Fruit and Vegetable Strainer
I was recently reminded of my Victorio Food Strainer & Sauce Maker
I own the one in this photo. My thoughtful mother in law gave it to me many, many years ago and it has served us well!
Let me share a bit why this is one of the nicest appliances a home maker can have:
- No more dipping tomatoes in scalding water to get the skins off
- No more cutting out the tomato end (the green part)
- No more peeling apples to make sauce
- No more coring, either!
- No more apple hulls or little black mysterious dots in your sauce
- This makes beautiful, fine sauce from fruits and vegetables such as squash.
The best tomatoes for sauce are Romas. With this strainer, you do not have to cut them up. Just wash, then send them on through. They fit perfectly through the hole in the top. If you are using a larger item, cut it in pieces. A plunger also comes with the appliance.
And that’s another thing… it doesn’t take electricity to run it. It is very simple to use. Even my kids like to take turns turning the handle.
Motivated Moms Scheduler Discounted!
Remember when we had this little chat about the Motivated Moms Scheduler? Did you drag your feet and, well, forget about it?
No worries! I bring great news to you today! Since the year is half gone, the price for these schedulers is now half off. What a deal!
If you want to give it a try, now’s a great time to do just that. Just click here to check it out!
Lord bless your day as you serve Him through serving your family.
My File Box
Many years ago, I put together a file box
For starters, I have a whole slug of 3 in. x 5 in. index cards
Next, I have dividers. They are labeled:
- Daily
- Weekly
- Monthly
- January
- February
- March
- April
- May
- June
- July
- August
- September
- October
- November
- December
- Storage
Emilie Barnes recommends the following:
- Daily
- Weekly
- Monthly
- Quarterly
- Twice a year
- Annually
I prefer my way, because then I can nail down an exact month in which to assign items. If the items are quarterly, I make 4 cards. If the item is twice a year, I make 2 cards. I hope you are following me now 
Now to explain what comes behind those headers on the cards….
Behind my daily tab, I have several cards that need to be done each day. Yours may vary. Mine are as follows:
- Consider dinner preparations: Pull out meat for thawing
- Make Bed, tidy bedroom
- Balance checkbook
- Have quiet time
- Take garbage out of each bathroom and put in new bags
- Wipe down sinks
- Sweep floors
- Laundry: Wash 4 loads, dry, fold, and put away
- Do school
- Dishes: Maintain
- Wipe down front of cupboards and appliances
I do not do all those tasks. Some are shared and some are assigned. They are in no particular order. Each day, I go through my cards and make sure each task has been accomplished. I have been doing it so long, though, that I know them by heart and are routine here. I do revisit the box no and again, though, to see if I should add or remove something.
Behind my weekly tab, I have a card labeled for each day of the week. The days of the week could be in pen since that doesn’t change. Mine are as follows, yous could be different.
- Sunday: Plan for next week, take a break
- Monday: Iron, mend, vacuum, water the live tree in the living room
- Tuesday: Mop floors, do bills
- Wednesday: Vacuum, bathe littles, yard work
- Thursday: Town day, get garbage cans out for garbage service
- Friday: Clean bathrooms, plan menu
- Saturday: Check over undone chores, bathe littles, vacuum
Behind my monthly tab, I have 4 cards, which are labeled
- Week 1
- Week 2
- Week 3
- Week 4
On each of those cards, I have written tasks. Mine are as follows:
- Week 1: Clean all 3 upstairs hall closets (blankets & linens, towels, coats & shoes), yard patrol, clean garage
- Week 2: Clean out van, clean refrigerator
- Week 3: Change linens, clean pantry, watch kitchen walls
- Week 4: Follow up on things to be mailed, sorted, and filed, clean washroom, wash appliances thoroughly.
Here are the things I have behind each of my month tabs. I have a card for each task:
- January
- Clean under refrigerator and stove
- February
- Straighten drawers
- Clear upstairs bookshelves, clean thoroughly and put back together
- March
- Sort through clothing boxes and rotate clothes.
- Clean the shed
- April
- Wash windows, inside and out.
- Defrost & clean garage refrigerator & freezers
- Change smoke alarm batteries
- May
- Put bacteria in toilet/septic
- June
- Clear downstairs bookshelves, clean thoroughly and put back together. Rotate books.
- Change furnace filter
- Clean the shed
- July
- Clean the dryer vent in back of dryer
- August
- Rearrange some furniture or consider what might make my home warm and welcoming. Make changes as desired.
- Clear upstairs bookshelves, clean thoroughly and put back together.
- September
- Clean screens from windows for storage over winter.
- Clean the shed
- November
- Sort through clothing boxes and rotate clothing.
- Change the smoke alarm batteries
- Harvest/can/freeze
- Put bacteria in toilet/septic
- December
- Clean shed
I know… I have some duplicates often, but the idea is maintenance before it gets bad.
I am going to share about my storage tab another time, because it is a little involved and will probably take another post.
A Few Activity Ideas Part 3
Last week, I published this list of ideas for some fun activities to do with your kids. I have another set of them for you. I hope you enjoy!
- Cut pictures out of catalogs and glue onto paper
- Make finger puppets from toilet paper rolls. Draw faces and glue yarn on for hair. Use a sheet over a table for a puppet show.
- Use a long wrapping paper tube to make a slide for small cars, balls or other toys.
- Make a collage by gluing different kinds of beans, cereal, colored toothpicks, rice, foil, macaroni, etc. onto cardboard.
I would love to hear about some of the activities you used to do when you were young and the summer seemed long. Leave me a comment and share with us. Let’s share ideas!
Outline For Planning A Party
- Choose a location
- Choose a date
- Make sure the date works with the location
- Select a theme or colors
- Prepare guest list and gather mailing addresses
- Plan refreshments and how much will be needed
- Determine activities
- Mail invitations with appropriate RSVP date
- Shop for needed items
- Bake or prepare refreshments
- Clean house if the party is in your home
- Decorate and set out refreshments
- Prepare activities
- Change clothes
- Greet company
- Have fun!
Don’t forget to delegate!
A Few Activity Ideas Part 2
I shared some time ago a few ideas for activities for little ones. These are ideas that my own mother had written down on recipe cards for me when I was young! Click here to see my first post with some ideas.
- Finger paint with shaving cream on colored construction paper.
- Decorate a small clay pot. Plant flower seeds, nurture and watch them grow.
- Paint a fence or side of the house with a clean brush and a bucket of water.
- Make mud pies or mud stew with twigs, rocks and acorns
I’ll be back with a few more soon, so be on the look out!
No Fail Yeast Bread
This came out of a student book and was the ONLY whole wheat bread I could make.
1. Blend in glass measuring cup: 1/2 c. warm water, 2 T. yeast, 2 T. honey or sugar, 1 vitamin C tablet, crumbled.
2. In large mixing bowl w/wooden spoon, mix: 4 c. very hot – not boiling – water, 4 tsp. salt, 2/3 c. honey or sugar, 2/3 c. vegetable oil
3. Blend in: 6 c. whole wheat flour
4. Blend in order then turn out on lightly floured surface: Yeast mixture, 6 more cups of flour (white or whole wheat) (seeds may be added – about 1/2 c.)
5. Knead 5 to 10 minutes (great time for prayer!)
6. Place in greased bowl and turn to coat. Cover & let rise 1 1/2 hrs. or until doubles in size. Punch down, cover, and raise 45 minutes. 7. Punch down and grease pans. 8. Divide and shape into loaves. 9. Place in pans. Let rise 30 minutes. 10. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes. 11. Turn out on sides to cool.
Quiverful: It’s Not About Babies
The term, “quiverful” is not in scripture. I had never heard anyone call themselves this until I hit the internet. Oh, I had read the book, A Full Quiver, but never thought of the term before.
“Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them…” The quiver spoken of here is a warriors. Warriors’ quivers usually held about 80 arrows, versus a hunting quiver, which held about five. Can any of us say we are truly “quiverful”?
Whether one is “qf” or not “qf”, whatever the interpretation of that is, it is not a salvation issue, so we cannot and should not ever judge another person’s closeness to God by how many children they have or don’t have.
He is worthy
I ask myself often, “Is my life given over to serving and honoring, and glorifying my Savior in all I do?” “Have I given every part of me to Him in complete sacrifice, not partial, because He is worthy of it all?” It may not be in regards to having as many blessings as He chooses: It may be in regard to any area of my life. I could just as easily ask, “Have I given my eating habits to God?” “Have I given my children to God?” “Have I given my marriage to God?” “Do I spend my time wisely to things that glorify God and work towards leading others to the Kingdom?” “Are my thoughts His thoughts?”
Once our hearts and minds are intent on pleasing our Lord, everything else will fall into place…. if we let it. Either God is Lord of all, or He isn’t Lord at all… in our lives.
Our habits become His habits. Our children and marriage become His children and His marriage. Our time becomes His time. Our body becomes His body. Remember, we have been bought with a price, so glorify God in your body. We already proved in the Garden of Eden that we cannot do things in our own power. We have none.
Ecclesiastes 2:11 – Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold all was vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun.
Comfort In Slim Times
This portion of scripture has really encouraged me over the years when money has been exceptionally tight:
Luke 12:22-40 And He said to His disciples, “For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds!
And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life’s span? If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith!
And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.
Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit.
Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them. Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.”