Over the Kitchen Counter: Angie's Place for Cooking and Crafts

Innovative Kitchen Composter by Polder

Mother's Day was a couple weeks ago now but I wanted to share what a great gift I received! This Polder kitchen composter is a practical and well designed addition to the counter. The kids (and my daughter's boyfriend) know that we are pretty serious about keeping those organic food scraps out of the landfill and in our garden. They also know that it is father's job to empty the container and the little one I was using was always full!

This cool design consists of a thick stainless steel stand and silicone bin liner with well fitting, ventilated lid. It holds one gallon of standard kitchen compost (fruit & veg scraps, coffee grinds, tea leaves, egg shells, pasta & rice {I didn't even know carbs such as those could go in!!}, etc.) and the lid adjusts for air flow with a simple turn to open the vents. It's easy to grab the bucket to empty into the outdoor composter, using the tab at the bottom of the silicone liner. Push it through to invert and dump the contents then rinse if needed. Simply pull the silicone bucket back in place.

The bin is actually dishwasher safe (not really a necessary step, but nice if things get real' bad!) and so far it has been wonderful. I love how easy it is to clean and the lid can be separated for a more thorough wash. My old system consisted of reusing produce bags from the grocery store held up in a dollar store plastic container. Inevitably rushed family members wouldn't extend the bag before casually tossing in fruit peels, leaving me to sort out the gooey mess. Also, the coffee filters and grounds were so drippy and wet, yuck. I'm glad to not have to use plastic bags any more and deal with trying to shake the compost out of them!

I was so blessed with a lovely dinner prepared by my kids at home and a gorgeous family-themed Pandora charm as well. The messages of love in the card and via text (from my city girl daughter) meant the most and I am such a lucky mother to have such thoughtful children!!!  One last surprise was a beautiful bouquet of colourful tulips from my son's girlfriend, a sweet daughter from another mother. My heart is full of gratitude to be surrounded by loving family!

P.S. I think they bought the compost bin from Costco!!!

KonMari Method/Tidying Up

January is usually a time of year where I deep clean, organize, and purge. I think the chaos of the holidays, with the footprint of the Christmas tree and addition of extra furniture in our smaller spaces, stresses me out. I always start the new year with an urge to clear the clutter and downsize the stuff.

I had seen Marie Kondo on the Today Show long ago but never adopted her method of tidying and folding. Now that she has a new Netflix series and book, and the world seems to be taking notice of her organizational skills, the KonMari Method has entered our home. My daughter started watching the show with my son's girlfriend and I am noticing big results. Both have completely tidied up their clothes and closets, removed bags of items for donation, and allowed the peace of less clutter to wash over them. This has also trickled into general cleaning as well and I have never seen my son's room look so tidy! The bed is made, the carpet gets vacuumed more often and I noticed the bathroom towels on the shelves are neatly rolled into a lovely display! How could I not applaud these changes!?!?!

Of course, I realized I had some tidying of my own to do and began with a simple start: the t-shirt drawer. Pulling everything out of a space is the first step. Each item in the resulting pile needs to be picked up, assessed, (thanked) and sorted. Those that make the cut get folded into stand-up thirds and placed upright back in the drawer (or on the shelf, in a basket, etc.). It felt great to get rid of some ratty workout shirts and really decide which pieces 'spark joy'. If something no longer serves its purpose or really doesn't enhance my life, out it goes. After t-shirts came socks, the linen closet, the laundry room, the storage closet..........

Even husband got on board (as each person should be responsible for their own belongings) and we spent a family-together weekend afternoon doing this exercise. It was fun...and it feels so rewarding afterwards. I am slowly working my way around the house and am pleased with the results so far. Things that weren't working (vacuum, dog food, and large winter jackets in the same small closet, for example) are being evaluated and a solution implemented. It takes time but it is worth it. Whether or not the system is sustained in the long term has yet to be determined but I've had a couple laundry days where t-shirts and socks have been put away in the same organized way. At the very least, we have a great starting point of tidiness...AND...now hubby puts away his own laundry!!!

Stackers Jewelry Boxes

More than a few years ago Pandora offered a gorgeous set of jewelry boxes as a gift with purchase. This was a tiered bonus in that the more you spent, the more layers of the set you could earn. The lovely cases were embossed with the Pandora logo and/or name and had little rods to hold charms, as well as compartments and forms for bracelets and extra beads. A few lucky people were able to buy them in one configuration or another after the promotion period ended. I was not one of them....

Since I only recently renewed my interest in Pandora I never paid any attention to promotions or sales. Now that I AM paying attention, and taking advantage of new offers, I realize that it was a sad thing to miss out on the beautiful jewelry boxes. There are only a few floating around the auction sites but the prices are astronomical, the locations are typically Australia or England, and purchase from an unknown source could be highly risky. I needed a more easily obtainable solution to my storage problem!

I heard about Stackers from a Pandora expert but sadly, the company based in England doesn't ship to Canada. After searching US sites and being unable to find a way to access the product I ended up emailing Stackers directly for guidance. A wonderful customer service rep sent me a link for a UK stockist who does indeed accept international orders. While I don't think the choice for components is as broad as availability with the actual Stackers company proper, I was able to customize a jewelry box simply ideal for my needs.

I chose the size, colour & lining, lid, and then trays to stack underneath. It took me a few days to play around with the configuration but in the end I settled on a white Classic lid with 3 charm trays and one 3-section deeper box. Why those items? I chose the Classic size because there was more selection and it was adequate for my collection, and also easier to display and handle.  While I love the blush pink exterior it was not available at the stockist with a neutral interior. I absolutely did not want a lining with a pattern (e.g. polka dots) because I wanted to keep the look clean and plain to showcase the silver jewelry. White was my choice and it came with a grey lining. I was worried it would be bright white but it is actually perfect and stunningly classy. I picked the charm trays so that I could have the long rods for charm storage and styling. I wanted a section for my bracelet and rationalized I could have a tray for each and keep the relevant charms together. The little square sections could be for holding charms while I plan and/or overflow.

The lid can be accessorized with shorter charm bars and will hold up to 4. I added them in because I wanted to make sure I had room to grow without having to reorder and pay all the costs that go with international delivery. They are perfect for specialty charms or items that can work with any of the bracelets (like clips, spacers, or Muranos). The lid also has room for rings and other items like earrings and necklaces.

The deeper 3 section tray is perfect for holding less often worn jewelry or differently shaped bracelets like leather and bangles which don't have a home in the trays. There is also a longer section in each level to hold an unclipped charm bracelet stretched out. I love that there are many storage options!

As the name suggests, each tray stacks upon the next with the lid at the top sealing up the set. I was giddy with anticipation waiting for the box to arrive and couldn't wait to see how it all would work with my jewelry. I was beyond delighted with the look and quality of the Stackers and what I picked works perfectly for what I have. I had a lot of fun organizing and figuring out exactly how I wanted to set things up.

So I can highly recommend Stackers as a jewelry storage and display option. It is wonderful for Pandora or charms/beads specifically but obviously you could select different components (earring tray, watch form, etc.) based on your own jewelry collection. The quality and construction seems excellent, with beautiful stitching (of course I would notice that!!), nice hardware clasp, padded lining and charm rods that fit securely in the notches. I am very, very pleased!

Each piece of Stackers is well priced (imho) and I found shipping to be really reasonable considering how far it had to come! The overall cost can add up if you purchase additional layers or accessories but I feel it's a worthwhile investment to protect the other worthwhile investment, one's lovely jewelry!

African Violet Help

I have no green thumb and have never really paid much attention to my plants. However, these Africa violets are now part of my decor and are special to me. They were rescued from my mom's front window after she died and we were clearing out her house. They've done very well in my front window despite my lack of knowledge...until now. All of a sudden one of them shrivelled up into nothing. Both were growing weird and edging themselves to the side of the pot. I decided I had better do some research to see if they could be saved.

There are plenty of YouTube videos on the care and repotting of violets and I learned that it is normal for them to get the trunk-like stem. This is a good indication that it is time to repot, even in the same container. By removing the lower leaves and re-centring the plant in fresh soil, it is possible to reshape the violet to a pleasing state and rejuvenate its health.

I had special African violet soil which is suitable in composition and contains the nutrients they need. After I removed the plant from the pot and old soil I cleaned out the container and repotted the violet in fresh, new soil. I plucked off the old, yellow leaves and ones that were overgrown, distorting the nice round appearance, and planted it back in the middle of the soil. It looks so much better!

I did what I could with the one that was struggling (I could see a few tiny new leaves!) so we'll see what happens with that one. A good watering from below should perk them up and I hope both will do much better now! Below are a couple of the better videos I watched in case you'd like to see them. Have a great day! 

Luxury Quilted Memory Foam Mattress Pad

We love comfortable beds in nice hotels and we noticed on our last trip that there was a lovely mattress pad under the sheets. I am always looking to improve my night's rest and attempt good sleep hygiene (regular routines, dark & cool room, no electronics or glowing alarm clock, good pillow, lavender oil, etc.) and I appreciate quality sheets and...a quilt (of course!). I decided to check out a mattress pad to add to my linens and chose this one by Beautyrest.

It is 100% cotton and has memory foam 'quilted' in the middle. I like that it is machine washable and was delighted with the "expand a grip" skirt system. Mattresses are soooo deep these days that I'm always careful when I buy a new sheet set to make sure it has equally deep pockets. Still, sometimes I have to really pull to get the fitted sheet over the corners and occasionally they tear or pop off. This pad has sort of stretchy, netted side panels that easily fit up to 18". The skirt (not the pad itself) kind of reminded me of the material diaper pants are made from or little girly underwear with the frills from the 50s. Anyway, the mattress pad went on with zero tugging and fit perfectly.

I couldn't wait to climb into bed and I wasn't disappointed! The pad is super comfy and really added a comfortable layer to the bed. Our mattress is quite firm so the memory foam softened it up a bit for me and is really cozy. It did nothing to stop the dog from snoring (I mean the REAL dog, not my hubby!!) but I am very pleased regardless! The pad cost about $80 for the King size and I picked it up at Walmart.

Evapo-Rust & Vintage Sewing Machine Feet

Just over a week ago I shared my wonderful vintage Singer Zigzagger attachment and mentioned there was a bit of rust on the foot. While it doesn't impact the excellent functionality of the zigzagger, I was a bit concerned that the rust might rub off on my fabric or get worse if left unattended. I didn't know if it had to be mechanically filed off or if there was a remedy but the wonderful folks at The Singer Featherweight Shop suggest a product called Evapo-Rust.

This solution sounds too good to be true! It's non-toxic, safe to use, contains no acids, is environmentally safe, reusable, and easily disposed. The videos on their website show it working on really rusty items and auto parts and it actually seems to perform very well. While I couldn't find it locally at the hardware stores I did source it at Lee Valley. I asked my husband to pick some up for me while he was out of town and the quart-sized jug was about $13. Since I have very small sewing machine feet and attachments to clean, and it's reusable on about 300 pounds of parts, I know I won't be needing another container for quite some time.

I couldn't wait to see if it would work. I added a bit to a small dish and inserted the foot portion of my zigzagger attachment into the solution. I left it overnight, checking periodically before I went to bed. In the morning the rust was gone! There is residual pitting and a black mark where it was but the damaging rust is absolutely removed.

The process of how it works is described on their website HERE and it is pretty ingenious. I have a couple more rusty machine feet to clean up and then I'm pretty sure hubby is taking it out of my workshop and into his. He has some garden tools and other items I think he'd like to restore. I am very pleased with my results and feel better knowing my vintage zigzagger is rust free and still going strong after all these years.

Scrub Daddy

Well, this is fun! My daughter brought me a gift she knew I'd love...for cleaning pots and maybe even my Instant Pot. The Scrub Daddy is a cool sponge that is made of a weird foam that is firm when cold and soft when hot. So you can power away baked-on food residue by rinsing the Scrub Daddy in cold, or even ice, water when it's really scrubby and textured. Swish it around in hot water and the sponge is perfect for regular dishes and normal cleaning.

It has eyes where you can insert your fingers to get a good grip and get into those tight spots and the 'smile' is the ideal size for feeding in your spoons. The mouth cleans both sides of cutlery at once. This is a pretty innovative product and actually was featured on an episode of Dragon's Den (a show where entrepreneurs pitch business ideas to investors). No chemicals are required, it lasts a long time, doesn't scratch, there are other versions and colours for different applications, and it's easy to keep clean and fresh in the dishwasher or microwave. So far I'm really liking the results and it scoured away that film I got on my Instant Pot (harmless but stubborn to clean) so I'm happy. You can find more information at the Scrub Daddy website HERE.

WellnessMats (Because Standing truly IS Believing!)

I stand a lot. I spend so much time at the kitchen counter prepping food, the kitchen sink washing dishes, at my cutting table working with fabric, and for some reason, I must stand to scrapbook! All these activities mean I am standing for hours and my lower back gets very tired. This has been exacerbated from the intense scrapbooking catch-up I've been doing lately. Poor posture and hard floors contribute to the aching and I knew I needed to find a remedy to ease my pain.

I was aware there were anti-fatigue mats on the market for workers who stand for long hours but I didn't know anything about them. With a little research I found Wellness Mats and the reviews were fantastic! Reading their story I learned Wellness Mats are used in hospitals, industry, hospitality, government, and spas - and anywhere people are on their feet for work. There are plenty of wonderful endorsements, including one from a favourite famous chef of mine, Sara Moulton, so I knew I'd hit the correct website and this was the exact product I was looking for.

So...how do these miracle mats work and how are they made? Visit the WellnessMats website for tons of information (the health attributes, the technology, the certifications, the reviews, the FAQs, and all the details!) but here's a brief explanation taken from 'Why WellnessMats' tab:

"WellnessMats provide constant, cushioned support under your feet. Our soft, smooth surface and buoyant core encourage very, very subtle movements and re-alignments. This subtle activity reduces muscle and joint fatigue as well as stress on the lower extremities.

Our mats are unlike any other. Made from our proprietary Advanced Polyurethane Technology (APT), our mats are ‘one piece construction.’ What this means is that unlike other mats made from several different materials fused or sewn together, our mats will never delaminate, the edges will never curl, nor will our mats puncture or slide. In addition our APT has allowed us to offer you an unprecedented 20-Year Warranty on all WellnessMats. Our mats will forever remain buoyant and supportive bringing you years of comfort and well-being (thus our name!)"

I was so excited to get a WellnessMat and fortunately, they are available in Canada. I was all set to order on-line and then happened to check the local kitchen specialty store and was delighted to discover they had them in stock. Within 10 minutes I was picking out my mat and the price was so good, I bought two. I had planned to buy one for the kitchen and just take it downstairs when I'd be crafting for extended periods, but having a dedicated mat for each location is even better. I'd love to have one of the longer ones that would cover the area in front of my cutting table but they are more of an investment and I'll have to save up for that.

I selected the 3'x2' original mats, one in the gorgeous Sea Shell shade (a light mauve) and one in Sunset (Cinnabar Red on Tan). The colours work perfectly in each location and have a pretty scroll design (Bella). Once I was home and stepped on the mat....HEAVEN! I asked hubby why I hadn't bought one of these 15 years ago!!! It is a mysterious and wonderful phenomena but somehow standing on the mat tilts my pelvis slightly and alleviates the pressure. I only got the mats yesterday but am already so relieved to know I can now stand for as long as I want without having to quit. When I'm in my studio the hours can fly by as I'm lost in my hobbies and I hate having to pack it in because of back ache. Can you tell I'm excited!?!

These WellnessMats are beautifully made and have an incredible 20 year warranty which includes a 7 year performance warranty. You can read all about the specifics here but it's pretty amazing. There are also so many styles, sizes and collections so you can choose what works in your space. If you stand as much as I do and are having issues with fatigue and discomfort, I highly recommend you give the WellnessMats a try. My husband is already ordering some for his display booth at work (he complains of pain all the time when he's standing for hours at conventions on those hard cement floors). Once he got home and I made him stand on the mat (no, he didn't have to wash the dishes), he was sold. "That's exactly what we need for our booth!" I told him the only issue I had with the mat was stepping off! When you hit that hard floor again you wonder why this company can't make shoes out of the same material.

Check back when I share my 4-day process of making sourdough rye bread. I wish I would have had my mat for that task...

Scotch-Brite Kitchen Cloths

Today I'm addressing a very important topic: dish cloths. :) Seriously, though...I have had an issue with the disposable cloths I've been using for years. Back in the day, I discovered I liked using that standard blue variety product for washing dishes because I could 'feel' the dish (and soil) through the weave yet it was strong enough to last. I usually kept a cloth for a couple of weeks and then could move it to the house cleaning bucket and get a fresh one for washing up.

But over the years, those cloths changed. (You can read my post HERE). They no longer held up and turned to what I describe as kitten fur, in a day or two. The formula had altered and it really ticked me off. The fibers cling to knives and plastic cutting boards and they practically disintegrate in your hands. I have tried several brands and varieties and none of them worked any better. Old-style grandma dish rags don't work for me because they are too thick and I can't get them into the tight corners of pans or down narrow wine glasses.

In frustration, I went out to search an alternative. I picked up a pack of cheap terry kitchen cloths because they looked thinner and lighter than a traditional dish cloth but as soon as they got wet, they swelled and were not suitable for me. I also grabbed this pack of Scotch-Brite microfiber Kitchen Cloths and well, we have a winner.

The cloth is strong and textured but fine enough that I can get a good grasp on what I'm washing. They are absorbent but dry quickly, rinse and wring easily, and are safe for all surfaces - the dishes, the counter, the stainless steel appliances, and wood cutting board. They are washable, dryer safe and won't shrink. I'm really happy with these cloths so far and will report how long they last (I'm assuming quite some time!). They were just over $5 for a pack of two. I still miss those original blue disposables but for now, these are a really good solution to my dish washing needs.

Tidying Up & Creativity

I wasn't feeling any creative energy yesterday but that didn't stop me from getting into my workshop. Things were getting a little messy, disorganized, and cramped and it was making me feel claustrophobic, not to mention anxious at the clumps of lint and dust bunnies hiding under my cabinets. I spent the afternoon thoroughly dusting and vacuuming my space and it feels so good to have things put away back where they belong.

I know how fortunate I am to have a dedicated area for all my crafty pursuits but still, I accumulate project stacks and supplies as I'm working and don't tidy up every single night. Now that I have a fresh, clean studio I can focus on finishing up my stippling on the Wheels quilt and get it trimmed and bound. Next, I am going to get the embroidery machine uncovered and start the personalization of the t-shirt quilt.

While my Janome 350e is front and centre I'm going to try to embroidery my dog's collar. Yesterday I had a surprise when I went upstairs to put the vacuum away. There on my deck was a dog. I knew mine was in the basement where I just left him (he stays with me all day) so I was a bit shocked to see him outside. It only took a second to realize the visitor wasn't my Sam but a slightly fluffier lady. I opened the door and she was very friendly, hoping to just come on inside. Her collar was boldly and prominently embroidered with her name and phone number so we were quickly able to reunite her with her neighbour mum. I was  stumped how she ended up in my backyard since all the gates were shut (and still were). Her owner was stumped how she got out! We were chatting about this canine Houdini when a third neighbour admitted she'd popped the stray back into our fenced property, mistakenly believing she was our dog. Anyway, the incident made me recognize what a great idea it is to have the pet's name and phone number easily visible on the collar. It only took a second to notice, call the owner, and get the beautiful dog back where she belonged. I hope I can use my machine to get Sam's info on his collar. I figure if I could embroider a leather luggage tag I should be able to get through a polyester collar.

Now it's time to stipple....