Repurposed shower puff

So my shower puff exploded; this aggravated me because I'd had it only a week. So I cut it into long strips and Crocheted it into a kitchen scrubby. I actually meant to make a soap sack, but I wasn't following a pattern and it was far too wide for that purpose. Because of the ruff ends of the mesh, it is actually quite abrasive. Equah now wants to buy a new puff just so I can demolish it and make another.... Maybe she missed the point o my shenanigans?


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Local Lunch

Thanks to Minnesota.






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Saturday October 15, Rochester Farmer's Market haul.

Peppers are destined for ham soup and stuffed peppers. These carrots are absolutely awesome. The mozzarella... Not so much. Sorry to say, but it tasted like sour glue, not even edible. Also some eggs, ground beef, and some canned tomatoes.


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Equah's Stuffed Peppers

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Location:5th St NE,Rochester,United States

Everything in this meal is local, whith the exception of the rice, olive oil, and seasonings. Even got some canned tomato goodies at the Farmers Market.

Equah's Stuffed Peppers

1/2 can tomato paste (3oz)
1/2 can diced tomatoes
3 Tbs chicken bouillon
1 1/2 tsp Equah's seasoning
1 lbs ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
1 tsp olive oil
3/4 cup rice (cooked)
1/2 cup water
5-8 green peppers (small) with tops cut off

Equah's seasining blend: Anise, ginger, garlic, black pepper.

Preheat oven to 350
Mix: beef, bouillon, tomato paste, diced tomatoes
Mix olive oil and onion and add to mixture (you can do this in the baking dish to grease it as well)
Add rice and water to the mixture and mix
Stuff green peppers with mixture, put into baking dish with a little water in the pan
Cover with tinfoil and back at 350 for 1 1/2 hour or until rice is done (add water as needed)

Farmer's market Sept 24

The chicken is from Vreeman Farms, around $11. Not sure why, but I have a hard time finding larger local chickens. I'm not expecting the 13 lb monsters we used to grow, but 9-10 lbs would be nice. Many I buy no longer come with gizzards either (...am I the only one who noticed this?) which is somewhat annoying.

Cheese from Prairie Hollow Farms: a mild cheddar from grass fed cattle. It nice, not amazing. I may try some of their other varieties next time. This one had an almost apple-like, sweet flavor.

Bread: whole wheat from Six Arrows farms. This was excellent. It said whole wheat, but Im not sure I trust that, but at least it isn't packed with corn syrup.

The concord grapes and lemon grass are for Equah for the most part. She loves lemon grass tea and the grapes are a favorite of ours.

I really wish I had asked what type of carrots these were. I have my suspicions they are a particular variety of heirloom, but I don't know enough to confirm that. They are sugar sweet and wonderful.

Do I need to explain turnips and potatoes? Favorites of my for potpie :)


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Homemade lotion

Oh, the things I can do with a blender! This stuff is so simple you wouldn't believe. 1.5 cups low-grade olive oil, 1.5 oz bees wax, 3 cups distilled water. So next time you are at the store buying lotion, just ask yourself: which of the thirty-odd ingredients do I actually need? One downfall- it will spoil in time. Most jars last 1-2 months and then need to be replaced. But it's dirt cheap and easy to make.... Plus it doesn't cause break outs like most lotions (I usually need "oil free" store brands). It does behave a little differently on the skin as well. It goes on a little shiny, but this fades fairly fast.

My recipe results are still a little inconsistent, but I might try opening up an Esty account sometime once I have it down. :)

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House of Hidden Treasures

We all need our champion, and this lady just might be mine. Dee Haas has been the single owner of this vintage shop since 1968. The house is over 100 years old and its 12 rooms are filled to the brim with a unique stay of antique treasures. It also boasts Dee's handcrafted pieces which are worth the drive in and of themselves. Eclectic jewelry is her specialty, and in her 86 years she is now becoming familiar with the term "steampunk" because it so aptly describes many of her pieces, though not all. The house in unheated, so dress warm. Amber and I only made it through the house... some how we missed that there was also a garage (!) and a barn (!!!) full of treasures. Dee lives in a part of the house sectioned off from the store, and came up to assist when needed.



I am not the best photographer, and I could not get a picture to justify the awsome floating staircase in the entrance; it is absolutely amazing. Not to mention Dee has cut out flowered vintage wall paper and pasted it to the ceiling of it, a theme repeated in many rooms upstairs.





So here is where a person takes decorating, combines it with ingenuity, and gets art. The tree here is made of burlap bags pasted to the wall and features vintage photos on the walls and ceiling.




Here you can better see how she cut the leaves and some of the featured photos.




Another room upstairs, again the ceiling has vintage wall paper... Dee has trailed this down the tops of the walls and cut along the pattern of flowers. Don't ask me how she got it up there...




I could not get a decent photo of the back stair case... go see it yourself. Why buy wall paper when you can just plaster the walls with vintage adds and clippings?





The top of the spiral staircase at the entrance of the house. I'm sorry to say I was so distracted by the awsome house I didn't really take many pictures of the stuff in it... many old glass jars, prints, magazines, home goods, jewelry and clothing.




So this was my haul! Above is a letter box with alphabetized dividers. I beleive this one is destined to hold my knitting patters... I wouldn't be surprised if I return for another someday. I also got a cool leather cuff... actually once used to husk corn. To the left of the cuff is box that Dee made of wall paper holding an awsome bracelet she made of Bakelite (!) buttons... and entirely reasonably priced. At the top you have my personal favorite... hand stitched vintage laces.



Here are the three laces I bought... after going through several boxes full. They weren't cheap, but so worth it.  Now I just need ideas to use them in.



My Bakelite bracelet... :)

...And the letter file. The date on the side said 1928, so it's nearly 100 years old. When closed, it looks like and old book.

Dee also mentioned that we may want to check out another vintage shop named Sugarloaf located in an old brewery in Winona, but that will have to be another day and another post :).

House of Hidden Treasure

507-932-3577

807 Richland Ave.

St. Charles, MN 55972

Open 9:30-5:00 daily ("except maybe Wednessdays" per Dee)

*Call in Jan, Feb, Mar, and 1st part of April