Meet our Offensive Lineman, Spice

This Thursday is all about Spice. Spice is the other half of our boar bachelor pad. This two year old lives with his brother Pumpkin in a spacious homemade cage. In this first picture, they are roughly 5 months old. While they are bonded, they do not cuddle. They act just like most brothers do, picking on each other, but upset when one of them is away.

Currently Spice's weight hovers around 1500 grams or 3lbs 5oz. This is at the top of acceptable and has caused us to ration their pellets (and limit treats). You can see that he loves cuddle cups, but the regular size he squeezed into just doesn't work well for him. He's the reason I make oval cuddle cups! Spice's favorites include oval cuddle cups, tents and lairs. He really does not seem to care for burrow bags or tunnels and I think he just prefers to have room to stretch out.

Oval cuddle cup are much better for me!

Sigh, it's so quiet today

I'm not even sure I can really explain how it feels to send my children back to school. The house is quiet right now. It's rather unnerving how quiet it is. I do have the guinea pigs and Fluffy to keep me company, but they just don't generate the energy level that four children (8,10,12,& 14) do.

I wonder how their day is going? Do they have friends in their classes (remember how important that was?) or are they stuck with classmates they don't really know? (OK, that last one is a wee bit irrational as our local school system isn't very big, maybe 80-95 in each grade level, of course they have friends in their class). Did they eat all their lunch? Who did they play with at recess? Did they miss me? Oh the worries of a mom left behind.

The ironic thing is that starting at 4:00p.m. today the house will be terrifically loud and busy again. Piano lessons, cross country practice, supper, laundry (I wash & fold, they put away), homework, and the other natural family rhythms & routines we have. I'll have my questions answered and we'll all fall into bed tired ready to go again tomorrow.

For now, it's just me, my worries, some Binky's fudge http://www.etsy.com/shop/SexyStitches and coffee. I'll make it just fine, I always do...

I should go craft!

Have some Potato Soup

As far back as I can remember, my grandmother's potato soup has been one of my favorite soups. We would have it with chunks of cheese melted in it (and yes the melted strings of cheese mixed with crackers would create cheap jokes about sneezing into the soup), freshly baked bread, home canned pickles, and relishes. So lets rewind a few years (roughly 17) and imagine my excitement over receiving her potato soup recipe, written in her own hand, as a gift at one of my bridal showers:

Potato Soup
Several Potatoes
onion- a little
cook until done
thicken with a little flour
add milk and "season to taste"

That's it. Those were the instructions I had. Armed with that recipe I set out to create this soup I had been raving about for my new husband. Any ideas what that recipe becomes when given to a rookie cook? Boiled potatoes!!! Needless to say, my husband started getting a little worried about his diet for the rest of his life.

Happily, I have made a few modifications over the last several years! That "season to taste" part now includes a pat of butter, glop of sour cream, celery chunks, rivels* and fresh herbs (chives are great) if I have them. I'm proud to say that it is one of my children's favorite soups and Mr. is pleased it's become more than boiled potatoes!

*I'm not sure how to describe these! They are made with 1C (approx.) flour and one egg. I mix it together with a table knife until I have bits of dough the size of lima beans or almonds. They cook instantly when you add them to hot soup. My mom just uses the egg yolk, but I never know what to do with the leftover egg whites. They come from the German/Mennonite tradition I hail from.

Have a good one everyone...

Meet & Greet

One of the questions many potential customers have is what size cuddle cup/tunnel/burrow bag/etc. should I buy? In order to help answer that question, I thought I'd spend the next few Thursdays describing my herd and what size Cobb Cabin Crafts accessories I make for them.

Meet Pumpkin, one of our two year old brothers. He lives in a "home made" cage built by my daughter and my father. What fun bonding must have happened in Grandpa's workshop with this project! Pumpkin was adopted from a rescue (we are a rescue loving family) in August of 2009. He and his brother were just 4 months old when we brought them home and WOW has he grown up!

Pumpkin's weight is generally around 1300gr or 2lbs 13oz. While he will fit into my regular burrow bags and tunnels, I make him the XL size. He (and his brother) just have more room to stretch out in the XL's. He also cannot easily fit into a round cuddle cup, although it is funny to see him try! So, he has the oval size as it gives him a bit more "leg room" which is so important on those sleepy Sunday afternoons while watching sports. Right?

Well come on in and sit a spell...

Those are the words I remember hearing every time we walked in to my Grandma's house. They were quickly followed with coffee, cookies, and whatever else she could find to feed us. We rarely made it past the kitchen table at grandma's house and I cherish those memories. Even today in my mind hospitality equals a kitchen table. That being said, grab a coffee, a cookie or whatever you like and "Come on in and sit a spell" with me as I share about life, crafting, guinea pigs, and whatever else comes to mind!