Custom-made Cookies

We have a cafe at work, which doesn't offer up terribly great food, but we eat there from time to time. One thing they do very well is their cookies.

I had a coconut-chocolate chip-macadamia nut cookie there a few weeks ago, and it was delectable. I thought I'd try to replicate it the next time I made cookies.

Fezzik and I did that today. It's not exact, but it's close enough, and the best part is that I used stuff we had in our pantry instead of making an extra trip for macadamia nuts. Admittedly, I think they'd taste better with the macadamia nuts, but in this case, thrift and laziness won.

Kath's Choco-coconut Cookies
adapted from the Ghiradelli Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe

Ingredients
2 1/4 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 c. butter, room temp
1 c. white sugar (I would use less next time, the standard Tollhouse 3/4 c. would work out just fine)
1 c. brown sugar, packed (again, you could get by with less than this)
2 t. vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 c. chopped walnuts
3/4 c. unsweetened shredded coconut Bob's Red Mill is my favorite)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the flour, soda and salt together in a small bowl and ignore it until you need it.
Beat the butter with the sugars on medium speed in your Kitchenaid Mixer until light and fluffy. Then keep going a little while longer to be sure. This is the most important step.
Add the vanilla and the eggs (bonus points for using eggs from your backyard flock, like we did!), one at a time, and beat after each just until blended.
Add the flour mixture into the butter mixture and stir until everything is evenly mixed, then add the chocolate chips, walnuts (or macadamias) and coconut and mix again just until combined.
Drop by big tablespoons onto your ungreased cookie sheets and bake for 15 minutes or so, until golden brown. Remove to cool on wire racks, and enjoy a couple while they're still warm!

This One's For Grandma

Not that she's ever seen this side of the "Internets." Grandma told me a story once, about a Mother's Day when my dad was maybe four years old, when his sister came home from grammar school with a fancy class-made Mother's Day present. Dad apparently felt guilty about not having anything to give his mommy, and promptly went into the back garden and dug up some worms. He took them inside and said, in his sweetest voice, "Here, Mommy, I got you a Mother's Day present too." Now, I need to tell you that my grandma is not a lady you'd consider one with a tough constitution. She's, well, I mean this in the nicest sense, a Priss. Not one to get too dirty, my gram; the best one-word adjective I can use to describe her is "lady." What did she do when presented with a handful of worms? She screwed up her courage, stuck her hand out, and took those worms from her Billy boy, and gushed over them just as she had over Mary Anne's gift.

I doubt anyone has ever called me a Lady, and I don't really mind mucking around and getting dirty, but I have a real fear of worms. I don't know when or how it started, but somewhere way back, I developed not just a revulsion to, but an actual (if undiagnosed) phobia of the bastards. They freak me out. If I could control it, I would, believe me. Don't try to rationalize it - I realize I'm not going to be strangled by a nightcrawler. A phobia is defined by Merriam Webster as "an exaggerated usually inexplicable and illogical fear of a particular object, class of objects, or situation." That's exactly what I have. I appreciate worms, and the work they do to break down my kitchen scraps (and everything else), but I'm not going to rescue them out of mud puddles or pick them up and carry them around in my pockets. Ever.

I've been forced, of late, to start facing my fears head-on, like a real grownup.

Tiny Viking developed a fondness for worms in September, when his own very special grandma was visiting and playing in our garden with him. Now, whenever he sees a worm, he calls out in the cutest little voice, "WORRRRMMMM, wORrrmmm!" And, because I am an exceptional parent (cough, cough), I have done my best to not discourage this little (disgusting) habit of his. I even bend over to examine the little wriggly creatures if he notices them in the driveway. I do not want to instill my irrational fears on my children (see how exceptional I am?!). Still, I get the heebie-jeebies every time it happens, I won't lie to you.

Fezzik, at 8, has not developed an aversion to worms either, unfortunately for me. He went out on Tuesday morning to let our chickens out of their coop, and came back into our kitchen with 2 worms in his hand. I took a deep breath and said in my most nonchalant voice, "hey! what'cha got there?"

"Mom, I think I want to start a worm farm."

"Oh?"

"Yes. I want to grow worms and sell them."

"Well. That sounds like a very good plan. I have one rule, though. The worms need to stay outside."

"OK."

"Starting right now."

Lucky for me, he's a very obedient child. He marched his livestock outside and placed him gently in the dirt. Ugh.

New and Notable

Couple things.

1. I noticed that I have a blog follower that I don't appear to know! Woot! She is apparently a belly dancer too. Hi Crazed Redhead! You can email me! I would love to know more about you! I'm not scary! Although I use too many exclamation points!

2. Speaking of being a Raqstar! I made my first belly dance costume last weekend. It includes but is not limited to gold fringe and amber beads and tiny brass skeleton keys, because they struck my fancy. I wanted to wear it to work on Monday but the 8-year-old talked me out of it.

Is that over-sharing? Most of you who know me should recall that I tend to introduce myself to groups by saying "It's easiest for me to describe myself using this interperetive dance. If you could just clear the way here, I'll get started." And, for those of you who DON'T know me, that was a direct quote from the first staff meeting I attended at the architecture firm where I worked from 1999 - 2001. Yes. Not. Kidding.

Anywhoodle, I think I'm all amped up on the fact that Crazed Redhead likes my blog, and I don't even know her! Hooray for the tiny world, hooray for the interwebs!

Oh! The Amazing Nana Clara!

I can't get enough of these videos!

Things You'd Prefer Not to Hear When You Color Your Hair

"Oh. Um. That's unfortunate."

"But I liked your gray hairs."

"Wow, that's...different."

I guess I won't go with the Rosewood color next time... But for the record, I didn't like my gray hairs. And I like this color! At any rate, it's better than the cherry Kool-Aid I used in 10th grade. Trust me on that one. Also, this will wash out in 6 weeks or less, another advantage over the Kool-Aid.

What can I say? I was bored, and in the haircolor aisle.

Still, it's nice to have friends who aren't afraid to be honest.

Frankie Says Relax

I'm sort of taking the week off this week, and any work I do will be done from home. I had planned to not work at all, but apparently Fezzik's school district doesn't care that their mid-winter break interferes with major deadlines and activities at work.

Things to do this week (not necessarily in this order):

1. Plant peas and spinach
2. Re-grout the tile in the kitchen, then seal it
3. Make a major dump run
4. Put a bunch of random stuff we don't need on Craigslist and/or Freecycle
5. Clean the house, spit-spot, in a manner we haven't done in a long time (cobwebs and dust bunnies, consider yourselves warned!)
6. Put up the trim around the cabinets in the kitchen
7. Touch up the paint in the kitchen and on the front door
8. Clean out the chicken coop and replace their straw in the laying boxes
9. Hit the library, hard
10. Have my work friends over for a fancy tea (see above, "cleaning")
11. Knit a freaking pair of socks already!
12. Go to a really cool whirling dervish/Sufi lecture at Seattle University
13. Maybe, if we're lucky, go to the Home Show
14. Take the kids to the park every day
15. Kick myself, at the end, for not getting everything done

What am I doing wasting time with blogging? I have things to do, people to see, places to go! I'll report back after a successful vacation. Have a good week!

Inside the Crafters Studio

James Lipton/Inside the Actors' Studio cracks me up. I do like the idea of a formatted interview. Bloggy friends, please feel free to post and answer these questions on your own blogs.

And now, a word from your host:

1. What is your favorite word? Epiphany. I like how it looks, I like how it's spelled, and I love the definition.
2. What is your least favorite word? Turd. My mom banned this word from our vocabularies when I was a kid, and I've got to say, that had an impact. I despise this word.
3. What turns you on creatively? Beauty. Simplicity. The thought of making something for someone I know will appreciate my efforts.
4. What turns you off creatively? Complications that arise in the middle of a project.
5. What sound or noise do you love? The quiet of the woods on a camping trip, and my kids' belly laughter.
6. What sound or noise do you hate? People speaking unkind words about other people. And repetitive small noises, especially in the car.
7. Who is your favorite hero or heroine in fiction? Hmmm. Maybe Taylor Greer from The Bean Trees.
8. What craft other than your own would you like to attempt? Pottery. Hands down.
9. What craft would you not like to do? I don't like fiddly things like scrapbooking and card-making. They're too precious for me. I appreciate folks who have the patience and desire to do them, they are just not for me.
10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? "You were wrong about the whole God thing, but we'll take you anyway. Your mom is right this way."

We Pillaged the Beaches

The clams weren't showing very well yesterday, but we were able to nab about 6 of them. Lucky for us, we have friends who live near the beach, who love to clam dig, but already have a freezerful. They felt sorry for us and gave us their catch, so we didn't drive 6 hours yesterday for only 6 clams.

We left Ocean Shores at about 5:30, and got home at 8:30. Lawnboy put the boys straight to bed, while my dad and I started cleaning the clams. It only took an hour, and we now have enough clams in our freezer for 6 meals - 30 in total.

I think we'll do it again soon.

We're off to Forage for Food

Today there's a clam tide, which means we're hitting the road and heading west to the ocean beaches with our (new) rubber boots and our (borrowed) clam guns. Clamming combines my love of road trips, beaches, free stuff, food, and family time. How could we go wrong? I'm trying not to think of the sand worms. Sand worms you say? I don't think sand worms exist.

I was planning to use my old rubber boots, but they appear to have been filled with dirt since the last time I used them. That's what I get for leaving them in the garden/construction/Tonka Truck zone. The dirt has since turned into a concrete-like substance, so I'll have to run to Big 5 this morning to buy some new ones.

Have you ever eaten razor clams? They're delicious.

I've been clamming about a zillion times, but the last time we went, my mom was alive, so it's been at least 5 years. It will be a long day, but there's "free" food at the end, and I'm bringing our pirate ship kite. I'm hoping Fezzik will thoroughly enjoy sticking his hands into a wet, mucky, sandy hole to search blindly for an ugly clam, even though he doesn't enjoy eating them.

When my parents lived in England, we brought Fezzik over to visit in September of 2001, and we brought some frozen clams in a small cooler in our luggage as a hostess gift for my mom. Did you know that a Seattle to Manchester flight is long enough to melt frozen razor clams? Long enough for the razor clam juice to drip over the entire contents of your suitcase? We found that out the hard way. Their whole house stunk like razor clams while we were there, and we never did get the stench out of our suitcase.

Well, I'll report back soon with pictures and recipes!

My Response to: Is Circumcision Wrong? | Momversation

Steel yourselves, you mothers of men. Then, please watch this video, and then, I'll tell you about it.

Is Circumcision Wrong? | Momversation

Posted using ShareThis

Ok. So. Let me just start by saying BLECH.

Thanks.

Now that that's out of the way, I'd like to over share with you, in my usual manner. Both Fezzik and Tiny Viking are circumcised. We are not (in any way) religious. We chose to circumcise our children at birth. In the doc's office. Without ceremony.

And.

I regret the decision.

If I could do it all again, I'd just, well, not do it that way. I would have said "So what?" to the folks who weighed in on the He Must Look Like His Father side. Do they need to have their dad's nose, his hair color (or lack of hair), his shape, to claim the vast inheritance when we die? No, they, do, not.

I wasn't secure enough in this conviction, with either one, to go with my gut. I even think, knowing what I know now, that given the chance, I'd change it even just for my baby, let him keep his skin, even after we'd screwed up his bro.

But I can't. I can't do any of it again.

Do you want to know the worst part, for me? Come on, I know you do.

The worst part is that this decision, the one I'd change, given a second (or third) chance, is quite likely not the worst regret I'll have, parentally-speaking.

Yep, I said it! I'm going to make bigger mistakes (I probably already have), doing more damage, having more impact, than removing my sons' foreskin.

And you know what? It's ok.

The one thing that makes me angry (not just the mildly annoyed that I am throughout most of it), is that no one mentions the word regret in this video. I think it's disgusting that Daphne hurled the word "mutilation" without thinking that she could hurt some really well-intentioned people. I hate that she tries to make up for it later by saying "Well, yeah, but you *thought about it*." But even more, I am mad that they didn't bother to include anyone who had the (ahem) balls to say "Well, I did this, and it was horrible, and I wish I hadn't done it."

We all have regrets. We're allowed to. That's how we learn.

P.s. Daphne? You're a real piece of work. Best of luck to you, lady.

So, incredibly, boring are we.

This is an attempt to convince you to stick around, as I have grand plans for more postings soon.

I'm sorry, but we've been sick, and, well, boring lately. Not much going on, other than general business. Nothing exciting enough to put up here.

Except the kitchen. The kitchen is ALMOST ready to post the before and after pics, I swear.

And the basketball. Fezzik joined a team and watching 8 year olds run up and down the court for 32 minutes is highly entertaining.

And the transitioning. The Tiny Viking has moved up to the Transition room. He's almost 2! Weep!

Rest assured I have stuff brewing, so if you could just hold please, until I can nail that stuff down, that would be great.

Ooh, and one of the things I'm trying to nail down is muy muy controversial. Dontcha just love a cliff hanger?

Yours,
Kath

Lawnboy, the Interview

I have not waxed poetic about my husband of almost 12 years in a while. Dudes, I'm the luckiest nerd-girl in the world. Evidence:

What's your favorite book? I'm gonna go with Guns, Germs and Steel.
What's your favorite song? 'Fool's Gold,' The Stone Roses
What's your favorite movie? First one that comes to mind?"Delicatessen"
Television Show? Nova (like father, like son!)
Favorite Smell? In terms of the memories it evokes, the dry-cleaning chemical PERC (dear god, his parents ran a dry-cleaner's when he was a child. we're all going to die of cancer.)
Favorite Taste? Garlic Naan
Favorite Sound? Tiny Viking's jabbering
What's your favorite instrument? Probably the guitar
Favorite Food? Rice
Favorite thing to drink? Wine, tokay (specifically, my dad's)
What's your favorite animal? cat
What's your favorite thing to do (G-rated)? Read
What's your favorite planet? Earth. It has got life on it.
Where's your favorite place to go? Tuscany is the first one that comes to mind.
What's your favorite imaginary place? At the moment, Kwutunga
What the hell is that? That's here, but not. A subset of Cascadia, it's the Puget Sound/Georgia Basin/Juan de Fuca Strait Watersheds.
Where could I learn more about Kwutunga? Only by talking to me, right now. Maybe one day it will be a book.
Why is it called "Kwutunga?" It's a bastardation of the Salish words for land and water.
What makes you nervous? Lots of things. I guess probably talking about things I don't know anything about.
Specific example? Like a job interview. I don't know what the questions are going to be, and I don't know how to answer them.
What makes you happy? My family.
Who do you admire? Ummm, your mom.
What do you want to be when you grow up? Me.
Not who, what? Fezzik and Tiny Viking's dad
You already are that. Pick something else. Something that you're not already. An author, a writer.

Fezzik, the Bio

At this moment, Fezzik is on the cusp of turning 8 years old. Thought it was a good idea to capture some snippets of his last few days of being 7.



What's your favorite book? Brisingr
What's your favorite song? The first song in our They Might Be Giants cd that's in my thing that wakes me up in the morning (that would be "Birdhouse in Your Soul" from "Dial a Song" disc 1)
What's your favorite movie? Bionicle 2 (really? not "Star Wars?"..."nope.")
Television Show? Nova
Favorite Smell? They way Rocky and Blankie smell
Favorite Taste? ice cream (vanilla)
Favorite Sound? Mom singing bedtime songs
What's your favorite instrument? violin
Favorite thing to do at school? go to the computer lab and have free choice
What's your favorite game? chess
Favorite Food? pizza
Favorite thing to drink? juice (apple)
What's your favorite animal? king cobra
What's your favorite thing to do? go on Club Penguin
What's your favorite planet? Venus, because of its atmosphere - I like its atmosphere. It crushes everything that comes in, really. Pretty fast.
Where's your favorite place to go? New Mexico, because Grandma Kay and Grandpa Dave live there.
What's your favorite imaginary place? On Bionicle, silly, it is my favorite imaginary place, except someone else made it up: The Great Barrier
What makes you nervous? Well, sometimes, monsters in the dark. Being late is one of the scariest things in the world for me.
What makes you happy? Rocky and Blankie; my Bionicles.
Who do you admire? ...(long pause) the only person I admire is already dead. Leonardo da Vinci.
What do you want to be when you grow up? a paleontologist.

Things I Do

Auctions.

At this one, I'm taking a particular interest in the wooden file cabinets, I think they would replace our old metal "MASH 4077" green ones nicely, given the opportunity.

Also, the small painted chest. There's a neat looking old dresser and nightstand too. We'll see.

Try going to an estate auction in your area. They're completely addictive.

Craftiness

I may have mentioned (a billion times) before, that I've been obsessively knitting. I had intended to make Lawnboy a hat (FAIL!), slippers for my sister (check!), fingerless gloves for Fezzik (FAIL!), mittens for Tiny Viking (FAIL!), a hat for my sister-in-law (check!), and various and sundry other random accessories for my other beloveds.

Two out of 40 ain't bad, eh?

The knitting-for-profit thing has taken off, though. I did a craft fair at work before the holidays, and was able to sell a handful of hats. Then, I went to my friend's annual ornament exchange party, and since we were broke, I decided to knit my ornament. I made the cutest pair of tiny mittens you've ever seen. So cute, in fact, that they were fought over at the party, and 2 (!) people demanded to buy some from me on the spot. I dutifully went home that weekend and knitted both pair.

That makes me a PROFESSIONAL KNITTER. Don't get me wrong; I have no delusions about knitting for a living (sigh), but DUDE. I SELL STUFF I MAKE. TO STRANGERS. AND THEY LOVE IT.

(NOTE TO SELF: I need to get the leftover baby hats up on my Etsy store before the weather takes a turn for the warm. )

Meanwhile, I'm struggling with what to call my stuff, and how to handle my varying array of stuff I plan to sell there.

What do you think? Should I have a separate shop for each type of obsession? A knit shop, a soap shop, and a vintage shop? Or is it not as weird as I think it is, to have them combined?

2009 Goals

Well, hello doves! A friend mildly suggested I get cracking on the ol' blog again. The only inspiration I have is my 2009 goals. They are as follows, for your viewing pleasure. Feel free to benchmark me at the end of the year.

1. Knit a pair of socks each month, alternating between the boys and myself.
2. Save enough cash to travel to Chicago and New Mexico to see the families, all of whom I love and miss. This means you, Sis. And you, Dave, Kay, Thane and Aleisha, who remain blogless to date.
3. Cook every recipe in The Indian Vegetarian, up to and including the eggplant ones. This might be the only cookbook in my vast collection from which I've never even tried a recipe. It haunts me.
4. Blah, blah, blah, pay off the debts we've re-incurred. This one makes my stomach hurt. But I have a new kitchen to show for it! Stomach pain is wearing off now...
5. Start funding an Emergency Savings Account. This will come in handy should I (conveniently?) get laid off. Which isn't imminent, but you know, it doesn't hurt to have a plan.
6. Live well within our means this year. We've laid a good foundation for this, with a grocery budget and everything, and the daycare payment is going down by 56 whole dollars next month! It's hard, yo.
7. Figure out how to be happy about the tiny, but affordable (and completely adequate!) house we have. I'm getting there. Not there yet, and I'm sure it involves more organizing and cleaning than I've grown accustomed to, but let's see if we can get there this year, shall we? Dude, the neighbors have 8 kids in their little house, and if they can do it, I should be able to fit the 4 of us into these 900 square feet without issue.
8. Play more with the boys. As in, every single day, play.

These are not too head-in-the-clouds goals, don't you think? And all with nary a weight-loss word mentioned!

Happy New Year, all!

A Random Conglomeration of Awesomeness, a.k.a. An Excellent Gift Guide

Hurry, folks, time's a-wastin'. By my count, there are 5 more days until Hanukkah, 9 to Christmas.

Were you looking for CHEAP-ASS gifts for your beloveds? Ones that say "Even though I can't afford much, I still think you're worthy of cool stuff."? Look no further, here are four sweet deals for under $20, one for under $30 and one for exactly $40 that was too cool to pass up. Not too shabby.


This poster is about the coolest reference material ever made.


Yarn in beautiful colorways for the peacenik in your life.



A "Rad" tee shirt by rad artist Ray Fenwick.


Foxes in Trees.


A pretty little cardinal pendant, featuring my favorite colors.

I don't know about you, but I feel better knowing that you know about this now.

Fay Four: the Sitar

Not as exotic as a hurdy gurdy, and every Beatles fan on the planet is familiar with it, but who doesn't love a sitar?

This is Anoushka Shenkar, daughter of Ravi Shenkar, who taught George Harrison how to play. She is incredible.

Day Three: The Hurdy Gurdy

We saw a hurdy gurdy in action at Folklife Festival a few years ago, and I fell in love with it.

I've always been drawn to gypsy music, starting with Bartok's Romanian Dances in 7th grade, with my youth orchestra. There's something so complicated sounding about the hurdy gurdy. I think it's the drone strings.

Close your eyes, and you might mistake it for a bagpipe. If you're not Scottish, I suppose.

Day Two: The OUD

My belly dance classes have introduced a whole new world of instrumentation into my life. The oud is very impressive.