Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween to all! I hope you've eaten too much candy and jumped out of the dark at at least one person. Pumpkin carving was the key to my Halloween this year. I haven't done this is ages. I've forgotten how much time it takes. Here's a sample of our work. Mine is on the left and my dad's is on the right. Is it any wonder we didn't get that many trick-or-treaters?

The Strange Woman

I'm not the only one in the family with projects. In fact, I'm usually the one with the least amount of project, but as of late - that's not been the case.

My sister, Kate, has been up to no good - but in a creative sort of way. Earlier this year we saw these cool clutch book purses at Kate Spade. After a little investigating and creative sourcing, we figured out how to make our own.

First we went and found some old "vintage" books at used book stores. You have to find hard book covers that are actually printed on the hardcover - remove the dust jacket and look underneath. Then Kate when out, purchased some fabric and notions that matched the books hardcover. She exacto-ed the pages out (I know, I know - but sacrifices must be made in the name of cool fashion items) and inserted the fabric. After adding on the handles (only if you want to!) she had a really cute purse.

She's currently making more . . .

Interred With Their Bones

Looking for a good read? Try Interred with Their Bones by Jennifer Lee Carrell. If you're like me and love research, Shakespeare, and a little action adventure - you'll love this. Think (and the poor author is probably so tired of hearing this . . .) Da Vinci Code - but so much better, which isn't hard because I still haven't forgiven Dan Brown for the sin that was The Lost Symbol (I don't think the man has ever been to Washington, DC or even looked at a Metro map . . .).

The story centers around Kate - a scholar who as given up Shakespeare academia for good and gone in the direction of directing when her mentor shows up with some big news. But life rarely lets anyone in Fiction have good news without a good deal of drama. Or in Kate's case - a murder mystery. It doesn't take long before Kate's being chased by some serious baddies and she's still not sure why . . .

It's a fast paced read and the research bits make me laugh, because I understand them - deeply. And really what researcher doesn't dream of being on an action packed hunt for a hidden gem? Library included.

And Back to Kansas City . . .

I know - am I ever where I'm supposed to be? I've come home to pick up my car, which until two months ago was my grandmother's car - so it's a little misbegotten. Its also a little bit still in the shop after a cracked oil pan was discovered. Which means at this point I'm not sure how long I will be in Kansas. My mom and I were going to leave on Monday. Estimated Time of Departure is currently Wednesday at the earliest. But as it can't be helped, we're making the most out of the situation.

Which in my family translates to cleaning things. We're going through boxes (my old stuff which has been in the basement for the last 10 years) and sorting through my Grandmother's belongings. And is there a lot of stuff to go through. But it's just stuff. And as I've just moved, I'm not all that keen to move more stuff. So, I'm proud to say, I'm getting rid of stuff. And not just here in Kansas City, I've been busy back in DC sorting through things and finishing old projects.

I'll have a project update when I get back to DC - I've been going through my crochet bag and completing loads of half - almost-but -not-quite projects. Yes, this means that I am actually putting two arms on those baby sweaters (I sometimes get done with one and the thrill is gone . . .) and scarves and mittens . . . well you get the picture - and I'll get the pictures up upon arrival.

But it's been a rather productive few days just getting all those loose ends tied up - projects, boxes, cleaning and all.

I'll let you all know when we head out. Hopefully the car won't take too long!

The Good and the Bad

The summer is over - sigh! Sadly my garden yielded tasteless tomatoes, but other people had more luck. I decided to try a spaghetti sauce recipe with the ones that ended up in my kitchen. Too bad I picked a terrible one to try! Whatever you do, if you find a recipe that calls for brown sugar - don't do it! Just say no!

Boiling tomatoes to peel off the skins.

Chopped veggies for the mix-

Again - bad choice of ingredients, so I won't bother posting the recipe.

However! At the same time, I decided to do sun dried tomatoes in oil-

These were good!

Slice 12 Roma tomatoes the long way into fourths

Sprinkle 2 tbsp sugar, 3 tsp oregano, and salt and pepper over the tomatoes

Place the tomatoes on baking sheets (don't let them touch) and put them in the oven at 175 degrees for around 8 hrs.

Tomatoes should be dried out!

Add 3 tbsp white wine vinegar and 1 cup extra virgin olive oil in a saucepan.

Boil.

Add 1 tsp crushed red pepper

Let mixture cool

Put dried tomatoes in sterilized cans and pour oil mixture over the top. Add more oil if tomatoes are not covered. Tightly screw on lids. Use within two weeks.

*Do not use a hot water bath to seal jars - oil mixtures do not work with this method!*

Loading Dried Tomatoes into the jars

Just Keep Calm and Put the Hook Down!

I'm enjoying crocheting. I've even threatened to crochet my living room during my work hiatus. My aunt has requested I crochet a Mini Cooper Cosy. BUT I hear by promise to never make any of the following . . .

http://whatnottocrochet.wordpress.com/

Roomie Kirsten and I were dying laughing - just another killer Saturday night . . . Looks like someone's beaten me to crocheting the bathroom. Oh, yeah, and don't miss out on the Lemmings (complete with pickax and steps - but hey! No lemming bomb with little lemming pieces spread out?!?!)

What I'm Watching

About a year or so ago I discovered British television. British television has greatly improved over the years and now I think it's better than most of the stuff you can find on TV here in the States. You have to adjust to the shorter seasons - instead of the 22+ episodes you get over here, their shows range from 6 to (if your really, really lucky) 13. But this means the story lines are tighter and with less repeated events. Every single episode really counts!

Thanks to netflix I got hooked on a show called MI-5 here in the States (It's called Spooks everywhere else). If you like spy dramas - this one takes the cake, absolutely wiped the floor with anything similar. It's currently broadcasting its 9 series (their not called seasons across the pond). The action draws you in but fantastic characters and actors keep you interested. Spy master Harry Pierce (Peter Firth) and brainiac Ruth Evershed (Nicola Walker) alone are fascinating to watch.

And from there, I've branched out into all sorts of great programs. If spies aren't your thing (you're missing out! - MI-5 is available on instant view on Netflix!), try Doctor Who (the latest versions) and it's spin-off Torchwood - Doctor Who is a great standing British tradition and it took a few episodes before I really began to enjoy it.

If you enjoy mysteries - try Wire in the Blood or Touching Evil. Chilling stories, well written and detailed!

Feel good comedy/dramas? Try Kingdom - with Steven Fry! It's hilarious and I was so sad it hear it was cancelled! Also the short lived Married, Single, Other - or William and Mary.

Curtains Up!

Literally in my case.

I'm still settling into my new place, still battling boxes and am now looking at the daunting task of switching around the summer clothes to the winter clothes - but today I decided to work on the curtains. There's this space above my built-in desk with a large shelf and I've managed to fit two shelves on the shelf (if that makes since). As the new place has almost no storage, I've turned this into storage. And to hide the boxes on the shelves, I've used a tension rod (the kind you find in showers) and put the sheer curtains up from the last house on them. Originally, they were too long and (being sheers) you could still see through them. So today I took them down, trimmed them up and took some beige fabric and backed it against the sheers. It looks much better - now I just need to finish the actual curtain hung in the windows, but that's for another day.

I also applied to two jobs (yay!), made a trip to the grocery store, read a little, did two loads of laundry, and cut out fabric for my next project - I'm making purses, but still need a few materials before continuing. But here's to being highly productive!

The Last Fruits of Summer

My final summer jamming project for the summer was White Plums and Red Plums - while the white plums were great (also picked by my sister before she left), the red plums were to die for. For every plum that made it into the pot, I'm pretty sure I consumed one.

Very easy recipe again:
6 cups cut up fruit
2 cups sugar
1 tbs. lemon juice
1 packet of pectin

Remove the pits!

Chop!

And boil!

Oh, yeah - don't forget the cans!!

Pickled Beets!

My sister before she moved found a great pick-your-own farm near DC. Over the summer, she's brought me some fruit and veggies . . . and 20 lbs. of beets. So what do you do with these tasty roots? Pickle them!

One huge beet!

Washing them off and cutting the tops and bottoms off.

Get your cans prepped!

We did three different recipes - one was for spicy picked beets, one for beet relish, and one regular pickled beet. We boiled beets and baked beets -

Here's Jodie pulling beets out of the oven . . .

And the final product! We had a taste tester try the beets a few weeks later and they passed with flying colors~ I don't know if I do beets again, they were quite a bit of work and it was very messy. Not to mention we all had purple hands at the end.

Itty Bitty Baby Sweaters

And now it's October! Which means sweater season (especially seeings how it's more like late November out there) and at long last all the baby sweaters I've been working on will finally come in use. Here's a few that are done (with both arms - I have a tendency of only finishing one arm and then getting distracted and as my roomie points out -there aren't that many one armed babies out there . . .)

A white ruffled sweater dress . . .

An organic cotton light weight sweater in oatmeal . . .

Detailing on the sweater . . .

I love this one - I added more to the sleeves, the pic color is a little off so . . .

Here's the actual color of the thicker organic cotton.

I'm still crocheting away - finishing up a few blanket and a jumper for a cute little one in Kansas - more to come!