Cook, Make, Think

From the first scene, I was enthralled! The dancing was well worth the price of admission. I was close enough I didn't need binoculars which was a bonus I was not expecting.
The dancing made it worth having to listen to the political overtones of some of the introductions to the acts. While I can understand why it was important to them to bring the situation in China to our attention still I thought it was more than a little self- serving to include it into the dialogue of what might have been a glorious feast for the eyes and ears otherwise.
Would I go back? Yes if only to enjoy the music, the dance and the costumes!
Souvenirs were priced reasonably though as much as I would have loved a silk scarf I could not bring myself to pay nearly $200 for one. The scarf ring I got was beautiful and will look splendid with my shawls and scarves and it was only $50.
If you get a chance to see a production trust me it is well worth it!

A little something for every day of the month. National Day is a godsend when it comes to reasons to celebrate every day and to find new things to try from food to the great outdoors. I hope you too are finding ways to celebrate everyday.

Left to right, top to bottom

Foam shamrocks on a white ribbon to hang in my window. Getting the pattern and cutting them out was a whole lot easier than getting them to stay on that ribbon, I really need to find my glue gun for these type of things

Clay Easter eggs - first experiment in clay in a long time, painted with some acrylic paint I had hanging around

Leprechaun Habitat- took me forever to figure out a way to make the rainbow fit on the base and I had to make my leprechaun mini-fig from spare pieces but I think he turned out all right.

Terrarium - the small one, inside is a fairy house I made, an air plant and a succulent. I forgot the moss but other than that it was perfect. The larger one is going to become a mini-herb garden next month

Pentagram made from pipe cleaners for my altar, I need to replace it with something nicer but it works for now

Lego shamrock made following a pattern, it is a mess of different colours because I did not have enough green

First ever square I …

A few much simpler things on my bucket list this month. Easter Dinner will be the biggest event if I know my daughter, the rest is fun stuff.

1) Professional Mani and Petti: It will take 1/3 of the money I have left after the bills but I really need one. I figure if they do the basic work then upkeep will be much simpler.
2) Easter Egg Nails: I also want to paint my nails like this so a manicure is a necessity
3) Have a Spring Picnic: I haven't put this on the schedule yet but plan to go around this time next month as the warm weather should be here by then.
4) Make Lavender Lemonade: I am so curious about drinks made with lavender that I may try a Lavender Latte and a couple of other recipes during the month
5) Make a Herb Garden: I have this medium size fish tank and the other things I need to turn it into a small garden so I figured I'd make it a Herb garden with a few basics in it.
6) Drink Easter Coffee: I keep seeing references to this so I'm looking for the recipe.…

I found these ideas on One Good Thing she has a list like this for every month of the year.

April Is The Best Month To Buy… 1. Cookware Sets The month of April leads up to both wedding season and graduation season. And one of the things that both grads and newlyweds want is a great set of cookware. Luckily for them, many departments stores will be offering great sales and discounts on cookware sets this month! 2. Home Improvement Supplies We call it “spring cleaning,” but it’s usually more like “spring cleaning and organizing and fixing things around the house.” If you’ll be doing any of those things around the house this month, make sure to take advantage of the Spring Black Friday sales and discounts at Home Depot! 3. Auto Parts & ServicesApril is National Car Care Month! Winter can be really hard on cars, and yours surely deserves a little TLC now that the weather has improved! Take advantage of discounts on tune-ups, new tires, auto parts, and more. 4. Secondhand Goods You probab…

Mine is Type 2 and came on late in my 40's early 50's. Part of the reason I am a diabetic has to do with 50 pounds I gained over a year putting me into the obese and morbidly obese categories in a hurry.
Fat impairs the ability of your pancreas to produce insulin and the fatter you get the more that ability is hampered. While it can't be cured it can be handled with a few diet and lifestyle changes.
Just another reason exercise is good for you. As for me, it took me a long while to accept my condition and start to make changes to reduce its impact. In fact, it wasn't until someone told me that some of the issues I was having with my eyes were due to diabetes, few things bring me as much joy as being able to read does and I refuse to give it up. Thus the recent changes in diet and working on being more active.
For those of you who aren't here yet, I have included a list below of the most common symptoms, if you have any three get checked for diabetes ASAP. It doesn…

I used to love going outside but since the computer came into my life I don't do it nearly enough. I got thinking what if I made a game of it?

There are several ways I could do this ...

The easiest by far is to go on a nature scavenger hunt with a plan to take the items I find and turn them into some kind of craft or upload the photo evidence that I found them to Instagram. Being outside then becomes a shopping trip without spending any money.

The first thing I would need is a list of items to find, thankfully Pinterest has me covered. Check out my Scavenger List Ideas board

If you feel silly doing this for yourself you can always invite any kids you know to join you (and their parents of course). I think this would be a fun thing to do with my grandbabies or just by myself to force me outside.

The second I already mentioned above grab some of the kids and take them to the park. While you are there take a turn on the slide and the swings with them. Or bring some chalk and challeng…

I had planned to be in Toronto for a week to ten days but there are things I need to be here for.

The next two weekends I need to be here so my son can see his kids.

I have reached 215 pounds which is my goal for the first quarter, I do not want to spend 10 days eating calorie-heavy foods while I am struggling to make it stick and since the professor will be doing most of the cooking that is likely to happen, or worse over-eating because the food is available.

It seems a small petty think next to spending a week or so with my heart but he understands what it has taken to get me here and he is reluctant to sabotage me though it would be unintentional. So no week-long visit in Toronto.

Only about three days so I can be there to see the Shen Yun presentation and take in a closing sale at the local Stitches by his place and a quick visit to Phat to see if they have any new dresses in. Also a grocery shopping trip to T & T's because there is no Oriental grocer here and I need to f…

WHAT IS THE THEME? The theme for World Water Day 2019 is ‘Leaving no one behind’. This is an adaptation of the central promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: as sustainable development progresses, everyone must benefit.

 HOW DOES IT RELATE TO WATER? Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6) includes a target to ensure availability and sustainable management of water for all by 2030. By definition, this means leaving no one behind.

 WHAT IS THE PROBLEM? Today, billions of people are still living without safe water – their households, schools, workplaces, farms and factories struggling to survive and thrive. Marginalized groups – women, children, refugees, indigenous peoples, disabled people and many others – are often overlooked, and sometimes face discrimination, as they try to access and manage the safe water they need.

FACTSHEET 2 WHAT DOES ‘SAFE WATER’ MEAN? ‘Safe water’ is shorthand for a ‘safely managed drinking water service’: water that is accessible on the pre…

Here are a couple of poems about roses by two of the greatest. Enjoy!


A LITTLE BUDDING ROSE by Emily Brontë

It was a little budding rose,
Round like a fairy globe,
And shyly did its leaves unclose
Hid in their mossy robe,
But sweet was the slight and spicy smell
It breathed from its heart invisible.
The rose is blasted, withered, blighted,
Its root has felt a worm,
And like a heart beloved and slighted,
Failed, faded, shrunk its form.
Bud of beauty, bonnie flower,
I stole thee from thy natal bower.
I was the worm that withered thee,
Thy tears of dew all fell for me;
Leaf and stalk and rose are gone,
Exile earth they died upon.
Yes, that last breath of balmy scent
With alien breezes sadly blent!

ROSES by George Eliot

You love the roses — so do I. I wish
The sky would rain down roses, as they rain
From off the shaken bush. Why will it not?
Then all the valley would be pink and white
And soft to tread on. They would fall as light
As feathers, smelling sweet; and it would be
Like sleepin…

Take some time outside today to welcome Spring

Maybe not funny to me but it certainly made me laugh. What a great way to celebrate National Humour Day. It is a reminder that no matter how bad I think my life is someone else's is worse.

I decided I would do some research and see if I could find some humour sites to read today. BTW Laughter is really good for your body and mind so indulge often.!

1) 9Gag
2) Funny Enough to Make Me Laugh
3)  Slapstick like the one below is usually worth a laugh or two

4) Word Play Humour (I love puns)
5) A factory full of laughter

Hope this gives you a boost today, a little incentive to DO rather than just sit & think.

Remember Leprechauns are fairies so they are small and if you can catch one they fit in one hand.  If you can catch and hold one they have to give you their pot of gold and they hate to give it away. They are also wriggly and mischievous so watch out for tricks.

The colours for Ostara are green and white with a touch of sweet yellow & other pastels

The order of the elements are Earth at the top followed clockwise by Air, Water & Fire

For Earth, I have placed a daffodil; For Air, there is a purple on green essential oil burner; For Water, there is a glass of milk & honey (ok its not full yet but it will be) which will be taken outside when I go to do that part of the ritual; For Fire there is a green candle that will be lit at 5:58pm and kept burning all night

Also on my altar are rabbits, a snake, a unicorn & a Pegasus all of which are sacred to Eostre goddess of spring & renewal.

 Plus lots & lots of different types of eggs which are central to this sacred day, some are hand-painted others are cheap dollar store foam & plastic eggs

There is also athame & a pentacle which are always on my altar. The athame has a design on it that calls my goddess (Aphrodite) to mind. The pentacle I made myself.

So that is my a…

You would think that something as simple as this would be easy to do and they usually are but I made a large batch of beef vegetable soup on Monday and I'm still eating it.
Yes I said Beef Vegetable Soup and not from a can either. I'll share my method I guess to make this at least a little cooking adventure oriented.
Remember this is my own creation and the measurements are not precise.
Beef Vegetable Soup (makes enough for 8 servings)

3 cups of stew beef  6 cups of water Garlic powder or other seasonings 1 to 1.5 cups of each frozen or canned vegetables you want (the more variety the better, any vegetable you have works) 1 cup of cooked quinoa, macaroni or potato 2 cups of cabbage (optional)
Put the beef & water in a big pot.Sprinkle the beef with your choice of seasonings and bring to a boilTurn the burner down to medium-low (I use 3 on my stove)Let simmer for about half an hour to extract the flavour from the beefSkim the scum off the top of the pot, not all of it but mo…

This is as much as I have planned at the moment and if you know Wicca at all you will recognize many of the elements involved. Since I will be doing this in full view of my neighbours I have promises my landlady that I will not be overt which means, not going skyclad though that would be my preference

God & Goddess to whom I am dedicating this ritual: Gaia & The Greenman 



The incense will be a combination of lavender, rose & sage for love & healing

The flowers I will have on my altar will be sweet yellow & pale green

The crystals on my altar: Rose quartz & Amethyst for balance

The animals on my altar will be the Pegasus, the unicorn, a snake and a rabbit or two

Step 1: Smudge the apartment: I have a smudge wand of Sage which I will walk clock-wise through every section of my unit making sure the incense gets into the corners while saying this simple prayer:

Negative energy may not stay
With this prayer, I send it away
Negative energy I banish thee
So say I, so…

Do you ever tune out the world and listen to what your mind and body are telling you?

I got to thinking which led me to remember the classes I took when I was first learning to deal with my personal version of PTSD. It was on the recommendation of the psychologist my doctor sent me to when I was around 25.

I was fresh from an extended breakdown after spending about six months with a mental abuser par excellence. I don't know what type of mental illness he had but it was probably narcissism. I remember only parts of the relationship such as it was. My mind shattered and it took me a year to begin to live again.

That is not where I want to go today!

The Psychologist had me do two things:

1) Write out my life until that point with special emphasis on the emotions associated with each event I recorded
2) She sent me to a class on assertiveness

I didn't know what the benefits of either of those things would be but I found the benefits were profound.

By writing out my life story with…

I was all set to do a budgeting post today because I am in need of one of those myself but last night I got into a discussion with the Professor regarding how I defined my Spiritual Path. He is telling me that what I describe is not Pagan and that Eclectic Pagan is not a recognized term so I figured I needed to clarify things for myself and for him.


My background began as most do with a foundation of Christian/Biblical Values. The reason I left organized religion behind is that I had a dream that caused me to change my mind.

In the dream, I was in church and in mid-sermon, the preacher lifted up the bible and said these are the lords' words, then he lifted up a huge book easily three times the size of the bible and said these are the rules that you must follow.

For the sixteen years give or take a couple I lived within the church community I was happy, that dream woke me up because I saw ...

Rules on how to dress including the length your hair should be and the colours you were al…

For something a little different take a look at this other board of mine & tell me what you think

Writing Journal

Spring is nearer and the days are getting longer! Today move your clock one hour forward.

I play with children's toys and I am not ashamed! LOL

Today is Barbies Birthday and in true Cherylann style, I want to share my Barbie collection with you. Don't turn away this is not your usual show and tell I promise.

A few years ago I ran into this picture on Pinterest. If you have watched Dr Who then hopefully you recognize what these barbies have become.

I took the idea and made a few changes as per usual. I didn't want weeping angels, I wanted elements and seasons.

I was able to get Autumn made but got stuck on Winter so Spring is a cheat and Summer is still in her wrap.

One of the things I want to do today is to design the remaining costumes in preparation for completing them next month.

I am not sure how well you can see the elements but two Air & Fire are complete, Water has his scales but no fins yet,(it took a long time to find something that would work), and like Summer Earth is still in her wrap.

Trying to decide how to do Earth has taken a very long time a…

I had planned to have an essay to share with you today but I spent most of the day sleeping so I hope you will forgive me and accept this Humble graphic in it's place. Also the Link below will take you to a listing of stuff about it on Google: Google Search - International Women's Day

Women in Culture - What I wish I had written.

Blogger is giving me a small problem with uploading photos today so I copied these from my blog board on Pinterest

I admit it I am really going overboard on St Patrick's Day this year. I'm just so glad to see a bit of green after so many months of gray & white. At least I hope to see some green outside though I've only been outside one day in six, that is more times than I've been outside since November.

Today we are going to talk about Shamrocks or as I was taught to call them clover. The lucky four-leaf clover do you remember looking for one, I do well it seems the same applies to shamrocks. If you find one it will grant you a wish. Today I am making a shamrock garland for my main window as a reminder that the snowbank outside will not always be there. I searched for a pattern to use and found several at Love To Know. The one I chose is pictured below, I wanted different sizes for visual interest so that is the template I chose.

I picked up some green foam at the dollar store the other day so that was what I am going to use as the material. I had planned on using felt but they…

I know ... another cooking post ... seems like this month is just saturated with creative cooking opportunities and while I can't do a lot this month I am still gonna explore the options.

I've even bought some green clothes at the thrift store just for St Patricks Day. I suppose I should tell you why I am so determined to celebrate this particular day.

The Professor for all that he looks Chinese is actually an Irish National born not too far from Cladaugh and this year I feel the urge to celebrate him.  In October we will be celebrating 22 years of being a couple. Strange to think so many years have come and gone. Anyway, that's my excuse for going above & beyond this month and I'm sticking to it.

So what to eat to celebrate St. Patricks Day? Green foods come to mind but so do rainbow ones and of course, foods made famous by the country.

For Breakfast, I want to start with a rainbow and since this recipe contains Kiwi it's a double bonus, Rainbow Fruit Parfait a…

I chose Kiwi & Peas as the fruit and vegetable for March. Between St Patrick's Day & the First Day of Spring, March is the month for green.

Kiwi is fairly new to me so I am looking forward to experimenting with it. I have tasted it and I like the taste raw now I gotta find out what it tastes like cooked.

More vitamin C than a orange of the same size!
It Strengthens bones very important at my age!
Reduces bad fat's! That sounds like a fruit I can get behind!

I have only two recipe's I am determined to try out: Kiwi Muffins and this month I want to try a chia pudding so I'm going to make Kiwi Chia Pudding

Pea's please. I do like my peas rather they are fresh, canned or frozen but I have never mixed them with anything else so I want to do that this month.

Regulates Blood Sugar ... Yes! diabetics take note Strengthens bones, definitely a plus! All kinds of good for the stomach & digestive track, that's great news too!
I have only chosen two recipes for…

My Lego challenge this month other than making some shamrocks is to create a trap for a leprechaun. I've been researching it to see what is required. The requirements are located below but before we get to that here are some ideas of Decorations that you can make for St Patrick's Day and for the rest of March as well. Green is the colour of the month or if that is too tame for you use the colours of the rainbow to decorate. 
Start with a door wreath either from the dollar store or if you don't mind a small wait you can get wreath frames from Amazon. I found them for $3 and change each there. 
I'll be making one like this using either cardboard or green fabric from my stash. For some reason my leprechaun refuses to stay on my front door so I'm replacing him
On my table sits a green Fairy house that has green and white flowers in it.  GS#2 did the painting for me.
On my altar are several green glass pieces to hold the elements.
For other ideas for March Deco check out thes…

Two very important days are in this month. One is the first day of Spring and the other is St Patricks Day.

As a pagan, I celebrate the Equinox as a time of renewal. It is one of the primary celebrations of all those who follow Natureist beliefs

Where I am the Equinox moment will be March 20 at  5:58 pm according to time/date.

I have started decorating my altar and will share a picture when I deem it done. I do not know how many of you follow the Nature path in your spiritual life but I hope those of you who do will share with me.

I will be putting all of my March pictures on Instagram this month so If you want to check them out my pictures can be found @cherylmarois

As the month goes by and we get closer to the day I will share pictures of my altar and some of the ways I plan to celebrate.

To begin to plan your own ritual check out this Pinterest board: Special Days: Spring Equinox.

For help with planning an altar check out this board: Making: Spring Equinox

For Food ideas check out…

May the sun be with us! Except with the quiet coming of March be on the lookout for at least one more big storm before the end of the month. I love the sun but I always hope March comes in like a lion so that it will go out like a lamb. I can deal with cold and snow early in the month but I always wish for the beauty of sun and green buds on the trees at the end of it.

So where did the phrase 'In like a lamb, out like a lion' come from?

There are several ideas:

While many sayings are base on observation and are accurate, others are the rhymes and beliefs of those who came before us.
Those folks actually believed that bad spirits could change the weather adversely, so they were cautious as to what they did or didn't do in certain situations.  Those beliefs also included ideas that there could be a balance in weather and in life. So if the weather came in bad, (like a lion) it could go out good and calm. (like a lamb)
Since March is such a changeable month in which we can see…