Giving Thanks

If you are reading this I want to thank you for being here and not giving up on my blog.
I have had a bit of a rough year with my little business. My sales have dropped a lot on Etsy. I don't know why, and I may never figure it out.

Never mind that. On this Thanksgiving Day I have so many things to be grateful for I don't even know where to start.

1. I am thankful for my family, my husband, and kids who support and encourage me every day. They are the main source of joy and inspiration in my life.

2. I am thankful for my new job. It does not pay a whole lot of money, but it gets me out of the house and makes me realize how lucky I am. Lucky that I do have a roof over my head, food, and a husband with a real job. When I am in the classroom I know that there are quite a few kids who are struggling at home. Duh, I knew this before I became a substitute teacher. But being in the world outside my studio has been a real eye-opener...

3. I am so thankful for the loyal customers who have stuck with me and bought my dolls over the years. It really warms my heart when I think of the people who come back year after year for gifts. Every order and word of encouragement means the world to me. Especially since Etsy has been so funky this year. Every little order has been a beam of light. You know, wrapping up an order is my favorite thing to do. Christmas or not. Year around, when I wrap up a doll or doll dress, I picture the person opening it. I hope they find as much joy in it as I had when I created that item. Each package carries a little piece of my heart and my hope that people feel the love I put into it. Like those toys you still remember from when you were little because they were so special, I want my toys to be that kind of toy....

4. This may sound silly to you. But recently I bought myself two pairs of expensive jeans. I have not indulged myself like this and bought clothes in quite a while. It appears that once we have children we turn into birds. Like the mama and papa bird, after the baby has hatched, we flit about and spend everything we got (money, resources, energy) on the babes. We get exhausted and look like crap after a while. Our feathers begin to look rather ruffled. We find our happiness lies in watching our hatchlings grow and thrive. Well, since I have to go out the house more often, I realized it was time for some new clothes. And, oh wow, I love these jeans so much. Now I understand why people are willing to spend $60+ on them. This mama bird is very grateful for that.

5. I am grateful every day that I can sew and make art. Each piece of fabric and scrap of wool I turn into art makes me happy. This can be a problem though because one gets in the habit of having too many little pieces of fabric around... This year I am thankful that I have been able to cut down on supplies and learned to be more reasonable. Instead of buying more I have worked patiently through my stash of beautiful supplies. I think it is part of the human condition that we have so much and always want more. It is good to appreciate the things we have and count your blessings. We should do it more than once a year!

I could go on with this list for a while but I will leave it at that.

I hope you have a wonderful day with your family. I thank you for taking the time to read my post!

Giving Thanks 2013

I have so much to be thankful for this year. I don't know where to start with my list.

1.Thanks to all my wonderful customers for keeping me so busy this November making it the best ever sales month for my little shop..

2.Thanks to the kids for being so good and helping me with my packaging and getting boxes ready for shipping this year. My label printer happens to be in our basement. So it's good to have someone else make the trip down the stairs...and make sure the labels go on the right box.

3.Thanks to the members of the Natural Kids Team on Etsy! After all these years of being on the team I am still thankful to have their support and friendship.

4.Thanks to my family for putting up with my sewing at all hours and the trail of sewing thread that follows me around the house. No matter how much vacuuming I do, it appears that little pieces of thread show up everywhere...

It's a turkey walking past a pie...Duh!

5.Thanks to the family who is taking us in for Thanksgiving Festivities this year. Since we have no family in town it is wonderful to be adopted by another family to be part of this great American tradition.

6. Thanks to my dear husband. The champion pie maker who struck again this morning and baked two pies to take along to the feast: One apple sauce and one pumpkin pie. I can't decide which I love more. Let's just skip the turkey and go straight to dessert...

7.Thanks to my daughter for going to the gym with me this morning and giving me such a hard work-out program. Now I don't have to feel too guilty eating more than one slice of pie.

I know there are many more things that I should list, just don't have the time right now. Must go and get cleaned up for the party.

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving if you live in the US! If you live in another country I am sure you can still come up with a nice list of things to be thankful for. Giving thanks is always therapeutic...

Happy Thanksgiving!

The house is filled with the delicious smell of freshbaked pumpkin pie. I am so very thankful for having a husband who makes blue ribbon pies. Put a dollop of whipped cream on it - it's like heaven. At least that what I imagine it to be like.

This morning I tried to convince dear hubby to make a deconstructed pie. Seems like so many people have been talking about it on various cooking shows. I dug up this one recipe that looked good. Unfortunately the champion pie baker didn't go for the idea. Tradition, you know... Maybe next year. I think I might sneak some sugar and cinnamon in the whipped cream anyways. Pst! Don't tell!

While waiting for the big feast I am working hard on some more doll orders. Luckily we are not having the party here. We will go to friend's house for our yearly International friends Thanksgiving. I am so very gratefull that I don't have to clean my crafty mess.

I am thankful for friends! What would we do without them? It would be a very small feast with just the four of us since we have no family near.

Hope you are having a good day with your family and friends! If you are traveling, stay safe on the roads!

Thanksgiving Alphabet...

Things from A - Z  I am grateful for:

A - Air -good mountain air to breathe
B - bread - Fougasse, French bread fresh from the oven
C - Colors - all the colors of the rainbow
D - Dolls - being able to create and sell them
E - Electricity - because when you are in the midst of a storm-induced power outage you really learn to appreciate it!
F - Friends - on Facebook and other places
G - German Accent - I have a sort of love-hate relationship with that one. Some days I get tired of telling people where I am from. But it sure make for interesting conversations, too...
H - Harvest. Of course, what would be more appropriate on Thanksgiving Day? We harvested lots of veggies and got to grow our own watermelon in our community garden patch this year.

I - The Internet and being able to connect with people all over the world
J - Jobs. I am glad my husband has a job and is able to support the family. I pray that each person who needs a job will find one this coming year.
K- Kids. My kids make me smile all day. What would I do without them?
L- Lemons. Because when life gives you lemons, you just make lemonade with them. And we have this saying in German: sauer macht lustig. (sour things make you laugh) so don't lose your sense of humor no matter what!
M - Marcus. My husband, though often he does drive me nuts.
N - Nuts. I love all kinds of nuts. Coconuts. Walnuts. Pecans. Hazel Nuts.
O - Origami. I think paper crafts are so cool.
P - Pizza. I know 90% of kids say that when asked for their favorite food. I like making Pizza from scratch with fresh veggies grown in my garden.
Q - Questions. It's good to have a lot of questions and look for answers all the time. Makes us smarter. It's the people who have all the answers that do scare me...
R - Recycling, reusing, re purposing.
S - Safety. The children say, they are thankful that we live in a country where people are fairly safe from political unrest.
T - Tomatoes from the vine. Okay, it was weird how we had tomatoes to eat from our garden until the end of November this year. Freaky!
U - The movie UP. It's a favorite in our family. The most UP-lifting kid movie I have seen in a while.
V - Verwandtschaft = the German word for relatives. I do miss my family from Germany and hope to make it home soon.
X - X-Factor Show. I hate to admit it, but I do love that show. So much better than American Idol because older folks can be in it. Not that they would ever win in this culture focused on youthfulness...
W - Wool, soft and warm to stuff my dolls with.
Y - You, the people who read my blog.
Z - Zeit - the word time in German. I am grateful for the time I have to create and write.

Now quick do your own alphabet and tell me what things you are grateful for.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Pumpkin Rolls / Kuerbisbroetchen

In my desperate search to find more recipes to use up our organically grown Zucca Barucca squashes, I found a recipe for rolls in one of my German bread baking books. Have you ever heard of pumpkin rolls? They sell them in German bakeries this time of year. The perfect side to go with your Thanksgiving dinner! It's not too late! You can still whip some up!

I changed up the German recipe slightly since I did not like that it used all white flour.

• 300 grams of pumpkin puree
• 250 grams of whole wheat flour
• 250 grams of regular flour
• 1/2 tsp. of salt
• touch of nutmeg
• 200 ml of milk
• 3 tsp. of dry yeast

1. Sift flour, add the salt and nutmeg.Put milk in microwave for one and a half minutes and warm up to a little warmer than room temperature. Add yeast to milk and stir until it is blended in with the milk.
2. Add the milk yeast mixture to flour. Add pumpkin puree. Knead together until it stick together. You want a nice dough that is not too sticky. Add more flour if needed.
3. Place dough in bowl and place towel over it. Let rise in a warm spot. I like to put mine on the radiators. Works great this time of year...
4. Once the dough has about doubled in size knead again. Shape into 15 little rolls and place on greased cookie sheet. While the oven is warming to 400 degrees let the buns rest and rise once more.
5. When the oven has reached temperature put buns in and bake for about 20-25 minutes. They are ready when they are turning brown and sound hollow when you tap on the bottom of the bun!

Delicious! I got to run and whip up another load for the feast since the kids have been chewing them up already...You need lots of buns for Thanksgiving. But they can be enjoyed throughout the season! It also helps keep the house warm...