DIY

  • Slowing Down

    For me March was always the kick off to camping season. Finding a cabin early in the season then in April heading to our family campsite on the Olympic Peninsula for opening day of fishing; May and June to Eastern Washington before it gets too hot and that itch to go and explore is still… Continue reading

  • DIY Different

    While gardening, cooking, and home improvement are what most people think of as do-it-yourself, or DIY, in a more general sense anything that you can pay someone else to do or buy ready-made, but do yourself, is do-it-yourself. Let’s DIY Different! Whether you’re an incessant reader, enjoy binge-watching television shows, or love a long videogame… Continue reading

  • BookBingoNW2019: DIY (Do-It-Yourself)

    You may not have heard the term DIY before but you’re likely familiar with the concept. Do you grow your own herbs? Cook? Make small home repairs? Knit? Sew? Change a flat tire on your bicycle? Well that means that you do it yourself (DIY). And any book that teaches you how to make something… Continue reading

  • DIY Holidays: Crafty Gifts and Gifts of Food

    Today is Black Friday, the traditional start of the holiday shopping season and historically the busiest shopping day of the year. If the idea of battling frenzied crowds for the latest must-have doo-dad makes you want to pull the covers over your head and never come out, we have an idea for you – make… Continue reading

  • Wide Open Spaces

    I was lucky to grow up in a DIY environment since the women in my family have all been blessed with something like a “creating” gene. Smells of baking and crocheted projects lying about were just a part of my childhood. My dad was the fixer-upper working in the garage or the garden out back.… Continue reading

  • Hunt Like A Woman

    “Something will have gone out of us as a people if we ever let the remaining wilderness be destroyed…we simply need that wild country available to us, even if we never do more than drive to its edge and look in.” – Wallace Stegner (The Sound of Mountain Water) Growing up as a child, my grandfather would… Continue reading

  • What I Made: Cute & cuddly children’s toys

                      Although I have no children of my own (and don’t plan to), I really enjoy knitting for babies and toddlers. The projects are quick and totally adorable, and parents really appreciate these one-of-a-kind handmade gifts. Recently, I’ve gotten into knitting and sewing toys for my friend’s… Continue reading

  • Do It Yourself Harmonica

    All my life I wanted to play harmonica. So many songs come to mind that grab me.  There’s On the Road Again by Canned Heat or maybe Boom Boom by John Lee Hooker and Rollin’ and Tumblin’ by Cream too. I could try to pay for lessons, but could I also learn harmonica by myself? When… Continue reading

  • Clean and Green

    Clean and Green

    Who knew how much you could do with white vinegar and baking soda? If you are like me, you have an accumulation of various cleaning supplies clustered under your kitchen sink. My place always needs cleaning, so I have tried many products over the years. I now want to use green cleaning materials so that… Continue reading

  • Urban Self-Reliance: The new DIY

    The DIY (Do-it-Yourself) ethic is nothing new, but in our ever more precarious natural environment and fiscally tight times, thinking about sustainability in our urban lives and being self-sufficient are more important than ever. Throughout the month of October, The Seattle Public Library will be hosting the Urban Self-Reliance program series at library branches throughout… Continue reading

  • What do we do after the world ends? Part II: Farm

    Feeling paranoid about survival yet? Or maybe just have more time than money on your hands and want control over your food? The farm memoir just might be the thing for you. I myself am a dedicated armchair farmer: the hard work these farmers are writing about is alternatively repellant and massively inspiring. It’s also… Continue reading

  • The art of refrigerator magnets

    I love refrigerator magnets.  I’m not one to accumulate things, but I am fond of these humble collectibles.  These souvenirs are daily reminders of wonderful places I’ve been, take little space, and stay put where I place them!  They are also great for holding up notes and to-do lists.  Just because it is an inexpensive… Continue reading

  • Eggs, eggs, my kingdom for a recipe!

    We have three happy chickens in our backyard: Chipmunk, Jayne and Lucy. They usually produce about twelve eggs a week, which is plenty for our household. Sometimes, however, they get really fired up and give us far more eggs in a short period of time. That’s what they’re doing right now. In an attempt to… Continue reading

  • Summer reading: Suggestions from Ballard readers

    The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi A solid steampunk novel that imagines a world where global warming has caused massive changes in society and genetic modifications of all life has caused new diseases and cultural shifts.      ~ Charlie Do It Gorgeously: How to Make Less Toxic, Less Expensive, and More Beautiful Products by Sophie Uliano… Continue reading

  • A Couple Fun Recipes

    When I put on the apron I am truly at the mercy of the cookbook. I’m no chef, but I can follow a recipe reasonably well and I do enjoy the process. Here are a few recipes that helped me keep dinner at home and made me look good.  Spaghetti alla Carbonara – The New Best Recipe (p. 251-252). Gotta’… Continue reading

  • Origami Boxes

    I like to fold paper. A lot. I don’t like make cranes, other cute animals or little people. I like making boxes, and putting together geometric shapes. There is one origami author and artist that is the queen of such things: Tomoko Fuse. Her boxes can be fairly (and I use the term loosely) simple, to… Continue reading

  • Baking Day Adventure!

    Martha Stewart’s New Pies and Tarts: 150 Recipes for Old-Fashioned Favorites and Modern Classics came in recently and I was shocked to find it had no holds so I snapped it up and promised my co-workers that goodies would soon be on the way. I had a whole day off set aside to bake! I read… Continue reading

  • BiblioBagels: My Adventures in Bagel Chemistry (Part 2)

    In yesterday’s post, I was on a quest to make Montreal bagels with the help of the library’s resources. A friend had just told me about the process of retarding the dough (placing it in the fridge overnight before boiling and baking the bagels). I was curious about this mysterious-sounding process and decided to investigate… Continue reading