Jinkies!

I was watching Scooby Doo this morning while waiting for the water to boil for my tea. So Fred and the crew are racing through a haunted castle trying to rescue Velma from the evil clutches of the villain-du-jour when they hit a brick wall, literally. Dazed and confused, Fred ruefully rubs his head and exclaims "Wrong door. My bad!"

"My bad"???

They are still wearing the same damn outfits they had on when this cartoon was running in the 70s -- can we keep the lingo period-correct?

Shameful

Okay, I know I’m gullible. I know that marketers and advertisers shamelessly use whatever means necessary to lure people into buying their product. I know that this isn’t even a great commercial and borders on the supremely cheesy, but I can’t help it. The new Tim Horton’s commercial with the father and son sharing a Timmy’s and the father tells the son that he did, indeed, come to watch him play hockey, makes me sniffle. Okay, my eyes even water a bit.

Ugh. I suck.

Disillusioned

The Alien Illusion scarf was completed in time for Paul’s birthday last weekend (see my alien babies?). He says it’s very soft and warm which is a good thing, but I’m not thrilled with how the yarn is wearing. It seems to be “blooming” a bit which annoys me. I probably wouldn’t recommend this yarn (Zara by Filatura Di Crosa 100% merino) because it unravels if you do the fringe.
So, while I’m happy I’ve completed the project and Paul seems happy with it, I’m disappointed that it doesn’t look like the yarn is going to wear well. That’s the trouble with this damn knitting business. You spend the $$$ to get the good yarn, you spend the time to knit up the pattern and dammit, the results ought to be worth all the effort you know? Bah.

Now I’m hesitant to start the baby sweater I was going to need for colleague in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino because I’ve read that it “blooms” as well. I refuse to work with damn acrylic and I refuse to spend $10-$12 a ball on quality yarn that’s going to look crappy after the first wear.

It’s all piss and vinegar today.

Freedom from guilt...

Paul and I are now the proud owners of our very own heavy-duty tape gun. Yes folks, there’s a certain kind of relief and sense of goodwill that comes from knowing that you no longer have to steal your employers’ tape gun for your illicit packaging needs. No longer must we stay late at the office to smuggle the tool past office security and arrive early, sweating and guilty, to replace it before the mail room staff start their day. And all this for only $14.99!

I’m in Training

Yep, cupcake training.

I’ve been asked to create a wedding “cake” out of cupcakes with a traditional cake topper for my cousin’s wedding in July.

Now, I’m no stranger to baking, but the logistics of creating 140 little cakes, plus a larger cake, and transporting the whole kit and kaboodle to the reception venue during the heat of July has me a bit freaked. I’ve got plenty of time to experiment though and the testing started this weekend. I figure that writing about it here will serve as a log of what worked and what didn’t work.

What didn’t work was the first cake recipe I tried. Usually Canadian Living recipes are fool proof, but neither the designated cupcake tester (that would be Paul) nor I liked the results of their white butter cake recipe. It tasted weirdly like cornbread, which isn’t really the texture I’m after. So 30 of these babies are now residing in my freezer just waiting for Paul to get the munchies. The first batch of icing I made separated so that went in the green bin, alas.

On Saturday, I tried out Martha Stewart’s white pound cake recipe pictured here with some lovely coloured petals. (Thank god the girls were over and managed to eat a few for me). Not bad. One batch made 35 cupcakes so I’d only need to quadruple it to get the required number. I also tested the idea of freezing (with icing) and it worked fine – took about 3 hours at the most to thaw. I didn’t love them though so I’m on the prowl for additional recipes to test. I also didn’t like the buttercream recipe that I tested out on them. My friend Carolyn (who knows all there is to know about buttercream) has recommended this one so I’ll be giving that a try when I bake another batch next weekend.

So, two cake recipes, two icing recipes and nothing to show for it yet except a freezer full of duds and some indigestion. Stay tuned.

It's done! It's done!

Wah-hoo, it's done! I was finally able to give my Mom the throw I made her. Yippee! Here it is in all it's glory!

She says she likes it and that's all that matters. Love you Mom!

A new twist on the veggie burger

Paul and I were reading this article in The Star about a place called J-Grill at Major Mack and Kennedy Road that has the distinction of being the only place in the GTA (so far) serving "rice burgers." What are rice burgers? It's a stack of tasty meat or veg sandwiched between two patties of sushi rice. Paul ordered the BBQ beef (which he captured a bit fuzzily with his cell camera above) and I got the "kinpira," which is a cold salad of carrots and cooked burdock with sesame seeds (below).

We added an order of potato croquettes (fried mashed potato balls crusted with Japanese breadcrumbs) that were to die for --- sooo good. The burgers rocked but our eyes kept straying to the huge bowl of udon soup that the girl next to us was slurping back at warp speed. I think we're going to have to go back.

No Criminal Intent

So I was rushing around at lunch today, running errands, thinking about projects I had to finish at work before the end of the day, issues I need to deal with on the weekend blah blah blah and I popped into Lewiscraft with the intent of picking up a pair of 4mm bamboo needles to replace the one I lost in Greece so that I can finally finish Paul’s Alien Illusion. I also needed to figure out the recommended needles for my stash of Sugar & Cream cotton yarn on the off chance I feel like knitting up a wee iPod cover this weekend. Anyway, I picked up the needles, found the Sugar and walked back up the aisle muttering to myself about needles and gauges when I realized I’d quickly walked out of the store and was five paces away with the unpaid-for needles still in my hand! Gah! “No really officer, I didn’t mean to shoplift a set of $2.50 needles, really.”

Nobody’d noticed I’d pilfered anything but a suspicious shopkeeper might have clued in that I was guilty of something when I arrived at the cash desk with a red face and a (rather loud) “I’d like to pay for these please!”

Hungry?

Ha -- hmmm, the idea of knitting sushi has some appeal, but I think I'll be saving my yarn for this!