Foraging In The Forests of Slovenia

Foraging is a big part of Slovene culture. 

Most travel shows that focus on Slovenia at least mention it in one way or another (most recently the Netflix show Restaurants on the Edge in Season 2)  because it is so quintessential, but also because it is an art form that other parts of the world are slowly leaving behind. As Slovenia's gastronomy is getting more notice (best female chef in the world), much of the "where" concerning their food is in the spotlight. Chefs here love to use local and seasonal ingredients. But they're not the only ones. It is a pastime that most people engage in on one level or another. Some pensioners use foraging as a way to supplement their income by selling whatever is in season at their local markets.

Slovenes forage for all kinds of things, such as herbs, berries, elderflower, chestnuts, and most importantly mushrooms.

When we were living in Ljubljana, the capital city, we didn't really do any of these things, however NOW, since we live in a small town in a different part of the country - we have been able to be a part of many more authentic Slovene experiences. This weekend our friends invited us to visit their parents and go chestnut and mushroom hunting with them. We were delighted at the invitation, and had an incredible time.

When foraging - especially for mushrooms - it is very important that one knows what they are doing, and can identify the types of mushrooms in the woods.

People who take mushroom foraging seriously know what they're doing, but many also have a mushroom encyclopedia to make sure the food they're bringing home to their family won't do them harm. Our friends' dad guided us through which mushrooms to pick, and then had his wife consult their encyclopedia when we got home. We were all good! We found chanterelle mushrooms as well as porcini. 

The Slovene Forest Service mandates that those who forage for mushrooms are required to use baskets so that the spores can fall to the ground as you are walking along in the forest. 

To add to the sweetness of the day, our friends' dad actually made the baskets we used. They were beautiful, and he made them out of reeds that he - you guessed it - foraged.

I like mushrooms fine (and those chanterelle were the best I've ever had), but I was there mostly for the chestnuts. Chestnuts are so quintessential fall! In Hungary, where I grew up they also cook/bake with chestnuts, but I never knew much about them. There was a tree in front of my house that dropped horse chestnuts (the non-edible kind), from which we made chestnut people using toothpicks - but I don't recall ever seeing actual chestnuts in the wild. I know we have them, because my Hungarian grandma and neighbor ladies all made chestnut puree, and we had roasted chestnuts at the Christmas market, but that was the some total of my knowledge.

The area where we were searching for chestnuts was actually right along the Hungarian border. The way one can know if the chestnut they are holding is edible or not, is this: if it is pointy at the end and has a little "tail", it is edible. 

Because chestnuts are wild, there is no way to know how much of a "harvest" there will be. Additionally, there are quite a few people visiting these forests every year with the same goal in mind - to find as many chestnuts as possible. We weren't sure how much we would find. As it turned out, we had nothing to fear, and had an abundance of chestnuts to choose from. 

To make sure that no one can hog all the chestnuts, the Slovene Forest Service only allows 2 kg of chestnuts per person. Luckily for us, kids count as full people too, and we were able to take home quite a lot. 

After our lovely time of hiking, discovery, foraging, chatting and taking in all the natural beauty we headed home to our friends' parents house, where their mom treated us to a delicious and traditional Slovene meal. Once we had finished with that, they showed our kids around on their property where they have an orchard, fields, gardens, and an old tractor that each of our kids had a chance to drive. Needless to say, childhood memories were made.

When we returned home, we saw our elderly neighbors out an about in their front yard, and we decided to take them over a bag of chestnuts. Their family visits every weekend, and they had grandkids smiling and running around all over the yard. The wife told me that she hadn't seen me much this week and had been worried that I was sick. I replied that I had actually just started back at work with more hours, but really appreciated her concern. 

She explained that she and her husband usually went foraging for chestnuts in the fall as well, but that due to COVID-19 they weren't going anywhere at all. They grow all their own produce, and their children bring them anything else they might need.

There is such beauty in connecting with nature and taking in all of the splendor of God's creation - the trees, the sunlight, the sounds of the birds, even the bugs that are all part of the eco system. 

But yesterday also reminded me that it is even more important to connect with our community, those living around us and inhabiting the same spaces that we are. There are so many studies that show that cultures who live intertwined with their community lead happier and more fulfilled lives than those who live more individualistically.

Living in the digital age, we are becoming more and more isolated which is then being compounded right now by this pandemic. 

Yesterday was a great reminder to find joy in the simpler, everyday things and to then turn around and spread those feelings with the people around us.

Thanks, Slovenia. You really are one in a million.

Trying To Let My Kids "Become"

I've started listening to the audiobook version of Michelle Obama's autobiography, Becoming. One of the things that has struck me so far, was Michelle's description of her mother's parenting style. She remarks that even as she would complain to her mother about teachers, friends, school or what-have-you, that her mother would never indulge her in her whining, but would rather listen, and occasionally say things like, "I see" or "oh my" - indicating to her daughter that she was listening, that she had her full attention, but was also allowing Michelle to make her own way, to develop her own thoughts on things, rather than just regurgitating her mother's opinions.

This is kind of new to me, and I love it.

I've always tried to instill curiosity and independent thinking in my son. He has a very scientific way of looking at things, enjoys figuring things out and asks lots of very good questions - questions I often answer with a another question. I am by no means a perfect parent, but I do think I have some good instincts. That, coupled with early childhood education training means that I am frequently looking at parenting situations, attempting to analyze what is being learned, what new skills Aidan is picking up, what he isn't quite getting yet, and what opinions he is making for himself.

Of course, he is at the age where most of what he thinks about things is what I think about things. Aidan is also one of those kids who is always trying to please the adults around him - especially me. I've noticed he has some anxiety, especially when he thinks I won't like something. For example, I picked out an outfit for him the other day. It was the shirt that he had gotten from "pirate" camp, because it was Talk Like A Pirate Day. He wanted to wear a different shirt, which I didn't know. He put on the pirate one, but came out of his room softly crying. I asked him what was wrong, and he said he didn't want to wear the pirate shirt, but didn't want to ruin Pirate Day, and he didn't want me to be upset. 

I felt terrible that he was so upset about something that was not a big deal, and that he thought I would be angry over a silly shirt.

He is his own person, and I need to recalibrate how I do things, so that he doesn't feel like I am just making him an extension of myself, but rather giving him the space to become his own person.

In addition to all of that, I am a mother of two now, and each child is different. This is something I am learning the hard way. 

My daughter is what they call a high needs baby. She was colicky for a long time, and still has difficulty in the evenings. She spends most meals sitting in her high chair crying and screaming. She is very frustrated by... well... life. She wants to be able to do everything, she gets into everything (this morning it was a bag of flour, last week it was mascara), she screams when she doesn't get her way, and she is ALWAYS on the move. Always has been. She has been teething since she was 4 months old, but only finally got her first tooth at Christmas - when she was 15 months old! That makes for one very grumpy baby.

I am sorry to say that I had very specific expectations for what having a little girl would look like - and so far it's been basically the opposite. More and more, I am learning to let go of my expectations, and let my baby... become.

If she is going to be rough-and-tumble - I need to make sure she has knee pads.

If she is going to have strong opinions on everything - I need to teach her how to form those opinions and stand up for them.

If she is going to be hard to settle - I need to learn what it is that comforts her.

If she is going to feel things deeply - I need to help her learn how to express those emotions in healthy ways.

This is a simplistic story, but one that kind of sums up what I mean:

I've been thinking about Jocie's 2nd birthday party theme, and planning a swan themed party in my mind (and on Pinterest), when the other day I looked at her and told her, "you're more of a llama girl than a swan girl, aren't you baby?" Llamas - they're fun and colorful, a little loud and spit sometimes. And yet, everyone loves them!

I am learning that it is not my job to tell my kids who they are meant to be. It is my job to support them in who they are meant to become. To help them find the tools to achieve their goals and dreams. To be "into" whatever they're interested in. (For the record, I know WAY more about dinosaurs than you'd think!)

This takes a conscious effort on my part. I have to make sure that I am not smothering or stifling my kids with my expectations.

This of course does not mean that I have NO expectations - there are chores, involvement in sports, learning an instrument, being respectful and kind... BUT I am trying to ask more questions and listen even more. I am trying to see my kids as separate individuals.

Every evening at bed time I speak words of affirmation over them. Things like, "You are strong. You have such a big heart. You are such a good friend. I love how you are kind to your sister. You are so brave. I love how you were helpful and showed Jesus to your friend." These are the things I hope to see reflected in them as they grow up. Beyond that... I'm trying to give them an open range. 

I will be here to love, support, research, learn new things along with them, hear their view on situations, and try not to take it personally when they think things different from me. My kids are not made in my image. I don't want them to feel like unless they metaphorically look like me, that I won't be happy with their choices.

So, if you need me, I'll be over here looking up science experiments for kids, reading LEGO manuals, researching anger management for toddlers, not pushing "pink", planning a llama-licious birthday party and drinking coffee. Lots of coffee.

Magnetic Puzzle Board

Happy New Year!

The first week of the new year has consisted of sickness, Netflix binging Tidying Up With Marie Kondo, subsequent tidying, organizing and playing.

As we were taking down our Christmas decorations and I was putting our normal decor back, I realized that I hadn't done a blog post about our magnet board in our living room/play room.

It's one of the things I had planned even before we moved, and I am super happy with how it turned out!

What you'll need:

- 1 jumbo puzzle (I LOVE Mudpuppy puzzles! They have different themes - dinosaurs, animals, maps - so you can totally make it fit the feel of your space!  They're really well made, a great size, and totally affordable.  I went with the world map one, because I love maps, and I wanted to be able to refer to it when talking to Aidan about our move, or when learning about animals, continents, talking about where family and friends live, etc.  You can find the one we got here.)

- Magnet paper - You can find it on Amazon.  It's just sheets of adhesive magnetic material

- 1 piece of sheet metal, OR two magnetic boards from IKEA

- Equipment to hang the boards (We used the Command Picture Hanging Strips, since we rent, and are trying to do the least amount of damage to the walls.)

Directions:

1. Order the jumbo puzzle you want.

2. Cut small (approx. 1x3 inch - changing sizes as you need) pieces of the magnetic paper, remove paper covering adhesive part, and stick them to the back of each puzzle piece, coving as much as possible.

3. Hang your magnetic boards or sheet metal in your desired spot.  Now, with the magnetic boards, obviously there is a seam.  You can decide if you want it horizontal or vertical.  Vertical lines bother me less than horizontal, but that's a personal preference.  If I knew exactly where to find a piece of metal like what I wanted here in Slovenia, that's what I would've done, but this worked out great, too!

4. Complete puzzle on board.

5. That's it!  You're done! 

I absolutely love having such a large map so accessible.  We like watching Wild Kratts, so whenever they are talking about an animal, and where their habitat is, it's a great tool to show Aidan where that animal lives.  It's also helpful when showing Aidan where his grandma, who lives in Ohio is.

Another great feature is that it can come down, and I could have another puzzle ready to go up.  I don't have another one as of yet, but plan on getting one. Aidan loves taking the pieces off, putting them together on the floor, and then back up on the board.  He's gotten really good at it! :)  

My next project is getting magnetic letters and spray painting them black, lol.  They're a fantastic tool when starting reading and spelling, which is where we're headed with Aidan.

Oh! It also worked as a great Christmas card display during the holidays.

And there you have it!  A cute and functional magnetic puzzle board!