SESAME STREET DAY

As I read up on all things SESAME STREET, one article mentioned that this year marks the 47th anniversary of the popular children’s program!  I couldn’t believe it – where does the time go?  Do you remember watching Sesame Street on your local public television station?

Now, of course, they travel with the stage show Sesame Street Live.  Isn’t it great that the characters come to life for children everywhere?  I wish they would have had that back when I was a kid!  In 1969 I was 8 years old already.  By the time they hit the road – I had hit the road and lost interest in kid stuff.  LOL!

Who is your favorite Sesame Street character?  I think most kids like Elmo the best (certainly since the Elmo doll sold out a few Christmases ago).  My favorite…  wow – I hate to admit it.  I’m just gonna say it real fast…  my favorite is Oscar the Grouch!

I like the Cookie Monster too – but I like Oscar better.  Why would I like him?  I admire him because he’s not afraid to be a grouch.  He lives in a trash can and he’s grouchy.  You know what to expect.  He doesn’t try to be something he isn’t – and I like that.  A curmudgeon’s curmudgeon.  Oscar should write the how-to book on how to be a grouch with grace.  He’s a grouch, you know he’s a grouch, he’s okay if you’re not okay with that.  He doesn’t put on airs or fake being nice.

I wouldn’t have a problem inviting Oscar into my house.  Cookie monster would not be happy at my house because I don’t keep cookies on hand – but I’d try to bake some real quick if I knew he was coming.  Of course, the last batch would be burned.  The last batch that goes in the oven always burn because I get bored with the process and forget about them until the smoke alarm goes off.    Sigh.

Celebrate Sesame Street with your little ones today.  That’s the most fun, isn’t it?  It’s great to see the looks on their faces when you share something great with them.  Enjoy those moments together.  🙂

 

 

DIGITAL SCRAPBOOKING DAY

Everyone grieves differently.  Some folks want to lock photographs away so they don’t have to look at them and be reminded of their loss.  Others, like me…  well, we tend to invest time, money and effort into preserving photographs the best we can.  We realize that this is all that’s left to cling to of a simpler and perhaps happier time in life.

I was a traditional scrapper for years…  I didn’t say I was an organized scrapper.  I had a room that was set up just for scrapping.  There was room for a table and some plastic bins to keep my papers and other necessary tools in – and even though I was careful to pick up when I was finished, the room was always a mess!  I had ribbons hanging from spools and I just was not happy with the way the room looked overall.

I knew there must be a better way.  I looked into digital scrapbooking in the early 1990’s.  I weighed the cost – actual paper, frames, tools and the latest stamp from Stampin’ Up! was breaking the piggy bank.  I put an ad in my local newspaper and sold all of my STUFF for $500.  Yes, there really was that much!  My room was suddenly cleaned out and it even lightened my soul – I truly believe that!

I took the proceeds and invested in INK for my printer – THAT is the largest expense in digital scrapbooking!  There are literally tons of digital scrapbooking websites out there, and they all offer freebies.  I have not had to pay for backgrounds, papers or tools at all.  Of course, these freebies are for personal use only.  That’s fine with me – it’s my scrapbook and not for the world to see.  Would the world be interested?  Um…  probably not.  But here are a few nice designs that others made with SCRAPBOOK MAX!

That’s the same “leaf frame” I used in my banner today.

There is a one time expense to get a quality scrapbooking program.  I chose SCRAPBOOK MAX!

http://www.scrapbookmax.com/?gclid=Cj0KEQjw4_DABRC1tuPSpqXjxZwBEiQAhMIp6zBndMaWc1miisz-0uITWNGozsevyzc7C9hNnA4p_5MaAoWb8P8HAQ

It costs $40 and has a few free sets included. You can add as many sets as you want, but I’ve not bought any additional sets.  I go on different digital scrapbooking sites and grab up freebies.  I have about 50 flash drives filled with free scrapbooking offers.  I also use cute stuff from Pinterest and pretty much anywhere from the internet – I’m not breaking any copyright laws because it’s just going in my personal scrapbook.  Who’s gonna know (or care)???

SCRAPBOOK MAX! will send you a CD which is helpful because there’s always a chance you can lose it on your computer.  Don’t ask me how I know that.    Yeah, I’ve had to re-install it a time or two.

Digital scrapbooking has eliminated the clutter around me.  It’s given me more freedom to create than traditional scrapbooking.  It’s the method I prefer to be sure.  I know a lot of women like to have stamps and scissors and paper and tangible materials around them, but I don’t.  I want flash drives in a basket that I can grab quick and use to create magnificent scrapbook pages.

It takes some time, but once in a while you run across a free set!  Yay!!!  Also, at crafthub.com, they help you find all sorts of digital freebies!  I have more time than money, so I don’t mind searching the internet for free scrapbooking elements and sets.

On a good day, you will find this:

After you do your HAPPY DANCE – you download and leave some love for the nice people who made it FREE for the taking!  🙂

Lucinda wrote a poem about Jesus’ Scrapbook.

We chatted a bit yesterday about this poem and she commented that Jesus’ scrapbook is probably not DIGITAL.  LOL!  I’m not sure that matters – as long as He has our photos and other good stuff in there, right?  😉

Our memories are worth keeping.  Some days, I just get my scrapbooks out and start looking through them.  They help me remember my family and friends.  🙂

 

 

NATIONAL PUMPKIN DAY

The word pumpkin originates from the word pepon, which is Greek for “large melon”.  Within recent years, white pumpkins have become more popular in the United States.

How about a recipe?

PUMPKIN SOUP (Makes 8 servings)

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. sweet Italian turkey sausage

1/2 c. chopped onion

3 c. chopped pumpkin (or butternut squash)

4 c. chopped kale

4 c. chicken broth

4 c. water

Parmesan cheese for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS:

Cook sausage in a medium saucepan.  Add onions & saute’ until translucent.  Pour the broth and water into the saucepan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat.  Add kale and pumpkin.  Simmer until pumpkin is soft – about 20 minutes.  Serve hot, garnished with grated Parmesan cheese.

It’s a great day to go out to the pumpkin patch!  Enjoy the moments while you can!  🙂

 

REPTILE AWARENESS DAY

http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/

Are you aware of reptiles?  I like to admire most of them from a distance…  no offense intended to anyone who owns them.  I do think that reptiles are some of God’s most beautiful creatures, so today I thought it might be nice to post some pretty photos.  My knowledge of reptiles would almost fill a thimble, so we’ll just let the pictures do the talking.

LOL – this little guy looks how I feel…Look at the detail here!  The colors are so vibrant and bright – and that “pattern” is just…  WOW!

God definitely has good taste!  🙂

A COMMENTARY FROM THE HEART

Garage sales are EXHAUSTING!!!  We’re in the midst of a community-wide sale right now.  My husband and I are just ready for it to be over…  we’re so tired.  I think the part I hate the most is digging around in the recesses of my closets for items that I wasn’t aware I owned because they’ve never been used or worn or whatever.  Have you ever seen a bamboo pole with a back scratcher on one end and a shoe horn on the other end?  Well, me neither…  but I apparently had one!  I say I HAD one because I sold it today – I no longer have it.  It can go live in the recesses of someone else’s closet for a while.

It’s a lot of work, but at the same time it’s a bit like taking a deep cleansing breath of cool mountain air.  After being surrounded by what can only be categorized as JUNK for over ten years, I’m now free to buy new STUFF to replace the old JUNK.  Of course, in another ten years that STUFF I buy now will be considered JUNK.  And so the cycle continues…

It’s fun and keeps us out of prison.

I’ll be honest, along with the work of gathering the junk, tagging the junk and organizing the junk – there is a huge sigh of relief when you have finally SOLD the junk.  When we counted up our earnings today, I looked at my husband and said, “It would have taken me two weeks working full time to make this much!”  It’s a sort of high when you see how quickly the pile of dough stacks up.

Of course, the other side of that high is the trip back to reality – when you realize you sold two recliners and now must replace them with two others – from somewhere.  It’s fun to sit on an orange crate to watch TV – for about a day.  The novelty has worn off and I really need to get myself in gear and get a new chair.

Here’s a chair similar to the one I want:

It’s selling on eBay for $300.  I can probably do that.  I’m not sure.  Has anyone heard of the brand POUNDEX?  See…  sometimes if I don’t recognize the brand name, I’m like…  um…  but the price is definitely not bad.  I don’t know – I’ll keep lookin’.  I like to actually sit in a recliner before I buy it – I’m funny that way.

Garage sales are exhausting – but there are rewards to follow.  We just think about the rewards.  Alrighty then…  I’m gonna go soak my feet.  🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

INTERNATIONAL COFFEE DAY

Ah – it’s my favorite WACKY HOLIDAY of the year…  it is INTERNATIONAL COFFEE DAY!!!  I know I write about coffee EVERY year, but hey – I must say, it is my favorite beverage on the planet!  So, bear with me as I encourage those with addictions to caffeine to indulge on this day.  This year I’m using real cream too!Thanks to Bill Woods for this picture.  See, I’m obviously not the only one who thinks coffee is magnificent!  And, I haven’t double-checked this information, but I’m pretty sure that Dunkin’ Donuts will be offering FREE COFFEE today as they have for the past several years.  There’s only one thing we like more than coffee…  you guessed it…  we like FREE COFFEE!

This year Lucinda and I were tallying up all the poetry we written about coffee.  Hold on to your hats folks…  today I’m going to share a whopping 22 poems!!!  So…  grab a hot cup of Joe and let’s GO…

Lucinda’s most recent poem, Coffee Traditions, was written for her daughter’s 18th birthday.  So darling…

Grounds In Your Cup was inspired by a malfunction I seemed to be having with my coffee maker one day.  Somehow, the grounds were filtering through and landing in the bottom of my coffee cup.  We were chatting on facebook, I sent her the photo of my messy coffee cup, and the rest, as they say, is history!  😀

My Journal is a poem that was written one morning when I was pouring my heart out to the Lord in…  well, my journal.  So many times when I’m writing a prayer to Him or asking Him to direct my paths and make them straight, a poem gets written.  This is one of those times. 

If I could choose my favorite coffee poem, it would hands down be Lucinda’s Coffee With Jesus.

On many occasions I’ve said, “Decaf???  What’s the point???”  In this poem, Lucinda gives me the answer.

There are days I like to add a little square of 70% cocoa chocolate to my morning coffee.  What does that equal?  It equals some Mocha Inspiration, silly!  😉

We need coffee especially When It’s Cold Outside, right?

Between now and election day, I think we also need Coffee, The American Way.

The sign that you’ve enjoyed both personal Bible study and coffee is when you end up with Coffee Rings For Jesus.And what would this day be without a WORD CLOUD for you to share on facebook and via email with your friends???Some of us need a jolt of caffeine Every Day Of The Week!

And what a message God gave us with The Deliverer…

Some of us drink coffee only.  Others drink tea only.  But regardless of your stance on the subject, we all need Coffee, Tea and He…  don’t we?If you had to give up coffee completely (oh no)…  what would you replace it with – you’d need A Coffee Replacement.

Even non-coffee drinkers sometimes need Monday Morning Coffee.

Those of us who are addicted beyond belief also need Friday Coffee.  Not shaming…  we know who we are.  😉

I used to grind my own beans in the morning.  Notice that was in the past tense – because I got lazy and started buying ground coffee.  One day I was trying to grind these tough little beans and one of the little brats decided to roll off the counter and onto the floor, then underneath the mat, as if to say, “HA – you can’t catch me, woman!”  Well, my imagination kicked in and I thought about those times when I feel as though someone is about to put me in a grinder.  I wish I could find a safe haven to hide.  Have you heard the term, “Hide in a hole and pull the hole in after me” – ???  Yeah, that kind of deal. 

Aren’t we thankful that we can have A Full Cup Of God???  During the storm, He is there helping us through it – not around it, but through it.  His patience and warmth gives us peace every day.Are you in the habit of Sharing Coffee?  Admittedly, most days, my coffee is MY COFFEE…  know what I mean, Vern?

In fact, some of us want to give A Tribute To Coffee.  Pass the caffeine and the cookies, please!In this country’s history, we’ve run out of oil, gasoline, honey ham (if you didn’t see Christmas with the Kranks, that reference went right over your head).  One commodity that we’ve not run out of is the Love of God.  We May Run Out Of Coffee, But…How many blessings could you stuff into your coffee cup?  No, really…  how many?  Some people need an itty bitty little cup, like one of my mother’s Frankoma coffee cups.  Honestly, is it worth brewing coffee if all you get is that much???  Lucinda and I agree, our coffee cups are UGE…  the “H” is silent – (that’s how it’s said now, right?)  A Big Cup Of A Big God.

Wow…  here’s a question for ya.  What If Jesus Drank Coffee – ???  Ponder that one!

Have a GREAT International Coffee Day!  Cheers!  🙂

 

A SALUTE TO ALL THINGS PUMPKIN

If I listed everything related to pumpkin, you’d be reading until next Tuesday!  This is my favorite time of year and most of the reason has to do with pumpkin everything!

• PUMPKIN PATCHES

https://wichita.citymomsblog.com/fall/pumpkin-patches-in-wichita-2016/

• PUMPKIN SONGS

• PUMPKIN MUFFINS FROM STARBUCKS

Just keep in mind, these yummy cream cheese muffins are a whopping 53g carbs and 14g fat!  I do make a copycat recipe at home, however – it makes me feel less guilty.  Will I share it?  Well, of course!  My recipe will still have carbs because it uses all-purpose flour, which is what gives baked goods the bounce and great texture we love.  Does it have as many carbs?  No – I substitute Splenda for sugar and cream for milk.  Let’s make muffins!

COPYCAT PUMPKIN CREAM CHEESE MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS:

For the muffin:

1 cup Splenda

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 cup pumpkin puree’

2 eggs

1/4 cup cream

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

For the filling:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup Splenda

1 tsp. vanilla

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Put muffin liners in tins.  Stir pumpkin, oil and Splenda together in a large bowl.  DO THIS BY HAND.  Stir in eggs, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda.  Stir in 1 cup flour, then stir in cream, then stir in remaining 1 cup flour.  Divide batter among muffin tins, filling 1/2 full.  Stir together cream cheese, Splenda and vanilla.  Drop 1 Tbs. onto the top of each muffin.

Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the muffin part comes out clean.

Cool at least 5 minutes before serving.  Store in refrigerator.  You can freeze these for a quick snack later.

• PUMPKIN HAIR MASK

Nope – I’m not joking!  Thanks to NaturallyCurly.com for this really great hair mask!

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup pumpkin

1/4 cup plain yogurt

2 Tbs. honey

INSTRUCTIONS:

Put everything in a bowl and puree well.  If you don’t, you’ll end up with pumpkin chunks in your hair.  Separate hair in sections and smooth from root to tip all over.  Put on a shower cap and wait 20-30 minutes.  Shower and shampoo/condition as usual.

Fun Fact:  Pumpkin contains over 100 beneficial nutrients and is exceptionally high in beta carotene thus making it an ideal ingredient for hair products.

• PUMPKIN SCENTED LOTIONS

http://www.bathandbodyworks.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=4304786

Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin from Bath and Body Works – well, that really WORKS for me!  Have you tried it?  If they made that into a wax melt, I’d buy it!  Okay, I may not buy it if it’s super expensive, but I’d want to buy it.  😉

• PUMPKIN WAX MELTS

Here’s how I roll on wax melts…  when I can get them for .89 a package from Bed, Bath & Beyond – I go for it!  There’s just one drawback to buying wax melts on the cheap…  I buy the fall and winter scents in the summer, and the spring and summer scents in the winter!  On a good day, I can buy up all they have and use my handy dandy coupon for more savings!

I’ll tell ya though – I don’t like paying upwards of $2 a package for them, so I buy the pumpkin scents in June, July and August because if I live long enough, autumn will show up eventually and it will be time to use them.

• PUMPKIN POETRY

I have enjoyed sharing Lucinda’s poetry on my blog – and I know you’ve enjoyed reading it!  When I mentioned a salute to all things pumpkin, she got to work!  I thought I’d see one, maybe two poems at the most.  LOL – can you believe this…  she wrote a ton of pumpkin poems!!!  I couldn’t think of one to write – is this girl talented or what?

Oh wait…  that one was mine – from like 3 years ago!  Thanks again to Matthew Deets for sharing a photo of his punkin’ pie!  I’m looking forward to some punkin’ pie pretty soon – with whipped cream on top!  Yum!  I did a non-scientific poll of my friends on facebook, asking what their favorite PUMPKIN thing is – and most said PIE – and I’m right there with ya – it’s pie for me too!  That’s my pumpkin thing, followed closely by the pumpkin spice coffee creamers – sugar free, of course.

Let’s enjoy some more pumpkin poetry from Lucinda:

And a couple of poems I wrote to add – right at the last minute – whew!  Made it! 

Of course, my favorite part of fall is decorating with my pumpkin baskets!

Nothing is more cute than seeing little people with little pumpkins – just so cute!!! 

We’ll be talking about this more on October 1st, but there’s some special pink pumpkins that are important to us.  Ladies, if you have not had your mammogram yet this year – get it done! 

There are so many ways to PUMPKIN-IZE your autumn!  Have some fun and make the most of the season.  Oh, and don’t forget to make the punkin’ pie!  🙂

 

A COMMENTARY FROM THE HEART

As we say good-bye to June, I want to send a big SHOUT OUT to the lavender farms in Kansas!  Let’s take a tour of a lavender farm together!  One last look before the season ends…

Whether your goal is to create your own craft project or just take in the massive scent and muted hue of lavender, if you want to relax and have a good time, a visit to Lavender Farm is what the doctor ordered.

https://discoverlavender.wordpress.com/2011/06/17/lavender-on-the-high-plains-of-kansas/

Prairie Lavender Farm is in Bennington, KS.  Though they are a small farm, they are dedicated to growing and developing the highest quality lavender and lavender products from the High Plains Prairie.  They offer over 80 bath and beauty products, culinary items along with their wonderful lavender.  They have over 4,000 plants of 9 different varieties!  They welcome visitors, but request that you call first.

http://www.prairielavenderfarm.com/photos.html

There’s another nice lavender farm close to Topeka, KS.  Ingwerson Lavender Farm was once a traditional farm with cattle and hay, but Jim and Mary gave up a couple of acres and began growing lavender.

Washington Creek Lavender is in Lawrence, KS.  They have a great website with handmade products at reasonable prices.  I like the lavender pottery they make!

http://www.washingtoncreeklavender.com/

Do you know someone who is hyperactive and has a difficult time shutting down at night?  Why is everyone saying MY name?  No, no…  I mean someone in your family or a friend – LOL!!!  Wouldn’t it be nice to get them an eye pillow infused with lavender scent?  Lavender has a calming quality and may help them drift off into dreamland.

You know I love baskets, but a basket with lavender inside is especially gorgeous!  I happened to find a photo that spoke to me.  I asked Lucinda Berry Hill if she would write a poem for the photo and she graciously agreed to do so.  It’s so purty…  I knew it would be! 

God’s gifts are all fantastic…  that’s true.  One of the best gifts He gave Kansas was its lavender farms!  🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FAIRY DAY

Fairy:  (in folklore) one of a class of supernatural beings, generally conceived as having a diminutive human form and possessing magical powers with which they intervene in human affairs.

Author Lucinda Berry Hill wrote this great poem for Tell a Fairy Tale Day last year. 

Magical powers…  wow, that would be a fantastic thing to possess, wouldn’t it?  Wave your arm and speak anything into being and…  boom! 

What would you speak into being if you were a fairy?  I thought today I’d just have a little fun and post some of my little fairies from my group, A SECOND HELPING OF WELLNESS… WITH A DASH OF HUMOR & A PINCH OF FAITH.

Wouldn’t it be GREAT if we could use fairy magic to get rid of migraine headaches?

Who else is so tired of hateful attitudes and behavior?  If we were fairies, we could just speak it away!

Dieting is so difficult, isn’t it?  Wouldn’t it be wonderful to command the fat to fly away permanently?  That’s how fairies can stay so slim, you know.  They put on a few pounds – it starts to show – and they just wave their wand and tell it to take a hike – no sweat – literally!

Those lovely hot flashes…  ever feel like you could pop corn on your head?  Yeah – it’d be great to just speak those to the four winds forever, wouldn’t it?

Cancer of any kind is so scary…  it would be so great if with the swish of a wand it could be spoken away forever!

Before 1994 I didn’t know much about diabetes.  Actually, I didn’t know anything about it.  I can honestly say I’ve read every book and article I can get my hands on about the disease.  Wow, it would be so great to be a fairy and magically demand it be GONE!

Fairies are imaginary and magic is illusion, but it doesn’t hurt to have a little fun with it, right?  🙂

 

 

 

 

WE LOVE ELVIS

I got a photo taken in Branson on August 22, 2004 with an Elvis impersonator – it was snapped after the show, so he was not exactly spring fresh – but we get photo ops when we can.  I’ll bet he never went to a gym – doing those shows is a workout in itself.  You know what’s in my scrapbook along with this photo?  One of his scarves – or whatever you call those sweat catchers…  eeeewww.  Funny story though – I was so short there’s no way I could have caught one before all those tall girls – so my sweet hubby jumped up and got it for me – then handed it over.  Teamwork – yep!

Who thinks that real life is just overwhelming right now?  I’m raising my hand!  Seriously, there have been NO positives in the news and even though someone is running around saying America will be GREAT again, well…  never mind.  I’ll tell ya what, I’ll believe it when I see it – let’s put it that way.

So when real life gets to be too much, what do we need to do?  That’s right – we need to have fun and laugh.  And guess what I have today?  Yep – my friend John Coyote made a YouTube video – another Elvis tribute – but I gotta tell ya – this one is a hoot!  But John’s voice does have an Elvis-like quality – but the dramatics along with it are too funny!

And honestly, I didn’t even know Elvis recorded this song – I think the first time I heard The First Time (lol – that was confusing) – was when it was sung by Roberta Flack.  I had the 45 record of it, so of course that’s the one I’m most familiar with.  Of course, John would know for sure because I think he’s older than me (LOL) – yeah – he’s probably not – I’m just a music illiterate.  Don’t hit me, John! 

I think John should be an Elvis impersonator, don’t you?  They get paid pretty good, I think – and he’s certainly got the talent and that ham bone quality…  yep – I think he needs to consider a possible career move.  I don’t know if they’re hiring in Branson, but he surely should check it out.  🙂