Making Almond Milk & Frugal Accomplishments

Hello, friends.  Last week, I harvested broccoli.  I used it and the remaining store bought broccoli to make broccoli salad.  After working in town, I stopped at Walgreens for greeting cards and nuts, and got the 20% senior discount.  Our little chicks are doing well.  Soon, I'll try to get some pics.  I tried one day, but they were moving too fast to get any good ones.  The tulips are coming up in several places, and I noticed the coral honeysuckle making buds.  I've been wandering through the woods more while I can, before the ticks and poison ivy make it a bad choice.  I've gathered quite a few nice pieces of usnea, which were added to the tincture jar.  I did find out this week, while listening to an herbalist, that usnea would be helpful for coronavirus, so that's a plus.  The peaches are blooming way too early, but not unexpected after this warmer than usual winter.

While J was gone for work overnight, I had maitake mushrooms and okra for dinner, neither of which he can eat.  I made colcannon another night, and cooked it a bit more than the recipe called for, which worked better for J.  One of my sweet nieces brought roasted carrots to Christmas dinner.  I'm usually not a fan of cooked carrots, but these were wonderful.  I finally got around to making them, and they were delicious, with the caramelization bringing out the sweetness.  I plan to do a pan of roasted vegetables soon, and bought some parsnips for that purpose.  Homestead vegetable broth and garlic were used in peas, and ghee in noodles.  I crunched numbers for my soaps.  Even though essential oil prices can be fairly volatile, I have a better idea of what my current costs are.  I was able to get a halfway decent chick pic.  Aren't they sweet little fluff balls?

I read what I felt was a good article on things you can do to keep well by gDonna, in light of COVID-19.  Though I may not do things exactly the same, it got me to think about all the surfaces we handle in our home.  As we both had such a hard time earlier this year getting over respiratory illnesses, I decided to disinfect all the surfaces we touch in our home, as well as our cars.  Cutting down on any lingering germs seems to be a good thing.  And it was a great exercise in getting me to think about the many things we touch.  Two days later, I was still coming up with things I missed (ie: the printer).  I don't do a lot of disinfecting.  I've recently been better about the computer, after reading how germy they generally are, and I do disinfect the bathroom when I clean it, but that's about it.  I think I've mentioned before that this is the spray I use.

My first winter sown seeds are up, some calendula and phacelia, with some others beginning to push up seedlings.  An amazon movie was enjoyed free through prime.  I made some almond milk using the almond butter I made last week (1 tbs almond butter to 1c water.  Whir in the blender).  It worked really well, and went perfectly with some homemade granola a friend recently gifted me.  I used this tutorial for the almond butter and milk.  I've recently read how almonds are hard on bees and the environment.  It's my favorite plant based milk for cereal, but I may have to rethink that.  Home grown alfalfa sprouts were enjoyed in a sandwich and an omelet.  I made salads with baby romaine, cherries, cubed beets, toasted pecans and feta, and enjoyed it with berry vinaigrette.  I worked on several things for the upcoming show on Saturday, printing labels, wrapping soap, printing bags with my logo, etc.  Four orders were cleaned and powder coated on Sunday.  I'm ready to relax a bit tonight, so will end here, and wish you a very happy and healthy week.