Berlin's Whimsy

Staycation Kids Summer Ideas & Activities...

Note: I used this list and your wonderful comments to compile a list of kids' activities. They can be found HERE, as well as by clicking on the link under Resources in my sidebar.

While sewing, I listen to the radio----usually not music but rather NPR, news, podcasts of some of my favorite programs, etc. Yesterday, after a very long stint of sewing and listening, I found myself contemplating flinging, or possibly flailing myself from the nearest high cliff. The news was full of escalating gas prices, increasing food costs, higher unemployment, personal strife, hunger, and generally bad news. This, on top of my own mounting economic problems led me to a very downward spiral... After a bit, I just couldn't take it anymore.

I thought about the upcoming summer for my smaller family of three. 

One of the topics thrown around in the news was the gas price's effects on traveling. You've probably heard the newest vacation term: staycation.

All of the talk about gas prices led me to this: how to make staying at home fun for my kids & I. Basically, I don't want to hear "I'm BORED" all summer long. And though I plan on fully utilizing Crafty Crow as a resource for craft projects, I don't have the resources to purchase lots of craft supplies for the entire summer. I want to supplement my craft projects with activities such as back-yard games, make-believe, camping out, picnics, all without draining my limited resources.   

And this is what I came up with...

OUR STAYCATION SUMMER of FUN!

1. Picnic Around the World. Oh yeah, having picnics in the backyard could quickly become routine but what if you aren't just picnicing in your own yard? What if you are a family of world travelers (give your family a world traveler name) that just happened to find yourself in another location for the day? For example, your world traveling family is currently visiting the Pyramids in Egypt... What are you eating for lunch? And while sitting out on your picnic blanket, what do you see? What do you smell? What kind of language are those around you speaking? What else do you hear? Write it all down and afterwards have your children go look your location up on the computer. Ask them to compare their assumptions to what they learn.  
2. Spoil your pets. There they are, your pets, craving your attention. My kids love our pets but sometimes they don't always pay enough attention to them. No more! We'll spend a whole day lavishing ONE of our pets with attention: What do they do all day? Where do they go? What do they eat? It will be each pet's DAY complete with homemade treats. 
3. Thoreau's thorough Study. My kids don't have the patience to spend a whole day watching a square grid on the ground like Henry David Thoreau, but we will spend 15 minutes per day for a week, noticing a piece of square earth. We'll measure it, we'll come home and sketch it from memory, we'll make notes at the location. Some of our questions will be: who walked across our square? Have the plants changed? Is the ground temperature different? Are the shadows changing as the days pass?
4. Do You Hear What I Hear? My kids & I spend time each summer laying on our backs and watching the clouds----that's always fun---- but what if we closed our eyes. What would we hear? In a typical day, we so seldom take the time to actually listen...
5. Digging for worms. Need I say more? And no, I won't be touching any worms, but my kids will. ;-)
6. Way Out Back in the Outback: No cheating. Camping in the backyard. But be prepared, once you're out camping in the Outback you can no longer return to the house! 
7. Stars' Stories. We have yet to fully experience the stars-----to understand the constellations, etc. This summer we will. We will each adopt a constellation and study both the astronomical information about the constellation as well as any mythological information about it.
8. Spelling Etymology. "What?" I can hear my kids already. No, not just spelling but etymology: the study of words and their explanations. We'll choose some unusual words each week and ask these questions: How did these words come to be? Where do they fall in our current language as compared to their origins? After we learn about some old/weird words, we'll attempt to use them in a story. That should be interesting!
9. Turn Over the Rock. We'll spend a day turning over rocks and documenting what we find. What are those strange creatures that make their homes under our rocks? I'm sure we'll find a good amount of scorpions, as well as a few Jerusalem Crickets.
10. Hide the Flaming Red Rock. I'm going to paint a rock (the size of a softball) a bright red and hide it somewhere within a certain radius of our house. When the rock is found, that person chooses a baked treat of their choice (we'll make the treats for each other). That person also hides the rock for the next person.
11. In the life of... What do you want to be when you grow up? My kids have their answers and they've only changed a bit since we first began asking them. My son started out with Paleontologist but has slowly evolved into Paleontologist and Writer. My daughter is still holding firm to Vet. But what do people do in these careers? We'll pretend for a day that we are working in that field...
12. The Currency Converter Game. Imagine that our country has implemented a new currency. Our new currency is worth 3-cents in our old currency. One player gathers and makes items to sell in the old currency and the second (and subsequent) players must convert the price to the new currency (which is the only currency they can use).
13. Shade Hopscotch. Sure, my brother & I did this as children out of necessity but what if it's a game? We'll see who can travel the farthest by only jumping from shade to shade.
14. Grind it Up Mystery Mash. My kids love to grind up natural things in an old mortar & pestle. You can often find old mortar & pestles in the thriftstores. Though my kids love to do it all on their own, if you want to make it a game, you can write up "recipes" beforehand and then send them out on a "treasure hunt" for the ingredients (ie, 3 parts berries, 2 parts grass, 1 part yellow flower petals...etc). Safety Warning: Be sure to tell your kids that their mash is not safe to eat!! This might not be a good one for younger kids)...

What about you? Do you have any games & activities for your kids to do at home? I'd love to compile a LOOONG list of ideas to refer back to. I will add the list to the Resources on my sidebar----I'll probably think of more ideas myself and I'll add them to that list as I do... Be sure to check back and if you think of any ideas later on, please email me! It's a LOOOONG summer!   

I'm leaving this blog post up for a couple days so as to gather ideas (hint, hint)! I hope to add my list of summer activities to the sidebar this weekend...

Scrubbie Updates.

 

A couple comments prompted this update to yesterday's Knitted Scrubbie Tutorial. 

SIZE: I found that I prefer my scrubbies in a small square: Cast on only 14 sts and knit until you produce a square (aprox. 3-inches x 3-inches). The square shape makes it easier to get into small spaces and they don't take up as much room around the sink... Oh, and they are fast to knit up, too!!

MATERIALS: Both Mandi & Margie commented on repurposing tulle, netting, and scraps of fabric. And yes, I think the netting from produce bags would work wonderfully for this. Just cut it into strips and away you go! I love this repurposing idea----I'm sure our sisters & moms of the past would have done that same thing.

TULLE VARIATIONS: When you visit the fabric & craftstore, you'll usually find tulle in the bridal department. The tulle I used for the pink scrubbie (above) is called "shiny tulle" and it is rather rough feeling and stiff. Right in that same isle, you'll also find bridal netting tulle like that used for wedding decorations. It's not as stiff as the shiny tulle. This material, knit with cotton, makes a great dishcloth (however, not with as much "scrub action" as the stiff stuff) and a perfect buff for the bath & shower! It's not as rough on the skin. 

And, I must clarify that the scrubbie idea did not originate from me! One of my friend's relatives makes them and gives them to family members.  

Aren't they so fun?! Now, on with the weekend! We have chickens to round up!

Knitted Dish Scrubbie Pattern Tutorial

  

It almost makes washing dishes fun! Oh, I'll be honest, I love washing dishes----one of the few cleaning chores I actually enjoy. And the little scrubbie fits right within one of my philosophies: if I can make a household chore fun by adding a colorful and charming tool to the task, I'm all for it! 

I must also preface this by thanking Cassi for writing up a tutorial on how to write a tutorial! Very helpful!

 

Knitted Dish Scrubbie

Materials: Cotton worsted weight yarn, such as Peaches & Cream; 3 Yards of medium tulle; a scrap of cardboard or an empty paper towel roll (optional)

Tools: US Size 9 Knitting Needles; Scissors or Rotary Cutter & ruler with cutting mat

Pattern makes one scrubbie that measures approximately 3 1/2-inches x 5-inches

First, Prepare the Tulle:

 

Step 1: I'll warn you, tulle is very unwieldy to work with. I found this method reduces the frustration that can result from handling a big chunk of tulle. Fold the tulle in half lengthwise and then again lengthwise. Carefully lay the "tulle sandwich" on a flat surface and weight it down. Make an initial cut to one short side of the sandwich to even it out and then with either scissors or a rotary cutter and ruler, cut strips of the tulle approximately 1 1/4" wide. You only need approximately 4 strips for one scrubbie, but while you have the tulle tamed, you might want to go ahead and cut the whole thing at once. 

Step 2: Knot each end of the tulle to another to form one long "tulle yarn." An overhand knot works the best. Pull the knot tight but not so tight that it breaks. Cut off the excess. Continue knotting the lengths together.

 

Step 3: I like to wind the tulle onto a length of cardboard or a paper towel roll so it does not become tangled, thus creating my own ball of tulle yarn. 

Make your Scrubbie!

Loosely cast on 15 sts holding both the cotton yarn and the tulle together. 

 

Continue knitting the scrubbie in garter stitch (knit every row). Don't worry about the tulle being straight in the stitches, it'll work itself out...

When your scrubbie reaches 5-inches or desired length, bind off loosely, knot excess thread, and cut the extra (or, make a little loop to hang your scrubbie right at your sink).

 

Now go wash those dishes with a smile! Happy Weekend!

Sewing Fabric Beads.

For my simple curtains, I used the selvages off white linen for the tie-backs. In fact, I use selvages for many things such as tying up packages or for use in kids' crafts. My kids often turn those selvages into reins for horses or leashes for their softies. Selvages have so many possibilities because of their disposable nature and their strength, too...

After peering at my plain tie-backs, I decided they would look even better with some color contrast so I added fabric beads to the ends. Fabric beads are always my go-to choice for adding that little extra something to a sewn item.

I first learned to make fabric beads from the wonderful book, 'Omiyage' by Kumiko Sudo. If you are interested in making special little sewn items, this book is for you! I've owned my copy for years and I continue to turn to the wonderful projects inside for special gifts for others (hmmm, Mother's Day?!).

Fabric beads are simple to make and are one of those crafts easily done by hand in an evening. They can be added to ties of all sorts (even shoelaces)! Here's how I do it:

#1: Tie a knot in the string to be bound in a fabric bead. Just an overhand knot is fine but make sure it is secure.

#2: Cut off the extra string.

#3: Depending on the size of the knot to be covered, cut out a circle of coordinating fabric. A juice cup works great...

#4: Around the perimeter of the circle, press a small hem under with your fingers (creating a crease).

#5: Now with your thread and needle and leaving a long tail, hem that raw edge down along the crease with a long running stitch which you will use next to gather up your stitches...

#6: Gather up the stitches a little to produce a cup shape to your future bead with the right side of your fabric on the convex (outer) side. Before pulling the gathered stitches tight, add the knot to the inside of the bead and then pull the stitches to enclose that knot.

#7: With the same thread, secure the fabric bead to the string by stitching through the entire bead & string back & forth with small stitches (I used a contrasting thread here for these photos but you should use a thread that matches the bead's fabric). If there is any additional bulk in your gathering, stitch that down, as well. When finished securing the bead to the string, knot the thread and cut off excess.

There you have it----a fabric bead!!

The Creative Process---Embellishing Knits

Have you ever noticed that when the same exact recipe is prepared by two different people, it can taste so differently? I have.

Each of us has a unique way of going about things----our own ideas, our own techniques, our own tools and know-how. Moreover, I'm fascinated by other people's creative process---how did they come up with that design or that sewing pattern? Or even that recipe? Often, it's a amalgamation of experimentation, alterations, unique concepts, or even just serendipity.

I like to take things a bit further, to expose the parts that create the whole. In that attempt, from time to time I'm delving a bit deeper in the creative process. To explain more than just show and this is my first post.

I knitted up a simple hat pattern out of one of my handspun yarns. The colors are so spring-like (variations of green and brown). I decided to take that spring effect and go with it. Flowers are opening up all over the place----how about a flower on this spring wool hat?!

Here's how to embellish your knits with a simple little flower---bring a bit of spring into your life, too.

First, choose a color family for your embroidery---one in which you have two similar yarns in different hues (that is, choose a main color--- as in red, blue, yellow, etc----and alter the hue a bit). For this flower, I chose a reddish color which led me to a reddish orange and a peach---both from the same "family" but differing enough to draw attention to both. Some other color combos could be differing hues of green (moss and pea) or yellow (sunflower and wheat).

Use the more subtle color of the two for the base stitching. Stitch large stitches in a donut shape to lay out the initial design---focus on large stitches. Don't pull these stitches too tight for you want them to stretch along with the knitted fabric.

Once you have laid out your initial shape, switch to the more dramatic color (darker) and begin stitching petals to your flower. The petals are stitched using a large chain stitch over the subtle base stitching. Don't overdo the chainstitches---you don't want to completely obscure your foundation stitching, just enhance it. In addition, you want these petals to extend out past the base stitches so they pop a bit. Again, don't pull these stitches too tight. I might briefly wash my hat just to felt it enough to adhere the embellished stitching to the knitted fabric underneath...

Voila!  A spring wool hat for that in-between time of year---a time full of promises of warm summer days but still whispering remembrances of yesterday's cold embrace.

Now off to line the hat with soft cotton jersey knit...

Yumm-y Sauce Recipe

It's one of the things I'm good at: identifying and replicating flavors in foods.

My Mom invited me to lunch last week with the goal replicating a cafe's signature sauce. She wanted me to make it at home. Since the sauce is so tastey, I quickly went home and set to work. Because of the ingredients in the recipe, it has a very rich and buttery flavor without the fat of butter----what a great combo!

I whipped together a version based on taste and a bit of information from one of the waitresses at the cafe and only later did I think to 'google' the cafe's name for recipes. My estimation of ingredients came amazingly close to the recipe I found online (yes, that sound in the background is me patting myself on the back).

Here's the deal: the sauce is especially good on both green salads and the healthy layered "bowls" this franchise cafe makes. In their version, they layer a bowl as thus: a hearty layer of brown rice, a layer of beans (I used adzuki but black beans are great, too)... Around the rim of the rice bowl, place servings of these items: shredded medium-sharp cheddar cheese, sour cream (or yogurt), sliced olives, diced tomatoes, and sliced avocado (1/2 an avocado). Personally, I would also add toasted sesame seeds & sprouts to the bowl if I had them...I'd also add roasted tofu if I had that, too!

On top of it all, sprinkle over THE SAUCE...

YUMM-y Sauce

1/2 C. canola oil

1/2 C. whole almonds

1/3 C. nutritional yeast (not the kind of yeast for bread making)

1/3 C. garbonzo beans, drained (I used more like 1/2 C.)

1/4 C. cooked soybeans (not edamame and if you cannot find them, omit and either add more garbanzo beans or use equal parts silken tofu for the protein)

1/2 C. lemon juice

1/4 C. filtered water (if needed to thin the sauce)

2 garlic cloves, pressed through a garlic press

1 tsp. curry powder

1/2 tsp. fenugreek powder (sometimes this can be difficult to find. It's an essential ingredient to curry powder and Indian cuisine--you'll recognize the fragrance and flavor).

1/2 tsp. salt

How-to: In food processor or blender, pulse the nuts, beans, soybeans or tofu, and garlic together first. Add seasonings, yeast, and lemon juice. Pulse together. With the machine running, slowly add the canola oil to emulsify the sauce. If the sauce seems thick, add the water bit by bit to the consistancy you want. The sauce needs to sit for an hour or more to meld the flavors. After this period of time, check for seasoning to taste... You might need salt.

Variation: To make a "hot" version, add a couple chipotle chili peppers from a can to the sauce.

Enjoy!!

Easy Breakfast Dish---Mmmm

 

I wish I had a better name for this wonderful creation. My Mom made it for my brother and I all during our childhood and I think it might have come from my Great Aunt. As far as I'm concerned, it includes all the ingredients for a perfect breakfast dish: easy, yummy, with many variations. We always called it "that egg pancake-y thing." My daughter calls it, "That Breakfast Cake."

 

Baked Egg Pancake Dish

~1/2 C. Butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place butter in a 8"x8" (approximate) porcelain baking dish. Place the dish in the oven to melt the butter and heat the dish. Meanwhile, blend the following ingredients together in a blender on high speed for approximately 2 minutes...

~6 eggs

~1 1/2 Cups Milk

~1 1/2 Cup All-Purpose Flour

~dash of salt

When the butter has melted and the dish is hot, pour the batter into the dish. Place it back in the oven and bake until the edges have lifted up and the center is cooked through, approximately 20 minutes (jiggle it---when the entire center moves as a mass and you can push on the middle and it provides a bit of resistance then it is ready).

This dish is best eaten still warm. The edge browns and lifts up and the middle is almost like a flan. Some people prefer the edge pieces, some the middle. Cut it into squares and eat with one of the following toppings:

~Sweet ideas: berries and powdered sugar; maple syrup; blueberry syrup; baked apples with sugar and cinnamon...

~Savory ideas: only salt; salsa; hot sauce or ketchup; Or even these ideas: black beans and corn topping with salsa and sour cream or go Mediterranean and warm up a tepanade and slather it on top...

The topping ideas are endless!

 

We ate ours with some huckleberries my Mom gathered in the mountains last summer. She had to fight off the bears to get them! (Well, almost)... My son preferred his with frozen strawberries that we had thawed out.

 

To make a simple berry syrup topping, mix berries with real maple syrup and heat together until just warm. Mmmmm.

Added later: Thanks everyone for sharing your own experiences with this dish! I have a few recipes for Dutch Babies but I found most of them to add sugar to the batter to sweeten them. I like that this recipe is so versatile. The original recipe was double this amount and I thought that if I were feeding a crowd for breakfast, I'd make the doubled amount in two dishes and then set up a "breakfast bar" with both savory and sweet toppings for guests to add... Stacey: I love the name Hootenannies! We might adopt that one. And hey, if you can think of any other topping ideas, please let me know! ;-)

Smell's stories.

Fragrance is important to me and apparently I'm not alone. I remember hearing somewhere, sometime, that fragrance is one of our senses most linked to memory. There is a physiological reason for this.

For me, fragrance's memory link is strong. In the spring, a whiff of opening blossoms and the earth waking up from its winter nap fills me with joy. The smell reminds me of my college days when the campus was full of flowering trees and I anxiously awaited the coming summer.

The smell of mint brings back memories of working outdoors near mint farms. Some nights, the sticky sweet smell almost brought tears to my eyes. And when I used to dread a full day of housecleaning in the bleakest months of winter on the coast, I mixed up a bucket of natural soap with a few drops of mint oil for its vibrant pick-me-up quality.

I will always associate the soothing fragrance of lavender with ironing and sewing. And my kids in the bath as their crazy energy slowly submitted to the warm water spiked with lavender.

And I even love the earthy and bitter smell of wool's lanolin (and no, that isn't a sheep----it's an alpaca). Lanolin's smell evokes memories of the most peaceful of activities: handspinning. I love the smell of the lanolin as I watch the fiber slowly twist into something useful between my fingers.

What about you? Do you have certain fragrances linked to memories?

**I received a couple requests for my recipe for the lavender linen spray I mentioned yesterday. I know there are probably better recipes out there, as this is the simplest recipe of all: Fill a spray bottle with distilled water and add a few drops of essential oil. Shake it up and let it sit. Before each use, shake it to distribute the essential oil. That's all I do!

Essential Oils can be found at:

Liberty Naturals (a great source for high quality oils at reasonable prices, as well as spray bottles & containers)...

Mountain Rose Herbs (this is a wonderful company and be sure to poke around their site for many other great natural products and ideas---they have wonderful tea)!

Bread Machine Tips---Daily Bread.

Though I was an artisan-style bread baker, I love my bread machine. I was hesitant at first to use one but I finally relented when I just didn't have the time to make our daily bread from scratch. I prefer to bake my own bread. Many of the commercially produced breads include dough conditioners and other strange ingredients to maintain their product's consistency. I like that I know what I'm putting into our bread. I feel that bread is one of those comforting gifts in life---true foodie alchemy. And when my bread machine dies, I'll probably continue on without it, but for now, I'm thankful...

Bread machines have a tendency to bake bread too fast resulting in a bread that lacks the yeasty depth of flavor that handmade ones do. They also tend to dry out readily. After experimenting with my machine based on my background in baking, I found a few tips that improve bread machine bread.

1) If you can control the timing of your bread machine's phases in some sort of custom setting, do it (this is why I love my Zojirushi). Bread increases in flavor and performance with time and if you can increase the time it ferments or rises, it will improve the flavor. Here is what I have my bread machine programmed for:  Knead for 20 minutes; First Rise is one hour and 11 minutes; Second rise is 45 minutes; Bake for one hour. I always use this custom setting. Remember, time is bread's bestfriend----time adds flavor among other good things.

2) Bread is a living thing and various conditions can change the way it acts. Things such as humidity, barometric pressure, and the flour you are using can change the way flour absorbs water changing the way the bread reacts even when you are using the same recipe repeatedly. For this reason, I check the dough in the bread machine when it is nearing the end of the kneading cycle to be sure the dough is the right consistency. You want your dough to be on the wet side---if you pinch it, you don't want the dough to cling to your fingers but you do want it a bit sticky (stick and release). Creating a dough that is too dry is a common mistake in baking bread. If the dough seems dry, add water to it by the tablespoon-full. If it is too wet, however, add a bit of flour.

Also, check to see where your dough is lying in the bread pan---you don't want it on one side or another (the Zo is really great about setting the dough up to rise in the correct position in the pan).

This is my daily bread recipe. It's based on a recipe from The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook (highly recommended---in fact, all of the cookbooks by Beth Hensperger are wonderful). This is a basic formula that I then add varying ingredients to depending on the grains I have on hand. My kids love it, too.

Crunchy Daily Bread

(Makes a 2 lb loaf)

1 1/2 C. water

1/4 C. honey

1/4 C. molasses

3 T. canola oil or butter at room temp.

3 C. bread flour

1 C. whole wheat flour

1/4 C. wheat germ

1/4 C. flax powder (we use the organic white flax powder from Costco---love it!)

2 T. vital wheat gluten

2 tsp. salt

2 1/2 tsp. SAF yeast (or 1 T. bread machine yeast)

Crunchy Add ins:

3 T. millet

3 T. sunflower seed

3 T. amaranth

Layer the ingredients into your bread machine pan according to the manufacturer's directions (my machine requires first the liquids and then the dry ingredients). Set the machine for your custom setting, or for a Basic Whole Wheat. Check in on your machine as it nears the end of its kneading cycle and add liquid or flour depending on the dough's consistency. Let the machine do its thing and remove your bread after it is finished baking. Cool just a bit and enjoy your nutritious bread!!

 

Irish Soda Bread Day.

We celebrate St. Patrick's Day with Irish Soda Bread. It's my son's all-time favorite bread.

There's the recipe...

Adding both all-purpose and whole wheat flour...

Stir up the dry ingredients first...

Cut in the butter and pour in the soured milk...

It all comes together into a big, rough mass...

Pat the dough into a big, round ball and cut a big 'X' across the top...

And an hour or so later, when the craggy mess comes out of the oven smelling of browned butter and sweet floury goodness, you may take one little slice to tide you over until waiting until St. Patrick's Day when the bread is at its best after sitting a spell and it's eaten with jam slathered on its side...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!! And don't forget to put a few crumbs under your pillow for the leprechaun!

***A note about this bread... This bread is like a very large biscuit and it is rather dense. It bakes for over an hour until it is almost hard on the outside. It is best if you can let it rest for a few hours before slicing----after resting, it is easier to slice. It's a great keeper and is even better the next day!