Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood-Summer Wine

And I hope to God...

That all you 3 or so readers are aware of the "kitten/puppy" youtube bar and the bottom of the page..... it took a lot of programming language knowledge for me to make that dream a reality. /lie

Summer Reading

I wanted to take a class that focused on reading "Great Literary Works" since I have not read many. Unfortunately, according to Rate My Professor.com (which might as well be "rape my professor;" the comments are so cruel and include the option to rate their "hotness") the teacher for said class made many students cry. I cry when the wind blows northward and someone looks sideways, so I figured best not to enroll.

The point is, I decided to take on some "Great Works" independently, and summer time seemed ideal since I am not busy reading for school.

I intended to start with Anna Karenina by Tolstoy, but JBWS suggested I wait and start with The Brothers Karamazov, by Dostoyevsky. In the mean time I began with a petite book by Tolstoy that focuses on his religion; a return to Christianity with a Buddhist emphasis. I find it to be excellent so far, and suggest it for all that were raised in Christianity yet find themselves intrigued with the Eastern religious approach. (Book Wiki)


Another book that I recently consumed (it's only about 100 pages :) ) was a translation of the Prajnaparamita Sutra, by the peace worker and monk Thich Nhat Hanh.  Known as The Heart of Understanding, this book clarifies some concepts in both Eastern Religion/Buddhism and freaking life in general. I can't rant and rave enough about the wisdom TNH seems to possess, but it comes through via his ability to translate ideas to lay people in an outstandingly compassionate manner.  


What "great works" would you suggest to the un-well-read and curious? And what "Great Works" have you regretted not reading or would like to read?

Makin' Magic / A.k.a. Poor girl creativity

JBWS and ASJ already saw this, but I'm sharing it all the same. I read midi and maxi skirts are back in style, which makes me really happy. I don't do mini's well, and find the ability to do things like sit, bend over, etc. without hesitation a god-send. To make this work without going to Old Navy and splurging on a ton of overpriced cotton I picked up some long skirts at the thrift store (easy to come by) and got one of my mom's older long dresses. I don't have a sewing machine so I had to improvise. The only thing I had to do was use a belt for these items to make them work in a variety of ways. The skirt is perfect; it is navy with red/orange polkadots and lightweight without being remotely transparent or too slinky on the panty-line. It has cinching and elastic around the waist but also a button/zip closure. It was slightly large on me but that came in handy. The first way I worked it was without a shirt, pulled up above the chest, making a strapless dress. I belted it at both the empire and mid-waist with ease, and voila, midi-sundress. The second method was just bunching it up around my waist with a tucked in fitted top and belting it so that the excess fabric peeked out of the top. voila, maxi skirt!  The third item was a salmon dress from my mom; it has a great linen like material and is incredibly comfortable. I tried both a thin, neutral loose belt and a fitted black belt. Both did well and added shape to the dress. I forced pleats under the breast and in the back and secured them with the belt, to keep it from looking too boxy. My next endeavor is to get a bunch of a-line long-ish skirts and so the same, pulling them up higher and belting. 

                                                                                                              

Whole Wheat Pasta

I find it infuriating to cook with whole wheat pasta; the gritty texture seems to override any other and the flavors of the sauce or additions seem to be lost. Whats that, third world problems?
Anyway, tonight BJ cooked dinner from a recipe that called for farfalle pasta. After everything was chopped and ready, he reached for it to find it had been infested with creepies. So he used the year(s?) old whole wheat angel hair we had in the cupbord. By some means of magic, it came out DELICIOUS! He claimed the magic was overcooking the pasta, as one does with brown rice. It was truly impressive, especially since BJ is somewhat new to cooking. I am starting to think he is actually a great cook with a multitude of recipes up his sleeve but has been playing it off all this time. Recipe linked here. (BJ also added a chopped bell pepper, improvisation!)

Do you have any great secrets to making whole wheat pasta not suck???

Whats Up With This Blog Title?

Patina is the way metal shows its aging gracefully, or so I say. It is an outer layer that forms due to the chemical processes and physical experiences of metal; in many cases creating a beautiful and protective barrier. It varies in colors of green, golden and blue and many find it to be preferable to the original metals color, as it is considerably more unique. True patina requires the uncontrolled matter of time... or a good dousing of table salt.

Metal Colouring and Bronzing

(image source)

Hello There

First blog post, yee-haw!