I am cleaning out the garden, cleaning up the house, knitting up a storm, making tomatillo salsa, drying herbs, doing laundry, catching up on my accounting (dang HST return), packing for our trip on Thursday AND working in between.
So…. I am officially on vacation until at least October 16th. Adios. Hasta Luego, Catch y’all later!
For my Canadian family and friends ~ Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!
The change of seasons spurs me into purge mode. Each new season (or at the very least, twice a year) I pull all the clothes out of my dresser drawers and closet and fling them onto the bed. I inspect them. I try them on, I yank them off in disgust wondering how I could have purchased such an item, then toss it onto the floor. Though I go through this ritual with most of my clothes, I have never actually gone through my ‘unmentionables’ drawers. Typically stuffing any new items in while pushing the old to the back.
Purging … Read more...
Necessity is the Mother of Invention they say. Lots of everyday items have been ‘created’ simply due to someone thinking outside the box to solve a problem.
The pacemaker, penicillin, the colour mauve, plastic and even Coke (as in the drink, not the drug!) were all accidents as a result of something being mixed incorrectly, forgotten or grabbing the wrong part.
Our DIY plastic bag holder was a result of necessity, with a sprinkling of problem solving skills utilized. We reuse and recycle as much as possible, especially plastic bags. There is far too much plastic in our society, we … Read more...
“Bitter, sharp, packed so neat
Whose for a lemon treat?
Suck it slow, your mouth contorts
Eat it quick, you might feel sick
But add it little to a drink
or whip it in some cream and sink
your spoon into the lemon-goo
I bet , like me, you like lemons too”
Poem By Sammy Stein
I love lemons, for more than just cooking and baking (or writing poems)
Lemons are useful in so many other ways.
Not just for lemonade or lemon meringue pie, lemons are also one of nature’s best cleaning agents. Combined with Vinegar or Baking … Read more...
This is one of those projects where size doesn’t matter…or gauge either. It can be knit on any size needles, but obviously, bigger is better to get a nice, large-holed, stretchy lace effect. Combined with sturdy cotton yarn, this market bag will last a long time, replacing the unnecessary and wasteful plastic shopping bags and is washable to boot!
I used up some remaining balls (3) of Bernat’s Handicrafter Cotton in an Apricot/Sand colour and it gives the finished product a nice, self-striping pattern. I used 5.5 mm (U.S. # 9) straight needles for the bag and 4.5 mm (U.S.# … Read more...
The sun now rises one hour earlier and the birds are singing at the top of their little lungs, announcing the arrival of Spring and wanting to get on to nest building activities.
We humans have our own rituals every Spring….and one of them is to clean out the closets and get ready for a brand new seasonal wardrobe. But first you have to get rid of the clutter in those closets that is taking up your valuable real estate.
Here are my Top 10 Reasons To Clean Out Your Closet This Spring!
1. You need to make room for … Read more...
The weather in Southern Ontario was anything but stellar for March. I even heard rumours of lynch mobs ready to string up Wiarton Willie for lying about the early arrival of Spring. The weather was for the most part cold, windy and wet, with the sun making rare appearances now and then, teasing us with it yellow glow of tepid warmth.
Here is hoping that April finally sees us getting into the traditional, warm, sunny Spring weather we deserve…. although it seems to be taking a page from the book of March for the first few days so far.
As … Read more...
Just a wee note to remind folks to drop a note in the comment section of the 200th Blog Post anniversary to enter to win a 3-pack of Hand-Knitted Northern Homestead Dishcloths.
These gorgeous dishcloths are made from 100% cotton and really are remarkably absorbent and durable, hubby actually endorses them…yes, he does the majority of the dishes at the Homestead as our house rule is whoever cooks, the other cleans up!
Click the link above and scroll down to leave a comment, the draw date is TOMORROW,
so you don’t want to miss out!… Read more...
Can you believe it? My 200th blog post in almost a year…. Even more amazing is that I have that much stuff rambling around in my noggin to write about, with lots more to come too….
I do have to thank the people who follow me around and read my blog though, because if it wasn’t for my faithful readers, I probably would be selling fake Persian rugs in a market stall somewhere in Bursa, Turkey…and even though many of you don’t comment all the time, I do peek at the stats counter and I can tell who is watching … Read more...
Don’t be like the March Hare, madly running around on Sunday in mass confusion because you missed changing your clocks!
Before you sack out Saturday night, set your clocks ahead one hour.
*Except Saskatchewan, the only Canadian Province that does not participate in the Spring Ahead/Fall Back routine…’cause they’re *special*… Read more...
