Where's the Cat Drain?

Stinky we hardly ever see, but then he'll come inside and get a couple of days of loving and spoiling, and then take off again. And there is a tom we haven't even named. He just sneaks in the cat door to scarf down kibble when he thinks no humans are around, and if he hears a sound he's gone like a shot. The last kitty we took in is a real sweetie. He was sick last week and had us wondering if there was such a thing as feline polio. We feared he would never chase a laser dot again. But antibiotics have pulled him through.

I love them all, but sometimes i think longingly of this handy gauge we saw labeled on an aircraft carrier, and how much simpler (and less hairy) things would be... if i could just find the "cat drain" lever or button.

Oodles of Soft Glow Beads

I sent a nice big custom order out yesterday. It was a pleasure to have a couple of hands full of these lovely beads, even if for just a little while. :-D

Peanut Butter of the Month, Pt. 2

Saratoga Peanut Butter Company's Blizzard Butter, a 100% natural (but with cocoa butter, milk, and vanilla--and soy lecithin as an emulsifier) Creamy White Chocolate Peanut Butter out of Saratoga, NY. And St. Laurent Brothers Peanut Butter, smooth and 100% natural (just peanuts and salt), from Bay City, Michigan.

These two offerings from my Peanut Butter Of The Month Club xmas gift couldn't differ more packaging-wise: Saratoga has a really modern, funky label design with several fun fonts on a paper that looks distinctly recycled and uses low key natural ink colors that give it that granola belt, health food look. St. Laurent Brothers uses a glass jar and a label that looks like it might not have changed since the 1960's. Maybe they were going for retro?

It was probably a mistake to taste the Saratoga one first-- with the extra ingredients it is sweet and rich and creamy. The St. Laurent Brothers peanut butter tastes very peanutty, but even though the consistency seems strangely runny (and it hasn't separated) the texture of it coats your mouth in a exagerated legendary peanut butter way.

I have a feeling the Seratoga jar will be empty in a week. The St. Laurent Brothers will likely be the one my husband has permission to make cookies with.

How May I Serve You Better?

If you are a bead shopper, please take a moment to vote in the poll in the top right sidebar. The results will help me offer beads in the most useful way for you, the beader! Thank you so much for your input.

Relic

Looks like an old bone, right? One of those fossils that have the nice iridescence on them? Or a bone made out of iron or something, with a fabulous patina? Naw. It's just a glass bead. This is Effetre's Plum Silver, and it makes awesome heart beads, too. I've got the bone in the etsy shop, but cool as my hearts are, i haven't listed any yet.

Jar O Bones Destashed

A jar of bones is a pretty cool thing. It has been sitting in my kitchen for a couple of years. Today i dumped it out and separated it into destash piles and listed the piles in my etsy shop. I kept the little mound of lilac and opal bones to make a bracelet or something for myself. Hmmm, i wonder how many other people like bone beads to this degree...

Wrapped Pair

I used 20 gauge wire so these nice beads got a bit of a "Flintstones" treatment, but i think it looks pretty cool, in a bold kind of way. Too big for earrings, but maybe the beginning of an artsy necklace or a chunky bracelet.

Bound

I don't know, bound in love? bound in betrothal? bound and gagged? or maybe it's an ancient Egyptian mummified heart? In any case, it's a cool look.

Torching Away

I'm finding lots of time to lampwork these days since the kids are occupied with school again, and my baby sitting skills aren't yet required. It's AWESOME. :-)

I'm making hearts for the designers of Valentine's Day jewelry, and i have blown the dust off the spiky beads pattern. I sure do love my New York Dolls ones (photo).

A Healthy Dose of Peanut Butter

I'll have my usual, please.

Occasionally, perhaps on a Saturday, i'll make pancakes or eggs for the kids, but my usual breakfast is 2 pieces of grainy toast with peanut butter. When i was a teen and in my twenties, i wouldn't touch the stuff for fear of its fat content, but for several years now, peanut butter has felt like a healthy helping of protien, and keeps me going till lunch.

Turns out peanut butter is one of those "bad" foods that some researchers think is packed with stuff that is great for us:

Aside from being one of the most caloric foods in the kitchen, so that one shouldn't eat it if one is trying to lose weight, it contains primarily monounsaturated fats and in fact acts to reduce the "bad" LDL cholesterol and increase the "good" HDL cholesterol. It is fairly high in dietary fiber, and high in protein. It's a good source of vitamins E and B3, and provides several beneficial minerals. And peanuts contain Resveritrol, a natural antimicrobial agent that wards off pathogens like bacteria and virii. (And it is also believed to keep cardiovascular disease down in people whose diets are high in fats.) Studies have also shown that peanut butter may reduce incidence of gallstones and protect against Alzheimer's disease.

For Christmas my husband gave me a Peanut Butter of the Month membership. My first two jars were an organic dark chocolate peanut butter from Sunland (which is funny because the factory is right here in my little New Mexico town) and an all-natural crunchy made from Virginia peanuts by the Appomattox River Peanut Co. The Sunland one is interesting, being a creamy dark brown. But the sweet and bitter of the dark chocolate is a bit too much when combined with the sharp smokey flavor of the Valencia peanuts. Or maybe it has just too much going on compared with the pure and simple comfort of the golden, grainy mild Virginia peanuts, which i am really enjoying on these cold quiet holiday mornings.

The Skippy has been shoved to the back of the cupboard for now while i indulge in exotic peanut spreads.