Just got back from a follow up with the vet concerning my poor dog's recent tooth extraction (22 of 'em!). Since we certainly don't want anything like this happening again, we'll go with the doc's reccommendation to daily brush her remaining teeth. The doggie toothpaste (poultry flavored!) is sort of expensive though. Perhaps I can find a cheaper alternative somewhere. Otherwise, guess I'll just chalk it up to responsible pet ownership.....

Just checked the seals of my pickles this a.m.-- everything looks in order. Now, we have to wait a few weeks at least before sampling them (although it will probably be longer than that. After having my face elbow deep in a canning project (or any big cooking project for that matter), the smells and the tastes and all the 'hands on' prep work, kinda leaves me without an appetite for whatever I've just made. I usually need some 'distancing time', KWIM?).....

I was tired last night, and didn't get my canning stuff put away before bed. I wanted to let the water cool down anyway, and use it for my houseplants (that's the thing about canning -- always uses lots of water. And sugar! Oy!). So, I need to go straighten the kitchen.....

Yesterday though, before I began I did take a bit of time to better organize my canning paraphernalia, which ought to make it easier to put it all away this morning. Everything had gotten scattered somehow -- full boxes of jars here, empty jar boxes there. Full boxes, but of mis-matched jars (pints with quarts, jelly jars, etc etc). Anyway, I managed to carve out a 'canning nook' in my basement, so now it's (almost) all in one place -- and the jars properly sorted. Much better.....

I am finishing the canning of the watermelon rinds I finally got around to pickling today. The first batch is sealing as I type -- every so often I hear a happy, resounding 'Tonk!,' as another lid sucks in. The second batch is still getting its' nice boiling bath -- and then I'm done. All together it's I think 10 pints. Personally I love the (expensive) sweet pickled watermelon rinds from the store (not that I ever bought them very often), so I'm hoping these turn out like that. I followed a recipe (which of course I had to tinker with) out of my Ball book, and the syrup tasted much the same, so we'll see. Never made pickled rinds before, so it's an experiment. Eh, I'm always up to trying new things. Let's just hope they don't go by way of 'The Relish' though (because somehow I dont' think I'll be able to disguise these in spaghetti sauce, heh)......

Aha! Timer's beeping at me -- they're done!

Ended a long spend-free streak today. Took the kids to piano and needed to pay up for the month of February. But the kids are doing well in their lessons and enjoy them -- and we value musical education, so we're always willing to fit this expense into our budget ....

After that, I figured since I'd already broken my streak and was out and about anyway, I may as well run by the HFS down the street and stock up on a few of the spices I'm running low on (plus cream of tartar, since several of the mix recipes call for it). While at the store, did I make my usual pilgrimage to the aromatherapy oils aisle to stealthily sample the lovely samples??? But of course!!! Mmmmm, 'Wild Camomile'. Ahhh, 'Neroli'. Shniff! 'Frankincense' (at $21+ a bottle, thankyouverymuch!). 'Absolute Vanilla'!! 'Jasmine'!!! ' LIME'!!!! Shniff!! !!!SHNIFF!!!!! I love it, love it ALLLLLLLLLL.....!!!!! Muah!

But..., I restrained myself -- no new essential oils for me today....

Total cost between lessons and spices: about $100....

Oh, my. I am eating DS's latest creation -- the most impossibly sweet-n-gooey, sweet rolls EVAH, made from the 'Hot Roll Mix' he and I put together yesterday. Upon waking up this a.m., he made a bee-line for the 'Make-a-Mix' book, compared recipes and decided what he wanted to bake. Some hours and dozens of dirty dishes/utensils (!) later (and with only a wee bit of help from me), out of the oven came "Swedish Cinnamon Twists" (featured on the cover of the book, for those who have it). Soft, sticky-sweet goodness (although I think I could go into sugar shock just looking at them, oi!). My, what a baker Mr. DS is turning out to be....!

It's my DS! He's baked up another batch of muffins this morning, from the muffin mix we assembled the other day. Whipped them up all on his own, with only a teeny bit of help from me (and, now that we already have a batch under our belt, not quite so many dirty dishes either). They're 'Apple Muffins', using the last of the apples I got free from my neighborhood grocer to boot (the rest went into applesauce several days ago), and they're yummy. We've all been very munchy, with DH taking several to work with him (along with the leftovers of last night's dinner)....

With the success of the muffin mix, DS and I were inspired to assemble yet another mix from the book this morning. We chose the 'Hot Roll Mix' -- and have it all bagged up, labeled, and ready to go. We're going to wait to test it out tomorrow morning however, since we have running around to do this afternoon.....

Still no ideas for dinner tonight though. Hmmmm. It's not as if we don't have PLENTY around here, but still I'm drawing a blank (eh, that's probably my problem -- too much choice...!).... I'll consult my home-compiled 'Recipe Control Book' -- really helps in situations like these....

Have a wee headache this a.m. and a touch of the sniffles. Sure hope I'm not getting DH's cold of last week -- but if so, I suppose it would explain my lack of energy yesterday, heh....

I think I shall write a To-Do list this morning, to help keep myself on track. I'm happiest when I feel like I'm actually keeping on top of things....

One thing on the list, will be to clean up and test the toaster oven we curb-lifted the other day. It's funny, because I have had toaster ovens on my mind for some time. The kids and I like to work with polymer clay (which requires baking to cure) and I've thought it would be a good idea to have a small toaster oven to use exclusively for our clay projects. And then there it was -- a Toaster Oven, set out on the curb about a block down, sitting all by itself on top of the snow. After it didn't budge for a day or two I decided it had my name on it, and sent DD down to fetch it and bring it home. There are crumbs on the bottom to be cleaned out, and it could use some wiping down from being outside. Other than that it looks fine. A quick check when we first brought it home proved it does indeed heat up at least -- I will test it with an oven thermometer to see if it's actually accurate/consistant (important in baking clay). If it all works out I will be very pleased. We enjoy working with the clay, but I'm wanting to spare my kitchen oven any stray baking clay residues -- just don't want that in contact with my food, y'know...?

Anyway, living in a college town does have its' perks. Students come and go -- and not infrequently dump their possesions in the most wasteful of ways when they do. Dumpster Divers in this town can find quite a bonanza with very little effort after the school terms. Just last summer, my DD surprised me by toting home a perfectly good blender, and a nice new-looking umbrella, that someone had pitched on the curb just across the street when they moved out. Score! I actually regularly use these things...!

Tuesday. The one day of the week where my schedule is totally and blissfully clear -- no commitments, no obligations of any kind. I look so forward to Tuesdays, when I can always count on having a little time on my hands to do the things *I* want to do. Therefore, you would probably assume I might have actually managed to accomplish some items of interest in all the long hours I had today at my disposal. Something, ANYTHING--- towards my various household projects, kid-related activities, or frugality goals, or what have you (because, hey -- it's not like I don't have gajillions of things I COULD be working on at any given second, waiting in the queue). Ah, but you would be wrong, my friend -- because I didn't do diddley. Squandered my entire DAY, pretty much -- just couldn't seem to jumpstart myself into productivity mode to save my life .... Bleh to that. Hopefully tomorrow will be different...

Ever have one of those days???