The Recipe Box Swap

Over at i have to say there is a recipe box swap going on today. Well who couldn't use a new recipe so I thought I'd join in the fun. Today's shaping up to be a sunny 50 degree day just like spring. Of course there is still snow on the ground so I decided to do one more winter soup before putting my soup pot away for the summer. So here's what we're having for dinner...
Hearty Slit Pea Soup and homemade bread. Before you say yuck I have to admit I've never been a fan of pea soup until this recipe. Now it's a favorite when paired with warm bread and butter. Delicious! The recipe comes from Steph's Country Kitchen Goodness.

Chopped and ready to go into the Crockpot.

It doesn't look like much yet but it's going to be yummy!

HEARTY SPLIT PEA SOUP

1 package (16 ounces) dry, green split peas

4 cups water

2 cups chicken broth

1/2 pound cooked, finely cubed ham

1 large potato, peeled and diced

3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced

1 celery stalk, sliced

1 small onion, chopped

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. onion powder

1/8 tsp. dry thyme leaves

1 bay leaf

Rinse split peas in cold water. Combine all ingredients in a Dutch oven or large sauce pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer, stirring occasionally, 1-1/2 hours. Remove bay leaf. Yield: 6 servings.

*Useful Tip: If soup is too thick, add enough water until soup reaches desired consistency. Soup thickens upon standing, so leftovers will probably need more water before re-serving.

One Success & One Misfit

I read something the other day that said it's good to fail because it teaches you new approaches and solutions. That each failure brings you closer to a workable solution that you can use. The elephant turned out to be a bit of a misfit but after that I created this orange kitty for Nature Girl. Nature Girl loves orange cats and wants a real one. She was thrilled with this little kitty and has named her "Ginger."
Ginger has been the recipient of lots of hugs and was honored with being the animal chosen to attend the leap land activities at dance class today. She's also decided to take Ginger to show and tell at school tomorrow. Ginger and Nature Girl seem happy together. Now back to the drawing board with the elephant.

Elephant Update

Here's an update on the elephant that was in progress yesterday.

While Nature girl was sacked out on the couch yesterday I worked on getting the elephant put together. Unfortunately I think he's headed to the Land of Misfit Toys. The questionable construction and shoddy stitching have sealed his fate. For the life of me I couldn't figure out how to get his ears on so the seam would be on the inside and wouldn't show. The way the ears curved around it's head stumped me. Maybe it was the lack of sleep the two previous nights or just a brain malfunction but I couldn't do it for the life of me. In the end I did a zig zag stitch up the ears to attach them. I'm not sure he'll hold up to the love of our four year old niece. It's funny how it seemed like a good idea on paper but in reality it didn't quite work out. I may have to give it another try someday when I'm up to the challenge. In the meantime I think I'll follow the pattern for Nelly the elephant in Toys to Sew by Claire Garland.

Work in progress

With Nature Girl being sick and taking naps the last two days I've had some time to work on some projects. Here are a few works in progress. Above is the start of a blue elephant softie for one of our nieces. She loves elephants and I thought I could make a softie from a drawing I did.

This is a snail doodle I stitched on muslin this weekend. I was looking for a doodle that would make a good icon for me as a blogger. I wanted something made by me and unique to me. So this snail stack is what I came up with. It's my husband, daughter and I. I think it will work. Of course I reserve the right to change my mind at a later date and create something new. As for the stitched snail stack it's being turned into a pillow and sent off to a niece who claimed it as her own.

Sick & Sacked Out

Nature Girl has been sick for two days. Here she is sound asleep on the couch this morning. We know she's sick because she never takes a nap anymore. She gave up napping at 2 1/2 years old and has never looked back. Now here she is sacked out. Poor thing! We've been watching PBS Kids for the last two days. When that gets boring we've been listening to audio books. We discovered a great new audio book by Amy Friedman called Tell Me a Story. It's very entertaining with music and different voices for each short story. I enjoyed listening to it too. It's helping to keep us both sane. I'm hoping Nature Girl is on the mend and will be back to her usual self tomorrow.

Where Did Spring Go?

Yesterday I saw the first robins of spring. I was so excited! It's been a long snowy winter here and we're all ready for spring. Unfortunately this is what we woke up to today. As I write the snow continues to fall outside. While I hoped to be putting away winter hats and scarves until next year instead we'll be using them a little longer. So here is a show and tell of the scarf I made for Nature Girl this year.


I was inspired last winter to create a scarf after I saw a beautiful scarf made from sweaters and tweed jackets on a mom at the children's museum. I created the scarf on the left for myself from fabric scraps and thrifted wool pieces. I used fleece for the back of my scarf. It's warm comfortable and unique. I love it! This fall I created the scarf on the right for Nature Girl. I even got her to model it this morning. Yes she'd still in her pajamas and her hair hasn't been brushed.


While we love our handmade scarves let's hope the snow melts and the robins return soon. Come back spring!

A Tree Hugger to Melt Your Heart

Nature Girl has been a tree hugger since she began walking. She literally hugs the trees in our yard. She loves them! Last week as she rode in the car on the way to preschool she was in the backseat waving out the window saying "Hi!" When asked what she was doing she said " I'm waving to the trees so their green leaves will grow." Well that just melted my heart! This week while playing outside she looked at an evergreen tree and said "It's not healthy. I'm going to hug it to make it's leaves grow." Now I'm not a nature expert but the tree looked healthy enough to me and it had pine cones and needles not leaves. Still this simple gesture was sweet . . . it's kindness to all living things. That is something I hope she will always display.


Honestly her tree hugging ways inspire me to leave a smaller mark on the earth. At her young age she already sees nature as a wonder and is conscientious about the environment. Her recycling efforts are worth their own post so more on that later. In the meantime we're trying to be a bit more "Green" around here. We're not hardcore earth activists just three people trying to be more conscientious. What tips do you have on being green? How do you reduce, reuse and recycle? If you're interested here is an Earth Day Footprint Quiz you can take to see what your impact is on the environment. It was interesting.