When contrived motivation fails...
... go for caustic wit:
Available from ScreamPrinting on Etsy (used with permission).
Can't tell you how much I love this.
... go for caustic wit:
Labels: humour, positivity, stasia's faves
Wow, not to get all wigged out and political on you for two posts in a row, but this just came to my attention and I think it's very important to us crafters!
Trying to appear as if they are actually doing something to benefit us (after the fact), Congress is now making laws that would put Old Saint Nick right out of business: no handmade toys from artisan toymakers (read: Etsy folks) will be able to be sold (legally) without prohibitive costs to the makers for required testing.
Please go here to read about it in simple terms, and to find an instant, easy link and ready-made letter so that you can contact your representatives.
Honestly, it's a case of too little, too late... Why on earth are we trading with a Communist country, with horrible human rights policies, anyway? Hint to the U.S. Goverment: they hate us! It's no wonder they put melamine in our pet food and lead paint on our kids' toys! How 'bout we spend our dollars in, oh, Sweden, maybe?
Labels: stasia's faves
OK, folks, we're getting down to the wire here if you're still ordering holiday gifts, so here's something that I can highly recommend for those hard-to-shop-for recipients on your list: Penzey's Spices.
It's time to toss that ten-year-old tarragon, ditch the decrepit dill, and order some fresh, flavorful, aromatic spices from this fantastic (Wisconsin-based - yay!) vendor. If there's a baker on your gift list, why not order them a baker's box and replenish what they've depleted making this year's holiday treats? Someone love a good curry? Penzey's has them covered.
All the gift boxes come well-packed, surrounded with bay leaves and whole nutmegs which you can actually use. Penzey's often includes samples, and their catalogs have great recipes. They're sending $9 gift cards with certain orders placed before December 21st!
Penzey's gift boxes make great wedding presents, too!
Labels: animal of the day, pets, stasia's faves
As the countdown to holiday gift giving continues, I have a few more of my favorite things to share with you.
For the environmentally conscious on your list, may I suggest a basket from Juniper Ridge? Their organic, sustainably-harvested natural goodies smell just wonderful. Chef Jeff loves their Siskiyou Cedar soap; my favorite is Desert PiƱon. Wreaths, tea, smudge sticks, incense, sachets - you can give your recipient the true scent of the West.
For someone who isn't feeling very well, how about a package from Healing Baskets? They have some simply wonderful ideas for sharing comfort and helping you to say what's in your heart. They have specific items pertaining to cancer, divorce, loss, or the blues - touching and thoughtful items. You can choose to have them sent as a prepared basket if you so desire.
Not sure of someone's shoe size? Zappos offers free shipping, exchanges, and returns! I have purchased several pair of shoes and boots from them and their service is fantastic. They offer super-speedy delivery, even with the "standard" option (it always comes faster than they say it will!)
I didn't realize that walking around on farmland would be so traumatic to my feet. The Birkies and Keds were abaondoned after bouts of plantar fasciitis and twisted ankles. Next came waterproof workboots, which were great for a while, but the ground here is as tough as farm life, and the leather soon became too loose to offer any support. So what does the modern farmerette pick as her footwear of choice? Technical hiking boots with outstanding support! Oh geez, they're on sale now! Shoot! Well, I'd buy them at twice the price after wearing them - they are awesome and I can't recommend them highly enough. I have narrow, flat feet and they are the most supportive and comfortable shoes I've ever worn. They're standing up great to daily farm use.
Zappos also carries Ariat riding and western boots, which are lovely for any horse (donkey, mule) owner on your list.
Speaking of farm duds, I'm really pleased with the Lands' End jacket which arrived a few days ago. I can pretty much guarantee you that you will not be the least bit cold while wearing this coat, whether in Chicago, North Dakota, or Alaska! It's fantastic and super toasty... even without a bunch of layers underneath, even while standing still!
I now understand why Inuit coats have fur around the hood - the (fake) fur on this hood keeps the wind and snowflakes off of my face, kind of dispersing them before they can hit me. Love it. Another thing I really love about it is that it has a two-way zipper (very helpful when bending to fill chicken feeders or pick out the donkeys' hooves). It zips up past my chin, but no metal touches my face - just cozy polarfleece. Great design - nothing worse than a cold zipper on your chin or neck!
This jacket gets an A- - the minus being only for the fact that the pocket openings aren't angled. But as I'm usually carrying an egg basket or water bucket while wearing it, that's not a big deal. Sign up for the Lands' End e-mails before you place an order - they're offering great sales and free shipping bonuses these days.
For your favorite epicurean, what about a custom tea blend from Adagio? Choose their favorite flavors, name the tea, and then upload artwork for a custom label. Yum! (I believe you must create an account and be logged in to have access to this option in the "blends" section - yes, I just checked, you do.) Not sure what your tea lover likes? Adagio offers several samplers of "trial size" tea tins.
I have my own blend there - it's called Chocolat Framboise Caramel. Guilt-free indulgence.
Labels: farm clothes, fiberarts, food, knit, pets, stasia's faves, tea, yarn shop
Heritage turkey, hand-harvested and wood-parched wild rice, and winter squash were greatly enjoyed last evening.
All that business being through, today is the day to avoid car crashes near mall entrances, and instead stay home and work on the holiday plum pudding (a/k/a "famous flaming booze cake"). I am now soaking dried organic raisins and cherries in sherry in the fridge, and making some candied peel (since we didn't have the called-for citron).
Candied peel is easy to do, and you might enjoy having some around to snack on (or to give) this month, so give it a try!
I had homemade ginger syrup left over from this fantastic cocktail recipe, (danger, Will Robinson!) so I'm using that on the lemon and orange peels. I think it will add great flavor.
I also found that old recipe we used for liqueur for gifts. It's from a very old issue of Victoria magazine. This might be nice to make now and have on hand for Valentine's Day.
I would suggest you consider using organic fruit for anything calling for peel...
I made some caramels the other day, and they were delicious. Definitely a new favorite recipe. It's from the latest issue of MaryJane's Farm Magazine; it's a nice publication about organic living, "making do," crafting, cooking, and farmgirl attitude in the oughts. You may be able to find it at your local bookstore (Borders carries it here) or you can subscribe (or give a gift subscription!) online. If you'd like this holiday issue, you'd better give them a call before they're out of it.
Labels: farm goats, farm recipes, fiberarts, food, knit, pets, positivity, stasia's faves, yarn shop
Happy Thanksgiving! May all who are celebrating this holiday have a relaxing, enjoyable weekend!
It seems the apple does not fall far from the tree. Falling under the "do as I say, not as I do," category, we started defrosting our turkey a little too late. Granted, it only weighs in at seven pounds, but we should have taken it out of the bag and removed the giblets yesterday, as our bird is still a bit frosty today.
No matter. Chef Jeff has just ditched me. Having seen several deer out in the pasture, he donned his blaze orange and is currently doing the hunter-gatherer-manly-man thing. The turkey will probably have ample time to defrost before he returns at dusk.
I have wanted to make the recipe in the pic below, from Spirit Of The Harvest, for years, but haven't gotten around to it yet. I'm thinking I'll adapt the ingredients for a side-dish for our turkey
dinner supper midnight after-hunting snack. Doesn't this just look awesome? Wish I had an extra pumpkin sitting around...
So, finding myself abandoned, and having exercised and fed the dogs (who are now napping by the fire), I have a moment to share some more favorites with you!
Michelle and I went to the cupcake shop yesterday only to find it closed. How disappointed we were. But I've found the solution - check out Bake It Pretty for fun cupcake kits! Michelle, now we can make them ourselves (or have your lovely daughter, the baker, do it!)
Here is an easy project that would make a nice gift, full of my favorite scents: a holiday potpourri made of dried oranges or lemons, star anise, cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, and juniper berries.
I think it looks so nice on our Thanksgiving table.
Molly is not supposed to be gnawing on the firewood... See what happens when I'm distracted for even an instant?
Something that will appear on that table later is my favorite salad: romaine lettuce, Castle Rock blue cheese (you won't be able to find that as it's from the organic dairy down the road from us, so try Maytag instead), toasted pecans or walnuts, and Stonewall Kitchen's fabulous Balsamic Fig Dressing. It is amazing. So is their Orange Cranberry Marmalade (better than their Holiday Jam for sure).
Stonewall Kitchen usually sends extra samples of other goodies when we do a stock-up order; you can save 20% Friday through Sunday using the code Q01516R8 at checkout. Sometimes their site gets bogged down during a sale - try again if you get an error message.
I can tell you from experience that they box things very well, and even wrap gifts beautifully for a small fee. A package from Stonewall Kitchen is one that will go over well (even with your in-laws!)
Here is another place with gift baskets. We are having their wonderful wood-parched wild rice with our Turkey tonight - definitely one of my favorites. It is so different from any grocery store wild rice I've ever eaten, and a thousand times more flavorful. It also cooks up much faster, which I assume is from the parching.
Labels: fall, farm, farm animals, farm goats, farm recipes, food, nature, pets, stasia's faves
My fellow Americans - is your turkey defrosting by now? My favorite, no-fail way to cook a turkey is thus:
Take your bird out of the fridge a few hours ahead of time, and bring it to room temperature. Rub it all over with butter. Stick a tiny amount of chopped onion, celery, and carrots in the cavity, along with salt and pepper and any other seasonings, and put a cheesecloth soaked in melted butter over the breast. Put the turkey a rack in a pan large enough so that air can circulate around it. Place more celery, carrots, and onions (diced - you can eventually grind them up for the gravy) around the turkey in the pan, with more butter.
I preheat my oven to 425° and then turn it down to 325-350° immediately after putting in the bird. I baste the turkey every 20 minutes (including the cheesecloth). I allow 20 minutes per pound but it usually is done sooner. Cooking this way, the bird comes out perfectly brown, every time.
Make sure you cover the bird with foil after taking it out of the oven and let it rest for 20 minutes before cutting off even one piece! This makes it really juicy.
I make my stuffing separately, using purchased organic chicken stock (not broth) for the liquid. I put in fire-roasted chestnuts... preparing them keeps Chef Jeff busy with something and out of the kitchen while I get the bird going.
My mother never could cook a turkey in the allotted time frame, and Thanksgiving dinner invariably got pushed back from noon to about 4 p.m., by which time the side dishes were spoiled, and we were all crabby from starvation and not being allowed to "spoil our appetites" with a snack. The reasons for her turkey ineptitude were that she a) stuffed the turkey with dressing until it was fit to burst (and no air could circulate inside), and b) she cooked it right after taking it out of the fridge. I also think she may not have started thawing it until the day before Thanksgiving, so it was still partially frozen.
This year, we are having a heritage, rare breed turkey from Coon Creek Family Farm. We purchased two and I'm not sure what Chef Jeff has defrosting - it is either a Narragansett or a Bourbon Red. We had one of their birds last year and it was awesome! It had so much more flavor than a plain "homogenized" turkey - just like our own heritage breed Golden-Laced Wyandotte chickens taste better than "plain vanilla" birds from the store. It is amazing what was sacrificed when people decided to breed "improved" livestock for consumption - namely, flavor! Not to mention the fact that the "improved" breeds can't even reproduce naturally. Heritage breed poultry are so much more healthy, and able to forage on their own, and really thrive without human management. Give me a natural bird every time.
There are instructions for brining a turkey at the Coon Creek site, also, if you'd like to try that method.
I know our turkey spent the summer sunbathing in a low-stress, natural environment; ate healthy, organic food and grazed on a beautiful pasture; was treated respectfully and allowed to have a full life; did not have to receive antibiotics and chemicals to keep it healthy (as it wasn't raised in a compressed, confined area full of filth); and - most importantly to me - was processed humanely (the same butcher processes our own chickens for us), and purchasing it supports a small, organic, family-run farm. I know it is safe to bring this meat to room temperature before cooking because of how it lived and how it was processed. In short, if I was a turkey destined to be a Thanksgiving meal, I would want to live my life on the Coon Creek Family Farm!
Julie at Coon Creek sells some of my favorite goatsmilk soap - and she boxes it beautifully for gift-giving. Ask her about the soap with the skein of yarn imprinted on the top for your YarnArtist friends! Pop her an e-mail - she'll be glad to help you out.
One thing I am particularly grateful for this Thanksgiving is receiving an invitation to a family's holiday meal. For people to open their hearts and home to us, to think of including us, is something I will definitely be giving thanks for on Thursday.
Labels: animals, fall, farm animals, farm ethics, farm recipes, stasia's faves
Wow, this cold weather has knocked me for a loop. It's 24° (not taking into account the wind chill) for a high at 3:30 p.m. right now when I started this missive. I thought my nose would shatter off of my face while I exercised the dogs today. How come they seem to love it when it's this temperature? I can't convince them to come in no matter how hard I beg and chase them around their pen (maybe that's part of the fun for them.) All my time seems to be spent trying to keep warm, do chores, and back up three years of digital photos to disks (argh!) but I thought I'd try extra hard to check in with you today.
One thing brightening my days as I tend to the livestock has been Gemma's CogKNITive podcast. I find the musings of this knitting prison psychologist absolutely hysterical. Gemma also offers up useful life skills tips, from a cognitive behavioral modification perspective. In other words, she reminds you to take a step back and think about what you're doing, and why, so that you don't react to everything in your life emotionally. I find this very helpful. Another podcast I've been enjoying is Knitting Rose.
I have been seeing, and been given, so many interesting things lately. I thought that with the holidays coming up I'd share some shopping resource links in case you're looking for gift ideas for your family and friends, and post some of my favorite pics to cheer you up during this busy season. So here's the first entry of "Stasia's Faves."
First I'll tell you about some of my favorite Etsy shops. I just received these beautiful olive oil lamps today. They were a custom order from the lovely Karen at One Wintry Night Pottery. It was great to work with Karen to have these made - they're just what I was looking for. The cool thing about olive oil "candles" is that they're non-allergenic, and the oil won't ignite if the lamp spills. Karen had the great idea to put a little rim underneath the lamps to prevent tippage. The glaze is a lovely khaki green with purple and blue inside the bowls. I can't wait to order from Karen again.
These adorable mugs were a gift from my dear friend Miss Kary. She had them custom made with my mammoth jackstock jennet (big donkey) Tikki on them. How cool is that?
They were so cute and sweet that I burst into tears when I saw them. They are by Memekiwii, who makes all sorts of wonderful creations.
The ornament above is from a local Scandinavian imports shop. It is a Nisse - a sort of farm elf who secretly helps with chores - on a goat. One is supposed to put a bowl of porridge with a pat of butter on it in the barn on Christmas Eve so you keep a helpful Nisse happy.
I love anything Scandinavian- or folksy-looking, as well as Scandinavian food (an upcoming post will feature Chef Jeff preparing venison according to a fantastic Scandinavian recipe from Andreas Viestad!) I love red jackets with pointy hoods and colorful trim such as the anoraks made by Wintergreen in Ely, MN.
Swedish Dala horses, Swedish clogs, Norwegian sweaters, books by Sigrid Undset... I'm just Scandinavian at heart. Perhaps some of my Russian ancestors mingled with the Finns?
My favorite yuletime holiday decorations are my little straw julbok - oh darn it, I found that link just to show you what they are, but it looks like I may have to do my part to support the economy in a minute, that's so cute! While we're on the subject of cookies thanks to that link, I stocked up on some cutters and deocrating sugars from FancyFlours.com and I can't recommend them highly enough - they ship really fast, and everything is wrapped beautifully in tissue, with a sugar cookie recipe included (Nannette H., don't even look; I sent the girls something from there today to keep them out of your hair while you're studying!) Check out their blog for some wonderful ideas. YarnArtists (my new word for knitters and crocheters, inspired by Cat Bordhi, who tells us in her CraftSanity interview that the distinction will soon blur beyond recognition) will love their sweater, cap, mitten, and stocking cookie cutters.
Back to elfwear. I love that Wintergreen clothing, and have a pair of mittens and a hat through which I feel absolutely no cold, even in the most bitter weather. If you're looking for something warm for a loved one, take a peek! The clothing is made very well, as one would expect from a small, hometown company formed by people who have been to the polar ice cap, and who run dogsledding vacations. But though I've lusted after one of their red, elfie anoraks for years, I couldn't justify getting one only to get donkey dirt and goatie hoofprints all over it. Lands' End had free shipping today so I got this practical coat instead, in manure brown so it won't show the dirt so much. ETA: Deer season opened today and I realize the stupidity of having purchased a brown jacket to work out in the pasture!
Maybe someday I will be able to dress like a Tomten. I could wear this skirt, and these clogs, with my hair done up like Mrs. Olsen from the Folger's commercials, or Kirsten of the American Girls.
On to current favorite foods. I told you about the cupcakes from Dessert First - I've been there twice more, and actually saved some cupcakes long enough to get a photo for you. I can assure you, they disappeared in less than five minutes of taking this shot. They were chocolate, pumpkin, and red velvet - yuuuuummmmmm... Barstow Street is my favorite street in Eau Claire, what with Yellow Dog Knitting, Dessert First, and the Scandinavian and Native American shops within easy walking distance.
I guess that won't help you if you're not in this neck of the woods, but perhaps there is a special bakery in your town which you haven't yet tried? Why not explore something new and get yourself a treat while you're shopping for everyone else?
Now my favorite current knit. Dixie from YDK (one of my favorite people!) is going to learn Norwegian so that she can converse with the manufacturer of her new yarn line, Garnstudio/Drops. I wonder if I could convince her to pack me in a suitcase and smuggle me aboard her flight if she goes over for a visit? The last time I was in her shop I purchased some wonderful Garnstudio alpaca yarn to make a shawl that Dixie had on display - I'll be casting on very soon. The pattern shows it in their Kid Silk, but mine will be in a denim blue alpaca with a tiny strand of silver Glitter carried along.
Of course, no list of my faves would be complete without my kids, so here are some shots to give you a smile. Our house doesn't get above 58° indoors in the winter (sometimes just 45° at night in the bedroom!), so the furbabies are usually found snuggling together for warmth, as Emma and Squeaky, Max, and Barley are doing above.
My last fave of the day is this picture of Molly as a baby. She still makes me smile every single time I see her, with her comical ways and quizzical looks.
OK, I've been working on this for five hours... time to go knit!
I'm Listening To...
Labels: farm donkeys, fiberarts, food, knit, pets, positivity, stasia's faves, weather, yarn shop