C - Christmas Crafting Starts Now!

FREE Christmas e-Book for A-Z Challengers!

More Info? Go To http://bit.ly/dRHYLF

HAPPY HOLIDAYS, Fellow A-Z Challengers! -- "Decorating for Christmas on a $15 Budget," is my FREE e-book gift to you, just for visiting during this challenge. Now you'll have plenty of time to get ready for Christmas 2011! This was offered on my SITS day, last December, and folks loved it. You can find out all about the contents of this crafting e-book full of instructions and step-by-step instructions for all of you interested in stretching your dollars by going to Solar Cooking for Mainstream Cooks. The SITS day is gone but for all of you A-Zers, simply follow the directions at the end of this posting and let me know whether you want the e-book or the .pdf version. Now, this is a month-long challenge with lots of lovely visitors, so please be patient. You will get your copy, but not necessarily within the challenge period -- which should make it all the more fun when it arrives. It'll be like Christmas in --? What fun!

I hope you'll also take a few moments to check out my solar cooking site because this cooking method is the best kept secret from mainstream cooks. You will definitely see a drop in your fuel bills and, once you have a solar oven, it's FREE!

[IMPORTANT]  Now, it's on the other posting, as well, but important enough for me to repeat here. Because Blogger won't let me upload an e-book, if you want your FREE copy, simply let me know in your comment below and be sure to leave an e-mail address (spell it out so that it won't get picked up by crawlers) for me to use. I do not collect emails or share/trade with anyone. This is just the easiest way to make sure you will get your copy. (P.S. The e-book is about 6M to download and the .pdf is about 2M. Let me know which one you prefer.)

[NOTE: If you have a gmail.com address, the e-book will be returned to me as undeliverable, so I will only send you the .pdf format. Please make sure your settings allow delivery from sjthomas [at] mainstreamsolarcooking.com.

Happy 2011 Holidays from Creative Handz -- the crafty side of Solar Cooking for Mainstream Cooks!

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See that The A-Z Blogging Challenge button on the right? With more than 1100 bloggers participating, there's bound to be someone you'll discover by just clicking on the Next Blog or Surprise Me button.

B is for Bleeding Heart

Bleeding Hearts

Bleeding Heart or Dutchman's Breeches

Ever since I can remember, I've always loved this harbinger of spring. Seeing it in my neighbor's yards, growing up, I knew someday they would be planted in one of my gardens. Well, life and all its wonderful detours diverted me from planting my own Bleeding Hearts, until now. Last year, they were planted in my shade garden and I kept my fingers crossed through the winter. Didn't know if they'd make it, or not. Well, here's the proof that all is well and, before too long, there'll be a gorgeous plant to welcome my springs, forevermore (or, at least, until my estate matures!)

Check out this site for some interesting and fun meanings and legends about flowers, including the Bleeding Heart (or, Dutchman's Breeches)!

*****

See that The A-Z Blogging Challenge button on the right? With more than 1100 bloggers participating, there's bound to be someone you'll discover by just clicking on the Next Blog or Surprise Me button.

A is for Angel, Absurd, and The A-Z Blogging Challenge

See that The A-Z Blogging Challenge button on the right? I've decided to participate in the challenge. The photo one kind of stopped because the leader really had overwhelmed herself and we all needed a break. But, this should be just fine -- like I don't have enough on my plate! --

With more than 1100 bloggers participating, there's bound to be someone you'll discover by just clicking on the Next Blog or Surprise Me button. They'll each have a way to link to another, so you'll have some great discoveries, I'm sure. We post a blog a day, except Sundays, so that's 26 blogs to do. Other than the theme of the alphabet for the prompt, anything goes: poetry, sketches, pictures, whatever you're in the mood to write or show, so that shouldn't be so hard! Click on the link on the side bar to discover new bloggers -- or, better yet, why don't you participate? Here's where you'll get the full information.

A is for my adorable, affectionate, amusing, adept, agile, astute, and, of course, angelic Angel!

How may I help you?



A Careless Smoker, Destruction & an Angel's Visit

It was a dark and stormy night and -- A gentle knock on the door, 11:40 at night, two little old ladies were enjoying the opening monologue of Jay Leno. We looked at each other and wondered who it might be. Another gentle knock. I rise, a little trepidatious, opening the door to a young man in his early 20s.

"I'm sorry if I woke you up, Ma'am, but did you know your front yard is on fire?" In stunned silence, I look at his concerned face and he seems to be glowing. By moving my head just a little to the right, the glow becomes something like this

behind him!

"Oh, my goodness, no." I reply, calmly, so as not to alarm him, "I had no idea! Be right with you."

It probably wasn't as big a fire as the burning of Atlanta, but, so far as I was concerned, it was on MY property and, until it was contained, it WAS Atlanta! Someone had tossed a lighted cigarette out their window and, with just enough wind, caught a drought-stressed lawn and leaves afire. I had taken my longest hose to the back yard for gardening just that morning and was now frantically trying to find it in the dark (I knew I should have replaced that bulb, last month) without tripping over -- well, my own feet, for that matter.

Meanwhile, my sister had given the kind young man a teaspoonful of water pitcher for water to start putting out the fire. Once the hose was attached to the front faucet, things became a little less frenetic. But, in just a short time, I had lost one of my driveway markers.

But, apparently, I got off lucky. When I shared this moment with another friend, they said the same thing had happened to their neighbor but he wasn't home and the fire took most of his front yard and jumped over to the neighbor's on the other side and, by the time the Fire Department arrived, his car had been engulfed in flames! All because some idiot couldn't use their ashtray. 

Now, I'm trying to decide whether or not to replace the driveway marker, whose companion looks like this

or come up with something different. Maybe, it's time for solar lights.

I'm a very lucky woman. If that young man hadn't stopped to let me know about the fire, things could have been so much worse. He didn't have to stop but he did. We were truly touched by an Angel.

A Penny Saved Puts You in Control

A Penny Saved Puts You in Control

Wait! That's not a penny, at all. That's an old package of Plasticaware. For one thin dime, 1/10th of a dollar, you, too, forty years ago, could have wisely purchased this box of ten (count them, ten) THROW-AWAY plastic spoons! Unlike this frivolous shopper who paid a dime for only eight (8) Plasticaware disposable spoons. (Where were standards?)

Did I find this during one of my thrift shop forays? Oh, no. My dear friend, who is generosity to a fault. discovered that his current instant coffee spoon had to be replaced because it had become unwieldy. He said the box was in his 'junk' drawer. (Junk drawer. Oh, please. Jeesh! He's a real beginner at junk drawers. I could show him a thing or two on what goes into a junk drawer.)  -- but, I digress.

Jury Duty – an Obligation, a Privilege, and an Honor

This has been an interesting first part of the new year, for me. Very little time at home because of helping a friend with post-op care in January, and then February and another first -- Jury Duty! For the eleventh time in my life, I was called to Jury Duty. It never occurred to me that I would be accepted to serve because I had been a Court Reporter and that was usually the signal to bump me off the list. Eleven calls; eleven rejections. It's been very disheartening, having always believed that serving on a jury is, first of all, an obligation but, more importantly, a privilege and an honor.  

Laughed So Hard, I Almost Lost My Head



Courtesy Lillyarts.com

 In response to Mama Kat's writing prompt, "Describe the last thing that made you laugh really hard," I only had to remember back a few days. For the past six months, I've been trying to figure out how to include vlogs on my solar cooking blog, using my JVC video camera. This has become one more high tech tool that I have to master, just to make a short film.

Having bought movie editing software, I thought all my troubles were over, only to discover that I was a mere babe in arms and truly at the very beginning of a learning curve. Frankly, I don't have time to learn another trade. So, I decided to look into those, you know,  new flip cameras that are so 'easy to use, even a child can do it.' Right.

Well, once I adjusted the frames per second to the smallest size for uploading to YouTube, I discovered that it was, in fact, very easy-to-use. But, to be sure, decided to make a test run before sharing the world's greatest video. And, I did it! I really did it. I was bustin' with pride and so happy to have found something high-tech that was easy. Yessirree.  Playback? Voice, loud and clear; picture, well-centered, not jumpy. I was enthralled. This video stuff really is a piece of cake. Well, almost…