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March 31, 2007
Arctic Adventure v 2.0
Mmmm. A long weekend in Maine. Snowshoeing, maple syrup and lobstah!
I went up to Maine last weekend to see my Aunt and Uncle and have a snowy adventure.... I recently scored a pair of badass snowshoes at 50% off due to the severe lack of Winter around here, so lucky little me (and lucky little Kyra) headed North!
The agenda for the weekend was a 3.6 mile hike up and back down Trout Brook Mountain in Baxter State Park. My biggest Winter adventure to date (Andy and Missy's, too! And that is saying something!) and it was incredibly rewarding! Turns out there was PLENTY of snow left past the rain line in Northern Maine. And with a nice crust of ice on top, it made going up *relatively* easy and going down.... well, less so... :)
And as an added bonus, we took Andy's snowmobile into the park to the base of the mountain (YOWZA! Deathciting!). When we got to the top of the mountain, we had some seafood chowder and chilled out enjoying all our hard work. (Even though we soon found out, our hard work was only half over...)
The next day turned out to be Maine Maple Sunday, when all the sugar shacks have an open house! We went to the one right down the street from Andy and Missy's house. I got to see all the tapped trees and went inside the shack for a peek at how they make that delicious liquid gold! (I seriously heart maple sugar.)
Great weekend, great company, about 14 hours in the car to listen to whatever I wanted. Heaven. sigh.
The full photo album can be found here. Enjoy!
Posted by Sarah at 11:35 AM | Comments (1)
March 19, 2007
Necessity is Yo Mama, Part II
Continuing in our series of inventive solutions, I offer this query:
What do you do when you bake a delicious chocolate bundt cake that refuses to turn out of it's lovely little pan?
The short answer is swear. Loudly.
The more complete answer is put on your thinking cap and salvage your should-have-been-masterpiece.
The culprit.
I have used this pan a million times without incident... It seemed the Featherlight Chocolate cake recipe proved to be too much for it to handle. The darn thing wouldn't turn out and after some less than gentle prodding, what came out of the pan in no way resembled a cake....
So, I rolled up my sleeves, gathered some additional calorie filled ingredients and set out to create a kitchsy little dessert reminiscent of 1950's housewivery... I give you - a trifle.
I crumbled up that SOB and layered it with chocolate pudding, Cool Whip (does anyone else hear that Cool Whip jingle whenever they see Cool Whip? Do the Cooooooool Whip! Cool Whip! Shoot me...), and dulce de leche sauce. I topped it off with some strategically placed dollops of whipped creams and *of course* cherries.
Mmmm....fattening....
It was received well by my fellow gorgers and made me feel tres clever. No such thing as a dessert that can't be fixed, folks. Trifle me up!
Posted by Sarah at 10:20 PM | Comments (4)
March 15, 2007
Necessity is Yo Mama, Part I
Sometimes you just get in a groove. You see things around you that either don't work the way they should, could work better or just plain need to be fixed - and you decide to take action.
I'm in a groove. Here is part 1 of a 3 part series in which things around la casa de scissorina have been fixed an/or improved.
Enter Dave's cardboard box. This thing has been an eyesore in my kitchen for months. But, he loves it so damn much I just haven't had the heart to get rid of it... You see, it's no normal box. It has these little holes in the sides. Holes the size of Dave's legs. He likes to crouch down, lying in wait.... and when Tito strolls past... BAM! Out come Dave's paws - through the holes - to thrash at Tito! I find it so entertaining that it has been worth the eyesore. Until now.
I see you in there.
The other day, I whipped out some Amy Butler fat quarters I had laying around and shoved some cotton batting in between two of them.... and started renovating.
Better, no?
Sigh. I feel better. I think I might slap a few coats of pet-safe paint on the walls and reinforce the floor next... Like I said. It's entertaining....
Posted by Sarah at 10:49 PM | Comments (4)
March 11, 2007
Ye Old Warshrag
After hearing so much praise for dishrags as of late from fellow Scissor Suadder Jessica (who should have a blog because she is fantastically witty and would surely provide us all with an entertaining read... but, I digress..), I decided to grab some Sugar n Cream (on sale at Joann - score!) and give them a whirl...
Here they are sitting innocently on the kitchen table, completely unaware that they were soon to be plunged into hot water and forced to scrub my dishes...
And here's little Limey Bluey at work on my bunny mug. Poor Limey Bluey!
Okay, the verdict? This is going to take some getting used to. While they work just fine, I love sponges. I have one for each task around the house... There's the bathroom sponge, the kitchen sink sponge, the clean the counters sponge... I like them because when they are gross - I throw them in the garbage. No bacteria farms sitting in my kitchen staring at me with all their wee little eyes.... I might have a problem, I know. No money for therapy, that's why I knit. I'll continue working toward a healthy attitude toward germs and dirt in my kitchen - the dishrags are a good first step.
Warshrags
Pattern: Ballband Dishcloth from Mason-Dixon Knitting
Yarn: Sugar n Cream, 1/2 a ball in each color (gave the leftovers to little sis, so I don't have the color numbers!)
Needles: US7
Comments: So pretty! So hard to use them without feeling like I am flushing all that hard work down the toilet! Well, not really hard work... they were quite easy. What am I bitching about?
Posted by Sarah at 8:48 PM | Comments (4)
Happy Birthday, Mama!
Okay, so it was a week ago... But, I didn't want to post pics until after she had opened up the present!
My Mom turned 50 last Saturday. I toiled over what to gte her and finally decided that making her something was the best way to go. After even more toiling over what that something would be....
I give you - Mama McNally's Box o Love.
I found a cool little wooden box and decoupaged this really perty tree on top.
And then proceeded to fill said box with 50 little cards I made - each one listing a reason why I love her so.
Since she's so far away, we don't see each other too often. So, now anytime she is feeling down or has a bad day, she can run and open up her Box o Love and grab a card to remind her of why she is so fantastic!
Happy Birthday, Mama! I could have written 50 more, but we'll save that for birthday #100. K?
Posted by Sarah at 8:37 PM | Comments (4)