Furry Friends

I try not to be too crazy about my family on this blog, for their sake and yours, but I just had to welcome my newest furry friend, Zoey the kitty, to the family in a big way. Why, you ask?

1) After the spraying, clawing, and insane howling of our old tomcat, my husband swore to never allow another feline into the house. Ever.
2) After the spraying, clawing, and insane howling of our old tomcat, I didn't think I would ever want another feline in the house.
3) I tried to think of another reason to list here, because three is a nice round number - but really, spraying, clawing and insane howling are way more than reason enough for me to think I would never have another cat.

Anyway, after we sent the tomcat to go live on a farm where he could be happy outside chasing mice*, I really felt the lack of a cat in the house. I knew that there would be no convincing DH to agree to get one, but that didn't stop me from dragging him over to look at the cats in them adoption center in PetSmart, or informing him that there were kittens free to a good home down the road from us.

DH must have picked up on my *ahem* subtle clues over the last two years, because yesterday he came home from work early, changed his clothes and had me get in the car -refusing to answer when I asked where we were going, but assuring me that jeans, sandals, my old Red Wings t-shirt and a messy ponytail were appropriate attire.
I have to say that I had no idea where he was taking me. When he pulled into the parking lot of the Humane League of Lancaster, I actually teared up a little. DH now thinks I am completely clueless, and I have to agree with his reasoning - just a few days ago, DH and Thing 2 were cuddling on the couch, whispering and seeming very secretive. When I asked them what they were being so quiet about, Thing 2 announced, "We weren't talking about getting you a puppy..."
In my defense, it did cross my mind that maybe DH was thinking about getting me a kitten for my birthday, but I didn't expect to be taken to the shelter to pick one out two days before my birthday. Just sayin.


So, Zoey is a sweet, affectionate (or maybe just territorial), four year old calico. This is the best picture I could get of her because she hasn't been still for more than a few seconds at a time - at least, not when I've had a camera around.
She seems to be fine with the boys, but she's not quite sure about the dogs yet (we're keeping her by herself in the guest room right now, with a towel that the dogs slept on to get her used to their smell, as per the instructions from the very helpful staffer at the Humane League). We have introduced the dogs to her, and she got her back up and ran from both of them, but only clawed at Lucky- which is understandable, Lucky has been giddy and goofy since we brought Zoey home, and was a little overly friendly when she was introduced.
Zoey seems pretty relaxed since we brought her home, and eager to get out of her room and explore. Even DH seems to like her - yay! Welcome to the family, Zoey.

*(seriously, that's not just what we told the kids, a nice Mennonite family adopted him as a barn cat)

Generosity Rocks Out Loud!

Guess what some sweet Freecycler gave me for an awesome free pre-birthday present? (They didn't know it was a pre-birthday present, but I do!)




Oh yeah. I am so geeked.
Revel in the seventies awesomeness.
I will be able to slice and dice and grate and mix like nobody's business. I'll have to make sure I post pics of the incredible foodness that is sure to follow.
Whatever.
You know you're jealous.
But just cause I love you, I'll post pics of (and the general recipe for) the cake I made for MIL's 50th birthday, anyway. Pre-processor, of course, which just makes it even cooler. (Things 1&2 were soon un-thrilled with being allowed to use the grater, let me tell you... 4 cups of carrots is a lot!)






Crazy-good Carrot Cake*
4 cups grated carrots
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup applesauce
1/4 c oil
1/2 cup raisins, ~just~ covered in water and microwaved for 30 seconds, then drained
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 eggs, lightly beaten-? (I think I added eggs; I honestly can't remember.)

Mix dry ingredients, and sift together. In a separate bowl, mix wet ingredients together well, then add to 'dry' bowl. Mix thoroughly, but quickly - Pour batter into greased and floured cake pan(s), bake in 350-degree oven for approximately one hour, or until toothpick inserted into middle of cake comes out clean.

*All amounts are approximate - I looked up a bunch of carrot cake recipes online, and then took the ingredients I wanted and a few I thought should be included, and guessed on how to best put them together. Feel free to use all whole wheat or all white flour, all white or all brown sugar, whatever you happen to like better, with the understanding that results may vary. My cake rose well, and was moist without being sticky.

Frosting (well, kind of)

I made a fondant-type frosting- for the first time! I used the same method as above, researching fondant and then just flying by the seat of my pants. It was delicious - but sweet!

1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup margarine or softened butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
dash salt
2lb. bag of 10x confectioner's (powdered) sugar

Combine honey, vanilla, and butter completely, add salt and slowly sift powdered sugar into the mix (I added it by the 1/2 cup), stirring until completely mixed after each time. Eventually (after about 2 cups for me) the mix will be more solid and almost doughy. When this happens, put the dough in the refrigerator to chill for at least an hour. Remove frosting, lightly dust a smooth surface (I just used the counter, but a cold pastry marble would be awesome for this) with sifted powdered sugar and knead more sugar into the dough. When the dough begins to look more flat than glossy, it should be about done. This part you'll just have to experiment with, because you want it to be dry enough to handle, but wet enough to not crack as you drape it on the cake.
I frosted the cake very lightly with store bought cream cheese frosting, then rolled out sections of my frosting and covered the whole cake. They don't have to be perfect, you can trim them and mold the edges together!
With the left over icing, I kneaded food color into it, rolled it out and used a cookie cutter to make the stars (I found an easier way to do it after I was finished - of course- but that's another post) which I then placed strategically over areas where the frosting was less than smooth.
(One caveat - be careful with poking toothpicks into the cake, or wrapping it - this frosting is like play clay, and stays partially malleable the whole time. If you look closely, you can see the wrinkles where I tightly wrapped this with plastic wrap to keep it in place during the 1-1/2 hour drive to MIL's party!)


Ta-daaa!

No More Nemesis

Okay, so the guy wasn't really a nemesis, but still... he had a way of pissing people off. On purpose. He was one of those kind of guys who can't resist pushing just to see how far he could before someone would push back- and then once they started pushing back, he would promptly (and figuratively, of course) kick their ass.
I am one of those nicey people who just doesn't like to say bad things about others, so Steven Wells was pretty much my polar opposite. I first became aware of him because of these two articles he wrote about how knitting is completely not as cool as hipster knitters think it is.
Now, I have been crocheting since I was 17 and more recently started knitting, but before the apex of the trend really hit. I was kind of glad to finally see it being promoted as a punk-rock, hip type of hobby- considering that even my loving DH constantly referred to me as 'Granny' when he would see me knitting something (didn't stop him from enjoying the blanket I crocheted for him, but that's beside the point), I thought it was about time that crafting became kind of cool. There's nothing wrong with preferring to wear or use something you've made by hand, rather than using or wearing something that an underpaid worker in Guatemala made with a machine. I also enjoyed the fact that all kinds of people were interested in knitting and crocheting and crafting - from granola crunchers to dominatrices, there was something for everyone in the knitting world, it was no longer just doilies and cardigans.
Well, Steven Wells set me straight. He let me know that no matter what kind of gloss you put on it, no matter what you were knitting or crocheting, it was still not edgy or punk rock. After my initial pissiness, after composing comments in my head that I would never repeat (or type), I just had to laugh. I read a few of his back articles, and was hooked. He just seemed to be one of those people who can't help but tell the truth the way he saw it, everybody's pwecious widdle feewings be damned. Plus, he was hilarious. Since I can take a joke, even if it's on me, I immediately subscribed to Philadelphia Weekly.
Then, the Anticraft replied to his criticisms by posting these wonderful Vlad the Impaler hats. I literally laughed out loud when I saw the quote by Steven Wells at the top of the page. I thought, "Hey, that's a good idea, turn that anger toward creative pursuits, you've shown him." I continued to thoroughly enjoy both Steven's articles and the Anticraft's quarterly issues. My inbox had a new issue of PW this morning, with a surprising title - "In Memoriam: Steven Wells".
I didn't know him personally, or even as a writer for very long, but I really enjoyed his cynicism and sarcasm, so I spent a good portion of the morning learning about Steven Wells and his battle with cancer, and I think that it's a story that would touch all but his most vehement haters. Sure, the guy was abrasive, insulting, and often rude- but he was also honest, and his story is frightening and touching and just made me sad that he had to go now, when I was just becoming a fan.
Farrah Fawcett was before my time, Ed McMahon has always been old to me, and I was never a fan of Michael Jackson (or Billy Mays, for that matter), so other than the surprise of how close together their deaths happened, I haven't been saddened or personally affected by them - but I will sorely miss Steven's wit showing up in my inbox every week.