At the edge of a vision

                              at the edge of a vision

 

                                               

my creative energy beckons me to originality. 
I go out for a look and see... 

  
   I think  I'll go right
-to the heart of the matter.

Down memory lane with my camera recorder
to capture the moments
at the heart of my matter.


Up-Cycled neck tie to the rescue

Of course I never leave home without my I phone Case!
These fashionably clever, functionally handy cases
are created with up cycled Neck Ties.
The leather strap looks as good as it wears. 

UpCycled I Phone Case

 100% Handmade.
Leather strap. 
Velcro enclosure for added safety.
Know where your phone is.
Fashionable, hands free carrying case.

I love mine.
Check them out. HERE

16.00 Canadian + Shipping
Inquiries to 
Handations@Hotmail.com

Is Home where the Heart is?

Lillian the Domestic Engineer
My DAZE
Read more HERE



Homemakers
labor round the clock at mustering the making of miracles.
In the name of Love they undertake to partake
in the free rearing of a humanity for its own sake.

Traditionally a Mom she has been
whether or not her heart was in it.
Assumptions and inequality
attempting to feed
 the needs of reality starved communities.

Thankfully with the potential for equality
 in our conversations traveling at internet speed
and the boomers desire to liberate humanity
domestication is finally being viewed in a new way.

Just being female no longer makes it true
that domestication is meant for you.

I'm alright with that. I believe in equality.
I hope that my Sons will each have the opportunity
to experience Fatherhood, guiltlessly.
From within the confines of a domesticity
 that is valued in a society
as a worthy and rewarding career.

The world is at work
changing the way we view the Homemaker and domesticity
and so it darn well should be.
The business of being at home is becoming less of a gender issue
and more a reality to the needs of family in community.


So be it.
Tis the differences between us that make the world interesting
-Lest we forget that.

Blessed be our children by the Love that abounds
in households being liberated the world round.

Home is where the heart is and where our children should be!

Homemaker have earned a priceless place in humanity.
Building the houses of our communities
into homes of safe growth and moral integrity. 

By investing in the value of raising humanity
we ensure the future of our own sanity.  


Perhaps the time has finally come
for the world to rally behind our "Moms"
be that a he or a she
to liberate the finances for domesticity
to help make family all that it can be.





The Society of Domestic Engineers

 Homemakers.
Domain domesticates.
A silent majority
Working universally
Laboring endlessly.
Multitasking tirelessly.
Cheering relentlessly.

 

The long and winding road
that leads to your door
should never disappear....

we've seen that road before my dear
it always leads to here...


do we really value
our Domestic Engineers?



How do we value the Homemaker in the 21st Century?
 At $97,000.00 a year "Experts" say.

At what cost do we work to keep the Homemaker from obscurity?
 At any cost, I say!


Isn't it an occupation that we must finally undertake to pay
knowing that the absence of
results in the cost being higher than we can afford to
 and much more than we should be willing to pay.

Cream Puff Crazed

 There are a few tidbits that I render so darn good that they should be considered dangerous and
only offered for consumption in and from your own kitchen, but once annually.

Fresh Cream Puff with Bananas

 I consider Homemade CREAM PUFFS to be a few of those things..
Very few people know that I lack the ability to spend the evening alone, in a house with a container of Mini M&M Cream Puffs in the freezer
without succumbing to the temptation to eat the entire lot of them myself.

Oh I am well aware of the self induced, nauseated feeling that accompanies the consumption of countless Cream Puffs but have none the less participated in preserving this particularly putrid behavior on more than one occasion.

I honed a taste for the sweeter side of life when I was quite young.

My Mom has always been a master Dessert maker. Layer upon layer of visually stunning squares, homemade cinnamon buns and deep fried doughnuts served to sweeten my tooth and the memories of my childhood. Nothing beat arriving home to the sweet smell of Mom and the aroma of one of her specialties wafting from the kitchen, except to have arrived just in time for a fresh serving of the same.

 Although her products are all purchased lo-cally and manufactured right in her home there are no misconceptions over the lacking low- cal count in her finished products. No holds barred. No product banned.
These are homemade goodies born from the love of a Mother and begun in a bowl full of the love of baking. Blended from a mix of sugar,  flour, eggs and butter with a dollop of cream cheese and/or of course whip cream the concoctions were then baked into the many comfort foods of my childhood.


  I do love to bake myself but I am also certain that there are many years yet to come before the day arrives that I am finally asked to bring the dessert for dinner! My Moms desserts continue to reign supreme, garnering the natterings of many a family get together.  I couldn't be fuller, happier or more thrilled about it all. I really do savor the memory of every tasty moment.

Fresh Cream Puff with Raspberry Sauce

  I want one now! A fresh Cream Puff stuffed with real whip cream and dusted with powdered sugar  served with warmed Raspberries and a piping hot, fresh cup of coffee to which just the right amount of Creemo has been added...OMG

Hmmm I pondered but for a moment.
That's what I'll make to take. I had a dinner date that evening with friends to which I had been invited to bring the dessert!
 Funny how the minds world works..Blog and ye shall find?!!

(Cream Puffs do travel well and set up swiftly.)

Cream Puffs to go

I bake my Cream Puffs and set to cool before slicing open the tops. I like to leave a bit of the lid attached to the cream puff itself allowing  the lid to stand open once I have stuffed the center.
Others prefer to slice the lid right of the top and then gently set it back down on the top of a stuffed Puff.
Once cooled I remove any excess dough from inside and finally place the little puffs in a foil lined container to go. Pack in single layers. Cover and refrigerate for later use.
That's it , the hardest part is done.

I then beat or blend together the Cream Puff stuffing (real whipped cream)to be used in the shells. Once cooled it can be spooned into small or medium freezer bags or a pastry bag and stored in the fridge. The bag is easily and safely carted about and the corner can be snipped off to squeeze the content directly and evenly into the Cream Puff Cups when the time come and the need arises.

  I keep Icing Sugar in an old shakable spice bottle with lid that also travels well.
 A bag of Bananas, A Pineapple, fresh or frozen Berries, nuts, coconut or dessert sauce in a squeeze bottle all travel well and are instant, economical and effective ways to add the Wow to your Cream Puffs.
These really are best eaten not long after being prepared but once stuffed, the Cream Puffs can be individually fresh frozen and then stored in freezer bags in the freezer.
Now that you are aware of my relationship with this particular frozen food you will understand why I no longer partake in the freezing of Cream Puffs in my home!
See recipe below

I love the dessert design-ability of these little Puff cups but the value they have as appealing Appetizers should not be overlooked. These little cups are also just fabulous stuffed with a Crab Dip!
                 Wow the ones you love at your next gathering 
           with your own homemade  Cream Puffs!

Cream Puff Recipe

1/4  Cup Butter      Combine water and Butter and on medium heat, bring to a full rolling boil.
1  Cup Water         Remove from heat


1 Cup Flour           Beat in flour and salt until mixture begins to leaves the sides   
1/4 Tsp. Salt           and form a ball.  

4 Eggs                    Beat in eggs one at a time.

Drop by teaspoon onto baking tray and bake at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes or until tops are a golden brown. Remove from oven and cool on rack before slicing open tops.

 The cakes do puff a bit when they bake but they do not spread out on the tray an awful lot so they can be baked a bit closer together than a cookie which tends to spread out more.
 That's it. That's how simply this fussing is done.                 
 

Raw Cream Puffs

Baked Cream Puffs

 This may be a good time to spread a little love across your apron and your chin by way of a little strategically placed icing sugar.  People who have not made Cream Puffs seem to have the impression that making cream puffs are a lot of work. In the name of honoring this myth I indulge in the tradition of sprinkling icing sugar on self before serving!

Filling

1-2 tsp.  Instant Pudding. 
Vanilla is typical but any flavor of your fancy will works. Mmm try Chocolate or Butterscotch.
2 Cups Heavy Cream  
Combine pudding and cream and beat with electric beater for 2 min. Refrigerate for several hours. Scoop into Pastry Bag or plastic baggy for storage and later use. Squeeze content out of corner of cut bag,
evenly into the Cream Puffs.

Fresh Cream Puffs and Bananas

Serve up your Cream Puffs on a pretty plate stuffed with Vanilla Cream and serve with half a sliced Banana and a shake of powdered sugar.
  Mmmmm, doesn't it look delightful?

Fresh Cream Puffs with Raspberries

 





Serve them with warmed Raspberries
and Coffee after breakfast in the Sun

The Cream Puffs and the great company was enjoyed by everyone.

   Indulge yourself and enjoy today!

Make your own Instant Pudding Mix Click Here
 

Crafting the Hockey Hall of Fame

   CRAFTING The Hockey Hall of Fame
Where up-cycling boxes is the name of the game.
                                      Play Paper Mache'

Hockey Hall of Fame

 A fun, easy, functional, effective way to Reduce, Re-use, Recycle!
  

I made a Hockey Jockey Locker for each of my Sons. (Thankfully it doesn't smell the way that they can)
It featured their Jersey number and their Team Name and colors.
( The Hockey Lockers have been Loved and lugged around for many years as is evident by the wear marks around the perimeter.)
They were each created using a Muffin Box. (The 9 pack from Walmart)
 It's one of those strong, sturdy boxes that enters my domain
 destined for the garbage until it calls out my name... no  kidding!
 I attempt to resist the urge to persist....but the box wouldn't crumble.
Instead I wander it out to the garage to place it on the shelf  beside the bits of Styrofoam and other pieces of packaging that have deemed themselves all useful. I store it until I discover or uncover a use or need for it.
 DIY Paper Mache Instructions here

I started by applying Pasted Paper Strips directly onto the sturdy box form itself. After several layers of newspaper had been applied, I cut out and pasted on the words that are seen.  The Team Name at bottom is created from individual letters that were cut from the newspaper. The words at top were cut in whole from a Hockey Magazine.
After drying overnight I used Acrylic Paint to finish the inside of the Locker in a Team Color. I used a dry, fat brush to apply paint around the words that had been previously pasted on.

I crunched and folded together 2 full sheets to create the basic Jersey Shape. The Jersey arms were created by  loosely rolling 2 full sheets of newspaper up and then folding them in half.
(The ends of the roll become the ends of the sleeve) I pasted the arms to the body at the top and under the arm area. Several more layers of pasted paper were applied around the sleeve to finish the two ends as one sleeve and to add overall durability.
 I then painted the Jersey color, the white stripe, the Name and the Number in acrylic paint. For added pop I outlined in Black felt marker.
The Jersey is then hot glued to the inside of the locker.
 My kids used to hang any Team Metals they collected over the corner of their lockers.

 
Creating the real Jerseys for Play On Road Hockey HERE

AMAZON SEARCH find it NOW

Everyone is Gifted

All Wrapped up in quiet contemplation
Sometimes it seems as though life has become as complicated as the packaging that it comes in!

Identity Crisis

And now what?

"It's the most wonderful day of the year, isn't it?"
 I called out to my neighbor who was standing (now alone) at the end of her driveway.
 We watched as her little ducklings made their way up the road towards the Elementary School, her youngest just entering Grade 1 this year.
  "I'm not sure she confessed," as she wandered towards me.
" I think I'm having an Identity Crisis" she continued.
 " I'm not sure what I'll do all day now." she lamented.

 I smiled.

 As the stay at home parent to four children myself, the last of whom just graduated this past year, I could identify with her Identity Crisis and her fear of filling all the free time she was imagining having!
  "Fear not" I assured her, "Your short day will be filled with washing, wonder, worry and wit!  Savor every moment of it.
 Soon enough it will be a time that you miss.

Home is.. Where Life really Happens. 

 The worth of your duties will now be measured by your investment in self and not by the dollar nor the labels we acquire from everyone else!
 Seek to find the time that you won't have to nurture identity and love self. Take some of the time that is given so readily to else.
Fear not the changes that perpetuate the necessity
 to re-situate, by understanding that plans are made...
to be changed. 
Avoid exhaustion and the heartache of frustration by remembering to celebrate the moments wisely chosen to elevate..
If Momma ain't happen no one is..fits in here

As the writer of rules and the ruler of the roost
and the doer of things you never imagined doing..
As the enforcer of Rules, Respect and Dignity, 
our common sense must be bigger than societies Bigotries. 

The Apple never falls from the tree? goes here
 In looking back it's clear to me that I was right where I should have been..
Amid the middle of the muddle of a Mother in love,
 surrounded by family and the raising of.

Measuring up will be hard to do in the eyes a soul never walked in your shoes. Pooh, Pooh to those who don't see the importance of Parenting in Society.
 The Mental Health of a Nation is grown at home.

You don't know what you've got till it's gone..goes here
Conscious, Moral independence be the ultimate goal of Parenting without daily rewards.
 A busy road we must travel, over bumps and through gravel. Over mountains and across seas, through meadows and thick trees we will trudge with child on back and snack in pack-
 towards a separation that becomes the meaning of an end.

-To a time when our children will leave home, each giving their heart and mind to someone else, that we begin to see the fruits of the labors of a Domestic Engineer. 
    
It is in the growth of our children that we can begin to know
whether as mentors we have grown. 

 23 years older I have grown since the birth of my Domesticity.  
Onward I will travel now with the thankful memories
of Mothering a generation that will soon Mother me.


Call me when ever you feel alone, I'm at home waiting for you to phone. I'm having a crisis in my kitchen next door.. don't know what to do with myself anymore.

Spring Time and Amazon.

 Spring into new things..
 Lillian the Domestic Engineer 

Amazon Health & Personal Care The Amazon.ca Health and Personal Care Store is your neighborhood drugstore if your neighborhood drugstore was located in your living room, your office, your phone, and your tablet and had almost as much shelf space as Canada has coastline. We've got nutrition and wellness covered with vitamins, supplements, herbal remedies and more to help you manage and lose weight, gain muscle, or just keep your body healthy. If something does happen, check out our vast supply of health and medical supplies like heating pads, hearing aids, knee braces, first aid supplies as well as products for cough, cold, flu, digestion, indigestion, nausea, and just about everything else you might have to deal with. Stock up the medicine cabinet with a couple clicks. Stock up your laundry room, cleaning supply closet, and that cupboard under the kitchen sink next to the trash can with laundry detergent, dishwasher soap, hand soap, trash bags, food storage, paper towel, toilet paper, and hundreds of other household supplies. From Clorox to Tide, Charmin to Cheer, Mr. Clean to Gain, Febreze to Bounty we have the top brands for you to maintain your home. Of course, before your home is in order you need to take care of yourself. Clean up with Dove or Lever 2000 and keep smelling good all day with Secret, Old Spice, Axe, or Degree deodorants and antiperspirants. Then take care of personal grooming with razor blades or electric shavers from Gillette, Braun, Philips Norelco and many more. If you don't want to shave pickup a beard trimmer and then skip the barber with a hair clipper or trimmer. Don't skip the dentist, but impress your dentist with pearly white teeth thanks to a Sonicare or other electric toothbrush. The Amazon Health & Personal Care store has tens of thousands of health, personal, and household products from the brand names you trust and a few more that we are happy to help you discover, and you are just clicks away from saving time and money with each order.

  Amazon now brings beauty and practicality to your door!
                            

Get Crafty in the Kitchen today.

  Crafts from the kitchen!
 Which came first, the Basket or the Craft?


Soaping is simple. 
Melt and pour Glycerin Soap, essential oil and soap coloring can be purchased in crafts stores everywhere.
Baskets, bags and other up-cycled receptacles bring personality to your creation.

Making soap really is as easy as melt and pour. 

Easy Wiki step by step

Bath Salts


4 cups Epson Salts (available at your local Drug Store)
mix in 4-5 drops of Essential  Bath Oil
(Optional) The Salts may be left white and placed into an airtight container at this stage
 or be separated  into several batches to which 4-5 drops of food color is added to each and mixed in.

Pour in different colored layers into beautiful glass jars. 
Tie a bow on the top, print up your own label for the front and presto, you're presenting presents!

Homemade Bath Salts
Bath Bombs away!

                                  
     Gift giving...in the bag!

  Easy, economical, enjoyable
          = Hot, Hot, Hot!
I happen to think that these magic bags are the hottest thing around.
 When you live where there is 6 months of bad winter followed by 6 months of bad summer
 anything associated with heat receives a warm welcome. 
The magic bags is loved by everyone. 
It provides therapeutic relief, it travels well
 and it is the gift that will keep on giving.

Heat magic bag in microwave oven for 2 min. and enjoy!

 This year I made bags to gift to my Senior clients. They were easy, economical and enjoyable.

SUPPLIES:  knee high nylons (2 pair for 1.00) Dollar store = .25/bag
                     work socks (2 pair for 2.00) Dollar store= .50/bag
                      rice (8kg = 10.00) approx. 10 socks= 1.00/bag
                                                                                  ------------
                                                                                    1.75 bag! 

 I use 3 cups of rice per bag. Start by filling the nylon knee high with rice, one cup at a time. 
I  put rice into a measuring cup and then stretch the nylon over the measuring cup.
 Turn the cup over, while holding the sides of the stocking and pour the rice, cup by cup into the stocking.
Make sure there are no twists in the stocking or the rice won't go all the way down.
Once filled,  lay the bag on a flat surface and stretch it out like a sausage. 
If you ball it all before tying it won't lay around your neck when finished. 
Tie a knot at the open end of the stocking. 
Next open the mouth of your sock and feed the stocking into it. Again, keeping the bag in a sausage shape will make it easier to feed into the sock. I have used a classic work sock here. 
Finally tie a knot in the open sock end.
I have added a fabric bow tie in seasonal colors. Any ribbon or bow can be tied on but don't forget to remind the user to remove any bows with wire BEFORE putting in microwave.

Magic Bag

                        Gift giving from the heart is a warm,
                                         wonderful  place to start.

                  Candles, Cards, Ornaments and more.
                  For the Love of Crafting More HERE