Het Gaat Lijk Lukken Bakken

Sometimes it's bad, sometimes good.

Bad: I pulled out of the parking lot at work, got about 1 1/2 miles down the road, looked up: State Trooper. Looked down: 65 mph. @@(%^$(&#. Sure enough, she turned around and came after me. I handed over my license, reg, and insurance. She told me what she'd clocked me at, then asked "Was there a reason for the speed?"

Me: "Nope. Not a good one. I was not paying attention and was going too fast."

Blink, blink, blink......"Well, thank you for your honesty. Slow down, and drive safe home."

*lol* Apparently honesty is a novelty. Srsly? Like there's a point to lying to a State Trooper? They've heard it all.

Good: Seeing my name in print. In the back of Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day. I only test-baked a few recipes, as my e-mail and his didn't play well and I felt bad bugging him about it constantly. But, wow, what a cool book. I MUST go get a copy. ;-) I should have an Amazon certificate or two coming for doing professional surveys.

Elsewise, not much new in my world. I did go get some barley flour, dried peas, and whole wheat berries to do some baking experiments. And John and I bandied about a variety of theories about yeast.

We are back, safe and sound, from FLA.

A good time was had, pink princess ears of various types purchased for the girls, parameters for overstimulation were determined, and generally many things learned.

More to follow as I have the time and inclination.

At the moment, there is a brief panic over not having started my Christmas shopping.

And frustration at not being able to find ammonium carbonate for my gingerbread house.


Grrrrrr......

This is enough of a Dutch area, I'd think something so inherently necessary for Northern European baked goods would be available at least at specialty stores. So far, no dice.

*grumble, grumble*

Must stop off tonight to get the rest of my White Elephant gift for the work party tomorrow.

A la Antoinne.

Or, rabbit pot pie - Michigan style. ;-) Cooked the bunny, made a white sauce with the pan drippings and some turkey broth, added some peas and carrots and pour the whole mess into a casserole dish. Being lazy, I dropped on some bisquick (won't do that again - great-grandma's biscuit recipe is better), and baked. Voila. Dinner. (Or would have been voila, had I not turned off the oven, instead of the burner. Whoops.) Also made the Brewer's Blondies from Baked. Good, but not really probably worth a repeat. Next on the list: Malted cake.

Still musing on a new gown for Masque.

Oh, and needing to tot up my teachers before I run out of spots. ;-) What a happy problem to have!! I'll find room for all the great people who have been so accomodating. ;-)

It's my bed time. Cause I'm needin' the sleep lately. Maybe we'll get the girls in for flu shots this week. Though Mom was fussing at me about something she watched on TV where some "endocrinologist and immunologist" (OK, weird combo suggesting Quack!) who was insisting Thimersol DOES cause autism. *head desk, head desk, pound, pound, pound* Well, guess what, I already have one autistic child and in spite of it I'd rather not lose either of them to the flu!!!

Oh, and I got my new King Arthur Flour catalog today. I'm happily going through it with a marker, making my Christmas list!

No real news on the job front. An odd call or two from various other entities fishing to see if John is worth pursuing. Nice to be wanted. I hope.

Wow, what a weekend!

( Cut, cause it got long and rambly )

I managed to get in to see my Dr. today. You know it's impressive when the quote is "Wow. That is the hypersensitivity reaction from Hell."

So, back on the pred at a more aggressive dose. (*sigh*). Which means I'm experiencing my own personal perpetual summer right now. And an antihistamine. And she gave me a set of the latex-free, powder-free surgical gloves that THEY use. She offered to do a blood screen for latex sensitivity. Which I might go for, later. And siad if this doesn't work, she'll send me to an allergist. Oi.

We changed our reservations at Disney to the Villa at the Boardwalk. I think we might want the microwave, as Rori is still sometimes inclined to want a 3 AM bottle. And Her Highness requires it warm. Microwaves are easier than heating water in the coffee maker and then standing the bottle in hot water. Faster, too.

Still waiting for more info from several places before firming up plans for the Frisian gown. I suspect the brocade is sheer fantasy on the part of the artist. Rather, I think it will be not too very different from the Cleves gowns, but need to figure out the headdress. I wonder if the one that looks like the version from the Anne of Cleves portrait, but black, has any basis in reality? For that matter, has anybody seen a Cleves gown with guards in a color other than black?

1. My husband has a habit of putting dubious things in his mouth, then being surprised when Bad Things Happen. For instance - when you are at a local dive with malfunctioning A/C and the only waitress says "Oh, I didn't think anybody would want soup in this heat. But I can warm some up!" - Do not eat the crab bisque

2. The concept of making a permanent site for Spring Crown/A&S - in the far corner of the Kingdom. I feel loved. Can you say "Principality?" I knew you could.

3. People whose costuming research leads them to do things like: "Velvet is period. Slashing is period. I'm going to make a slashed doublet out of cotton velvet." This will Go Badly (TM). Fraycheck is not your friend here. You can line it and finish all the slashes. But woe to you if you don't. If you really want slashing - wool is your friend.

4. The general nobody-wants-to-be-the-bad-guy tendency to not enforce rules. Why?

5. Why people don't come to understand that willing is not = to competence.

6. The need to make Households into local groups. Clique Power?

7. If absolute power corrupts absolutely... what do power tools do?

I swear, there is a satellite in geosynchronous orbit, and it has a Stupid Ray pointed at the entrance to the clinic. *pound, pound, pound*

I canNOT catch a break. Can't even get out for a decent lunch break without getting dragged back to deal with the crisis du jour. Kitty C-section, broken leg, intestinal foreign body, heartworm positive dog failing rapidly. And on, and on.

I was inclined to be a tad crabby last night, for all that it was my anniversary. Well, John was cranky, too. He was a bit put out that he had to cancel our dinner reservations, as we had no one to watch the girls. Or, more specifically, I put my foot down about leaving them with a strange college intern, even if he got the list from the School. Especially since my house is a wreck because he hasn't cleaned in I-don't-know-when and I haven't had the time. Grrrrrr. But he did make me a nice dinner (or tried to - ;-) He's not that great at steaming veggies without sort of overdoing it. It's The Marine Corps Way (TM).

So instead, we're thinking about Chicago for Saturday, in a hotel around the Indiana Border overnight, then Crown Tourney on Sunday. I will probably regret this, but concessions must be made to Sgt. Cranky. Hopefully both girls will consent to sleep in a hotel room.

Still on the fence with John and the job. Which for now, at least, will be a contract position. Bugger. Benefits are pretty much Shangri-La for me right now. Though I should be able to keep the girls covered and have enough left over to pay cash for my annual exam in July. Just wish we could get John's knee fixed. It pretty much hinders us in doing anything we want to do, as he cannot walk long or far.

Also had some yutz dump off yet another kitten at the clinic. This one with a dislocated hip. So I ended up doing a Femoral head and neck osteotomy, on the advice of the local orthopod. He's such a purr-box, and general doll that I'm having to exercise all my will-power not to bring him home. And I already have too many cats. Anybody need a Special Needs kitty? Very lovey!!

Rori and I went downtown last Thursday. I got her some new Robeez, and a pair of Baby Legs. Struggled long and hard, but may have to go back now and get her some of the cute little hair clips from The Preppy Blueberry. It was a nice day, so I decided to be an optimist and nip into the travel agency for a Disney quote. It should be noted that, Boo being Boo, the Value resorts are sort of out and the whole thing is more complicated - and thereby expensive - than the cute little commercials promise. So she asked when we wanted to go and for how long and yada, yada. Then took my name and number and said she'd call sometime near the beginning of this week and give me a quote. Annnnddddd..... no phone call. At which point I remembered that I tried last fall to get a similar quote from this same Agency's Holland office..... annddd.... again, never got the return call. So, Carlson Wagonlit Travel is now off my list. Maybe we'll try Mouse Fan Travel and see what they can do for us. Not that we can really afford it right at the moment - but hope springs eternal. And I haven't been on an actual vacation since 1996. *sigh*

More later, when I have the Will.

It's been a bizarre couple of days.

The Freaking Virus of Doom has now made the rounds of the house. It's not that severe, nor terribly long acting, but it does sneak up. I spent last evening wrapped up in blankets with the ol' fever chills - and the Hubbs insisting that it was just cold in the house. *eye roll* Feeling better now, but with the wind taken out of the ol' sails.

In hindsight, this started with the baby last week. And hopefully was the reason she weighed in so light at her pediatrician appointment. To the extent that I was told if she doesn't reverse or at least stop her slide across the growth curve by her next appointment, they wan to "pursue it." *sigh* She was only 17# 13 oz, putting her in the 20% percentile. Which isn't terrible by itself, but the fact that she's been sliding down the percentile scale consistently is a wee bit worrying. John did get her to take a bottle of formula the other day. Maybe I should work on shifting her over. Though I think the last bottle was the impetus behind a wakeful, gassy night.

Nobody seems to want to let me sleep. I have, for instance, learned that I must make sure D'artagnan gets a snack before bed. He's not nearly so food oriented as my other two kitties, so he tends to forget about mealtime. However, this mean that around 2 AM he decides he hungry. And scales the dresser next to my bed. And does his impression of a cliff diver. Whilst I..... I am Acapulco bay. I'm against this. So, I try to carry kitten AND kitty food to the dish together before I go to bed. So far, so good.

Illness means no new garb got made. Grrrr. Not sure what any of us will wear to A Day At the Castle - or even if we'll be up to going. If I'm ambitious, maybe I'll stop off at Fields and pick up a little bit of wool and crank out a little dress for the Baby.

Oh, and yesterday, upon pulling into the Target parking lot, we were accosted by two guys trying to sell us a home theater system. They had some story about being up from Livonia (It's 2 1/2 hours, dude!) to make a delivery that had gone wrong and their boss told them to "find somebody cool" to take it off their hands. To wit - they would sell us a surround sound speaker system and console, plus a projector for a mere $400. John was weakening, but I talked him into listening to his instincts. I suspect the stuff was hotter than a two dollar pistol. I even made him go in and report it to security - it didn't seem like enough of a big deal to call 911. Though I did wish I'd has sense enough to grab their plate number before they put the tailgate up to show off their wares. It was a pro-job... right down to embroidered polos and letterhead, plus a practiced patter.

Weirdness. Sickness. Maybe I'll take a nap on the couch in the break room at lunch.

I keep finding so many things I want. :-(

I'd like to make each of the girls a small quilt. Just need a nice throw-sized pattern, preferably meant for using jelly rolls. I think I'll do them up, then let Anneliese pick which one she wants and give the other to Rori.

I think I'd also like to start collecting this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Pyrex-Baking-Dish-1-Quart-Pink-Gooseberries-WOW_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQitemZ360095510011QQptZLHQ5fDefaultDomainQ5f0QQsalenotsupported

Grandma had the old rooster pyrex in Turquoise and white. But this is pink! With gooseberries!! want.

I also want some chickens. Four little layers. And an Eglu(TM). (Go goole). Apparently, however, there is an ordinance against this where I live. John wants to apply for a Special Use permit for "research" since I wanted 16th century chickens. I'm thinkin' they'll tell us where to stick that idea. *sigh*

So, in want of all that... I bought a MegaMillions ticket this morning. ;-)

My attempt at finding the fabric I want locally has, so far, been a total wash. *sigh* The quilting stores in the area have been dwindling, and those still around are rather small. Nor have any of them expressed the slightest interest in what I'm looking for when I ask. "Nope. Don't have it. Never heard of it." Wish I'd had the magazine with me yesterday that I found a full page ad in. Grrrr.

Which led me to maunder on the topic of hip handiwork. Crafts tend to run in cycles. Anybody remember macrame? Around 15 years ago, Quilting was BIG. The quilting book section at Barnes and Noble covered 5 or 6 shelves. There was a quilting shop on every corner. PBS had umpteen shows. But it's star is fading. Which isn't to say that nobody quilts anymore. Just that it's contracted back to it's core audience. Mostly, ladies of a Certain Age. It's no longer in.

What is? Ah, knitting! Go to your bookstore. How many new books are there since the last time you looked? And cute, cozy knitting stores are all the rage. Wood floors, tables to sit at, "sit and knit" nights scheduled. There are at least 2 knitting TV shows that I know of. I suspect THIS trend is reaching it's zenith. The book market is nearly saturated. And, after all, how many people will continue to indulge, once it's not "hip" anymore? Though it's ascendency seems to be helped by the addition of crochet and felting - combining all three techniques to keep something hundreds ofyears old "fresh and new!"

What's next? It would seem to be sewing. With some very simple embroidery thrown in. Anything easy to master and "cute" or "kitshcy" or "vintage."

Now, understand that I have no problem with trendy crafts. (All right, I don't quite understand the mega-success of scrapbooking. Mostly because I SO do not have that kind of time.) And there is a whole generation of women out there whose mothers didn't teach them this stuff. Granted, most of them will learn the bare basics, if that. But it's better than nothing. And they buzz happily from one trend to the next. It just frustrates me that the materials come and go. It also aggravates me to hear "buy from your local store, not online, or we'll go out of business!" from stores that can't be bothered to put in an iota of customer service. Nor express any interest in what their customers want. I'd think that if someone walked into your store looking for something specific, you'd make a note of it. And if you got another person looking for the same thing, you'd think "Aha! This may be a trend!" With sufficient interest, consider stocking it. But I guess it's easier to page through the catalogs your sales reps bring and pick out what YOU like. Then whine that everybody just buys online and that's why you went out of business.

Granted, I'm a bit of a jack-of-all-trades, myself. However, I think there is a quantitative difference between the Hippity-Hoppity craft addict and someone who's proficient at many things because they use them. I can bake. And more than just a Semi-homemade add to a cake mix sort of baking ability. I can knit - lace, entrelac, socks, cables, fair isle. Embroidery? Gotch covered. Quilting - yep. Though I'm pretty much too lazy to actually handquilt something. Mostly because I need that quilt on a bed or in a crib somewhere. I can sew - have been able to since I was around 8.

I just wish I had a way sometimes to steer the trends around to things I like - just so I can find the materials more easily. ;-) However, I have yet to determine how to manipulate the moddish mob. *sigh*