Pearberry Fruit leather recipe

Here is my recipe for Pearberry Fruit Leather:

3 pears

1 container of blackberries

1 tablespoon of honey

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees

Cut up pears and place in the food processor. Add the blackberries and purée until there are no lumps.  Add honey and mix it up. 

Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and  spread it evenly.  Bake it for about 5 or 6 hours until completely dry. 

Remove the fruit leather from the cookie sheet carefully and cut in to strips and enjoy. 

My fruit leather is really thin. It is really good this way. It melts in your mouth and doesn't hurt your teeth, like the thicker stuff does. It's also a little crunchy. We love it though. Noah tried to attack it this morning, I thought it would be great for lunches.

If you would like it thicker you could use a smaller cookie sheet or increase the amount of pears and blackberries.

Adventures of Pumpkee!

The Original Pumpkee 2013

We always carve pumpkins for Halloween. When Noah was only 7 weeks old, I carved a little pumpkin with a screwdriver. It was a pumpkin I bought at the apple orchard. When Noah was one, I tried to get him to touch the pumpkin insides, he freaked out. He ran away. He tried to protect me from it. It made for some interesting photos. I learned quickly that I had to do it all by myself. I am a horrible carver. I am left handed and well, it’s just a win when I can carve it. I tend to make very simple shapes. One year I went crazy and decided to carve a sea life theme in the pumpkin. It took me forever but it was so cool. I was very proud of it. It was a masterpiece.

Sealife Pumpkin 2011

When Noah was seven years old, I carved a face in the pumpkin and he loved it. It was very simple. He had grown very fond of it. He named it Pumpkee. When Halloween was over and it started to get mushy, it was time to say goodbye to Pumpkee. He was so distraught. He was sobbing and inconsolable. I felt horrible for throwing away Pumpkee, but I had to. I had a brilliant idea. I told Noah that Pumpkee would come back next year. 

So, the next year, I carved Pumpkee again. I recreated him exactly. Every year since Pumpkee comes back for Halloween. He still hates when it’s time to throw Pumpkee away but he knows that he will be back. Pumpkee always comes back. 

I told Noah that he has to make sure Pumpkee comes back every year for forever with his kids and grandkids. So, this year Pumpkee will be back and we will probably carve another cat. I am glad that Noah doesn’t judge me by my pumpkin carving skills.

How to make easy candles

 I used to love making candles when I was younger. I still have an extensive candle collection. Making candles can be really easy and you don't even have to melt the wax. It's a great craft for little kids because there's no heat while making them. I know the thought of dipping candles over a hot pot of wax where you have to make sure you dip them in wax and then in water can be time consuming. It is fun but it is annoying if you don't remember if you did it properly. Noah and I have dipped candles before and they turned out great. I like the easy way though for a quick rainy day craft. 

Easy candles
Different colors of granulated wax
Wicks with the metal button on them 
Glass candle holders. You could even recycle one. 

Place the wick in the bottom of the candle holder. The ones with the metal button help it stand up. 

Layer different colors of wax in the candle holder. You could even break up little bits of scent that you find in the candle making aisle at the craft store to make them smell good.

Trim the wick. Easy Peasy you have a simple homemade