Red and White Yumminess !

One of traditional candies

that we see at Christmas is

the Candy Cane.

Candy canes started their

beginnings by being pure white and in stick form.

It was not until the early

20th century that they

appeared with the red

stripes.

These little yummies are

not only used as holiday

treats but as decorations

too. The use of the candy

canes on trees came to the

US in the 1800's. They

also come in various sizes

and now in different

flavors. Do you put these

on your tree? Ours go in our stockings.

Many people have given

religious meaning to the

shape of the candy cane.

Some say that it's shape

is like the letter "J" in

Jesus' name. Some say

it represents a shepherds

crook. Similiar to the Good

Shepherd watching over

us like little lambs.

It is a hard candy, solid

like a "rock" the foundation

of the church.

The flavor is peppermint,

which is similiar to another

member of the mint family-

hyssop. In the Old

testament it was used for

purification and sacrifice,

it alos is said to symbolize

the purity of Jesus and

sacrifice he made.

The colors are said to

represent:

WHITE--purity of Jesus

and his virgin birth.

BOLD RED--God's love.

The three fine stripes--

The HOLY TRINITY

From it's plain beginnings

to it's familiar shape and

traditional color, the candy

cane is a symbol of Christmas

and a reminder of the meaning

of the holiday.

Enjoy the taste of Christmas

this season.

~Keep on Dreaming~

Handy Helps...

Today I'd like to share with you some of things I do or use to help out around our house. See these circles? They have been cut out of shelf liner. You know the kind with the weave in them. The liner is the plastic stretchy kind found in the kitchen isle. I have made a set for my pots and pans to seperate them and keep them from scratching each other. I also made a set for my Springform pans. Two of my students use pieces I cut for them so they are not having to chase their lunch/snack dishes around the table. Works well for them too.

Do you have a bunch of

old washcloths lying

around? In the spirit

ecosaving, I have turned

mine into dust cloths for

upstairs and rags for the

garage. I mark my dust

cloths with a "D" and

the ones for the garage

with "G" that way when

they are washed they can

be seperated and put

away where they belong.

See the bald guy up there?

No, Ken is not in the picture....

This little creation has been

used so much in my kitchen

that I often wonder why it

wasn't created a looooooong

time ago.

The other day I was reading

where someone used one of

the sponges to clean their

white leather tennis shoes

so I am going to see how this

works out. I have no doubt

that Mr Clean will come

through.

One more ecosaving

idea:

This is my part of our

closet---I keep most of

my shoe boxes (as long

as they are in good

shape.) Then I write on

the side of the lid which

shoe is in the box and

what year they were

purchased in.

Now, I realize that you

can buy those plastic shoe

boxes and make your closest

a little bit more organized

looking but I find this a great

way to organize my closet.

Hope one or more of these

are helpful to you.

~Keep on Dreaming~

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Tom Turkey, Mr. Ken

and I would like to wish

you blessings for a Happy

Thanksgiving with your

families and friends.

Enjoy the day. We have

many things to be

THANKFUL for!

+++++++++++++++

+++++++++++++++

PS-Tom is a giveaway

prize I won from

Katharine Barrett

from Just a Thought.

Thanks again, Katharine!

~Keep on Dreaming~

+++++++++++++++

+++++++++++++++

~~~Added fun

at 9:30 pm:

--------------------

Twas the night of

Thanksgiving,

But I just couldn't

sleep.

I tried counting

backwards,

I tried counting sheep.

The leftovers beckoned,

The dark meat and white.

But I fought the

temptation,

With all of my might.

Tossing and turning,

with anticipation.

The thought of a snack

became infatuation.

So I raced to the kitchen,

Flung open the door,

And gazed at the fridge,

Full of goodies galore.

I gobbled up turkey,

And buttered potatoes,

Pickles and carrots,

Beans and tomatoes.

I felt myself swelling.

So plump and so round.

'til all of a sudden,

I rose off the ground.

I crashed through the

ceiling,

Floating into the sky,

with mouthfuls of

pudding,

And a handful of pie.

But I managed to yell

As I soared past the

trees

Happy eating to all,

Pass the cranberries,

please!!

May your stuffing be

tastey

May your turkey be

plump.

May your potatoes and gravy

Have nary a lump.

May your yams be

delicious,

May your pies take

the prize

And may your

Thanksgivivng

dinner

Stay off your thighs!!!

It's Time for a Parade

One of our holiday traditions is

the Macy's Thanksgiving Day

Parade. It is one of my

favorite things about the

holiday.

The 84th Macy's parade is

this Thursday beginning at

9 am on NBC.

Tom Turkey is the lead

act of the parade. But he

does get some help from

his friends.

15 large character balloons.

80-100 trained personnel

it takes to steer the largest

balloons down the parade

route.

65 feet is the average height

in feet of the tallest balloons.

300-500 pounds is the

dead weight of each balloon

character, depending on

it's shape and size.

3 weeks is the amount

of time prior to the parade

that the balloons are unveiled

to Macy's staff.

12 feet is the height of the

caravan of balloons and floats

that parades through the

Lincoln Tunnel on Thanksgiving

Eve. The tunnel is shut down

to other traffic during the hour

and a half it takes to transport

the balloons and floats.

3 years is the time the parade

featured live animals from the

Central Park Zoo. But since

they scared a few, they didn't

make it past 1926.

1945 first TV appearance for

the parade.

1000+ cheerleaders

800 clowns running around

12 marching bands.

But the REAL headliner is

SANTA CLAUS!!!

The Christmas season begins

for me, when I see Santa!!

Ho! Ho! Ho!

~Keep on Dreaming~

Holiday Decor

Hello- My name is Melinda and I'm a "Holiday Horder." AND I'm darn proud of it! Yesterday I spent several hours organizing and reorganizing our holiday totes. I even had to buy two more big ones. We have more holiday decorations than anyone really needs BUT... one never knows what they'll use from year to year. Right???? I don't decorate the same each year, there are different combos, arrangements and some things are put in an entirely different place. Now some of you are probably thinking--"why not get rid of some of the stuff?" In reality that would work but some of the things came with me from home when I moved over here and some of it, Ken and I have accumulated ourselves. There are those wonderful garage sales to blame also. What to do?? I don't know. I do know that I have a lot I can choose from to decorate for our holidays! Happy decorating! ~Keep on Dreaming~

A Question???????????

Today's question-----

Why do we wait till the last

minute, when guests are

coming or a holiday is around

the corner to do "projects?"

I'm sure it's part of being

human but why do we stress

ourselves like this? I ask

you this my friends.

~Keep on Dreaming~

I'm under the weather with the sniffles, be back soon. ~Keep on Dreaming~

REMEMBER

To ALL the Heros of

any war/s fought,

THANK YOU!

We appreciate every-

thing you do/have done

for us and our country.

+++++++++++++++++

Ken and I know several

who have served in the

military.

My Dad--vet

Ken's Dad--vet

Dean-friend--vet

Dan--friend--vet

David--friend--still active

Rod--friend--vet

Randy--friend--vet

Mike-friend--still active

+++++++++++++++++++

Please pray for all our active

and non active military folks

AND their families!

~Keep on Dreaming~

Leftovers

It's BACK!!!! Sunday Savor ************** Today we have a really easy recipe for soup/stew to enjoy. So pull up a chair and relax. ***************************** Vegetable Soup/Stew **from my kitchen** 1 lb of stew meat 2 small cans of tomato sauce-no salt added Seasoning of your choice- I used McCormick's Salt Free Garlic and Herb 6-8 new potatoes 6-8 baby carrots cut in half 3/4 pkg of frozen corn 1 can of green beans-50% less salt 1 small can of sweet peas Cook meat in a medium boil until slightly tender. Add tomato sauce to the pan-- Cook for a minute or two so flavors start to blend. Use your seasoning at this time or when you begin cooking the meat. Clean, cut up and add the potatoes to the pot, cook until midway tender. Add the carrots and corn. Bring to a slight boil and let cook till carrots are slightly tender and the corn has had time to thaw and cook. When everything has melded together add the beans and peas. When these finish cooking serve and enjoy!

Yum!!!---leftovers for lunch.

~Keep on Dreaming~

Soooo Many Questions.....

Today's post is full of questions

which stems from me changing

my purse AND wallet yesterday.

+++++++++++++++++++++++

1--Do you change your purse daily,

seasonally or whenever?

2--Does your wallet match your

purse? ie: red purse/red wallet

3--What size is your purse? Big,

medium or small?

4--Do you like shoulder straps or

prefer to carry on your arm?

5--Last but not least--Do your carry

basic essentials or everything plus

the kitchen sink in your purse?

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

I change my purse AND wallet--yes

wallet too-- seasonally or when/if

I tire of what I'm carrying. If need

be I'll put necessities in a small

"dress-up" purse when the occasion

calls for it.

Yes, my wallet goes with my purse--

red/red. I feel it is the same as

having your purse match your daily

outfit and I work with a bunch of

women who do this. I don't have time

or the patience to change my purse

daily.

Currently my purse is probably

considered medium in size. A

few years ago I had to stop carrying

the largest bag I could, because it

was hurting my shoulders and

causing back pain.

I prefer a shoulder strap/s

over carrying on my arm. That

to me is inconvenient and can get

in the way if you are carrying

something else.

I am a basic essential gal due to

the size of purse I'm carrying.

Now don't get me wrong, I make

THE most of any purse I carry

but I have to be sensible too.

++++++++++++++++++++++

I would also tell you about two

other things I carry.

1--A medication list for emergency

purposes. This helps anyone and

yourself if the info is needed.

2--A small paperback telephone

book that I have turned into a

list of books I have read or want

to read. The A-Z pages are used

for each author that I like to read-

ie: M-Macomber, R-Roberts etc.

Having the book has helped me

cut down on multiple notes with

different books on them.

+++++++++++++++++++++++

Have you changed your purse lately?

~Keep on Dreaming~

Today is MY Day!!

As most of you know TODAY is my BIRTHDAY!!! And a lovely one it was. Thank you to those of you who have sent wonderful birthday wishes they have meant a lot to me!!!!

This evening Ken took me to dinner

here: Bravo Cucina. They have the

most delicious food here.

We started off with Spinach dip

and crispy flatbread triangles. OH!

Yum!!!

I ordered the Chicken Parmesan

Milanese. The herbed pasta came

rolled up with the chicken on top

and a red sauce surrounding the

pasta. Sooooooooooo delish!

Ken ordered Mama's Lasagna.

Instead of stacked as a "tower"

it came in a very long oval dish.

Ken said it was delish too.

Both of us also had a green

salad with bacon, cucumbers,

crunchy noodles and a parmesan

dressing.

Dinner ended with this delightful

yummy. Our server brought it

out complete with the candle.

Make a wish.....

Here we have two very happy

AND full people!

Now we are off to do some

"damage" at Bath and Body

Works. One of my fav stores!

Scratcher tickets in my card.

The 2010 White House Ornament.

There are truely beautiful ornaments

that depict different Presidential years.

http://www.whitehouse3.org/ is their site.

I have collected several over the last

few years.

Two yummies from a coworker.

So there you have it--My big day.

~Keep on Dreaming~