RAV VAST b celtic | Practice session 003 | Relax and watch me make music...

This is my third practice session with my Rav Vast drum, tuned to b Celtic minor. I'm tickled that this drum was hand made in Russia and now it's being played on a Mediterranean island by a white African. (I'm from South Africa). I really enjoy playing this instrument because it helps me practice calmness. It feels like a form of meditation to play it, regardless of whether I am playing with my hands or with beaters.



I have other music-making videos on my Youtube channel, along with art-making videos. You can see this videos in my Youtube channel.

Home-made Organic Pest Control for Plants

Last year I tried growing mint. I spent many hours picking caterpillars off the fragrant leaves and transferring them to other plants, but in the end I sacrificed the mint to the caterpillars and grew butterflies instead. This year I decided to try my hand at growing strawberries and I realized that I needed an effective way to get rid of pests like aphids and caterpillars if I wanted to eat any of my home grown berries.

Above: Aphid infestation on my strawberry plants. The aphids arrive overnight and cover the under sides of leaves within hours. The top photo isn't great quality, but it shows that aphids aren't particularly scary, just annoying.

I got my strawberry plants from a friend and unfortunately they each have some kind of problem so I'm probably going to have to toss the lot of them away at some stage. This turned out to be kind of a good thing 

because it means I'm a little more willing to experiment on these plants. So, spray bottle in hand I set about making a home brew to get rid of the aphids. This is what I came up with:

I filled a spray bottle with water, put in a drop of liquid soap and added about 5 drops each of lavender and citronella oils. The liquid soap is an emulsifier, which basically means that it will cause the oils to mix with the water. I've since made this home made pest repellent with dish washing liquid with no problems. I'm pretty sure any liquid soap will work for this mixture, but listen to your instincts - glittery liquid bubble bath probably wouldn't be a grand idea.

If you don't have these two essential oils on hand, there are a few other aromatherapy oils that chase off bugs, such as peppermint oil, lemongrass, lemon, eucalyptus and tea tree. The soap in the mixture also helps the oils to adhere to the leaves of the plants, making the insect repellent even more effective.

Above: Liquid soap, water, lavender oil and citronella oil, all mixed in a handy spray bottle.

As far as I can tell this mix hasn't killed the aphids, simply chased them off. I'm okay with that. I have nothing against aphids in general, I just don't particularly want them to destroy my favorite plants. This home made insect repellent is proving to be quite effective not just against aphids, but against caterpillars and beetles too. I'm not sure how bees feel about it - I'll keep an eye out and post if I spot any sickly looking bee ladies around my strawberry plants.

I've also been spraying this mix on my ornamental plants and herbs as a precautionary measure against insect problems. I'm fairly sure that it will help to prevent fungus and rot diseases too. The most effective way to use this spray is to spray liberally to dry plants, coating both the top and under side of the leaves. The plant should be dripping with the bug spray. Allow to dry and avoid washing the solution off during watering - rather water the ground around the plants directly. Apply the mixture every day until the insect problem is solved, and after that, spray about once a week to dissuade the critters from coming back.

You can also use this home made spray to discourage mosquitos and other biting insects by spraying on bare skin. You can also spray around windows and doors as a way to prevent insects from entering the home, or if you have  plants near your doors and windows, turn the plants into bug repellents by spraying with this solution.

Bean's Blanket

My sister-in-law is pregnant with her first child, a boy (currently nicknamed "Bean"), so I decided to crochet a baby blanket for him. I chose a wide variety of bright colors, and though I used a rainbow sequence, you'll see that I didn't rigidly stick to a color pattern.
The crochet pattern is very easy, and works well for a baby blanket because it doesn't have lots of gaps for teeny weeny baby toes to get caught in.


Crochet Pattern for Bean's Baby Blanket:

Chain an uneven number
Row1: Work 1 SC (single chain) in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch to end. Ch1, turn.
Row 2: Working through the front loop only, work 1 SC in 1st and each ch to end. Ch1, turn.
Repeat row 2 for pattern.

I used a combination of synthetic yarns and crochet cotton. Because of the different thicknesses of the yarns, I had to be careful to use the thin cottons in a sequence (every 4th row), to avoid the finished product being unevenly weighted.

Above: Every 4th row is cotton, to keep the weight as even as possible. Not all of the synthetic yarn is the same thickness, though. Note how thick the dirty pink is (left of the middle of the photo), compared to the orange next to it. Altogether, the texture is very interesting.

Above: By turning the blanket over after completing each row, there is no '"front" or "back" on the blanket. 

To finish, I used the same stitch to make a border of 6 rows. I debated putting tassles onto the blanket but decided to leave these off, because I didn't want Bean's little nose to be tickled by them. I'm hoping that this will become a real drag-around kind of blanket.

Hope you enjoy your blankie, Bean!

How to Prepare Carrots for Sushi

Small, sweet carrots work best for making sushi. Choose a variety that has a vivid orange color.

Above: Peel and cut the carrots into thin carrot sticks.

Above: To create carrot sticks of the same size, invest in a mandolin. This kitchen utensil really does speed up the preparation process.

Above: This is a close-up of the two mandolin blades used to create carrot sticks. The device can be set for different sized sticks.

Dissolve 200ml rice wine vinegar with 1 tablepoon of sugar and a large pinch of salt. Place your carrots sticks in an air-proof container, and cover with the vinegar solution. Keep the container in the fridge for several hours until the carrot sticks are "floppy". Rinse before use.