The weekly “little of this, little of that” feature from Like Mother, Like Daughter!
A few weeks ago, I had the camera handy when The Chief came inside with a bit of his honey harvest.
If this doesn't make you want to eat home-raised honey, I'm not sure what would, frankly. If anyone finds traces of sticky fingers on my camera, you'll know why…
- Did you happen to read Don't Send your Kid to the Ivy League? (I admit that I haven't gotten a chance to read the whole thing yet.) It was a popular post floating around some newsfeeds this past week. Rosie recommends this humorous rebuttal (although I admit that my soul cringes a little to link to the WaPo): Don't Send Your Kids to Ivy League Schools! This means YOU!
- Because I don't love to spray Finnabee (or myself, for that matter) up and down with mainstream bug spray, and because the preferable alternatives available for purchase are, shall we say, a bit out of the price range, I've been considering coming up with a homemade one if possible. I came across this recipe for DIY bug repellant. Do any of you dear readers have experience using something like this? The main question being: does it work?
- If you are struggling with or depressed by the enviable appearances of your social media connections' lives, this might be a helpful refresher: What I Instagrammed v. What Was Really Happening.
- Rosie also enjoyed this depiction of Every Trendy Restaurant Menu.
- Here's an interior design post exploring the issue of breaking up spaces in order to use bold colors, and why what works on the set of a sitcom isn't necessarily going to fly in your home.
Happy Feast of Saints Joachim and Anne!
From the Archives:
- Need to brush up on preparing a bland diet for tummy-troubled loved ones? Menu planning: VI. Bland Diet (includes worksheets)
- Here's the {p,h,f,r} that includes a recipe for cole slaw, which you might want to be bringing to your next cookout!
~We’d like to be clear that, when we direct you to a site via one of our links, we’re not necessarily endorsing the whole site, but rather just referring you to the individual post in question (unless we state otherwise).~
Tamara says
Deirdre, I used a DIY bug spray for five weeks last summer in FL. Different recipe, but it was awesome. We only got bit when we forgot to use the spray 🙂 Mine involved a lot of citronella oil, eucalyptus, lemongrass, and witch hazel. I also squirted in an aloe vera w/neem because I saw some bug sprays have neem in it. I dont kn now if that helped or not but I tossed it in for good measure. I think you should definitely try it!
M. says
Deidre, thank you for all of the links, this week and past. MANY Of them have positively influenced the lives of my family. (We LOVED the “Math Class” link last week, but couldn’t stop laughing over the “Cooking Show” that we found after watching “Math Class.” What fun!
About the bug repellent, I definitely would NOT use any commercial products, even “natural” ones. However, I’d recommend caution when using essential oils on such a young baby as Finnabee. Here’s another link that may be helpful.
http://www.thankyourbody.com/all-natural-homemade-insect-repellent/
Again, thanks for all the great links each week. Have a lovely weekend and God bless.
Elizabeth Williams says
I love your photos! Just beautiful!!
Jenny says
A lady at our local farmer’s market sells an all natural bug spray. It works pretty well and I am a mosquito magnet. Since it is all natural and has no preservatives, you have to reapply relatively frequently, but I don’t mind since it isn’t a nasty chemical. I mean, who wants to put on DEET every time you leave the house?
http://ecodiva.co/2010/09/bite-me-not-bug-spray/
Leila says
Wow, that post about wall color is spot on. That’s why I keep telling people to put the color they love in the curtains or pillows. It just doesn’t work with most houses to have that saturated color in the walls!
Christine explains it so well!
A. says
I definitely agree. I am an engineer who refers to myself as “color-impaired” (and I would venture to say that description applies to most of us!), so decorating anything is a major challenge for me, although I do desperately want to make my living spaces beautiful. However, I found that article very useful, and even confidence-inspiring, which cannot come a moment too soon as we are shopping for a house!
I can’t speak to the effectiveness or not of natural bug repellents, but my sister-in-law swears by planting lavender and lemon grass (or maybe lemon balm? Not sure of the difference) around your deck/patio to discourage the bugs. The purpose of that is not to prevent them from biting, but a disincentive for them to hang around in the first place. I love the smell of lavender, so that’s just another reason to start another bush of it as far as I am concerned! Citronella products (candles, torches, etc) work the same way; it doesn’t drive them away, it just makes the area where you like to sit slightly less pleasant for them. Some will still bite, but that’s where some type of skin-based repellent comes in. Don’t forget that a fan can be very useful for deterring bugs from a sitting area, though Finnabee might be getting big enough that she is not so interested in sitting anymore!
Maybe I missed something . . . what’s wrong with linking to WaPo?
Sorry to be late to the B&P party. Have a good week all!
Katherine says
I bought some DoTerra Terrashield (an essential oil blend) at the beginning of the summer and have had a “meh” experience with it. It seems to help with gnats but not mosquitos. I hate reinvesting even $20 more in various ingredients if it doesn’t work. But DEET is not happening, either.
Argh.
Mama Rachael says
So, when Little Man was little bitty and still being called “Peanut” got some Burts Bees “natural” bug repellent. Now, to be honest, our mosquitos aren’t all that bad. Outside with spray and you get 3 or 4 bites. Its the chiggers that are so annoying.
anyhoo, its oily. Making it ooky and then you’re sticky and every little thing sticks to ya. Dirt, grass, leaves, sand, bugs, etc. It works okay. But it also never dries. And I didn’t feel any better about Little Man putting oily, ooky fingers in his mouth than if they had Deet on them (seriously… essential oils can be dangerous if not used right). Now that he’s older, we’ve gone back to main stream bug spray as needed. Not necessarily every day.
Not sure what I’ll do with future babies. Maybe a playpen with mosquito netting? No chemicals used.
Mama Rachael says
oops, outside *without* spray you get bites. Its only in Wisconsin you get bit even when wearing spray.
B says
I’ve used the Badger anti-bug balm (not the spray version) a bit, but I’m never really sure how well it works. I tend to avoid heavy bug areas so we mostly use it on playgrounds, etc.
http://www.redwineandapplesauce.com/2014/06/30/bug-off-facts-for-parents-about-mosquitoes-insect-repellents-and-health-risks/ is a good piece I recently read about anti-bug products.
Barbara says
You don’t need nearly all those ingredients to make homemade bug spray. I use lemon eucalyptus (one bottle) and witch hazel. I get the essential oil from the local health food store and witch hazel at the grocer. Just get an empty bottle — cosmetic size, you don’t need a half a gallon (you can probably find one in the health food store) — and fill it almost all the way with witch hazel. Add 20 to 40 drops of the oil. Be sure to shake each time you use it. We live on a ravine and it works really well for us. If you find it doesn’t work you can always add another oil to your mix, but start simple for a lot less money.
I use essential oils quite a bit, but I only have a handful and they last a long time and are good for a wide variety of purposes. No need to spend a bundle on a huge variety.
Anne-Marie says
I did the read the Deresiewicz piece and a couple of his others, and I´d be interested to hear your family´s take on it, especially Rosie´s since she is the most recent Ivy grad, right? Of our two college grads so far, the one who graduated from the more prestigious school will tell you that her sister received a better education.
The Petrie piece was amusing, but I think she misses one of Deresiewicz´s fundamental points. She frets that ¨all the employers who did not read the article will keep assuming that going to an Ivy League school is a mark of quality and hire [other people´s kids] instead.¨ Leaving aside the research suggesting that that is not the actual outcome of not attending an Ivy, I think Deresiewicz is saying that Petrie´s ¨ibanking jobs” shouldn´t be the goal towards which we aim our children.