Mulberries In The Park

Sometimes it takes me awhile to process things.  I’d like to think that I have so many thoughts going around in my head at one time that I overlook simple things. Like the names of streets and the fact that some actually mean something.  Recently, we were at the park by our house and my husband discovered the big tree we like to swing from is a Mulberry Tree.  Hmmm, just so happens the streets that runs by it is called Mulberry.  Maybe I should have recognized that tree 3 years ago when we first moved in, after all the hint is right there on the street sign.

Anyway, all is good because now we know.  And of course the pioneering spirit of my girls would not let all those wonderful mulberries go to waste.  So off we went to the park with step ladder and pails. The tree is huge and most of the mulberries are up high.  My girls helped each other out grabbing the branches and bringing them down closer.  Little One held the pail for gathering.

It was a lot of fun, but hard work too we discovered.  We picked a lot of little mulberries to fill our pail.

Our purple hands told the story of what we’d been up to that day.

We also learned that these berries are clusters of fruit and little tiny bugs like to live inside of them.  Not to be deterred by such talk we consulted the internet and found you just need to cover them with water and let them sit for a bit. Sure enough, after about 30 minutes all the little bugs floated to the top.

Then Em went to making her pie

Didn’t she do a beautiful job?  The taste was very sweet and yummy.

And my girls were so happy to find yet another thing that grows wild here in the Panhandle that they could put to good use. 

 

Emma’s Healthy Breakfast Sandwiches

My ten year old is on her way to culinary school.  Okay, not quite yet, but it’s where she wants to go someday.  She cooks for us constantly and is thinking up new twists on everyday recipes.  This breakfast sandwich recipe was derived from a sandwich she had at a little restaurant in Galveston, The Lunch Box cafe.

For bread she likes to use baguette, but we use whatever bread we have around. This morning mine was on English Muffin. First toast the bread.  Spread honey over both slices and natural peanut butter on one slice.  Top the peanut butter side with blueberries. Top the other slice with sliced strawberries and walnuts.  You could use pecans, but we had walnuts today. Put the two slices together and enjoy.  It really is very yummy and nutritious, not to mention easy!

I’ve linked this post to Beauty and Bedlam.  Head over there for more Tasty Tuesday recipes!

Art on the Go – BusPainting

I was so excited when my mother-in-law Pat introduced me over the internet to artist Kathleen McElwaine from Leander Texas.  Kathleen does beautiful watercolors and on the bus! 

She commutes on the bus into Austin twice a day and began a series of watercolors entitled BusPaintings.  She says, “Early on when I began taking the bus, I did do some character studies of people riding the # 983 Express. But then I became hesitant, thinking that perhaps I might be imposing on a near stranger's personal space -- one's mobile sanctum. As a representational artist I constantly look for character … What are the distinguishing characteristics of people … plants and animals… skies or, landscapes?"

She now has an Etsy store and besides selling her beautiful artwork, she will create a watercolor profile picture for you to use on Facebook.  She did my profile and I love it. Better yet my husband loves it.  He thinks she captured my friendliness in the painting.  That was sweet of him to say, I’ll have to bake him some brownies.  Anyway, I want to share my picture with you.

I love it!  The picture I sent her was one of me with no make-up, wearing the John Deere sweatshirt my father-in-law gave me.  I think she captured my spirit wonderfully.

Please stop by her Etsy store or her website to look at her work.  I’m already thinking of some Christmas gifts and maybe a few profile surprises for a couple of friends.

Thanks Kathleen!

Would You Dress Up Like A Cow For A Free Meal?

YES! The answer is yes.  Now would you? If the answer is yes then head over to your local Chick-Fil-A for free meal this Friday.

Check out the Chick-Fil-A website to get more details.

Last year my oldest opted out of the dress-up. Something about her mother being totally embarrassing and what wouldn’t you do for some free food comments.  But at the restaurant she realized she was among cows. Big cows, medium sized cows, and little bitty cows.  This year she says she will participate. So maybe it is cool to dress like a cow, if you get a yummy Chick-Fil-A meal.

Here’s my herd.  Hubby and I wore some cow signs we printed off their website, but I guess I didn’t get pics of that.

So don’t be a chicken, dress up as a cow and then eat some chicken!

“Decluttering” Our Lives

My family has embarked on a journey to declutter and simplify our lives.  You hear a lot about organizing your house from experts. They even have television shows that help families to get rid of their junk.  Well, I wouldn’t mind someone coming in and clearing out all my stuff for me and giving me a lesson on organization.  Better yet, I don’t need the lesson, but if they’d give me all those neat organizational containers I’d be very happy.

So far no one has called to take care of cleaning up my house so we decided to go it on our own.  I just look around and begin to feel claustrophobic with all the stuff closing in on me.  Anyway, this is all part of our family’s plan to “declutter” and “simplify” our lives.

We started with our little barn.  We built it before we even moved into our house.  The plan was to have a place to store boxes as we began moving things.  Well, it filled up with boxes, bikes, tools, lawn equipment, furniture and it all stayed there.All of this was in our barn, along with a riding lawn mower and push mower.  Where did this all come from?

WB decided to build a workbench and some shelves.  Probably should have done that in the beginning, but I’m sure we were a little busy moving into our new house and he was dealing with a hormonal pregnant woman to boot.

It took all day in scorching heat.  I got a few breaks as we found boxes of photos that needed sorting and organizing.  But WB is no stranger to hard work and he kept going.  He’s my little Energizer bunny.  Wait, I don’t think he’d like that comparison. He’s a Gladiator, yes that’s better, my mighty Gladiator.

At the end of the day we had several piles of items for our Boy Scout church garage sale, a full dumpster and this

a clean barn.  I can see the floor.  WB and I can practice our ballroom dancing in here.  Well, we don’t ballroom dance, but we can turn a mean two-step. 

Honestly, we’re sleeping better at night now.  Something about having clutter in your life, it takes over.  Not just your house, but your attitude and really, your well being.  All these material things begin to weigh a person down.

As of today we have “decluttered” four rooms in our house.  We have five more and the attics. It’s a cleansing process and it feels so good when I can look at each room that has been “simplified”.  I’ll keep you posted!

Patriotic Poppies For Memorial Day

A fun way to celebrate the upcoming holiday of Memorial Day is by making crepe paper poppies, or Patriotic Poppies.  This tradition began after World War I when the American Legion began making these poppies to sell to raise money for veterans.

A Canadian physician and soldier wrote this poem during WWI referring to the battlefield of Flanders.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
  In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
         In Flanders fields.

So this Memorial Day my family has decided to help celebrate by making these Patriotic Poppies to help us to remember all the soldiers that have given their lives for our freedoms.  You can wear them in your hair or lapel or you can use them to decorate with, it’s up to you.

First start with several layers of red crepe paper. You will need a round template( we used different size bowls) and a pencil:

Trace around the bowl onto the crepe paper.

Once you have your circle cut out you need to make two small holes in the center through all the layers.

Next you take a green chenille pipe cleaner and insert through first hole.

Then feed through second hole like this. You can twist the pipe cleaner behind the flower to make it stay. This will be your stem.

Next separate    each layer and swirl forward to make the petals.

 

Aren’t they pretty?  And so simple to do!  We had great fun with these.  If you’d like you could add leaves to the stems with names of family or friends who were killed in battle.  We are going to wear our Patriotic Poppies with pride on Memorial Day!

Kids Getting Creative In The Kitchen

So the other night my oldest daughter made Bibimbap, a Korean dish. She got the recipe from Sara Moulton’s new cookbook Everyday Family Dinners.

First she made some Kim chi, which is basically a pickled cabbage mixture. Next she made a Sesame Miso sauce, sautéed some carrots and spinach, and browned some tofu. The dish also contained shitake mushrooms, scallions and brown rice. It was topped with a fried egg and chili sauce.

I was really proud of Em for picking this dish to make. She’s more a meat and potatoes gal. But, one thing about my kids is that they are willing to try new things. They love to experience new tastes and learn about other cultures. We had fun discovering what Miso was, a type of fermented soybean paste, and that it comes in white or red.

I enjoyed all the different flavors that fused together to make this dish. Em was a little disappointed. It was a little too much different for her. But that is okay, because they would never know if they liked it if they didn’t try it. This is a favorite saying of Soph’s.

And speaking of Soph she contributed to the meal as well. She created these fruit bites as appetizers or dessert.

They were strawberries, blackberries, lemon and mint. Each one of us got a spoon and we slurped them down!

I love being at home and in the kitchen with my girls. It is always an adventure.