American Heroes

Today barbecue grills are smoking across the U.S, beaches are populated to the max, sales are rampant in the stores—it’s a day of freedom to do whatever you wish. But the true meaning of today is respect for the men and women who sacrificed their lives for our country.

© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved

Here’s a bit from America the Beautiful (words by Katharine Lee Bates, melody by Samuel Ward), in honor of our nation’s fallen.

O beautiful for heroes proved

In liberating strife.

Who more than self their country loved

And mercy more than life!

America! America!

May God thy gold refine

Till all success be nobleness

And every gain divine!

Blessings Friday: Never Argue with a Woman

This little tidbit has been wandering through the email system for some time now. It cracks me up every time someone sends it to me, so I thought I’d share it with you in case you’ve not seen it (I’ve added pictures to break up the text a bit).

One morning, the husband returns the boat to their lakeside cottage after several hours of fishing and decides to take a nap. Although not familiar with the lake, the wife decides to take the boat out.

Source: Vintage Signs

She motors out a short distance, anchors, puts her feet up, and begins to read her book. The peace and solitude are magnificent.

Along comes a Fish and Game Warden in his boat. He pulls up alongside the woman and says, Good morning, Ma'am. What are you doing?

Reading a book, she replies (thinking, Isn't that obvious?)

Source: ProShield Safety Signs

You're in a restricted fishing area, he informs her.

I'm sorry, officer, but I'm not fishing. I'm reading.

Yes, but I see you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start at any moment. I'll have to take you in and write you up.

Source: Clean Joke.com

If you do that, I'll have to charge you with sexual assault, says the woman.

But I haven't even touched you, says the Game Warden.

That's true, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start at any moment.

Have a nice day ma'am, and he left.

MORAL: Never argue with a woman who reads. It's likely she can also think.

Japanese Cherry Needle Booklet

Have I shown you the Japanese Cherry Booklet I made to organize my sewing needles?

© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved

I love Japanese-inspired fabric prints, so vivacious in terms of colors and design elements. Little cherries add a fun detail on this small booklet; some are beaded. You can see my inspiration in the book’s photo.

© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved

My only modification was to braid strands of embroidery floss to form the cherry stems as opposed to sewing small fabric strips as indicated in the instructions.

© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved

The booklet pages are leaves made of sage-green wool felt.

© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved

The project was one of many lovely ideas found in Kokoro no Te: Handmade Treasures from the Heart.

Miss Marple Is On the Case

Every now and then I’m in an Agatha Christie mood. I pull out a book or two and enjoy a few hours reading one of her stories.

To add to that experience, PBS’ Masterpiece Mystery is featuring Miss Marple as part of their 2010 summer TV programming. The first movie was last night—The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side.

© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved

It’s so relaxing to do a little knitting while watching an Agatha Christie movie as knitting appears here and there when Miss Marple is involved. In last night’s show, I noticed her WIP involved a ball of red yarn. Mine, however, is blue.

Here’s the schedule for the Miss Marple series featuring Julia McKenzie in the role of Agatha Christie’s spinster sleuth.

• May 23: “The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side”
• Jun. 6: “A Pocket Full of Rye”
• Jun 13: “Murder is Easy”
• Jun 20: “The Secret of Chimneys”
• Jun 27: “The Blue Geranium”

You can download a PDF version of Masterpiece Mystery’s summer schedule here.

Blessings Friday: Life

Thoughtfulness

Source: Make Your Own Invitations

My sister Connie is recovering nicely. She has 14 stitches and is moving a tad gingerly, but she’s doing well. We appreciate the good wishes left on my post about her skin cancer surgery: Thank you so much for your thoughtful kindness—we’re positive it helped.

Mermaid Float Day

Source: The Graphics Fairy blog

Tomorrow is my 58^th birthday. Each year on the Saturday closest to May 22 (which works perfectly this year), I spend the day doing absolutely nothing other than floating about in my pool. Naturally I’m slathered with abundant amounts of sunscreen as I lounge about pretending to be a mermaid. It’s my favorite way to celebrate the beginning of a new year in my life.

Today Is the Best Day of My Life

On a Scale of What to What?

Today is World Metrology Day which celebrates the signing of the Metre Convention on 20 May 1875 that advocated the movement to globalize the science of measurement (hence the word metrology (Bureau International des Poids es Mesures (BIPM).

Source: BIPM

Americans use a different and oft inaccurate measuring system despite basic tools such as the common ruler incorporating both—we stubbornly ignore the metric side. The U.S. is being urged to adopt the new system to be more in line with the rest of the world.

© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved

The metrics conversion effort impacts a number of issues for us: commerce, government, and everyday life. Today I’ll just mention its use in cooking.

Recipes and cookbooks are already incorporating the new metric standards. While our older versions will still be useful, the internet has changed how easily we share information such as recipes and they’re often in need of conversion for us. While participating in numerous online cooking challenges, this creates a frequent problem for me. I realize my own thinking/behavior must alter.

© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved

My reluctant American mindset makes the conversion awkward, but I’m willing to try. I recently bought an EatSmart™ Precision Pro - Multifunction Digital Kitchen Scale w/ Extra Large LCD and 11 Lb. Capacity to help me eat healthier and realized its metric feature will also aid in using the new way recipes are being written.

You can read more about this issue at The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department.

The sciences have pushed for the change for over 135 years. Maybe it’s the cooks of the world who’ll be the vanguards of real change.

Making Homemade Vanilla

Last December, I saw cute bottles of homemade vanilla on the Gumbo Lily blog and saved the idea on my To Do list. In March I started the process thinking this would be lovely in kitchen gift baskets for family and friends who enjoy cooking.

I bought the biggest bottle of the cheapest vodka I could find. Vanilla beans were split and inserted into the bottle. The date (March 11, 2010) was written on the label and the concoction was stored away in the dark depths of a seldom-used cabinet.

© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved

This morning I retrieved the bottle but no, it’s not ready for use as you can see from the paleness of the color. It should be much darker and richer looking. In assessing the situation I realized I used too few vanilla beans so I’ll have to get more and try again.

If you’re thinking about making your own homemade vanilla extract, especially in time for use at Christmas, now would be a good time to start the process.

Resources

Numerous ideas abound as to making and presenting homemade vanilla extract; here are some resources for you.

• DIY Vanilla Extract with Chocolate & Zucchini
• Homemade Vanilla: The Big Bottle Method at Chickens in the Road
• Gumbo Lily’s recipe and labels project
• Twig & Thistle’s recipe
• Twig & Thistle’s bottling and labeling for Style Me Pretty
• Joy the Baker’s vanilla extract recipe
• Make vanilla extract with Bethany Actually
• Project Vanilla at The Traveler’s Lunchbox