Tiger Cubs, Meatball Soup, Uses for Olive Oil, and Rambling

Hey All,

I went to take Colin to school this morning backed out of the driveway and hmmm...something is not right. A flat! So I was homebound today until Tony could fix it. Hopefully that stuff he put in it works. I don't have a clue where I found a nail it's just one of those mysteries.

In a group that I'm in there was a posting for uses for olive oil. I read through them and got right up and did one of them immediately. All the bedroom doors had a case of the squeakies and now they are cured.

Nutritionists will continue to tout olive oil for its high content of healthful, monounsaturated fats, like oleic acid, and polyphenols. The fruit oil practically propelled the entire Western world in antiquity, and is mentioned in nearly every sacred text this side of the Tigris and Euphrates. As a cooking fat, it’s high up on the heart-smart list…which works out, ‘cause it tastes darn good.

(As tip, Consumer Reports has rated Goya brand extra virgin olive oil [from Spain] as the best general purpose olive oil, and as their best buy. I whole-healthy- heartedly concur.)

Olive oil also has plenty of uses around your home, outside of the sauté pan. There’s no need to waste your expensive Greek or Spanish Extra Virgin for these tasks, just grab a bottle of inexpensive, domestic olive oil for around-the-house use. You can cut down on excess oil by investing in a refillable spray can, such as the Misto.

1. Shave. Olive oil can provide a safe and natural lubricant for a close shave. Rub in an extra teaspoon after washing your body or face once finished.

2. Wood Furniture Polish. Wipe with a teaspoon of olive oil and a soft rag. Add a bit of vinegar of citrus juice to bulk up the cleaning power, and add a fresh scent.

3. Fingernails. Use a bit of olive oil to moisturize cuticles, or mix oil and water and soak your hands before a manicure.

4. Lubricate Measuring Cups and Spoons. Rub or spray olive oil on your measuring tools for easy clean-up of sticky substances like honey, grain mustards, and sugar syrups.

5. Control hair frizz. Comb a bit of olive oil through dry hair to tame the frizz and flyaways on humid days or in the winter.

6. Free a stuck zipper. Use a cotton swab to apply olive oil to the teeth of a zipper, then gently ease the tab down.

7. Care for your kitty. Add a teaspoon of olive oil to your cat’s food to help prevent hairballs, and provide a shiny coat.

8. DIY Lip balm. Mix olive oil and melted beeswax in a 1:1 ratio, with an essential oil for fragrance, and say goodbye to dry and chapped lips.

9. Stop Snoring. Take a sip of olive oil before heading to bed. It might lubricate your throat muscles, and stop yourself, or your partner, from snoring.

10. Shine stainless steel and brass. Rub a bit of olive oil on a clean rag to prevent streaks, corrosion, and tarnish.

11. Exfoliate your face and hands. Rub your skin with olive oil, then scrub with sugar or coarse salt, and rinse.

12. As you bathe. Add a few tablespoons of olive oil to your running bath water. You’ll be amazed when you towel off.

13. Remove makeup. Dab a bit under your eyes, on your cheeks and forehead, then wipe with a damp cloth.

14. Cure an earache. Very carefully, use a cotton swab to apply olive oil to the outside ear cavity to help with earaches and excess wax.

15. Remove paint from your skin. Rub on olive oil onto messy hand and arms (or faces) and allow the oil to soak into the skin for five minutes, then rinse with soap and water.

16. Treat lice. Apply olive oil to your youngster’s hair, and leave on for at least 40 minutes. Shampoo twice, then apply a preventative.

17. Stop a throat tickle. Take a sip of olive oil to stop the itchy flicker that is making you cough.

18. Fix a squeaky door. Use a rag or cotton swab to apply olive oil to the top of a problematic hinge in your home or automobile.

19. Shoe polish. Rub down your shoes with just a spray of olive oil to maintain their shine.

20. Personal Lubricant. It works…

21. Soften your skin. Rub olive oil daily on notoriously dry areas, such as your feet or elbows, especially after a shower, shaving, or waxing.

22. Easy clean up of garden tools. Spritz some olive oil on your tools to cut down on dirt buildup. Read more here!

23. Condition leather. Rub olive oil into worn leather, such as a baseball glove, and let set for 30 minutes, then wipe away any excess.

24. As a hair tonic. Comb some olive oil through your hair for the vintage look of pomade without the build-up, or add a bit to wet hair for grungy, but clean, look.

25. Cure diaper rash. Gently wipe on olive oil to your baby’s bottom to help with the irritation of diaper rash.

While I had it out I also put some on my dry elbows. I'm going to try #11 soon.

Colin is having a blast in Tiger Cubs. He only has one part left to memorize to get his Bobcat badge. We have had fun doing a few of the activities...

Family Fun... I found a 100 piece puzzle of a tiger and we put it together. I'm glad it was only 100 pcs because it was rather challenging. It took about a half hour with all of us working on it. I've put it up so we can put it together one more time and then I think I'll see about finding some puzzle glue so I can hang it on his wall.

Learning About an Animal...We read "Getting To Know Nature's Children...Tigers". We found out many things we didn't know about them. Like they are at the top of the cat family and they are endangered. Colin also found out they eat meat and he said with a disgusting look on his face...oh no they are meat eaters! lol

Tonight we made a musical instrument... a shaker. We took an empty water bottle and he put rice in it. Then he shook it as we sang the song they learned Monday night. And he also made a tiger stick puppet to go along with the song.

Ok, not all our projects will be about tigers! lol But that is what he has wanted to do right now.

I've decided with fall fast approaching that I'm going to make a different soup each week. When I say this I mean that some may be a different variation. If the recipe comes from the Internet, cookbook, or family hand me down it will be easy to follow instructions. But if I just throw a little of this and that in like many of my recipes then they may not be that easy to follow. When I throw something together I don't measure a thing out. So with that said here is the Meatball soup I made tonight.

Meatball Soup

hamburg

Italian bread crumbs

garlic salt, onion powder, salt, and pepper (you be the judge on how much to put in)

egg

Mix all the above ingredients together. Mix well. Make into tiny balls and put into skillet to brown and then transfer to baking dish. Bake on 350 degrees for about 25 to 40 minutes. Test for doneness it depends on how big your meatballs are.

beef broth

28 oz can petite diced tomatoes

a package lipton onion soup mix

Put those 3 ingredients into a large pot and let simmer for about 40 minutes.

Then I added some frozen veggies... about 8 oz of Baby Corn & Vegetable Blend and some California Blend...mostly out of this bag I took the cauliflower. I also broke apart some frozen spinach and put a nice lump of that in.

Then added water to the top it didn't take much. I then added 3 beef bouillon cubes, I like beefy. I also cooked a little elbow macaroni and added that to the pot. Then seasoned to taste with garlic salt, onion powder, salt and pepper. Let simmer until veggies are done and serve. We had Italian bread with it.

*****Note***** With the frozen Baby Corn Blend and California Blend that I didn't use I mixed those into a gallon size freezer bag and put them back into the freezer.

The kids loved it! Dale even had some as a snack tonight instead of an ice cream sandwich and Jene` is taking some for her lunch tomorrow. As typing this retracing how I made this I think I have everything in it. That's got to be it I only used what I had on hand for this one.

I've been working on my fall cleaning actually in the house this week. I love Mr. Clean Magic Erasers! I have done all the doors, the chair rail in the living room and now I'm doing the kitchen cabinets. But I think they are a bit on the expensive side and with prices for food and gas as they are I need to cut back. Food Lion as it's own brand of these for much cheaper but I'm afraid they won't work as well. I've decided to do my own little product testing to see how they compare and which I will be buying from now on. So on my next posting you can read all about it.

I cleaned out the microwave which that is done weekly but this time I moved it to clean under it and the wall behind it. OH MY GOSH you should have seen under there....... NO I take that back you didn't want to see under there. Some child or gown adult spilled something and didn't bother to move it to clean under it. It was GROSS! I also climbed up the ladder and got down all the baskets and wine decanter and glasses and washed all the dust and grime off those. Oh and cleaned off the top of the frig! For some reason the top of the frig is a collector spot. Tony had all kinds of crap up there... hammer, screwdriver, packages of latches for doors, screws, nails, super glue and then I found stuff that the older kids had hid up there from Colin and the grandkids. But it's all cleaned off once again and looks nice for now. lol I've got a good start on it and it's starting to look better.

Guess what I have noticed while doing this post??? Give up??? Quite a while back I was complaining that at times my postings were not in the same format after they were saved. I couldn't figure it out why at times they turned out the way I typed them and at times they were messed up. I've noticed if I add pictures I have to add them to start off with if I add them after I have started typing anything my post is messed up. But if they are added first then bring them into the spot I want them in while typing it turns out like it should. I will see I forgot to add these pictures first and I can tell my format is different than what I want it. I'm having a hard time with spacing on some things.

I finally finished this book I've been reading. The Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen. It was a good book and I found myself wanting more of it to read when I finished it. It was just after starting it I had many distractions and had a hard time finding time to read it. I will have to look for more of her books at the library. Here's the description from the back of the book...

Present day: Julia Hamill makes a horrifying discovery on the grounds of her new home in rural Massachusetts; a skull buried in the rocky soil--human, female, and, according to the trained eye of Boston medical examiner Maura Isles, scarred with the unmistakable marks of murder long ago....

Boston, 1830: To pay for his education, medical student Norris Marshall has joined the ranks of local "resurrectionists"--those who plunder graveyards and harvest the dead for sale on the black market. Norris now finds himself the prime suspect in a series of grisly murders. Joined by a sardonic young man named Oliver Wendell Holmes, Norris sets out to prove his innocence and track down a maniacal fiend--part of the dark mystery reaching across centuries to the present-day world of Julia Hamill.

Now I just have to finish that afghan! Dale really likes it he keeps asking... is that for me. No, sorry. I know I won't have time to get his finished before Christmas but maybe for his birthday.

It's time to start thinking about the other two things I've decided to do for the fall/winter months and that's to make a different dessert once a week and a muffin once a week. Hmmm...wonder how I will do with that. Muffins shouldn't be too hard because I do make a lot of them for the kids but seems like it's always the same kind. But the dessert is another thing that will be a challenge I don't make many of those on a regular bases.

Just one more rambling before I head for bed. I think we are going to have an early winter. We have had a drastic change in temps that the kids have even been chilled by it. It's just not normal for this time of year. I will admit that the cooler weather does feel good but I'm not looking forward to it getting colder. The other day when I walked up to get the mail a squirrel ran across the road and in his mouth was the biggest acorn I have ever seen. I'm told that is one sign of a early and bad winter that the acorns are really big this year. Time will tell!

Good Nite All :)

Vickie