The Fun of Wind Chimes

I love wind chimes. My kids love them too. There is nothing like the sound of wind chimes tinkling on your front porch to make your home seem like a real home. 

The best place to hang wind chimes indoors is where you think there will be a bit of a breeze. This is the best way to enjoy them, as wind chimes that just hang there and never have the opportunity to jangle are half as much fun as though that do. If there is not any bit of breeze or air where you intend to hang these chimes then you can be sure to hang them just low enough so that people can touch them with their fingers every now and then to make them tinkle. 

I love to hold my babies up to the wind chimes so they can play with them with their fingers. Hanging them outside a baby's window can also help them fall asleep as it gives the infant something to focus on them. 

Although it is nice to hang the wind chimes in a way that makes them accessible to people (so they can brush their fingers across them and make them ring) it is also important not to hang them too low. You don't want the tops of people's heads hitting the wind chimes or obstructing their view in any way. A unique place to hang wind chimes is from the bottom of a light fixture or chandelier. This can add a new and musical dimension to your décor. 

Hanging wind chimes in the kitchen is a good idea especially if you get the cast iron kind that consists of many bells. This way you can also use them as a ringer for letting people know that dinner is ready. No matter what size or what material the wind chimes are made of you need to hang them in a way so that they have room to move. This means not hanging them in a corner or too close to a wall.

Wind chimes look very nice hanging from ceiling rafters and in front of windows. If you are planning to hang the wind chimes outside then one of the nicest places to hang them is from an eave or a beam on the front porch. They also look nice hanging in a tree as long as you don't mind scaring away squirrels or birds.

If your kids are old enough you can make nice wind chimes out of old bottles, shells or even paper origami. It is a good crafts project that teaches them about sound as well as balance. 

Where you hang your wind chimes might also depend on how valuable they are. It is probably not a good idea to hang and expensive set of wind chimes made of jade, crystal and copper outside where it can be stolen.

You can get them at the Wind Chimes Store

Parenting Tips
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Just What is Pesto?

Since I wrote my first blog on pesto a few months ago some people have been asking me exactly what it is. Just what is pesto? 

Well, first of all it is a sauce. The basic ingredients of pesto sauce are common to all these recipes: fresh basil leaves, cheese (either Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino), pine nuts or walnuts, garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper. The great debate, and the great fun, about pesto is deciding on the proper proportions with which to combine these ingredients and whether to add any extras. Ultimately, with some experimentation, you can make pesto that suits your tastes exactly.  

Traditionally, pesto sauce is made by hand with a mortar and pestle. Fortunately, we have food processors and blenders, which make the job much easier. Save your energy for other things, like making fresh pasta to go with the pesto.

Pesto can be applied to just about any shape of pasta and other ingredients can be included. Pesto is also excellent in many soups, from vegetable soups such as minestrone. Pine nuts are actually the seeds produced by certain varieties of pine tree; they are found on the pine cones, where they are covered by a hard shell. There are several varieties of pine trees that produce pine nuts, including the umbrella pine or stone pine. Most edible pine nuts grow in Southern Europe, particularly Italy and France, although some also grow in Spain, Portugal, and the southern United States. 

The greatest exponent of monounsaturated fat is olive oil, and it is a prime component of any pesto. Olive oil is a natural juice, which preserves the taste, aroma, vitamins and properties of the olive fruit. Olive oil is the only vegetable oil that can be consumed as it is – freshly pressed from the fruit. Furthermore you can't beat pesto in terms of nutrition. Basil contains iron, calcium, Vitamin A, dietary fiber, magnesium, Vitamin A and calcium. 

Basil also contains the antioxidants that protect human cells against disease and pollution. Basil also contains estragole, linalool, cineole, eugenol, sabinene, myrcene, and limonene, which are antibacterial agents that protect against bacteria such as Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli Yersinia enterocolitica, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Basil also contains cyclooxygenase that acts as an natural antinflammatory. Of course pesto is a good food for adults too.

The beneficial health effects of olive oil are due to both its high content of monounsaturated fatty acids and its high content of antioxidative substances. Studies have shown that olive oil offers protection against heart disease by controlling LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels while raising HDL (the “good” cholesterol) levels. (1-3) No other naturally produced oil has as large an amount of monounsaturated as olive oil -mainly oleic acid.  Pine nuts contain alpha-lineolic acid, which is an amino acid responsible for keeping all of the other amino acids in the body working smoothly together. 

The cheese in pesto is also a high source of calcium.  An added bonus?  The garlic in it prevents kids from getting sick. The best thing about pesto is that many kids seem to really love it, especially if you put it on pizza or on top of spaghetti and call it something like monster spaghetti. 

Parenting Tips
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