I'm waiting for the Locusts...

Well I had a big toad in my kitchen a few days ago, he had weird reddish spots on him, but was really very cute. When I picked him up he kept making loud sighing noises, like he was thinking just get me to the door already. The boys wanted nothing to do with him so I suspect those spots must mean I taste bad.

The next day I walked into the craft room, put something down and walked back into the living room, I thought to myself "Hmmm that stick wasn't there a minute ago" well that stick was a little snake! He was very skinny but over a foot long, the picture is very fuzzy-he wasn't camera shy but I was trying to get a shot of him in a hurry, didn't want him getting away! I picked him up with a handkerchief and got a good look at him before I put him outside, he wasn't a plain old Black snake but didn't have any red rings or spots like a coral snake so I'm not sure what kind he was.

My kitchen is crawling with sugar ants, and it is still raining EVERY SINGLE DAY! so maybe I should go buy some hay for the Horsemen of the apocolypse. Kidding.

A Better Use For The Ped Egg

a zester!

This is awesome, it costs 10 dollars, is enclosed so the zest is contained and lets be serious, it is the exact same thing as one of those expensive microplaners from Williams and Sonoma. They even sell replacement blades. I have labeled it prominently Kitchen Only so it will never touch feet-

Farmer Cheese

I made a batch of kefir farmer cheese, drained it in a funnel lined with a coffee filter, stirred in italian spices, fresh ground pepper and a little olive oil, served on Triscuit crackers before one of our grilled meals - YUM it has a little bit of tang from the kefir, very tasty. Otis would be so happy.

Got a Grill

well after exhaustive research I decided on a grill - The City Grill by Outdoorchef. It got great reviews everywhere I looked at it and was voted best portable gas grill at about.com. Most importantly it gets REALLY hot. the problem with small gas grills is that if you have 30 minutes to wait for a hamburger to cook no problem, but it shouldn't take that long! small gas grills suffer from no power, usually, not this baby - it gets up to 400 degrees in about 3 minutes. Check out the website http://www.outdoorchefusa.com/ for more info about how it works.

I'm using it on my screened in back porch to keep from having to grill in the dark or get eaten up by mosquitos, and since it doesn't have the flare up problem regular grills have and it cooks very quickly with the lid on most of the time, I feel comfortable doing that. Of course I have it on a cart that I roll close the the outer edge of the porch to keep it away from the house as much as possible. So far so good, we (Mom, Paul and I) have grilled 4 meals over the past week and they all have been great. Last night we made pizza and I was thrilled with how fast and easy it was. Lovin the grill. I know charcoal is the only way to 'really' grill, but I think it's a huge pain in the butt to wait a half an hour to get coals going and then cook for only 7 or 8 minutes. what a waste.

Making Laundry Soap

ran out of Laundry soap so it was time to whip up another batch-I thought I would post the recipe I use.

1 bar of Dr. Bronners soap, grated with the fine side of a box grater

1 cup Borax

1 cup Washing Soda

1/2 cup baking soda (not shown in picture)

The most annoying part of mixing up a batch is grating the bar of soap with the box grater, there must be an easier way! Mix all the ingredients together and store in a sealed container, use about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of mix per load. It will not lather up like detergent you buy in the store, but if you feel the water, you will notice the slippery feel.

I am using Dr. Bronners Lavender soap for this batch and have a rinse/fabric softener with lavender in it also so everything smells nice. I just took a half gallon jug of white vinegar and added about 25 drops of lavender essential oil. Shake well and fill 2 Downey balls about half full and add to wash at the beginning of the load.

The Downey ball was a bit of a mystery but I googled it on the internet and found out how they work, it's pretty cool and putting more than the fill level indicated on the ball doesn't seem to change how they work, so they open up in the spin cycle and let the vinegar mix out.

I did laundry on saturday and hung each load on my newly extended clothesline, it felt very virtuous. Mom helped me hang a load and was horrified that the art of hanging out clothes had been overlooked by me! she has very specific ideas about how each item should be hung to minimize wrinkles and get the sun to shine bright and strong on certain areas. We had a good laugh when she started re-hanging things behind me. I Love my Mo!

The Outdoor Shower Project continues...

well I have gotten a little farther than this picture shows, the plumbing is together, hose has been run from the house and split for hot and cold, now I just need to glue a few of the pvc connections that I missed initially and test to see if everything holds water...

I'm going to be a chicken mom!

I ordered 3 chicks last night from My Pet Chicken! I am a planner ad nauseum so I'm proud of myself for DOING IT! Here is a description of the 3 types I ordered, 1 of each.

Dominiques are considered a "heritage" breed of chicken in that they've been around for hundreds of years and are now critically endangered. Some people can't tell the difference between a Dominique and a Barred Rock, but the trained eye will notice that Dominques have a rose comb versus the Barred Rock's single comb. They are black and white and have a nice 'chicken shape'

Easter Egger They are friendly, great layers of large blue and green eggs, and sometimes even pinkish eggs. Their smaller body size makes them good in the heat which will be a concern in Tampa. "Easter Eggers" are hybrids that carry the blue-egg gene of the true Araucana breed. They have a sweet disposition and don't mind being handled. Because this is a hybrid variety (not a breed), it is impossible to know what color the chicks will be until they feather out. They have fluffy feather cheeks and beards when grown.

Stars are "sex link" chickens, meaning they're bred specifically so that males and females are different colors when they hatch. Females are egg-laying machines that continue to lay well in the heat and cold, when many others slow down. The males are said to be good "fryers". (I won’t be letting them do any cooking!) they are usually a rusty gold color and weigh about 5-6 pounds when grown.

Now I have to get to work on a coop and brooder so I'm ready when they arrive! but strangely I'm craving pickles and ice cream right now....