Views From Spring Break: Daffodils on the Dresser

We’ve really been trying to get more exercise this year, to make up for the long, asthmatic months of winter when too many of us don’t dare to poke our noses out of doors.

Chad and I went for a walk on a little used–yet comfortingly populated–road, and found this perfect drinking glass half buried on the bank. We also found an abandoned homestead foundation, an old rock retaining wall, wonderfully twisted trees, a vintage pop can much crushed, and a fascinating skeleton (we think it was a opossum); but we couldn’t take any of those things with us. Well, maybe the skeleton, but the bits that were below ground smelled a bit rank yet, so we left it.  Also, this glass makes a perfect vase.

Katya on the Couch

When we first adopted Katya she didn’t understand the pleasure that a pile of warm towels can bring. Her first laundry day she was a bit upset when I tried to lay her down on the couch, but when she realized how nice those towels felt, she actually lay still for ten whole minutes until they cooled off.  Now all I have to do is yell, “Hey Katya, towels!” and she comes running.

“Warm!” she says.

 

Snips of Life

Chad pretending to be a penguin:

Chad holding his nose because someone burnt eggs:

Katya in one of her usual hangouts:

Chad with his reward for finishing a work-book:

Italian style “Meatloaf Cupcakes”:

Winter light over the valley:

Katya has a Birthday

Katya said she wanted a chocolate sheet cake.  Our conversation was typical of the ones we have with Katya, and went something like this.

Me: “Katya, your birthday is tomorrow! You will be ten years old! Do you want cake?”

Katya: Signs ‘yes’.

Me: “Do you want a chocolate cake or a white cake?”

Katya: Signs ‘yes’ enthusiastically.

Me: Begining slowly, “Do you want chocolate…”

Katya: ‘yes’, enthusiastically.

Me: “Chocolate cake?”

Katya: while signing ‘yes’ enthusiastically, “Heh!” (Translated: “Yes”!)

Me: “Okay, chocolate cake it is. You love chocolate, don’t you?”

Katya: ‘yes’.  Begins to turn away, done with conversation.

Me:  “Wait! Katya, do you want one cake, or cupcakes?”

Katya: Looks confused.

Me: Holding up appropriate fingers, “Do you want one cake,” pauses, “or cupcakes?”

Katya: Wants to take bath. Turns away. 

Me: “Do you want cupcakes?”

Katya: “Hoe.” (Translated: “No”)

Me: Surprised, “Do you want one cake?”

Katya: Briefly holding up a finger, “Hunh!”(Translated: “One”)  Turns away.

Me: “One cake?”

Katya: signs ‘yes’.

Me: “Okay, Katya, one chocolate cake. I’ll make it tomorrow, okay?”

~~~

A similar conversation took place after her bath, when we were discussing candles. Katya in years past has had a fear of candles, and so the ones shaped like numbers were best. But when at lunch time the next day it was discovered that we had no “zero” to complete the 10, she was fine with individual candles.

She seemed to be a bit philosophical about her birthday this year. She kept staring thoughtfully at the cake.  I’d pay a great deal more than a penny for her thoughts.

It was a chocolate banana cake, with pink lemon icing and sprinkles. Katya is very fond of sprinkles.  She put the candles in the cake herself.

Katya has recently re-discovered her love for Matryoshkas, after I showed her how to open them without them “squeaking”. Katya has sensitive ears.  But she likes playing with them now.  Keeping that in mind, I spread the table with a white cloth and used one of our colorful Ukrainian Matryoshkas for the center piece. I was careful to not use a doll with a tiny “baby” that could get misplaced or eaten.

Katya’s favorite meal is soup, so to go with the soup I set out crackers, cheese, and tiny sweet peppers. Katya adores pickles–even her name sign is like pickles– so of course we had those. The peppers and pickles went with the color scheme nicely.

Everything was very good. Katya didn’t freak when we had the candles on the cake, and blew them out with gusto.

Katya received a shirt and sweater,

Black boots (not pictured), and 365 piece Lego set, which she put together all by herself!

She had a very good birthday, I think. And our baby girl is ten!

A Quiet Christmas Break

We made lots of cookies these last few weeks. Too many, really, but whatever. The Littles– always Chad and Katya, and sometimes Kristina– had a lot of fun decorating them.  In addition to the cutout cookies I also made Snickerdoodles and lemon curd bars with a coconut flour crust.

We went out driving a few times to look at lights. I made kettle corn to eat as we drove.

The kidlets went in their pjs, so they were easy to pop into bed later.

Christmas Day was quiet and uneventful. There weren’t any huge presents (except for Daddy, who got a long awaited guitar) but Chad, Katya, and Kristina all got Legos, I got a replacement board book for one that I had loved and worn out as a child, and Todd got a vintage vinyl set of “Pirates of Penzance” by the Glyndborne opera company.

 

After Christmas we went to an unofficial Lego Museum in a small mining town. The museum was in a neat art-deco school.

Chad makes a very cute sarcophagus.

The town was quaint in it’s shabbiness. There was a fantastic abandoned bridge over the river.

 

And on our way home we stopped at a Gardens to see the lights.

Not pictured are the trips the the science-center, the old bookstore, and an idyllic park on an achingly cold and beautiful afternoon.

The winter solstice turns, and the foggy world spins towards summer.

 

 

In Other News

Chad made a Perler bead frog, so Katya sat down with the diagram and made a Perler bead frog. She was so excited about it, and while I was waiting for the iron to warm up kept grinning at me and gently directing me to the iron.  And she even smiled when I asked her to!

Chad found a large Praying Mantis– a male, as he kept telling me. I have no idea about it’s gender, but Chad got it to crawl on his head.

See the photo bomber? 

I had a violin recital. Even though mum forgot how to record it, I’m pleased with the results, because I managed to not be nervous.  I don’t get nervous as in “I’m going to mess up and be humiliated for the rest of my life” but I get an adrenaline rush and start to over think everything I’m doing.  This time whenever I would feel myself begin to over think I would think about what I was actually doing. Instead of “Did I play that flat?” I would think “I am in section A heading for ending B and I am going to nail this.”  And though I’ve never minded performing, this time it was actually fun. 

I made Aunt Justina’s White Cookies for the reception following the recital. I ran out of coconut, so I used pecans. Daddy’s side of the family loves white frosting with pecans, so it felt very traditional somehow. Pecans also are easy to brush off if you don’t like that sort of thing. People wondered how I got the filling inside. :-)

I looked out the window the other day and saw this. This summer Chad and Katya have really begun to like books.

Just a few days ago I found Katya and Kristina like this. Katya was solemnly perusing an adult book with fine print and no pictures. Every once and a while she’d turn a page.

And so our fall moves into winter.

Clutter in the Morning Light

I’ve noticed that morning light does for clutter what candelight does for people– it makes homely look good. It’s a side benefit of getting Katya off to school that I get to see the stuff that’s been cleared off the freshly painted porch in a different light.

Those pictures reminded me of these I had taken a few years ago. The light refracting through the smoke from the frying onions is quite pretty. Frying onions are one of my least favorite things about Sunday, right after getting up. I don’t understand it– I like the smell of frying onions well enough any other day of the week.

Maybe it’s the fact that there’s actual *smoke*. But even that looks pretty in the morning light. Luminescent goldfish don’t hurt, either.

A Timely Alteration

Mum found this cute-but-a-wee-bit-too-large LandsEnd dress for Kristina at the thrift store.  The obvious solution? A simple strip of ribbon, sewn across the front to the side-seams, to function as a belt. Measure it out, singe the ends, sew it on, and you’re out of there!  Personally, I think it looks cuter with the belt! It was a timely fix, since Kristina was in need of a refreshed summer wardrobe.

I Begin Sewing Again

I haven’t sewed much for awhile, but I was feeling so badly of late about Katya’s thin, scratchy pillowcase that today I got a bee in my proverbial bonnet, and made her a new one.

Katya chose this fabric the first year we had her–so a little over two years ago. For some reason, we were at a larger Jo-Ann Fabric’s, and while riding past the quilting cottons, Katya saw this one and seized it eagerly.  Since at that point she rarely showed enthusiasm for anything but rocking, breezes, and food, she was indulged, and a length of fabric duly purchased. It just took this long to get around to cutting into it.

Katya chose the red ribbon. She chose well. She was so excited to have a new pillowcase– she was gently trying to take it from the sewing machine before it was quite done, and wanted to run up and put it on her pillow. She seemed touched that I’d made her a new one. Perhaps she remembered wanting it. Then Katya wanted a sewing lesson. She was quite willing, until we got to the “pin the pieces together” step. Apparently she’s developed a new fear of pins? So it never got beyond the cutting out stage, but oh well.

Sewing a pillowcase felt so good, that I sat right down and sewed up a hot water bottle cover. We’ve been needing one for ages. Katya is always getting ear-infections, and it’s difficult to keep a hand towel wrapped around a bottle.   A year or two ago, my group violin teacher (Thanks, Mrs. D!) put some unused articles of clothing up for grabs, and I scored a chenille sweatshirt, 100% cotton.  I thought I’d take it in to fit me, but that didn’t work so well, and so it sat.  Just this week, I looked at it and thought that I *really* needed to give it to the Goodwill, or something. But then I thought, “no, I might use it for something” And now I have.

I turned it inside out and traced generously around the bottle.  It’s roomy, but that’s fine.  I incorporated the finished edge, and the side seam.  I cut a wedge shape from the opening side, starting at the top and tapering to below the cord opening, so that the fabric would “sit” better when scrunched.  I used a scrap of bias tape leftover from a jumper for Katya for the casing, and the cord is from mum’s stash.  So it was a really inexpensive project to do, and best of all, required no math!

Katya was excited about this, too, and ran and wanted the hot-water bottle filled up to try the cover out.

And then she stuck it inside her new pillowcase, and cuddled with mum.

It felt good to sew again.

An Explanation of Chad

I love this boy. He’s such a ham. We made gumdrop cookies yesterday, and he rolled the sliced gumdrops in sugar, and made faces.

He says he likes the green gumdrops best. But then, he just likes green.

Chad loves animals, and collects facts almost effortlessly. He can tell you what this monkey is (A Black Snubbed Nose) and where is lives (“China’s Forests and Snowy Mountains”)  In an unrelated side note, Todd saw this monkey, and said it looked like “Michael Jackson in a fur coat.” Which it does.

Whenever we’re at the zoo, Chad’s front and center with his hand raised. He amazes the zookeepers with his enthusiasm, which sometimes over-steps the bounds of politeness.

He longs for a kitten of his own.

Or a hermit crab, or a lizard, or a dog, or, or, or. 

He’s recently taken to drawing.

The highlight of his summer? Riding a camel at the fair.

Did I mention he can sing? He has a piercing–think smoke detector–upper singing range, and a surprisingly deep lower one. Chad likes to listen to music out-of-doors, in the recumbent position. He even brings his own pillow.

Chad can be a hard and cheerful worker. His least favourite chore is anything garbage related. Even a perfectly sweet smelling bowl of fresh orange peels will make him shudder. But he doesn’t mind cleaning windows.

Chad is fond of Legos. Very fond. He asks for Legos every Christmas, Birthday, and in-between.  He had a Lego/Wildkratt themed birthday party this year.

His favorite foods are a toss-up between peanut-butter and jelly, and spaghetti.

I showed him this picture, and he said “Good times, good times.”

That’s Chad, ever the optimist. His most characteristic remark, when sick and asked how he’s doing, that he’s doing “a little bit great.”

Chad’s current catch-phrase is ” What? I’m____” (fill in the blank). As in, “What? I’m a very curious boy.” Or, “What? I saw it in a video.” Or, “What? I like it.”

He’s just a great kid.

Molasses Crinkles

The weather this morning was conducive to baking.  Horrid and cold, with snow. Mother called a rally, and announced that we would be baking two kinds of cookies, buns, and a pan of bars. Mum tackled the bars, Kristina the chocolate-chip cookies (with minimal assistance) and I took on the buns and the Molasses Crinkles.

Molasses Crinkles are my family’s top-favorite cookie. Nicely sweet, even with the sugar coating, and a wee-bit chewy, they’re the sort of cookie you can eat a lot of without feeling sick.  The trick, you know, is to take them out when the edges are set, but the inside is soft.   I have never tried freezing the cookies, but the dough freezes beautifully.

One of the many good recipes from The Mennonite Community Cookbook.  This is the doubled version. My comments are in parenthesis.

Molasses Crinkles

1 1/2 cups shortening

2 cups brown sugar (may reduce by 1/4 cup)

2 eggs

1/2 cup molasses

1 tsp salt

4 tsp soda

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp ginger

1 tsp cloves

4 1/2 cups flour

Cream shortening and sugar together. Add egg and molasses and beat until well blended. Sift flour. Measure and add salt, soda, and spices, Sift again. Add sifted dry ingredients to creamed mixture and mix thoroughly. Chill dough in refrigerator. (Or freezer, or do what I did today, and stick the bowl out in the snow)

Shape the chilled dough in balls 1 inch in diameter. Roll balls in granulated sugar

and place 2 inches apart on a greased baking sheet. (If the dough gets sticky, stick it back in the freezer or in the snow.)

Bake at 350 F for 12 to 14 minutes. Makes about 4 dozen.

In the Meantime

It’s rather telling that last night I dreamed that I was living a clandestine and simple life in the basement of John Hopkins Hospital.    Mother laughed when I told her this morning.

But here’s what I’ve been doing between lengthy blog posts.

Drooling over fabric. I’m not sure about the butterfly seersucker, but I’m thinking the poppy print(s), coupled with a solid, would make a lovely breezy dress.  I’m wanting to make myself more solid things in my wardrobe. Solids seem to denote such restraint.     If only I had a dress pattern.   >sigh<

I bound a quilt. I’ve never done that before. It’s a Raggedy-Ann and Andy doll quilt, intended for a small cousin of mine. Mum cut out and sewed the quilt top.

I also made a spaghetti sauce, which was very good. Cherry tomatoes cut in half, deer-burger, olive oil, fresh and dried spices, and some tomato paste.  Only one picky eater in our house disliked it. No, that picky eater is probably not as young as you would think.

And Chad, Katya and I played a serious game of now you don’t see me…

…now you do!

We were all piled on Chad, who–I dare say– can take it quite well.  Katya was much happier than it looks like in the pictures. When Chad kissed her knees, she laughed and laughed.

You can look forward to an up-cycled skirt for Katya.  And more pillow-cases, if I can get them cut out on my own. The measuring drives me nuts.

 

 

 

Two Cases

You just can’t find anything this cute in the store.

This one’s  a baby-gift. Actually, more a toddler-gift, in advance, but they grow up so fast…

The second pillowcase is for Chad. His old Thomas the Tank Engine pillowcase is getting so thin it’s not funny.  We got the fabric on one of our mother-daughter trips, and Chad loves it.   Mum did all the measuring–my least favourte part–and cutting, and I did all the sewing.     There are several more pillowcases that need made: Katya needs one, I need two, because mine need washed twice a week, and I strongly suspect Todd and Daddy need new ones as well.   I’d better learn to cut them out myself, huh?

A Crisp Morning Tramp

Chad has been feeling a trifle neglected as of late–“nobody listens to me”, he says sadly–what’s more sad is that this is somewhat true; he’s a chatterbox lately, and in our  busy schedule he sometimes gets pushed aside.  So this morning right after breakfast, as a way of making amends,  I took him on a tramp.

It was cold enough to see our breath, even though the sun was well up, but Chad’s hands remained quite toasty. Which was conducive to hand-holding.

There were awesome pools of frozen slime (above and below.)  (“Let me step in it!” says Chad, hopefully.)

And fluffy bird bums. (“Quick! Take a picture!” hisses Chad, before smothering a sneeze.)

It was really nice to get out with him. He’s just a great kid.