Bug Screen, otherwise known as: My husbandy is awesome

Summer has arrived in full force - meaning lots of sunshine and lots of outdoor time.  In years past I have made the transition from "lots of clothes on in winter" to "lots of bare skin in summer" (which, let's face it, basically means sweater and socks to t-shirt and sandals) without paying too much attention to it.  I was genetically endowed with naturally dark skin - sun burns really were never a concern for me and I soaked up as much vitamin D as I possibly could.  This year however, I had a little someone to think of, and this little someone did not win the genetic lottery when it came to the amount of melanin in his skin - he is as white as white can be.
As important as vitamin D is, I did not want Bean getting burnt.  But I also didn't want to slather him in the chemicals found traditional sunscreen.  So I took to the internets hunting down a recipe that would work for us.  I found this one (link opens in a new window) and whipped up a batch.

We were all set for fun in the sun when the mosquitoes began to take over the world.  Time to whip up some mosquito repellent.  I scoured the internets again, hunting for the perfect recipe that I would be comfortable with using on Bean.  My searches led me here (link opens in a new window).  I decided I would rather have it in a cream base instead of a liquid (less likely to make a mess), so I told Husbandy that I was going to use the same base that I used for the sunscreen, leave out the zinc oxide and put the mosquito repelling oils in instead.  This is where Husbandy's brilliance shone through.  He proposed that I not leave out the zinc oxide and instead mix the mosquito repelling oils in with the sunscreen!  In my mind it was a revolution - sunscreen that was also mosquito repellent!  Or mosquito repellent that was also sunscreen!   I set to work and our new invention, based off of the two recipes linked above was born - Bug Screen!

Here is the recipe I ultimately ended up using (ever so slightly altered from the first two):
1/2 Cup olive oil
1/4 Cup beeswax
1/4 Cup coconut oil
2 TBSP zinc oxide powder
60 drops lemongrass essential oil
40 drops eucalyptus essential oil
20 drops peppermint essential oil
16 drops tea tree essential oil
4 (ish) drops lavender essential oil


Since I made the sunscreen first and then later turned it in to bug screen I melted the first three ingredients together in a double boiler (glass jar in a pan of boiling water) and then mixed the zinc oxide powder in, stirring super well to make sure the zinc oxide didn't clump.  While it cooled I stirred it periodically to make sure it didn't settle out.   When I was ready to turn it into bug screen, I remelted the sunscreen and added the essential oils in, stirring well to incorporate.  
If I were doing it again, I'd melt the first three oils together, add the essential oils and then add the zinc oxide at the end.

It appears to work well and is non-toxic - Husbandy tricked Littlest Brother into tasting some of it, and he lived - however he says it doesn't taste real great ;)

Bean enjoying some splash pad fun

Summer Saturdays

During the summer my Saturdays have a predictable rhythm, and technically start Wednesday nights when I receive 6 data files from local swim team coaches. They continue on Thursdays when I sort about 200 swimmers into heats and lanes in 72 events. They pick on Friday afternoons when I make any last minute changes then print, cut and sort about 600 entry cards, (and typically only lose 2-3 of them).  They pick up speed in the wee hours of Saturday morning when we get up extra early to do barn chores and leave the farm in time to be at the hosting pool by 7:30am (sometimes it means leaving at 6:30am).  But it all becomes worthwhile at 8:30 on Saturday morning when this happens:

A pool ready for swimmers!

Swimmers being sorted (marshalled) for their races

More swimmers getting ready

And they're off!

 Coming in for a turn...

Turning...

By about 1pm all 600 entries have swum, the meet is scored, and I go home and take my nap.  After nap time, I post the results online and e-mail all the coaches.  Then I get a few days off until Wednesday and we start all over again!  

It's a lot of work, but watching the swimmers succeed (a couple took 2+ seconds off their times this week!) and have fun is well worth it!

Photo Friday

Things are abnormally busy here, so this will be short and sweet:

Snow hanging over the edge of the roof as things start to melt

David's birthday cookies (He will get a proper birthday celebration later)

Why plant tulips?

Why plant tulips?
they take all winter.
i might not see them bloom
they are everywhere.
Why plant tulips?

Why plant tulips?
buried in the ground
doomed to die
threatened by the squirrels.
Why plant tulips?

Why plant tulips?
6 months, a year
2 at the most
then I move on.
Why plant tulips?

Why plant tulips?
pressing through the last glimmer of snow
waking up the world from its sleep
giving hope where there was none.
Why plant tulips?

Why plant tulips?
put down roots
not for you, but for the next
seek the peace and prosperity of where you are.
Why plant tulips?

Why not?

jep 25.10.11

inspired by Jeremiah 29

Tulip with dew, spring 2010, Pella, IA

Little People's Olympics, Part 5

After the "official" part was done, everyone hung out and the fun kept going

Dan shows us how he would go through the tube

Playing a football type game

crawling in the tube

At this point there were two children in the tube, one from each direction.  To solve this dilemma, they did what any seminary student would do: Rock, Paper, Scissors.  They have been taught well. 

I have an idea for a game...I'll stand in the tube and people can throw balls at me.   I didn't think this was a great idea, but he did.

Little People's Olympics, Part 1

Today we hat Little People's Olympics in the backyard of the Red Bricks.  The weather was kinda icky, but it didn't rain and I think everyone had a good time. I missed the first few event because I was finishing up my gingerbread. This is where I came out to watch.

In this event, they were trying to hit the tree with a frisbee

Short Distance Foot Race

Noah and Anna are racing against each other

Some of the little ones needed help for moral support

Pella, Part 6

This particular post in the Pella series is dedicated to the "natural" things I photographed during my break. Things that are just as much a part of Central as the people...and maybe even more so, because they never go away.

A sunset through a dorm room window.  

Two of the three geese that live on the pond.  I'm not quite sure how this family of three thing works, but they seem to get along fine.  

A goose looking all tall and proud.

The "mama-to-be" working on her nest.  No eggs yet, she's not spending enough time on the nest for there to be eggs in it yet.  Last year I got to watch her lay an egg.  It was neat. 

The trees were just starting to bud.  Lots of pollen in the air.  Hooray allergies! 

Sunset at the soccer fields. 

Look for a post inspired by this sunset in the next day or so (I'll put a link up once the post goes live)

Pella, Part 5

Walt the Pocket Kangaroo helped me shelve books in the library one day.  I used to work in the library and I missed shelving books and pulling markers, so Lana let me work some. 

Study Hall in the Lower Chapel is the cool place to be. 

The Lower Chapel is also a great place for life chats and praying with friends. 

Walt the Pocket Kangaroo enjoyed sitting in the sun journaling by the pond with me. 

Walt the Pocket Kangaroo also enjoyed the sunny weather for reading outside in the sun.  I think we were reading a preaching book at this point. 

Sarah G got "stuck" in the telephone booth. 

We decided to engage in some foolishness and built a camera stand so we could take a picture of ourselves with the telephone booth.  It was an adventure.

Pella, Part 1

I'm spending my spring break in Pella, at Central College, where I did my undergrad work.  Walt the Pocket Kangaroo is my travelling partner and we are having all kinds of adventures.  Sometimes I remember to take pictures of these adventures.  Here's a sampling from the first few days:

We crossed the Mississippi into Iowa and it was sunny.  We had a big icky storm around Chicago so the sunshine was welcome.  It was also warmer in Iowa than in Michigan.

Iowa is a real place.  It is more than a state of mind (that was for you Rob!).  States of mind don't come with road signs.

I felt a little like a tourist and got my picture taken with the huge wooden shoes.  In all the 4 years I was here, I never got a picture with the shoes...

It's spring time in Pella.  There were pretty flowers blooming.

I went on a walk with these two wonderful people (Pinky and Jesse).  Jesse and I *may have* made eyes at each other (just to make Pinky mad. She doesn't like to share)

Snow Day!

Yesterday we had a snow day.  Not just the public high schools and elementary schools, but everyone.  The reason for this: a blizzard.  It was the first time I had a snow day since high school.  I was ecstatic when we got word on Tuesday night that the seminary would be closed all day Wednesday.
I started Wednesday off by staying up late Tuesday night talking with a good friend and brother and sleeping in Wednesday morning.  Then I spent some time in the kitchen doing some baking.  None of it is actually completely finished yet, so no pictures yet.  I made chocolate chip cupcakes, but they still need the chocolate "buttercream" frosting.  I also made homemade chocolate sandwich cookies (Oreo type), but they still need the filling.  So, be patient and there will be pictures later.
Then, the best part of my day.  Snow toffee.  As a child, a fresh snow fall, especially one that meant we were home all day with the babysitter, meant snow toffee.   I made it a couple times in undergrad, usually in the evening, but I hadn't had opportunity to make it here yet.  A snow day, with lots of fresh snow on the ground, seemed like a good time to introduce all the neighborhood children to snow toffee.  I'd checked with one mother Tuesday night already, just to make sure that she would allow her children to eat it, so I knew I had at least two children to share with.
I don't really have a recipe for snow toffee, so I will attempt to explain the best I know how, how one makes snow toffee, complete with pictures, courtesy of Olga.
First, I put some water and brown sugar and molasses and white sugar in a pan on the stove.  I stirred it up and tasted it.   Then added more sugar until I liked how it tasted.  Sometimes growing up we'd put maple syrup in it.  Basically, you want yummy sweetness.
Then, I turned the stove on and stirred and stirred and stirred and stirred. During undergrad this was always a great time to have long conversations with my RA.  As a child, the babysitter usually sent us outside to keep us out from underfoot during this stage.

Yesterday I did almost all the stirring with my snow pants and hat on. That way I'd be ready when it would be ready.

Olga made a really cool picture of the stirring action.  It bubbles a lot.  If you don't keep stirring, it will over-boil and make a big mess.  It will also burn.

You have to stir a long time. You know it is ready when you use your stirring spoon to dribble some into a cup of cold water (see my measuring cup sitting beside the pan?).  All of a sudden, when you dribble it in, it will become solid before it reaches the bottom.  It looks really cool when that happens.  Before it is ready it just kinda diffuses throughout the water, a little like food coloring in water.  You can't miss it when this finally happens.  I call this "the cool stage".

Once you reach the cool stage, it's go time.  As a child this meant that we had to have jelly roll pans packed with clean snow and up on the back porch (the babysitter didn't want to come out into the yard with us, and if we'd done it in the yard, the dog would eat it).  Now it means, grab the pan and run outside with it.  

Once you are outside, you find some clean snow and dump the toffee out in long, swirly lines. It will sink down into the snow, so you want the snow to be deep, or well packed.  Our snow yesterday was rather light and fluffy.

Then, using your fingers you pull part of a strand out of the snow and feed it to your roommates.

Then, you go collect neighborhood children and entice them to come eat "snow candy".  Of course, you make them ask their moms first.  You wouldn't want to be perceived as a creepy person or anything. Realize that you will have to explain to every mom (or dad) what snow candy is.

Then you feed it to the children.  They have mittens on, you being the nice grown-up, you take your mitten off, pick the toffee up and feed it to them.  

Then, you finish taking the toffee out of the snow, put it in the pan and convince your small children to go with you to deliver snow candy to all your other "friends" (our word for neighbors). After the small children are all hyped up on sugar and very sticky, you send them back home to their parents and you go back inside where it is warm and you rest.

Again, all photos in this post were taken by Olga. If you want to see more of her photos, including some that indicate just how much snow we got, check out her blog. 

Retreat, part 2: free time fun

The retreat wasn't all study.  We had free time between sessions and there was many ways to spend it.  First of all, the convent was located in a beautiful spot.  I'd love to go back in the spring, summer or fall when it's not so cold and snowy.  I'm sure it would be really pretty.
There was a lake there and it was frozen (this tends to happen in the winter), so one afternoon, when the sun was shining, I went out to play on the ice.  I checked it first and decided it was thick enough to support me.  It was so pretty (see pictures).  It had "flash frozen" so there were air bubbles trapped in the ice. But after playing on the ice for awhile I got told that we weren't allowed on the ice because it was too fresh.  It frustrated me a little, but I understand where they were coming from.  It is a liability and if someone isn't familiar with ice and ice safety it could end badly, since some spots were rather thin yet (one spot even had open water yet).

Pictures of the ice.  Click to enlarge.

Pictures of the bubbles in the ice.  Click to enlarge.

We could also spend our free time in the chapel of the Mother house.  It was a beautiful chapel and when I walked into it, I felt like I had been transported back to Germany.  When I reached for a prayer book, I actually expected it to be in German.  It wouldn't have surprised me so much if I had known that the order of nuns that we were staying with was a German order and the chapel had been modeled after a chapel in Germany. So it makes sense that it looked and felt German.  It was still decorated for Christmas and was wonderful.  I loved sitting there and spending time in prayer and meditation.  I might not agree with Catholics on every theological point, but they definitely have a good thing with the kneeling benches in the pews.  It was so good to have the space to spend time on my knees in the chapel.  Sometimes, after breakfast we could hear organ music coming from the chapel and if we had time before first session, I liked to go sit and listen.  I could feel the music vibrate through the floors and pews and it was incredibly comforting and peaceful.

The large chapel in the Mother house. Click to enlarge

In the evenings we liked to hang out in the "onion room" and play games, chat or do puzzles.  Many people played cards.  Other people preferred to play a crazy game about Zombies.  I don't understand much about zombies, but it seemed to be a fun game.  I know that to kill zombies, should they actually exist, all I need to do is roll doubles. So, if a zombie ever comes, I'll be finding a pair of dice and rolling frantically to get doubles. ;)

My fun came largely from sitting off to the side of the Zombie game and listening to things they said and writing it down.  The best is when they combined real life with the game. Here is a sampling of quotes that made me smile:

“I want hot chocolate too.  Can we both use the meat cleaver?”

“Can you find me a shotgun?”

“Can I pick up a signal flare? It's kinda like a gun...”

“Why can't you just die?!?!”

“Plot twist!  Nom Nom!”

“I don't want to eliminate her right away.  That's boring.  Or we just kill her now”

“Which zombie color are you?”

“I'm just going to go on a rampage”

“If you kill her, then she's dead and can't fight Louis”

“We need to find a shotgun.”

“I need to not die!”

“She's dead! Nom nom nom!”

“I can do all sorts of things in that field!”

“I lost the chainsaw” “Isn't that an awfully big thing to lose?”

If you didn't know what was going on, you would really wonder.  And even knowing what was going on, I wondered.  It was good entertainment though. :)

This is the Zombie game. 

People playing games.  Click to enlarge.