Pens, Paper, & Ammo

Before my baby shower last weekend, the MH and I drove up to the windmills in Somerset, Pennsylvania.  I had forgotten just how pretty Somerset is this time of year and the windmills only add the the beauty.

The windmills are even more spectacular in person.

The sky was absolutely perfect.

That’s a human sized door at the bottom.  These things are gigantic.

I also managed to finally finish the WHW Trim Soaker that I have had on the needles since last month.  It turned out much more cute than I had expected.  The directions are simple and the end product is lovely.

The colors are a bit off, but you get the idea.  Made with Paton’s Classic Wool.

I also ordered and received all the cloth diapering supplies that I ordered.  Since then I have washed and dried the diapers three times and they seem to have fluffed up nicely.  They’re quite a bit smaller than I had imagined though.  Hopefully the Nooblet will be able to wear them for more than a month or so.

Supposedly this will be enough supplies to last her for about 3-4 months, depending on how big she is at birth.  If nothing else, the diapers will make excellent burp cloths or cleaning rags.

The back one says Nooblet, if you can’t see it.

I also frogged and restarted this project:

From Warm Heart Woolies. Is this picture insanely dark to anyone else? I think I’m having issues with my monitor.

That’s it, I guess. My brainmeats are too tired to think of anything to write.

I’m not much of a shopper. I detest the mall, loathe the clothing industry (for oh-so-many reasons), and simply don’t feel the need to fill my life with unnecessary items. However, every once in a while (usually around tax season), I find something that I feel is a worthwhile investment.

Up until now I have been using a HP Photosmart M22 digital camera. I had been happy with this purchase for a couple years now, but quickly noticed that a 4.0 megapixel camera just wasn’t creating the prints that I desired. I started searching for a better model that would fulfill my digital camera needs for years to come and finally decided on a Canon PowerShot s5 IS. It took weeks of consideration and nagging from the MH (who is constantly annoyed by my excessively frugal nature), but I finally caved in and ordered it. So far, I’ve taken approximately one hundred pictures and have been fairly pleased with what I see. I see no flaws in the camera (and it was refurbished) and hope that my photography skills will gradually get better. Until then, I leave you with these two pictures:

Houdini at his window.

Taken with the Color Accent mode on our balcony.

It’s the canned food product that many won’t admit to enjoying but I, for one, will attest to its versatility in the kitchen. It can replace almost any meat in recipes, makes for a quick breakfast sandwich, and is wonderful in fried rice…

You’re right, it’s Spam. Spam - that easily identified pink brick of meat byproduct that could survive the apocalypse. I remember eating it as a child and feeling a tad uneasy - should I be enjoying it when other are so quick to judge it? Always the butt of many jokes, I wondered how Hormel managed to sell so many tins of it. I later realized that many of my peers enjoyed it as a treat from time to time as well, only to fall victim of the guilt that surrounds the name brand.

As an adult, I still feel a bit odd placing a can of Spam Lite in my grocery basket. On one hand, I’m sure that it contains more fat, cholesterol, and salt than any normal human being needs in their diet… but on the other, well, who the hell cares? Everyone has a guilty pleasure, right?

Anyway, I’ve noticed that much of my Spam purchases seem destined for food that has a decidedly Asian flare. Feeling desperate for something salty, I battled my way through our cluttered kitchen pantry and emerged victoriously with the ingredients to make these:

Simple Spam onigiri.

Spam sushi rolls with carrot, onion, and cucumber.

I admit, lately there hasn’t been much action on the crafting front due to various Nooblet-related events. Doctor’s appointments, baby get-togethers, birthing classes… it seems that we have somewhere to hurry to almost every day. Even so, I managed to find a few minutes to complete a rattle to go with the Nooblet’s carrot sweater.

Pattern from Bittersweet! There’s a cat-toy inside so that it jingles.

Hopefully I’ll have a few more crafty updates before the end of the month. I really should start getting cracking on diaper covers!