Old Satellite Dishes

When satellite dishes first came around they were HUGE! Like the size of a small car HUGE! People who lived in remote areas finally could get more than the local TV station and bought those first satellite dishes. Stan and I waited for the smaller dishes to come out because cable TV did not run lines to our remote farm house. The first one we bought cost us $2500! That was just the reciever and single box. Stan did the installation. He literally stood on the roof and held it different directions until we got the signal and I hollered up to him that he got it. It was struck by lightening the next year and our insurance company replaced it and this time it only cost $800! Of course, today, you just have installation costs and monthly subscription. Man, what a change!

But some people are still stuck with those huge old satellite dishes. I found a couple of ideas on the Internet that should help someone recycle the old satellite dishes. Pretty clever reuse of satellite dishes.

Here it's the roof of a small round garden shed.



Here it's a chicken coop or duck hut. It's too short to clean out and get the eggs though.



If you have kids, they would love this!



Makes a nice roof for a garden gazebo!



A pond or fountain!



And a deer stand.

Signs of Fall

I caught these photos yesterday as I came in to the house. The sun was shining and our Crepe Myrtle was shining bright!

Box Made From Reused Cassette Tapes

I found this idea on the Internet. What a unique way to recycle old cassette tapes!

Broken Dishes

When I break a pretty dish, it hurts to throw it away! Do you feel the same way? Well, I did a Google search to see what ideas people have for recycling broken dishes. There are ways to reuse broken dishes. It's fun and thrifty. Broken china makes for good mosaics. Recycled broken china mosaics can be used as kitchen backsplashes, table tops, flower pots, birdhouses, picture frames, mirror frames, birdbaths, etc. Here are some of the photos I found of reused broken china turned into mosaic.

















This one is pretty now but would be too hard to keep clean.




















A garden stepping stone. My sister has done this before and it's very pretty.








A Christmas clock!




Other cool ways to use broken dishes:







A safe way to store those broken pieces until you get around to doing something with them.




Recycled dishes can be used for other things too!

Sharon's Vegetable Minestrone

Sharon's Vegetable Minestrone

2 cups dry Great Northern Beans
1 cup dry Lentils
1 cup dry Split Green Peas
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 med Onions, chopped
1-2 lg cloves Garlic, peeled and chopped
1 lg rib of Celery, chopped
1 large Carrot, peeled and chopped
4 cups washed and chopped Baby Spinach (or Kale)
1 cup chopped Cabbage
1 can diced Tomatoes
1 can Tomato Sauce
1 cup Pearlized Barley
1 can Chicken Broth
2 qts of Water
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 Tbsp dried Oregano
1 Tsp dried Thyme


Wash dried beans and put in crockpot. Add salt and pepper and water.



Using frying pan, place the Olive Oil in and let it heat. Add chopped Onions and Garlic and fry until lightly browned. Add to the crockpot


Add all other ingredients to the crockpot and stir it around a bit.

I cook it on the High setting throughout the day.

The Signs of Fall

The signs of Fall around my house. Here is the oak tree in our front yard.