Am…musings

My darker, shorter ‘do and relationship status inspired my costume this year. It started with the hair, which I decided was quite Snow White like.

Ol’ Snow has a very lovely dress, but it would have required some extensive sewing … and I’m no sewer … or a purchased costume … and I’ve never been a big fan of spending a ton on a costume I’ll likely only wear once. Plus, to me a Halloween get-up should be a little more creative than something I pull out of a package … a belief I guess I learned from my parents because I recall always having cool costumes as a kid, but honestly don’t ever remember them being packaged.

After a little noodling, I decided the red headband, poisoned apple and little birdie perched on my hand would be recognizable along with an outfit I either already owned or could buy and wear again … unlike the pre-fab costume.

To complete the ensemble, a personal ad tacked to the apple to explain my “modern-day” garb and to make it a little more fun and creative …

Modern-day Snow White seeks Prince Charming
to break spell of singlehood with amazing kiss
followed by happily ever after.

Guys … dwarfs or otherwise … named Sleazy,
Sloppy, Shifty, Crazy, Pervy, Creepy or
CommitmentPhobe-y need not apply.

Happy Halloween!

My friend Kelly gave me a Taste of Home magazine to peruse after my surgery. Being the Martha that I am, a pretty pumpkin cheese ball caught my eye and I decided to make it for the Halloween Happy Hour at the office.

It’s not pumpkin flavored, but rather a tasty mix of chive cream cheese, sharp cheddar and cayenne pepper, among other things. And it wasn’t too tough to make, although shaping it into a ball was a bit messy.

And the pumpkin shape was a little tricky, but not impossible. A completely non-serrrated knife is key.

Here’s the recipe — http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Pumpkin-Cheese-Ball-2.

I’ve had a crush on a guy named Joe (Trader Joe, that is) since I lived in Los Angeles in 1998-99. I left him for a while … moving to Orlando and then St. Louis, but he found me, opening three stores in the ‘Lou sometime around 2005.

I visit Joe a few times a month and always take my reusable bags, one of my favorite things . At the register I fill out a slip for the weekly drawing Joe does for his customers that bring in their own bags. Last week … I won the drawing!!!

I picked up my prize last night … a reusable Trader Joe’s bag filled with goodies: three dark chocolate bars, a pumpkin bread mix, a gingerbread mix, a beer bread mix, organic penne pasta, pasta sauce, a big can of coffee beans, pumpkin butter and an Indian dinner mix.

It’s really great marketing tactic because it’s mostly things I ordinarily wouldn’t buy, but will likely buy again. I had the pumpkin butter on some toast for breakfast and it was fantastic. I’m also blogging about it and have mentioned it a few times on Facebook … as I said there, I’m so excited about winning the drawing, you’d have thought I won the lottery! Not to mention the fact that when I when it to pick up the prize, I, of course had to shop some more!

Ever wondered how to tell if an egg is bad? When I started making Christmas cookies years ago, I worried about ruining a half-made batch by cracking a bad egg into it. Of course, you can crack eggs into a separate dish, but who wants more dishes to wash?

Somewhere along the line I learned a cool trick: place an egg in a cup of water … if it floats, it’s rotten. Today I was making an omelet and knew my eggs were past their prime so I did the test and found a floater …

Here’s a good explanation of why it happens from What’s Cooking America:
Old eggs float in fresh cold water because of a large air cell that forms as the egg cools after being laid. As the egg ages, air enters the egg and the air cell becomes larger and this acts as a buoyancy aid. Generally, fresh eggs will lie on the bottom of the bowl of water. Eggs that tilt so that the large end is up are older, and eggs that float are rotten. The tilting is caused by air pockets in the eggs that increase in size over time as fluid evaporates through the porous shell and oxygen and gases filter in. The older an egg gets the more gas builds up inside it. More gas = more floating!

Shorter days and cooler temps placed fall just a hair ahead of winter on my list of seasons I despised as a kid. My tune definitely changed after five years of living in Orlando and another in L.A. Orlando burnt me out with its non-stop greenness and “freakin’ Africa hot”-ness (in the words of my friend Keith). L.A. simply bored me when it came to climate … a monotony of the same temps and clear skies day after day after day (Oh, how I missed thunderstorms when I lived there!).

These days fall is a pretty close second to spring in terms of seasons I adore. And as I mentioned in my fall garden post, I love to decorate for it. My approach on Kit Drive is a mix of real and fake and store bought and homemade … or in the case of this year … homegrown. Also, at this point, my fall decs are mixed with my Halloween baubles. All in all, it makes me smile.

The gorgeous peach “pumpkin” (it’s actually a gourd) is real. I found it at Stuckmeyer’s on 141 for $2.49.

Decorating a chandelier is super easy and a really nice touch. I also do it for Valentine’s Day, spring/Easter and Christmas.

Some of these baby pumkins are from my garden. The great spider-web bowl is from Target.

I love this spider because its body is covered with soft, fuzzy, black feathers. I also have a bat like it.

I made this wreath after falling in love with a similar one that was $60 at the store. The white pumpkins and Indian corn are from Stuckmeyer’s. The orange pumpkins are from my garden.

Every fall I mourn the death of my fresh herbs when there are so many good cooking holidays in our immediate future. (This herb post is, of course, not be confused with Herb posts of the past .) I’ve always been too intimidated to try to grow them inside, but … perhaps buoyed by the success of my veggie garden … I’m going to give it a go this year.

I know humidity is an issue, and pretty much any plant I’ve ever tried to bring inside has dried to a crisp. Anyone have any tips for successfully bringing herbs or any plants inside?

I hope to nurse them through at least Thanksgiving and in the meantime, I’m enjoying the lush greenhouse look.

A week ago today, I had laparoscopic surgery to remove the fibroids I learned about in January, one of which was close to softball size. I guess I should have told you sooner. It just seemed odd to broadcast something like surgery on a blog and Facebook.

All went fairly well, but then I really wasn’t feeling up to sharing an update … plus it didn’t seem all that exciting. It still really isn’t … I’m at the point where I’m just feeling a bit tired and a lot sore, which typically isn’t an issue as long as I move slowly. The major times it was an issue in the early days after surgery was when I sneezed or coughed … ouch!!! Then this weekend I realized there is a wonderful thing we do with our stomach muscles … laugh.

My neighbor had some friends in town that are pretty funny so I had to “suffer” around them a few times this weekend and then I watched Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist last night and there were a few spots that just about killed me. (It’s actually a pretty cute flick that I definitely recommend.) Sort of like with sneezing and coughing, I could somewhat try to control the laughing, but then holding back on an all-out guffaw and thinking about the fact that I was trying not to laugh just make me chuckle even longer, which still hurt (although it was much more satisfying than a controlled cough or sneeze … hate those).

But then I do love to laugh … so I guess it’s worth the pain. And it does seem the more I stretch and work my stomach muscles, the better I feel the next day.

My hair has been the topic of several recent posts. This time the changes are a little more permanent than the Bumpit.

About two years ago, I’d found a great ad featuring a girl with long, layered curly hair. At first, the cut really worked for me, but over time something went awry and it ended up misshapen with a really weird bottom layer in the back. I also felt my blonde highlights were getting to be too much of a good thing, especially at this time of year. When my hair appointment rolled around on Thursday, I decided a new look was in order.

The cut turned out great. The color … not so much. I went from about three shades lighter than my natural color to about four shades darker. I waffle between thinking it looks pretty to thinking it looks a little ridiculous (and the pic below really doesn’t do the darkness justice). The good news is that it will wash out with time.