Home gardening offers ways to trim grocery costs [Survival Today, an on going thread]

Dallas News.com ^ | March 14th, 2008 | DEAN FOSDICK

[nw_arizona_granny]

Americans finding soaring food prices hard to stomach can battle back by growing their own food. [Click image for a larger version] Dean Fosdick Dean Fosdick

Home vegetable gardens appear to be booming as a result of the twin movements to eat local and pinch pennies.

At the Southeastern Flower Show in Atlanta this winter, D. Landreth Seed Co. of New Freedom, Pa., sold three to four times more seed packets than last year, says Barb Melera, president. "This is the first time I've ever heard people say, 'I can grow this more cheaply than I can buy it in the supermarket.' That's a 180-degree turn from the norm."

Roger Doiron, a gardener and fresh-food advocate from Scarborough, Maine, said he turned $85 worth of seeds into more than six months of vegetables for his family of five.

A year later, he says, the family still had "several quarts of tomato sauce, bags of mixed vegetables and ice-cube trays of pesto in the freezer; 20 heads of garlic, a five-gallon crock of sauerkraut, more homegrown hot-pepper sauce than one family could comfortably eat in a year and three sorts of squash, which we make into soups, stews and bread."

[snipped]

She compares the current period of market uncertainty with that of the early- to mid-20th century when the concept of victory gardens became popular.

"A lot of companies during the world wars and the Great Depression era encouraged vegetable gardening as a way of addressing layoffs, reduced wages and such," she says. "Some companies, like U.S. Steel, made gardens available at the workplace. Railroads provided easements they'd rent to employees and others for gardening."

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown for 12 Days of Cookies 2008

Alton Brown and Guy Fieri are my favorite hosts on Food Network. Alton Brown isn't afraid to be silly, and is not only great with food, he's a television professional.

Guy is just a stitch with his funny expressions and mannerisms. He's a great cook, too, very creative and he knows what spices and ingredients taste good. Not that what he makes is good for you... he favors southwestern flavors, since he was born in Humboldt County. He's not afraid of a little spice and he's not in love with mayonnaise as some eastern cooks are.

Food Network is one of the few reasons to have a TV. I know you don't have one - maybe it's better that way.

[nw_arizona_granny]

I have to go find USDA planting guidelines for this zone (I think it’s Zone 9) and what would grow best for us in containers. I hope to get my son involved too.<<<

You can grow almost all of it.

Check out the Sunset Magazine site and Sunset garden bible.

I have used the Sunset all plant growing book about 50 years.

Plan the growing area, so you can enclose it in the hard part of winter, with a roll of plastic and you can grow like crazy.

I did that the year that I planted about 800 cups of seeds, LOL, what can I say, I liked sitting by the wood stove, planting seeds on a cold night.

When it got out of control and they needed sunlight, I went out and tied wires to the porch railing, [which has since fallen off].....and managed to get a 3 foot high green house, that you had to crawl into, but the plants loved it.

Used lots of clothes pins to hold a roll of the plastic that Walmart sells for a drop cloth. The roll is 10 footx 25 foot and will cost about $7.00.

I use the plastic, for lots of things, this mobile is falling apart and I cover the drafts with plastic.

The vent over the bed leaks, so I have a plastic bedspread and it does help to keep in the body heat on a cold night.

If you need to sleep on the ground, put a sheet of plastic on the ground, then your sleeping bag on top.

If you are going to use large pots to grow in, put a stake or more than one stake in it and drape plastic over it, with clothes pins to clip it to the pot and itself for a mini greenhouse.

You can make your own Wall of water, by saving the large soda bottles, filling with water and putting them in with the plants, or around the plants, they will collect heat from the sun in the day time and give it to the plants at night.

I left my bottles in place year around, thinking that we have cooler nights here in the summer, so why wouldn’t the offer coolness, until the sun heats them again.

While you are still in town, start hitting the bakeries, coffee shops, Starbucks, etc and asking for their plastic buckets, and watch for the instructions that I posted here, early on for making them into planters.........LOL, or poke holes with a drill and plant in them.

I have grown every thing in a bucket here and even in the house, they produced.

[nw_arizona_granny]

Food Network is one of the few reasons to have a TV. I know you don’t have one - maybe it’s better that way.<<<

Laughing and feeling the urge to say, “See I found the recipe, and didn’t have to sit there for an hour to see if they would give it.”

If you listen to the type of jangled sounds on a tv today, you will understand why I hate it......it leaves me feeling like I need dope to understand all the flashing lights and weird music.

It was not always like that, in the 1950’s and 60’s, Thursday night was my ‘ironing day’, as they had live stage plays and fine programs......with out the flashes of light.

Ohh, dear, there I go letting age into the game again.

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

Here's a site that lets you select discounted items from Amazon:

http://deallocker.com/tool/secret-amazon-discount/

Did you know Amazon keeps track of Amazon price drops? Here is a tool to find the secret (and not so secret) Amazon discounts. These are different than Amazon.com coupons, these simply items where the price has dropped. Sometimes it is the normal pace of innovation, last years plasma TV is 50% off this year, and sometimes you find Amazon price mistakes. Most often you come across Amazon items on sale at bargain prices.

This the only tool that lets you find Amazon discounts from 10% to 99% percent off for Amazon.com and every other Amazon site! We let you search Amazon UK discounts, Amazon Canada discounts, Amazon France discounts, and Amazon Germany discounts. (Amazon Japan is coming soon).

In addition to Amazon discount finder we can help you find an amazon coupon code or a discount amazon gift certificate.

Just enter your country (by flag), a keyword (if you want a particular brand or something), select a category, select a range of discounts, and sort by the preselected criteria. You an even narrow down your search to only items eligible for Amazon Prime.

Have fun!

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

Check out the Sunset Magazine site and Sunset garden bible.

I have used the Sunset all plant growing book about 50 years.

Plan the growing area, so you can enclose it in the hard part of winter, with a roll of plastic and you can grow like crazy.

I have a Sunset Western Gardening Guide somewhere, so I will dig it out and look for good prospects.

We have a place below the bathroom window on the south side of the house that would likely be perfect for a greenhouse. It's flat over there, water is close by, and we could attach plastic to the house and not have it seen from the road, as it's behind a shed.

I will try the water storage idea to keep the plants warm - did it work for you? So then the only issue is to get containers. I posted a link in the 6750-7000 range for how to build an Earth Box made from Rubbermaid storage tubs, I may go take a look at that again. It would be cool to have our own garlic, onions, potatoes, radishes and carrots. We almost never have frost, and in a greenhouse I imagine it doesn't matter. Plus there are piles of leaves and grass that we could use for compost.

Exciting stuff!!!

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

If you listen to the type of jangled sounds on a tv today, you will understand why I hate it......it leaves me feeling like I need dope to understand all the flashing lights and weird music.

I read something somewhere that said to keep a person's attention you had to change camera angles every ten seconds or so. Now they make commercials where the camera angle changes every second or even half second, with frenetic music and a jangled message, as you said. It's no wonder kids can't pay attention in school.

Who keeps leaving these soap boxes out here?? LOL!

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

“Tea of Immorality”

LOL, I think (and hope!) that’s a typo!!

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

http://www.teawild.com/Pomegranate_Health.html

Pomegranate Juice Health

Pomegranate contains the important polyphenol, ellagic acid and punicalagin. Polyphenols promote antioxidant health, which helps fight the cell damaging free radicals that can lead to oxidative stress and the premature aging of cells.

Did you know that drinking pomegranate may be the most potent antioxidant drinks out there? Reason being that pomegranate juice contains a higher number of the healthy Polyphenols than other healthy drinks.

Pomegranate May Provide These Benefits

Pomegranate helps keep your circulatory system healthy
Contains antioxidants which help neutralize free radicals
Promotes cardiovascular health
Pomegranate may help boost antioxidant defenses
Pomegranate helps prevent various types of Cancer
Contains Anti-Bacterial and Anti-Viral properties
Pomegranate History

Pomegranate Juice is as refreshing as it is mystical. Known for its high potency of antioxidants, pomegranates have thrived for centuries as the fruit of choice for Kings and Nobles. The History of the cultivated pomegranate begins around 3000 B.C. when it was one of the first domesticated crops in recorded history. Only the pomegranate, fig, olive, grapes and dates have the earliest recording of a domesticated crop.

The pomegranate has recently been acclaimed for its health benefits, in particular, for its disease-fighting antioxidant potential. Preliminary studies suggest that pomegranate juice may contain almost three times the total antioxidant ability compared with the same quantity of green tea or red wine. Naturally Pomegranate is standardized to contain 40% of the important polyphenol - ellagic acid, plus contains the natural goodness of the fruit juice concentrate and pomegranate seed. “Preliminary studies suggest that pomegranate juice may contain almost three times the total antioxidant ability compared to the same quantity of green tea or red wine,” said Dr Richard Bogle.

Pomegranate Super Antioxidant

Yes, I really believe this has some health potential. I usually drink the Pom brand that you can probably pick up at any grocery store and they are delicious. There is also another brand, Langers, which is 100% Pomegranate and can be found at your local Costco.

Eating the fruit is another way to get your daily dose, or if you prefer, there are pomegranate supplements available at any health store. Why not give it a try, you just might reap the benefits of this fantastic healthy drink.

The information on this website is for general information purposes only. The information provided at www.TeaWild.com should not be used for diagnosing or treating any health problem or disease. If you have, or suspect you have a health problem, you should consult your health care provider.

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

From:

Shooting Star Christmas Lights

Tool and Materials
Bamboo
Hand pruner
Small zip ties
Large zip ties
Scissors
Drill
A 44-inch length of 1-by-2-inch pine
Measuring tape
Finishing nails or brads
Light strand
Binder ring
Blackout caps

Part 1: Shooting Star Christmas Lights How-To
1. Cut bamboo to size with hand pruner.

2. Arrange stakes in a 5-pointed star.

3. Secure the inner 5 points with small zip ties.

4. Secure the outer 5 points with large zip ties.


5. Cut ends of zip ties.

6. Secure plug end of strand to point of star with small zip tie. Drape strand along length of stake; secure at end with small zip ties. Pass it along next stake; secure at end with small zip ties. Repeat until every point is done; trim ends of zip ties.

Part 2: Shooting Star Tail How-To
1. Drill 5 holes into the 44-inch length of 1-by-2-inch pine, spacing first hole 2 inches from the top and other holes 10 inches apart.

2. Place binder ring in each hole.

3. Place binder ring on inner point of star.

4. Hang star on tree with finishing nails or brads and hang the wood strip on another tree, lower than star.

5. Secure prong end of lights to top binder ring with zip ties.

6. Trim tie ends.

7. Pass light strand through binder ring on star and back toward strip, plugging in more light strands as needed.

8. Insert strand through next binder ring down on strip, and loop it back through star's ring. Repeat, finishing at strip's bottom ring.

9. Use blackout caps to conceal the lights between each star.

Resources
The blackout caps came from stnickschoice.com. For more information on this craft, visit marthastewart.com/living.

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

From:

Shimmering Stacked Trees

This shimmering stacked tree will add a festive -- and eco-friendly -- touch to your home this holiday season. These magnificent trees can also be stacked using any leftover aluminum foil, felt, or crepe paper.

Tools and Materials
4 ounces Sculpey clay
10-inch, 6mm thick knitting needle
Felt
Craft glue
Clear glass glitter
Receipt spike (optional)
2 pieces 6-by-6-inch card stock
Newspaper
Utility knife
Bone folder
Adhesive spray
Hot-glue gun and glue
2 paper Dresden stars

Stacked Tree How-To
1. Roll and flatten 4 ounces sculpting clay to form dome shape. Poke knitting needle horizontally through flat area of clay dome. Remove knitting needle.

2. Bake clay in oven at 275 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Reinsert needle into baked clay. Glue felt on bottom of base for surface protection.

3. Apply glue, then glitter, to the base. A receipt spike can be used to create a smaller tree instead of building a base using the above instructions.

4. To form tree, place 2 pieces of 6-by-6-inch card stock onto spike for stability.

5. Cut newspaper into 50 sheets of each size:
-6 by 6 inches
-5 1/2 by 5 1/2 inches
-5 by 5 inches
-4 1/2 by 4 1/2 inches
-4 by 4 inches
-3 1/2 by 3 1/2 inches
-3 by 3 inches
-2 1/2 by 2 1/2 inches
-2 by 2 inches
-1 1/2 by 1/2 inch

6. Cut 25 1-inch sheets of newspaper.

7. Begin poking pieces of newspaper onto spike in descending order, folding and unfolding each piece of paper using a bone folder.

8. Spray tree with adhesive and immediately sprinkle with diamond dust. Set aside and let dry for 10 minutes.

9. Using a hot-glue gun, adhere 2 paper Dresden stars back-to-back to top of tree.

Resources
Paper Dresden stars and clear glass glitter can be found at D. Blumchen and Company, Martha's Secret Source for vintage-inspired holiday decorations and crafting supplies. A receipt spike can be found at restaurant-supply stores. Knitting needles and clay can be purchased from most crafts stores.

MarthaStewart Living Stacked Trees

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

From:

Standouts of the Season

Even those of us who lack halos and wings can work holiday miracles if we put our faith in amaryllis. 

This tropical bulb is a perpetual revelation, and not just because the South America native (Hippeastrum to botanists) thrives indoors with minimal care, flaunts spectacular long-lasting winter flowers, and dependably reblooms. 

Santa-red poinsettias still rule the aisles of supermarkets, accounting for more than three-quarters of Yuletide houseplant sales in the United States. But global Hippeastrum production has more than doubled during the past decade, boosting availability and affordability. 

The boom has also raised amaryllis's aesthetic profile. Growers are hybridizing varieties with extraordinary colors, shapes, and markings. As a potted bulb and a source for cut flowers, the amaryllis is showing a stylish versatility that leaves the poinsettia looking like a one-reindeer sleigh. People who used to display a solitary bulb on festive occasions to brighten a room now envision megawatt, full-season, multi-amaryllis extravaganzas all through the house. 

Thanks to the expansion by Dutch bulb growers in South Africa and South America, such fantasies are no longer pipe dreams.

Projects
Amaryllis Napkin Rings
Crepe-Paper Amaryllis
Potted Amaryllis Gift Wrap
Faux-Amaryllis Wreath

Amaryllis inspiration sparkles on the pages of specialty-nursery catalogs and websites (the trustiest sources for rare and unusual varieties). Possibilities include miniature blossoms clustered like dainty constellations; statuesque "singles" and ruffled "doubles" (with twice the petals); and flowers with bicolored and multicolor designs that are as exquisitely striped, dotted, or moired as couture silks.

Dyed-in-the-wool traditionalists can rejoice that the giant scarlet Dutch amaryllis hybrids handed down for generations have been joined by a merry band in every hue of red. More adventurous decorators will find a rich palette that ranges from snowy white to ivory, rose to salmon, mahogany to bronze, flax to apricot, chartreuse to jade. 

Lovers of exotica should warm to a current trend in Hippeas-trum breeding: the quest for cultivars that evoke the silhouettes and coloration of lost or endangered jungle ancestors. Experiments with two species in particular, spidery H. cybister and butterfly-like H. papilio, have yielded prodigies of unearthly beauty.

The English clockmaker who created the first Hippeastrum hybrid, in 1799, would marvel at the timing of todays South African hybrids. They bloom only four to six weeks after emerging from fall dormancyseveral weeks earlier than the venerable Dutch strains, making them a godsend to hosts whose floral deadline can't extend past December 25.

Theres good news, too, for all who rely on florists for instant gratification (and anyone who wants to maintain the bloom from a broken stalk). A recent study found that, whereas the flowers on potted amaryllis last a maximum of 10 days, cut amaryllis stay vase-worthy for as long as two weeks. Indoor gardeners also hail the introduction of vigorous compact bulbs, ideally suited to small windowsills as well as clustered container plantings.

Another intriguing development is the accessibility of fragrant flowers, once virtually unknown in the retail trade. Easy alternatives to most other bulbs with scented winter blooms, these Hippeastrum varieties need no precooling in a refrigerator. The main attraction, of course, is their sweet perfume -- a subtle contrast to the olfactory wallop of paperwhites. Jo-Anne van den Berg-Ohms, president of bulb importer John Scheepers, says this about the Trumpets, a seductive new group: "Their scent reminds me of raspberries in the sunlight. A small miracle, perhaps, but simply divine on a bleak midwinter day.

How to Condition Cut Amaryllis
The hollow stems must stay full of water. With proper care, flowers last up to two weeks.

1. Partially fill a clean vase or other container with water (amaryllis stay fresh longer in shallow water). Add 1 pack of cut-flower food.

2. Using a sharp knife, cut stem at a 45-degree angle. Immediately turn flower upside down and pour fresh water into stem.

3. Plug cut opening with a cotton ball, and transfer amaryllis to vase. (If you don't have cotton, keep the stem end covered with your fingertip until stem end is submerged.)

4. Repeat steps 1 through 3 every 2 to 3 days.

5. Remove spent blooms as new flowers open.

How to Plant and Care for Amaryllis
For success the first season, buy top-quality bulbs, which should be firm and dry.

1. Choose a container that has a drainage hole and is about 2 inches wider than the diameter of 1 amaryllis bulb. For groups of 2 or more bulbs, select a wider pot that provides an equally snug fit.

2. Use a fast-draining soil medium with enough sand to provide a weighty anchor for the tall full-grown plant. Or try a soilless mix of peat, coarse sand, vermiculite, and charcoal in a ratio of 3:3:2:1.

3. Place a pottery shard over drainage hole, and fill container with potting mix up to bulb "shoulders" (the point where a bulb tapers toward its top, or "nose"). At least 1/3 of each bulb should project above the mix. Arrange multiple bulbs with shoulders touching.

4. Water thoroughly, and set pot in a warm (65 to 70 degrees), bright place. Water as needed to keep soil barely moist, until new growth emerges. Then water regularly. Fertilize monthly with liquid houseplant food, or apply a balanced time-release fertilizer according to label directions.

Note: To prolong bloom time, move pot to a cooler (about 60 degrees) area, out of direct sunlight, as soon as flowers start to open.

How to Encourage Rebloom
Amaryllis bulbs have been known to flower annually for up to 40 years.

1. After all flowers have faded, cut stems above the bulb nose, leaving foliage in place.

2. Keep plant in bright light, and water regularly; mix should be moist, not soggy.

3. In summer, continue to water and fertilize (as in step 4 of "How to Plant and Care for Amaryllis"). The pot may be set in a sunny spot outdoors.

4. In September, stop watering and fertilizing; if plant has been outdoors, bring it back inside. Set the pot in a cool, dry place for 8 to 10 weeks. A small amount of fresh mix may be added to pot, just below bulb-shoulder level; or bulb may be repotted as if new.

5. To start the next growth cycle, move pot to a warm place, water, and follow care instructions for a freshly planted bulb (see step 4 of "How to Plant"). Dutch hybrid amaryllis will rebloom in 8 to 12 weeks; African hybrids will rebloom in 4 to 6 weeks.

Glossary
This sampling of horticultural types, colors, and sizes only hints at thephenomenal range of choices presented by hybrids of the genus Hippeastrum, commonly known as amaryllis.

1. 'Green Goddess'
Dutch miniature; white with chartreuse throat. 

2. 'Rapido'
Dutch miniature; solid red interior. 

3. 'Faro'
Dutch single; salmon with white starburst; green eye. 

4. 'Candy Floss'
South African single; shades of pink. 

5. 'Bolero'
Dutch single; deep rose. 

6. 'La Paz'
Cybister; coral and greenish white. 

7. 'Trentino'
South African miniature; creamy white with pale-pink margin; bright-green throat. 

8. 'Papilio Improved'
(aka Butterfly); cream, burgundy, and bronze; evergreen leaves. 

9. 'Red Pearl'
South African single; scarlet. 

10. 'Mocca'
Dutch single; tawny petals with pale-green reverse. 

11. 'Red Peacock'
Dutch double; red with random white mid-veins. 

12. 'White Nymph'
Dutch double; pure white; green eye.

Martha Stewart Living Standouts of the Season

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

Plant-Care Gift Cards

The next time you give the gift of an amaryllis or paperwhite bulb, top the package with a silk version of the flower: You'll give the recipient a cheery glimpse of what's to come. 

1. Wrap bulb in tissue paper, and place inside a gift bag. 

2. Fold down top edge of bag to close. Wrap bag lengthwise with satin ribbon, and knot loosely at the top. 

3. Trim the stem of a silk flower to 3/4 inch, and then slide it through the knot. Use a hot-glue gun to affix the stem, and the ribbon covering it, to the back of the bag. 

4. Write care instructions on a blank card (or download and print card), and slip behind ribbon.

How to Care for Your Holiday Plants

Martha Steward Living Plant-Care Gift Cards

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

From:

From My Home to Yours: Cookies Wrapped in the Spirit of the Season

All during the year, I think about what I will be making for my friends, my colleagues, and my family members for Christmas. In the past, I have made plum puddings and hard sauce, fruitcakes, and bread puddings with sour lemon sauce, and I have given out baskets full of jars of homemade jams and jellies and homegrown honey. This year, inspired by our wonderful and inventive "Cookies" book, I decided to perfect a few more cookie recipes delicious enough to be included in a sequel, if we ever decide to publish one. Of all the welcome gifts one can make, cookies are perhaps the simplest to prepare in quantity and the easiest to package in festive wrappings.

Recipes
Key Lime Thumbprints
Meyer Lemon Lace Tuiles
Spiced Cardamom Cookies
Chocolate Thumbprints
Crisp Anise Cookies

Web-Exclusive Packaging How-To
Cookie Compotes
Cookie Boxes

For years I have religiously used only unsalted butter and unbleached flour and the very best Belgian or French chocolate in my cookie doughs. Now I find myself even more studiously searching for ever finer ingredients that will make each morsel of every cookie the best, the most mouthwatering. I now use organic, natural sugars and imported Irish or French or local artisanal butters.

My daughter, Alexis, is a wonderful baker, and we discuss not only ingredients and where to find the best, but also the wrapping materials and how to source them or make them. One can never, ever say that a cookie is as good as it can be, because the addition of one little thing, such as a sprinkling of Maldon salt crystals or a teaspoon of Madagascar vanilla extract or a grating of fresh ginger instead of the store-bought powdered spice, can pretty much blow the taste buds away.

I have been somewhat of a faux-bois freak during the past few years, so the wood-grain design became central to this year's cookie theme. Not only did we design some fabulous metallic faux-bois wrapping paper for our crafts line, but we also discovered a new tool (a potter's tool) that can imprint wood grain and other patterns right onto rolled-out dough.

Once I figured out the cookie recipes and determined the look and size of each of the cookies-and this can be a challenge -- it was time to make the samples, taste them, decorate or fill them, and then decide how the cookies would be presented: Would they be boxed, like the spiced cardamom Christmas tree and reindeer cookies? Would they be incorporated into a more elaborate gift, like the crisp anise cookies, presented in footed compotes that can be used after the cookies are eaten? Or would some, like the thumbprint cookies -- fresh Key lime or chocolate ganache, each in its protective pleated paper cup -- never make it into a box or onto a platter at all, but instead be eaten by family members as they were filled and left out to set?

The Meyer lemon lace tuiles, a very delicate rolled cookie, should be packed in a shallow box, in one or two layers, spaced with thin parchment or glassine. Then simple ribbons and cords are all it takes to make such delicious gifts look really beautiful.

The doughs for the cardamom and thumbprint cookies can be made in advance, and the cardamom cookies can actually be baked a couple of weeks in advance, as their flavor improves with age. The anise cookies can be baked up to a week before enjoying their licorice flavor, but I suggest not baking the thumbprints or tuiles more than a couple of days prior to eating them -- or giving them away.

First Published: December 2008

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

Clip Art From December 2008

Here you'll find all of the clip art from the December 2008 issue of Martha Stewart Living.

Good Things
Plant-Care Gift Cards with Instructions
Blank Plant-Care Gift Cards

Soaps: Natural Beauties
Blank Body Scrub Labels 1
Blank Body Scrub Labels 2
Salt Scrub Labels 1
Salt Scrub Labels 2
Sugar Scrub Labels 1
Sugar Scrub Labels 2
Small Rectangular Lip Balms 1
Small Rectangular Lip Balms 2
Small Round Lip Balms 1
Small Round Lip Balms 2
Large Rectangular Lip Balms 1
Large Rectangular Lip Balms 2
Large Rectangular Lip Balms Blank 1
Large Rectangular Lip Balms Blank 2
Large Round Lip Balms 1
Large Round Lip Balms 2

China Ornaments: Cameo Appearances
Lusterware Bird
Lusterware House
Lusterware Bird and House
Delftware Windmill
Delftware House
Delftware Boat
Delftware Small House, Windmill, and Boat

Doilies: A Shower of Snow
Red No. 1
Red No. 2
Red No. 3
Blue No. 1
Blue No. 2
Blue No. 3
Green No. 1
Green No. 2
Green No. 3

Candymaking: Classic Confections
Almond Nougat
Candied Citrus
Fleur de Sel Toffee
Neapolitans
Pecan Clusters
Penuche Fudge and Chocolate-Dipped Caramallows: Blue and Green
Penuche Fudge and Chocolate-Dipped Caramallows: Red
Peppermint Icicles Label
Peppermint Icicles Lid
Winter Bark

[JDoutrider]

Great finds!

Again... Thank You Both!

[nw_arizona_granny]

An Interesting article ...And a glimpse into another viewpoint on what is coming, or feared...granny

http://sharonastyk.com/2008/12/01/why-jewishfarmer/

[snipped]

If it is so damned hard to be a Jewish farmer, why do it? What on earth does it mean to be a “Jewish farmer?” In our case, we do it for several reasons. The first is that Judaism is an agrarian religion, one that prescribes ways of living ecologically and in relationship to the land. We believe those ways have value for us now and that it is no accident that so much of the Torah deals agricultural life - for us a sustainable agriculture isn’t just a good idea, it is an idea integral to our beliefs. Farming Jewishly is an expression of our faith.

We also believe that eating and living Jewishly require ties to the land - it means that Jewish farmers are needed to grow Jewish food, and Jewish eaters need to be connected to those farmers. Our first agricultural venture was our CSA, which may have been the only “Jewish themed” CSA in the US. Every Thursday evening, we delivered our customers (many of them not Jewish) not just food, but what we thought of as sustainable tools for Jewish observance. Our Sabbath begins on Friday nights, so on Thursday evenings we would provide our customers with a basket of fresh fruits and vegetables, fulfilling the obligation that the freshest, best and most special foods be served for the Sabbath. Thus, the first strawberries, or first arugula would be eaten on Shabbos.

Besides the produce, there was a bouquet of flowers, some cultivated, some wild. We are commanded to make our Sabbath table into an altar, and to beautify it. But how could we make a beautiful observance with flowers, sprayed with chemicals by inadequately protected laborers, then flown from Ecuador or Columbia to table? Instead, we gave our customer truly beautiful and natural local flowers, never sprayed. One week it was a huge bouquet of Peonies, later in the season, zinnias, baby’s breath, sunflowers and roses. Then came eggs from our chickens, and two loaves of Challah, made each week by my husband - much of what is needed to make the Sabbath both beautiful and celebratory, as we are commanded.

Sadly, the CSA came to an end when I became a professional writer - I simply couldn’t do both. I’ve still got hopes of putting up hoop houses and running a winter CSA, and taking up beekeeping and perhaps raising herbs for medicine and tea that like our moist soil and woodland areas. In the meantime, we’re livestock farming - raising kosher pastured, organic chicken and turkey, exploring sheep raising with a friend, and hoping to expand our goat project to help other people get small sized dairying going on in suburban neighborhoods. For the rest, we subsistence farm, concentrating on producing as much as we can of what we need in a place, reducing the amount of money we need to earn from our work and our soil.

For now, I’m recognizing that with young kids, producing a lot of our food, and writing, I can’t farm on the scale I’d like to. I’m not always sure whether it would be better for me to grow more food, to do more and talk less about it, but right now it feels more urgent to help other people get started on their journeys. But we’re still a Jewish farm. We still leave a portion of our ground fallow, still feed our animals before we feed ourselves, still glean our own garden and donate to local food pantries.

The other reason we’re Jewish farmers is this - we are especially concerned about Jews and food security in the coming years. Because Jewish culture is so urban, so disconnected from its agricultural traditions, Jews face a particularly hard transition in a food-insecure society. Our disconnection from our food system already has a price - as we have seen in the slaughterhouse scandals. Elderly Jews and those on a low income are already struggling in large numbers, because a kosher diet that includes traditional meats is generally much more costly than a typical American diet - I’ve heard anecdotal reports from Jewish neighborhoods of rapidly increasing claims for food stamps and WIC.

But if this is the beginning of a larger crisis, Jewish people are deeply vulnerable, both to scapegoating (as has happened many times in our history) but also to difficulty in adaptation. If, for example, urban food production becomes, as I think it is likely to, central to urban food security, most Jews are fairly far removed from their old country memories of gardens. And with few Jews in rural areas, and comparatively few farmers who care enough about Jewish urban neighborhoods (because of a shared cultural identity) to come into densely populated Jewish areas, access to food may be seriously challenging. In a transportation-tight society, Jewish populations will need access to kosher foods nearby - not shipped from thousands of miles away.

And while many Jews are highly ecologically literate and concerned about environmental issues, I personally have not found that many quite grasp how tenuous our present stability is. In the past, Jews have faced their crises best with a passport, leaving the dangerous lands for less dangerous ones. But a worldwide climate, fiscal and ecological crisis means that passports aren’t as useful a solution anymore. In the past, the way out of poverty and towards security have been the pursuit of education, and the high paying careers it could provide. The self-sufficiency of days when immigrant and European Jews were poorer has been left behind, as money has ensured our security better than land. But those things too may be changing - and yet, comparatively few Jews are preparing their children for self sufficiency.

Now I don’t have a crystal ball, and it may be that relying on old patterns may serve the Jews of today better than I anticipate. But one of the reason I’m a Jewish farmer is this - because I fear that if Jews don’t grow food, despite the inconveniences, difficulties and moral compromises required to be observant and agrarian, there will be real and serious Jewish hunger in the US. I wish very much that my rural corner of upstate New York could support a shul instead of an occasional minyan, that I could walk to Jewish stores and restaurants, have my kids go to school with other Jewish children, while also raising my chickens and eggs to sell to my Jewish neighbors, and sharing gardening projects together. And I’m sure there are some places where that is possible. But if I can’t have those things, I’ll content myself with connecting with rural Jews in other places who are just as alone, with my occasional minyan and the tiny group of Jewish homeschoolers who support one another. Because Jewish food security depends on Jewish farmers.

continued.

[nw_arizona_granny]

I was thinking of you as I read this article:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1990507/posts?page=7497#7497

I missed the part about your move, or was last night the first time to talk about it?

Is it a major move to another state? LOL, can you move all your goodies with you.

I am glad you have new projects going, it is good for you.

[nw_arizona_granny]

I think that is the first time that I realized a star was made up of ‘A’ shapes.

That would have been one that tempted me to make, imagine suspending it [somehow] and having it floating free in the breeze.

[nw_arizona_granny]

Who keeps leaving these soap boxes out here?? LOL!<<<

I thought it was you...LOL

I object to the hidden brainwashing that goes on, hate the ads on tv and radio, that always show the woman as being ohhh so smart and the father is nothing but a dumb bumpkin.

Those are deliberate and not by accident, another step in tearing down our country’s values.