Goes a long LONG way!
I had some errands to run today. And I had to take the kids with me. At one of our stops - a small health food store - the owner complimented me on my children and how well behaved they were. And then complimented me on how I was handling them during our shopping there. (And we were there quite a while since I was searching for a new vitamin...) The feeling his friendliness gave me was overwhelming. I really needed to hear something like that. Lately, I've been feeling quite stressed with the harvest and the new house and school starting and fall coming... I have been feeling like a less than adequate mother. The little encouraging pat on the back was just what I needed to help keep me going.
The kindness of a stranger is a powerful thing. Spread the kindness.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Summer Corn Salad
We've been having lots of yummy local corn from our favorite organic farm and also from our own garden. Living here in the corn belt, I've become kind of a corn snob. I don't like to buy corn if it was not picked that day - as it should be for the freshest, sweetest taste and texture! I always buy extra ears, but boil them all at once (only for 4 minutes so they retain the sweetest possible flavor and crispest texture). The next day, with what was leftover, I like to make this salad:
Toss everything in a bowl.
These are just basic amounts. Feel free to play around with it. The key is a light apple cider vinegar dressing. Just enough to meld the flavors of the veggies together.
Happy eating!
Summer Corn Salad (serves 6 – 8)
2 cups corn off the cob
1 large cucumber, diced
1 large bell pepper, diced
2 cups diced tomatoes
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
1 T olive oil
2 T apple cider vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
These are just basic amounts. Feel free to play around with it. The key is a light apple cider vinegar dressing. Just enough to meld the flavors of the veggies together.
Happy eating!
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Chocolate and Zucchini Cake
I have an abundance of zucchini right now. If you garden, or have neighbors who garden, you may be swimming in it too. I've been making copious amounts of veggie burgers (my recipe here) for fresh eating and for the freezer. And lots of zucchini breads. Yesterday, I felt like something chocolaty. SouleMama linked to a Chocolate and Zucchini cake recipe that sounded super scrumptious to me. So I made it. And I loved it!
What's your favorite thing to do with zucchini?!
What's your favorite thing to do with zucchini?!
Monday, August 8, 2011
Bedside Caddy
A friend of ours asked me to make a bedside caddy for her daughter. They had a bargain store version that just didn't hold up to the amount of use it was getting. I was also given a stack of cotton batik fabrics to go crazy with.
So I measured and thought and measured and drew and measured and dreamed. And then I measured and added and measured and cut and sewed and swore and ripped seams and sewed and ironed... And eventually came out with this:
The original version had those fun mesh pockets that I salvaged for the new version. The finished bucket measures about 4.5" in width, 12.5" in length, and 10" in depth.
Each piece of the outer bucket - pieced together front, sides, back, and bottom - is lined with a medium weight fusible interfacing for durability.
Inside, there is a large flat divider that can be used to hold a book or two, and a smaller divider that separates the remaining space in two sections. Both dividers are sandwiched with medium weight fusible interfacing as well.
Boy, this fabric looks pink in my pics. It's really a lovely shade of deep purple...
I made a pocket to slide under the mattress that will hold a piece of cardboard. This way the whole thing can be washed when you remove the cardboard. (Shown below is the original "under the mattress" part I cut off the old version and used in the pocket of the new version.)
Then it's just a matter of sliding it under the mattress.
And filling it up with your favorite bedtime items.
All in all, it came together fairly well. I had a few issues with not measuring properly and cutting pieces that were too small (that's the problem with sewing after you should be in bed!). And only one other mishap involving not attaching the small divider to the large divider, but we won't go into that. It all came out cute in the end. And the little girl I made it for had a huge smile on her face when she realized what it was! That, right there, is the best part about sewing.
So I measured and thought and measured and drew and measured and dreamed. And then I measured and added and measured and cut and sewed and swore and ripped seams and sewed and ironed... And eventually came out with this:
The original version had those fun mesh pockets that I salvaged for the new version. The finished bucket measures about 4.5" in width, 12.5" in length, and 10" in depth.
Each piece of the outer bucket - pieced together front, sides, back, and bottom - is lined with a medium weight fusible interfacing for durability.
Inside, there is a large flat divider that can be used to hold a book or two, and a smaller divider that separates the remaining space in two sections. Both dividers are sandwiched with medium weight fusible interfacing as well.
Boy, this fabric looks pink in my pics. It's really a lovely shade of deep purple...
I made a pocket to slide under the mattress that will hold a piece of cardboard. This way the whole thing can be washed when you remove the cardboard. (Shown below is the original "under the mattress" part I cut off the old version and used in the pocket of the new version.)
Then it's just a matter of sliding it under the mattress.
And filling it up with your favorite bedtime items.
All in all, it came together fairly well. I had a few issues with not measuring properly and cutting pieces that were too small (that's the problem with sewing after you should be in bed!). And only one other mishap involving not attaching the small divider to the large divider, but we won't go into that. It all came out cute in the end. And the little girl I made it for had a huge smile on her face when she realized what it was! That, right there, is the best part about sewing.
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