Doot, doot,doot, doot, doot Out My Back Door

Sorry, gotta love Credance Clearwater! So today I am showing you out my back door. It is so beautiful right now, just have to share with you all. In addition to across the road, which is equally lovely! Don't you just love the Colors of Autumn? And isn't this just the sneakiest little segway into telling you about this week's Make Mine Pink Friday? Just so happens, this week's theme is Colors of Autumn! Ta-da! Please join Patricia Rose and all the participating Little Pink Boutiques for this fun themed shopping event.

My sons have been busy at work getting wood ready for the coming cold weather. You know what they say about heating with wood. It warms you twice - once while you're cutting it and once when you burn it.

Glad I don't have to do that any more! But I will sure appreciate their hard work in December (not that I don't now). One son managed to get a case of poison ivy that put him out of work for a few days. Have I ever mentioned to you that the best way to avoid getting and/or spreading poison ivy is to take a warm shower with liquid Dawn after you've been exposed to that rascally vine? Cuts right through the oil from the plant. If you should develop the rash, jewelweed is a great antidote to the burning and itching. You can usually find jewelweed growing fairly close to where the poison ivy is. Jewelweed has a pretty orangy-yellow flower and when it is 'ripe' and you touch it, the seed just shoots right out. You'll have to try and find it and try that next year, it's kind of funny and kids just love shooting the seeds (so do I, guess I'm still a kid at heart). Isn't it amazing that the antidote for many things are found growing right next to the offending plant?

The cold and rainy days this past week had me working in the house. I want to share this easy way to clean your silver. As I was doing it, I made myself a note to share it with you. It's non-toxic so you don't have to worry about using it on flatware or serving dishes. In a large flat bottomed pan, take a piece of aluminum foil approximately the size of the pan, crinkle it up and then open it back up again. Lay this in the bottom of the pan. Then add some water so it will cover what you want to clean. For very large pieces, you can do half of the item at a time. Now, set this on the stove until simmering (not too hot, don't want to be melting the silver), sprinkle in a teaspoon or two of cream of tartar and stir around a little. Add your silver pieces and the tarnish magically falls off your silver onto the aluminum foil. It's a truly amazing little bit of chemistry!

Have an absolutely wonderful, wonder filled week,

Hugs,

Pat

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

It is official, autumn has arrived in the Hudson Valley! I believe this was our first hard frost. The dogs went charging out the door this morning, as they usually do, and proceeded to slide across the deck. They turned around to take a look at me, as if to say, what the heck did you do? The sun was out bright and early and everything was sparkling, so beautiful! Must remember to keep my jacket by the back door though. Way too cold to be out there without a jacket!

There is a new event making its debut at Make Mine Pink, the Pink Twilight Sale. This will be a fast sale every third Saturday of the month from 6PM until Midnight only. There will be deeply discounted items offered from many of the boutiques.

The first Pink Twilight Sale will be October 17,2009. Come on over and visit, we just love company!

We have arrived at the time of year when we will be in closed up homes and offices for extended periods of time. To keep your house and/or office smelling sweet, and perhaps even healthier, you have to go no farther than your spice cupboard! It is suggested that some of these oils will kill household germs that cause the colds and flu that haunt us in the winter! So try keeping a simmer going (your crockpot is a great way to do this). Some great things to try are cloves, cinnamon, sage, lemon, rosemary, savory and thyme. You don't need all of them, just a few or all if you prefer, will give you the germ killing effect! You can also use essential oils for this but make sure you are only using therapeutic grade essential oils, not fragrance oils! A great source (not the only one, but I trust this one completely) for therapeutic grade oils is Aromatics International. What a pleasant way to stay healthy!

Have a wonderful week, stay warm and stay healthy,

Pat