Moving Day

I have moved my blog to http://jkisom.wordpress.com

Please come see me there!

Jeannine

Fruit and Fiber Muffins (gluten free)

I have been experimenting with muffin mixes, primarily because it is a quick and easy breakfast that my husband will usually eat. I make a dozen up on the weekend and keep them in the fridge all week. Thirty seconds in the microwave and they are nice and warm.

Here is the flour mix I am using. It is based on the Bette Hagman proportions, but with modifications to include a variety of flours and more fiber.

Gluten Free Flour Mix
3 parts brown rice flour
2 parts sweet white sorghum flour
1 part soy flour
1/2 part flaxseed meal
1 part tapioca starch flour
2 parts potato starch flour
Mix thoroughly and store in a plastic container in the refrigerator.

Now here is the gluten free muffin recipe I am currently using.

Gluten-free Fruit and Fiber Muffins
3 1/2 c. gluten free flour mix
1 tsp baking soda
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
1 T egg replacer
1 tsp xanthum gum
1/3 c. demerara cane sugar (or brown sugar)
2 tsp powdered vanilla
5T powdered buttermilk
4 eggs
1/2 c canola oil
1 1/2 to 2 c. water
1 to 2 c coarsely chopped fresh fruit or dried fruit
1 to 2 c chopped nuts, rolled oats or coconut (I use whatever I have on hand and just mix it to make 2 c)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and lightly grease 12 Texas size muffin cups. Thoroughly mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a large (4 c or larger) measuring cup, mix together the oil, eggs and water. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix well. Fold in the fruit and nuts. Divide the mix evenly between the 12 muffin cups--they will be full to the top, but they don't rise enough to run over. The mix should be quite thick. Bake about 30 min or until they are lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in them comes out clean.

Note: If you are not on a gluten free diet, try using whole wheat flour and regular flour in equal proportions and leave out the xanthum gum and egg replacer.

When one door closes...

When we moved to a small town in rural New Mexico last spring, I knew I was taking a chance that I might never find a job that would allow me to use my experience and education. But, we loved the lifestyle and the country and we were really burned out on the big city (Houston). After 20 years of working at a major research university, I was ready to try something else--something that made me feel like I was making a difference some how. So when the opportunity came up for my husband to transfer to southern New Mexico, I just said go for it...I'll find something to do with my career when we get there.

Boy, am I glad I did that. I would never in a million years have thought of museum education as a career. But here I am planning education programs around some of my lifelong passions. My interests outside of work and family are gardening--organically and using ecologically sound, sustainable methods--fiber arts, especially knitting and crochet and anything else that lets me play with gorgeous yarn; and historical crafts, patterns and gardening methods. So what am I doing right now at work, you may ask?? Well, I am planning a big event for spinners, weavers and other yarnies (in April-happy birthday to me), a rendezvous that includes traditional crafts that were part of the mountain man era--spinning, weaving, quilting, basket making, corn husk dolls (and I'm still researching it--it will be in mid-July), and I've been discussing a collaboration with Julia Price of Sierra Dove to establish community gardens in the area, with the museum garden having a focus on traditional methods used in the southwest. I am going to work every day and researching my hobbies and planning events with people who love the things I love.

Could it get any better than that? Whoop!!

So tell me--have you thought about what interests and passions you could turn into a career?

Working From Home

Well, it is snowing again today--this makes an accumulated total of snow that is almost twice what is normal for this area. Being that I live about 15 miles from where I work--and very slippery, nasty miles in this weather--I telecommute on days like today. I work in a small museum that does not have the technical capability that a bigger institution might have, but I have figured out a few work-arounds.

Google is my life line now. I set up a Gmail account just for work and configured the POP mail setting to download all my mail from our server at work. I have moved my appointment calendar, task lists, email and everything out of Outlook and into Google so I can access it from anywhere. I set up a custom signature with my work contact info and configured my settings so that my work email address is all that shows rather than the Gmail address.

I use Google Notifier on my Mac laptop. It lets me know if I have mail and lets me preview what has come in without opening my email. I can click on "go to inbox" in Notifier and it logs me right in. On my computer at work, which is Windows, I have the Google Desktop with a Gmail notifier, calendar, time zone clocks, etc. This way, I don't have to keep a browser window open to see if I have email coming in.

I customized the iGoogle interface by adding a project management tab and adding a widget for to do lists that lets me set up more than one list. I have just started using Evernote for projects and Alltop to scan for news topics. Google Alerts is set to scan for specific key words for any given project that I am working on and the results emailed to me once a day. I also have a reader gadget that lets me preview content of my Google Reader, a YouTube gadget that lets me search for interesting videos from other museums, a Twitter gadget that lets me post from inside iGoogle, and a gadget that lets me see any new books on Project Gutenberg (because I am a glutton for information) and so on.

I have three Google calendars set up (so far)--one for museum programming, one for meetings and such that are work related, and one for personal appointments. They all show on one calendar, but in different colors and I can turn off a calendar simply by clicking on it in the left hand menu. I added a widget that shows all my upcoming appointments on the left side of the screen and a chat widget on the right side, but I stay invisible so I don't have interruptions. I can set email or pop-up reminders for any of my calendar items. I also added a Gmail notifications feature that emails an agenda to me each day with my appointments listed. Google calendars can also be embedded in a web page, a feature I intend to play with when I get the programming calendar finalized. I can also allow others so see or edit my calendars with customized settings for each calendar. Skype video chat allows me to connect to others if they feel the need for a face to face meeting and I can upload documents into Google Docs so others can preview them or work on them.

I am still exploring options for telecommuting, but so far I am quite happy with what I have, and it is all free!

Meet my son, the watchmaker

My son, Adam, has taken on a new adventure--starting his own business. I can't begin to tell you how proud I am of how hard he has worked at it. He went to school to become a WOSTEP certified watch repair technician and then branched out to clocks by working with a mentor who is a retired master clockmaker. He just launched his new web site for his business--Keeper of Time. So please help an honest, hardworking young person if you know anyone who needs repair work done on a clock or watch.

This has almost become a lost art. There are only a few WOSTEP certified schools in the US and they only turn out about 6-12 students each per year. Most of the people in my son's guild are nearing retirement age. Yet they all stay busy with clocks and watches, many with weeks of work stacked up. For tech-savvy professionals like my son, the Internet opens up even more opportunities for business.

Right after high school, Adam went to community college for one year, taking general core classes that would transfer to a bigger university. Then he decided to take a break and work for a while. I have to admit I was worried that he might end up staying in a low paying retail type of job, but after one year of living on just above minimum wage as a store clerk, he had figured out what he wanted to do. Earlier that year, he had accompanied me to the house of a woman who was the godmother of one of his friends. Mrs. Bell had picked up a piece of furniture for me in another city when visiting her godson, to save me a trip, and Adam went along to help me load it in my truck. It just happened that Mrs. Bell is a retired master clockmaker. Adam was always a tinkerer and was immediately fascinated by her workshop. She took him under her wing, taught him some simple skills, gave him a few tools and took him to a few guild meetings and that was it--he had found his niche. Completely serendipitous. They have remained close friends and she continues to be his mentor.

As a career adviser at a major university, I saw many students who were majoring in fields that just did not fit them because that was what their parents thought they should do. I saw students getting a business or other professional degree for the money they thought they could make, but with little thought to what the job would actually entail or how good a fit it was for them. As a teacher in a small high school, I saw many resources and much encouragement for those students who were "college material", but little for those students who weren't considered to be college bound. I don't know about the rest of you, but my experience has been that good plumbers and mechanics are every bit as hard to find as good doctors.

If you have college-bound students, encourage them to do some career exploration--job shadowing, internships, volunteer work, informational interviews--there are many ways to gain experience in a field to see if it is a good fit. A high school or college advising office can help your students find the right resources. Career fulfillment is different for everyone and everyone should have the opportunity to find their niche in the world, IMHO. I think my son has definitely found his.

Career Options

One of the hard decisions we are often faced with is whether or not to stay on the career path we started oh so many years ago. We often have to make major decisions about our professional lives while we are too young to have the experience to make those decisions. Many baby-boomers in particular are now asking themselves if they are in the right place or not.

After years of working in a variety of professional staff positions in higher education, I am now taking a different tack in education as the curator of education at the Hubbard Museum of the American West. I am excited, but apprehensive, having become somewhat jaded over the years. I will hold my thoughts for now.

Food for the mind

One aspect of living more wisely, at least for me, is to spend more time on things that feed your mind and soul. I've tried to do more reading and writing and less watching of the boob-tube. Or, if I am in front of the tube at night with the hubby (who collects movies), I have a knitting or crochet project in hand and work on creating my own designs.

I do make a couple of exceptions though. I have found two web sites that showcase truly inspirational videos. Be careful if you are at work because it is easy to lose a whole afternoon to one of these sites.

ArtBabble was created by the Indianapolis Museum of Art and allows you to explore the art world through video. Really fascinating, whether you are an art lover or not, and the videos go far beyond just looking at paintings or sculpture.

Another wonderful and inspirational site is TED. TED videos are free to the world and showcase brilliant and truly remarkable people sharing ideas that make you stop and think about the world around you. TED Talks cover every conceivable topic, ranging from business to science to design.

So get a cuppa tea or coffee and settle in some afternoon and watch a video or two. Betcha can't stop with just one!!

A different kind of Turkey Day

We (mom-in-law, hubby, me) decided today that rather than a) cook all day tomorrow for just the three of us or b) deal with the crowds going out, we would go out tonight. Wednesdays are seafood night at the Gathering of Nations buffet at the Inn of the Mountain Gods. We all love seafood, but here in the mountains, you don't find a lot of it, at least not anything really good like you find on the coast. We have not tried this particular buffet before, so I'll let you know how it turns out.

Tomorrow, instead of a big turkey dinner, I am fixing brunch--Southwestern Eggs Benedict with fresh fruit, coffee and juices. I made polenta today (or as we call it down south, cornmeal mush) and it is chilling in the fridge. The rest of the day, we will just stay home and if we get really hungry, snack on leftover pork roast. No turkey this year, though we may stick one in the freezer while they are on sale. With the hectic schedule the hubby and I seem to be keeping lately, a lazy day at home will be the biggest treat of all.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Gluten-free Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

I've been on a quest for some time now to get my husband to start eating breakfast. I am a firm believer in the benefits of eating breakfast and I think I have most of the medical profession on my side in that regard. He finally relented and said that he would eat oatmeal, because of its heart healthy benefits, if I could find a way to make it look like something else. He is also a stickler about muffins and anything that looks or tastes like cake is NOT a muffin (according to Jim). So I have been on a quest for a good muffin recipe and this one is pretty good. It is gluten-free (for me, because I have celiac disease) and tasty enough for him.

Gluten-free Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

2 c. gluten-free flour mix (I used Bob's Red Mill GF All Purpose Baking Flour)

1/2 tsp. xanthum gum

1-3/4 c. gluten-free rolled oats (again-Bob's Red Mill GF Rolled Oats)

3/4 c. packed brown sugar

3 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 egg

1/3 c. canola oil

1 c. buttermilk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 c. blueberries (fresh, frozen or canned and drained. I used frozen and did not thaw them out.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, xanthum gum, oats, brown sugar, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Combine egg, oil, buttermilk and vanilla in small bowl and whisk until well blended. Stir into flour mixture just until well blended, then fold in blueberries. Spoon evenly into 18 (2-1/2 inch) nonstick muffin cups. The batter is very thick and sticky, so you may want to spray a little PAM in those muffin cups even if they are nonstick.

Bake 30-35 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan 10 minutes, then remove and serve warm or cool completely on wire racks. I store them in a plastic container in the refrigerator and warm them for about 30 seconds in the microwave before serving.

Breast Cancer Awareness video from St. Vincents

You gotta see this. All the staff at St Vincent's participated in this video, "The Pink Glove Dance", to promote breast cancer awareness.

I want this handbag!!

Now this is what I call upcycling for a thrift store handbag. Jeff Crystal has provided instructions for installing a solar battery in a handbag that will keep your cell phone powered up as you are out and about. The bag was crafted by Mark Farina and could be all the next rage--he is taking requests to 'solar up' bags.

Not your Grandma's quilts

As a would be fiber artist, I think I sometimes forget that you can take the oldest techniques and methods and give them a completely new twist. This guy has done just that with solar system inspired quilts--jimmy mcbride.

Have a green holiday!

Here we are just four weeks from Thanksgiving and I really haven't thought about what I'll do this year for Christmas. The holiday season is, without a doubt, one of the most consumer oriented, waste producing times of year. Not to sound like a grinch--I love the holidays, but several years ago, my family decided to scale back on Christmas and make it more about family get together than gift exchange. We limit gifts to less than $20 or something hand made and focus instead on trying to get together for the holidays. We cook a big, family, gut-busting meal, pull out card games and family albums, and laugh til we cry.

This year, instead of buying and decorating a tree for the house, we are going to decorate the big blue spruce in the middle of the yard. You can see it clearly from our living room window. A few things we have in mind for decorations are cranberries and popcorn garlands, pine cones smeared with peanut butter and rolled in bird seed, and other bird friendly decorations. Christmas cards will get recycled for craft projects. I buy plain paper in bright colors so I can use it year round. I've also used the Sunday funnies for wrapping paper.

There are many ways to make your Christmas more earth friendly and meaningful if you just start now and give it a little thought. It is also a great time of year to teach your kids about giving and caring for others. For more ideas for a more earth friendly holiday, check out this article from Green Living Tips. If electronics will be high on your list of things to give and receive, check out this website to find locations near you that recycle old electronics.

Eating wisely

I have been on a gluten free diet for the past 25 years, so naturally I probably read labels and pay more attention to what is in food than the average person does. When I start reading labels and see a list of things that look like they came from the chemical shelf in a lab, I cringe. Gluten-free may not be easy, but I think it may be healthier in the long run.

I can remember family get-togethers where a big lunch was served, everything was covered with a cup towel and left on the table and we then grazed on it the rest of the afternoon. No one got sick or died that I can recall, but maybe we were just lucky. Nowadays, I don't take that risk.

I have a wonderful book, Stocking Up, that I often refer to for advice on storing and processing fruits, vegetables and meats. I recently found a website, FoodSafety.gov, that has additional information on recalls and safety. With so much of our food supply coming from countries that don't have the safety standards that we expect, I think it is only prudent to educate ourselves on food safety and where our food comes from. When possible, I try to buy from local farmers, because even our organic produce comes from a long way off.

Ten Things I love about New Mexico (so far)

1. Being swarmed by hummingbirds when I carry the feeders out early in the morning.

2. Listening to elk bugle on the hills around our house.

3. Eating lunch at El Paisano in Capitan, where the same family has been cooking traditional New Mexican food for 62 years.

4. Watching the sun light up the mountains around my house early in the morning.

5. Watching deer come and go around the house all day.

6. Picking raspberries and drinking lavender lemonade at Lavender Spring Ranch.

7. Roasting fresh picked green chiles and making green chile stew.

8. All the art galleries in the area. New Mexico seems to attract artists of all kinds.

9. Going barefoot at White Sands. The gypsum sand never gets hot, no matter how hot the day is.

10. Eating green chile pistachios and chile pistachio brittle and drinking pistachio flavored wine right on the ranch where the pistachios and grapes are grown.

Check out the new i-House from Clayton Homes

These little homes were featured in a recent issue of Mother Earth News. I like what I see so far in their attempts to provide affordable green modular homes. The Clayton i-House would definitely be worth checking out if you are looking for a more sustainable lifestyle.

We lived in Clayton homes on our farm in Texas. They have won many awards for their excellence in modular and mobile homes. The little mobile home I lived in was built in the 80's, but had 2x4 framing with studs on 16" centers just like a stick built house and the floors were solid 3/4" plywood covered with carpet or vinyl. It was suffering from neglect, but with a little work it made a comfy and cozy cottage.

Life lessons

My little dog, Bashful, passed on very quietly last week. His health was declining due to congestive heart failure and then he got an infection in his mouth on top of that. We had been to the vet to see what could be done to help him, but I think the medications on top of the added infection were just too much for his little system. It was difficult to clean his teeth because the vet was leery of sedating him with his heart condition. I was leery of brushing because he hated it and I did not want to stress him because of his heart. We buried him on the hill below the house with a beautiful view of the valley below. He was a sweet, kind little dog and we miss him terribly.

I've learned the hard way that there are things you need to do to keep your pets healthy beyond the standard vaccinations. Keeping their teeth clean will do wonders for their health. Some people do it successfully by providing chewies and breath buster tablets and some by brushing. Otherwise, a trip to the vet as needed to have their teeth cleaned before gum disease sets in will do wonders. My mother-in-law has a large Weimaraner that is going on 12 years old and he still bounces around like a puppy, but she has had his teeth cleaned professionally every six months or so since he was about 2 years old. I sincerely believe that it makes a big difference and will be much more diligent about tooth cleaning from now on. It is as important for them as it is for us.

My cubeecraft boys

This is the cubeecraft.com version of my boys, Inkmo and Jackmo. Those nicknames have evolved into alter egos that my son often uses in his cartoons. If you check out the Cubeecraft website, there are lots of other cool things to do with cubeecraft.

Novel ways to recycle bottles

This article from the Daily Green has some very novel ideas for recycling plastic and glass bottles. In particular, check the video at the very end--made by folks who obviously have too much time on their hands.

Charities for crafters

Busy hands are happy hands, so I have been looking for charity projects that would allow me to use my crafting skills for a worthy cause. Here are three that were recently highlighted in my Yarnmarket Knitting News e-newsletter:

Project Linus--make blankets of all kinds for babies and children that are hospitalized

The Snuggles Project--snuggly blankets for animal shelters

Socks for Soldiers--hand knitted socks for soldiers

These came from the Lion Brand web site:

Knots of Love: knitted and crocheted caps for cancer patients going through chemotherapy

Any many, many more in the Lion Brand newsletter