..sick..tired..

the end.

humoring the grandparents :: snapshots of the tot

:: rain gear ::

:: medusa? ::


:: rehearsal ::

:: awe ::

:: bliss ::

:: eye spy ::

you'd think i have too much time on my hands.

Yes my friends, that would be a homemade marshmallow in the shape of a wonky acorn. (cause I'm sure that was your first guess, right?) Yes... it's the sort of thing you decide to tackle after making promises to your child (the same child that has the memory of an elephant) while distracted by some incredible photostreams on flickr...oops...

After a quick google search I decided on this recipe because it's the only one that didn't require a candy thermometer. (I believe candy thermometers are evil stress inducing devices and avoid them at almost any cost...)


I decided to forgo the corn syrup and ended up substituting it for brown rice syrup. I combined that with the sugar and water and let it come to a boil on the stove while the gelatin and water mingled in the mixer. The tot was ever so helpful in giving me the moment by moment "bubble status" updates.

When the syrup had "boiled hard" for one minute, we poured it into the mixer, added the salt, and started beating the mixture on high.

You'll have some time to kill (approximately 12 minutes.) It's a good time to break for smooches and silly faces.

Once the mixture had developed into fluff, we added our vanilla extract, gave the mixture another minute in the mixer to combine it all, and then scooped it out onto a baking dish that had been covered with plastic wrap and lightly oiled. We covered the top with an oiled layer of plastic wrap as well to seal out the air. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP! If you do, all of your previous work will have been in vein. Let the glob of syrup and gelatin set up for a few hours. Once it has, you can either take the whole thing out and cut it up into squares, or you can do what we did and use little cookie cutters to stamp out various shapes. We chose leaves and acorns in the spirit of the season. In a separate bowl, we mixed together equal parts of cornstarch and powdered sugar and then individually powder the marshmallows. And.....

Voilà!

mmmmmmmm.......

...ten things making me smile...

..1.. a recipe for the perfect halloween

you'll need:

-warm soup
-hot bread
-good beer
-glowing squash
-candy, to taste
-a smoky fire
-good conversation
-and of course silly, excited children

combine and simmer.

..2.. our president-elect. i am honored to have to voted in this historic election. to all the women who went before me, who fought for my rights and my voice, i thank you. to all the civil rights workers who labored, toiled, and died to make this day possible, i am humbled by my small participation. the gravity of this moment is not lost on me.

..3.. birthday love. thank you to all who made my day so special!




..4.. some of my new favorite goodies found here and here and here.

..5.. my first go at making a scarecrow. the tot named him "farmer zuckerman" from charlottes web. :)



..6.. general tao's tofu. mmmmmmmmm.... we substituted the tofu for morning star chik'n (the h was a little scared of the hard stuff) and it was great!

the tot was determined to use chopsticks. let's hear it for ingenuity!



..7.. one of my very favorite sites...




..8.. the gift of stillness. (thank you once again jen!)

..9.. the gift of inspiration.



..10.. a justified fire...

....P..S..A....

Brilliant artwork by Nikki McClure. You can purchase some of her work here.

Find your polling place, and go VOTE!

small things...

One of my very favorite bloggers and huge source of daily inspiration, Soule Mama, has launched a new project combining three of my most favorite topics:

-mamahood
-craft
-and social justice

Mama to Mama is "A website, gathering place and hopefully source of inspiration and action." The first bit of action is for a Maine-based partnership, Konbit Sante. They are assembling safe birthing kits for the women of Haiti (find some statistics on Haitian health care here.) and all you crafty mamas out there can be a part! The request is for handmade, newborn baby caps. Soule Mama has included a simple pattern in this post to help get you started.

I am constantly amazed that it's the relatively small things we do, that ultimately speak volumes. Mother Theresa is quoted as saying, "What I do you cannot do; but what you do, I cannot do. The needs are great, and none of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can all do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful.”


Deadline for submissions is December 10th, 2008.