A Crafty Yarn

We have someone in our department who sends out a Gold Star email once a week in order to give a shout out to people who SHE believes did an exceptional job in some area.  It really is so much ridiculousness.  In this line of work there is an extraordinary amount of behind the scenes stuff that goes on.  A senior officer who guides the rookie in how to properly handle a situation, a dispatcher who is multitasking like a fool in order to get officers the information they need, a supervisor who is setting a perimeter to make sure a bad guy doesnt slip through... All of these efforts are being supported by the cooperative efforts of others...We absolutely do not work in a vacuum.  I once received a Gold Star for giving a piece of information to the woman who sends these emails. I have rarely been so upset... No mention of the officers who did amazing things on the street that night, no mention of my teammates who did an exceptional job handling a very crazy shift, and no mention of t

My friend Susan is a badass sock knitter...She can whip out amazing looking socks and make it look almost effortless.  Over the years she has encouraged me to try it but I've been intimidated by the whole process... thin yarn, small thin needles (a bunch of them!) I decided to give it a shot though and I'm SO glad that I did.  There is something so rewarding about churning out 2 (mostly) matching socks.  I decided to start out with a pair of simple ankle socks.  I used THIS pattern and am really happy with how they worked out!    

    My word now includes... Matchbox cars, motorcyle books, and art supplies...       ....and Teddy Bears....   ...and flowers chosen by a 10 year old because "They look like Harley Davidson"...       ...and chinese food aliens....       

We've been using this homemade laundry soap for a while now and I really wish I had started using it years ago!  It cleans really well and it has a really fresh smell :-) 1 bar of Fels Naptha 1 cup of Borax 1 cup of Washing Soda 3 gallons water Grate the bar of soap ( You can use any type you'd like but I prefer Fels Naptha) Put the grated soap into a very large stock pot and add 1 gallon of water.  Cook until the soap is fully dissolved and add the Borax and Washing Soda.  Bring to a boil stirring frequently.  Turn off heat. Add 1 gallon of cold water and mix well.  Divide the soap evenly between 3 1-gallon jugs....a funnel helps trememdously with this :-) Fill each jug almost to the top with cold water. Put lid on tightly and shake. Once cool, the laundry detergent will look like it's solid but if you give it a quick shake it will be ready to pour and use.  I use the lid from a traditional bottle of laundry soap as my measuring cup and

I've been busy in the kitchen this week!   Sweet and Spicy Pickles:  We're anxiously awaiting the 2-week mark so we can crack these open and see how they turned out!  Also, I had a bunch of banana peppers so I sliced them and canned them in some of the extra brine. 3 pounds pickling cucumbers, sliced into 1/4-inch thick slices 2 cups sliced onions 1/2 cup pickling salt 6 cups water 3 cups white vinegar 1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar 3 1/2 cups sugar 2 tablespoons yellow mustard seeds 1/2 teaspoon turmeric 4 whole cloves 10 tablespoons roughly chopped garlic 24 dried cayenne peppers Directions: Place cucumbers, onions, pickling salt, and water in a large, glass or plastic bowl. Cover and allow cucumbers to soak for 2 hours. Drain the water from the onions and cucumbers through a colander and rinse well for 5 minutes. Drain well and set aside. Combine the vinegars, sugar, mustard seeds, turmer

A fun idea if you're looking for something special to make for Father's Day....

I try not to be a negative person...I have a job that keeps me ever mindful that there are other people out there that have it so much worse than I... There are times though when life gets overwhelming...I'm struggling my way through that right now... The job has alot to do with it...and some choices that I've made recently may not have been the healthiest for my emotional wellbeing... but it is what it is.   The bottom line is that while I haven't lost my smile, It's been changed and I don't like that.  I want to be the happy, optimistic person that I always have been...

While delicious, the tiramisu did not change Keressa's mind...she's moving back home. :-( I'm gonna miss her but I'm glad she's doing what will make her happy.  We had a girls night for her last night in town...our whole shift got the night off work which is damn near impossible with a group of dispatchers! There was wine! :-)  There was not a corkscrew...but there was wine...and many, many shots...

One of my favorite people in the world, who happens to be a coworker, really loves tiramisu.  She'll be leaving us soon so I thought I'd ply her with her favorite treats to make her want to stay! This was my first attempt at tiramisu...It WILL be happening again!  Easy to make and absolutely delicious!  Tiramisu 4 large eggs, separated 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar 16 ounces mascarpone cheese 1-1/2 cups brewed coffee 1/2 cup dark rum ( I used The Kracken ...because it's amazing!) 40 store-bought ladyfingers 1 cup heavy cream cocoa powder bittersweet chocolate In a large bowl, beat egg yolks and cup of sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in mascarpone until incorporated. Whisk egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold in beaten egg whites into mascarpone mixture. In a small bowl combine coffee and rum. Dip ladyfingers into coffee-rum mixture and lay in rows in the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch dish. Spread half of the mascarpone cream on top. Make one more layer of ladyfinge

My attempt at beef jerky...with questionable success :-) I looked at about a dozen recipes for beef jerky and I wound up combining the 2 that I thought would most appeal to us. One roast called for bottom round roast and the other called for a tri-tip roast. A standard in jerky making is that you want the least amount of fat possible so once I cut into the tri-tip (on the right) I was surprised at how much marbling there was. I mixed the marinade recipe, added the meat and poured it all into a bag...I put it in the fridge and flipped the bag every few hours. After 24 hours of marinating I put a single layer, well spaced apart, on the dehydrator trays. The manual said that it could take up to 2 days but mine was done after only 20 hours...slightly over done actually. The flavor is really good...not quite what I was going for but I'll try a different recipe next time. Also, the tri-tip was much too fatty for long term storage. If I were making this jerky to store I would de