Artsy Crafty Fun, Fun, Fun!

bah, humbug

This would be very much how I felt this weekend.  I've really tried to avoid shopping this month as I find the mall overwhelming in the best of times, and the holiday season is the worst. The kiosk folks can be especially pushy if you mistakenly make eye contact. And Target is worse, because everyone is looking for a deal and I think that everyone does most of their shopping at big box stores now, anyway. Grump.

Mostly I'm trying to adjust to a new work schedule--M-Sat. one week, then M-Th. the next--and recover from Thanksgiving while at the same time gear up for Christmas. Sometimes I'm there, sometimes I'm not. We haven't set up any Christmas decorations at all, or worked on our Christmas cards yet. The plan is for those to involve a camera and a cat, so we really do need to get a move on. The cat has a little bit to do with the lack of tree, as well. She's so darn nosy! And our tree is tiny--I'm afraid the combination could mean mess and destruction. Live and learn, I guess.

I'm really proud that so far I've been able to stick to a handmade Christmas; we shopped today for the 'Adopt an Angel' program that the library participates in and I don't think that handmade is all that kosher. Plus there aren't too many of my creations that I can really expect people to wear--beyond aprons and such-like. Anyway, the Angel program brought on the funk, I guess. The guidelines for our kids were pretty vague and slightly unbelievable. Also unbelievable is the amount of CRAP being pushed.  And bought. Bleh. Grump.

I'll be back later this week with a happier face and an actual crafty kind of post--I finally finished a couple of projects!!!

***The Scrooge clip art is by Jeff Bucchino, The Wizard of Draws. If, like me, you find yourself lacking both a suitable "real" photo and the artistic talent required to create some cool illustration, I highly recommend using what others have willingly provided. But don't steal! And always attribute! (That's the librarian and over-earnest English major speaking.)

made it!

Today was Part 2 (of 2) of a promotional test I'm taking at work.  It was a "structured interview " and it was mostly horrible. I feel somewhat embarrassed to meet any of the test panel, actually. It was definitely not my best showing. However, I did pass. Not at the top of the list, which is a bit of a blessing. I'm ambitious enough to want the promotion, but happy where I am, too. It's nice to have some time before I am likely to be called up. Still---I PASSED! We celebrated with Thai food. Yum. Pad Siew is my new favorite.

Bread, Barley, and a Burner Fire

So, last night was a little more exciting than I had originally intended. I don't know what stirred my desire for mushroom barley soup, but there it was, eating at me until I found a do-able recipe on Epicurious and filled my shopping cart. Actually, it may have had something to do with the whole eating down my cupboards deal. It wasn't the weather--it's been mid-80s and not really hot and hearty meal weather. Why should that stop me? It didn't.

I had the pot of soup on the stove, impatiently waiting for it to boil so I could add that barley and it did and so I did and then it just didn't stop! Even though I had of course turned the burner down and stirred frequently and all the other things one is supposed to do. The pot was very full. A pound of mushrooms is a lot, especially with other veggies. Anyway, over the sides it went. Irritating, I thought, but not a big deal, once it was under control. Ha! A piece of mushroom had gone over with the broth and was hanging out a little too close to the burner coils (yes, electric; yes, irritating). It caught fire and sent a few lovely flames up the side of the pot while I reached for the potholders and tried to move the pot off the burner but not catch the potholders on fire and of course I had turned the burner off and Michael had the fire extinguisher out which seemed drastic but maybe not and I really didn't want all that foam over and the bread dough and into my soup! And then the flames subsided and I moved the pot and Michael blew out the mushroom and the apartment smelled like a steakhouse. I was pretty glad I didn't have to scrap the soup or the bread---I had been at this endeavor for about an hour and a half and would not have been happy! We took some deep breaths (not in the kitchen) and then the bread wound it's way to the oven and the soup simmered on another burner and we finally ate dinner at 10. Speaking of bread...

I've also been doing more lurking than posting (obviously) and saw Alicia's very yummy looking no-knead recipe. Which takes only 90 or so minutes compared to 24 hours. Not saying I didn't love the no-knead bread the long way around, but I wanted bread with my first dinner, not the leftovers. Wow! This was some good bread. Possibly some of the tastiest I've made--a little sweet, a teensy bit salty and soft inside. It stuck to the pan--I'm never liberal enough with the oil/shortening/butter--and so it's torn, hulking shape was the perfect accompaniment to our flame-boiled soup. We torn off hunks and burned out hands. It was fab! 

Idea Vault

This journal was a Valentine's gift from my dad. He made it! I think it's really great--he used some beautiful handmade paper for the covers and the journal pages are sketch book leftovers he saved from his art room. The pages are blank (obviously) and I'd really like to start a collage journal. I need and want to create a place to free some creativity on a regular basis and also a way to document and explore project ideas.

So thanks, Dad!

Trip Photos

I'll post more about our trip soon, but I uploaded quite a few photos here, which you can also access by clicking on the flickr badge on the left.  I'm so proud of myself for including a badge!  Never mind that all the formatting was already done for me. Now, if only I could get my banner to be truly centered...