Sunday

Make Memorial Day picnics more memorable

Make Memorial Day picnics more memorable

How can you make your Memorial Day picnic more memorable and magnificent?

Here are several pointers from a variety of practical online writers, who happen to be friends or colleagues. Check 'em out!

Pack up picnic provisions!
By Linda Ann Nickerson
Everyone is going green. An eco-friendly picnic offers an opportunity to enjoy the outdoors ecologically. Green living means leaving the environment even cleaner than you found it. Here's a green living guide to having a great green eco-friendly picnic.

By Pam Gaulin
Memorial Day kicks off the beginning of summer in a tasty way.

By Jen Butera
Memorial Day weekend is approaching, and it's time to think about the big barbeque. Why not think outside the grill? This recipe allows you to have your dish ready while the grill enthusiasts hover over hot flames.

By Sara Evans
If Pulled Pork Sandwiches are on the menu at your home, a tailgating party, family reunion or picnic by the lake, this Perfect Pulled Pork Sandwich recipe is easy to do and will taste great.

By Kathy Browning
'Tis the season for watermelon; the bright red, sweet, and juicy fruit of summer. While there's nothing better than slicing off a chunk and eating it straight from the rind, this fruit is incredibly versatile and even offers its own serving vessel.

Make your own Memorial Day picnic decorations.

By Becca Swanson
Glass jars make perfect candle luminaries - here's 3 ways to decorate them with the red, white and blue.

By Karen Nelson
Easy to make crafts for kids to make with just a little help from adults sure to be a hit. Patriotic Pinwheel can be waved at a parade or used to line the parade route. Red, White, and Blue necklace is a delicious a treat for parade or picnic goers.

May Memorial Day be extra memorable, as you mark the occasion this year.

Artwork:  Picnic photo by Click (MorgueFile)

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Friday

Why do we celebrate Memorial Day?

Why do we celebrate Memorial Day?

Monday is Memorial Day, and it’s so much more than a legal holiday or the unofficial start of summer.

The meaning of Memorial Day vastly surpasses the fashion mavens’ express freedom to wear white shoes and white belts and to carry white purses until Labor Day.

Memorial Day goes beyond barbecued chicken and hamburgers, watermelon seed-spitting contests and even political speeches.

What does Memorial Day mean to you?

In the United States, Memorial Day offers all of us a reminder to remember those who gave their lives for our country. How will we honor those brave patriots, who sacrificed everything for liberty and love?

How can we make Memorial Day more than a picnic, a baseball double-header, an annual golf outing or even a patriotic parade?

Related Items:

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Tuesday

Graduation Gifts and Goodies


Graduation Gifts and Goodies

Commencement season is here. Raise a cheer, and toss those mortarboard caps high in the air!

Do you have a graduate in the home? How many graduation parties will you attend this month? Or will you simply send a card or gift?

Here are several helpful hints on graduation gifts and commencement celebrations.

Happy graduation! Let’s celebrate!


Sunday

Photo Fun: Is it Paris or Pickler?

Photo Fun: Is it Paris or Pickler?

Just for fun, take a look at these two blushing blondes. OK, maybe they’re not blushing. Can you tell which is singer Kellie Pickler and which is socialite Paris Hilton?

One is a sweet starlet, and the other looks like her errant twin. (See if you can spot it.) One sings like a bird, and the other parties like a rock star. If you can discern the difference, then you have HAWT celebrity sighting skills.

Related Items:
Image:
Creative Commons Licensing photos
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Tuesday

Etiquette or Regret-ticate


Etiquette or Regret-ticate

Did you know … it’s Etiquette Week?

The second week of May is politely tagged as Etiquette Week, a full calendar week devoted to social correctness and courtesy.

How do you feel about etiquette? Does forget-ticate lead to regret-ticate? Have we left ourselves with No Trace of Grace?

Without claiming to be a manners maven, I have published several pieces on politeness. (CTRL-click on each title to open that free online article in a new internet window.)

Business Etiquette:
Equestrian Etiquette:
Funeral Etiquette:
Pet Etiquette:
Shopping Etiquette:
Social Etiquette:
Sports Etiquette:
Wedding Etiquette:
Image:
Etiquette at the Ball
19th Century
Artist unknown

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Sunday

Mission Accomplished - A to Z Challenge


Mission Accomplished - A to Z Challenge
(posted for the A to Z Challenge)

Old TypewriterThat’s it! May Day is here, and the A to Z Challenge is complete. Whew! We did it!

Here’s my full list of April blogging challenge posts, from A to Z.

·  PB&J Day

I honestly enjoyed doing the alphabetical blog entries, although a few letters led to some serious head-scratching, as I tried to come up with creative blogging topics. On several occasions, I was pleased to offer links to online articles from friends and writing colleagues. (I invite you to read past posts. You never know whose writing may turn up in links!)

The actual rules of the A to Z Challenge spelled out an expectation for six blog posts each week throughout the month of April. This would give bloggers Sundays off. Somehow, I didn’t get the memo on that detail, and I pre-posted several entries for seven days a week. Finally, I just decided to stick with that formula, so I finished a few days early.

The A to Z Challenge was fun, and participating helped me to regain motivation and momentum for blogging at Practically at Home, as well as at my other active blogs: The Mane Point, Nickers and Ink, and the Meme Express. (You can find links to these blogs in my sidebar or on my blogging profile.)

Thanks to all the A to Z Challenge participants, who visited and commented and even became blog followers. Welcome!

Image:
Antique typewriter
photo by Petr Kratochvil
Public Domain