A Marvelous Mess and Natural Thanksgiving Centerpieces

Thanks for joining me for my party!

I'm sad to say my Boston Terrier did not win the costume contest....... and I cry FOWL. Actually, I cry Reptile.....as it was a Lizard dressed as King Arthur who won first place. Boooooo. ;-)

I just got back from a family party where I was asked to make some impromptu centerpieces at the last moment.....here is what I came up with using what I could find in nature, in the garden, and in the house. These kind of centerpieces could easily be used for your Thanksgiving table and they took me about 20 minutes to make. 

~This one is just wetland grasses and cat tails tied with burlap, rose hips in ironstone pitchers, and a quickly made grapevine wreath to help hold the grasses together. 

~This is an antique wire egg basket with dried up lavender and rose hips, and a burlap ribbon.

~And, this one is a squash with the top taken off and used as a vase for some rose hips. Burlap was wrapped around the base of the rose hips to keep with the theme and make it prettier. There is also some teeny grapevine curlicues around the middle. 

See? 

Very simple. 

And, I got lots of compliments!

Here is my favorite from last weeks party:

Cider Glazed Butternut Squash from Gluten Free From A-Z

Now on to the party!

I shared this post at the following link parties:
Between Naps on the Porch
Link Party Palooza

My Boston's Boston Red Sox

Chloe, my tenacious Boston Terrier is entered into a costume contest and I really want her to win. 

Winning could mean a lot of doggy toys for this girl:

She's dressed up as Boston Red Sox player David Ortiz! Except, on her shirt, it says "Big Puppy"instead of Big Papi and it has the number 34 on it. 

To vote, all you need to do it go to this link and type Chloe into the box and sumbit!

Thanks in advance for voting!

Rocket Mass Stoves And Permaculture!

This post was sponsored by Woodburningstoves2.com. All opinions are my own and it is all written in my own words.

It's that time of year!
Time to get those heaters going in your house.
For those with wood heat it means you've spent all year getting ready for this; splitting and stacking, drying and hauling wood to your cellar to use. Then you'll have to repeat the process over and over again all winter long. Some houses can use up to 8 cords of wood! That is huge amount. That is a lot of trees, a lot of smoke, and for most conventional stoves..... a lot of wasted heat!

What if you could have a stove that could use only an 1/8th of the wood and cause barely any pollution?

That would be called a Rocket Mass Heater.
Look at this beautiful one:

Rocket Mass Heaters are very different from an everyday stove: the wood stands vertically, the fire burns horizontally, and the heat from one fire can last for so much longer! Here is how they work:

These heaters work so well, some people have reported warming their houses on only the fallen branches on their lawn!!

I lived for almost 5 years in a one room rough made building, much like a yurt but made out of wood, that only had a wood stove as a source of heat. And, it was such a hassle. I love a wood fire and sitting all snuggly by it..... but having to get up at three in the morning because the fire's out and the house is in the 40's..........not cool. We used so much wood and got not a lot of heat out of the process. If only we'd had one of these Rocket Mass Heaters!

For more information on how a Rocket Mass Heater works, including videos and more images, 

Go HERE

Another great site where you can get information on Rocket Heaters and on cool topics like Permaculutre......with everything from aquaponics, earthworking, and homesteading is 

Permies

The evil mastermind behind these sites is Paul Wheaton, a permaculture guru from Montana and a wearer of the awesomest Steampunk Hat in history. Here he is on the cover of the Missoula Independent:

And HERE IS THE HAT:

How cool is that. 

Totally Steampunk. 

You can find Paul Wheaton here:

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