Bears

So ever since I first saw one in Duluth when we got there five years ago, I've loved the pastel paintings/pictures of bears by Sue Rowe.  There are SO many cute and funny ones I just wish I could buy one of them all!  We've always particularly liked the ones of a bear "couple" sitting next to each other looking into the distance saying "Simply put, we're happy here".  Well this weekend Matt took us on a lovely drive looking at fall colors and made a stop at a studio that had her work and I finally got my first piece!

I love it so much.  Now we need to find a nice simple frame for it and we'll stick it at the bottom of the stairs.  Until we move.  There are similar pieces to this but in one the setting is a sunset and another is the bears looking at a lake, all with the same phrase.  The sunset one and lake one are what we plan to purchase next and want to hang them in a row.  We'll probably wait for the next ones until we move though.  Blanche is super into bears now and I want to get her one for her room when we turn it into a big girl room.

Right now the website is under construction hopefully to build an awesome new one, but keep checking out suerowe.com to check out some of her work!  It's beautiful.  And also look up some of the galleries/studios that sell her work, I've seen a lot of good ones in stores that weren't on the website.  Hope you enjoy it!

Later!

Kool Aid Playdough

So at "school" we got a recipe for the playdough they make that we love.  It is made with Kool Aid so it smells really good and is safe if little kids get curious and have a taste.  The recipe makes a whole bunch and will last awhile if stored in a ziplock bag.  And by using different packets of Kool Aid you can make different colors and have different scents.
 Here is the recipe:

Kool Aid Playdough

2 cups flour
1/2 cup salt
2 pkgs. dry unsweetened Kool Aid

2 cups boiling water
3 Tbs. vegetable oil

Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl.  Mix liquids together and pour into the dry ingredients.  Stir until it forms a ball.  As mixture cools and becomes less sticky, take out of the bowl and knead until smooth.  Store in a ziplock bag or other airtight container.

This kind of shows the color well.  Not quite what I was hoping for, but all we had to work with was Pink Lemonade and Blue Raspberry Lemonade Kool Aid flavors.

 

And this one was supposed to better show how much it makes but I don't think it does a very good job.  I'd guess it makes about four containers of the real Playdoh.

 I loved that it was something Blanche could "help" me with (she got to pour the Kool Aid packets, salt, and flour in the bowl and attempted to stir those together).  We'll have to find more tools to play with but today she liked playing with the animals I made her and squishing it and playing with it with measuring cups and spoons.

There, I did a real post!  And it was kind of fun, but even more fun to play with Blanche. 

Later!

Another Sporadic Post

Hello blogging world!  There are so many things that have changed in the lives of family member's and a few in ours but all I wish I could update about is a new living situation!  But alas, that is not the case and I really don't know when it will as Matt now is trying to convince me we should stay here another year if he can talk down rent a hundred bucks or more.  Lack of garden depression: high.  Hospital anxiety level: higher.

I had dreamed of using this blog to post updates of my big garden and outdoor adventures.  Instead, I suggest you check out my Pinterest boards titled "homesick" and "garden ideas".  Those are what I would love to tell stories about on here :)

If anybody has "yuppie" type topics I could write about let me know.  My hope would be I can continue posting regularly come next spring/summer when God willing we will have a place to live with a piece of yard bigger than the 6x8 foot "yard" we have now.  My child needs room to grow and it's not gonna be done here!

I will be back if I can find anything fun to write.... Leave suggestions if you have any!

Later.