life stories: play dough

we love making our own play dough.  don't get me wrong, though.  this is not the play dough in the yellow tub with the colorful lid.  each have their own place.  i love home made play dough and will always make my own.  the other can come in and out of the house, too, and we'll reuse some of those containers for a variety of uses.  

along our summer together in our cozy home, we enjoy the art of making and pretend baking with play dough.  we create long snakes, skinny worms and other imaginary pets.  this morning it was a hand shaped pancake with designs on top, made by the sweet son.  

today has been such a sweet day of decorating the space at church for this week's vacation bible school and a good reflective day from worship this morning (more to come as i ponder the themes presented).  i wanted to give you something of life here that you could carry with you in your life journey.  now for the sharing!  listed for you below is the play dough recipe i've used ever since working in the MC lab school through college & grad school.  source unknown.  it's safe to bet that this recipe is like many others out there, but it's a never-fail recipe in my dough making experience over the past decade.

Cooked Play Dough

1 c. flour

1 T. oil

1 c. water

1/2 c. salt

2 t. cream of tartar

food coloring (i use icing coloring and mix with the water before adding to the other ingredients)

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan or electric skillet.  Mix well and cook over medium heat.  Stir constantly until mixture forms a ball.  Remove from the pan and let the dough cool a bit on a clean surface.  Knead until smooth.  Store in an airtight storage container after it's completely cooled.

Be warned:  if you use red, pink, and some purple icing colors, your hands may reflect a tinge of pink.  Wash immediately or use gloves if you're concerned about semi-dyed hands.  

creating a terrarium

i've wanted to make a terrarium for some time.  while visiting a new friend recently, i was moved beyond dreaming to resolution:  time to create.  her terrariums were so lovely scattered around her bright home.  as i happened upon a sale at a local craft shop, i found this container marked down well.  another sale for members at the botanical garden shop (for the 2 ferns below), a trip to maymont for moss and another fern, purchased dirt (i know, but i need to start some plants!), and rocks collected from the backyard collection results in success.  the spun mushroom is from gift wrapping from the small object.  the terrarium now sits on our buffet.  jo and i have plans for others, as he really enjoyed assisting in layering the elements. 

To make:  assemble rocks or stones, (optional: crushed charcoal, sphagnum moss), dirt, plants and possibly stones or other decorative items, and your container(s).

In your clean container, layer the rocks, charcoal*, sphagnum moss*, dirt. (Here we used drainage rocks, smooth stones from our collecting, and dirt.)  Create space in the dirt for your plants, noting your arrangement ahead of placing them in the container.  Layer rocks, moss, and decor on top.  Spray lightly with water, depending on how wet the roots of the plants are ahead of time.  You'll see that the moisture begins forming droplets on the container within a day, really.  There's a measure of "moist, too moist, and too dry" that you must pay attention to.  If it's too moist, you leave the lid off to allow some water to evaporate.  If too dry, you spray a little more water into the container. As I'm a learner, I'm not able to say when those times are.  Knowing plants fairly well, I will leave it to daily judgement as to if this is the right blend for our container.  

From what I've read thus far, the charcoal acts as a filter for the water.  The sphagnum moss acts as a barrier between the dirt and the charcoal/rocks to keep the base "clean" and allow the water to filter well and keep your terrarium "clean" as a whole.  For more reading, see more at terrarium man's site.  I found his site helpful, as he speaks to specific plants.  Next up will be a large pickle jar terrarium less the pickles and a vintage ball glass jar terrarium.  We'll just be terrarium happy!  cheers.

snow day loveliness

winter scene from our back window.  

lights were out (no electricity through the night, but we were bundled). 

it was enchanting to see the glow of the snow.  

sweet jo in the snow.

oh, the slow days of a snow day.  as a middle school boys' teacher, my husband was happy to get the news of the cancelled school day.  first in 4 years!  we all were overjoyed.  we attempted a snowman, but couldn't get the snow to pack just right, so we settled for a snow sea turtle.  yes.  

saying goodbye to our snowy sea turtle, we found a make-shift sled and were off to the hill.  our sled made it through two runs.  so many adults, teens, and children were gliding and sliding.  what fun.  trudging back and forth through the snow made some fun new family memories.  as with each new activity spent together with our jo, we loved playing together in the snow.  richard measured 9 inches mid-day in our backyard.  most is still around.  lovely.  we love the slow days of snow days.