Random Act of Kindness-Cards

We have been taking Blessing Bags with us to the Farmer's Market on Sunday. I have written about it here.

At first we didn't add any cards or notices inside the bags. I was a bit nervous about any identifying notes that could be used negatively. Then I found these adorable Random Act of Kindness Cards that encourage others to Pay it Forward.

We have been using these cards in the Blessing Bags.

I encourage others to use them too.

Bless Bless

Viking Mom

Manic Monday- No Water!!

The Viking Homestead has been on a little cyber vacation. We are back!
Our Humble Little Town has this outstanding Community Network blog and email. For the most part the emails consist of lost family pets or advertisements for a Small Business. The HOT ALERTS for accidents and weather have been valuable to all of us.

This Saturday, the community received this notice via our Network and also by phone.

BOIL WATER NOTICE & SINK HOLE!!!

**P--- DAM WEBSITE BOIL WATER ALERT**

“BOIL YOUR WATER BEFORE USING
Failure to follow this advisory could result in stomach or intestinal illness.
Due to a water main break on A-- Blvd., the California Department of Public Health in conjunction with the San Diego County Health Department, and P--- Dam Municipal Water District are advising all residents east of H-------- Canyon Road (the A--- Way pumping zone) to use boiled tap water or bottled water for drinking and cooking purposes as a safety precaution.

DO NOT DRINK THE WATER WITHOUT BOILING IT FIRST. Bring all water to a boil, let it boil for one (1) minute, and let it cool before using, or use bottled water. Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking and food preparation until further notice. Boiling kills bacteria and other organisms in the water.

We will inform you when tests show that water is safe to drink and you no longer need to boil your water. We anticipate resolving the problem within 72 hours.

For more information call:
Water Utility contact: D--- L----, System Operations Manager, 619-555-4673, 9300 Fanita Parkway, S------, CA 90000.
California Department of Public Health – Drinking Water Field Operations Branch- District Office at 619-555-4159.
Local Environmental Health Jurisdiction: San Diego County at 858-555-6700.

The amusing part of this broken water main is that this is the "NEW" part of the Sunrise Powerlink construction. This is not like the 101 year old water pipe that blew in San Diego last week. 

We have also received a phone call from our local school district stating that they will have school on Monday but have requested that we send our children to school with bottled water during the duration of the Boil Alert. 

I guess it could be worse.

Grocery Store Challenge- Week 3-4 I think?

I am a much better record keeper when it comes to dates and information. However, the Viking Homestead was thrown a "Monkey Wrench" into our plans.

What does one do when the weather prevents a journey to a Farmer's Market and the transmission in the family car dies?

We Dance In the Rain!!

We also ate a lot of our personal surplus items. We discovered that we had a lot of duplicate food items in our storage, like pastas noodles. It became a family challenge on how to be creative with the various different pasta noodles in our stock. One memorable dish was a cross between Macaroni and Cheese and Lasagna. We had enough ingredients for one or two people of each dish so we combined the two to feed the four of us. It is now a family favorite.

The uber easy receipe.

1 box of Annie's Gluten Free Creamy Macaroni and Cheese- cook to boxes instructions
1 cook one bag of favorite brand of gluten free pasta noodles cooked to bags instructions.
Cook up meat of choice and mix in favorite jar of spaghetti sauce (we actually found a jar of Classico spaghetti sauce in the far reaches of our cupboard.)
In a lightly greased 9x11 pan layer Macaroni and Cheese on the bottom, add of meat sauce, add a layer of mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese (or cottage cheese) and then a layer of cooked noodles. Repeat the layers as desired until pan is full. For a family of four the 9x11 was perfect. 
Cook at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until all cheese is melted through. 

We served it with a fresh salad and tomatoes and basil. 


Another topic that developed between Viking Dad and I was our habit of eating out. Does this still count for not eating from a grocery store? I did a little research to find out how other families on similar challenges address this topic.

Here is what we decided as a family.
1. Does the restaurant meet our quality of foods? Do they serve organic, holistic, local foods?
2. Is the restaurant family owned? Or is it Cooperate Owned? 
3. Is the restaurant family centered?

We examined the places we already visit and they follow the Three Rules we established. We also decided that these three rules were important to our personal values. Now, each person or family that takes this kind of challenge would have to develop their own rules on eating out and what they can compromise on as a family.

Another family learning moment.

Bless Bless
Viking Mom

Random Act of Kindness- Be the Rainbow

Manic Monday- WTF! Tide Thefts

It is being called a Grime Wave. No one has figured out how to eliminate the stain on the communities. How can our society wash out such a filthy crime?

Okay, so puns aside. Apparently, this is no longer an Urban Legend. 

This is a nation wide epidemic. 

Bless Bless

Viking Mom