They Grew'pon me

Sorry, that's probably my worst post title ever.

On Tuesday, I took the local grandkids and their mothers on a Social Coupon Day Out.

It's my new invention.

For the uninitiated, social coupons are purchased from sites such as Groupon and Living Social. You sign up for their daily emails and they bombard you with good deals. 

What's not to like?

There are a few drawbacks. 

Por exemplo, I am signed up with four different companies and have coupons waiting to be used on three of them. They do have expiration dates, so if you don't have nerves of steel, this lifestyle may not be for you!

On the other hand, if you're willing to put the effort into keeping track of it all, you can have a whole lot of fun on not much money.

The outing to Masterpiece Art Studio  was a Groupon adventure. I saved half the cost of the projects, so the afternoon cost me a little over $30. 

Now, back to Tuesday.

We began the day with a visit to Pump It Up in Beaverton. I bought two Groupons for $10 each, which got six kids into the bounce house and two free passes back for another visit. 

The Osborne progeny totally ruled the gigantic slides.

Oh, and, um, the black skirted person sitting at the top of the slide with her heart in her mouth?

That would be moi.

In Kenzie's sweaty pink socks.

And yes, I did go down.

And gave myself an elbow burn.

Some day, I will learn.

After about an hour, the troops declared themselves to be hungry, so we traipsed outside to look for a suitable lunch venue.

Behold! Right across the parking lot was a stream and a waterfall and lush green grass and benches to sit upon. We thought it was made just for us!

Why do little boys always have to sit as close to the water as they possibly can?

We ate quickly and ran back inside the bounce house, where we stayed until we were about to get ousted in favour of a couple of busloads of kids from Kindercare.

Next on the menu, a short drive to the mall and Maggie Moo's.

I had purchased four Living Social coupons at $5 each. Each one was good for $10 worth of ice cream. We used three of them, so $15 for ice cream for nine people.

And it was yum!

Natalie, with her electric-blue-cotton-candy-waffle-cone-with-rainbow-sprinkles.

Josh and his dairy-free vanilla with rainbow sprinkles.

What, you thought I was going to do the multi-coloured thing again?

He relished every bite.

My Udderly Cream and Chocolate with Heath bits mixed in.

Mmmm.

Next up was another visit to our friends with the miniature horses. Go here to read about their mission.

I love crazy horse portraits.

Daniel decided to be brave and walk one of the horses.

Marv hitched up the wagon and Michael drove the kidlets around the arena.

I have an unreasonable love for this photo.

I donated a little money to their feed bill, but other than that, this part of the day was free.

Total cost for about six hours of fun for nine people: $50.

And then, On Friday night, Jeff and I had a Groupon date.

Lucky for you, I forgot my camera!

First, two Quizno's regular sandwiches: $6.

I adore their chicken carbonara. If I was on death row, I would choose it for my last meal.

Next, the last Maggie Moo's coupon: $5.

Memo to self: $10 is too much ice cream for two people.

Last of all, Cowboys and Aliens with a Living Social Fandango code: $9.

Memo to self: next time we go to the movies it will be to one of my choice. I'm tired of gruesome, intense cowboy movies.

Total cost for our big date: $20.

Here are links to my favourite social coupon sites.

Groupon.

Living Social.

Travelzoo Local deals.

Sharing Spree

And here are a couple that have been recommended to me but I haven't tried them yet.

Dealery.

Plum District.

So go!

Have some fun.

How does your garden grow?

I didn't plant any potatoes this year.

So, small as it is, this crop is an unexpected bonus.

It made a lovely pot of smashed potatoes for dinner tonight.

In other, not-so-good news, I wish these would turn at least a light shade of pink.

Have you ever wondered what an asparagus forest looks like?

Wonder no more!

These are the seeds. You have to let the asparagus grow all season long so that it puts nutrients down to the roots. 

I had no idea that it would take over the garden bed like this!

Next year will be the third year for the asparagus, so I'm hoping for great things. Three is supposed to be the charm. Hopefully that will also be the year that both kiwi vines have flowers and produce some fruit.

Patience, patience, patience.

This gardening business is an exercise in delayed gratification.

Schizo Survivalist strikes again

Can I just say that I love my Food Saver vacuum sealing system?

I bought it at Costco some time ago when they were running a coupon. Then a few months later there was a deal on the internet that was way cheaper and I've been peeved ever since!

Whatever.

A couple of years ago, I was part of the Soldier's Angels baking team. I loved baking treats to send to our men and women in the Middle East, but I often anguished over whether they tasted any good when they were received a month later. A good vacuum sealer seemed to be the answer. 

I quit the baking team shortly after I got the sealer, but I've since used it to send goodies to my long-distance kids. And I will be keeping it busy once Charlie deploys. 

You know I will!

The dried cherries turned out quite nicely. Joshie and Natalie love them and would gobble them all up if I let them. I had a few things I've been waiting to seal so I finally dug the sealer out of its niche in the spare room.

When I say niche, I am being kind to myself.

This is the easiest way of packing food for long-term storage, although some foods work better than others. The bags are pretty spendy, so I look for Costco coupons or sales at retail stores. 

First, we create our own, custom-sized bag and seal up one end.

To seal up candy bars or the like, poke a hole in each individual package.

Pack as many as you can into the bag, allowing about three inches at the end for the seal.

Pop the open end of the bag into the sealer and watch the magic happen.

I love the way it shrinks up and molds around the food.

Then some dried apricots met the same shrivelly fate.

And now for the real magic.

I borrowed this attachment from a friend. It fits on top of any mason jar. I stuffed the jar full of cherries and placed the lid on top. Then I screwed on the ring and, hard as I tried, I couldn't get it to seal. After a bit of research (thank you Google) I realized that you don't need the ring.

Oh.

So, back to the drawing board.

Jar. 

Lid. 

Sealer attachment. 

Vacuum hose from the base of the sealer firmly secured in the top.

A few seconds of vacuum-y noise and the magic is complete.

I do believe that I will have to buy me one of these attachments. The cost is minimal when you already have the jars and lids and I like that there is no plastic. 

I'm so excited about this discovery that I may have to be restrained from putting everything in my pantry in jars!

If you're local and want to come over and do some of your own jars, let me know.

And speaking of canning lids, I've ordered 1,500 Tattler lids, which should be here in a few days. I will probably have some extras, if anyone wants to try them. Tattler lids have been around for 30 years and their popularity has been gaining ground of late. I'll let you know how they work.

Wasn't that fun?

P.S. Not all the lids are for me. It's a group order. In case you were wondering if I've turned into a compulsive canner.

Faces of concentration

Because I love 'em.

And because I can.

Shattered dreams

Play this.

Please.

I've often fancied myself as a potter.

Betcha didn't know that.

And I've had a hankering to work with glass for decades.

So Friday night our local Art Walk found me brushing glaze on a bowl that I purchased from the Cultural Center.

Brush it on thick, was the advice, so I did!

Into the kiln it went.

I fell into a burning ring of fire

I went down, down, down, and the flames went higher.

And it burns, burns, burns, the ring of fire, the ring of fire.

That baby was hot.

A propane-fueled inferno.

It was my job to scatter sawdust on the finished pieces.

It was a bit scary.

And right about here was where my arm hairs got singed.

Then the dish sat in the ashes for a few minutes.

Et voila!

Oh.

Oops.

My friend at the CC glued it back together for me, but I am disillusioned.

There you have it.

My one attempt at Raku.

I do not like endeavours that stipulate such a tenuous outcome.

So.

I signed up for a glass class in November.

Stick around. It promises to be interesting.

In case you were losing sleep

Here ya go.
It was a little heavy on Shakespeare and Dickens.
Sorry about that.

1. Sense and Sensibility, of course. Jane Austen.
2. Hamlet. Shakespeare. I know, not a book, but all the classic lists include W.S.
3. A Study in Scarlet. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
4. Return of the King. Tolkien.
5. Great Expectations. Dickens.
6. The Mill on the Floss. George Eliot. I just finished reading this one and I'm telling you, Don't do it! I struggled through it and the ending killed me.
7. Hard Times. Dickens.
8. Bleak House. Dickens. Told you.
9. The Turn of the Screw. Henry James.
10. As You Like It. W.S.
11. The Grapes of Wrath. Steinbeck. Haven't read this one, I'm afraid it will depress me. 
12. The Good Earth. Pearl S. Buck.

That was kind of fun, wasn't it? 

Feel free to make your own list, so that Lindsay and I can lose some more sleep.

Sucked in and blown out in bubbles

Friend Lindsay posted a little quiz today.
I was determined to ignore it, but it preyed on my mind and if you read her comments section you will see how I was sucked into it.
It was against my will.
Then she challenged her readers to make a quiz so that she could play.
And I swore I wouldn't.
But of course, I did.
Couldn't help myself, even though I'm quite pitiful at word games.
Except for crosswords and anagrams.
I'm awesome at those.

So here goes.
Lindsay, this is for you.
And the rest of ya.

Cryptic classic book or story titles, in case you were wondering.

1. Pragmatism plus perceptiveness. (I know, too easy, right? But I couldn't resist the alliteration.)
2. An obscure little village.
3. A very red painting.
4. "His Royal highness came back!"
5. High Hopes.
6. Pepper grinder sitting on some embroidery thread.
7. "Well, let's say they weren't my finest years."
8. Sad, sad, establishment
9. Lefty loosey, righty tighty.
10. Sugar or cream? Your choice.
11. Angry Fruit.
12. Fertile Ground.

There it is.

Your turn.