Good Bye Granny

 

Granny with my father as a baby.

At 1 AM this morning the world lost, and heaven gained, my Granny Brown. A sweeter woman never existed. She was 87 years old.

When I was a little girl I would wake up in the mornings and walk down the cold, wooden steps of her attic, where my sister and I slept, to the kitchen table. There I was served such glorious southern breakfasts as biscuits and strawberry jam (homegrown and homemade), pancakes, biscuits and gravy - ohhhhhh. She kept big pitchers of sweet tea in her fridge and had a scruffy little black dog named Mr. T.

My cousin ran a beauty parlor out of Granny's basement. My sister and I spent hours there playing with our hair and spinning in the chairs. Sometimes we would tell my cousin, Scott, that Granny needed him in the basement and when he began descending those red painted stairs we girls would sneak up, slam the door and lock it from the outside. He would bang and holler and we squealed with delight.

My favorite spot in her house was the bathroom. It smelled of talcum powder and ivory soup. Her fixtures were made from real, old fashioned porcelain -something I rarely saw back home. Her tub leeked and to take a bath you had to plug it up with a wash cloth.

A family legend says that when I was born the nurses instructed no one in the room to touch me but my granny was overcome with joy and reached out and patted me on my head. She always patted you when she gave hugs, like she was sprinkling you with little blessings.

She taught me my first knit stitch on hot pink yarn.

When I was a teenager I watched my first episode of Beavis and Butthead in her den while she snoozed in her chair. In that same den I was first introduced to grunge rock via my cousin showing me MTV, something fairly forbidden.

Granny Brown was a strong, beautiful woman. A single mother of four children at one point in her life- she was a mom, a grandmother, a great grandmother and a step-great-great grandmother. She was a beautician, a terrific cook, a Christian, a patron of the Piggly Wiggly, and the driver of a massive steel car known in our family as the SS Frances Brown.

Rest in peace Granny. I love you.

Reconsidering the Corset

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The middle of the last century saw a huge upheaval in women's lives. As the century drew to a close 11 years ago, the modern woman had very little left in common with her century-earlier sister. Some improvments were good, others -not so much. One thing we can all agree with is getting rid of those horrid clothes! The long sleeves, the hig necks and for heaven's sake the corsets! Right?

Well, maybe not.

Corseting can be taken to the extreme, like anything else (think Scarlet O'Hara's 17 inch waist for example), but what a lot of modern women fail to see are the benefits, yes, I said benefits of corseting. 

The corset, like most things we wear, originally had a purpose and it wasn't just to look skinny.

 

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Corsets improve your posture

People suffering from lower back issues are often given medical corsets to help them keep good posture and thus reduce the strain and support the lower back. Moms who are holding their babes for great lengths of time can really benefit from the snug back support of a corset.

Corsets help you lose weight

Wearing a corset during heavy activity or simply during your daily routine can shrink several inches off your waist line. Keeping the stomach muscles warmer burns more fat in the area. A snugly worn corset can help restrain your appetite and organs trying to find their was home again after you give birth will be guided along better with a well fitting corset.

Corsets reduce cramping after birth

When you have two, three or more children you know the pain of the "aftershock" contractions as your uterus shrinks to it's original size. These can be mildly uncomfortable or extremely painful depending on the woman. Binding the belly is an ancient practice which reduces or eliminates these pains.

Corsets can mold your body into a sleeker shape

Let's face it, no one wants to look lumpy! In our day and age it seems as if it's become perfectly tolerable to "let it all hang out." Bellies, bellies everywhere! Flopping to and fro! I would love to bring back the era of taking a little ore pride in ones personal appearance and a nicely fitting corset can help do exactly that.

But, you say, corsets are uncomfortable! Not true! A well made corset should compress only your waist and allows for easy breathing. A proper fitting corset should never be painful to wear.

Our great grandmothers just may have been on to something! What do you think? Would you wear a corset?

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Nourishing Hot Fudge Sauce!

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Yep, you read that right, this is a recipe for nourishing hot fudge sauce! Can you believe it? And I dare you to be able to taste the healthy! It totally tastes like regular, homemade, hot fudge sauce. Leave it in the fridge and let it firm up and you've also got a wonderful chocolate frosting!

Ingredients

1 cup of high quality, organic, whole milk
2 oz of unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup pasture fed butter
2 -3 Tablespoons raw honey (depending on how sweet you want it)
1 teaspoon flax oil

Place the milk in a a medium sized pan. Using your smallest, most controllable burner, begin heating the milk on a medium setting, stirring often. When the milk starts really steaming, not boiling, not bubbling, turn the heat down so that it continues to steam well but does not boil. You will have to play with your burner to get this part right. Stir often to break up the layer of film that appears on top and to keep the steam going.  Continue to steam until the milk is reduced by half.

Add the butter, chocolate and honey. Stir well and remove from heat. Continue to stir while the mixture cools and thickens. When the mixture is warm enough to touch, add the flax oil. Stir well. Use right away as hot fudge or store in the fridge and use as icing or re-heat as fudge.

Now what makes this so nourishing. This recipe is made up almost entirely of power foods packed with a nutritious punch!

Butter - Excellent source of vitamins E and K.

Raw Honey - Harbors minerals, amino acids and antioxidants. Honey varies depending on the bees and your location but your honey probably includes a lot of the following: niacin, riboflavin and pantothenic acid; calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium and zinc!

Chocolate - Excellent source of copper and potassium.

Flax Oil - Choline (important for cellular health, fetal development and emotional health) and Thiamin for your nerve health.

Here's to your health! Yum!

A Peek at Our Nature Table

The subject of nature tables came up on a forum site I frequent and it gave me the idea to share some pictures of our nature table here on my blog.

We've been "nature tabling" for about 6 years now. Sometimes our displays have been very elaborate, other times super simple. 

Right now our table is quite simple. It speaks to me of this quiet, winter time of sparseness and barren landscape.

 

We use a faux-fur lining. The man and woman figure were made by a friend using items she collects on the beach. The man is chopping wood (our papa) the woman is gathering or harvesting with a basket and she has a baby on her back (me!). 

Deer antlers are the large "bridge" like structure over the whole thing. My eldest actually found these in the woods near our home. A twig of madrone leaves with a red berry still attached is poised on top. 

 

 

 

Acorns and other winter treasures collected by the kiddies :)

 

This is where the nature table stands in relation to our home. It's currently located on the middle shelf of our dinning room display case. Underneath I usually place additional seasonally themed decorations, here we see our St. Lucia doll, yule gnomes and a book on the nativity. 

Our St. Lucia Celebration

 

Yesterday was St. Lucia day. In our tradition St. Lucia and her Yule Gnome travel on the eve of her day leaving treats of maple candies to good little boys and girls. This St. Lucia Eve happened to also be the third Sunday of advent.

We read this story about St. Lucia by candle light with our St. Lucia and Yule Gnome doll as props.

The next day, on St. Lucia day, we baked her traditional buns. We use whole grain spelt instead of regular flour and we skip the saffron because it's so darn expensive. We enjoyed the buns during family game night. Yum! What a fabulous day!

 

Mouthwatering eh?

Waldorf Playroom Decoration for Boys - Space!

 

Here are some pictures of our recent playroom addition - a universe. We hung up a large, dark blue sheet we bought from the thrift shop on the wall, in the corner. We then water colored planets, asteroids, stars, etc, cut them out and taped them out. The effect is a wonderful backdrop for imaginative play!

 

 

Recipe: Soaked Muesli Cereal

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I few years ago, and to my great sadness, I learned that supermarket cereals, even the organic ones, are really unhealthy.  And by really unhealthy I mean they are toxic. So I played around with some alternatives and here's my favorite.

Soaked Muesli, a natural Swiss cereal.

3 cups rolled oats and/or rye flakes
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup almonds
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup sunflower seeds


Pulse all ingredients in a food processor or blender a few times. Fill cereal bowl(s) 1/2 full with dry cereal. Add water (about as much as you would add milk if this was traditional cereal). Add a teaspoon of high quality yogurt. Stir. Set bowl, covered, in a warm place over night. In the morning add a pinch of salt, a bit of honey or raw sugar, and a dash of heavy cream.

I love this breakfast because it's so fast, easy, natural, healthy and filling. I like to make it on the mornings when I have a lot to do and need a quick, filling meal. The kids also LOVE it.

Another tip: if you can avoid it, don't take you kids down cereal isles in stores. We shop the outside of all stores, even the health food store. We get fresh fruits, veggies, dairy, meat, baking supplies and some bulk grains, like oats. My kids never even see the Mac and Cheese boxes with Sponge Bob or the half million different types of super hero breakfast cereal. They do not even know it exists. ;)