mmmm...curdy...
T-minus three lemons. And completely delicious.

Lemon curd is way easier than I thought. I used the recipe here (though my lemons are rather large and I only needed two) and it really took about 15 minutes all up. Makes me dream about living in a cottage in a tiny English village and making fresh lemon curd to serve with muffins when the vicar comes to tea.



Hmm...need to find a vicar...
9:34 PM 0 Comments

itchy fingers...
I've been on a knitting spree again the past few days. It's the hobby that i always come back to, and am always surprised at how much it stimulates and relaxes at the same time...and provides justification for watching an entire series of Project Runway or The Office in one sitting.

This morning, inspired by my fun new reading glasses, I made this little guy...



I'm also finishing up a pair of socks, a scarf for the bear we got Paul's new niece, and am planning a reversible cable striped scarf that I can take on the plane with me when we head to OZ (bamboo needles, small balls of yarn...security shouldn't be a problem).



(I have to note that I'm at the coffee shop, and there's a college student asleep on the sofa across from me. As in, he and his girlfriend are cramming for exams and he keeled over on the armrest and is snoring a tiny little snore. So peaceful and childlike...and I'm sure he'll be totally embarrassed when he wakes up.)
3:26 PM 0 Comments

when life gives you lemons...
...make limoncello!

Dad and sister came up from Florida bearing a bag of home-grown Meyer lemons last week, and last night was the night for them to meet their fate. First up were the Moroccan preserved lemons. Five days in a jar sliced up with salt and juice should make some tasty additions to recipes and possibly a really yummy dessert (but that's another project Paul's got in the works...very top secret).

Next up was the famous limoncello. Zester in hand, twelve of the orangey-yellow fellows were stripped of their dignity and are now infusing away in the cupboard. When we get back from Australia, the batch should be all set to sweeten, just in time for spring afternoons on the patio.

I have plans for the rest, which will include buttermilk cookies and lemon curd...and maybe I can sweet talk myself into another batch in the spring.
10:50 AM 0 Comments

because of the Fluevogs...
As the gallery is dead right now, we're all stretching our powers of killing time. Saturdays are hopping until 4 or so, but after it's only a few stragglers. And no one at all right now. So as for me, I'm shoe shopping. Shoe shopping is never a question of need, other than the simple fact that I need to win the lotto. Why? Because of the Fluevogs.

In a hypothetical situation, the only question would be...

Black?

or Brown?

Of course, G'mama taught me that the correct answer to a question that difficult would of course be, "Both." But then along come these...


They'd all probably be really great to dance in. So, meanwhile, where's that benefactor?
4:51 PM 0 Comments

not just anything gets me out of bed...
...at least not this early. So moving this is what dragged me into the land of the living at an ungodly hour...



We bought this at an estate sale last weekend for super-cheap, and I'm thrilled. Twelve years of lessons growing up and strangely enough, I still enjoy playing. But I'm realizing that, after years of having nothing to practice on, I'm miles out of practice on basic techniques. For now, there's a bit of novelty in even being able to practice all those scales and exercizes, so I'll have to take advantage of it while things are still fresh. I bought an exercize book at a used bookstore in Asheville this weekend that promises to get me up to virtuoso status with just 60 exercizes. So a couple hundred times through the book and I'll be ready for Carnegie Hall! Woohoo!

But the piano looks great and sounds great and I only have to do a minor amount of rearranging furniture. So to anyone with interesting sheet music lying around, I am now taking donations...
10:15 AM 0 Comments

cruise with me, baby...
After a long wait (that was totally worth it), I can now introduce my sweet new ride...



This little guy is an old Schwinn from the 70's that one of my friends rebuilt for me. I've had to adjust to the coaster break again, but it's the perfect bike for cruisin' around town. He needs a basket, doesn't he?
5:32 PM 0 Comments

mad for plaid...
I'm wearing my brand new shoes today! Super comfy...



I decided to ban myself from buying cheap shoes since I tend to be on my feet alot and need to counteract the flip-flops whenever possible. These were cheap (double on sale!), but seem to be good for my feet and will tide me over until I can afford Fluevogs.
1:49 PM 0 Comments