FREE Printable - Ginghams Paper Dolls to Print

 

I had The Ginghams paper dolls when I was  girl and I loved them. They were my favorite paper dolls. I think I still have them stashed away somewhere. 

I found these printables of them for free on the internet. Maybe some little girl you know will enjoy them. They would make a cute gift or distraction for a sick or rainy day. :-) The instructions for printing them are at the page.

Just for Fun - A "Recommended Reading" List

Artist unknown.

Recommended Reading

 

Great Rescue Stories     - by Justin Thyme

10 Cures for Sea Sickness   - by Wyatt E. Errp

Rock Collecting   - by Cal Sydney

The Prides of Serengeti     - by Lionel Cubb

The Green Thumb   - by Thorogood Gardiner

Horse Shoes   - by Blanche Smith

Cattle Ranching In the Old West    - by Bessy Hereford

Spicing Your Cuisine    - by Herb Cooke

How To Get It All   - by Wanda Moore

Fabulous Footwear    - by Ima Schumacher

Shallow Water Fishing    - by Roxie Scholes

Utilizing Your Library - by Ida Reid

White Water Rafting   - by Flo Blanca

Best Breads Ever   - by Ann Baker

Investing Your Assets   - by Rich Banks

Formal Gardens of Europe   - by Redd Rosa

Sea Shore Vacations   - by Michelle Holliday

Gothic Churches   - by Belle Freeman

Oil Painting   - by Dabney Strokes

Precious Gems of Australia   - by Opal Black

Great Cities of Italy   - by Florence Milan

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For anyone who failed to notice, this is a joke. ;-)

Just for Fun - Write Gooder

This humorous list has made its rounds on the internet for quite a few years. I'm sorry to say that I don't know who the original author is. I may have added one or two items myself. I can't remember now. :-)

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1. Avoid alliteration always.

2. Prepositions are no words to end sentences with.

3. Avoid clichés like the plague.

4. Employ the vernacular ad nauseam.

5. Eschew ampersands & abbrev., etc.

6. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.

Continue Reading. 

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artist unknown

Just for Fun - Watercolor Time Lapse of English Cottage

I enjoyed watching this painting being created by this very talented artist and thought I'd share it with you. :-)  Enjoy!





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Just for Fun - To Tickle Your Funny Bone

1. I used to work in a fire hydrant factory. You couldn't park anywhere near the place.

2. I wrote a song, but I can't read music. Every time I hear a new song on the radio, I think "Hey, maybe I wrote that."

3. I turned my air conditioner the other way around, and it got cold out. The weatherman said, "I don't understand it. It was supposed to be 80 degrees out today." I said "Oops . . ."

4. I spilled Spot remover on my dog. Now he's gone.

5. I bought some powdered water, but I didn't know what to add.

6. I have an answering machine in my car. It says, "I'm home now, but leave a message and I'll call when I'm out."

7. I went to a restaurant that serves "breakfast at any time." So I ordered French Toast during the Renaissance.

9. I have a hobby. I have the world's largest collection of sea shells. I keep it scattered on beaches all over the world. Maybe you've seen some of it.

10. I went to a general store, but they wouldn't let me buy anything specific.

Just for Fun - "Simon's Cat - Double Trouble"

This is a relatively accurate representation of cats learning to live in the same house. :-)





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Just for Fun - You Might Be A Missionaries' Kid If...

My mother and her brothers. Tanzania, 1957.

Finding a beak in your chicken soup doesn't shock you.

You have to fight panic when people drive on the right hand side of the road.

You like Marmite, and you're not British by birth.

You've been lost in a large, foreign airport and knew what to do.

You can actually pronounce Welsh town names.

You know that skirts and robes are not exclusively women's clothes in other parts of the world.

Continue Reading.

Worth Repeating - A Bit of Humor

Here are some fun food related quotes I posted in 2010. I added the images from my collection. :-)
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"The thought of two thousand people crunching celery at the same time horrified me." - George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950). Explaining why he had turned down an invitation to a vegetarian gala dinner.

Have you heard of the garlic diet?
You don't lose much weight, but from a distance your friends think you look thinner.

Vegetables are interesting but lack a sense of purpose when unaccompanied by a good cut of meat. – Fran L.

The West wasn’t won on salad.
- North Dakota Beef Council advertisement, 1990

Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie. ~Jim Davis
“I would like to find a stew that will give me heartburn immediately, instead of at three o'clock in the morning.” ~John B.

“It would be nice if the Food and Drug Administration stopped issuing warnings about toxic substances and just gave me the names of one or two things still safe to eat.” Robert Fuoss
My favorite animal is steak. ~Fran L.

The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for thirty years she served the family nothing but leftovers. The original meal has never been found. ~Calvin Trillin

A nickel will get you on the subway, but garlic will get you a seat. ~Old New York Proverb

And I find chopsticks frankly distressing. Am I alone in thinking it odd that a people ingenious enough to invent paper, gunpowder, kites and any number of other useful objects, and who have a noble history extending back 3,000 years haven't yet worked out that a pair of knitting needles is no way to capture food? ~Bill B.

Illustrated Poem - Winter Morning by Ogden Nash

Winter Morning

Winter is the king of showmen,
Turning tree stumps into snow men,
And houses into birthday cakes,
And spreading sugar over lakes.

Smooth and clean and frosty white,
The world looks good enough to bite.
That's the season to be young
Catching snowflakes on your tongue.

Snow is snowy when it's snowing

I'm sorry it's slushy when it's going.

by Ogden Nash

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Top two photos: Michigan in the 1960s. Taken by one of my grandparents.
Bottom two photos: Tennessee in the first ten years of 2000. Taken by me.

Signs that You Are No Longer A Kid

The artist's family in the garden. Claude Monet

SIGNS THAT YOU ARE NO LONGER A KID

You're asleep, but others worry that you're dead.

Your back goes out more than you do.

You quit trying to hold your stomach in.

You buy a GPS for the dash of your car.

You have an opinion on Home Owner's Associations.

You are proud of your lawn mower.

You sing along with the elevator music.

You would rather go to work than stay home sick.

You constantly talk about the price of healthcare or polotics.

You enjoy hearing about other people's operations or birthings.

You consider coffee one of the most important things in life.

You make an appointment to see the dentist.

You no longer think of speed limits as a challenge.

You know what time the garbage truck and the mail comes.

Neighbors borrow your tools or books.

People call at 9 p.m. and ask, "Did I wake you?"

You answer a question with, "because I said so!"

You take a metal detector to the beach.

You wear socks with sandals.

You know what the word "equity" means.

You can't remember the last time you laid on the floor.

Your ears are hairier than your head.

You get into a heated discussion about Health Savings Accounts.

You got cable for the weather channel.

You got on the internet so you could share photos of your kids or see photos of your grandchildren.

-- Original author unknown. Edited.

Just for Fun - Rules for Cats with A House to Run

The photos here are of "Mischief," a cat my brother owned when my family lived in Tennessee.

I do not know who the original author of this is. I have made some additions and edits. Enjoy! :-)

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Rules for cats who have a house to run.

I.  DOORS:  Do not allow closed doors in any room. To get door opened, stand on hind legs and scratch with fore-paws while meowing pathetically. Once door is opened, it is not necessary to use it. After you have ordered an "outside" door opened, stand halfway in and halfway out and think about several things. This is particularly important during very cold or hot weather, rain, snow, or mosquito season. Swinging doors are to be avoided at all costs.

II.  CHAIRS AND RUGS:  If you have to throw up, get to a chair quickly. If you cannot manage in time, get to an Oriental rug. If there is no Oriental rug, shag is good. When throwing up on the carpet, make sure you back up so that it is as long as the human's bare foot.

III.  BATHROOMS: Always accompany guests to the bathroom. It is not necessary to do anything -- just sit and stare.

IV.  HAMPERING:  If one of your humans is engaged in some absorbing activity and the other is idle, stay with the busy one. This is called "helping", otherwise known as "hampering." Following are the rules for "hampering":
  a) When supervising cooking, sit just behind the left heel of the cook. You cannot be seen and thereby stand a better chance of being stepped on and then picked up and comforted. Be sure to shriek piteously since humans love to feel guilty.
  b) For book readers, get in close under the chin, between eyes and book, unless you can lie across the book itself.
  c) For knitting projects or paperwork, lie on the work in the most appropriate manner so as to obscure as much of the work as possible, or at least the most important part. Pretend to doze, but every so often reach out and slap the pencil or knitting needles. The worker may try to distract you; ignore it. Remember, the aim is to hamper work. Embroidery and needlepoint projects make great hammocks in spite of what the humans may tell you.
 d) For people paying bills (monthly activity) or working on income taxes or Christmas cards (annual activity), keep in mind the aim -- to hamper! First, sit on the paper being worked on.  When dislodged, watch sadly from the side of the table. When activity proceeds nicely, roll around on the papers, scattering them to the best of your ability. After being removed for the second time, push pens, pencils, and erasers off the table, one at a time.
 e) When a human is holding the newspaper in front of him/her, be sure to jump on the back of the paper. They love to jump.
 f) When your human is working on a computer try to walk in front of the screen as often as possible. Lie down on the keyboard if you can.
 g) Walk across jig saw puzzles when your feet are damp so as to track as many pieces away from the project as possible. Lie down and roll on it too. Locating the pieces gives the human needed exercise.

 h) If your human sews, hide behind the sewing machine and make grabs at the project as it comes towards you while she/he is sewing. Also, find a nice soft spot in the sewing room on fabric that collects lint easily, then lie there as often as possible so as to cover it with as much cat hair as possible. Leave a fun hairball surprise in a place your human didn't think you could reach.

[Note: This was the basket of clean rags, and she wasn't actually allowed to go outside. :-)  ]

 i) Go outside and role in the dust or get your paws all muddy, then ask to come back inside. Go and lie in a laundry basket of clean clothes or walk across the kitchen counter. Best of all, sneak up between the sheets on the master bed. This makes extra work for your humans which they love.

V.  WALKING: As often as possible, dart quickly and as close as possible in front of the human, especially: on stairs, when they have something in their arms, in the dark, and when they first get up in the morning. This will help their coordination skills.

VI.  BEDTIME: Always sleep on the human at night so s/he cannot move around.

Mug Exchange Reveal Spring 2018

In April I participated in the Tea Cup and Mug Exchange at The Enchanting Rose, an event Stephanie hosts twice a year to encourage making new friends.This year my gifts came from Cheryl who lives in Michigan. This was a happy "coincidence" because Michigan happens to be my home state. :-) She does not have a blog or web page for me to link to - which is fine!

These are the things she sent me (from left to right).
Back row: Tea Lover's Devotional book, The Twelve Teas of Inspiration book (both books contain recipes too), and a lovely card. (Pink is my favorite color and I always like sparkles on a card.)
Second row: magnet, zip pouch, mug, mint tea, and a fancy little note pad.
Front: tea bag holder and a ceramic tea spoon that matches the mug.

I have used the mug so far for vegetable broth and for cold cereal. (Yes, I eat cold cereal out of a mug sometimes. :-)  )

Strange to say, the little tan pouch actually became the star of the collection quite unexpectedly. It dawned on me at some point that it might possibly fit my travel sized paints. I went and collected the pouch from where it was and half hopefully tried it. It is a perfect fit - as if it were made for it! I could even tuck a paper towel into the inside pocket. With a water brush (which contains water in its special chamber), and a watercolor journal or pad of some sort, I can now easily carry along this paint either for plein air painting (a fancy French term for painting outside), or for traveling. I am really delighted with this! :-)  [In case you can't read it, the pouch says "Faith" on the metal tag and the ribbon on the zipper handle.]

Thank you so much, Cheryl, for you thoughtfulness, and for the gifts that you sent.

Previously, due to my shopping constraints, I have sent packages for the exchange through Amazon.com  This time I actually put the package together myself but, sorry to say, I completely forgot about taking a photo of the things I sent. The lady whose name I received was Roseann at "This Autoimmune Life."  She has posted pictures of the things I sent HERE. It was fun that she also lives in Texas, and another happy "coincidence" is that she has another friend named Mary Stephens! :-)

Thanks again to Stephanie for hosting this fun exchange. Visit her post to see what the various ladies received and sent.

Due to the fact that the Teacup and Mug Exchange has grown so much, and that there have been difficulties out of her control that have bothered some people, Stephanie is dropping the exchange at this time. I am sorry to hear it, but I understand. I have marveled at her dedication to make this all work. I hadn't really thought about the problematic aspects, aside from ladies not sending packages they promised to send, but I realize that there are probably a lot of things that can go wrong and so spoil things for some people and make Stephanie sad or unhappy as well. So, I just want to thank Stephanie again and tell her that her efforts are really appreciated by many of us, and I, for one, completely support her decision. It's been a great run. :-)

Random Acts of Blogging - What Was the Last...?

This was the last photo I took on my cell phone -

the Dutch iris that was blooming in front of my parents' house.

Just for fun and a change, let's do this tonight. If you want to copy the list of questions and put in your own answers on your own blog or in the comments, please join in! :-) These are not my original idea. I gleaned them from other sites, and edited them and maybe added a few.


What was the last furry thing you touched?
Java Kitty, our black cat.

What was the last thing you said?
Something about Java. He is such a nice and friendly cat.

What was the last song you listened to?
Something playing in the background of some video I guess, and there's a good chance I turned the volume down so I couldn't hear it. I don't listen to music a whole lot.

Who was the last person you spoke to on the phone?
My mom.

What was the last movie/video you watched?
A video about a new medical device for removing blood clots from veins.

What was the last thing you did before this?
Let Java out to the breezeway. His food and litter box are in the garage.

What was the last song you sang?
The chorus of "Blessed Homeland" by Fanny Crosby.

What was the last thing you ate and drank?
Chocolate and water.

What was the last store you were in?
Whole Foods 365 over a week ago. We went in to explore it on a date afternoon. :-)

Where was the last place you went to away from home?
The chiropractor this afternoon.

What was the last chapter of scripture you read?
Proverbs 30.

What was the last book you were reading?
I think it was Dorothy Dixon Solves the Conway Case - a vintage girls' adventure story. It is rather lame. (add eye roll here)

What was the last thing you bought?
A natural allergy remedy specifically for Texas allergens.

Who was the last person you spoke to in person?
My husband.

What was the last spontaneous thing you did?
Watercolor painting. I painted a couple cards earlier today, and after dinner I just decided to do another one because I could. :-)

Who was the last person you went out to eat with and where?
My husband and I ate at CR Surf'n'Turf.

Who was the last person you texted?
My Texas sister-in-law.

Just for Fun - "Western Spaghetti" Stop Motion Video

Just a fun little video for your enjoyment. :-)

Just for Fun - "Classical Ukulele" Music

Here's an example of the ukulele being played in a way that is quite different from what people often think of when the ukulele is mentioned. Enjoy! :-)

Meanwhile Elsewhere - The Elephants that Came to Dinner

Psalms 104:24  O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.

Just for Fun - The Water Bucket

Here's a short but fun video for you to enjoy. :-)

Just for Fun - My Senior Year of High School - A Few Questions

I borrowed this questionaire from Facebook where it was making the rounds - probably still is. Since I was homeschooled, some of my answers are more unconventional, but I thought it would be interesting to answer it and maybe not just stick to the typical one-word answers. ;-)

This picture was not from my senior year, but it's the closest I could find on my computer at the moment. Hopefully I'll get some others scanned in someday. This one was 1985 or 1986, definitely still the big hair era. Big glasses too.
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It's your SENIOR year of high school! The longer ago it was, the more fun the answers will be.

The year was: 1988 - You know big hair, "punks", and Lionel Richie (not that I listened to him - much).

1. Did you know your spouse? No, and since he is six years younger than I am, even if I had known him there would have been ZERO interest. He was twelve at the time! ACK! :-)
2. Did you car pool to school? No need. My desk was in my brother's room right down the hall. Of course, we went downstairs for breakfast before we started school.
3. What kind of car did you drive? Occasionally an Omni which belonged to my parents and was my dad's work car most of the time.
4. What kind of car do you have now? Ford F150 (Pick up truck) and a tired KIA Spectra 5
5. It's Friday night... where are you? At home reading or doing something with my family, or teaching the girl's Hobby Club.
6. What kind of job did you have in high school? I babysat once in awhile.
7. What kind of job do you have now? Housewife, writer, opener of the door for one gray cat.
8. Were you a party animal? No. Unless by party you mean having snacks and lively conversation with some of the church folks after Sunday evening service and occasionally after prayer meeting on Wednesday.
9. Were you a cheerleader? More like a bossy oldest sister.
10. Were you considered a jock? Never.
11. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? I played the piano for our church services quite often and sometimes for special music.
12. Were you a nerd? Undoubtedly, but in a homeschool no one really notices. :-) Most of us were, in our own particular way.
14. Can you sing the fight song? We had plenty of fights, but I don't recall any song connected to them. ;-)  Too bad we didn't think of a "fight song"; that would have made things more interesting and probably would have appealed to our weird sense of humor too! By senior year, though, I'd begun to learn that one of the surest ways of spoiling my next-youngest-brother's fun was not to engage, so we didn't fight nearly as much as we had when we were younger. :-)
15. Who was/were your favorite high school teacher? My mom and dad. Ha! :-)
16. Where did you sit for lunch? At our dining room table. Maybe occasionally in my room. In the winter we had a bird feeder right outside the dining room window and it was always enjoyable to watch the birds eating while we ate.
17. What was your school's full name? Our Homeschool. That's actually what was written on my diploma. We were, however, connected to "Freedom Farm Academy" which was an umbrella group for homeschoolers run by some good friends of ours.
18. What was your school mascot? At first it would have been my baby sister. She was a little sweety. Later, probably a hamster. Those were the only pets we had then and my brothers went into them in a big way! haha
19. If you could go back and do it again? No thanks. There are better things ahead. Wouldn't want to be back there. (Philippians 3:13)
20. Did you have fun at prom? We didn't have one. No disappointment there, either.
21. Do you still talk to the person you went to prom with? There wasn't one.
22. Are you planning on going to your next reunion? That would be a family reunion for us, and since my youngest brother immigrated to another continent, that isn't likely to happen, though we would love it if it could!
23. Are you still in contact with people from high school? Yes. My next-oldest-sibling, my brother Mike, lives on our property.
24. What are/were your school's colors? My class colors on my class ring are white and purple, since I got to choose whatever I wanted. I think they are the same colors of my parents' graduating class from missionary boarding school in the 1960s. :-)

Well, there you have it. Pretty random and totally useless information, I guess. But, hey, maybe someone was interested. :-)

On a more serious note: Class rings were a big deal when and where I graduated from high school. My parents very generously decided to buy me one at a local jewelers. I don't remember if it was my junior or senior year, but it meant a lot to me. I know they must of scraped and pinched to be able to buy it and it was a sacrifice on their part. Considering the short amount of time I wore it (and they probably knew that would happen), I don't think it was a good investment from a monetary point of view. However, it was something that impressed me with their love at the time. In thinking about that I can't help pondering all the things that the Lord gives to us at various times - things we don't need and that He knows will not have a seriously lasting presence in our lives, but that He does just because He wants to show us His love.

I can't even remember if I had a verse picked out in relation to my graduation. Too bad. :-/

I do remember that I bought a package of paper desert plates with a Ziggy theme and actually wrote messages on them, wrote the names and addresses of various friends in other places who were graduating that year on the backs, stamped, and mailed them! I got some notes in reply, but I don't think anyone mentioned what condition theirs was in when it arrived. I've often wondered! Imgaine mailing paper plates! hehehe

Reader(?) Comments - Corny Spam

Vintage ad from 1939.
From tumblr.


Spam is one of my least favorite things to eat.  I used to be able to tolerate it, though I didn't like it especially well.  Now half a slice makes me sick.  Blah.  No thanks.

I don't like spam in email.  It's such a nuisance.  But, I also get my share of spam comments on the blog (one reason comments are moderated).  However, I have to admit that some of them make me laugh sometimes. :-)

Here is one that tickled me:

"I have read so many articles regarding the blogger lovers but this piece of writing is really a nice article, keep it up. Here is my blog navigate..." (Obviously I'm not giving them free advertising, so you don't get the link.)

What was funny to me was that it was written on my Curried Cheese Ball post.  It is nice to know that a recipe is a "really nice" piece of writing.  :-)
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This one is funny because it looks to me like someone who used Google translate to try to get the English for what they wanted to say.  It makes enough sense that it isn't just one of those garbled collections of mixed phrases.  What do you think?

"Pretty component to content. I simply stumbled upon your weblog and in accession capital to assert that I get actually enjoyed account your weblog posts. Any way I'll be subscribing in your feeds and even I fulfillment you get admission to consistently rapidly."  (Advertising blurb removed)
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Then there was this one, which was spam put up for a dancing school somewhere in the world (I checked the link).  It was posted on the the Tomatillo Salsa recipe.

"The solution to this issue is basically being aware of the issue. Once we know that feeling odd is OK, and not an indication that we are moving incorrectly, that feeling is less likely to affect the way we dance. Still, to be better partner dancers, we would rather it all feel natural."

For those readers who do not know - salsa is both a sauce and a dance. :-)  I wonder what kind of dance the "Tomatillo Salsa" is, though.
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Last, but not least, there was this jewel advertising hair extensions.  Most of it was just chatter but, the way it starts is worth a chuckle to me.  :-)

"Are you exhausted of your vintage faishon hairstyle? Do you like long hairs and your hairs are too short? Do you desire to change hair method and make them as attractive as most of the celebrities have?"

Actually, I am not exhausted of my "vintage faishon hairstyle".  I've worn my hair in the present style for a long time and since it suits me and is relatively easy, I'm fine with it.  :-)

Also, while I like "long hairs" I don't feel like my "hairs" are too short.  In fact, I could probably still grow my hair out if I wanted to, but it gives me such headaches that I am very glad that we are not expected to have "long hairs" these days.  I've often thought I would have been miserable in "the good old days" with my hair long and piled on my head, because my head does not get used to it and it goes from headaches to burning scalp.  I never kept on beyond that stage because I didn't want to find out if it would start falling out in quantity.  So, no.  I'm good with my "short hairs". :-)

Lastly, I couldn't care less how the celebrities wear their hair.  If they all started shaving their heads it would make no difference to me.  [I think it's amusing that they put in that clarifying phrase "most of".  Apparently even they don't consider all celebrities to have attractive hair.] :-)

Probably many of these blog spammers are speaking English as a second language, or in one case using a translator.  I freely admit that I would do a lot worse in their various languages and they would get to laugh at me if I tried.  But, we have to see the humor in the things that annoy us sometimes - in this case spam - or we will go rancid before our expiration date.

Just for Fun - Vivaldi's "Summer" On Bluegrass Istruments

This rendition of Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons: Summer" on bluegrass instruments is fun and also well done.  It is played by a group of siblings called "Southern Raised".  Enjoy!