Why I Love Toe Warmers® Brand Boots

I found the perfect winter boots for ladies.

Toe Warmers® are a Canadian brand that are guaranteed to get you through the harshest winter. They are waterproof, made with genuine leather or suede (usually in the upper), and urethane. The fleece lining is incredibly warm and the skid-proof soles are super grippy.

Wearing my Toe Warmers® booties and ready for winter / © 2015 RoseWrites

Mine have a genuine suede leather upper and a Warmtex™ fleece lining and are "waterproof below the zipper". Click to enlarge image above. NOTE: Quote in grey bubble is from The Friendly Giant (TV Series) created by Bob Homme.

Toe Warmers® are available in men's styles too. At Walking On A Cloud, a famous Canadian shoe store, my man-servant and I tried on several brands of winter boots last year. Remember last winter? According to Sam Colbert of The Star, February was Toronto's coldest month ever.

And this is where we first were sold on the Toe Warmers® brand. Plus, these boots wash up beautifully and last for years. So this year, I thought I'd tout these on my blog (and include an entertaining 1:30 second video). Fortunately, this brand is available on Amazon for an even lower price than what I paid here in Canada.

Last year, I didn't have the gumption to start a blog. I didn't want to bore people with my life. Now I do.

Appealing to Fellow Canadian Ed the Sock

Today was a real blow to my ego. Just as I was feeling empowered to represent writers and charities who were treated unfairly and denied their rightful earnings, a Wikipedia editor removes a supporter's post. 

Yeah.

Apparently, telling the truth and having supporters and charities provide additional proof just isn't enough these days. No, according to "Cyphoidbomb" (a Wikipedia editor):

"... only when mainstream news websites start to care about this petition and write about them from an analytical perspective (i.e. not just press releases) should we care about petitions."

This Wikipedia editor added insults, innuendos, and tried to belittle my (our) Change.org petition. In fact, since the Talk:HubPages page can still be edited, I felt it important to include screenshot proof of just a few sentences of Cyphoidbomb's response.

Naturally, I felt Mr. Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia and Wikia deserved to know what happened. So I wrote him the following:

Dear Mr. Wales, 

I want to report an editor who (I believe) has a "conflict of interest" with HubPages, Inc.

In the past (May 2015), I have successfully added facts to the HubPages Wikipedia page – but not without great resistance from "Cyphoidbomb".

Yesterday, a supporter of my Change.org petition added factual information about my efforts to the HubPages Wikipedia page. We were both shocked by the insults and innuendos that he or she used on the Talk:HubPages page.

Instead of launching into a back-and-forth debate with this person, I decided to update my petition supporters (and you).

In the meantime, I will take the high road and just work harder to let "mainstream media" know about my petition.

It's a shame that (according to Cyphoidbomb): ONLY when "certain media care about writers and their charities" that Wikipedia will consider including such fact-filled information. (I don't believe that this is YOUR mandate, though).

Wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas (or Happy Holidays).

And so, here is where fellow Canadian (and someone I admire greatly) Ed the Sock comes in.

Many of you (actually 3,902) read my piece Bring Back Ed The Sock Please. Below is a screenshot of my stats page (compared to other comedians I wrote about like Jerry Seinfeld, Larry David, Jon Dore, and the cast of 22 Minutes). Obviously, Ed the Sock rules!

Well, I recently discovered that Ed helped Work Together For Fun (WTFF) collect 1,000 pairs of socks for homeless people in Calgary, Alberta. In fact, Ed volunteered for it. He told CBC news:

"I saw them on Twitter and volunteered to help because, well, you don't see a lot of charities or anything else that involves themselves with socks."

Well Ed, I'm hoping you can help promote our petition: HubPages' Writers are Entitled to All Earnings and Removal of Their Author Content. I will contact you privately to try and "work something out" with you.

Addendum: I just voted in Ed the Sock's Biggest A-Holes of 2015 poll (you should too).

December 30th, 2015: Ed the Sock's Biggest A-Holes of 2015: The Bottom 5
January 1st, 2016: Ed the Sock's Top 5 Biggest A-Holes of 2015! (NSFW)

Wishing all of you a Merry Christmas (or Happy Holidays),

Rose

How to Make a Paw Print Keepsake or Ornament (Only 3 Ingredients)

A few days ago, I saw the simplest way to make a DIY Keepsake Paw Print Ornament. And immediately I knew that it was the perfect, almost no-cost way to give a gift from the heart (or to keep the kids happy during the holidays).

Editor Cat has been nudging me to write a Christmas blog post, so she volunteered to help create this pictorial guide.

Editor Cat grabbed flour, salt, food colouring, cookie cutters, and measuring cup

Ingredients

1.5 cups all-purpose flour

1.5 cups salt

food colouring

1 cup water

Directions

In a med-large bowl, mix together flour and salt.

TIP: Add a few drops of food colouring to water first

Add a few drops of food colouring to 1 cup of water. 

Note: the video shows food colouring being added later on, but I found the colour to be more uniform if it is added to the water first.

Add coloured water gradually to flour-salt mixture until a doughy ball begins to form.

On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough until smooth. Then flatten it with your hands.

TIP: I used a sheet of wax paper and the side of a glass to roll the dough out. I aimed for dough to be about a 1/3-inch thick.

Flatten dough by hand or use my wax paper and glass trick / © 2015 RoseWrites

Next, ensure your oven racks are set so that the ornaments will bake in the center and preheat oven to 275 F (135 C).

Editor Cat allowing me to push her paw into salt dough to create a keepsake
© 2015 RoseWrites / All rights reserved 

Editor Cat insisted I gently push her paws into the dough. You could use a round cup to cut out the paw prints or cookie cutters. We tried a few different cookie cutter shapes. 

Use a cookie cutter, glass, or butter knife to outline paw print and poke a hole

Use a skewer or toothpick (or similar pointy thing) to create a hole for a string (or a nail).

Carefully lift (use a spatula) the paw print shapes onto a parchment paper-lined or foil-lined pan and bake for 10 minutes. Allow the ornaments to cool completely (I propped them up on the sides of forks).

After adding a decorative string, hang your keepsake up on the wall or Christmas tree or place in gift box.

Note: This works well with baby feet too.

Editor Cat Selects Her Favourite Paw Print Ornament / © 2015 RoseWrites

Editor Cat Puts Paw Print Ornament on Christmas Tree / © 2015 RoseWrites

Wishing You & Yours a Happy Holiday Season. Love, Editor Cat