AMANDA'S BASKETS: TALE OF THE BELLS

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

TALE OF THE BELLS

Yes, I am all for decluttering. And as I said yesterday, I am still in the process of sharing items I no longer want with others...ie, generally a Thrift Store. After Christmas, some of the items that I have up now will be donated, not all, just some.

But, all that said, there are things that I am holding on to...thus the bells...

I love these bells. The set came with four cassettes each with around 20 songs...mostly Christmas. Well, they haven't worked for probably six years, but I kept them, dragging them from place to place because I loved to listen to them...much to the dismay of my family. I guess you have to acquire a certain 'ear' to listen to bells.

Anyway, this was the final year. Either I got them to work, or I would give them away...actually, I was going to discard them. If I couldn't get them to work, I wasn't going to give someone else the headache.

I have spent about eleven hours on and off working with them for the past couple of weeks. Taking each bell apart and resetting the ringer. Guess what? THEY WORK.

Usually I hang them up among a garland. As I have no garland up this year and they sound so nice hanging from a curtain rod attached to my easel, I am going to keep them there throughout the season.

Now that they work, they will be in the 'keep' pile for several more years.

I guess one of things that I am pointing out is if and when you decide you want to declutter your home, don't get rid of things you really like just to declutter. Keep those things that are dear to you for whatever reason.

The idea is not to get rid of everything to have a sterile environment. The idea is to have a place where you can really appreciate those things you love whether there are two, ten or several dozen. Each of us has to find that place that works for us.

Two days to Christmas. At least one of my sons is shopping right now...nothing like waiting til the last minute. I would loooove to be out and about just enjoying the crowds, but as I am still recovering from a cold, I think staying home is the best bet.

But, I do have to pick up some things at the grocery store...to be exact four. So I will be either doing that later today or early tomorrow morning.

Lefsa and krumkaka are next...

Hope your are enjoying yourself...
Talk to you tomorrow...
(Don't forget the Bowl games, that is, if you like football!)

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?