Craft Time / 4 foot wooden deer

 Good morning everyone. It's share time! I just wanted to show you a couple pictures of these 4 foot tall, sweet little deer. Now in this photo.... I have not finished painting the face yet. In fact you will notice the black nose is not there yet and the shading on the face is not there yet either. But I needed to lay them out on the table to dry before I could start the last part of the painting.

In this picture they are all painted and sealed

They are still not finished yet because I need to put the bow in their hair. If I make it a boy I put a basic red bow. If I make it a girl and fancy up the bow a bit more. 

They are just so cute / Basic but cute

Now these are made to go in the yard but my favorite one's are those that are made on a flat base so they can be put on a fireplace hearth, inside the house.

I like the one for the inside of the house better because you can dress them up with real material ... like if you wanted to put a scarf around the neck or a huge bow on them that weather wouldn't mess up.

Ok Friends....

That's my "Craft Time Share Time" I hope you all have lots of fun this month doing all your crafts. Don't forget to share the fun stuff you learn in life with us all. Love Pam

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Crafty Time / The Country Way to Decorate with pine cones

Decorating with pine cones

Pine cones are a great FREE item that's perfect for decorating the house and porch with. You can make so many things with them and the pine smell is just awesome. I have a huge pine tree in yard that drops tons of pine cones on the ground that I can use. I have an every ending amount that I can use to make crafts with or use for decorating.

Each year I make a simple wreath for the door made with pine cones. 

If you look at the picture above, this is the standard way I like to make my wreaths. On the outside of the wreath I like to rotate full pine cones with the skinny squirrel eaten pine cones. LOL~ I think burlap material adds the best country flair to a wreath but if I'm putting it on the outside door I like to use plastic coated ribbon because of the moisture. The best thing I could ever tell anyone about wreaths outside is...... spray and seal! Spray and seal! Spray and seal! Try making a all pine cone wreath too. Thick with pine cones. It's a lot of work but it's super beautiful.

Sometimes I just fill a huge basket with pinecones

Yep sometimes I just fill a huge basket with pinecones and put them on the porch with a big colorful bow on it. It is so pretty. I really should do one for this year and take a picture and post it for everyone.

Pine Cone Ornaments

One year I put a Christmas Tree on the porch and made all pine cone ornaments for the decorations. I spray painted the pine cones which made them shiny. I also added a bow to the tops of them and put about 50 of them on the tree. I then added simple white twinkle lights on the tree. It was simple & beautiful.

Garland

Buy yourself a cheap thin green garland and tie on a bunch of pinecones to thicken it up. The focus will be the pine cones themselves but the little bit of green that will show through will accent it. Not much green will show because your using the garland limbs to tie on the cones with. It will turn out beautiful. 

The Picture Above

The picture above is actually a display I made for a craft show where I was selling wreaths. My display was about 6 white door examples that I set up for people to get ideas from. I was disappointed when I found out there was no electricity and I couldn't turn my twinkle lights. :/

That's my "Craft Time Share Time" post

❤  Writing this post has made me want to start making some pine cone crafts again. I think I will get a bucket and start picking up pine cones and get started on my Fall decorations. Enjoy all the free stuff that nature provides for us. 

Happy Crafting and Happy Holidays everyone. Love Pam

Craft Time / The Grinch and his Dog

The whole world loves the Grinch so I thought I would show you the one's I painted for the yard.

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My brother Eddie cut this large set of the Grinch and his dog out of wood. I painted them with acrylic paint and sealed the wood.

It's not showing in the photo... but use your imagination for this part. LOL~ Look at the hands... see how they are shaped. Well the pattern is made to put a string of lights in his hands, then twine it in the antlers on the dogs head. ~Wink~

Just Toooo Cuteeee!

I really enjoy painting all the Holiday stuff each season. But I sure wish the price of wood wasn't so high. It has busted my bubble this year. 😧

Have a great day everyone. Love Pam

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Selfie Sunday / Eating my favorite cookies for breakfast

Selfie Sunday is here and I can't lie. My favorite breakfast is always something sweet. Be it cookies, cake or pie, I usually reach for it every morning.

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Yes I know what your going to say...."It's not healthy to eat sweets every day"... well your absolutely right. So don't do what I do. You do what is healthy. LOL~

Today I'm enjoying cookies 

Today I'm enjoying cookies with my coffee. My favorite cookie is white chocolate macadamia nut cookies. If you have a great recipe for the cookie I would sure like to try it. I usually try every recipe I get my hands on when it come to macadamia nut.

That's my Selfie Sunday post for this beautiful Sunday.

I hope you all have a blessed day today and I hope the weather is beautiful in your neck of the woods today too. Go get you some white chocolate macadamia nut cookies too. If you never tried them your missing out on some yummy goodness.

Now this is my very first Selfie Sunday post... 

but I'm going to make "Selfie Sunday" part of a series of posts that you will be able to find in the right hand sidebar of the blog here. If you want to see my latest "selfie Sunday post" then you will always be able to find my latest post here.

Thank you friends for sharing your time with me. I love you all. Pam

Craft Time / Painted Country Sign / Kissin' Don't Last Cookin' Do

 Hellooooo Crafty People! I have a good one for you

This post is going to be fun! Not only is the words of this little sign funny but I have made a major mistake when I painted one of them.  I didn't even notice it until I had it all finish and ready to take a pic. I lined them up to take a picture. It was only when I looked at the photo that I saw it. LOLOLOLOL....... Looks like I'm going to have to sand all the paint off and start over. HA!

Now I'm not going to tell you what the mistake is....  

Let's make it fun so I'm just going to say for you to see if you can find the mistake yourself. I really can't believe I did that. LOL~ All my hard work waisted. ~giggle~ I didn't get to up set over this one since it was a small sign. I think my laughter in the mistake was worth having to re-paint it.

That's my "Craft Time Share Time" post

I'm a huge lover of painting little signs. I paint lots and lots and lots of them each year that say all kinds of stuff. I hope you crafters paint this fun saying on some of your crafts too. 

Humor is great / Laughter is better. Love Pam

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Let me show you my baby tadpoles, frogs and what I feed them

 A great joy in life for me is watching tadpoles take shape into frogs.

Every year I can't resist keeping tadpoles. I usually set up a home for them that they will love and I will feed them and help them through until they are big enough to hop out of their home on their own and live life in my yard. Yessss!

I usually keep around a 1000 a year. Yep I'm for real. Come to think of it... that's probably why I have a lot of snakes in the area too. Hummm.... now that part is not so good. Snakes eat frogs and are attracted to areas that have a lot of frogs. I should share some snake photos with you too. Maybe I will do that in future posts.

What do my frogs eat?

They love brussel sprouts. Did I say they loveeeeeee brussel sprouts! LOL! They really do. They enjoy cabbage too. And.... they love the yellow blooms off my squash plants too. When I drop a big fat blossom in the water they circle it like sharks and start munching away. It is so fun to watch.

Here's a picture of my squash plants that I have growing in flower pots. I pick the blooms from these plants to feed the tadpoles. I do NOT put chemicals on my vegetable plants so there is nothing on the yellow blossoms that would hurt the baby tadpoles at all. 

I know I will get questions about the squash plants so maybe I will do a post in the future about all squash and tomatoes in the pic. Just so you know... my tadpoles do not like the green tomato plants so I don't try and feed them those.

Now here's a sweet fact for you. 

I don't put fertilizer on my squash plants. I use the circle of life so to speak. I water them with my tadpole water which is fantastic natural fertilizer for the plants.

The nice part about growing tadpoles into frogs is that since I patio garden every year, I have all I need for tadpole food without having to buy any food.

I could sit for hours watching my little frog family

Every day I get to enjoy the tadpoles I take full advantage of it. You see tadpoles in my area only lay eggs in the spring / summer so I only get to watch them 1/2 a year. So every morning I have them I take a cup of coffee and sit down and watch them eating their breakfast. I could sit for hours watching them swim and watching them grow their legs and then watching them learn to crawl up a limb or plant for the 1st time. It is so exciting.

Live Everyday like a Holiday

In closing... nature is a beautiful thing and sometimes life is so fast pace that we have to remember to slow down and see the beauty in nature. I hope this post is a reminder to you, to love nature and the love of critters such as frogs. It must be said...not all days bring snakes. ~wink

Live everyday like a holiday. Love, Pam

Munch for Lunch / Green Beans, ham, potatoes, onion and cornbread

 Yesterday I shared a clip of my green beans cooking... 

and I talked about fresh green beans. Today I wanted to share pictures of my "Munch for Lunch", my green bean complete meal so you could see the whole plate. This meal was my Super Sunday Supper and the left overs because my "Munch for Lunch." LOL

Now I want to share a link with you. 

I actually filmed a video of this meal being cooked if you would like to go and watch me make it. I made the whole meal in 1 pot. Yep, a true 1 pot meal. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRWAeDioN1w&t=45s

Photo angles

I took several angles of the same plate so you could get a good look of my "Munch for Lunch" I call this recipe my "Sweet Heat Green Beans." Why? Because it's sweet from a tad bit of honey and it has heat because of the peppers.

You can tell this meal has everything you need for a complete meal. 

It has ham for the meat, it has healthy green beans, it has onion for a vegetable and it has beautiful brown bottom potatoes and last but not least... for the bread, I made southern cornbread.

Browning the potatoes

Now if you watch the video you will be able to see how I was able to brown the potatoes for a 1 pot meal. The key is cooking the meal in a flat pan. That way you can slice the potatoes in half, then press the flat side of the potato in the bottom of the pan.

Cornbread to taste

Anytime I cook ham and beans I always want soft on the inside and really crispy cornbread on the outside for my bread. Now since my beans have a hint of sweetness to it, because of the honey... I choose to cook a savory cornbread instead of a sweet cornbread.

Butter on the bread

I don't know about you, but my mouth says I need lot's of real white butter on my cornbread. You can see from this picture that the cornbread was still hot and had started slightly melting the butter and it was soaking into the cornbread. Yummmm!

I really enjoyed this Southern Meal!

I have to tell you that this meal was very satisfying when it came to taste.  The grease in the ham seasoned the beans and potatoes just perfect and allowed the potatoes to brown even in a pan that had water in it. It was also satisfying from it's beautiful colors.  It had a beautiful circle of different food colors all around the plate that would be a nice visual effect if you had dinner guests.

In Closing...

Thank you for being with me today as I shared my "Munch for Lunch." Remember that anytime you visit this website you will be able to find my latest Munch for Lunch in the right hand sidebar under the title " Popular Topics" then you will see "Munch for Lunch." Just click it and it will take you to my latest lunch post.

If you want to see my latest "Super Sunday Supper".... same directions. Right hand sidebar, except it's under "Weekly Fun", then "Super Sunday Supper" ~Wink~  Love, Pam

My Fresh Green Beans are Cooking

 Ohhhh ya'll! 

There's nothing like fresh green beans from green bean plants I promise you. Now this year I planted Blue Lake Bush type green beans and not the vine type. Doesn't matter which one you plant they are both very tasty. Anyway... what you see simmering in the pot is green and yellow bush beans both. You also see fresh herbs, onions and seasoning. Tomorrow I will post more pictures of the 1 pot meal that I cooked with these beans. So keep an eye out for my "Munch for Lunch" tomorrow.

Now what your looking at is the bush type blue lake green beans. 

These are the plants that I picked my beans from that you see simmering in the pot. I could of planted these in the ground but I hate to pick beans from the ground. LOL~ I like them planted in a tall flower pot so I don't have to kill my back when I'm picking beans. If you've ever picked beans you will know what I mean. With green beans you just about have to use both hands to pop them off so you don't break the limbs. You can also plant the vine variety. 

Here's the mess of beans I picked for the meal.

 It was plenty for a big pan full. I snapped off the ends, washed them, then added to the pan.

That's my post for today

❤  I hope you enjoyed watching my simmering beans today. I loved the sound of the simmering water didn't you. LOL~ I just want to encourage everyone to be thankful for the little things in life. Something as simple as a small green bean bush is special. Especially when it provides you enough of beans for a full bowl and a full meal. So thankful! Remember, something as simple as watching simmering beans cook is relaxing. That's a blessing too ya know.  Don't take anything for granted. 

❤  Remember to watch my "Munch for Lunch". I will have it ready for you by tomorrow. Love Pam

I grow many of my herbs in flower pots

 Hello everyone! Pam here

I have a great love of plants so I thought I would share with you a picture of the herbs I planted at the 1st of Spring. Now all of these plants are planted in a gallon size flower pot.  I do have a little herb garden planted in the ground but I really enjoy growing them in a pot so I can decorate the patio plus have the plants on my door step close to the kitchen. This way I can just step out the kitchen door and snip away when I'm cooking.  LOL!  Ohhhh.... and it makes it easy to take them in the house during cold weather or stormy weather too.

What herbs are in the picture?

Lemongrass, pineapple sage, green sage, purple sage, bush sage, lavender, sweet oregano, Greek oregano, flat leaf parsley, rosemary, thyme, lemon thyme, chamomile, sage... did I leave one out? Oh cilantro.

Herbal Teas

I grow other herbs as well but I didn't take a picture of those. It's mostly the mints like peppermint, spearmint, chocolate mint etc. I also have lemon balm, bee balm and lemon verbena in my herb garden as well. Most all of these herbs are in my garden because I like to use them for hot teas. I love drinking hot tea and they are so healing for you to drink too.

In Closing

I hope the picture has inspired you to grow some potted herbs of your own. My body truly feels better when I make drinking herbal tea a part of my daily life. Give it a try and feel the difference ok.

I have just talked myself into making a warm simmering pot of herbal tea. Let me go pick what I need. Have a great day everyone. Talk to you tomorrow. Love, Pam

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Holidays to remember:

❤  National Herb Week / Always the 1st week in May

❤  National Herb Day / 1st Saturday in May

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 International Herb Association has chosen an Herb of the Year to highlight. The "Horticultural Committee evaluates possible choices based on their being outstanding in at least two of the three major categories: medicinal, culinary, or decorative." Herb societies, groups, and organizations, from around the world, work together to educate the public about these important herbs throughout the year."

2018 / Hops

2019 / Anise-Hyssop

2020 / Blackberries, Raspberries

2021 / Parsley

2022 / Viola Violet, Pansey,  Heartsease

2023 / Ginger

2024 /Yarrow

2025 /Camomile

Part 3 / Watch me paint a wooden sign for a snowman

 

I hope you enjoyed watching all 3 parts / Happy Holidays everyone and Happy Crafting too! Love Pam

Part 2 / Painting Wooden Snowman Shelf Sitter that's holding a Welcome Winter sign

 

Part 3 / http://gonetapott.blogspot.com/2021/09/part-3-watch-me-paint-wooden-sign-for.html

Part 1 / Painting a Snowman Shelf Sitter that's holding a Welcome Sign

As promised from my earlier intro page http://gonetapott.blogspot.com/2021/09/craft-time-my-wooden-snowman-sitters.html  .... here's a copy of Part 1

Part 2 / http://gonetapott.blogspot.com/2021/09/part-2-painting-wooden-snowman-shelf.html

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I hope you enjoy watching. Love Pam

Craft Time / My Wooden Snowman sitters

 This is the time of the year that I start putting my focus on my crafts

❤  The pictures above is a row of wooden snowman sitters that me and my brother Eddie finished building. They are about a foot tall and around 2 inches wide. I painting each sign the snowman was holding a little different. Once the paint was dry... I coated them with wood glaze to seal them. They are super cute and super country. Such a great little shelf sitter.

The Snowman Arms

❤  Now this snowman is "our own pattern." Most wood projects that you find call for the arms of the snowman to be made with dowel rods or tree limbs but the bad part of that is... they always break when people pack them up from year to year. So this year we decided to try a version where we made the arms with large pipe cleaners. In fact I twisted 2 large black pipe cleaners together to shape the arms and it worked out great! Pipe cleaners are bendable wire so they wont break... hence it will be safe when packed.

What I like about the Snowman

❤  Snowmen are notorious for representing Christmas but this year I wanted to create a few snowman that could be used for Christmas and then left out for a Winter decoration too. So I decided not to put anything red or green on some of the snowmen. I painted those in black, white, gray and silver colors.

The worst part of the project

❤  The hardest part of the project was doing the wooden nose on the snowman. I didn't enjoy doing the carrot noses at all. LOL~ You have to drill a hole in the body of the snowman, then put wood blue inside the small little hole. (those of you that work with wood glue will know the drama that can occur when you trying to fill a small hole with sticky stringy glue and not touch anything else with glue. ) Ha! Clean-up sucks. 

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If you want to see more of my crafty posts... 

👀  you can find them in the right hand column of the blog here titled " Craft Time". This is in the "Popular Topics" section.  As I do a craft I will put it here to share with everyone.  Maybe you can get some crafty ideas from me. ~wink

👀  If you would like to see a video of me painting these snowmen I will put the links here:

• Part 1 / http://gonetapott.blogspot.com/2021/09/part-1-painting-snowman-shelf-sitter.html
• Part 2 / http://gonetapott.blogspot.com/2021/09/part-2-painting-wooden-snowman-shelf.html
• Part 3 / http://gonetapott.blogspot.com/2021/09/part-3-watch-me-paint-wooden-sign-for.html

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In Closing.....

❤  I think we need to make life as fun as we can and snowmen have long been a favorite character of mine. So anytime you can incorporate something you love in your work make your work more enjoyable. Happy Crafting everyone... and Happy Holidays too. Love Pam

Munch for Lunch / My Sunday Sausage Boil

 Munch for Lunch

❤ Sometimes I like to share with you my munch for lunch. I like to show you what I'm eating for the day and a bit of information about the food. I for one love to see what everyone is eating and how it's prepared. So here's what I cooked and enjoyed for lunch. "My Sunday Sausage Boil."

Just a relaxed meal prep

❤ Now this meal is my Sunday meal so it's a bit more exciting than a sandwich. LOL - On Sunday, I seem to be more relaxed so I enjoy making a meal that takes a bit more time to prepare and cook than any other day of the week. I like to walk around with my cup of coffee or tea and chop a bit, drink more coffee, peal a few potatoes, drink more coffee, peal my carrots, pore more coffee, stir the boiling pot, pore more coffee. In fact, after each hot tea or coffee refill I do I stir the pot. ~Smile~ Just a relaxed meal prep.

I was in the mood for a sausage boil today. 

❤ Now I don't know what you like to add to YOUR sausage boil, but what I had in my kitchen for today was sausage, cabbage, carrots, potatoes, and onions. I love it with parsnips and rutabagas too but I think that makes it a root boil. ??? ~Smile~ Now a sausage boil is a slowwww rolling boil. You don't want the boil to bust the veggies all to pieces.

I love the flavors of all these veggies mixed together.

 ❤ It's a lot like soup but it's large chunks of veggies instead of small chopped veggies. I really love how the sausage flavors the boil water. You know how sausage has that greasy spicy flavor. It's great! I always add 1/2 stick of butter to the boil too. You have to have butter when you cook with potatoes and cabbage yes?! Gotta have some oil in the water too. Might as well add some chicken stock while your at it. LOL

Now cabbage is already in the boil but for some reason I like cold coleslaw (which is cabbage) on the side. I usually chop 1/2 a head of cabbage for the boil and the other 1/2 I use for cold coleslaw. Now I like to make creamy coleslaw. I like it made with mayo, sour cream. Bring on the spoonful of sugar too. Sometimes I add a splash of vinegar to it but I'm not making sour vinegar coleslaw, I'm making creamy sweet coleslaw. Yummy!

Cornbread for soppin'

❤ When I make a sausage boil, I always want crumbly cornbread as the bread I serve with it. There's just something yummy about soppin' the super seasoned boil water with cornbread. Now I like to cook both sweet and savory cornbread but with the sausage I prefer having savory over sweet for this meal. Savory cornbread is perfect when you scoop a spoonful of sweet coleslaw on it and take a bite. Yummy!

A filling and satisfying meal

❤ There's my "Munch for Lunch". A very filling and satisfying meal for sure. Don't forget your favorite sides like .... sliced cold onions... hot peppers.... or sweet pickles. Cold purple beets are a nice touch too.

Happy Sunday, Love Pam

Is that mouse licking my glass of lemonade?

 Did you guys see my #shorts video I posted on youtube? 

It's just a quick 60 seconds but if you didn't I'm sharing it here on my blog. 

I was sitting at my desk writing an article and just drinking some homemade lemonade that I made. Well my glass was sweating on the outside of the glass and I guess that's what the mouse was attracted to. Did the mouse smell the water and come to drink it? I don't know. But I found it surprising that he climbs up the desk.. peeped around my laptop at me... and looks me right in the eyes. I'm not scared of a mouse so I guess I didn't give off any bad vibes to him. Instead I said hello to him. LOL~ To my surprise he walked over to my glass and started licking the side of my glass. It must of been nice and cold water that he liked. They don't usually get that close to you but that was one gutsy little mouse.

I was even able to pick up my camera to film him. Now my movement made him get behind the laptop but he kept peeping around the side while I was fumbling with the camera. He waited and then.... action!

Just sharing life

Just wanted to share real life with you today. I'm really glad I was able to get it on video because I'm sure so many people wouldn't believe me when I told them. lol~ Love you all, Pam

I filled my belly full of Caramel Walnut Banana Bread

How  many of you love Banana Bread?

I enjoy it but I don't make it that often. I have a friend who is so crazy about banana bread and he cooks it every week. LOL! Well on this day I was craving something caramel and I knew I also had some very ripe bananas that I needed to get rid of. Well we all know that you can't do very much with ripe bananas except make banana bread. Darn! So I knew I would have to pass on making a caramel dessert and make use of the ripe bananas instead.  Then it hit me!!

I'll just make a caramel version of banana bread!!!

Now I didn't use a recipe. Very seldom do I use a recipe for anything. I'm one of those people who cooks by looks. That's the way my Mother did it and that's how she taught me to cook too.

Searching out the Kitchen:

I knew I had 4 ripe bananas to use... and I knew I had a cup of walnuts I could use... and I knew I had brown sugar I could use... and I knew I had fresh real butter I could use... and I knew I had 1/2 a cup of caramel that you put on top of ice cream. And I knew I needed to get rid of the 1/5th cup of oatmeal that I had. Well that sure looks like the making of caramel banana bread to me. ~wink~ A little bit of salt and.... oh no.... there's no milk! That's ok I have lots of sour cream which is a favorite of mine anyway. Ohhhh... do I have any coconut? Where is it!? Darn!! I'm out of coconut. That would of tasted delicious with the caramel.

I just dump in what I've got / comes out perfect every time

❤ 3 large ripe bananas

❤ 1/3 cups sour cream... maybe

❤ 2 fresh eggs from my brothers chicken coup

❤ close to 3/4 to a cup brown sugar? (you know molasses is in it right)

❤ 2 cups white flour... maybe

❤ 1/5 cup of oatmeal... maybe (can be flavored instant too)

❤ 1/2 cup of ice cream caramel

❤ big pinch of pink salt

❤ pinch cayenne pepper

❤ pinch of cinnamon / not a lot

❤ I dunno... maybe a teaspoon of baking soda

❤ big splash of homemade vanilla flavoring

❤ drizzle in some oil

❤ I then look at the batter and let the batter will tell me how much melted butter to add. Maybe 1/2 a stick to 1 stick of melted butter.

I cooked it low... I dunno.... this one looked like it needed a temp. set to 335. For 45 to 50 minutes. Ta-Dah! The pictures above is the results and it was a success! ~wink~ Love to you all, Pam

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❤ ❤ P.S. I made this banana bread in a video back in January in honor of National Banana Bread Day. So if you want to watch it, here it is.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBiVsq3Jqrw&t=23s
 

Tomato Hornworms visited during the rain storm

 This beautiful girl is a hornworm. 

She and her family found their way to my tomato plants during the rain storm and I didn't know they were there. Who would of thought they would munch away during a storm but they did. In fact they ate up what was left of 4 of my tomato plants. :/

They are really beautiful bright green worms with white stripes on their sides. They have this interesting horn on the end of their tail. Their eyes are interesting too. I actually think they are beautiful and it's fun to watch them eat. LOL!

Now I'm not real happy that they ate up my tomatoes but I'm willing to share a little. Did I say a little? LOL ~ I know most people will pick them off the plant and kill them. I can't bring myself to do that so I just pick them off and take them out into the woods and let them go to eat on something else they find in the woods.

Live Everyday like a Holiday

I don't get to upset over my losses. Life is just to short to do that. This worm and her family was just hungry right? Instead I took the time to look at her and see how beautiful she was.

That's all for today. Love, Pam

September 15 is Double Cheeseburger Day

 Today is September 15th... 

and that means it's "Double Cheeseburger Day". Now for those of you who follow my blog here, I introduced Mr. Pig to you a few days ago in another video. Well I had so much fun with him until I've decided to use him as a type of a mascot. I'm going to name him "Party Pig". I think I will use him to introduce certain holidays or even party tips for my youtube channel when the fancy strikes me. Still thinking it over but he is just so darn cute.

Happy Double Cheeseburger Day ya'll!

It's odd that our calendar has Double Cheeseburger Day celebrated today, September 15th andddddd it has a National Cheeseburger Day celebrated September 18th. Just a few days apart from each other. Oh well, I'm not going to complain really because one of my favorite things to eat is a double cheeseburger grilled on the grill with crispy fries on the side with ranch dipping sauce and a big fat jalapeno pepper. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water.

Are you guys going to be cooking cheeseburgers today?

I am~ I'm definitely going to cook cheeseburgers in honor of double cheeseburger day and I want extra cheese on mine. For real I am! I also have a bunch of onions I need to start using up so I think I'm going to make some onion rings to go with it. I haven't cooked onion rings in ages so that sounds like a good move to me.

What about the seasoning in your hamburger meat?

I really need a good seasoning recipe for my cheeseburgers. Does anybody have a good spice mix they love? I try different ones all the time but never really latched on a favorite recipe.

What about diced or grated onions mixed in the meat?

Now I do mix diced onions in my hamburger a lot of the time. I like how it keeps the meat moist. What else do you mix in the meat? I sometimes mix diced tomatoes in it too. I know many people like to mix diced green bell pepper but I don't really enjoy hamburgers made with green bell peppers. But.... I do like using red bell peppers. ~wink

That's my post for today

If you have any cheeseburger tips for me I'm ready and waiting. LOL~ I hope everyone enjoys the day and I hope you enjoy the best double cheeseburgers you've ever made in your life. Thanks for visiting me. Love ya, Pam

It's a new phone day

I've waited a long long time to do this. 

I was excited and I was sick at my stomach at the same time. I'm one of those people who hates to spend money and I hold on to everything until the very last minute and my old phone was on it's last leg. I was having to buy way to many batteries because of it over heating. But I kept holding on to it. I loved my old phone. lol~

Time to let the old camera go

But, the time came that I had to bite the bullet and let go. I wanted to find a phone that had the best camera that I could find on it because I needed it for filming my videos and pics I take for my blog and my youtube channel. So I finally settled and made a decision. I choose a "Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra" all because of the camera features. Was it a good decision or a bad decision? I don't know. I never found anyone who actually used a Galaxy S21 Ultra that I could ask questions before I bought it. But the shopping is now over...  https://amzn.to/3Cbn1GH

I love to take pictures

I really enjoy taking pictures and I needed a phone and I needed a camera both. I didn't want to buy a clunky camera and out of convenience I wanted a great camera in my phone so I only had to spend money once. I'm also an impulse picture taker, that's why I wanted it in my phone too. So far I'm happy with my decision. Let's hope this new phone last as long as my old phone did.

In Closing....

Today I was reminded that life seems to be harder than it ever has been. When you think you are ahead... something pulls you back down. When you think you have a few extra dollars... something takes more than you have. When you think you have no more strength to go on. God gives you the strength to push on. Thank you for visiting with me today. Love Pam

Let's plant some ginger root

 Let's Plant some Ginger Root in a flower pot

Ok everyone, it's time to talk about the video. I went to the grocery store and bought a bundle of ginger root. I looked through the pieces and found a couple that we're sprouting and I was delighted that I had some pieces that were just begging to be planted. ~Smile

It's really easy to plant the ginger sections. All you do is bury about 2 inches deep in potting soil, dampen the soil and place in a sunny location in your house. Before you know it.... you will have your very own ginger root growing in the pot. I think the large slender green leaves are pretty too.

Would you like to know some Health Benefits of Ginger?

It's long been known as a folk medicine. It fights germs!!! It's been used for years as a anti-inflammitory. It reduces swelling. And they say it's helpful with treating rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. It halts the growth of bacteria they say. Calms Nausea ~ Soothes sore muscles ~ some studies say it slows down cancer growth ~ lowers blood sugar ~ helps battle bad cholesterol ~

Magic Herb ? ~

Yep that's what they say.  It's a magical herb too and used in spell casting. Uses: courage / creation / healing / love / success / money / sex / increases magical workings

Does it have Emotional Aspects?

Well yes indeed they say it does. In fact they say ginger releases victim mentality,  humiliation, blame and powerlessness. Wow! So that means it instills empowerment, accountability and fortitude. Hummm~ my my my

How about Ginger Tea Time

Most of my readers know I loveeeee meeee-some tea time and there's no way I could leave out drinking ginger tea either.  OOOooo and what about Ginger Chicken to go along with the tea? Yes Please! Another favorite of mine.

In Closing: Thank you to all my readers:

Thank you to all my followers who take the time to read my sites. I hope you find each day fun and informative. I enjoy creating all my videos on youtube and I really enjoy going into more detail about those videos here on my blog. Now if your interested... I did created a #shorts video for everyone which is 60 seconds long that you can watch or share here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoTVcprWPe8 These are made to be best viewed on a cellphone ~ iphone / vertical viewing and made to share or pass on. 

So, get out there and buy yourself some Ginger .... eat it, drink it, grow it... and pass on everything you learn to others. Love you all, and stay strong during these changing times. Pam

Cheeseburger Day is on it's way

 Who loves cheeseburgers? I do I do! 

That's why when I found this pig graphic I knew I had to piece it together and make a video in honor of National Cheeseburger Day. So mark your calendars ahead for September 18th. This is the day we grill our burgers with melted cheese on top and make the best cheeseburgers ever. Then what do we do? Weee PIG out! Giggle~ Sorry I couldn't resist. 

How do you eat your cheeseburger?

Double Cheese please! Yep for me I love double cheese and plenty of mayo, ketchup and a bit of mustard. I like my lettuce shredded very small too. If I grill my hamburger meat then I also grill my buns with butter melted on it. When it come to onions... well I like it sliced or diced small either one. When it comes to tomatoes... I like 1 slice if tomatoes are in season and without if tomatoes are out of season. And.... well...... if I have any leftover cooked pinto beans in gravy, then I like a spoonful put on my cheeseburger. Yesssss you have to try it!

That's right! Cheeseburger Day is on it's way!

If you celebrate this day don't forget to share your pics on social media. Then drop a note that says "I ate cheeseburgers on Cheeseburger Day". There's nothing like seeing juicy cheeseburgers. lol! Now don't forget the dates. Happy Food Holidays everyone. Make great memories and celebrate the little things. Love, Pam

September 15 / DOUBLE Cheeseburger Day

September 18 / National Cheeseburger Day

Lemongrass stir sticks for tea time

 Today I'm sharing how I make lemongrass stir sticks for my tea.

Lemongrass is very easy to grow in the garden and the smell is such a delight. It has a true lemon scent when you rub the grass, cut the grass or even just brush up against it when walking in the garden. It is a grass and for those that's not familiar with it... the blades of the grass has a gripping quality and it's easy to cut your fingers on it. In fact the grass is like little blades in your hand so you have to be aware of what your doing. ~wink

Better Health / Religion

There's several species of lemongrass but the one I have in my garden is the one I've always known that was used for healthy digestion and to boost immunity when added as hot tea. It also has antioxidant properties they say. Plus I cook with it. I use it in soups, beef dishes, fish dishes and seafood dishes.  And... even thought I don't make curries very often, it is popular in curries too.

There are religions and cultures that use some varieties to conjur, to protect against evil, spiritually clean a house, and to bring good luck in love as they say it. They use the fresh grass or lemongrass oil. I'm sure you've all heard of lemongrass oil. 

I loveeeee lemongrass oil used in a diffuser. 

In fact it's diffusing in my kitchen as we speak. lol!  Now if you read some essential oil bottles it will tell you it overpowers the feelings of nervousness, gives you a positive outlook, eliminates mental fatigue and heightens your awareness. Lemongrass can be applied topically, used aromatically or taken internally. That's why I love this simple herb. Yes I'm going to call it an herb. It's an herb to me an not just a grass.

Lemongrass Stir Sticks

I can actually say I've never heard of anyone else but me making lemongrass stir sticks and I can't imagine why. lol~. I've always made them and put them in my hot tea when fresh lemongrass was in season. I did a google search about it and couldn't find anyone doing it except in cooking so I wanted to spark everyone creative tea thinking and remind everyone that you can make lemongrass stir sticks for something fun and lemon tasting for your tea. 

Emotional Aspects of Lemongrass?

Now when I think about tea, I think of quiet times, comfort, my emotional mood etc. Now that I think about it, I always reach for hot tea when I'm feeling sad because I really do see it as a comfort to me. They say that Lemongrass has "Emotional Aspects" to it too. They say it releases the feeling of dread and failure and removes toxicity. I wonder? It is also said lemongrass instills joy and spiritual cleansing. I wonder about that too. What is your experience? I believe it to be true since I reach for it for comfort. Once you drink it, or use lemongrass, it creates a lighter emotion. I wonder if it helps cleanse the mind, body and soul? I think so~

I hope you enjoyed my video. 

If any of my Internet friends love lemongrass, then share it with me. I would love to know any other ways to us it to spark my own herbal creativity. ~Smileeee

Fall Season is upon us / 2021

 Good morning!

Are you excited about Fall Season? I'm excited! I love Fall and I'm ready for all the fun Fall stuff that goes with it. The cool sweater weather, the start of eating warm soups and the decorating with pumpkins and gourds and corn stalks and hay bales. I'm even excited about the Fall yard work. LOL... well... actually it's the camp fire I make when I'm burning leaves that I look forward to. HA! And you know what a camp fire brings..... ohhh yeahhh.... the excuse of roasting weenies and marshmallows on a stick. You-bet-cha!

"Live Everyday like a Holiday"

Live everyday as if it's your last day / Live everyday to it's fullest / See all the good in the little things in life and love as much as you can  / See the beauty in something as simple as watching the falling leaves.

Love to you all, Pam

Sometimes it's safe to be in the mouth of a pumpkin

 I had a lot of fun creating this video in honor of Fall Season. I found the photo in the photo directory of wave.video, the video creator program that I use. I love black cats and I love pumpkins so I knew at once I wanted to create something fun with it. I named it: Sometimes it's safe to e in the mouth of a pumpkin

Now naturally you couldn't tell what the kitten was looking at so I had to use my imagination to figure it out.  And to me.... since the kitten was in a jack-o-lantern it must of been Fall Season. So since falling leaves are popular during the Fall it was only natural that I imagined he was looking at falling leaves right! LOL! So then I added the sound of the wind to match the video. ~wink

Well I hope you enjoyed the video. I always have so much fun making them for you. While making it, it boosted an idea for a quick "Autumn Season is upon us" idea. So tomorrow I will post a 60 second "short" for you. ~Smile.... "Live Everyday like a Holiday" Love Pam

Working with Black Elderberry this week

 Good Morning everyone! Pam here~

I'm working with black elderberries this week...

so I thought I would share with you a few pics of my elderberry tree and some fresh elderberries that I picked from the tree. I also enjoy picking a few elderberry blossoms and drying them for their medicinal properties. Elderflowers have been used for centuries as an anti-inflammatory and a pain reliever too. The blooms can also be used for acute joint inflammation and relief for toothaches. How about that! 

But you really have to be careful. 

You can eat the berries when they are cooked but the leaves, stems and roots of the tree are toxic to humans. This is important to know. Here's a nice little information link for you.

Read more at Gardening Know How: What To Do With Elderflowers: How To Use Elderflowers From The Garden https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/elderberry/what-to-do-with-elderflowers.htm

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Now what your watching in the video is my little harvest for the day. 

You will see my pickings from the elderberry tree and my pickings from my hot pepper plants. You can also see a beautiful fresh bowl from my fig tree that is over 50 years old. Also in the picture you can see a jar of sliced yellow pear tomatoes and herbs in olive oil. This tastes soooo good on bread or crackers and is super healthy for you too. It's suggested to eat a cracker full a day. I did a video on it that's listed on my youtube channel. I think I titled it "Dried tomato and herbs in oil." Hummm.... let me see if I can find it for you. I really should post it on my blog here to be honest. I could put it advertise free so you could watch it without adds popping up on the screen. But in the mean time... here's the youtube version. It's about 12 minutes long but you will enjoy it.

Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uoq_nFMK6UY

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More Elderberry to come:

I have more elderberry videos for you. I have an elderberry tea one in the making and I have one dehydrating elderberries too. So keep an eye out for more elderberry fun if your into elderberries like I am. The awesome thing about this is I only have 1 small elderberry tree that I prune back all the way to the ground every single year and it gives me plenty of elderberries to get me through the winter.  I can't wait to make my elderberry syrup for my pancakes this winter. Yummmm!

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A big thank you to all my internet friends 

A big thank you to all my Internet friends who enjoy spending the day with me. You know I try to always be on the positive side so you all know my motto: "Live everyday like a holiday." Enjoy life! Get out there and share what your learning everyone. Pass on your love for life. We need that right? Until next time / Love to you all, Pam

P.S: If you want to get feeds of my posts in your email then you can subscribe to my blog feed here. http://feeds2.feedburner.com/EverydayIsAHoliday

This is what a traditional Full English Breakfast looks like / Fry it up!

 I'm not English but I sure love a Full English Breakfast and for those people who don't know what it is, I wanted to share this great picture video that shows a wonderful example of a Full English Breakfast. And for those people who are calendar keepers... you may want to mark your calendar for September because it's Better Breakfast Month and February is Hot Breakfast Month. 2 great reasons to eat a great breakfast in celebration of these holiday observances.

Now today I wanted to talk about the traditional Full English Breakfast. Truth is, this breakfast is just about all fried and I don't really know how healthy this breakfast is but I sure love it. LOL.... anyway we are encouraged to eat breakfast and not skip breakfast.

When you look at the definition of Full English Breakfast... it says it's a breakfast that includes bacon, eggs, fried mushrooms, grilled tomatoes, sausage, baked beans, fried bread or buttered toast. Black pudding and bubble and squeak are also often included. Now I've never ate black pudding before but I love all the rest. What about you?

I also found in my research that it's also called a "Fry up" or Full Monty and it's mostly popular in United Kingdom and Ireland. What do you think guys is that correct?

Now I also read "Breakfast cereal often precedes the dish, and the meal typically concludes with buttered toast spread with marmalade, honey or other conserves." 

Wow! I don't know if I could fit in a bowl of cereal  and toast after that big fried meal. But, I know it would be good.

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I also made this video as a #shorts: which is best watched vertical on a cell phone

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJC1BLb6kzE

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That's what I have to share with you today. I hope everyone finds the time to enjoy a wonderful breakfast this month. Thank you to everyone who took the time to read my post. "Live everyday like a holiday" ~ love to you all, Pam

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Carrot Cake for all holidays

 Hello everyone! Pam here ~

If there's any cake that makes me think of the Fall Season it has to be the carrot cake. I don't know if it's because I pick carrots from the garden in Fall or if it's because of the spices in the cake that makes me think of Fall... but either way... I always want a carrot cake in the Fall Season.

Now when I was growing up, 

my Mother always made carrot cake at Christmas Time. She never missed baking one. I still remember watching her grate up carrots and smelling the spices as she swirled them in the batter. I always looked forward to the carrot cake as much as I looked forward to the Red Velvet cake.

Now that I'm thinking about it... 

she would sometimes bake one for Easter too. Seems any recipe that had carrots in it would be on the dinner table. LOL.  I think it was because as a kid, I insisted that we had plenty of carrots just incase the Easter Bunny stopped by to say hello. LOL... she would always buy lots of carrots and then she would have to find ways to use them up. Hence the reason we ate carrot cake at Easter. And carrot salad.... and copper pennies.... and roasted carrots. ha ha ha !  I love this memory.

Now unlike the video above... 

my Mother would put tons of creamy frosting on all sides of the cake and thick in-between the layers. She would fill it full of nuts too. Now my favorite nut used in carrot cake is walnuts but because we had pecan trees in the yard my Mother used pecans in the cake most of the time. It was an extra treat for me when she added walnuts. Yummy!

In Closing ~

So for me, I think carrot cake is perfect for all seasons and all holidays. ~wink!  Autumn Season, Winter Season or Spring Season.

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For those of you who took the time to read my blog and share your time with me I thank you. Live everyday like a holiday. We never know what tomorrow will bring. Love to you all, Pam

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I made a 60 second video #shorts here: 😄

I titled it "Carrot cake to the rescue"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXghVtw4HZQ

I also posted the video on my youtube channel found here:

https://www.youtube.com/c/HolidaysCelebrations

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📆 I don't know if you watched all the way to the end of the video but I provided a list of National Cake Holidays in our calendar.  

• National Cake Month - February
  

• National Chocolate Cake Day - January 27
  

• National Carrot Cake Day - February 3
  

• National Poundcake Day - March 4
  

• National Blackforest Cake Day - March 28
  

• National Lemon Chiffon Cake Day - March 29
  

• National Coffee Cake Day - April 7
  

• National Hazelnut Cake Day - June 1
  

• National Applesauce Cake Day - June 6
  

• National German Chocolate Cake Day - June 12
  

• National Strawberry Shortcake Day - June 14   
  

• National Spongecake Day - August 23
  

• National Angel Food Cake Day - October 10
  

• National Cake Day - November 26
  

• National Fruitcake Day -December 27
  

• National Sacher Torte Day -December

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