boogaj

Kindle 2 Price Drop

I may have mentioned that I received a Kindle 2 for my birthday this year -- and I absolutely love it. So I feel like I should mention that Amazon just dropped the price. No good for me, since I already have one, but if you've been thinking about getting one -- now may be the time!

Homemade Granola Recipe

I've been wanting to make granola for a while now, but for whatever reason, I didn't get around to it until yesterday. Let me just say that when you bake up a batch of this the house will smell ridiculously good.

So why homemade granola? Well, I'm a big cereal fan, but I've been trying to get away from processed foods. Seriously, I simply can't live without cereal -- so I figured I'd make my own. It was quick and easy and the results are quite tasty. In fact, every time I walk past the jar I sneak a handful.

BoogaJ's Homemade Granola
Makes about 8 cups

6 c. Rolled Oats
2 c. nuts (use nuts or seeds or a mixture -- whatever you like)
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1/4 tsp. Cardamom (so good if you have it -- if not, just skip it)
Salt to taste
3/4 c. Maple Syrup
1/2 c. Oil (like canola -- nothing strong tasting)
2 tsp. Vanilla

Preheat over to 275 degrees.

Toast oats and nuts in a big skillet for a few minutes, until it just starts to smell yummy! Turn off heat and sprinkle on cinnamon, cardamom and salt.

Combine maple syrup, oil and vanilla and pour this mixture over the oat mixture right in the skillet. Mix well.

Spread mixture on parchment lined, rimmed baking sheet -- the larger the better. Bake at 275 degrees for 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes or until golden brown. Stir several times while it is baking.

Cool and place in an airtight container -- should keep for a long time, but I'm guessing you'll eat it too quickly to find out how long!

Wacky Baby Knits

I was recently sent a review copy of Wacky Baby Knits by Alison Jenkins and I have to say that there are some wacky designs in the book -- the cow suit you see on the cover, a frog costume and a robot costume, to name a few -- which is all very well and good if you feel like knitting something that involved for a baby who will quickly grow out of it. I however, preferred the slightly less involved and much more practical items which include some very cute booties, a bunch of hats -- some wacky and some adorable -- and several doable sweaters.

Check the book out for yourself -- even if you, like me, could not picture yourself knitting a full pirate outfit for a baby, I think you'll find some things you like in this book.  Perhaps some Furry Bear Feet, or the whimsical Cupcake Hat. 

One last note -- I like the fact that the beginning of the book includes quite detailed knitting instructions, so even the new mom or grandma who picks this up hoping to make one of the items despite little or no prior knitting experience will have lots of information to guide them along.  I love that books are doing this these days!

Reading with a headache

I've had a headache for a week straight now (my head is pounding as I type this), so I've been trying to lay low when I can, which means I've been reading quite a bit. In fact, I started The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams on Friday night and finished it up on Saturday.

If you know me and my reading habits, you would probably be shocked that I am just now getting around to reading this cult favorite. In fact, I'm surprised at myself -- but even fanatical readers have weird holes in their libraries. Fortunately this was rectified when I came across a bunch of sci-fi novels at a garage sale (yes!)

If you are a fan of sci-fi, absurdest comedy, or both like me, you will really enjoy this book (think Asimov meets Vonnegut). Funny, thought provoking, and just plain fun. I am very happy that this gaping hole in my library has now been filled.

Work In Progress

There is something that I find extremely appealing about a pile of fabric scraps. Maybe it's the feeling of having accomplished something, yet I don't think that's entirely it. Am I the only one that feels this way?

Being somewhat late to the game (a sports metaphor -- will wonders never cease?), I recently discovered charm packs. Well, not so much discovered them since I knew they were out there -- I just didn't think they had any real purpose. Was I ever wrong! My least favorite aspect of quilting is the cutting -- I demand perfection of myself and labor over each cut. These charm packs remove this from the equation almost entirely. I did still have to cut up the white fabric, but that was a breeze in comparison to cutting up squares out of 40 different fabrics. Yikes!

When I was at the quilt shop the ladies there told me about a fun little tool called the Quick Quarter, which led me to making lots of triangles which I decided to turn into pinwheels. After going through one charm pack, I decided that this was so much fun that the originally planned mini quilt was to become a full sized quilt and luckily the quilt shop had several more packs of the came fabric in stock.

I have a feeling that this will be done soon as I can't seem to stop working on it!

Maddie is a Punk Rocker

Reading, Reading, Reading

It's been a while since I posted a reading update, but that doesn't mean I haven't been reading. When last I posted, I was starting Rabbit Redux by John Updike, which I flew through. I think it may even have been better than the first book -- Rabbit, Run. Highly recommended. I'm sure I'll be reading Rabbit Is Rich, the next Harry Angstrom book, as soon as I can get my hands on a copy.

Next up was The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga which won the Man Booker Prize. I really enjoyed this book and the glimpse into social issues in India which I previously knew little about. The story is told as a series of letters written to the leader of China from an Indian man who works his way up from an orphan boy in rural India to an entrepreneur in the big city. The driving force of the plot is the murder he commits, why he commits it and how it changes his life. Highly recommended reading.

Most recently I finished reading Lisa See's latest -- Shanghai Girls, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I've written about Lisa See before and my love of her books exploring the fate of women in Chiona in the past. This book starts in Shanghai and the action moves to the United States as a pair of sisters flee during the Japanese invasion. It's a wonderful novel, historically based, with an engaging lead character. I recommend this book as well as her others -- Snow Flower and the Secret Fan & Peony in Love.