{this moment} a la Soulemama- A Friday ritual. 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.
If you’re inspired to do the same, leave a link to your ‘moment’ in the comments for all to find and see.
Wishing you a lovely weekend!
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Can you see the excitement in her eyes?
The excitement of growing independence,
The excitement of going on her first 4 day trip without mom!
It is with sadness that we bid Summer farewell…….
It was a good one……
here’s to many many more……………..
Coconuts!
The Life Cycle Of Coconuts:
The flesh goes from nothing at all, to a thin layer of clear jelly. The jelly gets thicker and thicker and firmer and firmer as the coconut matures, finally turning into the very dense meat that we all think of as coconut.
As the flesh matures, the juice, while initially perhaps a bit cloudy, gets completely clear, and gets sweeter as the coconut matures.
Parallel to all this the inner shell (not the fibrous outer husk) also progresses from thin and whitish to blackish brown and very tough.
Both the flesh and the juice are delicious throughout the process. I like the flesh particularly when it is gelatinous or just getting firm.
Making Coconut Milk at home:
Place the coconut in a heat-proof bowl. Cover with hot water and stir. Let cool to room temperature. Place a sieve or strainer over a large bowl. Line it with a double layer of cheesecloth. Pour the soaked coconut with its liquid into the lined strainer. Lift the cheesecloth, pull the edges together, and squeeze out the coconut milk. Refrigerate the coconut milk.
The remaining coconut flesh may be air-dryed and/or toasted for other uses. Spread coconut out in an ungreased shallow baking pan and toast, uncovered, stirring often, 30 to 40 minutes at 300 degrees F. until golden.
Recipes to check out
We’re heading on a road trip in a few days. A brief get away to Florida with some friends.
As always before a road trip we make some books. Simple stapled books that Zoe can draw, write and share memories in as she pleases….
As has become a tradition with our road trips we pulled out “S is for Sunshine A Florida Alphabet” by Carol Crane. And I made a book all about our destination with journal pages, things to do, weather tracker, water color pages and fun facts about our destination for her to have as we drive down.
I also made us some personal picnic mats. We both picked our favorite fabrics….
Mine is Alexander Henry Orange Willow Shroom Mushroom. Love it, love it so much! The pattern is from Simple Sewing by Lotta Jansdotter
Zoe has become a pro at preparing for road trips. she pulls out her car basket and starts to gather her “road trip” equipment her reading light, her lap desk, her travel blanket and pillow, she puts her pencils in an old tea tin, and asks which books we are bringing. She knows road trips are great opportunities for learning “road school” as we call it. I peruse our book shelves with the South West in mind and the 13 Indigenous Grandmothers…my eyes stop at Byrd Baylors “When Clay Sings”. I am such a great fan of this author so decided to grab all the books by her that we own…
The Way to Start a Day She and illustrator Peter Parnall were awarded a Caldecott Honor for The Way to Start a Day in 1979. Written in free verse poetry, it tells how our ancestors, from the cave people to the Native Americans, greeted, praised and were blessed by the dawning of a new day.
Everybody needs a Rock Here is my favorite page from this one
“Everybody needs a rock. I’m sorry for kids who don’t have a rock for a friend. I’m sorry for kids who only have TRICYCLES, BICYCLES, HORSES, ELEPHANTS, GOLDFISH, THREE-ROOM PLAYHOUSES, FIRE ENGINES, WIND-UP DRAGONS, AND THINGS LIKE THAT — if they don’t have a rock for a friend.”
The Other Way to Listen those are illustrated by Peter Parnall- super complimentary!
I’m in Charge of Celebrations Simple author bio: Naturalist Byrd Baylor celebrates her birthday on March 28th. Baylor lives and writes in Arizona, presenting images of the Southwest and an intense connection between the land and the people. Her prose illustrates vividly the value of simplicity, the natural world, and the balance of life within it.
and here is a picture of Byrd- don’t you just want to know her?
It is also a tradition that when we go on “road school” we bring a long the relevant books from the state alphabet series this time, this time
“G is for Grand Canyon:An Arizona Alphabet “ By Barbara Gowan (Author), Katherine Larson (Author)
“E is for Enchantment: A New Mexico Alphabet” by Helen Foster James in the same series
We also grabbed “If you lived with the Hopi” by Anna Kamma as Zoe is particularly interested in continuing her studies on Native Americans.
In preparation we also read a fabulous book from the library called “Mule Train Mail” by Craig Brown about some remote pockets of Arizona, the postman wears a cowboy hat and leads a mule train through the Grand Canyon!
As always we gathered books on tape from the library, luckily our local library has a great selection. I am also a member of audible.com we used up all my credits and got stocked up with
- The Birch Bark House by Louise Erdrich
- Milly Molly Mandy by Joyce Lankester Brisley
-Igraine the Brave by Cornelia Funke
She also packed a book she got on her birthday Pull the other one:String Games and Stories by Michael Taylor as well as the skipping rope she made at the Hartsbrook Fair last week. Her teacher Kate also gave her a Mandala Coloring book and a lower case kumon letter book for her activity basket. I also made her plenty of blank books (as thanks to her friends Lily and Naomi she has super been into making books) and I gifted her a small sticker book full of American Girl stickers as a special treat.
As always I made her a travel journal with places for photos, and drawings and facts about the places we’ll be passing through coloring pages. This time there were lots on Navajo Weaving and blankets, and dream catchers thanks to some great Dover books. (more on her journal later)
We spend the last days of August in Provincetown soaking in the sun, searching for sea creatures during the low tides and rolling in the sand. The weather blessed us with some of the most beautiful days of the season.
Good friends and beach time. . .
(Georgetown, DC)
(Lambertville, NJ)
Exploring Seaweeds
Inspired from our latest favorite book The Wakame Gatherers by Holly Thompson
and a quick swim
(Rye, NY)
The much spoken about White House organic garden and beehives. (see the lettuce growing!)
Dandelion love! Speading the seeds of hope.
Cooling off at the WWII Memorial
More water play at the botanical garden:
A quick trip to the tropics!
The makings of a great Road Trip…
Some dolphin love (in Baltimore)
A whale skeleton
Feeding the electric eel
The sleeping two toed sloth. . . we saw it!
Top of the World Observation Center, Baltimore Inner Harbor
Scenes from the organic market
(Sienna look more Olives!!)
Organic Wines and Juices. There were a lot of homemade organic wines.
Lots of wild greens
and look!! Fresh Nettles. How I am craving Spring Nettles- Soup and Pie and Nettle / Garlic Mash Potatoes!
Grab a cup of tea and join us on a crazy adventure...you never know what direction the journey may go. Commonly we'll be sharing photos taken about parenting, crafting, herbal medicine and travel.
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