Monday, August 10, 2009

What is your Week going to be like??

Well, the weather man says, nice for the next few days - hot and sunny like I like it!! Then we are back to yucky and rain - cold, and, well, I am staying inside then....... So, I had better get out there and water my tomatoes now and pray for no frost later. Hubby did see frost last week on his way to work - I was not impressed!!
But onto better things!! I made yogurt for the first time ever last night!!! Using my slow cooker!! It was fun - I like plain yogurt, then I can add what I want to it, or just eat it plain (which I sometimes do). My favorite though is, yogurt and granola with fruit added if I feel like it. Breakfast, dessert, snack, I just like it. And now I have a few containers of plain yogurt in my fridge. It's more runny than what I buy in the store, but I can make it thicker by putting it in a strainer lined with a coffee filter and letting the excess moisture drain out........ hmmm, but not today!

This is where I found ideas on all kinds of money saving ideas, and I got to learn how to make yogurt, something I have woundered about for a few years, but have always talked myself out of - buying the yogurt making appliance..... now, I realize, I have always had a yogurt making appliace in my house!! It also makes stew, soups and lots of good things - it's a multi-purpose little machine called a 'slow cooker'!! Gotta love that!!

Have not sewn for two days now. If I ever get my kitchen cleaned from the baking I did yesterday + dinner, I just might go in there..... or, I might bake again!!! And I have to do another dinner tonight!! Who knew!?!? People want to eat every night???!!! Wow!!! ;-)

I am reading a book I am finding rather interesting. Yes, it's an acutal/factual book. My daughter asked me why I don't read a fantasy or something??? I laughed!! (maybe I am????) But this is the book that has my attention right now: "Emotional Freedom - Libertate Yourself From Negative Emotions and Transform Your Life" by Judith Orloff, M.D.
Right now in the book she is talking about dreams...... hmmm. I don't usually remember my dreams. Do you??? So I am finding this part rather interesting because she is talking about how to get yourself to remember them, and I want to remember. So, I am going to try some of her ideas. Why not?? Like she says, dreams are your own personal movie theater or play - just for you to watch everynight. And I keep missing the shows!!!!

I am going to show you something that you might find boring, but this is one of my favorite things in my yard (yes, it doesn't take much to thrill me sometimes!!) here is two of my rain barrels and how they all are attached and work together!!


These two are in the front of the house, in the back, behind the shed you see in the background I have a few more, then on the other side of the house I have more lined up against the house. I have 9 working barrels all together, all attached to each other and 8 have gold fish swimming in them. They eat all the bugs and yucky stuff and survive all summer living in these barrels - they come out in the winter where I do my best to keep them alive till spring when they are back out again.


Here is a close up of how they are all attached. I use a 'Y' connecter to the tap to create a two hose attachment. that is noticable in the front barrel - the left one does not have it. So the front barrel is also the one that is connected to the back barrels. Each corner of my hosue has a barrel., attached to the downspout. And now, it does not matter which barrel I use for water, since they are all attached, I am empting them all when I water - and when it rains they all get re-filled. I love this system. I finally got the front and back connected last year. And this year, finally got hubby to let me put barrels down the other side of the house for more rain water collection!!! Next year, when I make up my square foot gardens, I will have plenty of rain water to use and I love it!! Our water here is expensive to use for watering your yard/garden. This way, I am able to water all I want (which is why I want so many barrels!!!) and it's not costing me every month to do it!! And having the fish in there, they keep that water nice and clean looking and it does not smell - which I never thought of, till someone mentioned that to me?!! I just wanted the fish in there to eat the mosquitos that would use it to lay their eggs in. The fish do that quite nicely!!

Okay, off to do dishes!!

5 comments:

  1. Hi Brenda, thanks for visiting my blog and for the nice comment. I do love spending time with the kidlets!
    I love your rain barrels. Very smart of you to put the fish in them. I never would have thought to do that. We irrigate our garden from our little pond. We have been having to water everyday when the temps we in the 100's...unusual for the Pacific Northwest.

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  2. Very cool set-up! Someday I am going to have a garden too! :-) I used to have a yogurt maker and made lots of it~havne't done that in years. I think I sold the yogurt maker, so its nice to know the ol' crockpot will work. ;-) I hope you have more warm days before Frost shows up!

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  3. Very cool set up with the barrels! I've visited the crockpot blog many times - she is really creative.

    Jo

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  4. Howdy, Brenda!!

    Have you been able to remember any dreams? I love your rain barrels and you have fish inside. How cool is that!!

    Your homeade yogurt sounds yummy, too.

    The new Quiltmaker is out. I picked it up at the grocery store this morning when I bought my oldest boy his Lunchable for the first day of school. It's a treat for him because I usually don't buy those (especially because I think the hamburger kind are nasty!) except for field trips. He usually buys his lunch, but we're weren't sure if the cafeteria would be up and running. Better to be safe than have a hungry kid.

    Anywho, I kind of stalled on the Christmas Lights Mystery but I plan on getting back into it with the next step. I just need to finish the same 40 QST's (I think that's what they're called.)

    HUgZ!

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  5. Interesting watering system! Great stuff if it keeps the water bill down! 8-)

    I've viewed that site with all the crock-pot recipes. Some of them sound scrumptious!!! I must have a go at some of them this Fall...I'll leave the yogurt to you though... lol!

    Have a great weekend!

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