Be Still and Know...Then and Now

Merry Christmas! I just popped my ham in the oven and my house is nice a quiet after a whirl of family activity. The highlight of the morning was when I set the oven on fire making my sticky buns . Regretfully we were to focused on putting the fire out to get any pictures but I did however snap a few of the aftermath…needless to say Ina would be horrified at the end result. I am scratching my head trying to figure out exactly what went wrong with this recipe, it seemed fairly straight foreword however it was far from the wonderful sweet sticky puffy creation I watched her make on television………Y’all will just have to wait until next week for a full blow by blow account of the Epic Sticky Bun disaster but all is not lost and Christmas was not ruined. Looking back in the past week I will say that as weeks go it was a very nice week full of wonderful surprises. Sunday, December 18 Being the novice gardener that I am I was unaware that Lettuce is a fall/winter crop. When I was planting ...

Tis the season….to totally not take any pictures…… All the Christmas business has occupied my time with other things. However now that I am done I am looking forward to just enjoying the rest of the time until Christmas! Friday, December 9 I was shocked the other day when I was finishing up he last of my Christmas shopping. As I have mentioned before I am on a quest to try to be as “Made in the USA” as possible this Christmas. Can I tell ya it is not easy. Trying to find the where something is manufactures is a chore and trying to find the labeling on the packages can be even more difficult. I am surprised at just how many products have no indication on the labels what so ever as to where they are manufactures. Some even go as far as to simple state that the item is “imported” but neglect to state where it is imported from. However when I picked up this roll of wrapping paper in nice big bold labeling right across the front it read “Made in the USA”. It was $2.44 and it even has t...

Can I just tell ya that taking care of a two and a half year old really cuts into the blogging time. I did however manage to work on a few Christmas crafts as well as get a few more Christmas gifts checked off my list. So all things considered maybe it balances out a bit. No pictures on Sunday, November 27 or Monday, November 28 Tuesday, November 29 Muffinhead has a new favorite spot. She loves this basket, normally I keep all my unused throw pillow in it but today it was her own personal reading nook! She sat there for several minutes looking at books. Wednesday, November 30 I saw this cute idea floating around on Pintrest a few weeks ago. Since I am all into trying to keep it either made in the USA or Homemade well this little craft project fit the bill. The toilet paper is made in the USA, the glue I bought was made in the USA, the paint was made in the USA, the red yarn was made in the USA however, sadly the red glitter was made in China. One toilet paper roll cut into six ...

Having just retuned from my normal trip to the Wal-Mart for the necessary personal care products such as toothpaste and toothbrushes and etc, I returned home feeling a bit overwhelmed but also a bit encouraged. Out of the 24 products on my receipt there were only four or five that were manufactured out side of the United States. There were a few product that failed to state where they were manufactured so I will have to do some additional research to follow up to see how I did. My deodorant did not state where it was manufactured nor did the toothpaste I purchased. Most to the shampoos and conditions were all made in the USA as well as the other hair care products. I was shocked at how many products I purchased that did not list any where on the label where they were manufactured. In a few click on the www I was able to determine that the Sensodyne toothpaste was probably made into Malaysia, I tried to email the company that manufactured the deodorant but was unsuccessful due to th...

I read a post this morning that really got me to thinking. We all know that our economy is in a bad way. I’ve been watching the ongoing news stories on ABC about Made in America, and how almost all of the products we purchase are manufactured in China or in some other country. As I sit and type this I look around my house and know that almost all the items in it have been manufactured in a different part of the world. As consumers for decades we have been shopping arbitrarily without thought to the origins of the products we purchase. I will admit that the thought of perusing a complete boycott on all foreign manufacturing seems overwhelming. It would possibly render me and my whole family in the position of having to rid ourselves of every article of clothing and render us housebound were we to take the goal seriously. However as a consumer thinking of the small things I can accomplish within my realm of influence, well that is a bit different. What can I do to personally make a co...