Category Create

Who likes Jigsaw Puzzles?

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I haven’t done a jigsaw puzzle in a while. I hadn’t even thought of doing one, just busy with “other things.” So, I smiled when I saw this puzzle on the Clearance rack.

My first thought, the children’s book, “The Princess and the Pea.” What a cute idea to have a cat on top of a bunch of beautiful pillows. I love bright colors, so was attracted to this immediately. Another attraction was the size being rectangular versus square. I found that to be a challenge.

One thing though, the measurements. At 39 inches long, it takes up quite a bit of space on a dining table in an awkward way. A little bit shorter would have been better, but I don’t think puzzle makers take that into consideration. They are creators, right. They do what is visually appealing, leave technical issues to the puzzle maker purchaser. Fall in love with a puzzle and we can make it work!

Size aside, I’m looking forward to doing this puzzle. I smile every time I look at it. It’s just so colorful!

So, the BIG QUESTION — Do I start in the middle, do the border or the CAT FIRST??

Ah… the puzzle maker’s challenge!

Decorating with life size SHEEP…

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If you love sheep like I do, you’ll think this is a BEAUTY! I found this by accident. I was at the store browsing their Easter decorations. Wondering if there was anything new and interesting, gnomes are the “in thing.” But then suddenly, I saw this life size sheep. Beautiful! What craftsmanship. This was a high end sheep with plush wool, a child could sit on it. I immediately looked at the tag, no price, but it did have the manufacturer’s information.

Of course, made in Germany by Meier.Germany! It’s a family owned business, third generation now. The business was started in 1948 by Hermann Meier (father). His focus was on rocking horses, and he did very well. Then Horst Meier (son) entered the business. He expanded the rocking horse line to include life size sheep and other animals. These are expensive toys / decorating sheep starting at $250 and up.

I came across deSaive deSign / Interior Design & Accessory company. They have a wonderful design website, go check it out, with a section specific to the Meier.Germany products.

I enjoyed seeing this photo. We can decorate our living room with a sheep on the side. LOVE THAT! I wonder what would happen if someone had a cat. Yikes, their $1,000 sheep would become a scratch toy, ouch! The family comes back from vacation to discover their beautiful sheep exists no longer – all the wool pulled out.

Just thinking… There must be a Canadian company that makes sheep toys. I’ll have to investigate.

Happy Decorating!

Happy New Year! What’s in store for 2022?

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As we finish 2021 and start 2022, our life is like a sliding puzzle. Remember playing those games when we were kids? There are many unknowns as the days / months unfold. We have goals, but we’re not clear in which order they will be fulfilled.

We might think the answer to WHAT (in our lives) comes FIRST; however, maybe WHO comes FIRST and then we slide WHAT to the bottom to make room for WHERE.

Our puzzle will continue throughout the year with WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY and HOW sliding around until all questions in our life are finally answered and goals fulfilled.

May your puzzle of LIFE unfold the way you would like it to!

Wishing YOU a healthy, loving, adventurous and prosperous New Year!

Merry Christmas! Angel blueberry scones…

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I decided to surprise my daughters with some blueberry scones. I made them into Angels. They were very good; however, I should have taken them out a little sooner. I haven’t baked in a while, so I was a little rusty on the timing. STILL the Angels were a big hit.

My daughter made protein waffles. Interesting ingredients: vital wheat gluten, oat flour, fat free cottage cheese, egg whites, some water. Before you shake your head, they were good. I would not have known they weren’t made from a waffle mix. They were delicious, very filling.

It’s fun to do some baking, home cooking for the holidays.

Wishing you ALL a very Merry Christmas Eve / Day!

Perfect story for the holidays – THE YANKEE CANDLE

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I’m always on the hunt for a good smelling candle. They are especially helpful if you’ve cooked fish, cabbage or broccoli for dinner. Light up your candle, it’s even better than opening the windows. Somehow the candles work really well.

I recently read an article in ADWEEK, “Yankee Candle Began as a Christmas Gift of Melted Crayons,” by Robert Klara. Right there, the title sold me on Yankee Candles. Melted crayons turned into a candle to make a mother happy?! We all remember having crayons as a kid. What a clever idea!

Long story, so click on the link. I think you’ll enjoy the article. They have 600 fragrances. It’s Christmas, they say their most popular candle is Balsam and Cedar, I’ll have to give it a try.

This is a special story that pulls at the heart strings! GIFT OF THE MAGI – that was quite a story too!

TA-DA –> The Kodiak breakfast!

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Well, it’s Sunday, I decided to make waffles. I wrote about the Kodiak Cake brand mix the other day. Today I used the buttermilk and chocolate mix. Why not be adventurous. I topped my waffles with blueberries and raspberries that I picked in Michigan this summer and froze for winter. By the way, frozen raspberries are quite the treat. They change color and become darker once frozen, but the flavor is still there. I added some maple syrup. It’s the PERFECT breakfast!

My friend is in France…. she’s probably eating a wonderful croissant right now!

Wondering what YOU are having!

Chocolate cakes – trying a HEALTHY version!

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I’ve been trying to embrace this health craze. Less fat, more protein — pancakes, waffles, cakes – NOTHING is the same anymore. Lately, the talk of the town is the Kodiak Cakes brand. Different people I spoke to were raving about their high protein pancakes. Delicious and kept them full until 1 pm. Of course, I asked, “What are you talking about?”

I like to eat pancakes / waffles occasionally, so was not up to speed on this Kodiak Cakes brand. Turns out, Kodiak Cakes, has been around since 1995. The company was started by Joel Clark based on his mother’s buttermilk flapjack mix. They are located in Utah. Due to funding the company was slow to take off, but now it has and it’s the latest craze.

It’s an interesting story, you should read about it. Joel Clark was even on Shark Tank in 2014; however, he did not accept a deal with any of the Shark Tankers. That show though introduced his product, people were interested and sales took off at Target. 14 grams of protein per serving does sound good, right!

I bought a box of Kodiak Cakes and made pancakes. I have to say, they had a great chocolate taste. This chocolate mix though, I felt was heavy and the texture was more like a cake than a fluffy pancake. I found a recipe for using the Kodiak mix to make little muffins. I decided to make mini cakes instead. They are cute looking, but the recipe I used was not good. The texture of the cakes were so dense. I went by the reviews and they were saying how “fantastic” their muffins were.

Imagine a cake with these ingredients (too much protein): 1 cup Kodiak mix, 4 eggs, 1 cup unsweetened applesauce or 4 smashed medium bananas. Mix, cook at 350 until done.

Baking is about experimenting. We win some, we lose some, but we don’t give up.

I’m on a quest to make these little cakes healthy and delicious. I just need to fine-tune the recipe.

If you haven’t heard of Kodiak Cakes give them a try. They have all kinds of flavored mixes. You can’t go wrong! High protein, just add some fruit, light syrup – you’ll be in breakfast heaven!

Happy Halloween Birthday — You know who you are!

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I was visiting a friend, we went walking and saw FUN Halloween decorations! Some houses were really creative. It makes walking more interesting.

GUESS WHAT — I have a friend whose birthday is on Halloween!

So, a BIG SHOUT OUT TO Maura. If she’s reading, she’ll know I’m thinking about her.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! MAKE IT FUN!

And if YOUR birthday is on Halloween… Happy Birthday to YOU too!

Photography – A rabbit poses…

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By chance, I became a photographer. This rabbit ran in front of me and then stopped in the bushes. Of course, I wanted to get a better look at him. As you see, he had his back to me. He wasn’t afraid, but definitely hesitant of my presence.

I took the first picture, which was a back view. Playing photographer, I wanted to see him more from a side or front view. After waiting for what seemed like an hour for him to move, not really, but it seemed that way. I politely told the rabbit that seeing his derrière was not the best photo. It would be nice if he could turn toward me a little bit for a front view.

I kid you not, as soon as I said that and moved just a little that made a noise. The rabbit shifted his stance to a side view. Laughing, that was the BEST he was going to offer. I took my photos, thanked him and went on my merry way.

Ah… it’s nice to see a rabbit when you are not expecting it.

Have a great weekend!

Halloween – How do YOU write your SPOOKY story?

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A spooky typewriter. I LOVE this! I’m sad it’s not real!!

When I saw it, I immediately thought how perfect it was. In fact, as it has a page in it already, I thought of this old dusty piano my grandfather had that played music by itself. This would be similar.

Imagine you get up in the morning, depending on the keys you hit, the typewriter starts typing! You sit with your coffee, feet kicked up on the desk, reading the newspaper. What a glorious morning. Typewriter makes a cackling sound when story is done. You rip off the pages. THEN – Off to the editor!

My girlfriend’s birthday is on Halloween. She’s been doing research on her Irish family. They have some haunted cemeteries there. She could use this typewriter to RECORD family history. What do you think?

I HAVE SOMETHING BETTER. Although, if she survived the heart attack on opening the birthday box, I’m not sure we would still be friends. Imagine my fright, when I was “innocently” looking at Halloween stuff, turned TOO QUICKLY and saw this boa constrictor.

Oh my gosh — I DID JUMP BACK!! Realized it was a FAKE, then said a few… well, BAD WORDS!!

So, I decided neither of these were quite right.

The search continues… I did see a HUGE purple spider in someone’s yard. It had googly eyes. FUNNY!

I enjoy seeing the decorations. Some people go ALL OUT with their Halloween decorations & costumes.