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Archive for the ‘Kids’ Category

Friday’s Fresh Five! (8/31/12)

Posted in About me, Art and Crafts, Health, Helping Others, In The Kitchen, inspiration, Kids, Photography, Recipes, Recycling, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 31, 2012| Leave a Comment »

One penny, one lottery ticket, and one ounce of luck . . . that’s all it takes. Who doesn’t like the thrill of potentially winning something? That’s what I thought when I made these fish-lottery favors. Wanting to combine a fun activity with a fish-themed party favor, I created these “Lucky in Love” fish for all the guests at my son’s wedding rehearsal dinner. Since I never throw anything “useful” away, I was elated to find a use for a stack of paper fish frames that remained after cutting out 300 paper fish for the wedding. After carefully cutting the fish silhouettes apart, I glued colored paper behind them. Then with repositionable adhesive, I attached a lottery ticket to the paper and added a “fish eye” or penny for scratching. One fun idea, one way to repurpose, and more than one winner!

#1 – One Body, One Site
Thanks to the wedding, for the first time in my life, I’ve been exercising seriously on a regular basis. I’ve learned that I can get a thorough workout with very little equipment – so basically there is no excuse for not exercising! Whatever exercise equipment you have at your disposal, you’ll want to check out excercise.com for its list of exercises and videos. Whether you have no equipment at home or only a set of dumbbells or only an elliptical trainer, this site has exercises for you to do!

#2 – One Day

Photograph by Lee Jeffries

One day a man with a camera sees a homeless woman and takes her photo. The result of that experience is a collection of black and white images taken by photographer Lee Jeffries. He has journeyed across the world and into his heart to capture faces of the homeless. Through his powerful portraits, Mr. Jeffries emotionally affirms the saying that “the eyes are the windows to the soul.”

#3 – Cooking for One or Two
The kids are all gone. No more cooking for my army of hungry children. It’s been a difficult adjustment for me to scale back on the amount of food I buy and prepare, but I’m slowly adapting. If, like me, you find you are now cooking for one or two, you may want to check out these recipes that are formulated to serve only one or two people.

#4 – Create One Meaningful Life
You’ve got only one life, so make it meaningful. From GPS for the Soul comes this article Tools for Creating a Meaningful Life. Ira Israel, the author gives us 10 things to be mindful of as we go about our lives.

#5 – One Thing

This weekend – do one thing that you’ve always wanted to do, but never have!

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (8/10/12)

Posted in About me, Creativity, Health, In The Kitchen, inspiration, Kids, Parenting, Photography, Travel, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 10, 2012| 2 Comments »

Walking down the “white” carpet with a smile on my face and a handsome young man on my arm, I spied a dozen cameras pointed at me. For a fleeting moment, in my pretty dress and sparkling shoes, I felt like a celebrity. I wasn’t a celebrity, but I was something better – a very happy mother-of-the-groom being escorted down the aisle by the best man, my charming oldest son!

#1 – Taking Better Videos on your Smartphone
If someone was taking a video of the wedding processional using their smartphone, I hope they read “How Can I Shoot Better Video On My Smartphone?” first. Whether you’re a paparazzi or a parent or a grandparent trying to record special moments, you’ll benefit from these helpful tips provided in this Lifehacker article.

#2 – Those Deceiving Snacks!

It’s easy to be confused about which snacks are healthy and which ones are not. Most snacks start out with a healthy ingredient, but become unhealthy as other ingredients are added and processing takes over. Here’s a list of 50 Seemingly Healthy Foods That Are Bad for You from Shape Magazine. To whet your interest, I offer you the first dozen offenders on the list:

1. Microwave Popcorn
2. Light Salad Dressing
3. Trail Mix
4. Granola
5. Artichoke Spinach Dip
6. Flavored Fat-Free Yogurt
7. Dried Fruit
8. Flavored Soy Milk
9. Energy Drinks
10. Smoothies
11. Turkey Sandwich
12. Parfait

#3 – Creative Billboards

Creativity knows no bounds, as is illustrated in these billboards from around the world.

#4 – Food to Go or Go to Food?

Every month, somewhere in this world, there’s a food show, food competition, or food festival being held. If you like to travel and if you like to eat good food, you may want to arrange your travels around food festivals. Here are just a few on my food “bucket” list:

January – Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie (World Pastry Cup), Lyon, France

February – Salon du Chocolat (in French), Marseille, France

March – Paris Cookbook Fair, Paris, France

April – The Great American Pie Festival, Celebration, Florida

May – International Biscuit Festival, Knoxville, Tennessee

June – Arcata Bay Oyster Festival, Arcata, California

July – Garlic Festival, Gilroy, California

August – Maine Lobster Festival, Rockland, Maine

September – Ludlow Food Festival, England

October – Truffle Festival, Alba, Italy

November – Kona Coffee Cultural Festival, Kona, Hawaii

December – Baker’s Market, Vancouver, BC

For a more comprehensive list of food festivals all year long, go to foodreference.com

#5 – I Believe
“I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles.”
― Audrey Hepburn

Have an unbelievably great weekend!

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Moving On

Posted in About me, inspiration, Kids, Parenting, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 8, 2012| 6 Comments »

A long embrace and a quick murmured, “Love you. Take care of yourself,” and he was gone. My firstborn, who has always marched to his own drumbeat, is moving on with his life. Although I am extremely grateful for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that awaits him in New York City and for the fact that he is not moving out of the country, I allow myself to experience the bittersweet feelings that stir within.

With less than four adrenaline-fueled days to adjust to the idea of him leaving and to tie up loose ends here, I didn’t have time to sit, feel, and acknowledge the rumblings of my heart and brain until now. My brain confirms all the positive aspects of this transition, but my heart stubbornly refuses to let go of that last bit of apron string tied to him. I remind myself that he is following his dream, something that I endlessly supported. But in this mother’s mind, at this moment in time, I can’t help but think that this wonderful opportunity is carrying him far away from home and family. His hard work and perseverance paid off. He held fast to his dream even when his life didn’t go according to plan – when life’s zigs and zags carried him their unpredictable ways. How could I not be happy for him now?

In reality, he’s not lived at home for a while, but he’s always lived in the same state as the rest of the family. As he heads to the opposite coast, I take comfort in the marvel of today’s technology, which will help to appease my motherly worries. I worry about this son of mine because he has a different approach to life than my other children and because things seem to happen to him that don’t happen to the others.

His decision to drive across the country with his girlfriend rather than fly, a decision that baffled many, did not surprise me. I asked him why he wanted to drive for five days and arrive at his new job road-weary and tired. I asked him why he wanted to drive a car that already has 150,000 miles on it and risk it breaking down in the middle of nowhere. I asked him why he was making things so complicated. He told me calmly, “It’s only complicated to you, Mom.” And then he added, “In my line of work, you draw on life’s experiences for ideas.” I understood what he was telling me. It’s my fault, I thought to myself. Throughout the years I reminded my children about “life being a journey and not a destination.” It’s no wonder that they yearn to do more, see more, and experience more.

For three decades my identity has been wrapped up with my children. It’s inevitable that as they transition, so must I. With one child moving away and another getting married in a few months, the focus of my life must shift away from them. It is only natural. My time is coming again. My children’s growth and good fortune affords me the time and energy to fulfill more of my life’s dreams. It is now abundantly clear to me, that my children are not the only ones moving on.

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Holiday Lessons

Posted in About me, Holidays, Husbands, inspiration, Kids, Parenting, Pets, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 3, 2012| 4 Comments »

The rhythmic sounds of a tumbling clothes dryer and a snoring old dog create a soothing background of white noise as I compose my thoughts. The holidays blew through my life like a gust of wind, picking up bits and pieces of my routine and then rearranging them in chaotic order. The kids blew in, stayed awhile, and then blew out. Life provides us with opportunities to learn lessons every day and these past holidays were no exception. Mindful refresher courses came in abundance during the last few weeks. Now in the quiet of my home and my mind, I reflect on the holidays and the lessons I learned or revisited.

Priorities
No matter how much planning and preparation transpires before the holidays, I will never have enough time to do everything I want to do. With that in mind, I didn’t try to please everyone and I didn’t get together with everyone I wanted to see this holiday season. Prioritizing my time was how I stayed sane and, for me, family always comes first. There’s plenty of time during the rest of the year to bake, craft, and visit with friends. Having all of my kids under one roof is a rarity these days, so I gave myself permission to be selfish with my time.

Can’t Teach an Old Dog New Tricks
A week ago my dog survived chocolate and alcohol poisoning due to an absent-minded husband and a gift of homemade bourbon balls. Three hours and $369.00 later, I gratefully carried my little dog back home from the emergency veterinary hospital. Will he get into chocolate, again? I hope not. I’ve learned that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but that doesn’t stop me from trying. And, in this case, I’m not referring to my dog! Adoption of new routines in our home – inspection and placement of my husband’s briefcase – will hopefully prevent any future incidents involving my sweet-seeking dog.

Don’t Sweat the Messy Stuff
Laundry baskets of dirty clothes stood in queues outside the laundry room, mystery goop stuck to the stove top, and dozens of unclaimed drinking glasses littered the house. My kids were home and it showed. For all the days my family was reunited, the house was a huge mess, but I was okay with that. Not a lot of time was wasted sweating over the messy stuff and as much time as possible was spent enjoying the mess-makers.

The Best Gifts
Driving around town admiring Christmas lights never grows old. Nor does preparing big pots of homemade soup and listening to my kids slurp them down and then, in a Charles Dickens’ way, ask for “more.” Watching their faces as they opened their presents and listening to their laughter fill the house reminded me that the best gifts aren’t on lists and have no dollar value.

Be Prepared
On Christmas Eve my oldest child complained of a bad headache and by Christmas morning his headache was accompanied by stomach pain. After sleeping most of Christmas, fever, chills, and heavy groans developed. Flu? Appendicitis? By Christmas evening we were in the hospital emergency room. Thankfully, he’s fine now, but next year, before the kids come home, I will remember to check the batteries in my digital thermometer and I will buy a fresh supply of acetaminophen.

Life is Precious
Like a thief in the night, bad news came and stole the promise of the New Year. In the middle of the night, the day after Christmas, my daughter came into my bedroom sobbing. She had just learned that a friend of hers was dead. While consoling her, we talked about Tim, a fun-loving and adventurous young man. Tim came from England, not just to study in the United States, but to fulfill his desire to see the world and to meet and befriend as many people as he could along the way. In the blink of an eye, his young life was snatched away by a drunk driver. Sad and bad things happen, even during the holidays. They are part of life. They make us wake-up, pay attention, and learn hard life lessons – like never take anyone for granted and live life to the fullest.

Growing with Gratitude
At year’s end I received an email with an annual report from my blog host. What started out as a way to share my thoughts, ideas, photos, and passions with others, has turned out to be an extraordinary experience for me. In the process of producing this blog, I’ve learned a lot about myself and what I am capable of. My children now have a journal of their mother’s sometimes quirky and sometimes serious thoughts and also a place to go to for family recipes intertwined with bits of family history. But what I’ve learned the most about while writing this blog is how small, thanks to the Internet, the world is and how large my world has grown! Finding out from the annual report that my readers come from North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, simply overwhelmed me. I am grateful for every one of you who stopped by and took the time to read What About This? Thank you so much!

May 2012 find you happily grateful, in good health, and filled with abundant joy!

This post is dedicated to the memory of Tim Selby Barraud.
Photo of Tim soaking up the Oregon sunset – courtesy of my daughter.

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Pepperoni Pizza Puffs With Homemade Pizza Sauce

Posted in Holidays, Kids, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , on December 6, 2011| 1 Comment »

Got kids? Need appetizers? Want football munchies other than Doritos? Whether you need to bring an appetizer to a holiday affair or you’re having a crowd over for football bowl games or you’ve just got lots of kids hanging around the house, you’ll want to whip up batches of these popular, bite-sized, Pepperoni Pizza Puffs and serve them with a flavorful, homemade, pizza sauce. Stir, bake, dip and eat – this make-ahead dish makes entertaining so deliciously easy!

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs
Adapted from a recipe by Rachael Ray

Ingredients:
3/4 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup whole milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
4 ounces (about 1 cup) mozzarella cheese, shredded
4 ounces pepperoni (about 1 cup), cut into small cubes
2 tablespoons finely slivered fresh basil
1/2 cup store-bought or homemade pizza sauce (recipe below)

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 24-cup mini-muffin pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder; whisk in the milk and egg. Stir in the mozzarella and pepperoni; let stand for 10 minutes.

2. Stir the batter and divide among the mini-muffin cups. Bake until puffed and golden, 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven.

3. Sprinkle the puffs with 1 tablespoon of basil.

4. Microwave the pizza sauce (recipe below) until warmed through, pour into a serving bowl, sprinkle remaining basil on top for garnish, and serve with the puffs.

5. Do ahead note: Freeze the baked puffs in a single layer on a baking sheet, then transfer to a freezer bag. To reheat, bake the frozen puffs on a baking sheet in a 350-degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes.

Serves 4.

Exquisite Pizza Sauce
Adapted from a recipe by Angie Gorkoff

Ingredients:
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
6 fluid ounces of warm water
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon anchovy paste (optional)
3/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
Salt to taste

Directions:
1. In a small bowl, combine the tomato paste, water, Parmesan cheese, garlic, honey, anchovy paste, onion powder, oregano, marjoram, basil, ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes and mix together, breaking up any clumps of Parmesan cheese. Add salt as needed.*

2. Sauce should sit for 30 minutes to blend flavors. At this point you would normally spread the sauce on pizza dough, but to use it as a dip for the Pepperoni Pizza Puffs, just pour some of the sauce in a serving bowl.

Serves 4 (pizzas), but serves more when used as a dip.

Linnell’s Notes:
1. I purchased sliced pepperoni and stacked them into short stacks. I sliced each stack into strips and then turned the stacks around to slice the strips into 1/4- to 1/2-inch squares.

2. A word about the anchovy paste: I didn’t have anchovy paste, but I did have a can of anchovies. I threw four to five fillets into my mini-food processor and gave them a whirl until a paste formed. Even if you don’t care for anchovies, don’t leave them out of this recipe! You don’t taste them in the sauce, but they do lend some depth to the flavor.

3. *The sauce should sit for a while to allow the flavors to meld before you decide to add additional salt. Not much salt needs to be added because of the saltiness of the anchovies.

4. The pizza puff recipe can easily be adapted. If you would like to substitute your favorite pizza ingredients for the pepperoni, try to keep the total quantity of add-ins to 3/4 cup, so that the batter-to-ingredient-ratio stays the same as in the original recipe. Next time I make pizza puffs, I’m going to add cooked Italian turkey sausage and some sliced olives.

5. Tastes much better hot, but that’s probably not an issue since they disappear so quickly!

Enjoy!

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (11/11/11)

Posted in About me, Creativity, Entertainment, Helping Others, Kids, Parenting, Recycling, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 11, 2011| 1 Comment »

The sun was low in the sky on a crisp and breezy autumn day. It was the kind of day that beckoned for a stroll in the park. As the black lab puppy strained against his leash to see more, smell more, and play more, my husband and I walked and chatted. As we rounded a path leading down to the bay, I suddenly yelled out to him, “Stop! Don’t step on someone’s hope!” There at his feet, scrawled in the decomposed granite path, were large letters spelling out the word “hope.” As we continued our walk, my mind filled with questions. Who wrote that? And why? Does that person have hope or need hope? Or was it just someone’s name? I’ll never know the answers to my questions, but I do know that hope can be found everywhere.

#1 – Convoy of Hope
Recently in my small area of the world a Convoy of Hope came to town. Over 13,000 people attended this outreach to receive assistance ranging from “health and dental screenings, family portraits, groceries, clothing, shoes and employment – all of which were free of charge.” Convoy of Hope has ambitious plans for 2012; their plans include outreach events in every state. To read more about this charity that has won the Charity Navigator Four Star Award for seven years in a row and to learn about ways in which you can help, click here.

#2 – Flowers of Hope
My husband called me from work the other day and asked, “Do you have any use for a box of assorted flower vases, because if not, they are going to be thrown away?” He knows me too well. Since it is not in my nature to throw things away, I replied, “Bring them home. I will fill them with flowers and take them over to a senior care home.” Although vases are not required in order to give a bouquet of flowers to someone in a senior center or home, they certainly make it easier for the staff to distribute the flowers. I mentioned in a previous post, that glass jars work great for this purpose, too. So before you get rid of those inexpensive vases you get from the florist, fill them with lovely flowers from your yard or from a store and give a home-bound senior hope that someone still cares about them.

#3 – Is There Hope For Mom and Dad?
The text I sent my daughter read something like this, “@ emerg room. Dad mayb hd gdasu buvacj!” I admit that sometimes when I text, I inadvertently send jibberish instead –  thanks to clumsy fingers or that darn spell check program that keeps changing what I write! I’m sure I’m not the only one with texting issues. Read these amusing texts that appeared on the Huffington Post Parents page or read many more funny texts by going to When Parents Text. I hope my kids haven’t submitted any of my bloopers!

#4 – Hope For Creativity
This four minute TED video presented by Gever Tulley shows hope exists when creativity is fostered in children. His Tinkering School allows children to design, create, succeed and fail. Life skills are learned when they have to figure things out. I love this idea!

#5 – Words of Hope
“Men and women are limited not by the place of their birth, not by the color of their skin, but by the size of their hope.” John Johnson

Give thanks this weekend to the many people who gave hope to our country by serving in the military! Have a safe Veterans Day weekend!

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Spread Joy

Posted in About me, Community, Helping Others, inspiration, Kids, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , on September 13, 2011| 2 Comments »

Spread joy. It doesn’t take much, really it doesn’t. There are no guidelines, no right or wrong ways to do it, no right time . . . . Occasionally, a little bit of planning is involved, but mostly it’s spontaneous. Do it and let your actions be joyfully contagious!

There is not a finite number of ways to spread joy, but here are a few suggestions:

Be Kind
When you perform acts of kindness, random or specific, you not only do something good for others, but you make yourself feel good, too! Whether your acts are acknowledged or not, you have the satisfaction of knowing that you sent positive energy out into the universe and that you may have made a difference in people’s lives. And if you are ever lucky enough to be on the receiving end of someone’s kindness, pay it forward. Don’t let the positive energy die – keep it going!

Listen
In our increasingly busy lives, we often don’t have the time or take the time to really listen to what those around us are saying. With a million distractions at our disposal, do we listen carefully enough to read between the lines or to catch innuendos? By listening to others intently, we are conveying to them that they are important to us and that what they have to say matters. Do not try to multitask, solve problems, interrupt, or even converse – just listen.

Encourage
I always say that words have power. In high school, a P.E. teacher gave me the grade of  “C” after performing the Cha-Cha in the ballroom dancing section of our P.E. curriculum. When I asked her about the grade, she said, “You have no rhythm.” For decades I shied away from dancing because I assumed I had no rhythm. Now, because I’m old and I don’t care what others think, I dance. In a world of “what ifs” I muse about the difference it might have made if the teacher had only tried to encourage me by saying, “Not too bad! With a little bit more practice, you could be good!” A word of encouragement here and there can create foundations of joy.

Share
Spread joy by sharing yourself with others. Share your time, your energy, your smile, your talents, your heart, your possessions, your money . . . . You are a multifaceted person, so there is much to share!

Reach Out
Reach out to a friend or relative that you haven’t seen in a while or with whom you’ve lost contact. Call, write, email, text – do whatever it takes to let them know you are thinking of them. Far too many excuses and assumptions prevent us from reaching out to others, but all it takes is a simple “Hello” or “I haven’t seen you in ages, but was thinking about you . . .” to reconnect.

Help Others
Helping others in any way, shape, or form is a guaranteed way of spreading joy. Yesterday in a grocery store, a disabled man in a wheelchair dropped his shopping basket and was unable to retrieve it. Those nearest to him ignored him. I went over and offered my help. The smile I received in return warmed my heart. Helping in large scale ways, such as donating and volunteering, are admirable, but the everyday small ways of helping others mean just as much.

Show Gratitude
Keeping a gratitude journal is a nice habit, but don’t keep all those good thoughts to yourself. Being grateful and showing gratitude are two different things. It doesn’t take much – a simple thank you, a little note, a small reminder to a loved one, a touch on the arm, doing something special – there are so many ways to show gratitude.

Compliment
A sincere compliment goes a long way to spread joy. Compliment someone in their workplace for good service received. Pay a compliment if you notice something different about someone. Leave positive comments for bloggers, newspaper and magazine columnists or any one else whose work you’ve appreciated. Thank your doctor for doing his best to provide you with good care. Why is it so much easier to criticize than compliment?

Celebrate
Celebrate life’s gifts everyday. Celebrate nature – spreading joy is not restricted to mankind. I receive much joy from feeding birds in my backyard. Watching them feed and bathe and listening to their songs always brings me back to the present and to a point of appreciation and celebration of life. Celebrate every occasion possible! Especially celebrate special occasions – don’t let them go by unnoticed. Don’t assume that others know you are thinking about them on their birthdays, graduations, weddings, anniversaries, etc. How can they know you are thinking of them, if you never tell them?  Don’t wait to celebrate!

After reading this post, I hope you feel inspired to go out and SPREAD SOME JOY!

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Words to My Daughter and Other Graduates

Posted in Helping Others, inspiration, Kids, Parenting, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on June 21, 2011| 8 Comments »

June, the big month of graduations, is almost gone. As the next stage of life unfolds for my daughter and many other graduates, here are a few words of advice from this mom. Although somewhat clichéd, they are from the heart:

Life is not a checklist to be checked off, nor a race to be run.

The world needs your unique gifts and perspective, so be you.

Always speak the truth, but with good intention and at the appropriate time.

Strive to seek balance in your life.

Don’t underestimate the power of what one person can do.

Know your worth – never undervalue what you bring to the table, whether in personal or business relationships.

Appreciate the gift of every single day.

Don’t let material goods define who you are.

Nothing is more important than your health and your family.

Live a life of gratitude.

Remember, there are always two sides to a coin.

Success in life is made up of small, continuing successes – it’s not a big onetime thing and there is no limit to the amount of success in life that you can achieve.

Only the attainment of your dreams and your goals determines whether you are successful.

Let your actions define your character more than your words.

Have respect – for your body, for other people’s property, for other cultures, for the planet . . . .

Live in the present – you can’t change the past and the future isn’t here yet.

Write your story – it’s your life, no one else can write it for you.

Don’t be afraid to make mistakes – learning from them is sometimes the only way to grow.

Have compassion – as it’s said, “What goes around comes around.”

Spread joy!

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Blankets of Love

Posted in About me, Creativity, Gift Ideas, inspiration, Kids, Parenting, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on May 17, 2011| 7 Comments »

“Is this my blanket?” my daughter asks as she curiously eyes a large colorfully-wrapped box that has the words CELEBRATE plastered all over it. Sitting in a hotel room, my family watches expectantly as she opens up her graduation present. There’s a moment of anticlimactic silence as she removes the lid of the box. Each of us, even my daughter, knows what’s inside.

Several years ago, I first struggled with the problem of what to give to my children when they graduated from college. Giving them money, jewelry, or big, fancy gifts were okay, but I longed to give them something that they wouldn’t forget – something, that perhaps, could be a symbol of love. That’s when I thought about making each of them a blanket.

In concept this was a good idea, but in reality, not so great. Although I am a creative person and I attempt to do many things – just who was I kidding when I thought I could crochet? As I bought the pattern and yarn for my oldest son’s blanket, I thought back to the baby hat that I’d once crocheted. It turned out almost perfect, except for one minor detail – the size was way off. The cute, crocheted hat turned out to be too large for any infant’s head, including an alien’s!

With crochet hook in hand and skeins of yarn all about, I determinedly began the first blanket. I envisioned myself to be like my grandmother, a woman who could crochet furiously while watching television. The directions to the Mile-A-Minute blanket seemed easy enough and after crocheting all the strips, I carefully lined them up on the floor side-by-side. Noticing that each strip was a different length, I was crestfallen. How in the world was I going to join these strips together when some were inches shorter than others? Figuring I had two choices – either I alternate the long and short strips or I configure them from shortest to longest – I frantically worked to salvage the project. Although it’s been years since I made it and I cannot remember exactly how I put it together, I do remember the look on my oldest son’s face as he graciously accepted his trapezoidal-shaped blanket. Sometimes there are disadvantages to being first-born!

Like parenting, the second time around was easier. Being wiser, I vowed not to repeat my mistakes and made every effort to avoid the pitfalls of crocheting. Again, I lovingly crocheted a Mile-A-Minute blanket for my second son and was most pleased when his blanket turned out “almost” rectangular. Diligence and experience had paid off. When I asked him a few weeks ago what I gave him for his graduation, he immediately replied “A blanket!” Good answer! There are some advantages to being the second child!

Now, as I watch my daughter take her blanket out of the box, I notice that she’s studying the straight rows of crochet stitches and the nice, even border. It’s evident that I did not make her blanket. I explain that her blanket was made by my grandmother and was given to me on my twenty-first birthday. That my daughter is twenty-one-years-old and that she’s graduating from college, the pretty, pink and white blanket seemed destined to be hers. Sometimes the third child is just lucky!

No matter the story behind each blanket, the accompanying note always included this sentiment:  You are the lucky recipient of a “Crocheted Masterpiece.” At this point in your life there’s not much more Dad and I can give to you other than our continued, unconditional love. Think of our love as being wrapped up in this blanket. Take it with you wherever you go in life and may you always feel the warmth of our love whenever you wrap yourself in it.

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Tie-Dyed Eggs

Posted in Art and Crafts, Creativity, Holidays, Kids, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , on April 19, 2011| 4 Comments »

Unwrapping a tied-dyed egg is a little like opening a present – you don’t know what you’re going to get! This fun technique for dyeing eggs uses men’s silk ties as the color source, so these eggs are truly TIE-dyed! If the men in your life will not relinquish any of their ties for this project, just purchase some at your nearest thrift store. I found this technique on Mommy Knows and thought – of course a clever mom would know about this no-mess technique for dyeing Easter eggs! This is a great project for all ages!

TIE-DYED EGGS
Components:
100% silk ties
Scissors
String or dental floss
Saucepan
Water
Vinegar

Directions:
1. Collect old ties and with a pair of scissors, cut open the back seams of the ties.

2. Cut out the triangular pieces of decorative lining and discard.

3. Cut out the white lining and save.

4. Cut out a piece of fabric large enough to wrap around the egg, wet it, wrap it around the egg, and gather it at the top. Tie top with string.

5. To keep fabric in close contact with the egg shell, wrap string all around the egg.

6. Cut a piece of the white lining fabric and wrap the egg in it and then tie it with string.

7. Put the eggs in a pot of cold water and 1/4 cup vinegar and then cook for 20 minutes.

8. After eggs cool, enjoy unwrapping your creations!

Linnell’s Notes:
1. A good looking tie does not necessarily translate to a good looking egg and, likewise, an ugly tie does not make an ugly egg.
2. I found that the less traditionally-patterned Jerry Garcia ties are great for this project.
3. Pale-colored ties did not turn out as well.
4. I cooked the pale-colored fabrics in a separate pot from the strong-colored fabrics, so the color would not transfer.
5. I didn’t have time to experiment, but the original instructions suggested wrapping strips of fabric around the eggs to create different effects.

Happy Easter!!

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