Sometimes we are entitled to more perks and benefits than we're using. Our apartment building has amenities such as an exercise room and a sauna. Your public library might have online subscriptions to databases or to language-learning tools that you thought you couldn't access. There might be something in the income tax laws where you live that allows you to (legally) deduct something you didn't know about. Or your automobile association card might offer special deals at restaurants or shoe stores (we've used both).
This week we realized that, because I'm currently registered at a university, and have an Office 365 student mailbox, we could also download a much newer version of Microsoft Word, an upgrade we badly needed. Free for subscribers, straight to the computer, just like that: one very big wow, and thank you Mr. Fixit for making that work. If you have someone in your house with a student email account, check it out.
Showing posts with label freebies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label freebies. Show all posts
Thursday, February 01, 2018
Thursday, March 02, 2017
Do you live in Canada? You are so lucky...
You get to access Project Gutenberg Canada.
The DHM at The Common Room blog reminded me about this, when she posted yesterday about being able to access Project Gutenberg Australia in the Philippines.
The short version of all this is that since public-domain copyright laws vary in different countries and for different authors, there are certain free books that you can access only if you live outside of the U.S. Access, as in download to an e-reader, or at least read online (depending on the book). (I have OverDrive on my tablet so that I can get free library books, and I was able to use that to download several books from this site).
Isn't it nice to be the "special" ones, for once?
And it's not all Stephen Leacock and E.J. Pratt. How about downloading the entire Narnia series, plus the Space Trilogy, plus some of C.S. Lewis's non-fiction titles? Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang, the real deal? How about some classic Eleanor Farjeon? Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats? Charles Williams? Max Beerbohm? Jim Kjelgaard? Greek dramatists? (Yes, I know you can find Greek dramatists on the U.S. site).
We don't have all the authors that made the DHM smile, but we do have Josephine Tey and some other mystery writers, including five Father Brown books. Have you ever read anything by Anna Buchan, sister of John Buchan? I hadn't.(You can get a few of her books on the U.S. site too, under her pen-name O. Douglas.)
That should be enough to keep just about anyone going on books.
The short version of all this is that since public-domain copyright laws vary in different countries and for different authors, there are certain free books that you can access only if you live outside of the U.S. Access, as in download to an e-reader, or at least read online (depending on the book). (I have OverDrive on my tablet so that I can get free library books, and I was able to use that to download several books from this site).
Isn't it nice to be the "special" ones, for once?
And it's not all Stephen Leacock and E.J. Pratt. How about downloading the entire Narnia series, plus the Space Trilogy, plus some of C.S. Lewis's non-fiction titles? Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang, the real deal? How about some classic Eleanor Farjeon? Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats? Charles Williams? Max Beerbohm? Jim Kjelgaard? Greek dramatists? (Yes, I know you can find Greek dramatists on the U.S. site).
We don't have all the authors that made the DHM smile, but we do have Josephine Tey and some other mystery writers, including five Father Brown books. Have you ever read anything by Anna Buchan, sister of John Buchan? I hadn't.(You can get a few of her books on the U.S. site too, under her pen-name O. Douglas.)
That should be enough to keep just about anyone going on books.
Saturday, July 30, 2016
Minds More Awake, for free--but just until the end of today.
Would you like a free e-copy of Minds More Awake? The details are in this post at AnneWrites. Or just look for the Kindle version of the title on the Amazon website. (You don't need to have a Kindle device; you just need to download the free Kindle app.)
Just until the end of Saturday, though!
Just until the end of Saturday, though!
Wednesday, May 25, 2016
Books are for reading, necklaces are for wearing, pie plants are for pies
“There was pie plant in the garden; she must make a couple of pies.” ~~ Laura Ingalls Wilder, The First Four YearsA useful mantra for the frugal is "what do I have that I can use, instead of thinking that I need something else?" As the DHM famously put it, "what's in your hand?" Sometimes we forget that one reason for decluttering is so we can appreciate the things we do keep.
What books do you already have on the shelf? Have you read the ones you downloaded to your Kindle app last year, or the year before? I just finished one of my long-time Kindle-sitters, at 10,000 feet, because the crossword puzzle book I'd brought was excruciatingly boring, and the Wi-Fi wasn't free. Of course looking out the window at the clouds was free, but I wasn't right by a window, and where I could sort of see out, people kept closing the shades. So, the downloaded books came in handy.
What do you have in your jewelry box? I have a necklace with a green pendant, that Mr. Fixit gave me some time ago. I cleaned out my box this spring, got rid of the non-keepers, put a few special but unwearable things away, and that left the things I liked but hadn't been wearing, like the green necklace. So now it's where I can grab it easily and put it on.
What do you have hidden in your china cupboard? A pottery dish? Candles? Fancy bowls? We are paper napkin users, by and large, although we do have a stash of homemade cloth napkins we use as well. Sometimes the stack of paper napkins sits right on the kitchen table, which is not attractive. Sometimes they sit in a basket, which is better. Today I pulled out a vintage tin box my dad gave me (like this one), and slipped the napkins into that, just for a change. Better to use things than to hide them away.
What's in the closet? What are your three favourite shirts or dresses or hats or shoes to wear in the summer? Summer is short, at least where we live, so wear them lots and enjoy them. (Like Christmas things that you see or eat or sing one month out of the year: put the other things aside and make the most of the holidays.)
I just finished one other book, one that the Apprentice loaned me. In the story, one character has a special celebration, and two other people decide to commemorate it by giving him a baseball card of his favourite player ever, Yutaka Enatsu. This is not easy (especially in pre-Internet days), because the man already owns most of the early Enatsu cards, but for reasons too complicated to explain here, he lives somewhat in the past and would be very sad if he found out that Enatsu was later traded to another team. The searchers do, through a few strokes of luck, come up with a card that fits the bill, and the giving and the receiving is everything they hoped for. One little coloured piece of cardboard, but chosen with love, and treasured.
Enjoy your small treasures for the smiles they give.
Friday, January 09, 2015
Frugal Finds and Fixes
Frugal things I did this week:
Refilled the hot chocolate can with homemade mix
Read library books
Did logic puzzles in a magazine I bought with a Christmas gift card, and made one puzzle do double duty by using it for math class
Watched library DVDs and listened to Nero Wolfe on the radio
Used the frozen saved bits of Christmas squares to make Chocolate Fig Balls
Made slow cooker cereal with half brown rice, half barley
Cleaned out some we're-near-the-end-of-homeschooling resources to give away, which doesn't exactly save us any money but maybe it can help somebody else with their thrifty homeschooling. And it does free up space.
Used up as many groceries as possible (rather than buying something else)
Made pumpkin cookies with a cup of frozen pumpkin.
Lydia found ice skates at the thrift store, plus a bag to carry them in, plus a pair of jeans.
Refilled the hot chocolate can with homemade mix
Read library books
Did logic puzzles in a magazine I bought with a Christmas gift card, and made one puzzle do double duty by using it for math class
Watched library DVDs and listened to Nero Wolfe on the radio
Used the frozen saved bits of Christmas squares to make Chocolate Fig Balls
Made slow cooker cereal with half brown rice, half barley
Cleaned out some we're-near-the-end-of-homeschooling resources to give away, which doesn't exactly save us any money but maybe it can help somebody else with their thrifty homeschooling. And it does free up space.
Used up as many groceries as possible (rather than buying something else)
Made pumpkin cookies with a cup of frozen pumpkin.
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
A nice freebie: Joyous Home Fall Issue
Downloaded through Homeschool Freebie of the Day: the fall 2011 issue of Joyous Home, free this week. If you like teatimes and embroidery and other fall / Thanksgiving pretty stuff, don't miss this one.
I made up some of the the "snickerdoodle coffee" mix under "Mixes to Make," because I had all the ingredients and thought it sounded interesting. I dumped everything into a bowl and then ran it through the food processor to powder it up a bit more (a blender would also work). You taste the cocoa more than you do the coffee, and there's just a hint of spice from the allspice; so I would maybe call it more "mocha-spice" than "snickerdoodle," but either way it's quite nice.
I made up some of the the "snickerdoodle coffee" mix under "Mixes to Make," because I had all the ingredients and thought it sounded interesting. I dumped everything into a bowl and then ran it through the food processor to powder it up a bit more (a blender would also work). You taste the cocoa more than you do the coffee, and there's just a hint of spice from the allspice; so I would maybe call it more "mocha-spice" than "snickerdoodle," but either way it's quite nice.
Sunday, November 09, 2014
Lydia's Grade Eight: French lessons for this week, and some vintage printable stationery
Book used: Complete French Smart Grade 7
This lesson's special vocabulary (begun last week): nouns for things like lawn, earth, grass, garden, flowers; verbs for water, gather, fill, grow, plant, etc.
Monday:
Read out loud and copy onto one of the free floral cards or sheets from this amazing website.
La bonté de l'Éternel remplit la terre. Psaumes 33:5
Oral exercise: Make sentences with "I like," "he likes," "I am going to," "he is going to," plus verb infinitives from the lesson, plus nouns if necessary. So: the French for "I like to watch the birds," "he is going to plant some flowers," and so on. Add words for "today" and "tomorrow" to fit the case.
Written exercise: Very similar, on page 35.
Folk song: see below! (repeat during the week)
Tuesday:
Reading and copywork: Mon bien-aimé est descendu à son jardin... pour cueillir des lis. Cantique des Cantiques 6:2
Oral exercise 1: Use the last sentence from yesterday's written exercise, page 35, to make new sentences. So: from "The earthworms help the flowers and the grass to grow" to "She helps her father to mow the grass."
Oral exercise 2: I will ask you some questions, and you respond in French (Where do you plant the tomatoes? I plant the tomatoes in the garden.)
Read the sentences at the bottom of the page, and translate.
Written exercise: Same sentences: circle the right question words.
Wednesday:
Reading and copywork: De sa haute demeure, il arrose les montagnes.... Psaumes 104:13
Oral and written exercise: page 38, begin working on subject/object words for who and what. Practice asking questions about sentences like "She helps her father" (who does she help?), and make up new ones.
Thursday:
Reading and copywork...un temps pour planter, et un temps pour arracher ce qui a été planté... Ecclésiaste 3:2
Oral and written exercise: page 39, you are given answers to interview questions with "Murielle," the winner of the garden contest. Choose the right question words, and then work (with me as necessary) to complete the questions.
Friday:
Readng and copywork: Dès que ses branches deviennent tendres, et que les feuilles poussent, vous connaissez que l'été est proche. Matthieu 24:32
Role play: Act out the interview with Murielle!
Folk Song: Where Have All the Flowers Gone?
Que sont devenues les fleurs du temps qui passe
Que sont devenues les fleurs du temps passé
Les filles les ont coupé elles en ont fait des bouquets
Apprendrons-nous un jour apprendrons-nous jamais
Que sont devenues les filles du temps qui passe
Que sont devenues les filles du temps passé
Elles ont donné leur bouquet aux gars qu'elles rencontraient
Apprendrons-nous un jour apprendrons-nous jamais
Que sont devenus les gars du temps qui passe
Que sont devenus les gars du temps passé
A la guerre ils sont allés à la guerre ils sont tombés
Apprendrons-nous un jour apprendrons-nous jamais
Que sont devenues les fleurs du temps qui passe
Que sont devenues les fleurs du temps passé
Sur les tombes elles ont poussé d'autres filles les vont les couper
Apprendrons-nous un jour apprendrons-nous jamais
This lesson's special vocabulary (begun last week): nouns for things like lawn, earth, grass, garden, flowers; verbs for water, gather, fill, grow, plant, etc.
Monday:
Read out loud and copy onto one of the free floral cards or sheets from this amazing website.
La bonté de l'Éternel remplit la terre. Psaumes 33:5
Oral exercise: Make sentences with "I like," "he likes," "I am going to," "he is going to," plus verb infinitives from the lesson, plus nouns if necessary. So: the French for "I like to watch the birds," "he is going to plant some flowers," and so on. Add words for "today" and "tomorrow" to fit the case.
Written exercise: Very similar, on page 35.
Folk song: see below! (repeat during the week)
Tuesday:
Reading and copywork: Mon bien-aimé est descendu à son jardin... pour cueillir des lis. Cantique des Cantiques 6:2
Oral exercise 1: Use the last sentence from yesterday's written exercise, page 35, to make new sentences. So: from "The earthworms help the flowers and the grass to grow" to "She helps her father to mow the grass."
Oral exercise 2: I will ask you some questions, and you respond in French (Where do you plant the tomatoes? I plant the tomatoes in the garden.)
Read the sentences at the bottom of the page, and translate.
Written exercise: Same sentences: circle the right question words.
Wednesday:
Reading and copywork: De sa haute demeure, il arrose les montagnes.... Psaumes 104:13
Oral and written exercise: page 38, begin working on subject/object words for who and what. Practice asking questions about sentences like "She helps her father" (who does she help?), and make up new ones.
Thursday:
Reading and copywork...un temps pour planter, et un temps pour arracher ce qui a été planté... Ecclésiaste 3:2
Oral and written exercise: page 39, you are given answers to interview questions with "Murielle," the winner of the garden contest. Choose the right question words, and then work (with me as necessary) to complete the questions.
Friday:
Readng and copywork: Dès que ses branches deviennent tendres, et que les feuilles poussent, vous connaissez que l'été est proche. Matthieu 24:32
Role play: Act out the interview with Murielle!
Folk Song: Where Have All the Flowers Gone?
Que sont devenues les fleurs du temps qui passe
Que sont devenues les fleurs du temps passé
Les filles les ont coupé elles en ont fait des bouquets
Apprendrons-nous un jour apprendrons-nous jamais
Que sont devenues les filles du temps qui passe
Que sont devenues les filles du temps passé
Elles ont donné leur bouquet aux gars qu'elles rencontraient
Apprendrons-nous un jour apprendrons-nous jamais
Que sont devenus les gars du temps qui passe
Que sont devenus les gars du temps passé
A la guerre ils sont allés à la guerre ils sont tombés
Apprendrons-nous un jour apprendrons-nous jamais
Que sont devenues les fleurs du temps qui passe
Que sont devenues les fleurs du temps passé
Sur les tombes elles ont poussé d'autres filles les vont les couper
Apprendrons-nous un jour apprendrons-nous jamais
Friday, January 03, 2014
Frugal Finds and Fixes, New Year's Edition
What have we done lately that doesn't involve money? Around the holidays that's a tough one. Even homemades require ingredients of one kind or another. Sometimes you just want to do special things that do cost money. We had some meals out over Christmas, and also a theater movie (we hardly ever go to movies). But we did put dinner in the slow cooker for after the movie. Actually Mr. Fixit did, and I appreciated that.
We did save some money...unfortunately...by having a proposed Boxing-weekend trip to Toronto knocked out from under us by the ice storm. It just didn't seem like a really good time to be touristing there, with hundreds of people still out of power, subways not stopping at all the stations, and all kinds of other problems. We do not get to Toronto very often (as in, hardly ever), and there are some things we'd like to do and people we'd like to see there, so we'll just call it a postponement.
On a more positive note, we got through the last week and a half with only one trip to the grocery store. The fridge is a bit empty now, but we do have freezer and pantry food, so a medium-sized shop tomorrow should be enough.
Two of my daughters (one professional, one still learning) worked my hair over. I pay for the supplies, but they don't charge me for their services.
The Apprentice found herself a comforter at Wal-mart, marked way down. Possibly more than it should have been, but they honoured the price tag anyway. She took it with her when she left to go back to school today.
I downloaded several e-books by Beth Moore that are free right now. Not my usual kind of reading material, but I thought they were worth checking out. Details here.
Dollygirl has turned her attention, at least temporarily, from jewelery-making to sewing. She found some purple stretchy fabric that had come from a yard sale, and has made herself a hat, a pair of fingerless gloves, a funny-faced stuffed head, and I'm not sure what else.
We stopped just long enough at the library today to drop off some DVDs and check the discarded-book rack. Mama Squirrel found a copy of Home to Holly Springs (one of the "post-Mitford-series" books) for fifty cents, and also a short illustrated book about Dr. Gideon Mantell and the Iguanodon. The second book is written at such a low reading level that they don't even expect children know how to pronounce "museum" without help; but for another fifty cents I still thought I'd add it to our rocks-and-fossils corner.
Mama Squirrel and Dollygirl both found some cool craft supplies and things for future holidays at a Michael's clearance sale, some at up to 80% off the original prices. Dollygirl, especially, did really well; she found a couple of $15 craft kits marked down to $3, and spent this afternoon using one of them to make a safety-pin bracelet.
And if you really want to read some knock-your-socks-off frugal accomplishments, check out the comments on the Prudent Homemaker's post-Christmas post. Man, those ladies make me feel like pretty small potatoes when it comes to saving money. But every little bit helps, right?
We did save some money...unfortunately...by having a proposed Boxing-weekend trip to Toronto knocked out from under us by the ice storm. It just didn't seem like a really good time to be touristing there, with hundreds of people still out of power, subways not stopping at all the stations, and all kinds of other problems. We do not get to Toronto very often (as in, hardly ever), and there are some things we'd like to do and people we'd like to see there, so we'll just call it a postponement.
On a more positive note, we got through the last week and a half with only one trip to the grocery store. The fridge is a bit empty now, but we do have freezer and pantry food, so a medium-sized shop tomorrow should be enough.
Two of my daughters (one professional, one still learning) worked my hair over. I pay for the supplies, but they don't charge me for their services.
The Apprentice found herself a comforter at Wal-mart, marked way down. Possibly more than it should have been, but they honoured the price tag anyway. She took it with her when she left to go back to school today.
I downloaded several e-books by Beth Moore that are free right now. Not my usual kind of reading material, but I thought they were worth checking out. Details here.
Dollygirl has turned her attention, at least temporarily, from jewelery-making to sewing. She found some purple stretchy fabric that had come from a yard sale, and has made herself a hat, a pair of fingerless gloves, a funny-faced stuffed head, and I'm not sure what else.
We stopped just long enough at the library today to drop off some DVDs and check the discarded-book rack. Mama Squirrel found a copy of Home to Holly Springs (one of the "post-Mitford-series" books) for fifty cents, and also a short illustrated book about Dr. Gideon Mantell and the Iguanodon. The second book is written at such a low reading level that they don't even expect children know how to pronounce "museum" without help; but for another fifty cents I still thought I'd add it to our rocks-and-fossils corner.
Mama Squirrel and Dollygirl both found some cool craft supplies and things for future holidays at a Michael's clearance sale, some at up to 80% off the original prices. Dollygirl, especially, did really well; she found a couple of $15 craft kits marked down to $3, and spent this afternoon using one of them to make a safety-pin bracelet.
And if you really want to read some knock-your-socks-off frugal accomplishments, check out the comments on the Prudent Homemaker's post-Christmas post. Man, those ladies make me feel like pretty small potatoes when it comes to saving money. But every little bit helps, right?
Monday, December 02, 2013
Frugal finds and fixes
Frugal stuff we've been finding and fixing:
I won a book on SewMamaSew's Handmade Holidays, a random draw from the comments section. (Thank you to the providers of prizes!)
I also got a free copy of Canadian Geographic Magazine, their annual Energy issue, along with a poster and some promotional teacher stuff, because somehow I got myself registered as a Canadian Geographic Education member and forgot about it. It's always nice to get school surprises in the mailbox.
Do you remember how Dollygirl made a doll tutu back in September, and the dolls put on an impromptu Nutcracker show? This week Samantha (the doll) decided she likes gymnastics better, so the rec room has been taken over with improvised doll balance beams (tissue boxes and yard sticks), bars, and fun-foam floor mats. We also watched You-tube videos of Nadia Comaneci at the 1976 Olympics.
We went to arts night at Ponytails' school (Ponytails was one of the organizers). Fun and free, and some unnamed squirrels did some Christmas shopping from the tables of artists and crafters. Dollygirl decorated a mug with bake-on markers, for $2 (you had take them home and bake them yourself). I also bought a $15 holiday arrangement from the horticulture class, which doesn't sound frugal, but we needed one, and I would have had to spend more than that at a store, and I would rather support the students' work anyway.
Dollygirl and her friend went to a free Saturday event at the public library, with lots of different things to explore and create. The Rainbow Looms table stayed crowded the whole time, and so did some of the other most popular stations; but they did dress up at a photo booth, and they also got to see a 3-D printer in operation.
I've been using odds and ends of yarn to make amigurumi animals.
Tonight's dinner menu: beef burritos, using last night's roast beef and some tortillas that we bought on sale and froze.
I won a book on SewMamaSew's Handmade Holidays, a random draw from the comments section. (Thank you to the providers of prizes!)
I also got a free copy of Canadian Geographic Magazine, their annual Energy issue, along with a poster and some promotional teacher stuff, because somehow I got myself registered as a Canadian Geographic Education member and forgot about it. It's always nice to get school surprises in the mailbox.
Do you remember how Dollygirl made a doll tutu back in September, and the dolls put on an impromptu Nutcracker show? This week Samantha (the doll) decided she likes gymnastics better, so the rec room has been taken over with improvised doll balance beams (tissue boxes and yard sticks), bars, and fun-foam floor mats. We also watched You-tube videos of Nadia Comaneci at the 1976 Olympics.
We went to arts night at Ponytails' school (Ponytails was one of the organizers). Fun and free, and some unnamed squirrels did some Christmas shopping from the tables of artists and crafters. Dollygirl decorated a mug with bake-on markers, for $2 (you had take them home and bake them yourself). I also bought a $15 holiday arrangement from the horticulture class, which doesn't sound frugal, but we needed one, and I would have had to spend more than that at a store, and I would rather support the students' work anyway.
Dollygirl and her friend went to a free Saturday event at the public library, with lots of different things to explore and create. The Rainbow Looms table stayed crowded the whole time, and so did some of the other most popular stations; but they did dress up at a photo booth, and they also got to see a 3-D printer in operation.
Tonight's dinner menu: beef burritos, using last night's roast beef and some tortillas that we bought on sale and froze.
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Saturday rummage sale stuff, and a nature-study booklist bonus
We went to the annual end-of-October rummage sale, in the last hour when you get to fill a bag. So if these finds seem somewhat eclectic, miscellaneous, weird, it's because I just put in anything that looked like it had potential. Very unusually for this sale, and especially in the last hour, they had LOTS of books, so that's mostly what I got. Dollygirl dropped in some dolly stuff too.
Four paperback Grace Livingston Hill novels
A very nice Dayrunner Collegiate Organizer, something I needed (I am between planners at the moment)
Word Mastermind
The World is Flat, by Thomas L. Friedman
Penny, by Hal Borland (about his basset hound)
Hymns for Schools, With Supplement, selected by G. Roy Fenwick, undated older softcover
A Book of Country Things, Told by Walter Needham, Recorded by Barrows Mussey
A Nature Book: Activities and Projects For Children, by Helen Jill Fletcher, 1954 (the inside title page calls it just The Nature Book)
Pattern Poetry, Part IV: Poems of Yesterday and Today, compiled by Richard Wilson; 1939 printing
Yet another copy of Poems and Prayers for the Very Young
Extra copy of The Daughter of Time
My First History of Canada, by Donalda Dickie (OOP classic)
An issue of Cross Stitch Crazy magazine
And a few Scholastic books:
What Do They Do When It Rains?, by Norman Bridwell, TW 1487
Georgie and the Robbers, by Robert Bright, TJ 1511
Little House in the Big Woods, TX 1983 (did you know the Little House books were done in older Scholastic versions? I didn't.)
(All this, plus Dollygirl's stuff, came to $4 plus another 50 cents for the bag. I think it was money well spent.)
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Frugalities, and what's for supper
1. What's for supper?
A layered casserole made from leftover smoked sausage, leftover cooked barley, chicken broth, celery, mushrooms, and mini potatoes that the Apprentice donated (she brought some of her groceries here). I cut the potatoes in half, although they were already pretty small; put them on top of the other ingredients; drizzled a bit of olive oil on them; and sprinkled on some thyme. The potatoes were done by the time the rest was heated through.
Spinach salad with carrots and chow mein noodles
Dessert made from graham crackers, yogurt, frozen blueberries, and a bit of leftover fruit crisp.
2. Things to make: I crocheted two doll-sized hairbows and a girl-sized one, after Dollygirl noticed this link on Doll Diaries today. These are very, very, very easy and fast. No shaping--you just make rectangles and then cinch them in the middle with yarn.
3. I downloaded Best Hikes and Walks in Ontario, free right now for Kindle.
4. Free for the looking: pink magnolia blossoms on our backyard tree. Like these ones. Last year the magnolia blossoms all got killed by a hard frost, along with the apple blossoms. I've heard that this is supposed to be a good apple year, so maybe the magnolia will stay beautiful as well.
A layered casserole made from leftover smoked sausage, leftover cooked barley, chicken broth, celery, mushrooms, and mini potatoes that the Apprentice donated (she brought some of her groceries here). I cut the potatoes in half, although they were already pretty small; put them on top of the other ingredients; drizzled a bit of olive oil on them; and sprinkled on some thyme. The potatoes were done by the time the rest was heated through.
Spinach salad with carrots and chow mein noodles
Dessert made from graham crackers, yogurt, frozen blueberries, and a bit of leftover fruit crisp.
2. Things to make: I crocheted two doll-sized hairbows and a girl-sized one, after Dollygirl noticed this link on Doll Diaries today. These are very, very, very easy and fast. No shaping--you just make rectangles and then cinch them in the middle with yarn.
3. I downloaded Best Hikes and Walks in Ontario, free right now for Kindle.
4. Free for the looking: pink magnolia blossoms on our backyard tree. Like these ones. Last year the magnolia blossoms all got killed by a hard frost, along with the apple blossoms. I've heard that this is supposed to be a good apple year, so maybe the magnolia will stay beautiful as well.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Crissy's new clothes (with link to online patterns)
I tried printing out some of the pattern pieces a couple of years ago, but the printer we had at that time kept shrinking the pieces to fit the page, even when I asked it nicely not to, so I gave up. Recently we got a colour printer that is more co-operative (remind you of our sewing machine?), so I tried again. The pattern pieces printed out beautifully, especially in colour. The Simplicity patterns are very, very easy to follow...well, some of them are a little bit fussy with getting elastic in the right place, sewing lace on, and so on, but generally they're meant to be easy to sew. Almost too easy in some places--where some doll clothes books would have you turn under an edge and then turn it under again and hem, these patterns just say to turn edges under a quarter inch and sew them down, which can leave a bit of a raw edge. Elastic on pants is just sewn across a turned-down waistband, rather than put through a casing. If you are a fussier sewer, you could do more than the minimum for things like that. But I think a lot of the appeal of these patterns is in the choice of fabric and trims, rather than in detailed sewing techniques.
About the only thing we think Crissy still needs is a nice maxi-dress, peasant style, maybe in green to go with her shoes. But that will have to wait until we replenish our fabric a bit.
All photos by Mr. Fixit. Copyright Dewey's Treehouse 2012. Simplicity patterns made available by CrissyAndBeth.com.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
I've got it, I've got it! (Aunt Mai for real)
Aunt Mai's 1894 Annual, online and readable. Do a search-this-page for "Mai's." They've misspelled Mrs. Steinthal's name as author, but it doesn't matter. Smyrna rugs (called Door Mats) on page 119. Also the Japanese curtains etc. etc.
And the key to the whole question is...LATCH HOOKING. Yep. No knitting, no weaving...the PNEU programme specifically recommended this particular set of instructions, so the official CM "Smyrna rugs" were short pieces of yarn pulled through canvas with a crochet hook. That's it, that's all.
As for materials, Aunt Mai recommends the following for one door-mat: 1/2 yard of canvas, a yard wide; 1 1/2 pound of "thrums, or the leavings of carpets"; 8 lengths of wood, 7 or 8 inches long and 1/4 inch wide ("The lid of a cigar-box furnishes the best wood"); a crochet-hook; pair of scissors.
Oh, what the hey, might as well write the whole thing:
"Let the pupil wind each piece of wool separately round the wood, and cut through one end, leaving each piece of wool 2 1/2 inches long. Place the canvas on a table and draw the chief lines of the pattern in pen and ink, or with a brush and sepia. Choose the colour to begin with; put the two ends of the piece of wool together; put the crochet hook through the first hole, draw the wool through, loop it, and pull it to make it quite firm. The wool is put in and drawn tight, exactly as the fringe used to be put on to antimacassars. It is the best plan to begin with the border, and then decide what pattern will look best in the centre, and last of all, to choose the background....Dark blue is effective, also a very dark terra cotta.
"Cross-stitch patterns can easily be copied, but after one or two attempts the children find a keen pleasure in inventing thei rown designs.
"When the mat is finished, brush the back with glue and a little flour added, which stiffens the rug and prevents any wool getting loose. Then seam on a strong piece of canvas, and a strong, beautiful mat is produced, which will last for years."
There you go.
And the key to the whole question is...LATCH HOOKING. Yep. No knitting, no weaving...the PNEU programme specifically recommended this particular set of instructions, so the official CM "Smyrna rugs" were short pieces of yarn pulled through canvas with a crochet hook. That's it, that's all.
As for materials, Aunt Mai recommends the following for one door-mat: 1/2 yard of canvas, a yard wide; 1 1/2 pound of "thrums, or the leavings of carpets"; 8 lengths of wood, 7 or 8 inches long and 1/4 inch wide ("The lid of a cigar-box furnishes the best wood"); a crochet-hook; pair of scissors.
Oh, what the hey, might as well write the whole thing:
"Let the pupil wind each piece of wool separately round the wood, and cut through one end, leaving each piece of wool 2 1/2 inches long. Place the canvas on a table and draw the chief lines of the pattern in pen and ink, or with a brush and sepia. Choose the colour to begin with; put the two ends of the piece of wool together; put the crochet hook through the first hole, draw the wool through, loop it, and pull it to make it quite firm. The wool is put in and drawn tight, exactly as the fringe used to be put on to antimacassars. It is the best plan to begin with the border, and then decide what pattern will look best in the centre, and last of all, to choose the background....Dark blue is effective, also a very dark terra cotta.
"Cross-stitch patterns can easily be copied, but after one or two attempts the children find a keen pleasure in inventing thei rown designs.
"When the mat is finished, brush the back with glue and a little flour added, which stiffens the rug and prevents any wool getting loose. Then seam on a strong piece of canvas, and a strong, beautiful mat is produced, which will last for years."
There you go.
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