Dandelion Wine!

Kevin and I have made some dandelion wine. And yesterday we got to try it! We picked the dandelions - 3 L of them I think - at the very end of April when they first sprung up in our local park. We added lemon and orange juice, raisins, sugar, special wine yeast and let it bubble away for a few weeks. We only got 4 1/2 bottles. So we drank the 1/2 bottle right away last night. And it was really good!!

We have the other four bottles doing a little more bubbling with balloons over the necks (acts as a cheap fermentation lock) and when the balloons stop inflating for good we will have to borrow or buy a corker. Then we leave them for 6 months. It might taste even better in 6 months!!! We had fun doing it and love the feeling that we did it all ourselves and it turned out so good that we think we might even go ahead and buy a corker. Next on the agenda is parsnip wine.

Trying out Embroidery

Kevin and I have been trying embroidery. We got a book from the library but Kevin especially is already trying his own thing.

Kevin embroidered this tea towel for me for my first Mother's Day.

And I made this one for my mum.

And then Kevin made this one which I will turn into a simple toy for Henry.

Henry's Sweaters

Henry finally fits into some of the sweaters and the hat I knit for him while I was pregnant. And it has been cold this week so he's had plenty of chances to wear them.

Iron Chef Flat bread

I was such an iron chef the other day. We had nothing really but salad in the house for lunch so I was going to walk to the grocery store to get something. And then I thought no, I'll save money and use up stuff in the fridge that I was going to throw away.

So instead of throwing away the old bread dough (bread made with old dough tastes like a mix of alcohol and crackers to me) and tomato with a speck of mould, I used them in a flat bread. I got some chives, oregano, and mache from the garden to add. And I used all those ingredients plus olive oil and garlic to make a tasty flat bread to serve along side the salad. And it was very tasty. All those flavours disguised the old dough taste. And I didn't use the part of the tomato that actually had mold on it.

Henry Loves His Hands

I can't believe that just last week I was rushing to get the camera to get a shot of Henry sucking on his hands. Now I have to make a big effort to get a shot of Henry without his fingers in his mouth. The sound of him sucking away is very sweet though.

The view from my hammock

I swear I don't remember Spring being so beautiful. I am still really enjoying this nice weather, got to spend some time this afternoon relaxing in the hammock. Here are some pictures of the view from my hammock.

Wool Shorts

I just finished a shorts diaper cover for Henry to wear this summer. This is the first knitting project I have finished since Henry was born and it was so awesome to be able to put them on him right away - instant gratification! They are just a tad big which is perfect for this super fast growing baby.

Henry and His Doll

I finally put the hair on Henry's doll that I made in the fall. And I sewed on the hat that Henry was given to wear in the NICU when he was born for extra sentiment. Here they are hanging out together.

Perfect Last day of April

It was a really nice warm day so Henry and I did lots of walking. In the afternoon we went to Breithaupt Park to look at all the trilliums. And then after dinner we went out again with Daddy and saw lots of ducklings and explored some Waterloo trails that we hadn't found before.




And Henry is still exploring his hands too.

Homemade Baby Sling

I made this a few weeks ago and am so happy with it (still haven't used the mei tai). It folds up super small, is super quick and easy to put on and to fit Henry into, is surprisingly comfy, and keeps Henry happy when he just wants to cry in the stroller. So I keep it in the diaper bag all the time and have used it a few times in shops and all the way home from shops.
It took just about an hour to make and I used a bit of fabric from a $1 fabric surprise bag. I used these instructions:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Look-Mom-No-Hands-A-Simple-Baby-Sling/

Henry is growing!

Henry is growing FAST! Last week he surpassed 11 pounds, the weight limit of my kitchen scale, so I don't know his current weight (have added bathroom scale to my list of things to look out for in thrift stores). And today it was surprisingly cold so I just had to grab the hat that I keep in the diaper bag and it is so tiny on him now - it's practically a yamika!

I needed a photo comparison.

At a few days old:

Just 2 months later:

Henry is slowly figuring out his hands

Henry is really starting to suspect not only that those things hanging off his arms might belong to him but also that he might have control of them.

Here he is yesterday thinking about them.
And today discovering them again.

Using them to explore this bag of granola that landed on his legs (I did this because he liked it not because I'm a wacko).
And, of course, discovering that he can suck on them.