Eckenrode Family

He Did It

Just like his brother, he made the decision, then got on and rode like he'd been doing it for years. There was only one chance for me to do the running behind him with my hand on the seat thing you always think of when someone is learning to ride. Then, he was off and never looked back. Once again, I'm singing the praises of the balance bike that both he and his brother started riding soon after they learned to walk. It really does an amazing job of teaching them how to balance a 2 wheel bike before they try to master a bike with pedals.

My little guy has had an eventful week: He learns to ride a bike on Monday evening. Then, that night just before dinner he falls whle climbing up on a heavy wooden stool in our kitchen and it goes down on top of him, splitting the skin just below the eyebrow. He has to get seven stitches. Then, Wednesday he is riding his bike when he falls on his face and busts his lip open. So, he looks like a miniture boxer with a swollen and stitches up left eye, bruised nose, and swollen and bruised upper right lip. His little spirit has not been dashed though, he's ready to get back on his bike the moment this early spring snow stops to practice his new skill.

When Being Thrify Bites You in the Butt

Miles kindergarten class participated in a parade at their school in which they were to dress like a character from a fairy tale. Miles chose to be the big bad wolf from Little Red Riding Hood and after making some ears and recruiting my friend to paint his face, I began making his wolf tail. Looking at my fabric shelves I spotted the perfect brown fabric. Often when we no longer wear items of clothing they are added to the fabric shelf so they can find a second life as something else in a future sewing project. This brown fabric was a pair of Tim's pants that he used to work around the house. I made the tail and that night when Miles showed his dad the wolf tail I'd made Tim looked closely at them and said, "Hey, these are the pants I've been looking everywhere for!" That's when the memory of him handing them to me several weeks before came back to me. He'd given them to me to sew a button back on. Oops!

An Obssession? Perhaps.

After seeing a post about no-sew pennants I couldn't get them out of my head. First, I love pennants. Secondly, I have lots of great fabric scraps and all of the other supplies I needed on hand. Lastly, I have some bare walls that need some love and there is nothing I love more than looking around my house seeing homemade things. So, I promptly made 4 pennants assembly line style. And, while I'm a little unsure about how appropriate a pennant is over the toilet, they make me happy. Earlier today when my son was sitting on the toilet, the pennant above him did look a tad too festive but hey, it's better than a bare wall and it cost nothing. I made the one in the half bathroom to match the scraps I used for the bathroom rug. For the full bath pennant I used the scraps leftover from the shower curtain. I also hung one in our front hallway and one above Ben's bed.
 
 I think I'm done making pennants for house for now.

Growing

 
 
 

Taking a Rest on a Grassy, Sunny Hill

Welcome Spring, we are so happy you’re here. I love these early days of spring when we have a fire burning in the wood burner while at the same time the windows are open, letting the fresh air in. We have little seedlings in our windows and some sprouting in the cold boxes. We are diligently working around the yard, clearing the lot line. We are clearing vines and old fallen logs from the edge of the woods, making room for a chicken coop and some flowers. Tim has decided, after much thought, to make the coop. We have plans to build a larger coop, accommodating the 15 laying hens, 5 meat birds and the rooster on their way. The date of the arrival of the chicks is marked on the calendar.

This morning my hockey loving boy announced he wanted to make a goalie stick. Knowing how expensive they are, he decided this was the best way to go. Miles said his favorite part of the day was making the goalie stick with daddy; Ben said he liked the work. My favorite part of the day was seeing the excited look on Miles face when his vision came to reality and working alongside Ben and Tim. That and after taking the lead of our dog Scout, Ben and I plopped down on a grassy, sunny hill and took a quick rest while Tim was busy with the chain saw. I told Ben it was nice there on the grass and that he should join me. Instead, he laid right on top of me. "I love you, so I'll lay right here," he said. Even better I thought.

Hello Spring

The sun, the park with lots of kids running around, windows down in the car, boys in flip flops and at one point shirtless, frogs chirping from the nearby pond, and bugs: spring seems to have made its debut all in one day. We are keeping an eye on the new little sprouts in the cold boxes and clearing the land for the chicken coop. Tim is making plans for building the coop while I am excitedly placing the order for the chicks.

I am preparing to make my second attempt at sour dough bread tomorrow and crossing my fingers that it works this time. I also made cream biscuits from Orangette last night for dinner to go along with some soup and they were easy and delicious. With these sure signs of spring we are dreaming of a long summer filled with fresh garden veggies and the freshest of backyard eggs.

Cream Biscuits
Adapted from The Breakfast Book, by Marion Cunningham

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. table salt
1 Tbsp. baking powder
2 tsp. sugar
1 to 1 ½ cups heavy cream
5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. (If you don’t have parchment, leave it as it is, ungreased. The parchment is just for easy cleanup.)

Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar in a mixing bowl, and stir with a fork to blend. Slowly add 1 cup of the cream, stirring. Gather the dough together gently: when it holds together and feels tender, it’s ready to knead. If it feels shaggy and pieces are dry, slowly add enough cream to make the dough hold together.

Place the dough on a lightly floured board and knead for 1 minute. (You don’t want to overwork it.) Pat the dough into a square about ½ inch thick. Cut into 12 squares. Brush each with melted butter so that all sides are coated. Place the biscuits 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Serve hot.

Yield: 12 biscuits

Conversation From the Back of the Car

Miles: When I'm big can Ben live with me?

Ben: Sure. We'll get married.
Miles: Ok.
Ben: Let's get married in our backyard. What should I drive? My snow plow, trash truck, four wheeler, airplane or mail truck? Miles: Snow plow. I'm going to have a snow plow too and we're going to have the cleanest driveway!

Here Lately

Despite the fresh dusting of snow on the ground I can see real signs that spring is on its way. The hockey season has come to an end. The boys both played on their first hockey team and Miles has discovered a true passion for himself. I’ve never seen someone show more enthusiasm and love for something as he does for hockey. Even at only six and only five months ice skating, he has a true grace about him on the ice. It is so rewarding to see him discover something he has a passion for. Ben demonstrated, once again, his strong will. We also got a glimpse of his courage. He joined the team very late in the season and was the youngest player on the team, yet he skated out there every practice and game with no hesitation and stood his ground as much bigger players whizzed past him.

Another sure sign of spring is the dreaming and planning of this year’s garden. Tim has been busy in the garage constructing cold boxes which he remembers his grandfather building for his own garden.
One of the reasons I love this man so much is that he puts so much effort into everything he does. He could have easily thrown these boxes together crudely and they would have served their purpose. But, he took his time and painted them and added handles. He always takes into consideration how the things he builds will look even if they will live in the garden. I can really appreciate this time and consideration. I love that the aesthetics of our garden are important to him.

Lastly, my sweet nephew River turned 2 this weekend and to celebrate that I made him a snack bandolier from this tutorial. I can distinctly remember my own boys at 2 and how they always wanted to leave the house with handfuls of treasures so I thought the bandolier was the perfect gift for a special little 2 year old. Also, this was a great gift to make to include the kids. They had a great time picking special cars from their own collection to give and Miles has a good time picking a special rock for the pocket.