A little creative variety

My dad, PapaCoyote, had the idea to let my kids experience a different kind of gardening.  So he gave them mushroom kits for Christmas!  M especially has had a lot of fun tending to his various fungus.  E could care less, so M has taken over all 3.  Why all 3?  Well, if you take over responsibility for 2, they're all yours, right?  Besides, G has the Wii basketball to master, so he's busy.  I believe Dad bought the kits from Territorial Seed.

Anyway, we had our first Shitake harvest today.  Here's the take.  I don't know what we're having for dinner yet, but it includes fresh sauteed mushrooms!

The crayons have been popular lately and the kids really want to color together.  Well, make that Baby M really wants to color with her brothers.  And on the wall.  Time for a 2 birds with one stone solution.  I grabbed a roll of paper and taped it to the wall under the window in the dining room.  Just cheap IKEA paper.  This is my thoughtful young artist making sure his castle has everything it needs.  It took him all of 1 minute to adapt to the idea of sharing art space with his sister.  He is such an awesome and patient big brother!  He amazes me everyday.

My camera ham.  I get out the camera and she poses in front of it.  What's funny is that her brothers have all done this too, but she is so different!  See?  What a nice, sweet pose!  She smiles too, but every time I snapped the picture, she stopped.  Oh well.

Getting ready for Valentines Day!  I made this felt heart banner this week.  Every other heart has a candy heart-type saying on it written out in fabric paint.  If anyone is interested in a how-to, let me know.

Cheesecake Ice Cream

I've had a request for this recipe, so I thought I'd share it here.  It definitely doesn't belong in my allergy-free blog!
This makes enough to fit nicely in my Cuisinart 1.5 qt freezer.

Cheesecake Ice Cream

8 oz cream cheese
2/3 cup sugar (I use superfine for ice cream, but any sweetener you want would be great.  Some people may want more.)
dash salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup heavy cream

In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until it is smooth and creamy.  Beat in the sugar, salt and vanilla.  Add the buttermilk and beat until smooth. Add the cream and mix well.  Chill in the refrigerator for an hour or two then freeze according to your ice cream freezer's directions.  If you NEED an ice cream fix fast you can certainly just skip the refrigeration step.
You can serve it as it or top it with any toppings you want.  I've thought of making some fruit sorbet and serving it layered with sorbet.  Sorta like cherry cheesecake only in a sundae!  Chocolate  sauce is always a winner too.

Don't melt

It's hard, I know.  When you see something this precious.

Don't mind me, I'm just photo-hosting.  This picture was taken back in Sept.  Before the great hair cut.  *sniff*

Pants!

My mom and I went to the Goodwill Outlet Store last week.  We didn't get a huge load, but found some fun stuff.  Of course!  One of my finds was a Gap XL blouse in a lightweight, light pink cotton.  It had a beautiful eyelet hem on the body and sleeves.
Today, I cut off the sleeves and turned them into pants for Baby M.  I should have taken pictures of the process I know!  Sorry.  I couldn't even find a picture of the shirt since I cut it up before taking a picture.  Oh well.  It was very simple, really.  I cut off the sleeves. They were raglan, so that gave me more length to work with.  Then I eyeballed a crotch curve.  I used the sleeve seam as the pants inseam.  When I got the pants put together, I realized there just wasn't enough width in the back.  So I took out the back seam and put in a triangle of fabric.  It looks a little sloppy, but I plan to make a tunic-style top to wear with them for summer, so I'm not too worried about it.
The body of the shirt will be a skirt.
Here's pictures.  Oh, and they need some ironing too.  But I have to un-bury my ironing board.  I'll get there.

New Year, New Projects

If you know me, you know I like to have projects going.  Mustn't be bored.  No! NO!  Not that my life has much risk of leading to boredom of any kind.  But better safe than sorry right?  So, some of my projects for the new year...
First, a crafty project.  I love, love, love crafts.  You may have picked up on that.  Did you?  One craft that I haven't done since I was little is embroidery.  I like it, it's beautiful, I just didn't feel much need to do it.  But I have been drawn to it again.  The universe aligned and I'm back to embroidery.  :-)  My kids are getting a little bigger and a little more independent.  So having a needle, thread and work with teeny stitches is becoming more realistic.  Then, Alicia Paulson came out with her new book, Embroidery Companion.  If you craft, you really should check out her books.  The other is Stitched In Time.  It is a beautiful collection of crafts.
Anyway, the amazing Annette at A Simple Breath is hosting a year long sew-along for the Embroidery Companion.  "Just the thing," I thought!  A group of crafters, all working on the same project each month, providing me with some motivation and accountability!  So, I am currently working on the first project--Tea Towels!  Fun!  I am enjoying it very much, but I am having to do it in such teeny-short bursts I fear I am going to have 12 more UFO's at the end of 2011.  Some things to work on in 2012 I guess!

Next up is a more intellectual pursuit.  I have been feeling for sometime that something is missing and that something is ritual and seasonal awareness.  Apparently I am not alone!  I have found that several of my friends were feeling the same way.  To support each other in attempting to bring this to our lives, we have started a blog called, Motherwheel: LDS Families Celebrating the Seasons.  We just launched this week!  Currently there are introductions to the families participating and some basic information.  We plan to share our experiences as we celebrate the 8 Sabbats of the Wheel of the Year.  I am also currently working on some book reviews to share as well as some informational posts. One about references to the New Moon in the Bible and one about some history of the symbol of the serpent. Aaaand, I am taking a year-long class related to this project.  The classes are once a month and sound just about perfect.  My brain is swimming I tell ya! Hopefully I get really good at the embroidery so it can allow my brain some wandering time.

Of course, later in the year, I also have the garden to keep me busy.  This will be the first  Spring I can plant super early, so I am making some plans of what to plant.  Yum!  I hope this is the year my kids magically start liking vegetables.  LOL
I talked to the kids some about their role in the planting.  They are looking forward to being a part of the garden again.  They really do enjoy it.  M and G are thinking about starting extra seeds this year to sell to people they know.  I think it would be an excellent way for them to make some extra money.

And finally, for now at least (ha!), I took the plunge and purchased the kit from LearningHerbs.com.  Hooray!  I love herbs and we use a fair bit of herbal remedies, but I get frustrated with my lack of knowledge.  I had looked into herbalist classes in the past, but couldn't figure out how to make the time and effort to do that.  But this is a kit that takes the learning through project by project.  Hopefully, by the end of my kit experience, I will have enough basic knowledge to continue to self-teach until I feel ready to take full-on classes.  Or maybe I will be satisfied for a time with my level of knowledge.  Who knows? At any rate, my kit should arrive in a few days.

So, now that I write that all out, I can say I look pretty crazy.  Good thing one of my other projects is to work on including the kids in more housework.  I apparently just scheduled my 24 hours and didn't leave room for much else!  If you see me dinking around Facebook, ask me how I'm doing and if I have time to be there.  The answer will probably be No.  At least I have guaranteed no boredom for another year.  :-)