food, crochet, merriment
in the world this very minute…
A mama who reads to her baby birds just before naptime.
What’s right in your world this very minute?
Happy Weekend my friends!
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Happy Birthday Shannon!
My sister and her man invited me to the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie the other day and of course I went. Aside from the fact that it was playing in an amazing theater…
and it was filled with Johnny Depp….
–let me say that again with emphasis—It was FILLED with JOHNNY DEPP!
He and I go way back.
But we also had the bonus of getting to see it in 3-D–something I’ve never, ever experienced before. They hand you your ticket and a cute little package with a funky pair of black sunglasses. If you put them on before they tell you to, everything will look chopped up and blurry and you might just trip over nothing and you could even start to feel a bit car sick. Don’t ask me how I know this. Just trust me and wait till the movie tells you to put them on.
Besides, you don’t want to miss THIS particular poster on your way down the hall. Pretty sure I’m too wimpy to see any show called “Abduction” but the poster of Jacob from Twilight was quite nice. Ooops–did I say that out loud?
Here’s a movie-going tip of the day. If you want the theater all to yourself, just show up for the 9:30 am show on a Saturday. There were like six other people in the building so we could pretty much yell to each other about how darn cute Mr. Depp was and nobody would care one little bit. My kinda movie!
I admit that it was very odd putting sunglasses on in the dark and over my own glasses at that. But 3-D was really a fun new adventure. And seriously…it’s always ok with me if that Captain Jack fellow seems to be standing a whole lot closer.
BAH-ha ha!
What about you? Have you seen the new Pirates? Have you ever watched a movie in 3-D? :}
My cute Mama helped us all enjoy Memorial Day–year after year–for all the right reasons. This year, my babies and their babies found many of the sames things to love about the day…and we discovered a few new ones of our own.
On this Memorial Day 2011– I positively loved…
the ridiculous brand new snow on the foothills–one day before June…
the people who matter most to me–the ones right here, and the ones just a breath away….
the beautiful flowers…always, always–the beautiful flowers…
the ones who love this day along with me…
the sharing among friends…
the tender moments that help little ones know who they really are…
the rain that fell just as we were leaving…
the hail that fell just as the rain was leaving…
the beautiful idea that there is a day such as this, set aside…
to remember.
Your silent tents of green
We deck with fragrant flowers;
Yours has the suffering been,
The memory shall be ours.~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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—–
How long has it been since you’ve had an old fashioned lemon drop? Oooooh, too long I bet. So maybe–just maybe you’ll need to make some of these sweet and tangy little lemon drop cupcakes. If summer is dragging her feet where you live, like it is where I live–then let’s not be afraid to bring the sunshine right indoors!
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp finely grated lemon peel
1 tsp vanilla
3-1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups sour cream
DIRECTIONS:
With mixer on medium speed, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time and beat well after each addition. Add peel and vanilla-and mix well. Mix dry ingredients together and add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream. Fill paper-lined cupcake pan with 1/4 cup of batter. Bake at 350 degrees 25-30 minutes or the middle springs back to a light touch. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
FROSTING:
3 Tbsp butter
2-1/4 cups powdered sugar
2 Tbsp lemon juice
3/4 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp finely grated lemon peel
1Tbsp milk
Cream butter and sugar in a small mixing bowl. Add lemon juice, vanilla, peel and milk together and beat until smooth. Frost cupcakes and decorate with candy lemon drops.
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Yes, yes…that’s me. On a bit of a pompom rampage these days. But I triple-dog dare you to tell me–if you can–that these aren’t just adorable.
And the best part is–that you don’t need to buy a dang thing. These are just one more bit of loveliness made from a T-shirt that has seen better days. Seriously, we could write a book. I believe I shall call it “T-shirt Reincarnation.”
Some day…
To make T-shirt pompoms–first, follow the instructions for making T-shirt yarn. Once you have a pile of “yarn” you are ready to begin.
Oh, and I found out something interesting while doing this and it is– that some t-shirt knit will curl when stretched and some will just…stretch. That’s what mine did this time. At first I was bugged, but now I actually love it.
Start winding the knit around your hand and keep winding until you have gone around about 50 times. Now, you may have to adjust your count depending on how thick or thin your knit is. Don’t worry, there is no real right or wrong here. I usually just keep going until I feel like stopping…or until I can’t feel my fingers anymore. You should probably stop before that.
Slide the bundle off your hand carefully and set it on a piece of string or yarn about 12 inches long.
Tie it around the middle really tight. Flip it over and pull it even tighter and tie another knot. Leave the long ends of your string uncut. You’re going to hold onto your pompom with those.
Slide your scissors through the loops and cut them.
Keep going until you’ve found them all.
Your pompom will look a bit wild and uneven. You can certainly leave them like that or you can trim them just like we did the yarn pompoms last week. Just fluff it and trim…fluff it and trim…kinda like a poodle.
You can hang them separately or string them up together.
Either way…brace yourself.
It’s hard to stop at just one.
