I've been experimenting with ice candles and ice suncatchers for a couple years now, so it wasn't a huge jump to making solar-lighted ice candles. First, I took all the molds outside and then filled them using pitchers of water. (This idea came to me last summer, so every time I saw a Bundt-shaped mold at the... Continue Reading →
Tea With Auntie Linden
What, you don't name your trees? This is one of our favorite trees. Mine (Laura) shades my whole front yard in the summer. Lois' shades the old wood shed/ice house at Cook's Country Connection. Listen, if Pocahontas could have Grandmother Willow, we can have an Auntie Linden. And like Grandmother Willow, the Auntie Linden in... Continue Reading →
Dancing in Graveyards
I made a Fairy Cemetery for Halloween this year. It seemed appropriate, considering what a year of loss 2013 has been. I've always liked cemeteries. We grew up close to the Cook (Owens Twp.) Cemetery. Micki, Melissa, and I would meet there on bicycle and ride around the circular drives, marveling at the children's stones... Continue Reading →
Fire Starters
Usually, our projects are like what we eat: fast, cheap, and easy. This is not one of those. The good news is that it's way simpler than it sounds. It's fast if you have the supplies already and don't have to gather the pine cones now and wait two days for them to thaw, warm,... Continue Reading →
Ice Candle Tutorial
This is northern Minnesota. Bitching Bragging about extreme winterness is in our Nordic DNA. When hell freezes over, Minnesota schools will start 2 hours late. There are four seasons in Minnesota: Early Winter, Winter, Late Winter, and Road Construction. The majority of cars and trucks have block heaters, standard. And on and on... I used... Continue Reading →
Ice Gems/Marbles; How-To-Not-To
Personal Note from The Baby: As the Employee of the Year at Cook Dollar Barn, I feel it is my duty to share not only my successes but also my epic failures. Mistakes are where I learn the most, anyway. And I make plenty of them. You're welcome. Last night's mistake Valuable Learning Experience (VLE)... Continue Reading →
Eight Great Uses for Plastic Spiders
1. Good Parenting: Encourage spawn to clean their rooms more often by hiding a big one in their bed. Place it close enough to the top layer of detritus so they will see it. She still cusses and hits me when I bring it up. Tears still run down my leg when I remember that... Continue Reading →
Killer Asparagus
There was this great idea I saw on Facebook...Cut eyes in toilet paper rolls and put a glow stick inside. Then hide them in the bushes for Halloween. I love the idea, but in northern MN, we have wind, rain, long nights, and usually snow this time of year. It took a couple of weeks... Continue Reading →
Pajari Girl 
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