A few weeks ago we took a trip to DFW for my birthday. It was a sweet little trip, short, but really great.

I didn’t have to drive, a rare treat for me to just ride and watch the clouds and the scenery fly past. I love driving, but there was something so perfect about riding around, dozing in the sun, watching the clouds sail past and being able ( Read more... )

- Elderberry extract making.
- Another successful soap-making (83 full sized bars, 20 half bars!).
- Tea shop with friends (and free pots of tea).
- That peach tree in the backyard, I can’t believe how gorgeous it is! Gazing out the kitchen window and seeing it just makes me smile so much. Especially yesterday, it was rainy all day, but nothing ( Read more... )

- The painted-on words-that-sound-like-their-sounds (“OUCH!” “THUNK!” “OOF!” “YIPE!”) and words-that-are-more-exclamations (“holy cr*p!”) each point to a new potential hazard for a cyclist along Harbord Street: a deep crack here, a bump there.

It’s things like this that make me so incredibly happy.

- Jackie Clay explains how to make elderberry ( Read more... )

So, we often talk about how I have all the common sense. Except, yesterday, I did not.

Let me start the story in the confused manner that I encountered it myself.

Last night, I puttered until about midnight. I went up to bed and remembered that I had to put my laundry in the dryer and so I tromped back down the stairs and then realized that the ( Read more... )

I’ve been making this granola for a couple days now. (Though, in retrospect, perhaps I should have followed this recipe instead, it seems kind of easier.)

Today I found some pecans in the back of my fridge that I purchased a couple months ago (I know, I should’ve got to them sooner!) and broke out the 5 pounds of really raw almonds that I bought ( Read more... )

My sister’s coming next week to visit. She’s not been down to visit in over five years, so it’s kind of a big deal. One hitch, she’s vegetarian. I had a moment of panic a couple weeks ago when I realized this, because just about everything I cook has meat in it. Or meat things.

Take for example this week’s menu:

Monday: Boudin (meat), onion pie ( Read more... )

Yesterday I drove to Fort Worth to pick up some super cheap sodium hydroxide for soap making from Star for Sand Creek (and myself) for our soap making classes. After picking it up, it seemed like a waste to turn around and go home, so we went to go find some place to eat (Yelp recommended Fuzzy’s Tacos, and I was expecting something Taco Deli like ( Read more... )