ephemera and food
Jan. 4th, 2011 02:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thanateSo, astormorray twittered something with a link to a good craft blog (um... craftpod, some article on net tricks for your small craft business) which I wandered around for a bit and got diverted to tanglecrafts, who does miscellaneous weaving and a zine about it, and then the Hitchhiking to Heaven e-book on jam making, which I'm seriously contemplating. Only I have to get over my wariness of the canning process, and possibly buy a larger pot, since at present I think I could just about submerge 1/2 pint jars in what I've got, and half that would probably be less likely to result in spilling boiling water all over the stove by mistake.
I've also wandered about to several other jam makers' sites (since good blogs stick together, I guess...) and ordered an actual printed book that purports to be good for the beginning at these things: Well Preserved: Small Batch Preserving for the New Cook by Mary Anne Dragan, which also is said to contain a recipe for pumpkin marmalade. Fascinating. In the process of this last, I used up two more Borders' cards (thank you, Discover reward points) and on somewhat of a whim also got The House of Discarded Dreams, as what Ekaterina Sedia has to say about it was intriguing, and it's new enough that the only library systems in MD that have it won't share. And that was enough for free shipping, but I added in a paperback to finish up the second gift card. I was thinking of getting one of the early Dorothy Sayers books, since I only have a couple least-favorites, but decided that the world is full of used copies of those (mostly falling apart, and duplicates of the few I have, but we'll leave that aside...) and I threw that over in favor of getting something from someone still alive to get royalties from it. Of course, at that point the only thing I could think of was that I stopped reading Vorkosigan books because the only copy I have of Brothers in Arms is on the Cryoburn CD, which is just asking for a headache.
Yesterday was spent in quest for a birdfeeder which will not feed squirrels also (complete failure to find the wild bird store, on both my part & the GPS), yarn reconnaissance (I have found the yarn I want to make a huge and fluffy winter sweater, but it may only exist in two skeins in the JoAnn's in Columbia; I ordered some from their website, but I have a sad suspicion that it's the disappointing gray-brown color rather than the cool deep pewter color that was called "flint" in the store and doesn't appear on the manufacturer's website-- how something listed as a new yarn has missing colors I don't understand.), and the acquisition of a nice large dry-erase board with which I intend to start one of those 50 projects in a year lists. Pictures may occur at a later time.
This morning began with plus three to the backyard bird count: a tufted titmouse, several nuthatches and a red bellied woodpecker, and today was nice enough out (nearly up to 50 degrees, and sunny) that I went out and did some of the gardening bits I meant to finish in late November-- pruning of low branches, tucking more of the garden beds in under a nice cozy layer of leaves-- and now I think it's back to shoring up sequins, and investigating whether the VCR is actually dying, or whether it's my Zorro DVDs (hoping not...), or whether the problem will considerately resolve itself and have everything recover the way the microwave did.
Also of note: This just makes me happy. Sprinkles! Cookie art!
astormorray twittered something with a link to a good craft blog (um... craftpod, some article on net tricks for your small craft business) which I wandered around for a bit and got diverted to tanglecrafts, who does miscellaneous weaving and a zine about it, and then the Hitchhiking to Heaven e-book on jam making, which I'm seriously contemplating. Only I have to get over my wariness of the canning process, and possibly buy a larger pot, since at present I think I could just about submerge 1/2 pint jars in what I've got, and half that would probably be less likely to result in spilling boiling water all over the stove by mistake. I've also wandered about to several other jam makers' sites (since good blogs stick together, I guess...) and ordered an actual printed book that purports to be good for the beginning at these things: Well Preserved: Small Batch Preserving for the New Cook by Mary Anne Dragan, which also is said to contain a recipe for pumpkin marmalade. Fascinating. In the process of this last, I used up two more Borders' cards (thank you, Discover reward points) and on somewhat of a whim also got The House of Discarded Dreams, as what Ekaterina Sedia has to say about it was intriguing, and it's new enough that the only library systems in MD that have it won't share. And that was enough for free shipping, but I added in a paperback to finish up the second gift card. I was thinking of getting one of the early Dorothy Sayers books, since I only have a couple least-favorites, but decided that the world is full of used copies of those (mostly falling apart, and duplicates of the few I have, but we'll leave that aside...) and I threw that over in favor of getting something from someone still alive to get royalties from it. Of course, at that point the only thing I could think of was that I stopped reading Vorkosigan books because the only copy I have of Brothers in Arms is on the Cryoburn CD, which is just asking for a headache.
Yesterday was spent in quest for a birdfeeder which will not feed squirrels also (complete failure to find the wild bird store, on both my part & the GPS), yarn reconnaissance (I have found the yarn I want to make a huge and fluffy winter sweater, but it may only exist in two skeins in the JoAnn's in Columbia; I ordered some from their website, but I have a sad suspicion that it's the disappointing gray-brown color rather than the cool deep pewter color that was called "flint" in the store and doesn't appear on the manufacturer's website-- how something listed as a new yarn has missing colors I don't understand.), and the acquisition of a nice large dry-erase board with which I intend to start one of those 50 projects in a year lists. Pictures may occur at a later time.
This morning began with plus three to the backyard bird count: a tufted titmouse, several nuthatches and a red bellied woodpecker, and today was nice enough out (nearly up to 50 degrees, and sunny) that I went out and did some of the gardening bits I meant to finish in late November-- pruning of low branches, tucking more of the garden beds in under a nice cozy layer of leaves-- and now I think it's back to shoring up sequins, and investigating whether the VCR is actually dying, or whether it's my Zorro DVDs (hoping not...), or whether the problem will considerately resolve itself and have everything recover the way the microwave did.
Also of note: This just makes me happy. Sprinkles! Cookie art!
no subject
Date: 2011-01-06 04:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-07 12:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-08 03:03 am (UTC)Want me to mail it to you, since I'm not sure when I'll see you next?
no subject
Date: 2011-01-12 04:35 pm (UTC)Have you got my address?
no subject
Date: 2011-01-13 07:30 pm (UTC)This week and next are kinda stupid busy, so it'd get to you faster if I mailed it.
no subject
Date: 2011-01-13 08:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-13 07:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-12 04:36 pm (UTC)