Archive for November, 2006
November 18, 2006 @ 11:34 am | Filed under: Baby
Per your request, baby photos! Wish I could take credit for these but the glory goes to Kristen. Does she have an eye or what?
Seven months cute
Boy or shark?
Definitely shark.
Toes or fingers?
Speaking of baby toes…have you seen the carnival of little feet over at Babylove?
November 18, 2006 @ 7:59 am | Filed under: Best Gifts for Homeschoolers, Fun Educational Stuff
My parents flew in from Denver last weekend to check out our new digs and enjoy the perfect weather with us. So much fun. On Monday, we all (except poor Scott, who had to work, sniff) went to the zoo. It was every bit as wonderful as I’ve heard. Who doesn’t love the San Diego Zoo?
We didn’t make it to the pandas because we spent so much time with the reptiles and monkeys. But that’s okay, because my fabulous parents bought us an annual membership for Christmas. For a family our size, the membership costs about as much as one and a half trips to the zoo. It comes with guest passes and other discounts, plus a zoo magazine. It’s a perfect arrangement: now we can drop in for an hour or two whenever we feel like it, without feeling pressured to see the whole thing in one swoop.
The first year we lived in Virginia, I bought a family membership to the Frontier Culture Museum, which was about 40 minutes from our house and five minutes from our church. I took the kids at least once a month, often dropping by for an hour on our way home from Sunday Mass. We got to know the costumed interpreters by name, and when new lambs were born that April, we got to cuddle them on our laps. Going by numbers, the membership paid for itself in two visits, but its real value to our family would be impossible to tally. My girls would don their bonnets (purchased at another living history museum* before we left Long Island) and make-believe their way through barnyards and thatched houses, having the time of their lives. They got to spin wool, card fleece, shell peas, and chase hoops. Best fifty dollars I ever spent.
The zoo membership promises to be just as much fun. We got a real treat on this first visit—we happened into one of the aviaries just as a zookeeper was beginning to feed the birds. She was carrying four or five little tubs of food: crickets, worms, peanuts. She’d cluck and call the birds by name, and they clustered round her in anticipation of their particular favorite tidbits. My girls clustered round, too, and the extremely kind zookeeper told them all about the birds. It was a glimpse behind the scenes, and we were thrilled.
When she finished, the zookeeper told us she was about to feed the flamingos, and did we want to come watch? You bet we did! She told us the best place to stand, and on our way to the prime spot, she opened her access door to the flamingo pool area and invited us to the threshold for a quick meet-and-greet with some of the birds. We were charmed by "Handsome," a flirty scarlet ibis who likes to stick close to his zookeeper friend. My kids can’t wait to go back to visit him. Our plan is to scope out when the feeding times are for all the different animals, so we’ll know where to go whenever we drop in.
This year, when relatives ask you what the kids would like for Christmas, I highly recommend that you drop a hint for a membership to the zoo or museum or science center closest to you. Charlotte Mason encouraged mothers to take their children to the same park or woods on a regular basis, so that the place and its denizens would become familiar, and changes in season easier to observe. The same principle applies to places like museums and zoos!
*Readers of the Charlotte books may be interested to know that the hatmaker in Charlotte’s village was inspired by the hatmaker at Old Bethpage, the place where we got our bonnets. Bushy eyebrows and all!
November 17, 2006 @ 4:15 pm | Filed under: Family Adventures
Took me a month, but I finally got our trip photos off the cameraphone and onto Flickr. They aren’t very good pictures—most of them were taken through the van window—but there they are. Some of them are out of order, and I’m still working on captions for them. It’s a work in progress, like pretty much everything in my life right now.
(By the way, in case you missed it, Alice live-blogged the trip with me over in the Cottage.)
November 17, 2006 @ 3:44 pm | Filed under: Fun Educational Stuff
They’re tiny, they’re shiny, and they love to boogie. They jitter and jive their way around the world in the company of my college pal Kristen, and yesterday they danced right into my house and won my children’s hearts. Before that, they trotted off to Japan, and we’ve had a ball seeing the sights with them: it’s the world up close and miniature, and the result is poetry in pictures.
We hope they’ll dance back down this way very soon!
November 15, 2006 @ 11:23 am | Filed under: Blog
To one of my favorite bloggers. You’ve brought an extra zing to my Bloglines list, and I thank you!
November 15, 2006 @ 7:15 am | Filed under: Holidays
You all know about Works For Me Wednesday, right? It’s a collection of helpful hints hosted by Rocks in My Dryer, and people from all over the blogosphere submit their own nuggets of useful advice. Very cool. I have a Works For Me tidbit I keep meaning to share, and I popped over there today to enter the link. Turns out today is the special Christmas edition! My tidbit isn’t Christmas-specific, so I guess I’ll save it. But there’s a lot of nifty stuff there. I especially like this make-your-own stationery gift set idea from The Wilson Six.
Let’s see, do I have any good Christmas advice to share? Well, there’s the Kringle tradition…the year Wonderboy was born, a friend of mine sent us a scrumptious Kringle from the O & H Bakery. So. Very. Good. We actually ate ours on the feast of St. Lucy instead of Christmas morning as my friend had intended, because—it really was incredible—her gift happened to arrive the day before St. Lucy’s feast day, and Scott and I were still in the NICU with Wonderboy, and on our way home from the hospital late that night I realized to my horror that the next morning was the day our little girls would be expecting to dress up with crowns of candles and serve sweet rolls to Daddy in bed. I had nothing in the house that could pass for sweet rolls (or so I thought), and though I knew the girls could make do with cinnamon toast like in my little picture book, Hanna’s Christmas, I still felt so bad. We’d had a terrible week, what with the surprise surgery Wonderboy needed right after he was born, and I hated to disappoint my girls, who had been on such a roller-coaster all week.
And then we got home from the hospital and my mother, who was staying with the girls, told me a package marked "Refrigerate immediately" had arrived that day. It was the Kringle. (Tami, thank you again!) My little clan of Lucias served it to Daddy next morning, and we’ve continued the tradition every year since. I order one to arrive around December 10th, to be sure I have it in time for the feast of St. Lucy on December 13.
(Oh, and the O & H Bakery offers a Kringle giveaway drawing every week!)
For more wonderful Christmas inspiration, do check out the group blog called O Night Divine. Some of my favorite homeschooling mothers have come together to share their ideas for making Advent and Christmas holy and (this is key) serene. This week, Alice of Cottage Blessings posted a simply stunning Advent activity—it’s a lovely and original craft in which simple wooden cubes are used to bring to life many Advent traditions such as the Jesse Tree, sacrifice and good deeds, and the Nativity set. Brilliant and beautiful, just like Alice.
Also—because I figure if you can’t be the first person to share a link, you ought to be the last—don’t miss The Loveliness of Homemade Gifts fair at By Sun and Candlelight!
November 14, 2006 @ 7:44 pm | Filed under: Family Adventures
Yesterday afternoon I sat down on the floor to change the baby. As I lingered there, playing with her, Wonderboy came up behind me and leaned against me for a little while. He loves to supervise my baby-tickling. Then he began—oh, it was so sweet!—to gently stroke my hair. For several minutes I sat there enjoying the soft touch of his hand on the back of my head. He was chuckling softly, and I was just melting.
Then he touched my arm, and his fingers were slimy. Startled, I turned to look at him and there he stood with a big happy grin, one hand glistening with goo—and an open jar of Vaseline in the other.
My hair is very shiny today.
November 14, 2006 @ 6:45 am | Filed under: Food and Drink
Well, the great success of the Carnival of Breadmaking sure did come as a shock to me. Lots of traffic. People love bread!
Here are some more recipes, contributed by my wonderful readers. I’m going to put them in separate posts for easy reference, and I’ll link them from the Carnival as well. Check the bottom of the Carnival post for new links to more contributors. Don’t miss the little present Danielle Bean shared with us as a postscript to the bread conversation!
Here’s a recipe from loyal reader Haley. Thanks so much for sharing it, Haley. We can’t wait to try it.
EASY FRENCH BREAD - 2 LOAVES
- Dissolve
in small bowl (I use a pyrex measuring cup for easy pouring later on).
For the yeast to completely dissolve, wait about 10 minutes.
- 2 package (or 4 1/2 tsp) yeast
- 1/2 c warm water
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- Combine in separate bowl:
- 2 Tb sugar
- 2 Tb shortening
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 c boiling water
Cool
this mixture to lukewarm (hot water kills yeast, so make sure to let it
cool for several minutes) and then add yeast mixture and stir together.
this mixture to lukewarm (hot water kills yeast, so make sure to let it
cool for several minutes) and then add yeast mixture and stir together.
- Stir in 8 cups of flour and mix well.
- Knead
on a floured surface for 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic– this
can be done by hand or with a mixer and dough hook. If it’s too
sticky, just add flour a few tablespoons at a time. Place in a large greased
bowl, then flip over so both
sides are covered with Pam. Cover with kitchen towel and let rise until
doubled (probably an hour or more, if my memory is correct). - Punch down and let rest 15 minutes. Divide in half. On floured surface, roll
each half into a 12×15" rectangle, then roll into a 12 inch long loaf. - Place
loaves on greased cookie sheets and make 4-5 diagonal slashes with a knife
across the top (think classic baguette look). Let rise again until
doubled in size. - Mix together 1 egg and 2 Tb milk and brush on top and sides of bread. If desired, sprinkle on poppy seeds or sesame seeds.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
Haley adds: "I’d love to see more pictures of different recipes as you and your kiddos continue your bread-making adventures. Happy baking!"
November 14, 2006 @ 6:40 am | Filed under: Food and Drink
Another contribution to the Carnival of Breadmaking. My great friend Joann sent me this lovely email with a recipe that is next on our list to try. I love her words about the joy of the process:
This bread is not hard to make but it is not
quick bread. It’s kind of old world and takes time and prep, but it
does add a rhythm to your life. You can fit this in and the joy and reward
of this process - for the making of bread can become a way of life - is
unimaginably fulfilling. I would think that someone who wove her own cloth would
appreciate this approach, at least for a time. As soon as I am done typing this,
I am going to go make a new starter. My boys have not experienced this kind of
bread making. All they know is that the sister get in the kitchen and amazing
things happen. A boy ought to know how to cook real food.
This is a versatile recipe. Add extra sugar
and you can make nice sticky buns or cinnamon rolls. Shape it into rolls or
knots or parker house rolls or even French bread.
and you can make nice sticky buns or cinnamon rolls. Shape it into rolls or
knots or parker house rolls or even French bread.
When you are kneading and shaping loaves of bread,
be sure to SLAM them into the table. Really— that’s what the French do to make
their loaves so wonderful.
be sure to SLAM them into the table. Really— that’s what the French do to make
their loaves so wonderful.
POTATO STARTER:
4 cups very warm water (105 degrees)
3/4 cup instant mashed potato flakes or 1 good
sized potato boiled and mashed with no seasoning
sized potato boiled and mashed with no seasoning
1 cup flour
3 tsp yeast
2/3 cup sugar
Mix the dry ingredients together and then add the
wet and stir until smooth. Let sit 12 -24 hours. It needs to fed every 3 -
4 days. You keep it in the refrigerator.
wet and stir until smooth. Let sit 12 -24 hours. It needs to fed every 3 -
4 days. You keep it in the refrigerator.
To feed: Stir 3/4 cup sugar into very warm
water then add 3 TBSP potato flakes and add this to the starter. Let
it sit at room temp for 8 - 12 hours then put it back in the fridge.
water then add 3 TBSP potato flakes and add this to the starter. Let
it sit at room temp for 8 - 12 hours then put it back in the fridge.
To make bread:
Let your starter come to room temp before using,
then stir it and remove 1 cup for the bread.
then stir it and remove 1 cup for the bread.
In a large bowl, combine 1 cup starter, 1/4 cup
sugar. Then add 1 TBSP salt, 1 1/2 cups very warm water, 1/2 cup vegetable oil.
Stir (I used a whisk and whisked gently) Now get your strong wooden spoon
and stir in 3 cups flour, stir until smooth. Add 3 - 4 more cups of flour, one a
time. (This is where you need Scott or lots of willing help to take lots of
turns stirring.) Stir until bread is "smooth and elastic" - the dough
should be stretchy when you pull it, it shouldn’t break right off.
sugar. Then add 1 TBSP salt, 1 1/2 cups very warm water, 1/2 cup vegetable oil.
Stir (I used a whisk and whisked gently) Now get your strong wooden spoon
and stir in 3 cups flour, stir until smooth. Add 3 - 4 more cups of flour, one a
time. (This is where you need Scott or lots of willing help to take lots of
turns stirring.) Stir until bread is "smooth and elastic" - the dough
should be stretchy when you pull it, it shouldn’t break right off.
Knead. To knead—this is so much fun—put
the dough on the table, push your hands into it, and push it away from you. Turn
the dough and repeat over and over until the dough feels nice and smooth. (About
5 - 10 minutes)
the dough on the table, push your hands into it, and push it away from you. Turn
the dough and repeat over and over until the dough feels nice and smooth. (About
5 - 10 minutes)
Put the dough into a greased or lightly oiled
big bowl, turn the dough so that it is coated with the oil (we use a 5
quart ice cream container) Place a dish towel over it and let it rise for 8 - 12
hours. (To have bread in the morning you start the previous morning, for evening
bread you start in the evening. When the starter is new, you can actually
shorten this to 4 hours if you same one day bread, but the flavor
definitely develops more fully with the really long rise time) On top of the
fridge is usually a warm enough place to raise dough.
big bowl, turn the dough so that it is coated with the oil (we use a 5
quart ice cream container) Place a dish towel over it and let it rise for 8 - 12
hours. (To have bread in the morning you start the previous morning, for evening
bread you start in the evening. When the starter is new, you can actually
shorten this to 4 hours if you same one day bread, but the flavor
definitely develops more fully with the really long rise time) On top of the
fridge is usually a warm enough place to raise dough.
After it has risen, PUNCH it down. Literally.
Then knead it lightly for a minute or so. Divide into thirds. Shape your loaves.
To do this, roll the dough into a rectangle, then roll it up jelly roll style
press down on each end with the side of your hands and tuck the pressed part
under. Place into greased loaf pans. Brush the tops lightly with vegetable oil
or softened or melted butter. (Experiment - different shortenings produce
different crusts.) Cover them with a dish towel and let them rise 8 - 12
hours.
Then knead it lightly for a minute or so. Divide into thirds. Shape your loaves.
To do this, roll the dough into a rectangle, then roll it up jelly roll style
press down on each end with the side of your hands and tuck the pressed part
under. Place into greased loaf pans. Brush the tops lightly with vegetable oil
or softened or melted butter. (Experiment - different shortenings produce
different crusts.) Cover them with a dish towel and let them rise 8 - 12
hours.
Remove the dish towel. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 -
45 minutes. When you tap the bread, it should sound hollow. Remove it from the
loaf pans right away and cool on a rack. Otherwise the bottom will get soggy. It
will slice better cooled, but who waits?
45 minutes. When you tap the bread, it should sound hollow. Remove it from the
loaf pans right away and cool on a rack. Otherwise the bottom will get soggy. It
will slice better cooled, but who waits?
I hope you try this even though it probably sounds
like it takes years to make. It takes about ten minutes to make the starter and
then it takes about 45 minutes the first few times to mix the dough. (Until you
have built up biceps LOL). It takes about ten minutes to knead and shape the
loaves the second time. The rest is all anticipatory waiting
time….
like it takes years to make. It takes about ten minutes to make the starter and
then it takes about 45 minutes the first few times to mix the dough. (Until you
have built up biceps LOL). It takes about ten minutes to knead and shape the
loaves the second time. The rest is all anticipatory waiting
time….
Variations on the theme:
French bread — decrease oil to 1/3 cup. Divide
dough into two pieces. Roll into long rectangles and skinny baguettes. Oil a
cookie sheet and then sprinkle with cornmeal (optional). Lightly oil the dough
on the cookie sheets. Unless you have French bread pans.
dough into two pieces. Roll into long rectangles and skinny baguettes. Oil a
cookie sheet and then sprinkle with cornmeal (optional). Lightly oil the dough
on the cookie sheets. Unless you have French bread pans.
Cinnamon raisin bread: Increase sugar to 1/2 cup.
When you roll the dough to make the loaves, rub on some softened butter,
sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and raisins if you like. Roll up jelly roll style
and bake as usual.
When you roll the dough to make the loaves, rub on some softened butter,
sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and raisins if you like. Roll up jelly roll style
and bake as usual.
You can also use the same method to make nice herb
bread. Add what you like.
bread. Add what you like.
Rolls: Roll dough into balls, flatten and
reroll.
reroll.
Knots: Roll dough into balls, then "snakes" then
tie in a knot.
tie in a knot.
You rise (cover them with a clean
towel) and cook these on a cookie sheet. I spray my rolls (and most doughs
actually) with olive oil from a "spritzer" or just use Pam (or the generic
equivalent). It’s a lot faster than trying to brush them. Especially since my
brush is demolished and I have to use a spoon. LOL
towel) and cook these on a cookie sheet. I spray my rolls (and most doughs
actually) with olive oil from a "spritzer" or just use Pam (or the generic
equivalent). It’s a lot faster than trying to brush them. Especially since my
brush is demolished and I have to use a spoon. LOL
Parker House rolls are made in muffin tins. You
roll three small balls and stick them in greased muffin cup, let them rise and
bake them at 350 for 20-30 minutes.
roll three small balls and stick them in greased muffin cup, let them rise and
bake them at 350 for 20-30 minutes.
Joann, thanks so much for letting me share this!
November 10, 2006 @ 3:02 pm | Filed under: Household
Y’all were so helpful with the bread recipes (and I have more links and recipes to add to the carnival, just as soon as I get a chance!) that I thought I’d throw a new question at you. My old vacuum cleaner was one of the things that didn’t make the cut when we moved. This house has all hardwood floors, and I want a lightweight vacuum to save me from having to sweep every day. Any recommendations? I want something that won’t scratch the floors but will pick up the crumbs and can handle area rugs too.
I do use a Swiffer broom a couple of times a day, and that’s great for dust but not crumbs. Has anyone tried the new Swiffer vac? It seems like basically a long-handled Dustbuster with a Swiffer pad mounted behind it. Looks promising, but wouldn’t work on my area rug. Hmm.
I don’t want anything big that will take up a lot of room in the closet. I know Orecks are small and light. Are they worth their salt? Will they scratch hardwood floors?
)
