Beautiful!

This is so pretty!

Mock Apple Butter (aka - what to do with all that zucchini!)

A friend from church shared this recipe with me. Our garden is spitting out zucchini faster than I can work with, and a triple batch of this used up about 5 or 6 of them.  It's so delicious, and REALLY does taste like apple butter! It will  be great on toast or waffles.

Mock Apple Butter

Ingredients:

4 cups zucchini puree

4 Tbsp. vinegar

1 tsp. lemon juice

2 cups sugar (I used half dark brown and half white)

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. allspice

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

Peel and seed zucchini. Chop coarsely and run through a blender or food processor along with vinegar until smooth. In a sauce pan combine puree with remaining ingredients and cook, stirring occasionally until desired thickness.

Cool and refrigerate or can while hot in hot water bath canner. (I looked up timing for canning and it seems to be 15-20 minutes. I am doing 20 minutes to be safe, in pint jars) 

Density test

Ours consisted of 4 liquids: light corn syrup (sunk to the bottom), dish soap, water dyed red, and the vegetable oil settled on the top! Pretty neat! I was babysitting when we did this, and couldn't remember all of the layers, but it still made the point.

The following information is from: http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/seven-layer-density-column

How does it work?

The same amount of two different liquids will have different weights because they have different masses. The liquids that weigh more (have a higher density) will sink below the liquids that weigh less (have a lower density).

Material	Density
Rubbing Alcohol	.79
Lamp Oil	.80
Baby Oil	.83
Vegetable Oil	.92
Ice Cube	.92
Water	1.00
Milk	1.03
Dawn Dish Soap	1.06
Light Corn Syrup	1.33
Maple Syrup	1.37
Honey	1.42

To test this, you might want to set up a scale and measure each of the liquids that you poured into your column. Make sure that you measure the weights of equal portions of each liquid. You should find that the weights of the liquids correspond to each different layer of liquid. For example, the honey will weigh more than the Karo syrup. By weighing these liquids, you will find that density and weight are closely related.

** NOTE: The numbers in the table are based on data from manufacturers for each item. Since each manufacturer has its secret formula, the densities may vary from brand to brand. You’ll notice that according to the number, rubbing alcohol should float on top of the lamp oil, but we know from our experiment that the lamp oil is the top layer. Chemically speaking, lamp oil is nothing more than refined kerosene with coloring and fragrance added. Does every brand of lamp oil exhibit the same characteristics? Sounds like the foundation of a great science fair project.

The table shows the densities of the liquids used in the column as well as other common liquids (measured in g/cm³ or g/mL).

Density is basically how much "stuff" is smashed into a particular area... or a comparison between an object's mass and volume. Remember the all-important equation: Density = Mass divided by Volume. Based on this equation, if the weight (or mass) of something increases but the volume stays the same, the density has to go up. Likewise, if the mass decreases but the volume stays the same, the density has to go down. Lighter liquids (like water or rubbing alcohol) are less dense than heavy liquids (like honey or Karo syrup) and so float on top of the more dense layers.

Marshmallow towers

Today we made marshmallow towers with mini marshmallows and tooth picks! Great activity for a day that is too cold to go outside.

This was right before it tipped over... haha

I don't know why these photos are smaller. Here is J with his marshmallow structures!

An Apron for Andrea

My sister Andrea loves the chickens. So when I was looking for the right fabric to make an apron for her for Christmas, and I found this, I knew it was perfect!

I don't know what the blur is about on this one? Smudgy lens?

She was messing with the settings on iphoto. Looks cool!

And just one more, for fun...

As she said, "....nothing happened......." :-)

Today has been a wonderful day!

I laid in bed until 8:00 (I wasn't sleeping, just enjoying the quiet, and the opportunity to lay there). After having devotions, I finished reading a wonderful book I got for Christmas "Kisses From Katie". It's about a missionary in Uganda - very inspiring! She is so young and so wise. It makes me excited to be a missionary. I drank lots of hazelnut coffee while I read... so cozy!

The day was so bright, the sun shining, the weather warm. I ate lunch around 11:00 (since I never really ate breakfast), then I went for a 3 and 3/4 mile walk/run. How refreshing! I love running and walking and spending that time talking to God.

When I returned home I got a load of laundry going, cleaned the cat litter box, swept the basement steps, mopped the kitchen floor, scrubbed down the kitchen cupboards, and had a refreshing shower (with new shower gel I got for Christmas, followed by new lotion!). Around 3:00 my sister came over with her 4.5 children, and at 3:30 our good friend (from miles away) arrived. She just left at 10:00 p.m. We enjoyed talking and talking and drinking tea and talking. Mom made baked chicken and salad and I made twice baked potatoes for dinner. My sister Andrea made her special chocolate cake with chocolate frosting for dessert.

I feel so refreshed. What a good day! Thank you Lord!

A Christmas Tea Party!

My dear freind, Aunt Pam, and I decided to plan a tea party this past year (2011). It kept getting pushed back, due to more important things filling up our time. Finally we decided a Christmas Tea was just the thing, and so we did it!:-)

The tables were just beautiful. It looked like a real tea room!

We used green plastic table cloths and covered them with beautiful lace plastic cloths.

We used fake candles (the little battery tea lights) due to some people who have allergies. It looked so lovely in the goblets borrowed from my sister's stash (we borrowed ALLOT from her!). Aunt Pam and Uncle Bob bought enough tea cups for each table to have their own pattern. Then we used various cream and sugar sets. At each place setting we had a plate, fork, spoon, and knife, cloth napkin, a little tartlet tin to put the used tea bags, and for favors we had sparkly snow flake ornaments and magnetic bookmarks.

Also at each table we had a dish with home made peppermints and truffles. There was a glass dish (as you can see in the photo) with 3 glass cups filled with lemon or lime curd, strawberry jam, and clotted cream (for the scones), honey (for the tea), and a tea cup with beads and string so the ladies and girls could make themselves a bracelet while they chatted.

Our two dear waiters served tea to the ladies off these wooden carts, and had trays of tea sandwiches and delicacies underneath.

We served these star shaped egg salad sandwiches, and round cucumber cream cheese sandwiches. They were made on wheat, white, and rye breads. The rye was a big hit!

These next two aren't very clear, but we had a lovely table set up with all of the desserts and foods displayed. The ladies were instructed to choose their flavor of tea bag off of this table before sitting down.

We had scones, pumpkin spice roll, tea sandwiches, jam tart cookies, mini cheese cakes, and cream wafers (as well as the truffles and peppermints). Everyone really enjoyed the food!

My mom and sisters were all there. Here is my oldest sister with 3 of her children (her 4 year old got to spend some daddy - son time:-) ).

My 6 year old niece had been looking forward to this tea party with much excitement! It was her first "real tea party" to attend, and she couldn't wait! She kept saying, "I just keep imagining what it will look like!"

At the tea party I asked her if it was what she imagined. "No," she said, "It is even better!"

It was so worth doing just for her:-)

My 3 year old niece felt very grown up drinking from a real tea cup. My sister made these darling jumpers and head bands for the girls and their dollies:-)

All of the little girls were instructed to bring their favorite doll or stuffed animal for the "Doll's Tea". I am quite sure the dolls enjoyed themselves:-)

Myself and Aunt Pam - The Hostesses!

I was up until 2 a.m. the night before, and I think Aunt Pam only got a couple of hours of sleep.

But everyone had such a good time, so it was certainly worth it!

Reading

Reading to my nieces and nephews and cous

ins.

I love these kids:-)

Davey Crocket play

For Christmas I made my four-year-old nephew brown pants and a fringed vest, a sling shot, and bought a coon skin hat. Now he can be a little Davey Crocket or Daniel Boon:-) Here he is posed in his new get up, and showing off the gun daddy bought for him and his siblings to share as a Christmas gift!

Here's the rest of the kids (minus baby brother), excited with their new non-toy! (They will be getting lessons from Daddy how to use this, and will not be left unsupervised. Just so you know.)

Don't you love my little 3-year old niece's tutu?!:-)