Getting motivated to fit in my special volunteer projects can be very tricky with my schedule. Last weekend I worked on a wrap tea cozy for the Downton Abbey final happening next week on PBS! In getting ready to say farewell to one of my favorite shows I have been
listening to the podcast with behind the scenes interviews.
With the celebration of the final, the library staff and I thought it would be nice for the Sew Sew with FabMo class to make their own tea cozy. This class is scheduled after the final but still it always nice to have a warm pot of tea in the evenings – I will have to give it a try. On March 13th at 2pm on a Sunday afternoon the library is having a
Downton Abbey tea party at the Community Room, so if you are a local and enjoy Downton this is the place for you!
For this tea cozy I used FabMo Interior Design fabric for the exterior and a quilting cotton scrap for the inside. Soon I will post a tutorial for this, definitely before the class on March 15th!
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| Fancy a cuppa love? |
With the Spring weather at the moment we are taking advantage of the sunshine and hiking the amazing trails around us. We revisited a trail from 2007 the
Wunderlich Park trail in San Mateo. We walked uphill to this beautiful meadow and then back down again to the carpark a grand total of over 4.5 miles (around 7km). When we visited this trail in 2007 we had to carry a 1 year old now it is so much easier with our 10 year old and 7 year old using their own legs and keeping their own pace. Once we reached the meadow from the Bear Gulch Trail which is around 1.5 miles from the sign near the carpark, we stopped there for a snack and time to roll down the green hills, it felt like we were in the The Sound of Music surrounded by all the green.
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| Playing on the meadow |
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| The view from the sign |
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| Part 2 of the above shot! |
This hike is interesting with the flats of Redwood forest in between the woods that include eucalyptus, manzanita and oak. The kids enjoyed the Redwoods that had been hollowed out by fire creating little caves to explore and hide in.
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| A dancing tree |
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| Hiding in a Redwood |
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| Sunshine in the eucalyptus grove |
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| Nice big hole from an amazing old redwood |
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| The mountain goat in action with a hiking stick |
After our hike in the lovely weather and lunch at this great little El Salvadorian cafe in Redwood City we dashed home made a lovely Kale, Chickpea and Cous Cous salad for the Cub Scouts Blue and Gold dinner. The dinner marks the transition of the boys to their next level to Boy Scouts. For Ash it was his final destination – the Arrow of Light. He had to cross the bridge below marking the final year of cub scouts – unfortunately he is not wanting to continue, it is his decision. I think it is something he has enjoyed with his friends and now that middle school is around the corner who knows what activities will take its place.
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| Take this bridge to cross to Boy Scouts |
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| Watch my arrow fly! |
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| Yay I have my arrow now and all is done!!
The Salad for the potluck- there is usually never enough salads at a potluck!
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Kale, Chickpea, Beech Mushroom and Couscous Salad
Ingredients
1 cup Israeli cous cous
Beech Mushrooms from the CSA box
1 cup of Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans) soaked overnight and cooked in the pressure cooker
Za’atar (see this site here) or you can buy it at Penzeys
Curly Kale with Sesame oil
Preserved Lemon to taste – finely chopped
Spring Onions and Parsley to finish
Get to it…
1. Cook couscous by boiling 1.5 cups of water and adding the 1 cup of couscous. Take off the stove and leave the lid on the saucepan for the couscous to steam and absorb the water – takes about 10-15 mins. Then use a fork to separate.
2. Prepare the kale by pulling it off the stem and making small pieces in a large salad bowl add a touch of sesame oil and massage through the leaves and leave to soften and marinate.
3. While the couscous is doing its thing cook the beech mushrooms in an iron skillet with a little bit of olive oil – watch them and enjoy their smell – be careful not to burn them.
4. Take the mushrooms from the pan and place them in a bowl. Take the prepared drained chickpeas and add them to the skillet with some olive oil and add Za’atar to taste.
5. By this time the cous cous is ready make sure you have separated the cous cous then add it to the bowl of kale. Take the cooked chickpeas and add them with the finely chopped preserved lemon. Use tongs to mix it all together and top with spring onions and parsley and serve it family style.
poppypeach 