I should know better! When a recipe says, “20-minute Homemade Bread” I should be careful. It’s never 20 minutes! That’s the bake time. And of course, the picture looks nothing like what I produced. I’m always looking for new easy bread recipes…however, the lovely picture of a loaf of bread and the 20-minute headline seemed too good to be true.
Here’s the recipe that I found on Facebook:
I was able to mix it up by hand and made a round loaf like it suggested. It tasted OK but because it did not have yeast, it really was just a huge baking powder biscuit! It fell apart like a biscuit and did not rise very much.
I think the rest of the loaf will be crumbled and dispersed for the birds! I don’t plan to make that bread again!
I still wanted to make a single loaf of bread. So today I pulled out my recipe for English Muffin Toasting Bread. I wrote about it in November, 2023. It is not a complicated recipe and does not require kneading. It’s more of a batter bread with yeast. If you compare bake time…this bread takes 22-27 minutes. It tastes so much better!
Here is the recipe:
The instructions above are pretty clear. If you’d like the step-by-step pictures, please see my post…https://marykisner.com/making-english-muffin-toasting-bread/
This loaf turned out great and really tastes good!
I think I’ll stand by my tried-and-true recipes that I know taste good and aren’t too complicated. It’s a waste of ingredients and a waste of my time to experiment. (However…I’m always a sucker for words like “simple” and “quick.”) I’ll try to resist!
Spring is the time to start thinking about finding a good bug repellent for you (and your dog). Four years ago, I was deep into learning about how essential oils could be used, and one of the first products I made was a natural bug repellent for my greyhound friends (human and dog!).
My research started with making sure that the essential oils I used were safe for the dogs. Here are two books I started with, along with research on the internet.
Most recipes for a natural bug repellent had pretty similar ingredients…water, essential oils and an emulsifier to disperse the oils. The most important issue was making sure the specific essential oils were safe for your pets. Amazingly, most were fine for dogs, but only a few were safe for cats! I suspect this is because cats will lick their fur and ingest the essential oils.
You can read more about using essential oils with your pets at the end of this post. For today, I wanted to share the natural bug repellent spray recipe that I’ve found to be effective for you and your dogs! Once you’ve sprayed your dog and rubbed it into its fur, you’ll have it on your hands. Rub your hands on your arms and legs. An extra spray on your clothing can keep the bugs away from you too!
This bug repellent is safe for you and your dogs. It is not necessarily safe for your cats! Please check with your veterinarian for a safe repellent for your cats!
Here is my recipe for a natural bug repellent:
All of the ingredients in this recipe are available at Amazon. You can mix this up directly in an 8-ounce spray bottle. I’ve been mixing it up in an 8-ounce bottle with a screw top lid so I can more easily share it without having to worry about the spray bottle leaking in transit. I just include the empty 8-ounce spray bottle.
Here are the ingredients I use:
Here’s a close up of the Lavender Hydrosol label on the jug in the back row:
Labeling the bottle and/or spray bottle is important.
So try this recipe yourself! Enjoy the warm weather without the bugs or harmful chemicals!
In another article, she provided a list of essential oils that are safe for dogs and a separate list for cats. Her information also included how to treat essential oil poisoning in dogs and cats. If you use any product with essential oils in them on your pets, please keep these lists nearby!
Essential Oils Safe for Dogs:
Cedarwood oil; Chamomile oil; Citrus oils (including lemon oil and orange oil); Eucalyptus oil; Fennel oil; Frankincense oil; Lavender oil; Lemongrass oil; Peppermint; Spearmint; and Rose Oil.
Chamomile oil; Jasmine oil; Lavender oil; and Rose oil.
How to Treat Essential Oil Poisoning in Dogs and Cats:
If your dog or cat is experiencing mild respiratory irritation after inhaling an essential oil, move them to an area with fresh air.
If a concentrated essential oil came in contact with your pet’s skin or fur, wash the area with a pet-safe dishwashing liquid, such as Dawn.
If your dog or cat ingested an essential oil, consult with your veterinarian or poison control center immediately. Do not induce vomiting.
Essential Oils and Pets: Tips and Advice
Fortunately, the majority of essential oil toxicity cases carry a good prognosis with prompt detection and veterinary treatment. However, prevention is key. Pet parents can reduce the risk of harm to their dogs and cats by following these safety tips when using essential oils at home:
SAFETY TIPS FOR USING ESSENTIAL OILS AROUND PETS
Only use pet-safe essential oils from reputable brands, and dilute appropriately with a pet-friendly carrier oil before administering to your dog or cat. Avoid use around animals more susceptible to ill effects. Never feed a highly-concentrated product to your pet or apply it topically.
Never force an essential oil on your pet…even those deemed pet-safe…if they don’t appear to like it. Try the “smell test” to introduce your pet to the oil first.
Do not add essential oils to your pet’s food.
Keep essential oil bottles and products out of your pet’s reach or locked in a cabinet. This includes the reservoirs for diffusers and liquid potpourri, which pets can easily knock over if left unattended. Ingesting large quantities can be fatal!
If using a passive diffuser, make sure your pet can get away from the area. Avoid use around birds.
Avoid using an active diffuser when your pet is in the room, especially around birds and pets that groom frequently, such as cats.
Limit your use of diffusers, sprays, and other essential oil products to a short period of time, and air out the room before allowing your pet inside.
Avoid combining different oils (which can inadvertently raise the concentration), and avoid using pure products or blends in which the concentration is not specified on the label!
I posted over a year ago about the Scraps & Skeins Shop with an eye out for a place to donate items as I started thinking about downsizing. It looked like the perfect place…when the time comes to donate my various sewing supplies, fabric and yarn. Now, I’m considering how this shop can fill a need with the closing of our local JoAnn Fabric store.
Their printed literature says Scraps & Skeins is a creative reuse store…meaning they accept donated items such as fabric, yarn, quilting supplies, knitting needles, books, patterns and even refurbished sewing machines! These items are organized and repackaged for resale to the public. This store provides employment opportunities for adults with mental health challenges. This is a win/win as far as I can see!
Scraps & Skeins was officially opened in 2015 under the umbrella of Strawberry Fields with the mission to create employment opportunities for adults with developmental delays, intellectual disabilities, and mental health issues. All proceeds support Strawberry Fields Inc., a United Way affiliate.
Since 2015, Scraps & Skeins has grown from a single showroom and storeroom into the six-room shop and workspace located behind the Strawberry Fields’ administrative office. It now employs a store manager and multiple employees.
When wandering around the shop, the colorful displays of fabric are enticing! It feels like a fabric store! All the fat quarters, 1/2 yard and full yard pieces make an organized explosion of color!
There are many books available for sewing, knitting and crafts projects.
They even have some patterns available!
They had a display of various vintage fabric items for sale!
They also had a whole room filled with notions…like thread, sewing needles, knitting needles and a lovely selection of yarn. (The room was crowded so I didn’t try to get pictures.)
Finding the Scraps & Skeins Shop
Their store is a little difficult to find the first time, but when you find it…you’ve found a treasure! Their address is 2766 West College Ave., State College, PA 16801…but to get there I find it easiest to turn off West College Avenue onto Bristol Avenue and then turn right onto Enterprise Drive. The first right takes you behind and between the buildings and when they are open, they put out a sign that really helps.
The store is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and every third Saturday of the month from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. You can reach them at 814-234-1435 or email at scrapsskeins@gmail.com.
Helpfully, they also post regularly on Facebook and remind you of their hours and new stuff they have! They even offer select items on their website that can be ordered online! (https://scrapsskeins.shopsettings.com)
Because their offerings come from donations, their inventory is always changing. Stop by frequently to check them out! If you don’t live nearby, check out what’s available for purchase at their website.
Of course, if you’d like to donate YOUR extra fabric and yarn, here are the kind of things they accept! Know that your donation will keep the good stuff in circulation for the rest of us! Enjoy!
I hereby declare that our garden season has begun for 2025! I’d like to give you an overview of the upcoming season…sort of a baseline…so as the season goes on you’ll see progress. We are always hopeful at the beginning of the season!
So far, the planters by the patio are filled with 100+ onion plants. They seem to have weathered the below freezing temperatures just fine. We’ll thin them as we eat them so we’ll see how they do over the summer.
The planters along the side of the patio will have lettuce and radishes but it’s still a little early to start them.
Bert started the tomato plants in the shop under grow lights about two weeks ago. Today they are big enough to take pictures of them. We have three kinds: Bodacious…a large regular tomato; Super Sauce…a large Roma style; and Rain Drops…a large cherry-type tomato. They will soon be thinned and transplanted to larger pots. It’s probably 6 weeks before they’ll go in the ground.
Bodacious
Super Sauce
Rain Drop
In the planters off the patio, we’re hoping to plant asparagus and the Rain Drop tomatoes. Not sure if we’ll fill in with flowers.
As I walked up the hill to the fenced garden, I noticed the forsythia around the property still looks beautiful.
Up in the garden on the hill, the lavender (in the foreground) still looks silver green. So far nothing is happening there. We’ll have room for tomatoes, carrots, green and yellow beans and zucchini. We grow what we’ll eat and I’ll can, freeze or dehydrate the extra. I fill in with produce from the local farmer’s markets.
At the other end of the garden is our section of Echinacea…my favorite! It looks like nothing is happening, but when you look closely, tiny green shoots are starting!
As soon as overnight temperatures are above freezing, Bert will set up the rain barrels. So, watch for future updates as the season progresses. Enjoy!
With the reality of JoAnn Fabrics stores closing all over the country, those of us that actually sew are looking for new sources of fabrics…especially where we can touch and feel the fabric. In my area, central Pennsylvania, JoAnn’s has been the go-to source for many years. Recently, I really haven’t needed much except fleece for the greyhound coats. Now that I’m not making as many coats, and my other sewing projects involve using up the fabric I have, I realized I didn’t know what my other choices were.
Today I’d like to share what I found at my local WalMart for fabric and sewing notions. A store near you may have other choices.
I found many prepackaged yards of fabric…mostly 1-yard and 2-yards…of poly/cotton blends and 100% cotton. Prices were pretty standard.
They offered a section with utility fabrics, ready to cut to length…assuming someone was nearby to do the cutting.
A whole section of cotton fabric, ready to cut, was available.
Muslin and interfacing were available.
Fleece, prepackaged into 1 1/2 yards was available. I could make two coats out of one package, plus the linings out of another.
Poly-fil stuffing and pillow forms are stacked up.
The price of patterns in stores and online are crazy now! The display at WalMart seemed to be focused on the needs of families…clothing for children, costumes, etc., and ranged from $2.97 to $4.97!
The offerings for appliques and buttons were pretty sparce, but I can see those can easily be sold online…probably even at WalMart.com.
The rest of the items for sale were tools and other notions that could be useful to folks that sew or craft…scissors, rotary cutters, magnifying lights, Velcro, needles, rulers, safety pins, etc.
WalMart’s offerings of sewing fabric and supplies can certainly fill a need for those many useful items that you might need right now when you’re in the middle of a project. If you’re looking for specialty fabric, or high-quality fabric for clothing or quilting, you may want to find another source for that. I’ll continue exploring resources in the area for those projects.
I know sprung is not a real word…but when I look outside that’s how it feels. I’ve been watching forsythia for a few days, waiting to see them all flower. Yesterday I took some pictures when it wasn’t raining for a few minutes! They are glorious! I hope the neighbors appreciate the color, since their houses end up in my pictures!
Several years ago, we had to remove 27 blue spruce trees that had formed our property line for 40+ years. They finally succumbed to disease and needed to be removed. Two years ago, Bert finally agreed to plant 65 forsythia plants along the property line. They’ve been growing but really didn’t bloom much until this year. What a wonderful treat while we wait for the grass to get green and the temperatures to finally stay above freezing. I’m ready for garden season, 2025!
