Creating

I have always loved to create both crafty and food items. So this week, it will come as no surprise that I was in a creative mood. I finished up a basket I've been working on for a gift exchange. I then filled it with kitchen items which I hope my Cook Book Club recipient will enjoy.

I've also continued with my cookie baking project. My goal is to bake one or two types of cookies every few days. I freeze them as I go and when Christmas is close, I'll take them all out and decorate those that need decorated. But sometimes as happens when a person is creating, an epic fail occurs. My epic fail was in the form of Coconut Macaroons. I attempted to make them and followed the directions religiously, but alas what I ended up with was a clumpy coconut pancake instead of a crispy cookie.

How Macaroons Should Look

How My Macaroons Looked

Oh well. There are so many other cookies I'm great at creating, so the "Cookiepalooza" will continue.

This weeks my book choices were also about creating. My first read, How to Knit a Monster, from 2014, led me on a merry adventure with Ms. Gretta Goat who loved to knit.

After Mean Mrs. Sheep criticizes Gretta's knitting skills her knitting begins to take on a life of it's own in the form of a wolf that eats Mrs. Sheep, a tiger that eats the wolf, and finally a monster that eats the tiger. But Gretta is a smart goat and knits her way right out of the predicament her knitting created. But be sure to pay careful attention to the last illustration which indicates he predicament might not be over.

The second book, How To Build A Hug, filled me with wonder as it was one of my favorite types of picture book, a biographical picture book. And this book was about Dr. Temple Grandin.

As a child growing up with autism in an era where little was known about the subject, Temple Grandin did her best to cope. With the support and encouragement of her family, Temple drew, painted, created, and read about inventors and their inventions. And all of that creating helped her to invent a contraption that helped her feel what a hug was like when the real thing overwhelmed her senses. This book would make a great classroom read helping classmates to understand what autistic peers might be going through.

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week, same crazy time, same crazy channel. Also be sure to drop by my personal website Fun With Aileen where you will find more on reading, writing, and my very own chapter and picture books. And finally, you can find me on twitter if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.

Apple Butter and Art

For those of you who follow my blog, you know that last week I made my first ever batch of Crock-pot Apple Butter. The house smelled so amazing and the butter turned out pretty well according to my husband. So this week as promised, I am sharing the recipe I used.

Crock-pot Apple Butter

8 lbs. apples (about 24 medium) (I used Gala apples)

1 cup white sugar

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 TBS cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cloves

1/4 tsp salt

In a small bowl mix the sugars and spices and set aside. Peel and core all the apples and cut into chunks. Place into a large oval crock-pot and pour the sugar mixture over the apples. Stir with a wooden spoon to incorporate the mixture throughout all the apples. Cook on low for ten hours stirring occasionally. At the end of the cooking time, use an immersion blender to puree the apple mixture which will now be redish brown in color. Divide mixture into five pint jars and process in boiling water for ten minutes. I use a steam canner but a traditional canner will work as well.

Like I said, my husband thought this recipe was pretty good, but he wants me to try using 1/2 cup less brown sugar in my next batch because he likes his butter sweet but not too sweet.

This week proved to be a little less busy for me but Emily spent quite a bit of time drawing. Drawing is something she has loved to do since she was old enough to hold a pencil and for a ten year old she is quite good. Of course, I might just be a little bit prejudiced, but then again maybe not. I happened to find several used and fairly inexpensive drawing books for her which she has been using as a guide when drawing people. Since my people drawing skills are barely above stick persons, I was pretty impressed with her drawings.

 

The funny thing about the books I chose this week is that they had to do with drawing. I swear I didn't choose them on purpose for that reason, it just happened to turn out that way. 

The first book was titled Bridget's Beret and was the story of a girl who loved to draw while wearing a beret. She felt that the beret was her inspiration and when it was lost, she became downhearted and felt she could no longer draw. Thankfully, her younger sister came to the rescue and convinced her to make lemonade signs. While making the signs, something miraculous happened. Bridget began to draw again proving that drawing block is not permanent. A great book for encouraging children to create as well as a good reminder for authors and illustrators that blocks of any kind are always temporary.

The second book was called Ben Draws Trouble and was another story of a child who loved to draw. Ben doodled in his sketch book all the time. He especially loved to draw people, much like my Emily. But one day, while riding home on his bike, his sketch book got lost. When he returned to school the next day, someone had found the book and had placed it on the teachers desk. Ben thought for sure he was going to be in big trouble for the sketch he had drown of his tall bearded teacher, but instead he was invited to make art for a school program. This was another great book encouraging kids to draw.

And while both these books were about drawing in particular, I loved them because they encouraged children to explore their artistic side. So if your child doesn't necessarily like to draw, let them know that they can paint, color, craft, bake, or even arrange leaves into attractive arrangements for photos. Anything at all as long as they are creating and having fun!

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, the sequels, Return To Fern Valley,  and Cooking In Fern Valley, along with my very first picture book, Quack and Daisy! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.

 

Change Is Inevitable

Despite our wishes to the contrary, change is inevitable. My husband felt this keenly over the past weekend as he attended a Father/Daughter Dinner with our daughter, Emily. He was so proud to be her escort, but at the same time, looking at her so grown up in her dress and  high heels, it made him wish he could freeze the hands of time.

Most parents have probably felt this at some point. Heck, even children can feel this as you find out in Olivia Measures Up. Olivia is thrilled to finally measure tall enough to ride the coasters. Her brother is not yet tall enough, but her parents mention that one day he will probably be taller then her. Olivia has a hard time coming to terms with the fact that her brother might be taller then her at some point and goes out of her way to convince him he should stop growing. In the end, she comes to realize that no matter how tall her brother might get, one thing would never change. She would always be the older sister.

And while there is nothing at all that we can do to hold back the tides of change, we can encourage creativity. Creativity comes in many forms, music, art, writing, cooking, inventing, gardening, and so forth. One way of encouraging creativity is to encourage reading. Reading be it fiction or non-fiction opens the doors to the universe where anything is possible.

If I Built A Car is a prime example of this. As Jack rides along in the back seat of his father's car, he begins to tell his father about the car he will create some day. As we follow his whimsical journey of creation  told in jaunty rhyme form, we see just how much fun dreaming and creating can be.

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, the sequel, Return To Fern Valley, and the soon to be released Cooking In Fern Valley (fall 2015)! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days