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January 1, 2003
Now we can run around madly wishing everyone a Happy New Year. This can go on for weeks, as long as it takes to get to everyone you know.
Have a Green and Leafy New Year!
Oh and did you know I have posted a wonderful little plan that shows you how to make a book that you can photocopy? It's printed on just one side of a piece of paper, and has 8 pages!
Love,
Joy
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December 28, 2002
Dear Reader,
Decorations in a tree are charming. My holiday centerpiece is Evergreen boughs festooned with all sorts of things. (an abacus, the inside of a music box, a rock crystal, a peanut....)
This marvelous holiday we celebrate might be dedicated to the magic and mystery of trees. Decorating a tree is like giving a necklace to a beloved friend.
Tie a seashell, a button or other innocuous ornament with a long narrow ribbon, and reverently ornament a tree that you admire.
I suppose I am a tree hugger! Everyone should hug a tree now and then, or at least pat a tree affectionately.
. . . After I wrote these words I read the book "Meetings With Remarkable Trees" by Thomas Pakenham. He relates a story from Herodotus, a Greek historian. Xerxes, the King of Persia "was marching to Sardis when he encountered a magnificent plane tree at Kallatebos near the crossing of the River Meander. So delighted was he with its shade that he loaded it with golden ornaments and arranged for a man to stay there as its guardian forever."
"Sylvia" means "trees"!
and I like the name "Chloris", it means "green."
Have a Green and Leafy New Year!
Love,
Joy
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December 19, 2002
Dear Readers,
Yes, I am the one who got in trouble for sprinkling glitter on the carpet at work! But I only got in trouble with one "upper-management type." All my other colleagues complimented me sincerely. AND I became Famous for it!
We are now in peak glitter season! Carry a vial of glitter with you at all times, and apply wherever and whenever needed!
My holiday wish to you my dear friends, be happy, be healthy, and be silly!
P.S. If you'd like to try baking some holiday cookies, go to my recipe page.
Love,
Joy
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December 13, 2002
Dear Readers,
When you go to a hardware store, do you gather a bunch of sample paint chips, even though you are not painting your bedroom or anything?
And, Do you have a color that makes you happy? Mine is light green. I have five or six green paint chips in my wallet as if they were credit cards.
Next time you have the opportunity at the hardware store, collect a handful of your favorite color paint chips, and carry colors with you, or put them in your desk drawer or on your mirror. This way, your color will always be hovering near you to make you happy!
P.S. If you like making holiday cookies, go to my recipe page. I just added my Mom's yummy cooky cutter cookies, which are the best!!! and also Mom's gingerbread is there, also the best. Invite your friends over to decorate cookies!
Love,
Joy
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December 3, 2002
Dear Readers,
Enjoy Cold! The secret is to Dress in Layers. I learned that in Vermont years ago, where I had a tipi in the snowy woods. Wear a tea shirt, a cotton turtleneck, a lightweight wool pullover, and a bulky handknit sweater under your coat, and 2 big scarves. If it's really cold I wear wool pants with tights underneath, and I wear 2 pairs of socks. The warmest shoes are those boots with wool liners, sold in Canada and Maine. I learned that in Vermont too, where it gets mighty cold.
It's quite gratifying to recite aloud all your layers, to anyone who will listen.
Love,
Joy
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November 25, 2002
Dear Readers,
What is LUNAR YELL, INC.? My friend Susan and I invented it. You might be reading a book or magazine or newspaper, and suddenly one sentence jumps out at you as seeming very strange, or very silly. Cut it out and save it, with a note about where it came from. That's a LUNAR YELL.
Why that name? It's an anagram of the name Lenny Carulli, who sent us business-related e-mails from somewhere in the corporation. Finally one day after a few years passed, we met him. We told him about LUNAR YELL, INC. Was he impressed? It was hard to tell, but let's assume yes.
Today's LUNAR YELL, INC.: New York Times, November 20, 2002: "Connecticut has always been a hotbed of hummingbird activity."
Love,
Joy
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November 20, 2002
Dear Readers,
My friend Trisha works in a big office downtown. The entire office is moving to a whole new building soon. Trisha tried out my tip: "Sit under your desk." Here is her report.
"Hi! Just wanted to let you know that I took the advice on your postcard and tried sitting under my desk. Didn't care for it.
Either my desk is too short or I'm too tall. Perhaps I was given a petite desk?
Curling up in a fetal position under my desk, however, was quite relaxing . . . is quite relaxing. Good thing my keyboard has a long cable on it.
I might just stay down here until we move.
--Trisha"
Love,
Joy
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November 11, 2002
Dear Readers,
My friend Courtney sent this cute Kitty. >^..^<
I like this one because you don't have to pretend that its perfectly normal to read things sideways. ;)
Here are Courtney's very detailed instructions:
How to Make the Virtual Kitty
1: Hold in shift and the period key to get whiskers
2: Then hold in shift and press the 6 key for ears
3: Press the period key twice for eyes
4: Repeat step 2, then step 1.
Example:
>^..^< (Kitty)
Variation: Hold in shift and press the comma key >^,,^<
Courtney suggests that we Try Various Keys for different expressions!
I recently invented my sign,the joyradish. ~@33
So many Cute things in the world, no?
Love,
Joy
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November 1, 2002
Dear Readers!
There are a lot of new things on my website, including new recipes, a reader's art gallery, and photos of my events and things, so look around.
If you ever want to buy a specially dedicated and autographed book from me, please write and let me know, or if you can't find my books, tell me.
Love,
Joy
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October 25, 2002
Dear Readers!
I tested the candy corn recipe! Oh, what a production! Be sure to have at least one other person, a fun person, to help you. I wished I had all my nephews AND my niece helping me.
Here is the candy corn recipe again, with **MY NOTES!!!!** (That's how it is with recipes....)
Candy Corn
1 Cup white sugar
2/3 Cup white corn syrup
1/3 Cup butter
1 teaspoon real vanilla
2 1/2 Cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 Cup powdered milk
yellow & orange food coloring (optional)
Combine sugar, butter, and corn
syrup in pan and bring to a boil
stirring CONSTANTLY. Turn heat low and boil 5 minutes, Stirring
occasionally. **Better to cook a little longer than a little shorter.**
Remove from heat and add vanilla. In a separate
dish, combine powdered sugar, salt, and powdered milk. Add all
at once to the mixture in the pan. **If you want to add food coloring,
divide the mixture into 3 pans, for orange, yellow, and plain.**
Stir until cool enough to handle. **THIS TAKES TIME AND ARM POWER,
or an electric mixer on slow speed, for at least ten minutes or
more. That's why it's good to have friends to help you.**
Shape. **Roll a little ball (the size of a small marble) in your hand, then roll a point on it. Then flatten onto foil or ungreased baking sheet.
OR just line up a bunch of little blobs onto the baking sheet and press them into triangle shapes using the flat of a butter knife.
**If using colors, the make one orange ball, and then add a small bit of white on the tip and a flat piece of yellow for the wide end.
**IT GETS BORING, though, if you don't have company. I made about 30, then I branched out and made 2 snails, a bunnyrabbit, and a daschund. Then I wrapped the rest of the dough into roll shapes and stored them in foil the refrige for when my friends come over.
**OR to make it go much faster, you could also make a long tube of dough, 3-sided like a prism, with yellow at the wide edge, orange in the middle, and white at the narrow pointed edge. Then let it harden, and slice into candy corn triangles! I learned this from a Master Candy Maker many years ago, and just remembered it now!**
Makes 1 3/4 pounds of candy. Enjoy!
**OH! And, does it Taste like candy corn? It Pretty much does!. Remember, commercial candy corn sits around a while. I am going to age some of mine and see how that affects the taste. (You could also try a teaspoonful of honey to replace a tsp. of the corn syrup.)
This Candy Is Quite Yummy, though, and there's so much of it you can nibble and nibble and never be done!**
Love,
Joy
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October 20, 2002
Dear Readers!
CANDY CORN! CANDY CORN! I love to put 2 candy corn kernels in my mouth so they look like fangs. Try it!
Also, here is a recipe for Candy Corn I found on the internet. I will test it tomorrow and let you know how it works out.
Candy Corn
1 Cup sugar
2/3 Cup white corn syrup
1/3 Cup butter
1 teaspoon. vanilla
2 1/2 Cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon. salt
1/3 Cup powdered milk
yellow & orange food coloring (optional)
Combine sugar, butter, and corn syrup
in pan and bring to a boil
stirring CONSTANTLY. Turn heat low and boil 5 minutes. Stir
occasionally. Remove from heat and add vanilla. In a separate
dish, combine powdered sugar, salt, and powdered milk. Add all
at once to the mixture in the pan. Add food coloring if desired.
Stir until cool enough to handle. Shape. Makes 1 3/4 pounds of
candy. Enjoy!
Note that food coloring has all kinds of weird stuff in it, so you might not want to use it. Then again, candy corn really ought to be colored, no? A dilemma! Also, I bet they put wax in the commercial candy corn.-- The things people eat!
(You could try Saffron powder for yellow, and Beet powder for red, but would that taste funny? I don't know.)
Love,
Joy
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October 11, 2002
Dear Readers!
Things to do today: make yourself a name tag. Use a sticky-back label, write your name on it, and give yourself a title. My title today is,
Joy Sikorski, Tip-Top Author.
Be sure you spell your title correctly or people will laff at you - altho once I went to work wearing two different shoes that didn't match, and no one noticed.
Another thing you could do is attach spangles to your shoe-laces. (Definition: a Spangle is any small thing that jingles sparkles or glints, not to be confused with a Bangle, which is an ornamental bracelet or anklet.)
I learned that in the dictionary!
Love,
Joy
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September 30, 2002
Dear Readers!
THANK YOU TO ALL MY FRIENDS - WE HAD SO MUCH FUN AT NEW YORK IS BOOK COUNTRY! Everyone drew radishes, and ate radish sandwiches, and collected clam money and stickers. I will let you know when I have another event, so you can come see me.
Watch for my internet art gallery of drawings you send me, which I will be posting soon.
P.S. I'm still looking for a Martha.
About six months ago I sent out a book to a lady at the National Park Service. I wrote her name in the front of the book. I meant for her to keep the book. Her name is Martha.
Martha liked the book very much, but she sent the book back to me, because in her job you are not allowed to keep things that people send you.
So, if your name is Martha, and you would like a free copy of How to Draw a Clam, please send me your address. I have a book with your name in it! ! !
Love,
Joy
p.s. 2 I only have one Martha book. But if more than one Martha writes to me, I will send the other Martha my stickers and clam money.
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September 6, 2002
Dear Readers!
My sister Anne sent me a book called PEANUT CRAFT by Natalie Donna, written in 1974. A library in Wisconsin was throwing it out. Here's a quote from the first page of the book:
"Originality and creativity are often thought of as signs of genius. But anyone can be an instant genius, creating inventive, provocative playtime and practical treasures using a fresh approach, a few techniques, and the ordinary peanut."
I ran out immediately and bought a bag of peanuts.
Write soon!
Love,
Joy
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August 28, 2002
Dear Readers!
Back to school! Time to think of SQUEAKY CHALK.
I found a website telling you how to make your own chalk-board. And there are a lot of websites telling you how to avoid making chalk squeak!
Such as:
1. "... Use the edges rather than the point, and avoid holding
chalk the same way you would hold a pencil."
2."Breaking a stick of chalk in two usually yields a chalk
surface which writes more freely."
3. "You don't have to break chalk to eliminate squeaking, only understand friction and hold the chalk accordingly."
4. "If held horizontally
or almost horizontally, friction between the chalk and blackboard
is minimal and the chalk tends to slip while it is moved on the
board. This produces the squeaking sound."
I also found a site with an ironical tone that starts out,
5. "He took some extra-squeaky chalk from the ledge and wrote. . ."
Can chalk be extra-squeaky? I hope so. I think of Squeaky Chalk as simply FUN! Don't you? (Of course, I also like Blue-jays.)
My advice is: Get up there and Squeak that Chalk!
Write soon!
Love,
Joy
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August 22, 2002
Dear Reader,
A nice person just told me about the "ice cream brain freeze", so here's the information:
Dear Ms. Sikorski:
I recently ran across your book. Very interesting and decided to check your web site. As per ice cream headaches:
In about a third of people, extremely cold foods or beverages
that touch the top of the mouth can set in motion a chain of events
that lead to "ice cream headache."
When these foods touch the top of the mouth, nerves that travel
to the brain are stimulated. The result, experts believe, is that
blood vessels in the front of the head expand and contract in
a way similar to that of migraine headache.
Interestingly, studies have shown that this type of reaction
usually only occurs in the summer, for reasons unclear.
Rest assured, though, that ice cream headache is not something
to worry about, and the pain usually subsides within 10 to 20
seconds.
Hope this helps
So, my dears, this means we must try some experiments of various ways to eat ice cream. We'll have to eat a lot of ice cream throughout the year....
Write soon!
Love,
Joy
P.S. If you find any broken links or such on my site, let me know. I try to keep it running smoothly. Thanks!
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August 14, 2002
Dear Reader,
Summer! Late summer! Time to go to a river or lake or ocean, and jump in.
Go all the way under! It's good for you.
Oh, by the way, does anyone know how to avoid getting "ice cream brain freeze"? Or how to end it quickly if you get it?
Also, please don't forget your new How to Draw a Radish Page-A-Day calendar for 2003! Look under "books" at Amazon.com
I think you will love it, it's quite funny!
Write soon!
Love,
Joy
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July 31, 2002
Dear Reader,
WEED JOURNAL
Consider Weeds! If you see a weed growing in your garden, pull it out.
If you see a weed growing along the road through a crack in the cement, encourage it. Look it up in a book of plants, and greet it by name.
Today in New York City, I saw growing on East 86th Street in a small square of dirt, purslane, lambsquarters, pigweed, AND a corn plant!
Is there an International Weed Day? There should be.
Write soon!
Love,
Joy
P.S. How to Draw a Radish Page-A-Day 2003 Calendar is now available at Amazon.com. (Search the "Books" category for "Radish 2003".) I think you will like it!
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July 25, 2002
Dear Reader,
It's important to know how to draw, because in order to draw you need to take a step back and look at a thing.
Taking a step back to observe from a distance. I think that's like what they call perspective, isn't it?
Also, - - I'm very excited, I just got my first copy of the How to Draw a Radish Page-A-Day calendar for 2003! ! !
I think you will love it!
Look for it at Amazon.com, and keep your sunny side up!
Write soon!
Love,
Joy
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July 10, 2002
Dear Reader,
I really believe in being cheerful. I think it's so good for you, and good for those around you.
So my tip of today is, practice GOOD CHEER.
Hmmm. And, if you see a flower that needs to be watered, do so. You can buy a bottle of water if there's no faucet or pond handy. Did you know you can even carry water in a plastic shopping bag? Try it!
Also in the news, I now have PREVIOUS and NEXT buttons on my lessons, So now when you clik on a lesson, you can go on to the next lesson.
I will add more lessons soon, too. In the meantime, you can of course find ALL my drawing lessons in my books.
Write soon!
Love,
Joy
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July 6, 2002
Dear Reader,
I Love Summer! Do you?
Today is Hot and Sunny in New York. I will go for a nice walk
in Central Park. I will buy a hot dog from the crooked hot dog
cart at the Turtle Pond.
(Crooked hot dog cart, because they sneak a little extra money
from you! CAVEAT EMPTOR, which means, Let the buyer beware!)
Then I will feed my crooked hot dog to the turtles. Turtles love
those hot dogs!
Tip: When you go out today, bring a peanut or a little piece of
cheese or bread. Feed a little animal. (If you are feeding an
ant, make a very tiny crumb.)
Write soon!
Love,
Joy
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