Sewn Giveaway & MoonCat Farms Marketplace Grand Opening

SEWN

I am participating in another giveaway by bloggers. This is such a fun way to get to know others from around the world. I made some very nice new friends from the first giveaway I participated in and was excited to be told about this one!

This event has been coordinated around the launch of an exciting new website for sewers called Sewn http://www.sewn.net.au/ . It will be making its debut in June, but the creators have decided to have a Blog Launch Party to get the momentum rolling. Many different bloggers are participating and giving away some great prizes in a drawing on their site. Anyone can enter or be involved. The drawings will take place on June 8th. What a fun way to launch this much-needed website for the sewing community. Please be sure to check them all out and sign up for the launch of Sewn!

To enter my drawing, just leave a comment at the end of this post. If you are an email subscriber or follower, you get a 2nd entry into the drawing! I will draw the winner on June 8th and post the name here. Please be sure that I have a way of contacting you if you are my lucky winner!

Now, what the heck am I giving away?? I will be giving away one of my original Spring Flower Pincushion/Sachets. This little beauty can be used as a practical & pretty pincushion or to scent a closet or drawers with the lovely lavender. It is made using 100% cotton material and is stuffed with ec0-friendly fiberfill and organically grown lavender from right here on our place. I really enjoy making these as they are a bright, happy addition to anyone's sewing box and they smell heavenly! (I do make them unscented as well for those who can't tolerate scents.) This little flower is in shades of purple and lavender.

This whole diatribe leads into my next announcement as these little pincushions are one of my first creations to be offered in my new Etsy shop!

I am so happy to finally be able to announce a date for the Grand Opening of my new online Etsy shop. I have been working on all of the tiny little details and getting some of my items photographed so that I can get it launched. So, on June 15th, my new shop: MoonCat Farms Marketplace will officially be open for business! Yeah, finally!! It has taken some time, but I am hoping it will be worth it. We are starting small, but will be expanding on a regular basis as new creations take shape.

I am planning on another drawing or giveaway to celebrate this great step forward for MoonCat Farms and our new Marketplace.

If you want to be kept current on our progress and the happenings here at MoonCat Farms, please sign up on the right hand side of the page. We have lots of options to choose from and that way you won't miss out on our drawings and more fun stuff that we have in the works!

Refreshing....

I can't believe it's been a month since I wrote something. I really do have a lot to say... We have been extremely busy here in our own wee (and we) little world. It seems that we are outside until after dark most days just trying to keep up with all of the tasks here at home. Lots of herbs, veggies, and fruits needing tending to. Not to mention the critters and their needs/demands/wants.. Then when I am inside, it's time on the sewing machine (which I must confess I love) and all of the other little chores before bedtime.

Today we're going to my mom's to have a bbq. I'm in the experimenting mood (sometimes good, sometimes sorta scary) so I am going to take some of my herbs that I harvested this morning and try to create something yummy. I'm thinking my theme is going to be "Refreshing". One of things I'm trying is the following recipe for Lavender Lemonade. I've had something similar at a bridal shower & have wanted to try my hand at it for a while:

Lavender Lemonade

• 1/3 cup dried lavender ( be sure it's food grade)
• 1/13 cup sugar
• 14 lemons
• 4 cups boiling water
• 2 trays of ice cubes
• 10 cups cold water or to taste

Put ice cubes into a large pitcher. Place dried lavender in a bowl and add the boiling water over the top of it. After about 10-15 minutes, strain the lavender out (with a strainer or a coffee filter will work). Discard the lavender. Add the sugar into the hot lavender water. When the sugar is dissolved, pour over the ice cubes in the pitcher. Squeeze as much juice as possible from the lemons into the pitcher. Add the cold water to the pitcher. Taste and adjust lemon juice or sugar as desired.

To continue along the "Refreshing" theme, I am going to make an Avocado-Cilantro soup. I love chilled soups and this one just sounds wonderful. (I am sorry that I don't know where these recipes originally came from so I can give credit. I have a habit of copying great ones down & not always getting their origins documented.)

Avocado-Cilantro Soup

• 4 avocados, diced
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 3 1/2 cups chicken broth, cold
• 2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 2 tbsp sour cream
• 1 tsp hot pepper sauce
• 1 tablespoon tequila (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste
  
  Combine avocado, shallot, chicken broth, tomato paste, hot pepper sauce, lime juice and tequila in a large food processor. Add about 1/2 of the cilantro, saving some for garnishing. Process until mixture is smooth. Add salt and pepper. Pour mixture into a large bowl and refrigerate at least 2 hours, covered.
  When ready to serve, place the mixture into four chilled soup bowls. Garnish with a dollop of sour cream and the remaining cilantro.

And lastly, on my creative front, I will make this lovely Pesto Butter/Dip. YUMMY! It doesn't necessarily go along with the Refreshing bit, but it's awesome and I picked the herbs specifically for this so here it goes.. (Now I just need to con Mom into making her Rosemary Bread..)

Pesto Butter/Dip

• 2 tbsp ground black pepper
• 2tbsp fresh oregano
• 2 tbsp fresh rosemary
• 2 tbsp fresh basil
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley
• 2 tbsp dried garlic powder
• 2 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  
  Grind together all ingredients except for the olive oil. Place the herb mixture onto a small plate and cover with a very thin layer of olive oil. Serve with warm bread or breadsticks.

Mom just called to tell me that she did make fresh bread so great minds are definitely on the same wavelength!!! Now just to fill in the rest of the meal. I'm thinking some grilled chicken breasts and strawberries for dessert......I'm hungry!

Earth Day 2009 - My Pledge

On this Earth Day, let's think about how we can make a difference in our environment. I am talking about our own "personal" environments. Many people immediately visualize the great outdoors and wilderness when the word "environment" is used. Here are a few of the relevant definitions from Wikipedia's dictionary: (#1 is what I am referring to here)

1. The surroundings of & influences on a particular item of interest (or particular person?)


2. The natural world or ecosystem


3. A particular political or social setting, arena or condition

I feel that each person or family can make a huge difference just by taking small steps. There is a wealth of information out there to help us make our "personal environment" a much better place to be in. Imagine if all of us start improving our individual spaces, it can & will domino into improving the health and well-being of the #2 definition above: The natural world & ecosystem!

I found a great site from the EPA, Environmental Protection Agency that has a list of items that you can pledge to do in your own life that can have a big impact. My pledge is listed below:

To help protect the environment, I pledge to:

• Use less water! Take showers instead of baths, fix leaks, and turn off the tap when brushing your teeth. And buy efficient fixtures by looking for the WaterSense label.
  


• Save electricity! Do a home energy audit, get programmable thermostats, buy Energy Star products, turn stuff off when you’re done, and change your bulbs to compact fluorescents.
  


• Reduce, reuse, recycle! Try to find products with less packaging, take reusable bags on shopping trips, creatively reuse other products, and recycle what's left.
  


• Use chemicals safely! Read pesticide labels carefully. Lock up pesticides, paints, and cleaners where kids can't reach them.
  


• Spread the word! Teach others where you work or go to school. Share online by commenting on our blog, or sharing your photos and videos. Encourage people to Pick 5 for the Environment!

Pledged Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009.

Make your own pledge by visiting http://www.epa.gov/pick5/

I encourage everyone to do what they can on this Earth Day to make our "environments" better places to grow & thrive in!

Critter Corner - Porkchop

I can't believe it is 95 degrees today! We got a brief little dose of Spring for a couple of very short weeks & now we are in the nineties! I'm not ready for the heat. I still have winter clothes and space heaters out and about. I had to run out early this morning and make sure my little herblings and veggies had a drink before the temperature soared. Just 5 days ago, there was frost on my windshield when I left for work.

I had promised an introduction to my little punky Porkchop and am finally getting around to it (mostly because I'm sitting in the cool living room this afternoon waiting for the sun to go down before going back outside to the garden..also because he is sitting on my lap at the moment, helping me with the laptop.)

Porkchop (aka Punkers, Punkydoodles, Porklet, etc.) is my 3-legged, blind in 1 eye baby. My vet calls him my little trauma kitty because he also has flea allergy dermatitis and a penchant for fighting with another of my cats, Badger (when he isn't snuggling with him).

At the same time, he is the biggest baby and gets very upset when he can't wallow around in my lap and drool. He is such a charmer, he greets me at the door when I come in, usually with one of his toys. He loves several of the toys that I have made him, especially those with our catnip. It drives him nuts!! It's like kitty crack. I have plans to put these kitty toys and our catnip on our site for sale in the very near future. Porkchop wants to share his favorites with the feline world.

Punkers is a cuddler and sleeps on top of me (or even the hubby at times) every night. Which brings to mind his latest nickname - Chunkapunk. When we had him neutered his weight tripled (at least). It's funny, because he is the most active & spastic cat we have. He gets to cruising up and down the tiled hallway at full speed in his little, lopsided galloping gait! His only clue that he isn't the same as the other furfaces is the fact that he can't leap to the top of the kitty tree in a single bound! Hubby made him a custom one so he can reach the top and rule from his perch near the ceiling anyway. And even though he is one of the smallest (except in poundage) of the critters in our home, Punky definitely rules!

Please spay and neuter your pets. I support the NSAL and their many programs to help end the pet overpopulation problem. Please click here for more information. SPAY-USA - a program of the North Shore Animal League

Tea, I must have Tea....

Planting and life in the garden has been keeping myself and the hubby really busy these last few weeks. Spring has sprung around here & we're outside until dark or after just about every night. I am almost ready to launch our etsy store and start offering several of our herb-based products on our website. It is amazing the amount of time involved trying to get a website up and running that is actually easy to use and get around. Details, details....

Most evenings I enjoy a cup of tea to help unwind & decide on the next day's TO-DO list. I LOVE tea and I really like to experiment and try different blends. I was so surprised and thrilled to have my name drawn as a winner of a Tea Sampler from Sarah at Herbs from the Labyrinth. My prize included 15 of her different hand-blended teas that have such awesome names as Moontime Tea, Lover's Tea, Spring in My Step, FemininiTea, Dandy Lion Tea, Hush-A-Bye, Strong As Nails, SereniTea, SmarTea, DigestiviTea, Nursing Mother Tea, Endo-Liver Tea, Love Your Liver Tea, and Mid-Summer Tea. I'm finding that so far my favorite is the Lover's Tea - YUM.. (photo below is from her website)



If you haven't heard about this fun & very knowledgeable group of herbal enthusiasts/entrepreneurs, you must check out their weekly contest that is running through May. Each week, each of the 10 blogs holds a drawing for a wonderful item made by one of the other participants. I believe this week's prize is being offered by Aquarian Bath. Go check it out and have fun exploring some really neat blogs & websites. You may get lucky like I did & have a wonderful new product to try and enjoy.

Herbs from the Labyrinth
Patti’s Potions
PrairieLand Herbs
Aquarian Bath
The Rosemary House
Natures Gift
Torchsong Studio
The Essential Herbal
Garden Chick
SunRose Aromatics