Thinking about St. Patrick's Day...

I don't have any trouble with corned beef and cabbage, colcannon, boxty, or any of those goodies...

But I've never found a soda bread to go with them that doesn't taste a bit, well, 'gassy.'

Thanks to Kathleen over at allrecipes.com, though, I think I may have the answer -- Pretzel Bread. Its makeup sounds similar. Who knows -- this one may well work.

Recipes for the other stuff will be coming in the next week...

And yes. I am part-Irish!

The Appraisal Soapbox

Did you know that today is National Get Your Quilt (And Other Stuff) Appraised Week?

Or so it seems...

I did an appraisal this morning, got a pile to do yesterday, and more the day before. Many people start to think about doing this for donation value on their quilts (especially their old ones) -- that's part of the reason for the uptick in business. I have noticed a big rush for it right around tax time. But many of the appraisals are not done for that reason at all. I hear everything from "this is going to my daughter, and I want her to know about its value" to "I'm putting it in a competition" to "I've always wanted to do this."

What do I know? I just do my job. Seriously, though, having your pieces appraised is a smart thing to do. It protects them, in case of theft or damage. It gives them documentation -- which any good appraiser can tell you raises their value in the future. And it gives you a chance to analyze your work, or that of the quiltmaker.

It's more reasonably priced than you think. I charge $45 for a detailed report that can take up to 1 1/2 hours...and gives you a printed-out appraisal for your files (and mine). But I also do multi-quilt reports that are much less per piece -- even as little as $10 per quilt. So if you've considered doing this...well, consider it a bit harder. The best place to find the best in appraising, textile-wise, is the PAAQT website. It lists appraisers by state, as well as name, and includes several helpful articles.Every one of the appraisers listed are also certified by the American Quilter's Society, the only organization in the country that focuses on textiles, and several are certified by other organizations, too.

Think about it.

More gray skies are moving in, fitting for this lovely surprise rendition of "Rainy Day"...sung by Bette Midler and Johnny Carson. Enjoy.

More Flowers...

Like more fresh flowers in your online world? Many thanks to Web Weaver for sharing their lovely stuff... go here for more.

Hijacked!

Ok...

The good news: my blog was compromised, all right -- but not by a virus. So if you follow my blog, you don't have a virus spreading mayhem through your computer's metal veins.

The bad news: my blog was compromised -- by a rogue program called malware that automatically tries to send you to different websites, instead of reading my stuff. (Not that my musings are that brilliant, but...)

The good news: it seems to be gone now, thanks to some preventive work on our end, and a complaint to Blogger. What it is:  AntiSpyWare.Xpantispxware . Husband, my local IT expert, has some suggestions:


If you believe your computer has been infected, you can check it by doing an online scan from Norton at: http://www.symantec.com/norton/support/premium_services/pc_checkup.jsp  .  Another place to check is at McAfee at: https://home.mcafee.com/Secure/Protected/Login.aspx?appid=73.

 

If you don't already have antivirus protection installed, I would highly recommend it.  You can get it free from Avira: http://www.free-av.de/en/trialpay_download/1/avira_antivir_personal__free_antivirus.html or from AVG at: http://free.avg.com/ww-en/hot-topics.num-2379.

 

Also, make sure you have Windows Firewall enabled unless you have separate firewall software running.

 

My webmaster has double-checked the Brickworks and Classy Girl websites, and they're fine. 

Thanks for hanging in there with me. Hope your weekend went well.

Old Movies...And Dean Stockwell

Husband came home for lunch this afternoon, as is his wont, and turned on TMC (Turner Movie Classics) while he was eating his carrot cake. The movie on was Kim, starring Dean Stockwell and a red-bearded Errol Flynn. An "Indian" boy, who really turns out to be the orphan of a British soldier named Kimball O'Hara, becomes the helper of a Muslim holy man. While on their travels, little Kim visits the same British regiment his father mentioned, and gets sent to school. On holiday, he goes on a secret mission for the Army, helped by his friend Mahbub Ali, a feisty horse trader who is also a secret agent for the British.

The movie was a real adventure -- lots of swashing, buckling, exotic costumes, horses and people falling off the Himalayas. And surprisingly good! It got me to thinking about Dean Stockwell. I know him best as Scott Bakula's boss in Quantum Leap, but Dean has been acting since he was a kid, from How Green is My Valley to Gentleman's Agreement (with Clark Gable). He's now 74 -- consider that! This man has been working for more than five decades, and is still going strong.


I hope I can keep going that long in my own work.

Elf Slippers!

Wouldn't a snuggly, cosy pair of elf slippers be just the thing for a gloomy, dreary day?

Now you can make them yourself, thanks to this easy tutorial. They'll  make good use of that beloved sweater that's too small, or developed a nasty hole somewhere.

Many thanks to Kris of Resweater for sharing this frugalicious pattern. She's not only got an intriguing blog, but a shop, Artfire, for purchasing "repurposed" sweaters and other goodies. Homebody Holly is running a giveaway from Kris' business, too, if you hustle over there. (It ends Thurs night at 9 p.m....EST, I'm supposing.)

I intend on visiting Kris regularly to see what she's up to. Wonderful stuff!

And the Waves Roll On

Did you hear about the Mediterranean cruise ship hit -- and severely damaged -- by three very large waves? Two people died, and several others were injured.

What I find especially curious about this, is that there is a strong tradition of large waves coming out of nowhere -- causing incredible mayhem, or even sinking the ship -- then disappearing as suddenly as they came. For a long time, because there were only sudden disappearances, or shocked survivors' accounts, these were pooh-poohed as just a fantasy. Finally, thanks to a few events that are too big to ignore (including photographs and video), these waves are being given some credence.

Who knows what causes them? Some suggest underwater earthquakes or volcanic eruptions. Others say they're 'backwash' from typhoons or earthquakes on the other side of the world. No proof for anything...yet.

All that is known is that these rogue waves arrive -- and they kill.

When they come in a set of three (like the ones that hit the cruise ship), they're called the "Three Sisters." When the Edmund Fitzgerald, a Great Lakes superfreighter, sank in Lake Superior in 1975, she went down without a peep -- no distress signals or other communications. But the Arthur Andersen, another ship near the "Fitz's" last location, and in intermittent contact with her that stormy night, reported being hit with three gigantic waves in succession, with no warning. The ship barely kept afloat. Its captain thought it quite possible that the Fitzgerald, which was listing and reported water washing over its decks, hadn't had a chance.


Shades of the "Three Sisters."

For more on rogue waves, also known as freak and monster waves, read here -- but be sure to do it while listening to this. Good for a getting-gradually-grayer day like today.