Category: Review

Amazon, free, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, Prime, Review

Try Amazon Prime Free!

Olof
OK here is my review of Amazon Prime. I have been using Amazon Prime for several years now. I have bought everything from a lawn mower to floss from Amazon since with Prime you get FREE 2 day shipping of all Prime Products. Not all the products on Amazon are Prime products but I almost ALWAYS find what I need on Amazon and can have it shipped to my door with in 2 business days.  This has made a huge difference for this busy mamma of 3. I can just pop online and shop for things with out having to drag my monkeys alone with me to the store. They even have dry good groceries.

Prime also has ebooks that you can borrow for free for a month. Not all of their books mind you but I did read the Hunger Games this way and there are many more very popular books and of course all of the classics are free.

Prime also has lots of free shows and movies for members. I haven’t used this option much since I watch more Netflix and Hulu than Amazon but I have tried it and the experience was pleasant.

Here is what I recommend. If you are wanting something super heavy like, lets say, a lawn mower or a grill or a shed and need it shipped then why not take the opportunity and use the free 30 day trial?

The few times that I have had a problem with a product they have sent a replacement before I know it and paid for the return of the product that there was a problem with. What have you got to lose? Just click on the button at the top of the blog post and sign up! You will not be sorry.

4oz, Fiber, giveaway, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, Malabrigo, Review, roving, spinning

Malabrigo Fiber Giveaway.

Olof
Before my mother’s death I was sent this great fiber from Malabrigo called Nube, which means cloud in Spanish, to do a review and giveaway on my blog. I will be giving two of my readers one each and I will be doing the review of what it is like to spin with Nube when I announce the winner. What I can say about this fiber is that it is wonderfully soft and the colors are amazingly vibrant. The color combinations are beautiful and I can’t wait to spin it and then knit with it.

Deciding on which two to giveaway was difficult for me. Looking at the photo, can you blame me?
I chose to give away The Lavanda and the Zarzamora. The 2 to the right of the photo.
Nube is 4oz or 113gr of 100% Merino wool and is as soft as a dream. 
If you have never spun yarn then you can get inexpensive Drop Spindles and the book Start Spinning is a great reference. Why not try your hand if you win free roving? 
To win one follow the rules listed below.
Backyard, beekeeping, bees, book, Homegrown Honey Bees, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, Review, self, simplicity

Homegrown Honey Bees- Book review

Olof

So, I will be keeping bees this spring and I am trying to read as much as possible because that is what I do. My ADHD kicks in and I hyper-focus only on one thing. I found a book that looked like it was user friendly on Amazon and then when I started reading it I realized that it was perfect for the first time beekeeper. It’s called Homegrown Honey Bees: An Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Beekeping Your First Year, from Hiving to Honey Harvest by Alethea Morrison. It is to the point and has everything in it step by step. It teaches you about the life cycle of bees, how to get started, the gear you need, the first month in weekly steps, The first season, How to collect your first harvest and when, what to do if your colony doesn’t survive it’s first winter, what sort of bee illnesses there are out there and how to treat them, how much work a hive really is. It also has great little stories of beekeepers and their accomplishment and bumps in the road.

 The photos taken by Mars Vilaubi are VERY good. I’m a visual learner and Mars did an exceptional job of capturing all the different things that I needed to see to really understand. They even have photos of what bee stings look like for those of us that have never been stung.

I learned a lot in the past few days and am now not as ignorant about beekeeping as I was. I know that Drones are not the worker bees that I thought they were but just boys waiting to get lucky then only to die because their penis is ripped off after mating. That the queen only gets to get lucky for a short period of time and then she keeps the sperm to make enough bees to keep a colony going for several years (wow). That the other ladies of the hive do all the work and even decide on if it is time to rear more queens because the one in charge is ill or old or that the hive is getting too cramped to keep everyone in it so it’s time to swarm with a new queen. I’ve learned how to keep my hive from swarming by introducing enough space and so much more.

The only thing it does not really cover is how to split your hive to make more hives from your own bees but that’s what youtube is for right? Other than that I did not see many flaws in the book as a novice. I will be looking at this book many times in the process of getting started with my bees. This is a book that you keep referring to as you are starting out but for more in depth information I think a bee mentor will be the way to go. So off to my local bee club that luckily meets less than a mile from my home. I look forward to meeting more beekeepers and pick their brain and then enjoying the buzz of the bees and the honey they will provide my family.

Hope you are all happy, healthy and living the life you love.

Happy Valentines day

book, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, Review, table of contents, The Creative Family

The Creative Family- Review

Olof
Tcfcover 

As many of you have noticed I have linked to Amanda Soule’s blog quite a bit here lately. Following her lead in being present for my children and self. She inspires me in so many ways as a mother and as a woman. I really started reading her blog first when I borrowed the book The Creative Family from my friend Anna a few years back. It’s on how to encourage imagination and nurture family connections. This book is inspiring and brings you in. It is well written and has a lot of tips on how to inspire creativity and gratitude in your children even if you don’t feel very creative yourself.

Table of Contents:

Part One: Gathering

1. Preparing Your Creative Mind– Gratitude. Inspiration is Everywhere

2. Gathering Materials– Use the Good Stuff. The Best Toys

3. Being Resourceful– Alternative Art Material. Clothing Recommendations. Toys from Natural Material

Part Two: Playing

4. Encouraging Imagination– Weaving a Story. The Power of Imaginative Play. On Stage. Playing in the Parlor.

5. Supporting Your Young Artist– Family Drawing Time. Art-on-the-Go Bags. Freezer-Paper Stenciling. Displaying Children’s Art. Creating with Children’s Art

6. Sharing the Tradition of Handmade– Embroidering with Children. Sewing with Children. Knitting with Children. Felting with Children.

Part Three: Living

7. Exploring Through Nature– Finding Your Spot. Seeking the Wild. Garden Journal. Fairy Houses. Changing the Seasons.

8. Capturing Moments– Children with Cameras. Saving Spaces. Keeping it all Together. Your Life Story.

9. Everyday Rituals– Meeting in Bed. Mealtime Gatherings. Bedtime Bags.

Part Four: Connecting

10. Celebrating Your Family– Family Celebrations. Birthdays. A Visit from the Tooth Fairy.

11. Handmade Holidays– A Child’s Wonderland. A Gift to the Earth. Giving Handmade. Supporting Handmade.

12. Creative Connections– Craftism. Hootenanny. Art Night. Art/Craft Show. Creating with Food.

Just reading over the contents inspires me.When I read the book the first time I read right through it and incorporated a few of the things in it to my family like family art journaling, leaving instruments out for my kids to enjoy when they feel like it, and I really took to heart simple toys and connecting with nature. But one only gets so much from something when you read through it all at once. I got the book out again yesterday, since I am going through the Hectic to Harmonious Home Cleans, and started reading. Looking for new inspiration. Especially about birthdays, since Magni’s 3rd birthday is on Saturday. I’m wanting to make him a birthday crown and one for each one of my children as well. She says that she writes love letters to her children on their birthdays. I have started something similar. Each child gets a journal that is brought out on their birthdays and special occasions and everybody writes something in it as a message to the child. It starts with their birth story and keeps going from there.

If you are like me and are looking for a way to teach your children how to connect with nature, art and to their fellow man, then this is the book to get ideas on how to do so. You might not do things exactly like Amanda but you can pick and choose what you want out of the book and if you are like me then you will try quite a few and tweak them to your liking. I recommend rereading it again later to remind you of some things that you wanted to try but wanted to start small.

Amanda has written two other books Handmade Home: Simple Ways to Repurpose Old Materials into New Family Treasures and The Rhythm of Family: Discovering a Sense of Wonder through the Seasons and I really look forward to reading them as well and hope to be able to write a review about them here soon as well. 

book, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, Review, Stieg Larsson, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, The Girl Who Played with Fire, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Trilogy

Olof

I just finished Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy Bundle: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest. and they were all very good. Mr. Larsson is very good at introducing a character and painting a picture of the main characters. They are flawed like most people and because of their flaws you end up caring for them. The story starts with Blomkvist, an investigative reporter in Sweden, being sued for slander by a man that was really a crook but then Blomkvist gets offered a job investigating an old business man’s family to find what happened to his niece that vanished many years ago and in return Blomkvist will get well paid and the truth about the crook. Blomkvist hires a woman from a private investigation/security agency named Lisbeth Salander to help him investigate this odd case. Lisbeth is a very odd young woman that has a hard time with social interaction but is a wiz with computers. I really enjoyed her. How her brain worked very logically but not socially and how she develops through the books.

That is how the first book starts and the rest is how these characters develop and grow over a 3 year period of time. These books are very descriptive and can be violent. It is a crime drama so that is normal. I almost didn’t read the books but decided to give the first one a try and after I started I couldn’t stop. The 3rd book is a bit hard to get into though since there are so many characters involved and Larsson is such a fickler for giving a back story. But by the end I was glad I read all of the books. 

Stieg Larsson had 10 books planed out for Blomkvist and Lisbeth but sadly shortly after he turned in the first 3 books to the publishers he died suddenly of a heart attack. He himself was an investigative reporter before he wrote these books so it does seem that he based these books in a way on himself which makes me wonder.

What did you think of his books?
What are you reading at the moment?

giveaway, Little Lippy Ewe, project bags, Review

Little Lippy Ewe Review and Giveaway.

Olof
Another treat? Yes, yes I do have another treat for you.

Lindsay from the Little Lippy Ewe has sent me this amazing project bag and is sponsoring this amazing giveaway for you. These bags are perfect for smaller projects and to keep the yarn in while you knit to keep the yarn clean. It has great structure so it stands up straight while you knit. There is a bead that slips up and down to open or close the bag. It´s not closed tight so don´t keep small things like stitch holder or weaving in needles in there if you think it will topple over but for knitting socks, mittens or scarves or baby projects, this is the perfect little companion bag to take along with you to knit anywhere and keep your yarn clean. I can totally see myself using it in the future for when I go to the Dr and have to wait or when my kids start doing sports then it can sit beside me and I can just keep knitting.

Here are some of my favorite prints that she sells in her shop.

One lucky winner will get a bag of choice from the Little Lippy Ewe. If you purchase a bag from here between now and the end of the giveaway and you end up winning then she will refund your purchase and let you keep the bag.

Here are the rules for entry. You can enter up to 5 times.

  1. You can go to the Little Lippy Ewe website and tell me which bag you would like to win.
  2. You can follow my blog and in the comment tell me how you are following.
  3. You can follow me on Twitter
  4. You can like me on Facebook
  5. You can like Little Lippy Ewe on Facebook

Each time you have to come back and leave a comment on this blog with each entry and add a way to contact you with EACH entry. 

Good luck to all. I will be closing entries at 8pm on Sunday August 4th 2012 and using Random.org to pick the winners.

blue sky alpacas, Etched Rio Wrap, Facebook, giveaway, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, Metalico, Review, Twitter, Yarn

Blue Sky Alpacas Metalico and Pattern Giveaway.

Olof
Do I have a treat for you today? Yes, yes I do!

This showed up in the mail the other day. That is a the pattern Etched Rio Wrap and the SIX Metalico skeins in the colorway flint it takes to make it sponsored by Blue Sky Alpacas! All this is worth $97! One lucky winner will get this in the mail!

The skein to the left  in the colorway cinnabar I bought for myself to play with to do a review and I have to say that I’m in LOVE! I think this is the softest yarn that I have ever knit with and for being single ply it doesn’t split very easily like many other natural fiber single ply yarns do. It knits up very evenly and great for lace work. I loved it so that I knit myself a quick cowl out of it that I can´t wait to wear once it starts cooling down.

Here are the rules for entry. You can enter up to 4 times.

  1. You can go to the Blue Sky Alpacas website and tell me what your favorite yarn is from them
  2. You can follow my blog and in the comment tell me how you are following.
  3. You can follow me on Twitter
  4. You can like me on Facebook

Each time you have to come back and leave a comment with each entry and add a way to contact you with EACH entry. 

Good luck to all. I will be closing entries at 8pm on Sunday July 29th 2012 and using Random.org to pick the winners.

http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, Maxfield Cardigan, Mitered Cross Blanket, Review, spinning

Monday Knitting Update

Olof
I have been busy knitting this week. I finished the baby sweater I was knitting and then I forgot to take a pic of it before giving it to my friend. I guess I will just have to get an action shot of it once her little boy is born next month.

I brought out my drop spindle! First time in a while and I´m taking some time getting use to it again. Here is what I’ve done so far. Totally a thick and thin yarn at the moment. The fiber is a little hard to get even. 

I worked on the Mitered Cross Blanket

Then Veronika from Yarn on the House got me knitting on a new pattern when I saw her finished first sleeve and I went to look at the finished product on the pattern page I really wanted to make it. I already had all the material in my stash (a must) so I decided to knit it. It´s called Maxfield Cardigan by Amy Christoffers and sadly I have to say I have had quite a few issues with the pattern. It looks pretty but I find it not very detailed like she was trying to fit this complex pattern on only a few pages when more explanation is needed. There is also only one needle size in the list of materials needed but then it asks for a larger and smaller needle to knit with in the pattern. I do like that it starts with the sleeves.Sadly this is the first time that I say that I feel like I would like a refund on my $7 dollars since this pattern does not seem to be properly test knit yet. I really want to knit this sweater but I might end up just free handing it at some point. I hate writing reviews like this. Makes me feel bad. The sweater is beautiful but the pattern is not reader friendly. I just can´t promote something by knitting it and not giving a proper review of the pattern. I won´t hold this against Veronika LOL. I´m sure she is having the same issues.

Went to Joann’s and found this fabric that I got to make project bags with.

If you don´t follow Veronika at Yarn on the House then you are missing out. She does yarn giveaways on a regular basis and has started knitcations! You know you want a knitcation. I know I do. Sadly I will be giving birth during the time that this knitcation will be and after that we will not be able to afford one for a long while. But the goody bags that they are offering are to die for! You must check it out. I jokingly mentioned to Veronika that I planed on doing a knitstaycation and that I would love one of those bags. Sadly all I got out of that was a good laugh LOL which is what I expected . But I do hope that some of my knitting friends will enjoy this trip and take loads of pics so that I can sit and be totally jealous over them. Hopefully a newborn will make it all worth missing the trip. LOL.

What do you have on the needles or in your craft basket?

book, book club, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, Mockingjay, Peta, Report, Review, Suzanne Collins

Late Friday Book Report- Mockingjay

Olof

I finished up Mockingjay and I was a little bummed at the end of it. The beginning was a little slow and then there was fast pace middle and then almost abrupt ending. As you know when Catching Fire, book two, ended Katniss was saved and hauled out of the arena by the opposition but they left most of the other players for the capital to catch and do as they will to them. Mockingjay is about how opposition is going to win this war and bring back their people held by the capital. I believe that they could have done more with Katniss and Peta´s relationship. At this age there is more excitement when it comes to attraction and it takes up a lot of thinking process. This book is different than the first 2 books. More mental break down and internal struggle. It almost felt rushed. But if you read the first two books then you know you have to read this one. The second leaves you at a cliff hanger where you have to find out what happens next. I couldn´t put this book down. I had to know how it ended but I guess the first two book just got me all hopped up to believe that at some point Katniss will really fall for one or the other guy and it will be an all consuming thing but the one she chose and how it happened was just so…… I don´t know. Unexciting. I´m sad that the story is over. Sad at the way it ended. I had a book club meeting with some friends of mine last night and discussed this book. They both agreed that the beginning was slow, and the end disappointing. My friend Elizabeth said “It was like she was done writing.” and I agree that it was like the writer was sick of writing this story at the end and just needed to let people sort of know what happened after that.

What did you think?

all purpose, body, body wash, castile, cleaning, Dr. Bronner, hand, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, Organic, Review, shampoo, soap, tea tree

Wednesday Simple Living- Dr Bronner review

Olof

So I had heard great things about Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps Pure-Castile Soap, 18-in-1 Hemp Tea Tree. That is was all purpose and the last soap I would need to buy.  Well either I got the wrong kind or it is just not for me. I used the kind with tea tree and Hemp thinking that it would be especially good for my hair. After I washed my hair it felt like I had not washed it in months and used hair products every day. I could have made dreadlocks with my hair it was SO gross. I guess I will use the rest for hand soap or something. BOO I was so looking forward to not having to have many different products for cleaning. The star rating is great on Amazon but I did notice that one person said that she had to use the best sulfate free shampoo after using this stuff in her hair. I´ll keep trying it for other things but we will see if I find a purpose for it. Maybe it will make my wood floors shine?
Do you have a good all purpose soap? I was using California Baby but they recently changed the ingredients and have some chemicals in it that I wasn´t really wanting to use. But it does the job both for body and hair. I guess I will keep using it since it is better than the other stuff and just get a BIG gallon jug of it to refill the bottle I have. Reducing the waste. But this is just a body and hair wash. Maybe my hopes are too high to find one soap that can do it all.