Homemade Tea! A post from Josh...

Today Aloka and I (Josh) collected the new growth off of spruce trees to make our own tea.
The tea made from the new growth buds tastes delicious and has a delicate lemon flavor and is loaded with vitamin c.
I've been teaching aloka about gathering her own food from local sources and she is very keen to collect and learn about local plants and what is edible.
We used a large burdock leaf to hold our gatherings and we also collected burdock root for our stirfry.
You have to twist the buds off and then use your finger to pinch the sheath off.
We brewed the tea in japanese tea mugs my parents gave me.
As you can see aloka is is the most beautiful girl in the whole wide world and we had a wonderful time together!
Attached are photos of the process.

Aloka's hair cut from months ago...

Whoops, I had forgotten all about these pics! Aloka had sooo much fun getting her hair done. The stylist even gave her lipstick! I've decided to take her for each birthday to get done up. She just loved it!

Such a beauty!

Aloka's Easter day

After the egg hunt (which was on a friday), came Easter Sunday. Aloka had left out a note for the Easter bunny asking if it was a boy or girl, and some carrots.

Can you read what the bunny wrote back?

She then found eggs hidden everywhere, hard-boiled and chocolate ones. Then she noticed a little mini-basket on the dining table with some dark chocolate eggs and a clue!



I read the clues to her and she just loved going on the scavenger hunt for her basket.
She finally found it out in the addition (the new part of the house that's still being built)





She loved her basket! The bunny had brought her treats and a chocolate bunny, stickers, Hello Kitty tattoos, and a little squirrel stuffy. She is such a treat saver, she still has the chocolate bunny, and most of her jelly beans!
I got in trouble because I had eaten one of her chocolate eggs and a handful of her jelly beans one day when she wasn't home. She noticed exactly what was missing of course, and was sad.

I felt horrible, so the next day, the Easter Bunny apparently had come (presumably overnight) and replenished her stash! She was tickled!

After a long fun Easter day, she said "Mama, you didn't get me any Easter present!" HA! Someday she'll find out my secret...