Life at a "Swell's" pace

Growing Cat Grass for your Kitty

My kitty, Meia, loves cat grass (Avena sativa, or the common oat) and it's so simple to grow in just a small pot in your window or in a large planter on your deck. There are no real answers, even by vets, as to why cats eat cat grass, but either way your kitty will go nuts over the lush grass that comes from it and it's also a great way to get them to add more fiber into their diets.

This is one of my favorites to use. It's from a company called, Botanical Interests and they have some of the best seed selections I've seen online. You can purchase your seeds from BI, here.

Just add soil to a simple pot or planter, add the seeds and cover with soil. Done!

In just a short time you will have cat grass growing for your kitty to munch on. Be sure to mist once a day to help keep the soil moist.

Meia loves it! I will sometimes catch her laying in the pot with the grass, she just loves it that much. Ha!

15-Bean Soup revamped

15-bean soup as been around for quite sometime, but it always seemed so boring to me when I made it. I decided it was time for a change. With this new revamped method, I feel it brings a bit of life to the old favorite.

Here's what you'll need:

1. 15- Bean Soup (20oz. bag)

2. Diced Whole Tomatoes (14.5 oz can)

3. Leftover Ham or Cooked Ham (I used a spiral ham we had a few nights before)

4. Mexican Chili Powder (2 tbs.)

5. Garlic Powder (2 tbs. or more to taste)

6. Creole Seasoning (3 tbs. or less to taste)

7. Seasoning Salt (5tbs.)

8. Ground Black Pepper (3 tbs.) and the seasoning package that comes with the beans

Pour your beans into hot water and allow to boil according to the package directions.

As the beans are cooking add your whole tomatoes and the spice package that came inside your bean bag.

Add your meats after the tomatoes have been added and allow to simmer on low for about 30 minutes.

Add your spices and sprinkle in your salt and pepper.

When your spices have been added, allow to simmer for about 2 hours or until beans are tender. Serve with Parmesan Cheese, french bread or even just simple crackers.

Enjoy!

How to make a Parasol Lantern

I came across this idea a few years ago, and loved it! I purchased the parasols, but just never completed the project till recently. I'm sort of a procrastinator really......which I am sure is quite normal in today's world. Ha!

For this project you'll need:
1. Parasol Umbrellas (I found mine at Walmart)
2. Hot Glue Gun and Glue Sticks
3. Wire Cutter and/or Scissors
4. Paper Lantern
5. And, of course, your time and patience.

You'll need about 250 Parasol Umbrellas for this project.

You'll want to open all the umbrellas ahead of time for your project because stopping in the middle to open each one does get a bit annoying after awhile.

Once you are ready to start, position your paper lantern so that it won't roll around with the weight of the umbrellas and the hot glue once you start adding them. I used an old paper lantern I had for my first one. It had a few holes from the paper getting torn over the years so it worked out perfectly for this project.

Place a small drop of hot glue right under the umbrellas where the wooden stick holds the umbrella open. You can even use the "pink" roll tab that comes with each one as well to help hold them into place. Poke the stick through the paper and hold into place till glue dries (about 10 seconds). Position each umbrella slightly over-lapping the one before it. Change up colors for this or use the same color all the way around.

I like to get the top done all the way around and use that as a starting point for the middle of the lantern.

Once you get a good amount of umbrellas on the lantern then you can start really looking at the colors needed to make an eye appealing lamp. Make sure if you are using multicolored umbrellas you don't over-lap the colors that are similar. Such as, red on pink, etc.

Move around the lantern till you are satisfied with the color combinations. You can even fill gaps with another umbrella while you move around the ball.

I've left the sticks on for some lanterns and clipped them off with the wire cutters for others; The sticks don't really pose an issue because of the colors of the umbrellas and if you use a low-watt bulb with your electrical hardware you won't see them at all. It's really your call on your own lantern on whether you want to clip them or not.

Once you have all your umbrellas in place you can Modge Podge the entire lantern to preserve the umbrellas or leave it as is. I found the Modge Podge panting was a bit of a hassle, but it worked for the smaller lamps rather than the larger ones.

Once you are all glued, umbrella'ed and ready, insert your light bulb hardware and hang. It's really that easy.

Enjoy!

The splendor of the Hawthorn trees in Oregon

These trees are one of a kind in front of my home here in Oregon. They are quite the eye-catchers and we have had so many people stop by, or see them on the internet, and ask what kind of tree they are.

Their bold, pink ray of color that seems to almost blind you when you stare at them too long.

And, even though these Hawthorns are magnificent, the pollen is incredible!

But, even with all the pollen, the trees are amazing with the color the cast. Everything around them almost seems to glow with a pink shade for about 3 months.

And, you can see another down-side to these beautiful trees. The THORNS! Yeah, they are a pain when you run into them. We try to keep most of the branches cut from about 6-feet down on the tree that way there isn't any eye-pokers lurking around to stab someone.

I always cut a few limbs off here and there and place them in a large vase in my house just to see the bright colors when I wake up. My bathroom has a black and brown theme to it so these bright, pink Hawthorn limbs bring out a different mood in my bathroom, especially in the morning when I don't want to get up and around. And the leaves and the berries that come after the blooms have fallen off are very edible too.