Seattle Folklife

It was a beautiful day at Seattle Center yesterday when we took in the 41st annual Northwest Folklife Festival. It's one of my favorite Seattle events of the year.  It's the the largest free cultural arts and music festival in North America, showcasing hundreds of bands, dance troupes, street performers and other representatives of the lives of folks from around the world.

The event attracts over 200,000 spectators and participants each year.  A lot of them were there yesterday because the weather was spectacular...the perfect amount of sun, breezes & warm temperatures.  It was lovely being able to stroll around listening to live music while snacking on some great food and taking in all the cultural eye candy that surrounded us.

I wasn't fast enough to snap photos of some of the gorgeous folk costumes that we saw.  The most beautiful were from a large contingent of Indian performers.  This year there was even a new Bollywood dance event to enjoy.  Very cool.  Bollywood dance is becoming quite popular in these parts as both a cultural interest and a great exercise alternative to the gym.  

There were whole families of performers busking on the sidewalks.

There were many serious musicians.  I learned from a friend who's an expert in this area that this group I snapped a photo of has some of the "fastest pickers in the state".  They were great to listen to as their fingers tap danced on the strings.  Loved it.  

There were some geniuine old timers (check out his awesome harmonica holder belt!), and some great showmen.

And the beautiful blue sky...

You gotta love Seattle.

Happy Syttende Mai

Today is Syttende Mai, celebrating the 17th of May, which is Norwegian Constitution Day.  Our part of Seattle is home to a large number of Scandinavians, Norwegians in particular.  The North Pacific Fishing Fleet is headquartered here, and many generations of Norwegian families have made it their home over the past 150 years.  

We have the only Nordic Heritage Museum in the U.S., and the largest Syttende Mai parade and celebration outside of Norway.  The parade is just plain awesome...either as a celebration of the city's Scandinavian connection or simply as a vibrant community event.  Last year over 20,000 spectators watched a parade of over 100 community organizations.  This year I'll be sitting in a chair (that will have to be set out early in the day in order to get a decent spot) to take pictures as my children all march with their schools and sports clubs.  

Can't wait!

How To: Colorful Party Lights

This fun, kid-friendly project is a great affordable idea for spring and summer party decorating and is easy enough for even the smallest hands to create. Our version was inspired by this lovely post at momtastic.com.  

Here's what you need: 

• Plastic cups - translucent rather than clear are less brittle and cut more easily
• Mod Podge , Acrylic Medium or White Glue (the glue will have less sheen; choose glossy for Mod Podge or Medium for extra sparkle)
• Scissors
• Paint Brush
• Tissue paper - I used 15"X20" sheets
• Electric Tea Lights

Cut tissue sheets into near-squares - Each 15X20 sheet should make 6

Paint cup with Mod Podge.

Center tissue on bottom of cup and press straight sides of square to cup.

Press points of sheet to cup.

Paint/glue tissue to cup with Mod Podge, making sure folds and overlapped sections are secure.

Allow to dry (about an hour, perhaps more).  Cut four triangles out to make leaf/petal shapes in edges of the cup.  The corners of the tissue squares should be the points of the leaves.  Many other shapes are possible as well.  You are only limited by your imagination and your scissor skills.

Insert tea lights and enjoy!

You can use multiple colors of paper for different effects or cut out shapes. Kids can even color tissue with faces with permanent markers before attaching to cups. The possibilities are endless.

all photos courtesy of Britt McCombs

Friends

“Acquiring a dog may be the only opportunity a human ever has to choose a relative.” Mordecai Wyatt Johnson

I come from a long line of people who love dogs.  We like cats too and have had a few as pets over the years, mostly as ranch cats who keep little critters away.  But dogs have been key companions for almost every member of my family for generations.  They have all been on my mind a lot lately for many reasons, and were the inspiration for our new Dirty Dog Soap.  We’ve had a special affection for herding breeds, but really any four-legged friend has been welcome.  Some have been shelter dogs, some have come from breeders, and one was even found as a puppy, abandoned, covered in mud and left in a parking lot in a cardboard box.  Her name was Molly.   Many of them have been working ranch dogs, a few have been city dogs (who love to visit the ranch), and one was a wild coyote dog who adopted the family all on her own.  See if you can figure out which one she is. 

One of my grandmas fed the ranch dogs pancakes and kibble every morning for most of her life and all of theirs.   When she was planning to be out of town on a trip, she would cook large quantities of pancakes and put them in the freezer to be doled out daily during her absence.   She wanted to make sure they were taken care of.    

We’ve loved them all…  

Sambo

Flicker

Don "The Wonder Dog"

Mischief

Robbie

Honey

Oh, how I wish I still had that belt.

Woodrow

He was named after a character from Lonesome Dove.

Chico

Gillie

Dexter & Molly

This was our holiday card picture one year before the kids were born.  We don’t usually dress up the dogs.  I don’t think Molly was very keen on her hat, but she did look pretty fancy.

Ruben

Sometimes special eye protection is necessary if we’re driving really fast though!

Lois

Zeeko

She was the happiest, sad-looking dog I’ve ever met.

Murdoch

His nickname is Barky McBarkypants.  He is a great protector of the homefront.

A happy lady and two puffballs: Mac & Missy

There are others that I don’t have photos of, but I wouldn’t want to overlook:  Lady, Skxx, Chief, Caesar, Tammy, Bo, Gypsy, Blanco, Shawn, Cody, Herman, Duke, Chloe, Ranger, Ringo & Daisy.  Most of them are are gone, but not forgotten.

This poem by Jimmy Stewart pretty much says it all.  Get a tissue.

Have dogs been important in your life?  What are their names?

How To: Batik Dyed Easter Eggs

We decorated Easter eggs yesterday, using the same method that my Mom taught me as a child.  I'm not sure what the name of it would be, probably pysanka, batik or wax relief.  It's basically the same technique that is traditionally used to make intricate Ukrainian Easter eggs, though our style is much more "free form" and abstract.  

Here's what you need: 

• hard boiled eggs 
• wax--I used soy wax, but regular paraffin would do.  You could even just melt down old candles that you have lying around.
• container to melt the wax in
• wax pen and/or q-tips
• dye for coloring the eggs--We always add some vinegar too, to help set the color.

Melt your wax on a very low heat.  Simmer is best, or else it might start smoking.  If you get the wax too hot, it flows too quickly out of the pen and you also run the risk of getting burned more easily.

This is what the wax batik pen looks like up close.  It has a little hole and chamber where the melted wax goes in and then pours out of the small hole in the tip.  You don't have as much control as with a regular ink pen, but you can achieve some nice lines and squiggles.

For brighter color contrast, we decided to use white shelled eggs rather than the brown ones that our family typically eats.

To apply the wax, just hold the egg over the wax pot (to catch drips) and "draw" your designs onto the egg.  Be careful of dripping wax onto skin and fingers because it's a little hot...though not as hot as the wax from a burning candle.  We didn't have any wax injuries, thankfully.

The wax cools and hardens in seconds, and you're ready to dip the egg into your color bath.  Every part of the egg the wax touches stays the color that is under the wax.  We usually went through this wax & color dip process two or three times for each egg, making sure to let the dye dry completely in between each step.    

The final step is to use your fingernail to gently scrape off the wax.  You do need to be careful about how hard you push, or else you end up with a few cracked eggs.  I think we lost two out of the 18 that we started with.

Sometimes the coolest effects come from multiple wax applications and color baths.  The end result can be a lovely colorful abstract that reminds me of some sort of Wassily Kandinsky painting.  Part of the fun is not knowing exactly what you're going to end up with until you scrape off the wax.

Happy Easter!

.

You Dirty Dog!

After many months of planning and recipe tweaking, I'm finally ready to introduce our newest creation:  Dirty Dog Soap!

We've been using it on our own dirty dog, Murdoch.

He LOVES it...see? 

OK...so maybe love isn't exactly the best word, but it makes him smell quite fresh and clean and leaves his coat incredibly soft and fluffy.  He seems to like it a lot once he's out of the bath.

I think there's a trace of a proud smile here.  Perhaps.

Dirty Dog Soap could actually be categorized as a shampoo bar, since it contains natural ingredients like jojoba, coconut and castor oils, which make a wonderfully rich lather and moisturize the hair and skin.  The bar is scented with a pure essential oil blend of peppermint, lemongrass & lavender.  This mixture is fresh and invigorating as well as being severely disliked by bugs and little beasties.  The yellow flecks of color in the bar come from the calendula flower which is often used to heal, soften and sooth dry skin.

I should mention too, that there's absolutely nothing that makes this soap unsuitable for humans.  The ingredients are identical to those found in human shampoo and bath  bars.  The smell is wonderful and the lather sensational.  This is a soap the entire family will love...including the furriest members.