Substance of Living

Has time been allowing you the opportunity to read a book a week?  Some months I'm able to read more than one book a week and other months I have to listen to my books.  Life and chores have a way of thinking that they need to come first and reading gets pushed to the side.  Well, I say "NO MORE!"  haha Strictly Murder by Lynda Wilcox A Family Affair (Truth in Lies) by Mary Campisi If you're new to our book club and would like to get caught up, check out June , July , August , and September . Cut, Crop & Die (A Kiki Lowenstein Scrap and Craft Mystery)by Joanna Campbell Slan Downtime by Tamara Allen One Coffee With (Sigrid Harald) by Margaret Maron Instead of filling your home with books after you've read them, visit your local library.  Let the library store all those books (and dust them).  Most likely they will even have the same book if you ever want to go back and read it again.  Another nice thing about...

A goal is a dream upon which one acts. The First Step in goal setting is to decide which dream you'd like to turn into a goal and eventually a reality.  Then figure out if this goal is: Short-Term - something that can be accomplished within a day or week Daily or Weekly To-Do List Intermediate - something that will take longer than a week but typically a couple months Canning or preserving items from your garden Long-Term - Buying a house or going on a dream vacation A daily To-Do list is a great way to keep each day organized as well as break down tasks to reach your goals.  To make a long-term goal managable, break it down into intermediate goals, then into short-term goals and then list each task on the daily To-Do list. Once you incorporate a daily To-Do list, guesstimate more time than you think a task will take.  Then mark down how long the task actually took.  This will help you more accurately schedule your time in the future. For example,...

Fescue Lawn DH has this thing about our grass while I tend to be more about the plants in the yard.  Our differences make us a good team, as I'm sure you can understand. I don't remember who gave us this schedule to care for our fescue lawn but it never failed us.  We followed this schedule and had the most beautiful lawn.  It was lush, thick, healthy, and weed-free.  We have shared our "little secret" throughout the years one at a time and now we'd like to share it with you. The time schedule may have to be moved a bit depending on your region; we are in the Carolinas. Fescue Lawn Maintenance Schedule February 25 (or somewhere between February 20th and March 1st) - Fertilize and Crabgrass Preventor March 7 - Lime 30 pounds/1000 square feet April 7 - Weed and Feed May 20 - Fertilize and Crabgrass Preventor June 15 - Lime 20 pounds/1000 square feet July - Iron Chelate August - Iron Chelate September 4 - Aerate, Lime 30 pounds/1000 ...

Last week we started changing gears from candy and goblins to thinking about Thanksgiving.  We thought about what decorations could be carried over, started making our guest list, and looking at what we already had on hand. This week we are going to delve into our to-do list a little further. Thinking about Thanksgiving this Week: Are you going to cook, order, or have catered the main dish or entire meal? Place your Order Contact Caterer Measure Oven, Pan, Platter Preferred Cooking Method - Bake, Fry, Grill Invite Guests - During the RSVP, if a guest offers to bring a dish, accept the offer - it's one less item for you to handle (you reserve the right to make the same dish) Keep a running RSVP / Dish list Purchase, Rent, Borrow, Clean or Polish Dinner Plates, Dessert Plates, Glasses, Wine Glasses, Coffee Cups, Silverware, Napkins, Linens, Serving Dishes and Utensils Measure Table or configure Table Arrangements This table is made up of 3 se parate tables...

Halloween isn't even over and we need to start thinking about Thanksgiving.  This is the time of year that everything passes by so quickly and staying on top of things can be daunting. Being prepared is one way to enjoy all the festivities. Things to be thinking about right now for Thanksgiving: Guest List Who will be invited? How many guests? Invitations Phone Mail (Handmade, Handwritten, Purchased) Online e-invitations ( evite , punchbowl , PurpleTrail ) Type of Dinner Buffet Style Formal Sit-Down (How many tables and chairs are needed?  Formal Table Setting Traditional foods or family favorites prepared for Thanksgiving Start compiling recipes Dishes / Silverware / Glasses Paper / Plastic Mix and Match Need to order replacements ? Mix and Match Table Setting Linens Paper Napkins Cloth Napkins Table Cloth(s) Serving Dishes Decorations Can any of your Halloween or Fall decorations carry over into November? That's i...

Day Menu Item Shopping Sunday Grilled Stone Fruit Peaches Plums Nectarines You might also like to try Yogurt, Granola Monday Grilled Cheddar-Jalapeno Eggs in Peppers 2 large red bell peppers 6 large eggs 1/4 cup whole milk or cream 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons shredded sharp cheddar cheese 2 tablespoons minced jalapeno peppers Tuesday Orange Cupcakes Unsalted Butter Vanilla Sugar Baking Powder Vanilla Bean Paste You might also like to try Using a Cake Mix Wednesday Brunch Bake Turkish Bread (Focaccia Bread) Chipolata Sausages (Short Breakfast Sausage) 2 Red Capsicums (Bell Peppers) 4 Tomatoes Fresh Flat-Leaf Parsley Leaves Thursday Bloody Mary Tomato Juice Celery Salt Worcestershire Sauce Fresh Lime Juice   Vodka You might also like to try Horseradish Sauce Friday Breakfast Burrito 1 Russet Potato Cherry Tomatoes 1 Fresh Ear of Corn 6 Green Onions 1 Jalapeno Pepper Fresh...

Day Menu Item Shopping Sunday Pressure Cooker Risotto Zucchini or Butternut Squash Yellow Onion 2 Cloves Garlic Arborio Rice Dry White Wine 32 oz. Broth of your choice Parmesan Cheese Monday Roasted Baby Potatoes 1 - 2 pounds Baby or Fingerling Potatoes Rosemary Vegetable Stock 3 Cloves Garlic Tuesday Thai Coconut Chickpea Dried Chickpeas 1 can Light Coconut Milk Fresh Ginger 1 medium-large Sweet Potato 1 can Diced Tomatoes (no seasoning) Curry Powder Fresh CilantroFresh Basil Tamari, Soy Sauce** Lime Wednesday Rice White Long Grain Rice (Persian, Basmati, Jasmine, etc...) Broth - optional Thursday Eggless Chocolate Cake 1 cup All purpose Flour Unsweetened Cocoa Powder Baking Soda Baking Powder Lemon Juice Vanilla Extract Friday Seitan Wheat-Gluten Flour Barley Flour (or other whole grain flour) Nutritional Yeast Sage Thyme Shallot Liquid Smoke Toasted Sesame Oil   Worcestershire Sauce*** Vegetab...

Day Menu Item Shopping Sunday Blueberry French Toast Casserole 2 packages Cream Cheese Blueberries, fresh or frozen Maple Syrup Monday Tomato-Cherry Strata with Broccoli 1 loaf French Bread   6 oz C heddar Cheese G rape Tomatoes Broccoli Florets, frozen Italian Parsley, fresh Ricotta Cheese Herbs de Provence Tuesday German Dutch Baby Pancake Assorted Fruit (Bananas, Strawberries, Blueberries, Peaches) 1  Lemon Powdered Sugar Maple Syrup Wednesday Over-the-Top Mushroom Quiche   1 lb Oyster Mushrooms 1 lb white Mushrooms White Pepper Unsalted Butter 2 small Shallots Thyme   Comté or Emmental Cheese***    16 oz Heavy Cream Freshly grated Nutmeg Thursday Requeson Revuelto (Ricotta Scramble with Tomato) 4 Serrano Chiles 1 small White Onion 2 Plum Tomatoes Ricotta Cheese Tortillas for serving Friday Sour Cream Belgian Waffles So...