Potato Peeling

How to quickly peel a potato!

Fun!

I love

Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen.

hugging.

side note:
-- I added a 1/2 cup of chocolate chips into my Fresh Cherry & Oat Scone recipe.
Not bad, but I like them better without the chocolate chips.
I just thought I would let you know!

Long Hair Hippies Need to Apply?

I grew up a half-hour from the site of the Woodstock Festival (Bethel, NY), and because of this, there is a pretty big concentration of aging hippies in the Catskill Mountains of NY and the Pocono Mountains of PA.
I got to hear about Woodstock and its history pretty often because of this,
however, I don't think most people do.

In honor of the music festival's 40th Aniversary in mid-August, The New York Times just so happens to be asking people to head that way to take pictures and videos of what it's like now, and what they remember from it, or if they even got there or if they were stuck in traffic on the New York Thruway.
You can head this way for more info!

I won't be able to compare the way Yasger Farms looks today compared to how it was during the festival, or to give you any first hand look into the festival,
but I can tell you that the streams and rivers of one of the most beautiful, secret corners of our country still feel this way:

Backyard Birds

I'm in love.
http://twitching.tumblr.com/

I don't know whose blog this is,
but it's just pictures of the sweetest little birds.

Loveliness!

Papernstitch and Coriandr

So, in addition to Etsy, poppytalkhandmade, and Folksy (which I just wrote about)
I have just discovered Coriandr and papernstitch.
I like papernstitch the most so far because there's more of a concentrated collection of loveliness.


I just signed up for papernstitch yesterday and now I'm getting ready to set up my store. Cool stuff, right?



Here are some items I decided to feature:

Winter Dress up Dolls, Adhesive Fabric Wall Stickers / Decals

by Mae

As a little girl, my paper dolls were among my favorite toys.
I would have loved to have had these wall decals to dress up in my bedroom.

Birdies on Couches Fabric
by Scarlet Fig

Um, hi, I would like to use this in/on everything I make.
Kthx.

Fun!

Matryoshka Measuring Cups/Measuring Cup Heaven

I often find myself scrolling through the Anthropologie website when I'm bored,
which often leads to hours of daydreaming of being able to wear all of the lovely clothes and sit in each and every uniquely upholstered chair.

Yesterday I found myself holding back from buying all of these measuring cups!

1. A Measuring Gaggle
2. Puffer Bird Measuring Cups
   
3. Florist Measuring Cups
   
4. And my personal favorite, Matryoshka Measuring Cups. (see image below)

A creative twist on traditional Russian Matryoshka dolls.

What I like about Madison..

I'm new here.
I get lost sometimes and I'm not a regular at any cafe's or quaint shops yet that I don't know of through friends, but I still feel like Madison is a good match for me in terms of towns.
Within my first few days here, I was invited to three different knitting circles. I'd say that's a pretty good signal of a good fit for me.



In other news, I've just started knitting the Pea Pod Cardigan from Knit 2 Together.

Little needles. Lots of work. Lots of love.

Photo by Eric Axene (photographer for Knit 2 Together)
Couldn't you picture Sylvia Plath wearing it?

Vegan Split Pea Soup/Adventures with Asthma.

This past week has been really strange for me. I got really sick on Monday and I kept getting worse, and eventually on Wednesday Jason had to rush me to intensive care twice in the same day because my asthma was getting out of control and my inhaler wasn't helping me. I haven't had such a hard time with my asthma since I was a little girl.
Scary stuff, but I'm a-okay now! Thank goodness for whatever I was pumped full of, because let me tell you, it is terrifying to not be able to breathe!
My doctor was a friend of Jason's boss from Indie Coffee, too, isn't that ironic?



Since I haven't been able to write all week,
I thought I would share my Vegan Split Pea Soup recipe with everyone.

• 2 cups dried split peas
• 2 cups water (and add an additional cup every so often when you need to. You'll know.)
• 1/2 large white onion, diced
• 1 large carrot, cut into coins
• 1 1/4 tspns curry
• salt and pepper (however much you choose)

1. Put the carrots into the pot you're going to use to get a little soft, and add in the onions until they become translucent.
   
2. Add two cups of water, then the split peas. Keep on a medium heat and add water as the mixture become dry. If you've ever made split pea soup, you know it's supposed to be thick like a stew, so just try to find a thickness that works for you and your taste.
3. Add the curry powder and some salt and pepper. This gives the warm taste that you would normally get from ham that is traditionally used in Split Pea Soup. My mom used to make Split Pea Soup for my family when my sister and I were young and we still ate meat, and I think the curry tastes best!
   
4. Enjoy!
   

P.S. I've had a few people ask me if I've become vegan recently because of a lot of the recipes I've been posting, and I'm not, although I'm a Vegetarian. I just feel like Vegan recipes are a bit more challenging and allow for more creativity sometimes. I just wanted to set that straight.

poppytalkhandmade and folksy

I just discovered Poppytalk Handmade and Folksy this past week.
And just when I thought Etsy was a lonestar, up pops two more awesome sites for crafty mothers and lovers!


Some handmade items I liked and decided to feature:

Cupcake Brooch by Jim Jam Sandwich
on Folksy

Thought Print by Tuttistudio
on poppytalkhandmade

So, what's new?

I have been a busy bird, but here's what I have been up to lately.

Peach Plum Tiny Pies.

And lots of playing around with a certain naughty kitten.

Amazing library!!

Oh my goodness, is this not the most beautiful thing you've ever seen in your entire life??

Fantastic Library in 3D.

^^ Is this what heaven looks like??

Meet Willi.

Meet Willamena, or Willi as we call her since we adopted her for free from a weird tchotchke shop on Williamson St (aka Willy St) this morning.
I went home and looked up the meaning and it means Strong-willed Warrior.
A very, very, very appropriate name for our completely spunky, constantly miewing new kitten.

This is her theme song.

Hop on Pop.

This has been an incredibly rough year for me.
When I got engaged he cried and supported me through it.
When I was in the hospital for a week during the winter, my dad drove six hours everyday to be with me during my visiting hours.
When I moved to Madison he bought me every nick-nack and gadget possible for my bike so I would "light up like a f-ing Christmas tree."
Today was my dad's birthday.
In return, I let him tell me corny jokes and quote The Godfather to his hearts content.
I also knit him a guitar strap and bought him a yo-yo, because he's a 13 year old in a 53 year old man's body.

Happy Birthday, Dad!