Sunday, May 26, 2013

Summer Corn Salad

I'm a little ahead of the yearly schedule on the salad. This is a perfect dish for those couple of weeks in summer when you have more tomatoes and cucumbers than you know what to do with and the corn is still at it's yummiest. I made this last year when uncle john and aunt shiela came over and it was requested three other times before the summer was over.

Summer Corn Salad

1 cup of corn kernals
1 cucumber peeled and chopped into bite size pieces (size according to your taste. I like to be able to fit a few pieces of different things on my fork.)
1 tomato also chopped, same size as cucumber
1 avocado, ditto ^^
1 lime
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
salt and pepper
red wine vinegar

Mix the vegetables and cilantro together. Squeeze lime and taste and salt/pepper it to taste. Add vinegar if it needs some brightening.
 
 
 
 
 
Other possibilities:

Add a can of black beans to make it a hefty main dish next to nachos
Lose the corn and cilantro, add shaved fennel and basil instead



photo taken by spencer gerken
 

Friday, May 24, 2013

Shoe thief



My little shoe thief

...but she wont be going anywhere fast in thigh-high boots about 12 sizes too big.



A few weeks ago I put away my sewing machine because I was spending way too much time at it. I was still getting done what I needed to but I stressing about fitting in sewing time as if it was a job, some kind of obligation. That wasn't fun. It felt good to take a break from it for a while.
Then a few days ago I rearranged my room and opened up the table to make sure it had enough room and I just left it open. Now it's calling to me and I have this dress in my head that I want to make. Well, I want to wear it but one thing at a time, right?
Anyways, I don't to make it yet so I'll just take pictures of my machine...

Monday, May 20, 2013

Last Week In Photos

 living room tent...
 ...perfect for apple snack and homework. it's still up.
 they really are pals.
 fun with three pairs of glasses...
 ...before 7:30am! start the day rocking, right?
 we had a surprise visit friday morning from not one but THREE adolescent deer. they walked through our yard, watched the highway for a few minutes and then went to the woods again.
 monday = library, followed by lots of reading.



Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Prolonging the Onsie (or No-Sew Baby Shirt Alteration)

Having long skinny babies can pose some specific challenges when it comes to sizing. As anyone with a skinny baby knows, most brands cater to the butter balls. Garanimals, Cherokee, and other cheaper brands tend to run wide. Circo, Carters, and Old Navy are better, but if you get them second hand they can get a little stretched, too. This is not really big deal, and honestly having clothes a little baggy on some kids is better than having tight clothes on many.
But, you do have those days when the drawer is full of the short wide onsies that you were given, all the favorite shirts are in the wash and you wish there was some way to make these work.
So this is my experiment in "making it work"
The snaps don't fit over the diaper anymore, so just snip them off, very close to the trim.^^

Make a short slit only as high as the top of the leg trim. Remember to keep as much length as possible.^^

For an almost dolman effect you can then tie the two front tails to each other and ditto with the back. This makes a relaxed shape with a cinched bottom. This can make it very skinny around the waist so put it on your kid first and then play with it.
You can also tie a knot in the end of each tail for a kerchief bottom.
Let me know if you come up with anything else. Please.

Gotta keep these babies cool!