Dainty Kitty

Baby, I'm-A Want You

The bread turned out absolutely amazing and with this tutorial/recipe it was so easy. 

A couple of late night photographs....

The cats and I are going to have a French themed morning tomorrow.  I'm going to make French toast with my homemade bread and flip through books on Paris, making lists of sites to see, while they sit at my feet and, um, miaou.

I really need to knit myself a beret....

Art & The Great Cake Mistake

This weekend I crossed a couple of things off my 101 in 1001 list.  I decided to get out of the apartment early and drive over to The Dayton Art Institute to write with the Monet...

On the way there, though, I decided that I would just go ahead and join the museum as a little birthday gift to myself.  As a member I get to go to all of the exhibits for free so I checked out the Ken Butler exhibit...

The museum was deserted so I got to play with the Projection Grand Piano without people pushing or making noise.  With each key you pressed, it projected light and shadows on the wall of objects and mirrors (including a small disco ball) that were inside.  It was pretty much silent and rather interesting but the effect wouldn't be the same if there were people around.

Matt suggested that I treat myself to a little picnic which I thought was a perfect idea so after I walked around and did a little writing, I found a nice shady spot on the grounds of the museum.   Peaches are so tasty right now...

Speaking of food - I'll wrap this up with another episode of Cooking Disasters with Emily.   Yesterday I attempted to bake the Orange Dreamsicle cake from a cookbook from a restaurant called The Grit in Athens, GA that Kim sent me.   Key word: attempted.  This is what happens when you get the recipe for the icing and the cake mixed up and end up putting two sticks of butter in both even though the icing calls for only one...

100 Things That Make Me Happy

For the past week or so I've been struggling to find a way to make my July POP Project a little more artistic...something other than just a list (I've realized recently that I'm obsessed with lists).  I really wanted to cover a page with items but my handwriting leaves something to be desired.   I still wanted my writing on the page, though, to make it closer if that makes any sense so this is what I came up with. 

I might try to take a better picture later, though.   That's pretty yucky.

Tuesday This and That

The Pub. I tried The Pub at the Greene (not to be confused with the Dublin Pub) Friday night for the first time.  It was good but the portions are giant: I had FISH and chips.  Seriously, it was the biggest piece of fish I'd ever seen.  I'm not fond of heavy meals and giant portions.  I liked the Tavern Crisps, though - homemade potato chips covered in cheese and bacon with a BBQ dipping sauce. 

So, yeah, I thought it was okay.  Beer is a bit steep, too - $6 for a pint. I had two pints and a Knob Creek while we were waiting for our table and our bar bill was a ridiculous $19. 

Aha!  Another portion of my list complete!  Number 41. Try four new restaurants in Dayton - two down, two to go. 

Friends. The best part of the night, though, happened as I was walking in.  A close friend from college that I had lost touch with was walking out.  Nikki was always kind of tough - after college she became a cop - so it was kind of funny to find out that now she's a stay at home mom with three kids and and MA in Literature.  Anyway, we exchanged phone numbers but I'd be kind of surprised if we actually get together.  Still, it was really nice to see her again. 

Saturday night I went to Craig and Lisa's for a St. Patrick's Day party.  It's been over a year since I'd been to one of their parties and it was so wonderful to connect with everyone again and feel that kind of...well, love.  And who knew Skky Vodka and a green Hawaiian Punch could be so good....

Knitting. The yarn I ordered to make the Leaf Lace Scarf shipped today.  I like to search Ravelry for info on online yarn websites that I'm thinking about using and I read nothing but good stuff about Eat.Sleep.Knit which I'd have to agree with since I just placed my order yesterday afternoon.  Hooray for speedy delivery and a good chance that I'll have a new project to work on this weekend.  I didn't notice until after I'd ordered it that I'd bought the exact shade they use in the pattern - I do love green.  This'll be my first lace project and my first charted project as well but I've read that this is a good starter pattern.  It looks easy enough. 

I also started the Dream Swatch Head Scarf last week with some gifted Socks That Rock (thanks again, Bertha!) and am a little over halfway done.  It would be a nice beach vacation project, too - lightweight and easy to carry but still kind of fun to work on. 

Veganomicon.  I heart the book Veganomicon and I'm far from a vegan.  I picked it up at the library late last week after reading a review in Bust and have already checked to see if Books & Co. has it (they do) because I've already decided to purchase it.  Heck, that was before I'd made anything from it.  Last night I made a potato and greens soup that was wonderful and there's a tomato bisque a few pages away that looks good, too.  Oh, and blueberry brownies...mmm.  It's well written and a little funny and I think it will also help me explore the herb and spice world as well as open me up to new vegetables (if I can find them).  It even has a few basics that would be handy to have as a reference as well. 

Oh, and in the world of cooking - my parents bought a KitchenAid mixer (sigh, I'm so jealous) this past weekend and had to get rid of a few things in order to make it fit in the cabinet so I own a fairly nice steamer now. 

The doll house.  Sorry everyone was disappointed in the lack of a bathroom.  :-)  I'll admit that tiny tubs and sinks and itsy bitsy rolls of toilet paper are cute but it just didn't work with the layout.  Plus I can make most of the craft room bits with things I have on hand - the idea of purchasing a lot more is a bit daunting right now (seriously, that wood was stupid expensive).  I think I'm going to pick up some pinstriping tape and a little more trim wood tonight to start working on the windows.  My biggest conundrum is the roof.  I'm not sure if I should paint it or use the shingles I already have from the cheap kit I abandoned.  And if I did use the shingles I'm not sure what color I would paint them either...or if I'd just use stain.  Any suggestions?

Yikes!  Holy long post, Batman!

GoodReads

Thanks to dharma, I've started number seven on my 101 in 1001 list - except that I'm changing it to GoodReads.  I've got a few more shelves to add and I haven't written but one review (it was pretty easy to add that Jane Eyre is my favorite book) but it's started and that's something. 

Anyway, my list can be found here.  If you happen to be a GoodReads member, please add me as a friend!

Think Green. Ending Junk Mail

I've been slowly chipping away at one item on my 101 in 1001 list -

36. Cancel all catalogs – especially those that arrive for past tenants

I didn't realize just how many catalogs show up in my mailbox until I started really paying attention.  I bought my dad a subscription to a guitar magazine last Christmas and you wouldn't believe the guitar and audio junk mail I receive - the fact that these people can sell our addresses when we've paid them money for goods is really disgusting.  So as I receive them I've been hopping on websites to cancel subscriptions and so far it's been fairly easy.  I am, with a little sadness, canceling the one I get from Godiva as soon as I finish this post.  Although, really, how fun is it to look at chocolate? 

Oddly enough, Martha Stewart's January issue of Living contains an article about ridding yourself of just the junk mail I'm talking about - and then some.   I've been wondering how to get rid of those Valpack coupons that come in the blue envelope as I've never used a single coupon.  Thanks to Martha I learned that they can be canceled by filling out this form.   You can also stop credit card offers and cancel specific catalogs you receive which I wish I could use but a lot of the catalogs that end up in my mailbox are addressed to past tenants so I'll have to continue to cancel them one at a time.   Wait, wait, wait - I just went to that site to cancel the Godiva catalog and found out something Martha failed to mention.  There's a hefty fee ($15.95) to cancel at least that particular mailing!  I'll just cancel through their website thank you very much. 

And I guess you could say I'm being environmentally friendly because I keep every issue of Living...only after I no longer exist might they end up in a landfill although I'm pretty sure my children will be environmentally savvy and they'll be recycled.  :-)   

Now I'm going to make up a dish of vanilla ice cream with Candy Cane Joe-Joe's crumbles (they're already sold out!  I only got one extra box!) and watch Before Sunset (I watched Before Sunrise this morning).

Wherever you are, I hope you're safe and warm - it's messy and soon to be icy here in Dayton, Ohio....      

A Notch on My 101 Belt

71. Take three three day weekends for no reason whatsoever (1/3)

101 Things in 1001 - The Complete List

R E A D I N G

1. Finish three books I bought but never read/finished (0/3)

2. Read the last five winners of the National Book Award

3. Read two books from the Banned List

4. Get a Montgomery County Public Library card

5. Read 12 books from the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list (0/12)

6. Read three autobiographies (0/3)

7. Catalogue books on LibraryThings

8. Read the Lemony Snicket books (0/13)

9. Go six months with no overdue library fines (or at least keep it to one day overdue)

F I N A N C I A L

10. Accumulate, with the hopes of keeping, a savings balance of $500

11. Pay all bills on time for three months in a row (0/3)

12. Take a vacation (longer than a weekend) not financed by my parents

13. Write down all transactions for one week

H E A L T H

14. Quit drinking soda for a week

15. Floss daily for a month

16. Vacuum the whole house on Sundays and Wednesdays (start with one month)

17. Stop biting my nails for 42 days

18. Buy a SIGG or carry my Nalgene, filled, on a regular basis

C R E A T E

19. Refinish the coffee table

20. Make a headboard for the bed

21. Knit a pair of socks for Mom

22. Knit a pair of socks for Dad

23. Knit a pair of socks for Andy

24. Pick a theme and take photographs specifically to make the scrapbook Gina gave me

24. Make/Finish a dollhouse

26. Write with Monet’s Waterlilies at the DAI

27. Finish five UFOs (0/5)

28. Make a quilt – even if it’s a tiny cat quilt

29. Print and frame the Angel Oak photo

30. Make a gingerbread house

31. Finish Granny’s scrapbook (priority)

32. Write in a paper journal twice a month

33. Take a photo walk through Woodlawn Cemetery

G R E E N

34. Switch to energy saving lightbulbs throughout the apartment

35. Use my Green Bags in places other than the grocery

36. Cancel all catalogues – especially those that arrive for past tenants

37. Check out five new (to me) area metro parks (0/5)

F O O D

38. Take a cooking class

39. Finish organizing recipe collection

40. Make pizza dough

41. Try four new restaurants in Dayton (0/4)

42. Try six new crock pot recipes (0/6)

43. Go back to Betty’s for potato pancakes, a veggie burrito and several glasses of PBR

44. Try four new cookie recipes (0/4)

45. Cook dinner for my parents

46. Take The Complete Wine Course

47. Make one thing out of seven of my cookbooks (0/7)

48. Make five recipes from past issues of Cooking Light (0/5)

49. Bake three kinds of bread (0/3)

50. Make macaroni and cheese from scratch

51. Make jelly or jam

52. Make three new salsa recipes (0/3)

53. Cook six REAL meals for just me – main dish and two sides

H O M E

54. Buy one piece of art for the living room

55. Keep champagne in the fridge

56. Keep five bottles of wine on the wine rack

57. Buy two new sets of sheets that I like

58. Buy each cat a basket

59. Gather important documents in one, safe place

H A P P Y

60. Identify 100 things that make me happy

61. See Elvis Costello in concert

62. Buy a good pair of Mary Janes

63. Wake up a half hour early to read, write, knit etc. for one week

64. Fly a kite

65. Make a snowman

66. Buy a quality, flattering pair of black pants

67. Take five photos a day for thirty days (0/30)

68. Weekly coffee shop dates myself

69. Make a mixed CD of songs I like – a soundtrack of me

70. Find a new favorite magazine and subscribe to it

71. Take three three day weekends for no reason whatsoever (0/3)

72. Spend an afternoon hiking by myself

73. Find a straight liquor I love

74. Kiss in the rain

75. Develop two stray rolls of film

76. Go strawberry picking

77. Buy a season of The Muppets

78. Find a tea I like

79. Buy new glasses

80. Buy 10 CDs by unfamiliar musicians recommended by friends

81. Acquire a tent and at least one sleeping bag

82. Buy a piece of lingerie I like

S O C I A L

83. Join the DAI

84. Visit a museum in Cincinnati

85. Attend four wine tastings (0/4)

86. Go for a real English tea

87. Go to a live roller derby

88. Make a new friend

89. Reconnect with an old friend

90. Visit V

91. Call my grandparents weekly

92. Visit my grandparents in Tennessee by myself

93. Finally get back to the Columbus Zoo

94. See three classics at the Victoria Theater (0/3)

95. Keep a birthday calendar of close friends and family and actually remember

96. Call someone to catch up once a month

97. On five random days leave a comment on every blog I read that day (0/5)

98. Say I love you

L I S T

99. Blog about each completed task

100. Donate a dollar to charity for each unfinished task at the end of 1001 days

101. Near the end of the 1001 days, create a new list including those tasks left unfinished

- - -

That was a really hard list to complete (and post - I've tried several times and things keep coming up wonky).  Honestly, I think writing the list may be harder than several of my tasks! 

And speaking of competing...according to this tooI should have my list completed by August 6, 2010...just shy of my 36th birthday.

The rules and details about how to start your own list can be found on Day Zero.

Paragraphs of Seriously Random Things

I worked on my 101 in 1001 list today. My, this list is taking forever. So far I only have thirty-four items listed. It’s ridiculous how hard this is for me. I’m trying to be fairly specific, though, no challenges that I need to undertake that are completely vague like, “Make a relationship work” or “Don’t loose your self in a relationship” (I think the current theme is obvious). I did add “Take myself on weekly coffee shop dates” and, considering that I was working on the list at a coffee shop, I can at least say that I’m working on my list even though it isn’t complete.  

I can see my craft room floor but the tabletops are still hidden – it’s a start anyway. I finished one baby bootie today and half of a Christmas ornament. I need to take a break before I finish the second bootie – I’m such a tight knitter that my little metal needles are killing the tip of my left pointy finger as I push off the loop. Ridiculous. I think I’ll try to finish the ornament during The Amazing Race tonight.

I'm listening to one of my favorite CD's right now - The Bridge School Concerts Vol.1 - I'm particularly fond of Chrissy Hynde's sassy lyric from "Sense of Purpose" -

Bully boys don’t bother me
I purse my lips and they run away
Guys like you who are gentle and true
Don’t come around here everyday
I’m potent, baby, I’m potent
Just one swig of me would get most guys smashed
But a drop of yours makes me stagger and swerve
I guess I’m outclassed 

When I told someone about Fido, they jokingly (at least I think so) replied, “…it is time to let the Halloween stuff be for a while.” Um, when it comes to zombies? No, never.  Anyway, I loved Fido, a brightly colored little black comedy zombie flick. I just wish Billy Connolly did a bit more than grunt throughout but I guess that would be a lot to ask of a zombie.

I couldn't for the life of me figure out why the clock on my computer was wrong this morning...some time after noon I realized that we'd fallen back.  Duh.   It's amazing how one hour can make such a difference - I feel like this day should have ended, um, a day ago. 

And, in closing, the cutest finger puppets ever via Beetlegrass.