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All in the Family

Funny, funny, funny....

 

Scrunching ; scrunchied

The satisfaction that comes from taking a piece of cloth and crumpling it up and then holding it (a handkerchief ) or hugging it  (a shawl) or snuggling under it  (a blanket) or looking at it (an afghan)  led me to wonder if I could translate this feeling into clothing.  I'd need to stabalize the scrunch.

A length of linen.....

... crumple and stitch on the machine with a long running stitch ....  random direction ...... back and forth, round and back and round .....  letting the fabric dictate ....... 

Here it is at the start.....

And now a scarf.  I wasn't sure it was finished - it was fun and rhythmical to "crumple and stitch....crumple and stitch" - I could have continued, but I stopped sewing and wore it on the daily jaunt.  I liked the feel and the drape, the ruff on back of neck that gave protection from the sun,  the 'scrunchied' aspect.  It is finished.  The edges are left free to fray and travel as they will.

Next I took another piece of linen,  this one the colour of the crocus in the garden.....

.... wet it,  scrunched it width-wise and then length-wise,  secured it with elastic bands and let it sit for  a number of hours to set the creases.  Then I took off the elastics and let it dry in its crumpled state.

Here is how it looked dried and unfolded.

Then - time at the sewing machine with more scrunch and stitch,  scrunch and stitch, scrunch and stitch - letting the set creases have their say.

Again, as in the above one,  becoming more intense at both ends with some notion of an anchor to the drape and flow.

I am 'scrunchied'!

A sprig of forsythia would look nice peeping out from one of those folds.

 

'Warm' smoothies

This is a PS to Meal in a Drink.

We tend to  think of smoothies as cold and dessert'ish.

 Many years ago I was inspired by the promotion for a blender with stainless steel container that offered Meals in a Drink using the option of hot water/broth as the liquid whirring in vegetables and a slice of whole wheat bread; for me this has evolved into a 'warm' smoothie.

 The variations of a healthy, satisfying 'meal in a drink'  are endless;  here is one sample.  In a glass or plastic blender container - milk, canned pineapple with some of the juice, scoop of raw oatmeal, scoop of raisins,  handful of cole slaw,  1/2 cup of frozen blueberries,  1/2 cup of frozen mixed vegetables (carrots/cauliflower/broccoli).

I use the frozen fruit and veggies because this is convenient and ages ago I began to feel that fresh/flash frozen fruit and veggies would have good nutrition, a fact that is now supported in recent studies and books (The End of Illness, for one).  I have used them in their frozen state in the smoothie and this results in a slurpie, more or less, and is refreshing.  I also discovered that cold foods can cause digestive upsets - so-  began to experiment with running hot water over the frozen blueberries and veggies before adding to the smoothie - which resulted in the 'warm' aspect.  You can also vary the density of the smoothie depending on how much you blend it from chop to liquefy and use a spoon, sipping, or a straw - which tends to change the eating experience.  It's worthwhile to 'play' with food!  

Body Friendly Bread: Irish Soda

This is another Edna Staebler recipe (like the Surprise Carrot  Muffins)  that I tweaked to eliminate refined carbs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This time I used all whole wheat flour; in the past I have used part rye flour;  whirred raw oats in the blender to get an oat flour and used it.  It's fun to experiment.

I use butter instead of margarine;  grating frig-hard butter right into the flour takes care of the "rub in..." step.

This is a wonderfully tasty bread, quick to make, slices freeze well and taste fresh baked when heated in the toaster oven.

The only time I ever had a problem with it was when I invited an Irish gentleman to tea, an Irish gent who loved Irish soda bread and expressed delight at being served it .  When I sliced it - it was soggy in the middle .  Laughter did save the day - but I was embarrassed.

Crows

To watch a crow snowboarding click here.  I was alerted to this video by the crows.net  site which is interactive, informative and  most worthwhile.  I am so pleased that I now know about it.

Several years ago I posted Earth and Sky about birds which included a description of a crow playing.  At that time I did not have the means to share a photograph.   

I now can take pictures.  You can read about him here in Dialogue with a Crow