Linktastic

It's pouring outside right now. It's been fairly nice this week - high '60s and mid '70s but then dipping down to the '40s at night. So far, our house has stayed warm-ish overnight. We haven't turned the heat on yet (have I mentioned how expensive oil is right now?*) but Aaron's mom is coming from California next week so we may have to break down and turn it on.

We have a lot to do, still, to prepare our house for the winter. We had the brick re-pointed this week and we've sealed most of the windows (3 remaining). We bought insulation for the attic opening and need to install it. We also need to insulate our hot water pipes in the basement.

Anyhoo, onto the links:

Cool DIY rocket using paper towel rolls and Alka-Seltzer. (via Crafty Crow)

Martha Stewart Halloween Workshops. Given how crazy Halloween was here last year, I think we might have to step the decorations up a notch. (via whip up)

Tutorial: Honeycomb Smocking. Very pretty.

Fun: 101 Hand Puppets. (via whip up)

Tutorial: DIY Fabric Bean Bag.

*OIL RANT: out here in the Northeast, it helps to pre-buy your oil for the season. Last year it worked out for us because we pre-bought oil at $2.56/gallon and it ended up going up to over $3/gallon by the end of the winter. This summer, when the pre-buy programs were offered, the cheapest oil was for $4.88/gallon. This was when gasoline was over $4/gallon and everyone was starting to panic. So I pre-bought 900 gallons and am paying for it on a monthly installment plan. (Notice that that's almost double the cost from last year.) AND NOW, they're selling it for $3.88/gallon cash... I'm a little pissed about this. Will it go up a full dollar to make the pre-buying worth it? Should I tap into our meager savings and buy a tank of oil from another company to take advantage of the current lower rates? If I don't use the full pre-buy amount, they give you your cash back in the summer. Ugh.

Crafty Links

Backing away from the politics (although it's easy to get sucked back in).

Very cute nature walk looms (via Crafty Crow). It'd be interesting to see how well Sophie does with these.

How to paint fall trees (via Crafty Crow)

Custom-fit Dress Form. I've been meaning to make one of these for a long time.

Cute hat pattern. I wonder if I could create this in felt, rather than knitting then felting. Also, I wonder if it would look cute on my big noggin.

Plan for Change

Great new ad from Barack Obama.

John McCain - Lying Liar who Lies

Pass it on.

Palin - it just gets worse

She charged rape victims for rape kits.

Eight years ago, complaints about charging rape victims for medical exams in Wasilla prompted the Alaska Legislature to pass a bill -- signed into law by Knowles -- that banned the practice statewide.

"There was one town in Alaska that was charging victims for this, and that was Wasilla," [Former Governor Tony] Knowles said.

Was it illegal to do so in the first place?

In all too many instances, women are still being stuck with the bill for rape kits. This despite the fact that in order to qualify for federal grants under the Violence Against Women Act, states are supposed to pick up the entire tab.

If on her watch Sarah Palin allowed women to be charged for rape kits, she has some serious explaining to do.

Here's one small reason why I'm voting for Obama/Biden: Joe Biden wrote the "Violence Against Women Act".

"I consider the Violence Against Women Act the single most significant legislation that I’ve crafted during my 35-year tenure in the Senate. Indeed, the enactment of the Violence Against Women Act in 1994 was the beginning of a historic commitment to women and children victimized by domestic violence and sexual assault. Our nation has been rewarded for this commitment. Since the Act’s passage in 1994, domestic violence has dropped by almost 50%, incidents of rape are down by 60%, and the number of women killed by an abusive husband or boyfriend is down by 22%. Today, more than half of all rape victims are stepping forward to report the crime. And since we passed the Act in 1994 over a million women have found justice in our courtrooms and obtained domestic violence protective orders." – Senator Joe Biden

Update: did you know that Alaska has the highest number of rapes per capita? You're doing a heckuva job, Moosehunter.

Update 2: New Evidence: Palin had a direct hand in charging rape victims for their rape kits

Palin's role is now confirmed by Wasilla City budget documents available online.

Under Sarah Palin's administration, Wasilla cut funds that had previously paid for the medical exams and began charging victims or their health insurers the $500 to $1200 fees.

9/11 - open questions

Why, why, why?

When he was warned in the August 6, 2001 PDB, "Bin Laden Determined to Strike In US", why did the president do nothing except tell the guy who delivered it to him, "All right, you've covered your ass, now"?

Why did Rudy Giuliani put the anti-terrorism command center in the World Trade Center against the advice of experts who knew better?

Why did the president sit in that Florida classroom for several minutes after being told "America is under attack"?

Why were members of the bin Laden family allowed to fly out of the country when all planes were grounded?

Could there be any greater examples of heroism than the passengers who fought back on Flight 93, the rescue teams at the Pentagon, or the NYPD and NYFD responders who ran into the towers without hesitation?

There's lots more if you follow the link.

Crafty Link and Coffee Update

Very cool - paper chains with no staples or glue! After mangling my fingers making paper chains for Sophie's birthday last year, this tutorial comes just in time!

Side note: Day Five, no coffee. No headaches this morning but again tired. I can't wait until Sophie's done with her cough so we can all get a bit of sleep.

How to Open a Wine Bottle Without a Corkscrew

[via not martha]
Open a Wine Bottle Without a Corkscrew. It involves a screw, a screwdriver and a hammer. And not breaking the bottle and drinking tiny shards of glass.

September Ember Days

From the Old Farmer's Almanac:

September 17, 19, 20—Ember Days

Folklore has it that the weather on each of these three days foretells the weather for three successive months; that is, Wednesday, September 17, forecasts the weather for October; Friday, September 19, for November; and Saturday, September 20, for December.

Day Four - no coffee

Well, I'm better today. So far no headaches. I do have an emergency faux-Excedrin in my pocket, just in case. I'm quite tired, but that might be due to all of Sophie's coughing last night, too.

I started to feel better by the end of the day yesterday - I ate some peanut M&Ms and made myself a cheese quesadilla and drank lots of water and the head pounding slowed down quite a bit.

(I think she has post-nasal drip and it makes her cough when she lies down. Once she's up and about during the day, she hardly ever coughs.)

McCain/Palin - No Mavericks

Powerful new ad from Obama/Biden.

Do you want four more years of Bush? I don't. And I don't think the country could survive that.

Ouch.

On Friday, I decided to give up coffee. For a while, at least, until my head felt cleared. I was drinking, on average, two big to-go coffee cups of dark French roast every day. And if there was some leftover in the pot when I got home from work? I'd drink that, too. More on weekends.

Saturday was day one and it went mostly okay except for the pounding headache later in the day. I think my brain kept thinking: "surely there'll be coffee soon" and then it realized it wasn't getting any and it pounded me with all its brainy fury. Aaron made a huge pot of coffee for himself and I wasn't tempted.

Sunday - pounding headache and quite bitchy. Not tempted by Aaron's leftover coffee from the day before. Drank a lot of water and took a long nap with Sophie in the afternoon.

Today, day three: pounding headache and I feel exhausted. That may be partly due to Sophie coughing all night long. The back of my head hurts and I feel a little dizzy and like I'm in a fog.

My friend just asked if I was just giving up coffee or all caffeine (she offered me some tea). I haven't thought it through that far. I think all caffeinated drinks for now. I don't drink soda, so that leaves coffee and tea. And I've never been all that into tea because it seems a bit wimpy compared to the kind of coffee I like.

Wish me luck.

Update:
Ruh roh.
Caffeine Withdrawal is Real: (WebMD) Researchers are saying that caffeine withdrawal should now be classified as a psychiatric disorder.

Griffiths' analysis shows as little as one cup of coffee can cause an addiction, and withdrawal from caffeine produces any of five clusters of symptoms in some people:

* Headache, the most common symptom, which affects at least of 50 percent of people in caffeine withdrawal
* Fatigue or drowsiness
* "Unhappy" mood, depression, or irritability
* Difficulty concentrating
* Flu-like symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, muscle pain, and stiffness.

"Onset of these symptoms typically occurs within 12 to 24 hours of stopping caffeine and peaks one to two days after stopping," Griffiths tells WebMD. "The duration is between two and nine days."

Friday Links

{via whipup}

Recycle cereal (or, in our case, cracker) boxes into postcards and mailing boxes.

How to be a crafty marketer and Finding Your Niche

How to reupholster your chair. Very informative and funny.
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Cheap, Healthy, Good is back with Life Skills 102. So many great topics from everyday etiquette all the way to insurance. Go now.

Wow. Talk about Elitist.

First, they can't remember how many houses they own.

And then Cindy McCain wears an outfit to the RNC that costs more than my ONE house. $300,000 for one outfit. I am not kidding.

No wonder why McCain thinks the economy is strong.

Updated to add: what can $300,000 buy?

On a related tangent - everyone's been linking to this, so if you haven't seen it, click now: Attacks, praise stretch truth at GOP convention. Fact-checking the RNC speeches.

Wednesday Links

Okay, last post for today.

Monday was the first anniversary of being in our new house. This time last year, we were surrounded by boxes and chaos and Aaron's parents were in town to help with the move. This Labor Day weekend was spent partly at the Three County Fair in Northampton (Sophie was battling a cold or possibly allergies and we ended up leaving early. She was a miserable little cookie.), at my parents' house with the whole family and then my younger sister and her family stayed at our house on Sunday night. With their dogs. All in all, a fun, albeit tiring, weekend.

This is my sister's dog, Stella, exhausted from all the running around chasing squirrels and chipmunks and frogs. It is literally dog heaven at my parents' house.

And to make a very tenuous tangent to the links...here are some gift ideas for people with dogs.

Lovely, suspended food bowls. (via ReNest)

Very cool dog beds made from recycled coffee bags. Filled with cedar to help keep the bugs away. My cats would probably not go near them due to the cedar, but I have a feeling dogs would like them. (via ReNest)

On a separate tangent: 8 Reasons Why BioPlastic is Worse than Regular Plastic. (also via ReNest)

I'm also loving these refurbished old phones. No caller id, no call waiting, no brain cancer. And they use a LOT less electricity than all them new-fangled what-nots. But, holy crap, expensive.

Plastics Q&A

Very informative Plastics Q&A by the National Geographic Green Guide.

What's safe to microwave? Should I drink water from plastic water coolers? Can I save plastic Ziploc bags?

Bottom line: avoid plastics.

Festival of Frugality

I was going to grab a bunch of links from this post but, because there are so many great links, I'm just going to send you to the main linktastic one. Festival of Frugality.

Wednesday Yumminess

OMG. Just click on through right now and look at these homemade Peanut Butter Cups. (via Craft)

Tuesday Links

[via Crafty Crow]: Art Memory Cards - make a memory matching game using your child's artwork. One of the commenters mentioned using family photographs, too.

And my new favorite site - No Time for Flash Cards. Written by a former preschool teacher with lots of artistic activities and book recommendations. I just added 10 more books to Sophie's library list based on the reviews from her site.

A link to remember for later: Creating plaids in Photoshop.

In other news, Sophie went from wanting to get into her car seat by herself to wanting to wash her hands by herself to wanting to pick out her clothes and get dressed by herself and now she wants us to wait at the bottom of the stairs so she can climb them by herself.

I'm so proud of her and so sad that she's growing up so fast.

RoofRay - Calculate your roof's solar potential

I just tried this out. The site - RoofRay - uses Google Map technology and you map out your roof segments to determine the potential of solar panels.

We could save a lot of electricity and money if we installed solar on both our house and our shed.

Enough to pay back the costs of installing solar? Probably not at this point. But maybe if/when Obama becomes president.

TGIF Linktastic

[via Crafty Crow]:
Great idea for preserving your kids' artwork: thumbnails!

Skip to my Lou has another great tutorial - this time for a felt crayon roll. So much easier than the last one - less sewing and no turning!

Good idea to make Christmas a bit less stressful - fill stockings all year long.

I'm loving the flower photographs at this shop: SunkissedPhotography

I also think my very talented sister should open her own shop, don't you?

I love the bird prints and paintings at Mincing Mockingbird

KERN sweatshirt - love this!

Oh, to be able to afford an octopus chandelier. (And to be able to convince Aaron that buying one is a fabulous idea...)

Homemade Freezer Jam. No canning.

On a completely different vein: Life Skills 101: A Curriculum for Food, Finance, and Other Real World Basics. I'm bookmarking this to teach to Sophie when she gets a bit older. Every person should be taught these things. Teach your kids how to live in the world.