I am a divorced, middle-aged woman and the mom to one furbaby, Ruby;
she is a spoiled Norwich Terrier. I am a creative spirit and I
enjoy crafts of all types, I love to read and garden, I make handmade
cards and would love for others to share their ideas with me!
I love the outdoors; I love walking in the summer and
kayaking. In the winter, I love to cross country ski and
snowshoe. I also enjoy interior decorating and actually think
painting is fun!!
My terrier, Ruby, has a food allergy to artificial colors. For example, dog treats that are colored "red" to be "meat" type treats. Any dog food that has red dye in it causes her to itch terribly. I only feed her Lamb and Rice formula food (the cheapest stuff from Walmart works just fine) and treats are homemade, so I know exactly what is going into them. Unfortunately, she is so cute that other people like to feed her treats, and not knowing of her allergies, feed her goodies that will affect her itching problem. It was so bad the last time, that I had to take her to the vet, and she was put on Prednisone (not sure of the spelling) and it made her eat ravenously (she even ate birdseed under the bird feeders!) and she gained weight terribly. No matter what questions you may have, call your vet and ask them; your pet is too precious to take a chance with their health. ... View related article.
What a wonderful, cheap, and frugal idea! Now I wish I had saved all of those calendar pictures that I had cut out and didn't know what to do with them! Thank you for sharing the idea. Paula ... View related article.
I use a product called "The Works" that I buy at the Family Dollar Store. It cuts through rust, lime, and calcium deposits. But, I have to warn you, that it is strong. You must use it in a well ventilated area....open windows, run fans, whatever, to get some air, or you will start coughing! I also wear gloves when using this product because it will peel the skin right off of your hands! But, boy, does it clean. I have a terrible rust problem in the sinks and toilets, and this product works quickly. ... View related article.
I bought a pillow from JC Penney that is a solid foam material. It was expensive, but I just love my pillow! It hasn't gone flat at all, like the polyester filled pillows often do. ... View related article.
About 10 years ago our ladies church group made this type of place mat to give as doorprizes at our luncheon; they were a huge hit. We used recycled denim jeans to make the placemats and cut off the pockets from the jeans to apply to the mat. If your sewing machine won't sew the thick fabric, I would suggest using a fabric glue to glue them down. ... View related article.
I always check the "free" boxes at garage sales and I found a cast iron griddle for free because it was rusty. I couldn't believe it was free and asked just to be sure! I took it home, scrubbed it with a scouring pad, then oiled it with vegetable oil, and it was like brand new. One man's junk is another man's treasure.... ... View related article.
I was always told that the leaves need to stay on the plants and to just let them wither. That the rhizome gets "food" from the leaves and that if you do cut the leaves off that you won't get as many blooms the next year. I believe it to be the same with daffodils and tulips, that if you cut off the foliage the bulbs won't get enough food and you won't get many blooms the next year. My sister-in-law mows her daffodils every summer and they always come back nice and green the next year...but, very little flowers. I don't want to take any chances, I like the flowers too much! ... View related article.
I also think that they may just be over-crowded. I also had a problem one time with white grubs eating the rhizomes, it weakens the plant and it won't bloom. I thinned them out, threw away any with grubs in them, or any soft rhizomes, and replanted them. Because they don't like to be set deep in the soil, they fall over a lot if there is too much foliage. I trimmed the green foliage back a little so that the plants would sit straight. They didn't all bloom the next year, but the following year they were great! Best wishes to you and happy gardening, Paula ... View related article.
My cocker's name was Dusty, but I should have named her Kirby or Hoover, she ate everything off the floor constantly! I think that it is nice not to rush naming your pet because after you spend some time with them a name may just jump into your head. My Norwich Terrier is named Ruby, because she was as expensive as a Ruby Jewel! But, she has a dozen nicknames: Ruby J., Ruby Tuesday, Boo-boo, Boo-J, Ruby Doobie-Doo, Pugsley, and my friend calls her Ruby Begonia from some television show years ago! All these names, but she will come a runnin' if I holler "Cheese" or "Cookie", so, I should have named her Cheese or Cookie! ... View related article.
