I had hoped to show you my completed Monkey socks today, but there has been no knitting since my last post. I have decided that this is the summer to go through 25 years of 'stuff' and get rid of anything that we can live without. (Which is most of our storage room!) With the kids gone, I am able to set up tables in the basement and go through each and every box. I have already made several trips to Goodwill and plan several more over the next several weeks. I thought with so many people in our area losing everything either in the tornado or flood, now would be a good time to do this! I found a great site that had a Fair Market Value Sheet (I found this by googling Des Moines FMV donation - the top link was for a PDF form for Non-Cash contributions) so I have been keeping track of every item donated so I can deduct it on my tax return next year. I think I'll come out better than I would have had I tried to do a garage sale!!
It's fun finding little forgotten 'treasures' as I am going through things. Here are a couple of cute M&M containers that I filled up and have ready for Steve to take in to his office tomorrow. I confess that they are not quite as full as when I first filled them this morning!
M is in town for the week and brought me over a necklace that she made for me. I absolutely LOVE it!! She is getting some necklaces and earrings ready to sell in her mom's shop. I think they will do well. She has a great eye for design. I've told her a little about Etsy, and she may look into that as well in the future.Woke up hungry for some homemade granola today and realized that it is a recipe that I have not shared yet. Hard to believe. This is the yummiest granola ever.
Koinonia Granola
1/ 4 cup oil
1 stick butter
1 TBSP molasses
1 TBSP vanilla
1/ 2 cup brown sugar
1/ 2 cup honey
1/ 4 tsp salt
8 cups rolled oats (not instant)
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1 cup chopped nuts (I add toasted sliced almonds)
1 cup wheat germ
4 cups coconut (I buy the unsweetened at a health food market)
1 cup sunflower seeds
1. Melt first 7 ingredients in pan.
2. Cool slightly, then pour over remaining ingredients. Stir thoroughly.
3. Bake in an even layer on cookie sheets for 35 minutes at 350 degrees.
4. Stir every 5 minutes to prevent over-browning. Stir a few times as granola cools.
5. When cooled, you may add 1 cup raisins or other dried fruits if desired.
Makes about 5 quarts granola.
Our satellite TV was hooked up this afternoon, so I may have to go see what's on. (And maybe pick up my knitting for a bit).
Until Next Time.....
7 comments:
can I ask where you found the form for the fair market value. I need something like this as well. We have lots of things that need to be donated to Good Will
I found this by googling 'Des Moines FMV donation' - the top link was for a PDF form for Non-Cash Donations
We did the whole clean out boxes, before we moved last year. I was amazed at some of the junk I had packed up into boxes instead of getting rid of....course I think some of that stuff was put into boxes by my hubby. :)
The granola looks good. I love granola...specially mixed in yogurt. Yum!!
Great idea to go through stuff by setting up tables...de-cluttering seems like something I never quite get finished with. I love granola so I'll have to try that out - especially since dh lived in a christian cooperative for men while in college named...Koinonia!
Can you come straighten out my storage area/basement? I will take the stuff to the Goodwill, I just don't want to sort through it all.
Love the M&M candy bowls those are so cute. I bought one for DH several years ago that works like a gum ball machine..... wonder where that is?
What a great idea to go through your stuff, to see what you aren't using, at a time when people in your area really could use it, after losing so much to the tornado & floods. My cousin's son has been working over there, rebuilding after the tornado. He said they are still finding stuff in farm fields many, many miles from where they belong!
And thank you for your granola recipe! If I make some for us, I can be sure to leave out the peanuts, since one of my sons is allergic to peanuts. They might all be happier if I left out all of the nuts, except for maybe the toasted almonds. Thanks again! :-)
Good for you doing all you clearing out. We need to do that too, but never find the time. Maybe someday...
You granola sounds yummy. I'll have to try it...like all your recipes I'm sure this will be a winner too :)
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