Well hello there! Isn't it nice to see I haven't forgotten my little space of the blogsphere? My season at the busy bakery is over, whew! So now I have a bit more time for creativity and crafty-ness. I've been pondering what my first post of 2010. An apology to 2009 for my disgruntled attitude in my last post did cross my mind, but I'll let that sleeping dog lie. A list is always the way to go.
Make soap with our Irish stout home-brew. Yes, soap + beer = the best of team O'Bryan
Curtain to cover underneath the sink which thanks is due to an unfortunate discovery of our kitchen drainage situation
Commit to this photo/blog challenge...30 Days of Beauty There is probably no better way to keep me posting!
Sew some reusable grocery bags (my current ones are just boring box store logo-ed ones) oh and I'd like to make a reusable lunch bag like this one made out of oil cloth
Continue my health quest and try for another 15 lbs
Continue our financial quest to be debt free, progress is being made!
And of course knitting: Loving this Wurm hat and this lovely sweater (which would be my first adult sweater) and I know this is crocheted, but OMG is all I can say!!! I mean really!! If you are a Ravelry member, a must for EVERY knitter and crocheter, type "afghan" in the pattern search. There are some crazy beauties there.
Please note this list is subject to change on a whim!
I have been wanting to make homemade vanilla extract for sometime now. Finally the ingredients and materials were gathered up and it only took me like 2 minutes to make. Easy smeezy. Waiting for it to "make"? Not so easy smeezy. I really wanted to give it as Christmas gifts this year, but didn't get it ready in time as it takes a good 6 months or so for quality vanilla extract to "make".
Seriously though it is quite easy to do (literally just add vanilla beans to vodka and wait and wait and wait) and in the long run will save a bundle on my vanilla extract usage.
Looks kinda like something you would find in a mad scientist's lab or maybe a naturopathic doctor's office huh? Well, it's not. It's hiding quietly in my cupboard waiting for me to deem it worthy of Becca's Best Chocolate Chip Cookies.
I saw this clip on my bro's facebook feed a few weeks ago. It's from the World Science Festival 2009: Notes and Neurons. Bobby McFarrin is a guest panelist.
Watch the whole thing if you can. It's a little over an hour long but broken into 5 parts. Fascinating!
This is my carrot friend. He grew in my garden all summer and had the cutest face that I couldn't resist sharing him with you.
We celebrated our 3rd anniversary a few weekends ago at the Johnson Mill in Midway. It was beautiful and quiet and a much needed break from the busyness of city life. The colors were amazing. I'm so glad we have a fall anniversary because my favorite colors celebrate with us. Here's the view from our room.
Those were random updates, huh.....I'm feeling quite scattered and random lately so I'm not going to bother to make sense of it.....
Starting next week I'll be using the rest of my vacation hours and taking every Monday off for the remainder of the year. I plan to dedicate Mondays to some much needed creative time. It's amazing how unmotivated and out of rhythm my life seems with out lots of creative outlets. How about you? What motivates you in your daily life?
...sheepdogs in their full glory are so incredible they can bring a tear to one's eyes. We got a hold of some free tickets to the National Sheepdog Championships in the beautiful Soldier Hollow. The last time I was there was for the 2002 Olympics Cross Country event. I had forgotten how beautiful the Midway area is. Like the land storybooks are made of. We arrived on the scene to a crowd of about 3 or 4 thousand people silently watching a boarder collie and his handler perform in top form.
I was amazed at the silence of this size of crowd! Maybe that's just protocol--as with golf and tennis crowds. The whole competition was about how well the dog and handler heard sheep from the hillside, through narrow gate openings and then sorts out marked sheep, which is called shedding, from the larger flock. And then put that smaller group in a pen. All without actually touching or nipping at the sheep.
I know, it sounds boring but in action is quite amazing. When I saw the first dog eagerly react to his handlers whistles and hand signals, it was like I got a glimpse of what this dog was truly made for. It was a demonstration of obedience, submission, trust and pure love.
.... not only is pressure cooker canning (of which I have yet to brave) a dangerous task, but water bath canning is also quite hazardous. In cooking up a glorious batch ginger peach jam this weekend, I now have a nasty pea sized burn above my left eye to go along with the steam burn on my left arm I got last week which is just under a burn I got from the lip of the canner a few weeks ago. I'm sure my bakery co-workers wondered what happened to the self-proclaimed boring "quite" newbie (I have deemed myself boring because I do not seem to lead a drama filled life as most everyone there seems to and they have deemed me as "quite"-which I have heard many times in my life). Especially if they've noticed the burns on my left arm. I can only imagine their minds exploring all possibilities of what my life is really like.
... having my james cook the main dish while having friends each bring yummy side dishes, yields a much more enjoyable time of backyard gatherings for me. I did make a peach galette with homemade whipped cream, but that is easy shmeezy considering the usual dining fare I attempt to create.
... in the past this holiday has been one of those weird holidays I don't understand but capitalize on the time off from work, but this year I realized it is a celebration of the American laborer. We did indeed celebrate - human and canine alike.
Me plus working 40+ hours a week does not equal a lot of blogging time. Always an excuse, I know. But seriously, how do you people with full time jobs do it? I barely have the energy to clean, keep the lawn watered, spend time with friends and oh, the laundry beast has exponentially multiplied. This past week it really hit me; followed by a dramatic melt down with tears and all. My james said he's been waiting for it to happen. He knows me so well. I think my body and emotions are finally saying, "Whoa! What happened? Why are we running around so crazy busy lately?" My hands have been longing for the needles and my feet the coolness of my craft room basement floor. I'm trying to come to terms with the fact that the treasured season of rest and discovery is over. I'll get over it. I'll find a new rhythm. I must. I know this gift of time was to prepare me for something. What that is, I have yet to find out.
OK enough with the self analyzing already!
As an outlet for some creativity and to get a head start on Christmas gifts, I've been canning. Don't ask where I have found the time and energy. I really don't know. (Actually I think I stole it from the laundry beast because there are several mounds of dirty clothes of which I just noticed are roaring loudly at me.) Anyway I was generously blessed by some friends with a box of peaches from their tree! So what did I do yesterday after a full day of work? I cranked out several jars of Ginger Peach Jam. Here's the recipe I used. And yes, it is Grand Champion caliber if you as me.
Now I'm off for an hour of taming the laundry beast, wish me luck. Then off to the busy bakery!
I tend to ebb and flow from needles to glue to gardening to fabric to music appreciation to watercolors to baking to soap making to... well, anything that can be made and creatively expressive... I love my life and my dear husband, family and those that surround me with friendship and most importantly my creator. In this space I chronicle my life adventures of everything above and probably more.
