What a Great Idea!

Perusing the seed packets at the Nursery today as I considered the options for tomatoes, I inquired of an elderly Amish woman to my left, “do you happen to know if seed companies are required to disclose which seeds have been genetically modified?”
She stated that she didn’t know but felt they should be required to. I told her I was trying to be more conscientious of my vegetables these days. And should the ‘conspiracy theories’ pan out, I wanted tomatoes that would bear me seeds for another crop. A clerk later directed me to a heirloom seed section where I purchased tomato seeds from an 1884 variety.
The same Amish woman followed me and gave me this great idea. “Honey, when you find a tomato that you really like, put a slice of it on a little bit of dirt inside a container – any old cottage cheese container will do. Stick it on a shelf in the basement. That’s it. don’t do anything else with it. Next spring, just sprinkle some more dirt on top of it and give it a little water. It’ll give you half a dozen or so tomato plants, and you won’t ever have to buy tomato seeds again”.
What a great idea!

We Spend Our Lives as Tales to Tell

We spend our years as a tale to tell. Every one of us has stories we should pass along to our children. Valuable lessons can be taught through the experiences of our lives.

Parents are the single greatest influence to their kids. Our kids idolize us when they are little, and there is no better time to capitalize on this power to help them learn and grow. Teaching through our experiences demonstrates how to work and deal with life. Our words paint stories in our children’s minds and as we talk they use their imaginations to picture what we’re describing. Lessons for life are everywhere. The more you attempt to access this vault of wisdom gained from your past, to relate the stories to your children, the more you’ll find you have to tell.

Naked Books

I enjoy reading the ‘dedicated to …’ page of books. So many warm, enduring comments about folks who’ve inspired and helped the authors.

When I find a great one in an old paperback book, I take off all the covers and spine, to expose the sweet sayings of the dedication page.

Here I’ve wrapped some kitchen string around one, and tucked a dried fern beneath the knot.

This one says “This Book is Dedicated to a Man Who Doesn’t Need to Read it – My Cherished Friend Homer Croy”.

Asian 12-Ingredient Salad Recipe

One of the tastiest salads ever!

Salad Ingredients:

1 pkg (about 2 cups cooked) linguine noodles, cooked, rinsed, drained, cooled

1/2 head sliced Napa Cabbage

1/2 head sliced purple or green Cabbage

1/2 bag Spinach, cut with kitchen shears to bite size

1 bag Bean Sprouts

1 bunch Cilantro, chopped fine

1 med. purple onion, diced

1 large cucumber, peeled and diced

3 bell peppers, sliced thin (I use one red, orange, and yellow)

1 can Mandarin Oranges, drained

1 c. dried cherries (Costco Kirkland Brand)

1 c. Planters peanuts or cashews

Dressing:

1 whole lime, juiced

1/4 c. soy sauce

3 T. sesame oil

2 T. rice wine vinegar

2 T. creamy peanut butter

1 T. grated ginger

1 T. grated garlic

1/4 c. chili sauce

2 T. brown sugar

Add nuts to individual plates rather than mix in with salad.

Haven’t Been Overseas for awhile…

This blog was started as a means to keep friends and family informed of our overseas journeys. And since we haven’t been out of the States for a year or two, there hasn’t been much activity on this blog.

But often times I’ve wanted to post something online yet without starting another blog. Just too many things to organize and maintain. So I guess I’ll turn this blog into a place where I can post anything! Ah, freedom of choice! 

 

From the Eyes of the Traveller