miraclebrett's Profile

the best thing about making crackers is that once you've done it a few times, you don't need a recipe...you don't even need to measure. it's just flour + liquid (+ flavors) to the right texture, roll, bake. easier than the hummus to go with them.

it goes both ways - what about the friend who won't come to dinner if we don't cook meat?

i recently switched from using scrubbing pads/sponges to using simple bar cloths/washcloths. they work brilliantly and don't harbor funk. that is, i'm sure they would, but they are in constant circulation through the wash - use for one load of dishes, toss in the "dirties" tub by the washer, and throw them into the next load (with some exceptions for delicate laundry).

the rainbow goblins! that is the most luscious picture book.

p.s. for the teetotalers (or, say, children) in your life - hot buttered cider has been a big hit with my wife. i suspect adding pumpkin would be doubly appreciated.

i just learned from an acquaintance and farmer that you can freeze green tomatoes and then pull them out over the winter to ripen in the window (or a bag, i imagine) as needed.

we just finished transitioning our guest room (mostly for child-guests) from a trundle setup into a more permanent kids' room with exactly the offset-bunk style you're talking about. it is awesome =)

basically, i built the "bottom bunk" to be simply a mattress-sized platform - no headboard, footboard, sides, etc.

the "upper bunk" is just a loft bed where the inner dimensions are mattress-sized (a wee bit more for some wiggle room). this way, the lower bunk fits in-between the legs of the upper bunk, allowing for however much or little overlap you need, and no need to attach the beds together.

i *love* how versatile it is (especially cool for us, since we're fostering, but i also feel like it gives a lot of options for the room to "grow up" with the kids in it, too):

the under-bed space is a little play space/reading nook now, but could be a desk space or anything else - and they are totally re-arrangeable. we could overlap them at a right angle, push them together more to look like a traditional bunk bed, or in the long run get rid of one while keeping the other.

hope that helps! wish i had pics to share.

they may be taking a loss on the fire, but they are gaining dedicated users on an amazon-dedicated system. that is money coming in on an ongoing basis - much more efficient than a one-time profit from the sale!

we've had some success on our rat problem with some sort of peppermint-based pellets in a shaker (big blue canister, havahart brand, i think).
we haven't been able to keep them out (just too many holes in our old house), but we sort of accidentally trapped a rat into a small space by sprinkling that around it. it was still there 24 hours later (our dogs finished that job...gross but effective).

to add to the reasons above for not using glue traps, *mouse* sized glue traps will not stop a *rat*. if you don't know which you have, that can result in a glue trap drug about and spilled all over your kitchen (ugh).

i finally got our cables tamed. each type of cord/plug/etc got a ziplock snack bag (which we bought on accident and had laying around), and the bags and labels are all pushpinned to a portion of closet wall. simple, and no digging required!