Sled Cookies

I saw these on Pininterest, and knew I had to copy it. So easy, two mini candy canes, glued together with a dab of frosting, a mini Milky Way, split in two; a Teddy Graham cracker stuck between both pieces of Milky Way, and glued onto the Candy Canes. Then let dry overnight.

More fabulous cookies and such

At Farmer's Daughter!

From Candle Wreath to Door Wreath

My Wreath

Mom's Wreath

I found some "Candle Wreaths" at Trader Joe's. Not liking to put a flame surrounded by highly flammable pine needles, but liking the size of the wreath, I took them home and made two wreaths - one for me and one for Mom. (I like the smaller size because it fits in the window in my front door, Mom likes it because it doesn't hide her apartment numbers). Anyway I added bows found at Dollar Tree. Two Wreaths for less than the price of one!

Another Alternative Christmas Tree

 was perusing the internet, as I do, and I found this unique Christmas tree made of Driftwood on instructables, made and constructed by mcorbin. And I for one like it. Maybe time to take the dogs down to Seahurst Park for a walk on the beach and collect some driftwood!

Happy Thanksgiving folks!

A joke from my Uncle Art -

Happy Thanksgiving folks!

A young man named John received a parrot named ' Chief ' as a gift. The parrot had a bad attitude and an even worse vocabulary. Every word out of the bird's mouth was rude, obnoxious and laced with profanity. John tried and tried to change the bird's attitude by consistently saying only polite words, playing soft music and anything else he could think of to 'clean up' the bird's vocabulary. Finally, John was fed up and he yelled at the parrot. The parrot yelled back; John shook the parrot and the parrot got angrier and even ruder. John, in desperation, threw up his hand, grabbed the bird and put him in the freezer.

For a few minutes the parrot squawked and kicked and screamed. Then suddenly there was total quiet. Not a peep was heard for over a minute. Fearing that he'd hurt the parrot, John quickly opened the door to the freezer.

The parrot calmly stepped out onto John's outstretched arms and said, 'I believe I may have offended you with my rude language and actions. I'm sincerely remorseful for my inappropriate transgressions and I fully intend to do everything I can to correct my rude and unforgivable behavior. ' John was stunned at the change in the bird's attitude. As he was about to ask the parrot what had made such a dramatic change in his behavior, the bird continued,

'May I ask what the turkey did? '

Thanksgiving Movies

I know Thanksgiving is time for family and feasting. But sometimes you gotta watch a movie. So I thought I would give out some of my recomendations:

Home for the Holidays: A thanksgiving tradition round here... It has all the elements of a traditional Thanksgiving- An overbearing mother, a gay brother, a Bitchy sister. Don't know if you would call it a comedy, dramady or drama with many funny scenes- Holly Hunter and Anne Bancroft are amazing, Cynthia Stevenson gives a great performance, And of course with Robert Downey JR you got no complaints. Look for Geraldine Page to give a great comic performance. Highly recommended by me.

Pieces of April is a great thanksgiving movie, with stellar performances by Oliver Platt, Patricia Clarkson and a really good performance by a young Katie Holmes before Tom Cruise killed her very promising career.  This movie is more of a study of family and family roles. Sounds depressing? It isn't. Not the happiest holiday movie, but I don't think it is intended to be,

You think old Rob wouldn't recomend something for the kiddies? Well think again. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving gives you all the old standards of a Charlie Brown TV special- Snoopy and Woodstock, CB, Linus and Lucy and of course fantastic music by Vince Guaraldi. Best thing is you won't have to rent it. According to IMDB it is on ABC Wed, November 21 and again on the 22nd at 8:00PM.

REBLOG- Hunting the Wild Tofurkey

From November 15, 2010- Before the upcoming holiday, I thought this should be looked at again. Come and explore with me while I try my first "TOFURKEY" and was amazed that I actually liked it! 

 For my mother- Ok, Mom. So I bought a ToFurkey. Deal with it. Get over it. I am not swearing off turkey (or chicken, duck or goose) I just thought I would try this TOFURKEY to see if I liked it.

My mom's first reaction was "you're such a bleeding heart". Which pissed me off. Since when is entertaining the idea of not killing a bird for a meal make you a "bleeding heart?" Really, mother? You are the one who raised me to eat different foods and trying other's cultures, not keeping a closed mind. Well anyway I have ranted enough about mother.
So I had this TOFURKEY to cook. It had wild rice stuffing already in it. So I Just followed the directions on the package and roasted it for an hour and a half. I have to say - the texture is meat like and very pleasing; the aroma is very good; my tofurkey roll came stuffed and with gravy- the stuffing was unbelievably tasty, the gravy, as with most "store bought gravies" was a little salty. And best of all Tofurkey passed the "sandwich-ability test" Made a great sandwich the next day! So I would definitely buy it again and I would definitely serve it to guests! And lets talk affordability- I bought a "6 serving" tofurkey, it comes with Stuffing and gravy for under $10 at Trader Joes- that comes to a measly $1.67 per serving!

TASTE- 8 out of 10
Texture- 8 Out of 10
"Sandwich-ability" 8 out of 10
Cost- 9 out of 10
So in short, The TOFURKEY Surpassed my expectations! A few turkeys are breathing a sigh of relief!
Whatsmore? There are tremendous recipes on the inter-webs for some amazing things to so with your Tofurkey, you can deep fry it, use the left overs in a stroganoff. Makes a Meat Free Monday so much more interesting!

REBLOG: Holiday Favorites

I am reblogging this particular post,from 12/21/2011, as I plan on doing a "Grinch" Tree this year and thought since yesterday we talked about alternative Christmas tress, it would be fitting to share this post again

Every year it happens - people post some of the most creative things. Here are my Favorites for this year...

Photo by Garden Therapy.ca

Ok, if I had seen this Grinch Tree prior to putting up my artificial one, I would have done it as well. I am loving this whimsical tree that  you can plant after the Holiday

 I have an old sled, made by my grandpa for my dad, used later for ME by my mom to cart her baby to the town grocery and post office (they installed a wooden box on it) and I still have the sled! While it is too big to use as a centerpiece in my dining room, it could be used to put my grinch tree on next year! I love this centerpiece from Tammy Hodges, one of my fellow contributors at Junkmarket Style!

This little "Solar-Powered Santa" can be found at Instructables.com. Even with a pompom instead of an LED light, he would be a jolly old elf to put on my tree!

Looks like I will be busy next year. I know how to make tied dyed looking glass ornaments with clear glass ornaments and tempera paints, but ChrysN explains how to make these cool ornaments with Sharpies and Rubbing Alcohol!

 Finally, we come to another sled- an ornament made from popsicle sticks!

ReBlog: Christmas Tree Alternatives

From December 02, 2011, a look at some Christmas Tree Alternatives... 

 

Every year the debate starts about this time- Which is better? Real or Fake? Which is more ecological, greener or cheaper. And every year I get into the fray. Well this year i have a new answer... NEITHER!
let me 'splain... I have nothing against real trees. Just that every year the news media has a story about some poor bastard whose house has burnt down. I just don't like the fire factor. So I thought I would post a few alternatives to look into:

BOTTLE TREES- what better than a tree made out of your wine bottles? Actually these have gained some popularity over the years, and can look quite festive! The Bottle Tree store has many to choose from, including a DIY kit. And I think these are good looking enough to keep around all year!

CARDBOARD TREES- These are cool as well. You can decorate them with markers, photos or what ever comes to your imagination! You can decorate one and send it to someone special, a grandparent, a son or daughter away at college, a service man, a loved one far away.

METAL TREES Yes I said metal. I have seen a few ornament trees around and they can be pricey. But I found mine (at the top of this post) at Big Lots for $10!

Of course there are natural alternatives like Living Christmas trees, the advantage being you can plant the tree after the holiday. Or how about decorating an existing house plant? Or a smelly Rosemary plant (they can look like pine trees) I have done both of these and loved the look.

JAR GIFTS

Good things come in jars. Or so I am told. I have been finding interesting things to give in jars, besides cookie mixes.
One spot I have found is Tip Junkie... 37 Recipes How To Make Gifts In Jars

Sewing Kit in a Jar from Tip Junkie

Over at Instructables, crea8tor shows how to make Sunshine In Jar

Instructable's Sun In a Jar

Those looking for something natural to give can give The Flower Girl's Garden in a Mason Jar

Leash Holder frame

I needed someplace to put up a hook to place my Dog leashes after their walk. So I got this idea after perusing the internet for plaques with hooks.

• Simple to do- just purchase an unfinished picture frame, I got mine at Michaels  Finish the frame first ( I did mine after as 1-I just used spray Laquer and wanted to laquer the tiles as well) 
• 2- glue some Scrabble tiles for a name or message
• 3- Add decorative hooks to frame for hanging things.

This could be a perfect gift for a new pet owner or a good friend who loves their four legged friends.

FOUND DOG:

FOUND DOG:

I know he looks like Romeo. But since Romeo is sitting at my feet I am sure he isn't/. This Poodle/Bichon Frise was found running along Highway 509. From the 3 retriever's blog:

"This small dog was running up and down the 509 freeway in Burien before Three Retrievers caught him in a humane trap.  He had been seen in the area of Des Moines Way and S. 168th St. for at least two days.  If he is your dog, or you know where he lives, please call Three Retrievers at 206-552-0304, or email Jim@3retrievers.com .

Rocking Knit

This would be right up my alley. I could hire lots of seniors to produce stocking hats and all they have to do is sit and read or watch TV.  SOMEONE FROM ENGINEERING GET IN HERE - STAT!

 A spool of yarn feeds a geared mechanism on top that slowly knits a wool tube descending towards whoever's keeping it powered. When it's large enough for your noggin', you just need to tie off the top. It's another one of those art for art's sake projects that will at least earn a design student their degree. But as functional furniture goes, this one's hard to beat. As seen on GIZMODO

Functional Art

Sorry about the bad picture, but I had to share my latest. I just love functional art. So this framed jean pocket phone charger has my name on it. Easy to make- just take a nice picture frame, take out the mounting board and cut the jean pocket out of the rear of a an old pair of blue jeans. Drill a hole in the mounting board, allowing the pocket to cover it, and mark the pocket on the inside where the charging cord should come through. Then glue the jean pocket to the mounting board. I used white glue, and just brushed it on the board and place the pocket on the board, but I could imagine a spray adhesive would work just as well. After the glue dries, put the mounting board in the frame, lock and hang. The cool thing is a new no sew use for a pair of old worn out jeans. I think this would make a great Christmas gift for anyone!

DIY Art Part Two

Another instant DIY art project, Using stickers and spray paint/And this time a nice frame!