The most recent 20 comments posted to Making Light by Anne Sheller:

Show all comments by Anne Sheller.

Posted on entry Open thread 132 ::: November 20, 2009, 12:50 AM:
Lee @203 - I concur with B. Durbin's suggestion of sanding the back to smooth it, unless you like the look of it as-is. Since this is not the side you plan to have facing out, you may be able to get acceptable smoothness. For a very fine final sanding, you may want to look for scouring rush, aka horsetail. I have used this on bone and horn with good results. If sanding does the trick, you may not want any coating.
Posted on entry Works and Days of Hands ::: September 09, 2009, 12:36 AM:
Biggest sewing project I ever undertook was a tent. 10'x12' footprint, ridgepole ~6'6" up, so it's a good-sized 1 or 2 person tent. I started with a couple of 10'x15' heavy painter's drop cloths, figuring at least part of the assembly would be predone, then realized the original seams were not well done and ended up oversewing them. By hand. It's a nice tent, sort of the bastard offspring of a Viking A-frame and a Quonset hut, but it did take several months to make.

Current projects include a Dr. Suess-ish looking wind instrument I'm making from a dipper gourd and other odds and ends, and a knife from half of a broken pair of scissors and an antler tine. My tent frame needs a minor repair - one of the badger heads on the end boards came off while I was loading it on the honking big SUV I had to rent after my car broke down on the way to Pennsic. I am also in early planning stages to remake my Gayla peregrine falcon kite as a white gyrfalcon. She's really too big for a peregrine, with a 54" wingspan, and is getting a bit faded and battered looking.
Posted on entry Pasta e fagioli thinghi ::: May 12, 2009, 07:21 PM:
Terry Karney @60 - A friend gave me a large pot of herbs, including rosemary. The pot overwinters in my garage, since Ohio winters get a bit cold. I still end up buying, as the plants don't exactly thrive in the garage.
Posted on entry Pasta e fagioli thinghi ::: May 12, 2009, 12:36 AM:
Paula Helm Murray @44 - the pizza dough recipe in Joy of Cooking makes a good crusty white bread too. Let it rise a couple of hours, form a loaf on a ccokie sheet, slather the outside with olive oil, let rise again, bake it at 375 for 40 minutes. If you add some fine-chopped fresh rosemary leaves while making the dough, say about a 6" sprig's worth, you may get asked to bring it to parties.
Posted on entry The eternal cycle of hamsters ::: May 05, 2009, 08:26 AM:
Sorry to hear about Hiro. The short life spans of rodents are a major reason I've never wanted one for a pet. Like Kelly at #58, I have a 19 year old cat (and a couple of 6-ish ones also). While he has no terminal illness as far as I know, he's declining enough in old age that I doubt he'll make 20. It seems too short a time to have such a sweet furry fellow.
Posted on entry 2008 on Making Light ::: January 02, 2009, 11:15 PM:
Megalomania?

Congratulations, Caroline and Keith!

Marilee @ 39: whenever you first break your fast in a day, it's breakfast time.
Posted on entry Merry Christmas ::: December 24, 2008, 12:59 PM:
And here I was expecting that the third guy's being full of holiday spirits caused the accident.

O Christmas tree, o Christmas tree,
We'll chop off all your branches.
O Christmas tree, o Christmas tree,
We'll chop off all your branches.
And cut you up for firewood,
So maybe you will do some good.
O Christmas tree, o Christmas tree,
We'll chop off all your branches.

My father used to sing that one. Also sang "A Visit from St. Nick" to the tune of "On Top of Old Smokey".
Posted on entry Christmas, not doing ::: December 23, 2008, 11:48 PM:
If you're stuffed up, hot and sour soup. Ginger tea is good too, and also helps an upset stomach. Oh heck, you know all that stuff - rest, plenty of liquids. Be as comfortable as you can, get well soon, and party when you're up to it.
Posted on entry How To Read an American Newspaper ::: December 08, 2008, 11:36 PM:
Well, my Ford Escort wagon (manual, Cayman green) is almost 14 years old, getting close to 280K miles. It's showing its age, but I'd say Detroit has managed to turn out some durable and economical small cars.
Posted on entry Plays Well With Lightning ::: December 05, 2008, 01:57 AM:
As one who has helped deep fry a turkey, and, I think, told the story here before (the Great Pennsic Turkey Conflagration may ring bells), I thank St. Barbara that no actual explosions occurred.
Posted on entry Cooking With Light (Recipe Index) ::: November 20, 2008, 01:25 AM:
A friend gave me some smallish Fuji apples from a local orchard recently. Preheated oven to 350, buttered a small pie pan, rinsed and cored a couple of apples. The good apple stuff that came out with the cores went back into the holes, with generous sprinkles of nutmeg and cinnamon, and a small smoky link sausage in each hole. A little water and about 10 more smoky links went into the pan around the apples, and a little brown sugar got sprinkled on top of the apples. Baked about 45 minutes. Apples and sausage and a sort of apple-sausage broth in the pan. I just put the pan on a hot pad on the table and took a fork to it, then drank the liquid.
Posted on entry Voting-and-nervous-energy thread ::: November 04, 2008, 12:49 PM:
I voted last Thursday, at the Board of Elections office in the county courthouse. Busy and crowded, but the wait time was short.
Posted on entry Watch the election results with Bruce Schneier--at Making Light ::: October 25, 2008, 11:36 PM:
I don't know yet what my work schedule will be that week. If I'm off Election Day, I'll be pitching in on whatever needs doing. In 2006 I did list checks, GOTV phoning, miscellaneous errands, and drove one old lady to and from the polls. If I have a morning shift, I'll be doing that sort of thing after I get off work. Evening shift, not much before 10:30. Hopefully I'll be dropping in on a victory celebration then.
Posted on entry Either a heart attack, or a Greek of the same name ::: September 15, 2008, 11:20 PM:
In my thoughts and prayers also.

Don't blow up! (AAAAGH! Watch out! She's gonna BLOW!!!!!)

What are those of us allergic to aspirin supposed to chew on?
Posted on entry Open thread 105 ::: April 15, 2008, 10:27 PM:
Today I celebrated my cat Gypsy's birthday. I don't know the actual day, but he was estimated to be 3 months old when I adopted him in mid-July 1990. At 18, he is thin and frail, but his sight, hearing, and appetite are good, and he still holds his own with the younger cats. He got a dab of cream cheese, a little sliver of butter, and lots of cuddling for his birthday.

He does not play the theremin.
Posted on entry William F. Buckley, dead ::: February 27, 2008, 09:44 PM:
Have to say, when I heard the news of Buckley's death, my exact reaction was "Good riddance". He was a talented and eloquent man, who put his gifts to evil uses. I won't miss him.
Posted on entry Florida elections: still a clown show ::: January 30, 2008, 12:38 PM:
In Ohio, voting machinery varies from county to county; I don't think anyone has the lever machines any more. When I moved here, 1984, Scioto County voted on punch cards. We changed over to optical scan in 2006.
Posted on entry Screwing curry to the sticking-place ::: December 06, 2007, 10:39 AM:
Way down the page, on a dead thread, but still it's on topic....I had some pecan halves left from Thanksgiving, about half of one of those little bags (the rest, the smaller and broken ones, went into the stuffing). Sprinkled on a little soy sauce, tossed and turned them to soy all over, added a dusting of ground cumin and a pinch of Korean chili powder. Put them in a low oven, maybe 180-190 degrees, for about an hour, stirring a couple three times. Mmmmmmmmmm nomnomnom.
Posted on entry The sinople planet ::: December 03, 2007, 10:48 PM:
Lee @ 57 - my parent's first VW microbus, Clarissa, was that greeny-yellow color. By the end of its existence, it was also liberally spattered with stick-on plastic flower cut-outs, mostly covering rust spots. I learned to drive in that underpowered, hell-in-a-crosswind, stick shift vehicle.
Posted on entry Tom ’n’ Me ::: November 17, 2007, 09:25 PM:
James Macdonald @#39: After being stationed in Germany, one of my sisters came home and taught me a couple of phrases of German:

Nicht verstehen
Qualitatswein mit pradikat

Correct spelling not guaranteed.

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Total: 142 comments. View all these comments on a single page.