Textured Spa Step Looks Great and Offers Storage

Most of time when I see spas, they are set up next to decks to make hopping in and out easier. I've even seen some makeshift stairs put together. Maybe that’s good for the kids, but what about the adults? I don’t want to kill myself getting into the spa and I don’t want the rickety stairs I’m climbing on to collapse. With wood stairs, you also have to worry about rot and pests.

This textured spa step from DreamMaker Spas is an attractive alternative. Made from durable, weather-resistant material, the texture makes it look like stone. Flip up the top step and you find a place to store your spa accessories. No more running out to the pool house or shed to find the accessories you’re looking for.

Available in sandstone and silver, this textured spa step with storage will blend well with any hot tub or spa.

The DreamMaker Spas textured spa step is available at PoolGear Plus®, the fastest-growing catalog and internet company in the US.

This post sponsored by PoolGear Plus.

Free for All Friday: Two-Book Giveaway!

To make up for not holding a giveaway last Friday--though I never promised a giveaway every Friday--I am offering you writer type folks a two-book giveaway. These books are for my fellow writers or those who aspire to be writers. I enjoyed these books and I hope you will too.

A powerful motivator for aspiring writers, Grit for the Oyster offers wit, wisdom, and inspiration to take that first step and persevere through the writing journey. More than a how-to, this confidence-building book is designed to draw readers to a closer relationship with God, to affirm their calling to write, and to offer pithy practical guidance from successful writers like Terri Blackstock, Martha Bolton, James Scott Bell, Liz Curtis Higgs, Dr. Gary Chapman, and David Kopp.

Words to Write By: Author Devotionals compiled by Robin Bayne (autographed)

Join a variety of well-known authors as they share the Scripture or quotations they find inspiring to their writing. The devotionals they ve contributed reflect all aspects of the writing life: basic motivation, rejection, publishing and succeeding. Spend some time with the writers you love and discover what words they write by.


One lucky winner will take home both of these books. Fill out the Rafflecopter form below for your chance to win.

Good luck!

TV Show Review: Father Murphy, Season 1

Father Murphy was created and produced by TV great, Michael Landon. It tells the story of frontiersman John Michael Murphy (Merlin Olsen), who partners up with prospector Moses Gage (Moses Gunn) to mine for gold. Having met orphan Will Adams (Timothy Gibbs), they take the boy on to handle domestic chores like cleaning and cooking while Murphy and Gage pan for gold.

Schoolmarm Mae Woodward (Katherine Cannon) came to the mining camp with a local priest to provide schooling for the children. When a large gold nugget is discovered, the man who owns most of the town, Mr. Garrett (Burr DeBenning), blows up the mining camp, leaving the priest dead and most of the children, orphaned. When Miss Woodward, Moses and Murphy attempt to set up an orphanage to care for the children, they soon find Mr. Rodman (Charles Tyner) and Miss Tuttle (Ivy Bethune) knocking on their door. If the church doesn't take over financial support of the orphanage, Rodman will see the children are sent to the workhouse. Unable to wait for word from the diocese, Murphy poses as a priest, which temporarily saves the day. But the worst troubles are still ahead of them.

Father Murphy ran for two seasons. Michael Landon, who made pioneering western era TV famous with his roles in Bonanza and Little House on the Prairie (LHOP), created and produced this series, which starred Merlin Olsen, who worked with him on LHOP. Anyone familiar with both series, will see many actors played roles in both.

While LHOP had a somewhat romanticized view of the pioneering era, focusing more on the love of family, how pulling together could make anything possible, and the importance of faith, Father Murphy portrayed an edgier side to the 1870s. While both shows had similar themes, it is how they approached them that made them different. Charles Ingalls didn't drink, but Murphy is seen visiting the saloon in the first episode. He's not opposed to the occasional beer for refreshment. Charles is a man of deep faith, but Murphy, who was orphaned as a child, is not one who will be quoting Bible verses left and right. The latter is also not opposed to using his brawn when it's helpful. When Charles got into a fight, it was usually to protect or defend a family member. Charles never seemed to have a problem expressing his feelings, but Murphy can't find the right words or wonders if he should pull up stakes when things get rough.

In addition, the towns are very different. Walnut Grove is this nice quiet place. There's no saloon. The townsfolk are happy. They all love their little town with the grove of trees that gave the town its name. Jackson, on the other hand, is a rough place. Not only does it have a saloon, night time there means, fights and guns. The number of good people in Jackson are definitely outnumbered by the not so nice ones. They don't even want a church in town, because then the saloon would need to be closed on Sundays.

I remember being more enamored with Father Murphy when it aired in the 80s, but it's still quality family television, which doesn't exist much today. I'm glad I purchased both seasons last year.

Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
Language: English
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number of discs: 6
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Image Entertainment
DVD Release Date: October 26, 2004
Run Time: 1175 minutes
SRP:  $49.99

I purchased this DVD set from Amazon. I received no monetary compensation for my review.

Conserve Energy When Using Your Clothes Dryer

Our subdivision does not allow residents to put up clothes lines, so I usually use a drying rack when I need to handle clothes that can't go into the dryer. It's a small one, so I can't put too much on it. This means I have to depend on my gas dryer more than I would like.

According to the California Energy Commission, consumers can conserve energy--and money--by following these tips:

• Keep your dryer in a heated space. Cold, damp basements and unheated areas make the dryer work harder.
• Clean your lint filter after every load. This improves air quality. My appliance guy also suggests cleaning the filter regularly with soapy warm water.
• Dry two or more loads in a row. Most energy is used in heating up the dryer, so take advantage of retained heat.

They also offer more energy saving tips at their Consumer Energy Center.

Stepping Toward Self-Sufficiency - Gardening

It's been unseasonably warm in Massachusetts. Highs have been in the low to mid-60s and one day this week we hit 70. I'm afraid this means we'll end up with a blizzard in April.

The nice thing about the warm weather is that I have been gearing up for spring--at least in my mind. I'm determined to put in a small vegetable garden this year. With the poor soil here, raised beds are the way to go. If I set it up now, covering the grass with newspaper, I can keep weeding during the growing season to a minimum.

I found these raised beds at Home Depot. They are made from a composite material that saves 16 pounds of plastic and wood flour from landfills per bed. According to the website, they will not rot. That's a plus. I am going to order three of them--one for me, and one each for the Lil Diva and the Lil Princess. They've helped me garden since they were little, so they want to try their hands at growing their own vegetables. 

I haven't worked out everything I'll put in my bed, but I know it will include:

• tomatoes,
• carrots,
• cucumbers,
• green beans,
• onions.

I am also considering lettuce--which did well in my earlier garden despite the poor soil--and some herbs: rosemary, basil, marjoram. I would like to surround the raised beds with plants that deter deer. At least maybe I can keep some of the wildlife out of the garden.

Do you have a vegetable garden? What are some of your favorite vegetables? Can you recommend any natural products to keep the pests away?

WSJ Wednesdays - The Metric System and Grocery Shopping

It's another edition of WSJ Wednesdays. Saturday/Sunday, March 10 - 11, 2012's edition of The Wall Street Journal had an excellent article by Carl Bialik on how limited the metric system is in the grocery aisle.  For decades, the federal government has mandated nutrition labels list nutrient quantities in grams, despite that not being the standard measurement in America. As Bialik states, "many may not really understand how much fat, protein, and--in particular--sugar is in their food."

Back in the 1970s there was a movement to make a national shift to the metric system. I remember learning it in school. My kids have learned or are learning it in school. This shift was foiled. If Americans have no idea what grams means, then how useful are those nutrition labels we're reading? We want a healthier society that lives longer, but do the majority of Americans know that 25 grams of sugar and six teaspoons are equivalent quantities? I didn't. Here I am thinking buying a cereal with only 10 grams of sugar is a good thing, when it still means the kids are getting 2 teaspoons of sugar with every serving. Who eats only the serving size anyway?

According to Bialik's article, a 2010 survey conducted by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington D.C.-based advocacy group, found 72% of Americans wanted to see sugar content measured in teaspoons on food labels, and more than half of the participants wanted grams to be removed completely. While some still believe America should make the move to metric, does anyone ever see it happening?

I feel like I have been a lazy consumer. I could have found out at any time I wanted to that a cereal with 10 grams of sugar means my family is eating a bowl of cereal with a minimum of 2 teaspoons of sugar in it. Was it not important enough to me? Is buying my kids what they want more important than the negative impact to their well-being? Most importantly, now that I know, am I going to change my buying habits? I stopped buying soda. My favorite brand in a 12 oz. bottle has 41 grams of sugar or the equivalent of 8.2 teaspoons. Would I put that much sugar in a bowl and eat it? No. This is going to be a slow transition, but Bialik's article definitely got me to thinking.

Do you know grams/teaspoon equivalents? Do you read nutrition labels when you shop? How much do you think the lack of knowledge over the metric system contributes to obesity in America?

Movie Review: Love Begins (2011)

I won a copy of this DVD a few months ago. This is what inspired me to hold Movie Review Month in March. I haven't watched more than a few minutes of any of the Love Comes Softly series or read the books by Janette Oke--though I am eager to. I'm not one to start a series in the middle, either, so I thought it would be perfect to start at the beginning.

A young Clark Davis (Wes Brown) is traveling with his childhood friend, Daniel (David Tom) to California to try their hand at finding gold. They stop at Millie's in Trinity for a hot meal. When a fight breaks out, Clark finds himself stuck in town to work off his debts.

Sheriff Holden (Jere Burns) brings him to Barlow farm, where sisters Ellen (Julie Mond) and Cassie (Abigail Mavity) are struggling to keep the farm running after their father's passing. Young Cassie is immediately taken with Clark, but Ellen only agrees to hire him as a farm hand because she has no choice. Still hurting from Jake's (David Hoflin) decision to race off to California in search of gold, Ellen isn't kind to Clark, another fortune hunter. As time goes on, however, she sees the good man he is and can't deny her attraction to him.

Not having seen any of the other movies, I can't say how this one compares to the others. I will say, I was totally captivated by Clark Davis's story, despite the sometimes stiff dialogue, the over the top mentions of faith, and the clunky ending.

Wes Brown delivered a fine performance as Clark Davis. Out of all the characters, I was drawn to him the most. Ellen is portrayed as a stubborn, obnoxious young woman who slowly opens her heart to Clark. I felt they could have eased back on her obnoxious behavior and instead played up the difficulties of running the farm and caring for her younger sister alone. Nancy McKeon was fabulous as the older and wiser woman who provides Ellen advice.

I realize this is a Christian story, but in this movie it seems they wanted to pound you over the head with it. The more subtle expressions of faith came off better than the moments when you felt like it was shoved down your throat. I love faith-based films, but when faith is added to the story through unnatural sounding dialogue it doesn't work. The subtle expressions of faith--asking Clark to Sunday services, saying grace together at suppertime, and Ellen admitting she prayed for Clark after he is injured--worked best. One thing caught me as off too. Clark says he came away from the church at some point in his life. He didn't know why. That's modern-day thinking weaving its way into a period piece. He might admit he lost his faith, but he wouldn't say he came away from the church.

Overall, I enjoyed this movie enough to wish for the rest of the Love Comes Softly series, including Love's Everlasting Courage, which is coming to DVD this May. It will be interesting to see how they compare to this prequel.

Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC

Language: English

Subtitles: English, Spanish
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
Number of discs: 1
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
DVD Release Date: November 22, 2011
Run Time: 88 minutes
SRP:  $14.98


I won a free copy of this DVD from a blog giveaway. I received no monetary compensation for this review.