Easter Long Ago

Long Ago and Far Away.

 

DIY Reed Diffuser

This post came about from people always asking me, 

"How can you afford to travel all over the world?".

My answer is always, "It's the little things!".

If you can save money on many of the small aspects

of your life, you would be amazed how much that

can add up.  So many people spend exorbitant amounts

of money on what is wax and chemical scents in candles 

and wax melts.  There had to be a better answer.

What really prompted me to try something new was this 

ceiling!  This is the ceiling in what was my daughter's 

bedroom.  She loved to burn scented candles during her

later high school and college years.  These were high 

quality (read costly) candles from that nicely scented store 

in the mall and from a company that I can only call a

candle empire.  It wasn't until we cleared out the room to

paint it that we really noticed how filthy the ceiling looked

from the soot from the candles, we were shocked.

This is what it looked like after vigorous scrubbing ~ not

much better.  Luckily with two coats of paint, it was 

covered and looks great now but it really made me rethink

the use of scented candles in my home.  Like many other 

people I do like a nicely scented home and I had used reed

diffusers many times but again, every time I purchased one

the cost was from $10 to $25 and that just seemed like a 

waste of money.

So I did a little research online and found out it is 

extremely easy to make your own liquid for your

bottle/reed diffusers.

Everything I needed for this DIY was already in 

my house:

1/4 cup hot tap water

1/4 cup alcohol (rubbing or vodka)

essential oil (I used a botanical, 

non-synthetic oil)

new reeds

I recycled a bottle from a purchased diffuser

This method will evaporate faster than an oil based

method but I didn't have the proper oils in my home.

I will try that method once I have purchased the oil.

I poured the water and vodka into a plastic cup 

and swirled it together.  I then poured this mixture

into a glass bottle with a shallow neck.  

I added 25 drops of essential oil to the jar and 

swirled the liquid around.  The new reeds I 

purchased had straight reeds and more decorative 

ones that have swirls at the end.  The straight reeds

should be turned around a few times a week to add

more scent to the room.

I used a sweet orange oil that smells so clean and

beautiful.  Sometimes the scents from candles or

wax melts can make me feel a bit sick but this scent 

is fresh and lovely.

Give it a try! And remember, it's the little things!

The DNA Surprise!

Photo from Google Photos

Just this week we got our family's DNA test 

results.  Last Summer my late sister Trishie 

and I went to a presentation at our local library

about DNA testing.  The lecturer said it would 

be best if our brother was the one to take the

test.  After consulting with Lynne, our family

geneologist, we decided to use the FamilyTree

DNA test.  Oh, how I wish Trishie were here to

see what we learned.

Well, we are obviously very European - 98% which was

not a surprise.  It was a bit of a surprise to see we are

mostly Scandinavian but not a total surprise.  We already

knew through a DNA test of a male cousin on our Irish

side that we had Viking blood.  I was quite surprised to 

see that we were more Scandinavian than anything else.

I have always been attracted to the folk art and culture

of Scandinavia but I thought that was from living with

my Norwegian roommate Heidi while in college.  I must

say, I fully embrace my Scandinavian roots and I'm ready

to join the Sons of Norway!

But here is the surprise that blew us away ~ we are 2%

Middle Eastern ~ whaaattt????

The results said some of our ancient ancestors would 

have come from the area of Turkey.  Turkey!  I was 

thrilled! It made me think back to my first trip to Turkey

which was 5 years ago this Spring.  I was flying to Istanbul

from Amsterdam and as I was walking to the boarding area

Mr. Wonderful was quite a ways behind me and it looked 

like I was traveling alone.  As I approached the line I noticed 

3 people at the end of the line that looked very Turkish and

I don't mean just physically, they were not in western dress. 

Now I don't mean they were in burkas and head scarves but 

they had clothing that was rather folk-like, almost with a

bit of a peasant look to it.  There was a man and two women

and when the man spotted me, he opened his arms in a 

gesture that would only be read as, "Come, welcome sister!"

The women turned to me and they all started talking to me

in Turkish!  I explained in English that I didn't speak Turkish

and three jaws dropped, they couldn't believe it.  But with 

typical Turkish hospitality, they welcomed me anyway.  Once

I got to Istanbul I realized, I fit right in here.  In fact as I was

spending the day in the park with the lawyer Ahmet, I said to

him, I could pass for Turkish, the dark hair, the dark eyes.

He agreed.

One night I was riding the funicular or as they call it the

Mountain Tram and an elderly woman and a man who 

was probably her son boarded.  Mr. Wonderful got up to 

give the lady his seat and since the man was older than me

I got up so he could sit.  He insisted I take the seat and the

woman and I smiled and giggled to each other and she held

my hand all the way up the mountain.  Again..."welcome

daughter".  It is a small world, embrace it!

And Heidi, notice on the map above, the Scandinavian area

that we are most likely from is in Norway!  Hei sister!

Port of Call: Aruba

We were traveling on the Coral Princess from Fort 

Lauderdale.  Aruba was our first port and after being

at sea for two and a half days we were ready to get 

off the ship and do some exploring.

On our cruise, we were only in port for a few hours

from about 7am until noon.  We are not big on excursions 

and generally like to explore on our own.  After reading

up on the island we found out that there are tours that take 

you to visit the Natural Bridge and then tell you that the

Natural Bridge was destroyed in a storm in 2005, they do 

show you a smaller version of a natural bridge but we knew

 this sort of tour would not be for us.

The ship docks at the Aruba Cruise Terminal and it is

just a short walk to get outside the terminal to taxis and

the main shopping area.  Aruba is one of the countries of

the Kingdom of the Netherlands and you can see the 

Dutch influence in the facades of the buildings on the

main drag, though with a pastel Caribbean vibe.  There

are casinos, restaurants and bars and the typical 

shopping venues found in most island ports such as

Diamonds International and stores of that type.

We exited the cruise terminal and approached the 

line of taxis.  There are fixed prices in Aruba and we

knew it would be $10 to get to our destination but 

we told the driver where we wanted to go he told us

the was a Sunday surcharge and now the fare would

be $13 each way for a 3 mile trip.  I really hate being

ripped off when I travel and prefer to walk away when

it happens.  I walked onto the main street and just 

behind the stores is the bus station, a few local guys

told me I could get to the beach easily and cheaply.

We could pay with US dollars on the bus since the

ticket booth was closed.  The bus arrived in a few

minutes and we hopped on, for a few dollars each we

rode the local bus and the driver told us when we

had reached our destination.

We chose to visit Eagle Beach during our time in Aruba.

This beach is often rated as one of the best in the islands.

And it is beautiful, a lovely wide beach with turquoise blue

waters.  

We didn't have wifi on the ship so we needed to find a spot

on the beach with wifi so we could check our emails and

get a little work done.  We paid a guy for a few lounge chairs

under a palapa and settled in for what we thought would

be a few hours of rest and relaxation.  Very soon we were

slapping and scratching from some small insects that were

biting us.  We wrapped towels around ourselves and checked

our most important emails and then high tailed it out of 

there before we were devoured by the insects.

We said farewell to the beach and hopped back on

the bus to town.

We strolled over the the Wharfside Flea Market and met

up with a few friends from the ship who told us all the

stuff there were cheap souvenirs or other trinkets that

are brought over from Haiti.  By this point we had seen

enough, we headed back to the ship.  

Happy 6th Birthday American Homestead Blog!

Today marks the 6th birthday of the American Homestead

blog and it is also my birthday but I'm older than 6!

I have been a bad blogger this year, in fact, I have only

posted 12 times in the whole year.  It seemed like blogging

was falling by the wayside but lately I am happy to see many

bloggers returning from long breaks.  So hopefully with the

New Year I will try to blog more often.  I do have so many

stories I would love to tell, things about my travels, the 

things I make, the things I eat, the things I collect, etc.

I do post everyday on Instagram:  @americanhomestead1

There are rumors that there may be some new technology

coming my way for my birthday so hopefully that will make

blogging a bit easier.  I take so many photos with my phone

these days, there are so many pieces of equipment it can be

hard to get them to work together in an easy way.

This blog started just as I was about to go on a big adventure

and that is still going on.  I travel a lot!  And I love it.  I have

traveled to 7 foreign countries this year, 6 of them are new

to me.  I leave next week to set sail to South America and I

will visit five new countries on my world list.

What is my World List you may ask?  Well, there are a few

milestones that travelers like to meet.  One is to

circumnavigate the globe, I've done that twice.  Another

milestone is to visit 100 countries ~ I'm working on that!

I am almost halfway to my goal.

So please stay tuned to see what the New Year brings.

I hope everyone enjoys the upcoming holidays no

matter what holiday you may celebrate.  Just be happy!

All the best,

~ Ellen

Before and After Silver Haul

I had a meeting in a town about an hour and a

quarter away from my house earlier this week

and on the way home I stopped at a thrift shop

for a look around and found a pile of old silver.

I imagine a family emptied out someone's home

and sent it all to the thrift shop.  Probably many

of these pieces were wedding gifts back when

people got silver for their weddings.  There were

so many cool pieces, a huge circular tray that

must have been 2' across, coffee pots, creamers,

footed water pitchers...  and I didn't buy anything.

NOT ONE THING!  I thought, oh, you have so

much already, where will you put it?

And then I regretted it.  I thought about it all

week.  I really wanted the huge tray.

This was our wedding anniversary weekend and we

were out of state all day on Saturday so I made a deal

with Mr. Wonderful.  I said if we got up early on Sunday

 and got all of our outdoor chores done, could we head

back down south and see if any silver was left?  He was

up for it and off we went.  Of course many of the good

pieces were gone, including the huge tray.  But I did

pick up 10 pieces.  And I got it all for $20 which is the

weekend limit I usually set for myself.  So it was a score!

I polished it all as I was watching the final Lewis on

Masterpiece and now it is all packed away in the china

closet.  I think we will have a silver themed Thanksgiving

and Christmas this year!

American Homestead Pincushion/Ornament Class

This post gives information on my Ornament/Pincushion

Class that I teach to guilds, stitching groups and retreats.

There are many ways to use the projects that you create.

Here are the various ways you can use the ornaments.

You could also embroider a name and date on the back

to make it a special keepsake ornament.  I know people

who make them for their kids or grandkids so when they

grow up and have their own homes, they have a collection

of ornaments from someone they love.

You can also add a little pocket to the back to hold

a gift certificate.

If you decide to make a pincushion you can place them

on a metal candlestand which looks lovely.

You can also frame them, they look great grouped 

in three or four on the wall.

You can also put them on dowel sticks and

add them to a floral arrangement.

You have two choices to make:

1. What pattern do I want to make?  There are 13 to

choose from.  They are shown below.

2. What colorway would you like to work in?  There is 

a brighter group of fabrics called the European Folk

Art Collection and a deeper group of fabrics called the

Pennyrug Collection.  Here they are:

Patterns created in The European Folk Art Collection

Patterns created in The Pennyrug Collection

This is what you need to bring to class: (it's so 

simple, you can bring it in a little basket!)

Scissors: sharp scissors to cut the wool felt and thread

Small pincushion with a few pins

Needles: appropriate to your choice of thread or whatever

feels good for you.

For ornament: 2 - 6'' x 6'' squares of cotton batting (scraps

from your quit projects are great)

For pincushion: a sandwich size ziploc of fiberfill

Floss/Thread:  There are as many opinions on what is the

best thread as there are brands of thread so I let my students

choose their favorite.  I generally use DMC embroidery floss 

and the correct color numbers are shown below.  If you prefer 

another thread or floss then just search for a comparison chart

for the brand you choose.

For European Folk Art Colorway:  Ecru - 806 - 3347 - 742 - 816

For Pennyrug Colorway: 677 - 920 - 826 - 816 - 732 - 742 - 310

Now choose one of the 13 patterns.  The photos show a

European Folk Art colorway example on the left and a 

Pennyrug colorway example on the right.

Here is a video about the class:

I hope to see you sometime very soon!!  ~ Ellen