Head of bed holiday décor

We don't have a head board on our bed because of the adjustable mattress.  I thought of putting a picture on the wall or a saying or a even a wreath, but nothing really seemed right.  I created a décor that can stay up all year round but is especially pretty during the holidays.



I purchased two curtain panels, a green wreath, two Christmas medallions and white lights on white wires.


I put three nails in the wall where I wanted the curtains to drape from and then hung the lights on them.  I then draped the curtains over the lights joining them at the top.  The Christmas medallions went on the top and the two sides.

 

Cleaning a cast iron pan

     My mother told me that you never put the cast iron pan in the soapy water to clean it.  However, I do remember washing it that way sometimes.  I had to have a cast iron pan of my own to understand how to clean it and care for it.  Now I know why she said what she did and why at times it was immersed in the soap bubbles. 

     I usually buy cast iron pans that are already seasoned.  They already have the oils baked in.  Usually, I cook meats in the cast iron pan.  The reason for this is because they have fat, and fat keeps your pan healthy - but maybe not you so much. 
  
     After cooking and removing most of the fat with a spoon, I pour in boiling water from the tea kettle and stir around with a spatula to remove any bits stuck to the bottom.  In the "old days" I used to keep a can of fat from frying on the stove and make gravy with it!  (Who remembers that?! - You just put some extra fat from the can, if needed, in the frying pan and add milk.  Stir and add some flour that has been mixed in some cold water to thicken.  Season to taste.  We put this over potatoes, toast, etc.  It was made at a time when the budget was running out for food.) 

     Then I pour off the water out of the pan.  I take a paper towel and wipe it out, leaving it for next time. 

     If I cook something like fish, spaghetti sauce or taco meat, the technique doesn't work so well.  The pan will still smell like fish, spaghetti or tacos.  It gets dunked very quickly in soap bubbles.  I never leave it in the water!  Just wash it quickly. 

     Put it on  a medium low burner and let it heat up to evaporate the water.  After cooling, apply coconut oil  with a paper towel.  Now it is clean and ready for the next use. 

     You can't leave a cast iron pan in the open air without some sort of oil coating to prevent rusting. 

     They last forever and don't add harmful compounds to your food.  Cast iron and Revere Ware are the best! 

Simply ironing a man's shirt

     It seems like nobody buys shirts for men that need to be ironed or they just don't iron them at all.  You would want your man to look sharp, neat and professional wouldn't you?  If the tag on the shirts you buy says that no ironing is needed, they lie.  It looks so much better ironed. 
     It only takes two minutes to iron one shirt!  Follow these directions and you'll be throwing them off the ironing board!  Your man will be so proud and you will be so proud of how he looks!

First, iron the collar.  Use steam.  Sometimes I splurge and buy ironing water.  It smells so wonderful.

 

Next, you iron the sleeves.  Lay them flat.  Do the side with the vent and the buttons first.  Some people iron the cuffs by flattening them out first.  I just iron them like this along with sleeve, sliding my iron over them.

When flattening the sleeve, make sure the bottom of the sleeve is flat along the bottom seam line.

 

 Before doing the body of the shirt, I iron the top yoke of the shirt along the back, standing the collar up.

 

 Now iron the body of the shirt.  Start with the fronts and then the entire back.  There is usually a pleat in the back of the shirt, you should iron it down so it has a nice crisp look.

Last note, when ironing the front, iron between the buttons. 

There you go!  A beautifully ironed shirt.  The smell of the ironing water in the air (lavender is my favorite) and it really only took a short amount of time!

Emma's Smokey Salmon Spread

My husband's grandmother would make this at any family event.  Everyone loved it.

1 can (15 1/2oz. ) Salmon
2 t. of grated onion ( use a teaspoon of onion powder for those that don't like onion)
1/4 t. liquid smoke
1 T. lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
1 8 oz. package of softened cream cheese (at room temp)
1/4 c. pecans, chopped
2 T. minced parsley

Drain and flake salmon.  Combine salmon, lemon juice, onion, liquid smoke, salt and pepper with cream cheese and blend well.
Shape into a ball or log.  Wrap and chill for several hours.  Combine nuts and parsley on waxed paper and roll salmon into mixture and chill.
If desired, just before serving, form into a fish shape and garnish with additional parsley.  Makes about 2 1/2 cups of spread.  We eat this with Ritz crackers....yum.

A recipe link for Acorn Coffee!

http://foragedfoods.co.uk/how-to-make-acorn-coffee/

Tips for making a bouquet that needs to travel

     I made several bouquets that needed to travel to the event.  There are little tips for putting them together and how to transport them. 
     The available funds for the flowers was almost nil, so I asked a few people for flowers and cut my own greens from my property. 

    1.  The first thing to do is cut your own greens.  Living in the Pacific Northwest, I have lots of wild greens in my yard.  Even in the winter, the evergreens are abundant.  Cut long pieces, you can trim them later.  Fill a large tub with water and set them in the water....

     Notice that I also put in the wet foam.  This is done the day before assembly.

2.  The day before assembly, I picked the flowers.  Put them in water in buckets with flower preservative (packets you get with store bought flowers).  My mother used to put aspirin in the water with flowers.  I've heard of people putting 7-UP in the water too.

3.  On the day of assembly, collect your vases....

4.  I added rocks from my driveway, after swishing them in a bucket of water, to the bottom of the vases.

5.  You could insert a leaf along the side of the rocks...

 

6.  Add some water to the rocks.  Take out the foam that was soaking in the greens bucket.

 

7.  Using one of the vases upside down, press into the foam to make a nice circle the size of the vases.  Insert this into the vases on top of the rocks...

8.  Add the greens, pushing the stems into the foam.  This will help keep the bouquet's greenery and flowers from moving around...

9.  Criss cross the greens that are "flat".  These greens do not stand up straight, but are on the sides of the bouquet.  This will provide a framework to support the flowers.

10.  Place other greens in the foam. 

11.  Now add the flowers, keeping in mind that the bouquet will be seen on all sides.  I had few flowers, so I had a lot of greens to make the bouquet look full.

12.  The bouquet is pretty, but I needed a "highlighted" item.  I picked one sunflower to put in each bouquet...

13.  I also added some more flowers.  Look around your yard and along side the streets.  I found Queen Anne's Lace to add to fill in any gaps.

14.  Now, we don't want to see the foam through the glass of the vases, so we cover the vases with burlap ribbon and floral ribbon bows.  I do this last because some ribbon may bleed or stain when wet.  I taped the burlap ribbon in the back with packing tape to keep in place...

15.  To transport them - Take a large foam take out box...

16.  Close and cut an "X" on the top.  The vase will fit snugly in the "X".  Place the containers in the flat box (es).  Just in case, take an old bath towel and wind it like a snake around the vases.  Drive carefully. 



 

 



 

September fears

If you are online at all, there are a lot of people and organizations that point to September for some major events, including the second coming of Jesus Christ.  There is a lot of fear to go around.  It seems to go in cycles.  The following articles help to clarify and alleviate some fears:

https://www.lds.org/topics/second-coming-of-jesus-christ?lang=eng

and

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2004/04/preparation-for-the-second-coming?lang=eng

We have been told to prepare spiritually and temporally, spiritually being the most important. 

Food for a 72 hour kit

     Menu

Day One

Breakfast:  Granola Bar (Gluten free alternative bar recipe below), Hot Cocoa (from a packet), Fruit Snack (from a cup or packet)
Lunch: Jerky, Nuts, Cider
Snack: Gum, hard candy
Dinner: Soup (instant), Crackers, Raisins

Day Two

Breakfast: Oatmeal, cider
Lunch: Jerky, Fruit Snack, Nuts
Snack: Gum, hard candy
Dinner: Soup, Crackers, Craisins

Day Three

Breakfast: Granola Bar, Hot Cocoa, Raisins
Lunch: Soup, Crackers, Cider
Snack: Gum, hard candy
Dinner: Fruit cup, crackers

Add medications! 

Of course you will add water to this....a filter bottle from the Red Cross is nice to have too.  Here is the Amazon link to it... http://www.amazon.com/Seychelle-1-10303-28-HI-FC-SEY-28-Inch-Filter-Advanced/dp/B00B48XM2K/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1441810824&sr=8-13&keywords=filter+bottle

I don't add regular saltine crackers, I add the hard rye crackers. 

Gluten Free Bar Recipe

In food processor combine 2 c. dried dates, 2 c. coconut, 8 T. coconut oil.
Freeze to solidify.  On the shelf, they last six months.  They contain 2, 085 calories.
You can add 2 packets of true lemon crystals if you desire. 

(I got this recipe online a long time ago, but I don't know where so I can't give the source for it.)

Here is the link to Amazon to order the lemon crystals...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002NSE684?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

 

I have to explain why I have a link to Fuzi Dance Etc...there are wonderful people there!

My daughter, Kiara, danced ballet.  It was very difficult to fit shoes to her "banana" feet.  Only Fuzi brand shoes would work.  Mr. Fu was very helpful with her technique and along with his wife, Fang, were great mentors for her as a teenager.  They treated her like family.  She worked for their store front when it just started and served as a model for shoes. 

My other daughter, Carissa, works there now.  She LOVES working there!  She is in the right niche.  She deals with vendors, customers and clients with an uncanny talent for diplomacy and service. 

Here is a picture of my daughter, Kiara.  She has danced many other principle parts...her last was Odette in Swan Lake.

Daughter Carissa's artwork

     I have three very talented daughters. One of them, Carissa, loves painting!  This is a picture of one of her three dimensional paintings.  She has a lot of them all nature themed with little additions of trinkets with meanings only translated by the viewer.

Tidbits from Mom: Jack of Blades Masks You wouldn't think that...

Tidbits from Mom: Jack of Blades Masks

     You wouldn't think that...: Jack of Blades Masks      You wouldn't think that a person like me, in my generation, would even think of making masks like these!  ...

Jack of Blades Masks

     You wouldn't think that a person like me, in my generation, would even think of making masks like these!  LOL.  However, I LOVE artsy things and my girls do too.  These are masks that I made for my son-in-law's cosplay costume that my daughter made him.  Her link to her cosplay is on the upper right of the blog, http://swedishballerina.deviantart.com/gallery/ is the link.
     I just took the plastic masks from Michaels and painted them with a tan acrylic paint.  To get the crackling effect, I painted Elmer's glue on top of that and let it dry briefly, not all the way.  Then, I painted the white on top of that.  Taking a blow dryer, I dried the white paint.  As I did this, the cracks magically appear!  It is awesome to watch. 
     I painted on the designs and outlined them with dimensional gold craft paint.  After drying for 24 hours, I painted a sealer varnish over it all.  My daughter then drilled holes and added the twine and materials for wearing. 
     Here is a picture of my son-in-law with the masks and the costume my daughter made:

About Fear

     Fear is part of our lives but it doesn't have to overcome us so that it guides our behaviors and actions.  I am going to bring in my own example on this because it is what I am experiencing right now.  I had a fear of breast cancer since my mother died from it before she turned fifty.  My fears were realized when I was diagnosed two years ago. 
     There is a long psychological and emotional process, one of which I am still experiencing.  At first, your fears turn into resignation - just do what needs to be done to save my life.  Then, you want to just hide and ignore the subject, not even wanting to be around others who suffer from the same fate.
     I joined Livestrong( http://www.livestrong.org/) for my own physical recovery.  Little did I know that it would help me to open up.  My feelings and fear were just under the surface, but I denied it.  Eventually, I opened up more and accepted my experience.  Interestingly, as I faced it, I was better able to accept and be compassionate to others. 
     I recently read an article in the September 2015 Ensign magazine ( https://www.lds.org/ensign?lang=eng ) that described what I was feeling.  It was entitled, "Don't Run Away", by Jennifer Fallon.
     My biggest fears included leaving my husband alone, leaving my children and grandchildren and leaving without completing what Heavenly Father has for me to do!  You never give up your roles as wife and mother.  Even when your children are grown and you have grandchildren, you "fill in gaps" and are an example.  My perception is that they need me still and always will.  I have found this to be true as I think of my mother and how I would love to get her advice and understanding. 
     As the article describes a young woman who lives with the fear of dying from a heart condition, it reassures the reader through her realization that she can't keep running away from her fear and that the love of God can overpower even our darkest fears. 
     I am grateful for every day.  My focus has changed from two years ago to spotlight the most important people and missions I feel I must complete before I ever leave this earth.  However, that can be a fear too. 
     I must quote from the article, Fallon (2015) "...I often agonized that I didn't have enough faith to fulfill my "labor" during what I assumed would be my limited life span....I was so worried about disappointing Heavenly Father" (p. 20)
     This scripture helped the author of the article, Jennifer Fallon, and me:
"Thy Days are known, and thy years shall not be numbered less; therefore, fear not...., for God shall be with you forever and ever" (Doctrine and Covenants 122:9)
   To quote Jennifer further, "...a line from the Bible Dictionary inspired me.  It suggested that my fear was "unworthy of a child of God."1  Through the scriptures I also learned that "God hath not given us the spirit of fear" (2 Timothy 1:7) and that "perfect love casteth out fear (1 John 4:18).  These teachings became very real to me....I learned to identify the source of my fear, and I knew that I wanted to choose to follow Christ instead of coddle my anxiety." (p. 21)
   I liked "coddle my anxiety".  We do tend to hang on to our insecurities like a baby blankie.  It is comfortable and familiar.  We don't have to put the blankie down and face our fears, just hold it close and everything will be alright, but it isn't alright.  We are not getting up and moving forward.  We are not completing those things that we fear will be undone if we leave!
     Our struggle with fears will be ongoing, but we know what to do.  Take comfort in knowing that God knows when our time is done here.  Fear is not a characteristic of His disciples.  We will never get everything done, there is always something.  It is better that we focus on what we are doing presently and if it is on the right track. 
     Be cognizant of your fears, try to redirect them to changes in behavior and outlook.

    

Entryway Wall

     Our entry way is really small but I wanted to add some décor of some kind.  I painted it with a fresh coat of paint.  White seems like a good idea for a small space, but it is so stark.  So, I painted it with "Simply Beige" by Valspar.  The plaster of paris oak leaves, acorns and medallion where also painted.  However, I dry brushed white over the edges.  I hung up some hangers and put our hats on them.  A heart lies in the middle, well, because it's just my husband and I now at home.
     I thought that an initial  or a glass candle holder could be glued on the burlap of the hangers.

     Making your own body wash and shampoo

     It actually costs more to make it yourself.  You can keep shampoo and body wash at the dollar store to save money.  However, I make it myself to stay away from the parabens and other chemicals in the "chemical soup" of industry's products.  There are a lot of recipes online that you can use, but I make these because it is easy:
    
     Shampoo (stores for 1 month)

1/4 cup coconut milk.  Do not use the coconut in cartons in the refrigerated section of the supermarket.  There are other things in there than just coconut milk.  I buy canned coconut milk which can be found in the Asian foods section.  I use it for cooking a lot too, so when it is on sale I get a few cans.

1/2 cup Castille soap.  Do not use Dr. Wood's castile soap.  The smell just isn't right.  I don't think they use the right essential oils.  I use Dr. Bronner's, of course.  It already comes scented so there isn't any need to add essential oils to your shampoo.  If you buy unscented castile soap, you can add any essential oil you want.  Have you ever taken the time to sit down, and with a magnifying glass, read the bottle?  It's pretty trippy. 

1/2 teaspoon  Vitamin E.  Note, most Vitamin E capsules contain Vitamin E and an oil like soy oil.  If you use them, make sure you add more apple cider vinegar to the rinse.  ( instructions following)  I use straight Vitamin E oil or capsules. 

20 drops of essential oil, if desired and the castile soap you used was unscented.

     Rinse

ESSENTIAL.  Your hair will be clean after shampooing, but will feel "weird" or stringy.  You need to put it and your scalp back to the proper ph level.  Take a 12 oz., plastic cup and fill it with 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar.  In the shower, I have a small apple cider vinegar bottle that I refill from a gallon.  Hold under the shower to fill to the top with clean water.  SHUT YOUR EYES and pour this over your head.  Rinse out.  Your hair will NOT smell like vinegar, trust me.
     Wash your face before doing your hair.  When you pour the rinse over your hair, let it flow down your face too.  This is so good for the skin on your face!  Rinse. 

     Body Wash (stores for a year)

1/2 cup castile soap
1/4 cup honey, so good for your skin.
2 teaspoons oil.  I use olive oil or almond oil. 
1 teaspoon of Vitamin E.  I sometimes add this, but I figure that I take Vitamin E supplements and eat foods with Vit. E.  It is better for your skin if it comes from the inside of your body, permeating all layers of your skin and helping new skin to be supple.
50-60 drops of essential oil.  I use scented castile soap, so I don't add this.  Besides, essential oils are expensive!

     Toothpaste

     Sometimes I make this, but I like Tom's toothpaste.

1/2 cup coconut oil
2 Tablespoons of baking soda
12-20 drops of essential oil.  I do like peppermint oil, but since it is so expensive, I have used peppermint extract. 

Ordering Dr. Bronner's castile soap  I have found it less expensive to order from Amazon, that the grocery store price.

Introduction

     My hope is that the tidbits I have to share on this blog will help my family and others.  There are so many people that know more than I and my life experience is unique to me. However, we all share tidbits of life together.  That is what makes us families and a community.  We seek people who have insights and similar experiences in order to strengthen our own lives or gain knowledge. 
     Mostly, the themes of my posts will encompass all areas of my life that I feel inspired to share with you.  My list of interests, experiences and beliefs that may be referred to in posts are:

• Marriage
• My homeschooling experience and new insights for parents
• Personal inspiration and uplifting insights as I follow the gospel in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
• Family History
• Diet
• Breast Cancer
• My attempts at home improvement
• Natural recipes for home and personal hygiene

     There will probably be more subjects according to what life gives me.  There is so much we can learn from each other.