Christmas 2010

Christmas Eve.























Christmas morning.

Sleepers that accomodates special needs

Our son has special needs.. One of them is Autism.

We used to have a real struggle keeping his pj's on him at night; he would strip down to nothing and get so cold. Because he is also incontinent, his bed would get wet, icky and cold. Off the shelves sleepers were obviously not a solution because he could just unzip them. Additionally, we needed extra modifications because he also has a feeding tube and cyphosys and we needed easy access so we could change him at night.

I decided to design my own. I made a pattern for a regular body type and then altered the back to allow extra room for the cyphosys, put a long, flexible, nylon zipper in the back and added a small (!!!) and heavily reinforced opening in the front for the feeding tube. That worked!

As the weather got colder, we would first dress him in thermal underwear and then the sleeper over it. However, we live in South Dakota (don't let the "South" part fool you) and in the winter our little house gets much too cold for even this solution so I made some of heavy sweatshirt material. Let's hope that will keep him warm.

Here is how:

I cut the 2 front pieces, the 2 back pieces and 2 sleeves. This picture shows the front, back and the sleeve that has already been stitched together.

Kid's clothing has to always be comfortable, but kids with Autism are a little more sensitive so comfort is key, aesthetics will have to give.



Because the fabric is so thick, I decided to make lapped seams with raw edges. I first serged all the edges, then overlayed the fabric pieces, face to back, and then stitched them down with two rows of narrow zig zag stitches.

This picture shows you the seam on the right and on the wrong side. They are identical.

Make a reinforced opening on the right front panel. The easiest method by far is to create a large button hole. Start with marking a 2 inch opening on the right side of the right front planel about a large handwith from the stoma.








Interface the button hole area on the back side of the front panel and the face side of an additional small piece of fabric.








This is the back side with an additional piece of fabric for reinforcement.











Make a 2" button hole, zig zag 1/4 inch around it and zig zag down the edges. It will look like this. The opening needs to be as unintrusive as possible. Apart from the need to be comfortable, this will prevent them from focusing on it and eventually ripping it. Remember, kids with Autism can get fixated on something and they have nothing else to do all night.....they don't sleep anyway!

This picture shows the backside with the piece of fabric stitched down around the edges.

Stitch the two front panels together.

Now add the zipper. Measure and mark where the zipper will be.












Stitch the back panels together from crotch to mark. You cannot use a lapped seam here.







Fold the fabric back and place the zipper far away enough so the slide cannot catch the fabric. Stitch the zipper. There is no need for a zig zag stitch here because the zipper is not stretchable anyway.

Now your front and back pieces are ready to be assembled and remember to use flat seams.

Close the sleeves and place them in the arm opening. It can be a little challenging to create a lapped seam on the sleeve, so I stitched as far as I could from the arm opening and then the rest starting from the hand opening. Set the sleeve into the arm opening and finish off as flat and comfortable as possible.

Attach a separate piece of fabric on the neckline, fold it around the zipper edge and then fold it double inward, attaching it to the inside.








Finish the sleeve opening and pant leg opening by serging the edge and folding it over. I stitched down the pantleg. Remember, simplicity and comfort is what matters, not aesthetics.

There, the sleeper is done and should only take a day to make. During the winter, I still plan on using the thermal underwear under it but hopefully our little guy will now stay warm.

There is enough room for his cyphosis and not too close to his neck.












The seams are on purpose not lined up to avoid bulk. The neckline is far away enough to give him comfort.








Hi loves his new sleepers and they are keeping him warm. Finally!

In the meanwhile I have to go work on some other projects to get my aesthetic fix: two evening gowns!

Candied cranberries

I love cranberries! And as it turns out, they are really healthy for you too.

Unfortunately, fresh cranberries are only available here for a few months. Last year, I must have panicked as the season came to an end because I bought....well, let's just say a lot of them in the hope to somehow preserve that little bundle of delight. When my husband gave me the "look", the one that required some kind of intelligent answer about what I was planning on doing with all these cranberries, I had to get creative and learned how to preserve them as candied cranberries. I also froze a bunch but learned that for long term freezing they need a little more preparation (like putting them in a freezer container) than just sticking them in the freezer. They lost much of their flavor and got mushy.

The candied cranberries were such a hit that I this year purposely bought some just for that purpose. They taste great in salads and baked items.

I have read so, so, so many ways how different people candy cranberries and I am sure they are all great, but here is how I have had really good luck in keeping a hint of the unique tartness and preserving much of their shape.

Rinse 2 cups of cranberries while you make a simple syrup of 1.5 cups of sugar and 1.5 cup of water. Add the cranberries and turn the heat down until it barely simmers. You want to cook the cranberries but not turn them into a mushy relish. I let them simmer for 40 minutes and then let them cool in the syrup.

The next day, drain the cranberries from the syrup and boil the syrup down to nearly half the amount. Place the cranberries on a pan (I lined the pan with tin foil for easy clean up) and pour the condensed syrup over the cranberries. Place them then in an oven at 300F for 30-40 minutes.

Take them out but leave them in the pan and sit overnight on the counter. Next morning, you can take them out of the syrup and let them dry on a cookie sheet for the day.

If you want to store them, place them in a container and store them in the fridge for up to a month. Might be able to keep longer, but I am not sure and it would never make it than long in my house anyway.

As I said, you can add them as is to your meals or...make your favorite cookies!!

In the name of loyalty

Have you ever met a person who often claims others are being disloyal? I am not a psychiatrist, counselor or have any back ground training in these matters, but it just seems to me that people who are continually hounding others to be “loyal” (meaning do as they deem best) are not concerned about loyalty but are instead controlling people using emotional manipulation.

Just like genuine respect, true loyalty can only be one way. In other words, loyalty is support you give because you have a certain affiliation or connection to a person or organization. Because of this affiliation you make decisions in line with their philosophy or cause. It is putting another need above your own and is independent of other people’s wishes. True loyalty is not a response to a demand; that is fear.

Loyalty is not a code of conduct people can use to force you to make decisions beneficial to their cause. That is emotional manipulation that uses some form of repercussion for not complying with their demands, in this case toxic shaming. When someone tries to make you react based on otherwise being publicly labeled “disloyal”, you are more likely dealing with a controlling person who is using emotional manipulation to achieve their goals. And these goals are often unmet emotional needs you have no responsibility of or control over anyway.

Often, the manipulator has created an image of themselves and their lives (in their own minds and to other people) and this image is scripted based on the dysfunction connected to the unmet emotional needs. This image can also change without you knowing it, all based on which emotional need is ranked highest at a certain moment. Your purpose is similar to a character in a movie whose only reason for existence is to support that image, or story if you like.

As a character in a movie, you are given lines and responses and your response to this role is then measured in “loyalty”. But the loyalty is loyalty to this scripted image, not a cause you chose, and if you do not fully comply, you are shamed as disloyal and without a genuine opportunity to defend yourself.

I find loyalty one of the most admirable traits in a person because loyalty is a voluntary response based on your connection with a person or organization. This connection then leads to a dedication that results in loyalty. That is why loyalty cannot be demanded; if a person is not loyal to a cause, maybe the cause is not in line with the person’s convictions and philosophy and demanding a person shows loyalty is a sham and unrealistic. People doing this are incidentally often themselves not very loyal because the script is more important than the characters forced into it and the rules of engagement change according to the needs.

Toxic shaming is not treating someone with respect but shows I still do not matter as a person. I will no longer play a character in your movie but you are always welcome to join me in life. I cannot demand respect of you, but I can require you to treat me with respect.

Thanksgiving 2011

I love decorating the table and every event challenges me to think of something new.

This year I wanted to have a rustic and simple feeling for our Thanksgiving table. My earlier post shows an oil lamp I had made of a canning jar and potpourri and I decided to build the table setting around this item. I also decided to skip any frillies such as place cards and favors in order to keep the simple feeling.

So, I went shopping, or rather scrounging. I found some silk flowers priced down from $20 each to a total bill of $2.95 (!!) and then stumbled upon chargers and napkin rings for a ridiculously low price! Finding a table cloth and napkins that matched the colors, theme and price proved to be a little harder but then I found some fabrics that were the perfect colors and on sale.

At the end of the day I had had spent $15,- and had this pile of items to work with:

And this is what I made with it:

The colors on this picture are not really accurate. The red from my walls are reflecting and influencing the image.

I didn't have enough ocher yellow for a proper sized napkin, so I had to add a little. Was ok, though.

It may not be the most beautiful or creative table and I am sure that some annoyingly perfect person could have done it much better. (Being perfect is more often an expression of self absorbtion.) My point is that you need not have a truck load of money to make a beautiful table and most of all have a wonderful time with you family!!

And what did we eat? Ham, mash potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes in butter and brown sugar, green beans with bacon and goat cheese, corn, gravy, crescent rolls, corn bread, cranberries, apple sauce, apple pie, sweet potato pie, pumpkin pie and cherry pie, all from fresh produces in a form I can still recognize :-)

I hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful and left you with truly perfect memories.

Oil lamp

Next week is Thanksgiving and, like every year, I want the table decorations to reflect some element of the past year. These past years have been very strenuous for so many people. Many have lost their jobs and homes and others have "just" had to tighten the belt, very tight. I have also noticed a trend in reverting back to more home made items. Sewing has become increasingly more popular and so has gardening.

We too have to plan our Holidays carefully and not spend frivolously. So, my mission became to have a nice Thanksgiving meal, on a shoestring. To me, the table setting is as important to the meal as the food. My grandmother, who was an amazing cook, always said "Don't forget, the eyes want something too." She knew that the meal had to be high quality and that the presentation was equally important. You cannot leave one out.

Combining the gardening and budget theme, I found this really neat idea instead of candles (if you haven't noticed, candles are becoming pretty expensive) and this oil lamp provides the lighting and reflect the theme.

You need a canning jar with a flat and ring or a lid, a wick and glass flange, lamp oil and potpourri. The potpourri is optional and just for aesthetics, it doesn't really add much scent. Since I had some really old (more than 15 years!) still sitting around, I used that as decoration. Second hand stores will sometimes have some potpourri you could use.

I first made a hole in the lid that fit the flange. You will want to first create a nail hole and then use a (metal) drill bit. My husband got interested in the project and helped out with the drilling, but you can do it on your own.

I then filled the about 3/4 with potpourri and added lamp oil. Fill the jar until 1/2 inch from the top. If you want to save a little on lamp oil, you could fill the jar halfway with water first and then carefully add oil. The oil will float on top of the water. Just make sure your wick is only in the oil and doesn't reach down into the water.

Feed the flange through the hole in the lid and pull down the wick until you only have a very little bit showing. I was amazed how little wick it took. If it is too long, your flame will be much too large!

Put the flat and ring (or lid) on the jar and help the wick down into the oil and potpourri with a skewer. You will need to let it sit for a few minutes before lighting the lamp - the wick needs some time to absorb the oil.

When the wick feels damp to the touch, you can light your lamp. If the flame is too large, blow the lamp out, let it cool (!!!) and pull the wick down a little until you reach the desired flame.

Can't wait to incorporate these into my table setting next week.

Brined Turkey

I have for a long time (really, years) been wanting to brine a turkey but my chaotic home life did not really give me the time to more than just read about it. But, as it turns out, it is not anywhere near as time consuming as I had made it out to be.

The Food Network has many recipes and I chose one that uses 1 gallon of water, 1 pound of salt, 1 pound of honey, and two quarts of vegetable broth. It recommends using a cooler to place the turkey in. Since I didn't have one or felt very compelled to spend money to buy one and our weather last night was a perfect 36F degrees, I used my "outdoor refrigerator" and placed the turkey in a bucket lined with a couple of food grade plastic bags.

After a cozy night in my cool backyard, I removed the bird from the brine and dried it very well with paper towel. Then I place in on a couple of layers of tin foil, greased it with oil and seasoned the bird with sage and ....garam masala. :-)








My husband prepped the grill (with a little help from Max) and I placed the turkey on one side and the coals on the other with the vents slightly open on both sides. You need a lot of coals to keep the side with the turkey warm enough for 2-3 hours!!



On the coals, I placed a large piece of Hickory wood chip and a foil package with cinnamon bark, stark anise and a stalk of lemon grass.Then I closed the lid and patiently (hahahahaha) watched the smoked ooze out of grill. After awhile, I was no longer able to keep the temperature high enough on the side of the turkey, so I placed it over the coals where it remained a stable 350F.

After 3 hours, the turkey was done and smelled so good that I completely forgot to take a picture of it first. It was the most moist and tasteful turkey I have ever had and I will from now on always brine before grilling.

Guess a carved turkey is good evidence of a good meal :-)

One of my favorite quotes!

“My grandfather once told me that there are two kinds of people: those who work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there was less competition there.”

Indira Gandhi

Grape Jelly

Five-six years ago, I planted more or less for fun a little twig that supposedly was a concord grape vine. I didn't even expect it to make it through our winters - let's just say our weather is not exactly like the wine condusive weather patterns in Alsace Lorraine - or withstand our gale force winds equal to any North Sea storm! But, it did and grew fairly big.





Three years later, I found my grape vine full of wonderful, smaller grapes and I was looking forward to trying my very own concords in the fall. The birds apparently had the same idea.














I covered my by now huge grape vine with a structure of pvc pipe and netting and this year....I had tons of grapes!! Ok, maybe not tons, but I ended up with 5 pounds! I was so excited but not about to eat 5 pounds of grapes, so I decided to make grape jelly.







Now, you need to know that I have never liked grape jelly.

Whenever I see a peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich, my taste buds revolt. The stuff you buy in the stores tastes like a chemical bath that burns and scours my taste buds and afterwards sends my system into a diabetic chock simulation from sugar overload.

But, one of my youngest likes it, so I thought home made grape jelly would be a good idea.

(squeezing any last drops out)

(wonderful, aromatic concord juice)

(the juice is strained one more time)

Oh my goodness, I had no idea grape jelly could taste like this! After cutting the required sugar amount exactly in half, I ended up with the most deliciously tasting jelly and hope I soon have more grapes.