Recycling: Salvage Your Hand Cream

I enjoy Twitter. I recently tweeted this.

Tweet ‏@maryearlyknox

Yay frugality! Cut off top of  empty hand cream tube. Use spatula: scoop out! Save $$ from what you salvage. Not bad! pic.twitter.com/B7QYPdokTm

Two Good Blogs....

Wow...I'm soooo sorry it's been so long since I've written. I am now a 'senior' at the good age of 62.
 I am officially a grandmother, though she isn't born yet. [Maybe a he?] But I have soooo much to say as a senior, that I decided it's time to get crackin' at writin'!

Two blogs I want to introduce you to, if you don't know about them. One is 'The Natos.' , adorably written by Jami Nato. Today's post includes a recipe for homemade wholewheat tortillas. If you can make homemade bread, you can make these.

The other is Orangette, by Molly Wizenburg, author, and former contributor to Bon Appetit. I love Molly's homey, humorous writing, and crazy delicious recipes.

So, as 'they' say in restaurant world: ENJOY!

AKIMBO on Etsy

I love stationery. I just discovered the card line by Akimbo on Etsy. I cannot keep this precious thing to myself. I HAVE to share it with the world. Enjoy and thank me later.

The Kapoosh

I read in Nigella's Kitchen about how she uses a magnetic knife strip for storing her knifes. That sounds so dangerous to me. But my darling daughter-in-law and son have the VERY coolest knife block called 'The Kapoosh.' It's amazing...Look it up online. You can buy them at BedBathandBeyond or at Target, or really anywhere. It's the best storage ever. It can store scads of knifes, won't damage the blades, and is SAFE for even the clumsiest cook. You can paint the wooden one to match your kitchen decor. We painted ours 'Basil.' Lovely.

Nigella's Kitchen

Saturday in the Wall Street Journal online, there was an article on Nigella's Kitchen. Nigella was advising on how to organize a kitchen. Her advice was totally impractical to me. First off...I could NEVER trust a magnetic knife holder. It would be lost fingers, cut legs, ruined granite and tiles in no time. I'm intrigued by her idea of storing mugs in a drawer. But who has drawers to spare? But I love the picture of her kitchen. It reminds me of my Grandma Early's kitchen. Grandma had no storage. Things HAD to be left out everywhere. But Nigella, I do like your cooking and your style. So...carry on.

Zinc For Colds

Today it was reported in the New York Times about Zinc being a good remedy for colds. I heard this about 20 years ago, from Dr. John Teller, a relative of ours from Oregon. He said that the colds that start in the throat...with a 'sore-throat-y feeling' can be stopped in their tracks by sucking on 1-2 Zinc lozenges. Our Zinc of choice is by the Bronson Vitamin Co. It's worked for us for years. I highly recommend this!

Great Pot Roast

One of the top chefs in the Twin Cites, when asked how to cook the perfect Chuck Roast said this: Put it in the pan, pour a jar of your favorite Salsa over it [for it's the perfect marriage of spices and seasonings], and if you have a little leftover red wine, pour that on top; roast AND VOILA!

Now I'm going to cook it in a crockpot...4-6 hours on high, or 8-10 on low. Look up the directions for oven backing on your own. If you try it/ then try something additional, let me know.

I think this is the perfect recipe: fast, easy, good for the crockpot, cheap, the potential for gourmet tasting...What's not to love about this?

CLOCKS AND CLOUDS

Here's an awesome new band: contemporary instrumental cool. Clocks and Clouds.
Listen to their single Darkness Gives Way.

More on Celestial Seasonings

I just tweeted Celestial Seasonings, and discovered a great sounding new-to- me Tea: their "Wellness" teas, and more specifically, Echinacea Complete Care Wellness Tea. I was just thinking how good God is, that I haven't gotten a cold this year. But if I do, I'm going to try this tea. But, to be safe, "Dear God, please don't let me catch a cold."

Celestial Seasonings Tea Fan

I drink coffee in the morning. But after 1 p.m. it's all about the Tea. But I'm not a Tea-snob. Since the 70's I've been a Celestial Seasonings gal. Recently, my favorites have been Lemon Zinger and Peppermint. I love Peppermint's picture: a red-bowed reed basket of Candy Canes. It's like Christmas every day. Lemon Zinger...is...well, just so... lemony. What's not to love about Lemon. In a cup. Hot. Yum.

But more importantly, I like their dedication to the environment. Here's what their little box says: "Ever wonder why....NO STRING AND TAG? ....It's our commitment to doing what's best for the environment. Natural fiber tea bags don't need strings, tags, staples or individual wrappers. We're able to save more than 3.5 million lbs of waste from the the landfills."

Why do I like this? I loathe having to open the Tazo or Bigelow wrappers. And I like to microwave my tea in large quart Bell Jars. Using tea bags without paper and staples, like Lipton uses. So, Celestial Seasonings, you had me after "Ever wonder why no string or staples?"

It's also fun to read the poetic quotes on the box, like: "A moment's insight is sometimes worth a life's experience." --Oliver Wendell Holmes. Mmmm, CS, I lift my peppermint cup of tea to you!

A Wonderful Little Laundry Tip

Here's a little laundry tip I bet you didn't know. I've had 30 plus years of doing my family's laundry. But I had never heard of this. Now I will put it into practice. When drying your laundry: "Give clothes a little shake before putting them in the dryer." It will help eliminate wrinkles! Hurray! Next: and I'm SURE you know this: "Dry clothes just long enough to remove moisture and wrinkles." And might I add: hang them up, shirts on hangers, jeans on clothes lines, to air dry. And voila! No ironing...or at least, LESS ironing. And if there ARE remaining wrinkles: Praise God for Wrinkle Release. --compliments from Clorox's, Laundry Made Easy booklet, inserted in my new Maytag Washing Machine, purchased at Menards.

3 Minute Story

First off: more apologies. I have not written here for 3 months. So...I guess it's fitting, to keep choosing the number 3.

I want to write here about the "3 Minute Fiction contest:" a contest featured on NPR. Basically: you have to write a 600 word original fiction story. It has to be able to be read in 3 minutes on air. Two directives: 1. You have to tell a joke in the story. 2. A character has to cry.

Now, I could never do this. But some of you can. The winner gets their story read aloud, on NPR. You also receive an autographed copy of the contest judge, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's collection of short stories, "The Thing Around Your Neck."

What I like about this: is learning the discipline, of writing SHORT STORIES, or short pieces of any kind of writing/ or speaking. We get so verbose. [I'm speaking to myself too. I am as guilty of this as the next person. ] We think every word is so necessary. But it's a wonderful practice to learn to edit yourself. It's wonderful to learn, how NOT to bore your listeners, with your rambling stories. It's wonderful to learn how to be succinct in your writing and speaking.

So, have at it! Give this a try! I wish you success. Everyone likes a free book!

WHOA BREAKFAST!!!

My friend Celeste recently posted a recipe for Baked Peanut Butter Oatmeal. I am going to have to try it, for my husband loves oatmeal AND peanut butter, so baked Peanut Butter Oatmeal sounds like the perfect marriage of flavors.

However, I discovered a recipe in the October Costco member's magazine Connections. The recipe? WHOA BREAKFAST. And for me, it's the perfect marriage of two of MY favorites: my crockpot...and steel-cut oats. Not only was it perfectly easy AND fast...it stayed with me for over 4 hours. I ate it at 8 a.m. and around 1 pm. I still hadn't had a hunger pang. That's called "satiety." When a food satisfies you for a LONG time. In WeightWatcher lingo, it's called a "Filling Food." You want to choose foods to eat, that will fill you and satisfy you for a long time, and be low in calories [so you don't gain weight eating them.]

Here is the recipe for WHOA BREAKFAST.

1 1/2 C. steel- cut oats [or old- fashioned oats]

3 c. water

2 c. peeled and chopped apples

1/4 c. chopped almonds, walnuts, whatever

1/2 tsp. cinnamon.

Combine all, and cook in slow cooker on low for 8 hours. Makes 6 servings.

**[ I put mine on at 10 pm, and checked it at 7 a.m. when I awoke.

It was crusty around the edges of the crockpot...and I just dug it out, and ate it like a cookies.

My husband loved this dish.

And I loved it that it satisfied me for so long.

I would add a packet of sweet n low, or a 1/4 cup of brown sugar Splenda next time.

I like things a little sweeter.

Enjoy! And let me know what you think!

Shuron Sunglasses!

I found out the answer to my earlier post on sunglasses. The cool glasses Malcolm McDowell wore on MENTALIST were Shuron's, an American frame maker since 1865, right in Greenville, SC. Steve McQueen wore them, Malcom X wore Ronsirs, Buddy Holly wore the Freeways, and MacArthur aviators were made for the U.S. Air Force during WW 2. Kevin Costner and Shia LaBoef have both worn them in movies. They can be made as regular glasses or sunglasses. My son Nate, who is obsessed with Aviators, just has to get a pair of MacArthurs. Cool Hand Luke.

CBS, The Mentalist: Brett Stiles' character'S SUNGLASSES

Did anyone watch THE MENTALIST last week? Malcolm McDowell's "Brett Stiles" character wore the coolest sunglasses! Here's a picture. The first one to tell me what Brand and style they are gets a....well, you get a ....What WOULD you like?

Magazines: Please Use Stickers

I love magazines. I love to browse through them, and get ideas on women's and men's fashion, home furnishes, gardening, books, etc.
There's one magazine and one magazine feature they use, that I wish ALL magazines would use. And that's LUCKY magazine, and their use of STICKERS to tag your favorites' pages.


Dear EveryMagazine: especially ones that feature clothes, furnishings, books, etc: Could you start adding the STICKERS feature to EVERY MAGAZINE? It would make REMEMBERING for shopping so much easier.
I HEART MAGAZINE STICKERS.

LOSE FOR GOOD, PART TWO

Today is Lose-A-Palooza – a one-day social media event to help raise awareness and encourage participation in the Lose For Good® campaign! For every accepted mention of “Lose For Good” made on Facebook, blogs, Twitter and check-ins via foursquare, Weight Watchers will donate $1 – up to $60,000* - as part of the Lose for Good® donation.

LOSE FOR GOOD

Calling all Weight Watcher members. WW is holding an event called LOSE FOR GOOD. For every pound you lose, donate a pound of food to the food shelves set up at WW centers, and WW will donate up to a million dollars to match the weight lost, and food given. It's a WIN -WIN. As you lose, others will gain. Help stamp out hunger. LOSE FOR GOOD.
Check out this website for more info: WeightWatchers.com/LoseForGood.

I'm Back!!!!!

Yep...It's been 3 months. Why, you wonder? Why, I wonder!!! Well...it doesn't matter. What matters is that I'm posting TODAY!
And what I'm posting about is Brian Williams, newsman for NBC Nightly News. He is the best dresser on any nightly news channel [minus Julie Nelson on Kare 11, 6 pm news....but she doesn't count.] Brian, hands down, is the best dresser.
Women, if you want to know how to dress your man for a fancy occasion, take notes from Brian. Especially his ties. Tonight he wore a lavender with black, or navy blue stripe. It was gorgeous. He's a better dresser than Obama or anyone in his cabinet. The White House should take notes on him. Press Secretary to the White House, Robert Gibbs, also should take note of how Brian Williams dresses.
Men: here's your role model for 'dress' man-fashion: Brian Williams. Amen
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/#38437569

My Apologies

How does it happen that you lose your way, and forget to write on your blog. Writing is one of my favorite activities. How do I let this happen to myself?

And I have so much I want to write about. And then I do my knee therapy exercises, eat, clean, and then it's time to nap, and then exercise, and then my day is over, and time to start dinner.

Oh the dilemma. I am going to try to be more faithful with this. O Blog, I do miss thee.