Book Review: Lemons and Lavender

Disclosure: Grandma Bonnie's Closet has not been compensated for the following product review. I received a product sample for review purposes from Viva Editions. All opinions expressed are my own. 

When I saw the book review for Lemons and Lavender on My Journey With Candida Blog the first thoughts I had were, "I have got to read that book". So here we are a few weeks later and I am very happy to say Lemons and Lavender by Billee Sharp is an awesome book!
There is a bounty of information crammed into all the pages of this eco guide to better homekeeping that you will spend hours reading highlighting and taking notes.
The first subjects highlighted in this book are budgeting, thrifting, planning and saving. The section on finding free stuff is something I have begun to use with earnest. The budget ideas are easy to understand and implement. In this day and age where money can be tight it makes sense to plan and save by being economical.
Then comes the chapter on Health is Wealth. Here you can find recipes for a skin scrub, a sea salt bath mixture, simple essential oil remedies, kitchen cures and more. Did you know that grated nutmeg soothes diarrhea and upset stomach? This chapter alone is worth buying the book for but, there is more so much more to this book.
My favorite chapter is Homely Habitats. This chapter in itself is an eco-friendly, organic guide to keeping house with nontoxic homemade cleaning agents. I just cleaned my floors today with the Good Wood Floor Cleaner recipe found in chapter four. Mix together in a spray bottle, 1 tsp vinegar, 1 tsp vegetable oil, 6 drops essential oil and 1 quart water. Spray the floor than mop with a clean mop. Mop again with clean hot water. I used lavender oil. My wood floors look great and smells divine. If you have something that needs to be cleaned in your home you will find a cleaning recipe in this chapter made just for that.
Have I got your interest? There are many more subjects covered in this book. Just to mention a few more of the interesting DIY topics you can read about, composting, gardening, canning and recipes upon recipes. Just grab a copy and enjoy a cup of tea with this good read.

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DIY: Reversible Dog Coat

If you are a frequent reader here at Grandma Bonnie's Closet you probably already know about Scooby our most recent rescue dog. If you missed that post you can check it out here.
Each and every morning around 4 am Scooby wants out for a walk. Its a little early for me but I understand his need. Being older he probably can't hold it like the younger dogs can. He usually goes out does his job and then wants to walk a little and inspect all the trees and shrubs around the yard. When he is finished about 15 minutes or so he is ready to go back in to sleep again. Well, there has been a few mornings recently that the air had a little nip in it. It actually felt great to me but Scooby would shiver complete his task and run right for our door. That is when I knew he had to be cold. Now I am wondering how he is going to like the cold winter weather.
So, I decided to make Scooby a coat today. I thought the DIY might come in handy for some of my readers that have dogs.

My first step was to look at pictures of dog coats on line and see how they are constructed. After having an idea of what I wanted basically I started by drawing a pattern onto some old wrapping paper. I used Scooby's neck, waist and back length to create the pattern below.

 Wrapping paper cut into the size and shape I needed.

I found an old sweat shirt for one layer and an old sundress for the other layer. I thought with two layers of fabric not only would the coat be warm but it would be reversible.

 I pinned the pattern on both fabrics and cut them out.

I made a pattern for a collar and cut two pieces of fabric for the collar. I cut off one of the straps on the sundress. I will use the strap to secure the coat to Scooby. I sewed the two collar pieces together leaving the top edge not sewn. I turned the collar outside right.  

I pinned the strap to the right side of the plaid fabric and pinned the collar in place on the right side also. Next, I pinned the navy piece of fabric on top with right sides facing together. The collar and belt are sandwiched inside. 

I sewed a 1/4 inch seam all around the outside edge leaving a small opening at the bottom. I used the opening to turn the coat outside right.

I pinned the remaining opening and stitched around the entire coat leaving it a nice finished look. I attached Velcro on the front wings so it can be secured easily around the neck.  I added a small piece of Velcro on the strap end. I sewed another small piece of Velcro on the inside of the coat for securing the strap around the waist. 

The coat is reversible. But as you might be able to tell I like the plaid side the best. 

What do you think? He sure does like his new coat! I am going to make another coat with a warmer fabric for the cold winter weather. I might even make a rain coat. Those are DIY's in the making. 

Do you think our winter is going to be mild or snowy? I am afraid we are in for a very wet and cold winter. What are you doing to prepare for winter?

Life Goes On

I have been doing a lot of product reviews lately and thought it was time to just stop and share a few photos of my grandchildren. They are growing so fast. Where did the summer go?


There goes my youngest grandson. He is speed crawling! He sure can crawl fast if he is planning to do something he knows he should not. Lol.

Can you tell Little Roo likes to swing?

Sweet Pea just started ballet classes. She is thrilled. 

 I am one proud Grandma and so excited!

Little Bug enjoying blueberries right off the bush!

Little Bug playing check up with Scooby.  Scooby passed his physical with flying colors! Lol.

Pooh Bear playing dress up at preschool. Can you tell that is a police hat?

Pooh Bear enjoying the last bits of summer before his bike gets put away.

Pumpkin dressed as a Bonbon for the Nutcracker. This was last winter.

Pumpkin turned in her ballet slippers for gymnastics this year. I am so excited. She looks like it comes naturally.

Well, I warned you they are growing like weeds. I am loving every moment of it. Thanks for stopping by.

Nordic Ware Castle Bundt Pan & Fondant Decorations

Disclosure: Grandma Bonnie's Closet has not been compensated for the following product review. I received a product sample for review purposes only.

"Grandma has a new cake pan!" I can hardly wait to tell you about this new Nordic Ware Bundt Cake Pan I requested to review. One day while looking for cake pans online I came across Chef's Corner Store and this fabulous Castle Bundt Cake Pan.

I was totally excited when I saw this Castle pan. I love making cakes for my grandchildren. Can you imagine a castle cake with knights, horses, and dragons? Or How about a castle cake with princesses and fairies? My grandchildren are sure to have some very memorable birthday cakes in the near future. 

So now that I got my pan I wanted to use it correctly. I read the instructions that came with the pan.  I also was given some very good tips from Stephanie at the Chef's Corner Store.

Tips for getting a good release from your detailed bundt pan. 

1. Wash you pan thoroughly with warm soapy water and dry well.

2. Coat your pan with a baking spray. The baking spray should contain flour in it. Very Important! Use a pastry brush to evenly distribute the spray into every crevice. Make sure there are no globs of flour or pools of oil in the pan. 

3. Fill the pan about 3/4. Roll the pan from side to side to coat the walls of the pan above the batter line. This helps the cake to rise up evenly on the sides. 

4. Tap the pan on a table or counter to release any air bubbles.

5.Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes after baking. No shorter or longer than 10 minutes. 

6. Pick up the pan with hot pads. Gently shake the cake sided to side. Use a plastic spatula to release any cake sticking along the edges. 

7. Invert the pan on a cooling rack or plate. Allow to finish cooling.

Now, on to baking the cake. I followed the above instructions very carefully. I had a positive attitude that this was going to work. 

While my cake was baking I started to think about all the times the cake stuck to an ordinary cake pan. "Oh, dear! How can this cake possibly not stick to such a detailed cake pan? I have never used baking spray before. I usually use butter and flour to coat my pans. I was pretty nervous. When I took the cake out of the over I got even more nervous. Ten minutes is a long time to sit and fret about this cake. Then the ten minutes were over! Time to invert my cake. I gave it a side to side shake .Loosened one spot on the edge. Flipped the cake onto a plate and shouted with joy!

The cake released with out one crumb sticking! I am so thrilled. Early that morning in anticipation of baking this cake I made a few fondant decorations to decorate the cake with. Thinking a beach sandcastle theme. 

I sculpted the fondant by hand and painted it with watered down food coloring. I may be doing a DIY on this technique in the near future. 

The sand around the base of the cake is ordinary brown sugar. I spread it around and sprinkled some on top.

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Readers, What do you think about this bundt pan? What is your favorite cake flavor or decoration?

Grandma Bonnie's Closet received the product mentioned above for free. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Emergency Water Storage System

Disclosure: Grandma Bonnie's Closet has not been compensated for the following product review. I received a product sample for review purposes only.
After seeing so many natural disasters happening in a short period of time I have planned to be prepared. I started by making lists of items that would be useful in an emergency. Then I researched many different emergency preparedness resources online. I even wrote a post or two about being prepared. You can find those here and here. So when I was given the opportunity to review "The Reservoir" I said Please with a capitol P!

"What is The Reservoir?" you ask. Well, it's an Emergency Water Storage System that fits right in your bath tub. The system main part is a large plastic reservoir. It folds out into your bath tub and a plastic hose attaches from the tub faucet to the plastic reservoir. The reservoir is filled from the faucet then capped. The water is kept clean. It is free from soap residue and airborne debris.

Has you home ever been with out tap water for a day or more?
A few years back I am guessing about 6 years I believe. We had our water turned off by the local water supplier. They were doing some repairs and informed the three houses on our road we would be with out water for a day or two. They gave us about an hours notice. We filled every container in our home. Both bathtubs were filled and we purchased drinking water. We went three days with out tap water. That is truthfully not that long to be with out water. But one thing is for sure the water in our tubs was only used for flushing and washing up. I was very nervous about contaminants.
With "The Reservoir" my family will not have to worry about having clean back-up water any more.

The reservoir holds 100 gallons of water. It is made of heavy-duty food-grade plastic and meets FDA standards. Below is the reservoir folded flat for storage. I placed a regular size drinking glass beside it in order to show its relative size when folded flat.

The reservoir also comes with a siphon pump to dispense the water into pitchers or bottles.

Remove the cap to siphon water then replace to keep the water clean.

I do hope we never have to use The Reservoir. But in the event of an emergency I will be thankful we have it for use. 

Readers, What do you think about this product? What will you do if your water is off in an emergency?

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

FitBit Wireless Activity Tracker Update

Disclosure: I am participating in the Verizon Boomer Voices program and have been provided with a wireless device and six months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.

Do you all remember the Verizon Boomer Voices Blogger Program that I am a part of? Well, as a part of the program we were given a FitBit One Wireless Activity Tracker to try out. I have written about it recently and I believe it is time for an update. If you missed the previous post you can read about it here. 
The FitBit one has been my constant companion for a couple months now. It has encouraged me to be active, watch what I eat and get proper sleep. 

I believe the most important help the FitBit one has given me is encouragement. The FitBit lights up through out the day with little encouraging words. Such as I am ready Bonnie, High five Bonnie, and Smooches Bonnie.I think smooches is getting a little fresh with me but it sure does know how to press the right buttons. Yesterday along with its freshness it told me to Vámonos! Now, at first I thought how rude! I then checked Vámonos with Google and found it meant "Let's go" in Spanish. Ok, so it's not so rude but I still think it is a little fresh at times. 
The FitBit has also made me a become competitive. My husband and I usually equally divide the mowing chores on our property. We have been sharing this chore ever since our riding more gave out on us. We do plan to get a new rider this spring but in the mean time the lawn is being mowed by a push mower. The FitBit has encouraged me to hog all the mowing chores ever since it recorded the 10,000 steps it took to mow half our lawn. One day I sort of took his half when he was called into work early. Ever since I am keeping up with the mowing when ever he is at work. I just have to get the 10,000 steps in twice a week. I think you will agree I need the exercise more since I sit long hours blogging. 
Over this month I have lost another pound and a half. That makes a total loss of 7&1/2 pounds in two months. I am very excited about the weight loss. 
What I have left to work out is how to use the sleep data that the FitBit is providing to correct my lack of sleep. 
Over all I am extremely happy with this little companion.  Readers, What have you been doing to keep yourselves fit?