New Years Resolutions
October 22, 2007
Ah, the start of another year! In a groggy haze on New Years Eve, I promised someone (or was it myself?) that I would be good this year. I said I would draw up my New Year’s Resolutions ? particularly after the roller-coaster year I had last year. Well, a promise is a promise. I can’t very well start the New Year by breaking the resolution that I was going to write my New Year’s Resolutions, can I? So, here it is, broken down into months being the control freak that I am.
JAN ? Donate old PC to a Deserving Relative
After all, to give is more rewarding than to receive (but not quite as rewarding as to buy). So I guess it’s au revoir to my X86 sitting in the corner of my study. Now, who should I give it to? Who will appreciate my very first, very own PC? My 91 year-old Gran so she can learn to type? Or my 5 year-old niece so she, too, can fall in love with Frogger and Pacman I grew up with instead of playing with her PlayStation 2?
FEB ? Start RDO (Rostered Day Out)
Branson Condos Rental Advice for the Perfect Vacation in Missouri
October 22, 2007
If you are thinking about renting a condo in the near future, especially in the Branson, Missouri area, you may want to consider the following helpful tips to help your vacation go as smoothly as possible.
Try to plan your vacation as early as possible as condos sometimes are booked up to a year in advance. You could also try to plan your vacation on off peak times for better deals. Some places may offer up to a 25% decrease in price so it is worth spending a little extra time to research the off peak season.
While you are at it, make sure the condo is relatively close to local attractions and eateries. You are more than likely going to be unfamiliar with the area so save yourself the trouble and try to stay fairly close to your condo.
Be sure to consider what amenities you would be interested in while you are condo shopping as well. Some condos offer private swimming area’s, fully equipped kitchens, washers and dryers, and free internet access just to name a few.
Valentine Gifts From The Heart
October 21, 2007
One of my fondest childhood memories is of my mother helping me make a Valentine’s box to take to school. We pulled out white paste, an old shoebox, scraps of doilies, and construction paper. There was a flurry of activity as I cut and pasted, and imagined my box filled with homemade Valentines from classmates and secret admirers.
My favorite teacher in the fourth grade was Mrs. Dearing. For Valentine’s Day, I wanted to make her something special. My mother had a recipe for sugar cookies that she had made as a child. We stayed up late rolling out the dough, long after my brothers had gone to bed. Carefully, we sprinkled the cookies with sugar and waited for the sparkling wafers to emerge from the oven.
To this day, when I smell sugar cookies baking, I think about Valentine’s Day and that special present for my teacher.
SUGAR COOKIES
Ingredients
1/2-cup unsalted butter at room temperature
3/4-cup sugar
1 large egg
1 Tablespoon milk
1/8-teaspoon salt
1/2-teaspoon vanilla
2-cups flour
Granulated sugar for decoration
1 ceramic cookie mold (available at craft stores or from www.cookieartexchange.com )
Holiday Candy Canes Are Festive and Fun
October 20, 2007
Candy canes are everyone’s favorite holiday treat. Just think about how versatile they are. Not only do candy canes look great hanging from Christmas trees, but their versatility makes them perfect for all kinds of decorative uses.
Candy canes can be crushed or used whole in holiday arts and crafts projects. How about adding candy canes to your homemade holiday gift baskets?
Peppermint candy canes are usually red and white, but they can also be found in fun colors like red, green and white, and also flavors like orange, cherry, and even chocolate!
You can find candy canes sprinkled inside of cookies and other delicious Christmas recipes.
Candy canes make great ornaments. You can buy real ones and hang them around the house or the plastic version works fine too.
To create a festive mood on the holiday dinner table you can put out a couple of candy cane candles.
Got a wreath? Stick a few candy canes inside and watch your guests smile. Candy canes always seem to make people happy.
Mini candy canes can be crafted into a candy cane tree and used as a centerpiece. Another fun idea is to make your own candy cane pins and hand them out as gifts or stocking stuffers.
A Road Trip in Cyprus — Blessed by the Gods
October 19, 2007
Aphrodite’s Hot Spot
European Road Trip Adventures
Cyprus. Yes, it is a hee-uge (note: very large) holiday destination. Ask any slightly pale English teen, and they’ll wax lyrical about the bars, clubs and beaches.
And bars, clubs and beaches there are. Much the same as you’ll find in Ibiza, Thailand, and Cancun. And that’s fine, if all you’re after is bubbly happiness in a cocktail glass and nice tan (and the beginnings of a sexy and malignant melanoma).
But this tends to mean you’ll be overlooking the fact that the island itself has one of the most fascinating histories around. Almost every empire on the face of this earth invaded here. The Ottomans, the Lusignans, the Byzantines, the Venetians. Even the Arabs conducted a few casual raids, possibly just to keep up appearances. All left their mark on the culture and history of this remarkable island. Add to this potent mix a healthy foundation of Ancient Greek and Roman influences in an island washed by inky blue waves and warmed by a Mediterranean sun, and you’ve got a holiday worth a thousand brandy sours and ouzos.
Paphos, more than just a nightclub
The Spirit of Fathers Day
October 18, 2007
Some time ago I received a gift from both of my children. It was spontaneous and had nothing to do with Father’s day. Yet, at the same time it had everything to do with Father’s day.
My son, Kai, - he was 17 at the time - was attending a private boarding high school in Colorado. While we were talking on the phone he shared some wonderful news with me.
Kai said, "You know Dad, I am really happy with my life. I can’t think of a thing that I would change about the way that I grew up, or the way that my life is now."
My daughter Sabari, - also 17 at the time …yes, twins! - , who was living with her mother in Northern California, said almost the same thing to me just a few days later.
Of course, I was delighted to hear this from both of them. What parent wouldn’t revel in the good spirits of their children. And I told them both how happy I was, not only that they were happy, but that they expressed it to me. The heartfelt communication that we shared is as dear to me as the news itself.
Whatever Happened to Christmas?
October 17, 2007
Remember when no one started Christmas shopping until after Thanksgiving?
Wisconsin author LeAnn R. Ralph remembers it very well.
“When I was growing up on our dairy farm forty years ago, the stores didn’t put up Christmas displays until the day after Thanksgiving. No one was really thinking about Christmas shopping before that,” Ralph said. “In fact, my mother felt so strongly about it that she didn’t even like to hear the word ‘Christmas’ until after we had finished eating Thanksgiving dinner.”
Ralph’s new book, Christmas In Dairyland (True Stories From a Wisconsin Farm), celebrates Christmas during that simpler time.
“Back then, happiness was baking cookies, decorating the Christmas tree, and eating lefse that my mother had made,” Ralph said.
Lefse (pronounced lef’suh) is a flat potato pastry brought to this country by Norwegian immigrants who settled in Wisconsin. Ralph’s mother was the daughter of Norwegian immigrants, and their 120-acre family farm was homesteaded by Ralph’s great-grandfather.
“When I was a kid, people enjoyed simple pleasures. The Sunday school Christmas program was an event at the little country church just down the road from our farm that was attended by nearly everyone in the neighborhood,” Ralph noted.
Scottish Roadtrips — Encountering Porridge with Salt and Other Dangers
October 17, 2007
Edinburgh and beyond
Roadtrips around Britain
It’s hard to overstate the poetry of Edinburgh. Even when crossing the North Bridge in a screaming gale, fearing you lost your nose five streets ago. It’s hard to be grumpy with the magnificent Old Town spread out in front of you, and Arthur’s seat rearing up to your left.
But if you’re in Edinburgh for a while, I highly recommend getting out and driving through some of the countryside. As those who live in Scotland (but not in Edinburgh) like to say occasionally, Edinburgh isn’t as Scottish as the rest of the place. So if you really want to get a feel for the soul and history of this porridge-with-salt, haggis-neeps-and-tatties country, you’ll need to get out.
Spires, spectres and spirits (of the whiskey kind)
So have a float around Edinburgh, and soak in the ? this might naff, but really the only word to describe it ? soak in the majesty of it all. Really. Go there. You’ll see. Pop up the Royal Mile and drop in on the city’s number one tourist attraction ? that castle. For a dose of depressing and chilling history I vigorously suggest you take a night tour of Edinburgh’s graveyards, which still sometimes have pieces of bone surfacing if it rains too hard. Interesting, and cheaper than a colostomy.
Country Christmas Idea: Milkweek Pod Poinsettia Ornaments
October 16, 2007
Country Christmas Idea: Milkweed Pod Poinsettia Ornaments
At first glance, milkweed plants and poinsettias don’t seem to have much in common. If you live in an area where milkweed grows wild, however, you can use the dried milkweed pods to make poinsettia ornaments for your Christmas tree. Here’s how:
1. Collect some dried milkweed pods. In the fall, the milkweed plants have already gone to seed but the dried pods will still be attached to the plant. You will need six “halves” of a milkweed pod for each poinsettia flower that you are going to make.
2. After you have collected the milkweed pods and have brought them into the house, put them in a warm spot for a few days or a week to dry out more. This is especially important if it has been rainy and damp outside.
3. Glue the milkweed pod halves together side-by-side in a circle so that they look like a flower. A hot glue gun works well for gluing the pods together.
4. Decorate your poinsettia flowers with spray paint and glitter, or, if you don’t want to spray paint your poinsettias, just use glue and glitter. Mix and match and experiment with colors.
The Thanksgiving Blessing
October 15, 2007
"Wouldn’t you just know it," muttered my husband, Randy.
We had already been driving for a couple of hours in a pickup truck that we had borrowed from a friend, and now it was completely dark.
"What’s wrong?" I asked sleepily. I had dozed off only a few minutes ago.
"It’s starting to rain," Randy replied, as he reached over to turn on the windshield wipers.
Rain? In a few seconds, I came fully awake. If it was raining, that meant Mom and Dad’s furniture was getting wet.
So far, it had been my worst Thanksgiving ever. Dad had passed away a month ago. My mother had died seven years earlier. When I was a kid, we always celebrated Thanksgiving at home. All four of my grandparents had died before I was born, and to me, Thanksgiving meant celebrating the holiday with Mom and Dad. But now, for the very first time in my whole life, all thirty-four years of it, there had been no one to spend Thanksgiving with at my parents’ place.
