blog #398 >> Neverland Cake

Hurray! The Peter Pan's Neverland Cake finally complete!
It's astonishing in what little time a single six-year-old can tear a place apart! But at least we have one AMAZING cake to show for it. It's for the cake carnival at Maggie's school.







And it turns out that modeling chocolate is one of the best things ever concocted in a kitchen! It's really easy to make, you just melt 1 bag of any type of chocolate chips and add 1/3 cup corn syrup. Mix them together, let it cool and there you have it! A delicious treat that tastes like a tootsie roll.



And since I had some extra cake mix, I made the bonus cake for Maggie to decorate however she wanted. I'm not sure why she wanted candles, but why not?


Now I have to go clean up the entire apartment...
T

blog #397 >> Out with the old and in with the new

At least one good thing happened today...
My new alarm clock came in the mail!
I've been waiting sooo long for one! Now "Old Buzzy" can retire and "Big Blinky" can begin! I'm going to sleep so well tonight... well unless I'm so excited to wake up to my new alarm clock, I wake up several times before it even goes off.

Now, it's not perfect, it's more yellow than I thought it would be and they replaced the dials on the back with plastic knobs, and the light is an LED instead of a regular light bulb. (LED lights are a secret pet peeve of mine.) But I love the sound of it's ring and it fits perfectly into my strict list of "alarm clock criteria." It was a long, drawn out search, but I finally found it. Plus, it came in a really cute box. Here's the description:

Moon Beam Electric Alarm -
Are you the early morning hard of hearing type? Or just one more poor sleepy head, resigned to being roused, but wishing it could be done every so gently? Then harken to the wondrous working of Moon Beam! For this completely different kind of electric alarm calls you silently. Yes, Moon Beam's first call is silent - A blinking light that will not even disturb the rest of the family, not even the baby. But if you ignore the light and do not shut off the light within a few minutes, Moon Beam adds to the light a cheerful audible alarm. Now what could be more considerate than that?

This is going to be so much better than the alarm that buzzes all night long, so inconsiderate...

Does anyone want on old teal alarm clock that buzzes all the time?
If so I'll save it out for you. It keeps good time and the buzzing isn't very loud, it's just annoying. It would be fine for a kitchen, but you wouldn't want to sleep next to it.

Good night!
T

blog #396 >> Cool things I've been meaning to post for awhile...

I've been putting this off for entirely too long.
Here's my latest assortment of cool stuff I've found online.


The Antique Typewriter blog:
This makes me want to tear my laptop apart and give it a wooden case, cool buttons and a custom paint job.





Wise words to remember, I think I'm going to embroider that onto a bookmark.



Did you know that sharks can smell tea from a mile away?
...I made that up.


The Amazing Lobster Rug!


Great instructions on how to make homemade ricotta cheese.... it didn't work out for me very well... but that wasn't the recipes fault. It was entirely user error.


Build you own mansion, I need this for the city of London I've started on my desk.

The original button cookie recipe. I may have already posted this... but by brain is fuzzy on the subject.
And a button stamp to package them with.


Pretty crocheted jar lamps, these make me want to work on my crocheting.


Lost Alarm Clock

4 8 15 16 23... 46? Oh $#%@!!!

It's been a long, boring day down in the Swan, chilling in your khaki jumpsuit, listening to your favorite Mama Cass record and staring at a blinking cursor.

Where's your partner? Why can't you switch off number-punching duties? Oh, right. You killed him. And now you have to wake up every 108 minutes or the world starts shaking and metallic objects threaten to pin you against the wall.

Trust us, brother, this is no way to live. And luckily--or not, right, Hugo?--you don't have to. Our Dharma Initiative Alarm Clock is conveniently programmable to go off only once every 24 hours, and at a time convenient to you.

But if you don't get the numbers right before you see the hieroglyphs, there's no guaranteeing what will happen.

The Trouble with Tribbles by Edward Gorey: see full comic here
Alright, I'm not a HUGE "Star Trek" fan, but I did find this VERY funny.
...but I am a LOST fan.



More words of wisdom: only this ad is making me crave chocolate marshmallow Easter eggs.


A place where I'd fit right in... well... almost.



And an adorable summer dress from etsy.
Even though it's ENTIRELY too expensive.


And last but not least an old photo I found of my Grandpa from when he was a flight instructor during WW2. Many more WW2 posts to come... and they will be fantastic!
(My grandpa is the good looking one on the left, the other one is my uncle. And to think I was going to photoshop the "other guy" out. I'm still feeling a little guilty about that one. NEVER mess with history. Lesson learned.)

That's all for now, I've got to get to bed!
T

blog #395 >> Cars which I did not buy...

...although I did come real close on a couple of these.

Today ended up being a very busy day. First, I drove up to Kelso to attend my sister's Seed & Start Swap. I had a great time! I got a couple of tomato starts and some swell seeds. I also learned how to make homemade soap and deodorant.

On my way home I stopped by The Portland Swap Meet to visit my dad who was selling his International truck there. It was a lot of fun, but it was also a lot of walking... I feel like my feet are going to fall off!

I dropped by to possibly buy this '67 Datsun, but it was unfortunately sold by the time I got there.



However, if I had the money, I would have bought this Rambler wagon instead. I LOVE the wheels on this car, and it's the prefect size. Small, yet still large enough to haul home lots of vintage finds. Plus, it kinda looks like me. Cars, like pets, should look like their owners.



I also seriously considered buying this Austen, but it wasn't in as good as shape as the Datsun. However, I love this funky little car anyhow.



And below are other notable mentions:

A fabulous Ford Falcon (also outside my price range.)



A savvy burgundy Buick (yet also outside my price range.)



A quirky little Metropolitan, as much as I love these tiny little British cars, I know they'd be a pain to fix and impossible to get parts for.


But look at the plaid upholstery!



A Ford Galaxie, this is a pretty fantastic car, but it's not nearly as cute as the earlier model I saw for sale on 20th & Hawthorn the other day. With it's baby blue paint job, and round tail lights, it stole my heart.


As an added bonus, this car was once owned by the man who earned a title in The Guiness Book of World Records for tearing phone books apart with his bare hands. He drove it in parades and it's equipped with a siren. Where else are you going to find a car like that!?



And a darling little Hillman Minx, which like his cousin The Metropolitan above, I don't think I could keep running.



However, I'm afraid none can compare to my first love... The Hornet... sigh.

And finally we have the Model "T" that my dad DID buy! Can't wait to try this one out this summer!


And although it's not a car, and for $2500 I would NEVER purchase it, we seem to have found this bear trap in which there appears to be trapped a human leg?



Now, back to other things.
Cheers!
T

blog #395 >> Easter Stuff

The egg I decorated for Easter. I wanted to do a Ukrainian egg, but I couldn't find my bees wax. So I tried this lacy look instead.


The peach coffee cake I made for Easter breakfast.
I made up the recipe myself:

Mix:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tea. baking powder
dash of salt

Cut in:
1/2 cup butter, part cream cheese
(should look crumbly)

Add:
1/3 cup milk

Stir. Roll out on greased and floured baking sheet. Should be about 3/4 inch thick and oval in shape. Spread peach preserves, or your favorite jelly, about 1/2 cup, in the middle of the dough. It should be about 1 1/2 inches from the edge. Sprinkle with almonds, about 1/4 cup. Slice edges, up to the preserves, and about 2 inches apart, all the way around the coffee cake. Fold over the preserves. Sprinkle entire thing with chunky sugar. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes or until edges are golden brown.



And here are the dill starts I've got in my kitchen. I hope they sprout.

Cheers,
T

blog #394 >> Happy Easter!

Wishing everyone a very Happy Easter!
T

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