Choice Morsels

The Mama Kat prompt I'm doing today is to,"Write a post inspired by the word Free . I'm  big into finding whatever online resource I think I need or want for FREE--whether that's website builders, blogs, online portfolios, video editors or what have you. | It's my thing. It's what I do. If I can find something browser-based, I prefer that over having to down-load software, though I have occasionally done so. I So I'm going to share some of my favorite Free online resources! For Blogging: I prefer Google Blogger It easy to set up and easy to use. Lots of great templates and you can adjust colors on text, backgrounds, everything.  Plus it's got lots of widgets to customize your blog with to make it work for you and widgets for posting affilitate ads, if you want. Plus Blogger also offers a completely Free ad program, called AdSense, that you can sign up for to earn $ and you can control where those ads are located and what ads you don't

First Daffodil of the Season! Snapped this today. It's not fully open yet. It was a little cloudy at the time, though sun is out now.  Cup of  Winter Cheer I shot this today as well. This planter cup is filled with bluegreen Chick rosettes and Chinese Stonecrop and surrounded by branches of Purple Lantana and bright green Greek Oregano.  That Purple Lantana has been the one bright spot in my landscape all winter. The chill makes the Lantana leaves a burgundy-touched green, which shows off the purple blooms.  It was just below freezing last night, too, but that makes no-nevermind to any of these. 

Several recent Pinterest recipes I've tried were total wash outs, but this one for " Slow Cooker Bread Pudding ," was quite yummy. It makes a simple, yet fancy dessert. My guests gobbled it down and had seconds! No soaking is required. Just mix everything together, stir in bread cubes, then pour into slow cooker and cook! (Photo is my own of this bread pudding. I'm not much a food photographer, but I put effort into making this one look nice.)  Having tried it, I make the following recommendations. * Don't use a slow cooker liner. The dessert sticks to it, making it hard to dish out. * You'll need a total amount of 1 1/3 cups Heavy Cream . Make sure you get at least a 16 oz carton.  Anything smaller, won't be enough. *   I thought the original Glaze too sweet. It called for a full cup of sugar. So I consulted other Glaze recipes for Bread Pudding and found that   1/2 cup of sugar is enough for a good Glaze and so adjusted the Glaze re

Today's creative moment is art. I often doodle and I save those doodles to turn into art images. This Flamingo cartoon started as one of those one paper doodles, which I later "drew" again using my graphic drawing program. (Which sounds easier then it is.) I had an idea that putting a fancy Flamingo standing in a bunch of chickens would make a cute little Valentine's card.  I added the hat, tie and sunglasses so it could be for a guy.  It's just silly fun really.  I also "sketched" the chickens with my graphic drawing program  "pencil" using a couple pictures for reference. I did two shapes: one upright and one pecking on the ground, then just copied and arranged them.  (You can see it larger if you visit the link ) Funny Hat & Tie Flamingo For Him Valentine This Kooky Brown Owl on this round sticker is another example of a doodle I made on paper brought to life my computer graphic program! Kooky Brown O

I wasn't inspired by the Mama Kat prompts this week, so I decided to write about something else. I've been on a hunt for a new purse for the past 3 months to replace the one I've been carrying since 2009. I've held onto it so long because it has a rare feature: a coin rack on the outside that zipped open or shut to hold quarters, dimes, pennies and nickels neatly in place. But, that purse was reaching a point of being just worn out. The handle strap was all cracked, the exterior was peeling off and I'd already mended it several times. So, I started looking in department stores, since I needed to actually see and touch the bag. I'd looked in every  department store available to me: KOHL'S, Penney's, TJ MAX, Stein Mart, Walmart, Belk's and...came up empty handed.  My specifications were exacting.  It had to be relatively small in size overall and be shoulder bag. It had to come with a transparent I.D. window. The compartment holding credi

Today's creativity is I'm going to write a short fiction combining two writing prompts: 1) The scene must occur in a grocery store aisle. 2) It must begin with "In retrospect, I wouldn't say it was my best idea" and end with "And that's how I wound up at the doctor's office." It's from a guys point of view. "The Encounter" by B. Nickerson. In retrospect, I wouldn't say it was my best idea. The grocery wasn't busy.  Cereal was one thing on my list. Only one lady with a cart was in the cereal aisle when I got there. She was looking over the rows of cereal, then noticed me. She brushed some of her red hair coyly behind an ear as she glanced my way. She was a pretty lady, in her mid-thirties dressed in a short jean skirt and sandals. "There's just so many cereals to choose from!" she remarked. I joined her in looking over the selection. "There certainly are," I replied.

Today's Mama Kat I chose is a writing exercise called,"The Where I'm From" Poem that had a template with blanks to fill in, something like a Mad Lib. It called a lot of descriptive phrases instead of single nouns and adjectives. If you want to take a swing at writing you own,  here's the Template My 'Where I'm From" Poem I am from books and from Hershey Kisses From the deep woods of the Midwest with a valley and a creek burbling through it, full of pretty stones. I'm from German Iris and wild Dutchmen's Britches. I'm from Christmas stockings pinned to chairs, waiting to filled and artistic talents from  Robbin's and Eaton's, tall, fair with green or blue eyes. I'm from the scent of my Dad's pipe tobacco and drawers and drawers of Mother's colorful sewing fabric. I'm from "If wishes were horses, beggars would ride," and "isn't this a colorful meal?" I'm from dr

Today, it's pretty and sunny out, though a cold blast is coming later in the week I think. Did some raking. Filled 4 bags--but's it largely pine needles mixed with Bay leaves, so it's light and fluffy, filling the bags quickly.  I raked out about half the flower bed above the veggie garden and about 10 feet of grass. Also I'm beta-testing a software download for my photo shop company I like to use, Ribbet, which has been strictly a browser based photo shop, but because Flash has to be enabled to use it nowadays, they're moving to a download. (I signed up to do so.)   I used it to fix up today's photo. I need to run it through more paces, then I'll fill in a survey on it's performance. Did you know moss blooms? It does. That's today's Garden Pic---this moss in my cup of Chicks covered with little stalks topped with tiny orange blooms. I took this photo about two weeks ago, sometime after the New Year. What's neat about this moss

For 2019, I'm going start a new posting theme Friday's called "Creative Friday."  I'm going to try and feature something creative, whether it's a new design I've created or a bit of fiction writing based on a writing prompt I've got saved in Pinterest  or maybe even something of a crafty nature---as long as it's a Friday I'm free to do so.  So,  So, for today's "Creative Friday," I have art: a new Valentine Card design that I worked really quite hard on.   It's a play on the words "Meant to Be," featuring a box of Mint Tea and pink tea mug "in love."   You & Me Are Mint to Be Valentines Card

The 8 Things I Love About Winter Well, it is easier to love winter when you live on the Florida Panhandle. This  photo is an extremely rare shot of actual snow accumulation we had at Christmas in 2007.  It was like sugar all over the ground.  We've lived here since 1986 and that is the only accumulated bit of snow we've ever seen here. Things I Love About Winter In Florida #1)  I get a 4 month break from mowing. Yippee! #2)  I don't have to drive in snow. #3) I don't have to shovel the driveway. We don't even own a snow shovel.  #4)  I can still plant stuff. I just planted some Pinks the other day and it's January.  #5)  I can have a second veggie Garden in the fall and sometimes enjoy fresh Broccoli during winter. (That didn't work out this year.) #6)  There are still pretty things blooming outside. My neighbor has beautiful red Camilla's and I still have Vinca, Lantana and that dumb Gardenia out front flowering.

I've been getting over a cold for the past week. New Year's present. It's a cough/head cold thing I guess is going around.  I'm just thankful it didn't include a stuffy nose--I had when I have to mouth breathe. Wednesday is the day I usually reserve for outside work and it's actually really sunny and pleasant today for Florida winter, so I got out and did some raking. Also finished up on Pampas Grass I was working on a few weeks ago. For photos today, I have 2 shots of new growth in two of my containers, just taken last week, that hold promises of spring being just around the corner! Red Salvia Seedings: The large one in the middle sprang up from seed, too. It was up first a couple months ago and the other little babies came up more recently. They'll eventually be moved to other containers and garden spots.  You wonder how? Once a Red Salvia stalk has finished blooming and all the blooms are brown, I just snap the stalk off and drop it in th

I don't have a recipe today, but I do have a funny story that's food related. We were driving through our small town last weekend, on our way to our Air Force Commissary and had to stop at a major intersection because the traffic light had turned red. Despite it being a small town, the roadway through it is six lanes; three going West and three going East.  (The road was widened to  ease tourist traffic prior to the construction of the by-pass.) Anyway, we were in the middle lane when we came to a stop at the light and there were a couple cars in the left lane beside us, but the right lane was clear of any traffic---until out of no where, a big black Cadillac suddenly zoomed past us, running the red light I sort of held my breath watching, because that's a risky thing to do, but, lucky, no one waiting to turn left had moved. About a block past the intersection is a Taco Bell and we stared in wonderment as that speeding Caddy abruptly turned into Taco Bell.

The Mama Kat blog writing prompt I'm doing today is,  "Describe Your Favorite Winter Memory." I grew up Indiana, out in the country with my two sisters on 22 acres of heavily forested land that included a valley with a creek at the bottom. The house we lived in occupied 5 acres in one corner  and the rest was our play land that we enjoyed running about in like wild wood elves. Our woods were all deciduous trees: Beech, Tulip, Cottonwood, Ash, Sassafras,  Ironwood, Wild Cherry, Hickory, Red & Silver Maples and a half dozen different kinds of Oaks. The only native evergreens were Cedar trees and those seemed mostly located at the bottom of the valley where the creek was. A wide, leaf covered trail from the back yard, through the trees, the creek in the valley.  It was in winter, after a heavy snow that this trail took on it's most magical winter wonderland appearance! The weight of the snow on the tree branches curved them all downwards, turning our fam

  In November and December, Asparagus Fern  offers a little Winter color! I like it. It does need a little trimming or thinning out in spring and doesn't mind being snipped. It is prickly, though, with dozens of tiny thorns along the stem. We used to use it a lot in the flower shop I used to work at because of it's long draping nature.  I like it's cousin, the Foxtail Asparagus Fern because it has an bushy upright habit, like a fox tail, and is thornless. Also no berries. It's doesn't spread everywhere.