Last week, with my revelations that I was likely reacting to polyester and spandex, my short-term sewing list expanded. I went from having a week and a half to sew a coat, tunic, and veil to also having to sew pants and shirts to replace the polyester- and spandex-laden Under Armor shirts and yoga pants […]
I’m sure I’m not the only one whose breath has been caught up short by walking through a cloud of cigarette smoke, or having smoke waft over to me on a breeze. Aside from the throat-crushing breath of smoke, we all know that cigarette smoke contains over 4000 chemicals, many of them hazardous. These include […]
Neighbours can convince you to do a lot of things without actually saying a word. I live in a c.1980s suburban neighbourhood. The subdivision is old enough to have tall trees and individualized house designs, not sub-neighbourhood labels (ex. “The Oaks”) and minuscule yards. Our demographic ranges from middle-class retiree to new family. We moved […]
In honour of my birthday, I’d like to share with you a couple of recipes that my hard-working husband and excited daughter will be whipping up today. While I once would have loved to have an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen, chocolate cupcakes with chocolate icing are my cake of choice the past few […]
On Monday, I wrote about allergies to propylene glycol and their connection to polyester. Since last week’s all night blanket-making fiasco, I’ve had some results, and learned a few more things. First, along with changing to the new blanket and getting well enough to sleep in my own bed again, I’ve been trying to wear […]
Thursday night while trying to recover from a bad cold, I stayed up all night and sewed a blanket. You see, I’d been sleeping reclined on the couch for a few nights to try to stay more upright while my body fought the cold. I slept on our leather sofa, in a half-sleeve, cotton-poly blend […]
What are Parabens? Parabens are preservatives used in cosmetics, toiletries, and other personal care products to prevent bacterial growth and thus increase product longevity. The group of “paraben” chemicals are similar in that they all contain the base “paraben” molecule but each has different numbers of carbon and hydrogen atoms joined to one branch of […]
Note: Sorry for the delay in posting, I was sick yesterday and unable to get the blog posting up. There is a plethora of information online about chemical allergies and chemical allergens. When considering whether these might be a problem for you, searching out answers is difficult. Some doctors will resist patch testing and some […]
Growing plants is a constant learning curve. I’ve been growing a garden for four years now, adding garden beds and plants each year. This year I added not only two raised garden beds but also two ground-level beds, an indoor grow light for starting seedlings, and almost 40 new varieties of plants. Without fail, I […]
I went camping again this past weekend. That seems to be a very common theme lately, but this time it was with a group. This means that chores (including dish washing, cooking, and meals) are shared. In situations like this, it’s really important to communicate needs with a large group of people, which seems almost […]
When we first moved into our home, we rented a Rug Doctor carpet cleaner from the grocery store and used the Rug Doctor carpet cleaning chemicals to wash all of the carpets in our house. Fast forward to several years later. There has always been a spot in the playroom that the cat sniffs and […]