Sometimes...

Sometimes when read blogs written by mamas who inspire me with their family values, projects, and parenting style, I get a bit jealous.  I feel restless for a place of our own.  I want space to parent without being within earshot of folks who have grown up in a place with different cultural parenting norms.  Sometimes I get restless for painting my kids' bedroom a colour that matches the mama-made quilts on their beds.  Sometimes I miss turning the music up really loud.  Sometimes I miss letting the kids dictate the pace or tasks of the day.  Sometimes I feel I don't have the opportunity to teach the kids about some of the things we value - like art and literature, creating things and giving them away.

But then I remember that we are living an opportunity to teach them about some of the other things we value - like having compassion for people, like being a team and trying to help each other when things are difficult, or frustrating, or confusing, like making do with less, and learning from others, and hopefully, doing all of these things to the glory of God.  It's hard to put things on the 'back burner' sometimes.  But when I look at what's cooking - well - I think it's worth it.

Special thanks to the Greynam Court, formerly know as State Street, formerly know as Viewmount Drive Home Church for the gift certificate for the two-night stay downtown.  Keith, the kids and I had a wonderful family getaway this past weekend.

The Pebble...

I always knit with the best of intentions.  I always intend to follow the pattern as it is written and fix mistakes as I go.  It seems, though, that there is a point of no return, where I am not going to go back and fix a mistake - I'm going to press on and finish the project.  And hence, we have The Pebble.  This sweater vest pattern was written for a 6-12 month old baby.  I wanted to knit it for Isaiah for Christmas so I made my first attempt at "upsizing".  I bought Lion Brand's Thick and Quick and 10mm circular needles and went for it.  I just knit the pattern as it was written, made almost no mistakes and got this:

A sweater vest that fit me. sort of.  It was certainly far too huge for Isaiah, and I knew this as I was knitting it.  I knew it was way bigger around than he needed - but by the time I got far enough to see this, I was past the point of no return.  So then I had this:

Because honestly, I wasn't going to wear this manly little vest.  It was a bit too short and shapless and bulky and although perfect for my 3-year-old - not at all becoming on me.

So now I have this, a baby cocoon for a soon-to-be-here boy and lots of green potential for those days when the white of winter seems to go on forever and I'm longing for Spring.

This Moment

For the Small Things...

Last Tuesday, Matthew House welcomed three new freezing Namibian residents through our doors.  Consequently, life here has gone from a brisk but manageable pace in caring for our first resident, getting ready for Christmas and the upcoming family wedding, training volunteers, cooking meals and most importantly caring for the one larger and two smaller Dows - to the sprint we're running now.  I woke up feeling grumpy and strained, but SouleMama's post today helped me find some perspective and the "letting go" that needs to happen in order to enjoy the day.  It's like when a ship is in a storm and they can try to fight it or they let go of the sails and run with the storm.  So, in this season where we find ourselves extra busy, I'm thankful for these small and not so small things...

• Pingu and toddler babble from the other room
• Amazing volunteers 
• Babies soon-to-be here!
• Namibian first-snow-experiences
• craft nights with lovely ladies and my wee man
• a coffee cup that doesn't judge me for refilling it three times today
• the husband who helps to hold me together :)

Cousins

These two peas in a pod were born just 3 months apart.  My mom, sister and niece came for a visit last week and although these visits tend to be far too short - they are always sweet.  It is a joy to watch the bonds of family grow strong between the cousins as they play "sleeping bunnies" and try to share new toys and encourage each other with using the potty.  It reminds us just how important it is for our kids to know where they belong, to give an extra measure of grace when we're tired and cranky, to always hug and say sorry - because we're family and family is a special, sacred thing.

This Moment

Joining SouleMama and her followers in this moment - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. 

The Guild

Say hello to the great minds who have been presiding over our fridges for the past few years.  Keith has carefully picked out these fellows from a list of the Greats and I quite agree with his choices.  Unfortunately, so do the kids which makes it difficult to keep wee hands off of these charming puppets.

Introducing Monkley

I've been hard at work on handmade Christmas presents over the last few months.  I'm trying to do handmade as much as I can this year and it is making Christmas more meaningful for me.  I really enjoy the time I invest in each gift and I hope it will help quell the consumerism of Christmas in our family. Anyways, here is what or should I say "who" I've just finished working on.

May I introduce to you, Monkley - at least that is what I am anticipating his name to be.  Isaiah has been mildly obsessed with Curious George for some time so when I saw a pattern for a very cute sock monkey in this book (see below) I thought I would make him one for Christmas.  I made his pajamas to match the ones I've made for Isaiah for Christmas Eve.  I hope they become good friends.

The book, Craft Hope, has a lot of really interesting patterns and craft ideas for you own loved ones or for ones you've never met.  It is compiled by Jade Sims but each craft is submitted by a different person.  SouleMama has a pattern for baby hats made from re-purposed t-shirts.  Each craft also has a list of charitable organizations who accept and actively look for these items.  It is a great book full of wonderful ideas so let me know if you want to borrow it!

Journeying

So, I haven't written much about life at Matthew House yet and I think it is part due to the constant learning and flux that has filled our time here thus far.  I'm coming to realize, however, that this is unlikely to change so I might as well start to document it. :)

We are still awaiting our insurance papers and so remain resident-less. This leaves us in the somewhat awkward position of having a very large home, two children, a lot of things that don't belong to us, and multiple well-known but not-yet-familiar volunteers who come by to help us.  The awkward part is in the helping.  You see, since we don't have others living here and have only had a few "events", the sticky juice spots they scrub off the kitchen floor, the pantry whose contents are falling out they are organizing, the cereal they are vacuuming off of the carpet is largely the mess of my family.  It is a difficult thing to let other people, particularly those you respect and would love to impress, see the underbelly of your life.  I have but a few friends I would feel comfortable letting see the toilet before I've scrubbed it.

I feel like I have been learning this same lesson of community-living for a few years.  When Isaiah was born, it was the first time I really couldn't do things - like vacuum or lift the laundry basket, for six weeks.  When my friend, Diana, would come over, she would do the dishes.  Sometimes she'd wait until I went into the bathroom to start so we could avoid the "No, no, please sit down."  "I don't mind doing them, really." conversation.  It was the first time I had to learn how to let others help me.  When you think about it, our parents have invested a great deal of time training us up to be independent, to do things for ourselves.  We don't know how to ask for help and we feel we're imposing when we do.  This is one of the lessons of living in community - letting others help.  And it is a hard lesson.  It is not easy to let others into the minutia of your life - but evenso, I think the rewards will outstrip the inconvenience by far.

Isaiah playing with his cars by flashlight under our bed


And so, I'm going to let Kim clean out and organize the cleaning supplies closet that I've been meaning to get to for a month, and I'm going to work on my own to-do list and remind myself that this, Matthew House as well as life, is a team effort.

This Moment

Joining SouleMama and her followers in this moment - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. 

11pm snack.  Sometimes when the kids are sick and can't sleep, peanut butter sandwiches and warm milk is the best remedy.

Reasons Why Yarn is a Weapon

Just when I was feeling a bit gloomy from being busy and discouraged and, let's face it, grumpy with my kids, I got this beautiful gem of a book in the mail from my friend Pam.  I must have rubbed off on her during all those Sunday nights of board games with NHL200whatever in the background.  I'm quite sure she would never have bought me book of horrific, scandalous and emasculating yarn catastrophes, complete with less-than-appropriate commentary.  But she did, and I love her for it.

Oh, how I love that knitted helmet!

Now, I'm not sure I'm supposed to be posting pictures from this book, but it is all in praise of Stitchy McYarnpants and her work in uncovering these treasures from the past.

This is one of my favourite parts.  It has long been discussed in yarny circles, this problem with knitting for our manly loved ones.  After thumbing through this chapter I think Keith would happily wear anything I knit for him provided he never ended up looking like any of these chumps.

And onto my the most entertaining and perhaps most disturbing chapter on knitted toys.  I have now seen enough terrifying clowns and babies in knitted unitards with gun holsters and cowboy hats.  It has definitely made me rethink the toys I've thought of making for the kids.

Thank you, Pam  for this fantastic book.  Whenever I start to feel discouraged about my own knitting disasters it will be nice to have this little piece of perspective!

Quiet Time

It is quiet time here.  It is the time of day, right after lunch, when I put the kids in their room for sleep or quiet play and I come downstairs, make a cup of coffee and do - whatever.  Some days it is cleaning or paperwork, answering emails or making food. Today I've opted for sitting on the floor of the office, over the register that is blowing blissful warm air on me.  It reminds me of when I was a little girl and I used to sit over the register on those cold Wintery mornings with my knees bent and tucked inside my nightgown, trapping in the warmth, tucking my face in the neckhole so it would blow on my face.

Now my fingers are busy with knitting a hat to keep my ears warm on those Wintery mornings and the warm air is a comfort, as is the coffee and the mindless TV show I watch for company when the chaos has been tucked into bed for a time. Today is quiet time for Darcie, not wife or mama or any other hat I wear, just for Darcie :)

Thanksgiving Weekend

One of my favourite times of year; Thanksgiving.  I wasn't cooking a turkey dinner this weekend since we're having a Fall Potluck for some of the refugee claimants we've been working with, but the kitchen at Matthew House was not idle :)  We've made cinnamon buns and pumpkin pie, apple sauce and bread pudding.  Quite a tasty weekend, if I do say so.

Keith's parents are here visiting, having made the drive to Ottawa yesterday afternoon.  Today we drove to Perth for the Autumn Studio Tour.  It is always neat to see where artists hone their craft, create, and display their work.  We ordered a beautiful print on canvas by David Zimmerly.  I can't wait to put it up in our room at Matthew House.

I hope you're having a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!

~this moment~

My mom and Lucy in August 2009.  I know this photo isn't from this past week, or even year, but I just got off the phone with my mom and I miss her and so do her grandkids.

Granola and Yogurt

 My favourite breakfast :)  Ever since I worked in the kitchen at a Christian "behaviour modification" (aka boot) camp back in the Summer of 2001 I've loved having homemade granola and yogurt for breakfast.  It was the meal I most enjoyed to prepare and it just felt so hearty to eat. Admittedly, after that summer it wasn't until I had kids that I tried to make it again from scratch.  And until last week I had only made the yogurt from skim milk powder (since that's what we had to work with at the camp).  But oh, how yummy yogurt is when made from milk :) Thank you, Soulemama for posting your recipe.  So simple. My recipe for granola is Keith's mom's that I've tweaked with over time.

Yogurt - Soulemama

The amount of milk you use will roughly equal the amount of yogurt you make.  If you'd like to make a quart of yogurt, you'll need a quart of milk.  You'll also need some starter yogurt.  You can use the leftovers from the previous week's yogurt or store-bought yogurt that has active bacterial cultures.

In a saucepan, heat your milk to 180 degrees F (I don't have a food thermometer so I heated it until it was just about boiling or scalded.  You then cool the milk down to 110 degrees.  You can do this more quickly by putting the saucepan in a bowl of cold water or in a sink of cold water (be careful not to get any in the saucepan).  When the temperature reaches 110 degrees (or when you can put your finger in the milk comfortably), stir in your yogurt.  Soulemama figures it is 1/4 cup per quart or 2 cups/gallon. You can then ladle the mixture into mason jars (be sure they are very clean). Don't put the lids on yet.  Place your open jars in a cooler and wrap a towel or blanket around it and close the lid of the cooler.  Incubate the yogurt for 7-10 hours at 110 degrees.  When it has thickened, put it in the fridge (it will continue to thicken up a bit).  There are lots and lots of ways to incubate your yogurt (in a gas oven with the pilot light, etc.) check out Soulemama's post for more ideas.  You can eat your yogurt with some honey or maple syrup mixed in - or just plain.

Granola - I sometimes half the recipe depending on what the supply and demand is around here.

8 cups quick oats (not instant)
1 cup wheat germ
1 cup wheat bran
1 cup oat bran
1 cup shredded coconut
chopped or slivered almonds, sunflower seeds, any other nut or seed you'd like to toss in.
2 cups water mixed with 2 cups oil
1/3 cup honey
In a large roasting pan mix together dry ingredients.  Stir in oil mixture and honey until well coated. Bake uncovered in oven at 250 degrees F for 2 hours; stirring every 30 minutes.  Add raisins and leave pan in oven while it is cooling down (this will plump up the raisins).

If you'd prefer, you can use 1/3 cup maple syrup or 2 cups brown sugar instead of honey to sweeten.

Add some fresh or frozen berries and you've got yourself one delicious and nutritious breakfast!

~this moment~

Joining SouleMama and her followers in this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. 

Kitchen and Crafty Goodness

The kitchen at Matthew House has been a busy place even though we haven't been able to house any refugee claimants yet.  I've been trying out some new recipes in hopes of incorporating them into the weekly menues.  A special thanks to all of you who have sent your favourite recipes my way (Diana, that Kickin' Chicken was a big hit with the whole family!).

In addition to mealtime dishes, I decided to try my hand at canning jam and salsa as well.  My dear friend, Heidi, came for a visit and we diced tomatoes and hot peppers until our fingers burned (and kept burning well into the evening).  The jam was a modification of SouleMama's Strawberry Rhubarb Jam.  I say modification because I had roughly twice as many strawberries, the right amount of rhubarb and not nearly enough sugar.  I actually had to re-can it the following day after adding more sugar and pectin.  The salsa I ended up re-canning as well.  It didn't turn out as hot as we thought it would be since we seeded the peppers.  I added some more red tomatoes, some red hot peppers and a few jalapenos (with their seeds) and a bit more of a secret ingredient along with cayenne.  It is apparently very good and hot.  I won't dare taste it, but Keith is quite pleased :)

I've also been on a bread-baking kick which has the family eating a lot more white bread than is healthy.  We ran out of bread the other day and so I whipped up a batch of white bread, since we only had white flour in the house. Yesterday we started into the second loaf so I made another couple of large loaves along with a mini herb and cheese loaf and another cinnamon sugar loaf. Yum.

Raspberry Lemon loaf and Pumpkin loaf have also been churned out in the kitchen along with Sheila's Pudding - my favourite Jamie Oliver recipe.  Seriously, with hot custard it is nirvana.  We went Pumpkin picking on the weekend (material for another post) so next on my baking to-do list is making the Keither his pumpkin pie.

On the craftier side of things - I've had three sweaters, one leg warmer and a pair of mittens come of the needles in the last month (it took much longer to knit the sweaters).  I've also completed the 3 pairs of Christmas Eve pajama bottoms for the kidlets and 5 log cabin squares for my mom's Christmas present.  I'm working on a couple of things for baby shower gifts (both due around Christmas) as well.  There has been a whole lot of crafty-goodness going on here!

In the midst of all of this though, I tend to get focussed and serious and my long-suffering husband gets a bit neglected because he isn't being wrapped up (or put into a reusable, homemade cloth Christmas bag..oh brother, somebody stop me!) and put under a tree in three months.  He is quite understanding about all of this, but occasionally offers me gentle reminders about the importance of putting down the knitting and being silly with him from time to time.  Maybe those cloth Christmas bags can wait until next year. :)

Wooly Readings...Book Review

For all of you knitting mamas out there - here are two fantastic books to help teach your wee ones about where the beautiful wool you knit with comes from.  I really enjoyed both of these books!

Feeding The Sheep

written by: Leda Schbert

pictures by: Andrea U'Ren

Synopsis: "Go from sheep-raising to sweater-making, with a mother and daughter who make a game of all the stages that lie between.  From day to day, season to season, Mom is busy tending the family's small flock of sheep and then harvesting their wool to make yarn: shearing and washing, carding and spinning, dyeing and knitting.  Every step of the way, her little girl is busy, too, questioning, teasing, and imitating.  Filled with colour and coziness, Feeding the Sheep offers young knitters-to-be a fresh, fun look at husbandry and handicraft."

Amos's Sweater

written by: Janet Lunn

pictures by: Kim LaFave

Synopsis: "Amos was old and Amos was cold and Amos was tired of giving away all his wool."  Amos is a sheep who tries very hard to avoid the inevitable shearing of his precious wool.  When he sees his wool knit up into a sweater worn by Uncle Henry, he begins a campaign of violence against it, biting holes in it at every opportunity and even breaking out of the barn to pull it apart. It is an entertaining story that will leave you warm and cozy at the end, just like Amos.

I hope you can find these stories at your local library.  They are well worth the read. 

The Air is Turning

Or so they tell me...I have been waiting out this heat wave, waiting for the bite in the air.  Tomorrow, they say, it will turn.  Tonight they predict a thunder storm.  I've made some caramel corn as a thunder storm treat for the kids.  When Keith was growing up, his mother used to pull the kids out of bed in the night if there was a thunder storm and have them stand at the window to watch.  They all loved it.  What a beautiful memory for them.  I'm hoping to create some similar memories for my kids, be it a thunderstorm snack or a new holiday tradition.

Truthfully, Autumn is my favourite season.  The only thing I don't like about it is that is so short.  I loved the back to school buzz in the air at the start of September.  I love long-sleeves and scarves and hats.  I love roasting root vegetables and harvesting the garden (if only I had one of my own). I love knitting sweaters to keep my wee ones warm, and learning to sew so I can make them each a quilt of their own.  I love the colour of the leaves as they change and the look of the bare branches as they fall. I love the deep breath of Autumn before bracing for Winter.  But for now, it is 37 degrees, I'm making caramel popcorn and waiting for the turn.

August - In a Nutshell

I'm not sure we've ever had a busier month than we have this August. We moved out of our apartment at the end of July and then spent a week with our churchmates at Camp Lutherlyn.  We had such a great time with new friends and perhaps enjoyed it all the more since we knew it was likely the calm before the storm.

We arrived back in Ottawa to find that although our belongings were at Matthew House, the house itself was not quite ready for us to move in and we were still waiting for the occupancy permit to come through.  This left us homeless for the next five nights but afforded us the opportunity to catch a glimpse of what it may be like for the refugee claimants we will soon meet.  Fortunately, we had more than enough offers of accomodation to see us through!

We were in Matthew House for two nights before Keith's sister and future brother-in-law came to visit, as well as an old family friend.  Then, sadly, we had to leave to attend the funeral for Keith's grandma back in Mitchell.  Since we have been back, there has been plenty if unpacking, cleaning, painting (oh so much painting), and settling in.  Of course, since we're hopefully within a month of opening, there have also been meetings and emails and lists and events!

However, in the midst of all of this, I have still managed to make Lucy a blanket, make some construction paper bugs with Isaiah and spend some time at the park, library, early years centre, and Valleyview Small Animal Farm.  I've even made a bit of progress on the two sweaters I'm knitting.

 I'm hopeful that over the next two weeks the kids will adjust to a new routine, Isaiah will regain the ground he's lost with potty-training, and we'll be able to do more of this.

My Kitchen Helper

We've had a busy week in the kitchen!  Packing things up to move has left me in a conundrum.  I like to bake to procrastinate (which is not so good) but I also NEED to bake to use up some of my dry ingredients before the big day.  And so - some days baking wins out over packing.  Here are a few photos of the goodies we've been creating.

Miss Mae's Coffee Crisps from SouleMama

A wee taste :)

And this very yummy Perfect Berry Pie from The Knitty Gritty Homestead.  I actually made this twice this week.  But our apartment was so warm the second time I had to re-roll the pie crust dough a dozen times.

 Above are some homemade granola bars from Rhythm of the Home.  They are made with Almond butter and are chewy and delicious!

 

These caramel bars are my favourite.  The recipe  calls for walnuts, but I typically don't use them if I'm unsure of food allergies.  The recipe is from allrecipes.com

 I wish Lucy was eating in the kitchen in this picture.  It would have been much easier to clean up. 

 Isaiah helping me make the Almond Butter Thumbprint cookies from Childhood Magic!  We used Crab Apple Jelly in the middle.

 

Naturally, this is only one of the small messes that occurred while all of the baking was taking place :)