50 Jar Gifts: idea #28 – autumn leaf candle holders

Posted on September 16, 2014 by tellingfamilytales

autumn leaf mason jar candle holder by sparkandchemistry.com

While the leaves in the valley are still green, the trees in the mountains are starting to change colors. The weather can’t make up its mind yet weather it is summer or fall, but I’m sure that autumn colors are just a few more weeks away. Does your family have a special tree? One with a tree house or just a favorite spot it sit in the shade and enjoy the summer? This idea would be a great way to share the memories and stories of a tree with special significance in your life. If you have a tree like that, how about gathering some leaves from it this fall and make a batch of these beautiful candle holders. I can imagine a family gathering (large or small), have a bunch of these candle holders gathered on a table or scattered around the room or even on a deck or patio. Light them and then turn out the lights. What a great atmosphere to share a family story with a connection to that tree or let others share their memories connected to that special tree. It would be a memorable event. Then let everyone take home one of the candle holders.

If this idea inspires you, let me know. I’d love to share your project here too.

Want some more ideas? Visit my Pinterest board dedicated to jar gift ideas.

Candy Window: update

Posted on September 15, 2014 by tellingfamilytales

close up of the hardware on the Ferris wheel seats

This week we made good progress on the cars. Besides painting the cars, half of them have the hardware for attaching to the Ferris wheel welded in place. There is some touch up painting to do because I knocked one of the cars off the table and it cracked on the sides by the foot rest, so Bill reinforced all the cars there. Plus where the hardware attached needs some painting too.

partially done tree

We made some progress on the trees. The third tree is about half done. I need to get some more apple fruit slices to finish it and the fourth tree has some of the lights candy on it. The fifth tree is getting closer to being ready to glue together with most of the green gel material hole punched to let light through.

to scale figures

For me the part that feels the best to get done last week has to do with the figures. I decided on the scale of all the figures and sketched rough outlines to scale of paper. There are 16 figures, more than I’ve done and a different size than I’ve done before. The next step on the figures is to get Styrofoam rough cut to size for them. That is my big goal for this coming week.

Pupdate: Emma’s Recall

Posted on September 13, 2014 by tellingfamilytales

Me and Emma

I’m off in post schedule this week. I blame it all on these puppies. I’ve decided I don’t much like the two-day overlap. I’m sure it will be good but it is emotionally much harder. The key is to remember that next time I end up with 5 or 6 months with two dogs. I think two months would be perfect but with wanting a certain letter that makes it difficult to pull off. Maybe one of these times. Anyway, we put Emma on the puppy truck to San Rafael, California today. The way I was feeling this week I thought I might get really emotional when the time came to do it. But today, I came to terms with it and saw that some things would be easier in training Fable with just one dog in the house. We had a busy morning with other commitments but I got in a quick walk with Emma before we left to meet the truck. I think that helped too.

As expected Emma was super excited to be there and see the other dogs. There were a couple of dogs transferred from Colorado for the High School program and four dogs recalled for training, I think. By the luck of the draw Emma was the first one to go on the truck but she got the upper kennel right behind the driver’s seat. She will like that, because Emma will be able to see more of what is going on. Emma was more interested in the dog treats she got for being in the kennel than saying good-bye to us. She is off on her big adventure. I think they drive to Elko today and stop for the night. Then finish the trip to San Rafael tomorrow. They are probably picking up more recall dogs along I-80 as they go.

The house is quiet without her here. It is always that way when a puppy leaves. But she is close to my heart and I’m excited to see what path her life takes from here. We won’t hear anything until it is decided that she won’t be a breeder or that she has passed all the preliminary tests for breeding and they are awaiting final tests to decide. I’ll update here when we get some news on Emma.

Pupdate: number 9

Posted on September 11, 2014 by tellingfamilytales

Fable

Introducing our ninth puppy in training for Guide Dogs for the Blind, Fable. She is confident and curious but not overly stubborn. She loves playing with Emma. Fable is currently sleeping with a fat tummy full of food. I know we got the best name in the litter and it looks like we scored a great personality too.

With a name like Fable I might need to come up with a series of stories about her life as she grows up. I’ll have to think on that and see if inspiration comes.

50 Jar Gifts: idea #27 – Apples

Posted on September 9, 2014 by tellingfamilytales

Caramel Apple Kit from thegunnysack.com

We have a pear tree in our back yard and I’ve been dealing with too many pears for several weeks. One night Emma even helped out by helping herself to several while she was home alone. She also loves to pick up the windfall ones off the ground and run around with them. She is getting pretty good at bringing them to me. I think pears will always remind me of Emma.

Did your family have a fruit tree growing up? What memories do you have of apples or pears or other fruit, maybe at your grandma’s house. Here are some really fun ideas for jar gifts to do with apples. Some of them are easily adapted to other fruits. They would make a great jumping off point for sharing a memory of fall fruit harvests or other traditions centered around apples etc.

Apple Butter found on indulgy.com via Pinterest

homemade apple cider mix from The Blessed Hearth

Simmering Spices from ladybehindthecurtain.com

pie in a jar from ourbestbites.com

apple with caramel cream cheese dip by Jo and Sue

apple pie filling in a jar from mommyskitchen.net

If this idea inspires you, let me know. I’d love to share your project here too.

Want some more ideas? Visit my Pinterest board dedicated to jar gift ideas.

Candy Window: Ferris wheel cars

Posted on September 8, 2014 by tellingfamilytales

Bill with an assemble seat for the Ferris wheel

We made some good progress on the window last week, especially on Saturday. I got the cars cut out with a band saw on Tuesday and picked up Styrofoam scraps for all the figures. On Wednesday only one girl showed up form the youth council, so we worked on the trees. I was hoping to do some more prep for the cars but ran into a snag. Four youth came on Saturday and they continued worked on the trees. We now have two trees done and two more assembled and one of those with some candy on it. Just one last tree to assemble.

Bill worked hard all day and got all six cars for the Ferris wheel assembled! He needed my help from time to time to hold a part in place while he drilled holes or inserted screws. Bill also figured out how to get the threads cut in some of the metal rods. The first set of thread cutters where too cheap and that was the problem. With a quality die, it was simple to cut the threads. It felt good to make such progress. So much ahead and more hurdles to jump.

Today I picked up some green paint for the cars and green pull ‘n’ peel licorice. I thought I’d need to order the licorice but it turns out that Walmart had the best price for it so I picked up a dozen packages. We may need more. I’ll know better after we get one car covered. Now that they cars are built I can start working on all the figures. There are a bunch of them and that isn’t something that I can ask the kids to do. They can help cover them with candy once they are shaped but I’ve got to do the shaping for two reasons. Because I have the experience and so that all of them have a consistent look and feel. For me that is the next big hurdle. For Bill it is cutting the metal for the big Ferris wheel and getting it all welded together.

Pupdate: Waffle

Posted on September 5, 2014 by tellingfamilytales

Shelley, Tucker, Waffle and Lola

Just 6 days until our “F” puppy comes and 8 days until Emma leaves but we got some news about Waffle this week that I wanted to share. Sunday marked two years since Waffle and Carole met so I sent off and email to mark the day. I got back an email with news on a big change coming in Waffle’s life. It turns out that while Waffle is wonderfully behaved everywhere she goes with Carole as a medical service dog, she really doesn’t like her job. Add to that is that she lacks confidence in new situations (saw this as a puppy) and Waffle can get stubborn when she doesn’t want to do something (saw this too).

So Carole has been looking for a new service dog to replace Waffle. I knew she had rescued a feral dog, Shelley, from a trip to Costa Rica but didn’t know until now that she had hoped that Shelley could take Waffle’s place. But while Shelley is smart she can’t deal with the long plane flights etc. and her prey drive is intense. Not surprising when you think about her origins.

At that point Carole had four dogs in her household. Tucker, an old boxer, Waffle a soon to be retired service dog, Shelley, a now healthy and happy rescued dog but not cut out for service, plus Lola who belongs to a family that helps with things when Carole is away for work. Adding a fifth dog just isn’t going to work. Time to cut back before adding a new dog. Shelley went to live with a couple, both veterinarians, with lots of land and things for Shelley to chase.

Waffle is going to Cape Cod to a wonderful family with an old lab, 2 boys (5 and 12 years old) and their parents. The mother met Waffle about a year ago at a two-week seminar in Tucson. She bonded with Waffle during the conference and went running with her everyday. Lauren never forgot Waffle and felt like Waffle was “the dog of her heart”. So when Carole started looking for new homes for Waffle Lauren asked if she could have her. They have sent Waffle cards, texts, and photos! Isn’t that so sweet. They are sending shirts with Waffle’s sent on it to Cape Cod and vice versa to help the two dogs get used to each other. I’m sure that Waffle will have no problems adjusting to the new dog. She has never been the only dog in the household in all of her life. Carole and Waffle will be going to Massachusetts Halloween weekend and Carole will stay for 3 days while Waffle settles into her new household and reconnects with Lauren and bonds with the rest of the family.

Carole will make sure that we get contact information for her the new family and they get ours. I’m a little sad because Waffle won’t be a service dog anymore. But she just isn’t cut out for it and I appreciate that Carole wants her to be happy in her work. Mostly I’m sad because I was looking forward to meeting Carole and seeing Waffle when Emma graduates in a few months from San Rafael (that is assuming she isn’t career changed). Carole lives not far from there and assuming the timing worked for her to be in town. The only possible way Emma could graduate by the end of October would be as a breeder and that is still fast to get all the tests back and her status confirmed as a breeder. But mostly I’m happy. I think that Waffle will love her new home and family. Now we will have another pup on the east coat, the farther east you can go in fact. Maybe we will get a chance to see her out there and meet her new family. Cape Cod is a beautiful place and the family sounds perfect for her.

50 Jar Gifts: idea #26 – Football Season

Posted on September 4, 2014 by tellingfamilytales

jar project from JoAnn Fabric and Crafts

Many families have a rich tradition for football season. There are bound to be some great stories centered around the game. Maybe one of these sports themed jar ideas would help to start the story telling process during the next half-time or drive to or from the game. My sister and I both played volleyball in college and our parents came to almost every home game and many of the away games. It would be interesting to know what their favorite memories are of that season of our lives. Maybe I should take the football theme and tweak it for volleyball and find an occasion to use it as a bridge to learning their memories of BYU volleyball. How about your family? Do they have a strong sports tradition?

Mason Jar Football Brownie Treats By Courtney Whitmore, on eHow.com

from Kasey Kilpatrick via pinterest put a team scarf and nail polish in the school colors in a jar

Football Cozy via blovelyevents.com

sports shaped cookies in a jar from the decorated cookie

If this idea inspires you, let me know. I’d love to share your project here too.

Want some more ideas? Visit my Pinterest board dedicated to jar gift ideas.

Key West: update

Posted on September 3, 2014 by tellingfamilytales

I found an introductory SCUBA class. It lasts about an hour and costs $25. Not bad. I think I’d better wait for my seasonal allergies to pass before I jump into the pool. Popping my ears doesn’t work to well when my noses is stuffed. Plus the last week or so my allergies are driving me crazy. Too much time outside one day sets me up for a really bad day the next day.

I’ve had mixed success on writing 500 words per day. I was good last Wednesday, but Thursday and Friday not a word was written. Monday I did my 500 words and worked on a list of possible stories that might be included in the book. On Tuesday I got my 500 words in but it was a late night rush to get it done. I did better today having just finished my writing along with some research on the building of the railroad into Key West and the Castro revolution.

One thing I found helpful this week, that I finally did last time I chatted with my Dad about Key West. I used my phone to record the conversation so I could refer back to it and not worry about taking notes. I also took a short video clip with my camera of how to clear the water out of your face mask. I highly recommend it. Both have been helpful. With today’s technology it is super easy to do.