angry chicken

books I have read very recently (except one)

I was able to get quite a bit of reading in right after the holidays and got sucked into a self-imposed project. I wanted to finally read these memoirs I have been interested in over the years. (#1-5) I also thought it would be fun to read them all together, which made them more interesting to me, and also challenged my ability to keep them straight because there is some cross-over professionally. Books #6-8 are unrelated (sort of) and tacked on here and there. I usually read fiction, so reading 6 non-fiction books in a couple of weeks was pretty fun. I love our local library, where almost all of these came from.

I blogged about these memoirs when I had read only 3, I could say a whole lot about them, or keep this short. I found this whole project very exciting and I am so glad I read all these books the way I did, together and as a comparative project for myself. Parts I keep thinking about (rated PG version);

1. Bossypants, by Tina Fey Her discovery of pee jars in the head writer's room at SNL.

2. Yes Please, by Amy Poehler When she reveals the horrible cring-y texting mistakes she has committed more than once.

3. Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She's Learned, by Lena Dunham, the description of the high-end baby clothes boutique she worked in. I had to read this out loud to Pete.

4. The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption, and Pee, by Sarah Silverman Her telling of accidentally stabbing Al Franken the head with a sharp pencil while working on SNL.

5. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns), by Mindy Kaling Reading about her secret "funny" friend, the one she shared her love of comedy with. She was a weekend-only friend that she ignored during the day at school. But not forever.

 These other books got slipped in here and there in January:

6. Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant?: A Memoir, by Roz Chast I read so much about this comic/memoir and it's outstanding. I was so moved by it. I also laughed a little, but only later, not while I was reading it. It's about parents getting old and then dying.

7. Landline, by Rainbow Rowell This was an interesting premise—a magic phone that connects to a past relationship. In a crazy coincidence, the main character is a comedy writer who goes over her past to see where her marriage took a wrong turn. A comedy writer! So, that was interesting and an unexpected addition to my project.

8. Butterflies in November, by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir. This is the one that wasn't as recent, I think I finished it in October. It's by an Icelandic author and was sent to me as a gift direct from Iceland (thrilling!) and I was fascinated by it. It was strange and quirky and made me feel dreamy and lonely. I also want to go to Iceland.

Downton Abbey peg dolls

I'm pretty pleased with how these turned out. I got this idea to make maids from after seeing Lydia tie little aprons on her mushroom girl peg dolls. Then I thought, I need a butler, and then, you know—Downton Abbey. I want to make a cook next, and then maybe some ladies of the house. I love Downton Abbey, but I have not even finished season 2. I will someday. I am always way behind the curve with movies/shows, and then always hear spoilers. But then I forget what I heard. My short term memory loss is great for this reason

To make these, I painted the bodies black first and then used text weight white paper for all the white. I glued the paper on with a glue stick and it covered so nicely and is still thin enough to fold and curl around the peg, so it all looks like white paint.

valentine's day magnets

We really love air-dry clay. We made these hearts using small cookie cutters, let them dry, and then painted them and glued magnets on the back. They can break if you handle them too soon. I usually help them dry faster by putting them in a low oven for a few hours during the day. The letters are from this great cookie set (here's the set, but I can't find the kit online anymore, sadly.)

Unrelated:

I found these great printable sheets for simple science projects/experiements you can do at home over at bill nye's website.

 

 

fish tacos from the oregon coast

LOS Fish Taco: Grilled local catch, chili-garlic marinade, fennel slaw, avocado salsa verde, rice cake.

These fish tacos were from Local Ocean Seafoods in Newport, Oregon. They were absolutely delicious. They were also better than normal because I ate them alone.  Fish tacos are not date food, they really are messy. They also get cold so fast, I sort of scarf them. I can't really linger and chat while eating fish tacos. This place is so small and so popular eating alone at the bar was the way to go, otherwise I would have had a long wait. These were made with rock fish. Everything on this menu looks amazing. I need to go back. The fried rice cake on the side was a great touch.

more peg dolls

Mushroom School

I never thought the peg dolls book we got last year would have been so popular or so fun to work from. All three girls keep going back to it and we all keep adding to our collection. Hillary is making some outstanding ones that are really fun and creative—seeing them got the girls all excited again. My girls are really into tribes right now and groups of figures. I love sewing for these with felt and roving, but the all painted ones are fun, too, and a little easier for the girls to make on their own. They still have me help with the faces. If a face is messed up, it can be painted over in a skin tone. This happened with our Tomato Friend and they look just fine now. There is something so relaxing about working on these. They actually play with them, too, usually with a little battery tea light. So sweet and perfect for the dark evenings. Lydia asked if we could photograph them and then print them all out to make a book. Yes!

Chicken and her Chicks

Valentine's  Day Person

Bluebird Clan

Tomato Friends

Three Peas in a Pod

Bear Clan

Dandelion Clan

Mermaid Clan

The Whole Family

creativebug top classes of 2014

I'm very pleased to learn that my Homemade Apothecary class over on creativebug is one of the top classes of 2014! I'm in great company and I love the video they made showcasing all the classes that made this list. Their production is amazing, as always. You can see all my classes right here and here's a link to the excellent free classes they have.

happy 2015

We had a great new years at the Oregon coast. A few days of perfect weather and few days of indoor weather, which made the house seem small really fast. I read 2 books and watched 2 movies, knitted, did some stitching, and drew. I bought these great watercolor pencils (Derwent Inktense 12) a bit back and they are so fun to use, not like normal watercolor pencils at all, more like gauche pencils. The girls were amazed. I also found a wonderful black pen that doesn't bleed, so I/they can draw lines first and then watercolor over with no bleeding at all. More on this soon with photos and links.

 Books I read:

• Bossypants, By Tina Fey

I loved reading about her history with improv and her journey to get to SNL and 30 Rock. She's funny and smart and there's a ton to discuss in tis book. Pete got an earful.

• Yes Please, By Amy Poehler

This was really interesting to read right after Lena's (Not That Kind of Girl) and Tina's. They each have their own vibe and voice. Tina's and Amy's books are similar— more about their work history, and less about their romantic/relationship history.

There's so many topics in these books; creativity, motherhood, sexuality, drugs, working moms, stay-at-home moms, creative paths, taking risks, sexism at work, comedy, and so much more. I could write about all of it for a long time or stop now. I'm stopping now.

I feel close (and not in a weird stalker way, but in a good way) to both Amy Poehler and Lena Dunham after listening to their podcast interviews on By The Way, in Conversation with Jeff Garlin. Here's Amy's and here's Lena's. I heard these last summer and I laughed so hard and loved both of them so much and I'm sure it affected how I read their books.

Movies watched that I liked:

• Robot and Frank

I love scenes that have robots in the forest.