Recipe Corner: Fruit Gel

Fruit Gel

Makes about 4 cups
This is an all natural alternative to Jell-O. Agar powder and kudzu (“kood-zoo”) are natural plant-based thickeners available in natural food stores.




1-1/2 cups strawberries, fresh or frozen


3/4 cups apple juice concentrate

1/2 cup water


1/2 teaspoon agar powder


1 tablespoons kudzu powder


2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen






Chop strawberries by hand or in a food processor. Transfer to a pan. Add apple juice concentrate, water, agar, and kudzu. Stir to mix.


Bring to a simmer and cook 3 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat and chill completely.


Fold in blueberries and transfer to serving dishes.



Per 1/2-cup serving: 77 calories; 0.5 g protein; 19 g carbohydrate; 0.2 g fat; 2 g fiber; 9 mg sodium; calories from protein: 2%; calories from carbohydrates: 95%; calories from fats: 3%



Recipe from Healthy Eating for Life to Prevent and Treat Diabetes by Patricia Bertron, R.D.

Knitting Corner: Amber's Dolly

I knit the cute Fairy Doll on pages 24 to 27 of "KNITTED TOYS" by Zoe Mellor for my Grand-daughter's second birthday. I made my own changes though. I didn't make the doll a fairy as my grand-daughter is a bit hard on some of her toys therefore I opted for No Wings. I also did Not use as many stripes in the project. However, it turned out great. The directions for knitting are very easy and straight-forward. I was a little bit confused as to why she did not have the arms knitted unto the project, like the legs, to where they also could be stuffed as one with the doll. It still turned out fine. I found she posed nicely even. When my grand-daughter received her she was very happy as I did her in shades of "Purple" her favorite color. I did change the way I put on the hair though. I used a crochet hook and hooked it under the yarn on the skull. That way my grand-daughter would not be able to pull the hair out so easily. I know how 2 yr. olds are. We have 14 grand-children--10 girls and 4 boys. Our grand-children range from the eldest of 20 yrs. (girl) to the youngest of 2 yrs. (girl) and a 15th on the way (girl).

Fibromyalgia Awareness Day:

My Knitting Corner: Knit Doll from Yarn Stash

I knit this Doll for my niece's second birthday this year. The dress is attached to the doll so nothing is able to be taken off (except the hair ties). The doll is small but a nice way to use up your scrap yarn and a good size for small hands. The pattern is in the book "KNITTING WITH LEFTOVER YARN" by Ruth E. Braatz on pg. 72. It was easy enough for me to knit. I would say Advanced Beginner - Intermediate (maybe?).

An Alternative Way to Rid Yourself of Ants/Roaches

Use rubbing alcohol to get rid of those pesky ants and/or roaches. It is safer and cheaper on the pocket-book. Not to mention a lot safer around your children and pets than the poisons they sell on the market.
Put the rubbing alcohol, straight (undiluted) into a spray bottle and squirt it along your counters and other areas where you have seen ants and roaches. Do NOT rinse it! The insects will become dehydrated when they walk through it which will cause them to die. You can also spray the roaches directly with it--as they take a bit more at times.
This is a much safer alternative and cheaper too compared to all the insecticides you will find out on the market. If you are like me, times are tough and I live on a budget--especially these days. So if I can find an inexpensive, yet effective way to do something, I will do it. It is even better if it doesn't mean a lot of chemicals involved since I am hyper-sensitive to chemicals and my husband has asthma. Hope this is helpful to somebody else. Thought I'd pass this tip along as someone passed it on to me.

My Knitting Corner: Sleeveless Top

I love to knit. I find it "mostly relaxing." There are moments when I can get frustrated. It is then that my hubby goes and hides in the bedroom-LOL. It also keeps my mind sharp, most times from the "fibro fog" I experience from Fibromyalgia. Also, I find it keeps my fingers nimble, helping with the fibromyalgia (once again).

The sleeveless top below I knit for my Grand-daughter's 12th birthday. I combined a series of three yarns to come up with the effect. It was knit on a size 15 needles so it knit up quickly. I found the pattern in the book "Hip To Knit" by Judith L. Swartz. It is the "No Sleeves Funnel Top" on pages 48-51. You can knit a single-strand version with a chunky yarn or a multi-strand version with three differing strands of yarn-which is what I chose to do. On page 51 the author explains how to combine your own yarns, if you wish to use yarns you have readily available (or de-stash your stash) instead or buying the yarns she has listed in the book. I used yarns from my own stash. I used a cotton Tahini and Cha-Cha yarns.