One Person ...

CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

I've witnessed it with my own eyes!

I went camping with my old Cub Scout Pack this year. They have been asking me to join them for the last couple of years & the boys schedule had just not allowed me to do so. This year, however, I was able to join them. It was great to go back to NoBe. It is one beautiful camp area; if you can get by the fact that that's where the original Friday The Thirteenth was filmed at and our boys sleep in that cabin...yikers!

The Pack Committee had new requirements this year for all campers (Cubs & family members). All were to bring a mess kit with them. I never did that when I was Cub Master. I figured the kids were too young. When I camped with the WEBELOS at WEBOREE, I did make it mandatory. Stepping stone into Boy Scouts.

This is the "mess kit" I took with me for the weekend. The plate came from the dollar store. The cup came from Campmor, purchased years ago. The utensils came from Campmor - a gift to the boys from us when they joined the Troop. The utensils slide into each other nicely. The knife has a small serrated edge on it. I give these utensils to the winners of our Virtual BINGO each February & March.Let me tell you what -- I am so sorry I did not require all my Cubs to bring mess kits when we went camping as a Pack. The amount of garbage we came home from with 100 people was overwhelming. *shaking head*

The Pack went camping last year with about 30 people. They brought home 12 bags of garbage. This year they went camping with 75 people and brought home 6 bags of garbage. That's right, folks. 6 bags!!!!

They more than DOUBLED the participants but the more impressive fact is that they more than HALVED the garbage. Some of the mess kits did not come with drinking cups & not all brought drinking cups. The Pack has already figured out that they will buy some cheap plastic cups & sell them for $1.00 to all who do not bring or who forgot their own cups next year.

So let's do the math here.

Year 2008 (actual) == 30 people brought home 12 bags of garbage.

Year 2009 (estimate) == 75 people should bring home 30 bags of garbage.

Year 2009 (actual) == 75 people brought home 6 bags of garbage.

2008 -- almost a half a bag of garbage per person was brought home from a 2 day camping trip.

2009 -- One tenth (estimate) of a bag of garbage per person was brought home from a 2 day camping trip. It actually comes out to 12.5 people per bag of garbage for a two day camping trip.

If my math is right, I think they cut their garbage down by a whopping 80% just by using mess kits!!! That is something to share!!!

The savings both financially & environmentally were phenomenal. The responsibility boys gained and green lesson learned

-- PRICELESS --

Forgive Me Mother, For...

...I have sinned.

I just couldn't help myself.

Oh, just what is a daughter to do? *wailing*

I know I broke the cardinal rule regarding them today.

But...But...But...if I had not done it, (insert pouty face), the digits would have been most uncomfortable. (and that would have lead to unfocused attention on the game & that would have been unacceptable)
Yes.... I am very well aware of the time, experience, patience & love that went into them. As you made what? At least twenty pair of them that year? (that was a lot of knitting on teeny tiny knitting needles - * respectfully bowing to you*)

I should not have abused them the way I did. *sad face*

I am sorry - my feet, however, are not - *trying to stop those very Feet from doing the Warm Happy Feet Jig*

But...But...But...it was cold and damp with a light misty rain. (looking for some sympathy here, folks)


Yes indeed, Maple Leaf Red is hanging her head in shame...

...For wearing the hand knit socks from her Mom - (argggg... it even hurts to write the actual words) - IN BOOTS, yup that's right - BOOTS. They were lovingly made to be used as slippers ONLY. * deep sigh*

As a matter of a fact, I chewed out the oldest son when he did this same thing last winter.
*showing Mom I am a good daughter & parent* (Here Maple Leaf Red is acting as a responsible adult = trying to get back on the "good side" of her mom *nodding* , however, MLR knows her Mom is not really falling for any of this at all *sigh*)


The socks are so precious & warm, I want them to last forever...but if I fear those feet of mine will force me to continue down this evil path of wearing them with shoes or boots, which in turn will lead to an early demise of my favorite socks - *tearing up at the thought*

...And I am pretty sure there are no more coming my way anytime soon. *crying* (And I am not a sock kind of knitter)

Wait...Wait...Wait... Each of my boys also received a hand knit pair of socks as well...Do you think any of them would notice if their "Gramma Sox" all of a sudden "went missing" due to some kind of laundry mishap? (and EVERYONE knows MLR is not very good with everyday household chores) *mischievously rubbing hands together, supporting a somewhat lopsided evil grin while Feet are continuing on with the Warm Happy Feet Jig*

Well, Well Lookie Here...

I found a Guerilla Garden!

Right in my town!!

How exciting is that?

This garden is in a sidewalk.

Here is another one out back near the Parking Lot.

Here is the seed packet of what has been planted. Since my knowledge of foreign languages is quite limited...well honesty it is just plain terrible (I know but one language - the one I am using now), and I could not "read" the package & there was no picture of the final product, I questioned shop keepers directly and asked what they were growing.

They said it is similiar to cantelope. When it turns yellow it is ready for harvest. When I looked at them last week, they were still as green as the leaves, so they starting to ripen quite nicely.

I hope they enjoy their harvest!

You all should keep those peepers wide open...as there are surprises everywhere!

Breakfast Of Champs

The High Schooler started 2-A-Days this week for soccer. He practices from 8 AM to 10 AM then back at 4 PM to 6 PM, 6 days a week. Here is his breakfast each morning. He needs something in his stomach before he goes to practice that wont make him sick. He is 16 and is hungry when he wakes up! So the Jello puts a little something in the belly and, of course, the Advil is for the aching muscles that will follow after practice. He has had raspberry, orange & grape...I am saving his favorite - strawberry banana for Saturday - this strategy I believe will get a big "I love You Mommy" from him on Saturday *nodding*. You see, during this week, no soccer balls are used in the AM session...FITNESS drills only! (I use this same philosophy for mammograms as well, take pain medicine BEFORE you go, ladies...although the mammogram places are not allowed to tell you this as they do not know your medical history... it will make your day by far, less painful).
This, I found out today, is what is being had for lunch by High Schooler...HELLOOOO...we are trying to get into better physical shape right now...how 'bout a salad, some fruit, or maybe some yogurt with cereal...Jeeeeezzzzz.

*shrugging shoulders* Awww heck...I love the kid anyway! I just can't help myself....

Chippies

These are homemade potato chips. I made them in the microwave. They are tasty, tasty tasty!
They taste nothing like the ones we buy in the store. So much fresher!

Here is the stuff I used. A russet potato, seasoned salt, a grater & microwave (not pictured...LOL). I washed the potato, then sliced it on that horrible slicer. Sprayed a glass plate with cooking spray; arranged potato slices on plate; sprinkled with salt, too much on first batch...oops. Put in microwave for 2 minutes. They aren't the crispiest, but that's probably because I didn't nuke them long enough. But I had read others had trouble with the potatoes sticking to the plate so I didn't want to test my luck.

I have discovered in the past couple of weeks, my kitchen does not have tools I properly require to cook with anymore. No meat mallet; hubby flattened pork chops with a hammer from his tool box last week & now this crappy slicer. Now I used to have a cheap mandolin somewhere. But I must have tossed it, (I know, I know - those that been in my house wont believe that I actually threw anything away), when I discovered the complicated tastes the boys had for food when they were younger - Kraft Mac-N-Cheese; chicken nuggets, pizza; etc.

The other day I had stopped at a friends house just before dinner & she was making home fries. Thinly sliced fresh potatoes, sliced red onion & olive oil. They smelled delicious! Another reason for me to get a good slicer! *nodding* ( I can only hope all I left her was the paperwork I had & not the nasty cold I came down with the next day!)

I think these will make an excellent healthy after school snack & morning snack at school ( we have new lunch schedule this year - recess before lunch - my boys will be starving by the time they get to eat lunch). I am also going to try sweet potatoes seasoned with cinnamon sugar.

And boys -- NO trading!

Summer Dinner

Here are the ingredients. Tuna fish made with celery, pickle relish and Hellman's; Miracle Whip; fresh local tomato; iceberg lettuce and bread. Why both mayo and salad dressing, you are probably asking? Because my husband and I are both stubborn when it comes to those items. He grew up on Mayo, I grew up on Miracle Whip - neither one of us has been able to succumb to the other's taste after all these years. People have looked at me funny in the grocery store for years when I have both of them in my cart - years ago I just told them we were "newlyweds". They grinned. Now, I just say the hubby is a stubborn old man set in his ways...conveniently forgetting to mention that I am the same way....hehehe. They still grin.




The next step...toast the bread and coat with Miracle Whip.


Add some lettuce and a dab of Miracle Whip.



Now here is the secret...ADD more lettuce and more Miracle Whip. One MUST have the Miracle Whip between the layers of lettuce. *nodding head*



Add the locally grown tomato and tunafish. That tomato looks delish! (Come on now guys, mouths should be watering). Almost finished.

Cut in half and place on plate for adult presentation.



Here is the child presentation, cut in quarters. Now, a little pretending here, please. See those toothpicks, YOU ALL need to imagine they are the frilly colored kind. Cause everyone knows, kids eat most anything if it looks fun and nice. (Good trick to remember if you are a new parent). Guess that's why I had no frilly toothpicks to be found in my house today. I've been sneaky in the past way too many times with my boys...hehehe.

In the middle of the plate is a dessert bowl filled with Granny Smith Apples sprinkled with cinnamon sugar mixture - 3 parts sugar, 1 part cinnamon. And once again, I know you are all seeing a FRILLY toothpick there, not a plain boring one. Not really sure how tunafish and cinnamon apples will taste together...my thoughts on this are that they WON'T taste good together, but who am I? *shrugging shoulders* But the presentation sure does look good! That, you must agree with.

It is just too hot to cook tonight. I had one of these for dinner tonight and it hit the spot. It was so good I decided to share. This is the second sandwich I made. I will eat that later.

While we are on topic of food, I encourage all to try to buy as many fruits and vegetables from your local farmers as possible, this season, if you are not growing your own. The food just tastes so much better! Tomatoes, corn, radishes, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, squash, cucumbers, berries and the list goes on & on. Go on Do It! You know you want to! You wont be disappointed, this I promise.

On a final note, the only thing better would have been a BLT. But, alas, no bacon in the house tonight. Also, I wished I'd had leaf lettuce straight from a garden. One my favorites from Mom's garden, as a kid. Well, the raw peas straight from the garden were pretty good, too. Mom used to get so mad at us girls. We'd snack on them (the peas) all day, only to discover Mom had planned to have peas with warm milk and butter (those were good, too, don't get me wrong), for dinner that night and there were not enough left in the garden, ooopsies. Sorry about that, Mom, but we just could not resist. Then we'd end of having something gross like spinach. Did we ever learn our lesson? Afraid not, for those peas were just too too tempting and ohhh so good and sweet.

And before anyone says anything... No, I am not getting paid to advertise Miracle Whip by using it in almost every single picture that has been posted on this page....hahahaha.

PLARNING

I made this set of bags for a Letterboxing Gather I will be attending next weekend..."Summer Is Here". I also sent one out to "Live And Breathe" last fall. I am hoping the hosts will use them as part of their raffle. I am also hoping there will be tickets in the cup for them. :-).

The crocheted bags are made of PLARN. For those of you not familiar with that term, I shall be happy to explain. It is the combination of two other words. PLAstic and yARN. Pictured below is a "ball of PLARN." not sure why, but that phrase suddenly strikes me as funny. *Maple Leaf Red chuckling to herself*

As you can plainly see, that ball of plarn is a little smaller than a standard sized basketball. I cut plastic bags into strips, knotted the strips together, rolled the strips into a ball, then crocheted a pattern using the PLARN. I roll a ball as big as my hands will allow. If you have rolled yarn before, you will know that the ball just becomes unmanageable after reaching a certain diameter. I stop winding when that ball gets too big for my one hand to hold. My plarn is made from "virgin" plastic bags - if there is such a thing- These plastic bags have never been used. They are leftovers from a Boy Scout project - "Scouting For Food". I have 2 boxes of them. That's about 2000 bags. Sheeez...I really need to get busy, eh? LOL.

I made all three bags from one ball -size shown above- of PLARN. One bag, the smallest, is big enough to hold a gift card. I hope the winner, should they use it as a Gift Card Bag, will let the recipient know that this bag should be "regifted" over & over again. Add a ribbon or a bow or a flower or a button & one has a unique bag every time it gets reused. The middle sized bag is big enough to hold 2 1-liter soda bottles. Personally, I would use this bag to carry around current yarn project. And the largest is well, the largest. Perfect for the grocery store.

Also, please note, I did say CROCHET here. I know others knit (and I do know how to both knit and crochet) with PLARN. I, myself, cannot imagine knitting with this stuff. It is not the most easiest of materials to work with. But hats off to you folks who can manage to knit with it!

One last thing, last year I gave a couple of gift bags to the 3 Blind Mice family as a thank you for hosting a Gather. He wrote to me earlier this year saying coworkers of his saw the bags & took the idea back down to New York City to share with some kids down there. Perfect! An inexpensive craft anyone can learn to do, the material is abundant & commonly found in just about every household. Keeping kids busy is not a bad thing, either.

For more information regarding how to make PLARN, peek around the Internet. There are some really great You Tube video's & some very easy & crafty patterns as well.

Winning...

It is July 20th and we still have not installed our window air conditioners! Hurray for us! I am so happy about NOT giving our local utility company $100.00 + more a month. We usually have the AC's up & running in May.

Granted, the weather has been very cooperative with us. No 90 degree days - well, I take that back we a couple back in April (?) - and we have not had much humidity. That is the key for us...no HUMIDITY! We have been in the 80's.

What have we done to keep ourselves comfortable you may ask?

1st off, I must let you know that our house is pretty well shaded by trees...about the only house in this neighborhood that still has shade trees. *nodding* I know one family cut down their 40 + year old Oak because the acorns were denting their car. HUH? I am not sure why others have cut their trees. Some, I know, where diseased & others had branches that were dangerously close to their homes - a good thunderstorm with high winds may have brought branches thru their roof...understandable.

So, we close all windows in the house by 10:30 AM as to not let the hot air into the house thru the windows.

We reopen windows when it is a little cooler outside than it is inside...time of day is different depending on temp for that day.

We are using window fans to suck that cooler air into the house as well. We close the bedroom doors while this is happening & the boys go to bed and actually are wrapped in their blanket when I check on them before I go to bed at night. The bedrooms are that cool!

I went out to get this "appliance" for us after Christmas. It is just a fancy teflon electric fry pan. My mom had gotten one for our beloved Richard (may he be resting in peace). I was immediately in love with it! Did we really need it? Probably not. One can get the same effect using a fry pan on the stove. My thoughts were it looks like it is fun to use and if my the boys think it is fun, they will use it by themselves. Was I correct in this thinking? YUP YUP YUP! Chalk one up for the Mom *wink wink*. (BTW....And who doesn't like a little Ribbon Candy during the Holidays? hehehe)

Cooking - I have 3 teenage boys to feed - We have been using the crockpot, stove & microwave. Unfortunately, our Propane gas grill no longer works. Salads, sandwiches, cereal have been on our menu as well. When we do use the stove, we have a fan set up in the dining room to blow the hot air out our back door. I cook up ground burger on cool days & throw it in the freezer. That way I dont have to cook it and then keep the stove on to cook the burger in whatever dish it is being used in...pasta dishes mostly. Rice is cooked in microwave.

This is an example of one of the many things we have "cooked" in our Christmas Appliance. A wrap, scrambled eggs, crumbled up Maple Flavored Sauage links, and cheese. We have also made pizzas, some kind of "sandwich" with SteakUms, Shredded Buffalo Chicken cooked in crockpot with cheese, ground beef, etc., etc. One is only limited by their imagination.

We have also been keeping no more than 4 of us in the house at one time. This is kind of unintentional, but it has made a difference. My oldest son works til 3:30 PM. My middle son has been going to the pool about 2:30. By the time the middle son gets home from the pool, the oldest one (the one that works til 3:30) has made plans to go out for the evening. The youngest boy & I have been having Rummikub Marathons outside in the front yard on a cardtable til dark, so our bodies are not in the house heating it up when "Pool Guy" and hubby are home.

So by the time all of us are back in the house, usually 10:00 PM the house is reasonably cooled down again.

We take WARM showers, not steaming HOT showers. The steam warms our house, as we live in a Ranch style home. A cold shower is no good for cooling...my thoughts on cold showers are that they actually make you feel hotter when you get out...your body has to work harder to get back up to it's normal temp (98.6 per "The Professionals" aka Doctors) and therefore you are expending energy which will in turn make you feel hotter. Expending Engery = Heat - if I recall my Chemistry lessons from High School. *shrugging shoulders* Like I said that just seems logical to me.

We also wear very little clothing. Boys are in boxers with no shirt. Hubby in shirt & shorts. Me - I am in skirt, a shirt, sandals, shorts, hair in pony tail, wicking shirts, shirts that "fit" but not alot of material - hubby seems to be enjoying these very much as I am usually known to show no skin at all in public...just ask anyone in town...LOL. I purchased a pair of knock off "crocs" back in the fall. I noticed every time I wore them my feet were cold. I wore them with socks all winter. I am now wearing them without socks and they seem to make me feel cooler - all in my head? who's to know, but it seems to be working so I am not complaining!

I have also come to freezing a Sunny D bottle with water in it and then putting it front of a fan and letting the condensation spray on those in front of the fan which cools us off as we walk by that particular fan.

I belong to a group on http://www.ravelry.com/ called Living Simply. I must admit some of the things we are doing came from that group. I found a great link(http://www.energyconservationinfo.org/summer2007.pdf) to a PDF file put out by our Government that was full of great advice. But the thing that impressed me the most about this particular file was that it was easy to read for all! As a matter of fact, I printed it out and am making my boys outline it for practice this summer (there is some cash incentive involved in this project...LOL).

I think I am going to try planting Morning Glory flowers next year near some of our windows. Beneficial to keeping sun out of windows. Will have to do some research on this idea as, we have shade on some of our windows for parts of the day. Critterliz planted some last year and had them running up and around her mailbox...what a lovely sight to the eyes when one drove by her house! Why not have them running up my house as well?

Should you have any advice for us, please post in the comment section. We just looked at the weather forecast, 74 tomorrow with rain, then 4 days of humid weather heading our way. We'll probably survive the first 2 days of the humid weather, but if the nights don't cool off...we are sunk and the Air Conditioners will go into our windows.

"R"

"REUSE"

You all can't imagine my glee when I saw this attached to the wall of my 16 year old's "territory" in our home.

This is the "guts" of a 3 ring binder that has been "REUSED" instead of going into the garbage and then to a landfill. It is being held to the wall with simple tacks (not sure how long it will stay; but dang, I am giving this teenager big points for the idea!). I know some are saying how insignificant, but I truly believe anything that can be "REUSED" and more importantly that is "REUSED", is a grand thing.

Now, what has happened to the rest of the binder, you all may be asking? I must be truthful and admit I have no idea! LOL.

And for any of those who may be interested...yes, the sling back bag is from the Red Bull Soccer Team...we have special fondness for this team as this teen was trained for 2 years by a Red Bull Goalie Trainer.

Dremelin' Along

I am responsible for this, I'll admit it.

Hubby purchased a dremel a couple of years ago. What a fun tool!!!! I just couldn't help myself. I carved and carved & carved. This is made of Black Birch. Friends of ours have land in the Catskills & this tree fell over during a storm. They cut it into pieces for me & I gladly hauled it home. I only worked on this less than a week. I first had to find the stencil. Then I drew shape on to bark. Then the fun began & I started carving with the dremel. Didn't take me long to realize I needed to wear some kind of eye protectant.

Now, I am not sure how many of you may or may not know, but birch bark & twigs smell like...
yup you guessed it....BIRCH BEER. I loved birch beer as a kid. It was always such a treat. Well, any kind of soda was a treat, but Birch Beer was by far my favorite!

I was quite sad when I finished as this project as it had been so delightful to both my sense of smell & sense of sight. I could not believe how nice it was coming out! Especially, for not having really ever used power tools of any kind before. I have since used a jig saw for some very nice Cub Scout projects. But really don't have much desire to use other powered tools -chain saw - no thanks; table saw - once again no thanks; power drill, power stapler, power hammer, power washer - yeah I'd probably be up to using those if the right projects came along.

My husband was kind enough to spray some kind of protectant on each piece. He also always remembers to put them in the garage each winter. So this will be our 3rd, maybe 4th summer with them displayed in our front yard. I will be sad to see them go when it is time.

Now how come none of you Scouters let us in on this tool secret when it came time for Pine Wood Derby? I never liked the Pine Wood Derby because I never felt it was a kid friendly building event. After I discovered the dremel, I took a 180 degree turn in that thinking. Of course, I only had one more car to make in our Scouting career. (We switched every 2 years back & forth from Pinewood to Rain Gutter Regatta).

BTW -- I had so much fun, I did try to carve a stamp or 2 with the dremel...nope not too successful...LOL. Dremel & rubber just didn't seem to be very compatible, at least for Maple Leaf Red.

Yarning II

This is my second baby security blanket. Well actually, I made these for my boys to snuggle with as well, but they were not infants at the time. The pattern is an easy peasy shawl. It is a simple knit, knit knit. It is loopy because of the needle size I used. This one is blue & made of a cotton blend. The first infant one I made was a cream color with a brown edging. The first one, the cotton is far more softer, but that yarn I bought at yarn shop & hunted & hunted for awhile with my mom before we found exactly what I was searching for. The colors matched the nursery (earthy tones) and the yarn purposely was "green" as I know the parents are concerned about everything this very special child has contact with!
The more each of these are washed the softer they will become! Luscious!

These are 2 cute little book worms I have made. The book is a mystery regarding knitting & crocheting. Something along the lines of a "teacup" mystery. Not so sure I really enjoy the writing, but it is not a book I have to really focus on to get what is happening. Sometimes we need simplicity in our lives.

Here is a whole family of bookworms. I will give these to our PTA to sell at our annual Holiday Sale in November. Each one takes about 10 to 15 minutes to make. I used variegated yarn as I am hoping that will appeal most to elementary school aged children.

I also made some for a dear friend, (we are going to call her Bull Dog - 4 foot 3 inches tall, but jeez don't mess with anyone she cares for cause she will take you on and you will probably be surprised with the end results), who has been great company my mom for the last couple of months while Mom has been recovering from a difficult personal experience. Bull Dog has an annual Craft Fair at her place of work each year. I figured these would sell quickly because they are cute & cheap!! Bull Dog can always use some extra spending money.

Cute lil fella don't you think?

Why I Letterbox

And thus begins the tale of my Fall 2008 Letterboxing Adventures in Central New York...

One never knows what one will "happen upon" when letterboxing. I snapped this picture last fall while boxing in CNY with CritterLiz. We were "detouring" - although we did not know that at the time - and came across this home. Now, I've seen many things attached to homes for decorations, but gosh darn it this one just "creeps" me out a bit! I can't help but giggle; and yet at the same time wonder what they may have attached to their home during the winter months....

Some situations are just so funny!! You have to love the humor of this "Port-A-John" company! This Potty has been set very close and when I say close, I mean CLOSE to a Propane tank...how can one not but giggle just thinking about the placement of the john and the many forms of "Gas" there are in our world....

While we are the subject of "gas". I snapped this one at dusk once again while "detouring" around the Cortland area. When someone mentions Cortland to me, I think College Hockey, Cortland College, Cuzin Scott (he went to college there), farms. Although, why this work of "art" surprises me so much, I am not sure. As farming & gas do go together!

Speaking of "Art", what a lovely surprise we had when we decided to hunt for one box. This is a family "Art Gallery" at an abandoned farm, where all art is made from scrap metal. I believe they also have a place down in North Carolina. AMAZING AMAZING pieces of art on display here! Unfortunately, all pieces of art for purchase were beyond my budget, maybe I'll be able to purchase when "Pigs Fly". But I sure did appreciate the talent!!! Lots of ahhhs and ohhhs from our entire party.

What can I say but, "When Pigs Fly"

This excursion happened in the Fall of 2008, but recapping it just now has brought many smiles and giggles to my face. We had one really tough challenge at a park. We actually played a relay style game of jumping over each other to find this particular box because there were so many people in the park. We had all the kids lying down at all the benches in the park and we played the "caterpillar" relay game. We finally found the "box"...only to discover it was a GEOCACHE; then we had to play an obnoxious game of "toss" the ball to get the people to leave the bench so we could replace the geocache at one end of the bench & retrieve the letterbox that was on the OTHER end of the bench. Fun Fun Fun & made us use inventive styles of hunting...LOL.

I wish to thank all the planters in this area for giving us a great adventure that weekend. To name just a few..Scout, Red Barn Photos, Lock Wench, AceoHearts, etc., etc. This was one road trip CritterLiz & I will never forget. If any of you get the chance to box in this area, I strongly urge you to do so!!! You will not be disappointed. The stamps are wonderful along with the places the planters will bring you to.

The Rolling Hills Of VA

"FAIL"

...at least by this picture I snapped..according to my 16 year old..LOL This picture was taken on our ride home from Knoville, TN where we went for the "Global" finals for the Destination Imagination" Program Stewie particpated in this year.

I almost deleted this picture straight away from my camera, but my "driver", CritterLiz, thought it was very funny.
Now just think about this for a couple of seconds. We were driving about 74 MPH and I happened to snap a picture of the backside of an advertising sign just about right in the middle of the picture!

What are the chances? Think you can do it?? LOL...

Relaying

This past weekend we participated in the Relay For Life Event held in our small town. For those of you who may not know what this event is about, I will give a brief explanation. It is sponsored by The American Cancer Society. Teams sign up to participate in a Relay style event which lasts for about 15 hours. The objective is to have at least one of your team mates on the track at all times. Sounds easy enough. But let me tell you the track does seem to get pretty sparse between the hours of 2:00 AM and 5:30 AM. LOL.



We hold this event every other year in our town. We are a very small "blue collar" town. One must to commit to raising at least $45,000. A lot of monies for this economy right now. Last time we held this event we raised $75,000. Well done to us!!! We worked hard & most of the town participated. We weren't quite as fortunate this time around, but we did go over the $45,000 minimum. We had far less participants this year. So I congratulate all that were there for digging deeply into their pockets for this great cause. "Great Cause" you might say...I think so, since my hubby is a cancer survivor & my good friend, CritterLiz, is also a survivor.



For those of you who have never participated in a Relay Event it is quite special to those of us who have been touched by this disease...whether you are a survivor or a care giver to a survivor or maybe a care giver to someone who has lost the battle against this disease. We all pull together to raise monies to end the many facets of cancer. We raise monies to go to research & to help those that are going through treatments now.



Our "Stewie" found himself involved in a competition among friends for the event. Each lap completed, earned a bead; every fifth round one received a star. (see picture above) Stewie went to bed about 4:15 AM that evening (with 53 beads) and asked me -- the Mom to take over. He walked for about 4 hours and did 53 laps. I walked for 1 and a half hours with his beads and earned only 15. He was racing around that track!!! Crazy kid!!!



One "Money Grabber" we do at the event is "Jail and Bail" -- a screen house is our jail. One can buy a "warrant" for $5.00 and our Sheriff will "arrest" the villain and bring them to the "Jail" and they must post a $1.00 bail to be released. I started it off this year by putting warrants out for each of my boys. It told one because "it's just plain fun", I told another it was because "he was too cute"; and the other was because he is a "good sport". The funniest one of the night was from an 11 year old girl who "arrested" her Mom because "she wasn't on the track"!!!! Way too funny! And who doesn't want to be "arrested" by a guy wearing this hat...LOL!! (BTW..our "Sherrif" for the night a Volunteer Fireman & could not wait to don that hat on for the evening! He had many "Deputies" (boys & girls age 3 to 13) helping to grab those who thought they could "run" from the law...LOL



Were we tired the next day? You bet! Should we have been tired? You bet! I was very impressed by one team this year. I know they had some "special" beverages at their tent, yet they were one of the few teams that managed to keep at least one person on the track at ALL times & usually there were 2 of them on the track...Thank You to the "Cooler Ones" team. Your dedication to the cause was inspiration to all of us who made it through the night!! I thank you personally!

I went to sleep from 12:00 to 2:00 that evening. Then again at 9:30 Am the next morning til 1:30. My spouse went to bed at 3:30 AM; to be woken up at 6:15 AM for closing ceremonies; took oldest son to soccer game at 10:30 AM & finally rested again at 2:00 PM.



An exhausting day & night? Yup...Worth every moment of it? Yup! I do hope if any of you are asked to participate, I do hope your say "YES!" It is not an event you will ever regret being a part of, I promise.

Humane or Selfish...

Sorry Folks... if you want this one you have to specially request it. It is on the very dark & tragic topic of Mercy Killing (one harsh word, one not so harsh - interesting phrase)...IMHO aka suicide...this is my personal journal of what myself & my immediate family have experienced in the last month..

Maple Leaf Red

SMOKIN'

The oil light came on in the van today. I wasn't surprised, I am overdue for oil change, just haven't taken the 15 minutes to go in and have it done.

Being the ever life lesson teaching parent, I decided to stop at store & grab the oil & give The Blonde Frogger an easy automotive maintenance lesson.

I pulled the hood lever inside the van. Got hood popped. Blonde Frogger then put the stick in hood so we would not have to deal with any head injuries while putting the oil in...nothing worse than head injuries from falling hoods...He opened cap for oil inlet. I opened oil quart. Blonde Frogger started pouring.

Dang there is a lot to be learned when putting oil in a vehicle: (The following are Blonde Frogger Lessons)

1. It seems to be far easier if one is left handed. The oil bottle just does not pour well from the right. Keeps hitting on others parts of engine.

2. Oil does NOT pour out of quart -- it "GLUGS".

3. "GLUGGING" leads to SPILLAGE -- on the engine.

4. SPILLAGE leads to SMOKIN"!!!!! Yup, we was just a smokin' when we got into the drive way!

5. "SMOKIN'" leads to stench.

All of the above leads to Mom putting funnel in car when she got home for future oil replenishing duties. (This of course would be the learning part for me, the MOM).

I also had Blonde Frogger put in additional wiper fluid. He thinks he did far better with that!

Not sure how much of that was spilled as the side effects from that "Spillage" are not anywhere near as noticeable as when the ole oil is spilled!!!

Busting The Stash

Mom gave me some yarn stash of hers. I have never seen her with soo much. I was happy to take it. Most of the projects I do are quick. I need instant gratification. * shrugging shoulders*

The picture above shows cute little crocheted Snow Flakes. I will donate them to PTA to sell at our annual "Holiday Sale" next November. I'll put a safety pin on the back of some & a magnet on the back of the others. They can be worn on backpacks or coats or can be hung from lockers or refrigerators.

I crocheted these for The Blonde Frogger. They are so soft. He says they keep his hands quite warm. Have had requests for more.

This a lovely hat. The Pattern is called "The Divine Hat". I found it on http://www.ravelry.com/ . It was quite easy. I will make a few more of these. Some I will put up for auction at our local Relay For Life Event & others I will donate to other charities.

These are my favorite project by far. The lighter colored one still needs to have the ends sewn together. These are for a dust brush that rhymes with "Biffer". *wink wink*. I was never too fond of that particular product because

1. It is a scam to make consumers buy the "refills".

2. More garbage to go into landfills. Reduce, Reduce, Reduce!

I have now discovered a solution! These things work great! The oldest son (age 16) couldn't wait to use it. He did ceilings & walls. I did floors. The nice thing about these of course

1. They are reusable -- washable

2. We can turn them inside out and use both sides before washing.

BTW...mine need to be washed now after both of us tried them out...I know, I know...it says alot about my housekeeping skills, well maybe more about my lack of housekeeping skills. hehehe

THE Most Difficult Sporting Season

We are in the heart of Wrestling Season. Stewie, as you may remember from my last years post, had won Gold in many of the Novice Tournaments he competed in last season. This season he is not allowed in the "Novice" tournaments & is competing in "Experienced" tournaments. He has competed in 2 & has won Bronze in both. We are quite proud of him, this being his 2nd year in the sport. He, however, is having a difficult time with this. He does not understand the "Luck of the Draw" has been against him. At both Tournaments, his first opponents have been wrestling for 5 years plus. The good part:

1. He has NOT been "pinned" by those more experienced wrestlers.

2. He lost only by ONE point to one of them.

3. Competing against better opponents always makes one better.

The first kid beat him, point wise ( by 8), but...he did not get pinned. This particular kid won the State Title last year. We told Stewie he should be holding his head HIGH as "You gave that experienced kid a good run for his money. You have only been on the mats for 1 full year.... imagine if you've had 6 years of learning...things may have been turned out a little differently". Yet, Stewie still cried over the loss. I imagine we will chase this kid around in tournaments for the next couple of years.

Same thing today, Stewie's first match, he grabbed a kid with loads of experience. Did not get pinned and only lost by one point...final score 4 to 3. Not bad, Stewie! No need for tears...Once again...hold that head of yours up HIGH!!! *nodding*

Now, from the Mom's point of view, I have decided I do NOT like to watch this sport. I can't explain it. I do not have a good time. I feel the pain, both physically & mentally, for all the boys in EVERY match, even the boys I do not know...sheeez.

My boys have always played "team" sports...soccer, baseball, basketball. I have 2 soccer Goalies in the family & had a pitcher in baseball for a couple of years. But I do not feel the same anx in those sports as I do for Wrestling. Swimming, Tennis, Track, Golf, Bowling they are also "individual" sports...do those parents feel the same anx as I do with Wrestling? I tend to think they do not...no physical contact...but I am sure some of the same life lessons are learned are the same though!

Now, don't get me wrong, I know this sport is not for all kids. For example, my oldest would never even think about going out on the mat. He is a "lover", not a "fighter". It is just not in his "soul" to be that physical or maybe more important to ENDURE that kind of physical pain. Although, being a soccer Goalie he has his own demons to deal with... (team mates who blame him for each & every goal scored -- but he is a people "handler" - he knows how to deal with those team mates mentally & that is a secret all successful Goalies know...you know, SMILE when you are really chewing out a team mate so no one else knows what is really being said especially other team...giving ball to other team (over the midfield line of course) when no one "feels" they can get open... no excuse for not being able to get open... only laziness!

There are very good lessons to be learned in the sport of Wrestling. I see the boys shake hands with each opponent before the match. At the end of match they also walk over to opponents coach and shake hands with them as well. The boys watch their team mates at every match & offer support to their fellow mates..whether the team mate won or lost (as team mates have experienced both wins & losses as well)...learning what to say at appropriate times & in appropriate environments which are all very important life skills. I am thankful for that!

I will not let Stewie know of the personal dilemma I face each week during this sporting season. I will continue to go to each match/tournament & give him the support he needs & deserves, even though it kills my soul to endure the pain of each boy.

I thank you all in advance for those who chose to send private thoughts of encouragement to Maple Leaf Red for this extremely trying & tough sporting season of winter '09. :-).

All I said was...

....."Find a safe place for them so we can show Daddy."

& no, I was not talking about the soda cans!

"Mission Control, Mission Control, Cleared for landing?"

Just so you all know, the MOM -that would be ME- would have put them on a shelf. I know, I know... Boring, Boring, Boring *shaking head sadly*

The storage facility pictured above is far more imaginative & fun, don't you think? Well done to the pilot/designer.

"The First Ride"

All of my boys & both of my sisters' children had their first Carousel Rides with our Mom. Who cares, you might say? Well, this particular Carousel is 4 HOURS from where we live & all my boys had their first ride here! This was a special request made by my Mom... Grandma to the kids. You know, there are just some wishes daughter's just fulfill and this happens to be one of them we all managed to accomplish for our Mom.


This particular carousel has a rich history.

It was made by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company in 1909. It is called "Carousel No. 18". Kind of generic, if you ask me, but it was the early 1900's when it was named. *shrugging shoulders*.

The Philadelphia Toboggan Company (from now on will be referred to by PTC) was in Germantown, PA. They made many Carousels. Today, they are known for their Roller Coasters & have moved to Hatfield, PA. Cylonic, is probably quite familiar with this company. Anyone who has ever met him, knows he loves his roller coasters!!

Anyhow, this Carousel was hand carved by Leo Zoller, PTC's master carver. Mr. Zoller was paid $1,000.00. The Carousel was then shipped to amusement parks in Louisville, KY; Worcester, MA; & Erie, PA for many to enjoy.

In 1926, the Carousel was brought to Long Branch Park in Syracuse, NY. It stayed there for 15 years. In 1941, it was purchased for Roseland Park in Canandaigua, NY. It ran in Roseland for 43 years until that park closed on September 2, 1985.

The carousel was put up for auction 2 weeks later. Do you know what it means for a carousel to be "Put up for auction?" I did not til I did some history searching on this particular one. (Although, I recently read a book, The Thief Lord, & it mentioned something about a piece of a merry-go-round that some evil people had an interest in it...I personally would not know what do with one piece of a merry-go-round or carousel; nor do I understand the logic of having just ONE piece of beautiful artwork handcrafted by a professional..I'd much rather enjoy the whole piece as the creator meant for it to be). Anyhow, what happens is after each piece..meaning horses, carriages,

etc... have been sold individually to the highest bidders at the sale, the auctioneers total up all the final bids, add 20% to the total. Then the entire carousel is then offered up for bid at this price. Sounds a little unfair to the individual bidders there, but I guess that is a chance one takes. The Pyramid Companies of Syracuse saved the carousel by purchasing the entire ride for $397,500.

One of the many individual pictures on the lower level. I like this one.

Each of these pictures had to be professionally cleaned & restored. There are 2 levels of them on the carousel. I am only showing you 2 of the many that are on the carousel.

Now onto the horses themselves. There are 42 horses on Carousel No. 18, arranged 3 abreast in groups of 16.

I call this horse "The Chase". The rifle, the horn, the only thing missing is the dog. Notice the detailed painting on the back of the carriage in front of this horse. Just a beautiful scene of life in the early 1900's & the colors are quite vivid.

I call this horse "The Successful Chase"

38 of the 42 horses are "Jumpers" rather than "standers" on the carousel.

Both of the horses pictured above are the outside row of horses, also known as "lead" horses because they are most visible. They are also the lavishly decorated. (Good ole merchandising was in effect even back in the early 1900's). The outside row lead horses are the biggest on this carousel - each one weighing about 225 pounds. Middle row horses weigh about 150 pounds & the inside row horses, the smallest weigh in at 100 pounds each.

It took nearly 2 years to restore Carousel No. 18 to its original beauty. All the horses had to be stripped, repaired, primed, repainted in their original 1909 colors & varnished.

This beautiful carousel has brought joy & laughter to 4 generations of families, sweethearts & children.

One of the many Ladies in the Rafters -for lack of a better term- on Carousel No. 18.

Next time you go for a quick ride on the Carousel, please appreciate the history & craftsmanship that went into those original Carousel's made so many years ago!!