miscellaneous monday

fika.  a ritual involving family and/or friends, coffee and/or tea and a bite of something to eat. according to tradition, fika must be shared or, taken alone, it's just eating and drinking. learn about fika and resolve to partake:

http://www.swedishfood.com/fika    

a great crafting session with my daughter yielded this handmade gift for her friend; with whom she shares fika: 

solitude sunday

solitude sunday. our day to spend time with a book. my book is michaela and elaine deprince's hope in a ballet shoe. this is the story of michaela deprince who went from an orphan in war torn sierra leone to an international ballet star.

silly saturday

from @sofiehagen:

in danish, there is a word for when you put so much butter on a bun, it leaves teeth marks. (the word is tandsmor: tooth butter.)

photo friday

 broke when dropped. awesome!

thoughtful thursday

dalai lama xiv:

if the love within your mind is lost and you see other beings as enemies, then no matter how much knowledge or education or material comfort you have, only suffering and confusion will ensue. 

whimsical wednesday

happy national thank you note writing day! what a perfect whimsical wednesday activity to follow a day of giving and receiving gifts.  make this a family activity as it's important for children to learn to say "thank you" in a note as well as verbally. those that offer the gifts will be so pleased to be remembered in this way.

trivia tuesday

@uberfacts:

touching a teddy bear has been proven to make people feel less lonely.  

merry christmas. 

miscellaneous monday

operation "decorate gingerbread houses" occurred on saturday. before my young buddies had their decorating session, they, their parents, friends and i enjoyed the tasty lunch i prepared.  one house is quite symmetrical and planned; the other is decidedly free form.....  just like the personalities of the creators! 

solitude sunday

solitude sunday at the whimsey project. our day to spend time with a book. i continue with richard rodriguez's darling, a spiritual autobiography. this book requires much thought. i am enjoying the thinking.

silly saturday

dinosaur tree! (festival of trees)

photo friday

friends

thoughtful thursday

living kindness @livingkindness:

the smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention.

whimsical wednesday

soon it will be christmas day! we will spend this whimsical wednesday preparing for our holiday activities. what did you do? share with the whimsey project!

trivia tuesday

from @uberfacts:

researchers have proven that eccentric* people tend to live longer and report higher levels of happiness.  

*at the whimsey project we call such persons whimsical!

miscellaneous monday

my favorite holiday activity is participating in a cookie exchange. i did so for several years until that group disbanded. a few years passed without a cookie exchange and i missed it. this year that changed when i began a new cookie exchange! our gathering was saturday the fifteenth. everyone who was invited to participate did so eagerly. we enjoyed lunch (my nephew smoked the meat for the pulled pork and it was awesome!) and sitting around the fireplace talking and laughing and having a wonderful time.  and such a variety of cookies! soooooo many cookies! amazingly no one baked chocolate chip! we laughed about that. my cookies are given as christmas gifts so there's a bounty to share this year. everyone agreed the cookie exchange will be a new holiday tradition.  

solitude sunday

solitude sunday. our day to spend time with a book. my read is richard rodriguez's darling, a spiritual autobiography. as the titles implies, this book is about richard rodriquez's faith journey within the larger context of his life. his writing style is awesome.

silly saturday

best birthday party game ever!

photo friday

enjoying the view

thoughtful thursday

the world's oldest song; written by seikilos, in 100 bc:

while you live, shine.
have no grief at all.
life exists only for a short while,
and time demands its toll.

whimsical wednesday

we'll be doing anything with a gingerbread theme for whimsical wednesday to celebrate national gingerbread day. each year i do something gingerbread with two of my young buddies. this year i happened upon an awesome find in a grocery store in another town. a grocery cart filled with markdowns included two gingerbread house kits! i had been looking for houses and here they were, just waiting for me! the house pieces require assembly so putting together the houses will be my whimsical wednesday gingerbread activity.

ready to decorate!

trivia tuesday

from @omgfacts:

20,000 tons of indigo dye are produced annually for the making of blue jeans.

miscellaneous monday

i happened upon a recipe for edible play clay in an old magazine i had in a stack used for art journaling. created by ashley ogle for "mary janes farm" magazine, it looked awesome! the clay was made for my two year old buddy. for a christmas gift, the clay was paired with wee cookie cutters for wee hands and a copy of the recipe for mom and dad so they could make more. here's the recipe:

*mix together 1/4 cup powdered milk and 1/4 cup flour.

*mix together 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter and 1/4 cup honey.

*add one mixture into the other, stirring until completely blended and the mixture is smooth.

for play time tape a piece of freezer paper (shiny side up) onto the table for the wee one to use as a mat for the clay. if the clay becomes sticky or too soft to play with, put it in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes. 

solitude sunday

we spend time with a book on solitude sunday. my book companion continues to be bob boilen's your song changed my life. it's been interesting to discover the song(s) that were a musical turning point for the artists featured in the book. 

silly saturday

road trip!

photo friday

sunrise, november 28, 2018

sunset, november 28, 2018

 

thoughtful thursday

b. d. schiers:

the more kindness you put forth into the world, the kinder it  becomes. it adds up. if you don't believe me, try it. 

whimsical wednesday

it's the first wednesday of the month so we'll work on our own projects. there's one remaining lesson in the art journaling course to finish. maybe i'll get to that.  or i'll work on preparations for my holiday hosting activities. or i'll pay attention to art journals that have languished while i gave full attention to the online courses. or maybe i'll do something completely different...

trivia tuesday

history @historytime:

the first dr pepper soft drink was served on december 1, 1885, at a drugstore in waco, texas.

miscellaneous monday

what's the favorite christmas candy in your state? 

http://mentalfloss.com/article/565824/most-popular-candy-christmas

solitude sunday

solitude sunday is our day to spend time with a book. today i am reading bob boilen's your song changed my life. bob boilen is the host and creator of npr's "all songs considered" in which he talks about modern music and interviews musicians. this book is an outcome of his radio program. very interesting musical history thus far.

silly saturday

thoughts of dog @dog_feelings:

sometimes. i will yawn really big. and soon after. the human will also yawn. i have yet to decide. what to do with my powers.