Buying a used sewing machine. . .

If you're in the market for a sewing machine, there's something to be said for buying a used one.  Mostly that it's cheaper than a new one!

And refurbished machines can be just as good.

I was reading about buying a used Bernina sewing machine on this page.  It has all kinds of information to help you choose the right sewing machine.  It even has coupons.

cinnamon chips... yum!

Want to have a special treat?  Try some cinnamon chips!

But did you know there are more than one kind of cinnamon chips?

You can use cinnamon chips for baking, a different kind for infusing cinammon flavor in liquids, and there are even cinnamon chips that are snacks!

Want to learn more? Check out THIS PAGE that tells you all kinds of stuff about the different kinds of cinnamon chips.  Yum-o!

Make your garden grow vertically

If you're short on space, one way to have more growing room is to expand vertically.

There are great vertical garden kits that you can use both inside or outside, and have a multi-storied planting area.

Some of them are free standing, and others are meant to hang on walls.  You can grow all kinds of thing in a vertical garden.  They're really  neat.

For more information on vertical gardens, check out this page.

Ever heard a dulcimer?

The dulcimer is an old-fashioned instrument, with a very distinctive sound.

There are two main types of dulcimer, the mountain dulcimer, also called the Appalachian dulcimer, and the bowed dulcimer.

The mountain dulcimer usually has 3 or 4 strings, and sits on your lap.  It is played by plucking.

You see these a lot at bluegrass festivals.

The bowed dulcimer has an even more distinctive sound.  Very other worldly.  As indicated by the name, it's played by a bow.  Some people use a single bow, and others use two.

Read more about dulcimers by visiting this page.

Geeky tea infusers

I'm a geek.  I admit it.

So when I drink tea, I like to have some really cool tea infusers, something that speaks to my inner geekness.

Sci-fi kind of tea infusers are good for my geekness.  I look for spaceships, Star Trek or Star Wars stuff, fantasy, anything along those lines.

For instance, here's a cute little robot tea infuser. . .

Pretty cute, huh?

His long arms allow you to hang him from the rim of your tea cup, so he can infuse your hot water with some lovely tea.

Check out more tea infusers for geeks HERE.

Organic coconut oil for healthy eating!

I love to find ways to improve my diet.  I don't like to DIET mind you, just make better food choices.

One of the things I like is to find foods that are good nutrients and taste good.

Organic coconut oil certainly qualifies as one of those.

You can read about some of the many uses for coconut oil HERE.

It amazed me how many ways you can use it!

Love Raised Garden Beds!

Sometimes bending over is tough, so I love raised garden beds.  It's just that much less bending to reach the plants for weeding and harvesting.

I didn't realize there were so many different kinds of raised beds though.  Regular, tiered, elevated, pots... all kinds of things.

It's be fun to have one for veggies, one for herbs, and one for flowers.

This page about raised garden beds has a lot of interesting stuff.

Ever hear of a psaltery?

When we talk about a psaltery, we're talking about an old-fashioned musical instrument, dating back to Biblical times, maybe before.

They're also called lap harps, and even zithers.

And there is more than one kind of psaltery too.

Here's a page ALL ABOUT PSALTERY INSTRUMENTS that will tell you about the different types, and give you a chance to listen to the different kinds of music you can make with them.

Hand Spinning on as Ashford Spinning Wheel

I love fabric crafts.  If I had the time and was able to, I'd be working on them all day long.

A spinning wheel is such a traditional and cool way to make yarn to make your own fabric, whether knitted, crocheted, woven.. whatever!

Just start with sheep for wool:

 

 

Add a spinning wheel, and there you go!  Check out this page on spinning wheels to learn more.

 

 



Try some SUPER FOOD!

I'm always interested in ways to improve my diet and my health.  I must confess that my ideals for my diet and what I actually eat don't always mesh.

But I do try to eat as many Super Foods as I can.  If you want to know more about Super Foods, there is a list of 111 of them here on this page. 

Obviously, there are a lot of fruit and veggies on the list, but you might be surprised to discover exactly which ones are considered highest in nutrients, and therefore superfoods.

Check it out and see for yourself!
http://www.healthfoodmadeeasy.com/superfoods-list/ 

Try A Beading Loom

If you like crafts, have you ever thought about trying a beading loom?

You can do more than make friendship bracelets with one.  They are good for making beautiful necklaces as well, and beaded bags, and even mini-tapestries.

There are many different kinds of beading looms.  Here's a page with a lot of good information on the different types of beading looms.   Lots of interesting stuff!

Healing Codes energy healing

There are many kinds of energy healing, but my favorite is The Healing Codes.

They stand out because they:

1. Don't require any special equipment.
2. Don't need anyone to do it for you.
3. Easy to learn.
4. Takes just a few minutes every day.
5. Pay for them once, and that's it.

There are also chances to get special codes on free calls every week.

You can learn more about this form of energy healing by going to this page about this form of energy healing.

Get Swift Yarn Winder

A swift yarn winder looks rather like a naked umbrella.

It's a useful gadget for turning hanks of yarn, which are big loops of yarn, into nice balls of yarn.  Balls are much easier to work with when you are knitting or crocheting.

Here's a page with some good information on swift yarn winders.

Foods for Fitness

There are lots of different diets out there.

some want you to eat lots of protein and hardly any carbs.
some want you to eat soup, just soup.
some want you to count every calorie you put in your mouth.

But there are actually some diets that say carbs can be good for you.

Check out these different foods to help you get lean HERE.

Emergency Candles to light your way!

It doesn't matter if the electric is out because of storms, a pole is knocked over, or what the deal is.  When it happens you need some EMERGENCY CANDLES! 

Cause unlike a flashlight, there are no batteries to go dead.  All you need to do is store a box of matches at the same place you store your candles, and you are good to go.

There are many different kinds of emergency candles. You can buy them or make your own.  Just check out this page and it gives all kinds of information on candles for emergency situations!

Chicken Coops!

Growing chickens is lots of fun.  They are interesting to watch and you get fresh eggs!  But chickens need a place to live, and that's why you have CHICKEN COOPS!!!

There are lots of interesting pages about chicken coops, but here a few of my favorites:

http://www.squidoo.com/cool-chicken-coops

http://www.ruralramblings.com/chicken-hutch-and-awesome-chicken-coops

http://www.ruralramblings.com/cool-chicken-coops-for-fowl-fun

And lots of good info about chickens here:

http://www.squidoo.com/our-pet-chickens

Don't chicken out, check out those pages!

Indoor Grow Lights for Starting Seeds

Gardening is important around here, so indoor lights are needed to start seeds.

Well, we could buy plants, but the problem with that is first off, the expense.  It costs more to buy plants, with just one plant usally costing more than an entire packet of seed.


Then there's the fact you have a much more limited selection of varieties.  Maybe you'd like to try an heirloom variety of tomato, for instance, but it's not widely grown these days, so not likely to be available as a plant at your local nursery or even online.

But you can buy seeds!

So finding some good indoor lights to help the plants go strong is important.

Here's a page all about indoor grow lights.. just CLICK HERE to go to it.

Best Canner!

I love to garden.  If you like to garden too, then you need something to do with all that produce!

All those lovely green beans, or beets, or make some sauerkraut out of your cabbage!

Whatever you are growing, canning is a great way to preserve your food for those could winter months.

Here's a lens about the best pressure canner available!

Weaving Looms for Crafty Fun

I love weaving looms.  It's so neat to start with yarn and make your own fabric.

You can do your own color scheme, and the textures you want.  Just neat.

There are all sizes of looms, too.  Small lap looms, huge floor looms, and in-between sizes.

If you love looms, check out this lens (page) on Squidoo... WEAVING LOOMS.  It's got all kinds of information on weaving and looms!

Welcome!

I love to find interesting things both online and offline.  When I find something of interest, this is going to be my repository, my catalog.  What kind of things grab my interest?

Good books of all genres.including cookbooks!

Useful things for the house, or oddball sorts of things.

Entertainment, stuff to work with, things you need, things a person wants.

There's just no telling what might end up here!