Happy Monday: Choosing a New Color for the Kitchen

Gary and I both agree that even though it has only been three years the kitchen needs a new color. We had to move quickly when painting every room in the house back in 2008. There was little to no time to learn what each room was like and any color was better than what the house had originally. The kitchen did not turn out as planned. In fact, the color was off a lot from what I had intended. Thankfully three coats of paint later it looked less pink... but it still reminds me of pink rather than the adobe brown it was supposed to be. 

Now that I spend almost all my time in the house, everyday, day after day, the darkness of the color and the one window in the kitchen makes it feel heavy. At night, almost like a cave. My pictures always look yucky (part of which is the camera) and I am so ready for a change. But... the color still has to look good with our brown and tan hand painted cupboards. Not looking like those will change in the next year at least. 

I taped color samples all over the kitchen. We aren't looking at any colors except the top three. Below that is just to dark for the room. 

More samples. The color has to stand out against the white (which will hopefully get a touch up this summer all through the downstairs).

Like my new shutters? Those were installed in the back bedroom when we bought the house. We painted them and mounted them last week on the wall. Some rough sanding has been done. We will either stain or wax them a bit to keep them looking aged. I hope to display some family photos... who knows! They are a work in progress but I feel like they will look amazing against a fresh paint of grey/blue. 

See this lovely fan **sarcasm**. That is going to! Hopefully about the same time we paint the kitchen. We never use it. It is on a three way switch that constantly blows out one of the light bulbs and it just gets dirty. We hope to replace the three way with a regular switch and I have long been inspired by mason jar light fixtures. I think we can DIY ourselves a great, cheap, new light fixture with just a little effort.

Check out my inspiration on Pinterest!

Mason Jar Hanging Lights

Stop Internet Censorship

Update! According to an email I received last night 13 million people told Congress to protect free speech rights on the internet and the SOPA  and PIPA bills were dropped. Apparently even other major nations stopped and took notice. Pretty impressive.

Now if only we could protect the right to choice for vaccinations, raw-milk, and the rights of small organic farms the same way. I can't tell you how many petitions I have signed asking GMO foods to be labeled as President Obama promised before he was elected.

However, it is still awesome to see that the people do still have a say in the politics their government practices...

Normally this would go on our soapbox page... but it is time sensitive and happening today!

Ways to see just what this is all about:
Infographic (a general diagram of what the bill will do... notice censorship of emails?!? How about Uncle Sam just listen in on every phone conversation while they are at it.)
Stop American Censorship Website (sign a petition)
Wikipedia - Stop Online Piracy Act
Craig's List SOPA & Action Page
List of Strike Sites

Watch this video:

On Jan 24th, Congress will vote to pass internet censorship in the Senate. Kill the bills: PIPA in the Senate and SOPA in the House. Our rights to free speech, privacy, and prosperity depend on it.

Cuppow: Have You Seen It?

Cuppow... turn any wide mouth canning jar into a travel mug. Hello! Let me know when and where and thoughts about affordability if you see it. I am extremely curious.

"BPA free, durable, made in the USA & can be recycled."

“This is Cuppow – a new lid that lets you drink like a boss from virtually any wide-mouth canning jar. It’s a simple, eco-friendly alternative to poor-performing and messy disposable hot cups, and over-built and expensive travel mugs..." - Lovely Package

Looks neat to me. Oddly wide mouth canning jars fit amazingly well into the cup holders in our Saturn. We simply travel without a lid but it is always at the risk of major messes! I will have to keep my eyes peeled for this product. Do you travel with canning jars? Any solutions?

What we do...

Everyone knows that I spend a lot of time in the kitchen.  That is most likely the reason I received five (yes, five) crock pots for my birthday last year!  But all on my time spent in the kitchen, is not really spent in the kitchen.

Confused?

I make bread dough.  But it has to rise.

Twice.

And beans need to soak overnight.

And then sit simmering on the stove for two hours.

See.. so a lot of my time is not spent in the kitchen.

This is what do we do while the bread is rising... or the beans are simmering...

My girls and me.  They are my little shadows.  Always following.  Always asking if they can help.  Yes, they help.  Wearing crowns.  Dressing up.  Cuddling.  Reading books until Lettie falls asleep.  Tea parties with baby dolls and teddy bears.  Making secret places with sheets and blankets.  Sliding.  Swinging.  And taking lots of silly pictures!

Oh, and sometimes we dress the dog in baby clothes...

She took off her hoodie and left it on the back porch in the rain, by the way... 

I don't think she was very happy with us.

Real Food Wisdom from 100 Years Ago: What We Knew Then & Should Know Now

Source

I enjoyed the post from Food Renegade today and thought it was worth sharing here at TBH. The book "Graded Lessons in Physiology and Hygiene" written by a physician, Dr. William Khron, and used as a textbook in Texas schools in 1908 can actually be found and read online!

I intend to read "Grade Lessons" for sure for myself but enjoyed the amazing & knowledgeable quotes from the book shared in Kristen's post. For example, Dr. Khron shares a list of adulterated foods and his quotes are surprisingly correct for a time less medically knowledgeable. The following quote is just a sample of what Dr. Khron thought about one of these adulterated foods:

“Butter is sometimes made entirely from … cotton-seed oil, to which coloring matter is added to make it look like pure, yellow butter made of rich cream. This product is called butterine, or oleomargarine. It can be sold for about half of what good butter would bring…. In the United States there is a law against the sale ofbutterine that is not stamped to show plainly to the person buying it that it is not genuine butter, but an imitation. Such laws are right in protecting the people against false or counterfeit foods, and in preventing people from being imposed upon” (page 39). 

I grew up eating margarine and remember when I was so stubbornly offended that my mom found out butter was better for us. I didn't want butter... I wanted the fake, tasty stuff. Thankfully I have since changed my mind. 

Check out one more quote from the book and then visit Kristen's awesome blog, Food Renegade, and read the book online for yourself.
“Sugar, syrup, and candy are sometimes made from corn by a peculiar process, by means of which the starch of the corn is changed into glucose, and a kind of sugar not so sweet or healthful as sugar made from sugar-cane or sugar beets. This sugar is quite apt to ferment, or sour, and decay within the bowels, thus causing disease. Some candies are colored with poisonous matter” (page 39).

Can you say yuck?!? Hopefully my day in yogurt making and fermentation experiments pays off. I hope to undo some of the harm of those adulterated foods.