A real conversation …

It all started here:

Bob: I was watching a television show the other day about the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago (no longer existing) and what it was like in its heyday, which was the 1920s thru the 40s

Bob: Would have been interesting to have experienced it first hand

Sam: would have been something, eh?

Sam: there isn’t that kind of thing any more

Bob: Not in the same way

Sam: no

Bob: Television changed the way we entertain ourselves

Sam: amongst other things

Bob: yeah, but I think that is one of the biggest factors

Sam: for sure

Sam: but I meant more than entertain ourselves

Bob: ah

Sam: it destroyed the concept of “family”

Bob: It just seems that we were more “social” people back before television

Sam: and allowed us to be brainwashed by the marketers

Sam: made us an “I want that” society

Sam: yes, we were definitely more social people

Bob: I read stories about before television about people sitting out on their porches in the evening and visiting and think that would be a nice way to live

Sam: and neighbors meant something

Sam: now all they mean is something to complain about

Bob: well, they always meant that

Sam: lol

Sam: but yeah, sitting on the porch would be a nice way to have it

Bob: Now, you don’t even know who your neighbors are

Bob: hell, I don’t even speak the same language as my neighbors

Sam: hell, now you don’t even know who your kids are!

Bob: true

Sam: most parents haven’t a clue

Bob: Used to be that mothers would get together and talk about stuff, including raising kids, and there was a shared knowledge. Now everyone tries to raise kids from a book or just the same way they think they were raised

Bob: Then again, what do I really know? Maybe I’m just glamorizing the whole thing and making presuppositions.

Bob: Boy, sometimes I really would just like to be a kid again for a while

Sam: me, too

… and that’s the way it is today.

Doncha wish sometimes that we could just pull all these really wonderful things from the past into our ridiculous lives today?

Doncha wish parents could be parents again instead of battling the credit crunch and working 18 hours a day just to meet their foolish spending bills?

Doncha wish YOUR kids could have their moms and dads at home more?

Doncha wish you had a front porch?

Fun Bird Feeder Crafts

I am toying with the idea of making a Christmas tree for the wild birds. I can pick up a cheap 4-footer (fake, of course) at the Thrift or the Sally Ann and then “decorate” it with suet and seed cones and dried bread, bits of dried fruit, etc and tie it all on with red yarn or ripped strips of red or plaid fabric (wools are good because the birds can pick the fabric apart and use the “threads” for nesting in the spring ). My butcher has beef suet (does not melt as fast as pork fat and it is a better high energy fat for the birds in winter) and its not that expensive. I could set it up on the table on my deck and it would be a blast to watch the birds feeding from it out my window.

I found some neat ideas at these sites …

A Home for Wild Birds

If you are looking for bird feeder crafts, then you have come to the right place.

I have always enjoyed bird watching, but I never seemed to have enough time to follow my passion. I discovered the best way to see more wild birds was to attract them into my yard using wild bird feeders. I found myself adding more and more bird feeders and attracting more and more wild birds. As my hobby grew, I noticed that my children were showing little interest in the wild birds that were visiting our backyard.

Seeing that my children were becoming disconnected with nature, I began searching for ways to get them interested in bird watching. The best place to start was in my backyard and making bird feeders seemed to be the best way to achieve this.

Our first project was a pine cone bird feeder. We made three of them, one for my daughter, one for my son and, of course, one for me. What I noticed first, were the questions. Birds eat peanut butter? What kinds of seeds do birds like the most? They were already showing more interest than they ever had before.

Each day they could not wait to see which birds were attracted their feeders. Soon they were asking for help in identifying the wild birds that were eating from their feeders. They began wanting more… more kinds of wild birds, more backyard bird crafts, etc.

So we worked on attracting more wild birds using new types of wild bird seed and working on new bird feeder crafts. I am happy to share these bird feeder crafts with you. I hope you and your family enjoy them.

If you are a wild bird enjoyer, you’ll find a great batch of other crafty ideas and things to buy at their site: http://www.a-home-for-wild-birds.com/index.html

***

I found some cool stuff here, too …

Recycled Christmas trees decorated for wild birds

The OSU Chadwick Arboretum & Learning Gardens are not just for people this winter. Wild birds have been welcomed to visit through the “Buckeyes for Birds” program.

Recycled Christmas trees were “planted” in containers and adorned with a variety of tasty treats. One treat made from a peanut butter, cornmeal and seed combination strongly resembles a buckeye candy and the buckeye fruit, hence the name “Buckeyes for Birds”.

“In addition to providing food, the evergreens offer protection from the weather and predators for the birds,” explained Laura Burchfield, landscape designer and H&CS instructor. “Wild birds add a wonderful element to any garden by infusing the space with movement, song and color that is often lacking in the stark winter landscape. Backyard bird feeding is a great way to attract birds, learn to identify them, study their behavior, and help them out by providing winter food.”

The “Buckeyes for Birds” program is also meant to inspire home gardeners to establish their own backyard bird feeding locations. An informational flyer can be found in the garden kiosk that includes the recipes and other useful tips for attracting wild birds that visitors can take home to their own gardens.

“Our demonstration uses commonly available materials and recycled Christmas trees. Species which have rigid branches, such as spruces and firs, work the best in order to hold the heavier bird treats,” noted Burkholder. “Different species of birds prefer different types of food, so a good book on backyard bird feeding will help you decide which species you want to attract and what they eat. In general, winter bird food preferences can be divided into fruit, seeds, nuts, and suet (beef or mutton fat). Our recipes include all of these items.”

They also have recipes for the birds on their site. Hope you’ll check it out for yourself!

***

I was searching for ideas for different “ornaments” to make for my tree and found this site …

Drs Foster and Smith

It has some really super and very too cool things for sale. Being relatively “crafty”, I can see where I can make some (a lot) of these at home …

I really like this one:

Cookie Cutter ideas

I’ll check out the thrift stores for some Christmas cookie cutters!!!

And I am thinking some old onion bags (the bulk 100-lb size) could be used to make something like this:

Finch Stockings

If you’re not “crafty” and don’t feel you can make your own bird treats, now you know where you can find some awesome ones to buy.

***

Bethany Roberts is a children’s book author … http://bethanyroberts.com/index.htm

Bethany Roberts

She has a page on her site about making tree ornaments for birds and has some interesting ideas for suet mixes and recipes. You can find them here: http://bethanyroberts.com/ChristmasfortheBirds.htm

This one appeals to me:

Pinecone Bird Feeders
You will need:
large pinecones
peanut butter (natural, unsalted peanut butter is best- birds prefer chunky!)
bird seed (mixed variety-  some birds like sunflower seeds best, so have that in the mix)
bacon fat or melted suet
cornmeal
red yarn

Mix the peanut butter, fat, cornmeal, and birdseed.  Spread it thickly onto the pinecone “petals.”
Tie a piece of red yarn to the top of the pinecone.
Tie the pinecone to a tree branch.

When I get time, I think I’ll check out her “Tips for Writers” page, too.

***

And that’s it for me for today … Have a happy and healthy day – and feed the wild birds!!!!

SHAME ON US!

We have sold out our manufacturers, our farmers, our fisheries, our towns, cities and villages, our countries and our children’s futures … shame on us.

.. You’ve Said It All

They just played an old Bud commercial on the radio and I went looking for it and found these instead …

***

Somebody sure went to a lot of trouble to make this video with his own home-made orchestra even… but it sure is cute!

There were some really hilarious Bud commercials …

… featuring dogs …

… and talking parrots …

Back to “that song” … seems Georgia Tech gets the crowd going with it …

This one got banned …

YAY!!! Finally found it ….

This is the version they played on the radio …

And this one will warm yer heart like nothing else …

And this one made me cry – it was soooo … soooooo …. well, watch it for yourself … see if you can keep a dry eye:

Budweiser sure has many, many classic commercials. I hope they pay their ad writers extremely well. Today’s mass marketing commercials, for the most part, really suck but Bud just keeps on keeping on with their great advertising!

Cheers,

This is a new bird for me today – a Steller’s Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri). He is the Provincial Bird of British Columbia, but I had never seen one before today. He caught me totally off-guard, so you’ll have to ignore all the bad photography, rotten composition, blown sky and highlights and crappy all-around shooting. All my images were really dark and it took a heap of playing in PS to salvage something from them. You’ll also have to ignore the peeling paint and the general mess and bird poops.

I was sitting at my computer by my bird-watching window and caught a flash of something larger than normal outside the window. Standing up to look, I saw this blue bird who was after some in-the-shell peanuts I had sitting out on the table there. So I ran for the camera – wrong lens on it, but my big telescoping one with the doubler has bit the dust (I tried it anyway) then I tried the doubler on the Nikon 18-70 (kit) lens and it balked like crazy and refused to focus at all. So I threw on the macro 105 with the doubler and that was much too close!!! Took off the doubler and just shot with the plain old macro … and this is what I got …

Steller's Jay - about 4 feet away from me - Not too shy, eh?

Steller's Jay - Cheekin' me off from the top of the bird feeder post

Steller's Jay

Steller's Jay

I already knew it was a jay of some kind, but wasn’t sure which one it was, so that took me off exploring the 3Dubs to find out ….

I started off (as always) with a Google Search … I just typed in “Jay” and hit the “Go” button …

http://www.google.ca/search?q=Jay&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

That didn’t look too promising (too wide a search) so I clicked on the “Images” link at the top …

http://images.google.ca/images?q=Jay&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&sa=N&tab=wi

… and look at that! Right off the bat I get a picture to click on … woohoooooo …

Since my bird didn’t have any white on it, I discounted the Blue Jay and clicked on the Steller’s Jay instead … and yup – that’s my bird! Thank you, Steven Pinker!

So now I  went back to a Google search and searched “Steller’s Jay” … and ended up here … ( I skipped a few uninteresting steps) …

You can always count on Wikipedia for answers and info … http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steller%27s_Jay

The Steller’s Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri) is a jay native to western North America, closely related to the Blue Jay found in the rest of the continent, but with a black head and upper body. It is also known as the Long-crested Jay, the Mountain Jay, and the Pine Jay. It is the only crested jay west of the Rocky Mountains.

The Steller’s Jay shows a great deal of regional variation throughout its range. Blackish-brown-headed birds from the north gradually become bluer-headed farther south. The Steller’s Jay has a more slender bill and longer legs than the Blue Jay and has a much more pronounced crest. The head is blackish-brown with light blue streaks on the forehead. This dark colouring gives way from the shoulders and lower breast to silvery blue. The primaries and tail are a rich blue with darker barring.

It occurs over virtually the whole of the western side of North America from Alaska in the north to Central America in the far south and east to south-western Texas, completely replacing the Blue Jay in most of those areas. Some hybridization with the Blue Jay in Colorado has been reported. The Steller’s Jay lives in coniferous and mixed woodland, but not in completely dense forest, and requires open space. It typically lives in flocks of greater than 10 individuals.

Food is gathered from both the ground and from trees: the Steller’s Jay’s diet consists of a wide range of seeds, nuts, berries and other fruit. Many types of invertebrates, eggs and nestlings are eaten, and acorns and conifer seeds form a staple at some times of the year. It is a frequent visitor at picnics and camp sites.

The nest is usually in a conifer but is sometimes built in a hollow in a tree. Similar in construction to the Blue Jay’s nest, it tends to be a bit larger (25 cm to 43 cm), using a number of natural materials or scavenged trash, often mixed with mud. Between two and six eggs are laid during breeding season. The eggs are oval in shape with a somewhat glossy surface. The background colour of the egg shell tends to be pale variations of greenish-blue with brown- or olive-coloured speckles. The clutch is usually incubated entirely by the female for 17 to 18 days.

Like all jays, its calls are varied and include rattling and guttural sounds too numerous to list. Notably, its alarm call is a harsh nasal “wah”. It also imitates the cry of the Red-tailed Hawk, which has the effect of causing other birds and prey creatures to vacate feeding areas as the Steller’s Jays approach.

This bird is named after the German naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller who discovered them in 1741 (Evans 1986).

The Steller’s Jay is the provincial bird of British Columbia.

Back to Google Images and I come across this cool drawing of the Steller’s Jay …

Ain’t he adorable???

I have always admired people who could do art of any kind … which brings me to the art of Bob Hines …

For wildlife and wild bird paintings, they don’t get much better than this!

I’d never heard of Bob Hines until that Jay came to steal that peanut off my table.

Bob Hines led a most interesting life and left a legacy that will remain forever. Here’s some info about him:

ROBERT W. HINES
(1912 – 1994)

Robert W. Hines was man of great personal charm and a deceptively relaxed, almost sleepy, manner. Meeting him for the first time, one would never- suspect what a huge volume of work he produced. His studio was in his home where he worked full-time upon retiring as artist-illustrator for the Bureau of Sports Fisheries and Wildlife, Washington, D.C.

Bob Hines was born in Columbus, Ohio on February 6, 1912. He attended Clintonville Elementary School until the family moved to Fremont, Ohio in 1921. There he went to Otis and Stamm Elementary Schools, and Fremont Ross High School from which he graduated in 1926.

As a boy, he hiked, fished, and camped in the woods and along the Sandusky River near Fremont. He had a large backyard zoo where at one time or another he made pets of pheasants, quail, crows (one albino), raccoons, opossums, woodchucks, squirrels, moles, mallards, widgeon, great horned and snowy owls, gulls, pigeons, chickens, dogs, cats, snakes, turtles, and several aquariums of fish.

He joined the Boy Scouts when he was 12 years old, and became an Eagle Scout with Silver Palm. Later he was a nature instructor in three Scout camps and counselor for most of the nature merit badges.

During the depression he worked at various jobs in restaurants, in a drop-forging plant, and on road-construction crews. He taught himself how to mount birds and animals and operated a small taxidermy shop for a while; when he was forced by illness to slow down, he turned to his former avocations of drawing and painting.

Early in 1939 Bob Hines became Staff Artist for the Ohio Division of Conservation in Columbus, Ohio. Just before he began work there, he learned that the job would require some specialized work in creating oil paintings of wildlife habitat. He promptly went for help to his former high school art teacher, Miss Mary Williams, and she gave him a four-day refresher course that got him off to a good start on his new job.

In July 1948, Mr. Hines was asked by Frank Dufresne, then Chief of Information, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to come to Washington as an Artist-Illustrator. There his first supervisor was Miss Rachel Carson, who was at that time near publication of her epic The Sea Around Us.

Mr. Hines wrote and illustrated Ducks at A Distance, which was published by the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife; other books he has illustrated are Wildlife in America. by Mattheissen: North America Waterfowl, by Day; Alaska’s Animals and fishes, by Dufresne; The Upland Game Hunter’s Bible, by Holland; Migration of Birds, by Lincoln; Bass Fishing in America, by Bauer; Crusade for Wildlife, by Arefethan; Outdoors Unlimited, Outdoor Writers Association of America; Pheasants in North America, by Allan; Honker, by McClung; Face of North America, by Farb; Waterfowl Tomorrow, and Birds in Our Lives, both Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife publications.

Three Boy Scout Merit Badge Pamphlets have been illustrated by Mr. Hines, and his work has appeared in thirteen magazines, including the New Yorker, Reader’s Digest, Sports Afield, Natural History and Outdoor Life.

Mr. Hines was one of the two men who helped inaugurate the Wildlife Conservation Postage Stamp Series, and designed the first of four stamps in the series. They are Wild Turkey, Pronghorn Antelope, King Salmon (all 1956), and Whooping Crane (1957). The crane stamp was selected by a British philatelic poll as one of the ten best stamps in the world for 1957.

The drawings and paintings Mr. Hines did for the Ohio Division of Conservation and for the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife have been reproduced by conservation magazines in every state, several in Canada, and even in the Soviet Union.

Because he worked for a highly scientific organization, Mr. Hines had to be extremely accurate in his work; he traveled in all but three states, sketching, taking photographs, and gathering data for his illustrations. He served as consultant and administrator for the duck stamp contest each year, and somewhere along the line found time to paint three huge wildlife scenes (oil on canvas) that now hang as murals in the Interior Building in Washington, D.C. The Department of the Interior has recognized his ability with three Meritorious Awards.

Bob had three children: John, Nancy, and Tim. His hobbies were hunting, fishing, and photography.

That’s from this website here.

When I grow up, maybe I’ll be a famous bird artist … along with also being taller and richer, eh?

Cheers,

Sometimes I just can’t explain how I end up at various sites around the ‘Net … I start off doing a perfectly innocent search for information about something and somehow I end up feeling like I am on a totally different planet.

Let me explain and demonstrate …

I’ll start at the beginning, okay?

Recently I bought some cheap toilet paper from a National Chain Retail Outlet.

It was not wrapped in our usual Canadian style, but was in a plastic bag with a handle on the top and the rolls were in sideways, not standing up as is normal in North American culture.

I was getting low on my supply at home and it was cheaper than the other brands – 12 rolls for $5.97 – so I thought I would give it a try.

Came time to crack open the package and I was not a happy camper. The stuff was on the rough and tough  side, turned gray when it got wet and shredded terribly while in use (I should have bought shares in hand soap). I suspected it was made from recycled paper, so read the label. “MADE IN CHINA”, it said. Nothing about recycled, so I can only assume it was not. I had two days off work and wasn’t about to waste the bucks on gas to get to the store to buy a different brand so continued to use that roll. By the time I went back to work, I was determined to return the rest of the package and replace it with something more Canadian.

Given the news lately about products manufactured in China, I was not overly happy and I must admit, rather alarmed at just what might be in that stuff I had been using on my umm… delicate parts. I also use toilet paper to blow my nose and it would be nice to know what toxins, if any, I could be inhaling into my lungs.

Therein started my education … and here’s a few things I have learned tonight …

I started off by googling “Chinese toilet paper – is it safe?” and got 1,760,000 results. Yikes – I haven’t got all day here!!!

1. There’s a gazillion sites out there for importers to buy Chinese products, including toilet paper … too many to list and I only visited one of them – the first on the list. I was sure they would all assure me their product was a) safe as the hubs of hell b) not made by sweat shops (and here, too) and c) the best money could buy. Well, they got two out of three right – they did not claim it was the best money could buy but I was horrified to discover the product at the top of their toilet paper product list was the same product we have been using for years in our staff and public washrooms at work! Horrors!!!

I am going to read that label when I go to work next time!

2. I learned if you visit China you should take your own toilet paper with you. http://www.epinions.com/content_1875681412

3. … and this is what toilet paper looks like in China … when you can get it

4. From http://www.physicsforums.com/archive/index.php/t-175352.html …

The never ending tale of “stuff” from China:

SHIJIAZHUANG, China — If you pop a vitamin C tablet in your mouth, it’s a good bet it came from China. Indeed, many of the world’s vitamins are now made in China.

In less than a decade, China has captured 90 percent of the U.S. market for vitamin C, driving almost everyone else out of business.

Chinese pharmaceutical companies also have taken over much of the world market in the production of antibiotics, analgesics, enzymes and primary amino acids. According to an industry group, China makes 70 percent of the world’s penicillin, 50 percent of its aspirin and 35 percent of its acetaminophen (often sold under the brand name Tylenol), as well as the bulk of vitamins A, B12, C and E.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003732744_vitamins03.html?syndication=rss

Goodgollymissmolly!!!!!!!

5. How to use a Chinese toilet … http://www.ehow.com/how_2075957_use-chinese-toilet.html

6. I also learned actor Will Smith does not use toilet paper in his home …

“Instead, he has installed toilets that spray water on the users’ bottoms to get things clean. This action is followed by a shot of air to dry things up.”

http://www.parentdish.com/2007/12/16/no-toilet-paper-for-will-smiths-family/

7. I discovered an hilarious Chinese toilet video here: http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=928_1204447058

“Chinese Toilet Enema

(Chinese, no subtitles) An infomercial about the ‘Lotus, the smart toilet seat’. A toilet system that provides enemas. “

I’ll let you make your own assumptions about what I think they are saying about improving your complexion with this new-fangled gadget – hahahhaha

8. As usual, Wikipedia came through with the history of toilet paper … you’d think if the Chinese invented it, they would have figured out it is one of the necessities of life! They also claim to have invented the toilet, too … and yet their rural bathrooms are just filthy holes in the floor (if you’re lucky enough to get a floor!) Lordy!!!

9. There was very little on the 3Dubs about anything unsafe about Chinese toilet paper. I did manage to find this very scary report at Epoch Times (whatever that is):

“Unsanitary Chinese Toilet Paper Linked to Health Problems”

Jan 29, 2004

Experts warn that many brands of toilet paper in China have high bacteria counts that can potentially cause gynecological infections and skin disease, according to Guangdong Consumer Associates.

According to the HK Star Daily, the toilet paper samples tested were mainly produced in the cities of Zhongshan, Guandong, JiangMen, and Guangzhou in Guangdong and Jiangsu Provinces. The hygiene index for the toilet paper included total bacteria colony count, as well as amounts of enterococcus, flesh-eating streptococci, and golden staphylococcus.

Recently Guangdong and Zhongshan consumer associates examined and compared the 16 types of rolled toilet paper available on the Guangdong market. The test results show that the hygiene test failure rate for the samples tested was 37.5%. Moreover, toilet paper sold on the wholesale market and in small stores failed the national sanitation standard, some having six times the accepted bacteria levels. This represents a serious threat to consumer health.

A manager from Guangdong Consumer Associates said that the high index rate for total bacteria colonies could be blamed on unsanitary raw materials used in production. Experts from hospitals confirm that high bacteria count toilet paper can cause gynecological infections and skin disease.

According to the report, toilet paper used in some restaurants and small food stores is found to include harmful materials such as fluorescent chemicals and talcum powder. Also, using poor-quality toilet paper for an extended period of time exacerbates skin allergies. But most troubling was that some toilet paper even carried hepatitis bacterium, which can cause serious health problems.

* * *

And then, somehow, totally NOT in China or related to toilet paper, I clicked on something that led me to here and where I suddenly felt like I was on a whole different planet … surgically altered ears – I may puke …

I gave up the whole 3Dubs thing in disgust for the night – I’m going to go wash dishes

… and I am NEVER going to China

Totally yukked out …

Tonight I’m doing laundry … and that set me to wondering about other people’s laundry rooms and where they keep their washers and dryers.

Mine are stuck in a hallway just inside my front door. I suppose one could call it a “mud room” if one wanted to glamorize it a lot. It is, after all, where the mud enters my house on the Dawg’s paws.

If you think it’s odd that it’s at the front door, I have to confess I only have one door. If there’s a fire in here, I’ll be bailing out a window and shoving the Dawg out in front of me.

( *reminder to self – put Dawg on a diet and sign up for weight lifting class at the local gym)

My mom used to have an old Bendix, I think it was, that was one machine that served double purpose – it was both washer AND dryer.

It was very large, front loading, and if I remember correctly, it used to waltz all over the basement floor which frustrated her no end. It had a window in the door and I never have been able to figure out the logistics of first filling it with soap and water and then turning on the heat to dry your clothes. It wouldn’t be very funny if you had a malfunction and the machine forgot to drain itself …

http://www.adclassix.com/a3/53bendixwasherdryer.html

1953 Bendix Duomatic ad

(Amazing what you can find on the 3Dub when you go looking, eh?)

Years ago I saw a picture in a magazine of a laundry room where they had disguised the machinery in an old grain bin, cut down to size. You lifted the slanted lid on top to put the laundry in the washer, and there was a door on the front for access to the dryer. It was all very rustic and I remember how much I liked that idea. The room had lots of shelves and a big window with a willow branch for a curtain rod. I can’t remember what was on the window for a curtain, so I guess it didn’t impress me much at the time. Some old grain sacks would certainly have been appropriate, though!

So, let’s go sloshing around the ‘Net and see what other people have come up with … (but first I’ll go you-know-where because we ALL know what happens the instant you turn on the tap or stick your hands in water, right, Girls???)

FLUSH – okay, I’m back now …

Here’s one that appeals to me. I found it on My Home Ideas

http://www.myhomeideas.com/myhome/photos/0,30587,1055139_863913,00.html

I really like the old cabinetry. Latching onto an antique sideboard would make a cool top cabinet, and Verithaned pine shelving would make the countertop nicely. Add some moulding and some shutters down below and voila! The bead-board in the back wall is a nice old-fashioned touch. Love that mustardy colour on the walls, too. The washer and dryer are too cool, but with front-loading machines, I think I might want them raised off the floor about three or four inches – too much stooping down for me. Of course, that would raise the work surface, but perhaps that isn’t entirely a bad thing.

Sometimes odd things in photographs make me ask questions … so now I want to know … Does everyone store their apples on top of their washer and dryer???

I will have that rooster, though …

* * *

Now here’s a place that just looks like home to me … someone else is a collector of useful old tools, implements and gadgets … I’ll be bookmarking this page for sure and going back to drool some more over all those wonderful “finds”. The room is in her mother’s house, which she says is like this all over – not just the laundry room!

Those country blues are fabulous! That pale blue on the walls with the white trim sure sets off her massive display of collectibles. The spatter graniteware is a stunning collection – you’ll have to visit that blog to see the whole room, for sure! This is but one small corner of it. There’s even close-ups of some of the “stuff” she’s collected. *sigh* I am such a junk collector … I used to have much more than I do now – money got tight and I sold off a large part (okay, almost all) of my years of treasure hunting. I still have some rather unique pieces, tho. I’ll take pictures sometime and show y’all. Promise.

You can find this room and her fab photos at With a Grateful Heart http://withagratefulheart.blogspot.com/2008/04/laundry-room-blues.html

* * *

Ballard Designs offers up this little gem for drying your little things …

It wouldn’t take much weight to rip it off the wall and wet laundry can be quite heavy. With my luck the kids would think it was a toy when it was fully extended and play jungle gym with it!!!

Okay, so I don’t have kids at home any more … it’s a really cool idea and sure would beat hauling out the old accordion wooden one and trying to find enough floor space to set it up and still be able to walk around it …

I can see this idea working well for drying wet swimwear and beach towels out at the cabin or by the pool, too.

Someone was using their noodle when they thought this up!

http://www.ballarddesigns.com/By-Room/Laundry-Room/Drying-Racks/Accordion-Drying-Rack/p/4933?path=1%2C2%2C1752%2C1758%2C1954&iProductID=4933

* * *

Here’s a sign from Live, Laugh, Love http://www.notonthehighstreet.com/livelaughlove/product/metal_wall_sign to hang on your door or your laundry room wall … that chicken wire adds a lot of “atmosphere”!

and another from Jack and Friends inviting you to “drop your pants” retro-style …

http://www.jackandfriends.com/store/catalog/product_1411_ONE_HOUR_DRY_CLEANING_Metal_Sign.html

* * *

From the other side of the country, in Nova Scotia, at Nova News Now, http://www.novanewsnow.com/article-233366-The-Laundry-Room-Deserves-Respect.html they have decided laundry rooms need respect. Well, I agree but I must also add …”and so do all the women who for centuries have slaved away at getting all the stains out of their family’s dirty clothes”.

This modern laundry from their site is mega-organized, super sleek, and doncha just love those machines!

Again, I find myself wondering about things in their photo – I mean, where is all the colour? Do they only wear white, fergoodnessakes???? If, like me, your fave colour is rainbow, this room is good for a few nightmares!

I may not agree with their colourless laundy room, but I can sure relate to getting the laundry out of the dingy dark basement (where spiders like to hide) and getting them up where the sunlight can pour in. Somehow laundry is one of life’s detested chores, and adding some decorating accents, creating shared spaces with other family activities and making it a living, breathing room can sure remove some of the drudgery from the old laundry job.

Or …

We could all go back to doing it the old fashioned way …

www.jamd.com/image/g/52007577

*LOL – she’s got high heels on!

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Just in case you want to live life the “simple way” …

http://down—to—earth.blogspot.com/2007_09_01_archive.html

… or maybe not.

My first entry in a NEW BLOG! Woohoooooo!!!!

I do so much surfing all over the ‘Net, I figured I’d share some of the “places” I’ve been. This is a very random site – and I do mean RANDOM.

The photo in my header says a lot – and you all just thought it was a messy picture, didn’t you???

It was taken on one of my trips a few years ago, at a place called Silver Creek, British Columbia. This building is one of several on the property of the Silver Creek General Store. More about that place later … back to the mess … so, the pic is of travel, and portrays a “collection” – if you look closely – it’s quite an eclectic collection. There’s old tools of all descriptions and for all kinds of uses, new planters, greenery, furniture, wooden crates and a whole lot more. There’s even a pair of red flannel long johns hanging there! It’s all well used – just like me!

It’s kinda like my mind – has a hard time with just one thought and dashes hither and yon trying to capture new experiences and knowledge. There is a HUGE difference between this blog and my mind, though … my blog has “categories” and my mind refuses to stick things into compartments! It’s the most disorganized mind I know.

It’s also kinda like my housekeeping – they dust that old stuff at Silver Creek about as often as I do around here. But we won’t talk about the thick layer of dust and dog hair everywhere, okay??? And, no, I won’t post a pic to prove it.

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I am interested in so many things … photography, home decorating, crafts, construction, birds, gardening, food and cooking, bugs, wildflowers, sewing and needlework, architectural stuff, THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, different cultures, old tools, “green” things, spaces, art of all descriptions, words of wisdom, parenting, celebrations, antiques, DIY, old fashioned remedies (and trickery) and news from the world of medicine, travel, and on and on and on …

The Internet is truly a marvelous invention. I sit in my favourite chair, light a smoke, pour a drink, munch some peanuts, get cozy with my electric throw and flip a switch – and the whole wonderful world opens up to me. Ain’t that grand???

I can read a book, listen to music or my fave talk radio (you rock, Phil Johnson !!! – and Bill and Christy and the trucking boys after midnight aren’t too shabby, either), go on a trip, laugh at jokes and funny videos, convert Celsius to Fehrenheit, learn how to spell “Fahrenheit”, take a painting course, look at the world from outer space, learn to cook something exotic, buy new undies (and anything else that strikes my fancy) and just never get out of my chair (until the potty calls my name and then it’s dash time) …

Such is life in my fast lane …

Want go exploring with me??? C’mon!!!!

( … and if you happen to find me wandering around on the ‘Net, send me back here so I can go somewhere else, okay??? )