Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Well,another year over and a new one just beginning. Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. I am just sharing some winter photos from the past here today. The lighthouse in  Covehead with a nice coating of snow. We did manage to have  white Christmas here this year and it was lovely. However, it rained yesterday and melted it all so we are back to green again.

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Farewell to Alys Fowler, who taught us to tend our gardens | Brief letters

Caring for the environment | All at sea | Bread and butter pudding | The perfect pomander

Alys Fowler’s final gardening column (23 December) had me in tears. I have read all of her gardening words of wisdom in the last 12 years and have grown to love her gentle ways of connecting with the natural world and us, her readers. One section stood out: “The act of stepping outside … and choosing to softly, carefully tend our gardens so that all the others, from the soil to songbirds, have space too.” These words get to the heart of the current environmental crises and humankind’s struggle to balance our needs with caring for the planet.
Rhona Bywater
Silkstone Common, South Yorkshire

• The letter about the sailor navigating with a road atlas (Letters, 28 December) reminds me of the story of a yachtsman in trouble at sea who radioed the coastguard for help. “What is your position?” they asked. “Financial director of a major textile company,” came the response.
Richard Barnard
Wivenhoe, Essex

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8 tasks for your January home maintenance checklist

January is the perfect time to attend to home tasks that are easy to put off but oh-so-satisfying once they’re done.

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Beat the heat: 10 tips for keeping cool while protecting your health and budget | The Conversation

Liberally spritz your face and neck, let the morning air in and choose a fan over AC

With energy prices and temperatures both rising, keeping cool in summer is an increasingly costly challenge for many Australians. Energy bills are predicted to increase by 50% over the next two years, adding to the cost-of-living crisis. For some, this creates stark choices between paying energy bills or putting food on the table.

Many households will have to contend with high temperatures this summer, and it’s getting hotter by the year. Last summer, Onslow in Western Australia endured the highest temperature ever recorded in Australia at 50.7C. Research suggests climate change will lead to summer temperatures as high as 50℃ becoming common in Sydney and Melbourne.

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25 Lampshades You Can Make or Revamp

 

This roundup list is all about Lampshades. Lamps are an important part of home decor and they can be used to create a theme or bring in color to a room. This roundup of DIY projects shows you 25 different ways to update, revamp or create a lampshade for your home decor.

I love the nautical beach-style lamps, as these are so easy to DIY but are so expensive. Stores like pottery barn and Anthropologie charge over $100 a shade but with these crafts, you can use inexpensive lampshades that are plain or thrifted.  If you are looking for rub on decals check out these I found on Amazon.

 

DIY Sisal Shade

DIY Terrarium Lamp — CraftBits.com

Cocktail Umbrella Lampshade — CraftBits.com 

Casual T-Shirt Rosette Lampshade | FaveCrafts.com

Make a Chalkboard Lampshade

Maize Hutton: Vintage Doily Lampshade DIY

Bookmark This Lamp Shade Made of Book Pages – Redoux Interiors

She’s a Beauty – Gilded Lampshade Project – Kelly Elko

Another Potato Sack Lamp Makeover

Lampshade Renovation for Daisy’s New Room – daisymaebelle

DIY Ribbon Lamp Shade for ‘Light It Up Blue’ | FYNES DESIGNS

French Chic Lamp | Young Wifey’s Blog

Serendipity Refined Blog: Stirring Up A Little Lighting – Paint Stir Lamp

Silver Boxes: Lamp Revamp 

How to Make a Lampshade with Photos to Fabric Transfers

 

How to Paint a Lampshade – The Creek Line House 

Scalloped Lampshade Tutorial – U Create

stayathomeartist.com: guest tutorial: spray painted lace lamp shade

Easy Lamp Revamp | Yesterday On Tuesday 

Brass Lamp Makeover with Mercury Effect and Burlap Shades | Creative Dominican

the power of DIY….a lamp redo tutorial – A girl and a glue gun 

How to Recover a Lamp Shade with Fabric – Pretty Providence

How to use rub on transfers 

Thrift store Lamp makeover

Leaf Stamped Botanical Style Lampshade – Dukes and Duchesses

 

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Christmas Blessings!

Christmas Blessings, I am just popping in to wish you all  joy and love in the Holy Season as we celebrate the birth of Jesus. The tables are set for Christmas and I am so happy that we can have all of our family for Christmas dinner this year since covid restrictions are long gone. A pretty street in downtown Charlottetown. I have enjoyed my Christmas teas I am

* This article was originally published here

* This article was originally published here

* This article was originally published here

Christmas Blessings!

Christmas Blessings, I am just popping in to wish you all  joy and love in the Holy Season as we celebrate the birth of Jesus. The tables are set for Christmas and I am so happy that we can have all of our family for Christmas dinner this year since covid restrictions are long gone. A pretty street in downtown Charlottetown. I have enjoyed my Christmas teas I am

* This article was originally published here

* This article was originally published here

Christmas Blessings!

Christmas Blessings, I am just popping in to wish you all  joy and love in the Holy Season as we celebrate the birth of Jesus. The tables are set for Christmas and I am so happy that we can have all of our family for Christmas dinner this year since covid restrictions are long gone. A pretty street in downtown Charlottetown. I have enjoyed my Christmas teas I am

* This article was originally published here

How to remove stubborn leaf stains from concrete

Leaves and other plant materials contain tannin, a powerful brown or reddish-brown stain.

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THE ATLANTA HOLIDAY SHOWHOUSE

OK....where did we leave off...a few people have emailed me that they aren't receiving my blog...so I am not sure if it's because I have not been blogging much of if "blogger" has changed something and I don't know about it? Is "blogger" still a thing? Do people still use it? Help a sister out.....:) It has been a busy month.  My car wouldn't start and when you are single...well that is

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Winter Solstice

Hello everyone, Happy winter solstice to you. Today is the official first day of winter but it has been unusually mild here so what little snow we had has all melted. I am happy to hear that there are snow flurries predicted for Christmas day though.....so maybe a bit of a white Christmas. A corner in our bedroom by the fire. A cozy place to read a book and enjoy a cup of tea.

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20 Crafts To Make With Old Coat Hangers

This roundup features one of the most unusual crafting mediums, recycled coat hangers . To be honest, though coat hangers/ clothes hangers are so cheap you could buy them to make these crafts if you didn’t have any spare. But who doesn’t have spare coat hangers lying around?

A few years a go I made the mistake of cleaning out my hangers, from kids sized to adult-sized from metal to wood, and I threw (literally) them into a box as I changed over each garment. Well, now I have a box of tangled coat hangers. It’s like one of those crazy hard twisted wood puzzles you buy for your Dad or your grandad, cause you have no idea what else to get them. I mean these coat hangers have managed to tangle themselves into an impossible puzzle.

So moral of that little coat hanger or clothes hanger story is do not throw them into a box when sorting them.

Dollar Tree Fall Coat Hanger Wreath — CraftBits.com

Coat Hanger Easter Religious Cross Wreath — CraftBits.com

Wreath Made From Recycled Bags — CraftBits.com

Halloween Coat Hanger and Bags Wreath — CraftBits.com

Quirky Wire Hanger Holiday Card Holder | Made In A Day

Homemade Bubble Wands – Popsicle Blog 

Coat Hanger Craft

DIY Sunburst Mirror Made with Coat Hangers | Love Create Celebrate 

Coat Hanger Butterfly Craft Kids Will Love

 Coat Hanger Tidy — CraftBits.com

Biscuit Tin Purse — CraftBits.com

Halloween Coat Hanger Wreath — CraftBits.com

CREATIVE USES OF COAT HANGERS THAT HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH CLOTHES!

DIY Plastic Hanger Star with Lights! {Christmas Yard Decor} 

How to Make Stylish Decorative Orbs from Coat Hangers 

Faux Iron scroll

Organelle Design’s Repurposed Hanger ‘Hangelier’ Lamps

Coat Hanger Christmas Angel — CraftBits.com

Coat Hanger Christmas Snowflake — CraftBits.com 

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Mayo, bread and other unexpected pantry items you can use for cleaning

The cleaning agents that are already at your fingertips go beyond the basic vinegar, baking soda and lemon juice.

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Jungle formula: easy-going houseplants

Make room for the gesneriads and they will reward you

This week I stumbled upon a copy of a half-century-old book on houseplants at a charity shop, and was astonished about quite how cyclical horticultural trends often are. On the cover were monstera leaves, a sealed carboy terrarium, a brass mister and (rather randomly) a sliced-open avocado all proudly displayed. Throw in an upcycled cabinet on paperclip-legs and an ironic beard, and it would be pretty much a gallery of ubiquitous millennial images. However, there is one group of classic 1970s houseplants that have yet to make such a resounding comeback, despite being arguably the best suited to 21st-century homes: the gesneriads.

This family of diminutive, furry-leaved plants from the damp tropical rainforests of the world are as simple to care for as they are beautiful. They are super-easy to propagate, so won’t cost you a fortune to buy, and will grow in cool, dark rooms, so don’t require energy-hungry supplemental heating and lighting to thrive. Many of us will still be familiar with the most famous of this group, the African violet, but there are loads of other trailing relatives that make striking specimens for shelves and hanging baskets for small flats where space is at a premium. They make me think of a far-flung forest in the depths of a British winter each time I water and prune them.

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Inside the kaleidoscopic home of a colour-loving nonconformist

The Mexican wave decorating one bright London home this Christmas

There’s a lot of pressure around Christmas – a feeling that everything must be done right,” says Zoe Anderson. “So I like to create an anti-stress atmosphere, fuelled by fun.”

Her north London home, which she shares with her husband, Gavin, and their daughter, Ruby, is a stone’s throw from Arsenal’s football ground. It is a kaleidoscope of colourful joy and homage to her nonconformist energy. Zoe refuses to surrender to the mainstream, and is unashamedly true to herself – which, she says, is liberating.

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How to remove mold and bacteria from bathroom surfaces

Grout absorbs moisture and stays damp for long periods. Add in soap residue, and it’s an ideal environment for mold or mildew and pink or orange scum.

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An expert answered your questions on setting a beautiful holiday table

Eddie Ross joined Jura Koncius to discuss creating festive table settings, during the holidays and beyond.

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One plate, four ways: Find your perfect holiday table setting

We asked four design pros to create a holiday table setting using the same plain white dinner plate. Here's what they came up with.

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Winter White In our Little Boathouse

Hello everyone, We have a dusting of snow here now but more snow is on the way for tomorrow.    I styled our little Boathouse nook for winter a couple of days ago. Over the past few years it has had a number of different looks but white is definitely one of my favorites A warm cozy throw on the nook bed with pretty white pillows and some greenery make it a magical little nook.

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Magic mahonia deserves a second look

People look down their noses at this scented beauty, it’s a big mistake

Some plants seem to carry an unnecessary weight of cultural baggage among gardeners. If they were newly introduced exotic specimens, they’d probably sell for a fortune to excitable auction visitors thanks to their incredible beauty, resilient growth habits and overall exceptional garden worthiness. However, because of cultural associations to do with how they have traditionally been used, we seem to regard them with disdain or, worse, immediately look past them as if they weren’t there. This means we miss out on some wonderful horticultural possibilities. And one of the best is the much-maligned mahonia.

These tough, evergreen plants became a popular choice in amenity horticulture during the 70s and 80s. Capable of surviving on essentially zero maintenance for years on end and offering up a permanent green backdrop of virtually indestructible foliage, they were used on thousands of council roundabouts, supermarket carparks and new-build housing estates.

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Christmas in the Dining Room

Hello everyone, I hope you are enjoying your weekend. There are lots of fun things going on now on the Island. A friend and I really enjoyed  seeing all the Christmas trees showing all the trends over past generations at the Lefurgey  Centre in Summerside. Also, the Victorian Christmas was very enjoyable as well at Beaconsfield in Charlottetown and it is still on if you are in the area

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The tiny treasures that we’ve found during house clearances | Letters

Readers share their discoveries on clearing out the belongings of hoarding relatives

Re hoarding (You be the judge, 2 December), going through my late father’s many, many boxes with several necessary bin liners at my side, I found a small envelope, sealed, slit open and carefully resealed with Sellotape. I could feel two tiny hard lumps inside it.

Across the envelope flap he’d pencilled “Contains small screw for fixing (possibly) sunglasses”. At some point he’d added a “2” and an “S” in black biro – “2 small screws”. There was also an asterisk in blue biro referring to a note at the side, “*Proves to be too small!” How could I possibly throw this away?
Cat Bracey
Bristol

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A Pepco expert took questions about how to save energy this winter

Christine Measamer of Pepco joined Jura Koncius to talk about ways to save energy and reduce your bills.

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11 Ways To Transform A Dollar Tree Candle

This post lists 11 different ways to transform a Dollar Store Glass Candle.

8-in. White Glass Jar Candles

Assortment By Style/Color: Even Assortment

Colors: White

Material: Glass, Wax

Height: 8 in.

Burn Time: 80 Hours

 

By adding a little DIY you can create a candle that is festive or seasonal.  I have tried to give you a variety of different techniques for transforming your glass jar Dollar tree candles.  These plain candles are a great bulk buy, as you can use them for any time of the year, perfect for gift giving as well.

 

Easy Rustic Christmas Tree Candles – Burton Avenue

DIY Buffalo Check Pillar Candle » Mother Thyme 

Dollar Store Candles 

Dollar Store Christmas Tree Candles – Redhead Can Decorate

How to Make Rae Dunn Inspired Candles – An Organized Season 

DIY Dollar Tree Glass Jar Candle HOME DÉCOR

DIY Vinyl Heart Candles | The Pretty Life Girls 

Valentine’s Day Candles from Dollar Store Candles – Poofy Cheeks 

DIY Glittered Dollar Store Candles

DIY Dollar Tree Rae Dunn Candles with a Free SVG Cricut Cut File 

Halloween Cricut Project 

Do you have a great idea for transforming your candles? Share your ideas below.

 

* This article was originally published here

John Blanchard obituary

My friend John Blanchard, who has died aged 92, was an expert on almost every aspect of the genus Narcissus, but particularly on the breeding, raising and introduction of miniature daffodils, whose flowers are less than 50mm across.

He was born at Wilverley, the family home in Blandford, Dorset, to Douglas, a solicitor, and Phyllis (nee Reade), a housewife. He attended Blandford grammar school and Bryanston school before going on to study law at Cambridge University. After national service with the Intelligence Corps (1948-50), he joined his father in the law firm Luff and Blanchard, where he practised until he retired in 2015.

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