Gratitude 20131231

~Progress on crochet

~Good Kiddo time

~Office closing early

~lovely visit with an old friend last night

~fun NYE party tonight

Gratitude 20131230

>>waking up early enough to write morning pages

>>yarn therapy

>>picking up library holds that include...

>>my first book for the Postal Reading Challenge!

>>fabulous (too-brief!) visit with an old friend

Creative Every Day 2014

I have the unfortunate tendency to put off doing things that are just for me, even simple little things like taking a few minutes to knit, or stopping to take snapshots of something that catches my eye, or taking a bit of time to dance or sing. I'm not amazingly good at any of these things, which is fine. The point is to create, regardless of the result. For one thing, no one is an amazing painter their first time taking up a brush. More importantly, there's a lot of merit in creating for the sake of the doing, regardless of the result.

To help me remember to do more of the creative stuffs I love, I've signed up for the Creative Every Day challenge for 2014. It's a gently encouraging challenge, more about the doing than specific results. I've not decided exactly how often I'll report in. I'm inclined to note each day's creative endeavor in my daily gratitude list, then do a weekly check in post with more details and thoughts. One way or another, I'll post about the process here :)

There will be fun overlap between this and the Postal Reading Challenge, as I plan to make postcards to mail, and maybe some other mail art :)

I am right excited about this challenge!

Gratitide 20131229

♣ looking forward to dinner with an old friend on Monday :)
♣ listening to podcasts while knitting
♣ sewing up a basic doll for a friend to paint (I forgot to take a picture! Will share one once I've got one)
♣ then hanging out with the aforementioned friend for a while
♣ taking a nap
♣ getting to the library just in time to pick up my holds before it closed
♣ getting the first comment on this blog! I am inordinately pleased by this :)
♣ the rain stopping so I'll only have one sopping wet doggie walkie today

Spiced Cider Muffins

I decided to make these spiced cider muffins, with minor changes. I don't own a mini muffin pan*, so these went in regular pans.  Tiredness precluded the final dip in butter and spiced sugar. I'll include that step in a future iteration. :) I made honey butter** to go with.

Total success :) They're yummy, light, and satisfying, especially with a hit of honey butter.

While the muffins baked, I did a bit if research into Chai tea. I need to make a pot of Hathi's Chai tea! Actually, I think I need a house elf to come to my house every morning before work and make this for me. 

I wanted to bake tonight, but fatigue reined in my enthusiasm.  I'll enjoy the anticipation of future baking instead :)  

On a totally different note - look at the tableau I found stepping out my front door early this morning! You'll have to imagine the bracing air and smell of winter  

*a tragedy I hope to correct some day

**1 part honey, 4 parts butter, dash of cinnamon, tiny sprinkle of salt, let butter get to room temp then whisk everything together. If it's cold in your house, you can warm the butter a tiny, tiny bit, just make sure it doesn't melt at all.

Gratitude 20131226

♠ Dude! I feel motivated! This is awesome
♠ today's Daily Science Fiction story!!! I'll post a link once it's on the website
♠ the Peanut Butter Delights came out very nicely
♠ I feel all cozy in my knit skirt and twin set
♠ noticing tree details via my camera

♠ I can easily blog again! Like, all the time and stuff!
♠ Spiced Cider Muffins with honey butter :) Will post about them tomorrow, once I see if they appeal to others. 

♠ Possibly getting to see an old friend, if schedules can be made to match

Peanut Butter Delights - results!

These came out delicious! They're like the love child of chocolate and a granola bar :) I am totally making these again. Next time I'll let the batter sit and cool a bit before spooning it out - the last ones poured from this batch had a better texture.

There's only a couple left from last night's batch. Yay! They were liked! The down side is that I have to resist those last delights if I'm going to find if/how the texture stands up to storage. Thankfully, I am willing to suffer for my (culinary) art :)

I am so glad I avoided cutting them into bars! I tried cutting one in half - total, delicious mess.

Here's my ideas (so far!) for variations:

~add dried fruit
~add crushed candy canes
~use almond or cashew butter
~use other rolled grains (wheat flakes would work. Corn Flakes would not)
~add sunflower seeds
~add peppermint oil or peppermint extract

What variation of Peanut Butter Delights do you want to try?