Did You Know the Month of April is...

April is such a lively month, full of funny days, classic foods, parties, time to Fool someone,eat some classic food like peanut butter and jelly, partying with the whole wide world, spend the day walking around things, making wishes with dandelion puffs, writing my tombstone epitaph, skipping housework, heading to the zoo, picking a "special" name for myself, hanging out with my awesome siblings, drawing a submarine (or exploring one), then walking on my wild side as I plan my next strategy for Scrabble. I definitely don't want to miss celebrating Look up at the Sky Day or Husband Appreciation Day either...There is so-ooo many things to do this month!

Are you curious about all these celebrations? Check it out at Holiday Insights... not much to look at as sites go but loads of dates to plan some fun. 

Not only do we have days to remember like today April 4th is granddaughter Fiona's birthday ... and in history the day Martin Luther King Jr. assassinated (1968.)

Did you know that on April 6th Twinkies hit the market and  the first Twinkies were banana-filled!(1930)

The fun and funny days are loads of fun, we honor the men and women who have changed our world and other times we focus on awareness and bringing help to our world. One of my favorite times to celebrate and show thanks is coming up soon, Easter! I am so grateful for the gift of eternal life because of Jesus. 

So many fun things to celebrate...but the most wonderful moments for me are those shared with family :) Most recently were a couple of my darling grandchildren- siblings that have birthdays that fall 12 days apart and also conveniently on their school spring break times.  It was so fun seeing them and joining in the festivities!

• March 23 Luke

• April 4 Fiona

• April 13 Megan

Although I am not able to actually be in the same location for all of the celebrations, I think of them, honor them and pray for them that the day for them -their special day, will be simply amazing. 

So getting back to my main topic..."Did You Know The Month of April Is..."  

I wanted to focus on a weekly celebration that falls on the third week of the month of April called Organize Your Files Week.

Why call this a celebration you might ask? For me it is part of a larger challenge several other friends are also participating in. The goal is to get my craft space organized and accessible. It has become so overrun with piles and disorganized clutter that I am not even using my craft space. 

My friends Melanie Diane, Shannon and myself are all focused on craft room organizing tasks and are challenging each too.We took photos and created videos to document the "before and after" of it all! With that in mind I am looking at better organizing my Stamp Craft files. I recently purchased a bulk pack of empty hubless DVD boxes to store my loose stamps and some Ezmount Static Cling Foam Sheets to get all of unmounted loose stamps mounted. I also am creating image covers for the DVD cases. 

As I am working on these tasks, I am also reviewing my old system of organization and updating them. Two other areas I will be working on to get my files organized involve sorting the digital files I have collected for scrapbook and stamp craft and using a favorite APP of mine, Evernote to create a catalog of current products I own. 

I'll be sharing more about our challenge, our before pictures, my organizational tips and more over the next few posts and finally some after pictures as well so stay tuned.

OMG Moments Making New Traditions at Thanksgiving

Just looked at the calender and had an OMG moment...Did you know??? It is only 17 days until Thanksgiving? 

I'm so excited! This year my son Nathaniel and his children are planning to come, it's the first time having my grandchildren come visit from out of state and I'm on pins and needles! They will meet families of their cousins face to face for the very first time and see Aunties and Uncles that they've not had in their life due to distance. 

Oops, change of plans,,,<heavy sigh> my son can't get the time off...so very sad. I know it will be a blast just hanging out but of course I want the traditions we create and the food we eat to be memorable too. I'm still in the planning stages but I thought I'd share my ideas for my Menu...

Brined Turkey

 Carol's YUM Stuffing

Homemade Turkey Gravy

Rolls

Mashed Potatoes

Vegetables

Veggies & Dip

Relish Tray

Fruit medley

 Cranberry Relish

deviled eggs

 Sweet Potatoes

Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Cheesecake Trifle

The newcomer...Pumpkin Cheesecake Trifle looks really yummy!

A few years back it was a great joy to have my dear friend Beverly staying with us for a while. As we talked over food plans for the Thanksgiving celebration she shared a tip...
Brining a turkey guarantees a delicious moist turkey. She and I bought our brine the first year from Williams and Sonoma but honestly it is a simple thing to make your own, I thought you might enjoy the recipe I have since used.



Turkey Brine

"This recipe makes 3 quarts of brine, enough for a 10 to 25 pound turkey. All of the spices and herbs in this recipe add great flavor, if you can't find one for some reason, don't worry, just leave it out. 

Ingredients

2/3 cup kosher salt
2/3 cup sugar
6 whole cloves
1 teaspoon juniper berries, crushed

1 teaspoon black peppercorns, crushed
2 teaspoons whole allspice berries, crushed
5 fresh sage leaves
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
8 cups hot water
4 cups ice water 

Plus:
2 turkey size plastic oven bags or brining bags
1 large roasting pan (or a very large bowl)
1 fresh or thawed frozen turkey (12 to 20 pounds)

note: The easiest way to crush whole spices is to use a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder. If you do not have either of these kitchen tools, place the whole spices in a heavy lock-top plastic bag, seal the bag while pressing out all the air, and pound them with the bottom of a small, heavy saucepan until coarsely crushed.

For the Brine:
In a large saucepan, stir together the salt, sugar, cloves, juniper berries, peppercorns, and allspice. Add the sage leaves, thyme, and bay leaves along with the hot water. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently until the salt and sugar have dissolved. Boil for 3 minutes, then remove from the heat. Add the ice water and stir to cool the mixture. Set aside and let cool to room temperature.

The Method:

Nest 1 plastic oven bag inside the other to create a double thickness. Place the double bag mouth open wide and facing up, in the roasting pan. Fold back the top one-third of the double bag to make a collar (this helps keep the bags open). Place the turkey inside the double bag. Unfold the collar of the double bag and pour the brine over the bird, then add 2 cups of cold water. Draw up the top of the inner bag, squeezing out as much air as possible, and secure it closed with a twist tie. Do the same with the outer bag. Turn the package so the turkey is breast side down in the roasting pan (or very large bowl) and refrigerate for at least 12 hours or up to 24 hours. Turn the turkey 3 or 4 times while it is brining.

Remove the turkey from the brine. Discard the bags, brine, and any cured herbs or spices remaining on the bird. Rinse the turkey under cold water and pat dry with paper towels (sanitize the sink afterwards). Place the turkey back in the roasting pan (or on a rimmed sheet pan that is large enough to hold the turkey) and refrigerate, making sure that it touches nothing else in the fridge, uncovered, for at least 6 hours or up to overnight. This resting period allows the skin of the turkey to dry a bit so it is crisp when roasted. The turkey is now ready to be roasted. 

One new tradition for me began a few years ago, recounting things I am grateful for. I'm looking for an idea to help all of us express gratitude together on Thanksgiving Day. If you have an idea for me please share it in the comments. 

Graduations Mean Summer is ALMOST Here

Hi Friends! It's been way too long since my last posting,our summer is nearly here. We've had lots of celebrating going on which for a crafter means cards, projects and ideas galore. I've celebrated family and 8th grade graduations, birthdays then high school graduations  for both family and friends. I love all the parties and celebrations, how about you? 
The photos above are oldies...2004. Yes Mikeal, we were all rooting for you when you graduated! Look how young you looked Mike :)

Ok so to start of all the graduate activity here is my darling granddaughter Megan graduating from 8th grade. We're so proud of you Megan!

With all the whirl of activity I've been visiting one of my favorite sites for ideas, Pinterest. Do you Pinterest? If you love it as much as I do be sure and follow me and follow the boards that interest you :) I love it and spend way too much time surfing and sharing ideas there. These days it usually is where I begin with a project or even to develop my ideas...I always say "one good idea leads to another" :) So please let me share with you my recent crafts.

Megan's Card

Megan's card is created from a stamped design and hand watercolored.

Just because I love sowing off my sweet grandkids I 'm throwing in a pic of my grandson Evan who was really quite ready to leave the ceremony...

now please?

Kendall's High School grad card

We also celebrated with our friends the Liu's...their daughter Becky graduated from High School and they through a party for her. Her mom Lisa made these incredible crepes from scratch...I didn't take pictures but I sure wish I had...for two reasons.Lisa's creps and all the toppings were really something AND she also made an incredible tribute wall out of photos for Becky. Below is the card I made for Becky.

Beckys card 

Our friends the Zenes's also had a graduate...Way to go Carter!! Here is the card i made for him.Shhhh I haven't got it mailed to him yet. They stopped by the day I was making the cards, LOL. 

Carter's Grad card
My grandnephew Andy graduated High School this year, we're so proud of you Andy!

I had fun making his card- Sorry I forgot to take a picture and this one was taken at the celebration.  I also made a photo album for his High School memories and I also missed taking pics but thanks to Tatiana, here are a couple photos.

Since making these there have been even more celebrations and fun reasons to create but for now I hope you enjoy seeing what I've been up to and reading my post.

Happy 4th of July!!

Firecrackers and picnics, barbeques with smoky scents~ the family dog running through the yard.. lots of children splashing about while adults gather to tell stories of the past and present! Of course it also creates a "reason" to craft...As if we crazy crafty folks NEED a reason LOL!

Today I thought I'd share a few fun crafty things... Some of my cards...

I love this big "foamie" Flag stamp!

This tiny flag stamp is really fun to use with the "colored marker technique.

Two old favorites, corregated paper and dot alphabet stamps :)

 

 4th of July and food just go hand in hand...

Look at this yummy looking pie...mmmm!

 

Mmmm! Watermelon! Au Natural

 

or gussied up!

How does your family celebrate?

Whatever your plans are...Wishing you all a safe and Happy July 4th! Thinking about the many freedoms we enjoy I hope to always remember they were not "free" but were the efforts of many men and women, boys and girls who came before us and paved the way for us in this land we love. May we always be known as "The Land Of The Free And The Home Of The Brave"!

 

Time With My Children

This past week our family celebrated two very special days with two very special people. My oldest son and his youngest son have birthdays just two days apart. We live in different states but we like to celebrate with them so we flew over to be with the families. It seems to get harder and harder to get together with so many things happening in our busy lives. What do other families do to fit it all in? Do you have troubles within your family when it comes to expections? Can we all be a part of the celebration or do some family members get excluded?