Feedback is Encouraged: Preferably the Constructive Kind

It appears, at least for now, that I am back blogging. Amazingly, even after an almost two-year hiatus, I still have loyal readers and subscribers to this blog. Thank you!

Not everyone will always like what I have to say, and that's okay. For example, see below, a screenshot of an email response I received to my weekly email to subscribers last week. (I have deleted all identifying information to protect the sender's privacy, as this was a private email.

                                                    ~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~

This was in response to this portion of last week's weekly letter, which I send out to subscribers of this blog. I wrote: 

"I listened to President Biden speak last night. He gave me such hope, knowing that by May 1st all adults in the US should be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine."

My unhappy subscriber had strong views about this statement. 

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. The person who responded to my email could simply have removed himself from my email list by clicking "unsubscribe" at the bottom of the email. Clearly, though, he wanted to make sure I knew that I "must be insane." Last I checked, my mental health is in pretty decent shape, so I'm not too worried. 

I disagree with the person who sent me this email. I believe that President Biden is an intelligent, thoughtful person and I think he is doing a good job handling the COVID-19 crisis. Unfortunately, I may lose more readers for making comments like this, which I think is too bad. Unless we can agree to disagree without even listening to what others say, we will never be united. 

My goal is not to alienate anyone, but unless my writing can be authentic and uncensored, it probably is not worth writing. So, I'm sorry to have lost a subscriber, but no apologies for what I said.

What does it mean to be a subscriber, anyway?

Have you noticed the little tab that says "Enter your email address below and never miss a post" in the top right corner of my website? If you click on it and add your email address, you are signing up to receive emails from me. Bloggers LOVE subscribers because it shows that you are enjoying our contact and want to be updated when we post new content. More importantly, it is a means for us to share valuable information with you, such as if we publish a book, offer an online class, etc.

Subscribing costs nothing and the only information you are required to provide is a name (just a first name is fine) and your email address. You can subscribe at any time. I do not share, distribute or sell this email list.

I subscribe to a lot of blogs. I read almost every email I get from some, others I save to read later, and some I just delete. I've been thinking about what makes me want to read an email and what annoys me. 

What would make you want to read my emails?

Aside from making sure I only say things you agree with (as the above reader pointed out) what would motivate you to sign up for my emails, open each one, and enjoy the content you find there? I used to only use these emails to provide links to posts, and sent them every time I published a new post on my blog; now I'm trying to add more value to each email that I send. I don't like being bombarded by emails and I doubt you do either.

Instead of after every post, now I'll just send one email a week. In addition to links to my blog posts, my emails will include a little newsy letter, links to other places I published that week, and I'll share some other really cool or interesting stuff I've come across that week. 

• Does this sound interesting to you? What would you suggest I include in my e-mails to you?
• Is a weekly email too frequent? Would it be better to send an email every other week?
• If you are not already a subscriber, what would motivate you to sign up for my emails?
• What day of the week are you most likely to read an email? I've been sending them on Fridays, but this week I'm going to switch to Wednesday. Do you think that's a good idea?

I would really love to get some feedback from you on this. Please leave a comment below or send me an email using the contact form in the sidebar of this blog. 

I hope none of my other current subscribers will unsubscribe, but I respect that sometimes we all disagree.

I doubt the person who questioned my sanity is reading this, but if he is, I probably should thank him. Getting his response showed me someone is reading the letters I send out - and gave me the idea for this post. 😊

I also would tell him that I sincerely hope that he gets vaccinated, to protect himself and others he associates with from becoming ill. 

Please keep social distancing, wear a mask, wash your hands, get vaccinated, and stay healthy!

One Year Ago Today, I Was Convinced I'd Made a Terrible Mistake

The airplane engines roared to life. As my head pressed against the seatback during takeoff, I thought, “What have I done?” 

Just as the flight attendant was instructing passengers to put small electronics in airplane mode, a news headline on my screen deflated my giddy vacation anticipation. The wording was sobering: WHO declares coronavirus a pandemic.

"WAIT - What?" Normally a rule follower, I ignored the flight attendant and quickly scanned the article.

For months, I had been looking forward to spending a few days in New Orleans with friends. We’d pre-paid for a vacation rental apartment, scheduled a cooking class where we would learn to make a spicy gumbo, and reserved a table for lunch at the famous Commander’s Palace. This was my first visit to the Big Easy, but exploring Bourbon Street, relaxing to some good live jazz music, and eating my fill of delicious food suddenly no longer seemed so exciting.

 

I’d like to claim I had been oblivious to COVID-19 before boarding the plane, but that's not true. I knew of outbreaks across Europe, in Seattle and New York, and most recently on a cruise ship; but no one had yet raised a nation-wide alarm. I'd seen no warnings against traveling state-to-state. There were no reported cases of the virus in New Orleans or my home state. It seemed safe enough to travel, and I'd brought with me copious amounts of hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes, just as a precaution. 

 

As I read the WHO announcement, I realized that a huge number of tourists (from who-knows-where) had recently visited New Orleans to celebrate Mardi Gras. This awareness that we were traveling to a city that could soon become a hot spot for the virus made me as queasy as if I was experiencing severe in-flight turbulence.

 

I wanted to ask the pilot to turn the flight around and let me stay in Montana. Of course, that was not a reasonable request.

 

Instead, my travel partners and I agreed to exercise the utmost of precautions and limit social interactions during our trip. No Bourbon Street, congested bars, or crowded restaurants for us; we spent evenings soaking up the Louisiana warmth in the comfort of the outdoor patio of our vacation rental. Liberally slathering on hand sanitizer every chance we got, we refrained from touching any part of the cable car when we used it for our transportation. We only visited tourist attractions that we believed to be safe. 

 

This was back before anyone suggested the importance of wearing a mask or social distancing, but we knew enough to keep away from crowds. Despite our attempts at safety, questions raced through my thoughts throughout our whole vacation, in a vicious loop of worry:

My Favorite Hat is a Helmet!

Note: This is a revised and updated version of a post previously published on November 22, 2014, but it seems worth sharing again, while a lot of the US is in the midst of a snowy winter.

I hardly ever wear a hat

I like hats - but I look terrible in them.  Something about the shape of my head and my hair just means that they never fit right.  I rarely wear a hat.

But - - there is one exception.  My ski helmet!

I never wore a helmet when I was younger

When I learned to ski as a pre-teen, there was no such thing as a ski helmet.  About 20 years ago, you might have spotted a ski helmet worn in a ski resort terrain park; then parents gradually started buying them for their small children.  

An article published by the International Skiing Association, Ski Helmets, How We Got Here, states “from 1995 until 2010, helmet use increased from 5% to 76%. Over that period, the rate of serious head injuries dropped by about 65%.” That's a pretty impressive statistic!

Not exactly cute, but it makes you look smart when you wear one

Gradually, more and more skiers over the past few decades have begun to realize helmets are a good way to protect their brainpower.  I was finally one of them.

It took a bit of convincing - I actually bought several but returned them without ever wearing them. I just felt really ugly every time I tried them on.

Finally, I found one that really fit, and I conquered my vanity. It has adjustable air vents for temperature control, a removable (washable) liner, warm ear muffs, and (my favorite) a dial to loosen or tighten the fit.  (Giro calls this their “in-form fit system.”)

Helmets are available at a wide range of prices.  

Even the most expensive price tag would seem like pennies, however, compared to a hospital bill ...  or a casket. 

The very first time I wore my ski helmet, I became a convert.  

Right away, I realized there are three good reasons to wear a helmet

How to Survive a Badly Injured Fingernail

It might be a little dramatic to suggest how to survive a ripped fingernail, but anyone who has ever suffered the throbbing discomfort of a nail cut or torn past the quick may not think so. This fairly minor injury can cause a lot of pain!

Accidents happen.

In January, I was reminded that improper use of a sharp knife can be dangerous. I've learned all sorts of things from the online Master Class classes I have been taking, including the importance of heeding the teacher's warnings. Despite being cautioned against using a well-sharpened chef knife on a hard vegetable until completely proficient with the knife skill technique being taught, I did it anyway. 

Note: This blog post contains affiliate links. If you click on one and then make a purchase, I may receive a form of compensation. I only recommend products I believe in.

Oops. I did not cut off a finger (as it had been suggested could happen) when the big knife slipped. I did, however, slice right through the middle of the nail on my pinkie finger. Ouch.

Fortunately, the damage to the flesh under the nail was not deep. But it hurt - a lot. I was terrified I would completely rip off the top half of my nail before it grew out. My solution for a

The Learn Something New Every Day project: January 2018

My Learn Something New Every Day of 2018 project went well during its first month. As I explained in my last post, my goal is to recognize and record one thing I've learned at the end of each day. I'm sharing my lessons here, with the hope that you'll find some of them interesting or helpful too. 

Some days the information gleaned was useful and on others quite trivial, but for each day of January, I recorded a tidbit of knowledge I didn't have during the previous 24 hours. 

Note: This blog post contains affiliate links. If you click on one and then make a purchase, I may receive a form of compensation. I only recommend products I believe in.

Perhaps the lesson that amazed me most and was reinforced to me repeatedly this month, is how very quickly puppies grow up! 

Ours has already tripled in weight and grown exponentially since we adopted her.

My List of January Lessons: 

For more in-depth information about some of these topics, more details can be found in my previous post about Week 1 of this project and in future posts (soon to be published on this blog). 

January

Week 1.

•  1. Puppy toys can come unstuffed.
•  2. How to unclog a vacuum. 
•  3. It’s a small world. Well, sort of. 
•  4. Use vinegar to poach an egg.
•  5. The best place to do a puzzle. 
•  6. The aloe vera plant is useful for more than just first aid for burns.
•  7. An interesting political idea.

Week 2.

•  8. It's easy to make excellent artisan bread with a lovely crunchy crust.

I will be posting full details on how to bake bread like this soon, in an upcoming post.

This is the bread recipe I have always wanted!

•  9. Puppies grow quickly. 

The photos above already prove this point, but I can't resist sharing two more. We think she's cute.

I've lost track of how many times we've been told, "Wow, she's going to be a big dog!"





• 10. There's an easy way to get a dog to take a pill without spitting it out.

• 11. I found a few new ways to use the "Notes" feature on my iPhone and MacBook efficiently.

2016. It changed the world -- and even this blog.

As the year 2016 played out, posts from this blog became intermittent and then just dwindled away. I began spending less and less time on social media and even reading other blogs I have always enjoyed. I can place the blame on a number of things. Some have resolved and some are ongoing. I am not sure yet of the future of this blog, but I cannot let the new year begin without a farewell post to 2016.

2016 ... What a year.  

There were so many moments of 2016 (personally, nationally and internationally) that filled my heart with pride, with fear, with sadness, and ultimately, with hope. It seems as though our world has rotated a bit on her axis, and feels different than it ever has. As we settle into 2017, I am hopeful we can find ways to heal. Our earth needs it, our country needs it; the whole world needs to heal. 

Even the health of my family had a rough year.  I've employed more of my nursing skills in the past six months than I have for a long time. I'm grateful now that my human family members are on the mend, that our dog is walking on all four legs again, and that I have only one week's worth of antibiotics left to shoot down our cat's throat!

Blogging is different than any other kind of writing.

One thing I've learned over the nearly three-year life of this blog, is that blogging is a very personal thing. Successful bloggers share a lot about themselves, their families, and their friends online. I have always been a little guarded in this; as a nurse I am trained to highly value confidentiality and after all, I did spend years warning my children against the dangers of the Internet! 

The wonderful connections I have forged with faithful readers and my special blogging friendships have gradually led me to become more comfortable sharing my own stories. I always, however, have felt it important to receive permission before posting anecdotes or photos of other people.

Something in my attitude changed again over the course of 2016.  

My hesitancy to include anything in my blog about other people's health led me to question what actually is appropriate to publish. The nastiness of this American election year has me a little repulsed by social media, especially as many posts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram seem to have become more egotistical and narcissistic.  (You know the ones I mean!) Perhaps the overwhelming, constant onslaught of information that invades my inbox and social media accounts has simply made me weary.  In any event, I began to question the value of the words and photos that I publish.  All this (as well as various demands on my time) were contributing factors, but my diminished posts in recent months were mostly a result of a muse that disappeared. My writing and creative spark just evaporated for a while.

Lately though, I have been missing this blog.  I suspect I will return to it in some fashion in 2017. My hope is that I can find a way to fill each post with valuable information, in a warm format that reaches out to readers yet maintains firm boundaries between real and Internet life. 

Even after writing this, I am hesitant to hit publish. What value does this post really hold? I feel it needed to be written, though - as an explanation and an apology to my long-time readers for my abrupt and unexplained absence. Publishing this today seems necessary to add closure to the past year of sporadic blogging  - and to pave the way for future posts.

We all have work to do in 2017.

I've rarely touched on politics here, but our upcoming American Presidential Inauguration is on practically everyone's mind. I hope we will all resolve to make the world a better, kinder, more tolerant and healthier environment.  Our work is cut out for us - but I believe in the human spirit. We can learn from mistakes made throughout history and we can stand up against what is wrong, and we can find ways to educate and guide leaders to the right decisions. Every voice and every positive action counts.  Protecting our environment, standing up against intolerance and injustice, and spreading kindness and truth is something we should all strive to do, all of the time.  Those repeated actions may be the best way we can all "make the most - - of every moment" of 2017. 

Happy New Year.  Let's make it a good one.

My Voice is Gone!

My voice is gone.

Literally.

I think I need a megaphone!

I have had laryngitis of varying degrees for about a week. At times, I have just sounded hoarse, but much of this past week I have only been able to utter sounds at (or just above) an audible whisper.  I've had a few mild cold symptoms, but my lack of voice has been my primary symptom.

My writing voice disappeared, also.

Along with spoken sounds, some of my other abilities to communicate seems to have diminished as well. Using the phone has (of course) been hard. More surprisingly, a side effect also seems to be that I've had

A Fractured Bone and Broken Plans

The Life Altering Impact of a Broken Bone

My daughter was supposed to be in Ecuador last week on an environmental service trip with other college students, doing some reforestation and working at a high school. Instead, she spent her spring break at home in Montana on crutches with a broken foot. After so much anticipation and planning for this trip to South America, her disappointment was palpable.

Being home, however, was healing. The swelling, pain and bruising of her foot diminished greatly over the week and she caught up on some much-needed rest. She had not planned to be home at all this spring, so

How to Make a Soft and Flexible Cold Pack For Aches and Injuries

It is very easy to make a soft and flexible cold pack, to keep ready in your freezer, for when someone suffers an ache or injury.

Picture this:

• You have a migraine headache
• Your daughter has a black eye
• Your grandson's little index finger got caught in a cupboard door
• Your son just had his wisdom teeth extracted
• Your husband twisted his ankle and it is very tender and swollen
• OR, maybe you just have huge bags under your eyes from a sleepless night!

You know that a cold compress may help, so you pull an ice pack out of your freezer. Then, you

How to Get Every Last Bit of Lotion Out of the Bottle!

Are you tired of wasting money because you can't get every last bit of your lotion out of the bottle it was packaged in? Do you find it frustrating to have to bang the bottle against your palm, hoping to use up the rest of the product that the pump dispenser can't pull up?

I've never been able to solve the problem of wasting the dredges of my lotions - until last week!

While getting ready to fly to Houston last week, I needed to refill my travel-sized jar with my

Saturday Suggestion: A Simple First-Aid Trick for Cooks

It is quite common for someone who cooks a lot to occasionally burn or cut themselves. One simple first-aid trick helped me remain productive when I injured myself.

I am not always as careful as I should be with the sharp tools in my kitchen, and yesterday while cleaning the blade of my food processor I somehow sliced my pinkie finger. The cut wasn't really deep, but bled enough that it required a snug bandage to staunch the flow.

I was in the midst of preparing several recipes, and a band-aid on my finger was quite an inconvenience. From past experience, I knew it was likely the band-aid would slip off whenever my hands got wet. I also worried that if I began to bleed again, I could contaminate the food that I was cooking. That was something I really did not want to happen. With my nursing background, I am

Saturday Suggestion: Bake Some Healthy Banana Cookies

Today, I am thrilled to suggest a healthy recipe to bake. These banana cookies are a perfect treat for a cold winter day - or any day!

My sister commented that I haven't been publishing many food-related posts lately.  She's right. In an effort to reinstate some healthy-eating habits, I've been avoiding trying new recipes and baking yummy desserts. Also, our short Montana winter days have made it a challenge to have natural light to photograph the meals

Protect Your Heart -- Please Read This Before You Shovel Snow!

Anyone with heart disease knows that there are things they should do to protect their heart ... but they may not realize the dangers associated with shoveling snow. Even people who believe their hearts to be healthy should know that there can be significant risks involved with shoveling snow.

I've written about how heart attacks can be precipitated by snow shoveling on this blog before - but I'm doing so yet again today, as I don't believe the dangers associated with snow shoveling can be overemphasized.

Temperatures in Montana this week have risen above freezing for the first time in a while. To avoid having icy walkways and driveways when the slush freezes after the sun goes down, many people here have been out shoveling. In parts of the United States, a big snowstorm is forecast for later in the week. This seems a good time to issue yet another warning.

My previously published article Snowmageddon Storm Warning: Protect your Heart was written from the passionate viewpoint of my first-hand experience with patients who had suffered heart attacks after shoveling snow. During numerous years of working as a cardiac care nurse in both Pennsylvania and Ohio, (where snow is usually wet and very heavy when it falls) I saw far too many patients admitted to the hospital with chest pain after shoveling snow.

Many people do not understand the deadly combination of exertion (often unaccustomed) and blood vessel constriction (a result of cold temperatures) that can occur when shoveling snow. Add in other risk factors, such as being a smoker or the stress of adding the task of shoveling to an already busy schedule; it all could add up to a heart attack just waiting to happen.  Unfortunately, even if warning signs occur, people may not recognize the symptoms of a heart attack or just ignore them because they are focused on completing the task.

So, today I implore you to read (or reread) my article and share this information with people you care about. If it is not snowy where you live right now, I hope you store this information away for when and if you ever need it or have an occasion to pass it on. Even if you are young with no known cardiac history, take note of the tips offered for how to shovel snow more safely and familiarize yourself with the symptoms of a heart attack. If someone you know is elderly or has a cardiac history,  please encourage them to find someone healthy and strong to shovel for them.

To read the article I have mentioned here, either search: "Snowmaggedon Storm Warning: Protect Your Heart!" or just click here.  

What are your thoughts on shoveling snow? 
Do you live in a place where it snows?

This post may be linked to one of the great link-up parties I follow and list on my blog. Check them out!

What Goes Around, Comes Around.

You are probably familiar with the idiom, "What goes around, comes around." According to the definition offered in The Free Dictionary by Farlex, this means "The results of things that one has done will someday have an effect on the person who started the events." I have found this to be true in my own life.

Just as I started high school, my family moved to Mallorca, Spain. For four years I attended the American School of Mallorca and I lived at home, but a high percentage of the students were boarders.

Many of my friends lived in the rooms in this building at the American School of Mallorca.

My family would often invite some of the boarding students over for dinner or the weekend. My mom and dad were generous with help, parental advice, or support for these kids when it was needed. My parents

Earthquake!

Our house shook for a couple of seconds at 9:30 pm on Sunday night. 

It almost felt as though there had been an explosion nearby, but we immediately realized it must have been an earthquake. The Christmas tree did not topple and nothing fell off the walls or shelves, but there was no mistaking that we had just felt the ground shake.  I wondered if there would be any type of an aftershock, but we felt nothing.

Earthquakes do happen here in Montana once in a while, but I have only ever felt one or two of them, and those just felt like more of a bump. Curious, I got on Facebook and saw that other people we knew had experienced the shaking as well. According to the United States Geological Survey’s (USGS) Earthquake Hazards Program, it was a 3.4 magnitude earthquake with an epicenter not too many miles from where we live. Not strong enough to do any damage, but significant enough that it did not go unnoticed.

This is a screenshot of the map on the USGS web page of recent earthquake activity.

Just hours after I had this experience, there was a 7.2 magnitude earthquake in Tajikistan. That news prompted me to refresh my memory on how to prepare for an earthquake, and how to respond if one occurs. While our house was shaking, I had been too surprised to even move from the couch. When it ended, I simply went to find my family in other parts of the house to confirm that they had felt the quaking as well. Had the earthquake been more severe, I definitely should have acted differently.

The Earthquake County Alliance web page offers a lot of helpful information on how to prepare, survive, and recover from an earthquake. An earthquake can happen anywhere although some places have a higher percentage of seismic activity than others. It is always best to be prepared, so I encourage you click this link and educate yourself in case you ever feel the ground begin to rock and roll!

Have you ever experienced an earthquake?

This post may be linked to one of the great link-up parties I follow and list on my blog. Check them out!

I'm Glad to be Back: My List of Fabulous Finds (Week #23)

While taking a mini-blog vacation, I was only publishing here on Saturdays for the past few weeks so this is my first "Fabulous Finds" post in a while. During my blogging absence, I didn't get my photo collection as organized as I had hoped, but I did make a good dent in the project. 

Quite a bit happened while I was gone, however.  I managed to get our holiday lights up outside, took my son to get his cast off and his wisdom teeth out, and we went to Arizona for Thanksgiving.

In all, it was a busy couple of weeks, but I did miss blogging and I'm glad to be back.

I hope these "fabulous finds" I came across in the past few weeks will interest you.

~~*~~

This Week's Fabulous Finds:

~ ~ Roasted Garlic

I am definitely going to try roasting garlic this way!

• Easy way to roast garlic

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~ ~  Perfect Pie Crust

A beautiful pie is like a work of art. This video from King Arthur Flour takes all the mystery out of how to crimp the edges, and make a really pretty crust.

•  How to crimp a pie crust 

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~ ~ A detector of Gluten

For people with Celiac Disease, ingesting even a small amount of gluten can be very harmful. I just read about a device that can test foods instantly to see if they are gluten-free. It should be available soon - and seems like it would be a wonderful tool.

• Nima, the food tester.

~~*~~

~ ~ Still Missing

When Malaysia airline MH370 went down in March 2014, I could not believe that it could just disappear. A year and a half later, sadly, it has still not been found. I just came across this update.

• Australia still optimistic that it will be found

~~*~~

~ ~  Holiday Lights

I managed to get our holiday lights up just before the weather turned really cold and snowy this year. If you haven't put yours up yet, you might find reading my article from last year helpful:

• The Easy Way to Hang Christmas Lights

I was glad I got these lights up before Thanksgiving. It snowed and temperatures dropped to subzero just before we left for Arizona.

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~ ~ A possible step forward in the fight against MS

A recent study looks at a promising approach to helping patients with Multiple Sclerosis, a disease which affects millions of people. While more work needs to be done, it would be wonderful if this research leads towards developing a cure.

• MS research

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Have you ever tried roasting garlic using the method linked above?

This post may be linked to one of the great link-up parties I follow and list on my blog. Check them out!

In the spirit of full disclosure, this post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking on one of them, the price you pay will not be affected but I may receive some small compensation. All opinions expressed, however, are entirely honest and my own.

It's Almost November: My List of Fabulous Finds (Week 20)

How on earth can it be the end of October already?? 

There have been some signs... the days are definitely a lot shorter and the stores are stocked with not just Halloween and Thanksgiving things - but Christmas items have made their appearance as well. Mother Nature has not helped me to keep track of the calendar though - and I am not complaining a bit! 

We have had an incredibly beautiful fall, with many warm and sunny days and most of the leaves are still on the trees.

Halloween can be a frightfully cold time of year here. I can remember any number of years when it has been below freezing or subzero. This year though, kids might actually get to trick-or-treat without heavy coats over their costumes!

I am been taking a bit of a leave of absence from Facebook, the blogging world, and even reading anything online, as I have been trying to get caught up with life tasks. I did find some fun links, however, to share with you this week. I hope you enjoy them!

~~*~~

This Week's Fabulous Finds:

~ ~ Cranberry Jam

You might remember that in one of my posts back in January, I shared a link for a wonderful recipe for Banana Jam.  Well, just in time for the holidays, I came across this recipe for Cranberry Jam. I bet it is wonderful on toasted English muffins!

• Cranberry Jam Recipe

~ ~ * ~ ~ 

~ ~ Antioxidants

Just when we think we have a healthy diet figured out, research suggests something different. This study seems to make a lot of sense, but it just doesn't seem fair that something that is so good for us could also cause harm.

• The latest study about antioxidants is terrifying.

~ ~ * ~ ~ 

~ ~ Halloween Costumes

Halloween this year falls on a Saturday.  I suspect there will be even more parties and festivities this year, than in a year when Halloween is on a weekday.  Do you have a costume yet? If not, this link might be helpful - 22 costume ideas you can quickly create!

• Last minute Halloween costumes

~ ~ * ~ ~ 

~ ~ Gum Wrappers

When I was in elementary school, we would save our gum wrappers and make long chains out of them. The guy in this commercial used them in a different way. Very creative (not to mention romantic), don't you think?

~ ~ * ~ ~ 

~ ~ Spring Forward / Fall Back

Just as I am finding it hard to believe that October is almost over, if seems as though we just moved the clocks ahead an hour - - and now it is already time to move them back.  Daylight Saving time changes occur on different dates all over the world - but for most of Canada and the US, we will be setting the hands of our clocks back one hour on Sunday, November 1st, 2015 at 2am. (Actually, I will be setting mine back before I go to bed on Saturday night!)

• Daylight Saving Time around the World

Don't forget, when you change your clocks, it is a good idea to also change the batteries in all of your smoke detectors!

~ ~ * ~ ~ 

Which of these links did you like the best?

~ ~ * ~ ~

This post may be linked to one of the great link-up parties I follow and list on my blog. Check them out!

How To Do "Anything": My List of Fabulous Finds (Week 17)

This week's List of Fabulous Finds is all about "how to do" things.  In less than a year, my youngest child heads off to college. I have been thinking a lot lately about whether or not I have taught him well enough "how to do" all the things he will need to know. 

I worry less about whether or not I've taught my kids enough, when I think about the wealth of information at our fingertips today. The Internet is a powerful resource.

The following links are good examples that the Internet provides information on how to do just about anything.

~~*~~

This Week's Fabulous Finds:

~ ~ How to sew on a button

A button fell off one of my son's dress shirts this week. I've shown both my kids how to sew a button back on, but this in not a skill that is regularly practiced.  Wondering if help would be available, I searched on-line and sure enough, found a video that gives even better directions for this task than I ever could.

• How to sew on a button 

~ ~ How to fold a suit without wrinkling it

I think my children know how to properly fold clothes, but even I learned a trick or two in this

Week 14: My Week of Fabulous Finds (Good Deeds)

When we listen to the news, so much of it seems to focus on bad things that have happened. Too often, we hear of crimes committed, injustices and wrong-doings, hurtful actions, or disrespectful attitudes. Yet, that is not an accurate picture of our world. 

I truly believe that most people want to help others and do good things.

Gratitude.

Some bloggers write an occasional "gratitude post" in which they list the things in their life for which they are grateful. I enjoy reading these types of posts, because they invariably help remind me of the things in my life that I am grateful for as well. 

Good Deeds.

This is not exactly a gratitude post - but more of a good deeds post. I hope it will serve a similar purpose though, and cause you to think about the good deeds that are happening around you - and what efforts you might be able to make to support them. I used to think good deeds should be done anonymously. Lately, however, I have realized that good deeds tend to be contagious, so it is perhaps okay to let others know of what you've done!

September is an active month for some of the charities that my husband and I support. Last week we donated to a number of different causes - and marveled at the dedicated efforts some of our friends and family on behalf of the organizations we were funding. 

My List of Fabulous Finds is focusing this week on some examples of these good deeds.

Here are this week's links:

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~ ~ Walk to End Alzheimer's Disease.

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Week #11: My List of Fabulous Finds

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Power Failure

My husband's parents from Ohio were visiting us last week. Just as we were driving home from a restaurant on Friday night, a dramatic thunder and lightening storm began. It set off some new wildfires in Montana, and also caused a power failure. 

Our house and surrounding countryside were dark when we arrived home, except when briefly illuminated by the flashes of lightning. It was pouring rain, and of course the garage door wouldn't go up. My husband hustled in to the garage through the house and manually opened it, so all the rest of us could stay safe and dry!

We visited a while by candlelight, and finally just went to bed. Happily, about 1:00 a.m. our