Thanksgiving: Embroidery, Family, Friends

Some of you may be having something of deja vu: I did just ramble on about my love of Thanksgiving near the beginning of October, when us Canadians celebrate the holiday.

I love this day so much, I take every opportunity to celebrate it. For those who are unhappy about the commericalization of Christmas, I think some parts (well, the secular ones at least) of Christmas are now best found at Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving's always been a time for me to be joyful; spend time with family and friends, and simply revel in how lucky we are. Be thankful, it's right there in the name! And, I think, quite importantly, this celebration is free of any necessary gift-giving. (I love giving gifts, but there is something to be said for a holiday where the excitement and joy comes almost exclusively from time spent with loved ones).

Anyhow, I love Thanksgiving. Yes, established. It rules.

I also love learning new things. So, when my friends Allyson and Katie let me know they were starting the holiday-based embroidery pattern business Red Letter Day Stitches, I was excited and intrigued. Embroidery is a skill I've been wanting to get into for quite a while now, and the free pattern stich-a-longs they've been hosting to start the business have be a fantastic way to get in to it.

Have you ever thought of trying embroidery? Perhaps you already do; it's quite likely. We're a crafty bunch around here.

I've recently finished the ADORABLE Let's Talk Turkey.

So, to celebrate this lovely holiday, here's some images of my turkey (who I may have named George. Don't know why. It just fit). Aaaaaaand, a giveaway!

The Giveaway

I'd like to know if you've ever tried embroidery before: comment with your answer on this post between now and December 4th to be entered to win a Primary Subscription to Red Letter Day Stitches!

The Primary Subscription includes six holiday patterns and a 2014 calendar. So cute! An embroidered calendar!

Good luck everyone!

The winner will be announced on December 5th.

And here is my completed George. Not sure how I'll be using him... Pillow? Turkey dinner napkin? (hehe, I'm mean!)

Organizing is Fun!; Or, Hexagon Polish

A while ago I regaled you with my polish collection and its unwieldy strength being tamed by a good notebook and numbering system.

Well, it did occur to me that there was a flaw in that notebook system: I couldn't see all the polish swatches at once, and couldn't easily compare them to each other for the mixing and matching I so like to do.

Here's a couple of my solutions.

Solution one: make it like a picture.

This is just a random, pretty, oval frame I had kicking around.
I simply counted the number of polishes in the collection, drew out a map (to make sure they'd all fit on the page), and dripped one drop per bottle onto the paper.
I now regret adding the names of the polish in there. My printing is so terrible, it makes the whole thing look messy.

Solution two: magnets ahoy!

I'm much more pleased with this one.

Step 1: Get cheap or otherwise useless cookies sheet.
Step 2: Buy some small magnets, or better yet, that magnet tape stuff.
Step 3: Using white cardboard, cut out all the little hexagons.
Step 4: Swatch away!
Step 5: Attach magnets to back of hexagons.
Step 6: Write name/number of polish on back of hexagon for easy reference.

Voila! I think I'd like to display it on the wall somewhere. Have it as an "art" piece.

How To: Make Olde Timey Ice Cream

Of course I post this at the close of the summer.
But, I'm one of those who thinks there's no season to ice cream!

After sadly having to miss a local festival devoted to this delicious dessert, my cousin and I decided to have our own ice cream fest.

She and her husband made a batch with this recipe.

Her flavour choices were vanilla/Coffee Crisp and vanilla/Kit Kat.

I, being a history nerdette, took this 1908 recipe and set off to cook up a batch.
(I think I've been watching too much Breaking Bad. That last line there sounds nefarious).

I used the basic neapolitan recipe, and, because I am who I am, totally subbed stuff.
No milk? Just used coffee cream and water.
Creamier is better, I thought, so subbing cream for whipping cream be genius.

Ooooh yeah.
It's ice cream time baby.

Divided the batch into four.
Experimented with peaches and pecans, mint chocolate chip, ginger, and coffee flavours.

The consensus?

Peaches and Pecans: need more peaches. Only used one. Still yum.

Mint Chocolate Chip: get smaller chocolate chips. Or figure out a better way to distribute them. They all sunk to the bottom of the container. Still yum.

Ginger: The (surprise) favourite!)

Coffee: Pleasantly bitter. Likened to a dark-chocolate-covered coffee bean. Super yum.

How To: Turn 30

Today's my 30th birthday.

I had a party this past weekend, and I thought it might be fun to share in photos.
First, the invites and map.







Me, sporting some beautiful handknit socks from an awesome friend.
Oh yeah, that's a BOUNCY CASTLE peeps. Bouncy castle.




The tent, all decked out in banners and flowers.








Building a fire pit


Ellie dog got in on the party action too.


Here you see her, searching for scraps under table.


Kite flying. Goldfish in the sky.


Cake!


The farm looks creepy at night!


Bonfire delight. There were s'mores to be had, and roasted apples to be consumed.

Garlic Braid; Garden Harvest Ahoy!

Hooray! Done with the garlic from my garden.
It's all braided now, hanging happily in my kitchen.
I am TOTALLY safe from vampiric attack, peeps.

I used this video to help me figure out how to create this braid (mine's not so lovely as hers).

I'm also happy to report that I made some roasted garlic, using some of these very bulbs, and have survived. Unpoisoned! (though, certainly a bit more stinky).

Those crazy pumpkins and squash are still growing. They've currently taken over my pretty little park bench. It's their bench now.
I should post a pic. It's kind of scary.

Craftsy Courses Rule School

Have you heard of Craftsy?

If not, let me tell you, this site is fantastic!

It's a community for a wide variety of crafty endeavours (knitting, sewing, gardening, jewellery making and even cake decorating).
You can download free and paid patterns, share your projects, and enroll in classes.

Oh, the glory of classes!

I've always thought I could easily be a perpetual student. Craftsy's helping me return to my undergrad (in a manner).

You can enroll in interesting classes like Knitting with Beads and Spindling: from Fluff to Stuff. The classes range from beginner's classes to more advanced topics.

If you're unsure if an online course is for you, they have a few free options.

I've taken Short Rows with Carol Fuller. It's been really great to experience the class platform. It's very interactive and useful. You can make little notes as the video rolls along, pause, return, redo, relearn. The classes are always there at your fingertips, ready for you whenever you're ready for them.

I'm also in the process of taking Lace Shawl Design with Miriam Felton and Know Your Wool with Deborah Robson.
Another cool aspect of Craftsy's courses are that you get to learn from well-known designers.

I'm wondering: what classes would you most like to take? I'm just waiting for the day they get a steeking class up there. That and double knitting!

Romper Risk: Danger Averted!

We last left our super-seamstress in a pile of distress and fabric scraps, crying aloud at the wrath of the sewing gods for their pernicious whims of fabric fail.

What with one thing and another (one being my dad's "looking" at my sewing machine, the other being my impatience), I don't have all that much photographic evidence of my triumph over the super small 1970s jumpsuit-cum-romper pattern.

What I do have is this silly photo, taken mere days ago, displaying the risky sewing endeavour at its finale.

I ended up leaving the back of the romper open; artistically open. As in, I totally meant to leave it open like that and hanging loose and now you can see my back and possibly even bra band.

What I'm hoping is that I get up the time/energy to stitch a couple clips on the back to hide the aforementioned unmentionables.

If you'll recall (and why wouldn't you? This is Very Important Stuff here, people!) I have another few meters of fabric earmarked for romper fun.

I'm hoping to have another one ready to show you, fully equipped with a back and everything.

In summation:

-rompers are cool
-everyone should have a romper
-everyone should also have a dad who will give your sewing machine a scary look and then get it to behave
and
-beware the temptation to be lazy and just add ties to make a closure for the back of your romper. One at the top is ok. More than that and you've now entered hospital robe territory.

Only time will tell if I'll have some more romper triumph to show.

Until then, please enjoy this video, highlighting the King of the Jumpsuits (rompers).

Nothing Says Cool Like a Well Organized Nail Polish Collection

That's right, I called it a collection.
A functional, useable, living and thriving collection.

What you may not know about me is I'm something of a nail polish enthusiast. It's one of my ways of chilling out. You've got to sit still and concentrate to do your nails. I find it to be a great time-out from a day, nice way to unwind.

Also really great to indulge a few of my personal quirks.
Namely: attention to detail, fixation on colour, and an unending quest to organize everything within the controllable realm of my life.

I can't take credit for this particular organizational system. It was, in the main, one of my friend's ideas. But here I present it to you, just in case you too are a detail-oriented, organizationally-focused, nail polish enthusiast.

Making your Nail Polish Collection Functional


Define its space.
I went out and bought a bunch of small, clear plastic bins (with lids).
This: keeps the polish together, allows you to see what's in each box, and keeps them mostly dust-free. Especially when the only place you have to store your stash is under the bed.
With a guard lovebird.



Categorize and label.
Picked up some dollar-store small white labels and a sharpie. The numbering system goes from 100 (red) all the way up to 800 (brown) and 900 (top/base coats, sheers, etc...)
Within each colour you can then number 100, 101, 102 and so on, grouping like-colours together.



Create the book.
I love a good blank notebook. I counted out my polish and spaced out the tabs according to the collection size.
Each wee label has two dabs: one shows the "in the bottle" colour, and one is a swipe to show what one coat of the polish will give you.
The book also has space for notes, like "goes on very thin" or "crackle polish".

Enjoy your categorizing!

Cheese Dreamin; Or, I Get All Scientific & Stuff. Cheshire.

I'd never tried a Cheshire cheese before, and so was keen to see how this particular part of my cheese/dream study went over.

This is what the study said:
If you just want a good night’s sleep without too many dreams, then choose lovely crumbly Cheshire . In this category, over half of all nights were dreamless, while participants stated that 76% of all Cheshire-induced sleeps were either “quite good” or “very good”.

Cheese I ate: Caerphilly, Welsh
My Score: Meh. I slept ok, just about as good as usual. Did dream, though had a hell of a time trying to remember the dream. My half-asleep notes? "yarn, taking tests, felt like high school".
Hmmm. While the taste of the cheese was just fine, I'm not turning to this one for a good night's sleep.

Cheese Dreamin; Or, I Get All Scientific & Stuff. Brie Dreamin.

Part the third in my Very Scientific cheese-dream experiment was the ever delicious Brie.

This is what the study said:
British Brie caused all participants to sleep very well, but dreams varied between males and females; women tended to experience very nice dreams, such as Jamie Oliver cooking dinner in their kitchens, or relaxing on a sunny beach. By contrast, the men who ate Brie experienced rather odd, obscure dreams, such as driving against a battleship, or having a drunken conversation with a dog.

Cheese I ate: Fleurmier de Charlevoix Double Cream, Quebec

Dreamed of... nothing. Or, more accurately, I can't recall any dreams I might have had. I wish I had experienced a dream as the survey says a brie is wont to give me.

Last cheese: Cheshire.

Cheese Dreamin; Or, I Get All Scientific & Stuff. Cheddar.

I was really looking forward to this part of my cheese/dream study. Cheddar is (probably) my favourite cheese (but don't make me choose).

What the study said:
Cheddar -eating participants tended to dream of celebrities, ranging from the participant’s family sitting in a pub with Jordan, to a Glaswegian old firm football match with Gazza and Ally McCoist. Ashley from Coronation Street also featured, as did the cast of Emmerdale - and one lucky girl helped to form a human pyramid under the supervision of Johnny Depp.

Cheese I ate: Perron 7 year old Cheddar, Raw Cow's Milk, from Quebec
My Score: Definitely cheese!
While my dream was, yet again, filled with the glorious assault of random oddness (notes I made in my just-awake stupor include "museum wrecked, riding the bus, people disappearing into washing machines, watching a movie and - my favourite - made eggs and they were getting dry"), part of that "riding the bus" bit had me sitting a few seats down from Kanye West.
This is weird, but I think it might be because I just watched that episode of South Park with the "gay fish" joke.

Next cheese: Brie.

Cheese Dreamin; Or, I Get All Scientific & Stuff. Part Stilton.

In continuation of the Very Scientific cheese-dream experiment, the second up was Stilton.

This is what the study said:
Stilton -eating participants enjoyed their sleep too – over two thirds had good sleep experiences during five out of the seven nights. However, if you want some vivid or crazy dreams, the King of British cheeses is the one for you – particularly if you are female. While 75% of men in this category experienced odd and vivid dreams, a massive 85% of females who ate Stilton had some of the most bizarre dreams of the whole study – although none were described as bad experiences. Highlights included talking soft toys, lifts that move sideways, a vegetarian crocodile upset because it could not eat children, dinner party guests being traded for camels, soldiers fighting with each other with kittens instead of guns and a party in a lunatic asylum.

Cheese I ate: Stilton Colston Basset, English

My Score: Half Cheese. Well, maybe two-thirds.
Here's the notes I made after waking up: a friend of mine showing me her new high heels, graduation, driving on a curve, flying off and thinking I'm going to die.
So, I think that qualifies as a bizarre dream. Sort of bizarre.

Next cheese: Cheddar.

Cheese Dreamin; Or, I Get All Scientific & Stuff

Recently brought to my attention was this study, from the British Cheese Board in 2005.

I like me a good cheese, and a very worthy cause such as testing out this study is certainly a reason to take 20 g of cheese before bed (and call your local fromagerist in the morning).

I might not be the best candidate for this study (or, conversely, a GREAT one). I don't usually remember my dreams, and most of the ones I can remember are rather convoluted and/or extremely banal (have you ever dreamed of walking to the mail box and posting a letter?)

Regardless, I'm moving ahead with this cheese/dream testing, and I'll be presenting my Very Scientific results over the next few days.¹

First up: a delicious Red Leicester

This is what the study has to say:
Red Leicester proved to be brilliant for helping participants to get a good night’s sleep – one quarter slept well every single night of the study, and 83% of all nights under the influence of Red Leicester were good sleep experiences. As for dreams, Red Leicester is the cheese to choose if you are feeling nostalgic about your past – over 60% of participants eating this cheese revisited their schooldays, or long-lost childhood friends, or previous family homes and hometowns.

Cheese I ate: Cloth bound Red Leicester Aged English cheese
My Score: NO CHEESE. Didn't work for me.
I dreamed of my sister's wedding (though not a real replication of events, she did indeed get married last September), along with an assortment of other random things. The main of which was an overwhelming sense of discomfort and unease, being in some unfamiliar surroundings and with an ever-present sensation that I was just waiting, waiting, waiting for something.
See what I mean? I have stupid dreams.

Next up: Stilton.
____________
¹While this is obviously a bit of fun, I thought I'd divulge some of the constraints and concessions I've made in my attempt to replicate this survey.
First, not all the cheeses are British. I'm sure if I looked hard enough I'd be able to find imported versions of all the samples, but for something intended to be a bit of fun, my budget was unsurprisingly pretty low.
Second, I've decided I'll be eating this cheese within a couple hours before bed. Not sure if the magical powers will wear off with that span of time, but food right before bed squicks me out.
Third, I kept the cheese portion to 25 grams.

Romper Rage; Or, More Appropriately, Sewing Machine Malice

I thought I'd let you all in on the progress of my risk-taking romper.

Again, me and my grandiose plans saw me sit down in the morning of July 1, scissors and pins in hand, thinking I'd get the lion's share of my romper done and maybe even get it finished to wear to my Canada Day party that evening.

Lo, the sewing machine had other plans.
So did the pattern.

Story #1: Eeeevil Sewing Machine

Happily I laid out my pattern on the fabric. Discovering one of the pieces was missing, decided that was no biggie. I can sew around that.





Cut out and piled up, down to the sewing dungeon we went.

Off I sewed, on my merrily merrily way.
Honestly, most of the sewing went rather well.

Until this started happening.

Truth told: I'm no sewing machine techie, so apart from the stitching equivalent of Ctrl+Alt+Del, I was totally stumped as to how to fix this particular problem.

And that's where we stand. I got the pleats sewn, the top pieced together and was just on the verge of sewing in the pockets when my machine got hungry for some stretchy cotton.

Story #2: Patterns from the 1970s and my Hubris

Before I even started, I knew that this pattern wasn't my size.
I looked into just exactly what a misses size 6 is worked out to. Each measurement was about 6" too small. Meh, I thought. I can sew around that (every other pattern I've worked with has ended up being far too large anyway. I didn't think I was taking a gamble.)

Now, you'll notice there's no pictures of me clothed in a part-done, half-chewed up, sad, sad looking romper.
This is because it really was that sad.
That and I'm afraid of pins, and instead used alligator clips to "pin" it onto me and get an idea as to just how bloody small this thing is.
The shame associated with photographic evidence of my unorthodox use of office supplies would be too great.

In summation: I know I can work out of the corner I've sewn myself into. The question is: How many adult women have a 21" waist? I'm sure there's some who exist, I just don't think I've ever met them. Children, I'm sure. There's kids running around all over the place with 21" waists.

I shall end this post with a declaration that the romper has not beaten me! The general idea I got from "pinning" it on to me was actually rather positive. And, after someone with a bigger brain than I comes along and fixes my machine, I'm confident that I'll have a somewhat cute but most certainly complete and well-fitting romper to show ya'll.

Romper; Or, Risk Taking

For quite some time I've had this wee thought in my brain.

It's been sitting there, bugging me every once in a while.

"Hey you. Hey. You see that weird outfit? That romper thing? That would be so cool for summer. You need to get your hands on one of those. Look how great they look on all the models, in all the ads n' stuff".¹

Please note: this quote may lead to danger.

I recognize that this fixated-ness is based upon photos. Of models. In, what would be regarded by many, as a "weird outfit".

I'm going to skip along down this road of danger.

Thought it might be amusing for ya'll to watch me
a) prove a point
b) learn something new
c) crash and burn

And so I've decided to share my (possibly a big waste of time) plans.

I'm making me a romper! Maybe even two!

Let me show you:

I just purchased this fabric on the super cheap the other day.

I also picked up this 1970s jumpsuit pattern in the local used store.

You're all saying, "The WISE thing to do would be to, at the very least, go to the mall and actually try on one of these... weird outfits... to see if you like the look in the first place!"

Naw. Nope. Not gonna do that.
Gonna be a hard-headed lazy bones and decide to enjoy the journey (towards crash and burn, most likely).

Come along, folks! The first step shall be the cutting of the fabric.
____________
¹ To check out some of the ideas I've had floating around about this, you can have a peek at my pinterest board here.

How To: Keep a Cat Out of Your Garden

Dear readers,

Just a while back, I shared with you my ongoing battle with the Orange Cat of Strawberry Death.
Though I have not the ultimate cat-deterring answer, I have indeed tested a few suggestions, and can herein outline their effectiveness, cost, availability and overall applicability.
The battle continues, folks, but there is hope.

Suggestion #1:
Dog pee
Effectiveness: I "tried" this one by default. Only a day or so after my initial post, my parents dropped by with Ellie dog. She, as dogs will do, left some scent in my yard. I saw the cat in there the very next morning. So, not particularly effective.
Cost: free! Just subject to the availability of the dog.
Availability: See comment above.
Applicability: Maybe if Ellie was around more often to "recharge" her scent this method would work, but if you don't own a dog or have one very near indeed, this is likely not the solution for you.

Suggestion #2:
Cayenne Pepper
Effectiveness: Some people have sworn to me that this method worked for them. I suspect this it totally cat-dependent, in that, if your particular problem-cat hates cayenne pepper, this will work. If not, you're barking up the wrong tree. One negative to this method: after any rain (or watering of garden) you've got to re-apply the cayenne.
Cost: Minimal. I think I picked up a little spice baggie of it for under $3.
Availability: Easy to find in any grocery store.
Applicability: Well, I hope for you this is the answer, since it's so easy to get and inexpensive. The applicability, though, depends on the cat-in-question's sensitivity.

Suggestion #3:
Water Spray
Effectiveness: Works like a charm!
Cost: Free! Unless you decide to invest in a Super Soaker, or perhaps want to split hairs and check how much water consumption is used in particular for cat-spraying... pennies, I would think.
Availability: Right there in your tap!
Applicability: This is free/cheap and easy to get, but unfortunately only works if you're there all the time... waiting... Getting a motion-activated sprinkler is an option, but an expensive one.

Suggestion #4:
Bamboo Skewers
Effectiveness: If I was handing out prizes for methods suggested, attempted, and proved successful, ChrisC would be the winner! Shoving the skewers (pointy side down!) keeps the cat out like a charm.
Cost: Inexpensive. I bought a few packs of 100 for under $4.
Availability: Easy to find, I would imagine most dollar stores would have them.
Applicability: Easy to install! And once they're in place, you can garden around them, pull them out and re-use them in other parts of your garden (or for next year's problem-cat...)

Suggestion #5:
Cedar Mulch
Effectiveness: For the Orange Cat of Strawberry Death, this proves absolutely ineffective. I laid down several inches of mulch, and caught him digging, quite happily, in it on several occasions.
Cost: I guess it's pretty cheap, but depends on your budget and amount of space to cover. One very large bag was about $6, and covered about a 3' sq area.
Availability: At this time of year, it seems there's garden centres everywhere selling the stuff!
Applicability: I'll say it looks great, keeps weeds down, but doesn't seem to have any effect on at least my problem-cat.

Suggestion #6:
CatScat Mat
Effectiveness: This works just as well as the bamboo skewers!
Cost: Too expensive. Way too expensive. Each wee mat covers an area of less that 1' sq. I bought 8, and it came to over $50! (I felt like a sucker. I placed the order for this stuff and then the next day ChrisC left the helpful suggestion of bamboo skewers. D'oh!
Availability: Well, you can buy it online, so I guess it's easy to get. Bamboo skewers are better though.
Applicability: It works! But is too expensive. Especially in light of the cheapness of the skewers.

There was also a bunch of great suggestions I did not try, but thought I'd share my input on anyway...

Suggestion #7:
Fresh Box of Litter Next to Garden
Effectiveness: I can see this working. I read this suggestion in several places, some of which also mentioned planting some catnip to make the approved-of poop area even more enticing.
Cost: Honestly, I've never bought kitty litter before. I assume you'd also have to get a bin to put it in.
Availability: Easy to find!
Applicability: Ok, while this could work, it has the unfortunate downside of ME having to scoop a cat's poop. Not my cat, don't want to scoop its poop.

Suggestion #8:
Green 2 Litre Bottles
Effectiveness: Oh sweet chocolate from heaven, I wish this would work. It would be hilarious and inexpensive.
Cost: See point above.
Availability: So easy to get!
Applicability: Please please tell me if you try this one. I'd love to know its success rate.

Suggestion #9:
Orange Peels, Blood Meal, Coffee Grounds, Pine Needles, Anti-Cat Plant
Effectiveness: I've heard this one from so many sources, it must work on some cats.
Cost: Most of the things listed there are inexpensive options, though I've never priced Blood Meal.
Availability: Again, I think they're mostly easy to find.
Applicability: These ones all have a multitasking bonus. If it keeps the cat away, hooray! If not, at the least, these items all either fertilize your garden, or act as a beneficial mulch.
Here's a link to a plant which is reputed to work anti-cat magic.

Suggestion #10:
Chicken Wire (above or below)
Effectiveness: I would imagine this would be very effective indeed, especially when placed above your plants in a protective cage/wall.
Cost: Chicken wire is one of those things all our fathers have tucked away in the basement or barn, no? It just grows naturally, appears suddenly, and is readily available through the magic methods of "stuff-dads-always-have". Other items that fall into this category are twine, random wires of unknown origin or use, tools that are older than your grandparents and, my favourite, duct tape.
Availability: See above! (No, I joke. I'm sure chicken wire is reasonably priced and easy to find).
Applicability: I would imagine its price, availability and effectiveness would score it high points and make it a viable option for many gardeners.

I am my Father's Daughter: Or, Karma Chameleon

When I was a kid, my family and I were amused by the ongoing, ceaseless and hilarious yearly battle between my father and the local raccoons.

With a substantial garden and glorious grapevines, our yard must have been a raccoon foodie's paradise. This, as you can imagine, was extremely frustrating for my father. The keeper, planter and carer of these plants, foiled every single year by those sneaky, tricky and really rather intelligent fat-bottomed critters.

Unkindly we would tease my father. Outwitted by the raccoons again, eh dad? Those stringed up tin cans didn't scare them away, huh? Yeah, I saw them playing some calypso music on them and having a grand old party, your garden as the buffet!

Well, don't karma come and bit ME on the behind!

Here's what I'm facing:

Karma has dictated that one of my neighbours chooses to allow her pet cat to wander around outdoors. This is a nice enough cat, but he's a cat. He likes to poop in places, whether those are places he should poop or not.

I awoke Tuesday morning to find my newly transplanted, spindly wee strawberry seedlings had been... fertilized? by said cat.

So now, the battle of Teresa and the Orange Cat of Strawberry Death has begun.

I ask of you, wise gardeners, knowledgeable cat-owners:

How do I keep the Orange Cat of Strawberry Death out of my garden?

Here's a sampling of the suggestions the interwebs has given me:
-a cat-safe produce called CatScat (though admittedly it does resemble some sort of medieval torture device)
-ultrasonic machines that emit a cat-repelling sound (out of the range of human ears)
-orange peels, scattered around the garden edge
-cayenne pepper, scattered likewise
-cages/netting to protect garden
and, my favourite
-green 1-litre bottles filled with water. Yeah. Like, empty 7-Up bottles, just placed around the garden. Supposed to scare the cats off.