Admissions of Irrelevance

And Here's the Cinnamon Bear!

2009-12-10T16:02:42Z

Here's Part Eleven - in which we meet Fee Fo, the Gentle Giant, and they all try to get out of the Magic Forest.

And Here's the Cinnamon Bear!

2009-12-09T16:02:23Z

Here's Part Ten - in which Jimmy pulls a disappearing act, they all three across a dictionary-wielding owl, and learn about the Wintergreen Witch.

And Here's the Cinnamon Bear!

2009-12-08T21:42:31Z

Here's Part Nine - in which the twins have a problem with authority and Cinnamon Bear's kind of a jerk.

And Here's the Cinnamon Bear!

2009-12-07T15:58:31Z

Here's Part 8 - in which back home she may be a little girl, but with pirates, Judy is a lady. And there is candy. So much candy.

And Here's the Cinnamon Bear!

2009-12-06T16:25:21Z

Here's Part Seven - in which Judy gets a quickie and they all meet a slightly terrific magician. Judy is entreated to be a regular twin and not a sniveling girl.

And Here's the Cinnamon Bear!

2009-12-05T19:51:30Z

Here's Part Six - in which Judy and Jimmy meet a manic depressive whale, a conceited seal, and a pelican. And stars apparently make squealing noises.

And Here's the CInnamon Bear!

2009-12-04T15:58:59Z

Here's Part Five - in which Judy, Jimmy, and Cinnamon Bear come across some unexpected help in the form of bureaucracy.

And Here's the Cinnamon Bear!

2009-12-03T22:10:33Z

I forgot to kick this off on time ...again...

What follows is an old-time radio play about the Christmas Time Adventures of the Cinnamon Bear. Puce used to hear this at school every year before Christmas, and it was a big spoonful of nostalgia to find the whole thing on CD one year.

Right-click and save, babies, or launch this with your favorite MP3 program:

Here is Part One - in which we meet our friends Judy and Jimmy, and they go up to the attic to find the Silver Star, but find the Cinnamon Bear instead.

Here is Part Two - in which Judy and Jimmy chase after the Crazy Quilt Dragon in search of the Silver Star to Looking Glass Valley.

Here is Part Three - in which they are trapped at the bottom of Looking Glass Valley, and the Willy the Stork goes Stork Mad, and the Crazy Quilt Dragon is a liar and goes for a root beer dip.

Here is Part Four - in which Judy and Jimmy are arrested by the Inkaboos and brought before King Blotto the Third.

Part Five tomorrow!

Added to the daily blogroll..

2009-11-19T01:16:22Z

For obnoxiously awesome photos of delicious food! Gecko sent me this idea and it was allllllllll over.

FOODIES: READ THIS BLOG.

cats don't care about your badge.

2009-11-18T23:42:17Z

She doesn't check LJ anymore...

2009-11-04T15:51:58Z

But HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AFADOVEN!

I waxed poetic about her here.

I love her a lot.

VINDICATED.

2009-10-13T02:12:25Z

We've pulled up to a drive thru; we're both too tired to cook dinner, we just wanna go home and forget about everything. He's had an anxiety-filled day of work, I've got a headache going on 5 days, and dammit, I want a milkshake.

We make our food order, and Puce leans over to me.

Puce: "What size do you want?"

Me: "Regular."

Puce sighs and puts his hand on my knee. "Okay. You ALWAYS do this. There's no such thing as 'regular' size. They have small, medium, or large. There's NO SUCH THING as Regular size. Medium or small? Which do you want?"

Me: We're sharing, so.. "Medium."

Puce (to the drive-thru guy): "And a medium pumpkin shake."

Drive-Thru Guy: "Actually we don't have a medium size, sir. Our shakes come in Regular or Large."

Me: *dissolves into fit of laughter*

Puce: "...Then we'll take a Regular."

Me (after I stop to breathe): "This is so going in LiveJournal."

Having just finally watched Torchwood: Children of Earth special

2009-10-11T09:46:10Z

Dear BBC:

You're all a bunch of bastards.

Sincerely,

Me.

Awesome Things I Have Lost:

2009-10-06T22:26:20Z

My leather banded Pez watch
The photo album containing all of my childhood pictures
My red plaid Gripfast boots that matched my plaid miniskirt exactly
My two Nightmare Before Christmas sleep shirts that I wore CONSTANTLY at Bayside
My burgundy Tower Records hoodie
My black hoodie with the bleach stain that I loved because Puce gave it to me
My two babydoll teeshirts with punky cats on them

What awesome stuff did YOU lose that you wish you still had?

Awww yeah, baby...

2009-09-22T21:24:13Z

Often in our neighborhood, specifically at the apartment complex down the street, we see a company called Mow-Town taking care of the property. They have groovy vans, and it brings a smile to see them.

And then I found out today what their website is, and the site's even happier.

Legends of Landcare.

Too bad they're only commercial. I would hire them just based on the awesome.

The Alphabet According to Google

2009-09-09T00:10:49Z

A is for Amazon
B is for Best Buy
C is for Craigslist
D is for Dictionary
E is for eBay
F is for Facebook
G is for gmail
H is for Hotmail
I is for IRS
J is for JCPenny
K is for Kohl's
L is for Lowe's
M is for MySpace
N is for Netflix
O is for Orbitz
P is for Photbucket
Q is for Quotes
R is for Realtor.com
S is for Southwest Airlines
T is for Target
U is for USPS
V is for Verizon Wireless
W is for Wal*Mart
X is for XM Radio
Y is for Yahoo
Z is for Zillow

CLASS C BEVERAGE ALERT

2009-08-20T05:50:11Z

I have a new icon.

Comixed

2009-08-19T19:58:09Z

new site for lolz. this one made me laugh until I cried:

Science Fun!

2009-08-14T04:45:33Z

I'm watching Bill Nye the Science Guy whilst doing my finances. It's currently the one about meteors and comets, which sparks a conversation between Puce and I over what the various planets are made of (I need to brush up on my astronomy).

I google "What is Venus made of" and come across this.

I shouldn't have found this nearly as funny as I did.

SERIOUSLY.

2009-07-27T20:16:07Z

EVERYONE STOP GETTING INTO CAR ACCIDENTS.

THIS IS NOT A HIP NEW TREND.

STOP IT.

I hate this heat jazz.

2009-07-26T17:40:31Z

It's 10 in the morning, and the fan in the attic space has already kicked on because of the heat.

Summer can EFF OFF.

I am a doy head.

2009-07-20T22:57:25Z

So that scone recipe? Isn't Chef Ian's. It's one I typed up from my textbook awhile back. I totally pasted in the WRONG RECIPE.

I mean, it's still a really good recipe. But it isn't Chef Ian's.

I posted his, here, back in May of 2006. THIS is the recipe I use anymore. THIS is the certified kickass Certified British scone recipe.

THIS is the best one. Sorry about that.

The Best Scones Ever, Seriously.

2009-07-20T04:50:36Z

I think I posted this recipe before, but my darling Heartspunmom asked for a tasty scone recipe, and this is the best one. It was given to me by my bona-fide Englishman pastry instructor, so he should bloody well know scones.

Here is the entry about that.

Here is another one!

This is a very versatile 'rubbing method' recipe. Most people think of nasty, dried biscuits when they think scones, but a proper one is very moist and chewy. Just ask any Brit. Weight approximations are given in kitchen measurements also, but I recommend going by weight for the best accuracy, cause my math may suck.

6 oz bread flour* (1.9 cups)
6 oz pastry flour* (1.9 cups)
1.5 oz sugar (about 1/4 cup)
1/4 tsp salt
.75 oz baking powder (1 3/4 tbsp)
4 oz (1 stick) COLD butter
2.5 oz eggs (almost a half-cup, or a little over one egg - an egg and one yolk)
6.5 oz COLD milk (a little more than 3/4 cup)
3 oz of 'floater' ingredients**

*All-Purpose flour may be substituted for the pastry and bread flour, the result will just be a little denser.

**You can add whatever on earth you want to this mix. This is whatever you like - currants, cheese, chocolate, blueberries, dried apricots, whatever. Go wild! A little more than 3 oz won't hurt, but don't go overboard. You need some scone to hold the stuff together. ^_^

How to Build It:

1. Add all the dry ingredients together. It's best if you can sift it together.
2. Cut the butter in pieces and literally rub it into the dry mix. Yes, you have to get your hands in this - take handfuls of the mixture and rub it between your thumbs and forefingers to spread the butter evenly into the flour mix. You'll want all of the butter in fine crumbs.
3. Add the eggs. DON'T overmix this. You want it BARELY mixed.
4. Pour in the cold milk. Again, do not overmix. Don't worry about lumps in the batter; it'll work out in the baking. Overmixing is evil.
5. Chill the batter for at least 20 minutes. Two hours is ideal. Yes, this is important.
6. Turn the batter onto a floured work surface. The colder the batter, the easier it is to work with. See? I told you it's important. Roll the batter out into a rectangle no thinner than a quarter inch thick.
7. Place all of your 'floater' ingredients in the center third of the rolled out batter, and then fold the sides over them. You may pat it closed if you want, but it's important that you don't roll it out too thin. 3/4 of an inch to even an inch and a half is ideal for a scone.
8. Cut the dough into triangles, and place on a cookie sheet. Parchment paper is best for this, but you can spritz the sheet with no-stick cooking spray if you don't have paper.
9. Brush the scones with a little egg wash - basically, beat one egg, add a tablespoon of water. You may use a corner of a paper towel for the brushing if you don't have a brush. God knows before I took this class *I* didn't. You want the egg on THINLY, and don't let it drip down the sides, or it'll seal the scone and prevent it from rising well.
10. If you feel specially domestic, you can top the scone with something complimentary to the filling - crystal sugar, if it's sweet filling, poppyseeds if it's savory, etc. Avoid cheese or anything that'll melt.
11. Cook on 375 for about 25 minutes. You should be able to tell when they're done, the scone will puff up and spring back when touched.

92 degrees. IN MY ROOM.

2009-07-18T02:27:28Z

Who authorized this?!

This is news?

2009-07-14T03:24:32Z

Cats exploit their owners by purring.

Seriously. This is news?