Sunset Books

My edition slightly different cover - don't know how different inside....
Anyway, even though I'm not likely to ever own a house and be able to apply a lot of these ideas, and even though many of the inspirations show a decor that doesn't suit my personal taste, I'm not releasing this thrift store find for awhile. ?áIt does a really good job of covering a lot of the basics and the how-tos, and somehow makes it just plain interesting.

I am giving this book five stars not because of the wonderfulness of the recipes, but for its usefulness and its reliance on fresh ingredients. I must have cooked out of this book once a week when my kids were smaller. Some of the recipes didn't work out so well, and I had to do some tweaking (e.g. sautéing all the vegetables before adding them to the pot), but once I got things right the leftovers never languished in the fridge, uneaten.

I have a couple of other slow cooker books, and I show more checked a few out of the library, but they were either impractical--e.g. cook for three hours, then add something, then cook some more--which defeats the purpose of the appliance; or were too ghastly to consider. (I just don't use ingredients such as powdered onion soup.) show less

I wasn't all that keen on some of the projects in here, but quite impressed by the variety. I've made a lot of projects that had their roots in this book, often using their base measurements. Seat heights, widths, & overall project sizes were excellent. They use a lot of plywood & that's not a preferred material for me. I prefer real wood & that meant a lot of changes.

There is a really neat stool in here, that I made for my boys when they were 2 & 4. They kept & used them for years, show more eventually one made it to their younger sister before biting the dust. It was so simple, basically 2 odd squares with an L shape between them. Holes in the square ends allowed the kids to carry them easily. The L turned into a rocking chair, seat or 2 different height stools. Very neat design & much beloved.

When odd shapes need to be drawn, they show it on a grid, so even I can draw a pretty good replica in most any size. They have pretty pony heads for a teeter-totter & a stick pony. I made a cartoon elephant head decoration, too.

If you want to build for kids, this is a great book to keep handy. show less

As the cover says, this is about "design ideas for rooftops, balconies, terraces, and more." I was hoping for something specific to western US climates, since it's published by Sunset, but it's actually fairly generic. So far the Western Garden Book is still my go-to. I'm still experimenting with what will grow in my difficult light conditions and is safe for cats.