Archive for July, 2009

The days continue to fly by….

15 July, 2009 · Filed under New house

  • I spent 2 days at a workshop for school. Enjoyed it.
  • We have almost cleaned up from the tree. Almost.. the largest chunks have been moved.
  • We have staked out the outline of the new house.. and restaked, and staked again.. and now we think we have it in the right place for the surveyor to come and stake.
  • And packing continues. And old sofa left the house for a new home, and boxes continue to be filled and taken to the inlaws for storage. Sort, pack, clean, repair… means the house is in a constant cycle of mess, but things are being gathered to donate, sell, give to neighbors etc… and in fact, are leaving the house.

Which brings me to a couple of new posts about my childhood toys. My mother and her mother were very crafty.. and they loved to paint. So my childhood was full of lovely handmade things, and my grandfather and dad usually got roped into helping.

For my entry today, I will show you my dollhouse. Now, my grandmother made an entire colonial village for my sister and I – exquisite and very detailed… a colonial house, a general store, a one room school house and a fabric store. But for my first, I could touch and move everything house, my mom and dad made a lovely basic house and it was my 5th birthday surprise. My friends loved it so much that my dad went into production and selling thse doll houses for quite some time.

Dad made the basic house. Mom painted the outside, and decorated the inside with material from decorator samples. She would get sample carpet and wallpaper books, and use those to decorate the interior.

Front

Front

Somewhere there are a set of front stairs to get to the door.

Somewhere there are a set of front stairs to get to the door.

My mother loved to paint.

My mother loved to paint.

Fireplace

Fireplace

The house had a fireplace and a chimney. Now, I grew up in Texas, in hot, steamy Texas, where noone had a fireplace because…it was hot and steamy. But my mom was enamored of them, so my house had a chimney. Our real house eventually had a fireplace as well, when they added on a family room.

Snow covered house

Snow covered house

My dad was a model railroader, and knew all sorts of scenery tricks. At one point, we decided the house had to have a snowy roof… so the roof got this treatment.

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The inside

The inside

The house was as tall as I was when I was five. We could sit or stand and play.

Furniture from Germany

Furniture from Germany

The inside furniture came from lots of sources.. including some from a trip my grandmother made to Germany to visit family.

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We had the house up for a few days and the little one played in it with his playmobile.  But now it is packed up again.. maybe someday I will have granddaughters to enjoy it? Or maybe in my second childhood, I will redecorate it.

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Much Ado about Squash….

12 July, 2009 · Filed under Cooking, Handmade

I love yellow squash, pattypan, zuchinni, roly poly.. all squash, I love. And in a normal year, I would have planted a garden full of it.

But this summer, the garden has not been planted due to the house business. Which is fine, because neighbors who have squash keep brining it by, and we are happy to take it.

Well, I am happy to take it, and the man about the place is as well. But the three boys roll their eyes. They will eat a tiny serving, but it is clearly not their favorite vegetable. Even the eldest, who will generally eat anything and everything.

So what to do?

This basket was overflowing with squash – lovely, organic, yellow squashes of all kinds.

IMG_0289The middle son likes to cook, so I said to him.. .I wonder what would happen if we made carrot cake and zuchinni bread, but used yellow squash instead?

He was game to try.. so he shredded a food processor bowl full of squash.

IMG_0290This amount of squash made 2 loaves of zuchinni bread, using the Better Homes and Gardens recipe, and one 9 x 13 carrot cake from this recipe: Mennonite Girls Can Cook.

There was still  some squash left… so, being the creative, resourceful mom I am, I decided to try potato pancakes…

A little egg, flour, onion, salt and pepper

A little egg, flour, onion, salt and pepper

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So, the verdict? All boys agreed that squash pancakes were a better way to eat squash than sauteed with onions or raw in salads or gratin’ed.

The first loaf of squash bread didn’t last until it had cooled, and the other has been a lovely snack.

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And the cake? We decided not to do cream cheese frosting so the youngest would be able to eat it.. instead we did a pineapple juice and powder sugar glaze… and the entire thing disappeared before I could get a photo.

So, a success.. which is good, because that basket is now full of yellow squash again.

What do you do with squash?

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Summer Blahs…

8 July, 2009 · Filed under Whinging

Today I have the blahs. This disturbs me greatly, because I only have so much summer, and I don’t want to waste it on the blahs.

Possible causes:

  • New house not moving forward fast enough…closing with bank hopefully this Friday.. finally. (Fourth of July had people out of office and the appraiser was slow to get report done.. so tired of hauling laundry out to shed, and knocking over stuff on the tiny edge of the bathroom sink…ready to move forward. ) Maybe the Environmental guys will get by here to inspect the septic soon – where are they? And maybe someone will eventually respond to our emails regarding deconstruction/donating our current home. It all feels like it is at a stand still. Grr.
  • Home in disarray due to packing up stuff for move. See above. It makes sense to pack and sort now, because I have the time now. Once school starts, it will be crazy hectic. But it does mean the house is constantly in a state of disarray. As soon as I clear one mound, I open another can of worms.
  • I’m spending several hours a day on school work. Again, it makes sense to do it now..trying to prep a new course takes hours and hours.. research, learning new material, writing slides and quizzes and tests. And it would be tough to do after teaching a long day and then coming home to care for the family. Teachers all over the states are taking courses, writing lessons, studying materials this summer.. we don’t really get the summers “off” completely. And we only get paid for the 10 months we work.. this is not a paid vacation. But if I don’ t do it now, I will pay for it later, as will my family.
  • I am trying to get my body in order. Once I turned 40, my metabolism stopped. I can breathe air and gain weight. My physicals always indicate healthy blood levels of everything, and healthy heart rate, etc… but, I cannot keep gaining weight like I am. So, dieting, exercising… so much effort going into this.. again, while I have the time…and so far, not a whole lot of progress. And the worst part is I am home and have time to cook and concoct all sorts of lovely stuff.. homemade pies and ice cream and summery drinks.. it is hard to be disciplined and make it just for the family and sip my water and lemon juice…but something needs to be done. And I do not like sweating to my cardio routine.
  • The dh is gone again, this time work related, and I am the parent at home in charge. Trying to keep the three boys busy, and get them where they need to be, and keep them fed on my own. Which really, is what I do everyday, but at least in the evening there is another adult close by.
  • Everyone around us is getting mild flu-like illness.. I wonder how much of it is undiagnosed Swine Flu? We have quite a few cases in the area now..maybe I am coming down with something. I feel awfully lethargic.

Helpful remedies:

  • Imagining my new house.. it will come, it will all be worth it..deep breath and try to enjoy these last months in the old home, which holds many happy memories.
  • Relish the thought of the lovely deep clean everything is getting, and how nice it is to throw out, recycle, fix / repair, find old treasures.
  • BBC radio 7 Listen Again Service – Enjoying a Hercule Poirot mystery, enjoying Vanity Fair, and my favorite comedies like After Henry, and Second Thoughts while working on my school work.And when I run out of new episodes, I can listen to BBC Wales or BBC Scotland. I feel so happy, even if I have no idea what a test match really is.
  • Trying to visualize fitting into my favorite linen capris pants when school starts again. I missed being able to wear them this past spring. And if I don’t get into them before the move, they will have to be Goodwilled… and I don’t want to do that. Trying to visualize a leaner, even healthier me.
  • Dh will be home tomorrow night, and tonight I can have the TV to myself.

Things I cannot do:

  • Make myself something yummy in the kitchen, like watermelon ice cream, or blackberry cobbler. Or even fresh bread and butter and jam… maybe a cup of tea though.
  • Waste much more time whinging
  • Take a nap mid day – made a mistake doing that yesterday. 10 minutes of sleep meant an hour of feeling horrid after. I am just not a good napper.

And then, maybe I just need to let go and enjoy a good book, or a bit of knitting or something for a bit.. it is summer afterall. Maybe I just need to be on vacation for a few hours

Definitely need to make a list for tomorrow though. I do better when I have a direction and a plan. Yes, making a list will be low key, make me feel like I am making progress, and give me direction for tomorrow. Hmm…

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Recycling part deux….

8 July, 2009 · Filed under Handmade, Handwork

I had bought another wool sweater from the thrift store which I loved… except for one thing. This was a lovely striped sweater with a hood. I suspect the reason it was in the thrift store was because it had been partially felted. This resulted in a lovely thick sweater. The problem was the neck opening to the hood was a bit small.. a real tug of war to get on, and very smothering feeling if I wasn’t in the right mood, or it got slightly warm. I enjoyed it for a couple of years, but then thought maybe the boys would be more comfy in it..but they found the tight neck to much to bear with.

So it was felted along with the rest of the moth eaten sweaters, and now it has become a winter vest and gloves for the smallest son.

He asked for the V-neck, which was easy to do. The sleeves became the mittens. We have a couple of pairs of this sort of mitten – great for snowballing, as the wool it watertight, and many a snow ball can be made without the fingers getting blue.

Simple, vest, perfect for layering under a jacket in the winter.

Simple, vest, perfect for layering under a jacket in the winter.

Trace around the recipients hand... add seam allowance and cut out.

Trace around the recipients hand... add seam allowance and cut out.

Utilize finished edges and patterns (stripes) as much as possible

Utilize finished edges and patterns (stripes) as much as possible

Stitch right sides together, clip curves, turn, and wear... or pack into winter box to wear when the cold returns!

Stitch right sides together, clip curves, turn, and wear... or pack into winter box to wear when the cold returns!

The middle child says the younger one looks a bit like a shepherd boy when wearing this ensemble..

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Recycling….

7 July, 2009 · Filed under Handmade

A while ago I posted about some sweaters that had been motheaten… so I felted them in the wash. And now, in preparation for the move, I am trying to finish making stuff with the resulting felted material.

This was a lovely J Crew Sweater that I scored at the thrift shop. It was a style that was meant to leave the mid-drift exposed, so it was a bit short lengthwise, but so lovely and warm, and I loved the charcoal color.

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Until the moths got to it. I would probably have still worn it, but these days, I need coverage of the tummy area. Even though I would wear a shirt underneath the sweater, I need to crunches to keep from looking ridiculous. So it was time for felting.

This shot shows the true color better...

This shot shows the true color better...

I had hoped to make it into a vest for the youngest, but because of the cropped nature of the sweater to start with, it was much too short. So, I made a bag for myself.

I removed the sleeves.

I removed the sleeves.

Once the sleeves were removed, I made a bag using the basic “paper bag” technique to give square corners. There is a good tutorial here. I dug through the button collection and found some silver buttons from my Nana’s box. And this is what I have at this point.

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Truer color.... a dark charcoal.

Truer color.... a dark charcoal.

Now to figure out some handles. Hmmmm…

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Summer sw’elegance…..

6 July, 2009 · Filed under Cooking

There are certain things that belong to summer around here. Partly because that is when I have the time for them, and partly because of the heat.

Perfume and scented lotions.. part of my summer time ritual. I like body sprays mostly, kept in the fridge, lavendar or lilac or lily of the valley.. spritzed on while cooking to cool off… mmm.

And fancy cold drinks…this one we tried from Martha… very yummy! I love summertime!

Grapefruit "Margarita"

Grapefruit "Margarita"

Here is the link to this refreshing, non-alcoholic treat. An easy way to dress up a summer meal.

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Holiday Weekend

5 July, 2009 · Filed under Holidays

This holiday weekend was very full…food, family, and fireworks, just as it should be.

Friday the eldest helped with a neighbors party. He was the 15 year old watching the younger ones on the zip line, and helping with fireworks. I stayed at home, being unsociable, and enjoying the quiet of the house. The man about the place had taken the youngest to Virginia, to pick up the middle son at Boy Scout Camp. They went up Friday afternoon to be there for the bonfire, enjoyed the wonderful cool air and camped out overnight.

Saturday morning I began the clean-up and cooking for the friends coming to join us for the fourth. The eldest scrubbed down chairs and set up picnic tables and chairs. I made a blueberry and a blackberry crisp, homemade vanilla ice cream, prepared hamburger patties and made fresh tea, and made some fresh pico de gallo.

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By 2 pm the family was reunited… small boys with tales to tell, and lots of camping gear to put away. It was cleared off the front porch just in time for the first friends to show up. The afternoon became one of fishing, swimming, chatting, and eating.

The tractors always end up out and being used for something.

The tractors always end up out and being used for something.

The fish were not really biting this evening...

The fish were not really biting this evening...

Prehaps because there were so many people in the water.. in boats, kayaks, canoes, and swimming...

Perhaps because there were so many people in the water.. in boats, kayaks, canoes, and swimming...

I enjoyed chatting and knitting….

My current lace knitting project...

My current lace knitting project...

and got custody of a molar that finally fell out…

Middle son, lost another tooth.

Middle son, lost another tooth.

It was a lovely fourth, that went into the evening. Fireworks sounding off all around us, along with the frogs and the fireflies that kept us company as we talked and ate. Grilled brats, potato salad, crisp and watermelon and ice cream and chips and dip and beans… a wonderful evening.

How wonderful freedom is. We are so very blessed.

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