Having found myself with a wee bit of free* time, I poked around on a very VERY dangerous website: Craft Gawker! But wait! Don't click that link just yet... If you have any inclination towards crafting, be it knitting, photography, quilting, printmaking, painting, jewelry making, sewing, paper crafts, etc consider yourself warned. This site will suck you and and swell your crafty soul with so many ideas for wonderful projects that you will be tempted to quit your job, bid your friends and family goodbye and lock yourself in your craft room for days at a time! If you think you're strong enough to resist this temptation, or at the very least manage your impulses, then by all means grab a cup of tea and gawk away at some beautiful crafts. I, for one, pretend to believe that I can manage my entirely unreasonable number of projects-to-be, and have now added yet another to the ever-expanding list: quilted wallets!
I've also stumbled across a few other fun crafty blogs and sites, and added them to my "Craft Related Links" in case you're interested.
*by "free" time, what I really mean is: time that is not spent on 1. one of the several projects that I have started but not yet completed 2. contemplating the many projects that I have considered but not yet started or 3. all those other things that I could/should be doing to maintain some sort of normal life (such as laundry, sleeping, playing with Harley... oh, and working).
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Care Package 27 & 28: Slacker....
I have to say, I'm somewhat disappointed in my performance for the last two care packages. They lacked my usual creativity and flare. However, in my defense, I do have fairly reasonable excuses.
On Saturday, May 8 my sister came up to visit me. We had a great time hanging out and catching up Saturday night. On Sunday my back was feeling much better after two chiropractic adjustments and I decided that Harley was in need of her usual Sunday morning bath. Unfortunately, lifting a 65 pound reluctant dog into a bathtub and spending 20 minutes hunched over bathing said dog effectively killed my back.
Now, I have a fairly high tolerance for pain, but I have never felt pain like this. Ripping all the soft muscle tissue in my foot while jumping off a 50 foot bridge and cannon-balling into nearly-freezing water was a mild discomfort compared to this (hey, it was college, what can I say?). Having a wisdom tooth cracked out of my skull before the Novocaine kicked in was nothing compared to this. Spending over an hour with a tattoo gun grinding on my spine would be considered tickling next to this.
My wonderful, awesome and totally amazing chiropractor actually came into his office on Mother's Day for an emergency adjustment that knocked the pain down from "excruciating" to "just about bearable" and I was able to spend the rest of the night flat on my back without crying constantly. As such, putting around the kitchen to whip up some goodies was out of the question. Not to be discouraged, I did manage to pack up a handful of Nature Valley granola bars into a box and get it in the mail on Monday after another round of chiropractic care. As they say, it's the thought that counts, right?
As for this weeks care package, I was in Connecticut this weekend and didn't have access to my kitchen until late Monday evening. I did have lofty plans to try a new oatmeal cookie recipe, but was short a few key ingredients. So another trusty package of Trail Mix is on its way to Brian as I type. This batch of trail mix, however, has a very special addition: chocolate covered sunflower seeds!! These are one of my all-time FAVORITE snacks and it took an amazing amount of self control not to eat every last one of them. Seriously, I would make myself sick on these things if I had just a wee bit less self-control.
So there you have it: my somewhat reasonable excuses for being a slacker in the creative care package department. Brian will be heading home soon for two weeks R&R, so I may be taking a bit of a hiatus in the baking arena. But stay tuned, I have a really great idea for what to send him when he ships back out!
On Saturday, May 8 my sister came up to visit me. We had a great time hanging out and catching up Saturday night. On Sunday my back was feeling much better after two chiropractic adjustments and I decided that Harley was in need of her usual Sunday morning bath. Unfortunately, lifting a 65 pound reluctant dog into a bathtub and spending 20 minutes hunched over bathing said dog effectively killed my back.
Now, I have a fairly high tolerance for pain, but I have never felt pain like this. Ripping all the soft muscle tissue in my foot while jumping off a 50 foot bridge and cannon-balling into nearly-freezing water was a mild discomfort compared to this (hey, it was college, what can I say?). Having a wisdom tooth cracked out of my skull before the Novocaine kicked in was nothing compared to this. Spending over an hour with a tattoo gun grinding on my spine would be considered tickling next to this.
My wonderful, awesome and totally amazing chiropractor actually came into his office on Mother's Day for an emergency adjustment that knocked the pain down from "excruciating" to "just about bearable" and I was able to spend the rest of the night flat on my back without crying constantly. As such, putting around the kitchen to whip up some goodies was out of the question. Not to be discouraged, I did manage to pack up a handful of Nature Valley granola bars into a box and get it in the mail on Monday after another round of chiropractic care. As they say, it's the thought that counts, right?
As for this weeks care package, I was in Connecticut this weekend and didn't have access to my kitchen until late Monday evening. I did have lofty plans to try a new oatmeal cookie recipe, but was short a few key ingredients. So another trusty package of Trail Mix is on its way to Brian as I type. This batch of trail mix, however, has a very special addition: chocolate covered sunflower seeds!! These are one of my all-time FAVORITE snacks and it took an amazing amount of self control not to eat every last one of them. Seriously, I would make myself sick on these things if I had just a wee bit less self-control.
So there you have it: my somewhat reasonable excuses for being a slacker in the creative care package department. Brian will be heading home soon for two weeks R&R, so I may be taking a bit of a hiatus in the baking arena. But stay tuned, I have a really great idea for what to send him when he ships back out!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Connecticut Revisited
I didn't think that I would be able to get back to Connecticut to visit my friends anytime this year. Scheduling and money were the big barriers, certainly not a lack of desire. However, fortune smiled on me and I was invited at the last moment to participate in a Cities for Financial Empowerment meeting in Providence, RI. These people do amazing work and I was very excited to join them. And, since I was going to be in the area anyway, I decided to spend a few days trying to catch up with some of my friends!
I had breakfast with the Chominski clan. Nolan is the latest addition and at 4 months he's a handful!
Do these three look like trouble or what? I describe Jenny and Karen as two of my oldest friends: the kind of friends you'll never let go...because they have too much dirt on you! We spent hours talking and laughing and picking on each other. It was like I never left.
Reagan, Sammy and Hannah kept each other occupied while the girls and I caught up. It never ceases to amaze me how fast kids grow...
Julie and I got to catch up over dinner and enjoyed a stroll through Wilcox Park. I dearly miss living just a short walk away from her and all the fun times we shared. Thankfully, Julie is great at keeping in touch and, again, it's as if I never left.
I also got to visit with Diana and Carolyn, two of my former co-workers. These ladies always make me smile, and hearing about all the changes around the old office made me so glad that I took this job in GA! And there's no way I could come to CT and not go home to the Saporita's. A part of me feared the visit would be bitter sweet, scratching the scab off of our losses. But I should have known better. Though it will always stir up the memory of Jen and mom, I can never feel anything less then joy and love when visiting my adoptive family. On the way out of town I got to check in with my friends at the Inn at Stonington, which I'm happy to say has not changed a bit! There were far too many people that I didn't get to see this trip. Hopefully next time I'll have more than two days...
I couldn't have asked for better weather for my weekend getaway. Spring was in full bloom and I got to sample a taste of one of my favorite New England seasons.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Care Package 26: Belated Cinco de Mayo and a new quilt project
Cinco de Mayo is one of those semi-holidays in my book. Not to detract at all from the historical significance that this day holds for many people. I was just at a bit of a loss as when trying to come up with an adequate Cinco de Mayo themed care package. Salsa and chips was the easy choice...except that the salsa jar might break and the chips almost certainly would. I even thought about sending all the fixings to make burritos (wraps, salsa, refried beans) but again with the jar breaking. And something told me that tequila and limes wouldn't be such a great idea either. My problem was solved when I stumbled across these Jalapeno flavored peanuts from the Carolina Nut Company! I was too wimpy to try them myself, but thought Brian would probably enjoy them.
I've also been making some progress on an really cool quilt pattern! I am using a bunch of the batik fabrics from Mom's stash to make a cracker box patterned quilt. Below is a picture of the work in progress. I absolutely LOVE strip-piecing quilts! Not only does it seem to go together so much quicker, but it also allows for an almost mindless meditative repetition. Plus, it helps me stay focused by working on just one step at a time. When it comes to me and projects, focus means less room for mistakes! 
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Savannah Scavenger Hunt!
So, I have had this great craft project idea in mind for months: take pictures of things around Savannah in the shape of letters, then use those pictures to spell things out. For example, this dragonfly door knocker would make a great capital letter T.
The only problem is I have never found the time to take enough pictures to make this project happen! In a rare moment of genius, I figured out an excellent solution: have my very fun and creative friends do the bulk of the work for me!
Today was a gloriously beautiful Savannah Sunday, and 8 of my awesome friends showed up for a light brunch and a Savannah scavenger hunt. Armed with cold water (did I mention that it was nearing 90 degrees today?) and digital cameras, they had an hour to try to find as many letter-shaped plants, buildings, fences, etc. I'll still need to do some editing and PhotoShopping to cobble the projects together, but here are a few of their finds:
See, it's never too early for a crafter to start thinking about Christmas presents! Care Package 24 and 25: Fruit Bars and Granola Cookies
I think I've been doing pretty well at sending healthy snacks the past few weeks. It helps that I've been cutting back on sugar myself. I'm not craving sweets, so I don't need to use Brian as an excuse to bake sugary things!
For the 24th care package, I whipped up another batch of Oasis Fruit Bars using pineapple, mango, cranberries, plums, apricots, pumpkin seeds and walnuts. This recipe is awesome and can easily be adapted depending on what type of fruits/nuts you have around the kitchen. I hope everyone enjoyed this batch as much as they did the last one!
The base is super simple:
1/2 C brown sugar
2 TBS butter
2 Eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 C wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
Blend these ingredients together then add in a total of 3 Cups of any fruit/nut combo that strikes your fancy. Press the dough into a 9x13" baking pan and bake at 325 for 35 minutes.
Last week I branched out and used a different cookbook to whip up a batch of Granola Cookies. I'm pretty happy with this recipe, though the cookies came out a lot more chewy than I imagined.
Granola Cookies
1/2 C butter
1/2 C brown sugar
1/3 C peanut butter
1 egg
1/2 C wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
2 C granola cereal
1/3 C raisins
1/2 C chopped walnuts
Cream together the butter, sugar, peanut butter and egg. Stir in the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt and mix well. Add the granola, raisins and chopped walnuts. Drop rounded tablespoons of batter onto a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes.
For the 24th care package, I whipped up another batch of Oasis Fruit Bars using pineapple, mango, cranberries, plums, apricots, pumpkin seeds and walnuts. This recipe is awesome and can easily be adapted depending on what type of fruits/nuts you have around the kitchen. I hope everyone enjoyed this batch as much as they did the last one!
The base is super simple:
1/2 C brown sugar
2 TBS butter
2 Eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 C wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
Blend these ingredients together then add in a total of 3 Cups of any fruit/nut combo that strikes your fancy. Press the dough into a 9x13" baking pan and bake at 325 for 35 minutes.
Last week I branched out and used a different cookbook to whip up a batch of Granola Cookies. I'm pretty happy with this recipe, though the cookies came out a lot more chewy than I imagined.
Granola Cookies
1/2 C butter
1/2 C brown sugar
1/3 C peanut butter
1 egg
1/2 C wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
2 C granola cereal
1/3 C raisins
1/2 C chopped walnuts
Cream together the butter, sugar, peanut butter and egg. Stir in the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt and mix well. Add the granola, raisins and chopped walnuts. Drop rounded tablespoons of batter onto a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)