We are on Etsy

As is evident by our lifestyle we make A LOT of different crafty type items.  Mackenson with his paracord bracelets, Sara with soap and beauty supplies, Joe with woodwork stuff, homemade paper, glasses from bottles and a multitude of other stuff.   All of our homemade items will eventually have posts for them, but today is Marie's turn to be in the spotlight.

Marie has taken up knitting as one of her hobbies, and one that we feel she could make a little side cash on.  Let's face it as the older the kids get, the more they want to spend money.  So far she has made 2 scarfs that are sale worthy and a few other projects that are still great for use around the house or by herself.

Since we are beginning to accumulate our home made crafts, and we have been advised by our friends on several occasions, we started our etsy account.  Stay tuned for more items, but our 1st two are now listed thanks to Marie.

See the pictures here,  and our shameless promotion of her wares in the links below.

Arm knitted infinity scarf

Nice lavender colored scarf 38" X 7"

Here are the etsy links.
Infinity scarf
Knitted Scarf


As always wishing all of our friends well in cyberland.

MARIE at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum

Last week during the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D.C., our family took a trip to see the beautiful trees and to visit one of the Smithsonian Museums.  Click here to read about our visit to see the cherry blossoms. 

Marie's visit to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in Washington D.C. provided her with the opportunity to study the timeline of Earth's history.  She saw fossils, models and reproductions from the Precambrian time period, Paleozoic Era, Mesozoic Era and Cenozoic Era.  For her project she was asked to make a one page presentation or mini poster for each of these major time periods.

From the Precambrian time she identified a spindle-shaped life form.

From the Paleozoic Era she found an early amphibian, Ichthyostega.

Marie liked the dinosaur Diplodocus (the long-neck) from the Mesozoic Era.

The early dog Hesperocyon gregarius was Marie's favorite Cenozoic Era organism.

Click here to see Mackenson's Natural History Museum project posters.

Natural History Museum Assignment

This past weekend we went to the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington DC.  While there we managed to check out part of the Natural History Museum.  What possible better place is there to learn about Earth's history?  Naturally we used this as an opportunity to teach some basics.  We decided to focus on the the 4 Major eras of Earth's living history Precambrian (not a real era), Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic.  For each era each child picked one animal to write about.  Each Era and animal served as a separate creative assignment during the week.  We kept the projects pretty simple with the goal to see how life has evolved over the hundreds of millions of years.

On the way home (about a 3 hour drive with traffic) we had each child reiterate the eras in order as well as spell them.  We also talked about how long humans have been on the planet in comparison to the age of the Earth, how long reptiles and dinosaurs roamed, mass extinctions and some basic animal anatomy/physiology.  For this trip we focused mostly on how teeth are different among carnivores versus herbivores and how those teeth are used respectively.

It was a very good trip, and for anyone visiting DC, make sure your kids get the full effect.  DC can be a science lesson, History lesson, government/civics and almost anything else.  It is truly a wonderful place.

Link to Mackenson's Project

Link To Marie's Project

 

EASTER EGGS VIA STRING AND SUGAR

There was an early art project I remember doing in about 3rd grade around Easter time.  Thanks to my excellent memory (but mostly google) we were able to recreate this project for our kids just in time for Easter.  Also, we try to make everything we do into a learning activity, so there are some science as well as art aspects to the project.

EASTER EGG MADE FROM STRING:

Materials needed:

Party balloons (in the shape of an egg)
String or yarn - a thinner yarn works better, but any should work.
Table sugar
Water

Directions:

1.  Inflate the balloons to the desired size and tie them off.  This will be the size of your future Easter egg.

2.  Wrap sting/yarn around the balloon, trying to keep the string as tight as possible.  To make it easier to get started you may want to tie the end of the string to the mouth of the balloon.  How much string you wrap around the balloon is up to you.  My daughter went a little overboard, but the result is still nice.

Note:  it is best to leave a little extra string tied off at the top of the balloon to serve as a way to hang it up while drying and eventual display.

3.  In a large mixing bowl mix 2 parts sugar to 1 part warm/hot water.  We used 2 cups sugar and 1 cup water (heated in the tea kettle).  This amount was nearly perfect for our three (3) eggs.

4.  Soak each wrapped balloon in the sugar solution making sure all of the string/yarn is moist to wet.

5.  Hang to let dry.  Remember that this will drip the sugary solution on whatever is below, so you may want to pre-place some newspaper or a towel or whatever below...THIS IS HOW WE GET ANTS.

 6.  Once dry, decorate however your child's mind wishes.  We plan on cutting a hole in the side and putting some Easter type flotsam inside the egg.   


LESSONS:

Science - chemistry:
Discuss how a solution is formed and what it is.
 -discuss how 2 cups of sugar can go into 1 cup of water and the result is not 3 cups of solution.  Right now we are keeping this concept very elementary.

Art: 
Creativity at it's best.

Cherry Blossoms - Washington DC trip

For those of you unfamiliar with April in the nations capital, it is the time of year when the many cherry trees are in full bloom.  It is truly a spectacular sight; every tree around the pond near the Jefferson Memorial is in full bloom.  It is beautiful, or at least it would be if there were not 100,000 other people also crowded together to get a look.  It was the most crowded I had ever seen the Mall and it was exhausting just moving through the crowd.

We still were able to get a few good pictures and check this one off of our East Coast proverbial bucket list.

THE LONE MELON

We planted one watermelon plant and a few cantaloupe on our straw bale garden.  For most of the summer our watermelon and muskmelon vines were a disappointment.  In August we noticed that a single watermelon developing well.  This was a nice surprise considering all of our cantaloupe vines on the straw bales only produced softball sized melons.  We got around to picking this watermelon about a week ago after it finally ripened.  This was the very last item harvested from our straw bale garden and was well worth the wait.  Our first taste was with one of our chestnut meals (see post).
 

NUTTY as a .........

Marie with the small Nut Wizard.

Another contraption that the Eggers’ picked up at the Mother Earth News fair in September was a device called the Nut Wizard® made by Seeds and Such Inc.  It picks up nuts, apples, and nearly anything else from the ground.  We purchased two of these tools, one large and one small.  The large one we use for picking up black walnuts and hickory nuts, but could also be used for medium size fruit such as apples, pears, etc. as well or even golf balls if that is your thing.  The smaller one can be used for acorns but also other small objects such as toy legos or other flotsam that kids may have, also brass from the shooting range.   Of course we use them primarily for foraging and it has cut our time collecting walnuts, hickory nuts and acorns significantly.  A five gallon bucket can easily be filled in a couple of minutes without continuously bending over.  This device saves your back and time and in my very humble opinion worth every penny.  I see us using the Nut Wizard® a lot in the future.  The  The only thing to do now is get those buggers out of their shells……… but wait……….there is a tool for that also so stay tuned.

 Marie us using the Nut Wizard to pick up acorns.  She filled a two gallon pail without much effort.

Fall Foraging part 1

Our foraging has increased in intensity as the cooler fall weather sets in.  The trees are dropping their nuts and fruit.  Fall mushrooms are appearing en masse.  Last weekend we collected the following:

Hen of the Woods Mushroom (HOTW):  One of our favorite Autumn finds.  These large bracket fungi appear around oak tree trunks and stumps.  This past weekend we collected three different hens weighing in at a combined 6lb. There is a park filled with oak trees near our neighborhood and we were able to find these beauties in abundance.  HOTW can be prepared like almost any mushroom and we use them in a lot of different recipes.  They can be sautéed and frozen or dried for long term storage.  Many of our recipes use HOTW.  See last year's HOTW post.

Marie is holding the largest with a smaller HOTW beside Mackenson

Acorns:  Acorns are a food that are commonly ignored by the majority of folks, foragers included.  We were able to collect about two gallons of acorns thanks to Marie and The Nut Wizard®.  Acorn processing is a bit of a trick, so stay tuned for an entry about this process.

Pear shaped puffball mushrooms:  These are a new foraging item for us.  They are a choice mushroom found on decaying logs.  We found a large cluster of these delicacies, but unfortunately were about a week late on the find.  The majority of these were past their prime and we wound up with only a few that were still edible.  These few were sautéed for our Sunday brunch.

Puffballs:  One with the holes on top are old and have already released their spore (not palatable).

Walnuts:  Black walnuts litter the ground everywhere in the fall.  Most people find these to be a menace in their yards and on their sidewalks.  With the proper tools and motivation they are delicious.  We have specialized tools for collecting as well as cracking.  We collected 15 gallons of these beauties with the help of the The Nut Wizard®.  More to follow on the processing (cracking) and storage.

Pears:  Though technically not a foraged (wild) food, we reconnected with last year’s supplier (thanks Teri).  Teri has two huge pear trees that are dropping their fruit.  We were able to collect about 10 gallons of pears in about 15 minutes.  However, these pears are not of quite the same quality that you find at the supermarket.  They are bruised, blotchy and bug ridden (but FREE).  Cleaning is a little more work, as all of the bruises and buggy areas have to be removed along with the core and stones.  Needless to say there is a lot of compost generated and our red wigglers in our worm bin were quite happy.  We still managed to have enough pears for freezing in slices (for smoothies, oatmeal, etc.) and making 6 ½ quarts of pear sauce.  We also froze enough pureed pears to make 3 more quarts of pear sauce.  Stay tuned for the pear sauce recipe, as it is extraordinary.

We filled our sink twice.

WARNING: As with all wild food do not consume it unless you are 100% sure of what you are eating.

Rainbow Loom - Those darn rubber band bracelets

Maries used a butterfly case to store her bands.  Loom at top.

I've posted on facebook a couple of times wondering when this fad of rubber band bracelets took hold of our youth.  Like most kid fads it seems to have just simply appeared out of nowhere.  As far as kid fads go, this one is parent approved as far as I am concerned.  The rubber band bracelet phenomena is a crazy low tech, low marketing budget success story from the perspective of the company Rainbow Loom.  Marie used her birthday money to buy her loom at Michaels, but from my understanding nearly all of the hobby stores have them including Hobby Lobby and A.C. Moore.  Since her purchase she has made countless bracelets for herself, her friends and a few for her family.  As parents we love it.  It is not your typical consumerist fad where you have to buy more and more plastic flotsam made in China or trading cards with annoying made up animal species to keep up with the next kid.  Instead the kids buy a loom and some colorful rubber bands and CREATE.  The artistry is quite amazing considering 7-12 year old kids are the primary ones creating these bracelets.  Kids are using their hands, developing dexterity, using creativity and focusing on a single task for more than 5 minutes.  Something that we feel has been nearly lost with this new generation.  It is amazing as far as I am concerned.  It is targeted towards girls, but from the reports I have heard quite a few boys are into it as well.  I have been wearing one Marie made for me for well over a week.  This new found kid hobby also fits well into our lifestyle of crafty type folks.  Unfortunately, I foresee some issues mounting in the public schools in the near future.  Incidents of kids shooting each other with rubber bands, making bracelets too tight and losing circulation in their hands, choking hazards, etc.  BUT in the meantime the fad is in full force in the Philadelphia area and for those parents who are seeking a creative outlet for their children it should be a consideration.  Like I said, I am amazed at how viral this this has become as a kid hobby.  For anyone interested in the history of the Rainbow Loom or it's creator here is a link from the New York Times.

Wild Rice & Zucchini

What's for dinner?

That question has, on occasion, caused me a mini panic-attack.  Then the analytical part of my brain takes control and tells the right side to stop being such a drama queen.

Our zucchini surprised us this year with three late squash that remained hidden until they were of monstrous size.  I prefer zucchini small, cut up for salad, not Andre the Giant sized.

Naturally the question, ” what's for dinner?” popped up in my head right around the time, ” what to do with the giant zucchini?” did.  Lefty was on the task.  We had a new bag of Minnesota wild rice that Joe brought back from his trip to pick up furniture.
 
Here's what I came up with:

Wild rice & Zucchini

Ingredients:

4 cups cooked wild rice
1 huge zucchini, middle removed, chopped
4 leaves fresh sage, diced
1/2 tsp Better Than Bouillon veg soup base
handful cherry tomatoes
two handfuls dried hen of the woods mushrooms
salt
5oz. cheese

Method:

-cook wild rice in crock pot
      --3 cups water, 1 cup rice
      --high for a few hours (until split open, soft and water is absorbed)

-with cooked wild rice add to crock pot zucchini, soup base/stock, sage, mushrooms, salt and a little water (if not using a liquid soup stock).
-cook on high a few hours
-when zucchini is soft add cheese and tomatoes
-when the cheese is melted it's ready!

This was great on it's own; it was almost a soup.  We had it as a side with pork chops/veg ”chicken” and salad.  The kids wanted seconds and couldn't wait for leftovers.  We had enough for two dinners for the four of us and lunch for Joe.  Fantastic!

Grandma's Furniture

Hello once again.  It has been a while since the Eggers were active on the blog.  We had a very busy summer and school has started once again.  Our latest project is restoring some wonderful oak furniture passed on to us by our late grandmother who had reportedly received it from her aunt.  If my math is correct that means these pieces have been in the family for 5 generations and our kids would be the 6th (assuming we pass it to them).  The pieces (a complete bedroom set) include a dresser, a smaller dresser / nightstand and a bed-frame with headboard and foot board.  I spent the 4 day Labor Day weekend driving from Pennsylvania to Minnesota to pick up a U-haul trailer and load these forgotten treasures and then drive back.  All of it was in fair to poor shape upon receipt....but with some elbow grease and determination it is slowly being restored to look nearly new.  So far we have completed the large dresser.  The process was as follows:

This is the start.  Notice the scuffs 

and the peeling varnish

1.  Remove all of the old hardware.
2.  Remove decorative beading to refinish separately.
3.  Strip off all of the old varnish with chemical stripper.
4.  Sanding -lots of sanding - to remove all of the scuffs and old stain
5.  More sanding.
6.  Still more sanding.
7.  Did I mention that we had to sand.
8.  Re-staining  with a light cherry.
9.  Two coats of shellac varnish.
10.  Replace the hardware with new.

All sanded and ready to stain

peeling varnish and water marks

Center drawer stained...notice the contrast

This piece is going in Marie's room at least initially.  She seems very pleased so far.

I think the results are nice.  As you can see from the pictures it looks nearly brand new and is well worth the effort.  A family heirloom that will hopefully last for 6 more generations.





The next piece will be the smaller dresser / nightstand followed by the bed so stay tuned and keep reading.  Also on the agenda are 4 wooden chairs to refinish also acquired from my late grandmother.

GIRLS' NIGHT IN

Joe and Mack are off gallivanting together tonight.  Marie and I are at home, but far from sulking at being left behind!  This goofy Daughter/Mama duo is going to spend a Tuesday evening and bond in the most perfect way.  With chocolate.  Chocolate face masks, in fact.  There is a second part to our oh-so-carefully crafted plan; that is Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (on Amazon Prime).

 It is hard keeping the dogs away from licking our faces because the mask smells so good, like cookies!  Since it contains cocoa, it is very important to keep our dogs away!  After using the mask our faces were soft and very clean feeling.  There was more than enough for both Marie and I.  I am storing the leftover in the refrigerator.  We will use it for our next "Girl Night"!  

Chocolate Face Mask

Mint, Oats, Cocoa & Clay

Mask Ready to Use!

1 Tablespoon dried mint

2 Tablespoons oatmeal

1 Tablespoon cocoa powder

1 Tablespoon cosmetic clay

1 Tablespoon honey

1/4 cup plain yogurt

Grind mint and oats in a coffee grinder.  I have one that I only use for herbs and such, not coffee.  Add cocoa and clay and stir well.  I found that a small egg beater works well.  Add honey and yogurt, stir carefully to mix thoroughly.  You may need to add more or less yogurt to get the consistency you desire (we used homemade Greek style yogurt).  Smear it on your face; a small spatula works well.  Let the mask dry, 15 minutes is the standard for face masks.  I don't time it, but wait until it is completely dry.  If you feel pain or discomfort, wash mask off right away.  When you are ready to rinse, wet a washcloth and hold it over your face to loosen the mask.  Wash with warm water and washcloth until all the mask is gone.  Make sure to check your ears! 

Happy Halloween

Mackenson & Marie with Scary & Worried

Mimicking their Jack o' Lanterns

Scarecrow or ScareDOG?

Yesterday our family made a scarecrow to decorate the front yard.  We leaned on tradition and stuffed a pair of striped overalls and flannel shirt with leaves. The leaves were collected curbside from a neighbor.  Joe anchored an old clothesline post, Marie donated her hat and Mackenson drew the face.  The kids each stuffed a glove with leaves and I stapled our funny little man to the post.  We all danced around and laughed, enjoying our happy harvest creation.  Isn't he friendly?  See, he's waving! 

Some time later as I was hanging Halloween decorations insides I heard a deep rumbling sound.  Our usually goofy Labrador, Anabaena, was on alert to the front door, posture low and stiff with hackles raised and growling.  She had seen the paper mummy I taped to the front door.  After unsuccessfully assuring her it was safe, I opened the door so she would pass and see it wasn't someone lurking outside.  She ran out, still barking at the door.  Ferris followed her; the prospect of a trip to the front yard his only care.  Ferris trotted around in the sunshine innocently but Anabaena's attention immediately went from the lesser threat on the door to the giant Scarecrow just outside.  She lunged and attacked, biting at the poor Scarecrow's leg and retreating to bark and growl her warning.  Evidently he didn't look so friendly through Anabaena's eyes.  She eventually stopped barking but remained suspicious, not relaxing until we were all safely indoors.

Two Weeks and Counting

Marie and Mack have been home over two weeks now. We are all settling in a little more each day. Our days are very routine and Marie loves to recite the steps to the day. At supper she says, "eat, bath, brush teeth, story, sleep!" Some of it is in English and some is in Creole so it goes like this but don't count the spelling, "manje, dusch, brush teeth, story, domi! ". They each have a special towel, Mackenson's is a duck and Marie's is a bunny.One morning I was in the kitchen making breakfast and in totters this cute little giggling ducky! Bath time is something that has changed dramatically. The first bath they each had was a scream fest. After only two or three baths they were sitting and splashing in the water.

Some favorite foods so far for both are peanut butter, Tang, hot dogs, chicken, potatoes, cheerios, ketchup, green beans from the garden and melon. They both get a kick out of an ice cube in their water glass and hooded jackets. Simon and Ferris are getting some much awaited loves from both kids; Mackenson especially likes to hug and kiss Ferris. Dylan has gotten a few pets as well and is becoming more at ease with the increased chaos in the house, though remains slightly allusive.

First Day of School

Marie Dakar had her first day of Kindergarten yesterday (Thursday the 14th). School started very early here and she missed about a week and a half. She was very excited the day before and repeatedly asked, "demen lekol?" tomorrow school? She got to pick out her outfit, but as luck would have it the pants she chose had a broken snap. I made her change which made her a little sad. Papa cooked a special breakfast of eggs but she didn't want them. Maybe she was too excited to eat. Papa, Mackenson and I dropped her off at school just after the start of the day to miss the crowd. We worried how she was doing all day. When we picked her up at the end of the day she was very quiet until we got home and then she was very lively and a bit sassy. It must have been a good day. While she was gone I sewed Velcro over the snap of her broken pants so she could wear them tomorrow, she was excited when I showed them to her. Last night she went right to sleep after (or maybe during) her story with Papa.

KIDS ARE HOME!

Yesterday we brought Marie Dakar and Mackenson home at long last and with much joy. We left Thursday, July 31st, for what was supposed to be a three day trip to Haiti. Three days turned into eight days (Gilligan's Island, anyone?) as the US Embassy was not able to print the visas. The printer was finally fixed and visa were printed on Tuesday and we sighed with relief. Since we missed our Saturday flight, we caught the Thursday flight to Miami, thanks to the wonderful help we received in Haiti and in the US.

Spending the entire week at the creche (orphanage) was a great experience for all four of us. Joe and I were able to bond with Marie Dakar and Mackenson in an environment that they felt comfortable in. They began testing our limits immediately...where was that "honeymoon period" we heard about? The creche took great care of us; I was so happy to have peanut butter every morning! The kids were too. Joe and I had breakfast before the kids so Marie and Macky would eat most of our peanut butter and bread then go out to eat their normal breakfast with their friends. Lunch was similar. That is the largest meal of the day in Haiti, or at least at the creche. The kids ate first, then came in when we had lunch and ate a whole bunch again. They wanted to eat until they didn't see any more food on the table. In the evening, the kids ate first and went to bed before we ate so they didn't get seconds on supper! The supper was very interesting; it was kind of like porridge in appearance and most nights flavored of cinnamon. I am not sure what it was made of but we got used to eating it for supper!

Nap times are another interesting time. Mackenson cries and rocks himself to sleep. He seems to need motion and noise to fall asleep. He is not too interested in stories before bed, he just lays down and starts to cry with his eyes closed. Marie Dakar is a dawdler when it comes to going to sleep. She is a little more insecure about us leaving so doesn't want us to be too far away as she falls asleep. She calls out for us if she can't see us. She asks us for water, bathroom, and kisses. They are not used to pillows or blankets but Marie Dakar likes the pillow and wanted a little blanket for the first time tonight.

While at the creche Joe and I did spend some time with all of the kids, but not so much to make the Aunties lives too difficult and the kids jealous; our kids jealous for attention and the others for toys and treats. It has been 9 months since we saw all of the kids and they have all changed so much. One little boy, Sandro, was Macky's bunk mate in the baby room (they both had graduated to the toddler room) and we didn't recognize him. Another, Mackenly, was very sick when last we saw him and now he is happy, healthy and is constantly pushing something around be it a chair in his room or plastic playground ladder on the playground. Loudence, whose aunt sent supplies with us, went down the slide and growled all the way down each time. Joe and I nicknamed Roseberline a Klingon because of her run up and cling act. Both of us were lucky enough to be spat on by her when not paying her all of our attention. Shawana is also a feisty little girl who likes to get into trouble. Both her and Roseberlin are in the toddler room and their auntie has her hands full! Another funny moment at the creche was jello time. After lunch one day they had jello for desert, and it was finger food. Each kid got a fist full of jello and walked back to the area by their rooms to eat it. One little girl dropped hers and stood crying while the kids around her licked it off the floor and played in it. Poor thing!

On the way home, we spent the night in a hotel in Miami attached to the Miami Mart shopping mall. Joe and I could only speculate that our kids thought we lived in a shopping mall and had lots of stuff but a really small room! Who knows what thoughts were racing through their minds. Thankfully, our time in Haiti allowed us to learn some basic Kreole words so we could communicate a little bit better. Tann is wait and chita is sit, we use those a lot. While in the hotel, we ate supper in the hotel restaurant. Joe had calamari, I had tomato/mozzarella salad and we ordered macaroni and cheese for the kids to share. We got a bowl of bread before our meals so Marie Dakar ate three rather big buns and Mackenson ate one. Marie asked for some butter because she thought it was cheese. Joe took his knife to the butter (which was sitting on a little plate right in front of her) and the tip of the butter triangle flew off the plate right at her! That was a little traumatic for her so she squealed. Neither kid was at all interested in the mac & cheese but Marie wanted to try Papa's food. Wow, that was a shock! She made a horrible face whined and shook her head and hands at that. After some water and ketchup she was okay. Both kids like to eat ketchup plain. Weird. Then Papa noticed that she was sitting really far away from the table so pushed her chair in which caused her to squeal again. There was a bar on the table that her feet smashed into. Poor thing was having a bad time at supper. When she was done eating she got a slightly panicked look on her face reached for her hind end and told me she had to poo. So off we went to the bathroom. There were two ladies sitting right by us and when Marie and I returned they were talking to Joe. We told them we were very clumsy parents and they laughed with us. The two ladies then asked the waiter for some bananas for the kids (they worked for the catering in the hotel). So we had breakfast in the bag, that was so nice of them.

More to come later on being home! Here are photos of us in Miami!