Where is my salvation???

I always thought as the children got older it would get easier... the house would be cleaner, I wouldn't have to cook as much and the great laundry monster will be banished forever. Who was I kidding, the more my children have grown and spread their wings, so have I.

I spend more time with friends, I relax more, I exercise more, I hike more and bike more... I cook more, and I am 553 days doing my laundry without a dryer... for 5 people no less. I have to schedule an event at my house to make myself clean it these days but it's all good.

I recently discovered Freezer Crock Pot Cooking, and a light bulb went off; why hasn't this been a fad before, why isn't everyone doing it???? I have found most recipes with just a little tweaking for our palate as well as family size make enough for two entire meals for my family of five along with leftovers enough for lunch or two the next day.

RULE #1: You never have to follow a recipe as written, if you don't like cilantro use parsley, if you don't like mint, use basil; more salt, less onion or more garlic. It's called "Be You Own Chef", it's about breaking the rules and making new ones it's about tearing down a good recipe till you have perfected it and made it your own. Cooking is about experiments and mistakes, it's about having fun and always finding excitement in a new recipe.

I am sharing the recipe for tonight's dinner, because the recipe is a keeper...

Freezer Crock Pot Cream Cheese Chicken

4 Boneless and skinless chicken breasts
2 8oz block cream cheese cubed

1/2-1 cup chopped onions
1/2-1 cup thinly sliced celery
2-4 garlic cloves minced or 2-4 teas. garlic powder or to taste
2 bay leaves
1-2 t dry parsley and basil
salt and pepper to taste
1 can chicken stock
4 servings, maybe some leftovers (I double everything but the chicken for my family)

Place all ingredients into 2 one gallon sized freezer bags.
Write on the Bag: cream cheese chicken, defrost over night in refrigerator, cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8. serve over rice, pasta or cous-cous

Sixty Days Divorced From the Dryer

I'm actually pretty proud of myself to have made it this far. I have been fortunate that is hasn't been all that cold here in Connecticut this year as of yet. I have however hung my clothes in the morning when the temperature was as low as 26 degrees and breezy; with the use of rubber gloves and a warm jacket there were no issues. Setting up the basket inside for a quick hang outside is the most important step. I'm sure the people driving down Route 5 get a chuckle of me out there in my pjs, housecoat and Jeff's slippers early in the morning hanging my clothes wearing bright yellow rubber gloves.

I suppose the big question is: Was it worth it? Our electric bill dropped 36% from the year previous, I'd say it's worth it. I will admit there have been a few other changes like unplugging the washer, microwave and phone chargers when not in use. I have been barking more about the lights and TVs others leave on and it seems to be making them more aware, and they have shut things off more often. More and more of our lights have been switched to the Fluorescent alternative light bulbs. Personally I'd like to cut our electric bill another 25% and I think with a few changes it is very do~able. For starters I need to find the timers for the Christmas lights, it makes a huge difference then ignoring them and leaving them on. We also need the energy saving electrical strips for all of our TVs and gaming systems.

I think the largest change of all to date comes from going from warm or hot water washes to cold with an occasional hot for whites... with the soaking of white socks before they are washed I may be able to give up hot and warm water washes all together... it's my next laundry experiment. Going to cold water wash has decreased our heating oil needs immensely; how much is hard to say but I think I can comfortably say to the tune of $50+ a month.

I am finally on my last bottle of petroleum based laundry detergent and will be moving on to an enzyme based natural laundry detergent and softener. I have purchased essential oil to try in the rinse water for scenting the laundry... I'm pretty excited about it. For the last month or so I have been cutting the traditional stuff in half with 1/4 cup 20 mule borax, and 1/4 cup arm and hammer washing soda in the wash for my front loading washer and 1/3 cup vinegar in the rinse and I have to say my laundry is the happier and cleaner for it. I have 4 bottles of Downy fabric softener to give to my mother, she'll be happy about that. I was a Downy snob, and here I am going commando so to speak and giving it up; almost cold turkey.

Here's to the next 30 days and wondering what they will bring? My first sub~zero temperatures? Snow? A Nor'easter? I just keep telling myself I can do this, I can do this, I can do this. If I make it the winter, the rest is a cake walk; I just need to make it through March... four more months.

Thirty Days Dryer Free

Today marks day 30 of no dryer in my home, and I have to admit so far it has been easier than I thought. I probably average 15-20 large loads of laundry for my family of five, including towels and bedding... a fact I wasn't fully aware of before this for many reasons. In the past we were always to one extreme or another behind on laundry...

The weather plays a huge part in successful outside line drying. I say outside line drying because it is my preferred method, if for nothing else the smell of those clothes dried in the breeze and sunshine. So, for my family to be successful at living dryer free we need to do laundry every day there isn't rain. Rainy days are the only days in the last 30 I haven't line dried and I am completely caught up with all of our laundry.

I have enjoyed my time at the clothesline, the evenings and early mornings are a little chilly but having the whole neighborhood to myself here and there is kind of nice... they call it meditative, which for me line drying is.

Our next steps are to find the electrical vampires in our house and stabbing them to death with unplugging of unused items and purchasing of energy saving strips for our computers, TVs and gaming system... being diligent can net us another 10-20% savings on the electric bill... more money in our pockets, less CO2 gas into the air and I help lessen our need to strip this world of it's natural resources of oil and coal. More on that at another time.

Another change will be to reevaluate the products we use for cleaning... we need to be more aware of where the things we use come from and what their true environmental impact is.... many if not most of our cleaning products are either oil or animal based... I for one am not going to be a part of that anymore, again more on that later.

So the short of it is the first 30 days have been successful... now onto the next 30 which are colder.

Dryer vs Clothesline

The Dryer:

Accounts for 6-10% of your electric bill, second only to your refrigerator.

Uses natural resources to run, natural gas, oil, coal; all are burned in the production of electricity, putting countless pounds of CO2 into the air we need to breathe.

Clothes dryer and washing machine fires account for about 17,700 structure fires, 15 deaths, and 360 injuries annually. The yearly national fire loss for clothes dryer fires in structures is estimated at $194 million. Please visit www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/5022.html for more information.



The Clothesline:

Is a tried and true method of clothes drying that has been used for thousands of years.

It's free.

It has no adverse affects to the environment.

The sun will naturally whiten your clothes and remove stains without the use of bleach.

The air is a natural deodorizer.

The sun a natural germ killer.

Clothes last longer... what do you think lint is??? Little pieces of your clothes being tumbled off of them.

Using the clothesline is considered moderate exercise, along with getting outside and breathing the fresh air there are health and mental benefits... many people say putting clothes out and in on the clothesline is medatative.

Drying clothes inside during the winter adds moisture to dry air.

For more information:
http://www.laundrylist.org/
http://www.linedry.com/
http://www.solar-dryer.com/

http://www.earthlingshandbook.org/laundry

Divorce Your Dryer

I've been with my husband 17 years, in that time we have gone through 3 new dryers and at least 2 used... that's not to be out-done by the 3 new washers and no clue how many used... with a family of 5, 3 boys our washer and dryer have always been worked hard.

When we moved into our first house together our neighbor offered to help us string a clothesline from a very large pole on his property to our back door... the line was about 100 foot long and went 30 feet in the air. Even nicer still was he provided the pulleys and rope; industrial in nature, after 10 years it was still like new and it NEVER sagged. I don't think my neighbor knew the beast he would unleash with that clothesline.

During the warmer months, if it wasn't raining you can be assured there would be laundry flapping in the wind at 55 Fairview Avenue. If the weather was just right you might see load after load go up and down on the clothesline. I was a stay at home mom, it gave me time with the kids in the yard, it got me outside, and we all seem to prefer the line dried clothes. My kids have not once complained about stiff jeans or scratchy towels. Even to this day when my second son does his own laundry he air dries the majority of his clothing.

So October 1, 2010 comes around and my dryer spins but produces no heat... I call Sears parts center for the thermal coil and am told it is on back-order and no clue when it will be available but they can send a repair man out to fix it... I refuse to pay someone for something I can fix myself. The dryer isn't even 6 years old as of yet and this will be it's second what I consider major repair. We paid $650 for the dryer, put $175 in a repair and am staring down another $200... that's over $1000 for a dryer, in six years; plus the electricity that it needs to run to the tune of about $300-$400 a year... now we are pushing the cost to $4000, that's about $666 a year just for the convenience of ruining our clothes and the environment.

I live in New England and we are staring down the winter months and here I am seriously considering divorcing my dryer. My husband thinks I am crazy, he wants the dryer fixed and here I am just disgusted at the prospect.

I have always been aware of the implications we as humans have on the environment and try to walk a path that does as little damage to this earth as possible. On April 20, 2010 we had the worst hit to our environment to date; the Deep Water Horizon oil rig exploded killing four with others to follow in the coming months. Millions of gallons of oil spewed into the Gulf of Mexico, the rig wasn't officially killed till 5:54 am on September 19, 2010. Countless animals lost their lives, we wont know for years what implications the oil spill will have on our health in eating affected seafood; dangerous chemicals were used and only God knows what was used and what went on behind our backs, done in secret. Oil is still being found on the ocean floor, tar balls are still washing up on the shoreline an BP claims the spill is entirely cleaned up. Whatever.

I can't help but sit back and admit to myself I own some of that, I use gas to run my car, I use oil to heat my house and electricity to light it. Can my family cut back? Of course we can. We have been more diligent with recycling, we discarded properly a second refrigerator, we have been more diligent shutting off lights and since March, 80% of the clothes have been dried on the clothesline, and with the help of nature having the hottest summer on record we didn't mow our lawn very much either... but in truth we keep the grass longer than most already; one of the first steps to living a more eco-friendly life. With 80% of our yard being gardened for the wildlife we have little need for a mower in the first place. Know that running your typical gas powered lawn mower for one hour puts out as much pollution as running your typical American car 350 miles down the highway... all that pollution just to have short grass which which does nothing but leach the life out of the environment. I digress much, other blog posts for other preachings; we are here about dryers.

Dryer busted, I'm disgusted, so what do we do? I am an internet addict, for 17 years I have been plugged in and engaged... I remember the months where our AOL bill was more then the cable... now AOL is free. I get online and Google "clothesline winter drying", start researching and YES I can do it... I can go dryerless with a little diligence; $30, 200 foot of clothesline, some nails, a hammer and a couple hundred "pegs" aka clothespins I am in business. To date four loads have been dried in the basement, and at least for now I feel liberated that I have divorced my dryer.

Eat your vegetables...

I am always trying to find a way to save a buck or few. I shop second hand, love the auction, know where to buy the cheapest groceries without using coupons and how to buy name brand without paying full price... I am not usually a brand snob but give me my Dove, Dawn, Downy, Wen and Levi's or rip the heart from my very chest lol. I am also always up for a challenge.

My latest challenge as well as next gardening experiment will be an attempt to grow a vegetable garden through the winter. I will be gardening approximately 100 square foot of garden space with the use of cold frames and plastic covered structures.

I picked up the book Four-Season Harvest by Eliot Coleman which is supposed to be the New England winter gardener's bible. I have surfed the web and ordered my first shipment of seeds. I was amazed by the amount of vegetables that will make it through a good part of the winter or even the whole winter with some protection. I will say that as much as I like Park Seed, Burpee is cheaper and has a larger selection.

My first order of seeds consist of the following:
beets, broccoli, brussel's sprouts, a cabbage blend, *carrots, cauliflower, collard greens, parsnips, *a mix of lettuce mixes, *radishes, peas, *spinach, *turnips, *swiss chard, mustard greens, *parsley, and *leeks. I am going to see how long I can keep basil going.

Future attempts will include:
broccoli rabe, *endive, *kale, *arugula, *kohlrabi, okra, *radicchio, *rutabagas, *sorrel, and *onions.

*grow most of winter season Nov-May

I currently don't have that kind of variety in my culinary life. I haven't even tried a few of the vegetables listed above but I'm always up for trying new foods. Many of the vegetables listed I love but don't usually buy them. I'm American Irish, how can I not love leeks, parsnips, turnips, rutabagas and cabbage?

When the seeds arrive I will start most of them in 6 packs while my summer garden finishes it's production... heck, I haven't even had a home grown tomato yet this summer. I will amend the soil with compost, leaf mould, green sand, lime, and blood meal before transplanting the seedlings later in the season.

For the last 10 years; I have only used natural methods of fertilizing and insect control. I believe in it so much I have dedicated the majority of my yard to a wildlife garden. My garden provides food, shelter, water and a place to raise young for beneficial insects like spiders and pollinators, butterflies, birds and hummingbirds.

I am learning about and planting more perennial fruits, vegetables and herbs in my garden. I am learning how to push the envelope when it comes to my gardening zone. I am becoming more adventuresome when it comes to gardening, I am looking forward into investing into a lemon tree and adding artichokes and horse radish to the garden. I would love an esplanade fruit tree grafted with a few different kinds of fruit on one tree. I may even net one of my crab apple trees from the robins and try my hand at crab apple jelly this winter.

Another trick I am going to learn is how to grow sprouts, and I'm not talking plain old bean sprouts... I'm talking about a mix which includes but isn't limited to alfalfa, broccoli, clover and radish sprouts.

Another year has passed...

So here I am a year since I have last blogged, my grammar and punctuation haven't improved but I never claimed to be a scholar.

I am still walking and hiking with a little bit of jogging in between. I have to admit openly I have failed miserably with the stretching, weight training and core exercises... I suck. I still have to give myself credit for being in the best shape I have been in probably the last 20 years. I have four months before Reunion to buff up...

Currently I am:
43 1/2 years old, closer to 45 than 40... "It turns me on to think of growing old"
5' 8" tall... thank you Grampy and Ritchie (my father)
150 pounds, I've fought with 10 pounds either way for years, I will win!!
I refuse to give my measurements, truth be told I could care less; I am comfortable with my current size. I wear a size 8 pant comfortably.

I would like to be 140-143 pounds by Reunion in November, in general a lighter weight is healthier. I was on track in June but fell off somehow, now I need to make myself accountable:

I need to watch what I eat, that means keeping a journal; I find I make better choices when I keep track of what I eat.

I need to get up and move... by that I mean giving myself a good hour long cardio kick 3-5 times a week. I would also like to take up jumping rope, I'd be thrilled to be able to do 20 minutes at a time. I'd also like to take Irish Step Dancing at the John Boyle O'Reilly... a good cardio kick and Irish beer what could be better?

I need to stretch every day... Yoga is a wonderful thing, I will keep telling myself that; 10 minutes a day should do it.

Weight training 3 times a week, not one of my favorite things to do but it wont kill me either.

Joy for joy my core, the place I need the most help and the place I hate to work on the least... if I do it once a week it will be a miricle but 3 times would be great.

A must... I need to Meditate every day for at least 10 minutes, just for sanity reasons alone. One's spiritual well being requires moments of contemplation.

This is the first day of the rest of my life as they say so here's to running a couple and walking a couple too... I noticed the dog getting pudgy, she needs to be walked more; I'm sure she wont complain.

Boy does time fly...

It's been over a year since I last blogged? How could that be, it seems like only a few months ago. Truth be told, time doesn't fly, it goes at at the speed of light. I've had my oldest son graduate high school and finish his first year in college over the past year; that's amazing to me. My "baby" will be in junior high next year, whatever happened to that blond haired, brown eyed, very pudgy baby he once was? He now claims to have a girlfriend named Danielle. I've joined another town committee, as well as becoming a shop steward at work and contemplating becoming an officer of my union this coming year. I'd really like for one day to run for town council but I'd like to get my kids grown first.

First I'd like to say I don't think I hit 500 miles walked that year but I don't think I was that far off. Life has been so insanely busy, but in a good way. I've decided for this blog to work it needs to be about more than walking and hiking... there is so much more to who I am than that.

So here goes, I'm going to do my best an open up with my crazy and wild life. I've often been told I should write a book about my life but I've always known that no one would believe it even though every word would be true. So believe it or not... this is my life.

Weeks Ending January 13- January 27, 2007 weeks 16-18

Not much to share on the what I've dones, only a sparse 14.5 miles with a combined total of 161 miles. Life has been busy with family, friends, work, being on the Bargaining committee for the union, the Beautification Committee for the town, it doesn't leave too many hours to spare... plus it's been cold, and I don't like the cold. I will walk even if it's 20 degrees but there can't be even a little bit of a breeze... 20 degrees is cold and trust me I don't see another soul out there walking when it's that cold... the dogs love it.

This is the week I start a new "routine"... I need to watch what I eat, I know I don't take enough calcium in and now that I'm an old lady it's important. Milk, a.k.a. cow puss as some people tend to refer to is just doesn't sit well with me... I've never been a milk drinker. Yogurt, cottage cheese, and cheese of all kinds I can do and need to add more of them to my diet. I don't like meat all that much and seriously need to add iron to my diet as well. I've never had a problematic my fruit and vegetable intake it has always been my preferred food group. I need to watch what starches enter my body and how much of the processed white flour passes my lips. I need to continue to cut back my intake of sugars in my coffee and soft drinks. I need to jump up my exercise routine... I have an extra 5-10 pounds that just wont leave my body no matter what I do.

I've decided I am going to try jumping rope, I figure if I can start with 5 minutes without dying I can eventually work my way up to 10-20 minutes of it. I use to jump rope a lot as a kid.

We are in the process of rethinking the laundry room to include and area for the dogs during the day as well as an area for exercise equipment... if we could decide between an elliptical machine or a tread mill we would be golden. We are also going to be adding a large weighted punching bag in the garage... mostly for DS#2 but with a house full of males I am sure he wont be to only one using it. The Bean is on it's way for more core exercising. We currently have a weight bench and set as well as a growing collection of small dumbbell weights. .. just trying to keep it fun and varied; I'm too hyper to do the same thing day in and out.

So the short of it is, I'm going to force myself to eat better and to step up my routine... I hope the others in my family choose to follow. I never thought when I started walking about 4 years ago it would ever turn into "this".