Every year, when the tomatoes start to come in from the garden, our family craves BLT sandwiches.  There's no better way to eat a garden fresh tomato, in my opinion.
I can't believe that bacon is more than six dollars a pound--for fat.  Here's a thrifty alternative that is also healthy. 
Spread mayonnaise on one slice of bread, and sprinkle imitation bacon flavored bits into it.  The mayonnaise will glue the bits to the bread so that they don't fall out of the sandwich.  Then, continue adding the lettuce and tomato and pickles as you prefer.
Imitation bits are made from soy beans.  I've read articles saying that soy beans help with hot flashes.  They have protein, no fat, and add fiber to your diet.
Another rendition of the BLT that we enjoy is a BELT--bacon, egg, lettuce and tomato.  Just scramble an egg and cook it over hard in one sheet.

I'd like to recommend this article to anyone who cares about the future of scouting. http://chrisaiken.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/why-i-will-not-leave-scouting-by-chris-aiken.pdf
This is a well-researched paper by a Baptist minister that affirms Christian belief that homosexual behavior is contrary to the nature of God as defined by all world religions.  I also agree with his suggestion that instead of folding a troop, a church that disagrees with the new policy should change their membership requirements, insisting that in order to join their troop, the boy must also be a member of that church.
The Catholic position is that all persons deserve love and respect, and that it is only the behavior and choices that are contrary to God.  God hates the sin, but loves the sinner.  By changing the membership requirements for the troop, the church can continue to provide a wonderful and fulfilling ministry to boys that will teach them how to be good men.  Folding a troop to protest the new change will only take this ministry away from the majority.  It will only satisfy the minority of activists who have been working to destroy the program anyway.

It's been a struggle to find someone willing to review my book, Day Camp in Hawaii, but I've finally received my first review.  He gave me five stars!
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/636929855
Then, in a discussion post in the DYI and Craft discussion group on Good Reads, Jim made this comment.
"Day Camp in Hawaii by Paula Knoderer Hrbacek is for
grades 1 - 6 according to the title page. I disagree. It's not just for day
camp, Hawaii, or those ages. With very little imagination, it gives any parent a
lot of fun ideas of things to do with kids singly or in groups cheaply, whether
  you're on a trip, have a rainy vacation day, or a birthday party. Baby sitters
  should read it, too."

The recent headlines about teenagers being charged with sexual assault for sleeping with their girlfriends has made me think that maybe it’s time we change the labels we attach to this behavior.  I’m thinking that sex crimes need to be sorted out into three categories;
violent, conniving, and stupid.

 Violent crime would include rape, kidnapping and assault; things that hurt and damage not only the body, but the soul.  Yes, these people should be locked up, because that is the main purpose of jail. Jail protects the public from people who would harm them.

 Conniving offenses would include things like funny uncles, peeping toms and exhibitionists.  Yes, these people should take the counseling classes offered currently in
jail.  These people are sick, and need a drastic attitude adjustment.

 Stupid crimes are sleeping with an under aged girlfriend, public urination and streaking.  These crimes are caused by making a bad choice or running with the wrong crowd.  Unfortunately, these stupid people have to take the same classes as the psychotic criminals.  That’s stupid.  If it has a different cause, then it needs a different cure.

 The first class stupid offenders need to take is a class on making decisions.  When my son was an electrical engineering student at the University of South Alabama, he took
decision making for engineers.  I read his text book.  It said basically the same thing that my husband studied in managerial analytics for business.  The classes and text
books already exist.  So, instead of making stupid people take psychotic classes, sentence them to taking a class on how to make smart decisions.  Maybe they’ll realize that if it feels too good to be true, it’s probably a bad idea.

 When stupid crimes happen, there’s usually enough blame to throw around in every direction.  Yes, the kid made a bad choice, but some of the blame belongs to stupid parents that didn’t educate their children about nice girl rules. 
 
Nice girl rules came under attack during the Hippie era and Woodstock, and that free love attitude is still going on in our television shows and movies.  But, our laws
are based on nice girl rules.  Our laws are based on personal responsibility and respect of others.  If you’re not responsible about your freedoms, they will be taken
away.  If you don’t respect other people, they have the right to punish you.  Your rights and freedoms only go to the point where you take a right or freedom away from someone else.  All of these laws boil down to the basic value of being nice.

 So, for the sake of protecting our children from morons and idiots, and reducing the number of stupid teenagers in the world, please take time to teach your children nice girl rules. (even if they are boys.)

 1.       Nice girls save themselves for the right guy.  Kissing is for like, petting is for love, and sex is forever.  If you are not old enough to get married, you are not old enough for
forever.  If forever isn’t going to take place tomorrow, then don’t do that one today. 
If you do it, forever will show up in a way you don’t want it to.  This is a safety rule as much as it is a virtue.

 2.    Nice girls only date nice guys.  A nice guy agrees with rule number one, and doesn’t try to get anything that he hasn’t rightfully earned.  Nice guys do not score.

 3.    If a guy tries to score before he has earned that expression of trust, a nice girl will
break up with him no matter how cute or popular he may be.  Nice girls also break up with boys who tell secrets in the locker room.  This rule comes under the
category of Meathead Management.  If you let one meathead get away with it, the rest
of them will want it, too.

 4.      Nice girls do not hang out in their pajamas when there are strange boys in the
house.  Any boy who is not your brother or father is strange.  This rule also applies to bra straps, slips and panties in public, too.  This is also a form of Meathead Management. 
If you don’t want them to do it, then don’t make them think about it.

 5.   Nice girls do not wear clothing that shows off parts of their body that they don’t
want a stranger to touch.  Respect is something you earn, and just as a soldier respects a uniform, a nice boy will respect a nice outfit.  
 
6.    Nice girls do not go into a boy’s bedroom. This is a safety rule.  If you stay in the living room, you’ll have enough privacy to talk and kiss, but not enough to do anything immodest.  
 
7.   Nice girls do not get into bed.  If they lay ON a bed because they are in a dorm
room, and they don’t have any other way to get privacy, they keep their legs crossed at all times.

 8.     Nice girls do not go to hotels.  When ‘Glee’ aired an episode where four teenage couples went to a hotel, they proved that the entire cast of that show is not nice.  Nice girls do not follow the example of people who are not nice.  Nice girls are smart enough to know that just because someone else is doing it does not mean that it is the smart thing to do.

 9.     Nice girls do not make out in public: even if they are protesting Chick-Fal-A’s
opinions.

 10.  Nice girls do not swear.  If you use the f bomb, boys will automatically assume that you’ve done that before, and it’s OK to ask you to do it again. A swear word is the name of something that ought to be respected, said in a way that does not show respect. 
If you want people to respect you, then use respectable words.
 
A rule is not a limit on your freedom.  A rule is just a million mistakes written in a sentence.  Rules protect your freedom by keeping you safe.  Rules make things fair.  And
smart people use rules to learn from other people’s mistakes. After all, there isn’t enough time to make all the mistakes yourself.


 

I went to go see my new granddaughter yesterday, and noticed that her three-week old bottom was red.  I had advised my daughter that when this happens, you need to air out the baby.
I raised my children with cloth diapers.  Airing out the baby back then meant loosely pinning or laying the diaper over the important area, and leaving the plastic pants off so that air can circulate around the skin during nap time.  My daughter said that since she didn't have any cloth diapers, she had just held the baby with nothing on at all.  The urine went all over the place.
If you don't have cloth diapers, the answer to this problem is in the kitchen.  Use a kitchen towel.  Choose an old one.  As long as it's clean, it will do the job.  If the baby doesn't roll over, just lay it on the important parts.  If the baby rolls in its sleep, use diaper pins to keep it on.  If it gets soiled, swish it in the toilet to remove the solids, and then wash it with the rest of your whites.
I know this because when I had children in diapers, and I had one of those days when I didn't get all of the laundry done, and I ran out of clean diapers, I would (oops, don't tell) bundle their bottoms in a kitchen towel instead.  Today, kids run to the store.  Back then, we had to be more creative.
I bought some kitchen towels for my daughter that look just like diapers.  They are woven cotton cloth without all the terrycloth loops.  I thought they would make good burping cloths.  I used to use cloth diapers to protect my shirt, too. 
Towels come in handy during potty training, as well.  When my two-year old son had a problem with wetting the bed during nap time, I stopped using a mattress pad, and used a beach towel under the fitted sheet instead.  Mattress pads have to be hung out on the clothes line to dry.  Beach towels can go in the dryer.  I used the old ones.  No one complained.
Research has proven that cloth diapers are better for potty training because the wet feeling is motivation to learn.  A little extra laundry now means you solve the problem faster.
Disposable diapers have their assets, but they can't do all of the things that a cloth diaper can do.  So, in my opinion, all mothers need a basket of kitchen towels and a package of diaper pins to take care of the problems that disposables can't solve.

I've been busy settling my mother's estate.  At age 91, she didn't have the mobility to do much dusting.  A lot of her belongings were covered in dust.
Besides the sneezing dust causes, it also promotes the growth of mites.  Mites are very small bugs in the spider family.  They are so small they can't be seen by the human eye.  They feed on dander, dead skin cells, that are shed from our bodies.
When you start digging around in dusty environments, the mites will hop onto your body.  This causes itching because the bugs are eating the dead skin cells that are still attached to you.
My brother told me the secret to dealing with mites.  He recommended a product called Corn Husker's Lotion.  It is available at most stores in the hand lotion department.
Corn Husker's Lotion is a semi-opaque liquid.  I'm not sure what the ingredients are, but it feels a lot like aloe gel.  Just rub the liquid over anything that itches, and then some, and let it dry.  The gel smothers mites.
It can take more than one application to kill the bugs.  They seem to hop over to any place you missed.  But it's the only thing I've found that works on mites.
The next time I go to my mother's house, I'll be sure to bring a bottle with me.  Then, I won't have to itch all the way ho

I received a free ad from Google, but it isn't working very well.  The last stats said that I had 450 views, but none of them resulted in a click.  The notice suggested that I change my key words.
The problem is that there are two different types of people using summer camp for a key word; the professionals who are running the camp, and the parents who are looking for a camp to go to.  I want to connect with the professionals.
So what are the best key words to use?  If you are a professional, looking for activities and crafts to use at your camp or recreational program, what words are you using to find a good resource?  Please comment below.

My thumb isn't green, it's chartreuse.  Some things grow well, and others don't.  I'm not very good at remembering to water them.  When the leaves wilt, I usually remember.  Some times even that isn't enough.
When I plant flowers in flower pots and hanging containers, I put a piece of florist foam over the hole in the bottom of the pot.  It still allows for drainage when the rain soaks the soil, but when I forget to water the pot, it keeps the water from running out of the hole without moistening the dirt.
I don't buy new florist foam.  I save foam from cut flower arrangements. It's easy to cut with a sharp knife.
My watering routine is that when I go out on the back porch to drink a glass of lemonade, I dump the ice on a plant when I am done.  The ice melts slowly, which gives it time to soak into the dirt.  It means that the plant will get a little water every few days, which is better than no water at all.

My mother lives on a farmette, three acres of land in rural  Arkansas.  My father’s secret
desire was to be a farmer, and after he left the ministry, he fulfilled that  desire by buying that property.  He had several large truck gardens and grew a variety of vegetables, including corn, asparagus and tomatoes.

 Now that he’s gone, the gardens have gone back to natural grass.  Mom keeps the grass mowed in self-defense.  When it’s long, grasshoppers set in and chiggers thrive.

 In among the grass are bunches of wild daisies.  Her neighbors all mow their daisies, but my mother mows around them.  Even though they’re not as big or showy as the garden variety, she still appreciates their beauty.

 That’s pretty much the way Mom looks at everything.  She sees the good for what it is, even if it could have been better.  She mows the weeds, memories of bad times, short and keeps them in perspective.  Like mulch made from weeds, she turns her own sorrow into compassion and uses it to nourish her relationships with other people.

 Dad was a manic depressive. Living with him for forty years wasn’t always easy.  He didn’t always receive the love others tried to show him.  He accused us of hurting him by
reinterpreting our words and actions in ways that were never intended.  He used emotional weapons—guilt, anger, rejection—to get even with us for things we never
did.

 But he could be thoughtful, too.  He supported our career choices by sending us to college and buying things we needed. He took us on horseback rides when we were small.  He gave us piggy back rides and taught us how to fish.

 When we think about him now, we have a choice of recalling the thoughtless things, or the caring things he did.  Like my mother’s pasture, we can cut the weeds short and mow around the daisies, taking their beauty in their wild state, accepting them for what they are without comparing them to the ones in the florist shop.

 Or, we can consider the daisies to be weeds, too, and mow the whole thing down.  But what is there to show in that?

 Or, again, we can let our thoughts grow wild, and allow every memory, good and bad, to grow to their full height.  Weeds grow taller than grass, taller than flowers, and if left alone, will overshadow and choke out the wildflowers.  Then, the grass hoppers will set in, and the chiggers thrive; anger, resentment, self-pity, remorse.

 It’s hard to get a good night’s sleep when you’re eaten up with chigger bites.  It’s equally hard to get a good night’s sleep when you’re eaten up with anger.

 When I visit Mom and see the wild flowers left to grow, I remember that.  Maybe that’s why she lets them grow, too.  Maybe, when she thinks about Dad, her thoughts are like the daisies.

In memory of Arleen G. Knoderer
June 4, 1921 to April 23, 2013
Rest in Peace

Last year I planted three packets of green beans.  Only five of the seeds sprouted.  The squirrels didn't get them because I didn't see any digging holes in the soil.  I wasn't sure what the culprit was.
This year my garden is doing much better.  All of the green beans I planted sprouted. 
The difference could be to several factors.  First of all, I added another landscaping timber to the edge of the garden, and added four bags of garden soil and four bags of cow manure.  This raised the garden up three inches.  A gardener at Semmes Elementary told me that a raised garden sprouts earlier because the soil gets warmer quicker.
I also have carpenter ants living in the landscaping timbers.  I treated the ants twice during the week before I built the garden up.  I can't say for sure, but carpenter ants may have eaten the seeds I planted last year.
When we purchased tomato plants, I told my husband I needed ones that are nematode resistant.  The tag on the pot didn't have the typical N that stands for this type of plant, so my husband asked the salesman.  He recommended adding lime to the soil to prevent these bugs from attacking the roots.
I also read an article that said old milk helps chase away nematodes, too.  Whenever I have old milk I pour it on the garden.
Well, so far, so good.  I just wanted to pass that news along.