Read Along: Week Seven - Sugar Snow

First off, the chapter is called “Sugar Snow”. Winter is beginning to wain, there’s still frost on the windows, and the sap is starting to run in the maple trees (well, for the Ingalls family at any rate…here, in Ohio, it began running back in February so we’re a bit late for that! So here are a few things you can do with your family:

1. Make more johnny cakes (originally posted in week 1). Use real maple syrup on top instead of a corn-based syrup (if you have never had maple syrup before, you’re in for a treat! you’ll never want to go back to the other stuff! :D ) for a topping.
   
2. Make maple sugar candy.. This is just one recipe. :) Laura and Mary used snow to cool theirs, and if you have an ice shaver, you could make your own “snow” to cool your candy (or, just stick it in the freezer if you don’t have an ice shaver).
   
3. Here is another way of making what I would normally call Cracker Jack. It’s a nice popcorn candy made with real maple syrup.
   
4. Do a recipe search on your favorite sites and make something using real maple syrup.
   

For Christmas in July, we’ll be focusing on lace this week. What?! Lace?! Ooooo… So here are some ideas:

1. Make some small lace pieces, whether you knit or crochet, and adhere them to blank note cards for a decoration. Crocheted Irish lace flora are very well-suited to this purpose, and there are many, many patterns at antiquepatternslibrary.org. If you have never used a vintage pattern before and are used to modern American terminology, be warned: a dc in the patterns will actually be an sc.
   For more lace projects, there are numerous ideas! Make some lace gloves (patterns are available here on ravelry, as well as on crochetpatterncentral.com and knittingpatterncentral.com), lace scarves, begin a lace shawl. For a bookmark, make a narrow lace sample (a knitted single panel would suffice, or a crocheted edging pattern, followed on both sides of the sample) there are other patterns available on the links listed above.

2. Speaking of Christmas, why not begin your ornaments?  There are many, many ornaments, especially thread ones, on the web. Perhaps a few snowflakes here and there, or perhaps some stars, crosses, garlands, flowers, Christmas trees, etc.!

3. Oh, and what says “July” better than an ice cold pitcher of lemonade or sun tea (there’s a nice minty one here? I just tried the brown sugar lemonade (I had to use Real Lemon, as I don’t keep whole lemons in my house), and it’s yummy!!

By Tracey4610