July Photo-a-Day Challenge RED

My apron, hanging on the clothesline

(The brown you see in the background is crunchy Utah grass. The green you see in the background is drought-resistant Utah weed, that cares not that we are under lawn-watering restrictions.)

Tomorrow's theme: celebration

If you would like to participate in the photo-a-day challenge please head to The Idea Room

July Photo a Day Challenge REFLECTION

Pixie, brushing her hair

If you want to participate in The Idea Room's July photo challenge, check out the list of suggested prompts.

Tomorrow's theme is "red."

July Photo a Day Challenge OUT MY WINDOW

This month I am playing along with a challenge issued by Amy at The Idea Room. She encourages her readers to take a photo based on a theme that she selected, one for each day in July. Since I'm a notorious slacker-blogger, I thought a daily prompt would be the kick in the tushie inspiration I need. If you want to participate you can see her July list HERE.

When I look out my window, my brain sweetly overlooks the fact that I am peering through a screen or a dirty (shocker!) glass. The camera is not so merciful.  I toyed with the idea of stepping outside to take these shots but dang it! I AM A BLOGGER WITH INTEGRITY!  Even though it means my photos may look blurred or un-focused, I want to show you what I see when I look out my window, not what I see when I go outside and stand in front of my window. And although the challenge is to take a photo a day, you can bet your sweet bippy [name that TV show!] I will run on endlessly with commentary every day. That's how I roll.

The rose bush I see from my living room window. I can smell it from there too.

The red roses I can see from my bedroom window.

The view out my back door window; my little oasis of serenity under the plum tree.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's challenge: Reflection

Six Degrees of Chocolate Bacon

A few weeks ago, Computer Geek, Weston, and I traveled out of town to eat at Denny's. It's about thirty minutes away so we make the trip only once every year or two.

After our typical lunch of sandwiches and fries, I set my eye upon the dessert menu. Was I hungry? Is hunger ever a prerequisite for dessert?

My typical dessert choices fall in the ice cream/fudge/cheesecake realm. This day, for some crazy reason, I was ready for something new. Something like ice cream. And fudge. And caramel.

AND BACON!

What? Bacon is now a dessert item? I fell for it like a bungee jumper at the Victoria Falls Bridge.

Yes, that is BACON gracing the top of that ice cream. Caramel-drizzled bacon.

I'm getting weak just looking at it

If you've never tried bacon as a dessert item, I encourage you to be brave. The bite of salty bacon combined with the smooth sweetness of fudge brownie and ice cream is sure to make you scoff at Abercrombie and Fitch employees. Who needs to shop at the Mecca for the physically elite when you can partake of this divine creation? Think Peanut Buster Parfait. Think Mr. Goodbar. Think Salted Nut Roll.

I'm thinking. Thinking it just may be worth another thirty minute drive.

The Entertainment Value of Tape

The grandkids were over recently and I was running out of things for them to do. They preferred to play Mario Kart on the Wii (Avatar) and Dora on nickjr.com (Chunk,) but I know their mother and she would not be happy if I sent her boys back home as zombie mush heads.

Being the proud Pinterest addict that I am, surely I could come up with something to keep these young men detached from electronic devices. I thought of putting them to work but then they would never want to come over again. I could feed them yet another snack, since almost 47 minutes had elapsed since their last one. Finally, something I had re-pinned on Pinterest pinged in my brain. Tape!

We all know from our experiences with kids and birthday presents that the box holds just as much fascination as the gift. Well, I 'm here to tell ya that tape works just as well as a box.

I had Weston pull out his old Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars while I got busy with a roll of tape. The little guys kept asking, "Grandma, what are you doing?"

"You'll see," I said, sporting a crooked grin and a slanty eyebrow.

As I worked across the floor, they soon caught my vision.

My living room became a city and strips of tape became a parking lot.

Weston, AKA The Flash, realized I had my camera and didn't want anyone knowing he was playing with his cars. Ha ha ha!  Too late! I hope all your teen-age friends see this!

You could mark off rooms for Barbies if you're not into Hot Wheels, or you could make a giant tic-tac-toe, using humans as markers. Em once used some tape to make a hopscotch grid on her living room floor.

You know what was even more fun for the boys than playing with tape-outlined roads? Ripping it all up!

May Day, May Day!

May 1, 196x, Iowa.  I was a young girl, less than ten years old. After school I found a small parcel hanging on our front door knob with my name on it. Inside a folded-paper basket was some popcorn, a few pieces of penny candy, and a hand-picked violet.  My mother explained the concept of May Day to me and asked me if I knew who left it. I had no idea.

Good thing. She explained that if I had seen the person, I would be expected to run after him and kiss him. Yuk! I’m sure I wondered for days who could have left that May basket for me. Now, I’m sure it was probably my own mother.

When Em and Kay were small, they received their own May baskets. Frequently, we would arrive home from work and the babysitter’s to find small baskets made from paper cups and stuffed with popcorn and candy. Of course we never knew who left them; the act had been done hours before. We would drop my work bag and their back packs on the dining room table and get busy arranging our own May baskets and making clandestine deliveries.

April 30, 1998, Utah. I mentioned to someone that I needed to go buy some paper cups and candy so I could make May Day baskets. “What’s May Day?” I was incredulous that someone did not know about the holiday and was certain that his lack of knowledge was based on poor upbringing. I went to the store, expecting to see a section devoted to scores of different bulk Brach’s candy—the stuff of which all good May Day baskets were filled. Just like in Iowa.

Nope. “Do you have May Day candy?” I asked the clerk.

“Huh?”

[It was an eerie repeat of six weeks before when I had gone to three different local florists inquiring about their green carnations for St. Patrick’s Day. “You need WHAT?” they all said. Yeah, no one in Utah celebrated the wearing of the green either. Apparently Utahns were all Scandinavian and English. So yeah, no Irish stuff.]

May 1, 2013, Utah.  I long ago learned that “if it’s to be, it’s up to me.” I haven’t really ever stopped making May baskets, or having hope that I would find something on my door.  Today, it’s Weston and Computer Geek who are my accomplices. I’ll leave the recipients unnamed, in case they read this blog and are forewarned for next year.

Spiffy spring-themed cup. Check.

Caramel popcorn. Check.

Tootsie Roll Midgets. Oh yeah!

Cinnamon Bears. Naturally.

M&M's. Drool.

And something I never had as a child--flavored straws!

All the baskets ready for take-off.

Weston in stealth mode.

Retreat! Someone's on the porch!

Later today, there was a knock at our door!

The May Fairy left us warm pumpkin bread. It was divine.

Happy May Day to you and may it signal the end of snow!

(I won't hold my breath.)

Even My Adult Children Can Make Me Laugh

Each day that I’m alive, I am more convinced that it’s really those little moments that make life memorable. I’m also more convinced each day that children are sent to us to remind us to laugh.

Normally it’s the antics of one of my grandchildren that keep me smiling throughout the day, like this gem that my daughter Em posted on Facebook:

Chunk: Mom I want to go swimming!
Me: It is too cold to go swimming.
Chunk: I will just wear a jacket!

 This afternoon it was Em herself who kept Computer Geek and me in stitches. We would start laughing anew every time we thought about it.

Em came over this afternoon with a pair of baby shoes that she bought yesterday at Wal-Mart. She bought a size 2 but found she really needed a size 3 for Miss Baby Elephant. Apparently there was only one size 3 left when she was there yesterday. She wondered if we were going to Wal-Mart, and if so, would we mind exchanging them for the bigger size.

It so happened that Computer Geek was planning on going to Wal-Mart this evening. I asked him if he would mind exchanging the size 2 shoes for size 3 shoes for Em. He took the shoes and headed for Wal-Mart. Unfortunately, the one remaining size 3 was gone, though he looked all over the baby section.

I called Em to give her the bad news. Our conversation went something like this:

Me:      Sorry, Computer Geek took those shoes back, but the size 3 shoes were gone.

            They said they would refund your card.

Em:      Oh, they were gone? I had both size 2 and size 3 in my cart and decided the 2

            would probably work better so I hid the size 3 in the chocolate section over by the

            meats.

When I sent Computer Geek to the store for baby shoes I totally forgot to tell him to check the chocolate section over by the meats! Being a geek though, he should have thought of it right?

Moral of the story: Never send a man to do a woman’s work.

Sunday Serenity 4/14/13

Lake Tahoe at Sunset

4-11-13

March 21, 2013, World Down Syndrome Awareness Day

 A guest post by author Madonna Dries Christensen

Through The Eyes Of The Differently-Abled  

On a visit to Virginia, I accompanied my daughter and two of her children to a creative arts class for those with special needs. Eight-year-old Sarah has Down syndrome and six-year-old William has autism.
      The program was founded by a high school student, Samantha Hall. While working as a counselor at a soccer camp for youth with disabilities, she met a girl who didn’t enjoy playing sports. She loved the arts, but this camp offered only soccer. Samantha recognized that this child’s need for expression probably affected others. After obtaining funding through a grant from the Arlington Youth Philanthropy Initiative of the Arlington Community Foundation, Samantha founded Doing Art Together (DARTT). Her simple request in the grant was for a safe place to hold classes, art materials, and volunteers. She got all three.
      The free program, held in a school cafeteria, was initially for children, but now includes adults from group homes. Participants are each assigned a volunteer to guide them through the session. Parents must stay on the premises, but are asked to not help unless assistance is needed.
      The young woman assigned to Sarah told me that as a member of the National Honor Society she gets credit for community service, but quickly added, “That’s not why I volunteer here. I love these kids.” Indeed, all the volunteers seemed to be enjoying the session.
      The main activity this particular morning was painting on t-shirts. Sarah chose a shirt color and then sat at a table and decorated the shirt with various designs and one color, purple, her favorite. Her face lit up when she saw Connor, her best friend since pre-school. They worked side by side, moving from painting shirts to drawing and coloring.  
      At another table, William used an array of vivid colors to draw on paper. He is attracted to the color red. Creating art is especially helpful for children who are nonverbal, allowing them to communicate feelings and emotions.
      If you frequent the Internet, you’ve probably seen the work of Stephen Wiltshire, an autistic young man with the ability to study a scene for 15 or 20 minutes and then, from memory, recreate the panoramic view in pen and ink on mural size paper. His renditions are astounding and are shown and sold at galleries and museums around the world, along with small gift items on which the scenes are duplicated. See his site at: http://www.stephenwiltshire.co.uk
      Amanda LaMunyon is also a presence on the Internet and around the world. She began painting at age seven, shortly before being diagnosed with Asperger syndrome. Her childhood paintings were impressions of the songs she loved. Now a teenager, she expresses herself and her faith through singing, painting, and public speaking. She encourages those with challenges of any kind to not give up on big or small dreams. She shares her talents with organizations that raise money for children’s health.
      Amanda says on her Website: “It is important that we as Americans must take the lead to find the cause, cure and prevention of autism. We have the privilege and freedom in our great country to raise money and speak about our concerns. It has been my privilege to work with Children’s Miracle Network, Autism Speaks, The Lili Claire Foundation, Dr. Rosa Martinez with Strokes of Genius, and other organizations. I hope to continue to share my art and my story of overcoming challenges.”
      Her work has been included in several books and she has received awards, including The President’s Daily Points of Light and The President’s Volunteer Service Award. She felt honored to present her painting of “Our Flag Was Still There” to President George W. Bush, and her portrait of President Ronald Reagan to former First Lady Nancy Reagan.
      See Amanda’s site at http://amandalamunyon.com.
      My grandkids delight me with their creations. Those from 10-year-old Grace, a typical child, are detailed and artistic. Sarah’s stick figures have a distinctive style; we all have wheels for feet and hands (sometimes that would be helpful). Grace says that William’s drawings are abstract. I didn’t know that term at her age, let alone how it applies to art, but look for yourself.

        

William, age 6 

 Sarah, age 8

 Grace, age 10

Learn more about Madonna Dries Christensen on her website On Worlud Pond.

Jade, Kelly, Pine, Grass, Emerald....

I tend to favor all shades of purple. Lilac. Lavender. Plum. Grape. Violet. Framboise. (Yes, it's really a color. I looked it up.) On one day of the year though, my heart bleeds shamrock green.

My mother is to blame. Every year on March 17, little green antennae sprang from her head and bouncy four-leaf clovers dangled from her ears. A vivid green t-shirt proclaimed her heritage. She wasn't above sporting a springy green wig. Now for the shocker--she went to work like that.

Her daughters and granddaughters carry on the tradition. (The males play along, but only so far as food is concerned.) Em and I sent Kay a pair of St. Patrick's Day socks (which she'd better be wearing today!) I am wearing a Celtic green skirt. Em wore a lovely minty green top today and her daughter Miss Baby Elephant had on a white shirt splashed with tiny shamrocks and a green bow in her hair.

My camera batteries died today in the middle of the festivities, so you won't get to see the green french toast, the corned beef and red potatoes, our homemade shamrock shakes, or a shot of me in my skirt. However, here's a shot of the skirt from the Holy Clothing website. It probably looks better on the model anyway.

Basket of green goodies for the grandkids

Clover rolls and cookies made by Em's clan

Pie!

If you would like to make your own pie for next year, or for tomorrow, the recipe is as easy as, well, pie.

Crust:

1/2 package of Mint Oreos, crushed, then mixed with a little melted butter.

Form into pie pan.

Stick in freezer.

Filling:

2 small packages of pistachio pudding

1/2 the amount of milk it calls for on the package, then prepare as directed on package

Pour into chilled pie shell and return to freezer.

We serve ours frozen, like an ice cream pie, but we let it thaw just a tad lest we break off a tooth and look "shanty Irish" as my great-grandmother would say.

If my mom still lived I would buy her the most incredible St. Patrick's Day t-shirt I have ever seen. It says, "Kiss me, I'm Iowish."  And I would, because she is.

Mandatory disclaimer: I was not compensated in any way by Holy Clothing, Oreos, or St. Patrick for mentioning them.

Thanks to Auntie M. for the info about my great-grandmother.