Simply Rurban

Kids Craft Corner – Creating Ella & Rachel

Posted on May 22, 2012 by simply0637

During our trip to New Orleans, Stella spent a lot of time creating and making projects with Lorrie. I mentioned before, I think, that Lorrie is a big time yard saler and the things that she finds are amazing! One of her great finds was a box of Melvin dolls. These were dolls used in the 1960’s to teach kids body parts – all I have to say is I want a box of Melvin dolls!!! Lorrie gave me a couple so that I can create my own.

Melvin Doll Creations

Items Needed

Melvin dolls or dolls made from cardboard (see Melvin picture)
Markers, fabric, paper scraps, yarn
Glue

1. Take the Melvin doll apart.

2. Color, paint, glue fabric or paper onto the different body parts.

3. Add some hair with yarn.

4. Put your Melvin doll back together.

Go and play with your moveable, paper doll!!

Posted in Kids Crafts | Tagged paper dolls | 2 Comments

Honey Curried Kale Recipe

Posted on May 21, 2012 by simply0637

I love kale and have planted two kinds in my garden, curly and Russian. The Russian is similar to chard and I love to saute it up with onion and garlic. My favorite breakfast when the kale is ready to saute, as described, with a fried egg on some good bread – YUM!

Kale is a descendant of wild cabbage and has been cultivated for about 2,000 years. It is a great source of fiber, protein, thiamin, riboflavin, folate, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, vitamin k, vitamin B6, calcium, potassium, copper, magnesium and one cup exceeds your recommended daily allowance of both vitamin c and a. Vitamin A contains carotene, which serves as an antioxidant – so good for fighting disease and of course your eyes.

I came across this recipe in the Seventh Generation newsletter – thought it looked delicious – made a couple of changes – and here it is.

Honey Curried Kale

Ingredients

1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon lemon juice
½ bunch kale
2 tablespoons tamari
¼ cup water

1. Heat the oil in a dutch oven or large pot.

2. While the oil is heating, thinly slice the onion.

3. Saute the onion over medium heat, until dark brown and caramelized, about 20 minutes.

4. Wash and tear the kale off the stems. The kale pieces should be bite sized.

5. Add the curry powder, honey and lemon juice – stir.

6. Add the kale, tamari and water – mix well.

7. Cook for 5 minutes, tossing until the kale is chewy but tender.

Serve

We enjoyed our first dinner, of many, outside tonight – lovely! The contrasting flavors of curry and honey are really nice – the bite followed by the sweet. I like this dish, a lot, Stella did not – but we both loved the smell of the house after cooking it. I make egg salad with curry and Stella smelled the curry and came into the kitchen thinking I was making egg salad.

Posted in Recipes, Sides | Tagged kale, recipe, side dish | 3 Comments

The Up Side of Being Sick

Posted on May 18, 2012 by simply0637

I am a little behind on my blog writing thanks to a stomach bug that hit both Stella and me hard this week. We were down for the count for 3 days! The first day and a half the bug was so intense that there was no sleeping, even though that is all the either one of us wanted to do. The bug started with one kid that we were all around on Saturday and when it was done it had spread to 11 of us!!!

The up side to being sick was catching up on all the movies in my queue. We did watch our fair amount of kid movies, but I won’t go into those.

This movie had been on my list for awhile. I knew what it was about before watching it, but thought that it would be a little different than it was. I was not disappointed by the movie, but I have to admit that I cried almost the whole movie. It was emotional on many levels, but the one that hit close to home was the mother child relationship. If you get a chance, watch it, but make sure you have tissues and it was not a down day!

Our body is the only one we got – so we need to treat it as best as we possibly can! FoodMatters was enlightening, educational and filled with “WHY” moments. Stella even stopped and watched it (she was better and I was still couch bound). It will make you understand why the medical industry is the way it is, why our medical bills keep skyrocketing and why lobbyist are so important to so many industries. Watch this and then let your voice be heard – LOUDLY! Streams free on Netflix.

I had been wanting to see The Way and here was my chance. This movie touched me on so many levels. It is about family, friends, introspection, and the challenges and joys of life. It is the story of a father’s pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James), a Catholic pilgrimage route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain. The route starts out in France. This is not an action packed film, no sex, very little swearing if any, little dialogue, but a huge story. Several days later and I still thinking about different parts of the movie and I want to make the pilgrimage with Stella. Highly recommend it. Streams free on Netflix.

Add these to your movie list – I hope that you enjoy them as much as I did.

Posted in Life | Tagged movies | 4 Comments

Kids Craft Corner – One Of A Kind Flip Flops

Posted on May 17, 2012 by simply0637

Summer is here and that means flip flops! Stella can’t wear them to school, but she can wear them everywhere else and usually does. She was excited to do this craft with our friend Lorrie and create her one of kind personal flip flops. We were able to pick up a pair of flip flops from the Dollar store for fifty cents!

One Of A Kind Flip Flops

Items Needed

Pair of flip flops with narrow straps
Fabric, ribbon, lace, tulle
Bells, buttons
Glue
Scissors

1. Cut strips of fabric, ribbon, lace and/ or tulle.

2. Tie the strips onto the straps of the flip flops. You do want to use fabric that with rub or be scratchy. Place a dot of glue on each knot.

3. When you are done tying the ribbons onto both flip flops, trim the ribbon, etc up a little bit – so they are somewhat even.

4. Now you can sew some bells or buttons on to make them even more festive.

Wear and show them off! Stella and I went into one of the local boutiques and they had flip flops just like the pair Stella had made – the price tag was for $18! Stella’s pair probably cost less than $5 and she had a blast making them.

Just to show off the outfit Stella was wearing while creating a little better…

Posted in Kids Crafts | Tagged crafts, flip flops, kids | 2 Comments

Vanilla Extract – Why Buy When You Can Make Your Own

Posted on May 16, 2012 by simply0637

I love the flavor of a hint of vanilla in baked goods, but I use it sparingly due to the cost of true vanilla extract. The price of fake vanilla extract is so much cheaper but filled with artificial flavors, color and preservatives – so why use it!? I wanted to know how to make my own – so off to the world wide web to find out and I found many recipes – all them really easy. All that I needed was vanilla beans, vodka, mason jar and time – that seemed easy enough. I ordered Madagascar vanilla (on-line) and went to my local wine shop (they carry some other items as well) and purchased organic vodka. When the vanilla came in the mail we could smell it through the packaging!

Vanilla Extract

Items Needed

5 vanilla beans
16 oz (2 cups) vodka
Mason jar
Sharp knife
Butter knife
Time

1. Cut your vanilla beans length wise with a sharp knife.

2. Scrape the sticky inside of the bean out with a butter knife and put in the mason jar.

3. Cut the vanilla beans in half and place them in the jar.

4. Pour the vodka into the jar, seal the top.

5. Place the jar in a cool, dark location and remember to shake once or twice a week. I marked my calendar, but you could also label the jar with the date you made it. It will be ready in 3 weeks.

Your vanilla extract has a pantry life of about 8 months. I bought 4oz. brown bottles to pour and keep the extract in and to share with others.

Posted in Recipes | Tagged vanilla extract recipe | 7 Comments

Cornmeal Crusted Tilapia With Pico De Gallo and Rice

Posted on May 15, 2012 by simply0637

Our neighbor’s grandma makes some of the best pico de gallo I have ever had and I have been asking for a year for her to show me how to make it. The other night we had dinner over there and she was making – the next day I went out and bought the ingredients. I had the ingredients, now I had to figure out what else to make it with. I have been try to incorporate more fish into our diet and at the market the tilapia looked good and it checked out on seafood watch app. Now how to make the tilapia so that it complimented the pico and the pico complimented it.

Pico De Gallo

Ingredients

1 medium sized tomato
3/4 of a medium sized spanish or vidalia onion
1/2 cup torn up cilantro
1 tsp or to taste of Tabasco or other hot sauce
Ground sea salt, to taste
Fresh lemon juice (about 1/4 of a lemon)
1 Tbl low sugar, organic ketchup

1. In a small food processor add the torn cilantro and 3/4 of the tomato. Slice the tomato like you would for a salad.

2. Pulse the cilantro and tomato to make room for the onion.

3. Add the 3/4 of the onion. Sliced like the tomato.

4. Pour about a tablespoon of water into the mixture. Pulse the ingredients, you may have to stop and stir. You want it in small chunks, but not pureed. When there is enough room add the rest of the tomato. Pulse again.

5. Pour into a bowl squeeze 1/4 of a lemon and stir.

6. Add the Tabasco or hot sauce, tasting along the way. I like mine with a bite. Mix.

7. Add the ketchup and salt to taste.

Cornmeal Crusted Tilapia

Ingredients

Tilapia fillets
Cornmeal (amount depends on how many fillets)
Lemon juice (again amount depends on how many fillets)
Coconut oil.

1. Wash the fillets in cold water and pat dry.

2. Put the cornmeal and lemon juice in wide, shallow bowls.

3. Dredge the tilapia in the cornmeal, then the lemon juice and then again in the cornmeal. Let the fillets sit for 5 – 10 minutes.

4. Heat the coconut oil in a saute pan. When the oil is hot add the fillets. You do not want to crowd them.

5. Fry each side for about 3 – 5 minutes – you want it browned.

6. Place the fillets on paper towel so that the excess oil is absorb.

Serve over a bed of rice and top with a good size dollop (or more) of the pico de gallo. It is a nice combination of flavors. The fish is very crunchy. I loved it – Stella did not – oh well.

Posted in Dinner, Recipes | Tagged pico de gallo, recipe, tilapia | 3 Comments

Our Yard Sale

Posted on May 14, 2012 by simply0637

We have been trying to have a yard sale since last fall, but there was always something that came up and we would have to postpone. Well this past Saturday, we finally had our yard sale. Stella was looking very much forward to it, me – not so much. The reason for our yard sale, besides getting rid of stuff – was to put money towards our Africa trip.

Almost 10 years ago I went to South Africa, fell in love and have wanted to return ever since. Stella has seen the pictures and we have talked about going for awhile – but we have now set the time frame – the summer she is 10 – which is 2 years away. The reason for the long amount of time until we go is threefold – one reason is that this is a big trip, long travel, etc and I wanted to make sure she was up to the trip, second reason is that I wanted her to remember it – this is life time memory trip and the last one was to teach her about saving for a big ticket item – not instant gratification. We have an Africa savings account, where we put in a set amount every month, then we have Angel – our piggy bank – all my change at the end of the week goes into her and any money that Stella finds is placed in her too. Stella has also put in birthday and Christmas money.

After spending 6 hours in the attic sorting through stuff and organizing Stella’s old clothes – I thought the hard part was over – wrong! Wednesday night before the sale we made our signs, but could not hang them – rain was coming, Thursday we couldn’t hang them either – winds (30 – 50 mph) – so Friday morning, early – I was out there hanging signs around town. Friday evening it was replacing the signs that the wind had taken and getting everything out of the attic. I wish I had thought about taking a photo – there was so much stuff (some that had been dropped off by others – to help with the trip) that we had paths to walk through the rooms! Saturday morning I was up around 5am getting things started. I woke Stella at 6:30 and 15 minutes later she was hard at work. I don’t think she realized what it took to have a yard sale because she kept saying to me “this is a lot of work”. At 8am the sale began…

At the beginning - not showing everything

We also had 4 other kids join the fun! Things were slow, but then the kids decided to go to the corner and drum up business – and boy did they! I wish I had taken a picture of them at the corner – but within minutes of them going there – we were swarming with people. When they saw all the people they would come back to the house, talk up their items (I have to say they are very good sales people) and when the crowd thinned out they were back at the corner. They had so much energy, but towards the end they were all very tired!

The sale was a success! We had money to put in our African fund, a little bit of money for each of us (we worked hard) and almost everything was gone! The clothes that were left were brought to the Salvation Army and the other items were left at the end of the driveway with a FREE sign – most all was gone that same evening!

The End

Posted in Life | Tagged yard sale | 3 Comments

Have Checkers, Will Travel

Posted on May 11, 2012 by simply0637

I remember as a little girl playing checkers with my great grandfather. Great way to spend some quality time and entertain a child. I came across this travel checker board in my 1970’s craft book and decided why not. As I was showing Stella the picture, she informed me that she did not know how to play checkers!! What kind of mom does not teach their child to play checkers?! ME – I could have sworn that I had played checkers with her, but I guess I must have dreamt it!

Travel Checker Board

Items Needed

6″x12″ piece of black or red felt
1 3/8 yards (5/8″ wide) black grosgrain ribbon
1 3/8 yards (5/8″ wide) red grosgrain ribbon
1 1/2 yards (3/8″ wide) black grosgrain ribbon (I could not find, so I got another black ribbon, same width)
10″ (1/8″ wide) black grosgrain ribbon
10″ (1/8″ wide) red grosgrain ribbon
Thread to match
Fabric pencil
Transparent tape
12 (1/2″) red buttons
12 (1/2″) black buttons
Extra buttons for ribbon ties and “just-in;case” you loose buttons

1. Mark your piece of felt according to the diagram. Don’t skip this step.

2. Cut 8 (5 3/4″ ) lengths each from the 5/8″ wide black and red ribbon, set aside.

3. From the 3/8″ wide black ribbon cut 4 (5 3/4″) lengths, set aside.

4. Cut your felt.

5. Referring to the diagram, position the 8 lengths of red ribbon on felt, securing the ends with tape. The ribbon edges must butt together so that no felt is showing through. Baste ribbons in place, along width, remove tape.

6. Place 1 length of the 3/8″ wide black ribbon on top of the basted ends of red ribbons, aligning black ribbon with marked lines on felt, machine stitch along both edges of the black ribbon.

7. Beginning at the top left corner, weave 1 length of 5/8″ wide black ribbon under and over red ribbons repeatedly. Continue weaving until all lengths of the 5/8″ wide black ribbon are used, butting long edges closely together and securing cut ends with tape, baste ribbons in place along sides and bottom of checkerboard area; remove tape.

8. Place 1 length of 3/8″ wide black ribbon on bottom basted ends of red ribbon, machine stitch along each edge of black ribbon.

9. Machine stitch 1 length of 3/8″ wide black ribbon along each pocket edge of felt piece, refer to diagram above.

10. Cut 2 (13″) pieces from the 3/8″ wide black ribbon. Place 1 length along each long edge of felt, machine stitch along edges.

11. To make pockets, fold felt to back along ribbons at top and bottom of checkerboard. To secure pockets, top-stitch along each edge of ribbons surrounding checkerboard.

12. For ties, tack 1/8″ wide red ribbon to center of 1 side and tack 1/8″ wide black ribbon to the center of other side (I only had red ribbon in this size). If desired, tie matching color button to end of each ribbon.

13. Insert 12 red button in 1 pocket and 12 black buttons in the other pocket (I did 14 for each, bummer if one gets lost). Fold the checkerboard at center and tie ribbon in a bow or loose double knot.

Posted in Crafts, Sewing | Tagged checkerboard, sewing | 2 Comments

iPhone Knitted Cozy – Show The Love With Hearts!

Posted on May 10, 2012 by simply0637

I love my iphone! I purchased the case for it, but I wanted a little more protection and a way to be able to instantly grab it out of my bag. I have been working on a knitted project that seems no matter how much I knit it never gets longer, ugh! So I wanted some instant gratification – something quick and easy. I had made Stella an iPod cozy awhile back, so figured I could do the same for my iPhone – I didn’t like any of the patterns I found, so I made my own – I only had to rip it out twice – pretty good I think!

This looks like a really long pattern, which it is – but it took me less than 2 hours to finish and have my iPhone all snuggly!

iPhone Knitted Cozy (Show the Love with Hearts!)

Items Needed

Wool yarn (your choice of color)
Size 8 straight needles
Small button
Matching Thread

Note: I can’t tell you how much yarn I used, but it didn’t make a dent in the skein.

Gauge: 17 stitches = 4″

1. CO (cast on) 15 stitches, leaving a long tail – this will be used to sew up the seam of one side.

Row 1: Knit
Row2: Knit
Row 3: Purl
Row 4: Knit
Row 5: Purl
Row 6: Knit
Row 7: Purl
Row 8: Knit
Row 9: Purl
Row 10: (RS – right side) *P1, k1; repeat from * to last stitch, p1
Row 11: Purl

Row 12: P1, (k3, p2) twice, k3, p1
Row 13: P3, k4, p1, k4, p3
Row 14: P1, k1, p2, k2, p3, k2, p2, k1, p1
Row 15: P2, k2, p3, k1, p3, k3, p2
Row 16: P1, k2, p2, k5, p2, k2, p1
Row 17: P1, (p3, k2) twice, p4
Row 18: P1, k4, p2, k1, p2, k4, p1
Row 19: P6, k3, p6
Row 20: P1, k6, p1, k6, p1
Row 21: Purl
Row 22: *P1, k1; repeat from * to last stitch, p1

Row 23: Purl
Row 24: Knit
Row 25: Purl
Row 26: Knit
Row 27: Purl
Row 28: *P1, k1; repeat from * to last stitch, p1
Row 29: Purl
Row 30: Knit
Row 31: Purl
Row 32: Knit
Row 33: Purl
Row 34: Knit
Row 35: Purl
Row 36: *P1, k1; repeat from * to last stitch, p1
Row 37: Purl
Row 38: Knit
Row 39: Purl
Row 40: Knit
Row 41: Purl
Row 42: Knit
Row 43: Purl
Row 44: *P1, k1; repeat from * to last stitch, p1
Row 45: Purl
Row 46: Knit
Row 47: Purl
Row 48: Knit
Row 50: Purl
Row 52: *P1, k1; repeat from * to last stitch, p1
Row 53: Purl
Row 54: P1, k6, p1, k6, p1
Row 55: P6, k3, p6
Row 56: P1, k4, p2, k1, p2, k4, p1
Row 57: P1, (p3, k2) twice, p4
Row 58: P1, k2, p2, k5, p2, k2, p1
Row 59: P2, k2, p3, k1, p3, k3, p2
Row 60: P1, k1, p2, k2, p3, k2, p2, k1, p1
Row 61: P3, k4, p1, k4, p3
Row 62: P1, (k3, p2) twice, k3, p1
Row 63: Purl
Row 64: *P1, k1; repeat from * to last stitch, p1
Row 65: Purl
Row 66: Knit
Row 67: Purl
Row 68: Knit
Row 69: Purl
Row 70: Knit
Row 71: Purl
Row 72: Knit
Row 73: Knit

Row 74: BO 5, k5, Bo5, cut tail long enough to sew up side seam

Row 75. Starting with a new piece of yarn: Purl row
Row 76: Knit
Row 77: Purl
Row 78: Knit
Row 79: Purl
Row 80: Knit
Row 81: Purl
Row 82: Knit
Row 83: Purl
Row 84: K2, YO (yarn over), K2tog, k
Row 85: Purl
Row 86: K2tog, k, k2tog
BO (bind off)

Matching right sides together, sew up seams, weave in ends. I chose to sew up the seams before I did the strap, mainly because I wanted to make sure I was making the strap long enough – you can do it either way. Sew on button.

Posted in Crafts, Knitting | Tagged cozy, iPhone, iPhone cover, knitting | 4 Comments

Hanging String Lamp

Posted on May 9, 2012 by simply0637

Back in either 2003 or 2004 I came across an article in a magazine that showed how to make a hanging light fixture from string. I tore out the pages and filed them away – coming across them whenever I clean out or reorganize the file cabinet. I finally got a little smart in my old age and put together a binder with all the items I come across that I want to someday tackle or the clippings that get sent to me from several different sources!

The hardest part of this project was finding the balloon! Usually there are a couple laying around the house, but now that Stella can blow one up herself – I could not find one anywhere. I decided to hit up the drug store in town – no regular balloons, but they did have the ones that you blow up and can twist to make animals, 3 more stores and no balloons. I finally came home, called a few friends on the block – no luck at their houses either, but one suggested the dollar store down the hill, forgot it existed and I have never been there – so off I went. They did not have balloons either – shocking, but they had the balloon favors that you blow and they make noise – figured why not – I would just take the plastic blow piece off the end. I went to the front and asked if they just had a plain bag of balloons – no, but they had helium balloons I could buy. I told them I just needed 1 or 2 balloons – the wife offered to sell me 2 from their supply, but the husband said no – I had to buy the bag. Well now I have a bag of 10 balloons – I have hidden them away.

Hanging String Lamp

Items Needed

Balloon
Glue
Water
Newspaper
Cotton string/twine
Plastic cup to use as stand
Make a lamp kit
Thin wire

1. Blow up a balloon to the size desired.

2. On a plate or in a shallow bowl, mix 3 parts white glue with 1 part water – mix well.

3. Saturate the cotton string with glue and wrap it around the balloon. Circle the balloon several times, overlapping horizontally and vertically, to make a solid structure. Leave an opening in the bottom and top for the light fixture.

4. Let the glue dry over night.

5. Pop the balloon and gently help to release the glued strings from the form as it deflates.

6. Put you hanging light fixture (from lamp kit) together.

7. Place your string lamp shade over the light fixture. Use thin wire to secure the light fixture to the shade – running from edge to edge across the top.

Hang and enjoy. After hanging it I decided I really need to re-string the lamp fixture and then get a chain to weave the cord through for easier hanging. Otherwise I love it and Stella things it is cool.

Posted in Crafts | Tagged make your own lamp, string lamp | 2 Comments

Kids Craft Corner – Creating Ella & Rachel

Honey Curried Kale Recipe

The Up Side of Being Sick

Kids Craft Corner – One Of A Kind Flip Flops

Vanilla Extract – Why Buy When You Can Make Your Own

Cornmeal Crusted Tilapia With Pico De Gallo and Rice

Our Yard Sale

Have Checkers, Will Travel

iPhone Knitted Cozy – Show The Love With Hearts!

Hanging String Lamp

Subscribe

Newsletter Signup

Recent Posts

Sign up today!

Archives

Categories

Blogroll