(these [Nine] Moments)

Where have I been? Working, Learning, Playing, Cooking, Teaching, Cleaning, Sharing, and sooo much more.

 I apologize for my lengthened absence. So here is a little bit of Thursday for Friday.

We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.  ~Thornton Wilder

 We had an excellent Thanksgiving Holiday in the rainy but beautifully green Pacific Northwest. Portland to be exact. Grandma and Grandpa (Jenn's parents) hosted a great family gathering and we ate and laughed and played and had sooo much fun that our cameras rarely came out (a blessing and a curse). Here is Avi playing with one of Grandma's awesome toys!!

 One disadvantage to traveling by plane at thanksgiving is that we don't get sent home with any leftovers. But our friend/neighbor Allie made a 28 pound turkey and shared some of lots of her leftovers. Avi and I got to work and made (for my first time) gluten free egg noodles for our turkey noodle soup. 

 It was okay. The noodles turned out pretty good for a rushed first time. But I used a few different recipes from the web and it was under seasoned. I froze the leftovers so I will add more seasonings before we eat the next batch. The cute part was watching Jenn get seconds and thirds the whole time saying how under seasoned it was. And she was probably on her thirds when she realized that when I said the gluten free noodles were homemade - that meant Avi and I made them. :)

 I have been struggling to balance it all. And even though my bedtime has been uber late in the past several months, I still wake up early. UGH. But I do get to see magical mornings like this! 

 Avi and his/our friend Ella playing together. We hadn't seen Ella and her parents in sooo long that Avi said he wanted to "go on the Ella plane".  It broke my heart and made me smile all at the same time - what else could be the reason we haven't seen her except that she must have moved so far away, we'd need to fly on a plane, he reasoned. (Less than five miles to be exact). Making this play-date happen (and later dinner with her mama too) was sooo much sweeter than this photo could capture. 

 I am in love with my growing boy. His language continues to grow and amaze me. "I think.... shall we go feed the goats?" When the goats didn't come to his calls, "Come here goats. It's me, Avi" (a rarity, they always come), he decided to pocket the bait. 

 If one flies often and looks closely, they might recognize that this photo was taken on an airplane. But I wasn't traveling back from Portland. This flight took me to Salt Lake City, Utah for a Training/Class through the VRS Interpreting Institute. I flew out (alone) on a Thursday and came home that Sunday. The longest trip I've had away from Avi thus far. It was bittersweet! Freedom and heartache all at once. (Yes, that is a Vodka Soda I'm drinking)

 On Saturday, after being in training all day, a handful of us took the train into Temple Square to see the lights. I had forgotten that saying, "When in Rome..." as I asked the hostess of a restaurant on the roof of the Joseph Smith Memorial building if they had a bar. 

 But the training was amazing. I came away from it with a whole huge heap of ideas to use in my class, a new found desire to get my Ph.D., and a gaggle of amazing interpreter educators from across the country that I can now call colleagues and friends...including the amazing Sharon Neumann Solow (above).

Coming home was such sweetness. My boy seemed changed. His face, his voice different. Taller. And when I arrived he said, "Ema, you all done with Salt Lake City!" Here he is helping me with dinner. Messy but worth it!

I want to apologize in advance for any future absences that might occur. I'm winding down my semester (read: lots of grading) and trying my best to sit down at the sewing machine to finish (and start) some holiday gifts. Chanukkah begins at sundown this saturday. I'm not ready for the holidays. It was 75 degrees here on Wednesday. Where is the snow? Where has the time gone? On December 25th, Avi will be 2 & 1/2. Where has the time gone? 

I will post as I can... and know that I'm missing reading all your posts as well. I hope to be catching up soon!

Sun Catcher

Avi and I made a sun catcher, inspired by Amanda Soule's book: The Rhythm of Family: Discovering a Sense of Wonder through the Seasons.  Avi is fascinated with ice these days, "I-C-E" he fingerspells (but really it is something like "A-F-snap fingers-A") while he says "ICE".  He really loves to eat it. (read: teething). But this was a super easy craft to do with him and the cold temps helped!  It hung from a tree in the yard for at least four days before the ice began melted enough that the ribbon it was hanging from let loose.  Next time I think I will just tie it around the outside instead of freezing it inside the ice.   

Second layer frozen.

Avi "testing" the third layer. 

upcycled sleevy pants

Back in September, I was inspired to create some upcycled pants for Avi out of old shirts.  I saw some at a craft fair and knew I could do it too.  Many of the tutorials online are elaborate with patterns and so forth, but I found a few how-to's that were more my (whip it up and see how it turns out) style. See indietutes or rispok for easy tutorials.  Below are some shots of three pairs I made, from summer to winter!

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The first is this blue pair made from a polo type shirt.

Cut off sleeves

My kind of pattern -- use a pair of something you already have!

A few runs through the sewing machine.

Volia!

Avi modeling them while helping me hang the laundry. 

There is even room in there for his gigantic cloth diaper.

I had to include this one of his t-shirt from Tiny Revolution... can you read it?

"Double the Mommies, Double the Love."

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The second pair were made from a 3/4 length sleeve knit sweater that I wore a ton while I was pregnant. It was an XL and too big for me postpartum.

These are great pj pants

Built in stretch.

How Avi has grown in just 3 months, these now fit like capris on him. 

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The third pair were made from a wool sweater that I felted.  I think Diane has a nice explanation on how to felt sweaters on her blog. 

Green Wool Snow Pants

Yesterday, Avi wore them in the snow and I am LOVING them.  We have a snowsuit from last year that is too small if he wants to walk or lift his arms and we haven't gotten him any snow pants yet for this year.  So in the meantime, with these frigid days, on went the wool pants as snow pants.  They went easily over his cubby legs, a pair of babylegs leg warmers, and some loose cotton pants and kept him warm and DRY!!  

Rear view. 

Even a tumble is no problem.

 Snow caked outside, dry and warm inside.

 Everyone should be able to sit in the snow and be so warm.

Our afternoon exploration in 27 degree temps was a success!

 Special thanks to my sweetest model.

Apples - 3 ways...

At the Farmer's Market, we brought home a box of apples for baking. 

I started out peeling, coring, and slicing with my handy apple peeler, corer, slicer to freeze the apples.  While I was in process, Jenn decided she'd like a crisp.  

Gluten Free Apple Crisp: (please see a better GF apple crisp here)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Grease 8x8 baking dish 

• Fill baking dish half way with sliced apples (some people prefer to leave the skin on) and set aside

To make the crumble, stir in a large bowl until moistened:

• 1/2 C gluten free rolled oats (we use Bob's Red Mill)
• 2-3 T vanilla rice milk (or soy or almond or whatever you have)
• set aside for 10 minutes

Add to oats:

• 1/2 C gluten free baking mix (Namaste pancake or muffin mix or rice flour will do in a pinch)
• 1/2 C light brown sugar
• 1 t ground cinnamon

Stir to mix

• Add dabs of 3-4 T butter

Rub oat/flour mix into butter with fingers until crumbly and moist. Add more rice milk if needed. Evenly spread crumble over the apples.  Bake 30-40 minutes until golden brown and apples are tender but not mushy. Enjoy hot with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on top!

Cinnamon and Sugar Peels:

I had a bunch of peelings and cores left over. I could have composted them, but they were calling to me to do more.  So I did an internet search to try to find ideas for using the peels and cores in clever ways.  

I found a suggestion for the peels. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar and bake for a tasty treat. Which I did. I was tired and didn't bake them long enough, but they are still delicious.  I would suggest the lowest heat possible, and crack open your oven while baking.  Check them after 45 minutes, and continue to check after that until dried to your desire. A great snack for on the go... or added to your favorite GORP.


DIY Apple Cider Vinegar

But what to do with the cores? Do it yourself Apple cider vinegar!!! 

I put the cores and any leftover peels into a wide mouth jar.

Fill with water and cover with cheesecloth or towel.  Then store in a warm, dark place.  I marked the jar with the date and in 30-60 days, voila, DIY Organic Apple Cider Vinegar.  I will keep you posted on how it comes out!

And, I still have half of a box of apples to work with.  It's gonna be a pie, crisp, yummy winter.  

apples

Our two young apple trees have given us a few apples.... enough for a winter's pie.  

I love to bake with apples but the tedious effort of peeling, coring, and slicing prevented me from doing it more often. I recently came across the best kitchen gadget ever. Now with this apple corer, peeler, slicer... it takes seconds to do one and a few minutes to do several! I LOVE this gadget. And it was only $20. In fact, I'm planning to seek out as many apples as possible to core, peel, slice and store for winter.  Apple pie, apple crisp, apple torte, apple cobbler, apple crumble!!!

Mount apple through the core and turn handle

Peel, slice, and core in one step

Remove apple and all that's left is the core

Beautiful enough for ornaments?

I only used a knife to make this cut

Voila! 

I soaked the apples in salt water while I finished the rest

Even the 'mess' is beautiful!

I froze this first batch of apples.  Can't wait to harvest the last few on our trees.  Anyone close by have some trees I can come pick on?? I'm hooked.