calimari living.

unprocessed.

Ants vs Mari, pt.2

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Part 1 ended with Mari pulling her hair out, as ants wandered around any droplets of water in and around the sink during the hot (or relatively warm) summer days. She made sure to wipe down counters after use, and sprayed down some peppermint oil to deter them from coming back. It worked, temporarily, until game 2.

Survival of the fittest... well, these ones didn't survive. But Mari definitely felt defeated, when she opened her freezer and found a surprise. Seriously, was it that hot? And how did they get past the rubber packing?? Interestingly enough, no ants found inside fridge, just freezer. Unbelievable. And undeniably disgusting.

And finally under control. She hopes.

Halfway to heaven

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A drive along the scenic 101 (where else do you get vibrant vegetation, palm trees, and shoreline all at once?) took me to a whole lotta fresh sea urchin, and we had it 3 ways, as Michael Mina would've served it. Our version: over rice, dipped in sea salt, and grilled (and by itself, of course!). Pictures don't do justice.

Unemployment project: granny bag

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Still unemployed, Mom treated me to a few new items for the wardrobe recently (thanks, Mom!). And while at it, we thought about pushing forward my bday and xmas gift to make a purse purchase, but we decided against -- discipline! We fought the urge, hard.

I recently stopped by Joann's to pick up some craft material, and then came across the remnants which were an extra 50% off. I scrounged, and victory, I came home with some printed cotton, taffeta, and even vinyl. There was a grandma-ish mini-flower printed cloth that I liked, though I've seen a similar print in Victoria's Secret's cotton thong line and I thought it was hideous. Oh well, some prints maybe just doesn't work well for panties. This remnant was screaming at me to take it home, and I thought it had potential. So that went into the basket, and I came home. I brainstormed and decided I wanted to make a satchel, or those 80s (? or is it the 90s?) slings, but the cloth was too thin to hold shape and I didn't have much in my apt to improvise. Instead, I decided to make a scrunch bag using the lacey vinyl (it was only $1!!) as a lining. I had the bicycle picnic-basket with a patterned liner inside, except there's no wicker anywhere in my brainstormed draft. As I was putting it together, it looked kinda too pretty to be left inside. So I thought, reversible!

I started on this without a pattern or a set direction, but after multiple finger-poking, people being upset with me from my unresponsiveness on IMs, and an all-nighter, I'm pretty happy with the turnout! It's fun and economical, when reversed, it can take on a boat shape or the same scrunchy-look. Yay, three bags in one! Much of it was improvised, using only what I had on hand (besides the remnants acquired, for a grand total of $2.75), guided by my laziness to perfect the details. Instead, I think the unfinished look adds to the overall effect; that's how I justify it. Actually, I went back to stitch up the frayed areas for reinforcement after! Mom would be proud. Let's see how long this creation would hold to my tortures...

My only complaint would be that my room is still too dark (as picutres testify) and I need to invest in a task lamp... pronto.

Ginger ale, complete!

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Ginger ale turned out quite tasty, though a little weak in the fizz. I guess if I was gonna stir with a wooden chopstick (it gets rid of the fizz faster and safer than shaking the bottle!) anyway, I could just start off with less-carbonated drink.

Unfortunately, I (amongst others) consumed it before taking proof pictures. But it didn't look much different from what I had before (see previous post).

Ingredients as seen in the picture (ginger is the grated mush in the deep saucer, bottom right). I think I'll be getting some more yeast and attempting to perfect the recipe!