Count Down Calendar (Advent Calendar)

Are we there yet? Can't you just remember how when you were a kid it seemed as though Christmas would never, I mean NEVER, arrive? I swear, counting the days until Christmas- several times a day- was how my Zippy learned to count.

Here's a Countdown Calendar project to get your little Santa's Helpers in on the act. This can be as simple or as elaborate as you would like for it to be.

  

Start out with a basic "wood" clipboard. These are some kind of compressed wood product and hold the glue, paint, sparkles, etc. much better than the plastic ones. I got mine from Office Depot and they come in 2-packs. Nice if you have more than one munchkin type person at your house. Some clipboards have the screws to remove the clip do-hickey at the top but I wasn't able to find any of those. So we'll work around it.

You'll also need some of this super fun chalkboard paint. How fun is this stuff!! 

Mark out a 7.5 inch square on the clipboard.

Tape off the square with painters tape and paint inside the square with the chalkboard paint. If you can, use the painters tape for delicate surfaces.

You'll need to use two coats in order to get good coverage. Paint one coat in one direction, let it dry, and paint the second coat in the other direction.

Make your stroke nice and smooth and even, as on the left side above, not swirly like on the right side of the clipboard. You know that, of course, but when working with kids or non-crafter adults (like I do) you'll want to mention it.

Once the paint is dry, carefully peel off the painters tape.

Use a pencil to mark out your grid. The lines need to be 1.5 inches apart in order to get your 5 x 5 grid.

Use a paint marker to draw your grid.

 Draw all of the lines in one direction first, letting them dry completely before you do the perpendicular lines so that you don't get streaking and smudging.

Here's another hint- once you draw a line with the paint marker, tilt the ruler up and away from the board instead of sliding it. You may also want to consider wiping the edge of the ruler off with a wipe or damp paper towel before you lay it back down on the clipboard for the next line. The paint markers dry fairly quickly.

After I started this clipboard, I decided that I wanted the edges around the chalkboard part to be a color. That's because ...

 ... I was zero-thrilled with my first run at this project.

So I carefully taped off the chalkboard area and painted the outer edges.

  

 Next I drew some gingerbread men in a couple of sizes on tan scrapbook paper, shaded them with colored pencils, and painted on the frosting with paint markers.

Then I added some swirls with white glue and glitter and drew in a little Cardinal friend with paint markers and Sharpie.

Glue on the gingerbread fellas once the glitter-glue swirls have dried.

Finally, add a bow.

Write in the countdown days with chalk. We have a big debate at our house every year about which day is first, which day is last so I started on the Eve as one day left since that day can feel like the longest day of the month when you're a kid who's been forbidden from shaking any more presents.

Stash the chalk in the clip do-hickey.

You can erase the days or cross them out with the chalk.

I did make another countdown calendar, going back to the non-painted outer edges. I used scrapbook paper to add a colored band across the top and was originally going to cut out CriCut letters for a title --"Days To Go" or something. But the felt presents and tree, which came from Michael's, were so cute I just went with them and added some swirls with glitter glue. Not lovin' this one either but it's just so fun to play around.

So there you have it! Not too hard at all. You could use the clip part at the top to post notes such as...

"Stop poking at the presents."

"Clean your room or no presents."

"There better be some diamonds under that tree."

So hang in there, we're getting closer. Have fun and sing a few carols today.

Next time- Awesome Fudge!

Fruktsuppe - Norwegian Fruit Soup

Yes, Virginia, there is a Fruit Soup. And it's delicious.

Norwegian Fruit Soup is a warm soup based on dried fruits. Yes, I meant to say "warm." There are as many recipes for Fruit Soup as there are Norwegian families. But ours is the right one! Just kidding. Some of the recipes seem strange and unappetizing to me, that's true, but it's mainly because I've never tried them. Some recipes look as though they might be as good as our family's recipe.

I could go on about how each recipe springs from a distinct region of Norway, just as  does the Bunad-





by knitting iris via Flickr Creative Commons

(Uffda! This woman looks so much like my mother!)



-the traditional Norwegian folk wear- and hearken back for centuries, recalling thousands of years of family and tradition in each particular fjord and valley. But I would be serving you a load of svin skitt. Pardon my Norwegian. Simply put, there are many "right" recipes for Fruktsuppe. I am skeptical, however, of the true Norwegian-ness (that's an old word I just made up) of the recipes that call for things like pineapple, fresh mango, and canned fruit cocktail. These soups are probably delicious but those ingredients were most likely not available on the fjord in the dead of winter way back when. I'm just sayin' ...

This recipe comes from my Aunt and is a Christmas Eve staple at our house. Let's get busy.

Aunt Tante's Fruit Soup

(Tante is Norwegian for "aunt". Since I generally do not use real given names here in the Jungle, we'll go with tante).

You will need:

1/2 lb pitted prunes

1 cup raisins

1 orange

1 lemon

4 tbsp Tapioca

1/4 lb. dried apricots

3 apples

3/4 cup sugar

1 cinnamon stick

1 can tart red cherries, with liquid

Notes on ingredients: Tante's recipe says to use 2 tbsp large pearl tapioca and 2 tbsp of small pearl. I was only able to find the small pearl Tapioca this year so 4 tbsp of small it is.

The small is pictured above on the left. Large pearl Tapioca is way cool and is what is used in Pearl Milk/Bubble Tea/etc. Instant tapioca is shown on the right above. It's crushed and I suppose would do in an absolute emergency but I've never used it so can't give a first hand testimony.

Let's get busy---

Start this recipe in the evening the day before you plan to serve it.

Snip the prunes and apricots in half, three's at the most. I don't have a picture of the snipped prunes I'm willing to share as they didn't look very appetizing. Just couldn't get a good picture of snipped prunes but they will be about the same size as the apricots.

Slice the lemon and orange into thin slices. Don't peel them. You can cut the little belly button thing off the lemon if you want.

Put the prunes, apricots, lemon, orange, raisins, tapioca, sugar, and cinnamon stick in a large pot such as a Dutch oven.

Add just enough water to cover the fruit and stir it up just enough to dissolve the sugar. Put the lid on the pot and...

... go away. Let the soup sit unheated and undisturbed overnight.

The next day, core and slice the apples, leaving the skin intact.

Add the apple to the pot along with 2 cups of water. Cook until the fruit is soft, about 1/2 an hour.

Add the canned cherries and their liquid last and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Notes about heating and progression through the recipe: You can finish off the soup in the morning, turn the heat off, and let it sit until you're ready to serve- just gently warm it up again. Or you can let it sit all day and finish the soup off about 1/2 an hour or so before you plan to serve it. It doesn't really matter.

This soup is meant to be served warm. For some reason, we always serve ours in small crystal cups. I have no explanation for that other than it was what Mom had available after all the other food was dished up and so the tradition was born. It's also good eaten right out of the pot, just don't let anyone see you doing so.

Yes, you can eat it cold if you would like but you really should try it warm first. Warm is our family's preference, even for leftovers.

Yes, it's good, warm or cold, with a nice vanilla ice cream.

Until next time, wishing you ...

Oh Look- A Snowflake!



by Gwen<3you via Flickr Creative Commons

 We've had snow most of this past week. Nothing like last year's relentless battering, just a scrubby snow. Daily, steady, maybe an inch of accumulation before it blows away.

If you haven't gotten any snow, go to the Get Flurrious website. I love those online snowflake sites but this one is my latest favorite. The site was created as a fundraiser for UNICEF with a goal of $10,000. According to Get Flurrious, they reached their goal and then some. As a thank-you, the ad agency that created the site made it available to the public.

by stormbirdstudio via Flickr Creative Commons

If there is a way to save your flakes to your computer, I haven't found it so I can't share any of mine with you. If you go to Get Flurrious and click on "Let It Snow" in the upper right corner, maybe one of mine will float past.

by AlexRK via Flickr Creative Commons

If you need some down time to let your mind wander from its worries, go to Get Flurrious and create your own squall of creativity. Have fun!

Under The Weather, Just Enough



by candyls via Flickr Creative Commons



OK, I'm coming- just a minute.

Why is it that we always get a bug when we're the busiest? I've been down the last couple of days or so with a strange and relentless tummy bug.

I've spent my evenings curled up under the covers with a cup of hot tea instead of working on wonderful Christmas crafty things. Not too sick to go to work or limp through the daily tasks, but just enough to lose all interest in all things Christmas. Except, I must say, for my new holiday tea.

I'm not a tea connoisseur, not even a wannabe connoisseur. I like tea in the evenings while reading in bed or when I'm cold. I have a couple of favorites and preferences (decaff, green please). Lately I've been enjoying Candy Cane Lane from Celestial Seasonings. Opening the box is such olfactory experience- definite peppermint and vanilla. Once the tea steeps for a bit you can pick up cinnamon. I'm not on anyone's payroll here. It's just a nice tea that I came across in the grocery store. Thought you might like to try it. Wondering just now how it would taste as ice tea. Hmmm-- experiment coming up. After my tummy settles a tad more.

So give me a day or two to lay around. I'm anxious to get into the Christmas spirit and join the fun. We'll make an Advent Calendar (hopefully before the big day is actually here- lol !) and a couple of other crafts. I'll also share some family traditions, Norwegian style! That means we'll eat something.


So take good care of your self during this way too busy season. Snuggle a bit, have some hot tea. And ...



A Question About Deer Hunting

by thekevinchang via Flickr

So, being the first Monday after Thanksgiving, it's deer season here in my neck of the woods. We'll wear orange for the next couple of weeks when working outside or taking the daily walk.

by Brad Trump Photography via Flickr

I'm not really a big fan of guns. I'm not anti-gun and I understand that some folks like to shoot some target on occasion or put meat in the freezer on other occasions. Nothing wrong with that. But I've seen what happens to people when they've been shot and fully appreciate how dangerous firearms are to even a skilled shooter. Background checks and waiting periods are OK in my book. I just wish that everyone were as careful a gun owner and gun handler as my husband. Some guys are, some guys aren't. You would be very disillusioned to believe that just because someone totes an NRA card, they're necessarily safe gun owners. I can make referrals.



by testpatern via Flickr



But I do love me some venison. My mom makes it by cutting it into little cubes, rolling it in buttermilk, then flour, and frying it up in a pan. Mmmm, classic.

by markb120 via Flickr

All this rambling leads up to an observation and a question. As I watch my husband get his gear ready each year, I wonder.....

 

by elana's pantry via Flickr

"Why, if you're going to hunt no further than 1 mile maximum from the house, do you need an entire box of power bars, a case of Gatorade, and 5 pounds of trail mix?"



He tells me to never mind. A friend tells me her husband stocks up on snackies as well. That means it's a Y-chromosome thing.


Safe hunting guys.

We love ya any way.

Thanksgiving Centerpiece

We have a nice Thanksgiving meal each year where I work and these pics are of last year's centerpiece. We used five square tables lined up so it looks like a long banquet table. These pictures aren't the best as they were taken with my iphone.

I spray painted some of those foam craft pumpkins from the Dollar Tree silver and cut out some "thankful" phrases from heavy silvery paper using my CriCut.

I borrowed some pheasant feathers from the feather bouquet I had made for my kid's jungle-themed bedroom.

I guess there could be pheasants in the jungle, running around with the parrots. Sure, why not.

I layered lime green tissue paper inside some plain ol' terra cotta pots and added lime green and brown-ish artificial flowers. Some flattened clear glass marbles, also from the Dollar Tree, add a bit of sparkle (since I couldn't actually glue glitter to anything).

I used the white table cloth under the runners to make the centerpiece float separately from the brown-covered tables. The lilies opened up to the nicest creamy ivory with just a bit of lime green. I'm not a table designer but I really liked the color combinations here- sort of a hunting lodge look without being overburdened by dead animal pelts, antlers, and all that rust-colored decor.

Looking at it now I see some things I would change but there's always next year.

Wait, is that this year?

Oh, in that case

Happy Thanksgiving!