Bag Refashion: cute fabric is the cure

I've been using this lunch bag for over a year. It comes with me every time I leave the house. It totes water, tea, books, snacks and whatever else the day calls for. It usually comes back with more than we left with: sticks, rocks, flowers, leaves...bugs. For some unexplainable reason whichever bottle I use inevitably leaks tea all over the bottom of the bag. It has been washed and dried so many times but the tea stains remain. 

After the latest washing I noticed not only is it still stained, but it's looking quite ragged and faded from the multiple drying sessions. Lately I found myself Looking at and examining lunch bags when shopping. I feel guilty, I have a perfectly good bag...sure maybe it's ugly but it is completely functional. I secretly wished the dryer had torn it up a bit to justify a purchase. "I'll dye it!", I thought.  One of my tried and true ways to quench my urge for the new is to dye.

I wanted red, I dyed it red. It didn't come out red. It came out a pink that actually looks much better in this photo than it did in real life. I didn't like it, Mama Doll didn't like it. I was so close to buying a new bag. The doll gave me the answer!

She was sitting on my work table next to the bag and it hit me. "I have a bit left of that matryoshka fabric, hmm let's see if there is enough". I made a slip cover of sorts. I had just enough fabric with nesting dolls (and adorable animals) for the front.

There was enough of the small print to cover the rest.

It's so cute!

The new fabric is quite soft, it would not hold up to the wear and tear that the bottom will take. So I left the bottom as is, a nice tough black canvas. Mama Doll agrees, this fabric was the right choice.

Mother's Day thought...

Ten years ago I took my brand new baby and my little girl apple picking. The day is so clear in my memory. Where has the time gone?  The magic of childhood is so fleeting, especially in today's culture. Enjoy every moment with your children and BE PRESENT today! 

"The days are long, but the years are short"--Gretchen Rubin

My Chai- part 1

I always thought I would post about my chai in the fall. During the cooler weather I always have a pot of chai going, and if you visit me you will have some too. But yesterday,  I woke up to a wet, chilly, 41 degree morning. I needed my chai. Like most foods or herbal concoctions that I make I don't  have a recipe written in stone. 

The spices I use are: cinnamon, cardamom, fennel, black pepper and bay leaf. This is the start of my favorite basic chai. 

The amount of spices shown here are for 6-8 cups of water.

Bring it to a boil and continue cooking for 30-60 minutes. If I'm not drinking it right away I'll leave it to steep and reheat later to finish. 

It turns a nice red amber color. The longer is cooks, the deeper it gets. Now, it's time to add the tea and the ginger. I use black or red (rooibos) tea, depending on my mood or the time of day (caffeine). I have also made it with green tea, for a cold chai drink (but I will leave that subject for another day). 

You will lose a cup or two of the water through the cooking process, so adjust your tea amount accordingly. I put the tea in to steep with a couple of tbs of fresh ginger. I use ginger paste. I take an entire ginger root (unpeeled) and Vitamix it.

When the tea is done steeping, strain everything out and add sweetener, vanilla or milk if you like. It already has a degree of sweetness from the cinnamon, but I like the extra flavor of coconut sugar. 

Yesterday, as I said, was such a dreary day. It took more than just my chai to take the chill out and brighten things up. I used my happiest cup and made a strawberry crumble with oats, coconut sugar, ww flour and butter. Yum!

My daughters didn't know what I was cooking up for tea time. The small one started jumping around and laughing when I showed them the strawberry crumble. "What's so funny?", I asked. 

Apparently, while I was busy making strawberry crumble, she was busy making a felt strawberry. 

Our life is chock full of these little moments of synchronicity.

Synchronicity: The experience of two or more events as meaningfully related, where they are unlikely to be causally related. The subject sees it as a meaningful coincidence.

Easter

Through all the fogs through

all earth's wintry skies

I scent the spring, I feel

the eternal air

Warm soft & dewy, filled with

flowery eyes

And gentle murmuring motions

everywhere

Of life in bird & tree & brook

and moss-

Thy breath wakes beauty, faith &

bliss & prayer

And strength to hang with nails

upon Thy Cross.

-Lilias Trotter (from A Passion for the Impossible)

*the photo: We were at The NY Botanical Garden. My daughter inched closer and closer to a little brown rabbit who just stood there for the longest time nibbling on a plant. He seemed oblivious to us. He was straight out of a Beatrix Potter story, all that was missing was his little blue jacket.

tree hugging & new things

My husband wanted to go looking for drift wood to decorate the bathroom with. I took my new things along. My newest book has arrived (Herbal Antibiotics) and I couldn't wait to dive right into it. I brought the new project I am currently knitting. I carried these things over large rocks, over thousands of oyster shells, and under low tree branches and I didn't even use them. Instead I collected lots of pretty shells and stared at The Hudson River, which was extra sparkly. 

At least I did use my new Libre tea glass. I picked up this nifty gadget a couple of weeks ago at the NYC Tea and Coffee Festival. It's a pretty nice thing to have if you are particular about your tea. I like to keep my tea tasting like tea, just tea. I can always taste the plastic or metal that containers are made of.  The Libre has a glass interior which doesn't taint the tea. It has a tea infuser top for loose tea, you flip the bottle upside down to brew. The only drawback is that the tea doesn't stay hot for long. 

My child found yet another stick/tree branch that needed to come home with us. 

My husband found one too, a gorgeous red branch.

Husband and daughter contemplated how they could fit it into the car.
I looks like we'll be going back...with a saw.
I hope wherever you are that you can find the beauty that was put there just for you.

Spring, Knitting and Frogs

My daughter has been knitting for around six years, the exact amount of time I have been knitting. She wanted to learn, so I learned so I could teach her. It all started with this book. Although she knits and crochets quite a bit, she never used patterns...until this hood.

 She usually gets an idea of what she wants and just goes to it.  She wanted a fox, so she made this. She doesn't plan it out. She just starts crocheting and as she says, "feels" what to do.

 I can do that with food and fabric, but not with yarn. 

Over the years I have suggested that she learn to read and follow a pattern. She never wanted to.  No need, no interest, why do it? Until the book Woodland Knits arrived. She flipped through it and saw this hood.

 "I'm going to make this hood in green.", she said. 

She ordered the yarn, bought double pointed needles and the circular set that it needed and knocked it out in a couple of days. First time on DPNs and circular. She also altered it, "I didn't want it so long, so I shortened it and added a tassel." Oh, first time for a tassel too. 

When the interest is there, learning is comes naturally and is self motivated.

Today we caught our first frog (and a few crayfish as well).

So for me, it's officially Spring!

Listen to the frog. Yep- he says, "It's definitely spring. Now put me down."

Is it spring yet?

Finally something is poking up through the frozen ground. It's skunk cabbage. For me skunk cabbage does not evoke spring tea parties and bunnies. But, that's all we have here...so far. 

My daughters think it's spring though. When the temperature reached a sunny 56 degrees they shed their coats and had a jolly time.

I walked around collecting acorn caps clutching a delicious (very dark) hot chocolate in my gloved hand. Spring? No, I don't think so.