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!!!We won the Versatile Blogger Award!!!
Posted by Jeffrey Scott Thomas in Tid-Bits & Funnies on May 16, 2012
Not to toot our own horn but I was just informed that we won the Versatile Blogger Award today and am honored. Thank you Lily Wight for the honor!
For more information please check out the blog dedicated to the Versatile Blogger!
Pin The Easter Egg On Peter Rabbit
Posted by Jeffrey Scott Thomas in Childrens Activities, Craft Projects, Easter, Easter, Holiday, Party on April 12, 2011
On a sheet draw a rough-sketch of a good-sized peter rabbit, the regular Easter bunny, standing on its hind legs, and holding his paws as if it were carrying an egg.
Stretch the sheet on the wall and tack it firmly in place. Cut eggs out of different colored foam or felt to represent Easter eggs. The eggs should be as large as the space between the rabbit’s paws. In each egg stick a pin.
Blindfold the children in turn and give each an egg, which is to be pinned on the sheet, and right in “Bunny’s” arms, if possible.
As the children take their turn, no matter how straight on the way they were started, “Bunny” will be surrounded with eggs, until some child pins the egg in his arms. This child deserves a prize.
A side note… at the beginning of the party let the kids decorate his or her egg with glitter, markers, paint (finger paint) or stickers. Use quick drying glue… let dry and then each kid can wear their egg until the game begins giving your party special decorations.
Use the Easter bunny at the top to guide you how to draw Peter….. BUT….. if all else fails you could draw an Easter Basket and see which child makes it close to helping Peter fill his basket.
Gardening Tips
Posted by Jeffrey Scott Thomas in Gardening on September 25, 2010
•Most perennials stay in bloom for about three to six weeks. So, the secret to enjoying them to their fullest is to select plants with staggered bloom times for a bed full of color throughout the season.
•Carefully choose your color scheme. Red makes a flowerbed seem larger and closer, while blues will make it appear smaller and more distant. Pinks combine well with purple, and red with violet. White is a good complement for any color.
•Prepare planting beds by digging the soil to a depth of 12-18″. Work in plenty of peat moss, leaf mulch or compost to ensure good drainage. Space plants properly, as crowded plants grow less vigorously.
•Get your perennials off to a good start by fertilizing lightly when planting.
• Some easy-to-grow perennials for any area of the South include: phlox, candytuft, dianthus, daylily, rudbeckia, salvia, hosta, purple coneflower and verbena.
•Now is also a good time for harvesting a variety of vegetables. For that “homegrown” quality and taste, be sure to harvest at the best stage of maturity and carefully handle vegetables that will be eaten at any time later than the same day harvested.
• Weeds—Pull as many invaders out of your flower and shrub beds as you can before they produce seeds (and therefore more weeds). You’ll find that they are easier to pull after a rain. If your forecast is dry, use a sprinkler the day before you plan to work in the garden. If you have a lot of weeds to pull, try using a long-handled scuffle or stirrup hoe to save your back and knees.
• Slugs—These pests can be especially damaging to hosta foliage, leaving it marred for the entire growing season. To be sure the problem is slugs, look for the dried slime trail on the leaves. Slugs feed at night, so you rarely see them during the day. Although effective, slug bait pellets can be poisonous to children, pets, and birds. You might find a saucer of beer or a sprinkling of fireplace ashes in the mulch around the plants just as effective, cheaper, and safer than commercial baits.
• Water—As the weather gets hot, remember that new additions to your garden will need watering more often than established plants.
• Lawns—This is a good time to patch warm-season lawns such as Zoysia, St. Augustine, improved Bermuda, and centipede with sod of the same type grass. You can also sow seeds of turf-type fescues or cool-season blends to thicken bare or thin areas of your lawn.
• Shade—Protect new transplants from direct sun for about a week until the roots get
settled in their new location. A light layer of pine needles or hay will help, or you can construct a small shelter from a mesh plant tray supported by sticks or dowels.
• Petunias—Pinch back plants several inches to prevent long, stringy stems and to encourage repeated bloom through the summer. You may need to pinch a couple more times during the season. Fertilize with timed-release granules, such as 17-17-17, or water with liquid 20-20-20 every other week.
September 2010 Cover Artwork
Posted by Jeffrey Scott Thomas in Uncategorized on September 24, 2010
By: Frances Marie Harburn Trippensee
History Of The Boot
Posted by Jeffrey Scott Thomas in Antique Knowledge, Antiques, Clothing on September 24, 2010
THESE BOOTS ARE MADE NOT ONLY FOR WALKING but for working in all kinds of weather—and looking smart, too. They were introduced in 1817 by Hoby of St. James’s Street, London, the personal shoemaker of Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington, famous for defeating Napoleon at Waterloo. Wellingtons were initially designed to look good with the newfangled men’s fashion of wearing long trousers instead of knee breeches.
The boot’s predecessor, the Hessian, had a curvy folded-down top and heavy braid.The duke wanted something simpler, made from soft calfskin and cut closer to the leg. Sturdy enough to be battle-hardy yet stylish enough to be worn in the evening, the Wellington allowed the British gentry to look like their favorite war hero while standing tall in polished boots.
However, it was an American named Henry Lee Norris who came up with the idea of producing the Wellington in rubber. (Charles Goodyear had recently patented the process of vulcanizing.) The British Isles had a wet, muddy climate, so Norris headed to Scotland and, in 1856, founded the North British Rubber Company to produce the weather-resistant boots that were to become famous.
The Wellington has gone through many changes since its schizoid days as a foppish combat boot. In the 1860s, it was worn by soldiers in the American Civil War. And the cowboy boot was modeled after the full V- Wellington, so called because the whole front and whole Q£ back are each made from a single piece.
Production took off during both World Wars, when the military requested sturdy rubber footwear that would keep soldiers’ feet dry in the flooded trenches and provide civilians with long-lasting boots during wartime rationing. Introduced to Wellingtons in a time of great hardship, British men, women, and children have never given them up, and their appeal has spread far beyond the home turf.
In New Zealand,Wellies—or gumboots, as they’re known Down Under—come in white for doctors and nurses in rural hospitals. Green is a favorite with the Brits (Lady Diana Spencer was a green girl long before she married her prince), while black ones with brick-red soles can often be seen on fishermen up and down the U.S. East Coast and into Canada’s Maritime Provinces.
Today, children the world over splash through puddles in Wellies styled to look like ladybugs, ducks, and frogs. And, thanks to designers such as Paul Smith and Karl Lagerfeld, the streets of many a rainy fashion capital are a riot of Wellies decorated in candy colors, wild stripes, and funky prints.
Going Green – Reinsulation
Posted by Jeffrey Scott Thomas in Tid-Bits & Funnies on September 24, 2010
Homeowners seeking to pad their homes and wallets should consider re-insulation projects that maximize energy efficiency year-round. Simple, energy-saving practices will not only reduce heating and cooling bills every month, but also will result in a higher tax return next year.
The federal government expanded the scope of a tax credit program that rewards homeowners for energy-efficiency improvements, giving homeowners a prime opportunity to increase their homes’ efficiency. Homeowners are eligible to receive a 30 percent federal tax credit up to $1,500 for weatherization improvements in their homes through Dec. 31, 2010. And as far as energy-efficient improvements are concerned, re-insulation is a smart solution for the near and short term.
“Most of the steps you can take to improve your home’s energy efficiency in the cooler winter months are equally as effective in the warmer summer months, when the thermal flows are simply reversed,” said Bohdan Boyko, building science manager with GreenFiber, a natural-fiber insulation company. In most areas of the country, he notes, winter has the greatest temperature differences between inside and outside temperatures, but in either situation — summer or winter — a properly insulated home is one that will help cut energy bills, lower the home’s carbon footprint and help keep a family comfortable.
Homeowners can find information on the benefits of re-insulation, including R-Value education, how to’s and tax credit information from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, at http://www.greenfiber.com.
Older homes or homes where current insulation is inadequate can benefit from attic air sealing, duct sealing, attic insulating and side wall insulating. Because the insulation is literally “blown in” through a tube, it can reach high crevices and deep places in walls.
Whatever insulation you choose, re-insulation is one of the best ways to reduce your home’s energy use.
Green Cleaning
Posted by Jeffrey Scott Thomas in Tid-Bits & Funnies on September 24, 2010
It’s time to get your home spring-ready. More than likely you have been buying the same cleaning products for years. However, it’s a good idea to consider switching to cleaning products tagged green or good for the environment. They aren’t just at specialty stores anymore; they’re popping up every day at grocery stores and supercenters. With more options comes confusion and uncertainty.
To cut through it all, we talked to Matt Pliszka, a scientist with Simply Safe Products. His company’s mission is to bring green cleaning to the mass market at an affordable price.
What should you look for in a green cleaning product?
First, look at your mainstream traditional brands. If the label says “warning, corrosive, danger,” that should be a big tip-off. If it burns the skin, then chances are it’s not good for you or the environment. Things to look for on the label are “non-hazardous,” “mild or nonirritant,” and “neutral pH.”
What does neutral pH mean?
A pH in the 7 range, that’s the pH of water. Alkalinity can cause skin irritation and other issues. Generally, if there is no mention of pH, then the product is either an acid or alkaline.
If it has a neutral pH, how does it clean?
Neutral pH cleaners use detergents and get underneath the soil to loosen it from below. Then wiping takes soil away. The detergents release the soils from the surface.Chemical cleaning agents attack the soil and surface, which can be very aggressive. Chemical cleaning also doesn’tjust stop at soil, which is why the surface you’re cleaning can become marred or ruined.
I have noticed a lot of cleaners use citrus or say they are all-natural. Are these green?
There’s an assumption that if it’s all-natural, it’s safe and environmentally friendly. Not necessarily true. Many orange cleaners use d-limonene from orange peels. It is a great cleaning agent for grease, but it’s flammable and an air pollutant. If you see a cleaning agent that says all-natural, be suspicious; there’s a lot of chemical processing involved in converting fruits into cleaning agents. Likewise for nontoxic because household cleaners are never meant to be consumed.
Which cleaning products are the biggest offenders?
Drain cleaners are the most hazardous. There really is no other option, so buyjust enough for one use. Of the most commonly used products, dishwasher detergents, tub-and-tile cleaners, and toilet bowl cleaners are the worst. Look for dishwasher detergents that contain no phosphates. Waste-treatment plants cannot remove phosphates, so they end up in natural water areas. •
Protect Your Home
Posted by Jeffrey Scott Thomas in Tid-Bits & Funnies on September 24, 2010
Your Home, Alone?
Don’t let crooks steal your holiday cheer.
Plan to travel this winter? Make sure you’re not an easy mark for thieves. To deter break-ins:
• Ask a neighbor you trust to check on your home while you’re away.
• Stop newspaper and mail deliveries.
• Lock all windows and doors, including those in your garage and basement.
• Ask someone to shovel snow, if needed, during your absence.
• Use timers on exterior and interior lights and radios to make your house appear occupied.
• Put away tools and ladders — no need to help the bad guys break in.
• Advise your security company of your plans.
• Don’t “tweet” that you’re traveling.
Metal Rolled Collectors Pennies
Posted by Jeffrey Scott Thomas in Antique Knowledge, Antiques, Collectibles, Tid-Bits & Funnies, Travel Collectibles on September 24, 2010
Antique Questions & Answers
Posted by Jeffrey Scott Thomas in Antique Knowledge, Antiques on September 24, 2010
Q: At a recent yard sale, I purchased a radio with a Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs design. The radio still plays and has a good tone. Any information you can give me will be appreciated.
A: Your radio was manufactured by Emerson in 1939. The tuning and volume knobs, if original, are acorn designs and a jewel on Snow White’s dress lights up when the unit is turned on. According to the Official Price Guide to Disney Collectibles by Ted Hake, your radio is valued in the $825 to $3 250 range, depending on condition.
Q: I am getting older and would like to liquidate some of my older expensive collectibles and antiques. How do I go about finding a reputable dealer?
A: You should first find and identify dealers who buy and sell the items like those that you have. Don’t contact a furniture store if you have mostly collectible glass. Your next step is to ask for references and credentials. How long has the dealer been in business? Have there been any complaints filed at the Better Business Bureau? Most importantly, follow up on those references. Get informed.
