Friday, May 7, 2010

Sidelines

If there ever was a month that describes a saying,"I have been running since my feet hit the floor this morning", then it must depict the merry month of May in levels and opportunities of activity.



On the sidelines of a long stretch of activity this week:


I found myself in a strawberry patch picking strawberries and in the kitchen flipping pancakes and baking strawberry bread. A new sweetener was brought to my attention this week which I must report is quite marvelous. I was even able to pour it over my pancakes instead of syrup and it received an A+ for texture and taste. A little experimenting with strawberry bread, one loaf with the agave syrup and one loaf with sugar, and no difference could be found.
  • The amount of liquid in your recipe must be reduced by 1/4,
  • you must lower your oven's temperature by 25 degrees,
  • add 2/3 to 3/4 less agave syrup than sugar called for in your recipe.
There is a quirk that creeps up on me every once in while. I have learned to live with it and there are even times I can make something creative and tangible come about as a result of it. This seeming quirk clears the overwhelming fog that I may get lost in when there is so much to do. It rather goes with my own little saying, "It will all get done by and by."

So one foggy day I embroidered wispy wildflowers on a piece of felt, the outside of a colored pencil holder for Charlotte.


You can find the directions in Amanda Soule's, The Creative Family. I thought I would edge the outside of my holder with a black blanket stitch to complement the rolled spirals with a bit of snappiness.

Girlish and useful, for an almost seven-year-old artist in residence.

8 comments:

GretchenJoanna said...

That is a super idea for a gift even I could make for a grandchild.

Karen said...

I just saw this Blue Agave in Costco and wondered about it! I've never tried it, either. We use a ton of raw honey around here, but some things just don't work well with honey.
Strawberries are in my future this week, too. I plan to do several batches of strawberry jam.
Hope you have a great week.

crochet lady said...

Oh, the luscious taste of strawberries.

That is a wonderful pencil holder, how fun!

GretchenJoanna said...

Recently I read this about agave, which I recommend everyone read before investing in the stuff.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/03/30/beware-of-the-agave-nectar-health-food.aspx

GratefulPrayerThankfulHeart said...

Charlotte's pencil holder is a work of art itself! So very sweet!

Hill upon Hill said...

It is like one, long happy festival over in your neck of the woods. Only two more weeks?

The dB family said...

I recently discovered agave too. I enjoy it in yogurt.

Charlotte's pencil holder is wonderful! Do you own Amanda's book too? Her creativity is astounding!

Blessings!
Deborah

Cathy said...

The book was borrowed from the local library...twice. I had checked it out last year and remembered this pencil case, so it was with this in mind that it was rechecked out recently.

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