Thoughts From a "Lost Canadian" About Forillon National Park

Today I want to let you know about the first National Park in Quebec, Forillon National Park. While this park was preceded by the removal of 225 families through expropriation, on February 14, 2011, the House of Commons adopted a motion which issued an official apology to the people whose properties were expropriated to create Forillon Park. I am saddened by the behavior of the firm which forced the First Nations people out of their land, but am encouraged by how the Canadian government told the truth about what happened and took responsibility for it.

Yes! illustrate my own Books ARE for You & the Children You Love

       

Summer Vacation will be upon us soon, so if you are looking for something fun you could give the children you love to work on together on a rainy Summer day or as a gift, consider getting some of the books from the illustrate my own series along with crayons, markers, and/or colored pencils. All of them are fun books which will uniquely engage the children you love in ways they have never engaged before with the accounts of Bible heroes. As they (and you) illustrate their books, they will think about what is happening, the things the Bible people said and did, and how God showed His love and grace to the Bible people . . . which will help the children you love better understand how God shows His love and grace to them as well! 

crafting with grandma - Crocheted Purse!

I like purses and I enjoy crocheting, so from time to time I decide to crochet myself a new purse! I have a number of purses, but since I crochet them - often from yarn I have left over from other projects - this is something I do to "treat" myself!

I thought I'd share with you one more of these purses today. I browsed on Pinterest looking for ideas. I knew I wanted to make a purse with a "quilt-like" look and ended up making a log cabin square, pinwheel square and patchwork square! I crocheted a simple lining and used one square for the front of the purse, another for the back and then the third for the flap. I'm very happy with the finished purse!

crafting with grandma - Footprint Robins!

Okay, if you have been reading grandma's cookie jar for very long you know I love hand and foot print crafts for little ones! Not only are they fun and cute to make, but they give me a moment in time to save so I can remember a day when my sweet little ones were small! Well, the other day when I was browsing on Pinterest I found a craft for making footprint robins! Talk about adorable!!! And, since the robins have returned, well, what could be better than making footprint robins!!!!

Thoughts From a "Lost Canadian" About Elk Island National Park

Growing up in the US I learned how massive herds of Bison used to roam out West, but then people killed them - even shooting them from trains, and in so doing they nearly killed them all. . Once numbering in the tens of millions, the population was reduced to just a few hundred wild animals in the United States by the late 1880s. A VERY sad and shameful time in the history of the US for sure, which shockingly is not only part of our history, but is something the current occupant of the white house and his administration are actively working to do again as they try to displace hundreds of bison from federal lands, citing a reinterpretation of grazing law. I hope someone stops them.

Knowing the history of the US with Bison and the current attempts to harm them, it made me so happy to read about Elk Island National Park in Canada - where they are doing the opposite - trying to protect Bison!

grandma's cookbook - Orange Butter Cookies!

When it comes to cookies my family tends to favor the "classics" . . .  chocolate chip-peanut-butter-oatmeal, plain chocolate chip or plain peanut-butter cookies. But every once in a while I like to try something different and this recipe, which I found on  Pinterest, is certainly one I'd like to try! After all, what could be more "yummie" sounding than orange butter cookies?!!!!

crafting with grandma - Polka-Dot Purse!

 

If you have been reading grandma's cookie jar for awhile, you have likely noticed I crochet a bit from time to time! I made a purse . . . this one with Polka-Dots . . . they seemed like a fun way to give a purse a unique and cheerful look!

crafting with grandma - Father's Day Mugs!

Father's Day is only a few weeks away and if you have a dad in your life who loves his morning cup of coffee, I have an idea for an amazing Father's Day gift you can involve your grandchildren in making for their dad! 

Thoughts From a "Lost Canadian" About Cape Breton Highlands National Park

I have been enjoying learning about Canadian National Parks, and the one I'm writing about today is one I have found to be very interesting, particularly if you enjoy seeing animals in their own natural habitats when you travel, as this National Park has everything you might hope to see and experience in a National Park - at least everything I might hope for! Cape Breton Highlands National Park is in Nova Scotia . . . which is a place where some of my ancestors are from!

The Little Ginormous, Humongous, Hairy, One-Eyed Monster Boys Adventures!

      

When my grands were young and at my house for a sleepover, we typically made up stories at bedtime. They almost always had monsters or dinosaurs in them. One night when my oldest grand was six, my middle grand was three, and my youngest grand was one, we were getting them into bed when my oldest grand said there was a monster under my middle grand's bed! This was not what my middle grand wanted to hear, so I said there could not be any monsters under the bed because the monsters were at their poppa's and grandma's house getting ready for bed on their sleepover. My grands found this idea very interesting, so of course, our bedtime story for the night had to have little, ginormous, humongous, hairy, one-eyed monsters getting ready for bed and being scared because they thought they saw, teeny, tiny, itty, bitty, not-so-hairy, two-eyed people under their beds! 

crafting with grandma - Crocheted Purse

As I've mentioned a time or two, I enjoy crocheting. I like to take yarn and end up with something useful, pretty - and hopefully somewhat unique! So, the other day I was browsing on Pinterest and found some free patterns for crocheted squares and I thought, "What if I took those and made three different squares which I could use to make a purse?" So, I did!

crafting with grandma - Special Photo for Dad!

Father's Day is June 21st, so if you are looking for a great craft idea which you can do with your grandchildren for their dad, check this idea I found on Pinterest! All you need for a special photo with your grandchildren, is their feet, a marker or paint, and a camera . . . plus a fair amount of patience!!! Write on your grandchildren's feet, "We <3 Dad" and have them sit with the bottoms of their feet in front of them. Now for the tricky part! Try to get them all to look at you and smile at the same time! Take the photo and then . . . 

Thoughts From a "Lost Canadian" About Bruce Peninsula National Park

Growing up in Michigan, Canada has been a close neighbor - particularly Ontario, so I was very happy to learn about Bruce Peninsula National Park - one of Canada's largest protected areas in Ontario. It looks like a place I would love to visit!

crafting with grandma - Eclectic Purse with a Sense of Whimsy and Fun!!!

I enjoy getting a new purse. I enjoy crocheting. I enjoy an eclectic "sense" of things matching or going together, yet not matching (for example, my dishes match because they are all Fiesta Square Plates, but they do not match because they each are different colors!) I enjoy a sense of "whimsy" and "fun"! So . . . when I was browsing on Pinterest  and saw a purse which fit all these things, I was inspired to try and make one of my own!!!