Blog Authors
Marta Gouger
Marta Gouger is the managing editor online and Home and Garden editor for the Pocono Record so she's busy busy most of the time. Her passions (besides work) include gardening and quilting so she does everything she can to cut corners on housework ... Read FullCategories
Archives
Author Archives: Marta Gouger
You can bring me flowers. Just hold the hyacinths
Nothing is more beautiful than a deep purple or pink hyacinth. From a distance.
Yes, they are gorgeous Easter flowers. Cheap too.
The thing about hyacinths, though… and lilies…and daffodils…is that they smell. Strong.
That causes a severe allergy for some people, including me.
I love getting a whiff of them outdoors and even have them in my own [...]
Get a jump on the garden season
I’ve never been big on starting seeds indoors for several reasons:
A) I had a plant-eating 20-pound cat. He rarely moved but when it came to gobbling plants he was fast as lightning.
B) I don’t have windowsills.
C) Don’t have much space at all.
D) Don’t have a grow light, don’t want one.
But I always get inspired when [...]
Dreaming about dahlias
It’s Saturday afternoon and I should be doing any number of things. Forget about cleaning, I need to prepare craft kits for junior worship in church Sunday and I have not one, but two wallhangings and a quilt to finish.
But our master gardener’s story about virtual garden tours gave me a rude awakening. It’s March [...]
Posted in dahlias, gardening 0 Comments
Just like Johnny Appleseed, you can start a tree
The snow is melting and it’s time to think about what you’re going to plant this year.
If you like fruit and you have some room, you might want to think about fruit trees.
When I was growing up, my mom decided that she loved apricots so much that she was going to plant a tree. [...]
Posted in Uncategorized, gardening 0 Comments
Enough already! Bring on the flowers.
O.K. I admit I’m not the one who shovels snow around the house, but all this white stuff is really upsetting me. Last Tuesday it took me 1 1/2 hours to get home and the rest of the days were no picnic either. This seriously cuts into my sewing time and even my cleaning time. [...]
Posted in gardening 0 Comments
Chocolate makes love grow, it does
If you think about chocolate for Valentine’s Day, or any day for that matter, we have treat for you.
We have information from the Culinary Institute of America about dipping chocolate and you can dip just about any food. Some common ones are strawberries, bananas or marshmallows. I prefer pretzels, love the sweet and salty combination. [...]
Posted in Cooking, Valentine, chocolate 0 Comments
Gougers’ last stand
What does easy-to-assemble mean?
Not much, it turns out. We spent the weekend wrestling with a new TV stand.
We had one of those great old-fashioned entertainment stands. One that fit our 27-inch 11-year-old TV perfectly. We bought it at a yard sale for just $50 and it worked for years.
But now it’s time for a new [...]
Posted in Christmas, gadgets, television 0 Comments
Why some people can’t wear white (or how to remove any stain)
Some people I know are a magnet for stains. Yes, I’ll stand and admit I’m one of them.
I have numerous white turtlenecks with tea stains. O.K., maybe I need lessons in finding my mouth with my tea cup, but what I really need is to be able to remove stains.
I was inspired a few weeks [...]
Posted in cleaning, home, laundry Tagged cleaning, home, laundry, stain removal, stains, tea 0 Comments
Just can’t get enough…vinegar
Less is better when it comes to cleaning.
No, I am not talking about cleaning less frequently (though I have been known to do that).
I’m talking about the least toxic chemicals we can use to get the job done. I’ve been a big supporter of this theory because I’m allergic to most smells and I’m cheap.
The [...]
A buzz from doing laundry