It starts as soon as the snow starts to melt, and for some reason, they start warming up around 4am. Not that I’m always up at 4am, but occasionally, I roll over & become startled just enough to catch the beginnings of what promises to be a day filled with inspirational song.

I think you would love a canary of your own, who was always there to sing for you!

Having raised parrots & different types of birds for several years myself, I can speak first hand of the joys of having an avian friend in your home.

Not only are canaries easy to care for, but their beauty is unmatched, both in appearance & song! They come in all shades of white, brown, red, and of course yellow.

Each type of canary has it’s own unique singing style, so it would be best for you to listen to a few different types of birds sing, before you decide which one you would like to call your own.

Beautiful Cages

If you know me at all, you already know how much I love bird cages! There’s just something about them, that is so wonderfully heartwarming to me. I never seem to tire of seeing a beautiful cage. Perhaps it reminds me of the joys of raising birds that my family shared together. In any case, to me…nothing speaks “elegant” more than a beautiful bird cage in your home! And what better use of a beautiful cage, than to be a home for a beautiful singer!

Cost

You can find canaries for $35-$100. The price depends on the area in which you live, as well as the type of canary that you ultimately decide to purchase.

Having a singing canary in your home means… never again will you have to wait for spring to enjoy the joyful songs in your home!

I thought you might enjoy hearing a few different canaries perform. I’m sorry ahead of time, because I know you wont be able to resist after hearing them

I receive so many requests for ideas, help, how-to, etc., from our readers, that I’ve decided to start sharing some of those requests & my answers, with the hope that I can help many others in the process.

Here is a recent request from a reader:

Hi Pearl,

I am desperately trying to surprise a dear friend of mine with a back issue of Victoria Magazine that he lost. I see that you were a big fan of all the old magazine which is why I am reaching out to you.

All he can tell me is that there is a section on all things cream, and that there is a wonderful oatmeal recipe in the issue.

Can you help me?

Thank you in advance for anything that you can do.

All my best,
Amber

Added Note from Amber: I worked at the magazine in 1996 and 1997 and feel very strongly that it is in those years. Please add that information to the post as readers may have those issues and be able to find it.

…………………………………………………………………………….

Answer:

Dear Amber,

Thanks for taking the time to write.

Because your friend does not remember exactly what issue the magazine was, these are the ideas that I have come up with to still help you find it.

First of all, does your friend have any idea what “year” his beloved issue was published in? If so, you could pick up the collection for that year for $19.95. That way, even though you’re not sure which “issue” it is, you will still be sure to have it, when you pick up the whole year’s worth of issues…and $19.95 is not a bad price…plus the fact that you’ll have lots of other nice magazines as well!

For example, here is the nov/dec 07 – nov/dec 08 collection

If he remembers what the front cover looks like, you look through front covers of the back issues here.

I tried looking up the issue based on the 2 items that he remembers, but
unfortunately, they do not have any sort of contents listed for each issue
on the website. BUT, I am sure they would have that info in customer
service.

You could call customer service & describe the issue to them:
(877) 675-5361

Another way to go is…ebay! You can pick up a whole “lot” of magazines very inexpensively. This would be perfect if he could recognize the front cover – or knew what year the magazine was published! In any case… if he is a “Victoria” lover, you can’t go wrong by picking up a bundle of past issues

** Readers – do you have any help for Amber? Do you remember an issue of Victoria with lots of info about “all things cream”, and a special oatmeal recipe? If so, post your thoughts in the comments below!

Amber let us know how things turn out!

You can subscribe to one of our favorite magazines
Victoria Magazine by Clicking Here

Editor Update: Victoria Magazine Found!

Here is a note that I just received: from an ebay seller that I contacted to see if she could help us:

“Hello Dear Pearl,
Finally! I have a friend who runs a Victoria Magazine fan forum, and she had all of the “girls” looking. It is November 1997. I have verified in my personal collection, and see the theme was oatmeal and cream. There are a few oatmeal recipes, such as oatmeal scones..

I hope this helps!

Victoria”

* Thank you so much Victoria! And… to all of you Victoria lovers out there, check out Victoria’s ebay store, she carries MANY back issue of Victoria Magazine! How wonderful that you have the opportunity to pick up so many GREAT issues that you might have originally missed out on!

I’d like to introduce you to a funny gal named Chonda Pierce. She has the ability to keep you laughing your head off – or crying your eyes out It was so refreshing to find a “clean” comedian, who also holds strong moral values!

A cheerful heart is good medicine,
but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.
Proverbs 17:22

May this little post “tickle your innerds” as my grandma used to say

“Honeymoon Package” Comedy By Chonda Pierce

“Weird Things Happen To Me” Comedy By Chonda Pierce

“Lowriders” Comedy By Chonda Pierce

* The picture above is the view from a high hill right outside of the village. This view has always reminded me of the story of “Heidi”, living a quiet country life making her butter & cheese up in the mountains with her gandfather, while the folks in the village below bustled about with their daily city life. The village is down below, but just over the hill, tucked into the forest… is our cottage.

Each picture can be clicked – then choose “all sizes” at the top of the picture to see a bigger view

I love this old barn! It is such a big barn, that the owners have to work on it a little at a time.



Here’s a picture looking at the front of the barn.



This is a church that sits high upon one of the highest hills in the area. I love the deep red trees against the white plaster.



This is Panther Lake – only a few miles from my house.



Here’s another beautiful red barn, that sits on a little horse farm. You can only see the top from here, but they also have a windmill and several other small buildings.



This is the view from another high hill surrounding the village. I love to come here & look at the village below. I thought this picture was especially lovely, with the old stone wall framing the view. We have stone walls everywhere here! As the tale goes… the village was built on stone. And I’ll tell you, that I for one believe every word of it (especially when trying to dig in the garden – but that’s such a small price to pay for the beauty of stone walls at every turn!)



Case in point… here’s an old farm bridge made of field stone. This is the stuff that dreams are made of… my dreams anyway



I just had to show you the color from this stand of maple trees… don’t you love that chocolate & deep red!



Here’s another one of the beautiful windmills that we saw today! I love the red & white colors – especially with the reds & oranges on the trees in the background!


As we turned around the bend, almost to our country lane, we saw that the local Amish ladies were selling their farm goods at their stand in front of a local store on Main St. I would love to have been able to share that scene with you, but the Amish do not wish to have their pictures taken. Last year, we had 5 families move into our area, and now, several times a week, we see them in the village sharing their fresh goods with the community (and we are happy to support local farmers – especially where pies are concerned We were excited to hear that even more families will be moving here soon!

We got done just in time!

From what I hear… “the sun will come out tomorrow”

But until then…

Country Road Take me Home

Click for a better view of the river

Just today I have witnessed…

- A mother deer & her two babies wandering around the forest, and grazing down by the river.

- Several wood peckers dancing up and down the trunks of the tall trees.

- Little creatures such as chipmunks and squirrels, carrying their treasures back to be tucked away in some secret nook or cranny, that has now become their winter pantry.

- And a flock of geese flying so close to my window, that I could actually see what each one looked like.

Our days pass by so fast…

How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. James 4:14

So lets enjoy each day to the fullest!

Now, back to work

“You & I can count the seeds in an apple, but only God knows how many apples are in each seed”

There’s something so heart warming about the aroma of apples cooking in the kitchen! Maybe it’s because of the memories of childhood when, as a little girl, I would “help” my mom & grandmother peel the buckets of apples on my great-grandma Pearl’s farm. I remember watching great-grandma Pearl put an apple in her hand sitting out on the front porch of her little farmhouse. Then, she would peel it as she spun the apple around and around in her hand. When she finished the entire apple, there would only be one very long piece of apple peel that would drop into the big pile of peels, as the apples made their way to the canning kitchen. Although I tried and tried to “get the big long peel” as a youngster, I’m only just now attaining that great skill Perhaps it’s the knowledge that Autumn, which is my favorite season of the year, is finally here that makes the onset of apple season so special? Or, could it just be the anticipation of getting a little taste of the delicious dish of apple goodness that is baking in the oven? Knowing me and my nostalgic outlook on life, I’m sure it’s a mixture of all of the above

Even though great-grandma Pearl has long since passed, and I don’t currently have my own orchard, each year our family travels a few miles up North to pick apples at our favorite orchard. We usually wait until the end of October, but this year we decided to go up with some friends to see what we could find earlier in the season. I was amazed to find so many different types of apples available! I guess our trip will be an earlier one from now on, because when we wait until the end of October, most of the variety is already gone. But, that’s not to say that we can’t go up more than once and make the season last as long as possible

I just love going to the apple farm, because besides apples, they have so many other things to see, smell, and taste! There’s the rows of corn stalks lined up like a marching band along the children’s corn maze, keeping the little ones continually guessing how they’re going to find their way out. There’s crate after crate of colorful pumpkins, guards, and squash, and I think the bunches of Indian corn must have every color imaginable, because they aren’t just brown & red anymore! And I mustn’t forget the luscious aromas that escape out of the big red barn, and somehow find their way right to our little noses! The scents of popcorn, cotton candy, apple cider, chocolate fudge, fresh baked donuts, and caramel apples all seem to mingle together and scream come & find me… and of course we must!

Even though I know what “type” of apple that I like the best, when we get to the farm, we still have to ask the same question every year – which is the best kind of apple for eating, and which is the best for baking?

Since I ask this question every year, I thought you might face the same questions when you get to the store, apple orchard, or farm stand in your area. So… I wanted to put together a little list of the different kinds of apples, their descriptions, and what they might be best suited for.

* My little secret… I love a crisp, tart, apple that is great for both eating & baking – so Jonagold wins the “Apple of my Eye” award

Jonagold: An apple that is both tart and sweet. It’s firm texture makes it one of the world’s most preferred eating apples

Golden Delicious: Mild sweet flavor – eating, salads and apple sauce

Cortland: Tangy Taste – snacking, salads, and baking

Empire: Unique sweet/tart flavor, crisp and juicy – eating and salads

Ginger Gold: Sweet but mildly tart – eating and salads

Golden Delicious: Mild sweet flavor – eating, salads and sauce

Honey Crisp: Big juicy and sweet – great eating apple

Ida Red: Highly flavored and crisp – eating and baking

Jonamac: Sweet/tart flavor – eating and sauces

McIntosh: Juicy tangy and aromatic – Most popular eating apple

Macoun: Mild tart taste firm apple – snacking and fresh desserts

Northern Spy: Tart apple – eating, sauces, baking

Red Delicious: Juicy and sweet taste – eating and salads

Rome: Firm mildly tart flavor – Perfect for baking and sauce, keeps very well

I wanted to share a great new resource with you, that I have really been enjoying this month!

A while back I wrote an article on my website called: Great Ideas For Finding Cheap Books, Discounted Books, and Free Books

The article has lots of ideas for saving money buying & selling books. It also show you some methods of researching books before you buy them.

Since that article, I have been enjoying another new method of “flipping through the pages of a book” before I buy it. It’s similar to sitting down in a comfy seat at Barnes & Noble reading bits of the book to see if it’s something you’d like to take home with you or not.

This new method, is a brand new service offered by google called – google books. Although it’s still in beta testing, it is available to use fully right now – and it’s FREE of charge!

Here’s how it works:

You simply go to the book section of google, type in a book title (or keywords that you may like to look into – such as gardening, home decorating, etc.), and click search books. Then, a list of available books will come up for you to look through.

Even though you might not be able to read the entire book (they omit some pages to make you still want to go buy the book – as well they should), they usually have a large portion of the book online for you.

I have used this service to look through many different kinds of books, and have found it to be very helpful in determining if I want to go ahead & order the book through amazon. Although Amazon does have a service to allow you to “flip through” the book, the amount of content is extremely limited compared to the new google service.

Perhaps you’d like to look through some of my favorite books on topics such as; home & garden, home decorating, kitchen, art, etc., then go over & peek inside using the google service before you buy!

For those of you who might not know… I have had an online newsletter, and a home & garden website for several years now. Because of this, I tend to get lots of email from readers. I love to exchange creative ideas for our homes & families.

Feel free to respond in the comment section below. I’d also love to hear from you






Letter from a reader:

Hello Pearl,

I hope that my frugal-living-goal may be helpful to you and your readers. Notice that I said “goal” as I’m still trying to achieve it. Here goes:

I live in an economically advantaged county, probably one that has a higher average family income level than other counties in the state. Whether it’s right or wrong, many households in this county have enough disposable income to want to update or upgrade their possessions. They feel free to either donate items to thrift stores or to throw the items away outright. I take advantage of this.

It is my personal goal to show that a person or a household can live in a comfortable and attractive way, with all possessions being second hand (with many items being free). I rescue items from the curb, I shop at thrift stores, flea markets, and yard sales. I take in many more items than I can use personally, so I fix things up and donate them to other families or to thrift stores.

Fortunately, I love the cottage and shabby look, and have small collections of pretty collectable items. I try to have all my possessions serve a double purpose, but some items are purely decorative.

I find that this is a very motivational goal – plus it’s FUN!

Hope you can use my idea – Best Wishes!

* Dear Reader,

I share your love of finding new uses for old things! Most of the time, items can be used in many more ways than one! If we would just look a the items that we come across with eyes of creativity, a whole new world of ideas would be opened up to us! Bravo for your efforts in helping bring new life to the old things you come across, and we WOULD LOVE to see some pictures of your creativity!

Here are a few ideas to get everyone started in thinking “outside of the box” – the garbage box that is

Vintage Aprons to decorate a bedroom

Vintage birdcage as an artful planter

Vintage slip becomes an evening dress

Vintage glass bottles become a fabulous chandelier

Scraps of vintage fabric come together as a wonderful apron!

Licence Plates turned into charms!

Stained glass windows used as headboard

Vintage salt shaker turned into a beautiful little doll/jewelry

Old soda caps made into magnets

Hi Pearl,

I was reading tips on how to save money buy buying hair products at the local beauty supply, so I thought I would share my own tip with you.

Since 1993, I have been going to the Supercuts training center in my city and having my hair cut free of charge (although I usually leave a tip . Every new hairstylist that Supercuts hires has to go through a week long training session. It doesn’t matter if they’ve just finished beauty school, or if they’ve been cutting hair for 20 years – and these hair cuts are all free!

All you have to do is call a Supercuts hair salon in you area, and ask them for the phone number to the TRAINING salon. Then, call the training center to make an appointment. They will ask you what kind of cut you want, and schedule your hair cut (they usually schedule hair cuts Wednesday – Friday). Occasionally, I have gone on a Monday and the director has used me as a model.

The stylists are carefully watched, and your hair is checked to make sure that it meets the Supercuts requirements. If they are not busy, they will even style it for you too!

Most major cities have Supercuts Salons, as a matter of fact, Houston has two of them. I have also been to the one in the Phoenix/Metro area (Scottsdale).

Another hair salon chain that trains their stylists is Visible Changes. Check the salons in your area for more details.

Thanks,
Anna

Dear Anna,
Thank you for such a great tip. I’m sure that everyone could use a little more savings with their hair care!

OH Pearl,
I’m so excited! I just discovered that my favorite magazine of all time, Victoria (by Hearst Publishing) is going to be published again!

It was first published in 1987, I believe, and they stopped publishing it in 2003. People buy the old copies on eBay, as well as hardcover books that range from decorating to poetry to Christmas to recipes to…well, there’s lots more.

What they all have in common are the wonderful photographs! I don’t know if you were already aware of Victoria magazine, but I wanted to spread the word! I figured what better place than a blog, that also has photographs. I know I read a blog & like a picture & click on it & get taken to another blog sometimes & one thing leads to another, and hours have gone by!

There’s almost nothing more relaxing, than to sit back one evening & find that your Victoria magazine has arrived, so you can thumb through it at your leisure! I went to the Hearst publishing site to see if there was a list of the various “Victoria” books, and lo and behold, there was a message that they were going to start publishing it again!

I’ve already entered my subscription, which will begin with the Nov/Dec issue, to be mailed out in October 2007. I had to stop and think of who I know that might enjoy this magazine (my effort to help “up” the interest in the magazine!) I thought of you, so here I am!

I hope you enjoy it!
Leslie

* I want to thank Leslie for letting us all know about this new update. I LOVED Victoria Magazine, and I am very excited about it’s return!