WIP Sunday

Things I'm loving now:
- Saturday night at the drive-in double feature: Up & The Proposal, both funny and cute.
- Sleeping until 10 on Sunday & seriously considering not getting out of bed.
- Giving our upstairs carpet a good thorough cleaning. Only thing better would be getting hardwood floors up there.
- Nibbler's first doggie playdate. We just may be able to give the dog park a shot.
- Jumping on the laundry before it takes a few days to get it done.
- Getting time to start a late birthday present while listening to Jim Dale read Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince.
- Making a homemade pizza sauce using tomatoes & zucchini from our garden and basil from the windowsill for my homemade crust.
- Ending the weekend curled on the couch with Nibs, knitting and listening to the Cubs game.

One for Me, One for You: May Fabric

My Choice - Amy Butler Midwest Modern 2: Orange Dahlia colorway: Blush/Martini


Darcy's Choice

Just in time for the turn into July, I finished up my May square…and sadly only one. The second sits with pieces collected, I just need a break from the tedium of hand sewing. Hopefully it doesn't become a habit, but I'm allowing myself to move on for a bit just because the construction of one square took nearly month (perhaps more) of pretty continuous work. Where I typically take a weekend or two to spend an afternoon with my squares, my May square was a regular companion, coming with me on a couple road trips and to Tuesday night craft group every week. Plus a few other random nights during the week. It could pretty much be said that I can't stand to look at or touch a second square at the moment.

Which is great, considering I have my Camel Shoulder Warmer to finish. Started back at the beginning of May, it has sat dormant while I fit in a couple other projects with looming deadlines (2 late quilt squares, a wedding gift & a father's day gift). But in the week or so since I finished up the May square (#1), I've been steadily working on my little shrug and am actually nearing completion. Though the 5" of 2x2 ribbing that encompasses the neck, bottom back and the cardigan-like front sides, is starting to wear on my patience much like the quilt square did. I've been working on it pretty diligently, all intention is to enter it into the state fair, and in a few days of working exclusively on the edging this week, I am only 1.75" into the 5" I need.

This thing has been so portable that it has accompanied me to a collegiate league baseball game, craft group a couple times and Fourth of July fireworks all in the two weeks since I got back at it. And tonight I intend to tote it along to the drive-in, when we go see Up & The Proposal (that's another story, but let me just say how ecstatic I am to have moved from one are with a drive-in to another. there's nothing better than seeing 2 first run movies for $6 with the nostalgic novelty). But that means I've been working on it much longer than I usually would be working on a project during the same time period, and I'm beginning to feel like it may never be complete despite how close I seem to be.

Hot, Hot, Hot

Project #23 in '50 in 2009 Challenge - Charcoal French Press Coffee Cozy

I don't know about where you live, but around these parts it has been hot, hot, hot. So hot that I couldn't drag myself to the computer to write about something I knit up in a wool blend to keep a hot drink hotter longer (well 2 Twilight saga books might have had me occupied as well).

But now the heat has broken and we're back to typical June weather (just in time for July, right?), I've downloaded the latest iPod touch software that allows me to cut and paste, and I'm lounging in my hammock finally feeling ready to share this French Press cozy I made my dad for Father's Day.

Got to him just in time for it him to have already broken the press. Figures, right?

I have no idea if it fits (it does fit a 32 oz Nalgene) or if he'll ever have another french press (my guess is he will, he's too much of a coffee junkie).

My sugestion was that he wear it as an arm cuff while riding his Harley. A completely feasible alternative, I think.

It was a simple pattern adjusted to fit the measurements my mom provided, and offered an excellent, quick break from my current project - my May quilt square (yikes it going to be June in another day and I still dint have it completed!). And most importantly I took the time to make my dad something for his special day (it still counts, right, Even though he can't use it?).

PEZ Convention

My bounty from the 2009 Annual National PEZ Convention - both trades and purchases.

Way back on Valentine's Day, Mike surprised me with the announcement that this year's gift was 2 Gold Memberships to the 2009 Annual National PEZ Convention in St Louis. His original intent was that our fellow-PEZhead friend would accompany me, but he had previous plans, so this weekend Mike and I trekked on a mini-vacation (because we both took Friday off) to St Louis for a few days on PEZ glory.

I had no idea what to expect, as the "photo gallery" on the site was pretty lack luster and full of pictures of people sitting in rooms (that's actually what it was like - by the way, not just poor photography coverage). It was enlightening experience to say the least. The median age had to be forty with the few exceptions of me, a couple Napolean Dynamite-esque teenage boys and a couple of elementary-age kids whose parents appeared to be PEZ dealers. Though shocked initially, it makes sense that collectors range in the middle age…who else has the vacation time to go to these 3-4 day conventions and the cash it takes to get the vintage PEZ. And these people are serious, making the PEZcon circuit throughout the year. It's a tight knit group, where everyone knows each other and their collections.

Friday we attended 3 approximately 1-hour seminars (I think all we missed on Thursday was a seminar on shopping for PEZ at local stores - which I actually would have like to hear as I have the toughest time finding PEZ - and a pin raffle of some sort). I'm not sure I would classify them as seminars, perhaps just talks because I think seminar implies learning something but that's not really the point. We saw one man's extensive collection…like thousands of dollars sitting in one flat display case and one of those Rubbermaid size containers. Like complete collections in vintage display boxes and all dispensers in original cello bags (like of sets of vintage Disney and PEZpals), several variations on vintage dispensers like Pony-Go-Rounds, and the piece de resistance…TWO incredibly rare black-faced Maharaja (like this but with an actual black face piece). These two are so rare that my latest price guide (which is from 2004) can't even estimate a price because there are so few in existence that really the "seller", if they ever really wanted to become one, could name the price. It was neat to see all these vintage dispensers that I've only seen in books.

We then heard a man speak about his extensive collection of pumpkin PEZ, as the convention theme was "Pumpkins." (Can you see what I mean about the term seminar being used loosely?) And the final seminar was definitely the most informative and exciting (though it would have been over the top if we could have actually seen the things the man was talking about)…a talk on what's coming up from the PEZ company in the coming year or two! Given by Shawn Peterson, who appears to be leading source for PEZ information, having written 3 books and having the persistance to finagle information from the actual company, us junkies were privy to the inside scoop only those in the candy business know from this year's Candy Expo in Chicago. I actually took notes, I think I was the only one!, so I could share the current plans with my uncle and our friend, Joe. The releases that have be the most excited are the Wizard of Oz collector set which is scheduled to be released in the fall of this year, the Snow White & the 7 Dwarfs set (the dwarfs are mini dispensers!) which is scheduled to be released next fall and the Toy Story set (that builds off the existing Buzz Lightyear with Woody, Jessie, T Rex, Ham and Slinky). During this talk I also learned that PEZ had recently went through managment change within the last couple years, and it all kinda made sense then. If you've been a collector as long as I have (probably going on 15 years now), you know that for the longest time the only PEZ you could find in stores were Flintstones, PEZ-a-saurs and standard issues like the panda, the Coach Whistle or Peter Pez. When I first started collecting those were snapped up quickly and then disappointment ensued on every grocery store trip thereafter until once or twice a year a new set would show up, mostly like a Christmas set or Easter. Eventually with the rise of the internet and it's availabilty, we discovered that there was a European market of dispensers we couldn't get in the US, and then Japanase variations as well - like the minis. And just as I realized there was a lot out there in the manner of new dispensers and that it would take some cash to get them from overseas, PEZ started popping up everywhere here. New sets all the time. It was around that time, according to Shawn, that management at PEZ USA went from a business-unsaavy man that could care less about the dispensers and their variety, to a man and new team who were driven to create alot of new thing through the whole spectrum - from Marvel superheroes to MLB teams to nearly every new animated release. Heck, even reaching out to real people (who until recently the only real person ever depicted on a dispenser was Betsy Ross - now we have the OC Chopper guys, Elvis x 3 and Austrian icons Mozart & Princess Sissi). The trends all fit into place now, I guess it should have been obvious, but I've learned that I'm not as hard-core when it comes to PEZ as I thought I was.

After the seminars, I participated in a swap, which after hearing some of the comments made during the seminar, I was a bit afraid to participate in. I didn't think I had anything worth trading. But as it turned out, those that participated were more on my spectrum or just really nice about making deals. I actually made quite a few deals (and managed to stun nearly every person by how little I asked for in return). What can I say, I have really no idea what my stuff is worth. I was only looking to get rid of some of my duplicates and get some stuff that I didn't have. My most successful score was definitely the Chick-Fil-A cow dispenser for the set of 4 Bugz party favors. Who knows if was an even trade, all I care is that I got that darn cow after the fruitless (but half-hearted) search a couple weekends ago. I was also granted an act of kindness by some nice ladies from Texas that allowed me to trade one measley blue cat from Bob the Builder, mint on a euro card for the boxed set of 4 Lightening Mcqueens.

The night ended with a rousing session of Bingo, where I managed to win (a porcelian vintage witch-shaped dispenser trinket box among a couple other pez licensed goods)! The prizes were a bit disappointing as not many prize sets included dispensers, but it was fun nonetheless.

Saturday morning was the realy reason people come to these conventions…the dealer show. A ballroom filled with dispensers, ranging from the newest releases to the old stand-bys to the vintage stuff that I am not in the market for at all. From what we could tell, the most expensive dispenser we saw displayed was a $1500 Pony-Go-Round (like this but a rare color combo). I managed to pick up a few European dispensers that I'd had my eye on, plus some newer stuff I hadn't seen yet. It was nice not to have to pay for shipping from Canada at the closest or bid on ebay. All prices seemed fair and reasonable to what I would have paid online, and by walking around a bit I was actually able to save a couple bucks on nearly each set.

I'm thinking that in the future, we might just come down for the day. It's $5 for the public to enter, and it's only a couple hours away. Plus Mike said he might think about just gifting me the cash it would have taken to buy the memberships and hotel for Valentine's Day, and that way I'd have a lot more money to by dispensers! I do think it would be interesting to visit a couple of the other conventions (there are 2 kinda close by in MN and OH, then we have a direct flight from our local airport to another in Myrtle Beach), so maybe every 5 years or so, I'll hit actual convention… :D

Quick, Easy & Homemade

I went through a phase several years ago, back when I was first getting into the whole crafting and cooking thing, where I just had to make completely from scratch lasagna (which is funny because I can't remember a single time eating lasagna for dinner growing up). My mother-in-law-to-be gave me an Italian cookbook as an engagement present, I was an unemployed college graduate, and my only job was to take care of my newborn nephew a couple times a week and cook my family dinner.

Not a shabby life, right?

You might think that having a newborn around might deture me from tackling a lasagna that took a few hours to complete. Where noodles were rolled out to cut before dropping in boiling water and meat & tomatoes simmered into a rich sauce.

But he was a newborn, he didn't required constant entertaining. He was quite content sitting in his high chair on the other side of the island watching me cook. Or as I use to say we would cook together.

With homemade noodles, lasagna turns into a very hearty meal. My noodles are thick, as I am without a pasta roller and my rolling pin skills are seriously lacking (you should see me try to roll out pizza dough every couple weeks). So thick that you might mistake them for a dense bread, but it is a welcome change from the store bought option. Especially when you have an afternoon to spare.

As my tenure of being baby-watcher and head chef came to a close, and I neared full-time employment and life with a husband, afternoons of creating homemade lasagnas also faded to be replaced by a handy (and much quicker version) utilizing store-bought noodles and, at times, sauce. Since that discovery I hadn't ventured back into the realm of homemade lasagna or handmade noodles, despite the desire to expand my horizons by making up my own ravioli or something similar.

1 cup flour + 2 eggs = pasta for 2

Then a couple weeks ago, an old friend posted about the joys of homemade noodles even on a hectic night, and that was just the push I needed after all these years.

So last Monday, our typical pasta dinner night, I set about making some noodles. And by the time my pot of water came to boil, the noodles were ready to be dropped in. Mike was skeptical, as he always is when I tell him one of my hare-brained work night dinner plans, but even he was pleasantly surprised when I told him that "no he didn't have time to weed the garden before dinner."

Dinner was ready in nearly the amount of time it took to cook our frozen garlic bread slices, and though our plates weren't piled high with (processed) starchy carbs as is normal, I walked away from dinner feeling fuller and much more satisfied.

Perhaps next time, my noodles will be tossed with a homemade pesto (as was the original plan, but I found half a jar of store bought pesto left in the fridge) and a couple slices of handmade garlic bread.

Though boxes of store bought past will still grace our pantry shelves, I'm thinking the handmade noodles will be showing up on our dishes more frequently…

3 States, 2 Days

check Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky off the list.


After winding through the hilly streets of Cincinnati, we met up with a couple of Mike's Cincy friends at a tiny bar overlooking downtown and the river.


2 days, 2 extra innings games…lucky for us, the Cubs actually won one.


the local fare: Cincinnati Chili (in fry mode)
actually eaten in Kentucky…hmm.


Sunday's crowd: mid-game vs extra innings


We stuck it out, were sweetly rewarded - a Cubs win in the 14th inning - and then punished for staying in Cincy so late come Monday morning when it was time to get up for work.

So this past weekend, Mike and I picked up his brother and headed to Cincinnati for a couple of Cubs games. I'd never been east of Illinois (except flying to Florida & South Carolina) - I know, I know, I sound like such a bumpkin but I have traveled extensively in the west - so it was a pretty big trip for me, you know seeing the sights of places like Indiana. Which despite it's similarity to Illinois, I think it's interstates have more trees (or at least the one we were on). Ohio, on the other hand, was pretty different. Hilly. Very hilly - with lots of trees. Like scary hilly. My first question to the native while windy through the city to meet at a bar, "does it snow a lot here?," with pure horror in my voice.

We caught a lot of free baseball, as Mike likes to put it, both games went into extra innings. And enjoyed the wonder known as "Cincinnati Chili." Runnier than a typical chili and seasoned with cinnamon or nutmeg, it is definitely an acquired taste. Not bad, just not what you're expecting - and the obsession with it has me perplexed. But I guess every city has their food specialty, right? When you serve it on french fries with a pound of grated cheese, though, you really can't go wrong.

It was a quick trip, but a welcome relief to get out of town.

The only downside came Monday morning, after rolling into town after midnight and needing to love up the Nibbler, waking up for work was nearly impossible.

WIP: On the Road Again

It seems my best work-in-progress shots come while cooped up in the car.

I guess it's to be expected. I'm close to the objects. There's not much to get in the way, to ugly up the shot. And of course, the natural light conveniently filtered by the slight tint of the car window.

Hmm, I never actually thought about it, but it does seem that the car is a little studio of sorts.

We were on the road again this weekend, this time sans dog, but with the brother-in-law, for a trip to Cincinnati for a couple of Cubs games. Needless to say, I was pretty excited having barely been east of Illinois (only Florida & South Carolina) and the prospect of 5 hours in the car each way. Enough time to have some uninterrupted sessions with a book or some crafts, but not long enough to go crazy in the confinement.