Donna’s Day: Apple-Head Puppets Junior Whirl

KIDS &FAMILY

Donna’s Day: Creative Family Fun Make Apple-Head Puppets for Fall Fun

By Donna Erickson

Signal Contributing Writer

If you find a few soft, bruised apples hiding behind the pickle and mayo jars in the back of your refrigerator or discover some cast-offs at your local orchard or farmer’s market, consider them perfect for this activity.

Peel, carve and dry them for apple-head puppets. And, skip the Botox. The more wrinkles they have, the better!

Here’s the stuff you’ll need for a puppet:

‰ 1/4 cup lemon juice ‰ 1 tablespoon salt ‰ 1 apple, peeled ‰ Wooden ice-cream or craft stick ‰ Pumpkin carving knife or paring knife ‰ Whole cloves, apple seeds, beans or rice to fill facial features

First, stir together the lemon juice and salt in a small bowl. Roll the peeled apple in the lemon mixture until it is completely covered. Remove it and pat dry. Insert a wooden stick into the bottom of the apple.

Hold the stick in your hand and carefully carve out eyes, nose, ears and a mouth. An adult may need to assist younger children with this. Poke cloves or rice into the cutouts to retain the shapes.

Dry the apple in an oven at 200 degrees Fahrenheit for 4-5 hours. Leave the door slightly ajar. The fruit will harden and shrink as it dries.

Or, you may partially oven-dry for an hour or two, then let it air-dry for several days. With no oven heat at all, it will take about two weeks to dry them in a dry place, but not in direct sunlight. You will no doubt be amazed at the dramatic, shrunken transformation!

A creative way to make fall-themed puppets is to use bruised apples.

Decorate the dried apple head with colorful raffia or ribbon for hair, trinkets for the ears and nose, and painted details for the mouth and cheeks.

Gather fabric and tie, or hand-sew, around the top of the stick to make the puppet’s body and clothing.

For arms, glue two extra sticks to the main stick, extending outward. Ready-made doll clothes and accessories can embellish the look you wish to create, too.

While you are at it, make several puppets, such as a smiling clown, an alien or a princess. Let your kids give them names and present an apple-head puppet show by holding onto the stick inside the clothing to maneuver the character.

TIP When not in use, poke the main stick into a block of florist foam so that the puppets stand upright and provide a whimsical decoration for your child’s room.

Donna Erickson’s award-winning series “Donna’s Day” is airing on public television nationwide. To find more of her creative family recipes and activities, visit www.donnasday.com and link to the Donna’s Day Facebook fan page. Her latest book is “Donna Erickson’s Fabulous Funstuff for Families.”  © 2022 Donna Erickson

Distributed by King Features Synd.

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SUNDAYSIGNAL · 29 CROSSWORD TIME

SOLUTIONS

Opinion Unless otherwise stated, the views and opinions expressed are those of the respective authors and do not necessarily represent the views of The Signal.

READER LETTERS

Democracy vs. Republic

Re: Letters, Brian Richards, Sept. 20.

Among other things, in his letter, Brian states that “we are not a democracy.” is is true, as far as it goes! We are a democratic republic. In a republic, we have representatives who vote for us in the public body (or public bodies) that run our country. In a complete democracy, every time there was something that required a decision, everyone, all 330 million of us, would have to get together and vote yea or nay. So in our democratic republic, we get together periodically to decide who our representatives are to be. ese gatherings that we call elections are what we know as democracy. ere has arisen a portion of our populace that would prefer to have a “strong man,” like Fulgencio Batista in Cuba (pre-Castro), or Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines. Donald Trump is cut from that same cloth. e problem is that it is impossible to separate what the strong man is doing for our bene t, from what he does to bene t himself and his friends. We also have no peaceful way to replace the strong man.

Brian also says that those of us on the le consider “election deniers” to be treasonists! Treason is a military term pertaining to giving “aid and comfort to the enemy.” I nd it telling that for over 200 years we have had a peaceful transition of power. Until we had to take into account Donald Trump’s fragile ego. More than 60 court cases, at all levels of court, were led. All were dismissed due to lack of evidence. If you are comfortable with denying the 2020 election, at least do so with some evidence or examples of fraud. Saying something over and over again does not make it true. Abraham Lincoln spoke of a government “of, by, and for the people.” Election deniers are at best “anti-constitutionalists,” possibly pro-authoritarian, not traitors. So come on, Brian, “Put up or shut up!”

In another arena, I was told by a signature gatherer outside Trader Joe’s that the le had an agenda to destroy California and then the United States. He stated that the Republicans had a “plan” to “make America Great Again!” Websters de nes an agenda as a plan. We are using an ill-de ned connotation as a further way to separate us. If we are going to argue, at least make it over something real! Gary Morrison Valencia

Selective Descriptions of reats?

Q: Who does our current president consider a threat to democracy?

A: A citizen who expresses concerns about the integrity of an election that is not the 2000 election, the 2004 election, the 2016 election, or the last Georgia governor’s election.

Rob Kerchner Santa Clarita

Submit a Letter to the Editor

Include name, address & phone; Anonymous letters aren’t printed; email: letters@signalscv.com. Mail to: Letters to the Editor, e Signal, 25060 Avenue Stanford, Suite 141, Santa Clarita, CA 91355.

ETHICALLY SPEAKING

Nobility Demands Morality

Iguess it’s my turn to re ect on the seemingly unending parade of mass murders that has passed by our stunned souls over the past several years. Several things cause me grave concern.

First, I worry we will, as a nation, become anesthetized to the absolute horror perpetrated by hate- lled, fame-seeking, evil people who decide to star in their own violent real-life video game.

Second, I worry the surging tsunami of misguided pundits who chalk these tragedies up to the “right to bear arms” or mental illness will so ood our society that better, more rational thinking will be completely washed away. ird, I worry we’ve completely lost any concept of personal responsibility, as if those who plan and carry out violence are somehow non-humans, devoid of guilt, and unaccountable to society’s moral standards. As unbelievable as it is, they are most o en seen as victims of unfortunate circumstances rather than wicked, sinful, free moral agents who must be held accountable for their actions.

Fourth, I worry the legacy of scienti c naturalism, which argues all things can be accounted for through purely physical processes, has le several generations with the mistaken belief that life is a set of random situations, with no goal, and no purpose. By refusing to accept the possibility that the existence of non-material elements (eg. consciousness) in the make-up of our humanity argues powerfully for the existence of the supernatural (God), evolutionary materialism has whisked away any reason to live morally, or to stay living at all.

Fi h, I worry my generation has a frontrow seat on the devolution of American nobility. Remember how it used to be? Remember when America was the shining city on the hill? Remember when we stood for all that was right and good and noble? Remember when America was a global power for the preservation of life rather than the world leader in ending viable lives for the purpose of selling them for parts? Remember when you could let your kid walk home from school, or ride her bike around the block, or go door to door selling chocolate bars for her soccer team? I remember when we shouted “these colors don’t run,” though now on the global stage neither our allies nor our enemies are afraid of us. I remember when criminals were punished and law enforcement o cers were honored and appreciated. I remember when saluting the ag, taking o my cap, and placing my hand over my heart to pledge allegiance were a set of noble gestures that stirred my civic pride. I also remember when prayers to God for the safety of our soldiers, our police, our o cials, and our society were both common and honorable. And I remember when 9/11 brought us together in churches all over America to beseech our God to “shed his grace” on us. e problem is much larger than gun control policies or improved mental health screenings could ever hope to solve. We can try to force external compulsion with all our vigor, but rules and policies will have no e ect on the decaying morality of hearts devoid of hope. And if we keep doing what we’re doing, and trying what we’re trying, we’ll keep getting what we’ve got.

What we need is a radical return to individual accountability, grounded on a shared conviction that good and evil exist, because a supernatural standard has been set by the eternal, intelligent, and moral creator of all things who is, himself, the uncaused cause of all things. What we need is the hope that springs from a realization we’ve been created for a purpose, our lives have great meaning, and despite the brokenness of society, we can nd satisfaction in this world even as we prepare for the next.

From where I sit, it is clear our American sense of nobility is waning. We’re killing our kids, and killing each other, even as we continue to whistle and smile as if nothing has changed. But something has changed, and not for the better. What we really need is for God to bless America. But that will only happen if America gets back to blessing God.

Local resident David Hegg is senior pastor of Grace Baptist Church. “Ethically Speaking”

appears Sundays.