Cook, Make, Think

David Thomas Jones was an English singer-songwriter, musician, actor and businessman, best known as a member of the band the Monkees, and for starring in the TV series of the same name. Wikipedia
The Monkees debuted on television in September 1966, and Davy Jones attracted a lot of attention from fans for his charm, wit, warm sense of humor and boyish good looks. The Monkees soon scored on the music charts with hits like "I'm a Believer," "Pleasant Valley Sunday" and "Daydream Believer"—covers of songs originally released by Neil Diamond, Gerry Goffin and Carole King and John Stewart, respectively—and their albums sold millions of copies. Jones later wrote several autobiographies, including 1987's They Made a Monkee Out of Me.

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I am working on a Spring Wreath as I mentioned yesterday and I have also decided to turn my Christmas Mountain into a Spring one.


What's going on? I hear you say. Well, I was really not happy with the way the mountain turned out. I could have destroyed it but like many crafters, I hate to see ALL of my efforts go to waste so I put it away.

I pulled it back out when we added some shelves to my work area and let it sit in the open for a while hoping inspiration would strike. Something GD#1 said started me down a new path of thought.

I could repurpose it. First by adding some colourful trees and adding flowers & grass to cover up the snow & bare ground. That was the beginning of my new design.

A few days later she sent me a picture of some fairy houses that were at the dollar store as she knows I'm interested in all things Paranormal like fairies and unicorns.

I asked her to get me one of each for now and a set of figures. Turns out the figures were gnomes…

Floral design or flower arrangement is the art of using plant materials and flowers to create a pleasing and balanced composition

My hope is that by the end of the day I will have the knowledge to create a spring flower design for my altar and a wreathe for my front door.I will not be using fresh flowers at least not for the wreathe

Putting flowers in a vase is simple but to do it in a way that looks pretty is a bit more difficult. I want something with a bit of challenge it's the best way to learn a new skill.

There are six important Principles of Flower Arrangement:

1 Balance: Not symmetrical but not lopsided either
2 Scale: Fit the arrangement to the place it will occupy ie 
3 Dominance: Choose a common colour, shape, texture or size that is repeated throughout the arrangement
4 Rhythm: You want the eye to move across the arrangement not to settle in one place, a repeated colour can aid in this
5 Colour: Different colours and colour combinations bring out a range of emotions. Choose yo…

Pokemon!

Chances are you know a young adult who plays Pokemon Go. Though that is only one of the games associated with these cute little monsters.


My 21-year-old granddaughter has been playing this game since she was a child. She suggested Go to me because it is more of an adventure that some of the others and it requires you to go out and search for the monsters in the real world. That is it promotes walking as you really do have to go outside to find them.

My current tablet can't play it though my phone may be able to. I haven't tried to install it on my phone because during the winter I do not go out unless there is a car waiting or if I only have to go a short distance like to our garbage shed.

But why am I sharing this with you? Because today is Pokemon day, yep, along with video games, trading cards, & cartoons they now have a day dedicated to them which gives you an idea of just how popular these little guys are.

I am considering Pokemon Go as an option to get me ou…

Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Lent is a six-week penitence before Easter. It is a period of fasting and introspection.

One of the most popular actions during this time is to give up one of your vices for the six week period. Let's face it if you went six weeks without a coffee then when it is time to go back to it you will find you have lost your taste for it.

At least I hope so because I am planning on giving up Coke Zero for this time period. It is getting to be an expensive habit much like smoking is.



But let's talk about the fasting part. There is some evidence that fasting causes your body to use up its fat reserves. Sounds like a good idea to me.

There are several ways to fast the simplest being to not eat for 12 hrs then have a small meal in the evening. That sounds a bit difficult to do but if you have rid your home of all the sweets & meat during the past week maybe not so much.

There are many different ways to fast. On Healthline, there is a guid…

This is the last day before Lent begins but I seldom remember that. My memories of this day are all about pancakes and maple syrup for breakfast. The one day of the year my mom made something other than porridge for our breakfast.

They were simple pancakes - eggs & milk & flour - other ingredients too but these are the main ones. Sometimes she would even use sour milk so we had a version of buttermilk ones. I still try to have a Pancake Tuesday but these days I tend to eat them at a restaurant rather than make them myself.

Still, it might be fun to try. Allrecipes has all kinds of recipes from these basic old fashioned ones to these big baked ones. They have dozens of recipes based on all kinds of different flours like almond meal or Sweet Potatoes. If you are in the mood to make pancakes check out their pancake section.

I don't know... this is like the third time I've started this post with the plan of talking about Pre-Lent in more detail. I've done a couple of posts on this subject this week and I'm beginning to feel like one of those preachers that keep talking long after the subject has been covered.

I don't want to bore you and if you are like me you probably find the Catholic ideal difficult to fall in to. Or maybe that is just me. Anyway the more I read the more confused I became.

This day has so many different names it's hard to choose just one aspect so instead down below I have pasted what Checkiday has to say about this day and encourage you to find your own meaning in it.

Shrove Monday is part of the Shrovetide celebrations that encompass the week before Lent. It takes place on the Monday before Ash Wednesday, which is the first day of Lent. In between these two days is Shrove Tuesday. "Shrove" is the past tense of "shrive," which means to obtai…

Rotary is a global network of 1.2 million neighbours, friends, leaders, and problem-solvers who see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change – across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves. (From Wikipedia) The Rotarian's primary motto is "Service Above Self"; its secondary motto is "One Profits Most Who Serves Best" (until 2010 it was "They Profit Most Who Serve Best", changed in 2004 from "He Profits Most Who Serves Best").

The object of Rotary is to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise and, in particular, to encourage and foster:[5]
The development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service.High ethical standards in business and professions, the recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations, and the dignifying of each Rotarian's occupation as an opportunity to serve society.The application of the ideal of service in each Rotarian's personal, busine…

Have you ever tried a sweet potato?

I have a fondness for sweet potato fries but there are many ways sweet potatoes can be used.

If you are familiar with them you know that they can be prepared in all the same ways as regular potatoes can be but they can be used in other ways as well

I don't know about you but a potato pie or a potato pound cake just doesn't sound all that tasty but make it a sweet potato pie or a sweet potato pound cake it sounds delicious. There is also an upside to sweet potatoes for diabetics as sweet potatoes are an acceptable sweet as long as you don't add any sugars other than a limited amount of maple syrup or honey. Keeping in mind always that less is more.

AllRecipes has over 800 recipes for sweet potatoes. Or if you don't want to go that way to learn more about them you can do a search on Google or Pinterest which contains thousands I'm sure.

Allrecipes has been my go-to for new recipes since like 2006. They have recipes for everything!

…

I collect Tarot cards and I also play around with the Divination side of them. It has reached the point in February that makes me more than ready for the snow to be gone. To cheer myself up I decided to do a reading to see what the Spring will bring.

For March I got the Chariot this is a good news, bad news kind of thing.


The prime meaning is movement & listening. That makes sense in a physical as well as metaphysical way. Physically the world or at least our part of the world is waking up. Metaphysically our minds and bodies are filled with the anticipation of the return of the sun and many of us get antsy at this time of year.

The other thing is that this card indicates that something is hidden from sight and that we will be required during March to understand whatever is hidden, by listening and moving through the month.









For April I got the Two of Swords

This card is strongly indicative that our intuition will be important this month but that we will find our answers through me…

As you know I seldom follow Christian holidays but I decided I wanted to explore Lent this year. I am not sure why but it just seemed to be something I felt I needed to explore.

Lent by the way leads to Easter and the start of Spring so that maybe why.

So what is Fat Thursday?

First off it is the last Thursday before Ash Wednesday which is the first day of Lent. Since Lent is a period of Fasting and Prayer this like Pancake Tuesday is a feast day. It is a day to eat sweets and smoked meat, in Poland they eat what is called a pączk which is a deep-fried filled doughnut glazed or covered with powdered sugar.

Wikipedia doesn't have much on either Fat Thursday or pączk nor did Allrecipes but I did find a recipe for them at a site called Seasons & Suppers. So if you want to celebrate today the way the polish do cook up a batch of pączki.

Check out Culture Trip for more info about how this holiday is celebrated in Poland.

You will probably be seeing more of Culture Trip through the …

Why those two? Because today is their birthdays and because I've never listened to them before.

Seal Playlist on Youtube

This is the one song of his that I recognize, I remember thinking that the song spoke to me in a very deep and personal way.

Falco Top Hits on Youtube


His version of Rock Me Amadeus is a little on the weird side but I like it. For the rest, I wish there was more English in it. He has this voice that just gets into your head and goes round and round.

How can you not love that face, those eyes those oh so kissable lips!
Ooops got lost there. My first ever movie star crush was Michael Landon but when I saw Travolta on "Welcome Back Kotter" he became my main squeeze. I think I watched most of his movies and I know I wore out the VHS tape of him in Grease. That is still far and away my most favourite movie of all time!

Let's face it even at 65 he is still a treat for the eyes. Plus he can sing & dance & act!

Today is his birthday, he will be turning 66. I intend to spend the day binge-watching as many videos & movies of him as I can find on Youtube, Prime and Netflix.

I hope you will join me!

The human spirit is a component of human philosophy, psychology, art, and knowledge - the spiritual or mental part of humanity. While the term can be used with the same meaning as "human soul", human spirit is sometimes used to refer to the impersonal, universal or higher component of human nature in contrast to soul or psyche which can refer to the ego or lower element. The human spirit includes our intellect, emotions, fears, passions, and creativity. Wikipedia

In Christianity and other religions a person is made of three distinct parts much like psychologies Ego, Id and Superego which are called Spirit, Soul, and Body. The spirit is the part of us that is connected to the earth and everyone else. According to the bible, this is where God resides. The soul is us separate from God and from Spirit. While God is Integral to the universe only Spirit is able to be of God. The soul is separate and some say the soul is the part of us that is here to learn a life lesson.

The body …

I wanted to do an essay on climate change but I couldn't get into it. It seems that is not as important to me as I thought it would be especially finding out that the Kyoto Protocol had failed and been basically thrown out.

There were reasons of course but it still saddens me that our industrialized countries can't see what has happened, is happening to the world. Instead, the major powers including Canada ignore what is happening mainly because of the impact on their bottom line.

The Professor will most likely chime in with some fact but this is what I see from what I've read.

CO2 is not really something we can change since it is what we breathe out but there are things we can do. The main one, of course, is to make the world greener it won't fix the hole but it will mean that humankind will survive a bit longer. Not that I think humankind should be allowed to multiply and further the damage but it may give us a bit more time to fix the other issues.

Certain other che…

Today we celebrate butterscotch, which is a confection made of butter and brown sugar. Butterscotch may also refer to a flavor made with similar ingredients. When made into a confection, other ingredients like lemon juice, cream, corn syrup, vanilla, salt, and water are added to the butter and brown sugar, and it is boiled to between 270°F to 289°F, which is the "soft crack" stage. It is similar to caramel, but caramel usually uses white sugar and does not have butter. It is also similar to toffee, but toffee is boiled longer so it reaches a higher temperature, and also does not usually have butter. Butterscotch flavor is used in butterscotch topping or sauce, which is used on sundaes and pound cakes. The flavor is also used in fudge, brownies, icings, pudding, and cookies. 

I do not remember when I first tasted butterscotch but I do remember it was hard candy. 


For years my go-to ice cream flavour was butterscotch ripple. I've since switched to caramel flavoured things bu…

This Post Courtesy of Checkiday

A "quirkyalone" is defined as a person who enjoys being single or spending time by themselves. When they date, they do so with a purpose, not just so they can be in a relationship—they believe in waiting for the right person instead of settling. According to Sasha Cagen, the creator of International Quirkyalone Day, "Quirkyalone is ultimately a philosophy about finding happiness within yourself whether you’re single or in a relationship." Those who are single embrace the possibilities and ways they can live a fulfilling life while being single. Those who have the spirit of the day but are in relationships are called "quirkytogethers." They celebrate their individuality while still being in a partnership.


The day may be more geared more towards those who are single, but anyone can celebrate. Celebrations should put a spotlight on both love and individuality, and should not have the materialistic trappings of Valentine's D…

I don't as a rule though I know I should. This day is another UN-sanctioned world day. Their stated aim is to bring radio to all corners of the world and to keep their air time in tune with modern society.

Part of that is the big stations helping build radio stations in small nations and the other part this year is about making diversity a part of their everyday.

Online Radio Canada Did you know that Canada has over a thousand radio stations in it? For your Radio fix check out this page.

Let's celebrate World Radio Day by listening to the radio today or if you are curious like me doing some reading about its history and how it is used these days.


This photo of Vintage Radio and Communications Museum of Connecticut is courtesy of Tripadvisor

Before I go into that I suppose I should tell you how I got here.
Today is Charles Darwin Day, (yeah that Charles Darwin) and in reading through the Wiki on it I came across something called the Council of Secular Humanism which is a free-thought organization that supports Darwin's view of Evolution.

I was curious to learn what free thought was. According to Dictionary.com its a noun that means "thought unrestrained by deference to authority, tradition or established belief, especially in matters of religion". In other words, Christians who don't believe the bible is the ultimate authority on how the earth was created.

Secular Humanism is, therefore, a belief system one that I had never heard of before so I went looking for more information.

Secular humanism is a philosophy or life stance that embraces human reason, secular ethics, and philosophical naturalism while specifically rejecting religious dogma, supernaturalism, and superstition as the basis of morality and…

"We are determined to encourage a new generation of women and girl scientists, to tackle to major challenges of our time. Heeding the call of Greta Thunberg, young women scientists are already making a difference in the fight against climate change, including South-African teenager Kiara Nirghin whose inventions minimize the impact of droughts.
By harnessing the creativity and innovation of all women and girls in science, and properly investing in inclusive STEM education, research and development and STI ecosystems, we have an unprecedented opportunity to leverage the potential of the Fourth Industrial Revolution to benefit society." —  Joint-Message from Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO and Ms Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women on the occasion of the International Day for Women and Girls in Science 2019

Women are really under-represented in science, technology, engineering & mathematics (STEM) so much so that schools have been putting a lot …

Well besides eating breakfast from a package labelled Quaker Oats Instant Oatmeal at least. I love them but they are all kinds of bad for me.

Mind you a bowl of quick oats with milk and maple syrup is better but still not great. Like most fruits and vegetables grains like oats are healthier for you when they are as close to their natural form as possible. In this case that usually means starting with whole oat grouts or steel-cut oats. They are as close to the natural grain as you can get without eating hulls & stems. They also take a longer time to cook than say rolled oats.

My preference is rolled oats because they are partially cooked for you so lessens the time it takes to make a quick healthy breakfast in the form of porridge but oats can be used to make lots of other things.

The most obvious thing if you grew up in the same age as I did is oatmeal cookies. Finding a recipe that is diabetic friendly not so much. In fact I stopped looking after finding these on Allrecipes:
But…

Smoking, eating too many unhealthy foods, drinking too much alcohol or coffee, gambling, spending too much time on social media, and watching too much television—these are all unhealthy vices. On National Develop Alternative Vices Day, people replace their vices with ones that are less destructive to their bodies and minds. It is not a day to give up all fun; it's just a day find alternative ways to have it.

Let us start by exploring what vices I have:

1) Spending nearly every waking moment on the computer
2) Drinking 3-6 cans of Coke Zero a day
3) Two small cups of coffee a day or 1 large & 1 small cup  depending on what I have
4) Allow myself to get too hungry so when I finally eat I don't stop eating for a couple of hours or more
5) Eat something on my bad list at least once a day. Sugar Addict here!

OK so an easy five I suppose I am not the only one where vices come to mind faster than virtues.

What can I do, how can I change my current vices for ones that are not detrimental …

Rich in joy that is! I have said over and over that laughter is the best medicine out there!

Remember the health benefits: According to Mayoclinic.org
Whether you're guffawing at a sitcom on TV or quietly giggling at a newspaper cartoon, laughing does you good. Laughter is a great form of stress relief, and that's no joke. Stress relief from laughter A good sense of humor can't cure all ailments, but data is mounting about the positive things laughter can do. Short-term benefits A good laugh has great short-term effects. When you start to laugh, it doesn't just lighten your load mentally, it actually induces physical changes in your body. Laughter can: Stimulate many organs. Laughter enhances your intake of oxygen-rich air, stimulates your heart, lungs and muscles, and increases the endorphins that are released by your brain.Activate and relieve your stress response. A rollicking laugh fires up and then cools down your stress response, and it can increase and then decrease y…

February 1st - 7th is Women's Heart Health Awareness Week and I felt it would be remiss of me not to include some conversation about it here given that the professor suffered a heart attack a bit over two years ago and that I am a prime candidate.

Let us start with why I am a prime candidate - Obviously being 100 pounds overweight puts me in the high-risk area immediately. Add in High Chloresterol, physical inactivity, diabetes, post-menopausal and over 55. Since only two of those are needed to put me in the at-risk category that I have six means that I am very high risk. The only way it could be worse is if I still smoked or drank and still lived a high-stress life. Thank goodness for small miracles.

Not sure where you stand? check out this checklist. This checklist and the other pdf's linked here are from the Women's Heart Foundation

Do you know what the prescription is to lower the risk factors? It's simple join the 10,000 steps a day club. That's it! walk 10 th…

His style:
use patterns,especially circles, squares and repetition.long, vertical lines which curve down his paintingsthe use of goldfaces and heads very realistic, while the body is two-dimensional and flathis use of pointillism, very small dots of colorsLets try: “Fill your page with doodles, patterns, and shapes like you see in this painting. You can make a sketch of a person or landscape and then use the doodles to fill in the background, the clothing, or anything else you can think of for this assignment.”
or you can save & print this drawing and just colour it in. Choose your own colours or try to copy his.
Have some art fun today! Check out this web site for a couple of more exercises like this for other artists.