Salt

 

I'm not sure where I saw it first...

but it caught my eye immediately!!

 

 

 

IT'S ANOTHER GOOD USE

FOR A CANNING JAR!

 

Who would have even guessed that the tops of

the round, cardboard, salt containers fit

PERFECTLY into a wide mouth lid?!!

 

I tried a pint sized jar first,

but it was too small to hold all the salt.

 

 

The wide mouth quart jar was JUST RIGHT!

(It would have more salt, but the

container was already partially used!)

 

And here you have it... 

another perfectly good reason to

keep extra canning jars on hand!

LEGOS

Legos are an ageless 'toy' from way back...

my brother, cousins and I LOVED our Legos!

Did you know they've been around since 1958

and were introduced in the United States in 1973.

Neither did I!

 

We had our family Thanksgiving over the weekend

and had 23 of us gathered, for the first time in

a very long time!!

 

I pulled a few games out to bring with us for after dinner, 

and then Audrey went looking for something specific!!

 

She found "THE TUB"!

 

 

What a treasure trove of memories!!

 

 

Some of the kid's creations were still in tact after all

these years!! In my mind I could hear the little voices

playing and yelling, laughing and bartering for pieces!!

 

 

Here they are now... ages 14 to 25!!

 

 

Ahhh, more memories in the making!

 

I love my family!

Sausage - Sweet Potato Bake

I tried a new recipe tonight! I was looking through some of the postings on the Simple Lives Thursday and saw this one....  I was intrigued as the post writer said she found it in one of the cookbooks that I have right here on my bookshelf! Kinda funny how we all see different things when when we are looking at the very same thing!!

 

 

Well, I made the casserole and it was pretty good!! Naturally, there are things I'd change next time... like, I'd probably cook up 1/4-1/2 of a sliced Vidalia onion in with the sausage, and I'd cut down the added sugar even more then I already did!! :)



Actually, I would only add a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar to the top... and nothing more! The flavor was quite good and everyone said they liked it! Pete suggested using a more sour apple, it would help to balance the naturally sweet flavors. I may have to do that next time too!

Cold Storage Closet

Last year some of the squash went bad because I just couldn't use them up fast enough. The air wasn't moving around in the basement space, it was damp with a dirt floor and they simply spoiled! We didn't want to have that happen again, so after brainstorming, watching some 'you tube' videos and reading about how other people made their cold storage units we came up with a pretty cool plan!! Pete really is the 'mastermind' to this whole project! I just kept finding more information to show him and gave him some of my ideas, but he's the one who made it all happen!!

Pete had quite a bit of the materials already! Check this out! He bought some plywood and PVC pipe, we had leftover paint from the 'ooops' section of Home Depot from a few years ago, a patio door that would have been taken the dump from an old job, some 1X1 scrap for the shelves, and he found the black tubing at the dump!! (The men that work at the dump love to see him come and swap ideas with him!)

 

Here's the finished cold storage closet!!

It's kind of hard to see the size... but it

is roughly 35 inches deep and about

85 inches wide and tall enough for my

'TALL' family members to stand with extra

space over head so, it's probably 7' tall.

 

The venting system allows for the air exchange!

The long black hose/tubing is bringing in the cold

air from the outside and the PVC pipe allows

for the exchange of warmer air to escape!

(He is also adding a small fan to keep the air moving...

photo to follow when it is installed!)

 

I'm taking pictures from standing in the doorway...

 

Here's a look to the right. The shelving is not totally

finished, but enough for our produce this year.

The back wall is cinder block and we're hoping

this will work to our advantage.

 

There is lots of space to add shelving for

apples, carrots, beets, potatoes etc.

 

Here's a look to the left....

spaghetti squash, sweet potatoes,

butternut squash and potatoes in bins and ready to eat!

 

Now I'm standing outside of the 'closet'. You can see

the black tubing going straight to the right... that

will lead to the outside to draw in the colder air!

The short white tube is the PVC pipe for the warmer

air to rise and escape!

 

And, this is the outside view where the

cold air will enter the PVC/black tubing!!

 

FYI: Yes, there will be some screen added

to the outside of this PVC to prevent

the little furry friends from find the

'banquet hall' that we call our cold storage closet!

 

Next on the docket... 

 

 Doing some research to find out if

certain fresh foods really do cause other foods

to spoil faster! It seems to me, that years ago,

I read 'something' about NOT keeping apples and

squash or apples and potatoes or potatoes and something

in the same area... but, I don't remember the conclusion!

 

I'll keep you posted!

 

I've shared this on Simple Lives Thursday!

Please take some time to look at some of the

other blogger's ideas.