News

  As I have mentioned in previous posts, we have recently moved to a larger and more rural place. In preparation for the move, we made plans and more plans. We tried to anticipate all of the new things that would cause problems or that would change the way that we normally do things. Despite this preparation, there were a few things that snuck up on us.   #1 - A Circular Staircase is a Cat's Paradise It didn't take the cats long to discover that the dog couldn't climb this particular staircase. They have taken to it as a refuge...

Dear Customer,   We have seen the headlines everywhere: "Prices Are Surging" - CNN, June 2021 "Shipping and Logistics Costs are Expected to Keep Rising in 2022" - WSJ, December 2021 "US Prices Rising at 6.2%, Fastest Rate for Three Decades" - BBC, November 2021   And we have personally seen the prices of our supplies continue to rise. We work hard to shop sales and be frugal (but not cheap) in obtaining the materials needed in order to keep our prices affordable. Unfortunately, we cannot keep up with the rapid rise in production costs. We will have to raise...

Our animal-loving son was very predictable this year with his holiday wish-list. The main theme of his list included an animal and feed.   Since the weather has pushed off the build for the barn a bit, we were unsure if we could take on any of these animals for his Christmas present. We discussed it and found a referral to a family selling Pygmy goats. We have never owned goats before and may be naive, but the smaller size seems a bit more manageable. My thought was that if they are smaller, we may be able to contain them...

A customer had an interesting challenge for the hubby. She owns a larger breed dog and wanted a way to keep the dog away from the bedrooms. She has a beautiful home and didn't want to use a typical baby-gate.  She shared the desired measurements and design ideas, and the hubby began his work!   The gate was made from reclaimed hickory hardwood flooring.    The pieces were planed and cut to size. They were jointed together to make the main frame.    The sides and cross pieces were added.    The top, decorative piece was attached.    The customer...

Stocking stuffers can be fun or simply another thing to add to the list of items to complete before Christmas day. I prefer to include items that we will use and not things that will be broken and in the trashcan by the end of Christmas day. For the last few years, a component of our stockings includes personal care items from Metz Sugar Scrubs & Natural Care Products (@metzsugarscrubs on Facebook).    Metz Sugar Scrubs is a small family business that make wonderful, natural personal care items. Here are just a few of our favorites:   My recently-turned teenager uses...