A Thought for Thanksgiving

"We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is
the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence;
see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence
to be able to touch souls."

~Mother Teresa

Transformation of The Blue Lady

I have this picture, I bought it at Michael's years ago. I love the lady in blue but the frame just doesn't go in my house.
How to re purpose? Hmmmm Had an idea...


Told idea to my Dad and of course he knew just how to make it happen.
(These are his paintin' clothes.)

Aren't Daddies wonderful!
Anyone care to guess what I am going to DO with this now fabulously made-over picture?!

Fragrant Hands

Ahhh, this is what it's all about. Pungent garlic, piney rosemary, and downy soft sage! What a lovely Autumn day to be in the kitchen...

Dinner at Taste of Texas

Last Saturday night on our way home from battleship TEXAS; Dad, Ethan and I met Robert for dinner at Taste of Texas.

I had never been to Taste of Texas during Christmas, before. It was magical, with decorations and twinkle lights everywhere, Mom would have love it! The food was wonderful and we had a great evening. Dad and Robert had Prime Rib with potatoes, I had a Center Cut Fillet wrapped in bacon with Bearnaise and asparagus with Hollandaise. Ethan had a steak with fries and half of Robert's prime rib. We all visited the salad bar and enjoyed their delicious cheese knots and jalapeno corn bread. It was a memorable meal.

Ethan had a great time hamming it up in one of the sleighs outside.

What Are You Making For Thanksgiving

Hi everyone - I can see that my blog has a lot of traffic - and I'm trying to make it a bit more interactive - So, today, I thought I'd try to start a conversation...

What are you making for Thanksgiving (or if you're not cooking - what are you HAVING or DOING for Thanksgiving this year)?
Click on COMMENTS a the bottom of this post and leave your reply. If you click on the Post Subject Line - the post will display in a view that will include all comments
Here's My answer to start things going...

My Dad is here visiting from California this year.
I had not realized until now that I am trying all new recipes this year
I am cooking...

• Old Fashioned Pork Roast - from the Autumn Supper episode of Cook's Country
• Night Before (Mashed) Potatoes - a new recipe I'm trying from Stacie (at work)
• Green Beans with Bacon and Onion (adding Almonds) from Cook's Illustrated
• Pumpkin Pie

(see my comments for additional recipe info)

A Visit To Battleship Texas

On Saturday Dad, Ethan and I went to Battleship TEXAS State Historic Park.

When the USS TEXAS was commissioned in 1914 she was the most powerful weapon in the world. At the time when she was built military use of airplanes had not even been thought of, there were no submarines and no method to see beyond the horizon. She was the first U.S. Battleship to mount antiaircraft guns and the first (U.S. battleship ship) to launch an aircraft (not off the deck but off her no. 2 turret.)
She served in World War I and in War in World War II in Africa, Europe and the Pacific. In all her time of service she was hit only twice on hit resulted in the the only wartime fatality aboard the TEXAS the second failed to detonate, that unexploded shell (with explosives and fuse now removed) can now be seen on board the TEXAS.

She was decommissioned in 1948 and offered to the state of Texas. Texas declined due to the cost of having her towed from Newport News, Virginia to the Gulf of Mexico, but after a campaign by Texas School Children collecting nickles and dimes for the cause - she became the first battleship memorial museum in the U.S. She is anchored in The Houston Ship Channel and is part of the San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Park. Additional activities at the TEXAS include Hard Hat Tours, Group Overnight Visits, and a number of living history and memorial events.

The hi-lite for Ethan was getting to man one of the antiaircraft guns.

He assisted our tour guide in demonstrating how the guns were operated, they still pivot and the guns raise up and down.

Our tour guide was a wonderful source of stories gleaned from the many veterans who served on the TEXAS who have visited the monument over the years. We also learned that parts of the movie Pearl Harbor were shot inside of the Texas.

In the background you can see the San Jacinto Monument which marks the Battleground of San Jacinto, "The Birthplace of the Republic." The monument is listed as the tallest stone column in the world, 15 feet taller than the Washington Monument.

http://www.battleshiptexas.org/

Present Tie-On Idea: Scooby Doo

Welcome to the final day of this week's Classic Artwork Blitz! Scooby Doo has been a popular gift wrapping theme in our house for some time. The colors are bright and fun and they work equally well for a boy or a girl. Here hand made accents add charm to store-bought wrapping paper.

I made a 3x3 gift card and attached it to the gift. I also made a small treat bag filled with "Scooby Snacks" (AKA chex cereal) which I tied onto the ribbon on the package. The "Scooby Snacks" bag topper has green paw prints stamped all over it which didn't show up in the photo. I carried out the theme by selecting colors which coordinated with my wrapping paper and stamps from CTMH's (now retired) Best Friend Doggy stamp set. The green-on-green tag and bag topper were modeled after the green-on-green Scooby portraits in the wrapping paper.

Let me know if you have enjoyed this week's Classic Art Blitz!
If you try this idea, please post a comment to this post and share the link to your artwork. I'd love to see what you make!

Stamps: Best Friend Doggy
Colors: Orange, Hydrangea, Clover Meadow, and Citrus Leaf
All supplies on Handmade items by Close To My Heart

Solid Pumpkin Stamp - Resizing Tip

Welcome to day four of this weeks Classic Artwork Blitz!
What if you want more different sized pumpkins than what comes in your stamp set. Here is a quick and easy way to get more sizes from your set.

Stamp the pumpkin and cut it out. Trim down the sides to make a skinnier pumpkin, trim the bottom if you want a shorter pumpkin.

The light pumpkins are what I cut out. The darker orange behind shows the original size of the pumpkin before I trimmed it. I used the retired set Frightening Fun but this technique would work just as well with the new CTMH stamp set Spooky Smiles.

Check back tomorrow (10 AM Central Time) for for present tie-on ideas.
If you try this, please post a comment to this post and share the link to your artwork. I'd love to see what you make using this technique!

All supplies by Close To My Heart