Home & Garden

Your guide to home improvement, gardening, entertaining and design in New Jersey

Apple cheddar muffins

Who knew that buying cheese could be a good deed?

Starting tomorrow through Oct. 18, a "Clear-the-Shelves for a Good Deed" campaign aims to sell at least 240,000 bars of Cabot cheese from New Jersey, New York and Connecticut stores. Cabot will donate 5% of revenues from the sales to help nonprofits that work against poverty and climate change.

The campaign is the brainchild of Good Deed Foundation founder Andrew Martin, creator of such healthy food brands as SmartFood and Annie's. If the campaign is a success, Martin hopes to sign up more companies to stamp the Good Deed logo to their products, thereby increasing product sales while helping causes. It's an approach similar to the pink products now marketed with donations to help fight breast cancer. For more information visit gooddeedfoundation.org.

Here's a muffin recipe from Cabot that celebrates fall with a comforting blend of cheddar and apples. It's peak apple season, so there are plenty of varieties to try.

Fabulous Fun with Puzzles from Joseph Leeming

OK, word wizards, we've got a challenge: Punctuate the following list of words to create six sentences that make sense.

That that is is that that is not is not that that is is not that that is not that that is not is not that that is is that not so it is

To get the answer, keep reading or buy Fabulous Fun with Puzzles, (Time Inc., $13.95) a newly published collection of vintage puzzles by the late puzzle and craft master Joseph Leeming.

Homedics HMDX protable mp3 speakers

If you want to make a real difference in the fight against breast cancer, volunteering your time or donating to an organization you believe in is your best bet. But if you are in the market for anything from paper towels to home furnishings, the choice of a pink product might just help you give a little bit more. October is national Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and we've selected a sampling of the pink products available from a variety of makers. Each will donate a portion of the selling price to a selected breast cancer cause. And if you're shopping for books or music online, visit Barnes & Noble through the e-shop link at CancerCare.org. The book seller will then donate 8.5 percent of your purchase to CancerCare, a national nonprofit organization offering free counseling, education, practical help and financial assistance to people with cancer and their loved ones.

Go, girl

Homedics HMDX audio will donate $1 from each sale its portable mp3 speakers to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The speakers, which also store the player, are $9.99 each at Linens 'n' stores, at lnt.com or 866-568-7378. Learn about the foundation, find other partner products or make a direct donation at bcrfcure.org.

Bette Davis stamp

You can have Bette Davis eyes -- and the rest of her, too, on a new U.S. commemorative stamp.

In the centennial year of her birth, Davis has become the 14th person to be honored in the Legends of Hollywood stamp series. Fellow Academy Award-winner Lauren Bacall was part of the first-day ceremony Sept. 18 at Boston University.

The 42-cent stamp features a painting by Michael J. Deas based on a black-and-white still photo of Davis during the filming of one of her signature roles, aging Broadway star Margo Channing in "All About Eve" in 1950.

Spray foam insulation expands to stop cold air from coming through gaps around basement windows and doors. A 16 ounce can of Great Stuff insulation will cost about $5 at Home Depot stores.

We used to worry about catching a cold from an old house's drafts. Now we worry about losing our shirts.

Part of our country's housing stock was built when heating fuel was cheap and insulation unheard of. So present-day folk who assume ownership of older houses often face a huge task in improving their homes' energy efficiency.

It's possible to button up a house without sacrificing its character, say two preservation experts, Dave Mertz of the Building Preservation Technology Program at Belmont Technical College in St. Clairsville, Ohio, and Noelle Lord of Old House CPR in Limington, Maine (oldhousecpr.com).

Mertz's program focuses on developing the hands-on and analytic skills needed for preserving historical buildings; Lord's company provides assistance and consultation to people who restore old homes. She's also a contributing editor for Old House Journal and is writing "The Old House Handbook," due out in 2010 from Taunton Press.

LISA POOLE/ASSOCIATED PRESS This chest is among artisan-made reproductions of 17th century furnishings sold by Plimoth Plantation, a historic site in Plymouth, Mass. Prices start at $5,000.

PLYMOUTH, Mass. (AP) -- It's a handcrafted wooden chest with two rows of side by side drawers, a type found in 17th century New England.

But this beautiful piece of furniture, made from oak and pine, with decorative red and black applied moldings and wooden turned drawer pulls, is not an antique.

It's a brand new reproduction of a chest made in Plymouth colony in Massachusetts between 1660 and 1700. The artisan who made it, Peter Follansbee, works at Plimoth Plantation, a living history attraction that depicts the lives of the settlers.

"Peter's work is a real lost art, rediscovered," said Plimoth Plantation spokeswoman Jennifer Monac. "He makes about 20 pieces per year, including specialty boxes, chests, chairs, cupboards, etc. Boxes can start at $800 and go from there. Chests start at $5,000 and up."

Until I met Teri Danahey and her husband, Daniel Fevre, I had never heard of herding (pun intended) as a competitive sport. For the past year, the Warren couple has been trekking to Creepy Hollow Farm in Spencer, Mass., a couple of weekends every month with their German shepherds, Jack and Cammi, to herd sheep.

The dogs are doing what comes naturally for their breed -- going back centuries. "It doesn't take much training to learn how to herd," says Danahey. "It took us longer to learn the moves than Jack or Cammi. By the time we figured it out, they already had it."

Now, they could give lectures on the sport.

Historically, farmers worldwide have faced the challenge of keeping livestock in line. "They were always looking for dogs who could do better protecting the sheep," Danahey says. "Competition was a natural evolution for herders to compare whose dog did better."

This boat-shaped milk glass inkwell was patented in 1870. It has a pewter top decorated with an anchor and chair. It sold for $160 at a Glass Works auction in East Greenville, Pa.

Writing a letter? You're probably using a ballpoint pen or a computer. But our ancestors used other writing instruments.

If you wanted to write a letter in the 17th century, you were probably wealthy and had a scribe do the writing for you. By the 18th century, educated men and women wrote their own letters.

Ink was made from powder and water until a ready-mix was invented in 1836. At first, ink had to be kept in an airtight container made of pottery, not glass, because ink lost color in sunlight. An inkwell with a tight cap was one solution. An inkwell, pen, pounce (used to dry ink) and wafers used to seal letters were kept on the desk. Sometimes they were all inside a large box.

Some inkwells were made in fanciful shapes, and some inkstands included decorative figurines. The fountain pen and ball-point pen made the inkwell obsolete. But inkwells and inkstands are popular collectibles. You can find glass, pottery, silver, pewter and even horn or wooden inkwells at prices ranging from $50 to $5,000.

Butterick pattern 4998

Dear Eunice:
I do quite a lot of sewing, but have never tried making a jacket. Can you help with a pattern suggestion that isn't too difficult?
-- Marli P.

Dear Marli:
I suggest Butterick 4998, size 10-22. It is a simple, notched-collar, classic jacket with the new shorter length and rounded front edges that are so flattering. It also features a sleeve variation and a vest. This would be a great all-purpose jacket and could span the seasons by combining it with skirts and pants. Yes, it's even marked "easy."

Dear Eunice:
How in the world can you tell the size of the machine needle when you try to put it back after using it?
-- Connie G.

Deanna BenitezUnknown caterpillar spotted in East Windsor Township.

Mail continues to pour in on the subject of butterflies, who seem to have fans in every corner of the state.

Since we started asking where the butterflies are this season, more of you have written in to share sightings, experiences and photos. Check out this portrait of an unknown caterpillar that Deanna Benitez found in East Windsor Township.

"...(this) suprisingly large caterpillar hung out in my driveway for a few hours last week. It captured the attention of the whole neighborhood!" she wrote.

Okay, caterpillar experts -- who is this character?