Home-Ec Guest 
If you’re anything like us (and hey, you might not be, we are strange), you have too many books. Go ahead and admit it, you have more books than you need. (We plead the fifth.) Go through them. Keep the ones you want to read repeatedly, keep the ones you plan on reading in the …
Ivy says: I’ll be bold and admit that I’ve been known once or twice (har, har) to sit my kids down in front of a television so I can get some stuff done. Sure, there are better and more educational ways for the kids to stay occupied while I’m cleaning up or writing, but sometimes …
Ivy says: Since I wasn’t cooking Christmas dinner, Christmas Eve dinner, or any other dinner over the Christmas 4 day weekend extravaganza, I didn’t bother to take on my least favorite chore. I mean, I had enough to do, why bother with grocery shopping? I managed to put it off until this morning. I looked …
Ivy says: For someone who has massive problems with her teeth (genetics plus TMJ = I see my dentist a LOT), I’m really rather obsessed with my oral hygiene. When I saw ads for the new Oral-B toothbrush, I WANTED one. That is, until I saw it costs $150. I need a new camera more …
Ivy says: Short on time and money? If you can crochet and have a few bucks for yarn, you can quickly and inexpensively crochet something. Most people really appreciate the handmade, and they never have to know the secret that these items are done very quickly. Let people imagine that you slaved away for weeks …
Dear Home Ec 101, How do you iron a really big (rectangular) table cloth without wrinkling the part you just ironed when it hits the floor? Can one person do it alone or do you need two people: one to iron, one to hold the tablecloth straight? ~Wrinkled in Wrights Beach Ivy says: Ironing is …
Ivy says: So Heather’s having problems with her internet connection being spotty and I’ve been sick for the last 2 days. I am feeling loads better today although I’m still not totally up to par. So Heather asked me to make the cookies today and I told her, “No problem!” Except, since I was sick …
Ivy says: Inspired by this thread on LiveJournal, let me repeat with all the clarity and force I have in my typing fingers: RENT-TO-OWN IS NEVER A GOOD DEAL. I don’t care if your washing machine broke. I don’t care if you don’t have a television. And I especially don’t care if you don’t have …
Ivy says: The recipe I used for the candy cane cookies came from my mom’s recipe box. Normally, I would have called her and asked her for the recipe, but things have been unusually busy this week- even for this time of the year. So I went to Mom’s house while she was at work …
Ivy says: These cookies aren’t quite as tasty as Heather’s peanut butter cookies, but if you are in a major hurry, or are craving cookies and are out of most ingredients, or feel like eating some cookies but don’t want the fuss of making something that takes a long time, these are your best bet. …