is for the birds! I am desperately hoping that Puxatony Phil’s prediction is correct and that spring will be on its way—pronto! Here are a few bird houses that Lil and I made out of an old orange juice container and an old milk container. I rinsed them out and let the Goose paint them up and voila! The birds were certainly pleased and we loved watching our “bird t.v.”.
Before embarking on the whole stay-at-home gig, I taught art at a local middle school. I love it and miss it and was reminded of a lesson the other day.
Portraiture.
A hard beast to tackle ,I think , even for the best portrait artists. I would practice with the children how the face is divided down the middle for symmetry. The face is then divided into thirds and then we would place the facial features. It was always fun,and all were great, although none were “perfect”. Myself included! One of the hardest habits to get the kids to kick—eye placement. I would joke—“move the eyes down-ya need room for your brains!” Eyelids would also go to the wayside. “Are you surprised in your portrait?” “Be sure to include eyelids.” They usually show almost all the time—surprised or not. Right??
Perhaps I should take a look in the mirror.
Where the h- e- double toothpicks are my eyelids? Seriously.
Oh dear. Resolutions are already slipping and Christmas was over in a flash. Like all, we had a bustling Christmas and New Year. The dust had finally settled and I thought a break would be given before Goose turns 5. No such luck. Parenting skills are currently being tested with a round of the stomach flu. Yee Haw. But in all seriousness—life is good and I have many new projects to share. For now, I will back track and finally post some holiday pictures.
Time to open stockings. Great Eva knits every family member a stocking with lots of TLC. After Caleb was born—his stocking arrived in a flash. I wish I could get things done like that—wowee! *On a side note* Perhaps I should put a new robe on next year’s list? New sheets too—less pattern. Oh the glamour of being Mom.
Lots of gift opening and even a “jewel” from Santa! What girl doesn’t want some bling for Christmas?
Patient…very patient cousins.
Caleb hanging out with Papa. He is wearing the bib G.G. made for Lil. I love it!! He must have just had a bottle-has those glazed over, calorie-coma eyes.
Lastly…a picture of me opening my gift from Jake. More details on that in a later post.
A Holiday Full Of
Food
Friends, Family and Fun
Traditions
And no matter how you try to hide it…
Family
***I need to take more photos next year. Better photos. Alas. We had this lovely event at my wonderful in-laws house. Thank you Gary and Susan for all the hard work! What a wonderful day!***
Here are the ingredients straight from the book.
15 minutes or less to prep—Awesome!
Overnight Apple Butter
1 cup firmly packed brown butter
1/2 cup honey
1/4 apple cider
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground mace
10 medium apples, peeled cored and cut into large chunks
The book recommends a variety of apples to create a “complex” flavor but I just used a bunch that I got from Costco on super sale and I had all the other ingredients on hand. I take that back-I had to buy the mace—which why the heck did I do that when I only needed an 1/8 of a teaspoon?! Oh well.
You put everything into the crock pot on low and let it cook down for 10 hours. I did this overnight and when I woke up the house smelled so good. Then, since I didn’t have a Foley mill, (sad face) I put the metal sieve over the top of the crock pot and took the apples out a bit at a time and mushed them through with the back of the spoon. It worked. A bit time consuming but it worked. When this step is complete crank the Crockpot up to high and leave apples in an extra hour so the apple butter thickens up. Next take out of cooker and put in a bowl in the fridge. I have now put the butter into little mason jars and are ready to hand out a few as gifts. Spread it on toast in the morning…mmmmmm. So good.
