Friday, November 29, 2013

30 Days of Thankful ~ Week Four








I'm participating in Cathy Zielske's 30 Days of Thankful during the month of November, and I'm linking to her blog today. The templates I used for my photos and journaling are Cathy's design.

You can see my week one pages here.

Thursday, November 28, 2013

A Thanksgiving History Recap

Imagine this: It's September in the year 1620 and you are one of 102 passengers onboard a small ship called "The Mayflower." You leave Plymouth, England in search of religious freedom and the lure of prosperity and land ownership in the New World. "It's gonna' be so awesome there!" you convince yourself.
 
 
Your ship finally drops anchor at the tip of Cape Cod - way north of your original destination of the mouth of the Hudson River, but hey, the anchor is dropped and that in itself is a relief after 66 looooong days at sea. It's November now, and super cold, so you and the rest of your travel mates remain on the ship throughout the winter.
 
 
When spring is sprung, you're one of the lucky passengers that survived winter. Half of your travel mates perished during the harsh winter months, dying from exposure, scurvy and other diseases. So in March of 1621, those of you that remain decide to move yourselves off the ship and onto shore.
 
 
In a random act of crazy luck, you guys meet a Native American named Squanto. Squanto is about to become your New World hero because not only does he speak English {he'd been previously kidnapped by an English sea captain, spent some time in London, came back to his homeland...}, but he knows how to grow corn, extract sap from maple trees, and he's got some mad fishing skillz.
 
You and your homeys hang with Squanto, and by November of that year you throw a big ol' party to celebrate your first harvest of corn! You invite some Native American allies that show up to the party with five deer, and you guys celebrate and eat for three whole days!
 
 
You work hard, you play hard, and a couple of years later (in 1623) you host another feast to celebrate the end of a drought. Celebrating rain and a bountiful harvest on a regular basis is starting to sound like a great idea...
 
Around 1827, this writer chick named Sarah Josepha Hale starts writing letters and basically hounding all the politicians she can find. She writes countless editorials for her magazine, and tons of letters until she finally gets the attention of Abraham Lincoln, our country's 16th President. In 1863, President Lincoln signs a proclamation designating the last Thursday in November as a day to "heal the wounds of our nation" - a day to focus on the act of being grateful. {PS: Sarah Josepha Hale also wrote the children's nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb" which I think is totally cool. I bet she would have been an awesome blogger!}
 

In November 2013, you're invited over to our house for what is now a traditional American Thanksgiving feast. We'll cook a turkey, and Doug might even have deer meat. Carrie will bring mashed potatoes and a one-cup salad, and I'm making the trimmings: gravy, cornbread dressing, green beans, my mom's yeast rolls, and pumpkin pie for dessert. Our feast won't last for three days, but maybe the leftovers will, and we'll celebrate and give thanks for our good fortune.
 
 
I hope this day finds you surrounded by people you are thankful for,
and I also hope it includes pumpkin pie.
Happy Thanksgiving my friends!
 
Historical information contained in this post was found here.
I made this gratitude banner a few years ago out of burlap and felt. The letters were added with brown acrylic paint stenciled through the negative image of some chipboard letters I have.

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

March of the Olive Penguins


One day last week, Doug mentioned that he'd seen a penguin shaped appetizer that he thought I'd like. He'd seen it in his Facebook feed as one of his friends had liked or commented on it. Or shared it. Anyway! I had him get online and scroll through his Facebook feed until he found the photo, and I was instantly smitten. I thought these were the cutest things I'd seen in a long time!

~ olives, carrots and cream cheese ~
 
The photo originated on Facebook via one of those pages that posts photos without linking to their original source, so I thought a Google search for "olive penguins" would lead me to the creator of these cute little guys. Nope. Instead there were a whole bunch of links to various blogs - none of them claiming to be the clever person that thought this up. {And because I recently learned that one of my photos was shared on a Facebook craft page that doesn't link back, I've added that annoying watermark to the photos in today's post.}

 
I just followed the photo and did these myself, but here are a couple of tips that might make your first try a bit easier:

The cream cheese needs to be super cold. I rolled these little balls while the cream cheese was still cold, and they softened up by the time I got to those final olives.

Find jumbo black olives for the body, and small for the head. Cut the jumbos in half.

Gently press the pieces of the jumbo olives around a ball of cream cheese. I pushed the backs together to close it up, leaving a little round tummy of cream cheese in the front.

Keep a damp paper towel close by to wipe your fingers from time to time. I actually took a damp paper towel and wiped off some of the olives when I was done. Cream cheese fingerprints didn't look very appetizing.

Take care with cutting the notch out of the carrot slice for the beak. You want it to be wide enough to hold when you place it in the olive hole. And I was surprised at how well these stayed together. I transported and served them without anything falling off/apart!

 
And if you are the clever person that came up with this idea, please do let me know! I will give you credit and I will sing your praises all over the internet! These were easy to put together and were a real hit with the family.

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Where is Heaven?

Last year, on the day that my mom died, Carrie and I ended up back at my sister’s house for the night, and my nephew Stone, who was four at the time, had some serious questions about his grandmother.
 
“Where IS Grandma Marti?” he wanted to know.
 
Yikes! In that moment he might as well have asked me where babies come from! I wasn’t sure what to say - what my sister would want me to say - and before I could think too long I blurted out, “She’s in heaven.”
 
“Where is heaven?” he persisted, and I pointed up toward the ceiling.
 
Stone looked confused. “Up on da woof?” he asked.
 
Oh my sweetness. “No, Stoney,” I told him. “Heaven is way way up in the sky.”
 
“Up past the planes and helicoptews and wocket ships?” he asked.
 
“Yes, sweetheart, way up high.” He looked sad but satisfied with my answers.


Over the past year since my mom has been gone, Stone will often look to the sky at night and find the brightest star. He’ll claim it as "Grandma Marti’s star," and many times he’ll say hello or shout “I LOVE YOU, GRANDMA!” as he looks upward.
 
Recently, as he sat under the stars with his mother he looked skyward and said, “Hi Grandma. You look beautiful tonight.”
 
My sister asked, “Do you remember what Grandma looks like?”
 
Stone was quick to reply, “Blonde hair, black shirt, black pants, white shoes, peach arms…”
 
My sister texted me to tell me about their recent conversation and before I could text her back she said what I was thinking, “Mom would never wear white shoes with black pants!”
 
Gosh, we miss her something terrible, but these little conversations, the little ways we remember her, are just so precious. I love the sweet and innocent way that Stone remembers his grandmother. She would love to know that he sees her in the stars...
 
...way up past the planes and helicoptews and wocket ships.

Monday, November 25, 2013

A Weekend of Food

It's the Monday before Thanksgiving and I already want out of the kitchen.
How's that for an honest start to my weekly weekend recap? Man, I feel like I was in the kitchen all weekend! And then yesterday afternoon we celebrated Thanksgiving with Doug's family and had a full on meal complete with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie... I really think I could go for a few days without another bite to eat - I'm still full this morning!
 

Friday after work I did a major grocery store run, and Saturday morning I started cooking. I experimented with making a potato frittata that morning and it turned out to be way more work than it was worth. I really should have followed some sort of recipe...next time! I baked a pan of cornbread to be used for my mom's dressing recipe this Thursday, and I made a Jell-O cheesecake so it would be set for Sunday.
 
Yesterday morning I chopped up the leftover potato frittata and made the yummiest breakfast burritos ever. Not wanting to waste the remaining ingredients, I made six burritos and wrapped and froze them for future breakfasts/camping trips for Doug.
 
Then I made a broccoli rice casserole, and some really cute penguin shaped appetizers (I'll show you those on Wednesday), and I baked three (already made/frozen) pumpkin pies. {I know, Margaret, I know...} Doug helped by washing dishes here and there which was awesome, and now I need a week off of my feet and aching knees.
 
Anyway! Yesterday afternoon/evening found us at Doug's brother's house with all of the stuff I'd been making in our kitchen and all of his family. I love those times when we are all together and I had plans to take a bunch of photos but got busy helping with food and only got a few. And most of the photos I took were a bit grainy so I made them black and white and will share a few of them here...
 
 nephews

 nieces

my amazing SIL, Janet
 
It was a rainy/cloudy/chilly weekend around here, and that's really putting me in the holiday spirit. I do think my spirit needs to stay out of the kitchen this week {don't worry, Doug and Carrie, we'll do it again on Thursday} and my holiday body needs a trip to the gym. And we're just getting started!
 
This will be a short work week for us, and we have a four-day weekend on the horizon. You know I have all kinds of happy plans...
 
I hope your piece of the planet is a happy one today!
See you tomorrow...
xo


Friday, November 22, 2013

30 Days of Thankful ~ Week Three







I'm participating in Cathy Zielske's 30 Days of Thankful during the month of November, and I'm linking to her blog today. The templates I used for my photos and journaling are Cathy's design.
 
You can see my week one pages here.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Behind those Lucky eyes


When you see our Lucky for the first time you’ll no doubt notice his eyes right away. The light blue color contrasts so starkly against the dark fur on his face, it’s hard not to be drawn in.

They say that the eyes are a window to the soul and when I look at Lucky’s eyes I often wonder what they’ve seen. He’s such a sweet and loving little dog, and in those times of admiration for him I wonder who is missing him.

His adoption papers estimated his age to be four years, and I wonder who loved him during those years. Who house-trained him and taught him to sit? Who else experienced his crazy high level of excitement over dog treats? Who spoiled him into being a house dog and led him to believe he was a lap dog that was allowed on furniture? And I really wish they’d taught him not to dig while they were at it, but I digress.

He’s had to re-learn a few things since he came to be with us, but it’s clear that he was previously loved by someone else. While we’re away he seems content in his little backyard world, spending his time chasing birds and butterflies, chewing on an elk antler, and on occasion digging a hole half way to China. But when we are home, he wants nothing more than to be inside with us. He loves being in our company!

Oh, sweet Lucky dog. You look at me with those light blue eyes, your ears perked up and a smile on your little doggy face and the worries of my day melt away. I wonder who’s missing you today, little dog.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Those Quick and Easy Dinners

Carrie has been out and on her own for a few years now, and our family dinner routine has changed. Doug and I still sit down for an evening meal together, but the weekday food fare is definitely different now that we are empty nesters.


I used to fuss over making a home cooked meal every night, and when time constraints kept that from happening we'd end up grabbing take-out or even going out for dinner. I loved serving a traditional meal on a regular basis - complete with meat/starch/vegetables, and Doug loved being served the same.

Somehow it was hard-wired in my brain that the evening meal was my responsibility. My mom always did it, and that sense of duty was passed down to me. And somehow I realized that even though he enjoys and appreciates it, Doug does not expect me to serve him a fancy evening meal every night. He is perfectly fine with (and sometimes prefers) grilled cheese sandwiches and a bowl of soup for dinner. Or a rotisserie chicken picked up from the grocery store with a side of deli coleslaw. Simple works for both of us.


I can stretch a rotisserie chicken for at least two meals, and one night last week I threw this meal together. I stuck the corn tortillas two-together with a bit of grated cheese melted between them (30 seconds in the microwave), and I only used one chicken breast diced up to make four tacos. Fresh cilantro, sliced avocado and some salsa, served right off the cutting board in finger-food style - perfect evening meal for Douglas and me.

What's your favorite quick and easy evening meal?

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Five Years Later

Carrie said I needed a blog.
"What's a blog?" I asked.
The rest is PaperTurtle history...

Five years ago today, with Carrie's help, I published my first blog post. I had no idea what I was going to blog about, but I had ideas and figured I'd just keep blogging until I ran out of them.


It’s a little tricky sometimes, writing for this blog. I have a very diverse group of readers made up of blog friends who scrapbook, quilt, arrange flowers, cook, or love photography. I have aunts and an uncle who read my blog, and cousins and even nieces and nephews. Friends of my mother’s read this blog, and there quite a few people reading that I don’t even know at all. Throw in a couple of Carrie’s co-workers and a few of my own, and you have a well-rounded wide-variety of tastes and interests. And while I embrace the fact that this is my blog and I can write whatever the heck I please, I do try to be sensitive to the diversity of my audience. So, yeah, it’s tricky sometimes.


When I published my first blog post five years ago today, I had absolutely no idea how blogging would morph into a hobby that I really love. I had no way of knowing about the friendships it would bring and the inspiration I would gain; how sharing my stories would help me accept myself, and also push me toward being more mindful about living a life of gratitude.


As I think about the future of this blog, I approach it with the same innocence that I did when I created my first blog post. I have no idea where the next five years will lead me, but whatever it is I hope you will continue to enjoy this journey with me, and I thank you for being here for the past five years - or the past week or six months…wherever you fit in the scheme of things. Your words of encouragement mean so much to me – whether those words are left by way of a comment on a blog post, a “like” on Facebook, or a mention in face-to-face conversation. I am always so touched to learn that someone has enjoyed something I’ve posted here on PaperTurtle.

Happy five year anniversary to my humble little PaperTurtle
blog, and a very happy Tuesday to all who read this.
I'm very proud of the past five years here,
and my heart is filled with gratitude.

Monday, November 18, 2013

A Weekend of Creativity

Holla, blog peeps.
Hey, you know how I'm usually like, "Ooooh, I had such an awesome
weekend I can hardly be grumpy about Monday morning?"
Well, today I'm all, "OMG - such a GREAT weekend
and I want ONE MORE DAY!!!"
~sigh~
 
Ah, no sense in whining about it, but it's true - I'd love one more day to be able to remain in my creative space. This weekend I was all up in my creative business, working on some Christmas gifts and learning a new skill. This post contains photos of four different crafting projects that I can only show snippets of today. I'll include each of these projects in future blog posts once the recipients have their gifts and/or once these are fully completed.
 

I worked on making a few Christmas ornaments and finished up one for Miriam's Blog Friend Ornament Exchange. {Thing I love most about the photo above? My Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle bowl smiling at the top of the photo.}

Next project, some wooden spoons ready for spray paint...


I put the binding on Carrie's quilt and finished hand stitching it on Saturday night. I'm so happy to report that her quilt is complete and ready to wrap! {Note to self: be sure to photograph this before wrapping it for Christmas.}


Our friend Judy came over yesterday morning and taught me how to knit! Yay! I loved it, and I caught on quickly which made it even more fun. Judy helped me complete one dish cloth, and I worked on another one by myself after she'd gone home. {Thanks, Judy!}


Yesterday afternoon Carrie came over and I helped her with a sewing project. I'm not sure what I loved the most about that - teaching her a new skill or just having her in my creative space for a few hours. Gosh, this weekend was really good for my creative spirit!

Plus! It was Doug's birthday yesterday! He enjoyed a relaxing day of watching football, working on his Sunday crossword puzzle, banana pancakes early in the day, and his favorite chicken and rice dish for dinner. And presents. And cake.

And then along comes Monday morning and forces us to switch gears. I have something going on every night after work this week, plans for every lunch hour too, and a fun-and-busy-next-weekend on the horizon. I'm so grateful for my lovely busy life.

Have I told you lately how much I appreciate that you read my blog?
Yes, you. :o)
Have yourself an awesome week, dear friends.

Friday, November 15, 2013

30 Days of Thankful ~ Week Two




Happy Friday, everyone! I'm participating in Cathy Zielske's 30 Days of Thankful during the month of November, and I'm linking to her blog today. Oh, and the templates I used for my photos and journaling are Cathy's design.
 
You can see my week one pages here
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