AMANDA'S BASKETS: HAVE YOU CHECKED THE CALENDAR?

Monday, November 16, 2020

HAVE YOU CHECKED THE CALENDAR?

So, Thanksgiving is next Thursday, basically ten days away!!! But do you know what that means?

Christmas Eve is about 39 days from now!!! Really?!? Yep, about that!

I feel like that commercial, it's ten o'clock, do you know where your children are? Except in my case it would be, it's closer than you think, do you know where your presents/decorations are?'

I am ahead in my shopping, though! Letting my fingers do the walking (on my computer) as I order things rather than shopping in person. And you know what, I like it. It's cheaper - no impulse purchasing - and I can stick to a budget. I wonder if I will change back now that I have experienced the ease of shopping from home.

I was also very careful with my gift choices. Again, no impulse purchases! I also wonder if this will be the beginning of a trend toward minimalism. Not the type where you live with 41 items, but rather that what you purchase either for yourself or for others is thoughtful and something that fits into your/their lifestyles.

What about you? Are you thinking about changing the way you celebrate the upcoming holidays. Speaking of celebrating, I hope all of you are making wise choices with your celebration even if it means staying at home.

I know that I will miss the big, loud, joyful celebrations, but if staying home this year means that I will be around for next year...well, I will choose to stay home. Not only for Thanksgiving, but for Christmas. That will make next year all the better...

Talk with you tomorrow...

(I hope...)

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?