Yeaaaa!!!! I have been Recognized!!

Go check out "Homemaker on a Dime"!  She has an awesome blog,

& she loved the poem I shared (*blushes*) about "Phenomenal Women", by Maya Angelou    http://junquenmytrunk.blogspot.com/2011/04/phenomenal-woman.html

This is the first time anyone has recognized moi  :)
(and I didn't even write that poem)
But, I did write this one for my Mom last Mothers Day:
http://junquenmytrunk.blogspot.com/2011/05/shoes.html

Thank You for your kind words Ms H.O.A.D.

Shoes

I thought I would share a poem I wrote for my Mother last year on Mother's Day. 

 It made her cry.  (but she always cries)

Enjoy.

Shoes

Shoes are so important,

To protect and keep us warm,

I could not imagine,

Years ago on “The Farm”

When my mother was a child,

She only had two pair,

And claims she was so lucky,

For some had none to wear.

Now she has so many,

None of them have holes,

You can bet your baby bootie,

All of them have soles!

Wife shoes,

Sister shoes,

Mother shoes,

Grandma shoes,

So many shoes to fill,

It takes a special person,

To really fill them well!

I’ve tried, and tried to squeeze them in,

My feet will never fit,

I will never fill her shoes

I am sorry to admit.

So Thankful to my mother,

& the beauty of her soul,

To which the evolution of her shoes

Has always played a role.

By: Darlene Armstrong

May 9^th, 2010-Mothers Day

Round Mother's Day Card

May Our Friendship Last Forever

Wordy Wednesday:

In honour of "DebbieDoos Pet Party", I thought this would be an appropriate poem to share.   

We love you Buddy & Sophie!  (& BooBoo, R.I.P.) 

 

May our friendship last forever
by Nicholas Gordon

May our friendship last forever;
May I sail upon your sea.
May we go through life together;
May there always be a "we."
May I be your endless sky;
May you breathe my gentle air.
May you never wonder why
Each time you look for me, I'm there.

May we be for each a smile
Like the warm, life-giving sun;
Yet when we're in pain awhile,
May our suffering be one.

May we share our special days,
The happiness of one for two;
And if we must go separate ways,
Let my love remain with you.

Meet the Weiners!

It is a bBIG day in "Dog Blog" world!  DebbieDoo has a very special guest host.  Lucy! is the guest host for the "Pet Party"!

Lucy, meet the "weiners",

"SOPHIE"

&"BUDDY"

Linking here:

Paintbrush Preservation

I have a secret.  My last paintbrush was 9 years old!  The only reason I had to replace it was because I loaned it to my parents when they were painting my brothers house, and it was not cleaned properly.  I figure a tutorial on my technique is pretty important because good brushes can be expensive.  First, the secret to successful restoring, are good paint brushes.  Inexpensive brushes tend to leave those nasty bristles behind in the fresh paint...ugh...I hate those.  So get good brushes, and make them last.  It is an investment.
Step #1:
Rinse the paintbrush with water until the water runs relativley clear, and most of the pigment is rinsed off of the brush.  Be gentle on the bristles throughout this whole process.  I drag the brush back & forth on the bottom of the sink very gently.

Step #2: 
Put a couple of drops of soap - I use Murphys oil soap, or in a pinch I use a good dish soap - on the brush, and lather on your hand gently. 

Drag the brush back & forth on your hand gently.  You will notice the lather will have some color to it from the paint left in the brush.  Keep lathering up on your hand.  Rinse thoroughly, and repeat the lather up step until the lather seems clean.

Step #3:  Rinse the brush thoroughly, until there is no more soap in the brush. 

Step #4:  Gently dry your brush on a clean, lint free cloth.

It will still be damp, and that is OK

Step#5:  If you are not going to be using your brush for several days or more, this step is for you only.  Just take a bit of the soap, pure, put it on the brush, and shape it so the bristles are perfectly in place.  Leave the soap in the bristles until your next use.  Keep your brushes wrapped in a clean cloth, or in the original package so it will not get full of sawdust.  Just remember to rinse the soap out of your brush before you use it the next time.

If you follow these steps, your brushes will last a really long time.

Smelt / Fish Batter

This post is not Vegetarian or Vegan Friendly!
Does anyone know what "smelts" are?  Has anyone gone "smelting" before?  Well, there is a GREAT Northern tradition, and it is not a Canada thing, it is specifically more like a Northern Ontario thing.  Every spring, as soon as the ice is off of the Great Lakes, swarms of these little fish, called "smelts", leave the lake, and swim upstream.  This is when the "Great Northern Smelt Hunter" appears, equipped with big rubber boots or hip waders, a net, a flashlight, and a pail, to catch these little fish.  No fishing rod required!  You just scoop them into your net!!  The only trick is to swoop your net in the same direction as the water is flowing!

It is very important to have the proper equipment:

Oh, also, these "Great White Hunters" must hunt these fish in the wee hours of the night, like midnight or later.  The smelts are shy, and like to "run" at night. There are bon fires along the shores of the rivers, and people everywhere.  They usually arrive early in the evening, and "await" the arrival of the smelts.

I am sure my SIL will be very happy I posted this on my blog!!

Here we all are!  My "Great Smelt Hunters!" (and me)

We didn't stay late or long, but we got our "feed".  EEEEEeeeeeeewwwwwwww!

OKOK, time for the Smelt Fry!  A lot of local restaurants have "smelt frys" during "smelt season", so if you ever get up here in April....give it a try!

Fish Batter:

2 cups of flour

4 Tbsp corn starch

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 cups of water

This is also the only time of year I make fresh cut fries!  I like to fry them up on the BBQ, in a big cast iron pan, so we don't stink up the inside of our house!

I joined these Linky Parties: