December 2012: Are you freaking kidding me?

Little Bear's second Christmas. Wow.

November 2012; What I am looking forward to this fine month

November! Orycon! Thanksgiving! Pumpkin roll making and eating. Cream cheese frosting. Orange stuff.

Cream Cheese Frosting

This is my go to recipe for frosting. It's ruined me for anything with shortening. Almost. 1/2 cup of butter, softened 8 oz cream cheese, straight outta the fridge. I don't know why the butter's softened and the cream cheese isn't, but whatever. 2 cups powdered sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract Mix the butter and cream cheese until super smooth. I recommend using an electric mixer if you have one. Mix in the vanilla. Sometimes I go really crazy and add an extra 1/2 tsp for filling kind of frosting (like in the infamous pumpkin roll). Sift in the powdered sugar while mixing. I add 1/2 cup or so extra sugar if it's for a cake or cupcake topping - it makes it a little firmer and prettier. Things this frosting goes good on: Pumpkin rolls spoons fingers toast graham crackers zucchini bread and its ilk

October 2012: Greatest month ever?

What is going on this month? Well, it's Little Bear's second Halloween!

September: What I'm looking forward to this month

Hint: it's not a reminder that I'm a year closer to death. Yeah, I'm going to be 35 this month. Good news: I've finally got life figured out Other things I'm excited about this month: the start of hardcore yarncraft season! Cooler weather. Apple season! Falling leaves! The color change of plants! Spider season! Oh wait, that's a lie. I HATE spider season. :/

AUGUST?!?! What?!

It's August already?!!? Oh well. I'll continue my fine transition of telling you what I'm excited about for this upcoming month, what's on my radar. My baby sister turns a year older this month. In four years, I'll be getting Little Bear ready for kindergarten this month?! Right this second, I mostly look forward to taking a nap.

Lavender

It's a great time to harvest lavender, although it depends a lot on your variety and where you live.
To make it a bit complicated, you have to pick it at the peak of the bloom to get the peak scent.  Hopefully it's on a cool day, because a hot day will result in lavender that has an intense aura of smell, but have less actual essential oils in the harvested flowers and stems themselves.

But whatevs.  It's pretty intense anyway, and the whole plant smells divine.  I have two or three plants in the back that are pretty similar, and a small plant in a pot in my house.  The potted lavender I actually grew from seed!  My brother's lady friend has one I sprouted from seed too, but it's a bit bigger.  Still, most of the harvested lavender that I have is actually from my sister.  The circle of sharing...

So what can you do with lavender?  Put the flowers in baked goods.  Make a tisane (which is a fancy word for tea that doesn't have any actual tea leaves in it, a soaking of herbs in hot water) out of any parts of the plant (allegedly good for headaches).  Dry it and put bits of the plant (or just the flowers for a more intense smell) in a sachet.  Dry it and grind the flowers up and add them to soap.  (Please grind them, otherwise the little flowers will turn brown in the soap and look like little mouse poops, and no one wants to shower with little mouse poops).

Here's a super basic tutorial I did on moth repellant sachets.  2008.  Hmmm.  Still good though.   You can use cedar chips, mint, and thyme in anti-moth recipes.  Fleas hate those herbs too!