Broken Teepee: December 2011

Saturday, December 31, 2011

Giveaway Winners 2011

Friday, December 30, 2011

Household Traditions Dish Liquid #Review and #Rafflecopter #Giveaway

In spite of having my water efficient dishwasher I still wash quite a few dishes. Well, mostly pots. Big, honkin' pots that I use when I am canning and making stock. In fact I just spent the last two days doing just that; turkey and meat stock to be exact and I washed my stock pots many times over the course of those two days. Not to mention that canner. I need a good dish liquid. I WANT a dish liquid that is going to be environmentally friendly and good to my septic system. I have that dish liquid with Household Traditions Dish Liquid

Household Traditions Dish Liquid - 32 oz.

It gives me lots of nice bubbles and it does a great job of cutting through any grease that might be on what I am washing. When it is stock pots there will be grease! The pots, pans and dishes come out sparkling clean! Here is a bit about the product direct from the company site:

Household Traditions Dish Liquid is an effective and concentrated dish soap developed by and for people with allergies, asthma and Multiple Chemical Sensitivities.* Household Traditions Dish Liquid is a coconut-based product—it contains nature’s versatile, renewable harvest. With coconut’s natural moisturizing qualities, washing dishes is even soothing to your hands. Household Traditions Dish Liquid is safe for you but tough on dirty, greasy dishes. It breaks down safely and rapidly making it safer for the environment. It is also low sudsing, making it ideal for camping or other outdoor uses. Household Traditions Dish Liquid is free of fragrances, phosphates, petroleum solvents, chlorine, dyes and other common triggers for respiratory or skin irritations.

So there you have it! A product that works great and one that is not full of icky stuff.

You can shop at Household Traditions (if you click on the links in the post and purchase I will receive a referral fee. Thank you!)
You can find Tropical Traditions on Facebook
You can find Tropical Traditions on Twitter
You can find Tropical Traditions on YouTube
You can find free Coconut Recipes
You can sign up for the Tropical Tradtions Newsletter

One lucky reader will get to win a 32oz bottle of Household Traditions Dish Liquid from Tropical Traditions.
How do you win? It's easy!
Just click on read more and jump on the Rafflecopter! If you are here by direct link the 'copter is waiting!

Guest Post: A Cat Owner's Guide to Hairballs

I don't know about you and your cats but mine are always presenting me with little hairy presents. Usually in the middle of the floor in the middle of the night.

Ick!

Here is some good advice for how to deal with those "presents:"

Most cat owners know the unpleasant mess that accompanies kitty throwing up a hairball. Cats are selfgroomers, and during their daily grooming sessions they tend to swallow a good amount of loose hair.
In a perfect world, all of this hair would pass through the cat’s digestive system, but unfortunately hair
sometimes collects in the cat’s stomach. This causes the cat to gag until he rids himself of the excess hair
through vomiting- which leaves loving pet parents to clean up a matted mess of hair and vomit.
Luckily, there are a few things owners can do to make sure their feline companions are healthy and to
keep hairballs to a minimum:

•Be mindful of serious symptoms: If you cat is gagging for more than 24 hours, especially if the gagging
is accompanied by constipation or diarrhea, immediately contact your veterinarian. Hairballs can get
stuck and cause intestinal blockages. This is a rare occurrence but a serious one that may require surgery
to correct.

•Commit to regular brushing: The less loose hair is on your cat’s body, the less he is able to consume,
so regular brushing is an important player in the fight against hairballs. A specially designed tool like
the FURminator that catches the excess hair might be a smart purchase. You can also just use a regular
brush and then wipe away the excess hair with a clean cloth.

•Consider a change in diet: There are some commercial cat foods specifically designed to reduce the
occurrence of hairballs. These foods are usually high in fiber and contain ingredients that improve skin
and coast health and decrease shedding.

•Try a lubricant: A lubricant and hair ball remover like Laxatone is an easy way to eliminate hairballs.
These types of products encourage healthy passage of hair through the intestinal tract and are usually
flavored for easy administration.

•Consult with your Vet: If you notice that your sweet kitty is regularly experiencing hairballs and
home remedies don’t seem to be helping, an underlying cause may be to blame. Consult with your
veterinarian to rule out inflammatory bowel disease and other serious diseases like cancer.

I hope you found that as informative as I did. Now excuse me while I go clean up a hairball or two.

Blog Tour and Book Review: Warrior's Redemption by Melissa Mayhue

About the Book:

MALCOLM MACDOWYLT sees himself a failed warrior, haunted by the death of the woman he married to become laird of Clan MacGahan. Neither his Viking heritage nor his claim to descend from Norse gods can restore his confidence in his ability to protect his people. His sister is held captive, her life in jeopardy, and his Magically powerful half brother wants him dead. The last thing he needs is more responsibility, but that’s exactly what he gets when his Faerie mother-in-law arrives seeking justice for her daughter in the form of an enticing woman from seven hundred years in the future.

DANIELLE DEARMON has waited fifteen years to discover the life she is supposed to live. She just never dreamed she’d end up in the thirteenth century with a handsome Scot bent on saving everyone but himself. With the lives of those most dear to him hanging in the balance, Malcolm sets out to battle a powerful evil magic, only to learn that the redemption he seeks exists in the arms of the woman he loves.

About the Author:

Melissa Mayhue is the award-winning author of Thirty Nights with a Highland Husband, Highland Guardian, Soul of a Highlander, A Highlander of Her Own, A Highlander's Destiny, A Highlander's Homecoming, Healing the Highlander and A Highlander's Curse. She and her family live in Colorado in the shadow of the beautiful Rocky Mountains with three insanely spoiled dogs, one domineering cat, a turtle with an attitude, and way too many fish in their aquarium.

You can visit her website at www.MelissaMayhue.com.

My Opinion:

Oh the joy and diversion of an entertaining time travel/romance novel. I just love to dive into a book where you have to suspend any semblance of reality and just go with the fun. This is, I think, the third book by Ms. Mayhue that I have read and I was not disappointed. Her books are tales of the Faery and mortal world all mixed up with folk finding their SoulMate; the person that completes you. Sometimes the two happen to live centuries apart but that doesn't stop love.

In this novel Danielle Dearmon lives in current times but has always believed in faeries going so far as to leave milk out for them every night so they have something to eat. She waits and waits and is about to give up when magic happens. Malcolm MacDowlyt is feeling like a failure in more ways than one when his mother in law, a Faery, comes looking for her daughter. He let her leave with the love of her life and he thinks she is dead but she is not! Because he cared enough to let her go with her SoulMate his mother in law will now help him - but he definitely does not feel he wants her help.

The story rolls along with a well constructed plot and characters that you find yourself wanting to know - except for the bad guy, of course! And he is a wicked one to be sure. Wants to rule the world as most bad guys do. So, will he? You will have to read this fun and engaging time travel tale to find out. It leads into the next book of the series so it leaves you wanting more. You won't be disappointed with this book if you like to play at time travel now and then as I do.

Warrior's Redemption is available at Amazon.com

Disclosure: I received a copy of Warrior's Redemption from Gallery Books gratis. Any opinions expressed are my honest opinions and were not impacted by my receipt of the free book. I received no monetary compensation for this post.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Travel Channel

The Author of this post is Kory Dotson

Moving here was tough but I’ve been watching a lot of my satellite tv portland channels to pass the time. I like it here but it’s always raining so I watch a lot of Travel Channel to kind of escape and take my mind off things. My favorite show is Anthony Bourdain because he’s so sarcastic and ridiculously rude to people but he goes to all these different countries that I would never dream of going to. I love that he’s not afraid to eat anything or go anywhere and it’s because he’s been through so much in his own life – it’s definitely different than when I’m watching one of the Samantha Brown shows. Anyway, Portland’s great and I’m sure once it’s not so cold it will get better living here because I’ll be able to go out on my bike or even camping. Who knows, maybe I’ll plan a trip somewhere I see on one of my shows – that would make me have something to look forward to, at least!

New Year, New Mortgage?

The new year is approaching and it's a time of looking back AND forward. A lot of people make resolutions as a start to a new year as a way of trying to break old habits or to try and start fresh. If you are one of those people don't forget to consider looking at your house as you consider making changes. Mortgage rates are as low as they have been since I can remember and it might just be the perfect time to refinance. There is no reason not to check out the current home mortgage rates to see if they are lower than what you are currently paying. You never know - it might just lead to some extra money in your pocket every month. If you would like more information click here.

Don't just jump in blindly though, you need to consider everything involved in a refinance. You need to stop and add it all up and see if it's worth it to refinance. It's not just the rate; there are also closing costs and other fees you need to take into account so be sure to do your research. It doesn't cost you anything to look around and there is certainly no pressure so you can take your time and really investigate all of your options.

So as the old year turns into the new look at all the aspects of your life as you make that list of resolutions. Maybe your mortgage needs to lose some weight instead of you!

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Carapelli Olive Oil #Review

Click me for the history of Carapelli Olive oil

I use a lot of olive oil in my every day cooking. When I want the olive oil to be a stand out flavor I choose a quality oil like Carapelli Extra Virgin Olive Oil. You can tell it's going to taste good as soon as you open the bottle - the aroma is heavenly; rich and fruity! I use it to roast my vegetables and to flavor my salads.

When we went to our friends' house for dinner on Christmas I was asked to bring vegetables. This was a departure for me as I usually bring dessert. So I put my thinking cap on and went down to the freezer and brought out some turnips and green and yellow beans. The turnips were easy; they were simply mashed and served with a bit of butter. They were sweet and delicious. I got a bit more creative with the beans.

I thawed them out first so there wouldn't be excess water in the dressing.
Aren't they pretty? The hubby sure knows how to grow nice vegetables!

Then I made the dressing; into a bowl went:
the zest from two oranges
a very generous tablespoon of frozen orange juice concentrate
1.5 ounces of Carapelli Extra Virgin Olive Oil
salt and pepper to taste

I stirred it together until the concentrate melted and it all came together.
I put about 1/2 cup of walnuts on the stove to toast. When they were done I roughly chopped them.

I added the beans to the bowl with the dressing. I used about 2lbs of beans as there was going to be a crowd at dinner. I mixed it all up until the beans were well coated.

I put the beans into a baking dish and topped them with the chopped walnuts.
When we arrived they went into a 350° oven for about half an hour. They smelled delightful and everyone really liked how they tasted. The orange flavor was a treat and the rich olive oil helped make the beans special.

There are so many ways you can use Carapelli Olive Oil when you cook; here's a recipe for Brussels Sprouts I can't wait to try:

Brussels Sprouts with Caramelized Onions and Prosciutto

Serving Size: 12

2 pounds fresh Brussels sprouts, blanched,

quartered

4 tablespoons Carapelli Premium 100% Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 onion, julienned

1 1/2 ounces prosciutto, sliced into 1/2-inch strips

4 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar

Sea salt

Fresh cracked black pepper

Trim stem end of Brussels sprouts. Discard wilted outside leaves. Boil in salted water until cooked through (about 7 minutes) until just tender. Shock in ice water. Quarter the cooled sprouts.

In large skillet over medium high heat, caramelize onions in olive oil for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring

frequently. Remove from pan. Place in bowl, mix with prosciutto.

In the same skillet, over high heat, lightly brown Brussels sprouts. Add onion-prosciutto mix, toss.

Deglaze by adding white balsamic vinegar and scraping bottom of pan. Season with salt and pepper.

Looks yummy, doesn't it?

You can find many more recipes on the Carapelli site

Disclosure: I received samples of Carapelli Olive Oil gratis. Any opinions expressed are my honest opinions and were not impacted by my receipt of the free samples. I received no monetary compensation for this post.

Guest Post: Nicole Langan/Tribute Books

Today I would like to welcome a very special guest to the blog, Nicole Langan from Tribute Books! I have reviewed several titles from Tribute and know that I will be reading some exciting books in 2012. So please enjoy this post about Tribute's story:

Tribute Books began in 2004 and we've published over 30 titles since that time. Some of our books have gone on to win awards such as the Christian Small Publisher Book of the Year and the Mom's Choice Award while others were endorsed by PBS and The Thoreau Society. We've covered a wide range of genres from children's picture books to history to sports under both traditional and subsidy contracts.

In 2012, we will transition into being an ebook publisher for young adult titles. Over the course of 2011, we've watched our ebook sales outpace our print sales by 2 to 1 due to the explosion in popularity of e-readers such as the Kindle, Nook and iPad. The under $5 price point of most of our e-titles and the ease of purchase and delivery surely facilitated this rapid change.
Overall, our transition is based on three factors. On a business level, the young adult genre sells especially if it is well written and has a paranormal romance theme. On a marketing level, the devotion of the young adult fan base is unparalleled. On a personal level, I thoroughly enjoy a good young adult novel and review many on my blog at http://tributebooksreviews.blogspot.com. I'm a believer in doing what you love and working with like-minded people, when it's at all possible.

Interested authors can submit their manuscripts via email to info@tribute-books.com. There will be no charge for the authors we select to work with, and they will receive 50% of the net profits of their ebook sales in quarterly royalty payments. We're looking for Microsoft Word documents with a maximum of 350 pages of text with no photos, charts, illustrations, graphs, etc. Manuscripts that have already been professionally edited will receive greater consideration. Our preference is to work with authors who have already been published through a royalty-paying press and who know the ins and outs of book promotion. An established social media platform is a must, and we will not consider writers who do not have a well-followed blog, Facebook page or Twitter account.

Our preference is for damn good writing, the particular topic is secondary in importance. However, books written with a series in mind or those that delve into the paranormal will have a slight edge. I'm most excited about working with authors who enjoy promoting their book on a daily basis. Ones who know the ins and outs of the time and effort it takes to make a book a success because I'm ready and willing to work with them every step of the way.

I am a big believer in the power of social media. I even conduct monthly blog tours for outside publishers and authors in order to help them increase the online presence of a book. Book bloggers are a powerful force in the book industry. With more and more book stores closing and book review columns being cut from major newspapers, readers are depending on bloggers to help them find the books they want to read. They are turning to the internet as a reference point to fill this information gap.

In my opinion, social networking is the bread and butter of any author's promotional efforts. Without it, it's like trying to paddle upstream without a canoe. Readers want to connect with the person who wrote the book. They crave interaction with an author. Nothing beats getting a writer to comment on a blogger's book review post or getting a personalized thank you tweet from your favorite author. The days of authors being isolated from their fans is over. They're now able to build an online following and receive instant feedback for their work. They have the opportunity to take part in creating their own literary community.

We try to keep an active online presence with our web site (http://www.tribute-books.com/), Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Archbald-PA/Tribute-Books/171628704176), Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/TributeBooks) and blog (http://tributebooks.blogspot.com/). We'd love to have anyone who loves young adult literature to join us for the ride.

Nicole Langan/Tribute Books

I would like to thank Nicole for taking the time to visit today. I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did. Nicole certainly does practice what she preaches...I see her tweets and posts all over the internet!

Monday, December 26, 2011

Ruminatin' - On Christmas

Christmas was a weekend affair in the Broken Teepee household. We were going to a friend's house for Christmas day so the hubby and I celebrated on Christmas Eve. This has actually been our tradition almost since our first Christmas. I was the one the cooked the big dinner and I didn't want to rush through our celebration so we just moved it to the day before. It worked out well; I had the whole of Christmas day for cooking and we had the Eve for celebrating.

Our former traditional Christmas Eve meal had been take out Chinese. Since I was cooking for 22 I really didn't want to prepare a huge meal for us the night before. There IS no take out Chinese in our little town; we would have to drive to Missoula which is an hour and a half away. That rather destroys the whole point of take-out. Since I am no longer cooking for a crowd I do cook for us. I looked through my Chinese cookbook and smiled; what could be more traditional "take-out" than Shrimp in Lobster Sauce? So that is what I made. It was delicious and it was just like what you would find in a restaurant only a bit less greasy. There was goat's milk ice cream for dessert.

Our presents are more utilitarian than whimsical these days. After 30 years together and living on a tight budget we buy what we need but that doesn't mean there isn't a big of wiggle room for something special. I gave the hubby a bottle of rather expensive balsamic vinegar - he LOVES the stuff and this is the time of year to indulge him a little. He gave me the boning knife and poultry shears I really, really wanted to make butchering day much easier. Anything with a blade is frighteningly expensive. But he also found room for a smile.

You know my hat collection. I have written of it. As you can see it has a new addition. A VERY warm new addition. He laughed but I LOVE it. It's the warmest hat EVER. The ear flaps can be buttoned up if it's not that cold out. It will be perfect when the cold hits. Woo hoo!

On Christmas we went to our friends' house and had a delightful turkey dinner. The food was excellent, the company fun and I came home with a bonus - the turkey carcass. I am off now to make me a huge pot of stock so I can put it in the canner tomorrow. Turkey stock is so much richer than chicken stock.

All in all it was a truly wonderful holiday. I hope the same for all of you!

Sunday, December 25, 2011

MERRY CHRISTMAS

All of us here on the Farm with you and your family a very Merry Christmas.

I hope you all have a wonderful day with family and friends.

The cats say, "Meowy Christmas"

The goats say, "Merry Christmaaaa"

The chickens say, "Merry Cluckmas"

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Ruminatin' - On My Christmas Tree Ornaments

I know I have mentioned in the past how much I enjoy decorating my Christmas tree. This year was my 30th Christmas with my husband. That's a lot of Ghosts of Christmas' Past! Hopefully we have at least as many "Yet to Come."

Almost from our first trip we decided to buy an ornament as a souvenir. For some reason we didn't do this for our honeymoon so the oldest ornament I have is one we bought from a short vacation we took to San Francisco about a month after we came home from that honeymoon.

It has survived three houses and traveling around the country in a fifthwheel. Not bad for a tiny, little cable car, eh? But every year when I bring it out I remember the fun we had on that weekend.

I am not a collector; I don't have the space. I do have quite a few cookbooks but I use them, they are not for display. I do though, have every cat ornament from the Hallmark collection. This year was the thirteenth kitten doing something mischievous. I place them close to each other on the tree and they just make me giggle.

Most of our travels in our marriage were to Hawaii and I do have several Hawaiian themed ornaments. One year, though, the hubby surprised me. It was for my 39th (?) birthday. He took me to Italy; a dream trip for this art history major if ever there was one. It was late October so there were peaks of the Christmas season to come and there were these little hedgehogs EVERYWHERE. We never learned what they were all about but I HAD to have one. I also bought a beautiful angel but it's the hedgehog that makes me smile.

There are many, many more from the places we visited during our travels around the country in the trailer but there are also the ornaments given to me as gifts. These, of course hold very special meaning to me. My goddaughters made me these Smarties ornaments so many years ago I'm surprised the Smarties are still glued on the construction paper. The colors have faded but I put them at the front of the tree every year. My niece made me a beautiful butterfly from a melt and bake craft product but no matter how I tried I couldn't get a clear photo of it - probably because it's see-through. These hand made with love ornaments bring me the biggest smiles.

My mother has been dead for many years but she comes back to me every year with the ornaments she gave me through the years. My favorite being Kermit here. I love the Muppets and she knew it. There are several ornaments from her on my tree and it's like getting a hug from her again every December.

My husband is not immune to my love of things that sparkle and shine on a Christmas tree. While our childhood trees were markedly different he has come to love my eclectic decorating style. He is a big fan of the old fashioned glass ornaments - me not so much, so he has brought me around with works of art like this woodpecker. Isn't it STUNNING?! I have carried this with us for the last 20 years. Sometimes I can't believe I haven't broken any of them. Of course I have now cursed myself.... He also gave me a snowy owl that is gorgeous. It is covered with glitter and it just sparkles in the lights of the tree. Maybe I'll show it to you next year.....

Click me to meet the rest of my flock

Every year I treat myself to something meaningful for the tree. This year I found the cutest handmade, felted chicken ornaments I have ever seen made by my fellow goat loving friend Claire. Problem is the cats love them as much as I do.

I am sure you can tell by now that I am a less than traditional person so I am sure you would not expect an angel on top of my tree.

Very smart.

Uh-huh!
A cat!
What else!
I have had far more cats in my life than goats - at least up to this point. Who knows what the future will bring. Perhaps in a few more years I will have to change it out for a goat. Either way I am sure it will make me smile. That is what I love most about my Christmas tree ornaments - the smiles and memories they bring me. The little things I might have forgotten. The places I've been that have slipped from my mind. To spend a couple of days reliving those times with my husband is priceless. To have some of these little pieces of wood and plastic for 30 years is well, remarkable. I love that I have that much history with such a wonderful man.

Merry Christmas.
I'll post the full tree tomorrow to celebrate the day.

Friday, December 23, 2011

Baking for the Hubby

The hubby had his office Christmas party today and I wanted to make his gifts nice. In the past I have sent him in with some of Pricilla's rich soap but this year I wanted him to take something a bit different.

As if there is any married man alive who does this kind of thing for himself....
heh

I did my cookie baking and I added some light candy making into the mix. I made marshmallows and gumdrops! I found the gumdrop recipe in Ladies Home Journal. It was very simple and I made them flavored with lime and cherry and colored them - you got it! - red and green. They were a touch sweet and I thought they needed something so when I rolled them in sugar at the finish I added a bit of citric acid to the sugar and it gave them just a touch of sour and they were delicious.

I baked orange chocolate chip cookies, chocolate snowballs and cardamom palmiers. A nice mix I thought and different; I figured they weren't the typical cookies baked and therefore they would be a nice treat. I was happy with how they looked in the trays. I put the gumdrops and marshmallows in cello bags and tied them with ribbons. And of course some of Pricilla's soap went in as well.

He said they were well received. I know I had fun making them. I will definitely be making the gumdrops again. Merry Christmas!

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