Apology Tuesday- Invention Tuesday!

Apology Tuesday is starting to become a regular occurence... pout.
But, since I was sick, I don't have to apologize.

Today, I will tell you that I keep having an idea that I need to make. This morning my mind was furiously working out how to make it. Now I just have to make some measurements and get to the hardward store!

I am making a ramp that attaches to the side of my bed so my soon to be 13 year old cat can get on my bed without that sad scrabbling (that sometimes ends up scratching my legs!).

I think it's a great idea. I just need to make one and see how well it works.
If it works well, then maybe I need to get myself to one of those inventor's workshops... eh?

Next, making a simple pulley system so my son can re-shut his door each time our young cat pushes open his door without getting out of bed. :)

AND then I need to make some cupcakes, and some Milk Chocolate Chip Coconut Oatmeal Cookies too! I want to call them Choco Coco Oatmeal Cookies. I imagine they might taste like those Magic cookies? We will see! That's to make up Mmm-Mmm Monday... K?

Poetry Wednesday

Haiku by me

My eyes are open
But I cannot see Today
I see the Future...

Two! Two! Two days in one!

No need to say, busy, sickness, etc. for my excuses for Friday's post, right?
So, today I'll include a Crochet Friday and a Mmm-Mmm Monday. K?

So, this weekend was Stake Conference for us. The youth meeting including kids ages 10-18! That meant that my son was invited to come... for the first time... to the youth meeting.
The theme of this Conference was Preparing.
Well, my son got this little thumb puppet owl in Boise on our way to Portland, Oregon last summer. In this Youth meeting he asked me if I could make a nest for him.
The owl's name is : Mr. Who
So, I made this nest that is a bag, and if you turn down the sides it's a nest.
I also, on a whim, made an egg for him... although, Mr. Who is a boy... oh well.
So, top pic is the turned down Nest Mode with egg, bottom pic is turned up bag form... it can go up a little higher. Yeah, this is what I did during Stake Conference...

Now for Mmm-Mmm Monday:

I made this last night because it's sooo good. Plus, maybe I'm just craving peaches and just need to eat some peaches. BUT, what's better than just plain peaches? Peach Upside-Down Cake!

I got the recipe off the internet, but, I've already changed it a lot to make it my own.

Peach Upside-Down Cake

1/2 cup + 1/4 cup Butter

1 cup + 1/2 cup Brown Sugar

1- 28 oz can peach slices (+1 smaller can of sliced peaches)

(optional: maraschino cherries, halved)

1 1/3 cup peach juice from cans (+ water if there's not enough peach juice)

2 eggs

1 box Yellow or Butter Pecan cake mix

Melt butter in 9 x 13 pan while preheating oven to 350 degrees. When butter is melted mix in the brown sugar and make sure it's evenly distributed on the bottom of the pan.

Drain peaches, save juice. Arrange peach slices (and cherry halves) in the sugar mixture.

Add enough water to the peach juice (if you need to) to make 1 1/3 cups of liquid;

add liquid and 2 eggs to the cake mix. Mix as directed on the package.

Pour batter over the fruit. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 50 minutes or until cake pulls away from sides of pan. Let stand 5 minutes then turn upside down onto a cake dish or large platter (a cookie sheet worked for me).

Serve warm with whipped cream or icecream.

Enjoy!

Make-up Writing Wednesday

The dark, the snow, Cold.
Weighing down my blooms. THE SUN!
Shines! Warms! All is well.














Here's my excuse for not writing yesterday:
Yesterday was busy. I played a Vetrinarian game with my daughter. Whew! It was hard!
I actually got a load of dishes and some other big pans washed. A miracle if you ask me!
I cancelled our Bear Cub Scout Meeting, but, gave them an assignment to get some of the family requirements done.
Which barely gave us enough time to eat and get ready for SoccerGirl's LAST Indoor Soccer Game. Whiiiich.... was AWESOME! I think the score was like 8 or 9 to Nothing! Which my son kept calling, 8 to Zit! SoccerGirl made either one goal and one assist or two assists.
We ended our game of "I Spot Carter!" (a game my son made up that if we saw SoccerGirl's teammate Carter fall down or cry we yell, "I Spot Carter!" we got a point.) Last night Carter's big brother fell down a couple of times! We gave ourselves extra points for that!
Afterwards we celebrated by going to Baskin Robbins! I couldn't finish my Junior Mints icecream... whew... too rich!
Therefore, Writing Wednesday went by the wayside. But, I'm making up for it today. K?

Apology Tuesday

This month the Thursdays through Saturdays are booked.
So, Friday's post didn't get done.
This month I've gotten more and more tired and hips and back in more pain.
(plus I was tired and my brain couldn't wrap itself around typing in a password.)
So, Monday's post didn't get done.

So, I apologize.
I have enjoyed my regular jaunt into crafty land and will continue to do my best from now on.
All this tiredness and pain have been really great for my poetry writing!
How's that for looking on the bright side? :)

Writing Wednesday

My Mountains by CraftyTeresa

The Mountains I climb,

I climb each day.

I climb the detritus of life.

I climb a Mountain of pain and tiredness,

the most challenging climb every day.

The Mountains of understanding , patience and teaching

stand before me waiting.

The Mountains of being Wife, Mother and Me equally,

stand tall and climbing all three seem impossible.

At the end of the day I am exhausted, spent...

Did I get anything done? Did I climb any Mountain today?

There are so many more Mountains to climb as well.

In my sleep I fall fitfully back down all the mountains I've climbed...

and my Mountains wait for my footsteps once more.

(a special thanks to my Dad for the pic of the mountain. I think it's from a trip he took to Idaho.)

Memory Monday turned sad rant

I remember growing up in Rupert, Idaho.
I remember a LOT of freedom and running around outside and walking with brothers and friends to the Wilson Theatre for a matinee in "downtown" Rupert. The suckers at the Theatre had a chance of having a star inside... and if you got the star you got another sucker for FREE!
I remember knowing most of the people who lived on my street.
During the summer we would stay up until it was dark and then run around in the dark playing our child games like Murder in the DARK! until mom yelled for us to come in.
We could ride our bikes all the way across town to go to the City Pool, or ride our bikes miles the other way to Cemetery Hill with a hot dog in a baggie for our meal when we got there.
I remember walking to Elementary school and watching a dead cat decompose day by day.
I walked to Jr. High (Jr. High is a horror story for another time). High School was too far to walk, so I rode the bus or drove after I got my license. I don't remember gangs existing.
I really remember bullies and mean boys and barely existing and frustrating things happening.
I remember hearing where kids hung out to drink in my Junior year of high school. The reality of life hit me in my Senior year when my friend became pregnant and my family and I moved to another town in the middle of my senior year of high school.

People who grew up here in Salt Lake in the 50s - 70s remember riding their bikes all across Salt Lake City. They remember being safe and walking and riding their bikes everywhere.

What happened? Something changed during the 80s I think.
Suddenly people were fearful. Suddenly the world wasn't a safe place.
I really wonder what happened.
My husband suggests that in the 80s the news started using fear to get people to watch their news channel. Maybe we all found out about all the bad things and abuse came out of the closet, so to speak. Maybe being more aware of the evil made us fearful and we taught our kids to be fearful and kept them closer to us and to home.

When my brother (who is 10 years younger than me) went to Elementary school (the new one right around the corner from our house) he couldn't wear a Raider's t-shirt for fear of getting beat up by "gang kids". A girl in his class stole alcohol from her father's cabinet and hid it in her desk at school. A man threatened someone with a knife in the apartments my grandma lived in just down the street from my parents house.
Things seemed worse. I bet my brother didn't get to just run around and go to town by himself and ride his bike everywhere.... I'll have to ask.
Maybe it will add a piece to the puzzle of :
What happened between when I was a kid and our kids today?

Fear mongering news making outside seem very unsafe?
Computers and games and T.V. inside?
The heightened awareness of abuse and kidnapping?
I mean, there are 120 registered sex offenders living in my immediate area....
talk about heightened awareness of bad things!

Ross and I both grew up in very small towns (his was smaller than mine!) and we both had free and fun and running around town kind of childhoods. We are sad that it's not safe enough to allow our kids to run around and explore their world. In fact, parents who let their kids run amuck (aka. go to the park by themselves) are looked down upon!

Anyway, we try our best to make sure our kids go out (Buddy System!) and play. We make sure our kids know to get away from adults that are TOO friendly or ask them for help (a normal adult wouldn't ask a kid they don't know for help finding their dog, etc.) .
We tell them all the time that we trust them so much, it's the people we don't know that we don't trust.
So much they need to know to be safe these days.

Fine Art Friday!

I had to show this off!
This morning my 6 year old daughter brings this painting out to take to her show and tell today at school. She told me that she did this painting last night in her room when she was supposed to be going to sleep. (well, okay you can stay up if you produce art... lol)
I made sure to take a pic before she took it to school.
I LOVE it! And not just as a Mom, but, as a woman who loves to look at art.

Writing Poetry Wednesday

TODAY by CraftyTeresa

My thoughts,
as dark as the sky outside
and as full as the clouds that promise a downpour soon.

Too full of information!
Even though I need to stuff more in...
Too full of dark thoughts!
Even though I need to think more...

I wish I could be as the zen monks of long ago.
Only the present existed.
Only the self existed.
Zen...

But, no.
I am a mother.
I can't afford the luxury of the present.
I can't afford the luxury of the self.
I am all to all.
The opposite of zen.

Someday I will be sad that I'm not all to all anymore.
Someday I will recieve my zen-me time.
Someday I will look back and be glad.
BUT!
Today I am a mother.