Tuesday Tip - Fly those Flags!

Today is Flag Day!

via Country Living

Flag Etiquette

Here are some tips to make sure your tribute is a respectful one: 

-Display the flag only between sunrise and sunset on buildings and stationary flagstaffs. The flag may be displayed for twenty-four hours if illuminated in darkness.
- Do not display the flag in inclement weather.
- Whether displaying the flag vertically or horizontally, make sure the canton of stars is visible on the upper left-hand side.
- Do not let the flag touch the ground.
- The flag should be hoisted briskly and lowered ceremoniously.
- Before flying a flag at half-staff, hoist to its peak for an instant before lowering it.
- When displayed against a wall with another flag, their staffs crossed, the American flag should be on the right of the other flag (on the viewer's left), with its staff on top of that of the other flag.
- When flags of states, cities, or localities are flown on the same halyard with the United States flag, the national flag should always be at the top. No other flag should be placed above, or if on the same level, to the flag's right.
- When flags of two or more nations are displayed, they should be flown from separate staffs of equal height. The flags should be of approximately equal size.
- When the flag is displayed from a staff projecting horizontally or at an angle, the canton should be placed at the peak of the staff.
- An unusable flag that is damaged and worn and can no longer be displayed should be destroyed in a dignified way by burning.
- When not on display, the flag should be respectfully folded into a triangle, symbolizing the tricorn hats worn by colonial soldiers in the Revolutionary War.

 

This porch displays red, white, and blue bunting (the fabric that flags are made from) that has been tacked to the eaves and tied with ribbon at the bottom. The trios of small flags are held up by aluminum brackets.

via Country Living

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Tuesday Tip-Brown Sugar

5 Ways to Keep Brown Sugar Soft

Via Storage and Glee

1. Air-Tight Container - A container with a tight-fitting lid or even a resealable plastic bag can really help keep brown sugar from losing so much moisture that it turns into a rock.

2. Terra Cotta Brown Sugar Savers - You can find these little terra cotta disks at almost any baking supply store. Just soak it in water and seal it in with the brown sugar to help soften it up.

3. Marshmallows - We found this tip through Real Simple and are curious to try it. Apparently, throwing a few marshmallows into the bag helps keep the brown sugar soft!

4. Slice of Bread - This was our mother's preferred method. She swears by leaving a slice of bread in the bag overnight.

5. Slices of Apple - This is the same idea as both the marshmallows and the bread. The brown sugar will draw the moisture out of the apples and soften up.

And of course, if you're in a hurry to make cookies and need softer brown sugar right away, try this method of microwaving it with a damp paper towel!

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The Wish Wreath

The Wish Wreath

photo by  Melanie Acevedo

Hang an unadorned twig wreath in a spot where guests can’t miss it. Set out red Magic Markers and small plain cards on a table next to it. Post a little sign asking visitors to scribble a greeting or a wish for the upcoming New Year, along with their names, and have them slip the notes into the wreath.

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Tuesday Tip-Lemons

Lovely Lemons

“Lemon juice is the strongest food acid in our kitchens, strong enough to make life unbearable for most bacteria,” says Robert Wolke, professor emeritus of chemistry at the University of Pittsburghvia Real Simple Magazine

Use Lemon to:

1. Sanitize a chopping block. Run a slice of lemon over the surface to disinfect.
2. Eliminate the browning that occurs when food sits out too long. Sprinkle apple or pear slices with lemon juice before serving, or squeeze a bit into guacamole and give it a stir.
3. Remove tough food stains from plastic and light-colored wooden cutting boards. Slice a lemon in half, squeeze the juice onto the soiled surface, rub, and let sit for 20 minutes. Rinse with water.
4. Fade tea stains on cloth. Dilute lemon juice with an equal amount of water. Use an eyedropper or a Q-tip to make sure the juice targets the stain. Thoroughly flush with cool water.
5. Decorate on the cheap. Fill a glass bowl with lemons for a sunny centerpiece. Or display a row of them along a windowsill.
6. Relieve a sore throat. Cut a lemon in half. Skewer one half over a medium flame on a gas stove or an electric burner set on high and roast until the peel turns golden brown. Let cool slightly, then mix the juice with 1 teaspoon of honey. Swallow the mixture.
7. Whiten fingernails. Rub a wedge on the surface of your nails.
8. Shine the interior of copper cookware. Sprinkle a lemon wedge with salt, then scrub.
9. Brighten laundry whites. Add 1/2 cup lemon juice to the wash cycle of a normal-size load.
10. Remove soft cheese or other sticky foods from a grater. Rub both sides of the grater with the pulp side of a cut lemon.

Tuesday Tip

Summer Gardening Tips

Part 1

from HGTV

Did you know...

Some plants need to have their flowers removed in order to keep producing blooms. Here's a list of flowers that need deadheading as well as some that don't. My grandma taught me this when I was a little girl. She called it "pinching back".

You can often prolong bloom by removing spent flowers, but that's not true for all flowering plants. When a flower remains on a plant, the plant's energy is diverted into producing seed, rather than more flowers. Deadheading (removing the spent flower by pinching off or cutting back) is a must for many annuals but not all. With perennials, which generally have a shorter bloom period, deadheading usually isn't necessary but is used just to keep the plant looking tidy.

Plants that need deadheading:

• daisies
• daylilies
• dianthus
• coreopsis
• cosmos
• marigolds
• geraniums
• Nemesia
• pansies
• petunias (species and older varieties)
• roses
• zinnias

Plants that don't need deadheading:

• angelonia
• celosida (plume and wheat types)
• clematis
• crocosmia
• lantana
• melampodium
• rudbeckia
• verbena (groundcover types)
• vinca
• Wave petunias and other new petunia varieties

Come in to our Garden Boutique:

Garden Tools	Stepping Stones	Birds of a Feather
Pots and Stands	Bells and Chimes	For The Gardener
Garden Embellishments	Plants	Garden Fountains and Statues

Tuesday Tip-Home Remedies

Home Remedies

via Lady's Home Journal

Toothpaste

It relieved a bee sting in minutes and reduced pain for more than five hours, according to one informal test -- better than eight other over-the-counter products and home remedies, including every sting cream and stick tried . Toothpaste's other "off-label" use?

Zit zapping. Put a tiny dot on a pimple before bed. The pimple should be dried out and less noticeable by the next morning. But use only in emergencies. Toothpaste's fluoride can make acne worse, says Adam S. Stibich, MD, director of the Dermatology Clinic in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

Dish Detergent

If you've been exposed to poison ivy, liquid dish soap could spare you from the red, itchy rash. When researchers swabbed the forearms of medical students with crushed poison-ivy leaves, then rubbed a patch with everyday dish detergent for 25 seconds before rinsing, they found that dish soap prevented a reaction in almost half the volunteers and reduced the inflammation and blistering in the rest by 56 percent. The soap works because it strips your skin of the plant oil that's responsible for causing the rash. But for it to work you need to wash within two hours of exposure, before the oil has time to bind to your skin cells, says Dr. Stibich, a coauthor of the study. He adds that any full-strength dish detergent will do the trick.

Peppermint

A minty herb that's long been known to quiet the occasional stomach upset, peppermint is now also seen as a powerful treatment for irritable bowel syndrome -- frequent bouts of pain, gas, bloating, diarrhea, or constipation that strike as many as one in five adults. Peppermint-oil capsules bring significant relief to about one in three IBS sufferers, according to the American College of Gastroenterology. Surprisingly, prescription antispasmodic drugs help only one in six. The recommended dose is three 0.2-mL capsules a day and it's safe to try on your own. But don't use it if you have gastroesophageal reflux disease or a hiatal hernia, since it can make their symptoms worse.

Camphor-Eucalyptus Menthol Ointment

Vicks VapoRub and similar topical cold remedies may be more effective than a prescription pill against the fungus that makes toenails thick, yellow, and unsightly: Thirty-eight percent of people who applied the ointment daily to affected toes were fungus-free in five to 16 months, according to a study from the Michigan State University College of Nursing, in East Lansing, compared to 35 percent for the pill. Experts recommend applying the ointment twice a day until the fungal nail has grown out and been replaced by a healthy nail.

Baking Soda

You know you can cook with it or use it to deodorize the fridge, but it's also an effective antacid -- just follow the instructions on the box. What's more, three international studies have concluded that baking soda is one of the best treatments for bothersome earwax. "It takes some time, but it's a safe way to get rid of packed earwax that is interfering with hearing," says Walter C. Johnson, MD, a specialist in internal and emergency medicine at Dewitt Army Community Hospital, in Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Just mix 1/4 teaspoon baking soda with 2 teaspoons water. While lying on your side with one ear on a pillow, have someone drip the liquid into your upturned ear using a small spoon or an eyedropper. Wait one hour. Then flush out the dissolved earwax with warm water, using a bulb-shaped ear syringe. Caveat: Don't try this on children with tubes in their ears.

Baby Shampoo

Treat itchy, red, or crusty eyelids -- a problem for many contact-lens wearers -- by gently scrubbing the edges of your lids with a cotton ball soaked in diluted baby shampoo (three drops shampoo to six tablespoons of water). Then rinse the lids with a clean cotton ball dipped in warm water. Do this in the morning and at bedtime to help your eye feel better, says Dr. Rosen. If the eye problem doesn't clear up in a few days, see your physician. You may have developed an eye infection that requires a prescription for an antibiotic ointment.

Honey

Just a spoonful calms a cough better than over-the-counter cough syrup or no treatment at all, notes a Pennsylvania State University at Hershey study of more than 100 children ages 2 to 18. Honey soothes by coating the throat but may also help because it's packed with disease-fighting antioxidants and antimicrobials. Don't feed it to kids under age 1; their immature immune system can't battle a bacterium that's in some honeys. For adult-size coughs, a teaspoon or two is enough. If you're allergic to bee stings, make sure you don't have a honey allergy, too.

Tuesdays Tip-4th of July Safety

If fireworks are legal in your area and you plan to have them at your Fourth of July party, it’s important to know how to handle them safely. Here are some fireworks guidelines:

• Follow the directions on your packaging. • Only allow responsible adults to handle them. • Do not aim at people, houses, dry leaves, grass or other flammable materials. • Always have water handy in case your fireworks ignite. • Do not attempt to re-light malfunctioning fireworks. • Dispose of fireworks safely by soaking them in water before throwing them out.

While you’re waiting for the sun to set and the fireworks to start, there are plenty of ways to keep your guests entertained. At a family party, classic outdoor games like a tug-of-war, egg-and-spoon races and balloon tosses (with red, white and blue balloons, of course) go over well with all ages. If your party is taking place in a large outdoor area, break up your guests into two teams for a friendly tournament of flag football, volleyball or Ultimate Frisbee. A bonfire is great for keeping guests warm. Assign some guests to keep the fire blazing, a few others to toast marshmallows for S’mores, and ask any musicians in the group to bring a guitar so you can have a group sing-along.

For a season-appropriate treat you’ll remember all year long, plan a traditional New England-style clambake, a lobster feast or a down-home barbecue with ribs, burgers, hot dogs and fresh corn. Cool sides like potato salad, pasta salad and cole slaw make great accompaniments to any of the above main courses. For dessert, serve fruit salad in a hollowed-out watermelon, all-American apple pie and a rectangular sheet cake frosted with white icing and topped with raspberries and blueberries to resemble the American flag. Also, as with any warm-weather holiday, you want to make sure your food doesn’t spoil in the heat. Keep all perishable food in bowls over ice, and keep food in a cooler as much as possible

Devoted to Dad - Day 2

A Father's Day Tip

What does Dad want most on Father's Day? To be surrounded by family and food. So take him by the hand, lead him to his favorite chair, and let the pampering begin.

Dad's Favorite Meals

From Better Homes and Gardens

By Jeanne Ambrose

Because the cliche is true -- the way to a man's heart is through his stomach -- plan on making Father's Day extra special by giving Dad the day off and plying him with his favorite foods. Most dads are easy-to-please kind of guys, so it's not necessary to add a lot of fussy food to the dinner menu on that special Sunday set aside to honor all fathers.

The Better Homes and Garden Team created a slightly macho menu based on Dad's desires, according to those who know him best: you. Nearly 2,500 people responded to a Better Homes and Gardens survey about dads that was posted on bhg.com. According to those who took the survey, Dad's favorite meal includes steak and potatoes, corn on the cob, and pie or ice cream -- preferably both.

This easy meal means that kids can help Mom with some of the prep work in the kitchen and still have plenty of time to decorate a homemade card, tussle with Dad on the floor, or take him outside for a game of catch. Teens in the family might want to burn a compact disc for Dad, with his favorite tunes or songs that feature father and family themes.

Because one of Dad's favorite pre-dinner munchies is a bowl of chips with dip, treat him to a homemade version. They're one of those quick fixes that wind up making a yummy impression. In this case, the crispy snacks are prepared from fresh corn tortillas or flavored flour tortillas with a sprinkling of salt and pepper.

These chips are baked, making them extremely crispy without extra oils. They're ready in 10 minutes, giving the kids plenty of time to stir together the ingredients for Salsa and Cheese Dip.

View crispy tortilla chips recipe

View salsa and cheese dip recipe

The basic seared steak takes on a bold profile when topped with a thick slice of sizzling bacon and a homemade steak sauce that adds a hint of fruity sweetness.

View sizzling steak recipe

View peach steak sauce recipe

View roasted potato kabobs recipe

View skillet-toasted corn salad recipe

For dessert, they took a cue from the story of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" to creat Big, Bigger, Biggest Plum Pies that are easy for little helping hands.

The pies can be made in three sizes: junior pies for the small fries in your family, medium-size pies, or great, big Papa Bear portions. Bake one, two, or all three pies, depending on how many people you're serving.

One of the best things about the pies is the fact that they start with purchased pastry that you cut to size, pile with yummy plums and apricots, and top with another piece of pastry. Pinch and roll the edges together to seal in all the goodies before slipping it into the oven on a baking sheet or pizza pan. Serve it up with a scoop or two of ice cream for a delicious finish to your Father's Day.

Devoted to Dad - Day 1

Happy June! Father's Day is just around the corner and to celebrate Dad's we are hosting 21 Days Devoted to Dad Tune in each day for gifts, recipes, crafts and giveaways .... Devoted to Dad - Day 1

Folded Shirt Card

Courtesy of Martha Stewart Living June 2004

A shirt and tie are a traditional gift for Dad -- a card to match is something new. Use legal-size (8 1/2-by-14-inch) decorative paper.

1. Place paper facedown. Fold in half vertically; unfold. Line up left edge with centerline fold, and crease; repeat with right edge. Unfold, and lay flat.
2. Fold top-left corner in to line up with outermost crease, forming a triangle; repeat on top-right corner. Using index fingers and thumbs, pinch together outside points of each triangle so they meet, and crease.
3. While still pinching triangles, fold down top edge (this will make sleeves).
4. Turn paper upside down, and flip it over. Fold down top edge 3/4 inch.
5. Flip paper over. Fold top left and right corners so tips meet at centerline.
6. Tuck bottom edge under collar, and flatten by creasing. For the tie, cut out an 8-by-1/2-inch strip of decorative paper. Knot paper. Snip close to knot on one side; trim other to a point. Glue to shirt.

Get Ready to Garden

Now is the time to start planning your Garden.

Go HERE for some tips.

We have wonderful things to add delight to your garden!

Visit

In the Garden

Some of our favorite's are:

Garden Tool Caddy

Plant Care Tote and our

Cute Cottage Watering Can More for the garden....

Windchimes

Gifts for The GardenerWe also carry stepping stones, bird houses, accessories and fountains.

Heart Parties?

Here's A fun Valentine Party

Idea for Girls

(approx. 6 yrs - 12 yrs)

A Valentine Party with a Peppermint Twist

Make Peppermint Invitations

Hand over your heart with a personally delivered invitation that combines a heart, a bow, and a peppermint stick. Have party guests come dressed in wearing red, pink or white.Set the scene for Peppermint Treats. Use large Doiles for placemats. Tie ribbons to the straws with a peppermint to top it off.Peppermint Floats

• Fill heart-shaped ice cube trays with raspberry soda and freeze overnight.
• Put 3 scoops of vanilla ice cream into each tall glass
• Pour gingerale into each glasss (pouring slowly)
• Press a heart-shaped ice cube into the incecream in each glass.
• Add a fancy straw garnished with ribbons and candy and Serve.
  

Shortbread Hearts

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• raspberry jam
• powedered sugar

Directions:

• Mix butter and sugar together. Add vanilla
• Add the flour a little at a time. Mix well.
• Press the dough into a flat, round shape. Wrape it in plastic and put it in the refrigerator for at least a half hour.
• Roll out the dough about a half-inch thick.
• Use heart-shaped cookie cutterst to ut out the cookies. Using different sizes cutters is fun.
• Cover the cookies and chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
• Bake the cookies until they're light gold (6- 10 minutes)depending on the size of the heart.
• After cookies cool on a wire rack, paint a jam on heart on each cookie. Or put two cookiestogether to make a heart sandwich with the jam in the middle. Press each side of the sandwich onto a plate of powdered sugar.

Peppermint Password Game:

Each girl gets a bag of 10 peppermints. Tell everyone that anytime they say the word I, they have to give a ppermint to shomever they're talking to. After 15 minutes, say "stop". The winner is the girl holding the most peppermings.

Valentine Word Game:

Pass out pencils and paper. Have each girl write the word peppermint on one side and valentine on the other. How many words can they find scrambled in those two words? Set a time limit. The girl with the most words is the winner.

This idea is from (a very old)American Girl Magazine.