Snow for Spring Break

We needed a road trip during the girl's spring break. The weather was not looking favorable for a trip to the beach, so we headed up to the mountains. Man oh man, did it snow! And, then it snowed some more. I hope we make it more of a habit to visit the mountains during the snowy months.
Just had to share the little frog I made last week (or was it two weeks ago?) for a friend's birthday. I thought she turned out well.

Oh- and here is the mega egg that our Aracana chicken Isis laid. You go girl! It had two yolks and my older daughter made her first solo scrambled eggs with it. :)

easy, yummy, pretty

After attempting a tart crust- and failing as the dough did not hold together- I moved to plan B. Frozen puff pastry dough is a gift from the gods as far as I am concerned! For my version of Apple Jalousie, I saute Granny Smith apples (peeled, cored, and thinly sliced) in butter with sugar and ginger. The ginger is the key- also letting it saute until the sugar is caramelized. Yum!
The frozen puff pastry must be allowed to thaw and once that is done, cut two rectangles (I used a wavy edged vegetable chopper which makes a pretty edge) from the pastry. Lay the apples on the bottom rectangle. Fold the top rectangle and make slices with a sharp knife cut 1-1/2-inch-long slashes at 1-inch intervals along the folded side of the dough; leave at least a 1-inch border on the remaining three sides. I brushed the pastry top with egg whites and dusted with Turbinado sugar toward the end of baking.

With the left over dough, I made the little pastries which were a big hit with the girls!

Meet Pinki and Chestnut

Meet my latest creations: Pinki and Chestnut. These are both from The Cute Book by Aranzi Aronzo. Quick to make, but somewhat tricky as they are so small. The girls- even my 7 year old tomboy- go on about how cuuuuute they are. Does a crafty's heart good. :)





Satisfaction rating: 90%

Did the girls like them: yes!

Inspiration: The Cute Book by Aranzi Aronzo

An afternoon in the garden.

We are having a lovely bit of weather. It won't last- the rain will return and really we want it to. But while the sun shines, come for a little walk in the garden...

~Back on the swing~

~Dotty wonders if she can eat the camera~

~Yoko & Dotty (yes, I'm crazy about my chickens)~

~Lucy stuck all over with twigs~

~Hellebore~

~Hellebore 2~

~Crocus- love those bright orange naughty bits!~

Unplugged Project: Alphabet

Our life was slow this week- mostly about being in the house, coughing and taking naps. We found some mellow games which did not tax our cold burdened bodies, but gave some entertainment to our boredom addled minds.

The best game was Montessori influenced: The Bag of Mystery! One of the girls put on a blindfold and I put something in a cloth bag. They pulled it out- felt it- smelt it- and guessed what it was. So simple and yet entertaining!

For our Unplugged weekly project, so nicely brought to us by the nice family at Unplug Your Kids, was about the topic Alphabet. We went simple again. After my older daughter unshelled last years Scarlet Runner Beans (a fun project all to it's self) we made letter with them on the sunny window sill. They also fit inside the car. :)

Off Topic: how are you feeling?

Maybe it was having a cold (for weeks), maybe it was the girls both being sick, maybe it was my husband being gone for the week, maybe it was the lunar eclipse (yeah, I know, but come on! if the moon can effect the big, old ocean as strongly as it does, why could it not effect little mostly-water me?) or maybe it was all of the above, but I just wasn't my usual positive me this past week. I felt has if I could see the beauty but I couldn't feel it or care about it. Let me tell you, I didn't like it.

I'm glad that feeling- or lack of feeling- is gone.

As I was jogging this morning (yippee! after no exercise for at least two weeks), I was listening to a Bat for Lashes song called "Sarah".This song sometimes just grabs me by the throat- or maybe it's my heart. "Sarah- sometimes I want to be like you-Sarah-you know sometimes I want to live like you-Sarah-so I know how it feels not to feel". Crap, I sound like a fifteen year old here. Of course, I don't want to be unfeeling, but I often do wish I was rather more thick skinned. At times, I feel like transparent little fish being pushed this way and that by the random currents that come my way. I want to be a tree. I want my roots deep and firmly planted. I want to feel, but not be ruled by my feelings. I don't want to have other's emotions pushed upon me.

So, how to feel, to love, to eat life up with a spoon and yet to be strong and sure?

Well, enough of that. Back to crafts and gardens and things that go squeak in the night.

P.S. Look! Bat for Lashes playing a gig in a library! Now I love them even more. Love the headbands, but I think you have to be under 25 to pull that look off....

Unplugged Project: Fabric

The Unplug Your Kids blog project for the week had a theme of fabric. This weekend found us outside a lot as the sun was out and the rain was taking a vacation. Sunday we even took a row on the pond- our first of the year! Monday seemed like a good time to dive into the fabric stash, but 3 year old daughter woke with a fever- ugh the colds continue! Well, 7 year old daughter was looking for something to do and she said she wanted to sew. We collaborated- I helped her cut out some shapes and she sewed them on. I think he's cute and he now lives on my office cork board. :)

I didn't get any sewing done this weekend, but last week I made a gnome/pooka house for the girls for V.Day. I sewed them hats and cloaks out of wool felt and an old sweater. The girls have been having fun with them.

Here was the V. Day bouquet from the garden- rosemary in bloom and Hellebores. Sunshine is nice. Hope to see more of it in June.