Today I learned about crazy apple contraptions

Lesson Learned Thursday, March 11, 2010

My mom loves apples. Her kitchen is decorated in apples. Her fridge is stocked with apples. We have an annual apple-pie assembly day with our extended family. She even works at an orchard seasonally. And today we learned about her cool apple contraptions.

I should start by saying that we recently learned that not all contraptions are useful.

Although we got a LOT of entertainment value from her handy-dandy egg-cracker.

Here is attempt #1

Attempt #2

Attempt #3

ROFL! To quote Larry the Cucumber:

"I laughed, I cried. It moved me, Bob."

The funniest part about that is that she is a total pro at cracking and separating eggs.

With all the batches of homemade bread she's made, she could do it in her sleep.

But there's such allure in those late-night infommercial wares.

Especially if they sell them at the store where she works.

Oh, and BTW, I totally covet her Perfect Brownie Pan.

I love edge pieces and in this cool thingie, they are ALL edge pieces!

It's the little things. :)

But back to mom's apple contraptions...

Of course, she introduced us to that standard corer/slicer long ago.

Tonight she showed me her twist-corer. It's pretty neat.

You just twist it right through the apple . . .

 And then you pull it from the apple and just push the core through the device.

Aw, man! Cinnamon under my fingernails.

(My husband is going to give me such a hard time about that...LoL!)

Oh! And look! What could that be???

Yet another unintentional doughnut sighting!

I'm going to have to start tagging them...

And now that your apple is cored,

you can bake it in this cool microwave apple baker!

Baked apples are such a good dessert! They take 20-30 minutes in the oven

But only about 4 min. to "wave" them. (That's what they say in Japan. :)

They're especially good sprinkled with a little cinnamon or apple pie spice.

The last cool contraption is one that I've seen her use before but never learned how to use it. It comes in really handy on our pie-making day. Last year we made over a hundred pies. With about five apples in a pie, you can probably guess that peeling apples and slicing apples and coring apples would get pretty tiresome.

And that's why this gets Top Apple Thingie-Bopper award:

And if I find any other cool apple contraptions -

I'll keep you posted.

Today I learned a new 'do to add to the list.

When I had my Waybums, she was born with a full head of hair.

It was dark and soft and required little care.

I'd wash it, comb it, trim the bangs every once in a while. . . and it was good.

Well, except that one random and really bizarre hair-day.

We don't really know what happened there. She woke up this way.

I think the aliens that abducted her were doing electroshock experiments.

But all other days it's been wash and wear and cuteness.

And then three years later . . .

Another baby came to live with us. We didn't know how long she'd be here.

We just knew she was adorable and we wanted to take good care of her

while she was with us. And that included a crash course in AA Hair Care 101.

I bought books and did research online. And I was overwhelmed.

Thankfully her initial baby-fine hair was easy to care for. . .

And it just got cuter with every little tendril curl that started popping up.

I was a little nervous when I read one of my books on the subject that

"washing too frequently will dry hair, lead to breakage and cause hair to fall out."

I was especially concerned because she thought that barbecue sauce not only

worked well as facial toner, but was great for hair gel as well.

I told her that while it effectively glued the hair in place,

it seemed a little too stiff for her to use regularly.

With the help of special shampoo and hair lotion and tedious and gentle combing

we survived the toughest part of the baby months with her hair in tact.

And to our delight, we found out that she would be living with us for good.

We adopted her in November and she just had her second birthday on Sunday.

And now that I've accepted the position as permanent Mom/hairstylist

and now that her hair is finally long enough for me to play with it a little

I've really been wanting to learn new ways to do it. Variety is fun. 

So today I scoured the web looking at pictures of adorable little children for ideas.

And I came up with a style called The Four Rosettes.

Tonight was hair-washing night, so I started with freshly washed
and conditioned hair. I adore her curls. They are so spunky and beautiful.
Just like her. I love it loose and natural like this, but being a baby sometimes
having it up makes it easier to take care of it.

I always comb it with a wide-tooth comb after its been conditioned.
And I have a stack of books for her to read so that it's a fun experience.
She used to hate having her hair done until I figured this trick out.
Now, she'll bring me a stack of books and say, "Make so pretty?"

First I section the a little bit in front for her "bangs" because her little curls are so cute.
Then I section the parts and put the hair-ties in to make the two "puffs" on top.
And of course, you have to use the special rubber bands so they don't break the hair.
I also always cut the hair-ties instead of pulling them out. Less stress = happy hair.

You just wind the puff around your finger into a larger curl, and wind that into a rosette.

And then you repeat the process for the bottom two rosettes.

It didn't take very long to do, and it looks pretty cute.

It might look sweet with some little flower clips or barrettes, too.

And of course, she wanted to show off her new 'do.

She's kind of shy sometimes around the camera.
But she was actually asking me to take pictures tonight.
She kept grinning and asking, "Say cheeeeeese?"

Making a tidy pile of books for her bedtime stories.

And she was even hamming it up tonight.

Look at those smiley eyes.

While I was looking through hairstyles today, Waybums sat with me.
We got to a photo of a beautiful African woman with big, puffy natural hair.
Waybums was speechless, "Mother! It's so beautiful! Can Kodi have that hair?"

I love Waybums' straight and long and light brown hair.
And I love Koda's short and kinky dark black hair.
Waybums will probably want to curl hers someday. And that's fine.
And Koda will probably want to straighten hers someday. That's fine too.
There's nothing wrong with wanted to change the way you look.
Just as long as you're comfortable with who you are.

Both my girls are beautiful. And unique.
But I hope they understand that their truest beauty
comes from their character . . . .
. . . the mind under the hair, and the soul under the skin.

I'll keep you posted.

Today I learned a simple way to prevent household accidents.

I woke up this morning to find a little pile of bandage debris on the bathroom counter.

"Uh-oh," I thought, "What happened here?"

Later that morning my husband called me and I found out what happened.

Apparently, if you somehow forget to shut the bottom drawer

of the dresser after retriving some pajama pants . . .

it is hazardous to your early-rising spouse's health.

Super Hubby's Boo-boo.

Apparently his "kryptonite" is my knack for setting up booby traps.

How I missed the howling that must have accompanied the accident

is a mystery to me. Ouchie. Poor fellow. So gracious about his injury, too.

Most fellows would not have offered the gentle reminder he did,

"Just be sure to close the drawer, sweetie."

For information about safety tips

in preventing home accidents -

Click here.

For other helpful information,

I'll keep you posted...

In the meantime...

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of Band-Aids.

This weekened I learned about substitutions and posed with the Wienermobile.

Sorry about the wait. I had a few technical difficulties with this post.
Thanks for your patience! :)
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I have learned A LOT this weekend during my getaway to a conference with some of the ladies from our church. I could share all the lessons I've learned but it would take a few days to write everything, so I'll keep it to the most universal lessons.

Lesson #1 - Sometimes there's no substitute for the Real Thing.

For instance . . .

This is not peanut butter. Tasty. But not peanut butter.

In fact, it has been nowhere near peanuts,

which is why it's allowed to play at our house.

That is to peanut butter as a tuna sandwich is to this:

Mmm. Grilled Tilapia. To perfection.

Tuna is the only fish that's allowed into our house

and although I did just find and learn to make tuna steaks

(with herb-roasted rutabaga that was shockingly tasty)

it's just not the same thing.

With a husband that's allergic to seafood and a daughter that's allergic to peanuts,

I do not get very many chances to indulge in these favorites.

So that was my first order of business at the IHOP after our first meeting.

For those of you who have never heard of IHOP (yes, to the incredulous, those people do exist), it stands for the International House of Pancakes. And they have all sorts of breakfast foods. Of course, there I was searching the menu for fish, and then thanking God profusely that somewhere in the world they have grilled tilapia for breakfast. So I ordered my fish. And asked if I could order a side of peanut butter. The waitress looked at me without batting an eyelash and went on to the next person at the table. This raised all sorts of questions for me. Do other people order peanut butter with their fish? Did she just assume that our orders would be strange after she saw our group come in all grins and goofiness?

Ooh-ooh! Side-note! I have to write this one down to commit it to memory.

I learned that the opposite of eggs over easy is . . . eggs over hard.

I'd never heard of such a thing until one of my pals ordered their eggs that way.

We were all looking at her funny, but she worked as a waitress and is well informed

on the subject matter. You can also order "over well" and "fried eggs, hard" alternately.

I prefer runny eggs, but I'm just getting the information out there for the rest of y'all.

And so you don't look at your buddy like she's getting all creative with the breakfast lingo.

(Short-order lingo! *light bulb* That would be fun to learn!)

Anyway, my food arrived and so did my peanut butter on the side:

Oops, she brought me honey.

I took a picture of the table where my peanut butter was supposed to be.

Funny thing is that I didn't take a picture of the PB when it arrived.

About halfway through my heavenly fish, she brought the peanut butter.

 I opened the little Smuckers packet and just smelled it. Ohh. Nice.

I swirled it on my spoon, put it in my mouth and deposited it on my taste buds.

Right as the waitress began to ask me a question.

You know . . . The alternative is much weaker.

I forgot how thick peanut butter is.

Especially right off the spoon.

Makes it hard to talk.

I smiled dumbly.

There are parallels with hot cocoa.

I usually use the hot cocoa mix:

While the crunchy miniature marshmallows are weirdly charming,

I am usually a little disappointed when the mix settles to the bottom.

This is the hot cocoa I had at the IHOP:

The only thing at the bottom was melted chocolate chip morsels.

I was thinking about all this that night as I was getting ready for bed. We had all congregated in the hotel room where my sis and I stayed and we told stories and laughed and talked into the wee hours. Over the course of the weekend, I had a chance to get to know these ladies, to find out our common interests and share our stories, and just spend some time together. And it was a blast. I just enjoyed their friendship.

I've had times in my life when I've settled on substitutes, and one thing I've learned is that when you are choosing your friends there's no thing like the real thing. Imitation friends seem like the real deal, but when you get to them there's just no substance. Real friends will listen when you have something to say. Imitation friends can't wait until you're finished so they can get to what they have to say. Real friends are there when you need them. Imitation friends are there when they need you. A Real friend will tell you when you get back from the bathroom that the back of your dress is tucked into your panties. An Imitation friend will tell everyone else. Oh, yes. I know it's true. Thankfully not from this weekend.

Just like the hot cocoa, a really good friendship takes a little time and attention to simmer and mix. But if the ingredients are good and you can be patient, the reward is well worth the wait.

Lesson #2 - It's ok to ask.

This might seem like a simple thing, but can you think of a time when you wanted something and never asked? I know I'm not the only one. Just because you ask doesn't guarantee you'll get the answer you want, but at least you'll get an answer. Kind of generic, but I thought I'd toss that in there.

Lesson #3 - The Wienermobile is still seriously cool,
even though I don't like hot dogs.

Shivering in my four layers for a pic with the Wienermobile.

I mean, really. Can you imagine driving this thing around?

I will just say that I really want to learn how to drive this thing.

Just so I can pull up next to someone and ask,

"Pardon Me...do you have any Grey Poupon?"

Lesson #4 - Your old stories have new meaning to someone else.

My sister and I had a story-off at the hotel the first night, telling all the funny and embarrassing stories about each other we could think of. Like the time when we were teenagers and I was teasing her about something during a car trip with our parents and so in retaliation she crammed a blue Sweet-Tart up my nostril. And it got stuck. Hopelessly stuck. And I envisioned my future-photos album. Senior pictures, with a blue nostril. Wedding day, with a blue nostril. Posing with my firstborn child, with a blue nostril. Little old lady at the retirement home with fourteen wiry chin-hairs and a blue nostril. The last one made me laugh so hard that the Sweet-Tart went shooting out of the nostril across the back seat of the car.

I forgot to tell the ladies that one day last year my then three-year-old Waybums came to me in tears because she had crammed a blue bead into her nose. I saw her blue nostril and all those images came flashing back to me, and though she insisted that it was NoT funny, I couldn't help laughing. I told her my story and it made her feel better.

My mom told me once that one of my accomplished uncles once had to go to the hospital when he was a little kid because he had gotten something stuck up his nose. I asked my Gramma about it and she said that indeed he had. I asked what it was and she said that it was either a clover blossom or a sheep poop. This fellow is a brilliant patent-holding engineer, so I take comfort that one can make mistakes and still go on to make great achievements.

As far as my plans for achievements this week...

I'll keep you posted.

Today I learned the science of ice cream

Homemade ice cream is a tradition in our family. When I was a kid, Gramma would bring out the old ice cream maker at birthday parties and other summertime special events. She'd whip up the ingredients in the kitchen, pour it in the tall metal cylinder and sit that inside the bucket with the ice and salt. And then The Uncles would all have their chance to turn the crank until their arm felt like it would fall off. And then the cousins would all compete over who got to eat the ice cream off the paddles inside the churning cylinder. And we'd eat our ice cream in the yard until our brains would freeze.

But until today, I did not know about the science behind the process. So grab your scoops and sundae bowls and prepare for a tasty lesson about the science of ice cream!

I made ice cream with two plastic freezer bags

and a depressed freezing point. With stuff around the house.

For this fun project, you need the following:

1 gallon freezer bag

1 quart freezer bag

Ice cubes

Large crystal salt

Ingredients:

1 cup milk -OR- Half and Half -OR- whipping cream

(These vary in creaminess and the amount of exercise required post-ingestion.)
2 tbs. sweetener - you can use regular sugar - I used agave nectar.

1 tsp. flavoring - any kind you like. I went with regular old vanilla.

First you mix the milk, sweetener and flavoring in the quart-sized bag.

Congratuations! You've just created a solution!

(No, not the "problem" kind of solution. Unless you're thirsty for flavored, sweetened milk.)

The solution I'm talking about is a homogenous mixture of two or more substances. *cricket chirp* OK, so science isn't my strong suit, and the first time I read the definition of a solution I was thinking, "Um - What?" (Oh, to challenge my limitations!) I know the everyday meaning of homogenous, and the scientific one isn't much different. Homogenous, in this case, means that these ingredients are now combined in a uniform substance. After you mix it together fully, the components do not settle or separate on their own, i.e. the vanilla won't rise to the top, the sugar won't settle to the bottom. While the milk, sugar, and vanilla retain their own chemical uniqueness, they have come together to create a new substance. When they join together, they create a solution! (Hey, if you need a speech at an ice cream social feel free to take that and run with it.)

And with that little tidbit of information, I now also understand homogenized milk. During that process, the fat molecules that would normally rise to the top and separate from the milk are shot through teeeeeny-tiny holes so that they will be small enough to intermix with the rest of the milk. Here's a link that explains the process. 

So, wait a sec. They infuse the fat molocules into the milk? Hmm. I wonder if that's why the milk with the cream that rises to the top tastes better... It seems I'll have to take my blog on a field trip to the local creamery when the weather gets a little nicer.

Ok, back to the ice cream science...

Next, take your gallon bag and fill it 1/4 of the way up and add 3 tbs. of salt.

I always wondered as a kid why they added the salt. The grown-ups told me it was because it melted the ice. But I found a more in-depth explanation at this site. "When you add salt to the ice, it lowers the freezing point of the ice, so even more energy has to be absorbed from the environment in order for the ice to melt. This makes the ice colder than it was before, which is how your ice cream freezes."

This is also why it's important to salt the roads when it starts to get icy, and why parts of the ocean don't freeze even when they are well below freezing. This site is really interesting and explains it well.

Next, add the WeLL-SEALED bag of milk solution.

And add 1/4 more ice and 3 more tbs. of salt on top.

And now comes the fun part. You shake the bag for about five minutes. This is where you can get the kids involved and make them do the work. They can play catch with it, or hula hoop with it in their hands, or do cartwheels with it in their teeth. Just as long as it keeps shaking. My kids were sleeping when I did it, so it wasn't nearly as entertaining as it might have been. My hands started getting cold, too.

As frostbite started claiming my fingers, I thought it might be brilliant to try sticking it in the washing machine and letting that agitate it. But I remembered it doesn't agitate without water. Then I thought I could toss it in the dryer on air-only cycle. But then I imagined the seals not holding up against such vigorous mixing and then imagined my husband's face when I explained the reason why we needed a new dryer.

"Well, sweetie. I was going to make ice cream . . . "

"Ice cream?"

"Yeah, ice cream."

"What's that got to do with the dryer?"

"Well, I had to keep shaking it, and my hands got cold . . . "

"So you put the ice cream in the dryer?"

"Um, yes. Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time."

"In the dryer?"

"Yeah! Think of all the people that would read a post entitled, 'Today I learned to make ice cream in my dryer.' You have to admit that sounds intriguing."

"As opposed to 'Today I learned how to install a clothesline in my living room because I tried to make ice cream in my dryer.'"

So, readers, be warned that this is the direction your mind can go when your hands start freezing because you are making ice cream in Ziploc bags after everyone has gone to sleep. Fortunately, these thoughts can be easily assuaged by A.) a pair of mittens or B.) a pillowcase. I chose the pillowcase because it was fun to swing around in circles.

Speaking of ice-cream induced mental impairments here's more science as

this link explains ice cream headaches.

So, after my five minutes were up, I checked out the bag of ice cream:

I scream - you scream - we all scream for ice cream!

Now you just serve it up. I recommend cutting one of the corners and squeezing it out soft-serve style. And if you have any aspirations of ice cream photography be sure that your batteries are at max power, because sundaes tend to pout if they're kept waiting.

But they are still tasty.

I learned a lot more science about ice cream,
like crystallization, emulsification and pasteurization.

And I learned that ice cream made in a bag
is just as tasty as the stuff from the store.

I'll post my next lessons on Sunday evening
since I'll be offline for a bit.

I'll keep you posted!

*No dryers were harmed in the making of this post.*

Today I learned that libraries are still relevant.

Can you remember the last time you set foot in a library?

The last time I visited a Library was when I lived in San Diego. I was a newlywed with a LOT of spare time on my hands because my sailor was gone for long stretches and I didn't know many people out there. My goal was to check out the thickest books in the place and spend my lonely nights trekking across the wilderness with Sacajawea or giving War and Peace yet another chance. Three times I've tried to make it through that book. Three. I own it now, and I still haven't gotten through.

I remember the library program I attended when I was a kid. I devoured books, so it was a piece of cake for me to complete the goals. And there were other kids to do crafts with, and Sonya the Librarian. She was so sweet and relatable and she knew a lot about books. She had pretty blonde hair. And I didn't realize it then, but she was also a little person. It was probably less noticeable because I used to be little then, too. And little kids have this wonderful ability of seeing people as just purely people, regardless of color, size, age, physical ability, or economic status.

And from Pre-K to high school, I loved visiting the library. It was sometime around college and Internet access that I stopped going. And then after I got married we moved around so much that we never settled anywhere long enough for me to get really acquainted with the local library.

I was looking online for new things to learn when I stumbled upon an article asking:

Will libraries become obsolete? It's an article from 1999.

When I read the title, I was a little worried. After all, I loved my library experiences as a kid. And so today I set out to discover if libraries were all that I remembered them to be, and whether or not they'd become an abandoned gas station along the Information Superhighway.

The first thing I noticed when I got to the library was that this place has a really nice building. Three stories, (LoL - Oops, I mean levels... It would be a short article if there were only three stories at the library), comfy chairs to lounge in while you read and very friendly people at the circulation desk. We felt immediately at home.

The first stop was getting our library card. One for me, and one for Waybums.

She was so proud.

I didn't realize what a right of passage it would be to her.

I started looking around for books and the kids were pretty good about keeping quiet and not running around like crazy. Within five minutes I felt like I had won the "learning-things" jackpot. I've already added "vermiculture" and "geocaching" and "dairy farming" to my to-learn list. And I found out that our library has an immense selection of pretty cool-shaped cake pans that you can check out. So, I see cake decorating lesson in my future, as well. :) After perusing around for a bit I decided to take the kids to see the youth area. After five seconds I felt like I had won the "kid-entertainment" jackpot. Wow!

They even had a Lego table so Kodi-Pie would have diversion.

No, wait - what's this? A whole PLAY AREA??

With wooden trains and Dr. Office beads and The Works!

I had been worried that our trip would be short

because Little One would get bored.

With Kodi occupied right there,

Waybums and I start looking around at the books.

There were so many. This is just a tiny section...

It was like a reunion with old friends. Ramona. Barbar. Clifford. She looked around in wide-eyed wonder. "Mother! It's just like when Beast gives Belle a library! There's so many books everywheres!"

But her indecision came to a swift end when we found the dinosaur section. She did a little happy dance and started making a pile. Once she'd selected her books, she brought them over to a plastic playhouse castle where an adorable little girl asked if she wanted to come in. They sat there looking at the books and giggling. Kodi continued playing with the Lego table. I sat down and checked over a few articles in a Parenting magazine. It was delightful and laid-back and I enjoyed it, too!

The only thing I didn't account for was that it would be too fun.

So fun nobody wanted to leave.

Poor kid was heartbroken when I told her we had to go.

She was on the brink of tears when a nice young fellow on staff saw her sadness and reappeared with a special treasure that brightened her day immediately. Her very first bookmark. :) It said, "My heart belongs with books" and he gave it to her because he could tell that she loved books a lot to be so sad to leave the library. She smiled shyly and gave me a huge hug and we went home with our glorious loot.

She read herself to sleep, and cuddled with her bookmark.

The Internet is great and so full of information, but the trip to the library offered one thing that the Internet could not. A connection with real people, in real time. I had a chance to chat with other moms, and the girls had a chance to play with other kids. We got to know the librarians, and one of the staff even made my daughter's day a little brighter. We haven't really been plugged into our community here. My husband goes to college and works in our previous town and I used to commute to get the kiddo in our previous town. We visit family out of town often. I feel like we had a chance to get to know our community better today. And that's a lesson worthy of note.

As far as which cake pan I'm picking out first...

I'll keep you posted.

Today I learned how to make bouncy balls, and shared a photo essay.

Put on your lab coats and safety glasses, readers, because we’re about to get scientific. :) After my long evening of Turkish Delighting I decided to stray from cooking for a bit to do an easy science experiment and make a different kind of recipe:

Bouncy Balls ala Borax

Here are the ingredients you'll need:  

1 tbs. white glue

1/2 tsp. borax

1 tbs cornstarch

2 tbs warm water

Food coloring

 2 plastic cups

2 stirring sticks (chopsticks work fine)

A quick note is that borax is an irritant in its powder form and shouldn't be kid-handled.

It's fine for kids to play with it after it's made as long as they're old enough to know

not to eat it, slobber on it or otherwise ingest it. (Which is true of all bouncy balls.)

Step # 1- Put glue into cup and mix in whatever color you like. Waybums picked pink.

Step #2 - Mix the borax and water in the second cup with the other stirring stick.

Step # 3 - Add cornstarch and borax solution into the glue cup

and let it sit for 15 seconds.

We forgot to let it sit but it still turned out ok.

Step #4 - Stir the mixture with one of the sticks until it's hard to stir

and then begin rolling it into a ball.

It's sticky at first and hard to roll,

but give it some time and it'll get going.

Step #5 - Get bouncing!

It's not going to bounce as high as your average superball,

but you can't help but feel a little cool and MacGyver-like to have made it.

And that's how you make bouncy balls from household supplies.

*cricket-cricket*

That's it?

Really?

Hmm.

I thought it would be more difficult.

Uhhh, Something to stretch it out a bit....? Oh! I have just the thing.

 - Photo Essay on The People in the Background-

I've been a lot of touristy places before and when I've looked at the photo afterwards I always seem to notice the people in the background. I don't know these people, but here is a picture of them captured in the same place that I went. It makes me think...

"How many people have photos of me in the background of their pictures?"

Provocative thought, eh?

Well one day when we lived in Japan we took my visiting mom-in-law to Kamakura. It was a particularly busy holiday weekend and there were throngs of people everywhere. Kamakura used to be the capitol of Japan and so the place we took mom-in-law to see used to be the palace.

There were a lot of stairs.

And Waybums was still a baby in a stroller then . . .

 . . . asleep.

So I told Hubby and Mom-in-Law to go ahead. I'd just stay behind.

And I shot pictures of them on the steps and at the top.
And I started thinking about those people in the background.
Why not let them be the focus of a few pictures?

Mom taking pictures of her kids.

Teenagers glad to have a day off from school.

Tired couple.

Dad and daughter.

Ladies and their pups.

Beautiful woman in purple.

Kid in the red hat.

Man left behind at the bottom of the stairs.

There at the steps of Kamakura it was just us. People going through our day.

A lot of people get so caught up in what they're doing that people become part of the background to them. The cashier at the grocery store. The childcare worker at daycare. The person sitting at the next table in a restaurant. Static. Extras in the film of their life. And what I learned that day is that just because someone isn't the focus of my picture, doesn't mean they aren't part of that moment.

Just something I learned...

I'll keep you posted.