Monday, February 28, 2022

...2.28...Over the Weekend...

...we got our InstaCart...and again...
...there was a small issue...we had gotten bananas in our cart...and paid for them....but you can see we didn't actually get any bananas...

...it's so weird that we've been rocking along for 2 years + with no issues...and now...twice in a row...???
...and we got this 2 lb bag of carrots...and not sure if you can tell...but they are HUGE...there's only about 4 carrots in the whole bag...
...we finally got some black-eyed peas again...after weeks of not getting them...
...so we soaked a pound of those...
...and from one pound of beans/peas...we got almost three quarts of cooked beans...so that's pretty frugal...
...the Man had gotten a new Fry Daddy from Amazon...we used to have one in our early married life...I think someone gave it to us as a wedding present...haha...but it's been gone for many years...like Our Airman never saw it...haha...
...we don't normally eat a lot of fried food...but of course we immediately made some delicious french fries for lunch...haha...
...the Man also ordered this Carolina Gold rice...
...and it has some pretty specific cooking directions...
...it's a lot like the way I generally cook brown rice...where you cook it in a lot of water...and drain and rinse...
....but then they take it a step further and 'dry' it a little bit in the oven...so that was a little bit weird...and I may forego that in the future...I don't mind my rice being a little bit sticky...this rice is really good though...it's got a little bit more of an earthy/nutty taste...
...I made a batch of corn muffins and biscuits for the freezer...also to go with the black-eyed peas...
...my sweet niece had a birthday...
...so I made her a sweet little pink bookmarker and a book...
...and I really thought we'd finish the puzzle...but the Man says there's no need to rush...haha...we'll definitely finish this week...probably...
...and then Sunday afternoon we got Mexican takeout...

...how was your weekend?...

~Wishing you a lovely start to your week!

Saturday, February 26, 2022

...2.26...Dinner and a Movie...

...dinner was baked tofu...which I had with steak sauce (which is just accidentally vegan)...a baked potato and broccoli...and sliced cucumber and roma tomato for a side salad...

...and it was the Man's turn to choose...and I think he was determined (remember to pronounce it DEE-tər-mˈa͡ɪnd....haha) to choose something funny...and he chose a new to us Paul Davis comedy called The Cleaner...we had previously seen him in Cuckoo...a funny series we watched with the kiddos before they left for Japan...and he was also in a few episodes of Would I Lie to You...

...we only watched the first episode...and apart from it being a little bit gross it was darkly humorous...so we'll probably continue with the series...each episode is only a half hour...and then we also watched one of our very last episodes of All Creatures Great and Small...the Christopher Timothy ones from the 80s...we'll probably finish those up in the next week or so...and the Man says that he's up for the new series too...so we'll probably have a new Dog and Pony Show to watch...haha...

...and does anybody else think that it's interesting that the original James Heriot actor was Christopher Timothy and the new one is Nicholas Ralph...like they both have two first names...haha...

...what have you been watching lately?...

~Have a lovely weekend!

Friday, February 25, 2022

...2.25...Friday Update...Madame Alexander Doll...Read Harder...

...y'all may remember way back in October when I started this little project...that the doll's hair had all been lopped off...and so had her little identification tags...

...so I had searched the interwebs for what doll she might actually be...and no way of really knowing as a lot of them are very similar...but I finally settled on "STYLE 60015"...based mostly on the lip colour...

...and I knew that I wanted to recreate some authentic looking tags for her before I put her back together...
...so...just using MSPaint...I created these little tags...and printed it on a regular sheet of paper...to test for size and placement...and then I just taped some white ribbon over the printed text...put the paper back in the ink jet printer and printed it again...this time...it printed onto the ribbons...it worked perfectly...then I coated the ribbons with fray stop...and ironed them...hoping they'll be colourfast...but this doll is not likely to get wet...so it will probably be ok...
...and I had searched the interwebs for images of the tags that I used for a 'pattern'...
...then...during all of that internet searching...I came across a "Certificate of Authenticity"...haha...and I wanted one of those for the dolly too...I wonder if they still put those in the box...I printed it on parchment...you know...fancy...haha...oh...and I'll sort out a box for her as well...I saved the box my Valentine's Day flowers came in...as it looks like it will be about the right size...
...so...then...I just re-stuffed her with the same stuffing that I'd removed...I thought I might have to add some...but I did not...it was just the right amount...
...and I stitched up the back with the tiniest stitches I could manage...
...and here she is...with a full head of hair...a nice firmly attached head...new tags...and all her stuffing...I absolutely love that these dolls can stand up on their own...

...now she needs some clothes...of course...
...I finished book #4 last week...and I mentioned that I had chosen it from the Read Harder suggestion list...just based on the cover...so I thought I'd show you the cover...it's so cute...
...now I'm reading That Way Madness Lies...funny that I'd be reading another Shakespeare based book...
...and it's 15 short stories...some written in a play format...it's interesting...and again...not something I would have chosen to read without the challenge...
...and the lovely bird puzzle nears completion...we spent an evening working on the flowers...the pinks and whites were pretty easy to pick out...so that was not too difficult...now...on to all that bark...and green...

...what are you reading this week?...

~Have a lovely day!

Thursday, February 24, 2022

...3.24...What I Ate in a Day...as a Vegan...

...it's been rainy and cold...really just chilly...and this is one of my early morning little pleasures...I stand right over my cup of tea as I pour the water on...I just love that steamy aroma...I told the Man the other day...that I may be addicted to tea...I love it so much...
...breakfast...surprise...haha...not...I had half of an everything bagel and some Violife cream cheese...hop over here...if you want to make your own bagels...they're the BEST!...
...mid-morning...I had an apple and a handful of almonds...
...the Man had made a sort of Hoppin' John with black peas...and it was a little bit too spicy...again...arghhh...but I had some of the leftovers for lunch with some greens...
...sorry for the photo quality...it's just really dreary and rainy here...this was a quick green bean stir fry over rice...with tofu...
...and then we had popcorn for a snack later...we got it for Christmas...and that's the Betta Cheddar sprinkled on top...

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

~Have a lovely day!

Wednesday, February 23, 2022

...2.23...W.I.P. Wednesday...

...finally...another F.O.

...this was the kiddos Anniversary giftie...it's from this Amazon Kit...and it has several different brides and grooms to choose from...it's so cute..
...first up...I changed out the cream coloured Aida cloth for a smaller white piece from my stash...because the Bride's dress is going to be cream coloured and I thought it would show up better on the white cloth...
...I started with the groom...and didn't do the full beard from the pattern...only leaving off the little bits on either side of his mouth...as he had a kind of mustache and scruffy beard on the day...
...his suit is actually navy...and his shoes are black...but it's kind of hard to tell...

...I was totally not loving the black outline of his peach coloured bow-tie...so I thought I'd change that to a softer colour later...

...now...on to the Bride...I really couldn't match the sort of burgundy colour that it was on the day with any thread...so I used some crewel thread also from stash...it's not as 'shiny' as it should be...but the colour is a good match...and I decreased the bun height by one row...and omitted the swoop of hair over her right eye...she had more of a classic bun with ringlets look going...
...finished her face and arms...and added the little french knot earrings...but you couldn't really see them at all...and they looked kind of funny in her little ringlets...so I snipped them off...she did wear earrings on the day though...
...then her dress...was quite the hodge-podge...using several different patterns...she had the sweetheart neckline from one...but with tiny straps...and the belted waist from another...and the train from yet another pattern...

...and you could choose to have the Bride hold her bouquet center front of down at the side...so I chose the latter...
...outlined the Bride's dress in a soft grey...added a veil and the bouquet...and the Bride and Groom were finished...
...then all that was left were a couple of hearts and the name and date...
...you can see that I did change out the Groom's bowtie outline for the softer grey that I'd used to outline the Bride's dress...and I like it a lot better than the black...
...ready to frame...
...then...I just trimmed it up and popped it into a driftwood coloured frame...and sent it on it's way...
...we also sent Our Airman a funny cookbook...he absolutely loved the Bob's Burgers cartoon...it is really good...none of the burgers are vegan...but...hey...burgers are one of the easiest things to veganize...

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

~Have a lovely day!

Tuesday, February 22, 2022

...2.22...Tuesdays with Julia...

...this was a really simple recipe...once you have the braised beef that is...and we used seitan this time...
...and I made a simple dijon vinaigrette to top the salad...
...and it was a delicious and light and refreshing lunch...

...and all of the particulars are over at The Vegan Version...

~Have a lovely day!

Monday, February 21, 2022

...2.21...Over the Weekend...

...first thing Saturday morning...laundry on the line...I do love sheets dried on the line...then I left to pick up the groceries...
...well...that's never happened before...in two years of InstaCarting...
...we got someone else's groceries...
...we had done a really small shop this time...the minimum is $35...which adds up pretty quickly in fact...just the milk was probably half of that...

...and except for the things that we really didn't get...we got everything on our list...
...but then there was this other bag...clearly labeled for 'Affectioknit'...haha...

...so...of course I called the store...and they said they can't take the items back...once they've been in my 'possession'...really?...but I guess in truth...I wouldn't want my groceries after they'd been in someone else's house...it's a weird world for sure...

...so 'someone' didn't get their tea...
...and their pizza thing-ys...
...and their mac-fulls...whatever those are?...
...and their hot pockets...and the person on the phone said they had no way of tracking whose items these even were...but I'm guessing they got another call when that person got home without their goods...

...oh well...
...I got out my Julia Child Baking book...
...and found the long long long (5 pages) recipe for authentic French bread...
...and made the dough...
...shaped...
...and proofed...
...and slit...
...and baked three gorgeous loaves...
...the house smelled so delicious...
...Kitten snoozing...when she's really zonked out like this...it's the perfect time to trim her claws...I can usually get one paw done before she wakes up enough to protest...sneaky...I know...but much less traumatic for both of us than trying to wrap her in a towel and forcibly do them all at once...
...the only other vaguely interesting thing that I did was to bake two batches of brownies...I got out the MIL's ages old recipe...she used to make these for us when we were dating in high school...
...and it's two batches...because the Man likes black walnuts in his brownies...I can eat them that way too...but I prefer them without...
...so then...I made another batch...added some vegan chocolate chips...and put them in my mini muffin pan...because...you know...crust...
...so we're set for sweet snacks for the week...or at least a couple of days...haha...

~Wishing you a lovely start to your week!