Ladies, This Is the Garden Hose You’ve Been Waiting For

Still the Best Garden Hose I've Ever Used - Here's Why

Back in 2020, I first reviewed one of those retractable, expandable lightweight garden hoses—and let me tell you, it was love at first spray. 

Fast-forward to today, and it's still the only type of hose I'll use. Once you experience the freedom of not dragging a heavy, stiff, tangled mess around the yard, there's no going back.

This year, I picked up another one for the backyard, and the moment I hooked it up, I was reminded why I fell for it in the first place. 

If the marketing teams behind these things aren't focusing on women, especially women who enjoy yard work, they're seriously missing a golden opportunity.

Here's why this hose continues to be a garden essential for me:

1. It's featherlight

Dragging around a traditional hose used to be a full-on workout. This one? I can carry it with one hand while sipping my coffee with the other. It's that light—and yes, that matters.

2. It stores like a dream

When you're done, it shrinks right up and hangs easily over the hose holder. There is no fighting with coils, no awkward loops falling off, and no grumbling required.

3. It saves space

Our 50-foot hose for the backyard takes up a third of the space the old one did. It practically disappears when it's not in use, which is great if you're tired of looking at a messy hose heap.

4. It looks tidy

I never thought I'd describe a hose as "not ugly," but here we are. It's sleek and minimal and doesn't distract from the garden or patio like those bulky green beasts we used to have.

5. No need for bulky wind-up holders

We've got one of those old-school hose boxes in the garage for the front yard, but we didn't want that eyesore cluttering up the backyard. With this hose, you just drape it over a hook or holder and call it a day.

6. Mornings are more leisurely now

One of my favorite parts of the day is watering the plants first thing in the morning. With the old hose, it felt like a chore before I even had my coffee. Now? I pop outside, grab the lightweight hose, water everything in minutes, and actually enjoy the moment.

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There are plenty of lightweight expandable hoses out there, and they come in a range of lengths to suit your yard or patio size. 

⭐If you’re looking for something simple and compact, here’s a popular 25ft lightweight hose you can check out⭐

It's a great option for smaller spaces or quick watering jobs—and trust me, once you try one of these types of hoses, you won't want to go back.

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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National Jelly Bean Day Review

National Jelly Bean Day is a Food Awareness Day celebrated each year on April 22. 

The Jelly Bean

There are dozens of companies who make Jelly beans. Just one company makes the Jelly Belly jelly bean. It was first just a brand of the Herman Goelitz Candy Company. Today, it is its own company ~ the Jelly Belly Company. 

The Jelly Belly Company makes over 50 flavors of beans. The difference between Jelly Beans and Jelly Belly beans is the taste. The standard jelly beans have no flavoring or coloring in the center, whereas Jelly Belly flavors both the centers and the shells.  Jelly Belly beans are smaller, but have a more intense flavor and are made in exotic flavors.

Fun Facts About Jelly Beans

Although no one knows who started National Jelly Bean Day, the first mention of the jelly bean can be traced back to an 1861 ad by William Schrafft, a confectioner in Boston, which promoted sending jelly beans to soldiers in the Union Army during the Civil War. 

• Candymakers have always made candy into novelty shapes, which seems to be the main reason this egg-shaped candy ended up being called jelly beans

• Being egg-shaped, the Jelly Bean became popular starting in the 1930s as the perfect candy for Easter Baskets. By the way, if you lined up all the jelly beans eaten by folks during the Easter holidays, they could circle the Earth three times! In fact, about 5 billion Jelly beans are eaten at Easter. 

• There are 4 calories in each Jelly Bean.

• And the ‘funnest’ facts of all….. 

Jelly Beans were President Reagan’s favorite candies. He used them to quit smoking when he was governor of California. 

About 3 tons of red, white, and blue jelly beans were used during Reagan’s inauguration as the 40th President of the United States

Jelly Belly beans were the first jelly beans in space, sent on the 1983 Challenger mission by President Reagan as a surprise for the astronauts.

Reagan’s favorite flavor was licorice! 

SUMMARY

National Jelly Bean Day is a fun holiday often associated with Easter traditions because the egg-like shape of the jelly bean reminds us of the Easter Bunny delivering eggs as a sign of Spring. 

National Jelly Bean Day
April 22

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*National Jelly Bean Day holiday review was written by Wednesday Elf

JELLY BEANS:  

ClassicBrach Jelly Beans Bulk, Assorted Flavors, 2 Pound Bulk Pack - Delicious Traditional Jelly bean Candy for Easter Egg Hunts, and Baskets

The Jelly Bean Planet, Gourmet Jelly Beans Gift 42.5 Oz Jar - 36 Huge Natural Fruit Flavors, Seasonal, Birthday, Easter Candy, Plant Based Colors - Gluten Free, Fun Bulk Sweets Assortment

Jelly Belly 49 Assorted Flavors Jelly Beans - 1 Pound (16 Ounces) Resealable Bag - Genuine, Official, Straight from the Source

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Easter Treats for Cats Reviewed

This year I included my grandkitty in a family tradition and sent her an Easter treat.  I'm not sure why I have not done so in the past since I have adored all of my grandkitties.  Of course, I have sent them Christmas gifts each year, but just didn't think about the Easter treat.

Every year I buy a chocolate Easter bunny for our children as their special treat for Easter.  They are both grown adults now, but I still buy them a chocolate Easter bunny.  When my daughter got married, I started including our son-in-law in that tradition.  Even now that they are vegans, I sought out a vegan chocolate bunny (which they love) for them and shipped it directly to their home for delivery.

I wanted to send my grandkitty a chocolate bunny kitty treat, but could not find one, so I settled for a bunny carrot filled with cap nip.  I guess we can just say the carrot is a related or corresponding gift to the chocolate bunnies.  

I've already decided what I will send my grandkitty next year, now that the Peeps catnip toys have been daughter approved.  I can hardly wait!  I like the looks of Peeps cat nip toys better than the carrot, but I am quite sure my grandkitty will love fighting and "kicking" the carrot.  

Update:  While writing this article, I thought "why wait?" so I promptly ordered the Peeps catnip toys for my grandkitty!  They will arrive after Easter, but she won't mind.

 

Catnip Filled Carrot Cat Toy

 OurPets 100-Percent North American Catnip Filled Carrot Cat Toy 24 KaratCheck Price

Reduce your kitties boredom or stress by giving them a cat toy to play with. The carrot is filled with catnip which will entice the kitty to play with it. 

I chose the carrot cat toy because of the excellent reviews, as well as the awesome videos showing cats really enjoying their playtime with this specific cat toy.  Since it is only 4½ inches long, without the feathers, I was concerned it might not be long enough.  However, after watching several cats grasp the top in the mouth and kick the carrot with their hind paws, I knew it would be perfect.

Hopefully, the canvas fabric will make it more durable and hold up longer to the kitty chewing.  After having grandkitties for 17 years now, I know how important durable fabric is around them.

Now, let's all go play "kick the carrot"!

  

Catnip Filled Peeps Bunnies for Cats

 Peeps for Pets Peeps Bunnies Plush Catnip Cat Toys in Pink and Blue, 4" - 2 countCheck Price

Aren't these Peeps catnip toys just the cutest cat toys you have ever seen? And, the perfect Easter treat for my grandkitty, and your kitty too!  

There are 2 Peep catnip toys in the package.  

Like the carrot, they are only 4" long, but they also received excellent reviews, although one reviewer said she opened the stitching on the toy, added more catnip and stitched it back up for her cat.  That sounds like a great way to make an adorable cat toy more enticing for play.

These Peeps for Pets are officially licensed by Peeps and even have the Peeps trademark tag. 

   

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Easter Treats for Cats Reviewed by:

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Our Adoption Story, Book Review

Our Adoption Story: The Story of How We Met Our Baby, is a book for adoptive parents to fill out, so that each one can tell the story of how they met their baby.

This book has guided prompts to help the adoptive parents fill in the blanks, so that they can write their own adoption story, and also share information about their baby, such as how meeting their baby came about, things they did the day that they brought their baby home, things they did to prepare ahead of time for bringing their baby home, etc.

Some pages also include little images to help out with the written prompts, as a fun way for the parents to personalize their story.

There are also pages that include a simple picture frame to add a picture to help depict what that page is about.

The inspiration behind this book:

My husband and I became adoptive parents decades ago. It was before the internet, so most exchanges of information were done locally, and or reading magazines, finding a group, etc.

When a couple becomes adoptive parents, things can happen rather quickly. Adoptive parents can find out that they are 'expecting' their baby anywhere from a day, to weeks, or months, before their baby is ready for adoption. It can be a whirlwind to prepare and get things ready for the day, for this new bundle of life to enter their lives. Some perspective adoptive parents can also be on a waiting list that can take even longer.

We actually found out about our potential baby around a couple of weeks before the baby was to be born. We didn't know for sure which gender we were 'expecting', but we at least had an idea. We purchased baby clothes, a crib, a dresser that included a changing table on the top. We waited to see what formula the hospital was feeding our baby, before purchasing baby formula. We also purchased diapers, both cloth and disposables.

The day came and we were both excited and nervous. But all of that changed once our baby was handed to us.

We had already made an appointment with a local pediatrician; our first stop before arriving home was with with the pediatrician. There, the doctor showed us how to change the baby's diaper, take her temperature, and gave us other new parent information.

Some time after that, I joined a parenting group, where I could take our baby. The new parents could learn about being parents. That was a great learning experience; it was very helpful. I also noticed that the new moms also talked a lot about their pregnancy and birthing stories. There was no one in the group on that particular day of the week, that I could relate to. But I did hear about another adoptive mom that went to that parenting group on a different day of the week, that wanted to start a play group for adoptive parents. Yay!

There ended up being five of us adoptive moms and five babies in our adoption play group. We all had different adoption stories. And we all had a learning curve; there were many similarities to new moms of any type, learning how to be a mom, but also things that were unique to us, as adoptive moms.

After all of this, I decided to write a story, just for our child, for her to be able to read and know some basic background about our adoption experience and information about her.

I wrote our story on index cards, and included pictures from magazines to help explain whatever, and pictures of us and her as well. I wrote answers to questions that might arise, using simple words. It became a favorite book for us to read together.

After many years, the idea came to me to make something that other adoptive parents could easily fill in and personalize, so that they could share their story with their baby.

This paperback booklet measures 6 by 9 inches and is 24 pages long. It is simple to fill out, and add photographs to. It will be a lovely, informative book for when the child is young, and also a wonderful keepsake for years to come.

Our Adoption Story - to be filled in by the adoptive parents. Check price.

Let me know in a comment below, if you think a similar booklet would be a good idea for adoptive parents that adopt a toddler or an older child. Thank you.

Update: Thank you for your comments. I will be designing three more adoption story books; one for toddlers, grade school children, and teens., each of which will include sections for the child to have some input.

Cheryl Paton

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Smuggler's Cove ~ A Book Review

Who doesn't like a book title that just kind of grabs your attention?  Add an author that has so many books under her belt that have been best sellers and you have my attention.  

I was in a funk with my reading preferences and needed a change of pace!  

While I love reading, lately my personal life has made sitting and reading a wish that was not going to come true.  But, and here's the truth, I needed something to lift me out of the dark places that I was in.

A good story with characters that have grown and changed with all the curve balls life can sometimes throw at you, was what I needed!

Fern Michaels hit all of these points for me with her first book in the Twin Lights Series, Smuggler's Cove!

Madison and Lincoln are living a good life filled with every good thing you could think of.  Their mother has sheltered them most of their lives even though they are privileged, they are not your typical spoiled rich kids.  This works in their favor when their father is arrested and jailed for insider trading and fraud.  Madison uses her keen sense of style to carve out a path in the fashion world as an editor for La Femme magazine.  Her younger brother Lincoln goes into wealth management with a keen eye to doing the "right" things with money!  Especially after witnessing the mayhem and hatred people had after his father's arrest and conviction.

Madison and Linc have left the past behind and worked hard to shed themselves of their father's image.  Both change their names and go on to be very successful in their new reality.  It wasn't easy, but both of them are happy with the work ethics and their lives as they work hard to be anything opposite to what their father was.

They now learn that their uncle (their dad's brother) has passed away and left them the marina at Smuggler's Cove. 

Madison and Linc are hoping for a beautiful place that they can quickly sell and divest themselves of this marina.  Neither one of them knows anything about fishing, clamming or anything else to do with boats.  This is out of their scope of knowledge and selling it seems to be the right thing to do.  That was until they arrived at the marina to find a dilapidated dock, some fishing boats and not much else.

Now I've set the background for you and it's time for you to get the book and read what happens next!  Let's just say that all their plans are turned upside down and with it their lives will take a whole new direction.  You will enjoy finding out all the ins and outs that Madison and Linc navigate as they make decisions that will have some lasting effects.

Smuggler's Cove is a great story that will have you turning pages to find out all the comings and goings in a little place on the Navesink River!  

You have to mark your calendars for Smuggler's Cove as it will be released in August of this year. I was given the pleasure of a sneak preview of this book through my NetGalley membership!  

If you like reading books before they are published you can join NetGalley or any of the other sites for keen readers!  You would find more information about that in one of my earlier reviews right here!  Calling all Bibliophiles!

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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