You've Arrived at the Next Stop on the Virtual Blog Tour!

The Virtual Blog Tour has come to my blog today!  

My home has never been on a garden or home tour, but that must feel a little like this!  Instead of fluffing cushions and pulling weeds, my preparation for your visit is to write this post.

Welcome! After you read this, I hope you will look around, and then decide to follow/subscribe to my blog -  so you never miss a post.  Being followed is what makes every blogger really happy!  (See right sidebar for ways to follow this blog, using email, RSS, Google+, Facebook, Bloglovin, etc.)

Many, many thanks to Lana from Two Teens and Their Mama and to Rena from The Diary of an Alzheimer's Caregiver, for both inviting me to be on the tour!  

Lana posted a photo of a tour bus in Paris (she is a fashion blogger after all!) in her post about this Virtual tour.  The Red Buses that tour Glacier National Park, MT seem quite appropriate for mine! These buses travel the Going to the Sun Road, which is only about four hours away from where I live.

The Red Buses of Glacier National Park - this photo was taken a few years ago.

Lana and I met through our blogs in cyberspace soon after I began to blog - and our friendship and her support is an example of the best thing about blogging. (Read more about our friendship here.)  Lana writes with humor and insight on a variety of topics, including perimenopause, parenting and fashion.  Her blog has me practically jumping out of bed some mornings - I just can't wait to see what she has written. Her blog is young, but it is catching on fast.  Just this past week she had an article featured on Blogher.  If you haven't yet, you really should hurry right over to Two Teens and Their Mama.

Rena is incredibly supportive - both as a blogger and to her family.  She deals with her own health issues while providing full time care of her mother, who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease. Rena still has somehow managed to find time to create a blog that is both entertaining and a wonderful resource for caregivers, and to provide many comments and encouragement and praise to other bloggers. Rena's blog provides a wealth of information, insight and good sense, with a good dose of humor and patience. Her post The Blog Train Rolls Again is a good example of her warm and amusing writing style, and I feel lucky to know her through her blog.

Tour members are asked to answer some questions. Here they are, along with my answers:

1. What am I working on?

“What don't I need to work on?” might be easier questions to answer! I sort of jumped into blogging a little over three months ago. As a freelance writer, it seemed suddenly important to have a blog!  I bought a very helpful book - Blog INC. Blogging for Passion, Profit and to Create Community, by Joy Deangdeelert Cho (the blogger of Oh Joy!). I read it, cover to cover, in about a day. That same weekend, I thought of my blog name and created my blog.  Since then, I have been trying to learn everything I don't know about blogging. Which is a lot!

• Time management.  Balancing blogging and life, and getting it all done! 
• Figuring out the techy stuff.  I need to make sure my blog is searchable, figure out how to add google analytics, make some changes to my layout and template, get better at sharing what I post, understand how to use key words and SEO,  ... .
• Learn about monetization.  I would love to be able to financially justify the hours I spend blogging by creating some income from it. If only it paid well - writing and blogging would be the perfect job! 
• Networking.  I love connecting with and supporting other bloggers, and there is a lot that can be learned from visiting other blogs.  However, I need to learn how to be more time efficient doing this! 
• Developing a niche and brand.  I love to write about so many things.  I feel like my blog is slowly developing a personality, but I am still trying to recognize it!
• Social media.  This learning curve has been steep.   I am still trying to figure out Pinterest and Twitter, but I am starting to get the hang of Google+ and I love it!  The information, blog hops and linkups shared by Sinea Pies from Ducks 'n a Row has helped me a lot with this!

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

To answer this question, I would need to know under which genre my blog should be classified!  (If anyone knows the niche / genre where this blog best fits, please let me know!)  Lifestyle blogging describes my blog best, although I also think of myself as a Montana Blogger. We all bring different things to our blog, and mine is heavily influenced by my experiences as a nurse, traveler, mother, and all of my other interests and experiences.

The many topics I blog about include:

• food, recipes and entertaining
• leisure activities (books, movies, etc), 
• glimpses of my travels and life in Montana.
• household and better living tips 
• parenting and relationships
• gardening,crafts and other projects
• ideas and informational anecdotes 
• information about products I enjoy
• health and wellness
• environmental and social justice / human interest topics
• A little fiction writing once in a while, just for fun!

See what I mean - I'm all over the map! (I've lived all over the map, so why not blog that way too, I guess!) 

There is an central theme to almost everything I publish, however.  All of my posts relate in some way to "making the most - - of every moment."  I really like a comment Karen from Baking in a Tornado recently left on my blog, "I come here and never know what I'll find, but I know I'll always be entertained."  And hopefully informed. Thanks Karen! 

3. Why do I write/create what I do?

Because the words and thoughts are in my head, and I just need to write them down. I publish my writing because I hope it will in some way positively impact anyone who reads it.  I love the creative outlet that writing and particularly blogging provides.

4. How does your writing/creating process work?

Truthfully, not as well as I would like! I really need to get a better office set-up, and make better use of organizational tools (my numerous slips of paper just aren't efficient!) 

Learning how to schedule automatic sharing of my posts would be helpful too!

• Coming up with ideas and writing them down is the easy part.  I am inspired by all sorts of things all through the day, and my photographs are a great vault of memories which often trigger ideas. My writing mind just never shuts off.
• Too often, I write a post just the day before it is published, often late at night.  For example, I thought of the idea for my Canada Cake after supper and started making the cake about 8:30 pm - and then I still had to take the photos, and write the recipe and the rest of the post! The next morning I shared the post on social media and began to read and comment on other blogs.
• I write, and then I edit, and edit, and .... 

That is enough about me.  

Now I would love to tell you a little bit about three other bloggers that I have invited to join the tour. It was so hard to choose just three - I have so many favorite blogs! 

My Invitations to the Tour: 

Mangia, Mangia ... No Talk! is such a unique blog that I was immediately smitten.  The old world feel, sepia tones, wonderful recipes, and friendly writing style have me hooked. Marisa, the blogger here, describes herself as a “Writer, Poet, Cook, Wife, Mom, Sister, Aunt and Daughter” and a ”lover of words.” You might be wondering about the blog name. Mangia, Mangia ... No Talk! means ”Eat, Eat, No Talk!” and her Italian grandfather would say this before meals. I encourage you to pay a visit to this blog, as well as Marissa's other blog, SquaareKat!

A Cookie Named Desire is one of my favorite food blogs. The writer behind the blog is Amanda, a recipe developer, photographer and mother of a toddler. I was really surprised to learn that her blog is relatively new. It is so professional looking and (I think) practically perfect.  Her photographs are beautiful, and I want to make nearly every recipe I have seen of hers. I recently made her Strawberry Rhubarb Ice cream recipe and mine turned out so well I had to show a photo of it on my blog!  Reading the posts Amanda writes to accompany her recipes is like talking with a friend.  She is currently on blog vacation, but she may join the tour on her return.  Don't wait for her blog tour post though - you really should just pay a visit to her blog! Amanda's other blog is Subscription Maven.

JENerallyInformed was one of the first blogs I began to follow after I became a blogger. Jennifer's supportive comments on my posts drew me to her site. Her posts, and the “Man Day” posts her husband writes have taught me a lot (and have shown me how much I still need to learn about blogging!) Jennifer Humphries is a public relations specialist, children's book author and Queen Mom to 3 girls and 1 boy. My kids are too old for me to consider myself a true Mommy Blogger (no one calls me Mommy anymore) - but I am impressed by the philosophy behind the #MommyRealityChallenge hosted by Jennifer and bloggers from alavenderlife.com and Leapfrogandlipgloss.com. (You can also find Jennifer on Twitter, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest, Bloglovin and Facebook. - See more at:http://momitforward.com/old-fashioned-summer-watermelon-bust#sthash.vAM9YEWx.dpuf)

Did you see what I did?  The instructions for the blog tour were to invite two or three other bloggers to join the tour next Monday, and introduce them.  That is exactly what I did - but I used this opportunity to tell you about a few other blogs as well!

When I find something good, I just love to share it!

Glacier National Park, Montana, USA

I hope you enjoyed this blog tour stop, and be sure to visit the blogs I mentioned soon!

Do you have a favorite blog?

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

Photos that might make you smile - or at least say CHEESE

A trick for being sure someone smiles in a photo is to have them say the word cheese.

I recently came across this photo taken a few July 4th's ago. This snack was prepared by one of my kids. :)

Their creative arrangement of cheese and crackers made me smile - or maybe I did just say “cheese”!

Cheese platter - with a stack of crackers for the 4th of July!

The beauty of fireworks usually elicit ooohs and aahhhs as well as smiles.

I took a lot of photos of the fireworks going off around our house, both near and far last night. Some turned out surprisingly well, and I'm quite pleased with these! Enjoy!

Photos of Fireworks - taken looking out from our deck and behind our roof

Fireworks photos - I took these with our zoom lens

Fireworks with American Flag in foreground - I  stood below our deck and waited until just the right moment for this!

Happy Weekend!

How did you celebrate the 4th of July?

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

Facing Insurmountable Odds

Maria peered again at the bus timetable, the ink smudged somewhat by the damp, tight grip of her perspiring hands.  She had been staring at it intently for the last hour of the car ride, willing the numbers to be different from how they appeared.

Against seemingly insurmountable odds, she was going to make that bus!  She had known it was a long shot when she paid her bus fare.  But she was determined all would work out.  She HAD to make that bus.

Maria had been busy weeding between the rows of her vegetables when the phone rang. Hot and dirty, she had taken her time answering.  When she did, she was surprised to hear the voice of her abuela.

"Maria, como estas?"  Her grandmother greeted her in Spanish, then switched to English. She had lived in South Dakota for so long that her second language came to her quite naturally.  Maria had been raised bilingual, so it didn't matter to her what they spoke.

"Thank goodness you answered.  I was starting to panic," her grandmother said.

"Why Grandma - what is wrong?"  Maria could tell her grandmother was really upset.

"It's your Grandpa.  His stomach pains are worse, and his skin is yellow.  The doctor says it is his liver.  You do still have Papalo growing along the edge of your garden, don't you?"

"Of course Grandma, I wouldn't dream of being the first generation inn centuries to let it die out.  But what about Grandpa?"  Maria felt impatient. Her grandmother had shared news of her grandfather being ill, and now she wanted to chat about an ancient herb.

"The papalo is why I am calling.  Your grandpa is convinced it will get him well, and that without it nothing the doctors do will help him.  They want to operate in a few days, and he is refusing to have surgery without first having some papalo.  When he was a boy, his mother used to tell him all about the medicinal properties of papalo.  Like us, she would put it on sandwiches - cemitas.  But her mother ate papalo every day when she had liver problems, and then lived another 20 years. Your grandpa is convinced it will help him in the same way."

Maria was starting to catch on.  "But there isn't any papalo in South Dakota.  And you want me to bring Grandpa some."

Her grandmother confirmed this.  They both knew the herb was indigenous to Mexico, Central and South America, and lower parts of the United States.  The only way her grandpa was going to have some was if Maria brought it to him.  It would take too long by mail, and it would need to be kept cool so it was fresh on arrival.  Maria realized there would also be an issue if she was caught bringing a live plant into the United States.  She didn't have enough money for plane fare, so she would have to travel by bus.

"Okay Grandma.  I will call you when I know the bus schedule."

Maria booked her bus ticket as soon as she got off the phone. There was only one bus that day, and the bus station was three hours away, on the American side of the border.  A friend drove her to the bus station, and they would have had enough time, except for the car trouble.  Fortunately a helpful guy was able to fix the car, but it took awhile.  Then, when they were less than an hour from the border, her friend realized he must have dropped his passport at the gas station.  He wouldn't be able to cross the border.  They decided he would still drop her on the Mexican side, and she could walk across.  This was generous of him, considering how he needed to get back and find his passport.  Maria had learned the distance between Customs and the bus station was about a half a mile. 

Nearly as soon as the car stopped, Maria jumped out and ran to the end of the line of people walking into the United States.  She tried to appear calm - the last thing she needed was for a customs officer to search through her bag and find the papalo hidden in the lining!  She explained she was entering the US to visit a sick relative, and then finally she was through Customs.  The bus was scheduled to leave in just a few minutes.

Maria walked rapidly around the corner and then broke into a sprint, grateful that she had worn her running shoes.  She was puffing hard when she reached the bus.  

"Wow Missy, you just made it," said the bus driver, as she stumbled up the bus steps and handed him her ticket. "I was going to pull out in less than a minute."

Maria realized all those runs on the treadmill had paid off.  Without them, she might have run a minute slower.  But now she was on the bus, taking papalo to her grandpa, which he believed would make him well.

This story is totally fictitious and may not contain accurate factual information. I had never even heard of papalo, until I did an internet search for “indigenous plants of Mexico”! 

The Words for Wednesday Challenge supplied the following word prompts: 
insurmountable, sprint, timetable, vegetables, indigenous, relative. 

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

Be Safe This Weekend - and This Summer

The beginning of every July brings a whole new set of worries to the forefront of my consciousness. 

One year my kids persuaded my husband to light a few fireworks on our driveway.

Some people never think about risk. Others see danger around every curve. Most view life from somewhere in the middle. I would usually fit in well with those who worry - a lot.  

Childhood Warnings

Throughout my childhood, I heard many warnings, which I have repeated pretty much verbatim to my kids. Cautions such as: "Don't snap that dishtowel, you could make someone lose an eye. Wear shoes - you might step on a bee. Be careful wearing rings, people have lost fingers when they catch a ring on something." And so forth. My parent's seemed to believe that if they could warn me of every possible danger, perhaps I could avoid it. Or at least that is the philosophy they passed on to me. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't matter if you know the risks, they happen anyway. And sometimes it is the things you don't even know to worry about that cause problems.

My career as a nurse made me even more leery. Watching medical dramas on television can alert the viewer to the consequences of many risky behaviors. There is nothing quite as sobering though, as taking care of a comatose motorcycle accident victim, whose skull seems only held together with bandages - knowing he wasn't wearing a helmet in that crash. Or watching a patient endure the agony of painful stiffness and spasms, because she had failed to get a tetanus shot. Accidents are random occurances - but many are preventable.

That is why I am writing these words today. 

A Patient I Will Never Forget

I don't think I have ever seen a lawn dart.  But I will never forget a young patient injured by one nearly three decades ago. 

I was not her nurse, nor was she even brought to the department where I worked.  I heard about her accident second-hand.  Most of the time hospital personnel are pretty good about not sharing the specifics of patient information.  This case was so unusual, and upsetting though, the details traveled pretty fast. Not names, of course, but details of the accident itself. 

Apparently this young girl had been at a fourth of July party, and a game of lawn darts was being played.  Someone threw a dart up high. The girl was looking skyward to see it, and it came down - right through her eye.  

Fortunately, people at the party had the presence of mind to call 911, stabilize the dart and NOT remove it.  A scan revealed that it had penetrated her brain, but skilled doctors (with the help of machines that enabled them to see inside her skull) were able to remove it without causing further brain injury.  She was very lucky - or incredibly unlucky, depending how you view it. It was just a game of lawn darts.

I have wondered if the lawn dart injury really was just an unpreventable fluke event or, if someone at the party had be alert to the possible dangers, could the accident have been avoided?  I like to think we have at least some control over our fate. That is why I worry!

Some Potential Risks of Summer 

The following list is not intended to take the fun out of your holiday weekend or your summer - sorry if it feels that way! Know some of the potential risks of summer though, we can take precautions to minimize them:

• Alcohol - a little alcohol can impair our judgement and make us clumsy and accident prone. Too much can lead to alcohol poisoning and even death.   

-Assign a designated driver for all motorized vehicles (including water crafts) and be wary around others who are drinking. 

-Know your limits. Learn more about alcohol consumption here.

-Teach your kids to never ride in a vehicle operated by someone intoxicated. 

-Call 911 if a friend is unarousable after drinking too much.

• Bears and other wild animals 

-when hiking in areas where there may be bear or other wild animals, be sure to make noise (sing, clap or talk loudly) so as not to surprise them.  Never intentionally approach a wild animal.

-never keep food in or near your tent when camping. 

• Bee Stings, insect bites and ticks 

-Wear insect repellent and protective clothing. 

-Seek medical treatment for signs of allergic reaction, infection or rash if bitten or stung. MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia provides a good summary of information regarding symptoms, first aid, and when to call 911. 

• Boating and water sport accidents 

-Wear a life jacket!   

-Heed the alcohol warning above. 

-Have the necessary knowledge and skills for these activities.

• Fireworks - I personally know people who have suffered severe burns and amputations as a result of fireworks.  The dangers are real.  

-Watching a professional display is safer (and in many places more legal!) than setting off fireworks in your backyard. 

-Sparklers can and do cause burns - despite the fact that we allow small children play with them.

• Food poisoning

- Keep foods like potato salad cold!  Use good food handling precautions.

-The Partnership for Food Safety Education has a website that provides a wealth of information about safe food handling. Their fact sheet, “Seven Super Steps to Safe Food In the Summer” is worth reading for the food precaution reminders it provides.

• Getting lost 

-When hiking, always let someone know of your route and the approximate time you expect to be back.

 -Inexperienced hikers should stay on marked trails.  

 -Teach your children basic survival skills such as to “hug a tree” if they get separated from you, so they can easily be found by retracing your steps. 

• Lawn Darts - enough said.

• Lawn Mowing

-Wear sturdy shoes to prevent slipping, and to protect feet from blades of the mower

-Protective eyewear can protect eyes from debris that flies up from the mower

-Use extreme caution around the blades of the mower.  Even when the engine is not running they can still move and cause severe injury.  

• Motor Vehicle accidents (cars, bikes, boats, ATVs, etc.) 

-The article Teens and Summer Driving on the blog Two Teens and Their Mama offers some really good information for parents of teens.

-Use extreme caution when backing up a vehicle.  In the summer, kids and pets are outside a lot - be sure they are not behind your vehicle before you move it. 

 -Heed the alcohol warning above

•  Over-exertion and heat exhaustion - Summer can make us feel like a kid again.  

-Unless you have been active all winter, approach physical activity gradually.

-Maintain adequate fluid intake to stay hydrated.

-Know the signs and symptoms of a heat emergency, and what to do if one occurs.  

•  Sunburn and skin cancer

- Wear sunscreen! Reapply often! 

• Water Safety

-Fence pool areas and never allow children to be near them or any body of water unsupervised

-Be cautious about crossing streams - the current can be much stronger than it looks

-Wear a life vest when boating

-Never swim alone, even if you are a good swimmer. Beware of ocean riptides. 

-Teach children about water safety and how to swim. 

• Wild Fires - Nature does cause some wildfires, but thousands of acres and forests burn needlessly every year, caused by the careless discard of a cigarette, a camp fire that was not properly extinguished, fireworks that sparked a grass fire, or other human error.  

-Take all proper precautions to prevent any fires from occurring.

-Please always heed fire restrictions during fire season. 

This list is long but by no means exhaustive. Many dangers lurk in the months to come. The best advice is just to always use common sense.

I didn't even mention the risk of this activity!

Have FUN - but be SMART!

Disclaimer:  This post is not intended to provide medical advice or to be a complete educational resource, but rather merely a thought provoking attempt to increase awareness of a need for safety during summer activities. 

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 Decorate for the 4th of July Without Spending a Dime

Yesterday's post was about celebrating Canada Day, but as I am also American, my home is now decorated for the Fourth of July!

My Independence Day table decoration

Are you wanting to add a patriotic touch to your home, but don't want to go shopping or spend a lot of money?  No problem.  Just look at what you already have for inspiration.  Most of us own some items that are red, white and blue. When grouped together, they can instantly add an Independence Day decor to your home.  For example:

Perhaps you already have a wreath decorating your door.   I like to repurpose wreaths so they can be used for more than just one season.  Adding red, white and blue ribbons to an existing wreath for an all-American touch is easy to do.  Making a few changes to mine took less than ten minutes.

Before photo: my wreath for Spring/ Early summer

After photo: I removed some flowers and added ribbons

Do you have a marble collection?  Pick out the red, white and blue ones, put them in the bottom of a pretty glass and use it as your table centerpiece, or as a weight to keep the napkins from blowing away outside.  Red, white and blue curling ribbons nestled in an interesting glass or vase makes a nice little decoration as well.

This handblown glass becomes festive when filled with ribbons

If you have any American flags, large or small, there's no better time to display them! 

I had to wait for a bit of wind to calm before photographing my flag!

Look through your table linens, dishes, candles and serving pieces.  Use whatever red, white and blue items you have - even those that you might not normally use together will look right on Independence Day. I have six star-shaped candles, two red, two white and two blue.  I've used them at Christmas time, but the three colors displayed together can almost be heard cheering “U.S.A.”  

Your garden may provide just what you need.  White lupine, a blue iris and a red peony are the focus of my table centerpiece this year.

These red, white and blue flowers bloomed at just the right time!

Consider using items from other rooms in the house to decorate your table.  My home decor is sort of rustic Western.  I like using a red and blue bandana for a table runner in July.   I once couldn't resist purchasing a discounted pair of cowboy boots. They turned out to be so uncomfortable they have never been worn - but they make a fun flower holder.  These items may not look right in your home - but I bet you have other possessions that would!

The perfect indoor or outdoor decoration!

With luck, the weather during any events you host this weekend will turn out to be beautiful.  If so - just move your centerpiece outdoors!

Have fun!

What is your favorite holiday decoration?

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

Happy Canada Day!

To celebrate Canada's birthday, I am sharing the recipe for a cake I created yesterday.  It has a notoriously Canadian maple flavor and resembles the Canadian flag.

Maple Walnut Cake with Maple Icing

I have mentioned previously that I have dual American-Canadian citizenship. Living in the United States, we don't typically celebrate Canada Day - but I usually at least recognize it in my heart.

Canada Day is celebrated on July 1st every year. It was originally called “Dominion Day,” because Canada became an independent, self-governed dominion of England on July 1st, 1967. According to the Government of Canada's Canadian Heritage website, in 1982 the name of this National holiday was changed to Canada Day.

Canada is still a very young country.  I am old enough to remember celebrating her 100th birthday in 1967; less than a decade later we celebrated the Bicentennial of the United States.

This year, partly so I would have something Canadian to blog about, I decided to make a special dessert for Canada Day. I wanted something that would 

• be attractive to photograph 
• represent Canada well
• taste delicious.  

I finally decided that I would make a maple-flavored cake, because Canada is known for its maple syrup.  

Yesterday was busy, so I just doctored a cake mix, using about the same amount of maple flavoring and nuts that I would use in a maple-nut muffin recipe. 

I did make the icing from scratch. I improvised a buttercream frosting - I think the recommendation is 1-part butter to 2-parts icing sugar, but today I used 1-part butter to 3-parts icing sugar, and it turned out well.  I added maple syrup instead of my usual splash of milk, to give the frosting a natural subtle maple flavor. 

This cake would be delicious undecorated, but in honor of Canada Day, I used some red icing and frosted it to look like a Canadian Flag. It really wasn't very hard to do.  In fact, it turned out well enough that I wish I was going to a party, so I could take it there!

Here is how I made it:

Maple Walnut Cake with Maple Icing

Pre-heat oven according to cake-mix directions.

Grease 9x13 inch pan according to cake mix instructions.

Prepare a maple leaf template

•  by printing out a free template from the internet (as long as copyright allows) 
• by tracing a design that would nicely fit in the center of the cake.  

Note: A simple design that has straight rather than curly leaf edges is easiest to use. 
Once you decide on a template, carefully cut it out to use as a guide for icing the cake.  

I scanned the maple leaf tracing that I used, but you may need to adjust the size to fit your pan if you use this one.

Maple Walnut Cake (ingredients and directions)

Yellow cake mix
3 eggs
1/3 cup butter
1/cup water
1 tablespoon imitation maple flavor
1 cup chopped walnuts

Mix and bake cake according to cake mix directions, but also add 1 cup of chopped walnuts and 1 tablespoon imitation maple flavoring. Bake as directed. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack.  Place on serving tray when cool.

Maple Buttercream Icing (ingredients and directions)

1 cup butter, softened
3 cups icing sugar
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. red food coloring paste

Beat butter until very soft with electric mixer.  Add icing sugar slowly, beat until well incorporated.  Add maple syrup. Beat well
Divide icing into two roughly equal batches.  Add enough food coloring paste to one batch to dye it a deep red, blend very well.

This photo shows the paper template, metal spatulas, and thin knife I used to mark the flag design and ice the cake.

How to ice a cake with a Canadian Flag design:

• Using the narrow side of the cake mix box as a guide, lightly draw a line down either side of the cake with a sharp knife. 

• Carefully lay the maple leaf template in the center of the cake.  Using a sharp knife, gently trace lightly around the template.  Remove template.

• Place a dab of red icing in the middle of the leaf. Gently use a narrow metal spatula to spread and push the icing out towards the outline of the leaf.  Take your time, and just nudge it so it fills in the areas within the lines you have drawn.  
• Add more icing as needed and always work from the inside to the outside of the design.

• When red areas of flag pattern (maple leaf, and left /right sections on top and sides of cake) are all completely filled in with red icing, clean spatula and let icing set a little.

• Carefully place dabs of white icing in spaces of cake not yet iced, and gently use narrow metal spatula to nudge this so it fills in blank areas.  

• Be careful not to get any red icing on your spatula, or mixed in with the white icing.  If this occurs, immediately scrape blended part carefully off, clean spatula and resume icing.  

Minor imperfections will add to the charm of the cake, so don't worry if everything doesn't end up completely smooth and perfect!

Oh Canada - Happy Canada Day!

Enjoy. 

 Happy Birthday Canada!

#CanadaDay

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

Like a Girl - and Proud of It.

“You run like a girl.  You hit like a girl. You fight like a girl.”

The appropriate response to any of these statements is simply, “thank you.” Though comments like these are sometimes said tauntingly, there is no insult in being told you do something “like a girl.”  Just watch Missy Franklin swim a race or Abby Wambach play soccer if you doubt this.

The Proctor and Gamble owned “Always” brand has launched a campaign to change this way of thinking.  They recently produced a video interviewing young girls about what it means to do some things “like a girl.” I saw this video last week for the first time when my daughter shared it on Facebook, and it brings tears to my eyes each time I watch it.  I hope every girl everywhere gets a chance to see it.  I hope you watch it here now.  It is worth your time.



My daughter joined a swim team when she was seven years old and now swims competitively in college.  Throughout middle school, most of her classmates had never seen her swim. Some of the boys would joke with her that swimming wasn’t very hard.  Their eighth grade graduation celebration was at a pool. Several boys challenged my daughter to a race, thinking they could easily beat her.  A few of the smarter ones realized, when they saw her enter the pool in her suit, cap and goggles that perhaps they were no match for her - and backed down.  The one who decided to race her didn't stand a chance.   They all learned something that day.

The ridiculous stereotype that has been associated with “like a girl” is being challenged and changed by girls everywhere.  I know, because my daughter is one of them.  So, if someone tells you that you do something “like a girl,” just take the advice of the girl in the blue dress in the video: “Keep doing it, it’s working.”

My daughter is proud to do everything just #Like a Girl 

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Celebrating the 100th Post On This Blog Today!

100

One hundred is a significant number.  For example:

People who celebrate their 100th birthday receive recognition on Good Morning America.
The metric system and our currency are both based on increments of 100.
We talk about “going 100 miles an hour.”
We often strive for 100% of something.

This is the 100th post I have written for this blog, since it began 106 days ago.

I feel like I should throw a party.
Or something.

The 100th day of school is celebrated with activities and parties.  (I once even wrote some ideas of how to do that.)  But - the 100th post on a blog?  I'm not sure of the right way to celebrate! 

So, I guess I will just make a comment about it here, spend some time figuring out why some of my 100 posts were better than others, and feel grateful for all the good things I've discovered about blogging.

Then, I will write post number 101!

Three months ago, 100 posts seemed like a lot.  Now it feels like I am just getting started. 

Thank you for reading and commenting, whether this is your first visit to my website or you have been a loyal reader all along. I hope you visit often and follow this blog - either by email, on Google+, Bloglovin, Facebook, or in your RSS feed. (You will find lots of easy options on the sidebar). 

Like my peony bush, with buds just getting ready to bloom, I am looking forward to this blog continuing to grow and hopefully getting better every day!

I'm looking forward to seeing these buds and my blog continue to bloom.

Have you read many of my posts? Do you have a favorite?