A Little Every Day

I have so much to do right now it makes my brains spin in a whirlpool of get it done.  The Yard is a giant mess of weeds, leaves that weren't raked last year, sticks sticks everywhere and more weeds.  I have tons of boxes to unpack and need to find a new job.  Some times it just makes me tired to think about!

I'm trying to get myself into a schedule (at least until I start work) starting with yard work first thing in the morning.  The heat and humidity during the day makes working all day in the yard out of the question ... at least until I get more use to it.  Yesterday I gathered up some of the yard debris to start up my compost bin it didn't take long but boy did I work up a quick sweat. There are so many leaves on the ground that I may have to set up a bigger compost bin.  There is no way my little tumble bin will handle it.  I started on this pile here

 It may not look like it but the leaves have been left there so long it was actually composting in place.  You can tell this is composting because every where else in the yard is all sand but here it looks like top soil.

Look at that rich earth under the leaves

I gathered up some of the already composted leaves as well as the stuff on top to give my bin a good head start.  I think I'll start in the tumble bin add plenty of good kitchen scraps to get a nice hot start. Then set up a second bin and dump the tumbled compost into the second bin to finish and start with more of the leaves from around the yard.  If I clean up one section of the yard every morning I should have it cleaned up in no time with out over doing it and wanting to quit.  

After that I have to figure out how I want to configure my back yard to meet all my needs.  I was hoping to catch a few episodes of Yard Crashers on HGTV (yes we have cable back the hubby insisted) but it turns out that the show has moved to the DIY channel which is part of the "sports and information" package and I'm not paying for a bunch of sports channels that I will never watch for the one show I would watch.  I won't be watching HDTV anymore either its no longer a home and garden channel now its all about buying and selling houses ... they need to change their name to the Real Estate channel.  Lucky for me their website still has plenty of good ideas so I guess I'll go take a look there.

Turkey Creek

We went to check out the local hiking trail here in Niceville called Turkey Creek.

Its a nice little hike with some swimming areas set up.  Its 3/4 of a mile one way so 11/2 miles round trip.  There were some canoes in the river we are not sure where they put in ...there is a place at the end of the trail but they didn't go by us on the way in so there must be another place outside the trail. Here are some pics of some of the wild life.  We went rather late in the day so there wasn't a lot but the snake we saw would make me think twice about swimming there.

Cotton Mouth ??? Maybe not sure

can you see the frog?

this isn't the best picture of the spiders that were all along the trail I'll have to try again next time

Turtles ... its weird we only saw them on one part of the trail the whole area was covered in water

Frog on a lily pad ...talk about cliche lol 

We Are Here

I got lots of updates for you but for now ...We have made it to Florida and obviously now have internet.  We are livablely unpacked but still have tons to go.  The dogs are enjoying their new backyard but I don't think the neighbors are enjoying the games of chase the squirrels the dogs have been playing.  We are keeping that game between 10 am and 5 pm  so at least we will hopefully not be keeping anyone awake.  We are not leaving them out all day but when they have to go do their duty before or after that we bring them right back inside to keep them from getting started.  The kids are not to happy since they have already started school but they are also excited about meeting new people so it balances out.  We went to our first Niceville High School Football game... these are really big deal down here the place was packed!  I'm still picking a spot to put my veggie garden and I've been talking to some of the locals about growing here.  The winter is suppose to be really good for cool weather veggies I can't wait.  I'll be sharing pics soon as I find my camera.

Thank You Tilly

Check out what came in the mail yesterday.  Tilly's Nest was having a contest and I won ... I"m so excited!

Now I can't wait to plant my garden when I get to Florida so I can try these goodies out.  They are a non-toxic and lasts all season long.  Both products are made of copper ... the slug shield wraps around individual plants to keep the slimy little buggers from climbing up and the slug shield goes around the edge of your plant bed or the edge or your raise beds, plant stands or anything else you might have your plants growing on.

I love visiting Tilly she has such cool ideas and some beautiful chickens ... its where I go to get my chicken fix since I can't have any of my own.  If you haven't stopped by you should go have a look around http://www.tillysnest.com/

And Thanks Tilly I can't wait to try out my new slug shields have a wonderful day!

Chipolte Just Became My Favorite Restaurants

Chipolte has become the first restaurant to label GMO food and not only that they plan to eliminate it where ever possible.. Check out the article on ENN (Environmental News Network)


Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability News: Chipotle Makes History by Becoming First Fast Food Chain to Tag GMOs


Hopefully this will encourage others to follow their lead.  I know there are lots of people who want to have more control over what goes into their bodies and the creators of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) want to keep us in the DARK.  I'm sorry but if their product was truly safe they wouldn't feel the need to hide it from everyone.

As more and more people develop illness and new allergies ....continue to grow ... you have to start looking around and wonder why.  Tobacco companies hid for years the research that said smoking made you very very sick so they could make a profit.  Who in their right minds would think that someone who actually HIDES their food so you don't know if your eating it or not wouldn't do the same damn thing!



Ok if you've been over to Cats and Dogs Turtles and Frogs this may look familiar it's because I accidently posted it there.  Thank you McGuffy for leaving a comment!

Happy Father's Day

To All The Father's Out There

I Hope Your Day is Spend

With The Ones You Love

And To All The Father's Who Can't Be With The Ones They Love

Thank You For Keeping Us Free

Get the Job Done and

Come Home Safe and Sound

Happy Fathers Day

Still Eating Rice

Well its been a crazy week...Trying to get everything sorted and gotten rid of.  We have moved so many times and never really sorted though all this stuff.  So it has built up over the years....Not quite to the point where I would have to have to call in Extreme Hoarders to help me clear everything out but enough that I"m tried of looking at it.  So I have been spending a lot of time sorting things into three piles.

Keep Donate and Trash. 

Its been working rather well for the most part though I have to admit sometimes I feel overwhelmed!  

I've have also been trying to get through the food stuff we have so we don't have to waste gas shipping it ...seems kind of silly to do that don't you think?  Anyway as you know I've been serving up rice by the tons  some recipes go over well some don't.  Tried it for Breakfast one day.  I cooked it up with cinnamon some maple syrup and raisins..   Didn't go over well with the kids and I have to admit something was missing... guess I'll figure that out later when I have more time lol.  Here are a couple of recipes that were a hit though ..Enjoy!

This first and second one I got out of The Woman's Day Encyclopedia of Cookery.. I love this set of books ...sometimes I just flip through them looking for interesting things to make.  I like it better then surfing the web because its easier to find new things you've never thought to look for!  Its rather hard to surf for something new when you don't know what your looking for  lol.  

Old Time Rice Pudding

1/2 c Uncooked Rice 

1/2 c sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

2 quarts milk

3/4 c raisins

Preheat oven to 325 Mix rice, sugar salt and nutmeg in a shallow 2/12 quart baking dish.  Add 2 quarts milk.  It suggests adding the 2nd quart after placing the dish in the oven to prevent spilling.  Bake for 2/12 hours stirring twice during first hour.  Stir the brown crust into pudding several times during the remainder of baking.  Add raisins 30 minutes before pudding is done.  Then allow crust to form again.  Serve with cream if desired.  

I took the left overs and placed it in small storage dishes so the kids could take it for lunch.

Baked Rice and Cheese

1 c uncooked rice

1 small onion minced

6 Tbls butter

3 Tbls flour

1tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp powdered mustard

1 tsp Worcestershire

2 c milk

1/2 lbs sharp cheddar cheese

3 Tbls fine dry bread crumbs

Cook and drain rice.  cook onion for 5 min in 4 Tbls butter.  Blend in flour and seasonings.  Gradually add milk and cook,  stirring constantly, until thickened.  Dice half of cheese and add to mixture, stirring until blended.  Slice remaining cheese.  Put half or rice in shallow 1/12 quart baking dish.  cover with layer of sliced cheese.  Pour half of hot mixture over top.  Repeat.  Sprinkle crumbs on top and dot with remaining butter.  Bake in oven that has been preheated to 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

This last one comes from http://allears.net

When we went to Disney we had lunch at Boma an all you can eat buffet that serves food from African.  Our one rule is that when we go to one of these restaurants you have to try something new.  Otherwise my extremely picky son would only eat the chicken nuggets, hotdogs and Pizza.  These place are too darn expensive to just eating that stuff.  Well At Boma my son took it to heart and tried EVERY single dish they had....   can you say in Shock ... Yep my super picky son tried every meat veggie and side dish they had ... not to mention dessert (like I was worried about him trying dessert).  Well his favorite dish there was the Koconut Rice and when I got home I started searching for the recipe..Imagine my delight when I found  All Ears with Tons of great Disney Recipes including Boma's Koconut Rice.  Well here it is and if you love Disney then you will want to check out all the other terrific recipes at Allears.net

Kokonut Rice
Boma
Animal Kingdom Lodge

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 cup Basmati Rice (may substitute with jasmine or long grain rice)
2 tablespoons Canola or Vegetable Oil
½ teaspoon Minced Garlic
1/3 cup Spanish or Red Onion, small diced
1 cup Water
1 can Unsweetened Coconut Milk (shake can well as the milk separates)
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
Pinch White Pepper (optional)
¼ cup Grated Carrots
¼ cup Grated Sweetened Coconut
1 tablespoon Cilantro, finely chopped (may substitute with parsley) 

Method of Preparation:

1. Place oil in saucepan over medium high heat. Sauté garlic and onions for one minute.

2. Add rice and stir until rice is coated with oil. Add water and stir well. Bring to a boil.

3. Add coconut milk, stir, and cover. Lower heat to a simmer. Let cook for 15 minutes undisturbed.

4. Remove lid and add reminder of ingredients except for the cilantro. Fluff and mix with a fork quickly. If rice looks too dry, add a couple of tablespoons of water.

5. Replace lid and let simmer for five minutes. Remove from heat and let set for five minutes. Fluff rice gently, taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Garnish with cilantro and serve.

10 Ways to Starve a Multi-National GMO Conglomerate

We have been hearing a lot about GMO (genetically modified organism) in our food lately and I for one would like to know which food have it and which don't.  If it is really as safe as they claim then why are they so worried about consumers finding out which foods they are hiding it in?  Well dollars speak louder then words and I for one do not want to spend any more money on mutant foods.. I found a nice article on ways to keep my cash out of the hands of those who mutate our food and I'm all for speaking with my wallet to those Dr. Frankensteins that continue to destroy the good food Mother Nature graced us with.  Here a link for those who would like to speak with their wallets too. 


10 Ways to Starve a Multi-National GMO Conglomerate | REALfarmacy.com | Healthy News and Information