Storing Dry Dog Food and Stocking the Refrigerator for the Summer

Today we are going to step out of the garden and into the kitchen.  I have two items to which I want to give attention.

First is storage of dry dog food.  I have, for sometime now, been concerned about how I stored Baxter's dry food.  Typically, I leave it in the bag and store it in the pantry closet.  No matter what brand of dry food you choose, they all come with an expiration date on the bag.  That expiration date is your assurance that the food will remain edible, when stored at room temperature, until the date stamped on the bag.

While I believe that to be true, I have decided to add an extra layer of assurance for my own satisfaction to make certain that the food remains as fresh as possible.  I place it in Ziploc bags and store it in the refrigerator.

These large one gallon bags hold 12 cups of food, leaving enough room to press out any existing air inside the bag and then sealing it tightly.

Here are several bags ready to be placed in the refrigerator.

I line them up in the bottom drawer of the refrigerator so they are easily accessed at meal time.  He gets a quarter cup of Blue Buffalo and a single-serving of Cesar wet food mixed together for dinner each day.  Some days he gets Cesar Filet Mignon flavor.  Some days he gets Porterhouse flavor.  He likes a little variety in his daily meals.

For his morning meal he gets a slice of FreshPet Select.  This week we are having Chunky Beef, Vegetable & Rice Recipe.  Next week will most likely be Chicken.  Again, he demands variety.  After all, he is a dachshund.

Once we got Baxter's nutrition taken care of, we moved on to other items that needed to be addressed in the refrigerator.  Warmer weather means more frequent visits from friends and neighbors.  You will want to make sure you have a well-stocked refrigerator with a variety of beverages to satisfy all.  So I have an ample supply of soft drinks, two varieties of beer, a cold bottle of Grapefruit flavored Perrier and at least one bottle of chilled wine.  Actually, inside the door I have another two bottles of wine and freshly made ice tea with lemon.  For those who prefer still water, I keep those in a separate refrigertor in the basement along with mixers and "coolers" of varying flavors.  I keep a wicker basket by the basement refrigerator which makes the task of bringing up additional refreshments a breeze.  We are a wine drinking bunch at Crest Avenue.  In particular, red wine.  So I make sure I have plenty of red wine on hand at all times and a suitable amount of white wine for dinners and for my friends who prefer white.

You will notice in the picture above that I have placed a ring with wine glass charms around the neck of the wine bottle.

This was a Christmas gift (the charms, not the wine.)  I have searched for a place to keep them where I would know where they were but where they would not get tangled up.  For a long time I hung them on one of the kitchen cabinet door handles.  In a moment of genius, I decided to put them on the wine bottle.  Now they are where I know to find them.  They are not getting tangled up with other things in a drawer.  It is the perfect spot.  Of course, if you are not a wine drinker, they could just as easily be placed over the Perrier bottle or a champagne bottle - whatever works for you.  Doesn't that bottle of wine just call out to you?  Come on five o'clock!

I hope you will put these ideas to use in your home.  Have a great weekend everyone!

Storing Dry Dog Food and Stocking the Refrigerator for the Summer

Today we are going to step out of the garden and into the kitchen.  I have two items to which I want to give attention.

First is storage of dry dog food.  I have, for sometime now, been concerned about how I stored Baxter's dry food.  Typically, I leave it in the bag and store it in the pantry closet.  No matter what brand of dry food you choose, they all come with an expiration date on the bag.  That expiration date is your assurance that the food will remain edible, when stored at room temperature, until the date stamped on the bag.

While I believe that to be true, I have decided to add an extra layer of assurance for my own satisfaction to make certain that the food remains as fresh as possible.  I place it in Ziploc bags and store it in the refrigerator.

These large one gallon bags hold 12 cups of food, leaving enough room to press out any existing air inside the bag and then sealing it tightly.

Here are several bags ready to be placed in the refrigerator.

I line them up in the bottom drawer of the refrigerator so they are easily accessed at meal time.  He gets a quarter cup of Blue Buffalo and a single-serving of Cesar wet food mixed together for dinner each day.  Some days he gets Cesar Filet Mignon flavor.  Some days he gets Porterhouse flavor.  He likes a little variety in his daily meals.

For his morning meal he gets a slice of FreshPet Select.  This week we are having Chunky Beef, Vegetable & Rice Recipe.  Next week will most likely be Chicken.  Again, he demands variety.  After all, he is a dachshund.

Once we got Baxter's nutrition taken care of, we moved on to other items that needed to be addressed in the refrigerator.  Warmer weather means more frequent visits from friends and neighbors.  You will want to make sure you have a well-stocked refrigerator with a variety of beverages to satisfy all.  So I have an ample supply of soft drinks, two varieties of beer, a cold bottle of Grapefruit flavored Perrier and at least one bottle of chilled wine.  Actually, inside the door I have another two bottles of wine and freshly made ice tea with lemon.  For those who prefer still water, I keep those in a separate refrigertor in the basement along with mixers and "coolers" of varying flavors.  I keep a wicker basket by the basement refrigerator which makes the task of bringing up additional refreshments a breeze.  We are a wine drinking bunch at Crest Avenue.  In particular, red wine.  So I make sure I have plenty of red wine on hand at all times and a suitable amount of white wine for dinners and for my friends who prefer white.

You will notice in the picture above that I have placed a ring with wine glass charms around the neck of the wine bottle.

This was a Christmas gift (the charms, not the wine.)  I have searched for a place to keep them where I would know where they were but where they would not get tangled up.  For a long time I hung them on one of the kitchen cabinet door handles.  In a moment of genius, I decided to put them on the wine bottle.  Now they are where I know to find them.  They are not getting tangled up with other things in a drawer.  It is the perfect spot.  Of course, if you are not a wine drinker, they could just as easily be placed over the Perrier bottle or a champagne bottle - whatever works for you.  Doesn't that bottle of wine just call out to you?  Come on five o'clock!

I hope you will put these ideas to use in your home.  Have a great weekend everyone!

You Say Tomato, I say "YUM!"

There is nothing like a tomato fresh from the garden.  We hope to be enjoying these over the coming weeks and months.  I got this little garden all cleaned up over the weekend and got the tomatoes planted.

This year I planted the traditional Beefsteak tomato which I plant every year.  I decided to experiment with a new variety called "Black Krim."  The Beefsteak tomatoes, as most of you know, grow to a large size and are brilliant red - and delicious.

Traditional Beefsteak Tomato

The Black Krim tomato is a black tomato and similar in size to the Beefsteak tomato.  (You may also see them sold or referred to as Red Krim Tomatoes.)

Black Krim Tomato

My research tells me that this tomato has an intense, slightly salty taste.  It's name, Krim, is Russian and  Ukrainian for Crimea in the Ukraine.  The tomato is named for the Crimean Peninsula.  Like the traditional Beefsteak, it is perfect for slicing and for use in salads or any cooking.  I am very anxious to try this most unusual tomato.

You Say Tomato, I say "YUM!"

There is nothing like a tomato fresh from the garden.  We hope to be enjoying these over the coming weeks and months.  I got this little garden all cleaned up over the weekend and got the tomatoes planted.

This year I planted the traditional Beefsteak tomato which I plant every year.  I decided to experiment with a new variety called "Black Krim."  The Beefsteak tomatoes, as most of you know, grow to a large size and are brilliant red - and delicious.

Traditional Beefsteak Tomato

The Black Krim tomato is a black tomato and similar in size to the Beefsteak tomato.  (You may also see them sold or referred to as Red Krim Tomatoes.)

Black Krim Tomato

My research tells me that this tomato has an intense, slightly salty taste.  It's name, Krim, is Russian and  Ukrainian for Crimea in the Ukraine.  The tomato is named for the Crimean Peninsula.  Like the traditional Beefsteak, it is perfect for slicing and for use in salads or any cooking.  I am very anxious to try this most unusual tomato.

Grandmother's Birthday Present

I forgot my grandmother's birthday.  Well, I didn't forget.  I knew it was coming, I just thought I had more time and the days went by so quickly and the next thing I knew the day had come and gone.  I feel just awful.  So I ran yesterday and got her a card and a small gift and got it in the mail.

I found a lovely lavender, chamomile and sandalwood hand and body cream which I think she will enjoy.  I don't think she would be angry with me for divulging that she was 94 on Tuesday.  Indeed she should not be angry but rather luxuriate in having had such a wonderful and long life.  Our family has been so lucky to have had her with us all these many years.  In the picture above, you see the box which contained her present and a card to "grandmother for her birthday" on top.  I added a special note on top of that.

When you make such an error as missing a birthday, you need to do all you can to convey apologies.  Oh, and you all know now that my nickname growing up was "Eddie."  There will be more on how that came about later this year in my book entitled, "Welcome to Crest Avenue: A Picture Book of Home Renovation."

Grandmother's Birthday Present

I forgot my grandmother's birthday.  Well, I didn't forget.  I knew it was coming, I just thought I had more time and the days went by so quickly and the next thing I knew the day had come and gone.  I feel just awful.  So I ran yesterday and got her a card and a small gift and got it in the mail.

I found a lovely lavender, chamomile and sandalwood hand and body cream which I think she will enjoy.  I don't think she would be angry with me for divulging that she was 94 on Tuesday.  Indeed she should not be angry but rather luxuriate in having had such a wonderful and long life.  Our family has been so lucky to have had her with us all these many years.  In the picture above, you see the box which contained her present and a card to "grandmother for her birthday" on top.  I added a special note on top of that.

When you make such an error as missing a birthday, you need to do all you can to convey apologies.  Oh, and you all know now that my nickname growing up was "Eddie."  There will be more on how that came about later this year in my book entitled, "Welcome to Crest Avenue: A Picture Book of Home Renovation."

Our Continued Efforts at Spring Clean-Up

We made a trip to Lowe's on Sunday to pick up a few plants and other essentials in our effort to get cleaned up from winter and give a fresh look to everything.  We started with a couple bags of Miracle-Gro Garden Soil.

This blend is perfect for anything you are planting in the ground.  I have a boxwood that I transplanted in the front yard which is not looking so good.  We are going to replant it using this soil.  I expect things will improve once we do that.

I was trying to get a picture of the begonias here, but I didn't do a very good job.  They had the most beautiful flats of pink and white begonias.  Really stunning specimens.  So I bought I don't know how many in both pink and white and placed them in the pots on the front porch.

These little pots were filled with tulips not so long ago.

As the begonias grow in, they will fill these pots and be every bit as beautiful as the tulips.  I removed the tulip bulbs from the pots completely before I planted the begonias.  The petals had long since fallen.  The stems and leaves were brown which means that all the energy has been stored in the bulb.  I placed them in a brown paper bag and hung the bag on a nail in the shed until fall when we will replant them.

Then, who did I see in the back seat?  Little Baxter looking very handsome after his haircut a couple weeks ago at Paws of Enchantment.  He is always a very alert boy, watching everything that is going on around us.  It's like having my own little security system in the back seat.

And finallly, two little spruce trees for the planters on the deck.  These are just beautiful.  The needles are so soft and the fragrance is to die for.

They are such a nice touch here on the steps to the deck.

All in all, a good trip.  I spent many, many hours working in the back yard and along the side of the house this past Memorial Day weekend.  The weather was beautiful all three days.  No humidity, which is a real treat and very unusual here in the Mid-Atlantic at this time of year.  Normally the days have gotten warmer and the humidity set in.  I did not have the air conditioner on the entire weekend.  That, however, is all about to change.  We will hit 90 degrees tomorrow and that is what we can expect throughout the week and the weekend.  The weather guy also forewarns us that the humidity will be arriving tomorrow.  So good that I was able to get as much done as possible this past weekend.

Our Continued Efforts at Spring Clean-Up

We made a trip to Lowe's on Sunday to pick up a few plants and other essentials in our effort to get cleaned up from winter and give a fresh look to everything.  We started with a couple bags of Miracle-Gro Garden Soil.

This blend is perfect for anything you are planting in the ground.  I have a boxwood that I transplanted in the front yard which is not looking so good.  We are going to replant it using this soil.  I expect things will improve once we do that.

I was trying to get a picture of the begonias here, but I didn't do a very good job.  They had the most beautiful flats of pink and white begonias.  Really stunning specimens.  So I bought I don't know how many in both pink and white and placed them in the pots on the front porch.

These little pots were filled with tulips not so long ago.

As the begonias grow in, they will fill these pots and be every bit as beautiful as the tulips.  I removed the tulip bulbs from the pots completely before I planted the begonias.  The petals had long since fallen.  The stems and leaves were brown which means that all the energy has been stored in the bulb.  I placed them in a brown paper bag and hung the bag on a nail in the shed until fall when we will replant them.

Then, who did I see in the back seat?  Little Baxter looking very handsome after his haircut a couple weeks ago at Paws of Enchantment.  He is always a very alert boy, watching everything that is going on around us.  It's like having my own little security system in the back seat.

And finallly, two little spruce trees for the planters on the deck.  These are just beautiful.  The needles are so soft and the fragrance is to die for.

They are such a nice touch here on the steps to the deck.

All in all, a good trip.  I spent many, many hours working in the back yard and along the side of the house this past Memorial Day weekend.  The weather was beautiful all three days.  No humidity, which is a real treat and very unusual here in the Mid-Atlantic at this time of year.  Normally the days have gotten warmer and the humidity set in.  I did not have the air conditioner on the entire weekend.  That, however, is all about to change.  We will hit 90 degrees tomorrow and that is what we can expect throughout the week and the weekend.  The weather guy also forewarns us that the humidity will be arriving tomorrow.  So good that I was able to get as much done as possible this past weekend.

A Multi-Use Bed Table

On Saturday during my weekly shopping excursion, I picked up this very handy bed table for our recuperating patient.

This is really an all-in-one piece.  The surface can be left flat for eating.  There is a place for a beverage.  There is a center section that can be raised for using a laptop computer with a vent built in to keep the computer from overheating.  A built-in mouse pad and 4 usb ports.  Oh, and an adjustable arm LED light which plugs into one of the usb ports.  The legs are adjutable up and down to accomodate nearly everyone.

I decided since he was in the hospital on his birthday, I would wrap this up and give it as a birthday gift.

Now that's a very fun and festive looking package.  I think he really was happy to receive this.  Being able to log on to the computer will make him feel like he is back in touch with his world.  And when it's time to eat, we just remove the computer, lower the raised section and VOILA, it's soup time!

A Multi-Use Bed Table

On Saturday during my weekly shopping excursion, I picked up this very handy bed table for our recuperating patient.

This is really an all-in-one piece.  The surface can be left flat for eating.  There is a place for a beverage.  There is a center section that can be raised for using a laptop computer with a vent built in to keep the computer from overheating.  A built-in mouse pad and 4 usb ports.  Oh, and an adjustable arm LED light which plugs into one of the usb ports.  The legs are adjutable up and down to accomodate nearly everyone.

I decided since he was in the hospital on his birthday, I would wrap this up and give it as a birthday gift.

Now that's a very fun and festive looking package.  I think he really was happy to receive this.  Being able to log on to the computer will make him feel like he is back in touch with his world.  And when it's time to eat, we just remove the computer, lower the raised section and VOILA, it's soup time!

What a Beautiful Arrangement

All of my regular readers are aware that we have been dealing with illness here at WTCA for the past few weeks.  I wanted to share with you a picture of one of the most beautiful arrangements of flowers that were sent by my dear friend Bev.

She told me this arrangement was called "Zen."  It is extraordinary.  The picture does not do it justice.

Bev is the girl of the hour with this arrangement.  You see my little smiley face cup to the right with a big rose and some filler.  It pales in comparison.  Thank you, Bev, for this beautiful arrangement.  A true friend indeed.

What a Beautiful Arrangement

All of my regular readers are aware that we have been dealing with illness here at WTCA for the past few weeks.  I wanted to share with you a picture of one of the most beautiful arrangements of flowers that were sent by my dear friend Bev.

She told me this arrangement was called "Zen."  It is extraordinary.  The picture does not do it justice.

Bev is the girl of the hour with this arrangement.  You see my little smiley face cup to the right with a big rose and some filler.  It pales in comparison.  Thank you, Bev, for this beautiful arrangement.  A true friend indeed.

The Banana Tree and Freesia, Before and Now

I posted a few weeks ago that the banana tree came back again this year.  This will be the third year that it has returned.  I do not lift the corm in the winter, but mulch heavily and place a large plastic planter over top of it to help protect from the cold.

This was the banana tree during the first days of spring.

And this is the banana tree now.

This was the freesia pot just a few weeks ago.  We were so happy to see these tiny buds making their way through the soil.

And the freesia pot now.

Spring is a wonderful time of year.  I love watching everything come alive.  It is magical.  I noticed this morning when I went out to water that the leaves had little droplets of water on them.  When I checked Accuweather it showed that we got a little rain overnight, so I did not water this morning.  We are supposed to reach 80 today rather than near 90 and humid as it has been all week.  Tomorrow will only reach 67 degrees.  That will be luscious.  Nice cool weather over the weekend which will make for perfect gardening time.

I want another banana tree.  I'm going to have to see about getting another one this weekend or next.  More on that to follow.