Non-Toxic Cleaning for the Home

...hs, throw away all suspect food or freeze it for several days to kill moth eggs. Wipe down all of your cabinet shelves with vinegar, making sure to get it in the cracks between the walls and the shelves. And if you have rats or mice, classic snap traps are very efficient and kinder than slow poison. You also do not run the risk of accidentally poisoning other creatures who might encounter the poison or the poisoned rat: cats, dogs, hawks, owls. In...

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To each hen her own egg

...eggs with big yolks. And here’s what’s interesting: Barnevelders lay brown eggs. Ameraucanas are known for their blue to green eggs. Our “Winnetkavelders” each lay a distinct color egg. We posted about this when they started laying, but as the hens got older, their eggs became even more distinct, so I thought it worth another mention. All four hens look the identical, but their eggs are different, each expressing different aspects of their parenta...

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Big List of Earth-Friendly (homemade, compostable, recyclable, no-plastic) Holiday Decorations

...stars. Paper cones with raffia hangers filled with…sweets? berries? Blown eggs, especially quail eggs Origami birds, stars, boxes, wreaths, etc. (use up scrap wrapping paper!) Paper birds Paper snowflakes Gingerbread figures Bundles of cinnamon sticks Homemade rock candy Orange peel roses Citrus pomanders (you know, clove-studded oranges) Oranges with decorative carving of the peels (see this, scroll down) Stars made out of twigs Creatures and wh...

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George Rector: M.F.K. Fisher’s Dirty Old Uncle

...nt, to half a cup of butter melted in a double boiler. Stir as you add the eggs and keep stirring–stir with the calm and temperate perseverance of the mine mule making his millionth trip down the gallery. That’s the secret–that and getting the water in the bottom hot as blazes without ever letting it come to a boil. Just before the mixture gets thick–timing again–put in a tablespoon of lemon juice and cayenne pepper to taste, and I hope and believ...

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