Last minute ideas for Easter

Elegant and easy just like me :)

As we are rapidly approaching Easter I thought it'd be helpful to emphasize the holiday for this Tips, Tricks and Treats Tuesday.  

I found this on Pinterest (my fun and relaxation refuge) and it's obviously ridiculously easy to put together.  The hurricane glass holder is quaint, but I'm sure you could pull this off with any larger, clear glass container you have around the house.  For the greens instead of the ones pictured (you'd have to get those at a florist, I believe) you could use any pretty green leaves you might find outside if there are any!  Or, you could use fake greens, Spanish moss or even the "grass" used in Easter Baskets.  The eggs should be the easiest part...either use some fakies in the wide array 

Artsy Eggsy

Pretty Polish Easter Eggs

Since it's getting ever closer to Easter, I thought it'd be fun to delve into the topic of Easter Eggs on this Mesmerizing Medium Monday.  

The gorgeous Polish Pisanki in the pic to the left are an elaborate work of art.  It's quite an involved process using a "wax flowing/wax melting" technique, applying beeswax into the desired design then dipping the egg into colored dye and repeating this, layer upon layer, until the intricate painted shell is complete.  I have never

Simple Sunday-Precipice

Clinging on above
below a beautiful danger
Gray, cold, alone
while the inviting pool
brightly beckons
with a counterfeit bliss
Don't go low
though tempted
with distorted visions
The water fools the foolish
with shallow charm
not disclosing it's
 unfathomable depth of despair
unending
Yes go up
though this moment no
sight to see
use your wings to
 high hope soar
no more alone
now a
 sky of paradise

CCB
3/26/2015

Emo in the 70's

It's prit' near the weekend and I'm ready for a Flashback Friday.  I started looking back at songs that I grew up with on the 'ol transistor radio and dug out the following.  I also discovered how depressing many of these tunes are!  After re-listening to this music I'm surprised my generation isn't all dressed in black and walking around all emo.

First up in this bleak bunch is a tune (although I equate "tune" with something cheery) called "Seasons in the Sun" by Terry Jacks.  The video more than compliments the somber mood with 

Working 'tude

Too true...

As I was doing my weekly housework chores the other day I had some thoughts (fancy that!) and, seeing as it's Thoughtful/Thankful Thursday I thought I'd share some of that brainal activity.

As I was cleansing my poop-shoot-product-catcher, I started to sigh about what an icky, routine job it was.  Getting negative, I was.  But, I stopped myself and thought, Why, this isn't particularly fun but I am so thankful that I can do this for myself!  And it's so true.  I really detest relying on someone else doing my work, partly because I'm anal about how I "like things done", partly because I

Rock of the Ages

What's My Line?

Hello there!  Today on W/E Wednesday we're going to play a little guessing game where I'll give you some facts and you'll have to try and guess what the heck is going on.

Our puzzle is going to be about the land formation to the left.  This mountain, which looks quite different today than this photo from 1905, is officially found in the Midwestern portion of the United States.  If I told you the exact state you'd guess it right away and that'd be no fun.  It was chosen from a group of three potential candidates,

Food with Flair

I have a few little goodies for you this Tips, Tricks and Treats Tuesday.  While sifting around the W.W.W.  I ran into some enticing ideas for spiffing up your dining room table presentation and, with Easter hippity-hopping on it's way, this might be the perfect opportunity to try out some garnishes.

The apple swan seems, to me, to be the most difficult to accomplish although it should be easier if you have a sharp knife, so no worries.

If you still think that taking the "swan dive" into this embellishment is too tricky for you, then continue reading because I found a few others

Yes, we have some bananas

This art has some real a-peel :)

On my unending quest for unique art for Mesmerizing Medium Monday, I have run into TONS of ideas, some interesting but some, well, I just was surprised to uncover.  Today I'll showcase one of the latter cases as I explore, for your pleasure, Banana Oxidation Art.  No joke!  The example on the left shows a cute "Banana Tattoo" as they are also referred to.  This is probably what I would be capable of doing if I tried it (oh, which I will at some point in time!).  However, there are some super-talented artists out on the loose that can design their yellow fruits into true beautiful but

Simple Sunday-I Spy This

Words of wisdom say

"To every thing there is a season"

I spy this with my eyes

in the cool of the woods

Harsh Season laid it's
 iced white death sheet
over all earth here
catching many with it's
cover of somber cold
making life inanimate
silent skeletons tease
 of once was
 A land abandoned
overcome by muted mood
  Time finally ticks to
Season of Sun
warming the cold, dormant sod
beckoning below growth
 nature awakens
roots stretching, reaching
eager for fare
continuing it's rhythm
non to on
Browns beget green
slowly growing over old
dewy days dripping
with primeval purpose
I spy this with my eyes
"To every thing there is a season"
Words of wisdom say

CCB
3/19/2015

Last of the Snow...?

Funny Flake

Snapshot Saturday is here once again and I thought I'd throw out some last snow pics as the weather is turning spring-ish in our area. Granted, we still have snow on the ground but the weather is getting quite balmy for these parts and little, liquid snow rivers are abundantly flowing everywhere as Winter is purging itself into Spring.  So savor these images since we probably won't be seeing much of the white stuff for awhile...or so we hope :)

Click on "Read More" if you dare!

How do you do your hair-do?

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

As you have probably guessed, this Flashback Friday will look in the way-back mirror at those swingin' hairstyles of the 1960's.  

To the left is, to me, the quintessential women's hairstyle of that time period, The Beehive.  This buzzing style was created by Margaret Vinci Heldt of Chicago after she was asked by Modern Beauty Salon magazine to design a hairstyle that would reflect the coming decade and "poof", it was so.  What she anticipated the decade would bring, I'm not quite sure but perhaps she foresaw this...

Inspiration for the Bee-do?

Well, you never know!  This cone of hair was also the fodder of the Urban Legend of the young bee-hived girl suddenly dying and upon investigation it was determined she succumbed to a spider bite that came from a spider nesting in her highly shellacked hair!  Ah, what anxiety this instilled in a young girl's mind.  Maybe the spider was waiting for the bees to show up :)

The next tress trend is one that I so dearly wished I could do

Feathers in the Weather

Sparrows...the Blue Collars of  the Bird World 

The weather has taken a turn for the warmer and Spring is ready to, ummm, spring up shortly.  I think, on this Thoughtful/Thankful Thursday, that my favorite harbinger of the upcoming season is hearing the birds start to sing again.  That, to me, is such a cheerful sign of the fresh, new world that is at our door.  As I was organizing my thoughts for today, I heard the twirtles of some feathered critter outside.  I'm horrible at analyzing bird songs, but I'm guessing it was a sparrow as not many of the warmer weather varieties have shown up.  No matter what was twirtling, I love the sparrow as they are the tough little troupers that stick around no matter what.  People in

Elysian Fields Forever

Elysian Fields, Hoboken N.J., 1859

Thoughts of warmer weather and one of the things that it will usher back in has this W/E Wednesday concentrating on America's Sport, Baseball.  I grew up in what I fondly call a Baseball Family as even my Mom loved the game from when she was a little girl listening to it back in the 1930's/40's on the radio with her Dad. I did some digging today and learned some interesting and some shocking new facts!  

The first organized game of real American Base Ball was played at Elysian Fields in Hoboken, New Jersey on June 19, 1846.  In a way I wish I would have been there

Gadgets for your Enjoyment

Ooooo, slicing fun!

Time marches on and here we are at Tips, Tricks and Treats Tuesday.  I thought I'd cover the tips/tricks aspect with some nifty gadgets I use around my culinary unit (kitchen) that I am more than happy to recommend.  

I'm not usually into gimmicky gadgets like those, and I won't print exact product names, that make sliced, fatty pig meat (yum!) into little bowls or that cut a yellow fruit that rhymes with "Montana" into uniformly sized discs. They say one man's trash is another's treasure but hopefully you'll agree with me that these do-dads are worthy.

First up and above/left is a mushroom

Painting with Letters

Exactly!

For this Mesmerizing Medium Monday I was contemplating what medium to tackle and thought it'd be fun to emphasis a form that's near and dear to me...writing!  

Perhaps you've never thought of writing as an art form but by definition it is "an activity that involves creating or expressing something, such as painting, poetry or music."  So there ya go.

You've heard it said "A picture paints a thousand words" but I say

Simple Sunday-Snow Portal 

A walk-about leads to

beckoning branches

teasing me 

with what could be's

No hesitation is made 

I trek on towards

the taunting gap

 curious anticipation surges

Eyes rapidly devour the 

vast vision feast 

encountered as I cross the

snow portal

Hues of blue flows 

to the wide horizon

The Great Lady Lake 

frozen, it appears,

for now

Slippery sheen under foot

yet I go

absorbing images as

brittle wind slices with

chilled air shards

Slick ice shelters

hide secret spaces

Cool milk-glass ice coats

dormant lakescapes

Atop a crest rests

the Diamond Light

the Queen that quietly rules

this crystal kingdom

Awed, I am gratified

that I

  crossed through to blue

CCB

3/11/2015

Just notes, please

Hey gang, it's once again Flashback Friday and I've rounded up some K-ray-zee tunes to wake up the old eardrums. For you kiddies out there, have a listen and you might learn something good!  

Today I'm choosing all classic instrumentals which I find very encompassing because these songs clearly pass the language border and cavort with your musical soul.  I hope you enjoy this style because I plan on dishing these tasty morsels to you on future Fridays hither and tither.  But now, on with today's features...

First up, to the left, is an absolute classic that everyone should know and if you don't, now you

Oh, My Dear!

My Hero!

It's once again Thoughtful/Thankful Thursday and I was contemplating what my blatherings would be about when my eyes scanned up to my comp's bookmarks bar and I spied my answer.  Earlier I was looking up a comic strip called "Pickles" by Brian Crane and is one of my favorites as the older couple, who are the featured characters, reminds me of me and the Hubster.  I was searching for the

 Pi Day Soon to be Hurled

Unless you've been living in hermit-land as of late, you're sure to know that Epic Pi Day is fast approaching and epic in the fact that it's a once-in-a-life-time event.  This year the date is extra geekified, being 3.14.15 9:26:53, so put on your party hats and be prepared...or should I say pie-pared.  On this W/E Wednesday, in honor of the upcoming and in your face Pi Day, I'll explore the classic "Pie in the face" gag. The actual act of pies-in-the-face goes back at least as far as ancient Hieroglyphics, so I'll just concentrate on those funny film types. 

The very first "pieing" in cinema was accomplished in the 1909 short film, "Mr. Flip" with Ben Turpin being the recipient.  In the clip above, skip ahead to minute 3:37 to see this landmark pieing.  Apparently, some don't agree that this 

The Great How-deeny

It's Tips, Tricks and Treats Tuesday and I thought I'd make it a Trick day at it's most literal sense and look up some kind of illusions you could fascinate and astound your family, friends and whomever you fancy with.  I personally tested the Jumping Rubber Band Trick and I could

Thank God I'm a Country Music Girl

This may come as a shock to those who know me well, and frankly it is to me too, but I've been slowly becoming "County-fried" in my music tastes.  So seeing as it's Mesmerizing Medium Monday that's the genre I'll concentrate on. The video to the left should really get you in the mood for some warm weather and it makes me hanker for a pontoon boat!  I'm getting more attached to this group, "Little Big Town" which, again, surprises me.  This is no knock on the music makers as they are great or else I wouldn't be listening to them.  It's just the whole Country category that I'm befuddled with. I used to hear that "twang" and automatically discounted that "hick" music. However, we've been spending a lot of 

Simple Sunday-Blue Moon

Blue Moon

Dozing among the

Drowsy clouds

Worldly worries

Drip down in rain

Sunbeams a blanket

As cozy as quilting

While the wind woos

Soul to slumber

Soothing fog floats over

Encasing this

Paradise place

And all melts into

Blue Moon

CCB

11/27/09

Playing with Shadows

"Do I look cold?"

It is once again Snapshot Saturday and this week I took my trusty cam out and about for subjects and themes to snap some shots (but of course) of for today.  I'm always on the lookout for a different angle but I do favor playing with light and shadows as I did in this little photo session.  I had a bit of fun searching for some interesting images and I 'm wishing that you'll have as much fun viewing them!

More pics...click on" Read more" even though you'll mostly be "looking", but reading involves looking so, ummm, just carry on.

Boy and their Toys

To infinity and beyond!

This Flashback Friday I decided to emphasis toys that guys, and some of you gals like me, played with.  I have two older brothers so I was exposed to lots of boy's stuff, especially since I was the only girl and in the sibling-gender minority.  GI Joe was one of those male-geared toys that floated around our house.  We had the Spaceman Set shown on the left.  The space capsule (think of David Bowie when you read "capsuuule") was really cool and I liked to play with that when I got a chance.  However, I inherited the GI Joe dolls when The Boys got older and I really didn't care for them.  In fact, I used to make them the villains when I played

Mind the Generation Gap

It's a beautiful day in the familyhood!

It's Thoughtful/Thankful Thursday and I'm in a thoughtful mood so here it goes...

As I've been getting more years under my belt, I've been having little memory moments that have come into greater focus under my "oldsterscope" which has caused me to better grasp the meaning behind what that older generation was saying. For instance, my Grandma always talked about wanting all her children and grandchildren living on the same block, each having their own house of course, but close enough to walk next door and say "hi".  As a young punky kid, I really didn't catch the

A Mystery in the Snow

What the heck made this track?

Whilst the hubster and I were out cavorting around in the Northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan this past weekend, we happened upon some tracks in the snow, shown in the pic to the left.  We couldn't figure out what made these snow tracks so I took a photo in hopes that someone might know.  And since this is W/E Wednesday I decided that I'd bring it up.  I showed this to my brother who's big on hunting, fishing and all those nature-type pursuits and was sure that he'd be able to identify them but he wasn't sure. As you can see, it doesn't appear to be of a creature walking or even running but more of a hopping type  movement.  I looked up tracks on Google and couldn't come up with anything definitive...maybe a hare? The individual track is about a foot and a half to two feet long.  We know there are bobcats in the area but that seems too small for that...or so we assume.  Bah!  If anyone out there can identify these tracks I will deem you H.M.  King or Queen of Supreme Snow Print Identifiers, T.E.  Ooo, another mystery for you to figure out with the title initials, but I actually

Smaczny!

Just a simulation....NOT my real Grandma

I had a busy afternoon making 5 dozen (that's 60...60!) pierogis.  My ancestry is almost 100% Polish so it goes deep to the heart with me.  But as far as Polish cooking went in my family, it wasn't quite as influenced as you would think.  Oh, we had food at family functions and LOTS of it because that's the Polish way.  I can still hear my Grandma asking visitors that were not continuously shoving food in their faces, "Honey, what's wrong?  Are you sick?"  Oh, she was so cool!  However, the food choices were not heavy with pure Polish recipes.  We did have Grandma's Kapusta (it means cabbage), though, and it was weird and green and I NEVER touched it when I was young.  There was two Kapusta camps...either   

Can you guess who this is?

????????

Look at the photo

Do you know who this is?

Was he an actor

and worked in Show Biz?

Maybe a Senator,

 a head of the State!

Naw, that job is too tricky

and not really that great.

Or was he a doctor?

Well, he was of some kind

I'm giving you hints

by talking in rhyme!

Maybe you've guessed it

so I'll now end my ruse

He's my favorite author......

Simple Sunday-Away

Away

While watching wispy incense clouds

daydreams conjure up ideas in

my drowsy, drifting mind

only to flee faraway 

dissipating into clear air 

like the floating smoke

I helplessly try to grasp at them

 wafting, fading, evaporating 

but sadly say goodbye to

thoughts now gone 

CCB

2/25/15