The flu:
: fevers
: running eyes and noses
: cuddly toddlers, cranky infants
: lots of movies
: hours of Ergo
That about sums up my life for this past week and a half.
(I’m hoping next week’s update will be summed up in the word “sleep”… but that seems a bit improbable, eh?)
…because you should. What a time-saver!
That said, if you subscribe to my blog’s feed, do me a favor and click through. My husband gave me a little make-over, and I think it’s pretty snazzy.
Don’t you?
What to do when there’s no more granola (and no oats to make any), no cereal, no eggs, no… nothing?
Make Cornmeal Mush, of course! This is my absolute favorite hot cereal. (Okay; it’s the only hot cereal I like!)
From More With Less: (would there be breakfast without More With Less?)
Bring to boil in a saucepan:
Combine and stir in:
Stir constantly as mush thickens. A wire whisk works well. Cook 30 minutes, covered, on low. Serve with a [generous] pat of butter, a drizzle of maple syrup, and milk.
This is one of the books we have most enjoyed reading this winter. We had it from the library for the maximum 9 weeks, and now have moved on — although I’m tempted to get it again this next time around. Jameson loves it because it’s about snow and snowmen, mittens and scarves, fireplaces and pancakes.
I love it because the illustrations are unique. I’m pretty sure you can almost feel the waxiness of colored pencils. And you can definitely feel the cold of November when you turn to the first page of gray skies and migrating geese.
I also love it because it’s one of those one-word-a-page, Mom-makes-the-story-as-long-as-she-wants kinds of books. ;)
*****
I’m also enjoying Patricia Polacco. We’ve worked our way up from simpler books — like Oh Look and Mommies Say Shh to some of her longer story books, like The Bee Tree. (Jameson is suddenly super-excited about having honey on his toast!) Yesterday we read Just Plain Fancy, and then [for a really long time] watched videos of chicks hatching on youtube. (Aside: Isn’t youtube amazing? I mean, really. We watched chicks hatch, roosters crow, giraffes give birth, and lions roar, all on youtube yesterday.)
Her illustrations are incredibly enjoyable — colorful, silly, detailed, and imaginative.
*****
What books are you enjoying?
William’s quilt, which was started in November, finally was completed on Friday. The piecing and quilting was all done before I headed to New York — and good thing, because William doesn’t sleep the day away anymore. I can’t imagine getting a quilt started now. In the 6 weeks since I’ve been home, I managed to turn a yard of fabric into bias tape (thank you, Amy Karol), and affix that binding in a much more polished way than I did with Jameson’s quilt. Yes, that meant hours of hand sewing, but I didn’t mind. Sitting in the evening with my basket of scissors, needle, and thread is a luxury I enjoy. (Probably because it doesn’t happen more than once a week, thank you William!)
This quilt project was fun. I’m certainly not an accomplished seamstress, and definitely a clueless quilter. But one thing I’ve enjoyed about the new wave of craft enthusiasm is the “express yourself” that’s at the core. In other words, know enough rules to not be frustrated, but don’t be worried if you don’t know them all. Have fun.
So William’s quilt is certainly one of a kind. It’s wonky, yes. I’m sure there are a million things a true quilter would cringe over. But it’s also just what I wanted: a larger pattern than Jameson’s in the interest of saving time (do you know how long it took to piece Jameson’s 1.5 inch squares???), odd-shaped squares, white space, a bit of log cabin, and a cool striped binding that I made myself. And colors that compelled me to get the quilt done in the first place.
All on the cheap.
And all wrapped around one of the sweetest, happiest, smooshiest, loviest babies ever. Yes. I love him.
*****
I told Jameson I was going to take pictures of his projects because his nanas would be so proud.
He has greatly enjoyed gluing and coloring and playing with cotton balls. And I certainly enjoy it more than, say, mopping the floor. (Which I finally did today.)
He’s extremely proud of these. Our landlady was here several days after the snowman was made, and first thing, he proudly brought her to our fridge and showed her his ” ‘Now!” (snow.)
So here they are, the work of a true (first child) genius:
