Making biscuits

Friends, I just want you all to know that when I say I want to make biscuits, I make biscuits. I found a simple herb and cheddar recipe in my Fresh cookbook (which I've mooned over before), and got to work without a biscuit cutter in sight. When they were fresh from the oven, I thought I'd found the perfect recipe, but after a few days, they seemed a bit heavy on the baking soda flavour. Maybe this is just a biscuit/scone issue, since I noted it here too.

Making 2010 calendars (it's not too late)

Well, we didn't make this calendar, but we did print the PDF that we bought from Mibo for a whopping $4. We have one hanging in our house, and we gave a bunch away at Christmas. Other than the pom poms, this was the only DIY project I took on for the holidays.

I also printed one copy of this free calendar from something's hiding in here, which I found through WREN handmade. I have it hanging at my office. It looks like a bingo card, no?

Benign Objects has designed a free 2010 calendar too. I didn't print that one, but I do use the free computer desktop calendars from that blog, on occasion. Since we're on the topic, Design*Sponge offers free desktop calendars too, like this lovely January calendar by Julia Rothman:

The desktop calendars are a welcome sight when I turn on my work computer, especially because I haven't made too many efforts to personalize my office space.

I love this trend of offering free or low-cost files to download for personal use, especially because it's not limited to calendars. Twig & Thistle recently offered a PDF for these Valentines Day treat bags, and I've noticed a few PDFs for bookplates and prints on Etsy. Fun!

Vintage Samsonite

Phew. I'm so glad that carry-on bags are allowed on US-bound flights again. I bought this bag for my trip to San Francisco and LA in April, and I was worried about checking it, even though the original luggage tag is still attached.

Death Comes to Shuckton

I started watching The Kids in the Hall when I was in grade six. I've had crushes on all of them since, but lately -- as I've been working my way through the series box set that I got for my last birthday -- I'm really into Scott Thompson. He's such a babe!

In addition to watching their show from the get-go, I've also seen them on tour, gotten their autographs and followed their post-CBC careers.

Given this history of adoration, I should have been counting down the days to the premiere of their latest CBC series, Death Comes to Town. I wasn't, but I managed to watch it by being in the right place (Marc and Jen's apartment) at the right time (Tuesday night) with people who are in the know.

Now I'm counting down the days until the next episode. If you're interested, you should watch the trailer for the series, because I can't find the words to describe it:

SKYPE

I talked to all of these pretty people on Skype yesterday (except for Michael, who I saw in person):


Using Skype is one of my family's 2010 tentative plans, and we've all embraced it very quickly; it's only been a couple of weeks since we saw everyone in Saskatoon, where we set up our accounts.

Michael and I saw my mom and dad yesterday afternoon, and my mom was able to show us some of her bruises from a recent car accident (boo!). Then last night Shannon and Chris took us on a tour of their home (including their new kitchen lighting). Michael hasn't been there before, so now he'll know where the bathroom is when we visit in April.

Seeing my family is very cool, what with this long distance thing that we've got going on, and I still can't believe that we can do it for free.

P.S. For those of you following me on RSS, you may have noticed that I deleted a post over the weekend. This was the video that I tried to embed unsuccessfully. It features a baby polar bear, friends. Doesn't a baby polar bear deserve 17 seconds of your time?

P.P.S. Michael and I met 13 years ago today!

New year

Happy new year, friends. We almost didn't make a holiday card this year, but I persevered. The photo was taken on Boxing Day. Can you believe that the skating and the skate rentals were free (well, by donation)? The cabin with the wood burning stove where we warmed our feet was also complimentary. What a festive gesture, Saskatoon.

The card was delayed because I was sick during the days leading up to Christmas. The long and short of it is I had to take antibiotics for an infection, and my stomach didn't like them. The infection was caused by a stitch that was left in my nose after I had a mole removed last summer. The good news: the stitch is out and my nose is healing nicely. The bad news: I couldn't eat for three days. Rest assured: I'll be writing a letter to my doctor in the near future.

In addition to that letter, I have a some other tentative plans for the next few months: learn to play this song on my new ukulele; buy some succulents and keep them alive; add some plants (succulents?) to my cubicle décor; read more short stories, starting with collections by Alice Munro, Louisa May Alcott, William Faulkner and Fyodor Dostoyevsky; and go for an eye exam.

The first one is the most intimidating for me, but I think I'm finally ready.