...10.16...What I Ate Yesterday...as a vegan...

...I started off the day the normal way...with some water...and vitamins...and then tea...and I was kind of craving potatoes...not just any potatoes...but these little thin skinned new potatoes...so that's exactly what I had for breakfast...with some salt, pepper and Earth Balance...it was a delicious and simple start to the day...

...for lunch I made a tofu sandwich...I absolutely love tofu sandwiches...and this one just had some vegan mayonnaise and romaine lettuce and pickled red onions...and I had a couple of spoonfuls of homemade sauerkraut, and some crinkle cut fries and some leftover peas with that...

...I had an apple and some nuts for an afternoon snack...

...dinner was a big salad...mixed veg, brown rice...and baked tofu...and lemonade instead of tea...because I had a couple of lemons that needed using up...

...and my favorite 'nice cream'...banana and peanut for an after dinner snack...

...what did you eat yesterday?...

~Have a lovely day!

...W.I.P. Wednesday...dyeing with tea and Koolaid...10.16...

...well...it's pretty typical that I'd be 'fixing' this summer shift dress right on the cusp of autumn when it's unlikely that I'll even get to wear it...but maybe we've got a few more warm days yet...

...anywhoo...sorry I don't have a good before photo...because the dress has already been bleached at this point...but it used to be a nice sort of olive drab colour...and it's linen...and so so cool and comfy and I wore it a lot in North Dakota during the brief summers there...

...and I already had plans to re-dye it when we moved...that's why it's already been bleached...and then it sat in a bin all these years since then...I'd say that was funny...but really it's not all that funny...that I have so many clothes that I don't even remember that one of my favorites was missing from my closet...

...and so you're probably wondering why it needs 'fixing' anyway...well...about the only thing I use real bleach for anymore is cleaning...and I was wearing this dress one spring (in North Dakota)...and cleaning and I got three drops of bleach splashed onto the front...I've drawn a little circle around it here...because it's so faint now that the whole dress has been bleached...but it made bright white spots and it ruined the dress...

...so...when I found it in the bin...in the basement...I thought it was about time I fixed it...and I searched the internet for olive dye...and I found some...of course...

...but then...you know how I dyed my socks with coffee...and those ceramic Easter 'eggs' with the Cub Scouts with beets, onions, and turmeric...I got to thinking about what I might already have on hand that would work as an olive 'dye'...and I came up with tea...and Koolaid...of course...and the salt is to make the dye fast...

...I got out my biggest pot and mixed up the tea and the Koolaid and some water and salt...until it was about the colour I remember the dress being...

...then I wet the dress...

...and popped it into the pot...

...now I don't know all of the rules for natural dyeing...but in general I think...the longer the better...right?...

...and I left it in the pot of dye overnight...and guess what?...it worked!...

...so then...I just rinsed it in the sink and drained it and took it outside...

...and hung it on the line to dry...

...and I'm pretty amazed at how well it turned out...have you ever had a surprise project turn out like that?

...what's in your workbasket?...

~Have a lovely day!

...Tuesdays wtih Julia...Vegan Beuure à l'Oeuf....

...I made some vegan egg yolks...

...and just blended them with some Earth Balance...so not much of a 'recipe' really...

...and made little finger sandwiches with the yolk-y butter piped on top...it was good...I'd make it again...and all of the particulars are over at The Vegan Version...

~Have a lovely day!

....Making a Tonsure Wig/Cap for Monk Costume...Over the Weekend...

...the Man and I were planning on going to the Halloween Party as Martin Luther and his wife, Katharina von Bora...

...so I ordered us two generic nun and monk costumes...Luther's wife once escaped from her convent in a herring wagon...and my costume is just fine the way it is...

...and the Man's costume is really nice and came with a cincture (but he'll wear one of his own) and a wooden cross...but no tonsured wig...and of course Martin Luther needs a tonsured head...so I got out an old pair of pantyhose...and cut a circle out for the bald part of the head...

...I also cut a ring of the waist elastic and stretched it over a head sized bowl...

...then I pinned the bald head part to the elastic...then I just stitched the circle to the elastic...

...goofy photo of me trying it on for a fit...

...now for the hair...I'd had this ball of old old Spped-Cro-Sheen in my stash for a long long time...I think it was part of a bag of yarn my Mom gave me years ago...

...it's labled 'boilfast' and fudge brown...so the perfect hair colour...and it even still has an old price tag on it...and cost 69¢...

...it was four ply and I thought it would be more hair like if I un-spun (word?) it into more hairy strands...

...then I just chained a ring...and did one round of single crochet...

...and then still single crocheting...but I made a loop of 'hair' around an old paper towel tube...and then I cut the loops...

...I did that three times...so there are three rows of 'hair'...

...this is the inside...and it's quite elastic...so...I probably didn't need the elastic on the hose cap...but maybe I did as I think it would be more difficult to sew this hair onto the flimsy cap without the elastic...

...I put it on the bowl...and combed it out...

...and gave it a bit of a trim...

...pretty even...

...then I pinned it to the bald cap...

...and stitched it in place...

...it was a little bit too long when I tried it on...so I gave it another little trim...

...and one final fitting on me...it just makes me laugh for some reason...it looks hilarious...what were they thinking with this hairstyle...but I'm crazy happy with how it turned out...I think it's perfect for the costume...

...oh my the costume was so wrinkled when I took it out of the package...it's a good size though and pretty well made...it took me longer to iron it than it did to make the tonsure...JK...

~Wishing you a lovely start to your week!

...10.11...Dinner and a Movie...

...I was on my own for dinner...so I got out that packet of Loma Linda curry that I had stashed in the cupboard...

...and I steamed some pineapple and green pepper to add to it...it's kinda spicy...

...I steamed some rice...

...and took my tray into the den...

...it was yummy...

...and the movie was recommended by Maureen...Aunt Clara...the title role is played by Dame Margaret Taylor Rutherford...aka Miss Marple...but she's not playing Miss Marple in this movie...but a sweet old lady who inherits several disreputable businesses...and how she turns them around...

...it was a sweet old movie about some people...

~Have a lovely weekend!

...Friday Favorites...Canned Zucchini...

...when we were up at Mom's...my sweet SIL gave me these two quarts of home grown and home canned zucchini and squash...

...so I thought I'd use it to make a vegan verson of Mom's Zucchini casserole...so I added some onions...

...and mixed some soy milk with a little bit of flour as an egg replacment...and just poured that over...

...I didn't have any shredded vegan cheese...but I had some slices...so I just sort of chopped it up...

...sprinkled it on top....

...and baked until browned on top and bubbly and thick...

...it was delicious...and super easy with canned squash...

~Have a lovely day!