Charlotte's Tower

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Ever since I babysat for a family with a "learning tower" I've looked forward to having one for my own children. Fast forward to a few months ago, I was quite taken aback by their three figure price tag. 

Perpetual Calendar with Friends

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I have quite a list of posts waiting on the back burner. This morning, I finally got time to snap the pictures for this one. 

Several months ago I came across this link/pin, and was inspired to make our own perpetual calendar.

I needle felted seasonal clothing for four wooden peg dolls. I'm excited to gain greater awareness of days, months and seasons passing through this simple ritual of keeping our daily calendar current.

In case you're thinking, "ok, two blocks, six sides each... waitaminit..." 

Here's how it works. Both blocks have 0, 1, and 2. One block has 3, 5, and 6, which doubles as 9. The other block has the 4, 7, and 8, to complete the set.

Now we just have to decide where we shall keep our calendar!

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Introducing Wee Willow Catkin

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Inspired by this doll and its poem that reminded me of a similar poem, and sewn with a materials kit from this shop, I made C's first doll. 

Going Back to Basics - Use Your Scraps

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There are many things that past generations did as a matter of course that we are just beginning to bring back now - such as bringing bags to carry goods home. I am so thankful that  throwaways are becoming less and less favorable. 

For many reasons I've sought to minimize my use of plastics and have always preferred natural materials. When buying or making toys or other stuffed objects I've always tried to use cotton or wool, but due to cost have succumbed to the ease of poly-fill on more than one occasion. 

Changing Directions here at Myrrhmade

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As I mentioned back in February, my life has changed drastically and I'm still mulling a bit as to how to update this space without having it become a documentation of our children (present and future). I've been struggling to figure out what I want to put into and get out of this blog. I'm not going to abandon it altogether but need to update the use of this blog to better fit my life and myself.

What to do now, what to change, what to keep, and many more such quandaries have been occupying my thoughts and I've yet to come up with any definite answers. So, for now, I'll have to content myself with a slight change of directions. 

One of my original purposes here was to document my adventures, whether they were in my kitchen or half way around the world. Before becoming a parent, there was inherently energy that I could devote solely to my own interests and my own person. As a single person, I was the center and main consumer of my own attentions and energies.

The new addition to our family has charged me with a great responsibility - the stewardship of another being until she is able to take care of herself. This moves the center of my energy away from my own person and focuses it on giving to others. I find myself wanting to reflect that direction here as well.

In the past I've sometimes added recipes or directions in case someone else was interested in trying their own hand. Going forward I want to share what we do that might make a difference for other people. I hope to make this blog less about documenting my own exploits and more about showing what has worked well for us and how easy it can be to make improvements. 

There are also some side projects in the wings so look forward to other adventures!

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Homemade maple teething necklace

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Even before I had an amazing child of my own, I saw and admired beautiful carved teething necklaces.  They seemed like such a simply beautiful piece of craftsmanship and yet their hefty price tags always turned me away.

Paleo Popovers (grain free) - part 2 - individual popovers

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As promised, I decided to try my popover recipe using muffin tins (instead of a baking pan) and it turned out even easier than I'd expected.

I used the same amounts of all ingredients and split them up into the twelve muffin compartments. If you're using butter it's quite easy to cut each tablespoon of butter into quarters which equals 3/4 teaspoon (three tablespoons divided twelve ways) per popover.

The Brooks Homestead

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Since purchasing our home and land over four years ago, we have undertaken a great many projects and have a great many more in mind. We strive to produce more of what we consume each year, from our gardens, to our backyard chicken flock, canning and freezing to handmade goods.

Introducing The Brooks Homestead. 

Signs of spring - croci (or crocuses if you prefer)

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With Blizzards followed by balmy days preceding days of "wintry mix" it has been hard to tell what season it actually is. These past few days have brought new evidence! We are turning the corner into spring.

Comments not being posted

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It has come to my attention that several people (and who knows how many people haven't let me know) have submitted comments that have not made it to me for publishing. I'm looking into the issue but so far have come up empty handed.

I love your comments and would be thrilled if you would try again. I've changed a couple of settings which means more work for me but hopefully comments will go through!

Thanks in advance and thanks for reading!

Paleo Popovers (grain free)

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Our chickens have started laying again, which means we have an abundant supply of eggs. Several of our customers went on vacation and at one point we had more than eight dozen and hadn't yet collected that day!

While I've previously made egg-based almond flour cakes that use at least a handful of eggs, I wanted to make something that would be less of a dessert while still being a treat. My thoughts turned to popovers and I came up with the following:

Paleo Popovers!

Baby knitting and looking forward

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It's been two and a half months since the birth of our daughter. These months and this incredible person light up my life and are teaching me patience, and so much more. While many things fall to the wayside with a newborn, I was able to sneak in some knitting.