A Money Gift

We usually give a check for the kid's birthday.  This year is a special one, and since the check tends to sit uncashed for months, we thought about giving cash.  But how to do it?  In a card? Just hand it out?

A web search found a solution.  Origami money.  Oh, yeah, but you need talent for that.  And the ability to follow complicated directions.  That's a smallish problem.  We tried quite a few samples we found online - hearts, chains, boxes.  Sigh.  But this one turned out quite well and was surprisingly easy.

Fold the sides toward the center.

Fold the bill in half to make a crease.

Fold the corners to meet the center crease.

Fold the top to the center crease.

Fold the bottom to the center crease.

Fold it in half along the center crease.

Put three or four together.

Fasten at the center.

Gently open the petals.

And the final product.

The Berries have Started!

The red currants have been picked.

 With a little help from Tommy.

They have been juiced.  Some of the juice was mixed with lemonade.  And some made a deliciously tart sangria with white wine.  The rest is in the freezer.

The black currants have not been picked.  In prior years we have experimented with making black currant wine, but we decided it is too musky for our taste.  We dried the berries one year - took forever and that was just not worth the effort.

We will offer the fruit to friends who can appreciate it (and pick. . .).

Today was the first of the raspberries.  

Picked a quart and a half.

Made juice.

The season has begun. . .