Wax Paper and Sandwiches

As a little kid I can remember after my mom finished the dinner dishes, she would get ready to prepare my dad's work lunch.  

She would pull out the old black lunch pail  and clean it out.  Then she would find the little Tupperware pie container to put a piece of pie from dinner into it.  Then she would put a couple of sandwiches together.  She would make them perfect for my dad.   Then she would get the wax paper out and pull out enough to wrap each sandwich.  She would wrap them like a present.  I guess it was like a present for dad.  He had a very good lunch prepared by the woman who loved him.  Sometimes she would slip a note into the lunch pail for him. 

Oh, the simple days.  I miss them. 

                                 Grandma's Card Parties

When I was growing up it was always fun to spend the weekend when my grandma would be having a card party.   I remember how much fun it was to help her shop and prepare the food.   

We would go to the local Felpaush Grocery store in Hastings.  Grabbing a shopping cart Grandma would put be in the basket and I would get to go for the ride going down the many colorful aisles of food watching Grandma carefully choosing the items she would need to make her menu.  

I had a lot of fun helping her pick out different treats for the party.  My Grandma's favorite was Brach's Candy.   I can remember trying to help her decide which box to choose.  All looked so good to me.  I would have been happy to have one of each!  After a bit of thinking Grandma would let me pick out two boxes.  One for the card party and the other for me for later.   

For some reason I can remember those boxes of wonderful chocolate.  It was a big deal to a kid.  It seemed so special in that box.  

After we got back from the store Grandma would whip up a couple different batches of cookies.  She would get the percolator going with steaming coffee.   I would help her set up the table with her special tea cups and plates.  We would put a fancy table cloth on one of the card tables for the food and then set up the others for the card players.  

It all seemed so special.  And as I look back at those days now, it was special!  To spend time with my Grandma and get to be included in the "big peoples" fun!   They would always let me play and Grandma would set next to me to give me a helping hand.   

I miss those days... I miss my Grandma.    It is sad that those days are no more. 

  

No News Is GOOD NEWS!!

I have been wondering why things seem to be changing so much in this country compared to years past.  It seems like there is so much anger in the world.  I know there has always been killings, traffic accidents, bad weather, robberies etc... but there seems to be so much of it now.
So my conclusion is that we are inundated with news everywhere we turn.  We now have 24 hours of news on multiple channels along with news all over social media.  I feel it is way more then any human can handle. 
As I think back to childhood, I don't remember everyone mad all the time and stressed out.  I think the difference is that we had only three channels and each had news only three times a day for usually an hour and that would include a half hour of local news.  Also, the news didn't move that quickly like today.  We didn't have cell phones that can broadcast anything and everything in seconds on social media.    We now have 24 hours to fill with every little thing that may be going on.
Since we have multi-channels of news to fill 24 hours a day we get to learn about Aunt Jane's cat getting hit by a car or Joe's grocery store getting robbed.  These are the type of news stories we would get in our local news or in the newspaper, not on the national news.
 Due to having to fill 24 hours a day we get to hear about everything, not just once but over and over again and in many different ways. And now news is more entertainment.  We don't get just the facts.  We get everyone's opinions and spin put into the news. We get to listen to a group of people who will set and argue over different things that are going on.  All this anger going on is so sad.   I miss the good old days when Walter Cronkite would just give us the facts and not a bunch of his opinions along with it.
I feel that because of this our country is losing its mind.   I know everyone wants to blame it on the president, but I feel it has been going on for quite some time.   Because we have all this bad news going on all day long everywhere we turn it is going to sooner or later start to affect people.  It is going to push people into doing things that they may have never thought of,  being copycats because they hear it over and over again until they think it might be a cool way to be seen or heard.
I could go on and on about this subject but it won't change anything.  Until people start to see how 24 hours of news is affecting people and that something should be done about it, I am afraid nothing will change.  It will only get worse.  I would like to ban 24 hours a day news and go back to the good old days,  just broadcast the news three times a day for an hour.  That is plenty of time to hear bad news!

Color Index XL by Jim Krause Book Review

I was excited to get this book for my daughter who is involved in the film industry. She is always editing videos. I have also done ceramic for many years. Jim Krause has over 1, 100 color Palettes and has HD colors with CMYK and RGB. You will find light, bright, dark and a variety of muted colors. The edge of the page has edge indexing for quick access.  

This is a very handy book,  especially for anyone who is a designer, artist or like to look at colors.

  

   

   

  

Jim Krause

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jim Krause has worked as a designer in the Pacific Northwest since the 1980s. He has produced award-winning work for clients large and small, including Microsoft, McDonald's, Kodak, Cingular Wireless, Washington Apples, Levi Strauss, Paccar/Kenworth, and Seattle Public Schools. Jim Krause has written over 15 books on design, creativity, and digital photography. His books are widely popular and are on sale around the world. Several have been translated into multiple languages.

Krause's latest books are Color Index XL, Lessons in Typography, Visual Design and Color For Designers.

When Jim isn't working on books, he can usually be found riding or racing either a motorcycle or a bicycle, hiking, reading, roasting coffee beans in his backyard, drinking espresso, or doing an art project of some kind or another. Check out his website at: Click Here

“I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review”

Martha Stewart's Slow Cooker Book Review

This is another wonderful cookbook by Martha Stewart.  Inside this book is pages of wonderful recipes for your slow cooker.

I love cooking in my crock-pot and am always looking for new recipes In this book I found a large variety of different meal ideas.

There are 7 different sections - meat, poultry, seafood, meatless, side dishes, breakfast, sweets, and stocks & sauces.

Each section has wonderful color illustrations, and simple instructions.  I like it because not every recipe calls for ingredients I have never heard of.  

Another great cookbook from Martha Stewart!


"I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review"

Victuals by Ronni Lundy

This is such an amazing cookbook by Ronni Lundy.  I love the history of where the recipes came from.  It is so visual with descriptions of the mountain communities.

Most of the recipes have ingredients that are easy to find and won't break the bank to purchase them.  If you have a green thumb, start a garden and most ingredients will be in your own back yard!

I also loved the illustrations.  Colorful pictures of the Appalachian Mountains, and the wonderful yummy looking recipes. 

I highly recommend this cookbook.  It is an enjoyable read and many great recipes to make.

“I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.”

My Ideal For Campaign Reform.. A Rant!

Ok.. here is my political rant .. we need campaign reform!! Here is my proposal

1. Campaigning can last no more then 2 months
2. Each candidate will agree upon a certain amount they will be allowed to spend on campaigning
3. There will be no negative campaigning. Only about the issues that affect the American people
4. Each candidate will be allowed 4 ads to be shown for free on all networks. These networks will be the same for each candidate. Each will get the same time on a different day and will change each week.
5. No candidate will be allowed to be on any television show. They are not entertainers.
6. Each will be allowed to be on 4 different news shows and only talk about what they are planning on doing for the country. No knocking the other candidates down.
7. There will be only 2 debates to narrow the candidates, both debates will be hosted by a non media person. Only questions relevant to the polices they purpose will be allowed. No personal attacks or fighting. No interrupting by commentator or candidate. Each will get 3 minutest and 1 minute to respond. The debate will only last a total of 1 hour
8. There will be only 2 debates of the Presidential candidates and will be run the same as above.

I am sure I can come up with some more rules but that is a good start. I truly think this campaign has been going on way to long. Because of this we have lost what the candidates are standing for. Instead of the issues and the proposals they are making, we are more worried about their “deplorable” personality which I feel both have! It is so sad that we are stuck with 2 people that no one really want in office. I am sure we are the laughing stock around the world. It is an embarrassment that both people we have to choose from have so much baggage.

The media has been having a field day with all the scandals they are digging up on both candidates. Half the battle is trying to weed out the truth and not the media bias. They are so good with editing things and only letting you hear and see what they want you to see or hear.

It is so sad that people are so frustrated that they are personally attacking each other and calling them names just because of who the happen to pick as the least of the evils. It really shouldn't have to be the least of the evils.. so sad. There is way to much hate out there...and both candidates are to blame.

We need to pray for our nation and hope that it can survive the next 4 years...

That is the end of my rant... Please don't yell at me..  

Book Review: Camilla d'Errico Pop Manga Coloring Book

Pop Manga Coloring Book by Camilla d'Errico is a really fun coloring book. The designs in this book are incredible. The pages are full of details both with the characters and the backgrounds. The only thing I found with these drawings is its hard to use markers because the spaces are small. Now, color pencils, I found, are a lot easier to use and look a lot better.  This book is great for any age really, but I believe 8 and up would most likely have more fun with it than 8 and under.
I do want to warn you it is very easy to loose track of time coloring these pages. This book would make a great gift idea.

"I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."

Coloring Book - God Bless America

Coloring books aren’t just for kids anymore. Now adults have an excuse to color.  Coloring helps relief stress. There is evidence that even a short coloring session can help improve focus and spur creativity. God Bless America coloring book isn’t just a coloring book but it also a reminder of how blessed we are to live in a great country.

As you color the 40 patriotic images, each page contains quotes from our Founding Fathers, historic documents, presidents, Scripture, patriotic songs, and inspirational quotes from America’s heroes. 

“God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that his justice cannot sleep forever.” – Thomas Jefferson

“The clash of ideas is the sound of freedom. “ – Claudia Alta Taylor “Lady Bird” Johnson.

Many of the pages have great detail to color in and some not so much. This is a simple book, but a lot of fun. This book makes a nice gift.

Purchase the book at: Click Here

" I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."

Punderdome Card Game Review

When I saw this new game I thought it sounded fun to play.  Punderdome is based on the live  game show in Brooklyn New York. So I gathered some friends to give it a try. First you need at least three people to play. There are 200 game cards and 2 pads to write down puns. The object of the game is to come up with puns to match the cards and win mystery envelope prizes. The mystery prizes are up to the host to get. It doesn't come with the game. We had a group of three to play. We found it was kind of hard to come up with puns. Guess we aren't great at it. Maybe after playing it more we will get the hang of it. If you have more then three people you can play in teams which can make it a lot eaiser and more fun. Out of 1-10 I would give this game a six. I am not sure I am a big fan of the game yet. Like I said, maybe after playing it more we will figure it out.    

“I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.”

Punderdome A Game Review

When I saw this new game I thought it sounded fun to play.  Punderdome is based on the live  game show in Brooklyn New York.   So I gathered some friends to give it a try

First you need at least three people to play.  There are 200 game cards and 2 pads to write puns down. The object of the game is to come up with puns to match the cards and win mystery envelope prizes.  The mystery prizes are up to the host to get.  It doesn't come with the game

We had a group of 3 to play.  We found it kind of hard to come up with puns.  Guess we aren't that great at it.   Maybe after playing it more we will get the hang of it.  

If you have more then 3 people you can play in teams which can make it a little easier. 

Out of 1 - 10 I would give this game a 6.   I am not sure I am a big fan of the game yet.  Like I said maybe after playing it more we will have it figured out.

"I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."

American The Big Melting Pot

I know there has been  a lot of angry talk over immigration.  A lot of people feel that we should stop letting people into the country while others want to let even more in.  

Those who are coming into our country are not like the people who fought to get here in the past.  When  those who  came to America to make a better life , they were proud to learn our history, our language, and wanted to become an American.   Even though they might have still spoke their language at home,  they still spoke English elsewhere.  

Now our country has to change to make it easy for our new people coming in.  Instead of learning English, we have to have everything with different languages.  Call customer service and you end up with at least 2 different languages to choose from.  Schools are changing also.  

In stead of melting into our country, they want to have their own country stuck into ours.  I am afraid that sooner or later there will be so many little "countries" that American won't look the same anymore. 

I am not a raciest, and I hope I haven't come across like I am.  I am all for people coming to America for a better life.  I just hope the are coming for the right reasons and not for what they can get from the country.  We need to all pull together, work together and live together to make this country even better.

Orange Is The New Pavement

I have decided that summer is now the season of orange barrels!   I know that the roads are in bad shape and in need of repair but pleeeassseee  lets do one or two roads at a time.

I am so sick of trying to find new routes to get to where I am going and no sooner do I find a replacement road; more barrels are put out and another road is closed!

This summer here in Grand Rapids seems to be worse then normal.  I feel like every road heading north and south is ether ripped up or completely closed.  I am so sick of orange signs, orange cones and barrels. 

Why or why can't they complete one road then go to the next one.  It seems like they love to rip all the roads up at once and let them set a while before doing much work on them.  When going past the road construction it always looks like hardly anyone is working on the road.  I think they have so many ripped up that they don't have enough workers to get them all done.  It seems like they could save a lot of money by working on one or two roads at at time.  Put all the workers on those couple roads and get them done faster, then move to the next road. 

Look at all the money the city and state could save by not having to buy so many signs, barrels and cones!  I think I might look into buying some stock in the orange cone and barrel company!

I feel so sorry for the business that are held hostage due to road construction.  Some make it though the mess and some don't.  If it didn't take them so long to get the road completed it might save some of those poor business!   

Lets end the season of orange.. lets hope that our government officials can find a better way to repair the roads with out having to rip up the whole area at one time!

Ok.. end of my rant for today

Until next time take care...

The Water-Saving Garden by Pam Penick Book Review

After our home was hit by a tornado a couple years ago we lost a lot of trees.  Our yard now gets a ton of sun which doesn't help the grass and plants, they are constantly needing water.  I saw this book "The Water-Saving Garden" and though this might give us some ideas that will help.

After reading the book I learned what plants work with less water, different containers to use, and water ponds.  I wish it covered more for people who live in the midwest.  It was geared more for the western states.  

The ideas were somewhat complicated and costly.   I wish there were more ideas that would fit in everyone's budget. I did enjoy the colorful pages full of plants and gardening plans. 

I would diffidently recommend this book for anyone that lives out west or who don't get very much rain.  It is an easy read and full of good information on plant and container choices. 

"I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."

Happy Father's Day Daddy

It has been a few years now since my dad passed away, but it is still hard on Father's Day.  I miss his voice, his smile, the mischievous twinkle in his eye, his teasing, even his snoring.  I truly miss his hugs and the love that he gave.  My dad was the best.  He would do anything for my me and my sister.  He was always there for us. 

My dad was a hard working man.  He would work two jobs so we could have braces, musical instruments, go on trips etc.  He worked 40 - 50 hours at Steelcase in the desk department and then come home gulp down dinner and go to the high-school and worked as a janitor.  On top of working he also kept the house and cars up,  built things, remodeled the house, and played with me and my sister. 

If there was something that me or my sister might want we would give him that look and he would find a way to get it for us.  On our birthdays he would always have a gift just from him.. he loved to make it very hard for us to open it.  He would put it in a wooden box then layer it with all kinds of stuff, other boxes, lots of duck tape, anything he could think of to make it hard.  It would take us a while to open it but it was always worth the struggle!! Sometimes all that would be was a note to tell us to look somewhere else!  In the end it usually was a pretty piece of jewelry.  He loved to buy jewelry!  Sometimes dad and mom would hide a tiny box in the birthday cake. 

My dad's childhood was tough.  My grandma was very loving but his dad was very tough.  He had a very bad temper and my dad could never do anything right.  My grandma had to work so my dad was pretty much on his own during the day.  They had a garden and my dad was out helping grandpa till it and for some reason grandpa didn't think dad was doing it right or something so he got mad and hit him over the back with a new shovel.  The handle broke in half on my poor dads back.  You had to be very careful around grandpa.  After dad graduated high school he left home and joined the Air Force to get away from it.  

 

Because of what dad dealt with grandpa he never raised a hand on me or my sister.  He left the discipline to my mom.  This did not make mom to happy being the bad guy all the time.

I remember we wanted a dog and mom was totally against it.  Next thing you know, dad is coming home with a little bundle tucked inside of his coat.  Poor mom got stuck having to have another dog! 

My dad was always taking us somewhere.  Every summer he found a way for us to travel.  He had a truck and made a homemade camper for the back of it.  My sister and I would sleep on the table and my folks on the sides of the camper.  It wasn't that comfortable but it worked.  We got to see a lot of this wonderful country!  Our last trip we made as a family my dad took us though 13 states in less then 3 weeks.  It would have been a little longer but it was cut short due to a horse injury.  My sister wanted to go on a trail ride and we were in North Dakota.  The town we were staying at had trail rides so we went there.  For some reason the horses were spooked during the ride and went wild.  My poor dad fell off and got stomped on by a couple horses.  He ended up with a bruised arm and broken rips.  We ended up having to cut the trip short and head home.  Even though he was injured he drove all the way home.  He wouldn't let poor mom drive. 

When I graduated high school I started working at Steelcase.  I worked the night shift.  Many times dad came to my rescue.  We had a blizzard in 1978 and I got snowbound in Grand Rapids because I worked nights the roads were impassable.  Dad and mom came and helped dig me out after a couple days to get me back home.  Another time I went to an auction with a friend and was dropping her and the items she won back at her apartment.  I had my purse in my arms so I sat it in the trunk so I could help get the chair out for her.  Well, stupid me not thinking closed the trunk with my purse still in it.  Both sets of car keys were in my purse so I was stuck.  It was after midnight and I called dad and he came to the rescue.  He had to pull the back seat out a bit and with a coat hanger was able to pull my purse out.  Needles to say I never had both sets of keys in my purse again!

He was also the best grandpa in the world too.  After I had my daughter he was madly in love.  He would sit with her for hours rocking her.  When Stephanie was a toddler my folks bought her a big play house.  She would beg my dad to crawl in there with her so he and my mom would take turns playing in the house with her.  He was always making her things.  He started buying her stuff and making her furniture for an apartment some day.  Stephanie and my dad were so close, he even showed her how to drive. 

 

I miss dad so much, we all miss him.  But I know he is around us all the time.  

Happy Father's Day Dad....

Estate Sale Clients Drive Me Crazy! A Rant

I run a small estate sale business which I use to love, but after six years of dealing with crazy clients and grumpy customers the fun has pretty much disappeared.

I really don't understand why people wait until the last minute to contact us for a sale.  Even though they know they are going to have one, the home has been empty for months, they are going to sell the house soon (like yesterday) etc.  They call me and think I can do their sale right away.  They need it done in a week or so.  I am sorry.. it takes some time to pull their stuff out of the cupboards, closets, and attics.  It takes time to clean their dirty dishes, organize their messy garage.  It takes time to price each item.  If it was that easy why don't they do it themselves!

I usually come in to a big mess.  Papers all over, food stuck on dishes, mice poo, dirty rooms.  We basically come in to a pig pen.  And the clients wait to get the items they want to keep out so we have to work around their stuff.

Then I get the clients whose items are in their eyes worth a lot.  This makes it very hard for me to sell and then at the end the client isn't happy because there is a lot left.  So then it ends up going to an end buyer or to a charity.  If they would just let me do my thing.

I get clients who have me come in and see what they have to sell and then when I come back to get started all the good things have been taken out.  Family have changed their mind about selling said items...or I get them taking things as I am getting the sale ready.

I do not understand why these people even call to have an estate sale.  If you aren't going to let the person do the sale the way they think it should be, why bother calling for someone to do it.  They need to trust the person they are hiring to do the sale instead of making it so difficult.

Yes I use to love starting a new sale.  The fun of digging out buried treasure and setting up the place so it looks like a show room.   Now I just hold my breath for the next problem to arise.  Get it ready and get the hell out of there before they drive me more crazy.

Customers are no better.  They come in complaining that the prices are to high, yet my prices are lower then Goodwill is, or an antique shop.   They are more willing to pay top dollar at a antique store then my bargain prices at the sale... go figure

So thanks for reading my rant.. I am done for now ... lol

Take care, until next time....

Captain America Civil War Review

My daughter has been wanting to see the new Marvel movie Captain America Civil War, so today we decided to check it out.  I am not a big fan of action movies but I have enjoyed the past Marvel moves.  With the cast that was listed I figured it wouldn't be much different then the other ones.

Well, I was wrong... this one dragged on and on.  It starts out with Captain America's friend Bucky captured and being reprogrammed by the Russians.  Then it jumped to the Avenger gang doing their thing.. saving the day, but this time with some collateral damage.  A building accidentally was blown up by one of their members.  Now they were getting bad press and the government wanted to control the group.

Here was the bad guy setting up scenarios for the Avengers to fix and by doing so he was able to make the group look bad.  He also found the book with codes to turn Bucky into a bad guy again.

The whole movie moved very slowly.  I wish they would have expanded the story more.  It seemed like it was missing some substance.  I did like the conflict that the bad guy made with the Avengers.  Half were for letting the government control what they do and the other wasn't.  This caused a huge riff in the group.  Of coarse Tony was on the side of the government and Captain wasn't.

The bad guy was getting his vengeance by watching the Avengers fall apart. I wish that they would have expanded on this more instead of moving around the concept until the end.

A new character was introduced in this installment.. the Black Panther, and a appearance of a young Spider Man.

If you are a die hard Avenger fan you will probably like this move.  I wish we had waited until it went to the cheap movies or Netflix.  I am not sure it was worth the $8.00 a ticket to see it.   Hopefully the next one will be better.

How May We Hate You Book Review

How May I Hate You by Anna Drezen and todd Dakotah Briscol

When I read the description of this book it sounded like it would be pretty funny!  I am sure that working as a concierge you would meet a ton of crazy people.  

Well, after starting to read it I found it a bit boring and gimmicky.  Granted, there was some stories that were pretty funny, but that was the problem.  There were only some stories.

The book felt very chopped up with a ton of boxed things like quizzes, word searches, erratic illustrations etc.  It made it a very difficult to read and to keep my interest.

In between the craziness were some pretty funny stories.  It would have been a much better book if they would have just kept to story telling.  

This is a 144 page read, if you can make it that far.  I had a hard time pushing myself to keep going,  I kept hoping it would get better. 

I don't feel that I could really recommend this book to my friends.  Better to check it out at the library so you don't feel bad skipping pages.

ABOUT HOW MAY WE HATE YOU?

Most people think hotel employees are effortlessly cheerful, naturally helpful, and genuinely like their work. 
 
Most people are wrong.
 
Find out what really goes on in the world of hospitality with this hilarious book full of funny and absurd stories, anecdotes told in dialogue, factoids, and hoax pop quizzes by two veteran concierges who paid their way while working at a combined 50 hotels in and around Times Square. They are very pleased to help you learn: 
·         The Truth About Bed Bugs
·         The Mythology of “Loyalty Programs”
·         The 411 on Hotel Residents
·         And so much more
 
Filled with photographs and infographics, How May We Hate You? is both romp and commentary on the hospitality industry and life behind the nametag.

"I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review"