Goodbye, Friend

Well, today was the day!

We said GOODBYE to our trailer....

With heavy hearts.

We've never named our RV as others seem to do - I don't know why - maybe because she is a trailer and not a motorhome. I have always referred to it as a HER for some reason - not sure why.

I'm one to get attached to things - places, homes, RVs (strange I know since we have lived in 6 homes in the last 10 years!) and so it was probably hardest on me to say farewell. I didn't sleep well at all last night - sad to say goodbye and wondering if we were doing the right thing! I spent the day reminding myself what had led us to make the decision to sell our great little trailer after almost 5 years.

We have spent more time then most - but less then some - in our little trailer. She has joined us and sheltered us on 3 long winter road trips. We have lived in her full time on and off over the last 5 years for a total of 20 months or so - a long time in a 21' travel trailer.

A LOT of GREAT memories.

But our family is larger now then when we bought it, and after the three winters with it south we realize that a motorhome would suit us better - or at least we THINK it will. We'll see.

I suppose it is a bit hard because we don't have anything to replace it with, not even a thought of what our future RV will be like aside from thinking we are looking for a Class C model.

And so, today marks the end of an era for our little Wood Clan.

The new owners were excited - as excited as we were almost 5 years ago. We are thrilled that they are thrilled.

They promised to take good care of her.

Goodbye, friend....

You have been a HUGE part of our family - you have kept us dry, warm and safe and for that we say

THANKS! 

Teresa


Today Interesting Link: This may seem like a strange link but I thought I would pass on the free photo editing site that I use. Often times I don't link sites because I figure that everyone knows about a certain site. Why I think that I don't know - there are millions (or more?) sites on the internet. Anyway, I USED to use picnik but they sold out to Google. I was heartbroken at first, but that was before I found PicMonkey - LOVE PicMonkey!

Sunday Cook: Coconut Lemon Squares

A bit of a delay with the Sunday Cook post - sorry! It was either the post this afternoon or a nap - and well the nap won out. We have had a few crazy days around here with sleep in short supply.

Today is the day for -----

BUT FIRST the really BIG news is that we had a forest fire here at the park on Friday.

Thanks to the quick thinking of our camp hosts who live up in the park (we live at the bottom of the hill) who called in to 911 when they saw smoke just outside the border of the campground. 

It wasn't long before the fire became a concern but with the fire crew on hand and then later the helicopters picking up water from the Thompson River just below us - it all turned out well.

We ended up closing the gates of the park from 3:00 pm - 8:00 pm as a precaution - plus there was A LOT of smoke. 

Derek, while up talking to the forestry crew, took a few pictures of the fire.

So, that was Friday for us. It was actually last week that I made today's recipe - Coconut Lemon Squares. A few weeks ago I purchased a bag of lemons - they were a good price - and I LOVE having citrus on hand. Actually, I try to always have lemons, limes and oranges around - they are so multifunctional and I seem to use at least one of them every day.

I was glad that I photographed the squares because I wasn't actually planning on using them for a Sunday Cook. This week I had homemade Beef Jerky in mind.

Wrong.

Oh, I made the jerky alright and all went well until I took them out of the oven after 12 hours, only to find stiff crunchy and not very good tasting pieces of beef. Have you made homemade beef jerky before? Do you know what went wrong? Why there are crunchy and not chewy? I would appreciate knowing because I would like to try again....more research required.

For those of you who love a good lemon bar - this one is for you. I was surprised how well they turned out - a little TOO well - they are going fast - I think another batch is on the horizon.

So - here we go!

COCONUT LEMON SQUARES

from allrecipes
preheat oven at 350F

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioner's (icing) sugar
3/4 cup cold butter

4 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice (the REAL thing please)
1 tsp baking powder

3/4 cup flaked coconut (I used 1/2 sweetened and 1/2 unsweetened)

In a bowl, combine flour and confectioner's sugar, add butter

cut in the butter until crumbly - I've had all the fancy cutting gadgets in the past but now just use my fingers - works just as well -  or better!

Press onto the bottom of a lightly greased 13 x 9 baking pan. I lined mine with foil. Bake at 350F for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, lemon juice and baking powder until well mixed.

I have a variety of juicers but like how this one works.

Pour the mixture over the HOT crust.

Sprinkle the coconut evenly over the top. Bake at 350F for 20 - 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack. 

YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.......................

Addictive? you bet!

I have one more GREAT picture to share. One of the main hiking trails here at the park is the historic Caribou Wagon Trail - a very old trail from the early settlers. Very fascinating history. Boy would I love to be standing on the trail and be able to time travel back to the days it was being used - just to see the wagons and horses!

Anyway, just up the Caribou trail is where the forestry workers have been taking down some pine beetle infected trees. It was nice to see that the crews taped off an area with a Robin's nest. We are surprised that she located it so close to the ground. 

Derek snuck in for a quick picture, of course not wanting to upset mama Robin too much.

How beautiful!

Well, that's it for me. Feet UP time....

I hope you all had a nice weekend. It looks like the weather is on the up swing - warm and sunny days ahead here at Skihist.

Teresa

Today's Interesting Link: Being a homemaker (and proud of it) myself I surround myself with homemaking blogs! The Prudent Homemaker is a blog I just found - it looks to have an endless amount of information - I can't wait to have a little time to take a more complete tour.

Wildflowers in Bloom 2

Derek took another great group of pictures the other night as he, Cassia and Roofous were on their nightly hike on the trails just above the campground.

I just had to share!

We live in such a beautiful area!
And it is such a great time of year with everything in bloom.

Here is the first set of Wildflowers in Bloom.

Teresa

I ♥ Oil - Part 2

With using coconut oil as a face moisturizer going so well I no longer purchase face cream. But that still left me with the nagging question of what to WASH my face with......more money, more chemicals.

Over the years I have been bouncing around from just using water, soap and water or using a sample of this or a sample of that. What to use, what to use, what to use.

About a year ago, somehow I came up with the idea of using Noxema. I think I saw it at my mom's place and decided to give it a go. Hmmmmm - I like that - LOVE the tingle and fragrance of the Eucalyptus oil - but WHAT is all that other stuff? Well, the list of ingredients doesn't seem THAT bad - I've seen worse.

So off I went to buy my own and have been happily using it ever since.

BUT WAIT!

A few weeks ago while blog hopping I found this post - well I don't think it was this one exactly - I can't seem to find the original blog but this one will suffice. (one of the hazards of following a few hundred blogs I guess - I was SHOCKED that it wasn't pinned!)

The blog post was about.....

WASHING your face with oil!

Back to the kitchen for my skin care ingredients!

REALLY! I mean - really! or as Cassia has been saying lately "What are you talking about?"

Exactly, cleaning with oil...

What are you talking about?!!!

Yup - that's the latest fad trend!

I have to admit I was a bit nervous about trying it - as it seems most who are new to this idea. But not one to pass up a frugal opportunity I gave it a try. I began the Oil-Cleansing Method (OCM)

Not wanting to lead anyone reading this astray, I decided to test it first. It has been about 3 weeks now and I just have to say.....

WHY HAVE I NOT KNOWN THIS FOR THE LAST 25 YEARS!

I mean - really! LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!

My face has never felt or looked better. Now don't get me wrong - I could NEVER be accused of having nice skin.

That just isn't me - it's ok - I've come to terms.

When my skin and my 20's met they waged a war over my face and my face lost - BIG time. I was ok all through my teens with no acne but once in University and right up to my 30's I battled acne constantly. I tried EVERYTHING from the natural to Proactiv to an expensive fancy spa. Nothing worked. In the end it stopped but not without leaving the battle scars.

But for the first time in a long time my skin looks good - and dare I say that some lines seem to be not so obvious!

And so now, sitting beside my container of coconut oil in the bathroom is my bottle of olive oil. I reused a small almond oil bottle for my new cleansing potion.

The link below the picture for OCM talks about the importance of castor oil - I haven't had a chance to pick some up but might soon, and the use of sunflower oil rather than olive oil. It also provides step by step directions - but really -  put some oil in your hand, rub it gently on your face and rinse with steamy water.

What I DID have on hand though were essential oils. So, I quickly read up on which oils that I have are good for the skin and dropped some in - I used a book I have on hand from the library but there are many online essential oil resources such as this post at Helium. I used Lavender, Neroli, Clary Sage, Bergamot and Grapefruit. Not only do I now have a good for my skin cleaner, it has a nice fragrance as well.

Here is a very very thorough article on the topic of Oil Cleansing Method.

Because my skin is now very soft  I am using less coconut oil for moisturizer. At night after washing with olive oil I don't need anything else except I do run a bit of coconut around my eyes. In the morning I rinse and use a bit of sweet almond, grapeseed or coconut oil.

All good oils for the skin!

If you give it a try - let me know what your think!

Teresa

Today's Interesting Link: Here's an interesting article from Natural News about the benefits of avocados for your skin - another oil!

I ♥ Oil - Part 1

These days you'd have to be pretty much living in a cave to not be aware of all the ferver about OIL.

We've all been reading and hearing about the goodness our bodies reap from cooking with and eating oil - namely olive oil and now coconut oil. All the omega 3 and 6 stuff.

But what about using oil on the OUTSIDE - as in using it on our SKIN.

Yup! It seems to be the new BIG topic.

It is all the rage in the blogging circles I travel in - but perhaps you haven't come across the same info? Yes - no? Well, for all the no's out there - this post is for you!

A BIT OF HISTORY.....

First of all, I was up to speed about the oils - olive, grape, sweet almond, flax and the list continues. It was always very interesting to me and the benefits obvious.

What was missing in my oil education and research was COCONUT OIL. Not to worry, a few years ago I probably wasn't the only one.

In the fall of 2010 my mom came to visit packing a jar of coconut oil in her bag and all the benefits of it in her head. Actually, the main reason she had brought it was to hopefully provide relief for Cassia's reoccurring diaper rash.

It didn't take Derek and I long to realize that this stuff was A VERY GOOD THING.

This is the coconut oil we have in stock right now - we picked it up for a mere $5.99 in the USA. I'm glad that it is organic. We have yet to make the leap over to virgin coconut oil. I haven't had the time to research if virgin oil is worth the extra $$.

Have you? Do you know if it is THAT much better?

It was also around this time - with VERY LIMITED FUNDS that I was struggling to buy facial moisturizer. Not only are they expensive but I was starting to be aware of all the chemicals that are in them - yuk. I had started learning about this issue because I was concerned about the products we were using on baby Cassia.  (Johnson & Johnson being one of the worst offenders by the way!)

So I suppose it was only a matter of time until I did what I did! I reached in - took some coconut oil and rubbed it on my face. There - moisturized. I did it the next day, and the next and now - 1 1/2 years later it is still going strong. I was going to say that it is the only thing I use on my face but that isn't true - I use several other oils as well but I'll keep that for my upcoming posts on oil.

Since the large bottle of coconut oil stays in the kitchen I have a little dish for my skin care. I have another with a few drops of Rosewood essential oil for my hair.

Yes, I also use coconut in my hair! Just a little will do! But since my hair is on the dry side it can handle it. I run a bit through when it is damp which makes combing out very easy.

Here is a really good post by Jillee at One Good Thing  - about using coconut oil as the base for homemade toothpaste (which I think I'll try soon) with a list of 38 other uses for it - a VERY good list.

Put it on popcorn????? - MAN! why hadn't I thought of that - here I've been going with olive oil! Hmmmmm! At the end of her list Jillee also gives a list of resources.

I titled this post I ♥ Oil - Part 1, because I really LOVE it all and have a WHOLE LOT to say about the topic of oil, especially it's use in homemade beauty products, and other products like toothpaste and deodorant. 

Now if I could just find some time to make them all ........

I think Coconut Oil should have it's own national holiday - don't you?!

LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!

Teresa

Today's Interesting Link: If you are new to the greatness of coconut oil head over to read all about it at the Coconut Research Center - lots of great articles and information. It had an extensive and impressive list of it's use in modern medicine. Thanks to my brother in law for forwarding that one to me! and now to you!

Sunday Cook: Homemade Raw Dog Food

Ok ok ok - I know - RAW dog food isn't really what you thought you'd find for a Sunday COOK feature - right?!

Well, what can I say it has just been THAT kind of week. Thinking that my week was clear - a least for a few days - after Cassia's BD and the selling of the trailer - turned out to be VERY optimistic on my part. All the things I THOUGHT I could get done this week came to an abrupt end when come early in the week I came down with an awful head cold.

Actually, all three of us have been down with it and still recovering - so motivation has not been a huge thing around here.

We did manage to pull ourselves together for a trip into Merritt on Friday for a grocery run. The fact that it had been 18 days since our last, and the lack of food in the house, certainly gave us the extra strength needed to make such a trip and long day of it.

So - imagine with all the food in the house all the Sunday Cook items I COULD be making! But alas, the only thing I was able to complete today was a batch of Energy Bites - figuring we could obviously use them!

While in Merritt we also stopped in at our now favourite Meat Market for a our next 2 week supply of beef, pork and chicken. We really stocked up! It inspired my dinner menu for tonight - slow cooker beef roast, yorkshire pudding and roast potatoes - yummm. Oh - and frozen peas for Cassia - shhh - she likes them and Derek and I of course won't be the ones to enlighten her - not our favourite!

What we also picked up at the Meat Market inspired this post.

Raw dog food! Organ meat! yup - yummmm! (That from Roofous!)

During our second trip to the market we realized they sell these! Frozen blocks of organ meat. I haven't checked the price per weight but we get 14 of these good sized blocks for $19.98 - so for about 70¢ each.

At first we were just giving these to Roofous to gnaw on. We then started talking around the campfire at night (after all we ARE in a campground - Derek and I have our own campfire pit here beside the cabin and have many many fires) and thought that we should get to making our own dogfood. Because really - who doesn't serve up those round hard crunchy bits of processed food - mostly corn - to their dogs without a bit of guilt!? Hands up! Every time we went to purchase Roofous's food we would read the ingredients - compare high to low prices - shake our heads and place the bag in the cart.

Well no more!

I quickly got on line to seek some inspiration for our first kick at the raw food - not surprisingly there is more then enough information and recipes. In the end we read through a few and came up with our own. They all seemed to have in common - raw beef, eggs (including shells), rice (white not brown), and items such as yogurt, garlic, oatmeal and parsley.

Just so you know - I did hesitate about adding this picture - NOT very appetizing. I'm so so so so glad I'm not the one to have to make it or serve it up. Trust me the smell is much worse.

The main point of contention seems to be regarding vegetables. Not surprising, I first went to this site - called oddly enough Homemade Dog Food. Now, in the little time I have spent on this new site I do think it looks like a good one with LOTS of good info. The one thing that surprised me was the advice of NOT to put vegetables in the raw dog food - dog digestive tracks are to short to process. 

As I continued my search on other sites and read other recipes, such as this one from Dog Training Central, I found that many DO include veggies. 

What to do? Who to believe?

For now we left out the veggies - obviously more research is needed. 

In addition to the organ meat we scored at the Extra Foods in Merritt with this bag of beef. In Canada you don't see the ground beef packed in tubes like this as much. Very very common in the USA.

Ahhh - happy Roofous with an empty bowl. Yes - I know - it looks like he is scowling at me - just the sun - I think!

I have a feeling that this raw food diet may just be a tad bit higher then the crunchy food we have been feeding Roofous. But that is because we have been buying the bottom of the barrel type dog food. We are spending a little more $$ but boy do we feel much better about WHAT he is actually eating and he is much more interested in eating as well. 

A win win!

Thanks for visiting!

Teresa

Today's Interesting Link: I do have a GREAT recipe for you though. Probably a bit basic to do for a Sunday Cook but I am so happy to pass it on to you. It has become one of our new favourites and will probably we one of yours too - they are THAT good. Crispy oven baked garlic parmesan fries from Babble. It has replaced a former favourite way of doing potatoes by cutting into chunks - dipping in milk and then tossing in 1 part parmesan to 1 part flour. Lay on oiled baking sheet - drizzle with oil and bake. 

The 50¢ Birthday Dress

If you read Monday's post you will know that we celebrated Cassia's 3rd Birthday. I posted some pictures of her at 6 months, 1 year, 2 years and now three. I kept it simple - we DID have a busy day after all. What I thought to mention, but didn't, is a topic I decided to write about in this post.

Do you like Cassia's dress? I sure do - I LOVED it from the moment I saw it! It has actually been hanging in her closet or in storage for about 1 1/2 years. I knew it would fit and be perfect one day. 

And why is this a big deal and something to write about? Well - because this well made, soft, beautiful, perfect for a little girl, dress ----

cost 50¢

yup - you read right

50¢

Pretty simple living right? Pretty frugal right?

Cassia is a bit more of a tomboy these days and dresses don't really work to well. But she is happy to dress up once in while - she spent the whole day in this dress and even asked to change back into when we got home from work.

You see, this dress, and almost every item of clothing that Cassia has worn in her three years have not been new, nope - she is our second hand sally. (She did start out with a good set of new clothes I have to say - the village we were living in at the time held a shower for us and I can't let it go unsaid that the ladies 'showered' Cassia with a great wardrobe.)

We all hear how costly it is to raise a child and I don't doubt that is true - but it must be all relative - right? I can't say at the moment that Cassia has cost us much at all. Of course, family & friends, and birthdays have helped immensely. She has A LOT of stuff! I have a feeling that somehow stuffed animals must be able to reproduce at night! I mean HOW did we end up with so many!

But back to clothes.

Cassia, and Derek and I, get almost all of our clothes these days from second hand stores and consignment shops. Well, Derek and I don't get much new at all. Our clothes are our clothes they are not new but they are in good shape, they fit us, why do we need more? Cassia of course is a different story because she is a growing little girl. Thankfully, Derek's mom handles that department. She enjoys seeking out great deals for Cassia and visits a local consignment shop where she lives. Which is great - she also has great taste. Once Cassia grows out of items I box them up and give them back and Derek's mom reconsigns them - it is a great system. She then starts again.

Cassia has a GREAT wardrobe. The great thing about consignment stores is that you can find items for a few dollars that would have originally cost 10x that.  Except for the pink coat on the far right - everything Cassia is wearing is second (or maybe even third) hand.

Prior to our living simple days Derek and I spent much more on clothes. It didn't help that I worked in an office - it is a little more challenging when you need to dress for work. But I know that great clothes can be found in thrift shops/second hand/consignment shops. Similar to Cassia's dress, my favourite pair of jeans get tons of compliments - pretty good for $1. Derek too was a bit of a clothes horse (but don't tell him I said that!). During our 2007/08 USA Tour he went all out and was trying to win some kind of award for the collection of the most t-shirts!!! But no more - we have seen this for the waste of money it is. This last winter we each came home with 1 t-shirt each from Homosassa Springs and only because they were on the discount rack and we got both for $16.

So - if you want a tip on a way to live a life made simple, one place to start is to cut back on spending money on clothes that you probably don't need and visiting your local second hand shops. I KNOW they are not all created equal. We were truly blessed with the thrift shop we had in Keremeos! And it does take time sifting through to find the gem - but that is part of the fun!

Good news! We sold our travel trailer today! It only took a week since we posted the ad on kijiji and the first people to come view it have purchased it. And for the asking price to boot! I'm sure Derek and I will have a couple of tears in our eyes as it leaves next week. 

Sorry to all of you that I haven't gotten back to this last week. Between cleaning the trailer and Cassia's BD I have felt at least 2 steps behind - the list just would not get shorter! 

An exciting night at the park! I was visiting with a nice Australian couple when I got word that there were two brown bears in the park. I suspected they were the same two spotted last week. I found them up at the washroom building and was able to send them on their way with the sound of my truck. So cute - there is a lot of shrubbery where they were so they kept standing up to get a better look at where the noise was coming from. Eventually they ran off. I was glad that I had intercepted them when I did. If someone had come out of the washroom I wondered who would have screamed the loudest, the bears or the camper! The bears are identical looking and young - just a year. 

One of the perks of our job for sure. Did I have the camera? nope.

We DID have the camera on hand the other day though when Derek got this picture as this butterfly sailed through our garden.

Thanks for visiting!

I probably could have used this post to talk about why you DON'T need to spend much money on a birthday party for a three year old! 

A bag of balloons will do!

Teresa

Today's Interesting Link: LOVE LOVE LOVE this site and really enjoyed this post. 9 easy ways to boost your child's health by Wellness Mama. I was happy to see that we are doing some and the rest we CAN do - in fact sea salt was added to Cassia's bath tonight and we'll need to find her some mud! I also CAN'T WAIT to start making all the items she lists in #9. I hope you will forward this list onto all those you know with little ones in their lives. It is a good list!