Berlin's Whimsy

Midsummer is... Skirts

Light, lacey skirts...

...against summer tanned legs.

Midsummer is... Cool Pickling

A fine addition to barbeque and spicy foods...

Pickled cucumbers in a new Pyrex find!

Midsummer... Crocheted Linen Bowls

I haven't had the patience to sit at my sewing machine lately, nor the resolve to work with my beloved wool.... And frankly, I'm fairly smitten with crochet right now.

The results are these wonderful little crocheted bowls.

I cannot seem to quit making them!

Therefore, I've listed them in my shop. Please note that they are made to order out of a subtle blue or pink linen yarn and you have the option of choosing your color.

I have a pink one sitting on my dresser and holding all my dearest little trinkets. The dainty and vintage look brings a smile to my face each day.

A Midsummer Night's Dream.

I stand on the edge of change. Though I don't know it for fact, I feel it in my heart and I'm moving that direction... I ponder employment possibilities and an upcoming move into our own house. Stepping out into the world anew, it's what I dream about this midsummer.  

At this moment, midsummer, I'm full of these contemplations and dreams. Dreams of varying possibilities tied to circumstances. Sometimes it all seems so convoluted, like the Shakespearean play that shares this post's title. Very much unlike the play, however, my complications are devoid of romantic interests, by the way. 

In Shakespeare's A Midsummer Nights Dream, a magical flower plays a pivotal role in developing a character's love. At this point in my life, the flowers I receive come from my kids and I'm fairly certain that any magical qualities stem from the sweetness of intent for which they are given.

I receive my flowers and I place them in jars and marvel at my children's love. I also sit amongst the colors in the beds from whence the flowers come and I dream lazily in this midsummer heat-----dreams of possibilities and wondering what lies ahead for me.

**We're heading for our familiar coast for this week but I'll share some midsummer photos & thoughts all week long...

Thoughtful Friday---Self-Reliance

"Your future depends on many things, but mostly on you."

~ Frank Tyger

This realization becomes increasingly clear to me as I transition through divorce. Because I was with my husband from the age of 17, this is a whole new concept for me----life without him and life on my own.

I've been giving myself time to think, dream, and process lately. I haven't tackled any great crafting projects. These little crocheted bowls sure fit my desire for a small project that I can work on here and there while dreaming and trying to stay cool in this summer heat.

I am in love with the thread I used for this bowl----it's DMC Senso in the linen/cotton blend. It's lovely to work with.

I used a crochet shell stitch edging and love the look. For the ribbon, I used more of the selvage from my linen stash and threaded it through the triple crochet round. I'd like to post a pattern for this little bowl but I just "winged it." Next time, I'll write things down.

I'm sure this little bowl will find many uses on my bureau. I have so many little trinkets that were given to me from my children and they each bring a special memory or a hopeful thought.  

Tadpoles.

I grew up catching tadpoles in nearby ditches and ponds and setting them aside to miraculously transform into frogs.

We would dip our hands in the dirty ditch water and come up with a slimy little tadpole which we plunked into a waiting and clean pickle jar. The murky jar would sit on our counter and life would evolve within its glass walls----for all the world to witness. We were fascinated by them.

And I still am.

My kids have caught tadpoles up in the local high mountain lakes but never "raised" them like I did. They were so surprised to find that just down the driveway they could catch some of these wriggly little creatures for themselves.

Again I marvel at how much I forget from my childhood. I cannot remember what we fed our tadpoles in those big pickle jars. Nowadays we have the internet to answer such queries and found that they love plain old lettuce.

In fact, they munch little holes in the lettuce leaves and we can actually listen to them munching at the top of the water's surface.

They're only just sprouting their tiny legs now.

Ah, thank goodness for kids who let us old, forgetful adults into their worlds to remember bits of our own childhood...

Dinner Tricks.

 

I'll admit it, I pass off some fairly child "unfriendly" meals from time to time. I have my reasons: I like to experiment; I believe in exposing kids to lots of tastes and textures and I don't believe in the standard "child friendly" fare of high salt and high fat processed foods (though we eat them occasionally---I'm not a complete ogre, just half); I believe children who grow up with healthy food will return to their roots as adults;  and I can pass off some of my more healthy or gourmet dinners with a few tricks.

Dinner Tricks. Shhhhh, don't tell my kids but I have a few tricks when it comes to sneaking in healthy meals. I'll also add here that I don't play short-order cook at meals. We all eat the same meal together----yes, I'll pick off this or that from their plates (tomatoes for my son, red peppers for my daughter).

When putting dinner together, I look at our meal not only from a dietary standpoint but also with an eye for what I know my kids will like and eat. If they receive one dish they really like, they'll often eat the other stuff that they might not necessarily like as much. For instance, this meal in the photograph. Yes, we had tofu steaks again and they do love them but we also had a salad, which they don't always enjoy, especially when it includes arugula. I reviewed this meal and knew it needed that little something that would pass their acceptability test-----one of my stand-byes is applesauce. They love applesauce and it balances out almost the worst offender.

Back to that salad. Unfortunately, my kids don't enjoy salad much. But we have salad often, especially in the summer months. I've found one trick to make salad more palatable: homemade croutons. They are easy to make and are useful in a "whole kitchen" philosophy of using every little bit, transforming it into something else, if needed. Here's what I do:

Homemade Croutons

• half loaf of stale bread, cut into 1/2" cubes
• 1/4 C. olive oil
• seasoning blend of your choice. Ideas: 
  • This homemade garlic salt
  • finely chopped rosemary & salt
  • a blend of garlic salt, dried basil, oregano, thyme
  • salt & fresh ground pepper
  • Fresh Garlic Oil: my favorite seasoning. Coarsely chop three cloves garlic and heat in saute pan in the 1/4 C. olive oil until the garlic just begins to sizzle (do not allow it to brown). Pour the oil through a fine sieve over a bowl. Discard garlic bits but use the oil to season your croutons. You can also toss Parmesan with the croutons, too.
  • Pizza seasoning: 3 T. finely grated Parmesan, dried thyme,basil, oregano, and fennel.   
• salt to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, toss croutons with the oil and the seasoning of your choice. Spread out on a quarter sheet pan and sprinkle with salt. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, stirring every ten minutes or so. Let cool. For extra crispy croutons, leave them in the oven to cool with the door ajar. They become crisp upon cooling.

What are your dinner tricks?

Someday...

Playing the Harp: My Dream

I would love to learn to play the harp. It's been floating around in my head for years. Perhaps it stems from reading 'The Mists of Avalon' too many times. Someday I'll tackle this endeavor but until then I'll settle for looking at mesmerizing photos of others' playing...

***Locals, do you know of anyone who teaches harp lessons? Particularly the Celtic Harp?

Hope, Relief & a new Favorite

The tiniest bit of relief and hopeful thoughts are creeping into my life. And more than a smile, it brings tears of relief and even a bit of empathy for myself (almost a third person observation) for what I have gone through-------I wouldn't wish this past year on anyone. I realize there are people going through far worse situations the world over but it's been tough all the same. I haven't shared most of the gory details here but suffice it to say I didn't realize how the continuous bad news and let downs had settled upon me like a dreadful cape, something I expected. How sad is that.

Ah, but I prepared a new recipe for dinner tonight. It was a quiet sit down, just the three of us, and I couldn't share with my kids what was on my mind----nor can I here. But the wheels are slowly turning forward, propelled by time and differing motivations, and for the first time in a long while I see the top of this grueling mountain I've been climbing----the mountain that is ugly divorce. It's a long way off, and I'm not sure what I'll find on the other side, but I'm hopeful. Hopeful again.

On a lighter note, what is my new favorite recipe? Green Eggs and Ham-----or Pesto crepes with ham (pictured here). They are from Nigella Express. I'm a huge fan of both savory crepes and Nigella.

Have you checked out her book yet? If not, you must. It is full of fun antidotes and great family-friendly recipes----party popcorn, homemade pancake mix, granola bars, and lots of avocado... Mmmm! The pesto crepe recipe alone is worth the price of the book. It's simple, easy, tastes fabulous and kids love it!

My kids were skeptical when they saw this presentation of dinner tonight. I recognized the look: "Oh boy, Mom's trying to force us to eat another gourmet (pronounced "gor-met")/weird meal!!" They reluctantly took one bite and kept right on biting!

Grind-it-up Mystery Mash

My daughter took to the fields today in search of mystery mash ingredients. With her own little mortar-and-pestle in hand, she plucked flower petals.

The flowers were ground up and mixed with water to create her own purple dye. I was amazed at the iridescence of her dye-----almost like butterfly wings. Is that from the flower petals? 

She used her dye to dye a piece of white linen. It turned out a very subtle shade of lavender. We'll use the cloth later on to make a tiny little fairy dress...

This was one of our kids' activities listed here. We look forward to new combinations of flowers to produce varying colors of dye.