A Recap of Sorts

I see lots more prettiness ahead.

I just finished reading Twilight, and El is quite proud of me. I agree with the rest of the world that the book is ridiculously addictive and fast to read and most difficult to put down, but it seriously makes me want to scream and pull my hair out all the same. I guess you just have to read it. I don't know if this review I read AGES ago tainted my opinion of the writing, or whether I would have easily come to that conclusion on my own. I'd like to think that I am that perceptive.

I can't believe another year has gone by. I feel all sappy and cheesy all of a sudden. What am I going to make out of 2009? I have ideas. Dear sewing machine, I promise that I will dust you off and USE you. That reminds me - I must remember to send myself a Christmas card from the photocopier next year and pretend to be shocked and thrilled when I open it in front of everyone. Please don't let me forget. As soon as I publish this post, I am emailing myself at work to add that to my Outlook calendar. Yis. Good plan.

Happy New Year, friends. Eat and be merry. And knit lots. Here's to you!

N

Little Extravagances

:: tea parties

:: reading this book

:: reclaiming the space previously taken up with a tree and all the trimmings

:: eating leftovers

:: watching Prince Caspian over and over

:: knitting at a non-hectic and non-panicky pace

:: laundering the bedding properly

:: family in good health despite the germy atmosphere pre-Noel

:: Sequence




I hope everyone is snuggled in and finding time for the fun little extravagances, whatever they may be.

N

Orange & Pink Crush

I hope everyone had a great Christmas!

My most favourite Christmas gift were a set of six origami parrot ornaments folded expertly by El. She also lent me her Twilight book, so I can be as cool as the rest of the world. Woo-hoo!

B got this really fabulous jar of pop beads from the in-laws, and she hasn't stopped playing with it since Christmas Eve. When she's not making beautiful bracelets, rings and necklaces, she's been popping together families of colourful snakes. There are babies, mommas, poppas, sistas, and bruthas.

I spent the rest of my Christmas afternoon finishing off this slouchy beret. Easy and pretty.

Erica Bear got this 'new' dress for Christmas, and I think she looks absolutely lovely. I took an old baby skirt and threw on some buttons and ribbons and voila! A dress.

Speaking of loveliness, B was our Christmas princess. The orange snowmaggedon shrug fit her perfectly, and she AGREED to wear it! I was over-the-moon thrilled! In fact I see an orange and pink theme here. Weird how those things happen.

Overall, it was a perfect Christmas. Both girls were happy with their handmade and recycled gifts as were J and I! We spent the day lounging about, and our dinner was simply soup from scratch and a warm cheesy quiche. We actually have the big festivities with family this afternoon. The girls are looking forward to more gifts and playing with their cousins. I'm looking forward to turkey and all the fixin's. MMmmm . . .

N

Not a Creature was Stirring

Except for a sock monkey. Merry Christmas to all and from our house to yours, may the new year bring much health and happiness.

Eight Dancing Princesses & A Fairy

She was going for 12, but had only 8 stickers. I am head over heels in love with the princes and the fairy buzzing around up top.

Have you seen this tutorial? It's crazy addictive, and if you are sick of the magazine Christmas trees, try using up your magazines this way. Origami wreaths - perfect for slapping on top of a gift or throwing into a card.

Found my addi turbos (after I dashed out to Michaels for a pair of Susan Bates Velocity circs which are incredibly equal to addis in every way!), and I resumed churning out mittens.

And because I have a 12-year old who whines horribly when I am baking shortbread snowballs, I have probably baked a dozen batches of these so far. They disappear faster than I can make them. I have stocked up on bricks of butter like it's going out of style. This is all T's fault.

Back to the sewing machine. Ugh. I love the finished product when sewing, but I really dislike the whole process. That machine is going back to storage after the holidays. I swear to Todd it's jeering at me from the corner of the dining room.

4 more days to go,

N

Snowmaggedon

I think I'm repeating myself when I say there's nothing better than shacking up inside all day cozy and warm while the snow blusters all around us. I'm feeling equally justified about blowing the Snowmaggedon horn yesterday to anyone who would listen. I've never heard such laughter. I do like to say Snowmaggedon. It's catchy. Snowmaggedon is a GIFT! Last minute knitting is getting accomplished. I baked a yummy simple quiche. Later, the girls and I will bake more apple & pear crisp. Hey, want my quiche recipe? It's really easy.

Basic Quiche

1 store-bought pie shell
1-1/2 cups of cream
3 eggs
pepper
salt
nutmeg
shredded cheese

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In the pie shell, toss the shredded cheese (this is the time to add bacon, ham, broccoli, mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, etc.). Whip up the cream, eggs and seasonings in a separate bowl (I have a handy dandy shakey thingee), and then pour over your quiche fixings into the pie shell. Stick it in the oven for nearly an hour. Remove it from the oven, and let it set for about five minutes. Enjoy!

I started this little shrug ages ago, and I picked it up from the mountain of discarded projects, and I finished it in an hour. Thank you, Snowmaggedon. It will fit B perfectly! I just hope she wears it.

My mum came over after work one night this week, and while our tomato soup from scratch simmered, we beaded 11 pairs of earrings. This, my friends, is truly addictive. And fun for the whole family. When I say 'we' beaded, I mean little B beaded and my mum crimped while I shouted out orders like, "Those two beads with that little bauble in this exact order!!" and "Could you go any faster???". Okay, maybe not that militant, but I didn't really do much but watch the soup simmer. As B would say, "Easy, peasy, lemon squeezy."

Happy Friday!

N

Git yer' Molasses Crinkles

By popular demand, I present to you, my recipe for Molasses Crinkles.

Molasses Crinkles

2 tbsp butter or non-hydrogenated margarine, softened
2 tbsp canola oil
1/3 cup dark molasses
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 ½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground allspice
¼ tsp salt
Extra sugar for rolling

Preheat oven to 350° F.

In a large bowl, combine the oil, butter, molasses, brown sugar, egg and vanilla. Stir until well blended and smooth.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and salt; add to the molasses mixture and stir by hand just until you have a soft dough.

Roll dough into 1” – 1 ½” balls and roll the balls in sugar to coat. Place about 2” apart on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick spray.

Bake 12 – 14 minutes until just set around the edges. Transfer to a wire rack to cool or serve warm. Store extras in an airtight container or freeze.

Makes 20 cookies.