The Life of a Katterbiller

Nothing to Watch

2011-10-03T22:51:00.001-07:00

Ok.
So I need to take my mind off things for just a little bit. Everything's cool, I just want to stop thinking for two hours. Can you feel that?
It seems reasonable to turn to my shelf of, like, 300 movies. I need something happy, something that's going to make me feel like a million bucks with no dying and no cancer. I figure, no problem...I don't even OWN Terms of Endearment.
So here's what I've got.

AMELIE
Normally my go-to feel better about life movie. Mom dies in the beginning. Maybe I'll fast forward.

PRACTICAL MAGIC
I watch this almost every day during October. But I always cry at the end. Better not test it.

LEGEND
Ditto, I'll lose it when the unicorn dies.

SENSE AND SENSIBILITY
Dad dies in the beginning. Young Hugh Grant possibly worth it.

STARDUST
Dad dies in the beginning, but this one's a bit of a dick so it might be ok. But, like three other people die too.

HARRY POTTERS
Really? Dude, everybody dies.

HAMLET
Ditto.

DOCTOR WHO any season
I can't watch Christopher Eccleston's because Rose's dad died left, right, and center.
I can't watch David Tennant's because I cry because I miss him so much on the best of days.
I don't feel like Matt Smith. Oh, and a whole season is spent on him dying.

STEEL MAGNOLIAS
Are you effing kidding?

From Freaky Friday, to Jane Austen Book Club, to Ever After. Movies that normally make me feel all happy and squishy.
I never noticed before, but it's everywhere.
It touches us all. But it's ok, it's supposed to.
Right now though, I'm actually finding some humor in it, in the everywhereness of it. I was just kind of chuckling to myself, as I ruled out Napoleon Dynamite (why does he live with his gramma anyway?) figuring Bridget Jones's Diary and a 90's Ashley Judd romantic comedy were about it out of the zillion movies I own.
I'm going to make some cookies and watch....something.

Life Lessons From a Skateboard

2011-02-19T20:24:00.000-08:00

There is something magic in a clear, cool night.
Tonight is one of my favorite kinds of nights- clear and starry with a brilliant moon. Cool enough for a woolly cardigan and mitts and that satisfying smell of woodsmoke. There's something about the woodsmoke that ties it all together. Walking out in it, it's impossible to think about anything unpleasant.
So I was quite cheerful tonight when I had to walk over to my job to spend an hour or so tying up a couple of loose ends. My mind was rambling over a wide array of random thoughts- a pair of socks I'm knitting for someone, the nice long, juicy conversation I'd just had on the phone with my brother who is still reveling in plenty of lovely snow in New Hampshire, the cool new market I found that had awesome and crazy organic everything and bulk bins....BULK BINS!
On the way home I had the added satisfaction of knowing I had things set up for Monday and I was ready to go home, maybe tidy a bit and work on that sock.
Passing the local skateboard shop, I stopped briefly to admire a pair of shoes in the window and my wandering mind again shifted gears.
I remembered a brief period in maybe '85 or 6 when my brother had a skateboard. Outside our Aunt Judy's house I watched as he did a few laps and thought to myself, "Whoa! I wanna try!"
He seemed a bit nervous as he handed me the skateboard and warned me that it wasn't as easy as it looked.
Ten seconds later, dazed and sprawled on the sidewalk I thought to myself, "I am NEVER doing that again".
My thoughts then transitioned seamlessly to a day when I was at the home of a dear friend about seven years ago getting ready for a Blink 182 concert. I was going through her selection of T Shirts looking for something to wear and a noticed a new one. It was a pink BAM shirt. She explained to me that she bought it because she was interested in a guy who skated, and so she and another of our friends had been hanging out the skate park and she wanted to look legit. A newlywed at the time, I sagely shook my head and chuckled as I chose a bright yellow T Shirt advertising Beggin' Strips Brand Dog Treats.
My friend had two brothers, both passionate skaters, but she had never learned herself. The other friend, however, did. My thoughts roamed over an array of bruises and cuts that she had proudly showed me, I smiled as I listened to the voice of my memory repeat her exciting play by plays of how she got each one.
And then something occurred to me. A thought came into my mind that I focused on, a connection between the two stories.
We both fell, but only one of us got back on the board.
I thought of all the friends I have ever known who skated and the kids in the neighborhood who are out each day, their faces set with determination as they hone an old skill or perfect a new technique, driven like they are driven in no other element in their lives...and I discover that I really respect them.
They accept falling down and getting hurt as part of the deal. They get back up. No matter how many times it takes. That is why my friend sounded so excited as she talked about her scrapes and bruises. They did not deter her from her goal of learning how to do trick A,B or C.
What a wonderful lesson there is in that. Sometimes in life, the rug gets pulled from under your feet. It's a fact or life. We all get hurt. Sometimes it's a minor scrape and sometimes it's a bit more complicated than that. I have found that there is real joy in accepting, learning, and trying again.
Maybe you'll see me rolling by on a sweet board sometime.
Or not.

The Pom Pom Loo Hat

2011-02-16T11:17:00.000-08:00

So yeah. I've been away (again). I couldn't help it! But I'm ready to kiss and make up with the four or five people who read my blog (warning- if you don't knit, you're still going to be mad at me).
I'm going to tell you about the Pom Pom Loo Hat.
And give you the pattern.
Hee!!

Last October, the week of the ill fated Haunted Hayride (two car accidents later, we finally got there) armed with an Ashford drop spindle, 8 ounces of woolly decadence from Frabjous Fibers and a host of You Tube tutorials, I taught myself to spin. Instantly hooked, I went though my wool as if there were a cheesecake being given out to the first ten people who produced three balls of handspun merino. I was so excited by my luscious bounty that I just had to make something...right now.
I wasn't quite sure how much I had...and being my first time around it was a bit bulky. I decided on a hat. What I came up with was easy and fun to make and even funner to wear! I called it the Pom Pom Loo hat because the two pom poms make me think of this REALLY LAME arrangement of "Leaving On A Jet Plane" my husband and I sang in a show once...While the soloist sang the main line, the chorus was in the background singing "pom pom loooooo". What is that? Why couldn't we just go oooo or even bum bum bum like a normal chorus? Honestly, I'm going to be ashamed when I meet John Denver on the other side.
Anyway, the pattern. I promised this a couple of weeks ago to a friend at church who wants to make one to send out to her daughter at BYU, so why not share it with the world?
World, I give you the Pom Pom Loo Hat.

Bulkyish, handspun or single ply yarn (sorry I have no idea how much but I think Noro Kuryeon would be a great pick.)
Size 13 straight needles (if you prefer circular, go for it. Just cast on twice as many stitches and make one piece instead of two)
Gauge- 3 spi in garter stitch

Note- The hat is meant to be biggish and drapey.

Hat (make two)
CO 35 stitches.
Knit all rows until piece measures 7"

Stitch up sides and top. Weave in ends. Make two 2" extra fluffy pom poms and stitch one onto each corner of the hat. Cut 1' lengths of yarn to half of desired thickness of braid. Twist yarn and using a crochet hook thread half of its length though the bottom corner of hat. Braid and tie with a scrap piece of yarn. Make a braid for the other corner.

I hope you like...and if you do, feel free to make one for yourself or as a gift. Please keep it karmic and don't make these for sale :)

Lobster Killah!

2010-09-25T13:22:00.000-07:00

I recently had an experience that I feel pretty strongly a lot of people can relate to. I felt compelled to write about it and I've never felt compelled to write about anything before. However, I feel drawn to this subject like a moth to a flame and I had to write about it.
Last week, I experienced for the first time the emotional roller coaster that is eating a lobster. Can I hear an amen? I know I'm not the only one. I saw Julie and Julia...she felt bad about it too.
I was helping my friend Andrea pack up her apartment last week and as a thank you she wanted to feed me. As soon as she said she was in the mood for lobster, I began to hem and haw around the subject and throwing out excuses...
"My husband is allergic to shell fish"
"It's so expensive!"
"I've never had lobster before...what if I don't like it?"
I didn't tell her some of my more bizarre reasons, like I have a thing with dismembering a corpse and feasting on its insides and that lobsters look like giant red scorpions or that I was afraid it would come back to life while I was eating it and it would attack me. Call me a pansy, but better safe then sorry.
She deflected all of my concerns expertly, advising me to wash my hands and brush my teeth before I went home, don't worry, she had enough money, and it's ok, if I didn't like it she'd eat the rest later.

STAGE ONE: GUILT
So we get to the store and she picked out two lobsters. I couldn't look. It would only make it more personal. There were two lobsters in the tank that were alive that morning who DIED because we went to to store and FOR NO OTHER REASON.

STAGE TWO: SUSPENSE
She asked the guy to steam them for us since we had packed up her kitchen already, so at least I didn't have to hear them scream. We waited around and picked up a few other things- a good loaf of bread, olive oil, olives, and nuts- to round out our meal. We chatted merrily as our meal was being boiled to death in the back (stage two and a half guilt again).

STAGE THREE: FEAR
"Hey Katty, can you get the bag?"
I walked through the store, waited in line, and drove back to her house holding a bag full of warm lobster corpses. I was petrified. I knew it wasn't likely that they really would come back to life and crawl up my arm....BUT WHAT IF THEY DID??

STAGE FOUR: PITY AND PUTRIFICATION
Honestly, Andrea, you are a hard core woman. I think she was beginning to get a little irritated with me by this point because here's where I had an all out emotional breakdown.
She took them out of the bag and they still and the little rubber band thing around their lifeless claws, reminding me that they lived and died as slaves. Then she began to rip them apart and crack them open with her teeth. I couldn't look but the sound of it had me freaking out. Our friend Robbie came by at that moment, and was pretty entertained by our scene. I was convinced I could never ever ever eat these poor creatures. I began mapping out tactical strategies for sneaking into a 24 hour Kroger and liberating a tank full of lobsters. I decided I was going back to vegetarianism.

STAGE FIVE: HYPOCRISY AND GLEE
The carnage over, their poor bodies spent, I turn my head back to the table to find a pile of delicate white meat placed in front of me. I picked a piece up gingerly between my thumb and forefinger, my face scrunched up in a slight pucker of distaste. I don't know what is going to happen next.
I dip the meat in the olive oil.
Heaven.
Heaven, heaven, heaven.
That's where those lobsters went for making me so happy.
I am a nasty, dirty, hypocrite. I didn't quite care at the time, because I was busy throwing down that wonderful lobster.

EPILOGUE
So was it worth it? A sly smile creeps across my face as I type those words.
Yeah, kinda.
Don't hate, though.
I don't want to be a base torturer of animals, but I know that once in a while, I'm going to get a taste for it. My conclusion is, like with all animal protein I take, it should be taken sparingly and mindfully.
But maybe next time, I'll go for a lobster tail.

EDIT: A month later, I went again to New Hampshire to visit my brother with some friends. We took a day trip out to Boston where I was introduced to the concept of a Lobster Roll. It was AMAZING and I've been dying for another ever since. Here's a great recipe to try if this post has made you Lobster Crazy!

I'll blog on Monday, I swear.

2010-05-21T12:13:00.000-07:00

I recently heard blogging described as being like dieting. The allusion struck me as funny because I've been going through a string of weeks where almost every day I was intending to write a post, then things got hectic, I ran out of time and I said to myself, "I'll blog tomorrow, I swear". It really was starting to feel like when I gear up to increase my excersize regimen or cut out sugar. I start the day with the best of intentions, then find myself putting it off until tomorrow.
I know I should, I know I'd feel better but.....
Sound familiar?
How do the daily bloggers do it? I truly do enjoy writing, and I have been really enjoying learning about photography, and between my etsy shop, movies, working out at my CSA, crafting, family and general spring rambles, I have plenty to blog about.
I think I'm missing an ingredient in the magic formula.
Time?
Maybe.
Maybe I should plan ahead?
Let's see, shall we?
Well,with the best of intentions, I sit here and mull the issue over, with all of you as my witnesses.
I'm writing now, which is good. Like with practicing my bellydancing, taking a walk, or eating a healthy balanced meal, now counts.

A Visit From The Faeries and Another Application for Fig Jam.

2010-04-06T14:26:00.000-07:00

Spring days have really been rolling along over here, and with the bulk of the organizing done, we've been free to enjoy it!
Sunday was calm and enjoyable. Taking the garbage out in the back, I was greeted by a glory of violets in the back yard and distractingly beautiful satiny red tulips. I was understandably surprised, since we have lived here for five years and have never seen them before. The violets probably spread from the next yard over, which was resplendent with them, but where did those tulips come from?
Just at that time, my neighbor came out with his garbage.We puzzled over the gorgeous tulips that neither of us had planted. The elderly gentleman and I finally came to the highly logical conclusion that it was the faeries.

I found the violets to be very inspiring. I've created this brooch in honor of them and violet jelly will be made using this awesome recipe I've been dying to try from the uber-awesome Lisa at 5 Orange Potatoes.
Before going over to have Easter with Bill's family, we decided to make a treat for ourselves and to share with everyone and had a marshmallow party.

All I did was set the stuff out and the family had a blast! Bill and Gwenny were literally quivering with anticipation as I melted the chocolate.
"Is it done yet?" got asked enough times to make me pull a Papa Smurf.
Then dipping ensued to the enthusiasm of all!

After a while, the sprinkles fell by the wayside and people got fancy. It started with dipping into dark and white chocolate, artistic drizzling, and ultimately crescendoed to marshmallow art and calligraphy, using bamboo skewers as writing instruments.

After our marshmallow party, we brought our bounty to Mom and Pop Robb's to the general delight of the crowd-- don't worry, there was plenty left for us!
Other important happenings in the household recently include welcoming Matt Smith as the new Doctor Who to an uproariously delighted reception, and finding something else to do with fig jam. If anyone follows this blog closely, you may have noticed my thing with figgy jam.
My brother, during my trip to Manchester, got me hooked on this glorious substance. It has become a household staple even though it's outrageously expensive.
I wanted to share this AMAZING dressing that I improvised the other night. It's wonderful for dressing greens and I imagine it would be a fab marinade for chicken.
Katty's Orange and Fig Jam Salad Dressing
you will need:
1/4 c. olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
salt (to taste)
small pinch each of fennel seed, mustard seed, and 3 peppercorns crushed
a pinch of dried mint
1 T Dalmation Orange and Fig Jam

Pour oil in a bowl or cup and squeeze in lemon juice. add spices and jam and mix thoroughly.
I used this to dress spring greens with a little pecorino cheese and the taste was incredible!

Springtime Sweets

2010-03-29T20:54:00.000-07:00

I improvised an amazing desert tonight that I had to share. To quote Clifford the Dog "it's a fireworks of flavor."
I had a splendid dinner of grilled mozzarella and arugula- pesto sangwish. As always after dinner I started wanting "sumfin' sweet". I have to say that I was honestly tired of chocolate...I know, right? That almost never happens.
Suddenly the idea came together and I knew what I had to do.
Figgy jam.
Shortcakes.
Cream.
Yum.
I baked up a batch of shortcakes, topped them with dalmatian orange and fig jam and a dreemy pillow of whipped cream--humina, humina.
Here's my recipe for a dessert that is fit for any Easter table (or anytime really...they're just good.)

You will need:
Shortcakes
1 1/3 c. flour, 1T baking powder, 2T sugar,pinch salt, 5T sunflower oil, 1/2 c. cream
Figgy Jam ( I used Dalmatian Orange and Fig Spread, found next to the $300 wheel of cheese at the grocery store)
Whipped cream
sugar
vanilla
orange flower water

To make the shortcakes, combine the dry ingredients. Add oil and use hands or forks to work the oil in. It should look clumpy. Add the cream and cut in with forks. Roll into a log and with sharp serrated knife, cut into rounds about 1/2" thick. Place on baking stone or well greased sheet and bake at 425 about 12 minutes or until golden.
While shortcakes are baking, pour about 1T of orange flower water, 1t of vanilla and 1Tof sugar into a bowl. Pour in about 1 1/2c. whipping cream. (I eyeballed it.) Whip cream until peaks form.

Allow shortcakes to cool briefly. Then dollop on a bit of figgy jam, and drop on a biiiiiig dollop of orange flower cream on top of that. SNARF!!

Cincinnati Weather--WTF(udge)?

2010-03-27T18:19:00.001-07:00

This is one single, very expressive picture that describes perfectly the weather around the Cincinnati/Northern KY area. Greenery, spring blossoms, and snow.
Walking to work on Thursday, I had my umbrella ripped apart and generally rendered useless by a torrential rainstorm. I arrived dripping wet and my shoes were sloshy all night.
Leaving work at 4am, a friend and I had a jawdropping moment when we realized it was friggin' snowing.
Seriously? Weren't we done with that?
Apparently not. In fact, I nearly slipped on my porch, which had the nerve to be icy.
The next morning I awoke to brilliant sunshine and the first thing I saw out my window was a tree, suddenly misted over with green.
Is it just us? Or is the weather just catawompus everywhere?

A Visit to Manchester, NH

2010-03-25T13:58:00.000-07:00

This week one of my sisters and I travelled to Manchester, NH to visit my brother. We were quite excited, because he's lived there a couple of years, but we hadn't seen him there yet. He usually comes by to see us. It was a real treat to see him in his new home.
Unlike myself, he is very quiet and clean and organized. His place always smells like some kind of wood or resin and he has a gift for incorporating nature effortlessly into his home without making it seem cluttered. ( I took lots of notes, as I am trying to cultivate that tendency!)
We started our first day with a glorious walk. He lives right in front of the Merrimack River and we had a ramble by the train tracks, gulping in the fresh, slightly salty air.
Speaking of gulping things down, from almost the instant we got there, until the time we left, he spoiled us with a feast of fat things! He had filled the house with olives, cheese, good bread, chocolate and wine (Pomegranate Juice for me!).

It was fortunate we took so many walks or we would have had to waddle home!
One of the coolest things we did was go to a Brazilian place. It was an all you can eat kind of place, and it was seriously dangerous! They just keep bringing you food until you tell them to stop. And then you can change your mind and get more. It was like sitting in front of the mirror of Erised in Harry Potter. I didn't know if it was real, but I didn't care.
That place should be illegal.
(They also light drinks on fire there, which is neat. My brother got one.)
We did do more than just eat awesome food, of course. We took some petty fun walks around the nearby city. We found some awesome chalk drawings.
This one was my favorite!
We also went to Myths and Maidens, one of my brothers favorite shops. I love these kinds of places, and I was especially impressed by the wall of herbs, dried flowers, and resins. To quote my brother, "They have everything but Eye of Newt".Then there was music. Always lots of music whenever we all get together. Singing, dancing, laughing, reading, and crafting together was how we spent all of our nights during our visit. That was really the best part for me.
A bowlful of myrrh gets lit on fire and we chill together. Quiet reading, bead stringing, or you tube browsing ensues. We had a fine time!
Then going home time came.
Although we were sad to part from him, we had had a wonderful time. We were anxious to see our families waiting for us at home!
I was received by this beautiful bunch of Daffies, which had bloomed during my absence and the arms of a lonely hubby!
Also, our Girl Scout cookies had come in.
It was a joyous homecoming!

The Ruckle Family Music Party

2010-03-23T21:14:00.000-07:00

My sister and I have been visiting my brother in New Hampshire this week and we've been having a blast!
I'll have plenty of pics and lots of stories to share when I get back. I wanted to share a couple of video clips.
My brother is an amazing pianist! Whenever we get together there is always music. The first clip is one of me singing a song called Uninvited- one of our favorite songs. It had a fixed place on every single mix tape I made between 1998 and 2001.
Because I like to save the best for last, the second clip is a song written by my brother and sung by my amazingly gifted sister called The Dead Are Dancing. It's a beautiful song. My brother had written it and around 1996 he taught it to my sister and she stylized it and together they made this incredible piece. It's one of my favorites...I hope you enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrVyiPl-4MQhttp://
http://http//www.youtube.com/user/ImberMychal?feature=mhw4#p/a/u/1/yZAA6DeJSfU

Back on Track!

2010-03-17T13:55:00.000-07:00

So last Monday I was ready to rip my hair out. I was fortunately spurred into action by the example of a sleepy pug dog. I thought I'd follow up with an update.
My awesome sister, Rebecca , equipped with fierce mad skillz, came by and helped me get the lead out. One afternoon with her, and it was all gravy. Supplied with an awesome playlist by the Master Mixer Gweny, the three of us were a bunch of busy bees and busted out some serious cleaning/ orgainization. As a result this week is looking much brighter. (Thanks, Rebecca.)
I can report that this Monday, I left for the Muse concert in Nashville (awesome, by the way.) with a squeaky clean conscience, because although I left my hubby and five kitties to fend for themselves overnight, I left them in an equally squeaky clean apartment.
And there was joy.
Because our old computer crashed I don't have any before pictures to show, which is probably a good thing. But here are a few after pictures. I really consider these progress pictures because I don't think I'll ever be really done. After all, no matter how clean your sink is, there will always be more dishes, so to speak.
The Maintainance section of The Great Simplify Project will never be over. Drawers and Giant Tupperware are all well and good, but they'll amount to nothing if we don't put stuff in 'em.
Yeah, I really meant it when I said this place is tiny. The space we've opened up is amazing. Visitors have been astounded...it's kind of funny to see. There used to be a giant table in the middle of this room. It was very unwelcoming and did not get a lot of use. It was basically a drop off point for our stuff when we came in the house. We moved the table out and moved our desk, and bookcases in. Now the room actually has a purpsose and gets used. I call it the library. Bill calls it the mancave (I'm not sure which it the manliest part, the Twilight Themed Rag Wreath or Phantom of the Opera Figurine.) because it also houses our Star Wars stuff and the Giant Gerard Butler 300 banner that we've altered to be an advert for Orbit Gum. (for a good, clean feeling...no matter what!)
Our book collection, having been ruthlessly pared down, now features only the best of the best. Books on our two shelves are now stacked only one deep and stay in place. Formerly they were stacked three deep and covered the top and were stuffed in between. A few favorite photos and trinkets have found a home here as well.
Our kitchen is now quite dainty with the addition of some of my grandma's things. These soup cups were my favorite thing in her house besides my actual grandparents. Most are in the cupboard awaiting chilly days and hot homemade soup. A few were put on display.
Our spice collection, mortar and pestle have a free standing shelf all to themselves .
Supplementing our extreme lack of counter space is a butcher block from grandma's.
This is the actual piece de resistance of the Great Simplify Project. An actual bedroom. What this is is a nook off of the side of the apartment. It's very small and the only thing that ever fit in here was our bed. We had two twin mattresses we had pushed together. It took up the whole area. We got grandma's bed, which is a bit smaller, but my sister had the brilliant idea of turning it in a different direction. Now we have room in here for a dresser and an end table and a small area rug. It's quite cozy. When Gweny walked in she stopped in her tracks and said "whoa!", we're expecting a lot of that from future guests!
The headboard of our old bed became a DVD organizer! We have a zillion and they used to just hang out in a stack on the floor. We had put them on top of a bookcase, but they were stacked three deep and way too high so movies were hard to find and always falling over. Now, everything is neat and accessible.
This is where we've opened up the most space. This was the living/crafting/computer/gaming/reading/ instruments area and believe you me there wasn't room to swing a cat! (Not that we tried.)
Putting the computer and books in the other room opened things up a lot. Adding the crafting table in the corner helped as well.
A favorite orgainizational tool in this room actualy came from my grampa's tool shed. These drawer organizers are both handmade...the one on the left is made of wooden cheese boxes! It's a real treasure.

...and a great way to store findings and supplies!

I consider us finished in the grand-scheme-of-things sense, but I still have some tweaking. For instance, my other brilliant sister, Jennifer, suggested making fabric panels to hide stuff stored underneath the crafting table...a great idea that will improve the over all look to the organized room!

It's wonderful having all this space to breathe. We feel like we got an all new apartment . We actually kind of feel like dopes that we didn't think to do this before. We've been living here 5 years and never thought to toy with furniture placement.
We're feeling a nice flow in here now. It feels less chaotic. There's more light and air.
I'm glad I was done in time for spring.

Sanity is a Sleepy Pug

2010-03-09T12:06:00.000-08:00

I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed lately.
Two and a half months ago, I got this crazy idea that it was time to get all of the junk out of my house. I shouted "Simplify!" and charged into action.
My house is still a wreck.
We certainly haven't been lazy. We got a lot of junk out. Things were going great.
I've opened up about a cubic crapton of room that I didn't know we have. My apartment ,which I considered to be about as big as a large pocket handkerchief, is actually about as big as a large pocket handkerchief with a lot of elaborate lace trimming, so that's good to know.
But then my grandpa died and my gramma decided to break up housekeeping and live in Kansas City with my uncle. She took very little with her, so she gave most of her stuff away or sold it.
Now, at the best of times it's impossible to get out of my gramma's house without a bagful of either clothes, canned goods, or giant mayonnaise jars filled with macaroni salad being pressed into our hands with grandmotherly ferocity.
Now that she was actually moving and not wanting to take anything with her, it was boxes and furniture taking the place of frozen baggies of ravioli .
So I gamely went over and accepted things she wanted me to have-- all of her fabric and art supplies. A new easel. Grampa's stuffed reindeer wreath that sang "Gramma Got Run Over By A Reindeer" every time you walked by it.
I know I've been trying to take things out, but come on!
"Sorry gramma. I don't want awesome vintage dishes, I'm simplifying."
"That's ok. I don't have room for these schoolbooks that belonged to my great grandfather."
"I don't really need your mother's rolling pin although you taught me to roll out pasta dough using that pin while you were telling me stories of your mother. Whatever."
Are you nuts? Of course I want this stuff! I'm wildly sentimental. Plus I need it. We were getting stabbed to death by the springs popping up out of our bed.
Anyway, yesterday was the last trip. We went to pick up the bed.
So, I woke up this morning with a house full of mattresses and boxsprings and boxes and books and thought to myself....oy.
Two and a half months I spend organizing the place.
I feel like I have no time lately.
Rah.
Time to walk.
I put on my hoodie and lugged the first of the old mattresses downstairs to haul out to the trash before my walk.
I got outside and almost fell over the mattress. It was warm.
Can I just tell you what an awesome day it is outside? It's hella awesome.
After hauling the stupid mattress to the stupid curb, I pushed up my sleeves and took a deep breath of the warm, springy air and started moving.
I wasted a little time thinking about all the things I need to get done, but then a mercifully comic image snapped me into a new and better train of thought.
I was passing a house with a giant picture window. In the center of the window, snug and peaceful was a pug dog taking a catlike snooze on the windowsill. The sight of it tickled me.
I stood there for a moment, appreciating the image and acknowledging the meaningfulness of this scene that I nearly passed right by.
Like the pug, I needed to find a peaceful sunny spot to rest in. Going 90 miles an hour to try and get everything done was not going to serve me. It wasn't all going to get done today. So I decided to just enjoy my walk for the present moment.
I enjoyed my half hour or so that I spent in the air and sunshine. I noted the bare trees beginning to form their hard buds and imagined those buds swelling until they burst with life and color and glorious scent. I observed strong green points beginning to shoot from the dirt, and had my breath taken away by the first crocuses glowing so purely purple and gold in a neighbor's yard that I almost stopped to knock on their door to thank them for planting them. I became excited about the transition and change the earth was going through. There may be some chilly days left, but the spring is coming slowly and in its own time.
I need to remember that, myself.
Now at home, I have thrown open the windows to let all the good, healthy air in and I've gotten the mattresses and boxsprings to the curb, and things don't seem quite as bad now that I've opened up all that room and can actually sit on my couch.
Maybe I should take another lesson from the pug and take a nap.

Katty's Pick- Alice in Wonderland

2010-03-03T11:46:00.000-08:00

Tim Burton loves me.
Platonically, of course. I'm not quite sure how it happened, but here's what I think. He was traveling incognito and found himself in Kentucky and we ran into each other and I did something awesome to impress him, not realizing he was Tim Burton. You know, like that old lady who went to this movie theater and asked the usher for a glass of water and he brought her one then the next week she died and she left all of her money to the nice kid who gave her a glass of water? I think it happened like that.
So Tim Burton went home and told Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter all about me and they decided, as reward for my general awesomeness, they would make a bunch of great movies together.
This is the only way I can explain the fact that Tim Burton, Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter would never let me walk into a bad movie. Ever. Even mediocrity is unacceptable. It has to be an amazing movie every single time. You're welcome.
All jokes aside, I know I can't reasonably take credit for how awesome all his movies are, but it's nice to dream. Sometimes it feels like that though doesn't it? Like your favorite directors and actors really just do it for you? I feel that way about Tim Burton.
Ever since my first experience with him, watching Edward Scissorhands at the multiplex theater at the California Club Mall, I've been completely besotted. Who didn't want a superpale, sensitive boyfriend who might accidentally slice you to ribbons after they saw that movie? Hands in the air, ladies!
But back on task, now. Alice in Wonderland. Let's discuss.
In this beautiful re-imagining of the classic tale by Lewis Carroll, we join Alice thirteen years after her visit to Wonderland.
Long since believing her adventures in Wonderland were but a child's dream and grieving the loss of her father, Alice is about to turn the page into womanhood and reluctantly accept the proposal of the self important, priggish son of her father's business partner.
Her morning gets curiouser and curiouser when she spies a rabbit in a waistcoat summoning her. Impulsively, she follows him back to Wonderland where she finds her friends in trouble and oppressed by the cruelty of the Red Queen.
Her friends, having anxiously waited her return, believe that Alice is the only one who can defeat the terrifying Jabberwocky and restore the White Queen back to power, ushering in the long awaited Frabjious Day.
This movie was visually absolutely glorious. The best way I can think to describe it is part Narnia, part Lord of the Rings, with a dash of Burton's famous macabre. Alice's world was fresh and light and dainty. Wonderland was fantastical, but beautifully faded from it's former glory.
And the costumes. Don't get me started. I'll gush. I'll go on at length. At Length.
I don't really need to say this because everyone already knows, but for formality's sake I'll just mention that the performances are excellent.
Of course Johnny Depp's Mad Hatter was cleverly and creatively done.
Of course Helena Bonham Carter was a total beast as the Red queen.
But here's a surprise. Crispin Glover, who is always great, was actually a bit dishy. I know, right?
I kid, I kid.
Each performance was wonderful, the actors, even though most of them were animated, acted as a cohesive unit.
I had such a wonderful time watching this movie, and yes I am a bit biased, because I went in expecting to love it, but I can approach things with an open mind. I thought Gamer was lame even though Gerard Butler was in it.

Fueled by Sweet Potato Fries

2010-02-26T11:04:00.000-08:00

You guys, it's been a crazy week!

The computer crashed....not so much! But thanks to our pal Scott, we've got a loaner until we can get the issue resoved, so everyone, send Scott some good chi(~~~~~wheeee~~~~~)

Anyway all the snow is melting and everyone is talking about spring. I have been feeling a little spring-y myself and have been busy making beaded flowers and getting excited about the Muse concert I'm seeing in March. I bought those tickets at the begginging of December, and March seemed like a zillion years away. Now all of a sudden we're booking a room at the Nashville Howard Johnson's and pooling together our gas money.

Another sign that spring is just around the corner is that I'm starting to get restless with my winter foods. Winter is time for sweet 'tatoes, squashes and apples. I eat them constantly. By the the end of winter I start wanting lighter stuff. I go into what I call my transitional foods- lighter soups, pasta with veggies and stuff like that.

There is one way to prepare sweet potatoes that I can eat pretty much any time. I could eat them during a giant snowstorm (and have), or eat them in the sweltering summer (and have). I could eat them in a tree, I could eat them by the sea. I could eat them in a house, I could eat them with a mouse.

Sweet Potato Fries--tada!!

I noticed yesterday that I've eaten them for breakfast every day this week, so I decided that I just had to share the wealth and post my recipe today.

Katty's Sweet Potato Fries
you will need:
1 sweet potato
olive oil
salt
italian seasoning
sage
cumin
lightly crushed fennel seed

Cut the sweet potato into long sticks of desired thickness. I usually cut mine into sixths lengthwise and then turn it and do it again. Then put your potatoes in a big bowl and pour on enough oive oil to coat the fries. Then add big picnhes of salt and herbs and spices. Toss it all with your fingers to coat 'em. (Fries not fingers. But they get pretty coated, too.)
Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet or pizza stone and bake in a 400 deg. oven until the fries are golden, about 15-20 mins.
I like to serve mine with a side of Annie's Naturals Goddess Dressing, but that's only beacuse I think it makes everything taste better. But pick whatever dip rings your bell or eat 'em naked...I won't judge.

Rah! Red Alert!

2010-02-23T17:06:00.000-08:00

Hey guys,
Just in case anybody reads this blog (I'll be totally wowed out if you do! :) ), our computer crashed and so my posts will be a bit sporadic until we get it fixed. Please, please stay tuned! I will be updating as often as I can.
Much love,
Katty <3

The Week in Pictures

2010-02-19T09:50:00.000-08:00

I noticed my posts have been minimal this week, so I thought I'd share a few scenes from my week.

There was another epic snowstorm...which meant epic nature walks around the neighborhood!

And of course chilly girls make nice, hot, soup when they get home (like this delicious spinach, sweet potato, apple combo!)

There was :

Chilling......

reading.....

organizing... (slowly but surely....)

relaxing.

And of course there is always a ton a crafting! Here's the highlight reel:

I finished a painting...

Gwenny finished her FIRST painting!!

I did my first experiment with resin (this lovely pendant is from Cynthia Thornton's inspiring book, Enchanted Adornments)...

which turned into my first resin pouring disaster...(cut to the river of resin on my craft table)
and another first...shipping out my VERY FIRST ETSY SALE! huzzah! (shameless plug www.katterbiller.etsy.com :) )
I made some new pillowcases with this fun flannel I found on sale.
and made a new batch of women's cloths....
...just in time!

Whew! Add to that a full time job aaaaaaaaaand that's what I did this week!

I think I need a nap.

Katty's Pick: Shutter Island

2010-02-18T12:52:00.000-08:00

So good. SO good. So. Good.

I have been affectionately a fan of Martin Scorsese since I saw "The Grifters" on the Channel 33 Saturday Movie Matinee when I was 13. I remember being completely appalled that the 3/6 mafia won an Oscar before he did...with respect to the 3/6 mafia of course- but Scorsese's been in the game longer. (Got to keep myself in check, just in case a member of the 3/6 mafia is a blog reader.)
Leonardo Dicaprio came later. I don't know why, but it took me a long time to take him seriously as an actor. (I'm currently going through the same thing now with Zac Efron. ) Even after I fell in lurve with Baz Luhrman's Romeo and Juliet, I regarded him as just another Hollywood Pretty Boy. I finally got around to seeing "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" when I was about 22 (thanks again, Kristen. I could give a list of awesome movies as long as my arm that she introduced me to when we lived together.) and I finally hopped full on, ring a ding- ding, to the Leo Train.
Sorry it took me so long Leo.

Anyway, enough with the back story. The short version: Marty and Leo are my dawgs and I knew they wouldn't do me dirty.
Set in the early 50's, Ted (DiCaprio) and Chuck (Mark Ruffalo) are two federal marshals assigned to the case of a missing patient at Shutter Island, a maximum security mental institution for the criminally insane.
Ted gets suspicious as the doctors in charge are less than cooperative and everyone from the nurses to the patients seem to be hiding a secret. Determined to find out what's happening at Shutter Island, Ted plays an intriguing game of cat and mouse with the head doctor (Ben Kingsley) while struggling with sudden migraines and hallucinations of his own grisly past.
The only way out is a ferry controlled by the authorities that seem quite determined to keep him there. Will Ted and Chuck ever make it out to the real world again?

Scorsese really went old school in the making of this movie. Everything from cinematography to screenplay to soundtrack was classic film noir. His direction as always was brilliant as was the well crafted story.
I usually pride myself on guessing the twist of a movie either from the trailer or in the first hour of the feature. I actually guessed the twist from the trailer and was still fooled. Scorsese's brilliantly concealed hints only served to intrigue me instead of reassuring me of my previous convictions of how the story might end. I was continually led away from those convictions until the moment the truth came out-- I was happily surprised I'd been right in the beginning and delighted I'd been fooled so effectively.
A word of caution though- I was extremely glad I did not have to watch this alone as there were lots of creepy moments and intense silences.
All in all I loved it and can't wait to see it again.

Ode To The Humble Icicle

2010-02-15T18:41:00.000-08:00

I'm the kind of person who believes everything happens for a reason. God moves in mysterious ways, so who am I to complain when something goes wrong? Over and over I've seen Lady Fate turn frowns upside down.
The week before last, I had a cute little post planned with cute little icicle pictures. Then life got in my way and something real happened and I posted about that instead.
Now I know why fate prevented me from posting my icicle pictures by distracting me with a bad morning. Because there was a HUGE HONKING SNOWSTORM COMING THAT WOULD RESULT IN MINDBLOWING UBER- CICLES!!!!! and great would be my glee.

Now I love, love, love snow. I grew up in Miami, whose last snow had been in the early 70's and it didn't stick. A move to Ohio in my teens made the magical wintry wonderlands of my dreams a reality. Snow! Real snow! It looked just like it did on the Cream of Wheat commercials.
However, I have developed a deep, unexpected passion for another of Old Man Winter's creations.

The icicle.
Winter's second banana.
About two weeks before I saw my first snow, I saw my first ice storm. I woke up one day to find everything out side covered in a sheet of ice. I went out to walk in it. (Walking a lot like Maggie Simpson, but you know.)
When I wasn't too distracted with falling on my face, I was observing the fine fringes of icicles suspended from the phone lines, touching everything I could reach, and generally getting my socks knocked off with how gorgeous everything was. I remember imagining that a fairy had come and worked a spell, covering the world with glass. I remember particularly a bush, bare of leaves but dotted with bright red berries, jewel-like in their glossy coating of ice and thinking it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.
I was in love.
Oh, the humble icicle. I adore them all, from the fine fairy-like fringe to the gigantoid rippley mutant-cicles...and my house is lousy with them!

I have to brag just a little. Our house has the best icicles in the neighborhood. A few days after a big snow there's a big rippley sheet running down the front of the house. It's the world's most awesome reminder that the gutters need to be done.

As awesome as the front of the house is, though, my favorite icicle spot in the neighborhood is behind the grocery store. The front lot is a blanket of glittering snow marked by a few Kentucky proud teens who run doughnuts in the parking lot shouting "WOOOOOOOO!"

In the back however is a cut in the hill and clinging to the rocky slope is a friggin' majesty of icicles. Icicles of every shape, size and type. A show in and of itself, I could sit there for hours in complete wonder of this icy fairyland behind the Kroger.

Oh, the humble icicle. How I love thee.

Valentine's Cookies!

2010-02-13T17:56:00.000-08:00

Oh, what a snuggly day we've had here today. We spent some time in the kitchen today baking up some yummy Valentine's Cookies. This year we tried a scrumptious recipe from Lisa at 5 Orange Potatoes-- one of my favorite, favorite blogs. We tried out the wonderful Rosewater Cookies recipe found here, but adapting it to fit what we had here. These came out so very tasty that I wanted to share.
First of all, I had roses on hand, but not rosewater. Instead, I made a tea of dried roses. It came out super fragrant and quite tasty! ( I let it steep about a half hour to make it pretty potent.) Now, armed with my rose-ish water, I was ready to get started.
I had almost all of the wet ingredients except lemon extract and sour cream. For the lemon extract I just used the juice of a meyer lemon, but as I'm typing this the thought occurred to me I could have just used a drop or two of lemon essential oil and that would have been pretty good too. For the sour cream, I whipped some regular cream and added a splash of apple cider vinegar. At this point, I got curious and dipped my finger into the mixture to have a taste and I was quite delighted!
Gwenny loved helping out with the rolling and cutting!

These came out so yummy! Light, a little lemony, a little floral...totally dreamy. We felt, though, that they needed just a leetle something on top- nothing too sugary , just the teensiest bit of extra sweet. I came up with this light, delicate glaze that set them off perfectly. (Squeeeeeeeeeeee.)

Katty's Splendid Sesame-Agave Cookie Glaze

You will need:
1/3c. agave syrup
2tbs. sesame seeds
1t. rosewater or rose tea
a pinch of salt
2 drops of red food coloring

(I just eyeballed it all...it sounds about right :))
So I put everything except the food coloring in a small saucepan over medium high heat. I let it bubble until it got all foamy and then waited about three minutes after that point before I took it off the heat and added the food coloring. I set the pot aside for about 20 minutes and waited for it to harden a bit. Then we just dipped the fronts of the cookies into the glaze and let the extra run off. Then we set the cookies aside for a minute before we dug in.
Nummies!! Happy Valentine's Day!

James E. Tobin- a helluva guy.

2010-02-11T16:03:00.000-08:00

See the guy on the left? That's my Grampa Jim. I know...what a dish!
I've been away from this space this week in order to celebrate his wonderful life with my family.
He passed on Monday night, peacefully and at home, just like he wanted, after a mercifully quick battle with cancer.
Can I tell you, though, just how much class this guy had? Lots. He always put on his best face, smiled and joked with us whenever we came by to see him those last months.
That's the kind of guy he was, the kind of grampa that wears suspenders and tells good jokes and always had a peppermint on his person. Honestly, I've done more smiling than crying the last few days, thinking about him and the kind of person he was.

My grandparents are the ones on the left locked in a giant smooch, of course.

He was married to a lovely lady for 60 years...my source tells me that he still had an Irish twinkle in his eye for her until the last. (My source is gramma.) His wife loved him.His children loved him. His grandchildren loved him. His great grandchildren loved him. Everyone loved him. He was that kind of guy .
I'm left with lots of happy memories, a cache' of good jokes, and a great example of how good humor and selflessness can get you through life's troubles. (In addition to an affection for peppermint.)
It's true! I betcha he could out-grampa anyone on the block. I love you grampa Jim. I'll be seeing you.

Picture Page

2010-02-05T12:34:00.000-08:00

Squee! I got a new camera!

Katty's Pick: Crazy Heart

2010-02-04T14:02:00.000-08:00

I've been excited all week because I knew I was going to get to see this movie. It was kind of a long wait, but ooooooooh boy. It was worth it.
Sometimes a movie comes out and it gets hyped and everyone's talking about it and then you see it and you're kind of....let down. Then sometimes a movie comes out, gets hyped, has awesome word of mouth, you finally get a chance to see it and it's awesome. This is one of those.
Crazy Heart is a slice of the life of Bad Blake, a writer and singer of "real country", who is approaching his 60's with nothing but a guitar, a dwindling career and a slew of health problems.
Blake is on tour hitting some of the most prestigious corner bars and bowling alleys in the American Southwest when an encounter with a beautiful small town newspaper reporter inspires him to put down the bottle and write his first new song in years.
Giving Blake the chance at one last comeback is his much younger former back up guitarist,the now famous Tommy Sweet. Blake must put his ego aside as he evaluates his life and tries to make amends for his glaring shortcomings.
Interestingly, the movie was originally made for television, but when viewed by Fox execs, they insisted it be shot as a full length feature film, and it was--in 24 days!
Jeff Bridges gives the best performance of his career as Bad Blake- and that is saying something. Completely understated, so genuine and so human, he made this character a living breathing person. I had two friends watching this with me and he reminded each of us of our fathers in different ways. I think this may be where the real charm of the performance lay.
However, I do not believe that Bridges was the whole movie. It was beautifully written, beautifully shot. The supporting characters were wonderful. The soundtrack is completely awesome (and I'm not really that into country).
A sure fire winner for this first time director Scott Cooper.

Accentuating the Positive

2010-02-03T14:24:00.000-08:00

I was fully intending to write about icicles today. Last night when I went to bed I was thinking about some pretty pictures I had of the killer icicles that my house produced after the last snow we had here. I'm sure I will post about them sometime because my house really does have the most killer icicles in the neighborhood, but not today.
I want to share a bit about my morning but please, bear with me for just a sec...I'm well aware that no one likes to go to a pity party--no matter how good the refreshments are.
So, I woke up today to find some people had some negative things to say about this attempt at a small online shop I'm trying out and then right after that I got dressed and my jeans wouldn't zip. I can't even begin to tell you how it feels to have your jeans not zip after you've experienced losing seventy pounds. It's been three years since having a morning where my jeans don't zip.
So my art sucks and I'm fat was my morning.
Before my morning could become my entire day, I took Rafiki's advice,"put your behind in your past".
It was time for a mental health walk.
I love the mental health walk. When I quit smoking I followed my friend Moe's advice. He told me about a woman who had quit smoking. Every time she wanted a cigarette, she would take a walk instead. Eventually she lost a ton of weight and hiked the Appalachian Trail.
I did not set my heart on a goal quite as high as that, but the losing a ton of weight part sounded good, so I started walking every time I wanted a smoke. The first few days I noticed two things. One was that I was way more out of shape then I thought and the other was that I had deprived myself of oxygen without realizing it.
Oxygen became the anti-drug. It was the all purpose motivator, mood improver, mind clearing polar opposite of what I'd been doing before. I didn't realize how much I needed it until I started getting it.
This is where the mental health walk comes in. I live right on the Ohio River, which is cool because in 15 minutes I can go from being in Kentucky to being in Ohio. Maybe I'm easily entertained, but this tickles me. What I like to do when I'm feeling down is walk through my neighborhood, turning my issue over in my mind, trying to accept or sort or whatever I need to do. Then I walk over the bridge. I like to pretend that on the other side of the bridge is not just a new state, but a new state of mind. When I get there, I stop and take a deep breath. I turn around and take my new state of mind home with me.
So that's what I did today.
I walked. I accepted that two people didn't like my stuff. I thought about what changes in my routine may have contributed to my jeans not zipping. I remembered that other people wrote nicer things in their critiques, naming an item they liked, or if they had an idea that they thought would better serve my little shop, they gave me a specific, constructive suggestion. I comforted myself with the fact that here and now I was walking, and that would serve my body. I remembered the woman who took a painting out of my hands as I was unpacking it and bought it before the show even began. I remembered that I can't teach my stepdaughters that it's ok to be yourself if I can't be myself.
Oh, how I love the lovely oxygen. I came home with a plan of action and a better state of mind. I'm feeling kinder towards myself and my work and the people who did not like it.
(and what the hay...here's an icicle picture for the road)

Breathe. Have a super day!

Biiiiig Day!!

2010-02-02T14:35:00.000-08:00

Rah, you guys, I'm so excited! The Oscar noms were announced today and it's a big deal.(to me.)This was really just a spectacular year for movies, in my opinion.
My friends and I love Oscar time and have a lot of fun putting our "picks" together. Then on Oscar night, we have a party. Everyone puts a couple of bucks in the pot and writes down their picks and who ever guesses the most wins. It's a lot of fun, (especially when there's a big upset and we all go "naaaaaaaw!" and start throwing candy at the TV)and I usually win. Last year I was dethroned by the lovely April. I lost by a guess and a half- yet i will always stand by my pick...Mickey Rourke was "sha-shAA!" in The Wrestler.

This year is going to be great. There are a whopping 10 Best Picture Nominees, Tarrantino is seriously representing, an awesome battle of the exes for Best Director, and a really tip top celebrity death- match of Best Actress Nominees-- so far for me, the toughest category to call this year.
So here are some early snaps for this years nominees-
For me, Avatar is going to be my go to pick and I'll tell you why. It's amazing! Here's an interesting factoid: this movie has been out for over a month and people still applaud at the end of the movie. Unheard of! This movie is beautiful and it will move the whole industry in a whole new direction, like The Wizard of Oz or Star Wars. For that reason, I really like it for Best Picture (yes,yes I know WofOz and SWars did not win Best Picture) and Best Director.
One of my flava-rite performances this year was Mo'nique's crazy momma in Precious. The movie in general was just a beautiful, inspiring thing despite the rough parts. We saw a whole different side to this actress and many of us realized how little credit she gets.
Other favorite performances this year included Stanley Tucci's creepy serial killer neighbor in Lovley Bones and Christoph Waltz's giant pipe smoking Nazi Detective in Inglorious Basterds, making supporting actor a tough category to call.
This space will probably be a little moviecentric this week for two reasons- one: I will be viewing two movies this week that I'm expecting to love enough to write about and two: my camera finally died.
The simplify project is doing awesome- I can't wait to post some progress pictures! Also, I'll be posting soon about this month's One Small Change adventure.

Katty's Pick: When in Rome

2010-01-28T11:36:00.000-08:00

Hey all! I'm actually kind of surprised to be writing this today. I was not expecting to have a "pick" for this week- like last week, this week's releases looked kind of dry. However, I wound up being pleasantly surprised.
Last night, I had the opportunity to pre-screen "When In Rome", a new comedy starring Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel. I had seen the trailer a lot and, to be honest, it looked kind of...mmmmm...cheesy. The supporting cast seemed as though they would be entertaining- Angelica Huston and Danny DeVito are always a welcome addition to any film, and I always love to see Jon Heder- but I wasn't expecting to be very entertained by the movie in general. I went into it with a bit of a ho-hum attitude....and it was wonderful!
Beth (Bell) and Nick (Duhamel) are two people in love with their jobs who meet at a wedding. Nick is ready to be swept away, Beth is ready to assume the worst and doom the relationship before it can begin. Later that night, a bit soused, Beth finds herself wading around in the Fountain of Love, picking out coins in order to save a few people from the doom of falling in love.
Little does she know that she has accidentally claimed the love of several different and very eccentric men who follow her back to New York and pull out all the stops in a hilarious competition to win her love. Now the question is- is Nick for real or is he under a spell? I'll keep my lips sealed...but there is a twist!
So sure, the story is a leetle schmaltzy, but it comes together beautifully.I thought this movie was really very, very charming and so funny. Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel had wonderful chemistry together-I was completely tickled by them both. My unexpected favorite supporting character was actually Bobby Moynihan in the best-friend-of-the-leading-man role- he was hilarious! One of his asides coaxed and unreasonably loud belly laugh out of me.
If you're in the mood for something fun for a date or a date with some of the girls this is a pretty good one.

The preceding was just my opinion...hope you found it helpful!

The Hardest Part of Love

2010-01-27T13:36:00.000-08:00

So, yesterday, I unloaded the bookshelves so that I could move them to the other room and I realized - we have an absolute cubic crap-ton of books. Normally, this is a good thing- Bill and I kind of pride ourselves on our gigantoid collection of random books. I mean...we're nerds. It's what we do.
However, I was looking at a floor full of books and music with the eyes of a rabid simplifier. I looked at my floor o' books with the painful knowledge- we don't need all of these.
Great minds apparently think alike. I came home from work last night and found instead of one giant pile, several smaller piles. My husband, seeing the books everywhere, and knowing simplicity was the aim, began to sort through the books, trying to weed out the ones we could part with. Some of the no- brainers were already on the shelves, like the Harry Potters.
Some no brainers were also in the Goodwill pile, like an 80's copy of Color Me Beautiful.
Here are a few other guidelines that helped us decide:
The girls are now 12 and 18... the Dr. Seuss collection and other children's books would be better appreciated by my sisters with smaller children.
Any book we have not read or re read in the last five years might be enjoyed by someone else. (There are exceptions to every rule...i.e. the AWESOME vintage Star Trek Reader I didn't know existed because it was buried under other stuff.)
Anything that belongs to the public library...should go back! (Shame on me.)
It's been a tough process- but has resulted in more room, yet a still respectable collection of books.
A few more scenes of gleeful organization at Chez Robb

It's all happening here! Have a splendid day, everyone!

Under Construction

2010-01-26T12:41:00.000-08:00

Rah, you guys! Phase one of the simplify project is a go! I'm moving furniture today and things like cd's and books and clothes are all in temporary piles...it's a straight up disaster in here.
I have a plan (kind of) of where things should go, but all of these ideas are starting to bubble.
Of course, some of my ideas will involve crafting of some sort...tee, hee! I've got some ideas for a few organizational tools to make that I'm sure will shortly come your way!
I'm feeling slightly frazzled with all the everything everywhere, but I'm trying to hold on to the pictures in my head of the end result- more flow, more space.
Aiding me in my attempt to create a bit of peace is a playlist of awesome movies on for a soothing background and to help entertain during my apple and almond butter breaks. Up now is Mean Girls (I want my pink shirt back! I WANT MY PINK SHIRT BACK!).
Also helping to clear the atmosphere is a bit of sage and lavender essential oils bubbling merrily on low heat in the kitchen. Aaaaaaaaaaaah........
Ok, breathing break over....time to rock out with THE EYE OF THE TIGER....RAH!!!

Naps

2010-01-25T18:12:00.001-08:00

What is it about a rainy winter Sunday that renders one completely comatose? We had one of those here yesterday, and I managed to catch everyone in action. (Or lack of action I should say!)

Happy napping, everyone!

Rolling With My Gnomie

2010-01-20T19:33:00.001-08:00

This is Norman Futch. He is our indoor garden gnome. There he is, chilling by the basil, just between the evergreen and pine cone, chatting up the fairy on the candle holder, happy at last to have a job.
Bill and I found him in a dollar store about six years ago. We were on our way to the grocery store when we spotted him in the window and immediately burst out laughing. Mr. Futch waited very patiently while Bill and I spent a good ten minutes debating whether to call him Norman or Mr. Futch. Finally, we reached an accord, having decided to name him Norman Futch. (To this day Bill calls him Norman, while I, showing respect, continue to address him as Mr. Futch. )
You can only imagine Mr. Futch's chagrin when we brought him home and there was no garden for him to tend. He guarded our TV instead. I felt bad after a couple of years and decided he needed a garden. I brought some seeds, potting soil, and made pots out of old animal cracker containers and tried to start an herb garden in the middle of January. It actually didn't go too bad and might have worked, except every time a little green shoot would appear, we would get super excited, but by the end of the day the shoot would mysteriously disappear and there would always be a kitty with a little dirt goatee and a slightly guilty expression trotting suspiciously in the opposite direction.
Last spring, after a miserable failure growing garlic, I decided to try a different tack and just bought some plants. And there was much rejoicing. (yeeeeea.)
Now Mr. Futch, in his element at last gets to hang out amongst the green and leafy--and still gets to watch TV. Not a bad gig for a gnome, after all, it's hard out here fo' a shrimp.

Simplify- Winter Decorations

2010-01-19T13:28:00.000-08:00

So, The Simplify Project was kind of kicked off today with an epic round of tidying and the taking down of Christmas Decorations. (The tree is sill up. I didn't want the Biller to miss all the fun.)
I did want to share the few things I'm leaving up as Winter Decorations. A lot of people consider winter to be kind of a "dead" time of year, but I like to think of it as just being asleep. That all the green and aliveness is snuggled under the covers, like us. I like to have some things around to remind me of this sentiment, like this lady at the left. She's a favorite of mine, a gift from a couple of friends. I piled on dried roses, evergreen, pine cones and a little garland I made of dried roses, cardamom pods and juniper berries.
I have some dried evergreen branches and pine cones around, just stuff that I found as I was walking. All the evergreen is dried out, but still smells great, and in the spring, the needles will be used to fill a sweet smelling pillow.
Also making the cut are the cranberry and bay leaf garlands my stepdaughters and I made for our tree and some fragrant, glimmering potpourri...the recipe for it at the end of the post.

With the Christmas Decorations down, I'm starting to get lots of ideas for paring things down even more...furniture placement, looking at things and wondering- do we really really need it?

It's going to be exciting! For now, though, I'm going to enjoy some hard earned crafting time before work. Enjoy the potpourri recipe below!

Katty's Glimmering Winter Potpourri

YOU WILL NEED:
A selection of dried flowers ( I used rosebuds, evergreen needles, jasmine buds, mistletoe bark, and juniper berries)
Orris Root Powder ( A scent fixative)
Glitter
Essential Oils ( I used a blend of Balsam Fir, Cinnamon, Clove, and Orange)
A large jar

Put several hands full of flowers into the jar and add two large pinches of Orris Root powder and three or four pinches of glitter. Add about 15- 20 drops of essential oils. Put the lid on the jar and shake it for several minutes. You can then display your pretty homemade potpourri!

Making a Bill Blankee

2010-01-18T18:41:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share some of these photos of the afghan I'm working on for my hubby.
Last spring I made a couch runner using the top panel with the skull motif, having adapted that from a potholder pattern. It's a general favorite at home...husband, kids and kitties alike have all enjoyed napping with it (despite the fact that it is a couch runner and not a blanket.) Soon after I made the runner, Bill requested an afghan incorporating the skull motifs.
It has proved to be a perfect Post Christmas Crafting project, shaking me free from the knitting-sewing- baking- gluing- glittering into the wee hours fog I get into the week before the holiday. (I'm starting early this year...right?)
I have been working on it with tremendous energy, improvising and flying free, greatly enjoying Bill's chosen color palette. It has helped cheer my grandfathers bedside, gone to the movies with me and earned me some decent "street credit" among my knitting group.
My husband loves it so much, that when I ran out of yarn, he begged me to tie it off so he could sleep with it for a couple of days while I waited to get more.
The kitties seem to like it ,too! Is anyone else working on something new? I'd love to hear!

Katty's Pick: The Lovely Bones

2010-01-14T17:47:00.001-08:00

Hi, everyone! Katty's Big Pick for this week is "The Lovely Bones", a really, really super movie from visionary director Peter Jackson.

We follow the afterlife of teenager Susie Salmon as she aides her family in finding her killer and learns to let go of her mortal life. It's a beautiful, well told story with moving visuals and really excellent performances. Stanley Tucci was at his super creepy best as the seemingly ordinary, mild mannered man with a dark secret. Susan Sarandon's hip grandma was the fresh burst of comedy relief needed to keep things from getting too depressing and Saoirse Ronan gave a vivid, heartfelt portrayal of murdered teen Susie Salmon.
I actually got to see this movie twice this week, and I found it to be very enjoyable the second time around. The movie is filled with a lot of beautiful and symbolic images that you don't understand until later. The second time around, knowing what certain images stood for and understanding why they were there made the movie seem more powerful to me.
I haven't read the book, so I'm not sure how it compares, but a girlfriend of mine who watched it with me said it was almost line for line with a few acceptable deviations.

Despite it's length, this is a powerful and beautiful movie that I enjoyed immensely.

I hope some of you have found this helpful. The proceeding is just my opinion. Have a great weekend!

One Small Change: Joining the CSA

2010-01-13T11:49:00.000-08:00

I came across a fun and interesting challenge a few weeks ago. Actually, a better word would be opportunity. This opportunity was issued by a woman in Colorado with a killer blog-- Hip Mountain Mama. This seed of an idea is starting to grow to epic proportions and I ,for one, am totally on the train--ding,ding!
Every month this year, make one small change. Just one thing to live a bit greener. It doesn't have to be a giant hoo-ha, just something you find manageable and then either blog about or let her know so she can post it-- I think it's a great idea, doing something and raising awareness at the same time. Talk about killing to birds with one stone, or more humanely, getting two carrots with one pull. That brings me to my change for this month. Hold on to your hats, guys, I'm very excited about this.

This month, I'm joining my local CSA. Yay! I've been wanting to find a CSA out here ever since I visited one out in Pennsylvania a couple of years ago and finally did once I got wise to a great website called www.localharvest.org. This website is a wonderful tool that will help you find a farmer's market, CSA, or food co-op near you.

So what is a CSA, since I said it three times in the last ten seconds? It's a farm, supported by the community. You buy a share and/or volunteer time and in return, you get fresh produce during the growing season, in addition to seeing and being involved with where your food comes from
and getting to know the people who grow it. It's big fun! I'm really looking forward to it.

Simplify!!

2010-01-12T02:57:00.000-08:00

Yeah....you probably know this look. I live in an iiiiiity-bitty apartment, with roughly the square footage of a large pocket handkerchief. My husband, Bill and I are not exactly what you would call "tidy". We both have a lot of hobbies and interests. Both of us are artistically and musically inclined. If anyone is out there besides my sisters, (hi guys!) you've probably done the math by now.

Teeny space+naturallyuntidy+lots of hobbies+ 5 cats (oh, yeah.)= CLUTTER

Don't get me wrong, there's nothing crazy happening, just lots and lots of clutter. So, I did what I had to do. I said.....THE WORD. The word my poor husband had been dreading.....SIMPLIFY. About a month ago, I said the word, and I meant it. I started bringing home boxes, filling them with things, and taking them to Goodwill.

"Simplify!" has been my motto this last month. It has been my weapon, defeating such tactics as "We might need that" and "I was going to fix that sometime". (My sweet, patient hubby- heaven love him!)

I like to embrace the simple things in life and I believe in simplicity, but good gravy I'm a hard core clutterbug. But as my New Year's resolution, I state here and now: I repent of my clutterbugliness, as seen by the five boxes I have already taken to Goodwill. There will be more where that came from, folks! I think the process will be hilarious...and fun to watch, so I have decided to share it all with you (even if it really is just my sisters)....in addition to our process there will be lots of fun to be had on my lovely blog! Lots of art, crafts, recipies and a big general slice of the life of a Katterbiller!