AMANDA'S BASKETS: Leaves...

Friday, October 15, 2021

Leaves...

This is what my patio looked like after sweeping it twice. I think I would have to take up residence on the patio in order to keep up with the leaves falling. It was sunny and warm...in the mid 80's. Forecast is for rain tomorrow. :(

I taped up the garbage cans with duct tape today. Hopefully they will last until next spring. I also washed some patio things like the tables and chairs. The grass is almost a foot tall...not sure if the landlord is going to cut it one more time but it's gotten to the point that it is difficult to walk in!

I don't have many plans for the weekend except to relax, enjoy football and make samples of the decorations I want to make.

After listening to the economic forecast for the Holidays, I think I will get my presents early. I actually have a couple folks already taken care of but there are a few that I have no idea what to make or get for them. Do you ever run into that situation? Any suggestions? And no I really don't like to give gift cards, but then maybe that's what I will do...or cash.

Thank goodness for our cats...they have been catching the mice that somehow manage to get in the house. Well, the house is old. The main part was build in the late 1700's so there are lots of little places to get in. So far, they have caught three...one this evening.

Today, I finished a lot of those little irritating chores that most of us don't like to do...taping up the garbage cans, for instance. I think I had 14 things on my list that I kept putting off and putting off, so today they all got done. A weight off my mind which is crazy because none of them took more than 30 minutes and most about 10. Well, they are done for now!

Enjoy your weekend and be sure to plan some time to do something for yourself...talk to you on Monday...

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?