We’ve grown a little

It has been a while since you have seen any pictures of us. So here we are again.

Trip and Lily

Rez

Ocean

Daphne

Mo 

Harvey

Julius

Zelda

Indie

What do you do when the world stops?

It is April 12, 2020. Easter Sunday.  We are in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic.  Here in Seattle, schools buildings have been closed since March 12, Trip started working from home earlier that week, and I closed my hair salon the next day.   Rez is still working, but with reduced hours.  He is the only one that goes anywhere regularly. The rest of us stay home. We leave our yard to walk the dog. And I go to the grocery store 1-2 times a week. 

We have been told to stay home.  All schools are closed through the end of the year.  All non-essential businesses are closed.  All elective surgeries are banned.  All gatherings of more than 10 people are banned.  No theaters, no sports, no parties, no church. The church in fact has cancelled all meetings world wide until further notice and temporarily closed all temples.  

So what do you do when the world is social distancing?

Mo made Fudgy Buttons and Harvey made chocolate cake.

Lily tries to keep the kids on a school schedule and get some alone time.

Zelda sees how many scrunchies will fit in her hair.

Daphne makes a crown.

Indie and Julius crashing after fasting and praying for relief from the pandemic.  

Make sour dough waffles.

Play April fools day pranks.

Bleach and dye Zelda’s hair.

Indie eats baked waffles.

Harvey pretends to be a bush. 

Harvey, Indie, Mo and Zelda wall sit around a post.  

Lily tries a new hair color.

Daphnia makes savory puff pastries.

We polish rocks.  This is before the final polish step.

Daphne makes a raspberry Napoleon.

And she balances on a fire hydrant while Zelda walks the dog.

Zelda stacks cups.

And she writes a story.

Harvey, Mo, Ocean, and Julius play video games and watch TV.

Put together puzzles. 

Grow a mop of curls.

Try a new hair color.

Zelda poses like Gerald from Elephant and Piggie books.

Celebrate Pi Day. 

Have a fire. 

Hang out on the trampoline. 

Have some awesome bedhead.

And play ping pong.

Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

We have been on this gluten free journey for about 2 1/2 years. I finally have a recipe that is so good I want to share it. I have really appreciated all the gf recipes so freely shared.
This cake is light, fluffy and delicious.



Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

3/4 c + 1T + 1t coconut oil 

1 3/4 c sugar

2 eggs, separated

1t vanilla

1/2 c sour cream

2 1/2c (326g) gf cake flour

1/2c cocoa

1 1/4t baking soda

1/2t salt

1T vinegar

1c + 3T ice water (no ice in it)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Cream oil and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add egg yolks and vanilla. Best well. Add sour cream. Sift together dry ingredients and set aside. Add vinegar to ice water. Set aside. Add dry and wet ingredients alternating beating with each addition. 

Beat egg whites separately until they are white and frothy. Fold into cake batter. 

Pour into prepared pans (greased or wax paper in bottom). Either 2 round or one 9 x 13 pan. 

Bake 47 min for rounds or 52 min for 9 x 13 or until done. 

Cool and frost as desired. Cream cheese frosting is delicious. 

GF Cake Flour mix

2c almond flour

4c brown rice flour

2c tapioca flour

4c potato starch

1 1/2c arrowroot powder

2T + 2t xanthan gum

Mix well.  Very well. Maybe even sift together.  Use for cakes and dinner rolls. 

Dressing Your Truth

For the past 7 months I have been dressing my truth and I look fabulous.  What is Dressing Your Truth you might ask.  Dressing Your Truth is ...

Cuteness and Tricks

 

Harvey's face stand.

 

Indie

 

Zelda - monkey girl

The End of an Era

I just found a few posts that I had started and never posted since they were waiting cleaver commentary, so I will post them anyway.

 

 

Rez 8th grade promotion celebration.

 

Daphne 5th grade promotion celebration. 

 

We were just lucky they weren't on the same day.

Bye, Bye Mr. Frizzle

We got new chicks again this year.   My plan was to retire 4 of our older hens and get 4 new chicks and then to that every year so we have a constant stream of eggs.  I waffled back and forth on it for a while.  We love our chickens.

They are our pets. 

But I really do have them for eggs, the fact that they are fun is just bonus.

But in the end getting new chicks won out, when I realized, I was running out of time to get them this year and would face the winter without enough eggs.

One day I hopped in my car and drove to DeYoungs to get chicks.  We got 4.

An Americana we named Blackberry.

A Rhode Island Red (in the back) we named Rosie,

Another Americana we named Tawny (front right)

And a White Cochran Frizzle, she started as Buttercup, but we renamed her Ms. Frizzle after she started to feather out (in honor of the magic school bus).

I have always wanted a fizzle.

They look so cool!

Look at those awesome feathered feet.

As they started getting older, I knew that we were going to have to get rid of the hens so we would have enough room for the new girls.  But I put it off as long as possible.

 Daphne teaching Blackberry to perch on her shoulder. 

Zelda holding Blackberry.

Ocean with Tawny.

And here is Rosie in front.

Ms. Frizzle is really getting fluffy.

Tawny.

  

It wasn't too long before I noticed lots of scuffles in the brooder.  And then one night I heard the dreaded sound.  Some one crowed!  I was pretty sure it was Ms. Frizzle.  Another time Trip heard one crow.  He was pretty sure it was Tawny.  I would see the two of them scuffling for dominance, but Tawny won and he would perch on the side of the brooder and crow.  So, he was definitely the rooster.

We took them outside once after knowing Tawny was a rooster and it was interesting to watch him interacting with his "hens".   He kept an eye out for danger, alerting them if necessary.   When 2 of his girls started to fight, he placed himself between them.   It made me wish we could have a rooster, so we could have that whole dynamic.

It came time for the little girls to go out to the coop.

We were so sad we had to get rid of him.  Luckily, we hadn't gotten rid of 4 hens yet, so when the time came, I advertised 3 retiring hens and one young rooster.

Sunflower and Black Rose had been 2 of our first chickens.  It was hard to see them go.

Lacy, it wasn't so hard with her,  she was a bit of a punk when it came time to lock up the chickens, and she would run away.  And she had never been a good layer.

That day someone came and picked them up the same day. 

However, it didn't take long before we started hearing crowing again.  Ms Frizzle is really Mr Frizzle.  I really wanted to find him a home because he is so cool to look at.  I put an ad for him on craigslist, but no one called.  After a few days, I got an email, and a wonderful woman came and picked him up.  And I can day that I think she is going to keep him.  He will make a wonderful. addition  to her flock!

Bye Bye, Mr Frizzle.