AMANDA'S BASKETS: A POEM OF RESPONSIBILITY

Thursday, April 23, 2020

A POEM OF RESPONSIBILITY

I have finally been sorting through boxes of my grandma's things. And while doing so I found a poem written by Jeanette Van Der Swaag called 'What Have We Done Today?' It struck me that she, my grandma, must have answered each question with things that she had done because that was who she was...always sharing her love, her care and whatever she had that someone needed.

WHAT HAVE WE DONE TODAY

Much is to be done in the years to come,

But what have we done today?

We shall give our aid in a gentle way,

But what did we give today?

We shall lift one's burdens and help one's wrongs,

We shall cheer them by singing one of their favorite songs,

We shall speak the words of love and cheer.

But what did we speak today?

We shall be so kind during the coming years,

But what have we been today?

We shall bring a smile to a lonely life,

But what have we brought today?

We shall give to the poor a helping hand,

When in their troubles we shall stand,

We shall feed the hunger souls of the earth,

But what have we fed today?

We shall reap many joys in the years to come,

But what have we sown today?

In the sky our mansions we will build,

But what have we built today?

Right here, right now, do we do our task?

Yet, this is the thing our souls must ask,

"What have we done today?

Keep safe and stay well...

Talk with 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?