Planet Nice Crafts

Hello Everyone. 2022 has been JAM packed - from one challenge to the next, I have been on my toes! Recently, there has been a welcome lull so I have made it back to Planet Nice Crafts. 😊 Reading has been a steady solace throughout and here are this year's finished books: 1. A Dance with Dragons by George RR Martin - I finished this book in January 2022, and writing this in September, I miss my favorite dysfunctional families. There is the prequel series to satisfy appetites but the books are so much better (and less gory and violent). An almost 20 year effort for me to read it but it was worth it. 2. This is How it Always is by Laurie Frankel - Winter 2022's One Community Read, a fantastic public library program. 3. Under a White Sky, The Nature of the Future by Elizabeth Kolbert - I learned of this book from a Chicago Tribune article. 4. Thrawn Ascendancy Chaos Rising by Timothy Zahn. 5. Land of Love and Drowning by Tiphanie Yanique. 6. Prairie Fires the American Dreams of La...

Happy 2022! Hello Everyone. Has it been a good start to the year for you and your families? With the holiday season and the garden tapering off to be officially deemed frozen on January 1, my main activity since I last wrote has been cleaning. The holiday season was plenty full for me and since its close on Twelfth Night, I have been doing a little of this, a little of that. So, in chronological order... I do a whole home clean before any holiday decorating occurs. It is an intense goal requiring precious weekend hours but there are benefits: I take a general inventory of my belongings and supplies (a sort of "state of affairs") and once this major clean is finished, I can focus on the holidays and later, creativity, which results in brain yoga. Food and drink had big roles during the holiday season and I really wanted to try new things. Drink included an exploration of the mocktail craze with the mixers Ghia and Pentire Adrift , both being well regarded. At this time, my pr...

Hello Everyone! Three months have passed but after reviewing August's post, the conclusion is activity here at Planet Nice Crafts has been incredibly consistent. The precious free time has been dominated by garden activities. The garden will be the focus today along with bird and sewing updates.  Here is the 2021 harvest report: Watermelons: five (3 medium, 2 small) were ready late August through mid-September and they were fantastic. This was the first time growing and the plants were low maintenance because of more resistance to cucumber beetle havoc. Cucumbers: better than 2020, but could have used more! I lost the plants late August due to the beetles. Tomatoes, peppers, ground cherries, and tomatillos: very good. All did well until the bugs and cooler temperatures got them in late October. Beans: disappointing, affected by aphids and both crops (Spring and late Summer planted) died too early. Pumpkins: three (1 medium and 2 small) harvested on Halloween. Kale: too much a...

  Hello Everyone! Finally, some rain the past week which lead to a few free hours to write to you instead of setting up and watching sprinklers. I hope the summer has gone well for you so far. Funny that kids are going back to school next week but summer goes until September 21 technically. The emphasis as of late has been the garden, not just watering, but feeble attempts to contain the weeds, harvesting, cooking, and taking photos. The longest duration harvests have been kale and poppy seeds. The green beans came in with a flourish but were finished and just not looking very good, so they were extracted and a few bean seeds planted in their place. The tomatoes have started ripening, the fruits are big and tend to be very juicy and messy. The peppers look great and just started too with the tomatillo and ground cherries not quite hitting their stride yet. The cucurbits - cucumbers, watermelon, and pumpkin - are growing and doing battle with the cucumber beetles. We ...

  Welcome Back! I know it has been more than a couple days.. On to the actual craft part. Here is an updated photo of the embroidery for the earring box. It is about half finished. At first, I was really unsure but I think the colors and the textures make this interesting. I foresee substantial patience being required when covering the box top with the fabric and then doing the final fitting to the bottom. I finally tried a recipe that has been in my recipe folder for 10 years or so. It was for Grasshopper Pie by America's Test Kitchen. I don't remember why I originally put it in my folder, maybe I was having a pie fascination at that time too. It was a success and better than the apple cider vinegar pie in April for a couple reasons. The crust is made of mint oreo cookies. The filling is basically whipped cream so not recommended if you have health restrictions - Planet Nice Crafts wants to promote good health on the blog, not bad! To obtain the grasshopper, you add crème de ...