Lora's random thoughts

Organizing Chaos

2011-01-19T18:12:00.000-06:00

Tuesday, aaahhh ... my day off! So how does one spend a day off? Well, if you're like me you have a list of fun things to do! Let's see, first there's the laundry ... always an adventure! Then, dishes, vacuuming, windows to wash, dusting and of course my absolute favorite bathroom cleaning! I try not to get too excited about my chores though ... if the other people in this house find out how much fun they are they may try to take them away from me! While I'm having all this fun, I have a 25 pound turkey roasting in the oven for dinner. Company you ask? Nope! Just me and the husband! You see, we have this huge freezer and for some reason, when turkeys are on sale, we feel the need to buy the biggest one possible.We tend to buy too much of a lot of things. We have too many collections and too many things in each collection! My husband is as bad a s I am, if not worse. Difference is ... I want to stop! Which leads me to the focus of most of my next few blogs. Paring down, simplifying, getting organized etc. I'm starting now and you can follow my progress. Here's a few before shots of my office ... the worst room in my house, the "dumping ground" for all things paper as well as my three home business' materials, samples etc. It's hard (and embarrassing) for me to share these pictures but I think it's necessary to my recovery!

Looking east

East corner, closet

East wall, closet on right door on left

SW corner bookshelves

Standing in doorway looking south

More chaos in the SE corner

My desk, NW corner

Top of my desk

Papers on floor next to my desk waiting for their "proper home"

I have a tendency to procrastinate which I believe is brought on by a need for everything to be perfect. I sometimes think if I can't do it all right now, or do it just the way I think it should be done then I can't do it at all. I need to get past this! I also have tendencies towards hoarding, OCD and ADD. Mix this all together and it is quite the whirlwind going on in my brain most days! I'm also super organized, although you could never tell by looking into my office ... again, it's the perfectionism thing, I tend to think if I don't have just the right color folders and just the right kind of box to put them in it's not worth bothering ... so the papers pile up around me waiting for "just the right home" until it's ridiculous. So, come along on my adventure to put order in my life! Please leave me a note and let me know you stopped by! I will post pictures again after I get it organized!

Dreaming of Death

2011-01-15T17:21:00.000-06:00

I wonder how many people dream of Death … not just dying, actually meeting Death, the being. I have this dream often. Last night my dream was very real once again, but this one was different than the rest.

In my dream, Death is always around me, like a friend. He walks over, puts his arm around my shoulders and we start walking together, talking like friends. Then I look into his face and realize he’s Death and I scream, “I’m not ready yet!” He then goes away.

But, as I said, this time it was different. This time I said to him “I’m ready now”. Then, I was floating. I was looking down at my lifeless body lying in bed. As I was floating I realized what was happening. I wanted to scream, but no sound would come out. I was terrified because I knew this time I was dying. Finally, I managed to get the tiniest sound out. I then woke up …

So it makes me wonder how many others have dreams like this? What do they mean? Is my subconscious trying to tell me something?

Cove Rock Farm Life

2010-05-27T09:11:00.000-05:00

Cove Rock Farm Life

Spring gardening

2010-05-27T08:42:00.000-05:00

I'm trying desperately to get my gardens in this year and keep them up, but I'm already feeling behind and it's only May! I have a knee injury which keeps me from kneeling, stooping and crouching ... all important movements in the life of a gardener! My condition has even been nicknamed "gardener's knee" because it's often caused by crawling around on the ground. Mine was caused by my "day job" a little over a year ago, which involves all those movements dozens of times a day. Ironically, it was fine all winter and then in about March it hit again. Of course, there's no way to "prove" it was caused by work, so no, can't get any workman's comp or anything like that for it ... but I don't care about that! I just want to garden! Anyway, I bought some "new" tools at garage sales that are helping a bit ... a very old, very sturdy and very well taken care of cultivator that is a monster at pulling out deep weeds without getting down on the ground! I just love it and only paid $1 for it! I had lettuce that came up on it's own from seeds I planted last fall, so I am eating fresh lettuce from my garden and of course the chives and things that grow on their own. I did get 6 new blueberry plants in also, and put hay all around them so they are done for a while. So, I'm working slowly but surely on getting the gardens in ... Wish me luck ... this weekend hopefully peppers and tomatoes!

BURGESS UPDATE!!! APRIL 2010

2010-04-24T13:05:00.000-05:00

Here's new pictures of this year's batch! If you look closely, you can see how they bent one to squeeze it in the box.

Today I received (from Burgess) the replacement plants for the pitiful ones sent last year ... they arrived in much better condition, at least none of the stems were broken as they were last year. I still am not impressed with the way they ship their merchandise however. One label did fall out, although they did have them labeled with a tag attached right to the 4 pack also. None of the plants were out of their containers as happened last year also. They do lay them on their side however, and one four pack had their stems bent to be able to squeeze them into the box. I took pictures as soon as I opened the box so I could post the way they arrived this year. I can't say I would recommend ordering from them ... they have the worst return policy of all the companies I've dealt with also. Although they did replace what I asked them to, they would not have if I wouldn't have saved the original box they came in ... they needed the label from that or no replacement ... how many people save the box? I only did because I took the time to read the rules first ...

By the way, I do think it's a smidge too early to put peppers in here. I'm not sure what they mean by shipping at the proper time for planting in my area, but I do not think peppers can be planted here (very warm zone 4) until the middle of May ... so now I have to hope they live that long ... and they're in very small pots ... : (

I want to be 100% Organic! Baby steps!

2010-03-23T15:36:00.000-05:00

In my opinion, it is important to switch as many things in your life as possible to organics. The reasons for this are numerous and new evidence seems to be added almost daily. I am taking baby steps to reach this point, it's expensive I know ... but I do believe it can be done!

The obvious, of course, is to avoid putting toxins and poison into your body in the first place therefore not having to detox to get rid of them!

Less obvious are things like the poisons used by farmers getting into our water supply, as well as the earth itself. Don't even get me started on people who spray their lawns with chemicals to get rid of weeds ... it kills weeds for god's sake and then their kids are out there playing on it! YIKES!! Good rule of thumb ... if you have to warn people to stay off/away from something, you probably shouldn't be spraying it all over the place!

It's been said the most important place to start switching is meat and dairy. Maybe just milk at first, then cheese, then eggs ... cut out some junk food to offset the higher cost. To enter a contest to win coupons for free Organic Valley products, visit this blog ...

http://thriftyjenny.blogspot.com/2010/03/organic-valley-giveaway.html

(Ends 3/30/2010)

Grow a few vegetables in your yard! Don't buy those chemical "miracle" fertilizers or soils though ... use organic! Your yard may not be 100% pure, but it's better than store bought and it doesn't get any fresher! If you live in an apartment and have a balcony you can still grow a few things. Tomatoes can grow in a pot, peppers, lettuce, herbs whatever you use a lot of and have space for. Consider using edibles instead of flowers in your front yard. Some of them are just as beautiful as they are delicious. one thing to watch for though is chemical spraying neighbors and dogs walking by ... they like to pee on plants and personally, I'm not thrilled with the idea of eating something I suspect has been a bathroom for the neighborhood hound! So, keep it away from the sidewalk and from the neighbor's property line (unless you know they don't use chemicals). Lawn chemicals will kill most veggie plants anyway ... that's their job, to kill anything and everything that isn't grass!

I also think that we should use only natural cleaners, after all whatever goes down your drain ends up in the water eventually! Remember the news story about the prescription drug levels in water supplies? Using natural cleaners can save you enough money to spend a little more on organic food! I'm not talking about the so-called natural cleaners on the market, many of them are using the term very loosely because right now it's "hip" to be green ... I'm talking about simple, effective cleaners that you probably already have in your kitchen! Things like lemon juice, baking soda, vinegar and hydrogen peroxide! They cost pennies and do a wonderful job at cleaning AND disinfecting! But that's a subject for another day.

Ordering plants, seeds etc ...

2009-06-29T21:26:00.000-05:00

This year, I ordered seeds and plants from several different sources ... and here's the results! The cost is about the same for all of them after you figure in shipping and handling ... I get from several sources to get everything I want because no one company carried all of them!

Seed Saver's Exchange ... Excellent service! The fastest and most efficient of all of them. They will get the bulk of all my future business!
Plants arrived intact and in excellent condition and are thriving!
Jung ... Several items were on back order, but all arrived in plenty of time for planting. Plants arrived in great condition and are doing very well!
Burgess ... I will never order from them again ... and here's why. See photos! The plants I ordered from them arrived tipped over and smashed in the box, and were very small, and most of the labels had fallen out so I couldn't tell which peppers were which ... the ones I could save have failed to grow very much. Planted right next to ones from other companies they are dwarfed in comparison! I ordered 6 blueberry bushes from them and 3 of them have already died. They only do replacements, no refunds, and it's a little late to plant pepper plants in Wisconsin now. Plus, they make you send back the mailing label to get your exchange. So my question is this ... if I send it back now for the things that have died, what happens if the rest of the blueberries die by next spring? I'm including pictures I took upon opening the box ...
The Cook's Garden ... I ordered about $100 from them ... and waited, and waited for it to arrive ... finally I called them and was told they had no record of my order ... even though they had my name, address, etc in their system (and I'd never ordered before) and I had a confirmation number for the order, claiming there was a few minutes when no orders went through. Lucky me! So, I canceled the order because it was mostly heirloom tomato seeds and it was too late to start them. I will try them again because they do carry a lot of heirloom tomatoes that no one else has.
Spring Hill Nursery ... I'm including them even though I did not order from them ... but my daughter did and was very impressed with their service. She ordered several perennials from them and a few died before she got them in the ground. she sent them an email and asked about their replacement policy and they sent the plants out before emailing her back with no questions asked! Burgess could learn a thing or two from them ...

Ordering Seeds, plants and other things

2009-03-08T20:48:00.000-05:00

I have been going through the seed catalogs for literally months now, circling this, highlighting that, but now is the time I actually have to make the decision on what to order. I procrastinate ... I made elaborate charts listing each fruit, veggie, flower and herb, their price from each catalog and still I sit staring at the computer trying to decide which site to go to and order. "Make a decision already!" I tell myself ... and this is why, every year I end up at the store buying whatever is left after everyone else picks them over and never get any unusual varieties! Well ... this year is going to be different!! I just decided to go to http://www.seedsavers.org and order as many from there as possible, regardless of price, because I like their mission ... to save varieties that are disappearing! So, I must stop writing now and head on over there ... as long as I don't get distracted ... wish me luck!!

Farmgirl's Map

2009-02-24T12:27:00.000-06:00

Jack Frost has a wicked sense of humour ...

2009-02-09T19:19:00.000-06:00

Remember Christmases past when we would spray that fake frost on our windows because it was so beautiful? Well ... Mr. Frost showed himself in a big way one wintry morning (Jan 16th, 2009) here in Wisconsin ... this is for all my southern friends and family who "miss the snow, cold and winter" ... wish you could FEEL this! I took these pictures from INSIDE the house ... the ice was about 2 inches thick ... of course it was -40 with the wind that morning!
This was inside my bathroom! Showering was pure delight that day!

Going out to the kitchen, I discovered he'd crept in under the back door also!

I can't wait until it's so hot everyone's complaining about the heat ... I'll look at these pictures then ... brrr!!

Sourdough Bread!

2009-02-01T17:34:00.000-06:00

Sourdough Bread!

I just mixed up a sourdough starter (mother) for bread, very simple, took less than 5 minutes! Every morning I will have to feed it now ... but that only takes a minute. I used purified water and organic flour. I didn't have enough white so I used about 3/4 cup of whole grain white ... we'll see if that makes a difference! So every Saturday morning I will be baking bread! Can't wait, there's nothing better than fresh bread! And organic breads are so expensive, but not this way : )
Here's a link to the recipe and instructions!!

http://budurl.com/cw4j

Enjoy! Let me know how yours turns out ... I'll update this as mine progresses.

Tuesday, day 3. I have "fed" it twice ... here's photos! It's starting to bubble!

So, the day to bake it finally came! I was so excited! I LOVE the smell of bread baking and cannot resist eating a slice hot from the oven! I made the two grapefruit sized oaves per the instructions and put them on a baking stone to rise.

Looks pretty good doesn't it??

So, I wait in anticipation ... for 8 hours like the recipe says for them to rise ... but they just flatten out instead!! HORRORS! It's not working!! But, I bake them anyway ... 'cuz ya never know! ; )
Well ... after baking, they look pretty good ... from the top anyway!

Delicious looking aren't they? Well ... the bottom was this spongy, doughy mass that was sort of rubbery ... I'm not sure if it's the water I used or if putting damp towel over it instead of a dry one ruined it or what ... but I am not giving up!

So, the end result was a great treat for my dog ... watch her enjoy it via the magic of video!

Week two ... success!!! My starter was nice and bubbly and my bread is SO TASTY!!! I still can't believe it's made with just flour, water and a pinch of salt and honey! Unreal! I can't wait for Sat to bake again!!! Pictures of the successful loaves ...

I love free stuff!!!

2009-01-30T18:22:00.000-06:00

Today I remember why I joined The Pampered Chef ... free products! I earned free products from the new spring line that's coming out in March and there is nothing better than opening a box full of things that you don't have to pay for!! I would love to help anyone who's interested get started and then they too could feel that rush of opening a box and having Christmas several times a year! If joining the business isn't for you, I can still help you get free products by having a show! You can do a traditional home show, a catalog show or an internet show! Just let me know what you want and I'll tell you how to get it FREE!!!

100 reasons to be a hyperlocavore http://budurl.com/brs6

2009-01-27T07:15:00.000-06:00

Check this out! 100 reasons to be a hyperlocavore http://budurl.com/brs6

First a definition, a hyperlocavore tries to eat as much food as close to home as possible, in order to reduce the food miles that his food travels. It is an extension of the term locavore. A locavore typically tries to eat seasonally within 100 miles of her home, to reduce food miles and to develop their local economic base. A hyperlocavore wants to bring food even closer. And what's closer than your neighborhood? We have a time crunch, we have land and property that is loosing value fast, we have kids who don't know where their food comes from, and we have a climate crisis.

Dreaming of summer and warmer weather

2009-01-22T19:33:00.000-06:00

Picture of Bee Balm from my garden 2008
In January, in Wisconsin, it is cold, the days are short and everything is white or gray, even the sky on most days. So in the summer, when my garden is in bloom, I take lots of pictures! Now, I open them and look at them to remind myself that soon it will be warm again ... and everyone will switch from complaining about the cold to complaining about the heat! But it's all good ... the bugs, the bees even the mosquitoes! In January I welcome the thought of slapping away mosquitoes just as in July a snowfall sounds wonderful! Like everything it's all a matter of perspective. I know right now as we up here in the north have had enough of the snow, ice and cold there are people in the south who are thrilled when it snows! So, Wisconsin is, and always will be, the land of changes. In the last week alone the temperature has varied by as much as 70 degrees! By the end of summer it possibly will be 140 degrees warmer than it was this past week. Crazy to think about, but true! From -40 to 100 ... that's Wisconsin!

Cleansing

2009-01-06T17:10:00.000-06:00

so I'm thinking about doing a whole body cleanse ... the real deal ... where you drink only purified water with organic lemon juice, cayenne powder and grade B (it has more vitamins and minerals) organic maple syrup ... for a minimum of ten days ... and I'm wondering if anyone else has tried this?? I have done the research, and it seems like a really good way to "flush" everthing out ... but I'm thnking Ishould take a week off work to do ti because I don't know how my body is going to react, never having done anything like this before!! I am sure to be hungry, at least at first, but I talked to a guy who's wife is doing a juice cleanse and he said she's not bothered at all ... but she does it every year. So I guess it can't be too bad ... I know a lot of people do it once or twice a year ... and I'd really like to see the effects getting the toxins, heavy metals, candida yeast etc out of my body would have as far as joint pain, skin eruptions and other things that are attributed to toxins in the body! It would have to be remarkable, wouldn't it?? Thoughts?

Business is booming!

2008-12-29T19:37:00.000-06:00

So this month of December, 2008, has been one of the best for my business! People are staying home more, cooking more and entertaining more at home and to do that they need the tools that I offer! As long as they need me, I'll be here to help them along the way with tips, recipes as well as gift and entertaining ideas. I also am available to help anyone interested in making extra money! I love my life!!

Kids ... fighting .... bleah!

2008-12-28T21:06:00.000-06:00

So my son and I had this huge fight a couple of weeks ago ... we didn't speak to each other for two weeks, which was hard because we live in the same house. We're talking again, but now he's had a fight with his sister and they aren't speaking now ... she doesn't live with us, so this could drag on forever ... I just hate it when family members aren't getting along!

Christmas Insanity

2008-12-19T19:20:00.000-06:00

It drives me absolutely crazy to hear people complaining all day long about how expensive the holidays are getting ... as they continue to buy, buy, buy! If it's too expensive, STOP!! You have the power to change the way your family celebrates a holiday! If you think it's becoming too commercial, stop buying so much! Don't keep up with "tradition" if you think the tradition is bad or over done! And if you CHOOSE to keep up with it, STOP complaining about it! If you eat too many cookies ... don't make so many! I love Christmas cookies ... and yes I eat too many, but it is the one thing about Christmas that I really love ... so I continue to do it ... and I'm not going to complain about it. Instead, I embrace it, enjoy it and I'll deal with the results in Jan when the cookies are gone!!! At least I won't have huge credit card bills from a few cookies ... a huge waistline, perhaps, but bills ... no!!!