Current Feed Content from 3 Dec 08 09:34
There's Still Time To Take the Local, Organic Thanksgiving Challenge!
2008-11-18T16:59:00.007-05:00
Here's the backyard in the summer, all green and full of life!
This was the backyard just before Halloween. Lots of dead leaves falling off the trees, and covering the ground. It's no secret that I do not care for Autumn very much, and this may have been why I've been having a hard time trying to come up with a new post here.
All of a sudden, out of nowhere, I'm reminded of some better times when Jenn stopped by and left this great post on my entry about Fresh Tomatoes:Hey there. Thanks for the great post about Eat Well (as well as the widget). Tomato season has come and gone, but I wanted to let you know that the Eat Well Guide is still very active. Eat Well has teamed up with the Consumers Union, nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, to issue a Local, Organic Thanksgiving Challenge. We’re inviting people to take a spin on the Eat Well Guide to find local food and cook at least one local (preferably organic) dish for Thanksgiving, and share recipes at the CU site. Read more about it at the Green Fork...
So, I'm embarrassed that I haven't been keeping up with things over at the Green Fork blog, and Eat Well, but I'm encouraging all you readers to stop by and check it out for yourselves. Especially if you support eating locally, it's good for you and the environment!CleanerLifePumpkin Carving Just In Time For Halloween
2008-10-26T15:34:00.004-04:00I put pumpkin carving off for too long this year, I should have started at least a week earlier, but I've been so busy.
This year I took a tip from Pumpkin Carving and keyed the lid to my Jack O' Lantern. First I used a crayon to draw the line to follow to make the lid.
Then I used one of the pumpkin carving tools from the Pumpkin Masters Pumpkin Carving Kitto make the lid. When I first tried carving a pumpkin last year, I used a sharp kitchen knife, even though I had bought the Carving Kit, and it didn't take long for me to put aside the knife, and use one of the saws in kit.
This is the second year I've used the same saw kit. I can see how it would be very easy to break a blade, but if you take it easy, these tools can last you through a few pumpkins, at least.
The saw doesn't even need a starter hole, at least I didn't need one. I thrust it right in, and started sawing. I did need to saw along the path twice, then work the saw along the path as I pulled up on the lid. I think I was cutting the strings inside that were holding the lid in place.
Another cool tool in the kit is the scoop. It's simple and plastic, but perfectly designed to scrape the inside of the pumpkin. I forgot how well this worked, I used a metal spoon on the pumpkin I cut up last week. It took at least twice as long with the spoon, and my wrist and arm really ached afterwards.
The kit comes with some really nice patterns to use as carving templates. I took the easiest one, and made a reduced copy to fit the size pumpkin I was using. Just a little tape to hold it in place, and I'm all set.
Well, at least I got it done in time for Halloween, but here's what I really wanted:
Seeds! More than I got from the last pumpkin, even though this was a bit smaller. Too bad I can't get even more from a single pumpkin, but since I can't, I'll have to settle for store bought pumpkin seeds
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CleanerLifeAutumn: Fresh Pumpkin Time
2008-10-19T20:12:00.009-04:00Fall is here, and this year I wanted to roast pumpkin seeds. Last year was the first time I had ever carved pumpkins, and loved having fresh roasted pumpkin seeds. When I ran out of pumpkin seeds, I tried roasting melon seeds. Not as satisfying as pumpkin seeds, but still worth a try.
So, this autumn I decided not to waste the first pumpkin as a Jack O' Lantern, and tried making pickled pumpkin. The first pumpkin turned out to be too big, but I didn't realize this until I had enough pumpkin cut up for one batch of pickled pumpkin -- just a quarter of the pumpkin!
I finished cutting the first half of the pumpkin and began blanching what I wasn't going to pickle before deciding to roast the second half before cutting it up. I had seen tips saying to roast the pumpkin before cutting it up, I should have followed those tips in the first place!
It was so much easier to finish cutting up the pumpkin after roasting it, but when I was all done, I had two jars of pickled pumpkin, a batch of roasted pumpkin seeds (much smaller than I had been hoping for) and enough pumpkin for nine pies, assuming two cups per pie.
The next day, my sister agreed to help me make some pumpkin muffins, but we ended up with a batch of pumpkin cupcakes instead, quite good, too. All decorated for Halloween!
I seriously doubt they'll last until Halloween, guess we'll have to make more!
I posted a link to this video on Twitter, and several people thanked me for posting it, if you haven't seen it, here is Forever Autumn by Justin Hayward -- Enjoy!CleanerLifeDo It Yourself Wireless Backup Camera Installation
2008-10-11T18:08:00.000-04:00
A backup camera on whatever type of auto, car, truck, SUV or RV you are driving will help you see what you cannot see with your rear view mirrors. A backup camera can help you avoid hitting another vehicle, running over a pet, or running over a child while in reverse.
Installing the VR3 Wireless Backup Camera is very easy and can be installed on almost any vehicle. The camera does need to connect to the electrical harness for power, but the connection between camera and the monitor, which can sit on your dash, is wireless so you don't need to worry about running a cable to connect the two.
See How:
DIY Auto Backup Camera: How To Install A Backup Camera On Your Car, Truck, SUV, Or RVCleanerLifeNothing Says Fall like Leaves...
2008-10-05T15:17:00.001-04:00...And A Woodchuck In The Front Yard!
Ain't she cute?
Well, to be honest I can't be sure if it is a she or he. We know there are woodchucks living in the back woods. Almost on a daily basis, we'll see one or two grazing in the back yard. The lawn isn't just grass, there's a lot of stuff that grows wild, but gets mowed into conformity. The woodchucks seem to favor eating something with large leaves that's mixed in the lawn.
The woodchucks are normally satisfied with that, and are rarely in the front, but the lawn isn't growing very fast since the daily temperatures have dropped, so I guess it's getting harder for them to fill up on the stuff out back.
There were rabbits living in the yard, but they haven't been seen this year. In years past we'd see the cat chasing them, but he died earlier this year and he hasn't been replaced. Last year the cat had actually attempted to chase one of the woodchucks, but the woodchuck didn't run like the rabbits do. Instead, it chased after the cat. Didn't chase the cat for long, just long enough to let the cat know not to try that again! :)
Well, as you can probably tell from the picture, even if woodchucks aren't intimidated by cats, this one didn't like me watching her eat, and it didn't take long for her to casually make her exit.
I don't like people watching me eat either!CleanerLifeGas Or Electric String Trimmers
2008-09-27T19:40:00.000-04:00
I had been using my dad's gas powered trimmer to edge the lawn and trim tall grass around the yard where it's hard to get to with the lawn mower. It was such a frustrating experience. It was heavy, noisy and awkward. A dirty little "2 stroke" engine that burns a mixture of gasoline and oil, real great to be breathing this exhaust, I'm sure.
I had problems starting it, then it didn't want to continue running. It probably needed a tune up, but I didn't like the looks of it. The fuel lines connect at the top of the fuel tank, does it run on fumes? I really don't know much about engines, but something about the way it looked bothered me.
I was already thinking that an electric trimmer would be better. The electric motor is lighter, and there's no exhaust to worry about. No chance of spilling gasoline, no mixing gas with oil, no fussing with air filters, and spark plugs.
A quick search online, and the Black & Decker Grass HogCordless String Trimmers looked like my best choice, especially when it comes with two 18v batteries which are compatible with other Black & Decker products...
Gas Or Electric String TrimmersCleanerLifeGreg Lake, Not Just One Third Of Emerson, Lake & Palmer
2008-09-19T19:46:00.000-04:00
For over four decades, Greg Lake has been a popular and innovative musician who has combined sophisticated pop and rock with the influence of Europe's golden age of classical music. He burst on to the international music scene in the late 1960s as bass player, and lead singer of the progressive rock group, King Crimson, then dominated the 1970s wave of progressive rock as one third of Emerson, Lake & Palmer.
Known for writing songs such as "Lucky Man", which he wrote while still in school (included to fill space on ELPs debut album, it became their first hit), and ELPs best selling single "From the Beginning". He is also well know for his solo hit, "I Believe in Father Christmas", co-written with Peter Sinfield, it has been one of the most played radio songs during the holiday season since it's release in 1975 when it reached number two on the UK Singles Chart, despite often being misinterpreted as an anti-religious song.
More: Greg Lake, Not Just One Third Of Emerson, Lake & PalmerCleanerLifeArt Garfunkel
2008-09-13T18:54:00.000-04:00
Art Garfunkel -- Voice Of An AngelArt Garfunkel's voice is his instrument and one of his most recognizable features."Art Garfunkel is one of those great, rare voices, " James Taylor wrote in Rolling Stone Magazine. "I would know it anywhere at the drop of a hat, in half a bar."As one half of the "folk rock" duo Simon & Garfunkel, Art Garfunkel released a string of hits from 1965 to 1970 with his childhood friend, Paul Simon, which helped land them at #40 of Rolling Stone Magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
They've also received several Grammys and are inductees of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Long Island Music Hall of Fame.
"They were fabulous years, " Art remembers warmly. "I'll always be happy to say a little on behalf of the duo. I'm proud of singing those great songs. Now they teach Paul Simon songs in churches and schools as part of the curricula... it seems that part of good citizenship is the knowledge of the songs we did. How can I grasp that?" (From the Art Garfunkel Bio page)
Continued... Art GarfunkelCleanerLifeWelcome to My Nightmare
2008-09-05T19:10:00.000-04:00
Alice Cooper's Welcome to My Nightmare
After a record breaking tour in 1973, Alice Cooper, the band, released Muscle of Love, which didn't do as well as they had expected.The band broke up, and Alice Cooper, the singer, songwriter and musician, decided to return to the studio without his former band mates...CleanerLifeCheck Out Google Chrome
2008-09-02T23:12:00.000-04:00
First, let me set the stage:Internet Explorer is my comfort zone. I was slow to start using FireFox, and still not very keen on using FireFox.These are the only browsers I use, and I haven't used any other browsers since Netscape was a big deal -- wow, how long ago was that?Well, I can see that changing real soon, Google Chrome beta was released today, and I started hearing so much about it, I decided to try it out.I'm not sorry!First impression: small learning curve, but it is much faster than IE or FireFox. I tried it out on a few sites I thought were slow (I visit them often) -- they loaded so fast! Incredible!I had been thinking that with so many of my neighbors now getting high speed Internet on the same main cable feed as I, the bandwidth was really getting eaten up, but now I see I'm wrong!Well, maybe there's some deterioration, but using Google Chrome, with no changes with my OS, router, or modem, my speed is so much faster.Oh, there are still sites that seem to be taking a noticeably long time to load, but these are popular sites, and they are taking less time than they used to with IE and FireFox.I see some things I do not like:- My favorites, now listed as "Other bookmarks" are on the right side beneath the address bar (maybe because these were imported from IE? I haven't seen where new bookmarks end up) -- I'd like to be able to move it to the left side.
- After I've zoomed the text, new tabs open at the default -- I'd want it to work more like the text size feature in IE, actually I'd like both a text size feature and a zoom.
- The zoom only enlarges text, not images -- IE has two different was to change sizes, one just changes text, and the other does text and images up to 400% (I've actually needed this on certain sites)
- The built-in spell check does not allow for going back to change spelling -- the red line indicating a word is spelt wrong shows up when you type a space or punctuation, but I was unable to use the spell check to correct the word until I had back spaced to the bad word.
- When I open a link into a new tab, the browser doesn't automatically switch to the new tab -- if I can change that, I haven't found it yet.
- The spell check doesn't appear to work in search boxes.
- When I close a tab, the browser switches to the nearest tab, not the last tab used -- again, seems like something I should be able to change, but I don't see where.
If you are visiting a page, and you want to see the Html, you can look at the page source, similar to FireFox, but Google has include a tool I haven't seen before called "Inspect element" which I don't totally understand yet, but it looks a lot more involved than just viewing the page source.Something new I haven't needed, but sounds very good, is being able to open Chrome's task manager, which allows you to see things like the memory being used for each tab, and gives you the option to close an unresponsive tab, instead of having to shut down the whole browser.I haven't covered everything yet, but this is the beta release, so I'm sure there will be some changes. Others will disagree with what I don't like, and find their own gripes, but I'm starting out very positive.I need to get back to web surfing now!CleanerLifeTony Levin -- An American Bass Player
2008-08-29T18:01:00.000-04:00
Tony Levin is an American musician best know for his work with British progressive rock artists Peter Gabriel and King Crimson, he's also known for his use of the electric musical instrument known as the Chapman Stick.
Originally from Massachusetts, Tony Levin moved to New York City in the 70's where he became a much sought after session musician playing bass on albums by some of the biggest names in music during the 70's and 80's including Alice Cooper, Art Garfunkel, Cher, James Taylor, John Lennon, Judy Collins, Lou Reed, Paul Simon, Peter Frampton, Pink Floyd, and Yes. See Tony Levin's Discography for the complete list.
Working with producer Bob Ezrin on Alice Cooper's Welcome to My Nightmare, and Lou Reed's Berlin lead to working on the first Peter Gabriel solo album, and Tony has recorded and toured with Gabriel ever since.
More...
Tony LevinCleanerLifemyLot blog claims
2008-08-24T02:25:00.001-04:00myLot User ProfileCleanerLifeFresh Tomatoes
2008-08-18T10:12:00.000-04:00
It's fresh tomato time! These were not all red when picked, but I guarantee they were much more ripe than anything you'll find in the store! Why is that? Because commercially-grown tomatoes are picked while still firm and green to be able to survive the shipping and storage. They use ethylene gas to artificially ripen the green tomatoes.
Unless your grocery store gets locally grown tomatoes, the only way to get them this fresh without growing them yourself is to buy them directly from a farmer at a farmers market, roadside stand or right on the farm. If you like tomatoes, or any sort of produce, it is certainly worth buying them as fresh as possible and the Internet can help you find food grown close to you. The Eat Well Guide is a free online guide to finding local, sustainable, organic food in the US and Canada.
Even though the US salmonella outbreak of 2008 is now being blamed on jalapeno peppers, this article, The Tomato Pickle from June 2008, does a great job at explaining why buying local food is always the best choice.
Further reading: Commercially-Grown and Hydroponic Tomatoes and "Still No Free Lunch: Nutrient levels in U.S. food supply eroded by pursuit of high yields"
This works with Canadian postal codes, too!CleanerLifeKing Crimson
2008-08-17T13:52:00.000-04:00King Crimson: The Beginning Of Progressive Rock?
Formed in the late 1960's, the British group King Crimson, wasn't the first, but is considered one of the most influential progressive rock groups.
Originally, Robert Fripp joined drummer Michael Giles and his brother, bassist Peter Giles to form Giles, Giles and Fripp. Even though their first album didn't do well, they continued on, adding Ian McDonald, Peter Sinfield. Eventually, Greg Lake joined, becoming the lead singer, and replacing Peter Giles as base player.
King Crimson made their live debut on April 9, 1969 at a free concert staged by The Rolling Stones:
King CrimsonCleanerLifeThe Love Of Dragons: Dragons In Books And On Video
2008-08-10T00:19:00.000-04:00Dragons: One Of The Most Popular Mythical Creatures
Stories of Dragons are found all over the world. The oldest known dragon story is probably that of the Rainbow Serpent, passed down from the aboriginal Ngadjonji tribe in Australia, which is believed to date back to around 10, 000 BC.
Dragons: One Of The Most Popular Mythical CreaturesCleanerLifeTwitThis Test
2008-08-09T03:56:00.000-04:00testing... 1... 2... 3CleanerLifeObservations about Back to School Fashion
2008-08-08T21:01:00.000-04:00Personal Expression
We use various ways to present ourselves. We use words and symbols to communicate. We have signals and gestures to help articulate ourselves. We use fashion to tell the world what we want to say. Whether we think about it, or not, when we put on our clothes for the day, we're setting our image for the day. This is why it is so interesting to observe people's back to school fashion preferences. Back to school fashion preference may show someone's personality for the whole term.
Read more...
Observations about Back to School FashionCleanerLifeTips And Ideas For Designing A Successful Website
2008-08-07T08:47:00.000-04:00New Squidoo Lens went live on Monday:
Tips And Ideas For Designing A Successful WebsiteCleanerLifeI'm on Technorati!
2008-08-06T22:08:00.000-04:00I've just started, not much there yet -- visit if you dare! :-P
Technorati ProfileCleanerLifeMom's Garden
2008-08-03T14:55:00.000-04:00
My mom has a small flower garden near the kitchen door, which is the main door, as far as anyone is concerned, even though it is on the side of the house. At this time of year, it's especially nice to have flowers like this near the house, they give off such a sweet scent for everyone to enjoy. They also look great.
Here's an interesting site I found about natural health and flowers.
This can't be seen in the other two pictures, it's closer to the house, and I believe it is a Nikko Blue Hydrangea. It's relatively small now, but will hopefully grow to be 4-6 feet tall and 4-6 feet wide.
Because of how the flowers appear, Hydrangeas like this are often called "mopheads".CleanerLife
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