Bringing out the blessings

The next phase in my story of stuff....

The summer months are an awkward time when it comes to the accumulation of "stuff." It's a time of compiling - birthday presents, school supplies, new shoes and socks, the right size of uniforms. Not to mention produce to be "processed" for the freezer for the winter, the smattering of seeds drying all over my kitchen and other tell-tale signs of summer.

But this summer, our story of stuff took a somewhat different turn. It was regifting our blessings that have gotten us through the last few years.

I've been reading FlyLady off an d on for a few years, and I admit very little has actually stuck into process (as evidenced by my office.) But the one concept that stuck with me was that our unused items can truly be a blessing for others. Maybe it's the idea of Christian stewardship. Maybe it's because so many helped us in small ways in those three years of immense need. Maybe it's simply time to pass things on.

But doing so means breaking free of worries - and in a sense, letting God take control. What if I get pregnant and need those boxes of baby items stashed in my closet (and surprisingly not yet being climbed on by my precarious three year old)? Then hopefully the right garage sale or hand-me-down will materialize.

What if I don't see that toy again? It's SPECIAL (though unplayed with), my children will cry. That too is mitigated, by sharing with a younger neighbor friend, our daycare, or baby cousin.

But those kind of mindsets take time to change. So slowly, box by box, bag by bag, items have disappeared from my house. Outgrown clothes are boxed by size and put on "sale" - dirt cheap - on our employee classifieds, helping everyone from grandmas now raising their grandkids to foster parents-to-be.

Sets of snowsuits and boots went to a garage sale this weekend, blessing my neighbor with a less expensive winter expense and me with funds to do more damage at the farmers market.

The last of the girl clothes were divided into a box for my sister (wrapped, so she can't return a holiday gift!) Those few items in unneeded sizes went next door to our expectant neighbor.

The cloth baby burp rags and blankets? Being boxed this week for our crisis pregnancy and adoption center.

My well-worn work clothes that I struggle with parting with? Getting picked off, one by one, for Goodwill.

In the end, those things that got us through the tough times might help another through their's. And it's a good feeling.

Fresh tomato soup

This fresh tomato soup recipe is my happy accident. I had full intentions of testing this tomato sauce recipe from an Eating Well cookbook, except I had to change one ingredient...then another. (In retrospect, it hardly resembles the original recipe much anymore!)

My daughter tried the sauce and said "It tastes just like soup. It's making me dance." She was right. Now I'll have great soup for the winter!!

Fresh Tomato Soup
8 c. fresh paste tomatoes, chopped
2-3 T. olive oil (a few splashes around the pan)
2-3 heads garlic, chopped, depending on preference
3 c. chopped onions
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 T. dried oregano
1 T. dried basil
1/4 c. burgundy wine
1 T. balsamic vinegar
pepper to taste

Heat oil over mediu m heat. Add garlic, cook, stirring constantly about 2 minutes. Add onions and salt, stirring, cook 10-15 min. or until golden.

Add spices, burgundy wine and vinegar, simmer 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and turn heat down to keep it simmering; cook 1 hour or until tomatoes are thick and color is a deep red-brown.

Remove from heat; cool; blend with hand blender or in blender until smooth.

At the Green Phone Booth...

Now that I've wrapped up nearly four hours of chopping and sauce-making, thought I'd pass along my market finds at the market report at the Green Phone Booth. No surprise: Ten boxes of tomatoes topped the list...

Really?

Saw this posted on on a relative's Facebook page today:

Just saw a commercial at a gas pump that said to live greener -- buy heavy
duty plastic silverware so you can wash it again and again.

Is this the dumbest green push you've ever seen, or have you read worse?

Talking school lunches

Coupons littered my living room floor this weekend, spurred on by my husband's insistence that we actually do something with them rather than just collect them from the Sunday paper.

Trying to enlist my soon-to-be first-grader to help me sort just brought on new challenges as she created her own shopping list.

Sponge Bob yogurt.
Dora yogurt.
Granola bars.
Disney princess fruit chews (though the fruit part is questionable.)

I could have simply said no. Instead, we spent a good part of the afternoon having a conversation about what makes a healthy lunch for school. We talked about the need to add fruit or vegetable. To drink milk (hopefully the white variety). To enjoy things like chocolate pudding cups in moderation. That there are healthy foods and sometimes foods.

After last year's concern with not eating enough, I've been hesitant to put on too much pressure when it comes to what she eats - quantity, that is. But she certainly can be enlisted to make healthy choices along the way.

I'm thrilled that she wants to take on packing her own lunch each day, though I wonder how long that will in fact last. She'll be happy to make peanut butter sandwiches...but for how long? Just to prepare, I'm expanding her options by buying a stainless steel thermos (hot pink trim, of course) for her to pack hot lunches on cold winter days and stocking up on a few more reusable containers for her to pack berries in.

Needless to say, I'm still on the lookout for some fun, easy-to-assemble ideas for making lunches. Have a great idea? Share them below!