28
Aug, 2008

we have a winner! (and a pillowcase)

one of my jobs at work is purchasing children’s music cd’s.  my budget is very small (probably due to the fact that for a few years, they sort of forgot to assign anyone to purchase music and the budget got raided for other things) so i search high and low for the very best music to add to our collection.  in the process of this search, i listen to lots of children’s music.  sometimes just one or two samples from a cd, sometimes all of the samples, sometimes the whole cd.  while i’m ostensibly shopping for work, i am also secretly hoping to discover another personal favorite.  the first personal favorite i found (at least in recent years) was elizabeth mitchell’s you are my little bird.  i love this cd.  all other cd’s are judged against this one.  the next personal favorite cd i found (which was almost as good, but not quite) was dog on fleas’ when i get little.  i’ve blogged about that cd already, but basically, i really like the majority of songs on this cd, but a few were not quite my favorites.  well, readers, i think it’s safe to say that i’ve found another personal favorite in nat hussey’s papa goose:  nursery tunes fresh from maine.  i read this review and got very excited by the description, so i went to cdbaby and listened to the samples.  what makes a personal favorite cd?  if i find myself singing (and sometimes dancing) along with the music the first time i hear it.  if i want to listen to it over and over.  if, after a few listens, i smile when each song begins and think, “oh yeah, this song again!  i love this one!”  i was dancing and harmonizing even to the samples.  i ordered the cd so i could hear the whole thing and… i love it!  the first time i listened to it in the car, the music made me so happy that i cried!  (granted, i may have been a little over-emotional that day, but still!)  this cd came out in 2005, but it’s timeless.  there are songs that remind me (like the other reviewer pointed out) of paul simon and james taylor.  buy this cd.  it’s completely delightful.  (oh, and if you do buy it, tell me so i don’t unwittingly get you a second copy for christmas.  no promises.  i’m just sayin.’)

now, on to the pillowcase part of the title:

i’ve had this pillowcase on my to-do list since i made this duvet and i finally finished it tonight.  it’s for my enormous body pillow.  i don’t even think they make pillowcases big enough to fit it.  but i’m happy to make my own.  what do you think?

(it’s reversible to match the reversible duvet).  i’m mostly just glad to be able to mark this one off the list.  sorry, i couldn’t wait until daylight to take the photos, so they’re a bit dark around the edges.  can you still see them?

Posted in crafty stuff, library stuff | 7 Comments
27
Aug, 2008

flannel story

once or twice a year, i try to create a new flannel story for whatever storytime theme kit i’m building at work (we each build 1-3 kits, then rotate among branches to lessen each individual’s workload.  it’s brilliant.)  this season, i’m building “grumpy day” and “in my pocket.”  “grumpy day” was my idea (ironic, considering this blog’s general theme, but trust me–stories about grumpy days can be really funny.  and they make you appreciate un-grumpy days so much more!) but “in my pocket” was one someone else had done years ago and i thought i’d resurrect it.  “pocket” has lots of different pocket-y stories–kangaroos of course, but also stories about things kids have stashed in their pockets, new pockets being sewn onto items of clothing, etc.  there’s more out there on pockets than you might think!  and grumpy day has a plethora of good titles to pick from, but there weren’t very many flannel story options for either of these themes.  so, i decided to make some.  i’m kind of meh on the pocket story, but for “grumpy” i decided to do kevin henkes’ book, “a good day.”  it’s a very simple, very lovely story about four animals who start the day off very sad for various reasons and end the day feeling very happy and making a little girl happy in the process.  the illustrations are fantastic and although i tried to come up with a way to make a flannel story for it without blatantly copying…. nothing else i tried did justice to the original.  so, mr. henkes, i hope you don’t mind that i traced your beautiful artwork onto milk filters and made this set:

this was my first time working with milk filters and if you are a librarian who likes to make your own flannel stories and if you have never used this stuff, then get thee to a farm and fleet and buy a box (my colleague who gave me a few to experiment with said they were about $12 for 100.  i used 1.5 for this set.).  they are stiff, sort of fabric-y, paper-y, semi-transparent material that has enough roughness to stick easily to flannelboards and pick up colored pencil like magic.  look at how bright those colors turned out!  i had to sharpen my colored pencils 2-3 times per image!  but i am so very happy with the way they turned out.  even the poor happy fox that i had to take some artistic liberties with because the picture only shows him from the neck up.  and he sort of has rabbity feet.  but he sure looks happy!

Posted in library stuff | 4 Comments
25
Aug, 2008

a weekend of beauty

ahhh… i needed that. so many beautiful bits this last weekend. first, this weekend was the annual local festival that culminates in an aerial dance performance suspended from the trees by a troupe called cycropia. i’ve blogged about them before and they’re probably my favorite local entertainers. their act is just so unique! a friend of mine last night brought his camera and took some cool, long exposure shots that give you a bit of a feel for their ethereal performance:

this first one is a bit fuzzy, but i think you can see the “s” shaped metal bar that two women are hanging on, acrobatically.

and here they are, spinning on that metal bar:


the red orb behind this guy is a large floating balloon, lit from the inside. there were three and sometimes they were white and looked like moons, other times they were a moody red.

this was three women, each sitting on a ring suspended from bars like a mobile, spinning around.

there were also some fantastically costumed stiltswalkers walking around as praying mantises, entertaining the crowd.

the next beautiful bit of my weekend was a mini canoe trip this afternoon to see the lotus! here’s my favorite shots:

i love the way the water beads up on these rubbery suede-like giant leaves:

and the lion’s mane around the center of the flower:

then, i whipped up a scrumptious batch of sausage gravy and biscuits for breakfast sunday morning. i’ve tried this before, but i think this was my favorite recipe so far (from cook’s country magazine):

(sorry, no photos of the gravy… it’s yummy, but not photogenic.)

then, i splurged and got a pedicure!

the “thrones” give massages!

hooray for massage whirlpool foottubs!

and now for something completely different….

pink polish! (i usually pick the darkest brown-purple-reddish color on the palette)

aaaahhhhhhhhhhhh……….beautiful.

*updated* i’ve added the black and white lotus photo to my free desktop wallpaper gallery. enjoy!

Posted in photography, stuff that sparks a glow in my soul, summer, yum | 3 Comments
14
Aug, 2008

peachy

due to a last minute schedule switch, i found myself with the day off yesterday.  i’d bought a case of peaches the day before, thinking maybe i’d get to can them sometime on friday (my original day off this week).  but since i had the whole day off and the peaches were already ripe and delicious, i decided to take advantage of the situation and try canning them.  i had some wide mouth pint jars and thought peaches would look good in them, so i rolled up my sleeves and dug in.  first, i cut a shallow “x” in the bottom of each peach, then dropped them into boiling water for about a minute, then switch them into a bowl of ice water for another minute or so to loosen the skins.  oh man.  is there anything more wonderful than slipping peach skins off of ripe peaches? (maybe peeling sunburns.  maybe.)  just look at those glistening beauties!

then, it started raining outside.  perfect, surprisingly cool august weather–just right for a hot kitchen full of canning jars.

finally, when all of the peaches were skinned, pitted and halved (and sprinkled with lemon juice) i started packing pint jars.  hmm…. i only seem to be able to fit approximately 3 peach halves in each jar before it’s full.  this is going to take awhile, isn’t it?  four hours and 24 pint jars later, i’ve got this:

aren’t they gorgeous?  i suppose that single serving jars aren’t necessarily a bad thing.  if i find time to can more, i think i’ll try small-mouth jars instead.  i think packing the peaches in tightly will be easier if the “shoulders” of the jar help to hold the peaches down so they don’t float in the liquid.  also, i think i’ll do quart jars.  preserving a little sunshine for the middle of winter.  yay!

Posted in yum | 5 Comments
08
Aug, 2008

can-can

so, i’m trying my hand at canning food again this year.  the last time (and also the first time) i tried to can tomatoes was just after college.  i’d planted way too many tomato plants in the backyard of my rental house and didn’t want them to go to waste, so i canned some.  it took most of a loooooong, hot and very sweaty august afternoon and at the end of the day, i had four small jars of tomatoes.  i didn’t want to ever use them–i’d put so much work into them, it seemed a shame to just eat them in one meal!

this year, with all of the talk of eating local food, i decided to give tomato canning another try.  so today, a friend of mine (who works in a local community csa garden) brought two cases of tomatoes home.  she prepped one box at her home, then picked her up (along with her prepped tomatoes and my box of unprepped tomaotes, her canning supplies) and we went back to my place (i’ve got a bigger kitchen).  there, she began cooking her tomatoes and i began cleaning mine.  aren’t they pretty?

then, i blanched, shocked and peeled my tomatoes and then…. i diced them all.  wow.  that took a long time.  when i was finally done, i packed them into hot jars, ladled boiling tomato juice on the tops of the jars, and then processed them in a hot water bath for about an hour and a half and ended up with 21 pints of tomatoes.

you may have noticed that there’s a layer of liquid at the bottom of the jars.  apparently, that is relatively normal for “raw pack” tomatoes.  my friend’s chunky tomato sauce (which was cooked) did not separate.  plus, she cut hers up in a food processor which was much faster than my dicing.  hmmm….. maybe i’ll try it that way next time….  but what a great sense of accomplishment!  and i’m pretty happy with the yield.  now, i just need to repeat this process a few more times (maybe adding salsa? spaghetti sauce?) and we’ll be set for winter.

Posted in yum | 3 Comments
07
Aug, 2008

it’s all a piece of cake from here

yesterday was the library’s second annual summer library (huge, enormous) carnival. with the help of 22 volunteers and seven paid performers/artists, we entertained about 1350 people between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. there were games, prizes, crafts, jugglers, facepainters, balloon sculpture towers, and this hilarious duo:

*added later*–see some great photos of the event here.

Posted in library stuff, Uncategorized | 1 Comment
04
Aug, 2008

check!

my could-do list has a few things on it that have been there for quite some time.  today, i had the distinct pleasure of finally crossing one of those things off my list–making new cushions for the chair in my living room.  here’s the before picture:

in this photo, it doesn’t look that bad, but you can’t see how threadbare the cushions are and … they’re just kind of blah.  and kitty hair gets really stuck in that textured fabric.   gross.  i searched high and low for upholstery that i liked.  there is not really very much out there for modern decor (at least not at the places here in town).  after exhaustive searching, i finally went online (for some reason, i’m loathe to buy fabric online–hard to really see the true colors of the fabric, you can’t feel the weight of the fabric, you have to pay shipping…) and after a long search (how in the world do you search for “modern, neutral-ish, not too wild, but not boring upholstery fabric.  preferably something with dots, but not silly looking”?) i finally found a blog (sorry, can’t remember which one.) that had some examples of modern upholstery-weight fabric and one of them was exactly what i was looking for!  it was available for sale at maine cottage and, miracle of miracles, it was on sale!  (from $50/yard down to $15/yard)  the name of the print is “hotty dotty” (hey, i just checked and it’s still available if anyone wants it…) and as soon as i saw it, i knew that it was what i was looking for.  so, i had the fabric, i’d bought the other necessary supplies (zippers, cording, new webbing for the seat of the chair) and i was ready to go.  but i procrastinated ….. until this weekend!  and i learned a new trick!  i wanted to make my own cording (or piping or whatever it’s called) from the same fabric as the rest of the cushion and i wasn’t sure of the best way to do that.  did i have to cut a big 45 degree slice through the fabric and try to squeeze the rest of the pieces out of the leftover triangles?  so i did what i always do when i’m stumped with a sewing question.  call mom.  she told me about the bias tape tube trick.  whoa!  did you all know about this?  with only a half-yard of fabric, i was able to make about 16 yards of 1.75″ bias strips!

(this photo is what i had leftover after i was done making both cushions!)

with that hurdle soared over, i plunged right into making the cushions today.  it took most of the day and they’re not even close to perfect (how do you get that “overstuffed” look?  i have a theory that it has something to do with being brave enough to sew the cover just a teensy bit smaller than the cushion itself, but i’m not willing to rip these cushions apart to check that theory.  i can live with their flat surfaces.

and here’s the final product!  although the color in this photo looks a little strange, this is more or less how it really looks.  what do you think?  i like it much better than the original cushions.

Posted in crafty stuff | 4 Comments
03
Aug, 2008

love. this. bag.

remember my blogiversary giveaway? i finally finished the last part of the prize–a tote bag, featuring my most recent original needlepoint piece. this is the first time that i’ve combined needlepoint and patchwork and i love, love, love the way it turned out! 

here’s the back:

and the inside:

the strap is actually a belt that i thrifted for this sort of project awhile back.  mona jean was thrilled with it when i gave it to her tonight.  she mentioned something about me supporting her “bag fetish…”

the needlepoint pattern is now available on my “free patterns” page above (or click here).

Posted in crafty stuff | 2 Comments
02
Aug, 2008

unplanned pit stop

on thursday’s bike ride home from work, i got a flat tire.  i wasn’t even halfway home and i didn’t really want to walk six miles, so i called mr. happy stuff to see if he could come pick me up.  i have changed my own flat tires in the past, but the sheer physical strength needed to pry the tire off of the rim means that it usually takes me at least 45 minutes.  assuming that i remember how to do it.  and assuming that i have the right replacement tube with me.  very luckily, mr. happy stuff was willing to come rescue me.  i’d gotten the flat within a block of a friend’s house (i’d called him first, but he wasn’t home), so mr. happy stuff agreed to meet me there.  i walked the bike to the friend’s house.  while i was waiting, i noticed that the house was surrounded by enormous, productive hydrangea bushes.  my friend has been house-sitting across town and although he wasn’t home for me to ask, i was pretty sure that if i clipped a few blooms from inconspicuous places, he wouldn’t mind.  so i got this great, huge bouquet!  ah, the tiny perks of having to cut my ride short…..

Posted in sporty stuff, stuff that makes me smile, summer | 1 Comment
29
Jul, 2008

you learn something new…

so i thought about titling yesterday’s post “you learn something new every day” and then decided not to.  but then i learned something new again today and couldn’t resist using it for today’s title.  here are some of the new things i learned today:

1.  backlit photos are not necessarily a bad thing.  which do you like better?  today’s sunflower photo or yesterday’s?

2.  when put to the test, i can come up with a relatively decent storytime in less than 5 minutes that will (more or less, anyway) entertain a crowd of up to 110 people for about half an hour.  longer if need be.

3.  larabar has some new flavors!

and here are the stories behind the lessons:

1–well, really, no story.  i was taking some photos in the early morning today and i tried this shot thinking that it would be too dark since the light was behind the flower, but i really like the way the sun shines through the petals.

2–today was tuesday, which meant that it was the day for my surprisingly popular “tuesday at 2” series at the library.  something outside of work came up at the last minute and i had to be gone until a little bit before 2:00, but since it was a hired performer (and one we’ve had multiple times in the past with no problems, and one i’d contacted to confirm just last week) and all i was responsible for was opening the doors and counting all the people stream into the room, i didn’t think this would be a problem.  i returned at 2:00 to find the room dark, no performer, and a line of people from the meeting room to the front door.  ack!  i called the performer and the program director said that he thought there was someone coming, but he’d check and call me back.  in the meantime, i invited folks to make themselves comfortable with a good book and i’d let them know when the performer arrived.  at 2:10, i’m starting to be very concerned that we’re not just dealing with someone stuck in traffic and one of the moms points out that the kids don’t reeeeeeally care what they see, they just want to be entertained and don’t i have lots of puppets and things?  i figure that at the least, i could read them a story or two until the performer shows up, so i go and start pulling a few things together.  i tell a co-worker that i’m still expecting a status call back from the program director and could she just give me a signal as to whether they are or are not coming when he calls back?  i invite the horde of people into the meeting room and we begin with a book (during which my co-worker sticks her head in the door and solemnly shakes it back and forth signalling that i am the main event after all), we sing “head, shoulders, knees and toes” (after they vote down b-i-n-g-o), read another book, then invite the puppet mouse to come out of his house (it’s a prop i have) and then…i happen to have the movie version of “officer buckle and gloria” and since it’s about a dog and since the performer was supposed to be bringing along a dog, it was as perfect as it could be in the circumstances.  i showed the movie and took a head count.  at least 105 people, plus the few that wandered in and out with cranky kids… yeah.  it was a packed house.  but at least they got a show, right?

later, i learned that the performer that was supposed to visit us had been in an accident the day before and in all of the panic and confusion that goes along with accidents, they’d forgotten that she was supposed to do a program at our library today.  so they weren’t just being flaky.

the good news out of all of this?  i learned what happens when a performer doesn’t show and i have 100+ people wanting entertainment.  and it wasn’t a disaster.  and i even got some compliments.

3–later this evening, when i got home after saying sad goodbyes to good friends who are moving 5 hours away (5 hours isn’t thaaaat far away.  especially when there’s pie in the middle and the world wide web to build a bridge between our houses.) there was a package on our mail pile from larabar.  (look at that cute party fluff!)

longtime readers may remember my hearty endorsement of this fruit/nut bar from awhile back.  at the end of that long-ago post, i mentioned that i thought i might possibly receive some free samples.  well, today i did!  (come to think of it, i think they also sent me a whole box of my favorite “cherry pie” bars soon after the post, so this is my second shipment of goodies from them!)  apparently, they have four new flavors and they sent me three of each.

how cool is that?  i’m pretty full from supper right now–otherwise i’d totally eat one.  they look delicious!  what a great surprise at the end of a day that had a few other less great surprises.  in fact, i’m inspired to do a spontaneous giveaway to spread the joy.  leave a comment below saying which of the new flavors sounds the best to you and i’ll do a drawing and send the winner a bar or two.  here are the new flavors:

larabar–peanut butter cookie

larabar–coconut creme pie

jocalat–chocolate cherry

jocalat–chocolate hazelnut

no, they still don’t have the apricot flavor that seems to me to be such an obviously good fit to their product line, but a girl can still hope, can’t she?

so send in your favorite flavor choices by… let’s say noon on friday and maybe you’ll be able to enjoy a fun food package in the mail too!  in order to maintain the “surprise!” factor, i won’t announce the winner on this blog.  happy tuesday, everyone!

Posted in library stuff, photography | 6 Comments