Fresh and New

Oh how I love clean slates, fresh starts, new beginnings.  There is nothing like a do-over.  It feels like a fresh sheet of paper in a composition book on the first day of school.  I want to do less this year, be more in the moment, up for those "spur of the moment" ideas without freaking out about the details.  I want to learn to play the fiddle, learn to knit something besides scarves, make a total sanctuary for birds and butterflies in my garden, and learn to relax through yoga or Pilates.  And that's all I want to do this year.  Usually my list is a great expanse of resolutions and then come hell or high water, I'm going to check them off, simply because I said I would.  I can no longer live as a slave to my lists.  This year, I'm going to try and just "be".

On My Honor, I Will Try....

Oh, how I miss my time in Girl Scouts, Troop 210.  I don't think I ever fully appreciated it when I was little, but I've never forgotten all those times Camp Wildwood, all that time spent in my bedroom, pouring over the pages of my badge book, thinking, "Hmmmm....what should I work on next?  Should it be "Food, Fibers and Farming" or "Architecture" or "Folk Dancing"?  My issues began very early on in life....LOL.

I'll never forget the summer when about 8 of us were assigned to this tiny cabin and there was a ginormous Wolf spider hanging from the ceiling.  We all crammed into two little twin beds and slept in a heap all night so no one would get attacked by the arachnid. 

Or how we all had to line up to get drops in our ears EVERY SINGLE TIME we went swimming.

Or how me and my friends were signed up by our parents to attend a special "All About Me" weekend campout where I learned about puberty and died of embarrassment when they picked me up because they KNEW that I KNEW stuff now.

I made my first Jacob's Ladder at Camp Wildwood.  That year, we had a tyrant of a Camp Leader named Ivy.  But the Jacob's Ladder craft made it all better.

Our meetings were each week in our leader's living room.  Rita Pritchett was my Brownie Leader, then it was Debra Lancey when I was a Junior Girl Scout.  We met in the Mulberry Fire Station.  I don't know how large the troops are these days, but back then there were easily 25 girls in my troop, which made field trips, tubing trips and campouts all the more fun.  I was actually involved in Girl Scouts until I was a Cadette, which is high school level.  I dropped out in 10th grade, when the social implications of being in a scouting uniform at school became more than I could handle.

  This week, I was going through some of my treasured things from my childhood, holding my badges and my green sash with such a fondness and nostalgia, I could almost cry.  Why is it that we never appreciate the good stuff while we're "in it"?  I guess that's just human nature.  I'm sad to say that my beloved badge book disappeared through the ages, but I located an exact replica on Ebay and bought it.  So Sara Humble of Public School 229 in New York City, I am the proud owner of your Badges and Signs book.  And I'm not giving it up! 

This week at the public library, I checked out the current Handbook for Girl Scouts.  I'm amazed at how many badges have stayed the same.  They may have a new name, but the design is exactly the same as it was in the early 1980's.  And they've added some about Eco-Action and Girl Power and all that, but I'm actually jealous of the tremendous amount of arts and crafts merits that are available now.  There's a Yarn and Fabric Arts badge now!!!

As I am the proud mother of two sons who are active in Royal Rangers, a world-wide scouting ministry, I'm glad to see they're building character and skills that are so helpful to have.  They love whittling, astronomy, studying birds and insects and of course can't wait to work on their firearm safety and B.B. Gun merit (God, please help us all). 

I'm fairly certain they'll never work on a Folk Dancing merit, but that doesn't mean that I can't go back and work on the requirements, right? Just for fun? If you're constantly bettering yourself, then who cares how old you are or how juvenile your pursuits may be.  I may even go back to Ebay and order the old badges to add to my sash!  Okay, who wants to come to my ceremony?  I promise there will be cake.

My Idea of a Good Time

Hallelujah.  A day to myself!  The Man took Thing One and Thing Two surfing over at Cocoa Beach.   I got to do all the things I love to do, but don't enjoy doing them with two complaining children at my side.  Can't blame them--they have a mom whose idea of a good time is 5 hours in a bookstore.

I started off with some yummy sushi, but not wanting to waste time eating in, took it to go and ate it in the car.  With chopsticks.  Luckily, I have wicked coordination when it comes to driving and eating!

Look at this amazing selection of sewing and decorating books from Borders and Barnes and Noble.  3 hours in Borders and about 2 in B&N.  It flies by for me, I was sad to leave. 

I've always been fascinated by the design of Scandinavian scarves and Christmas stockings.  This book shows all sorts of patterns and ideas for projects around the house.  Love it! 
The book Perfect English Cottage by Ros Shaw was one of those $60 decorating books that was actually worth buying.  Every page was full of color photos containing practical, easy decorating ideas.  Each page was reminiscent of my time in England and all those BBC movies that I love to watch.  I wanted to climb through the pages of the book and snuggle up on the chintz-covered loveseat by the window, overlooking the herb garden outside.  (Sigh).

Freaking out at this book called "A is for Apron".  It has some cool page layouts like this that uncover aprons through the ages, but it also has about 50 patterns you can whip up--everything from a butcher's utilitarian apron to frilly, flirty ones.

When you just can't decide on that perfect end of the year teacher gift, how about this "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" journal? You'll enjoy sharing your innermost thoughts in this elegant/macabre notebook.  Only $14.95! 

Or for that Grateful Dead fan on your gift-giving list, a Monopoly game just for them!

On to the next stop, Lakeshore Learning Store on Kennedy Boulevard......I'm homeschooling the boys for the upcoming school year and needed some U.S. and world maps.  Of course, I spent over two hours browsing everything else they carry.  Lots of great art papers, whiteboards for doing math, Unit Studies on Greek and Roman times, you know, lots of fantastic nerdy stuff!

Hello?  Can't be on Kennedy Boulevard without a Scooby snack.  As fate would have it, as I pulled in the parking lot, they switched on the Hot and Fresh sign.  It was meant to be.....

All in all, it was a great day....I got home just in time to watch and weep over The Blind Side (well, most of it) before the boys got home from the beach.  I love "me" days....gives me the chance to refresh, recharge and relax.  Thank you, David!

LOST Finale Party

Oh, say it isn't so ABC....As we wrap up six seasons of what I consider to be some of the best writing on TV, I thought it only fitting that we go out with a bang.  Not necessarily with dynamite or hydrogen bombs.  Just some good clean fun with a Lost Part-ay!  We went a little overboard, but if not now, then when?  We'll never have another chance at a proper party seeing as how this is the true END. And just writing those words makes me sad.  So, as always, we started with a menu:

Jerk Chicken Kebabs with Grilled Pineapple and Onions
Toasted Coconut Shrimp with Apricot/Horseradish Dipping Sauce
Tortilla Chips with Mango Salsa
Red Potato Salad (mounded in the shape of the Boone Hill Burial Ground), complete with grave markers--Mom please say you have a picture of this!
Fresh Tropical Fruit Platter
Testones (fried plantains with mojo sauce)
Key Lime Cookies
Crazy E-Claire Cake
Flan
Flan Cheesecake (because one flan dessert isn't enough)

For the jerk chicken, I marinated the cubed chicken pieces in a combination of brown sugar, scallions, 2 minced Scotch Bonnet peppers, allspice, and PickaPeppa sauce.  I'll save you the trouble--PickaPeppa sauce is a relatively obscure item, found by the tabasco sauce and looks like this:

The coconut shrimp are super-duper easy and a real crowd pleaser (except for the cook, who stands there and prepares them one by one!)  Just take out 3 bowls.  Add plain flour to one, beaten eggs to the second and in the third, a small bag (around 7 oz) of sweetened coconut, a 1/2 t. of salt, and 2 T. allspice.  You can make your own allspice if you need, just mix two parts cinnamon, 1 part nutmeg and 1 part ground ginger.  Dip the peeled shrimp (leave the tails to give yourself something to grab on to) into the flour, then the egg, then the coconut mixture and fry in about an inch of canola oil over medium heat, turning once until they are golden brown.  I just kept filling the serving tray as they came out of the oil and they kept disappearing!

I'm all about a good theme and the show LOST creates so many opportunities for fun!  The costumes were great.  We had a Kate, a Crazy Claire, a Polar Bear, an "Island", a Charlie, a Nikki/Paulo couple (that would be me and my husband) and lots of other Losties who brought items for the shrine.

The week leading up to this soiree was crazy with decorations and preparations.  We borrowed a friend's awesome wrought iron tiki torches (Thanks, Blake!) and lined the walkway with them for the guest's arrival.

We had to assure our neighbors, who were mighty curious about the sign, that we weren't recruiting people into our Buddhist cult.

On to the fun little details......

To make wine tags for your theme, I took a Creative Memories round paper punch which has two circles, one slightly larger than the other.  I used the small circle to punch the faces of  the characters, which I got off of the ABC website.  I used the larger circle to punch out a solid color cardstock for a mat.  Adhere the two with a photo split or glue stick.  Then take Self-Laminating sheets (mine were Scotch brand, found in the office supply section near the name badges).  Follow the label directions to laminate.  Then cut around the photo.  I used a small hole punch and then used a grommet setter to add the grommet on the tag.  Then I used Tim Holtz mini paperclips to attach the character tag to a binder ring (I got mine at the scrapbooking store, but they can be found at Staples where 3-ring binders are sold).  I ended up with 13 of my favorite characters as wine tags.

The Driveshaft concert backstage passes were created with a logo found online, doctored up with Photo editing software.  I use http://www.fotoflexer.com/.  I love this site--you can really get creative with your photos, without purchasing an expensive edition of Photoshop.

Where there is good, there is evil, so an appearance by the Smoke Monster aka "Smokey" was necessary.  A 50 ounce bag of Polyfil and 6 cans of black spray paint did the trick.  Once it dried, it was pieced together on my sitting room wall to look as menacing as possible.  Bwa ha ha.......

Although some of our questions were left unanswered (as all good literature does to their reader), I personally loved the ending.  And as in every story worth their weight in paper and ink, this one leaves us wanting more, wanting to find other fans to discuss it with because these characters are real to us and they're worth keeping alive, even if they didn't get that luxury in the script :(

Thank you writers, cast and crew for a fantastic voyage.  My Tuesday nights won't be the same without you.

Southern Drawl or Southern Drool? You Decide.

I'm a little late posting about our Tuesday soiree' this week.  My Lost Finale Party has taken over my life!  It's going to rock--can't wait to share it with you on Sunday :)

This week, we went all out in the Southern Hospitality department.  Try not to drool on your keyboard....

First off, who has ever tried a yellow watermelon?  I was a teensy bit skeptical, but my sons begged me to get one and they were cheap, so we gave it a whirl and guess what?  Tastes the same and makes such a pretty picture......Try getting a yellow and a red and alternating little hand-sized slices on a platter.  It's sure to add some punch to your picnic or party. Don't forget to let the kids have a seed-spitting contest in the backyard.  Maybe you'll have some free watermelons growing next season!

So I decided to make my sweetheart, David, his favorite cake.  Red Velvet.  I've never made this at home before and I was praying Martha had a good recipe.  Well, the girl didn't disappoint.  I followed it to the letter and it came out moist and fluffy.  This is what it looked like before and after it came out of the oven.  Unfortunately, we scarfed it down so quick, I forgot to take a photo of it completely iced and under it's cake dome.  Boo!  It was a beauty--take my word for it.

I'll just go ahead and say it:  I hate Martha's version of Fried Green Tomatoes.  Basically, there are two ways (well, about a million weird ways, but only two normal ways) to make FGTs.  With flour or with cornmeal.  She uses cornmeal.  I've found over the years that this makes the outer batter too crunchy.  Almost like onion rings where you can take a bite and the entire outside batter comes off and you're stuck with a flimsy piece of cooked onion in your hand.  So, I did it her way for my "52 Weeks With My Homegirl Martha" project and must say, yes, I still hate using cornmeal for green tomatoes.  Actually, my favorite recipe comes from Bea Arthur (RIP).  Yes, that Golden Girl could cook!  She lets hers marinate in sour cream before coating them with seasoned flour, then egg, then flour again. 

Here are the ones that I made (which got gobbled up anyway), modeled by my gorgeous mom, Iris.

Buttermilk Biscuits are delicious on their own.  With Apple Butter from Cracker Barrel, they are worthy of praise---Hall-e-lujah!

And, last but no-way least was this incredibly easy barbecue pulled pork.  There wasn't a trace to be found shortly after I set it on the table!

First, start with a Boston Butt pork roast.  It will come trussed with string.  Leave it like that while it's cooking. 

 Next, I made a rub with paprika, cayenne pepper, brown sugar, salt and pepper and placed that on all sides of the meat.  Then I mixed apple cider vinegar, a little water and a handful of garlic cloves, minced and poured the concoction over the spice-rubbed roast.  Cover and cook on 350 for 2 hr 30 min.  You should be able to shred it apart after it cools a bit.  Then, of course you need a little barbecue sauce.  You can make your own, but why bother when there's Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Barbecue Sauce!?  Mix in a little at a time until it's saucy but not soupy.  Serve as is or on warmed hamburger rolls.

Yes, that is Samantha from Sex And The City eyeing our barbecue.  Hands off, Jones!  This bowl isn't big enough for the two of us.....

My Hobbit Has Mumps

The scarecrow is complete.  And not a minute too soon because something has been eating my corn!  I feel like Mr. McGregor running out into the garden with a rake shaking my fist at the birds that I normally welcome into my yard.  But they need to learn their boundaries.  Bird feeder, good.  Birdbath, good.  Eating my veggies, very naughty.

So, keeping with the Lord of the Rings theme that they kids came up with, I needed to make some sort scarecrow for the Hobbitshire garden.  We came up with a Hobbit.  It started with two 1x2 wood pieces screwed together (not nailed, or it gets all loosey-goosey).  Then I just went to Goodwill and got very lucky.  I found the perfect puffy sleeved shirt, courdoroy  men's vest and drawstring pants that no self-respecting human would ever wear, but would suit a Hobbit just fine.

You can get burlap for about $1.99 per yard.  One yard is plenty to make a scarecrow head.  I sewed a face on this one with regular yarn, but here's where I ran into a problem.  I sewed the head while the clothes hung on the frame outside waiting.  Since I didn't have them closeby, I misjudged the proportions.  My hobbit's head is HUGE, like something out of H.R. Puffenstuff.  But I suppose a scarecrow needs to look menacing if it's to do its job.  So, let's just say my Hobbit has Mumps.  Get well soon, little fellow.

Since I've never seen a Hobbit with a hat, this one has shaggy hair instead.

That's a haversack, not a purse!  It's for gathering nuts and berries and for keeping your Hobbit things.