Thursday 13 October 2011

Tears and Tantrums

I didn't know what to call the post today. My instincts were to go with the quite rude, because the first crafty product I played with today was this.


I mean, honestly, the post titles are just endless. But there are only so many strange searches that I want bringing people to the blog and I am a little freaked out that 'bare feet' is turning out to be quite popular. I do not wish to become the foot fetish queen. So all thoughts about stiffy jokes went out the window. I'll get to the whys and wherefores of 'Tears and Tantrums' in a minute.

I used the above mentioned product to soak a couple of the crocheted snowflakes in to test how they looked when pegged out and dried. I only did two because I only found a small spare box and that was all it would fit. I also went and found a ratty old towel (the kind that enters a marriage as part of the man's dowry) and placed it over the box, then got pinning.


Hopefully by tomorrow I will have two frozen stiff snowflakes.

There wasn't a lot of crafty stuff done today. I turned all domestic and did the necessary duties. Blah! But it's done for another year. (I'm joking!!) I also got a craving for French Onion Soup which was supported by the realisation that I had managed to buy two large bags of onions in the past week. So I got cutting and pealing. This is where the tears came in copious amounts. Thinly slicing over a kilo of onions was hell.


Then came the task of very slowly cooking them down so that they were meltingly sweet. This is my first time attempting to make French Onion Soup. It was pretty easy, but boy did it take time.

It took about an hour to go from this...
... to this, and then...
... to this.
How on earth do all those onions reduce down to just this?!
I would like to show you scrumptious photos of deep bowls of soup, slices of French bread on top and bubbling with melted Gruyere, but I can't. Because we haven't eaten it yet. I am waiting for himself to return home from the wilds of Hampshire tonight. I'll try and remember to take a photo but no promises!

So that leaves us with the tantrum part of the post title. It is a bit of an exaggeration but I have to say I was less than happy to hop in the shower this morning to find that the lovely man who safety checked our gas yesterday also left me without heat and hot water. The heat I can live without right now, but hot water no. Absolutely not! I am not a cold shower kind of girl. Lucky for me our landlord came round about lunch time and sorted it out. I no longer feel grotty and smelly. People won't mind standing beside me at school pick up (I hope).

I will finish with a little tease for my partner for the swap. I have officially started cutting fabric. I'll be testing the Go! and its new mat later on. Wish me luck!


I am really looking forward to making a tablerunner for my partner. Especially now that I can focus and not worry about the other things I need doing.

Susan

20 comments:

  1. I'd be interested in the stamina of the stiffy. I've tried it myself before, with cornstarch and water... went floppy within an hour.

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  2. I`ve done my tablerunner design - go mama, go and look! Loving your chocheted snowflakes...and bon apetit for the soup!

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  3. BAHAHAHAHAHA - breathe Kat breathe... between your post & Laura's comment I nearly choked over here!
    Intrigued to see what you're making. Those snowflakes look fab. But will they have longevity or are they going to be prematurely floppy? Time will tell!

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  4. Girls! Susan and Laura Jane. What will we do with you?

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  5. I'm just waiting for someone to say "never been a problem in my house" Hadley where are you?!!

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  6. Well that's it...your doomed! If you were worried about the kind of people that might find your blog, I'm afraid Laura's phrase "stamina of the stiffy" should attract a good range of people! LOL

    Do report on how the Viagra for cotton faired :o)

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  7. Laughed out loud at your mention of your man's dowry of a ratty towel - you're doing well to still have that after all this time. Haven't you learned the art of losing boxes when you move house with all the dowry items in?
    My man's dowry consisted of similar towels, a humungous sombrero (which he hung on our living room wall when we were first married), three plastic fish on little bits of lava rock which sat on the living room windowsill and a shamag (think Yasser Arafat's red & white headscarf) which he draped over the unit we set our TV on. Over time these items were "progressed" from pride of place in lounge to being novelty accessories in rooms closer and closer to the attic until they finally found their perfect spot in a big brown box beneath the rafters! Cruel woman that I am!

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  8. Got my replacement die yesterday - it works!!

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  9. Your man brought a towel as a dowry. Luxury! Mr. P had buggerall.It was like moving in with a hobo.

    I think something came and stole half your onions in the cooking process...

    I'm sorry to say that with the words stiffy and foot fetish in one post the weirdos will probably still flock here via google search!

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  10. I'm still snickering at your post and Laura's comment...

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  11. Had to read the dowry comment to James, and then laugh a lot because he brought some very dubious towels/duvet covers into our world too! I think you removed half the onions before photo 3 :) I luuurve french onion soup with gruyere croutons...yummmmm

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  12. Oh, I did laugh out loud at the mans dowry part! And I won't even go there about the product name!!
    Liking the look of the colours of your table runner

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  13. Well I am shocked and think I have arrived on the porno blog - there now you will definitely get some interesting callers to your blog as between us I think we have covered a range of google worthy words! Good luck Susan!

    Glad your hot waters working!

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  14. perhaps your boiler man has been reading your blog thought you needed a cold shower! Im looking forward to seeing your stiff flakes tomorrow ;)

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  15. Ahem, I can't think what you might mean about alternative titles...

    Glad you got your hot water back, and enjoy your soup when you get to it :o)

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  16. Sarah, why would you put such an awful thing on Hadley? And Hadley, no name calling!

    Susan, I hope that stiffening process is only for crochet or he may never come home! hehehe

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  17. oh dear - where are their marketing people when they name these things?? i don't think i'll add anymore italian suppositories ('innuendos' for those who don't know this ancient joke)to this story - there's enough above to invite the men in macs to come calling - although they're going to be terribly disappointed when they see it's not quite the info they're looking for!

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  18. Mmmmm that soup smells divine! Jxo

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  19. Oh, I love this post and the comments - I'm chuckling so much!! I know I'm too late for soup (somehow missed this post yesterday) and I'm disappointed as it's my second favourite type - feel like I'm constantly asking for your food, if I lived next door would you feed me?!!

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