Yinzer in the Shire

It's 2 am and I just woke up with a start at the sound of something in the house falling over.  I sent Seth to investigate, thinking it was just a pile of books settling... it was a freakin' cat!  In the house!  One we have never even seen before!  Most certainly not our beloved Wednesday. He must have came in through the office window that was accidentally left open.  When Seth found him he was in our kitchen trying to force himself through our locked cat flap.  Once I came out to see what was going on the cat gave chase and we think he exited from the window from which he came.  Maybe.  He also might still be in the house, we can't be entirely certain. To be safe we have shut all of the doors in the house and have checked underneath the bed.  Lets hope this cat hasn't taught himself how to work a doorknob despite his lack of opposable thumbs.

The Original Sketch I know lately I have been pretty heavy on the recipe-related posts, while completely ignoring the techie end of things, but fear not!  There is an upcoming post that I am incredibly excited about, only, you are going to have to wait a few more weeks.  Sorry! You see, I have been working really hard to prepare for my upcoming teaching gig which is a blessing, because it means I have to learn new software, the knowledge of which I can pass on to you, my loving readers.  It is also a bit of a curse as it gives me no time to actually sit down and create a tutorial on said software.  Please just hold tight and be patient.  Good things are on their way! In the meantime, I'd like you to do something for me.  Based on a quick sketch I drew for him, Seth has created three amazing prototype logos for Cyanide Cupcake.  I just don't know which to choose.  Since you guys are going to be the ones looking at it the most, I would like...

Welcome to the final instalment of Easter! As previously mentioned, with a vegetarian in the house we couldn't do the usual meat dishes that are customary at Easter.  Without further ado, here is our menu. The Menu: Starter Leafy Greens w/ Thousand Island Dressing Main Toasted Hot Cross Buns  Cheesy Au Gratin Potatoes Stuffed Mushrooms Dessert Strawberry Icebox Cake ------------------------- Easter in New Zealand is AMAZING!  Though the forecast was calling for rain, it turned out to be a beautiful autumn day.  True to Wellington fashion, it was a bit windy, so I was thankful I wore tights underneath my Easter dress.   Our tiny little church was stuffed full of congregation members and Pastor Tim lead a rousing service in which children passed out daffodil bulbs, lead us in song, and we questioned " I s everything sad going to come untrue ?" Best, Easter service, ever! Last week I stayed after church to help fellow ...

Happy Easter!  This is not a post about Easter dinner, but it might come in handy as you are preparing for your Easter celebrations. Egg dying is an Easter tradition that dates back to before Christianity.  Originally used to celebrate fertility and the Earth's rebirth during spring, eggs have come to represent Jesus' rebirth and the rolling away of the stone. Having Easter without Easter eggs feels a little like having Christmas without a tree.  When Easter began to draw near, I began to notice I distinct lack of something in my grocery store aisles.  Sure, there were plenty of chocolate eggs to be found, and even an odd bunny or two, but there were absolutely no friendly little boxes of egg dying supplies!  Oh, PAAS, how I miss thee!   I knew I could likely make dye from just food colouring and vinegar, but I still felt like something way missing… an incredibly important piece to the egg dying puzzle.  Then it hit me like a giant bunny falling f...

Back in the States every Easter as an adult has been different.  Usually my extended family doesn't do anything for the main day, just a low-key get-together at Hoss's a few days prior.  Some years I visit my Mum's or Grammy's on Easter Day, others I spend the day with my friends families.  For this reason I have no real Easter traditions aside from attending church in the morning. As a part of our first Easter in New Zealand, Seth and I are making a real effort to create our own Easter traditions.  Since we have a resident vegetarian, the usual faire of ham or lamb was out, so I had to get creative.  Over the weekend I will be updating the blog with recipes from our Easter dinner.  First up, dessert!  ----------------- Icebox cakes are an old-school American tradition that dates back to the 1920's.  It's a simple recipe, take some chocolate Nabisco wafers, slather them with whipped cream, pop them in the freezer and wait 2...

Well, well, well, look at what I found today!  Would you believe I just happened upon Libby's canned pumpkin in the regular grocery store?  For those of you just tuning in, they don't sell Libby's here, they don't even sell true pumpkin here, just lots of butternut squash masquerading as pumpkin.  If you want a can of Libby's you usually have to pick it up from a store specialising in American food, of which there are absolutely zero in Wellington.  There is a store up in Auckland, but they are asking $6 for one 15 oz can, plus shipping!  I decided that I could suck it up and attempt a butternut squash pie to soothe my autumn cravings, but now I don't have to.  The best part?  We picked these bad boys up for just $4.99 each. It's interesting looking at the International section and seeing what your fellow American's clearly miss from the homeland.  Other foods for sale included cans of Cherry Coke, Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce, Solo Marshmallow...

If you've ever been to Kennywood Park, you've probably pondered why the Lost Kennywood sign reads "Pittsburg" or perhaps even why it exists at all.  The archway and Lost Kennywood itself are both modeled after an amusement park long gone, Pittsburgh's very own Luna Park. Vestiges of Luna Park are all around if you care to look for them, its name is carried on in Luna Lofts its image immortalized in Carnegie Science Center's Miniature Railroad and Village , but few know it ever existed. Amusement parks were traditionally built at the end of trolly lines to encourage ridership and provide an escape from the city, Luna Park broke with tradition as it was nestled snug within city limits at the corner of Craig and Baum.  Luna Park Pittsburgh was the first Ingersoll park under the "Luna Park" name and was built in 1905 .  Luna Park Pittsburgh, is not to be confused with the Coney Island amusement park of the same name created four years prior by F...

I am home safe from my first ever Hoopfest!  What is a hoopfest, you ask?  Hoopfest is a yearly weekend retreat out into the bush in which hula hoopers convene to learn new tricks and bond over their love of the hoop. I discovered NZ Hoopfest long before the move.  After worrying whether or not there was an arts scene in Wellington, I began to wonder if there were any hoopers.  A quick Google search and I discovered not only NZ Hoopfest, but also a strong circus community in the tiny capital.  It took some convincing to actually purchase a ticket though, I was a bit worried about going out into the bush for a weekend with people I didn't know in an unfamiliar country.  After some prompting from my hoop instructor, Ryn, I finally bought my ticket. Perhaps the most surprising discovery of the weekend had absolutely nothing to do with hoops, I was shocked at just how many international travele...