Friday, January 10, 2014

January: Book Swap

A list of the books discussed at January's book fair/swap:


Beloved Bridegroom:  Finding Christ in Ancient Jewish Marriage & Family Customs
By Donna B. Nielsen
A Thousand Splendid Suns
By Khaled Hosseini
The Peace Giver
By James L. Ferrell
Young Men in Fire
Norman MaClean
The Poisonwood Bible
By Barbara Kingsolver
Bay and Her Boys
By Bay Buchanan
The Hiding Place
By Corrie Tenboom
The Mindbody Perscription
by John Sarno
Half Broke Horses
Jeannette Walls
Odds Are: You're Going To Be Exalted: Evidence The Plan of Salvation Works
by Alonzo Gaskill
Ana Karenina
by Leo Tolstoy
Magyk
by Angie Sage

Hardwiring Happiness
Rick Hanson

TED Talks

The Unlikely Romance of Kate Bjorkman
by Louise Plummer
A Light in the Forest
by Conrad Richter

December: Christmas Party

We enjoyed a wonderful evening at the Landrith home, socializing, eating and decorating sugar cookies. We decorated the cookies using royal icing, a frosting which lends itself to fun designs. It also dries completely smooth and hard making it a great choice for cookies that you are packaging or mailing.

Royal Icing Recipe:
3/4 cup warm water
5 Tablespoons meringue powder
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2.25 pounds powdered sugar

Whisk the water and meringue powder for about 30 seconds, then add in the cream of tartar and vanilla. Add the powdered sugar and mix slowly for about 10 minutes. A paddle attachment in a stand mixer is going to be your best bet for this. Tint with your food coloring of choice. To prevent the icing from drying out, place a damp towel over the bowl until you are ready to use the icing. It can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Mix well before using.




November: Card Making

Amy Johnson taught us how to make beautiful handmade greeting cards.
Even better, we were all able to take home two of our own creation!


Elizabeth Moon also shared a great tip about her favorite place to buy ribbon, the Offray-Lion Ribbon Outlet.

857 Willow Cir
Hagerstown, MD 21740
(301) 739-6314

October: Indoor Plants and Flower Arranging

Sarah Bell gave us some great tips about how to incorporate fresh plants in our homes. There are many, many health benefits to live indoor plants and she had some great handouts with easy-to-care-for plants. Some of her favorites are Peace Lilies, Spider Plants and Boston Ferns.

Low Light Conditions:

With the exception of the Peace lily, all of these examples of low light plants commonly bear no flowers and are grown for their foliage.
• Cast Iron Plant
• Chinese Evergreen
• Corn Plant
• Striped Dracena
• Baby Rubber Plant
• Bird's Nest Fern
• Heartleaf Philodendron
• Swedish Ivy
• Peace Lily
• Snake Plant
• Maidenhair Fern
• Bamboo Palm



Indirect or Medium Light Conditions:

• Asparagus Fern
• Rex Begonia
• Cattleya Orchids
• Spider Plant
• African Violets
• Fuchsia
• Streptocarpus
• Pocketbook Plant
• Gloxinia
• Cyclamen
• Norfolk Island Pine
• Pothos
• Dwarf Schefflera



Direct Light Conditions:

• Cacti and other succulents (water-storing plants)
• Urn Plant
• Gardenia
• Geranium
• Amaryllis
• Christmas Cactus
• Chrysanthemum
• Lilies
• Kalanchoe
• Jerusalem Cherry
• Hibiscus
• Arabian Violet
• Croton
• Bird-of-Paradise
• Sago Palm




Tisha Ashwood then led a great flower-arranging class where we all got to try our hand at our own small arrangement.
Some of Tisha's tips:
- Make sure to strip an low-lying leaves from your stems. If they sit in water they will rot.
- Place the flowers so there is a visible "triangle" from each side of your arrangement
- Use Flower foam (found at craft supply stores or Walmart) and soak it in water beforehand
- Two favorite products: Chrysal Leafshine and Dynamite fertilizer