Seven!

Someone has just turned seven over here.  Well, she's been seven for a few weeks now, but we're all still getting used to it.

The theme?  Sea creatures.  Not that she particularly loves any animal that lives in the sea, but a few months ago we came across an idea to make a little terrarium in a jar, plop a plastic sea creature in there, and presto you have a mini ocean garden.

We happened to have, oh, a million extra jars around here, so this craft we could manage.

By the way, when did birthdays start having themes?  When I was a kid, the theme was cake and a few presents.  Every year.

Back to the sea creature theme.

We invited seven friends.

   
 


We had Pin the Arm/Leg on the Octopus.

Go Fishing For a Fabric Fish.

   

Red Pepper with Hummus Octopus.



And Sea Creature Cupcakes.

Happy Birthday, little sea creature!

Pickles, my first real attempt at wild fermentation

I should have known I was in for an adventure when I saw the book title:  Wild Fermentation.

As luck would have it, I came upon a $4 crock at a thrift store and mini cucumbers on sale at the grocery store on the same day.

So for the first time in my life, I found myself making a brine, dunking some cucumbers, garlic, and dill, and then walking away.  For 5 - 7 days.

They turned out way too salty for our tastes.  But we just soaked them in plain water for a day or so and they mellowed out nicely.  Can I try that with my dog?

Now, if my house will ever get to 70 - 80 degrees and stay there, I'd like to try making kombucha!

Another reason to visit the Matthaei Botanical Gardens

We've been visiting the Matthaei Botanical Gardens for as long as I remember.

My mom took my brother and me as kids,

we had our firstborn's baby pictures taken there,

and now we try to go once a season.

The indoor tropical conservatory is a soothing respite from the cold, gray winter.

photo taken by Abi, age 9

And the sprawling gardens outdoors are a creative place to spend a summer morning.  They have beekeeping workshops, plant sales, and walking trails.

There are photo ops at every turn.

 And now, their gift shop is carrying My Detroit Garden!

Thanks, Matthaei, for supporting my little book!

The Four-Finger Flapper goes to Sunday School

Remember those fun cootie catchers that we made when we were kids?  Sometimes we called them 'four-finger flappers' and they served to amuse us by telling us our benign fortunes.  As in: your day will be filled with laughter or you're going to marry a prince or (puzzlingly) you have freckles.

My daughter came upon one of these in a kids magazine.  She was absolutely taken with this toy, offering to read our fortunes over and over again.  I found myself being increasingly unsettled about this simple plaything.  I heard myself explaining to her that the fortunes are pretend and you can't count on them and don't trust things that you read in magazines.

Then I closed my mouth and opened up the craft supplies and my sacred text.

The results: the four-finger flapper goes to Sunday School!

Inside, instead of wispy promises, are words of truth and well-being.

Words my daughters can count on, trust, and look for their fulfillment.

With promises like this, they can read my future all day long.


Update: here are the verses that I used.

You are fearfully and wonderfully made!

It says so in Psalm 139.

God has plans to prosper you and not to harm you. 

It says so in Jeremiah 29.

You have the mind of Christ. It says so in 1 Corinthians 2.

Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.

It says so in Psalm 37.

Your citizenship is in heaven! It says so in Philippians 3.

You are the work of God’s hands, like a potter shapes clay.  

It says so in Isaiah 64.

You are a child of God, shining like a star in the universe. 

It says so in Philippians 2.

May you grow into a woman of God, clothed with strength and dignity, just like it says in Proverbs 31. 

Use What You Have, insulated lunch bag

A friend of mine handed me an insulated grocery bag and whispered, "Let's talk."

Her daughter needed a lunch bag to bring to preschool.  The mom had an insulated grocery bag with a top that didn't latch anymore.  She asked if I could help her, and could it please involve purple fabric.

Yes!

So we found a style that she liked and fit into my ability level.  Then I spent a sunny winter afternoon with my sewing machine.

The result:

 

Because the insulated bag is from Ikea, this just might be considered an Ikea-hack!

Skill-share, Mystery Wellness Foods

What do you get when you cross a Girls Night In with wanting to learn something new with a feisty cold/flu season?

You get a room full of cheerful ladies with ideas, samples, and skills to share.  You get yogurt, kefir, vanilla extract, sprouts, kombucha, and lots of snacks.

My favorite thing about all of the living foods that we talked about is that, aside from a bit of attention at the beginning and the end, these foods pretty much prepare themselves.  And they are so much cheaper and fresher than their supermarket counterparts.  And, because so many of them are loaded with healthy bacteria, they prevent against sickness. Which is so much smarter than a trip to the doctor's or a bottle of medicine.  Sign me up!

Here is SL explaining her experiences with the Stove Top Method and the Crock Pot method of making yogurt, and her uses of the resulting whey.

She brought homemade vanilla yogurt samples.  She also brought some homemade vanilla extract, xylitol mouthwash, and peppermint mouthwash.  Overachieve much, SL?

Here is AMH sharing her mother-in-law's kefir grains (curds?).  She whipped up some delightful kefir/spinach/orange smoothies and won us all over.

I passed around jars of sprouted wheat berries and some legumes.

Garden in a jar, anyone?

I referred to this diagram, sent to me by TC, for inspiration.

What can you do with sprouts?  Well, they sure do jazz up a grilled cheese sandwich!

The highlight of the whole night, for me anyway, (no, it wasn't the after-hours reenactment of childbirth, although that was a close second) was the kombucha demonstration by LE.

Phrases like fermented tea, distilled water, scoby hotel, and continuous brew now have a little more meaning.  And the kombucha was oh-so-tasty!  As soon as my house stays about 70 degrees, I'll get my first batch started.

As far as the non-mysterious snacks that we enjoyed, there was the all-famous Chunky Salsa, the Chocolate Marble Bread with Ganache, an impromptu potato frittata, and some Curried Nuts.

As an FYI, for the Curried Nuts, you just toss into a crockpot 28 oz of almonds/cashews/walnuts/pecans, 1/4 cup oil, 3 T butter, 1.5 t ground ginger, 1.5 t curry powder, 1 t salt, 1 t sugar.  Cook on Low for 2.5 hours, stirring several times throughout.

For my first project, though, I think I'll start another batch of yogurt and expand from there!

So this is Christmas!

There's been a flurry of activity in our family, both exciting and sweet.  Here a few of those moments.

Wishing you and yours much merriness!