Trunk or Treat and DIY Button Flowers

My Trunk or treat cave theme:

http://tappingflamingo.blogspot.com/2009/10/last-night-we-had-our-annual-ward-trunk.html

More button flowers

http://tappingflamingo.blogspot.com/2012/03/button-bouquet.html

More Than Just A Cookbook

I received this book several weeks ago, and have devoured it. The Kitchn Cookbook is broken up into two parts. Part one deals with the kitchen; setting up, tools, and caring for your kitchen. Part two is How to Cook Well; stocking the pantry and planning meals, essential skills and then the recipes, and entertaining.

Currently, our family is in the middle of a move to a different state. We have had a hard time with the selling of our home, and are now living in a small apartment. I had had issues with our teeny, tiny kitchen. Between dealing with that, and wondering what my new kitchen will be after we sell our home and buying a new one, this book has been great! I have thoroughly enjoyed the hints of setting up a small kitchen. It has inspired me to get a little more organized. It has also given me some things to think about when you do start the process of buying a new home...possibly a fixer upper.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone, especially someone in my situation or maybe even a newlywed couple, or one who is setting up house for the first time. 

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

Mother/Daughter Vacation Ideas?

My mom and two sisters and I have been discussing doing a mother/daughter trip. We have entertained the thought of many different things...from cruising to Disney. As most of you who read my blog know, my mom and I love to cruise. I love the fact that you can relax, and other people can wait on you. Food is free, and so is the entertainment. Cruising is a very economical vacation.

Growing up in Florida, our family use to go to Disney World all the time. Since I've been an adult and moved away, I don't go that much. My husband hates standing in line, and to be honest with you, Disney has just gotten way too expensive, especially since I am no longer a Florida resident.  I do, however, have wonderful memories of the Magic Kingdom.

One of my sister's and I are pretty much up for anything. My other sister has a hard time being out in the sun, so pretty much a cruise is out of the question. Plus, she really didn't enjoy when her and mom went on a cruise a few years ago. My mom isn't as young as she use to be, and gets tired easily. Going to any of the Disney parks and standing in line, walking all over, may not be an option for her. She is in good shape and all, but those days at the parks are just a bit long for her.  So....what to do? We would really like to relax and spend some quality time with each other.

We've discussed several other options, and I think we may have come up with something that all of us will like. Have you had an all girls weekend or mother/daughter time? We plan to just have a long weekend, like a Thursday/Friday, come back Saturday late afternoon. I'd like to hear some of your experiences, maybe we could get some more ideas.

Grace

My mom doesn't call me Grace for no reason. I have always been pretty much a klutz. We have a joke in our family...we might be able to dance, but we can't walk. Even my daughter, who is a very talented dancer and yoga instructor is pretty clumsy. 

Last night, after I finished doing the dishes, I grabbed a spoon to take my liquid vitamins. I was not watching what I was doing, and sliced my thumb on the very sharp brand new Cutco knife we just bought. I can testify that these knives are VERY sharp. I bled all over the place and F-O-Rever!!!

Thirty minutes later, it occurred to me that I might have an oil for that. I rummaged around to see what oils I had, and I remember someone telling me that Lavender was good for cuts. I looked it up in my trusty book, and sure enough that's what it said in there too. I put some on, went to bed, and this morning, it looks like a little scratch. Amazing!

Yep, another success story with essential oils!

Tappingflamingo!

I love this video of a "Tappingflamingo!

A lot of people have asked me where in the world did I come up with Tappingflamingo. Well, first off, I love flamingos. I think they are so pretty, and pretty cool looking. The second reason, well, I love to dance, and as I have gotten older, have found that I can continue to tap dance, and have been involved with a few adult tapping groups. I know that the flamingo bird likes to stomp sometimes, and it makes me think he is trying to tap dance....hence....The Tappingflamingo!

Small Places

Living in a small apartment has its challenges! We STILL have not sold our home in Kentucky yet. The job market in that little town up there is really bad, and so very few newbies are moving in. That's too bad, because I love that place. It really is not that small, but it is not too big either. 

So, back to small apartments....

Laundry is a bear to do at the laundromat. Since we've been in temporary housing, we wash our clothes about every two weeks, so when we go we have a boatload. We usually use five or six machines. I am careful to sort everything, but some of my finer clothes I've had to throw in with the other stuff, and I have noticed my clothes are looking pretty raunchy. 

My husband and I are playing with the idea of bringing our washer and dryer down. The only thing is, I'm not sure we have the room. So...we have been rearranging the apartment to see if we do. Mind you, all thoughts of our place looking nice by doing ANY sort of decorating is out of the question. This place is totally for FUNCTION.

We moved half our kitchen into our tiny living room. Our poor son, who is home from college until January has to sleep on the couch, so the living room is his bedroom, part kitchen, part living room, part office...and it is a very tiny room.  I know I will look back on this time and laugh.

The kitchen is about 5 X 9. We have a small hot water heater in there, stove, fridge, and about two feet of counter top...no joke. Hey, at least we now have a stove/oven that works. When I came down to stay, I had a talk to the landlord. She is pretty nice, I like her. I guess my husband really did not need a workable stove/oven. When he did, he just got out his Coleman stove or used the small oven we have...men ARE from Mars, lol.

So, will our washer and dryer fit? I'm really not thinking they will, but we are going to try. Not only is it a hassle to go to the laundromat, but it is expensive too (and hard on your clothes). Tonight, we will do a little bit more rearranging and measuring. We are planning on taking a trip up to TN/KY to check on our house and for my husband to do some hunting, so we will make the decision after we measure the machines. Part of me want them to fit, another part does not, because it is pretty crowded in this tiny apartment. 

Hey! It is only temporary, and it will make me appreciate whatever house we do get, because most anything is going to be better than this roughly 230 square foot apartment. 

Ya know what?! There are a lot of people who live in small places in big cities such as New York, etc. If they can do, I can do it!!!!!

My Mountain Dulcimer