Dec 23, 2011

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM THE SPINSTER STITCHER (AND HER LITTLE DOG TOO!)



On behalf of Spinster Stitchers everywhere (and their little dogs too), I'd like to say thank you for allowing us to sit at the cool kids' table with you, and for being such a big fun part of our whacky little life.

We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Dec 19, 2011

MRS. GIRTHY-NESS, PAGING MRS. SPINSTER GIRTHY-NESS

"I've decided that I'm going to eat with impunity for the next two weeks, and then come January 1, I'm going to start a program", she said with conviction.

Aunt Chrissy and I held the annual Rich Sisters Day of Baking and Christmas Cursing Extravaganza on Saturday, and I am happy to report that we now have the following items carefully containerized and ready.

Ready for what, I'm not really sure, but we bonded. Let's just leave it at that.

10 dozen koulorakia (those damn Greek twist cookies)
8 dozen cuccidati (Dad's favorite -- Sicilian fig cookies)
450 reindeer eyes (you know, the round pretzels with a melted Rolo and an M&M inside)
7 dozen fat girl crispie treats (also known as Ooey Gooey Karo Krispers)
3 pounds of white chocolate bark
3 pounds of dark chocolate bark
5 pounds of peanut butter fudge
9 dozen Buckeyes (peanut butter balls dipped in chocolate -- from our homeland)
6 dozen espresso snow cap cookies

....and a partridge in a pear treeeeeee!

Oh, and did I mention that I seem to have also developed an unfortunate Jelly Belly addiction as well as a ham and cheese panini made with garlic Naan bread fixation?

That last one I'm blaming on Aunt Chrissy entirely, since she's the one that bought the damn naan bread in the first place.

I just wish my mind didn't work in this twisted and evil way that makes me want to put everything on my panini press.

Even I am appalled as I read this, and I can promise you that January 2nd will find me face down in a salad.

With Russian dressing.

Oh, and some of those really crunchy and buttery Pepperidge Farm croutons.

And a pickle! We have to have a pickle!

Seriously, kids. If I so much as mention anything other than vegetables in 2012, will somebody come put me in a facility? I can only widen doorways so much around here before the structural integrity of the house is compromised, and I'm quickly running out of my quadruple X sweatpants supply.

What did you do this weekend?

Dec 15, 2011

IT'S A GOOD THING WE WERE TALKING ABOUT HAM

My mom can't come to the blog right now. She's locked herself in the master closet, and from what I can surmise thus far, she's sitting on the floor rocking back and forth, while simultaneously sobbing and breathing into a paper bag.

If you've lost a few years of your life reading this here blog, then you are very well aware of the fact that my stupid mo-ther doesn't "do" nature. As a matter of fact, I've heard her describe herself as the Zsa Zsa Gabor character on Green Acres. You know...New YORK is where I'd rather be...and all of that.

(Let's face it, folks. If they made one big enough, I'm pretty sure that my mo-ther would install herself into a big plastic bubble much like the one seen in the 1972 sleeper hit "Boy in the Plastic Bubble" staring John Travolta. The problem with this, of course, is that Mo-ther has a propensity for sweating profusely whenever the temperature rises above that of a meat locker, so you can imagine the logistics of a rotund woman in a full-on flop sweat wearing eighteen year old sweatpants...all while encased in Saran Wrap.)

But I digress.

Yesterday morning, the old lady finished her blog reading and decided to head into the kitchen for some holiday baking. As she rounded the corner out of the office, this is what she saw:Her first thought was (and I quote): "Why are those cats eating bird food and wearing feathers?"

And then she crept closer to the window for a closer look:

I was happily snoozing on my perch, and before you could say "Assisted Living Facility", my stupid mo-ther managed to throw herself into a massive panic attack while knocking over the Christmas tree, stubbing her toe on a dining room chair, and then finally collapsing into a weepy heap under the kitchen sink, where, I assume, she thought the can of Pledge would protect her.

At first I didn't bother to alter my position, since falling Christmas trees, loud profanity, copious weeping, and drama are de rigeur for a Wednesday. But then I decided to take a look for myself in the event that Jeffrey Dean Morgan had finally decided to come for a visit and Mo-ther got caught with her head in a vat of potato salad and had not managed to take care of that unfortunate little moustache problem .

It is here that I must confess that the first words out of my mouth were Holy $(-)!* because I never would have expected to see two gi-NOR-mous wild turkeys helping themselves to the bird food.

All is well, though, since (after donning my outside shoes) I politely explained to them that although it is illegal to discharge a firearm within the city limits of Mishawaka, I was pretty sure that my Aunt Chrissy would have no problem whatsoever grabbing their sorry asses by the tail feathers and dragging them twelve feet to the south, which just happens to be county property and not within the "don't shoot wild turkeys in the knees to make them go away" jurisdiction.

Then I went and loaded my little pink pea shooter for effect, and this seemed to get the message across quite nicely.

(Before you call PETA, may I just point out that my stupid mo-ther's biggest nightmare is that the Chic-Fil-A cows will show up one night and stuff her into her Weber grill, so we are now on a "Beef only once a month" regimen that has completely destroyed my fun. I used to love a nice Cowboy Rib-eye with an impertinent little Merlot every Monday night, but alas, it is not to be.)

So THAT is why there was precious little stitching yesterday, as well as why we will NOT be openly talking about how much my mo-ther and Aunt Chrissy hate turkey. We did, however, manage to finish watching the entire box set of The Tudors, so I can only assume that we'll be on to The West Wing before the week is through.

I hope that you have a wonderful Thursday, my dear friends. Until we meet again, I remain your loyal and devoted pal,

Stewey

Dec 14, 2011

WHILE WE'RE ON THE SUBJECT OF HAM...

The answer to the question "Does Stewey like ham?" is fraught with drama (as are all things related to Your Lord Highness of The Whole Entire Universe.)

Stewey suffers from seasonal allergies, as does his cousin Bosco, but unlike his cousin Bosco, Stewey demands that he be administered his allergy medicine in precisely 1/8th of an ounce of Wilson Virginia Ham.

Sliced precisely to .5mm from the deli at the fancypants grocery store.

On a Thursday evening in which the ambient temperature of the vehicle does not exceed 54 degrees Fahrenheit.

And said ham must be carefully folded around said allergy medicine perfectly, or within a split second and a half Mommie Dearest here has to fish it out of the shag carpeting and try try again.

(Now before you tell me to get cheaper ham or use a piece of cheese or buy the Greenies pill pockets, can I ask you a question? Have you MET Stewey?)

You'll be happy to know that I had not one, but TWO ham and cheese panini yesterday. I'm viewing that little sad fact as a training exercise and not an indication that Aunt Chrissy needs to call Dr. Drew and Co.

Again.

"On this episode of People Who Think They're Celebrities Rehab, the Spinster Stitcher tries to overcome her addiction to cured luncheon meats while simultaneously revealing that she is, in fact, knee-deep into her Jeffrey Dean Morgan obsession, and would like to finish stitching every single work in progress found languishing in her studio."

Dec 13, 2011

YOU KNOW YOU'VE GOT ISSUES WHEN....

...the lovely lady at the Honey Baked Ham Company knows you on a first name basis:

HBH: Good morning, Honey Baked Ham Company. How may I help you?

SS: WOO HOOOOOOO! IT'S THE SPINSTER STITCHER CALLING TO ORDER THE 2011 OFFICIAL SPINSTER SISTERS' CHRISTMAS HAM FEAST!!!!

HBH: (turning down the volume control on her headset) Hi, Coni! You're early this year! What would you and Aunt Chrissy like to order?

SS: (realizing that hollering into the ear of the lovely lady at the Honey Baked Ham Company isn't a very nice thing to do, especially when you-know-who is recording her every move for his report to Santa Claus) Well, according to the release form I've obtained from my kidney specialists, it looks like we're going to have to go small this year. Got anything in the 22-23 pound range?

HBH: (shaking head in sad disbelief) Will there be more than two of you this year? We'd be thrilled to accommodate you, but are you sure you need 22 to 23 pounds OF HAM for just two people?

SS: (blushing furiously as she realizes that her ham addiction has been made public) Um. Gee. Er. Well....no, it's just...um....ok, it's just the two of us.

HBH: OK, dear. I'm going to put you down for a mini, OK? That way you'll have plenty for the two of you for Christmas dinner, and there will be left overs for the several dozen ham sandwiches you'll stuff into your face before New Year's. (making a note on the order form that under NO CIRCUMSTANCES is the crazy spinster with the fussy little dog to be given more than a mini-ham, and if Dr. Kidney calls, they are in no way liable for the seventy two pounds of water weight that their patient will certainly gain between December 24th and 29th.)

SS: Can we have some au gratin potatoes too? And a pie? OH! AND WHAT ABOUT THE RUM CAKE!! WE NEED TO HAVE RUM CAKE!!!!

HBH: (gently, so as not to set the crazed ham-loving spinster off further) Certainly, dear. We'll have everything ready for you when you come in. Remember, though, that your sister needs to be with you so that she can help you carry everything out to your car.

(This, of course, is the super top secret agreement that was made between Aunt Chrissy and the Honey Baked Ham Company after the 2007 incident in which several innocent bystanders, and a rather large display of dinner rolls was knocked over when the heavily laden spinster tried to carry the official 2007 Spinster Sisters Christmas Feast to the car without adult supervision.)

So....as of 12:37 today we're ready.

Bring it, Christmas.

Bring it.

(P.S. Did that last part up my street cred? Hope so.)

Dec 12, 2011

TRY NOT TO LET THE PERFECTION OF MY PHOTOGRAPHIC SKILLS OVERWHELM YOU

So the gods gave me a choice: "You can either be a competent photographer and learn how to take a proper picture with that camera of yours, or you can qualify for your own zip code because you insist on eating ham and cheese panini for breakfast, lunch, and dinner six days a week."

Guess which one I chose?

Birds of a Feather L'Hiver
(that bird took me nine episodes of The Tudors to finish)




Am I the only person who thinks it hilarious that Stewey crosses his legs when he lounges?

Dec 8, 2011

AT THIS RATE, WE'LL SEE THIS ONE COMPLETED SOMETIME IN THE YEAR 2092


Progress continues on L'Hiver, but if I say to myself "Gee, this really stitches up pretty quickly" one more time, I'm going to hide my safety scissors from myself.

Why do I always sit down with a piece and think "Oh, I'll have this one done by the weekend, surely"?

Dec 6, 2011

A QUICK LITTLE NOTE FROM MASTER STEWEY ANGUS WILLOWSWAMP HIS VERY LITTLE SELF

Each evening at bedtime, my mo-ther and I execute the same routine:

1) She snorts herself awake in the Happy Chair, stumbles into the kitchen to set up the coffee pot for he next day, and then carefully fetches our evening medicines. (An anti-anxiety pill for me, more pills than I can count for her.)

2) One last trip outside to wee on the front bushes while a pajama-clad Mo-ther keeps her eyes peeled for coyotes. Or stray cats. Or raccoons. (I'm not a big fan.)

3) All of the various and sundry lights get turned off, the doors are checked (and re-checked and then re-checked again), and the back patio light is illuminated. (And anything else that happens to be hanging upside down from the bird feeder.) (Like an opossum.) (Again, not a fan.)

4) Mo-ther falls into the bed with an "I love this bed", while I frantically search through my toy box for the eight or nine stuffed toys that I require for a little pre-snoozing snuggle time.

5) Futzing, futzing, futzing.

6) Rather loud and grumpy hollering, as my 700-pound gorilla of a mo-ther leans over the side of the bed to pick me up, but discovers that I am standing about 1/64th of an inch past the tips of her fingertips, and as soon as she makes physical contact, I take one tiny little baby step back so that she is forced to haul herself back up into the bed, throw off the bedclothes in disgust, holler some more, and then get out of the bed to pick me up and toss me into the middle of the pile of bedclothes, stuffed toys, and whatever else I can think of to annoy the living hell out of her as she tries to create a peaceful sleeping evnvironment.

7) Futzing, futzing, futzing.

8) Finally, when I hear the first snore and I see that the book she was reading has dropped to the pillow, I tippy-toe up to her face, measure her breathing for a few moments, and then give her a big wet kiss on the nose as I dive under the covers.

9) The moment I plop myself down next to her, the old lady says "Night, night my little price. Mommie loves you. Have good sweet puppy dreams and I'll see you in the morning." (She's said this particular phrase for as long as I can remember, and if she somehow forgets it, I kick her in the shins until she wakes up enough to mutter it, if only somewhat incoherently.)

So in the spirit of good night nights, I am donating all of my pocket money this month to the following organization. It is, I believe, one of the coolest ideas I've heard yet: