Applesauce Cranberry Muffins.

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For the past few days we have been waking to cool, gray skies, threatening rain.  The chickens don't seem to mind.  They happily make their way out of their warm coop, fluff  their feathers and begin their daily search for a small, summer bug still lingering in the earth or the last taste of a goldenrod leaf.  We, unlike our hens, have found that it's nice to wait a little longer until we bundle up for outside play and have started to put our heads together for new, fun, indoor adventures.  

So, today, we set to work on making some muffins.  We used a recipe for Applesauce Cranberry Muffins from our Moosewood Restaurant cookbook and it turned out that there was no better way to spend our morning inside than measuring and mixing near our little blue stove burning hot.

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2 cups unbleached white flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 egg

1 egg white

1/2 cup evaporated skimmed milk

2 tablespoons canola or other vegetable oil

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup applesauce

1/2 cup dried cranberries
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1. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg.

2. In a separate bowl, lightly beat the whole egg with the egg white.

3. Stir in the milk, oil, sugar and applesauce.

4. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry and then add the cranberries.

5. Spoon batter into prepared muffin tins (with oil or paper liners) and bake 20-25 minutes.

The muffins were a bit denser than I had hoped but were tasty nonetheless.  I think if we baked them again I would add more of the spices and maybe some maple syrup and sunflower seeds too!  We made some in mini muffin papers and they made for a nice little snack for my son and I through out the day!

P.s We used applesauce that we had made the before.  It was so delicious that is was hard to save some until the next day.  The house smelled lovely too!

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The Fabulous Garlands.

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Maybe I just have a warm spot for the name Sophie.  A dear high school friend, a lovely 8-year-old neighbor I have, a woman I barely knew, but always liked, while living in the south for a time, all Sophie's.  So, it did not surprise me when I was drawn to yet another Sophie, this time, a woman I surely do not know but whose work I just simply adore.  

Sophie Cuvelier, is from Nimes, France and makes lovely, lovely garlands. They are crafted out of handmade paper and sewn onto cotton cording.  

And really, does it get any better then a Sophie with paint splattered shoes?

{all images via sophiecuvelier.com}

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p.s. These garlands inspired me to cut out many, many pieces of felt I had around the house.  I thought I would try my hand at sewing them onto thread with a sewing machine.  Alas, here they sit, but, seeing these images again makes me want to have a go at it.  We will see! 

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Last week, my Mom gifted my little son with his first pair of scissors. He had been eyeing ours with curiosity for quite awhile and was so happy when he finally received his new tool. They were blue with those nicely, rounded points, and, seeing them brought back many memories.  Among them, the smell of glue, sticky peanut butter and the sweaty brows of little children from hours at play.  

So, yesterday, after he woke from his nap, we built a fire in our little, blue stove and set to work!  I gathered some paper of different colors that I had, and also some that my son had drawn on awhile back.  He watched closely as I cut the paper in long, thin strips.  When I was finished, I held up one piece at a time and, using two hands, he snipped each one in half. Finally, I curled each piece of paper into a circle, one into the next and secured each end with a small piece of tape.

In the end, we were left with a lovely paper garland...like the ones we all used to make, I am sure!  This one, however, felt a bit more special than ones I had made before.  I loved that we made something together, that my son had the chance to learn from watching me and then to partake all on his own.  I loved that we were able to reuse some paper that had been strewn about the house and make something new and bright out of it. And really, what better craft is there than one that involves paper, scissors and tape!  

We hung the finished garland from some little saplings outside our home and they looked so cheery in the woods.  With all of the fall-colored leaves down, it was nice to bring a bit of color back into the forest... at least for a short while.

p.s. I think this could make for a nice project for anyone.  The paper could be cut into fine, delicate strips and newspaper or highly patterned paper could be used. It is such a simple project but the result has such a comforting, old-fashioned feel to it!

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Pine Cone Fairy.

"Then clear on a flute of purest gold

A sweet fairy played.

And wonderful fairy tales she told

and marvelous music made."

-Ida Rentoul Outhwaite

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Pierrot and Pierrette c. 1920

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 It is easy, on a still, quiet day like today, to feel as though there are elemental beings living alongside us.  It is quite a lovely and magical way to pass some time.  Maybe, it is the certain way a flame flickers in a hot burning stove, or the pale, pink wisp of an evening cloud, which catches the eye and makes one think that surely they saw something flying about with purpose and glee. 

 It is often in the presence of young children where the world of fairies comes so alive, and what a treat it is! How lucky they are to believe so purely and whole heartedly in the existence of these tiny, winged delights! 

I remember, years ago, while spending time on Monhegan Island, a place I would return to again and again, coming upon a wooded trail nestled within the island. On each side of the trail, and deep into the woods, where little fairy homes.  In the nook of a tree here, beneath a mushroom there.  My sister and I quickly found an ideal spot near a clear, babbling brook and built a home for them too! In the process, one really felt as though, as evening fell, and the sea mist swept over the woods, that a little fairy family would be making their way to their new home. Needless to say, I find it so nice and comforting to think that fairies of all sorts exist,and whenever I have doubts, I have the lucky fortune of spending time with a young child who reminds me with great honesty that indeed they do! 

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So, here is a little project that I have been working on with fairies on my mind.

To begin...

When I found these little pine cones I thought they would work quite nicely for the small, fairy body. Any size will do, really.

The most dainty acorn tops appeared in our yard this year and were the perfect size for fairy hats.  My son and I gathered them up quickly before the squirrels could get to them!

I had been thinking of these maple seedlings for sometime to be the fairy's wings.  They were no where to be found since they swirl down in the spring.  One night my fellow had a dream that he found some and a few days later proudly came home with a pocket full of them that he had found on our town common.  (That is a true story!) They were a bit large but I thought they could be cut.  Really, anything you like would be fine!  Some oragami paper or a bit of leaf would be nice too!

All of the little acorns had fallen out of their top hats and were hard to find amongst the leaves, so I thought of using these small, wood beads as the head. I picked them up at a craft store and ended up liking the contrast of color. 

I gathered up the rest of my supplies.  Some beloved Elmer's glue (I like the small sized one for this kind of work) and some curly, yellow wool for the hair that I had picked up during one of our yearly adventures to the 

NY Sheep & Wool Festival.

Okay.  Before beginning, make sure the wood bead (if that is what you are using) fits snuggly into the acorn top!

Here we go!

1. Put a small dollop of glue inside the acorn top.

2. Take a piece of the wool and press it into the glue.

3. Put a bit more glue on the wood bead or acorn and press it into the acorn top.  Wait a few minutes until all is secure.

4. Now, put some glue on the top of the pine cone.

5. Hold the pine cone together with the wood bead or acorn and again, wait a few minutes.

6. Lastly, glue the fairy wings on the back of the pine cone.  When all is dry and secure tie a piece of thread from the acorn hat and there you have it. 

 Fairies take flight!

p.s The wings of the fairy above were made out of the veins of green leaves.  

They are just noticeable in the picture. 

 This one flew home with my sister on her 28th birthday!

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Let There Be Light.

"It's better to light a candle than curse the darkness".

Eleanor Roosevelt

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As I stood moving our clocks back an hour one week ago, I couldn't help but think of light.  Here in New England, the skies now begin their decent into darkness around four.  The hens make their way inside to their warm and cozy roost. We follow their lead and head inside too, stoke our fires, turn on a light and ready for the long evening ahead.  It's not such a bad thing really, but it does take awhile to get used to. 

So, here are a few lights, not candles as our dear Eleanor suggests, (although those are good too!) that I have found over the years that I quite like.  Some are quite expensive and will never find their way into our home but I like looking at them nonetheless. 

A fluted, metal lamp which comes in many wonderful colors.

A little ceramic light by Danish artist Yvonne Berg.

A handmade filigree sphere.

A Poul Henningsen light designed in 1958.

And, one of my favorites 

in a beautiful cherry red.

A  simple light bulb and it's colorful cord companion.

And for the little ones, a rabbit night light from Germany.

Sleep tight.

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350 Flags.

Our town, small as it is, has been active in it's participation in 350.org, an "international campaign dedicated to building a movement to unite the world around solutions to the climate crisis...." For the past several weeks, at our local public library, a table was set up with a beautiful assortment of cotton flags. Through out the day, children and adults alike, would embellish a flag with an animal, a wish for the earth, a call to action to help our earth's climate.

In the end, the flags where hung together between pin cherry saplings on our town center. It was so nice to see how each individual flag became part of a larger, community project. How a social call to action was expressed in such an artistic way.

Standing there on a windy, fall, New England day, one could not help but feel a bit hopeful. That a seemingly small project, made in an even smaller town, means something.

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