Tuesday, February 09, 2010

A Few Cold Weather Activities


Cold weather  has advantages. It is a great time to be creative and it helps children learn to be resourceful.  Activities like this are quiet and provide hours of contentment.  

 
Heart shaped cookies like this are so pretty it would be nice to have some just for decoration. The backing is  made of heavy brown paper from a large grocery bag, and the top is white cardstock or textured papers  decorated with puff paints. For very young children, instead of the puff paint or glitter paint, try using scrapbook trims, sewing supplies,  applied with a solid glue stick, and stickers, or crayons, to imitate the lovely heart cookies in the cookbooks or bakeries.

Press the pictures for closer views. They can be inserted in envelopes with a few words of kindness written on the back, or they can have holes punched to make gift tags from them.





This is called Cottage Bread, made with oats and molasses that has wonderful cake-like texture.   Served with tomato-basil ,vegetable soup, it is a perfect lift on a cold day.  It was originally called cottage bread because it was shaped like a cottage. This recipe was invented to accommodate left over cooked oatmeal made for cereal. I once stated that eating this bread would change the most hardened outlook on life but now I say that there should be horns and cymbals and a huge ceremony with a robe and a crown for the maker of this bread.  (Guess I'll have to make a paper crown ;-)  I've heard men rave on and on about it and begin behaving as though they just entered a special spiritual realm over the likes of this bread. I'm not guaranteeing that it will turn out perfectly the first try. Keep practicing, and eventually you will get something people will look forward to coming home for.


You will have to scroll down on her page to find the recipe.  Its a nice one because you dont really have to use bread pans, and you dont have to knead it.

For another bright spot on a snowed-in day, enjoy this pretty blog.
Its really uplifting to see women posting beautiful thoughts and creative ideas. 

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lydia,

PPLLLEEEEAASSEEE!!!!!! Post the recipe for Cottage Bread!!!!! This would be good to serve with soup made from the last of the summer and early autumn bazil and tomatoes!!

Delicious!!

Anonymous said...

Ah. I thought by the title the post was about 'outside' activities! LOL. Have you ever boiled maple syrup down, taken clean snow, poured it over that (the syrup carmelizes into a taffy-like substance) and combined to eat with a pickle? Sounds weird, but is strangely delicious. Friends up in Lowville, NY made this for me and my family once. Kept fresh snow in a freezer for this purpose!

Anonymous said...

Lady Lydia:
I just found your blog last week and I have enjoyed it so much. I am trying to go back and read it from the beginning because I don't want to miss any of it!
I am a blessed wife and homemaker and homeschool my three children. My youngest loves paper crafts and we have been enjoying your ideas for making valentines and paper doll chains.
I have really enjoyed reading your series on feminine dressing-that is very near to my heart.
Thank you for providing this warm, wonderful blog for women like me who love their lives but also need encouragement from time to time.
Blessings,
~Rhonda

Julian said...

would you please share the recipe with us?
keeping warm also!
christina

Anonymous said...

Your cottage bread looks delicious. Will you post the recipe? I made two white breads last week, potato bread and a sourdough one that needs further tweaking. But I do prefer whole grain breads. The Valentine "cookies" are very pretty, too.

Unknown said...

The bread delicious looks tasty. Would you be able to share the recipe or point us in the direction of the recipe online. Thanks. www.singlehomeschoolingmommas.com

Lydia said...

I posted a link underneath the photograph!!!

Lydia said...

Has anyone made this bread yet?

Anonymous said...

I just want to say I have been finding this blog to be a constant source of inspiration.

You made a comment in your posts about Titus 2 that has helped me very much with my outlook. It helped me sort out some things that were bothering me and clarified one point in particular that I was struggling to make sense of.

I can tell by the excellent quality of this blog that you put a great deal into it. I wanted you to know it has a significant, positve impact.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for posting the recipe link. I look forward to trying out this bread and hearing my husband make yum-yum noises while he eats it. And, of course, looking forward to eating it myself!

Lydia said...

If you are watching carbs, let me tell you to FORGET IT when baking this bread. It doesn't tend to make you feel like you have over eaten, though, and tastes good with a little real butter.

Lydia said...

Greetings to Marysville, Washington and to St. Marys College in PLANO, Texas.

Lydia said...

Greetings to Campbellsville College in Kentucky.

Karla said...

Mrs. Lydia,

Awhile back I think you left a comment on my old blog maidenwaitingforherbeloved and you had said something about you or your daughter would like to post my testimony on being a daughter at home...I apologize for never getting back to you about it. I feel bad about it. But, if your offer still stands then I would most certainly like to try writing it all down and emailing it to you.

Thank you!

-Karla

P.S. I do not use that blog anymore. I use www.southern-maiden.blogspot.com

Moderate Mouse said...

Is there anything not so high in the carb end that the cottage bread can be eaten with? I know my mom's trying to watch her carbs in her efforts to lose weight (though she took a break from the low carb thing around Christmas time), and it probably wouldn't hurt for me to watch my carbs either, (though I probably don't have to worry about them as much as my mom) as I'm genetically at risk for diabetes. (My dad has been fighting diabetes for quite some time, and let's just say they reared their ugly head on him this past fall to the point where he had to have some surgery.)

One night, my mom made lasagna for dinner, but since it's difficult to make a low carb lasagna, she simply compensated for the carb content with extra meat. Are there any meaty dishes that could work with the cottage bread?

Mrs. V. said...

What a pretty craft! They would be pretty on a small Christmas tree...decorated for Valentine's Day!