This summer there are so many things I have yet to experience since I have moved here 2 or so years ago. My kiddos, Tyler, Novalee and Luna are going to be exhausted. We always go to the zoo, the aquarium and hike in the Petroglyphs (with the kids saying every five seconds, “Ew! There is another centipede!!!!!!!!). My two oldest live in the Northwest so they aren’t used to all the icky bugs that dwell here. Quite frankly neither am I. Yikes…New Mexico…centipedes are super creepy.
Amusement Park
Summer Fun
But we will also be embarking upon all the holidays during the summer. Because of life circumstances and Universal teachings so to speak, my oldest two children live with their father instead of me. It is very hard for me to be away from them as you could imagine, but i swear it is only because of finances and that is all. =) So when they are here, we always celebrate the holidays during the summer…literally as many as we can fit into it. Our Halloween potluck last years was fun =) The children made their own costumes as we remember Halloween being… Cardboardclothing/microphones/weapons/etc. and lots of Mom’s costume jewelry and shoes. Even the adults dressed up and put on their silly kid mentality and a great time was had by all! The kids still remember it.
Make your own Doggie Treats
- Preheat the oven to 300°F. Lightly grease a couple of baking sheets, or line them with parchment.
Put the following in a mixing bowl:
- 2 cups King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour or Premium Whole Wheat Flour
- 1 cup rolled oats, regular or quick
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley or 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1/2 cup Baker’s Special Dry Milk or nonfat dry milk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Stir to combine.
- Add 2 large eggs and
- 1 cup (9 1/4 ounces) peanut butter, crunchy or plain.
Stir to combine; the mixture will be crumbly. Add 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon cold water, or enough to make a cohesive dough. Depending on the season, you may need to add a bit more (winter), or a bit less (summer). To make dog cookies, drop the dough in walnut-sized balls onto a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Flatten to about 1/4” thick.
How to Cut Out Dogbone Busicuits
To cut out dogbone biscuits, roll the dough about 1/4” thick. No, it’s not pretty; it’ll develop cracks all over, and very ragged edges. No worries; trust me, your dog won’t care about looks.
- Cut with a 3 1/2” cutter (or the size of your choice). Gather and re-roll the scraps, and continue to cut biscuits until you’ve used all the dough.
- Lay the biscuits close together on the prepared baking sheets. Since the biscuits don’t include any leavening (baking powder, yeast, etc.), they won’t spread much.
- Bake the biscuits for about 40 to 60 minutes, baking the smaller cookies for the shorter amount of time, the larger biscuits for the longer amount of time.
- When finished, the biscuits will be dark golden brown, and will be dry and crisp all the way through.
Novalee making doggie treats…she is quite the stirring lady!
Tyler taking a break from his part to cheese it up for his momma
…so these are a few things we will be doing this summer. There are so many other things but I think the recipe for the doggie treats is so fun to do that we will probably do it for a week before they get tired of it. I don’t know many other places to go that cost little amounts of money, so suggestions would be great! As a teacher I know that if one has a question there will be others who do as well. Well I will leave you with a small piece of writing that I penned in one of my growing moments as of late. Next time I will be talking about the awesoeness of henna and the fun way I get to do my art…full of pics and tips and fun! So if you have any art ready to share, next time would be the time to do so. Also will let you in on something huge I am excited to try…
Until then, folks, enjoy the writing, give me some feedback on what you would like to see because I am newish ya know…in case you couldn’t tell… =)
Acey May
MMMMHMMMMM……
Playing in the road like a rebel toddler
Looking behind me with the twinkle of fear and excitement
The scornful look given makes no never mind
I leap into the traffic of this life
Dodging the Judge as it sways in my direction
Laughing when it narrowly misses
The fearful yells try to bring me back
But it only makes me go farther
I step over the entrails of the less fortunate
Taken out by their own hate and lust
And I selfishly thank God it isn’t me
The Judge comes back and I jump onto its hood as it barrels
I fear not the one who looks at me from behind the wheel
I have seen that face before
And it was conquered
The Judge sees the fire in my ice blue eyes
And the engine rumbles to nothingness
It dies under my stare
Applause from the scornful one
She looks at me and smiles
And she speaks in a melody only I can understand
And she says “I knew you could do it.”
So I run to the safety of the sidewalk
“Then why did you yell at me to return”
And her music says
“Because I knew if I told you to go, you would have never ventured on your own.”
Laughter shrieks from my still excited throat
And I hug the mirror I am looking into
Acey May is an Illustrator and Creative Collaborator at Community Publishing.She has contributed illustrations to the bilingual multimedia eBook, Fiona the Funkadelic Freckle Fairy. Additionally she is the primary illustrator on the forthcoming bilingual multimedia children’s book, Bella the Caterpillar.
Community Publishing brings local artists of all mediums together in creative collaborations for distribution as multimedia eBooks while promoting literacy in our communities.
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