This and That

What have I been doing recently? 

Let me see...

I've been looking at Christmas lights.

I've been making gifts.

I've been enjoying the ornaments on our tree.

I've been making fudge.

I've been smiling at the critters.

What have you been up to?

Food Waste Friday and True Food Confessions--Dec. 20, 2013

It's time for Food Waste Friday, when the Frugalgirl encourages us to post pictures from the previous week of wasted food from our household. This accountability hopefully will help us to be more careful with our food and maybe save some money. Also, I am using this public forum to encourage us to eat out less which includes better meal planning. You can follow how we are doing in this endeavor by reading True Food Confessions.

This Week's Food Waste

  
This week we had to get rid of a hot dog and some basmati rice. Months ago, Wally bought a big pack of hot dogs on sale. They weren't very good, at least that's what I thought, but Ward and Wally have been slowly eating them. A couple of weeks ago, Ward thawed the last two but not never got around to eating this last one. Even for a hot dog with all of it's chemicals, I don't think this is safe to eat any more. Into the trash it went. 

As for the rice, it got lost in the pantry and was starting to turn rancid. Next time I'll try to pay more attention to what's in there and store my brown basmati rice in the fridge like the bag recommends.


 This Week's True Food Confessions

Wow, what an improvement this week. We actually ate mostly at home and took pictures of some of it. Chicken was the main feature showing up as roasted chicken breast, chicken tenders, and chicken pot pie. Sauerkraut with sausage and apples and tortellini also graced the table. Throw in some grapefruit and oranges freshly delivered from Flordia for breakfast and snacks and we ate pretty well. And, oh, we had our standard of pretending to eat M&M's in a healthful way--I made some trail mix.

I Was Wondering...Partly Sunny vs. Partly Cloudy

What's the difference between 

partly sunny and partly cloudy?

I wonder how the haze from forest fires figures into the partly sunny and partly cloudy usage? (Sandia Mts., NM)

 
We're checking a lot on the weather these days trying to see if snow or ice is coming. That way we can plan our activities for the best weather conditions possible. Checking all of these forecasts has reminded me of something I've always wondered about. What is the difference between partly sunny and partly cloudy? Here's what I found out.

As you might assume, there really is no difference. They mean the same thing--a mixture of sun and clouds in the sky. But the issue gets confused in everyday use because, unfortunately, every meteorologist has their own way of using these terms. Some say partly sunny only during the daytime because the sun is not out at night, where as partly cloudy is used during the day or night. Sometimes partly sunny is used when there is more sun expected than clouds and vice-versa for partly cloudy. Also, the two terms can be used to infer changes in the weather. When cloudy weather is improving, they will say partly sunny because the meteorologist wants to be optimistic. When the weather will be deteriorating, they will predict party cloudy to let you know the weather will be changing for the worse. There you have it, partly clear. :)

 I think I am just going to go with the working definition I used before I researched this. Partly sunny and partly cloudy both mean that there will some clouds in the sky with more or less sun peaking out.


Want to read more:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/capitalweathergang/2008/02/partly_sunny_partly_cloudy_mos.html

http://www.diffen.com/difference/Partly_Cloudy_vs_Partly_Sunny

Natural Centerpiece

I have a very clever friend who is good at many things but is especially known for her flower arranging. And when you're known for having a special skill, you are often asked to use it.  So, she "volunteers" to decorate every year for our holiday luncheon at work. Meaning, every year she decorates the tables with centerpieces that she makes for very little money, and afterwards they are highly sought after when they are given away as door prizes. She had a couple of ideas I thought I would share with you in case you want to incorporate them into something you might do. And did I mention she was clever? She does not live in the world of Pinterest so all of this came from her own imagination.

The centerpieces had a natural theme and except for the thin candle, they were low to the table so they didn't block you from seeing and talking to the people across from you. (A pet peeve of mine with some table decorations.)

All of the pieces that made up the arrangements were found pieces. Some were from coworkers yards (like mine) and some were found in parking lots.

Can you tell what the base is? It's the bottom of a Chinese take out container. She discovered these from me since she rarely eats out to know about such things. I take them to her sometimes to put under her plants, and I took her several more when she decided that they would make the perfect base for the arrangements. The beads around the edge are an inexpensive garland. You could really put anything around the edges you wanted.  A more neutral color would allow you to change the candle and use this arrangement different times of the year.

The candle holder was cut from a plastic wrap tube. It turns out that it is just the right size for a standard candle. Who knew? (Well, some of you out there probably did.)

Thankful Sunday--December 15, 2013

I am thankful for a warm house.

We have had three days of snow this week, and I am thankful that I got to stay in my warm house and enjoy it through the window. Also, I am especially thankful for the people, who were not so fortunate as I was, and braved it through the snow and ice to keep the hospitals and emergency services running.