Why do you buy what you buy? It's interesting to stop and think of your reasons sometimes. For instance, I buy Tide laundry soap. My Mother used it and so did her Mother. But, I found out that Tide really does work better than the cheaper brands when I was married and the husband preferred to save a couple of bucks and buy other brands of laundry soap. In the end Grandma was right.

Anyway, I also buy diet Coke over Pepsi. Partly this is the ad campaign, but mostly it's because diet Coke is not as sweet tasting as Pepsi. Or at least it wasn't until recently. Now both are icky sweet and I'm sticking with coffee.

Which brings me to that situation. Do you buy fancy coffee or 'straight' coffee? I really like a latte, a mocha, etc but there are times when I have to decide whether to skip going out for a coffee at all or settling for the regular coffee over the more expensive latte. Sometimes there isn't that big of a difference in taste even. It's the feel of the thing, the atmosphere. You feel special when sipping on a latte but you feel like part of the crowd when you're just drinking a coffee.

On the other hand, I do like going into GoodWill or Zellers department store and finding a really exceptional bargain. Why is that ok when it's not so ok to skimp on the coffee? Attitude! Saving a buck is ok as long as you don't feel you're being a skinflint or doing without.

In conclusion... what, did you really think this was going to come to some grand finale? How long have you been reading these newsletters?

Anyway, I'm thinking about adding a new dimension to the Home and Garden newsletter. Isn't it about time it actually became useful? So, I'm rounding up information and maybe a guest writer to do some how-to type things. Don't expect to find real content every week though. My usual blab about nothing will still go on, and on and on...

I'd write more but I have to stop to turn on the lights. Can't see which keys I'm tapping in the dark. Luckily, I'm an excellent touch typist. Just ask me.

Rusticity... isn't it just so very... rustic? Don't you love that care worn, old pioneer, rustic look? Things like log cabins, stone houses, tin rooves, enamelware dishes, and cast iron stoves just make me feel so close to nature and history and all the people along the way to here. I love it.

I've got a picture from WebShots on my computer as wallpaper. It's the perfect run down looking log cabin. I look at it every day and wish I was there. Not permanently, just for an afternoon or a few days here and there. After all, I'm a city woman. You can't convert to outdoor nature woman entirely. I'd miss indoor plumbing, the internet and all those other essentials. I am not someone who will be happy camping outdoors. Just thinking of being unprotected from all the hordes of insects makes me start itching. You're laughing? Think black flies and mosquitos. Ughh! They can be entirely too nasty.

Still, I pine for pine. Those rugged looking trees, branches hacked off by the elements yet still they grow so strong and free, stubbornly enduring. I like to see all the wildflowers perk up each Spring. I love seeing the birds that over winter here suddenly thrive on all the new growth - both plant and bug related. It's all great. But, I have to admit I'd prefer a front row seat inside that cosy cabin than out there facing bug life head on.

Don't get the idea that I'm a wimp or don't really love nature. I love to be outside during a storm. Whether it's snow, rain or thunder and lightening, I love to feel the danger of the elements all around me. Driving in it isn't so much fun. I'd much rather park and feel the wind whipping my hair around. Enjoy the cold air turning my breath to smoke and chilling my fingers until I can't feel them any more.

That's how I feel about that old cabin on my computer. It's man made but not so different from those pine trees. Both are enduring the elements, rusticly, keeping their patch of ground.

I bet you think you know what a jar of pickles looks like. But, unless you've had real homemade pickles I doubt you know how messy and icky looking pickles really are. First, they don't come in green tinted watery looking liquid. Real pickles look less than pretty and the water they swim in is downright ugly. It has stuff floating in it and I don't mean bits of herbs and spices.

How about ketchup, spaghetti sauce, butter, meat...? Ever seen those without the proper commercial preparation? Did you know spaghetti sauce isn't that lovely red colour when you make it yourself. Not unless you add colouring. Same with that meat in your favourite grocery store.

It's not pretty when it's homemade. Cakes come out lopsided, butter is not such a pretty yellow and well.. I don't want to worry you. Most people will never see the real food, the homemade, unprocessed versions. The downside of that is that people don't recognize it when it is available. Would you buy pickles in a cloudy jar? Or would you think those had something wrong with them?

Here is a pickle recipe. See, I did include a how-to!

Olde-time Pickle Recipe

Courtesy of the Gibson House Museum, North York, Ontario Original Recipe From: Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management First published in 1859

Ingredients:

To 6 quarts of vinegar allow: 1 lb. of salt ¼ lb. of ginger 1 oz. of mace ½ lb. of shallots 1 tablespoon of cayenne 1 oz. of mustard seed 1½ oz. of turmeric. Mode:

Boil all the ingredients together for about 20 minutes. When cold, put them into a jar with whatever vegetables you choose, such as radish-pods, French beans, cauliflowers, gherkins, etc. etc., as these come into season. Put them in fresh as you gather them, having previously wiped them perfectly free from moisture and grit. This pickle will be fit for use in about 8 or 9 months. Time:

20 minutes SEASONABLE Make the pickle in May or June to be ready for the various vegetables. Note:

As this pickle takes 2 or 3 months to make, that is to say, nearly that time will elapse before all the different vegetables are added, care must be taken to keep the jar which contains the pickle well covered, either with a closely fitting lid, or a piece of bladder securely tied over, so as perfectly to exclude the air.

20TH CENTURY ADDENDUM We always advise people that the preservation and storage techniques suggested in 19th Century recipes should be replaced with the most current methods recommended by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, if you plan to consume the product.

In this case, the spiced vinegar brine works well with a variety of vegetables. This year we have done beans, beets, cabbage and cucumber with onions, processed in Mason jars in a boiling water canner according to Ministry guidelines. Can the pickles all at once, don't spread the process over many months as they did in the 19th Century.

This recipe came from the CBC website: http://www.toronto.cbc.ca/freshair/freshcooking/recipe2a.jsp

If I had a million dollars...

What would you do? Really, skip all that nice stuff about sharing it, giving a chunk to charity and relatives. Think about picking up a cheque for a million dollars, all yours. You don't even have to tell anyone about it.

I'd buy a house. That would be first. My brother is a real estate typhoon. (No, that's not a typo). He could drive me around, looking at houses. I don't even know what area I would live in. I might even go for the big move out to BC, Canada's west coast. I really like it out there. I could be right in the mountains, or right on the Pacific Ocean watching killer whales.

Next, I'd start buying furnishing for my house. I already know just what bedding I want from the store. I've been keeping an eye on these luxurious jersey sheets since they first came into the store, just after Christmas. How nice it would be to have new sheets.

After the house was all done I'd start making some garden plans. Not too much as I don't want to spend all my time digging right away. Who knows what great stuff you might dig up and miss out on? The first year of a new house you could just watch your garden and see what comes up. Of course, you can add tons of annuals in any bare patches. I'd keep a garden journal.

When the weather cools off and Autumn is nipping in the air I'd start to travel. There are so many places I want to see. It would easily take me all Autumn and Winter to see even half of what I want to see.

I'd be back just in time to order the first seed catalogues for my garden. Likely, I'd hire someone for Spring cleaning. If you have enough money in the bank would you want to clean windows?! Not me.

Wish me luck. The draw is up to $25 million this Friday. Tomorrow I'm going to buy a ticket.

If you have a little money to spare and a full tank of gas, yard sales and community rummage/ bakes sales are lots of fun. They are a mini adventure, each one is unique and you really never know what odd thing you will come across. It's almost like reading someone's journal to see what's for sale in their yard.

Don't go expecting to find your fortune in what someone else is tossing out. It's rare that someone sells a priceless antique for a quarter. Though the most likely are the seniors who think the stuff they grew up with is just junk. Don't laugh, I bet you think the same way about a lot of that junk you've thrown out over the years. Lately, there is more talk about collecting. Which, of course, really makes all that stuff even more useless. After all, it's only worth something if it's hard to find. If everyone is collecting the same thing it won't be worth anything, not even what you paid for it in the first place.

Anyway, back to the pleasures of vintage driveway shopping. I like looking at all the junk. The books marked down to 5 cents from a dollar originally. You know those have seen more than just one garage sale. Then there is the priceless artwork. Some of it a pretty print that got boring, some of it homemade from that pottery class 3 years ago. Have you ever bought the homemade stuff? I find most of it unappealing. But I have bought a print or two. I especially like those big eyed girls from the 70's. I seldom see them though I did come across some on EBay. But, EBay isn't as much fun as a real garage sale. It's too easy for one thing. You don't get the full thrill of a "find!" on EBay.

I look at the clothes too. Not to wear any of them. Nope, I look at the fabric, the fastenings and the fripperies. I like to think of how I could adapt those old clothes into something new and magnificent. Maybe a backpack. I've yet to find or create the ultimate backpack. That isn't keeping me from going on with the project though. I've got tons of fabric and the odd, really cool zipper too.

All that kitchenware too. When we were newly married I actually did buy someone's used up pots and pans. I didn't like it though. It seemed so unsanitary. You can bet I scrubbed them well before I ever cooked in them. It's kind of funny though. It's not like they weren't using them to cook the same food from the same stores as I was. I just didn't like the idea of cooking in someone's leftovers I guess.

Of course, kitchen appliances and gadgetry are exempt from that. Haven't you always wanted a juice machine, a bread machine, a deep fryer, a steamer, an ice cream maker! How exciting to find them going cheap and never used at a garage sale! Of course, chances are they will sit, unused in your cupboard too. But, still...

Now I'm getting all nostalgic and percolating at the thought of yard sales to come. It won't be long now. Here at least, it should start up in the next couple of weekends. Likely in the south they are already deep into the drive by shopping scene.