recent knitting projects finally finished!

This is my dear dear friend's new baby, Edith, wearing a hat I knit for her. I felted an old sweater and cut the star out of that.


And here are some fingerless gloves that I was supposed to make for someone last Christmas and just finished them! Which is silly, as they took all of 2 hours tops. Anyway, she'll be surprised!

makes me smile

crepes, part deux

This morning's crepes were quite a success! I bought a steel crepe pan at LeRoux Kitchen last week (thankfully, there was a very knowledgeable dude there this time). I have been itching to try it. I googled Martha Stewart crepe recipes, reluctantly admitting that she has really good baking recipes. That crazy bitch made me strain the batter! Oh, but they were so good. The filling was made with whipped cream cheese and Jon's sister Jenni's homemade cranberry sauce leftover from Thanksgiving. I am going to see what happens if I don't strain the batter next time, as that was a bit of a pain. But, holy cow, yum. Watch out Frenchies!

By the way, the crepe pan was awesome. I can flip the crepes without burning my fingers now.

Some other fillings I want to try:
carmelized apples
something pecan-y
something lemon-y
pesto and goat cheese
something butternut squash-y

Any ideas?

listful (of happiness)

1. I talked on the phone for 45 minutes yesterday to an old friend today who always makes me laugh out loud. I love him. If anyone is single and living in Cincinnati and wants to meet a great guy, I'll accept applications.
2. A friend surprised me last night with a lovely and much appreciated gift. A real set of decent silverware! It is beautiful, and I donated our old stuff to a young, pregnant refugee. Etienne, your gift touched a lot of people!
3. It feels very warm when a child says your name for the first time. Then, they show up chanting your name a week later, and you fall in love.
4. I love my parents. They are fun, youthful, and very hip in their own ways.
5. OK, just knowing these boots exist makes me happy:

wistful

Something about the weather today makes me want to be in Cherokee Park in Louisville more than any other place. (10 less degrees and I would say the Caribbean visiting Daisy.) The just-past-crisp temperature of late late fall and the soft blue sky just beg me to be outside in a comfortable and inviting place. Where better than the park in which I grew up? Cherokee Park has arguably the best sledding hill east of downtown. (A close contender is the Crescent Hill Golf Course.) I spent hours as a child searching for salamanders and crawdads under the flat stones in Beargrass Creek at Big Rock. I love the jigsaw bark of the enormous sycamore trees. And i flirted with germs and disaster barefoot at Hogan's Fountain. As a teenager, my friends and I would lay on our backs on the hill and stargaze, or sneak out onto the horse bridge connecting Cherokee to Seneca and drink beer. I think Cherokee Park is one of the most beautiful gems of Louisville. I can't wait to show it to Jon. I just wish there would be some leaves on the trees still.

when life gets a bit boring...

...atomic fireballs are nice.

i would like my 2+ hours back please

I love Beyonce. Jennifer Hudson has an amazing voice. But Dreamgirls is seriously in my top 10 worst movies ever.

oh, what a slut!

This was sent to me today:

"I wonder if you know how inappropriate it looks to see a young lady chewing gum at all, never mind in front of a TV camera and during a meeting. Young ladies should not chew gum in public.

Please give this some serious thought. We do not need to give the general public any other reasons to comment. Thanks for your consideration."

crepes

I feel a bit bad, today i was kind of mean to the ladies at LeRoux kitchen. I brought two crepe pans to the counter and asked if they knew anything about them. They then proceeded to tell me that one was non-stick and one was steel, which was clearly stated on the packaging. Then they told me that they sold a lot of a particular one. I worked at LeRoux one Christmas, and I can say that we sold a lot of stuff, and that did not necessarily reflect quality as much as consumerism.

Regardless, I am embarking on a journey to learn the art of crepe making (and maybe you might find some breakfast crepes at a certain hill-top market soon if all goes well). I tried this morning for the first time ever, using my iron skillet and the Joy of Cooking. They turned out pretty good for the first time, but the recipe could use some help, I think. And, with a lighter pan, I could get the motion better. I was pretty good at the flipping! Anyway, I served them with cinnamon cream cheese and some blueberry sauce that Daisy's mom or dad made. Yum.

Next I will try checking out Martha Stewart, and Etienne is going to come give me a tutorial. Oh, the dreary, hard work ahead!

EXCITEMENT! DRAMA!

I just found out today that a group founded by Pat Robertson is suing the PPS over this birth control thing! The best part is that they sent a letter to all the committee members (one of which is me!) starting, "Dear SIRS". Apparently when you are that conservative you cannot imagine that a WOMAN could be elected to public office!

Maybe I'll get to meet Pat Robertson! What should I wear?

In the meantime, I love Portland. It is really great to know that most people in Portland can see through this and support us.

um, really?

This, from the comments on MaineToday.com, is why we need to continue to teach science:

"God told Adam and Eve to multiply and fill the earth. His commandment has far yet to go to be fulfilled."

Excuse me? 6.5 Billion is not enough?

Not getting it in so many ways

From www.freerepulic.com, "the premier online gathering place for independent, grass-roots conservatism on the web...working to roll back decades of governmental largesse, to root out political fraud and corruption, and to champion causes which further conservatism in America."
re: middle school birth control and the members of the school committee who voted for it:
"Rebecca Minnick: Member of the Green Independent Party. Plays in a band called Arms for Ex-lovers...Need I say anymore???"


And another from the site:
"I find it endlessly fascinating....parents who would go into vapors at the thought of their child with a loaded gun, have absolutely no problem with provding something roughly as dangerous...birth control and implied permission to use it."