We may have guests come stay with us this weekend which means our 19 year old son will be moving out of his room for the weekend. We don't have a dedicated guest room - instead the child with the room with the nicest bed (we bought a nice queen sized bed for guests) knows that the "cost " of having the nice room all by themselves is that every few months they have to move out of it for a few days while we have guests. Since I don't have a guest room I have come up with ways to easily change the room a bit to make it more guest friendly. I bought guest only sheets and I use an antique bedspread on the bed. I bring in extra pillows, two of which are nice soft down and spread a throw over the end of the bed for extra warmth if it's an especially cold night. I've also bought some nice towels that I keep hidden away from general use since our guests have to share the upstairs bath with the four kids we still have at home.
I also keep a basket that I like to think of as my portable guest room. It has travel sized toiletries including ibuprofen and tums. I try to pick these things up when I see them on sale so I can keep the basket well stocked. I provide a snack basket too w/ fresh fruit, granola bars and chocolates. This, placed on the dresser w/ a carafe of water and some cups, keeps guests from feeling awkward about asking for a small snack to tide them through a time change adjustment.
I know our guest situation is not ideal and frankly I'm excited about someday having a bedroom dedicated to being a wonderful place for guest to stay, but in the mean time I am sure that I still need to be extending hospitality and hope that the warmth of our welcome makes up for the gaming posters and stacks of art supplies in the corner of the room.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Monday, November 1, 2010
Prepping for the Holidays
It is not too early to spend some time thinking about and planning for the holidays. I sat down last night and looked at my November and December Calendar. November will bring two family birthdays as well as a Samaritan's Purse Shoe Box Party and of course Thanksgiving, I have a Women's Ministry Tea, two events at my home as well as two weddings during the month so my "to do" list is already growing in length. I enjoy Thanksgiving and Christmas and love having people over for dinner and parties, but only when I take some time before hand to both plan and prep for those dinners and parties. Here's my list of things I will do in the next few weeks. I hope it helps you to free yourself from the stress that the holidays can bring and lets you better enjoy being creative and reaching out in love to your family, friends and neighbors.
1. Go over the calendar and mark important cannot be moved or ignored event dates.
2. Plan how many times you want to host people in your home. If you don't want to host any parties, have anyone over a meal or will be going to visit family for Thanksgiving and Christmas think about how you can make the holidays special for your family or the people you will be visiting.
3. Create a guest list and menu for each event. Think about how and when you want invitations to go out and write it on your calendar.
4. Think through what decorations you want to use and check on the condition of Thanksgiving tablecloths and decorations now so you won't be surprised if you pull out you favorites the day before the big feast to find damage and stains.
5. Do fall cleaning. Like spring cleaning, fall cleaning is a deeper type of cleaning and also a time to put away all of the summers stuff like beach towels, patio furniture, and decor. I pay my kids to help me do jobs like washing baseboards and walls, checking ceilings for cob webs and cleaning fans. We also vacuum behind and under couches and chairs, wipe out light fixtures and clean blinds.
6. Create a time line plan for each event you've decided on. This should include plans to prebake and make food for the event, any cleaning or errands needed, etc. You can do this in a family meeting and assign tasks to each member who will be participating. Do as much food prep before the day of the event as possible. Pick foods with this in mind. Some desserts and breads can be made as much as a month ahead. Pies can be made a day or two ahead and even tasks like cooking rice and cutting up vegetables can be done before the day of your event (store in a bag or container with a tight fitting lid). Sweet potatoes and squash can be roasted the day before too.
7. Don't forget to plan what you and your family will wear. I have done this and it's not fun to realize about thirty minutes before your guests come that you don't have a clean pair of jeans or that your daughter's party dress needs to be ironed.
8. Think about what you guests will see as the come up to your house or apartment. Sweep off the front porch and clean the front door. Decorating with pots of live plants is easy and will give you weeks of color to enjoy.
9. Someday when you have been away from home for a few hours take the time to stop at your front door. When you open the door use your senses to "experience" your home. What do you see, is it welcoming? What do you smell? What do you hear? Think about how you can create a welcome for your guests by making sure that clutter is banished and off putting smells are dealt with (wet dog, kitty litter box, stinky trash cans, running shoes stored near the front entrance, etc.) there are many ways to scent a home for very little money - just placing bowls of lemons and oranges around will help as well as recharging old potpourri with essential oils. Simmering a mixture of cinnamon, orange peels, cloves and water can scent a whole house quickly too. Just make sure you keep the heat on low and replace water as needed. What mood are you going for at the gathering you are hosting? Music will help set the tone.
10. When you have planned and prepped, cleaned and dressed remember that hospitality is not about how good you are at hosting, but rather how you can bless those who have come to your home. Don't freak out over mistakes or accidents. You set the emotional tone of the gathering. Laugh at yourself and give yourself grace to flub something up and give others grace to spill a drink or drop cranberry sauce on your rug. peroxide and Oxiclean can work wonders.
1. Go over the calendar and mark important cannot be moved or ignored event dates.
2. Plan how many times you want to host people in your home. If you don't want to host any parties, have anyone over a meal or will be going to visit family for Thanksgiving and Christmas think about how you can make the holidays special for your family or the people you will be visiting.
3. Create a guest list and menu for each event. Think about how and when you want invitations to go out and write it on your calendar.
4. Think through what decorations you want to use and check on the condition of Thanksgiving tablecloths and decorations now so you won't be surprised if you pull out you favorites the day before the big feast to find damage and stains.
5. Do fall cleaning. Like spring cleaning, fall cleaning is a deeper type of cleaning and also a time to put away all of the summers stuff like beach towels, patio furniture, and decor. I pay my kids to help me do jobs like washing baseboards and walls, checking ceilings for cob webs and cleaning fans. We also vacuum behind and under couches and chairs, wipe out light fixtures and clean blinds.
6. Create a time line plan for each event you've decided on. This should include plans to prebake and make food for the event, any cleaning or errands needed, etc. You can do this in a family meeting and assign tasks to each member who will be participating. Do as much food prep before the day of the event as possible. Pick foods with this in mind. Some desserts and breads can be made as much as a month ahead. Pies can be made a day or two ahead and even tasks like cooking rice and cutting up vegetables can be done before the day of your event (store in a bag or container with a tight fitting lid). Sweet potatoes and squash can be roasted the day before too.
7. Don't forget to plan what you and your family will wear. I have done this and it's not fun to realize about thirty minutes before your guests come that you don't have a clean pair of jeans or that your daughter's party dress needs to be ironed.
8. Think about what you guests will see as the come up to your house or apartment. Sweep off the front porch and clean the front door. Decorating with pots of live plants is easy and will give you weeks of color to enjoy.
9. Someday when you have been away from home for a few hours take the time to stop at your front door. When you open the door use your senses to "experience" your home. What do you see, is it welcoming? What do you smell? What do you hear? Think about how you can create a welcome for your guests by making sure that clutter is banished and off putting smells are dealt with (wet dog, kitty litter box, stinky trash cans, running shoes stored near the front entrance, etc.) there are many ways to scent a home for very little money - just placing bowls of lemons and oranges around will help as well as recharging old potpourri with essential oils. Simmering a mixture of cinnamon, orange peels, cloves and water can scent a whole house quickly too. Just make sure you keep the heat on low and replace water as needed. What mood are you going for at the gathering you are hosting? Music will help set the tone.
10. When you have planned and prepped, cleaned and dressed remember that hospitality is not about how good you are at hosting, but rather how you can bless those who have come to your home. Don't freak out over mistakes or accidents. You set the emotional tone of the gathering. Laugh at yourself and give yourself grace to flub something up and give others grace to spill a drink or drop cranberry sauce on your rug. peroxide and Oxiclean can work wonders.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Fall is Somewhat in the Air
I realized the other day that I have not posted on this blog for a very long time. It's interesting how life runs sometimes. I've been doing more writing that I have for years but it has been a bit different from the short, practical pieces I am use to with blogging.
Homekeeping is an art. If you don't think of it as a creative and even artistic process it can become drudgery. OK, I know cleaning a bathroom or mopping a floor is not very creative. Just like kneading clay before making a pot or prepping a canvas before painting takes no creativity either, but if you look at the larger picture of creating a home that you, your family and friends enjoy, it's the prep work that makes the finished product possible. Imagine a beautifully decorated room w/ a dirty floor and smears from little hands across the walls or a table w/ great food served on dirty dishes. Yuck.
Hopefully I'll start blogging here a bit more regularly. In the meantime you might be interested in checking out my daughters' Sarah and Kristin's new blogs. Sarah has started a cooking blog potsnplans.blogspot.com and Kristin has two; a product review site kristinsreview.com and a site about her experiences as a mom and homemaker purposefulhomemaker.com.
Homekeeping is an art. If you don't think of it as a creative and even artistic process it can become drudgery. OK, I know cleaning a bathroom or mopping a floor is not very creative. Just like kneading clay before making a pot or prepping a canvas before painting takes no creativity either, but if you look at the larger picture of creating a home that you, your family and friends enjoy, it's the prep work that makes the finished product possible. Imagine a beautifully decorated room w/ a dirty floor and smears from little hands across the walls or a table w/ great food served on dirty dishes. Yuck.
Hopefully I'll start blogging here a bit more regularly. In the meantime you might be interested in checking out my daughters' Sarah and Kristin's new blogs. Sarah has started a cooking blog potsnplans.blogspot.com and Kristin has two; a product review site kristinsreview.com and a site about her experiences as a mom and homemaker purposefulhomemaker.com.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Spring Cleaning - Part 1
I started spring cleaning this week. I know that it is sort of an old fashioned concept, but I like knowing that every drawer and closet is going to be gone through twice a year and all those little cleaning jobs that just keep getting put off like cleaning light fixtures will be taken care of. I do my deep cleaning in May and October. In May I usually have to force myself to come inside and work through the list that resides in my head after all of these years of doing the same thing, but I find it is well worth it not to have out of control clutter and dust. Here's what I do.
I start in the kitchen and taking just 15 to 20 minutes a day some days I work through every drawer and then through every cabinet. When I do a drawer or cabinet shelf I pull everything out and wash down the interior. I also wash any drawer dividers or lazy-susans and set them aside to dry. When I have everything clean and I'm putting it all back I look through what was in the drawer or cabinet. Do I have too many of something, are they in good condition are they in the right space, do I actually use what ever it is? Those are the questions I ask myself. If I find I have too many of something or don't really use it it gets tossed into a give away box. Broken things head straight to trash.
The refrigerator also gets a through cleaning at this time w/ everything taken out, the interior washed down and the front bottom grill removed - to be cleaned but also so I can vacuum the coils underneath. Keeping the coils vacuumed helps the refrigerator run more efficiently saving you money on electricity. Another trick for an efficient refrigerator is to keep it filled w/ water jugs if it's not full of food. Cold is stored in the jugs keeping the temp even and reducing energy use.
I start in the kitchen and taking just 15 to 20 minutes a day some days I work through every drawer and then through every cabinet. When I do a drawer or cabinet shelf I pull everything out and wash down the interior. I also wash any drawer dividers or lazy-susans and set them aside to dry. When I have everything clean and I'm putting it all back I look through what was in the drawer or cabinet. Do I have too many of something, are they in good condition are they in the right space, do I actually use what ever it is? Those are the questions I ask myself. If I find I have too many of something or don't really use it it gets tossed into a give away box. Broken things head straight to trash.
The refrigerator also gets a through cleaning at this time w/ everything taken out, the interior washed down and the front bottom grill removed - to be cleaned but also so I can vacuum the coils underneath. Keeping the coils vacuumed helps the refrigerator run more efficiently saving you money on electricity. Another trick for an efficient refrigerator is to keep it filled w/ water jugs if it's not full of food. Cold is stored in the jugs keeping the temp even and reducing energy use.
Monday, May 10, 2010
May Already!
I love gardening. There is something about experiencing the cycles of the year and watching the miracle of rebirth that makes my heart sing w/ worship towards our incredibly creative God.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Bits and Pieces
I've been pretty busy and haven't posted as much as I would like to. I'm still testing out the liquid detergent I made about a month ago. It does pretty well with our clothing, but I've passed it off to my daughter Rebekah to test on her laundry which includes the clothing of an 11 month and 3 year old. One thing I've noticed is that things come out of the dryer nice and soft w/o the use of dryer sheets or liquid fabric softener.
Rebekah also passed on a recipe for energy bars that I really like. I can't seem to keep myself from tweaking things so I replaced 1/4 of the crispy brown rice cereal w/ the granola I make as well as adding 1/2 cup coconut and 1/2 cup sliced almonds. I've also added chocolate chips which got rave reviews from my boys. I've been wrapping the cooled and cut bars in aluminum foil and leaving them in a bowl for the kids to grab for on the go snacks. Here's the basic recipe;
Crispy Peanut Butter Rice Bars
2/3 cup smooth peanut butter
1 cup brown rice syrup
4 cups crispy brown rice
In small sauce pan over medium low heat stir brown rice syrup and peanut butter until smooth. Pour over crispy brown rice and stir gently. Pour into 9x13 well greased pan and allow to cool. Cut to desired size.
Rebekah also passed on a recipe for energy bars that I really like. I can't seem to keep myself from tweaking things so I replaced 1/4 of the crispy brown rice cereal w/ the granola I make as well as adding 1/2 cup coconut and 1/2 cup sliced almonds. I've also added chocolate chips which got rave reviews from my boys. I've been wrapping the cooled and cut bars in aluminum foil and leaving them in a bowl for the kids to grab for on the go snacks. Here's the basic recipe;
Crispy Peanut Butter Rice Bars
2/3 cup smooth peanut butter
1 cup brown rice syrup
4 cups crispy brown rice
In small sauce pan over medium low heat stir brown rice syrup and peanut butter until smooth. Pour over crispy brown rice and stir gently. Pour into 9x13 well greased pan and allow to cool. Cut to desired size.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Mushrooms, Laundry Soap Update
Well I've been a mushroom farmer for just under two weeks and have harvested my first crop of wonderful, heavy shiitake mushrooms. The mushrooms started appearing about two days after I received my mushroom block from mushroompeople.com and started watering it. I harvested the first mushrooms 4 days after receiving the block. Tonight I am going to soak the block to start the next harvest. The mushroom have been much heavier than the bulk mushroom I buy in the store and after leaving a mushroom on the counter over night I was amazed at how much weight it had lost as it quickly started drying out. I've enjoyed the process of "mushroom farming" enough to sign up for a local how to clinic at the end of the month where I will learn how to inoculate a block (or log) myself.
Making my own laundry soap has also been an adventure mainly because I have a tendency to look at the recipe or formula for something and start wondering how I can "tweak" it. When I looked at the laundry detergent recipes I was most interested in the liquid ones since I have a front loader and do most of my laundry using cold water. When I've used powder in the past I have have had a problem getting the powder to dissolve and go from the detergent cup to the washer unless it is very concentrated like Charlie's Soap. What I ended up doing was taking the Duggar's liquid soap recipe since that had been recommended to me and tweaking it by making a half batch, making it more concentrated and also by using a vegetable based soap instead of the Fels Naptha they use since it is made w/ petroleum products. I've been using the detergent for over a week now and after a bit more consumer testing (handing it off to my daughter Rebekah to use in a top loader and w/ baby items in the laundry) I'll share the recipe.
I have one other new thing (or maybe I should say old thing rediscovered) I've been playing with this week. I just bought a pressure cooker. I grew up with my mom's pressure cooker being used to make wonderful soups and tender roasts so I'm excited about my experimentation. So far I've made an incredible chicken vegetable soup, an equally good bean soup and tonight I'm making black beans to serve w/ tacos. Crazy thing cooked them in about 1/2 hour from start to finish. I'm hunting for a good grass fed piece of chuck roast to see if I can duplicate the roasts I remember from my youth...
Making my own laundry soap has also been an adventure mainly because I have a tendency to look at the recipe or formula for something and start wondering how I can "tweak" it. When I looked at the laundry detergent recipes I was most interested in the liquid ones since I have a front loader and do most of my laundry using cold water. When I've used powder in the past I have have had a problem getting the powder to dissolve and go from the detergent cup to the washer unless it is very concentrated like Charlie's Soap. What I ended up doing was taking the Duggar's liquid soap recipe since that had been recommended to me and tweaking it by making a half batch, making it more concentrated and also by using a vegetable based soap instead of the Fels Naptha they use since it is made w/ petroleum products. I've been using the detergent for over a week now and after a bit more consumer testing (handing it off to my daughter Rebekah to use in a top loader and w/ baby items in the laundry) I'll share the recipe.
I have one other new thing (or maybe I should say old thing rediscovered) I've been playing with this week. I just bought a pressure cooker. I grew up with my mom's pressure cooker being used to make wonderful soups and tender roasts so I'm excited about my experimentation. So far I've made an incredible chicken vegetable soup, an equally good bean soup and tonight I'm making black beans to serve w/ tacos. Crazy thing cooked them in about 1/2 hour from start to finish. I'm hunting for a good grass fed piece of chuck roast to see if I can duplicate the roasts I remember from my youth...
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