Creative Uses for Corks!

I started saving my corks, mostly champagne, as I don't drink much wine but do occasionally throw big parties where I serve a lot of bubbly, after my contractors pointed out that I could use them to repairs the holes in my baseboards that some lazy person drilled in order to run cable. But now that all those holes are filled, I have at least a large coffee can full of those nice, plump champagne corks. So, here is a great post from another blog about some projects for all your left over corks. Personally, I like this one best:Thanks for sending this to me, Lynneguist!

Some Great Art on Nice Old Paper Book Pages

I love this art, and if I was more fiscally inclined to spend money these days, these really lovely drawings would make a happy addition to my home (they are quite affordable, but I'm quite broke these days). What appeals to me, if you haven't already guessed, and in addition to their general loveliness, is that they are on old book pages! I love that - what a clever idea. You can check them out here. They are showing in a gallery in NH, which you can check out here.

Another Great Post on Recycling from Boing Boing

My friend the Lynneguist sent me this link to a post about how to make a play kitchen for kids from an old unwanted entertainment center. I love it! It was posted on Boing Boing, a site I should look at more often. This seems like the very best thing anyone could do with such a thing, better even than oh, I don't know, putting a television in it.

A Great Use for Plastic Containers - Mini Greenhouses!

I came across this very clever idea at a blog I keep on my bloglines. I think this is a great idea, and I am definitely going to try this next year, when I hope to grow some tomato plants from seed.

Keepin' it all in circulation - A big unexpected gift

I got one of those little notices from the post office telling me that I had a package to pick up last week. I had to pick it up because it was insured, which meant that I had to sign for it. I wasn't expecting anything, so my best guess was that it was from my brother and sister-in-law. A few weeks back I had sent them some empty glass paperweights, and they were to pick out photos and send them back to me so I could put them in. (Don't know what I'm talking about? Check out this post and see what I'm referring to.) But when I got to the post office, it was from my sister Gwen, in New Mexico. Look what she sent me! Tons and tons of books on dvd. I haven't added it all up, but there is somewhere in the vicinity of 100 hours of books here. I am bowled over. I am driving to Athens, Ohio next week, so the timing is perfect. I mentioned my great good fortune to my friend Frank, and he said he'd like to borrow them when I'm done, so that will mean at least three people will use them. Then, unless I find someone else who wants to borrow them, I will pass them along to the Blaisdell Memorial Library. Let's keep as much as we can in circulation. Thanks Gwen!

Ode to Spring and Clothespins

I am so happy that Spring is finally upon us. Here in upstate NY we had to wait a while, and grin and bear it through some unseasonably cold weather in April. But now it is reasonably warm, and the daffodils I planted in the Fall are up, and my gardens are beginning to get green. But the best thing about Spring for me is laundry - yes, laundry! My dryer died just about a year ago, and I decided not to replace it. So I resurrected the old clothesline in the yard last summer and used it into the Fall. I had thought I would use it all winter, but it extends out from under the eaves of the back of my house, so once the snow arrives it gets ice bound, along with the rest of the world around here. All winter, then, I hung up my laundry inside, using a wooden rack and radiators - not a good way to do things like sheets and bedspreads. I'm getting all caught up now, though. So the other day I cleaned my clothespins which I had left out all winter. (I soaked them with a little bleach, then rinsed them with a little vinegar). And I finally got around to attaching my clothespins holder to the house next to where the clothesline begins its descent into the yard. I picked up this cheap, aluminum, old colander at a yardsale last summer for a quarter (still a deal at twice the price!): Then I squashed it a little and screwed it right to the side of the house. It sits under the eaves, so it should stay pretty dry, but water will drain out in any case.I find that on a warm, breezy day, laundry dries in less than two hours (except for towels). I do miss the way that the dryer gets rid of lint, though. But in general, not having a dryer hasn't been that much of a sacrifice. I managed without it all winter, except for once when I needed to wash my duvet cover and put it back on my bed on the same day, which I brought to a friend's house to dry.

Another Mirror Saved from the Trash

I recently posted about a very nice mirror that I found in the trash and rescued. But, alas, I was too far from home to save it for myself, though I am happy to have been able to save it for someone else, even if I'm not sure quite who that someone is. Anyway, that reminded me, after I had gotten home, that this mirror was also rescued from the trash: I retrieved the very nice frame, with a gilt inner edge that I don't think quite shows up in the photo, from the attic of the Molly Root House, which the college I teach at had recently bought and was cleaning out. A little while later I came across a large mirror which had once been attached to a vanity or dresser (at least that was my best educated guess) in the trash a few houses down from my last apartment. So, for $10 I had the mirror cut down and fixed inside the frame by a local glass company - a pretty good deal, I think. The mirror is pretty heavy, so I don't want to try to hang it on the wall myself, but I actually like it leaning up against my bedroom wall anyway.