I’ve been substituting olive oil for other types of oil (and even butter) in my baking and may I just say that it is an earth-shatteringly delicious discovery. Thus far, I’ve tried the olive oil substitution in chocolate cake, blueberry muffins, banana bread, and these pumpkin muffins I made for my brother’s birthday. A pumpkin muffin with a dollop of excellent organic vanilla ice-cream will make any birthday celebrant happy. Here’s the recipe, with my ingredient notes included: PUMPKIN BREAD (one loaf or 12 cupcakes/muffins) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine dry ingredients in small bowl first. Mix wet ingredients in bigger bowl and then add small bowl of dry…
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Mysterious Gifts
I’ve been thinking about “gifts” lately, and the different kinds of gifts we can give one another. There are of course the tangible gifts we give each other on birthdays and other holidays. It can be fun to select a present for someone special in our lives. But, I’ve also been thinking about intangible gifts that can mean so much, like these gifts I receive often from two of my favorite companions, William and Natalie: Patience (even when I am sharing a worry for the 20th time) and Time (even when they are busy) and Stories (I love hearing their stories!) This post is about some awe-inspiring gifts and our friend…
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A Parent Asks About High School After Home School
A mom recently sent me an email to say that she is thinking about home schooling her son for a year or two to allow for opportunities that aren’t possible because of the cultural pressure to “keep moving fast and forward without much time to reflect and be centered.” She also asked some excellent questions: How is Natalie adjusting to high school? Has she gotten a lot of questions from kids or been viewed negatively? While she was homeschooled, how did you make sure her social skills didn’t get neglected? Did she have opportunities to work and play with kids her age? Here is my answer to her email and…
