Crispy, Maidenhair Fern that died overnight on me.
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Easter Baskets: Can Be Beautiful Yet Healthy
I wouldn't recommend doing this for a child. But, I would recommend trying this for a significant other or a parent who really shouldn't be eating pure sugar jelly beans, sicky sweet chocolate easter bunnies and marshmallow Peeps.
As you can see, the center of attraction is this lovely and delicate Maiden Hair Fern. You can find these at better garden centers such as Russells in Wayland, MA (which is where I got this). And instead of eggs, we have a couple very generously sized and beautifully fragrant tripled milled soap from Italy. These are quite the find as instead of $12 a piece,they are about $4 at TJ Maxx. They are also featuring handsome quilted placemats right now. Two have been tucked into this basket. And voila! you have a beautiful yet healthy easter basket.
Alright, I'll add a small gold foil Lindt Easter Bunny in solid milk chocolate to this. It still is a heck of a lot healthier than the typical easter basket!
If you end up trying this, I'd love to hear about your results!
If you like the "green" aspect of this, this easter basket article from a few years ago shows a variation Another Green Easter Basket
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My Annual Post Christmas and January Activities
Let's face it, after Christmas is over, we can feel a little down. Two things I can do in January really help me get over it. And, they are things I learned from my former husband. Yes, sweet, lovely things can come out of unions that don't last a lifetime!The first activity is creating Christmas present tags out of the Christmas cards received. Even if you don't feel you have any artistic ability, you can absolutely do this. It takes no time at all and it's quite fun.
The first thing I do is survey all the cards. Of course the ones with family pictures get put into a different pile (they replace last year's pictures that are posted in a collage in the office).
There are ones that don't have a lot of interesting things going on. Sometimes the colors, textures and patterns let them become nice tags. Or, they just aren't interesting enough and aren't used at all. And then you have the cards that have a lot going on. It's typically some kind of winter or Christmas scene. And with these, you can often get multiple tags out of one card!
The key is to center on the central object if you have one (like a wreath, santa, horse drawn sleigh, etc) and figure out beforehand where will the back side of the tag come from. It's ideal when it can be above or to the left of the central object for a tag. Here, the fold will be just above or to the left of the central object. If you are worried about your centering and cutting straight lines ability, just use a ruler and a pencil with an eraser to get your centering correct and lines straight.
It's not that you can't make a tag when the back needs to be to the right or bottom of the central object, its just that it wouldn't open in a standard way. If I really love the tag, I will allow this, or maybe even make a tag out of two card sections by doing some cutting and pasting. Of course, if the tag is just a neat design or texture, you don't have this problem (you will be able to have it open with the fold on the left or top).
The percentage of cards that end up being usable from year to year varies a lot. This adds to the fun! When next Christmas comes, and you can use them as tags on presents, you'll see that they can really make wonderful accents for your gifts, especially when you match up the tag with the wrap and ribbon. Note that this is a fun activity to do on your own or even with children (just make sure you use the safe/blunt scissors).
The second activity is especially wonderful on a snowy or very cold day when you are relegated to the house. It has to do with developing a very special ability that you probably thought you are either blessed with it or you aren't. It's drawing. I told Peter when we were just dating how much I loved to draw. But I only took one art class and that was in high school. Although I got As, I thought that I didn't have much natural ability. I was sad and disappointed about this particularly because I knew both my mother and great grandmother had a fair amount of artistic ability, and both drew and painted some very beautiful things.
The next thing I knew, we were on a field trip to an art store. Drawing paper, pencils and erasers were bought, as well as the most wonderful book there is on drawing. It will show ANYONE how to draw and how to draw well. It's called Drawing On The Right Side of The Brain.
Honestly, it is remarkable how quickly this book gets you to develop skill here. If you have any interest at all in this, you have to get this book! You will be so thrilled and amazed with what you will be able to do.
Here is the first drawing I made (as I was reading the book).
My biggest challenge now is not learning how to draw, but giving myself permission to take the time to learn and practice. I always seem to have other priorities that "must" be taken care of first. Otherwise I feel guilty for indulging. Take a look at the dates of the drawings. Years can go by before I draw again!
But, as with riding a bike, once you develop some skill here, you have it for life!
Get out there and draw!
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Can Facebook Be Cliquey?
I was a bit of a loner in my youth. I had no desire to run to one specific huddle of girls at school recess. Oh, the poor girls who got caught up in that. If they were ever ostracized, it was devastating for them. I didn't fully realize at the time, I was witnessing cliques in action and how hurtful they can be. Here's my ezinearticles.com article on this.
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Playmobil Farm and Tractor Gift- How To Transform It Into Something Extra Special
Adults sometimes forget that when a children's gift involves a kind of transportation, they should consider whether or not they should do anything about terrain. Train and race car sets certainly benefit from terrain and tracks. And when you are buying the Playmobil Farm and Tractor as a gift set, you aught to consider including a garden crop mat that would be in proportion with the farm and tractor so that they could be used together. The gift would become extra special, some might say, even transformed! This article will give you more details and even begin to describe how you'd make one! It will also explain the significance of this Christmas scene from 1965 and the cardboard market.
If you would like to know more about how to make a garden crop mat, I have a book available at Amazon which will walk you through how to do it, step by step.
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When Nutrisystem Won’t Work For You
I had no trouble losing weight in my teens and twenties. I basically had to drink more water, reduce calories, introduce regular exercise like running. It got harder to lose weight as I got older. Even with learning about fat gram and carb reduction, in my mid thirties, I could no longer lose weight on my own. So I looked for help and successfully found it with Nutrisystem. When I needed to lose weight in my 40's, I tried Nutrisystem again. This time, it didn't work. My ezinearticles.com article tells you what Nutrisystem and Jenny Craig leave out.
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Garden Ideas For First Day of Spring
Yahoo! It's the first day of spring! We made it through another New England winter! For those of you who like to garden, time to pull out the tools and the wheelbarrow, right? I wish. Look out the window in the above picture. We just got 10 inches of snow from a snow storm yesterday. Drat!
Now look at the foreground of the same picture. What is that? It's a miniature zen fairy garden! Here is my first article I wrote on the subject. Essential Attributes of a Zen Fairy Garden
What is so nice about this kind of garden is that if your climate or weather is not cooperating, you can still have one and work with it any day of the year. If you have no yard outside you can have one of these. If you are injured, handicapped or elderly, depending on what you can or can't actually do at this point, you may be able to have and tend to one of these. If you have limited time or a limited budget, you should be able to have this kind of garden!
I stayed clear of of this sort of thing for a long time because I didn't like what I saw. I am very fussy about textures, colors and forms. And at the same time, I want a garden to be captivating and beautiful. But, then recently, I thought of and defined a hybrid garden, one that takes principles from both a fairy garden and a zen garden. And, that, I fell in love with.
Now, a month after creating it, my miniature zen fairy garden is very healthy, and is actually starting to fill out in places. Most of all, it looks beautiful from all directions (this is one of the requirements I have for this kind of garden).
Here is what the garden looks from the north side.
Notice the attractive textures and shapes that are being used. You'll see the same kind of thing on the south side.
The main goal of this hybrid garden is to create something that is very pleasing to the eye which can actually calm you down and let you escape for a moment or two. One other crucial requirement which makes this possible is to get object proportions correct.
Notice the size of the birdhouse relative to the ground cover and the garden bench. Look at how the type of vegetation that is both above the rock and below it make the rock seem like a boulder or a mountain ledge. The net effect of good proproptions is the garden looks very believable and therefore interesting.
If you'd like to get more details including how to make a miniature zen fairy garden, I have a new little book on it which is available from Amazon! How To Make A Zen Fairy Garden
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Essential Attributes of A Zen Fairy Garden
Have you ever noticed that some gardens seem to just pull you in and cause you to escape into a state of peace and contentment, even if it's just for a few moments?
There are reasons for this. And it has to do with the kind of thought that went into the garden design. When it comes to fairy gardens that have been made to date, I've noticed there is a wide range of quality that has gone into their design. This can be fine. Many of these, for instance, are part of children's play areas which may be in a constant state of change. And, part of the fun can be to just participate in creating a garden that may or may not touch upon a particular theme.
If, however, you'd like for the fairy garden to be something more, perhaps magical and alluring, it would be wise to step back and consider what attributes might work better than others.
I've identified some design rules which aren't really complicated or overwhelming. And, collectively, they make an enormous difference in the quality of the result. Here they are:
(1) Carefully utilize elements, both well and not so well known, from fairy lore.
(2) Approach the design of the elements with the essence of Zen (promoting a meditative state) in mind.
Some specific guidelines that could come out these design rules are:
(1) There is aesthetic use of geometric angles, lines and curves.
(2) Proportions are very consistent across objects. This allows the garden to be believable.
(3) Less is more. You'd be surprised at how easy it is to over do it and have a cluttered and therefore unattractive effect.
I also think it's important that you figure out what you love to see in a garden, if you haven't already. With me, for example, I love plants with dark, glossy green leaves and delicate white flowers. I also like rocky terrain.
Next time you see a garden you love, ask yourself what are 3 things about it that you feel really make a difference. After you do this for a while (this could take a few seasons!) you have a real chance of getting very good at designing a garden for yourself.
If you'd like specific information on how to create a beautiful miniature zen fairy garden, I have just published a new book, How To Create A Zen Fairy Garden, which is available at Amazon.
Making a zen fairy garden in miniature has a number of advantages including:
(1) It helps you make it through the winter in a cold climate or living in a city where you don't have access to a roof top or balcony garden.
(2) It takes hardly any time to start and complete. And you get a surprising amount of enjoyment creating it a gazing at it.
(3) If you think you are going to want to build a full scale zen fairy garden, creating a miniature one first will help you to develop the design more fully.
One last point. This makes a wonderful gift for folks that are hard to buy for, especially garden lovers!
Update after one month (3/20/13). The garden is doing great and is starting to fill out! This second article has pictures I just took. Garden Ideas For First Day of Spring
Also, I put a youtube video that was recorded while I was making the zen fairy garden on my youtube channel! How To Make A Miniature Zen Fairy Garden
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Fantastic Flourless and Fast Quiche
There is nothing like a beautifully made quiche. The problem is, that flour crust. Yes, it does make the quiche taste better, if it was made well. That's a big if. So often, the crust is anything but light and flakey. To be honest, 80 to 90% of the delicious flavor is coming from the other ingredients.
So, after a little bit of experimenting, I've been able to come up with a crustless and therefore flourless quiche. This is actually also low cal, low carb, low fat and low sodium!
I like this for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner. I may have it a half a dozen times in one week. So, there is one thing I make ahead of time so that when I make the quiche, it takes about 3 minutes total.
Ahead of time:
Microwave one 10 oz frozen package of chopped spinach* for 5 minutes. Drain.
Microwave one large chopped onion in water for 3 minutes. Drain.
Mix spinach and onion. Refridgerate until needed for quiche.
* you can alternatively steam fresh chopped spinach
Quiche (this is for one serving):
1 egg
1/3 cup of cooked chopped spinach and onion mixture
1 tsp. parmesan cheese
Olivio Buttery Spray
Using a microwavable cereal bowl, mix egg (whip) with a fork until blended (approx 15 seconds)
Put chopped spinach and onion mixture in with egg, mix.
Sprink parmasan cheese on top.
Cook on microwave high for 1 minute. Check.
Turn over and optionally move to small microwavable plate. Cook on high for up to 1 more minute.
Spray with Olivio Buttery Spary (5 times). Enjoy!
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Winter White Can Remind You of Spring
I like winter in New England for about a week, maybe two, around Christmas when there's a couple of inches of fresh, sparkly snow.
When it's the middle of winter, how I yearn for spring! The White Poinsettia left over from the holidays and the Paperwhites mom gave me for Christmas certainly begin to tide me over. But, I find that visiting very special greenhouses really helps a lot. The ones at the Lyman Estate Greenhouses in Waltham, MA fall into this catagory. These are also some of the oldest surviving greenhouses in the country and consist of four structures: 1804 Grape House, 1820 Camellia House, 1840 Orchid House, and a 1930 green house which features items for sale.
I first went here some years back with my Dad during the winter. We arrived in the morning when the green houses get a lot of light. A number of the pictures I took came out incredibly well. They can be seen here (just look for Lyman Estate in the title, there are 9 or so). I went again again this past Saturday with my friend. Take a look at this greenhouse:
Doesn't this make you forget about winter?! We got there late in the day (a half an hour before closing). But still was able to look at everything and even make some great purchases. Here's what I bought:
A Grey Lady Plymouth Scented Geranium (is at 1 o'clock), a Button Fern (is at 2 o'clock), a Serissa Foetida Mt Fuji Bonsai Tree (is at 6 o'clock), a Ficus Pumila Creeping Fig (is at 7 o'clock) and a Victory White Camellia (is at 11 o'clock). The total charge for this was just $35 plus MA tax of $1.91!
See what greenhouses there are near where you live, which you can tour. You may be quite surprised at what is available. Many of these places are for free. This includes the Lyman Estate Greenhouses (there is a fee for the Historic New England (formerly SPNEA) residence on the property, but it is nominal). Check colleges and universities. Wellesley College is another place close to Boston which has a wonderful greenhouse you can tour. Inquire with local botanical and horticultural societies about where interesting greenhouses are. They may even have one of their own. An example of this would be Worcester County Horticultural Society's Tower Hill Botanical Garden and incredible Orangerie which is similar to a greenhouse or a conservatory.