First off,
Thank all of you so very very much for all of the shrimp tips and suggestions.
Jeffery did the de-shelling and I did the de-veining. I was under the impression,
however, that the vein ran along the top of the curve of the shrimp. There
was no vein. There was a vein that ran along the inside of the shrimp,
and that is the one I took out. Somehow that does not seem right. Anyway,
I thought the stew was pretty good, but J thought the shrimp tasted "fishy".
There you have it.
Tonight I
am getting fancy with an Onion and Blue Cheese tart, again from Donna
Hay. It's Friday, I have had a super hard week, it's 9:00 a.m. and
I already need a drink. I am going to have coffee with Mon Amie Flummel
later this morning, so that is something to look forward to. Better hop
in the shower.
Anybody having an Oscar party? I hope Bill Murray wins.
Question:
How does one cook "peel and eat" shrimp? I bought some the other
day to put in a stew from Donna
Hay's Off the Shelf (pg. 102 Tomato and Garlic Stew with Prawns). The
recipe says to use shelled prawns, but I didn't buy shelled prawns. If
you haven't been able to tell already, my experience with shrimp is extremely
limited. As in:"I have hated shrimp my whole life up until recently
when I decided that they weren't as evil as I had imagined." And usually,
whenever we have eaten shrimp, it has been the kind that has already been
cooked and shelled and de-legged and de-veined. So what do I do with these
things? Do I de-shell them before I put them in the stew? I would have
to wouldn't I? And what about those little legs? *squirm* And the vein?
I bought them because they were cheaper, but now I am thinking I should
have sprung for the ones that were already done. Stupid shrimp. I need
to learn how to do this anyway...I usually avoid this kind thing.
J and I went into a store downtown last week that sells home furnishings
and such, and they sell Diptyque
candles at this place. I have been reading about these things forever
it seems. I personally do not know what the big deal is with these candles,
and I certainly not prepared to pay 50 bucks to find out. I picked one
of them up to sniff it, and I couldn't smell anything. Perhaps they only
smell when burned...I don't know...I am simultaneously intrigued and repelled
by them.
No Dad, I
am not dead. I have just been on vacation! A forced vacation, but a vacation
nonetheless. I didn't do anything exciting or even go anywhere, and I tried
not to watch TV or use the computer. I was nice...I needed to get away.
Some highlights (if you can call them that):
•Read Volumes One and Two of The
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
•Started a fire in the oven and set off both smoke alarms trying to
toast pita for some hummus
•Took lots of walks
•Worked in the yard
•Consumed many, many mint
juleps
•Napped (usually in that order)
•Watched the final epsiode of Sex
and the City
I am still
officially on vacation today, but I decided to ease into my self-imposed
computer exile. I have to catch up on the things I missed.
I love these
photographs of children taken by Loretta
Lux. They are stunning. Link via the fabulous Lori
Gordon and Superhero.
My favorites are "Hidden Room 1 and 2", and "The Fish".
Add this
site to the list of stuffed Monsters link via My
Paper Crane. This seems to be becoming a popular enterprise. Stuffed
monsters and/or ugly dolls.
Not a whole lot planned for this weekend, I am sewing a bridesmaid dress
for my maid of honor duty this summer. I am using a vintage 1950's style
dress pattern I bought off eBay. Right now I am making the muslin. I have
the pieces cut, and am ready for the next step. I fear this pattern is
going to have to be altered, since it's too small in some areas. I am a
little scared honestly, as I have never done any altering before. I have
a fabulous book that shows the steps on how to alter the muslin and pattern
to account for whatever the issue is, and I have Mom on-call, so I think
it will be okay. I am just not used to this much measuring and calculations.
I am not a very neat sewer either, my bedskirt will account for that. I
would be fired from the Martha Crafts Department in a hot second. I want
to be a neat sewer, so I have vowed to do this dress right, since it's
my best friend's wedding we are talking about here. I am going to take
it slow, since lack of patience is my main obstacle. The wedding is in
June, so it's probably a good thing I am starting now.
Every year
since I can remember, I have watched the Westminster
Kennel Club Dog Show. First I watched it with my mom, and now I watch
it with my boyfriend. We are definitely dog people, even though we do not
currently have one, Westminster is a good way to "shop", in our
fantasies at least, for our perfect dog. Every year they do a segment or
at the very least, a comment, on the treats the handlers use to manipulate
and reward their dogs. It's usually something suitable for human consumption,
like chicken, because I swear I have seen the handlers eat the treats themselves.
It's amusing to me to see the assorted bits of dog nummies littered all
over the green carpet after all of the handlers attempts to get the dogs
to do what they want. I think that it's also sabotage to some extent, especially
to those dogs that are somewhat low to the ground. It's like those little
bits are calling up to them from the floor, beckoning them to throw off
their gait.
"Eat me..little doggie! Over here! I am just lying here! Eat me!!"
The smaller dogs are almost always tempted, and would invariably be tugged
away from temptation by the leash. I cheered whenever a dog managed to
get one, which didn't happen very often. I was telling Jeffery that these
dog shows need those ball boys and girls you see in tennis matches like
the Australian open. After the dog is done showing, they need to run like
hell across the stage and pick up the bits of chicken and such to clear
the path for the other dogs, but I don't think it will happen.
My friend Karan sent
me the most amazing link. A dress
made entirely out of cast off umbrellas. That is so amazing.
I went on
a crazy pattern run this weekend at Joanns. I keep a little notebook in
my purse that has a running list of patterns I want and this weekend there
was a sale. A twenty dollar Vogue pattern for four bucks? Sure! I got quite
a few:
A trenchcoat.
It's a little ambitious, I'll have to work up to it.
A couple of summer dresses. This one
and this one.
Those look
fairly simple...
I know that those of you who really know me are thinking..."Erica?
In a dress?...I don't think I have ever seen THAT!" And yes, you probably
haven't, save Prom or Fall Formal some 10 plus years ago. I myself admit
that I am not a dress person aside from the fact that they are the pieces
I covet the most while perusing my fashion magazines. I am also riding
the inspiration wave from the Love Life Inc post from last week: nice cotton
dresses in cute fabrics. The wave may peter out, however, and leave me
washed up on shore in a wet crumpled mass of cotton. I think another factor
at play here is that I wear only jeans pretty much year round and am just
getting sick of it. My father reminded me recently that getting me into
a dress when I was little was next to impossible, which got me thinking.
I remember in Kindergarten a boy lifted up the dress of a girl in our class
and displayed her frilly-butt underwear for all to see. It was humiliating
for her (or me, rather) and I swear to god I remember making
a vow that such a horrendous situation would never, EVER, happen to me.
And that is the moment I swore off dresses forever. Twenty five years later
I think I may be ready to take a chance and hope that I will not get my
skirt pulled up over my head at recess.
My buddy Rachel has started a fabulous jewelry business. She is very talented
and I love, love, LOVE her jewelry. Go to her site
and download the catalog. She is pretty inspiring. She is one of those
people who up and moves to Mexico to work with silver and stones, or visits
Barcelona because she wants to.
Finally,....
FINALLY...the Vegetable
tote bag. I made a graphic for the other side:
Some familiar faces. I will slowly add more items to the shop as I go.
I hope it turns out okay..I probably should have ordered it first to check,
but what the hay.
I am seriously in love with Kathleen's
miniature garden projects, especially the Alice
in Wonderland garden. I saw a snippet on TV about a lady who made miniature
gardens somewhere up in Seattle and thought it would be a fun thing to
do (add it to the list...). I had a dollhouse when I was little and part
of me has not out grown the awe of all things miniature.
February 2, 2004- Happy Groundhog Day!
I really
like the blouse on the cover of the Feb/March Budget
Living magazine. It's made by Love
Life inc. I think my favorite thing about it is that they used a fabric
that I would never think to use for a blouse. It's the Audrey
blouse (I also love their clothing line sheets) made with the Basted
fabric (the bacon and eggs). I think that figuring out what kind of fabric
to use for a sewing project is the hardest part for me. I am not very good
at envisioning what something would look like.
Another recent
clothing find, Neet
shoes. This company is in the UK, and the prices are a bit high, but
I love, love, love the shoes. I need to save my pennies.
