What Room Do You Spend Most of Your Time In?
9 years ago
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Do you get to spend time away from your plants? How?
Comments (34)i began switching my houseplants - mostly aglaonemas - into a hydroculture set up about 2+ years ago. i tend to use the Pot-in-Saucer method described in the link below. the beauty of this type of grow method is that it is basically impossible to over water plants. and the water line in the clear saucer makes it simple enough that a 5th grader can figure out if you need to add more. so it's nearly impossible to under water either. this past year my husband's father became ill and died, and we've been away for long stretches of time. by placing the pots in larger reservoir tubs, and having a friend drop by to check on things once in a while, i've been able to be gone for 3 or 4 weeks at a time, multiple times, without losing any plants. they can easily go 2 weeks without anyone checking on them. [when i'm home, i place the plants back in the smaller reservoir trays because i think that it's healthier for them. this gives them about a 1 to 2 week watering interval for most plants.] i feel like i'm still learning about my method - for instance, proper fertilization levels and such - but most plants have done well for me. i'm convinced that if i hadn't made the switch, i wouldn't have any surviving plants after this past year... and unfortunately, the next few years are likely to be more of the same. if anyone is interested in this method, check out the link below. there is also a lot of good info on the First Ray's website. his information is mostly slanted toward orchids, but it applies to houseplants as well. please don't think i'm implying that this method is 'no work' or 'perfect', but the question was about vacations, and i think that this is where this method shines. the snags, or complaints, are that the pots are heavy, the Hydroton media is expensive, and if you don't water and fertilize properly you can salt up the media and kill your plants. and if you decide to give it a try, as with any dramatic change... try switching a few test plants first, not your prized specimen or your grandmother's favorite plant. cheers, nancy Here is a link that might be useful: Houseplant Hydroculture...See MoreHow do you spend your cooking time?
Comments (10)I'm a whole foods person and consider whole foods the original "FAST FOOD". Why peel, boil, or "cremate" it when all you need to do is wash, slice and serve. I'm more likely to be found in the kitchen baking bread and other baked goods, so between a large variety of homemade breads (fresh and stored in the freezer), cheese, an assortment of fruit and veggies, add a meat or meat substitute, and you're ready to eat. I like to use a lot of whole grains and legumes in foods. The freezer is my friend. Cook once and freeze in user-friendly size containers. Take out the night or morning before it's needed and thaw in the refrigerator. Heat and eat. I use a loosely structured menu pattern for the evening meal only. Breakfast and lunch generally don't take a lot of planning at our house. I can switch up any one night for another without upsetting the whole thing, but it gives me a general idea for meal planning and grocery shopping. MONDAY: Big Meal (this could also be during the weekend when you have more time). This includes a large portion of meat (roast beef, turkey breast, meat loaf, etc. and all the trimmings. From the leftovers, I provide for other meals during the week. The meat is sliced, ground, or shredded to be used for sandwich meat, added to salads, casseroles, soup, etc. TUESDAY: Leftovers from Monday. It may or may NOT look like the original meal. Roast beef may become hot beef sandwiches, bbq beef, hash, etc... Mashed potatoes are made into potato patties, etc.... I also freeze dollops of mashed potatoes for easy fixin' for another meal. WEDNESDAY: Stir-fry. This can be a good way to use bits and pieces of veggies and leftover meats. Cook extra chicken or beef and use it in salads and wraps later in the week. THURSDAY: International. How about tacos (with taco meat from the freezer), or taco salad... Meaty Spaghetti sauce from the freezer. I cook ground beef stroganoff and freeze the stroganoff in small containers. All you need to do is prepare the pasta of choice for spaghetti or noodles (I also like penne pasta) for stroganoff and heat the topping. FRIDAY: Vegetarian. This can be everything from a great salad with beans to breakfast-type foods. I make bean burgers and keep a stack of them in the freezer and they make a great vegetarian meal served on a homemade multi-grain burger bun (found in the freezer), a tossed salad or sliced veggies and Ranch Dressing Dip, plus fresh fruit and cheese. SATURDAY: Soup and/or Sandwich. I keep a variety of soup/stew/chili in the freezer in single servings so we always have a variety. They make quick suppers or lunches. Top a baked potato with chili. Chili can also be used in a taco salad (similar to Wendy's). Use tortillas for a wrap. Good old tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.... SUNDAY: Homemade pizza (I use a simple whole wheat sourdough dough recipe for the crust) or a salad meal. This is a good way to use up small amounts of veggies, pre-cooked hamburger or other bits of pre-cooked meat. We also have "scrounge night" on Sunday. That's another way to clean out the leftovers in the refrigerator and freezer.... Eggs are also a Sunday night choice. If they are already hard-cooked and in the refrigerator, use them for egg salad or sliced eggs to top a salad. Toast and boiled eggs or toast points and poached eggs, scrambled, veggie omelet or fritta. Add some tomato slices (or other veggies) and some fruit and you've got a meal. -Grainlady...See MoreDo you spend more on your house or your home?
Comments (34)In this house, we've spent a lot more on the house than furniture & decor. I bought it as a starter house four years ago, then after we got married (two years ago) and started looking for another house, we realized we were in love with the neighborhood and our street in particular, and decided to stay. It will not be a forever house, but realistically we should be here for the next 3-5 years or so, maybe longer. There are still many more expensive 'house' projects to be done. I replaced most of the flooring before I moved in, and all of the appliances. The heart of pine floors in the living room need repairs which require an antique floor specialist and I fear will be very costly. And we plan to remodel/expand the second story within the next year, which will be a huge expense. So we could put all of our extra money into the house indefinitely. But late last year I started working more on the 'home' aspect, because I was tired of feeling ambivalent about the decor, and tired of having so many rooms that are about 80% 'done.' Of course with the economy, my timing couldn't be worse! Since I thought I'd trade up in a few years, and had spent so much money on flooring, etc., I only purchased a few essential pieces of furniture, and otherwise used things that I'd had in prior rentals. So there are still quite a few gaps to fill, although several of my friends who do not care about decorating think the house looks quite 'done' and don't understand why I'm dissatisfied (and I suspect that DH agrees with them to some extent!). One thing I've learned with some of my recent purchases is that furniture can solve some of the functionality problems that the house has. Storage pieces can be very expensive, but they're worth it. And even the scale of our non-storage furniture can change the way that the rooms function, not to mention layout & furniture placement. So that makes me feel more comfortable spending money on the 'home' aspect, because some of these changes have really made the house much more comfortable to live & entertain in....See MoreLadies how mch time do you spend doing your hair and makeup?
Comments (32)I cut my long hair in August,now my hair takes me seconds to do. As for makeup-none on a daily basis. It just rubs off on my surgical mask at work. For a night out, or if I want to impress my makeup takes me 10 minutes but I rarely wear it. I am lucky that at 52 I have good skin. Still nice and tight (on my face that is). My only issue is brown spots from sun exposure while golfing, but that is easily covered. I learned my lesson and religiously wear spf 50 from oil of olay regenerist every day....See More- 9 years ago
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