Ivy and Heather say: I hope you all have a safe and happy Fourth of July! Heather’s taking her kids to see a local fireworks display, and I’ll be at a BBQ at my mom’s. Here in Nashville we have a 70% chance of rain, so I’m not too cheery at the moment. We bought …
Ivy says: Last night, there were several dishes left over after starting the dishwasher. This happens with some frequency, we use a heck of a lot of dishes in our house. Normally, I would just rinse them and set them in the sink to run the dishwasher this morning, but it occurred to me that …
Ivy says: Awhile back, a commenter requested a granny square tutorial. Right on! I love granny squares. They’re versatile and fast, and you can make one with virtually no thought or counting, so you can watch television while crocheting. Now, this tutorial assumes you know three basic crochet stitches: double crochet, chain stitch, and slip …
Ivy says: I knew last week was going to be so busy I wouldn’t be able to get any projects done, so I didn’t do one . This week looks to be better, though, so here’s what I’m working on: culling my books. Now, I know my fellow book lovers are saying, “Wait, there is …
Ivy says: Recently, I saw a discussion about bottled water in a frugality community. Some people were saying it is not frugal at all to buy bottled water, since tap water is (essentially) free. Others explained that the water where they lived was just bad and they needed bottled water. I’m in the “my water …
This post was updated and expanded on April 22, 2022. Let’s talk about setting a pretty table. One of the things we like best in this world is to sit down at a table with a crisp tablecloth. We have an acquaintance who puts placemats on top of her tablecloth to keep it clean but, …
Ivy says: This is only marginally on topic, and for that, I apologize. But I think this is really important, so here goes. The internet was boring, so I went a-stumbling. I ran into this post, a tribute to Mr. Rogers. I nearly broke down into tears, because lately I’ve been feeling pretty hateful toward …
Ivy says: My cousin is coming to town sometime in the next 2 months and wanted to know what she should see and do in Nashville. She especially wantd to know if the Country Music Hall of Fame was worth the $18 admission fee. When I told her I had never been to the Country …
Dear Home Ec 101, Where I live we have to pay for trash disposal. The trash disposal company we use gives us great big trash cans that most of us around here call dumpsters. Today, I was so embarassed when I got this note from the trash disposal guys: “Could you please clean out your …
Ivy says: Yes, another ask the audience question right on top of yesterday’s. But I wanted to ask this one while I was thinking of it, and hey, kids, it’s Friday. And it’s the middle of the summer and it’s not miserably hot, and I’m going to do something fun today. Next week, we’ll answer …