Vacation Slide show! With a side of Bug Bite Prevention.

Spent some time at a cabin surrounded by the Ocala National Forest. Ahhhhh.

Bug bite prevention ideas below.

Click a photo to start a show.

dirt road

 

I spent a lot of time outside during the day and at night.  I have 3 mosquito bites and no found ticks.  The bites may have come from the first day I was there when the car was stuck in a mud hole and I was caught out without any protection.  That’s a story for the next post.

First, spray shirts, shorts, hats, socks, and shoes, to be worn in the woods with Permethrin. Take clothes outside and spray.  Let dry prior to packing.

Second, ideas for while you are out:

If you get bit:

Ticks

Mosquitos

 

 

WearEver Ceramic Cookware

I having been using a set of WearEver ceramic cookware since December.  I wanted to make the switch to ceramic to get away from Teflon and still retain non-stick options in the cabinet. There was also the issue that my old pots were, well, old and did not cook evenly.

I really enjoy using these ceramic pans.  They cook much more evenly and clean up easily.  If you are looking for the infomercial style non-stick, these are not it.  While they do clean easy, they require a few more wipes than the Teflon pans.  I also find it necessary, or at the least, very helpful to use a little bit of oil (usually coconut) when cooking items like eggs and salmon.

Care:  As per the directions that they came with, I seasoned the pans with oil prior to using the first time.  They are dishwasher safe, however, I do hand wash to preserve the finish as much as possible.

Con:  The handles are attached by rivets on the inside/cooking surface of the pans.  My perfect cookware would not have these as they make it a bit harder to clean and can be an area where germs hideout.

Overall I am so glad that Santa brought these WearEver pans to me and I would recommend these if you are in the market for ceramic cookware.

This post brought to you courtesy of a week’s vacation:

Made new friends this week:

Tried new food:

Best Burgers! Diet blown…

What to try next time I eat on the run.

Tried a new Recipe:  thanks to The Savvy Sister

I had to substitute a bit but it still came out fabulous!

A great week to be sure, I must do it again sometime.

Perception of Time, of Friends

Having Wednesday off made Thursday feel like a Monday.  It also felt like there were two weeks, not one.  Why does a Monday sometimes feel like a Friday?  Why do some days go quickly and some seem to drag on forever?  Maybe I should stop thinking that I never have enough time, because it is all in my head!

Listening to the Universe

I sometimes pray for even just a small whisper to tell me that I am on the right path.  I feel like the universe just yelled at me.  I have a vacation week approaching.  Last weekend, someone recommended that I take a trip to the Smokey Mountain National Park.  It sounded perfect.  Fresh air and hiking, but not too rugged.  Three times I hit <purchase ticket> and three times the transaction failed for one reason or another.  Well, okay then…there are other places to go hiking.  I began research for areas in Maine and Vermont.  My eyes began to glaze over so I left the finalization till today.

I had been on the internet most of the morning without incident.  Five minutes into narrowing down my selection, the smoke alarm gave out a long chirp.  The power went out.  My laptop, happy with its battery appeared fine.  However, the router had lost power so the internet had left me.  I think I will be staying close to home.

A great joke about listening and recognizing signs.  The man at his house during a great flood.

(Photo found at:  http://www.evolvinglifeintransition.com/do-you-trust-the-universe/)