‘MaryJane’s Outpost’ entices women outside

‘MaryJane’s Outpost’ entices women outside

Who knew communing with nature could be so enchanting?

MaryJane Butters manages to add dashes of whimsy and femininity to the great outdoors in “MaryJane’s Outpost: Unleashing Your Inner Wild.” It’s a book aimed at enticing women outside with such projects as backyard bathtubs, outdoor smorgasbords and “glamping,” glamour camping with a vintage trailer.

Butters is sort of an agrarian Martha Stewart, producing books, a magazine and charmingly homey products that run the gamut from bath mats to biscuit mixes. She brings an outdoorswoman’s pedigree to the pursuit: She was raised by parents committed to self-sufficiency, she’s worked as a wilderness ranger and she runs an organic farm in northern Idaho.

“MaryJane’s Outpost” gives simple living a homespun chic. Butters teaches her readers how to make candle lanterns out of quart jars, how to assemble an emergency road kit in an old hat box and how to fillet a fish and then use it to whip up herb-crusted trout with garlic spinach.

The book is published by Clarkson Potter and is priced at $30 in hardcover.

EZ Leaf Hauler: lots of extras, needs little space

The EZ Leaf Hauler is a tarpaulin with extras.

The device, billed as ”a giant dustpan for leaves,” is a polyethylene tarp with a back and sides for better containment. Its handles make hauling and dumping easier, and its attached stakes allow it to be anchored to the ground on windy days.

The tarp can hold as much as five wheelbarrows, but it requires little storage space.

The EZ Leaf Hauler comes in two sizes, with 35 and 24 square feet of hauling surface. Their suggested retail prices are $29.99 and $25.99, respectively.

The product is available online at Home Products ’N’ More (www.homeproductsnmore.com), Urban Garden Center (www.urbangardencenter.com) and Yard Lover (www.yardlover.com).

Dutch Boy Refresh Paint helps eliminate odors

You’ve heard it before: Smell is the strongest sense tied to memory. So, if that logic isn’t faulty, that means that a home that stinks creates bad memories.

Dutch Boy Refresh Paint is formulated with Arm & Hammer odor-eliminating technology, which captures odors from the air and traps them in the paint film. The latex paint provides a zero Volatile Organic Compound formulation and mildew-resistant coating. Refresh is Indoor Air Quality certified by the Greenguard Environmental Institute and is available in flat, eggshell and satin latex enamel finishes.

Its plastic container has a resealable, twist-off lid and is lightweight and recyclable.

Cost starts at $23 per gallon.

Go to dutchboy.com/refresh or call (800) 828-5669 for details on availability.

Web site can help first-time homebuyers

First-time homebuyers, read carefully.

The National Association of Home Builders has launched a consumer Web site that might be helpful to you. The site is federalhousingtaxcredit.com.

It offers detailed explanations of the new first-time-homebuyer tax credit, including how it works, who qualifies and payback information.

The tax credit, which expires June 30, can be as much as $7,500 and applies to first-time buyers who purchased a home on or after April 9, 2008, and before July 1, 2009.

Go to the site for links to frequently asked questions, provisions on the law and other homebuyer resources.

If you miss the deadline, don’t say we didn’t spread the word ahead of time.

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