Mini rototiller

Another electric power tool I bought recently. It is really easy for me to use as it is small, no need for gas and easy to transport around the yard. I like that I can do little areas and get right up next to plants. I can even  use it to weed inbetween wide vegetable rows. It doesn't till deeply, just the first couple of inches or so, but that is what I want.

My first project was to rip out a strip of grass lining my front garden, which will just become more garden and reduce slug habitat (again, part of my War on Slugs).

The machine was only $200 including shipping.

Leaf Blower

My new BFF. This is a powerful hurricane of a tool! It is part of my War on Slugs which I may talk about in an upcoming post. And, I've got so many leaves on this property that raking just is simply not easy and it is a waste not to turn the leaves into compost.

I bought it on Amazon for $70 including shipping.

It is electric, which has both pros and cons.
Pro: lightweight, no need for gas, easy for me to start therefore no need to nag husband for help.
Con: cord.

Nature Babycare diapers and Bic Eco razors

I've been meaning to rave about two products for awhile now.
The first is the Nature Babycare diapers. They are a company out of Sweden. Fully compostable and made out of renewable materials.

And... they rarely leak!!! They last a very long time. Way better than the night time diapers. The price isn't too bad either. I think they were on sale recently $40 for a hundred diapers with free shipping. And if you get on the subscription plan, it's another 15% off. Not bad!

Also, Bic has a new "Eco" razor (bic ecolutions), made mostly out of corn which will compost. I hope they are as friendly to the environment as they say they are. I've had a pack of 16 of them for a long time now and I bet I won't be running out for many months. I may push upward of a year on this one pack I have.

Our new Flip Share camera

A couple of months ago we purchased a little digital camcorder for ourselves. I have been resistant to getting one of these cameras, as they all seem clunky and annoying to use. But since having Guy I have been feeling like I wanted to record some of his marvelous moments.

The camera has like only three buttons. Off/on, record and play. It is so simple and fast. I don't have to dink around with it forever and possibly lose a special moment (that is, if I can find the camera... it's pretty small). When you are ready to download, the camera plugs directly into the computer (no lost cables!) and charges at the same time (another thing I don't have to find--a charger!).

The videos that you see on this site were taken from the camera.

First project on my new Brother CS-6000i sewing machine

I'm a total novice when it comes to sewing. I bought a sewing machine a few years ago... I think it was a cheap Singer. I ended up using the thing a couple of times and selling it because I thought it was frustrating to use.

The interest to learn this new skill has once again arisen in me, so I decided to look around and see what is available. I don't have a lot of money to invest, so I wanted to see what was available in the lesser expensive price range. To my surprise, sewing machines have gotten less expensive and are far more user friendly. This machine ran me $170 with free shipping from http://www.amazon.com/.

The machine that I ended up picking out is a Brother cs-6000i. I chose this one because it looks basic and because it has rave reviews all over the internet.

So far, I can attest that it is a quality, easy to use machine. There are a few annoying things about it, but once you get the hang of how the machine works it is a cinch. The biggest thing that annoyed me was threading it... it is supposed to be an automatic threader, but for the first week or so it took me a while to figure out how to thread the automatic threader. Perhaps I will post a video of the threading, but I will need both hands available to do so, so it will require another person holding the camera. Please let me know if anyone is interested.

I did read many reviews of users that complained that the machine doesn't like cheap thread. I learned quickly a few years ago that cheap thread will break on you in a heartbeat and so have never had that problem. I've used Gutermann thread nearly exclusively, which is currently half off at Joann.

My projects so far have been focused more on simplifying my daily chores. The gardening season is coming up and I am trying to find ways to make it simpler, especially this year as I am breaking ground on a new garden and it will be much larger than anything that I have tended before. In years past, I couldn't figure out how to get organized. This year I am attempting to organize myself starting with an apron. I bought a basic sewing pattern, but one with many pockets. The pockets will have dedicated items, labeled so I know exactly where everything goes, such as scissors and twine, seeds, gloves, etc. In addition I added a loop for my felco 2 pruners. By the way if you are gardener, Felco pruners are worth the investment. If you take care of them they will last a lifetime.