[JessFinds] Craving this Spring...

Because it is never too early to think about such things ... this is what I currently covet. I will welcome age 36 this (fast-approaching) Spring. I still yearn for a few of my Fall/Winter items (such as the Jane Austin DVD collection and that dainty snake pendant...sigh).

I am taking "real" letter print classes in February, but I am interested in the potential of this home letterpress crafting idea. I plan on eventually saving up enough money to buy a real old-fashioned letterpress. In the meantime, this looks like big fun in small scale batches. 
 

 

Deluxe Fountain Set

I have never had Pernod! Apparently, Pacifique is fantastic and made in small batches in Washington state with a hand-hammered copper pot still. Pernod, of course, is the godfather and probably should be the "first."

My Last Supper: 50 Great Chefs and their Final Meals. Portraits, Interviews and Recipes. By Melanie Dunea. This book has the now-famous Anthony Bourdain photo with the leg bone. He is such a rock star. I get fluttery just thinking about it. This is one of those books meant to be owned and put in a collection.

Nigella Express: Good Food Fast. Lovely Nigella is the queen of all food porn. I love her. She loves food. Her Express book is missing from my Nigella collection. I am also missing her Christmas book.

[JessFinds] A Very Merry Unbirthday To You

 

I am planning a Mad Hatter Tea Party for Gonzo's 3rd Birthday. I am working on the invites - they look something like this right now:

She has a small list of little girls (mostly Crab's friends) for the get-together. It is her first real birthday party with friends. And I am having waaaay too much fun with it. I have found a few links out to other sites that have put together a fabulous MHTP. 

The Long Thread Fabulous decorations and all sorts of fun. I really love this post.

I love the croquet sticks on the wall and would have totally done that in college.

Party Wishes has a wonderful (albeit impossible since it is the dead of winter) party.

This Flikr stream is amazing.


Give Peas a Chance has some cute ideas too.

I think I am most excited about tea sandwiches.

[JessFinds] Mourning a Dear Fuzzy

Rest in Peace Sidney Vicious

Born: August 1998

Died: January 2010

My sweet, beloved cat was put down on Tuesday, January 19th.  We discovered he was in renal failure a few weeks before Christmas. His blood tests showed that he was advanced stage. Renal failure is terminal but can be maintained (occasionally) when caught early. It really depends on the cat. With a new diet, he improved drastically over the holidays. Then, suddenly, he took a turn for the worse. Stopped eating and drinking on a Friday and by Tuesday he was gone.

He is survived by his litter-mate brother, Frederick Fauntleroy and the interloper Trixie La Rue who he never fully recognized as a member of his household.

This was MY cat. I was his person. He gave me almost 12 years of companionship. I miss him terribly.

If you ever have the opportunity to parent a Main Coon or a Norwegian Forest Cat (ours are hybrid mutts) do so. They are giant wonderful, loyal and almost dog-like cats that bond very strongly with their people.

[JessFinds] New Year. New Job.

I start a new job tomorrow!

Actually, I will be working in education so I need to be fingerprinted and stared at by police officers. Then I get to start the new job.

I looked for work for TWELVE months. During those 12 months, 4 positions became available in my field. I applied for all 4, interviewed for 3 and somehow got 1. Yay!

Today, I am trying to do all the things I have not done in the last 12 months. In other words, setting myself up for epic failure. I swept and vaccumed the floor. Hey, it is something.

In other news, my sweet, darling kitty cat is dying of renal failure. He is like a clock winding down. Has stopped eating, drinking, going to the litter box. Just curls up like a meatloaf and stares off in to space. If he shows any sign of being in pain I am going to get him to a vet asap to have him put down. In the meantime, I just hope he can die peacefully at home. I would rather spare him the stress of a vet visit - that cat hates being shoved in a carrier and taken to the vet!

Life is going to be so strange without Sid. He has been "my cat" for twelve years.

Ed - My first day was great. They seem like a fantastic group of people to work for and with. Unfortunately, that morning, my dear Sid died. 

[JessFinds] Resolutions

 2010

I have been hesitating a bit - I wanted to make sure I had my resolutions down right before I posted them for the world.

• Live fearlessly. Each year, my #1 resolution.  

• Relish the now. My girls are growing so fast. Too fast.  

• Read more books. Watch less TV.  Spend less time online. 

• Take a class in an old trade (letterpress!) and get certified. Take a CPR class and get certified. Take a class on vegetarian cookery. Take a class on preparing fish. 

• Take care of myself & own my health. I spent the majority of the last decade carrying more weight than I should. I owe it to my girls to set a good example for how a healthy, happy woman should live.  No excuses. No programs or fad diets - just eat well, move frequently, be accountable and stand tall. 

• De-clutter, organize and prioritize what is important. I have a lot of stuff. I don't need a lot of stuff. I want to get rid of everything I would not want to take with me in a move. I will work on getting this house in shape for listing on the market by next Spring. My next home will have a smart bedroom layout, be smaller, have a working fireplace, a finished or semi-finished basement and be more energy efficient. I feel like I live in a huge colonial made of Swiss cheese!

[JessFinds] When Baby Gonzo became Miss Gonzo

I have had a pinched nerve in my shoulder that is driving me nutso, so it could be the heavy-hitting narcs I am popping (perhaps), but I am turning in to one of those sentimental fool moms.

My baby - Baby Gonzo - is no longer a baby.

1. Last night was the first night that the crib was empty. She slept in her big-girl bed in the same room as her sister. We held off on the crib-to-bed transition because we did it too early with Miss Crab and she staged a sleep demonstration out of protest. On the floor. For months on end. I figured it was smart if we could let Gonzo stay in her crib as long as she liked it - and if that was age 16, so be it. She climbed out once, around age 18 months. Did not like falling. Never did it again.

2. She has not used a diaper in over six months. God bless her for that one! I am doing the happy-done-with-diapers dance.

3. Her pull-ups have been dry overnight for the last 7 nights in a row! Who is this child? Where is my baby? Even Miss Crab can't claim that glorious achievement. Miss Crab does have the excuse of entering a sleep coma each night though.

4. She is more talkative than I am. Seriously. The kid out talks me. This, in itself, is amazing. And frequently, her vocabulary rivals mine. I love it when she uses words like "perhaps."

Even Preacher, who does not share my endless depths of sentiment for our unruly youngest, quipped that he missed her barking orders at us this morning from her crib. Hee.

[JessFinds] Mr. Gutenberg, I presume?

I am all swoony and thrilled!

Preacher has purchased a series of three weekend workshops for us to take together. It is our 12th Anniversary present (Cripes - 12 years? How did that happen?) and it is PERFECT. We will be learning our way around a letterpress.

"This course provides a quick, basic introduction to letterpress. Participants learn to ink the press, adjust pressure, adjust roller height, register and feed a sheet of paper, make an impression and then clean the press. Creating and using plastic plates in combination with metal movable type to create your own vision in letterpressed embossment."

I have a thing for learning anachronistic trades. I want to apprentice with a bookbinder, desperately. I also want my own letterpress. I could churn out wikked cool stuff with all the right gear! This also fits in to my need to own many goats and learn how to make goat cheese. I know, sign me up for the SCA right now ... gah.

Oh - and I want to do this before I turn 40: OCAC Book Arts Certification

[JessFinds] Black Eyed Peas - Good Luck for the New Year

SPICY EASY HOPPIN' JOHN (Vegetarian)

Ok, this is not "true" Hoppin' John as I am making some blasphemous additions and subtractions (namely minus the fatback). But I am a Vegetarian that eats fish (Pescetarian) and occasionally nibbles on pork products when they are presented to me, but that is another story. Worst. Vegetarian. Ever.

• 1 tablespoon olive oil+ 2 tablespoons of butter
  
• 1 cup chopped onions 
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
  
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 16-ounce can diced tomatoes (do not drain)
• 1 tablespoon of favorite hot sauce (Tobasco, etc...)
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon dried hot pepper flakes
  
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme 
• 3 cups (+/-) cooked rice. Basmati, Jasmine or Brown rice would all work very well.
  
• 16-ounce can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
  

Heat the oils in a large skillet until butter melts
Sauté the onions over medium heat until translucent and soft.
Add the garlic and celery and continue to sauté until the onions are golden.
Stir in the tomatoes, basil, thyme, hot sauce, hot pepper (cook until melded, approx 5-8 min)
Add the rice and black-eyed peas, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Stir and simmer half covered, over low heat for 15-20 minutes.

Notes: You could serve the rice and beans separately, spooning the beans over the rice. Or omit the rice and serve the beans over polenta (yum).

[JessFinds] Welcome 2010

Happy New Year to You and Yours! 

♥ JessFinds.com

I hope you all have a wonderful 2010 and an excellent start to a new decade.

[JessFinds] Snowmageddon!

We have seen around 20-21 inches of snow thus far and it keeps going. This was taken at 7:30 this morning and my hubby is currently (3:00) out re-snowblowing the driveway because it is impassible again.

This is the most drastic photo - from our sunporch.

Those are 3ft snow drifts up against the door and window!

And that is the rock wall surrounded fish-pond across our lawn. Really.

 And I think that is two feet of snow on top of Angus's hood. Hee.