Greetings, Rural Sprout readers, I hope all of you had a lovely Thanksgiving filled with family and good food. I’ve been enjoying leftover turkey sandwiches with cranberry sauce and a healthy dab of mustard for the last several days. The tang of the cranberry plays nicely with the
bite of the mustard. I highly recommend it. And now we enter the final countdown to Christmas—only 25 more days. I’ve been cleaning and decorating the house. Or, as some of my older Pennsylvanian neighbors say, reddin’ up the house for Christmas. It’s always a lot of work, but when it’s done, the house is so cozy and beautiful. It’s well worth the
effort. We haven’t had much snow yet. But I remain hopeful!I got out my big basket full of hats and mittens the other week. I have a favorite pair of mittens that I knit nearly ten years ago. I’ve made many other pairs since, much fancier, and they all live in the basket. But I always come back to this one
pair. It’s kind of a miracle that I haven’t lost one, especially when I think of all the mittens I lost as a child. Both of my grandmothers made me mittens throughout my childhood. My paternal grandmother was the knitter, and my maternal grandmother was the crocheter. They both had a pattern that they used to make mittens for the family. The same two patterns, every single year. A pair of knit mittens. A pair of crocheted
mittens. As an adult, I’ve made mittens from both of those patterns myself, even though I prefer knit mittens to crochet. It’s funny. I think about all those lost mittens every year.  Every year, when I put the basket full of hats and mittens for all of us by the door, I start thinking about my lost mittens. Kids lose mittens. It’s a fact of life. Even the mittens on strings strangely disappeared over the years. (Do people still do
that anymore? Put mittens on strings.)  It would be wonderful if, by some twist of fate, I could find all of those mittens again. To walk out on my front porch, and instead of a box from Amazon, a box from the Universe’s Lost & Found waiting for me. What a treasure trove of childhood memories that would be, to reclaim all those handmade pieces of my
grandmothers. What’s something you lost as a child that you would love to have back as an adult?Â
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Every year, people who choose a real Christmas tree could be bringing something into their home that's better off staying outside.
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There are no raspberries in our new garden! I repeat, there are no raspberries in our new garden! As someone who has spent the past five years consuming raspberries by the bowlful, from mid-summer to
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Learn where to source true Christmas cactus cuttings and how to turn them into a thriving potted plant once you receive them.
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Sometimes a big Christmas tree just isn't part of your holiday plans. We've got 30 simple, easy and beautiful Christmas tree alternatives.
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Learn to make delicious hot chocolate bombs with this step-by-step tutorial. Plus a few tips to make the whole process easier.
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Homemade apple chutney with fennel, coriander and orange zest. With so many delectable ways to make chutney, it is extremely hard to pick just one! What's more, with this zesty orange and fennel apple chutney
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Orchids have a reputation for being hard to grow. Understanding how to fertilize orchids is the first step in banishing that myth!
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When the dark nights draw in and the winter months begin in earnest, my favorite thing to do is get cozy on the couch and take a well-deserved break. It's the perfect time for your
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No one needs an indoor electric s'more maker, but what about more common kitchen tools? Do we really need all of them?
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Don't throw away your avocado pits or seeds - they can be used in a suprising number of clever and practical ways.
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When the temperature drops below freezing, you get the perfect conditions to make and display beautiful ice luminaries.
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One of the great things about having a garden is that you can find a range of ways to reuse things that might otherwise be thrown away. Glass bottles are one excellent example. There are
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Create simple stunning hoilday decorations with natural dried orange slices. Drying citrus slices for crafting is easier than you think.
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I'm a fan of walking in the garden every day, especially in the late afternoon when the sun warms the plants so that all manner of herbal and vegetal smells greets you. With just the
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If the thought of colder nights has you thinking that gardening is done for the year, think again. We've got 10 ways to help you extend your growing season.
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Did you miss a newsletter or want to read a few for inspiration? Find past newsletters here. Don't forget to check out our Facebook page for daily updates. That's all for this week, Rural Sprout Readers. |
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