Deck Gardening, Chocolate, The Apple Tree, Time/Space, Autumn in Virginia

SMALL-SPACE GARDENS

I live in what some might consider a small space. Everything's relative, especially when thinking globally.  We also have a deck, and it's a living space for which I'm truly thankful. 

In wanting fresh, local, organic produce, one of the (too many) things my brain is often trying to figure out is how to grow more food in a small space.

Thankfully, there are some very inspirational sites on the web:

 WOODEN PALLET VERTICAL GARDEN

 UPSIDE-DOWN PLANTERS

 LIFE ON THE BALCONY

 VERTICAL FARMING

 ANOTHER WOODEN PALLET IDEA (though I'm not big on the newspaper/plastic bottles)

A SMALL-SPACE POTATO IDEA (not for decks though!)

Along these lines, we had some great news today! Some land has been donated to the local food bank for their clients to use as a community garden this coming season - and seeds are being donated by a local greenhouse. Excellent news! We will definitely be signing up for a row!

Outside our Front Window
"So what's been happening with the squirrel?" you might be wondering. Well, a few weeks back, my little granddaughter and I decided to see if our resident squirrel would enjoy an apple - and for the price of an apple, we had an entire afternoon of squirrel-watching moments while he made numerous attempts at getting the apple up into the tree. And he succeeded! Now, apparently it takes a bit of time for such a little squirrel to eat an apple that size  -  evidenced by the view from my second-storey bedroom window the next morning  -  for there, in all its glory, sat the apple on the third or fourth bough about a third of the way up the evergreen tree. There is just something about seeing an apple sitting up in an evergreen, minding its own business, that still brings a smile to my face. Stay tuned for the grapefruit story...

TODAY'S BIT OF ART

"Time and Space"

Acrylics on 24"x 36" gallery-wrapped canvas

  

"Autumn in Virginia"

Acrylics on 36" x 12" gallery-wrapped canvas 

 IN OUR KITCHEN:  Healthy Hot Cocoa!

Yes, you can have your chocolate and drink it too. Less expensive than coffee, many body-benefits (yes, real chocolate is healthy!), less calories than those hot "chocolate" garbage mixes  -  dark, powdered cocoa (or organic cacao if you can find it locally) is one of my pleasures in life, and is easy-peasy to blend up as a mug of either bitter or sweet goodness

Ingredients: dark cocoa powder, boiling water, maple syrup or honey (optional), cinnamon or a chilli(or chilli powder) or other spices (optional)

Mmmmmakin' it: Drop a tablespoon (or more/less to taste) of cocoa powder into the bottom of your mug, add a spit of water to mix the powder so you don't end up with floating bits on the top, then add more boiling water to desired level. Enjoy as is or add cinnamon and/or a chilli (or chilli powder) or organic maple syrup or honey to taste (or enjoy it like the Mayans!)

***CINNAMON WITH HONEY IS ALSO A WONDERFUL HOT DRINK

Almond Pudding, Living with Autism, Train the Brain, Thrift Shop Stained Glass, Red Squirrel

TODAY AT THE THRIFT SHOP
I'm not into consumerism. I believe in reusing, and find no shame (a bit of a thrill, actually!) in finding ways to reuse thrift shop items. For my son, our treks to the thrift shop provide him the opportunity to peruse an abundance of items and maybe even take some of them home with him - most frequently, movies for $1. and board games for $2.  It also allows me to address my son's ongoing clothing needs on bag sale days and replace the numerous items that often need replacing in our home. As an added bonus, we often see a few folks we know there on Saturdays which makes for a nice social outing.  Today's little gem is going to be cleaned up and hung on an old barn door I have on my deck. Yes, that's a $1.00 price tag at the top!

OUTSIDE OUR FRONT WINDOW
Last September, we noticed a small red squirrel in our front yard. This was the first I'd seen in this area and hadn't expected to see much of him/her. I've been pleasantly surprised to discover that he or she seems to appreciate the neighbourhood and seems quite at home in our evergreen trees. This little gift is providing us with much viewing enjoyment. Stayed tuned for apple stories.

INSIDE MY SON'S WORLD
Training the Brain
For children whose brains did not either fully develop in utero or developed differently than "the norm", daily functioning can be an ongoing challenge.  While visual and/or verbal prompts are helpful to many, my son has repeatedly rejected the idea through the years because he often doesn't remember to use the visual prompt and usually doesn't want to have to be reminded.  What's one left to do? Train the brain! My son either takes some quiet time to himself or shifts into brief physical exercise in order to help him focus and train his brain to think about what he needs/needed to do. In addition, there's repetion repetition repetition! Learning by rote is one of the strongest tools my son has been able to use.

TODAY'S BIT OF ART

"Living With Autism"

Acrylics on 20"x20" gallery-wrapped canvas

TODAY'S RECIPE:
Amazing Almond Pudding
This is one of our favourite foods! It's light, made without dairy and without processed sugar, and everything about it is adjustable to your personal tastes. The following makes four just-right servings, about 1/2 cup each.
Ingredients: 1 cup almonds, 2.5 cups water, honey or maple syrup to taste, vanilla (optional), cinnamon (or other spices) to taste, cornstarch
Mmmmmaking it!
1.Toss 1 cup almonds into your blender. Add 2.5 cups of water. Don't forget the lid! Blend on high for a couple of minutes until well-blended then strain the liquid into the top pot of a double-boiler. You can also use a regular pot on the stove, but you'll have to be very careful not to let it burn. (Keep the "almond mash" for future use - cereal topping, add honey to it and just enjoy, etc.)
2. Add melted honey or maple syrup to taste.
3. Sprinkle a bit of spice to taste. We use either cinnamon or a pumpkin pie spice blend.
4. Add about half a teaspoon of vanilla, or to taste. (Optional)
5. Heat the mixture to bubbling, constantly stirring/whisking while thickening with cornstarch blend (about 1.5 Tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 0.5 Tablespoon of water   -    repeat if you prefer a thicker consistency) or whatever you prefer to use as a thickener (tapioca starch doesn't work - we tried!)
6. Pour into ramekins or other small serving dishes. Can be eaten warm or cooled. To keep the pudding from forming a rubbery skin on top, place a small square of foil or parchment paper onto each dish so it is in contact with the entire surface of the pudding. When serving, I often sprinkle a bit of added cinnamon on top and/or a square of Fair Trade chocolate.

Enjoy!