Something Practical from PFCMom

I have some ground beef waiting to be repackaged from a ten pound tube into more manageable portions so I took a peek into the freezer to see what kind of room I had and was reminded that defrosting was long overdue. So I set about to get it done.

It is an easy, and quick job if you know the trick my mother taught me. I'll share so you can know too.

BEFORE

BEFORE - See how the frost is over an inch thick, YIKES!

I emptied the freezer after setting two pots of water on to boil.

When the water was at a good rolling boil . . .

I set the pan in the bottom of the freezer and closed the lid. After about 10 minutes I removed the first pan and put the larger pan in, and closed the lid.

After just twenty minutes of steam all the frost slides off with a plastic spatula.

Using gloves and a dishpan I gathered up all the frosty ice.

Then I wiped down the sides and sopped up the water, wringing it into the dishpan. Dry with a fresh towel.
After just 35 minutes work the freezer is ready to be restocked.

With some reusable shopping bags, and some brown paper bags (doubled and folded over twice) I sorted food and repacked the freezer so like items are together and easy to lift out to get to a bottom layer.
After 45 minutes of work it is done and I'm ready to move on.

Thanks mom for teaching me the fastest way to defrost and clean a freezer!

BONUS: How to clean pots (and other things) with hard water mineral residue.

When you have a pan (or a glass dish) that looks like this . . . don't scrub and scratch!

Use VINEGAR (either kind works) A couple of tablespoonfuls and a green (or white) scrubby rubbed gently and all the gunk is gone!

See? Gleaming and clean.

A Glimpse

Opening Wedding Gifts the night before.

The Ceremony

The quilt I made for them.

We are not a photo taking family. I usually forget, or ask one of the chuns to take pictures and they forget or something. Anyway, this is about all I have until the official photos are produced by the official wedding photographer. It was a lovely time and we are so grateful for all the work our new in-laws went to making it a very special day.

Virtual Friends

The worst part of losing my blog list is that I felt like I had lost a whole lot of friends. I live in a tiny, rural town where the majority of people have lived all their lives. They are surrounded by extended family too. so it's difficult to break into groups, or circles of friends. I have many acquaintances here but only one person who has visited me in my home and I in hers.

My blog friends, however virtual they may be, are my favorites. They share what they're doing, what they're making, what they're thinking and such. I enjoy their senses of humor, sharing their pain, praying for them, and getting to know them. Every day I'd make the rounds of all my friends to see what's new and say hello. I do my best to leave a comment even if it's just "Thanks for sharing," or "Keep up the good work." I want to let my friends know I'm reading and appreciate the time and effort they take to share.

Now that I've gone through the hassle of unexpectedly losing my friends I'm going to keep a list on paper of all the blogs that I can remember and any new ones I find so if this happens again I'll be able to restore my list easily.

Please! If you're reading this and have your own blog, or know of one you'd like to share with me, leave a comment. I'd love to include you or a friend of yours in my circle of friends. It is my hope that someday I'll get to meet in person all my lovely blog friends!

Holy Cow!

I got on to my blog today and found that my favorites blog list had disappeared completely!

May I ask your help in getting it back?

If you read my blog would you leave a comment with your blog address and I'll link up again (or for the first time).

In the meantime--I'll wrack my brain to remember all my favorites.

Thanks a bunch!!!

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

It's been a busy couple of weeks around here. I finally got some painting done, although it wasn't the walls yet.

My bedroom has suffered from a bad case of piles for as long as I can remember. My goal for the past year has been getting all the piles off the floor. I want to be able to sweep easily.

Earlier in the summer I asked my hero, TopDad to build me a bookcase to fit between the two closet doors. He finished it before school started, last month, but it took me awhile to get around to painting it.

After three coats it was ready to install!

Including a special shelf of all my Korean goodies.

I've painted the new front door also, but it's not installed yet. When it's done I'll post the before and after pictures.

Now for the ugly:

I took the trash and recycling out to the alley and as I walked back my left ankle rolled under and I came down on my right shin on the edge of the cement. Just call me Grace.

We had a visitor on Friday, for the high school homecoming:

Yes, that's Dandylion, the college student.

And finally, an early morning moon heading for the western horizon:

Inch by painful inch, I'm making progress on my home. Each little step fills me with joy and gratitude as I get my house in order and make it beautiful.

Tuesday's Treasures

Just one little towel to show this week:

Isn't the applique just wonderful? Someone put lots of time into this one.
What treasures have you found recently?

Tuesday's Treasures

The fun of shopping at thrift stores is that you never know what treasures you'll find. Here are my latest gems.

This item on Amazon is listed as $5.96.

These books are great fun with children. I enjoy the challenge too!

Alphabet books are some of very favorites - I have lots!

Jan Brett is an exquisite artist and storyteller. 

Eloise Wilkin is my all time favorite illustrator.

Another great illustrator and storyteller - Tomie dePaola.
And who can resist a story about a quilt?

Can't have too many books about the Nativity.

Do you know Veronica? She's a delightful French hippo!

I miss my own Grandpa Joe and so wish my children could have known him.

The children's books ranged from $.35 to $.75; quite a savings from buying new. I have a huge library of children's books that we used in our homeschooling. I can't resist adding more as I anticipate sharing with grandchildren.

What treasures have you found lately?

Work in Progress Here

We're replacing an ancient and crumbling roof this week:

Stripping off the old layer.

One side almost done.

Meanwhile on the other side. Man in the tank top is our very own Dandylion earning some extra money on his day off.

Layer of new felt already on!

We had a brief shower this morning and wondered if work would have to stop. Prayers were answered as the storm moved on and the sun came out.

What's Happening Now

Well, Dandylion, our youngest graduated from high school in May, turned 18 in June and left for college in August. He's in a pre-nursing program as well as the Marching Band. So far he is enjoying himself. But he'd better get a job quick, and apply for some more scholarships or he'll be able to enjoy only one semester of this adventure.

I recently had a delicious vegetarian meal: fresh beets and beet greens, brown rice and Ratatouille, or as we called it Eggplant Stew. We never knew we were eating a French dish, but come to find out that's (about) what it is. I don't use any zucchini in it because I don't like the bitter taste of zucchini. This batch has eggplant (or aubergine), fresh and canned tomatoes, celery, onion, and bell peppers, I think I used red, orange and yellow. It tasted so, so good to me.

Next up for redecorating is the bedroom that Dandylion vacated.

View from hallway door into the room

Windows to the southeast

Double closets (notice the not matching doorknobs)

Inside wall - with leftover desk, the one I got at Salvation Army for $1.95

Detail of old, ugly heater vent cover and dirt, also the weird electrical outlet with (missing) night light

Gorgeous hardwood floors

And the only plain wall in the room.

The color, a pale robin's egg blue, isn't bad, just faded and very dirty. I've chosen a lovely warm tan for the wall as a neutral so I can put up all of TopDad's plaques and artwork from his time in the Marines. So this is my next big project, beginning in September.

Clock Cozy

You've heard of a tea cozy, yes? Today I made a clock cozy.

Last year Noble helped me find a new alarm clock that has lovely sounds to wake up to. My favorite is bird song. The downside has been that the light is so bright it interfered with falling and staying asleep. I covered it with a hand towel for a long time. Today I made a lovely little cozy for my clock and it looks pretty nice, if I do say so myself.

I made it out of a shirt I picked up at a thrift store, simply because I liked the roses print, and a piece of black double knit fabric that came in a bag of assorted scraps I bought because there was one piece that I liked. My stash waxes and wanes as I add to it and use it up.