We’ve been having fun this week. Well, mostly.
There was the brief argument between the girls over whether the Baby Jesus sticker (Beatrix’s chosen mailbox symbol) should be horizontal or vertical.
And then there were tears when I took the homemade stamp glue away from Beatrix, thinking that anything with gelatin in it should not get involved with Bea when she is wielding a paintbrush.
We made peace over watercolor crayons and her own jar of special stamp glue (minus the key ingredient: gelatin. she didn’t know the difference.) I felt pretty proud of myself. It’s hard to make crafty peace when your children are all at different stages, and since my Bea doesn’t nap, it’s not like I can simply plan activities for while she’s asleep. I just have to be brave and march onward.
To show for it, we now have a decent stash of “forever” stamps. And if you want to drop Larkspur a letter, make sure to include the phrase, “Hitty Pitty.” She’ll be pleased.
That’s Larkspur language for “I love you.”
(We’ve been reading Beatrix Potter this week. Actually her Nursery Rhyme Book. )
On the topic of love: two more box turtles hatched. Those tiny eyes are so full of soul. I realize I sound silly and a bit sentimental, but you see it too, don’t you? We debated keeping these two, just until next spring (it’s called headstarting) but decided to go with our usual approach concerning wildlife of less involvement, and released them.
We woke to a pretty nice fairy ring in our front yard this week, but just as the professor of my “Fungi: Friends and Foes” class once remarked, for some reason when humans see mushrooms their first instinct is to kick them. Our fairy ring didn’t last long, and my kids were only vaguely interested in my little lecture on the growth pattern of mycelium that leads to rings of mushrooms.
Today my kids made a big bowl of sumac lemonade. Creating this beverage always results in a very messy kitchen for some reason, but my kids find the making and drinking of it very thrilling.
(Seth originally found the idea for this in a book, but a quick google search turned up this, if you are interested.)
I was more thrilled with this green bean recipe. I have never cared for green beans, and while our beans are actually purple podded poles, they turn green when you cook them, and they taste like typical green beans as well.
I think I have finally found a way to eat them. If your garden is full of beans, grape tomatoes, and basil, like mine is, you should try this too (I omitted the sugar and subbed fresh garlic for powdered.)
Looking through my pictures, I realize I am finally starting to get back my appetite. I lost it early in my pregnancy with Silas, and am still not the same. I also gave up sugar for the most part, even subbing honey in my tea (honey is quite good with P.G. tips and cream.) This week I must have been feeling a little wild and crazy though, because I made a cake, well technically a “buckle,” complete with white flour and sugar. The above photo was taken just before I placed it in the oven. Those lumps? Butter. I’ll never give up butter.
After pulling this from the oven it was drizzled with a lemon syrup. In my book, you can’t get much better than a dessert that combines lots of lemon with lots of blueberries. Of course, I may have a different opinion next spring when strawberry season hits again.
(This is the lemon blueberry buckle from Rustic Fruit Desserts)
Speaking of recipes, Seth started two jars of mordant for dyeing yarn naturally today (copper with a vinegar/water solution, and iron in the same, although he says that we should probably go with alum) He’s reading Wild Color and planning a dye garden. I am so glad that I have him to help read all the instructions and get excited with me.
And speaking of excitement…
I am not sure how I feel about Silas becoming mobile so early. I suppose it’s a mixture of pride and fear. He’s three months old today, and can creep like nobody’s business. See that little bottom in the air? He knows how to work it!
Somehow between all the moving and shaking, I finally put the finishing touches on this sweater. I love it. I want to knit another right now. But I can’t. I’ve got children to chase, not to mention a fat baby who’s on the move!
Crystal says
i was wondering if you breed turtles and if so i would love to keep a box turtle as a pet. please write back if you have any left. thanks!