A Pennyloafer Saved...

...may be a belly laugh earned. Here's a fun game:

Sock and Awe.

Just click on the above title of the game, and a new window will open. I'll give you three guesses to come up with the current event that inspired it!!

It's not just fun, it's habit-forming AND improves eye-hand coordination. So that's not awful, is it? Sounds all American Dreamy.

 

Mash-up of Marvellousness!! Warning: Tim Burton and Billy Idol. May cause extreme giddyness.

>wipes away tears of joy<

A thing of beauty should not be kept to one's self.

That's the only animated Disney movie I love. All the others (Pixar doesn't count as Disney in my justifiably narrow-minded book; and Lion King is nearly acceptable) can die in a warehouse fire. But Tim Burton is sacred. Billy Idol adds preciousness.

Play again, and enjoy over and over and over!!

 

Just some fun and mindless entertainment today.

A fun break from the election hoopla. A little nostalgia, a little video game mash-up!

Anyway, it's Mel's fault. She mentioned it on Facebook today, and I can't get it out of my head. This has to be the ultimate earworm, because it comes with flashing lights and pictures. I can't stop dancing to it.

Which is no bad thing!!

 

New and Improved Silly Caterpillar!

Edited and improved Silly Caterpillar!
Originally uploaded by sunspotting.

Now our silly, smiling caterpillar has an environment! See the grass, flowers, and mushroom!

Wow, this was so much fun. We learned a lot about building a good ecosystem for our little caterpillar. Sure looks happy to be there.

 

Silly, smiling caterpillar!

Edited silly, smiling caterpillar!
Originally uploaded by sunspotting.

Made by Adelaide, Grammy Garcia, and Aunt Becca.

 

Play With Your Food

Cheese crackers with eyes. I took a better picture with the camera, but it has flash-glare.

It's hot & humid. My cue to turn on the oven.

cookie stamps
Originally uploaded by sunspotting.

Yesterday I was invited to join a Flickr group called Stamp Your Sweets & Cookies! because of the above photo. There's a picture of my springerle roll that they liked, too.

I like cookie molds and presses. Cookie cutters I find inspiring, too. There's just something fun about the blank slate, if you will, of a lump of sweet dough. If you can be inspired by a lump of clay or paper pulp or wool fleece, (and heaven help me, I most certainly can!!!) then my goodness, the things I can do with edible medium!!

It starts out with a simple, buff-colored sugar cookie dough. Or gingerbread, shortbread, chocolate, spice, omigoodness! there are so many wonderful flavors of cookie dough.

But why does it have to stay that color? (Ok, chocolate is not the easiest of doughs for a change of color.) Do I not have a multitude of food colors in the pantry? Of course I do. So that's one jumping-off point.

Then, with a variety of technicolor dough, rested, and ready to be shaped, I can cut it free-form. I can cut and stack the cookies, in pre-baked form; or cut them and plan to stack them, Linzer-style (or Oreo style, but Linzer-style, with the lacy cut-outs, is so much more fun!!) post-oven, filled with creme or jam. I can roll some balls of dough and press the little spheres with these lovely cookie presses. I can roll out a large sheet, then re-roll with my springerle roll -- it's another type of cookie press, but in a rolling pin form. Once the images from the springerle roll is impressed, I cut them to separate, and then I have dozens of small rectangular cookies all at once.




After baking, I have some more options!! Decorating options. To frost, or not to frost? Leave it plain? Add nuts? Nonpareils? Sprinkles? Sprinkles come in all shapes and colors (I have some Scooby Doo ones...), as do the many and sugars and edible glitters. There are markers made for food decorating! Amazing. I think that's a wonderful thing.

I've just discovered a neat thing that's been created, and I just don't know how I can live without it. I hope someone can find it, because I really REALLY want this thing.

The German company Stadter (with an umlaut over the "a", but this application won't permit me to use that) has a tool that lets you stamp letters -- actually impress them deeply into the unbaked dough -- into cookies or fondant or Royal icing... whatever your imagination gives you!!! (It's called the Brigitte Cookie Text Stamp.) How amazing is that??? You see why I need this thing?

No?

OK: imagine this, then. Conversation Hearts. But edible. Conversation Hearts are those hard-as-a-rock and tastes-like-barely-flavored-sugar small heart-shaped candies in pastel shades with words and phrases like, "MY MAN", "OH MY", "SWEETIE PIE" "OH YOU"... You get the picture.

And special cookies with special messages. Fun!! It completely appeals to my sense of culinary adventure. Keep your eyes open, and grab it for me if you see it, please! I'd be most grateful.

I'll bake for you!

 

Baby Shower Lessons I Have Learned.

It's important to remember the furry family members when preparing to welcome a baby home.

Baby Toys Are FUN!

Shannon product tests at her baby shower!

Land of the Free, Home of the Brave

Ain't that America?

Apparently this beautiful Way Back Machine lives next door to my dad.

At the Fiber Gathering

"WOW!!" That's what Imogen said when she was playing Ryken's drums! Look how happy these kids are. This brings me such joy. What fun!

 

Wordless Wednesday: Little Mr Wickett

Mauser Stewart?

Morgan, in an apparent fit of domestic something or other, has decided that catnip tea is on the menu for all of the pawed members of the household. I am looking forward to the dog's reaction...

Look What I Can Do!

WOOHOO!! Working in the round! Mastering the double pointed needles! And I started with size 3 metals... NOT wood or bamboo on a larger gauge, as was recomended. WOOHOO! Oh, I already said that. Still: WOOOOHOOOO!

Another thing I never knew I couldn't live without

Yesterday I parenthetically disclosed my Barbie fascination/collection. Today I learned of one I would love to add to my collection: "Muslim Barbie", called Fulla Doll.

No kidding. This is the real deal, produced in Syria for the Egyptian toy market by people fed up with their daughters emulating icons of other cultures.

Who can blame them? I certainly won't! Every child should have toys that reflect their features and values. I'm so happy there's a doll for them!

I will go on record right now that if some sick jerk issues "Satanic Sacrifice Barbie" or "Suicide Bomber Barbie", I'm not interested. Those are not values I validate -- like all kind and considerate people, I find them completely repellent. I guess I'm more prejudiced than I was previously prepared to admit... In this particular prejudice, I think I'm happy. "Here I stand, I can do no other."

Anyway, the Fulla Doll is wearing a full chador, head to wrists to ankles, and a bright friendly smile. Nothing unappealing about this doll! And like Western-style "Island Princess"-"Malibu"-"Happy Sunshine"-"(fill in whatever name here)" Barbie, there are other clothes and a whole story to go along with the doll. It satisfies the children and the parents.

I am a bit concerned that doll will be squashed by the the ultra-conservatives, who traditionally have taken a hard-line view of all things involving "graven images" (man-made representations of God or Mankind; only the Creator can Create). It is because of the commandments against such 'acts against the Creator' that the world has such works of breathtaking geometric delicacy in art as exhibited at the Alhambra in Granada, Spain and at the Taj Mahal in Agra, India, among so very many others. The brilliance extended to calligraphy and textiles as well. Oppression very often leads to remarkable artistic expression.

Of course, the 20th Century exception to the commandment became the massive onslaught of paintings and photographs and side-of-buildings murals of ultra-conservative leaders, who apparently were willing to turn a blind eye to this blatant commandment-breaking in favor of narcissism. Unless they release an Ayatollah doll, I fear for the long term permission these fine children will have to play with these toys.

The funny twist is that it also seems to be taking a swipe at globalization. Clearly, it's not Mattel; nor is it made in China. It's a Middle East product for a Middle East market. The story as it was reported on PRI's The World (linked near the top of this post: "Muslim Barbie")also explained that other popular dolls, specifically Bratz dolls, are being priced (I got the impression, though it was not outright said, that it was deliberate) at four times the price of the Fulla Doll. So economics is also pushing the sale. It will be interesting to see where this is heading.

I definitely want one.