Painting is FUN (if it isn't your house)

Sunday morning, while i was chocolate egging, Erin phoned to see if i wanted to come paint later that afternoon. Who could turn down such a tantalizing offer? She and Steve are moving into their first mortgage on Saturday and want to have as much painted and done as possible. We were working on the study and the master bedroom. I spent time rolling on "Sandstone Cove" and edging "Scotland Road." Yesterday i came in and on my desk was the cutest bunny EVER (except Rickki, of course) with a post-it message: Thanks for "hopping" over to help us yesterday. Some "bunny" is very appreciative. Sure, several diabetics just went into shock from the sweetness, but check out how dang cute this bunny is You're welcome, Erin!

Adventures in Easter Candy

My cropping cronies were talking about this awesome mini-apple dumpling recipe from someone called the pioneer woman. While perusing Stephanie's new blog I Know It's Here Somewhere (welcome to the blogospere, Steph) I saw her link to The Pioneer Woman Cooks and went to have a look-see. Great, great recipes with fabulous pictures. (unlike the ones your eyes are about to endure here) I am enjoying reading through her stories and recipes and encourage those of you who love to cook to check it out. It inspired me to try something i've always wanted to do - make homemade Easter candy. You know i am on a tight budget so i went to AC Moore, armed with coupons and (showing much restraint) bought 2 things of chocolate, a microwave safe squirt bottle and the largest egg mold they had. The directions were very clear-cut (and i quote): A. Melt B. Pour C. Chill Really; those were the directions, along with some pictograms. Lying bastards. How dare you tantalize me with simplicity? It was not that clear cut; not at all. Okay, maybe it would be that easy if you weren't me. I decided that the molds were easily big enough to hold fillings. Sure, there were no directions for how to do molds with fillings, but how hard could that be? I have a great recipe for coconut candy that would make a dandy chocolate egg, so i whipped it up and got to work microwaving the chocolate, filling the bottom of the egg molds and then using a paint brush make a thin layer on the sides.This was a mess and a pain, made more complicated by the phone ringing, but i got it done and the mold went into the fridge for 2 minutes (did i mention the endless chilling and heating and chilling and heating...) then it was filled with coconutty goodness and another layer of chocolate was applied to seal everything in (yeah, precision squirt bottling would not be my Olympic sport) And back into the fridge for 10-15 more minutes. Patience not really being my strong suit either, I thought i'd try my hand at a big egg, no mold. Yep. I pulled out an egg pattern from the scrapbooking stuff, put a piece of waxed paper over it and painted on a layer of chocolate with my squirt bottle 2 minutes in the fridge to set and then i mounded up coconut in an egg-like formation and enrobed it in chocolate after it chilled, i trimmed off the nubbly edges and wrapped it in custom colored foil (i love you Sharpie markers). It actually came out pretty nice, so of course i have no picture of it! While waiting on the second batch of coconut eggs it thought Hey, peanut butter filling would be good. Sure, i have no recipe for peanut butter filling, but why should that stop me? I knew i just had to thicken the peanut butter and sweeten it slightly, so why not add some powdered sugar? Of course, without a recipe there arose some proportion and mixing issues. Right around this disaster I decided that there was no one on the PLANET that i loved enough to suffer through any more of the chilling, heating, heating, chilling, mixing, powdering, popping, molding, unmolding, heating, chilling, squirting, heating, AAUUUGGGHHHHHHH Okay. I took a little break, made some calls, and refocused. Deep breath and examine the mess, Niki. I figured out the right proportions for the peanut butter filling and got some of those eggs going. In the end i had 2 big eggs and 32 small ones which though not perfectly perfect were acceptable (after a little trimming) and (I'm going to assume) tasty. All in all i'd call it a good experiment and a learning experience; there are some things you just have to try for yourself. Will i do it again? Well, i'm not so sure about that, though there is a roll of coconut candy chilling in my fridge that i need to use for something. If you are contemplating making your own candy, here are some helpful tips from me to you: 1) having more molds would make it go faster 2) do NOT chill your filling 3) keep the squirt bottle in the microwave (cap off) and hit 30 seconds on 50% power whenever you walk by so that it is always liquidy and ready 4) forget the paintbrush for filling the nooks and sides of the molds; your fingers work way better 5) considering tips 3 and 4, remember that melted chocolate is HOT before you stick your fingers in it 6) skip it and buy the candy instead.

Found It!

Thank goodness i found the smell!!! Remember how there was a crazy, bad smell in my car that i couldn't find? I searched and searched and cleaned to no avail. On yet another round of cleaning i found the offending mac and cheese frozen dinner lodged under the driver's seat. It must have fallen out of a grocery bag at some point. It was actually caught up in the underside of the chair, so every time i moved the seat forward or back to look for the smell, it moved too. I have no idea how long it was under there, but it was gross. Now my car is truly clean and smell-free. YAY!

Halfway

YIPPEE! I am halfway done! I'm working on reading the Newberry Medal books. "The Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children." (quoted from Lists of Bests) Of course a lot of these books feel more like young adult literature, but that is neither here nor there. The Newberry was first awarded in 1922 and there has been one every year since. I read quite a few of these books when i was a kid, but there are a lot of them i've never even heard of. In the summer of 2006 I decided (for some reason i can't even remember) to read them all. This is taking forever to accomplish. I am finding that some of the books are really good, but many of them reflect the time in which they were written and feel dated. You just never know what you're going to get. I am a fast reader and these are normally quick reads, but i really have to be in the right mood to pick one up. I track my progress at Lists of Bests and when i just added I, Juan de Pareja (1966's winner about a Moor slave in Spain who learns to paint even though it is illegal at the time) my percentage went to 50! Finally i feel like i am making some headway. I do so love trackable progress.

The Good and the Bad

You know how much i love the art i see in schools. I love the colors and the textures and the wild abandon that the kids and their teachers put into every piece. Some are beautiful, some not so much. Some showcase true talent, some not so much. Some make me laugh out loud. Good or bad I am often amazed by the creative things i see in schools. I was at a private school in DC when i was struck by the wide, WIDE range that school art can have. In the corner of the kitchen, on top of the fridge was this Oh, paper mache - you are not a forgiving medium, are you? Is this a green goat? A lizard in a skirt? A battle ready orc? A giant paper weight? The ugliest kid in the tall flags section of the marching band? Play leftovers? Something from the world's most twisted diorama? What IS it? Why is it in the kitchen on top of the fridge? On the door leading into the kitchen was this Wow. I love, love that mural. I loved trying to pick out all of the different artists whose styles were represented. I especially love that these 2 pieces of school art are only about 10 feet away from each other.

Geeks Ahoy!

Maybe you saw that for Random List month Kate P did a list of how she knows her husband is a geek. I'd like to add to it. Saturday around 9pm i get a call from Jason who wants to know if i want to wait in line with him to buy a Wii at midnight. Yep. Apparently the Palmateers decided that they wanted to get a Wii for Kate's tv (yes, there is so much technology in that house that they have humongous his and hers flat widescreens). Since they are a bit scarce (most retailers around here get a few at a time and sell out immediately) Jason went searching on the Internet. Turns out that Sam's Clubs were getting big shipments and opening at midnight specifically to sell Wiis. Kate wasn't feeling real well (i'm not saying that was a cover story, but she was still up when we got home!) and he wanted company. Sure, i was in mid-project. Sure, i was losing a precious hour of sleep that night to Daylight Savings Time. Sure, i had to get up at the butt-crack of dawn to go to work on Sunday. Sure, it was just about the geekiest request i'd ever heard. But did i go anyway? SURE! Here he is, buying his Wii and Wii Play (with extra wiimote) at 12:06. though you do have to wonder who's geekier - the guy buying the Wii at midnight or the girl taking the picture of the guy buying the Wii at midnight

Doreen

I have a gap under my front door. Both the metal piece and the weather stripping have been missing since i moved into the apartment. Besides being unsightly, it creates a draft that blows directly onto the loveseat where i sit to watch movies, do paperwork, play games, eat or basically anything i am doing in the living room. Normally i just wrap my legs up in a blanket, but on Saturday I decided that i had had enough. Why don't you have your landlord fix it? you say. Please, service from my landlord is slower than traffic around the DC Beltway. You're pretty handy Nik; just go to Home Depot and buy the stuff to fix it yourself, you helpfully suggest. I am not spending money (even a little) on something i shouldn't have to fix; that's why i pay rent. Obviously the only solution was to make a draft guard. Yep. Make a draft guard. That sounded easy in my head. Let's remember, however, that i am not very good at sewing at all, and this thing would have to be large enough to block that gap and sewn by hand. Piece of cake, says I!

I knew it would have to be sturdy so i decided to use denim; in the fabric pile i found the remnants of an old pair of shorts. I realized it would have to stand up on its own. That would require side panels i decided (as if i had any clue how to sew in side panels) so i grabbed the leg from my favorite pair of retired purple jeans. Finally, I wanted it to be really heavy to block the stupid draft so i needed stuffing with a bit more heft than cotton batting or fiberfill (neither of which i had anyway); look at that pile of old uniform shirts. Perfect

Next for the design. Every idea i had involved some creature with legs. Let's examine that... a) that is WAY beyond my skill level; b) the idea is to be on the ground to block the draft. okay... snake? no. eel? no. really short weiner dog? no. fire demon? maybe. How about just the head of a creature, maybe some sort of door guardian? Door guardian it is! I drew a very (VERY!) basic design and got to cutting. And cutting. And sewing. And cutting. And sewing. This crap was hard, people! More cutting, more sewing, etc. Do you have any idea how long it takes to cut a polo shirt into 1 inch strips? Of course, there was no measuring in this design. I don't know enough about sewing and seam allowances (whatever they are) to need to measure.

As it started to take shape, she slowly took on her own personality. All of the exposed seams (that would be about 50%) were done in dark purple thread to contrast with the light denim. Eyes of vintage purple and AB crystal beads, cute triangular faux mother-of-pearl nose from Grandma's button box and a bright pink Sharpie smile. Of course, there had to be hair so i used 2 different fibers with purple components. Don't even ask how i got it (mostly) evenly distributed and sewn into her head seam. A little scissor action so that she could rock the bangs and we can all see her eyes and Voila - DOREEN! She's lopsided, lumpy and a bit homely. But she has bright eyes, always smiles and is perfectly capable of guarding my door and blocking that draft. Take that, ditzy landlord lady!

Paging Dr Bunyan, Dr Paul Bunyan

Team member Rob and I found this awe-inspiring statue outside of a medical complex in Delaware. What else do i need to say?

knit hat

With knitting being such a popular hobby there has been an upswell in the popularity of knit accessories. You can't go anywhere without seeing scarves and hats. Several of the blogs I read have featured knit hats. It is quite fashionable to wear them as full time accessories, not just to go out and play in the snow. I just never really saw the appeal of the knit hat. Last month when i was helping to clear out the antique store there was a knit hat that was being thrown away. I snagged it because there are several team members who currently rock the knit accessories. I wanted to wash it first (cause who knows how much dust was in it) and as it was drying I noticed that it is the same shade of teal of a tank top i own. And a purse. And a sweater. And another sweater's stripe. And a T-shirt. And a v-neck shirt. And a pair of bead earrings. In fact, i realized it was the same color as a lot of things that i own, so i kept it. Saturday night i was wearing the tank top with the striped sweater over it (and the earrings, in fact) so i thought maybe i should try the hat. I have to admit that it looked pretty cute. The picture proves that i need a roommate because i take awful pictures of myself, but it also shows the awesome knit hat. (and yes, i did enjoy playing with Picasa to get the focal B&W)

March Madness

No, it isn't a post about basketball; instead, it's the March weather in Maryland that is mad. Yesterday I was lying in bed enjoying that lazy feeling of waking up without an alarm clock for a change when i thought What is that sound? I listened hard and realized that there were birds singing outside of my window. BIRDS! It was the first time i have heard them singing by my window since November; it was 18 degrees 5 days ago. It was glorious and sunny yesterday and today. That means that it will snow next week. For most of the world March is "In like a lion, out like a lamb" but here in Maryland it can easily be the other way around. I intend on enjoying the proto-Spring while it lasts.