Carrie Spritzer – The Creative Salad

Building a Computer with Daddy

After filling the hard-drive of our eight-year old computer, we decided it was time for something new. Instead of taking the easy route and ordering a new one through a manufacturer like Dell or HP, my husband decided to order the parts and make it himself. I ask you, what could be more fun for an engineer than to assemble a computer himself?!

Even better when it becomes a father-daughter weekend project when the little miss, to no one’s surprise, insists on helping. We’re all about transforming everyday activities into learning experiences in our household. David started assembling the computer the night before and then set aside a few simple tasks for the toddler to help with.

About the computer:
David wanted a super fast processor with a great graphics card. I insisted we think about energy efficiency. So we swapped out our over-sized desktop cpu for a more petite case and traded our old screen for a larger, energy-star qualified, LED monitor.

Specifications:
– Antec ISK 300-65 Desktop Computer Case
– ASRock H67M-ITX Motherboard
– Patriot Memory ‘Sector 5’ G Series 4GB
– Western Digital 500 GB Mobile Hard Drive
– Intel Core i3-2100T Dual-Core Desktop Processor
– LG Super-Multi Slim Blu-ray Combo Drive
– Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit
– Samsung 27-inch LED Monitor
– HDMI Cable
Inspired by Jeff Atwood’s computer written about here.

Concerned about potentially exposing your child to lead while building a computer? There’s no need to be worried. Each piece in this computer is RoHS compliant (circled in the photo, above) meaning it’s been manufactured without lead (also mercury, cadmium, and other substances). (See that sticker symbol with RoHS on it? Each computer component has a sticker like that.) Having your kids wash their hands before and after working on the inside of the computer may still be a good idea because of dust and other small particles, but you need not be concerned about lead exposure. (Love living with an engineer who can tell me about things such as these!)

Sewing Inspiration

Martha Stewart’s Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts contains so many creative projects in addition to outlining the basics of various sewing techniques. Some of the projects that I’m most looking forward to tackling include:

Appliquéd sea-print tote
I love the idea of combining fabric-printing with appliqué, thereby adding another texture and dimension to a tote.

Velvet-lined jewelry boxes
What a nice way to jazz up wooden boxes and make a special keepsake box.

Ribbon embroidered flower prints
A beautifully simple project that’s eco-groovy and screams “try me!” I can’t wait to make some embroidered flowers for our bedroom.

Japanese Sashiko Embroidery
I’ve found this stunning embroidery made of small running stitches in a grid-like pattern to be more difficult than it looks, but I’m looking forward to practicing and perfecting my method. These place-mats are stunning.

Our Favorite Frozen Snack

One of our most beloved afternoon snacks really couldn’t be more simple. We slice bananas and pop them into the freezer for a few hours. The recipe may be similar to frozen banana ice cream but it’s a whole lot less work.

This snack is:

Obviously more healthful than eating ice cream;

More tasty than plain old sliced banana (though we do love topping sliced banana slivers with a dab of peanut butter; they taste great when eaten with a toothpick.);

Plus the toddler can slice up the banana herself, so it’s a family-friendly activity as well.

Evidently if you’re three years old you need to bundle up to eat this frozen treat and run around the house shouting, “BRRRRR!” And then ask for more cause it’s so yum.

We’re not at all dramatic in our house. I can’t imagine where she gets it from.

More Gluten-Free Pasta Options

I recently discovered several new tasty gluten-free pastas that I’m excited to share with you.

My new favorite, go-to pasta, Andean Dream Quinoa Pasta, contains a combination of rice and quinoa, making it more nutritious and tasty than plain rice pasta. The taste and texture reminds me of the Ancient Harvest Quinoa Organic Pasta that used to be my favorite gluten-free pasta back when I couldn’t eat gluten but could still eat corn. (Yeah, the food sensitivity saga continues over here.)

On the right is the Trader Joe’s gluten-free boxed macaroni and cheese, which my family prefers to the pricier (albeit locally owned) Annie’s variety. I do feel some guilt about not supporting a local company, but the $1-2 per box price different is a deal breaker for me when they taste nearly identical and our toddler requests mac and cheese pretty much every day. (Ah, to have a three year olds metabolism…)

Next up, this beautiful pasta by il Macchialiolo. I adore the shape of this gigli shaped pasta, made of rice and imported from Italy. I bought this particular variety on our road trip in a specialty shop in Oregon, but it’s also available online. While this pasta may be pricey, I personally think it’s perfect for a special meal.

That being said, I haven’t tasted this pretty one yet, so it might taste like crap. If that’s the case, whoops! Sorry about that. Hey, at least it looks good.

I personally would rather eat special pasta like this one on occasion than eat the bland, chewy, ordinary shaped rice pasta more widely available in the grocery store (I’m thinking about you, Tinkyada).

Writing Caddy

We’ve been working on organizing our arts and craft supplies.

I planned on making a writing caddy for our daughter, but we instead found this blue wire caddy at Joann’s on clearance and the little miss insisted we bring it home. Luckily it’s my style too, so I was thrilled to set it up at her play table in the living room. Inside it we keep:

– Letters and Numbers For Me activity book (published by Handwriting Without Tears)
– The complete set of Jan Brett’s free traditional coloring alphabet tracers stapled together with a this free downloadable Handwriting Without Tears Capital Letters Formation Chart
– Lined and blank paper

– Soft pencils and erasers
– Shape and alphabet stencils
– Protractor
– Maria the Scientist Paper Dolls
– Calculator (used primarily as a pretend cell phone)
– A set of butterfly play bank checks that you can download for free!

We keep the writing caddy on the child sized table by the window overlooking our garden. Adjacent to our birding materials (in the baskets/bags on the floor), we’re all set for everyday learning!