It’s been said that there is nothing new under the sun.  I don’t know if I believe that, but I am quite interested in the cycles of history.  In this article, I’m interested in how old protest symbols are renewed and repurposed for use today.  Specifically, the Norwegian red toppluer or nisselue style hats, which were worn in the 1940’s to protest the Nazi occupation of the country.  Naturally, the Nazis quickly outlawed the hats.

Buoyed by  my success making a warming neck roll and a foot warmer, I decided to try one more such project…some little packets that would function as hand warmers, either tucked into pockets or maybe dropped into mittens.  Instead of beans, I bought a big bag of flax seeds for the filling.

While trying to think up a “clever” title for this blog post, I searched for synonyms of “200th,” now that my posts can be counted in multiple hundreds!  Bicentennial and bicentenary were the only words I could find, and since both of those refer to years as units of time rather than a quantity of something else, I gave up and went with the title you see.  But this is the 200th post of this blog, which is something I am personally celebrating.

Is there anything more convenient than a dump-and-go recipe?  “No” is the answer, by the way.  And one of the great inventions of the modern age is the crock pot, which is particularly suited to many dump-and-go meals.

A few weeks ago, I made myself a heating roll for my neck.  You know the sort of thing…you toss it in the microwave for a couple minutes and then drape it around your neck and enjoy warm relaxation until it cools off (an hour or so), then back into the microwave, if you’re so inclined.  Well, one can can make such a device in most any shape desired, so I decided to try making a sort of pad that I could lay over my feet or stick into the foot end of my bed to pre-warm that area.

I mentioned in a previous post that I used to enjoy visiting a deli near my college, where my preferred meal was an egg salad sandwich with sliced olives and sprouts.  I have in fact replicated this sandwich on my own many times.  The only reason I don’t eat it more often is because I find making egg salad a bit tedious.

A million years ago, my aunt gifted me a roll of fabric, which was filled with small round things.  The fabric was soft flannel and the roll was intended to be nuked in the microwave for a couple minutes and then draped around the neck.  I used this for many years; it was incredibly relaxing to have this weighted warmth over the neck and shoulders.  Eventually, it wore out and I never got another.

My mother pointed out that “oaty” is not a real word and I countered that English is a living language.  I think we reached detente.  Or maybe it was an impasse.  Definitely one of those…

I’m not a big drinker.  In fact, it’s not uncommon for me to go years without imbibing any alcohol.  But if I am going to indulge, it’s going to be hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps.  This is so indescribably delicious that when I went on a Caribbean cruise with my friend Jane a number of years ago, this is what I had every evening while she was enjoying more traditional tropical delights such as Planter’s Punch and piña coladas.  As you might imagine, I still come in for a fair bit of mockery over drinking something warm while vacationing in the tropics.

A couple weeks ago, while my friend Jane and I were having dinner at our friend Bea’s house, I happened upon an intriguing book.  Honestly, Bea’s whole house is jam-packed full of interesting books, but I hadn’t seen this one before.  It’s Rebel With A Clause by Ellen Jovin. I picked up the book, flipped it open enough to register that it had been signed by the author, and then started reading the introduction.  Aloud.  Jane tolerated this only briefly before giving me the look that suggested I’d better stop, if I know what’s good for me.  I do occasionally know what’s good for me, so I stopped.  But I did ask Bea about the book.

This week’s project was inspired by Two Strands, which is the name of a YouTube channel to which I am subscribed.  This particular maker also gave me the idea for my Quilt-As-You-Go project. She’s got some great ideas.

I know nothing about origami.  Okay, that’s not completely true. I know it’s a paper craft of Japanese origin where elegant papers are precisely folded and bent to form amazing and sometimes fantastical shapes. 

I like baked sweets.  Cake. Cookies.  Brownies.  Sweet bread.  Cinnamon rolls.  I particularly love cinnamon rolls, but unless one makes them one’s self, you can never really be sure what you’re going to get.  I would say about 50% of all cinnamon rolls that I’ve bought at various bakeries have been very disappointing.

Bungee fitness?  Is that a real thing?  Turns out, it is!  I saw some YouTube videos and it looked like such fun that I put some classes on my Christmas list.  And my family got me three classes at the local studio.

I know I’ve written about Jenny Schwartz before (okay, more than once), but her work is just so good!  In my last blog post about her work, I mentioned a new series she was working on (The Caldryn Parliament) but that I was waiting until the third book came out, so that I could read them all together and not be left in suspense.  The third book has in fact come out, so I’m ready to review the series.  However, I note that the author plans three more books in the series, so I might be premature.  Nevertheless, I shall forge onward.

It occurred to me the other day that I’m in danger of becoming like one of those doll ladies.  You know the ones…they keep an entire room to house their collection of creepy dolls.  And any guest who spends a night in their house has to worry about the dolls coming to life in the night and stabbing someone in their sleep.  No?  Just me?  Okay, whatever. 

How often should you wash your hair?  If you ask the interwebs this question, you’ll get lots of different answers (mostly based on “hair type”) which all boil down to “as often as you need to.”  The different answers mostly agree that washing too often strips the hair of protective oil and makes it more dry and brittle, but washing too seldom allows for buildup on the scalp that can also be damaging to the hair.

I’d like to say that I became a fan of author Robert Galbraith before it became public knowledge that the author’s real name was J.K. Rowling, but that would be a lie.  Shortly after that knowledge hit the interwebs, I gave her first detective story a try.  It’s not my normal fiction fare, but I figured I couldn’t go wrong with J.K. Rowling.

A collection of random stuff. Merry Christmas!

When I began this post of my favorite knitting patterns, I started with a HUGE list, and had to narrow it down quite a lot.  I have opted not to include any patterns that I’ve already written about, no matter how much I adore them.  (“Oh, magic hat, I love you so…”)  So below you will find my curated list of a few favorites.