Hello all! It’s Ben here… citrus is my favorite fruit and Valentine pummelos give me more confidence in my declaration.
One type of citrus I don’t like is grapefruit. I wish I did; I just can’t stand the bitter taste. Ruby likes them, but whenever I’ve brought one home, she’s rarely eaten it. For these reasons, we don’t grow grapefruit.
Pummelos, on the other hand, while having some grapefruit-like flavors, are balanced with a lot more sweetness. The Valentine pummelo is a cross of a pummelo, a mandarin and a blood orange, according to the Citrus Variety Collection at UC Riverside. So you can see where the genetics come from.
This large fruit is called a Valentine pummelo because: (1) it’s typically ready to be harvested around Valentine’s Day (although we’ve been enjoying them since mid-December); and (2) because of its red pigmentation, it resembles a heart when halved length-wise, tapered end down.
While it’s easy to be spoiled by other seedless, easy-to-peel citrus varieties, the low acid, sweet (yet slightly tart) and floral flavors of a Valentine pummelo make it totally worth it!
Though our current political landscape is a bit unsettling, it reminds me that this isn’t my home and the president is not my king. Christ is my King, and so while this passing world seems kind of crazy right now, my joy and hope is secure in what He did for me on the cross.
Directions:
1. Draw your horse head and cut out the two horse head pieces. Paint the nose, eyes, and ears on one side of each head. Allow paint to dry completely.
2. Cut out 10″ – 12″ strips of duct tape, fold over, leaving about 3″ of tape expose to attach the inside of each horse head. Continue until the amount of hair desired is attached onto the inside of both horse heads. Add additional duct tape on the inside to secure. Then, cut 1/4″ slits lengthwise on each duct tape piece to get the hair effect.
3. Tape the top 5″ of the dowel to the bottom center of the inner horse head cardboard piece. Place one strip of 6″ tape attaching the dowel to one head piece, and then attach another piece of duct tape attaching the dowel to the opposite horse head. Press the tape firmly in place.
Punch holes on the bottom front and back of the horse head. Attach the yarn through the front holes of the head, and knot together tightly to secure. Bring the yarn to the holes in the back of the horse head and knot again as taut as possible. Knot the ends of the hanging strand of yarn together, and add a bell.
We’ve had a couple days of play with it, and the head has stayed securely on, though it may need a new piece of tape eventually. We’ve had lots of indoor play lately with all the rain we’ve been getting, so this little horsey has come in handy. Plus, it’s great to be able to recycle and make something together.
Glow is such a little ham and you can see a little bit of that silliness in her winking picture. She kept saying, “Mommy! Get me winking! Get me winking!” So we got it, and she giddy-up-ed away.
This past week, I’ve been meditating on Psalm 119:37… “Turn my eyes from looking at what is worthless; give me life in your ways.”
With the new year, most people are making new year resolutions. It’s not something I really do, but mostly, I simply want to complete things I have left uncompleted. Like my year long Bible reading plan, which has turned into a 3 year and 1 month plan (if I finish it this month). I have recognized bad habits that I have formed throughout the years, and it’s something I would like to get rid of. Not because it will make be a better person, but it will help me eliminate the extra noise in my life, and allow to run the race of faith without extra baggage. I need a clear vision of God if I want my joy to be great, and really, who doesn’t want great joy?! Thus, out with all things that hinder that.
I started last week, and kicked one bad habit to the curb for the week (at least for now, but I’m praying I keep it up). This week I said, “No looking at people.com.” My first two are just brain/heart numbing things I do to fill time, but I ought to be filling my time with things that actually fill my soul.
The verse really rebuked my heart because I can see how mentally, spiritually, and emotionally exhausted I can get at the end of the day, and mostly it’s because all day long I’ve been trying to find life in my ways. Maybe using those useless time things mentioned above to fill time, or fighting God for control over what I want to happen in the day, or just spending time coveting over useless things. I think my ways make me happy, but really, it’s an unsatisfying bottomless pit. I’m praying that my heart is free from the bondage of futile things, so that I can connect the dots of what I do daily to God’s glory. Sunday’s evening sermon was such a rebuke to my heart and emphasized things the Bible had been pointing out to me from the previous week.
Other things I jotted down from Sunday evening…
– trials are like glasses to see God
– trials are about your joy in God
– trials are part of a bigger order, and during it, it’s our emotions going haywire (not God’s control of it)
– life is made up of lots of small and big trials, and I need to see and enjoy God in and through all of it
– 1 Thessalonians “and in everything, give thanks!”
Christ died so I don’t have to fight for my way any longer, but surrender in realization that His way is THE way. I want life, and life abundant, so I’m praying… Dear Jesus, give me life in your ways, so help me to get rid of the things that hinder that, and to let go of my desire for control.
It’s been awhile since I shared a heart rant here, but I hope the things God has been revealing to me helps you see and savor God more.
I made this digital collage as part of the grandparents’ Christmas gifts (they always love receiving framed pictures of their grandchildren). I made my first digital collage here, and then made one for my sister’s birthday card (see here). I think it would be fun to do a playful Star Wars inspired one for one of the girls’ rooms.
If you have some Photoshop know-how, all you need to do is erase backgrounds and layer to put something like this together.
California is super thankful for the abundance of rain we received last week, but I’m also thankful that the sunny days are back (at least until Thursday when it’s supposed to rain again).
A local paper is coming to interview Ben and take pictures of our backyard orchard culture, so Saturday was spent cleaning everything up. With all the rain we’ve been having, weeds have taken over and leaves were all over the place. We all worked together to pull weeds, prune, sweep, pick up dead leaves, and make everything look pretty. #teamwork
We had our third Christmas celebration with my family this past Saturday and my mom made such a wonderful feast. That was round 3 of the girls getting lovingly spoiled, and we have one more round to go with Ben’s family here in California.
I need a basic black tee, so I’m waiting for Everlane to roll out their wide leg crop pants at the end of February (if you order two or more items, you get free shipping). I’m looking forward to some of their new items coming out, especially those pants I mentioned.
My ultimate favorite candle scent is the Volcano Blue Capri Candle. I’m running low on them, so I need to stock up soon.
I love this patio covering. I would love to see how we can get our own made for one portion of our yard.
Based on my WEAR board (and looking at my own closet), I’ve realized that I love denim dresses and wearing blue.
This vintage quilted crop jacket is cute, so is this vintage Armani denim dress.
With the rain, lighting hasn’t been great, so I haven’t wanted to photograph any new crafts to share. I’m hoping we get to share our first kid craft for the year later this week.
Ben and I were blessed by our church morning and evening gathering yesterday, and all the sharing of life that happened in between. I’m praying God use these times to imprint our children’s hearts with the sweetness of following Jesus and that they would see Christ is better than all.
Since today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, you get my huzzah post on a Monday. Enjoy your Monday friends!
I have a large growing pile of fabric scraps. I refuse to throw them away because I am sure they can be used for something. I have been seeing different types of interesting necklaces made of buttons, beads, and fabric. Then, I figured why not make one out of my scraps...
I think it made my white shirt a little less boring. This was so quick and easy to make.
How to make a recycled scraps necklace (which is very similar to the straps on my braided tablecloth bag):
1. Take your scrap fabric, I cut a .5''-1'' snip and tear the rest of the fabric down for a nice frayed edge. Used 3 different fabrics for each strand.
2. Take 3 of the torn pieces and tie the ends together with a rubber band.
3. Braid the 3 pieces together and tie ends together with rubber band when done.
4. Repeat steps 2 & 3 for more strands. Remember you can make the strands any length you want, if run out of fabric, just weave more into the braid.
5. Once all the strands you want are braided, gather one end of each strand together and straight stitch together with sewing machine. Repeat for the other ends of the strands. Snip off any excess.
6. Gather ends of the necklace and sew together (snip excess) or a ribbon can be sewn at the ends to be able to tie the necklace closed, but I just sewed both ends together.
7. Voila! A nice way to make use of all your lovely scraps.
Sorry if the directions get you a little lost, but it really is easy. I promise. Maybe I should put some in the shop. Please share any other good ideas you may have of things that can be made with scraps. I would love to hear (read) them!
Hello all! It’s Ben here… citrus is my favorite fruit and Valentine pummelos give me more confidence in my declaration.
