Family Rules How Do You Butter a Muffin

Family Rules

How do you butter a muffin?

Butter individual pieces

 Family rules we all have them, we follow them without even knowing they exist and we expect others to intuitively follow them as well - there in lays the problem.

So how do you butter a muffin? This was cause for raised voices and tears the other day.  Sitting at a table near us one child cut the top off their muffin and proceeded to butter both halves, this child was clearly following the unspoken rule of the family. Whereas his sister started to butter the top of the her uncut muffin she had violated a family rule and the adults with her responded with  "what are you doing! Butter that muffin properly" and as identified earlier there was an ensuing argument which included:

• I like to eat it this way (I don't care)
• Mom lets me eat it this way (I don't care followed by an eye roll to the female's adults male partner) and it ended with tears and an uneaten muffin.

Buttering the muffin top uncut

I asked our grandchildren how many ways they could think of to butter a muffin.  What fun they had exploring this question:

1. There is the traditional cut the top off the muffin and butter top and bottom.
2. The equally traditional cut the muffin in half from top to bottom and butter both halves
3. Ruth's favourite butter the top, eat the top with butter, butter the next level and continue eating this way.
4. Butter the bottom and eat up to the top.
5. Emily's favourite pull off a piece of muffin butter it and eat repeat until the muffin is gone.
6. And my favourite butter any piece of the muffin you want, dunk it in your coffee and eat.

All result in the muffin being eaten,

 all were acceptable in this achieving the objective

Family rules as seen through the experience of buttering a muffin is light hearted at worst yet many family rules need to be seen through this lens and then relegated from a rule to personal preference, because many of the "rules" we carry with us are just that the personal preference of some long ago forgotten relative.

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2015 twosnydergirls

Sauerkraut and Turkey Sausage Stew

Foodie Friday 

The hint of caraway gives this stew a wonderful flavour

Growing up in a German Mennonite home sauerkraut was often on the menu and it brings back fond memories of Sunday night suppers in my family home.  This is a wonderful hearty stew that is not overpowered by the taste of sauerkraut rather it adds to the full rich flavour. We hope you enjoy this stew as much as we do.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb turkey sausage cut into bite size pieces
• 6 medium potatoes peeled and cubed
• 1 onion chopped
• 3 cloves garlic crushed
• 3 carrots cubed
• 1 cup chopped mushrooms
• 4 celery stalks cubed
• 6 cups vegetable broth (we use our homemade broth)
• 2 cups sauerkraut drained and rinsed
• 3 parsnips cubed
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can tomato paste
• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 2 Bay leaves 
• 1 teaspoon Thyme
• ½ teaspoon caraway seed
• 1/2 teaspoon Turmeric
• Salt and pepper to taste  

Directions:

1. chop and cube all your vegetables
2. in a heavy stew pot add your turkey sausage, onion, garlic and mushrooms allow these to saute on medium high heat until the onions are clear
3. add your vegetable broth
4. add all other ingredients and cook on medium heat for 40 minutes
5. remove bay leaves and add the quinoa and cook for another 15 minutes

Serves 8 @ approximately 203 calories per serving

From our table to yours

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2015 twosnydergirls

Ocean Shorelines

Wordless Wednesday

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2015 twosnydergirls

Mindfulness Play with Children and Words

A moment of Mindfulness

Standing on the pier with our granddaughters we each decided to describe what was happening in the water below us, we created a word painting.  This activity brought each of us into a single moment of mindfulness as we played with words and our experience as the water and sand played beneath us.

Waves

Clouds of sand exploding as the ocean floor reaches heavenward in an effort to hold back the sea, create gossamer ripples of current .  Higher the ocean floor reaches and the sea takes on an urgency propelling torrents of foam every forward in its wake.

The first droplets of green sea to pull themselves out of the torrent, dance effortlessly on top of the wave while the last are caught in the roar and crash as the ocean floor makes one last effort to hold back the sea.

In the collision of sea and land gossamer water is transformed into white storm clouds of foam that play themselves out on sand, while further out clouds of sand are being pushed up as the ocean floor rises up in an effort to hold back the sea.  

Children see and experience the world in wonderful ways and when we take the time to listen and create with them our world as adults expands and our children learn that their voices have the power to move us.

By Grandma Snyder

©2013-2015 twosnydergirls

Love Not Judgement

As I approach this the first Sunday of 2015

I have been pondering the words of C. S. Lewis

and how they apply in my Christian Life.

For me it is Christ's unconditional love for all of creation

that is the sun I know will rise each day.

And if this same unconditional love is the lens through which

I see everything else ...

Love not judgement is what I will see in the world around me!

Now the question I need to ask is how do my (grand)children see me.

If I am living out the words of C.S. Lewis

they will see unconditional love.

This will be my goal for 2015.

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2015 twosnydergirls

Roasted Winter Vegetables

Foodie Friday

I love when the temperature drops and as a family we gather around the kitchen table with a fire in the fireplace because it is time for my favourite dishes and roasted vegetables is top on my list.  Today we are featuring a three veg medley of carrots, brussel sprouts and parsnips.

You can eat them hot on steamed kale, rice or quinoa as just examples and I often take them to work to eat cold on salad mix.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups chopped carrots, brussel sprouts and parsnip
• 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinaigrette
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup

Directions:

1. Chop your vegetables and place on a greased baking sheet
2. Drizzle the coconut oil and balsamic vinaigrette over the vegetables
3. Place in 450 ° F oven until your vegetables are done to your liking turn the vegetables after 10 minutes  
4. Heat the maple syrup to thin it
5. Plate your vegetables and drizzle the maple syrup over them
6. Serve

From our table to yours

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2015 twosnydergirls 

Knitting the Sky 2014

Happy New Year !

With the end of 2014 comes the completion of my Knit the Sky Scarf 

I have enjoyed this adventure with you so much so that I am going to knit the sky in 2015, not a scarf I think I will knit a throw.  I am going to knit a scarf though this time it will be the highest temperature each day in 2015.  This year long knitting project is the brain child of 

and I encourage you to visit their site for even more knitting ideas, just click on their logo.

Through out this monthly series  I have included pieces of Percy Shelly's poem The Cloud here it is in the entirety. 

The Cloud

BY PERCY SHELLEY   

 I bring fresh showers for the thirsting flowers, 

         From the seas and the streams;

I bear light shade for the leaves when laid
         In their noonday dreams.
From my wings are shaken the dews that waken
         The sweet buds every one,
When rocked to rest on their mother's breast,
         As she dances about the sun.
I wield the flail of the lashing hail,
         And whiten the green plains under,
And then again I dissolve it in rain,
         And laugh as I pass in thunder.
   I sift the snow on the mountains below,
         And their great pines groan aghast;
And all the night 'tis my pillow white,
         While I sleep in the arms of the blast.
Sublime on the towers of my skiey bowers,
         Lightning my pilot sits;
In a cavern under is fettered the thunder,
         It struggles and howls at fits;
Over earth and ocean, with gentle motion,
         This pilot is guiding me,
Lured by the love of the genii that move
         In the depths of the purple sea;
Over the rills, and the crags, and the hills,
         Over the lakes and the plains,
Wherever he dream, under mountain or stream,
         The Spirit he loves remains;
And I all the while bask in Heaven's blue smile,
         Whilst he is dissolving in rains.
   The sanguine Sunrise, with his meteor eyes,
         And his burning plumes outspread,
Leaps on the back of my sailing rack,
         When the morning star shines dead;
As on the jag of a mountain crag,
         Which an earthquake rocks and swings,
An eagle alit one moment may sit
         In the light of its golden wings.
And when Sunset may breathe, from the lit sea beneath,
         Its ardours of rest and of love,
And the crimson pall of eve may fall
         From the depth of Heaven above,
With wings folded I rest, on mine aëry nest,
         As still as a brooding dove.
   That orbèd maiden with white fire laden,
         Whom mortals call the Moon,
Glides glimmering o'er my fleece-like floor,
         By the midnight breezes strewn;
And wherever the beat of her unseen feet,
         Which only the angels hear,
May have broken the woof of my tent's thin roof,
         The stars peep behind her and peer;
And I laugh to see them whirl and flee,
         Like a swarm of golden bees,
When I widen the rent in my wind-built tent,
         Till calm the rivers, lakes, and seas,
Like strips of the sky fallen through me on high,
         Are each paved with the moon and these.
   I bind the Sun's throne with a burning zone,
         And the Moon's with a girdle of pearl;
The volcanoes are dim, and the stars reel and swim,
         When the whirlwinds my banner unfurl.
From cape to cape, with a bridge-like shape,
         Over a torrent sea,
Sunbeam-proof, I hang like a roof,
         The mountains its columns be.
The triumphal arch through which I march
         With hurricane, fire, and snow,
When the Powers of the air are chained to my chair,
         Is the million-coloured bow;
The sphere-fire above its soft colours wove,
         While the moist Earth was laughing below.
   I am the daughter of Earth and Water,
         And the nursling of the Sky;
I pass through the pores of the ocean and shores;
         I change, but I cannot die.
For after the rain when with never a stain
         The pavilion of Heaven is bare,
And the winds and sunbeams with their convex gleams
         Build up the blue dome of air,
I silently laugh at my own cenotaph,
         And out of the caverns of rain,
Like a child from the womb, like a ghost from the tomb,
         I arise and unbuild it again.

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2015 twosnydergirls

Crabs on the Beach

Wordless Wednesday

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2014 twosnydergirls

Quinoa Waldorf Salad

Foodie Friday

Gluten & Dairy Free

This salad can be either a main course or a desert and has been a hit at all of the Christmas Potlucks that we have been to this year.  So here as I promised the sewing club is the recipe.

Ingredient:

• 1 cup of uncooked Quinoa
• 2 apples
• 2 sticks of celery
• 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 cup chopped seedless grapes (optional)
• Seeds of ½ a pomegranate
• 1 cup whipped coconut cream (click here for recipe)

Directions:

1. Cook the Quinoa as per directions
2. Chop the apples and toss in the lemon juice to prevent discolouring
3. Chop the celery, and grapes
4. Seed the pomegranate
5. Prepare the coconut cream
6. Mix all the ingredients together and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving

Seeding pomegranates – many years ago I learned to do this under water where the white membrane floats to the surface and is easily disposed of leaving the seeds at the bottom of the sink or bowl ready to be used.

From our table to yours

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2016 twosnydergirls

Merry Christmas

All the best from our family to yours and may this Christmas season be full of love, laughter, and time spent with family.

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2015 twosnydergirls

Snow on Corn

Wordless Wednesday

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2014 twosnydergirls

Children Creating

Aunt D's getting a frog for Christmas

And though she be but little she is fierce - Shakespeare and this is our Emily when she decides she is going to do something.

Christmas in our home is about the giving of homemade, or recycled/reclaimed gifts.  The thought and time that goes into planning the gift and knowing the pleasure it will bring the receiver makes Christmas Eve exciting.

This weekend Emily made her Aunt D a Christmas gift a frog stuffy to add to her collection.

The first step was to go to the computer where Emily decided on the shape of her frog.  Next she went to Grandma’s fabric stash and there she picked out her green fabric.

Using a making pencil Emily sketched out her first frog, she pinned the two layers that would make up the frog together and cut it out.  Then on to the sewing machine and the final step before stuffing her frog and here she met her first discovery the legs and toes of her frog were too thin to turn and stuff.

Undeterred she went back to the drawing board literally and started over.  This time with success.

It would have been too easy to have stopped Emily in her first design and tell her it would not work.  Instead I wondered out loud if there would be enough room for stitching and then to turn, Emily was sure there was and so she continued.  

When her first attempt failed she was encouraged immediately to think through the design and come up with a solution.

Adults often step in too soon or take over the task worried that the child will give-up and or fail.  Failure is a key step in learning as long as  "One fails forward toward success" C.S. Lewis 

Failures, repeated failures, are finger posts on the road to achievement. One fails forward toward success.C. S. Lewis

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2015 twosnydergirls 

Heavenly Music

From Comfortable to Contemplative to Expectant

Piano music floats over us as we enter the sanctuary, creating a comfortable, and familiar backdrop.  Ethereal with soft harmonies, and comfortable rhythms where our quiet conversation creates the counterpoint in this the pre-worship stage of our service.

Something has changes the music remains in the background yet it is different, still comfortable, yet different the harmonies at times create a dissidence just enough to bring attention to the music where we contemplate the melody.

The rhythm is what has changed the rhythm is wholly unique and with expectation we look to the pianist.

Susan sit at the piano, sheet music spread in front of her yet the music is not for her it is not the musical score of the piece she is playing.  This piece of music comes from her spirit she is playing out of love to her Creator.

We stop talking, we wait and listen in expectation.  Susan’s music draws us into this holy place a place, a place where God has preceded us.  We listen knowing that the music we hear will never to be heard again it is a singular unique offering that we have been allowed to overhear.

We have entered a Holy space lead by Susan’s music, Susan’s gift to her God.

Susan who cannot read musicSusan a single woman in her 40’sSusan defined by her out forward facial features that mark her as having Downs SyndromeSusan who today through her music took us into the presence of God.

She moved us from comfortable in our spiritual expression to contemplating how it is that we worship to ultimately expecting the miracle that is the birth of Christ on this the 4^th Sunday of Advent.  

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2015 twosnydergirls

A Different Christmas

Step away from the noisy distractions of a consumer’s Christmas.

Create space for your children, grandchildren away from the avalanche of empty promises that the consumer’s Christmas unleashes upon us. 

Build into your Christmas preparation moments of quiet reflection and play in God’s creation.  Walk in the snow, spend time with your children, grandchildren in a local park, make snow angels or roast marshmallows outside.

Act upon the spirit of creation that God has placed in each of us.  Make cookies with your children, grandchildren or create decorations to dress the Christmas tree, make something together.

Gather together in family activities away from the TV, computers, and electronics of all types – play together, outside or inside, tell stories, sing – be together laugh and build memories.

Share of your families’ skills, talents and resources in the service of others.  As a family purchase food stuff together and then take what you bought to your local food bank – do something for a neighbour.

Create traditions that protect your children, grandchildren against a consumer’s Christmas – traditions that create space for God’s love to shine through your Christmas.

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2014 twosnydergirls

Christmas Macaroons

Foodie FridayGluten Free Dairy Free

Christmas Macaroons with carrots

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups shredded coconut
• 1 cup grated carrots
• ¼ cups maple syrup
• ½ cup tapioca flour
• ¼ tsp. vanilla

Directions:

1. Mix all of the ingredients together.
2. Using two spoons drop small mounds of the batter onto a greased cookie sheet
3. Bake at 350 °F for between 20 and 30 minutes.

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2014 twosnydergirls

Snow on Milkweed

Wordless Wednesday

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2014 twosnydergirls

Children’s Christmas Craft

Felted Garland

Felted Wool Garland

The grandchildren went back to the kitchen sink to play in the warm water with soap and wool roving and this time they made a Christmas garland to adorn our family Christmas tree.

In this craft you take:

•  a small piece of roving,
• wet it in warm water, 
• soap the roving and 
• roll it around in your hand, until felted.  
• Set your felted balls out to dry.  

• Once dry using a large sharp darning needle thread the felted balls together to form the garland.

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2014 twosnydergirls

A Christmas Tradition

Keeping the Tradition Going

The girls Christmas Centre Piece

Great Great Aunt Elaine transitioned from this world to the next late in November 2014.  G.G. Aunt Elaine always brought the table decorations for our extended family Christmas Dinner and for the past 4 years Ruth and Emily have helped her decorate the tables ~ she called them her Christmas helpers.

This is the only event of the year that Elaine and my granddaughters visit with each other and as I explained to them about her passing, Emily asked who would decorate the tables this Christmas “we always helped her (G.G. Aunt Elaine) we need to do it for her!” And so it was that the girls and I sat down and planned the decorations.

Ruth, “She always brought the decoration is the same box do we have a box to keep everything in?” our table cloths, napkins, and decorations now have their own box.

Family traditions do not always have to be about the big things sometimes the important traditions have more to do with being “her Christmas helpers” and the willingness of an extended family to make room for Great Great Nieces to find their place in the family.

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2014 twosnydergirls

Christmas Cookies Gluten Free

No Bake Frying Pan Dainties

Frying Pan Dainties

Grandma is anyone born in 1959 still alive?  This question was asked with such seriousness that Grandpa and I broke out laughing.  Emily also laughed when she realized that both of us were born before 1959 and so our cookie making adventure started with laughter.

The girls wanted to go to Great Aunt Marjorie’s recipe box and find a new Christmas cookie to make.  It was there that we found “No Bake Recipes” a handmade cook book but together by the Friendship Group Pioneer Memorial United Church Ipswich Road Hamilton, Ontario 1959.

Frying Pan Dainties was picked because we had all of the ingredients on hand.  This is a very sweet cookie and so make your balls small or cut back on the sugar used.  Here is the recipe from  “No Bake Recipes”

Frying Pan Dainties

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups chopped dates
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs beaten
• 1 cup gluten free Rice Krispies
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups shredded coconut

1 cup sugar

Directions:

1. Cut dates in half
2. In a heavy frying pan add dates, eggs, sugar and cook stirring constantly for 15 minutes on medium heat. The mixture will thicken.
3. Then add the Rice Krispies and vanilla and stir
4. Set aside until cool enough to handle
5. Place shredded coconut in a shallow dish and spoon small portions of the cooled mixture on the coconut.  With a spoon roll the batter in the coconut until covered enough that you can roll into a ball.
6. Store in a covered container.

A rich sugary inside

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2014 twosnydergirls

Nativity Figurines

Wordless Wednesday

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2014 twosnydergirls