Ballerinas

There was truly something magical about Isabella's first ballet recital. She was so excited and happy for it. She was very sparkly and rainbow-y. I think her happiest moment was when she received her bouquets of flowers, following her class' performance of the "Rainbow Connection" by Kermit the Frog. The flowers were a surprise for her and the look on her face was sheer joy. She kept asking, "Are these for me?" We ended the day with a strawberry shortcake topped with little ballerinas that I found on www.Etsy.com - the best website for finding sweet and handmade gifts. Even John sat back to enjoy the performance without any disruption. Okay, I bribed him with fruit, playbacks of the pictures of my camera, and then in a moment of desperation a Yummy Earth pop.

Summer Rhythms

Music Man is a teacher so he has more time off in the summer which is always nice. We usually greet the summer as a timeless entity before us with big hopes and plans, that we usually don't see come to fruition. After 6 years of this, I decided to come up with a regularly weekly plan that I hope will help us get around to some of those plans! We just plan for the morning so as to leave afternoons open for all of us, as that is when Music Man heads to his business and the kids and I hit the pool.

Mondays - Nature Walks for the whole fam
Tuesdays - Weekly Outings (Zoos, Aquarium, Lakes, Fish Hatchery etc)for the whole fam
Wednesdays - Ballet for Isa & Work for Music Man
Thursdays - Preschool Coop for the kids and I & Work for Music Man
Fridays - Paperwork/House Repairs for Music Man and I while Grandma watches kids (You know the stuff that you can never get done with the littles around)

Here are a few pics of our summer to date.

Beet Kvass Day 1

My first post in 3 months and it is about beet kvass! I had to post these pretty pink pictures of this fermenting beverage. It is so good and so healthy and so much fun to make with a good friend. I have been making it for about a year now, but made a quadruple batch with my neighbor. You can find the recipe in the Nourishing Traditions publication.

Here is what Sally Fallon has to say about it, "This drink is valuable for its medicinal qualities and as a digestive aid. Beets are just loaded with nutrients. One 4-ounce glass, morning and night, is an excellent blood tonic, promotes regularity, aids digestion, alkalizes the blood, cleanses the liver and is a good treatment for kidney stones and other ailments."

Apparently Ukranian homes are never without their beet kvass.

With local organic beets regularly available, my friends and I are trying to stock up for the winter. Since this is a fermented beverage, it is stored in a cool place. I will post more pictures on day 3 after the fermentation is complete so you can see the deep vibrant color of the kvass. We ran out of whey (poor planning on my part) so we used raw milk yoghurt instead which yields the same results. That is why you may see some white particles in the picture. We will reserve some kvass as starter for the next batch. Oh, and there will be more batches. I am happy to pass along one if you would like to sample.