I told Becky how badly I needed them, because I couldn’t find a single oven mitt in the house, and I was in danger of burning off my sweet fingers. I need my fingers. These arrived the day after my birthday – I love surprise birthday gifts! And the day after that, I found the one oven mitt I did own – in my 7 year old daughter’s underwear drawer.

I had to explain the craziness to Becky, who may have wondered about my daughter’s stability – why was she stashing away an oven mitt with her underclothes?! An unknown fact was revealed: my mother, with Alzheimer’s or some mysterious mind-confusing disease that can afflict almost-80-year-olds, lives with my family. She loves to help put laundry away. You may find my t-shirts in my son’s dresser, dirty clothes mistakenly folded neatly into drawers, or oven mitts filed away with underwear. We work with it.

Another blog perk came my way when Sheila at Meditations and Confessions of a Homemaker sent me this pack of handmade cards. Each card has an inspiring scripture, wise saying, or encouraging word for women. Sheila is truly gifted (in many ways), and you can find more of her cards for sale at her Etsy shop. She has a great big heart for hurting and broken people, she blogs for the persecuted church (don’t miss her post on China), and is simply refreshing.

Sheila has also given me a few blog awards recently, which I’ll pass on soon. They are the Arte y Pico (best art) Award, and the Brillante Weblog Award. Thank you from the bottom of my heart! Coming up (or whenever I get around to it!) will be my awards reception in which I present these to some other excellent bloggers.

Have you enjoyed any blog perks lately?

Technorati Tags: Alzheimer’s, blog contest, blog awards, humor, oven mitts, persecuted church

My first suggestion is to get some living color. Fresh cut flowers are always nice, but I prefer a plant that will continue to give me enjoyment beyond a few weeks. Cost-wise, a large bouquet of flowers is about the same price as a large flowering plant. Here is what I chose, an easy care Bromeliad Guzmania “Rana.” You can find these plants for about $10, depending on where you shop. Better deals will be found at your local nursery versus the grocery store plant section.

Something to keep in mind about this particular plant, however: Bromeliads are “monocarpic,” meaning they die after flowering, but it’s a slow process, usually taking up to 3 years. During that time, however, 1 to 3 offsets are produced which can be re-potted to continue the species.

Second, some spring color can be splashed into your living room by way of throw pillows. This is an inexpensive way to give a new look. It’s time to store the winter throws and pillows and replace them with pastel colored or lively spring patterned pillows. Like I said, I’m on a budget, so here is what I found at Goodwill, for a mere $1.99 for the red flowered one and .99 for the purple beaded throw, and $2.99 for the new wooden chair cushion. I tossed these pillows in the wash, and they’re good as new to me.

Next, I turned my attention to the kitchen. Put away are the holiday and winter napkins and table decorations. These new table linens – a set of 4 cloth napkins – caught my eye. I adore hydrangeas, so I snapped this set up for only $1.99, also at the thrift store. I looked for some porcelain to be a permanent spring table decoration, and I almost passed this lovely salt & pepper set by, thinking it was made in China. But when I turned the set to check the bottom markings, I was ecstatic to see “Made in Italy.” This, my dears, is the thrill of thrifting! The salt and pepper set was just $2.99, and the small matching pitcher was $2.99.

I didn’t want to leave the bathroom out of all the fun, so I bought a new shower curtain with a wonderful spring look. It was $4.99, brand new at Goodwill, and truly needed because the upstairs bath currently has no shower curtain at all. The kids always take a bath in there, and the downstairs bathroom for the guests already has a shower curtain.

Not to leave the children’s bedroom out either, the kiddos were all with me while I did this shopping spree. JJ picked out this wooden-framed picture of the vase of red tulips (.99) and JoJo wanted this decidedly spring-y girl picture (the matted frame was $1.99 and the picture was $1.99, and I put them together – the girl came in a very ugly gold frame that had to go). One of the kids also grabbed this .99 orange button-framed picture for big brother’s dresser top.

I almost forgot the smell of spring! The fresh flowers may do the trick, and some people like the flower scented plug-ins. For myself, I’m allergy-prone and artificial scents give me terrible headaches. So, I opt for essential oils or natural candles. I love the scent of lavender, and with a drop of the essential oil on the lightbulb, I’m suddenly skipping through lavender fields in Provence. I already have several essential oils on hand, but they can be purchased for about $5/vial. Another natural scent tip is to place several cinnamon sticks and a few drops of vanilla in a small pot of water and simmer it on the stove.

So, there you have it – a simple spring home make-over on a budget for less than $40! Of course, if your finances allow, you certainly don’t have to be as frugal as I was, and I know that not everyone is willing to shop at thrift stores. But it can be done, and I would love to hear about your own spring decorating ideas, whether budget-minded or deluxe.

Technorati Tags: spring color, home decor, frugal decorating, spring decorating, spring

My current book giveaway is two homemade books from the Diary of 1 family, for those interested in native plant life. You may leave me a comment on The Child’s Spring Book by this Sunday to learn about these books and enter the drawing.This giveaway actually has a project attached to it – my kids are putting together an Oregon plant/nature book – a cute ziplock-bag-book – to pass on to a child who lives anywhere other than where we live. And I hope that child will then create a book highlighting his/her region to pass on to another child, and so on. It’s a very simple book, so don’t be intimidated to try it! -P.S., our Oregon book will have some child-intriguing extra odds and ends from our property, like these:

One more note about contests: I actually won something!! SmallWorld had a spring poetry contest, and my mom’s poem, Morning, was chosen, and I hear that I have a basket of spring goodies on the way to me, which of course I’ll share with my mom – can’t wait to show you!

And those blog carnivals: The Carnival of Homeschooling, the Carnival of Homesteading, the Carnival of Family Life, the Christian Carnival, the Make it From Scratch Carnival.

Technorati Tags: children, contest, garden, gardening with children, giveaway, Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots

After a visit to the southern part of Salta in 1996, with his wife Ursula, Don Hess was directed to Cafayate, the center of wine production in the region. It was there that he drank an intriguing Malbec-Cabernet blend from Colomé, and there that he began fermenting the idea that he could plant a world class vineyard at over 9000 feet. As Hess explained,

When I go into the wine business, it is always because of the microclimate, and secondly, to have a good story. When you do something no one has done, like climb a mountain, it is a risk. If it works, I’ll have a great story and hopefully very good wine.

Hess now owns a vineyard in Colomé, along with a stunning hotel and art gallery which he built, about a four hours’ drive from Salta, in northwest Argentina. Colomé’s vineyards include century old vines that pre-date the deadly vine disease phylloxera, being planted on original French rootstock. This land encompasses about 96,000 acres, and then, of course, there is the 60,000 acres at Altura Maxima (near Payogasta) and another 865 acres at nearby El Arenal. Currently, just under 300 acres are being cultivated.

It’s the Altura Maxima property that is gaining fame these days, as this vineyard currently holds the world record for vineyard at the highest altitude. In a country where bottles of wine are marked with the specific altitudes of their vineyards, there is a machismo contest going on amongst the landlords over who can go the highest. To give an idea of the heights, the California vineyards top out at 3,000 feet, and Europe at 4,300 feet. In Argentina, vineyards average 5,500 feet, and Altura Maxima boasts vineyards at close to 10,000 feet.

The high altitude, while still a very experimental thing, is thought to be viticulturally advantageous. The extreme elevations give the vines an abundance of solar radiation, and some researchers think this increases the level of healthy polyphenols in red wine. The thinner air and lower humidity seem to cause the grapes to develop thicker skins, resulting in a more flavorful, aromatic, and tannic grape.

Argentina is clearly a special place for Donald and Ursula Hess, who now spend half the year there. They love the people, and in fact, when they bought Colomé, they inherited not only the oldest winery in Argentina, dating back to 1831, but also its 400 inhabitants. Hess has been kind to these natives, who previously were forced into slave labor. Colomé employs at least one person from each extended family. Hess takes time to train them, provides them with health insurance and has built facilities to meet their needs: a clinic, community center, and church.

Hess also takes great care of the land itself. At Colomé, he installed an Italian-made hydro-electic turbine for energy, he grows everything from the vines to the food he cultivates for the hotel using traditional biodynamic principles, and the entire estate is self-sufficient. You’ll find sheep and cattle there producing organic meat and milk, and their manure fertilizing the vines and gardens.

If you think you might want to go start a vineyard, keep in mind the timetable. Hess realizes that Argentina will probably be the cap of his career, because these ventures take a great deal of not only money, but time. Here is his projection:

If you start from scratch, it takes two years for the soil preparation, one year to set up the drip irrigation, five years to have a sixty percent crop. That makes eight years. Then another two aging in the winery, three for a reserve wine. So it’s a decade before you get your first money back.

Time will tell if Donald Hess’ high altitude experiment will pay off. As he battles the unique hurdles of the region – frost, hail, wild donkeys, minimum oxygen, and the Argentine leaf-cutting ant (which destroyed 13 acres of his first planting), Hess still presses on.

The Hess Group produces four wines at its Colomé vineyards, just three of which you can find in the United States in very limited quantities: Colomé Torrontes, Colomé Estate Malbec, and Colomé Reserva. If you have the opportunity to travel to Argentina, you’ll want to stay at Hess’ Estancia Colomé.

photo credit: Estancia Colomé and USA Today

Technorati Tags: Argentina, biodynamic viticulture, Coloma, Donald Hess, organic farming, high altitude viticulture, Salta, vineyard, viticulture, wine making, winery

I’ve been wandering all around. The Christian carnivals, Carnival of Family Life, food blogs, homeschooling blogs, homesteading blogs, BendBlogs. And principled government.

Whew, I’ve been to a lot of places, and more to go!

Puss ReBoots thinks I rock. Wow, what a compliment! I’m passing this blog award on to:

Sometimes I’m Actually Coherent
Funki Planet
The Parenting Diaries
MooBee Farm
Peregrinations

Check out these blogs that rock – I think you might agree.

Announcing the winners of my sports products Giveaway:
(please email with a shipping address)

Living For God: New York Giants Rug
An Untraditional Home: Pittsburgh Steelers Stainless Steel Thermos
Thou and Thou Only: Georgia Tech Trailer Hitch Cover
Funki Planet: Ohio State Watch
Brett’s Blog: Dallas Cowboys Tire Cover

Congratulations to these blogging winners!

BlogCatalog

Close to Mt. Vesuvius, the land is layered with mineral-rich deposits of volcanic ash, remarkably favorable to vines, producing a grape with very distinctive flavors and aromas. Many of the vines used by Feudi di San Gregorio are centuries old, including the oldest Aglianico vines in the country, a grape with origins in ancient Greece. When a food writer and wine lover set out to find Italy’s oldest vineyard, his quest eventually led to one of Feudi di San Gregorio’s vineyards, about which he was told:

It dates back to the time of San Gregorio Magno. That is 590 AD and the secrets of centuries old cultivation techniques have been jealously kept alive by local farmers.

This is an ancient grapevine, not a tree:

Enzo Ercolino and his wife Mirella Capaldo started Feudi di San Gregorio, and along with Italian enologist Riccardo Cotarella, they have taken every advantage of the natural conditions of Campania, and added a modern technology twist to make exquisite modern wines from ancient vines. You will not find them stomping grapes with their feet, despite the ancient history. Feudi di San Gregorio took a high spending approach, building a $25 million winery and hospitality center.

The sleek new wine cellar has capacity for 5,000 barrels, and their state-of-the-art technology includes vineyards equipped with solar-powered meteorological stations which are constantly gathering weather data. This high tech method actually minimizes the need for artificial viticulture. The Feudi di San Gregorio estate also includes a gourmet restaurant, a stunning glass enclosed tasting room, a wine shop, lush landscaped gardens, and an outdoor amphitheater. It’s well positioned to be a world-class tourist destination.

And the wine, ah, I hear it’s good.

The first time I had a Feudi di San Gregorio wine, it was just a dark red wine in a glass that someone handed to me at a tasting. I swished it back and was bowled over by a set of flavors that I had not yet experienced before. It was my first glass of old-vine Aglianico and my first glass of Feudi, and my brain snapped to attention and demanded to know more. If you haven’t ever had any wines made from Greco di Tufo, Fiano de Avellino, Falanghina, or Aglianico, I would be hard pressed to recommend a better place to start exploring these and other fantastic Italian varietals than at the competent hands of Feudi di San Gregorio.

photo credits: New York Times, Vinography

Technorati Tags: aglianico, Campania, Feudi di San Gregorio, Italy, ancient vines, viticulture, technology, vineyard, wine making, winery

Doug, a Greek/Italian with a long family history of wine making, and his wife Gina, half-Italian herself, seem the perfect couple to be taking on this historic task. The idea for Maragas Winery was first dreamed up by the couple in 1999, and by 2001 Maragas had produced its first vintage – out of a four-bay garage on the east side of Bend, and by 2003 in a nice downtown Bend location. But all this with grapes from outside of Central Oregon – currently the Maragas wine is made from the grapes of Western and Southern Oregon, and California.

At this point, it’s helpful to know that Doug Maragas had a very industrious Greek grandmother. Anna Maragas and her husband owned a grocery store in Canton, Ohio in the 1940s. When good oranges were nowhere to be found, she said, “I can do better,” and set off to California. By herself. And came back with a train car full of delicious oranges, somehow obtained on credit. Anna began brokering fruit, and eventually grapes, up and down the west coast, her tenacity landing her with the only train car permit to do so during the war. Once the good lady had her hands on some fine grapes, she did what any industrious woman would do – she began to make wine.

So, I can imagine Doug Maragas paying the great amount of money that winemakers must pay for grapes, and saying, “I can do better.” And like his grandmother, doing it all against the odds and with great tenacity, despite the risks.

You may wonder why Maragas Winery is the only one operating in Central Oregon. Goodness, vineyards abound in the Willamette Valley of Oregon where the Pinot Noirs are as famous as anything from the Napa Valley. The freezing winter temperatures are probably the biggest deterrent. Spring and fall frosts can also be deadly to the crop – as Gina says, it can frost here at any old time, and lastly, Central Oregon has a short growing season. There simply must be enough heat to ripen the fruit.

There is some encouraging news, however.

The new Maragas Winery and Vineyard, completed in November 2006, is located about 20 miles north of Bend in a fortuitous microclimate. The 40-acre property is at a lower elevation and gets more sun than other parts of Central Oregon, possesses a beneficial sandy loam, volcanic soil, and most advantageous, is protected by rock cliffs that serve to draw cold air away from the vines.

With help from the Oregon State University viticulture experts, Maragas carefully picked 16 of the heartiest varieties most likely to survive and thrive and produce an excellent wine. The Maragases opted to not plant any hybrids at this point (which are actually more suited to cold-climate growing), instead cultivating the traditional Vitis vinifera varieties because of their status as the best-tasting wine grapes. So far, they have planted a one-acre pilot vineyard, to test the varieties before choosing the vines for the remainder of the acreage. It will take about three years to know the results.

The first vines are now springing forth with new buds, a hopeful sign of an agricultural breakthrough that will someday soon christen Central Oregon as wine country.

photo credits: Maragas Winery, Google Images, Wines and Vines.

Technorati Tags: Maragas Winery, Central Oregon winery, vineyard, wine making, winery

I fell in love with wine when my uncle decided to buy three vine parcels in Chåteauneuf-du-Pape to re-create the family vineyard, Domaine du Banneret, which originally dates back from many centuries.

This begins the story of Domaine Rouge-Bleu. Jean-Marc Espinasse, the charming man behind this Provençal vineyard, went on from that first wine making adventure to begin his very own vineyard just over a year ago. He was offered 25 acres of old vines, and with his lovely American wife Kristin and their children, began the amazing task of creating Rouge-Bleu, along with renovating a nearly 400 year old Provençal farmhouse. I was immediately drawn into this story because of that endearing quality of a man living out his dream.

I stumbled upon Jean-Marc’s blog recently, and was excited when I saw that he and his wife were doing a west coast tour! But, I read his blog a few days too late, as he had already passed through Portland, just hours from me. I left a comment on his blog anyway, mentioning our dream of a vineyard on our property someday. I was so surprised to see an email several days ago titled Vineyard in the desert, from Jean-Marc! He asked the telling question:

Do you have underground water at around 5-10 yards deep in the soil?

I knew immediately I was in trouble. I responded that it was quite doubtful, since we had to drill through over 60 feet of solid rock, plus another 200 feet, to hit water when we installed our well. Monsieur Espinasse is a gracious but straightforward Frenchman, and gave me no-nonense advice:

I am afraid but I don’t think that vine is the kind of plant that would behave well where you live. I am also “deeply” convinced that irrigation is the worst thing you can give to a vine since they have natural genes to get rooted deep to find the water. I am sure you can find another farm crop to do there. Making wine is great but farming in general is always rewarding. Cheers.

Ah, well, let’s talk about Rouge-Bleu! Their “Dentelle” Cuvée is scheduled to be bottled in just over a week, and I imagine everyone is very excited. Organic and ancestral practices at Rouge-Bleu call for some interesting viticultural procedures. Jean-Marc’s latest post involves egg whites — don’t worry, they won’t end up in your bottle. Evidently, the albumin contained in egg whites aids in the clarifying process, and using them allows Jean-Marc to avoid too much filtration, which kills the natural sediments so vital to their natural wines.

What are the benefits of organic grape farming? Jean-Marc says that the combination of natural cultivation and harvesting at low yields allows the vines to produce their very best. The result will be good levels of alcohol, high levels of acidity, the right balance of sugar, and a promising aging.

Another term you’ll hear around Rouge-Bleu is biodynamic viticulture. It’s hard to define, as each grower will modify his practices to suit his needs, but it seems to go beyond organic farming. Biodynamic farming will also take into account timing, and, for example, apply certain soil applications according to traditional seasonal markers. A biodynamic approach to a vine disease, for instance, would be not to focus on how to kill the disease, but to ask why the plant is sick in the first place. There is something depleted in the soil, let’s fix the soil, instead of, there’s just something wrong with the vine. This makes sense, but biodynamic philosophy can also lead into mysticism, at which point I would depart.

Here’s a nice sampling of how Jean-Marc practically applies his farming philosophy:

Our Carignan grapes are very weak towards Oidium [fungus]. Using our tractor that pulls the sulfateuse would damage some vine shoots and would not permit to spray straight on the grapes. Since the surface we have is small, I decided to use the traditional manual sulfateuse last week which allowed me to be much more precise while spraying the grapes.

Due to all the rain we had, our baby vines have been completely surrounded with “weeds.” Leaving them would damage our vines because those herbs would drink all the water in the soil. But since we don’t use chemical weed killers and since our décavailloneuse can’t recognize a baby vine and would kill them, we have to remove those herbs by hand.

Provence is an ideal location for wine making, as Jean-Marc is discovering. The Mistral, which is the strong, cold northwesterly wind that blows through southern France and into the Mediterranean, can be deadly; however, the dry Mistral winds minimize vine disease and can return health to the vineyard. The stony ground and soil rich in calcium carbonate is quite amenable to vines and little else. The Mediterranean climate is famously favorable to the vines.

If you have any questions about Rouge-Bleu, be sure to check in at Jean-Marc’s website. I think I’ll be asking how to get my hands on some bottles of the upcoming Dentelle Cuvée and also the Mistral, which is scheduled to be released later this year. If you live in Houston, Texas, you’re in luck — French Country Wines imports the Domaine Rouge-Bleu wines.

photo credits: Rouge-Bleu

Technorati Tags: bottling wine, Provence, organic farming, biodynamic viticulture, Rouge-Bleu, vineyard, winery

However, passing time and a view through a lens clarified by our own humanity is providing a fresh take on Rockwell. Are we not in need of art that springs from sentimentality about American values? Is there not a desperate call to understand the dignity of the common man? Isn’t this a time to celebrate democracy and the individual? Do we not need hope for our nation in the face of economic and international uncertainties? The engaging power of Norman Rockwell paintings are for such a time as this.

If one judges Norman Rockwell by popular appeal, he has always been wildly successful. Though derided by the art world, he was embraced by the people. Though his storyteller style was out of fashion in the modern, abstract art establishment, Rockwell was clearly understood. Rockwell wrote in 1936:

The commonplaces of America are to me the richest subjects in art. Boys batting flies on vacant lots; little girls playing jacks on the front steps; old men plodding home at twilight, umbrellas in hand — all of these things arouse feeling in me. Commonplaces never become tiresome. It is we who become tired when we cease to be curious and appreciative.

Rockwell was born in 1894 in New York. He was a prolific painter, producing over 4000 original works. It’s fitting that one of his first jobs was art editor for the Boy Scouts of America, and Rockwell’s annual contributions to the Boy Scouts’ calendars between 1925 and 1976 have earned him a permanent place in the hearts of millions. Steven Spielberg has said that Rockwell’s scouting paintings inspired him to pursue his life’s work.

Norman Rockwell was best known for his Saturday Evening Post covers, of which he painted hundreds over a period of 47 years. Of these, there are four from 1943 that are among his most famous and influential works. The Four Freedoms series, published in 1943, was inspired by president Franklin D. Roosevelt’s speech in which he set forth four principles for universal rights: Freedom from Want, Freedom of Speech, Freedom to Worship, and Freedom from Fear. The wartime effect of the bold statements made by these powerful paintings cannot be underestimated.

FREEDOM OF SPEECH, Norman Rockwell

Lest we forget what American life was like in the 20th century, we have Rockwell. We can remember the best of America and the worst of America, but always with benevolent affection. The everyday happenings of everyday people were the subject of most of his work, painted with accuracy and an appealing sense of tradition.

Resources:
Norman Rockwell Museum
Norman Rockwell: Pictures for the American People
Norman Rockwell 2008 Calendar

Technorati Tags: art history, Boy Scout calendar, Norman Rockwel, Saturday Evening Post, The Four Freedoms

Super Bowl XLII is set for February 3, 2008 in Arizona, a showdown between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots!! Diary of 1 and TeamMASCOT are hosting another giveaway right here, right now, in honor of this great football tradition!

This Super Bowl Giveaway is an auto accessories package for the team of your choice: The Patriots or the Giants of course — and I will even let you choose a different NFL team, because I know those team loyalties run very deep! The package will contain the following three items:

1. An auto emblem: an officially licensed auto emblem made of hard plastic with a metallic finish and adhesive on the back to stick to your car or truck, or any hard surface – refrigerator, RV, door, etc. Measures approximately 3×3 inches and 1/4 inch thick.

2. A sheet of static cling decals: Better than a sticker, remove and reuse these team logo window decorations whenever you like. Each sheet contains five decals with team logos and graphics, of various size and design. Removable and fade-resistent. The sizes of the static clings are: One is 2.5″x4.75″, one is 4.75″x6.5″, two are 5″x9″, and one is 3.75″x19″.

3. A plastic license plate frame: These team logo license plate frames attach easily to any vehicle and feature bright graphics and team colors. The license plate holders are 6.25″x12.25″ and meet the vehicle standards for display of registration tags. These auto tags are made of hard, sturdy plastic.

How to win: Simply leave a comment below, and include the name of the NFL team you want for the auto accessories package, and I will randomly choose a winner on Saturday, Feb. 2, 2008! I will notify the winner via email on Sunday, Feb. 3. If you are a blogger and would like to have an extra entry included in the drawing, just mention this contest on your blog with a link back to this post. You must have a U.S. mailing address to win this contest.

For hundreds of NFL and other team-logo products (NCAA, MLB, NASCAR, NHL, and NBA), please visit my family business, TeamMASCOT.com – support America’s small businesses!

This contest is part of the Bloggy Giveaway Carnival at Rocks in My Dryer. Head over there for literally hundreds of amazing giveaways all week!!

I used to use a sort of salt rock deodorant before I switched to the Crystal spray. It had basically the same minimal ingredients, but every time you used it, you had to wet it with water to moisten it up enough to roll under your arm. What a hassle. And honestly I didn’t think it was all that hygienic, all that wetting and rubbing. The beauty of this product is that it’s a spray and never comes into contact with your skin, so it maintains purity and can be used by multiple users.

The Crystal Body Deodorant Spray contains the following: purified water, natural mineral salts, and potassium alum. That’s it! This product is also fragrance and paraben free. Frankly, if you’re in a real bind, just rub some salt water under your arms and you’ll be okay. Just to clarify, the ingredient alum has a very different composition from the other forms of aluminum in question.

Also, note that I’m only addressing deodorant, not antiperspirant, which is a different thing altogether, and I would avoid it. Here’s how the FDA describes antiperspirants:

Antiperspirants have an aluminum-based compound as their main, “active” ingredient, which can be any number of compounds within an established concentration and dosage form. The active ingredient gives antiperspirants their sweat-blocking ability by forming a temporary plug within the sweat duct that stops the flow of sweat to the skin’s surface.

A temporary plug within the sweat duct? Most people say don’t sweat it, but I think I’d rather.

What Wikipedia has to say about aluminum:

Aluminum has been established as a neurotoxin.[15] Aluminum chloride, an aluminum salt that is commonly used in antiperspirants, is also commonly used in studies on aluminum-induced neurotoxicity.[16][17][18][19][20] Aluminum itself adversely affects the blood-brain barrier, is capable of causing DNA damage, and has adverse epigenetic effects.[21][22] Research has shown that the aluminum salts used in antiperspirants have detrimental effects to a number of species such as non-human primates,[23] mice,[24] dogs[25] and others. An increased amount of aluminum is also present in the brains of many Alzheimer’s patients, although this link does not currently seem to be causal.[disputed][26][27][28].

Dare you share what works for your underarm odor control? (Or your feet, for that matter. I just read on the back on the Crystal spray bottle that it can be used to eliminate odor on your feet).

You can find more Works for Me Wednesday tips over at Rocks in My Dryer!

I have a 24 ounce tub of this shortening that I use daily, and no, I haven’t been making any pies lately. The label forgot to mention how great this is for the SKIN! Since I’m a freak about parabens, PABAs, laureths and other synthetics in my lotions, I have a hugely difficult time finding a lotion or cream I can use with good conscience. (See this list of chemicals to avoid in your cosmetics and soaps). I’m cursed with dry skin, and my kids all suffer from eczema, especially right now, in the high desert in winter, so a product like this is a necessity.

I’d already tried rubbing olive oil on my skin with good results, so I naturally tried the Spectrum Shortening, which I had in my cupboard. If it’s good enough to eat, surely it’s just fine for your skin. And only one ingredient, which name I can easily pronounce and understand: palm oil. And, truly, it works just as well as any lotion or cream I’ve tried for dry skin. I like that it’s naturally in a solid state – it has a creamy texture that’s not too messy like an oil. You don’t need to refrigerate it, just keep it at room temperature in the pantry.

If you will be using the Spectrum Shortening for cooking, I’d recommend having a separate tub just for the skin. My kids help themselves to the shortening tub and just love getting their sticky little fingers in there and rubbing it on their own skin. So you can imagine I’m not very willing to cook with it after that!

The Works for Me Wednesday Master List is Here. Oops, I just realized today is Backwards day, in which you ask a question, not give a solution – oh, well, please just go rub some shortening on yourself, and ask, is this working?

To win, just leave a comment below, letting me know which item you’d like to win. You have until next Wednesday, December 5, at midnight, to post your comment. U.S. and Canada bloggers only, please. I’ll have a random drawing and announce the thirteen winners in next week’s Thursday Thirteen! I’m offering free shipping and delivery guaranteed before Christmas. Links back to TeamMASCOT and this Diary of 1 post would be appreciated.

Merry Christmas to all, and let your blogger friends know about the Diary of 1/TeamMASCOT Holiday Giveaway!

1. Boston Red Sox Wall Clock

As clocks tick your life away, do you ever dream of something more stylish on your walls than twelve numbers encircling two spindling hands that snatch away your lunch hour? How about a bright, colorful Boston wall clock that tells you the time and reminds you how much you love the Red Sox.

2. Detroit Red Wings 3×5 Flag

This 3′ x 5′ flag has vibrant colors & true team graphics and logos. The durable one sided flag can be used for indoor or outdoor use! Made with a nylon material & features a canvas strip on the side with a D-ring on top & bottom for hanging on a wall, or attaching to a flag pole. A high quality, large size flag with great designs. Fly this flag for your team on game day or everyday! Go Red Wings!

3. Detroit Lions Blanket: Woven Tapestry Throw

Known as the “Three Point Stance” design, this blanket is tough! This design is no longer made, but I have this ONE blanket left. This beautiful loom woven triple layer tapestry Detroit Lions Blanket with fringed edges is a tasteful way to show your team spirit. The Detroit Lions Blanket displays a beautiful array of color and a unique design of the Detroit logo. With its large 48″x60″ size it also makes for a prominent wall hanging. Go Detroit!

4. North Carolina Tarheels Stainless Steel License plate

For collectors or those lucky enough to live in states that don’t require a second license plate! We’ve affixed a colorful metal North Carolina Ram logo on the stainless steel license plate to create a visual statement for your vehicle or bookshelf. Very classy, sturdy, holds up to weather outside and shines inside! Go Tarheels!

5. New York Yankees 27×37 Vertical Hanging Flag

Hang this New York Yankees Banner Flag with pride anywhere and it’ll look great! The logo and graphics are on one side. Bright colors to show your team spirit, great for indoor or outdoor use. Made of a nylon material. The banner has an opening at the top to slip a stick or pole through for hanging. Go Yankees!

6. Chicago Cubs Glow Pen

Chicago Cubs Glow Pens are a great item for any fan! They are a high tech, innovative ball point pen with colorful LED glowing light. You can use this Chicago Cubs Pen as a personal emergency flashlight or use it to write in the dark! Go Cubs!

7. Atlanta Hawks Pennant

Decorate your room in team style with this high quality Atlanta Hawks felt pennant. Felt pennants are the standard for sports! The pennant flags measure 12 x 30 inches and feature fade resistant coloring and bold team logos. Go Hawks!

8. Michigan State Lapel Pin

Fine pewter is the base for these colorful pins with school insignias. The Spartans lapel pin is made from hand poured fine metal then carefully hand finished and colored. This beautiful Michigan State Spartans pin is approximately 1 inch across and includes a clutch locking back. Go Spartans!

9. Dale Earnhardt Jr. #8 Trash Can

The perfect way to declutter your messy room or office is with a sparkling new Dale Earnhardt Jr. Trash Can. Now you can be proud to throw away junk mail in your wide rimmed 10 inch diameter, fifteen inch tall, Dale Earnhardt Jr. waste basket. With Jr. now sporting the number “88″ this item will soon be hard to find. Go Dale Jr.!

10. Dallas Cowboys Stainless Steel Water Bottle

This item has been discontinued by the manufacturer, and I have ONE left. I’ve removed the stainless steel water bottles from my website, and you can only get this right here! This water bottle holds up to 28 oz of fluid and has a sports top for easy drinking at the gym. The unique water bottle displays a gorgeous 3-dimensional pewter emblem with enamel color. Go Cowboys!

11. Texas Longhorns Stainless Steel Travel Mug

16 oz. stainless steel Texas Longhorns Coffee Mug will keep that steamy brew hot while you’re driving. Features a screw on lid with a drink spout, and a plastic interior. This artistically detailed, three dimensional pewter design is becoming a collector’s item. Take it camping, to the office or even to the big game! Go Longhorns!

12. Oregon Ducks Chrome License Plate Frame

A classy way to spice up your ride is with our Oregon Ducks chrome license plate frame. Features the team colors and logo, and has pre-drilled holes for easy mounting. The chrome frame is very durable and will last for a long time! Go Ducks!

13. New Orleans Saints Auto Emblem

This officially licensed New Orleans Saints Auto Emblem adds a touch of spirited class to anything. I currently only offer the chrome (no color) auto emblems on my website, and will soon be adding these color emblems. But you can get this Saints color emblem right here! Chrome-finished oval with durable color insert showing a screened team logo. Applied to vehicle with automotive 3M tape (included on emblem). Part can be removed without damage to paint or surface and is UV protected. Go Saints!

Thanks for visiting the Diary of 1 Holiday Giveaway of Sports Stuff! You can visit the Thursday Thirteen meme hub here.

I told Shannon I wanted to give away two youth College Cheerleader Uniforms, since Halloween is coming up. Then several days later I said to her, wait, I forgot about the little boys! So, I added the youth Football and Helmet uniform sets, which we carry in both College and NFL teams. Shannon and I ended up deciding to choose FOUR WINNERS, and they can choose from either the cheerleader or football costumes. These always sell out, so I chose the earliest blog giveaway date that Shannon offered…good luck to you all!

We don’t actually celebrate Halloween at my house, but we do go to a church Harvest Party, so our kids still get to dress up and have a ton of fun. I tell you, the one time I took my kids trick-or-treating in the neighborhood, the people who opened their doors to give out candy were often scarier than the children dressed up like a bleeding brain.

My kiddos will all be decked out in these fun uniforms this year. My 6 year old girl wants to be an Oregon Ducks cheerleader, since we live in Oregon, and my husband and I both went to the University of Oregon. My 4 year old girl wants to be a Michigan Wolverines cheerleader, since I’m from Michigan and nearly my entire family still lives there, including my awesome cousin who’s right in Ann Arbor, the heart of Wolverine country! My 8 year old and 3 year old boys want to be Dallas Cowboys football players because that’s Daddy’s team! I promise I will post pictures of them all dressed up!

Okay, folks, have fun playing over at the Rocks in My Dryer Bloggy Giveaway! I’ll be in touch with the winners to make shipping arrangements.

My gift to the kids this past Christmas was a Puppet Theater. You really don’t need a store-bought model, but I found a sale and we’ve dramatized over this enough to pay for it several times.

We began with about a dozen puppets I gathered from various stores, and I’m such a frugal shopper that I found them all for between $1 and $5 – and some free, if you count the socks and gloves. I’m still on the lookout for some reasonably priced little boy and little girl (normal-looking children) puppets, so if you know of a deal, pass it on. I will not pay $15 for a puppet, so don’t bother passing that information along.

Our initial “plays” consisted of bopping the other’s puppet over the head and spiraling into wild screams and laughter. This is all good, but sometimes you want a little more. :-)

Occasionally, I visit the Well-Trained Mind swap board, and that’s where I discovered our first scripts. Thank you, Kristin!! There’s this amazing homeschool mom on a farm in Nebraska, Kristin Greenhalgh, who’s written several Christian-themed Puppet Script books. I ordered every single one, and you can find them here. We’ve performed several of these, and most are perfect for 1-4 children of a variety of ages, maybe ages 6-12. My favorites are The Reason for the Seasons volumes, covering every holiday from Advent to Yom Kippur.

I told Kristin many months ago that I’d review her books here, so considered them reviewed: A+. Along with the Seasons scripts, Kristin has written Walking with God, 16 short scripts depicting important steps in the Christian walk. We like “Taming the Tongue.” Her scripts aren’t cheesy or tacky like some I’ve seen, but have very age appropriate dialogue. The third series, Living Like Jesus, includes 20 short scripts teaching Christ-like character traits and virtues. Great discussion questions follow each script, and when I say short, they are 1-2 pages long, perfect for young performers.

You may also be interested in some online scripts that you can download for free. Reader’s Theater Editions has dozens of free scripts adapted from stories written by Aaron Shepard and others – lots of myths and tall tales. Reader’s theatre is different from puppet theater, but I’ve easily modified them. My kids especially enjoyed taking to the stage with The Baker’s Dozen.

Acting and playmaking is such a wonderful, creative outlet for children. For homeschoolers, consider practicing a play with your own family or joining with another family, and put on a show for friends and relatives. You certainly don’t need the traditional “school play” model preventing your homeschooling kids from putting on a grand production!

We love these laminated placemats. The price runs about $3.00 each, and the manufacturer, Painless Learning, makes over 40 different educational designs! Here’s a few that grace our table:

My 5 year old daughter said to me yesterday, as she was eating off the World placemat, “Mama, what is the U.K.?” After I explained the realm of the United Kingdom, she exclaimed, “Wow, the U.K. owns all these islands down here!” (in the South Atlantic Ocean). We had a good discussion about colonization and military interests, and this all between bites of waffle.

A definite winner – great price and easy to use. These placemats are just handy to have around and I’m a big fan of integrating education into everyday life. These are called “painless learning” placemats for a reason!

I really love that this book stands alone. You don’t need any fancy computer program or flash cards or any other bells and whistles. This book, which I bought brand new at Barnes & Noble for $20, along with a sheet of paper and pencil, is it. Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons is brilliant.

This book, which is the DISTAR reading program (Direct Instruction – parts to whole, logical progression), has been involved in over a dozen comparative studies, including an enormous educational study done by the U.S. Department of Education, and guess what? It outperforms them all. Don’t ask me why every public school in the country isn’t using this system, because I don’t have the time or energy to rant and rave about public education. Do you wonder why I homeschool my kids?

Do NOT skip the first 27 pages of this book, which is the Introduction and Parent’s Guide. It’s invaluable, and you cannot teach this correctly without carefully reading that material. You do NOT have to be a reading teacher to teach your child to read, and in fact, you will know more about teaching reading than most teachers out there by the time you’ve gone through this book with your child. I happen to be a former public school teacher, and have my Master’s in Teaching. But I learned nothing valuable about teaching reading in my educational training, not even when I was a reading specialist! There IS a right way to teach reading, and it’s very systematic, and Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons lays out the sequence better than I have ever seen.

This is a scripted program, and there’s a reason for that. Every detail is covered, right down to how to effectively correct any type of mistake the child makes. You’ve got to understand that this program was tested on thousands of children, and you benefit from all of those trials. So don’t feel like you don’t have the “freedom” to teach how you want; the truth is that you have so much more freedom to have fun with your child, and you can heap on the praise, because your child has received the absolute most effective communication from you (through the script), and will be successful.

I’ve seen different educational tools out there that claim to work “like magic.” Well, I don’t think Zig Engelmann has ever made that claim, but I’ll make it for him! My kids all have such differing “learning styles” but this book works for everyone. So, if you’ve been cutting and pasting together your reading program for your child, or you’re just hoping he’ll figure it out by reading to him a lot, then this book would seem like magic, because what you’re doing won’t work (at least not well).