Today I was in a crafting mood and decided to use some of the peeling paper birch bark from one of the trees in the yard to make a festive votive holder.

I drew star shapes on the back side of the birch bark and then carefully cut the stars out.

A little dab of glue.. I used a wood glue but I think that a different type might work better next time.

The glue kind of smudge around the outside of the star, so I used a dry q-tip to wipe most of the excess off.

Added the candle holder to the glass jar.

And finished off with a bit of tied raffia.

Welcome!

Hello and welcome. I started posting on a facebook page about two years ago, where I could keep recipes, as well as tips and trials in cooking and gardening, in one locale. Since then, though I've not always been diligent with postings, I have gained a few faithful followers. Most of whom I know personally, but some who have stumbled upon my page and "liked" me. This past week I hit over 30 followers, so thought it was time to branch out into a blog.

This last year has been a challenge for me, as I had to move 90 miles away from my hubby and cat to take a long awaited for teaching position. This meant becoming an apartment dweller for the first time in my adult life, as well as the first time I've ever lived alone. Through trial and error, I have learned that I do miss my yard and garden, but have several apartment plants to keep me company.

I have also worked on eliminating gluten and excess starches from my diet. Not always easy, but I  have been experimenting with new recipes and have become an avid label reader! I am also very much anti-GMO's! This tends to make me clash a bit with the science teacher in my school (as she's also a farmer and wholeheartedly embraces and teaches the "goodness of GMO's"...ugh!).

My background includes growing up living in the country, where I  worked in my parents' garden, weeding, picking veggies and berries (strawberry and raspberries), as well as other outdoorsy pursuits such as fishing, cutting and stacking wood, and generally seeing how dirty I could become in the course of a day.  My parents still live in the country, and own/operate Lake Ida Apple Farm in west-central Minnesota, not far from where I live, so I still am able to glean produce from their still abundant gardens!

Also I have a grown daughter of 26. She lives and works in Alaska, and though I do not see her often, we are close. I couldn't be more proud of her!

Guess that is about all by way of an introduction. I'll try to blog at least once a week, but my facebook page will likely have more traffic.

God Bless.