Lady Bug Rocks & A Giveaway

With the arrival of the sun, we are also blessed with the arrival of the bugs.  Now don't get me wrong I love all of God's creatures.  However, when it comes to the biting and stinging kind of bug I often do wonder wheat He was thinking.  Luckily my girls are really into bugs, at least for girls.  Rebekah is always bringing me some sort of bug wanting to know what it is.  I do my best but really bugs just aren't my thing. So to meet her need for bugs and my need for crafting we came up with these cute little lady bugs.

First we headed to the river to collect some smooth roundish rocks.  Sorry no pictures of that.  I was busy looking for rocks while Hannah and Rebekah were busy throwing the rocks in the river.  No worries, we all had fun.  And really that is what it is all about.

A few simple supplies we had on had.  Red, black and white paint and a few paintbrushes.  The big white paper is off the end rolls from the local newspaper.  I just love this stuff.  The newspaper gives it away when there isn't enough left for it to work on their printers.  Lucky for us there is a good 2-3 inches of paper left on the roll.  Great stuff for using as drop cloth, tracing bodies, making gift wrap, drawing pads and so much more. Really I suggest you head to your local newspaper and get yourself a roll or two or three.  You will find tons of uses.  Sorry for the interruption, now back to our regular blog post.

Once you've assembled all your supplies, it is time to paint.  We painted the entire rock red.  Once that dried we added the black head, stripe and spots.

After the black dried we added two white eyes to the black head.  And once dry added smaller black pupils.  You can see them in the top picture.  That's it.  Now we have lots of friendly bugs of the non-biting variety.  I plan to add magnets to the back of a few of them to use a magnets on our fridge.  And I have a few more that are looking for a new home. Rebekah is really excited to send them off.  the giveaway was her idea.  I'm sure she will even include a picture for the lucky winner.

So if you would like some lady bugs to come and live with you please leave a comment on this post.  I'll close the giveaway on Friday, June 15th and will announce the winner on Saturday.  CLOSED  Winner will be announced shortly.  Thanks to all who entered!

Linking up with Creative Friday and Friday's Nature Table.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual inspired by Amanda, aka Soule Mama. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
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In gratitude this week for:

• A girls day with a good friend and herbs too
• Extra help at the food pantry delivery this week
• More and more planted in the garden
• A bike ride to the river to skip and collect rocks
• A new exercise routine

Wishing all of you a blessed weekend!

Bartlett Baked Beans

Baked Beans are standard fair here in New England.  Funny as a kid I only ever remember having canned baked beans and hating them.  So when I got married it just goes to figure I would marry a guy who loves baked beans.  And so began the search for a baked bean recipe that we both would love.

It didn't take long to figure out that the best baked beans need to cook for a long time.  And for that I turned to my crock pot.  Now I can make baked beans any time of year without having to worry about the oven being on for hours on end.  I can also make enough to freeze for a couple of more meals at the same time.  You've got to love that.  And to top it off these beans are also frugal and much more healthy than the canned version.  I hope you'll give them a try.

Bartlett Baked Beans (Crock Pot Recipe)

• 2 lbs dried navy beans
• ½ cup unsulfured molasses
• 3 Tbsp arrowroot
• 2 tsp dried mustard
• 1 cup sucanat
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• 1 large onion, diced
• dash ground cloves
• ½ lb bacon
• ½ tsp baking soda

Soak beans overnight.  Sort and rinse beans.     

 Place bacon and onion in a crock pot.  Add the beans.

Combine the remaining ingredients and add to crock pot.  This is a really thick paste.  Add enough water to cover the beans by ½ inch.  You really don't have to stir this in, but you can after it has been cooking for a while.

Set on low and cook 8-12 hours, the longer the better.

This recipe makes a lot.  I love that about it.  It is a great dish for a pot luck or neighborhood BBQ.  And even better the leftovers freeze so well.  I use quart mason jars and usually have enough leftover to fill and freeze two quarts.  Make sure you leave a little bit of room at the top of the jar as the beans will expand when they freeze.  Now you've got a quick side dish.  Just pull them out of the freezer the night before and let them thaw in the fridge.

Linking up over at the Homestead Barn Hop, Make Your Own Monday, Scratch Cooking Tuesday, Traditional Tuesdays, Frugally Days, Sustainable Ways, Healthy 2Day Wednesday, and Country Mama Cooks

 

Yarn Along

Joining in the fun of the weekly Yarn Along hosted by Ginny over at Small Things. In Ginny's words:

~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs. I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? Take a photo and share it either on your blog or on Flickr. Leave a link below to share your photo with the rest of us! ~

Well with all the rain, I was finally able to carve out some time to knit this week.  I still didn't get as far on my Hetty as I would like.  Hopefully Rebekah wont out grow it before it is done.  It should start moving a long as I am working on the body which is just straight knitting.  I do love how it is turning out and can see myself knitting another one, as it really isn't the pattern's fault it is going so slowly.


As for reading I'm not doing much better there.  Rebekah is in love with Olivia.  We must read about this precocious pig five times a day or more.  It is a cute story, one my other girls enjoyed too.


I'm working my way through the Thinking, Feeling, Willing class over at Waldorf Essentials.  It is really Waldorf Teacher Training for homeschooling moms.  I am loving it and learning so much about myself and my children.  I love how Waldorf encompasses the whole child and not just the academics.  And this program really breaks down the hows and the whys in easy to understand language.  And their support is unbeatable.  Yes, as this school year ends I am already working on preparing for the next.  Who ever said teachers get the summer off?

Don't forget to head over to the Yarn Along and see what others are knitting and reading.  There is always so much inspiration.

Weekly Menu ~ June 4th

We are in a season of change and at times that makes menu planning difficult for me.  However I have learned that to throw the menu planning out makes the times of change and chaos even more chaotic.  That having my menu plan gives me at least one place that is grounded and from there I can begin to bring more peace and organization to our days.  So really if you are feeling a little crazy or disorganized and think menu planning is just one more task that will add to that chaos think again.  And then give it a try.  I don't think you will be sorry.

Monday
Breakfast:  Ham & Tomato Egg Cups
Lunch:  Creamy Mac & Cheese with Peas
Dinner:  Spaghetti and Garden Salad

Tuesday
Breakfast:  Bulgar with Fresh Berries
Lunch:  Sauteed Veggies over Red Quinoa
Dinner:  Hot Dogs, Bartlett Baked Beans and Corn on the Cob

Wednesday
Breakfast:  Oatmeal
Lunch:  Grilled Cheese with Peaches
Dinner:  Spinach Quiche with Fruit Salad

Thursday
Breakfast:  Pancakes
Lunch:  Hummus with Veggie Sticks and Pita Wedges
Dinner:  BLTs with Three Bean Salad

Friday
Breakfast:  Homemade Yogurt and Soaked Granola
Lunch:  Tuna Melts with Kale Chips
Dinner:  Homemade Pizza on Sourdough Crust

Saturday
Breakfast:  Sour-cream Coffee Cake
Lunch:  Nut Butter Sandwiches with Orange Smiles
Dinner:  Balsamic Honey Chicken Legs with Macaroni Salad

Sunday
Breakfast:  Green Smoothies
Lunch:  Left Overs
Dinner:  Pork Chops, Brown Rice and Green Beans

Linking up over at Menu Planning Monday hosted by I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Red Clover ~ Frugal Medicine

While Rebekah and I were out walking the other day, we came up on a beautiful patch of red clover.  We hurried home, grabbed a basket and the big girls and headed back to pick the lovely purple blossoms.

In only a few minutes we had filled our basket.  We took a few moment to watch all the butterflies visiting the clover as well.  Then we headed home to clean the blossoms before putting them in the dehydrator.

The blossoms took about 18 hours in the dehydrator set at about 95 degrees.  You don't want to dry them to quickly as they will loose their color.  And if it takes too long they can start to mold.  We will store the blossoms in a mason jar to use in our winter teas. (1tsp of dried blossoms to 8oz boiling water steep for 10 minutes, this can be taken up to 3 times per day)

RED CLOVER

Latin Name: Trifoolium pratense

Contains:

• antioxidant tocopherol
• anti-tumor compounds
• calcium
• chromium
• iron and copper salts (high concentration) 
• isoflavones (water-soluble chemicals that act like estrogens and are found in many plants)
• magnesium
• niacin
• phosphorus
• potassium
• protein
• thiamine
• vitamin C

As you can see red clover is very high in nutrients!  It really is a good herb for almost everyone.

Constituents (uses):

Women's reproductive health - Red clover is used for relief during PMS and menopause as well as to promote breast health.

Blood health - Red clover is known to help cleanse the blood by promoting urine and mucous production, improving circulation and stimulating the secretion of bile.  Supplementation with red clover  has also been shown to improve hemoglobin levels as well as the size and number of blood platelets.

Respiratory health - red clover is known for antispasmodic effect.  Basically this means that it supresses muscle spasms and therefore can help with asthma, wheezing, coughs and such.


Red clover tea is easy to make.  Put 1 tsp of dried blossoms in a tea ball or muslin tea bag.  Pour 8 oz of boiling water over and let steep for about 10 minutes.  Can be drunk hot or cold.  Drink a cup three times a day for maximum benefits.  Red clover can also be added to other herbs to create your own blends.  So have fun and give red clover a try.

Warnings:

Red Clover should not be taken by pregnant or nursing woman.  The isoflavones (water-soluble chemicals that act like estrogens and are found in many plants) have not been proven safe for these women.

Also those taking blood thinning or needing to avoid blood thinning medications should not take red clover because of its milk blood thinning properties.

While red clover is considered safe you should always check with an herbal professional before self medicating.  This information is for educational purposes only.


Linking up at the Homestead Barn Hop, Make Your Own, Monday, Traditional Tuesdays, Sustainable Ways,  Healthy 2Day Wednesday and Wildcrafting Wednesday.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual inspired by Amanda, aka Soule Mama. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
~~~~~

~~~~~

In gratitude this week for:

• Friends with a tiller and my now beautiful garden plot
• Sunshine filled days and Evening Thunder Storms
• Food Co-op Delivery
• Chickens!  My how they have grown

Wishing all of you a glorious weekend!