AMANDA'S BASKETS: Halloween This Week

Monday, October 28, 2013

Halloween This Week

Another new week begins...the last week of October for this year.   Halloween is this Thursday, folks, hope you are ready for all the little ghosts and goblins coming to your door.

I had a lot of trick or treat visitors last year.   This year, I bought candy AND bags so that I can just hand out a bag rather than try and decide what to give each child...if it is enough, too much, etc.

It's been really windy today...all three of my wind chimes are clanging away.   I have decided that I like their sound so much that I will be taking them with me in the trailer.   They can hang off the corners of my awning.

So, looking at what I wanted to get done this weekend...
                Finish packing the living room 'stuff'
                Check out what else needs doing in the trailer
Finish packing the car for another Goodwill run
                Finish backing one quilt
Grocery shopping
And, of course, FOOTBALL

Football, of course, a no brainer for me.   Unfortunately, my team lost, again!

I did the shopping, packed the car with stuff for Goodwill, made a list of things to do in the trailer.   By the way, the shelf supports in the closet work...yah!!

I have a five more things to pack in the living room which will get done today.   AND, Ta-Dah, I backed two quilts...

That makes a total of four quilts finished, three quilt tops done and needing backing and blocks cut for two more quilts and ready for sewing. Wow. And it is only October.

They got the problem fixed on the side column so Monthly Thoughts and Weekly Journal Prompts are back on the side...and there is a new journal prompt.

So how are things going with you? Did you get things done this weekend that you planned? If not, don't worry, there's always today...and who knows, maybe what you wound up doing instead was far more important - even if it was to catch up on some well-needed rest and relaxation.

Thanks for checking things out here today...
See you tomorrow...

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?