by Kathie of Two Frog Home

I love to bake and for the most part I don’t need an excuse to do any baking.  However, it seems that I do more baking this time of year than any other and I love every minute of it.  I try to keep it simple, by choosing simple recipes that freeze well so that I can do a little at a time and just assemble boxes and baskets of cookies when its time to mail or give.  Here’s a simple, yummy cookie that freezes well.  You know, just in case you need an excuse to bake or a new cookie recipe…

Truffle Cookies

• 2 oz unsweetened chocolate
• 1/2 Cup butter
• 1 C brown sugar, packed
• 3/4 C sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 C flour
• 1/3 C cocoa
• 1/2 tsp baking powder

  Preheat oven to 350.

  Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler, set aside to cool.

  Combine the sugars, eggs, and vanilla. Add the melted chocolate mixture and stir well.

  Add the flour, cocoa, and baking powder, mix until combined.

  Drop by teaspoons full onto greased baking sheets.  I use a #60 cookie scoop for these and leave them rounded up, don’t flatten so that they do look a bit like a truffle candy.  Bake for 10 minutes or until set.

Hello everyone! My name is Stacy Q. and I’m one of the new writers here at Homemakers Who Work! I am very excited to be on board for this blog project! Let’s start off with a little bit about me – I’m a Marketing Manager/Freelance Designer from Indiana. I write for three other personal blogs including Squirrel Chatter (lifestyle blog), Confessions of a Design Junkie (design inspirations) and the Birds & the Bees (babyshower ideas, etc). When I’m not working, blogging or taking pictures -  I dabble in gardening,  do crafty things like knitting, crocheting, sewing and even a little baking and cooking if the inspiration strikes!

I look forward to getting to know all the writers and readers here on this blog! It’s going to be fun!

Now that the formal introductions are out of the way let’s get down to business! I’m sure you’ve about the wonders of vinegar for household cleaning, etc – but I am not sure if one can emphasize it enough. This stuff is amazing and can be used in so many ways. Here’s a list of the ways I use it most:

• I love our dishwasher, I do, it saves me so much time in the evenings but no matter what kind of detergent or rinsing agent we use our glasses always develop a hideous film over time (we have hard water). About every month or so, or when I notice the film building up – I simply use a part water, part vinegar rinse, let it set for a few minutes and wipe off to reveal gorgeously clear glasses once again!
• I keep a spray  in the shower to use as a daily shower cleaner to prevent build-up.
• A vinegar solution will also work wonders at busting up that nasty grim and soap build-up from about your faucets and sink handles.
• Have a smelly plastic container? Rinse with straight vinegar and let it set to dry.
• Vinegar is also great for cleaning out coffee pots and sanitizing counter tops!

Want more tips and tricks using this great natural, safe and low cost cleaner?
Visit http://www.vinegartips.com/ for 1001 Uses for Vinegar!

Kris of A  Small  Life

I had a nice little post planned about my attempts to wrangle my disorganized right-brained self into some semblance of order through the help of routines-the FlyLady way.  Something else came up that I wanted to explore, so I will write more about  routines at my blog next week. 

   Recently I have had some extreme psychological ups and downs.  Now that I have ‘evened-out’ I realize I have been emotionally distant from my present tense life; either very up and excited about plans, hopes and dreams for the future or  ‘hiding under the covers’.  I have been neglecting the here and now.  I don’t know about the rest of you, but it is a constant struggle for me to ’stay in the moment’.  I have such GREAT plans and ideas and goals, I am constantly looking ahead.  I forget how great the RIGHT NOW is.  Today is  the fulfillment of yesterday’s dream and I need to spend some time enjoying the fruits of my labor.   To stop and smell the roses, as they say.  To stop and truly be. here. now.

I have a very hard time sitting still; I am forever moving on the next thing.  I think I have a hard time being still because I am not truly comfortable in my own skin and having a project ‘in the works’  keeps my attention directed outward.   I have found myself with extra time this winter, but instead of relaxing and enjoying-I am filling my time with more projects, more goals, more to do lists.  There is nothing wrong with projects-it’s just a matter of balance!

I am practicing mindfulness in the odd moments of the day, checking in with my breath, with my emotions, trying to really SEE what is around me.  I am also carving out a nice 20 minutes every morning to sit in the dark living room with a fragrant cup of tea and just breathe, learning how to be comfortable in my own skin, right here, right now.  What brings YOU, the reader, back to the wonder of the present moment?  To the laugh of a child, to the sparkle of a frosty morning, or the awe of clouds scudding across the face of the moon.

by Stacy of Little Blue Hen

One of the simplest things I do that applies to all areas of my home is composting. Compost is simply letting your biodegradable trash decay naturally instead of sticking it in a landfill where it can’t actually break down. Composting can drastically reduce your trash output (and possibly trash bill), and also results in nutrient-rich fertilizer for your houseplants and garden. It does not, as many websites would have you believe, require expensive equipment or fancy systems. It can, but all you need is some type of receptacle and some biodegradable waste.

How large a receptacle is up to you. I live in an apartment with no yard, so I compost in a 30-gallon storage tub. Here is my composting assistant helping me set it up:

Note: Cats are not compostable. We’ll get to that later.

We drilled some holes in the sides for ventilation, slapped the lid on it, and put it on the porch. Voila. If you have a yard, you may just have a compost heap, or a large box. Check with your city or county laws as many have requirements for composting — and some offer free or discounted compost bins!

After you have a bin, you need to fill it with stuff. What kind of stuff? The basic ingredients are air, water, and food. Air? Check. Water? Easy to add (compost should feel like a wrung-out sponge). Food? There are a few types, often called “browns” (high in carbon) and “greens” (high in nitrogen). The obvious: fruit and vegetable scraps, weeds and garden trimmings, lawn clippings. Less obvious: paper towel tubes, dryer lint, horse manure, shredded newspaper and office paper, sawdust, tea leaves and coffee grounds, eggshells, egg cartons. Big no-nos: human or pet waste, any dairy or meat scraps and bones. The list gets a bit more stringent if you want to use the compost as fertilizer for edible gardens.

Another thing you can add is worms. Compost worms (normal earthworms won’t work) eat the microorganisms that help break down the waste materials and produce castings much faster than the normal decaying process.

Now what? You wait. Give the bin a good stir to aerate all layers of the pile. Let nature take its course. You can be very attentive and check often, or leave it alone to do its thing. Just check to make sure it doesn’t dry out and that your balance isn’t too far off as that can lead to pests and very unpleasant smells. A good compost heap shouldn’t stink.

In a few months, you’ll have dark, rich black compost. A few spoonfuls are great food for your houseplants. You can also use it in the garden as virtually free organic fertilizer.

Here are some starter sites with more complete information:

• Composting 101
• How to Compost
• Composting Info from the EPA
• Compost Guide from VegWeb

On my kitchen counter I keep a stainless steel compost pail (similar to this one from Target, but I got mine at Marshalls for $15) with a charcoal filter to collect kitchen scraps for the week. We used to use an old yogurt container but we upgraded – the filter also keeps the smell down. Many people collect the week’s scraps in a container in the freezer which eliminates pests and odors, and helps break the cells down for faster decomposition. About once a week I empty the pail into our bin and cover it with the contents of the paper shredder to prevent flies on the patio. We also have red composting worms which chomp through all that waste as fast as they can wriggle.

It’s so easy. Best of all, we don’t have to take out the garbage as often. It’s also a great activity for kids — playing in dirt, seeing worms, gardening, and reducing trash!

Are you still here? Sorry, that got a little long. That’s the very basics; I am no expert. Any other major tips? I know several of the other authors here compost. Do you?

As we move into December, we at Willow’s Cottage turn our attention to our Christmas Traditions.  Because we have lived in many different cities and countries, our traditions are not connected to places but to activities.  These traditions are just three of the many things we do to celebrate our favorite season.

Baking Cookies– Every year, I bake cookies using my German grandmother’s sugar cookie recipe.  I roll out the dough and create shapes using her old tin cookie cutters.  I remember making cookies with my grandma at her house, then later with my mother and grandmother and  then sharing the time with my children when they were very young.  I love making these cookies, then frosting and decorating them and sharing them with my neighbors.

Sending Cards– I love to send Christmas cards!  Buying and mailing all those cards can get expensive, so I always purchase cards the week after Christmas and save them for the next year.  I realize that most people have stopped sending Christmas greetings, if indeed they ever sent them at all, but this tradition is one I budget into my Christmas costs because it’s important to me.

Listening to Carols– Starting on Thanksgiving Day, we listen to Christmas music.  We love it all– Handel’s Messiah, Silent Night, Silver Bells, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.  Singing and listening to carols is a free activity and one that gives us great pleasure.

What are your Christmas traditions?

By Judy at My Freezer is Full

Confession time- my house is a mess.  I need to do some serious organizing and putting things away.  You see- I have problem.  I have a hard time throwing things away.  I’m forever thinking: “Oh, that could be useful someday”.  So things tend to accumulate.  I’ve got stacks of empty cottage cheese and yogurt cartons, fabric, yarn, old buttons and bits and pieces of this and that in boxes.  My husband is just as bad, collecting bolts, screws and other potentially useful stuff.  We’ve got an overload of ‘things’.  But I guess it isn’t all bad.  Rather than buy new pillows for the couch, I dug into my fabric stash and recovered the ones we had.  When my DH needed a particular size screw for a repair, he sorted through the collection until he found one.  Scrap wood for a project- no problem. Need a pot for a seedling- just go get one.  Materials to send in to school for collage making- got you covered.

So where does the line lie?  How much is too much?  While laid up for the last day and a half with a bad combination of a stomach bug and pulled muscles in my back (I’ll leave that one to your imagination!), I did something I rarely do: watch TV.  I had the opportunity to see a program on hoarders, those people who’s ‘collecting’ is even worse than mine.  But it made me think- Am I really saving things for future use, or do I have a problem?

Considering that I can walk through my home, it’s clean enough to entertain and I don’t have difficulty throwing out truly useless things, I don’t think I’m a hoarder.  And I do generally use the things I save at some point.  But it still leaves the problem of organization.  I’m hoping that once construction is done on the house I’ll have more room  for storage and I’ll get organized (yeah, like that will ever happen!)

But I still feel like I have too much stuff.  But it’s really useful stuff….

Anyone else with this problem?

by Teresa

I’m sure the Cat-Herder and I aren’t the only people who look for fun, inexpensive things to do with our friends, other than throwing  a dinner party. (Always fun, but a bit of work.) One couple we’re friends with has gotten us into a habit of periodic gaming days.  They both love games of all kinds–in fact, he’s been featured in the local paper for his amazing collection of vintage board games–and so does my husband.

I was dubious at first. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a bit of a ferret. Two modes, working or tipped over on the couch. I wasn’t sure I could handle play that I couldn’t excuse with redeeming social value. You know what I’m talking about, because I bet a lot of you busy ladies make the same excuses to allow yourselves some recreation: knitting makes gifts! my doctor told me dance classes help with my back problem! the flower garden attracts bees to the veggie garden! Etc, etc.

To my surprise, I’m loving game days. We talk and laugh and play and eat and drink and can’t wait to do it again when it’s finally time to say good night.

My favorites are card games. I’ve gotten hooked on rummy. I also like word games such as Boggle, though when we play those, the guys tend to go into another room and hide from the competition between me and the other woman. But we play all kinds of wacky things: kids’ games, board games, strategy games that last all afternoon. Sometimes it’s just us, or us and the House-Geek. Sometimes other people are invited. It’s always fun.

We’re all avid cooks and fond of a tipple, so we usually enjoy a little wine or beer over the course of a day and have quite a spread of food, but there’s no reason to make it complicated or expensive. We pot-luck, each couple tosses in a bottle from our collection, and we enjoy a great day of games, eats, and great company at a very reasonable cost. (OK, after the last one we all went out to a very nice restaurant and the cost wasn’t quite as reasonable, but you have to splurge sometimes!)

by Stephanie of Going Green in So. IL

It’s fairly easy to do, you can do it almost anywhere and doesn’t really cost much (outside of a decent pair of shoes).  It’s something I confess that I really need to do more often.   Ideally I would be hiking out in the Shawnee National Forest, nature is my battery charger, but just about any place where I can walk without bumping into a ton of people will do.  I’ve walked the parking lot on my lunches at work before.  I think a lot during my walks,which makes it an ideal activity when Im really pissed off.   I sort through the garbage that tends to clutter my brain, I look at problems like pathways and try to work them out.  It’s usually also a refresher. 

If I’m having to do some urban walking such as the parking lot or the mall then I usually am listening to music. Depending on the reason I’m walking and what type of state of mind I want post walk will determine the type of playlist I will load up. I don’t have a super expensive mp3 player,  just something that will do what I want and not be bulky.  The great techno beats are usually for when I’m trying to stay at a faster pace or when I really need to wake up.  Cool downs, cool offs and lazy strolls tend to be tracks from what I call the “spa” genre but I’ve been known to put on some John Lee Hooker or other blues artists.

Timing can really be a crunch for most of us.  How can we possibly walk away from all the things that we are doing or need to be done?   Im asking how can you NOT?  It is crucial to our own health, both mentally and physically to make ourselves take the time out for activities such as this. I try to go for a minimum of 30 minutes, if I’m on lunch I try for 15.   Sometimes when I’m super steamed at home its just a couple blocks down to the gas station and back but I always feel better afterward no matter how long or short the walk is.

by Annette @ The Ward House

Yes, when I relax wool and wood are involved.  Having the time to just sit and relax is rare so I need something that is portable, that can be picked up and put down without much to-do.  Yesterday, amidst snow and rain, Ronnie and I traveled up to Monterey to visit a store called Wool Becomes Ewe; So much fiber, so little time.  I splurged and picked up two rolls of Encore Colorspun, worsted weight yarn, by Plymouth Yarn ($5.98/each).  My color is 7128 ->  What am I going to do with this yarn?  Another sock.  I believe with the appropriate yarn and pattern, a pretty, wearable sock can be made.  I am finishing the toe of a wearable, though not very pretty, first ever, is-going-to-be-a-primitive- decoration stocking, sock.

The pattern I am using is by Sassy Stripes, and is a free pattern.

This is where I am at the moment. . . An intermediate level pattern, similar to the beginning pattern used for the primitive decoration stocking sock mentioned above.  My plan is to learn to knit socks, two at a time, on two circular needles – for that I will take a class at Wool Becomes Ewe.

Pick something that relaxes/distracts you for some down time.  For me, the act of knitting is relaxing.  My girls play high school volleyball and when they went to State, some of the games were so high tension that I had to start knitting a dishcloth.  It was finished by the end of the match.  *whew*  We were the state runner-up’s btw.  =-)

I believe I’ve said this before in another post- do not let a pattern intimidate you.  Obviously a beginning crafter would not pick up an expert pattern; however, the challenging patterns are what helps us to grown and learn.  Take a class, learn via YouTube, find a friend, make a friend.

by Kathie of Two Frog Home

A while back, I found a book on making envelopes from calendars, magazines, and other upcycled materials.  The book included templates, I’ve long since gotten rid of the book, but I still have the templates and its a favorite activity for those quiet nights in front of the TV.  It’s an easy and frugal activity that gives your mail a little extra something and is a great way to re-use items before recycling.

You can get free templates for envelope making (and many other papercrafts) at Milkwood Designs. When I make the envelopes, I make them out of anything I can get my hands on:

• Old Magazines
• Rolls of Vintage Wallpaper found at the thrift-store
• Calendars
• Scrapbooking Paper
• Pages from Coloring Books
• Pages from books (I know, its almost a crime to tear about a book – but I try to pick up ones that are falling apart & cheap for this)

It’s a great activity for kids, too.  They can draw pictures on paper or color pages from coloring books and create special envelopes for various people in their lives.  They make great gifts for the letter writers on your list too.  Consider packaging sets together in a nice box with a pen or just wrapping a bunch together to include in a gift basket of other items.  Often, I put them together in sets of 6 or 12 as a small thank-you gift.

I find that the envelopes are always appreciated and often talked about gift.  People seem to be genuinely fascinated with the idea and its a great way to make a big impact without spending big money or tons of time.  As the end of the year approaches, be sure to snag old photo calendars to make into envelopes.

A grouping of small thank you gifts. A collection of 6 upcycled envelopes tied together with yarn and a holiday themed pencil. They were very well received.