Sunday Morning Coffee 05.03.15

This weekend I spent time with my beautiful daughter planting and adding flowers and plants to our patio area.  We even planted herbs and a succulent for her to take with her when she embarks on a new and exciting venture in her life!

May is a busy month for my family - Mother's Day, my fathers 85th birthday and my parents 67th wedding anniversary!  We are planning a family celebration over Memorial Day weekend.  That should be fun!!

Hope you are enjoying this first weekend in May! 

Some of my favorite links this week:

Mother's Day Brunch recipes

Beauty apps must haves

Seven talks to have with the man you love

Water the elixir of life

Happy May Day

April showers bring May flowers.  The ritual of hanging May Day baskets on the doorknobs of neighbors and friends has a long history, stemming from the European pagan festival of spring. A May Day basket contains almost anything, by way of small presents you have in mind to put in it, together with your respects, best wishes — love, perhaps. It is hung after dark at the door of anybody the hanger fancies.

Another tradition is the tall wooden pole and its dance – Dance of the Maypole.  The Maypoles are a part of the general rejoicing at the return of summer and the growth of new vegetation.

May Day marks the halfway point between the first day of spring and the summer solstice.  On this first day of May – rejoice and relish in the decoration of the earth with flowers, trees, grasses and sunshine.  Bestow this decoration to those you in your life that have a special place in your heart.

“Sweet May hath come to love us, Flowers, trees, their blossoms don; And through the blue heavens above us The very clouds move on.” -- Heinrich Heine

Sunday Morning Coffee 04.26.15

How are you planning to spend your relaxing Sunday?  My plans include touring our new Whole Foods Market store - which includes a taproom, donut cart, fresh juice bar and weekly deals & steals!!  It should be a fun exploring time given it is an overcast day where I live.

Links I've enjoyed this week:

7 Ways to Eat and Drink Turmeric

Non-words that should exist in English language

Rose gold hair color tutorial

7 Most Self Deprecating Phrases


Enjoy the beginning of a new week!!  Get ready to welcome the month of May!

 

Okie Dokie Artichokie

The globe artichoke is a species of thistle cultivated as food and is native to the Mediterranean area.  There are early records of artichoke use as a food among the ancient Greeks and Romans.  The budding artichoke flower-head is a cluster of many budding small flowers on an edible base. 
In purchasing a fresh artichoke (December-February), choose one that feels firm and heavy with a healthy green color, compact center leaves and a look of freshness.  Wash thoroughly and slightly slice off the top, trim the stem but keep intact and snip off the thistles.  Gently open the petals slightly to allow spices and seasoning.   The artichoke can be baked, roasted or boiled.
The heart of the artichokes can be cooked and eaten, or used in herbal teas and liqueur. The total antioxidant capacity of the artichoke flower head is one of the highest among vegetables.  Studies have shown it aids in digestion, liver and gallbladder function and raises the ration of HDL to LDL.

Artichoke Dip

1 can (14 oz) artichoke hearts, drained, chopped

1 C Kraft Real Mayo

1 C Kraft Grated Parmesan Cheese

1 clove garlic, minced

Heat oven to 350 F.  Mix ingredients until blended. 

Spread onto bottom of 9 inch pie plate. 

 

Bake 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned.

Serve with pita bread triangles or your favorite crackers.

It’s Time For Digital Spring Cleaning

It doesn’t take long for apps to collect on a tablet, emails to pile up in an inbox and data to be a drain on a smartphone.

So while you’re scrubbing the floors and organizing your closets, why not take some time to tidy up your digital environment?  Here’s a checklist to get you started:

·         Update your passwords.  Many of us use the same one for multiple sites.  Instead use different passwords for your critical accounts and remember to change them frequently. 

·         Cut digital clutter.  Unsubscribe from e-newsletters, daily deals and other emails you don’t read.  And delete apps that haven’t been used in a while and may be siphoning more than just space.

·         Clean up contact lists.  Look through the contact lists on your phone and e-mail accounts.  Delete the ones you never contact and update out-of-date information.

·         Sell or recycle unwanted gadgets.  Make some cash out of unused gear by selling it, donating it or recycling it.  If you’re going to sell an old computer, be sure to back up all your files and wipe the hard drive.

·         Delete old and unused files.  Go through all those folders on your computer and delete anything that’s no longer of use.  This will clear up memory on your machine so you can now save new data.  To get rid of what you’ve deleted for good, use a hard-drive wiping program

·         Clean and organize.  Don’t neglect your computer, keyboard, monitor and cabling.  Spring is a natural time to wipe down devices, blow crumbs from the keyboard and use bread ties or Zipties to tidy up loose wires and cabling.

Easter Eggs

Easter Egg

Easter eggs, or Paschal eggs, are decorated eggs given to celebrate Easter or springtime.  The oldest tradition was to dye or paint chicken eggs, however the modern day tradition is to give chocolate eggs or plastic eggs filled with various sweet.  Eggs are a traditional symbol of fertility and rebirth.  They are a Christian symbol of the tomb of Jesus who rose from the grave. 

The Christian custom of the Easter egg can be traced to the early Christians of Mesopotamia who stained eggs red in memory of the blood of Christ.  The shell of the egg appears to be like the stone of a tomb, and a bird hatches from it with life which symbolizes the eternal life of Jesus.

There are many natural ways to color eggs by using various plants:

·         Brown: onion peels

·         Black: oak bark or the nutshell of walnut

·         Golden: the bark of apple tree or marigold flower

·         Violet: petals of the mallow flower

·         Green: leaves of periwinkle

·         Pink: beet juice

Games to play with Easter eggs:

•       Egg hunt
•       Egg tapping (much like marbles)
•       Egg rolling
•       Egg dance

Happy Easter To a Good Egg! 

April Fool's Day

April Fool’s Day

The First day of April is celebrated as the day when people play practical jokes and hoaxes on one another.  Popular since the 19^th century, the day is not a national holiday in any country, but is well known in India, Canada, Europe, Australia, Brazil and the United States.

As well as people playing pranks on one another, elaborate practical jokes have appeared on radio and TV stations, newspapers, web sites and large corporations.  With the advent of the internet and readily available global news services, April Fools’ pranks can catch and embarrass a wider audience.

“Here cometh April again, and as far as I can see the world hath more fools in it than ever.” ~ Charles Lamb

Some harmless pranks to pull:

The maple syrup’s full of ants. (add raisins)

A mouse is creeping on the shelf. (fake mouse)

Is that a spider on your back? (fake spider)

I ate the whole pie by myself. (empty pie pan)

The kitchen sink just overflowed.(fill sink with suds and put suds on floor)

A flash flood washed away the school. (create a fake web news article)

I threw your blouse in the trash.

You are a BITCH ... Beautiful, Intelligent, Talented, Cute, and Hilarious!!!