AMANDA'S BASKETS: CONSTANT CHANGES...

Friday, December 6, 2019

CONSTANT CHANGES...

Holidays Are Close
At Hand - Are You Ready Or
Will You Choose Not To

So you are probably looking at the dandelions and wondering why I chose these flowers/weeds. Well, we just had cold weather, thick ice and a ton of snow. The snow is melting and will be gone by the end of the coming week. Why? Because the temperatures are going to be in the mid to high 50's and low 60's!

Okay, this weather is really getting to me. I can handle change like, longer winters, colder winters, lots more snow. But the changes are constantly changing!!! It makes me very tired...I don't know what to expect.

I managed to get the house cleaned today and lots of guild work done. This weekend I hope to get the rest of the stockings filled so I can deliver them on Tuesday. Monday I will be in the city for a regular eye checkup. Since I will be there for several hours, I plan on seeing the tree at Roc Center as well as Macy's Holiday Shop.

So this morning's prompt was interesting. Yes, I do say yes when I want to say no. But, I really don't say no when I want to say yes. The 'yes' part - well, I guess I'm still an easy touch, or respond to guilt. Not sure which. But I have to say that I will speak up and do something when I really want to do it. That's a change from my early self...a change that is good.

How about you? Are you an easy mark or can you say no when you want to say no? How about saying yes when you wan to say yes?

Do you have weekend plans? Be sure to include time for yourself...

Monday's Prompt

The winter holidays are coming fast.

What traditions do you really want to

do? Can you focus on those first and

let the others slide?

CRAFTING IDEAS

I am always looking for a small piece of paper to write down something which will later be disposed of. I decided to use some of the scrap paper of which I have a ton. I mostly use the paper for glueing projects. I decided to cut the paper into a small size. (Six pieces from a piece of copy paper.). But just having them sitting on my desk would get messy without a container. So, using a cardboard box, I cut it down to size and using a hot glue gun I glued the ends together. Using a picture from a magazine cut into pieces and stick craft glue, I glued the pieces to the box inside and out. I also used some decorative tape for the outside edges. And to finish the top corners which were not covered, I used straight pins with colorful tops. Looks nice and works well.

MAGAZINE IDEAS

(New) One article in the Farmer's Almanac 2024 is a list of trends. One I knew about is the trend to downsize in just about every area. Another trend that I was surprised about was called ''The Human Library' which offers people on loan to talk about specific subjects. Finally, more folks are adding pets to their family and as a result, stores are adding more pet food, toys and medication to their offerings. There's also a nice garden article which suggests mixing vegetables and flowers together for success.

RECIPE IDEAS

Have you every made Cherry Dump Cake. It calls for 2 cans of Cherry Pie Filling (21 ounces), a white cake mix, 1/4 -1/2 cup butter, melted & 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans. In a 9 by 13 pan, spread both cans of cherry pie filling. Add the melted butter to the cake mix and break apart the resulting mixture and crumble it evenly over the pie filling. Sprinkle the pecans evenly over the mixture. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 - 45 minutes until the topping is golden brown. Serve with vanilla ice cream. Fast, easy and very delicious.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

What if you want to establish better habits, then decide what habit you want to work on. Again, try an easier one first for that good feeling of success. Let's consider more exercise. Start small. Don't try to run a marathon right away. Set the amount of time, the type of exercise and when to do it to begin making sure that it is within your reach. If it works for you each week add a bit more. Walking is one of the best ways to get good overall movement but there are many exercise videos on YouTube of varying lengths and difficulty to check out. Change your exercise routines to eliminate getting bored. For hardcore exercise with weights, give yourself a day in-between to recover. Even on days you would rather not exercise, do it and see if you feel better. It takes an average of 66 days to establish a habit. Just think 66 days to establish a good habit for a lifetime. Sounds like a good thing to me...how about you?