Party prep II

Just finished Mom's birthday badge. It still needs backing and a pin, but the front is finito!



This project required roughly 1 hour and 40 minutes of my time.
Staples, a needle and thread, cardstock, and a thimble were all involved.



That's high school Mom, aka: Kathy '68.

Countdown to the 60th birthday party begins...

Stroll leftovers

I ended up with way too many winter pictures yesterday--
here are a couple that were left out.

I found several feather clumps...doesn't bode well for some little bird.



We have some major icicle action happening in
Spokane. There's currently one hanging from the
roof of my front porch--it's like 5 ft long.

 

I always try to look up, down, and all around. But more
often than not, I end up looking down because I'm
concerned I'm about to fall. It will happen.



This very worried little horse is in Coeur d'Alene park. I dropped my
camera in the snow and took this picture with snow melt on the lens.



It seems there was a raccoon scuffle behind the Campbell House.

Now it's back to projects for me! I made some progress yesterday and even did a little sewing on my Grandma's old machine. It was not entirely disastrous...though I was in a state of panic the whole time.
And I still cannot load the bobbin in under five tries.
That's sad, right? I get the feeling that's sad.

Winter walk around Browne's.

All right. I know that things have been pretty winter and snow heavy on the blog over the past couple of days, but what can I say? It's hard to get away from the snow...especially when my neighbors (usually seen from a distance while they smoke on the porch) have been knocking on my kitchen door (formerly reserved for visiting Mormon missionaries) to ask if they can park behind me in my driveway. Sigh. Yes! Now, let me roam my apartment in my giant sweatshirt and two pairs of pajama pants in peace. Cripes, people.


I did drag myself out of the apartment for a pre-lunch trek around Browne's Addition. It turned into a 2-hour walk, where I encountered firetrucks coming to the rescue at the woman's rehab place (housed in a swell old mansion {with white columns}), so very much yellow snow, and a woman who was taking a picture of a giant snowman--a snowman that I also intended to photograph. I had to say, "I see we had the same idea.", so that it wasn't completely weird when I paused to take a picture of the same snowman like 48 seconds after she walked away. It was still a little weird. The snowman turned out to be a bit of a disappointment.


So, Catherine asked to see some pictures of the snow. It's not as bad as 2008, but I'd guess we maybe have six or seven inches. I don't know. I'm not great at eyeballing things like depths and distances. Without further ado...snow pictures.

In Coeur d'Alene Park, just a couple blocks from my
apartment. Also, it's the oldest park in Spokane. 

Here's the gazebo in the middle of the park.

And a planter.

This is growing around the planter. I have no earthly
idea what it might be. Mom would know.

Looking across the park to the Patsy Clark mansion.

And here's the front of Patsy Clark's.

Browne's Addition ends at this cliff. There's a trail that goes down to
Latah Creek. If you look closely, you can see a train crossing the bridge.

This is the supposedly photogenic snowman. Doesn't look so hot now.
Kind of reminds me of a swarthy sea captain.

This snowman, or snow-woman, was better.

I ended my walk at the Museum. This is The Navigators, by Brad Rude.

This is the Campbell House. For those of you who might not be familiar
with Spokane, the Campbell House is part of the Museum.

The fountain and gazebo behind the Campbell House.

Now I'm going to spend the rest of the day trying to get warm again. Why did I stay outside so long? What am I, like six? 

Snow day!

All right people, I know you might not be ready for this, but here in Spokane it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. You know what I mean. It's snowing, snowing, snowing! In fact, this morning I received a call saying that the Museum will be closed today. A snow day for real! So totally exciting! I lit a cinnamon candle (so it smells like the inside of a Red Hot in here), selected my Christmas playlist (Sufjan Stevens, Bing Crosby, Johnny Cash, Ella Fitzgerald, and Mariah Carey), and have a full day to sort through Christmas decorations, gifts, and crafts. I might even bake something. Callooh! Callay! (That's from the Jabberwocky poem, by the way. {Through the Looking Glass. Lewis Carroll? You know: Beware the Jabberwock, my son! Seriously, watch out.})


All right. I have work to do. But I might update my progress later on today. For now, here's a little bit of Matilda--she's getting into the Christmas spirit by sitting on some Santa tissue paper.  

OK, who wants to poke her fluffy white chest?
Don't fret, I've got that covered.

Wintery wonderland!

In front of the Patsy Clark mansion. 

I happened to have my camera in my bag as I walked home from the Museum tonight. It was one of those evenings where the sky is gray and strangely luminous. So pretty that I just had to pause to take some pictures of the neighborhood. Of course, it was dark, so I didn't end up with too much that was usable. But here are a few shots from my walk home through the snow. Squinting in a darkened room heightens the effect.

Oh, look! There's even a seasonal garbage can!

The Fotheringham House. Doesn't it look like a ghostly apparition?

sparkles and snow

Someone was watching birds in the snow until, that is, two sparkle balls came on the scene!

To the left, Matilda. The left!

But they kept getting caught in the curtain.

Then stuff like this would happen.

So we moved to a different window with less troublesome curtains.

It was sparkle ball heaven.

Whiskers on kittens!

The kitten, "kitts," has been extra cuddly lately. I think she's just cold most of the time, but she needs to realize that heating money doesn't just grow on trees.  We cranked the thermostat to 60 last night.  I had just finished crafting a present for a friend when kitts decided to settle in.  

Here is the present:

I made cookies...this isn't the best picture.

I knit a slouchy cable beret.

And I painted this mini portrait of her dog, Charlie.

IRL Charlie is cuter. I've never met Charlie, but his pictures make him look like he's cute IRL.

Since the beginning of this post, kitts has decided to snuggle right up next to me and go to sleep. At least she gives off some heat with her little kitten body.

Now it's time to go to homework. Boring, snore.

cold comfort food

Yup, it's cold. Time for soup!  

Lentil Soup with Veggies
3 cloves garlic

2 celery stalks

2 carrots

1 onion

1 can of tomatoes
2/3 cups lentils
1/3 cup elbow macaroni
6-8 cups soup stock
olive oil
2 bay leaves
salt, pepper & other spices!


*Usually I make this with only veggies, but since we're having an especially cold week (temperatures in the tens!), I decided to add some extra heartiness to my soup pot with a bit of pre-cooked Italian chicken sausage I found in my freezer. It was a good very idea.

It's the salt, pepper & spices stage!

Directions:
Start a soup pot on medium heat and cover the bottom with olive oil, about 2 tablespoons should do it. Add the carrots, celery, and onions-cook until they start to soften. Add the garlic and chicken sausage-cook until everything starts to turn golden brown, 8-10 minutes or so. Add the lentils and cook for another couple minutes.

This is a good time to add salt & pepper and any spices you might want to use. (Remember: sausage {as well as your canned tomatoes and soup stock} will bring its own salt to your pot, so take that into consideration before you break out the salt shaker!) I used dried basil and a general dried Italian spice mix.

Add the tomatoes (with juice), bay leaves, and soup stock. Bring to a boil. Once you're boiling, you can put a lid on it and leave it alone for 20 minutes or until the lentils begin to float to the top. This is your signal to add the macaroni. Cover again and cook for another 8 minutes, and then you're done!

I suggest enjoying your soup with a hunk of nice bread and a beer.

Don't mind if I do.

A whole new world!

The last five days in pictures.

Home. Sweet. Home.