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I'm determined not to have my pot of calla bulbs die over the winter. I brought them inside when it started to get cooler at night, back in September. They're currently residing in our mudroom, which is unheated. I've never over-wintered bulbs before, but I'm hoping that I can find some good resources and instructions on the internet. So far, I've found this site, and it looks helpful ...
I recently tried out a recipe for Chris from his Saveur Cooks Authentic French cookbook - the clafoutis. It's basically flour, water, and eggs combined with cherries. Sounds like a pancake with some cherries, no? And that's what it tasted like, only much thicker and dense. I'm not sure that I'd make it again, especially since the recipe book is full of really pretty tarts ...
Chris and I spent part of the afternoon putting up so-called insulative plastic over our bedroom window today. Our bedroom is the coldest room in the house, thanks to the leaky window and sparser insulation. We were jolted into action by the snow that started falling outside, and the fact that Madeline's arms and hands are little popsicles when we feel them in the middle of the night (she sleeps in our room right now, in a bassinette. We bought her warmer sleepwear today).
We have been collecting quotes from various window-installation companies to remedy our cold-bedroom problem on a more permanent basis, and there is a company that we'd like to go with to have the window replaced. The only problem is that it takes a while to order in a window - we'd be looking at a December installation at the soonest already. We know that one of the window company's competitors has a sale - 10% off - in January and February, and Chris suggested that we might as well try to take advantage of that if we have to wait until the thick of winter to get the window anyway. Fair enough, but it falls to me to call the window company and ask if they have a winter discount as well *gasp*
I am terribly nervous about calling businesses for ordinary circumstances, but the thought of calling to ask for 10% off of our quote for moving back the installation makes me near paranoid! I'm accepting all the courage vibes I can get :)
It's once again Thanksgiving here in Canada, and as is our custom, Chris and I had another much-too-big turkey, and made the recipe for New England Apple, Sausage, and Dried Cranberries stuffing from Epicurious. I thought that this year's lucky turkey ought to have been named Charles:
This year my sister Julie came for dinner, and amazingly, ate everything that we cooked! It was nice having company, really, and she came bearing gifts :) I have to brag and show off this handbag that she made:
I'm kind of bummed because Chris went through a good amount of effort to cook a chicken on a can of Guiness recently, and I seem to have accidentally deleted the photo I took of said chicken perched on said can, fresh out of the oven. Our culinary effort was inspired by Steve Raichlen's Beer-Can Chicken: And 74 Other Off-Beat Recipes, a book that we laugh about so much that we've bought nearly all close friends and family a copy :)
We also have another book by Steve Raichlen - The Barbeque Bible. This book I hold responsible giving Chris the idea that he needs a smoker ...
I was just peeking at Sew Wrong for the first time in months, and found a link to The Complete Guide for Tension Adjusting. This article is a keeper. Definitely.
Also on a sewing-related note, the whole family trekked over to Ikea last night to buy me a sewing table. I'd picked out one large enough for both my regular sewing machine, my serger, and my huge self-healing mat. Imagine my sadness upon discovering in the self-serve warehouse that there was only one package of legs on the shelf, when I needed two ...
