News from the Nest, April 8
Good Spring-y (or Fall-y for my Southern Hemisphere friends!) Morning,
Well, she’s here! Meet Elsa! And oh my heavens, it took every ounce of discipline I have (which isn’t a whole lot to begin with) to get this newsletter out this morning! I could spend an entire day just watching her play and be silly. I call it ‘Elsa TV,’ and I’m sure it beats anything on Netflix. She’s goofy and clumsy and snuggly (when she’s not too busy!). She’s cute and fluffy and has the best puppy breath! She is sleeping through the night, and we’ve only had 5 accidents in 5 days! Yup, she’s pretty near perfect!
Table of Contents
I had forgotten that a new pup’s schedule is pretty close to a new baby’s schedule. I clean when she goes down for a nap, and then we hit the ground running when she wakes up!
We puppy-proofed our home, rolled up all the sisal rugs, and put the washable Ruggable kitchen rug in the den for now. Terry built this contraption after we saw the breeder’s; it has been worth its weight in gold! It definitely keeps her busy.
Most Popular Posts This Week
It’s always interesting to see what’s ‘trending’ among all the blog’s more than 600 (!) articles. Lots of you have been working in your yard and baking puppy treats! Here are the top five most popular posts over the past week.
- Homemade Natural Weed Killer Recipe and What to Expect With a Natural Weed Killer
- Three Ingredient Dog Treats
- Free Knit Dishcloth and Washcloth Patterns
- Tricks to Fill a Large Planter
- How to Amend Your Soil with Eggshells
New on the Blog
If you are trying to reduce the work time in your garden and increase the enjoyment time, here are a few common sense Low-Maintenance Garden Tips.
From the Knit Studio
- If you’ve been eyeing all the knit patterns we publish and wish you knew how to knit, now’s your chance! I walk you through all the steps of knitting in this series of posts.
From the Kitchen
- Similar to pimento cheese spread, but just better with the substitution of fresh jalapeños! This Jalapeño Cheese Spread is a family fav. Tuck this recipe away for when your garden is busting at the seams with jalapeños!
- Arepas are flat cornbread, almost like thick tortillas, that hail from South America. However, a big difference is that traditional cornmeal is not used for Arepa, instead, masarepa, pre-cooked corn flour, is necessary to make arepa. If you are looking to add some gluten-free bread options to your menus, then this easy arepa recipe is for you!
- If, like me, you are constantly striving to add more fiber to your diet, then you might want to make these Fiber Cookies. This low-fat, high-fiber cookies recipe is chock full of gluten-free fiber sources like oat bran, chia seed, flaxseed, figs, and prunes. Six of these little fiber-rich snacks contribute 10 grams of fiber to your diet.
- Spaghetti Arrabiata is a simple yet flavorful dish that highlights the essence of Italian cooking.
- French Macarons are one of those recipes that intimidate even the veteran home chef. And granted, they have earned their reputation as being a little finicky…egg whites need to just be at the perfect temperature, the pastry bag needs to be held perfectly vertical to your cookie sheet, they need to ‘rest’ for a bit before they go in the oven, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. But, this French Macarons Recipe and the fourteen tips I share can make anyone a successful macaron baker! 😏
If you do make and enjoy our recipes, your comments and ratings are invaluable to us!
From the Arts + Crafts Studio
- I love a good upcycle, and this is a good one! Chances are that you, your mom or your grandma had a candlewick bedspread and it may be tucked away in the attic somewhere. If so, pull it out to make these Candwick Handtowels! If your attic doesn’t have one, it’s very likely you can find one cheap in your local Goodwill store.
In the Garden
- We got our tomatoes in the ground this weekend and are in the process of getting the zucchini and cukes planted. We also planted nasturtium, marigolds and borage alongside and amongst the vegetables. Check out the best companion plants for each of these vegetables and nab the free printable that details the best companion plants for a variety of veggies:
Some Fun Finds and a Few Favorites
Some of these links may be Amazon affiliate links and I may earn a small commission off of the sale of these products to help defray the costs of operating this site, but the price you are charged is not affected. You can see my full disclosure policy here.
- This is our second season with these obelisk/tomato cages and we still love them. And good news for you, they are on sale!
- Pretty Villeroy & Boch cloth napkins on sale.
- I love this brass pot rail, but I wouse use it to hang cutting boards.
- A nice summer straw bag with great reviews.
Well friends, I’m off to make some hay while my little barracuda, pterodactyl, sweet fluffy puppy sleeps.
‘See’ you next week!
Hugs,
Greetings from Vermont,( from a displaced North Carolinian) where we still have patches of snow……..but spring is in the air and we are excited about our full eclipse! Elsa is adorable and I’m sure will bring you many years of joy! Thanks for all your tips, etc.
Emily
HI Emily,
From where in NC do you hail? That’s quite a change in climate?
Did you enjoy the eclipse? We got to about 66% here in Wilmington, did you the full?
And this Elsa is just he very best! She’s keeping us busy and laughing, all good at our age!
Have a great day!
Oh my goodness, Elsa is beautiful! She’s going to keep you both very busy! But that’s a good thing, right?! My daughter just got a beautiful Great Dane puppy, so cute! I’m jealous, but I’ve got chickens and a cat and two parakeets. That’s enough – for now! It’s hard enough to get away to our cottage as it is. A pup would make it even more difficult. But we really miss having a dog. Enjoy your little fluffball Lynn! Jan in MA
Hi Jan,
She is so darned cute, but is filled with attitude! She makes us laugh regularly, which is a good thing.
We are lucky to have a very reliable dog sitter and my mom in town, so having a pup/dog is still possible. But I do understand that they can inhibit travel and flexibility.
And it sounds like you have your hands full with the chickens, cat and parakeets!
Hugs and Kisses to you!
LOVE seeing your sweet Elsa! God bless you, yes, their schedule is very much like a newborn, only they are MOBILE! LOL! Love the Candlewick hand towels, I had totally forgotten about that, but yes, we had those bedspreads! Happy puppy training and chasing!
HI friend! See you soon!
I so enjoy your newsletters Lynn! That Elsa! New baby in the house! She will be a handful, but will keep you entertained. Loved the busy box thing ( I don’t know what to call it..I,m long past babies..lol), I would never have thought a puppy would use it the same as a baby would. Good idea! It was 76° here yesterday in Southwestern Ontario. Gosh, the warmth felt so good! Love your candlewick towels, but sadly, I have never owned a beautiful bedspread like that, nor did my mother. I will have to keep my eye out for one. Can’t believe you got your tomato plants in already. We are a good month or so away yet from being able to get them in. We have such an abundance of robins around right now. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many. They came back very early this year and I’m sure they were shocked by the cold and snow when they got here! But, the daffodils, hyacinths, forget-me-nots and forsythia is all out in bloom now, so, I guess spring has sprung!
Good Morning Colleen!
She sure is keeping us busy! Phew! We clearly have selective memory on raising our past puppies. But, she is a good sleeper, so we work our schedule around her sleep schedule.
Yup, our tomatoes are in, as well as our beans, zucchini and cukes. In truth, it’s not much warmer here…highs in the mid-70’s, but I imagine our low is not as low as you get overnight. We won’t get much below 58 F until fall! It really has been a gorgeous spring here too! The azaleas have been beautiful…but maybe I just think that every spring! I’m glad to be home for much of this year so that I can attend to the garden, more than I’ve been able to for the past several years.
Thanks so much for your kind comments about the blog. I really do enjoy it and I’m glad others find enjoyment in my projects and musings.
Wishing you a wonderful day!
Hugs, Lynn