Cheap Sewing

by Claire on Sep 2, 2012

This weekend was is awesome. For the first time that I remember since becoming a teacher five years ago, I did not bring any school work home. Now, that doesn't mean that I don't have work to do, I was just finally able to leave it behind. We were looking forward to completing our shed (details will be presented here in a future post), but then Nick caught a bad cold. As it turns out, I am not competent with construction work and am in no way able to complete it without him. I am more of an assistant. An assistant to the manager. 

Here is what I have done with the weekend instead:
  1. Wasted time on Facebook
  2. Cleaned the house
  3. Made whole wheat tortillas from scratch and ate them all
  4. Made whole wheat cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting for Nick
  5. Bought a weed-whacker and mowed the lawn with it (Yes, it has been so long since we mowed our lawn the real way that our pitiful mower couldn't handle it.)
  6. Flushed a black widow out of the bottom of the screen door, then made Nick get his sick self off the couch to kill it because I was too big of a wimp
  7. Made Nick some healthified cream of broccoli soup
  8. Went grocery shopping
  9. AND MADE THE FOLLOWING CLOTHING ITEMS! (Everything in navy blue, anyway.) I bought a twin-sized jersey sheet set at Target for $20 and had a hey day. The skirt came from about half of the fitted sheet, and the tank-top was made from the pillowcase. I think I will make a necklace out of the remaining portion of the fitted sheet. I am accepting ideas for the flat sheet...maxi-dress? Cape? Tights? Gloves? Leotard? All of the above at the same time?









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Refurbished Medicine Cabinate

by Nick on Jul 30, 2012

After buying and returning this inferior product, Claire and I realized that we should have just refurbished our existing medicine cabinet. After removing the four screws that held it in place, I scraped away decades of oxidation using steel wool, and repainted it with appliance paint. Claire cleaned the mirror, and painted the wooden frame white. It's no Mona Lisa, but it looks much better than it did before.


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Ode to the Pancake

by Claire on Jul 20, 2012

Oh, pancake!
spongey and golden goodness 
hot on a ceramic plate
butter and Grade-B maple vessel 
warm my gut

Dottie is drooling!
slobbery lips drip into saltillo tile
puddle forms
hot cake flips from spatula
cautiously she eats

Lo, there is a problem!
though I stuff my face at 7 am
I am famished at 9
grumpy
headache
sugar crash

PANCAKES I LOATHE YOU!!!!
I DISOWN YOU AS MY FAVORITE FOOD!!!!

(But, not for long. Meet the protein pancake!)


As a solution, I tweaked an already delicious family recipe given to me from my brother-in-law's (Leni's) family. I am happy to report that once again pancakes are my favorite food! And aside from all the butter and maple, these bad boys are pretty dang healthy. I can only imagine how it good it would be if someone were to top them with, say, plain yogurt and berries. That someone will never be me. But, if you can do it, good for you. 

Actual Protein Pancake:

And, soaking up the nectar of the gods:


RECIPE 
(serves 4 if you like A LOT of pancakes like I do, or 8 if you are a dainty type of person)

Mix the following in a bowl:
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 Tablespoons of oil
  • 1/3 Cup of peanut butter
  • 1 Cup of plain yogurt
Top the above liquid mixture with the following, being careful to not mix them together. (This is a way my mom showed me to avoid sifting, which is a pain. Or you can mix it in a separate bowl, if you prefer.) After you have added all of the dry ingredients, stir them a bit before digging your mixing spoon deeper and combining everything. 
  • 1 Cup of 100% whole wheat flour
  • 1 Cup of garbanzo bean (chick pea) flour. I buy Bob's Red Mill brand from Sunflower Market. 
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
  • pinch of salt
Mix dry and wet ingredients together. It will form a thick, almost biscuit-like dough. Then, add water or milk until it reaches the consistency you prefer. I like mine rather thin, but I know some like them fluffy. 

Cook on a medium-hot griddle, flipping them when they start to bubble and look a little less shiny around the edges. 

(Note: I have also substituted half of the garbanzo bean flour for almond meal, which is also delicious. Or, you can substitute all of the garbanzo bean flour for cornmeal, to make you feel more like a pioneer.  The cornmeal option is less healthy and proteinerific, however.)

Let me know if you try them, and what you think! I thought they were good, but I think many of my tastes have strayed from the traditional...




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Dottie Goes Camping

by Claire on Jul 15, 2012

This probably doesn't come as a surprise, but we love our dog, Dottie. I'll admit, we also pamper her too much: insulated dog house, hot-dog Halloween costume, frozen carrot treats in summer, puffy winter coat, dog-backpack, to name a few. We are those embarrassing dog-parents. Today, we took overindulging our dog about 300 steps further: we made her a sleeping bag. But, before I show a bunch of cute pictures, allow me to attempt to defend my sanity. Please. 

We took Dottie backpacking in March two years ago for her first camping trip. In her pack, she carried her own food and water dish quite successfully. We thought she would be comfortable at night with a little fleece blanket inside the tent at our feet--after all, when I was a kid, our family dog always slept just outside the tent; it was generous of us to give her room inside! Shortly after we were settled in for the night, she started shaking violently from the cold. Nick took pity on her, and she ended up sharing his sleeping bag for the rest of the night. We knew we needed to figure something out for the next backpacking trip. 

Following that trip, we went car camping several times with her in our big four-person tent. She did well with an old comforter wrapped tightly around her. 

This past weekend, we went on a little one-night backpacking trip. Not wanting to replicate the experience of two years ago, I crammed an entire Snuggie into my pack for Dottie. Surely that would keep her warm enough: it could surround her twice and it was only supposed to reach a low of 55 degrees at night. It felt like overkill. But, it wasn't. It rained, and ended up being 45 degrees. Here's how it all went down during the night. 

10:00 PM: Dottie is twice-wrapped in the Snuggie at the foot of Nick's sleeping bag in our light, tight, two-person tent. 

1:00 AM: Dottie works her way out of the Snuggie and wedges herself between Nick and I. We try to ignore her. 

1:10 AM: Dottie has her face resting on my neck, a paw on my shoulder, and her bottom in Nick's face and is shivering. 

1:11 AM: Dottie spends the rest of the night between our shoulders, wrapped again in the Snuggie, and partially sharing Nick's sleeping bag. Nick and I each have roughly an inch of space between our faces and the sweating tent walls. (It is a downpour outside). 

6:00 AM: Nick wakes up to find Dottie has almost completely taken over his sleeping bag. (See below). 

6:20 AM: Nick gets out of the tent. Dottie stays in his sleeping bag. (See below). 


6:35 AM: I get out of the tent. Dottie stays in this position for another hour. (See below). 





Today I decided to make Dottie her own sleeping bag. I cut the top half off of my old bag, and sewed the bottom shut, to save on weight. Here she is in the final product (which looks pretty stupid). I think she loves it... and we just might like camping with her from now on!




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Depression Lace

by Claire on Jun 20, 2012

Recently, at Christmas, Eleanor acquired a couple of vintage gingham aprons, and I was jealous. And intrigued, especially by the little thread removal lace situation on one. (I thought this was called hardanger, but I have since googled that and I was wrong. If you know what it is actually called, please comment!) 

So, I set about trying to replicate one for myself. Here is the first attempt. 




Then, I made another. (This time it was for someone else.) I also really went hog wild on the embroidery front--if, in fact, embroidery can ever be considered "hog wild"-- and tried real depression lace, which as it turns out, is a variation on cross stitch. It was overly repetitive and involved more counting than creativity, but was oddly meditative. This time-consuming process went really well with Downton Abbey.  See the pictures below. (Except the Downton Abbey part--you'll have to Netflix that on your own.) 


The whole apron, tied in the front. When I tried it on before shipping it off, I was really wishing it was mine and that it was decent to wear in public without pants or shorts. So I started thinking about a skirt with a similar fit...something that would accent the waist and hide the thickey-thighs. And that would have a more substantial back (as opposed to a bow). 

 Depression Lace

Depression Lace (up close)



Here is the end skirt result. I was really proud of how it turned out, considering I don't really sew that well and was making it up as I went along. To avoid dealing with a zipper (I did that once ten years ago and don't remember it fondly) I made it a wrap skirt with a few snaps. It is pleated in the front and the back, and has a separate 3-4 inch wide sash that can be knotted in the front or back. I ended up really liking the high waist-line and the variety the sash can afford. 


Yep. It's basically a decent apron. (Dottie loves pictures when they are not being taken of her. Otherwise she avoids the camera like the plague!)


If you made it to the end of this post, I am impressed. 

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Wow, it's been a while!

by Claire on Jun 13, 2012

Um, not quite sure where to start, as it has been a year since we posted. 
I suppose this posting will serve as a little catch-up. 
Some high-lights and low-lights from the past year (in order from past to present): 
  • Took nine credits of graduate classes in four weeks. It was an experience that warranted a swear word, or seven
  • Went to Tennessee to visit Nick (the brother-in-law) and Eleanor: toured Civil War sites, caves, and D. C. where we saw our friend Ben and the Schoolcraft family
  • Totaled another car. Again, it was not our fault and we walked away unscathed. Phew.
  • Survived fall semester: seven credits of graduate classes and teaching. Teaching. Essay writing. Grading. Planning. Eating. Sleeping. Repeat over and over and over.....
  • Gorged ourselves over Thanksgiving with Porter Seniors and Moores in Los Alamos
  • Celebrated Nick's dad's 70th birthday in Tucson with family from Wisconsin and Texas. Note: these two states are looking more and more similar.
  • Celebrated Christmas with Simson Juniors and Simson Seniors at the Aldrich residence in Eager
  • Survival of spring semester: see the fall, because it was exactly the same. 
  • Found out I would be teaching the same subject and grade level for the first time ever! Yay for American History and 8th grade! (Nick might have an added science elective next year, though everything else will stay the same: 6th grade Earth science)
  • Got a nephew: Joshua Daniel Moore on April 24th!
  • Discovered a little taste of a normal (for a teacher) summer before returning to our last graduate class: the thesis/capstone/high-stakes/25-page essay-writing class...to bad the break was only five days!


  • Here is our nephew with his parents. 



  • Here is the shed we started building during the five days of freedom. Two weeks later, it looks pretty much the same. But two weeks from now, when we are entirely done with graduate classes, you can expect some real progress. 
  • I made invented a really cute skirt. I'll post more about that later, too. 
Now we spend our time writing that paper. Last night was especially pathetic. We had both been lost in our macbook worlds for several hours, struggling to put our thoughts onto the page, when we realized that we needed to eat dinner. After downing three magic bars earlier in the day (for shame, Claire), I knew I needed something healthy as well as quick. Nick said he would prepare some salmon (we often fry/grill these wild-caught salmon patties that we get at Costco) though he only cooked one. That's right, we split a salmon patty. I was supposed to make spinach into a hot-sautéed salad, but instead I made a smoothie out of it, which was actually pretty tasty. 


See how pathetic?


Nick with the mug-o-crap smoothie. 

Recipe: (just in case you want to make an unattractive and unappealing yet healthy tastes-pretty-good-with-your-eyes-closed smoothie)

1 really ripe banana
1 cup of fat-free plain greek yogurt
4 cups of packed fresh spinach
2/3 cups of frozen berries 

Puree in blender. 
Warning: as red (berries) and green (spinach) are complementary colors, they will make brown when blended. This is what makes it appear like the innards of a sewage pipe. See below. Try not to think of this when eating, as it may make it difficult to swallow. ENJOY!

Mug or __________?

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