Monday mayhem

Amazing how the weekend seems so busy, and yet there's very little to show for it. This weekend we went to a party on Friday and a parade on Saturday, I did laundry, bills, and made two rumcakes, and we played LotRisk.

DsD and I also decorated the house. Well, mostly she decorated, while I provided the financial backing for said decorations. We decorated the outside of the house for the first time ever, and I think it looks nice. Not too overdone, I hope.


Today had its bummer moments - most notably, my attempt to donate blood. The Bloodmobile came around at work on its normal rounds. I went out to donate, and my iron level was great (yay!). But on the first attempt after getting the needle into my veins, it popped out and got air in the blood bag, so they had to ditch the whole setup. Take two, right arm this time: my veins are hard to find on that arm (which is why I always donate from my left) so it took them a while to get to the point of trying to stick me. While that's happening, I'm chatting with a coworker who is also donating...and I started laughing at the wrong moment, and they missed my vein. One strike each arm, and I'm outta there. Two sticks, and no pint to show for it. *sigh* I could use a pint right about now. Hard cider might do the trick.

I did get a wonderful CD in the mail - Alchemy by Purest Green, a relatively new folk band that's garnering quite a following up in the Indiana/Michigan area. When I get a chance to give it a good listen, I'll post a review.

And wonder of wonders, we're actually getting a "cold" snap of sorts. It's supposed to get in the low 40's tonight, and even down in the 30s by Wednesday. We have a "Winter Weather Advisory" for wind chill for tomorrow. Cool! Literally. Closest thing to a real winter we're likely to get here.

Cold logic

Another quiz, courtesy of the weather goddess:

Your Dominant Intelligence is Logical-Mathematical Intelligence

You are great at finding patterns and relationships between things. Always curious about how things work, you love to set up experiments. You need for the world to make sense - and are good at making sense of it. You have a head for numbers and math ... and you can solve almost any logic puzzle. You would make a great scientist, engineer, computer programmer, researcher, accountant, or mathematician.

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?

Given that I am a software engineer by trade, I'm not at all surprised.

Speaking of weather, we're in a bit of a 'cold snap' right now. It's down in the 50F's at the moment. DsD was leading her high school JROTC unit in the local light parade tonight, and DH and I went directly to the parade from Mass (DH was cantoring this evening) so neither of us were particularly dressed for standing for an hour or more in windy 50-degree darkness. (I was wearing a short-sleeve dress and sandals - it was much warmer when we'd left the house). It was a nice parade, even though we left after DsD's unit had passed.
Probably a good thing, though, that Florida girl DD is spending the night at her bestest friend's house tonight, and wasn't out in the cold!

Finding my Muse...

You scored as Clio. You are Clio, the muse of history. You love academic pursuits, but still know to have fun. You're a bit of a tease and a prankster. Clio 69% Euterpe 69% Calliope 62% Polyhymnia 56% Erato 44% Urania 38% Thalia 38% Terpischore 25% Melpomene 25% Which of the Greek Muses are you? created with QuizFarm.com

Heh. Appropriate, given my netname, though it was not intended that way!

Sin on a plate

Holiday baking has started here at Alternate Dementia. In the oven as I type is a double-chocolate rum cake. I first found the recipe a few years ago, and tweaked it a bit. It's gotten rave reviews whenever I (or DsD) have made it, and I often get requests for the recipe. I've also started getting hints about making one - today a coworker gave me a bottle of Haitian rum she'd gotten while on a trip!

A wondering friend refers to it as "sin on a plate", after she tried the recipe I passed along. I suspect she'll be making it again this year as well.

Ah, but let me not keep you, dear readers, in suspense any longer. Here is the recipe for my rum cake (maybe I should name it "sin on a plate"?)

Double-Chocolate Rum Cake (aka "Sin on a Plate")
1 pk Chocolate cake mix (18 1/2oz) (I use devils food)
1 pk Instant chocolate pudding
4 Eggs
1 c Dark rum
3/4 c Water plus 1 teaspoon
1/2 c Vegetable oil
1 pk Chocolate chips (I use mini chips or chocolate chunks)
1 Jar Raspberry preserves (10 oz) (I use seedless black raspberry)
2 tbsp Shortening
1 oz Vanilla baking bar (Or white chocolate)
1 shot Chambord or other raspberry liqueur, if desired.

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 10in tube or bundt pan. (I use a 12-cup bundt pan) Combine cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, 1/2 c of the rum, 3/4 c of the water and the oil in a large mixing bowl. Beat at low speed until ingredients are moistened, then two minutes at medium speed. Stir in 1 cup (about half the bag) of the chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake at 350 for 50 to 60 minutes. Cool in pan 15 minutes. Remove from pan, finish cooling on a wire rack.

GLAZE: In a small saucepan, heat preserves and remaining 1/2 c rum (or rum and Chambord, if desired) to make glaze. Strain through sieve to remove seeds (if you didn't go seedless...). Place cake on serving plate. Prick the surface of the cake with a fork or a tooth pick (great stress relief!). Brush the raspberry glaze evenly over the cake. Use all the glaze, although this does take a few minutes.

ICING 1: In a bowl, combine remaining 1 c of chocolate chips and shortening. Microwave on high 1 minute. Stir to make a smooth icing. Drizzle chocolate icing over the cake. Let stand about 15 minutes.

ICING 2: In a small bowl, combine vanilla baking bar and remaining 1 teaspoon of water. Microwave on high 30 seconds (or until melted). Drizzle vanilla icing over the chocolate icing.

Serve and enjoy. It's very rich, so use in moderation.

All that glitters...

I did finish my web updates last night, but instead of stitching, I steamcleaned DD's carpet (or at least the worst parts of it). The grand plan for tonight is to switch the beds. Hopefully we will indeed get to that...and *then* I'll get to stitch some. Even with my Christmas shopping done, I still feel insanely busy.

Not much new to report, so I'll throw a few memes at you

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Sunday Brunch 12/05/04 - Jewelry
(Note to DH - no, this is not a hint...)
1) Which stone is your birthstone? Do you like it?
My birthstone is amethyst. I do like amethysts - the darker the better, but they're all pretty. I also like sapphires, emeralds, and tanzanite, although they're not my birthstones. (I also like my birthflower - violets. February must be purple month or something...)

2) Do you prefer silver or gold?
It really depends - I like both. Gold doesn't tarnish, but silver is less expensive.

3) Name the jewelry that you wear whenever you leave the house.
As of this moment -
Left ring finger: Wedding band (plain gold band), anniversary band (9 diamonds in channel-cut gold), emerald/diamond channel-cut gold band.
Neck: Silver Celtic cross, blue cameo of the Blessed Virgin that DH got for me in Rome, and silver St. Isidore of Seville medal, all on silver chains.

I have several other rings (family birthstone; silver knotwork; gold Claddagh; tanzanite/gold; black star sapphire/gold; black opal/black hills gold - I like unusual stones) that I used to wear all the time as well, but I need to lose a few more pounds before they'll fit comfortably again. (I need to lose the pounds anyway, so I haven't bothered getting the rings resized.)

4) What is your most precious and valuable item of jewelry?
....My preciousssss....
The most precious to me is the wedding band. It may not be the most financially valuable item, but its worth to me is incalculable because it represents our commitment to each other. It's also the ring he gave me when we got engaged (which is a story for another blog entry). I've only ever taken it off for the necessary evil of resizing.
As for most financially valuable, I honestly don't rightly know. DH has gotten me some very beautiful pieces, including an emerald/diamond necklace he got for me the year our DD was born (her birthstone is emerald) and a diamond bracelet. If I had to place bets, I'd put my money on that emerald necklace.

5) Do you carry insurance on any of your jewelry and if not, why not?
Nothing beyond normal homeowner's insurance. I hope none of my pieces are expensive enough to be separately insured!

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And a few back Stitcher's QotW:
What has been your most interesting stitching related injury?
Most of my stitching 'injuries' have been pretty mundane - poking myself with (or accidentally stepping on) a needle, accidentally banging my leg/foot against my lap stand when I've set it down, stuff like that. If you open it up to any sort of needlecraft, I did get a sewing machine needle through my nail once (was rushing to finish something up and didn't watch my fingers closely enough.)

Do you know it all or is there something out in the stitching world you still want to know how to do?
Yah right - I am nowhere *close* to knowing it all, even about cross-stitching. There are a lot of stitching techniques and styles I'd love to learn, especially regional specialties like Carrickmacross or Mountmellick embroidery. I'd also like to learn tatting (both shuttle and needle). I'll never presume to be an expert in any style - I learn and do for my enjoyment.

Hand-dyed fabrics - love 'em or hate 'em? If you love them, what kind/colours do you have?
I'm still pretty new to using hand-dyeds - many of them are quite nice and I think they add interest to a piece, especially ones without borders or backgrounds. I tend to go for the more subtle colored ones, but I love neutrals and cool colors (especially blues or purples!) Most of my hand-dyeds are from Silkweaver, but I also have a few from Sugar Maple Fabrics and a few others.

One of these years I may get to the MarBek Nativity, perhaps on one of the Blended Needle fabrics for that purpose, like perhaps Enchanted Night.

One of these years.

In the clouds

It must be "Spoil Belinda Day" today! I got home from picking DD up from school to find not one, but TWO packages of goodies for me.

The first was a selection of chocolates, candies, and a stitching kit from a weather goddess (Thank you Glenda!):

DD had designs on the roll of Maynards Winegums, and within 15 minutes of my opening the package they were gone!

The other was from my Secret Stitcher - a Silkweaver Santa Bag with fat quarters of "Mountain Rose" 32ct Belfast, "Meadow Mist" 28ct Cashel, and "Polished Brass" 32ct Opalescent Lugana...and all of them are simply beautiful....(Thank you very much, Midnight!)

I am feeling completely spoiled today!

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Despite currently being on Cloud 9, I was actually productive this weekend. DD's room is clean, and I only have a couple of boxes of toys to weed through. I moved my bins of craft stuff (mostly yarn) to the back bedroom closet, which makes more room for DD's stuff. We're also going to swap her toddler bed for the twin bed in the next room sometime this week (the toddler bed converts to a full, and the back bedroom will evolve into a guest room). I'd like to steamclean her floor first, though.

I also started Moss Creek's "Celtic Triple Braid and Holly" ornament (JCS 2001) for my priest. Got hit with a plague of frogs on my first two starts - the first because I didn't think it'd fit where I'd initially started, and the second because I belatedly realized I needed to be doing it over 1. It's well underway now, though, and shaping up beautifully.

I have some web updates to do tonight, then back to stitching during Monday Night Football....

Rapunzel, Rapunzel...

I hate getting my hair cut. Not because I've had a bad style or anything - never really had anything particularly fancy done with my hair - but because I'm trying to grow it long. I don't know why, but my idealized image of myself has a hip-length cascade of copper tresses.

Unfortunately, my hair seems to have other ideas. I've never been able to get more than perhaps the longest lock lower than my waist - my hair grows so slowly, it seems, and the ends get damaged and thin all too quickly.

Common wisdom says "get a trim every 4-6 weeks and it'll grow better". I tried that wisdom about 5 years ago, but abandoned it after a few months. My hair is just now getting back to the point it was when I started. I've tried gelatin capsules, but those just seem to end up on my hips. (Maybe that's why I have jello-butt.)

Eventually the damage gets too great and sacrifices must be made. I got my hair trimmed today, and I have to admit it does look a lot neater. I lost about 4 inches, but given that most of it was pretty thin, the actual amount of hair lost was surprisingly small - it's still down to about the middle of my back. I'm going to try keeping a leave-in treatment on the ends to slow down the rate of damage, and maybe get it trimmed once every three months or so. Which is how often I've been needing to get DD's bangs trimmed, anyway.

Guilty holiday pleasures...

I've always enjoyed parodies and comedic songs, starting with Weird Al Yankovic in junior high (I about lost it the first time I heard "Eat It"), and in college I was exposed to Dr. Demento - great stuff! So one year while I was out Christmas shopping and saw his Christmas CD, I just *had* to get it.

From classic pieces like Stan Freberg's "Green Chri$tma$" and Spike Jones "All I Want For Christmas is my Two Front Teeth", to newer ones like "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer" and Weird Al's "Christmas At Ground Zero", the album was hilarious, and a great stress reliever to boot. Sometime after that I heard about Bob Rivers Twisted Christmas album. For several years, those two albums would get a decent amount of play every holiday season...sometimes you just have to laugh at the absurdity of the commercialism and hassle of the season.

A couple years ago, I discovered that Bob Rivers had multiple Christmas albums out, so I picked them up. It's amazing what a mind can do under holiday stress. There are, as with any album, some songs I don't care all that much for, but there are others that are absolute screams. "Chipmunks Roasting on an Open Fire", off the album of that name, is practically a must hear for anyone who is heartily sick of repeated bombardment of the Chipmunk Christmas Song, and "Who Put the Stump?", while a bit rude, is a great sendup of the joke of how the angel got on top of the tree.

The album I'm currently listening to is I Am Santa Claus. The title song is set to Black Sabbath's "Iron Man" - it opens with a voice growing "I...am....Santa Claus!". Another one I like is "O Little Town of Bethlehem", which has the original hymn lyrics, but sung to "The House of the Rising Sun". On amazon, you can listen to clips from any of the above albums, if you're interested.

That's not to say I listen to nothing but comedy albums at Christmas - far from it. Our Christmas repertoire includes an extensive collection of classical pieces, including Handel's Messiah, traditional hymns (both sung and instrumental), medieval/renaissance, as well as more modern Christmas songs such as David Bowie's "Little Drummer Boy". Lots of beautiful music to choose from.

But sometimes you just have to laugh and not take things so seriously. Especially in the frenetic holiday preparation season...

Life and literature...

J.R.R. Tolkien: Lord of the Rings. You are entertaining and imaginative, creating whole new worlds around yourself. Well loved, you have a whole league of imitators, none of which is quite as profound as you are. Stories and songs give a spark of joy in the middle of your eternal battle with the forces of evil.

Which literature classic are you?
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Speaking of which, only 13 days until the Return of the King extended edition DVD. I foresee a serious LotR marathon over Christmas vacation!

Geek moments...

I had a quintessential Geek Moment last night:

I had already gone to bed - it was about a quarter of midnight. While lying there, I thought to myself that I needed to remember to change something in my sidebar on Sunday.
Then I thought, "Y'know, I can just write a javascript to do that, then I won't have to remember."

At which point I started mentally writing said javascript, and there was nothing to do for it except get up, call up Blogger, and insert the javascript.

DH agrees that Getting Up Out of Bed at Nearly Midnight To Put A Javascript in One's Blog Template is definitely a stereotypically geek thing to do.

Anyway, I now have a javascript in my sidebar to insert seasonal or date-specific notes or images. And it all started when I did up an Advent wreath to put there. I'm actually quite proud of them...so much so that I'll inflict them on y'all. (If you like and want to use them, feel free to do so - just save them off to your own webspace...)
~ ~ ~
I've been playing around a bit with images from time to time (as you can see from the family in my sidebar). Doing decent transparent GIFs really puts the "pain" in MSPaint, though. At some point I may get a decent image editor. I won't quit my day job though!

Back to geekiness, today's Foxtrot is pretty funny...