So, in my mind I view these updates as different from my Coffee Catch Ups. I feel like in my coffee catch up posts, I focus on the big events. In these, which are more rare, I feel like I share more about the smaller, more everyday, the little things in our lives. What we are doing for joy, the small things, our hobbies. I don’t know if that is what actually happens in these posts, but that is what I aim for.
One thing I have been doing is baking more. With prices at the grocery store getting higher, I have been trying to figure out ways to change our eating habits, by making more and buying less processed versions. I obviously don’t have time to make scratch versions of everything we eat- that would be a fulltime job all on its own, I think. But I have started with some easy, quick things. For one, I “make” my own granola to put on yogurt. That is super simple! Just some oats, maple syrup, honey, cinnamon, whatever bits you want to put in it, and then pop it in the oven for a little bake. I eat this almost everyday for lunch!
I have also been making Wyatt’s beloved granola bars. He loves Kind bars, which are a bit pricey. So I searched online for something to make in place of them. I didn’t find an exact replacement, but I found a recipe for crumbly jam bars that looked interesting so I went for it. The first batch I made was half jam, half plain, because Wyatt is a picky kid with plain tastes. Much like his mother was as a child and still sort of is as an adult. He was not a fan of the version with jam in the middle, but loved the plain version. Mine look like sawdust blocks honestly, but they are so good! They are have this brown buttery caramely oaty taste. I can’t describe it exactly, but they are very good. Even Billy, who is not a fan of that sort of thing, will sneak one now and again. The best thing about them is they only use 8 ingredients and take half an hour tops to make! Some of the ingredients were a bit more up front, but when added up compared to buying actual granola bars it is still cheaper overall, because I can make so many with the ingredients. There is no refined sugar in them either, and while the coconut sugar really isn’t that much better for you, it does have a lower glycemic index so I tell myself they are better. This is the recipe that I use, although I do mix it up a bit.
These are the berry oat bars from the blog The Oven Light. The only things that I do differently are using different flour (I use a white wheat flour), and omit the jam since Wyatt likes them better without. They are super simple and take me no time at all to whip up for the week.
We have also been making our own cookies. I found an awesome recipe for chocolate chip cookies, and it makes so many cookies that we freeze the dough in small bunches to use later.
Later this week or maybe the weekend, whenever I have time, I am going to try making English muffin bread, since we only really eat bread in the morning as toast, and also a different cookie I found last night on Pinterest. They are honey pistachio cookies, and they sound fantastic! Wyatt loves pistachios, and eats them as a snack everyday. I think I will sub the sugar in the recipe with coconut sugar since we like it in the bars. This recipe is from Recipe Yumm.
I have also been keeping up with my embroidery, and with my coloring. I love to sit and color in my cute little book with my new markers while Wyatt paints with his paint sticks. I love these darn paint sticks. Wyatt loves to paint and wants to paint every day – and sometimes it is just a darn mess and a pain to do all the brushes and different paint and water, and well you get it. So on days where I just want it to be simple, he uses the paint sticks. He loves them – and so do I. It’s a very relaxing activity, to sit quietly and paint and color and listen to music. I have my tea, he has his water. I love the simple coloring books best. I don’t want complicated. We watch a YouTuber sometimes who reviews adult coloring books – I can’t remember her name but I will update this when I remember it, or look it up.
Cozy Spaces || Alcohol Markers || Paint Sticks
And then this week, inspired by both Jeanie from Marmalade Gypsy and Lisa from Boondock Ramblings, I have gotten back into my genealogy! I have found out a lot of information, including a little mystery! I had started my family tree a long time ago, before most of this stuff was online, and had a tree of names and was working slowly on sending away for the proof. Well, I was in my early twenties and soon lost interest. I saved everything though, like the little goblin I am, and pull it out every so often and look at it, and dabble. This week though I have gone a little nuts with it. And then I found some information that is super confusing!
Ok so, let me lay this out. My dad’s great-grandmother, Marie, married his great-grandfather, Alexander “Sandy” Walker in 1905. She lists her name as Marie Domaine, and her parents names as James Domaine and Josephine Bernard from France, although they supposedly lived in Pennsylvania, where Marie lived. However, I can only find one of these names, Josephine Bernard. In the 1900 census, a Josephine Bernard, born in France, and her daughter Marie, also born in France (in the same year that our Marie Domaine was born), worked as a housekeeper for a widower named James Cadamore. Josephine was also listed as a widower. Then I find Josephine Bernard later, married to James Cadamore. I find nothing of Marie Domaine or that last name, and no James Domaine. The area is the exact same, the same city in Allegheny county, they have to be the same people, right? But where did the Domaine come from? Did Marie leave home and create a new identity? Lisa suggested that Domaine is her biological father’s name, who if she is the Marie in the census, was born in Belgium. What is the story here? The dates and location and most of the names fit – just that Domaine is weird. What do you all think?
And this is it from me today! I am off to find some more coffee. I hope that whatever you do today, that you do something that makes you smile, my friends!
And don’t forget, we have drop in crafternoons! Our next one is May 24th. If you are interested in dropping by, send me an email at crackercrumblife@gmail.com!
Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs.. 
Oh, those bars look great! I am dying to bake and since Rick and I are both trying to be very carb and sugar cautious, baking isn’t really a safe place these days! But I’m longing to do exactly that! (I love a good recipe you can freeze part of for later.)
I’m excited about your genealogy project. I’m guessing Marie Domaine was widowed by James and later married her employer, James C. If Marie married Sandy in 1905, it’s possible that she left her mother’s home in 1900 (not sure of her age at that time) — for work? school? I agree that Domaine was her Marie’s maiden name and that James died. More often than not in genealogy, they go by the mother’s maiden name, so Josephine Bernard would be her maiden name, married to James.
Josephine B m. James D. / has Marie D. / Somewhere along the way they emigrate from France / James D. dies. / Josephine remarries James C. / Marie leaves home at some point / Marie marries Sandy.
Try to find death info on Findagrave.com — often there is a family tree linking. Look for PA cemeteries.
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She was 19 in 1905. So on that 1900 census, it lists Josephine as Josephine Bernard, the housekeeper. Do you think she used her maiden name then on the census? Or that maybe she never married James Domaine? I am doing pretty good on Familysearch, finding the rest of our family lines. I am totally stuck on these people though.
It’s been really fun and a great distraction honestly to work on this. My dad is enjoying my updates about his family. He remembers Marie Domaine and Alexander, although he met them when he was pretty young. He is going to talk to his cousin and see what information she might have. I guess she had been working on it for a while too.
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Those bars look delicious! I may try them when my willpower comes back! It’s gone visiting. Mike loves the ancestry thing and got back to the 11th century with his. I can’t even get out of the 19th. The trails just seem to stop on both sides. I think a lot of it is the handwriting because the last names on both sides were anglicized. So, the spelling varies so much. I should turn him lose on it!
https://marshainthemiddle.com
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They are soo good! And Wyatt is crazy, they are delicious with jam. They are also good without though too.
I used to get so stuck too – Jeanie told me about Familysearch.org and I have found so much through that website, and it is free unlike Ancestry. You should see what he can find!
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Your homemade foods look so yummy– I do sometimes feel like it’s a full time job trying to make more of the stuff than buy it (and sometimes I definitely buy it!) but I do love that they taste better and I feel like they have got to be healthier too. We had those paint stick for our boys too and I liked the no fuss aspect of them so much. M
My grandfather traced our family ancestry back to the Mayflower but I’ve never done much with that knowledge since I felt like it was done for me… so I’ve never had to piece stories together like you are. I wish I had paid more attention when he was doing it and thought to ask him questions about it.
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I wish I had more time to do it! These few things are going well though, maybe if I get a routine going I can add in some other things. I do feel better about what I am feeding everyone when I make it!
Oh my gosh, those paint sticks are awesome and make my life so much easier. Lol.
Wow that is amazing!!!
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I love a bit genealogical research. It always throws up so many questions and is so addictive!
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It really is!! And this whole thing is very puzzling but I am enjoying it.
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I am going to be trying those bars and the pistachio cookies! I’ve also started trying to make more at home – I’ve been making sandwich bread, and we want to start milling our own flour to use at some point. (Fun fact: my husband and I both came into the marriage with our own hand-powered grain mills, lol)
Genealogy is so cool! That is quite the fascinating mystery – it begs to be written 🙂
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Lol!! I love that you both had your own grain mills!! That always makes me think of the Little House book, The Long Winter, how they had to spend all day milling to make the next days bread. I am sure the ones that you have are more advanced than theirs was though!
It does sound like it would make a good story!
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The bars sound so good. I really should try them. The cookies too!
I am adding some of those alcohol markers to my wishlist.
I still think that maybe Marie took her biological father’s name for her records and that is why it looks like a discrepancy. I’m not sure about the Belgium/France thing though. Hmmmm..
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The bars are so good! Wyatt definitely approves. I make one batch at the beginning of the week and they last him all week.
I love those markers. You will too!
It is just so weird I can’t find anything online that with the three of them or even one of them, using the name Domaine, except for Marie. I can’t find him at all but if he died when they were still overseas maybe that is why.
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That is a mystery – let me know if you need help translating French archive stuff as my French isn’t bad. I’m hoping my Spanish is now good enough to do my own family member from Seville and trace his line back (my cousin got him back to his grandfather but no further because of his lack of the language).
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Thanks Liz!! I may run into that as my French, is… nonexistent other than what I can remember from high school, which is not much. Lol. That is exciting, I hope you can learn more about your family member!
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