Love, Laughter, and Life

Adventures With a Book Lover


Leave a comment

National Pet Day

Baby pictures – Monet and Mabel

By Angie Quantrell @AngieQuantrell

Today is National Pet Day.

Here are our two highly energetic and trouble-seeking felines, Mabel and Monet.

The sisters are camera shy and any attempt to take photos results in instant movement, waltzing away from the scene, aloof attitudes, or disdainful staring away from the camera. Loving eye shots are not allowed. No. Not at all.

Mabel of the gorgeous eyes

Our cats love to:

– climb the walls (literally)

– chase, capture, and bring in wildlife (birds, worms, mice, rats)

– pretend they live at the home of neighbors (your choice; we see them regularly lazing in the yards or coming home from 5 different yards – none of which are ours)

– leave hair everywhere

– recline on the kitchen table

– claim any unfurred piece of furniture until it is redecorated in white, gray, and tan fur

– play catch the lazer (or string, or cord, or feathers, or toes…)

– steal rubberbands

– eat daddy-long-legs

– try and potty in the garden beds

– tease the neighborhood bully cat with friendship, and then turn about squawling as if ripped limb from limb (this also results in the male boy spraying regularly on several key locations, house included)

– race loudly and wildly through the house

– be wherever we are

– sleep on fuzzy blankets

Monet with the striped tail

Oh, there is more. They are cats. You get the idea. We are not allowed cat fur free clothing, bird feeders, or litter free carpets.

But we love them. Entertainment, affection, company, lap warmers, snugglers. I guess we’ll keep them.

Monet depositing hair and cat litter

Do you need some great ideas of things to do on National Pet Day? I found a Web site that shared several suggestions. Just click this link. National Pet Day

What kind of pets do you have? I’d love to see and hear about them.

Mabel claiming the center of the bed

Happy National Pet Day!


Leave a comment

Haricot Verts with Goat Cheese and Almonds

Hi yes, I’m still here, doing fine. Thanks for asking. Just been out of town quite a bit, can’t seem to keep the fridge stocked with two ingredients that make sense together, and where did I put that camera battery charger? So sorry for the long silence, two plus weeks is very unlike me to at […]

Source: Haricot Verts with Goat Cheese and Almonds

I want this for dinner!


Leave a comment

My Martha/HGTV Moment

Happy tulips hanging out in an old beat up red wagon.

By Angie Quantrell @AngieQuantrell

Normally, this floral objet d’art would not occur in my yard. Once the bulbs are nestled in, that’s where they stay.

But due to the removal of giant, old, space and light-hogging arborvitae, the tulips had to be moved to save their pretty little lives.

Zoomin’ in on brilliant color.

Aha! (Insert light bulb hanging over my head.) I will put them in a wagon, just until after they bloom. And then we shall find a new bed for them.

Success! Even with my careful removal, accidents happened. But those sturdy beauties just hung in there and are now blooming like crazy!

I love spring. Tulip season is my favorite season in the yard.

I think I will plant kale next in the wagon. Do you think the aphids will find it there? At least the slugs/snails will have to work harder.

 

No bumping up and down in my little red wagon for these pretty spring tulips.

What kind of container gardens do you have in your yard?


Leave a comment

Mention in Dispatches – Peacocks, Heads of Saints and Play dough!

My recreation this week has been taking a break with a cup of coffee or green tea and indulging in snacking on WordPress.  Sugar free but sweet just the same. Some have said that I should not bothe…

Source: Mention in Dispatches – Peacocks, Heads of Saints and Play dough!

Fun collection of weekly posts. Raising my cup of tea to you, Sally! (PGTips)


Leave a comment

Just Because

Just because I appreciate you.

By Angie Quantrell @angiequantrell

Happy April!

appreciation

 

for friends, family, and like

 

thank you, dear heart true

 

~ Angie Quantrell

 

 Thank you for reading, commenting, and following this blog. I appreciate each one of you. Invite your friends and family to join the fun. Thanks!

Have a beautiful first day of April. Just because.

Just Because cards by Angie Quantrell

Note: Here is a list of materials I used when making these greeting cards: cardstock, old fashioned library cards, brads, washi tape, glitter tape and glue, rubber stamps, ink pads, watercolor resevoir paint brush

You can see more card creations and cards I love on my Pinterest Rubber Stamping board. The link will take you right to my board. @AngieQuantrell


Leave a comment

Top 10 Reasons to Create Little Free Libraries in Your Community by Tammy Mulligan and Clare Landrigan

We often support schools and communities with promoting summer reading.  We want students to continue their “readerly lives” over the summer.  A few years ago, we were researching ideas to get book…

Source: Top 10 Reasons to Create Little Free Libraries in Your Community by Tammy Mulligan and Clare 

I want to do this at my house! There are 3 little libraries in our neighborhood. Love them!


Leave a comment

My Favorite Play Dough Recipe

Pumpkin spice black pepper orange play dough – lots of fun!

By Angie Quantrell @AngieQuantrell

Play dough is one of the absolute best toy/manipulative/sensory activities available to kid-dom!

I kid you not. Snicker, snicker. And not the snicker of the famed chocolate and peanut variety.

This is the best and most versatile recipe I’ve found. I have used it for over 20 years and have only rarely uncelebrated failure.

Tools make all the difference. Cutting, chopping, manipulating, and making prints are great activities for little hands.

Best Ever Play Dough Recipe

3 cups flour

1 cup salt

2 T. oil (vegetable or baby oil)

1 T. alum

3 cups boiling water

Paste food coloring (add to boiling water to melt and mix it)

1. Put dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Stir well.

2. Drizzle oil over dry mix.

3. Stir food coloring into boiling water. Pour over ingredients.

4. Stir well with a wooden spoon and spatula.

5. Turn out onto a counter. It will be hot, but you have to knead the dough while it is hot to activate the ingredients. Knead the dough and scrape off sticky bits with a spatula. Don’t worry, it will get less sticky as it cools. If it is horribly sticky, add tiny bits of flour as needed.

6. After the mixture is well mixed, cool completely and store in a lidded plastic container.

7. Enjoy!

This is the basic recipe. I often add spices or textures like pumpkin spice, cornmeal, or cocoa. Play with the recipe. It’s worth the mess.

Today Donavyn and I made play dough. He wanted orange, so we made orange. I wanted a scent, so I added pumpkin spice. He also wanted to dump pepper, so we added pepper!

Old tires make great tracks.

Together with play dough, tools and toys add to the experience. Be creative and grab things that make patterns, cut, chop, shape, and can be used to interact with the play dough. Avoid using anything you truly love. The salt and necessity of a good wash can potentially destroy special items. Stick to the eventually-disposable toys and you can dump your worries in the trash.

Even the sides of tires are interesting.

Even this 53 years-young kid loves to play with play dough.

What’s your favorite sensory toy?


Leave a comment

Catitude Haiku

Monet expressing her cat-ness

yes, I am Gray Queen

royal bed and rest doth call

stop bothering me

by Angie Quantrell


Leave a comment

Language & The Child (The Never Ending Song)

Last night we had a certain granddaughter spend the night, as this morning Nana accompanied her to the Capitol Theatre to watch Curious George. Loads of fun. But this post is not about the theatre and sitting in the very top balcony right against the railing and Nana worrying about Khloe toppling over and she (Nana) spending time calculating the lowered risk due to bodies of other students right below who would break the fall.

No, this story is about our drive home. It wasn’t a really long drive.

But the sheer number of words far exceeded the distance we traveled.

That bit of time spent in the car was filled with language. Wheelbarrows and buckets and shopping bags of words and songs and expressive language.

First, we learned what Khloe liked. And what she loved. This changed with each  new view of things we drove past.

Then we heard some songs. On repeat. On repeat.

5 Little Ducks – sang as many times as the number of ducks in a barnyard

1, 2, Buckle My Shoe – sang enough times to cover a classroom of buckled or velcro’d shoes

Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes – sang more than the number of students in her school

1, 2, 3 Jesus Loves Me – new to me and performed for several miles

The Days of the Week – sang a conservative estimate of at least 3 months worth

Row, Row, Row Your Boat – sang enough times to sink a boat, even though one of us (the youngest) got side-tracked and giggly about the ‘life is BUTT a dream.’ No amount of explaining could get her opinion of but to change.

Now Nana is used to this fun with words, but Papa not so much. He tried several times to derail the music train, but it kept right on chugging, occasionally switching tracks, but steadfastly choo-chooing down the path. Who needs a radio anyway?

All this to say, the girl is enjoying language. And singing. And silly words and word games and entertaining herself.

Be silly. Sing songs. Get giggly. That’s what it’s all about.

Other than the Hokey Pokey.


Leave a comment

Salmon with Homemade Teriyaki Sauce

Homemade sauces are a cook’s most valuable asset. The béchamel, the hollandaise, the mornay, the romesco—they’re all lovely. You know what else they require? Time. On Mondays, I have a lot of things: an onslaught of work to complete, laundry to fold, blog comments to respond to, events to plan, babies to make giggle, and […]

Source: Salmon with Homemade Teriyaki Sauce

This recipe sounds delicious! We love salmon and have recently been enjoying teriyaki salmon – but the store bought sauce is soooo salty. Thanks, Vicky, for this recipe. Can’t wait to try it.