Chez Peg

Please have a cupcake.

nobody@vox.com(Peg of Tilling) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:13:18 -0800

1) Today I went to a lecture. It was ninety minutes in a small stuffy room listening to an academic read two chapters of his new book. Not that it wasn't interesting, but as a presentation it seemed to show a lack of effort.

2) On Monday we're having an office meeting about hours we have to be on the reference desk. I believe that the gist of this meeting will be "Why can't I have what I want?" and therefore it will be miserable, long, and stupid.

3) The difference between the airports in Greenville South Carolina and Greenville North Carolina is about five hours by car and about $220 by air if you make your reservation at the wrong airport and don't catch it in time to avoid rebooking fees. Finding this out took up most of my morning.

The other part of my morning was making cupcakes for a baby shower. The last time I was in Hobby Lobby I found these:

Naked Mohawked Babies!

You may have seen them before here. I don't think I said "Eureka!" when I found them but I may have said "Aha!" or "Hey!"

I used a recipe for Milky Way Pound Cake. The recipe asked for 12 fun-sized bars, but I only got a package of eight, and they looked smaller than I remembered anyway, so I used some mini bars to measure out eight ounces.

Sorry. Sideways.

Milky Ways look fairly funky while melting--I think it's the nougat:

Fancy Feast Beef in Gravy?

But the batter comes out a light caramel color:

Pretty!

Once the cupcakes were baked I stuffed a mini Milky Way into their centers:

Yum.

To finish them I melted chocolate with a bit of butter and blobbed it on top:

And added babies.

I debated adding sprinkles but decided not to. The people I made them for liked them, but while planning them I underestimated the associations between babies and brown goop: I wouldn't quite call them meconium cupcakes, but...they tasted good, anyway. And I think people kept the babies as a souvenir.

ETA: My nephew turned seventeen yesterday. Apparently his first words to his mother in the morning were "Now I can buy parental advisory video games!" but he didn't have an R-rated movies he wanted to see. This is his birthday hat:

Sukey is bemused.

I don't actually expect him to wear it but he could.

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Genius.

nobody@vox.com(Peg of Tilling) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:20:56 -0800

The Grilled Cheesecake Sandwich. So delightfully wrong.

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We go to an equestrian meet.

nobody@vox.com(Peg of Tilling) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:52:49 -0800

My parents came down to visit a few weeks back. One of the events they wanted to go to was an equestrian meet. We woke up to a day of rain but we thought the meet would surely be indoors.

We were wrong.

The gentleman under the blue umbrella is my dad. He had a new camera to play with.

The other attendees could tell we were rubes because we weren't wearing boots.

Brrrrr.

Mom is wet and cold

This is my mom. She would hate this picture, but I really like it for some reason--I think it's the way she's got the cuff of her jacket fully wrapped around her hand. And the expression on her face. Dad wanted to stay for at least three riders.

My favorite picture from the day

The equestrians are wet and cold

Jump!

I had to back out of an extremely muddy parking lot to leave, and as I was pulling out I realized I had just skimmed past a freestanding water faucet, so close I could have reached out and patted it. Dad said, "I wonder how high the water would have spouted if you'd hit it?" which is an image that made me laugh real hard.

When we got home we had a fire and adult beverages:

Mom and Sukey read in front of the fire

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Hello I am a long cat.

nobody@vox.com(Peg of Tilling) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:38:00 -0800

I am exceptionally long.

If you touch my stomach I will bring on the gnawings and the bunny kicks.

I am a fierce long cat. Grrr. Srsly.

(When I was leaving for work today Sukey was in a Mood, so I left her and Sally with some catnip. I am hoping not to return to Reefer Madness-esque carnage.)

Sally puts her paws on my knee

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More about my brother:

nobody@vox.com(Peg of Tilling) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 08:18:05 -0700

Here. Proving it's a good thing to be a nice guy, good at your job, and a giver of coprolites.

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Bright Star

nobody@vox.com(Peg of Tilling) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:12:46 -0700

Today was the first of six furlough days we have this fiscal year, so I was able to go to a matinee of Jane Campion's new movie. It was at the art house here so you can have cappucino with your popcorn and everyone in the audience waited to leave until the credits had fully rolled.

It was a lovely, rrrrromantic movie (which to me means Unhappy Ending and Characters Who Bounce Their Reality Check, not that that's always a bad thing) and the textiles were extra awesome, light, flowy, sparkly, rough, polished, just a feast if that's your confection of choice.

http://www.more.com/2049/4774-jane-campion-s--bright-star---an#1

I want to know more about the jacket Fanny is wearing here--it reminded me of a yoyo quilt, but made with zillions of tiny crocheted (I think) medallions. There were a couple of scarves made the same way, and a jacket of octagons in muted shades that made me whimper a little. I'm sorry I couldn't find a picture of the family cat, who was an awesome huge purring TuxCat named Topper.

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Please vote for my brother's comic!

nobody@vox.com(Peg of Tilling) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:41:17 -0700

Because it's good. Really! Top ten in an Amazon contest!

Thank you!

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What cats do all day

nobody@vox.com(Peg of Tilling) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:22:30 -0700

From todaysbigthing.com

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Toequets for Toesday

nobody@vox.com(Peg of Tilling) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:28:48 -0700

Teh kittehs supposes

Their toeses are roses

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The One L Lama...

nobody@vox.com(Peg of Tilling) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:58:43 -0700

...he's a priest. The two-L llama...

...he's a beast.

Although a very personable and gentlemanly beast. This weekend I went to the Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair in Asheville NC.

Yarn Mart

It was held in an agricultural exhibition hall. Lots of nice vendors, but not an overwhelming size.

I think I was reasonable in my shopping:

Really. Reasonable. Really.

Also it was autumn in the mountains, so that was nice:

Scenic overlook

At the fiber fair, there were bunnies!

Bunneh

The yarn from the bunnehs was cruelly expensive, but very soft. I did not buy the $30 skein of alpaca, but I'm finding that bit of virtue cold comfort.

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