Review: Big Dreams, Small Spaces

Most of you probably know that I love to garden.

I haven't had much opportunity to do it in the last few years so I get my "gardening fix" by watching programs and Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

One of my favorite gardening TV shows is Big Dreams, Small Spaces, a BBC series featuring Monty Don.

Monty—I call him Monty because he seems like an old friend—was honored a couple of months ago with the OBE, Order of the British Empire, given to him by Prince Philip.

I've watched Big Dreams, Small Spaces multiple times as well as dozens of Monty Don's YouTube Videos.

Why Watch

Of course, if you love to garden, you'll love this show where Monty works with homeowners to turn their utterly horrible yards, or gardens as they say in England, into beautiful spaces anyone would be pleased to have.

No matter how small the space, Monty and the homeowner seem to come up with a plan to have winding paths, water features, herb gardens, flowers, vegetables, and more.

Along with stressing the importance of having a plan, Monty gives advice on what grows well in what location. 

Actually, whether you're a gardener or not, you'd probably enjoy Big Dreams, Small Spaces.

There's something relaxing about it—one might say soothing. I'm pretty sure if someone felt anxious and stressed, he/she could watch this show and feel the stress evaporate.

Takeaway Truth

Whether you like to garden or dream of doing it one day, watch Big Dreams, Small Spaces which will inspire you to grow something—even if it's just a pot of mint in a sunny window.

Konmari Vs. The Zone Vs. Whatever

By now, you've heard of The Konmari Method said to be designed to optimize joy.

The KonMari method is essentially in 2 parts: discarding and sorting.

You pile everything you own in a heap on the floor then go through and get rid of more than half of everything, or so iy seems. I guess it works because you have less than half to keep up with.

The Zone Method is to divide your living space into zones. One zone is for working, one for entertainment, one for cooking and dining, etc.

With each zone, your goal is to simplify what's in it, organize, and optimize the space efficiently. For instance, in your office, don't look at it as a whole to begin with. Look first at the desk. Organize what's on it and each drawer in it.

Do the same with your computer. Go through the files, organize, discard, and shred paper copies. When you finish with the work zone, move to the next zone.

Bottom Line


However and whatever you decide to do to de-clutter and organize, it all begins with a decision. Decide to do something.

Pick a method or figure out your own to organize your environment so you'll work more effectively, feel happier about how you spend your time, and end up in a better situation.

Takeaway Truth

Once the decision is made, immediately take action—one step to move in the direction of your goal. That taking action part is really important because it tells your subconscious that you're resolved.

2nd Chance Reads

This is how I feel at the end of most days. *LOL*
I have a hard time keeping up with  all the great content on the Internet.

Sometimes, the flood of information is overwhelming.

Even though I subscribe to several blogs, I end up saving the emails about the posts until I have time to read them.

I'm thinking a lot of you are like me—too busy to take a few minutes here and there to read a daily post.

With that thought in mind, I try to do a monthly recap and spotlight posts I think might be interesting to you.

January Posts: 2nd Chance Reads

For Writers

Recommended Promo Sites for 2019 by Nicholas Erik

7 Pieces of Wisdom Writers Need to Heed

A Guide to Getting More Reader Reviews by BookBub

How to Kickstart Your Book Now by Book Marketing Buzz Blog

Is Amazon Rejecting Your Reader Reviews (Lots of popups but worth plowing through)

10 Biggest Book Marketing Mistakes by David Gaughan on BookBub

The 21 Foot Principle by The Truth About Guns (Writing about guns? Get it right.)

Racking the Slide by The Well-Armed Woman (Women writing about guns? Get it right.)

Well-being

Benefits of Flaxseed Fiber from Science Daily

Natural Relief for Itchy Eyes

Unfamiliar Words Not Blue Text Slows Reading of Hypertext

News for Patients With Parkinson's from Science Daily

Why Improving Yourself Isn't Easy from Psychology Today

Takeaway Truth

Great content is timeless. Hope some of these posts help you.

Monday Magic: Wemo Smart Plug

Monday Magic Technology
My daughter is usually the first to latch onto tech gadgets. Before Christmas she ordered several Wemo Mini Smart Plugs.

When I saw how they worked, I ordered one to try. I've got to confess that it's one of the best little gadgets I've ever bought.

I noticed they were on sale today and intend to buy another.

If you don't know about Wemo, here's the scoop.

All About Wemo Mini Smart Plugs

These devices plug into your electrical outlet and allow you to control whatever is plugged into that outlet by an app on your phone or by your voice through Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit. One of those plus your WiFi is all you need.

I have an Alexa Echo Dot. All I had to do was download the free app. I plugged a downstairs lamp into the Wemo-enabled outlet. I can turn the light on or off no matter where I am.

If I'm already in bed and forgot to turn it off, I can use my phone app or just yell, "Turn off living room light."

Safety After Dark

If I'm away from home after dark and forgot to turn on a light, I can just use the phone app to turn the light on so I don't walk into a dark house.

No hub or subscription is required. The Wemo Mini allows you to stack two Wemo Mini Smart Plugs in the same outlet.

You can plug lamps, fans, or whatever you wish into it. I won't rave on and on about it. Just go to the Wemo Mini Smart Plugs webpage to read all the neat features.

Takeaway Truth

Lately I've been complaining about all the technology that seems to make life difficult. This is one thing that does make it easier and works without needing a big long tutorial.

Super Bowl Sunday

By this time, you're either celebrating or weeping.

In either case, hope you had a great day with friends and family and lots of delicious food.


Takeaway Truth

Back to blogging tomorrow.

Saturday Share: Multi-Grain Bread

Last week, a new couple dropped by our house. The first thing they said was, "Oh, that smells wonderful. What is it?"

I told them that it was the multi-grain bread baking in the bread machine.

They were awestruck.

To us it was no big deal. We bake a loaf of some kind of bread at least once a week.

Why We Bake Our Bread

We told the couple that we hadn't bought bread in more than 3 years. I went on to tell them we'd watched a couple of documentaries that changed the way we eat. One was about genetically-modified wheat aka short stalk wheat and the spraying of wheat fields with glysophate starting a couple of decades ago.

Many Regenerative Medicine doctors attribute the rise in auto-immune diseases to glysophate entering the food chain. Some think people aren't actually gluten-intolerant. They are modified-wheat/glysophate intolerant.

Anyway, the other documentary was about the magical combination of air, water, fire, and earth to create food that's sustained the human animal for millennia. In that one, bread was discussed at length.
French Bread in our old, smaller machine

Bread is made from basically flour, water, yeast, and a smidgen of sugar, salt, and fat. At the most, that's 7 ingredients.

The loaf of bread you buy at the store is made from approximately 42 ingredients. 7 versus 42? What are the other 35 ingredients? Various chemicals you probably can't pronounce.

What We Did

We brought the bread baking machine out from the cupboard, bought organic flour from strains that have been grown for centuries, and started baking our own bread. The machine makes it easy.

My hubby took the old machine to our other house when he went to stay for a couple of weeks while he did some projects there so I bought a bigger one for our home in town.

My hubby is as proficient as I in baking bread. Normally, we make a French bread that is out of this world. For a breakfast bread, I sometimes make Cranberry Pecan bread.

Now, I'm making a multi-grain bread that is so good it's insane. That's the recipe I'm sharing with you today. It makes a 1 and 1/2 pound loaf which is about 10-12 slices.

Larger Newer Bread Machine
Joan's Bread Machine Multigrain Loaf

1 1/4 cups of water 78 to 85 degrees F.
2 tablespoons soft butter
1 1/3 cups organic bread flour
1 1/3 cups organic whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/8 cup flax seed meal
1/8 cup chopped pistachio or other nuts
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
3 tablespoons of honey or brown sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast

1. Place the ingredients into the bread machine pan according to your machine's directions.
2. Select Whole Wheat Cycle
3. Select Medium Crust Color
4. Push the On button.
5. When the bread is finished baking, take it out and let it cool about 15 minutes—if you can wait that long. In all honestly, we slice a piece off immediately. It just smells too good not to eat it hot from the baker.

That's it. It's that easy to make a delicious loaf of bread. We've had our newer machine about 3 years. Ordered it from Amazon because of low price number of positive reviews. It was a good choice.

Takeaway Truth

It takes maybe 5 minutes for us to put a loaf on to bake. If you try it, the first time will take you longer. Be sure you use a food thermometer to test the water temperature and just follow the instructions in the manual that comes with your machine.

Want Some Nice Prizes?


Grand Opening Giveaway

Be sure and enter the Rafflecopter at my new group blog, Romance Gems, for a chance to win a Kindle Fire and Ebook Gift Bundles.

Every week, there will be a Comment & Win Random Drawing for an Amazon Gift Card.

To be entered in Comment & Win, all you have to do is read the post of the day—or any post you may have missed.

Then leave a comment with your email address written out. That means like Mary at yahoo dot com. (Don't leave your email as a "hot link" or web crawlers will harvest it and flood your Inbox.) The more comments you make; the greater your chance of winning.

All Month Long

The Rafflecopter and the Comment & Win runs for the whole month of February plus there may be Pop-Up Prizes too. Enter often and have fun chatting with us.

There's a Facebook Page: Where Authors and Readers Meet where you might run into me or one of the other 22 authors.

Never fear, SlingWords will still be here. I'm not shutting the doors here. After all, I've been blogging since 2005.

My anniversary is coming up in April. I think I may do a Rafflecopter to celebrate.

Takeaway Truth

In the meantime, enter the month-long Romance Gems Grand Opening Giveaway Rafflecopter.