RIP, Good Old Blog

I'm no longer posting to this blog, I'm afraid.  I think about a year of slacking is the expiration point of a blog, don't you?   Thus, the links along the side will begin to fail, and I will blissfully both not notice or update them.

Those of you whom I know and love should already have my contact information, and/or be able to contact me via Facebook  (I know, I know...).  I update my recent projects and photos there.

May each and every one of you have a lovely Autumn and a more lovely Winter.  May fortune find you, come inside, kick off its shoes, and move in to stay.

New Ventures

Tif, Danielle, and I have started up a site called "Novel Props," wherein we will craft items from some of our favorite books.  A broad example of a novel prop would be the One Ring from Tolkien's books, though that one has been created and recreated, so I doubt any of us will bother tackling it. 

My first endeavor was a brooch from Robin Hobb's Farseer trilogy.  It turned out in general as I'd envisioned it in my head, which is a good thing. 

Hopefully this will keep me crafting on a regular basis, as well as giving me an excuse to build a big nest of books and never emerge.

If you have suggestions for novel props, by all means, I would love to hear them!  I'm able to do basic jewelry, cold cast "metal,"  some woodworking, and a bit of needlecraft, so not too many small props should be entirely out of reach.  If I don't have the skill for it, I'll beg Tif for help, and learn something in the process.

Friday I'm in Love

Now, here's a clever t-shirt!

The Super Secret Diaries of Bella Swan

So, to start... I'm not a fan of the Twilight series.  Let me just say that up front.  I bear no ill will toward those who like it, but god knows I can't stand characters like Bella--self absorbed, morose, helpless twit.  I prefer my female literary characters with a little brain and backbone, thanks.  That's just me.

Anyway, knowing this, my friend Tif commissioned a Twilight themed birthday package from a young friend of hers in high school who makes some lovely jewelry over at Etsy.  She'd like to become a writer someday, and I think she has the talent and cleverness to do it!

In any case, the most amusing thing in a pile of amusing things was a beautifully made replica of Bella's very own journal.  I was most moved by the contents, which I will transcribe here for all to see. I was so moved that I had to immediately call Tif to do a dramatic reading.

____________________________

When I opened it, a pile of glitter fell out.  The inside cover says in red marker:

This UBER SPARKLY diary belongs to Bella Swan.  If you don't return it, I'll sick my super sparkly boyfriend on u!!

First entry:

Today I arrived in Spoons.  It's pretty lame here.  My lame mom dropped me off then Charlie - my dad or whatever - picked me up and gave me this crappy truck.  I told him I liked it.  Loser.   Anyway, it's pretty depressing with all this rain.  I think I'll begin my role as the weak 2d character by bitching some more and then crying myself to sleep.
       Later,
              BS

First day of school sucked.  Everyone hates me.  Like, even the teachers.  Good thing I'm really smart and hot though. One good point was seeing these gorgeous, if stuck up, peeps at lunch.  One of them is in my biology class.  What a prick.  I hope he stalks me.
        - BS

Charlie's making me cook and clean.  Srsly, I hate Spoons.  Edward--that one hot guy--talked to me today.  It was magical.  His lips change colors and he ditches class a lot to go frolic.  He also watches me sleep.  How sweet is that??
        -BS

Sorry I haven't written in a while, but I've been obsessed trying to figure Edward out.  I've been like researching everywhere. I don't know why I didn't like see it before.   Pale skin....  color changing lips...  the frolicing....

Edward Cullen is a unicorn.

When I told him I knew, he asked if I wanted a ride.

Of course I did, lol! Right before my eyes he totally changed into a white horse with a rainbow tail and shiny horn on his head.  He began running around, ripping up twigs with his hooves and stuff, saying I should keep away, because he's way too magical for my human mind or whatever.

So we rode on for like ever --which is how long he'll live, BTW.  Nice.
    - BS

PS. OMG HE SPARKLES!!!

A list:

he's hot
he's gorgeous
he's godly
he's hot
he's beautiful
he's made of alabaster
he's sculpted from marble
he's hot
what personality?
he's magical and hot

I'm, like, running out of nouns to describe him!

OMG, hang on I need to go cut my wrists--running out of ink.   (blood splotches)
 Better!  <3,
             BS

Flaxseed Adventures

Well, I tried the whole flaxseed hair product thing today with mixed results. I organized the project implements on the counter: A pot, measuring cups, a bowl, and a fine sieve. In the pot, I put one cup of water and a quarter cup of whole flaxseeds. it may look as though there are a ton of seeds, but they're actually just floating on the surface of the water.



I brought it to a boil while whisking it slowly, and then turned the heat down. It was amazing just how quickly the seeds began to thicken the water. It took about five minutes from start to finish. But here's where I think I went wrong: I left it on the burner too long. Once the seeds began to slow their movement in the thickening water, I should have taken them off. They say you can tell when you see after stirring that the seeds are suspended in the liquid, rather than just sinking right away. I thought it looked too liquidy, so I continued to cook a bit longer. Mistake. You're supposed to dump the seeds and liquid through a strainer into a bowl immediately, which I did. However, the consistency of the liquid was to the point of a goopy, stringy egg white, and it was exceedingly hard to put it through the strainer, no matter how I pushed and prodded. Next time, if I accidentally overcook, I'll use a cheesecloth, dump a blop into it and squeeze it out. I added water to it, and that helped move enough of it through the strainer.



Once I'd strained enough, I saved the seeds in a ziplock bag in the fridge to boil again, and I inspected the gel. It really had no smell to it, so after cooking, I added a drop of cedar essence to it. Apparently you can add any essential oil you'd like at this point in the process. It makes a nice neutral base for a scent, and holds the smell really well so far. I whisked a bit more water into it to make it easier to work through my hair, and voila! It's done.



Now for the usage review: I tried washing my hair using only conditioner, as was suggested by a sister (thanks!). I also found it mentioned on several sites I'd seen about hair health. Apparently if you do that a couple times a week, it strips less of the hair's natural oil. Curly hair is supposed to be prone to dryness, and this is supposed to help. That said, this isn't exactly a pure test of the flax gel because that element of the process is different than usual.

I squeezed most of the water out of my hair and worked some of the flax gel through to the ends with my fingers. It's nice and slippery stuff-- it feels like the silicone hair serums that actually do work on my hair. I usually use two products after washing my hair--one to control frizz (like the serums) and one to hold curl (usually gel or curl spray). I've never found one product that can cover all the bases I need dealt with for this mop.

As my hair dried, I noticed it was really soft and fairly shiny. One other thing that stood out is how bright the color seemed. I dye my hair, and the flax gel seemed to sort of enhance that.

However, within an hour of being dry, my hair was starting to frizz. I went back and added more flax gel, and that calmed it down a bit, but it still is a little less controlled than if I'd used my regular regimen. I'll try using a lot more next time, and we'll see how it goes. It may end up being something I use in tandem with another product, but I do like the feel of the flax gel, and knowing exactly what's in it, so I'll give it a few more shots before I give up.

I could imagine this also being a really nice thing to use on naturally wavy hair... or any hair, actually. It defines just a bit, doesn't dry hard, and is no doubt FAR better for your scalp than a bunch of chemicals. I think it also makes hair color look a bit richer.



You can see the frizz at the edges, and it's more noticeable from the front, but I think the flax gel did a decent job. It was super fast to make--it took less than 10 minutes, so I certainly don't have an excuse not to try again.

Updates and Such-like

It's been a busy month. A busy, busy month. This fella is something we bought a while ago with our tax return, but I love it so, and thought I'd post a bit about it. It's a full 88 weighted keys that feel very much like a real live piano, and the sounds it makes are quite satisfactorily piano-y as well. It has MIDI outs, so I can theoretically plug into the computer and record various things as I think of music. While nothing can replace the creaks and warmth of an ancient, slightly out-of-tune upright piano, this is a perfectly great digital stand-in for now.

Other (not really that momentous) events:

We now have a second car, so exploring a wider area of the city during the day is possible. Thrills! I'd like to do some camera excursions in order to take photos with which to play with HDR and fake tilt-shift photography. I will not let the ridiculously awesome examples of these things I've seen online make me throw up my hands and read a book instead.

Holy cripes! I went to the dentist today. For the first time in...well, a shamefully long time (as in, years). Thankfully, (and somewhat shockingly) there was absolutely nothing wrong with my teeth a little plaque removal didn't fix.

Speaking of teef, this is a sweet little comic I linked from Facebook a little while ago. I really wish I knew where the little ceramic figurines came from. I know they're vintage, but I had no luck finding out about them online.

Speaking of Facebook, that's where I've mostly been in the past while. Because of my lack of time, bite (or byte--haw haw) sized updates are what work best right now. The ability to pop online, check on what people are up to, dash through a sentence-sized updated and be off... is a good thing at the moment.

Projects currently on the go:

I found a shirt I particularly liked the cut of, except that that fabric was super-cheap and kept getting holes in it. So I dissected the shirt, made a pattern from it, and have been working on modifying it to make new shirts. It's actually pretty simple, but I'm sure I'll manage to screw it up somehow. I've done one new shirt so far. It turned out okay for a first attempt, and I see what I need to change next time around. At $1.25 / yd, it's not very costly to make a mistake.

I've also gotten some t-shirts and fabric paint and will be doing some shirt illustrating. Hopefully there'll be something decent enough to post a picture of.

Miniatures: The Boy bought a bunch of tiny Eldar Army figurines which need to be assembled and painted. Since he would like the stategy-gaming with them, and I would like the painting better, guess who's doing what?

Homemade flaxseed hair gel: I know this sounds kind of awful. I was talking to a sister today about exactly what chemicals we dump onto our scalps, and after consulting the Internets, I figured I'd try making something a little more simple. If you've ever eaten a plain Flaxseed, you've probably noticed they're a little ...slippery is a good way to describe them, I guess. It's very slightly tacky, and has a very slight oiliness to it. Mostly, it's just slick. It shares the same properties as silicone, which is in a lot of the styling products I use for curly or frizzy hair.

When boiled, Flaxseed (or Linseed in England) emits a substance that thickens the liquid and makes it usable as a de-frizzing gel. You can cook it to the right consistency, strain the actual seeds out, cool it down, and add essential oils for a nice smell. The flax seeds are re-boilable as well. You can keep them in the fridge and boil them three of four times before they "stop working." If you leave it cooking on the stove, it practically turns into a firm jello, I hear. (Off-topic--I wonder if that would be a tasty base for vegan jello rather than animal based gelatin? ) I picked up some seeds tonight, and I'll be boiling them down tomorrow. I'll try to do picture documentation, and I'll relate my findings.

And now...bed, bed, bed.

Many Happy Felicitations to the Lovely Couple!

Here's a creative way to invite people to your wedding--make little a stop motion film.

Ault Park is a couple minutes from us. I love to see creative things happening in Cinci!

Gnocchi-dokie! (Butternut Gnocchi in Sage Sauce)

I tried my first gnocchi a couple nights ago, and it turned out to be quite a success despite me. Rather than a traditional potato gnocchi, I made a butternut squash version (simply because that's what was on-hand).

Using squash limits you just a bit in terms of the range and intensity of flavors you can add to the sauce--the squash itself is mild and vaguely sweet almost, and it would get overwhelmed by a sauce with heavy flavors. I ended up staying very simple, and it turned out to be really tasty.

One of the great things about gnocchi is that they keep for quite a while in the fridge or freezer. Up to 6 months in the freezer, if packaged properly, I've read. I made these a couple nights ago, and when dinner fell through, I stuck them into the fridge in a ziplock. We had them last night, and they were still great.

Here's the scoop:

• 1 butternut squash (doesn't have to be huge)
• plenty of wheat and white flour
• 2 eggs
• a shake of salt
• various spices to taste--I added a dash each of cinnamon, curry, and nutmeg
• a shake of pepper

For the (clearly very complicated) sage sauce:

• 4Tbs butter
• cream
• pepper
• fresh sage leaves

Cook the squash however you'd like, but without adding water--it just has to be soft. I cheated--I cut it down the middle, scooped the seeds, and cooked it in the microwave, cut side down, until I could easily dent the shell with a spoon. You could also roast it if you have time. I bet it would be even better.

Once the squash is cooked and soft enough to scoop with a spoon, do just that--scoop the flesh out into a decent sized bowl. Mash the heck out of it and spread it around and let it cool down a bit. You don't want it so hot the eggs cook immediately when you add them.

Meanwhile, beat two eggs together until mixed. Once the squash has cooled enough, add the eggs and work them through.

Add your spices at this point.

Now was the time of second guessing for me: adding flour. It took so much more than I thought it would that I didn't even bother putting an amount above. I had a false start where I added when I thought was enough, but it was too sticky to cut, and not a proper dough. Lesson learned.

Start by adding a cup of white flour, then alternate to 2/3 cup of wheat, back to white and so on, until you have a nice, flexible, workable dough. You'll know when you've reached this point--it'll be sticky and awful to try to roll and cut before then.

Meanwhile, put a large pot of water on, salt the water, and begin bringing it to a medium boil. Make sure you have a place to roll and cut the gnocchi, something to scoop them out of the hot water with (I used a large slotted spoon) and a platter or bowl in which to keep them after you pull them out.

Once you have a workable dough, take a golf ball sized chunk and roll it into a snake, and cut pieces about an inch long. Mark the tops of them with a fork so the sauce has something to grab onto. Once you've done this lot, drop them into the now boiling water, and let them cook while you make the next lot. The gnocchi float to the surface of the water once they're done.

Now it's all about a little assembly line involving only you. While the first batch is cooking, cut another batch. By the time those are ready the cooking gnocchi will be ready to scoop out. Voila! You'll be kind of amazed how much gnocchi this recipe makes. I have a whole bag in my freezer still.

Sauce time:

Once all the gnocchi is done, you can package some up for later, and try to get the rest of them as dry as possible. I ended up tossing ours in the frying pan. While the gnocchi were turning a lovely golden brown, I put the butter in another saucepan, adding the sage leaves and letting them bubble away in the butter to imbue it with flavor. Some people might want to take the sage out, but I left them in because they were pretty. I then added some cream and a shake of pepper and let it all bubble together while I plated the gnocchi. I poured the sauce at the table. Simple.

The gnocchi had a subtle, round butternut flavor with just a hint of sweetness, and the texture was chewy and substantial, like gnocchi should be. The sauce was surprisingly flavorful, for how simple it was, and it complemented the gnocchi really well. Gnocchi is pretty filling, so a little goes a long way.

Overall, I'd recommend this recipe if you have the time to invest initially. It wasn't quick, and it wasn't a no-brainer, but I came away with probably three meals worth of gnocchi, and the later meals will be incredibly simple and quick--just brown the gnocchi in the frying pan while making the sauce.

Lovely Things Intermission...

Here's a beautiful thing that I'll be saving my pennies for from Motawi Tileworks. It's been a while since I've poked around their site, but I was reminded of it today, and spent a while ogling their work. They have as many gorgeous pieces of art as I remembered. It would be neat to have the tools to make the frame on my own.

Total Turtle

Remember Oskar the tiny turtle? Well, he's managed not to shuffle off this mortal coil for an entire season, and now that it's Spring, life has become much more interesting for him. A while ago I ditched the coconut husks he dozed the winter away in, and replaced it with an actual dirt and plants terrarium. He's been in absolute heaven. Though, to my knowledge, he's never laid eyes on a bug in his short life, the moment I dropped a worm in front of him, he rushed over to chomp on it immediately. Today I refreshed his bug supply with more worms, a bunch of sow bugs, and a random assortment of creepy crawlies from the garden. He was napping in his water bowl when I dumped everything in, and his eyes immediately went wide, and he immediately leaped out and began chasing things around. As the bugs started finding hiding spots, he began crawling up onto the highest rock in the vivarium, craaaaning his little neck in every direction to catch signs of movement, and then rushing off to snap up whatever unlucky critter made the mistake of moving.

When it comes to entertainment, TV has nothing vs. real live nature.

Arctic Summer

Here's a lovely little piece that shows the path of the summer sun in the Arctic Circle--threatening to set... but never actually doing so.

Thinking of you, Woman North!

Wintergreen -"When I Wake Up"

I know this came out in 2006, but I was talking about it with someone the other day and thought I'd post it.

Here's a neat music video that tells the story of what is probably still the most enduring video game urban myth of all time. Technically, the information in the text in the video is true, but the whole "going out into the desert with shovels" is not something that can be done in real life, since the cartridges were destroyed before being confined to the landfill.

In any case, it's whimsical and a fun little reminiscence. It says, "If you blow into an Atari cartridge, even 20 years worth of sand and grit won't keep it from playing again!"