Rub On Transfers: A Finishable Project

I am really good at choosing projects I want to do and not getting them finished or ever getting to them! I felt victorious when I completed a dish makeover to match the Christmas decorations on our mantel and tree. Last year I decided to start making some changes with our Christmas decor, trying to infuse a bit of whimsy--maybe that's what having small kids does to you! Anyway, the plates above our mantel are great, from our local pottery manufacturer, but they did not fit what I was going for.Thankfully I had bought some rub on transfers from a scrapbook store in the States. They are Heather Bailey's Autumn Leaves by Freshcuts. I had never done this before but thought it was worth a shot with plates I bought from the Chinesa Loja (what we call dollar stores here) for a Euro each. The kit comes with directions and a "burnisher", AKA popsicle stick. Rubbing the transfers on takes a bit of elbow grease and a lot of patience, checking it to make sure every bit is down, rubbing again and again. Pulling the backing paper up too fast can rip the transfer. A couple times I messed up the transfers beyond repair and had to settle with the thought that it made them look sort of shabby, in a good way.

The mantel with it's updated Christmas attire:

A close up on my favorite dish with the bird transfer:

The whole picture:

Baking with Helpers

Just wanted to share how fun baking can be with 2 small helpers on each side:

Gingerbread for our upcoming neighborhood Christmas party turned out well--in spite of it all-- with all their help. They get really excited about trying the things they "make"!

What a Scent!

I am sitting at my computer in the kitchen breathing in a fabulous smell--nothing I've baked though. It's the apple and orange pomanders the girls and I made today.

Googling "pomanders" showed me that there are many people out there that have such memories attached to making and smelling them. I have been waiting for the year that the girls would be able to push the cloves in themselves, and they (ages 3 and 5) were able to for the most part. Telling them how I once covered a whole apple in cloves and how my mom kept it around for years I think (it dried out nicely) motivated my oldest for some special pomander achievements. In the end we were happy with stripes, a heart, an egg, zig zags and other nameless yet beautiful designs. Wish I could send the smell your way!

Travel Regrets and Reminders

On the heels of an overseas flight this morning/last night/whatever time of day it was where you were, I thought I should make some notes of what to do differently the next time we embark on a flight:

1. How I wish I'd had my camera!!! Somehow it got packed in a box that was checked in. I missed precious shots of the girls riding on the back of their carry ons as Scott pulled them through 2 airports (they had to walk as their carry ons got stacked on carts this morning!). So I have no fun travel pics to share this time. But to learn from it...

2. Put heavy items in our carry ons again to take weight away from the weighed bags/boxes checked in, but do not forget to include all the allowable travel size toiletries you can fit in a quart bag per person. I never thought I'd miss our flight (when I packed) after the first leg of our trip was delayed. Thankfully the airlines put us up in a hotel AND paid for our meals. However, we had no toiletries at the hotel except the few items they offered. Overseas flying can make you look and feel grimy enough. Add a day without all your routine toiletries--whew!

3. I had read from a well traveled friend of mine to always include a change of clothes for everyone on your flight. Thankfully we heeded her advice on a past overseas flight when one of our girls had a stomach bug and went through her clothes and her sisters! So, we had the second change of clothes covered for our unexpected additional 24 hours in the USA.

4. Check into special programs and credit offers with the airlines in advance to save money on baggage fees and allowances. We found out at the counter that we could have saved a lot of money had we joined Continental's elite(?) program but it was too late. We don't have the annual miles to keep it up but we would have been given the adequate miles if we'd signed up for their credit card. The annual fee would have been cheaper than what we paid!

5. Note number 4 also says we bought/got probably too much during our U.S. furlough! Of course grandparents and family want to give to us when we're home and especially at Christmas time--and we are so blessed by that! And then the Dollar is way cheaper than the Euro so it makes stocking up on kids clothes, coats, English books, etc. look really appealing. But I'm not sure if the savings remains once you have to pay to ship it! And the work involved--so glad it's all here now, but packing it all on the other end is not something I want to do regularly. I'm not really sure how to change this scenario for the next time, but we've got some time to ponder/pray about it now.

Fantastic Photography

We were thrilled to see how our family pics turned out by our friend Anna Thoreson. Definitely some framers there! (And worth stopping to post about in our FULL furlough schedule!)

She was a trooper rescheduling after a morning rain and fitting us in her busy schedule (you can see all the other lovely photos she's recently taken on her blog). Then she helped us get a picture/prayer card ready to send to our supporters. An amazing blessing!

All Things French (the food post)

In writing about Bonne Maman jars in my last post, I realized I had not blogged about how I like all things French (of what I've experienced of France).


It may be sad to hear, but my culinary experiences in France do not include any expensive multi-course meals or special quisine. We get excited about things like Bonne Maman tartlets--which we recently found at a large grocery store here in Portugal. Yes, this is an empty box!


We are thankful our grocery stores here carry the yummy jams too. It was the only brand we found that had an affordable peach preserve in Germany. When we were driving through France on our way to Portugal, I had a chance to peruse a French grocery store. Bonne Maman is not limited to jams and tarts! Here are yogurts and puddings:


Have you ever tasted a French macaroon? I didn't even know what they were on our first trip to France. Such pretty little cookies, kind of like soft flavored meringues with cream in the middle. Check out this macaroon store display:

I can't not mention the amazing breads and pastries! We are headed for the boulangeries and patisseries as soon as we cross the border!


The next picture shows what kind of food we really eat in France when you have kids in tow. The French take their bread seriously enough to offer a Big Mac on whole grain buns--sort of a nutrition oxymoron, huh?
Well, it seems the focus was on food (Does that say something about me? Can't throw away those years of studying food and nutrition!). Maybe the next time I'll get to French flea markets, French linens and pottery, ...or great ways to see sights in France. Love it all!

1st Attempt at Pear Sauce

I felt it was time to get something made with all the pears my neighbor had given me. They came from the orchard behind our neighborhood. She said the owner had her drive her car around, and he filled up her trunk! So nice of her to share with us! I first thought she was bringing us a huge box of Portuguese wine (as you can see).She told us these are pears with a name that meant rock, and that they were. You're supposed to let them ripen for at least a week before eating them. My neighbor and my mom said I needed to set them out in a layer so they'd last longer. So they've been outside on 2 trays the last week. I finally decided to try a recipe for Pear Sauce, since I didn't have any pectin on hand to make jam.

It turned out really well! I asked my husband if it was sweet enough, and he answered positively. I was loving that since I hadn't added any sugar yet! Here's a close up of the finished product: I don't have canning supplies now (maybe a future buy with all the fruit around us), so freezer canning will do for now. The jars I use for our homemade salsa still have a faint salsa aroma (and I even run them through the dishwasher--does that happen to you?). So I had to bust out the Bonne Maman jars I was saving for a future project. Makes it look cute though!
Now to that second tray of pears...