I have been given the very responsible task of taking on guardianship of Flat Stanley for a short while as he makes his way across Australia. I’m not sure I’m doing a particularly good job of it so far as I keep forgetting to add him to the nappy bag, but then again….I’m not sure Stanley is that excited about sitting in the pram with John. It reminds me of those Pixar movies that have an ‘evil’ child character that delights in tormenting their toys. So….who the hell is ‘Flat Stanley’ you may ask? Apparently it all began with a children’s book written in the ’60s – Stanley Lambchop suffers a flattening during the night as a bulletin board falls on him during his sleep and he wakes up flat. He can then go on adventures via the post as he can now fit inside an envelope, and heregoes his adventure. Simple narrative, but great activity for kids to explore! Basically, our Stanley has made his way here from a child in the United States and has a return “ticket” dated in April 2014. So until then….he can literally go anywhere in the world and report back from each stay via a letter sent back from each ‘host’ family. It’s a bit like having an exchange student in a way and it’s a good excuse for us to come up with some fun ‘activities’ for Stanley – I’m thinking art gallery, Christmas parties, first birthday parties, walks along the beach, in the park, etc, etc.
I really like this idea and it reminded me of some other ‘homemade’ fun we had growing up. I remember as a child, Mum having a bowl sitting in the sink for days that had a deliciously yeasty aroma each time she stirred its contents and added more ingredients. So….I consulted Wikipedia and found different versions of the same sort of thing – Amish Friendship Cake, Herman the German, 30 day friendship cake, etc. Basically, a sourdough ‘starter’ mix is created and shared with a few friends that “feed” and stir the starter according to the accompanying instructions and at the end – one portion of starter is used to make a cake, and the remaining portions are passed on to keep the cake going. I’m guessing that way-back-when, it was a way of spreading yeasty love to those that couldn’t just pop into the supermarket for some Tandaco sachets, but now – I reckon it’s a fun (albeit, daggy) excuse to catch up with some buddies to deliver their Herman and report back on the results!
I think that after we put the laptop to sleep, place the smartphone on charge and tell the kids to get off Facebook, YouTube and Twitter – we look for a way to slow the pace, nuture the senses and teach each other. There are more and more local Farmer’s markets, co-ops, handmade fairs and local interest groups each month as we try to keep grasp of old traditions and pass on pearls of wisdom from generation to generation. This year is the first that I will be making homemade presents of the edible variety to pass around during the Christmas countdown – jam, tomato sauce, lemon curd, spice mixes, bath mixes and playdough. I am buying fruit in season and on ‘special’ and freezing it in anticipation of the things I might create with it at some point. Uncle Trav has kindly started a veggie patch for us for the first time ever and we are looking forward to harvesting beetroot, beans and tomatoes. Who knows? Even Flat Stanley may pull up the first bunch of beetroot for us (and they may well be just big enough to feed someone Stanley’s size!) I’m really, really liking this return to homemade, regifting and ‘paying it forward’……who is with me? Who wants first generation Herman?!?
Mumma Duck Says..... 