AMANDA'S BASKETS: Herbs, Journaling and Tutorials

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Herbs, Journaling and Tutorials

The weather began nice this morning but this afternoon it is cold, wet and windy...but that's better than the snow storm that is hitting the midwest.   I remember a snow storm in Minnesota in June! Wonder if that's why I am no longer living there???

I did get some work done in the yard...trimmed a very large thorny bush to a large thorny bush.   Cleaning up the trimmings was fun...ah, no!   I also planted some herbs in containers (So I can take them with me on vacation - ? - remember, I have a trailer.).

This is my basil container.   It has Thai, Cinnamon and globe basil...

And this is my rosemay, sage and parsley container...

I think I will be getting more containers for more herbs. Chives, marjoram, oregano, dill, peppermint, and thyme.

I also worked on more pages for my journals. I noticed that they are lighter and lean towards pinks and summer colors. I've been using paint to cover images to create a softer look. I'm enjoying experimenting. I've always looked at journaling as giving myself permission to color - outside the lines!

By the way, did you notice that there is a new thought for the month - 'Stop planning your life and start living it'.   I don't know about you, but I can get caught up with planning and planning and planning and not get around to actually doing...   Remember the book I am writing, lots of plans, less actual writing...

And if you are in the mood for one more possible time waster...in the good sense, of course...there's a great site called the Random Tutorial Generator.   I've put a link to in on my side column.   When you get to the site, you can either select a random tutorial or search the data base for a particular tutorial.   And, they are always looking for more tutorials to include. It's actually a lot of fun.

So, back to my plans/goals for 2013.   One thing that I am going to try is to write one page a day for my book.   Not more and not less.   And, of course, only on week days. I'm going to begin next week so I'll let you know how things proceed.   It may be one of those things to which I have to dedicate larger blocks of time.   Kind of like copying documents and pictures...but I'm not sure...so I will give this a try.

Thanks for visiting my blog...

Take some time today and do something that you enjoy...

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?