A Bookworm Creates

Scones I love scones! Scones scones scones There are just so many types to try. Cheesy. Fruity. Cinnamon and sugar. And the abundance of recipes that can be found online! On Pinterest! So I went fruity scone hunting and found the perfect recipe.  It isn't dry. You can find the original recipe here ->  http://www.averiecooks.com/2014/04/the-best-glazed-mixed-berry-scones.html I did make three adjustments: self-rising flour instead of plain, cinnamon and dried fruit. Why? 1. Self-rising flour already contains salt and baking powder. 2. Cinnamon adds an additional flavor note to the dough. 3. I've used frozen berries and as soon as I started working with it the berries thawed and the juice stained the dough.  I had purple scones. The Recipe Mixed Berry Sc ones Ingredients: 2 cups Self-rising flour 1 stick of butter (not softened) 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon (more or less to taste) 1 large egg 1/2 cup sour cream 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 - 1/2 cu...

Has your sterling silver jewelry tarnished? It happens sometimes when you don't wear it that often. Here's a tip. 1. Line a bowl or something with aluminum foil. 2. Put the jewelry in the covered bowl. 3. Cover the jewelry with baking soda. 4. Pour hot (not boiling) water over the baking soda to help it disolve.  (I used water from the coffeemaker.) The chemical reaction will cause the baking soda to bubble and after doing this a time or two the tarnish will be gone. 5. Wash jewelry with cool water and dry.  Voila!

I find myself working with words more than crafting anything.  For the past three weeks I've been editing, rewriting, writing, working on, etc etc etc on one of my manuscripts from about seven-eight years ago.  It had good reviews on fictionpress.com.  Even, up until I pulled the story, recently I was still getting favorites on this story that was just sitting there, taking up interspace.  I've taken it.  I've doubled it. I've made polymer clay cats (of the Cheshire and Franken variety), a dormouse in a teapot, a squirrel.  I'll probably be making a March Hare or a Supernatural squirrel later today.  I'll still be crafting with my words up until I load my novella's manuscript (anything between x and 50,000 words is considered a novella, and mine is around 32,000 words) onto Amazon.  Self-publishing freaks me out just a little.  Maybe that's why I'm posting this here instead of on the author blog (ajdarcy writes - yes, I'm using a ...

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." - George  Santayana It doesn't matter what side of the 'debate' you are on (and I'm not about starting one here - all debating comments will be deleted, neutral I'll consider keeping) but at what point does 'removing' history stop? Let's remove all literature about the Civil War. But wait...what about the Japanese internment camps during WWII? Let's remove/shut down all WWII memorials before they offend the Japanese - Americans whose families were forced to give up their property and live in those camps regardless of their allegiances. Let's remove all Native American memorials dare we remember the atrocities that the U.S. Government forced (and still are - think reservations) upon them.  That's a huge, nasty chunk of history. Shut down the Alamo? Crush Mt. Rushmore? The Liberty Bell? Boston Harbor where we commited treason against the British government for raisi...

I don't think I could ever be a big city girl. The traffic drives me crazy, on top of all of those overpasses and bridges. I entered the outlying area of Houston in the middle of "Tropical Storm Bill". Lots of heavy rain followed by sunny patches.  It added an hour to my travel time. Add too it,  I'm getting comments on my Tennessee accent. I'm so tempted to start drawling out my vowels and dropping some g's. Touristy stuff should be happening soon.  Stay tuned. Alicia

I left for the Texas trip to visit my friend early. 1. Arkansas has a lot of bloody bridges. This is only a problem if I wasn't allergic to bridges. Bridges wouldn't be a problem if I wasn't afraid of heights, falling from heights, and drowning.  (I wonder what started those fears.) Bloody Bridges. 2. One of the rest areas had a beautiful garden. I took pictures. So jealous. 3. Stopped in Arkadelphia, Arkansas  (where I am currently writing this.  (Found 1 out of 4 geocaches. :(  ) A. Saw a really old Arby's sign (fuzzy picture below) B. There is an opened 1.75 liter bottle of Barcardi Puerto Rican Rum in the mini fridge in the room. (No photo included) No, it's not mine.  No I didn't drink any of it. There's also an altoids tin. I think I'll leave them be.  Maybe. What would you do if you found an open bottle of rum in your hotel room?

We've all seem those infographics on Pinterest on how to pack. Go with the staples Shoes on bottom Trial size bottles Right... So, I very rarely get to go on long-distance trips for longer than a few days.  Weekends at my Uncle's house before his divorce. Overnighters for a Saturday wedding. Random little trips that are within a reasonable amount of driving time away from home. I swear the last long-distance, long-term trip was in the 8th grade for the New York City chorus trip. (We didn't place by the way.)  That was....oh...about 16 years ago...and we had set outfits we were required to bring. That's not to say I haven't traveled...I have...but my travel-to bucket list has more unchecked places than places checked off. I really should work on that... Regardless...I'm looking at at least a week long trip to Texas this week. I'm actually not certain how long I'll be staying.  (Thank goodness for best friends.) I really am at a loss of what to pa...

As I type my hands and fingers are covered in black pantina where I did the finishing touches on today's metal stamping projects. All that's left is chains and key chains.  So,  first part of metal stamping is that you need the right equipment. A hammer A steel stamping block Metal stamps And stamping blanks. Also: tape, graph paper, a straight edge, and a pencil.  Not a pen. Pens will leave ridges on your blank. 1st -  Using the straight edge, graph paper, and pencil make guidelines on the blank.  This helps keep things in lines. 2nd - Tape down the blank to the block. The last thing anybody needs is for the stamping blank to move around the block while trying to hammer away.  You really don't want your fingers holding things down in case the hammer slips... 3rd -  Have you stamps ready.  Creating words? Have them lined out and ready.  4th - Check that the stamp is in the right direction when stamping.  It isn't always easy f...

I love making charm bracelets.   I make them in bangle and traditional charm bracelet forms. Their weight and the jingle on my wrist just makes me happy. When I'm nervous or anxious I can play with one of the charms.  So, what's the best route for a charm bracelet? 1. Determine your theme. Fairy tale? Fandom? What you like? Go with it.  2. Try to predetermine your charms, chain type, etc.  Do you want a lot of charms? A little? Bangle where you can move them around and around? Expandable bangle? A traditional chain? 3. Then your other supplies? Jump rings to secure your charms to the bracelet are a must. 2 pairs of pilers (one for each hand) and know how to open the jump rings. 4. Gather all supplies. Me, I'll buy in bulk. This means I can make more of one bracelet or use the surplus with other projects.  If I'm working with a theme, particularly a fandom, I might make charm necklaces with the surplus. 5. Determine your charm order. This works best wh...

Sometimes it's really interesting to see real life mirror experimenting in the kitchen. Some of my friends are aware that I didn't get the job I was hoping for; maybe it's for a reason that I'm not yet aware of, but it gets old constantly trying for a position and never getting a chance to prove yourself at this job. So, what do I do?  Sit there and cry about it?  No. Okay, maybe I did for a few minutes.  No, I'm going to adapt. I'll take the Praxis tests for Economics and American/World History because I can, even if I don't use the endorsement. At least I tried, right? What does this have to do with the kitchen and cooking? Easy. Today I attempted crab cakes.  I don't particularly like crab cakes, but I thought I could make them without the green onions.  I don't like green onions. See evidence picture number one.  They fell apart.  Now, these are for dinner. I have a bowl of crab meat mixture mixed up and ready to be fried, but I didn't ...

Has it really been over a year since I last posted?   No, reader, not much has actually changed in the last year. Moving on... I spend a fair amount of on social media apps managing my etsy stop. It was one of these...okay,  fine, I was on Facebook and I have several cooking blogs that I follow. This one particular blog featured Parmesan Herb Crusted Salmon. Easy enough AND delicious. Now, I did "cheat" and use frozen salmon, but it was still good. I just had to thaw it out. Parmesan Herb Crusted Salmon 1. Preheat oven to 420. 2. Line a cookie sheet (I used a cake pan) with parchment paper. This helps with clean up. 3. Put salmon on pan, cover with parchment paper, and bake for 10 minutes. Now, this is where I had an issue. I removed the salmon and there was this white stuff coming out of it. It does in fact have a technical name, but it's fine. This white stuff is the protein cooking out of the salmon. The internet said that soaking the salmon in salt water for...