Workin' with Whatcha Got

Please forgive me for yesterday's absence. See, I went to hear Dr. Temple Grandin speak about animal behavior and autism. She is the author of a number of books; her most recent one being "Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals." Dr. Grandin is certainly a perfect example of making the most of what you have.

But I'm not here to talk about her. Not just yet, anyway. You see, yesterday's speech was a fundraiser for Tender Loving Canines, which I've talked about before. And they handed out a lovely portfolio with a notepad inside and a bag of M&Ms attached. And I had some peanuts in my purse.

So you know what I did? You guessed it. I made my own peanut M&Ms. And this is, of course, no real accomplishment compared to Dr. Grandin's success, but I thought maybe I could try to entertain you with some candy and blabbering while I got together my notes from her lecture. I think I might need to try a little bit harder though.

Once Upon a Time

Once upon a time, there was a tree. And this tree bore beautiful fruit-lucious, juicy apricots.

And then one spring, some Creature(s) of the Night (CotN)came along and et them.

The CotN et pretty much all of them, except a select few.

Oh, apricot, is that a tear I see? Are you weeping for your ill-fated friends? Or is that a tear of joy?

Because I had big plans for you. Yes, indeedy, I did.

A Belated Message from Tucker & Lucy

"Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves."

-Abraham Lincoln

Tucker, do you care to start us in a rendition of "America the Beautiful"? Howl together now.

Happy Fourth of July!

Happy Independence Day! Yesterday I posted a quick and easy craft project for decorating your table for the holidays. Today I'd like to share some other ways to get your table ready for all those hot dogs. And corn and ribs and lemonade, and whatever else you are dishing up for the holidays. I'm getting hungry just thinking about all that delicious food.

The red placemats were originally used for Christmas, as they have green mates. But I just used the red ones. If you had some blue placemats for Hanukkah celebrations, those would work too. I grabbed some white napkins (I usually like to have decorating stuff that is neutral so that you can work them into any scheme), tied them with a simple raffia knot, and that completed the look for the place settings.

On the table, I also added some small flags in mason jars and larger ones in a blue vase. I picked them up on sale for a total of $3 for 6 small flags and 2 larger ones at my local craft store. I also put out some candles in varying heights and different candle holders to complete the look. It took me all of 5 minutes to put this together.

Please be aware that I do not intend to light these candles, as they could create a fire hazard with the flags in such close proximity. But if I wanted to light them, I would make sure that the flags were clear out of the way. It is important to keep these precautions in mind when decorating a table.

I bought these sunflowers at the Farmers' Market for $3, and I cut the blue agapanthus from a plant in the yard that had the great foresight to be in bloom for today's holiday. If it were possible for plants to have foresight, that is. Add a simple raffia bow, and voilà! This arrangement gives the space some much needed height.

You could also try adding some other natural elements to the table. Here, I've replaced the flags with a grouping of lemons. This might be a good alternative if you want to light the candles on the table.

Oh, and I plan to fill up that blue star-shaped dish on the right with strawberries. Again, I didn't spend much on decorating this table. Factoring in the cost of the sunflowers for a side arrangement, I shelled out a total of $6 because I just used what I already had. However, I stopped by a local thrift store yesterday afternoon, and there were a number of inexpensive blue, red or white dishes that could have worked well for this table. So if you don't have supplies on hand, definitely explore those venues.

Perhaps you could use the lemons to create a place card for the table? I am undecided about these. What do you think? Other thoughts and suggestions for creating a themed table?

Happy Fourth of July, everyone! Have a safe and wonderful holiday.

The Day Before July Fourth

Tomorrow is the Fourth of July, a date when America celebrates it's independence. It's also the biggest hot dog day of the year when 155 million hot dogs will be consumed and when Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest will take place.

So to help you get ready for the big event, today I'm going to share a quick and easy craft project with you, in case you are looking for an inexpensive way to decorate your table.

First, you'll need some empty metal cans. I saved these tomato sauce ones a while back, but you could use bean cans, dog food cans or whatever else you have on hand. You will also need some white spray paint, which you can get at your local big box store for a buck. Oh, and some newspaper or a weekly flyer for applying the spray paint.

Go ahead and spray the cans you want to use. Be sure to follow all safety precautions listed on the spray paint can (you know, use in a well-ventilated area, not, say, inside your car; use protective gear and common sense). I'm not going to get into details here about how to spray paint, but when applying, you want to use nice even strokes to get a thin layer, and be sure to let the paint dry completely between coats. I usually find that 3-4 light coats is enough to get all the nooks and crannies sufficiently painted.

Other supplies that you will need:

• 1 hot glue gun.
• 1 colored ribbon.
• Raffia.
• Flowers.

Personally, I think everyone should have a glue gun and raffia in his or her craft arsenal.

First off, cut the ribbon slightly longer than the circumference of the can. Apply a few dabs of glue to the back of the can, and press the ribbon into the glue. Be careful to not touch the glue itself; it's very hot! Trust me on this one. If you have not used a glue gun before, please read the instructions before doing so. We don't want anyone to get hurt here.

If you get some wayward strands of glue, don't despair. You'll be able to wipe them off once the glue is dry.

Wrap the ribbon around the can, and then apply a few more dabs to tack the end of the ribbon at the starting point. Use the same method with the raffia. Clean up any wayward strands by just running your hand over the dried glue. You can also peel it off if need be.

Put your flowers in, and you're done! Oh yeah, don't forget to add water.

All told, I didn't spend any money on this project because I had all the supplies already, but if you had to go out and buy all of this, here's an approximate cost breakdown:

• Cans: $1/each. This cost is offset by the fact that you can eat the contents.


• White spray paint: $1/each. You won't need a whole can for the project, so you can save the rest for future projects.


• Ribbon: $1/roll. You will probably end up using less than a foot, so if you have any scraps from other holidays (Valentine's Day, Christmas, Hanukkah, birthdays), you can use those. But if you buy a new roll you will be able to use it in the future for other crafts or wrapping presents.


• Raffia: $3/bag. Again, you will find that this stuff comes in handy for present-wrapping or even flower arranging (see how I used it in a previous post here).


• Flowers: $3/bouquet. If you don't have any flowers in your yard that you can use like I did, you can buy a cheap bouquet from your local Farmers' Market or grocery store. Red or white carnations are inexpensive and readily available in my neck of the woods, and they certainly fit the color scheme here.


• Total: $10/2 cans.

I'm going to give one of these to my neighbors, in the zeitgeist of today's events. If you are having guests over, you could also use these as party favors. What do you think? Do you like them?