I came back from our last vacation somewhat miserable. The mosquitos and black flies had made a meal of us, despite wearing bug nets, long sleeves, and pants. While mosquito bites typically disappear for me after a day, it seems black fly bites are a lot worse. My husband had about 28 black fly bites […]
One of my favourite treats growing up was chocolate coconut macaroons. In fact, I liked them so much that I would make small microwave batches on the sly. One of the key ingredients in those macaroons, milk, helped to bind the macaroons together and give them the perfect texture once cooled and hardened. When I […]
I never liked beef jerky as bought from the corner stores. It was just to much *everything* to be any good to me. When I was a teenager, my dad made deer jerky with strips of marinated venison, and that was the first time I understood that jerky could be something other than that store-bought […]
This is a very simple recipe that I adapted from the ingredients list on something I enjoyed and a recipe for cashew milk. It does take a little bit of lead time (overnight) to soak the cashews, but once I had taken the time to do that, this recipe was far simpler and faster than […]
Once you’ve chosen your ingredients and recipe, it’s time to make soap. There are two main ways to make soap: Hot process and cold process. In hot process soap making, the saponification reaction is completed before the soap is moulded. In cold process, the saponification reaction is initiated and then left to complete while the […]
While it’s easy to buy at least one version of a plain olive oil soap in most places, soap is expensive. A single bar can set you back $3 to $6, or more. Not only that, but what if olive oil soap isn’t the best option for your skin? Finding other fragrance-free bars can be […]
Over the summer, I had a bladder infection and had to take antibiotics. Not only did that severely mess with my monthly cycle, but it also left my stomach upset for over a month. Being unable to consume dairy products (and thus take advantage of all those fabulous probiotic cultures, I started looking to other […]
It was with disgust one day that we found our cat had been peeing on a specific area of carpet. Carpets are hard to clean, and even harder if the urine gets into the padding underneath. Luckily, I had made a pet stain remover already, but we felt it was time to clean the whole […]
← Previous Post: Living with Bugs, Part 2 Bees Bees are helpful. They pollinate plants, allowing us to have the wide variety of fruits and vegetables we enjoy, some even make honey, and their populations are in decline. If there are bees settled in an inappropriate place, often the colony can be moved. Contact a beekeeper […]
I spoke on Friday about living with insect pests around my home, and which ones were helpful, indifferent, and harmful. While a slight change of attitude towards insects can help you live more comfortably with some of the denizens who inhabit the walls and floors of your home, today I talk about pesticide-free ways to […]
Every year when we go camping, we develop an uneasy relationship with bugs. Insects are everywhere in our world; there are far more of them than of us. Living in houses most of the time, we find ourselves further and further separated from the outdoor world of nature and bugs. Camping brings us right back […]
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 […]
Dishwasher detergent can be a tough thing to make yourself. So little is used throughout the cycle, various water qualities, hardnesses and particulates make for varying qualities of clean, and detergents are pretty near impossible to make at home. The best cleaning of organic matter (food) happens at basic pHs, while many people advocate adding […]
Commercial hand-washing dish detergent such as one might buy in a grocery store is a very useful product. It removes vast quantities of grease, it rinses clean, and it’s super-concentrated. When you have chemical allergies, and start to realize what’s in the things you use, your perspective changes. Most commercial dish detergents contain isothiazolinones. The […]
If you have pets, you have pet stains. It might just be where Fluffy threw up, where Spot dragged his bottom across the floor, or Boots may have a favourite inappropriate place to pee. We only have one cat, but he doesn’t always pee where he should, and when the basement bathroom door is closed […]
I got a bad cold recently. One of those ones where you can’t stop coughing, and your throat gets raw and sore. All you want to do is reach for the cough syrup so you can soothe your throat and sleep. I walk to the bathroom and open the medicine cabinet. Yes! We do still […]
I started looking for a new deodorant about three years ago. Part of the reason for this was a desire to move away from deodorants and antiperspirants with aluminum. I had also found that my underarm skin was getting rashy and sore, though I didn’t know why. I started by moving to Adidas cotton tech […]