..... is the life for us.

It has been a real treat recently to see the grass green and the trees start to leaf out. Feels so much more park-like as opposed to the snow and cold weather we've had so much of. We are looking forward to resuming improvements around the house and property and just enjoying being outside.

Karen has recently joined a Curves gym up here and is meeting some of the local women. Very interesting hearing some of the country knowledge and tips regarding how to handle pests, grow food and increase blooming of flowers. All very earthly stuff and we are enjoying every minute of it.

Also of interest is self-sustained living - there is lots that can be done to reduce your dependance on "the system" and we are actively looking into the various possibilities for reducing our use of heating oil, electric and the grocery store.

In the interest of sharing, here are a few country tidbits you might be able to use:

• A sealed envelope – Put in the freezer for a few hours, then slide a knife under the flap. The envelope can then be resealed.
• Use Empty toilet paper roll to store appliance cords. It keeps them neat and you can write on the roll what appliance it belongs to.
• For icy door steps in freezing temperatures: get warm water and put Dawn dish washing liquid in it. Pour it all over the steps. They won’t refreeze.
• To remove old wax from a glass candle holder, put it in the freezer for a few hours Then take the candle holder out and turn it upside down. The wax will fall out.
• Crayon marks on walls? This worked wonderfully! A damp rag, dipped in baking soda. Comes off with little effort (elbow grease that is!).