff when the house always has a trail of wood chips to clean up from traipsing through with armloads of fire wood, no place to put away anything for fear of falling while packing it out to where it belongs.  I had to replace my old microwave that was taking about four minutes to heat a cup of water (capacitor is all but shot) and I am already sick of it hanging out in my kitchen and it's only been three days.  Am about to go redneck and just toss it out into the yard.  I swear.  I am.  But I know I won't..............  Lots are having problems with plumbing freezing so I am VERY thankful I have been spared that.  Here's some pics of the landscape 30 days post beginning of the snow storm from hell.

It is melting, albeit s-l-o-w-l-y.  Will probably still be some here by March.  Temps were very low at night (single digits/below zero for weeks) but last night it stayed in the 30s!  Downright balmy!!!. A slow melt is actually a blessing in disguise as a fast melt would bring more misery in the form of flooding, so this is actually a good thing.  Really.  I keep telling myself it is.  It is.  Really.  It is.  We got a bit of rain last night and above freezing temps, but it is a short reprieve as a colder storm is coming in for the weekend to keep that quick thaw at bay.

OK.  If you are still with me here, I want to share a tip with you.  Ants have been a problem for the past two years at pretty much this same time of the year.  I think it's too cold for them, too, and they are seeking better digs ;-) Ha Ha..Those little "piss ants" ( that's what we call 'em.  Squish one and they smell like, well......., they smell bad) They come up around my faucet in the bathroom.  Last year I sprayed them with hair spray, but that was messy to clean up (I don't like to use pesticides unless absolutely necessary, but hairspray is almost as bad).  Prevention was my goal.  When I first noticed them this year I smeared the faucet with Vicks and that held them at bay, but I needed to seek and destroy, too.  Believe it or not diatamaceous earth  is a perfect ant killer.  When they walk in it, it gets on their little exoskeletons and dries them out.  And they die.  And if they manage to get back to the nest with this stuff on them, others die.   And somewhere in their tiny little ant brains they must know this because they disappear after sprinkling that stuff around. We are fortunate here in northern California as we have a ready supply of diatamaceous earth; it is mined here for sale to food companies, pool supply businesses, and wineries. All that is needed are a few chunks of D-earth and a box grater (the thingy you use in the kitchen to grate carrots and such) and simply grate the stuff along the ant trail,  I always leave it for a couple of days, but really the ants disappear over night.  I am not so naive as to think they have all suddenly died, but they leave my house and that's really all that matters!  So here's to habitat, earth friendly ant killer.   Thanks for stopping by!!

P.S.  Someone mentioned they were glad I started posting again on the Two Dogs blog and that made me very happy to know someone is actually reading it!  THANK YOU!!!

Hello my bloggy friends!  I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to a wonderful New Year.  That's still up in the air what with fiscal cliffs and winter weather possibly wreaking havoc, but there's still lots to be thankful for and we truly are blessed to live in the greatest nation on earth.
We've had some heavy-duty snow this past week in our little town of Burney, but only two homes' roofs caved in and one store and NO ONE DIED because of it, so that is definitely something to  be thankful for.  Christmas was interesting trying to get everyone together.  This house only saw half the family able to make it over the mountain but I am grateful to have had at least half.  And thanks to my son, I got a respite from shoveling the white stuff. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, THANK YOU!
With three feet plus of snow, getting wood to the house is a challenge. The snow has packed down, frozen crust on top, but one still sinks up past the knees in places when trying to traverse the white expanse.  Running a wheelbarrow through it is obviously impossible. Year before last I bought a kid's sled and had to use it a couple of times that winter.  Last winter it stayed in the shed.  Now, with this #@%! looking like it might be around for longer than any of us can imagine, it is time to utilize Sled.  It works like a charm as long as 1.  it isn't too bumpy along the snow path, 2.  the path is wide enough, 3.  you go slow.  Number 4 may come into play as the days progress and that would be:  4. there aren't too many sunken foot prints for the sled to get caught on.  There are places where that little sled glides along perfectly on the packed snow and over the sink holes and it glides especially well once we get to the little deck in back of the house.  Once onto that (it's cleared of snow as I write this, but that could change) and if it is early enough in the morning and things are still icy, Sled glides along like a penguin 'ice swimming' on its belly and you better look out or it will bowl you over.  Don't ask me how I know this!  I am perfecting my techniques every morning and it is getting easier and easier -- practice makes perfect --  and using  Sled is a hundred times easier than hauling a small arm load of wood at a time across 100 plus feet of unstable white @#%!, umm, I mean snow.
Here's a pic of Sled and a shot of the wood pile at the back of the property----  It's that brown , iced over, snow covered lump you can see between and behind the two bushes.

Well, for heaven's sake!  Here we go again with the side-ways photos.  Sorry.  I simply do not know how to correct this!

Getting around is a case in careful placement of every step because as the snow melts a little each day, it freezes again at night and there are icy patches everywhere.  Winter.  Such a lovely time of the year. Oh please, just shoot me!

Bandon R & R

Wow, it has been a busy summer!  I have had all I can do to keep up with Paperkissesandinkywishes.com not to mention the three part-time jobs, the house, and the yard. But I am not complaining, just explaining. I am truly blessed and very grateful.
I do have some fun and interesting things to share with you soon, but today I just wanted to pop in, say hi, let you know I am still alive and kicking, and let you know that the disposable razor test is over.  It's true ---- you CAN get a LOT of use out of a disposable razor if you take the time to dry the blade each and every time you use it and then store it in a dry place.  I started this little experiment a year ago this month and while I don't have to shave as often now that I am a bit older, it was still a worthwhile test I believe. This is not only cost-effective in tough economic times, but getting as much mileage as possible out of these things keeps the stuff out of our landfills.  Frugal and green; that's me.
Burger and I have been away for a little R & R ----- we visited a good friend in Oregon and we spent some time on the Oregon coast.  Bandon!  What a gorgeous little seaside town.  It's full of charm with easy access to some beautiful, rugged coastline. We had such fun.  I leave you with a couple of photos.  Well, maybe more than a couple.  Thanks for stopping by.  I will be back soon with another money-saving tip.  Take care! Shawna

                                       This isn't Bandon, it's the new foot bridge on the

                                        North Umpqua River near Susan Creek. Frannie
                                        took me on a little cruise around Roseburg to see
                                        the sights.  We are having a wonderful visit!

I'm baaaaack....

Gee, where has the time gone?  And I see I need to be changing that Christmas banner.  Or just leave it up as the holiday will be here before we know it.  Sorry about all that; I have been busy. Who hasn't????
As for the post on the vinegar and water bath to extend the life of berries ---- it works!!!  I got up to three additional days out of the last basket of strawberries I purchased.  They may have lasted longer, but I gobbled them up too quickly, so the experiment will continue if I can ever leave them alone long enough.

I am sure you have heard about Teflon coated pans being in disfavor due to flaking of the Teflon coating and using high heat with them being a no-no. Big health risk if you are using these things.  The big thing now is ceramic coated pans and I found one at my local market the other day and on a whim decided to give it a try.  WOW!  All I can say is WOW!!!!  I bought the saute pan and when I got home I tried it out immediately by spraying some vegetable oil in it ---- a teeny tiny amount --- and tossed in some cut up bell peppers, onion, zuchinni, potatoes, and garlic and broke some eggs while the mix sauteed.  Once the veggies had  delectable browned bits on them, I removed them and scrambled my eggs in the wonder pan.  Amazing.  I used high heat, too, and I have to tell ya the results were remarkable.  I am in love with this pan.  The food browned nicely and nothing stuck to the pan.  Seriously.  Cleanup was unbelievable, too; just a swipe with a paper towel and most of it came right off.  I had one tiny little spot that required a damp paper towel, but it too, was easy to remove.  I have been sauteing stuff like crazy around here!  You don't have to use plastic utensils with this stuff, nor do you have to watch the heat level.  They recommend you do not cut food up inside the pan, but that's no biggy.  This stuff delivers on its promise!  They aren't all that expensive either.  I paid $17.99 for my small pan and I think it is worth every single penny.   Have a wonderful day.  I am off to saute another wonderful dish.  Thank you for not abandoning the Two Dogs blog.  Hugs, Shawna

 This photo shows some corn in the mix, took this one during a different sauteing session.  Different mix, same results.