Needle Butts
Posted by Nanc
Okay, what would YOU call them, huh?
It’s the end pieces on knitting needles, usually -but not always- made from polymer clay. I’ve also seen buttons, glass beads, and acorn caps. They’re there to stop your precious knitting from falling off the not-working end of the needles. Kind of what may stop your pants from falling down (if you’re built right wink, wink).
Well, whatever you want to call them I’ve made a few for my new needles. (And no, none look like rear ends.)
Knitting Stix
Posted by Nanc
If you don’t have two sticks to rub together to buy two sticks, er… knitting needles, you can simply and affordably make two sticks (respectively). Quite honestly, knitting needles aren’t rocket science. Sure, fancier and pricier wood makes for fancier/pricier sticks. But for pure knitting goodness, you can easily make a pair (or five) from craft wood dowels.
This is an easy afternoon craft, with minimal mess and instant rewards. You can jazz it up a notch by making you’re own needle ends from polymer clay, or keep it simple and glue a button or whatnot on the end of your needles.
So have some fun, be creative, and read more.
Archos MP3 Recorder
Posted by Matty
20 gigs of music, a text viewer, games, video player and more. Be honest, now you want one, too.
Mexirole (Mexican Casserole)
Posted by Nanc
Okay, so everyone probably has some generic, Tex-Mex casserole dish of some sort. They’re not fancy (ergo, ‘casserole’), but they are tasty. And they hold up well as leftovers.
That’s all this is. A record of my gringo-fied, Mexican-esq baked meal. Enjoy, mi amigos.
Spinach Bake
Posted by Nanc
If you read that title and make a face at ‘spinach’, then go. Leave now. There’s nothing for you here. Good riddance!
Are they gone yet?
Okay, for the rest of you smart ones with good taste and fine manners, let me continue… Spinach Bake is an awesome, healthy, over-the-top tasty casserole that defies the old, Popeye stereotypes of this nutritional delight.
Bonez and I are meat eaters, okay? But we crave Spinach Bake at times. It’s that good. Served with cheesy garlic toast, it’s a no-meat, heavenly meal.
We went to the farmer’s market this past weekend and came home with loads of goodness, including tons of fresh spinach. My heart pounded at the thought of Spinach Bake.
Are you ready to become addicted to a leafy, green, veggie dish?
Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Dip
Posted by Nanc
If it sounds ridiculously sweet and god-blessedly yummy, that’s because it is. It’s also simple and a crowd pleaser (if you like that kind of thing).
Personally, I’ve always kind of shied away from the sweet or desert dips, happy to keep my appetite focused on cheesy queso, savory spinach, and the classic chip&dip/salsa routine. But I’ve seen the light with this number.
Now don’t go expecting me to get all gushy about a fruit/yogurt dip next. I’ve still got snack time priorities.
No-Need-To-Know Chocolate Pie
Posted by Nanc
Smooth, chocolaty, creamy goodness in a cookie crust. Pretty yummy, no?
Yet inside this dessert lurks healthy stuff; and trust me, they really shouldn’t know about it. They’ll only make a face.
You can park that next to the couch, thank you.
Posted by Nanc
I love pistachios.
This is a fairly new realization. I don’t remember having these green gems as a kid, and if given the choice I’d still choose chocolate ice cream over pistachio. But the nutty goodness of these green legumes are, at times, overwhelming.
Just today while having lunch with my dear Bonez, I mentioned that I’ve missed snacking on pistachios these last few days. (We had recently finished the last of a 4 lb. bag of nuts from Sam’s Club.) They’re much tastier than the traditional salty snack choices, like chips or munchies ending in “-itos.” And they do have health benefits. (Perhaps not in the quantity that I maw down on them.)
Somehow, we started discussing the idea of eating your (my) weight in pistachios. To me, this sounded like a great and rewarding challenge! Would the amount be based on your starting weight, or would it increase much like my thighs, hips and ass? Is there a time limit, or could this be a lifetime achievement sort-of thing?
I will admit that even after filling up on my delish’ lunch, the idea of this many pistachio nuts just for me seemed tempting and possible. My mouth just might have been watering… a little.
Then we started discussing the immense quantities of nuts needed to reach this mighty goal. In case you’ve never seen it, even 4 lbs of pistachio nuts is quite a lot. We could store them in a rented garage, but the birds and squirrels (and people – hey, what are u looking at?!) may be a liability. Just then we passed a lovely, older VW Bug in, what looked like, mint condition and we were temporarily freed from our nut trance. But not for long.
Immediately, the conversation took an odd turn (yeah, it wasn’t so odd up till now, right?). Matty thinks that this quantity of pistachio nuts, in the shell, would fit into the VW Bug (including the trunk). I disagreed, but admitted that I was very entertained by this thought. We could use a new Beetle for the discarded shells. How exciting! This, of course, kept us laughing the rest of the way home and then some.
Okay. That’s the end of the story. Thanks for listening. Now go home.
Is maith an t-anlann an t-ocras.
Posted by Nanc
Gaelic for “Hunger is a tasty sauce”.
I’ve got no real idea why I picked this Irish saying above all the other ridiculous ones, perhaps I’m hungry. But it sounded silly enough for today.
Happy St. Pat’s to you all!
Opportunity
Posted by Nanc
The American Heritage® Dictionary defines opportunity as “A favorable or advantageous circumstance or combination of circumstances.” It’s a rare opportunity for me to get pix of our other two cats.
Dil is our (plus-size) supermodel; always showing off for company, and making herself and her needs known to all. So it’s seldom that we can get a good photo of Marie PussPuss (no, don’t ask about the name – it goes on and on from there) and Mrs. Slocombe.