Domestic Geek

OK, as promised, here's a couple of pics of the cheesecake I made this weekend. This was definitely up there as one of the better ones. Weather conditions must've been ideal, as it beat up nice and fluffy and there were absolutely no cracks in the surface. Love it!

Here it is sitting on my friend Tina's counter:



I went to Target on the way to my friend's house to pick up the cherry topping and to see what others were available (in case someone didn't like cherries). I saw the Limited Edition Berry Medley on the shelf and just had to try it. I mixed the two topping together and was it good! For the picture below, I topped a slice off with some of the fresh fruit that was also at the party.

Here is a single slice:



I have a couple of tricks I've picked up over the years to have cheesecakes come out really yummy. Many of the tips are summarized here. First, a water bath is a must. I always put parchment paper in the bottom of the pan. Never open the oven door when a cheesecake is baking. After the allotted time in the recipe, turn off the oven and leave the door closed. After an hour and a half or so, I take the cheesecake out of the bath and put it back in the oven. Once the cake has cooled completely, I'll take the springform side off and put it into the refrigerator over night. Instead of a knife, I use craft wire to slice it.

*sigh* I wish this weekend had been as productive as last weekend. There is just not enough time away from work.

Marcus and I finished up the Thanksgiving shopping this evening. We picked up the natural free-range turkey that we ordered earlier from Sunflower Market. Can't wait to see how that turns out. I spent the earlier part of the day at a knitting gathering at my friend's house down in Castle Rock. I got the body of the amigurumi turkey I'm making finished, as well as several rows of a holiday bag I'm knitting. I brought one of my cheesecakes to share and I was quite happy with how it turned out. I'll post pics tomorrow after I get them off of my camera.

Marcus and I actually relaxed this evening and finally watched Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. He downloaded that from iTunes a couple of weeks ago and we hadn't had a chance to watch it. I'll admit that I missed Orlando Bloom's character just a little.

The olive leaf extract that I wrote about yesterday seems to be doing the trick. I felt so much better today. Still coughing up a little crud out of my lungs, but at least I didn't feel like sleeping all danged day.

OK, I'm off to dig through my stash to find orange yarn for my turkey and then I'm off to bed.

I read somewhere that Olive Leaf Extract was antibacterial and antiviral. I picked up a bottle of the Nature's Way brand today. As I am really sick and tired of being sick and tired, I figured it couldn't hurt. I'll let you all know how it works.

I was at Target today with Dad picking up the Thanksgiving feast and the egg case was totally empty. Hanging from a shelf was a sign that Target had severed ties with its supplier, Sparboe Farms, and they apologized for any inconvenience. People were so upset - you would think that eggs weren't sold any place else. When I got home I searched the news and found a story that both Target and McDonald's had dropped Sparboe Farms after an activist turned over undercover video about the conditions there. While I wished something like this would open people's eyes and change the way food is mass-produced in this country, people will quickly forget. Since Marcus and I have vowed to avoid food produced by the big commercial companies and stick to local and organic when possible, we've found that many people actually feel threatened by our choice. They prefer to not know where there food comes from or how it's produced, as long as it is cheap and easy.

Another fine THW Golf tournament poster is under my belt. Hit a design block on this last night about 2 am. I already had the image drawn, inked and colored, but Marcus and I just couldn't figure out how to incorporate it into the poster format and tie in with the PGA Presidents Cup theme. See, they have their tournaments coincide with real golf tourneys, so we try to include some reference when possible. I was consumed with thinking about this poster and even my customary hot shower did nothing to clear my block. When I gave in and went to bed, I still didn't drift off right away and I dreamed about this darned thing all night. When the alarm went off at 7:30am, I had a flash and it resulted in what you see below. The guys seemed to like it and now they're getting ready to tee off for their matches.



I guess I should explain the poster for those not in the know. Via Banana Buzzsaw is the concoction that Marcus drinks when he's playing, consisting of either hot or cold Via blended with a banana. This weekend is the President's Cup and Marcus drinks this in the big Starbucks cup pictured in the poster...you get the idea, I hope.

On a sad note, one of my parakeets dropped dead while we were working on this. Marcus was standing behind my chair watching me color when there was a big ruckus in the cage to our right. Marcus is a little traumatized, I think, because he saw the bird fall and then close its eyes for the final time. Poor bird. I got the pair on Freecycle quite a while ago (their names were Luke and Leia - not kidding). I never knew the sex of the bird that died, but since it didn't lay eggs like the other one, I christened him to be Luke. I have no idea how old they were when I adopted them, so I wasn't surprised. Still sad, though. I hate losing pets. RIP, Luke.

No time for a lengthy post tonight as I'm behind schedule on this week's THW Golf tournament poster. I'll post a finished one tomorrow, but here's a preview:

We were in Target this evening after work because I needed more NyQuil. Marcus had a craving for canned peas, so we went to the canned veggie aisle to see what was available in organics. We always check the labels of anything labeled organic and do not purchase the ones identified as being from China. I saw the company's address being on Sleepytime Drive in Boulder said to Marcus, "Hey, Sleepytime Drive...we've been there. That's where Celestial Seasonings is." Well, turns out the same company that makes Celestial Seasonings teas also sells organic canned peas. Who knew?

Ugh, today was not a pleasant day at work.

I wasn't in a bad mood when I got up. I'm not sure exactly when it turned, but shortly after I arrived, I was enraged.

I get tired of the people around me not doing their jobs and not getting in trouble for it. I get tired of supervisors complaining about people not doing their jobs and not firing people. I get tired of customers not having their shit together and wanting to stay on schedule. I get tired of redoing work needlessly. What I do now sucks bad enough without having to do it over and over again. I hate having to sit in department meetings when the topics covered don't pertain to me because I'm doing my stinking job and we wouldn't be having said problems in certain people got fired.

I'm tired of Christmas already. Knock it off people!

I seriously wanted to punch 75% of the people I came in contact with today.

Are the planets aligned weird or something?

On a positive note, the engineer thinks our house/septic/well on the land in South Dakota we looked at is doable. Marcus is going to get a purchase agreement tomorrow to get the bank involved to see if they'll lend and we'll see where we go from there. Really keeping my fingers crossed continuously on this.

I'm going to bed and hoping to get a little knitting in before I nod off. I sure hope tomorrow is a better day.

Despite being sick, I managed to get quite a bit done this weekend.

On the crafty front, I finally got around to sewing the watch band for the iPod Nano that Dad and I got for Marcus last Christmas. I swore I'd get off my duff and get it made before this Christmas and I did it with a more than a month to spare.



I've been getting into making amigurumi lately. The first one I ever made was a Yoda for my desk at work. My most recent one is this cute little pumpkin pie:



I also finished knitting a dish cloth that was a test knit for a friend of mine. No picture yet as she has not yet released the pattern.

I made a really yummy dinner on Sunday night. Beer can chicken (free range) with sage, thyme & rosemary stuffed inside, baby red potatoes & broccoli with oregano, olive oil & sea salt and corn muffins. All organic, of course.



We had to board up the skirting where a raccoon tore into it to get under the house. I hate raccoons.

I got all the bedding washed, got the dishes caught up, bathed the rabbit and cleaned her cage, made a sketch for this week's Team Housewares golf poster...whew. Too bad the work week started again and is cutting into my productivity.