Etsy Time

I've been absent from the blogging world because my nights are consumed with sewing felt food

and delving into the intricacies of setting up an Etsy shop,

a process which is proving a good deal more difficult than I had imagined. 

Never have I had so much fun. 

 

Slowly but surely, I am making progress toward my goal

of having items on the site by March 1, 2013.

 

This banner will make its appearance at the top of my Etsy Shop. 

 I created it with felt letters and samples of the food I am crafting.

Then, I took a photo of the banner in the morning sun and uploaded the photo.

 

  I am using the Farmer's Market concept as the inspiration for the shop

because I love farmers' markets.

Fresh flowers, vegetables, fruits, meats, breads, and baked goods

all rest comfortably in the shade of canopies, protected from the scalding morning sun,

sold by persons dedicated to the concepts of freshness, variety, and purity.

 

I make my way to Farmers' Markets in every city I visit.

My two favorite Farmers' Markets of all time -

Borough Market, Southwark, London

and

Williamsburg, Virginia.

Both have to be seen to be believed.

I hope to see them again sometime in my life.

 

 

 

My overstuffed basement workshop is serving as my photography studio.

You can see a felt pizza, ready to be photographed, basking in all its glory.

Note the rudimentary, yet workable backdrop of white paper,

clothespinned to the blind which hides the house's electric panel.

Talk about high-tech.

 



 

These shrimp didn't seem to mind the humble digs.

They were happy to strut their stuff.

Pizza, anyone?  Deluxe is the name of this game.

 



 

 Think homegrown tomatoes.

 

And what could be better than

 a couple of eggs, sunny side up, bacon, pancakes and a fruit garnish?

 

This is all just too much fun.  

From a Mother's Heart

 

 

 

Happy Birthday to IVee!!!

Not too hard to guess how old he is?

 Sister Golden Hair was enlisted to aid him.

He actually planted two quick kisses on my lips today

and

 thanked me for having given birth to him.

The stuff of dreams.

 

No, No, IVee. 

The thanks are all mine.

Thank you for starting me on the most

 rewarding

 difficult

 laugh-filled

 gut-wrenching

 satisfying

frustrating

joyful

 journey of my life.

You, and your brother, Orion, have made sure there is never a dull moment.

And, just when I thought there might be a dull moment,

there was always something happening in the background about which I had not idea.

 

Thank you for your inquisitveness.

Thank you for your exuberance.

Thank you returning to the house at age 2 after having climbed out the window.

Thank you for "psych".

Thank you for working hard, pursuing your dreams, and achieving them.

 

Thank you for being you.

Happy Birthday!



Harry S. Knighton Trail

Better Half and I escaped to the Shawnee State Forest this weekend

to enjoy the exuberant January sunshine

and to stretch our winter weary legs.

 

We took a hike along the Harry S. Knighton Trail,

a fairly easy hiking trail between Turkey Creek Lake and Roosevelt Lake.

Mr. Knighton, for whom the trail is named, was a noted naturalist and mycologist. 

A mycologist, Better Half informs me,

is one dedicated to the study of the subject of the above photo, fungi.

Better Half captured this photo with his Iphone.

 



 

Here we are along the trail, Better Half, the one with his hands in his pockets,

somewhat gamely playing along. 

 

I learned, on this hike, that four types of aquatic turtles make their home in the lake.

The only turtle with which I have any familiarity is the box turtle,

 the turtles I move to the side of the road when I see them flirting with death.

They too live at the lake, though they are terrestrial.

No turtles were observed this day.

 

 

Gorgeous lime green mosses lined the path,

brightening the drab greys and browns of the landscape.

 

 

 

The water level in the lake was low, exposing the shallow parts of the lake.

Better Half remarked that the pungent marine smell was like taking a trip to the beach

without taking a trip to the beach. 

Smack dab in the middle of the lake,

 a host of ducks and geese sunbathed on an island of their own.

 

I couldn't get enough of the brilliant sunshine and the clear sparkling waters

trickling along the path.

 

Next nice day, if you find yourselves in our neck of the woods, the Harry S. Knighton Trail

makes for a very pleasant afternoon. 



Terms of Endearment

Just the other day, as I was tending to Baby Granddaughter, a phrase popped into my head that I have not heard for many years.  I've only heard my mom use the phrase, and I've only heard her use it to refer to babies.  The phrase was, interestingly, "Sugar Lump o' Dirt".

OK, so you say, why would anyone call a baby a "Sugar Lump o' Dirt"?  The longer I thought about it and tumbled the words around in my head, the more curious I became.  So, when I took Baby Granddaughter to my parents' home for a visit recently, I asked Mom about the phrase.  

She began to laugh out loud, and told me she had not thought about the words for years.  Then she asked how I possibly remembered the phrase.  I told her she had always used those words to describe a baby.   When I asked her about the origin of the phrase, assuming it had been handed down from someone in her family, she told me she had just made it up.

I wonder if, when my little brother, Mayor, and I, as babies, got into a mess of some kind in the back yard, my mother didn't use the phrase in equal parts love and exasperation at the two dirty little children she was faced with cleaning from head to toe. 

Sugar Lump o' Dirt - it has quite a nice ring to it.

The more I roll it around on my tongue, the more musical it becomes.  And because it brought back such a happy memory to my Mom, I know it will stay fresh in my mind for a long time. 

Poor Baby Granddaughter - guess what I'll be calling her now?

Felt Food Obsession

Just before Christmas I learned about play felt food from my nephew's wife. I'd never heard of it, but because I enjoy working with felt, I decided to "Google It" to see what the rage was about.  If nothing else, I might like to craft a few pieces for baby granddaughter when she is older.

I've been "googling" ever since, studying site after site, creating patterns, and crafting food, all out of felt.  Play felt food has become something of an obsession for me.  The array, the quantity and the quality of play food for children is nothing short of amazing.  And now that I've discovered it, I have to make it all!!!!!

 

My every growing pile of felt food, at this point includes various lettuce leaves, pancakes, fried eggs, bacon, banana slices, bow tie pasta and tomato sauce, eggplant, carrot, shrimp cocktail, strawberries, tomatoes and tomato slices, pats of butter, whipped cream, garlic bread and a hot dog, complete with relish, onions, mustard and ketchup.  There is really no end in sight to the list of foods I intend to make.  I've even begun to ponder the possibility of a store on Etsy.   

 

 

This pile of felt will, in the next few days, become a pizza.

 

And this pile is the leftover scraps from the felt I have butchered in the last couple of weeks.  I don't have the heart to dispose of it yet.  Maybe I will use it to stuff some of the foods I am creating. 

 

When I become better organized, I will share with you some wonderful blogs which have compiled lists of tutorials for various foods, as well as some sites on etsy which offer patterns, in case you have interest in trying your hand at creating some food.  I have not yet invested in any patterns, as I am having fun creating my own from the photos on the internet.

 

At the present time, I am crafting the food from craft felt in my stash.  I have ordered eco-felt, a type of felt made from recycled plastic bottles which I plan to use in my next batch of foods.  I am in awe of the 100% wool felt foods, and I suspect that I may make the jump to 100% wool felt someday, though the material is quite expensive.  My research indicates it will stay cleaner, it will not pill and it will last longer. 

 

Stay tuned.  I will share patterns, ideas, and tips in the next several blogs posts. 

 

And, if you decide to try your hand at creating these foods, be forwarned.  The pasttime is not only fun, it is highly addictive.



Wishing

 

What I wouldn't give for a home grown tomato!

Happy New Year!

Every now and then, when the stars align, for I can think of no better explanation, an absolutely unexpected fun event comes about that is neither planned nor anticipated, resulting in belly laughs, a good deal of ribbing, rivalry to be sure, and a memorable evening which will live on in the minds of those who participated for a very long time, to be sure.

Last Monday evening, New Year's Eve, Sis gave me a call asking me to come to my parent's home to join them for a visit.  As Better Half and I had no other celebration plans, I made my way to my parent's home, where I found my parents, Mayor and Sis sitting around the kitchen table.

Donned in my silver jaunty "Happy New Year" headband, with matching silver beads, I was feeling quite festive, and inquired, only semi-seriously, when I might expect the Chinese Checkers game to begin.

You see, in this family of mine, Chinese Checkers is something of both a beloved tradition and a bitterly fought battle, where no one participant is safe from the other.  The event generally takes place during the holidays, interestingly a time of good will. Since the annual games had not yet taken place this year, I figured New Year's Eve was as good a time as any for the contest.  Sis refers to the games as Full Contact Chinese Checkers.  She is not far off the mark.

My suggestion was met with approval, so I was sent to fetch the Chinese Checker board from under the sofa where it resides in relative anonymity for 364 days a year.  The plastic bag of marbles was right there with the board.  Other years have found us searching the house high and low for matching sets of ten marbles for each player.  It was a good sign that the marbles were with the board this year.

And, when I say board, I mean a round, colorful, slightly rusting tin.  On one side are the round indentations for the Chinese Checkers marbles, while the other side is used for regular Checkers.  Compartments are provided for the marbles and checkers, though after 40 or 50 years, the original checkers and marbles have gone missing.  As we pondered the meaning of the chinese symbols that decorate the board, we did discover that the board was made by Ohio Arts in Bryan, Ohio. Ohio Arts is best known as the maker of the Etch A Sketch.  We still haven't figured out what the chinese symbols mean though some interesting ideas were profferred during the course of the evening.

 

But, I digress.  Marble colors were chosen, seats were drawn up to the table.  Better Half had not joined me, and my mother insisted that I call him to ask him to join us.  She promised that we would go easy on him. Yeah, right.  Nobody is immune from prosecution in a Chinese Checkers game.  He sleepily answered the phone, and did not immediately agree to join the screwball game. 

So, we five began a game without him.  Dad kept insisting that he had forgotten how to play and that he could not tell the blue marbles from the green ones.  Dad is 85.  It sounded plausible.  However, as he continued to make his assorted claims, we watched his green marbles surely and steadily make their way to the opposite end of the board. Very interesting.

I have decided it would be impossible for me to ever play poker.  If I had a good move, I could not contain my glee, much to the mock consternation of Sis.  And, if anyone else had a good move, I couldn't contain my glee either.  So we all counted the jumps for each other together.  And we vociferously, and with much spirit, questioned moves that we thought were questionable. 

Midway through the first game, Better Half bravely entered and had a seat, much like the innocent lamb to the slaughter.  He insisted that he had only come to watch but he was soon cajoled into taking part in Game 2. 

Well, the old guy, who early on insisted that he had forgotten how to play, won the game.  He has won almost all the games over the years.  So much for his claims.  They would certainly fall on deaf ears in game two.  We went so far as to give him the white marbles for the second game so he would be able to tell the colors apart, though it apparently wasn't much of a problem in the first game.  He should have stuck with the green.

The second game commenced, much like the first.  Better Half soldiered on, without a lot of grief falling his way.  I felt pretty good about my chances of winning.  Mom was moving acrossing the board steadily.  The old guy, flush with his first victory,  apparently decided to spread the winning around.  And, then it began.  Someone suggested that perhaps I should be stopped from winning.  And so I was.

 

Sis moved one of her marbles into my section to prevent my from winning.  Then, Mayor placed one of his marbles into her section to prevent her from winning.  And, each of us did our very best to keep anyone from getting any advantage, whatsoever.  In the end, the lamb, Better Half, prevailed.   I don't know how we slipped up and let him win the game, but he did.

Actually, we were all winners.  We laughed.  We competed fiercely with each other at the same time that we helped each other.  We loved.  We spent a great couple of hours that will live with us for a long time. 

Long live Full Contact Chinese Checkers.

So Long, Farewell, Auf Widersehen, Good Night

As I began to ponder rounding up the Christmas lovelies that decorated the North Forty, I grew a little melancholy. It's hard to say good-bye to Christmas.  So, I trudged around for a bit, snapping up a few last photos before the defrocking began.

 

 

A hand-made present from Zach, a friend to Better Half and me.

Guess what he was wishing for for Christmas?

 

Fresh evergreens and snow, real measurable snow that lingers, even now.

Zach had to be happy.

 



 

Laughter and Joy.

 

Presents from family . . .

Presents from friends . . .

 



 

 Deco-Mesh and the good times Sister Golden Hair and I had making wreaths and snowmen

 

Grandma's vintage Santa and reindeer, a link to Christmas' past.

 



Shiny Brite Christmas ornaments, both old and new.



 

The songs of the season,

 carols at church,

 the man from the Salvation Army playing the great horn at Walmart,

NPR. 

 



 

Noel   --    Birthday.

 

 

The Light.

 

Until next year, keep the Light of Christmas

and the myriad good feelings it generates alive in your hearts.



A New Year's Feast

For as long as I can remember, New Year's dinner has always consisted of cabbage and potatoes, slow cooked with ham.  My mom cooked it, my father's mother cooked it, so. . . I cook it.  

Eating cabbage on New Year's Day ensures that a person will have money throughout the year, my parents told me as a little girl, when I turned up my nose at the dish.  And I turned up my nose with quite good reason.  The smell of the cooked cabbage permeated every nook and cranny of the house.  And, it wasn't an all-together pleasant smell.  I thought it was just plain awful.  Yet, here I am, year after year, cooking up the very same tradition on the North Forty. 

Thought I might share my recipe for cooked cabbage and potatoes, along with a few suggestions for ways to deal with the cooked cabbage smell. 

First things first - the smell.  While sauteeing the cabbage, use the exhaust fan and crack a window to allow fresh air to enter.  Adding a couple teaspoons of vinegar to the cooking cabbage also seems to cut the smell.  When all else fails, chalk it up to tradition.  Be happy to have them to celebrate and pass on.

 

Better Half, a stickler for heat conservation,

actually suggested opening the window to bring in a dose of fresh air.

 

The ingredients for cabbage and potatoes are simple and straightforward. 

 



 

 Roughly chop a whole head of cabbage and one large onion into bite sized pieces. 

In a large pot, bring to a simmer 4 cans of chicken broth and two cups of water. 

 For my purposes, I used a low-sodium broth.

Add a ham bone (and leftover scraps of ham, if you have them).

Simmer the broth and ham while you finish preparing the cabbage and onions.

 

 

In a large skillet, melt one tablespoon butter and add one tablespoon olive oil.

Add the chopped cabbage and onion to the skillet, a couple of hands full at a time.

Saute the cabbage and onions until wilted and translucent,

about 10 minuutes or so at medium heat.

 

 

 

The cabbage and onion mixture will wilt considerably as it cooks

(and begin to give off the distinctive aroma.  Prepare yourself.)

This is the way the cabbage and onion will look like after it has been sauteed.

 

Meanwhile, peel and cut into large chunks, 6 or so, medium red skinned potatoes.

 

Add the cabbage-onion mixture and the chunked potatoes to the

 simmering chicken broth.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Continue simmering for 20 to 30 minutes until the potatoes are fork tender. 

Enjoy.

 

This recipe makes more than enough for a large family to enjoy prosperity for the entire year. 

You may adjust quantities to suit the size of your family

and your wishes for prosperity in the new year.

 

I wish each of you a year filled with joy, peace, satisfaction, good health and . . . prosperity.