The Three-Tiered Dishdrainer

 This post is a contest for my siblings and anyone who is interested in unusual kitchen equipment.

This is one of the first things I noticed when I walked into my aunt's kitchen upon arrival in my travel exhausted state.  Who wouldn't?  The next day I decided that I should send a picture to Paul as he is into this type of thing.   My aunt suggested I wait until it was full so as to show the drainer being useful.   I did wait and then I forgot to take the picture.  By the time I remembered Kitty and I realized how differently everyone stacks the drainer.   The reason such a large dish drainer is needed is because there are no dishwashers in the Philippines and no hot water.   All that means is that washing the dishes is a process.  My cousins and I feel like we spend a lot of time washing dishes even though we only wash a small percentage of the dishes.

#1

#2

#3

#4 (minus the plates)

#6

#5

The people who participated were...

JoAn

T-Bob

Fred

Kitty

Aunt Mir

Miss H.

The meals we ate were...

Skyline Chili

Macaroni

Pizza

Fish

Tacos

Asian Orange Chicken/Chicken Soup

Your job is...

To guess which drainer goes to which meal and which person.

Example:

#5 Kitty, Tacos

You will earn points for...

Each correct answer you give with the possibility of earning a total of 12 points.

Your reward for having the most points is... 

Dried Mangos!  Hand delivered to you from the Philippines.

Please submit your answer in a comment below.  The comments will be published after the contest.   The deadline is 11:59pm (EST), June 18.

~JoAn & Kitty

Money CONTEST!!

The Mangos are cashing in their change bottle. Over the last couple years we have thrown in our change. The bottle is now chock full and there is a need for the contents, so we are busy counting the coins. The children are looking for a long boring movie to watch while undertaking this chore. Can you believe they chose 'Pride and Prejudice'? I'm sure most of the men reading this are saying, "Of course!" Anyway, I have a CONTEST for you. Here is the question to be answered..... What is the total amount of money in the jar? The only hints I can give you are 1. There are no coins larger than a dollar. 2. The bottle weighed forty pounds when weighed this morning. 3. My husband is hoping that there is about $500 in there and he is a very good estimator.

Leave a comment if you want to be entered.

The prize will be awarded to whoever is the closest to the correct amount. In the event of a tie, I will do a random drawing.

What is the prize? A book of course. I will give the winner a choice from a selection of books from my library and they may pick the one they would like. I have a little bit of everything and I am sure that I can find something that they would like.

This contest closes at midnight on Monday, February 13th, 2012.

~Mom

Does anyone know What Kind of Plant This is?

This bush grows in out front yard. I don't remember planting it. Yet, it is growing where it must have been planted. I have never seen a bush like this. It has these reddish brown flowers with yellowish tips on the petals that almost look like they are carved out of wood.

The flowers bloom all summer. It sends these branches up and they stay there all winter, but in the spring it starts up all new foliage.

Here is a close-up of the flower and leaf. If you are the first person who can tell me about my plant, or at least tell me the name, I will send you a prize.

~Mom

And the Winner is...

We randomly had a disinterested party draw a number out of a jar, and selected.....

Susanna!

Congratulations Susanna!!!

If you didn't win and would still like this book, we are more than happy to sell one to you for $10 (shipping and handling included). Just leave us a comment or e-mail us at handsandnails(at)sbcglobal dot net and we will send it to you. This is a much better price than Amazon (12.95 + S&H). They don't discount it, but since I bought it in a large quantity, I got a better price, and I am happy to pass it along.

~Michelle & Mom

Cereal Killer - A Giveaway!

I was raised in a home where the pun was the highest form of humor, so the title of this book made me laugh and intrigued me. 'Cereal Killer' by Alan Watson is a well written and entertaining book about the dangers of a low fat diet and what you should be eating to be healthy. Did you know that heart attacks were virtually non-existent prior to the 1920's and the advent of corn oil, vegetable oils and margarine? How can this be, when your medical doctor is telling you that low fat is necessary for heart health? It is time to look at the facts. Mr. Watson goes through a lot of very well written and documented books ('Good Calories, Bad Calories' by Gary Taub; 'Know Your Fats' by Mary Enig, 'Nutrition and Physical Degeneration' by Weston A. Price, and others) and simplifies them and makes the information in them understandable. He has one of the best simple explanations of cholesterol that I have seen. It is nice that at the end of each chapter he tells you which book he was basing it on. He gives you information on another book on the same topic if you want to do further reading. If you are confused about the role of fats in your diet you will find this to be a very helpful book. I am handing them out to patients right and left. My children have found this book interesting and I find them reading through some of the chapters often and I haven't assigned it.

If you would like to win a free copy of this book leave a comment and I will mail one to the winner (We will select a winner randomly) . I will close the opportunity on Friday May 14th at 5 PM EST.

If you don't win, and would still like a copy I will be happy to mail one to you (continental USA only) for $10 shipping and handling included.

~Mom

Winner Announced!

We are happy to announce the winner of our little contest. It is our friend Sandy! We will be shipping it out this week. Now the story behind this plant. What you can't tell from the picture is that the pot is only about an inch across. The plant is about 8" high. It spends about half it's life floating in a bowl with the pot off. Not sure how it has survived the neglect and abuse. We got this plant about two and a half years ago (July 2007) when our friend Davis moved from Ohio to Texas. When he lived here in Ohio he spent time everyday at our house for almost four years. We could have used him as a tax write-off. He became a part of our family.

We had a 'going away' party for him and in the center of the tables were these little plants. We took two home and so far have only been able to kill one. Davis returned this summer for a very brief visit on his honeymoon trip. We got to meet his beautiful wife Christina. They would appreciate prayer as she has been very sick (nauseated) during her pregnancy - she's due in April, and still is very ill with 'morning sickness'.

Why the picture of Dallas? My DH constantly calls the dog Davis instead of Dallas. I think it is the first 'D' name that pops into his head. He loves it when 'Davis' greets him at the gate in the evening. Or when the pup miss behaves it is 'Davis' that gets yelled at. The most interesting and humorous moments occurred when 'Davis' got fixed, we had him neutered. I wonder what Christina would think about that? He He.

~Mom

Update

Spring is not TOO far away. We went to the Home and Garden Show last week. It makes you think of gardening and made me hungry for fresh basil!

Two Updates!

1.) Keep praying for our friend Angie as she goes through her radiation treatments for tongue cancer. On Thursday (1/28/10) she had to go in and have a stomach tube inserted. She has been unable to eat anything for 3 weeks, due to the horrible burns and sores in her mouth from the radiation. She is in excruciating pain and so far they have not found the right combination of pain meds to really help. She is a young mom and her son is only a year and a half. Pray for her husband Jason as well as it is so hard to watch a loved one suffer and not be able to do anything.

2.) Of less significance.... You have only one more day to guess the time on the plant contest. We will cut it off Sunday (1/31/10) at midnight. Then we will send the winner the music CD.
~Mom

Illustrations from around the Kitchen Sink and a Contest

Update: The closest guess will win. We would really like you guys to guess. The contest will be open until someone guesses correctly or until the end of January.






Plants have a difficult life around our kitchen sink as seen in the photos below.


We have mixed views about the place and purpose of house plants.









How many months do you think we have had this plant (picture below)? We were given it after a gathering we attended. If you can guess what the gathering was about we'll be impressed.























We have enjoyed these flowers though they are on their way out. We have had them for several weeks. They do well in a cooler climate. How much? $1.



God has given us a large variety of beautiful flowers and plants. He uses this part of creation to make a point about the importance of His Word.














"The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever." Isaiah 40:8


Let us use the time He has given us to know Him through His precious Word. We were encouraged to do this multiple times in various ways at the Rise Up conference.



It is hard work, but there is blessing in it.


"Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workmen that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth."
2 Timothy 2:15

~JoAn

P.S. Leave your guess as a comment. The first one who correctly answers will be the winner. A picture of the prize will be forthcoming.

One Piece of Leftover French Toast, 6 kids?

Sunday evening meals are almost always fend for yourself in the leftovers or make a bowl of popcorn. Last night Michelle,Thomas, T-Bob, and I didn't want the single piece of French toast left from Saturday breakfast. Especially since Mr.Boots said that the contending party would have to arm wrestle him for it. Elizabeth, however, was up to the challenge. (I don't think she knew what arm wrestling was :).

They began. Strong Mr.Boots let her struggle against his seeming indifferent arm for a while, before closing the match. He was kind enough to share it with her though. So they fixed it up and ate it. One plate, two forks. It was funny. Whoever could cut quicker,eat faster and take bigger bites got more. (Can you guess who that was?) Elizabeth just enjoyed her bites.

Mr.Boots & Elizabeth have a great relationship, but sometimes they tease each other for the fun of it. But we are saving those stories for other posts.......

~JoAn

P.S. My most recent project? De-cluttering. I haven't gotten to the family room yet though. How can you tell?

Herb Identification Contest

This is an herb identification contest. There is a great prize. The first person that sends me all the herbs correctly identified is the winner. Ignore the weeds. Some of the herbs are starting to flower. That may be a help or a hindrance depending on your skill. Answers can be either attached as a comment or directly as an e-mail (handsandnails AT sbcglobal DOT net). The above photo is picture number 1.

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5.

6.

7.

Good Luck. We will note on the top when this contest is closed. Remember the old Peter, Paul and Mary song.

~Mom