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Friday’s Five: Happy Childhood Memories

Glow sticks

Troll Dolls

Chocolate Milk, especially KDD’s chocolate milk that still tastes the same way it used to when I was a kid

The red BMX I had one and loved it

Pretending to be a grown up

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الله يرحمك يا بابايا

Today marks 11 years since he passed away.

He was a very very remarkable man.  I wish I had more time with him.  A few years back I felt that I missed him now I feel I am missing out on learning from him and being with him.

  1. Think for yourself, do it yourself and then to hell with everyone else.
  2. The strongest are not those who are louder but those who have more patience to get through adversity.
  3. Forgive and forget.  He was one of the most forgiving people I ever new.
  4. If you are going to give to charity, make sure no one finds out about it.
  5. You might think you are a great driver, but just remember that everyone else on the road might be an idiot so drive carefully and drive safely.

Number five was the only one he actually said out loud the others were things I learned from observation

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Just an idea

I had this idea that tortured me for days till it finally saw the light of day.  Ideas float in my head begging and pleading to be implemented into something more tangible than just an idea in my head.

The idea behind this is so simple.  A starting chain, then rounds until it is as tall as you would like plus a little extra.  Then you fold the button and sew on some buttons and add handles.

How easy is that?

Pattern

Chain 51.

SC (Single Crochet) in the back ridges of the chain (50SC), slip stitch into first SC and turn.

SC in the front loops of the chain (50 SC)

The rounds start now.

Chain 3 and DC all around. (100DC)

You can make it a solid color or striped.  I was just using up leftover cotton yarn.

Keep going until the bag is high enough, add a couple of more rows because when you create the base it gets slightly shorter.  Add one last row of SC for a cleaner finish.  Finish off and weave in ends.

Lay the bag on a flat surface align the side seam with the starting chain so a triangle is formed.  Sew on a button to keep it in place.  This creates a base for the bag instead of just being a flat rectangular bag.  I saw the same method being used on canvas totes, that’s where I originally got the idea.

Do the same for the other side.

Handles

You can either add crochet handles ( like the one’s in Lucy’s Bag or Alice’s Starling)

I found the middle 24 stitches on each side and marked with stitch markers on either side.

Attached a new color and did 24 SCs then 4 rows of SCs.

I set the handles in their place by surface crocheting the bag and the little rectangle I just made for the handle.

Repeat for the other handle.

This really only took a couple of afternoons and I wasn’t really focused and using a 3.5 mm hook.  If you focus and use worsted weight it could easily only take a couple of hours.

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Friday’s Five: Random things I love

  • Flooring the gas pedal
  • Getting surprise gifts
  • Finding money i had forgotten about in my pockets when i am broke
  • Finding peace in the simplest places
  • Going home on a really hot day to find that the apartment is really nice and cool

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Today’s Advice

“Every father should remember that one day his son will follow his example instead of his advice” Anonymous

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One of the nicest things in the world

is to get an unexpected gift for no reason.  My sister got me this lovely lovely tote.

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Friday's Five: Things I wanted to learn when I was 10 (and would still love to)

  1. Juggling
  2. Solving the rubik’s cube
  3. Yoyo like a pro
  4. Draw cartoons
  5. Mountain climbing

I was a weird 10 year old

What did you want to learn as a child?

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Finger Puppets and Play


I adore finger puppets. I think they are the best thing since the microwave or maybe even before the microwave. Lulu and I made these yesterday. You can print them out from the Family Fun website. I cut them out and she held the cello-tape while we stuck them together. Then she ate the frog and the dear.
She has lots of other finger puppets, 10 sea creatures, 10 animals and 4 other animals my sister got her from South Africa. They’re all made out of fabric and felt. These paper ones are so easy and fast to make. All you need is a printer and some sticky tape or glue.

I am guessing a slightly older child would probably have more fun with them. I use them for story telling but she usually just takes them off my fingers and plays with them. She loves it when we make animal noises and theatrical sounds for the stories. Sometimes I think I enjoy playing with her more than she does.

Children actually enjoy playing with a parent more than watching TV according to Play Report an initiative backed by IKEA.  Check it out, it is a really interesting study.  It might even change the way you play with your kids.

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Finding a happily ever after

I am in that phase at the moment. I feel like a phoenix in the ash state, deciding on how I want to look like and putting all the pieces together.
I watched this talk last week and a friend posted it on facebook again today so I remembered that I’ve been wanting to post about it.

If you read the comments on youTube you will notice that some people found her reading from the notes irritating and that it was better suited for Sakyet el Sawy.

I disagree. TED is about ideas worth sharing and spreading.

And Sahar has an idea worth spreading and sharing especially for women.

It is time to stop waiting or expecting a happily ever after. It is time to get up and get out and live life. Find a passion, find a goal, find yourself.

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Egyptian Flag Ball Giveaway

Inspired by Sina’s pride in Egypt and a general feeling that one should be more positive and proactive I have decided to have this giveaway.

I first made these a while back.  They are available for purchase here.

Back to the giveaway  for a chance to win one all you have to do is leave a comment and tell me why you are proud of Egypt.

For an extra (optional) chance you can become a fan of Chocolate Mints in a Jar on facebook.

The giveaway ends Friday June the 18th at midnight Egyptian Time.

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