Monday, November 30, 2009

Decorating Day


We're like a Hallmark commercial around here as we unpack all of our favorite ornaments...

Scout has his own box of ornaments - they are the ones he'll take with him when he sets up housekeeping on his own...

He loves taking them out of their boxes and and commenting on all their eccentricities and then finding the perfect spot on the tree...

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Baby Blanket #3

...I somehow neglected to snap a photo of blanket # 2 - but trust me it was just like this one only pink and lavender...

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Thank You

Sweet Patricia from Knitsburgh sent me these sweet cards - I absolutely love them and I'll be able to put them in my Giveaway Day packages. That was really a sweet and thoughtful thing to do - Thanks so much Patricia!

The Happiest Season of All...

...Scout picked the most perfect tree of all...
...three trees in a truck - one for us and two for the Church...
...we hung our lovely cross on the door - purchased from the Boy Scouts instead of a wreath this year...
...the tree's inside and all the needles are vacuumed up...
...Scout checks all the lights - the spares are in the little golden drum...
...and arranges them on the tree...
...all done for tonight - we'll do the ornaments tomorrow...

Friday, November 27, 2009

Crispy Cereal Bars

We hosted a little get-together after the Thanksgiving Service at Church...You can barely see Nanny's Russian Tea in the soup tureen...

...but what I really wanted to post about were the 'bars' - that's a word that I never really heard used this way before we moved up here - they call any sort of snack that can be cut into squares 'bars' - and a lot of 'bars' are served at coffee hour after Church every Sunday...

...Scout's favorite is some sort of cereal bar with peanut butter and a thin layer of chocolate on top...

...so we searched through some recipes and came up with this...

Crispy Cereal Bars

Put into a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat:
•1 1/2 cups Turbinado sugar
•1-1/2 cups corn syrup
•1-1/2 cups peanut butter

Prepare a half sheet pan by greasing it with Earth Balance.

Pour the hot sugar mixture over
•6 cups crisp cereal - we used Corn Flakes
in a large bowl and mix well - press into prepared pan.

Ice the bars with
•12 oz. pkg. semisweet vegan chocolate chips - melted.

If you have access to vegan chocolate chips - you can just melt a bag of those and spread it over the top - but if like me you can't find vegan chocolate chips within a 90 mile radius of your home you can make your own Chocolate Chip - there won't be any need in forming them into chocolate chips and you'll need to double the recipe.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Giveaway Day and Happy Thanksgiving

I'm wishing everyone a very very Happy Thanksgiving!

...and...
This year for my Advent Giveaway I'll be participating in the big Giveaway Day over at Sew Mama Sew. I'm so excited about it - so be sure to check back on December 2nd!

Christmas Wreaths

The Christmas Wreaths that the Boy Scouts sold are in - so we'll be delivering those - just in time for everyone who wants to decorate for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving like I do. They're huge - the boxes wouldn't fit in my car and I had to come home and get the Man's truck. And they smell amazing - our garage smells just like a pine forest. Ours is not a wreath but a cross - I'll show it to you Friday after we get our tree...

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Cookie Making

Our LYO (Lutheran Youth Organization) met and made cookies for our shut-ins. They seemed to naturally separate into two groups (one made up entirely of boys and one made up entirely of girls) funny...
...so they mixed and shaped and decorated (and ate a bunch of cookie dough)...
...and had a whole lot of fun - they ate so many of the chocolate kisses that they're weren't enough to top the peanut butter cookies - so we just pressed the fork imprint into those and they were just peanut butter cookies with no kiss...
...we packed them all up prettily in cellophane and labeled them -and popped them into the freezer - we'll deliver them with Christmas Carols in Advent...

Monday, November 23, 2009

Pyramid Making

We have sand all over our dining room and have been hard at pyramid building for about 3 weeks now (and we're so glad that it's out of the house now and we can clean everything up)...
...it started with a lot of math...
...figuring squares and right angles and acute angles...
...and triangles that would be the perfect height...
...to come together...
...and form a perfect pyramid...
...then Scout spread glue over the pyramid...
...and wrapped it with yarn...
...because yarn should be part of every project - right...
...er...um...right...
...then he made some smaller polyhedrons for the 'wive's pyramids' - which he promptly covered with papier-mâché...
...now you can see what the yarn was for - yarn covered with papier-mâché looks just like rows of bricks - now you know...
...next, he painted everything the colour of sand...
...then he cut open one side of the pyramid - of course the inside of the pyramid has to be furnished...
...while waiting for Confirmation class at the Church to start - he gathered some grass and made some little Egyptian boats - you see every spare moment has been consumed by this project...
...next he painted all the pyramids with glue...

...that's a sticky job...
...and took them out to the garage where they got a sand shower - now we have sand all over the house...
...the mortuary temple needed a little more artwork before he was ready for his sand bath - columns had to be drawn on the interior...
...then we mixed up some salt dough and Scout carved out the interior of the pyramid - galleries, false tombs, true tombs, air shafts, escape shafts - it's all in there...
...he painted the Nile River on the base with some glue tinted with food colouring - this dries to a clearish watery looking river...
...he formed a salt dough sarcophagus and painted it gold...
...he painted the interior salt dough slab...
...added a box for the true burial chamber complete with heiroglyphics (they're visible in the grand gallery as well) - and hot glued in some supporting slabs...
...he labeled everything on the interior and popped it into place inside the pyramid...
...Scout labeled everything outside - and put the capstone in place...
...he is so proud of his finished project...
...he added several extra labels - things that weren't on the required list...
...and typed (have I mentioned how awesome it is that he can type!) a little note explaining how to open the pyramid - a super neat little trick - you lift the capstone and pull down the side...
...an aerial view...

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Lentil Stew

Genesis 25
29 Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted.
30 And Esau said to Jacob, "Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!" (Therefore his name was called Edom.)
31 Jacob said, "Sell me your birthright now."
32 Esau said, "I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?"
33 Jacob said, "Swear to me now." So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob.
34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

I'm not sure it's good enough to sell your birthright for - but it is really good - and so, so simple to make...

Lentil Stew

1 cup lentils
1 cup sliced carrots
1/2 cup sliced celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 bay leaf
3 cups water
salt and pepper to taste

That's it - really - just put everything into a pot - bring to a boil and then let simmer for about 1 hour...

I love lentil stew...

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Another Backyard Update

They continue to haul in dirt - it's kind of sporadic - they'll haul dirt all day and then none for a week and then they'll be back...
...I'm amazed at how much dirt there is out there...

...they spread it around with a dozer occasionally - notice my garden has yet to 'go under'...