Crepes

Crepes are delicious French gifts from above.
I recently found a new crepe recipe that I like VERY much. Unlike most crepe recipes, this one does NOT require that the dough be chilled first, making a No-wait crepe recipe sure to delight. The original recipe is here. I have added some important details that they do not cover, and I am also including the process to make a simple strawberry compote.

1. Start with the compote, it takes the longest. Wash and chop up 1 small basket of strawberries (The prepackaged ones from the supermarket). You want to get them in roughly quarters. Larger strawberries may be further cut down. Put all the chopped berries in a clean bowl.

2. Cut up a lemon, or get some lemon juice. You want about half a lemon's worth of juice added to the strawberries.

3. Add some sugar to the strawberries. Don't be shy, however, only add a bit at a time. Taste a strawberry to test it. You need enough sugar to counteract the lemon juice.

4. Put the compote in the fridge while you cook the crepes.

5. Mix together all the ingredients for the crepes, and beat until smooth.

6. Heat a small fry pan (5" diameter is best). Keep the heat somewhere between 3 and 4 on your stove knob settings.

7. Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to measure out the batter for each crepe. Pick up the pan when you pour the batter in, and immediately tilt it, to be sure the crepe batter spreads out very thin across the bottom of the pain, hopefully in a circle. This takes some practice.

8. Use a soft, heat resistant spatula. When the wet batter gets small holes in it (Like when cooking a pancake) its time to flip the crepe. There are many ways to do this. I just tilt the pan so that the crepe slides mostly out onto my spatula, and then flip it back in, upside down. The crepe only needs to sit 15-30 seconds once it is flipped.

9. When ALL the crepes are done, they're almost ready to serve. Retrieve your compote from the fridge, along with some sour cream. Decide which side of the crepe is prettiest, and set that side down towards the plate. Put a small layer of sour cream in the middle of the crepe, in a line. Add some of the compote, and fold up the sides. Carefully flip the crepe over, and add a sprinkle of powdered sugar. Its ready to eat!

T-Tunic and Sash

I like to sew and make my own clothing. By far my favorite piece of clothing is the T-Tunic. Simple to make, original, and elegant. You can wear them to Ren. Fairs or just around down. Tunics are traditionally tied with a belt or a sash.
The first thing to take into account is the season in which you will be wearing tunic. Spring and summer tunics are the simplest to make, and that is what I will describe here.

Fabric
Fabric is an important thing to take into account. A tunic is essentially a long, open shirt, so your fabric needs to be something study, in case it catches. You need to buy enough to cover you. Two or three yards should be plenty, maybe even with enough left overs to make a matching sash.

Cutting
The brilliance of the T-tunic is that it can be made by a beginner, alone, without a pattern. Lay your fabric down on a clean bit of floor so that it only has two layers, and these layers are perfectly even. Lay down on it and adjust yourself so that the top edge of the fabric is just above your shoulders. Stretch out one of your arms. With some sewing pins, mark next to your shoulder, and then your elbow. Do the same on the other side.
Also mark on either side of your hips. There's no need to properly pin the fabric yet, just stick the pins in there, so you know where the places are. Get up again, and properly pin the two layers of you cloth together. You may have adjust one of them. Cut out the shape of a large T for your body and arms, just a few inches wider then your hip marks. leave at least 5 inches of witch in the sleeves.

Sewing
Hem the rough edges, and then cut and hem a hole for your head.
You can make it as ellaborate or as simple as you like!

Study Tips for Finals

This year I had three finals tests, and three final projects. When facing six finals, proper studying technique is a MUST. Here's what I did:

Tabs
The first thing I did was go through all my notes, and tabbed them. There is no need to buy special tabs for this. I bought a back of multi-colored post-its, so that I could color code my notes. Go through page by page and just glace at them. Anything that I didn't remember, I marked with my brightest color (fluorescent pink). I used my cooler colors (blue and green) for things that I remembered, but didn't do well in. I repeated this process with my text books.

Studying
There are a few studying tips that are generally always given. Everyone hears them at some point in their life, but I thought that I'd repeat them, because they bear repeating.

1. Don't study on your bed. Your brain should associate it with sleeping, not school. Studying on your bed can make you tired when you're trying to review, and keep you up when you're trying to sleep.
2. Take frequent breaks. A ten minute break every half an hour is good for your concentration, especially when you're working on a subject that is hard for you. If your break lasts too long, though you'll get out of your learning mode.
3. Study one subject for at least an hour. It sounds like a big investment, but the brain takes about an hour to really get immersed in a subject, especially if its a subject that you don't like, or are not good at.
4. Don't cram. Cramming right before a test is shown to make your recall worse, not better. Make sure you finish your studying the night before the test.

The reason there really isn't very many overall studying tips, is that everyone learns differently. If you don't already know how you learn best, there are a number of tests out there to determine your learning style. There is a learning style test in the links section. They want you to pay for your results, but the graph to the side as you go can give you a very nice idea for free. Find out your learning style and use it to your advantage when you study.

Smudging Technique

Introduction
I wanted to share my techniques for smudging with you. Smudging the Native American tradition of burning sage to purify and bless a home, space, or person.
Smudging is used widely today by peoples of all religions. There are several thoughts about HOW smudging works. Some people believe that the smoke drives out negative energies, the way you'd smoke a bird out of your chimney. Others (Including myself) believe that negative energy sticks to the smoke, and then is carried away with it when you air out the home. I learned how to smudge from my family.

Why?
Most people who smudge do so for several reasons. Some do it regularly as a religious ritual, others do it to ban ghosts or evil spirits from their home. Some like the smell or the feeling of tranquility it brings. I smudge whenever I move into a new home, every New Years day, and every time I leave an old home for the last time to provide protection over the home and its new inhabitants.

Bundling
Smudging technique begins before the sage is lit. My family gathers their own sage from The southern Oregon/northern California desert. The sage is gathered from a variety of plants, so that no single plant suffers a large loss. It is then bundled with embroidery thread, with different colors of thread for different uses. Because all rituals are only effective because they are fed from believe and intent, what you assign to each color is up to you. (This works even if you didn't bind and gather the sage yourself.)
The sage is then hung and left to dry completely, a process which can take up to a week. You can find information of bundling herbs and sage to dry in the links section.

Getting Started
To begin the smudging ceremony, make sure you're home alone, or the family agrees to stay in one room for the duration of the ceremony. Too much movement disrupts the flow of energy.
Start in either your bedroom, of the place in the house you spend the most time in. (If multiple people are smudging at once, have each start in their personal spaces.) If you bless your house regularly, or are not having any spiritual problems, a full smudging is probably not needed. You may do only the Portal Smudging.

Full Ceremony
Begin at the door or doorway to your space. Light the sage, and then blow on it so it smokes just a little.
"Smudge" the area around your door by drawing the outline in the air close to the frame. Make sure you circle the door completely (even by the floor.) Burning sage can be a fire hazard, so watch for glowing embers if you are on carpet, and make sure they get stamped out. Slowly, draw a line of smoke along the craves where the walls meet the ceiling. Whenever you come to a corner, draw the smoke down the length of it as well. Do this for the entire room, and then the the portals (Described below).
Follow the same steps for every room of the house.

Portals
A portal is any place at which something can enter. Doors, windows, and heat vents are all portals. There are some that are less obvious, however. A doorway, even it doesn't have a door in it, is a portal. A mirror or fireplace too. Any divide or shift in the space counts as a portal, such as the landing on a flight of stars (Which actually has two portals. One for the division between each section of the stairs.) An artificial room divide counts as a portal. So to closet doors, and any space where there is a little "ledge" or similar structure along the ceiling, dividing up the room a bit. Portals should be smudged along their edges before passing through them, and then again on the way out. Once a portal and the space behind it has been smudged, the portal gets closed (if possible.) If several people are taking part in the smudging ceremony, it will be necessary to open all the doors and closet doors before you begin, so you can keep track of which spaces have been cleansed. Windows and outside doors need not be messed with. Be slow and thorough. Proper smudging can take a long time, up to an hour in large houses. Don't be in a hurry when you're preforming the ceremony.

Spirits
Smudging is often used to banish spirits and energies. If you are fighting such things in your house, write up a manta to speak over and over as you work. Something as simple as "You are not welcome here" is fine.
If you are smudging for other reasons, and become at all uncomfortable, or experience something strange (the sage acting odd, going out, or exploding, or feelings of sudden draft or cold are all good examples) then it may be necessary to vocally banish the spirit. Tell them they are unwelcome if they mean harm, or that it is time to move on. Be firm and clear, and do not show weakness.
For powerful spirits, smudging will only sedate them for a time, and must be kept up regularly to keep them subdued. If at any time you are injured during smudging by a force or spirit, then seek someone's help. Always go for the avenue of faith that you believe in, because it is believe that makes it work.

I hope this is of some use to some of you.
Love you all

Pasta Sauce

I invented a pasta sauce! Try it out! This makes about a cup of sauce, and all amounts are guestimated (Except butter), because I cook by smell. When I was finished mixing, I could smell all the herbs plainly in the mixture, but none where overwhelming. (If that's any help.) Every time I make the sauce it comes out different. For a low fat version, substitute olive oil for the butter. Olive oil, however, has a distinctive flavor, and more herbs need to be added to cover it up.

1 stick of melted butter
1 tablespoon garlic powder (Or 4 cloves crushed garlic)
1 teaspoon of basil
1/2 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon oregano
2 teaspoon heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon white cooking wine
1 pinch pepper

1. Melt a cup of butter or margarine in the microwave. Make sure you don't burn it, but it is melted all the way.
2. Add garlic. I have given more garlic then most people might use, because i like garlic. Mix thoroughly
3. Add other ingredients one at a time, mixing after each one completely. Make sure the butter is still hot when you add the cream and wine.
4. Add the pepper last and mix again, do not let the cream settle out of the mixture.
5. Pour over hot, completely drained noodle and stir.
6. Salt to taste.

Plant Care

I learned general plant care from my mother, who learned it from her grandmother on her mother's side, who learned it from HER mother, whose mother was the daughter of the man who brought my family over from Sweden.
I don't know if any of this knowledge is actually Swedish, but I thought that it would make a good title for this journal. Most of it is common knowledge stuff, or things you can find online, but to me its special, because it was passed down mother to daughter (My opinions about my own mother aside) for years. It works on almost any plant, except for certain exceptions, like cacti. The rules are simple, but important.

Potting
Pot your plant. Whether a bulb, seed, sprout or full grown plant, pot in soil bought from a potting store. Don't get anything special, like fertilized soil. In fact it is perfectly safe to buy the cheapest, plain soil available. Don't plant the plant in dirt from your yard. This is because bagged soil is often much more fertile, without additives. I suggest the Black Gold brand soil, which runs about $1 a lb. Though this is on the spendy side, it is additive free, and highly fertile. If your plant came with soil, or instant soil, use that. Indoor plants can be potted at any time of year, outdoor plants should be checked for the correct season to plant.

Placing
Put the plant in a place where it will receive full sun for several hours each day, but will not be in reach of animals or in danger of being knocked over or stepped on (Unless you know that you shouldn't, like you're growing mushrooms or something.)

Water
Water your plant. If you have a pot with holes in the bottom, make sure that the plant is sitting in a tray or on a plate when you do this. Water it until you see just a tiny bit of water come out the bottom. If you have a closed bottom pot, water the soil a little bit at a time, and let it soak in. Continue this until it soaks in at a slower rate. If you're purchasing your OWN pots, then always get the draining (holes in the bottom) kind. The closed kind can easily drown your plants if you aren't careful. If you have a close pot, and you water remains at the surface, and doesn't soak in, then you've over watered. You must completely transplant the plant, and pour out the water.

Ignore the plant. Let it sit in your windowsill or on your porch, and go about your daily life. When you notice that its dry, water it like in step three.

Transplanting
Transplant every few years to a larger pot. If you have more then one plant, do all of them at once. Spread a tarp or old blanket out on the porch, or transplant in your yard. I do not suggest transplanting inside, and CERTAINLY not the first time, however, it can be done carefully by the experienced plant owner. New pots should be large enough for the old pot to fit comfortably inside. (Basically the next size up at the store.) Be prepared to get dirty, and make a big mess. Start bay filling each of your new pots a little less then half way with brand new soil. With a large spoon (NOT a garden spade!) start to dig up the plant you want to transplant. Do this carefully. You are using a spoon so as not to damage the roots of the plant. Dig all the dirt out close to the end of the pot, so as not to hurt the plant. If you water the plants before you start, then the moist dirt will clump together better. Continue this until you hit the bottom of the pot. Then grasp the plant firmly (But not so hard your strain it) by the bottom, and lift it out of the pot. It should lift up easily. Gently bat the large clumps away from its roots. It is not necessary to clean all the dirt from the roots unless the plant has been sick. Set it into the new pot, and hold it upright in the rough center. With your other hand, fill up the pot with one hand full of dirt at a time, until it is just below the brim.

Plant illnesses
Sick plants should be moved away from the other plants, either across the house or outside. Outside is best. Not all plant diseases are contagious, but many are. Signs of sickness include many small bumps on the leaves on stem, tiny red mites crawling over the plant,s rotting leaves (When the rest are healthy) Drooping, reducing foliage, not producing flowers or fruit when it should (or exceptionally few or small flower or fruit). Look up the plants symptoms for proper treatment of the disease. Once the disease is treated, it is safe to bring the plant back inside. If pesticides or other chemicals were used, then transplant. Make sure you clean the roots off very well when you do this, including washing them with a gentle stream of water with the hose. Get them as clean as possible without water FIRST, to ensure the good health of the plant.