Tag Inspire

Happy Valentine’s Day – 2022!

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I really like linzer cookies. To start, I like, NO – I LOVE raspberries. Shout out to my future boyfriend, you’ve got Valentine’s Day all wrapped up. Surprise me with a heart shaped dish full of raspberries and a heart shaped box with something shiny (Jewelry, need to be specific, right. I don’t want to end up with a little silver spoon or a business card holder.) in it and YOUR GOLDEN!

I spoke to some friends who don’t do anything for Valentine’s Day. If they are alone, they find it depressing. Personally, I think it is a nice day to do something loving for another person. Even if you are alone, you can do something for a friend, your kids, a family member, etc. It’s a day to be thoughtful.

Back to the linzer cookies. One day, I want to make them. A few years ago I bought the cookie cutters. I got the recipe. I was THAT close to making them, but didn’t. So, they are still on the “bucket list.”

I get emails from TableWare International. I’ve always liked tableware products, so it’s fun to see the latest industry news. GUESS WHAT – Fiesta (leading dinnerware brand) comes out with a new color every year. This year they have some new HEART shaped dishes. They’re really pretty. See TableWare International’s article, “Love it! Heart-themed pieces from Fiesta Dinnerware.”

The Fiesta dishes look similar to THIS photo with the fruit. Visit FiestaFactoryDirect.com to see ALL the color choices. Oh, and look at their ABOUT section. They started in 1871, two brothers from East Liverpool, Ohio, quite a story.

Do you see how FUN and EASY it can be to make Valentine’s Day special?! It’s all about the hearts!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Artists – Portrait Competition

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If you are looking for an interesting show to watch and love art, you’ll like this one on Amazon Prime: Portrait Artist of the Year. It’s a great show. Apparently, it came out in 2013. How in the heck did I miss this show? Maybe because it’s been on Sky TV.

If you haven’t seen the show, each episode has three famous sitters. There are four portrait artists per sitter. They have four hours to paint the portrait. Once completed, the sitter chooses one of the portraits to bring home. After that, the three judges review ALL of the portraits and they choose a winner. They have competitions in a few different cities, a winner from each. THEN the four finalists come together to paint another portrait. The person who wins the FINAL competition, gets paid a commission to paint another famous/well known person. As you see, a lot of painting is going on.

PHEW – I hope you get the premise of the show. It’s really amazing. One sitter and four artists have such different approaches to painting their portrait. Love this show, so inspiring!

The weekend is here, you’ll be hooked. I see binge watching in your future!

1927 – U.S. ships 12,000 dolls to Japan

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I’ve always enjoyed reading, but lately I couldn’t find a book to keep my attention. Still determined, I kept searching the online library for that special book to read. BINGO, I came across a book by Shirley Parenteau, “Ship of Dolls.”

A ship full of dolls, the title caught my attention. I wanted to know more. What was this ship of dolls and was it a true story? Apparently, this is a true story. This particular book is a work of fiction / historical novel, but there are other books that tell the exact story. I had NO idea.

This Friendship Doll exchange began in response to the Immigration Act of 1924. This Act banned the immigration of Japanese and other Asian nationals into the U.S..

In 1927, Sidney Gulick, an educator and missionary, together with the Protestant churches on the East Coast collected over 12,000 dolls from American children and sent them to Japanese children as a gesture of goodwill and friendship. Gulick started the Friendship Doll project to express his disagreement with the Immigration Act of 1924. He wanted children in the world to appreciate peace and friendship. Diplomacy through children / gift giving.

Eiichi Shibusawa an industrialist, wanted to return the gesture, so manufactured 58 Japanese Dolls and sent them to America. When tensions between U.S. and Japan grew during World War II, Japan destroyed some of the American dolls. American museums kept the Japanese dolls out of exhibition during this time.

Here’s a YouTube video: ARTifacts: Japanese Friendship Doll.

This is a fascinating part of history. I just started reading the Ship of Dolls, so cannot offer a review. As you see, I got side tracked from the book, while researching the Friendship Dolls.

Now, back to reading the book…

Such a great book… The Truth Pixie by Matt Haig

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Matt Haig is an amazing writer. Over the holidays I found the audio version of The Truth Pixie from the Library. He wrote it in verse and he narrates. Such a fabulous story. It’s about a pixie who must always tell the truth, no matter what she is asked. Of course, many people get angry with her when she speaks so honestly. She feels lonely. Then comes the day that telling the truth saves the day. This story is about her journey of acceptance and loving herself.

The rhyming is so lovely, the story so powerful. I truly think you will fall in love with the book too. The audio is the best. This story puts you in a good mood. GREAT if you need a gift.

Enjoy!

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!

Christmas Present: Who still plays Monopoly?

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Look at this, a deluxe wooden version of Monopoly. It was so heavy I could barely pick it up. Right next to it, they had a HUGE wooden Scrabble game. I admit, they look beautiful. These are old games I used to play as a child. I forgot to look at the price.

I enjoyed playing Monopoly until we got to the buying houses. Then all the bartering, etc. got be bored and I would quit. One of my siblings was ALWAYS happy to combine my winnings with theirs and off I would go. As I walked away I could hear them arguing, “That’s NOT FAIR, etc.”

Ah — Good old Monopoly!

Scrabble, we didn’t play this much. Not sure why, but I know some people who were die hard fans of this game. We played a lot of Canasta. Remember that card game and UNO.

So — if you need a LAST MINUTE GIFT… I just gave you a new idea!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

A Christmas Tree for TWINS!

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Life is amusing. I was at the Home Depot for a lightbulb. I enjoy seeing their Holiday decorations. I don’t have a Christmas tree this year. FEELING LAZY, but I do miss it. So, I decided to see what “small” trees they had. I like these quirky looking ones.

I looked at their TOP branch, to see which tree had the TALLEST and STRAIGHTEST branch. Some had crooked top branches. That was an immediate – NO GO! On further inspection, I noticed two tall branches next to each other. WHAT?? Were my eyes deceiving me? Was there an actual tree with two tall branches?

By golly there was!! I immediately thought of my TWIN brother. THIS was a PERFECT tree for TWINS. I looked to see if there were any shiny gold or silver stars around. No, but one tree had these red bulbs on it. So, for fun, I put the two red bulbs on MY TWIN TREE. To make my twin brother smile, I put his bulb a little higher than mine. AT FIRST, I admit, I had the bulbs side by side, which is how it SHOULD BE. Somehow though, from a design perspective, it looked goofy. So, I lowered one of the bulbs.

Laughing — NOW, if you look at the bulbs, they look like EYES. This is a TREE MONSTER coming after me. I sent the photo to my twin, he liked it!

As I kept looking around, I saw these fantastic colored cactus. Wow, I’m not a cactus person, but I do love the bright colors. They are amazing. I should have read how long they bloom.

How about a Cactus built into an ornament. Had not seen that before!

Oh, an older lady asked me what I was doing when I was taking photos. I showed her. She said she lives alone, no children, doesn’t care about Christmas anymore.

HOWEVER, a BIG HOWEVER, when I showed her the pictures I had taken, how I was moving trees/plants around to get my photos — THIS made her SMILE.

Suddenly, she was HAPPY! She said I opened her eyes, she had not SEEN the things I had seen as she walked by. She was going to take pictures to send to her nephews/nieces.

So — I feel like I was someone’s ANGEL!

It’s a good feeling! We CAN spread JOY this holiday!

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!

Happy Thanksgiving – OR – Merry Christmas?

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Today is Thanksgiving, but I have to be honest, it doesn’t feel like Thanksgiving to me. COVID has changed things. Did you notice that people started putting up their Christmas trees at the beginning of November this year? They said they wanted to enjoy the spirit of Christmas for as long as possible.

I think we all feel this way in some way or another. This year, we had three family members pass within four months. This brings a cloud over the family. Funerals make us slow down, reflect on life, and think about the past, present and future.

As the year comes to an end, we want — Love, Peace, Joy, Hope — during these challenging times.

Yesterday, I thought. It’s time for me to change my mood, bring out MY CHRISTMAS SPIRIT!

A few years ago, my daughter gave me this cute little mouse. My other daughter named her Elloise. I know today is supposed to be Thanksgiving, but I’m in the mood for Christmas too. So, I went to the closet, threw things here and there and FOUND Elloise. I fluffed her up, straitened her scarf and skirt. Volia! I SMILED AGAIN. Time to bring some joy to my house.

Wishing you a special day today!

When a Moose means a lot!

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Moose memories. For over 30 years, every September my father went moose hunting in Canada. He’d be gone three weeks in the wilderness with either my brothers or friends. That was a highlight of his year. Two months before he left, he’d go shopping for groceries to bring on the trip. He’s start pulling out his hunting gear, etc. It was a big ordeal, all of us helping to pack up the truck.

We then would eat moose meat ALL year. The moose burgers were good, but if we heard my Dad yell to my mother, “Pull out a moose roast for tonight,” we ran to visit our friends. Moose roasts were so dry and gamey tasting, just AWFUL! My Dad wised up to this tactic of ours and would say, “EVERYONE will be home for dinner tonight!”

My Dad liked to play pranks on his buddies. Since we had a lot of moose meat, he would give some to his friends. One year he had the hoof of the moose, wrapped it in the white paper that the butcher shop uses and wrote “TENDERLOIN” on it! Gave it to his friend and waited. It took a few months, but you can imagine when his friend called. He sure was mad, his poor wife was unwrapping the “tenderloin” package and found the hoof. She was NOT amused and did not want anymore moose meat from my Dad.

When we were kids we’d have our friends over for dinner. They were excited about having hamburger and french fries. We would stare at them as they ate their burger and keep asking, “So, what do you think? Do you like the burger?”

They would say, “YES, it’s really good!”

When they were finished eating we would tell them they had just eaten a moose burger. At first they looked at us and said, “WE WHAT???” You just had a moose burger. Wasn’t it good! They had to agree, moose burgers were good.

Now my Dad is in his 80s, going moose hunting is too strenuous for him. So, of course, there is sadness to this. I know my Dad misses going. A surprise happened at the store. LOOK, what I found — A MOOSE PLATE!!

I smiled. My Dad would look great at the head of the table for Thanksgiving with his very own MOOSE PLATE!

So, he will have a BIG SURPRISE this year. I hope he likes it as much as I do.

He’s got to smile… RIGHT!!