I'm a Codfish

A friend and I were talking one day while our kids played together. A little of this, a little of that. Nothing and Everything all at the same time. You know how it is.

I had mentioned my recent discovery that older women feel bad about how their necks look (based on some older female friends reading the book "I feel Bad about my Neck"). She told me about a woman she knew growing up who had the most amazing neck at like 60. This woman had shared her secret... and I'm going to share it here. It's oh so complicated, so pay attention. I call it the Codfish.

Look at the ceiling. Open and close your mouth like a fish. Repeat for as long as necessary (2 min; 20 min; 20 times... whatever you can handle).

Silly, huh? Except that when you do it, you can feel your neck, under your chin, and your collar area moving. Makes sense that if you work the muscles a little, it'll firm up. I won't know the results for sure until I've added some years. But, it's worth trying, right?

Oh, and I'd suggest doing the Codfish in the shower washing your hair or when your on the lav. After all, it's not really silly if no one can see you. (wink!)

Reconstructing a Tee

I was reading in on my favorite blog, Simple Green Frugal Co-op, about reconstructing clothing (taking clothing you no longer need or like anymore and turning into something you will need or like). It pointed me to a few cool sites, but I spent the most time checking out threadbangers, a youtube group for Do-It-Yourself types. After getting the ideas and principles behind some of their t-shirt reconstructions, I made this from one of my husband's old t-shirts:


Much cuter than the oversized t-shirt it was (sorry no pics of the before; I barely remembered to take pics of my steps). I took this picture before the last step, so the bottom doesn't flare as much. Since I made this up, I have no qualms showing someone how to do it. If it is similar to something someone else has done, I'm sorry, but we'll just have to say great minds think alike. So, here's how I did it:

1. Turn the oversized shirt inside out. Place a shirt that fits your frame on top, lining up the shoulders. With a pencil, chalk or whatever (you'll be sewing over it anyway), draw a line a 1/2" out on each side. The 1/2" is for seam allowance.









Be sure that from the armpit line, you kind of curve it around so that the line from the side makes a consistent line around to the end of the sleeve. Don't forget seam allowance here either!











2. Be sure to use a ball point or jersey needle! Otherwise you can pierce the knit and cause unraveling or a run. Sew in a basting stitch along the lines you drew on both sides. Turn the shirt right side out and make sure it fits. If you're sure it fits, then just inside the basting, go over each side with a knit stitch or narrow zig-zag. Since this is made with a t-shirt, if you use just a regular stitch, the thread can actually pull at and tear the knit, plus it won't stretch the way it's supposed to. Go ahead and cut off the excess fabric, including the basting if possible.


3. I know this is hard to see, but next you rip the seam on both sleeve edges. You actually don't have to do this; you can just cut the sleeve edge off. I liked to use the lines from the seam, though, since I absolutely hate using pins.





A bit of the underarm seam may come undone. Just sew it back together.







4. Along the bottom hem of the shirt, make a small cut perpendicular to the shirt bottom. Don't go through the hem stitching.






Cut along the edge of the hem seam all the way around the bottom of the shirt. This is what you use for the neckline, so keep it!







5. Next is the neckline (sorry some of the pics are sideways). You'll make a line about 1/2"-1" from the neckline seam. Make sure your strip of fabric from the bottom of the shirt will go all the way around easily.









Cut on the line.








6. Next, with the raw edges of the strip of hem fabric pointing up (it should still be doubled over, just like when you cut it), line up the raw edge of the hem strip and the neckline. The hem strip should be on the right side of the t-shirt.








At the middle of the back neckline, leave about an inch of the tail end pointing "up" at a 45 degree angle from the neckline; it will leave a little tail you can cut off later (I hope that makes sense). If you prefer pinning, this would definitely be a good time to pin. Stretch the hem strip slightly as you pin it. You want it to be shorter than the shirt's neck. The tighter you stretch it (obviously to a point), the flatter it will lay against your chest and neck. Leave a "tail" with the other end of hem fabric.


Sew together. The "tails" create the effect pictured here. This is a view of the inside of the back shirt collar after I cut off the excess.

After you sew the edges together, turn the hem fabric up. Sew 1/4" below the seam line to keep the collar from flipping up. Again, I hope that makes sense. Let me know if it doesn't so I can try to rewrite it.


This is what the right side of the collar should look like after all that.







7. The sleeves. Basically, with the shirt inside out, pull the sleeve edge over about 3" or so if you want my look. Sew the raw edge of the sleeve down, going all the way around the circle of the sleeve, and then also sew a line about 1/2"-1" out from there (I followed the sleeves previous seam lines). This creates a tube of sorts. Do this to both sleeves.

If you just cut off the sleeve hem instead of ripping it out, you'll probably only have room to make a princess style sleeve. Only pull the sleeve edge over about 1" and do the same sort of thing.



Turn the shirt inside out. Cut two small slits between the two lines you just sewed in just the top layer of fabric.

With the extra fabric you took from the sides or using ribbon or some accent color fabric, cut two pieces 1/2" wide and about a foot and a half to two feet long. It just needs to be long enough to go around your arm and tie nicely. If you used t-shirt fabric, pull it lengthwise so that the edges roll. That way you don't see the raw edges so much.

Take a safety pin, fasten it to one end of a strip of fabric or ribbon. Thread the strip of fabric through the little arm tube thing. Tie loosely. You can tighten it when you put in on.

8. I don't have a pic of the last step. You just serge or zig-zag the bottom shirt hem. Zig-zag makes it flare a bit, which is nice and girly.

That should be it. Try it on and see if you like it. At least it should be better than the shirt you had before.

Homemade Instruments

I just moved to a new area, and I've really missed the musical kids activities that a friend of mine organized. I wanted to do it in my new area, but I don't have that many instruments. A little web searching, creativity, friend brain picking later, and I have three kinds of instruments I'm making: shakers, drums, and wrist bells. I cannot guarantee non-toxicity, though I've done the best I know how. As long as the kids don't swallow a chunk of an instrument it should be fine.

Here are some pictures and a brief description of the first: the shakers. You need a cardboard tube (toilet paper, paper towel), stapler, filler (beans, popcorn, etc.), and duct tape. You can also paint if you'd like, though I suggest a sealer of some kind (silicon spray or decoupage work) to prevent it from coming off with sticky or sweaty little hands.


Here is a picture of a painted shaker (still not completely finished). I forgot to take pictures before I stapled them, but you should be able to see what you do. Staple one side of the cardboard tube. Put in some filler. Close the second opening perpendicular to the first one, and staple. If you want to paint (and seal), do it now. Here's an upclose of the staples:


After your paint/sealer is dry, cut strips of duct tape long enough to cover the staples. I suppose this isn't necessary, but I think it's really important if you want little kids to use them, cause the staples can snag clothes or cause little boo-boos. Here's a picture of one I finished a while ago, and also my 1 1/2 year old playing with it.

Yogurt Pics

Here are two pictures of the yogurt. Unfortunately, I accidentally forgot to put the yogurt in the fridge before going to bed, so the yogurt is a bit lumpy from "running" too long. The first one is plain, and the second one has some sweetened condensed milk in it, which gave it a slightly "sticky" consistency.

I didn't take a picture of it, but I used some of the sweetened condensed milk yogurt to make homemade yogurt popsicles... holy awesomeness batman. I especially like to break it onto pieces on top of a warm waffle with some lemon curd. Mmmmm. Or just by itself as a popsicle as a bedtime treat. I just added about 2T water for every 1/3-1/2C, and then put them in popsicle molds. I'm told you can also use toothpicks in an icecube tray if you don't have popsicle molds. Just be sure to cover them if you do that.

Making Yogurt

While perusing my favorite blogs a while back, I found some information on making yogurt (see http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/blog/make-your-own-yogurt-and-cream-cheese). I checked it out, and, as usual, I got super excited. If my husband didn't keep me in check I would waste so much money on the things I get excited about (many of which I don't actually finish). I did "need" to buy some glass jars. Unfortunately, I've realized since then, if I'd been more patient, I could have just accumulated various glass jars to use. But, that's what I get for being impatient. So, here's a rundown of the super easy and inexpensive way to make your own yogurt!

Materials:

a cooler
sterilized GLASS jars (see notes)
food thermometer (candy, meat, whatever)
saucepan
any live culture plain yogurt
milk (raw or pasteurized; whole or 2%)
water, and a way to reheat it

optional - sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, other flavorings (I like to flavor with fruit syrup)




Directions:

1. Heat your milk in a saucepan (don't microwave; I think you could change important milk proteins). If it's older or your really concerned about bacteria, heat it to just boiling and then cool it. Just make sure the milk is about 120 degrees F (see note below). When you add room temperature stuff, the milk will decrease a bit in temp.




2. Add 2 heaping Tablespoons live culture yogurt in smaller jars, 1/2 Cup in larger jars. Add any other ingredients (mine below have sweetened condensed milk, and one has acai juice; always leave one plain so you can use it as your starter for the next batch).






3. Pour the warm milk in the jars until a bit below the rim. Please note that it is rather difficult to take a picture and pour milk at the same time, so don't try that unless you want a mess. Or use a funnel.


4. Stir really well with a fork or spoon. If you don't distribute the yogurt into the milk, your culture will be really slow going. Put lids on the jars.









5. Put warm water into the cooler. Be careful not to put in so much that they'll cover the top lid of the glass jar. Heat portions of the water until its 120 degrees F, or just under.











6. Put the jars in the cooler and close it on up. Check the water temp every hour or two. Try to keep the water temp about 120 degrees, 'cause it'll lose heat over time. I scoop out water with a mug, microwave it a minute, and then pour the water back in. I repeat until I get the water to the right temperature. However you keep the temp right is up to you.

7. Let it go for 8-12 hours; however long it takes for it to stay put when you tilt the jar. Then put it in the fridge to stop the process. Otherwise it curdles.


I don't have a picture of the finished product. I'll try to get one up soon. If you do plain yogurt, you can strain it with a cheese cloth to make yogurt cheese. Kind of like cream cheese but more tart. I like it with grated carrot, pimentos, and garlic salt. You can see instructions for that at the website I mentioned above.

I love my yogurt with honey and nutmeg, personally. I'm trying out the sweetened condensed milk mixed from the get-go on my mom's recommendation. Apparently when she was in college, they would make yogurt from sweetened condensed milk and put it on the space heater instead of in a cooler. I don't know if I can handle quite that much sugar, but it sounded yummy enough to try a smaller amount mixed with my milk. I hope anyone who tries it enjoys!




(Notes)

Glass Jars: They must be glass, from what I understand. I think it's probably because glass conducts heat better, plus there's no risk of any plastic toxin leaching into the yogurt. You can buy mason jars online or at a kitchen or grocery store. Or you can be really resourceful and save and clean your glass jars from jam, spaghetti sauce or whatever. I run mine through the dishwasher. The only ones I wouldn't recommend for this are pickle jars or other really strong smelling jars. Those need to air out forever before you can get the taste out of them.

Temperature: The bacteria that make yogurt thrive at 115 degrees F. They will grow between the temperatures of 98 and 125ish degrees F. Any higher than 125 (if I remember correctly), and they die. Any lower than 98, and they go dormant. Many sites suggest 90-110 degrees. I've found my yogurt takes forever at these temps. I get thicker yogurt at a median incubation of 115 degrees.