Relaxing Nature Walks

Lately the only way I've been able to keep a level head and not go completely insane is by going for super long walks along the many trails here in Cambridge. It's a great way to escape, to clear my head, and to remind myself that there's so much more to life than money, careers and material possessions.

Every Spring we get a lot of flooding here because of the many rivers that snake through our city. It's troublesome for people like my Grandma who live close to the river, because her basement always floods, but apart from that problem I think it's a lot of fun.

Another great thing about living here is the wildlife. There are so many red tailed hawks, deer, coyotes, and a variety of other birds and critters. I love watching the different animals when we go on our walks.

View of the Grand River:

Lots of moss:

Nick walking ahead of me with his art supplies:

The park flooded:

Coyotes must have gotten hungry; deer jaw:

Greenhouse at Riverside Park:

 

More floods:

What helps you relax?

Thanks,
Cole

How To Make Eco-Friendly Gift Bows

Eco-Friendly Gift Bows Out of Recycled Magazines

I don't know about you, but I absolutely love wrapping presents. I'm actually kind of a control freak, because every gift has to be wrapped perfectly which makes it difficult when Sidney wants to help, but we get through it. 

A neat idea I came across a couple of years ago was how to make your own eco-friendly gift bows using recycled magazines. What I really like about them is that you can choose your own image whether it's a funky cartoon, a beautiful garden or a serene blue sky and turn it into a one-of-a-kind bow! 

To make it:

1. Select a page from your old magazine, and cut it into nine strips. Three large, three medium, two small and one really small one. 

2. Turn the ends of the strip in to the center, so that it either makes a round, or pointed end. Dab a bit of glue in the middle to keep it in place. Do this to all eight of your strips, leaving out the smallest.

3. With the smallest peace, fold it into a cylinder. Glue it in place.

4. Once all your strips are turned in, layer them on top of one another like so, keeping the large pieces together, medium together and small together.

5. After you've layered them all on top of one another you can staple them in the center. My stapler is too big to staple the small, cylinder piece on top so I typically just glue it on afterwards. 

And there you have it! A unique gift bow! 

Thanks, 

DIY Eco-Friendly All-Purpose Cleaner - Vinegar and Oranges

Vinegar is seriously the best thing ever when it comes to cleaning your home! You can use it to clean anything, and it will come out clean and sparkly. It gets rid of hard water build up, grease, smudges and all other forms of dirt and grime. Better yet, it kills mold, germs and bacteria. Not to mention it's Eco-friendly, economical and safe to eat!

Unfortunately, the downside to vinegar is the smell. I don't know about you but I don't really want my home to smell like a french fry stand at the beach (that's what vinegar makes me think of). Then I came across a really neat idea here.

Vinegar and Orange Peels

To make a great citrus smelling all-purpose cleaner all you need is a jar, white vinegar and orange peels (eat the orange first!). 

It's pretty self explanatory; put the orange peels and vinegar in the jar, let it sit for a couple of weeks and then it should smell nice! Mix equal parts vinegar and water before using. You can put it in a spray bottle if you'd like to make cleaning easier.

Thanks, 
Cole

Reasons Why Anyone Can Enjoy Photography

 

Too many times I hear or read comments from people who think that the only way you are allowed to like photography is if you’re a professional, have gone to post-secondary or some other form of training and already know all the technical stuff that goes with it.

It’s disappointing because I really enjoy photography. As a complete amateur I usually have NO idea what I am doing when taking pictures. Just over the past couple of months I’ve been teaching myself how to adjust the shutter speed and aperture, that‘s how little I know. I’m not a math or science person, which makes that part of photography incredibly difficult for me to learn.

It just makes me really sad that there are so many people out there who make fun, or look down on people trying to learn the art of photography by themselves or simply do it for enjoyment.

So I started thinking a lot about why some people like photography and it turns out there are so many different reasons!

This is why I like photography:

• Capture moments worth remembering
• Express yourself creatively, use as a creative outlet
• Slow down and notice the beauty in things
• To show people your perspective and how you see things
• Share, connect and story tell
• To provoke emotions, make people think and question things
• Get a closer look, to help educate and inform

You don’t need a fancy degree or diploma to enjoy photography. You don’t have to fully understand how to use your camera and all of it’s settings. You don’t need to be considered a professional or an artist. 

Don't get me wrong though, I do think that going to post-secondary or having training in anything, even photography, is a huge accomplishment that people should be proud of! There is no shame in getting an education, or continuing to learn something you're passionate about. And there is definitely no shame in making a living doing something you love!

Just take pictures, and enjoy yourself!

What do you like about photography?

Thanks, 





Here are a few pictures I took with a slow shutter speed while swinging at the park with Sidney and Nick:

Onions Sprouting? Let's Grow Them!

My Onions Have Sprouted

What to do when you're onions sprout? I know that once they've begun to sprout they begin to lose their flavour and their nutrients.

There are basically two things you can do with them at this point:

1. You can grow them in your garden or, 
2. You can eat the green part.

Unfortunately you can't regrow an onion, but they will flower and you can harvest their seeds to try and grow new onions next year.

I decided to try and grow mine. 

To start, place your onion in a cup of water.

After a few days roots will begin to come out the bottom.

Now you can plant them in the ground. It's too cold outside right now for my onions to grow so until the weather warms up I've got them in little pots at the front window. In May I can transfer them to the garden.

Just so you know, I am an amateur and don't know exactly what I'm doing. It's more of an experiment the kids and I am doing together. So I guess we'll have to just wait and see what happens! And if things get real messed up I have a couple more onions sprouting again.

Thanks, 

When You Have Too Many Onions, Freeze Them!

Buy Onions in Bulk

A few weeks ago we bought a 10 lb. bag of onions because it was cheaper than the 1 lb. bag. In all honesty, Nick and I thought for sure we would have them all eaten up before any went bad because we just love onions that much, but clearly we didn't.

When I noticed that some were sprouting, and a couple had gone right bad I didn't want my onions to go to waste. So I froze them.

Freezing Onions

If you want to freeze onions, first you have to chop them all up. Once they're diced you just throw them in a freezer bag, get out as much air as you can and throw it in your freezer. Whenever you need some just smack the bag a bit and the onion pieces should break apart.

The onions that had gone bad were thrown in the compost, and I decided to try growing the sprouted onions.

More on that later though.

Thanks, 

Drawings By Me

Drawing used to be one of my favourite hobbies. Throughout elementary, and then junior high I spent almost all of my free time drawing. In high school though, I hated art class. I hated being told what to draw and paint, and how to do it. There was no freedom in it and so my love of art dwindled away. 

During last summer though I got back into drawing through an art program and came out with some pretty decent stuff. I'm not saying I'm some brilliant artist, but considering I haven't done much drawing since 2006 I would like to think that I did alright.

Corvette drawing - April 2012

Mia Farrow - May 2012

Frank Sinatra - May 2012

James Cagney - June 2012

Jack Nicholson - June 2012

Sidney age 2 - July 2012

Thanks, 

Crocheted Rag Rug Tutorial

 This is a guest post by Darlene Nemeth

Rag Rug

I can’t remember when I decided to try my hand at making a rag rug – suffice it to say it has been a very long time.

Seeing all these wonder crafts on the net has inspired me to get busy. And it just so happened that I was going through my granddaughters clothes, removing items that are too small or too stained or have rips when it hit me – I can use these to make my rug.

I have the motivation. I have the material (t-shirts.) I have the right tools (my hands and a big crochet hook.)

Let’s get started!   

Cutting The Rag Rug Strips

My first challenge was to figure out how to get the longest strips possible from the child sized garments. The fewer joins possible is better – I think so anyway. Joins can be lumpy.

1. The first step in cutting the strips is to cut across a shirt from armpit to armpit in a straight line through both layers.

2. Cut 1 ½” strips horizontally across the shirt through both layers but be sure to not cut all the way across. Stop about three inches before the opposite edge.

3. Open up shirt so you can see the whole uncut edge.

4. Cut diagonally from the second row to the first row only through the top layer.

5. Continue cutting diagonally until you have completed the whole piece and you have one long continuous strip.

Joining the Rag Rug strips 

I didn’t join all the strips at once. I choose the next strip as I finish crocheting the previous strip. This gave me the freedom to choose the best colour and texture in comparison to the strips already crocheted into the rug.

My Granddaughters’ clothes are very colorful and they actually coordinate well together with the pinks, purples, blues and whites. Very pretty.

This is how I joined the strips.

1. I cut a small vertical slit near the end of the first strip. I make it just big enough to get my crotchet hook through.

2. I cut a small vertical hole on the second strip.

3. Push your crochet hook through the hole in the first strip.

4. Push your crochet hook through the hole in the second strip.

5. Pull the second strip through the hole in the first strip. 

6. Now pull the second strip through the hole in the second strip – pull all the way through.

7. Pull tight. I nice neat join that won’t come apart. And a smaller lump in your rug than if you tied it. 

Decide Which Type of Rag Rug to Make

Now I know there are many ways to make a rag rug so I had to decide which style I was going to make. I could braid the material strips together then sew the braids together forming a circular rug. I could weave the strips together in a make shift loom. Or I could crochet the strips.

I decided to crochet my rug. I like crocheting and sewing pieces together seemed a little too tedious for me. I also thought that crocheting the rug would make it more durable.
 

Crocheting My Rag Rug

1. I started by making a chaining five. 

2. Joined it to make a circle.

3. Single crochet into each loop.

4. Insert additional stitches as required making rounds.

5. Too many stitches will leave a ripple.

6. Too few stiches will cause the rug to curl up.

7. Continue making rounds until desired rug size is acquired.

8. Tie off tail and pull tight.

Ta Dah! My Completed Rag Rug 

 

Yep it’s that easy. I can’t believe I finally made a rag rug. After all these years of just thinking about it. Well I actually have the time right now.

It measures inches across the diameter.

I can see the clothes my granddaughters wore when they were four years old, woven into this rug.

Someone told me that I should save it for a memory keep sake but I made it for our Etsy Shop and that’s where it is going.

This colourful rag rug would look fantastic in a little girl’s room. As I was crocheting , I pictured a little girl getting out of bed, her little piggies stepping down on this pretty rug that I made with her in mind.

I already started my next rag rug. This one is all pinks and greens. It is made from a cotton blend sheet set. And it isn’t round. 

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Meet the Author: Darlene Nemeth

 

The Road to Inner Peace and Happiness. 

"I like to share my thoughts and tips as I travel on the road to inner peace and happiness. It is my goal to help as many people as I can to find sustainable happiness and inner peace. And if we attract into our lives more money, better jobs, loving relationships and awesome adventures then we will be doubly blessed."