Knit/Crochet for Charity

Nowadays, the art of crocheting and knitting is coming back in style. A lot of kids are starting to pick it up, so thankfully, it's no longer a dying art :) My niece is always asking me to send her crochet thread. At any rate, if you're an avid crocheter or knitter, think about donating some of your time to charity by creating afghans, clothings, and supplies. I'm starting to get involved in hats for preemies, but I had to learn to create one first :) There are other organizations that will work with you. Two places that I'm looking at are:

• Warm up America at Michael's - The Arts & Crafts Store, which collects knitted or crocheted pieces of certain sizes to help build afghans
• Knitting for a Better World from Interweave Press, which lists a ton of charity organizations you can get involved in.

Have fun and share your gift :)

"Charity should begin at home, but should not stay there."
-- Philips Brooks

More Baby Blankets to Crochet

It is amazing as you get older, how many ppl you know who're having kids! This is great for me cause I get to make more blankets :)

I had a hard time coming up with this one as I couldn't find the right pattern, and I REFUSE to use the same pattern twice. Everyone gets their own unique blanket. Well, I did a combination of patterns this time, and I think I got the right mix for this one. This blanket's for a dear sweet friend of mine who's having her first baby. Kathy K and I have been friends for the past 10 years and I'm so happy for her.

This blanket uses lilac and white Caron Simply Soft yarn (to match her color scheme). It's made up of 12 blocks (4 rows by 3 columns) with four large flowers and probably a few smaller lilac and white flowers scattered around. The pic shows one of the blocks I'm using in the blanket. I still haven't decided on the edge yet, but I'm inspired by Terry Kimbrough's use of ruffled edges with double layers, so I may do a lilac and white edge as well. I'll post the final pic when I'm done.

"It kills you to see them grow up. But I guess it would kill you quicker if they didn't."
-- Barbara Kingsolver, Animal Dreams

Baking Apple Pies with Homemade Crusts

I am absolutely tired today! But, I did something I enjoy doing no matter how I feel, and that's baking. My dad-in-law visited today and it's his birthday, so I made him his usual apple pie with raisins. I admit it, I use Pillsbury pie crust when I don't have the time, but I've been experimenting with making my own crust, and I'm happy to say, I'm getting better at it. No, this pic is one of my apple pies made with Pillsbury's pie crust.

I've used base pie crust recipes from Alton Brown's Food Network show, Good Eats, as well as my The New Good Housekeeping Cookbook. I do use shortening as I sometimes have problems with the additional water that butter adds, but, as has been reported, trans-fat is the worst thing you can use, so, I'll keep trying with the butter and, if I can find it, real lard. The recipe is the standard flour, salt, shortening, and cold water blended together in a food processor, and refrigerated for easier handling.

I'll tell you, watching folks make the crust on t.v. makes it all seem soooooo easy. Going back into the kitchen and doing it yourself can be the most frustrating experience. Someday, I'll actually get the recipe the way I want it so that it's a no-brainer. In the meantime, I always have my Pillsbury pie crust on ice -- just in case ;)

"If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe."
-- Dr. Carl Sagan

Crochet Baby Afghan Finally Finished

I've been working on a blanket for one of my baby nieces, and I finally finished it. It took me about two months to finish this one, which isn't bad. I'm usually doing this between bouts at the hairdresser and late at nights in front of the t.v.

This is a Terry Kimbrough design that I accented with some flowers. The design itself was beautiful and had me looking through a ton of websites before I finally found the designer, so that I could purchase the book. She works with gorgeous lace designs, but this is one of the few I've seen from her that isn't quite so spaced out.

I actually finished it about a week ago, but finally got around to buying that Dreft detergent, which is supposed to be sensitive enough for baby skin. I can now clip the ends and put this pup in a box and send it off.

"She who dies with the most yarn, wins!"
-- Anonymous

Adult Swim Stunt This Past Week

Adult Swim provides me with a great deal of my cartoon content during my down times. If I'm not watching Discovery's MythBusters or something on the History Channel, you'll find me watching cartoons.

The Adult Swim block's definitely presents a different mindset from some of my old standby favorites of the Bugs Bunny gang and SpongeBob. It's definitely geared towards the 20 to 35-year olds and not something I'd be able to comfortably watch with my mum

So knowing the niche crowd it appeals to, it was surprising that Turner Broadcasting would place electronic boards of the Mooninite flipping everyone off all throughout several cities at an attempt at guerilla advertising. While the Adult Swim side of me sees the humor in it, the adult side of me does not. From an advertising point of view, it does make sense... Sony pulled the same stunt by hiring graffiti artists throughout several cities to do artwork for the PSP release. They gained publicity from the stunt and it did not hurt their sales at all. Their intention was to garner the attention of kids in the urban areas... areas that already are filled with billboards vying for their attention.

So why is Turner's stunt different. It's post 9/11. Anything that has wires dangling from it that can be found in different locations around a city, placed at bridges or major intersections, is not going to gather good attention. So it's not surprising that Boston police and the mayor weren't pleased with it.

While I feel slightly sorry for the two artists who were arrested for depositing the materials around the city, they're old enough to think through the consequences of their action. They're probably the only ones who stand to lose, because for Adult Swim, this is great advertising! It's not going to hurt them and it may turn a few more people onto the channel to check out what the show's about.

Check out how sorry these two guys feel about their involvement in the stunt from a WBZ-4 Video.

So, while I don't fully approve of their little stunt, I'll still be watching my usual block of cartoons this weekend, on Adult Swim. Well, everything BUT Asee McGee *eeewwww*.

Ignignokt: You and your third dimension.
Frylock: What about it?
Ignignokt: Oh, nothing; it's cute. We have five.
Err: Th-thousand.
Ignignokt: Yes, five thousand.
Err: Don't question it!
Frylock: Oh yeah? Well I only see two.
Ignignokt: Well that sounds like a personal problem.

The Pooch's Birthday

Yes, I've become one of those millions of Americans who, in some form, celebrate their dog's birthday. No, I haven't gotten to the point where I put silly hats on him, nor have I crocheted or knitted pajamas for him, but I spoil him nonetheless.

Gideon's our ten year old, four-legged child. My hubby and I adopted him two years and a month ago and have never looked back. He's a beautiful whippet who is just as lazy as I am, enjoying couch, rocking chair, crate, and carpet naps every chance he gets. He's considered the true epitome of an older whippet who's spent all his energy in his younger years and is just looking for a warm spot to curl up and sleep in.

My family had dogs when we lived in Jamaica. They were all outdoor dogs, but as kids, you do the usual names -- Lassie, Bingo, Cindy (don't know where that last one came from). Anyway, when my family moved to the States, we no longer owned pups. So I was only too happy when my husband who's lived his whole life with bad allergies, finally agreed, after growing up in a house FULL of dogs, cats, birds, and snakes, to get a dog. We looked for dogs considered hypo-allergenic, but realized most listed as such didn't fit my low-level energy lifestyle. A friend of ours mentioned whippets and before we knew it, we were looking at Gideon.

He prefers human to other dogs (part of the problem why he needed a new home), but that was great for us, because one would be enough for me to start with. Two years later, we're still wondering how he contorts his body into the weirdest of positions, but we couldn't be happier with the decision we made.

Happy birthday Gid! Thanks for keeping me warm :)


"Blessed is the person who has earned the love of an old dog."
--Sydney Jeanne Seward