March Really is a Month to Celebrate!

There are so many month long celebrations to enjoy in March, let's take the time to review a few of them.

Women's History Month

March is Women's History Month.   There are lots of ways to celebrate this, but we can point you towards two ideas right here!   Try reading the book When Women Ruled the World based in Ancient Egypt, which Bev reviews right here.   Alternatively if you prefer watching a movie Bev has also reviewed Hidden Figures.

If you're celebrating Women's History Month (or should we call it Women's Herstory Month?) then please let us know how in the comments below.

Irish American Heritage Month

It stands to reason that March is Irish American Heritage Month as it does encompass St Patrick's Day.   Although the Feast of St Patrick has been celebrated for centuries, the St Patrick's Day parades and global celebrations as we know them have been majorly influenced by Irish Americans.

From eating traditional Irish food, or enjoying a tipple or two there are lots of ways of celebrating Irish American Heritage month - let us know if you're celebrating any Irish roots in the comments below.

National Nutrition Month

March is National Nutrition Month, which I wrote about last year - here's a few ideas  on how to celebrate National Nutrition Month.

We have lots of articles on this site for improving your nutrition.

National Craft Month

March is also National Craft Month which is something a number of the contributors on this site celebrate.  Cynthia has written about National Craft Month and links to stores that belong to other 'crafty' contributors.   You will find a number of articles on this site about various crafts.

If you enjoy crafts, please comment below and let us know your favorite craft.

Health Observations in March

March is also the month for a lot of different health related things such as:

• Endometriosis Awareness Month
• Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month
• National Brain Injury Awareness Month
• National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month
• National Kidney Month
• Trisomy Awareness Month
• Bleeding Disorders Awareness Month
• National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month

Other March Observations

There are a few other month long celebrations in March including (but not limited to) the following:

• Optimism Month
• National Foreign Language Month
• National Ethics Month
• National Celery Month
• National Frozen Food Month
• National Peanut Month
• National Umbrella Month
• National Music in our Schools Month

I'm surprised that March isn't the National Month of Tea Parties as when I hear the expression mad as a March Hare it makes me think of the Mad Hatter's tea party from Alice in Wonderland!  I hope you've enjoyed looking at what special observations are celebrated this month.

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March is National Craft Month

Reviewing the Wonderful World of Crafting!

As an avid crafter, I am thrilled to have a month for celebrating crafts.  Since March is filled with cold days kissed by spring, it seems like the perfect month for crafting.  

It is exhilarating to look out the windows at the beautiful days.  It fills us all with the desire and energy to do something.  However, March weather is not often cooperative, or conducive to outdoor activity. 

In my region, you never know what weather you will wake up to on any given day.  Some days we have beautiful spring weather bursting with new life in our flower beds.  Then the following day we can find ourselves thrown back into winter with ice and snow.

The spring days make you want to go outside, breathe in the fresh air, and have fun "running with the wind".  Unfortunately, when those days are followed by freezing weather, you find yourself stuck in the house still feeling that desire to do something.  I turn to my crafts and harness that energy while I wait for the warm weather to return. 

Fun Crafts - There's Something for Everyone

The wonderful thing about crafts is that there is a craft project for everyone.  For those of us who love needlework, there are a variety of options.  Sewing, quilting, cross-stitch, or embroidery fall under the category of needlework.  The beauty of many needlework kits is that they are often small and portable.  

Several of my fellow contributors enjoy crochet and working with yarn instead of thread.  That is also a craft that is portable.  Both Wednesday Elf and Dawn Rae have Etsy stores where they sell their beautiful creations.  

 DawnRaeCrochet
Store Owner: Dawn Rae CoastalCrochetCrafts
Store Owner: Pat (Wednesday Elf)

Avid crafters, like myself, tend to skip from one craft project to another.  Not only do we enjoy needlework, crochet or knitting, but we also explore the world of stenciling, painting, decoupage, flower arranging, latch hook, mosaics, beaded crafts, and many more.  

Regardless of the craft, it is always a creation made by our own hands.  Hours of love are often poured into whichever craft we choose and many finished projects turn into treasures for a lifetime and passed down for generations. For such a worthy endeavor, a month is not really enough time to celebrate, but it is a great beginning.

Here are a few websites you might enjoy visiting when you are ready to select a craft, kit, or pattern.  The tutorials on Crafter's Kingdom will make it easier to learn a new craft too.

 Christmas Craft Collection Website Crafter's Kingdom Website A Cross Stitch in Time Website

The Business of Crafts

Because of my own love for a variety of crafts, like Wednesday Elf and Dawn Rae, I also opened an online store 19 years ago.  My craft supplies store is on eBay, which predated Etsy.  I love both sites and highly recommend either for selling or buying.

 House of Sylvestermouse on Ebay

All of the craft kits, patterns, or books featured in the introduction photo, are available in The House of Sylvestermouse eBay store. 

March is National Craft Month by:

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Spring Forward, Renewal, Rebirth, Revival and Joy!

March 8th is Spring Forward Time! A Garden Review!

 

Image from Pixabay

Yeah, for all our Naturalists/Gardeners/Backyard Enthusiasts and those who are patiently (or not so patiently) waiting for Spring's arrival.  From my own personal experience I know how most of us are feeling right about now.  We can't wait for longer days and warmer temperatures and getting our hands back into the soil.  We want to poke around to see what's about to spring up out of the ground.  We also look up to see where the birds are too.  That first robin or yellow finches just make us so happy.  Our time is coming quickly!

Things Outside are Changing Quickly!

 

Now that it's March, we can look forward to longer daylight hours (it's already light at 6:00 in the morning)!  The bugs and the bees are waking up from their long winter slumber and looking desperately for a food source.  Even the birds are making a comeback.  

Those of us who love hummingbirds will be watching the Hummingbird Migration Maps for 2020!  They are already in parts of Florida and coming to your neighborhood soon!  Be the first one in your neighborhood to mark the map with the first sighting in your area. 

Spring, so much to do and so much pleasure in doing it too!

If you hang out bird feeders, now is the time to get them ready.  Clean and disinfect them all carefully.  We want to feed the birds and not harm them.  Clean feeders are a must!  Pathogens that can harm them can and might live over in the winter months.  There is need to be extra vigilant in making the birds source of food a safe source.  

Wash down all bird feeders, clean out birds nests from last year and give this years birds a really good chance of thriving and surviving.  Clean them out with a mild bleach solution (1/2 cup bleach to a sink full of hot soapy water).  Make sure you rinse them well and let them air dry before setting them out again.  

 

Special Care for Hummingbird Feeders!

Many people give up on putting out hummingbird feeders because they do require extra care.  It may seem wasteful, but their nectar needs to be changed every week.  Spoiled nectar in feeders can cause their death.  No one wants to be responsible for that!  So in the early spring, before you even see them, you need to change that nectar every week.  

Make only a cup of nectar at a time, so as not to waste all that sugar water.  And remember, red dyes are NOT NECESSARY  to attract those little flying gems.  Your hummingbird syrup should be roughly 1 cup of sugar to 4 cups of water.  The measurement does not have to be exact, but close is good.  Use only 1/2 to 1 cup of syrup in your feeders (keep the rest in the refrigerator) until you are sure the hummingbirds have found you!  Once you know they are coming to your feeders, go to town and fill it right up.

Maybe this is the year you decide to help the birds and the bees.

 

You can easily do this with bird feeders, bird houses and even bee houses.  The birds and bees give us so much enjoyment, it's the least we can do to make them welcome in our yards.  Our own Renaissance Woman will even teach you how to make your own bird feeders if you feel so inclined.  It would be a great spring time activity for your children or grandchildren.  Check it out right here: DIY Mason Jar Bird Feeder!

Building bird houses is also a lot of fun and an easy craft to share with your family as well.  The most important thing to remember is that certain birds require different housing.  Some are solitary breeders, while others love to be in community.  You might have to do some research to find out what kinds of birds come to your neighborhood, before you start building.  This review might help you get started! What you need to know about  Basic Bird House Construction!

The Bees are Getting a Lot of Press Lately!  The Key to Success

 

Science has let it be known that the bee population is in trouble.  If we don't have them as pollinators our whole food sources are at risk.  So let's help those pollinators by growing gardens that feed them all spring, summer and fall.  It's not hard to do and I'm sure you will enjoy the efforts that you put into making a beautiful "bee" friendly garden. 

There are a few guidelines that will help you to help the bees!  

• Plant a garden that will give lots of blooms all season long.
• Plant single flowered species rather than the big double and triple flowers.  The singles produce more nectar and the bees can easily get to it.
• Plant lots of different annuals as well as perennials.
• Build a bee house.
• Have a water source available too!

Do you need more information?  I like this website for all inclusive information about bees and keeping them happy!  The  Honey Bee Conservancy  I like to keep my family happy, so, with my son-in-law being a beekeeper, this is for him!  I try to do my part in helping him help the bees and I get to enjoy some of the honey too.

Spring is a time of Renewal, Revival, Rebirth and Joy!  Let's make an effort to help Mother Nature in all of this,  by doing something to help all her little creatures.

Image by jggrz from Pixabay

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Easy Loaded Potato Soup Recipe Reviewed

A Quick Way To Make Potato Soup

I would like to share an easy loaded potato soup recipe with you today. My review of this recipe will show you how to make a great tasting soup in a very short time span. Interested? Follow me down the page for the ingredients and instructions. 

Russet Potatoes for a great soup
image courtesy of pixabay.com

In order to prepare this soup recipe you will need an Insta-pot or any other popular brand of pressure style cooker on the market. Depending on the make you use my directions might be different on your cooker but I think you can figure out how to do it with the features available on your model.

Recipe for Loaded Potato Soup

Ingredients:

1 Tbs butter

1 Shallot minced

3 cloves garlic

3 cups chicken broth

1 can cream of chicken soup

8 Russet potatoes peeled and diced

1 1/2 tsp salt

Black pepper

1 Tbs flour

1 cup milk

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Bacon bits and cheese for garnish

Preparation:

Add butter to your pot and melt on the saute setting. Add shallot to melted butter cooking for 4 minutes. Now, add the garlic and cook for an additional minute. 

Add the chicken broth, cream of chicken soup, salt and pepper and the diced potatoes. Stir the contents well. Place your lid securely on your pot and pressure cook for 10 minutes. Do a Quick Release after the 10 minutes are up.

Remove the lid. In a separate container stir the milk and flour together. Add this mixture to the soup in the pot. Cook on the saute setting for 5 minutes. Stir in the cheese until it is melted. 

Your soup is ready to serve! Garnish with bacon bits and shredded cheese and enjoy!

Make this recipe and many others with an Insta-pot

I can't believe how much I use my pressure cooker for meals. One of our favorites is this Loaded Potato Soup recipe but I make all sorts of things in it. It is amazing how little time most recipes take. If you don't have one, you should consider getting one for yourself. I'm pretty sure you will not regret adding it to your kitchen as a handy tool for preparing really good food. Below is the model that I own.

Insta-pot Ultra

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Easy Meal Recipes: Fish Tacos

I am always looking for easy week night meals that are easy and inexpensive. Thanks to a suggestion from my son, I made these easy and delicious fish tacos. I want to pass this meal idea on to you.

Easy and delicious Fish Tacos with Avocado Cream Sauce

My youngest son regularly sends photos of the beautiful and delicious meals he prepares for his family. One recent evening, in response to his mouth-watering food photo, I responded something like: 

" I'm stopping for frozen fish sticks. Yay."

He responded that I should make fish tacos. That sounded way too difficult after a hard day at work and an irritating commute home on the beltway. Fortunately, he sent a link for avocado cream sauce. That did it. I stopped for the frozen fish sticks and the 5 ingredients that I didn't have in my kitchen already. And I made easy and delicious fish tacos. I am so glad I did.

Avocado Cream Sauce

The link he sent was the Avocado Cream Sauce recipe by Barefeet in the Kitchen. Along with the recipe on the page there are links for many recipes using the avocado cream sauce. But my taste buds were firmly set on fish tacos.

Avocado Cream Sauce shopping list

I did not use a blender to prepare my sauce. I was too tired to drag out a blender, wash it, and put it away. So I used a potato masher and mashed the avocados, adding the other ingredients while mashing. I liked the slightly chunky texture and I think it turned out great. But if you prefer a smoother sauce, make sure to use a blender as directed in the original recipe.

Cheap and Easy Weeknight Fish Tacos

Of course, these fish tacos would be even more delicious with fresh fish in place of the frozen fish fillets. However, whether you are cooking for yourself or for the family after a hectic day of work/school/activities, frozen fish fillets make this an easy meal.

Meal Ingredients:

• small flour tortillas - approximately 6" size
• frozen fish fillets - prepared per package instructions
• half head of cabbage - shredded
• Avocado Cream Sauce - prepared per the recipe instructions

Directions:

1. Bake fish per the package instructions
2. While the fish bakes, make the sauce using the avocados, sour cream, fresh garlic, lime juice, salt and pepper. Set that aside in the refrigerator.
3. Cut the cabbage into small strips
4. Allow the fish to cool slightly before assembling the tacos. Then assemble by placing a bed of cabbage onto a tortilla, a fish fillet on the cabbage, and a spoonful of avocado cream sauce on top of the fish.

Enjoy!

This recipe was a wonderful change of pace from my normal easy/cheap meal line up. The avocado and lime added a fresh summery flavor in the middle of our mild but dreary winter. The fish, avocado, and cabbage was definitely a healthier alternative to most fast food drive-thru meals. 

Related Link:

After looking more closely at the Barefeet in the Kitchen site I learned that the author is Mary Younkin. She has published recipe books that look right up my alley! Ms. Younkin caught my attention with the philosophy of "cooking from scratch as simply as possible".

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