Snowballs in the freezer

Why do snowballs melt in the freezer? For other rookie parents like me out there, they don’t, they are just shrinking. The air is very dry to help minimize frost, which causes the finer particles on the exterior of the snowball to evaporate – similar to why ice cubes will reduce in size over time. What’s left is an ice ball; good thing the boys are planning on pitching them into the pool come summer, and not throw them at one another. Will sealing them in a Ziploc help?

The daffodils are blooming here in the Upstate, but the tulips I bought today to brighten the dining room are imported from Canada. Despite the 70˚ day here in Greenville snow is in the forecast for Thursday… Only in the South, eh?

To all moms, dads, grandparents and parents-to-be in the Upstate, the Joyful Birth & Breastfeeding Expo is this Saturday in Spartanburg. This is a fantastic opportunity to check out local companies, learn about kid's activities in the Upstate, support the natural birth community here in SC, and to hear author/midwife Ina May Gaskin speak. A champion of natural birth and renowned for her practice’s exemplary results and low intervention rates, Ina May Gaskin has gained international notoriety as the leader of a movement that seeks to stop the hyper-medicalization of birth. To find more information about the expo click here, and for a full program of the speakers and events at the expo click here.

A sunny day was spent in the country yesterday in the company of friends, complete with bike racing, digging in the sand and a bonfire. I made vegan cupcakes, my first attempt at a dessert without butter and eggs. While searching for a recipe I almost tossed in the hat, as a majority of recipes called for things like arrowroot powder or coconut oil (I thought this was a facial treatment?), butter substitute (what is that anyways, I can’t even pronounce most of the ingredients?) or a food processor. Finally I found this recipe for chocolate cupcakes with strawberry filling, for which I had all the ingredients on hand… and they came out great. So if you find yourself in a situation like I did (I'm omnivorous but was visiting friends who follow a vegan diet) and want a rich dessert with no fuss, try this recipe from treehugger.com. Especially great this time of year when all those beautiful strawberries start showing up in the store…

We spent the day in the garden, preparing the beds with a truckload of horse manure courtesy of the country friends (thanks guys! (and I expect your best dung joke in the comments please)). The blueberry bushes are budding, the strawberry, celery plant, green onions and garlic all sprouting and greening up, but we’re still holding our breath to see if last year’s transplanted raspberry and grape will make it. So far the only seeds planted are the frost-tolerant snap peas and salads, but I imagine I’ll be able to proceed quite soon, despite Thursday’s weather forecast for snow. Plus maybe I will be able to replace those shrunken snowballs and spare the boys some disappointment?