Category: Learning new things!

Camp bag

I made a bag for camp. I made 90% of the bag. I like sowing. The bag is pink and the inside is tan with flowres.  It is BIG. And I do not now wot I am going to pot in it. Thar is 5 pokits. Thar is a snap to snap it.

Are nabr shoed us a bag liek it . I liket it so she gave us the patrn. Oma gave me the inside. And I pikt out the mutereol and Momma bot it.

It was ese! But, it lookt hard. It took 2 days to sow.

 

Translation if you need it:

I made a bag for camp.  I made 90 % of the bag.  I like sewing.  The bag is pink and the inside is tan with flowers.  It is BIG.  And I do not know what I am going to put in it.  There is 5 pockets.  There is a snap to snap it.

Our neighbor showed us a bag like it (she made for her daughters).  I liked it, so she gave us the pattern.  Oma gave me the inside (material).  And I picked out the (pink outside) material and Momma bought it.

It was easy! But it looked hard. It took two days to sew.

Homemade Honey

We went to a class on Wild Edibles. We learned how to make honey out of clovers! It was good 🙂 You can eat the clovers but make sure they do not have poison on them.

  • 80 white clover blossoms (not the green part)
  • 40 red clover blossoms (not the green part)
  • Petals from 5 wild roses
  • 10 cups sugar
  • 3 cups water
  • 1/2 tsp powdered alum

Boil the sugar, water and alum together for 5 minutes.  Pour over flowers and allow to stand 5 minutes. Strain into sterile canning jars and seal tightly.  Can be stored for years.

Eat with spoon and enjoy!

New Jump Rope Trick

Momma showed us how to do something new with jump roping. It is when more than one person goes in and jumps. It is more challenging.

This is a picture of when we were just learning!

Momma wants us to learn how to jump in while someone else is jumping too! Then she said we can learn how to get out of the jump rope.  It sounds fun!

We are learning some rhymes to jump with.  What jump rope rhymes did you use?

Helping Shear Alpacas

Last Thursday, we helped the neighbors do alpaca shearing. There was a plastic sheet we put under the alpacas. When the good stuff is cut off, it falls on the sheet and two people take it and wrap it up. Then two people take a plastic bag and pick up the other good parts (the seconds).

We threw away the small bad pieces because they are not good for anything. Seconds are good for rugs. The best part they cut first, they give it to some people to make yarn.

We swept up the pieces for the next alpaca’s turn. They did white, brown and then black.  I don’t know why they did it in that order.

My job was helping with the plastic and sweeping up before the next alpaca. I also brought one of the black alpacas out. It was ornery! I also helped Audrey label all the bags so we knew who the fiber was from.

I did not like the first one, Alaska, because she was crying all the time. The other nine did not cry, but Mark said they were moaning.  When they held their ears, it looked like they were being mean to the alpacas, but they were not. The alpacas got sheared so they did not get so hot this summer.  But now they look funny!

The picture of the sheared white one is Sunshine. The fluffy brown one on top, is Chewbacca.

Mango Lassi

Today I made some Mango Lassi. We had mangos and I love Mango Lassi. Here is how to make it.

  • 3 mangos
  • 2 cups yogurt
  • 1/4 cup sugar (or to taste)
  • 8 ice cubes (you can use up to 4 cups if you want)
  • 1/4 c + 2 Tbl milk
  • Cardamom

Blend until smooth.  Momma said if you like it thinner, add more milk or even some orange juice. She said you can use honey instead of sugar too.  Sometimes we make it with lots of ice.

Add extra cardamom, pour into nice glasses and enjoy!

Jump Rope

We are learning how to jump rope!

Audrey and I got a jump rope for Easter. It is hard to learn, because Momma wants us to run in and then jump.  It is hard to do because we have not done it before. I am better from the first time though.

It is going to be a fun thing to do over the summer.  Momma is going to teach us some jump rope rhymes too!

Baking with Auntie Kristi

When we were with Auntie Kristi, I helped her bake several things. I helped her make a dessert and macaroni noodles.

The dessert was kind of hard because it had a super thin layer of crust. Then we put some whipped topping/ cream cheese mixture on and we were trying not to break the crust. We put some chocolate pudding on and then put it in the refrigerator. Then we added cream whip.

I did not taste this one, but it looked good!

The macaroni and cheese was easy! We put some uncooked noodles in a casserole dish. Then some milk and butter and salt and pepper. Then we added cheddar cheese to the top. We mixed it a little bit. Then we put it in the oven and baked it a long time! I think it was an hour and a half.

It tasted very good, but it was gone before everyone was full. We made some regular noodles too and they were gone before everyone was full. So Uncle Dave made some Mexican grilled cheese (I forgot their name).

I had fun!

Greek Honey Cookies –Melomakarona

When Momma and Daddy lived in Swaziland, they had a Greek friend named Auntie Lefkia. She gave Momma this recipe. Greeks usually have fruit for dessert. They have treats with company with coffee (or tea?).

Honey Cookies–Melomakarona

Makes about 40 biscuits

  • 1 stick butter
  • 2 tsp grated lemon rind
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup oil (we used coconut)
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 cup self raising flour (we put 1 1/4 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt on the bottom of the cup and added flour to fill the cup)
  • 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
  • 2/3 cups orange juice
  • 1 cup honey
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 Tbl chopped walnuts extra
  • 2 tsp sesame seeds (we omitted because we did not have any)

Cream butter, lemon rind and sugar in a small bowl until well combined. Gradually beat in oil until light and fluffy.

Stir in sifted flours, nuts and juice in 2 batches, mix to a soft dough. We had to add more juice.

Roll level tablespoons of mixture into egg shapes, place on lightly greased cookie sheet and flatten. We just pressed them into the tablespoon and took the dough off.  Before they were cooked, they looked like a mini football!

Stab biscuits (cookies) in the middle with a fork .  Bake 350 degrees for 20 minutes until lightly browned. Let sit on tray 5 minutes before placing on wire racks to cool.

Heat honey, water and sugar in pan until just warm. We did half the syrup recipe and still had lots left over. Dip biscuits in honey to coat and place on wire rack (over something that they can drip onto) and sprinkle with extra chopped walnuts.

They are very very good, especially the edges! They were fun making.

 

Avgolemono – Greek Lemon Chicken Soup

We are studying Greece.  We read some mythology, I liked the mythology! I like silly stories. Some Bible people lived in Greece.  We are going to learn some more and maybe watch a video about it.

We made some Greek soup. It was very good. We had it for lunch and Megan liked it too. There was a lot of variations, so we just picked one. The only thing I would do differently is make more because we finished it (and Momma did not get much at all!)

Here is the recipe we used;

  • 6 cups chicken broth.  Feel free to use canned soup
  • 1/2 cup white rice (you could use orzo if you wanted)
  • 3 eggs
  • 3 Tbl lemon juice (fresh squeezed is probably better!)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Parsely to garnish if desired

Boil the chicken broth.  Add rice and simmer until rice is tender. Beat eggs and then add lemon juice and beat again. Bring soup up to a boil and stir in egg mixture.  Season to taste.  Cool a little before eating.

It would taste great with a Greek salad for dinner.