Crazy April Holidays (T13)

 

Everyone knows that there are Christian Holy Days coming up soon (Palm Sunday, Good Friday, Easter) and (U.S.) tax day as well (April 18 since the 15 falls on a holiday), but... how about these crazy "holidays?"

April 1 - Well, April Fool's Day, of course!  Personally, I usually don't like pranks. There are many theories on the origin of April Fool's Day.  Suffice it to say it all started as a joke.

April 2 - National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day (America's favorite sandwich).  I didn't like PB&J as a kid, but for some reason, I love them now!  PB & strawberry jelly is my favorite. I'm getting hungry!

Image Credit

April 4 - School Librarian Day.  Send the kids to school with a card or treat for the librarian.  Most of today's school librarians are trained media specialists, or at least, they should be.

April 5 - National Dandelion Day.  Did you know that dandelions are edible and have vitamins A, B, C, and D?

April 6 - National Tartan Day.  On April 6, 1320, the Scottish Declaration of Arbroath (independence) was signed.  Get your plaid, kilts, and bagpipes ready and watch an episode of (one of my favorite shows) Outlander!

April 7 - No Housework Day.  I can get behind that!  Phyllis Diller once said, "Housework can't kill you, but why take a chance?"

April 11 - Eight Track Tape Day.  You will only appreciate this if you're over a certain age. These came between record players and cassettes.  Did you know William Lear (of Lear Jet fame) created the 8 track tape.

April 14 - National Dolphin Day.  This is a good day to learn something about these incredible marine mammals.  Or, watch an episode of Flipper!

April 16 - World Elephant Day.  Another incredible mammal to learn about.  Never read an elephant joke while sunbathing.  You'll laugh your trunks off! A foundation in Thailand created this "holiday" to raise awareness about loss of elephant habitats and poaching.

April 20 - Look Alike Day.  Find your doppelganger (even though that's considered a bad omen) or just dress up like someone you'd want to be.  Elvis is taken.

April 22 - Earth Day (in the U.S.).  It's not really a crazy day, but it's important.  Author Sidney Sheldon once said, "Try to leave the Earth a better place than it was when you arrived."

April 25 - World Penguin Day.  (Often confused with Penguin Awareness Day on January 20, because, they're basically the same thing.) Dress in black and white like a penguin!

April 27 - Morse Code Day.  Before cell phones, before land lines, before radios, there was the telegraph.  Enter, Morse Code, first used in 1838 and named for one of its inventors, Samuel Morse whose birthday was April 27.

For more fun lists, visit Thursday Thirteen.

Fun Photos

 Some photos from Fort Worth Nature Center and Wildlife Refuge.  Ironically, we didn't see any wildlife except ducks and other birds during our hike.  We saw two baby alligators in the visitor's center.  I forgot to take a photo!  The water is Lake Worth which is the west fork of the Trinity River.

For more photos visi Image-in-ing and Wordless Wednesday.

Random Happy Tuesday

 Hello!  I've had a week to absorb the news about my sister's cancer, to discuss next steps, overall prognosis, and treatment options with her.  I am more hopeful now.

I'm sure a lot of people are talking about Will Smith slapping Chris Rock, but I'm just not going to.

DH and I spent the last three days with our kids and their spouses (and one grandbaby with number 2 on the way).  We spent so much time outside due to the beautiful weather.  It was a much needed respite, but we are glad to be back home.  I'll post some pictures in the coming days. 

This is from one of the trails we walked.

Right now I'm searching for new plants for the front of our house.  After last year's winter storm, we lost everything except the Sago Palm.

Not our sago palm.  Just an example.

  The front of our home gets a lot of sun, and Texas gets super hot, dry summers, so choosing low-maintenance plants is difficult.  Neither DH or I have green thumbs!  I looked at plants at Home Depot that said "full sun," but turns out, many of them are indoor plants.  I really don't know what I'm doing!  Looks like Boxwood gets the consensus online.

Not our house!

  I was hoping for something with a little more personality.  One plant I've had my eye on for a long time is the Foxtail Fern.  Turns out, this one should do well where we want it planted.

  And I think I will throw in some elephant ears. I have always loved those plants. 

If you have any suggestions for plants that  are drought-resistant and love full sun, please let me know!

Moving on...

Would've been good to consider this BEFORE we went on our trip!  LOL

That's all for now.  Blogger is being wacky with the photos and links!

Have a great week!

PP. S.  Visit Random Tuesday Thoughts and Happy Tuesday for more fun!

Craft Room Organization

 

Hello friends. Today I want to talk about craft room organization.  I'm always in the process of organizing my materials.  I've changed my methods many times.  I try one way then another then another until I find what works best for me. 

They didn't look at all like this picture, and there were so tall, I had to put some foam and paper so I could see which pens I had.

I went through several types of paper storage for scrapbooking:  First was a tall rolling cart of sorts where the paper would often get dusty from sitting out exposed.  I've tried stackable trays, but they take up too much room.  Now I am using  drawers for my solids... (I have two of these on a table)

And these upright cases that are kind of like magazine holders (but bigger) for my paper pads.

 I tried using an inkpad storage container, but most of my ink pads wouldn't fit.

It also took up a lot of room, so I went with a regular plastic box for inkpads.

I keep my vinyl, paper scraps, and current projects in 12x12 bins that fit perfectly under the paper table. 

I have my sewing notions (needles, thread, bobbins, marking pens and so on) in the pokets of an old hanging jewelry organizer similar to this one:

I think there might be a better way to do this, although it's very handy hanging on the wall right by where I sit to sew.

I've tried several ways to organize stickers and die cuts. I started off using a zippered binder system, but it became too much of a hassle.

Then I began using a Creative Memories sticker keeper.

But I don't really like it.  It's kind of messy looking, and regardless of the tabs, it is difficult to find what I'm looking for.  So I started using this instead.

But I haven't relocated my stickers to this organizer just yet.  Any suggestions for sticker storage that might look better and take up less space?

I'm really having trouble designing my pegboard where I will get the most use out of it. I basically took everythign down and restarted this project.

I ordered some cups for pens, but they were too tall and sat on the pegboard unevenly so for now, they are in the green bucket near the top left of the pegboard.

  They were too tall, so you couldn't see what you had  in them without putting something in the bottom, and they were very flimsy.

Then I purchased some excellent baskets that go diretcly into the pegboard, but I realize two is not enough.  I may have to go get another set. I had everything on my pegboard then decided I wanted to rearrange things and took almost everything down..  Had no idea how difficult it would be!

I really wanted all of my containers to match to some degree, but they didn't have it in white,  I'm not sure where to put everyhing.  I have cricult tools, jewelry and craft wire, scissors and tape products that need to go somewhere..  I've resgined to myself that it's not all going to match.  I would love to hear your craft room organization hacks . Fire away!

And visit Friendsip Friday and Crafty Creators for many more crafty ideas!  Have a great weekend!

Fun Photos

 I needed some serenity today.  Grilling at the lake was the answer.  But it got so windy from the storms we had yesterday. We only stayed long enough to grill and eat some burgers.  It was relaxing.

Crooked Tree!

For more fun photos visit Image-in-ing and Wordless Wednesday.

Not Today

 Today is the day I usually post something random and something happy... but...  

Many of you know my mom has had various health issues including breaking her hip and loss of cognitive functioning requiring a move to an assisted living facility.  What you may not know is she has survived so much already!  My father's sudden death, lung cancer, breast cancer, auto-immune disorders, and a whole list of other ailments.  

My beautiful mom and sister.
Photobooth fun at my daughter's wedding.

A few days ago, I learned my sister has been diagnosed with endometrial Clear Cell AdenoCarcinoma.  I will save all the details leading up to the diagnosis, but suffice it to say they should have done her surgery as soon as she began having symptoms, but they did not treat it urgently.

Clear Cell Carcinoma is rare (less than 5% of all endometrial cancers), and it is aggressive. And it scares the *bleep* out of me!  I have looked at the 5 year prognosis (68% is the general consensus).  I can't imagine not having my sister in that short amount of time! I know I need to be positive, but it's dang hard right now! She will have at least six months of chemo and radiation.

About a year ago, my doctor suggested I have genetic testing due to my mom's history.  At the time, I decided I didn't want to know if I carried certain genes.  I've since changed my mind.  I don't have the appointment set yet, and I don't know if insurance covers any part of it, but I am going to have it regardless. I would love to hear from anyone who has gone through genetic testing.

So I can't bring you any random or happy in this post.  Nope.  Not today.