Projects To Do List

What better time to talk about sustainability than two weeks before the New Year. Now, I know I'm what must might call bat shit crazy, or an enthusiastic eccentric maybe but I do think that as the higher thinking species of a rather unique planet in the so far known universe that we could all take a little responsibility for how we live, and instead of living in a complete dump, live in a temporary paradise. But again, this is from the perspective of a person who doesn't buy the whole karmic wheel or everlasting eternity bits.

Anyway, my life has been slowly orienting to one where I am looking at making my lifestyle a more sustainable one. Unfortunately, my life is unstable so I apartment hop still. Which I only find unfortunate for me. I like to daydream about owning orchards and having rolling lawns, chickens, goats, perhaps a couple alpaca... Despite the crazy expensive fiber animals, the daydream is potentially doable, so long as I can find land and a way to pay for it.

It has been a long journey and a lot of blog reading to work out the fact that I have truly gone crazy. I horde wine and beer bottles so that I can grind them into sea glass for mosaics, haven't made any yet, just horde the bottles. I've got a small plastic bottle collection reserved for a kayak skin, should I ever find the motivation to do it. There are three giant totes full of old clothes and fabric scraps that I fully intend to do, something, with. Cardboard is piled up in a corner waiting for me to transform it into cat towers and scratching toys, with wine corks sitting in a bowl just waiting to scurry across the floor and hide under couches, the refrigerator, behind the computer. And finally, the giant overflowing pile of kitchen stuff I need to look through and send to Goodwill.

While my horde is exacerbated, (it only takes up corners of the office currently) I need to find my motivation to actually do the stuff I'm planning. However, I always ask myself: “Then what will you do with all this new old stuff?” I could give it as gifts! “Who would want your old trash, literally?” There are plenty of people that pay money for recycled things.... And on and on.

Incredibly lazy, I may be, however, what will I do with all this stuff? When you are trying to go waste less, what do you do with all this upcycled stuff?

The Joy of Blogging

Ah the joys of writing, especially a blog.  I was never very comfortable with keeping a daily journal.  It always felt so, candid, I suppose is a good word.  Well, needless to say, this blog is not going to be a whingey dairy, except on occasion during my introductions, and will focus on topics such as cooking, gardening, fitness and my horrible addiction to cosplay and fanfiction...er writing, yeah fiction writing....

Anyway, this week I will be setting up my schedule to start my cooking and gardening sections.  My fitness is a bit spotty right now since I'm a swimmer and have no pool.  I will be walking for a while.  More to come in this informal setting.  But I will not leave you hanging, I will give you a cookie recipe. This recipe comes from one of my college colleagues, we shall call her Dr. Juju Giggles for our purposes.  These are some of the best holidayesque cookies.  Why holidayesque?  Well, I'm not one for  religious festivals, but I totally understand the family time and thankfulness for having people who actually care about you in your life.  These sugar and spice cookies are perfect for sharing, therefore make a tasty addition for any gathering.  No matter what you believe, we all have tastebuds.

As a warning, these are not conclusive to a healthy diet and are more of an indulgent treat.  If you are suffer from Celiac disease, abstaining from sugar or vegan, this recipe will not be good for you.  These are vegetarian however, so if you are looking for something to satisfy your sweet tooth during your transition from omnivore to well pre-herbivore, you can rest assured there is a lack of animal flesh.  Anyway, before we get into that topic of potentially diverse opinions, may I present Dr. Juju Giggles Sugar and Spice Cookies!

Dr. Juju Giggles Sugar and Spice Cookies

1 cup brown sugar

¾ cup Crsico

¼ cup molasses

1 egg

2 & ¼ cup flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. cloves (or nutmeg if, like me, you hate cloves)

1 tsp ginger

¼ tsp. salt

granulated sugar (for rolling)

Combine brown sugar, Crisco, molasses and egg in any fashion you see fit. I am poor and unmarried so I have no fancy mixer, I use a fork since it is a wonderful multipurpose tool. Stir in flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and salt until absolutely combined and a rich nut brown color.

Cover your concoction and chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour. These little beauties sat over night, and turned out ok, but that could also be a reason for the off flavor, (however the Crisco being old is more likely).

When removed from the fridge, pinch and shape into 1-inch balls. Roll generously in granulated sugar. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet, or on parchment paper covered cookie sheet if you have it. Bake at 375* until lightly browned.

Now these cookies already are very brown, so a good way to tell of their doneness is to set the timer for 7 minutes (they may need longer) and check for with the tops of the cookies show cracking. At this stage they need to be removed from the oven. I let them cool on the cookie sheet, but if you have the cookie cooling racks, by all means remove the cookies to those after they have set for a minute or two.

A New Leaf Before the New Year

It seems, that I have started a blog for the purpose of randomly ranting to the internet, rather than to practice writing.  This will change!  Starting today, lest the internet return to a place of cats and porn.

There will be more tomorrow, after I actually plan out something to write here and start some kind of theme.