kathyc's Profile

I'm doing it right now too. I had it in water for a couple of weeks until roots formed and the old celery rotted off, then I moved it into my vegetable garden, where it seems to be doing well. Now I've just started a leek and it has roots and new green growth. I'll probably move it to the garden in about another week. I have a pineapple top too that I've been growing for almost 2 years. It's big and green and growing but so far no little pineapples yet.

There are a lot of named cultivars of plants out there. I try to find plants named for people I know, like the "Josephine" or "Henryii"clematis, etc. and whenever I see one, I buy it as I'm trying to create a "family" garden. These are easier plants to find and move than a tree is and there is a huge selection. The Royal Horticultural Society has a plant finder where you type in a name and it will give you a list of plants with that name. Then you can Google the specific plant name and see where you can buy it.
http://apps.rhs.org.uk/rhsplantfinder/

Pot roast, meatloaf, meatballs, stews, soups, chicken parmesan, and whatever comfort foods you can remember from childhood usually freeze well. They're not trendy, vegetarian, or sexy, but they are hearty, filling and mostly nutritious, plus, they don't require a lot of fuss to reheat. She can make a salad, veggies or pasta/potatoes/rice as she chooses.

I need to say upfront that I do have a very small garden in my yard, but because of its small size I grow a lot of stuff in pots on my small patio. I've had great success with summer squash, eggplants, tomatoes, lettuce, peas, bush green beans, garlic and all of the different herbs. I had a neighbor who grew corn in pots! Use the biggest pots that you can fit in the space for planting so the roots can spread and mix the herbs in with the vegetable plants. Often the herbs (or garlic) will deter squirrels and other critters because they don't like the smell/taste of them, plus it looks prettier to have a nice full pot!

There are countertop water distillers that you can buy. I can't name any brands of distillers off the top of my head, but we were thinking about getting one at one point. You could try googling it.

This is awesome. Great job Jenn!

When an older relative passed away, I inherited all of her knitting and sewing supplies. As I was going through them, I found 2 nice sized blocks that were not quilted and probably from the 1930s or 40s. One was a crazy quilt piece and the other was a log cabin piece. I brought them over to Michael's Crafts and had them framed and I just love the way they look in my living room. They're a nice pop of color. I wouldn't cut up a quilt to do this, but if you come across some unfinished blocks at a flea market or in a friend/relative's stash, it's definitely worth it.

Don't use oven cleaner! It will discolor the finish and ruin the shine on the stainless steel. I agree with lifeabundant. Use the baking soda and water and boil it. Instead of baking soda, you can also use cream of tartar. Boil the water and you will see the burnt flecks start rising to the top. Each of these may require doing it a couple of times, but it's the safest way to remove burnt on stuff without chemicals.

This is very helpful. I've been hosting most of our family parties for several years now and it seems like every year there's a new diet that someone is following that makes planning more difficult for me, and the sister-in-law who helps me plan holidays. Our family has the vegetarians, vegans, the hypoglycemic low carb dieters, gluten intolerant, and many different food allergies. (Seriously, name a food and someone is allergic to it.). At this point, we're doing a lot of potlucks, but I really like the idea of themes like pizza, tacos, bbq, etc.

I think Forbes diminishes it's credibility when it puts out these lists. They're just pointless. To use "crummy weather" in Poughkeepsie, NY as criteria, is stupid (& BTW, I have been to Poughkeepsie many times and the weather is the same as every other place in the Northeast), and if NYC was so miserable, why do people flock there from all over the world? Seriously, why do these lists even exist? I'm sure there are a lot of people who love living in all of these "miserable cities." Worst of all, I can't believe I've wasted time even thinking about this!