Turn left at the pigs

Get your BoHo Bliss on

2011-06-16T22:20:00.002-04:00

Deryn is teaching an online jewelry class that is sure to be a ton of fun and a true learning experience.
Click the picture above to check out the info to sign up.

Facebookin',shoes and sharks

2011-02-17T22:37:00.004-05:00

Facebook been berry berry good to me. (Old SNL joke).

I have reconnected with some old friends and family members of the foster kind.
Also some old classmates. One of my classmates from my time at Oak Hill Academy boarding school and I are doing a seed swap. She actually owns a tree farm and we got to talking about my greenhouse and heirloom seeds.
Today, this came for me and it is just the bestest package of seed I have ever recieved.
Look at all those little envelopes filled with future deliciousness. There are fruit tree sedds, nut tree seeds, herbs and vegetables. And some flowers. She also sent a bag of black walnuts to eat, and some of her favorite recipes to use them in.
And a sweet card with a pup and a kitty on it. Thank you so much Elaine. I'm so happy to have gotten in touch.

Went to the big city Tuesday and bought these on clearance. I'm rockin' now baby.
Danckins, hey for 11 bucks I'll teeter around like I've been drinkin' till I get used to them, heck I teeter around for a lot less than that deal.

Okay now ya gotta hand it to this guy, He lost his arm, probably to a shark. Now did he just mope around feeling like "oh I lost my arm, I'm gonna hide my hideous stump?" Nooooo
He totally OWNS that shark !

Erma Sez......

2011-02-03T14:08:00.004-05:00

"These earrings look so juicy, I could just pop them in my mouth".

A few months ago I was flipping through a beading magazine and saw an ad for these lucite beads that just popped off the page. The color was so rich and vibrant.

I immediately thought "I wonder if I can get them in a rainbow pack".
And golly gee if they did not have them packed just like that.
Orange, blue,deep pink, light pink,green,yellow and white.
Bad thing was they have a minimum order or they throw an extra charge on there, and their shipping was high. But I had to have them so I ordered. They are gorgeous.
Good thing is, I have been seeing other lucites that are pretty juicy too.
They are fat beads, but being lucite, they are light. Even when paired with all brass findings as these are.

Erma is sporting "Orange ya glad to see me"? in the first photo. And in the second she models, "Lollipop Hearts".

One World One Heart Blog Event

2011-01-31T17:28:00.009-05:00

CLOSED. Heidi # 142 from Digital Misfit is the winner of the door prize.

It's that time of year again peeps, time to wing our way around the blogosphere. Stop in and look around. Introduce yourself and say something about each others blog. A worldwide event to bring us bloggers a bit closer and to share a piece of each others hearts.

Lisa over at A Whimsical Bohemian has generously hosted this event each year and this will be the fifth and final year. So please try to visit as many blogs as you can, and please visit HERE to read the rules about this event and a link to all the fabulous blogs all ready to be visited.

Here is a bit about what we are doing :

"One World One Heart is a worldwide event for bloggers only. It gives all those who blog a chance to meet and mingle and form connections with those they may not have otherwise met from all over the world. In the past 4 years this event has grown to over 1,000 participants with lasting friendships (and even one love connection) formed along the way. Think of it as a GIGANTIC open house allowing you to travel without ever leaving your home........going from blog to blog(in various countries) seeing the wonder each one has created and meeting all the fabulous people behind those blogs. As a bonus each blogger participant will offer up a "door prize or prizes"....just for dropping by, saying hello and seeing their world. It's really that easy."- Lisa

Last year there were hundreds of blogs signed up you could visit and I got to a few hundred but could not make it to every one, this year I have a personal challenge to try again.

Sooo please look around my humble blog, I took a bit of a break from posting for awhile, but I am back.
My blog generally deals with our life out here in the woods. We have 4 Jack Russells, and there is my husband Larry and me, Diane.
We live in a house the two of us built and we try to live as richly and frugally as possible.
I am an artist and I also design and create jewelry. I love to cook, although I am a low carber mostly now. We also have a garden every year and I grow in my greenhouse also.

For my fellow bloggers I am sharing a chance to win this necklace, "Have a Little Heart"... thank you for stopping by and please leave a comment about my blog to be entered for a chance to be picked by random number generator. Please be sincere in your comment, and please do not cut and paste the same "hello, I like your blog, bye" comment on each blog.
We be VISITIN' don'tcha know.
Oh, and if your contact info is not active on your profile, leave it in your comment....let the winging around commence...

Teddy Tucker has settled in

2011-01-16T21:02:00.008-05:00

Teddy has a name we didn't even know about. Last summer when we got him, the vet handed me a little envelope with his tags in it. I didn't look at them until a few weeks ago when I thought I should put his shot dates on the calender.
Inside I found an ID tag with "Teddy Tucker" engraved on it. hahaha Little Teddy Tucker is what we call him now.
He has settled in very nicely.

I've been working on some items for the shop and finished this today.
I love old watch parts.
This has small pearls, tourmaline rondelles and metallic seed beads.

Metal Head

2011-01-12T00:05:00.003-05:00

Been working in the studio. I love to work with metal even though I don't have the "right" tools.
I cut copper pipe and pound it flat. I use leftover romex (copper electrical wire) from when we wired the house.
But as one of my internet idols said, it can be a good thing to be challenged like that.
I sure would like one of those dapping blocks though....

Made these today, I'm thinking something along these lines for One World One Heart blog event starting the end of this month.

Turquoise scarabs, garnet chunks and green agate.

I have this friend.....

2011-01-04T00:20:00.004-05:00

She is such an inspiration to me. She is a survivor.

When I made this piece, she fell in love with it. Then I added the necklace parts. So she wears it now, around her neck. I am honored. 'Early' has a special meaning here. It is very important to be early sometimes. I love you, my suzyQ sista.

I gave up "low fat" and lost 38 pounds.

2011-01-03T22:55:00.004-05:00

I gave up trying to lose weight with low fat and calorie counting. I found it kept me way too focused on food. And being focused on food was one of my problems in the first place.

You know how much I loved to cook. And I still do. But I needed to lose some weight (still need to lose more) but I am pleased to be unfocused on cookbooks and tons of recipe sites.
Yes I have cookbooks for sale...if you want to learn more, email me.

I am low carbing and loving it. I read about insulin resistance, and it fits me to a T.
So sleepy after eating, craving carbs, scale goes up and down, a real chunky monkey around my tummy, butt and thighs.

Most common signs that may mean you are insulin resistant:

These depend on poorly understood variations in individual biology and so are not found in all with insulin resistance.

Fatigue.
Brain fogginess and inability to focus.
High blood sugar.
Intestinal bloating – most intestinal gas is produced from carbohydrates in the diet, mostly those that humans cannot digest and absorb.
Sleepiness, especially after meals.
Weight gain, fat storage, difficulty losing weight – for most people, excess weight is from high fat storage; the fat in IR is generally stored in and around abdominal organs in both males and females. It is currently suspected that hormone production in that fat are a precipitating cause of insulin resistance.
Increased blood triglyceride levels.
Increased blood pressure. Many people with hypertension are either diabetic or pre-diabetic and have elevated insulin levels due to insulin resistance. One of insulin's effects is to control arterial wall tension throughout the body.
Depression. Due to the deranged metabolism resulting from insulin resistance, psychological effects, including depression, are not uncommon.
Acanthosis nigricans.
Increased hunger.

(info list taken from Wikipedia)

So after doing a bunch of research I decided to cut the carbs. I never ate a LOT of sugar per say, but the thing is even brown rice is pretty carby. Also most breads that you buy from the store and even if you bake your own, the flour you use can be carb laden.
So I have been learning to cook in a bit of a different way and to just eat what I know I can eat.
Basically I cut rice, potatoes, wheat and corn flour, oats, any type of sugar ie: honey, syrup, molasses.
And some veggies, like corn, limas, peas, onions.
I limit some of these foods to just once in awhile while others I do not eat at all.
But I eat. I love the food I eat. And I have lost 38 pounds since July while not counting calories or measuring anything.
Here was my dinner tonight.

PIZZA!!!
This I made on one of these:

Each one of these tortillas has 12 grams of fiber and just 5 net carbs. I eat 2 a day. In the morning I eat one with a scrambled egg, mushrooms, spinach sausage or bacon and some cheddar cheese. Along with a protein smoothie.

Then maybe one for lunch with turkey or ham, chipotle mayo, lettuce, banana pepper rings and cheese. Or one for dinner with pizza toppings. That right there is 24 grams of fiber, just in the tortillas. I have not really upped my exercise that much. I get on the treadmill a couple times a week, play with the dogs, stack wood, do stuff around the house. I have some little Dickie Simmons Sweatin' dvd's that I do once in awhile.
Oh, and one of the perks is, Larry has lost 10 pounds.

One World One Heart coming soon !

2011-01-03T22:25:00.005-05:00

Lisa, over at A Whimsical Bohemian is once again for the 5th year, (sigh* for the LAST time) the ONE WORLD ONE HEART Event.

I participated last year, along with over 1,000 other bloggers worldwide and had a blast. I met the most wonderful fellow bloggers and quite a few are followers of my blog now. And I theirs.

Follow the link above, to find out more about this wonderful blog hop party. There are a few rules, but not many and I promise you will have a blast if you join up. Come visit beautiful, creative bloggers. Get to know them through their blog. Visit a little piece of their world. See what they are up to. And there will be door prizes!

So if you are a blogger, come get in on the action. The whole shebang starts on January 30th and ends on February 17th. There will be places to visit all over the world. And tons of eye and heart candy.

My Immigrant Mother loved this country.

2010-05-22T22:46:00.003-04:00

'I recognize you in my dreams' by Diane Wagner

This is a mixed media piece I did to honor my mother on Mothers Day this year.

When I was growing up, I never thought much about patriotism. I just went along, taking this American way of life for granted. I learned about the Constitution, The Declaration of Independence, and the Bill of Rights in school, but did not pay much attention, maybe just enough to cover my ass in case of a quiz or test.
As I got older, I went about my life, at times happy and at other times not so happy. I've been dirt poor, and at times pretty well off. I lived most of my "under 18" life as a ward of the state. Tangled in a system that gave me a number, a social worker, court dates, foster homes and I thought, not much else.
School was a blessing to me. Something that I could excel in. I loved learning about some things. I felt that it was something constant in my life when not much else was.
I even got accepted on a paid scholarship to a private boarding school. I never did graduate though. I went back to my old stomping grounds on a school break, and never went back. I often wonder how things would have turned out if I had.
I took some college classes, at a community college that accepted me without a GED, saying they would help me acquire one. But I never did. I left because I was raising two small children without much help from anyone. I made some good decisions and plenty of bad. But I look at it as a life. We all have one, and this one is mine.
I also look at my life in this country now. The other day some friends were talking over on facebook about how people define themselves by their race. And that your heritage should never be forgotten but that once you are born here or become a citizen here, you are an American. I am happy to live in this country where our fore fathers had the wisdom to pen the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence. Where I can be free to live as I want, say what I want and worship as I choose.
I am made of multi-cultural stock, 1/2 Cuban, 1/4 English and 1/4 Irish. But I am 100 % American.
My mother came here from a Communist country. She was able to marry my father and come here. Just in the nick of time, or she would not have gotten out. She came with the promise to bring my sister here, leaving her with her father, my mothers first husband. But then things shut down. No one else was allowed to leave, and my mother never saw her first daughter again. my sister was 7 when my mother left her, and I was 7 when my mother left this earth. I have never been able to find my sister. As far as I know, she is still in Cuba.
My mother loved this country. And even though I was young, I knew this.
She studied and took the test to become a citizen, she struggled with the language, she took the Oath of Allegiance. She was so proud. I know very little of her language as she wanted to only speak English in our house. Except when her Cuban girlfriends would come over to play Canasta. Then she would make an exception. I would sit and listen to them. Strange sounding words and sounds flying off their tongues at it seemed 90 miles an hour.
I know a song, how to count a bit, and a few phrases. I took some Spanish in high school but I left school early that year.
When I was little I would not eat the Cuban dishes she would make. My dad liked Cuban food so she would cook black bean soup, Cuban pork sandwiches, and every once in a while she would take a whole day and make tamales. She would stock the freezer with little foil packets. Inside would be the meat and ground corn wrapped in a corn husk. I refused to eat any of it.
Now, I can't get enough.

Blog Scam going around. DO NOT open links.

2010-05-18T23:15:00.002-04:00

I received two of these emails today. At first I was not sure what it was so I wrote to Shannon, and then I got another one saying it was from another blogger. I looked up the group sending it and it is indeed a scam.
Apparantly they are going around to blogs and getting emails from comments left then mailing you with an offer and saying the blogger who owns the blog where you left a comment recommended you.
See below:

Hello D W,

Your contact Shannon Steen-Larsen invites you to participate in an iPad review program.
Marketing research companies are looking for individuals who are interested in reviewing the new Apple iPad. The testing period lasts one month, after which reviewers can keep the device as a reward.
To see more details or to register to our program, follow the link below:
http ; // www. btinc group . com

Thanks,

The Beta Testing Inc Group
___
This message was intended for ( they put my email addy here) then gave Shannons fake email here.

Please be careful and if you get any of these send them on to your spam folder or delete.
Why oh why can't people leave other people the hell alone?

Still Alive

2010-05-14T22:38:00.019-04:00

Oh Internet, I am so sorry for not being around lately. A lot is going on this time of year and we have a new member of the family, so I have not been typing much.

I do have some pictures to show you and that will have to do for now, but I promise to return soon.

Teddy .

Teddy, Ricky Pickles and Mikey in their poopin' pen, they have a pet door
on the screened porch to go to their pen so they can go out at night to do
their thing.

Ricky Pickles posing.

These two big leafed plants are wild rhubarb. I did not plant them, a birdie
did it for me.

That Brown door goes into my studio, we will be building a small deck
next week in front of that door so I can paint outside.

These are leeks left from last winter.

Foxgloves and hyssop.

Iris I planted last year.

Potatoes I grow in bags.

Columbine.

The Clematis has totally covered St. Francis.

Poppy, I planted this 4 years ago.

Poppy plant.

Teddy loves his new Dad.

Just plain wore each other out.

Teddy is happy to be home.

Ricky Pickles gherkins removed. Getting ANOTHER JRT !

2010-05-02T12:21:00.005-04:00

Last Monday Ricky Pickles went under the knife and they took out his little gherkins. He wasn't happy about being at the vets. After thoroughly giving the nurse Holly all the Hell he could muster (wagging his tail the whole time) he allowed her to take him to "the back".
I hate the sound of that. You know back where all the "stuff" happens.

We dropped him off at 8 am. and I called at noon to check on him. He was awake and Holly told me she had never seen a dog look sadder than when he woke up and we were not there. She said we could pick him up after 3:30.

We both went in to get him, although I am the only one who did the dropping off. I think it was a guy thing. Larry did not want to be in on sending Ricky to "the back".

When we went into the "sleeping it off" area, there he was, in a cage, sitting on a blanket. Looking like he did not have a friend in the world. Then he looked over and saw us and his little face lit up.
He slept the whole way home just about and Jack and Mikey were very glad to see him.

Yesterday was a bad day though, he threw up the night before and laid around all day. I called the vet and she said it might be some gas buildup as he was crying a little when he would go up and down stairs and when I went to put him down off my lap. So we gave hime a tiny bit of pepto and he is a lot better today. Ran after his teddy bear about 10 times through the house.

So while I was talking to the vet I mentioned that we have the 3 of these guys and she asked if we would want one more......ACKKKK!!!!!
I said "my husband would kill me, tell me more". She said "Teddy" is a short legged JRT that has a little problemo with small children. And is 10 months old, White with red hair on his head, neutered, short haired, a total sweetie that loves to give kisses. His owners have a small child and just did not have time to help him get over the jealousy thing.
I said I would mention it to Larry but I could make no promises.
I kiddingly said to Larry "well, the vet tried to pawn another dog on us, but I said you would kill me if I said we would take it". And I started to walk away......
"what kind of dog"?
"oh, a jack russell, very sweet she said, I'm starting dinner now".
"wait a minute, how old is the dog"?

Well it went on from there, and we are picking him up tomorrow. Good thing we just bought 250 feet of new fence.
These are pictures of Teddy from the rescue site. His owners brought him in and asked that he be put down if the vet could not find a home for him.

Totally Affordable Custom Clothing.

2010-04-30T22:17:00.010-04:00

Awhile back I was contacted by eShakti inquiring if I would like to review an article of clothing from them. "OF COURSE" I said after checking out their website. I was impressed with the designs. Very cool stuff. But what REALLY hooked me was the fact that they will customize any piece of clothing for only 15.00 Totally an awesome thing.

I know so many women, myself included, that are just not a specific size. Long arms? Not a problem? Big butt? Hey, that's Okay ! Short torso?
Pear shaped? How about finding the perfect dress but you want it sleevless but it has long sleeves? Well eShakti will just send you one without sleeves. See some pants you love but the legs are too short? Send your leg measurements. Customize it Baby!

I chose a beautiful cotton tunic with embroidery. You know the hippy in me. I received it promptly. And I tell you, it is such a beautiful color.
A dusty rose with gorgeous roses on one side. I have worn it a few times now and had three women ask me where I bought it.
The cotton has a silky feel to it, and the overall stitching is very sturdy. I have hand washed it, hung it to dry, and ironed it without any problems.

They also sent a really chic natural jute flower pin for my jean jacket. Made from jute, burlap and seed beads. I love the natural color and feel of this unique piece.

eShakti has quite a bit to choose from slacks, blouses, tunics, dresses (in different categories), skirts, and accessories. Any clothing article can be customized. They also have items in different colors that you can choose from. Sizes range from 0-26W. But anything can be customized according to your measurements. shipping in just 3 days. They also have a no-questions-asked refund policy.

So if you want something to fit just right, just for you. Check them out, customization has never been so affordable.
(I received a tunic and pin from eShakti for review purposes)

An Arm and a Leg vs. Peace of Mind. Catfish, Shrimp and Bleeding Hearts.

2010-04-14T21:07:00.021-04:00

Back sometime in the 80's a friend of mine was laying on his bed, underneath a skylight watching TV. Some high winds blew in, not unusual in Virginia Beach, and toppled a tree in the next yard.
The whole tree fell on my friends house and a huge branch came right through the skylight and speared the bed right next to him.
Aside from needing a clean pair of pants and a good stiff drink, my friend was fine. Nerves were rattled for a few days, but he was fine.

To this day, I have a huge fear of high winds when I am near trees. So when we built this house we were going to build it further back on the property. What is now our house started out as a garage. It was going to be a nice big garage. One room.
But sometimes the best laid plans change.
What we started building as a garage became over time our house. We keep adding onto it and it ended up on one side right under a couple of trees that started to lean...and lean...and lean.
Until I found myself a nervous wreck everytime the winds would blow.
So this is what happened around here this past week...
He took the first one down little by little using the bucket truck.

TIMBER !! This one he pulled down using cable and the truck as a pulley.

Right where he wanted it to land..YAY !!

Tree Service for 2 Trees- 450.00
Trees Down in Yard- lots of clean up work
No More Frazzled Nerves- Priceless

________________________________

A Few Pics...

Bleeding Hearts

Lunaria or Honesty or Silver Dollar Plant...This is why it's called silver dollar Plant.....when dried...

Tarragon...I like to plant herbs in cinder blocks at the ends of my garden beds...

Broccoli in the greenhouse....
An apple tree I am growing from an apple I ate last year...
__________________

I made some catfish and shrimp the other night.
My new breading mix;
Crushed potato chips
Panko bread crumbs
Bayou Blend Seasoning or Seafood seasoning
egg
1/2 c. water
1 lb. fish fillets, I use catfish
1/2 lb. shrimp, peeled and butterflied.

2 cups peanut oil.

Heat oil in wok or frying pan.

I just eyeball how much. About half and half on the chips and bread crumbs.
About a tsp. of seasoning. Mix together.

Put egg and water in large bowl and stir. Put fish fillets in egg mixture and coat letting excess drip off.
Roll in crumb mixture.

Place in hot oil and fry until golden about 3-4 minutes per side.
Do same with shrimp, but fry about 1-2 minutes.

Drain well.

Ultimate Blog Party !! Giveaway

2010-04-09T19:50:00.006-04:00

Loads of Prizes. Loads of FUN !!
This is a great way to meet other bloggers and a chance to win some cool prizes.
I love cool prizes. I love prizes that might not be cool, like socks. Remember getting socks for Christmas or your birthday? It was a real bummer. But I'd love to win some now, cause I'm old.
And old women sometimes have cold feet.
ANYWAY....

Click on that colorful BANNER above and head over to 5 minutes for Mom to leave a comment with your prize picks if you do not blog, or to grab a button and post it on your blog along with prize picks. There are loads of prizes, some for US, some for Canada and the US and a list for international prizes too. All the rules are there. And the Grand Prize is.... A Toshiba Satellite L505D-ES5025
Laptop. BUT WAIT...THERE'S MORE !!!

I'm giving away a little something too.
Leave a comment on this post about my blog and you
will win a 15.00 gift certificate to use towards jewelry in my
Etsy shop. US and Canada only.
Make sure you leave your email in your comment,
or in your blog profile.
Thats all you need to do to win the gift certificate to my Etsy shop.
But Make sure to click the banner when your finished here cause it all ends on the 16th.

I am liking the following prizes to win myself, 34 the” Lemon and Sage Body Butter, from Bliss
70- the Kroger card from A Proverbs Wife
75-GC for Camping Gear from Stomper Mom

Lemon and Thyme Cleans Up. Giveaway of 7th Generation

2010-04-08T19:49:00.010-04:00

Whimsey Creations is the winner of this Giveaway.

7th Generation Disinfecting Products.

I have not cleaned my home with store bought cleaners in over 10 years. I can't. Larry has breathing issues with any kind of chemical cleaners. Also most laundry soaps, stain removers, perfume, lotion, exhaust fumes etc. He painted cars and motorcycles years back and now he suffers from all those fumes he breathed. He's even had to leave the line at the grocery store because someone took a bath in their cologne and he could not breath or stop coughing.

So I have been making my own. I buy vinegar by the gallon, large boxes of baking soda, borax, castile soap, orange oil...etc. to make my own cleaners and bath products.
When I was contacted about reviewing products from 7th Generation, I was apprehensive and I had to ask Larry if he would be willing to be a guinea pig for the cause. I really wanted to try this stuff. And I figured if it did not send him into the yard with coughing fits, it was a winner.

The box arrived and WOW, what nice items they sent. A full size bottle of Disinfecting Bathroom Cleaner, Disinfecting Multi-Surface Cleaner, cannister of Disinfecting Wipes, two huge rolls of Unbleached Recycled Paper Towels, the book ' The Conscious Kitchen' and a Recycled Plastic Tote to carry cleaning products in.

The Disinfecting Bathroom Cleaner - I decided to tackle the sink first in the bathroom. I figured I could shut the door if it started to bother Larry and I could flood the sink if need be with enough water to quickly get rid of the smell.
No need to worry, I sprayed down the sink with the foamy cleanser, let it sit for a couple of minutes....no yelling or coughing...okay...in the clear. I started wiping and rinsed. The sink sparkled. The smell is of thyme and lemon. Not overpowering at all. So next I did the shower stall and no problems. I keep a squeegee in there and it was cleaned and sparkling in no time. I went to the studio to check on my ~~delicate~~ manly husband.
"Is that smell bothering you"? I asked.
"What smell"? he replied.
YAY !!!

I slipped the container of wipes into the glove compartment in the truck. The next day we went to the big city and did some shopping. I got in the truck while Larry took the cart back, and I wiped my hands with one of the wipes, I have a small bottle of some hand sanitizer in my purse, but I really like the way these wipes smell so I used one wipe instead. Larry got in the truck and said " smells like you've been cooking something in here " hahaha. No coughing, choking or cussin'....just getting hungry from the yummy smell. This stuff is a winner.

The Disinfecting Multi-Surface Cleaner- I used this in the kitchen after dinner to wipe down the stove, the fridge and the counters. Love it. Smells the same as the bathroom cleanser but not thick and foamy. Cleans great. And I am not afraid to use it in the kitchen.

Disinfecting Wipes- Good and saturated so they go a long way in wiping up after raw meat, bathroom seats, doggie accidents, sickrooms, toys,public washrooms, doorknobs etc. These are great to keep in the car for trips.

The disinfectants contain thymol, a component of the herb thyme, and can be used on hard surfaces including counter tops, plastic cutting boards, highchair trays as well as children’s toys. Best of all, they kill over 99.99 percent of germs naturally and are effective against the Influenza A Virus, including H1N1 along with a host of other germies.

Unbleached Recycled Paper Towels - I like unbleached. Bleaching is a chemical process that is not good for us or the environment. And there is no need for it other than cosmetic. We use unbleached flour, coffee filters, cheesecloth ,wax paper and other products so why not paper towels? I like these. They are very thick. And I like brown. They hold up quite well.

The Conscious Kitchen by ALEXANDRA ZISSU - This is one great book. Full of tips for the kitchen and other areas of your life, like take-out food containers where you want to go more green and be safer. Did you know that in order to decaf coffee the beans may have been soaked in solvents? There are chapters in detail plus little tips in the margins of the book that are quickies to read.
This is one of the best written informative books on how to keep your family in the know about what you are putting into your body, what to do if you cannot find organic items to buy, the safest fish to buy, the low down on plastics,plus so much more... along with some recipes sprinkled in.

Handy Recycled Carrier - I love this thing. Handle in the middle with room to store rags, cleaners, brushes and rubber gloves.

This has been one of my favorite experiences with store bought cleaning items ever. I will buy these wipes and the paper towels. I recommend the cleaning sprays if you buy cleaning products.

WIN SOME: The Generous people over at 7th Generation through MyBlogSpark are providing one of my lucky readers a box of products just like I received. You are going to love this stuff.

MANDATORY ENTRY: Please do this one first before any of the Extra Entries.
Answer this question: What is the best thing you’ve done for the environment this year?

Extra Entries: PLEASE DO THE MANDATORY ENTRY ABOVE FIRST.

Tell me something you like to make that saves you money or relaxes you - 2 entries
Go to the 7th Generation site and tell me something you learned while there. It is a very interesting place - 2 entries

Follow my blog over on the sidebar through Google...PUBLICLY. - 2 entries

Stick my little "shortcut" button of the pigs, on your sidebar- 3 entries

Tweet about this giveaway...daily tweet = 2 extras each day, leave me the link to your tweets

Blog about this here giveaway with a link back to this post - 5 entries

Produce a one minute youtube video talking about this giveaway, my blog and the environment, leave me the link - 15 entries

Giveaway open to US residents. 18+ Ends Midnight April 15th. Please make sure I can easily reach you with an email addy.
MyBlogSpark will mail the winner their package.
I received a package with these products from 7th Generation through MyBlogSpark for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

Winner for Tricky Trainers

2010-04-08T14:25:00.003-04:00

We have a winner ! Number 28 Ms. Magpie.
Winner has been contacted.
Thank you all who entered. Please come back again to read my blog and enter more giveaways.

Random Number Generator

Random Number Generator
This page simply picks a random number, within a range you specify.
For example, to pick a number between 1 and 100, set the Lowest Number to be 1, and the Highest Number to be 100.
Then click on Pick a Number to pick the number. That's it. Have fun!

If you found this useful, consider visiting the main Violet Cottage website. Thanks for visiting!

The randomly picked number is: 28

Lowest Number 1
Highest Number 28

What's that Smell? Get Serious. Giveaway.

2010-04-07T13:48:00.007-04:00

Get Serious Odor, Stain and Pheromone Extractor for Dogs and Cats.

Little Ricky Pickles has a dirty little secret. He gets called "Mister Pee Pee Pants" sometimes. If he were human, he would be called a "bed-wetter".
Because he would not be walking around at night peeing on things. He would be in the bed peeing on things. But he's not human, so our fan stand got branded and Larry's boots got an endorsement also.

Larrys' boots got the Heeve Ho... they were old and he can stand to get a new pair anyway. The floor fan got wiped down, but Ricky Pickles gets it confused with a tree I suppose. Maybe because Larry made the base out of a scrap piece of OSB that was outside for awhile. Perhaps Ricky thinks he IS peeing outside when he cocks his short little leg and waters it.

Seems no amount of "RICKY NO NO" works. This is said in a loud stern voice. But it's not when he is in the act. He does the act at night, when he can sniff at his leisure, walk around it in circles, take his time, savor the moment. Everyone's asleep, it's his tree. Private tree. He marks it and it works. No one else has dared to challenge his essence. He OWNS that tree.

So I was so happy when my sample of Get Serious arrived for me to try. Get Serious removes odor, stains and pheromones, the nifty stuff that stays around when your pet "marks".
A virtual "calling card". This is what makes them come back again and again to the same spot.

We needed this to stop because we use the fan to circulate warm air from our wood stove. Larry screwed it to a wood base because these three Jack Russells are nuts when they play and we did not want it to fall over on them.
I cleaned the stand and the base really well, let it dry then applied the Get Serious straight from the bottle with a damp cloth. Working into the wood with a squishing motion. Then wiping dry.
We all went to bed. Got up and YAY ! No midnight "tree" tagging. I still was not ready to call it a success though. Ricky Pickles has had other nights when he did nothing but dream puppy dreams, waiting till the morning to go outside and pee. I put some Get Serious in a spray bottle and each night for a week sprayed, scrubbed and blotted. And each morning woke up to a dry fan.

Moving on to the carpet. We have wall to wall carpet in our living room/Larry's studio. It is a beige color and it has some spots. Pee spots. Because no matter how diligent you are, when you have pups and they pee, it stains. We have a carpet steamer and we have tried to steam the stains out to no avail. It looks good when its wet, but then it dries and lo and behold...it's a stain.

I applied the Get Serious full strength to the stains,I microwaved it for 30 seconds first, stepped on the rag to mush it in, and scrubbed a bit. I then took a dry rag and stepped on it to blot. YAY ! When it dried, the stains were gone. Whooo Hooo. Enzyme cleaners can cause mold and mildew to form under carpets and padding. Get Serious has no enzymes and virtually "lifts" the stain out.
This product does the job of 2 of those other cleaners and you only have to use half as much (no need to saturate like those enzyme based cleaners). It has also saved people money on many occasions by not having to replace their carpets after really bad pet accidents
Maybe we won't have to replace the carpet this coming year.

Now Get Serious states on their site that they have not tested it in steam machines, but they have customers who have good results. So I am doing the whole carpet this weekend. Now that it is warm enough to open windows and have the fans running. They even had one customer use it with success on her husbands pants, on a beet stain.
I also treated an oil stain on Larry's parka before washing and it lifted that out...wow. Larry is so sensitive to cleaners and I had to give away some laundry stain remover because he could not handle the chemicals in it.
.
I am proud to report that Ricky Pickles is doing so much better. He no longer has accidents on the carpet. And the fan/tree has been totally dry since the applications of Get Serious.

Win Some ! :

The generous folks over at Get Serious have offered a sample pack to one of my readers.

MANDATORY ENTRY: Please do this one first before any of the Extra Entries.

Go to the Get Serious Website and come back to tell something you found interesting.

Extra Entries: PLEASE DO THE MANDATORY ENTRY ABOVE FIRST.

Tell about a tip or trick you used to get rid of a stain or a funny story about your pet and a stain. (or a funny one about your husband/wife/partner/friend and a stain) 2 entries

Follow my blog over on the sidebar through Google...PUBLICLY. - 2 entries

Stick my little button of the pigs on your sidebar- 3 entries

Tweet about this giveaway...daily tweet = 2 extras each day, leave me the link to your tweets

Blog about this here giveaway with a link back to this post - 5 entries

Produce a one minute youtube video talking about this giveaway, my blog and Get Serious, leave me the link - 15 entries

Giveaway open to US residents. 18+ Ends Midnight April 19th.
Get Serious will mail the winner their package.
(I received a bottle of Get Serious for Dogs and one for Cats for review purposes. All opinions are mine. I liked this product, so I wrote about it.)

What I've been working on

2010-03-27T23:03:00.002-04:00

I took a break from painting for awhile. And now I am feeling the urge again. I was mostly painting small illustration type stuff, you can see some of it all at the bottom of my blog in a handy little slide show.

A few years ago, Larry retired and I was working part time in a little Deli in town. And I wasn't really making any money so I started selling my little paintings on Ebay. Larry joined in and sold a few too. Then Ebay started getting too big for it's britches and a lot of people started calling it "feebay" and I scaled back my listings until I just wasn't doing it any more.

Then summer before last I painted a few angels on large pieces of wood and sold them but still not happy with Ebay, by then a LOT of Artists had moved on and there just isn't the same customer base there. So I stopped. But now I am feeling it again, and will probably start putting a few small ones in my Etsy Shop.

Anyway, this is what I did today. It is mixed media on an old book cover. I am going to add some beads on the bottom and a nice ribbon hanger.

"this magic moment"

Earth Hour No Sweat Here.

2010-03-27T22:27:00.004-04:00

So did you turn your electricity off? Or just the lights? Or did you just have it all going as usual but you thought about turning it off?

We turned it all off, but mainly out of respect. Respect for those who did turn it all off and had a hard time being without it.
We don't mind, and kind of like it all off. And as far as calling attention to climate change, well I'm not sure what effect one hour is going to have an attention to the concern.
I try not to debate politics on my blog. I have places I go to do that.

When I met Larry he was living in a tipi and building a house in Vermont. After I left then went back almost a year later he was living in the house. There was no electricity, running water or telephone. It was in the woods. And here we are 40 years later, in the woods of Ohio.
We do have electricity and phones. We do not have county water or sewage.
And when we first came out to these woods, we lived in a tent for 3 months camping first on a friends land while we searched for our land. Then we moved our tent here while we cleared an area for our house and started building.
We had a nice set up, tent on a wooden platform, mattresses on the tent floor, a grill and a nice camp stove, kerosene lamps, a shower made with a 5 gallon camp shower bag hung in a tree, the stars and the crickets. We don't need no stinkin' electricity.

I admit we do like having it though. But like the previous winter when a snow storm hit hard and a tree pulled the power line off our house and we could not get them out here for 10 days. We didn't freak. I keep a well stocked pantry. And we have a screened in porch so food can stay cold and away from the wildlife. We heat with a wood stove that we can also cook on.
And I welcome the break from the phone, the internet and the TV. Larry plays guitar, we both sing, love to read and we love to talk with each other. We also use the kerosene lamps at times for a break from electric lights or candles if we are feeling romantic.

So to us, an hour is no hardship, but we respect those who have a hard time with an hour. And we hope that an hour can teach a lesson. Now, anyone up for a month?
(painting of Owl by Larry)

Electric Off for Earth Hour

2010-03-27T20:32:00.002-04:00

See you in an hour internet.

Biga** Hot Pockets

2010-03-25T13:00:00.012-04:00

Larry calls these Bigass Hot Pockets. He is so funny. He renames things all the time.
I just call them,

Easy Chicken Turnovers.

2 pie crusts. (Homemade or store bought).
1 Tbl. Olive oil or canola oil
2 chicken breasts.( Boneless skinless is fine, but bone in has more flavor when cooked).
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
a nice sprinkle of sea salt or 1/4 tsp regular salt
3 nice carrots chopped. (about 1 1/4c)
4 medium potatoes cut into bite size pieces.
1/2 can of peas, fresh or frozen or canned.
2 cups of chicken gravy. Thick. Homemade or store bought.

I use bone in chicken with the skin on because it has a lot more flavor when cooked and makes a good gravy. Season chicken with seasonings and cook through, about 15 minutes on the skin side then turn over for 10 minutes on the back side. If you are using boneless skinless, cut into chunks first and pan fry until all pink is gone. About 5 minutes.

Remove chicken from skillet and keep warm.
(If using homemade gravy, use chicken drippings to make a gravy at this point and steam potatoes and carrots in a small amount of water, in another pot just till done, then add to gravy, I am using gravy I had left over from a previous meal). Take pie crust out of fridge so it can come to room temperature.

Add potatoes and carrots to skillet with a small amount of water and cover to steam, While veggies are steaming cut chicken up into chunks if on the bone, give skin to dogs.
Add gravy and peas to steamed veggies, stir well.
Add chicken chunks. Turn off burner and preheat oven to 375'.

Unroll 1 dough and fold gently in half to make a crease so you can see where the middle is. Lay out flat on cookie sheet.

Spoon filling onto one half and gently fold dough over and crimp edges.

Poke a few fork pokes into to to let steam out while baking. Lay the second dough next to the first, fold and crease, open up so half lays over onto 1st dough, fill, fold over and crimp, poke with fork.Place onto center of rack and bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 5 minutes before cutting.

I like to serve with a salad and applesauce.
You can also make this with chicken, potatoes,broccoli and cheese.
Or ground turkey, onions, peppers, pinto beans and cheese.
Or Turkey pastrami, drained sauerkraut and swiss cheese. Sprinkle 1 Tbl. of flour on crust before filling to soak up any moisture from sauerkraut.

Tricky Trainers Do the Trick - Giveaway

2010-03-24T13:27:00.014-04:00

I have three smart dogs. Smart because they have figured out that they don't have to do tricks to be spoiled rotten.
I have tried, at times, to get them to do certain things, like sit, stay , lay down, roll over. But basically they look at me as if to say "hey, this ain't no circus". Now, they do mind. But it seems like that only happens when I am being stern and they know to "go get in your bed" or " get out of my chair, before I sit on your head". They will move, reluctantly, but they will move. Well, all except one little stubborn all white doggie who will remain nameless. He talks back. Always has to have the last word.

But the times, they are a changin'.

TRICKY TRAINERS HAVE ARRIVED !

Gosh I love these things. I have made my boys treats, but they have never gone crazy like this over anything I have made.Mikey and Ricky Pickles sit for a Tricky Trainer.
***
Cloud Star sent a bag of the Cheese Flavor and the Salmon Flavor. And you know how when you read a food label the ingredients are listed in order of the amount, from the most to the least. Well in the Salmon ones...Salmon is the FIRST ingredient. WOW. No wonder Larry calls them "stinky trainers". My boys are nuts over these.Mikey "speaks" for a Tricky Trainer.

And the great thing is, I can actually pronounce everything in them. The only thing on the ingredient list I did not know was "tocopherois". So I looked it up.
It is a series of organic compounds consisting of various methylated phenols. Many of which have vitamin E activity. And are used in pet foods to keep oil from going rancid. Okay,I am good with that.
I love that they are small. So you can constantly reward without the fear of too much of a good thing.
Their products are also geared towards pets with allergies. It was Jennifer and Brennan's pup Samantha, back in 1998, who inspired starting Cloud Star. The first Buddy Biscuit was made for Samantha because of "allergy issues". They started making all her treats and food with just the goal of bring her back to health. In 1999 Jennifer was volunteering at an Animal Shelter that held a bake sale and instead of making something to sell for human treats Jennifer made up a few batches of the treats she made for Samantha and their other dog Nala. These treats were a hit, they started getting calls asking for more, and the rest is dogstory.

I first became aware of Cloud Star last year when I signed up on their facebook page and received a free fold-able water container that I keep in my purse. It has a handy pouch and is a really good size. They also sent me a bumper sticker with their motto "Wag More, Bark Less" and I just fell in love with that. It's a great motto for all of us. And this is printed on apparel and accessories they sell on their website.
They also have quite a few other treats, kibble and grooming products. (The Holistic Baked Kibble Dog Food is back after being out of stock due to being mentioned in Costco Connection magazine and thus bombarding Cloud Star with orders).

I like Cloud Star very much. I like that they give back at least 10% of their net profits to support and assist non-profits organizations that benefit animals, women, children and the environment.
I like that all their products are made in the USA (all ingredients are USA grown too) and I like that they truly care about animals.
Oh, and I like that my boys are crazy about Tricky Trainers.

(I received two bags of product for review purposes. I was pleased with the product very much so I wrote about it)

WIN SOME:
Cloud Star wants to send some Tricky Trainers to a lucky reader of this here blog.
To win a 3 pack of Tricky Trainers Liver flavor, Cheese Flavor and the Salmon Flavor please do the following:

MANDATORY ENTRY: Go visit Cloud Star and come back with something you like about their site, blog or products.

Extra Entries (do the MANDATORY first please): leave seperate comments for each,

Leave me a comment about your pet. Something funny they do. Or how wonderful they are, anything about your pet.- 1 extra

Follow my blog publicly, or tell me you already do - 2 extras

Subscribe in a reader - 2 extras

Tweet about this giveaway and leave me the link - 2 per day

Blog about this giveaway with a link back to this post - 4 extras

This giveaway ends at midnight April 3rd. Open to USA only.
Winner will be notified by email. And will have 48 hours to send me shipping info.
Please make sure email contact is in your comment or your blog profile if you have a blog.
Cloud Star will ship prize.

Total Library Score, You May Be Able to do the Same.

2010-03-18T12:03:00.007-04:00

Larry and I live outside a very small town, so the people who work at the library know us. One of the women there has brought in beads for me to use in my jewelry and she orders books for me because she knows my reading habits and knows I will like what she orders.

So this past week when we went, she told me they had put some books on the sale shelf...Cookbooks!

The sale shelf is an area they have set aside with shelves going floor to almost ceiling that holds books they have replaced with newer editions, books that are outdated or have slight damage.
But still great books.
There is an honor box that you can slide a few bills or some change into to support one of the few free public services we have left. ( a pretty wonderful public service)

Anyway, here is the Library Love I scored this past week.

So if you love books, please support your local library. And if you like to collect books, ask if they have a discard cart or a library sale or shelf.

Also another thing I do, I check out books from the library and if I love the book, I go to Amazon or half.com and buy it.
A great way to get a list of books that you may not have heard about like craft books or cookbooks is to go to Amazon and do a search. I search in the book category for "jewelry" and page after page of jewelry making books pop up. I copy down the titles, then go to my library's online site and order the books.
If my local small library does not have it on their shelves, they will order it from another library to be delivered to my library and call me when it comes in, or they can email you.

Now, I'm not saying "kill the Kindle", but it is mighty hard to curl up in bed with your four year old and look at the pretty pictures in a book when they are on a 5" screen.

A Sweet Romantic Blog Anniversary

2010-03-17T21:46:00.003-04:00

I was out Blog Hopping as I do to relax sometimes and came across this oh so sweet blog.
Robin's Egg Blues blog is the type of blog that if it were a book it would be a real "page turner". Glimpses into Linda K's life, her beautiful family, doggies made from flowers, tutorials, vintage finds, and just sweetness.

Linda is hosting an Anniversary Giveaway. Please stop by her blog and wish her a Happy Anniversary. And then follow the directions to maybe win a beautiful pile of black, white and ivory romance and elegance.

Winners of the Follower Love Giveaway.

2010-03-17T14:48:00.010-04:00

It was a complicated, drawn out, exhaustive, scientific method that provided the 3 winners to my giveaway.
But we came together and went through the extensive process of gathering all the names and extra entries. Compiling them into a vessel worthy of the occasion.

Then bringing in the team of experts , who would use their expertise in studying the varying degrees of variables and make their recommendations.
So basically Ricky Pickles and Mikey pulled names out of a bowl.

One of the experts became so engaged in his work that he refused to give up his findings, and received a stern warning from one of his superiors.
After accepting that his findings would instill joy in the happy recipient of those findings he graciously released them to become public knowledge. Sharon.

Mr. Pickles then stated, after regaining his composure, that he sends his best regards to the recipient, and that he hopes she will enjoy all the components of being the Grand Prize Winner.

While all this excitement was taking place, Mr. Mikey, our resident floor patroller, quietly chose 2 other deserving recipients. Although he likes to remain in the background, he said he felt it his duty to lend a paw.

Mr. Mikes findings. Bison61 and Makeetis.

All winners have been notified.
Thank you all who entered and thank you all so much who follow this here blog. It means so much to me. And the theme of this contest was to show how much you mean to me.
The prizes put into the box represent things I blog about, and items I enjoy using and having around me.

Another Great Thing To Do In Bed.

2010-03-14T23:18:00.004-04:00

A new blog friend The Redhead Riter had this on her blog. Check her out, what amazing blogs she has. I just had to pass it on to share. I too say this is art.

ZEVIA - All Natural Soda Giveaway

2010-03-14T14:47:00.011-04:00

CLOSED- Winners are Jade, cdziuba and Jamie. All have been notified.
Thank you all who entered. More Giveaways coming soon.
I stopped drinking most soda years ago unless it was home made. Home made being Larry and I buying carbonated water and adding it to juice. Usually grape. Larry is hypoglycemic and he really has to be careful with anything he puts in his mouth.
I did buy the occasional ginger ale for mixing purposes or lemon lime if ginger ale was not available.

And diet soda? Forgetaboudit....I have never met a diet soda I liked or ingredients in one I could agree with.
That is until NOW.
NOW I have met and drank ZEVIA..oh yeah baby...It's sweetened with Stevia. ZEVIA is what all the cool kids are drinking. And hey, I'm cool....right? I'm still cool?....*crickets chirping*

Anyway, Zevia is a "diet" soda I guess, but to me it's just smart thirst quenching.
I mean come on peeps, we all know the high fructose corn syrup ain't cutting it. And sugar comes in many guises....that we are all trying to step back from, especially in drinks as there can be so much in them. Plus I really am one who reads labels, and if I can't pronounce something or I don't know what something is, I do not ingest it. (please do your research on ALL artificial sweeteners before thinking about using them).

The kind generous people over at ZEVIA sent me a great selection of all their flavors. And I like every one of them. I tell you, I do not drink cola any longer. When I was a kid, cola had a lot of flavor and over the years, it just lost any appeal to me, plus all the stuff I mentioned above happened, so I just do not drink it.
So when I opened a ZEVIA Cola I was apprehensive. I poured it into a glass of ice and had it with a plate of nachos. Oh my Gosh, I actually enjoyed it. I yelled out to Larry that I had a cola one and it was good.
I had a "Twist" in a mixed drink and that was really good too. I had a "Dr. Zevia" today and that is my favorite. Larry likes the Root Beer the best.
These guys have hit on the perfect formula.

Zevia has an interesting website. Read about the history of their company, their struggle to get Zevia marketed as "soda", a blog, and locations where you can get your Zevia.

Also here's some great news they received earlier this month : "We received big news. In the natural food channel, ZEVIA® Cola is now the #1 selling beverage item in the United States!
The rankings come from SPINS, which collects and reports actual retail purchase data from natural food stores across the country. Spins® to natural food products is like Nielson® to television, or Arbitron® to radio." (taken from the Zevia Blog.)

All in all, I just like this company. I like their spunk. I like that when they ran into road blocks they stood their ground because they knew they had a great healthy product. I like that they recognize that their customers make them what they are in the retail world. And I like that Larry has a soda he can drink. Thanks Guys, you've done a good thing. Oh and I like that they have a frog as one of their logo's.

And now you can try Zevia and taste what all my kuddos are about.

WIN IT!

One lucky commenter will be known as the Grand Prize Winner and have a whole case of ZEVIA delivered right to your door. Yep, a whole mixed case.
BUT WAIT! thats not all!
Two more winners will each get a mixed 6-pack delivered to them. YAY!

Mandatory entry:
Go to Zevia and tell me the most interesting thing you found on their site, their blog, or a link that you followed from there to another site.

Extra Entries:

Go to Zevia and tell me what flavor you think your kids or yourself would like. 1 extra

Tweet about this giveaway and leave me the link. 2 extra per day that you tweet.

Follow this blog 3 extra

Blog about this giveaway on your blog and leave me the link. 5 extra

Make a 1 minute video on youtube about my blog and this giveaway and leave the link 15 extra (no one has ever done this on my blog...be the first!)

Ends March 24th at midnight.
Winners will be notified by email.
Winners have 48 hours to get back to me with shipping info.
Zevia will be sending prizes to winners.

(I received no monetary compensation for this review. I did receive a case of ZEVIA to try out. I like it. So I wrote about it.)

Who doesn't love getting packages? POM, Canada Goodies and a Sweet Owl.

2010-03-13T16:47:00.008-05:00

This past couple of weeks I have had some great mail. Yes, even SNAIL MAIL can be great when there are packages involved.

First off, I won a case of POM. Yummmm Pomegranate juice is so cool. Because it's good for you. Tart, but perfect in a spritzer, or mixed half and half with orange juice.
I won over at The Review Broads. this link will take you to one of their fabulous giveaways. They also do movie reviews and have Bro B show up once in awhile with a review of his own.

I had forgotten that I entered to win the juice, so the case showing up was a most wonderful surprise.
-------

And I also received this box. What could it be?

I opened it up and this was inside....

Some CANADIAN Goodies! YAY!

The Sweet ANN from over at AnnOnAndOn had a little contest to caption a photo and I won. Of course I won, it was a photo of her sweetie and their doggy.
Ann is just as cute as she can be. She is creative, funny and she asks "burning questions", the one's that do make you stop and think. Also she hosts a big card swap which I am thinking of joining. And she talks in her sleep. I couldn't resist adding that, as the post about it cracked me up. Thats actually not ALL that was in the box, there was a hard candy maple Leaf and I could not resist it long enough to go get the camera.
Thank you so much Ann. I love my goodies.
----

Then today I received this darling...

I found Martha Brown's blog m-is-for-martha during the OWOH blog event and fell in love with Andy, her doggy. He just looked so sweet in his new sweater I had to leave a comment.
When all was said and done with OWOH, Martha Brown picked extra random winners and I was lucky enough , because of my Andy comment, to get in on the action.
So Martha Brown sent me this darling little owl WHOO is now hanging in the little purple room. A published artist and a great blogger, please check Martha Brown out.
(I just like saying "Martha Brown")

Giveaway Addition. Somerset Studio Mag +

2010-03-13T13:59:00.008-05:00

Please enter the giveaway on the original giveaway post. The link is ---->
On the sidebar on the right.

There is a Somerset Studio Magazine. Corrugated cardboard, a vintage pattern with all the pieces there, a childrens book to alter, Italian book pages, an old art pamphlet 2 collage sheets from Lisa'a Altered Art, various cutouts from magazines and books, mulberry paper, oragami paper, an original vintage song lyric magazine from 1944, a piece of a cicuit board, some silk yarn from an Indian Sari, a switchplate to alter and 3 vintage wooden blocks.

I could not get on here to add stuff for yesterday to the giveaway.
I had the Dish network guys here in the morning, Larry finally got his Big Screen TV...YAY...for him. I could give a crap. HAHAHAHA It's true. I really could live without the TV. I have a few shows I like to watch and I like Fox News, but other than that....phhstttt.
But they had to put in a new dish, and that meant they were here for awhile.
And with three dogs who go apeshit when anyone new comes around, well I had to keep them in the room with me and I cannot lay stuff out to photograph very well. Ricky Pickles just dumped coffee all over me this morning, so that goes to show.
Then after the Dish guys left it started storming here. Lightening and pouring. We turn off the PC's when that happens even though we have great surge protectors we worry, so off it all goes.
It rained most of the day. And last night I started feeling bad, as in sore throat variety bad, I'm better now. Seems my sinuses are acting up.
So without further ado....go enter the giveaway. There are close up pics on the Giveaway Post.

GIVEAWAY! Louisiana's Mossy Bayou Gift Pack.

2010-03-12T17:19:00.014-05:00

Closed- Winner is #11 Bombastic Belle

I have had the pleasure this week of trying Louisiana Swamp Scum Hot Sauce, Bayou Blend Seasoning and Louisiana Popcorn Rice from an award winning company in Louisiana named Mossy Bayou Foods.

The Louisiana Popcorn Rice:
Let me tell you, I love this stuff. And those who know me, know, I am not an eater of rice not brown.
But THIS RICE rocks!
When it is cooking you get the aroma of popcorn in your kitchen, plus it cooks up perfectly.
I usually season my rice with something pertaining to the dish I am cooking, but I left this alone, just to see if it lived up to its name. And it does. Delicate kernels (is rice kernels?) not sticky at all. With a nice, not overbearing taste of popcorn. I did sauté it a bit in a little butter before adding the water.

The Bayou Blend seasoning:
It is spicy and hot. A little goes a long way. Very smokey ( I love smokey) and different layers of flavor and heat. Start out sparingly till you find your comfort zone. But you will delight in the flavor it adds. I tossed it with the chicken chunks in my recipe.
This seasoning would also be great on shrimp, pork, steak, or fish. Used in Gumbo,paella, on a slab of ribs. Plain or with other herbs in a dry rub. Loads of dishes would be great with this sprinkled in. Next time I make cornbread I'm adding a good sprinkle of this to the recipe.

As for the Louisiana Swamp Scum Hot Sauce:
It looks like swamp scum. But it tastes far better than any swamp scum I've ever tasted. Don't ask me how I know this, just trust me...it does.
Must be a Louisiana thing.
It is green...well actually a grayish/blackish green. And there's a thickness to it...perhaps tiny things floating around in it.
This stuff is Mmmm Mmmm GOOD!

I don't even care what's in it. I just know I like it. I had it on my omelette this morning. And it just added so much flavor. It is a little smokey too. And while it has some heat, it is not really that hot. So you get the flavor without your taste buds crying.

And now that you Dear Readers have read and seen how good this stuff is you can....TASTE how good it is.

WIN SOME !

Thats right one lucky reader will win a gift pack of Louisiana Popcorn Rice, Bayou Blend Seasoning and Louisiana Swamp Scum Hot Sauce.

Mandatory entry: Head over to Mossy Bayou and tell me another product they have.
(This comment will not show up until the end of the giveaway to prevent copying.)

Extra Entries:

Follow this here blog then tell me. If you already do...tell me. 2 extras

Grab my button on the sidebar with the 2 piggies and leave a link to where you post it. 2 extras

Tweet about this giveaway and leave me the link to the tweet. 2 extras

Blog about this giveaway with a link back to this blog AND a link to Mossy Bayou, come back and tell me the link to your blog.. 5 extras

This giveaway will end March 21st. At Midnight est.
Prize will be sent by Mossy Bayou to winner.
Winner will be notified via email.
Winner has 72 hours to send me their shipping info.
I received gift pack from Mossy Bayou Foods to try out for review purposes. All opinions are from my own taste buds.

But, my oh my, swamp guys....there are no recipes on your site....
Okay, here's one I made up.

Down on the Bayou Chicken and Rice with Beans

1 1/2 c. of the Louisiana Popcorn Rice
2 tsp. butter or olive oil
2 cups of water
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1 can of pinto beans
1/2 tsp.Bayou Blend Seasoning
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2 chicken breasts cut into chunks
1 tsp. Bayou Blend Seasoning
1/2 tsp oregano
Couple of grinds of black pepper
2 tsp. olive oil or canola oil
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1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 tsp. olive oil or canola oil
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1/2 cup chopped green onions (optional)

In medium bowl, toss chicken with Bayou Blend Seasoning, oregano,pepper and oil, let sit while you start rice.

In a saucepan, melt butter or heat oil, add Louisiana Popcorn Rice and stir to coat.
Sauté for about 4 minutes on medium.
Add water and bring to boil, turn down heat till just simmering and cover. Set timer for 6 minutes and then check, add water if needed, set timer for 6 more minutes. It should be done in 12 minutes all together from boiling point.

In small pan or microwave bowl, heat pinto beans. Season with 1/2 tsp. Of Bayou Blend Seasoning.

Sauté vegetables in 2 tsp. of oil till opaque, push to one side of skillet and add chicken. Cook till no longer pink. stir into vegetables, turn down heat and cook an additional 3 minutes.

Fluff the rice. Stir the beans.
Place rice on each plate, place beans on top, put chicken over beans and sprinkle with green onions.
Serve with Louisiana Swamp Scum Hot Sauce.
Serves 4

Giveaway adds Hummingbird Feeder, Rubber Stamps and Books

2010-03-10T15:37:00.003-05:00

I have been adding new stuff to the Giveaway every day.
Don't forget to enter. Scroll down to see all the goodies.

Plus there is more to come.
There will be 3 winners.
Grand Prize wins everything listed plus a jewelry item from my shop.
2 other winners win jewelry too.

There really are some great items here.

Please enter, there are so many ways to get extra entries.
Plus fun questions of the day so you get to go look around.

I love my followers and really want to show it.
Plus there is CANDY ! yes, a cool star shaped tin with some CHOCOLATE in it!

Tell-a-Tip-Tuesday Got Food?

2010-03-09T12:30:00.005-05:00

(Don't forget to enter my HUGE blog follower Love Giveaway, it's around here somewhere. New stuff added daily to the box.)

WOW, Have you been to the supermarket lately? Of course you have. Does it seem that although you buy basically the same stuff each week, you are not paying the same total at the cash register each week? Of course you're not.

And frankly, that sucks. Items are not going up a penny here, three cents there. They are going up 20-30 cents between grocery store visits.
What's a regular person who needs to eat and perhaps have to feed a family, to do?

Actually there are a number of things that may help put that food on the table, and they are all pretty easy to do.
Larry and I have an income that fluctuates. Part of it is fixed, as in Social Security Retirement for him. But mine is up and down.
We really try to live on my income and save his. It does not work out that way EVERY month though.
Ahhh Internet income, you are a fickle thing.
So I have to get creative, do homework, dig in the dirt, clip coupons, and cross various body parts.

Here are a few things I do that seem to help our food bill, if you have more ideas please share.

1. Have a garden. Even a few tomato and pepper plants in a large pot on a porch can do wonders for your tummy and your psyche.
If you live in an apartment and do not have anyplace to grow, consider joining a community garden or a CSA. Maybe you have an older person in your neighborhood who has a garden and you could help in trade.

2.Buy local produce that you cannot grow yourself. Those veggies at the market are trucked in. Not very fresh and are probably covered in
stuff you do not want to feed yourself or your kids. Farmers markets are everywhere. And there are also "pick your own" farms for berries
and other items.

3. Join a food co-op. I was a member of one for 20 years. I joined in high school when it started in someones basement and it grew into a
warehouse setting. Members pay shares every month and it is used to buy in bulk. Working members may then get an additional percentage off what they buy for hours worked, while non-working members have a slight markup on what they buy. Work can consist of ordering, unloading boxes, cutting cheese and wrapping, weighing bulk items and packaging....

4. Find a store that doubles coupons and shop the sale flyers. Do not buy a bunch of stuff you do not use just because you have coupons. Leave the coupons you clipped but are not using on top of the items on the shelf for someone else. Thats what I do. It's nice to come across a coupon left by someone else.

5. Shop scratch and dent. Krogers here has a rack in a doorway in the back of the store. Everything is marked down. Some dented cans, some taped boxes. But always worth a look. We get dog food for the no kill shelter we support there.

6. See if there is a place that deals in discontinued and scratch and dent. There are actually small stores that only sell these items.
Here, it is the Amish store. They have shelves and shelves full of discounted coffee, canned items, spices, paper goods. Some from stores that go out of business, discontinued items, some scratch and dented. Larry makes his own soda with carbonated water he gets for a nickel a can there and adds grape juice to for grape soda. I get coffee there for 1.00- 3.00 a can. The BIG cans.

7. Lay off the processed foods and cook more from scratch. Get a breadmaker. From ebay, an auction or craigslist. Maybe at a yard sale.
You can make healthy bread for super cheap. Cook more rice and beans, then dress it up with chopped scallions, shredded cheese and sour cream. Make homemade pizza, throw the dough ingredients in that breadmaker.

8. More grain and veggies, less meat. Or maybe NO meat. Maybe NO meat a couple times a week.

9. Get together with other cooks you know and work out a supper club. Each cook has a specialty and makes enough for each family in the club. Everyone delivers to each other and puts the meals in their freezers. Now you only cook once a week for all the families and on all the other nights you pull something out of the freezer. (well if you have 7 cooks, if you have 4 cooks then you do not have to cook 3 days a week).

10. Cook a big pot of soup, stew or chili and freeze for families on busy schedules. This cuts down on those really expensive lunchmeats.

11. Use a crockpot. This frees up time, and you can use less tender cuts of meat that are less expensive. Plus if you work, there is NOTHING like coming home to dinner already done. Get a crock pot with the inside that you can remove, throw everything in it the night before, stick it in the fridge and in the morning put it in the pot part and turn it on low.

12. Use your library. They have issues of the "Tightwad Gazette" and cookbooks galore. Breadmaker books, crockpot recipe books.

13. Brown bag it. Get the kids a Bento Box for a birthday or Christmas and make it fun.

14. Get your kids involved. Whether its gardening, cooking, planning menus, figuring out the best deals at the grocery store it is an invaluable service to our young folk to help them help themselves.

Visit Coupon Mom to learn even more about smart couponing and to see grocery deals state by state.

Anyone else have any other tips?

What Our Boys Eat - Recipe

2010-03-08T11:49:00.015-05:00

(Don't forget to enter my HUGE blog follower Love Giveaway, it's around here somewhere. New stuff added daily to the box.)

When we first got Jack he was a mess. Scared of everything, would pee himself in his sleep, would not go to Larry when we would come home from being off until Larry would sit down, seemed a bit depressed.
We got him from a couple that have a few Jack Russells for sale now and then and we had originally called them about buying a pup. When we got out there, Jack was in a fenced area along with a little puppy. Jack was older almost 2 and they said he had been brought back from the previous buyers.

We brought him home. We knew someone would take the cute tiny puppy, but we were not sure Jack would get a home.

His coat was very coarse. And he smelled a bit. Even after a bath.
So I started making his food. And after last years scare over pet food from China making pets sick and even killing some pets...well I'm really glad I make the boy's food now.
So I thought I would write what I do. I also make treats for them. And the next time I get out the cookie cutters and roll out the dough, I will post that also.

But here is their basic every day food.
I feed them twice a day. They are very high energy dogs so they get their main meal in the mid morning and a bit more when we eat dinner. I really believe dogs view us as a "pack" and I think it is important that when Larry and I eat our dinner we eat it as a "pack", I think this helps us in the bonding with our boys. (No we do not all sit at the table together, we all eat on the floor...kidding)

Turkey and Brown Rice with Vegetables

2 lbs of ground turkey, browned in 1/2 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cup of dried soy beans (soaked in 2 cups of water overnight) - or you can use 2 cans of great northern or red beans or chick peas
2 lbs brown rice, I never use white rice for anything
1 lb of carrots- cut into bite size pieces. You can also use brocolli, zuchinni,spinach.
Enough broth or water to cover everything

Heat olive oil in large pot.
Brown turkey in oil till just done.
Add rice and stir till coated with oil.
Add dried beans if using dried. If using canned put in at end.
Add enough broth or water to totally cover all about 5-6 cups.
Bring to a boil, cover turn down heat and simmer about 20 minutes, add veggies and simmer 20 more min.
Keep an eye so that water does not evaporate and so that rice does not burn. Add more water if needed.
When time is up, stir in canned beans if using canned. Let cool and bag up to freeze.

I also stir in a spoonful of cottage cheese when I put the food into their bowl. This helps in digestion, plus they are cheese freaks and love it. I also add a sprinkle of nutritional yeast when I feed them.
When I make soy milk I save the pulp and use that instead of the dried beans.

Our boys have bright eyes, soft shiny coats and play all the time. They are muscular, but not fat.
They love their meals. And Jack, well Jack is the most well behaved, loving sweet boy. He no longer cries in his sleep,doesn't pee in his bed, actually smells pretty good, have a soft shiny coat and acts like a young pup.

Ricky Pickles checking the soy bean bin.

Face Book and Bitter Sweetness

2010-03-07T01:19:00.003-05:00

When you get to be my age you find yourself skating more and more on your memories.
When the sun starts to set, your bright spots come in the form of old friends. Remembrances of wishes wished on a star.
A name. A place mentioned on a TV show. A song. All can trigger something obscure that immediately takes us back to a happier, livelier time.

The past few months I have been doing what a lot of us do on Face book. Looking up people we have memories of. Good memories. And when you get to be my age, those memories can be bitter sweet.

Tonight I called a guy from my past, we'll call Mike (cause that's his name). I had a crush on Mike in the 10th grade. He was a year ahead of me. And that in itself made him even more attractive to me. Because I was way ahead of myself age wise in school.
Mike was really something to me because he was sweet, was a fox, had long hair and played guitar. He also had some friends that rode around in a van and that was one of the coolest things you could do in 1973.
Mike and I never "hooked up", instead we did something a lot better. We became good friends. He is my brother.
When I talked to him tonight, he sounded the same as he did all those years ago.
We were actually friends beyond high school. He lived around the corner from me, in the same building but a separate entrance, when Sarah was a babe. He also lived a block down the same street from us when Donovan was a little guy. He became friends with my kids and he and I remained good friends when his girlfriend entered the picture. I have not talked with him in 20 years.
I loved him then and I still love him now. I hope with all my heart he will come and visit Larry and I. And bring his brother who I also came to know and love.

I also found another friend who I never got to speak with since 20 years ago, she passed away a few years back. I found her youngest daughter on facebook. The daughter has a picture of my old friend on her page, she looks sweet. But her eyes are hollow, due to alcoholism. You see, her older daughter, the one my Sarah grew up with, was killed in a go cart accident back in the late 90's and it drove my friend deeper into the bottle that was already pulling her in. The last time I saw her, I was leary of keeping contact with her. And I let our friendship fall by the wayside. I wish I could have said goodbye one last time. And been there for her when she lost her daughter.

Two different friends. Two different scenarios. One me. Back then we thought we would never get old. the world was our oyster. Every day a given.
I have learned that we are all different but we are all the same.
We grow up thinking we will be the same as we are in that moment. But life has a way of creeping in and taking over. We do not have control. Things happen, life goes on. We stay in touch, we lose touch. But all in all, we stay connected in our memories.

Big 100+ Follower Giveaway .

2010-03-06T19:41:00.028-05:00

CLOSED. Winners have been notified.Thank you to all who follow this here Blog. More giveaways coming up.

In order to be entered please scroll to the bottom of this post and do the mandatory entry first.

"Tinkerbell" Jewelry Box added for March 13th. I bet there's a little surprise inside....

Ephemera....
This is added to the box for March 12th. I will add todays addition tonight.

Added March 11th- Flower Seeds and AQUA Rocks. AQUA Rocks absorb 400x their weight so you do not have to water plants as much.

Great Books Added March 10th

Hummingbird Feeder added March 9th.

These stamps have been added to the box March 8th.
11 stamps. 2 slightly used.

Since this IS a giveaway celebrating my followers, your just gonna have to buck up and follow. Promise I won't lead you astray. And no matter what they may say about me...I AM NOT a bad influence. (well not anymore anyway).
I have included all kinds of goodies. Like a pair of Martha Stewart Suede Garden Gloves.

And a Shawn Colvin (Of the "Sonny Came Home" and torched the place fame) CD.There is more to come. Daily goodies will be added.

There's already a cool wooden box to alter, a Shawn Colvin CD, Martha Stewart garden gloves, adhesive, vintage photos, beaded trim, material, paper flowers, wooden birdhouse ornaments to paint, a star tin full of candy, silk flowers, glass water can buttons, glass tiles, flavored tea bags, tiny buttons, and more.

Grand prize follower will receive everything pictured PLUS any one item from my Etsy Shop.
2 Other Followers will win their choice of any one item from my Etsy shop.

Mandatory entry : Follow and leave a comment. This entry will show up here as soon as I okay it. Just leave any comment and also say you are a follower of this here blog. If you are already a follower, just tell me.
( You do know how to sign up to follow right? "No", you say? Well just look over there on the right sidebar and see the button that says "follow". Press that and it will show you what to do.)

Extra Entries, Just leave only one entry saying you did it (with the link) and I will count the extra points.

Grab my button and stick it on your blog - 3 extra entries.

Blog about this giveaway with a link back to this blog- 6 extra entries.

Go to the Alexa link at the top of the sidebar and write a review of this blog- 4 extra entries.

----------------This madness will end at Midnight on March 14th. Thats a Sunday.
Open to USA and Canada. Winners (there will be 3) notified by email. 72 hours to get back to me.
Make sure your stuff to contact you with is on your blog or in your comments.------------------

I am going to be asking DAILY QUESTIONS for 3 extra entries besides the extra ways listed above. So come back everyday and read the question, and comment with the answer. These comments will not be showing up until the end of the giveaway so no one can copy.

You can do any or all of the DAILY QUESTIONS. At ANY time till its all over.

QUESTION OF THE DAY- worth 3 more entries. Please do the MANDATORY entry First.

March 8 - How many water barrels for our rainwater catch system are behind the shed?
(hint: on the post about this, there is a picture of the barrels...check posts in May 2009)

March 9 - We have 3 Jack Russell Terriers. What are 2 of their names?
(hint: They are sprinkled throughout this blog, I will accept any variation of their names as we call them all kinds of different names)

March 10 - Back in Dec 2009 I won a big box of crunchy snacks from what company and blog?
(hint:go to the archives in the sidebar and find the right month then go there)

March 11 - Last year, I mentioned AQUA Rocks in a post with a link to the company that sells them. What is the name of the company.
(hint: find the post talking about the virtues of plastic. Then click on the link in that post that says "Aqua Rocks")

March 12 - Last January I talked about Ricky Pickles enjoying his first snow. I also talked about his favorite way to play. What does he love to play?
(extra bonus entry- What is the answer to this, What goes Up a chimney Down, but not Down a chimney Up?)

March 13 - I stated two things I have never done with a cell phone. Name one of those things. (hint; the answer is at the beginning of one of last Decembers posts. There are only 7 posts)

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A Poppin' Good Pillsbury Giveaway.

2010-03-06T00:03:00.012-05:00

This giveaway is now CLOSED. #2 rubynreba is the winner..
I love Sundays. Always have. When I was very young we would go to church then out to Brunch, then we would go feed the ducks.

Nowadays, Sundays to me are a day of just cruising along. Get up late, take your time drinking coffee maybe reading the paper. Perhaps take the kids or the dog to the park. In our case we would be taking three dogs, who think their kids, to the park.
Just a day of leisure. The kind of day where the most work involvement you might have is watering your plants.
Unless it's your job to make Brunch. Oh yeah, I love me some Brunch. See I even give it a capital B.
Now Brunch can be very simple or move right up the line to very formal.
Around here we do simple. Easy. Well, easy can be relative. I do not mind really cooking some Sundays, but other times I might want to kick back and welcome convenience.
Thats where Pillsbury comes in. Pillsbury has such a big selection of sweet rolls, far more than when I was a wee girl.
Take these Pillsbury Orange Sweet rolls for instance...
Read the directions, peel the outer shiny paper off the roll, then slam the container on the edge of the counter. It pops open, careful now there's a little container of frosting. If I were it's mother I would make it have a better cap on. But for now, just be careful when you take out the rolls. Okay I wont repeat all the directions here. Just follow them for some pretty good orange sweet rolls done in just a few minutes.
"Orrrrr".....you can be like me and NOT leave well enough alone. Cause if it's well enough that way.... it can be even better dressed up.

Dressed up Pillsbury Orange Sweet Rolls

You spray a muffin tin with canola oil.
Put 2 Tbls. of dark brown sugar in each muffin cup.
Pour 1/4c. of evaporated milk or cream on top of the brown sugar in each muffin cup.
Squeeze together each roll until it fits half way down into the slot.
Bake 350' for 12-14 minutes.
Immediately turn out onto a plate.
Let cool 10 min. then smear a bit of orange marmalade on each and drizzle glaze over.

For convenience, you really can't beat Pillsbury rolls and bread products.
There are tons of recipes on Pillsbury's website to dress up all of their wide selection of dairy case products. This can really save you time in the kitchen.

And Pillsbury wants you to have some Pillsbury Orange Sweet Rolls on them. And a cool photo album to display some family pictures.

GIVEAWAY

All you need to do is leave a comment with a favorite way to share Sunday mornings with your family or a favorite childhood memory of Sunday morning breakfasts.
So sorry but this is open to US residents only as these coupons for free product is only recognized in the US.

For extra entries:

Visit Pillsbury's website and leave a link to your favorite brunch recipe-2 extras.

Follow my blog- 2 extras- leave 2 more comments saying that you are a follower.

Tweet this giveaway- leave me a twit link-2 extras.

Mention this giveaway with a link back on your blog- 3 extras.

Giveaway is open until 11:59 PM March 13th.
Winner will be notified by email, so please make sure you have contact info on your blog profile or in your comment.
Contact info will not be used for any other purpose than to send prize.
MyBlogSpark will be sending prize directly to winner.
In the case of no response from original winner an alternate winner will be chosen after 72 hours.

The product, information, and gift pack were all given to me from Pillsbury and MyBlogSpark.

A few Freebies and Giveaways. Alice in Wonderland Tickets !

2010-03-03T16:36:00.004-05:00

I was wandering around and came across a few Freebies and Giveaways I thought you might like....

Click here for
A directory of all things Gluten-free. Free samples, products and coupons. Cool site with a directory of restaurants listed state by state. Also a list of gluten free items in the supermarket.
_____________________________

For my Canadian Friends ONLY. A free shopping tote from OceanSpray Cranberry Juice
Click HERE to go there.
___________________________________hope you win !

Free Tree Seeds.
Go to TreeDazzled and leave a comment. They will send 10 free seeds.
This would be a great project to do with a child. If the seeds are not native to your area, you can still have a Bonsai perhaps.

You can go back again every 2 weeks.
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Click here to enter for
$250 worth of scrapbook adhesives from 3L and books from Better Homes and Gardens
____________________________________

Time Travelers Wife DVD
Click here to Enter to win without having to join with an account.
Lots of freebies on their main page.

______________________________________

Enter to win Alice in Wonderland tickets + ends 3/8

These are some of the coolest posters.

Grand Prize

* 4-Pack of "Alice in Wonderland" IMAX 3D Movie Tickets (Unrestricted)
* "Alice in Wonderland" IMAX 3D T-Shirt
* “Almost Alice” Album

2nd Prize

* “Alice in Wonderland: A Visual Companion” Book
* "Alice in Wonderland" IMAX 3D Bookmarks
* "Alice in Wonderland" IMAX 3D Poster
Click here to go enter
Make sure to check your email to click and verify your addy.

_____________________________________________

A Happy Hippy Mom is having a great giveaway for ecosmart safe home get rid of pests stuff.
Check out the giveaway then show some bloggy love and visit the rest of her place.
Visit ecosmart by clicking here
Ends March 13th

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Well now no one's REALLY calling anyone an idiot here...but we could all use a little help in a lot of different areas...I know I can.
And here is a whole list of "Complete Idiot" Guides to help.
This Blonde at Still Blonde After All these Years is having an easy giveaway of 10 different guides, covering a lot of those areas.
Nothing like a little Idiot Proofing.
Ends March 13th.

____________________________________________________

Oh My, Please check out Russells Glass earrings. They are beautiful. Go enter to win and make sure you check out his Etsy Shop.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-03-03T00:04:00.001-05:00

Tell- a-Tip-Tuesday- Are You Due A Delayed Tax Refund?

2010-03-02T16:09:00.005-05:00

I was trying to come up with something I could do every Tuesday on this blog and since I love handy tips so much I thought it would be nice to share them.
Tips on anything. Do you have a cooking tip? Or something that has worked child wise?
How about a new way to water your plants? Or how do you keep your dog from barking so much?
Need a tip for something? Ask, and you may get some help.

Okay, I'll start....

With Tax time approaching think about this for next year...

Do you receive a refund? Are you just pee your pants happy when a fat check from Uncle Sam comes in the mail?
Well, thats NOT from Uncle Sam. It was your money to begin with. And as more and more states are starting to issue IOU's and pushing back refund mail out dates, some taking your refund for past issues that may have already been resolved, you do have a way to receive that money during the year instead. After all why let them hold it interest free?
Simply up your with holding allowances on your W-4's. You can go to the book keeper for your job and tell them you want to fill out a new W-4 anytime.
The last couple of years Larry worked we had him getting below 10.00 back in a tax refund. Instead his weekly take home pay went up every week.
If you have a student loan in default and they are seizing your tax refund at the end of the year, this is a way to get the money in your pay check instead.
You can claim up to 9 with holding allowances legally without your employer sending the form back to the IRS, and you can opt out of having Federal taxes withheld all together if you received a refund the year before.
You need to sit down and figure out how many allowances will it take to come close to breaking even with your taxes. But it is not hard. Just gather your tax paying materials this year plus a few extra and play with it. Up it 2 more and see where that puts you with a refund. You MUST be truthful on your actual filing. But you are legally allowed to up your with holding allowances on your W-4. This witholding calculator may help.
After all, it's your money.

I am in no way an accountant. I only offer this advice based on my own personal experience and the fact that this Government is out to use the peoples money, saying the Government is in a jam, all the while having no respect for the people and the jams they may be in, some jams created by that same Government.

Lemonycello and the Blueberry Pancakes

2010-02-27T22:08:00.004-05:00

We had a Pancake Day here at the homestead. Blueberry pancakes actually.
This past Tuesday was Pancake Day or Shrove Tuesday. The Tuesday before Ash Wednesday when Lent begins.
In many countries Shrove Tuesday is the day of parades and much merriment as Lent is observed with abstinence. The reason for pancakes is that religious families abstaine from eggs and dairy begining Ash Wednesday until Easter Sunday. So in order to use up all the eggs, milk and butter...PANCAKES !
I no longer observe Lent, however always the one looking for a good excuse to make pancakes (actually I make them at times with no excuse whatsoever..) I thought Larry and I would join in with Gusto.
Gusto being the Lemoncello of a previous posting.

Years ago (don't ask how many) I hitch hiked out to CA and ended up in Venice Beach. Every week some friends I stayed with would treat me to brunch at a little German restaurant. And every week I would have German pancakes. Very thin, crispy around the edge, rolled up with powdered sugar and lemon sprinkled on. I would butter those babies up, pour on the maple syrup and thank the carballicious Gods for putting me in that exact spot in that exact moment.

Ever since, whenever I have made pancakes, I sprinkle them with lemon juice, in memory of that time. Plus I just love them that way.
Well, this past week when I wrote my Lemoncello post, a friend of mine suggested drizzling vanilla ice cream with it. And I will be doing that very soon. But now I was making pancakes, and I had no fresh lemons and then I remembered what she said about drizzling it...HEY, I know,
add it to the soy milk to make buttermilk for the pancakes, stir it into the syrup....the ideas were bombarding my brain.

And I did it, I stirred 2/3 c of maple syrup together with a tablespoon of Lemoncello, and I added one tablespoon to a cup of soy milk for the blueberry pancakes and then I thanked those carb Gods all over again.

I had a Blast on the Magic Carpet Ride.

2010-02-26T00:07:00.006-05:00

Lisa Swifka's done it again, pulled off a rip roaring blogger party that ended up with 1,088 blogs signed up and 40 countries being represented.
Lisa is the Top Hatted Whimsical Bohemian , who had us all on Magic Carpets whizzing around the blogasphere visiting, chatting, commenting, eyeballing and just enjoying one heck of a trip.
Thank you so much Lisa.
During the One World One Heart Blog Event I had the pleasure of winning a few prizes.
However, that was not the reason behind the wonderful event.

It was a chance to travel through the blogosphere and meet other bloggers who otherwise you may never have come across.
I had a great time meeting other people who are wonderful writers, talented artists, great cooks, organic gardeners, jewelry designers, breathtaking photographers, sweet knitters, quirky seamstresses and just a bunch of great people who let me enter their little piece of the planet for a peek into their lives and what they love to do.
Alas, it is over now. But do not despair...I hear tell we will be doing it again next year!!!

I ended up with over 200 comments on my giveaway and a bunch of new followers to my blog...*waves at followers*...
(stay tuned for a totally sweet blog candy giveaway celebrating over 100 followers).

I visited over 150 blogs and I looked at each blog and left a comment having to do with what I saw on their blog. I did not feel it fair to just enter the giveaway and leave.
I had a blast and will be participating next year.

I had the pleasure of winning an autographed copy of Tierra Red by K.P Vorenberg
I can't wait to read this. The reviews and comments I have read about this book make me very excited to start. And seeing how we keep getting buried by snow, I should have time to finish before the weather warms up and I have to start planting. Which is good because a common thread in those reviews was that once started this book is very hard to put down. Please stop by Kathy's blog and check out her memory books, this woman can bead.
And then follow the link on her blog over to her website and check out her necklaces...WOW.
She also sent me the most gorgeous bookmark. A mermaid. I collect mermaids. I love this.

I also won a most endearing four-leaf clover. Now I've been thinking it over and I could use a little more luck, oh yeah. This is also book related, as the sweet Barbara Olivo Cagle who sent me the clover is also an author. She has written a book about being one of sixteen children. The books title is 16 x Mom. A story about her mother raising sixteen children.
Barbara is lucky number 13.

I love my earrings from Shibori Girl. Kate does the most amazing things with polymer clay. Some of her pendants look as though there is a light inside them. Check out her blog. And her Etsy. She is very sweet also. And is encouraging me to roll out my clay (been putting it off) and play. Plus she is pretty funny and we are like sisters in our fear of all things dentistal. She is planning on kicking that Dental Dragons ass though. And she will.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-02-24T15:59:00.002-05:00

Lemoncello Tutorial and Gas Tank Martini's

2010-02-21T11:21:00.005-05:00

Well I've been threatening to for about a year and finally bought a bottle of Lemoncello.
An Italian liquor...Lemon.

I love anything lemon.
I first heard of this on Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals show.
She drizzled it over a store bought sponge cake, added lemon curd then covered it in fruit.

I like liquors. I use Triple Sec in drinks and I also add a tablespoon to my cheesecake batter, really smooths the taste out.
So I had to try this.

And when we returned home from our trip to the big city (it's not that big, I just call it that because there is a Lowe's and a Wal-Mart there) I just had to Google Lemoncello to see what I could make with it.
And I found this over at Hope Studiosa tutorial for making your own Lemoncello.
I also found via Google, a bunch of recipes for drinks and desserts using Lemoncello.

We already brew beer and make wine. And I did make cranberry liquor about 20 years ago to give as Christmas gifts. It was awesome. Pretty much the same as they did in the linked tutorial.

Well it's almost 5 PM here and since you're immune from being labeled a "problem drinker" as long as you wait until after 5 for your first drink (this is an old family joke),

I shall gather my implements to partake of a "Lemoncello Martini". Yes, even those of us who choose to live out where "turn left at the pigs" is part of the directions to our place, drink martini's.
Even though this is my first lemoncello one, and all the martini's I have had up to this point have tasted like something I want to pour into the tank of the riding lawnmower.

Well there was the time I got creative and added cranberry juice to a batch and it made them better. Larry laughs at this.
He says "it's pretty bad when you add cranberry juice to something to make it taste better (he does not like cranberry juice, and also said "it's like adding a dog turd to something and it actually improves the flavor")

Ahhh Lemoncello, your lemony color attracts me like no other liquor can. Just this side of neon.

I have my stainless steel shaker and my martini glass. And look, just to be on the safe side, I have sugared the rim of the glass.

Well my camera's battery needs to go to the charger for the rest of the evening, so no pics of the actual martini, but suffice to say....the grass shall be cut at least one more time.
(Wonder what a set of Martini glasses are going for on Ebay....)

Larry is a huge fan of Baileys Irish Cream. So I am looking up a recipe for that. A little drink of that, late evening, for a nightcap. Sitting by the fire. A little Sade or Chris Botti playing. Oh I'm in the moooood for loooove.......

Anyone else out there ever brew beer or make a liquor?

Suet cakes are a hit, plus a recipe for Orzo

2010-02-15T22:57:00.012-05:00

Just take a look at these crazy Cardinals. They are cuckoo over suet cakes.

There are 5 couples that have all but hogged the suet cake in the past few days. We had three couples that have been here for years but there are more that have moved in.
this picture was snapped from inside the house. Look how fat these females are hahaha\

Thats also a bird feeder with seed inside leaning up against the house. The suet cake is inside the red onion bag. well whats left of it.Going to put a fresh one out tomorrow as the snow is still falling and it is hard for them to find food right now.
I took this pic out my studio window across the whole yard about 70 feet. Love that "zoom" feature on my cannon Powershot.

_________________________

Have you ever had Orzo?

It is a rice shaped pasta. A good alternative to potatoes, regular pasta or rice.

Here is a recipe I made up. Now I did not measure so I have to "guesstimate".

Orzo with Whatever

About 3-4 cups whatever veggies you have on hand. I used fresh cauliflower, green onions, mushrooms, baby carrots, yellow onions, frozen artichoke hearts, and frozen asparagus.(squash, green peppers, and spinach are good if you have any)
3 Tbsp. Olive oil ( or canola)
3 C. fresh chicken broth or 2 cans (14 oz. fat free)of broth
2-3 C. water
1 Tbsp.Chicken bullion ( this is all the salt I use, what"s already in the bullion)

2 nice size boneless skinless chicken breasts (shrimp or pork are good too)
1/2 lemon
1/4 white wine --optional ( I use white zinfandel as that is what I usually use, or any white wine is fine...but it is optional)
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 nice bay leaf
Some ground pepper
12 oz. Orzo
Fresh Parmesan to sprinkle over top
_____

1. Cut veggies into bite size pieces.
2. Heat up 1 1/2 olive oil in dutch over or very large skillet.
3. Saute' veggies, longest to cook to fastest cooking. just till tender.

While cooking,
4. Cut chicken breast into bite size pieces.
Season with garlic powder and a couple grinds of pepper.

5. Remove veggies into large bowl.
6. Put pan back over heat, add other 1 1/2 tbsp. olive oil and saute chicken breast.
When just done on all sides ( about 5 min.)
7. Stir veggies back in.

Pour in all broth and water and bullion. Add any herbs you like in stew I had bay leaf, oregano (just a bit) is good.

8. Bring to a low boil.
9. Stir in Orzo. Halfway cover and set timer.

Cook about 8 min... test that orzo till al dente' that means "just done".
Stir in wine if using, and lemon juice.

Turn heat to low and fully cover till most liquid is absorbed. Dish into serving bowls or platter. Sprinkle with fresh ( or packaged) Parmesan cheese.

This Time of Year is for the Birds

2010-02-09T14:22:00.008-05:00

Usually when winter comes there are plenty of plants and weeds that have gone to seed so birds can have a good diet. However, if you live in a part of the country where winter lasts for months and snow and ice are a constant, it can be challenging for birds to forage. We have a family of Cardinals that were here before us that let us know when the feeders are empty.

Below I have posted a couple of recipes that can help feed your resident birds and provide hours of entertainment for you, your kids and probably your indoor cats who have window seats.

This is a great project to do with children.

Home made suet

* 1 cup crunchy peanut butter
* 1 cup lard
* 2 cups yellow corn meal
* 2 cups quick oats
* 1 cup flour
* 1/2 cup birdseed, dried cranberries, dried apple, crumbs from the bottom of the good cereal box etc. (optional)
Muffin pans, ziploc storage containers, cut down plastic bottles to 1 1/2" or half gallon milk containers cut down.
Twine or hemp if you are going to gift these or want to make hangers.
-----
Melt the lard and peanut butter on the stove top over low heat.

Then add the dry ingredients and stir till blended.

After mixing pour evenly into bottoms of cut down half gallon juice or milk containers. Or you can use those Ziploc plastic storage containers.. Set aside to cool, you can put in the fridge to cool quickly.

After cooled and set, pop the cakes out and fill your hangers.

Now I just save old onion bags that are sturdy, pop in the cake, and tie the top onto a heavy cord then hang in the trees.

If you are using the Ziploc containers,I have found that filled about half way was just the right size to make the suet cake to fit the square wire baskets you can buy at most places that sell birdseed in larger bags and have a good birding section. Make sure the baskets are dipped into plastic, or painted as birds can become stuck to frozen bare metal.

For gifts, you can get decorative pans or molds. Tie 8" of hemp into a circle and lay one end into the mold before you pour in the suet.
_________________________________

Pine cone feeders. (almost like the recipe above, so you can make both)

*
3 cups corn meal
*
1/2 cup shelled seeds like sunflower or thistle
*
1 cup crunchy peanut butter (store brand is fine)
*
3/4 to 1 cup rendered fat. (lard, bacon drippings, etc.}
*
Several large pine cones
*
Optional: 1 cup chopped fruit and/or a cup of quick cooking oats

In a large bowl, mix the corn meal and seeds together. Using two forks cut in the peanut butter, as you would for a pie crust.

Melt the fat and pour into the corn meal and peanut butter mixture. Mix well and allow to cool. If it is too runny, add more corn meal or some oats.

Stuff the suet into a pine cone. Hang several of these stuffed cones from a limb (as in photo above.) In a few days your birds will love you. I hang mine near a feeder to speed this process.

This recipe is very flexible-and a good way to use grease and fruit. Store excess suet in the refrigerator.

3 Day Coconut Cake...Yeah Right.

2010-02-07T15:59:00.004-05:00

I love coconut. Gosh, I love just about everything....and that can be a problem and a blessing.
Take this cake for instance. I have been making this for years. The name of it is '3 Day Coconut Cake'. "3 day" because it's actually SUPPOSED to SIT for 3 days before you cut into it.
Therein lies two problems. This cake has never in the 30 years I've been making it, sat for 3 days until being cut into.
Should it sit for 3 days? Yes.
It gets better and better with each passing hour.
The flavor of the coconut permeates the cake and the frosting and it is so much better than Pepperidge Farm Coconut Cake. Which, for store bought cake, I actually like.
But this 3 Day one, I love.
A problem and a blessing.
A problem because I do not have people around to share this with right now, only Larry and I in the immediate, half snowed in, area.
Our neighbor came by and plowed our driveway the other day, but he is getting married soon and is on a big diet.
So it is just us to eat this.
Guess I should not have made it...yeah, right.

3 day Coconut Cake

You're going to mix the filling the night before so plan accordingly. It is worth it.

Your best recipe for a yellow or white or whatever kind of cake you like. Or a cake mix. I use a yellow cake recipe. Lowfat is fine.
But use coconut milk if you can for the liquid. NOT 'Pepe Lopez' cream of coconut. Just plain coconut milk in the can like you would use for a curry. Or just use water.

14 oz. Unsweetened coconut if you can get it. I used sweet.
1 cup sour cream- lowfat is fine.
1 cup white sugar or sucanet or raw sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
12 oz.container frozen whipped topping, thawed- lowfat is fine.

Night before you bake the cake, Mix half the coconut with the sugars and sour cream. Cover and stick in the fridge. Chill over night.
Next day :
Bake that cake however you do. but use a bundt or tube pan or 2 8" round or square pans and cut the tube or bundt into 3 layers. If you do the 8" pans cut each into 2 layers.

Cool completely. Cut into layers.
Remove 1/2 cup of filling and put in bowl, set aside.

Smear filling between layers.

Fold whipped cream into reserved sour cream mixture. Fold gently. Then frost that cake.
Take the rest of the coconut and sprinkle all over cake. Keep in the fridge. Covered.
Now see if you can wait 3 days. (wait at LEAST till late in the evening, 10 hours if you can)

SNOW DAY Pictures !!!

2010-02-06T20:37:00.013-05:00

Here in southern Ohio we did get a bit of the white stuff. Just took a few pics out in the yard today. A pretty lazy day which has afforded me time to make more rounds of the blogs participating in One World One Heart blog event. There are about 1000 bloggers signed up now. So go to the post below enter my giveaway so I know you've been here then click the link or the poster and check them out. So many great blogs, I get lost in some....next thing I know I've been there for at least 15 minutes to an hour.

I love St. Frances of Assisi
Total SCORE from Big Lots for 3 bucks.
The trail to our back woods. I love how this looks with the archway.
Old rusted springs from box springs. Going to brace up and plant morning glories on this year.
My clothes dryer...works good. Well, depends on the day. Not today so good.
Across the road from us. Anyone want to buy it and build a house there? Any Artsy, earth lovin', bonfire drummin', from scratch cookin', growin' yer own damn food person wanna? Move HERE... PLEEESE.
Turn out of our place, turn right.
Head out of our place and turn left.
One big mess o' dogs. Poor Larry was trying to hold them while I snapped pictures.
This is looking up our driveway, that is a workroom/exercise room in front of the truck. Over behind the fence you can see part of the house.

An Accomplished Woman with Autism

2010-02-03T12:03:00.004-05:00

I don't know much about Autism (but I am learning). My family has not been personally touched by Autism.
However, since beginning my blog I have met quite a few bloggers who have children with Autism.

My misunderstanding and ignorance led me to believe that just about everyone with this disorder was totally cut off from the world that the rest of us live in. Like in their own little world that we could only sit by and observe, never really being a part of it. And they the same, here...but not here.
I saw the frustration and sadness in a mothers eyes, on a T.V show I watched for about 3 minutes years ago, when her son would pull away whenever she tried to hug him.

I thought only ones who could have any sense of living in both worlds were like "Rainman" or that piano player who is blind and plays so beautifully by ear, but cannot tie his own shoes.

I understand now that there are so many levels of Autism. That functionality depends on the person. It is not an 'across the board' dealing.

This morning I watched Martha for a moment (commercial break on the news show I usually have on) and there she was, getting ready to make a pillow with some actress (I since found out it was Claire Danes).
And they were talking about Dr. Temple Grandin. I had no idea who this woman is. But now I am fascinated by her. I am blown away by her.
Dr. Grandin did not talk until she was three and a half. After being diagnosed Autistic, her parents were urged to institutionalize her.

Claire Danes will be playing Dr. Temple Grandin in an HBO movie this coming weekend( Saturday Feb.6th).
A movie about her life and how she became an accomplished author, and a pioneer in the way animals are treated before slaughter.
Dr. Temple holds a PH.D and is an assistant professor at Colorado State University.

Her current bestselling book on autism is The Way I See It: A Personal Look at Autism and Asperger's. She also authored Unwritten Rules of Social Relationships, Animals Make us Human, Animals in Translation, Thinking in Pictures, Emergence: Labeled Autistic and has produced several DVDs.

On The Way I See It:

"Every library, large or small, needs this book on its shelves. Every school, large or small, with the responsibility of educating children with autism or Asperger’s needs the guidance this book offers. . . . Last, and certainly not least, every parent will find within these pages golden nuggets of advice, encouragement, and hope to fuel their day-to-day journey through their child’s autism. . . . The wisdom she offers through this book and its personal reflections on autism will, I’m sure, ring true for many more decades to come."

-Ruth Christ Sullivan, first elected president of the Autism Society of America

On Unwritten Rules of Social Relationships:

"I wish I had this book when Sean was a child. It would have helped me understand Sean so much more."

-Judy Barron, mother of author Sean Barron and co-author of There’s A Boy In Here

"If you’ve ever wondered, ‘What is going through my child’s mind? Why can’t he get social interactions?’ then this book is for you! ‘A-ha!’ moments abound."

-Veronica Zysk, managing editor of award-winning Autism Asperger’s Digest

I hope everyone who can, will watch and tell your friends. Maybe stick a little something on your blog in support of the children with Autism and the families who may need a little hope.
I know there are breakthroughs all the time and I will continue to pray for more.

One World One Heart Blog Event and a Giveaway- Deadline EXTENDED

2010-01-31T20:44:00.007-05:00

True Random Number Generator Min: 1 Max:260 Result: 204 Powered by RANDOM.ORG
Winner is Electra
I will be emailing Electra and telling her the grand news.
If I do not hear back by Friday at midnight I will redo a winner.
Closed- winner to be announced as soon as I can.
DEADLINE EXTENDED TILL Monday Feb. 15th 8:30 PM, EST. I am still visiting blogs and I feel like as long as I am, you should be able to visit mine and enter.

There is a big blog happening you may not be aware of. The 4th Annual One World One Heart. Created in 2007 One World One Heart brings bloggers together from around the world who may never ordinarily meet. It's kind of a blog hop. There is a list of blogs entered, you go, visit, learn about each other, make connections, friends and in the process maybe win a treasure. Last I checked there were almost 900 wonderful and talented bloggers signed up. I have been to a few and I am blown away by the beauty and talent these bloggers possess.

So in honor of this wonderful community event I want to welcome all bloggers to my site....you have no blog you say ? Well sign up. It's fun and it's a fantastic way to meet new friends, share and learn all kinds of new stuff. Comments, are the new hugs you know.(if you need help figuring out how to sign up and get started blogging, email me through the addy in my profile) There is a wealth of knowledge and friendship in the blogosphere.

This years theme is "Ride the Magic Carpet" so to enter my giveaway I'd like you to do the following:

Leave me a couple lines in a comment. Make sure you leave a link to your blog. And your email addy in your comment or make sure I can find it on your blog profile. Then go to the Magic Carpet list and visit as many blogs as you can. Remember, it's a world wide event. (you may have to scroll to the right side of the page as its so big it would not fit on my monitor)

Okay here is the item you can win on my blog ;

Watermelon Evening - Earrings
A pair of wire wrapped pink faceted glass crystals with a chunk of watermelon abalone over top. On surgical steel ear wires.

New cutoff at 8:30 PM Feb. 15th.
Contest ends at 12:01 a.m. February 15th and the winner will be announced later that day.
Make sure I have your email in your comment or on your blog profile.

No Garden Can Still Equal Fresh Just Picked Veggies.

2010-01-31T12:36:00.002-05:00

Some readers of my blog know that we have a garden and a greenhouse. Fresh veggies are not a challenge for us. I mean FRESH veggies. But to those of you who have no time or no yard there is a way you too can have fresh veggies for most of the year.

Community Supported Agriculture or "CSA"
It's a concept that originated in Europe and Japan and has been in the US for about two decades. It has really taken off though in the last 5-6 years.
Basically city slickers join in with a local farmer and buy a "share" in the farms bounty.

Usually a payment is made up front early in the year and in exchange you receive a delivery, usually at a central point like a church parking lot, weekly of bags of what the farm produces.

Some CSA's include fruits along with produce and some provide meat and eggs. I know one that has mushrooms, goats milk and cheese and apple cider along with the vegetables.

Now how cool is this?

It is also a way to introduce food you may have never tried before, like broccoli rabe, eggplant, fennel, endive and salsify (look it up).
Some farms produce right up to Thanksgiving and a few even longer depending on what they are into and the climate.

What a way to eat healthier, introduce new foods, go pick up a bounty you helped to produce, meet new friends, one CSA here in Ohio has a potluck dinner every month and they include recipes along with your delivery.
Everyone wins.
Some may even have a way to work off the join up fee.

To find a CSA in your area go to www.localharvest.org and enter your zip code.
Vegg Out.....

Brightest Full Moon Tonight

2010-01-29T14:42:00.004-05:00

This evening we will experience what is known as a "Wolf Moon". The first full moon of the year.
A name given by Native Americans acknowledging the wolves that howl at the moon.

The moon will also be appearing bigger and brighter to us and here's why,
The moon is, on average, 238,855 miles from Earth. The moon's orbit around Earth – which causes it to go through all its phases once every 29.5 days – is not a perfect circle, but rather an ellipse. One side of the orbit is 31,070 miles closer than the other.

So in each orbit, the moon reaches this closest point to us, called perigee. Once or twice a year, perigee coincides with a full moon, making the moon bigger and brighter than any other full moons during the year. This is what will happen tonight.

Tonight it will be about 14 percent wider and 30 percent brighter than lesser full Moons of the year. You can read all about this at Spaceweather.com .

Also, if you look to the left of the moon tonight, that star like, reddish brown object is Mars.

Something cool to do with the kids.

Soups on for the Giveaway Winner.

2010-01-19T18:45:00.004-05:00

From the Free Generator at Violet Cottage...

Random Number Generator
This page simply picks a random number, within a range you specify.
For example, to pick a number between 1 and 100, set the Lowest Number to be 1, and the Highest Number to be 100.
Then click on Pick a Number to pick the number. That's it. Have fun!

If you found this useful, consider visiting the main Violet Cottage website. Thanks for visiting!

The randomly picked number is: 4

Lowest Number 1
Highest Number 32

BOMBTASTIC BELLE ! COME ON DOWN, YOU'RE OUR WINNER !
Belle has already been contacted. Hope you enjoy your mugs.

Everyone else, thank you for entering and there will be another giveaway soon.

Little Ricky Pickles 1st Snow

2010-01-16T19:46:00.007-05:00

Little Ricky has gotten a name addition. My daughter said he looks like a "Mister Pickles" so we started calling him Ricky Pickles.

He is now believed to have some retriever somewhere along his lineage as he brings you all his toys to throw. He will start with his little teddy bear, if he gets no response from you he will then go get an old necktie that has a bunch of knots tied into it. If you still do not respond he will start bringing the raw hide bones, I think these are to bribe you into playing.

All of a sudden, you'll look down and there will be toys and bones all around your feet and he's sitting there, with that infamous Jack Russell stare. As soon as you look at him a big bark comes out and he grabs a toy and lays it in your lap. If you do start throwing, be prepared to be in it for the long haul.
His favorite game is you throw, he retrieves, you go to throw but he does NOT let go and a great time is had engaging in tug-o-war until he lets you have it. Then it starts over. He's a great growler and sounds extremely ferocious. Kind of a cross between Wolfman Jack and the Tasmanian Devil.

It snowed quite a bit here last week so I got him out in the yard and took some pictures.

He keeps us all laughing.

Take Me Back Tuesday...My Daughter.

2010-01-12T12:27:00.003-05:00

I am participating in "Take Me Back Tuesday" over at A Giveaway Addicted Mommy.

This photo of my beautiful daughter takes me back to 1991 when she was about 15. Sarah went to the Job Corp that year and really did a lot of growing up. I am so proud of her.

Today she works in Boston at a Mid-east restaurant, does wonderful photography work with bands, has a lovely vintage shop on Etsy, is an artist, and has a slew of crafts she enjoys.
She is also mommy to Logan, a mix breed and Stagger a deaf Boston Terrier. Sarah is fluent in American Sign Language.

This photo was taken by a neighbor of ours in Norfolk Va. by the Hague, I love the foggy morning look it has.

Thank you Sarah for all the love and joy you have brought into my life. I love you.

Progresso Soup Mug Set Giveaway !

2010-01-09T20:15:00.007-05:00

Yum mm Fiber...No REALLY, yum mm. CLOSED (come back soon for another giveaway, or sign up to follow and find me on your blogger dashboard)

Fiber = bad rap for years. Jokes about eating cardboard come to mind.
But then we all started educating ourselves, and realized there were plenty of great ways to fit more fiber into our diets. Keep those pipes in good working order. Fiber is also essential to losing weight.

But WAIT ! Now there's even more fiber to be had... in soup.
That's right, in your soup bowl.

Progresso soup has added more fiber to four of their soups. Now you can get 28% of your daily fiber in one serving of : Creamy Tomato Basil , Chicken Tuscany, Hearty Vegetable & Noodle and Homestyle Minestrone.

I usually make soup from scratch, but I do keep cans in the cupboard for times when there is major cold weather activities going on outside and a nice hot bowl of soup is the only thing that will do.

Progresso sent me a can of their Homestyle Minestrone to try out, and even sent two huge cobalt blue soup mugs and spoons so I could open the can, eat soup, and not have to wash a soup bowl first to do it in.

Tasty soup, although Minestrone is not my favorite, I'm more of a Creamy Tomato Basil kinda gal.

But hey, they sent it, I ate it and I ended up with almost one third of my daily fiber in that one bowl of soup.

AND WAIT ....they are offering you dear peeps, a chance to have your own mugs and spoons so you can eat soup.
Snazzy cobalt mugs. Silvery spoons. Fiber in your soup. Sounds good.

ENTER

Just leave a comment saying how you add more fiber to your families meals. Or a good high fiber recipe would be nice too if you have one. Make sure to leave your email in your comment or make sure its on your blogger profile if you are a member of blogger.

EXTRA ENTERS-( do the one above first please.)

*Follow this here blog publicly- 2 extra entries- leave 2 extra comments for these. Like "follow #1"then "follow#2" if you already follow just do the same.

**Follow in google reader- 2 extra entries. Tell me you do.

**Blog about this giveaway-3 extra entries- yep, leave 3 separate "I blogged #1"...Blogged #2...Blogged #3

This will run until Sunday January 17th at midnight EST. Winner will be announced on Monday January 18th.

Progresso Soup and MyBlogSpark provided soup, mugs and spoons so we could try the soup out and provide my opinion here on this blog.
All opinions are mine alone. Nobody dares put words in my mouth.

I Won the Warmest Mittens and I Love Them.

2010-01-09T15:19:00.005-05:00

I like to sew, but I have not been sewing in quite awhile. But I am getting ready to get back into it, so I have been wandering around the web looking at sewing blogs.

A while back I came across a blog , Sew Glamorous, and I thought "wow, this is a sweet blog about someone who hand makes a lot of different things and posts about them". I also fell in love with this bag....
Photo from Sew Glamorous
But alas, I found her blog after the giveaway for it.

BUT I WON THESE !!!

Photo from Sew Glamorous

Angie posted about how she hated making them. It was a pain and that they came out not feeling right to her and that she wanted to give them away to anyone who wanted these p.i.t.a mittens.
She also said they were extremely warm....mmmmm....warrrrmmmmm.
I am a sucker for warm when it comes to my circulation challenged hands.
So I entered....and I won. ( I was the only entrant on her blog, not sure if anyone else did on her facebook, poor mittens)
But na na na naaaa. I won and I love them. I have never had a warmer pair of anything on my hands.
Thank you Angie.
I Love hand-made recycled stuff.

A Winner is Picked ! YAY!

2010-01-08T20:09:00.003-05:00

Kristyanna is the winner of the 15.00 gift certificate to my Etsy Shop.
Congratulations on winning, I will be emailing you shortly.

And Thank You to everyone who entered.
I will be posting another giveaway tomorrow - Saturday for something that is not jewelry.

Random Number Generator
This page simply picks a random number, within a range you specify.
For example, to pick a number between 1 and 100, set the Lowest Number to be 1, and the Highest Number to be 100.
Then click on Pick a Number to pick the number. That's it. Have fun!

If you found this useful, consider visiting the main Violet Cottage website. Thanks for visiting!

The randomly picked number is: 65

Lowest Number : 1
Highest Number: 87

Passionate Kisses

2010-01-08T15:46:00.004-05:00

Photo from Duncan ENT.

Are you crafty? Would you like to be crafty?
Do you like to recycle and upcycle things you have around the house?
DO you have kids that spend way too much time in front of the TV, PC,video game player?
Would you like to have easy instructions for all kinds of crafts emailed to you at no charge?
Really neat crafts. The kind that you would be proud to show your best friend, the one that tells you the truth about your butt really looking too big in that skirt.
Well, here is the link for such a site.
Just sign up for their newsletter with your email and that's it.

Your kids will love the cute things they can make with you.
I love the ideas. And for all levels of crafters, seamstresses, kids and wannabees.
The "Kiss Me" pillow was in my mailbox today along with tons of other instructions.
(I would make the pillow, but embroider the "Kiss Me" on it so it would be something you could cuddle with.)

Passionate Kisses
_________________

Is it too much to ask
I want a comfortable bed that won't hurt my back
Food to fill me up
And warm clothes and all that stuff
Shouldn't I have this
Shouldn't I have this
Shouldn't I have all of this, and

Passionate kisses
Passionate kisses, whoa oh oh
Passionate kisses from you
-Mary Chapin Carpenter-

With Valentines right around the corner I will be adding stuff to my Etsy Shop with that in mind.
The newest addition....

"Kiss Me Over the Garden Gate"

How the Library Helped Us Buy Our Land.

2010-01-03T20:51:00.006-05:00

Well I'm pretty upset. Libraries are closing around the country due to budget cuts. Some are cutting hours, some are cutting days, a lot are on the brink of closing all together. Our little library is now closed on Thursdays. Also they are only having one night a week of extended hours, used to be three nights.

I am one of their most patrony patrons. Usually I have 20 - 30 library books at home.
Along with a few DVD's and CD's.

Here is the story of what the library has meant to me...

Larry and I were on the same page ever since we met back in 1970. (I was 12, he was ummmm....older ) We both loved living in the woods and wanted to some day own a good amount of land and build our own home. And even after losing touch for 27 years we both kept that dream.
When we found each other again, in 1998, we made a plan. To save as much as we could and in 2 1/2 years buy land.

I moved up here from N.C and got a job as a pharmacy technician in a drugstore one block from the 1 bedroom apt. that Larry had rented right before I moved here.

He was working as "an agragate relocation specialist" (he hauled gravel) The apt. he rented was 3 rooms, heat, water and trash included, so the bills we had were: rent,electricity,phone and car insurance.We drove an old car, one he could work on himself and we both took packed lunches to work.

We bought nothing. Went out to eat once a week at "an all you can eat" place. And socked away our money.

Here's where the library comes in....Our soul form of entertainment was built around it.
We checked out tons of music. Loads of movies and read books on how to garden, digging wells, building houses,plumbing your own home, wiring, canning food, woodstoves, compost toilets, greenhouses, catching rainwater, frugal living...and so much more.

By utilizing all that the library has to offer, we managed to save almost $30,000 in those 2 1/2 years. Enough to buy almost 10 acres of land and build our home. And learned so much along the way. Giving us a wonderful knowledge of how to do for ourselves.

And now they want us all to buy a Kindle or some other reader. To me, a plastic "reader" is just never gonna be the same I tells ya. There's just something about holding a book, seeing them lined up waiting, with goodies inside, on a bookshelf.

I've always had bunches of books around. Always had a book nearby with a bookmark in it. I grew up in foster homes and so many times a book was my only friend. I could be anywhere, and pretend I was anyone through a book.
I learned how to "Be here now" with the help of a book titled "Be here now".

When I was little and my mother was still here, I had piles of books. I was an early reader and I know this helped me survive the after years.
When my kids were babies I read to them and we would go for the books at yard sales. They always got books at Christmas and birthdays. And we would go to the library.
They loved the library.
I would catch both of them at night, up reading after I had called lights out. I never got upset. I was just so happy they had an early love of books. They both did well in school and they are both wonderful adults and they both still love books.

Well, this is my rant about loving the library and feeling sadness every time I read about another town or city having to close theirs.

Please support your local library.
It would be horrible to one day hear a child ask "Mommy, what's a book"?

CELEBRATING MY FIRST SALE...GIVEAWAY! - CLOSED

2009-12-30T23:38:00.007-05:00

This Giveaway is Now CLOSED- Come back for more soon, and in the meantime...take a look around.

That's right Peeps, Little Purple Room is officially in business. And now that I have made not ONE but TWO sales...I'm all riled up to give something away.

A 15.00 GC to use in my shop.
By the time this giveaway ends,there will be even more in there to choose from.

So in order to enter, you must complete the Mandatory entry...
Then AFTER that is all done, you can pick and choose whatever else you may want to do to have extra chances.

Mandatory : Go to Little Purple Room and let me know what you might choose if you win. This is not written in stone and you can change your mind if you win.

Extra Entries: *Follow this here blog- 2 extra entries- leave 2 extra comments for these. Like "follow #1" then "follow#2" If you already follow, leave 2 posts saying the same.

**Blog about this giveaway-5 extra entries- yep, leave 5 separate "I blogged #1"...Blogged #2...Blogged #3 and leave your link to the blog post.

Giveaway ends at Midnight est on Thursday Jan 7th. Open to US and Canada. Age 18+

I've Been Featured on a Blog . Larry agrees I am famous now.

2009-12-30T22:44:00.004-05:00

Photo is property of CherChic

One of the sweet commentors in my last giveaway has a shop on Etsy and I checked her out. The coolest eye glass case, complete with a nekid white monkey on the front was waiting for me.
I bought that sucker, and I LOVE IT. I have these huge sun glasses I got when my eye was messed up, they wrap around the whole front of my face and would not fit in any case I have. But they fit in the nekid white monkey. It is fleece inside so no scratchies. Very tough material too so I know it will last for years.
So the other day I saw that I had a convo on Etsy and when I went to check it out, it said Go to http://cherchiccreations.blogspot.com
so, one to usually follow directions, I went there. Oh WOW, Claudia made a collage of my jewelry and wrote such nice things.

Claudia makes the cutest stuffed kitties and pumpkins. This is Wylie. What a sweet face.

Photo is property of CherChic

Claudia also makes some way cool eye glass cases with muscle classic cars on them.

Photo is property of CherChic
Her prices are great and you should check her out. I love her avatar. You can feel the joy.

You ROCK Sista !!! You made me feel so special. I love feeling Etsy love.

Somebody IS Listening Out There

2009-12-29T22:02:00.004-05:00

When I was a little girl we ate a lot of oatmeal. I still do. I love oatmeal. Larry thinks it's peculiar when I eat it for dinner. Sometimes it's just all I want.

But other times I want cereal. I really enjoy it with yogurt. A bowl of some thick Greek style yogurt with a couple of handfuls of cereal crunched over top, a few walnuts, and some fruit....Heaven in a bowl.
We eat this quite a bit for our bedtime snack.
Cereal with vanilla soy milk is a favorite too, 2/3 cereal to 1/3 milk. I do not like soggy cereal.
Larry is the freaky one when it comes to cereal...he puts ice cubes in his.

You really should not skip breakfast. It can lead to overeating later in the day. Studies also show that everyone, especially children, perform better when they have had a good balanced breakfast.

As my kids were growing, they were allowed to have certain cereals for breakfast.
But I refused to buy most of the ones that were on Saturday morning cartoons. Simply put...they had WAY TOO MUCH sugar in them.
Any cereal with "cookie" in their name just about would set my hair on fire.
And then in the commercial they would have the sugary cereal in the bowl and right there, right next to that cereal would be THE SUGAR BOWL ! AACCKK!!!!

So I am very pleased to announce that General Mills has taken it upon themselves to listen to what smart mothers have been saying for years...."I'd buy more cereal if it didn't have so much sugar in it".
Face it, moms are busy and cereal is way handy. One of my kids first finger foods was cereal. It's fun too. You can learn to count with it, tease the dog with it, throw it on the floor and watch mom bend over and pick it up, over and over and over...

Okay getting back to General Mills, Cheerios have always been a favorite. I'm a Honey Nutter and Larry, bless his heart, is a plain. (with ice cubes)
Cheerios have always been one of the lower amount of sugar cereals.

But GM is making a commitment to lower the sugar content of all its' cereals marketed to children under the age of 12, down to the single digits per serving. The company has already been reducing sugar in cereals while increasing key nutrients, such as calcium and vitamin D, and providing whole grain.

So if a bowl of that "Cookie Crisp" ever shows up at our house, I won't have to grab the fire extinguisher to put out my hair.

To check the sugar content of all General Mills cereal so you don't have to clog up the aisle at the store reading all the labels. click here...

To check out an awesome Cheerios BIG breakfast cookie recipe click here

To print a coupon for 1$ off a box of selected General Mills cereals click here

Also, I do so love a company that puts it's money were a mouth is....

10 Ways General Mills Nourished Communities in 2009
General Mills Ends Year with Renewed Commitment to Alleviating Hunger in the U.S. and Africa
12/24/2009

General Mills donated a record $91 million in contributions across the U.S. and abroad in fiscal 2009 to ease hunger, advance nutrition wellness, and support K-12 education. The company donated $16 million of food to Feeding America. In the past decade, General Mills product donations have exceeded $168 million dollars. Each year, the company contributes five percent of company pretax profits to communities. In addition, 82 percent of employees volunteer -- leveraging the company's financial contributions. Read more....

General Mills provided my family with 4 coupons for cereal through MyBlogSpark TM, however all opinions, likes and dislikes are from my own big mouth.

Acts of Kindness and Snowballs that Wet the Bed.

2009-12-27T20:54:00.006-05:00

"Snowkiss" by Diane W.
___________________________________________________________________________________

One of my favorite poems by a favorite author.

I Made Myself A Snowball

I made myself a snowball,
As perfect as could be,
I thought I'd keep it as a pet,
And let it sleep with me.
I made it some pajamas,
And a pillow for its head,
Then last night it ran away,
But first - it wet the bed!
(Poet - Shel Silverstein)

I love books. I will probably never own a 'Kindle'. Heck, I have never even talked on a cell phone. I've never held one. Until a week ago I didn't know what "STFU" meant.

I find a lot of joy in the simpler things in life.
I like when a very simple thing comes along and it is embraced whole heartedly among so many.
Easy and effective. I really appreciate that.

I came across a story on Fox News that featured Jason Wright, author of 'Christmas Jars', and I found myself smiling because I was watching someone who understood about a simple, easy act of kindness that could literally change someone's life. Something that so many could do.
Filling a jar, bit by bit, with your change at the end of the day.

I went to the 'Christmas Jars' website and read some of the stories, some by those who had left jars for others, some by those who had received jars..I shed a few tears.
Going on over to Amazon to read a few reviews of the book. I was surpised to find some negative reviews. I read them and they revealed that it is a very short book, 122 pages. One of the 1 star reviewers was disappointed that the characters were not well developed, that it was "short on plot"... said " there is no mention of God", I thought about this.

I think no matter what you call it, there is an inner spirit in all of us. When we nurture it, revere it and let it guide us, we are in the light.
When we ignore it, detest it, and go against it, we are not. There is darkness, a black cloud, negativity takes hold.

Although I have not read the book, I felt that spirit, when I saw the interview and when I went to the web site. I felt enough of the spirit to want to find out more.
I thought about just READING the written word versus FEELING the written word.

Seems to me that any story, any kind act, any example by one that can move so many into positive action is a Holy Spirit, no matter what you do or don't call It.

Maybe the author just hopes everyone who is filled with the true spirit of the book, will be writing their own chapters to 'Christmas Jars'.

Larry and I have started a Christmas Jar, a pickle jar actually, and we talked about not counting it when it is full, just giving it, anonymously. Because the amount does not matter.

We talked about how even a tank of gas, can be a blessing. A month of heat, a birthday cake for a child that would not have one otherwise. And hopefully, when the recipient can, they will refill the jar and pass it on.

And this to me, is the true Spirit. Or whatever you might call It.

We have a WINNER !!

2009-12-23T20:41:00.003-05:00

Winner of the earring giveaway is 409cope. Congratulations, I will be contacting you in a few minutes. Because of the date, winner will have 1 week to get back to me.

Thank you to everyone who entered. I will be having my next one very soon, because I made A SALE !!!!!

Random Numbers*
11
* This table of 1 random numbers was produced according to the following specifications: Numbers were randomly selected from within the range of 1 to 68. Duplicate numbers were not allowed.

Number was chosen by this Random Number Generator.

Closed-A New Shop on the Block GIVEAWAY !

2009-12-15T15:51:00.006-05:00

(This giveaway is now closed. Winner will be announced Wedensday Dec. 23. Come back soon for another chance to win.)

Well I threatened to, and that eye infection tried to keep me from it, but "It" has happened Internet....I opened "Little Purple Room". So see it's NOT just ALL in my head.

Sooo what? Another shop on Etsy, you've seen a million of them you say?
Well how many have These....to give away?

And there's only 8 items in the shop (I have more to list though)it's madness.
I am so not overly dramatic in real life so I get off on it here...

These earrings consist of Amethyst Czech glass rondelles with silver vines and surgical steel ear wires. They are about 2" long.

Ok I know you want to go have a peek, so do it. And come back and....

Mandatory entry:
Tell me if you like anything in the shop so far and leave a link to your shop if you have one.

Extra entries:
--Follow this here blog. Leave 2 additional comments saying you follow.
--Post about this giveaway on your facebook, leave me a link,2 additional entries
--leave a comment on another post of mine and comment on which one you left it on. 2 additional entries.

This giveaway will end at midnight est on Dec. 22nd. US and Canada 18+ I figure it might be pretty great to get a little gift in the mail after all the Christmas celebrating is over.
(I made these earrings myself and received no outside compensation from anyone or myself for posting this giveaway)

And to give you a little Holiday cheer...just look at this face.

I won a big box of CRUNCH !

2009-12-09T15:11:00.004-05:00

(I am finally back to blogging after a nasty eye infection. All better now. I will be opening my Etsy shop in a few days and having a nice giveaway right here on this here blog. Thank you to those of you who sent emails and comments wishing me well)

I entered a nice Giveaway a few weeks ago over at Erin's site , Snafood and I won a selection of snacks from Good Health Natural Products. Erin has some great recipes on her site. She posts about her successful outcomes and her "snafood's". On Monday UPS pulled up my drive and out came the man in brown with a big box. SNACKS ! Oh yes, the husband carried them in, I clapped my hands, the dogs did their crazy dance they do anytime I am excited about something or someone breaks our quiet solitude here. The UPS man coming around is a joyous occasion indeed.

Oh what crunchy goodness awaits. These snacks are all made from natural ingredients.
There is a bag each of;
Popcorn
Baked Hummus chips
Peanut butter filled pretzels
Veggie Stix
Veggie chips
Cracked pepper and sea salt chips
Chilein lime chips cooked in Avocado oil
Sweet potato chips
Polenta BBQ corn chips
Cinnamon Apple crisps

Very generous prize.
We have tried a couple of them and WOW, so good. I do not buy a lot of pre-made snacks. Too much, fat and too many things on the labels I can't pronounce. These are a wonderful, tasty and far healthier alternative when you just gotta get your crunch on.

A little blurb from their website that I found interesting
"Good Health® Natural Products has developed a reputation for healthy living and creativity that has always resulted in products that are beyond ordinary! The company began with Veggie Stix® pioneering the veggie snack category of consumer foods. Next came the revolutionary Good Health® Natural Products Olive Oil Potato Chips (another first of its kind) providing the consumer a delicious source of mono and polyunsaturated fats. The Olive Oil Potato Chips definitely made a name for itself as it was recognized on the “Oprah” and “Rachel Ray” Shows. Other recent kudos include GHNP’s Half Naked Popcorn listed as the healthiest popcorn snack in the latest edition of the book, “Eat This Not That,” published by the editor of Men’s Health Magazine."

I like that "Eat this,Not that" book. (checked it out of the library)

Also right now they are giving a code for 33% off case prices and free shipping on orders over 30 bucks. And for all natural snacks their prices are really good ( I was kind of surprised, I'm used to seeing organic snacks way higher in the stores)

Thanks Erin for the great giveaway and thank you Good Health, you both made my families day.

So see internet, people do win these giveaways. It's a fun way to try new things, save money and meet new friends.

In case you're wondering.

2009-11-06T21:30:00.001-05:00

Larry and I hardly ever eat out. Maybe 5 times in the last year. And this would be at a drive thru basically because he is hypoglycemic and at times must have something to eat when his sugar starts to drop.
If we are out all day, meaning a trip to the big city, then he can be in a spot of needing to be revved up. So either we pick up something handy at the grocery store if we happen to be there or we stop at a drive thru.
I really do not enjoy eating out. Yeah , I know that sounds...ummm.. maybe sac religious or something to the effect to some of you...hahaha. I know the 'sisterhood of dinner reservations' may not approve, but I am so squeamish (weird) about who fixes my food.
But then again, we never get sick. Never get those colds, flu's, "must of been something I ate" trips to the potty...
Nope, not in 9 years have I had anything I could have picked up by someone else touching my food or by me touching a door knob. Yes, that's right internet, I never touch door knobs. Or counters, and I avoid public restrooms unless it's unavoidable. I'm not a germaphob though. Come look at my house, hahaha. Proof is in that pudding believe me. I love worms and frogs and I even bait my own hook. I often garden without gloves cause I love to feel the dirt. It's just other people I have a problem with.
I hold my breath inline at the store or the bank if someone sneezes. I wash my hands as soon as I walk into the house after being in public, especially after handling money...dirty money.
I have a bottle of sanitizer in my purse. And at my last job, I told the pharmacist to send another tech home who was sick or I was going to take the day off.
So why am I blathering on about this?
Because never get sick with cold's, flu's or "must of been something I ate" bathroom visits. But I do get a freaky thing that happens with my eyes every few years and that is why I have not been posting. The inner layer of my eyelid peels off and is very painful, like I have a big chunk of glass in there and as soon as some peels out, more replaces it. Nothing helps. I have to let it run its' course. So hot compresses, eye lube, eye wash, sleep,aspirin and cheap sunglasses are my relief.
I'll be back soon.

And the WINNER IS....

2009-10-28T18:25:00.003-04:00

"If you found this useful, consider visiting the main Violet Cottage website. Thanks for visiting!

The randomly picked number is: 7

Lowest Number 1
Highest Number 21"

Yep, 7 AGAIN. hahaha
Well, you know what they say about "7".

Tami, I am emailing you now for your info.
Thanks everyone for joining in.
Another giveaway will happen this coming weekend.

Do you sew or craft? Scrap giveaway !

2009-10-25T13:44:00.002-04:00

Over at See Mommy Sew, there is a cool scrap giveaway. Sharing scrap fabric you know others will love to use seems like a great idea to me. To enter, just link to the post or if you are blogless...just leave a comment. Sew easy, sew generous, sew go for it. It ends tonight (Sunday) Sew get crackin'.

Last Day for Giveaway

2009-10-25T11:23:00.001-04:00

If you have not entered, you have until midnight tonight 10/25.

Orionid Meteor Shower Peaks Tonight

2009-10-20T18:48:00.003-04:00

Bundle up, get out the lawn chairs and look up for a show.
Tonight between 1 am and 6 am EST will be the best viewing time to see roughly 60 meteors an hour. I love shooting stars.

This is from debris left by Halleys commet. You won't be able to see a lot in the city, too bright there, but out here in the country away from city lights we should have quite a show.
Larry and I went out a few years ago when there was a great meteor shower and saw a bunch of shooting stars...WAY COOL.
Here is more about it

Painting by Larry

There is a season...

2009-10-19T11:48:00.018-04:00

Fall. I love it. When the air turns crisp and the sweaters come out. I love to smell bon-fires and drink hot coffee outside. I enjoy watching the squirrels so busy at stocking up. I close my eyes and smell the aroma of homemade apple pie.

We live in the woods and there is no better show than looking out your window and seeing this.....

Time to pick the last of the tomatoes whether they are ripe or green....

Winter squash almost ready.....

The woodstove is keeping us cozy inside, nice to smell the smoke when you go outside from the chimmney....

Wood is all laid in and ready to go....

Dahlias are putting on a grand display before sleeping for the winter....

Castor bean seeds are ready to harvest....

Last of the gherkins ready to pickle....

And at the end of the day, you come in the house to a great meal of Lentil stew and cornbread....
* 2 large onions
* 2 big handfulls of baby carrots or 3 big carrots chunked up
* 3 TBSP olive oil
* 1 bay leaf
* 2 cans of chicken broth
* 2 cans of water (use the broth can)
* 1 and 1/2 c. brown lentils
* 3-4 potatoes, cut into chunks
* 2 chicken breast cut into chunks and season with a couple sprinkles of garlic powder
* 1/4 tsp. of tumeric
* Salt, pepper

Directions

1. Peel and dice onion
2. Peel and dice carrot
3. In large pot, heat 1 TBSP olive oil, stir in carrot and about 1/3 of the onions untl onions are ‘glassy’
4. Add bay leaf and chicken broth
5. Add lentils, cover, cook for approx. 30 min. at low heat.
While thats cooking....
6. Wash, peel potatoes, cut into cubes
7. Using 1 TBSP olive oil, saute potatoes and 2/3 of the onions until onions are glassy
8. Sprinkle with tumeric
9. Stir until evenly covered
10. Add to the lentils
11. Cook another 10 to 20 minutes or until both lentils and potatoes are almost soft
12. Wash chicken breast, pat dry, cut into cubes.
13. Heat remaining 1 TBSP olive oil to fry chicken at medium heat, turning with spatula till cooked
14. Throw into pot with the potato/lentil mixture
15. Now, season the mixture with pepper and salt.
16. Serve with cornbread or home made bread and some butter.

Giveaway. Sterling and Chalcedony Earrings

2009-10-19T10:44:00.006-04:00

I love these earrings and made myself a pair almost like these.
On French sterling silver ear wires, which I hammered a little for strength,
I wrapped chalcedony pear briolettes with sterling silver wire until satisfied.....ahhhhhh. The color of these just looks dreamy. Kind of opalescent.

Then I took them outside and photoed them on a little pile of limestone. I take so-so pics inside but the light outside is more on my side.
I will be having Giveaways a couple times a month hoping you will enter and perhaps follow my blog. I will be opening my own little Etsy shop and look forward to you visiting me there also.

To Enter:
Please leave a comment on the type of jewelry you enjoy wearing. ie:Natural stone, pearl, silver, large, delicate, funky, vintage...whatever you like.
Or let me know about your favorite piece of jewelry.
PLEASE make sure your email is in your comment or available on your blogger profile page.
It would make me sad if you won and I could not let you know.

EXTRA ENTERS-( do the one above first please.)

*Tweet about this and leave me the link- 1 entry per day,per tweet,leave the daily link.
*Follow this here blog (over on the right side bar,sign up)- 2 extra entries- leave 2 extra comments for these. Like "follow #1"then "follow#2"
**Blog about this giveaway-3 extra entries- yep, leave 3 separate "I blogged #1"...Blogged #2...Blogged #3

This Giveaway ends at Midnight EST on Oct. 25th.
Open to US and Canada.

This ain't "Green"...A Chemical Reaction.

2009-10-15T11:27:00.002-04:00

If you are concerned about your health and the enviroment,please watch this movie trailer.
We should all be concerned about the harm this is causing.
This shows what one small town can do when they decide to stand up and not accept what is done in the name of profit, big corporations and a "green" lawn.

To read more about this movie and where it is showing click here.

We have a WINNER !

2009-10-12T13:09:00.003-04:00

Erin from Long Island is the winner of the Autumn Metal necklace. I have emailed you Erin. You have 72 hours (about 1:15 pm on Thursday) to get back to me with your info.
Thanks everyone who entered and I will be having another giveaway this coming weekend.

Random Number Generator
This page simply picks a random number, within a range you specify.
For example, to pick a number between 1 and 100, set the Lowest Number to be 1, and the Highest Number to be 100.
Then click on Pick a Number to pick the number. That's it. Have fun!

If you found this useful, consider visiting the main Violet Cottage website. Thanks for visiting!

The randomly picked number is: 17

Lowest Number: 1
Highest Number: 23

Happy Birthday to my Dear Husband

2009-10-11T14:56:00.000-04:00

You're the Bee's Knee's

I have miracles in my life.
I love you Larry. I always have.
We are golden.

About 1970....

Fried green tomatoes...yum

2009-10-10T00:16:00.004-04:00

88888
There are ways to pick end of the season tomatoes and store them for use in the fall and into the winter.
There are also varieties made for long storage ie:'Long Keeper'

I always pick the green ones around this time for frying up. We love Fried Green Tomatoes.
Here is a favorite recipe.

2 large green tomatoes
1 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
Cannola oil for frying

DIRECTIONS

1. Slice tomatoes 1/2 inch thick. Discard the ends.
2. Whisk eggs and milk together in a medium-size bowl. Scoop flour onto a plate. Mix cornmeal, bread crumbs and salt and pepper on another plate. Dip tomatoes into flour to coat. Then dip the tomatoes into milk and egg mixture. Dredge in breadcrumbs to completely coat.
3. In a large skillet, pour cannola oil (enough so that there is 1/2 inch of oil in the pan) and heat over a medium heat. Place tomatoes into the frying pan in batches of 4 or 5, depending on the size of your skillet. Do not crowd the tomatoes, they should not touch each other. When the tomatoes are browned, flip and fry them on the other side. Drain them on paper towels.

Also the Movie 'Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe' is one of my all time favorite movies. You could rent the movie and make up a batch of these and be set.

Oh, does anyone besides me see a pattern here?

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

2009-10-07T17:26:00.003-04:00

Blogs, Blogging and Contests.

2009-10-03T22:44:00.005-04:00

Please, please, please! If you are entering a contest or giveaway, read the rules. I am on my second giveaway and during my first one and also on this one, there have been people who have entered and either not read the rules thoroughly or do not understand on how to set up their own blogger account and have their profile set up with an email addy.
And just because you have left a comment, it does NOT mean you now follow my blog.
You must go over to the side bar and press buttons to now be a follower of my blog.
I had a couple who set up blogger accounts and no profile was made so if they HAD WON, I would not be able to contact them as there was no email addy in their comment. I recieve a copy of each comment sent to my email account, but if there is no profile made for you, then there is no return address on the email I receive.
Luckily,none of this affected the outcome of my first giveaway. But I have no way to contact these commenters to help them fix their contact info and they may be out there in bloggoville, happily commenting on others blogs with stars in their eyes and fingers that are crossed in the hopes of winning a prize that will never come.

Frogs and bathtubs.

2009-10-03T15:40:00.009-04:00

I used to have 2 ponds when I lived in Virginia. Both manually put in. One was small, about 3x4. The other bigger,5x8. The small one held a couple of small goldfish and a few plants. The bigger one had water cascading down stones and held all kinds of wonder. Like I wonder where that fish went?
It was eaten by a wild duck that came to visit with it's mate and stayed for 3 days, that's where the fish went.
I wonder what that smell is?
That's the smell of a partially duck eaten koi that floated under the slate that overhangs the pond. A great hiding place for rotting fish,laughing posthumously as you wander around the yard and the back alley looking for said smell. Only to find out 2 days later that is was not a bag of garbage someone left next to the dumpster in that back alley.

Yes, the trials and tribulations of owning a pond.
I bought a few water hyacinths and wondered how in the world those 3 turned into 30 almost over night.

I wondered what that funny noise was in the middle of the night wafting through my second story window as I lay my tired head down. Finally getting up and going out to the yard with a flashlight and discovering about 15 frogs in my pond having some kind of full moon mating ritual/frat party.

I wondered after we moved to our land if I would ever have a pond again.

Living out here in the woods, you have to take into consideration the dangers that can befall creatures in your care. And while a pond can be it's own little ecosystem, I still have a responsibility to anyone I introduce to living in it.
So we decided not to have a pond for now.
well at least we decided not to PUT IN a pond for now. We have a pond though.

This is a bathtub that we found at the local dump. I use it for a trough to mix my own soil in before adding it to the raised beds.
We dumped the compost and bags of the other amendments in and stirred and used about half, planning on finishing the next day. That night it rained, actually it poured...ALL night and when we went out, what to our wondering eyes did appear?... a pond.
And you may ask why I would call it a "pond" instead of an old tub half filled with dirt and water?
Because there was a FROG in it!
yes, a little black and green frog,peeping up over the water line. He ducked as I walked by leaving only bubbles.
This was all in early June. There are five frogs in the "pond' now. I wonder if they will stay all winter.

Giveaway for your choice of Angel Earrings or Stone and Metal Necklace

2009-10-02T15:35:00.009-04:00

CLOSED
'Erin From New York' won.
A new giveaway will open this coming weekend.

I had such a good time with my first ever giveaway that I am going to make it a regular thing. Okay...I admit it, I have ulterior motives.

You see, I really want to open my Etsy shop this Winter. And I was wondering how to generate some interest in people to stop by and look at my stuff.
Well, I love giveaways. And I have bought from etsy shops because I saw their items in a giveaway...so "Hey"! I thought to myself ( I call myself 'Hey' in my head) if I like giveaways and Etsy stuff, then I know there are others out there who might stop by and look at my stuff if I tantalize them by dangling jewelry...ooooeeehhh jewwwwlryyyy.

So to whet the jewelry appetite, I am going to be having giveaways to build up my blog readership unabashedly and hope that those who are not already followers will break down, give in and just join, darn it !

Oh yeah, I will also have some of my artwork on here too. And not just the stuff that I mess up, some of the good stuff.(that's one of my angel paintings above)

My giveaways will run the gamut from earrings, necklaces, bracelets, paintings, mixed media pieces, destash stuff, beads and wire kits to make your own and books (from new to lovingly used).
So I hope you will stop by and join in to see what I've been up to, leave a comment, join in a discussion, enter a giveaway, share a recipe or just whatever.

Okay on to what's up for grabs. Winners choice of one of the two following items.

First choice is a pair of Angel earrings. Made with silver metal findings and cobalt glass beads. The ear wires are sterling silver. Very cute, and made with love.
Approx. 1 and 1/2" from the top of the earwire where it goes into your earhole.

And next is a necklace I finished late last night. And I wanted to start the giveaway last night but really wanted to photo this outside so we all had to just wait.

Made from different metals, wires, turquoise beads, and a large carnelian free form bead. The cord is rubber,26", and has a barrel swivel closure of brass.
I call this 'Autumn Metals'.

ENTER

Just leave a comment saying which one you would choose if you won. Make sure to leave your email in your comment or make sure its on your blogger profile if you are a member of blogger.
If you are not comfortable leaving your email in a comment, view my complete profile and email it to me. Letting me know which comment you left
if the user and email names are different. Hey all you, 'Anonymus' commenters, could this be you? I REALLY would be sad if someone won and I could not contact them.

EXTRA ENTERS-( do the one above first please.)

*Follow this here blog- 2 extra entries- leave 2 extra comments for these. Like "follow #1"then "follow#2"
**Blog about this giveaway-3 extra entries- yep, leave 3 separate "I blogged #1"...Blogged #2...Blogged #3 And leave me the link to where in the world you blogged it.

This will run until Sunday October 11th at midnight EST. Winner will be announced on Monday October 12th. Thanks for checking me out and Good Luck.

And the Winner is....LUCKY #7.

2009-10-01T15:24:00.004-04:00

And the beautiful and NEVER DULL,"Wrestling Addicted Mommy" is lucky #7.
From randomnumbergenerator.com
RANDOM NUMBERS - (click 'More random numbers' for more!)
Random lottery number between 2 and 36 7

Congrats to you Gina, I know you have been having a hard week so this should brighten things up for you as Corning Ware always can.
Gina has already gotten back to me with her info...hahha like 2 minutes after I mailed her.
As for the rest of you, well I can only say...I'm having ANOTHER giveaway!
I will be posting later today a chance to win a pair of earrings, winner will get their choice from two pair. So keep your eyes peeled.
And thanks to everyone who entered for my first ever giveaway, and here's to lucky winners.

Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read

2009-09-28T14:39:00.002-04:00

Have you ever read, 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn', 'Of Mice and Men', 'Gone with the Wind' or 'Where’s Waldo'?
Then you have read a Banned or Challenged book.

Yes, you read right.
"A BANNED or CHALLENGED book". Scary words to me.

This isNational Banned Books Week . Seems too strange to even be saying those words here in the ol' U S of A.

Banned and Challenged Classics

Each year, the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom records hundreds of attempts by individuals and groups to have books removed from libraries shelves and from classrooms.

According to the Office for Intellectual Freedom, at least 42 of the Radcliffe Publishing Course Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century have been the target of ban attempts.

For more information on why these books were challenged, visit challenged classics and the Banned Books Week Web site.

-. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
-. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
-. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
-. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
-. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
-. Ulysses by James Joyce
-. Beloved by Toni Morrison
-. The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
-. 1984 by George Orwell
-. Lolita by Vladmir Nabokov
--. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
--. Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
--. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
--. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
--. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
--. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
--. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
--. Their Eyes are Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
--. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
--. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
--. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
--. Native Son by Richard Wright
--. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
--. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
--. For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
--. The Call of the Wild by Jack London
--. Go Tell it on the Mountain by James Baldwin
--. All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren
--. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
--. Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence
--. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
--. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
--. Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger
--. The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
--. Sons and Lovers by D. H. Lawrence
--. Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
--. A Separate Peace by John Knowles
--. Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs
--. Women in Love by D. H. Lawrence
--. The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer
--. Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller
--. An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
--. Rabbit, Run by John Updike

Most frequently challenged books: 1990-1999

-. Scary Stories (Series), by Alvin Schwartz
-. Daddy’s Roommate, by Michael Willhoite
-. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
-. The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
-. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
-. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
-. Forever, by Judy Blume
-. Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson
-. Heather Has Two Mommies, by Leslea Newman
--. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
-. The Giver, by Lois Lowry
--. My Brother Sam is Dead, by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
--. It’s Perfectly Normal, by Robie Harris
--. Alice (Series), by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
--. Goosebumps (Series), by R.L. Stine
--. A Day No Pigs Would Die, by Robert Newton Peck
--. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
To see the rest of the list ....Click Here
Both my children and I have a deep love for books. And I believe you should be the one monitoring what books are in your children's hands not a "group".
What's next? The internet?

Here is an excerpt of a letter a librarian wrote to a patron when that patron asked that a book be removed from their library...
"... our whole system of government was based on the idea that the purpose of the state was to preserve individual liberties, not to dictate them. The founders uniformly despised many practices in England that compromised matters of individual conscience by restricting freedom of speech. Freedom of speech – the right to talk, write, publish, discuss – was so important to the founders that it was the first amendment to the Constitution – and without it, the Constitution never would have been ratified." To read this wonderful compassionate letter in whole... Click here.

Doing laundry with Alice and Vaska

2009-09-24T13:24:00.009-04:00

In a previous post I told you about alice.com a shopping site that is new and growing. Free shipping...make that FAST free shipping and adding more products all the time.
I am a facebook fan of alice.com and a reader of their blog. So today I stumbled upon a giveaway they are having for Vaska laundry Herbatergent and fabric softener. And I love the purple color they use for the bottles. Their Herbatergent uses real herbs and potent botanical cleaning agents for high performance stain removal and extreme freshness. Clothing stays brighter, lasts longer and feels softer without the chemical residues that cause skin irritation and fabric damage.

Three winners will receive a Vaska Variety Pack (above) that includes:

(2) Vaska Lavender Herbatergent (32 loads each)

(2) Vaska Scent-Free Herbatergent (32 loads each)

(2) Vaska HerbaSoft Fabric Softener (32 loads each)

Now who couldn't use 60.00 worth of free laundry stuff? Frugal is great FREE is better. "So,what do I have to do to win this great giveaway", you ask. EASY. Head on over to alice's blog giveaway post and follow the directions. Basically become a fan on facebook or twitter and then leave a comment about the product or a laundry tip. There are more ways to up your chances but that is the basic entry. Entries stop Saturday, September 26 at 11:59 pm
If I win, I will write a post about the product.