10 Things to Tell Your (Grand)children in August

Your memories and stories just such seeds for your children.

Ice cream holds a place of prominence on the August calendar with day's dedicated to soft ice cream, ice cream pie and many more ice cream treats.

In August have fun and tell stories about ice cream.

1.  Talk about your earliest memory of ice cream.  Where were you, who were you with and what flavour was it?

At our church picnics after the pies, tarts, and cookies were devoured the minister and church elders put on oven mitts and passed out vanilla ice cream in cones.  The ice cream came pre-cut and roll in cardboard they looked very much like the centre cardboard of toilet tissue.  I now know the oven mitts were because of the dry ice the ice cream was packed in.  At the time though we would make up the most ridiculous stories about how the ice cream would be too hot to touch.

2. If you have ever made homemade ice cream describe this event to your (grand)children.  A fun and easy activity that you can do with children is make ice cream in a bag.  Beware that younger children will tire quickly and you will end up agitating their bag at some point in the process.

3. Do you have a favourite ice cream parlour?  If you do take your (grand)children there to have this month’s discussions.  Thereafter when they drive past the parlor or visit it they will be reminded of you and they may tell your story to their children.  If you do not have a favourite parlour find one together with your children and start new memories.

August for many is the last month of the school break and vacation.

4. Learning to ride a bike is often a summer break activity.  Remember back to that very first time you stayed up right on a two wheel bike and tell this story.  What type of a bike was it, what was the colour, was it your bike or someone elses?

5. If you still ride a bike tell your children why and the enjoyment you derive from riding a bike.

6. Did you ever take a biking trip somewhere?

7. Swimming is also a summer activity take the time to remember back to a very early memory that included swimming and recount this. 

8. How did you learn to swim? Lessons at a pool or in a lake or a pond?

9.  If you do not swim or have a fear of swimming, using age appropriate language explain why.  In your story talk about what you would do differently now to overcome your fear.  By placing our fears in the light of day our children will have a new understanding of our behaviour and be less likely to develop the same fears.

10. If you engage in any other water sports tell your childhood stories and share pictures if you have them.

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2015 twosnydergirls

Saskatoon Berry Pie

Fresh berry pie sweetened with sugar and thickened with cornstarch is one of easiest and to our way of thinking best tasting pies.  While we were in Saskatchewan this summer Carla treated us to just one of these gems.  

Saskatoon Berry Pie 

Ingredient:

• Double pie crust recipe
• 3 cups Saskatoon berries cleaned (this pie works with all berries)
• ½ cup of sugar (note the original recipe called for 1 cup)
• 2 Tablespoons of cornstarch

Directions:

1. Prepare your pie crust and roll out one bottom which you place in your pie plate and one top
2. In a large bowl mix the berries, sugar and cornstarch
3. Place the berry mixture in the pie plate and cover with second pie crust
4. Cut steam vents in pie crust
5. Bake at 375 degrees F for 30 minutes
6. Your pie crust should be a golden brown colour
7. Note: Key to the success of plating this pie is cooling in completely allowing the cornstarch to gel and hold the fruit together.

 From Our Table To Yours 

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2015 twosnydergirls

Cleaning up the trees.

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2015 twosnydergirls

Smile Often

A smile changes you from inside and influences the people around you.  

The Brain science surrounding the simple act of smiling is overwhelmingly positive on our moods and health in general.

When you smile you feel better because you have stimulated the brains reward mechanism and it reduces stress hormones in the body.

The act of smiling makes you feel better.

Smiling is a basic form of communication know worldwide, infants and children know this and have been known to smile 100’s of times a day to endear themselves to the adults around them.  

Smiling is contagious, when you smile other are more likely to smile and so their internal chain response begins leading to them feeling happier.

It is as Mother Teresa says 

“Peace begins with a smile.”

Be mindful this week how often you smile.  

Notice how smiling affects those around you and most importantly how it makes you feel.

Follow the example of our children and remember to smile 100’s of times each day.

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2015 twosnydergirls

Seek, Peace and Pursue It

Peace is so much more than the absence of war!

Peace means to be at ease with your family, your neighbours and your world.

Peace means to have the ability to walk down any street in your community at any hour in the knowledge that you are safe from personal threat and more than that that behind every door is a neighbour ready to help you.

Peace requires that each of us has:

• safe sustainable housing
• food that maintains health
• meaningful work and leisure activity.

Peace means we live in a state of love and respect towards ourselves, all humanity and God's creation.

Peace means that we live with less so that other can live with more.

Living in peace means we do good because it is the right thing to do not for a reward.  

Peace means we live sustainable lifestyles.

Living in peace means tolerance for difference and living a Christ filled life leading by example not by threats and fear.

And seeking peace always means that we 

"[give] thank always for all the things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."  Ephesian 5:20

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2015 twosnydergirls