As my dear friend, Penny Dreadful, is wont to ask.

So this evening’s baking plans started out well enough. I had a recipe. I gathered the ingredients. I tweaked and veganized the recipe. I made rude jokes about the name of the recipe with friends (cookie pie. for reals.)… so what could have gone wrong? I disobeyed my gut instinct and years and years of baking experience.

The pie crust was thawed.

The batter was mixed and poured into the crust.

The pie went into the duly preheated oven. But, dear friends, I did not put the pie on a baking sheet.

When the oven timer beeped, I promptly sprang up from the computer to remove it from the oven. Only to have the pie plate fold before my unbelieving eyes, dumping the delicious, chocolately contents all over the inside of the oven door.

This, my friends, is a dessert disaster comparable to that of a certain halloween cake, we shall stealthily refer to as “Schmoan.” This tops the coconut-lime-icing-with-the-consistency-of-play-doh disaster earlier this summer. This is a travesty. Oh, sweet cookie pie. I done did you wrong!

Perhaps I can salvage some of it? If I just scrape it here and there and use a ladle and spatula… maybe?

Think anyone will notice?

What are you doing next Saturday? You know, for the 4th of July? It sort of snuck up on me, what with the weather being in the 60s and rainy for the last month or so.

We’d love to have you over for a cookout. Bring your friends, your family, everyone who’s awesome is welcome (and that means you!) We’ll have the badminton net up, and horseshoes, and a firepit, and a grill… We just need you (and the tasty food you’re going to bring to share). You should totally come. It’s going to be fun.

Let’s say 3pm until whenever.

How does that sound? Good? Yes? So, you’ll be there? YAY!

RSVP via email, or comment here, or phone me, etc. Oh, and make sure you let us know what you’ll be bringing so we can keep track.

Thanks! And hope to see you next Saturday!

(based on the “Thick Chocolate Fudgey Frostin’” from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World, with more vanilla and additional instructions)

1/2 c margarine
1/2 c agave nectar
3-4 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 c cocoa powder
1/2 c soy milk powder

I glop everything in a bowl and mix with a handmixer until well combined, starting on low, then increasing gradually to high. (The original recipe calls for mixing it in stages, but it’s really unnecessary- just make sure you’re careful not to fling the stuff everywhere by mixing on high before everything’s properly combined.)

The original recipe also notes that you’ll not want to use flavored or granulated soy milk powder, but I find that even the non-granulated, non-flavored powders need to sit for a long time (several hours, or better yet overnight) to really combine. They powder needs to absorb the moisture from the wet ingredients, and then the soy-milkiness will be better combined in the frosting. Do not attempt to top cupcakes with freshly made frosting, or you’ll have a nasty, grainy mess. It’s much tastier and the texture is much better for letting it rest a while.

After mixing, place the covered bowl in the fridge. Before piping or spreading on cupcakes, let it sit out for several minutes to soften. This frosting doesn’t hold up well on a very hot day, as it’s a bit melty, but even at it’s gooiest, its’ still delicious. A crowd favorite, indeed.

Enjoy!

Hello, all.

As you may be aware, I am soon to be wicked underemployed. I shall be taking this opportunity to reinvigorate my crafty pursuits to the point of actually making enough items for to sell. My question to you then, dear friends, is thus:

What sorts of things would you like to see in my shop?

Thus far, I have the following ideas sketched out (and some actual plans for specific items) for the following categories:

1. Made-over vintage hats, handbags, and luggage
2. Summer dresses: A-line tunics, wrap dresses and skirts
3. One-of-a-kind skateboard decks: hand painted with screen printed accents
4. Handspun, hand-dyed yarn
5. Screen printed t-shirts (I should also note that other clothing and most of the other items mentioned above, excepting the yarn, naturally, will probably have some sort of screen printed accent or other)

Do you have any other suggestions or ideas? If you do, please feel free to leave a comment. I’d love to get more ideas!

Ideas from comments, please keep them coming!

1. Home decor pillows in unusual shapes (ie, food, power tools, etc)
2. Kitchen towels, potholders
3. “Upcycled” t-shirts (tunic dresses, bags, etc.)

Last Saturday actually felt like summer, which made me quite happy. (Remind me I said that when in August I’m daydreaming about October.) I do hate the heat and humidity, but I love these first few days of early summer.

I went for a run last weekend, and it was decidedly more successful than the last time. I brought along my MP3 player and that made a world of difference. Though I rather felt like the marching band people in this xkcd comic. And none of the songs really matched up with my stride, which drove me batty the entire time. But I went the whole nearly 4 miles without having to turn back because I was too annoyed to follow through. I left the house around 11:30 am, though, which was stupid of me. My route is usually pretty shady, but I forgot that at noon, nothing is shady. With nine months of winter, it’s difficult to remember how to behave when it’s actually warm out. I got pretty dehydrated and overheated and got dizzy so I only ran about half the distance and just walked the rest. But I still call it a win since I actually got my arse out the door and running. And the cross training Summah Resolution is in effect! I need to put the pull up bar back in the doorway, and really, I’ve neglected doing any sort of core work for entirely too long. It’ll all pay off when I can kick more ass at derby.

Speaking of which, I’d love to publicly thank roller derby for helping me overcome a metric shite tonne of body issues that have plagued me my entire life. I’m really not that much smaller than I was when I began derby, but my perception of my body has changed tremendously. I’m stronger and faster than I’ve ever been in my entire life, and that thrills me to pieces. I’m not running to lose weight, either. I’m running for the sheer enjoyment of the movement and to increase my strength and stamina to be able to better play the sport I love. I really don’t give a shit about how other people see me when I’m running down the street in spandex booty shorts and a tank top.

Every other time I’ve ever exercised regularly it’s been about getting stronger and gaining stamina, yes, but always looming in the back (or front) of my mind was the desire to become smaller and to lose weight. It was always there. And now I hardly have any of that crap left rattling around in my head. It’s almost entirely gone. I say almost, because no matter how hard I try I can’t turn off the voices outside of my head telling me that I should want to be smaller. I’m average size, really, but a large percentage of society, however, thinks that I am fat. And even if I was, who the hell cares? It’s my body. How it looks is no one’s business but my own.

And while I’m at it, society: Fuck you and your fascist beauty standards. I’m so sick of all of the hate-yourself bullshit that is everywhere during the summer. (Well, it’s everywhere all the time, but seems especially omni-present these days.) I don’t need 53 specials on how to get my body ready for bathing suit season, thanks. And I’m going to stop there before I get really caught up in a body issues rant. I’ll let others (more capable than I) handle that one.

Moving on.

I fell at practice this past Tuesday and my knee pad slipped. No major damage, just a bruise and some swelling, but it was a little scary. I’m going to take it easy (ie no scrimmaging) for a couple more days, but it should be good to go for practice next week. I did not run this week like I had planned, though. It was rainy most days, so I’m probably kidding myself into thinking that I would have gone out if I hadn’t been injured.

Oh and as for my other Summah Resolutions, I did see Ida Maria last week. Two local bands opened for her. I really enjoyed For What It’s Worth (who were super nice and gave PRD a lovely little shout out mid-set). And The Danger Room (while they didn’t completely strike my fancy) were decent, too. In other local news: I went to my first Waterfire last weekend! It was sruprisingly really great. I hate crowds and it was a little touch-and-go for a little while, but I settled in pretty quickly and enjoyed myself thoroughly. Plus, they had fried dough. Oh, and I also got to see the Red Sox this past week. I saw game two in the series against the Marlins. It was really fun! A friend of a friend had an extra ticket for the roof deck standing room area. It was a wickedtonnalotta fun, and half way through the game the people sitting at the $500 table in front of us gave us their seats. (And I got to have fried dough at the game, too. Nom.)

And tonight is the BDD bout against the Texecutioners. (I missed last night’s Gotham/Texecutioners bout in CT, but I heard it was phenomenal! Gotham won, but it was a close one the whole time.) And the Nuts and the Cosmos are kicking things off before the interleague bout gets underway, so it should be a pretty fun derby evening.

My last day at one of my jobs is the 30th and next Friday they’re throwing us a library-wide “assistant appreciation party.” Translation: “sorry the economy sucks and you’re all getting laid off at the end of the month.” I wonder if they’ll actually have anything I can eat. I usually end up with just juice and plain crackers at these “appreciation” gatherings. Though the following week I’m going to a separate gathering just for those of us who work in my department who are getting laid off. That should be much more fun. I went to the library summer party last Friday (though I left early due to a migraine) and it wasn’t as awkward as I had expected it to be, and there was a ton of vegan-enough-for-me food, so perhaps this Friday’s party won’t be as weird as I’m expecting it to be.

It’s still weird to think that in a couple of weeks, I’ll have five-day weekends. I know I should feel bad about my looming unemployment, but I’m actually looking forward to it. It’ll give me time to catch up on a bunch of projects, namely R’s book. Things keep getting in the way and my life keeps exploding all over the place and I can’t seem to get my act together to actually meet to discuss the work thus far. It’s really cool that I get to participate in this project, as I’ve never edited a novel before (just books of poetry and essays and things), but I haven’t been as efficient as I would like to be. It’s a pretty fun story, and I want to be able to devote more time to it. Check out the author’s new website!

That’s the news for now, friends.
Hearts and Stars.

I’m in the process of uploading photos from earlier this year. I’m beginning with photos from the camera. I’ll sift through photos from my phone later. They include pix of the “new” car purchased in January (and the huge snow drifts and ice rink in front our house), the vacation to Baltimore and Florida in February, and roller derby in April. Oh, and I’m pretty sure I never uploaded photos from Andrea and Bill’s wedding from last August. Maybe in time for their one-year anniversary? Probably.

Winter 2009
Spring 2009

I’m not dead. I’m still here. Things have been rather overwhelming these last few months, but I’m still alive and kicking. As per my usual modus operandi, what follows is a list of what I’ve been up to, and what I have planned:

1. Roller Derby - Keeping me relatively sane since 2008! I’m on the Old Money Honeys again this season (hurrah!) and we’ve started off rather well, having recently beaten our old nemesis, The Mob Squad, at the Providence Roller Derby home season opener. The final score was 98 - 75. Go TEAM!

   I also play for the Killah Bees, and we’ll be heading off to Canada again in July to play in Montreal. We’re playing a 30 minute exhibition mini-scrimmage and the Riveters get to play a regular 1-hour bout. Alas, we’re just the opening entertainment, but oh well. We got to play a full bout in Ottowa in May, so I suppose I shouldn’t complain. It’s going to be a great time anyway.

   I’m a bit behind in the behind-the-scenes derby business for which I am responsible: archives and rookie wranglin’. The rest of my life has been dragging me down, and I’m finding it difficult to force myself to do the things I need to do in my spare time. But things are coming together, slowly but surely.We’ve got a recruiting event coming up on the 18th. It’s an informal meet-and-greet type thing at an open skate, where we get to chat with potential recruits in a low-key, hopefully non-intimidating setting. It’s our first one of these, so we want to make a good impression.

2. Jobs, etc. - This part of my life is saturated with uncertainty at the moment, and I’m doing my best to not be overwhelmed. I’m losing one job at the end of June, and I’m losing the other job at the end of August. Meanwhile, my hours at the latter job have been cut from three days to two. I’m still applying for jobs, though. Nose to the grindstone, chin up and all that. I’ve expanded my job search to include the Washington, DC area. If we have to move to find work, it might as well be where I have friends and family, right? On the bright side, JeT just got word this week that he’ll definitely have a job in his restructured company. Depending on where I find work, we may have to live apart for a while. But we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.The impending unemployment has actually gotten me to think more creatively about how I spend my time, which leads me to:
3. Ahts and Crayafts - I’ve been looking into setting up a home screen printing studio and finding outlets in which to sell some home made things. I have had an Etsy account for several years and have never gotten around to listing and selling anything in it. Which is a shame, because I’ve got some pretty good ideas. Potential items to sell firstly would include upcycled t-shirt dresses, calico-print summer wrap dresses, note cards, stationery kits, homespun yarn, etc. Oh, and I’ve also been thinking about resurrecting “J-Star Skateboards,” which was a little business I had way back in the day doing custom painted and screen printed skate decks. So, the creative juices are flowing, indeed.
4. Books - I’ve barely read anything this year. Seriously. It seems that reading functions as a happiness barometer. The more I read, you know I’m functioning fairly well. (The same can be said about knitting, really.) I used to read on the train all the time, now I just sleep or zone out to music. An easy way to break out of this rut (which I feel like I’ve been in FOREVER, even though I know it hasn’t really been that long…) is to start reading again. I’m too lazy to go look up things to read, so I’ll just take recommendations here. Tell me what I should read, and I’ll get right on it. I’m participating in the “Infinite Summer” read-along, so that should be fun, but I’ll be wanting to read other stuff as well. Hook me up!
5. PURGE! - Not to sound all emo or whatever, but I’m feeling rather existentially claustrophobic. I’m absolutely smothered by my stuff. I have so much crap, I can’t get to the stuff that I’d actually use. I think getting rid of a bunch of things, and seriously organizing the house would do me a world of good. A happy me is an organized and productive me. Right now, I’m neither happy nor productive, but I’m really looking to change that. I think some selective purging is definitely in order. It’ll give me a bit more breathing room.

That’s it, I suppose. Life moves along at its ridiculously fast pace as I struggle to keep up. Been treading mud for a while, but doing my best to break out of bad patterns, which do not serve anyone’s best interest, and find a niche in which to thrive. Really, things could be a whole lot worse, and most days I can function as a proper adult. Though I’d rather just eat popsicles and go play outside. It takes a tremendous amount of energy to be an adult and still find a way to have fun. I’m still determined, however, to find a way to combine it all.

Other things on the perifery: tattoos! Yes, yes! Been planning them for years, and I’m finally going to get around to it. Though they’ll have to wait for when I actually have proper income, but still. There it is. I’ll post a picture of some sketches shortly. The first one will be a stylized version of my initials, and it’s rather small. (So, who knows, I might get that one sooner rather than later.)

I’ve also been meaning to update my Flickr account, and keep more up to date with that. It’s just one of the general organizational things that I’ve let slip. I’m still doing stuff and photos are still being taken, but it’s mostly been my friends taking the pictures instead of me. I’ve been around on Facebook and Twitter, though, so you can still keep track of what I’m up to, even if this blah blah blahg is woefully neglected.

Hearts and Stars, friends. Hopefully I’ll see you around.

Thursday: Preview of the Cox Xpose on Providence Roller Derby
Cable Car Cinema, Providence, RI
9:30 pm, tix: $3
It’s cheap! It’ll be super awesome! Don’t miss it!

Saturday: RI Riveters vs. HARD’s Nuclear Knockouts!
Rhode Island Convention Center
Doors at 6pm, Bout at 7pm
Tix: Brown Paper Tickets
Or buy them from me!!! Only $10! (I want to sell 100 tix this season!)

Come to the Cable Car in Providence on Thursday, April 9 to see a special screening of the Cox Sports one-hour documentary “Xposé” about Providence Roller Derby! It’ll be aired on Cox stations Friday, April 10. We’re teaming up with the Cable Car for this fundraiser to promote our wicked awesome upcoming season. Check it out! Details forthcoming (such as price, exact times, etc).

Here are a couple of commercials for the show. (I’m in the second one, briefly, signing autographs. ROCKSTAH!)

Edit to add: Here’s the rest of the info. 9:30pm showing, $3 at the door. Cheap! Fun! Awesomeness!

At the beginning of the year, a few librarian friends of mine hashed out an idea for a blog. It started as a brief conversation about how much we’d like to learn more about beer. We didn’t really decide the format, but might try the following variations: we’d review a different type of beer each month, each sampling a different beer within the category… or maybe we’d all try the same beer, and each provide a review, etc. I’d also like to see about adding whisk(e)y* into the mix. Being librarians, I’d also like to include a bit of history along with our reviews. History of brewing and distilling methods, history of breweries or distilleries, etc.

In January, I asked some of you to help us come up with a good name for this new endeavor. The text message brainstorming session yielded the following:

• Biblioimbibers
• Librewia
• Pints ‘n’ print
• et ale (a favorite)
• hops & bindings
• periodical pub
• liter-ale
• The Brewery Decimal System (got a good chuckle)
• Good Librations
• Barleyography
• Imbiblioteca (a favorite)

So… what do you think? Got anything to add? I really want to get this up and running soon, before my enthusiasm wanes once more. Help us out!

* American and Irish = whiskey; Canadian and Scotch = whisky