appurtenance: something that is subordinate, or added, to another more important thing

example: Some may have considered Nigel Witherington's appurtenance an impertinence, but he really felt his Critical Commentary on THE LAWS OF THE PLANETS elucidated that most renowned yet cryptic of astronomical tomes.

I have quite the stash of clothes awaiting alterations, either because they no longer fit me correctly or because I bought them specifically for the purpose of refashioning. Much to my storage capacity's chagrin, I tend to see a lot of potential in the dresses, blouses, and suits I encounter in secondhand stores and find it hard to resist plunking down three dollars on an all wool jacket that is only slightly too big or a dollar on a lovely rayon print dress that nevertheless sports ridiculous shoulder pads (alright; you can stop snickering).

My enthusiasm is fed by the alterations I see online. GrosgrainFabulous showcases Kathleen's beautifully clever refashions such as her Cherry Pop Refashion (which also happens to be a giveaway!)

Kristena of Thimbly Things has finished some cute alterations as well, such as her Plum Blouse or her Romantic Shirt.

Before I can commence in earnest, however, I've got to sew a cover for my buxom dressform and squeeze her into my own proportions--nothing a little carving and super-strong seams can't accomplish, I hope. But I am on my way, for last night I finished my first bodice sloper muslin and have only to drape and draft my skirt sloper next (which should be significantly easier!). That should be my next Thursday-night project.

Sunday's my day for baking, and this week I've made some rather delicious spinach and cheese calzones. It was simple but time-consuming, but then that's what I like about Sunday's slower pace. I made up a recipe for light whole wheat bread dough from one of my favorite bread cookbooks, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day (Hertzberg and Francois) and then mixed a few things together for the filling:

~a couple handfuls of that wonderful convenience, frozen chopped spinach

~about 8 ounces of ricotta cheese (the rest of the container is going in next week's lasagna)

~one egg

~some onion (I keep chopped red onion in the freezer)

~2 cloves of garlic

I sauteed the onion and garlic before adding them to the spinach-ricotta-egg mixture, and then I stretched out roll-sized handfuls of dough into circles (more or less), filled them with about 1/2 cup filling, and then folded the edges together and crimped them with a fork. I brushed each with an egg wash before baking them for about half an hour at 450 degrees. They smell so good.

The rest of the bread dough is in the freezer--I hope that's okay! I'll probably use it to make pizza at some time or another, so it's not imperative that it rise anymore.

The only other thing I made today is a concentrate for chai. I used this recipe (minus the additional sugar) and quite like it.

Poor Anastasia has been sneezing all day. I think she's got a cat cold.

I am tired; drummer-boy upstairs decided to practice between 1 and 2 last night. Honestly...

Tonight I'm heading back to campus for an introductory meeting for amliss, the UNC art-and-museum-library-&-information-student-society. I'm eager to get involved in these groups (the other one being SCOSAA, the Student-Chapter-of-the-Society-of-American-Archivists) which will hopefully help me develop the habit of participating in professional organizations throughout my career. And career time is fast approaching.

One project I aspire to sew is the coat—actually sewing a tailored, winter-weight dress coat complete with pad-stitching, cheery lining, and bound buttonholes. That’s quite far down on my list of projects, certainly, but in the mean time, I have enjoyed perusing Gertie’s vlogs on constructing her vintage coat (pictured above) as well as Tany’s detailed post about sewing her gorgeous coat.

North Carolina (at least my part of it) is covered in snow--6-8 inches, I'd say, which is just enough to keep the neighborhood chicos busy running around and pelting each other with frozen missiles. Outside my window are interlaced lines of happy footprints.

Although my roommate is scoffing at the two-day shut down of businesses (she lived last in Rhode Island), there is good reason: the roads are pretty bad, even the main ones. But it's the little connecting roads and parking lots that are especially tricky. I just had to cross my fingers and hope my car could get up enough traction to bump over the mounds of snow surrounding my poor car this morning. It did and I only arrived at church 15 minutes late to join the faithful few who managed to drive in, too (faithful? or optimistic? or daft? Probably the latter).

But now I'm back at home, waiting for my bread to finish its second rise and gearing up to throw my granola ingredients together so that I can bake both simultaneously. My pot is soaking after the macaroni and cheese, and my week's dinner is tucked away in the fridge. I've just finished a hot cup of cocoa from a mix I make regularly, along with two chocolate chip cookies I baked last week. It feels good to know what goes into the food I eat, and it feels good to save money by making things from scratch. But the biggest reason I make these things for myself is to stay connected, really; to keep mindful of the process, perhaps, and not just the product. I suppose it's like the difference between killing a chicken and buying frozen chicken breasts. You'll eat meat either way but one comes with an awareness of the life and death of the chicken and the other does not. You couldn't tell what sort of creature the chicken was just by looking in the Tyson's bag. It's disconnected from the real chicken.

These are the things I think about while puttering around the kitchen.

virtual sewing inspiration

One of my favorite ways to waste time is browsing sewing websites, gleaning inspiration and information for various projects from talented and ceaselessly productive sewers around the world. Honestly, I don't know how these lovely ladies make so much time for sewing, but I am glad they do! Here are my favorite sewing blogs:

***Gertie’s New Blog for Better Sewing***

Gertie's blog revolves around Vogue's New Book for Better Sewing (1952) and its fourteen projects, including skirts, dresses, blouses, coats, and suits. She posts tutorials detailing the techniques she's learning and has recently started even more helpful vlogs. I greatly admire her sewing and fitting skill and her motivation for starting the project.

***Casey’s Elegant Musings***

Casey is a vibrant blogger who loves vintage clothing and seems to have new projects (sewn and knitted) to show her readers all the time. Her blog is a great source of vintage style inspiration--from dresses to cardigans to hair to lipstick. She tends to post about her projects at their beginnings--the planning stage--and at their ends--wearing stage, although occasionally she details her techniques in tutorials (such as her lovely cardigan refashion tutorial).

***Colette Patterns Blog***

Sarai and her team host a lovely and frequently-updated blog about all aspects of sewing--the materials, the design, the techniques, the presentation, and even the business of it. Sarai herself has plenty of experience in each area having launched her own company, Colette Patterns, last year (such darling and well-drafted patterns). One of my favorite things about the blog is the attention Sarai gives to vintage dressmaking details, like the stitched bow, curvy trim, and fagoted seams.

***Wearing History***

Lauren is a professional seamstress with a love for costume history, particularly of the Regency and early 20th-century periods. Her attention to fine construction shows in the gorgeous gowns and outfits she creates and documents, occasionally throughout their construction. I hardly ever come away without the desire to make a fine vintage-style garment.

Burdastyle, Pattern Review, and Threads Magazine have wonderful websites as well, full of style inspiration, patterns, and techniques.

Use these sources to inspire your own sewing projects!

Peculate: to steal or embezzle.

example: This was no movie-smooth peculation; anyone who had the least suspicion might trace the accounting discrepancies back to him, but nevertheless it worked. Actual people are disinclined to suspect someone as readily as they do in film.

I have to say that I am quite happy with my classes this semester--finally, I'm on to learning practical skills like cataloging and reference and archival description. My assignments are hands-on projects that will help me to navigate these new areas in a real-life application way. Between those three and my course in cultural institutions (I'm exploring these as work environments in addition to libraries/archives), I'm feeling much more prepared for my career.

I hear Virginia's been having quite a lot of rain lately, much to the consternation of certain comfort-loving canines. Here is what my mom wrote about Mr. Reg:

The backyard sogginess has put extra demands on our Reggie. You know how he hates rain to begin with and he hates being sprinkled by wet, overhanging tree branches and he hates yard puddles; well, after nearly 80 hours of constant rain, he has had to rank-order his demons and it's a hoot to watch his facial expression as he sifts through his possibilities. (Knowing his propensity to make the evil decision to go in the middle of the yard when the mulch is wet, he is firmly supervised so options in the criminal realm are not available). This morning after several false starts looking forlornly out the back door, he trudged out and crept along the back fence, before heading up toward the new neighbor's side. He surmised that right behind the gardenia bushes was as high and dry as he was going to find (or perhaps nature was making further progress impossible) so he did his business and then, was paralyzed as if he was caught in the blueberry bush bird netting*. He couldn't go left- over hanging tree branches. He couldn't go right, because there was a bottomless pond at the end of the hedge to almost the street. . He looked like Adam perched modestly behind the shrubs in the Garden of Eden as he froze, indecisively with his head just clearing the gardenias, every muscle on his face giving evidence to the cognition within. A couple of minutes went by and his face went into a resigned, "I accept my fate. I shall die in this very spot." I yelled out, "I'm NOT coming out there to get you, Reggie." Still he waited and waited. I did not cave. (I was NOT going out there!) He then moved gingerly forward, tapping the hedge with his nose as if considering how bad it would be to go straight through the gardenia hedge, which as you know has pretty much woven itself into a wall. "Sure, I thought, why would you pick the hardest route? Sure enough, finding that virtually impenetrable he sat down, thought a few seconds and then burst through it like Super Dog. Our Reg! He had risked that shower of water droplets and even the inevitable prickliness.He stopped, shook it all off, grinned up at me. He inspires us all.

*a quirk of his

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lachrymose: sorrowful or tearful.

example: "That was a stirring speech you gave in there, Mr. President."

"Mighty indeed; we can but do our duty to safeguard democracy, Mr. President"

"...protect the peace..."

"clean it up in no time..."

"Mr. President?"

"Mr. President?"

"Mr. President?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes of course," he roused himself; "peace. We must be strong in the months ahead. Yes...such is our duty..." He looked up and I was startled. His eyes were rimmed with shadow--haunted almost, as if every brave word he recited were treading some deep lachrymose well.


We shuffled uncomfortably out, and as I closed the door softly behind me, I saw him put his face in his hands and weep.

Keeping with the theme of pumpkin, here is another recipe that I've enjoyed of late: pumpkin cheesecake brownies.

Perhaps it seems over-the-top?

It is. Enjoy it.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies
recipe by Cara's Cravings

Brownie Batter
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon

Cheesecake Batter
6 oz cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp flour
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp each ground ginger and ground cloves

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8x8" square metal baking pan.

Beat together melted butter, sugar, and vanilla, then beat in eggs one at a time. Combine dry ingredients and then gradually stir into butter mixture with a wooden spoon. In separate bowl, beat together cheesecake batter ingredients.

Spread about 2/3 of chocolate batter into prepared pan, and spoon cheesecake batter over. Dollop remaining brownie batter over cheesecake batter. Swirl the batters together by running a butter knife back and forth through the pan.

Bake for 40 minutes, or until center is set. Cool completely on wire rack and chill before cutting and serving.

*This makes a good treat to take to the next pumpkin party to which you're invited. And the best part is that if guests eye the combination of chocolate and pumpkin dubiously, you'll get to take more home!

Immure: to enclose, imprison, or entomb

example: Like the rootbound basil on her windowsill which had ceased to grow, so she, immured within her sentimental recollections, had ceased to participate in the present.

As the days turn brisk, I find myself marking time by the mugful--hot coffee in the morning, tea in the afternoon, perhaps even cocoa in the evening. Lately, however, I have enjoyed a special concoction made for Fall: pumpkin hot chocolate. The broad, creamy flavor of pumpkin bolstered with the cloves and ginger seems to compliment the thinning temperatures perfectly.

Spiced Pumpkin Hot Cocoa
an Eggs on Sunday original recipe
serves 3
For the hot cocoa:
3 cups milk
1/2 cup canned pumpkin or pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
2 tablespoons Dutch process cocoa
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoons maple syrup (I substitute brown sugar for the costly syrup)

And for an extra special cup...

maple whipped cream:
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons maple syrup

any of the following for dusting on top: cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, raw sugar

*note: I make up a concentrate of this and keep it in the fridge. When fancy strikes, I need only add the rest of the milk and cart it to the microwave.

I've never considered the affect of the phonetic alphabet upon our culture, but Marshall McLuhan (originator of the famed "the medium is the message" concept) discusses its power to disconnect the individual from the community and one sense from another:

"This stark division and parallelism between a visual and an auditory world was both crude and ruthless, culturally speaking. The phonetically written word sacrifices worlds of meaning and perception that were secured by forms like the hieroglyph and the Chinese ideogram . . . Many centuries of ideogrammic use have not threatened the seamless web of family and tribal subtleties of Chinese society. On the other hand, a single generation of alphabetic literacy suffices in Africa today, as in Gaul two thousand years ago, to release the individual initially, at least, from the tribal web. This fact has nothing to do with the content of the alphabetized words; it is the result of the sudden breach between the auditory and the visual experience of man. Only the phonetic alphabet makes such a sharp division in experience, giving to its user an eye for an ear, and freeing him from the tribal trance of resonating word magic and the web of kinship . . . Separateness of the individual, continuity of space and of time, and uniformity of codes are the prime marks of literate and civilized societies."

("The Written Word: An Eye for an Ear" in Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man by Marshall McLuhan)

Sesquipedalian: using long words; polysyllabic.

example: The student's sesquipedalian sentences clamored dissonantly out from the essay, and the professor ran her hand over her aching brow. A thesaurus in the hands of an undergraduate is deadly.

Dislimn: to dim or fade into indistinctness; vanish; obscure.

example: He shook his head and slapped his cheek vigorously but presently the scene dislimned into smudges of greying color and muffling sound. He closed his eyes and slept.

Celerity: swiftness.

example: His celeritous exit conveyed the embarrassment he felt over his faux pas.