A dear friend from college gave Firecracker some Stockmar beeswax crayons a while back. They were quickly used up to little nubs, and now we’re on our second box ( Portlanders, I just saw that a local Waldorf supply shop, Gossamer, stocks these!).
The other afternoon, Firecracker did a little drawing with them.
The first picture, is, of course, [...]
Posted in From my kitchen, Locally grown, Moderation and Economy, Working the earth/harvesting its bounty on Nov 20th, 2008
We’re still trying to eat local when at all possible (Meaning, when it’s a prudent use of our financial resources.) That includes growing our own food whenever we can. This dinner contained:
from Oregon - 8 young organic carrots (from our garden), 1 onion, 3 garlic cloves, 2 tbsp unsalted butter, 1 ambrosia apple, large handful of cranberries, 3 small [...]
Posted in Crafting, Moderation and Economy on Nov 19th, 2008
Firecracker has been begging me to make her a skirt out of some blue fabric with white flowers that I picked up at the thrift store. So, this week, I pulled my sewing machine down from the attic, and we all sat down to make some skirts.
I’m no seamstress, and with one little girl or the [...]
Posted in From my kitchen, Locally grown on Nov 18th, 2008
Some friends and I were talking about our “life is crazy, Mama is stressed and tired, but the kids need something healthy but quick to eat and I’m not breaking down and getting Taco Bell!!!” meals.
I’ve been having “one of those weeks” for the last 3 weeks straight, so I thought I’d share one of my standby quick/easy/fairly [...]
Posted in Learning, Outings, Playing/ Free Exploration on Nov 17th, 2008
Last week, the girls took a chemistry class for primary-age homeschoolers at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. We came early, and spent much of our time in the Science Playground (a free-exploration area for those 5 and under.) We haven’t had such a fun outing since our trip to Hood River. The girls keep [...]
Posted in Changing Seasons, Playing/ Free Exploration, Working the earth/harvesting its bounty on Nov 16th, 2008
Yesterday was an unusually dry, warm day in the Pacific Northwest. We couldn’t have asked for nicer weather – almost 60 and a nice, blue sky. After Hubby helped friends load their moving truck, he came home and spent the afternoon raking leaves in the backyard with the girls (As you can see, the leaves were [...]
Posted in Knitting on Nov 15th, 2008
I finished this hat a few weeks ago. It’s a Debbie Bliss pattern that I altered quite a bit, made of 100% merino handspun (although, not my handspun – I bought it at an estate sale.)
After two ladies in two different places asked me what my baby girl’s name was, I thought I should probably [...]
Posted in From my kitchen on Nov 14th, 2008
This is the world’s easiest frosting. It’s super tasty, not too sweet, doesn’t use refined sugar, and goes well with carrot cake, gingerbread, banana cake, or any spice cake, including Apple Sauce Cranberry Cake.
Take the word of these two experts – it’s beyond delicious.
Larksong’s Honey Cream Cheese Frosting
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 package (8 oz) [...]
Posted in Books and Reading, From my kitchen on Nov 13th, 2008
This is my favorite baking book. My mother gave it to my husband for Christmas one year when we were still dating. I bake from it at least once a week. After Martha, it’s my old standby for great recipes (A Little Warning: I have found several recipes that did not work out well the [...]
Posted in Knitting, Moderation and Economy on Nov 12th, 2008
I knitted this sweater while pregnant with Tum Tum. It’s size 12 months, and runs true to size, but today he tried it on and it fits him well, since he’s a hulk of a baby!
The pattern is from this book. It’s her knit-in-one-piece-type baby sweater, which is supposed to have a ribbon tie in the back, but my boy is [...]