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Archive for Around the House

Zucchini Bandit

Posted on July 7, 2012 by Renee Spindle

My 2012 garden is coming along nicely, except for my poor little zucchini plants that I started from seeds. I had two little baby zucchini plants, got them in the ground, and then a couple of days later I went out in the morning to water the garden, and BOOM, there was a plant pulled up out of the ground. I’m thinking this was either the work of a lizard or a fatty black crow.

I put the poor little thing back in the ground, as I will not be defeated by a lizard or a crow. Then I gave it a nice drink of water, and the next morning it perked back up and was staying green. That evening I go back out to water all my little seedlings, and my poor little zucchini had been munched to pieces. Here’s how it looked.

Then a few days later the same thing happened to the other baby zucchini. and I put it back in the ground, watered it hoping it will spring back to life. I will not be defeated.

As of this writing I have given in to the zucchini bandits, and will be heading to Home Depot to buy two new plants. The pesky varmints got a hold of the zucchini’s and they were never to be seen again. Poor little zucchini plants. They were my little babies. I started them from seeds.

But the garden must go on and I want to have a nice crop of zucchini. Grilled zucchini, zucchini bread, zucchini muffins, zucchini in stir fry. The possibilities are endless.

This is just a small sneak peek of my garden adventures. I have been spending a lot of time tending the garden while Travel Man’s away. Lots of plantings and things going on out back. He hasn’t seen the whole garden yet, so I’m not posting too many pictures of it until after he is home next week. There has to be some surprises!

So for all of you who are gardening this summer, how does your garden grow so far?

No comments Posted in Around the House, Family, Gardening

The Game Room’s Been Quiet

Posted on June 30, 2012 by Renee Spindle

It’s a quiet Saturday here at The Party House. Quiet meaning the twenty-somethings are all out at their various activities. Travel Man is “on the road”. It’s fine though I have the stereo blaring with some good tunes, and I’m writing this post. Earlier today I was in our Game Room (this is where the twenty-somethings normally hang out with their friends) doing some cleaning. I realized, this room’s been quiet for a few weeks. It funny since the college kids have finished classes, and are into their summer jobs we haven’t had as much activity in the evenings here as we normally do.

And then I realized, as I was cleaning, that the Game Room is becoming a dumping ground for “stuff”. The available floor space in the room seemed to be shrinking at an alarming rate. You know the kinds of things I’m talking about. It’s those things that maybe belong in the garage or out in your garden shed. The things that make an interim stop on some “flat surface” (that one’s for you Hilary), and dont’ quite make it to their destination. I am the first to admit I’m guilty of parking some things in this room too. Camp Grandma supplies that did not get put away. Pool supplies that haven’t made it outside yet. And a Rock Band set that is collecting dust on the ottoman that needs to be put away. Anyone, anyone?

You know, if you have a big family and everyone leaves just one thing lying around it can add up to a mess quick style. We have tall sons with big feet. So just two pairs of shoes not put away can almost create a traffic jam. And then there’s our (mine and daughter Hilary’s) running joke with Travel Man about the flat surfaces. If there’s a flat surface in the house with empty space it gets filled quickly. And not to pick on Travel Man, because we are all guilty of leaving “stuff” on the flat surfaces in the house.

After working my Domestic Goddess magic, the Game Room is back in order and ready to go. Everything is parked back in its’ respective place. And the “flat surfaces” are cleared and ready for the next round of “stuff”.

Is the “stuff” in your house driving you nuts?

6 comments Posted in Around the House, Blogging, Family, Organizing, Travel Man

What’s your Purse Style?

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Renee Spindle

Purse, noun = A woman’s bag for carrying keys, a wallet, and other personal items; a handbag.

Earlier this week I was with my Mom just hanging out while my Dad was at the doctor. We both had our purses sitting there on the chair in the waiting room, and my mom’s purse pockets were all opened and filled with stuff. I said, “Mom I think you need a bigger purse!” We started comparing a few of the contents of the pockets, and agreed that the pockets of your purse keep you organized. It got me to thinking about the purses and wallets we all carry.

You have a particular pocket for your wallet, one for any personal items you may carry, maybe a pocket for your keys, and definitely a pocket for the sunglasses. I think this is the part that scares a man away from a women’s purse. If you ask your favorite guy to get something out of your purse does he hand it to you with a scared look on his face and tell you, “no you do it”? Or does he just dive into the purse and look for what he needs? My guy always hands me my purse to get what he needs from it. He has told me previously he just doesn’t feel right digging through my purse. Would I dig through his wallet for something I needed? Probably.

Now are you a “one, big, huge pocket” purse person, or a “I need the compartments” purse person. I am of the compartment variety. I like to have the pocket dividers in my purse to keep my stuff somewhat organized. I tried using a denim, “one, big, huge pocket” purse last summer, and it drove me nuts. It seemed like everything I wanted to get at was ALWAYS on the very bottom of the purse under everything else. I decided just to keep the “one, big, huge pocket” bags for a vacation or a trip to the beach.

Same issue goes for wallets. Do you like a wallet that appears to be a big ‘ol coin purse, or do you prefer the compartments? You can probably tell a lot about a person by the type of purse and wallet they carry. Organized or disorganized. A care free spirit or a worry wart. Carries the same purse ALL of the time, or has a different purse for every occasion. The possibilities are endless.

The next time you are in store “browsing” for a new purse, ask yourself this question – What does my purse say about Me?

No comments Posted in Around the House, Family

Evan – The Photographer

Posted on June 24, 2012 by Renee Spindle

A few weeks ago at one of our family gatherings Evan had my camera and took quite a few pictures. I believe most of these are from the weekend my sister and her husband visited. We had a weekend party fest of food and fun. Here’s how our family dinner/gathering looked through Evan’s eyes. Enjoy!

As you can see Evan loves his self portraits, and is becoming quite the ham with them. He’s building quite a portfolio of pictures, and I can only imagine what’s going to happen when his baby sister arrives.

Do you let your kids/grandkids that are under 10 take pictures with your camera? Would love to hear from you all. Happy Sunday everyone.

No comments Posted in Around the House, Family

Aggression Cookies

Posted on June 22, 2012 by Renee Spindle

This recipe makes the yummiest little oatmeal cookies. I had forgotten how much I like them, and how fun they are to make. I got this recipe from my Mom many moons ago, and I’m not sure what the original origin of the cookies is. I’m sure my Mom can help me out with that information. For my baking session today, I had my helper with me from Camp Grandma. My grandson, Evan of course. These cookies are made to be mixed by hand. You mix by hand to get rid of your stress and take out all of your “aggressions” on the cookies! Here we go with the recipe.

Ingredients:

1c. brown sugar
2 sticks margarine, softened
1 tsp. baking soda
2c. quick oatmeal
1c. flour

Directions:

That’s all of the ingredients, just a 5 item recipe. This is my kind of cookie. Now, measure and place all ingredients in a large bowl. Get ready, get set, go and mix up all of the ingredients with your hands. Take out your aggressions, and stress, until formed into a big glob of dough, with all of the dry ingredients mixed in.

Spoon dough by teaspoonfuls or with your favorite cookie dough scoop onto a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees on ungreased cookie sheets for 8-10 minutes. These cookies bake fairly quickly so watch them carefully while they are in the oven. Cool and enjoy with a chilled glass of cold milk. This recipe makes 2-3 dozen cookies.

This is a wonderful recipe for a beginning baker. A great recipe to get your kids into the kitchen for the first time. As you can see by the pictures Evan had lots of fun mixing and mushing the ingredients together. And the bonus was when he was done mixing there was no spoon to lick off, just his hands. Of course I had to take over getting the dough onto the cookie sheets to bake while Evan “cleaned” his hands off. A wonderful afternoon of learning and making messes here in the kitchen at Camp Grandma.