hurrayic

I've Moved!

2009-01-27T12:15:00.007-05:00

Hello all.

I've been brave enough to make the switch.

You'll now find me over here.

Please come for a visit!

Bainbridge

2009-01-23T17:35:00.003-05:00

The weather teased us today, coaxing us outside without jackets (in January?) in order to enjoy a few moments of sun and warmth, and perhaps to remind us that spring is just 'round the corner? Of course the kids are still hoping for 1 good snowfall before winter ends. I usually hear a daily wish or hope or whine for some snow. Today I heard not a peep.

But all was not fun and games. While my sons were out galavanting in the fresh air, my daughter was inside recuperating from her periodontal work she had done this afternoon. Poor girl.

And I am posting about my finished scarf - the Bainbridge Scarf. It's a free pattern from Pepperknit. Go here to get it. I used KnitPicks Andean Silk, which has a very nice sheen and texture to it. The only trouble I had with it was actually trying to take a self-portrait without using a tripod, without showing the camera, and without revealing my...well...um...extra padding 'round the neck area.

Whistle While You Work

2009-01-22T15:16:00.005-05:00

concentrating

in a pinch - homemade brown sugar

whistling whilst making cinnamon coffeecake

My youngest loves to help me in the kitchen, often asking to stir or whip or break eggs (his favorite). Usually I find that I'm in a hurry so my pat answer is, "Not right now... maybe later...but thanks for asking." The days come and go, come and go. This morning he asked again, seeing that I was readying to make a cinnamon coffee cake for breakfast. This time, I agreed. So he donned his apron and washed his hands, and as he began to stir and whip and break those eggs, he whistled some classical tune that one of his brothers had practiced just yesterday on the piano. I couldn't help but thinking what joy he showed in doing such a simple job. Maybe all of us should whistle more while we work?

Tiny Treats 2

2009-01-21T07:45:00.002-05:00

her newest little creature stands less than 1" tall

My daughter will be handing out magnifying glasses soon... in order for us 40 and abovers to actually see her artwork. She loves creative endeavors and usually chooses something tiny to sculpt or cut or paste or draw.

2 cranes & a box - the blue items made from a small post-it note pad

I can understand her attraction to tiny things - they're transportable, they're cute, their size is attractive - like holding a tiny treasure in the palm of your hand.

looks like a yummy popsicle

When she has the time (there isn't much to spare with her school schedule recently), she likes working with sculpey or paper or yarns, mostly.

the crane is her smallest one to date - wingspan is 1"

Right now, she's taking a career exploration class at our co-op, and it wouldn't surprise me if she went into an art field. Let's just hope it's not a starving artist field!

P.S. - some more fun origami can be found here and here and here.

Little Rays

2009-01-20T16:12:00.006-05:00

a radiometer trying to catch a bit of the sun

Nothing brightens your day than a visit from a friend and a time to discover, to catch up, to renew, to deepen a friendship. Thanks, Kristen... we should do that again soon!

Another ray of sunshine in the form of garden-fresh tomatoes (from our summer supply & frozen for use during the dead of winter) that will be our dinner tonight. Can't wait.

Snow Flurries = Baking

2009-01-19T17:42:00.004-05:00

oatmeal bake by Karen
very good for breakfast

We awoke to a dusting of snow this morning which once again, led me to more baking. My friend, Susan, whom we visited during our Christmas break, is a wonderful baker.

molasses ginger cookies by Sarah

She treated us to these three yummy recipes. And you know how recipes go... passed down from one person to the next. One of these apparently came from a second friend, Karen; the last came from a third friend, Sarah (another fantastic cook!). Thank you ladies for contributing to this blog!

pumpkin & chocolate chip muffins by Susan

And now... I now pass them onto you. They are very good. Enjoy!

Oatmeal Bake
4 eggs
2 cups milk
1 cup canola oil (or can use applesauce or combo of)
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
6 cups oats
2 tsp cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine all. Grease a 9 x 12" pan. Bake 30 min.

Molasses Ginger Cookies (makes about 30)
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
1 Tbsp cider vinegar
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ginger (or more, to taste)
Preheat oven to 350 F. Cream butter & sugar. Add egg & beat. Add molasses & vinegar. In another bowl, combine dry stuff. Add dry stuff to butter mixture. Mix well. Roll into 1" balls. Roll balls in sugar. Put on baking sheet, flatten with bottom of glass. Bake 8-12 min.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins (makes 24)
4 eggs
1 cup melted butter
1 - 15 oz. can pumpkin
2 cups sugar
3 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease muffin tins. Beat eggs then combine with butter, pumpkin & sugar. In another bowl, mix dry stuff (except chocolate chips). Add dry stuff to pumpkin mixture. Stir in chips. Fill muffin tins (if too much - just put 'extra' dough into another baking dish) and bake about 20 min or until toothpick in center comes out clean.

5: stripes & plaids

2009-01-16T08:11:00.001-05:00

my kalimba that I've had since I was little

Hmmm... stripes and plaids do not really fit the 'color' category, but Curious Bird said any color combo of stripes or plaids is fine. Now I have to say, plaids are not something I usually go for.

a pile of clean, folded laundry that needs to make its way upstairs

Stripes on the other hand... at one point I was crazy for stripes when it came to dressing my kids. We became known as the 'striped family' by many a friend's children. When my oldest reached 13, he specifically asked me NOT to buy him any more striped shirts. That was okay - I still had 3 younger ones to dress in stripes.

Here is a very fun thing to do if you're trying to create your own stripes.

Thanks, Leya, for a nice color week.

4: pink

2009-01-15T08:06:00.005-05:00

rice noodles in plastic netting

one of our makeshift napkins

Ah... pink! I'd like to say either I love it or hate it, but there are so so so many different shades of pink that's it hard to be definitive in my decision. As I look around my house though, I really don't see pink unless rosy-cheeked children count!

Whirlwind

2009-01-14T18:55:00.006-05:00

You know how it is... it comes in fits and bursts and then a dull calmness. As is often the case when it snows, (even a tad) the urge to bake & cook grips me. So for the past 2 days, I've been like a dervish, whirling between flour and sugar and salt and onions and garlic. Some recipes, new & already tried, have emerged from the mess:

french bread (thumbs up)

turkey & vegetable soup (using leftovers) (thumbs so-so)

chocolate chip cookies from this book (thumbs so-so)

banana blueberry muffins from this tiny magazine (thumbs up)

and

dark beer & beef pastry from this book. (thumbs TBD...)

We haven't tasted this one yet, and unfortunately, I realized mid-stream that I didn't have any puff pastry in the freezer as I had thought; it turned out to be filo dough. So, this was a dark beer & beef SANS pastry. I'm sure it'll taste wonderful - all the ingredients were lovely, and the onion-y fragrance filled (overwhelmed) my kitchen.

Although next up will be whole wheat pizza dough (also from Martha's magazine), I realize that too much whirling can make anyone dizzy, so most likely a lull on the cooking front will occur next week. Unless of course we get snowed-in!

3: yellow

2009-01-14T08:06:00.004-05:00

~ my grandmother's creamer ~
one of her engagement presents from the 1930's

Yellow is not a favorite of mine, but I do find bits and pieces of it around our house. My husband likes various hues and tints of yellow more than I.

overripe bananas destined for muffins?
gotta love that sticker: need to eat more

But the color is growing on me. I usually prefer a pale yellow like butter or a dark one like ground mustard.

a magnet my oldest painted when he was about 3 years old

It is a sunny color, full of brightness and light, so that's a plus.

a quick glimpse outside ~ hoping for more snow!

For more yellows, go visit Curious Bird!

2: purple

2009-01-13T09:43:00.004-05:00

earrings that I seem to be wearing daily - too lazy to reach for another pair?

As a child, I went through a purple phase: purple bike, purple room, purple polyester pants (which I loved, by the way), purple print peasant top.

new purple skein of Malabrigo - a present from my husband

Then I strayed away from the color, allowing blue & green to take its place, along with black, my all-time favorite.

a thrifted silk sweater trying to air dry - the color is darker since it's wet

I still like purple... but in smaller, quieter, more subtle doses.

Too see more purples... visit here.

1: blue

2009-01-12T17:42:00.003-05:00

Although I wasn't able to officially join in Color Week,
I thought I'd post some appropriate shots.

Our weekend sped by. Gone too quickly.
But I did get some of my to-do's checked off:
the libraries thanked me for my support
reading (looking at pictures) occurred in some format
the new light found its home (although the color of the new fluorescent bulb leaves something to be desired)
fresh air was acquired (walking from car to store and store to car has to count for something)
spending time with the kids and hubby occurred as well (although some might argue as to the amount of time spent)

I didn't get to organization (unless laundry counts) or to making a list of knitting projects, but we did have a nice dinner with friends on Sunday. Very relaxing. So all in all... a good ending and beginning.

Weekend To-Do's

2009-01-09T16:51:00.005-05:00

Hopefully this weekend we will:

visit a library or libraries (before my overdue fees pay for the next librarian's salary)

organize just a tad (don't want to overdue it in this area either)

get the new light put in? (or watch my husband put the new light in while I think about what to cover that bare window and wall with)

catch up on some reading (or at least look like I'm reading when I'm actually just looking at pictures)

making a detailed list of knitting projects for some new yarns (or maybe just gaze at said yarns for awhile and put them away)

get some fresh air (and help jump-start my photo slump in the process)

play with my children (maybe this could be done using some above ideas?)

spend time with hubby. (ditto)

What are your plans for the weekend?

Here's something for you in case you have some free time:

Molly is giving away an Epson printer. Go here to enter her lovely giveaway!

Gotta go! We're having friends in tonight - tacos and brownies and bananas foster - yum.

Long Time Project

2009-01-08T16:25:00.005-05:00

The last few evenings, my husband and I have been catching up on Lost by watching the Season 4 dvd (a Christmas gift from my dad... Thanks, Dad.) It's amazing how much I've forgotten since the season ended in May!!! Will we watch the new season? Well... probably. Part of me wants to picket, to protest to the insane scheduling of ABC and yet, the other part of me (the weaker part?) wants to tune in just 'to see'.

As is often the case when I watch something, I like to multi-task. Eventually this will be a blanket. I began working on it several years ago (um, like 4 or 5 years?). Yes, I like to keep different projects going at the same time - keeps things interesting. Why I chose to knit a blanket rather than sew one, I don't know. Temporary insanity? I know I could frog it, but lots of time has been invested in it already. Oh well.

I started with a seed stitch on size 10 needles but soon switched to a garter stitch to save time. I've just been knitting it in strips, starting with one skein, knitting until that skein ends and attaching the next skein. It's made from Lion Brand Homespun, an inexpensive acrylic with an interesting texture and sheen. I didn't want to spend a bundle on something that would most likely get dumped on the floor, dragged through lint and dust (a certainty in my house), sat upon, spilled upon, etc. I mean, a blanket is to be used right? Not just a showpiece.

Sometimes I Wonder

2009-01-06T19:40:00.003-05:00

...what gets into the heads of individuals. Yes, I'm slow (very slow & late) in learning about an issue that started out with good intentions but has ended up with very real & possible dire consequences for many artisans... CPSIA. You can go here to read more. I've checked this out - it is unfortunately in the works. Hopefully amendments will be made that can help small businesses and craftspeople keep their livelihoods. Sigh.

Trying

2009-01-05T15:55:00.005-05:00

A new scarf is emerging. Made from Knitpicks Andean silk.

Today, we began homeschooling again. Almost full swing. I had good intentions to keep the kids 'doing' school while away on vacation these past few weeks, but in actuality, the schoolbooks just took up valuable car space (we had to ship boxes home in order to fit all of us in the car).
Note to self: don't even entertain the notion of schoolwork while on vacation!

The color is really a bit more red than rose as shown in the photo.

Aside from the initial grumbling and 1 minor episode needing a new attitude (cue Patti LaBelle), the day went well. Better than expected, really.

Now there's a wee bit of time for a knitting project (Bainbridge scarf pattern that you can find here) and reading some new books. I had to use up some almost expired reward cards so I took a journey to a local Borders... only to find out that that particular store was closing its doors! A moment of panic struck as I thought about all those gift cards we had just received, but the stress was for naught, since found out that just THAT particular store location was closing. Another one will be opening in a different location. Go figure! Anyway, after another journey to another location, I came home with the top 4 books. (The bottom one was a gift from Mom. Thanks, Mom!)

Resolutions

2009-01-04T08:06:00.002-05:00

resolution: 1: the act or process of resolving;
of analyzing a complex notion into simpler ones;
of answering; of determining

A new year always offers a fresh start and (hopefully) a close to some of the bad habits that we all fall into during the course of the year. Making new years resolutions however, was a 'dirty' word in my vocabulary. The anti-establishment part of me wanted to rebel against the idea while the need to be organized part of me wanted to embrace it. The truth of the matter? Fear of failure. I mean, who really likes to admit that even before February begins, that half of your resolutions haven't even got off the ground. Pas moi. So, for years, I wouldn't make any 'official' resolutions. That way...I wouldn't be setting myself up to fail.

This year, however...I thought I'd make some resolutions not just for 2009, but hopefully life resolutions. Taking some complex notions and making them more simple.

My list? Nothing really new or life-altering, nothing to change drastically... just a simpler approach to things. Quiet things.
1. putting into practice Luke 10:27
2. letting the world spin at its own chaotic pace without me trying to jump in alongside
3. filling our bodies and minds with healthier options
4. recycling, reducing, saving
5. creating
6. teaching my children with more enthusiasm

Probably ho-hum, ordinary, 'boring' ideas and very broad categories...but if put into action... who knows? Life shattering? I wanted to write some basic categories down as a reminder to myself, knowing full well that each category has many sub-categories, sub-stratas to it, and I will therefore need to make a list for each one. But for now, this will suffice.

Waffle Washcloths

2009-01-03T09:00:00.004-05:00

As promised...My mom wanted handmade soaps for a Christmas present this (past) year, so after purchasing some wonderful scented goat's milk soaps from here and here, I knitted a few washcloths to go along with them.

I used Sugar 'n Cream cotton yarn in 3 different colorways. It was such a quick thing to knit up that I need (would like) to make some more for my own use. The pattern's free... you can get it here.

Homespun Living also has a free pattern for a knitted coffee mug cozy too. Hmmm... lots of warm drinks on the horizon?

A Little R & R

2009-01-02T12:42:00.004-05:00

Happy New Year!

This blog has been on a 3-week+ hiatus while we traveled to see family and friends over the holidays. Of course, I forgot to take my doohickey for uploading photos from camera to computer, so there was nothing to show & tell. However, it was wonderful to catch up with friends and relatives, eat good food, not have to cook or clean, dine out, visit museums and withstand super cold temperatures with windchill factors that made it seem even colder.

I also have to say it's good to return to our own house albeit messy and far away and return to our comforting routine again. Good to sleep in my own bed even if it's lumpy...

With so much 'free time', I was able to finish some knitting projects and make progress on other knitting projects.

I knit the neck warmer from this book. Easy and quick. I chose a Manos del Uruguay yarn which actually was once part of a thrifted sweater. Most likely it was a yarn store donation since it still had the Manos tags attached to it. I unraveled it and put it away for a special project.

My mom was its recipient. Tomorrow I'll show you another quick and easy knitting project that was also a mom gift.

Like Riding a Bike

2008-12-13T09:33:00.005-05:00

Knitting is sort of like riding a bike. Well, sort of.

Remember these projects? They're finally finished! Yes, it took me almost 1 year to complete.

I was getting the knitting itch again but first wanted to finish certain things I already had on my needles (to make room for more...)

Funny how you can pick up a project and either completely forget where you left off or pick up just where you left off. Do you notice anything different about the gloves above? The opening for the thumbs - one is vertical and one is horizontal. Oops.

But once they're on, you don't notice the mistakes. And heh, it goes with the name of the knit pattern: mistake rib! They're from Last Minute Knitted Gifts.

And my socks, which will always remind me of the Grateful Dead, are from 101 Designer One Skein Wonders. Picot Edged socks with a few minor variations on how to pick up stitches in a more pretty fashion.

Now... onto some more last minute knitted projects for Christmas!

Lo How a Rose E'er Blooming

2008-12-11T10:39:00.006-05:00

Two days ago, we had a ladies Christmas dinner at church. Apparently each year, the dinner has a theme with each individual table decorated according to that theme. This year's theme was 'Christmas Carols'. A friend (thanks, Kristen!) and I decorated our table with a white tablecloth, red dishes, silver utensils, fancy flowered wine glasses and white coffee mugs. In the middle was a clear vase filled with bare branches & red and cream colored roses. We sprinkled rose petals on the tablecloth, set a felt rose pin at each place setting and printed out our Christmas carol on shimmery gold paper, tied up scroll-fashion with a red ribbon.

Why did I tell you this in detail? Because... I forgot to take my camera. In my haste (I also made the main dish for 80 ladies) to get to the church on time, I arrived camera-less. Oh well. What I really wanted to show you were the rose pins, so I made a few more yesterday. They are very easy to make. I followed the basic instructions from here but made them into individual pins rather than a 'pomander'. The ones I made were hot-glued together, but if I made them again, I think I would take the time to hand sew them.

Bearly There

2008-12-04T10:32:00.003-05:00

Working on

some new bags...

Stay tuned!

Corn & Oats

2008-12-03T20:58:00.003-05:00

These did not last more than an hour!
I had to fend off hungry children
so that there would be some left for my husband.

Well, the not-making-another-post-about-food didn't last too long. I spent most of the day schooling and cleaning up my photos on the computer - all 8000+ of them! Ridiculous. I need to be better about printing and deleting. Also storage. What does everyone else do for storage? On a cd?

Anyway, getting back to the topic at hand: food. After seeing some of A Friend to Knit With's cookies of recent, I began rummaging through my recipe box and found 2 recipes that I haven't made for 12...13..14 years? Can't remember exactly. One is Orzo Corn Chowder and the other are Scotch Teas. Both are delicious and easy to make, especially the cookies, which taste very butterscotch-y, hence the name. Enjoy!

This tastes very creamy
but made without heavy cream or butter.

Orzo Corn Chowder
3/4 cup dry orzo
1/4 lb bacon (or a 2 oz. pkg of bacon bits)
1/2 cup onion, diced
1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced or about 1 Tbsp dry (approx)
1- 32 oz. container chicken broth
2 1/2 cups milk (1% or 2%)
1 - 12 oz. pkg. frozen corn, thawed
A few shakes of ground pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp flour

1. Cook orzo in water, drain.
2. While orzo cooks, brown bacon in big pot. Drain grease. (I omitted this bacon step because I only had bacon bits handy & ended up throwing them in the pot directly with all else.)
3. Add onion & parsley & cook until onion is soft.
4. Add orzo and everything else (except flour) to pot.
5. Bring to boil VERY SLOWLY.
6. Put 2 Tbsp flour in small bowl with about 3/4 cup water, stir, then add to pot. Stir well.
7. Eat or keep until next day.
Variation: can add a pinch or two of cayenne, maybe some diced red peppers, doctor the spices?

Note to Self: Make a Double or Triple Batch next time.

Scotch Teas (Oatmeal Cookies)
1 stick butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups quick cooking oats (or 4 packets of instant plain oatmeal that none of my kids want to eat)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 8" x 8" pan with pam or grease it. In medium saucepan over low heat, stir butter and sugar together until butter melts. Stir in oats, baking powder & salt. Fill the baking pan, flatten a bit. Bake about 20-25 min. After it comes out, let cool slightly and 'cut' into bars while still in pan. They do have to harden just a bit; otherwise they're mushy. (If you wait too long though, the cookies harden and are more difficult to cut.) Makes about 16 small cookies.

Crafty & Cool Giveaways

2008-12-02T12:21:00.007-05:00

Giveaways 1-4: Head over to the Crafty Crow for some fun giveaways:

1. First, there's an organic bag & elephant from maya*made.

2. Second, there's a neat Christmas Craft mini book from Kids Craft Weekly.

3. Thirdly, there's a cute intricately patterned elephant softie kit from Louise Elliott Designs.

4. And lastly (for this Monday - Cassi has other giveaways), there a very useful Camera Strap slip cover from Shey (B).

Giveaway 5: Now Head over here to see if you can enter another giveaway... a Palm Centro from Molly's babycenterblogs.

Nutcrackers

2008-12-02T09:05:00.009-05:00

Have you noticed that most of my previous posts of late have been about food or recipes? What's up with that you ask? Busy with schooling and teaching at our co-op leaves me little time for making other 'stuff'. At least my creative cooking serves a purpose: eating. Of course, that pastime is something I need to do less of, or so my hips whisper (scream?) to me.

Yes, a polka-dotted nutcracker.

So perhaps making other things should take precedence? It is December after all. Or should I rephrase that with...It's December???? (Where did this year go?) I did take some time last night to work on more bear bags and continue a half-finished knitting project that I started over six months ago. I'll show both those things soon, but for now, I leave you with a simple Christmas-y project my children did a few days ago... Nutcrackers.

We love the Nutcracker - the music, the story, the ballet, the little soldiers.
Never have used one for cracking nuts though...

A year ago, I purchased several wooden nutcrackers: unpainted, complete with hair and movable mouth (from Michael's in the dollar bin area) with the intention of having my children paint their own last Christmas... oh well.

My daughter has nicknamed hers: Einstein.

The kids had fun - even my 15 year old! I love how some are well-painted and some hastily so, making each one unique.

If you're looking for some other Nutcracker-themed ideas:

Martha has some great stocking stuffer items (I remember these from years ago)
Nutcracker Stockings How-To (complete with templates)
A Nutcracker 'book' to read online
Cut, Color & Build your own Nutcracker Stage
Listen (and watch) the Nutcracker Suite (Part 1) and (Part 2)
Print out the Nutcracker March piano piece (intermediate)
Print out Waltz of the Flowers piano piece (intermediate)
Print out Trepak (Russian dance) piano piece (easy)
Nutcracker Ballet Lesson plan
Get the book from your Library Or read it online here.
Or get this version (with cd).
Listen to a Celesta (aka the sound of the sugar plum fairy)
Make some Chocolate Gingerbread Bars
Make sweet ornaments
Read about Clark's Nutcracker

I better stop now!

When Life Gives You Carrots...

2008-12-01T09:54:00.002-05:00

... make carrot soup! Or at least attempt to.

Our poor neglected veggie garden should have been winterized quite sometime ago. My husband and sons were kind enough to clean the beds, pulling out roots and weeds and dead plants. The carrots that we had planted in the spring and had almost forgotten during September, October and most of November, were finally uprooted and brought lovingly into the house.

I decided to try out a carrot soup from this book. (except my book's the 'old' version) I altered a few things and made a nice big pot of it. My husband tried out a small bowl, and I took a sip from a spoon, thinking that the soup would probably taste better the next day if left in the fridge to 'marry' the flavors.

That would have been nice if one of us had remembered to actually refrigerate the soup overnight. I came down the next morning to see the big pot on the counter.

A brief conversation ensued:

"What do you think?"
"I don't know. What's your opinion?"
"We DID turn down the heat last night... maybe it's still okay."
"The bowl's still cold, the soup's colder... well, it's colder than room temp."
"I know... let's feed it to the kids first. If none of them get sick, we'll eat it!"

(That final sentence was uttered by my beloved by the way!)

Well, the soup met its reluctant demise. I thought all was lost until I spotted several sweet potatoes sitting forlornly in the potato basket! Anyone up for sweet potato soup?

Highlights of

2008-11-30T15:34:00.005-05:00

Thanksgiving... yes, this is belated, but better late than never. Two days prior to turkey day, I received a phone call: our hostess' family was sick with the stomach bug. Before I even needed to politely decline the offer she had extended to us several weeks ago, she very graciously informed me (or rather ordered me), "don't come...why put you into that awkward position of wait and see what happens?" Thank you, Joy!

So Plan B went into action. For the first time in our family, we ordered a $40.00 turkey dinner from a local grocery store, added a few homemade touches, and voila! A tasty and stress-free Thanksgiving dinner. It was probably the most delicious, moist turkey that we've tasted thus far. (No offense, Mom!)

We spent the remainder of the day walking off the dinner at a local park,

gathering bits of nature

getting a good workout

and enjoying a slice of pie with homemade whipped cream.

Updates

2008-11-18T14:57:00.007-05:00

Update on Cherry-Almond Coffeecake = Double-Whammy Semi-Flop!

Due to my recent hectic schedule of the past few months, I've been attempting to lighten my load (at least in the cooking department) by making double-batches of recipes to save time. Good idea in most cases. Not this one. Just means we have more to consume. (Note to myself: never double a recipe without first trying it normal size.) Actually the cake had a good texture to it but lacked flavor. I'm trying to figure out whether I should just look for another recipe or doctor this one up. I would say add more almond flavor and more cherries - maybe dried ones along with golden raisins. The frozen ones I used must have had little flavor to begin with, hence the flavorless cakes. But eating this with a dollop of pumpkin butter helps it!

Update on Crafting = Simple Start 1

I'm on the collecting sweaters and felting (okay - fulling) them in the washing machine rampage again. One baby step closer to creating.

Update on Crafting = Simple Start 2

I've been in the mood for a denim skirt for winter but don't want to pay full price for something. I found these 2 (both too small for me on their own) in a thrift store and think they may work if pieced together. Of course, I'll have to make a few alterations along the way.

Update on Potato Soup = Thumbs Up!

Except add more seasonings: more dill, more pepper, add in garlic. Omit water, omit cream, add more bacon, use different potatoes... so basically change the original recipe. But otherwise, good. Enjoy.

Potato Soup (adapted from this one)
1 pkg Trader Joe's uncured bacon (this is not a full pound by the way, just in case you're thinking fat overload!)
1 onion, finely chopped
20 (approximately) small Yukon gold & Red gold potatoes, cut in half or quartered (skin on)
1 Tbsp dill weed (dried variety)
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Few shakes of garlic powder (or use real garlic, minced & saute with bacon & onions)
1 32 oz. container Trader Joe's low sodium chicken broth
1 cup water (or wine) - optional
1 can evaporated milk
Trader Joe's French Fried onions (as topping)

Cut up bacon with kitchen scissors so that it's in 1" pieces. Cook this and onion (& garlic if using) in skillet until bacon is browned & onion is soft. Drain the grease. Add all but milk & onion topping to a crockpot. Cook on low for about 6 hours. May have to increase temp to high so that potatoes are soft. Right before serving, stir in evaporated milk. Warm through. Serve with French Fried onions (or shredded cheese). My husband likes it with a few drops of hot sauce. Note: it is a more chunky thin soup rather than a creamy potato soup.

Is it an 'H'?

2008-11-17T17:05:00.006-05:00

Today's weather has been weird, vacillating somewhere between snow flurries (too big to stick) & hail (albeit brief) with moments of calm thrown in for good measure. While my son decides to save the first (measly) snowball of the season...

I make a pot of potato soup and cherry almond coffeecakes. Don't know if either recipe tastes good yet. I'll let you know tomorrow.

Today also meant piano lessons, which for some in our family translates into joy and for others, conjures up feelings of embarrassment and dread. Of course, the latter is due to lack of practice during this past week. Oh well. And yet, we forge ahead. Today we spent the car ride practicing our note flashcards. Or at least the kids did as I drove. All I heard were things like...

"Is it a C?"
"No, wait...don't tell me... I know this one!"
"Oh, rats!"
"You don't know that one?"
"Quit stalling!"

Normal stuff. Until my youngest, who at this point is the only one who doesn't take lessons, yells out, "I know what that is! Is it an 'H'?"

Too bad there isn't an 'H' on the piano.

Craving Simplicity

2008-11-06T17:58:00.003-05:00

Well, another month has passed. Many hours forgotten. Busy-ness seems to be my middle name. I am thankful for some simpler things though...

Enjoying good coffee: the homemade, freshly-ground, money-saving kind of coffee ...

Baking breads... banana, pumpkin and cranberry...

Recipe from this book. Try again? Not exactly... a little dry.

Celebrating my daughter's 14th birthday with a maple cake...

What's better than playing with something slimy?

Making 'gooey gunk' just for fun. Recipe from this book.

I'm hoping to set some time aside to make more of these, and finish the sweater that I began months ago. Maybe squeeze in some time for more creative endeavors.

Studying

2008-10-04T18:25:00.004-04:00

That's about all I feel we (I) have time for at the moment. Oh, how I would love to pour myself a cup of coffee, listen to some nice music and blog for the afternoon. Visiting and writing. Ogling and editing.

But for now, my time is mainly spent with school things. Geography, history (2 different time frames for 2 different sets of kids), science (sea life for one set; physical science for the other set). And then there's math, spelling, grammar, writing, writing and more writing. Oh yes, and French, typing and...music...art (when there's time to fit it in)...

It's good and satisfying in many ways so I suppose I'll just have to be okay with blogging fewer times for now. At least until this season passes.

I did, however, manage to sew some new curtains for our almost-finished, re-done diningroom. The fabric is from Ikea. I bought it 2 years ago - I don't think they carry it anymore. It's very Marimekko-like. Notice the flooring? It used to be off-white wall to wall. Glad it's gone.

Art Show

2008-09-23T16:19:00.007-04:00

Hidden behind this young man was my son's drawing of a dinosaur.
My daughter's pieces are on the right.
That shoe is the first pair of shoes I (well, okay, Grandma) bought her.

Last Friday evening was spent enjoying an art show of which 2 of my children participated. One side of the community art center's room was decorated with artwork (in various mediums) from adults in the area; the other side was hung with work from 2 different homeschool co-ops. My older children had pencil drawings and charcoal work in the show. And, like any opening, there was:

My younger sons tried to be dainty in sneaking the crackers & cheese.

the celebration food (child-friendly and non-alcoholic kind)

a beautiful building to house the show,

"Can we go home, yet?"

plenty of admirers,

and of course, the artwork.

It was a nice change of pace, a delightful way to end a long week. I hope they have more opportunities to participate in things like this.

Clearing

2008-09-18T07:23:00.003-04:00

Almost 30. 30 days since my last post. Hurrayic has been playing hookey for all that time?

Not quite. I wish. Starting up homeschool and co-op classes and engaging in home improvement projects (yes, we decided to flatten ceilings, paint walls and put in flooring right before school began again - literally the weekend before - what possessed us to do that?) has kept us working at a hectic pace. So much so, that my poor blog has suffered. I've taken few photographs and have nothing creative to share except for the home projects (I'll show you some pictures when I take them...)

But I'm beginning to feel the cloud lift from my head and some light filtering through my thoughts. I just had to take almost 30 days to reprioritize some things. Things which will hopefully help all areas - school, home, kids, craft, life.

Rattle

2008-08-20T15:55:00.004-04:00

Is this an axiom?

That is the sound my brain is making/has made these past few weeks. Just yesterday I was convinced that it was Monday, the 25th! What's up with that? I missed not just a day but many days. I think it has something to do with my husband having taken a vacation day on Monday so that we could go to an amusement park. It's messed up my time clock. I'm relieved to know that I still have approximately 2 weeks to putter around (panic) before school begins again. Maybe things would go better if I had drunk (or drank?) a coke?

On a good note however, our garden is going crazy with produce right now:

Some mariachi peppers,

Some white eggplant,

And some tomatoes!

I think I see a platter of tomatoes, basil, olive oil
and mozzarella in the very near future.

And on an interesting note: NEVER place a bag of unopened marshmallows near an unopened, still-sealed-in-the-plastic box of dryer sheets. Or else you'll end up with marshmallows that 'taste' like soap! Yum!

Free Flowers

2008-08-15T12:15:00.003-04:00

Anne & Parsley, originally uploaded by hurrayic.

This is all I could muster at the end of yet another busy week. Good, but busy. As I read through other blogs, I see that we're all in the same boat - wishing for more creative time yet having to fill home needs and new school needs right now, in this season of winding down and gearing up. So I leave you with a bouquet of free flowers to enjoy - Queen Anne's Lace growing wild in our backyard and parsley from my flowerpot.

Enjoy the weekend.

Bug Party

2008-08-11T13:21:00.002-04:00

Bug Party Fun, originally uploaded by hurrayic.

Saturday was spent celebrating my youngest's 8th birthday party. Goldilocks would have agreed with the weather; it was just right. Good thing! That meant that 11 little testosterone boys could do most of their running around OUTSIDE. It was fun except for 1 snafu:

ALWAYS try out a new game before the day of the party to see if it will actually work.

We had a bees-into-the-beehive game all planned out. How clever we were, we thought! We blew up a ton of bright yellow balloons, some complete with silly markered bee faces. The plan was to swat (using clean fly swatters) the bees (balloons) around one hive like a bee dance and into another beehive. We imagined all these little bees swarming into the 'hive'. Well as soon as a 'bee' hit the grass, it popped! We have sharp grass, not the luscious soft green stuff you see in magazine ads and dream about. So all the little boys ended up popping the balloons, (good fun!) leaving scraps of yellow latex scattered on the lawn like extra cheese on a pizza.

Friday, already?

2008-08-08T20:41:00.006-04:00

Look, Ma! I put my face in the water!

This week streaked by like lightning. We've been busy with swim lessons each evening (finally found some affordable ones) which of course upset our dinner routine/schedule as well as what we ate: junk. Anyone have any quick and healthy recipes that kids like to eat? We have another week of swim lessons coming up...

This week I also turned into a baking fiend. For some reason the idea using my oven while it was hot outside was very strong, and I ended up creating (and partially eating, unfortunately):

a black raspberry puff pastry tart,

a banana bread recipe with garam masala,

Gone! In zero-to-60 seconds!

fried doughnuts with 10x sugar

and gazpacho. (Okay, so the last isn't baking and there's no photo...but it was yummy, and it is my husband's 2nd favorite, his first being cold cucumber soup.)

I also drove around like mad to various dollar stores looking for goodies for my son's goody bags. I should have made more meaningful things but time was short. He's having a bug party tomorrow, so today we decorated, figured out games and made some dirt cake.

Phew! I'm beat, but I did manage to squeeze in my 3rd Simplicity 3835 shirt. It's made from linen: the black is leftover from this shirt and the blue is from a pair of linen pants that I bought several years ago on the clearance rack. I didn't quite have enough blue for the sleeves, hence the black. It reminds me of a baseball shirt - it looks better on than hanging here on the hanger.

I changed the proportions again and it fits much better. I'm thinking of several more - maybe one with 3/4 length sleeves for the fall/winter.

Citrusy Goodness

2008-08-05T11:02:00.004-04:00

Last week, we made some homemade lemonade, our second batch. Lovely.

I used organic sugar so the finished resulting color is a bit darker than if I had used regular white sugar. I didn't have a potato masher, so I used my pastry blender. I based it on this recipe, but changed a few things that a friend had done. Just thinly slice all lemons - put in bowl, put sugar on top, mash it, add water. Transfer some of the lemons to bottom of pitcher, pour the remainder (through a strainer) directly into pitcher. Add ice. Good to go!

It was so refreshing but gone in a matter of minutes! I'll either have to double the batch next time or ration out portions. Now that we've had the real stuff, it will be difficult to return to the fake dry stuff. And we did try some homemade limeade as well...

... it was good but a wee bit sour. And the next day (yes, I unfortunately left the limes in the pitcher overnight), it was totally... well let's just say it made your eyes blink uncontrollably and your mouth pucker like a shriveled prune. Maybe we should try some homemade orange juice?

Edited to add: My beautiful pitcher is no more. I think I poured too-hot water in the sink (when the empty pitcher was also in there) and I heard a 'pinging' sound. It must have made two large circular cracks in the bottom of the glass.

Eye Candy & A Final Winner

2008-08-04T15:38:00.005-04:00

Here's a little eye candy for you; not something from a store but something better than that: goodies from our garden.

Sun golds waiting to be eaten.

More cucumbers and more beans!

And our first big eggplant... isn't 'she' a beauty?

And.... Congratulations to Anja as the final winner of the Dress-Up Giveaways. Whew! It was a long month and a busy one but a good one. Thank you all who participated. It was fun and a good way to begin to declutter my house.

Giving and Receiving In Motion

2008-08-01T14:15:00.004-04:00

Here are my submissions for Megan's photoswap:

Water in Motion

During our tie-dyeing days, we watered the lawn with leftover colored water. My oldest threw a bucket of this aqua-colored water, and I attempted to catch it mid-air. I think I need a lot more practice!

Light in Motion

This is one that I took on the evening of July 4th. I had my youngest run around with a lit light saber to see the colored light dance. I think it becomes more like a modern-art abstract painting.

And these 'In Motion' photographs are what I received from my swap partner. Very beautiful. Thanks, Debi!

Have a great weekend!

Restless

2008-07-31T10:01:00.007-04:00

Yesterday, I didn't have any particular reason or worry for feeling restless, but I did. (Well I have lots of worries and reasons, but not any one of them so large yesterday.) So what was my solution? Keeping busy.

First, I made chocolate chip cookies - yum.

Then I sewed a bit more for my 3rd attempt of this pattern. I'll show you when it's completed.

The kids and I went to see a matinee of Wall-E. (We usually wait a long time before seeing a new movie - you know, avoiding the crowds... but it's still $$!)

I did laundry (of course), visited the garden and spotted a rabbit thief!

I edited a tiny bit more of my book (will it ever be finished?), cleaned the frog tank and got to punch something!

Punching French baguette dough, that is. I pulled out the recipe that I've made since we were first married, and found that I didn't have enough of all-purpose flour, so I threw in some white whole wheat flour. I think I may use that more often. It was very yummy.

Did my restless feelings dissolve? Not necessarily. But they did subside a bit and produced some good results for the day. Now if only my busyness would include more decluttering and organizing...but hey, who wants to do that?

New Book Free Book

2008-07-29T16:18:00.001-04:00

I recently purchased this new book. I love it. It involves all sorts of printing methods that you can do at home; most I've read about and/or done before at various stages of my life.

It's a nice reminder and refresher book.

I love the inventive applications for the printing methods: bags, wallpaper, upholstery, cards, linens...

and I love how the author included a series of photographs for the various steps involved. (I'm a very visual learner, mostly.)

There are stencils and patterns included, and the book stays flat because of the spiral binding.

Very inspirational!

Now for the Free Book... Simple Mom is giving away one of Amanda Soule's The Creative Family books. She's also posted an interview with Amanda. Hurry over and see!

Winner! & Final Dress-Up Giveaway!

2008-07-28T08:30:00.002-04:00

Winner of D-U-G-A #3 is perilloparodies!
Just email me your info, and I'll send off your goodies.

Now for the 4th and final giveaway: A Dress-Up Giveaway with goodies to make something. There is a twist... make something with some (or all) of the items that you receive for your child or for child you know. Surprise them with an imaginative dress-up gift. A cape? A bag? A skirt? A belt? I won't put a time limit on this because I know how busy we all are. Then when you've completed your dress-up outfit or accessory, post a picture on your blog for all to see. I'll make a Dress-Up List on my sidebar to let others know what you're up to. That's it!

Final Dress-Up Giveaway with a Twist

1 1/2 yards of burnished gold sheer fabric

1/4 yard of big metallic dot on black fabric

1 spool of metallic gold thread

2 yards jumbo metallic gold rickrack

2 1/4 yards gold twisted cord

4+ yards 1" white 'fur'

Leave a comment. I'll pick randomly from them and post the winner's name next Monday. Enjoy! And thanks for all who've participated.

Dyeing Again

2008-07-25T11:08:00.005-04:00

For giveaway... scroll down. A few days left.

Summertime family togetherness part 2: Tie-Dyeing continued...

Trying to spray the extra dye from the t-shirts.

Rinsing some t-shirts in buckets of water while other shirts wait their turn.

Liking some of the designs while wet.

Watering the grass with colored water.

Modeling some of the finished products.

Notes: Next time, we'll tie-dye the old-fashioned way without making tight bundles. The dye really needs to get into more of the crevices otherwise you end up with lots of white left over. I think we're going to re-do a few of them (with our leftover dye) to add more oomph.

Dyeing

2008-07-23T12:52:00.006-04:00

We're enjoying some summer family time together: tie-dyeing t-shirts.

Wringing out the rubber-banded bundles.

Mixing the different colors together.

Applying the dye.

Forgetting to wear gloves while applying the dye! (Even Grandma's hands got covered!)

Leaving shirts out overnight. We'll see the surprises tomorrow...

Winner! & Dress-Up Giveaway # 3

2008-07-21T09:07:00.002-04:00

Yeah! ang is the winner of D-U-G-A #2!

Just email me your info and I'll send off the goodies to you.

Now for the 3rd giveaway. All the items are good for dress-up. There is a twist. You have to make something with some (or all) of the items that you receive for your child or for a child you know. Surprise them with an imaginative dress-up gift. A cape? A bag? A skirt? A belt? I won't put a time limit on this because I know how busy we all are. When you've completed your dress-up outfit, post a picture on your blog for all to see. I'll make a Dress-Up List on my sidebar to let others know what you're up to. That's it!

Dress-Up Giveaway with a Twist #3

2 yards iridescent green-blue-black fabric (see-through)

2 yards white feather boa

A little less than 1/4 yard of big silver dot on black fabric

1 surprise

Leave a comment if you're interested. I'll pick randomly from the comments and post the winner next Monday. And...I'll tell you about the final Dress-Up Giveaway with a Twist #4.

Thoughtful Friday 5

2008-07-18T11:44:00.004-04:00

There are no seven wonders of the world
in the eyes of a child.
There are seven million.

~Walt Streightiff

Quilting

2008-07-16T11:02:00.003-04:00

Old quilt, originally uploaded by hurrayic

Making a quilt has been on my mental to-do list for quite some time. About 12 years ago, I started one then gave up and gave away the work-in-progress. It all seemed too time-consuming then. It's still time-consuming (I think...maybe a bit?) , and I am busy, but I'd like to try my hand at it sometime soon. My bed really needs a quilt of some sort. The more modern quirky ones appeal to me more than the traditional ones. I love the ones that Erin has made and is making. And of course there's Denyse's quilts, which I admire. There are a ton of blogs out there with quilts galore. Some very crafty and talented people: too many to mention here.

Did you know that you could possibly win this quilt? Go and see...Old Red Barn is either crazy or extremely generous!

Goodies in the Mail

2008-07-14T09:34:00.007-04:00

.
scroll down for the giveaway...

A little goodness arrived a few days ago.

I love what the mailman brings sometimes:

fabric

I have to say that these freshly squeezed fabrics are just the thing.

beads

I think they're might be a color theme going on?

a print

Isn't she lovely? From Elsita.

and a set of napkins & placemats.

My BTRSswap partner sent me these.
You can see the matching napkins & placemats here.
You can see lots more sets here.

Winner! & Dress-Up Giveaway #2

2008-07-14T08:42:00.006-04:00

Dress-Up Giveaway Logo, originally uploaded by pichurrayic.

Mirre from Kisskus is the winner for D-U-G-A #1!
Just email me with your info, and I'll send off your goodies.

Now onto the 2nd giveaway. For those of you just visiting, I was decluttering (finally) and found some items good for dress-up. I'd like to give them away to you (a. because it's fun and b. because I need to simplify!). There is a twist, however...you have to make something with some (or all) of the items that you receive for your child or for a child you know. Surprise them with an imaginative dress-up gift. A cape? A bag? A skirt? A belt? I won't put a time limit on this because I know how busy we all are. When you've completed your dress-up outfit, post a picture on your blog for all to see. I'll make a Dress-Up List on my sidebar to let others know what you're up to. That's it!

Dress-Up Giveaway with a Twist #2

2 yards silver lamé

2 yards silver foil dot fabric

9+ thin iridescent silver sequin trim

12" silver sequin trim

1 surprise

Again, leave a comment if you're interested. I'll pick a name randomly and post the winner next Monday. And... tell you about Dress-Up Giveaway with a Twist #3!

Preparation

2008-07-13T21:12:00.007-04:00

Yes, that is a basket! It's for their Biblical costume night.

Our oldest three are away at camp this week. Yesterday we gathered all their 'stuff' into the hallway (this is not all they took!) and then

Very drippy coffee!

went out for ice cream. We said our goodbyes today and watched them board the bus.

He looks more pensive than sad..."Will I be old enough next year?"

My youngest is of course, sad to see them go. That is, until I promised (bribed?) him with a trip to the aquarium. At which point, he perked right up with a big grin on his face. So it'll be just him and me (and my husband). Feels sort of strange actually, but I think all of us will enjoy our time together sans siblings.

We've got some more preparing to do: errands, cleaning, planning for school, visits with friends, swimming and maybe some Indian food?

But I've also got to squeeze in some tending of the garden, Megan's photo swap and Molly's mini book swap and

Simplicity 3835 strikes again!

hopefully finish some sewing? We'll see.

1st Skirt

2008-07-11T11:05:00.005-04:00

My daughter finished her first skirt - mainly by herself. She wishes it were longer and a little less 'poofy'. Next time she says she'll pick a skirt without all those gathers.

I think she did a very nice job. Will she catch the sewing bug?

Have a great weekend!

Thoughtful Friday 4

2008-07-11T09:31:00.008-04:00

You can't depend on your eyes

when your imagination is out of focus.

~Mark Twain

My daughter and I experimented with dark & light during the 4th of July. We put together a group of photographs with an other-worldly feel to them. In some of them I can imagine sea creatures or black holes. Many remind me of Dale Chihuly's beautiful glass art. Take a look. What do you imagine?

Simplicity 4589

2008-07-09T18:33:00.009-04:00

.
For giveaway just scroll down...

I'm pretty happy with this one even though I had to make a few alterations (again). It's a learning process...learning process... learning process. I have to chant that every now and again to keep from giving up. I chose the sleeveless version so that I can wear it over a t-shirt. I added some side slits. Before sewing, I added more width to it but then had to remove some of the width (after the shirt was put together mind you). I realize that my shoulders are a littler narrower than my stomach & hip area. So I need to keep that in mind for next time.

This looks more true-to-color than the top photo.

I really love the fabric. It's an inexpensive cotton from a local fabric store (nothing fancy) but the pattern is very Japanese-esque. Although it's printed, it reminds me of the traditional ikat cloth called kasuri.

Garden Love

2008-07-08T12:02:00.008-04:00

For giveaway...just scroll down.

Yes, some insects are loving our green beans. Actually the beans are doing very well, but I have noticed some other plants that might need a little helpful intervention earlier than later. A few beautiful but deadly spotted and striped beetles have been caught creeping across the leaves of our eggplant and cucumbers. It's only a matter of time before I see more of them. Any ideas? I'm thinking of floating row covers or some organic spray. Not sure.

But our tomatoes are growing! We have 11 tomato plants. None are ready yet, but there's promise in the air. My youngest keeps referring to them as little green potatoes.

Last night we enjoyed some homegrown and store-bought veggies in the form of:

Pre-cooked stage...

Penne with Garlic, Sweet Peppers & Parmesan

I keep these separated because some of my children don't like tomatoes.

Mozzarella, Tomatoes & Dwarf Basil

This won't last too long!

& (my favorite) Chopped Kale Salad.

It's from the CSA we used to belong to. (I miss it!) I tweaked a few things to pump up the flavor a bit. What's great about this is that it lasts in the fridge for many days. (Not sure how long that is since it gets eaten quickly...) The first day it's crunchier; the consecutive days tastes better; the kale seems to soak up more of the dressing. Enjoy!

Chopped Kale Salad
1 small or 1/2 large bunch of kale, stems removed, washed, roughly chopped
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1/2 head red cabbage, chopped
3-4 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. sesame oil
4 tsp. Bragg's Liquid Aminos
1-2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp water
salt & pepper to taste (I omitted these)

Chop kale, cabbage & onion. Put in bowl. Mix the remainder of ingredients in a smaller bowl; pour over and mix well. (use your hands!) Cover, refrigerate overnight and then serve (or eat right away like we did - still good!)

Dress-Up Giveaway with a Twist #1

2008-07-07T11:06:00.008-04:00

What's July without a little fun? I don't know about you, but I find July to be a bit restful and stressful. Restful because we're only 'half way' through summer and stressful because we're 'half way' through summer...

I was going to put things away and take a nice, neat picture...
but thought it more authentic in its usual state...
My youngest says the dress-up box is 'drooling'.

We have a white toy box which has been dubbed the 'Dress-Up Box' and from which many phantasmic and eccentric outfits have been created. Maidens, cowboys, knights, mermaids, lords, ladies and vikings have appeared from the box. Many battles fought, many monsters scared away, many tea parties enjoyed. My children have loved dressing up and acting out elaborate stories, often spending hours at a time pretending. Although 2 of them (sadly) no longer take part in the phenomena (except on occasion), 2 of them (my younger boys) continue to role play and in full garb! Sometimes the best outfit is simply a piece of fake fur or an old scarf. Over the years we've filled the box with homemade items and thrift-store items, hand-me down items and shiny new things.

pirate boy clipart from here

Last week I mentioned that I would begin a month-long round of Giveaways with a Twist. So... Each Monday in July, I will try to post one Dress-Up Giveaway.

From my craft piles, I've found some things that I no longer need. I've divided them into 4 different groupings. Each grouping has items that would be good to use for making a dress-up outfit: fabric, trim, tulle, thread, etc. I would like to give you a group of fun things to use and enjoy.

What's the twist?

You have to make something with some (or all) of the items for your child(ren) or for child(ren) you know. Surprise them with an imaginative dress-up gift. A cape? A bag? A skirt? A belt? I won't put a time limit on this because I know how busy we all are. Then when you've completed your dress-up outfit, post a picture on your blog for all to see. I'll make a Dress-Up List on my sidebar to let others know what you're up to. That's it!

Dress-Up Giveaway with a Twist #1

1 1/2 yards of whitish-pinkish iridescent lamé
4 cones of tulle - light blue, purples & pink
2 yards of iridescent sequin trim
3 yards of white sequin trim
9 yards of thin white sequin trim
1 surprise

If you're willing to participate, go ahead... leave a comment...good until this Friday. I'll pick randomly from the comments and post the winner next Monday. I'll also announce Dress-Up Giveaway with a Twist #2. Stay tuned!

Where I Speak of My Hellomabels

2008-07-05T12:54:00.001-04:00

Hellomabels (noun) - plural

Pronunciation: \hə-ˈlō-ˈmā-bəls\
Date: 21st century

Etymology: Hurrayic Latin flaccidus and from flaccus flabby
Its name is derived from when a lady, wearing a short-sleeve shirt
& calling out in a thick NY accent, is waving to her neighbor
across the street. The neighbor is coincidentally named Mabel.*

Definition: The area where the tricep used to be but where flaccidity
has taken place resulting in a wobbly phenomena when the arm is
lifted - especially when waving.

After viewing Simplicity's pattern 3835 here and here and here and here (you can even type in the pattern here to view a bunch more) for the past year, (yes, I'm slow) I bought the pattern on sale and made 2 shirts. I altered things a bit as you will read. I didn't end up using the allotted amount of elastic for the neck, but just made it to-fit. One shirt is looser in the elastic department than the other. I also chose the mid-length sleeves even though I wasn't making either dress.

Sucking in my tummy.

1st shirt: a black linen one from the fabric stash. Although I like the pattern, it didn't quite turn out the way I had imagined. First, the sizing. Apparently, it's great for girls with skinny arms or for girls with bigger 'chests' but small waists. For me? Let's just say my hellomabels* were getting squeezed in the sleeves! And my daughter actually had to help me out of it once I put it on. Embarrassing, yes, but haven't we all tried on something in the fitting room, realizing it's a tad too small and fearing that we'd hear an involuntary ripping sound when attempting to remove said garment?) This time I made a voluntary ripping sound... with the seam ripper! I then inserted a strip of black linen to each side and underarm in one fell swoop. Good. Tried it on again...okay... I like it...it's a tad large but it'll do.

Note to myself: try out darts in the back?

2nd - a batiked aqua & green one. Another fabric stash find. Who knows how long I've had this. Wax residue must still be on the fabric because it has a faint lead-pencil odor to it. A few washes in the machine and it should be fine. This time, I adjusted the actual pattern pieces before sewing. The sleeves are bit shorter than the linen one, I added a slit on both sides for more interest, and I shortened the hem. I like this version too, but once again, it's a little big. I think I'll try it again - maybe the third one will be the charm.

*No offense to anyone named Mabel by the way or any New Yorker!

Thoughtful Friday 3

2008-07-04T11:22:00.004-04:00

Gratitude
is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul.

~ Henry Ward Beecher

11-Second S'more

2008-07-04T11:08:00.000-04:00

It's that time of year again: S'more making time. Of course we don't have the bonfire going outside in our backyard today to enjoy 'authentic' s'mores, but microwaved ones will suffice. My 7 year old has informed me that 11 seconds* is the perfect amount of time for a s'more. He should know; he's made many of them.

*note: due to variances in microwave size and power, you may have to adjust yours to make that 'perfect' s'more.

Happy July 4th!

The Winners are...

2008-07-02T10:20:00.005-04:00

I've been sort of out of it the past few days. Although we did have a very nice lunch with friends on Monday which gave my mind a break, my thoughts have been reeling from homeschool planning for next year. Hence most of my time has been spent choosing and re-choosing curriculum and books, having conversations (arguments?) with myself, and gaining a headache in the process.

I thought I was all set, but you know what happens sometimes... something different catches your eye. Perhaps closing my eyes or turning away might be in order! That, and a large bottle of ibuprofen! But on with the winners. You certainly didn't come to hear me lament about learning and planning...

Thank you for all who left comments. I assigned numbers to everyone and had my youngest call out a number randomly. (He had no idea why I was asking him to pick a number.) This is whom he chose...

Boatload of Streamers goes to:

Bean said...: How fun! My daughter and I would love either prize if we win, we love party decorating!

Ladybug birthday supplies goes to:

rachel said...

Number 2 would be perfect for the party we have coming up!!My niece would be so pleased!

Just email me your info and I'll send it off. Enjoy!

Giveaways! Yes, plural!

2008-06-26T07:39:00.002-04:00

In honor of my semi-successful craft room organization stint yesterday(I'll show some before & after pictures at another time), and the fact that I now have some things to 'get rid of', I have a giveaway. Several to be exact: 2 today and 4 in July. The July ones will have a fun theme and a twist to them so stay tuned. Today's giveaways are celebratory in nature:

#1 Giveaway: Boatload of Streamers
(well...okay a bag of streamers and curling ribbon)

#2 Giveaway: Ladybug Birthday Party Supplies
(this would fit a girl preferably)
Comes complete with hats, plates, party bags,
thank you cards, banner & stickers.

Aren't these cute? My youngest is having a bug party in August,
but these are just too 'girly' he says. Oh well.

Over the years I've collected party supply goods - picking up things here and there, accepting gifted items from others, hunting tag sales, etc. Lots of things were used for the many themed birthday parties that my kids have had, and now I just don't need as much.

So if you can use something, just leave a comment and say whether you'd like #1 or #2. I'll pick the winners next Thursday.

Playing Along

2008-06-25T10:20:00.002-04:00

Meme, originally uploaded by pichurrayic.

I decided to play along with the Flickr Game that so many have posted. Click on the picture and you'll see my answers. Want to see the rules? Go here. Because I'm too busy with something else...

To-Do Today: Begin to Organize Craft Area

I've been procrastinating like mad about the craft area in our house (aka 'spider room' as the kids lovingly refer to it). If I didn't know better, I would have guessed that someone ransacked it while we were sleeping. Sigh. Seriously, it's no longer a creative spot (never really was since we moved here), and it's become a catch-all with piles of stuff. Presently, I'm thinking of 2 verbs that fit this scenario: dread & loathe. No, no! You tell me I should have a better attitude about it? I suppose so. At least my to-do list says begin to organize. Nothing about finishing, right? Enjoy your day. See you in about a year!

Vintage Sheets

2008-06-24T16:29:00.001-04:00

Here is my contribution to the Vintage Sheet Swap that Oh Fransson is hosting.

3 are vintage sheets, and 2 are vintage tablecloths
(Aghast! Yes, I DID take my scissors to a Vera.)
But I mailed it just in time!

BTRS Swap: Finished!

2008-06-23T15:32:00.008-04:00

Mixy-Matchy

After a where-did-the-weekend-go episode, I set to work on the BTRS swap. Here are the finished results: Napkins and placemats. 6 of each. I used the patterns from Amy's book.

I was aiming for a 'vintage' look so I chose tiny calico prints and a multi-striped cotton. The napkins are striped as you can see as are the backs of each placemat. On the fronts of the placemats I tried varying the prints in order to get a mix & match feel.

The back of each placemat is striped.

They turned out 'okay'. I think there are a few items I would change if I do it again. Namely, the choice of ribbon. I wanted something brown to coordinate with the brown in 2 of the fabrics, but perhaps a brown print would have been better. Hmmm...

The ribbon is a wire-edged brown.

And I think perhaps enlarging the finished size of both napkins and placemats would be helpful so that I have more latitude with seam allowances. Either that or invest in a serger sewing machine. All in all however, I'm pleased with the results. I'm definitely going to make up some more napkins. Hope my swap partner likes it! Now I just need to add a recipe to her package...

Edited: Just thought I'd update my post after reading another blogger's snafus with the placemats. I have to agree with her on one thing: the pattern needs yardage amounts listed. She ended up not buying enough fabric; I bought too much. And then I had to make another stop at the fabric store to buy additional ribbon - 3 yards more.

Thoughtful Friday 2

2008-06-20T08:34:00.004-04:00

Those who dream by day
are cognizant of many things
which escape those
who dream only by night.

~ Edgar Allan Poe

Sweetness

2008-06-19T10:52:00.003-04:00

Just a few days ago I was lamenting the fact to Erin from House on Hill Road fame, that I had not been able to find strawberries to pick this year, and therefore there would be no fresh strawberry jam in the freezer for the winter. And of course after seeing this blog and this one and this one too, I was discouraged. Oh well. In New England, the strawberry season is in June. Where were are now the strawberry season is the end of May. (I noted that some of the above bloggers also posted in May, so their seasons must be earlier too.) I'm trying to remind myself of the change and embed the new berry season into my brain.

Some of the strawberry jam that actually made it into the freezer...

We did, however, have success. After rechecking a nearby place this past Saturday, we managed to pick 4 quarts of strawberries. Not the most attractive ones but good enough for jam. Heh, they're getting mashed anyway. My older two came with me to pick. A few hours later....ahhh... sweetness and contentment in the form of 10 (well 9 now - oops! make that 8 - 2 didn't make it to the freezer!) ruby-hued jars of jam! Now onto peach making...

But first...golden kiwi! Yum. They're different than the green variety. Less hairy and more sweet. Cut them in half and scoop them out with a spoon. They're also more $ than the green ones, but well worth it.

And one last sweet... coconut cigars. Enough sugar for one day!

BTRS Swap & She's Getting Wild

2008-06-17T10:42:00.005-04:00

A 2 hour Joann's visit, and we came home with a bag full. I bought fabric for my BTRS swap partner. I'm liking the color choices so much that I wished I had bought more. (Not that my fabric pile really needs to touch the ceiling or anything!) I hit the store on a good day - fabric, patterns & thread were on sale - I used lots of 50% coupons. Yippee.

My daughter decided on 3 fabrics for 3 new skirts (1 of which I'll sew; the other 2 she will attempt). And I have to say... she's getting a bit wild (for her) with one bright green batik pattern.

Dad's Day Celebration

2008-06-16T17:50:00.006-04:00

Yesterday we celebrated Father's Day with cards, hot sauces (my husband loves these) and a home-cooked meal made by my older son and daughter:

Portobello Mushroom Sandwiches with smoked 'Monsterella' (as my youngest one likes to call mozzarella). I didn't have a recipe, so I made one up.

Cold Cucumber Soup (from this wonderful cookbook - but mine is the 'old' version). This is my husband's all-time favorite cold soup. His 2nd? Gazpacho. I'll have to make that one another time.

and Fresh Cherries. Yum! We also had ice cream but you know what that looks like.

Happy Father's Day, Husband! And Happy Father's Day, Dad!

Thoughtful Friday 1

2008-06-13T10:50:00.007-04:00

A book is like a garden carried in the pocket. ~ Chinese Proverb

Cassie began Thoughtful Fridays a little bit ago, and I thought that I might join in albeit 'late'. Perhaps it can bring a sense of calm to an otherwise hectic week or help usher in a refreshing weekend.

Nice

2008-06-12T09:57:00.006-04:00

I am really lacking in the "title your blog with something creative" right now. Can't think. Must be the warm weather and staying up until midnight the past few nights watching library movies?

I was restless yesterday (even with lots of things to do in the house mind you) so I went browsing at a local thrift store. Found this apron for 50 cents and thought it was perfect for Amy's new Gingham apron theme. My daughter suggested I send this in as a submission. I said that would be cheating but isn't it neat?

Not sure if it's homemade or store bought, old or new. I like it because it's black (of course) and I like the black chicken scratch with it. Maybe it'll provide some needed inspiration for the next apron theme. But if not, I think I'll actually wear this one!

How did I end up with 7 buttons when I only sent out 6?

My buttons arrived a few days ago. Aren't they adorable? I realized too late (didn't even occur to me) that I had an opportunity for some 'free' blog advertising and failed to take advantage of it. Notice all those nice little cards and tags with other people's blogs on them? When I sent in my buttons for the Button Swap, I just popped them into a plastic baggie and sent them on their way. Duh! Next time I'll be better prepared...

Some books I'm enjoying.
Some are repeats, some are new.
Thanks, Amber for the Uncommon Crochet recommendation!

Since we've moved here, I've paid more in overdue fines than I have for years at our previous place. I think it's because there are 3 different library systems in close geographic proximity to our house (all of which have their pros/cons) and none of them share a drop-off box! Our previous place had 1 basic system for the entire region, and I could easily pick up in one town and drop off in another. Not here! Oh well...at least my $ goes to buy new books.

My dining room table is being taken over...

And last but not least... my daughter finally pulled out her new sewing machine that Grandma and Grandpa gave her last Christmas. After showing her some basic stitches, reading and re-reading the manual (this machine is different than mine), she set to work. Her first project? A pillowcase for her American Girl doll. Her next one? A skirt for her American Girl doll. So far, so good. Now we just need to move onto something for her.

New

2008-06-06T14:48:00.004-04:00

New red berries growing on a bush.
I'm sure the birds will enjoy them!

It's very hot here today but very beautiful. The sky is bright blue, the clouds crisp and white, and there's a wonderful wind blowing. We're waiting for my in-laws to arrive for the weekend so I thought I'd squeeze in some blog time before they get here. Didn't quite know what to name this post. 'New' seemed to fit because I wanted to share some 'new' things:

New green beans budding in one of our garden beds.

New baby radishes in the cotyledon stage.

'New' iced coffee. My morning's coffee sat in the pot unused and rather throw it out, I made some iced coffee. Good.

strawberry-pomegranate soda - yum

'New' soda. We hardly drink soda anymore except on special occasions. My children limit their intake as well (their own choice although I 'might' have had some influence there!) and my daughter hates the 'fizz' so she never touches the stuff. Better for everyone's teeth. However, we have been enjoying some Italian sodas recently. They're naturally flavored and colored and are less sweet. Very refreshing over ice. We're especially enjoying the blood orange and pear & peach varieties. I need to find some recipes to make my own spritzers. You know, the juice & seltzer kinds. Any ideas?

New 'napkins'. (above) Actually they're 'bar wipes' that I found in the seasonal section of Target. 6 per pack and summery and bright (not my colors but I thought we needed a punch after a dreary winter). I got the idea from here. (she used IKEA baby washcloths) I've been reading other posts about cloth napkins vs. paper napkins. Not sure if it really reduces anything (paper/trees vs. water/energy to wash them) but I thought I'd give them a go. Making your own cloth napkins is nothing new ~ it's been around a long, long time. However with the resurgence of handmade/homemade, I really need to make some soon. I've joined the BTRS Swap and they're making napkins and placemats this time around. Should be fun.

Here are some other napkin links:
molly's handmade napkins (tutorial)
chara michele handmade cloth napkins (tutorial)

and last but not least...

New' laundry products. After reading Molly's post, I thought I'd try some gentler cleaning goods. Some dryer balls and new detergent. We'll see.

Have a great weekend!

Salad

2008-06-05T19:32:00.003-04:00

This post is a salad post for Randi's Recipe Box Swap. I made this last week but didn't take a photo of it. It was gone before I thought of recording it. So the flower picture will have to suffice. (I don't like posting without a photo!) My mom gave me the recipe. She received it from a colleague who got it from ? Don't know, but it tastes great.

Israeli Salad
2 cukes, seeded & cubed
2 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup radishes, sliced thin & halved
2 scallions, chopped
1 pepper, chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley
1/2 cup black olives (pitted kalamata are good, but plain old black ones in can are okay too)
1/2 cup red onion, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt & pepper to taste

Mix all. Chill to 'marry' the flavors. This lasts several days in fridge. I ended up serving this alongside some spanakopita, homemade hummus, pita and store-bought lentil vegetable burgers (tasted like falafel). Wonderful.

Havana Apron

2008-06-03T09:58:00.005-04:00

I'm finally able to show you my submission for Amy's Tie One On. The theme this time was Havana Nights, and besides being an adventure in sewing without a pattern (again), there was an added benefit: I was introduced to the Buena Vista Social Club's music and documentary of the same name. Very engaging and fun.

A shuffle of ruffles!

I made the apron in time for the initial deadline but hadn't taken pictures of it in its completed state. Not to worry I told myself ... Amy had extended the deadline... so therefore, I had more time to procrastinate about photographing the apron!

A welt 'pocket' technique to create slits in the top layer.

Then in late May, I realized that I better get a move on the photography and send it off to her or else.

Detail of waistband - wanted both sides to be as flat as possible.

You can go see all the awesome aprons here.

I made it reversible to show two different sides of Cuba (at least my perception of Cuba since I've never visited). The first side is utilitarian but with slits in it to give hints of what is beneath. Once the bows are untied, the utilitarian side is flipped over, and the bows are re-tied, a night of dancing is in order.

This was my most difficult apron yet. I sketched and re-sketched and figured out mathematical equations, bought the materials (had trouble finding the right width of eyelet lace), and then stood, with scissor in hand, wavering. I always hate those first few cuts. What if I mess it up? It's funny, I was rereading something in Amy's book about the various 'types' of crafters. Although I think I fit the different categories (Miser, Perfectionist, Speed Demon & Artist) to various degrees and with various projects, this apron has me now in the 'artist' category. The one where yes, there's creativity, but the possible 'inability' to re-create what I've made! Yikes.

Listening

2008-06-02T10:26:00.006-04:00

Bird illustration drawn by Dane, 2008.

This morning I opened wide the windows and let in the breeze, the scents and the sounds of a new day. June already! I had just poured a cup of coffee and took a few moments to sit and relish the quiet beginnings. I had to really listen (which is quite difficult to do at times...) Apart from the occasional growl of a motor or squeal of a tire or toot of a horn (or train whistle), the air was filled with bird calls. All types of birds... none of which I could/can recognize. I did find this site and this site and this one to help. I think I'd like to buy a bird song cd so I can tell the differences between a swift and a robin, a morning dove and a cardinal...

Edited to add: We joined Cornell's Project Feeder Watch a month ago in hopes to do more bird watching during the coming fall and winter. That should help! You can join in too - the next round begins November 8th.

Shoes

2008-05-30T17:36:00.003-04:00

The bright yellow & bright orange ones are new and for my sons.
The baby blue ones are mine, over 4 years old and still lookin' good.

I love seeing posts about shoes. Like this and this. Most of my shoes are either black or black or black and maybe a brown thrown in. Occasionally I'll purchase another color. It's not that I don't like colored shoes. (I 'secretly' like red ones.) Let's just say that if $ was growing on trees, I would buy a rainbow of footwear. This week, I purchased 10 pairs of shoes! Not for me - for my 4 children. What I want to know is...Why oh why can't their feet just stay the same size?

Have a good weekend.

Take 1: "Crispy Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies"

2008-05-28T20:24:00.006-04:00

A year ago I visited a local farmer's market and bought a cookie.

A crunchy oatmeal-type cookie.

A very yummy type of cookie.

I bought a few more, took them home and tried to decipher their contents one by one.

I made several attempts; this is my first successful one:

Crispy Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies - Version 1

1 ½ cups butter (3 sticks)
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
½ tsp salt
1 ½ cups flour
1 ½ cups quick oats
½ cup wheat germ
½ cup toasted oat bran (Trader Joes carries this)
2 c. Grape Nuts cereal (organic kind)
2 tsp baking soda
1 cup dried sweetened cranberries
½ cup golden raisins

Preheat oven to 375 F.
Cream butter and sugars together until fluffy. Beat in eggs, vanilla 'til blended. Set aside. In large bowl, mix together salt, flour, oats, wheat germ, oat bran, Grape Nuts & baking soda. Combine with wet stuff. Fold in cranberries and raisins. Roll into 1+” balls, flatten on ungreased cookie sheet (or parchment lined sheet). (These spread so I only put 12 on a sheet instead of 16 as usual.) Bake 375 F for 8-13 min. Transfer to cooling rack. Makes 4 dozen 3" size cookies.

Note: chill dough in fridge for ½ hour before rolling into balls – the spreading will lessen

****It still needs some tweaking, but it is awfully good. Any experienced bakers out there? I'd love to hear your recommendations for improvement. Maybe decrease amount of butter or egg? Add nuts?

Robin's Merry Men - Part 2

2008-05-27T17:36:00.002-04:00

Robin's Merry Men - Part 2, originally uploaded by pichurrayic.

Well the party was over in 90 minutes! Nice and quick! We had gorgeous weather and the kids had lots of fun. We had visits from Little John, Prince John and King Richard. Robin and his men tried to cross a river by fighting Little John with long sticks (pool tubes), decipher clues and complete archery events to gain more clues in hopes of finding Robin's loot. Then they enjoyed green lemonade and bullseye cupcakes made by my daughter. All in all a good day.

'New' Skirt

2008-05-23T19:20:00.005-04:00

Just popping in to show you the before and after photos of my thrifted $2.00 skirt. I like long skirts but I thought a shorter one was in order. Note to myself: taking photographs at different times and on different days with different weather is not a good idea because of the different colors of the same skirt!

before

So I simply cut off the border print (which was my least favorite part of the skirt), ironed the seams and sewed the hem.

after

Have a good holiday weekend!

Robin's Merry Men

2008-05-22T15:45:00.013-04:00

will be descending upon Sherwood's Forest (aka our backyard) this coming Saturday. I've been hemming and hawing about getting my 10-year-old's birthday party planning accomplished so today I worked a bit on some ideas. Between all of our kids, I've done approximately 20 themed parties. Albeit fun and memorable, I am just plain tuckered out. Also (bad timing on my part) for some reason I kept thinking Memorial Day weekend was NEXT weekend. Boo Hoo! I would have preferred a 3-Day Calgon bath...

This is my 7 year old modeling a hat for me.

My 10-year-old (his real birthday was last week) decided he wanted a Robin Hood theme. Several months ago I agreed that it sounded like an interesting topic as I imagined full-garb costumes hand sewn by me for each invitee, lots of bows that we'd whittle from tender tree saplings and string with ? ... but alas, none of those things happened.

So Plan B is:

Robin Hood Hats made from green foam sheets and red feathers. Here's a good video to watch on how to make your own.

Pouches made from brown felt and a crocheted chain of yarn for the handle to hold all the treasure.

Pretty good for 10 bucks!

Treasure Chest. I was going to have Little John (aka my husband) make one from corrugated, but he's so swamped at work, and Michael's was having a 60% off sale, so we're using this one instead. Pretty good deal, I say.

Don't you wish the loot was authentic?

We filled it with coins and gems (the gems were on clearance at Michael's too... good thing!) Now I just need to stow it away and make clues so the boys can find it. I'll share some After-Party scenes next week, but for now, I've got to go make some bulls-eye cupcakes.

Tag Sale Finds 2

2008-05-21T21:30:00.001-04:00

This past Saturday, the weather was gorgeous, so I dragged my 2 younger sons with me to 2 different community tag sales. Not much real 'treasure' but I did manage to bring home some interesting and useful items:

1. a set of over-sized playing cards

Good for littler hands and 40 year old eyes!

2. stamps (my daughter is taking up one of my old hobbies)

Not sure if they're authentic, and they probably aren't worth much,

but many of them are like little works of art.

The graphics are strong.

Love this pelican.

3. a set of 6 egg cups

Had these in my possession less than 60 seconds(!!!! )when my youngest decided to 'toss' it back into the bag with the others...

Yes, we now have 5 good ones and 1 slightly chipped one. Oh well. They're still sweet.

4. an embroidered and crocheted bag

for my daughter - it can barely hold a few pens and lip balm it's so tiny

5. and an embroidered napkin (I think it's more of a bun warmer.)

It was stained in parts, but that doesn't matter.
I'm going to cut it apart and use only the embroidered parts.

6. 1 wool sweater to felt,

and last but not least...

7. a red skirt to re-do. I'll show you that later.

In the Mood

2008-05-19T19:18:00.004-04:00

...for lasagna.

Ever wake up with a craving of some sort? I opened the cabinets this morning and spied a box of lasagna noodles and for the next 6 hours I thought about making lasagna. At first I waffled: it takes so long to do and no ricotta in the house was mixed with it tastes so yummy and it is drizzling outside. I couldn't get it out of my head so I rifled through the recipe box and pulled out my eggplant lasagna with bechamel sauce recipe that I've had in my possession for 15+ years. Good. No ricotta needed. Then...oh, I have no eggplant... hmmm...

So I threw in some leeks, zucchini, shredded carrots, and yellow pepper with the remainder of ingredients and well? It passed.

Tag Sale Finds

2008-05-17T08:42:00.006-04:00

Yesterday I was running some errands (sans kids) and I just 'happened' to see a garage sale sign and then a yard sale sign so I decided to stop. Around this part of the country, they call them yard, garage, and rummage sales. Where we used to live they were referred to as 'tag sales'. The name doesn't really matter; it's the content that does. (okay, so I think 'tag' is the nicest sounding and makes the most sense since most items have little 'tags' on them... and who wants to buy a garage?)

Some large blue bell jars and some pretty embroidery.

I'm trying to restrain myself from bringing more 'stuff' into the house. At some tag sales it's easy to pass up what people are trying to sell. Either it's truly 'junky' or it's priced too high and I'm not a haggler. At others, well...

The birds and nest were embroidered by someone's 'grandmother'. It was in a frame with little boxed sections, so the exposed fabric was darker than the fabric beneath the wood. When I took the frame off and peeled back the paper backing, I was glad to see that the fabric had not been glued down, but instead had just been taped around the edges.

This nest is so sweet and I think the technique for making it is interesting. Little tufts of wool.

This of course, is my favorite bird of the bunch. I like the colors. Whoever made it obviously had a good time while sewing down every little stitch.

Okay, so today (Saturday) is a new day... I'm off to more 'tag' sales. What do you call them in your neck of the woods?

Flopsy, Mopsy...

2008-05-16T08:23:00.003-04:00

The 4 banes or 4 boons?
free image from Clipart Etc

Cotton-tail and even baby Peter have been spotted around our yard during this springtime. Methinks that they've been living beneath our back porch.

I've seen them hopping towards the house and disappearing beneath the wooden planks. I'm guessing they're subletting the space from the groundhog? It should make for an interesting summer; I think I'll dub myself Mrs. McGregor and get my rolling pin and pie plates out...

Garden of Weeds!

Seriously though... I hope they stay out of the garden. You can't tell yet, but this area of weeds, about 20' x 14', will be our future vegetable garden. On Saturday, we removed all those weeds, flung many o' these over the fence and covered the spot with black cloth. After reassessing the amount of soil needed to fill the area and realizing that neither of us wanted to carry ???????? bags of peat, manure and soil uphill, (having a truck dump a load is out of the question) we came up with the raised bed box solution with ample walkways between boxes.

A box has been made. Four others need to be assembled, lots of digging and filling in with said soil needs to be finished and then plants and seeds can be planted. The next difficulty is watering. We're thinking weeping hoses or a sprinkler from a pole. Any suggestions?

Off topic slightly: If interested in identifying various caterpillars, I found this site to be helpful.

Flora Helps Out

2008-05-14T07:39:00.007-04:00

Yes, yesterday was the day I was supposed to name the winner of the giveaway, but honestly, the day flew by (my children were/are taking Stanford Achievement tests for several days) and although I did pick a name and took pictures, I was just too tired to post about it. So I'm sure you understand. Thank you so much for all the fun comments ~ a giveaway will always help lurkers into de-lurking ~ it was the most comments ever! Thanks!

Recently we borrowed Wee Felt Folk from the library and have just now been able to 'sit down and enjoy it'. Several years ago, I first saw some of Sally Mavor's beautiful little folk at Magic Cabin Dolls and ended up purchasing some of her kits. I put the kits away in a 'safe' place to do later. Having moved and rearranging things, I know they're somewhere in the house still. My daughter's been asking to see them, but in the meantime, she followed the directions in the book and made her own. I'd like to introduce Flora. Isn't she sweet?

Here's Flora being held up by my daughter since she had to get used to her own two feet...

Here she is daydreaming...

and dancing...The bag of potential winners was on the table, so Flora climbed into the bag and...

this is the paper she pulled out...

Congratulations, Florence! Just email me your info, and I'll send off your prize!

And once again, thank you all for the fun and sweet comments from before.

Mother's Day 'Linner'

2008-05-12T09:26:00.006-04:00

Note: Only 1 day left for the giveaway!

Wild phlox picked by sons and tulips ("just the ones I would have picked" said husband)

Happy Belated Mother's Day. This past week and weekend were very full with a piano recital, test practices, schooling, and major weeding (more of that later). Needless to say, the cards and gifts for mother's day were few and last minute. However, I realize that those things don't really matter. It was good to be together and enjoying each other's company. I did scoot out Saturday evening and bought some meal fixin's so that my children could fix 'linner' (lunch and dinner combo) and 10 tulips from the local (but fancier) supermarket. We added in some wild phlox that my boys had picked that day et voici! A beautiful bouquet.

"Look away from the camera - mom's taking a picture for her blog!"

My children set the table, poured orange juice, milk and wine into the appropriate wine glasses and served me Poulet Orange (orange chicken) and mache with tomatoes. We had pound cake with ice cream and strawberries for dessert. They even cleaned up the kitchen!

Gerberas I had planted a few weeks ago in a self-watering pot - doing well.
And yes, they're really this bright!

As I said, Saturday was spent weeding the future veggie garden and beginning to weed around the house. We need to finish some raised bed boxes for the veggies, pull out unwanted paving stones that were used by the former homeowner as flower bed edging but only look like crooked teeth right now, and yank out a 'pond'. This 'pond' consists of two barrel containers that originally were part of a 'fountain' (another former homeowner's decoration) and might have had fish or frogs living it? Right now, it looks like two barrels of mucky, soon-to-be-infested mosquito pools. Lovely.

I also have a dilemma of sorts. (A very minuscule one when you think of everything in life and probably not a dilemma at all.) The photo above is my good pot of Gerberas. And this one below...

Gerberas in another self-watering pot - trouble!

... is my 'what happened?' pot of Gerberas. I think I over-watered this one. Or maybe I killed the roots. Any ideas?

Mesiodens-less

2008-05-08T18:39:00.006-04:00

So as to not gross you out, I turned this packet over - that little pink bump to the left is his mesiodens.

My littlest had his extra tooth (mesiodens) pulled today. We drove over an hour each way in the pouring rain to the oral surgeon (who was great fun by the way) and back home. My little guy was a trooper and very sweet, very cooperative. After the 'gas', I had barely left him and gone to wait in the waiting room when the Dr entered with tooth in hand. Procedure done in less than 5 minutes! Whoopee!

But the poor little guy wasn't 100% quite yet. Dizziness, headache, throwing up (sorry). It lasted longer than I expected, but he seems back to normal now. How thankful I am. And he's thankful too: what a diet he has for the next day or so... yogurt, pudding, ice cream, jello, more ice cream...

Giveaway!

2008-05-06T08:16:00.004-04:00

No, it's not my 100th post (missed that one) and no, it's not my 200th post (not yet).

It's just that I've had her for awhile. After I saw Stephanie's from her previous blog, (scroll down) I searched for one of my own with the intent of giving her away. She's been wrapped in tissue paper and stored away in a box on a shelf.

It's a tad different - probably newer. It's larger than I expected. But isn't she cute? Just not my 'style'. So... I thought I'd share her with someone who would appreciate her more.

Is there a catch? Not really, except I would like her to go to someone with a little girl or boy and not to ebay or some such site. So I would like you to take a picture of her in her new surroundings and post it on your blog. Sound good? Just leave a comment. I'll pick randomly from those in 1 week. Enjoy!

Mice

2008-05-03T10:03:00.001-04:00

mice on a sea of blue-green

The fog is lifting; some of the items on my shoulders are falling off (getting done). It's encouraging. Also the weather has been lovely which helps immensely. I finished my lunchbox & photo swaps, co-op classes (I did a little "we're finished" dance!), our schooling load is lightening, and now my button swap is complete. In March, I had enthusiastically signed up for the swap hosted by greetingarts and then found that time was encroaching...

same mice on a sea of red & pink

I knew I wanted to do an animal's face, and since my embroidery skills are in the beginning stages, I knew the design had to be simple. No fancy stitches with these critters. I found a wonderful tutorial on how to do embroidered covered buttons here. I used a thrifted linen napkin (the color is a little more like pale mustard than the photo shows). The little yellow cheese slices were an add-on at the last minute.

I used mainly backstitching, 'satin-like' stitches and some French knots for the ears. It was fun, but after covering 8 buttons with a button kit (did a few extra), my thumbs and forefingers are a tad sore. Does anyone use a hammer to press the backs of the buttons on? I think however, I will attempt something like this again and add it onto one my purses.

P.S. - After typing this post, I found these great mice. And of course, I remembered seeing this great tutorial on mousey and his bed , a free stuffed mouse pattern to make and then of course there's the tailor mouse and Hunca Munca. So very cute!

Have a good weekend.

Apricots & Chocolate (& Pecans?)

2008-05-01T09:48:00.001-04:00

For I Have to Say's recipe box swap this month, I made Apricot Chocolate Bars (with & without pecans). I was feeling adventurous because although I've had the recipe for 10? years, I haven't made them that often because as I remember, it took an awfully long time to complete.

Tip: Wet your knife between cuts so that the meringue doesn't stick to the knife.

But as I sifted through my own recipe box, I figured hey, why not give it another shot? I guess 10 years makes for a foggy mind because it was not long or difficult to do at all. The only thing is the OOPS factor! This time I decided to omit the finely chopped pecans because I thought ~ that's okay, why do I need them?~ Well if you like a spongier type of meringue then omit the pecans. If you like a nice flaky-style top, add the pecans. Both are good. BUT WARNING: this is very sweet that you only need a tiny bit - cut them into small squares.

Apricot & Chocolate Bars (with & without pecans)
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs (separated) - you can throw out 2 yolks (or use them for something else)
9 oz. apricot jam
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used mini)
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups finely chopped pecans (I omitted this and the 'oops' recipe is shown)

A. Cream butter & 1/2 cup sugar. Add 2 yolks, beat well. Then mix in flour.

mixture will look like crumbs - use your fingers to press

B. Press mixture into a jelly-roll pan (roughly 15 x 10 x 2) which has been lightly greased. Bake 350 F for 15-20 min or until lightly browned.

Behold - the power of KitchenAid!

C. Meanwhile, whip egg whites (all 4 of them) and salt until foamy. Add in 3/4 cup sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. (Fold in chopped pecans if using.)

Make sure you use a potholder! And a cooling rack so you don't hurt relatively-new countertops.

D. Take out hot crust from oven. Spread with jam, sprinkle with chocolate...

pre-spread picture - looks like little clouds

E. and spread with meringue mixture (making sure you seal in edges).

after spread picture

F. Bake 25 more min. or until meringue is golden. Cut immediately into bars. Let cool before removing from pan and ...

The dreaded aftermath!

G. Clean up.

Variation: substitute raspberry jam for apricot

Remember: if you want soft meringue top - omit pecans; if you want flaky top - add pecans.

30/30

2008-04-30T12:44:00.003-04:00

30/30

Thank you, Orange Flower!

30 days of macro have been fun and challenging...

Learning to look and re-look at things around me has been helpful...

Looking forward to your next challenge?

Lunch in the Mail

2008-04-29T16:12:00.005-04:00

Look what arrived on my doorstep this afternoon! A lunchbox and goodies from my swap partner, Anna, from Sew What.

Within a few moments after photographing all the goodies, my children tried each type of candy.

Anna included some beads and buttons and fabric,

A tiny fork and 'bento' lunchbox with French words (my daughter was trying to translate),

She included a zippered change purse and a narrow drawstring bag. My children said I could use it for a water bottle or napkins or... I really like the size of the lunchbox and the inside pockets and hidden zipper. Lovely.

I especially like the embroidered words on the top of the bag. I guessed perhaps it says 'lunch' on one side and 'box' on the other (because of the # of letters). And I was right (checked the meaning of the words on her site).

So thank you, Anna! And thank you, Oh Fransson! for putting on this swap. It was fun.

27-29/30

2008-04-29T16:03:00.005-04:00

27/30
overripe

28/30
a favorite vase

29/30

red onion

Not much to say except only 1 day left! Go look and see at all the creativity.

23-26/30

2008-04-26T21:12:00.006-04:00

23/30
Stephanie Congdon Barnes' beautiful little handmade bird
came fluttering by my house last month.

24/30
loosely woven dishtowel

25/30

26/30
A favorite pair of earrings on a dusty bureau.

Almost done with the 30-Day Macro Challenge (keep wanting to call it micro challenge), but I have to admit that I'm 'cheating' a bit because, although the pictures have been taken only during the month of April, they haven't exactly been taken every single day in April. More like a bunch taken one day and then a pause followed by another bunch and then a pause... But I figure that's okay. It's been interesting and wonderful to see everyone's contributions.

17-22/30

2008-04-22T16:38:00.007-04:00

17/30

Nothing much to report except trying to stay on top of all the nuttiness around here! Teaching only 2 more classes for co-op, changing our winter wardrobe into a spring one, getting ready for a short camping trip, trying to declutter...

18/30

Learning that I've bitten off more than I can chew, finding that there's food stuck between my teeth! Not giving up...

19/30

Attempting to finish schooling earlier than later, realizing that I'm not as young as I used to be...

20/30

Starting to beautify our front yard, dreaming about summertime vegetables...

21/30

Enjoying the rain as long as there's not too much...

22/30

Taking time out of a crazy schedule to watch some amazing bubbles...

Poems in Our Pockets

2008-04-17T14:10:00.004-04:00

My mom told me a few days ago that April is officially Poetry Month. Who knew? I certainly didn't. You'd think that when I pick up a poetry contest flyer at our local library that would be a great big clue. Nope. Sometimes, I am really brainless.

Well, I'm glad my mom mentioned it to me. Poetry is an often overlooked subject in our house, so I was eager to try something different and hopefully fun. In fact, today is Poem in Your Pocket Day. So in celebration, we read poetry in the morning.

I gathered the kids 'round the kitchen table and had each find a poem to share from the books gathered. I chose a lesser known Robert Frost poem, my daughter chose 3 poems by Valerie Worth, my younger sons chose some Shel Silverstein poems (figures...they love funny things) and my oldest chose 1 from Valerie Worth and 1 from Ogden Nash. It was interesting to see what everyone decided upon. I think some of the choosing of poems however, were due to how many words they were comprised of and ...

...how long it would take them to copy down the poems. Oh well. But after copying onto tiny slips of paper, cutting them out and folding them, each poem was stuffed into pocket necklaces.

My oldest is actually wearing his; of course it'll be removed as soon as he steps outside...

My mom told me how she had made a pocket to wear around the neck, a beaded one, which she gave to a poetic friend. I liked the idea, so last night I quickly sewed up some tiny pockets to wear. They sort of remind me of phylacteries or tiny amulets.

This is a good shape for poems that can be rolled into tiny scrolls...

Next time we do something like this, I'll take more time and actually sew a lining and turn under every seam, add a button or a tie enclosure. But at least for now the idea was fun; the kids enjoyed reading the poems. We're wearing our necklaces all day long (at least inside the house).

When we leave the house, I know that only mine and my daughter's will remain around our necks. And when we do this next year or at another time, I might even have them write their own poetry to share.

If you don't have any poetry books on hand, here are some good sites to peruse:

Poets.org
Poetry Writing (activities for children)
Poem Hunter (but watch the ads)
Giggle Poetry (for kids but again, there are ads)
Poetry Foundation
Library of Congress poetry pages

La boîte de déjeuner est finie!

2008-04-16T19:02:00.006-04:00

Yeah! I finished the lunchbox for Oh Franson's Swap. I thought I'd use Alta Vista to translate something into French (since my children are studying the language, and I am trying to remember 6 years worth of study myself...) Just thought it sounded more interesting than saying, 'the lunchbox is done'. However, translating the French sentence back into English doesn't quite match up, but you get the idea.

Anyway, here it is. I hope my swap partner likes it.

The drawstring bag when open.

I re-read the list of her favorite colors and realized that I've only included some of them. Oops! That's what I get for looking at the pictures on the blog and not completely reading each post of hers.

In some ways I should have used a pattern, but in other ways it was good to stretch my (lack of) seamstress skills. A little mind boggling when it came to figuring out math measurements and 'hoping' that I measured correctly.

The bottom of the bag is an IKEA soft-form basket made of polypropylene. It was part of a 2-pack; I chose the bigger of the two for the lunchbox. My children said that it's an awfully BIG lunchbox. I guess I should call it a Picnic box instead.

The basket was semi-easy to sew with - if I had a sturdier machine and more heavy-duty needles, I could have done more machine-sewing. After breaking 1 needle, I finished the bag with hand sewing. I do hope the handles hold well - that was the hardest part.

Now I just need to fill it with a few goodies and send it off. Whew!

16/30

2008-04-16T17:38:00.005-04:00

16/30

Today I went to a memorial service. It was both sad and sweet. Life is brief, like the pale petals of these flowers on my pear tree. Just twelve days ago the petals were mere pink buds, waiting to blossom and here they are whispering in the wind, waiting once again for another life change. Soon they'll be fluttering to the ground and letting the green leaves take their places. Among many other things said at the service, there was an encouragement of continuing on and using each day to glorify the Lord, to make amends where needed, to love our children, spouse, family, friends, neighbors, and even, I would add, our enemies.

15/30 & a Foray

2008-04-15T19:57:00.005-04:00

15/30

Today was bright blue and sunny. It began with a frost and a chill, but it warmed up throughout the day. I am happy. And thankful for such a treat in the weather.

I bought this fabric awhile ago and washed it and dried it, folded it neatly and let is sit for too long. These are not my colors, but the colors of my lunchbox swap partner. Can't tell you who it is considering it's a secret, but I can say that I finally (last night) cut into the fabric and began my foray into lunchbox making. (It's about time since the project is due by the end of next week... sigh.)

Yes, a foray. A foray, because once again, I am not using a pattern. But! It's working so far. Hopefully my swap partner will enjoy it.

12-13-14/30

2008-04-14T18:25:00.005-04:00

12/30

Wow! I've been so absent from crafting, but that's life I suppose.

13/30

We enjoyed a tea on Friday, my son gave his frog presentation,

14/30

we did lots of errands and cleaning on Saturday and enjoyed lunch with friends on Sunday.

We also purchased a black cabinet from our favorite store, IKEA! Finally. I will not show you the 'before' pictures, but I will tell you that now all the items that are in this cabinet are no longer waiting in bins cluttering up our dining area. One little to-do item can be checked off. Yeah!

11/30

2008-04-11T16:53:00.005-04:00

11/30

Not enough time in the day today. Going to enjoy some tea time treats tonight and some tea...hope it's coffee, really, but it should be fun.

Enjoy the weekend!