this creative place

 Things are happening around here. And readers, we are not moving far away, we just need to move closer in to our workplaces. Our house will be listed very soon and it feels exciting!

I thought I would show you the fruits of my recent organizing. Imagine this: a clean and neat craft cupboard where I can find everything! "Oh, you need a thank-you note? Second shelf down on the left." "Valentine supplies? Bottom shelf." I got rid of a LOT: a big garbage bag went out to the dump, yard sale pile, and then lots of little bits to special people here and there.

Knitting project in the works for a lot of babies waiting to be born... Booties meant to stay on little feet that are shaped like little Volkswagon buses, because that is the shape of a nice, chubby baby foot. And if you are a regular reader, I am sure you are familiar with what that looks like. I found the pattern on Ravelry, but I had to make a lot of changes to it, so I will rewrite it here when I have finished.

Sylvan's shelter diorama is finished! He picked the Mongolian yurt. We felted using wet and dry techniques for the yurt and the sheep. And for the base, we got a lovely piece of birch plywood that he made a watercolor wash on, then added colored pencil to indicate grass. He made the figure out of beeswax, and we added a fireplace inside (with a fire made of colored wool), and a little sleeping bed. Do you like the tuft of smoke?

 You can just see the fireplace in the picture below:

And the beautiful colored pencil geometric construction that Jonas made this week. His shading is really excellent and I love his color choices.

 After the internal cleansing we did, I have so many new ideas about food and my body. I learned a lot about what my body likes, needs, and doesn't like. I learned that I need a big lunchtime salad and that I feel a lot lighter without gluten products. So I have been experimenting with some different ways of baking. This recipe has been adapted from the beYOUtiful cookbook, La Tartine Gourmand  by Beatrice Peltre. You should get your hands on it, it is so worth a look.

Banana Chocolate Chunk Muffins---Vegan and Gluten Free

This will make one dozen muffins and a small loaf of bread

4 T. flax meal soaked in 8 T. water for a few minutes

4 ripe bananas

2/3 c. canola or vegetable oil

½ c. applesauce, unsweetened

2/3 c. maple syrup

1 ½ c. nut meal (almond or pecan)

1 ½ c. brown rice or millet flour

¾ t. baking soda

1 ½. t. baking powder

salt

1 t. cinnamon

chocolate chunks (good quality chocolate, semi or bittersweet), however much you think is enough

Chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Oil pans, or use muffin cups

Put your bananas in a standing mixer and mash them. Soak your flax meal for a few minutes.

Mix up your dry ingredients in a separate bowl: flour, meal, baking powder and soda, salt, cinnamon.

To the mashed bananas, add soaked flax, oil, applesauce, and syrup, and mix well.

Now add dry into wet in a couple of additions. Then fold in chocolate chunks and nuts, if you are using them.

Scoop batter into muffin cups filling up to about ¾ full. Put the rest into a greased loaf pan.  Bake at 350 for 20 or so minutes. When they start to smell good is the time to test them.