I love trying new things! Variety adds flavor to life, and while I do have some favorite mainstays, I love free samples and new things. :)

A couple months ago, I was offered a free sample packet of two Skoy cloths. I jumped on the offer and am having a blast using them! :)

What is a Skoy cloth? It's a sponge-like cloth that's washable, re-usable, anti-bacterial, and biodegradable! It's soft, absorbent, and fun to use! When mine came in the mail, I was actually excited that I had a whole counter full of dishes to wash! :)

I like sponges, but I like the Skoy cloth better. It's thinner, so it's great for washing dishes and taletops. It dries fairly quickly, unlike my dishrags, and I used the first one for almost a month without laundering and it still smelled great! (I guess that's what they mean by "antibacterial"... though I had to try it to believe it!)

Here's Yehoshua using the pink one I got. That cloth lasted about a month with very heavy use -- we were in the process of moving and it got used for anything and everything those last 2 weeks. Skoy is surprisingly durable!

You can visit the Skoy cloth website to learn more.

And, the owners of Skoy have graciously offered to give away sample 2-packs to 10 of my readers! Just leave a comment here with a way for me to contact you if you're one of the winners. I'm excited that some of you will be able to try Skoy cloths for free, too! :)

The giveaway will end on Friday, December 26, at 3pm EST. I'll announce the winners here on my blog sometime Friday afternoon.

And, if you have already tried Skoy cloths in the past, I'd love to hear your opinion as well! :)

Grilled cheese and a bowl of homemade tomato soup -- a perfect Autumn lunch. Also makes a great didn't-think-ahead lunch. ;)

This week has been a whirlwind of activity at our house, and I hope to have something more substantial to post this evening, but until then here are a few links I've been enjoying:

My sister Bonnie blogged about their campout in our tent, including some photos. :)

Mrs. Clark shared photos and information about her new kitchen in China. Very fascinating to read and so much different from the kitchens I've seen here in the U.S.!

Lindsey posted about making horseradish. My brothers do that job wearing an old army gas mask.

And, Rebecca shared her recipe (and beautiful photo!) for pumpkin butter. Yum! :)

Kitchen Tip Tuesdays will be posted early tomorrow, like last week, since tomorrow evening is the last day of the feat of Tabernacles! :)

And along those lines -- I loved this post from Julie, a homeschooling mom of 9 (including 2 recently-born twins!), about their Tabernacles celebration. (How does she even have time to blog about it?!)

The boys, Ruth, and I are looking forward to one more night of camping out tomorrow evening. I'm hoping it stays in the 40's as predicted! This morning when we came indoors at 6:10am it was 34 degrees outside! We were warm and toasty in the bed but my nose was a little cool. ;) Ruth, snuggled down beside me, was wondefully warm and happy all night! :)

I loved Tereza's post about making homemade pizza... and the smiling helper's face that sneaked into some of the photos. :)

Doesn't this shortbread look delicious?! I don't think I dare try Eilidh's recipe until Joshua and I have lost our last few pounds. ;)

And muffins... these pumpkin chocolate chip muffins sound yummy! I still have numerous quarts of canned pumpkin from last year and am looking forward to baking muffins, breads, and cakes with pumpkin in them this fall! :)

I loved this post about beans and rice from Jaynee, a sweet missionary lady living in Mexico.

Jaynee shares her recipes for cooking dried beans, making refried beans, and making Mexican rice. Scroll down for some pictures of their tacos and tostadas! They're making me hungry! :)

My sister Bonnie shared a post on her blog with photos of how my mom makes sauerkraut.

And, if you're new to making sauerkraut, here is a page with lots more details and info about making sauerkraut! :)

Do you even like sauerkraut? We don't. :)

I had to laugh at Bethany's post about her husband showing her how to use their tortilla press -- and breaking it! :)

It reminded me of when I recently asked Joshua to crush some cumin for me (we use whole cumin and crush it as needed for a great flavor!). I told him that I had been using our garlic press to crush the cumin, and, well, I guess Joshua is a little stronger than I am because our garlic press in now broken. ;)

So, we're using a knife to mince both garlic and cumin, which actually works out just fine... and don't tell him I told you about breaking the garlic press -- he felt kinda bad about it! ;)

Julie's Recipe Box is one of those great blog finds -- little-known blog with absolutely stunning recipe photos! Seriously, she is way better with her camera than I can ever hope to be! :)

And if you have any extra avocados, tomatoes, or cilantro laying around, check out Julie's recipe for combining it all into a salad! So beautiful!!

I like reading recipe blogs that are a little more off the beaten path. I mean, sure -- the Pioneer Woman writes a great blog! But who feels like leaving a comment when there's already 750 of them?! While I still enjoy reading some of the high-profile blogs out there (for the same reasons that everyone else reads them! ) it's actually nice to read blogs where I feel like I know the blogger on a more personal level -- and maybe they even know me, too! :)

Oh, and here's a post from my friend Tanya, showing her salsa (made with the help of her sweet children!). :) Food is so pretty... the colors and variety... what a wonderful Creator we have!

P.S. A weight-loss post is still in the works, but here's a free tip: Don't surf food blogs late at night when you're hungry. Torture! ;)

Is there anything Bethany won't try?! :)

Amid loads of apples and other fresh fruits and veggies this summer, Bethany is experimenting with making homemade cheese!

Read about her first cheese here, and read mozzarella-making part 1 and part 2 for more info! :) And if you love blogs full of beautiful pictures and various projects, be sure to subscribe to Bethany's blog, Happy to be Called "Mommy". It's one of my favorites. :)

I love cheese and hers looks so yummy... but I really don't need any new projects right now. ;)