Richard's Thought of the Day

It's not how much we have but rather how much we enjoy

Canada Day

Home Hardware will be CLOSED Wednesday, July 1st for Canada Day.
Our hours resume to Monday-Saturday, 8 am - 6 pm for our customers;
closed Sundays and Holidays for our families.

Happy Canada Day Everyone!

Gingersnaps Weekly Menu

Party Dip

Having a BBQ and looking for a light appetizer? Try our Orange Crate Party Dips. Available in 9 flavors, simply mix them up with sour cream, yogurt, mayo or a combination and your good to go. Excellent with veggies, cracker, pretzels or chips. But don't stop at dip. Spice up your baked potato by mixing some in with your sour cream. Add some to your mashed potatoes for a new twist (try Lemon Dill--mmmm). Blend some with cream cheese for a new bagel spread. Toss some in with olive and parm for a new pasta dish.

Back to dipping--Try serving in one of our dip chillers. The dip chillers have a compartment for ice, topped with the dip serving bowl--keeps dips cool and fresh, perfect for parties.

Oh heck yes

I am sure you have all seen it on TV, whether it be the infomercials or Jay Leno or Ellen or the Today Show, well, your wishes have come true and we now have them in stock.

The Snuggie! It's a Blanket with Sleeves! If for some reason you missed hearing about the awesomeness of this product, here is the rundown. Ever want to curl up on the couch, but the blanket won't stay around your shoulders? Or your arms happen to get particularly chilly? The Snuggie solves all of these problems and more! And it comes highly recommended by Heather. All you need is a bowl of popcorn, your Snuggie and The Bachelorette and you're all set for a cuddly evening of entertainment!

Richard's Thought of the Day

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE IMPOSSIBLE
AND THE POSSIBLE IS DETERMINATION

Gingersnaps Weekly Menu

Another beautiful menu!

Richard's Thought of the Day

Success is in the doing, not the getting. In the trying, not the triumph.

New music, get your groove on

Lots of new cd titles now available , including a great selection of new music for babies and toddlers, relaxation titles (spa, yoga, feng shui), kickin' back music and more.

Richard's Thought of the Day

We can not change the cards we are dealt, only how we play them.

Gingersnaps Weekly Menu

Woo, a pretty background this time! Note the NEW Chipotle Chicken Panini on the menu (see the recipe below). Come in and give it a try. Thanks Heather!

Top 10 Gardening Mistakes

Dad found this great article on gardening mistakes. You can read it by clicking here.

An excerpt:

Blunder #3: Overlooking poor soil conditions.

Before planting, prepare your soil. Plants generally do better in “loamy” soil that is rich in organic material and doesn't drain too quickly. Compost enriches the soil, improves drainage and helps to fight off pests and diseases.

Other tips:

• Once you've planted your garden, try to avoid walking on the soil. Every step compacts the soil, making it difficult for plants to grow roots. Instead create footpaths between rows.

• Avoid working the soil when it's wet – or you'll end up with clumps of hard-packed soil once it dries.

• Don't overwork the soil. The best soil isn't fine or powdery but consists of particles of varying sizes and shapes.

I would say neglecting your soil is one of the biggest garden mistakes you can make. Your soil feeds your plant. Mom likes to say (and Mark Cullen does as well, I believe) "put a $10 plant in a $20 hole."

If you don't dig deep enough, dig too deep, have soil that is too hard, or too wet, or doesn't drain well or have plain old bad soil, your plants won't do well. How could they? So do the proper research when planting, making sure to amend your soil with compost, manure and soil booster, and buy soils appropriate for your planting (ie Container mix for planting in pots) and you will be sure to be successful!

Richard's Thought of the Day

The mind is like a garden.
If it isn't fed and cultivated, weeds will take over.

Lamaze Toys, New in Baby

New to our Baby Department are the Lamaze toys and books. These are a personal favorite of Hannah's, and we have some designs in store I have not seen anywhere else. The toys are colorful and fun and feature a variety of elements to entertain and amuse baby--bright colors, different textures and sounds (squeaking, crinkling, rattling, vibrating, etc.). From the Lamaze website:

Lamaze toys and childrens' books* are created in support of the Lamaze Philosophy of Parenting, which encourages a child’s development with parent interaction and supports that babies and children thrive in close, consistent interaction with their parents. The Lamaze “Infant Development System” incorporates the guidance of child development experts from Yale University, and makes it easy for parents to select toys that are appropriate for each stage of a baby’s development.

sounds delish

This recipe comes to you courtesy of the edible gardens website. As I've mentioned before, edible gardens makes delicious oils and vinegars, available in store. Sometimes you get stuck in a rut with oils and vinegars, and use them only for salad dressings or dipping bread. So, behold, a tasty recipe to try... perhaps we can even motivate Heather to put it on the Gingersnaps menu next week... Mmmm

Chipotle Chicken Panini

Tender Chicken breasts are seasoned with our smoky chipotle balsamic to give these gilled sandwiches a spicy Southwestern flair.

Ingredients

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts-8oz.each
• 8 tsp edible gardens Apricot Chipotle Balsamic
• 8 slices country style bread
• edible gardens Basil Oil for brushing
• 8 tsp mayonnaise
• 8 oz White Chedar/ Monterey Jack, shredded
• 1 avacado peeled, pitted and sliced

Instructions

Preheat Panini press.
Marinate each chicken breast 4-6 mins in the Apricot Chipotle Balsamic. Cook the chicken on the press until chicken is firm and nicely grillmarked on both sides.
Brush bread with Basil Oil, flip and spread mayo on other side. Top with cheese, chicken and avocado dividing evenly. Top with bread slice oiled side up. Place two sandwiches o panini press, close lid and cook until cheese is melted, 3-4 ins. Repeat with each sandwich. Cut in half and serve. Ahhhh! Heaven.

Garden Party!!!

Come Celebrate with us as we are designated a
MARK CULLEN APPROVED Garden Centre!

Tuesday, June 16, 2009
6-8 pm.

Events:
-Natural Pest Control
-The Calming Effects of Gardening
-Using Perennials in Containers
-Tips for Herb and Vegetable Gardening
-Water Gardening
-Yoga Demonstration from Pam Sexsmith of Studio Encore Yoga
-Sweet Treats and Fresh Brewed Iced Tea from Sweetpea's
-Feature Speaker--Mark Cullen, discussing organic gardening, Q&A and book signing
-Patio Furniture on Sale
-30% off Trees and Shrubs
-Complete your Garden Party Passport to Enter to Win great prizes!
-Special Sales throughout the garden centre!

Bring a friend and enjoy a relaxing
and entertaining evening!

Richard's Thought of the Day

We assume that the way we see things is the way
they actually are, and our attitudes and behaviors
grow out of those assumptions.

Richard's Thought of the Day

Success is the sum of all small efforts, some repeated day in, day out.

Gingersnaps Weekly Menu

Dwink it up

Behold, the Dwink Juice Box Holder! Designed to fit pretty much any size juice box or pouch, the Dwink box holder prevents little ones from squeezing the juice out of the box while holding it. Heck, even fully grown adults accidentally squeeze the box too much and end up with apple juice all over the place. This holder is great for little ones, with two comfort grip handles and a non-skid bottom. It's also great for parents, as it is dishwasher safe and Made in the USA.

BBQ Adventure update

So last week (I think?) Jeff and I made BBQ'd pizzas. We used this recipe from Martha. I think I might need to knead it more (or less?) or do a better job kneading, because I personally would have liked a silkier crust. This crust was good, don't get me wrong, but I am going to try that next time. Another qualm with the recipe--I think it called for too much flour--I think it should have had 4 or 4 1/2 cups, so keep that in mind if you try it.

This recipe makes 4 pizzas-- we made 2 and froze the rest of the dough (I will give you an update on how that turns out as well). We decided to go classic margherita style. I used a store bought sauce, which I will skip next time (yuck--bitter) and basil from our new herbs from the garden centre. (Looking for herbs, tomatoes, vegetables? ALL the way baaaccckk (that's how we tell customers) in the vegetable greenhouse, at the back of annuals.) I like the sweet basil, it's not too strong. (Another side note--Iron Chef America was all about basil the other night. I missed the end but in the run down on basil, Alton Brown declared that genovese is the most common and thai is the strongest. There--you learned something today!) So, back to my story, next time I will make my own sauce, possibly this one (and possibly I will try this recipe next time, too). One important tip I learned is when making margherita pizza, put the basil on after it is cooked. This creates a fresher taste.

Back to the BBQ--we tried putting the pizza on a pizza pan and putting it directly on the grill. We preferrred it on the grill--it cooked faster and felt more exciting. The technique we used called for us to cook one side then top the cooked side and return to the grill (to grill the bottom and warm the toppings). It was a little hectic bringing it back and forth inside, next time I would have everything out by the grill. But I think this is the way to go, much like when you cook pancakes you add the berries/chocolate chips/etc after cooking the first side.

Anyway, there is your update! Give it a try and let us know what worked and what didn't. Join us again next time for our next BBQ Adventure!

Richard's Thought of the Day

"The greatest battles of life are fought out everyday in the silent chambers of our own hearts"

Be Our Guest

It's always nice to have visitors and we recently had some from Southern Alberta come to visit the store. Regular readers of the blog, they came for a look and some shopping. The picture shows one of our "fans" with her new beach bag, hat and necklace from Personal Expressions--looking good!

But I still haven't found what I'm looking for...

Trying to hunt something down on our blog? Looking for an interesting link, but don't remember where it was? Try our new SEARCH option, located on the right hand side. Enter what you are looking for and BAM! up come options from our blog, our links and the web. Neato!