We Just Couldn't Do It...

By now most of you have taken down your Christmas Tree and some of you are in the process or getting ready to take it down, and put away all those wonderful Christmas decorations.  But we just couldn't do it, the tree looks so pretty and green (it's artificial so it'll stay green for quite some time).  We decided to upcycle our tree into a cozy winter scene:

We have our scene complete with a sled, cardinals, faux snow, and a fauxman (snowman).  But this is only one way a tree can be upcycled/recycled.  There are tons of things you can do with your REAL tree once the decorations are off of it other than have it hauled off to the landfill. (These ideas are not intended for artificial trees)

If there is a lot of snow where you are, consider using your tree to make a bird habitat, once all the decorations, tinsel, etc., is off of your tree, haul it out to your backyard and securely stake it so that it is standing.  Then you can "decorate" the tree by hanging strings of popcorn, fruit, veggie slices, or suet holders.  This provides birds a place to rest with plenty of food nearby, which I'm sure they'll appreciate when there is snow on the ground and they cannot get to their natural feeding spots.  Karma points all around for this one, recycling and helping out mother nature!

Do you have flower beds that will need mulch come spring? (Ah, spring you seem so far away.)  Then you can use a wood chipper and turn your tree into mulch that will help out your flowers.  Hmmm...you already paid for the tree, why not do this and save yourself a little extra cash later this year?

Also you can always trim off those branches to dry out and use for kindling your wood stove.  If the weather goes back to what it was just a couple've weeks ago then this use would definitely come in handy this winter.

Did you upcycle/recycle your tree?  If so what did you do with it?  We are always hungry for more ideas on how to keep things out of the landfills!

New Starts this New Year

We've been getting a few things done at Red Hill General Store already this year, one of those things being starting blogs for two of our Sister Sites.  We are very excited to introduce these blogs to you and to get them up and running.  We would love feedback on them about what direction YOU would like to see these two blogs take.  So click the links below and leave us some comments so that we can make these blogs about what our customer/reader wants. 

Heating Safely...

Got a couple of tips for those of you needing heat this year:

 1.  Do not use any fuel-burning space heater indoors, e.g. gas stove, grill, camp stove, etc. This is very dangerous when these items are left unattended.  Find a family member or friend to stay with instead.  However, if there is no other option due to inclement weather, etc. if you decide to use these heating sources do so with extreme caution.  Use plenty of ventilation, common sense, and turn them off if you feel unsafe at any point.

2. Be sure any furnaces or wood stoves have been inspected regularly and had any problems properly fixed.  Also be sure to inspect the stovepipe on wood stoves regularly, and if any needs replacing know what type of pipe you have whether it is single wall stove pipe, or double wall stove pipe.  Also check your wood stove gasket to be sure it doesn't need replacing before using it each winter.


3. If you do use kerosene heaters make sure you have kerosene heater wicks, heater wicks come in cotton and fiberglass wicks.  Also make sure you have your manual to your kerosene heater or know where to find one online.  Red Hill General Store has several kerosene heater manuals for your use on their kerosene heater questions page.

4.  If a power outage is not expected to last very long, the best place could be to share body heat with family members snuggled up in bed and bundled in coats and warm clothing.

5.  Another tip is for those that have wood stoves, if your power is out for very long you may have to resort to using the wood stove to cook on.  In that case, use proper woodstove cookware and be sure food is cooked thoroughly as you do not want to add food poisoning to a power outage situation.

These are just a few safety tips for keeping warm this winter.  There are many more, and each tip might vary on your particular situation.  Please share other tips, or experiences with using emergency heat in our comments.

Calling for Snow.

The weatherman is saying that we might be getting snow this weekend.  I can't believe it is that cold this soon.  Seems like the cold snap came early.  Here at Red Hill General Store we are doing our best to stay bundled up and warm.  We are wearing our Carhartt Coats and hanging out near any heat source.  Some of us are wanting to install the Napoleon Cast Iron Wood Burning Stove in our personal homes.  If this winter is as bad as last year's, it might not be a bad idea to have a heat source that is not dependent upon electricity.

Last year the children in our area missed an entire month of school due to inclement weather.  Many people could not make it to work, and those that did spent a lot of time shoveling out their driveways.  Others stayed indoors and baked, read books, caught up on television shows, or just enjoyed the warm fire.  It might not hurt to also invest in some new Presto cookbooks just in case you need a few recipe ideas on those days you are stuck at home. 

What do you do when you are stuck inside during bad weather?