Hama beads Minecraft art

I grew up with making crafts and projects out of Hama beads. You might know them as Meltabeads or Perler, also. I find the Hama brand to be the best quality, just like Lego is a step above Mega Blocks. Those Danes sure know how to make plastic toys (and beads)!

Naturally, my boys inherited my enthusiasm for bead projects and have spent many an hour on their fine motor skills, sorting, patience, and creativity. Their latest projects reflect their new-found interest in the graphic game Minecraft.

Minecraft torch with glow in the dark beads. 3D

Gluten Free Apple Cake

This is an adaptation of a recipe I have had and baked since I was 12 years old (skole kjoekkenet). As with all my recipes, I always use less sugar and oil than it calls for. I also usually add 1 package of apple sauce (no sugar added) to my GF recipes to keep it moister longer. 1 cup = 2.5 dl or 250 ml

Apple cake

300 grams margarine (I used 2.5 sticks)

3 dl sugar (I used 1 cup)

3 eggs

(1/2 cup of apple sauce, optional)

6 dl flour (I used 2 cups Pamela’s GF Bread mix and almost 1 cup of rice flour, but could have used any GF all purpose flour)

2 ts baking powder (check if your all purpose flour already has some in it)

2 ts GF vanilla

2 sweet/juicy apples, peeled and sliced thinly or in cubes.

 

Margarine must be soft/almost melted, mix it with sugar and vanilla until light and creamy. (Add apple sauce) Add some of the flour, then mix in the eggs, then the rest of the flour + baking powder.

Spread evenly into 9 x 13 pan. Cover with apple slices or cubes. Sprinkle with cinnamon (and sugar if you desire) Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes (increase time at high altitude, but check for doneness after about 35 min)

 

I was elated and very surprised that it turned out so yummy after I changed the recipe and “winged it” so severely 🙂

 

Our first family camping trip…..

So I admit, we’re not the most adventurous family. Sure, we like hiking, biking, walking, traveling and sitting around a campfire (in our backyard), but we never owned a tent or slept outside, before. The work involved just never seemed worth the little bit of enjoyment. Us parents had our share of camping in our younger days, before arthritis, bad backs, loud snoring and poor sleeping patterns ruled our nights. And the kids, well.. they never knew what they were missing 🙂

Last weekend, a friend let us borrow his old (and let me emphasize o l d) pop-up camper. We did a simple camp-out just 20 miles from home, by a lake. The boys enjoyed fishing with their daddy during the day, while mommy got a much needed break to soak in the peace and quiet. Though it only lasted less than 22 hours, the memories made were priceless, and a good lesson learned for our next camping adventure!

The oldest boy cought 3 catfish and 1 carp. It was his first real fishing experience 🙂 Daddy, of course, cought the biggest fish. The youngest boy found a new hobby – carving sticks into sharp spears. There were also great climbing trees and firepit ready for s’mores making.

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Colorado on fire!

From June 9th until June 27th:

7 fires burning simultaneously.

More than 100,000 acres burned.

More than 450 homes lost

More than 1000 firefighters working in 95-105 degree temperatures and high winds.

Writing under the influence!

PMS stinks! Even when I know it’s the hormones taking over my usually sound judgment, the knowledge itself doesn’t really help. I know that in a few hours, my mind will be clearer and I will feel differently about the things that now weigh heavy on my heart. I will then be reassured that the world isn’t really falling apart – it just feels like it for the time being. So therefore – I really shouldn’t be writing emails, text messages or blog posts while in this state! But I still do. So sorry in advance for any emotional, exaggerated writings that sometimes arrives with my signature posted at the end! See you again next month.

Eaton area hail storm, June 7th, 2012

Driving through Eaton, CO on the morning of June 8th, one could think a blizzard had just gone through town. Eaton Elementary School showed the effects of the wind, the plastic awnings and rain gutters dangeling in the breeze. Benjamin Eaton now had a fun little splash pool on the playgorund. The Middle school has a retention pond area that was overflowing into the streets and even 12 hours later was a big lake, perfect for small boats. Half of the local tennis courts were  covered in mud. The town smelled like onions, a sure sign that the hail had destoyed most of the crops around town. Debris from the stripped trees and flowing muddy waters covering the streets, and probably entering many basements. The kids enjoyed making “snow”balls and jumping in warm puddles in the aftenoon, but our hearts go out to those who ended up the victims of this storm.

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Wheat free bread? Dimmer’s Bakery in CO making false claims.

A year ago, I was diagnosed with a severe wheat intolerance. Going on a specialty diet where I eliminated all wheat plus 6 other food my body reacted to, helped me to completely get my rheumatoid arthritis under control. Since I’m a bread-o-holic, my “saving grace” was the rye breads from Dimmer’s bakery in Denver, CO. I found them at the local Vitamin Cottage and King Soopers and was thrilled to learn they added no wheat, preservatives, additives or milk to these yummy loaves. I’ve been eating this bread for about a year. Then around December, after 2 whole months of stabile, medication-free, arthritis control, I started hurting again. Through January, I got increasingly worse. Then today, I realized that Dimmer’s had started to add wheat to their rye breads! Ugh! So I investigated their website to find an explanation as to why they were now adding wheat and still claiming their breads are “low-gluten”. I found out that not only were there NO updates on their site, but that they also claim their rye breads (all 5 different kinds) are perfectly OK for people with gluten allergies (i.e. celiacs)!! Where on earth do they get their facts? How many people have they made sick with their mis-information? I have to buy a lot of gluten-free and organic products to stay away from the foods that make me sick. GF and Organic is EXPENSIVE. So when I find those few products that are wheat free without the overpriced organic or GF certification, I am very happy. Dimmer’s breads were among those few products, and now I can’t buy them anymore. If anybody knows of other Northern Colorado bakeries that make wheat-free breads, and that cost less than $4 a loaf, let me know.

Play on words – a lot of truth in there!

Tact is the ability to describe others as they see themselves.

A lot of kneeling will keep you in good standing.

Great minds … discuss ideas. Average minds … discuss events. Small minds … discuss people.

I had dreams and I’ve had nightmares. I overcame the nightmares because of my dreams.

A true friend walks in when the world walks out.

A smile is a curve that sets things straight.

I am so glad God sees the whole video tape of my life, and not just a snapshot of where I am now.

The key to happiness is not fixing your problems but changing your attitude towards your problems.

To hate a person is a waste; half the people you hate don’t care, and the other half don’t know.    

When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace.

For true love is inexhaustible; the more you give, the more you have. And if you go to draw at the true fountainhead, the more water you draw, the more abundant is its flow

Breath-taking!

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Sometimes God just smacks us on the head to get our attention. This afternoon was one of those times. The greatest artist – EVER, painted the sky for us today, to remind us of his power and love.

You might be a Coloradoan if….

You’ll eat ice cream in the winter.

It snows a foot and you don’t expect school to be cancelled.

You’ll wear flip flops every day of the year, regardless of temperature.

“Humid” is over 10%.

Your sense of direction is: Toward the mountains and Away from the mountains.

You think that May is a totally normal month for a blizzard.

You buy your flowers to set out on Mother’s day, but try and hold off planting them until just before Father’s day.

You grew up planning your Halloween costumes around your coat.

You know what the Continental Divide is.

You don’t think Coors beer is that big a deal.

You went to Casa Bonita as a kid, AND as an adult.

You’ve gone off-roading in a vehicle that was never intended for such activities.

You always know the elevation of where you are.

You wake up to a beautiful, 70 degree day and you wonder if it’s gonna snow tomorrow.

You don’t care that some company renamed it, the Broncos still play at Mile High Stadium!!

Everybody wears jeans to church.

You actually know that **South Park** is a real place not just a show on TV.

You know what a ‘trust fund hippy’ is, and you know it’s natural habitat is in Boulder.

You know you’re talking to a fellow Coloradoan when they call it “Elitches,” not “”Six Flags.”

A bear on your front porch doesn’t bother you.

Your two favorite teams are the Broncos and whoever is beating the crap out of the Raiders.

When people back East tell you they have mountains in their state too, you just laugh.

You go anywhere else on the planet and the air feels “sticky” and you notice the sky is no longer blue.