As with many of my projects, this one started with a YouTube video.  This one, to be precise. The YouTuber presents these little square pouches as “packing cubes.” They could be used for anything, obviously, but I was delighted with the idea of packing cubes.

I’m not sure why, but I always think of caramel corn as a holiday treat.  Maybe that’s because it was often something my mother would make around Christmas time. Or maybe because I vaguely remember her making “caramel corn balls” (a little bigger than a baseball) to hand out one Halloween.  But there’s no reason you can’t have caramel corn year around…

I know I said I was quitting the book nooks cold turkey.  What can I say?  I fell off the wagon.

I like dessert every day.  365 days a year.  And I mostly make my own desserts, rather than buying them.  I have a lot of good recipes.  But in the summer, when the house is already hot, I don’t really feel like turning on the oven to bake anything.  So it’s handy to have a “no-bake” cookie recipe to hand.  Chocolate, peanut butter, and oatmeal…what could be better?

I’d like to introduce a new member of the household.  World, meet Hester.  Hester, world. Hester and I have not yet formed what I’d like to describe as an “operational relationship.”  Translation:  I haven’t used her yet, being still caught up in YouTube and internet research.  But soon…

When I was a kid, after church on Sundays, my family would often eat out at Elmer’s.  I always had (and honestly, still do) one of two entrees.  I’d either have the German pancake [insert link to blog post] or I’d have Eggs Benedict.  The classic, with the layer of ham, poached eggs, and piles of beautiful Hollandaise sauce, all served over an English muffin.  Back in my youth, there was no nonsense about adding things like avocado or crab meat to Eggs Benedict…

I’ve said it before but it bears repeating…knitwear designer Martina Behm is a genius.  For today’s blog post, I’ve knit a little shawl (shawlette, if you will) of her design, one that I’ve knit many times before.  It’s called Lintilla, and you can get the pattern here.

"It was the Dawn of the Third Age of Mankind, ten years after the Earth-Minbari War. The Babylon Project was a dream given form. Its goal: to prevent another war by creating a place where humans and aliens could work out their differences peacefully. It's a port of call, home away from home for diplomats, hustlers, entrepreneurs and wanderers. Humans and aliens wrapped in two million, five hundred thousand tons of spinning metal .. all alone in the night. It can be a dangerous place, but it's our last, best hope for peace. This is the story of the last of the Babylon stations. The year is 2258. The name of the place is Babylon 5."

As with many of my projects, this week’s offering started with a YouTube video.  I took inspiration from the video but decided to go about my own construction, which I will share with you now.  First of all…what are we making?  Well, I don’t really have a good name for it, I’ll just describe the situation it addresses.

I mentioned in a previous post that I’ve been enjoying a new applicator that I found on Amazon for distributing hair oil over my scalp.  And then my mother pointed out that I hadn’t explained what sort of hair oil I meant.  So, for those who haven’t yet experienced the joys of hormonal hair loss, let me tell you that at some point in your life, you might want something to help you retain your hair.  The fact that it also makes it grow faster is a side benefit.

I don’t wear dresses (or any kind of fancy clothing, really) with any regularity at all.  My lifestyle doesn’t require it.  However, even in a casual lifestyle like mine, there are occasional events which call for a dress.  For example, my oldest nephew’s recent high school graduation ceremony.  I had no dress that fit.  I made do with a stretchy long tunic and pretended it was a dress, but it was makeshift at best.  I decided I’d quite like to try making a few articles of clothing that properly fit me and looked reasonably nice.  To that end, I decided to first try Sewing Inspiration’s Tie Dress.

Ah, summer…so much variety available in terms of fresh fruit and berries.  And my favorite way to eat a fruity dessert is in the form of a crisp.  For the uneducated, a crisp is a baked dish where the bottom layer is fruit or berries, sweetened as desired, and the topping is a combination of butter, brown sugar, and oats or nuts.

I’ve recently finished The Great Courses’ series entitled Epic Engineering Failures and the Lessons They Teach, taught by my favorite instructor, Professor Stephen Ressler.  Unlike my previous review of his course on Greek and Roman Technology, I think for this review, I will just summarize a few of my favorite lessons.

When I finished my recent QAYG quilt, I had bits of the jelly roll strips left over.  Enough, I thought (hoped), to make a cover for my new sewing machine (which I have named Henrietta).  A hat for Henrietta, if you will.  I cut down the remnants of the jelly rolls into 2.5” squares, hoped I had enough, and began.

I am not addicted to building book nooks.  I can quit anytime!

I don’t like buying certain things.  Clothing.  I just hate shopping for (and spending money on) clothes.  My mother and I were laughing about this the other day during a phone conversation and we agreed that if it weren’t for her and my dear friend Jane, I wouldn’t have any decent clothes at all.  Between the two of them, they have managed to force me to purchase enough pieces of clothing that I don’t go naked.  I’m very grateful.  Truly, I am, even though I’m a serious pain in the tush when the forced shopping is in progress…Jane, I’m very sorry about biting you.

I love strawberries.  Which is why I planted a bunch of them in my deck garden this year: Tristar day-neutral (ever-bearing) strawberries, among the sweetest and most flavorful I’ve ever tasted.  And of course it follows that I love the summer dessert, strawberry shortcake.

You’ll want to read Part 1 first, naturally.

Okay, I know I said in a recent post that if I never saw another quilt, it would be too soon.  Well, I’m allowed to change my mind, right?  This is still America, right?

As of June 17, it’s been two years since I started this blog.  Two years of posting a new article every Friday.  I’m quite impressed with myself.  So for this second blog-iversary, I thought I’d list a few random purchases that I’m quite pleased about recently.