Recently I saw an online news headline which used the phrase "shoebox size" to describe the size of a home. It was being used in a denigrating way to mock the size of a home. This got me to thinking about all the uses of shoeboxes. Then I remembered seeing students make habitat dioramas using shoeboxes. I started to research the use of cardboard boxes in different types of crafts. I was amazed at all the numerous websites that show examples of cardboard box crafts. I decided to ask the AI image generator on my WordPress resource to generate an image of a "shoebox nativity scene", next a "cardboard shoebox dollhouse", and lastly I asked for a "shoebox habitat diorama." Above you can see the images it produced based on these prompts. I especially like the use of an old worn out shoe in the outdoor habitat diorama. This made me laugh.
Many school holidays will be beginning soon, if they have not already started. I think making shoebox nativity scenes to teach about the birth of Jesus, or dollhouses to give as gifts, or habitat dioramas to teach a little science, are all great ideas of ways to spend quality time with your children, friends, nephews, nieces, or neighbors. This might make a greater childhood memory, and have a greater impact on their creativity, than simply buying something.
Anyone who uses the phrase "shoebox size" to describe a home is a snob. Maybe they need to do a little research on all the creative ways to use and enjoy a shoebox, and be grateful for what they do have. (This a just an older lady's advice. Take it or leave it, but don't knock the size of a shoebox size home, at least not in a public forum.)
It is 2025. This garden picture was taken by me in my garden in 2010. It looks nothing like this today. Now I have family priorities that take most of my time.
I look back and I am thankful that at one time I had the luxury of playing in my garden for hours upon hours. I am thankful that I took enough pictures to look back at and be grateful for that time. I am grateful that my family allowed me this time.
This coming Tuesday 12/02/2025 is Giving Tuesday. Some of you, including myself, have already given to organizations or missions that speak to the heart. Though it is nice to have a day set aside to make sure in this season of giving that you remember others, especially those organizations that serve people who need help.
Count your blessings, and be grateful by giving to others that need your help.
All these pictures were taken by me years ago at a road-side market in Berryville, Virginia.
Yesterday I was visiting several places in my community taking advantage of some rare time away from home and work. Most places I went I saw pumpkins and various other members of the gourd family.
Did you know that cucumbers were in the gourd family? I did not know this until today.
As I was walking into one of the stores I was visiting, I heard a little boy behind me ask whether he could have a pumpkin. I heard his father respond that pumpkins were for October. Without thinking, I responded, “Pumpkins are already in the stores.” Then as I slowed to get a shopping cart, the father smiled at me, and I realized that it was his lame excuse for not buying his son a pumpkin. I smiled back, and went on my way knowing my words could not be taken back. I hope the little boy will get his pumpkin, and I hope that he can draw faces on it or have his dad carve a friendly face on it.
I love the beauty and versatility of gourds. They are one of the reasons I love the fall season, and of course all the pumpkin breads, muffins, pies, and cookies that are available at this time of year. I saw my husband had a carton of a pumpkin spice high protein drink, and I winced at the thought of it. Is this carrying it too far?
Anyways, I went looking for my pumpkin pictures, and I was reminded of my husband’s Uncle Buddy and his llama farm. He is no longer with us, nor is the llama farm still there. All was sold off, and I believe the land was sold to a neighboring horse training farm. Time moves on and things can change. I will post a picture in honor of Buddy and his llamas. I am not sure whether his wife Cheryl is still alive. She left to be closer to some of her children.
I still have some llama wool items I purchased to help support the cause. I will have to pull out the llama wool blanket that I have never used for fear of ruining it. I might as well use it at this point since their is no good reason to ‘save it’.
Some of Uncle Buddy’s llamas near Berryville, Virginia. His property was a stone’s throw from the West Virginia and Virginia border. He was on the West Virginia side.
These pictures were taken today with my old Nikon D300. It still works, though my skills need a refresh course. The surprise is the clematis I planted in a pot. This is the only new plant I planted this year. I have spent very little time in the garden for many reasons, not the least was the fact that the weather was miserable for most of the summer. Though, the real reason is my lack of motivation and my indoor care-giving responsibilities. So, when I walked outside onto the patio and looked to the left, I was pleasantly surprised to see the clematis blooming. This one’s name is Diana’s Delight. I bought it simply because its name is close to Diane, a family name.
I did plant a few vegetables on my deck several months ago. I have harvested a few cucumbers, a few tomatoes, and now a few peppers are ready to be picked. I did not care for them very well, though, I did manage to water them when they looked too dry. Back when I devoted lots of time to my garden, I never grew vegetables. Even though I have farmers on my family tree, I think I would be a poor one. I enjoy the beauty of flowers, birds, butterflies, and various other insects. My philosophy has always been to leave vegetable growing to those who are good at it, and buy from them. Though I must say I ate one of my home grown tomatoes today and it was good. Several summers ago I had one tomato plant out in the garden and it produced prolifically and my husband enjoyed most of them. So maybe, I will try again in the future. The season is not over yet, and the vegetable production is picking up with the few plants that I have on my deck.
One advantage of growing older is that I have gotten better at prioritizing the things in my life that are most important to me, and that is my family. My garden can wait until my life allows me the luxury of spending more time at it.
I have been watching the Corn moon all this week. Last night it was clouded over, and I did not see it. The sky has mostly cleared, so I am hoping to see it full tonight. Yesterday I made a chicken enchilada casserole and put lots of corn in it as a tribute to the moon tonight.
Since I am avoiding the heat, I did some more looking in the same folder where I had found the other pictures in my last post. When I focused in on the katydid pictures I noticed the backside of its abdomen was dark brown. My first question to myself was “is it depositing eggs? I did a little research and learned of the word “ovipositor”. I found this word here on this video https://youtu.be/IRG-zCDS9iI?si=Djgo13btr1ugw24q . Since my katydid from my garden did not have an extended ovipositor, it must not have been laying eggs. Still I learned this new word today! Thank you to Bug of the Week.
I was curious about the man who posted this video, and I was curious whether he had any new 2025 videos. I saw that he had a Fireflies 2025 video posted. This reminded me that I have seen a few in my garden recently, and last night I saw several of them lighting up. Fireflies always remind me of my grandparents that lived on a farm in Plattsburg, MO. My grandfather once took the glowing spot off of one and stuck it on my ring finger. I still have this memory 50+ years later. It was a magical memory in my childhood brain.
This Memorial Day I decided to see if I could research the history of my husband’s uncle that died in World War II. In the past when I asked my husband about his middle name, Ludwig, he told me he was given this name in honor of his father’s brother that had died in World War II. After doing a little research I discovered that several men in my husband’s family had the name Ludwig, including his grandfather Ludwig Jacob Krein. I was surprised to see that his country of birth was Moldova which is between Ukraine and Romania. This brought home the current conflict to my mind.
Ludwig Jacob Krein obviously had immigrated to the United States long ago, and he married a German woman, Magdalena Schoepp, and they lived in South Dakota and raised a large family.
Ludwig Otto Krein was the second to the youngest of their children. He was born in 1925 and died in 1945 in a battle in France. I was surprised to see that he was buried at Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial –Epinal, Department Des Vosges, Lorraine France. Later I discovered that there are many cemeteries and memorials around the world, outside of the United States, where our American soldiers have been buried.
Ludwig Otto Krein was only 19 years old when he died in a bloody battle. My husband never got to know him since he died before my husband was born.
Five thousand two hundred and fifty-two of our military dead are buried here. Many were probably just as young as Ludwig was.
Here is a old colorized photo of Ludwig Jacob Krein and Magdalena Schoepp Krein. Notice the blue eyes of Ludwig J. Krein born in Maldova. These are Ludwig Otto Krein’s parents, and my husband’s paternal grandparents.
Grandmother & Grandfather Hartell’s churchDisciples of Christ
I recently received some old family pictures from my stepmother Marilyn. She is my father’s widow. Most all of the pictures were from a Hartell family reunion that took place in Plattsburgh, Missouri back in 1993. I had forgotten the exact date, and the pictures did not help with this. Then I remembered the quilt square my cousin Pam had made for all of Florence Hartell’s grandchildren. Fortunately, she had written the date of the reunion on the back. I have taken good care of my square.
I was surprised to see the picture of my husband, Jim, holding our daughter Laura. She was 3 years old at that time. He is dressed up and smiling. I had never seen this picture before I received this recent package. I had to post this to show what a handsome man I married.
I was raised a Disciples of Christ. My grandparents Hartell attended the First Christian church in Plattsburg, Missouri. My parents, siblings, and I attended the First Christian church in 7-Corners, Virginia. I posted a screen shot of the Plattsburg church, and a screen shot about the Disciples of Christ faith. I was baptized in the First Christian church in 7-Corners, Virginia (Falls Church) I posted my grandparents church because several reunion pictures were taken there, and I remember attending this church from time to time when we were visiting them. The picture of my husband and daughter was taken in the general vicinity of this church.
This picture was taken from the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park Alliance website
My fascination with Palm trees continues. With Palm Sunday arriving this weekend, I have been exploring the Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera). There are many of these trees on the property owned by the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park in California. One of my fondest memories is taking my daughter on a Safari drive through this park when she was young. We were visiting my sister who lived in Los Angeles at the time. My daughter was thrilled and a little scared to feed the giraffes carrots. They would come up to the safari truck and with their prehensile tongues they would scoop them out of our hands.
The fruit of the Date Palm tree are called Medjool dates. I bought some the other day at one of our local grocery stores. I have eaten them in salads at restaurants, but I have never bought a box of them to consume at home. We have been eating them today, and I can definitely say that they are delicious. My plan is to chop some of them up to put into a pound cake I hope to make this weekend. I enjoy experimenting. One of my recent goals this year is to try new foods and experiment with different recipes. I am currently focused on the Medjool date.
The dates I bought were grown in the Bard Valley of California. I had to research the name Bard since I attended an elementary school in California in 3rd and 4th grade by the name of Richard Bard. Curiously I don’t ever remember eating whole dates when I was young and lived in California. This is a shame since I could have discovered them long ago.
If I end up making the cake this weekend, I will post a picture. It would be a nice addition to a Palm Sunday brunch.
Medjool Date Cake glazed Medjool Date Cake right out of oven
I made the Vanilla Sour Creme Pound Cake and added chopped medjool dates. I baked it this morning. Now all I need to do is make the brunch tomorrow morning to go with it. It will be simple.
I found a picture (08/09/25) of Ivan the giraffe that would use his tongue to scoop the carrots out of your hand.
The common name is bleeding heart, but I like the name heart strings better. The scientific name is written in the caption. The pictures were taken by me long ago at Meadowlark Botanical Garden not too far from our home.
Today we celebrate the 35th birthday of Laura. We had lunch at Carrabba’s Italian Grill. The quote written on their to-go bags is: “There is no love more sincere than the love of food.” I would like to add “and family” at the end. However more people probably agree with their version.
We all agree that Carrabba’s Cannoli Cake for Two was incredibly delicious! Better to have birthday cake out than have a whole cake at home (way too many calories.).
This cannoli cake for two** at Carrabba’s Italian Grill is very moist and wonderfully delicious. It was shared by two people, and still the calories should not be consumed daily.
In attempts to get a picture of this cake to share, I found many recipes out there trying to recreate this cake at home. It is good to know I will be able to find the recipe if I ever decide to make one at home. I am definitely more inclined to go back to Carrabba’s. They had a wonderful promotion on taking home meals. I should be set for the rest of the work week ahead. Thank you Carrabba’s!
movingforwardslowly 