First-ever Hawaiian Applique
posted by Becky Laswell at
7:05 AM
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0 Comments
Thursday, June 02, 2011
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Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Yum!
These look good enough to eat! Too bad I can't share them with you through the internet! :)
Chocolate Cheesecake Cupcakes with Ganache Frosting I added the heart-shaped sprinkles on top, and think they turned out perfectly! These are for our women's group gathering tomorrow.
Orange-Cranberry-Pecan Bread (from America's Test Kitchen). These definitely have a good orange flavor. These are also for the women's group tomorrow. I didn't want to overdo it, but I did want to make something that lives up to the high standards the group has set (we've got some awesome cooks in the group)
Our windowsill-microgreens continue to grow. We'll be able to harvest them soon:
Chocolate Cheesecake Cupcakes with Ganache Frosting I added the heart-shaped sprinkles on top, and think they turned out perfectly! These are for our women's group gathering tomorrow.
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| From "Winter" 2010 |
Orange-Cranberry-Pecan Bread (from America's Test Kitchen). These definitely have a good orange flavor. These are also for the women's group tomorrow. I didn't want to overdo it, but I did want to make something that lives up to the high standards the group has set (we've got some awesome cooks in the group)
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| From "Winter" 2010 |
Our windowsill-microgreens continue to grow. We'll be able to harvest them soon:
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| From "Winter" 2010 |
Labels: food
posted by Becky Laswell at
10:05 PM
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0 Comments
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Disc Golf
It was only in the mid 40s yesterday and the ground was wet, but that didn't stop us from FINALLY trying out our new toys by playing a round of disc golf.
We played at the Wells Branch course, an easy 9-hole course not too far from our house. There were quite a few other groups out playing, also. And, we weren't the only group to put discs into the creek (which was high & chilly, and went right through our shoes into our socks.... not fun).
In the course of the round, I learned two things:
Any other disc golfers out there? There look to be a ton of great courses around Austin which we'll have to check out!
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| From "Winter" 2010 |
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| From "Winter" 2010 |
We played at the Wells Branch course, an easy 9-hole course not too far from our house. There were quite a few other groups out playing, also. And, we weren't the only group to put discs into the creek (which was high & chilly, and went right through our shoes into our socks.... not fun).
In the course of the round, I learned two things:
- It's been a LOOONNNGGGG time since I've walked very far! But, I made it with only minimal pain.
- It's been even longer since I threw a disc (and that was an ultimate disc, which feels very different in your hand than a golf disc).
Any other disc golfers out there? There look to be a ton of great courses around Austin which we'll have to check out!
posted by Becky Laswell at
2:20 PM
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2 Comments
Friday, January 29, 2010
Culinary gardending adventures
These little lettuce seedlings appeared on our windowsill yesterday. Soon, we'll be eating home-grown microgreens!
I'm using the technique described here.
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| From Blog Photos |
I'm using the technique described here.
Labels: food
posted by Becky Laswell at
1:09 PM
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0 Comments
More than half done!
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| From Blog Photos |
I am now more than half finished with my bluebonnet applique block. I have completed:
3 of 4 large flowers
8 of 16 small flowers
2 of 4 leaves
It's not perfect (great Hawaiian-style applique should be completely symmetrical; mine is off a bit in most places), but I think it's looking pretty good!
I annotated the photo, above, to show some of the tools I've been using:
- General's Sketch & Wash pencil. I use this to mark the pattern on the back.
- My most-excellent Gingher scissors, in their special leather sleeve.
- Normal, boring, blue thread. I sometimes use special thread (like gutterman or mettler) but the boring stuff works just as well.
- Little pincushion with tiny pins.
Labels: applique
posted by Becky Laswell at
8:49 AM
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0 Comments
Monday, January 25, 2010
Greatest. Games. Ever.
We bought an xbox last summer, mostly so we could play Rock Band online with friends and download instant movies from Netflix. Matt & I have also played some of the best computer games on the market today. As amazing as these are, they just can't compare to in nostalgia value to a few of my favorite early '80s dos or basic-based computer games. Anybody else remember these?
CIA Adventure. I'm not finding any version of this classic (though I think I have the source file somewhere - it's a basic program that's really easy to understand). This game is purely text. You essentially control a blind guide, who is trying to infiltrate a large building. The guide understands only basic commands like "go west" or "press button." With my dad's ingenuity and programming knowledge, we cracked this game and found out that you didn't have to type the entire phrase: "dro but" was good enough for "drop button." My dad, brother & I played this game until we figured out all the little steps necessary to get the gem, foil the bad guys, and win the game!
The Trucking Game (Trucking USA, maybe?) Another text-based game where you used basic commands to control a truck going across the country. You had to choose your cargo (oranges, mail, or something else, I think), and could then choose how fast to go (risking speeding tickets), when to gas up (for which price) , etc. I liked the version we had, which somebody hacked. If we entered my dad's name at the start, we were given a free set of tires for our truck. In late elementary school, my gifted class was able to play an updated version of this game (in color!) at recess. That game was mostly the same, with the ability to pick up hitch-hikers. We quickly learned that you must never pick up hitch-hikers: when you did, they'd shoot you. Fun lesson, that.
Castle Adventure. This was a mid-generation game, with text-based commands but also some rudimentary graphics (the graphics are mostly just combination of text and special characters). The basic scenario is that you're in a castle and have to collect treasures, kill monsters, and find your way out. This is the game that's responsible for my inability to pronounce the word "ogre" correctly for at least 15 years of my life (not like that word comes up often in daily life). Unfortunately, I can't find a version of Castle to play online, but with the help of a dos-simulator (where you can manually tweak the speed the game plays at) I was able to play the original dos-based Castle game tonight. You simply must check it out here. The quality of the graphics will amaze you!
Burger Time. This was a later-generation game from some of my other favorites, meaning (mostly) that it had graphics. Happily, I found a version you can play online. So, yes, you too can walk over buns, lettuce, and meat and make your own burgers before the evil hot dogs and fried eggs get you!
None of these games compares in complexity to even just one second of playing Rock Band online with friends, of course. But, I like them. :)
Do you remember any other classic '80s computer games?
CIA Adventure. I'm not finding any version of this classic (though I think I have the source file somewhere - it's a basic program that's really easy to understand). This game is purely text. You essentially control a blind guide, who is trying to infiltrate a large building. The guide understands only basic commands like "go west" or "press button." With my dad's ingenuity and programming knowledge, we cracked this game and found out that you didn't have to type the entire phrase: "dro but" was good enough for "drop button." My dad, brother & I played this game until we figured out all the little steps necessary to get the gem, foil the bad guys, and win the game!
The Trucking Game (Trucking USA, maybe?) Another text-based game where you used basic commands to control a truck going across the country. You had to choose your cargo (oranges, mail, or something else, I think), and could then choose how fast to go (risking speeding tickets), when to gas up (for which price) , etc. I liked the version we had, which somebody hacked. If we entered my dad's name at the start, we were given a free set of tires for our truck. In late elementary school, my gifted class was able to play an updated version of this game (in color!) at recess. That game was mostly the same, with the ability to pick up hitch-hikers. We quickly learned that you must never pick up hitch-hikers: when you did, they'd shoot you. Fun lesson, that.
Castle Adventure. This was a mid-generation game, with text-based commands but also some rudimentary graphics (the graphics are mostly just combination of text and special characters). The basic scenario is that you're in a castle and have to collect treasures, kill monsters, and find your way out. This is the game that's responsible for my inability to pronounce the word "ogre" correctly for at least 15 years of my life (not like that word comes up often in daily life). Unfortunately, I can't find a version of Castle to play online, but with the help of a dos-simulator (where you can manually tweak the speed the game plays at) I was able to play the original dos-based Castle game tonight. You simply must check it out here. The quality of the graphics will amaze you!
Burger Time. This was a later-generation game from some of my other favorites, meaning (mostly) that it had graphics. Happily, I found a version you can play online. So, yes, you too can walk over buns, lettuce, and meat and make your own burgers before the evil hot dogs and fried eggs get you!
None of these games compares in complexity to even just one second of playing Rock Band online with friends, of course. But, I like them. :)
Do you remember any other classic '80s computer games?
posted by Becky Laswell at
8:10 PM
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0 Comments
