rope baskets

Zig-zag stitch on a plain ol' sewing machine with cotton clothes line...

Awesome and fun bowls!

Owen made the above one himself (after I got it started, those first swirls are tough) and one for Grandma Terri, and one  for Esme, I also have made 3, though that wide dish has wonky handles and a weird shape

They are so much fun!  We use the cone thread for the top one, and each basket takes about 2 bobbins worth of thread (for 100feet of cord).  Sometimes we miss a little section and it is pretty easy to just go back and fix it... or as Owen pointed out... it is not as though we are trying to keep them filled with water, so we let it go.

these days

I had my Tai-goong's cardigan repaired and I don't care how cold it is outside, it feels like a warm hug and I love it more than any item of clothing I have ever owned. I probably look like an old man in it, but prefer to think it has a slouchy elegance.

I got one of those 'miracle fish" as a bonus in with an ETSY order.  Anyhow, it's fun, and reminds me of Dr. Pace who had one in his desk drawer. Each of us put it on our hand and for each it predicted "passionate" and we nod and laugh at the novelty toy until it sits on Grace's hand and flips right over and suddenly it is an oracle G.  that is totally you, "passionate" the miracle fish has it right!  

Passionate a good word for G.  That and fierce.  She feels things with her whole body and reacts without separating out physical, emotional, or otherwise.  If she gets physically injured or tired, or hungry, she is angry at the world and anything will set off a devastating wave of emotion. If she is joyful she is ebullient and full of hugs and must be actively helpful. Thinking about dressing up and visiting friends makes her whole week filled with patience and enthusiasm and self regulation (we really really need to schedule more weddings in the future). When she is excited she can't stop talking.  She takes things moment by moment, day by day and tries not to make any promises about the future. She is not particularly prone to bribery, and has definite stances on things.  She can pick a pair of shoes or clothes out from a store in about 45 seconds flat, and is likely to stick with them no matter how much longer we browse.  She takes FOREVER to get to sleep, and typically I will find Brian asleep next to her sitting up and reading a comic book.  G. loves super heroes and comic books... when we went to the bookstore, we left with Antman, the Hulk and my little ponys.  She still sneaks into our bed most nights, and I am a hard enough sleeper that I don't notice until my whole body cramps up because I can't roll over.  Her daddy carries her back to her bed... I"m glad we're down to only about once a night.  Hugs and snuggles are plentiful.  She just got a new robe from Grandma Terri and it is the most wonderful thing ever; when she ties it the ties must be perfectly even. She eats lots of some things.. preferably carbs but also loves plain meat, broccoli, peas, sardines, hoisin sauce and  bananas with peanut butter... so that is probably fairly balanced overall. G. is one of those young children who is very shy, but I feel like there is a strong, bold side of herself that may one day overcome the shy girl she puts on for non-family members.  

O on the other hand is steady...he seems to be entering a stage where it is not too cool to show interest in anything, just a mild interest at best.  This one is definitely thinking ahead most of the time, a planner.  He prefers to go to bed as early as possible, in fact, I have a hard time keeping him up even until 8pm, and still read to him at night (1) because I love it and it is the best time for the two of us to have just a few minutes of down-time together, (2) otherwise he'd be asleep at 6:30 every night (and awake even earlier)! Unlike Grace who fights sleep... he gets antsy when he doesn't fall asleep right away, and we get minute by minute reports of the time until he does sleep (IT'S 8:17!!). Any outward sign of interest of affection appears to torture him these days... ah 9 (I am allowed about 2 hugs and kisses a day one in the morning and one in the evening and he doesn't hold my hand much anymore), it makes it tough with Grace who is all about the hugs and kisses!  He gets up no later than 6:30 and works on homework and reading, so he can get it out of the way first.  He will try anything and eats his least favorite items first, saving his favorites for the end.  He can give a very accurate evaluation of a meal on a 1-100 scale.  He is great at anything that is reward driven (pokemon, points towards fish for his tank).  Ah, bribery goal setting, so effective with this one.  Confident... speaking for people, trying something totally new... no problem, in fact he doesn't really worry about too much.  Creative... O is a wonderful artist, though I fear that some of the motivation is slacking off a bit.  He does really well if working with others on a drawing, sewing, etc project... if you are doing a project, he wants to try it too and will do it well!  I think we need to be more active doing projects after school/weekend and not mostly while he is asleep.  He can be an amazing big brother and wants to help his sister learn things, and is also great at diffusing problems that are about to occur... he is the best at distracting Grace when she is feeling a little volatile (he is also the best at setting her off).  ...

Sometimes moments, days, months slip by so quickly, remembering where we are right now is a gift.  

  

Mochi!

I stopped by Val's house and her MIL LiFong was visiting.  LiFong makes some pretty amazing things but they were packing me out with some mochi... my family LOVES mochi, and it didn't occur to me that we could make it.  I asked her for the recipe and she said it was too easy and that she would just show me... right now.  So what started as a stop in for a lovely cuppa kombucha, ended up being an awesome lesson in mochi making.  But before I forget, I must write this down.

1:1 glutenous rice flour and a liquid... we used water, milk or other liquid can be used.  LiFong suggested 1c flour:1c water.

mix it up, cover it with saran wrap and pop it in the microwave for a minute.  Take it out and stir it hard with chopsticks.  Repeat for two additional minutes stopping after each minute - 30 seconds to stir.  It will be very glutenous-y, keep covered with saran.

In the mean-time toast a bit of powder, maybe .25c lightly:  we used cornstarch, she also suggests peanut powder, or soy powder.  Place on a plate.

Take about 2 teaspoons from the rice flour mix, as you pull your piece off, use the bowl and spoon to start to shape it into a ball.  Drop it onto the powder, then pick it up and sort of make a thick flat patty using the powder to keep it from sticking too much.  Take a tablespoon or so of the filling and place it in the middle of the paddy and sort of pull the edges up around the filling until it is completely enclosed. and voila!!

Fillings:  you can buy red bean paste, mix it with some heavy cream until a good consistency.  Alternatively you can get peanut powder, mix with some sugar and butter to make a filling, Mung bean or lotus seed also work well too.

Now voila... it really was easy and pretty fun to make a favorite. 

Update:  We've made these a few times now... in the pictures the brown powder is the soybean powder, kinda nutty, not O's favorite but really not bad.  THese have a limited shelf-life, by day 3 the mochi part becomes unpleasantly hard, so these don't keep as long as the ones you buy in the grocery store (meaning I can't make a batch and have it for lunches all week... sigh).  I did another variety with a fresh strawberry in the middle (Strawberry Daifuku) then the red bean and then the mochi on the outside and it was so yummy!

The Mayor

I hated the mayor, a feral rooster that strutted around the town where Owen was born, stopping on every corner at the crack of dawn to crow the town awake.  I love the mayor... gosh darn-it, I lived in a town where everyone was awoken by a scrappy bird who adopted our community, how cool is that?

One day he didn't show up, and I certainly didn't miss him for a while.  There was word that a bunch of feathers were found, and tough and bold as he was, the free-roaming life is tough for a bird.  I miss him now.  Is it weird to miss a bird?

light

Last night the moon was big, full and so bright that we got the telescope out in the front yard to peek at all of the craters, mountains and sights.  We don't always get a full moon and an open sky here, a treat.

This morning on the bus ride in, we turned onto the parkway and the sunrise was lined up perfectly with Mt. Hood.  Shooting right up, out of the peak.   The buildings downtown all rosy orange with the morning sun.

Rosabell

My sweet G has a lot of dolls, but I love that this funny rag-doll I made is one that comes out most of the time.  Yes her limbs are extra long and skinny, and she is definitely sort of rustic,she has a scar on her forehead (a repair to a tear), but she is big and squishy and even G can change her clothes if she bothers trying (our G is not big on trying things on her own if she thinks she can get someone to help her).

Her name is Rosabell, and she has started going to school with G. so she can snuggle during nap time.


"Can I bring a different doll Mom?
   "Sure babe, go grab one"
"But I want to bring Rosabell"
   "Okay, bring Rosabell"
"But M and D said that she was ugly"
   (sadness sweeping through my mama heart)
   "well, what do you think?"
"I love her, I think she looks funny but pretty"
   "Then it doesn't matter what they say, does it?  Just tell them that you think she looks great!"
(great internal conflict ensues... running all around the house not finding quite the right other doll... barbie?  Isabell (american girl)? Bunny?  tears, confusion... torn between trying to bring in something her friends would think was beautiful and her own preferences... maybe not really knowing the difference right now,  Mom applying pressure because we are already 15 min later than we should be... and in the end with not a lot of confidence...)
"I'm going to take Rosabell"

(we finally finally get into the car to head to school, when we arrive she happily grabs her doll, and brings her in and installs her properly in her cubby before going off to play doggies with a friend)

pshew.

zipper pouches, zebra dress

 Oookay, I love love this funky loud zebra pattern, I wanted to make a bit more of a fitted dress, but Grace chose this pattern.  It has some cute pockets and looks sweet on her, but G won't wear it much yet.  We will see if it is the result of the lack of sleeves and the wintry weather, or the more typical G. particular opinions on what she will and won't wear.

 Zipper pouches. I love/hate zippers, so I decided to try again with some more care and a tutorial.  These turned out pretty well!  I do love a zipper pouch.

 Lined and everything.  We even dyed some old sheets with our sumimingashi kit and it looks pretty cool.  It is hard to get the pattern even (especially when I want really bad to have a nice even print).  However, as a lining, and some fussy cutting it looks pretty cool.