Think you have a broken dishwasher think agian!

I have been having an on going battle with my dishwasher and film on my silverware. I have been yearning for silverware that sparkles. A knife that I could hold up to may face and put lipstick on with. I have tried every brand dishwasher soap known to man kind, every rinse agent including vinegar. I have argued with my GE repair man that my dishwasher is not up to par ..... demanding a new one. It is less than a year old for crying out loud! It is even one of those grinding type dishwashers that claim you do not have to rinse first and breaking all the environmental rules I rinse! Being really into the environment and global warming you know how this must weigh heavily upon my conscious! I am a water waster!

In my household emptying the dishwasher is a team effort. I am a single mom, so by default my son has to help out with all the chores. When the dishwasher is full my son does the silverware and plastics, I do the glass and sharp knives. We also get a little quality time in chatting as we empty. Strangely, I do not seem to have a problem with glassware.

Today, I made a discovery about my dishwasher in less than 1 minutes time. To think I spent months pondering this question. This moment will change our relationship forever (my dishwasher and I that is. And perhaps the Repair man too). My son basically let me know all of my efforts for clean silverware were just the rantings of a crazy woman and wasted time. Well, okay maybe 1/2 wasted efforts and time. My son who just finished kindergarten this year is really into the environment. He is also Mr. Smarty pants - the kid started reading at 2. We recycle and we even have 2 composters. A worm composter in our basement (yeah - I know you want to see pictures - that is another day another blog okay?) and one in our yard.

This is how our conversation went:

Me: Do not throw those yogurt cups in the garbage! What are you suppose to do with them?

Mr. Smarty Pants: I know, I know - reduce, reuse, recycle.

Good boy, I think. Patting myself on the back for teaching him about recycling. Also, giving his teacher some credit after all they did cover this in school too. He walks over to the sink rinses out his yogurt cup and puts it in the recycle bin. Then he walks over and puts his spoon in the silverware drawer.

Me: What are you doing? (as he shuts the drawer)

Mr. Smarty Pants: ReUsing mom. Reeeemember - 3R's, mom 3R's

My silverware looks dirty because it is! EWWWWW! Do you think I should I send the repair man cookies with a short letter of apology?

Cool Discovery!

I just discovered Wordle. This picture was created by submitting my URL from my blog to Wordle. Wordle then took all the words from my blog to create this picture! Pretty slick eh? (Click image to see it large) Now to many this may be old news to many, however to me and my "bestest friend" (who lives in farm town Indiana) ......... this is just plain EXCITING! Since she is my BFF and she is probably the only person who is reading my blog (because she is required to and I quiz her on content daily!) - I am sure she will be just thrilled AND playing with it all night!

Alicia did you make all your friends in Indiana subscribe to my blog yet? What are you waiting for!*%$#)!@^*?

http://wordle.net/

Invited to a summer gathering last minute?

Today my dear son and I were invited to a friend's block party. "Bring a dish or a drink to share!" she says. Being invited at the last minute what is a girl to do? ... or eh... bring? With no time to run to the store I look in the fridge and make a mental tally of what is in there.

But of course .... what is a girl to do but make Sangria! Who doesn't have an some fruit rolling around in their frig and a bottle of red wine in the house? This is the perfect thing to bring to a block party or picnic! While it is always better to let it sit overnight and "meld" (is that a word?), you can also throw it together at the last minute letting it sit an hour or so. The secret to quick Sangria is to squeeze the fruit to help it along in the process. Below is my yummy Sangria recipe.

Citrus Sangria
Makes 6 glasses

Ingredients:
3 1/4 cups (26 fl. oz) dry red wine ( I will make this easy for you = 1 bottle)
1/2 cup (4 fl. oz) Cointreau (or triple sec taste great too and cost less)
1/2 cup (4 fl. oz) brandy
1/2 cup of sugar
Orangina sparkling orange juice to taste ( for sweeter/fruiter sangria add 1 cup of OJ and club soda instead)
1 med to large orange, sliced thin crosswise
1 lemon, sliced thin crosswise
1 lime, sliced thin crosswise
1 green apple cubed


Preparation:
Mix the wine, liquor, fruit and sugar in a large pitcher. Refrigerate overnight. If you are short on time and only have an hour so to let it marinate slightly squeeze the slices as you add them to the pitcher. Immediately, before serving, add in the Orangina. Serve over Ice. The colder the better! Be sure to add the fruit to each glass as you serve it.





The thing about Sangria is there is no real rule. You can change things up as you like. Some people like to add white rum, spiced rum or even gin - omitting the brand & Cointreau for a less sweet Sangria. You can also use plain club soda if you like it really dry. You can add strawberries, grapes, peaches OR any type of berries. Be creative! I would love to hear about your favorite Sangria recipe if you have one! It always has a "wow" factor when served in a glass pitcher. If you do not have one just mix it up in a plastic pitcher or old juice jar. Then serve it in a wine glass! The presentation in the wine glass is enough to impress!

**UPDATE** back from the block party - another mom invited on short notice made Mojitos - danggggggg why didn't I think of that!????? How easy can you get rum, mint, sugar and ice!

Trash to Treasure

You know that old saying someone else's trash is your treasure? Well being the regular garbage picker that I am, I often drag home someone else's trash to my home. ReCycle, ReInvent and ReUse are the 3 R's that I live by. Tuesday is garbage day in my neighborhood. This is what I found last Tuesday.





Where do you think I should put these benches? How should I use them?

Perhaps put one here......... repaint it, put a cushion on it?




Yes, the house behind me REALLY is BARN RED, and yes I know my deck needs a touch up. I am working on that. First I need to finish painting my NEW pergola above the deck (pictures are coming soon of the Pergola and the Barn I live next to in the City). If you have any ideas about what I should do with these great finds please let me know by leaving your comments below! TIA!

Great Finds

End of summer is bargain hunting time. Spring is golf season and duck hunting for men, well SUMMER is the sporting season for all thrifty moms. With garage sales happening every weekend and clearance racks at stores what is a mom to do! I think this balances things out for men and women. Men - sports, hunting (whatever :::rolling eyes:::) and woman finding a great buy!

At target the other day I stumbled upon a new seating area to go under my new pergola (pictures to come soon). Can you believe these prices! $12.48 each! $9.99 for the table! I can't afford to not buy them at those prices! Original price per chair was $49.99! Now hurry and run to a Target near you. Maybe you can pick some up too!

Many first this year

White Wisteria


Pink Peony Blossom

Just because we live in the city does not mean we have to have city living. This year is a year of first for many plants in my city garden. AND this is my FIRST entry to my blog so it is only suiting that this be about FIRSTS! So here goes and bear with me as I learn about blogging!

My yard could very easily be described as English garden or cottage style. I also make it up as I go along, some times things just happen. I call those happy mistakes. I am best described as a lazy perfectionist, so if the garden mistake is good and it works I am keeping it. I plant close together trying to use every inch of usable space I can. Yard space after all is a "premium" in the city.

Years ago, I planted peonies, wisteria, a trumpet vine and every year I do an assortment of veggies. This year I had my first peony flowers, my first wisteria flower ( I was graced with one single blossom!).

And to round things out I am throwing in a picture of my first tomatoes of the season! Notice the Zinnia planted in the same pot as the tomatoes. The reason I plant them in the same pot is because Zinnia's attract bees and bees are pollinators. The more pollination your tomato plants have the more tomatoes it will produce. This potted tomato on my deck has 22 tomatoes on it right now! I know you can not see them all but believe me they are there. I am not quite sure why some of my leaves are yellowing. Tomato stress? If you are a tomatoe expert please share your thoughts and tomato growing tips by leaving a comment!



I am still waiting on my first bloom from my trumpet vine. Maybe next year......



Thanks for Reading!