I could almost have avoided buying radish seed this spring, for there were quite a few radishes about an inch high in the fall, volunteering from the radishes that had gone to seed earlier. There are a good deal many more this spring ... and some from the area where the radishes were, the year before. Anyone want some radish seeds? I have a few lettuce plants starting on their own, as well. Last year had quite a few zucchini from the ones that had spoiled that I threw directly on to the garden rather than into compost ... plus some volunteer tomato plants in a part of the garden where they were not planted, as well. I had about 60 some asparagus plants, last year ... but the landlord nicked some when he ran the tiller down the rows, last summer. And this spring when he did the initial tilling, to chew up the residues from last year and let the chewed up pieces start to rot ... he nicked a fair chunk of one row. Plus some died, I think ... so I think that I have only about half as many plants, now. Quite a few more seeds, so will fill in the blank spaces (but will need to mark them, as they'll need to be transplanted later than the originals). I save some of the first run of cold water out of the hot water tap in the bathroom/kitchen to water the cats, as well as flush the toilet. You guys in the sunny south-west should do a lot of that, cause you sure are short of water. They had a note on the radio the other day that they're worried that the rivers in rather dry Alberta are polluted now, and the flow is largely allocated ... ... so if some of you come wanting us to ship some down the trench between the mountains to California, Arizona, etc. ... we may be tellling you to get lost! The glaciers that feed them have been shrinking ... and if (when?) they die, Calgary may be crying big time for water, themselves. Have yourselves a lovely spring, everyone ... it's getting so that one can drop most of the winter clothing sometimes, in the last few days ... sort of a relief, that. ole joyful

I have a ton! I have used nautical Christmas ornaments to decorate a welcoming wreath for the door, welcome signs and to use as decorating accessories around the house....knobs on top of lamps, thrown in with potpourri, as refrig magnets, napkin rings and as the ends curtain rods. I have used oars to hang window toppers from.,,,,and another to hang a long,bed-cuddle pillowed(covered) along the wall for a padded rest for the bottom bunkbed. I wrapped a metal bunkbed with rope. I have cast the kids footprints in lakesand to hang on the walls. I used an old boat hull for the main part of a "bar"...and used a plastic maidenhead on it and drilled it and stuffed lights into it(it's cool). Found it on a website for Nautical stuff......there are TONS of sites if you do a search. I have painted old furniture and sanded off the edges to make them all go together......they are mismatched except for the color of paint and the rubbed off corners to show a white undercoat. I did use different nautical things for any knobs that I had to replace. One room I did rope knots, one I used some fishing bobbers, and another more ornaments.(watch for sales during the Christmas season....you can find them CHEAP!). I also used rope to circle around a mirror with a knot at the bottom....and used some to wrap around a lampshade. In one room, I hung fishnets over and off to one side on the curtains and hung fishing lures in the nets. I also bought calendars of boats and lake scenes to frame....also bllew up tons of pictures of us enjoying the cabin over the years on the computer and framed them....great to see how everyone has enjoyed the lake and grown over the years!! I bought old picture frames from resale shops and painted them......they look great all different, but the same color. I used old driftwood(after spraying and drying out in the sun for a long time...worried about bugs) to hang from the ceiling to hang pots from....with a smaller piece of net on one corner. I have bought remnants of carpet, painted it in squares and made fish bean bags to use for tic-tc-toe. Other remnants I have painted on for outside the doors......cheap and can be thrown away each year for a change. I have an old fishing basket for the odds and ends in my bathroom. I have tons of other things I have done, and tons of things I want to try still. My best advice is to go to "junk" stores around lake or waterfront. They have so many cool things that you can use and if you pick through them all, you will find some great bargains. SInce your cabin is more rustic than "lakey"....maybe more twig crafts......more natural stuff like log stump coffee tables or at least for the pedestal part. Use twigs to frame art and/or your furniture....to hang hooks from for coats..... I wish you luck......and tons of fun. It can be so exciting to take a theme and go with it.....let your imagination take you away!!!!! Julie

Rob333, I wish I could like your post a dozen times regarding eyeshadow! I haven't found a dry eyeshadow that stays on all day, even if I use primer first. Eyeshadow pencils or crayons are waxy and they don't last all day either. Liquid or creme eyeshadows work best for me, but the color selection is a bit more limited. I will definitely try using my tinted moisturizer to make my own creme eyeshadow with my current favorite shades. Might try the glycerin, too. Thank you! No tips for saving money from me. But I do have a product recommendation. I wear makeup every day, but I have always had a love/hate relationship with lipstick and haven't worn it for several years. Boy, have things changed. I discovered Maybelline Makeup SuperStay Matte Ink Liquid Lipstick recently. I put it on before I leave for work in the morning and it NEVER needs a touch-up. I eat 3 meals a day and snack a couple of times a day and when I take my makeup off before going to bed, it still looks just as good as when I put it on. There are some other long lasting lipsticks and I've tried a few, but this is my favorite. Yes, it remains a bit tacky, which some people don't like, but I don't see it as a big deal. A very small price to pay for all-day lipstick. And it doesn't rub off at all. I use some beauty products that are waterproof and others that aren't. I just clean my face with soap and water and everything comes off fine. Except the lipstick. It won't come off unless I use makeup remover.

While I don’t love the idea of living above the garage/having stairs with our 4 dogs, I do like the idea of having room to park our cars if I wanted or have a little shop for projects. I did look at some one bedroom house plans with walk up attics but thought having a garage would be nice and better for resale though I may be wrong about that last part.