Over the past week I had the chance to read the book Jackaby by William Ritter and while it was predictable in terms of who (but not what!) the villain was, the whole concept of the book was so much fun. It's about a girl, Abigail Rook, who wants a life of adventure in the late 1800s.
When Ben Hascomb told Beverly Marsh that her hair was like winter fire and his heart burned there, too, whose heart didn't melt? We're talking about Stephen King's It here, but it does seem like fall and winter poetry speaks so much more clearly than spring and summer poetry. No, it's not Naruda's cherry blossoms, but maybe that's because there's so much death and coldness in the fall and winter that the poetry warms us up in ways that we don't necessarily need in the spring and summer months.
A cozy Victorian setting complete with locally-sourced, sustainable foods that are both tasty and healthy... what's not to love about Paley's Place in Portland? From happy hour items to cocktails to some of the tastiest bistro-style dinners you'll ever encounter, Paley's Place is the place to go when you're hungry.
2018 saw the development of many a party game, and bully for all of us who love to play games! I think the rise of gaming shops and cafes is definitely helping the cause, and I know plenty of tweens who cite Stranger Things as their inspiration for entering the world of games. Many of this year's new games were spins on old classics, from 5 Second Rule to Fluxx. I have seen dozens of variations of Fluxx, how about you? If you haven't played that insane game featuring all kinds of crazy rules, you need to soon!
If you're a frog lover or you know one, what do you like to get or give as frog-inspired gifts? There are so many frog gifts out there that there's an endles supply of ideas to borrow from. I remember being head over heels for frogs in high school and I could go anywhere, from a gas station to any store, and find something with frogs on it that would get me excited. I had quite a collection, too, before it was ruined in an apartment flooding incident.
Are you one of those people who scoff at putting up your Christmas tree well before Thanksgiving, demanding to wait until after the holiday to erect your tree? Me, too. I like to wait so I don't get sick of the decorations after they've been up for more than a month. A month, for me, is a good limit to all decorations, Halloween, Christmas or whatever.
Going caffeine-free is such a bummer, especially when everything seems to have caffeine in it these days. If you're trying to avoid caffeine, carbs AND sugar this holiday season, good luck! Water with low glycemic fruit chunks is probably your best bet, especially if you're also avoiding artificial sweeteners. For people like me who are suffering from insomnia and are trying to steer clear of the caffeine, it can be a challenge. I went through Starbucks the other day and thought a keto pink drink might do the trick but the tea in it still contained caffeine!
Sometimes the best meal during the holidays isn't what you think it might be. I remember the time we had turkey quesadillas with cranberry sauce the day after Thanksgiving and they were amazing! Since then I've always been interested in what people make for their after-Thanksgiving day feasts, if they even have leftovers! This enormous list of ideas contains several unconventional ideas with what to do with your leftover fixings, from pizzas to soups, muffins to noodles and much more.
Now that every store has morphed itself into Santa's workshop long before the turkey has even entered the oven, it's time to start planning those holiday gifts. If you have a Family Guy fanatic on your list, you already know that there are so many items to choose from, whether you're shopping online or at the store. Luckily the show has such a heavy fan following that it also comes with some pretty heavy merchandising, so you shouldn't have a hard time finding the perfect present. The most difficult decision will be narrowing down each gift to the person it fits best!
Whether you're working and need a quick bite, your family or friends are working or traveling and you can't meet up or you otherwise just need a place to go this Thanksgiving, there are several restaurants open on Thanksgiving Day that you can visit for a hot meal. Many other restaurants also help feed meals to those in need (I know KFC used to do this where we live) so you might want to check locally if you want to volunteer on Thanksgiving instead.
Abortion restrictions exist in every state, despite people telling me things like, "Oh, Roe won't ever be turned over again." Oh no? Not with justices like Brett Kavanaugh and politicians like Donald Trump swearing that's what they want, not to mention SO MANY VOTERS voting JUST against abortion during the elections?
This is one of the best ways to create cocktails for your holiday events: use the ingredients you already have on hand for the meal! It's a great way to cut down on spending and waste while still managing to get a few great cocktails on the menu. From cranberries to apple cider, butternut squash (for real!) to lemons and limes, there are several items you will probably already have on hand that will make excellent drinks for Thanksgiving.
Um, this is some of the weirdest animal news in a while... Hugh Jackman, who played Wolverine in the Fox X-Men series, had no idea that the wolverine was a real animal. He said that he assumed it was something made up for the comic books and didn't realize that it was an actual animal!
It's a pretty freaky treatment idea that, if it truly works, could have everyone watching blood and guts throughout the holiday season while they attempt to not gain weight: researchers are saying that you can burn the equivalent of a chocolate bar just by watching a horror movie! They said that of the films studied, The Shining worked best, which I don't doubt. That thing is scary.
Crafting is a great way to relieve stress, create personal gifts for loved ones and just spend some time being creative. Crafting isn't just for kids! This list of 45 Christmas crafts is a great place to begin if you need a few ideas to get you started on your holiday crafting. Many of them will help you use up things you have around the house to recycle, like old pallet wood or mason jars, and as long as you have some paint and a few supplies on hand you're good to go.
Part 2 of 2 Parts (Please read Part 1 first)
Ambient office = 115 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 94 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 93 nanosieverts per hour
