Frances Ellen Speaks!

Archive for the ‘Crafts’ Category

Over the past few months, I’ve pointed out a number of places to vacation. All in the U.S. All good for the pocketbook. All good to help boost the economy. But suppose you don’t even have enough money to hop on a plane, or a train, or to gas up the car? What then?

It could be time to get creative:

1. Library – Visit your local library. There’s more than books there. Rent some DVDs and video games. Don’t particularly like to read, but you enjoy a good story? Try taking out an audio book. Many libraries offer free movie nights and concerts. There’s almost always activities for the kids. My library always has a 1,000 piece puzzle going so anyone can sit down for a while, unwind, and try your hand at putting in a few pieces. And nowadays, libraries have computers.
2. Birdwatching – Don’t skip over this one (even if it sounds hokey). If you have kids to keep entertained, this is a great one. Buy a bird book. (An excellent one for beginners is the Peterson Field Guide.) Install a bird feeder in the backyard. No backyard? Take a hike at your local park. Begin a “Life List.” When you observe and recognize a bird, check it off your list. Before you know it, you’ll have a pretty lengthy list.
3. Camera Safari – Both adults and kids love taking pictures. Get out there and photograph flowers, bugs, (birds, if they’ll sit long enough for you), other people enjoying nature. Compare all the photos and judge who got the best shot–adult or one of the kids? Post the good ones online.
4. Adult Education Classes – Learn to Paint. Actually, learn to do just about anything. Ballroom dancing, Line dancing, Belly dancing – your city probably offers classes at your local high school or tech school. Do a little research.
5. Fishing – Everybody knows somebody who likes to fish. Find your fishing mentor and spend a day on the water.
6. Picnic – This one is obvious, but the fact is, I hate to picnic on a hot, summer day. My idea is a picnic indoors. It can even be an overnight picnic that includes: inviting one guest each, everyone choosing their own food & helping to prepare it, each guest brings their favorite DVD, and when everyone is dead tired, break out the sleeping bags.
7. Hose ‘Em – Don’t have enough moolah to take the family to a water park. Put on your bathing suit and hook up the hose. Keeping in mind that most communities are trying to conserve water, this is an hour-long fun time that ends with some cool punch and a family board game in wet bathing suits out on the back porch. (Family time – none of us get enough of it these days.)
8. Freebies – Keep your eyes and ears open for free events: Museum Free Days, Art Galleries, Community Fairs and Events, etc.
9. A Bushel-full of Ideas from Pink Like The Color
10. And Last but not Least from Home Baked Education
    

Wii Fun and an Update

We are having a good week.
We blew our summer budget on a Nintendo Wii and Wii Fit which has been a really big hit with us both. Cameron is particularly into boxing, jogging and bowling as well as a Ben 10 game we bought with it. This is the first games console we’ve had in years and the first that we’ve really got the hang of. There is quite a bit of healthy competition in the house for getting first place in the games and activities! Much to my surprise Cameron switches off after about an hour of his own accord too – I thought I’d have to be dragging him away to get anything else done.

photo from

[My computer has been sick, but it's all better now.]

So, what’s doing in Macon, GA? That’s what I was thinking 5 years ago when a friend asked me if I’d like to go to Macon for the Cherry Blossom Festival. It turns out that Macon has more, many more, cherry blossom trees than Washington, DC.

Here’s a report from Faye and Ken

Did you know that Macon has more than 300,000 Yoshino Japanese Cherry Trees? So many that Macon was declared the Cherry Blossom Capital of the United States” in 1983. Later, the Japanese Consul General named Macon the “Cherry Blossom Capital of the World!!” William Finkling found and propagated the first Yoshinos in 1949 and later he gave away 1,500 trees every year to the Macon community. That’s how there came to be many Cherry trees.

Anyway, I decided to go with my friend. Macon holds the festival for 10 days every year in March, so if you’re a person who prefers not to take summer vacations, you’ll have plenty of time to plan for this trip.

Let me tell you, they pack in a lot of events in those 10 days, too. And much of it is free: parades, craft and artists shows, food fairs, dancing in the streets, band concerts in the park, and the best fireworks I have ever seen (and that’s saying something, because I’ve seen a lot of fireworks displays in a lot of different places.)

If you like to tour Antebellum Homes, there are plenty of them. We visited one when we were there, but I can’t remember the name of it. I remember it was lovely and that it had a cannonball in the porch floor, right where it landed during the Civil War.

Learn more about the Pinkest Party on Earth

My website is finally out from under that black cloud. Following is a post that you may have missed while we were offline.

Recycling can be so sexy. Creator Jolis Paons pleated, sewed and glued this entire dress by hand.

Photo and quote above from Neatorama

Two huge, thick, heavy phonebooks were waiting for me at my front door last week. Normally, I drag them into the house, trash the old books (recycling isn’t available in my area at the moment) and replace them with the new ones. I don’t believe I’ve used my phone-books for the past four or five years, and I bet loads of other people haven’t either. How many wasted trees do these unwanted volumes represent, I wonder?

Creating a dress is a novel idea, but I had to ask myself, why do I receive these books year after year. I don’t want them. With the advent of the Internet, these books became obsolete.

A better idea would be to mail all area occupants a postcard asking whether they wish to continue receiving the phone-books. It would cut down on an immense amount of waste and save a lot of trees.

Every year, when St. Patrick’s Day approaches, I think about cooking up some corned beef and cabbage. Nine times out of ten, I pull out a big pot and spend the rest of the day smelling the aroma of Ireland. The dish is easy to make, but oh so time-consuming.

I think what really put me in the mood this year was an email I received this past week about the popularity of Irish Dance at a school in the Bronx. The New York Times wrote about the music teacher and posted one of the most heartwarming videos I’ve seen in a long, long time. I’m so used to seeing bad news that the sight of these inner city kids kicking up their heels gave me goose bumps, it really did. Go here to see the video — Keltic Dreams.

Did you know that New York City has been hosting a St. Patrick’s Day Parade since 1762? Is that unbelievable, or what?! Incidentally, Patrick didn’t chase all of the snakes out of Ireland, either. Another myth totally shattered according to the National Geographic News.

And I suppose it wouldn’t be a proper St. Patrick’s Day without the mention of Leprechauns. I had no idea that if you catch a Leprechaun, he’ll lead you to his pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but according to Sherri Osburn, that’s the case. So, it might be a good idea to get crackin’ on making a Leprechaun Trap. (A really good project to do with the grandkids.) Take a look at some Leprechaun Trap Photos.

Now for an easy recipe for Corned Beef and Cabbage, but be prepared to hang around the house for several hours.

Photo from

Corned Beef
5 or 6 potatoes, quartered
head of cabbage, cut into 6 wedges
carrots, as many as you would like.

Wash corned beef under running water to remove surface brine. Put in pot and cover with water. (Most corned beef roasts bought from a supermarket come with all the seasonings enclosed. Add them to the water.) Keep lid on pot. Once water comes to a boil, cook for 3 1/2 hours on low/medium heat.

During the last 30/45 minutes, add cabbage wedges, potatoes and carrots. Add more water to cover. Keep lid on pot throughout.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day.