Blue Yonder

July's First Monday Contest Winner

Happy Monday everyone!

It's been a flurry of weekend activity around these parts. The boys had a sleepover at their cousin's house (Ryder's first!) while Daddy and I celebrated our 11th anniversary. 

I don't know what we were thinking getting married in August. It's too hot to do anything at all. So, we rented a bunch of movies, got take out, and vegged. Which frankly, was the nicest possible celebration I could imagine. No shoes, no dressing up, plus air conditioning, mojitos and the man I love. Bliss. 

We got a new (used) dehydrator this weekend too. So we've been like busy little bees, shriveling up everything in sight, from the last of our peaches to the tail end of our garden's herbs. Which, in turn, means it's time to ready the beds for our fall garden. 

AND one of our babies, one of the hens we raised from chickhood, Hazel, began laying this weekend. I can't tell you the excitement this brought. Our little chicken Papa, my Luke, was so proud and so worried all at once. He got sincerely mad at me when I refused to let him strap an ice pack on her rear. 

"Did you see the size of that egg, Mama? She NEEDS an ice pack!"

So, we've got a long list of suburban farm chores that need to be accomplished today... paver stones going into the chicken coop, compost and anti-chicken fences for the garden beds, more preserving of our summer bounty (read: more playing with our dehydrator)... 

But, I did want to pop in for a bit to announce the winners of July's First Monday Contest

As usual, you guys made this a TOUGH decision. I highly recommend that you go back and read all the wonderful ideas and comments!

There were SO many good suggestions. Some of my family's favorites were: 

Hanna's easy no-knead bread, Jennifer's home-brewed root beer, Lisa's cream cheese made from yogurt (we used our own homemade yogurt, and my kids LOVED it on pretzels!), Regina's lunch pail pucks (frozen single portions of food, made in muffin tins, to toss in lunches - so smart). 

In the end, though, we had to go with Shawn's ant spray as the winner. A little water, a splash of rubbing alcohol, and a few drops of peppermint oil, and we are DONE with those creepy little black buggers that have been raiding my kitchen! 

Do I have to tell you what a relief it is to have  bug-free kitchen without worrying that some kind of pesticide might be seeping it's way into our food? THANK YOU SHAWN! Email me with your address, and I'll send along your prizes!

I had to add in a secondary prize too though, because my kids lobbied hard for it. They don't really care if there are bugs in their kitchen or pesticides in their food. They thought that the winner should have been Maggie's Ann's homemade "Bisquick" baking mix. My boys love waffles and biscuits for breakfast, but we all know I'm not a morning person, so, this recipe has been a wonderful compromise for us. 

You just mix 10 cups of flour,6 TBL of baking powder, 1 TBL salt ( she uses less), then cut in 1 1/2 cups of shortening, and store in fridge until needed. 

For biscuits and cinnamon rolls, mix 1/4 to 1/3 cup of milk or yogurt to 1 cup of mix and bake 425 degrees 8 to 10 min. 

For waffles, add in 2 tbsp of oil, one egg and a cup of milk to 2 cups of the mix, then, pop in your waffle iron. 

Maggie Ann, my kids cannot thank you enough! Please email me your address, and I'll send you a little something too! I don't know yet what, but something fun. Okay? 

Now, it's time to get to the chores, which means that August's contest is gonna have to wait. 

Thanks so much to all of you who participated in our DIY contest. Your ideas have been truly an inspiration!

July's First Monday Contest

Hey y'all! 

Well, first things first.. why are you guys making this so difficult? I swear there were SO many lovely stories summer memories, how could I possibly choose? 

I have gone round and round and ROUND over this decision, and I change my mind every five minutes. Seriously.... Anne of Green Gables, beach collecting, wild cousins, horses, summer farm jobs and VW bugs. It's all just too good!

But, I did promise to choose so, deep breath, here goes: 

Congratulations to the winners of last month's Blue Yonder First Monday Contest! 

The birdie necklace and paper will go to Laura for her story about living with her cousin in a pop up tent, wearing their funky skirts and subsisting on english muffins and Pringles. It just seemed like one of those moments when the stars are perfectly aligned and the world is just right - you are becoming an adult, old enough to have some freedom, and yet you are still a child too, seeing everything with fresh eyes and untainted wonder, not needing much, and feeling like you've got the whole world. Perfect.

Those days go by too fast. Laura, shoot me an email with your address okay? 

 I know a lot of you were out for that necklace, and believe me, if I could have a bunch of them made, I would have given one to each of you!

Kristi and her story of days gone by made me smile too, because her summers seemed so very like my own, with their plum jelly and crossword puzzles, Granny's "stories" on the television and Simplicity patterns.   Ms. Kristi, send along your digits and you'll be getting a box of goodies too!

Thanks so much for sharing your summers with me! 

Now, on to July's contest... 

Well, first let me tell you what I've been up to this weekend (there's a point here, I promise). 

I read about making your own household cleansers, a while back, over at Old Red Barn Co. This is something that I've really wanted to do for sometime now, but I hadn't gotten around to doing the research... what to use, how much, what combinations worked best, etc, etc. So, when I saw that Dana had posted some easy recipes, I was itching to give them a go. 

See, it bothers me that my choices are these: 1) Hold my nose as I pass the boys bathroom, and never but NEVER go in there. or 2) Put on my HazMat suit, arm myself with toxic goo, and defunk the place, only to then worry that the fumes and residue will cause my future grandchildren to grow tails. 

Now you know that I would spoil those grandbabies anyhow, and maybe even crochet them some little tail cozies, but it does seem that there really should be a better option, don't you think? 

I have to tell ya though, I had my doubts that the natural cleaners would do the trick. I  mean, I have three boys. THREE of 'em. Three boys that use ONE bathroom. Think on that for a minute. Or better yet, don't. 

Still, with just a scritch of hope, I gathered up my supplies, made all three of Dana's cleansers, and then set to work trying them out. People, my house shines like Christmas morning! It's like the 1950s around here, with little sparkles and sunbursts emminating from the appliances and countertops. 

I might wear highheels next time I clean, just to complete the effect. Of course, I'd have to go and buy some high heels first, so maybe not. 

As an extra added bonus, our cleansers smell so good -  homey and fresh, not harsh and lung collapsing. 

(we used lavendar and rosemary essential oils to scent them)

Well, I'll tell you what, I think I've unleashed some kind of internal make-your-own monster. I had such fun and such pleasant results from the cleansers that I went hog wild and made the homemade deodorant from angry chicken (insane, I know - have I mentioned that it's 100 degrees or so in Texas?), as well as some homemade shampoo and conditioner and a homemade balm for insect bites (I'll share the recipe for that tomorrow). And guess what? They all work great (no really!), smell great and feel well, GREAT. 

The thing I don't get is this: if the natural stuff works so well, how come the big companies put all the weird toxic crud in theirs? 

Is it just cheaper? Maybe it has a longer shelf life? Is it easier to handle in large quantities? Maybe it's a grassy knoll conspiracy? I don't know. 

Anyhow, all of that brings me to this entirely self-serving point - to enter this month's Blue Yonder First Monday Contest, leave a comment here with your favorite make-your-own recipes/tips (or a provide a link). 

What qualifies? Well anything that the majority of folks would buy, pre-made, from the store - beauty products, food items (yogurt, bread or jam say), fertilizers or pest sprays for the garden, medicines, etc. Any old thing that you make at home instead of buying. 

My most favorite tip will earn some wonderful handmade goodies from the Old Red Barn Company Store. (exact details to come) the lovely bird-shaped Talavera salt and pepper shakers above, and a beautiful postcard set from Molly of Field | Work.

So tell me, what kind of things do you make at home? 

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

Well it's that time again. 

Oh alright, it's actually well past that time, but I'm not exactly known for my promptness, so maybe I should change the contest name to "Blue Yonder's First Monday (or Thereabouts) Contest." 

Whatever. 

Anyhow, before I get to the new contest, I need to announce the winners of LAST month's goodies. Man alive, your mamas were a talkative bunch, weren't they? I had so much fun reading all the wise words that the women in your life passed down the line. And let me just tell you that it was H-A-R-D, HARD to pick the winners. But, here you have them: 

First, for spunkiest mama, the peppers and Haiku Mama book go to Sarah, whose Nana sure fit the bill with her "people in hell want ice water" (a saying that my Dad also dished out with regularity) and my personal favorite, "He can kiss my ass on Grand and Olive." You gotta love a woman who doesn't mind telling you to smooch her posterior, and not only that, but you can do it out in the street for all the world to see too. It doesn't get much spunkier than that, now does it? 

Next, the prize for sweetest mama saying goes to Emily, whose nana insisted that all her loved ones "take a sweater" when they ventured out into the world, no matter the temperature. There sure were a lot of sweet mamas in the bunch, but this one really stuck with me because it just sums up motherhood so perfectly - wanting to wrap your family up in protection before they go, hoping the world is kind to them when they are out from under your wing. 

Finally, for all the funny sayings that came from your mamas mouths, there was one that made me giggle for days. It might not be the funniest to any one else but me, but well, it's my contest, so I get to be the judge, right? 

The prize goes to Erin, for "The turkey is done. You are finished." I loved this one because I have a special woman in my family who has a million of these sayings. "Wash the dishes, shampoo your hair." "Paint the house, polish your fingernails." "Wear scallops (with a short a sound), Eat scallops (skahhhhllops)" It just made me grin and grin to think of all those funny little sayings meant to whip my hopelessly unsophisticated, preteen self into shape. Thanks, Erin for the grins and fond memories. 

Ladies, email me your info, and I'll get your prizes out to you! 

Now on to June's contest! Since I'm in my post-vacation, sappy, nostalgic mood, I thought I'd ask about your best summer memories. Remember back when the teachers made you write essays titled, "How I Spent My Summer Vacation"? Well, if you were to write that essay about your very BEST summer memory, what would it say?

 It can be anything - the comfortable sights and smells of your granddad's farm, that summer you fell in love, an unforgettable month volunteering at a soup kitchen, your first job washing dogs, sticky nights spent sneaking into the drive in, anything goes. You can tell me your story here in the comments, or tell it on your own blog and then post a link here in the comments section. Or, you can email me your story at blueyondergirl (at) mac (dot) com. My two favorite entries will receive one of these two prize packages: 

First, this lovely pendant from the incredibly talented Eva at Green Leaf and Owl. People, I LOVE her work. I have not one, not two, but THREE of her necklaces and would love to have several more. They are funky, fun, original, and plus I love the thought behind the new one of a kind pieces that she's doing. 

The winner of this pendant will also receive this groovy vintage trivet that reminds me a whole lot of our Rosemary. 

The second winner will receive this gorgeous necklace (also from Eva). 

and, this vintage-inspired Italian paper from Cavallini. It's really hard to photograph, as it's poster sized (20X28), but you get the jist, right? It's made up of little sections, each containing a bird, eggs, or nest. I think it would look really pretty framed, as is, or you could cut up the sections and frame them individually. It's made of heavy, quality paper, that feels a bit like linen or parchment. 

Alright, let's hear it - how did you spend your best summer? 

Like Mama Always Said - May's Blue Yonder First Monday Contest

Well hey y'all, and happy new week to you!

It's been a busy busy weekend here at Blue Yonder, and I am plumb wore out. I'd sleep for three days if certain little so and sos would let me. But no... There is no rest for the weary.

And that little adage leads me to May's Blue Yonder First Monday Contest.

Since it is May, the month in which we celebrate the mamas in our lives, I thought I'd make this contest about moms and the wisdom that they impart.

All you have to do to enter is finish this sentence, "Just like my Mama (grandmother, great grandmother, great aunt - any older woman who fed you a steady diet of fresh baked cookies and insightful axioms) always said, ..."

Maybe you grew up hearing that "If you lie down with the dogs, you wake up with the fleas" like I did, or how "every Mama crow thinks her baby is the blackest," or that, "anything worth doing is worth doing right" - proverbial wisdom that summed up life in a snappy little well turned phrase.

Or maybe it's more practical words that still ring in your ears ... about planting potatoes on Valentine's day, or how the ring around the moon means it will rain soon, or that a penny saved is a penny earned.

Whatever it is, let's share all that Mama good sense, shall we?

The loosely assembled rules are as follows:

You can enter as many times as you like between now and May 31st, midnight, Central time. The winner will be announced June 1st, right here at Blue Yonder.

To enter, just leave a comment (or 10) on this post that begins, "Just like mama always said..." You can tell me more about it after that, but start with that, please, so I know exactly what it is that came out of mama's mouth.

Each entry must contain a different bit of wisdom. In other words, you can't tell me 20 times that Mama told you that your eyes would stick like that if you didn't knock it off.

There will be 3 winners this month.

1. The sweetest Mama saying will receive a vintage apron and several of my very favorite pie recipes. Sweets for sweet mama! (I haven't photographed the apron yet, but I will today, and I'll post it here then. Sorry - as I said, plumb wore out...)

2. The spunkiest mama saying will win a jar of my very favorite spunky snack food, Miss Ruby's Ya Ya Peppers!

Ms. Ruby herself sent me a BIGGO box full of the peppers after I went in to buy some, and she was out. She took down my address and had SIX jars sent to me, just out of the kindness of her heart. You'll never meet a sweeter soul than that, and you'll never eat a better pepper either! You can stuff 'em into meat with some herbed goat cheese before grilling, or just eat 'em on top of cream cheese and crackers. Truly though, there's no need to stand on ceremony, you can just eat 'em straight out of the jar with a fork. I have never been a pepper eater in all my life until Ms. Ruby made me a believer.

Along with your peppers, you will receive a copy of Haiku Mama, cuz it's spunky, and funny and written by an Austin gal, which makes it even better.

3. The most hilarious entry will receive a bookmark, handmade by me (along the lines of these) and a copy of my latest read, Barbara Kingsolver's The Bean Trees. I've read it before, several times, and it never fails to touch me, make me laugh, and by gosh it is written just. SO. well!

So, all month, when you hear that Mama voice in the back of your mind, telling you that watched pots don't boil and men don't buy the cow when they can get the milk for free, drop in and let us hear from Mama too!

April's Contest Winner Is...

Well the moment has arrived...

Time to announce a winner of the very first, Blue Yonder First Monday Contest.

It was a tough call. You people are so talented, so resourceful, so crafty!

You know, back in the day, as Deb so perfectly said, people had to "use it up, wear it out, make do or do without." So, I have to say that now that we find ourselves in a pretty affluent, single serving, take and toss society, it is heartening to me to see people reusing, repurposing and reinventing not because they have to, but because they choose to.

They do it because it's good for the earth, and also because it's good for the pocketbook. They do it as a creative outlet, and they do it because they are hungry for lives that have more soul, more meaning, more purpose than one can find on a discount store shelf.

From the incredibly prolific to the incredibly talented, from grilling to gardening, from things you wear to things that warm your babes, things for carrying books, things for storing (books, clothes, sewing bits and wood too!), things to inspire and things to remember, and things that are just plain cool , you have all just floored me with your creativity and resourcefulness.

So really, I'm not trying to feign graciousness or anything like that, I'm serious - it was REALLY hard to decide on a winner. It was SO hard, in fact, that I'm going to have to go with two winners:

First, hats off to an incredible little family of repurposers. Mama Miguette gives sweet new life to forgotton things. She's full of soul and spunk and it flows out into the the lovely things that she makes. It was her husband though that put me over the edge with
this. Their sweet dog , Ripper, died and of course, left a hole in the family. So Miguette's husband, Peter, made wrist cuffs for himself and their son Colby out of Ripper's collar. I think it's pretty fantastic, this idea of having a little bit of a a beloved pal to carry with you.

Colby is learning to ride a two wheeler now, and I noticed in the photos that he has his cuff on. I imagine that if Ripper were still with them, he'd be chasing behind Colby, worrying over him. It makes me glad to think that in that little strap of leather on his arm, there still remains the love of a faithful friend.

Miguette, send me your address, and I'll get your goodies shipped off!

My other favorite repurpose was
this one from Elissa (which I do think counts, because it was her idea - only, Elissa, I might have to insist that you share your goodies with your folks :-). The idea was this: a pew from the church she grew up in, the very same that her father attended as a boy, became a lovely bed for her and her husband. I love this so much because a) it was born of necessity and b) because its a little piece of her family's history given new life.

I imagine her dad swinging his legs in that pew as a boy, then her, as a little girl, sitting there, with her hands in her lap and her head bowed. I think about her parents sawing and hammering, sanding and staining and all the while thinking of their little girl, and wishing her well in her new married life. I think about little feet running down the hall to jump in that bed with mama and daddy... new prayers of thanksgiving being offered up from that pew. I think it is really such a perfect testimony to the power and richness of family history.

Elissa email me all your info, and I'll send out a prize package containing I don't know what, but most certainly something good to read, something old to love, and something yummy to eat.

For everyone else who played along, I want you to know that reading all of your entries has been so wholly inspiring. Thank you, truly.

And now on to MAY!!!

I know that I said I would give you all the details of the new contest, but... well, it occurred to me that it is not Monday, and this is the Blue Yonder First MONDAY Contest. So, I'm gonna hold off until, you guessed it, Monday!

Until then, I'm going to steal the wonderful closing words of Garrison Keillor:

"Be well, do good work, keep in touch."