Small Kitchen Gadgets That You Need

Are you wondering whether you already have every useful gadget in your kitchen? Have you tried following:

This digital video memo from iwantoneofthose allows you to record short video messages that other family members can then later on watch. No more situations where both the paper and the pencil are no where to be found! :)

Kitchen timer can be nice little detail for your kitchen. This measuring tape timer from amazon.com is both nice looking and extremely easy to use. It's also easy to see how much time is left, even from a little distance.

Above electric pepper mill is from chefsresource.com. Electric pepper mill might sound useless at first sight, but is it really? In reality, when cooking, it would often be so much easier if you didn't need both hands for the pepper mill. Maybe you would like to use your other hand for mixing the ingredients or maybe your hands are dirty and you don't want to wash them all the time. Either-way, I think there is a good case for having this little gadget :).

Adjust-A-Cup from amazon.com is a measuring cup that can replace all your old measuring cups. The bottom moves up and down so it's size can be changed depending on the measurement needs. It works great with all the sticky ingredients as once the measurement has been done, the bottom can be pushed back up and the cup gets emptied and cleaned at the same time.

-K- 

21 Today.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROMAS.
My baby is 21 today so I suppose I can't call him that any more.

This year I've decided not to embarrass him with more cute baby pictures. But I still think he's cute anyway. He's grown up to be a sensible young man who enjoys his life as a student. He's studying a subject he enjoys, not quite sure what his future plans are (apart from successful musician) but he knows how to budget and is an adventurous cook so I don't have any worries about him looking after himself..

He's now in his 2nd year studying music at Keele University (up north) and is the drummer in a band, The Dead Radio Society. They play electric/rock/folk, (I think) and play gigs most weekends.

He's a very outdoors type of person and is here showing me around the vast woodlands that surround the campus.

His other half is the lovely Vicky (also a student and musician) and he has even persuaded her to come along to Sealed Knot musters. Romas and his brother are enthusiastic pike men in Earl Rivers regt and might also enjoy a pint or two.

Earlier in the summer Romas and Vicky joined us for our holiday on Lundy. We had made the correct assumption that both of them would enjoy the chance to roam the island, scramble up & down cliffs and partake of a few pints with a game of scrabble in the evenings without any electronic distractions.

A family tradition that both Romas and Vytas have kept up is the annual Lithuanian Scout Camp where they are now both leaders. I'm not sure how enthusiastic these young girls are about their knot tying lesson, perhaps the middle ages battle re-enactment (where did you get that idea from boys?) or the evening camp fires were more popular.
Living most of his life up north we don't get to see Romas that much but I hear his news via the occasional phone call or email or more often by checking out Facebook. (Thanks to all those people whose pictures I have borrowed.) I had a phone call from him this morning to say that they celebrated his birthday in style last night with a surprise party organised by Vicky and they are a little .... fatigued this morning. It was a good party!
As for me today, I cut down that branch at last. Not very tidily but it is down and the branches cleared up. I also took down the hanging baskets and replaced them with some wind chimes. So now instead of a feast for the eyes it's a feast for the ears as they gently chime in the constant breeze. Another sweep of the leaves on the front patio and then the rain came down stopping any further outdoor work.

Official Mary Worth - Mary Gardening Ringer T

Official Mary Worth - Mary Gardening Ringer T Review

Official Mary Worth - Mary Gardening Ringer T Overview

The Ringer T has made a fashion comeback, and ours is a popular favorite. This classic style is sure to impress even the most discerning t-shirt connoisseur with an eye for retro-coolness. Great for r

Available at Amazon Check Price Now!

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Oct 31, 2010 04:51:27

Pumpkins and gourds

I've spent more time lately in other people's gardens than my own, it seems to me (that includes my workplace garden, but not necessarily being IN the garden).  Normally, there's plenty to record and remember, but if I haven't been out there much, there isn't much to write about, alas.

But I'm reminded, being in the mountains for a long Fall Break weekend, that this is Halloween weekend, too  -- not a holiday that we particularly celebrate now, but that we remember enjoying as kids.

Gourds, winter squashes, and pumpkins of all sorts are a wonderful reflection of the harvest time that it is.  And the farmer's markets here are full of delicious varieties, including the sugar pumpkins that I nabbed, and stuck out on the front porch.

I even bought some candy, in case we have some young visitors tomorrow evening  (we're in a much more compact family-friendly sort of street in Asheville than in Clemson, SC).  But, my gardening companion will enjoy any 'leftovers' --so we're set.

I was reminded of this delightful squash vignette from the Dallas Arboretum that I saw in September.

BANG.

I am finally up to date with my school work. Tomorrow I shall start to try and get ahead. It's not been the best of half-term holidays with both of us having colds and not being able to do that much. But then again how much worse would it have been if it had been a normal working week. At least I have caught up with myself and I've got into a routine with my class. It always takes a while when you move to a new year group and for me it's been a move to full-time teaching as well. And this week I've been able to have a lie-in in the mornings. That goodness that tonight the clocks go .... well whichever way it is that we get up 1 hour later. 5.45 would have seemed like the middle of the night otherwise.I started the day with a little blog browsing only to be startled by a loud bang on the window. Yet another bird had hit the glass and lay sprawled on the ground.
I rushed out to find this Blackbird which was rather stunned.

I gave it the opportunity to fly off but it was still shocked so into my boot box it went with the lid down for an hour to give it a chance to recover in peace.

An hour later I brought it outside again and after sitting in the box for a while it hopped out and took itself off. While I was watching it I'm sure I heard the sound of a woodpecker but I couldn't spot where it was. I've never seen one here before but the nice plumbers mentioned the other day that they thought they could hear a woodpecker.

Now imagine this, a wood elf perched in a mossy tree, bow in hand sheltered form the rain by the golden canopy of leaves above. That was almost me this afternoon though the bow was a bow saw and I don't think wood elves wear welly boots. I had climbed up the big Beech tree on my neighbour's land and was attempting to remove some of the overhanging branches. It was very pretty and mossy and the golden leaves above were sheltering me from the rain. I cut one down then decided to go for a really big branch (about the thickness of a man's waist). Didn't quite get there even though I was expecting it to start cracking at any moment. It wasn't easy perched up in the tree with little twigs poking me in the eye and up my nose. I'll give it another go with the newer saw tomorrow. If I'm lucky it might have broken off on it's own. I had also cut back the biggest of the buddlia bushes. I love those plants for their bright flowers that draw in clouds of butterflies.

Those Boots Were Made For Walking.

It's been another shopping day, the sort I like - a relaxed meander round the shops unfettered by children or heavy bags. first port of call this morning was to donate a large bag of coats to a charity shop. We had a massive collection of coats, my thinking was that there should be enough coats for everyone to (possibly) get soaking wet outside doing some vital countrified activity and still have spare coats for all. Now there are only 2 of us at home there is no reason for such a collection. As it is there are still raincoats, spare raincoats, gardening coats and extra warm coats and a couple of spares for visitors. After lightening my load I then left one of my Ugg boots at the shoe menders for a bit of stretching across the toes, £5 they charge for that small job! By then it was time to meet up with my friend for coffee, cake and chat. As my taste buds are a bit dull with this cold I had some Banofee pie. I used the same reasoning later on when I bought some yoghurt covered ginger to nibble on. I can never resist looking in the charity shops and today the Oxfam shop came up trumps. They are more expensive (£5 for tops) but posher people donate their clothes to them so you can get some good quality things. Today I ended up with a black, 100% cashmere wool cardigan, an M&S top and 2 more dressy chiffony Per Una tops, and paid less than £20. Money for the charity and very smart clothes for me. I didn't stop there but found another top in a different charity shop and double reduced in sale a pair of flowing baggy trousers like a long skirt. These come under the heading 'Dreams' as they are really holiday or very hot weather wear so did not pass my 'Will I wear it for work ?'test but sometimes you need to dream. For the last few times I've been in town I've been keeping my eyes on the sales for a pair of sensible walking boots as my running shoes which I usually walk in are nearly falling to bits. I had already looked in Millets and tried on several boots which didn't fit, (I have very wide feet) but today I thought I'd have another look. And hey presto, not 1 but 2 pairs of boots that fitted and were in sale. I settled on these as being more comfortable and they had been reduced from £80 to £24 which made it even better.

Met Linas in the afternoon at the train station. I took him up to Beats (skate board shop) where he spent some time choosing 2 new decks and doing some IT work for the owner. I kept peering out of the window to check that a traffic warden wasn't about to put a ticket on my car parked illegally outside the shop. Then we had a fruitless look for a tv ,(will try on-line) before returning home. I've just returned from taking Linas back to the train station and am now looking forward to an early night.

Stable Outdoor Furniture Puzzle by Ego Paris

Surely you are going to love this striking, stackable furniturefrom Ego Paris. Named after a stackable puzzle, this patio furniture has a fun,funky flair to it. Collection containing two sun loungers, four lounge chairs,two low tables and the Anis yellow aluminum lacquered occasional table are easyto bring together and make compact for off-season storage.  These ensembles of nine furniture pieces arecomplete package for your outdoor living room and enjoy the wonderful weather.

Full Puzzle Nine Pieces

Puzzle Sun lounger

Puzzle Lounge Chair

Puzzle Side Table

Puzzle Table

Puzzle Collections

Children's gardens

There's been an explosion in recent years in children's gardens -- it's definitely a good thing, when these gardens encourage exploration of the world of plants and nature. 

I visited a delightful Children's Garden at Phipps Conservatory this summer (in Pittsburgh, PA).

Children's gardens that are full of fabricated stuff don't appeal to me, but the small pocket garden adjoining the conservatories at Phipps  was totally appealing.

These boys were using the water feature to fill up their buckets (one of them actually watered my feet, hmm).  But they were exploring the environment of perennials, a nicely done concrete tree (with informative nooks), and various other exploratory venues.

December ski deal USA catered chalets

Save £100 pp on 7 night stays in December in selected catered chalets

•December 1st - Dec 31st departures


•Book by October 31, 2010

•Selected catered chalets:

Ski deals USA catered chalets

Breckenridge: Chalet Victoria & Chalet Tomahawk

Vail: Chalet Wildwood & Chalet Eagle's Retreat

Aspen: Chalet Lupine & Chalet Rio Grande

Winter Park: Chalet Founders Cabin


http://www.chalets-usa.co.uk/special-offers-deals-promotions-discounts-usa.htm

Autumn Colour.

Photos from yesterday as the sun hasn't made much of an appearance today. We do have muted autumn colours which glow more when the sun shines through the leaves. Our big beech tree is gaily dropping its leaves all over the garden. Peter keeps telling me that it is dying and will fall on the house but I think the topmost die-back is due to the prevailing winter winds and can be seen on any prominent tree around here.
While up by the scree garden this spirea is tipped with orange.

And this is a general view looking back up the drive towards the ponies' field. I have done some work in the garden today, mainly sweeping and picking up leaves around the scree garden. I put so much work into this part of the garden last spring that this winter I want to be able to enjoy the design element of the different stones and the shapes they create along with the structural shapes of the grasses. To do that it is important to clear all the fallen leaves and any weeds that have crept in over the summer. I couldn't bring myself to have another weeding session on the bank so I was relieved when it started to rain or my conscience might have got the better of me. There is another big beech tree here on my neighbour's land which overhangs so I might just sneak up there with my bow saw and take off some of those branches before all their leaves fall on my garden.

This morning we had 2 nice young men come to replace the big radiator in the sitting room and on the promise of some bacon sandwiches they easily lifted that wobbly mattress up the stairs and round to the hallway by our bedroom. Better still one of them has family in the furniture business and he's going to bring round a bed catalogue with hopefully mate's rates prices. That might be my option if I can't find something on eBay within a reasonable distance.
More! school work done and a trawl around the Internet to find the best deal for a new tv for the kitchen. The lightning last week fried something in our kitchen tv and despite all my attempts at adjustment it looks like one of those special effects high contrast films and is almost unwatchable. So far the best deal and availability has been Tescos so I might pop in there tomorrow.

Gardening Rocks Full Length Apron with Pockets (Various Colors Available)

Gardening Rocks Full Length Apron with Pockets (Various Colors Available) Review

Gardening Rocks Full Length Apron with Pockets (Various Colors Available) Feature

• 7.5 oz., 65% polyester/35% cotton twill adjustable apron
• Size: 20" x 30". Two pockets and extra long ties so you can adjust to fit almost anyone.
• This is a fun way to express your opinion while keeping yourself safe and hopefully clean. The design is printed on the front of the apron in vibrant colors and is machine washable.

Gardening Rocks Full Length Apron with Pockets (Various Colors Available) Overview

The Design/Saying is printed on the front of the product, we use the newest & best technology to print the design with great inks that are cured into the product. This new high tech way of producing garments is very fade resistant. WE DO NOT USE TRANSFERS. It is great, since you dont have that thick transfer feeling. The feel is very smooth and comfortable. T-ShirtFrenzy offers over 30,000 designs on tons of products to offer millions of variations. You can search our store for something for everyone on your gift list or shop for yourself (our personal favorite). Please contact us with questions.

Available at Amazon Check Price Now!

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Oct 28, 2010 05:36:08

Mexican oregano

I'd never heard of Mexican oregano, but a caller on our Your Day public radio gardening call-in show mentioned it.  She said it was a great plant, and tasty, too, with a delightful sweetness.

Hmm.  I meant to look it up, but didn't.

While cleaning up my office recently (I'm prone to stacks, piles, and unorganized folders of interesting things), I found a clipping about Mexican oregano (Lippia graveolens) from the Brooklyn Botanical Garden's Plants and Gardens News, which I receive as a member. (Their publications are wonderful).

It's easy to grow, liking heat, full sun, and fertile soil.  It's not apparently hardy in the Piedmont, being hardy only to Zone 10, but we can apparently overwinter it inside on a south-facing windowsill. The author, Scott Appell, says it's easy to propagate, too, from tip-cuttings, another way to keep it going.

He mentions its culinary qualities, too, and suggests that many cooks prefer it to 'regular' oregano (Origanum spp.)

Lippia isn't even in the Mint family (Lamiaceae), but in the Verbena family (Verbenaceae), but must be chemical cousins in terms of their leaf compounds.

Definitely something to try!

Breckenridge catered chalet ski holiday deal USA



Ski holidays USA - Breckenridge catered chalet deal

 Chalet Anna, Breckenridge catered ski chalet - FREE nights!

• 1 night free in 7
• 2 nights free in 14
• All season long
• Limited time offer - book while availability lasts!

Chalet Anna is a  new 4 bedroom chalet which you can book by the room or by the whole chalet. Chalet Anna is in a fantastic location in the centre of Breckenridge, just 4 blocks from Main Street & an easy walk to the shops, bars & restaurants. New this year, this Victorian style chalet is being completely renovated for the start of the ski season and will have brand new fixtures & fittings and a high standard of decor & furnishings. Chalet Anna includes breakfast, afternoon tea & dinner, plus a courtesy van service to take you to & from the slopes. Perfect for those who want to be experience Breckenridge's legendary nightlife.

http://www.chalets-usa.co.uk/

info@chalets-usa.co.uk

US Tel 1 303 482 1961

UK Tel 01223 655642







Strange Goings On At The Post Office.

I've been quite busy today, starting with more school planning even though the Internet was down for some unknown reason. Then I headed into town to post a parcel. It was rather strange at the Post Office. When I walked in the place was almost empty, just one man who had walked in before me. This is so unusual, due to most of the local Post Offices being closed down in the last 10 years the queue generally winds around the Post Office often right out of the front door. As we waited to be served the sight of a curtained off cubicle in front of one of the serving windows prompted me to overcome my British reserve and chat to the man. We speculated on the purpose of this Heath Robinson looking structure with ideas ranging from extremely private posting (mine) to dancing girls (his). I did ask the counter chap about it and apparently it's for biometric scanning of anyone who comes in to renew their driving licence or passport. Big Brother! (Peter did a course on biometrics as part of his degree and the scary things are 1-It's not 100% reliable so you could be arrested? or worse for program error and 2 - all the information will be kept centrally and we know how secure that can be. There have been enough recent cases of information lost or stolen or simply given to the wrong recipients to make me seriously worried.) I didn't have much else to do in town, just a quick visit to the library and to the health food shop (for oat bran). It was quite warm and sunny in town. This is a view down one of the few remaining medieval lanes, the still being used alms houses on the left while on the right is a specialist comic book shop and straight ahead is a coffee shop in the former tea-rooms which used to be the first girls' school in town.
Turning the other way looking up Paternoster Row can be seen the tiny building of the old grammar school, this was built in C14 and was the original boys' school. This thoroughfare is unfortunately the haunt of the local alcoholics. The girls by the bench were drinking those awful alcopops (sweetened flavoured alcoholic drinks) but I hope they don't fall into that category.
Back home the sunshine disappeared but it was still warm so I did some more weeding of the bank. It's looking quite bad once the weeds have been pulled out so I may have to do some major refurbishment next spring. Either reseeding or even buying turf.

(Out of order) I finished gluing craft wire to our scrabble board and now we have a non-slip board with the tiles staying in place even if the board gets jogged while being turned around. Only one drawback in that the board does not fold flat but I can live with that.

After my weeding I took some time out to relax with a cup of tea and a book. I feel so refreshed when I am completely surrounded by nature. I even had my own personal lap warmer in the form of a fat black cat though he does demand a few cuddles in return for gracing me with his presence.

Bedroom - a place to relax

Bedroom is one place where people spent a lot time in. Sleeping, dressing up, working (a work desk in bedroom - bad habit!) and well, some other things too maybe... Bedroom should be a place where you can load your batteries after a hard day at work. So what are the things that make a bedroom relaxing? I'm no expert, but things that are important in my opinion are for starters the bed and textiles. And colors of course!

The bed - needs to be comfortable

Bedding - needs to be comfortable

Colors - needs to be relaxing

Funny that non of the pictures look like my bedroom... Well maybe some day.

All pictures from Countryliving.

-N-

Halloween is here! Soon...

It's not long until Halloween! Or am I just early... I have never decorated my house for Halloween since trick or treating isn't a habit in Finland. And I live in high-rise... But well, that shouldn't be a problem. Few times I have had halloween parties with my friends, but our decorating has limited to paper pumpkins and bats. Inspired by Halloween I searched for some nice decorations and ideas. Trick or treat!

Photos 1 and 2 from Potterybarn. Photo 3 from Goodhousekeeping and photo 4 from Coyntryliving.

-N-

The Coffeemaker That Knows You

The Xelsis Stainless Steel coffee machine is for everybody who want to enyou morning coffee exactly as they like it. This machine is able to do wide range of beverages from strong Italian espresso to a mild American-style coffee, cappuccino to latte. Before First usage you select paremeters of your favourite coffee and from that time on you just put your finger on fingerprint scanner, machine recognize you and prepare your baverage fully automaticly.

Source: www.saeco.com

~d~

Bottle Light

Another way how to ecologicaly use the empty PET bottles but now also creatively. With special holder of LED light and empty bottle you can create original lighting theme for your home, club or restaurant. And if you are already bored with previous design you can just empty and scrunch another bottle of dirent shape or color. This invention won a Liteon Award this year!

Via Yanko Design

~d~

Major snow hits Colorado, USA for 2010 / 2011 ski season

Winter Park snowstorm OCt 26, 2010

A major snowstorm has hit Colorado this week and it's still snowing like crazy in the mountains. Take a look at our snowy pictures on facebook and become a facebook fan http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chalets-USA/75370316500

Loveland and Arapahoe Basin ski resorts in Colorado, USA are now open for business and with many of the major resorts set to open in about 3 weeks, skiers & boarders are getting excited for the coming ski season.

To book your USA skiing holiday /vacation visit http://www.chalets-usa.co.uk/

Photo on your wall

I like to have pictures on the wall, but perhaps normal framed pictures and paintings aren't that interesting anymore. As you may have seen before I'm now into interesting wallpapers (see this post).
I found my way into shop called Photowall. They make wallpapers out of photos. It is possible to order wallpaper from your own photo and from ready ones too. Photo wallpapers are made with the dimensions that customer prefers. I chose few of my favourites from the photowall gallery and here they are:

Black and white never fails

Here also a simple example

I have allways liked Moomins in black and white

Actually I don't like sharks at all...

Did you find some favourites or have you ordered something from Photowall? 
 
All pictures are from Photowall site and the post was inspired by finnish Sisustus ja Sepustus.

-N-