Happy New Year
04 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: 6300, blog, bridges, Creative Living, guests, New Year, postcard, Public Broadcasting Service
It’s hard to believe another Christmas has come and gone and we are in 2012. Remember when we were all worried about Y2K? This year the talk is about the Mayan calendars. Are you concerned? Fortunately, I just don’t worry about things like that because I know I have no control over whether anything happens or not. Besides, it is rather depressing to think about.
I’m furiously working on the new 6300 Series of “Creative Living.” The segments have been chosen for some time now, but all the rest of the paperwork is “in the works.” Actually today I posted the elements of the 6300 Press Kit online so other PBS stations can access them and start planning their Spring line-up — which I hope will include “Creative Living.” If you happen to support your local PBS station, I sure would appreciate you contacting them and requesting that they schedule the upcoming 6300 series of “Creative Living,” which starts May 7th — and it’s a FREE offer. It really does make a difference if a station hears from their own viewers about wanting to see a specific show.
Each time I start a new series, I contact my dear friend and co-worker, Wanda Newberry to design a new postcard and booklet cover — and this one may be my all-time favorite. I love the turquoise color. Let me know what you think. Thanks Wanda for being so creative. Speaking of new booklet, now that the other ele
ments for the new series are coming together, I will start working on the new booklet. This is really my favorite thing to do. I love working in InDesign and featuring the recipes, instructions and other materials that my guests have provided when they were here to tape.
I will be taping bridges for all 26 shows of the new series next week. It’s a lot to do at one time, but we all agree we like to get them done and not have to repeat the process for another 6 months. Jacob Workman is the one who edits all the shows, and he does such a great job. Thanks Jacob for all you do to make me (and the show) look as good as possible.
I always wonder if anyone ever reads a blog, but I can happily report that I had two people contact me about being on the show after reading the article I wrote in November. I was so excited when they told me they had read that I was looking for guests to tape in 2012 – and they are scheduled to do so.
Our January “Creative Living” newsletter is also available on our website. If you are interested in reading it, just go to: http://mediad.publicbroadcasting.net/p/kenw/files/201201/Newsletter_28-January_2012.pdf. I’m trying something different this month – based on comments from readers. Instead of writing the complete article on topics, I am providing a link for more information. As I say in the newsletter, let me know if you like this format better.
I hope to hear from you.
Sheryl
Looking for guests
16 Nov 2011 4 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: chipotle, Cook, Creative Living, guests, internet, nuts, Sheryl, taping
My last taping date for 2011 will be December 1st, and my guest will be representing Butterball. Our second semester begins the first of February and runs through April of 2012 — which used to seem a long time away. But, I realized I needed to get busy and start trying to find some interesting guests to tape with. When the show first started 35 years ago, this process required locating a huge book from the Home Economists in Business (no longer in existence) group, picking out prospective companies, writing a letter of invitation and explanation, mailing it and then hoping for a response within a few weeks. Now, with the internet, this process is so much easier and the response time is minutes or hours usually.
I have extended an invitation to companies representing foods and nutrition, sewing, crafts, gardening, home decorating — and a few others that I just happened to run across. I’ve already heard from some and have a few others who are checking with sponsors.
Do you know anyone you might recommend? I always think the best recommendation comes from someone who knows someone else. If you have any suggestions, would you please e-mail me at: sheryl.borden@enmu.edu
One of my dear friends, Connie Moyers recently held her annual holiday program and the booklet she prepares is full of great ideas, recipes, decorating tips, etc. I thought I would share one of my favorites from Connie’s program. I hope you enjoy it.
CHOCOLATE-DRENCHED CHIPOTLE-ROASTED NUTS
3 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. water
2 tsp. minced chipotle pepper in adobe sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 cup pecan halves
1 cup walnut halves
Parchment paper
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1 Tbsp. shortening
1/4 cup white chocolate morsels, melted
Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Combine sugar, water, chipotle pepper and salt in a medium-size nonstick skillet. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil; remove from heat and stir in butter. Add nuts and gently stir to coat. Spoon coated nuts in a single layer onto a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Spread nuts on wax paper or parchment paper to cool, breaking apart large clumps as nuts cool. Melt semisweet chocolate morsels and shortening in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Toss cooled nuts in semisweet chocolate until coated. Return nuts to wax paper and let harden. Drizzle white chocolate over nuts (do not toss). Let harden.
Connie gave me a jar of these delicacies after her taping — and they are delicious.
Happy Thanksgiving,
Sheryl
“Hair” Mail
15 Sep 2011 4 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: hairstyle, sets, viewers, wigs
After reading an e-mail from a viewer last week regarding various things, such as show re-runs, sets, my hairstyle, and whether I wear a wig or not, I decided to devote this post to hairstyles. I think it’s interesting that male television hosts do not get comments/criticism about their hair style like women hosts do. I wonder why!
So, in response to this viewer saying that I had worn my hair in the same style for 15 years and that she assumed I wear a wig (which I do not), I went through some old press kits so I could prove this point. As I explained to her, the reason our sets do not change very often is because we rely on donations to build new sets, and we prefer to put what little money we have into equipment and production. So, I admit we have only had about 5 or 6 sets through the past 35 years — and now that we are in the new Broadcast Center, we won’t be changing the current sets anytime soon as they are beautiful and work well and look great on camera.
I only found press kits from 1986 on (don’t guess we moved older ones when we moved into the new building), but I think the pictures I’m going to share will prove my point that I have had various hairstyles through the years. As you look at these hairstyles and laugh and giggle, ask yourself if you or anyone who know ever wore their hair in a similar style “back then.” Enjoy — and let me know which one you like best.
1986
1987
1988
1990
1995
2003
2006
2008
Happy 90th Birthday to Eunice Schumpert
10 Aug 2011 Leave a Comment
I love birthdays, and it was my pleasure to help organize a special celebration in honor of Eunice Schumpert’s 90th birthday on Sunday, August 7th at the Portales Woman’s Club building. This event was hosted by Chapter BE – PEO Sisterhood, of which Eunice is a charter member. She is a very special lady to all of us and evidentally to all of the 200+ guests who came by to wish her a Happy Birthday Sunday. We had beautiful decorations, fabulous food, lots of music and lovely flowers — all in honor of this remarkable lady’s life. Eunice has spent her entire life playing the piano and organ, singing, and sharing this talent with others, both adults and children, by teaching in her home studio. Even at 90, she continues to teach, play the piano and organ at The First Baptist Church, and is always willing to help with weddings and funerals. We are already busy planning her 100th birthday because she is one of the loveliest and most caring people I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing
. I’m going to keep the text short but share lots of beautiful pictures taken at the reception. I hope you enjoy seeing them. 
Don’t miss out on helping someone you care about celebrate these milestones — it’s worth it even if you are exhausted when it’s over! ha
35th Anniversary Series to begin in September!
08 Jul 2011 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: anniversary, birthday, Creative Living, Miami, wall
It’s hard to believe, but “Creative Living with Sheryl Borden” will begin its 35th anniversary series in September!
In fact, we just added a new poster/picture in our hall at the station. The one on the far left is for 25 years, the one on the far right is for 30, and the new one in the center is for 35 years. I thought you might like to see them.
The cover of our new booklet features a vertical version of the same design. I already have the segments chosen for each show, and a postcard (with the same design) has gone to all of the program managers at the other PBS stations throughout the country. The series begins September 7th and will run for 26 weeks. I hope your PBS station carries “Creative Living,” but if they don’t, you can ask them to do so — it’s a FREE offer to all stations!
Do you know anyone whom I could contact to be a guest on the next series? Just send me their name, e-mail, website (if they have one) or phone number and a brief description of what they do. I’m currently scheduling guests for October and November.
Besides celebrating our up-coming Anniversary series of “Creative Living,” and celebrating the 4th of July, I also get to celebrate my birthday on July 2nd – and what better way than with my two grandkids – Dillon (age 9) on the left and Kelsey (age 4) on the right. The beautiful yellow roses are from my oldest son who lives in Miami.
That’s about it for now. I’ll try to do a better job posting in the future. I just get busy with other things, and forget about having a blog.
Enjoy the rest of your summer. Stay cool.
Sheryl
It’s Auction Time
04 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: auction, bargains, bid, KENW, programming, public television
Please take time to view all of the items we have for bid on the KENW 35th annual KENW Auction. Go to: http://auction.kenw.org and browse to your hearts content. When you get ready to bid, you do have to register if you haven’t previously. Go to the “Register” link at the top of the page, and fill in the required information and choose a password. In a few minutes, a Username will be e-mailed to you. Then you’re all set to participate — and Auctions are a lot more fun, if you participate.
All monies raised during the auction each year go to support our programming budget at KENW-TV. We have to raise over $385,000 each year to pay for the programs that our viewers enjoy watching on our station. The Auction is our biggest fund raiser each year, and the most fun of all. We have almost 2000 items for you to bid on and you’re sure to get some bargains. If you have any questions, just e-mail me at: sheryl.borden@enmu.edu.
Behind the Fun!
14 Mar 2011 1 Comment
If you’ve been following my blog, you know that I went on a fabulous 7-day Western Caribbean cruise with my two sons and my grandson the end of February and returned on March 6. Actually, the word “fabulous” doesn’t begin to describe our week-long trip, which was too short!
This was the first cruise for my youngest son, Michael and his 9-year old son, Dillon, and part of my fun was watching them and observing all the “firsts” they experienced. It was Dillon’s first airplane ride (except when he was an infant which he doesn’t remember), first moving sidewalk in the airport, first train ride in the airport, first for so many things, and he loved all of it. He was interviewed by the Cruise director and shown on TV, and lots of people on the ship commented about seeing him. When asked what his favorite thing about the cruise was, he said it was the pool! I think he may have set a record for climbing the steps to the big water slide the most. He and his dad spent a lot of time in the water.
My oldest son, Rob, works for Carnival Cruise line, and I can say that it sure has its “perks” being with someone who works for the company. Dillon had special smoothies brought to him at every meal, and we had special desserts many times as well. 
We had the great thrill of being asked by the captain if we’d like to visit the bridge and watch our departure from the port at Isla Roatan. How fascinating it was to watch how this process takes place. Of course, we had our picture taken with the captain, and other crew members. We were also invited by the Captain to have dinner in his private dining room one evening and were able to learn more about him. He has a 17 year old son who is following in his footsteps (even though he said he tried to get him to become a lawyer or a doctor! ha) and also has a 17-month old who is a typical infant getting into everything! He’s from Italy, and I learned that all of the captains on the Carnival cruise line are from Italy. Interesting, huh?
Rob and I also had dinner with the Chef one evening, along with 14 other people. We started out with a tour of the kitchen and galley and had 3 appetizer courses brought to us there. Then, we proceeded to the private dining room for a 7-course meal that defies description. Everything was beautifully served and tasted delicious. At the end, we each received a group picture and a cookbook, both autographed by the chef, who is from India. We learned all sorts of interesting facts about how much produce, meat, beverages, etc. are brought on the ship at the ports of call. 
Then there were the excursions – swimming with dolphins, zipline, airboats, snorkeling and much more. Of course, my favorite thing was visiting the spa and having wonderful, relaxing massages — I’m such the adventurous type! ha
All in all, it was a vacation full of wonderful memories. I’m getting ready to make my Caribbean Cruise scrapbook so we can all revisit the countries and relieve all the memories over and over again. I felt so blessed to be able to make this trip with “my 3 boys!” We are already making plans for our next cruise. 
One of the things that really stands out in my mind is the “customer service” and positive attitude of EVERYONE who works on the ship. They all ask about your day, how you are, inquire if you want anything, and when thanked, they respond ‘My pleasure.’ I know a lot of businesses that could sure use some customer training such as the Carnival employees receive. And, they do everything with a smile!
I almost forgot to tell about our last adventure while on the ship. It’s called “Behind the fun,” and it consisted of a walking 4-hour tour of all of the behind the scenes things on the ship — including the laundry, which was my favorite part, the kitchen and galley, the electrical and engine rooms, the bridge (again), the training center, the dressing rooms and behind the stage where the wonderful musical productions take place, the recycling center, the Steakhouse and much more. I have a much greater appreciation for what all of these people do and how well they do it since taking the tour. At the end, we each received souvenirs to take home with us. If you ever go on a cruise, and have the option of taking this tour, please do so. It’s quite an eye-opener.
And, last but not least, every night when we returned to our rooms, we had a different towel animal to greet us (along with chocolate). I even bought the book on hold to fold these creatures, so maybe in another blog, I’ll share some of my creations.
Thanks for letting me share some of our special memories. I’d love to hear about your cruise adventures!
A fun trip to Miami!
29 Jan 2011 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: auction, Country, Miami, symphony, vacation
I have a son who lives in Miami Beach, and thanks to a friend who lives in Greenwich, CT., I recently got to see both of them. My friend bought a vacation package from KENW through our annual on-line Auction (http://auction.kenw.org) last year, and asked me to go with her. The hotel was in Coconut Grove, just outside Miami Beach. I went down a day earlier so I could spend one night with my son.
On Friday night, a friend of his had tickets to the New World Symphony, and it was in their new facility. This turned out to be a rehearsal night, so after we toured the fabulous new facility, we were treated to an hour-long performance by some outstanding young people who are attending this program in Miami. I think what made the performance even more interesting was the fact that these 20+ year olds were dressed in jeans, shorts, tee-shirts, flip flops, etc., but if you closed your eyes, you would have thought you were attending a renowned concert! This rehearsal was in preparation for the grand opening this weekend of the facility. Look closely at the picture I took:
My friend arrived on Saturday, and we had a great afternoon of massages, then a lovely dinner and a late cocktail party. Then on Sunday, some friends of my son hosted a luncheon outside by their pool, and we enjoyed the warm sunshine, delicious food and lots of visiting and laughter.
Sunday night we went to see “Country Strong” with Gwenyth Paltrow and Tim McGraw, and it is a great movie. I’d like to try to get the soundtrack. Have you seen it?
Then it was back home to reality on Monday but with lots of fun memories. Now it’s time to get back to work taping segments for “Creative Living” and working on the 2011 Auction. I hope you’ll go to our auction website and start bidding on this year’s items — remember, all proceeds benefit the programming for our public television station.
Til next time….
Birthdays!
26 Oct 2010 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: birthdays, Jane Hilliard, role model, special
I wanted to write this today because I’ll be too busy being the “hostess with almost the mostest” tomorrow for my dear friend, Jane Hilliard, who just turned 91 years young. Jane has been a dear friend for over 40 years, and is my mentor and role model. Though I know I’ll never be able to be the woman she is, I’m trying as hard as I can to learn as much as I can from her, and to pattern my life in many of the same ways she has.
So, at noon tomorrow, seven of us are going to SURPRISE her with a birthday luncheon at my house. I can’t wait to see her face when she walks in and finds out that it’s not just the 2 of us having lunch. All of the invitees feel the same way about this marvelous lady. She does so much for so many of us, and has inspired and motivated us in various areas of our lives.
Everything will be done in pink tomorrow — because that’s her favorite color. Last year, there was a huge 90th birthday celebration in her honor at the local Woman’s Club building, and hundreds of people came from all across the country to celebrate with her. There were 90 beautiful long-stem pink roses used in various centerpieces in the room, and although tomorrow’s celebration will not be that elaborate, it will be special because of her influence in each of our lives.
I hope each of you has someone like Jane to love you, to love your family, to praise you when you’ve done something well, to be there when you need to cry on her shoulder, and to share all the special times in your lives. I’m very blessed to have her in my life — so Happy Birthday, Jane. I love you. 
Taping has begun!
05 Oct 2010 1 Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: Creative Living, floral, postcards, Sam Donaldson, students, taping
Last Thursday marked the first taping for “Creative Living” for the fall semester. We have a new crew of college students, and they were great! It usually takes a few weeks for everyone to feel comfortable working together, but we didn’t seem to have any of those problems this time. Maybe it’s because I had three excellent guests to work with.
My first guest was Franki Kohler, and she’s a quilter and author who showed lots of ways to make and embellish fabric postcards — and they can go through the postal system. When I asked Franki how she got interested in making these fabric postcards, she said she had gotten tired of making large quilts so she turned her talents — and fabrics — into the small works of art. 
I had so much fun working with my second guest — Casey Schwartz. She’s a floral designer and she and her sister own Flower Duet in Redondo Beach, CA. You know how you sometimes meet someone for the very first time, and you just “click.” Well, that’s how it was with Casey. She was so easy to work with and we had so much fun. She has a very interesting background relating to the floral business, and it’s easy to see why she’s so good at what she does. She showed five different techniques for making various centerpieces and arrangements. The students were so excited when they got to take home a centerpiece from the taping — thanks to Casey’s generosity. And, today I had the pleasure of scheduling Casey & her sister as my first guests for Fall 2011! I can hardly wait.
And, then my longtime and dear friend, Laura Dellutri taped a couple of segments on new appliances and products for making your life less stressful. After the taping, Laura, her friend Shawn and I had a late lunch (at 2:00 pm). I always enjoy when I can spend some downtime with my guests — especially the ones I’ve become such close friends with.
Well, that’s about it for now. Our station is hosting a political debate on Saturday, October 9th and Sam Donaldson will be here to serve as the moderator. Should be very exciting. Tune in and watch the candidates for District II US Senate seat.
