First thing I want to tell you about is a WOW!  David got an email from a friend with pictures attached.  Seems Texas might have a Bigfoot running around.  At least you might come to that conclusion from looking at the size of that footprint. 

The photos were taken on their property in central Texas (after a rain) and not only is the print HUGE – yes, that is a yard stick being used for measuring – but would seem that whoever or whatever might also have  six toes.  After looking at those pictures did a search on the Net to see what other information I could find about Texas having a  Bigfoot and was surprised to find a website dedicated to sightings and other ‘pertinent’ information www.texasbigfoot.com – just copy and paste in the address bar if you want to read more.    I’ll be curious to hear if they have more sightings on their property.  If so, I’ll be sure to pass along the details.

Haven’t been outside much – but have been watching with astonishment the gopher or mole that has been wrecking my flower bed.  Seems he has decided to make himself a home right under one of my Nandina plants.   That pesky rascal has almost covered the plant with dirt – not once but three times this week!  I have no idea where all the dirt is coming from or why the ground hasn’t collapsed underneath the plant.  During the past week David has gone out and stomped the dirt back down twice but the gopher?  just keeps coming back.  Guess I’ll  have to get my garden book out and see if there is anything I can do to make him go away – something using household agents.

You’ve heard me say that on Sunday mornings we like a quick breakfast of coffee cake or muffins.  On occasion we’ve had the cinnamon rolls ‘in the can’ – the ones you buy in the dairy section -  and while we’ve enjoy them to a certain degree, they don’t have a home-baked flavor.  So I set out to see what I could do to make them taste better.   Tried cutting them up in pieces then baking them in a pan so they would be similar to ‘monkey bread’ – adding brown sugar and butter to the pieces.  Didn’t really care for that – bottom pieces were too brown (almost burnt) and the center pieces  weren’t cooked enough.   On hindsight – probably should have used a tube pan to help even out the heat …. but  don’t think I’ll try fixing them like that again because my second try was much better.

Took the dough and placed it in a well buttered glass pie plate with the cinnamon side up.  I then cut an ‘ X ‘ across the top of  each cinnamon bun about 1/4 inch deep.  Next placed a thin slice of butter in the middle of each ‘ X ‘.  Next finely chopped  about 1/8 cup pecans and sprinkled them over the tops.  Next sprinkled streusel (recipe below)  over the chopped pecans and baked according to directions.  When the rolls come out I have some frosting ready (optional)  – but don’t put it on the hot cinnamon rolls until we’re ready to eat.  If you put the frosting on as soon as they come out of the oven,  the frosting  will melt and disappear into the roll never to be seen  . . . meaning we’ll have to smear more on when we sit down to eat them . . .  and that is just too much sugar for us.   

Streusel is  a crumbly mixture of regular flour, granulated sugar and butter.  I don’t have a recipe for this but just mix the ingredients in a bowl with a fork until it is the texture and has the taste I like.  We prefer our streusel a little more sweet and buttery.   Typically I use about  1 tablespoon of butter, 2-3 tablespoons of flour and 3-4 tablespoons of sugar.  Adjusting butter as needed.  You want enough butter so that the mixture is pea-sized crumbles.  

Frosting for cinnamon rolls -  1 tablespoon butter softened (or melted), 1/4 teaspoon vanilla, powdered sugar and water.  Again no recipe – just add everything together until I get the consistency and taste wanted.  You would probably not want to use over 1 cup powdered sugar and 1+ tablespoon of water or you’ll have too much frosting leftover.  You don’t want the rolls smothered in frosting – just a taste because the streusel already makes them sweet – just not sweet enough for David!

Read about the ‘other’ golds, i.e., how much gold is really in ‘rolled gold’, etc. and what you need to know before buying ‘other’ gold jewelry. Click here to read more.  And to follow the market value of gold and calculate how much gold is in your 14K, 18K other K jewelry – visit this link - for online tools and more.  And finally….. if you have checked out our new online antique store – please take a minute to see what we’ve been up to.  We’ve got over 600 items in dozens of categories – adding new items weekly – and of course, shipping is Free!

For example, we buy frozen sausage patties that are already cooked so all I do is warm in a skillet or microwave. Nice. David also likes corned-beef-hash (why I don’t know) so that is a good substitute for him as well. I divide the CBH in the can into about 5-6 serving sized portions and freeze them until I’m ready to cook it. We also have creamed chipped beef, pigs-in-the-blanket, and my favorite – HAM. I’ve found that I can buy a nice spiral cut ham for about $22.00 – that’s at $2.38 per pound (if I had to pay the same price for the ham as for bacon, the ham would have cost me $41.60). Not too bad and the ham gives us multiple meals, breakfast meat, sandwiches, soups, omelets, salads and more. Any chipped-ham that is left after we package the larger pieces for the freezer  is put into a zip bag – then I can just grab out whatever I want for eggs, omelet or salad. Super convenient, less fat and lots cheaper !!

Of course, we’re still doing our Internet thing – and have noticed that lately we’ve been getting an above average number of emails from people either wanting to sell us their stuff or asking us what’s the best way to sell their collection. One lady wanted to sell her Beanie Baby collection to pay for her wedding. I really feel for these people but the sad truth is that now is not the time to be selling anything you expect to get a reasonable or good price for …. unless you’ve got gold or silver (dream on) and if you do, you should hold on to it – experts say it will only continue to go up. However, we do try to give some information about how to go about selling things, what to do, what to expect and what to watch out for.

If you happen to be one of those looking to sell your collection or grandma’s estate, you may want to read 10 Ways to Sell Your Stuff - here you’ll find the pro’s and con’s of getting rid of one item or a whole collection.

As I mentioned we’re putting up an online store, BUT we have no expectations of it making any money until things get better… maybe 2013 if we’re lucky. However, in the interim we’ll have plenty of time to get everything listed and be ready when – hopefully – the economy turns around. And if it doesn’t well then I’ve kept busy and learned a lot.

Well, according to an email I received, it seems that not only is the cucumber edible but also has lots of other uses. Read the list below for some very unusual ways to ‘use’ a cucumber.

 1.  Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day, just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.

2.   Feeling tired in the afternoon, put down the caffeinated soda and pick up a cucumber. Cucumbers are a good source of B Vitamins and Carbohydrates that can provide that quick pick-me-up that can last for hours.

3.   Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower? Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the mirror, it will eliminate the fog and provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance. (My very favorite hand soap is Cucumber-Melon – smells wonderful!!)

 4.  Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds? Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area. (I’m going to try this one to try and get rid of those pesky ants.)

5.   Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or to the pool? Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes, the phytochemicals in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too!!! 

6.   Want to avoid a hangover or terrible headache? Eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed and wake up refreshed and headache free. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential nutrients the body lost, keeping everything in equilibrium, avoiding both a hangover and headache!!

7.   Looking to fight off that afternoon or evening snacking binge? Cucumbers have been used for centuries and often used by European trappers, traders and explores for quick meals to thwart off starvation.

8.  Have an important meeting or job interview and you realize that you don’t have enough time to polish your shoes? Rub a freshly cut cucumber over the shoe, its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only looks great but also repels water.

9.  Out of WD 40 and need to fix a squeaky hinge? Take a cucumber slice and rub it along the problematic hinge, and voila, the squeak is gone!

10.   Stressed out and don’t have time for massage, facial or visit to the spa? Cut up an entire cucumber and place it in a boiling pot of water, the chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber with react with the boiling water and be released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown the reduce stress in new mothers and college students during final exams.

11.   Just finish a business lunch and realize you don’t have gum or mints? Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath, the phytochemcials will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.

12.   Looking for a ‘green’ way to clean your faucets, sinks or stainless steel? Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean, not only will it remove years of tarnish and bring back the shine, but it won’t leave streaks and won’t harm you fingers or fingernails while you clean. (Gotta try this one)

13.   Using a pen and made a mistake? Take the outside of the cucumber and slowly use it to erase the pen writing, also works great on crayons and markers that the kids have used to decorate the walls!!

Do these all work? Haven’t a clue – but plan on trying a couple of them out myself  just for fun.

Once I got them in the house, went into damage control. I had heard that you can take raw eggs, put them into a container and when you want to use them, they will ‘pour out’, one egg at a time. Didn’t think I’d ever had a better opportunity then now to put this theory to the test. So I began going through the eggs selecting the badly damaged ones that I could still pick up.   There were a couple that  I couldn’t even lift out of the carton -  they disintegrated in my hand.   The eggs that were just slightly cracked, I boiled; the rest of the eggs were fine.

Next morning we had two scrambled eggs and they poured ‘as advertised’, one-at-a-time from the container. What a surprise. Wasn’t sure how long I could safely keep these raw eggs in a container so I made blueberry muffins with the left overs that afternoon. End of egg saga.

With the heat staying around 100+, I have not been doing much outside other than watering. Which means I’ve been doing more cooking. Making a sugar-free banana-blueberry pie  for David today – using up the last of the blueberries we picked this week. Should be yummy. We’ll have to pace ourselves eating it…with some whipped cream and blueberry glaze – it’s so tempting to eat more than we should.

And, have a few more ‘helpful hints’ - you may or may not already know these – but thought I pass them along anyway.

We taken to buying tubes of Angus ground meat at the Brookshires – better texture and taste. I’ve found that by cutting one end off and then making a slight cut in the other end the meat comes out more easily. I can then do whatever with it.

Another tube meat hint (this works really well with the tube sausage) – if you want to freeze a tube of meat/sausage but don’t want it frozen whole but would like to cut it into sections before freezing, the easy way to do this is to cut with a sharp knife through the plastic package – only – all the way around and then, holding on either side of the cut - with your hands almost touching, twist the tube like you would if unscrewing something. The meat will cleanly twist apart and you’ll have nice-sized freezable portions without a gooey knife or the typical squashed tube of sausage you get when trying to cut through everything.

Since I cook for two most of the time, I find myself sometimes using only half of the packaged seasonings I buy, i.e., taco seasoning, meat marinades, etc. – but I do need and want to keep the directions. So rather than cut off the top of the envelope which cuts off half the instructions, I cut off the bottom of the envelope leaving the directions in tact. I then roll the bottom of the envelope to close it and seal it with a little tape. Keep all my leftover half-packages in a zip bag in the fridge and I’m ready for next time I need that spice.

We splurged last weekend and had some fresh baked cinnamon rolls – I have to confess they were from a package but they caught David’s eye at the grocery and he really wanted them … need I say more. I baked them up per directions but when they came out of the oven they looked dry. So, before I frosted them, I took melted butter and brushed it over the tops. Made them soft and gave a great buttery flavor. You can use this ‘butter trick’ with any baked bread or roll when you take them out of the oven – helps give them a rich flavor and makes the crust less dry.

Final hint has to do with laundry. I love drying my clothes outside – love that fresh smell and it helps cut electricity – but sometimes the clothes (especially towels) get stiff. When this happens I put all the ‘stiff’ things into the dryer along with a damp wash cloth and run the dryer for about 20 minutes. The clothes come out soft as can be and still have that nice outdoor, line-dryer smell.

Wind Socks

David and I both enjoy the yard and we like wind socks because they look pretty when they’re floating on the breeze and the ones near the garden seem to help keep the birds away. But….we were having a problem with the harness twisting in the wind causing the wind sock to break off where it was attached to the pole. We needed something that would allow it to spin in the wind so that the harness wires wouldn’t break.

David came up with the idea of using fishing swivels. They have a ‘loop’ on either end with a bit in the middle that swivels around 360 degrees. So now when we hook up the wind socks, he uses a fishing swivel between the harness and where he attachs it to the pole. They are free to twist and turn without breaking.    Nice thing too – the swivels come in all different sizes so we could get the right size for each wind sock – and they don’t cost a lot either. Look for them in the fishing section at the sports store … or in our case Walmart.

Laundry Soap

When possible I like buying the large packages of products to get more value for my dollar. Laundry detergent is no exception. The dispenser fits in the cabinet over the washing machine and dispenses the soap via a push spigot. But….I didn’t like the way all of the dispensed detergent didn’t pour out of the measuring cup. There was always a layer of soap left in the bottom of the measure that just would not pour out. With my old washer this wouldn’t have been a problem because the water would start pouring in the minute you turned the machine on and I could have rinsed the cup out. However, my new washer … with all its safety features … won’t start filling until the lid is closed. So I would have to take one of the items from the wash and try to wipe out the cup. Messy and I was still left with a gooey residue.

So…. I decided why not just put the detergent directly onto something and toss it in to the wash. Since I didn’t want to put detergent directly onto some of the more delicate items, I decided to keep a wash cloth in the laundry room. Now I just cup the wash cloth in my hand, dispense the amount of detergent I want and toss the wash cloth – detergent and all – right on top of the load to be washed. No more gooey cup, no more wasted detergent, and my clothes come out just as nice and clean as ever.

Gardening

Seems everything is going up in cost and gardening supplies are no different. Wanted to plant a few things from seed but even seeds had gone up in price. So… since I had decided to focus on black-eyed peas – rather than buy a packet of seeds at the store for $2.00 that had maybe 20 seeds in it – I bought a bag of dried black-eyed peas at the grocery for under $1.00 and got hundreds of seeds. They grow just like the “expensive” packaged seeds. This also works for green beans – you can buy a bag of dried pinto beans, plant them just like any bean seed and get the best green beans you’ll ever eat – just don’t let them get too big before you pick them. Learned this from my Aunt Francis.

With all the beans and pea plants growing,  needed a lot of trellises. Didn’t want to invest any more money in lattice pieces so we took a couple of pieces of iron we had in the garage and used those. One piece was a folding shelf that David secured in the garden and the other was an old iron bed. David took the head and foot boards of the old iron bed and sunk them in the ground. I’ll stretch wire or fishing string at the bottom to fill in the open space. All of these make lovely trellises and didn’t cost a thing.

Another easy fix we found was how to hook up the garden hose to the hose cart. If you have used one of these carts, you know how hard it is to connect the garden hose to the inside. So…. David used a ‘quick connect’ to do this. Attached one part to the cart fixture, other piece to the garden hose and then just snapped them together. No wrestling to try and get the two screwed together… easy!!

If you use electric clippers or weed eater to trim, keep the wire from coming unplugged by wrapping it around something. This way when you’ve reached your limit – you won’t pull the plug out of the socket and maybe damage the prongs.

The decorative gate is finished and looks so nice. You’ll remember David took pieces of decorative fencing he bought at Lowe’s and pieced it together to make a gate. He then finished the sides with some cedar fencing he decorated with some iron finials. Best thing is the gate swings both ways!  (Picture is at top)

Mighty Tape

You see a lot of stuff advertised on TV, in the magazines, etc. but you gotta wonder …. does it really work?   We purchased some of the Mighty Tape because it looked like it would have a lot of different uses… and we we’re wrong. So far – so good. We’ve used it to wrap a leaky pipe, secure the cable ends holding the end of the trailer on and wrap some electrical cord that ‘accidently’ got cut with the weed eater…. oops!!   David had fixed it but the tape wasn’t holding – the Mighty Tape covered the cut and should keep out any water. 

The tape isn’t your typical vinyl, plastic tape. It comes with a backing that you peel off as you wrap and while doing this, you stretch the tape to conform to whatever you’re wrapping. The tape sticks to itself really well making a tight, snug seal. We’ve been really pleased with the results.

Summer is here – it’s been over 100 for the last few days so guess I’ll be looking for inside projects. Stay cool!!

Without knowing all the details of how it works – it appears that they harvest information from the web including information from social sites and put it all together in one place. This includes your address, gender, age, martial status, information on income, your home, hobbies, pictures and video. Pretty comprehensive.

While the initial name search offers only basic info, one can get a paid membership to get more detailed stats. If you’re like me, I prefer not having my  personal information available. And, fortunately spokeo has made this possible. You can have yourself removed from the database by following the steps below.

1. Perform a search using your name and location, i.e, John Doe, New York, NY to see if your are included.

2. If you are in the system, your information will display on a new page.

3. To get deleted from the directory, perform the following

1. Copy the URL address at the top of the screen

2. Click on the ‘Privacy’ button at the bottom of the page which will open a new page

….. on the next page

1. Paste the URL you’ve copied into the appropriate space (see image)
2. Enter your email (do this so they can send you a confirm link to complete the process)
3. Enter the ‘captcha’ code
4. Click remove listing

Completion of Process

You will then need to check your email account for an email from spokeo. Inside the email will be a link you can click to confirm your request. Once you’ve done this your information will be removed. We’ve gone through the process and it does work.  The link at the top of this post is active for those that would like to get started checking on their status.

Note: Married couples should check both names as husband and wife are listed separately.

And while all that glitters is not gold – some is – soooo – don’t forget if you’re planning on selling any of your gold jewelry for CA$H – calculate those gold values before you sell it….. 

You can find links for calculating gold value of karat weight jewelry at www.goldcoins-silverbullion.com -look for Online Tools…

Happy Treasure Hunting!!!

There’s the yard to mow, garden to weed, blackberries to pick plus the usual everyday stuff. We had a huge rain Monday night and my garden is going to need some refurbishing. With 3 inches of rain coming down in less than an hour – there are numerous mole tunnels that were exposed and will need to be filled in.   Fortunately, I only lost a couple of bean bushes to the cave-ins. Could have been a lot worse.

Somewhere in all the stuff we have around here, David found a couple of rectangle-shaped wooden frames about 3′ x 4′ and 8″ tall. Think I’m going to turn them into an herb garden. There’s some room next to the deck kitchen (it’s a mess right now) and I think that would be a good place. I’ll get started on that this weekend. I’ve got to dig out all the Bahia grass, level the area and see how I can work around the existing hydrangea plant. Went out to take a picture to show you how bad it looks and the air was full of Jasmine. The Star Jasmine by the walk is blooming and the whole backyard smells wonderful.

If I end up working in the yard as planned, bet I’ll be pulling out and heating up some of those frozen dinners I’ve stashed. May even make and freeze some breakfast burritos tomorrow so I can get an earlier start Saturday without having to cook breakfast.

Luckily, David loves sandwiches and wrap-ups. The breakfast burritos I make are usually made with leftovers – sausage, bell pepper bits and potato pieces. They’re quick to make, and if you’re so inclined they freeze and reheat well. I’ve not ever made a really large batch of them but they’re just like the ones you buy at the store – only without all the added salt, fat and preservatives. 

If you think your significant other would like them, here’s how I make them with leftovers that might other wise go begging.

What you’ll need to make 2 wraps (just double, triple, etc. the recipe for more burittos).   And, use the leftovers in the amount you have. I’ve given amounts as a ‘go-by’, but the recipe is certainly not written in stone.

• 1 Egg (beaten)
• 1/4 Medium sized potato cut into small bite-sized pieces
• 1 Tablespoon finely chopped onion
• 2 Teaspoons finely chopped bell pepper
• Cooked meat of choice cut into small bite-sized pieces (sausage is our favorite but bacon or ham works well)
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 2 Flour tortillas
• Salt, Pepper to taste

In a small skillet, melt the butter. Then add in the potato, onions, and bell pepper. Saute over medium heat until veggies are slightly soft and potatoes are a little browned.  To the veggie mix add the meat and stir around until mixed in. To this add the 1 beaten egg and seasonings. Scramble until the egg is done, remove from heat and set aside.

I like to spritz the tortillas first with some no-calorie spray butter . . .  then in the middle of each tortilla place 1/2 of the egg scramble mixture.  Fold the 2 edges over to the center. Place the burritos on a micro-wave safe plate, cover with a damp paper towel and microwave for about 25 seconds at 50-60% power. You may need to adjust the time to fit your microwave. You want to warm them just enough to make the tortillas soft – you don’t want to nuke them long enough so that the tortilla gets hard. Serve immediately with some taco sauce – or not.

If you plan on freezing them for later use, skip the microwave part. Once you have the egg mixture in the tortilla, wrap each buritto individually in plastic wrap, place in a zip-freezer bag and freeze. Warm them up on 50% power for about a minute (each). Again, you’ll may need to adjust time and temp for your oven.

We’ve been working on a new page – if you’re interested in the gold/silver market and may have considered it as an investment option  – take a minute and check out   www.goldcoins-silverbullion.com

Of course, what’s a trip to town without a stop at ‘Wally World’? . . aka Walmart. After all, they’ve got just about anything you might need or want. While walking near the ladies clothing section, noticed they had a large table set up for administering H1N1 flu vaccinations. There were 2 medical-looking ladies there with disposable gloves, bottles of the serum and what looked to be an unlimited number of syringes. (I don’t like shots!) People were NOT standing in line to get immunized – but there were a few takers coming and going.  Even though there hasn’t been as much talk lately about the flu pandemic - David and I still carry a little bottle of hand sanitizer with us and use it every time we get back to the car . . . just to kill any unwanted germs we may have picked up handling buggies (that a shopping cart to those of you not here in Texas).

Shopping last week was no exception – the hand sanitizer was in full use the whole time we were out . . . and it got me to thinking. Ordinarily I don’t wear much jewelry, but last week I was wearing a turquoise ring and the minute I poured the sanitizer into my hand – two question popped into my head – What’s in this stuff? and ‘What is it doing to my jewelry?

You probably already know that most hand sanitizers are basically a combination of

• Gel base (some are Aloe)
• Ethyl alcohol (active ingredient that does the killing)
• Glycerin (softens)
• Fragrance & color (to make it pretty)
• and some other stuff I can’t pronounce or spell and haven’t a clue as to what it does

We squirt, pump or pour a small portion into our hands and rub it all over killing any lingering germs. But what do these ingredients to to our jewelry? If your jewelry contains medium to hard gemstones – it probably doesn’t do anything. But if your jewelry has very soft to soft gemstone – or even porous gemstones – it may cause damage or at the very least – discoloration.

Wondering what gemstones are considered ‘soft’? Some  of the more common ones that fall into this category are:

1. Amethyst
2. Citrine
3. Coral
4. Garnet
5. Jade
6. Lapis lazuli
7. Moonstone
8. Opal
9. Pearls (Cultured and Real)
10. Peridot
11. Tanzanite
12. Tourmaline
13. Turquoise
14. Zircon

Not only should these gemstones be kept away from sanitizers, but they are also susptible to physical damage (chipping or cracking) if worn a lot, or worn while doing housework or gardening.  And this type of  jewelry should also be kept away from most general household cleaning agents . . . as well as

• Perfumes
• Hair products (sprays, shampoos, etc.)
• Skin lotions
• Body oils
• Perspiration (immediately clean any items that is exposed to perspiration before storing)

Keep your jewelry safe and looking its best by taking good care of it, keeping it clean and having it checked at least once a year to be sure none of the gemstones are loose. For additional information on jewelry, i.e, general gemstone information, identification and care of – visit The Compendium in the Texas Antique Mall.

The newest virus circulating is based on your receiving an email regarding either UPS or FedEx Delivery Failure. In most cases the email will contain a packet number – bogus of course. In the email you will be told that ‘they’ were unable to deliver a package sent to you on such-n-such date. You will then be asked to print out the Invoice Copy attached.

DON’T try to print out the invoice. This action launches the virus.

Below are two samples of what the email might contain.

This has been verified on Snopes.com and you can read about it for yourself here. . . .  http://www.snopescom/computer/virus/ups.asp