By Nicole

Whew.  30 posts in a row.  And I didn't even "officially" get on the blogrolls.  I was a crasher!  It's amazing how much I have learned about blogging and other bloggers in the last month.  I have found some GREAT blogs to follow.  Before starting all this and actually spending time exploring BlogHer and other forums for blogger moms, I didn't realize the level of support and community that was out there.  I am not planning on jumping into the digital world and seeking all my socialization and affirmation through the Internet, but it has been nice to know that it is available and to get those comments from other women that I think (unless you are a cyberstalker, psycho, or poser... and then, I guess you tricked me good) I have a lot in common with.  Well, cyberstalker or not, we all admit we love the comments and support, right? That said, I know that I did start to worry more about what people who were actually reading my writing thought abou...

Well... this isn't really an "ode", but the title sounded good.  I looked up all types of poetry online , and got impatient, so I quit. Besides, I wrote this at 12:30ish the other night, in purple crayon on a random notebook, while trying to sleep.  There are times that I think If I didn't sleep a wink   I would be fine And other times, yes That I must confess   Sleep is divine If only I could choose When to wake or to snooze   I'd be dreaming!   First attempt at poetry in YEARS. 

The other day, I saw one of the prompts for NaBloPoMo... something about whether you liked being with people or being alone.  That's a hard question for me to answer. I like to think that I am a social person, and I often find myself wishing that Jason and I did more with friends... dinners together, playdates and parties for whatever reason.  I'm even jealous of those people who have lots of those kinds of things planned.  Their calendars are full of potlucks and sleepovers and camping trips with other families.  I want a social smorgasbord too... or do I? I love my friends.  I love my family.  I love my friends' families. I just don't actually get out there that often to see anyone.  Truthfully, our social invite calendar is birthdays and holidays.  It's not that we don't like people over, or going over to visit people... we just don't prioritize social events.  I have friends who plan game nights and movie nights like it is sec...

Last night, Jason and I stayed up and went through the warranty drawer(s).  'What is that?' you ask. Oh, I will tell you. You see.  Jason and I are keepers.  I don't feel that we fall into the classification of "hoarder" just yet, although the sane might beg to differ. We only keep things we need, things we might need, and things we probably don't need.  But we are also weeders.  We weed less often than we keep, so we always have plenty to weed whenever the urge strikes.  Which usually happens two to three times a year on a long weekend.  This weekend, we have weeded part of the office, the garage and part of our bedroom (the place that will never be a sanctuary for sleep . Back to the warranty drawer(s).  It used to be one drawer, but has slowly grown to more than one.  Whenever we buy something or are given something of any value, we keep the receipt and the information.  This time our weeding happened, not becaus...

So I can't quit.  I am obsessed with figuring out just exactly what this cast iron skillet looks like under all that carbon buildup.  Jason is just shaking his head and humoring me by acting super interested.  When I told his grandma about it today, she just nodded her head like she had known all along.  Right now, I am on my third round of oven cleaner.  Instead of following the directions I am getting online, I am being impatient and only waiting an hour before I rinse and scrub.  So, while I have made progress... it has involved a lot of elbow grease and some disappointment.  This was from the first round.  Soaking in a plastic bag on the porch.   This picture doesn't do the amount of clean justice.  There is still a lot of black gunk on the sides though. At this point, I am positive it is a National Wagner Ware 1359 Sidney -0- Number 9.  Although the pretty WagnerWare logo in the middle is messed up.  I was debatin...

If you recall, in my last post, a whole three hours ago, I showed the above skillet.  It still really needs a cleaning.  Well my curiousity got the best of me (before I even started cleaning the thing), and I Googled what I could read on the bottom.  And this is what I found.  RubyLane.com has almost the exact skillet (but way cleaner) for sale.  So, I think that is what this one is.  We bought it at a garage sale for next to nothing.  It's being sold for $50.00 on the website!  Yippee. I have expensive stuff that I got for cheap.  I love that rush. We'll find out once I soak all that gunk off the bottom. I am still trying to learn more.  Especially about the hammered dutch oven.  The Find  has great links to all kinds of cast iron too.  Is anyone else out there a cast iron nut like me?

While I was putting away all the pots and pans from Thanksgiving, I got "re-interested" in my cast iron pans.  Jason's grandma came out to the house and she was talking about the old cast iron she had when she was young raising all her kids in Oklahoma.  She said her skillets had a number on the top of the handle.  Jason and I have spent many summers garage saling to acquire the collection we now have.  And I am always on the lookout for more cast iron for my sisters and brother.  I don't think anything I own is a collector item.  I do get curious every once in a while and try to figure out if what I have is worth anything, even though it wouldn't really make a difference, since I would keep it and use it anyway.  I'm just weird, and I like to look things up on the Internet instead of do other things like cleaning and laundry.  Anyway... here is my "collection".  This is the bottom of the pan that I have with a number on the handle, like Jaso...