Magic Bullet? No....but close!

I hate cleaning the blender.

Hate it.

Hate it.

HATE IT.

Especially?  This thing.

It's the little "cup" that screws into the lid.  When you're doing dishes, your hands are wet, trying to pop that thing out is a pain.

But guess what....

That screw on blade for your blender?

It fits onto a large mason jar.

I made a smoothie the other day to try it out.

Look at that!  Whirling away! 

Tada--smoothie already in a glass.

 

Now, instead having to wash the blender AND a glass, I just have to wash the jar!  

I love finding "second uses" for things.

Especially when it means I don't have to wash the blender.

A Year With Maggie....

A year ago, someone left Maggie on the side of a rural road with her litter-mates.  The heat index was 120 degrees that day.  Those 8 pups were left with one purpose:  so that farmer (or whomever) wouldn't have to be responsible for them.  They chose to let nature take it's course.

Nature did.  In the form of a husband and wife who rescued those pups.

And one year ago, we agreed to take in this girl.

To love her.

Train her.

Roll our eyes at her.

Roll our eyes at each other and wonder silently, "Oh, hell no....I took her out last time.  YOUR TURN."

(reason why when we buy a house, we're getting a fenced in yard and a doggie door)

Over the last year, Maggie....

Banned from being up on the new furniture.

Rings the bell to go out to potty.  all.  the.  time. 

Eats once a day, but only when we're home.

Loves her dog bones, especially from Tracy & Jeff (thank you!)

Loves asparagus. (seriously)

Has to be taken out on a leash to potty.  If she's off the leash she'll take off.

Thinks the barn cats are dogs and tries to play with them as such.

Will run to the door when you say, "Who's here, Maggie?"

Is so spoiled she has 3 dog beds.

Still not sure about Stella, the cat.

Stella wants nothing to do with her and has spent the last year upstairs (I feel terrible about this)

Housebroken (YEAH!)

Loves rides in the car

LOVES going to Doggie Day Camp at Pet Smart.

Loves her frisbee (or outside water dish) so much she won't give it to you.  

Jumps up on the hayrack thinking she's the smartest dog ever.

2 Benedryl + peanut butter on a scrap of bread = favorite treat

Snores when she's exhausted

Knows how to work the puppy eyes

Jumps in the tub for a bath, but hates water from the garden hose

Is already an old lady with hip dysplasia at the ripe age of 1.

Sheds like no dog I know

Gets distracted easily.  A CAT!  A FLY!  A STICK!  

She loves her people.

Her people love her.

Where the Rubber Meets the Potato--an Update

Well.

In the post I wrote on Monday talking about the soybeans and how it flowers before the beans grow?  I shouldn't have been so surprised.  I mean, tomatoes do the same thing.  As do peppers.  

So, why on earth did I believe a post on the interwebs that said, "when the potato plant flowers and then dies off, the potatoes are ready."

I was so excited when I saw this in our garden over the last 8-9 days....

Flowering?  Done!

Plant dying off?  Check!

Clearly it must be ready.  The interwebs said so!

So, I pulled the tires off.

Pulled the dirt out.

Pushed the dirt around.

And around.

And around.

Low and behold! 

One.

Teeny.

Tiny.

Itty.

Bitty.

Potato.

Thankfully we still have this plant going strong. 

Well played interwebs.  Well played.


Edited to add:  I looked at the U of M agriculture site and that information WAS correct however I learned that seed potatoes often sold in stores (like mine) are often treated for better storage over the winter, therefore often preventing good germination.  


Note to self:  buy seed potatoes somewhere else for next year.

Name that Flower--the Answer....

Last week I shared this cute, purple flower that I noticed on a plant on the farm....

That plant?

Soybeans!

I knew that many fruits and veggies flowered before producing, but I had no idea that soybeans did as well.


I almost wish they were bigger flowers.  Could you imagine this field full of small purple flowers?

Name that Flower....

Can you name the plant that has bloomed these tiny purple flowers?
(hint:  it is a vegetable plant)

Pinterest Challenge--Scarf & Belt Storage (HOORAY!)

Over at Young House Love they're having a summer Pinterest challenge!  This is a no-brainer for me....I love Pinterest and I love trying out different things I find!   In the past I've shared:

The drying strawberries in the oven that does not work (seriously people--stop pinning this one!)
The cinnamon rolls on a waffle iron
Making gift card holders out of laughing cow boxes
Making a knock off of the "House Rules" from an old camping chair
Growing potatoes in old farm tires (they're growing like CRAZY!!)

Today?  Today is a project that is so simple and so easy, it made me say, "Why didn't I think of this earlier?!"

I saw this pin the other day....

Source: bedifferentactnormal.com via Kelley on Pinterest

I literally smacked my head at how easy it was.  I love my scarfs but they are hanging on top of one another on a peg, on the closet door.  So are my belts.  See?

The closet I use is really tiny.  And when we eventually buy our forever home, closet space may be at a premium.  So, I decided to skip the hanger (this is a great idea, though!), and use a cheap curtain rod so that I could hang my scarfs AND belts without using hanger space!  Here's how I did it.

Directions:

• Count the number of scarfs & belts you have BEFORE you go shopping.
• Purchase shower rings (I had 8 scarfs, so I needed 1 box of 12 rings, Target, $1.20)
• Purchase shower curtain hooks (I had 5 belts, so I needed 1 box of 10 hooks, Target, $6.99)
• Purchase cheap curtain rod (Target, $5.99)

• Decide where you'll hang your curtain rod, locate studs to secure bar firmly--you don't need this thing falling off the wall, which would cause you to get mad at yourself for ruining the wall and hoping like hell you can cover the holes without anyone seeing (ask me how I know this.  don't tell my husband)

• Install the brackets--I chose the alcove next to the closet, which has a sloped ceiling.  The drawers are used to store things I don't use regularly, so the spot was perfect.

• String scarfs through the rings.
• Slide the rings onto the rod
• Put the rod onto the brackets
• Put your belts onto your hooks and hang on the rod

WALA!  Check it out!  

Note:  I have one belt that has a small buckle.  I wanted a hook that had a small enough end for me to slide the buckle over it.  That helped me pick the style I wanted to use.  This particular style gives me a "2 for 1" where I can hang belts on both of the little hooks!

For $15 I have a fun way to display my scarfs and belts!
Now.  Head over to Young House Love and Bower Power to check out more, awesome, amazing pinterest projects!

Ice Cream in a Bag...

Over the 4th of July we spent some time at the lake where my in-laws have their RV parked.  This is no "RV Park" with hundreds of RV's parked in a camp ground.  This is someone's private property where he leases out 2 spots for the entire summer.  My in-laws have one spot....their best friends have the other.  It is a great location, and the owner of the land has a generous "open door" policy.  


We headed there for the afternoon and I was in charge of dessert.  The nephews, Mighty P and Super Z, were at the lake, too--so I decided to bring the fixings for a special treat.


Ice-Cream in a Bag!


We used to make this at Girl Scout Camp, and I thought it would be fun to make it with the boys.  Even in the hot temps, it works very, very well!


Here's how to do it.


Ingredients (per person):
1/2 cup of Fat Free half & half
1 T of sugar
1/2 t of vanilla (I made mint ice-cream with 2-3 drops of mint extract.  Be careful--mint extract is VERY strong and can over-power the ice-cream.  Trust me on this one.)
Ice
Rock salt (the bigger the salt the better--we got ours at Wal-Mart and found it near the ice-cream makers.  But it's in a red box labeled "Ice Cream Rock Salt")
2 sandwich size zip lock bags
1 large gallon size zip lock bag
Gloves or a dish towel (the bag gets pretty cold!)


Directions:

• In one sandwich bag, add the half-n-half, sugar and vanilla.  Push out most of the air and zip it shut.  Tuck it into the 2nd zip lock bag and zip that one shut for a "double bag".
• Fill your gallon sized bag with about 3-4 cups of ice.  
• Add about 3/4 - 1 cup of rock salt.
• Place the double bagged cream, sugar and flavoring mixture inside the gallon zip lock on top of the ice & salt.  Push out some of the air and seal it up.

Then.....

Shake, shake, shake...Shake, shake, shake...

Shake your baggie!

Shake your baggie!

In 15 minutes of shaking--you have this!

Super Z has the Big Guy add some chocolate chips to his ice cream....

Of course, if it's 98 degrees outside (like it was, with a heat index of 110), you put the bag of cold ice & salt on your head.

In case you're wondering:
Calories:  78
Carbs:  16g
Fat:  0
Fiber:  0
Protein:  4g
Weight Watchers Points Plus:  3
(calculated using the nutritional information on the original containers of the half-n-half and the sugar.)

Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty....

Every year around this time, we have a few new little kittens calling the farm home.  I snapped these photos just the other day.  I got about 10 yards from the barn before they ran into hiding.

Man alive....they're just adorable!