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March 2008

March 31, 2008

Hail, King Arthur

1203026319_kaf_3c_fh Do yourself a favor and take a look at the King Arthur Flour blog Baker's Banter.  It features well-illustrated recipes and baking techniques.  http://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/ 

One thing I wasn't aware of is that the company is an employee-owned concern.  That explains the family vibe the company exudes.  If you are disappointed with the way your baking is turning out, you might consider trying this brand.

My favorite aspect of this well-written blog is the descriptions of the inner workings of the King Arthur test kitchen.  I'd love to take one of the classes they offer. 

March 30, 2008

I Went to Virginia for a Dog With No Name

She's as cute as a button:Ytnfmarch08_120 Ytnfmarch08_122

Her temperament could not be sweeter.  We hit the road yesterday at 8:00 am.  My husband loves a challenge, especially when he issues them to himself.  He wanted to zip from Niagara Falls to Virginia as quickly as our Civic Hybrid could take us.  We were in Wytheville, Virginia at 4:00 pm.  The nicest girl (who was the dog's foster mother) arrived almost immediately after us.  She's from South Carolina and would have kept the dog, but she currently has 9 dogs.  Sounds extreme until you find out that she lives in a house at the end of a dirt road and people have the alarming habit of dropping off unwanted pets.  ( If you understand how someone could do that, I beg you to let me know.  I have tried, but I just can't imagine how anyone could do such a thing.  And, if you'd do it to a dog, as far as I'm concerned you'd do it to a child or an elderly person.  I could go on forever but I'm sure any decent human being has the same feelings)

Anyhoo... we had a happy, uneventful ride home.  We ended up being on the road for twenty hours in all.  When we got home at 3:00am, we were ready to go to bed.  I thought the dog should go outside one last time before we hit the sack.  In my tired state, I opened the door and then tried to put the leash on.  The dog, being a dog, bolted.  (Insert primal scream here)  All I could think was that my husband would never get past driving for that long and ending up with no dog to show for it.  Then I pictured this poor creature being scared and confused and not understanding the snow on the ground.  I ran down toward the river because I heard the the Canada geese raising a ruckus.  No dog.  I went out on the frozen river with a high-beam flashlight to look for the poor dog.  Picture this (sans baby):Elizacrossingtheriver

After an hour, I found her by the woodpile.  I have n-e-v-e-r been so relieved in my life to see anyone.

Well she's home forever now.  She doesn't have much of an appetite.  My husband remarked that we've never had a pet with ribs before.   As it happens, she has bonded with my husband.  She likes me well enough, but she seems to really like men. 

I can't decide on a name for her.  It's down to Penny, Dolly or Betty.  She responds to none of the above.  I'm so happy to have her.

March 28, 2008

Tomorrow's a Big Day

1439135601_1601cf07c5_o Tomorrow morning I hit the road to go pick up my new dog.  The first leg of her trip is from South Carolina to Virginia.  That's where I pick her up.  It's an eight-hour drive.  I'm looking forward to seeing a little bit of spring on this trip.  We had a couple of inches of s-n-o-w last night.

March 26, 2008

Another Proud Moment

Edwardgorey_2 I've been working for twenty years.  Today marks a miserable first for me.  One of the endless charms of my work situation is the fact that I have nine, count 'em, nine bosses to whom I am accountable.  Today one of them sent me a sharply-worded email about an overdue report.  Naturally  that person had to cc it to all the other bosses.  I was so upset that I called the boss I felt was most salient to this situation (not the email sender, by the way) and proceeded to have a full-blown crying jag on the phone as I attempted to apologize.  The woman was more than kind to me.  Of course I was mortified, humiliated and ashamed.  How I will look that woman in the eye ever again, I do not know. 

As I was driving home, I proceeded to have another meltdown.  Only then did it occur to me that today is the anniversary of my father's death over twenty years ago.  (That's right, he passed on the day after my birthday) He died very young and unexpectedly.  The fact that the anniversary date was coming up had passed through my mind a few times recently, but I had told myself that this year I wasn't going to let it upset me.  That little plan worked just swell, didn't it?  I was perversely pleased that my sobbing had at least a thread of logic to it.

Now the only part left to deal with in this little drama is the little meeting I'm sure the emailing boss has planned for me tomorrow.  ARGHHHH! 

*Edward Gorey illustration.  I love his work.

March 25, 2008

Happy Birthday to Moi

I was very kind to myself this year - I bought myself a print gocco (it took only one week to get here from the Land of the Rising Sun!)  and a portable DVD player.  "To me, from me" is the best policy for this woman of a certain age.Silouettegirlpinkflowers

March 24, 2008

Sto Lat!

Long Life! (in Polish).  Today is Dyngus Day.  It's a pretty big deal in the Buffalo area.  It has the same vibe as St. Patrick's Day, but it is mostly celebrated by the Polish-American community.  A friend and I went to one of the parties today.  We were just about the only non-Poles in attendance, but it didn't matter.  Tradition dictates that men and women throw water at each other and then swat each other with pussy willow branches.  I kid you not. It stems from how thrilled people were that Lent had ended and people could have a little fun.  Typically, these days, the day is spent feasting on Polish specialties and enjoying polka music and watch beautifully-costumed dancers go through their paces. I went in the early afternoon.  The hard-core revelers get going around 5:00pm.  A lot of folks take Tuesday off to recover.  I'm so glad I went.Ytnfmarch08_117

I swiped these from a vacant lot next door to my grocery store.  I do it every year.  It makes me feel as though spring might actually happen someday.Ytnfmarch08_089

The Chopin Society singers.  They treated us to folk songs in Polish.Ytnfmarch08_100

I can't tell you how much I want one of those skirts! I would go twirling through the halls at work.  People would be impressed.Ytnfmarch08_104

I think this hat would suit me.Ytnfmarch08_119

I got this dolly last summer from Ebay.  After seeing the dancers' costumes I can appreciate how accurate all the details are.  I still love playing with dolls.

Easter Treats

I wanted to show off two of my favorite Easter recipes.  The first is Easter Bread.  All it is is a rich dinner roll recipe with butter and eggs  jazzed up with orange and lemon zests and copious amounts of anise flavor.  After the first rising, the loaves are formed and a colored, hard-boiled egg is plunked in the center.  After baking, it is glazed and sprinkled with hundreds and thousands.  I left one loaf unglazed to use for the most heavenly toast you can imagine.Ytnfmarch08_082_2 Ytnfmarch08_116

The other recipe I tried for the first time this year is a savory ricotta pie.  The dough is a pizza crust recipe and the filling is ricotta, mozzarella and pecorino cheese.  Kind of like the cheese mixture in a lasagna.  It was delicious, and if I say so myself, pretty as a picture.Ytnfmarch08_084

All I can say is that yesterday I went through seven pounds of King Arthur flour, two dozen eggs and two pounds of butter for yesterday's baking.

March 23, 2008

Happy Easter

Joyfuleasterholidayseaster62721

Happy Easter!  I hope the day brings peace and blessings to all.

March 21, 2008

Tundra Swan on the River

2swan Here is a Tundra Swan I spotted in my back yard.  Presumably, it is looking for a mate, because at long last, spring is coming.

March 20, 2008

Wool Bunny

                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Pompombunny_028 Here's a sweet little spring bunny made with wool fleece and pom pom makers.  There is a small amount of wet felting involved, too, in making the ears, eyes and nose.  There is a tradition of making pompom animals in Europe and South America. This little critter is made in that tradition.  School-aged children can make this if given help with the sharp scissors and the sewing parts.

Materials: Less than an ounce of bunny-colored fleece, small amount of black for eyes and pink for nose, sewing thread and yarn to match body color (not pictured)

Equipment:  pompom makers from the craft store (read the directions that come with the forms, you will be using wool fleece instead of yarn, but the technique is the same), sharp scissors, a 3" doll making needle, a sewing needle, warm water with a squirt of liquid soap, a 12" square of bubble wrap (not pictured) and access to a sink.Pompombunny_013_2 Pompombunny_014_2

Pompombunny_015_2 Pompombunny_016_2 Pompombunny_017 Pompombunny_018 Pompombunny_019 Pompombunny_020

Method: Divide your bunny-colored fleece.  You will need one-third of it for the body, one third for the head and tail pompoms and one-third for the wet-felted ears. Take the fleece for the body and split it in two.  Cover each half of the largest pompom form with the fleece.  Take the time to cover the form evenly.  Clip the two sections of the pompom form together and use the scissors to cut the fleece as indicated.  Cut an 18" length of the yarn and tie the center of the pompom with several knots.  What a pretty pompom!

Using the next size smaller and the smallest size of the plastic forms, make two more pompoms.  Leave yarn tails long so they can be used to tie the pompoms together.  Tie the head and body together, thread the yarn in the long doll making needle and run the yarn tails through the body.  Now take these four strands of yarn and tie the tail pompom on.  Make the knots sturdy.  The trick here is to have the pompoms tied together tightly enough to look like a bunny, but not tight enough to make it too bunched up.  Trim the yarn tails so they are not visible.Pompombunny_021 Use the scissors to trim the bunny flat. Pompombunny_022_2 Pompombunny_023 Pompombunny_024

Now it is time for wet felting.  You will need to make a small sheet of felt to make the ears and wool beads for the eyes and nose. Take the bubble wrap and lay out some wool with the fibers laying north to south.  The next layer is East to West.  Repeat these layers.  I laid out six layers in all.  Sprinkle the fleece with warm soapy water.  Pat the wool to insure that it is wet, but not dripping.  Lay another layer of bubble wrap over your now-wet wool and rub.  The bubble wrap causes just enough friction to cause the wool to felt.  After just a bit, your fleece should turn into felt.  When you are sure that it will hold together, take it top a sink and rinse it, alternating hot and cold water.  You should feel the wool get harder when you do this.  Blot off the water with a towel.  Let dry.Pompombunny_004 Pompombunny_005 Pompombunny_006 Pompombunny_007 Pompombunny_008 Pompombunny_009

Make the wet-felted beads for the nose and eyes.  Take some fleece and form a little ball, like winding yarn into a ball.  Dip this into soapy water and roll it between your palms, in the manner of making cookies.  The wool should form a ball the size of a small marble.  For the nose, roll the bead in such a way that an ellipse shape is formed.  The eyes should be round.  Cut ear shapes from the flat felt.  Sew the ears, eyes and nose into place.  As you stitch, make sure you go deeply enough into the pompom to have the stitch run through the center of the pompom in order to secure the sewn-on parts.Pompombunny_010 Pompombunny_011 Pompombunny_012 Pompombunny_026

Happy Spring!Pompombunny_027_2