The Wool Food Mama

Snow Globes

I've been invited to join the ladies at K&F shops for their 5th birthday celebration.  I decided that since they kick off their  event on Black Friday, I would do a special little holiday globe.

 

Juniper branches and a baby blue jay.  So sweet. 

Advent Calendar

Ok, so I have big hopes for an amazing advent calendar this year.  Maybe it's a little too ambitious but I'm up for the challenge.

So, my intention is to make the Nisse (pronounced knee-sir) story.  There are plenty of variations of the story, but the basic story is that every farmstead has a Nisse, which is a Scandinavian elf.  Nisse being Danish, Tomten being Swedish, etc.  I'm mostly Norwegian, big surprise, so I decided it's the Nisse for which I lean.

Oh, back to the story.  The Nisse is a keeper of the farm, or homestead.  While he is tender and loving of the animals, crops and homestead, he's a bit surly with the humans or at least one particular detail.  If the farmer fails to put out Christmas Eve rice pudding for the Nisse, he will leave the farm and take all of their (the farmer's) good will and fortune with him....never to be seen again. 

I imagine that actually, each of us is the Nisse of our home, the moral then being to take care of oneself and everything else just works.

So here we go...

Inspired by a link to an adorable scrappy quilt that my friend Lorraine shared with me, I set about cutting up tiny squares and rectangles and started arranging the "farm yard".  The blue circle is water. 

 

I quickly realized that I didn't cut enough scraps.  I cut more while Gusty helped to arrange, then when she tired and moved along, I set them back to where I wanted them.  Being surly and Nisse-like mind you. *wink*

Dry run..

Gusty left for other adventures downstairs so I got a chance to try it all together.  Here it is with the barn from Finns and Flowers and adorable little fence from Brian's Woodshop.

 

Isn't it already beautiful?  Their work is just amazing.  Such perfect cuts and piecing and smooth sanding...oh the smells of wood toys.  sigh.  

Ok, so if my math is correct, only 1 Nisse and 20 more pieces to complete the "calendar". ha!! Told ya it may be too ambitious.

And for fun, my I-spy desk.  What can I say?  It's that time of year, order and tidy will escape me until December 26th or later.

   

Taste the rainbow

Happy 6th birthday Augusta Bleu....

 

Inspiration for cake came from omnomicon.  She offers a low-fat variety...I went straight out of the box. 

I can make that.

It's the crafter's curse....I can make that. 

You know exactly what I'm talking about too, don't you?  You go to a craft show, see something adorable, "I can make that."   Thumb through the recent Boden catalog, "oh, I can make that."  Go to Home Depot and fondle the molding or tumbled tiles, "I can make that...some day."  I'm no better or worse than the next chick wielding a needle and thread or trowel and sponge. 

However, sometimes, I can't or don't or won't set my limits.  Like, we have this mudroom that needs finishing....for like a year.  Ok, so it's really two years but I'm cursed and kind of in denial.  Why?  Well, because my husband and I will talk each other into "we can make that."  He's co-dependant.  lol.  It's terrible.  Suck it up and hire someone.  We know it will be cheaper.  We know it will be quicker.  Still, it's a curse.  And a curse needs an exorcism. 

I think.

I believe I've had my exorcism.  Just this week even.  Which is appropriate because it's All Hallow's Eve week and I had to make costumes.  Or rather a costume and I already had it in my head that I could make a pettiskirt.  You know, those darling twirly square-dancing skirts that are still the rage with rookie photographers across the internet?  Yeah, one of those.  

So I googled and found patterns, researched. Huge time suck. 

Then I waited too long and didn't have time to order fabric on line.  No problem, I head to the fabric store.  It was busy, I was distracted (I took gusty thinking I wanted her input on colors) and bought the fraying chiffon.  ugh.  15 yards of it.  5 yard too many because I forgot my shopping list so I went heavy because I didn't want to go back again.  

Stop and pick up a ruffler foot because well, gotta have the right tools.

Get home. omgosh it's fraying chiffon.  Good grief.  Call mom.  Yep, she has pinking shears AND a pinking rotary.  whew.  Ok, her blade is probably as sharp as a spoon now, so I'll replace that for her.

Deep breath, hook up the ruffler which come with instructions that may as well have been Greek.  Adjust adjust, ok, ok...away we go.  ooo, it's fraying, oh how bad could it get, go Dory Kate, keep going.  

Ok, this is kinda fun!!

Done!!! 

Looks promising doesn't it?

Yeah, that's what I thought too. 

Try it on the daughter for a test drive.

Remember I asked myself "how bad could it get?"  when it started fraying in the machine.   Well, I won't tell you, I'll just show you 20 minutes worth of girl-twirl....

 

I know, I know!!!  You've done the math and time in your head already too, haven't you?

Ok, so here's the good part of the story.  I've been exorcised of my curse.  I won't say "I can make that" ever, ever again.  From now on, I will say "I can make that." Then I'll answer myself, "yes, you can...but just because you can, doesn't mean you should." ha ha ha

Ok, off to circle molding and trim dudes in the yellow pages for that mud room....we'll talk about the tile another day.

Random Eclipse

I'm listing at Random Eclipse today.  I haven't listed at Hyena Cart in a good long time and it feels good to be back there, if only for a short jaunt.

Random eclipse is a congo.  In the WAHM (work at home mom) world, a congo is a collective of artists coming together to list their like-minded products.  Kind of like an art fair, but on-line.  My listings there always push me into new dimensions with my craft.  Actually, there's one piece that I couldn't get finished in time.  Wait, I actually finished it but am now ripping it apart and starting over.  The base, it's just not what I wanted.  So that'll have to preview later. 

Anyway, even though there are artists of every medium (fiber, pottery, jewelry) we all try to fit into a theme.  Our theme for this eclipse is rain.  Which is incredibly fitting today, since it appears to be raining nearly every where across the nation...or so my friends are reporting on facebook. lol.

I did a seascape, Which I entitle "All rain goes to the sea" and I also made a tree stump called "A little place to get out of the rain."

 

 

Everything will be available, after 9pm Eastern tonight.

Solitude

It's a beautiful day in Minnesota. I'm soaking up some sunshine and working on new projects.

We have an abundance of Canada geese here and they're circling over my head. Surveying the wide open field for prime grazing and pooping.

Oh and I'm also watching my daughter In a soccer scrimmage. Although I admit that my head has been more down then up while I work this new triplex tree stump.

There's my girl, kind of close for once on these huge fields....

Hopefully my photos will load in proper order. I've not fully explored blogging from my phone. Either way, it all blends into a gorgeous day...

The influenza, it escapes us. *knock on wood*

This stuff, oscillococcinum (that we affectionately call o-silly-o), works.

I rarely endorse or recommend a homeopathic to anyone outside of the family. Even then, I'm rather tight lipped. Hairy eyeballs, skeptics abound and I live in the home town of a rather famous condiment...so alternatives, they fall on deaf ears.

Further, I've always believed that most people need to find their own way to a homeopathic remedy. Typically after an exhaustive course of every other school of medicines before they become a believer. Even then, I've witnessed nay-sayers to their own health.Bah a fluke. If it really worked, my Dr. would know about it.

And so it goes with quack treatments and quack users, we just shrug. Lol.

This time, I'll stretch the neck out and give my thumbs up on a product that is readily available at walmart, of all places. 

Testimony from the last 2-3 weeks...

The gal that checked me out who was clearly suffering from horrid head congestion, "does that stuff work?". "yes. Yes it does." I assured her.

My mom and my sister from the drug section at a walmart 300 miles away, " Kyle shared Gatorade with his best friend who has h1n1....what's that stuff mom is talking about?" she later reported three of her children having symptoms present for about a day and a half. Treating each new complaint with oscillo while her children's friends lost a week of school.

From my sweet Dane just after all the pellets dissolved,"omgosh mom, my sore throat is gone!!! It's like magic. No! It has to be dust from God!!"

My dear husband Brian," are you kidding me? Does the sugar coating mask the sore throat or something?"

Forrest the teen, " mom where's the remedy?" lol he has a healthy respect for mom's bag of tricks.

Madison suffered the longest, her symptoms presented like a stomach virus but I still had her back on the soccer field in 3 days. It's worth noting that her school reported to the state of Minnesota with over 100 H1N1 absences in one day last week. The vax is expected to arrive in town in unlimited quantities next week...

So there ya go. That's all I have to report on our little dance with the swine; Success and reduced suffering times. Brian told me i have to tell people about this stuff and this time i think he's right.

Have a box in your bag of tricks. It's just 10 bucks. Treat the first onset of a sore throat or headache with it, then continue to take it as symptoms present themselves...it's a symptomatic treatment, not a course of drugs like an antibiotic.

Good luck friends you can step away from the hand sanitizer...there's real help from our friends, Boiron, in France.

Salsa

Tried my hand at salsa this weekend.  I actually surprised myself.  I could really get into this canning thing.

combine;
6-7 Cups chopped tomatoes (peeled and seeds removed)  mixed roma and beef eater. 
2 Cups chopped yellow onion (1 large)
3/4 Cup chopped green pepper (1 large)
1/2 Cup chopped tomatillo (seeds removed)
1/2 Cup chopped cilantro
1 chopped selerno pepper (seeds removed)
2 chopped jalepeno pepper (seeds removed)
mix separately;
1/2 Cup red wine vinegar
1/2 Cup white vinegar
3 large garlic cloves (minced)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cane sugar
1/2 teaspoon cumin

Pour mixture over chopped veggies, bring to boil and simmer off liquid for about 10 minutes.
process 22 minutes
yield; 4 pints

notes;
I think using roma tomatoes removed the need for a tomato paste in the recipe.
I'm just barely over the 1000' altitude adjustment so I added a couple of minutes to the standard 20 minute processing time.

Backpack Troll

Tomorrow is Gusty's first day of kindergarten. *sniff* 

No, just kidding.  kinda.

Actually, I'm thrilled for her, of course.  She is so unbelievably excited to start school.  I mean really excited.  However, despite this week's excitement, last week she sheepishly confided that she's afraid she'll get "homesick tummy" while she's at school. 

Awww sweetie.  So of course, I had to make a baby troll for her backpack.  Something to love and care for on her way to and from school. 

Since it's a surprise, photos under the cover of night....

And just so she knows that this baby is ALL hers...I heart Gusty

Big day tomorrow.  whew. 

Welcome to MY world....

That's what Gusty declared on a recent visit to the local hallmark.

Welcome to MY world!!!

Anybody home?