Want to plant a fruit salad? Wondering how to make the most of the space in your garden? Grow plums, peaches, apricots, and nectarines all on the same tree!
Make your next get-together festive and special with stuffed Cornish game hens. This easy-to-follow recipe is guaranteed to get rave reviews from your guests.
Explore eight Buddha postures and hand gestures, or mudras, and their meanings. These gestures are thought to have healing benefits.
Birch trees with their white trunks and markings have always been a favorite of artists and photographers. Not only are birch trees beautiful, these have medicinal properties.
In the winter, when most trees drop their leaves, the gnarly knobs of some trees with antler-like branches stand out among the rest. Learn more about pollarding here.
The Venetian jester mask is the classic male joker face with red and black velvet tines tipped with gold bells. This is handcrafted and fashioned after the centuries-old clown masks worn by professional actors in the traveling improvisational...
"The Gift of the Magi" by the great American author, O. Henry, is a treasured Christmas short story that is timeless and beloved all over the world. Written in 1906, this bittersweet story is about a poor young married couple sacrificing the only...
Birds gravitate towards power lines to rest. This is true in cities where there are few trees. However power lines can be dangerous to birds when they touch two wires.
This Anton Schneider Black Forest cuckoo is my most treasured collectible from Germany. It is displayed in a litte alcove next to the fireplace in our family room. Aside from the fine craftmanship, reputation and reliability, this cuckoo clock is a...
The tiny feet of women who had their feet bound since childhood in China were deemed attractive, erotic, and a sure way to find a rich husband. Foot binding was painful, but practiced in old China.
Paper quilling is a fun inexpensive project that only needs imagination, creativity and patience. With a little practice, a whole new world of possibilities can be created.
One of my most treasured items is a Burmese kalaga, which is the traditional name for an embroidered tapestry from Myanmar (Burma). This style comes from the Mandalay region.
One of the joys of the changing seasons is seeing migratory birds make their journey in the impressive V formation. Larger birds, like geese, pelicans, swans and cranes head south for the winter and in spring, head back north to their breeding...
The first silent spaghetti westerns were filmed in Niles, so were some of Charlie Chaplin's classic movies, like The Tramp. A visit to Niles will beckon you to come back again and again.
Every child growing up has heard the threat at one time or another "The bogeyman will come and get you." This scare tactic was often used by parents or elders as a way of controlling their children, by frightening them to believe that the imaginary...
Some people believe in luck, other do not. Noone will turn down good fortune, happiness, prosperity and good friendship, if given a choice. There are many items in my home which I have chosen based on aesthetics, whimsy, or just-because. Some of...
This is story of how a man-made hummingbird's nest was fashioned to save a hummingbird family from near disaster. The original nest was infested with bird mites which drove the baby chicks to abandon their nest. One of the baby hummers fell to the...
The word mother is synonymous to someone who feeds, cares, nurtures and protects. A mother will go to all ends to keep her young from harm's way.This is true for all animals where the maternal instinct is believed to be hard-wired to the brain....
My fascination with storytellers began on my first visit to the American Indian Guild Show at the local fairgrounds several years ago. There were weavers, artisans, jewelry makers, and potters selling their creations everywhere. But what really...