Centerpieces for a Celebration of Life or Other Type of Celebration -- Crafty Sunday Post

 

My father passed away in January. He had suffered from Alzheimer's Disease for over ten years. It was hard to watch his decline all those years. When he died, I truly felt he was finally in a better place. However, the Friday he died was right before one of the big snowstorms we had this past winter. My mother had just gotten out of rehab for her latest hospitalization and was still struggling. We decided to put off any services for our dad. We wanted our mother to be healthier and thought the springtime would be better as Dad loved flowers. We talked about where we wanted to have a celebration of life for him. I came up with the idea of a park, Elizabeth Park, in Hartford/West Hartford because it was a special place for our family growing up. We would ride our bikes there and my father loved the rose garden. In fact, my sisters and I wonder if this is where his love of roses came from. It is the oldest municipal rose garden in the United States and the third largest. Everyone loved the idea. Then came the question of having it at the restaurant/facility center there or outside. We decided to have it at the Pond House Cafe there. It was a beautiful setting and close to the rose garden in case anyone wanted to visit. In fact, I took Hazel and Steve to the rose garden before we began setting up for the celebration.

Picture Books Perfect for Flag Day, Independence Day & More!

 

Disclosure:  I was sent copies of these books in order to provide honest reviews. All opinions are my own.

June 14th is Flag Day in the United States. It is a day to remember the adoption of the red, white, and blue flag on June 14, 1777 by the Second Continental Congress. I liked to celebrate Flag Day with Hazel by reading books about the flag and doing flag crafts. Today we are going to share two picture books themed around the flag. One relates the flag to our country with colors and words. The book is Blue Sky White Stars by Sarvinder Naberhaus and illustrated by Kadir Nelson. It is recommended for ages 4 to 8.

Emilia Wishing -- Picture Book Review

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in order to provide an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

It has been said that we should appreciate what we have instead of wishing for more. There are many versions of this. Sometimes we spend time wishing for something instead of realizing how great what we have is. Today we are sharing a picture book about a young girl wishing for things but realizing how special her life is with what she has. The book is Emilia Wishing by Belen Medina and illustrated by Magdalena Mora. It is recommended for ages 4 to 8. 

Books for World Cup Fever with Soccer Craft Roundup

 

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in order to provide honest reviews. All opinions are my own.

Have you caught World Cup Fever? I feel like every time I turn around, I am hearing about it or seeing merchandise for it. It is on the news almost daily and of course with some of the games being in the Boston area, it is all anyone is talking about. The first game in Boston is about a week away and people are getting excited for it, or they are dreading it because of the crowds that will be coming this week. However, I am looking at it like the Olympics. It is a positive time where countries gather and compete in a friendly way. Our world needs more friendly. The first book is a picture book. It is The World's Game by Yamile Saied Méndez and illustrated by Andrés Landazábal. It is recommended for ages 3 to 7.

Thank You for Being a Friend -- Picture Book Review

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in order to provide an honest review. All opinions are my own.

What does friendship mean to you? What would you do for a friend? We all know the words to the song and it probably brings back memories of The Golden Girls. Today we are sharing a book based on the words of the song by Andrew Gold. The book (and song) is Thank You for Being a Friend illustrated by Sanne Dufft. It is recommended for ages 4 to 8.