assorted news briefs

So I am embarassed to say that now I am on a --perish the word--diet. I noticed that suddenly all my pants were too tight. There was trouble steering around the hips and pain upon closing the fly. Not so much fun. So I had two options:

a) buy new pants
b) lose the weight

Although I like option a), option b) is cheaper.

My recent expansion seems to be positively correlated with the arrival of ice-cream season. I have rediscovered the fact that fresh berries go delightfully well with piles of whipped cream. Plus, I have been eating more baked goods lately than I have been, due to my new cookbook aquisition. Now, correlation does not equal causation. But it seems possible that the two could be connected.

In other news, I have borrowed a good little cookbook from the library: How it all Vegan! by Tanya Barnard and Sarah Kramer. It hasn't convinced me to go vegan--I have enough dietary restrictions already, thank you very much. Also, a large segment of the recipes are soy-based, and I am unable to eat soy regularly. However, they do have some awesome recipes, and really good nutritional information. Not gluten-free but it will give you some ideas for how to replace some of the animal products in your baking.

Another good library find, on the subject of crafts, is Painting with a Needle by Young Yang Chung. She's a master embroiderer from Korea and the book is certainly worth looking at. However, I wouldn't recommend it as a purchase for beginning embroiderers because the patterns are definately advanced. Unless, of course, you just want to collect excellent craft books, in which case go ahead!

I also bought the cross-stitch book Subversive Cross Stitch, which is becoming ubiquitous in the more youthful craft circles. You can have a little look-see at www.subversivecrossstitch.com (warning: strong language!) My favorite patterns include Bitch in Kitchen; Cross-Bitch; Irony is not Dead; Rat Bastard; and Is That all there Is? I showed the book to my Mom, and she actually requested that I stitch up "Fuck the Dumb Shit" for her. No really.

Anyways, it's a great little book for learning the alphabet and some different borders and stuff. The patterns are simple and they stitch up quickly.

Happy making!