Cartagena Shawl Knitting Pattern

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Easy and Quick Last Minute Easter Favors

Spring/Easter makes me feel like everything's new and fresh.

That's why I like to send my guests home from Easter Dinner with a plant.

It just seems right to me.

''To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow''

Audrey Hepburn

So this year when my mind went to plants,

my pocketbook didn't follow.

I needed to think up a way to put together something inexpensive

so I could continue with my tradition.

I was at Walmart (what the heck would I do without that store?)

 perusing the garden section when I saw they had 6 packs on sale.

I grabbed a couple of Petunias 

and headed inside to find peat pots.

Once I got home I gave each peat pot a paint job in various Eastery colors.

While waiting for them to dry,
 I hopped on the computer to check out my Graphics.

Printed out some Easter Graphics

and once the pots were dry, glued them on

The next day I transplanted the Petunias into their own peat pots.

I tore a coffee filter up and placed a piece in the bottom of each pot to prevent the dirt from coming out but still allowing for complete drainage.

There ya go!

A buck a 6 pack, peat pots $1.59,

12 plant favors for under $4.00 ♥♥

And since the Petunias are in the peat pots,

the whole pot can go right into the ground.

Easy peasy for my guests too!

All ready for Easter Sunday ☺

Natural Ways to Clean Your Garbage Disposal

Have you noticed an unpleasant smell coming from your garbage disposal?

Did you know that your home’s garbage disposal needs to be cleaned regularly?

During use, food particles and residue can be left behind 
and cause it to have that nasty odor.

None of us want any stinky smells in our homes.

Here's a few tips on how to keep your garbage disposal clean and odor free.

The good news is that you don’t have to buy any special products to do the job. Your disposal can be cleaned with common items that you probably already have in your kitchen.

Ice cubes

One of the easiest and best ways to clean the disposal is with ice cubes from your freezer. Simply put a few handfuls of ice into the disposal, then turn it on and run some cold water while the cubes grind. You’ll definitely hear the cubes working!

Citrus

Any type of citrus peel is a good disposal deodorizer. Lime, lemon, orange, tangerine, and grapefruit peels will all help refresh your sink and system. Be sure to cut the peels into small enough pieces for the disposal to handle, then turn it on and run water while the peels grind. This leaves your disposal smelling fresh and clean!

Baking soda and vinegar

A simple mixture of baking soda and vinegar is also a good cleaning method. Sprinkle about a 1/2 cup of baking soda into the disposal, followed by 1 cup of white vinegar. Let the mixture bubble up and sit for 5 to 10 minutes, then turn on the disposal and run water to distribute the mixture throughout the disposal.

Hot water and dish soap

Another way of cleaning requires only hot water and dish soap. This can be particularly helpful if you have noticed an unpleasant odor coming from your unit. Using the sink stopper, plug the disposal drain and add a generous squirt of dish detergent to the sink. Run hot water into the sink until it is at least halfway full. As you release the sink stopper, turn on the disposal and let the entire sink contents drain while it runs. This helps fill the disposal with soapy water to reach the upper portions of the disposal, which often don’t get cleaned by other ways. It also helps clean the disposal drain line, which can harbor food residue and odors.

Boiling water

Pouring boiling water into the disposal, by itself or following some of these other methods, can help loosen stubborn food particles.

 Dish soap and baking soda

It’s important to clean the drain crevices around the disposal as well as the rubber splash guard around the drain. You can use dish soap or baking soda to do this. Use a dish brush or toothbrush to scrub underneath the splash guard flaps. 

Taking the time to clean your disposal will help keep your sink and kitchen smelling fresh and inviting. Remember to use caution when operating your disposal and when cleaning it with any of these methods. Never put your hand into the unit for any reason, even if the unit is off.

Happy Spring Cleaning!

I Wish I Could Paint!

Paint as in paint a sign, picture or anything like that!

I can paint walls but that's about it

Yes I've tried taking classes, but I'm too impatient. I just want to paint! Not practice!

Yes stupid *rolling eyes*

So I have to come up with other ways to make what's in my head! LOL

I wanted to make a sign for the front of the house,

like a 'Welcome' sign.

 I searched on line for a similar image of what I had rolling around in my head.

When I found it I printed it out to the size I wanted.

Yes, this IS cheating

You'll have to take my word for it because I forgot to take a photo.

  I painted the board the color I wanted.....yes I can paint boards too!

I distressed the board.

Note: distressing the board is a good way to de-stress yourself too.

I drilled holes on each side near the top for wire to hang it by.

I hand tore the image so it would have uneven edges.

I then decoupaged the image onto the board with outdoor Mod Podge giving it several top coats allowing it to dry in between. 

I added wire making curlies for a little more charm in the front.

I hung it on a chair I placed by my front door.

Side note:

This chair belonged to my Great Aunt, I've used it, along with others from relatives, around my kitchen table for the last 20 years. Unfortunately it is no longer strong enough to use for its original purpose. I didn't want to part with it and had been thinking about what to add to the corner of garden space at my front door. I had also (for the last few years!) been trying to decide what to do with this cute little basket that had a home hanging on my Mom's front porch rail. She had her posies in it, but it doesn't have much of a bottom left. Then the light bulb finally lit...sometimes it does take a while...I married the two. The chair now holds Mom's sweet old basket that I've lined and filled with Forget-me-nots 

Til next time,

have fun!

Fender Skirts and Supper - for those in the geriatrics crowd, or soon to be there

Fender Skirts and Supper

I know some of you will not understand this message,
but I bet you know someone who might. 

I came across this phrase yesterday.
'FENDER SKIRTS'

A term I haven't heard in a long time, and thinking about
'fender skirts' started me thinking about other words that quietly disappear from our language with hardly a notice like 'curb feelers'

And 'steering knobs.' (AKA)
'suicide knob,'   'Hollywood spinners .' 'neckers knobs.'

Since I'd been thinking of cars, my mind naturally went that direction first. Any kids will probably have to find some older person over 50 to explain some of these terms to you.

Remember 'Continental kits?'
They were rear bumper extenders and spare tire covers that were supposed to make any car as cool as a Lincoln Continental.

When did we quit calling them 'emergency brakes?At some point 'parking brake' became the proper term.

But I miss the hint of drama that went with 'emergency brake.'

I'm sad, too, that almost all the old folks are gone who would call the        accelerator the 'foot feed.' Many today do not even know what a clutch is or that the dimmer switch used to be on the floor.
For that matter, the starter was down there   too.

Didn't you ever wait at the street for your daddy to come home,

so you could ride the 'running board' up to the house?

Here's a phrase I heard all the time in my youth but never any more - 'store -bought.' Of course, just about everything is store-bought these days. But once it was bragging material to have a store-bought dress or a store-bought bag of candy.

 

'Coast to coast'   is a phrase that once held all sorts of excitement and now means almost nothing.

Now we take the term 'worldwide' for granted. 

This floors me. 

On a smaller scale, 'wall-to-wall' was once a magical term in our homes. In the '50s, everyone covered his or her hardwood floors with, wow, wall-to-wall carpeting! Today, everyone replaces their wall-to-wall carpeting with hardwood floors Go figure.

When was the last time you heard the quaint phrase 'in a family way?' It's hard to imagine that the word 'pregnant' was once considered a little too graphic, a little too clinical for use in polite company, so we had all that talk about stork visits and 'being in a family way' or simply 'expecting.'

I always loved going to the 'picture show,' but I considered 'movie' an affectation.

Most of these words go back to the '50s, but here's a pure '60s word I came across the other day 'rat fink.' Ooh, what a nasty put-down!

Here's a word I miss - 'percolator.'That was just a fun word to say. And what was it replaced with ?

Coffee maker. How dull !  Mr. Coffee, I blame you for this.

I miss those made-up marketing words that were meant to sound so modern and now sound so retro. Words like 'Dyna Flow' and 'Electrolux' and 'Frigidaire'. Introducing the 1963 Admiral TV, now with 'Spectra Vision!'

 

Food for thought.

Was there a telethon that wiped out lumbago? 

Nobody complains of that anymore. 

Maybe that's what Castor oil cured, 

because I never hear mothers threatening 

kids with Castor Oil anymore. 

Some words aren't gone, but are definitely on the endangered list.
The one that grieves me most is 'supper.' Now everybody says 'dinner.' Save a great word. Invite someone to supper. Discuss fender skirts.