Shabby Bungalow

Weather, Windows, Junk and Strangers

2011-09-27T14:24:00.000-07:00

The first day of fall has come and gone but it still feels like summer here. I don't even think it's fair to call this time of year fall in the Central Valley. It's already going to be October and the weather is still in the 90's.

I love the prolonged summers here. I am not a cold weather kind of girl. But I do love cool nights and mornings and it has been much cooler at that time in last couple of days. It's also nice to open all our windows and let the fresh air in and turn off the money sucking A/C. The house has over 30 windows and the breeze flows through nicely when most or all are open.

The only windows I usually never open are the ones in the front room of the house. I'll admit I'm scared that someone will break in and I won't know. We are primarily in our basement since we use it as the family room.

We tend to get our share of occasional cars pulling onto the property. Most times they sit there and honk expecting someone to come out. I think they do it because they see we have a rottweiler and even when he's behind the fence he freaks people out. Sometimes people actually get out and come to the door. No matter what, I never open my door. Thank God for security screens.

Yesterday, I heard our outside dog start barking and it prompted the inside dogs to start up as well. I went up to see if someone was here, or walking by, and sure enough a random car was in the driveway and two men got out. They looked sketchy and quite frankly not the type I want lurking around my house. I didn't want to deal with them, but I also didn't want them to think no one is home.

I waited to see what they were going to do. They came up the front porch so I went to see what they wanted through the security screen. Sure enough they wanted to know if they could go through a large dumpster we have off to the side of the property near our empty field.

I told them no and the one really creepy guy who looked like he was on drugs started to give me a reason why he should be able to. I told him no again and he was on private property and didn't have my permission. He then had the balls to ask me if he could "speak to the man of the house." Are you kidding me? Why was the conversation even prolonged past "no"?

That pissed me off and I told him I didn't need the man of the house to decide if I was going to give him permission to look through a dumpster on my property. I am the property owner. End of story. This guy was going to try to give me another reason as to why I should let him look through the bin again after that! Nope. Cut him off. Good bye. Get of my property thank you very much.

We've had this problem in the past but no one has tried to argue with me when I told them no. The empty field where the dumpster has been sitting for several weeks now used to have a bunch of junk scattered about in random piles. We have been cleaning it up because we are going to plant more oranges in the spring.

Most of the junk that was out there was from an old open shed we tore down about five years ago to build an enclosed metal shop in it's place. So all the stuff that was junk from the old shed was relocated to the side of the empty field.

The junk was a magnet for scavengers. Especially scavengers looking for scrap metal. I can't even tell you how many toothless meth heads have come to our door wanting to look through the junk. So when I saw those two guys yesterday I knew exactly what they were going to ask.

Sorry, any and all scrap metal has been removed. Now please go away.

Of course after I shut the door I immediately called my husband and told him the dumpster had to go. I'm so tired of having undesirable people scoping out our property. Sure, I feel bad for them in a way, but not that bad. Even though most have asked to look in the junk I'm sure there were plenty who were brazen enough to just help themselves. I'm so glad that once we get rid of the bin full of the last of the junk it will put an end, hopefully, to random people coming to our door asking to look through the junk.

It's not really that I care if someone wants to sift through junk, it's that I don't like strangers on my property. It's like if someone walked into your backyard and just started going through things on your patio they might be able to use even if it was of no use to you. Would you like that? Probably not. It violates your privacy and they are trespassing.

So this is why I rarely leave the windows open in the front of the house unless my husband is home. You never know when someone is going to come to our front door that isn't welcome. Even without the junk people just randomly show up out here. We have had people trying to sell frozen meat, religious inquiries, and even a girl trying to sell vacuums come to the door. The girl and the vacuum was weird. She really wanted to get into my house to demonstrate the vacuum. She was maybe 18 years old and looked like she should still be in high school. It was really weird.

I'm telling you. Living in the country keeps you on your toes. Maybe we are too close to town and not far enough out. I don't know. All I know is just when I think it's been pretty quiet around here something comes up to remind me not to get used to the quiet. And to keep my front windows closed.

Mom! Dad's Drinking My Milk Again!

2011-09-22T08:17:00.000-07:00

While browsing Twitter this morning I saw an article about a male blogger who is taking on an all breast milk diet challenge for himself. Yes, as in that is all he is going to consume. Or something like that.

Why? I assume to prove a point that he can and probably also to drive hits to his blog. Most people know by now that breast milk is full of wonderful nutrients and obviously the first choice for human babies. But for a grown man? I don't know. I'm scratching my head on this one.

When I had my first child I had an over abundance of milk production. He was lucky because there was always enough in the freezer for when I went back to work. If my husband told me he wanted to consume my "excess surplus" of breast milk I would tell him he was nuts and to leave it for the baby. Better yet, if there is enough for the father to consume 66 ounces a day I would suggest they look into donating that liquid gold if their own child can't keep up with the surplus.

I feel that all women should try to breast feed their children, but depending on their situation that may not be possible. There is nothing wrong with that. We live in a world that has so many other options. Maybe that is good and bad, but it gives mother's a choice. I don't think people should judge if a mother breast feeds or not. So should I judge a breast milk drinking man? Probably not. He's definitely raising awareness on the topic even if it is a bit out-of-the-ordinary.

But come on. There are so many babies that can use that milk and need it. So I guess I will say in my own personal opinion, that may differ from your own, I find the whole thing silly. Talk amongst yourselves...

Not So Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-14T09:50:00.001-07:00

George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens.

On a recent trip to Alexandria, VA over Labor Day weekend my husband and I toured Mount Vernon. We were in town for a wedding that my husband was a groomsman in. The wedding took place at the Mount Vernon Inn Restaurant.

If I had one word to describe the plantation home and estate of George Washington it would be breathtaking. I'm a lover of old homes and old things and this was old stuff overload. I absolutely loved it.

The majestic tree in this picture that stands next to the mansion is a pecan tree (the reason I took this shot). I had no idea pecan trees could grow to be so large. This one is around 140 feet tall and is around 160 years old!

Picture from private collection of Shabby Bungalow

No Drinking Allowed

2011-09-13T12:55:00.000-07:00

My friend made a funny yet eye-opening post on Facebook last night. Here is what she wrote (I took out her husband and daughter's name for anonymity):

"We are about to order dinner and I take a drink out of *'s beer (for those of you who know me know that I'm more of a wine or mixed drink girl) and ** yells out "Mom, how dare you???" and starts to cry. I asked her why she was crying and she said that her DARE officer told her that beer is a drug and if you drink beer, it's just like taking drugs and you're going to die. She then said that she knows Daddy won't ever stop, but she doesn't want me to die too... Lmao!"

It was funny because my children say similar things if anyone drinks in front of them, especially me. And trust me, it's not a common sight to see me drink. My husband never drinks either.

Here is my response to her post:

"I hardly ever drink. If I dare take a sip or have a glass of wine or beer in front of my kids they scream "Mom is an alcoholic!!" they have also told other people that too! I've learned if I am going to have a drink, which is extremely rare, I put it in a coffee mug so the kids won't freak. And doing that is exactly what alcoholics do. LOL"

I was surprised & relieved that other people had similar responses and several people "liked" my comment. Before my friend wrote her post I seriously thought I was the only one in the world with kids who were overly sensitive to drinking. My kids have never cried so I suppose they aren't fearing for my life, but they sure have plenty to say if they see a drink in hand.

Good thing I rarely drink. It would not be fun hearing what a loser I was all the time if I did.

School Lunches

2011-09-12T09:00:00.000-07:00

I’ve been reading a lot about the school lunch debates on the Internet lately. I’m not following it exclusively, but it has gotten my attention and has me thinking about what I’m sending in my kids lunch bags and what they are eating when they have hot lunch.

My children attend a private Catholic school and do not qualify for lunch assistance. When they eat hot lunch it costs $3 per child. (I remember when hot lunch was like .50 cents!)

I’ve been noticing that certain school meals are repeated in a month. I’ve made the comment out loud at home and now my kids are taking notice. When reviewing the school menu I noticed that many items repeat in a month and it's usually something like chicken nuggets or bean burritos.

When my son started kindergarten at his school in 2008 there was an orientation night for parents. At the orientation was the new school chef. He was actually a chef (well, at least they said he was) and he came to the orientation to talk to parents about how he was changing the nutrition program to serve better school lunches. He was so enthusiastic about what he was going to be preparing for the kids I have to admit I was impressed and excited about what he was doing.

When we got the first hot lunch menu I remember thinking, “Wow. Hot lunches didn’t sound this good when I was in school.” He was serving food that sounded - hold onto your chair - tasty. It wasn’t just your boring old hot dogs and tater tots. There was variety and meals never repeated within the month.

I let my son eat hot lunch more often than I normally would. He was trying different things and telling me he liked it. Then halfway through the school year the chef left. I only figured it out when I noticed the lunches had changed from appealing to non-appealing. I never heard why he left. Maybe he got a better job, maybe they couldn’t afford him anymore. I have no idea. He was gone and so were the Jaime Oliver Food Revolution sounding school lunches.

For the record I never tasted the “chef” prepared school lunches. They could have only looked good on paper and tasted like crap for all I know. But there seemed to be some attempt at making school lunch more appealing to the kids.

In the past few years I’ve seen the hot lunches become more and more boring and my kids refusing to eat it. I prefer to make their lunches, but I admit I like the option once in a while of not making lunch. We are lucky that we have that option while other kids do not have an option.

I think about those kids who eat hot lunch every day. I don’t know if it’s because they are on assistance or if the parents don’t have time to throw a lunch together. But what about them? They seem to have no choice. If I were a kid I wouldn’t want to eat hot lunch every day, I would want someone to make my lunch.

My main incentive for packing my kids lunches is I know what they are eating and I know what they like. The second incentive is I can make their lunch for a lot less than $3 each.

Last school year my kids started balking at hot lunches they normally would eat in the past. My daughter used to like the pizza bread but started saying she didn’t like it. Why? “It’s gross.”

They used to both jump up and down for the chicken nuggets and hamburgers but now they are less enthusiastic about it. They want my lunches even on days I think they might like the hot lunch. So with the new school year I have been making their lunches every day. The only time they ate hot lunch so far this year was two days when my husband and I were out of town and they had a caregiver staying with them.

I try to be creative. But it’s not that easy when one kid won’t eat what the other eats. My son will eat PB&J but my daughter hates it. Both will eat sandwiches with whatever lunch meat I decide to add, but my daughter refuses cheese and lettuce on her sandwich.

My daughter enjoys whole apples, but my son who is missing a few teeth doesn’t appreciate them and hates when I cut them because they turn a little brown by the time he has lunch. He won’t touch a sliced apple even if there is one tiny brown dot on it.

When my daughter was in junior kindergarten she would only eat Nutella sandwiches (on wheat bread I might add). Her teacher was concerned because she thought I was giving her pudding on bread. I had to explain what Nutella was. We got the same reaction when she started kindergarten. I can only imagine what they were thinking, but give me a break. It’s Nutella! (I personally think it's gross. I'm not a fan of hazelnuts.)

When I was a kid I would only eat salami sandwiches or PB&J sandwiches ALL the time. That was all I liked. I rarely ate hot lunch at school - but I do recall I liked to eat on the days they served Sloppy Joe‘s (grody to the max, right? But I was like 8). My hot lunch was when I rode my bike home to eat - something that I highly doubt is allowed anymore. Those were the days, weren’t they?

Moving on.

I recently viewed a CBS news video on YouTube about the lunch program in public schools in France. I wanted to cry, literally, because they made what we serve our children in school look like dog food. That is obviously my opinion, but you can judge for yourself by viewing it here. From how the food is selected, prepared and served is a far cry from how our children are being fed school lunches here.

The one good thing about all the school lunch debates in the news is I’m thinking about more ways I can be creative with what I send in my kids lunches and more aware of what is being served for hot lunch at their school. The menu looks pretty much the same as it did last year. Which is why I've made a pledge to myself to attempt to make my children a lunch from home every day.

Even if my kids don't eat hot lunch all that much there are other kids who do every day. They need a voice and that's why I think the people who are out there blogging, tweeting, reporting and talking about healthy school lunches are doing a great job.

There has even been a movement at a local school district to take flavored milk off the menu. I'm not sure about that movement, but I get where it's coming from.

I was a kid who hated regular milk with a passion. I'm an adult who hates regular milk. I can't drink it unless it's chocolate. I can have it in cereal, but give me a glass of milk and I want to puke. It's like drinking dirty water to me. I would have loved to have the option of chocolate milk when I was a kid when I would occasionally eat hot lunch. They didn't have that option. Since I hated milk my mom sent a note saying I could have juice. The juice was the syrup from the fruit that was served that day. Oh yes, thick sweet syrup of peaches, pears or prunes. Disgusting. That was when I was really little. As I got older they upgraded to orange juice.

So, getting rid of flavored milk is not a battle I would take on. There are kids who won't drink milk at all if it's not flavored. Is that so bad? How about schools start offering bottled water? I'm sure most districts do, but where my children attend school they don't.

So, as the week begins so does starting all over with making my children lunch. This week I turned their boring old ham sandwiches into fun pinwheels. I always use wheat bread, but if your child prefers white that works too. Take your bread, cut off the crust and roll the bread flat with a rolling pin. Assemble each piece with mayo and mustard, or whatever your kids prefer, add the meat and roll. Cut into two or three pieces. My children love it and pretend they are eating sushi.

What creative idea have you used to get your kids to eat what you send them to school with?

Random Childhood Memory: A Toilet In My Backyard

2011-08-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

When I was a child I remember we had a toilet flower pot in the backyard. Yes, a real toilet with the bowl filled with potting soil and flowers.

I'm not sure how long it was back there, but I do remember I was VERY embarrassed by it.

It was sort of funny because my dad was in the plumbing business. It was his sense of humor out on display for all to see. I didn't think it was that funny when my friends found out because it eventually got out at school and the silly little boys would tease me about it. But I survived.

I was reminded of that toilet flower pot when I ran across a magazine picture of a similar looking toilet in a garden planted with pretty flowers. I guess I should find comfort in knowing my parents were early pioneers of toilet flower pots.

That old toilet is long gone, but the memories remain. Would I stick a toilet in my backyard and do the same? The answer is no. But more power to you if you have one. I am finally old enough to see the sense of humor in it.

Shabby Bungalow

2011-08-08T15:14:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my blog named after our home I have nicknamed the Shabby Bungalow. The house is a two story bungalow with a full basement with a view of the foothills in Central California. My husband's family has farmed this land for almost 100 years and the house is a little over 90 years old.

Our house sits on the family ranch of about 30 acres that is planted with navel oranges. Many years ago the ranch was planted with two different varieties of grapes.

Let me explain that my husbands family has referred to where we live as "the ranch" forever. We aren't ranchers and as far as I know no one ever was. It's confusing. Are we a farm or ranch? Technically, I suppose we are a farm. Or better yet we could also say we have an orchard. That makes the most sense since our only crop is currently oranges. I liked when I could say my husbands family had a vineyard. It sounded so chic. But as far as my husbands family is concerned the house and property is called the ranch and they don't like change.

If you are interested in learning what a ranch is click here. To learn what a farm is click here.

My kids have been interested in hearing about how there used to be farm animals at the ranch in generations past. My husbands aunt tells stories about when there were chickens, cows and pigs. They had fresh milk, butter and eggs. She said her older sister used to like to drink the cream that collected on top of the milk. My husband remembers they used to have goats when he was little but that was about it. Now the only animals you'll find out here are two spoiled inside dogs, a rodent killing ranch cat and our outside dog who keeps an eye on things.

My husband is an attorney and I am a stay-at-home mom. We have three children.

I'm not sure what direction this blog is headed or if it's headed anywhere at all. I suppose only time will tell if I can keep up with it like I used to several years ago. With all my different interests I'm sure I can mix it up a little.

Thanks for stopping by.