Lenox Knits: Spring Celebration

Have you visited Lenox Knits recently? I am a regular follower, and I want to share with you a little Spring Celebration Giveaway going on over there from now until April 25. Paige is the author of the blog called Lenox Knits, and the knitter extraordinaire behind name. She has rallied together NINE prizes with a combined value of over $200.00 for this spring bash.

The image at the top of this post is one of the items you will find there. It is a wine bottle gift bag and coaster set created by Mr. Nature, and is similar to others in his Etsy shop. Visit Lenox Knits to find out how to enter. (One way to get an extra entry is to heart NatureAcre on Etsy and then leave a comment on LenoxKnits.)

Here are the items in the giveaway:

A Crocheted Silk with Pearls Wrap Bracelet or Long Necklace-- WillOaks Studio

Wine Bottle Gift Bag with 4 Coasters-- Nature Acre

Three bars of handmade soap (your choice of scents)-- Happy Goat's Soap

Skein of Handspun/HandDyed Wool Yarn in Spring colors-- Split Rock Ranch

Seminole Patchwork Pillow in bold Spring colors-- So Many Colors

Antique Vintage Button Pendant-- Alterity Button Jewelry

Lime green Spring knit scarf with an appliqued XL tee-shirt from the remaining inventory of GrayEyedScorpio --Lenox Knits

Knitted Yoda Star Wars Golf Club Cover-- Tracey Knits

OR 2 like new craft books from my own library Craftivity: 40 Projects for the DIY Lifestyle & AntiCraft: Knitting, Beading and Stitching for the Slightly Sinister

Follow the Lenox Knits link at the top of this post...
Have fun!

A snowy spring day...

Here is what it is doing at Deer Palace today:Here is who came to visit as I photographed the snowman:He didn't see me out there on the deck with my camera. He came out of a tree near the back fence, down the terraced garden, under the deck, and was about to venture out onto the snow there when he looked up and saw me snapping a photo of him. He paused to think for a few seconds before he darted back across the deck and out of sight. He is cute from the front (as cute as a rodent could be), but he had a bald patch on his back, and he was looking pretty mangy in the tail section. We had 1.75 inches of accumulated snow.

Happy spring!

Get Well Soon!

We have a family member in the hospital, so Amilia and I have been on a card making mission. This is the card I made yesterday to send off in the mail. It is made from handmade paper card stock with cotton fabric scraps sewn onto the front. Since Easter is coming, I am glad that the egg fabric is finally getting some use!

I cut out all the shapes and laid them in my chosen position. Then, I cut tiny bits of fusible webbing and basted the bits roughly together - just enough that they would not slide under the sewing needle. I used the sewing machine to stitch an outline border around the entire house. Next, I stitched the top of the curtains and the side of the door for stability and visual effect. I hand-stitched the chimney.

Originally, there were to be smoke plumes coming out of the chimney in bits of wool felt, but the bits crumbled as I was sewing. I could have embroidered smoke, but I like it just the way it is now. We like it so much, we hate to see it go. We will have to make more!

I will be making some more cards of various types this evening because the deadline has arrived to mail to Spirit Jump Cards For Cancer Day.

Be well.

The Madeline Movie: Lost in Paris DVD Giveaway

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED. THE WINNER, GENERATED BY RANDOM NUMBER GENERATOR, IS COMMENT #12. THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION.

The Madeline Movie: Lost In Paris. Read my review HERE.

Now that you have had a few days for the review and information to sink in, you have a chance to win your very own copy! of this movie. Read on for details:

IN STORES APRIL 13, 2010 FROM SHOUT! FACTORY

The giveaway: One winner (US address only please) will receive their very own copy of The Madeline Movie: Lost In Paris.

MANDATORY To win: Leave me a comment telling me why you'd like to win this movie (winner will be picked at random by Random Generator). Be sure to leave your email address with your comment (if you don't want your email address to be visible on the comments form, just leave it off your comment and make sure you email me your address or give me some other way to contact you). This giveaway is open from today, Saturday, March 27, until 11:59 p.m., PST, Saturday, April 10, 2010. Good Luck!

**GIVEAWAY ENDS 11:59 PM, PST, April 10,2010**

Optional Bonus entries: Get up to 6 extra entries for a total of 7 entries (please leave a separate comment for each extra entry so that Random Generator will correctly determine the winner):

1. Subscribe to my blog via RSS or Email (see right sidebar)
2. Add my blog to your blogroll or my button to your sidebar (leave your website address for verification)
3. Follow me on Blogger (see top right sidebar)
4. Blog about this giveaway (don't forget to leave the link in your comment)
5. Twitter, Stumble or Digg this giveaway
6. On Technorati - click on the Technorati link in my top right sidebar, then Fan or Fave on the Technorati site.

Movie Stats:
Actors: Lauren Bacall, Jason Alexander, Christopher Plummer, Andrea Libman
Directors: Marija Miletic Dail
Language: English
Number of discs: 1
Rating: G (General Audience)
Studio: Shout! Factory
DVD Release Date: April 13, 2010
Run Time: 90 minutes
Suggested Retail Price: $14.99
This review and giveaway was sponsored by:

This post was written for Shout! who provided the DVD for review and will direct mail the giveaway DVD to the winner.

I received a complimentary copy
of the DVD for purposes of the review.

Thursday Thoughts

(image from drellashouse.etsy)

There is Thursday, at almost the end. Precisely where we are today, my friend. Turn the page and there you'll find, Friday might bring peace of mind. ~Me

There is my famous quote for today. When it is reprinted, it should be credited Sinclair, but here I can just write "Me."

All that aside, I took a trip to Thursday Land on Etsy, and the image above just begged to be shared with you. If you follow the link, you can purchase the book, Sweet Thursday, by John Steinbeck. But what made it even more endearing to me is that it is standing next to one of my favorite books of all time - A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. The copy I own looks just like that one. If you have never read it, you must must must! For Steinbeck, visit Drella's House.

Word Wednesday, but Not A Word

(Reach for the Stars print, available on Etsy)

Today, in the spirit of Word Wednesday, I am sharing a "cliche" phrase with you instead of a word definition.

"Hitch your wagon to a star."

Aim high; don't pitch your aspirations too low. Ralph Waldo Emerson appears to have originated this expression in his essay on "Civilization" in Society and Solitude (1870).

The 18th century poet Edward Young had the same advice in mind with his Night Thoughts:
"Too low they build who build beneath the stars."

(This entry was found in The Dictionary of Cliches, by James Rogers)

The photo for this entry is an 8" x 10" print available for purchase from trafalgarssquare on Etsy. There are some wonderful prints there, including one called Catching Stars that I love. Follow the links to take a gander.

So, hitch your wagon to a star
and soar above the mire of mundane existence.

Frogging

I finally finished frogging (unraveling) the crocheted scarf! I bought this scarf and matching hat a few years ago at one of my favorite annual block sales. The idea was to use it for a time and then harvest the yarn. It was always too wide for my taste, so I never used it much.It took much longer than I thought it would to deconstruct. I worked on it for a little piece of each day for three days! Finished Sunday night. I now have 505 yards of wool blend yarn with which to make something new and fabulous. But not for a while. I don't want to see this yarn again for at least a month or two.Amilia and Kate enjoyed playing together while I frogged on the deck on the first day of spring.
Unfortunately, this dog's idea of fun does not include playing with toys or fetching in any manner. So, Amilia had to throw and fetch her own frisbee. While Kate watched from her lying down position on the deck.

The Madeline Movie: Lost in Paris Review

"In an old house in Paris that was covered with vines, lived 12 little girls in two straight lines...the smallest one was Madeline." That is how the stories all begin, and this movie was no exception. In a time when our children are bombarded with dark animation, club music and comrade-speak on television, it is refreshing to have this charming tale as an alternative.

When a man claiming to be Madeline's long-lost uncle from Vienna unexpectedly arrives at her school to claim her, a sad group of girls bids her a tearful farewell. 'Uncle' Horst says he is taking her to a more suitable school in Vienna, but he is really an imposter carrying out a sinister plot to force her to work in a child sweatshop making lace. Of course, he plans to collect her monthly inheritance check as well.

Madeline, who always says "Pooh-pooh!" to the lion in the zoo, summoned her brains and bravery to foil the plot and save herself and the other children from their captors. Her school friends and their neighbor, Pepito, lend their assistance to the success of the escape. After the escape, Madeline uses her reward money to fund a school for the orphans she helped to save from the lace factory.

Though there is a darkness to the kidnapping and slave labor plot, it is not dark and scary like many a Disney movie I have endured. There must always be a villain and an obstacle to overcome, and this one was aptly G rated, in my opinion.

The best parts of this movie lie in the bravery shown by Madeline in the face of adversity, the steadfastness of the friends in helping her to escape, and her giving heart in using her own money to ensure that the other orphans had a permanent home. It shows that family comes in many forms, and that family relationships and close friendships are to be cherished.

I enjoyed watching the movie, as I have always enjoyed the Madeline short videos and the books. I had not seen this movie yet, however, and it did not disappoint. We have a Madeline in our family, so we are familiar with most of the stories. . Amilia loves it and has now watched it about six times. She knows the songs and sings along.

Screen legends Christopher Plummer (The Sound of Music) and Lauren Bacall(The Big Sleep) lend their voices in this animated feature, and Jason Alexander is the voice of the plotting uncle Horst. The movie features five "fantastique" new songs and runs 75 minutes in length. In stores April 13, 2010 from Shout! Factory. Retails for $14.99. You can pre-order now if you wish at Barnes and Noble.com.

I received a copy of this movie
for purposes of this review. The
opinions expressed are my own
and are not influenced by receipt
of the movie.

Happy Spring!

We are blessed to have bright, warm, sunny weather at Deer Palace on this first day of spring. I had my first of many breakfasts outside on the West deck. I lingered with my coffee and a scarf I have been frogging (unraveling) since last night in order to harvest the yarn.

The scarf was constructed by crochet, and since I do not crochet, it took some doing for me to figure out the construction and to get it unraveling in the correct direction. Phew! Knitting is so much easier to unravel. Additionally, this scarf was partially felted, so it was an even more delicate process. I am curious about how many yards of yarn I will have when finished.

Wishing you all a beautiful
first day of spring!

Eat Something Yummy

After my morning chores are finished and the day is rolling smoothly, I am going to make a new batch of sugarless oatmeal cookies. They are sweetened with mashed banana, and we love them! We are on the edge of spring, and we are ready for a pick-me-up! Savor living today and eat something yummy (but still healthy).

Here is the recipe: (from CalorieCount.about.com)

Ingredients

1 1/2	cups Oats
1/2	cup Whole Wheat Flour (I used oat flour instead of wheat flour)
1/2	tsp salt (I only use sea salt)
1/4	tsp baking soda
1/2	tsp cinnamon (optional)
1/4	c chopped pecans (optional) ( I omitted pecans, but added 1/4 cup raisins)
2	bananas
5	tbsp oil (I used olive oil)

Directions

1. Mix all the dry ingredients in one bowl. Mash up the bananas with the oil in another bowl. Mix the two together. Drop by spoonfuls on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes.
   
   
2. *You could also substitute unsweetened applesauce for the bananas and oil if you prefer. (if so, I would start with 1/2 cup and adjust as needed from there)
   

We are not counting calories and are most certainly not on the South Beach diet (if you go to the recipe link, you will see that it mentions the South Beach diet), but this recipe is the only sugarless oatmeal cookie recipe I could find that uses REAL ingredients. NOT low calorie diet margarine or Splenda or Crisco or some other shortening or laboratory created Frankenfood substitutes.

These cookies are perfectly sweet enough with bananas as their sweetening agent, and they have a hint of banana flavor in them. They don't spread. They just stay the size dropped and that size is small, so I am going to double the batch this time.

Happy Food Friday to you!

If you want to read how others are eating
real, whole, nourishing food, you can visit
Food Renegade's Fight Back Friday.

Try Smiling

When I was in high school, my mom gave me one of her two copies of

The Best Loved Poems of the American People

because I had been reading it incessantly and had so many pages marked and dog-eared. I know, "NO DOG-EARING PAGES," says the librarian. But I say, sometimes you just HAVE to dog-ear!

Because I have been struggling with the doldrums this end-of-winter, and because this is what the world really REALLY needs right now, I share with you one of my favorites from the book:

Try Smiling

When the weather suits you not,
Try Smiling
When the coffee isn't hot
Try smiling
When your neighbors don't do right,
Or your relatives all fight,
Sure 'tis hard, but then you might
Try Smiling
Doesn't change the things, of course,
Just Smiling
But it cannot make them worse,
Just Smiling
And it seems to help your case,
Brightens up a gloomy place,
Then, it sort o' rests your face,
Just Smiling.

~unknown

Today, I had a woman tell me in conversation that she hates to worry. She finds that there is no usefulness in worrying. She said, "tell me one thing good that comes from worry - tell me one-half of one good thing that comes from worry. There isn't one, or even half of one."

So, don't worry. Be Happy.
Count your blessings.
Try smiling.

Preparing your Garden Beds

I do not have raised beds, but I would certainly prefer them! Here is a great video about getting your garden beds ready for the season after being fallow through the winter. It even includes some tips on companion planting.

More fun at the needle...

I have been upcycling and having a grand ol' time! First, I have been making something as a gift for several weeks, and I finally got around to finishing it last night. The red of this heart is cashmere, from a sweater given to me by a dear friend of the family a few years ago. The sweater had some moth holes when she gave it to me, but she said she knew I could use it or fix it. I could not fix the holes, but I certainly can put the fabric to good use! I free-hand embroidered the design. I was just playing around with different stitches, and practicing flowers. I can use some more practice, I think, but I find the end result charming nonetheless. The back is cut from a black felted wool sweater. I added a magnet, and now it can sit in a sunny kitchen and bring joy.Next, I have a felted piece of another wool sweater (gray) cut in a rough circle. Long story short, it was to be the back of the heart above, but it just didn't work. So, it ended up with a red ring of cashmere sewn onto it, and I went from there. I felted some flowers on with some green and red roving. Now, I am working on what this will finally become, but I will save that for another day. What would you do without a little suspense?And, my last project finished this weekend was a pillow I began weeks ago. It started out as a scrap piece of cotton weave that I used as a stitch settings map for my sewing machine. I want it to be out and easily accessible, and I thought it was interesting enough to be used in the house. So, pillow it became. I had some room on the end and wanted to add some whimsy, so I took the boy embroidery pattern from Mr. Nature's Etsy shop and embroidered him on the side. Then, I cut him some sailor pants from some scrap we had lying around and appliqued those onto the boy. Added a zipper and a flowered backing, and now it is a fun pillow on our couch. Our 100 year old Santa Fe colored couch. It's a hide-a-bed. Who could let go of a useful item such as this just because its time has come and gone? Not I, say I.

The pillow is a little unconventional, and certainly not for everyone,
but I have never been accused of following convention. And, I find
I am still a child at heart. And the child in me loves this pillow.

Fun at Needlepoint

Do you remember when I did the post about MochimochiLand? And I said I was going to have to try some of her other free toy patterns? Well, I finally got around to testing out the snail and slug patterns. These are so much cuter than their real world counterparts! With no slime trail.

I am now going to make a couple of them as donations for Sharing Our Gifts Project #6. We are making Christmas stockings and toys for A Child's Joy. I would have sent these prototypes as donations, but they are spoken for, and have a home at the base of this tree.These were super easy to make, and only took about an hour to complete. I am sure they will be even faster as I practice and become more familiar with the pattern.

I'm off to knit more slitherers...

Change The World Wednesday

(if you are new to the challenges, or to find out more,
click the logo to go to Reduce Footprints' blog)

Hi! Here's this week's challenge! Thanks!

************************************************

This week we're going to "fine-tune" our water use. While browsing Trying for Green, a new blog by Kira (one of Honor Society members), I came across an excellent article about water ... and this week's challenge was born. Here it is:

This week, when using the faucet, turn it on at a trickle instead of full blast. Simple, right?

Or ...

If you are barely letting water run, please investigate other ways to save water and ... yep ... write about it.

Home and Garden Pest Control Bundle Review

This is part 1 of my review of EcoSmart products. I received a Home and Garden Pest Control bundle for purposes of this review. The reason this is only part 1 is that it is so early in the season that I have not been able to use all the products yet. However, I have tried two of the four.

If you have followed me for some time, you will know that I try to avoid harmful chemicals at every possible juncture. EcoSmart calls itself "the safe pesticide brand" and uses proprietary blends of essential oils that naturally get the desired results. The company was founded in 1992 by a former attorney and then-expectant-father-to-be when he began exploring safe alternatives to household chemicals. He has backed his technology with scientific testing and methodology.

Now, how does it work in the real world?

I first tried the weed and grass killer on my gravel pathways, as I have plenty of rogue weeds and grass popping up all around. I have had mixed results. This is more due to weather than product effectiveness, I believe. In some patches, I find that the spray has been successful. This is mostly in areas where the sun has reached the area sprayed for some amount of time during the day. In the shady areas, the grass has not died off as well. We have had some rain here off and on lately, and I'm sure that has an effect. The product information does state that "cloudy, cooler weather may delay or reduce efficacy. " I will update you on the final success when I follow up with part 2 in a few weeks.

Next, I have tried the Garden Insect Killer and have had wonderful results! It is time to get the garden beds in shape now that I have the seedlings all sprouted and happy in the greenhouse. Seedlings are very vulnerable to pests, and I have already found some garden pests and larvae beginning in various areas. I grabbed my bottle of Garden Insect Killer and sprayed them thoroughly. The results were immediate and very satisfactory. I have followed up twice, as some more insects were found. I have not had to do a fourth spray, as the area has now remained free of those pests for over a week.

I have not yet had occasion to try the Garden Fungicide, but I have been pruning roses and grapevines, and will apply the fungicide in the coming weeks. I did not treat the roses last year, and they are definitely in need of black spot protection.

Likewise, due to the winter season, I have not yet had to try the personal organic mosquito repellent that helps repel "mosquitoes, ticks, gnats and other annoying pests." We have had a rainy end of winter, and are expecting a rainy spring, so we may soon be in dire need of mosquito repellent!

One more thing I can say for certain right now is that all the products have a pleasant aroma, in my opinion. I will report my final findings and opinions on all products in Part 2 in a few weeks.

Silent Sunday