When You Do This, Remember Me

If you'be read my blog for any length of time, you may have noticed that symbols are important to me. Easter, Advent, our Blessing Meal -- all are steeped in traditional symbols that hold spiritual significance in our family. 


This morning at church, our pastor prefaced our communion time with the observation that when Jesus used the analogy of His body being bread and His blood wine, and told His disciples to remember Him every time they partook of those elements, He was asking them to think about His sacrifice daily. Bread and wine were staples of the disciples' diet -- things they would consume probably once per day (at least). This meant Jesus was wanting His followers to reflect on Him -- His life, death, and resurrection -- every time they ate. 


Do we do that? Sure, we say grace around here -- but we don't really reflect daily on God's broken body and shed blood and all that means for us today. 


So this afternoon as I prepared dinner, I decided to make up a little "symbol set" that we can easily place on the table each day -- just a goblet and a small loaf of bread (retrieved from our Easter basket) -- with some little glass grapes for colour :) (Note: DH sewed the placemat years ago -- before children. I stumbled upon it while looking for a doily or something to put under the symbols.)

Do you have any symbols or devices that you use to trigger thoughts about Christ's sacrifice?

Memory Making Molds that Jiggle with Joy

As you may know, I'm always on the lookout for fun, creative ways to make memories with my children. So when Ann Voskamp included this idea in her post about what to do on the hot, dry days, I decided to give it a try. Who'd-a-thunk you could bring such jiggly joy to children with these materials?

Juiced orange and lemon rinds became the molds for a rainbow of jellos (muffin tins supported the rounded bottoms so they wouldn't tip while setting) . . .

but first, the freshly squeezed juice had to be enjoyed . . .

. . . in casual, summery canning jars . . .

. . . with star-shaped ice . . .

. . . oh -- and some lemon water for me -- also with star-shaped ice, of course :)

The whole juicing process took MUCH longer than I anticipated, so we were anxious for the jello to set quickly. I thought the freezer would do the trick -- except I forgot about them, so they got a little frosty. Ooops!

But they still turned out quite delightfully:

 They sure didn't last long! Even Grandma enjoyed a few!

What creative ways have you found to make sweet summer memories? Please share your own ideas or ones you've found online in the comments below:)

Shared at:

Afternoon Snack

A little treat for a dear one . . . the last corner of the lovin' from the oven for DH earlier in the week:

What simple thing could you dress up to make it just a little bit special?

Popcorn Surprise

I don't know why this delights me so . . . but I recently learned that it's possible to make microwave popcorn without buying microwave popcorn! (You know it's expensive and full of yucky additives!) Who knew????? (Not I!)

All you need is a lowly lunch bag (the mircrowave goes without saying ;) . . .

And some regular popcorn that you can purchase inexpensively in bulk . . .

You pour about 1/4 of a cup of popcorn kernels into the bag . . . (you can add oil if you want -- but why add the fat?!?!?)

Fold the top down a couple of times . . .  and microwave it for 1.5-2 minutes . . .

And voila! Beautifully popped popcorn!!!! Pure and simple!

Of course, you can add butter if you'd like (I definitely would -- in spite of the fat!) and sea salt (healthier than table salt) -- or whatever toppings you like! (How long will it take my children to try grated cheese???)  A separate container works best for this so the butter isn't absorbed by the paper bag -- and then you can re-use the bag the next time you make popcorn!!!!

How awesome is that?!?!?!?!

Thanks to my friend Shannon for sharing a link to this wonderful news! And thanks to my beautiful DD13 who graciously allowed me to photograph her popcorn making endeavours :) (Crazy blogging mama!)

Have you found any great ways to be creatively frugal in the kitchen?

Art in the Everyday

As I glower at this . . .

I am grateful for THIS . . .

And this --  DD13 who wanted to be creative in the kitchen and offered to make supper . . .

Apparently it was "the best cheese sauce and pasta EVER!"

Wondering again -- how do you find time for art in the everyday?

Courage to be Creative

I don't know about you, but I'm the kind of person that needs instructions. I prefer to know how to do something before I set about doing it. So, when it comes to creativity in the kitchen, I've always relied upon recipes. Ok, I might make a sauce on my own, or a salad dressing -- but I've always used a recipe for something baked. I've figured that it probably wouldn't turn out if I just winged it -- there's too much "chemistry" involved.

But family food allergies have driven me to face my fears and -- just do it! Ingredients that I've always thought had to be in there -- like eggs, if a standard recipe calls for them -- I've just been omitting because DD8 is allergic to them. And you know what? -- I haven't bombed out yet!

Here are some chocolate oatmeal scones I made without a recipe:

And some fluffy pancakes that turned out perfectly!

Huh! I know that for many of you this is pretty basic -- but I'm kind of encouraged by this creative success. What new-found freedom -- what opportunities to branch out and experiment!

Is there any creative process that you have discovered you can exercise some freedom you  hadn't thought you could?

More Redwall Fare

So I thought our Redwall feast on Friday would have satisfied DS12's craving to cook for a while, especially since it took so much work on his part. But again today he asked if he could make supper using the Redwall Cookbook.  Why would I say no????

On the menu this evening was "Brockhall Badger Carrot Cakes" (of which DS12 ate 3, vegetable hater that he is -- ha!):

And "Rosey's Jolly Raspberry Jelly Rock Cakes":

I'm really hoping this is a sign of good things to come! I could really enjoy having a chef in the house :)

Monday Musings on the Creator in Me

If I believe (and I DO) that we're all created to be creative, it behooves me to find ways to enable my children to recognize their gifts of creativity as well. Trouble is, DS12 doesn't see himself as particularly creative -- unless we're talkin' Lego. Even though he often looks speculatively at random pieces of refuse and exclaims, "Hey, Mom -- this could be used to make art," he views ME as the artist, not himself. That troubles me. So, I'm determined to find opportunities for him (and my whole family) to express themselves creatively.

Yesterday, I think we latched onto something. . . . In recent months, he discovered that there was a cookbook to accompany Brian Jacques' Redwall series.

He was determined to get that book, and finally succeeded this past week. Then he began begging me to let him make supper using recipes from the book. Well, hey -- it doesn't take much for me to hand over the oven mitts and let someone else make dinner! So, yesterday afternoon he set to work making "Turnip, 'Tater, and Beet Root Pie":

(The white corner is the section with goat cheese especially for his sister, who is allergic to cow cheese ;)

And then we made Redwall's "Honey-Baked Apples" stuffed with dried cranberries (we added cinnamon to the recipe):

Did I mention that said son has a strong aversion to vegetables and fruit????????? He devoured BOTH dishes exclaiming how good they were! He and his siblings had double portions of the vegetables! Go figure!

While things were cooking and DS12 was walking the dog, I decided we needed to take things a step farther and really get all Redwallish. I wanted him to know I was onboard with him and his little creative outburst, so I set the table to reflect the atmosphere of the abbey he'd grown to love. I found a brown table cloth (actually -- it was a curtain that DH picked up thinking it would make a good table cloth, clever fellow that he is!) which had a texture that reminded me of wood. It was covered in stains, but DS13 read my mind when, after commenting himself that the fabric looked like wood (!!!!!)  he said, "The stains just look like knots in the wood." Oh, how that made me smile!

Then I "shopped the house" and found an assortment of decorative pieces that I thought were fitting for a festive table set by hares and moles and badgers: a swatch of fabric with vegetables and flowers, wood and metal candlestick holders with earthy coloured candles, a wooden box filled with straw, a geranium slip left over from summer, and a branch of pussy willows picked last spring):

While we didn't have enough for the whole family, I thought these dishes that a friend had given me also suited the theme:

Oh -- a tuna soufflé to accompany the meal, and we had a grand, themed dinner!

I think DS12 really enjoyed making and eating his creations, so perhaps we've found a creative culinary gift! And everyone had fun imagining that we were real Red-Wallians ;)

But I'd like to find more ways to encourage creativity in those, like DS12, who are not necessarily "artistically" bent so that they can truly learn to see the Creator in themselves . . .

I posted last year about our Art Fair, which in my mind was a great success. However, I've since learned that the idea of a second annual event, for some (including DS12), has been met with groans instead of cheers. Apparently we need to tweak things a bit. I'm wondering if we need to broaden the horizons and make it a Creativity Fair instead of an Art Fair -- so children could explore any aspect of creativity that appeals to them -- architecture, cooking, sewing, building, interior design, writing, jewellery making -- anything creative. Do you think that might make a difference?

I'm keen to hear your ideas! How can we encourage creativity in those who really don't recognize that they, too, are created to be creative?