An Easy Way To Count Calories

It is recipe day but today I am doing something different.  I have been trying to count my calories.  It always happens in the dead of winter when I can't get out to exercise or get my mind off food.  Then when I can get out, my mind starts thinking about other things and I get past the need to be skinny (or even a little thinner).  I got on the Wii for the first time since last winter.  I got the fat avatar with the music indicating "Overweight".  What's new, I will probably never be "normal".

Seriously, I have found two websites that are really quite good.  The first one is one where you can enter all the ingredients for a recipe and it calculates the calories.  I did it for the Cherry Cheesecake Cupcakes that I posted last Tuesday.

http://www.thecabincountess.com/2014/01/cherry-cheesecake-cupcakes.html

You just cut and paste the recipe, put the number of servings in and click analyze.  It is shocking sometimes to see the total calories and how fast they add up.  You have to either save or burn 3600 calories to lose just one pound.  I'm sure there are tons of sites that do the same thing.  I have no investment in any of them, but it really makes things easy.

http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php

The one I use the most is My Fitness Pal.  It links up wirelessly with the Fitbit I got for Christmas.  The Fitbit counts a persons steps and gives calorie credit for  them, but the fitness pal website can be used on its own.  There is a free app for it so all you do is enter your food, and it keeps track of the calories including the breakdown of carbs, fats, protein, sodium and other things.  We all have our phone with us most of the time, and it only takes a second to do.  If you don't want to use the phone the website does the same thing.  It couldn't be easier, the problem is Not grabbing the donut or cookie.  It is amazing what we eat that we don't even realize we are eating.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com

I have always said that losing weight is easy but keeping it off is the tough part.  Don't ask how I am doing with this.  If I look thinner in the Spring, then I am doing it.  If I don't, then it's my own fault.

Time To Try A Suet Log

As anyone who has read my blog knows,  I love the wild birds.  We feed them all year around.  I know some people feel they don't need to be fed in the summer, but we still do.  The weather determines how much food they eat, and when there is plenty of natural food they don't eat as much from the feeders.   It is costly and sometimes it is a pain to tromp through the snow.  It also makes a huge mess.  All the shells and uneaten seed have to be raked up in the spring.  Actually, we have so much that it needs to be shoveled off the ground.  If you don't want to bother with the expense or mess but like to see the birds, I have a solution.  We buy suet logs.  They come in a mesh bag which can be hung.

http://www.pecknlogusa.com/

Birds like chickadees, juncos and nuthatches love it but especially the woodpeckers. We use a hanger which has three suction cups, and it attaches to the window.  We use it for the suet log in the winter and a hummingbird feeder in the summer.  Suet gets soft in the summer and the grackles will eat it up too fast.  When they are frozen in the winter, the logs last a long time, they only cost about $2.50 and it keeps the woodpeckers off our house. 

New suet log hanging in the window.

This one is almost gone.

Downy Woodpecker enjoying a snack.

We also use several suet cake feeders.  These are popular too, but don't last nearly as long.

Beautiful Sunday In January

 
This is a beautiful Sunday in January 2014.  We just lived through some bitter cold temperatures but today it is approaching 40 degrees at noon.  It's hard to believe that the temperature has risen almost 60 degrees in six days.  The grass is peeking through and the snow is melting.

Grass and leaves showing through the snow.

Icicle dripping from the corner of the house.

This is probably only temporary, but we will take it.  Mother nature has a way of giving us all that we can take and then gives us a little break once in a while.

Knitted and Crocheted Soap Bags

I write about a craft project once in a while but I haven't for quite some time.  Today is a good day for it.  We went from bitter cold temperatures last week to temperatures hovering around freezing the last two days.  Last night we had freezing rain which made the roads almost impossible to drive on and the sidewalks really slippery.  It was a good day to stay home and create.

Knitted and crocheted versions of a soap saver.

How many people use bar soap?  I usually don't but the men in my family do.  I think it's more economical to use bar soap than body wash.  The only problem is when the bar gets small, it breaks.  It leaves a sliver that most people throw away.  We throw them, but not into the wastebasket, we throw them into a little bag.  The soap lathers up nicely in the soap bag, and the bag has texture like a washcloth.  It isn't slippery so you don't lose your grip as easy.  It doesn't gunk up the soap dish as much either.  Just be sure to rinse it well.  We had purchased little bags in the past, but today I decided to make some new ones.   I used yarn.  In the future I will look for something that dries more quickly, but the patterns turned out.  Maybe I should use nylon yarn or tulle cut in strips like the nylon netting strips I use for scrubbies.

http://www.thecabincountess.com/2014/05/revised-nylon-netting-scrubbie.html

The scrubbie nylon netting would be too rough on the skin but tulle would be softer.  These bags would even fit a whole bar of soap. 

Knitted Soap Bag

Any type of yarn will work.  Heavier sport weight or worsted is best.  If you use wool, the bags will felt and get smaller as they are used.  Cotton yarn takes a little longer to dry so they should be hung up to dry or they will smell musty eventually.  If that happens, just remove the soap and wash in the washing machine with your laundry. 

You will need 4 double pointed needles in a size 3 or 4.  I changed to a size 3 circular needle-9 inch after the increases.  You could use two needles and knit a rectangle.  Then just sew a seam.

Cast on 9 stitches.  With 3 stitches on each needle, knit around increasing on the last stitch of each of the three needles as follows:

Row 1:  Knit 2, inc. 1 on next stitch (4 sts.), repeat on needle #2 and needle #3.  12 stitches total.
Row 2:  Purl around
Row 3:  Knit 3, inc. on next stitch (5 sts.), repeat on needle #2 and #3.  15 stitches total.
Row 4:  Purl around

Continue in this manner until 10 stitches are on each needle (30 total).  Then knit 1 round andpurl one round until the bag is 4 inches long.

Next round K1, YO, K1, YO etc.  This will make holes for the draw string.  Then knit each round for 3 or 4 rows.  Bind off loosely.  Hide the loose ends and close the bottom of the bag.

Make a tie either by crocheting a string of about 70 chains or try this fun technique.

Cut off about 6 feet of yarn.  Tie one end to a door knob and the other end to the middle of a pencil.

Pull the yarn taut and begin twisting the pencil in one direction.  After a while fold in half and the yarn will twist on itself like a rope.  It makes a sturdy tie.  Thread the tie through the holes in the top of the bag.

Crocheted Soap bag

Use the same type of yarn as mentioned for the knitted bag.

Size "J" crochet hook.

Chain 10 stitches.  Start with a half double crochet in 3rd stitch from hook.  Continue hdc in each chain stitch across and then on opposite side of foundation chain.  You should have 16 hdc's.  Slip stitch in top of starting chain, ch. 1 and continue around.  Work several rounds until the bag is about 4 inches.

Next round:  hdc, chain 1, skip 1 hdc, repeat around.  Single crochet around for 2 or 3 rounds to finish.

Make a draw string in the same way as the knitted bag and thread through the holes.

Update:  These bags work so well, I use one for the soap nuts I use for laundry.  I blogged about using soap nuts.  If you want to read about it, just put soap nuts in the blogs search box.  

Icequakes

Last night we were sitting watching TV as we usually do.  It was another cold cold night, but we were toasty warm in the house.  We all sit in different rooms because we all enjoy different shows.  Suddenly there was a loud boom that shook the house.  Mike and I both ran into the room where my dad sits.  I asked if he heard it and he did.  It sounded like our deck had fallen off or something big slid off the roof.  So my husband bundled up, took his flashlight and went outside to investigate.  He looked all around the house to see if anything seemed wrong.  He couldn't find anything amiss so he came inside.  We didn't think much about it again until this morning.  One of the weathermen from Green Bay said that big booms and vibrations were being reported from the Fond du lac area and Green Lake County.  He said that they were called "icequakes".  It happens when pockets of ground water which normally stay liquid become frozen in extreme cold.  When water freezes, it expands, sometimes to the point of cracking.  It makes sense but I wasn't familiar with this.  If I had heard this sound before, I didn't know what it was.  I thought it may have been in the very deep spring fed pond we have.  It usually doesn't freeze over but I hadn't checked during the extreme temperatures from the days before.  I decided to check it out this morning, but there was open water.  The temperature had warmed up a little to -1 degrees F.  Later in the day we heard that many people around town and in the area also heard the boom and vibration.  We have no idea the exact location.  Maybe it was many locations, and it could happen again.

At -1 degrees we have open water on our spring fed pond.

This cold weather is very bad for many people.  It is difficult for people who work outside or those who are homeless.  One of our deer can't stand on her back leg.  I don't know if it was too cold to stand on all fours, or if she is injured in some way.  I hope she gets better soon.

She can't put weight on her back right foot.

There is a lot of beauty too.  Not everything about this polar vortex is horrible.  These are photos I took of a frozen waterfall a few miles from us in Montello Wisconsin.

These frozen waterfalls sure look cold, but beautiful.

Waterfall in Montello Wisconsin with the ducks hunkered down next to the open water.

Cherry Cheesecake Cupcakes

Every Christmas I try to make these Cherry Cheescake Cupcakes.  They are so pretty.  They would be nice to make for Valentines Day which will be here before we know it.  They are gluten free but definitely not dairy free.  I got this recipe over 35 years ago from a friend but over the years I have seen many variations of it. 

Cherry Cheesecake Cupcakes

Bake at 300 degrees for 40-45 minutes.  Do Not Overbake.

3        packages (8 oz.) of cream cheese
1        cup sugar
5        eggs
1 1/2  teaspoons vanilla

Cream the cream cheese and sugar.  Add the eggs one at a time and beat well.  Then add the vanilla.
Beat until creamy and pour into foil lined cupcake papers. 

 
Fill about 3/4 full and bake.  Cool for five minutes.  They will cave in the middle providing space for the topping.

Topping:

1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Whip together very well and put in the pocket on the cheesecake.  Then place cherry pie filling on top of the topping.  Bake for five more minutes.

Refrigerate for at least 5-6 hours.  Keep refrigerated and they will keep for a long time.

Record Breaking Cold Temperatures In Wisconsin

3:00 pm on Sunday January 5, 2014

It's January 5th, 2014 in Wisconsin.  Tonight we are supposed to have record breaking cold temperatures.  They have already closed area schools for tomorrow.  Fortunately we are toasty warm here in the cabin.  We have all the stoves going full blast.

http://www.thecabincountess.com/2013/01/another-source-of-heat.html

All the outside animals are fed.  The bird feeders are full, and the corn and apple peelings are out for the deer.

One of last nights visitors.  Two doe came also.  I'm sure they will be back.

Male Downy Woodpecker and a Mourning Dove

Two bluejays

Now that the stoves are stoked and the animals are fed, it's time to prepare for the Green Bay Packer playoff game.  It is going to be a cold one.  I can't imagine being at Lambeau Field watching or being a player.  It will be interesting to see if some of those tough guys will have short sleeves.  One of the players said in an interview that he wouldn't be wearing sleeves.  We'll see.  

My dad is all set.  He wears the appropriate shirt for the game.  I wrote a little about that earlier.

http://www.thecabincountess.com/2013/12/dad-and-his-lucky-sweatshirts.html

He has his shirts laid out on the bed.

On New Years Day he put on his Wisconsin Badger shirt.  It was a new shirt and hadn't accumulated it's magic powers yet.  The Badgers lost the game, but he thinks it was because the rest of the family didn't wear their shirts.

 Later on New Year's Day was the Rose Bowl game.  We have family in Michigan, and he wears that shirt whenever Michigan State plays.  After a quick change to the Spartan shirt, he was ready for the Rose Bowl.  This time he pulled them through. 

Now after a few days off from football he is ready for the Packer game.  This is a bonus game that no one thought would happen.  Here we go!

Dad resting before the Packer game starts.

Well the game is over.  Dad is not smiling any longer.  If you notice his sweatshirt, it is from super bowl XXXI.  I guess its good luck vibes have exhausted itself.  Time to look for a new shirt to break in for next year.

Happy New Year 2014

Today is Tuesday recipe day, but it is also New Year's Eve.  I thought I could post a delicious recipe and then wish everyone a very Happy New Year.  I happen to have some left over cranberries and some yellow delicious apples that need to be used up.  Last week, on Christmas Eve, I posted a Banana Bread recipe that was made in a Crockpot.  The recipe I was going to post today is also made in a Crockpot. It was another quick bread made with apples and cranberries.   I got out all of my ingredients.  I chopped the cranberries and apples.  I put all the dry ingredients into one bowl, and all the wet ingredients into another bowl.  The first thing that went wrong was that the recipe called for orange juice.  I didn't have any or any oranges to juice.  I also needed the zest of the orange.  Oh well, I'll just use water.  The bread wouldn't be cranberry, apple, orange bread, it would just be cranberry-apple bread.  No big deal.  Then I started mixing it, but something was wrong.  It was then that I realized I had put in twice as much liquid as it called for.  My multi-taking skills are not as sharp as they once were.  I thought about throwing it away, but then I thought I would put in another cup of flour.  Actually I was going to double everything but the dough was really stiff with just one.  I wondered at this point if I had put in too much liquid or if it was the right amount to begin with.  Being very confused, I just put it in a loaf pan and baked it for an hour.  Maybe I will try again in the future and actually post the recipe.

This is the bread I made.  It looks pretty good, tastes pretty good
and you can't tell it weighs five pounds.

Later tonight we celebrate New Year's Eve with our grandchildren.  This year we will only have two at our house celebrating.  We have plenty of snacks and sparkling grape juice for later.  They wanted mashed potatoes for dinner and didn't care what we had with them.  I think I can handle that.  I made roast beef with the potatoes forgetting that Sam has braces.  Poor kid was trying to cut the meat into tiny little pieces.  I finally made him a hamburger, and that was easier for him to eat.  It should be a quiet entrance into the new year unless something else goes just slightly wrong.  Oops, my dad just got a nosebleed.   

They played their electronics for a while.

Even better, they are playing a board game.

 

Happy 2014 To Everyone

My First Experience With Persimmons

It is always said that you are never too old to learn something new.  That happened to me recently.  Near the beginning of December we had some very good friends stop for a visit.   At one point in the conversation they began to talk about getting their first case of persimmons for the season.  They said that before the holidays were over they would eat several cases of the fruit.  I couldn't believe it.  I had heard the name persimmon because I believe there is an orangish crayon that color, but I had never seen one or tasted one.  I didn't even know you could buy them around here.  As we were talking our friend got up, went out to his vehicle and brought one in.  It looked like a tomato with a dried brown husk for a stem.

He told us to wait a few days before eating so they get nice and ripe.  We waited a couple days and finally cut it into thirds.  We each sampled a section.  I can't really describe the taste.  It looks like a tomato, but it is firm inside and tastes sweet.  Apparently they are very seasonal and only available in Wisconsin for a very short period of time near the end of the year.   I found out that they are pretty hard to find.  I looked every time I went grocery shopping.  Today I ran into the store for a few groceries and there they were.  They had three left, so I bought them.  I'm saving them to show my grandchildren when they come for New Years Eve.  They are a very pretty and interesting looking fruit.

Thank you Connie and David for broadening my world.  My world is pretty small and I imagine there are tons of things I have never heard of, let alone eaten.  

Our January Thaw At The End Of December

I believe today we are having our January thaw.  It is still December, but the temperature is above freezing and the snow is melting.  Maybe this means that we are ahead of schedule and spring will come a little earlier.  We had bitter cold temperatures in December which usually don't occur until January here in Wisconsin.  Oops, I just heard the weather report.  They are predicting single digit temperatures for the high temp in two days.  Today is just a little tease from Mother Nature.  Sometimes I don't appreciate her sense of humor.

It is a nice day today and so that is what I will focus on.

We went for a walk in the woods following the deer trails.

Water dripping from the garage roof.

Birds finding fresh water to drink.

In Need Of A Roof Rake

Well, we got our wish and got some snow.  It has snowed a little bit everyday.  It's amazing how getting an inch or two of snow everyday accumulates.  Not only do we have to remove the snow from the sidewalk and the driveway, the snow has to be removed from other surfaces as well.   That is why they invented Roof Rakes.  In case you don't live in the northern climates and don't know what they are, here is my husband assembling it.  There are four sections.  One section is the rake and three extensions to make it the length you want.  Actually they call it a rake but it looks more like a backward snow shovel on a stick.

Here is the house showing the snow on the roof.  The people living in this house also have snow on their roof.

Beginning to pull the snow off the roof.

Snow is cleared off until the next big snowfall.

Next project is the deck.

For some reason this deck post has all this snow on it.

The deck is cleared.  Fortunately the snow was light and easy to remove.