Not only did we eat 1/2 a pint immediately upon returning home, I turned the rest into a (Black) Raspberry Buttermilk Cake. The Kitchen Aid's virgin run was a success, though using it feels like cheating. Monsieur Kitchen Aid just churns away and does most of the work for you. I'm pretty sure my arm muscles will now turn to limp noodles as a result.The cake was good -- not too sweet, nice and moist, plenty of complexity from the tart berries and lemon zest. That said, it's really more of a coffeecake than a dessert-type cake.
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On the topic of new things, I did something rather wild in our new place. I threw caution to the wind and did NOT paint our bedroom blue. Shocking, I know, but the whole open living/dining area was already a peaceful shade of light blue, and it opens into our bedroom. So more light blue could have been overkill.
We went with Behr Premium Plus Ultra ("paint and primer in one") in Sliced Cucumber, a very "Martha" shade. I wasn't that impressed with the paint -- it still took two coats plus a good amount of touch-up work, and it didn't seem to want to stick to the wall. That said, painting conditions were less than ideal, as it was super humid (and we were working at night part of the time). In retrospect, I probably should have manned up and done a third coat.
Doesn't Kylie look alert and kittenish in this picture? My ferocious old biddy is mellowing as she reaches 15 years.
On the topic of new things, I did something rather wild in our new place. I threw caution to the wind and did NOT paint our bedroom blue. Shocking, I know, but the whole open living/dining area was already a peaceful shade of light blue, and it opens into our bedroom. So more light blue could have been overkill.We went with Behr Premium Plus Ultra ("paint and primer in one") in Sliced Cucumber, a very "Martha" shade. I wasn't that impressed with the paint -- it still took two coats plus a good amount of touch-up work, and it didn't seem to want to stick to the wall. That said, painting conditions were less than ideal, as it was super humid (and we were working at night part of the time). In retrospect, I probably should have manned up and done a third coat.
Doesn't Kylie look alert and kittenish in this picture? My ferocious old biddy is mellowing as she reaches 15 years.
Wonder of all wonders, I trimmed almost all of her claws over the weekend! The girls' previous owners had never bothered, and the cats were resistant to it when we first adopted them, so I gave up. But now we have a whole lower level of brand new carpeting, and I thought it was time. Oddly enough, Kylie (the fierce one) minds it less than sweet Capricha, who's generally good natured and friendly.And the knitting in the background?
A Shalom (with sleeves) for my mom, knit in a discontinued shade of Cascade Eco +. SouleMama just knit a second one that's even more beautiful than her first one, and I couldn't resist the pattern any longer.A parting shot of my kitters, curled up in a sunbeam:
shalom, indeed
