Pretty powders

Of the gardening (spin-off) activities I can do with Mabel is get her to help me grind dried goods up in the small coffee grinder. To keep her entertained, she needs to see what's happening and to know she's not just doing busy work. Powdering things up is an activity with immediate results, and she gets to do most of the actual work. So far we've done this twice: first pulverizing tomato peels into a seasoning something like tomato-bent paprika, the second was to turn homegrown (and dried) stevia into a powder. All-in-all it's a time consuming tasks and requires an extra bit of patience with the toddler since the powder ends up everywhere, but our time together making things and the pride on M's face when we're done make it that much better. Plus, look how pretty they are together!

Far more comforting

This is the inside wall of the block facade we had rebuilt in May. There have always been shelves there, but they were made from scrap wood and were, at best, 4 inches deep. After the wall was rebuilt and I was sure it could handle some weight, I asked Charlie to make some scrap wood shelves. He used all materials he had on hand, and a few hours later I had shelves for all the canning I'd been doing. It's not pretty, but it works, plus there's something far more comforting about having endless quarts of tomato sauce and vegetable juice than having a designer pantry.

Adding a few new prints to the shop today--two of them you'll recognize (purple, tan) from the tea towels we sell. The third design is the newest of the series (which I think I've shared here before?) and will be released as a tea towel soon, too!

Maintaining Interest

Chatting with Misti yesterday via email, she reminded me that I don't post about gardening much anymore. It's true but I have a good excuse: I garden mostly at the community garden and we work so hard there, by the time I catch up enough to take pictures I'm exhausted.

The home garden is much less demanding, and gets little attention anyway. All of that energy is spent on chasing around the little one, a full-blown hurricane of toddler energy, curiosity, and need for  attention.

Sometimes the two overlap and I get to tend the garden while she stays interested in the activities. Yesterday I pulled up some tomato plants and decided to pickle the remaining green tomatoes. Between those and the green cherry tomatoes I'd brought home from Little Sugar Creek garden, I filled 2 bowls with water and 16 cups of green tomatoes. Anything that involves water hypnotizes the little one, so she sat on her stool for close to 2 solid hours, moving water and tomatoes from one bowl to another then back again.

Another fun task? I sliced 3 1/2 pounds of eggplant into 1/2 inch medallions, laid them out on a baking sheet and gave M a basting brush and a small cup of oil. She had a blast painting the eggplant in oil so I could roast it in the oven.

If only I could get her so interested in pulling up weeds, then I might have a shot at getting back to snapping a few garden pictures and updating y'all on the progress!

Mabel's Pics

With the rewards from returning used ink cartridges and hefty discount from one of those "You Can't Miss This!" sales, we got a nearly-free video camera from Office Max. Mabel has since claimed it as her own, but so far has only used the still photo setting. 

This is life from her perspective.