Kumihimo or Japanese Braiding

I don't have much to blog about today, so this is all I have.

I decided to do a mindless little craft that any kid could do.  I wanted to make a bracelet in Peach.  I always wear a peach colored bracelet. I just buy those rubberized ones which break after a while.  I thought if I could make one, it would probably last a long time and I could make another when it breaks.

I went to the store and bought a foam form and some thread.

It is really easy and quick.  You can choose the diameter by just changing the size of the thread.  then you make it as long as you wish.  My next one I will use beads to see how that looks.  I need to buy some connectors too.

If anyone wants to try this craft, there are a lot of youtube videos that show how it's done. 

Rock Around the Block

Tonight we attended a play put on by my granddaughter's middle school.  The kids did a wonderful job and had a great time.  It was called Rock Around the Block.  It was a cute little story that took place in the 1950's (you know, those olden days).  Our granddaughter, Melissa, played a backup singer for a Justin Bieber type character named Ziggy.  Most of the kids were eighth graders, but Melissa is only in sixth grade.  She loves performing so I am sure we will be trying out again next year.

Rock Around the Block

 

Singing Rock n Roll songs

Melissa

Sitting at the Luncheonette

The Cast

Ziggy with his backup singers.

Moldy Bread

Fresh loaf of Bread

Now I know that Spring/Summer is here once and for all.  This doesn't happen with store bought bread, but my home made bread gets moldy very quickly in warmer temperatures.  It isn't a problem in the wintertime.  Yesterday I forgot to put it in the refrigerator,  and this morning this is what I found.  Yuck, but at least it proves that there are no preservatives in this bread.

Yucky, Moldy Bread

Searching for Golf Balls

Jack is my second to the youngest grandchild.  He will be five at the end of June.  Jack is our outdoor buddy.  When he comes out to our house to visit, he always wants to go exploring or treasure hunting.  It is a challenge sometimes because he can fit under branches and small places that we can't. 

The other day his mom had to work a little later and I picked Jack up from 4K.  We barely got into the driveway and Jack wanted to go searching for golf balls.  My daughter lives on a golf course and many renegade golf balls end up in the woods behind their house.  It is something Jack and I often do.  He leads me through the brush, up hills and down, and back into a little ravine which sometimes has mud and water.  A lot of golf balls end up here.  Sometimes I spy a ball and mention it, but mostly he wants to find them himself.  We have a great time.  Thank goodness for these wonderful phones we have now days that take awesome pictures without carrying around another camera. 

And we are off on our adventure.

I see one.

Another one hidden in the leaves

Did he find it?

Yes, here is another one.

This one was barely showing, but Jack found it.

We took along his little stuffed dog to help.

How many is that?

We found 15 of them today.  One was ripped so Jack was trying see what is inside a golf ball.

Ask Questions Before You Donate

This blog post is going to be a little different from what I usually post.  As most of you know, I had cancer.  Because of this, I am happy to donate to events that help medical research and treatments as well as helping people who don't have insurance or transportation to treatment.   I probably would have died if my type of cancer would have happened to me thirty years ago.

I have donated to relay for life.  Relay for life is sponsored by the American Cancer Society, but I recently found out that forty cents of every dollar goes for administration costs.  They also say you can donate to a particular cancer but in reality it goes into a general fund.  They determine which cancer will get the most funding.  Many people don't know this and donate thinking all or most of the money will go to the cause.  I do think Relay for Life raises awareness and unites people to a cause.  I also believe that some of the other cancer organizations have even bigger administrative costs, but do the research before donating to find the percentage.  If you are comfortable with it, that's great, but when I donate $25 I want more than $15 of that to go for the cause or cure.

Try to find events and organizations that are non profit and use all the donations or at least most.  The local hospital in Berlin Wisconsin is having a 5K walk called Helping Hands for Cancer.  All the money raised through this event helps people.  That is where I want my donation dollars to go.  Please ask questions before you donate your hard earned money.

Tomorrow I will be back to my usual posting, but I needed to get this off my chest.

Spring 2013 Continues

I was considering not blogging so much anymore.  It has gotten boring for me and I imagine it has gotten boring for others who read this.  However, things happen almost everyday that I want to report if only as a reminder to myself.  Yesterday I saw the Indigo Bunting.  They are a bird that comes around May 10 every year.  It only stays a few days and then continues it's migration.  My cousin who lives less than 15 miles away has them stay a little longer than most people.  They must feed them what they like.  I just appreciate seeing them for a few days every year.

Even though it is supposed to freeze tonight (May 12, 2013), the spring plants continue to emerge.  I guess they know that eventually we will have warmer temperatures.  The hummingbirds are very scarce this year, but all the other birds are very active.

May Flowers

Jack in the Pulpit

Serviceberry Tree blossoming