The Wall

The final hang

We have a gallery in town that has a new show every month. A lot of it is glass, as the gallery owner is a stained glass artist. 

In november, he had a show with an artist, Trebs Thompson, who worked with glass, but also with all sorts of found objects. I really loved her work, but the piece that my husband and I liked best got sold at the opening before we could make an offer on it.

At the opening, the artist asked for us to bring odds and ends to contribute to the making of a new piece, which would be raffled off to make money for the local glass guild. Everybody brought goodies - bottles and jewelry and little plastic things and Christmas ornaments - and she took them with her until the second reception, where the peace was unveiled. 

I really liked it, although not as much as the first piece. I had a vision of where the first piece would go, you see; it was also portrait and not landscape, so I know exactly where it would fit. Something horizontal would require an entire rehang of the living room wall and I wasn't up for that. 

Wall designed in photo editor

I tried to buy raffle tickets that night, but they didn't take credit or venmo and I didn't have cash. I popped back in the day of the raffle pick, bought a ticket, and watched as the gallery owner dumped all the tickets out and put them in a big bowl for later. 

I might have been the last ticket, but I won. 

Thus necessitating an entire rehang of the living room wall. I took everything down at the beginning of the holiday break, because my husband is home for 2 weeks and would have time to put in the bolts required to hang the piece (the art wall is also the brick firewall, and almost impermeable). 

He went back to work on January 5th, and the wall was still untouched. He continued that way until I threatened to bring a friend over with a bigger drill, and then it happened. 

After that piece went up, I was able to rehang everything else I wanted to add to the wall, because in those two weeks of impatience, I photographed everything, including the bare wall, and put it all together in my photo editing program so that I knew where everything was going to go. 

Obviously I love a busy wall. I'm really happy with this, and the pops of red are much more consistently colored in person, rather than in the photo.

I won!

I leave you with a close up of the raffle piece. The vintage jewelry flowers at the bottom make me so happy. The sun at the top is an exploded glass Christmas ornament. 

We know I like to upcycle, but this is extreme even for me. I love it.

Songbird and Silence

Two things can be true: Songbird has a Bookbub Featured Deal, which means that the ebook is free on Amazon on Thursday, January 8, and I am currently silent because I have had the world's weirdest cold, with one symptom per day. 

Last Friday, I had a scratchy throat. On Saturday, my ears hurt. By Sunday I was sneezing. Monday I coughed. Tuesday, I woke up with no voice at all. By noon, I could squeak. By dinnertime, I was Kathleen Turner.

I do not naturally sound like Kathleen Turner.

But anyway, I'm improving and by not talking I have a lot more time to spend at my desk and the new book is coming along and also

Songbird is free, if you haven't read it. If you have, recommend it to a friend.

Happy new year, all. May it be better than the last one.

Story, Told

Well, that was a fun little task I set myself.

All 9 episodes of Home for Christmas are not only on Facebook, but on my YouTube channel, as well, should you care to indulge.

I wish I had more to say, but the holidays have sucked the life out of me (in a mostly good way). Back soon.

In the meantime, Happy New Year.

O Christmas Tree

So my office decided on a team-building exercise for the holidays this year. Which was kind of annoying, because we like each other, and people who like each other generally don't need team-building exercises.

But whatever. 

It was Christmas-themed. 

It was a contest.

It was a tree decorating contest. 

And it got serious.

Each department got to decorate a tree with items that "meant" their department. Admin, Codes, Library, Parks, Public Works. 

There was some interesting creativity there.

I'm also sharing the vote link, because hey, if voting for one of our trees makes your holiday brighter, have at it. (I'm admin, but I won't hold it against you if you vote for some other department - though I also helped with the tiny, Charlie Brown tree from Parks. At least it's a live tree; the rest are plastic).

Parks & Recreation

Administration

Codes & Permits

Library

Public Works/Sanitation

Let me tell you a story

You are cordially invited to a reading

of Home for Christmas.

Posted to my author Facebook page, 

every day from December 18

to December 26, at 7:00 p.m.

 

One last order

I was almost done. One final custom order and then I could stop for the season. 

Except I kept putting it off. The customer came to my office to drop off the clothes she wanted me to use for the bears - some shirts and pajama pants that belonged to her father - and it was an entire trash bag full.

I put off looking until Friday and then I realized that there were only a few usable items in the whole lot and whizzed through and picked them out - three shirts and two pair of pajama pants. The man in question was a sizable gentleman (6XL) and the images on all the shirts were scaled up, so the only ones I could actually use on a bear body were the fire department embroideries from two shirts.

Hi-viz yellow and orange wouldn't have been my first choice, but they worked, and they'll certainly be recognizable to the family members. 

Once I decided on the fabrics, I contacted the customer and made arrangements for her to pick up yesterday, which gave me Friday night to cut and Saturday - Monday to assemble, stuff and do the finish work. I actually finished Sunday evening and took them to work on Monday, to get ahead of myself.

NOW I can relax.

Chaos complete

This past week was a doozy. I worked Monday-Wednesday, plus prepping for the weekend craft show, which involved being up every night until at least 1 a.m. Because of course it did.

On Thanksgiving morning, I loaded into the show (a perk of working for local government is being able to get into all the buildings), then came home and made mac and cheese to take to Thanksgiving dinner at a friend's house. 

I always bring the mac and cheese, and I always make it the way my mom made it. Because that was how I learned. 

This year, I did it differently and made a roux and a proper cheese sauce (cheddar only this time, since it was a year drive; next time, I'll add gouda).

It came out of the oven with just enough crispy bits on top, and it smelled divine. It went over well, too. Even the family vegetarian's nose twitched, which I take as a compliment. 

Recipe below, if anyone's interested.

*****

Stovetop-to-Oven Creamy Baked Mac and Cheese

Ingredients

For the Pasta

* 1 pound (450g) elbow macaroni or small shell pasta

* 1 tablespoon salt, for the boiling water

For the cheese sauce

* 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, plus extra for the baking dish

* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

* 4 cups (32 fl oz) whole milk (do not use skim!)

* 1 teaspoon dry mustard powder (this won't make it taste like mustard, but it sharpens the cheese flavor)

* 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika (optional, for depth)

* Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

* 1 pound (450g) mixed shredded cheese (see cheese recommendations below)

For the Topping (Optional)

* 2 tablespoons melted butter

* 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs

* 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Prep and cook the pasta 

* Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).

* Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil.

* Add the pasta and cook according to package directions, but stop cooking 1-2 minutes BEFORE it is fully al dente. It will continue to cook in the oven. Drain the pasta and set it aside. Do not rinse.

2. The Creamy Base (Melted Cheese & Milk)

* In a separate, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, pour in the 4 cups of whole milk.

* Over medium-low heat, gently warm the milk until steam just begins to rise. Do not boil.

* Gradually add 3/4 of the shredded cheese (3/4 pound) to the warm milk, stirring constantly with a whisk. This is where you achieve that wonderful, creamy melt.

* Continue stirring until the cheese is completely melted and the milk has transformed into a smooth, slightly thickened, cheesy base.

* Remove the pot from the heat and set aside.

3. Create the Roux and Combine

* In a medium saucepan, melt the 4 tablespoons of butter over medium heat.

* Once the butter is melted and foaming, whisk in the 1/4 cup of flour. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1-2 minutes until the mixture (the roux) is smooth and smells slightly nutty.

* Slowly pour the warm, cheesy milk mixture from Step 2 into the roux, whisking continuously to prevent lumps.

* Return the pan to medium heat. Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer, stirring frequently. The sauce should thicken considerably in 5-8 minutes. Once thickened, remove from the heat and stir in the dry mustard and smoked paprika (if using).

* Season generously with salt and pepper. Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning as needed—the salt is crucial for bringing out the cheese flavor.

4. Assemble and top

* Add the cooked, drained pasta to the pot with the cheese sauce and stir until everything is evenly coated.

* Lightly butter a 9x13 inch baking dish (or whatever size works for you).

* Pour the mac and cheese mixture into the prepared dish.

* Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 pound of shredded cheese evenly over the top.

* For the Optional Topping: sprinkle panko breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese over the top of the casserole to get crispy bits.

5. Bake

* Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the top is golden brown.

* Let the casserole rest for 5-10 minutes before serving. This helps the sauce set up nicely.

Cheese Recommendations

For the best flavor and melt, use a mix of the following:

Sharp Cheddar - 70%, classic savory flavor

Gouda or Gruyère - 30%, Excellent melting quality and a nutty, complex flavor. 

Cream Cheese - 1-2 oz cubed (added with the shredded cheese) Ensures smooth and creamy final texture,/