Recipe # 1 Ruidenwischus

Ruidenwischus

In a double boiler, heat together

1 cup semolina (tho' I imagine rice would work too for the gluten intolerant people among us)

2 cups milk (coconut milk for the lactose intolerant)

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp freshly ground cardomon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp allspice

1/2 cup slivered toasted almonds

1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Bring to a boil then decrease temperature considerably; this thickens very quickly. Stir constantly to (attempt to) eliminate lumps.

Eat.

The Geek thought this should have a Scandinavian sounding name tho' I can't recall many Scandinavian 'w's sounding like 'v's. I guess I just lack imagination. (Sound it out. The Geek chuckles about it whenever it crosses her mind. I guess we don't get out much)


I have a cold so I will be having this tomorrow.



As an aside, one of the Christmas cacti is still blooming. The other one was in a warmer part of the room so it didn't set buds at all.







Happy New Year and all the best in 2008!

Renovation Tip #1

This, boys and girls, is a crack (or two) in a lath and plaster wall. You may have to enlarge the photograph to get a good look. (There is also a shadow from the chandelier to complicate things)

Here is the lesson.

When renovating an older home containing lath and plaster walls remove all the lath and plaster. Take it down to the studs. Be ruthless. Saving some walls in their original state will not save you any significant time or money.

There are two places in this house that have the original L&P; the hallway and one wall in the kitchen. There are two places in this house with cracks in the walls; the hallway and one wall in the kitchen. This picture was taken of the door to the sunroom. There are more cracks on the other corner and a fine one above the door to the living room.

Fixing this is going to cause a big mess. If it ever happens.

Need I say more?

Warning labels.

In the lower right hand of this picture is a little Christmas tree given to me by a coworker (and coincidentally, the view from my office window). Attached to it was this warning label.

I guess in a little factory in China the labels were mixed up. Somewhere out there are candles with the warning "this is not a real tree".

Merry Christmas

Finished

N3's puppy and Miss S's little cape.
I'm happy with how they turned out tho' the polar fleece from which Miss 's cape is made sheds more than a frightened rabbit. I had to vacuum the table, the entire kitchen and me. N3's puppy is adorably dopey looking.

html

I have no idea what 'html' stands for but I think it means
'Hard Time Making Lines'
stay where you want them. (gggrrrrroooowwwllll)

Old Face, New Neighbourhood

Guess what has moved?
And you will never guess where!

It is definitely the last place I would have guessed.

730 St Anne's Rd.

It is cute inside, the menu hasn't changed and it is 2.5 kilometers closer to home than the old one. Unfortunately, it isn't on the way to anywhere else. Ah well.

My apologies about the poor photo. (The Geek is right, you can't take a picture very well when you are walking.)

What Do TALL Women Do?

I am going to have an uncomfortable day.

My tights are too short.

Since I was dressing at the gym, I didn't have time to go home and get a different pair (or something else to wear).

It isn't that I didn't try to prevent this. I bought extra tall tights even tho' according to the specs. on the package I am a medium. Perhaps the manufacturers expect tall women to have pencil thin legs. Perhaps an extra petite found its way into the extra tall package. Perhaps I offended some clothing deity at some point in the recent past.
I was fairly certain when I started putting them on that they were a larger size since the foot part was quite big (apparently manufacturers also expect tall women to also have huge feet).
The heel of the foot is now halfway up my calf while the waist is just a fraction above my hips. I did consider taking them back to the store and coming to work with bare legs since my skirt is long and it is quite mild today. However, contrary to my usual habit of putting new tights away in their cardboard wrapper, this time, in a fit of tidiness/insanity/absentmindedness (pick one) I threw all the wrappers away. I guess they will be washed and passed on to my youngest sister, if she is interested, tho' they may even be a bit short for her.

On another note, it is foggy out and the hoar frost is lovely. I would take a picture but I don't think there is enough contrast between the frost and the gray sky. Another time.

Foresight and the Present in Excel

Here are two totally different things that excited me today.

Number one, the ancient gods Prometheus and Epimetheus. The former is the god of foresight and considered pretty wise. The latter is the one of hindsight and considered slightly foolish. Invoke either or both as needed in your daily work. I am not sure if they take animal offerings.

Number two, if you need to add the current data and/or time in Excel, there are two ways. One is to use the now(), date() or time() functions if you want the date and time to always be your current PC time (i.e. a dynamic date). However, if you want to just enter a static current time, such as a manual time stamp for an entry, you can use Ctrl and “;”. As per the manual:
Current date - Select a cell and press CTRL+;
Current time - Select a cell and press CTRL+SHIFT+;
Current date and time - Select a cell and press CTRL+; then SPACE then CTRL+SHIFT+;

The Geek has a Soulmate

N2 came up to The Geek while they were visiting yesterday.

"Can we go play with tools?"

Curtains are done

And I think they will block more drafts. They are made of flannelette and are therefore much thicker.

What looks like polka dots are actually snowflakes.

The other ones are definitely summer weight- you can see right through them.

The House at #10

In addition to the sign on the stairs we also have a new house number. The old one was tiny and hidden. The new one is not.
Aside from that, I have been working on a tobbogan slide for my friend Vic. I am putting together an instructable for it, so you can check it out at instructables.
Let's just say I have been having fun with my tools lately. Sox calls it "tool therapy". Apparently I am more easy to live with if I have it :-)

The Start

I have been toying with the idea of a blog for a while now. I didn't actually get to the point of doing anything as I have a rather poor memory and forget things.

I suspect I am trying to avoid other things. Like making N3's puppy pillow; or sewing Miss S's little cape; or the draft blocking curtains for the living room. Christmas is 10 days away.

It might also be a venue for me to rant so The Geek does not have to listen, especially since I go on said rants fairly early (on her clock, not mine) in the day.

Last Saturday's topic was non-observant people. The sidewalk can be shovelled down to the concrete. The bottom two steps leading to the front door are cleared and the rest are covered in snow and people climb the stairs to put something on the door latch. Then if they were to fall and hurt themselves, they could sue the homeowner (in this case, The Geek) for not maintaining the stairs. Gah!!

I said I should make a sign that blocks the stairs telling people to use the back door (they apparently can't see the one that is currently attached to the door).


So, while I unpacked more boxes, The Geek made this...




I think it should be noticed.