Dear Dear Diary
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Starbucks is apparently stopping making their coffee liqueur. I'm fine with that, but I have friends who will cry. Here's a recipe if you're someone who may miss it.
How to make your own:
Either start with Starbucks coffee - go get a tall- or get a regular coffee anywhere else.
If you start with a regular coffee from anywhere, take 12 oz of coffee and put in a sauce pan. Boil it until you have about 8 oz. This should give you the burned flavor of Starbucks coffee. Add about 1/4 cup of sugar or three tablespoons, more or less according to your taste. Stir until dissolved. Then allow it to cool. Add about 4 to 6 oz of cheap vodka. Put in a bottle you can seal well. Let it sit more than 24 hours. Shake before serving. Enjoy.
If you start with actual Starbucks coffee, you can skip the boiling it down part of the directions. To me, Starbucks coffee tastes like it’s been left on the burner an hour or three more than it’s supposed to.
(0) comments
How to make your own:
Either start with Starbucks coffee - go get a tall- or get a regular coffee anywhere else.
If you start with a regular coffee from anywhere, take 12 oz of coffee and put in a sauce pan. Boil it until you have about 8 oz. This should give you the burned flavor of Starbucks coffee. Add about 1/4 cup of sugar or three tablespoons, more or less according to your taste. Stir until dissolved. Then allow it to cool. Add about 4 to 6 oz of cheap vodka. Put in a bottle you can seal well. Let it sit more than 24 hours. Shake before serving. Enjoy.
If you start with actual Starbucks coffee, you can skip the boiling it down part of the directions. To me, Starbucks coffee tastes like it’s been left on the burner an hour or three more than it’s supposed to.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Stuff I've been working on...
Not Bacon socks for Abby F.F.
This is two straps on the inkle loom - the red is for Nufflebutt (she says she wants to use it for her spinning wheel) and the yellow will be for my SCA protégé. The toe is yet another toe for Gwynivar. The purple grey sock and a half are another pair for Abby, out of her homespun. The grey stripes is one sock in Opal's Harry Potter line, Hedwig colorway (and no, Jazz, I'm not buying one of every color they have in that line just because it's Harry Potter, I promise. I only got the two pretty ones, Hedwig and Draco).
And helping with the prototype cupholder for the Minstrel.
I'm hoping for another paid knitting gig soon, but that makes for crappy blog fodder, because I can't post those pictures or talk about them until they get published. Meanwhile though, I have to finish some second socks and work on the Unending Black Socks. I have bartered two pairs of socks from a friend whose husband has horribly large feet. He wants a pair of Black and a pair of White knee highs, and his 20 inch calves don't fit in commercial socks. In exchange, she has an awful lot of fussy embroidery to do. So far, we think it's a good deal, but I only have one toe done. There's no pic of that because it's black and won't photograph well at all. Next on the inkle loom is Bacon. Then I need another yellow belt (for a total of three) and a new purse strap. I might even do a guitar strap for Abby, out of her handspun. Maybe. Time will tell. I wonder if I can con Da into making me a darning egg so I can repair some socks?
(0) comments
Not Bacon socks for Abby F.F. 
This is two straps on the inkle loom - the red is for Nufflebutt (she says she wants to use it for her spinning wheel) and the yellow will be for my SCA protégé. The toe is yet another toe for Gwynivar. The purple grey sock and a half are another pair for Abby, out of her homespun. The grey stripes is one sock in Opal's Harry Potter line, Hedwig colorway (and no, Jazz, I'm not buying one of every color they have in that line just because it's Harry Potter, I promise. I only got the two pretty ones, Hedwig and Draco).
And helping with the prototype cupholder for the Minstrel. I'm hoping for another paid knitting gig soon, but that makes for crappy blog fodder, because I can't post those pictures or talk about them until they get published. Meanwhile though, I have to finish some second socks and work on the Unending Black Socks. I have bartered two pairs of socks from a friend whose husband has horribly large feet. He wants a pair of Black and a pair of White knee highs, and his 20 inch calves don't fit in commercial socks. In exchange, she has an awful lot of fussy embroidery to do. So far, we think it's a good deal, but I only have one toe done. There's no pic of that because it's black and won't photograph well at all. Next on the inkle loom is Bacon. Then I need another yellow belt (for a total of three) and a new purse strap. I might even do a guitar strap for Abby, out of her handspun. Maybe. Time will tell. I wonder if I can con Da into making me a darning egg so I can repair some socks?
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Celebrity death attributed to Swine Flu
HOLLYWOOD, CA - Last night, Kermit the Frog's body was found in a swamp in his backyard. Thorough forensic evaluation has led investigators to the conclusion that Mr. Frog was a victim of Swine Flu. Investigators are uncertain if he would have survived with medical intervention.
Consideration is being made for declaring it a criminal case; Mr. Frog's motivations are not clear as to why he chose to avoid seeing medical help. Inquiries as to the wherabouts and medical condition of Mr. Frog's wife are being made by the police and Interpol.
Mr. Frog is also survived by his nephew, Robin the Frog.
(1) comments
HOLLYWOOD, CA - Last night, Kermit the Frog's body was found in a swamp in his backyard. Thorough forensic evaluation has led investigators to the conclusion that Mr. Frog was a victim of Swine Flu. Investigators are uncertain if he would have survived with medical intervention.
Consideration is being made for declaring it a criminal case; Mr. Frog's motivations are not clear as to why he chose to avoid seeing medical help. Inquiries as to the wherabouts and medical condition of Mr. Frog's wife are being made by the police and Interpol.
Mr. Frog is also survived by his nephew, Robin the Frog.
Saturday, May 09, 2009
This is why I want to get Jazz a PS3 - so I can "selflessly" move the PS2 into the office for my own use. Not only could I boot up some of my exercise DVDs, I could get out the old Dance Pad.
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Tuesday, May 05, 2009
This is for Tata.
Please go watch this anti-Miss Fake Tits Not The Winner of Miss California song. It's very catchy.
(0) comments
Please go watch this anti-Miss Fake Tits Not The Winner of Miss California song. It's very catchy.
Sunday, May 03, 2009
I've been Weaving.
This is an Inkle loom.
This is For Georg woven.
The wool sock yarn feels very different from the #10 cotton. It's stickier and that means I can weave with less tension. Edges are easier to keep neat. Sheds however are harder to open.
Pepe is confused. He knows it's String, but isn't sure what to do with it.
(1) comments
This is an Inkle loom.
This is For Georg woven.The wool sock yarn feels very different from the #10 cotton. It's stickier and that means I can weave with less tension. Edges are easier to keep neat. Sheds however are harder to open.
Pepe is confused. He knows it's String, but isn't sure what to do with it.
Friday, May 01, 2009
All of this bull crap about the swine flu "hearkening back" to the 1918 flu is driving me nuts. Let me tell you a few things about 1918 that ought to make you feel a wee bit better.
My Grandpa Burt signed up as a young man to be a 101-day Doughboy for the Great War. The idea was to sign up for 101 days, and then you'd be out, because with that push the War would be over, or so they advertised. It was just as America was entering, and they believed that with one great push from America, the War would be over, and we would win. They called it the Great War, because they believed it could never happen again. But then the one shipload of American soldiers came down with the flu and were sent home to recover, spreading the disease throughout the country. My grandfather was on that boat. He was sent home to Ilion, NY. Then it was determined that he should go to a sanitarium to improve his health, as Ilion was the home of Remington Arms, and the factory smoke could not be good for his lungs. Either that or the town had a quarantine - I'm not sure. It was vital to the War Effort the factory stay open - so the flu would not be welcome in town. The sanitarium was in the Adirondacks, and was founded to help tuberculosis patients. Burt soon recovered from the flu, only to catch TB. He was there for months. They didn't have sanitation or medication to fight the 1918 flu. Or tuberculosis. They used a lot of the same instruments without sterilization between patients. If one patient had a disease in the sanitarium, they all got it, so getting better was rare. Burt did. He then went on with the GI bill to Hamilton College and got a job as a principal in the Utica school system.
Today, even if you were sent some place special to recuperate, they would do their damndest to make sure there was no cross-contamination. It's true that washing you hands often will help keep you healthier. Common sense hygiene currently can help save lives. And our medicines are a huge improvement- we have a cure for tuberculosis now, and in my grandfather's day it was often a death sentence. I'm not worried about this flu. I believe the panic will cause more harm than the disease will. And why yes, I do have a compromised immune system and therefore am considered a high-risk.
I'm not worried. Neither should you.
(0) comments
My Grandpa Burt signed up as a young man to be a 101-day Doughboy for the Great War. The idea was to sign up for 101 days, and then you'd be out, because with that push the War would be over, or so they advertised. It was just as America was entering, and they believed that with one great push from America, the War would be over, and we would win. They called it the Great War, because they believed it could never happen again. But then the one shipload of American soldiers came down with the flu and were sent home to recover, spreading the disease throughout the country. My grandfather was on that boat. He was sent home to Ilion, NY. Then it was determined that he should go to a sanitarium to improve his health, as Ilion was the home of Remington Arms, and the factory smoke could not be good for his lungs. Either that or the town had a quarantine - I'm not sure. It was vital to the War Effort the factory stay open - so the flu would not be welcome in town. The sanitarium was in the Adirondacks, and was founded to help tuberculosis patients. Burt soon recovered from the flu, only to catch TB. He was there for months. They didn't have sanitation or medication to fight the 1918 flu. Or tuberculosis. They used a lot of the same instruments without sterilization between patients. If one patient had a disease in the sanitarium, they all got it, so getting better was rare. Burt did. He then went on with the GI bill to Hamilton College and got a job as a principal in the Utica school system.
Today, even if you were sent some place special to recuperate, they would do their damndest to make sure there was no cross-contamination. It's true that washing you hands often will help keep you healthier. Common sense hygiene currently can help save lives. And our medicines are a huge improvement- we have a cure for tuberculosis now, and in my grandfather's day it was often a death sentence. I'm not worried about this flu. I believe the panic will cause more harm than the disease will. And why yes, I do have a compromised immune system and therefore am considered a high-risk.
I'm not worried. Neither should you.
