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Caitlin Woods

[ website | Dog and Pony, a webcomic ]
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(no subject) [Jul. 20th, 2009|03:06 pm]
So, I contacted College Board and Maryland Records about my SAT scores and GED.

The GED is simple--they've been moving offices, everything they received in the week I sent was ignored for the last two weeks. But they'll take care of it by the end of this week, they say.

College Board is a little funnier--apparently, I cancelled my order. In the same conversation where I MADE my order. I dunno how I screwed it up THAT bad . . .

The good news is that they're sending it, and they waived the fee. The bad news is that it's gonna be two to four weeks.

I'll live, but it's a little annoying.


Other than that . . . I got a couple of papers for Bill's parents' business notarized. Haven't done anything today with the caddy, not yet, but there's not THAT much more to do--Bill says I need to sand it more (to be fair, there's, like, NO light on the side of the barn with the belt-sander once the sun goes down), and then I stain it, nail it together, and stain it again.

Then I'll take it home and paint flowers on it, or . . . something. But I've got tons of little containers of paint in every color imaginable, so I think it's a great time to use them.

Tried to pay my cell phone bill, but the website's not working on this computer and I don't have my checkbook here. So I'll leave that until tonight.

Tried to buy Amtrak tickets, but the website refused to acknowledge that the zip code I was putting in WAS the zip code associated with that card. Not sure what I'll do on that one.


Sooooo . . . yeah. :)
LinkHum a few bars

(no subject) [Jul. 19th, 2009|12:17 pm]
I'm making a caddy!

That is to say, Lowe's has project-pamphlets at its store, and I decided I wanted to try this "making something" thing. And the tool caddy was the only non-advanced project I liked the look of even remotely. (I mean, come on, drafting square? No.) Link to the online version is here.

Bill's helping; so is his dad, when he's there. So far, I've cut out the pieces of wood I need. Given that I was operating from their pile of scrap rather than buying from Lowe's, it included a few steps that weren't there--planing the wood, for instance. And because it's apparently damn hard to get precise, straight lines with the circular saw, I've been mostly using the table saw. (Cut out from the plywood with a circular saw, but then made it the right size with the table saw.)

Today, we're picking up a compass and a jigsaw blade so I can cut out the handle-shape. Should probably buy a dowel, too. And then, onto the cutting out of the handle.


Anyway, kinda neat.
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(no subject) [Jul. 17th, 2009|11:00 pm]
Question.

My schools, they'd at various points assign projects or bonus things that involve ethnicity--do a project on your ancestors' country, map out where your ancestors have lived, make a traditional dish of your ethnic group. If this is a Montgomery County, MD thing, and that most schools don't bring it up, that's cool, but if it isn't . . .

Well, what do you do if you're adopted?

Thinking of Morgan here (in the past)--not even Lyle knows who her dad is, and I'm not sure whether there are official records of who her mom is or anything. (Lyle wouldn't know her ancestry, besides generic "Latina," because . . . well, Carmen sort of burned the bridge between herself and her parents at thirteen or fourteen, and wouldn't be bringing it up.)


What I'm figuring would happen is she'd use Germany or something like that--figure at least one of her adoptive parents is a Euro-mutt, probably both--and get really funny looks when she presented it. (Not that I've ever been precisely obvious about any sort of Morgan's heritage in her design; I should probably fix that at some point if I want people to qualify her by it to any degree.) Sort of what I'm going for. Getting flustered when she gets challenged on it, utterly failing to understand the problem--having to admit she doesn't know where her "real" parents were from, not getting why it's important or why she's being challenged. (Very brief--I can't see any decent teacher letting that sort of uncomfortableness last for very long.) Later grilling Lyle a bit, angsting, and making bold declarations of why the demon world has to be better because they don't care about crap like that and heritage is stupid.

Of course, it does deal with the race issue, which I've got . . . very little experience with. Also the adoption issue, though I get the impression that that one's not quite as complicated. (I've heard . . . very little except along the lines of "My adoptive parents ARE my real parents.")


Should probably also do something about the circumstances of Morgan leaving home, even though she doesn't really have problems with her parents. What I've got in mind is some combination of teenage angst, legal age of majority, a desire to break free of everything . . . and a demon godfather with no particular wish limit, which makes the transition smoother. Still, should probably do something more specific sometime.


Anyway, I can't really draw anything tonight, so I'm spewing things out on LJ. Forgive me.
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(no subject) [Jul. 17th, 2009|07:01 pm]
No muffins happened; I forgot to look at the, y'know, giant, fully-illustrated muffin instructions on the page opposite the recipe. You know, the ones that tell you to blend in the shortening with a pastry blender before adding the milk and egg. Whoops.

Next time.

In any case, there were more cookies, which is generally good.


Been utterly dead today. That is to say, I got up at about six thirty, mucked around trying to make food (including a quick run to the gas station for eggs halfway through) until around eight thirty, and then . . . collapsed. Until four-thirty.

Now Bill's collapsed, having been up all that time, after taking a bath.

Shoulda made coffee, I guess.
LinkHum a few bars

(no subject) [Jul. 17th, 2009|06:39 am]
Bill did the dishes for me last night. ^_^

I asked him to dry the dishes and put them away as I washed them--but by the time I'd gathered the dishes from around the house, he'd already started. Score! I then dried and put them away as he did them, because really, the right side of the sink can't fit all of the dishes--but since the reason that there were so many dishes was that I'd been avoiding them for two weeks, I think I came out far the better.

And, of course, Bill gets a million awesome points. Think I'll make blueberry muffins for him today. And another batch of cookies (him asking me to make cookies was what made the dishes thing come up in the first place, and I can never get the whole batch done at once.)


Anyway, guess I'm off. :D
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(no subject) [Jul. 14th, 2009|01:13 pm]
My Cosmopolitan finally showed up today. Eh. It really does get to be the same thing, though I will say that I was fond of the "pictures of male models in their underwear" spread.

However, I finally know what the four words to cheatproof my love are! It was advertised on the cover, so when I passed a magazine rack with Bill on July 4th, I was like, "What the hell?"

Turns out that the words are "You are so hot." Which is also how to induce someone else to cheat with you. Magical, magical words, I guess. I'm a little disappointed.


But then again, I guess any combination of words would have been disappointing after Bill's guess: "I'll cut it off"

:P
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(no subject) [Jul. 13th, 2009|11:18 pm]
Quote of the Day:

Bill: "That's not a reductio ad absurdum. That's a recuctio where-the-fuck-they're-trying-to-go-with-it."
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(no subject) [Jul. 13th, 2009|08:13 pm]
Water's out at Bill's parents' house. Pump's apparently broken. They've been without water two days now, but think they might be able to get it fixed tomorrow. Got the old pump out of the hole today; a guy with a crane pulled out the pipe and disconnected each 25 foot section as it rose. Took a while, and once he got below the water level, it started getting a bit messy. But it's out, and it would have been a hell of a lot more trouble to do it themselves. (A backhoe is not quite the tool for this job.)


Meanwhile, I've been reading some stuff from Ludwig von Mises. It's . . . well, it's really dense, tends to eschew simple sentence construction, and uses lots of words rather specialized to economic study, but even so I'm enjoying it. It takes a while to understand certain paragraphs, but once I do, it just makes sense in a way a lot of other things I've heard simply don't.

So I think I'll be doing that for a while. Might even buy Human Action--the excerpt I read was really neat.


Not much else. Went to a Barbarian Feast (read: lamb barbecue) yesterday. Ended up spending most of it watching romantic comedies with the teenagers (and, for most of it, Bill). Was actually reasonably entertaining. I don't like romatic comedies as a rule, but the entire point of "He's Just Not That Into You" was the stupid ideas women get about these things . . . and besides, I wasn't really paying attention during the second half as we talked about Stuff.

It's a pity none of them are legal--some of them would be fun to take clubbing, and I don't really have any girlfriends. (Not that their Bosnian parents would approve of that even if they WERE twenty-one, I'm sure.)

Guess part of it is that I don't seem to have much in common with most of the adults I meet up here. They all have kids and are married instead of dating and stuff. And I may appreciate manual labor, but I can't really have extensive conversations on pipe couplings or backhoes--I just don't know enough.

Ah, well. I'll find 'em.

Maybe at college.


Anyway, this "essay" seems to extend for chapters and chapters--not quite what I was expecting. Guess I should continue on that. :)
LinkHum a few bars

(no subject) [Jul. 11th, 2009|04:35 pm]
I've got paperwork!

That is to say, my immunization records and college transcript both arrived. Still need my GED, but that required sending snail-mail, whereas I made the other two requests electronically, so I'm not surprised.

I also, the other day, got my signed affadavit of residence notorized. So I'm pretty much almost made. Just need that GED . . .


Woot! Imma have classes soon.

Bill doesn't have to do any of this to take classes--he already went to HCCC. And since he's already got a degree, he's just thinking of taking a class or two that interests him. Bah. :P But hey, I support this hobby.


It's nice to have things come together, in any case. I guess that's the point.


(Meanwhile, my most recent issue of Cosmopolitan still hasn't arrived, despite being on the shelves for a while now. It's not a big deal--I read it for teh funny, so I don't really need it nownownow--but still, it's annoying. I want my magazine. Bah.)
LinkHum a few bars

(no subject) [Jul. 10th, 2009|02:58 pm]
I don't link YouTube videos much, but I think this is worth it. [info]mordath linked it a long time ago, and it STILL amuses the hell out of me. So I think it passes muster.

BTW, for the folks who've seen the Take On Me literal video version? Total Eclipse of the Heart (this one) is way worse better. Wow.






In other news, I've let the house get to be an extraordinary mess over the last week or so. Erk. Gonna be fixing that today . . .
Link2 lyrics|Hum a few bars

(no subject) [Jul. 9th, 2009|03:36 pm]
I spent most of the day hungover as hell. Think I'm going to avoid that in the future--it's not a "I'm never going to drink again!" so much as a "Caitlin, girl, you DO remember how to pace yourself, right?"

We went to the advertised goth night we found on the web, only to find out that the venue hadn't held it for years. (They said that they'd be willing to hold it again, if we could find people who wanted to come. Unfortunately, the reason I came was that I didn't know them yet.)

So, uh, anyway, we were the straight couple at the gay bar for a while as a result, and Bill in particular was the straight guy in the I Support Single Moms stripper t-shirt. But there were three other people there, including the bartender and dj, so I didn't really get the impression of a problem. (Though some guys did make fun of the Ron Paul bumper sticker on the Grumpy truck. Eh. :P)

(By the way, the Grumpy truck? Has a picture of Grumpy painted on the hood. Most of the color's gone by now, just the outline left, but the fun thing is that it apparently came out of the factory like that. Dude.)

So anyway, we had two drinks there, during which I connected with the other patron over music (got his contact info--he's got a lot of vinyl he's looking to get rid of before his move to California), and talked with the bartender about events. Tried to order a Dirty Bongwater, but nobody had heard of it, so I instead asked for something interesting. Got a Jager-based drink named after one of their drag queens.


So anyway, I decided I wasn't done having fun yet and went (alone) to the bar around the corner from home. Did not pace myself, drank only liquor. Had a good time, but I have vague memories of telling Bill I felt like I was going to hurl and him telling me he's not surprised after I got home. And this morning . . . I'm really glad Bill was kind enough to get me the gallon of water, because even sitting up was a problem; there was no way I was taking the stairs. Good ol' Bill.

I seem to not have the problem with the dizziness or headache or anything anymore, at least not to any extent--but now I haven't eaten since about six o' clock last night. So I'm . . . kind of hungry.



Though, one really short political note before I leave.

( I read an article on the G8 summit yesterday and . . . I'm confused. )
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(no subject) [Jul. 6th, 2009|07:01 pm]
Today, I did the following things:

1 - I contacted the Central Records of the county I grew up in for my immunization records. According to instructions, I wrote a signed letter with various elements requesting these records and sent them a scanned copy of it; they should send the records in response.

2 - I contacted the College Board, who run the SAT tests, in search of my SAT transcripts. For about $10, they will send a copy to my house. (They could have sent it directly to the college, but that seemed unwise; I haven't applied yet.)

3 - I contacted the GED Office in Maryland, who told me to mail them a letter with various elements, along with a check for five dollars to cover fees. I did so, and sent it from the post office.

4 - I contacted Montgomery College many times. At first, was just told that even a held account should allow me to make payments, but was eventually able to convince myself and others that it did, in fact, say that there was a hold that would not allow me to make payments. Received the contact information and my account number for the collections agency they'd sent it to.

5 - Tried to contact the collections agency; had trouble because the 6 on my cell phone hasn't been functioning quite right since Bill dropped my phone in the coffee. Was unable to copy down the "if you need help" number because the machine said it too fast, didn't repeat it, and then hung up. Figure I'll try again tomorrow with a land-line.


So, yeah. Assuming that the "how to get records" instructions I received were accurate--which is a big assumption--I should have two-thirds of the documents I need soon. (The last, my college transcript, will have to wait until I'm able to pay my outstanding balance.)

Yay!
Link2 lyrics|Hum a few bars

(no subject) [Jul. 5th, 2009|11:23 am]
I've had a square of knitting attached to my needle for about a month now, and don't want to continue it, and the reason I haven't done any more is kinda silly.

I don't want to add to the current square because it's very lumpy and wavy and I really would like to see how (un)even I can make things now without being disheartened by the previous lines.

But I don't know how to finish the last line, and I don't know if just cutting off the end and tying a knot is the thing.

And I don't want to just unravel my square, because the first while suffers from being cast on and unravelled so much that it's different. I don't wanna reuse it again.


So, yes. That's why my knitting has come to a screeching halt. *sigh*

Nothing very important, but the yarn decided to stare at me today.
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(no subject) [Jul. 5th, 2009|01:14 am]
Wow, that was the biggest celebration for the centennial of a public park I've ever seen!

(Seriously . . . that and the Miss Greater Utica pageant were the only things they mentioned. It was kinda weird.)

(Totally fun, though. And then we went to the casino afterward. Checked out the club associated with the casino. Danced like I didn't care if anyone was looking. It was cool.)
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(no subject) [Jul. 4th, 2009|11:47 am]
Oh! Forgot to mention, today's special to me for another reason.

A year (and somewhere between nine and fourteen hours) ago, Bill called me from New York, up to where I was staying at my father's house, to ask me out. Nothing was really sure back then--we didn't know who'd end up moving to be with who, when, or really, anything that'd go from there. But . . . well, we knew we'd figure it out, at least.

A year's not very much time to gauge a relationship; we're almost certainly still in the honeymoon period, not sure of where or what future troubles are going to be. But I'm not really worried. For one thing, just because it can't last doesn't mean it's not really nice, and I do intend to enjoy that for as long as possible. And for another . . .

Well, it's also the fifth anniversary of my meeting Bill at my sister's fourth-of-July party. We've known each other a while. And while knowing and cohabitating, meeting and loving aren't precisely the same thing, and won't inform me totally . . . it really helps. We don't have to guess with one another. We're pretty solid.


So, yeah. Happy Anniversary (of being asked out) to me!



Never had an anniversary before; it's sorta neat. :D Bill and I are planning to head into Utica later to see their parade/musicians/festival/fireworks/Miss Greater Utica pageant. Should be fun. :D
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(no subject) [Jul. 4th, 2009|01:32 am]
Happy Fourth of July!

There were some interesting responses to my last post; wasn't expecting it, but hey, anything to increase discussion of history and the American Revolution, right? Like I said, interesting times, good to study. (Although I'm now a little depressed--Bill found a speech by Rush Limbaugh's father* about what became of many of the signers of the declaration. As you can expect for people who declared war on local soil, it apparently didn't really turn out well for many of them.)

* Antsy about linking to www.rushlimbaugh.com, given that I know the man gives people hives, but . . . it's his father's speech, and I believe that he was the first one to print it anyway. I think that makes it okay.

(Also, Bill wants to note that the search terms he used (which found the jaredstory.com reproduction) were "lives fortunes sacred honor," and that he was not specifically looking for a Rush Limbaugh speech.)

Makes me want to repost another document, see what sort of interesting discussions we can get out of that. Not really sure which one, though. I've already done the one most relevant to the day. The Constitution probably exceeds the LJ entry limits. (Though come to think of it, I'm not sure I've ever read it front to back--I think I'd like to do that.) I'm not sure if the Mayflower Compact is quite the thing, though I actually had never read it until writing this entry. (It's very short.)

(Also took the time just now to read a translation of the Magna Carta; never did that before. I don't understand all the concepts, but many of the ones I do understand are interesting, and I can, indeed, see echos of it in later documents.)


So, I guess, I'll go for something short and basic here: The Bill of Rights. Another thing that really can stand to be read and remembered often; God knows I don't always remember all of it. (I always forget the right to petition government for a redress of grievances from the first amendment, for one . . .) Very little technically to do with the Fourth of July--it was going to be a long time until we won the war, and even after that we had to get through the Articles of Confederation to get to the Constitution, but . . . well, this is part of what we were fighting for. Rights. So I say it counts.

Hope you all enjoy your day.



( The Bill of Rights )
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(no subject) [Jul. 2nd, 2009|10:32 pm]
July 2nd. As I understand it, the American Declaration of Independence was signed today, two hundred thirty-three years ago. Over a year after Lexington and Concord, the second continental congress declared that there was going to be no reconciliation, and that they were free and independent states instead of colonies of England.

It's always been one of my areas of interest. What caused the American Revolution to succeed in creating a lasting free nation, where so many just replace one dictator with another? Why were the colonies pressed to fight a hopeless war with a far stronger foe? What is the context for Paine, Jefferson, Madison? I still don't really know that I know the answer to these questions, but it's impossible to deny that it's altogether interesting and deserving of much study.

I consider the Constitution to be a more important document, to be honest--that's the one that establishes the Way Things Are, the framework for everything that comes after, a framework we in America still live under and hold as the highest law in the land. But that doesn't diminish the importance of the Declaration, which must come as a close second. The Constitution establishes the specific law of our new land; the Declaration says, in terms too plain and too obvious to be refuted, why it needed to take place.


This is why I lost my shit when someone suggested that we ought to take back the American Revolution if it would give us universal health care and remove genetically modified food from the food chain. (I lost my shit to Bill privately, anyway, and then linked the poster to the Declaration.) Because it's more important than that.


So, in honor of the day (which has only 20 minutes left in it), I'm going to copy the full text of the Declaration here. (Sourced from http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/freedom/doi/text.html.) I pray that at least the Americans on my friends list read it; it really is one of the things that out to be read and remembered often.


( The Declaration of Independence )
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(no subject) [Jul. 2nd, 2009|03:12 pm]
I've been thinking about it, and I think I'm gonna do at least the first semester of Paralegal. Because it looks . . . well, fun. And I fully intend to pay my own way--I've run the math, and assuming I need basically twice what tuition costs for everything, I need to make $6 an hour, 20 hours a week. And I think I can probably manage to do that on top of full-time studenting. I mean, the local convenience store chain seems to always be hiring, for one.

(My current living situation allows me to not have to cover bills. If I'm taking classes to better myself, I'm sure Bill especially won't begrudge me this. I'll also have to look into what paralegals make--I'm looking to be the one with a day-job--but a cursory glance tells me it might offer what I need. Assuming I can get a gig with insurance.)

I don't like financial aid--if I feel like dropping a class, I want to be wondering about whether I really want to waste that money, not about whether I'd keep eligibility or whatnot. (Though I'll still be 25 when I graduate if I take the standard courseload, so . . . I don't want to delay it overmuch. Summer classes? Hopefully, my English and Psych credits count, but I'm not expecting it.)


I need to get various things in line--I never paid my (one-class) last semester at MC, which I need to do; I've lost hold of my GED and SAT scores, and I need to figure out how to get my immunization records. I also have to apply for admission before I can register. AND, you know, get a job and make sure I've got enough money up-front.

But I'm pretty confident. It sounds like kind of a rush. And I'm . . . well, not so self-conscious now that I won't be able to ask Bill, Shannon, my parents or his parents for help.

I'm older now. There's no reason things need to go the same way again.



Had grilled turkey sandwiches, canned soup and apples for lunch. (And Kool-Aid with off-brand Splenda.) It was nummy. I forget what results you can get from ten minutes in the kitchen.

Mmmmm.
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(no subject) [Jul. 2nd, 2009|10:41 am]
Thinking of taking classes at the community college next semester. Try this whole "school" thing again.

The problem is, I got no idea what program I'd wanna take.


Okay, so what am I looking for? I want to qualify for a job that I won't hate, and that will allow me to support a family. (Y'know, if Bill never wants to work in an office again, I might as well take up that slack, right? Maybe get insured through the office and stuff.) I've always liked graphic design and illustration, and even had an internship in the former, so I figure Liberal Arts and Sciences: Communications: New Media (closest thing--seems to also roll in some broadcasting, journalism, PR, and technical writing) is probably the best bet.

But this isn't DC; what seemed to be a wide, barely-finite market down there probably doesn't translate to Utica. I mean, on the other hand, Communications is probably enough to get me whatever benefits of having an AS . . . I've not heard it respected a lot, but it's not basket weaving, and does have the base English, math and science requirements.

It still all seems a bit wishy-washy.


Bill's wondering if the Paralegal program wouldn't be a decent fit. After all, he says, unless you're actually in litigation, lawyering is all about the arcana. (I don't know if he was talking about paralegaling in particular, or assuming I was going to go on to law school.)

It does sound interesting, and even if I don't end up taking this track, I intend to take the Business Law I and II classes (even though they don't count as any of the basic elective requirements)--they sound interesting and neat and useful. I can't really explain why I'm reticent on this one. I guess part of it is that Scott seems to not like being a paralegal, and anything in the general field has always sounded rather high-pressure. And . . . well, I guess it's hard to shake the Law & Order vision. But if it really is about poring through old laws, court decisions, and contracts, writing new contracts with x language to fulfill y goal . . . that actually doesn't sound that bad.

And, as Bill points out, "You read bills. For fun." Granted, I've fallen away on that a bit, but I sure as fuck could do it again if it were my job . . . and it'd be real nice to actually be trained in how to read them; I often gotta guess.

And I get the impression that lawyers (and, by extension, paralegals--they're basically lawyer-assistants, right?) are one of those things that every business has to have. I get the impression that everyone wants to be a trial-lawyer, so if I want to stick to banking or intellectual property or taxes or whatever . . . well, maybe there won't be a glut to have to overcome.

I'd have to look into all of this, of course, but I don't think I'd mind studying to look through tax-law all day.

(And, incidentally, never, EVER touching family court with a fifty-foot pole, ever.)


Fine Arts sounds like a much better all-around program than Communications New Media--more history, science, math, etc. But I've never wanted to really be a fine artist. I don't even know if there's a market for fine artists. Certainly don't want to spend my time applying for government-frickin'-grants.



And there are probably a hell of a lot of other things I might be interested in, too. I don't know. I seem to have the sixteen-year-old's problem: I have no idea what I want to do. Beyond, you know, be able to support a family eventually.

Here are some things I don't want to do:


Human Services! Yes, having MY childhood ruined by social services isn't enough; I need to go subject OTHER people to the same thing! Or, more to the point, I have a feeling that someone who regards the entire concept as a cancer on the human race is not going to be happy in this field.

Emergency Medical Technician: Even putting aside my squeamishness--which I'm going to have to get over, living on a farm--this is . . . a bit high-pressure for me. Oh, no, the patient is dead before we could get him to the hospital! Because you choked! Great job, Cait!


So, yeah . . . guess that's all.
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(no subject) [Jun. 28th, 2009|10:46 pm]
Jesus, I forgot how thick cookie dough is. I had to get Bill to help me stir in the penultimate ingredients--six cups of flour being the main part--because it was . . . well, tough. Fortunately, the last ingredient was baking soda dissolved in water, so I didn't need his help in that step.

The dough is now in the refrigerator, getting chilled, awaiting being rolled out and cut in the shape of my cute little stencil. I figure I'll make the frosting while it's baking/cooling. Right now . . . well, relax. 'Cause doing all the dishes in the house beforehand kinda took it out of me.

(The main issue is that my divided sink is not big enough to hold all of the non-flat clean-dishes in the right half, and my dishrack doesn't accommodate non-plates well. Gets sort of tiring shoving dishes around to find space under the faucet to rinse the suds off the latest thing without adding cold water to my dishwater.)


I'm seeing merch in just about everything these days, which is kind of odd to do before I've even got a proper website . . . but it's also fun and giving me motivation to remember the comic. (Which seems odd to say when I haven't updated for a few days--I've been considering comic layout issues for the site launch, made more complicated by the concept of eventually printing a book. Basically, I'm going to have to redraw the first couple, but I don't wanna do that until I'm sure I like the current size/shape . . . and my main concern with THAT is that page after page of four evenly-sized boxes is going to look damn boring. But I'm not very good at more creative layouts, in that I get bogged down and don't end up making any comics at all.)

That rambling paragraph is an opener to the idea that gingerbread demons as merch amuse me. (Boxes of five, with a mini-comic included! No preservatives!) I don't know if it's practical--con venues probably have rules against food, and shipping them sounds potentially impractical, especially in international cases--but it really amuses me. And Betty Crocker has tips for shipping gingerbread cookies (I think you used to do that for Christmas?), and because I've only added horns, it seems like they wouldn't be insanely breakable . . .

But anyway, it is at this point mostly a diversion.


Anyway, my dough has probably chilled by now! Later!



EDIT: Used the wrong recipe--this type wouldn't cut into demons. So we just used my circular biscuit cutter. They're good, but a bit bland--Bill thinks it's because I had to substitute half the molasses for honey. (I didn't think to make sure I had a cup and a half of molasses, alas.)

The right recipe--that is to say, the Gingerbread Boy recipe--calls for a full cup more flour. Which . . . it was already hard to stir. This may just be murder.

But I'm gonna try. Because Gingerbread Demons? Is an AWESOME idea.


(Bill made me a cookie-cutter out of a tin can. Awww! It's a bit uneven, and didn't work with the dough we had, but . . . well, we can work it out; it looks a damn sight more convenient than the knife, anyhow.)
Link2 lyrics|Hum a few bars

(no subject) [Jun. 28th, 2009|03:21 pm]
I think, tomorrow, I'm going to make Gingerbread Demons.

(I meant to make them today, but D&D's in a mere hour and I don't think I can finish them by then.)


Had the idea last night. Just circles with horns on them, with a bit of an outline in icing. (I don't want to give full faces; I think it'd look cheesy.) It'd be awesome. Bill even thinks he can modify a cookie-cutter for me, though for now I'm gonna use Betty Crocker's gingerbread boy method and make a cardboard stencil to cut around.

It'll be awesome, and make me happy.

:D


(Also intend to make Shrimp Deviled Eggs, Chipotle Deviled Eggs, and regular Deviled Eggs. Really, I ought to have made them earlier this afternoon right after I bought the materials . . . D&D is *made* for cookies and appetizer-type snacks. Oh, well.)


Also, on the subject, I did better with the cappuccinos today. Still can't quite manage steaming the milk, and I haven't the foggiest clue how to make the foam that's seemingly necessary, but I did manage to make the coffee without trouble. We had doubles with milk and sugar. It was awesome.



I also need to find some spare glass stuff to practice my etching on. Bill's got a sand-blaster, and with a utility knife and some thick tape, well . . . yeah, I think it's got potential. :D Yay!
LinkHum a few bars

Cappuccino FAIL. [Jun. 27th, 2009|12:01 pm]
So, we've got an espresso machine. Two reasons--first, because I hate the coffee from the coffee machine (and as a direct result, never want to get up early to make it, which tends to leave Bill with a caffeine-withdrawal headache), and second, because Dunkin Donuts is the closest thing to coffee we seem to have in this town. You can take the yuppie out of the city . . . (okay, okay, I really have no claim on the title "yuppie"--I don't think "waitress" counts as "professional"--but I have retained a few . . . affectations.)

And in any case, it wasn't very expensive.


So last night, I bugged Bill mercilessly to get me the appropriate coffee for it. And so we did. (Also, extra cups for the kitchen, some impulse-buy freezer-Popsicle-makers (we're gonna have lemonade Popsicles when we get home, I think), and a couple of groceries.) And this morning, I got up and decided to make cappuccinos.

The filter-holder did not want to stay in its setting. It stayed for a few seconds the first time before falling and spilling all over everything.

So I clean it up and start over when there's a knock at the door.

Did I mention that I didn't bother to get dressed to make the coffee? I didn't. Annnnd you have to pass in front of the door to get upstairs, to where my clothes are. The window on the door has a cover, which I trust to protect me from prying eyes on the street, but . . . if they're standing at the door?

So I do my best RoadRunner impression to get up the stairs, throw on a robe as the door knocks again, and rush down to greet a member of the local Boy Scout troupe who wants my bottles. I don't have any gathered up, so I decide to just donate money--I want to be a part of the community, right?

So I rush up and downstairs several times looking for my purse, during which time my phone rings. Agh! It's Bill's parents, so I throw the still-ringing phone at the still-sleeping Bill, dash again to the door where the Boy Scout is waiting, and without thinking about it very much hand him a . . . well, $100. X_X; Aggggh. Hopefully they'll be able to make that trip to the camp in Florida, anyway.


So, anyway, back to cappuccinos! I fasten the basket tighter this time, though I still don't like the looks of it--but I can't get it more. I get the appropriate water in, I've got the shotglasses under the spouts . . .

The first problem is that the machine, designed to fill two cups directly, is only dripping in the one to the right. The second problem is that, about five minutes into it, the basket falls again. It seems a little more dramatic this time, what with the steam and the water and the wet coffee and all. Agh!


Bill's just about getting off the phone with his dad at this point, so I tell him, "If there's going to be cappuccinos, you're going to have to be the one to make them."


So it starts well. He's able to fasten the basket tight enough--apparently, you just really need to convince it. And so we get coffee.

It's still dripping into only one cup. And, once we manage to fit a cup into the steamer and start steaming the milk . . . well, there's no steam left.

So Bill solves the first problem by switching the cups around, then, once the coffee is done, adds more water to get the milk steamed. Unfortunately, the glass is sufficiently tall that only a little bit of the milk gets bubbly at all . . . and he also has to jam a different, too-big cup under the machine to keep the second-pressing coffee from getting everywhere. (I forget what we were using the carafe for at this point . . .)


Well, anyway. It ends up tasting decent (though I put too much sugar in mine), but damn, that was a hell of a start to a morning. Fortunately, by remembering a few simple tips, I think it will go better in the future.

1 - Wear at least a robe to work in the kitchen.
2 - Really convince the machine to accept the basket.
3 - Do not drip the espresso directly into cups; use the goddamn carafe.
4 - Steamed milk isn't worth it; screw the cappuccinos. You call it a latte if you just add regular milk, right? I think I'll do that in the future. Or just do espresso shots.


Anyway. Better luck tomorrow.
Link1 lyric|Hum a few bars

(no subject) [Jun. 25th, 2009|12:48 pm]
I got eggshell in my eggs, undercooked them, and then burnt my bagel.

Fortunately, the bagel tastes just fine with cream cheese, but . . . eeegh. Eggs. Gross. Not eatin' any more.
Link1 lyric|Hum a few bars

(no subject) [Jun. 24th, 2009|09:48 pm]
Caitlin: All right, I couldn't find my package of straws, but I found--hey, wait a minute! There's a straw RIGHT NEXT to you!
Bill: I refuse to drink out of a penis-straw. I refuse.
Caitlin: Awww, come on. You know chicks dig homo-eroticism.
Bill: I don't care.


(Backstory: One of my sister's friends had a bachelorette party some time ago. When she was moving, I got to take a lot of her stuff . . . and elected to take the penis-straw she'd been given at said party as a part of the take. I still have it.)
Link1 lyric|Hum a few bars

(no subject) [Jun. 24th, 2009|05:21 pm]
LinkHum a few bars

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