Oh, my. Oh, Miche!

So, my best friend, ScrapMaven, brought a new purse to a recent dim sum feast. A brilliant invention, the base cloth bag (black or brown) has magnets across the top on both sides. Special "shells" wrap around the bag and attach with the magnets. Her shell was a gorgeous nail-polish red.

I came home and drooled over the website for about two hours (http://www.michebag.com/). The bags and their oh-so-varied shells are NOT cheap. Then I went to eBay and drooled some more. Apparently, entreprenurial and crafty individuals are making fabric "wraps" for the shells, so you can have even MORE variety for your purse. Want a St. Patrick's Day design? $10 and shipping, and this lovely wrap can be yours. Easter bunny? No sweat.

Long straps are additional cost, but interchangeable because of the ingenious safety-pin like rings (sturdier metal than safety pins, of course).

I am NOT a purse-gal. The black leather purse I use has been my main bag for nearly two years, ever since I fell in love with its multiple pockets on a Disneyland trip. But I recently have made the effort to upgrade and update my wardrobe for work. Suddenly, my old standard just looked, well, old.

So, after scouring every outlet mall between here and the coast for a replacement purse, I found myself staring at the computer screen again, drooling over the eBay offerings. Cruising the internet, I found a separate site that was offering a Miche discount - one bag, four shells, and the long straps, for about 33% off the official Miche site.

My package arrived today. It took me about 5 minutes to move all of my stuff from one purse to the other. And another 5 minutes to take pictures of all four shells. Being the crafty kat that I am, you KNOW I will be creating wraps in the coming months.

This is SO girly-girl. I LOVE it!!

Can You Hear Me Now?

This weekend was full of mis (Miss?) communication.

Friday night I checked in with Critter and found her listening to her iPod stereo system and writing a note to a friend.

JewelGeek: Hey, I wanted to share a funny with you.

Critter: Yeah?

JewelGeek: So the other day CrafterKat was loading up songs onto her Zune and she said, "Who is this Vampire Weekend?" And I laughed and said that I knew them because of the song Oxford Comma * and Critter knows them because of A-Punk, which is a song that I like, too.

Critter: I know! I was so surprised that you knew who they were because you usually only know Old People. But you knew who they were and you totally earned a Point.

JewelGeek, beaming at her new status: I did? I got a Super Mom Point? What am I up to now?

Critter: Zero.

JewelGeek, shocked: What? But... but... I just earned a point!

Critter: Well, you were at minus one but now you're up to zero.

JewelGeek, still in shock, but happy that Critter knows her negative numbers: But... but... I thought I was ahead. How did I get to minus one?

Critter: Well, there was that thing you wrote on the blog that one time...? About snot? Like you said "Groovey" or something. Don't worry, I have confidence you'll be up to Five or so sooner or later.

JewelGeek, thinking hard: I know Bruises by Chairlift. I like that song.

Critter: I don't know what you're talking about.

JewelGeek, eyeing her iPod: Don't you have that song? (sings) "I got brusies on my knees for you, I got grass stains on my knees for you..."

Critter: I don't know what you're talking about... (jumps up and runs to the iPod system). Do you know this song?

JewelGeek, singing along: "Look at this photograph..." Nickelback.

Critter: Good job. One Point. Do you know this song? (plays another song).

JewelGeek, singing along: "If you were falling, then I would catch you. You need a light, I'd find a match." Ingrid... (pausing, so she doesn't get her name mixed up with the other Ingrid she knows...)

Critter: Michaelson. One more point. How about this one? (plays another song)

JewelGeek, listening... and listening.... and frowning...: Um... If I say I know it, do I get a Point?

Critter: No! You have to be truthful!


* Sorry, I could not locate the radio-censored version of this song!

* * * * * * * * *

Sunday night we visited a different Verizon store as we were still searching for the perfect phone. This store was far less crowded than the last and we were actually able to see and play with most models. At one point I texted CrafterKat from a phone: Nice keyboard but hard to find symbols. I giggled as I watched her retrieve the message; she was clearly wondering who was messaging her. From her model phone she texted: Boodle. Shut up.

Afterwards we got some food from Subway for Critter and headed back to the house.

JewelGeek: Can I have a Dorito?

Critter, handing over a chip: Sure.

JewelGeek: Thanks. Every once in awhile I like Doritos. Especially the Ranch ones.

Critter: I like Ranch corn nuts.

CrafterKat: Doh!

Critter: No, corn nuts.

CrafterKat: Donut!

Critter: Corn nut, CrafterKat!

CrafterKat: Donut!

Critter: Corn nut!

JewelGeek, who strongly dislikes corn nuts: Nasty!

* * * * * * * * *

Monday night I chatted with CrafterKat briefly to let her know that I was making dinner. I found an old message from her--it had "Boodle" in it--and stated: I will feed kid. ETA?

The phone beeped at me, signaling her response: Funny, this is a Verizon sample phone.

The lesson here is to erase messages that say "Boodle. Shut up."

Blockbuster Spirit

As I mentioned earlier, it's Spirit Week at work which means lots of fun artsy stuff on the walls (and ceilings... and floors...). This year the theme is blockbuster films. Each high school class gets a locker hallway to decorate and each there they surprise me at their talent. This year, I wanted to share their talent with you.

Harry Potter (Frosh Hall)

I particularly love the Hogwarts House shields and the very scary Dementors. Harry and Draco look like they might be participating in a Pokemon tournament.

Pirates of the Caribbean (Soph Hall)

The Sophomores were the most humorous of the bunch, I think, with quotes from the movie plastered all over the place. The pirate ships actually have cannons sticking out of them and they hung little cannonballs from the ceiling so it looked like it was firing on a ship across the hallway. The kraken actually has tentacles coming out of the ceiling. And the pirate by the Wenches bathroom is missing his rum.

Shrek (Junior Hall)

The Juniors must have a talented artist in their class. I loved the portraits of two of my favorite characters--Donkey and Puss In Boots.

The Lord of the Rings (Senior Hall)

Senior Hall usually has the most intricate displays--this year was no exception. There were swords hanging from the ceiling (even a properly created orc sword!), a glowing eye, and a lava spewing Mt. Doom. I was especially fond of the maps of Tolkien's world.

In Celebration of the Ox

Tiny ice pellets

Make clicking sound on the deck

Snow and ice mixing

Weird Charms

Saturday we had two items on our agenda: visit the Verizon store to look at cell phones and see the movie Inkheart. Critter will be moving to our wireless plan next month and to say that she is looking forward to a new phone is an understatement.

The Verizon store was packed and my claustrophobia set in immediately. I did my best to push it aside and browsed the twenty models that they had, figuring out that, really, none of them are good for my fat fingers. After thirty minutes trying in vain to write simple text messages, my thumbs froze up and refused to continue. We did find a few models that might work between the three of us but futher research is definitely warranted. I had too many people in the store tell me that they had the model I was currently handling and they hated it. Critter texted her friends and they would report the same about a different model. It seems everybody hates something about their existing phone.

We gave up and drove across the street to the mall and bought our tickets for the movie. The mall has been remodeled and has a new 20-screen theater as well as several new restaurants. CrafterKat left us in the food court to buy some sushi.


Critter, fingering the dangling beaded charm on her existing phone: Omigosh! I forgot to see if the [Verizon] enV phone had a place to hang charms from!

Me, straight-faced: Hmmmm. Well, you might have to keep your existing phone then.

Critter, shocked: NO! No. Nooooo. No. (pause) No. Noooooowah. (pause). No. And....No.


Inkheart was a fabulous movie and perfect for a lazy afternoon. When we finished, I bought Critter some pizza while CrafterKat visited the ATM. She had a huge slice of pizza which took two hands to manage.


Me: You know, I thought you wouldn't want pizza since you ate that all the time while the school cafeteria was being remodeled.

Critter: I always like pizza.

Me, trying to impart something educational into our dining experience: You know, in New York, people eat their pizza by folding it in half so they can eat it with one hand.

Critter, taking another bite: Well, at school, I would eat the pizza with a knife and fork. And then the kids would call me weird. And then I tried folding it in half. And the kids would call me weird. And then I would eat the toppings off of the pizza first and then eat the crust. And the kids would call me weird. So then I would eat it with both hands like them. And then I told them that that way was weird.

Me: Well, I'm glad you like the pizza.

Critter, taking another bite: I like eating pizza because it makes my nose scrunch up real cute when I eat it.


I had to laugh. It was really cute.

Winter Spirit

One of the benefits to having an office located in a school is that you get to be around all the student decorations and art work. Winter is one of my favorite times because we get the yearly Hall of Presidents at the elementary school and Spirit Week at the high school. The last week of January, each school class chooses a theme and decorates their hallway lockers accordingly. We've had music halls dedicated the 60, 70s, 80s, and 90s, and lots of blockbuster movies. Voting doesn't begin until next week but I thought I'd share some of the brilliance of years past.

The Fantastic Four (Year of the Superhero)

The X-Men

The Wizard of Oz (Year of Books)

Next weeks themes revolve around blockbuster movies. I hope to have pictures next week.

A Box Without Hinges, Key or Lid, Yet Golden Treasure Inside is Hid

For a couple of days now, JewelGeek’s boss, EvilPXE, has been regaling her with the intricate details of one of life’s biggest mysteries… how to properly boil eggs. Seriously. Apparently there is great magic in the process. When done well, the hard boiled egg will peel easily, rendering its succulent egginess eagerly to the awaiting connoisseur.

He shared his expertise whenever he started peeling a new egg. After 45 minutes, JewelGeek asked how many eggs he had.
EvilPXE: I have six. I eat three at a time.

And on the next day…
EvilPXE: See, this one has just a little bit of moisture on the inside of the egg and that just makes the difference.

JewelGeek doesn’t even like eggs. They make her gag. I’m pretty sure these last couple of days rank right up there with root canal for her…

A quick search on Yahoo turned up several thousands of pages on hard boiled eggs, recipes, and "how tos." I especially liked some of the photos. One came with a warning: "Do not touch the boiling water." Priceless.

This is my favorite. So, this is for you, JewelGeek, for quietly suffering the boiled egg soapbox. It's called "Egg Chase." Love ya'.

Where's The Beef?

For New Years, my mother, the Social Butterfly, came up to the Rose City to do Christmas with us. She recently got a new computer, though, and discovered that her old printer didn't work with Vista; I took her out to find a new one. As we approached the mall, I pointed out different stores in the area.

JewelGeek: Have you been to the mall since they put in the new stores?

Social Butterfly: No, I try to avoid any mall at Christmas time. But I do want to go to the grub steak place.

JewelGeek: Um... Which restaurant?

Social Butterfly: Grub steak! I want to eat there sometime!

JewelGeek, with visions of grubs and steaks in her head: Um... I don't understand...

Social Butterfly, getting more animated: Grub steak! Grub steak! You said that you and CrafterKat went there and they had really large portions!

JewelGeek: Claim Jumper?

Social Butterfly: Grub Stake. Claim Jumper. Whatever.

On The Twelfth Day Of Christmas

...we got more snow.

Or at least it seemed that way. As Inigo Montoya said, "There is too much. Let me sum up." CrafterKat and I braved the snow for snacks at Trader Joes. We then stocked up for the winter storm the weekend before Christmas. We made $100 chili. Eventually. The power went out. And then we got stuck in the snow. Critter tried to meet up with her friends, to no avail.

By Monday, after several hours of digging out driveways, we measured and had well over a foot of snow in the yard. Attempts to drive out in the Mazda were entertaining at best. One short trip to Fred Meyers had us completing a 180 spin into the oncoming traffic. We made it home with only slightly upset stomachs--the roads were so rutted with snow and ice it was like riding an old wooden roller coaster with very little padding on the seats.

Tuesday, Mr. GoGoGo, LaLa, and the Queen Matriarch arrived. And got stuck in the same spot on the driveway we did. A couple of good pushes and they were able to pull in to our garage. We spent Tuesday and Wednesday shoveling more snow out from the driveway and listening to branches crack under the weight of the snow.

The Renaissance Man, Golden Poet, and their two boys came over for dinner. In honor of the Jedi Racoon's tenth birthday, we had Dominos pizza and played Apples To Apples. One of the funniest exchanges occurred when the Jedi Raccoon was judging. He had the word "cuddly" and wasn't sure who/what were on the other cards. It was his job to choose which of the other cards played was closest to "cuddly".

Jedi Raccoon: Well, what's Flipper?

Renaissance Man: Well, he was a famous dolphin or porpoise.

Jedi Raccoon: How are dolphins cuddly?

Renaissance Man: Well, he was a big TV star a long time ago. I used to watch that show and Big Ben when I was a kid.

Golden Poet: Really? Big Ben? In London?

JewelGeek: Gong! Gong! What's that Big Ben? You say little Timmy has fallen down the well?

Flipper didn't make the cut...

For Santa's visit, I made CrafterKat's new favorite cookie--Chocolate Peppermint Crisps. The big man liked them. So did everyone else!

Chocolate Peppermint Crisps

1 c. butter-flavored shortening (I used Crisco's new butter shortening)

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. brown sugar

2 eggs

1 pkg (12 oz.) of York Peppermint Patties

1 t. vanilla

2 - 1/3 c. flour

1 t. soda

1/2 t. salt

On low heat, melt the peppermint patties. Stir occasionally. It will be a gooey mess! If you made $100 chili, use one of your new non-stick skillets!

Cream together the shortening and sugars. Add the the eggs, soda, and salt. Sift the flour and add it to mixture. Add the melted peppermint patties until well-combined. The dough should be rather buttery and will stick together well. Put the dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Roll dough into one inch balls and place on cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes. Cookies will spread and be quite thin. Remove them from the sheet when they are still a bit bendy--they will crisp up in the next five minutes. If you like chewy cookies (like me!), eat them right after they get out of the oven; otherwise they will remain crispy and are good dunked in coffee or milk.

We considered having Christmas dinner on our deck but in the end we begged a ride from the Renaissance Man who was able to maneuver the side streets much better than we were in the old Mazda. We had a lovely Christmas dinner complete with pie and too much laughter.

Saturday after Christmas enough snow had melted that we were able to assess the damage. Tree limbs were down in several yards or were bent back at impossible angles.

We discovered that a light had been left on in the Tink Tank--our mini van's battery was dead. The car tent it was housed in had collapsed under the weight of snow and ice, denting the mini van's hood.

It's now New Year's... We figure we had at least thirteen inches of snow and ice Christmas week.

Winter Break is over and school is supposed to start on Monday. I hope it does... We've got another inch of snow on the ground this evening...

With all the running back and forth, not knowing if the snow will stop or get worse, it's been a bit like The Coats' version of the Twelve Days of Christmas. Enjoy!

Editors Note - 1-5-09: We really enjoy The Coats and the video below doesn't quite do them justice. If you have a chance, visit their site and listen to some of their Christmas songs (30 sec. snippets).

Critter just stopped by to watch the rest of The Coats video and said, "What? You didn't do Straight No Chaser's version?" I've added that video clip, too.

There’s One Born Every Minute

After our brief respite at the hotel, we dug out the car in the parking lot (another 4 inches) and made our way back home. We got 20 feet from the garage door before one of the tire chains spun off. Despite the earnest assistance of Critter and JewelGeek, I admitted defeat and called Renaissance Man to rescue me. With his experience, it took about 15 minutes to put on the errant chain and drive in to the garage.

So now it is Tuesday. Mr. GoGoGo and Lala are braving the roads and coming up from Eugene (finally) for Christmas. I promised them I’d dig a better path in the driveway for them. When I got out there, I found this.


Our neighbors, for whatever reason, decided to try and drive out last evening, and got stopped by the 18+ inches of snow and ice in the driveway. Oh, and they don’t have chains on the car. Nevermind that chains are required on all streets in the area. I’ve dug all around the car, and sprinkled sand. Will finish digging up to the street after a quick break. Then I’m going to call my brother to come help, and go wake up the neighbors to get the blockade cleared out.

I swear, snow brings out the idiots.

$100 Chili Pow(d)er

"What are you doing up?"

CrafterKat caught me tearing open the remaining grocery bags at 3 a.m. I had just found the Winco receipt and flashed it at her. "I didn't buy the red beans for chili. I'm pretty sure the bag fell out of the cart before I reached the cashier."

"It's okay. I have some other errands. We'll go in the morning before the storm really hits."

The snow continued to fall Friday night; Saturday we woke at 7:00 a.m. and ventured out to get some final items. Fred's had a bag of red beans, Lowe's had the Styrofoam faucet covers but no Christmas lights, and K-Mart had...well, all the things we forgot at the other stores.

"Wait... I need to make Santa cookies... I don't think we have enough flour." I bought one of five bags of K-Mart flour.

"Wait," said CrafterKat, "I want to make s'mores." I picked up The Bag of Marshmallows. And a box of graham crackers.

We made it home by lunch and settled down for a long snowfall. I made $100 chili.

$100 Chili

Ingredients:

2-3 cups dry red beans

2-5 slices of bacon, diced

1 onion, diced

1 lb. ground beef

1 can tomatoes, diced

1/4 to 1/2 t. of cayenne pepper (how spicy do you want it?)

1/2 to 1 t. of chili powder (you choose the spicy level!)

Salt and pepper to taste

Optional: A new $100 pot and pan set

Prep: Rinse the dry beans in a colander and set to soak in a large pot with about two inches of water. Let the beans soak for 2 to 3 hours. Drain the water from the beans, then add fresh water. This gets rid of some of the starch from the beans.

Put the beans (with fresh water) on to boil. Then reduce heat to low.

In a pan, brown the diced bacon (I used four slices--yummy!). Use a slotted spoon and scoop out the bacon; add it to the bean pot.

With the remaining bacon grease, brown the diced onion. Use a slotted spoon to scoop out the onion bits; add it to the bean pot.

Brown the hamburger in the last of the bacon grease, drain it, and add to the bean pot.

Add the can of tomatoes, the cayenne pepper, chili powder and salt and pepper. Cook the chili for 1 to 2 hours or until you are too hungry to wait any longer!

Saturday and Sunday we kept tabs on how deep the snow was getting. Four inches, six inches... It was soon over a foot on our back deck.

I called my mother Sunday afternoon to fill her in. Yes, we are still alive. Yes, I made chili. No, I don't think I'll go in to work tomorrow. Yes, we have plenty of groceries. No, I don't think we'll have garbage service. Yes--

And then the power went out.

After a half hour, the power did not return. PGE reported that there were several thousand customers without power and they had no idea of when service would resume.

We bundled up and hopped in the old Mazda and drove 5-10 mph down to the Shari's restaurant for a warm meal. When we returned, the power was still out. A call to PGE told us that "power has been restored at 5:44 p.m."

Since this was obviously not the case we called around and found a hotel along the river that was open and, more importantly, still had power. "And if the power goes out," the manager said, "we've got lots of blankets, flashlights and glow sticks. I'll be here all night with our staff--we'll probably have a party in the lobby."

CrafterKat began packing suitcases while I reserved the room. As we maneuvered through the icy roads, we passed a downed power line a block from our home. An hour later we had parked in the hotel's snow-filled lot and found our room. Thirty minutes later, CrafterKat and Critter were soaking in the hot tub.

Chili Weekend

We've had snow off and on (mostly on) for a week now. Monday was especially chilly when we woke--our heating system was on the fritz. CrafterKat had been up since 5:30 and the house seemed to get colder by minute. She woke me at 7:00--the house was 59 degrees.

The pilot light seemed to be working but the clear water condensate tube that ran from the heating unit along the wall and to the outside was clogged up--it had frozen solid outside the house. CrafterKat got an extension cord and her little heat gun--a mini hairdryer used for embossing--and warmed up the tube until the water started flowing again. The house finally got up to temperature around 10:00 a.m.

When I woke on Friday there was a note from CrafterKat asking me to head to the grocery store. "We're expecting near blizzard conditions," she wrote. Time to make grocery lists, figure out advanced food cravings, and stock up.

The snow had turned to slush by the time Critter and I hit the road at lunch time. Winco was packed--Critter and I methodically went through the list, loading the grocery cart with crackers, cheese, soups, cereal, bulk red beans for chili, bacon, chicken, yogurt... The cart was so full we could barely push it to the checkout line.

CrafterKat got home a few hours later. I spent the afternoon cooking the last of our Craft Party cookies. "Let's go get some dinner before we're snowed in," CrafterKat suggested. We took a bag of cookies to her brother's house on our way. Instead of pizza (our original plan) we joined them for dinner at Busters and caught up on the news. The Golden Poet shared her cookie baking stories--green Grinch cookies!--and The Renaissance Man shared his adventure cleaning out the dryer vent. The boys shared various tales of how bored they were; Critter agreed.

After dinner we dropped Critter back at the house and went out again for some final shopping, dodging snow flakes right and left. I explained to CrafterKat that I intended to make my Mom's chili for lunch on Saturday, pulled pork sandwiches in the slow cooker for Monday when her parents arrived for Christmas, and lasagna somewhere in between. CrafterKat frowned slightly. "You're not planning on making chili in one of my good pots are you?"

We have only two large pots. Large and EXTRA HUMONGOUS LARGE, purchased at one of those fancy cooking stores at the outlet mall. "Fine. Let's go to Linens and Things after we go to [store redacted in case my mother is reading this]. They're going out of business so we can probably find something there for cheap."

CrafterKat stayed in the car while I scouted the store. I found one pot with a strainer, took a pic of it with my cell phone, and sent it to her. She texted back: I come in. We poked around some more and decided upon a pot and pan set, marked down to $100.

"You know," I chuckled, "this will be like the Evil PXE's bread maker. He had a $100 bread maker which they never used. Six months later he was handing out $30 loaves of bread because he had used it so few times."

CrafterKat chuckled. "One hundred dollar chili!"

We made one final stop at Trader Joe's and called it a night. The snow was starting to fall pretty steadily by now and we were happy to be home.

At 3:00 a.m. I woke up with a start. I did not recall paying for the bag of red chili beans; they'd fallen out of the cart before I reached the cashier.

Wassup?

With the snow and uncertain road conditions, Critter has been out of school for a full week. It's now Christmas Break, there's more snow and ice is expected in the coming days. She hasn't seen her school friends for several long days. To say that she is bored is quite an understatement.

She's been playing telephone tag with a girlfriend up the street and after the third phone call I asked, "What's up?"

Straight-faced, she answered, "The air, the paint, the plaster, the wood, whatever comes after the wood."

The Land of Last Minute

I LOVE the holidays. All of the decorations, the lights, the shopping, the baking, the music, the crowds (yes, even the crowds). This is really MY time of year. I could live in it.

This year, I’ve been working so hard, I haven’t had much time for shopping or crafting. And this last week, the weather played roulette with the roads, making small windows of opportunity for shopping, which usually occurred while I was at work.

Today, it is supposed to snow all day (2-4 inches of accumulation), and turn to freezing rain tonight. Yikes. So if there is any shopping to be done, we have to go this morning. There is already some snow on the ground – we’ll be taking the Mazda which is already chained up for this weather, but which is missing the ability to defrost. (Give it a break; it is over 20 years old…)

And what is on the Last Minute List?

• Dried red beans for chili
• Stocking stuffers
• Something for my grandmother for Christmas
• Something for me for Christmas (and yes, I usually get my own gifts and wrap them…)
• And I wouldn’t mind a really great movie to watch, since we’re going to be inside most of the weekend. But I can’t think of what that would be.

When we get home, I have to clean up our guest rooms. We used one room for the “kids” craft center at our annual craft party. And we’ve been using the other room as Wrapping Central. With my folks and grandma coming up on Monday (weather permitting), I need to make a place for them to stay.

Nothing like waiting until the last minute to do everything. Sheesh.

Recipe for Disaster?

CrafterKat and I enjoy shopping at Trader Joes but we do not have a store close to our home. If we are traveling close to the store for another errand, we inevitably stop in and get munchies. I love the ginger cookies; CrafterKat likes some of the chocolate things. And we always seem to get a bag of pot stickers or other frozen quick dinner item.

This fall, as we drove to Home Depot, we passed the old CompUSA store. It no longer looked desolate. It looked Trader Joesie. The store hadn't opened yet--just a coming soon banner--but we immediately called CrafterKat's parents (who are lucky enough to have a store a mile from their home) to tell them the news. For the next several weeks, whenever we were in the area, we drove by hoping it would be open.

Braving the snow today, on another "get this before the blizzard gets us" errand, we drove by and saw the lights on. CrafterKat and I were like kids on Christmas morning, browsing the shelves looking for munchies. We took our small horde to the cashier, grins on our faces.

The cashier looked over our pile. "BBQ sauce. Water. Bag of prunes. Chocolate.... I give up. What are you making?"

I pulled out my wallet and smiled. "BBQ for pulled pork sandwiches tomorrow. Water bottle for the ride home. Prunes for... Regularity?"

And then there were eight...

Tomorrow is our annual Craft Party and I've been baking cookies for most of the day. I have to say, this is probably the cutest cookie I've ever made. I have only eight and intend on giving them to the handful of kids I know are coming.

The cookie dough recipe comes from one of my favorite cookie books (I really have only two) and is intended as an alternative to gingerbread dough. Teachers use this not-so-spicy recipe after reading The Gingerbread Man to their students. But I used it to make other little guys...

Butterscotch Bears

1/2 c. butter or margarine, softened
1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
3.4 oz pkg. regular butterscotch pudding mix
1 egg
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1 1/2 t. ground ginger
1/2 t. cinnamon
Handful of mini chocolate chips for decorating

Sift together the flour, soda, ginger and cinnamon and set aside. In a mixing bowl cream butter, brown sugar and dry pudding mix. Add egg and beat well. Add the flour and spices to the creamed mixture. Chill the dough for about an hour.

To make butterscotch bears, roll dough into the following sizes:

8 balls, 2 inches in diameter, for the body
8 balls, 1 inch in diameter, for the head
32 balls, 1/2 inch in diameter, for the arms and legs
16 balls, 3/8 inch in diameter, for the ears
8 balls, 1/4 inch in diameter, for the bear snout

Squish two ears to each head and flatten to about 1/2 inch. Add the ball for the body and flatten. Add arms and legs to the sides, and the snout to the face.

Warning: If the bear looks more like a pig at this point, don't panic.

Bake the cookies at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. The bears will be slightly doughy when they come out. Quickly add the mini chocolate chips for eyes, nose, and buttons. Leave the bears on the baking sheet for a few more minutes to harden.

Makes 8 Butterscotch Bears

I would have made a double-batch of these--they are adorable--but I would have wanted Critter Help for it. She's on the tech crew for the high school production of Our Town, though, and was gone all day today for tech rehearsal. And when she came home, she wasn't quite dressed for baking. Tonight is Winter Formal.

You Remind Me Of The Babe

You remind me of the babe
What babe?
The babe with the power
What power?
The power of voodoo
Who do?
You do
Do what?
Remind me of the babe

--David Bowe as The Goblin King, Labyrnth

November has been a long, long month. Things seem to have gone in circles and I think we've finally broken the cycle.



Critter got sick in October with an enlarged lymph node. Not too worry, the bump on her neck went down pretty quickly but it took two trips to the doctor and a prescription of antibiotics to do it. And just when we thought we had it beat, November rolled in with another bout of it.



This time, though, the doctor said to wait it out--drink fluids, eat right, sleep lots. We tried that for a week with no sign of the lump going down. And now it hurt so much that Critter was having a hard time sleeping. After the third night of practically no sleep, the doctor finally prescribed some antibiotics. This time, though, it didn't seem to help. A trip to the Emergency Room got her a different prescription. A trip to the Ear Nose Throat doc got her a third, as well as more blood drawn and CT scan. It's Thanksgiving and she's finally finishing up her fourth set of antibiotics. One more doctor's appointment next week and I think we'll be finally over it.



Last weekend was the first that all three of us felt good enough to go out for some fun. Sunday morning we hopped in the Tink Tank and drove downtown to a hole-in-the-wall donut shop (pun intended) called VooDoo Donuts. Donuts come in a variety of flavors and, er, shapes... You can even have your wedding performed there!



CrafterKat picked out her two favorites coated with kool-aid and tang. I picked a pumpkin spice filled donut, frosted like a football (later examination showed it was supposed to be a pumpkin--it honestly didn't look like that to me, though). And Critter? She went for the Big Daddy, a dinner plate sized glazed donut.



We took our pink box up the street and stopped at Stumptown Coffee. As a non-coffee drinker (I know...blasphemy), this was my first adventure here. CrafterKat loves their Americano drink; Critter had a mocha thingy (I dunno...). We sat in the back on little couches next to the DJ record player mixing section.



After we arrived, a hip Portlander stopped by our table, depositing his jacket and a Stumptown coffee mug on the glass table top. "Shhhh," he warned, and pulled out a Starbucks coffee and poured it into the mug. "Don't tell anyone." We laughed and watched him leave to check for his friend.



He shook his head, smiling, when he returned. "Well, aren't you ready? You've got your VooDoo dounuts. Your Stumptown coffee. What's next? Shots?"



We laughed. He turned to Critter who was starting her giant glazed donut. "What are you, twelve? I'll bet you've got the flask hidden in your jacket..."


Normally, I would have taken pictures of this whole exchange (the funky voodoo and Elvis decorations at the donut shop, the DJ mixing table at Stumptown) but my camera died in early November. More like, fried.


Best Buy said I could return the camera if I had the original receipt. I didn't. Which didn't make me a Happy Camper. But guess what? Best Buy will print up a new receipt for you and, after a few hours rounding up the rest of the camera, I was able to take it in to the Geek Squad for repair.


Geek Squad sniffed the camera. I'm not joking. "Smells like something burned inside," he told me. And he sniffed again. Nose hairs and all. At this point, I was wondering if I would have to douse the whole thing in alcohol after it was working again. "No problem, this is totally covered." With snot, I thought.


He shipped the camera up to Seattle for replacement parts and service, promising that it would be ready in about two weeks, probably before Thanksgiving, even. Sunday, when we returned from downtown, Geek Squad called. "Yeah, we weren't able to get replacement parts. You'll have to come in and pick out a new camera."


"Um... Any camera?" I asked.


"Well, something comparable."


"And if Best Buy doesn't have something comparable?"


"Well, then you'll get an upgrade. Just talk to the camera department people. They can help you find something."


I took my HP camera box into Best Buy, bypassed the camera guy, and looked for the 10 Megapixel cameras. My 2006 camera had that, and a 3x zoom, plus a lot of "scene selection" choices when shooting (e.g. beach, snow, nightlife, portrait, landscape, etc.). I finally found the camera that had these features and seemed sturdy enough that it didn't feel like it would fall apart on me after six months.


So our circle is all healed--Critter is feeling a whole lot better, we've got a new digital toy to play with, and we've sampled some of Portland's best (if not weirdest...).


Take care and Happy Thanksgiving!


~ The CrafterGeek Family

My New Flame

First flame of the season. I couldn't stand it anymore -- I was freezing!



Instant heat. Ahhhhh. Even Fuzzy Slug came out of our bedroom to loll in front of the fireplace. Life is good. :)

Kitten Help

I ran across this photo while cleaning up something else on my computer. This was WAY back during our kitchen remodel. We were moving furniture around (including our antique Kitchen Queen), and King James and Southern Belle were helping, as only cats can.

On this gray, rainy day in Portland, this picture made me chuckle.

Public Service Announcement for Parents of Teen Daughters

Be afraid. Be very afraid.