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More Attic Goodness

I just wanted to share a few more of the wonderful treasures my mom brought me from her attic clean out. She gave me this box of Joan Walsh Anglund samplers. She is a wonderful children’s illustrator and author, and wrote her first book, A Friend Is Someone Who Likes You in 1958. Apparently, she had numerous requests for prints of illustrations from her books, and so she chose twelve of her favorites and compiled them into this sampler. The illustrations are so sweet and innocent. I can’t wait to get some of them framed and up in the girls’ rooms.
Here are two of my favorites both from her ‘Friend’ book.
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I especially love the illustration of the two girls–looks like Mary and Emma. Not that they stand that way very often….but sometimes.

And a little reality to this sweet little post. I have a major ant problem. They are everywhere in our house. My children at first went all ‘tharn’ when they saw them, but now they are such a regular occurence that Emma says in a sing-songy voice, "not another one!" and Mary greets them as if they were our newest pet.
Did I tell you that when I turned on my iron the other day to press some seams on a project they came frantically swarming out of the little water well? Swarming. Like ten of them. Then of course they are madly crawling all over the iron board. And  still through the water line window, I can see one little corpse floating back and forth. I guess he didn’t make it out. Or maybe the others knocked him back down into the water.
I’ve done the ant traps, which seem to make them increase, not decrease. And two days ago, I broke down and bought some spray. But when I really sat and read the label, I couldn’t bare to spray it around my home. They are advertising the spray’s residual effect and ability to still kill ants twelve(!) days after you’ve sprayed. Not in my house.
So does anyone have a more natural yet effective way to deal with my nasty little problem? A few days ago, three of them fell from the ceiling on to my shoulder and arm. And then there was one on the toilet seat which has made me madly paranoid every time I sit down. So I’ll spare you the rest of the details…but I’m open for suggestions. Obviously.

I just wanted to share a few more of the wonderful treasures my mom brought me from her attic clean out. She gave me this box of Joan Walsh Anglund samplers. She is a wonderful children’s illustrator and author, and wrote her first book, A Friend Is Someone Who Likes You in 1958. Apparently, she had numerous requests for prints of illustrations from her books, and so she chose twelve of her favorites and compiled them into this sampler. The illustrations are so sweet and innocent. I can’t wait to get some of them framed and up in the girls’ rooms.
Here are two of my favorites both from her ‘Friend’ book.
Img_4026

Img_4027

I especially love the illustration of the two girls–looks like Mary and Emma. Not that they stand that way very often….but sometimes.

And a little reality to this sweet little post. I have a major ant problem. They are everywhere in our house. My children at first went all ‘tharn’ when they saw them, but now they are such a regular occurence that Emma says in a sing-songy voice, "not another one!" and Mary greets them as if they were our newest pet.
Did I tell you that when I turned on my iron the other day to press some seams on a project they came frantically swarming out of the little water well? Swarming. Like ten of them. Then of course they are madly crawling all over the iron board. And  still through the water line window, I can see one little corpse floating back and forth. I guess he didn’t make it out. Or maybe the others knocked him back down into the water.
I’ve done the ant traps, which seem to make them increase, not decrease. And two days ago, I broke down and bought some spray. But when I really sat and read the label, I couldn’t bare to spray it around my home. They are advertising the spray’s residual effect and ability to still kill ants twelve(!) days after you’ve sprayed. Not in my house.
So does anyone have a more natural yet effective way to deal with my nasty little problem? A few days ago, three of them fell from the ceiling on to my shoulder and arm. And then there was one on the toilet seat which has made me madly paranoid every time I sit down. So I’ll spare you the rest of the details…but I’m open for suggestions. Obviously.

17 comments on “More Attic Goodness”

  1. Molly, I’ve heard of someone using some sort of gadget you plug in and it gives a high frequency noise that’s supposed to scare the ants away.

    I don’t have any names for it – sorry, some help I am! – but I remember they said it worked for them. Perhaps if you google it? It might set you in the right direction.

    Hope it helps!

  2. I have heard of those high frequency things too but I am not sure if they work. Ants are big here and I remember someone saying if you put lines of cayenne pepper where they come in and on the counters near food it helps. Also Bay leaves? (Am I making that up? I can’t remember but its worth a try!)The other things about traps is see if they are eating the poison stuff inside. We had ants that didn’t eat a particular kind so we had to try something new and they ate that. I think it takes awhile with the traps but I think they have to be the right one for the type of ant so they eat it and take it back to their buddies. Good luck! I laughed at the ants in the iron but the whole dropping from the ceiling thing grossed me out!

  3. we are anti-poisons-in-our-house, too. my husband bought this natural ant spray that has clove oil, and some other natural oils in it. it doesn’t even smell bad! it seemed to work better the 2nd + day after, rather than the first for some reason.

    it’s concentrate – here’s the name my husband wrote on the spray bottle:

    bioganic octopamine.

    hope that helps!

  4. We’ve had success with the traps (the little round metal ones). It does look like there are more ants at first, but I think that’s because they’re all coming for a taste of the trap food. After a few days–no more ants.

    I remember Joan Walsh Anglund, too! I think there was a woman’s magazine (maybe Good Housekeeping? hmmm) that featured some of her drawings and a paper doll every month. Instantly recognizable and so very sweet. Thank you for posting!

  5. love anglund! d still has a couple of her books from when he was a boy.

    as for the ants. we have used a citrus air freshener (from Whole Foods) to, ahem, kill them. also seems to keep them away. at least for a while. also tried drawing a chalk line where they were entering which seemed to work but only for a very short time. (great book on this topic called Tiny Game Hunting : http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/8778.html)

    good luck! and have a lovely lovely long weekend!!

  6. If they are sugar ants, I highly recommend “Terro”. I’m not sure how natural, etc. it is – it’s sugar and boric acid – but we first bought it because it seems like every Spring, we have a week chock full o’ ants. Terro is very effective, and we were told it was safe in households with pets/children – just keep it up out of the way so that kids/pets don’t eat it.

    It’s a clear thick liquid and you put a big drip of it on a little cardboard square. Then set that in the path of the ants. They gather up the sticky stuff and take it back to the nest with them. It’s not immediate, but you’ll notice the ant population dwindling off within a few days.

    Hope this works!

  7. I love those illustrations. That illustrator’s name is actually giving me dejavu in some way I can’t describe, but hopefully it will come to me. My friend in NC had a terrible problem with carpenter ants a few years ago. I can tell you the one thing that worked for her that probably won’t be a consideration in your case…lawsuit.

    Good luck, share any miraculous erradicators with us.

  8. I love the illustrator too! I actually have a birthday plate with my birth month. My sister also had the actual collectible dolls too!

    Thanks for the memory jolt!

  9. What a coincidence! I have 4 of those prints that are from the same sample, The box that they came in have the illustration of the two girls…I got them from ebay a few years ago and I just love them, I also have one of J.W. Anglund dolls and some little books. We had also ants here, the first time we saw they were all over the carpet and the kitchen, we did a total clean-up and after trying “natural” remedies, like vinegar, chinese chalk that didn’t work that well, my husband just got some spraying stuff from Home Depot (Ortho Home Defense Max) that is really keeping them outside the house…where they belong.

  10. What precious finds you getting from that attic!I wish you luck on the ant problem. I know they are sprays you can spray around the outside of your house, but I’m sure they are not the safest either. I’ve heard of things like coffe grounds around the outside of your house, but I don’t know if it really works or if it they are used or dry grounds??

  11. First of all, I love the prints you showed us – esp the swinging from the tree one. It’s too gorgeous!

    Now to the serious business of ants. If you can’t bear to use ant sand (poison-soaked sand you sprinkle around your house – they like it and take it back to their nest and it kills them – sad but stops them!), there is a natural alternative that might work – you leave cucumber peels around the outside of your house where they’re getting in. Apparently they love the cucumber skins and they don’t bother coming in! Looks a bit untidy, but it’s safe and I have heard it works!! (haven’t tried it here as we were very un-Buddhist-like and used the ant sand 🙂

  12. I remember those books from my childhood, too, esp. “A friend is someone who likes you”. I loved reading them over and over. They weren’t mine, though.

    Here are some ‘green’ advice on how to get rid of ants, none of which I’ve tried. If you find their nests, pour boiling water on them (ouch)Put out honey traps, i.e. bowls of honey and water.Spray with an infusion of wormwood or tansy.

  13. Ok, seriously, there are times that the blogoshpere just FREAKS.ME.OUT!!!! Today, whilst thrifting, I bought a copy of ‘A Friend Is Someone Who Likes You’! And no I hadn’t seen your post beforehand. Soo can you imagine how freaky it was to pop on over here and see the very book (that I’ve never heard of or seen before I bought it today) being written about by you. I’m sure that everyone is just think ‘oh, that’s a coincidence isn’t it’. But this is third time this has happened to me and I think it’s down right weird. Weird I tell ya!Weird!

  14. Love those prints!

    We get small ants occasionally and I spray the threshold of my outside doors. It kills them before they even come in the house. I hate to use sprays, too, because of small children and pregnancy, but since this is “outside” I feel a little safer.

  15. We have an ant problem in our store and a customer gave us this, which seemed to work really well:

    Non toxic ant recipe:2 tsp Borax (found in the laundry section of grocery store)1/4 cup sugar3/4 WaterMix and let the ants enjoy. I recommend putting some on the ground and then in a lid or in a yogurt container with holes poked in it. They will come in droves and take it back to the queen and kill her. Good luck with your ants.

  16. I have her friends book and ADORE it…cant seem to pass it on to a friend though…just smile at the cuteness…my little girl related so much to the authors inspiration at writing the book…so a perfect match here…

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