.
A couple of nights ago we came home with our minivan packed to the gills. Fourteen lawn and garden trash bags filled with leaves from the town piles.
Yesterday we came home from office cleaning and, while I worked inside to prepare for the party, I set Michael and his friend to work. I wonder if they thought they were going to play video games...
We don't do a lot of video games here, so usually when he has a friend over that's one of the things they like to do. But that was put off in favor of the building of fig cages.
They used old field fencing to create a circle around each of six trees (which look oddly like giant tumbleweeds) and then proceeded to fill them with the bags of leaves in preparation for the soon arrival of 20 degree, fig-killing weather. I was very disappointed to hear that all those leaves only filled up two cages. Now I realize our leaf collecting days have just begun, unless we go back to straw, which there is no money for.
A call to the town to see if they can deliver some leaves here will be happening today, but I don't know that they'll come out this far. Wouldn't it be cool to have a huge truck drive up, aim that giant hose at each cage, and blow them full of leaves!
The boys then set to making sticks for the candied apples, since every year that I've shopped for them, I can never find them. Dowel rods were snapped and whittled while they chatted on the front porch. Then came the video games.
I did a few last minute house cleaning chores, then prepped the apples, made Eggplant Parmesan from the last eggplants from the garden, homemade caramel for dipping, beans and rice and tomatoes for homemade burritos, vegetable lasagna, whole wheat bread (which I finally cheated on myself and added 2/3 cup of white flour since I needed a successful loaf to occur today), and thoroughly enjoyed the additional beautiful day while waiting for the rest to show up.
We've all been so busy lately, that I was thinking of not attempting our annual candied apple party, but when Michael was able to arrange an airsoft war for Sunday, I decided to kill two birds with one stone.
So the young people all went up into the hills just before dark, and proceeded to practice killing each other with pellet guns. This is considered fun these days. When I was a child, if I shot my little brother with a BB gun, I would get a spanking. These days I'm assisting my son in doing this to his friends, mentors, and even acquaintances.
It's a strange thing to see a dozen young people on your front porch, all looking like Black Ops in camouflage. But the living room was turned into a weapons base; a 25 foot square room, completely covered knee deep in weapons of war and gear.
So the rest of us did some garden touring, food prep, began the candy apples, watched "Flightplan", chatted, made arrangements to go see a local play "White Christmas", and generally just enjoyed being together.
It was a wonderful night, but this morning it's back to building the ends of the greenhouse. I'm going to take Michael's camera with me and try to post a tutorial for anyone who might be helped by it.
"This is how you might, or might not want to do a greenhouse end."
Another amazingly beautiful day here!
Counting my blessings,
~Faith
.
Showing posts with label Parties. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Parties. Show all posts
Monday, November 22, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
All Hail the Cake Fairy!
.
Oh, NO! Not a Bridal Shower Game!
It's that age-old groaning response you hear in the powder room, out of shot of the harried party organizer. C'mon, ladies! Where's that sense of adventure? Well, I love the challenge of making things fun, and I think this one does the job pretty well. So if you are ever asked to come up with a game, give it a try before you run off whimpering behind the punch bowl.
You can call it whatever you like, but I revamped it for this housewarming party by calling it the "Cake Fairy Game". Pretty creative, eh?
When you do this for bridal showers, it's easy to choose the main character - it's the bride-to-be. And her silent cohort can be chosen in any variety of manner, just making sure they are one of the best bakers in da' howz, but it's best to not let on to anyone what is about to happen. They might run. And I don't recommend tackling in party attire.
For the housewarming party, I handed out 3 by 5 cards and pencils to everyone, with instructions to write their names and an estimation of how many hours a year they might spend baking from scratch in the kitchen. No one knew why, other than we were going to play a game.
It was impressive, and dare I say uncanny, how much discussion can take place concerning that simple instruction, but after about 5 minutes I had all the cards in.
The one with the highest estimate of hours was bestowed the honor of the Mute Chef.
The one with the lowest estimate of hours was transformed into the Cake Fairy.
Then they were given their props, and let in on the parameters of the next 20 minutes of their lives. Once the chef hat was on, our chef protagonist became mute, much to her chagrin.
The Mute chef is not only forbidden to speak, she may not make hand motions, nor impart any help whatsoever to the Cake Fairy. The Mute Chef is only to follow commands given by the Cake Fairy.
The Cake Fairy is to instruct the Mute Chef how to bake a cake... ~ from scratch.
Without a recipe, by the way. She does no work herself. She's a fairy, Silly. The Cake Fairy simply commands, and the Mute Chef obeys.
Generally, a bride-to-be has little experience baking from scratch, so the game is hilarious, especially if she enjoys hamming it up.
The Mute Chef is about dying the whole time because she knows just how badly this cake is going to turn out, and there is nothing, NOTHING she is allowed to do to divert the disaster, except participate in creating it.
In this case our hostess, for whom we threw the housewarming party, had no experience baking from scratch either, so it was just as fun.
Here she is, thoroughly enjoying waving her wand as she issues commands like royalty.
I always bring a box of pantry items, in case the host home is short on anything. I throw in necessary ingredients for basic cake baking - plus some extras to throw them off. It's much more fun to see them try to figure out just how much corn starch goes into the bowl.
Both times I've done this game, the cake was amazingly edible, despite the lack of experience, and we wrote the recipe down on a card, for future posterity, as the cake was being put together.
Make sure you do this game first, as the cake will need to bake while the rest of the party is going on, and then you can eat it at the end. Or feed it to the chickens, whichever seems most appropriate at the time.
Yup, now that the cake is in the oven, they'll need to make frosting, too.
It was really good! This one ended up being not real sweet, with about half the sugar a cake would normally have, and the frosting was more like a drizzled icing. I think we have a new chef on our hands!
All hail the Cake Fairy!
~Faith
.
Oh, NO! Not a Bridal Shower Game!
It's that age-old groaning response you hear in the powder room, out of shot of the harried party organizer. C'mon, ladies! Where's that sense of adventure? Well, I love the challenge of making things fun, and I think this one does the job pretty well. So if you are ever asked to come up with a game, give it a try before you run off whimpering behind the punch bowl.
You can call it whatever you like, but I revamped it for this housewarming party by calling it the "Cake Fairy Game". Pretty creative, eh?
When you do this for bridal showers, it's easy to choose the main character - it's the bride-to-be. And her silent cohort can be chosen in any variety of manner, just making sure they are one of the best bakers in da' howz, but it's best to not let on to anyone what is about to happen. They might run. And I don't recommend tackling in party attire.
For the housewarming party, I handed out 3 by 5 cards and pencils to everyone, with instructions to write their names and an estimation of how many hours a year they might spend baking from scratch in the kitchen. No one knew why, other than we were going to play a game.
It was impressive, and dare I say uncanny, how much discussion can take place concerning that simple instruction, but after about 5 minutes I had all the cards in.
The one with the highest estimate of hours was bestowed the honor of the Mute Chef.
The one with the lowest estimate of hours was transformed into the Cake Fairy.
Then they were given their props, and let in on the parameters of the next 20 minutes of their lives. Once the chef hat was on, our chef protagonist became mute, much to her chagrin.
The Mute chef is not only forbidden to speak, she may not make hand motions, nor impart any help whatsoever to the Cake Fairy. The Mute Chef is only to follow commands given by the Cake Fairy.
The Cake Fairy is to instruct the Mute Chef how to bake a cake... ~ from scratch.
Without a recipe, by the way. She does no work herself. She's a fairy, Silly. The Cake Fairy simply commands, and the Mute Chef obeys.
Generally, a bride-to-be has little experience baking from scratch, so the game is hilarious, especially if she enjoys hamming it up.
The Mute Chef is about dying the whole time because she knows just how badly this cake is going to turn out, and there is nothing, NOTHING she is allowed to do to divert the disaster, except participate in creating it.
In this case our hostess, for whom we threw the housewarming party, had no experience baking from scratch either, so it was just as fun.
Here she is, thoroughly enjoying waving her wand as she issues commands like royalty.
I always bring a box of pantry items, in case the host home is short on anything. I throw in necessary ingredients for basic cake baking - plus some extras to throw them off. It's much more fun to see them try to figure out just how much corn starch goes into the bowl.
Both times I've done this game, the cake was amazingly edible, despite the lack of experience, and we wrote the recipe down on a card, for future posterity, as the cake was being put together.
Make sure you do this game first, as the cake will need to bake while the rest of the party is going on, and then you can eat it at the end. Or feed it to the chickens, whichever seems most appropriate at the time.
Yup, now that the cake is in the oven, they'll need to make frosting, too.
It was really good! This one ended up being not real sweet, with about half the sugar a cake would normally have, and the frosting was more like a drizzled icing. I think we have a new chef on our hands!
All hail the Cake Fairy!
~Faith
.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Crafty Adventures
.
I'm planning a party for a friend this week and need some props. These two were really easy to make.
WAND
Poster board
Glitter glue
Curling ribbon
Dowel rod
Glue
I cut two stars out of poster board, and decorated them with glitter glue. Here's a handy tip - go ahead and punch out the holes on the arms of the stars before using the glitter glue. Mine turned out fine, but I would rather not have had to pick half-dried glitter glue from my hole punch.
The first layer of paint was achieved by dribbling red and gold glitter glue on one star, pressing the other star against it, and pulling away. It gave a nice rippling effect to the color. Then I dropped blue glitter glue on top.
Being the impatient sort that I am, I used my trusty Excalibur dehydrator to speed up the drying process.
Once it was dry enough to work with, without being brittle, I lined them up and punched holes through the arms. I cut strips of ribbon about a foot long. I was very lucky to have such helpful and compliant ribbon, because I was able to snip the ends, pull them apart like string cheese, and make 4 narrow ribbons out of one piece. Nice, since I needed to thread it through small holes.
Each hole got two ribbons tied on one side, and two ribbons tied on the other, and they curled very nicely without much help from me, but for a couple of strips here and there that had been tugged on a bit much while I was tying the knots.
Then it was a matter of coating the end of the dowel rod with enough glue to hold it, inserted between the two stars.
This was really fun and easy!
And a Chef's hat.
CHEF'S HAT
Poster board
White gift bag tissue
Heavy duty clear tape
Scotch tape
Paper clips
I cut a 4 inch wide strip of poster board, using the longest side, so it would fit around a head, with extra for overlap.
On this, I taped the long edge of the tissue with clear package tape.
Then I pulled the ends around together, and paper clipped them, making an adjustable head band.
The tissue was gently scotch taped together here and there to close the gaps, and then tucked down inside itself to the height I wanted the hat.
A quick flourish of the permanent marker ~
and ~ Voila!
I'm in Paris!
~Faith
.
I'm planning a party for a friend this week and need some props. These two were really easy to make.
WAND
Poster board
Glitter glue
Curling ribbon
Dowel rod
Glue
I cut two stars out of poster board, and decorated them with glitter glue. Here's a handy tip - go ahead and punch out the holes on the arms of the stars before using the glitter glue. Mine turned out fine, but I would rather not have had to pick half-dried glitter glue from my hole punch.
The first layer of paint was achieved by dribbling red and gold glitter glue on one star, pressing the other star against it, and pulling away. It gave a nice rippling effect to the color. Then I dropped blue glitter glue on top.
Being the impatient sort that I am, I used my trusty Excalibur dehydrator to speed up the drying process.
Once it was dry enough to work with, without being brittle, I lined them up and punched holes through the arms. I cut strips of ribbon about a foot long. I was very lucky to have such helpful and compliant ribbon, because I was able to snip the ends, pull them apart like string cheese, and make 4 narrow ribbons out of one piece. Nice, since I needed to thread it through small holes.
Each hole got two ribbons tied on one side, and two ribbons tied on the other, and they curled very nicely without much help from me, but for a couple of strips here and there that had been tugged on a bit much while I was tying the knots.
Then it was a matter of coating the end of the dowel rod with enough glue to hold it, inserted between the two stars.
This was really fun and easy!
And a Chef's hat.
CHEF'S HAT
Poster board
White gift bag tissue
Heavy duty clear tape
Scotch tape
Paper clips
I cut a 4 inch wide strip of poster board, using the longest side, so it would fit around a head, with extra for overlap.
On this, I taped the long edge of the tissue with clear package tape.
Then I pulled the ends around together, and paper clipped them, making an adjustable head band.
The tissue was gently scotch taped together here and there to close the gaps, and then tucked down inside itself to the height I wanted the hat.
A quick flourish of the permanent marker ~
and ~ Voila!
I'm in Paris!
~Faith
.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
For Todd and Barbara Part B - August 25, 2010
.
(continued from Part A)
I have a couple of books on death that I bought many years ago. They are about the funeral business, ways to care for your own dead.
Without taking up this post to discuss my own plans, I want to just briefly say that I will not be present for my own death and burial. So I have already told Michael that he is to not spend one stinkin' cent more on me than he absolutely must. I don't want him to feel like he has to come and visit my grave. I won't be there and I don't want him tethered emotionally to a plot of dirt.
And most importantly, I want the services to be joyful and happy. I want it to be a party. I will be with my Lord and very happy. I want those who love me to be freed from a perpetual cycle of mourning. If tears come, OK, that's going to be a natural thing, but I don't want that to be the focus. I want my entrance to eternity to be recognized for what it is. A CELEBRATION!
And so I was thrilled to find out that Todd wanted the exact same thing. And he'd even come up with exactly what the party was to be like. It was amazing and wonderful!
He wanted a representation of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. For any of you who are not familiar with the future of followers of Christ, that is the short time we will have alone with Him before we return with Him to the earth to set up His earthly Kingdom which will reign for 1000 years. The Hebrew wedding tradition God set for His people in the Torah is a picture of those who accept Christ's offer of life with Him.
So since Todd was leaving to be with Yeshua (that is Jesus Christ actual given name in the language He spoke while here) he wanted all of us to be reminded of what he was experiencing at that very time, or would experience very soon. What a thoughtful gift he gave.
So the visitation was big. Todd had given so much of his life in service to others that many knew him and loved him. But rather than it being a somber and dark time, for the most part there was much joy and laughter in that funeral parlor.
The day of the service and burial dawned early. We had a party to arrange.
We were to dress up festively. I knew there would be those who did not understand, so I did what quite a few people ended up doing. I dressed partly in black, and the rest very colorfully and festive. Though we may know and rest, we have to be careful not to crush or offend others who have no understanding, and care for them.
I made a basketful of wedding cookies. I love those, so I was very pleased to be able to make them. Michael and I arrived to help set up in the gymnasium of a large local church who allowed us to use their facilities.
The tables were almost all set up.
The theme was to be white cloths, clear glass, silver and gold. And party foods.
Ah, there's three plates of those cookies!
The service was to begin at 11, so we made our way there shortly before. Our friends were doing the praise and worship music. What a beautiful time of celebratory worship we had.
They did one of my favorite songs. Please give this a listen if you have the time...
One of Todd's passions was Drum Corps. He did it in high school and he still went back and worked with them all the time. I wish I had this cadence that Todd wrote on video for you. But all I have is this photo. Let me just say, that those drums playing that way, brought our hearts leaping in our chests as we knew they were pounding out exultant celebration of Todd's arrival Home. We could hardly contain our enthusiasm. We wanted to shout out, but you never know who you might offend, so my friend and I simply grasped each other's hands and grinned with watery eyes.
OK, back for more setting up before the graveside burial service.
It was a glorious day. 88 degrees, a light breeze. Yeah, we had lumps in our throats and watery eyes, but I can't express the joy and happiness we also felt. I took no photos of Barbara there, but she and Maddie were smiling. The drum corps played again as the casket without Todd in it was brought near.
If you are asking yourself why I am putting something like this in a blog. Something that is usually so private and quiet and sad. It's because if you do not know the joy that comes from the knowledge of knowing Jesus Christ as your Savior, you need to know it! Nothing is more important than this truth. And here it is. Todd is gone. But he is HOME! We do not mourn as others mourn, but we rejoice because we know the truth. Please continue reading.
Now we will go back to celebrate Todd's life with us, but even more so, his life NOW!
The first tree turning, in the church parking lot, as Autumn approaches.
Barbara opening up the tables. Let's eat!
Desserts were moved to another area as we ran out of room.
One of these girls lost many family members over the last few years. It affected her deeply. I think seeing a celebration rather than mournful darkness and sorrow helped to heal.
Here are Barbara, Ben and Maddie. They are OK. They know the truth, and the truth sets you free.
Whew, look at those fancy tables.
This amazing kitchen was at our disposal. What a blessing!
Drink table. We are in the south. In the south you have sweet tea.
Dear friends.
So many, I can't post them all.
I took photos of everyone in the room for Barbara. Here is just one that shows the hundreds of people who came to celebrate with us.
Maddie. A heart that is comforted by the Lord. When plans were first being made she did not understand the celebration, but it was the shock. She soon understood and healing began quickly.
Ben, wandering around as people went up and told stories of Todd.
The mood here was truly a party. Yes, we'd need to hug each other now and then. but I have to say it was a joyful time for most of us. Fill up, boys! Lots of food to put away here.
I was going around and getting group shots everywhere. Barbara happened to be at the last gtoup and she quickly posed with them.
That is a woman who knows God and trusts Him. If you do not. Ask me how. Giving your life to God will be the hardest thing you've ever done, but if you truly do, you will never regret it!
Here she is, telling the hilarious story of how Todd proposed.
Clean-up~! So much food! We packed as much of it as we could to store away for Barbara.
And then, Michael and I went to go do office cleaning.
The worst pang that has hit me was when driving past the building where we will meet for Sundays, I knew Todd would not be there to share that experience with us. That was weird and unhappy. But I would not wish him back. I would not do what those plaques say - climb up to Heaven and bring him back again. He is Home. I will be there soon as well. None of the pain will be remembered. No more evil in this world to live with. Only the goodness and love we were all meant to have.
Father, there is no way I can thank you for what You are, what You do for me. But I love You. And I offer You my life, so glad to be Your child, cherished and cared for.
Beautiful. Again. Thank you.
I'm Yours,
~Faith
.
(continued from Part A)
I have a couple of books on death that I bought many years ago. They are about the funeral business, ways to care for your own dead.
Without taking up this post to discuss my own plans, I want to just briefly say that I will not be present for my own death and burial. So I have already told Michael that he is to not spend one stinkin' cent more on me than he absolutely must. I don't want him to feel like he has to come and visit my grave. I won't be there and I don't want him tethered emotionally to a plot of dirt.
And most importantly, I want the services to be joyful and happy. I want it to be a party. I will be with my Lord and very happy. I want those who love me to be freed from a perpetual cycle of mourning. If tears come, OK, that's going to be a natural thing, but I don't want that to be the focus. I want my entrance to eternity to be recognized for what it is. A CELEBRATION!
And so I was thrilled to find out that Todd wanted the exact same thing. And he'd even come up with exactly what the party was to be like. It was amazing and wonderful!
He wanted a representation of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. For any of you who are not familiar with the future of followers of Christ, that is the short time we will have alone with Him before we return with Him to the earth to set up His earthly Kingdom which will reign for 1000 years. The Hebrew wedding tradition God set for His people in the Torah is a picture of those who accept Christ's offer of life with Him.
So since Todd was leaving to be with Yeshua (that is Jesus Christ actual given name in the language He spoke while here) he wanted all of us to be reminded of what he was experiencing at that very time, or would experience very soon. What a thoughtful gift he gave.
So the visitation was big. Todd had given so much of his life in service to others that many knew him and loved him. But rather than it being a somber and dark time, for the most part there was much joy and laughter in that funeral parlor.
The day of the service and burial dawned early. We had a party to arrange.
We were to dress up festively. I knew there would be those who did not understand, so I did what quite a few people ended up doing. I dressed partly in black, and the rest very colorfully and festive. Though we may know and rest, we have to be careful not to crush or offend others who have no understanding, and care for them.
I made a basketful of wedding cookies. I love those, so I was very pleased to be able to make them. Michael and I arrived to help set up in the gymnasium of a large local church who allowed us to use their facilities.
The tables were almost all set up.
The theme was to be white cloths, clear glass, silver and gold. And party foods.
Ah, there's three plates of those cookies!
The service was to begin at 11, so we made our way there shortly before. Our friends were doing the praise and worship music. What a beautiful time of celebratory worship we had.
They did one of my favorite songs. Please give this a listen if you have the time...
One of Todd's passions was Drum Corps. He did it in high school and he still went back and worked with them all the time. I wish I had this cadence that Todd wrote on video for you. But all I have is this photo. Let me just say, that those drums playing that way, brought our hearts leaping in our chests as we knew they were pounding out exultant celebration of Todd's arrival Home. We could hardly contain our enthusiasm. We wanted to shout out, but you never know who you might offend, so my friend and I simply grasped each other's hands and grinned with watery eyes.
OK, back for more setting up before the graveside burial service.
It was a glorious day. 88 degrees, a light breeze. Yeah, we had lumps in our throats and watery eyes, but I can't express the joy and happiness we also felt. I took no photos of Barbara there, but she and Maddie were smiling. The drum corps played again as the casket without Todd in it was brought near.
If you are asking yourself why I am putting something like this in a blog. Something that is usually so private and quiet and sad. It's because if you do not know the joy that comes from the knowledge of knowing Jesus Christ as your Savior, you need to know it! Nothing is more important than this truth. And here it is. Todd is gone. But he is HOME! We do not mourn as others mourn, but we rejoice because we know the truth. Please continue reading.
Now we will go back to celebrate Todd's life with us, but even more so, his life NOW!
The first tree turning, in the church parking lot, as Autumn approaches.
Barbara opening up the tables. Let's eat!
Desserts were moved to another area as we ran out of room.
One of these girls lost many family members over the last few years. It affected her deeply. I think seeing a celebration rather than mournful darkness and sorrow helped to heal.
Here are Barbara, Ben and Maddie. They are OK. They know the truth, and the truth sets you free.
Whew, look at those fancy tables.
This amazing kitchen was at our disposal. What a blessing!
Drink table. We are in the south. In the south you have sweet tea.
Dear friends.
So many, I can't post them all.
I took photos of everyone in the room for Barbara. Here is just one that shows the hundreds of people who came to celebrate with us.
Maddie. A heart that is comforted by the Lord. When plans were first being made she did not understand the celebration, but it was the shock. She soon understood and healing began quickly.
Ben, wandering around as people went up and told stories of Todd.
The mood here was truly a party. Yes, we'd need to hug each other now and then. but I have to say it was a joyful time for most of us. Fill up, boys! Lots of food to put away here.
I was going around and getting group shots everywhere. Barbara happened to be at the last gtoup and she quickly posed with them.
That is a woman who knows God and trusts Him. If you do not. Ask me how. Giving your life to God will be the hardest thing you've ever done, but if you truly do, you will never regret it!
Here she is, telling the hilarious story of how Todd proposed.
Clean-up~! So much food! We packed as much of it as we could to store away for Barbara.
And then, Michael and I went to go do office cleaning.
The worst pang that has hit me was when driving past the building where we will meet for Sundays, I knew Todd would not be there to share that experience with us. That was weird and unhappy. But I would not wish him back. I would not do what those plaques say - climb up to Heaven and bring him back again. He is Home. I will be there soon as well. None of the pain will be remembered. No more evil in this world to live with. Only the goodness and love we were all meant to have.
Father, there is no way I can thank you for what You are, what You do for me. But I love You. And I offer You my life, so glad to be Your child, cherished and cared for.
Beautiful. Again. Thank you.
I'm Yours,
~Faith
.
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