DIY Grout Fixes

This is on my list of things to do soon: Fix Minor Grout Cracks This idea using latex will fix the cracked grout caused by the moving floor issue in my bathroom. Other fixes also mentioned.

Make Your Own Acorn Coffee

See here for recipe. Just watch out for your competitors.

Advice for Student Writers from John Steinbeck: Write Freely, Edit Later

John Steinbeck's "rudimentary suggestions for the beginner":

"Don't start by trying to make the book chronological. Just take a period. Then try to remember it so clearly that you can see things: what colors and how warm or cold and how you got there. Then try to remember people. And then just tell what happened. It is important to tell what people looked like, how they walked, what they wore, what they ate. Put it all in. Don't try to organize it. And put in all the details you can remember.

You will find that in a very short time things will begin coming back to you, you thought you had forgotten. Do it for very short periods at first, but kind of think of it when you aren't doing it. Don't think back over what you have done. Don't think of literary form. Let it get out as it wants to. Over tell it in the manner of detail--cutting comes later. The form will develop in the telling. Don't make the telling follow a form."

More here.

DIY Greenhouse Window

Grow herbs, salad greens, etc. all year round. See here.

Recycling and Reusing - Bottle Top Bag "Clip" Food Saver

See here.

The Swallows of Mission San Juan Capistrano

Each year on October 23rd, the Day of San Juan, thousands of swallows leave their mud nests at the San Juan Capistrano Mission and head south[Argentina] for the winter. Amazingly, the swallows return each year on March 19th, St. Joseph's Day[The Miracle of the Swallows], and rebuild their nests for the summer.  ~ About.com Homeschooling 

The Swallows of Mission San Juan Capistrano Coloring Page

See here for more information about Mission San Juan Capistrano(Franciscans).

Also see:

The Swallows, The Character Building Readers: Industry(sixth grade), 1910, free and in public domain.

Saints in the New World, Stories of Saints, 1908

Swallows, Handbook of Nature-study, 1918
The Swallow's Nest, The Boston Collection of Kindergarten Stories, 1913

The Swallows, Bancroft's Third Reader, 1883

Printable story of St. John of Capistrano, namesake of the mission

Nature Stories by Grades- Sixth Grade, Migratory Birds

More later...

Books are downloadable, readable online, and printable. To print, right click on the images of the pages at the links.

Before and After Laundry Room

I could get lost in that Chinoiserie wallpaper! Click on pictures to enlarge. What a fabulous transformation, one that I need to do, although ours will probably be limited to a new paint job. Seen at Design Sponge.

Federal Energy Star Tax Rebate Due to Expire this Year

We are finally getting new windows. We purchased our home in 1999, and I believe the windows are original to the house built in 1972. It's time to update, and we are going to take advantage of the Energy Star Tax Rebate which if not renewed, will expire at the end of this year. I'll post pictures when they go in next month.

Details for our replacement windows:

Tax Credit: 30% of cost up to $1,500
Expires: December 31, 2010
Details: Must be an existing home & your principal residence. New construction and rentals do not qualify.

Many more items qualify: Federal Energy Star Tax Rebate

Find Rebates in Your State, various expiration and start dates.

Ramblings of Frugal Grocery Shopping Strategies

During the past few years I've seen food prices rise at least 30%. I found myself having to redefine dollar stretching frugality. I thought myself frugal before prices rose, but it's amazing how one can adapt when challenged. I could not have done it without the help of all those wonderful cooks who share their ideas and recipes online. Everyone is having to cut back, and they generously share their methods of coping with higher prices, so here is mine.

The new normal means that the Dollar Tree, *Dollar General, and Save-A-Lot are my usual shopping places for the lowest priced foods, personal care products, and cleaning items. I rarely set foot in Food Lion anymore, not since the food prices rose. Once a month I visit Big Lots and Walmart in the hopes of picking up some random deals. It's hit or miss at these stores. I'll visit Family Dollar if I find a coupon(off total purchase) in one of the mailed advertisements.

I like to visit the Dollar Tree first because they usually have the best deals for staples like large cans of diced tomatoes, dry beans(some), cleaning items, shampoo, tooth brushes, and spices. It's also on the way to my other shopping places, so I save gas.  At the Dollar Tree I look for the lowest price per unit as compared to similar items at my other shopping places, and in the case of things like shampoo, the highest ounces I can get for a dollar. Then I visit Save-A-Lot where I buy the bulk of my groceries, and Dollar General which is just next door. If I find sale prices on items that I usually purchase, I'll stock up and buy a dozen.

I used to keep a price book, but now I have memorized the prices of items which we regularly purchase. And in case my memory fails me, I usually have last week's receipts in my wallet for comparison.

Meats could be our most expensive price per unit purchase if we didn't sacrifice good cuts. Every other month I'll purchase a five pound bag of chicken quarters for about $1.00 a pound, sometimes less, and once in a while, a pork shoulder for a dollar a pound. I'll slow cook both to make shredded meat for stir-fry, Mexican/Latin American recipes, hearty soups and stews, Sloppy Joes, and casseroles. I get about seven 6-8 ounce portions of shredded meat from each which I freeze in plastic wrap. As a bonus, I glean some seasoned chicken stock from boiling the chicken. I purchase a pound of ground turkey every month for $1.49 as well. This doesn't go as far, but adds variety.

I've also been preparing more and more meatless dishes lately, at least three times a week. Instead of meat, I'll substitute beans, tuna, cheese, and/or eggs while going heavy on the vegetables. This kind of cooking can be very nutritious and healthy if you limit the fats and starchy carbs(rice, potatoes, and pasta), and make the meals vegetable heavy. Portion control is important for health and budget as well. I eat no more than 6 ounces for my main meal. If I get hungry later, I'll eat a salad. Bagged salad mixes at Save-A-Lot are only $1.29, and I make my own salad dressing with a little soy sauce and balsamic or rice vinegar.

I keep quite a bit of frozen and canned mixed vegetables on hand. It's a healthy inexpensive filler for dishes. My favorite frozen vegetables are chopped collard greens, mixed peppers and onions, and stir-fry. Save-A-Lot has these for about $1.50 a bag. Their canned vegetables are less than a dollar. The least expensive canned vegetable at Save-A-Lot is .49 cents for peas. I use these in old fashioned tuna casserole as their canned Starkist tuna has only been .59 cents a can for the past few months.

All this hunting and gathering is a lot of work, and I'm all about efficiency, but it has been worth the time and effort for the lowered shopping costs.

In the warmer months I keep a small garden. We had a good number of cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, and herbs this year. If we had more sun, I'd grow more.

A website, and two cookbooks that got me started:

Hillbilly Housewife Recipes(from scratch), the More-With-Less Cookbook, and the Extending the Table Cookbook.

These are all about cooking from scratch which is healthier in terms of the absence of additives and preservatives, and the ability to control, customize, and substitute healthier ingredients. It can be very inexpensive as well, if you keep it simple. Two cups of rice, some shredded chicken, and a bag of stir-fry costs us no more than $2.25 to feed four people, and we usually have leftovers because the little one and I don't eat much.

Dollar General, Save-A-Lot, and Family Dollar all take coupons. They also have printable store coupons at their websites. In addition to printable coupons, I purchase groups or "lots" of coupons from ebay. Usually the cost of buying a "lot" of ten coupons is the price of two or three coupons with free shipping. This is a great deal for me because I don't purchase many name brand items, so I only need a few very specific ones in larger quantities( for stocking up).

What have you done differently in the kitchen since the recession? Have you changed your meals or shopping habits?


*Coupon Alert: Dollar General has another $5.00 off a $20.00 purchase.  It came out my receipt yesterday good for this Thursday - Saturday. I'll  be using this for their clearance on coffee - $4.00 for two pounds of  coffee(largest tin). These coupons seem to be a regular offering lately.  This is the fourth $5.00 off coupon I've received in the past few  months.

Autumn Nature Art for Young Children

Items from the garden painted with watercolors and pressed onto paper. There is also a crayon leaf rubbing in there as well. Things we tried: flat rocks, acorn tops, oak leaves, clover, a shell, garlic grass, small berries, sticks, and daylily stalks.

A fall nature study: Fall Leaves, free and in public domain. Just right click on the image of the pages at the link. From Type Lessons for Primary Teachers in the Study of Nature, Literature and Art, 1905.

Beauty of Leaves. —The beauty of color and texture combined with the endless variety of leaf forms cannot fail to prove a constant source of wonder and delight to the children during this season of bright, blue weather. Thoreau says, "October is the month of painted leaves. Their rich glow now flashes round the world. As fruit and leaves, and the day itself acquire a bright tint just before they fall, so the year near its setting. October is its sunset sky. November the later twilight."

Draw Me a Cat!

Before the sun peaked over the horizon, I heard a little voice this morning asking repeatedly, "Draw me a cat, draw me a cat, pleeease". I didn't pop up out of bed and cheerfully draw her a cat, but I did find a simple cat drawing lesson online later in the day. This site has a lesson for the the cat above.

This one has the sitting cat below.

Early Childhood Learning: My Telephone Number Worksheet

Image source here at About.com Homeschooling. Click on image to enlarge, or go to image source to download. We are working on this one tomorrow.

National Geographic Featured Articles

I have to remind myself to use this resource more often! National Geographic is an excellent source of free historical articles, pictures, quizzes, maps, virtual tours, etc. Here is one that I bookmarked some time ago when we were studying Latin America. Check it out:

Maya Rise and Fall Includes article, maps, quiz, extended learning links, and photo gallery.

Free Vintage Prints of Historical Costumes and Clothing from Around the World

A huge collection of free vintage prints from the NY Public Library Digital Library of clothing and costumes from around the world during different periods in history.

Image: A 16th century English woman of quality

Help Dealing with Homeschool Burnout

I saw these at About.com Homeschooling.

Two of my favorite:

Hitting the Homeschool Wall by Holly Richardson

Avoiding Homeschool Burnout by Isabel Shaw

These are coping mechanisms that I learned the hard way. Students are not the only people who learn and grow in homeschool. It has been the catalyst for spiritual and emotional growth for the adults in our family as well.

DIY Young Children's Pallet Bookshelf

 See picture: I used two of the pieces at left, and five of the pieces on the right( two for each shelf, and one on top to stabilize).

I've been collecting pallet pieces from Home Depot. These pieces were found free in the lumber area, discarded in the trash cans at the end of the aisle. With permission I've been taking these home for DIY projects. Yesterday I made a thin rustic bookcase for my young daughter's books. The thin shelves, which rested between the pallet pieces on the blocks, were the only things that needed attaching. The shelves were screwed down at both ends with a power drill and long dry wall screws. No sawing was needed; these came as they were.


The books shelf holds quite a few books. I was able to empty two very large baskets full of preschool/K books into this bookshelf. We've gained back a good chunk of living space, and it's easier to vacuum now. My daughter loves the ease of finding books and putting them back without the struggle of squeezing them into baskets.

Free Printables: Historical and Literary Paper Dolls

Pages include background and historical information, and some offer links to free e-texts. This is a fabulous homeschool resource, and is beautifully rendered by artist C. David Claudon .

Includes:
Ancient Egyptian Transformations
Clarence's Eight Lives(historical cat)
A Durer Everyman Paper Doll
An Inferno Paper Doll Set
Sir Gawain & the Green Knight
A Plantagenet Paper Doll Set
A Gothic Romance Paper Doll told in the style of the Limbourg Brothers: The Little Mermaid
Geoffrey Chaucer
Dunant's The Birth of Venus: Italian Renaissance Paper Dolls
Commedia dell'arte
Elizabeth I Transformations
William Shakespeare
Taming of the Shrew
Five Saints: S. Anthony, S. Bernardine, S. Joan, S. Rocco, S. Raphael
Renaissance Artists & Models
A Pepys Show: the World of Samuel Pepys in Paper Dolls
Moliere: A Baroque Paper Doll
The Gilt of the Sun: Louis XIV
The World of Oscar Wilde