LOST Finale Party

Oh, say it isn't so ABC....As we wrap up six seasons of what I consider to be some of the best writing on TV, I thought it only fitting that we go out with a bang.  Not necessarily with dynamite or hydrogen bombs.  Just some good clean fun with a Lost Part-ay!  We went a little overboard, but if not now, then when?  We'll never have another chance at a proper party seeing as how this is the true END. And just writing those words makes me sad.  So, as always, we started with a menu:

Jerk Chicken Kebabs with Grilled Pineapple and Onions
Toasted Coconut Shrimp with Apricot/Horseradish Dipping Sauce
Tortilla Chips with Mango Salsa
Red Potato Salad (mounded in the shape of the Boone Hill Burial Ground), complete with grave markers--Mom please say you have a picture of this!
Fresh Tropical Fruit Platter
Testones (fried plantains with mojo sauce)
Key Lime Cookies
Crazy E-Claire Cake
Flan
Flan Cheesecake (because one flan dessert isn't enough)

For the jerk chicken, I marinated the cubed chicken pieces in a combination of brown sugar, scallions, 2 minced Scotch Bonnet peppers, allspice, and PickaPeppa sauce.  I'll save you the trouble--PickaPeppa sauce is a relatively obscure item, found by the tabasco sauce and looks like this:

The coconut shrimp are super-duper easy and a real crowd pleaser (except for the cook, who stands there and prepares them one by one!)  Just take out 3 bowls.  Add plain flour to one, beaten eggs to the second and in the third, a small bag (around 7 oz) of sweetened coconut, a 1/2 t. of salt, and 2 T. allspice.  You can make your own allspice if you need, just mix two parts cinnamon, 1 part nutmeg and 1 part ground ginger.  Dip the peeled shrimp (leave the tails to give yourself something to grab on to) into the flour, then the egg, then the coconut mixture and fry in about an inch of canola oil over medium heat, turning once until they are golden brown.  I just kept filling the serving tray as they came out of the oil and they kept disappearing!

I'm all about a good theme and the show LOST creates so many opportunities for fun!  The costumes were great.  We had a Kate, a Crazy Claire, a Polar Bear, an "Island", a Charlie, a Nikki/Paulo couple (that would be me and my husband) and lots of other Losties who brought items for the shrine.

The week leading up to this soiree was crazy with decorations and preparations.  We borrowed a friend's awesome wrought iron tiki torches (Thanks, Blake!) and lined the walkway with them for the guest's arrival.

We had to assure our neighbors, who were mighty curious about the sign, that we weren't recruiting people into our Buddhist cult.

On to the fun little details......

To make wine tags for your theme, I took a Creative Memories round paper punch which has two circles, one slightly larger than the other.  I used the small circle to punch the faces of  the characters, which I got off of the ABC website.  I used the larger circle to punch out a solid color cardstock for a mat.  Adhere the two with a photo split or glue stick.  Then take Self-Laminating sheets (mine were Scotch brand, found in the office supply section near the name badges).  Follow the label directions to laminate.  Then cut around the photo.  I used a small hole punch and then used a grommet setter to add the grommet on the tag.  Then I used Tim Holtz mini paperclips to attach the character tag to a binder ring (I got mine at the scrapbooking store, but they can be found at Staples where 3-ring binders are sold).  I ended up with 13 of my favorite characters as wine tags.

The Driveshaft concert backstage passes were created with a logo found online, doctored up with Photo editing software.  I use http://www.fotoflexer.com/.  I love this site--you can really get creative with your photos, without purchasing an expensive edition of Photoshop.

Where there is good, there is evil, so an appearance by the Smoke Monster aka "Smokey" was necessary.  A 50 ounce bag of Polyfil and 6 cans of black spray paint did the trick.  Once it dried, it was pieced together on my sitting room wall to look as menacing as possible.  Bwa ha ha.......

Although some of our questions were left unanswered (as all good literature does to their reader), I personally loved the ending.  And as in every story worth their weight in paper and ink, this one leaves us wanting more, wanting to find other fans to discuss it with because these characters are real to us and they're worth keeping alive, even if they didn't get that luxury in the script :(

Thank you writers, cast and crew for a fantastic voyage.  My Tuesday nights won't be the same without you.

Southern Drawl or Southern Drool? You Decide.

I'm a little late posting about our Tuesday soiree' this week.  My Lost Finale Party has taken over my life!  It's going to rock--can't wait to share it with you on Sunday :)

This week, we went all out in the Southern Hospitality department.  Try not to drool on your keyboard....

First off, who has ever tried a yellow watermelon?  I was a teensy bit skeptical, but my sons begged me to get one and they were cheap, so we gave it a whirl and guess what?  Tastes the same and makes such a pretty picture......Try getting a yellow and a red and alternating little hand-sized slices on a platter.  It's sure to add some punch to your picnic or party. Don't forget to let the kids have a seed-spitting contest in the backyard.  Maybe you'll have some free watermelons growing next season!

So I decided to make my sweetheart, David, his favorite cake.  Red Velvet.  I've never made this at home before and I was praying Martha had a good recipe.  Well, the girl didn't disappoint.  I followed it to the letter and it came out moist and fluffy.  This is what it looked like before and after it came out of the oven.  Unfortunately, we scarfed it down so quick, I forgot to take a photo of it completely iced and under it's cake dome.  Boo!  It was a beauty--take my word for it.

I'll just go ahead and say it:  I hate Martha's version of Fried Green Tomatoes.  Basically, there are two ways (well, about a million weird ways, but only two normal ways) to make FGTs.  With flour or with cornmeal.  She uses cornmeal.  I've found over the years that this makes the outer batter too crunchy.  Almost like onion rings where you can take a bite and the entire outside batter comes off and you're stuck with a flimsy piece of cooked onion in your hand.  So, I did it her way for my "52 Weeks With My Homegirl Martha" project and must say, yes, I still hate using cornmeal for green tomatoes.  Actually, my favorite recipe comes from Bea Arthur (RIP).  Yes, that Golden Girl could cook!  She lets hers marinate in sour cream before coating them with seasoned flour, then egg, then flour again. 

Here are the ones that I made (which got gobbled up anyway), modeled by my gorgeous mom, Iris.

Buttermilk Biscuits are delicious on their own.  With Apple Butter from Cracker Barrel, they are worthy of praise---Hall-e-lujah!

And, last but no-way least was this incredibly easy barbecue pulled pork.  There wasn't a trace to be found shortly after I set it on the table!

First, start with a Boston Butt pork roast.  It will come trussed with string.  Leave it like that while it's cooking. 

 Next, I made a rub with paprika, cayenne pepper, brown sugar, salt and pepper and placed that on all sides of the meat.  Then I mixed apple cider vinegar, a little water and a handful of garlic cloves, minced and poured the concoction over the spice-rubbed roast.  Cover and cook on 350 for 2 hr 30 min.  You should be able to shred it apart after it cools a bit.  Then, of course you need a little barbecue sauce.  You can make your own, but why bother when there's Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Barbecue Sauce!?  Mix in a little at a time until it's saucy but not soupy.  Serve as is or on warmed hamburger rolls.

Yes, that is Samantha from Sex And The City eyeing our barbecue.  Hands off, Jones!  This bowl isn't big enough for the two of us.....

My Hobbit Has Mumps

The scarecrow is complete.  And not a minute too soon because something has been eating my corn!  I feel like Mr. McGregor running out into the garden with a rake shaking my fist at the birds that I normally welcome into my yard.  But they need to learn their boundaries.  Bird feeder, good.  Birdbath, good.  Eating my veggies, very naughty.

So, keeping with the Lord of the Rings theme that they kids came up with, I needed to make some sort scarecrow for the Hobbitshire garden.  We came up with a Hobbit.  It started with two 1x2 wood pieces screwed together (not nailed, or it gets all loosey-goosey).  Then I just went to Goodwill and got very lucky.  I found the perfect puffy sleeved shirt, courdoroy  men's vest and drawstring pants that no self-respecting human would ever wear, but would suit a Hobbit just fine.

You can get burlap for about $1.99 per yard.  One yard is plenty to make a scarecrow head.  I sewed a face on this one with regular yarn, but here's where I ran into a problem.  I sewed the head while the clothes hung on the frame outside waiting.  Since I didn't have them closeby, I misjudged the proportions.  My hobbit's head is HUGE, like something out of H.R. Puffenstuff.  But I suppose a scarecrow needs to look menacing if it's to do its job.  So, let's just say my Hobbit has Mumps.  Get well soon, little fellow.

Since I've never seen a Hobbit with a hat, this one has shaggy hair instead.

That's a haversack, not a purse!  It's for gathering nuts and berries and for keeping your Hobbit things.

Genealogy: Not Just For Mormons Anymore!

Ever since the show "Who Do You Think You Are?" aired this season on NBC, I've kinda gotten the genealogy bug again.  I've been into family history for almost two decades now and did alot of research until I hit some dead ends and put it aside for awhile. I use a website sponsored by the Mormon church (although I'm not Mormon) at http://www.familysearch.org/.  I'm not completely educated on this, but I believe that the Mormon church strongly encourages lineage search for the sake of baptising family members and therefore they have put alot of emphasis on research.  Alot of work on several of my family lines was already done for me, based on census records.

You can start with a simple book like this, which you can purchase at a bookstore or online. 

I found that my information quickly exceeded the space alotted in these types of books, so my mom was able to give me a copy of a Family Group Sheet and a Pedigree Chart, which she obtained from the Historical Library in Bartow, FL.

These are available for free online at:

http://genealogy.about.com/library/free_charts/bl_pedigree.htm

The family group charts have spaces for husband and wife, their birthdates, deathdates, parents, places of birth and death and then you have room at the bottom to list all their children (up to 14 children--believe me, you'll find that your ancestors were very, very busy!)  Technically, you list the children in birth order but mark with an asterisk the child that is in your family line. 

The pedigree chart is more of a "zoomed out" view of your family tree.  You can see more information on one page.  Always do these charts in pencil, as you will sometimes need to make changes or rearrange things.

If you want to take this to the next level, as I did, purchase the Family Tree Maker software, the most respected genealogy program on the market, created by ancestry.com (also the sponsor of the TV show mentioned above).  I am getting ready to upgrade to the next version because their updates are mind-blowing.  This is a screen shot of the latest version, which makes me a little giddy:

The software allows you to store all of your data in one place, inserting photos, information from records, personal memories, census info and anything else you like.  It has some safeguards in place to keep you from entering incorrect data, such as "your records show that Sarah James was married at 12 years old.  Do you want to continue?"  and various other little Smart Features.  I love my Family Tree Maker! 

All you really need to start on your genealogy journey is the name of an ancestor (about 2 generations back) who has passed away.  You need to know the approximate date of birth or death and the state in which they lived or died.  It used to be that you needed to call, correspond by mail to the local records bureau or go to a local genealogy library to do research.  Now nearly everything is made available online.  There are even websites of historic cemetaries that have photographed every tombstone and uploaded them so you can find your ancestors. 

You may also find that if you come across a relative who was of some importance, such as my great-great-great grandfather, Randall Puckett Langston, who served in the Civil War as an officer, there is much written about them online and in local history books.  This makes their family line much more likely to have been researched professionally.  A line on my maternal grandfather's side has been researched all the way back to the year 1066 at the time of William the Conqueror.  I love that!

Having said that, I know virtually nothing about my biological father's roots.  I have pieced together a little bit from a family Bible and talking to a few existing relatives, but that is going to a project for the future.  That's okay--another challenge to keep me busy!  I do have a few pictures of my great grandfather's family.  Isn't this picture just about the sweetest thing?  I think she looks like something out of a Jane Austen novel.  If I was related to Jane Austen, I think I could die a happy woman.

I had to get busy writing letters to relatives of my husband's to find out anything.  My mother-in-law's sister has done a little research and she had a few names for me that I didn't have before.  Sometimes a letter-writing campaign to all the older memebers of your family is in order.  Or start interviewing them at the next holiday gathering or family reunion! 

If you run into a snag with researching, don't fret.  Memberships to websites like http://www.ancestry.com/ or http://www.roots.com/ will likely turn up a tiny slice of information that will start piecing your puzzle together.  You will become addicted to this stuff!  I'll just warn you now.

If you're lucky, you'll not only unearth the basics (dates and names), but maybe in the process, a story or two.  Genealogy taught me that I'm related to people with names like Jemima, Drewery, Fleming, Ivory, Lenora, Zilpha, and Sibella.  I also had a great-great grandmother named Missouri Wheeler who perished in a housefire because her dress and apron caught fire while cooking. A sad, common truth of the pre-electricity rural homesteads of Florida.  But that story reminds me of 1. how awesome the name Missouri is for a girl and 2. how lucky we are to have electric stoves today. 

Researching your ancestors will make you very aware of how hard some of their lives were, as you research their details in your air-conditioned living room on your high-speed internet connection.  LOL.  Happy hunting, my friends!

I Sing Behind The Plow

No, I haven't been overdosing on Little House on the Prairie (although that doesn't sound like a bad way to spend a Friday night).  This is actually the motto of The John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC, also known as Kimberly's Dream Vacation Spot.  I have been receiving the Folk School catalog for several seasons now, each year I say I'm going to go "next year".  I need to sell some plasma (or maybe have a bake sale) and this year, make it happen!  Who wants to tag along? 

You can visit their website to see what it's all about at: http://www.folkschool.org/. 

Did you click the link yet?  Come on, don't be shy.

Just listen to these exciting classes!  This is just a tiny fraction of the almost 1,000 classes they offer.  I defy you to read this little sampling of classes and not squeal with delight.

Belgian Bookbinding
Italian Paper Marbling

Appalachian Basketry

Home Winemaking

Artisan Bread Baking

Home Dairy: Cheese, Yogurts and More!

Blacksmithing for Hearth and Home

The Fiery Creativity of Glass Bead Making

Advanced Broom Making

Celtic Ceramics
French Folk Dance
Storytelling Through Puppetry
Draw & Paint Botanicals with Watercolor
From Sheep To Shawl (Weaving and Dyeing)
Fruit Tree Grafting
Genealology: Discovering Your Ancestors

Stain Glass Panels for Beginners

Scandinavian Knitting

Tinsmithing

Old Time Banjo

Mysteries of the Old-Time Fiddle Revealed!

Intro to Fly Fishing
Beekeeping
Traditional Rug Hooking
Historic Costuming
Creative Soapmaking
Solid Wood Cabinetry
Structuring and Writing Your Novel

Okay, I got a little carried away, but I can't help myself.  I love this stuff.  I've always thought what a shame it was that so many of our traditional trades and hobbies have fallen out of fashion.  This really hit home when I started bringing my knitting projects to the park while I watched my kids play on the playground.  People would come up to me and say, "What is that?" or "Are you actually knitting?"  These were usually young kids or teenagers, posing this question as if I had a third arm.  Or often, the older people would stop by, smile nostalgically and say "My mother used to knit all my socks when I was a little girl."  It was right there that I felt like I was carrying on something valuable. 

I learned quilting on Mom's Singer sewing machine.  The kind that folded down inside of the sewing table.  I learned to make a red and white 4-patch quilt top pillow.  I remember thinking that it was fun, but I wanted to move on to the big stuff, the Double Wedding Ring or the elaborate Hawaiian quilts.  Little did I know that even old-timers consider those designs a massive undertaking.  I think I've always been a little over-ambitious!

So, I guess that's why I want to go the Folk School.  I want to work with my hands, to learn something new, to pass something along.  I don't want old traditions to die.  They are part of a simpler time.  They're comfortable and I think we crave comfortable.  We gravitate toward comfortable.  And I'm gravitating toward Brasstown, NC.....hopefully soon.  I hope to be blacksmithing in no time!

I Love My Public Library!

One of my favorite things to do is go down to the public library with my huge tote bag and load up on tons of new library books.  I have to admit, my city library, The Lakeland Public Library, is one of the nicest I've ever seen.  They get the latest and greatest crafting, decorating, and cookbooks, which makes me very happy.

Here are some from my latest score....

This is the most comprehensive cookbook on pies I've ever come across.  The author is Ken Haedrich.  Since I've stuck a post-it in over 50 recipes that I'm interested in copying, I might as well buy the darn thing.  I'll wait till I get a bookstore giftcard.  Cookbooks can be pricey.  What I love about this one is that there are so many variations of traditional pies (apple pie with a bourbon-crunch topping, blueberry-maple pie in a cornmeal crust, etc.), but then you get the weird and wacky thrown into the mix.  The one that I swear I'm going to try is Watermelon Rind pie.  Apparently, it was popular on the prairie during the Westward Expansion with those dutiful housewives that didn't want to waste a single scrap.  This should make for a humorous little experiment when watermelon season gets here.  I'll report back the results, even if they are disastrous.

Martha has done it again.  Or at least her huge staff has done it again and put her on the cover of this amazing 400 page guide to all-things-sewing.  It even comes with a CD of 150 project patterns and templates.  Thank you public library!  Here are the some of the ones I can't wait to try....fire up the Janome machine and thread the bobbins....here come some neat-o projects.

I love oilcloth!  In my opinion, the fabric store chains don't carry enough variety.  Oilcloth is generally used to make picnic tablecloths or aprons, because of their slick surface and ease of care.  The book notes some mail-order and online resources for interesting oilcloth fabric to make these cute velcro lunchbags.  They aren't just for kiddos.  They are super chic.

Love this multi-compartment tote bag on the right.  Perfect for book club or couponing.  I'm a big fan of customizing your stuff so you don't look like all the other cattle out there.  A good place to find unique fabric scraps is to scour the vintage clothing stores and find the things that nobody wants because it has a stain.  Cut that part away.  If the fabric is beautiful, you can make use of it in other ways.

What a practical, simple idea.  Why didn't I think of that?  Farmer's wives have been gussying up jam jar lids for decades.  Why not make the top of this one into a pincushion?  I'm always looking for my embroidery scissors (you know, the ones that look like a bird) and all my other things like my needle threader.  This would be a great idea to keep all your tiny things in one place.  And they're cute as a button--pun totally intended.

Yeah, I need another apron.  It's time.  This baker's apron on the right has an adjustable D-ring strap for well, my D cup issues.  I likey.

I just learned to knit last year and have been churning out more scarves than the Hermes factory.  However, I don't know squat about crochet.  I figured the best place to learn was a kid's how-to.  Take a look at these adorable little projects!

Oh yes, this will be the first project I crochet.  A patchwork poncho?  I don't care if I'm an adult.  I will wear it with leopard rain boots and go somewhere like a flea market.  People are eccentric at flea markets so I'll fit right in.

Oh, if this isn't the epitome of cute-ness......a cupcake pincushion. 

Yeah, boys crochet.  You wanna make somethin' of it?