I'm On Craigslist!

If there's one thing this lousy economy has done for me it's that it has encouraged me to get back to my roots.

I think back to when I first fell in love with "thrifting", way, way back to when I was probably 8 or 9 years old. Where some might inherit their father's love of sailing or music, I inherited my father's love for thrifting. For as long as I can remember, my Dad has been a thrift shopper/bargain hunter/junk finder. I remember fondly walking up and down the alley on trash day, looking for good stuff that was being thrown out.

I think of him every time I walk into one store or another and see something I know he would love. Even now he has his favorite haunts, and I am prepared to share my new favorite thrift stores with him when he comes to visit.

Happy Father's Day, Dad!

Here's some blueberry pancakes for you!
(sorry they're so digital)

In the 1990's, my heroine was Amy Dacyczyn and her Tightwad Gazette, which I subscribed to for so many years. Back then, I was frugal out of necessity. Most people who know me know that I would rarely pay full price for anything- it was a point of pride for me. I would never hesitate to ask a store manager to reduce the price of something because "it has this little rip here" or "it has a little smudge there."

During the last few years, though, I lost my way; clipping coupons became more of a nuisance, and thrift stores couldn't seem to hold my attention; they no longer had what I was looking for.

I was a huge fan of yard/garage sales back in the day. Some of my best memories are the yard sales and rummage sales that were so fulfilling, where I found just the right thing. Lately though, good yard sales have gone the way of MySpace and Trivial Pursuit. There's no there there anymore.

Recently, since I've discovered yarn recycling, I've begun a new-found romance with thrift stores; now I wonder why we ever split up. I realized how much I've been missing the thrill of the hunt...finding that object that you've been searching for, or maybe something totally unexpected, and getting it for cheap!

I'm renewing my vows to live frugally, and I believe that even though the economy is in the toilet, if you are careful you can still have whatever you like

I was reinvigorated when I read this newsclip the other day, and found this cool web site to help search for local thrift stores.

I decided to go on a little reconnaissance mission through my own neighborhood thrift stores.

What I have to show is actually pretty pathetic. I'm obviously not very proficient in the art of kinnearing; it's a real word- go look it up...I'll wait... Technically, it may not be "kinnearing" if you're only taking pictures of things and not people, but I digress. I considered bringing along a hidden camera, but then I decided I'd look pretty silly carrying around a copy of a hollowed out Nancy Drew Mystery and pointing it at things- this might actually call more attention to myself. So, I hid my camera in my purse.

The books at Pick of the Litter....

Goodwill housewares....

Pick of the Litter miscellaneous....

Goodwill small appliances....

Pick of the Litter small appliances....

Here are some of my recent purchases...none of it cost more than a couple of dollars except for the sweaters, which cost $5.49 each:

I bought this Syracuse China at Pick of the Litter

Prep bowls from Goodwill....

Glass apples from Pick of the Litter....

Woven shawl from Pick of the Litter

Alpaca wool sweater from Goodwill....

Another alpaca wool sweater from Goodwill....

...both of which I've already unraveled....

Pretty platter from Pick of the Litter....

Hand painted Japanese serving pieces from Pick of the Litter....

Of course there's all kinds of bargain hunting to be had. I'm a huge fan of Craigslist. We've bought bikes and sewing machines, sold bikes and lamps, and given away everything from drapes to rocks.

Here's the bike we sold on Craigslist....

Here's the bike we bought on Craigslist

I'm on Craigslist! Maybe you are too!

Looks Like We Made It

"In reaffirming the greatness of our nation we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted, for those that prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things -- some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor -- who have carried us up the long rugged path towards prosperity and freedom."

President Barack Obama
Inaugural Address January 20, 2009

Well, seeing as the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors made it official, we felt we should do our part and attend this year's Maker Faire. The first ever Maker Faire was held April 22-23, 2006, and this year has grown to approximately 80,000 attendees.

Being the frugal Faire attendees, and trying to lessen our carbon footprint, we decide to ride our bikes to the Faire. We were able to get a $10 discount for bicycling, plus free bike valet, and we got in about a half hour earlier than the rest of the driving crowd (although I think that had more to do with the general confusion of the volunteers in charge of the bike entrance.) (the blue arrow is pointing at our bikes amongst a sea of bikes)

Wandering around the grounds I could just feel the creative vibes all around me....it made me want to run home and knit something, or sew something, or weld something (oh, how I wish I could weld!) You got the sense the place was just pulsating with ideas.

We were quickly overwhelmed by everything there was to see; we took some pictures, but they hardly do the Faire justice. Here's a short video clip of a few of the really cool things there were to see

Maker Faire 2009 from Steve Miller on Vimeo.

Let's see if I can help explain some of the things in that video:

To start, the moss covered creature was a Swamp Kirin from Seabat Studios

Swamp Kirin from Sarah K. Moore on Vimeo.

The Obama Robotic Solar Electric Chariot with another video here.

A Lego Train Town and Village by Bay Area Lego Users Group

R2-D2 Astromech Droids by Artoo-Detoo Dot Net

Robot Band by moonmilk

Lev the thereminbot plays "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley

Make your own shrinky dinks

The Rope Squirter from the Exploratorium

Monkey Bike Light from Monkey Electric

Soda Bottle Wave Installation by Reuben Margolin

Rotating Light Sculpture by Applied Kinetic Arts

Holiday House 2009 from Light Up Xmas

Muffin Cars from Acme Art

Radio Controlled Robot Tanks by Bay Area Tankers

And here are a few of our pictures...
The Solar Human Hybrid Vehicle


The Bumble Bee Ride by Cyclecide

Tesla Electric Car

My "Birth-Make-Death" bag that I silk screened at the Provo Craft Booth using the Yudu Screen printing system

Lego Jeep

My next car (or dessert!) by Acme Art

My finished Shrinky Dink for Pinky

Shark Truck

Red Wagon Hot Rod Art Car

The Bazaar Bizarre was amazing... so much talent....Recover Your Thoughts , Chicks & Frogs , Piperoids to name just a few...

I wish I had done more research before, because I would have loved to participate in Swap-O-Rama-Rama . "Swap-O-Rama-Rama is a clothing swap and series of do-it-yourself workshops in which a community explores creative reuse through the recycling of used clothing." You can see some of the results of their efforts here.


Gerard's Paella caught the attention of some of us...

...and some of us were taken by Handknit Heroes

There were also representatives from Etsy, Craftzine, Make Magazine, Crafsters and Instructables.

One of the more intruguing sections of the Faire was the one devoted to Steampunks, Steampunk Magazine and Neverwas Haul built by the Academy of Unnatural Sciences for Burning Man in 2006.

We were in absolute awe of the creativity and inspiration of the Maker Faire. There truly are some creative geniuses among us, and they've expanded my interpretation of the word "craft".

Now, I'm off to try to figure out how to insert blinking LED's into the vest I'm knitting for Steve.....

A Word that Means the World to Me

This year for Mother's Day I participated in Code Pink's A Radical Act of Knitting in Honor of Mother's Day. Code Pink was asking for knitters and crocheters everywhere to contribute squares knit in pink and green to help create a "cozy" for the fence in front of the White House. Green letters on a pink background would spell out the phrase

“We will not raise our children to kill another mother’s child” inspired by the words of Julia Ward Howe who wrote Mother's Day Proclamation

I knit a 4" x 4" square for my two kids and all the Moms in my life....

I attached a tag to each square (the Code Pink Organization hopes to be able to tell people where their squares will end up on the quilt....I'll update this post as new information comes in.)
Edit: here are some pictures...and this



Happy Mother's Day to Moms everywhere!

You Made Me Love You

O.K., I'll try not to bore you with the details....

I did not intend to like these cookies.

I was perfectly happy with the old cookie recipe. I found the "Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie" recipe and was committed to it. It was good enough. I never looked back.

But, I saw the "Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie" recipe and I took the bait. I accepted the challenge to bake a "perfect" chocolate chip cookie, as daunting (read: fussy) as this recipe appeared.

Firstly, you needed to brown the butter...not all the butter, but five-sevenths of the butter

then the remainder gets stirred in to the now browned butter.

Here it is all melted and stuff.

Then, you mix in the eggs and sugars for precisely 30 seconds

then, let it rest for 3 minutes. That's right... you let the mix rest...apparently, it needs a little quiet time because it's just so worn out from all it's hard work. And you do this not once, but three times!
(here it is, catching it's breath)

The rest proceeds pretty much as usual...chocolate chips (but, oh no, not your typical chocolate chips, but Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips...lah de dah)







But then came the taste test. I brought in a perfectly impartial test subject to try each cookie.
First, my everyday cookie....the "Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie" recipe
then, Little Miss "Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie".
The "Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie" was described as "firm" with "complex flavors" but "salty" with a "not overwhelming chocolate" flavor, and "dry", whereas the "Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie" was described as "moister", "not as hard" with "caramel overtones" and "toasted butter".

Both cookies are good, and better in different ways. They both make great cookies.

The "Thick and Chewy" cookie recipe is great for it's user friendliness that results in a really good cookie.

The "Perfect" cookie is really fussy to make but makes a really good cookie. Depending on the day (and how desperate I am for a chocolate chip cookie), either one could be the perfect chocolate chip cookie. I would call them the same, but different.

Hard to define, but here are some other examples that might help explain my take on it....

Same same but different.

Apparently, Disney animators also practiced this concept...
See more funny videos and Entertainment Videos at Today's Big Thing.

Margaret Roach writes about "same-but-different realities" of "sister experiences" in The Sister Project. Warning: You could get lost here for hours...

I found this cool composite photos taken by the Danish photojournalist Peter Funch. After taking photos on the same street corner for two weeks, he Photoshops the images together to produce a photo that is the same but different. I am so envious of his Photoshop skills...

Lastly, there's this. Same great search without all the calories.

Taxes?! Isn't This The Line For Metallica?

(Sorry. This isn't a real post...the ones I've been working on have really been taxing me. I apologize for the delinquency. I just wanted to file a post before you all forgot about me! Didn't want you to think I was evading the issue. I assure you I am not withholding information. I've been really busy lately, but don't worry; I'm not ready to rollover just yet. I won't bore you by itemizing each and every detail suffice it to say I will return. )

"C" is for Cookie

“Marge, it's 3 AM. Shouldn't you be baking?”
-Homer Simpson

Ahh, nothing like a good Simpson quote to start off a post.

Today's subject: cookies...chocolate chip cookies, to be exact. Cook's Illustrated magazine has no less than 4 chocolate chip cookie recipes, all promising to be better than the last. The particular recipe that I have been using was, I thought, as good as it could get.

Since this particular batch was made however, the May/June 2009 issue of Cook's Illustrated arrived in my mailbox containing yet another recipe, this time touting the be all and end all Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies. Cook's Illustrated has thrown down the gauntlet. The game is afoot!

First, my go-to recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies.
(Stay tuned for Chocolate Chip Cookies: The Rematch)

Mix the butter and sugars...

...eggs and vanilla...

...flour...

...chocolate chips....

...measure 1/4 cup...

....and roll into a ball. Sometimes here I roll all
the dough into balls and put them all into the
refrigerator. Then after dinner I'll bake 3 or 4 for
dessert.

When you're ready to bake you take one ball of dough...

...break it in half...

...rotate each piece 90 degrees with jagged sides up....

...then set it on a cookie sheet with the rough sides up

Ready to bake

That's good enough for me!
Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, do your best!


Let's think of other things that starts with "C"

Across the street from our house is a trail that runs along the bay. There's biking/jogging/walking trails, a playground, a dog park, a golf course, art sculptures and some really incredible views. Here's some stuff we've seen...

Caution Signs

Cats on the Water

I love the idea of being a "Cat Socializer". It makes me think I should bring tea and crumpets down to the water and have conversations that start with "Have you seen the latest edition of Lolcats?"

California Poppy

Chloe, Danny and Jocelyn's Puppy

("Who's a cute puppy-wuppy? Are you a cute puppy-wuppy! Yes you are! Oh, yes, you are!")

and then there's...
Cake!

I made this Lemon Lover's Cake on Sunday. A yellow cake with buttercream frosting (my first try with real vanilla beans), topped with lemon curd and garnished with sugared lemons and white chocolate curls.

And finally, there's Code Pink. If you have any knitting or crochet abilities, I encourage you to go check it out.