Vintage Skills and Style in the Modern World
Things have gotten a little cluttered around here. This is mostly my doing. And when it’s cluttery, it’s hard to actually clean things.
As happens from time to time, I was fine with the general state of things until I was suddenly not, and now I want to shout, “We are living in squalor!” and CLEAN. ALL. THE. THINGS.
Continue reading “Spring Cleaning: First Steps”
It’s gray and cold and damp, and I am turning my thoughts towards spring.
This is foolish.
While the first day of spring is technically in March, this is the Midwest, and there will no doubt be some False Springs, Winter Agains, and One Nice Day Followed By Snowstorms, before all is said and done.
But I’m so ready.
Here’s a little Pinterest board full of springy dreams. It’s full of short-sleeved sweaters to knit, and seeds to plant, and skirts to wear without long johns-tights-knee socks.
What are you planning on?
Looking through my facsimile of the original Joy of Cooking, I found an amusing subhead in the soup chapter.
Emergency Soups.
I know that means “soup for when you need something fast,” but I kept chuckling trying to imagine soup emergencies. Problems that can only be solved with soup. Disasters averted because of soup. Soups to put out fires. Soups for distracting evil-doers so you can make your escape.
I decided to try the emergency pea soup recipe because it sounded like the most 1930s thing ever. My expectations weren’t high, but this is the classic book that taught generations of people to cook at home, so I figured it might know something I don’t.
I knew everything I needed to know, folks.
It is very fast to make and very
But would take a Great Depression to make me eat this soup.
Continue reading “The Joy of Cooking: Emergency Pea Soup”Here is the secret: The reason I knit so much is that I watch way too much television. I have made the deal with myself that if I am knitting, or otherwise fixing/making something, it isn’t rotting my brain.
The other reason I knit so much is that I can’t afford fancy vintage reproduction sweaters. Here’s what I’ve finished up lately. You’ll notice that all of it is from free patterns, and all of it is KnitPicks Wool of the Andes. This is coincidental. I have other yarn, I swear.
Continue reading “The Knitting Report: January 2019”Lately, in Good Old Stuff I’ve been Enjoying:
In the month of November, I was struck with a sudden desire to buy every candle on earth that claimed to smell like a campfire or a pine tree. I restrained myself (somewhat), but I’m pretty well stocked up for winter. In addition to woodsy scents, my current favorites are Steinbeck and Charles Dickens from Paddywax’s Library collection (I only buy the little travel ones because I can’t bring myself to spend more than $10 on a candle). That’s not an advertisement, I’m just very enthusiastic about them.
Evergreens have the obvious Christmas connection, of course, but I like them all winter long. This
With January, inevitably, comes the strong urge to clear my clutter, clean everything out, and dust in the corners. My energy and attention span are not as strong as said urge, but I’m working on things. I detailed my fridge door with a toothpick the other day, and I’m not sure who I am anymore.
