Things in Grandma-ma's house

Happy Sunday my raviolis.  Let's do another "things in grandma-ma's house". When you first walk through the front door, there is a small hallway that leads to the living room. Along that wall are lots of "favorite" things of grandma-ma's.  If you look to the right, you see this hanging on the wall:

What, you ask is that?  Well,it is a small Navajo rug called an "eye dazzler" and a small deer skull with antlers.  I found this at a local garage sale (when I lived in Flagstaff, Arizona) and knew it would look good on my wall as a deer totem with the Navajo rug.  I also added some Spanish Moss to the antlers. The Spanish Moss came from Marysville, Georgia, a small coastal village in Georgia.  I like antlers, and Uncle Aaron used to find them for me all of the time when we lived in Flagstaff.  Many American Indian tribes hold the deer totem sacred as it is considered a sacred carrier of peace and show those with this totem how to open their hearts and love unconditionally.  The deer totem also signifies love and protection of children, something that I have for all of you my raviolies. 

Now what is a totem?  A totem is any natural or mythical animal to whom you like or feel a close connection.   A bear signifes strength, a butterfly signifies change, a cat signfies agility, a dog signifies loyalty, and a monkey signifes curiousity.  Learning about animal totems is fun and they can teach us to be happier and stronger people. Click on this link,  ANIMAL TOTEMS and it will take you to a webpage that lists different animals and what they signify.  You can tell grandma-ma which animal totem you like.  Have a wonderful Sunday my raviolis.  Grandma-ma

Did you see it?

Happy Saturday my Raviolis.  Did you see it?  Did you look up at the sky last evening and see the "Wolf Moon"?  Last night's full moon was the biggest and brightest full moon of this year and you can see more features of moon at anytime this year without a telescope.  The American Indians call the first full moon of the year the "Wolf Moon". 

The Indians called the first full moon in January of any year the wolf moon because hungry wolves howled at the full moon on cold winter nights. Sometimes Kota will howl at the moon, but he usually does it is during the summer when he is out on the deck and watching the world go by.

But why was the moon bigger and brighter last night than other nights? Here's how the moon works.  Last  night, the moon was at perigee, its closest distance to the Earth during its orbit around our world. Because it is so close to the Earth, the moon appears larger.  The moon's orbit around Earth is not a perfect circle but rather an ellipse.   

An ellipse is more like an egg shape or a slightly squashed circle.  One side of the moon's orbit is closer than the other. When the moon reaches this closest point to us, it is called perigee. Once or twice a year, perigee coincides with a full moon, as it did last night and it made the moon appear bigger and brighter than any other full moons that will happen this year.

I like looking at the moon when it is bright and full, don't you?  I know some Denver raviolis who may have been lucky enough to view the Wolf Moon through a very big telescope.  Let grandma-ma know if you viewed the moon last night with a comment.  Love to all of you my raviolis.  Grandma-ma

Sleeping Beauty Friday

Hello my Friday Raviolis!  Did you know that 51 years ago today, Walt Disney released the animated feature film, Sleeping Beauty? 

Here is the first movie poster every printed for Sleeping Beauty. 

Here is today's poster for Sleeping Beauty. It is full of color and action.

Grandma-ma thinks that these three fairy godmothers are funny and very protective of Sleeping Beauty.

But Grandma-ma likes Malificent best.  She thinks that this is the best villian that Walt Disney every created.  She is beautiful, she wears a long black gown with a purple and pink lining.  She has green skin and ruby red lips and carries a long walking stick and has a raven for a pet.  She uses a spinning wheel and so does Grandma-ma.   Yes, grandma-ma likes Malificent.

The prince awakens Sleeping Beauty with a kiss after her long, 100 years sleep.

Sleeping Beauty is pretty and happy to be awake.  She is walking in the garden with her favorite animal friends.  I like the story of Sleeping Beauty.  It has a princess and a prince, a kingdom to be saved, lots of magical faries, an evil fairy queen, helpful animals, dragons and a happy ending.  Just like a good fairy tale should. 

Grandma-ma has seen this movie in the theater when she was a little girl.  She has seen in it on VH tape when Jason and Aaron were little boys and she has seen it on DVD with her four cheese ravioli. Grandma-ma is older then the movie by 5 years...can you guess how old Grandma-ma is?   If you have the DVD of Sleeping Beauty, you should watch it this weekend to celebrate 51 years of this movie.  Love to you all my raviolis. Grandma-ma

Good soup!

Good morning my raviolis!   It is wintertime in Atlanta and although it is not as cold as it is where all of you may live, we still have cold temps during our winter.  Grampy decided to make some of his tasty, homemade split pea soup.  Here is how Grampy makes it.  He starts with a bag of dried peas. 

He adds some diced ham or will use a ham bone.

He puts them all in a crockpot and let's the soup simmer for a long time.  Grandma-ma comes home from work and the whole house smells so good.  She can't wait to sit down to a bowl of homemade soup and if she is lucky, we have Grampy's homemade bread to go with it.

Yummy!  When Grampy make this soup, Aunt Renee likes a bowl full too. 

Here is Grampy's recipe:

1 (16 oz.) pkg. dried green split peas, rinsed

1 meaty hambone, 2 ham hocks, or 2 cups diced ham

3 carrots, peeled and sliced

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 or 2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped, or 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes

1 tbsp. seasoned salt (or to taste)

1/2 tsp. fresh pepper

1 1/2 qts. hot water

Layer ingredients in slow cooker in the order given; pour in water. Do not stir ingredients. Cover and cook on HIGH 4 to 5 hours or on low 8 to 10 hours until peas are very soft and ham falls off bone. Remove bones. Mash peas to thicken more, if desired.   This soup freezes very well, but we never have any left over to freeze.

This is a very easy soup to prepare and fun to layer in the crock pot.  Have a wonderful Thursday, my raviolis and keep warm.  Grandma-ma

Word of the week Wednesday

Hello my raviolis! Yes it's another Word of the Week Wednesday and today's word is brought to you by Grampy!  Grampy has been waiting for Word of the Week Wednesday to share his word with you and that word is:

"turtle"

The turtle, especially the "sea turtle" is one of grampy's favorite creatures. 

Here is a picture of a loggerhead turtle in Cancun, Mexico. Grampy took this picture with his underwater camera.  He was a very big turtle.

This is a sea turtle sculpture that Grampy displays on a small table in our living room.  Grampy likes to look at it and dream of swimming and diving in the sea.  It makes everyone feel happy to look at it.

Sea turtles are reptiles that live in a marine environment. The flippers of sea turtles are long and paddle-like, making them excellent for swimming but poor for walking on land. The shell of a sea turtle is also  streamlined to help it move faster and smoother in the water.  Loggerheads are the most common sea turtles in the Caribbean.  They like to eat mollusks, crabs and animals that encrust reefs and rocks. They have been on Earth for millions of years.  They can grow to more then 3 feet in length and weight from 250 to 400 pounds. They spend their entire lives at sea, except when females come ashore to lay eggs several times per season every 2 to 5 years. After about sixty days, baby sea turtles (known as "hatchlings") emerge from their sandy nests and make their way to the ocean.

Do you recognize this sea turtle? This is Crush from the movie, Finding Nemo. 

Do you remember the name of his son?  Yes, it is Squirt!  I know of a dog named Squirt that lives with the Denver raviolis.

Grandma-ma took this sea turtle's picture when he was snoozing in the sea grass and coral.  He did not stay long and swam away very quickly.

Remember to use the word turtle in three sentences today.  Here is grandma-ma's first sentence:  "Grandma-ma wishes she can swim as fast as a sea turtle, but sometimes, feels as slow as a land turtle."  Did you catch that? Grandma-ma used the word "turtle" twice in her sentence.  Love to you all my raviolis.  Grandma-ma.

Lunch surprise!

Good afternoon my raviolis. Do you like surprises for lunch? Grampy does.  His favorite lunch surprise is when I bring home Chick Fil A.

 

Grampy likes the chicken sandwich with the pickles and mayo and also puts catsup on the waffle fries.

But his favorite is the home made lemonade they serve.  Grampy asks for a big cup with NO ice in it. That way he can have a full cup full of this tasty lemonade.

But mostly, grandma-ma and grampy like the Chick Fil A cows. 

They are funny and always wear interesting costumes.

Some Chick Fil A's have a cow truck.  The restaurant near grandma-ma's work has one and it is always parked just out front of their restaurant. Do you think the cows drove it over there?

How funny is this truck?  Now, I know of a ravioli's mommy who loves cows. I bet she would enjoy driving around in the Chick Fil A cow truck  Wouldn't you? Have a wonderful day my ravs and as the cow's say, Eat More Chicken!  Hugs and kisses.  Grandma-ma

Carousel Ride

I was thinking of carousels this morning. Not sure why I started thinking about them, I just know that I like them. They are colorful, have pretty horses or other creatures and carriages that you can ride and old timey sounding organ music that plays. I like all of it.

I also like them because every horse, every creature or carriage is made by hand and usually carved from wood and then hand painted.  They are then lacquered to a shiny finish so they seem to sparkle.  But I think the best part of a carousel is when you go for a ride on them.  They start up slow and then pick up a little speed and you begin to feel the wind blowing in your face.  It is a magical ride, isn't it?

This is a pretty carved carousel horse.

Here is a short video of the world's largest carousel.  It has over 300 rides and they are all different animals, fairytale creatures and carriages. There are also no horses on this carousel ride.  How interesting.  There are millions of tiny lights all over it that makes it look like fairy tale to watch.  Sadly, you cannot ride on it as it is very old.  But wouldn't it be fun to take a spin on it?  I think so.   It is huge and grandma-ma has seen it a couple of times.  Both Jason and Aaron, when they were children, have also seen this carousel.  It is located in Wisconsin at a place called House on the Rock.

There is a small carousel near grandma-ma and grampy. A certain four cheese ravioli, when she was a three cheese rav has ridden this carousel.  Here is a video of her riding it. 

Can you spot the four cheese ravioli and her mommy?  When you come to visit grandma-ma and grampy in Atlanta, we will take you to this carousel so you may go for a ride on it too. 

Have a wonderful Monday, my raviolis and think of carousels and the wind gently blowing in your faces.  Hugs and carousel kisses.  Grandma-ma

Things in Grandma-ma's house

Good morning my raviolis!  Today is a rainy Sunday so I thought I would do another post on things in grandma-ma's house.  If you walk into the living room you will find Grampy reading in his chair.  You will find Kota sleeping on the carpet and if you look up to the ceiling not only will you find lights but you will see a broom hanging from the ceiling.  WHAT???? a broom you say!

Yes,  this wonderful old broom is from the 1930s and I had no room in my kitchen for it so I thought, where would be the perfect place for such a perfect broom?  Well, if I was a Halloween witch I would want to ride it and fly through the air.  If I was Harry Potter, I would want to ride it when I played Quittage.  So the perfect place for this perfect broom was hanging it perfectly well from my living room ceiling.

Of course, grandma-ma's broom doesn't fly, but wouldn't it be fun if it really did fly?  Why, if Grandma-ma's broom could fly, she would fly to visit each and ever one of you.  That would be fun magic, don't you think?

Love to all my raviolis and remember to enjoy the day and be good to those you love and those you meet.  Grandma-ma

Sneezing Panda

Hello  my raviolis.  Too many people I know have a cold right now.  Grandma-ma has a cold, Aunt Renee has a cold, my bosses at work have colds and  some of my blogging friends have colds.  We are all sneezing.  So I thought you might enjoy seeing this tiny, baby panda bear who lets out a such a big sneeze that it frightened her mommy.  Let's watch.

Did you see that baby panda let out a big sneeze? How could such a loud noise come from something so small? I hope all of you are happy and healthy and no body is sneezing like that baby panda bear. I love you my raviolis. Have a wonderful day. Grandma-ma ... who sneezes.

Funny, furry pets!

Good morning my happy raviolis.  Today is Friday and everyone loves Friday because it brings the weekend.  I found this video full of funny pets and thought you would like viewing it.  It made grandma-ma and grampy laugh.  I hope it makes you laugh too.

Have a happy Friday my squeezable raviolis.  Hugs and kisses to all of you.  Grandma-ma.

A big box arrives.

Happy Thursday my raviolis.  Grandma-ma and Grampy received a big box the other day.  It was sent by Cousin Linda in Queens.  It was a big box.  What could it be? 

Grampy waited for Grandma-ma to get home from work to open it.  He is a very patient man.  Grandma-ma could not have waited.  She would have opened it right away to see what is inside. Can you guess what is inside the box?  I have no idea what is hiding inside.

Surprise, it was a big box of fresh, New York City bagels!!!

Grandma-ma and Grampy love NYC bagels and inside were 4 big bags full. Plain ones, sesame seed ones, poppy seed and garlic, cinnamon and raisin. So many varieties to choose from.  We decided to start with the bagels that had everything on them so we toasted up two bagels and gave them a big smear of cream cheese.  Yummy!

I wish you were all here to share a bagel with us. 

But wait, there's more!  Inside were three other items.

Kota could smell it.  He knew there was something in the box for him.  It was a container of Christmas dog treats from Cousin Daisy.

These look good enough to eat by humans, but they are for dogs.  Kota loves his special treats.  There is still more in the box.  Grandma-ma pulls out another container and it is filled with "mini" black and white cookies.  These are grandma-ma favorites and when she was a little girl, her daddy would buy her a black and white cookie every Saturday.

One more container in the box and it was more tasty treats.  Raspberry filled cookies.  Yummy.

What wonderful surprises found inside this big box.  Thank you Cousin Linda and Kota says thank you to Cousin Daisy for thinking of him too.  Surprises are fun, aren't they.  That is why Grandma-ma loves to send little surprises in the mail to her raviolis.   Keep watching the mail box, you never know what you may find inside.  Love you all my raviolis.  Grandma-ma

Word of the week Wednesday

Happy Wednesday my raviolis.  It's word of the week Wednesday and today's word is brought to you by Grandma Lynn.  Grandma is busy cleaning out her basement as she and Grandpa have workmen coming to do some work there.  Everything that is in the basement must be moved out in order for the workmen to do their job.  Grandma is busy sorting things that she wants to keep and things that can be donated to local charities. The things that Grandma keeps are moving into a special container and that is our word of the week.  That word is:

POD 

Yes, "POD," which means the vessel that contains seeds just like in the pea "pod" below. 

Inside of the pod are little peas.  Do you recognize these little peas sitting in a pod?

Or how about these silly "peas" in a pod?

 

A pod can also be a metal container.  This is the pod that Grandma is using to temporarily store her things.

This is a lot of work.  Grandpa says if Grandma does not get the pod filled, he will put Grandma in the pod.  Here is Grandma hiding in a box from Grandpa.

I wonder what Grandma is going to put in the pod. 

Let's guess and then Grandma can tell us if we guessed correctly.  Grandma-ma thinks Grandma is going to put chairs in the pod.  Is grandma-ma correct Grandma?

Now you can guess using the comment link below.  Don't forget to use the word "POD" in three sentences today.  I love you my happy peas in a "POD".  Grandma-ma

Ask any mermaid, you happen to see...

what's the best tuna, chicken of the sea!  Hello my raviolis.  Do you like tuna fish?  Grandma-ma and Grampy do.  Grandma-ma also likes mermaids and found these coloring pages for making paper dolls from the Mermaid from Chicken of the Sea tuna. 

You can print these out and color them and then cut them out to dress the Mermaid up in new clothes.

CLICK HERE FOR MERMAID PRINTOUT

CLICK HERE FOR COSTUME 1 PRINT OUT

CLICK HERE FOR COSTUME 2 PRINT OUT

CLICK HERE FOR COSTUME 3 PRINT OUT

I hope you enjoy making these paperdoll outfits for the pretty mermaid.  I think this is a lot of fun and wish I could be with you working this fun craft project.  Love grandma-ma.

A holiday for grandma-ma

Hello my raviolis.  Today, in Atlanta, we celebrate Martin Luther King Day. 

Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15, 1929 into a family of pastors--both his father and his grandfather served as pastors for many years. King came of age in a time where black and white people were separated in much of the U.S. The two groups were unable to attend the same schools, drink from the same water fountains, or eat in the same restaurants.  Reverend King fought to change this way of thinking by using non-violent protest. For more than ten years, King’s inspiring speeches (he gave more than 2,500 in his lifetime) earned him followers across the United States and internationally. He travelled millions of miles; led protest marches, sit-ins and boycotts (which often led to his arrest) everywhere he saw racial disparity; published five books, numerous articles and essays, including the “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” now famously known as the call to action for the civil rights movement; and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.

He is best remembered for delivering his 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech in front of a quarter of a million people in the Mall in Washington, DC.  His hope for a nation that will not judge people by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character has become important words on how we should treat each other. 

Today, many people celebrate MLK Day by using this holiday as a day of service...to help others who are not as fortunate as you and I may be.  Many volunteer at soup kitchens, homeless shelters, they read to children at local libraries, they bring meals to elderly people, or they provide assistance to their community. 

CLICK HERE TO PRINT OUT THIS PAGE TO COLOR

Here is a fun coloring page of different children of the world.  You can print it out and color it today.  Have a wonderful day my raviolis and remember to always be kind to those you meet.  Hugs and kisses to you all.  Love Grandma-ma and Grampy

Georgia Aquarium

Good morning my raviolis. I want tell you about our nice aquarium that we have in Atlanta.  Whenever raviolis come to visit, we take them to our aquarium.  It is always fun and you get to walk under the sea creatures and stand in front of a huge window of sea life.   Here are some pictures of our aquarium. (remember, you can click on them and they will get bigger)

Hundreds of little "golden eye" fishes.  These were no bigger than 2 inches in length and they filled the one tank wall. 

A pair of white Beluga whales.  They swam and played together and would come to where you were viewing them and wave at you.

The sea star tankroom was filled with sea stars.  These three had attached themselves to the glass so we got an excellent view of what they look like.  These starfish or sea stars were as big as a pie pan.  When grandma-ma came back to this tank wall several hours later there were more sea stars attached to the glass.

Pretty jelly fish.  Jellies are one of grandma-ma's favorite sea creatures. She thinks they are very pretty.

This jelly looks very big, but it is not.   It is about the size of your hand and moves very gracefully through the water.

A large "Guitar Shark".  It looks like a guitar, doesn't it?  But it doesn't play music.

Another favorite of grandma-ma's - the Sea Dragon.  A Sea Dragon has great camouflage as this Sea Dragon looks like sea weed but it is really a member of the sea horse family.  Can you find the Sea Dragon?  It is the white sea weed looking creature next to the yellow seaweed.

A sleeping otter.  He is tired from playing all day in the water and is now taking a snooze in the sun.

These are giant Asian crabs.  They are nocturnal creatures.  Nocturnal means they are awake at night while other species are sleeping.  These Asian crabs can grow to be as big as a Volkswagen Beetle car.  Uncle Aaron had a Volkswagen Beetle so he knows how big these crabs can get.  The ones in the picture are about the size of a small kitchen table.  That is big.

I hope you enjoyed this little visit to the Georgia Aquarium with me.  When you come to visit, Grandma-ma will take her raviolis to the Georgia Aquarium and you can see all of the wonderful creatures there for yourself.  Fishie hugs and kisses to you all.  Grandma-ma