english vocabulary

Soren loves school. Yesterday he barely was in the house when he pulled out his take-home folder and showed us his excited his 'I can write 100 words' sheet with already 40 words on it. I started reading the words he chose and only got till #4 when I was clueless. What in the world is 'wollex'?!

 

 





Finally Soren helped me out and we were standing there laughing - it's version of yellow.

 

However yesterday was definitely one of those days with vocabulary issues. At bedtime my little stinker and me were were reading two of his books he brought from school. The first book he read almost all by himself and I only corrected two words with his pronounciation. Even he has finished speech therapy we still work this way to make sure he is improving his language skills continously and by now adding German words more and more. The second book was my turn to read and it was all about dinosaurs with vocabulary like

 

dinosaurs

brontosaurus

tyrannosaurus

triceratops 

iguandadon

 

Soren corrected my pronounciation on every single dino-word. Payback.

 

When he was off in the land of dreams I started on a new project using the same and similar fabrics from the latest couch pillow. There were enough strips leftover that I only needed add some bigger squares for trying a wonky block in the log cabin style. It's still work in progress, however it won't take several months this time to finish. :)

 

 

 

There is another project that is probably waiting not just months, but already years to be continued and moved closer to the sewing machine this morning. It is definitely time to pick up my recycle quilt for a new picnic blanket, the temperatures are never really cold here.

 



  

lucky box

I have several bigger projects that are desperately waiting to be finished, but as much as I love to sew and quilt I do not like layering quilt tops, batting and backing and the wrinkles in my project that follow. I do have the best intentions on actually getting a bigger quilt all finished this year. Luckily there are so many inspirations for little project that are really fun to make like this little fabric box. And it is done in a snap, not even a pattern required. It's intended for a teenager's desk or shelf with simple black letter applique and line quilting and will be send off overseas by the end of this month. However I have to admit that I am still looking for more phrases or just words to put on a box. If you have an ideas then send it my way.

strip pillow - part 1

It's raining and thundering outside, the heater is turned back on and there is a pot with  hot Yukgaejang (spicy beef and vegetable soup) on the stove top. I am definitely not leaving the house today instead finished writing my paper, working on the slow computer, study more and spend time with my mom. Since she is here she is working on a quilt for each kid. Soren is following her every step she is working on his Spiderman quilt. He is all excited. 

- couch pillow -

I finally sew a little more again, too, and finished the couch pillow for the extra stool next to our window. It was only the backing left to do and filling it with fiberfill that was just waiting to be opened. The five pound box literally doubled in size in front of our eyes. Try to squeeze it all back in the box, I didn't attempt it. :)

My two little ones have lots of sillyness in their heads and now also on their heads. Last weekend we went grocery shopping at Omart, the huge asian supermarket in the next town, before heading to the airport for picking up our visitor from Germany and the kids discovered the tiger and gepard hats. These are now worn daily in the morning no matter how cold or should I better say how warm it is!

- Soren and Chiara showing of their silly but warm hats -

Somebody really loves owls

- Bella Clutch  from Violet and Clover -

Bella loves owls in any form. She truly must have gotten that from her dad. By now even I grew fond of them and couldn't resist them especially on fabric. Bella is even a bigger lover and this fabric out my stash just fit perfect for this little bag for her.
The pattern is called Bella Clutch from Clover and Violet and easy to make. On their website you can find more color combinations as examples. I like especially the little bit of ruffles and the rounded corners on the bottom of the bag . Bella already packed her things it the little bag and took it out shopping.

However Bella is busy sewing herself. My mom arrived here and showed her the hundreds of mini hexagons she is making and now Bella is hooked and she is doing a great job.

- one of Bella's hexagons -

Well ...

- Vincenzo, our tiger cat -

   Well, I haven't been updating my blog for a while. Sorry. My last post actually was exactly a year ago, but enough time passed with lots of things happening throughout the last twelve months. Now Vincenzo will keep an eye on me and most of the time I am watched very closely by him or one of his buddies in the house while I explore the new blogger changes, get my computer repaired and finally started sewing again. Yeah, even the sewing machine was covered by dust and only occasionally used.

- Project #1 in 2013 -

I need to be a little more creative again and get more motivation for everything, so here is a peek to the first new project I started in 2013 and it definitely needed to be something cheerful and colorful. I used lots of scraps again not one piece is perfectly the same as another and I am sure the result also will be one hundred percent imperfect and that's perfectly fine for this look I am going for.

My mom from Germany is visiting us right now since a couple days and she taught me how to sew, however I got her totally addicted to quilting. :) And not just her, Karin, too. This morning after the kids were all off with the school bus we slowly got ready for a road trip south to Roundrock and after a couple of stops before finally made it to Joann Fabric and Craft Store. Equipped also with Karin's shopping list - in digital form on my kindle to include her pictures - we spent almost two hours there.

- Here, Karin, the shopping list in digital form on my kindle from you, so we would be able to find exactly what you are looking for. - 

My mom just found a little bit of fabric to use here and a little bit to take home. The lady at the cutting table had lots of patience cutting it from her and also told us her story from living in Kitzingen, Germany, for a few years. The store was filled with lots of seniors due to the special discount today and quite a few were asking her what she is going to do with ALL that fabric.

- one of her favorite places in the States -

Now she is already back at the sewing machine and working on a quilt for Soren like a busy bee.

kitchen experiment - 파김치 - pa kimchi

파김치 - pa kimchi (green onion kimchi)

 

 

Something new, something different and onions. I love cooking with onions and my new favorites are green onions. I have to admit that I made two half batches of the recipe, because in one I skipped the fish sauce, the other one I optimisticly added it to try the fishy taste because we hardly ever eat fish here. I eat fish very seldom and usually avoid anything that smells like fish. Leland is not much better. There are a few weird exception. But this will be a nice addition to the bulgogi that a favorite on our table by now. Enjoy.

 

Pa Kimchi

• 6 bunches of green onion
• 3 tbsp pickled shrimp  - I skipped it
• 1 tbsp garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 cup of hot pepper paste
• 1 tsp roasted sesame seeds
• 1 tsp of fish sauce
• 1 – 2 tsp salt

Step 1: Wash green onions well, and cut in the middle if it’s too thick. Slice into about 3-4" lengths.

Step 2: Lightly sprinkle with salt evenly, and set aside for about 10 minutes. When it looks like a little bit of water has been removed, rinse quickly in cold water and drain.

Step 3: Mix in a bowl with with pickled shrimp, garlic, sugar, hot pepper powder, fish sauce and sesame seeds. Taste, and adjust salt.

Step 4: Put in a jar and press down firmly. Leave at room temperature for 1-2 days, then put in a refrigerator.

Seven am one morning in January

- 7 am in West Ft. Hood , TX -

Since two years , twice a week I am on my way to the next town with Soren in tow in the morning before he goes to school. We used to take the country road behind the airport, no reception and all, cows on the road, now we drive through town, school drop off and the back way through post - West Ft. Hood - quiet, we still have to stop for the free roaming Texas cows - but the road got busy. However we get beautiful sunrises every morning with clear skies or once a while coming through slowly in the fog and eventually we took pictures.  

 - Copperas Cove, TX -

 - Copperas Cove, TX -

김밥 - kimbap

Somebody ate the prepared beef in the fridge. Guess who? It wasn't the dog.

김밥 - kimbap

However after change of plan and with some chicken, cucumber and carrot strips and the last eggs prepared I finally got to my kimbap experiment.

It is quite easy to make. Husband liked it. Kids not so much. Me. Hmm. The seaweed is definitely a taste that needs to be acquired and I don't like seafood. Even after I made a whole box full of kimbap I still had leftover fixes the next day, so I thought I try a version my kids might prefer. Instead of seaweed I rolled all the ingredients in tortillas. Voila. Happy kids and nothing left.

They are already asking for more.

Perhabs we should wrap the seaweed inside the tortilla?! Okay, it's a silly idea.

{ weekend wonders }

three minus one = no fighting but hugging

cucumber kimchi or where is the cat?

It was definitely not the right time for sewing yet. I am still missing the ONE right fabric I have in mind for my little project to make it work perfectly. That it always such an issue if you want something specific andd it is just simply not there.

Until then we deal with the broken laptop - third time in three month - it just came from the second repair in a row and worked for mmm a week. I also try to stack the dirty laundry nicely in a corner next to the broken washing machine with the huge amount of estimated rapair costs and the not known ones and next the the new one the bounces all over the floor. However our cats love their life and the brandnew installed catflap to the garage, and it it is truly entertaining to get them to go through  in and out for everybody with treats and tricks. And where is the cat?

The day didn't go as planned. Not at all. Not even dinner, but instead of the easy quick meal I planned I spend a few hours trying out new recipes.  We ended up having dinner a little bit late with bulgogi, rice, fresh cucumber kimchi, gamja jorim, yaehobak boekkeum.

오이 김치 - cucumber kimchi

 10 pickling cucumbers

1 onion, chopped

3 green onion, chopped finely

1 carrot, shredded

4 garlic cloves, minces

fresh ginger, minced

Korean red pepper

1/4 cup salt

2 Tbsp sugar

1. Cut the cucumbers in 4cm lenghts and slit-cut the cucumber sections lengthwise several times.
2. Boil water and disolve the salt.
3. Put the cucmbers in a bowl and pour hot salty water over it until they are fully covered.
4. Drain water after 30 minutes, but keep the liquid.
5. Add onion, green onions, carrots, ginger, sugar, red pepper to the cucumbers and mix well.
6. Pour liquid over the mix until they are almost covered.
7. Cover with a tight lid and let stand at room temperature for 8 - 10 hours.
8. Refrigerate.