Elegant Survival

Lowe's Home Improvement has a lot of ideas for making elegant Christmas wreaths with ordinary things--click here for photos and instructions. Pictured above is a wreath made from wrapping-paper scraps.

Plan to face a weakening electrical grid in the U.S., due to poor planning and other corrosive forces--read a Wall Street Journal editorial entitled, "If the Lights Go Out".

Uses for Hydrogen Peroxide

Toothbrush-Safety Soak your toothbrush in 3% hydrogen peroxide between brushings to kill bacteria

Shower Keep a spray bottle of 3% hydrogen peroxide in the shower for spraying walls and floors of the shower, to kill bacteria bugs and viruses.

Dishwashing Add 2 ounces (or more) of 3% hydrogen peroxide to the regular washing formula to safely reduce the transmission of colds and diseases.

Cleaning Meats Use salt and 3% hydrogen peroxide in chilled water for washing fish, chicken or other meats to kill bacteria and viruses before cooking.

Cleaning Vegetables Add salt in addition to 1/4 cup 3% hydrogen peroxide to a sink full of cold water. Wash vegetables thoroughly, rinse with cold water and drain. This process prolongs freshness.

Leftover Green Salad Spray with a solution of 1/2 cup water and 1 tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide. Drain, cover and refrigerate. Eliminates use of chemical preservatives.

Kitchen Keep a spray bottle of 3% solution of hydrogen peroxide in the kitchen. Use this liquid to wipe off counter tops and appliances. It will disinfect and give the kitchen a clean, fresh smell. Use for cleaning refrigerators and lunch boxes.

Humidifiers Use 1 pint of 3% hydrogen peroxide to a gallon of water. This helps to keep them clean and germ-free.

Laundry Add 8 ounces of 3% hydrogen peroxide to your wash instead of chlorine bleach.

Pets For small animals (dogs and cats), use 1 ounce 3% hydrogen peroxide to 1 quart water for their drinking water and bath.

House-Plants Put 1 ounce 3% hydrogen peroxide in a quart water., then feed or mist plants with this solution.

Sprouting Safety Add 1 ounce 3% hydrogen peroxide to one pint of water and soak the seeds overnight. Add the same amount of hydrogen peroxide each time you rinse the seeds.

Frying Eggs Neatly in the Revolutionary Green Pan

The foods that I have cooked in my Green Pan slide right out; resultant residue is easily rinsed off, making clean-up easy and water-efficient. ©M-J de Mesterton

Click Here to Read M-J's Latest Elegant Survivalist Posts

Now that hotels world-wide are infested with bedbugs and dog-fleas, 

don't travel without a little bottle of CEDARCIDE

Straining your own yoghurt makes a delightful Mediterranean or Middle Eastern spread (called "labneh"),for bread or pita. Put a round coffee-filter into a bowl-sized strainer or sieve, empty a container of plain whole-milk or full-fat yoghurt into it, cover with another round coffee-filter, and place over a bowl that allows some space between the bottom of the strainer and the base of the bowl, so that when your yoghurt is draining, it will not soak itself. Keep the assembly covered with plastic wrap, because fruit-flies love this stuff. I initiate this process before going to bed at night; in the morning I have wonderful, thick spread for my preferred bread or pita, and this yogurt-cheese is also excellent with a fried egg.  Many poor-quality yoghurts are watery and thin. Straining your own "yogurt" when there is no high-quality product available is a perfect solution. ©M-J de Mesterton See The Elegant Cook Bread Page for M-J's Pita Recipe

LABNEH

There are good and bad days for certain gardening activities, according to the moon.

June, 2011

5th-8th These are bad days for planting. It's now a good time to eliminate pests, and to cut down brush.

9th-11th Good days for planting seeds for above-ground food-crops and flowers.

12th-13th Very good days for planting leafy greens. Any above-ground crops planted during this period should do well.

14th-16th Avoid all planting. These are good days in which to do hay-cutting, perform administrative duties and to engage in general farm-work.

17th-18th Plant root-crops such as potatoes, celeriac, carrots and beets.

19th-21st Poor days for any sort of planting. Kill plant-pests, fertilize, and do general farming chores now.

22nd-23rd This is a good period in which to plant late root-crops and vines. Set strawberry plants now. These are favourable days during which to do transplanting.

24th-25th These are barren days on which it is favourable for plowing and cutting hay.

26th-27th Good for planting root-crops, and for transplanting.

 28th-29th Do no planting during these days; seeds planted now will likely rot in the ground.

30th June: this is the best day of the month for planting root-crops, and will be excellent for sowing seed-beds and all transplanting.

Line-drying your clothes in the sun is one of life's low-cost luxuries. Here on the internet at my main website, Elegant Survival, I have been promoting outdoor line-drying since 2006.

Gevalia Kaffe Traditional Swedish Roast: Classic Aroma and Taste

In my opinion, having drunk Gevalia Kaffe for nearly half of my life, it is the natural antidote for popular over-roasted varieties that seem to all taste the same (Starbucks' wide variety of dark roasts that are indistinguishable from one another comes to mind, all naturally-occurring flavours having been systematically burnt out of existence). Americans will soon be able to taste real, high-quality coffee without establishing a mail-order contract with Gevalia. That is great news for coffee-connoisseurs!

Grandpa Brands Company Presents: Pure, Hypo-Allergenic Soaps 

I use the Very Feminine Kirk's Castile (see below);

He Uses this Magically Earthy Grandpa's Pine Tar  

Since 1839, Kirk's Original Coco Castile Soap has given the consumer a high quality, all natural soap at an affordable price. Current national market research ranks Kirk's Original Coco Castile Soap as the top selling all-natural bar soap.

"Castile" originally referred to the highly-prized vegetable based soap produced in Castile, Spain. For centuries this soap was considered "the soap of royalty" because of its luxurious lather and gentleness to the skin. Today, "Castile" refers to any vegetable based soap.

Why ALL-Natural?

- No Animal By-Products

- Never Tested on Animals

- Hypoallergenic

- Biodegradable

- No Synthetic Detergents

In loving memory of my mother, Lorraine, whose birthday is Sunday, I made a strawberry sorbet this evening.

M-J's Elegant Strawberry Sorbet

Place two cups of frozen strawberries in a glass measuring cup. Microwave them for one minute. Transfer berries to a food-processor and grind until smooth, adding sugar or Splenda to your taste.