I looked over the clothes we have for our smallest member, and I think we’ve just about got things covered.  He’ll need more socks, probably, and definitely more hats.  Our house is cold, you see.  We have a wood-burning stove, but even so, there are parts of the house that stay chilly- especially the floors!  Which is exactly where this little man is going to want to spend his time.  I’ve got fabric out to make a few pairs of soft shoes, and I have a bit of yarn that I’ll use to make him another hat.  I don’t know what else to do to keep him toasty this winter.   Do you all have any ideas or suggestions?

Making kombucha is nice and simple.  You can make it complicated if you want- but you don’t have to!  I find it easiest these days (with an intrepid explorer under foot) to make things as simple as possible:

1. Make really strong, sweet black tea.  That’s 1 cup of sugar and 5-7 tea bags to 1 gallon of water.

2. Put it in a glass (not metal or plastic) container and add 1 cup of kombucha plus the mother.  Cover with a breathable cloth to prevent dust and fruit flies from getting in.

3. Let it sit at room temperature (away from vibrations such as the refrigerator) for about 7 days.  I would start tasting it at 5 days and just let it ferment until you like the taste.  The longer it goes, the more like vinegar it will be!

4. Pour into a pitcher all but one cup of kombucha.  Save that cup for your next batch.  Drink the rest.  No need to mess with the mother, but if you want more than one batch going at a time, separate the new scoby from the old.  Put baby with one batch and mama with the other.

5. Start over.

If you have the time and/or inclination:

-use good water that doesn’t have fluoride added

-use organic black tea (regular supposedly is contaminated with… fluoride!)

-double ferment for fun flavors and more carbonation: instead of pouring your finished kombucha into a pitcher, pour it into jars that you can close.  Add a little fruit or juice to each jar and let the jars sit at room temperature for about another week.  Add-ins I’ve used: raisins, grapefruit and peel, cranberries and juice, pomegranate syrup, strawberries, fruit tea, ginger, lemon juice, peach, and pineapple (which was horrible).  I’ve heard of lots of others, too.

———-

Kombucha has a potent liver-detoxifying effect, so if you haven’t had it before, start slow!  Drink an ounce or two a day, slowly increasing the amount until you’re having as much as you like.  If you’re pregnant, now is not the best time to start drinking kombucha.  If you’re already drinking it when you conceive, you should be fine to keep on drinking.  (note that I’m not a doctor; yours may say otherwise!)

{pretty}

Hydrangea or Snowball?

This bush flowers profusely.  I love it!  It mixes well in a vase with my scarlet crape  myrtle.  It’s going wild because I have no idea how to prune it!

{happy}

This reminds me of that guess-the-item game in kids' magazines. You know, the ones that have a picture of a tiny part of some obscure object?

Our house is old and well-used… not to mention prone to dust & insects.  It tends to look dirty even when it’s not.  I’ve found a little paint goes a long way- and here’s the difference it makes to the crown moulding!  (You can’t tell in this picture, but the builders put it on upside down!  *facepalm*)

Kombucha!

I’ve finally gotten my act together enough to brew up some kombucha.  Our little son thinks it’s delicious.

Taken just before he started trying to eat the grass.

He love playing outside.  I’m so glad!  If he’s fussy (and he is a lot lately, what with all the teething), we can just step outside for a few minutes.  Magic!

{funny}

Spin cycle!

Sometimes, if the washing machine is on and he’s playing in the kitchen, he’ll crawl over to the machine and fuss to be put up on top.  Ha!  (Don’t worry- he’s quite safe.  I stand right next to him and usually have a hand on one leg!)

Look what I found, Mama!

And that’s the end of leaving him in the bouncy seat unattended!  He hasn’t crawled completely out of it yet, but it’s just a matter of time.  He likes to twist around in it to get to my husband’s bicycle.

{real}

Teething

*sigh*  This is sadly typical these days.  We have such a lovely, cheerful baby- it’s hard to see him so obviously in pain.  Poor guy has two teeth already (in the last three weeks!) and looks to be working on more.

That’s all for today (sure seems like a lot!).  We’ll see if I can manage to post again before the next {phfr}!

Mama feels about the same.

What I’m trying to do to make it better:

-milk (for him)

-popcorn and chocolate milk (for me)

-Norah Jones (for us both)

Percentage of success so far:

50%

Dill Pickles- makes 4 quarts

4 quarts cucumbers, sliced lengthwise
4 cloves garlic, peeled
4 tsp. dill seed
about 2 tsp. pickle crisp (calcium chloride)
2 c. vinegar
½ c. salt
6 c. water

In each clean jar, place 1 clove garlic, one tsp. dill seed, and a heaping ¼ tsp. of pickle crisp.  Pack in cucumbers.  Heat vinegar, salt, and water until boiling and then fill the jars.  Top with lids and rings and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

A little vinegar in the water bath will help keep sediment from settling on the outside of your jars!

{pretty}

What I see from my kitchen window- this all belongs to our landlord, but we’re not responsible for mowing it all!

{happy}

I bought a bushel of cucumbers last week and made pickles for the first time!  I’m excited to taste them and see how they turned out.

{funny}

“Look what I found, Mama!”

{real}

This is how I get the laundry down from the line and entertain a fussy baby at the same time.  It works quite well!  :)

We’ve been reading Job at our house. Alexander has some interesting thoughts on the book at his blog, Hypothegesis.

Justified is rolling over every which way and scooting himself around on the floor.  He’s enjoying chewing on things, too.  He basically is not still unless he’s asleep!  His “cousin” Maddi already has two teeth (!), but so far the only signs we have are lots of drool and LOTS of chewing.  I’m not wanting to rush things, but Justified might be- he’s getting more and more interested in what we eat!  He’ll be 5 months old on the 9th of July.

The other July happening is our 2-year anniversary, on the 5th.  It’s getting harder to remember my life before marriage.  I’m glad- I like being married.

Today I’m making bean dip for a pregnant friend who needs snacks.  I’m going to take that by her house on my way to the library.  On my list today are Goodbye, Mr. Chips (the movie version of which I’ve seen and liked), M.F.K. Fisher’s The Art of Eating, and Women in the Material World, a book by the makers of Hungry Planet.  I had Hungry Planet checked out last week- it was fascinating!  I recommend it.

Husband: It was about food.

Me: How do you know?

Husband: Just a wild guess.