Minden Flooded

My heart goes out to all the people who have had to evacuate their homes to the flood waters.  This is a picture of Minden Ontario , I live just south of here, and while I am glad I am not living in the flood plain I feel such saddness for those who have had to leave their homes.




Keep safe everyone.

Tissue Paper Butterfly

I absolutely love reading    Happy Hooligans   blog for tips and craft ideas for my kidlets.  On Saturday it was just a bit cooler and the wind was making it uncomfortable outside to get anything done so B and I decided to make something.  She wanted to do butterflies as presents for the family.

First she painted some clothespins.

 

Then she put paint dots on tissue paper. Her colour choices. I love the decision making she was doing.

 

She did a great job gathering the paper in the middle.

 

 

 

She chose a different colour pipe cleaner for each butterfly

 then wrapped the end around her finger to add some shape.

Added her googlie eyes and pipe cleaners and had a perfect little group of butterflies. 

She was really proud of her accomplishments. 

 

 

 I added a dab of hot glue at the top of the clothespins to hold every thing in place. I think she could have done this herself as well with a low temp  glue gun.

This project was perfect for a four year old. Just challenging enough.  You can tell by the smile how happy it made her. I think her favorite part was giving them away.  :)

DIY AquaDuck

Last night I was catching up on some of my blog reading and when I read this one  and I was done.  I had to have one of these.   A simple Faucet Extender makes it possible for kids to wash their hands independently!

Of course it makes it easier. When I put my toddlers up to the sink on a stool they can reach the sink, but its an almost rib crushing experience for them to reach the water. This brings the water to them.



When I see something I just need to have, I need to have it NOW.   One of her readers mentioned you could make one from a baby oil bottle so I checked out faucet extender and found all kinds of ideas.And I sure wasn't paying for this when I could make something myself.

This was the one I came up with to fit the shape of my faucet.

I choose this bottle from my bathroom closet. I was almost empty and the label peeled off so I would have a nice clean finished product.

I removed the label and  marked where I wanted to make my cuts. I used a grease pencil to make my lines so I could clean off anything that showed when I was done.

When I  finished cutting this was what I was left with.  The cut through the cap started as a single slice and I just played with it until it fit over my faucet but was still tight enough to stay put. It snaps on and off very easily. 

I absolutely love how easy this was and how much use it will get with my kidlets.  And the whole project from start to finish was about 15 minutes.

My four year old granddaughter was the first one to try it and she loved being able to reach the water and do everything herself.

 

 Of course you can purchase the real item from Amazon  Canada for $21.99  plus your shipping and taxes, but mine works just fine and my total cost? a whopping $0.    Love it.


Have a great day everyone.

Coffee Mate Containers.

After last weeks ice storm the weather has finally warmed considerably.  With temps in the double digits and a good rain we can see the snow melting more every day.  This has me thinking about spring cleaning.  Hand in hand with cleaning go my issues with storage.

My biggest problem area is in my tiny  kitchen.  Moving from a house with extra storage in a garage and basement I have been trying to find places for a ton of stuff I need only once in a while as well as the items I want at hand for convenience because I use them almost daily.  With about half the cupboard space of my old kitchen this has been quite a challenge. 

I am a coffee lover.  It is an absolute must in the morning, but I also love my afternoon and evening decafe.   I drink mine with the original Coffee Mate creameer and for years have been putting those neat little containers with the red lids into the recycle bin.  Then last week I had a duh moment and decided to do this with them.

All I did was remove the plastic label, clean really well, and add some neat little labels I found here.  I used a white glue and they stuck really well. I added some over the front of the label too so I could wipe them clean.  They are sitting on the back of my stove.

This space  was not used for anything useful and they fit really  well.  I can imagine a nice row of them with  sugar,  flour,  cornstarch,  salt  and whatever else I can fit .  In my kitchen this small storage solution is a really big deal.

I searched pinterest to see if I could find some other cool ideas for these nifty little containers and some of them are kinda cute.  I will have to see once I get enough to use  here. Well I have the weekend off so I am going to do some of that spring cleaning I metioned.  Something to look forward too.  :)

Have a good day everyone.

April's Ice Storm

 
As everyone who lives here knows, southern Ontario was hit very hard with an ice storm that started on Thursday.   I was startled to see on the news today that the storm took down miles of hydro poles leaving hundreds of homes without hydro. Some of these unfortunate people are still without power and it might be quite some time before they have it restored. I was happy that we only got a touch of this storm and never lost our hydro, but friends and family not too far away were not as lucky. This question goes out to them. How well did you manage? and what has this taught you so you will be ready for the next time?

How prepared are we for an event like this to happen? I've said I am definitely not a Prepper in the sense that we see them on the TV, however, I do believe we should all be prepared for Mother Nature in a bad mood. Huricanes, tornadoes, floods, blizzards, and just plain thunder or snow and ice storms can all leave us without the comforts we take for granted every day.

A lot of what I am going to post here is from a blog I found recently. I recommend this blog if you want a real honest read. She writes about all aspects of her life as an American but it applies to us north of the border as well.

This post   says we need to have all of our core needs looked after if we lose our basic services. These core needs are food, water, heat and sanitation.

Having a pantry full of food is not going to help you if you can't open a can or heat up the contents. And are you going to bed as soon as it gets dark or are you prepared with extra candles or even better some of these little homemade oil lamps. And when all that technology isn't available how will you pass the time. I think a few books or a deck of cards might come in handy.

Water is pretty easy to store. Everyone needs at least of couple of litres of it per person per day, and we often take it for granted because it is so accessable. I know they recommend that you fill your tub if you are in a storm watch situation. You can use this for washing or flushing. I rinse my 2 ltr plastic pop bottles with bleach and then refill them and store them in the top of a closet. They will keep for quite some time this way if you use clorinated water. If not just add a few drops of bleach to each bottle.

It also says that we should always use the rule of three. If I understand this corectly that means we should all have at least three different ways to cover our core needs. For example I would have my furnace as my number one way to heat my house. If the power goes out I have my wood stove for backup, and if for some reason I couldn't use that I would need to find a third way to keep warm, which might be a lot of blankets or some other alternative. I will have to think about this one.

There is no "this is how it is done for everyone" list here. Everyone has different needs, and different living conditions." Someone in the country may be able to build and outhouse as an alternative toilet, but how does someone living in an apartment in the city cope if you can't flush for 3 days. One way would be a five gallon bucket lined with a sturdy garbage bag and a seat. These might be items that you need in your emergency closet.

With all these things in mind I am going to make a list of the things I would need to get through a week without services and start getting those things together where I will be able to find them. Food, water, heat, and sanitation. A designated emergency closet is sounding like a really good idea. What are you going to do? If you have some good ideas for these please share.

Have a good day everyone and stay safe and warm.

Making it easy

This week I thought I'd share a few of the things that I found recently that make my life  a little easier and a bit more organized.
 I can't believe I didn't know most of these,  but if I didn't they might just be new to you as well.




 7 cups water, 1/2 cup baking soda, 1/3 cup ammonia (or lemon juice) and 1/4 cup vinegar for-the-home , mix, apply to grout, wait for 20 minutes or so , wash off and you have clean grout.




These next two will come in really handy the next time you need to paint.

 

 

This would make clean up so easy.

And this would make painting those ceilings less messy.

 

 

 

 

Did you know that all those rolls in the kitchen that come out of the box when you try to use them have little spots in the end of the box to press in.  This keeps the roll in place when you are using it. They are even on the boxes from the dollar store. I could have used this one many times.

 

 

  

Have you ever locked yourself out of the house? I have.

Glue a rock to the top of a empty pill bottle, bury the bottle so that only the rock shows. A spare key is hidden inside! so simple!

 

 

Here's something that will keep kids busy for hours on those hot days.  You know the ones I mean, where nothing will make them happy.  Fill a plastic dish pan with water and add a bunch of plastic toys.  Put it in the freezer and you have the most awesome playtime activity for the heat.

 

 

 

This ones for flu season.  I've done this all winter and wish I had always.  Attach your old empty tissue box to the new one, This pic shows rubber bands but I use tape on the larger boxes.  You now have a place to put those used tissues.  When the box is done toss the dirty one and add a new box to the empty one.  Genius.

 

 

 

I haven't tried this one yet but next year all my ornaments will be put away like this.  I always wrap them in tissue but every year I lose a few.

Glue plastic drinking cups to cardboard and stack in bins. Perfect for even the most fragile glass ornaments.  And reusable.

 

 

 You can view all these and more here  I hope you can find something useful. I know I did.  

If you have one you would like to share please leave a comment. I would love to share it with my readers.

 

 

Have a warm and snug day if you can, If you can't be extra careful and stay safe in this terrible freezing rain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Bitter Sweet Goodbye

Saturday was a beautiful day here. The sun was shining all day, birds were singing happy to be feeling a touch of spring and I had two of my beautiful granddaughters spending the day.

I thought  the girls would love  to go with me to a favorite antique place for a few hours .  Some of you might know "Calder's" antiques on Hwy 35.  I have gone there at least once a year for as many years as I can count.

So excited to be going the girls and I headed out.   I was telling them how there were miles and miles of very old furniture,  piled in the tallest rows  . And how they would see many different treasures.  I was hoping to instill in them a respect for things used, that have had a previous life, and to imagine what stories might be behind each piece.

We were looking for a piece to be repurposed into a play kitchen for the daycare. All my grand kids love coming here on weekends when they get to play with all the toys, so it seems logical to me that they be my go to people when I'm looking to add something new.

As soon as we walked in the front door I was shocked.  There was no one there to greet us.  The room was under construction.  And I just got a sinking feeling.  I checked the outside of the door to make sure I had seen the open sign correctly. Then I saw a gentleman coming from the main house.  He explained to me that there were new owners and they were renovating.  I really thought he meant the front office, and once we went through the doors to the hangers we would see a treasure trove of items, but he said it was all gone.....

I thought he was just kidding with me and kind of laughed.  He offered to show us what was left.

If you've been to Caulder's before  you will remember airplane hangers full of Antiques and construction salvage.  Anything you could think of could be found..  All that was left in the first hanger was a pile of wood rubble against the back wall and some broken glass on the floor.  He said they smashed most of what was there and took it to the dump.  I was speechless.  I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

There were a few things left  so he gave us a tour .  I don't know how many hangers there really are there, but I know it always took me half a day of prowling  and it was impossible to see everything.  This was what I wanted to share with the girls and instead they saw empty hollow buildings  full of trash. 

A few treasures had been set aside.  There was an old exterior door, paint peeling and glass broken.  It was beautiful.  I pictured it as a gate to my garden. The few pieces of furniture left laying around had been pretty damaged by the bulldozer...  Yes there was a bulldozer they were using to smash larger pieces to rubble.   I could tell from the look on Tori's face that even at her age (she's 12) she knew this was just wrong.

We checked some of the pieces that were almost whole and found a beautiful old vanity.  It was in really rough shape but had all its parts.  The gentleman.. I wish I had gotten his name.. said he would ask the owner if I could have it.  He said that nothing was being sold but he thought maybe they would give it away if I would come back and get it.  If this was the case I suggested I might rescue the door as well.  I haven't heard from anyone yet but I have my fingers crossed.

 I am saddened by the loss of this wonderful place, even more so now  I was about to share with the girls. I wish I had taken some pictures, I was just so blown away by what I was seeing I didn't think.     I'd love to rescue even a few pieces from there.  It's  heartbreaking to think of all that  history lost. 
 

Pantry Envy

I hope everyone enjoyed a fabulous Easter weekend.  We had no special  plans this year so hubby and I spent a few days at home actually having some well deserved down time.  This doesn't happen that often so it is really appreciated when it does. And he even made his lasagna for our Easter dinner.  I must say it is to die for.  I'd ask how he does it but then I'd have to make it myself and it wouldn't be the same.

I spent a bit of time looking at some pics of pantry's today and I have to say I am suffering some serious pantry envy.  Right now I have things stored in a number of different places, including the guest bedroom closet and the  laundry room.  I have a dream of one day turning a full wall in my laundry room into pantry storage, but nothing is going to happen very fast in that department so I thought I would share some of my favorite pantry pics here.



This  would be perfect. Right in the kitchen, and so convenient. The only problem, it's bigger than my tiny kitchen.

Both of these are great with everything in plain view.

And this one is just so pretty. I love the wallpaper behind the shelves.


















All these were from  here   .  There are so many wonderful ideas, its worth going to the originals to see the full stories.


But for now I am just going to keep putting things wherever they fit.  I did do this today though.

An empty pop can case

.

 

 

 

 

 

Some wallpaper.  Just because it's nice and thick.

 

 

A little glue .  Clothes pins are the best when you need a helping hand.  Next time I'm getting out my glue gun though,  it's so much faster.

 

 

This is the front. Just a few more minutes of drying time.

 

 

 

And it's filled with cans. 

 

 

 

 

The hardest part of this was waiting for the glue to dry. 

All it takes is a half inch rise at the back and the cans roll easily into the front so I don't ever have to worry about  outdated cans. 

I plan on making more of these. 

If I can't have a pantry at least I can be  organized. 

Have a great day everyone.