Good morning readers! Saturday's benefit for our friends was absolutely awesome. I am tired, but so happy. Aren't they a beautiful family? On the inside and out.
Since I've been playing catch-up ever since, plus getting last-minute plans around for school to start next week, today will be short and sweet!
- Ever wonder what NOT to put down the garbage disposal? Can you believe that it's bad to put PASTA down? I found that out first-hand last week and Kent was not happy with me when he had to take the drain apart again. (We had to learn the same way about potato peels, oops.) He insisted it was the old spaghetti I put down, but I didn't believe him – how could it not handle something as soft as noodles? So I had to consult my old friend, Mr. Google, and dang it, sure enough. Apparently pasta swells up in there, which confirmed that Kent was right. I hate when that happens.
Speaking of back to school, check out my local blogging friend, Katie's, new book: The Healthy Lunchbox! She's got a whole book full of lunch ideas without sandwiches in case you're sick of them OR if you can't eat bread.- Did any of you see this short wordless flick on factory farms? Obviously I hate factory farms, too, but it's obvious in the comments that the person who uploaded the video believes all meat is bad. This drives me crazy, just as it did when I wrote this post after visiting an Art Prize exhibit: Are Meat Eaters Ruining the Earth? How about the better option of safe, humanely raised meat from local farmers or online sources you can trust?!!!
- GET ME OUT OF HERE! Did you catch Jo-Lynn's explanation of the latest frustrating gmail changes? I haven't seen the changes in my own inbox yet, but maybe you have. If so, read more here so you know what to do.
- Here's an interesting link on the MMR vaccine: Courts quietly confirm MMR Vaccine causes Autism. Let me know what you think.
- This is sort of random but is anyone else sick of their fitted sheets coming off? Our boys' bed has a smaller depth than most fitted sheets and it's always loose or just totally on their floor, so I ordered these sheet suspenders. If you have them I hope you'll say they work. The reviews were good at least. Here's what readers on Facebook said about this.
- Check out this wild picture on Facebook that over 37,000 people have seen so far! Like it here. Pin it here.
- Just making sure you saw Saturday's post on the Bakers: Assistant Attorney General Admits: DNR’s Goal is to Put Farmer, Mark Baker, Out of Business.
- If you're gearing up for homeschooling, you may want to scan through my homeschooling posts for some interesting discussions.
Have a great week!
Paula says
I didn’t know that about pasta, or rice – good to know! I have made that mistake with potato peels. That was NOT fun. 🙂
kenn32 says
@ Jeanmarie and, Kelly, your question to Kelly for, why are you putting food down a disposal?, has me beat by a few hours. Actually, I do have a disposal hooked up to an old sink in the backyard where I process vegetable scraps to feed my compost worms, but of course, no bones or other hard food elements, though eggshells seem to be good since they get processed easily through the grinder and the worms are able to utilize the shells when they are turned into fine bits. They use the shell bits as grit like birds do to help digest their food. In the fall, I bring the worm bin inside where they can lay around in a cool area without too much added food, since I’m a bit limited on space and don’t want to deal with adding food if they can’t process it before it starts to smell funny. The winter compost overload just goes out to a compost pile in the backyard, and fall leaves are added to mix with and cover the scraps They would probably like your soft pasta just dumped into the worm bed since that wouldn’t require extra grinding.
https://unclejimswormfarm.com/index.php/195-using-eggshells-in-vermicomposting.html
Jeanmarie says
Kelly, why are you putting food down the garbage disposal? It’s easy and *frugal* to compost food waste. Yes, including cooked food. There are many composting systems to fit your needs and situation. Maybe I should do a blog post tutorial for you. . Another good option is to keep a few chickens. They are *excellent* for taking care of food “waste.” Remember, waste is only resources that have been put in the wrong place. Food scraps are a valuable resource. Putting food into the water supply just means more work for the water treatment plants. Alright, I’ll stop lecturing now.
KitchenKop says
Jeanmarie, YES PLEASE!!!!! (There aren’t enough caps for this!) If you could do a post for me on this I’d be SOOOOO grateful, because I don’t know ANYTHING about this stuff and I doubt I’m the only one. (Remember, I only started recycling a few years ago. Sad huh?)
Email me if you have questions, thanks for thinking of this!!!!
Kel
KitchenKop says
And Kent says no chickens because set up to do it right would be expensive. He says if we didn’t have a great source for eggs, that’d be one thing, but we do. I tend to agree. We have enough to do without adding animals to the mix!
Jeanmarie says
OK, I will work on it!
J in VA says
I will say to that our experience with four hens was that since we also gave them GMO-free local feed, it cost more to feed them than to buy eggs at ~$3 a dozen from local farms. I’m glad we had them for a few months but we did not come out on paper–not to mention building them a portable house,
Jen S says
I really like the way Gmail sorts emails now. I love, love, LOVE that all the blog posts and commercial emails are separated from the emails I get from people whom I actually know and correspond with. I’ve been able to delete whole swathes of old emails so much more efficiently than I could in the past. And I have no problem clicking on the Promotions tab when it says that there’s a new email in there (which it always does).
KitchenKop says
You’re the first person I’ve heard say that, but I know a lot of bloggers, so that’s probably why! Of course we’re afraid that all our time writing will be for nothing if none of our subscribers see our posts anymore…
Kel
Diannna A says
Jen, I agree. Once I “taught” my gmail where to put incoming mail, I love, love, love the new format.
BarbaraAinSC says
I am the same as Jen S. I like the multiple tabs. It’s really not that difficult or complicated. I guess some people worry that gmail subscribers won’t ever look at their promotions tab? I find that hard to believe.
KitchenKop says
It’s just that the majority of people only see what’s right in their face, I know I’m like that, otherwise it’s all lost in the inbox!
Leah G says
Nothing makes me more frustrated than the garbage disposal …well maybe the dishwasher. My Hubby is forever diagnosing the issue as an operator issue. He says the same about the dishwasher. I hate it!
KitchenKop says
Yes, it’s always my fault!!!
Susan says
My husband has been in all types of construction for over 30 years, but he is a plumber first and foremost. He said the biggest mistake people make with their disposal is treating it like a trash can and that is a big, big no-no.
He said of course the small tidbits of food left on a plate are okay to go down the drain, but big portions of food should be dumped inthe trash first. And a plumber’s worst nightmare? Rice. Never, ever put that down there! (You know how after you’ve cooked rice the pot is sticky so you let it soak while you eat dinner so it will be easier to clean? He won’t even let me throw the soaking water down the drain. I have to take it outside and dump the soaking water out!)
My husband has removed chicken carcasses, steak bones, pasta….you name it from drains and disposals. People believe the disposal can handle it, and it may the first time or two, but after a while, expecting it to be a “miracle food disposal system” will dull the blades. And pasta (or rice) like Kelly found out, just turns it into a swollen mass down there that works like a plug.
I’ve been with my husband 16 years and he laid out these ground rules when we first moved in together, and I do have to say that in that time, I have never had a problem with my disposal. Still works like a charm!
KitchenKop says
RICE!!! Yes, that’s good that you told me that one!!! You prob just saved Kent from another repair mission. Ha!
Kelly
Dani says
Wow, whole long sheet suspenders that go the length underneath? I couldn’t do that on my bed–we have a tempurpedic, and those things weigh a ton. I have used the shorter ones, the ones that wrap on each of the 4 corners like garters. I can attest that those do work! Hope your longer ones work for you!
Oh, and where can I get a Hans Solo fridge? Hubby might not appreciate it, but hey, a kitchen belongs to the woman, right? *wink*
KitchenKop says
Darn it, I had the wrong link in there, I fixed it now. It’s just the corner ones that I got. Thanks for catching that for me!
Kelly
Susan says
I read once somewhere that the busiest day for a plumber is the day after Thanksgiving because everyone, in their attempt to hurry up and clean up after the feast, tends to cram everything down the disposal. The plumber writing the article said that he went to a customer’s house and found the remnants of the family’s entire meal: turkey leg bones, yams with marshmallows, mashed potatoes, green beans. He said he teased the customer and said, “What? Was there no pie to cram down here to?”!!
Another time I read about Katherine Hepburn while she filmed African Queen. John Huston kept scolding her because the hat she insisted on wearing to keep the African sun off her face, kept flopping into her face while filming. Finally she told Huston she had an idea. She went to one of the surrounding native people’s home and found a woman cooking rice. Katerine poured some of the rice water over her hat and it made it stiff and starchy – it no longer flopped into her face.
Rice and rice water can be some scary stuff. Imagine what it does to your drain!