Seasonable and Unseasonable; Seven Quick Takes

Linking up, because I don't want to lose blogging momentum! SQT hosted by Kelly today.

--- 1 ---

It is cold and snowy here in South Bend, breaking some kind of record, even for here. And There are still half the leaves left on our trees. #dreamingofawhitethanksgiving

--- 2 ---

As I have already shared, I am now the proud driver of a big huge van. Which means, thanks to QT#1, I now know the full meaning of the term 'fishtailing'. Need to buy a bunch of something heavy and cheap to pile up in the back of the van!

--- 3 ---

Thrifting Therapy! My wonderful young friend Kate came over to share some time this week, and let me go out alone to Goodwill for an hour. Joy and freedom! I Got two awesome sweaters for $5. Aw, yeah.

 The sweater at right is almost certainly vintage. I love it. See the gorgeous blue birds? I wanted an 'ethnic' sweater without that crazy 'waterfall' style; it's just not me. Delighted with this classic cardigan shape, with pockets and a belt.

Here is my attempt to show the other sweater. It has silver, charcoal and gold, and a very pretty lacy edge. Trust me.

--- 4 ---

I can't help it. I'm listening to Advent music. The snow is bright and fun, and it just requires seasonal music! At least I got a little collection of music for Advent last year, and have it saved on Spotify. This album by Elizabeth Mitchell is one of my favorites. It seems clearly based on folk music work by the Seegers. Good stuff. I'm interested to see if Haley will have an advent playlist for this Advent, like last year.

--- 5 ---

We did some art this week. So good for me and the kids. We used watercolors, hot glue and chalk:

 Isn't the glue-resist effect awesome?

--- 6 ---
Oh, yeah. This is a project I haven't shared. I took an idea from someone online (sorry, I completely forget who!) who was crafting with paper which she had spread with silicone caulk. It made a nice, slick, protected surface for her desktop, I think.
.

Eureka! An idea for making 'oilcloth' (stain and water resistant cloth) from fabric I already have. I worked silicone caulk into this heavy cotton fabric with a plastic squeegee thing. Tried to get the caulk as deeply penetrating the weave as possible. Also tried to get a smooth surface. Let it dry overnight, and voila! It works. It's kind of a weird, rubbery texture, but it is wipeable. Maybe I won't have to replace this seat cover again for a while.

--- 7 ---

Last: nothing says 'I love you' quite like a surprise grande Christmas blend! Sigh. He loves me. Thanks honey!

For more Quick Takes, (visit Conversion Diary!) -Kelly today.

Happy and Real; linking up with LMLD for the First Time in a While

http://www.likemotherlikedaughter.org/2014/11/pretty-happy-funny-real-mostly-real-edition/ 'Grabbing a button' is not working for me for some reason this time!


{happy}

Something so, so heartwarming about the love of brothers. I put little Bilbo here to 'get' his big brother and help wake him up. I came back in a few minutes to find them peacefully snuggled. Haldir is faking being still asleep.

{real}

Toddler messing up Mom's makeup; so, so real. This is after most of it was cleaned up. My little artist  had squeezed out all my creme products and mixed them up with makeup brushes. I controlled my temper really well; actually I was speechless for a good thirty seconds.

{happy}

A family van that fits all eight of us with room to spare! So thankful to the Lord for how this has worked out. I already shared on Facebook a pic of us all out for ice cream in *one vehicle*. Yay!

{happy, real}

Father and son. I find them so adorable.

That's it! I have not been taking photos or finding time to blog lately. My intentions to learn and get good at photo editing have not taking any form at all, yet.

For Jim; In a Rose Tattoo!.

So, yeah. My little brother has introduced me to this band. Mind blowing mix of genres; Celtic Metal. Is that a thing? Very fun, often heavy, often poignant. awesome instrumentation. And i like these images; again, a mix of metal and Irish imagery.

Little Leia and I are sitting here singing along to "In a Rose Tattoo"

My Go-To Gluten Free Carbs; Fab Pancakes and Muffin Gems

My friend Anne asked for a recipe for gf carbs for her little boy. These two recipes are my faves for when I want something yummy to spread butter on. This type of recipe works great gluten free. I have found that for pancakes, muffins or quick breads, which use baking powder and soda for leavening, I can follow a general formula and do substitutions based on what I have or what I feel like eating.  I keep dry ingredients constant and substitute in different fruit purees, yogurt or coconut milk for a total volume of wet ingredients.

Fab Pancakes (GF)
2 c  gluten free flour mix
2t   baking powder
1t   baking soda
1t   salt

2 eggs
2c wet ingredients (medium thick consistency. GF flours need help with thickening)
1t vanilla
1/2 c melted butter, coconut oil, or canola oil

Blend dry ingredients first. (There is really no one flour that can replace wheat in a one-to-one substitution. I have a couple flour combos that I love, here.) Combine wet ingredients in a separate bowl. I use plain yogurt, bananas with milk, pumpkin with yogurt, thick thai coconut milk. Whatever. Just keep the total volume to 2 cups or a little more. You want a nice thick batter.
Add eggs, oil, vanilla.
Combine all ingredients, blend.
Usually, the directions for pancakes would say not to overmix, but I find GF flours need to be well blended and the batter needs to be stirred periodically while cooking; rice four in particular tends to settle in the bowl.

Cook on a griddle with a little canola oil on it.
Enjoy!

GF Muffin Gems (based on Graham Gems recipe)
This is my adaptation of a whole wheat muffin recipe my mom used to make a lot. So hearty, with a moist, dense crumb.
This recipe makes 2 dozen. Trust me, you will want that many!

4c       GF flour mix (recipe here)
2t       baking soda
1/2 t   salt
1t       xanthan gum (I don't normally use this ingredient, but it makes a difference in this recipe)
1/2 c  brown sugar
optional cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice, to taste

2        beaten eggs
2c      liquid: yogurt, thai coconut milk, pumpkin or banana with some almond milk, whatever. Needs to be thick like yogurt.
6t       melted butter or coconut oil
up to 1 cup raisins if desired
up to 1 cup chopped nuts if desired

Preheat oven to 350
Grease muffin cups with coconut oil, or your preferred oil.

Combine dry ingredients. Mix wet ingredients separately. Combine. I find GF flours need to be well blended; rice four in particular tends to settle in the bowl. Fold in raisins and nuts. Or chocolate chips! This will be a very thick batter.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake about 25 minutes.
Enjoy with butter! Best fresh and hot, or microwaved for ten seconds. These freeze well.