Can You Identify This Flower

A friend of my father recently went to work for a greenhouse and has brought home my mother and I several flowers that were to be thrown away.  I love FREE flowers!

I was able to identify all of them but this one....

They smell so good!

If anyone can help me out I would appreciate. I can then look them up to see how to care for them.

SKOY CLOTH WINNER

SKOY RE-USEABLE CLOTH, 4 PACK Giveaway Winner

#5 is the winner!

pmj said... I have about three rolls of paper towels.
pjames330 at aol dot com

Congrats Pam! Email me your full name and address for shipping.

You can't win if you don't enter!

SKOY RE-USEABLE CLOTH, 4 PACK Giveaway

GO HERE TO ENTER

One hour, 3 Humans, 52 Morels!

Three morels, do you see them?

Two more!

And two more!

So fresh they hadn't even totally uncurled!

A "true" morel will be hollow.

When sliced length-wise, it is hollow from top to bottom and one piece.  There is NO cap on a stem.  False morels will have a cap that sits on the stem.

                                                          False Morel photo courtesy of Northern County Morels

The above picture is a false morel.  See how the stem is only attached at the very top. Here is two sites that are very informative. Northern County Morels and Edible Mushrooms or Poisonous Mushrooms

Today we found a total of 52 morels.  Our knife we took wasn't sharp enough and some pulled away from the ground when trying to cut them.  It's a good idea to cut about 1" up from the ground. This will leave spores to produce more in the future.  We left small (smaller than your thumb) ones as well as a few dried up ones for the same reason. 

I really enjoyed being outdoors with hubby and my son, teaching my son how to forage correctly for morels.  Now I just have to convince him to eat them!

Who else has found any this year?

Look what hubby found.... MORELS!

Our first morels of 2011. Little grays.

There wasn't many, but mmmmmmmm, so good.

The sun is out today and we are hoping to find lots more tomorrow.

Have any of you found some?

Spring Parmesan Cheesed Cauliflower Broccoli Salad

This time of year I get to craving fresh vegetables. Here is a recipe I received from a friend that hubby and I love.

Wonder-boy doesn't like the dressing on it, but he loves preparing the veggies for me. Gotta love that! So after cutting up the veggies he removes some for dipping.

1 head broccoli
1 head cauliflower
1 med red onion
1 lb fried bacon, crumbled

1 cup real mayo
1 c grated parmesan cheese
2/3 cup sugar

salt
pepper

Chop onion, broccoli and cauliflower into bite size pieces. Place in a large bowl. Add bacon, salt and pepper.

Mix mayo, parmesan cheese, and sugar together well. Pour over veggies and mix well.

Chill for several hours before serving.

Tips: I've used Miracle Whip and we love it just as well as real mayo. I've left the bacon out when I didn't have any on hand. I've also bought Oscar Meyer Real Bacon Bits to save time. It's a very versatile salad and always better the next day.


Have you tried any new recipes this spring?  I'm always trying to get the guys to eat more vegetables.  I can't seem to make them understand potatoes and corn is NOT vegetables! lol

Printable Coca-Cola Coupon

Print $1/2 Coca-Cola or Dasani Products. These wont be around for long, so print it while you can!

Thanks Penny Pinchin Mom!

Skoy Cloth Review and Giveaway

Skoy Cloth Review & Giveaway
I was sent a 4 pack of Skoy Cloths to try out and I love them!

The Skoy Cloth is an earth friendly cloth that you can use anywhere you clean or anytime you normally would use paper towels.

It is natural, re-useable and biodegradable.  One Skoy Cloth will outlast 15 rolls of paper towels! And all of you know I don't buy paper towels!

The Skoy not only saves you money but saves so much room on storage. Four cloths can be stored in a drawer taking up less room than a pot holder! How much storage space does 60, that's right, 60 rolls of paper towels hog?

Skoy Cloths are washable; throw them in your washer or dishwasher. They dry quickly which helps to hinder the breeding of bacteria, unlike a sponge.

You can also place a wet Skoy in the microwave for a minute or two to sanitize it. CAUTION: The cloth must be wet to avoid fires and it will be hot when you remove it. Open microwave door and let cool for several minutes before removing.

Will my SKOY cloth be ruined if I wash it often?
No, the SKOY cloth can last over 50 wash cycles if using a normal detergent. We have many customers that have used our SKOY cloth daily for over a year.
Where can I buy more SKOY cloths?
You can buy it on our web site or from one of “our SKOY friends”, both online e-tailers and local retail stores.  GO HERE.... Order today and get rid of those paper towels!

How is SKOY a greener cleaning solution than paper towels, both end up on the landfill and both are biodegradable?
A paper towel you can only use once, while a SKOY can be used over and over again. In an average household, each SKOY cloth saves 15 rolls of paper towels!

Why is reducing the use of paper towels a big deal?

· Less paper waste reduces greenhouse gases in multiple ways:
a) reduces transportation required to haul goods/packages,
b) reduces energy needed to make goods/packages,
c) reduces fuel consumed in hauling waste to landfill, and
d) reduces methane in landfill from decomposing paper.

· Using less paper towels means cutting down less trees, which reduces the risk of deforestation.  “17 trees are consumed to make one ton of paper towels” (American Dryer web site)

· Using less paper towels means we can use less chemicals and waste less water needed to produce paper towels. “Even before the paper towels are used, each ton has claimed 20,000 gallons of water in chemical cleansing.” (Wikipedia)

· Using less paper towels means using up less landfill resources. “A decrease in U.S. household consumption of just three rolls per year would save 120,000 tons of waste and $4.1 million landfill dumping fees.” Arizona State University

Imagine every household saving 15 rolls for each SKOY…!

I'm giving away 1 set of 4 cloths.

To enter:
This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only.
Entry deadline will be midnight on 4/20/11

Mandatory Entry: "Like" Easy Frugal Living on Facebook and tell me how many rolls of paper towels you currently have on hand.

Extra Entries:
1) Follow Easy Frugal Living on Twitter
2) Tweet this giveaway on Twitter once per day
3) “Like” Skoy on Facebook and tell them Easy Frugal Living sent you!
4) Follow Skoy on Twitter

Be sure to leave a comment here for each entry so they all will count!
Disclosures: This post reflects my honest, personal opinion and experience with the product which may differ from yours. Product information courtesy of the sponsor. No monetary compensation was provided for this post.

Save 24 cents per gallon on your fuel

Drive More Efficiently

• Observe the speed limits. Each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.24 per gallon for gas.

• Stop aggressive driving. Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and braking) can lower your gas mileage by 33 percent at highway speeds and by 5 percent around town.

• Avoid unnecessary idling. It wastes fuel, costs you money, and pollutes the air. Turn off the engine if you anticipate a wait.

• Combine errands into one trip and save money as well as time. Several short trips taken from a cold start can use twice as much fuel as one trip covering the same distance when the engine is warm.

• When you use overdrive gearing, your car's engine speed goes down. This saves gas and reduces engine wear

• Using cruise control on the highway helps you maintain a constant speed and, in most cases, will save gas.

• Remove any extra weight. An extra 100 pounds can reduce fuel economy by up to two percent. The smaller your vehicle, the more the fuel economy is reduced.

• A loaded roof rack or carrier will decrease fuel economy by five percent.

Note: Cost savings are based on an assumed fuel price of $3.52/gallon.

Sources: US Department of Energy 

The Tomatoes are Growing Like Weeds!

I finally found time to repot my tomotoes. They were starting to get leggy. It was interesting to see how the different varieties grew differently. Three or four needed to be repotted once they were a couple inches tall; therefore they were laying over. Others were 6-8" tall and still growing straight and strong.

I bought a $1 pack of foam cups to use and used the remainder of my seed starting mix. I hope they do ok in it. I thought I had some potting mix when I started the project around 9pm last night. Almost all the 72 pods germinated, so I picked the best 26 to repot. That way I still have room for error and I'm hoping to get a dozen healthy plants to set in the garden.

Remember, when transplanting tomatoes-plant them DEEP; removing the first set of leaves and setting them up to the point you removed the leaves. They will shoot of roots all along the stem giving you a great root system.

Saturday it was so pretty here. I went out to work in the garden after work. I did some more cleaning of my beds and planted 24 potatos in two separate beds. I am growing Yukon Gold and a red variety that I can't remember the name right now.

Hubby planted some asparagus he picked up.  I need to do some more research on growing asparagus.  If you have any suggestions or tips for successful growing, please do share!!

To be successful at gardening you need to know when to plant what in your garden.  Here is a great calendar for zone 5.  If you are not in zone 5 check with your local extension office.  (click on photo to enlarge)

Reprinted with permission. Vegetable Garden Planting Guide, Kansas State University by Charles Marr, 1992