sparks of creativity

December 3, 2015

“Lupine people” by Huckley, age 5 for his grandmother’s birthday

My oldest son has begun a Norse Mythology block in our schooling…I have been waiting for this block since he was born ten years ago! Part of my own ancestry is Norwegian and I really identify with that side of the family. We also happen to live beside a provinical park named after Norse mythology ~ and all the mountains are named for the Aesir gods ~ so this is especially exciting! We extended the block past what the curriculum outlined and we are thoroughly enjoying the legends and projects. Forrest is making his own Viking drinking vessel from a cow horn gifted by some friends who have a Biodynamic farm. He boiled it for a few days and is now sanding the outside. Also, inspired by a form drawing of a Celtic knot, Forrest is creating a cross-stitch bag to hold some Viking runes. These will surely be keepsakes to last a lifetime!

I also discovered the most amazing bread recipe for those who do not eat wheat (or any grains, for that matter!). For the last seven months, we have been adopting a low carb diet for our whole family. We eat a lot of protein and good fats for our energy needs, and have given up all forms of sugar. It is obvious for all of us how healthy this choice has been. One of the foods we have missed is a good bread…when we gave up gluten years ago, a good bread recipe was always hard to find. The one we settled on was never a favourite, and it dried out terribly. But this low carb bread is delicious and so easy to make…and you can make buns out of it for hamburgers, too! (* I found this on pinterest and tweaked it a bit, but I’m sorry I cannot remember where the original recipe came from).

Low Carb Quick Bread

1/4 Cup butter, melted

3 Tablespoons coconut oil, liquified

8 eggs

1 Cup almond flour

1/2 teaspoon xanathan gum

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 heaping teaspoon baking powder

~ Beat eggs. Then add remaining ingredients until like a dough. Spread into a loaf pan lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until top is golden. Makes about 16 slices and for any people with Type 1 Diabetes like my daughter, each slice is just 3 carbs!)

Puss in Boots

big brother’s turn at making breakfast ~ he often can be found in the kitchen, making the first meal of the day

The holiday making has begun! I am nearly finished my third of six hats and have a long list of sewing projects as well. I always do this to myself, the list I mean. But I don’t mind…it helps me sort out my head and prioritize my gift making. In the meantime, I am finally getting to spinning some of the fleeces that were sheared in the spring. The black yarn is from our Shetland sheep, Luna, who we gave to my sister before we brought Stella home. Forrest was really attached to Luna so despite having a fleece that was particularly undesirable, I am spinning some of it up to make a vest in the new year. And that luscious cloud of wool just above…well, that belongs to Flora, one of my two merino girls. It arrived home from the mill this week, much to my delight! It is simply decadent and soft. I already have piles of hand washed wool from my other merino and a merino cross, so I decided to sell this for a little Christmas money. My husband tried to talk me out of it as he knows how valuable these virgin wool fleeces are (their first lamb’s wool), but there will be more lambs. And I have Posey’s fleece still (my beloved pet merino). Flora’s cleaned roving sold within minutes on the internet and I realized I underpriced it by a long shot. Today we are shipping this out to a new spinner in Michigan. It is the first sale I’ve made from my flock and it feels so good to finally start getting ahead.

While the children have yet to begin making their gifts, there are lots of ideas and brainstorming happening. And making sketches by candlelight was just the perfect December evening activity around here this week. I asked if they wanted the lights on, and both these two artists were adamant that the soft glow set the mood for some creativity. I know just what they mean!