My Sistah.
First Lake, Hollyburn Ridge, Cypress Mountain, BC, Canada
Friday, December 4, 2009
Never Again Is What You Swore
I realised this week that my camera is dusty. I intend to rectify that this weekend as I've been a bit restless lately and need some creative release.
Let's see what the future holds.
Let's see what the future holds.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
We missed you
I have been keeping SO busy working on Christmas presents and general crafty stuff & stuff. I can spend hours sleuthing for inspiration and free patterns online. I have found so many I don't know if I'll ever get to them all!
I've discovered a website designed to help keep your crochet & knitting projects organised:
Ravelry
I'm loving it! I definitely have NOT discovered the breadth of its usefulness but I've at least listed my current projects (selecting my patterns, wools, needles, etc... from Ravelry's huge database) If you sign up for a free account you can find me there under the name ApplesNHoney.
To make sure I don't need to try to remember all of the neato blogs and websites I've stumbled across lately I'm adding another box to the right side of my blog to list them all.
Maybe soon I can get myself organised to post some of my current projects!
I've discovered a website designed to help keep your crochet & knitting projects organised:
Ravelry
I'm loving it! I definitely have NOT discovered the breadth of its usefulness but I've at least listed my current projects (selecting my patterns, wools, needles, etc... from Ravelry's huge database) If you sign up for a free account you can find me there under the name ApplesNHoney.
To make sure I don't need to try to remember all of the neato blogs and websites I've stumbled across lately I'm adding another box to the right side of my blog to list them all.
Maybe soon I can get myself organised to post some of my current projects!
Friday, October 23, 2009
Spooky
My new kitty! I named her Spooky.
ETA: I've actually given her a full name now:
Spooky Alexandria Lexi Von Skellington,
Second Cat of the House Narnia,
Duchess of All Hallows Eve
Monday, October 19, 2009
What I Would Do For You...
My little Salem is sick; she was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism last week. To combat this at the moment we (read: I) are feeding her 1/4 of a tiny pressed-tab of Tapazole twice a day hidden in a teaspoon of yogurt which is, fortunately, her favourite treat anyways. I am so so so thankful she hasn't noticed the pills yet as I'm told they have a horrible taste. I have to bring her back to the vet on November 7th to make sure that the dose is correct (cha-ching vets, yep that's another blood test you get to charge me for) and to check if she is a candidate for the (cross your fingers she's in the 95 percentile) permanent treatment that is available in 3 hospitals in Canada (I'm so glad I live in Vancouver). If she's a candidate she will be taken to the North West Nuclear Medicine for Animals Hospital and be given a radioactive iodine treatment . After that the government says I have to leave her at the hospital for a week so I don't ALSO become radioactive, then after she comes home I have to limit contact for two weeks during which time no kids or old people can come over.
This treatment will cost me $1500 base price (the pills are $40/month for the rest of her life and that means I really can't take a vacation without incurring huge cat-sitter fees or boarding costs). I can't not do it though. I love her more than anything else on this planet. So if Christmas doesn't make it to your door this year being carried by me I apologise ahead of time.
On top of all of this she is Potassium deficient so I've had to change her diet to include a breakfast of wet food to hide the potassium gluconate powder in. Fun times in our household.
On an upbeat note we're acquiring a new kitten for Salem to play with on Wednesday but I don't want to jinx myself by talking about it too much. So until then, adieu.
xoxox
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Those in Glass Houses
I did this a while back and photographed the steps as I went along intending to one day create my first tutorial. So here we go!
For mine you'll need a fish tank (squeaky clean please), 1 bag of pearlite or fish tank gravel, 1 bag of horticultural charcoal, 1 bag of dried sphagnum moss, 1 bag of indoor potting soil, 1 bag of orchid growing medium (like bark mulch), sticks or small branches, air plants, bromeliads, and a small orchid. A misting bottle, a bowl and a couple of buckets, a strainer, and a pair of rubber gloves are handy also.
First place a 1cm layer of pearlite or aquarium gravel in an even layer on the bottom of the tank and then an even layer of charcoal on top just thick enough to cover the first layer. This is for drainage and the charcoal will filter the water and keep it clean. A good layer of sphagnum gets spread on top of this but first we have to soak it and strain it until it's the consistency of a damp sponge...
Spread a layer between 1-2cm. Take care to make sure you cannot see the charcoal underneath as this layer stops soil from seeping through to the gravel layer and will help keep your layers clean and pretty.
Next spread a 1cm layer of soil. This will provide nutrients for any of the plants that need them and will help to maintain an even moisture level. I've placed some plants inside the terrarium while I wait for the next step. The glass fogs up as the plants breathe.
Place enough of the orchid potting medium as will give you a 3-5cm layer in your terrarium. Cover with water and let it soak for the longest amount of time in the directions on the package (I let mine sit for 48 hours). Then drain the medium carefully (wear gloves as you can get tiny slivers) before adding it to your terrarium.
Next place your bromeliads directly into the orchid medium about 2cm deep along with the orchid. The air plants can be arranged balancing on the branches. Decorate in any other way you like (I placed clear glass Christmas tree ornaments in there).
Don't forget to mist the plants everyday or so. I started off with a plexiglass cover on this terrarium but it turned out it was a bit too much heat and humidity as the orchid medium grew a tiny bit of mould after 1 day. I removed the cover and picked out the few pieces of mouldy bark mulch and it was, and still is, fine now (this is 5 months later). Make sure it gets lots of indirect/filtered light.
Have fun!
For mine you'll need a fish tank (squeaky clean please), 1 bag of pearlite or fish tank gravel, 1 bag of horticultural charcoal, 1 bag of dried sphagnum moss, 1 bag of indoor potting soil, 1 bag of orchid growing medium (like bark mulch), sticks or small branches, air plants, bromeliads, and a small orchid. A misting bottle, a bowl and a couple of buckets, a strainer, and a pair of rubber gloves are handy also.
First place a 1cm layer of pearlite or aquarium gravel in an even layer on the bottom of the tank and then an even layer of charcoal on top just thick enough to cover the first layer. This is for drainage and the charcoal will filter the water and keep it clean. A good layer of sphagnum gets spread on top of this but first we have to soak it and strain it until it's the consistency of a damp sponge...
Spread a layer between 1-2cm. Take care to make sure you cannot see the charcoal underneath as this layer stops soil from seeping through to the gravel layer and will help keep your layers clean and pretty.
Next spread a 1cm layer of soil. This will provide nutrients for any of the plants that need them and will help to maintain an even moisture level. I've placed some plants inside the terrarium while I wait for the next step. The glass fogs up as the plants breathe.
Place enough of the orchid potting medium as will give you a 3-5cm layer in your terrarium. Cover with water and let it soak for the longest amount of time in the directions on the package (I let mine sit for 48 hours). Then drain the medium carefully (wear gloves as you can get tiny slivers) before adding it to your terrarium.
Next place your bromeliads directly into the orchid medium about 2cm deep along with the orchid. The air plants can be arranged balancing on the branches. Decorate in any other way you like (I placed clear glass Christmas tree ornaments in there).
Don't forget to mist the plants everyday or so. I started off with a plexiglass cover on this terrarium but it turned out it was a bit too much heat and humidity as the orchid medium grew a tiny bit of mould after 1 day. I removed the cover and picked out the few pieces of mouldy bark mulch and it was, and still is, fine now (this is 5 months later). Make sure it gets lots of indirect/filtered light.
Have fun!
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