The Easiest Cheapest Ouchie Pillow

My original ouchie pillow was a sewn pillow with rice inside. It froze very well, and was comfortable to use (rather than the plastic guys that freeze you and "burn"). But when Lyliana hurt her mouth, the ouchie pillow got wet and was ruined.

Here is my solution:

Take a new clean sock, fill with rice, tie off with a hair-tie or rubber band. And put it in the freezer. {You can also heat in the oven or microwave for hot therapy.}

I love it. If it gets wet, I can open it, dump out the wet rice, wash and dry it, and start over. It is so simple and easy. And cheap because I already had these things in the house.

Beach Cheap! ;)

More Garden Pictures

Too high to be picked, I can now enjoy my petunias.

;)

A brocolli.

Pretty pretty hanging pots.

Two types of rosemary (green and clay pots) and my favorite herb ever, thyme.

Pansies in the sunshine.

My Beach Cheap Garden - year 2

I grew cauliflower this year. Successfully. My daughter and I enjoyed picking it from the plant and munching on it right there in the backyard.

To be Beach Cheap, use everything! This old toy bucket had a crack in the bottom. So now it has been resurrected as a brocolli planter.

A little spray paint makes an old rusted planter look like new.

A packet of lettuce seeds kept us in salads for the entire season. ($2.00)

I learned that if I put some hanging pots on the fence, out of toddler-reach, I would have plenty of pretty flowers to look at.

She's busy on the swings anyway.

And I suggest getting free pickle buckets from your local fast food restaurant. They just throw them away. Drill some holes in the bottom, and they make great planters. I have a mulberry tree in one, sweet potatoes in another.

Happy Springtime!

:)

Crocheted Soap Savers

Here is a crocheted soap saver I made while watching a movie last night. It's quick and simple. And, because I had free (here-take-this-I-don't-crochet-anymore) yarn, it only cost me the time.

I make my own soap, and that makes it pretty valuable to me. I hate to see small pieces wash down the drain or dissolve before their time. Now, I put the broken pieces into the soap saver. They last longer, and I am happy.

No, I'm not cheap... I'm Beach Cheap!

An Important but Random Thought

A man was bartering with Satan.
All the man wanted in the whole wide world was a life free from financial stress with health and long lives for his loved ones.
All Satan wanted was his soul.
He was about to sign in blood when he was struck with a sudden fear,
“Wait!” He said, “Satan, can you guarantee that my death will be painless?”
Satan laughed.
“You mortals… you amuse me... How can you fret over some insignificant thing, and freely sell that one thing that is of utmost importance?”

We on earth become confused easily, and the enemy uses this against us. We are so very concerned with money, health, safety and pain, but we are ignorant of true value.
For what would you sell your soul?
Money… Beauty… Fame… Adoration…Power… Sex…
All of these things are readily available. “Not to you,” you say? Yes, indeed. Any of you can have any of these things if you work hard enough.
But we have only one soul. One life. One eternity.
Where will you spend yours? What is truly of utmost importance to you?

Please check out my new blog

As you all know, I want to be a writer.

I wrote a novel in 2009. And then I stuck it in a drawer for 19 months. I knew I wanted to improve it. But I didn't know how.

Then something occured to me: my desire to write comes from a God-given need to help people. And my writing is not going to help anyone if I don't share it.

So I've taken it out of the drawer. And I am rewriting it. Again. But this time, I am sharing it with you all and the internet-universe. I hope that the accountability of posting on this blog will motivate me to finish what I started. And I hope that this story will help others, or entertain, or provide whatever it is that you need at the moment.

You can find it here: http://theinvitationoftheocean.blogspot.com

-Lainie

What You Really Need to Start Canning

I procrastinated about canning for almost eight years. I was afraid. Older women told me it was a lost art. Teachers told me it was dangerous. The FDA or AMA or somebody official told me to not even try-- the risk of botulism was too great. But then my Dad started doing it.

My Dad and I are competitive. We can't help it. It's the way we were raised. ;) He enjoyed gifting me with canned pears, peaches, and boiled peanuts. Yessiree, he loved the look on my face when he revealed his new skills. And then he gave me an even better gift. You know the saying about how if you give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day, but teach him to fish... Yeah.

Okay, so this is really all you need to get started. Canner (comes with wire rack and instruction booklet), pressure canner (comes with instruction booklet), canning kit (jar funnel, jar tongs, magnet-thingy to lift the lids out of hot water, and a stick-thing to let the bubbles out). The Ball Blue Book came from Lowe's, I think. The rest came from WalMart. If you live in the city (as I do), you may have to go to Ace Hardware to get your canning supplies. My neighborhood WalMart doesn't carry them. All of this cost about $75 to $85, one-time expenses. You don't need the Ball Blue Book because both canners come with instruction books with recipes. But I prefer the Blue Book. It has lots of recipes, tips, and pictures. I'm partial to pictures.




Other than that, you need jars. At first, just buy the box of jars-- they come with lids and screw-tops. After the first use, you'll need to buy more lids. I don't bother with labels. Simply write the contents and date on the lid-- you can only use it once anyways.


If you have your own garden and produce to can, Great! If you don't, make a trip to your local farmer's market. The prices are superb and you'll find plenty of fresh produce to can and preserve.


Have fun, my fellow ants!