Things in the blogospher & internet in general this week

As I've mentioned there is some serious ick making its way through the house.  Princess Bear (PB) and I are fever free but still sound like we're going to hack up a lung any second.  We're also at the point in which PB feels well enough to be bored.  Being the awesome mom that I am I brought home one of those little activity kits in a box that you can buy at Walgreens.  In PB's case it doesn't get much better than Hello Kitty.  Yeah, that worked for about a half an hour.  We've played Candyland and Sorry.  We've watched copious amounts of TV and read a fair amount too.  I also have been hanging out online because, hey, it's just what I do.  I've decided to share some of the things.  Scroll all the way through.  It's a pretty varied list. 


There's been a fair amount of chatter about the dismal closings on Wall Street.  You combine that with Obumer giving the SOTU and things look not so peachy.  Scary thing is Matt Drudge dropped this one before any of that.  I read about this over at Rural Revolution.

What do you think about this?


Here's an interesting article on how banks are dealing with people trying to make withdrawals.  Never a good sign since it seems as unrest seems to hit in Europe before making it's way across the pond.  You can find this article HERE.



Let's talk about the cost of food and the weather a bit.  I'm thinking things are going to get very dicey in the next year or so as food costs keep on rising.  Now I'm not a prepper per se.  What I am is a gardener who believes that you should grow as much as your own food as possible.  It's safer.  You know exactly what is and more importantly what isn't in your food.  Who needs extra chemicals in their life????  While I'm not what anyone would consider a prepper there is also something to be said for having enough on hand if things hit the fan.  Perhaps it's from living through a few hurricanes and seeing how irrational people get when there is no electricity and low supplies of food and water.  That being said it's not a bad idea to have some extra on hand.  So I've definitely been checking out some gardening articles and posts.  Take a pic if gardening is your thing.
Granny Miller discusses why a snow heavy winter is a good thing!  Who knew!  Read it HERE
The Midland Agrarian discusses some gardening books he likes and why he likes them.  Anyone who is a fan of Gene Logsdon and Herrick Kimball (Whizbang guy) is ok in my book.  Read his gardening book suggestions HERE. 
Fine Gardening has some tips on why it's not too early to start HERE.
If you aren't a gardening you might want to read this post and reconsider gardening HERE


When you're not feeling well and the weather is cold as all get out is there anything better than soup to warm you up?  One of these came via my inbox yesterday and the other my blog reading list.  Check it out and see if they sound good to you.  Find them HERE and HERE.  PB is completely enthralled with the slow cooker.  Something about putting the food in it in the morning and leaving it alone only to come back to a completed meal just thrills her.  It's so cute!


As I've mentioned before I'm all for giving natural healing a try or trying it in conjunction with traditional medicine.  I've been taking Sambucus every 4 hours.  If you haven't tried it before you can find it HERE.  Great for supporting the immune system and even works against some viral infections (up to and including the flu).  PB loves when she gets to take Sambucus.  You can do a daily maintenance dose but frankly it's too expensive for us for that purpose.  When the ick hits you can bet the it's forefront on the counter.  In the past two days once again the blogosphere and my inbox came through with great herbal information.  Check out the post HERE and article HERE.  Speaking of herbal remedies I thing I've got to give these sore throat drops a try because I'm sick of artificial color in the store bought crap.  Check out the recipe HERE.



Jenna from Cold Antler Farm has a new book coming out this spring.  She posted the news HERE.  I read her first book Made From Scratch many moons ago.  Want an inspiring read on what you can do with only a small amount of land I encourage you to read it.  You can find it HERE. 


For your "awwww!  How freaking cute is that!" go to The Country Chick and check out Playing with Goats.  You can find it HERE.  PB is completely in love and wants to know how soon we can move outside the city limits!  It truly is too cute! 


MindBodyGreen had an article about some simple ways to get happy today.  Always a good idea even better if you're stuck inside sick and dealing with artic like temperatures! Check it out HERE. 


Just because I feel like being a bit snarky.  Check this out.  Baby face wipes made with all kinds of stuff- albeit natural so your child tastes sweet.  Seriously???!!!!???  You know some idiot first time parent is going to buy this too. This is just one of those times that even being natural isn't enough to redeem it.  You can see more about Neat Cheeks HERE. 


I adore One Good Thing by Jillee.  She's always whipping up something useful and gives you her opinion on what works and what does (like when she tried 4 different ways of cleaning her iron to come up with the best method!).  She was having trouble with her hair getting very dry in winter.  I've been rubbing coconut oil on PB's hair for the same reason but hadn't thought about adding essential oils.  I actually have several containers of coconut oil with lavender essential oil whipped into for my uber dry hands.  It's a go to in this house since it is very moisturizing and very healing.  Read about her hair care remedy HERE. 


I also came across this darling tutorial for lined bags on In Color Order.  I have 2 count em folks 2 sewing machines that I have absolutely no freaking idea how to use.  My sister has 1.  My mom refuses to teach us because she's scared we'll hurt her machine.  My sister and I keep saying we're going to take lessons.  I think the time is NOW! :)  Check out the darling little bags HERE. 



.