Where is Daniel Boone when I need him?

Ok, so I have a problem.  I have a very tenacious raccoon that visits my bird feeders nightly.  I have a squirrel proof feeder but as yet I haven't seen a raccoon proof one. Easy pickings for a raccoon with his nimble hands.  Every night he goes to the bird feeder and empties out the seed, then he moseys on over to the hummingbird feeder and drinks the nectar.  He's got a regular cafe on my deck!

I'm at wits end.  I can take the feeders in for an entire week and put them in the garage at night and thinking he has gone on to greener pastures I foolishly leave them out one night and he drains them.  Taking them in each night works, but the only problem is I am not always home right when it gets dark and if I get there too late he's already been there and gone!

That tenacious raccoon is brazen too.  I've chased him away, only to have him return in just a few minutes.  One night I stood at the sliding door leading to my deck and chased him off yelling like a banshee while he just gave me the stink eye, left, and returned moments later.  This happened multiple times till I gave up and went to bed.  

So recently I heard that raccoons hate mint.  So out I went and bought a bunch of pots and potted mint all over the deck. He would have to rub on it and get up close and personal to that particular herb.  So what did he do?  Well, this morning I had a ton of spilled and broken posts and muddy dirt spilled all over my deck, the ground, everywhere.  

I wish he could be made into a coon skin cap, so where is Daniel Boone when you need him?

Seriously I couldn't hurt a fly, in fact I don't even kill bugs, but I need a solution or the birds will have to just exist without me.  Makes me sad, since my husband calls me the bird lady.

Say no to bullies

I just read an article in a national magazine about a case in which some middle school girls bullied another classmate and the classmate committed suicide.  Sad case for all involved.  It got me to thinking about bullies and those who bully and about a long ago incident in my own life…perhaps my story will help someone, perhaps not, because years pass but mostly human nature stays the same.

It’s been a long, long time since I passed my middle school years.  Middle school however remains the toughest years for kids. And with Facebook, the Internet and cell phones I think it’s even harder. They struggle to find a place for themselves, they just discover the opposite sex, and formerly kind kids can become just plain mean. 

My 7^th grade year my parents moved from a southern city back to their home state in the north and I had to start a new school.  Entering a new school the first year of middle school is never easy, but it twice as hard when you are the new kid. 

I was skinny and small and unfortunately for me, smart.  So while I struggled to fit in this new environment, I excelled in my schoolwork. Like most middle schools there were cliques, with a queen bee and all her minions.  The queen bee took no interest in me.  I wasn’t worth her time but one of her followers took it upon herself to make my life a living hell.  Why you might wonder?  Maybe it was because of a test where I got an A and most others failed. Maybe it was just because I was new and appeared as though I couldn’t defend myself, which in all honesty was pretty much true.  At any rate she took every opportunity to berate me, tease me and make my former love of school torturous.

I couldn’t talk to my parents; they weren’t the type of parents you could confide in.  They would just recite the usual adage, “sticks and stones, blah, blah, blah.”  So every day I came home from school, I cried myself to sleep and dreaded the morning.

This girl, I’ll call her Muriel, began to egg me on further.  She wanted to fight.  I’d never been in a fight.  I didn’t even know how to fight and I certainly wasn’t going to fight in school because it didn’t matter who started the fight, both participants would face suspension.

The year went on and the bullying continued, even gaining more bullies to stand beside Muriel.  It was like a snowball, gaining momentum.  I wracked my brain for a solution, dreading each day but never letting the bullying change me.

And then I had my answer. The last day of school was approaching and I would stand up to Muriel and her crowd.  I wouldn’t have to worry about suspension on the last day of school and my family was moving that summer back to the south. 

I still remember the day I gathered all my strength and walked up to Muriel.  I fairly shouted that if she wanted to fight, I’d fight.  But it had to be in the front of the school on the last day of school. She was shocked.  Who was this mouse that was now roaring in her face.  She might even have wondered if I had some secret plan. I didn’t. No plan, just my stupid idea to stand up to a bully.  What was I thinking?  Muriel would kill me, with everyone looking.  I had two brothers and I’d never even fought with them!

Muriel tried to change the location to the back of the school, but I refused.  May as well just be a big show.

That day I went to school much as I imagine someone goes to their execution. My immediate future was starting to look a bit bleak!

Passing in the halls Muriel still tried to change the location.  But a strange thing happened, that day.  Kid’s were coming up to me and offering their support.  I found that no one likes a bully, not even bullies themselves! 

The final bell rang and I walked to front of the school--to my doom.  I turned around and walking behind me was a crowd. And they were on my side!

So I went to the front and waited.  We all waited, and waited and waited.  After about 20 minutes, someone came up to me and told me that Muriel had sneaked out the back door and was gone. 

I didn’t have to fight.  I simply had to stand up to her and she was the one who chickened out.  What did I learn from this event? I learned that bullies are insecure people who pick on those they feel cannot or will not defend themselves.  Once you stand up to one, their armor falls to the ground.

I doubt kids will change.  I’m a pacifist and I definitely do not encourage fighting, but sometimes you just have to stand up to a bully and hope it turns out like it did for me.  No fight, just a bully’s weakness revealed. And parents-- if a bully is affecting your child negatively, get him or her therapy to deal with it. Teach your kid’s to be kind.  Teach them that if they push someone around you will not condone or tolerate it.  There will always be bullies. The world changes daily, but people--they stay the same. 

A birds eye view...Just a photo

Ever notice how really artistic things look from an airplane?  This rivals many paintings I've seen in museums and would look great in a frame don't you think?

The clouds parted and brought us luck

After three days of torrential rains, flooding and just plain dreariness, the sun peeked through the clouds.  My daughter and I decided to take the pups for a quick little stroll through the neighborhood.

Somehow my daughter has eagle eyes because while on the walk she was pulling up four leaf clovers like nobodies business!  She even found a few 5 leaf clovers too! (Does that mean even better luck?)

I couldn't find a one, and I even went back to the clover patch this morning and looked and still nothing but since I was with her when we found them, maybe, just maybe some of that luck will rub off on me.  And I did take them and put them in a flower press. I am going to make something out of them real soon...I'll keep you posted.

Wishing you all the four leaf clover luck you can find!

Rain, rain, go away!

It’s been raining hard here in Va. for three days straight!  I know many of you will say April showers bring May flowers, but if this deluge doesn’t stop soon the flowers will have to be under water!  I just can’t believe there is that much water up there!!

Last night I went out the door to let my dog relieve herself and my front porch was covered with earthworms!  Yes, the worms must have beem drowning on the grass so they slithered up on the porch!

I admit I’m not a fan of rain, but this rain could make anyone disgusted.  You can’t go anywhere without getting soaked to the skin!  The rivers are flooding their banks, and roads are closed.  Will the sun ever appear again?  I wonder?

Anyway my poor little dog needs to go for a swim in my backyard now so she can use the facilities, so I will end this post, but please rain, rain, go away.

Happy Easter to all my friends and family far and wide

Cracked look plastic Easter egg tutorial

Just created--unique plastic Easter eggs to fill with candy.  If  you want to try this too, check out the tutorial on Make it easy crafts!

Easy cracked look plastic easter egg tutorial

Yo---gurt

Are you a yogurt fan?  I know it’s good for you and I’m Greek so I’m supposed to love it right? For me it’s kind of a love-hate relationship.   How so?  Let me explain.

My grandmother used to make yogurt in her kitchen with milk and cultures from a previous batch.  She would put it in an earthen jar and wrap a sweater around it to keep it warm while it became the creamy, delicious yogurt that you could eat plain or with just some honey added. 

When I grew up, I made my own yogurt using her recipes but I used a thermos instead of an earthen jar and sweater.  And it was delicious.  I used it in place of sour cream.  I used it to make dressings.  I drained it through a strainer to thicken it. (Thus becoming Greek yogurt) The only time it was sweet was when I added honey.  Fruit was a no-no. 

So, fast-forward to my busy today life.  I don’t make yogurt anymore.  And my refrigerator is a yogurt graveyard.  There are containers of every brand sitting there just waiting for their sell by date to expire.  I don’t like any of them.  Every time a new flavor or kind comes out I buy it.  I take a few bites, grimace and then toss it in the circular file. (Trashcan)

So after my latest purchase of “Greek” yogurt with the limited edition flavor of chocolate mint, I can it after a few forced bites and vow to never to buy another “new” flavor again.  Sorry yogurt makers everywhere.  Who are you kidding anyway?  Yogurt does not and never will taste like a slice of Boston cream pie! 

But it is good made into a tzatziki sauce for Gyros.  It’s delicious as a substitute for sour cream on baked potatoes.  It’s wonderful to use when making dressings for salads. And if you must have it sweet a dollop of honey is just divine. 

Yogurt recipe

1 quart of milk

2 tablespoons of plain yogurt (starter)

Bring starter to room temperature.  Pour milk in a heavy pot.  Heat milk till it reaches 180 degrees on a candy thermometer.  Stir so no top skin forms.  If you don’t have a thermometer, let the milk come to a boil and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.  Cool to 110-115 degrees or when you hold your little finger in the milk for a slow count of ten, the milk has cooled sufficiently.  Thin the starter with four tablespoons of cooled milk, add to the pot and stir to blend.  Pour mixture in a wide mouth thermos, cover and leave undisturbed for 5-6 hours.  When mixture has reached a thick consistency, refrigerate.  If your want it even thicker drain in a strainer over a bowl. 

Free printable quotation...live for the day

Free Printable

I remember way back when I was a kid my mother always had the book "The Power of Positive thinking" by Norman Vincent Peale sitting on her bedside table.  She’d read it often and many times quote passages.  

This past weekend I was feeling the pressures of daily life and mulling over those ever-present to-do lists. Tiredness finally caught up with me and I had to catch myself. As I lay wide awake in bed mulling over my tomorrows I remembered a quote my mother often repeated from her favorite book.  "Don't take tomorrow to bed with you."  In other words, live for the day.  Funny but it is just as relevant today as when it was way back then. Enjoy this printable and when you have a rough patch at work, life or health you will have some words to remind you not to worry about tomorrow and just enjoy the day.

Check out my tutorial for the Sculpey sitting duck figurine.  My husband who is definitely a man's man and doesn't really say much about decor or crafts, walked in and looked at the clay mallard sitting on the shelf and just smiled.  He told me,  "that's your best design yet".  And coming from him, that was a real compliment!

Happy Spring everyone!  It's almost 70 degrees and finally sunny!

Sitting duck tutorial on Make it easy crafts