Tip for Tuesday (Word)

You probably already know all of these but just in case you don't, here are a few helpful hints that you can tack up and get used to. I'll add more every now and then so you have time to learn them all:

Delete Word Back - Ctrl+backspace
Delete Word - Ctrl + del
Change Case - Shift +F3
Doc Close - Ctrl + W
Paragraph Down - Ctrl + Down
Repeat - F4
Undo - Ctrl Z

Hope you can use a few of these

Halloween Dream

HALLOWEEN DREAM

Ten little witches were stirring up the pot,
One took a taste and cried, “OWW! It’s much too hot!”

The second witch cackled and held up her sturdy broom
The third one giggled, as she flew across the room.

The fourth witch said, “We’ll create a little fear.”
The fifth one laughed, “I’ll make sure the coast is clear.”

The sixth one sneered, bragging, “I can touch the sky!”
The seventh witch said, “I’m ready now to fly.”

The eighth witch grinned in a window she passed by.
While the ninth little witch let out a wicked scream.

Johnny woke up and said, “That must have been a dream.”
But the tenth little witch yelled, “Happy Halloween!”

(By: Kim Kasch)

Scary . . . Halloween Hands

Decorating the house is EZ-smeezy. Everyone does that. We carve pumpkins and hand out candy to short passersby on October 31st but I like to do a little bit more. I even like to decorate my fingers and toes.


I don't have beautiful nails 'cuz I don't usually worry about painting anything. But, at the holidays, I love to have my hands dripping with art - even if it is stickable nail art.

But the scariest thing I see about this is the dirt hiding under the nails. YIKES. . . Now, THAT'S what I call scary!



So is there anything you do to go the extra mile-um-I mean inch? Any silly things you like to do at Halloween to add a little oomph into your celebration? Please share.

Care for a Wormy Apple...? (Caramel Apples)

Treats don't last long around our house and, you can tell, just look at us. Heck, we don't believe in snackrificing good taste especially around the holidays. Just check out these caramel apples. I couldn't even get them off the silpat before we were slicing into them.

And they are soooo fun to make. Of course you can create your own caramel by melting sugar and butter on the stove until it turns to caramel. I do this when I'm making caramel corn but . . . it's a lot of work and your timing has to be pretty perfect for it to turn out "just right". I tend to like my caramel a little well done - my kids prefer it "under done" in my opinion. So I usually make a couple batches: one for all of them and one for, yep, you guessed it: me.

Anyway, there's a very easy way to make caramel - just buy a couple bags of the candy squares, add about a half cup of water and melt it in the microwave in a skinny bowl - that makes the apple dipping so much easier - and less waste. I'm always about saving money. Then set your apples out on a silpat or wax paper to set. Then put them in the refrigerator for fifteen minutes to stiffen. Take the apples out of the refrigerator - let sit for five minutes (if you can) and then munch on those crispy critters. You can see we add a few of our own critters to treats. I always like having a wormy apple to crunch on. :)

Earth-Friendly Friday - BACK TO THE FUTURE

Sometimes I wish we could go back in time - and not just when I look in the mirror and try to figure out what wrinkle cream might actually work.

I get that longing for days gone by when I think back to the way Mom and Dad raised their house full of kids, the one I grew up in.

Dad worked in a paper mill, as a laborer, so they never had a lot of money - especially not since they took those words to heart to "go forth and multiply". Some times I wish they would have thought it meant to go sit in a corner and work out a few math problems instead of having nine kids.

But Mom taught me more than I could learn on my own about conserving, consolidating and re-crafting.

I still try to be green - especially at Halloween. And, we can all share a few simple ideas.

Instead of spending lots of money on commercial treats, why not have a homemade Halloween? Plan a party for the kids in your neighborhood. You can invite the kids to come over and bob for apples, make caramel apples and popcorn balls. Let the kids come in costume. It will be a fun-filled day the kids will remember for years.

We had these parties in our house, back when the kids were young.

We would buy pinatas and let the kids pound them to smithereens!

Let me know if you have a Homemade Halloween party. I'd love to hear all about it.

Hope you'll all have a Happy and green Halloween.

Playing Favorites . . . ?

Halloween is right around the corner, which pumpkin is your favorite? Put your answer in the "comments" section so I can see.

Thanks for joining in the conversation.

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I thought I'd share a few of the pumpkins Shauna Puckett painted for the holiday

Of Mice and Men . . . ?

I love decorating at the holidays. How about you?

I traced these little mice out on thin foam sheets and then cut them out. Then I glued little wiggly eyes on and used poster gum to put them up all around the house.

I even put them out on the stairs and porch outside. Last year I cut them out of black construction paper but the rain ruined them. The foam will work well in Portland, Oregon's wet weather-I hope. There was only one problem with my plan, Sasha (my puppy) went around the house eating the little rodents. She didn't understand that they weren't real. Oh well, at least I'll never have to worry about being over-run by rodents - not with Sasha on guard.