A Pencil Roll for a Traveling Artist

One of my former neighbors, a collage artist, asked me to make her a pencil roll for an upcoming trip.  She was vague about colors and design - probably she feels that an artist should follow her vision and that's what makes the piece attractive. 

At least, that's how I dreamily sewed up this pencil roll.  I putter in my mind when I sew.  It's lovely.

I did suggest that I make it funky and crazy and she readily agreed.  My stash is rather odd since it's all found fabric, so I knew that it would have to be patchwork to achieve the effect I had in mind.

Since my friend is a collage artist, I thought collages would be a language she enjoys, so I made two little fabric collages on the pencil roll.  It was very, very, very fun.  But what if my friend is tired of speaking collage?  Well, hopefully my sheer joy in making this pencil roll makes up for that, so. . . .

I think I'm puttering along, sewing-style, in this blog post.

 

I'll have more handwork to share soon - I've finally started watching Downton Abbey, one delicious episode at a time, and as I watch I work on a little quilting project that is turning out to be exquisite.  Can't wait to share!

School Lunches: To Begin

It took me this long in the children's school career to know what I have to say about packing school lunches.  I'm going to start posting on simple brown-bag tricks and menus that have been helping us along.  I've made a new label for these posts:  "tips and menus for packed lunches."  It's to remind us that packed lunches aren't just for school; we pack meals for picnics, car trips, adult lunch breaks at work, etc.

To begin, here is one trick that has been wonderfully helpful to us:

 

Stand an apple on a cutting board. Cut the whole apple in thirds, top to bottom, turn it 90 degrees, and cut it in thirds top to bottom again.  This makes the core in its own little square in the middle.  Keep the pieces together like a puzzle and put a rubber band around the whole apple.  There's a cored, sliced apple that will not brown until it's time to eat!  We like this so much better than using Fruit Fresh or lemon juice on apple slices.

Linking up with Eat, Make, Grow blog hop.

A Little Rabbit Hutch

Mr. Thrift spent another Saturday stash-busting to build the bunny house for Diamond.  He designed it with a very secure back room, totally enclosed with only a hole entry for the bunny.  He was concerned about any prowling neighborhood animals, and wanted to give Diamond a place to be safe and feel safe because, apparently, rabbits can drop over dead of fright.  To wit:  when my sister and I were young, a dog escaped from a house several miles away and wound up in our backyard at 6 am, ripping the door off the rabbit hutch and terrorizing Melanie's bunny so much that it died.  My husband made a rock-solid little hutch to prevent this kind of heartbreak.

Unfortunately, Diamond poops all over the hutch, not just over the slats with the chicken wire underneath.  Silly wabbit.  My husband hung the dustpan and brush handily on the hutch, and provided a box underneath for the poop.  It goes on the compost pile then.

We're getting some hay from a friend's farm tomorrow, and then Diamond should be all set in her (his?) snug little house.

How I Plan Menus

First of all, you should know that I do really enjoy planning menus.  I got to do that for a cookbook at work, and I was over the moon with excitement.  So, take this post with a grain of salt if you are not a happy menu planner.

Ben helps to mix up a Wacky Cake

I plan loose supper menus every week.  If there is a breakfast or lunch dish that I want to remember to make, I jot that down as well so I don't forget.

Unless I want a specific meal on a specific day (if my husband is cooking or we're hosting someone or we need a super-fast supper before evening activities),  I just list the menus.  Sometimes I only write down a main dish, knowing I have several vegetables on hand to fill out the menu depending on my mood (read:  cravings).  I try to have protein, carbs, and vegetables/fruit at every meal.  Other people I know aim for a balanced day.

I usually scribble one or two menus at the beginning of the week.  Without fail, we shop at the farmer's market on Tuesday.  I buy fruit, vegetables, and dairy for the week.  I plan some more menus after I see what's good at market.

I shop at a regular store when my list is long enough or has several urgent items on it and I can combine it with other errands.  I have an extensive pantry and no plans to reduce it; it would appear that I lived through the Great Depression and turned into a hoarder.  I am exaggerating, but I am a better cook and better shopper when I do it this way.

I get the vibe of the week as it progresses, so I add to the menu list as we approach the weekend. I take Sunday dinner pretty seriously, so I like to plan that, and then Friday and Saturday fall into line to use up the rest of the produce. I never write down 7 menus at the beginning of the week (but I was raised by a mother who did).

art in the sink after a busy cooking session

However, my biggest resource for menu planning is my supper notebook, where I (most of the time) jot down what we ate for supper and where the recipes came from. I highly recommend a supper notebook to anyone who wants to plan menus!

Sometimes I get menu block; I start flipping through the supper notebook, and pretty soon I come up several possibilities.  The notebook shows me our seasonal eating patterns, gives me the source book or website for recipes we liked, reminds me of good menus for company or carried-out meals, and gives me a sense of accomplishment and rich family life.  I started this notebook in 2008 a few months after Ben was born.  It's priceless.  It has been such a help in my kitchen. 

Wouldn't it be clever if I could condense this post into a tidy outline? I can't. It's a frank overview of how I really, actually, menu-plan, and I wrote it in reponse to a reader request.

But here are the main points of my menu planning style:
1. loose plans
2. with backup plans
3. extensive pantry
4. the supper notebook 

Anything you want me to explain more?  And,  how do you decide what to eat at your house?

Baking Ahead

You know, I've been thinking recently how I spend a lot more time in my kitchen making more things than just meals.  For me, feeding my family is not just buying groceries and getting three meals on the table everyday.  Because we want to eat good homemade food, because I want to use local ingredients, because I like kitchen projects, I end up in the kitchen more than at mealtime.

I know some people who schedule a baking day, cooking day, or kitchen day.  Maybe I should do that.  At this point, I just add my kitchen tasks to my weekly to-do list and accomplish them as I have time and inclination.  This week:  mayo, bread, bagels, bierrocks (Russian Mennonite hot pockets), apple butter, apple chutney, and dried apples.

Genevieve rolled out bierrocks, Ben helpd with pizza cups

Let me tell you, this morning I did not have inclination.  This morning I was resentful.  I couldn't believe people eat so much and a meal is coming around again.

Now I have a batch of bierrocks for the freezer to go in school lunches.  I also made bagels, pizza cups, and bread this morning, plus fed my family two meals (pancakes and then miso soup plus scrounged leftovers).  It sure feels good to sit down right now!  And my attitude, with all those homemade good things shielding my family from the cold bad world, is much improved.



finished bierrocks

The apple chutney can wait until next week, that's what.  Supper comes in three hours, and I have sheets on the line and sewing ideas.  Oh, and dishes.

The No-Spend Costumes

We didn't spend a penny on Halloween costumes this year, but the catch is that Genevieve's outfit was a present from Granny and Grandpa's trip to Spain.

A flamenco dancer.  Complete with jewelry, please note.

And then we have a black-capped chickadee. The bird was entirely Ben's idea. When I asked Ben what kind of bird he wanted to be, I expected him to pick his favorite color or Big Bird; but out he comes with "chickadee." Well, I couldn't resist that sweetness. 

I made the wings following this tutorial, only a little messier;  I also added a backpack-like tie and 2 forearm ties because the chickadee was prodigiously vigorous.  It took a lot more feathers to cover those wings than I expected, so it was more of a time investment than I planned, but I was so pleased with the whole effect.

Chickadees have black caps (we borrowed Daddy's dark-gray beanie), yellow bellies (a piece of yellow flannel from my stash pinned to his belly), and then the black wings with some white speckled in.  Daddy made the paper beak just before we ran out the door.

We stopped by friends' and family's houses, and met some new neighbors along the way.  Coming home at bedtime, we stopped to light our jack o' lanterns on the front porch. 

And now the  chickadee wings are in the dress-up bin, the ruffly dress is hung carefully in the closet, and there are buckets of candy waiting for me in the kitchen.  Hoo boy.  I could like Halloween.

How We Repurposed Old T-Shirts

First of all, Hurricane Sandy was graciously brief in our area and we didn't even lose power.  We're saying prayers for others who were not so fortunate.

I found this quick little tutorial and made three bags out of Ben's old, stained t-shirts that he was outgrowing.

The shirts were too precious to him and freighted with memories to cut into rags, and too stained to be thrift store donations. I looked at a bag somebody else made that I have and puzzled out the little boxed corner (I don't know the name) for a little fancy extra.

 

 

I did these bags while Ben was at school, so I very brightly presented him with his own Hot Wheels bag when I showed him what I did.  It's all in the presentation, people.  He didn't fuss that I cut up beloved shirts and kept two of them.

I'm keeping these bags in my shopping cart that I wheel down to market.  They are a nice size for keeping produce corralled until I get home and pop it into (reused) plastic bags for the fridge.  I'm very pleased (and a little bummed about all the sweet t-shirts I cut into rags).