Um...

I guess I have a lot to catch up on. Might as well jump right in...

First up, a few weeks ago we had a welcoming party at work for a new department head coming in from another state, and we wanted her to feel welcome. Every shindig we have consists of nothing more than a potluck. I made the Enchilada Casserole from Fat free Vegan, and the Lemon Coconut Bundt Cake from V-Con. Unfortunately I do not have a picture of the casserole, which was very pretty with the blue corn tortillas I used, but it was very well accepted and I even had some recipe requests. The bundt cake was superb. It was devored by the next day. I was worried because there was some other bundt cake competition (a banana bundt cake brought by someone who was supposed to bring a pie), but my bundt triumphed. Despite being loaded with coconut and lemon, both flavors were very light and not all in your face. I did have a bit of a problem getting it out of the pan. The top on one side stuck to the pan and I had to "repair" it. I put all the pieces I could back in place, drizzled it with a powdered sugar glaze and stuck flaked coconut to the top. It covered it well.

From this angle you can't see my boo-boo, but I would have done the same thing even if it didn't have a blemish. Bundt cakes are so plain, and I don't do plain.

Now this, is all up in your face. As it should be.

Moving on to finished knitting projects...

I have finished two scarves recently, both in the same feather and fan pattern, but with two different yarns. Both have a different look about them. I like how changing yarns and needle sizes can alter the way one design looks. The first one:

Yes, it is sideways. It's actually draped over a door and I wanted to get as much of it in the shot as possible. Here's an up close and detailed photo:

The next scarf is the same pattern:

The detail is a little more noticeable and tighter. Up close:

Here's the snood I mentioned before. A snood being a tube scarf that you wear over your head. Duh.

Another sideways shot. Pink Floyd lyrics in the background.

Now on to this past Sunday. I wanted to make something themed for Valentine's Day for my co-workers, so I made heart shaped cookies. I made both sugar cookies and chocolate cookies. The sugar cookies are from here, and the chocolate roll-out cookies from here. The chocolate ones tasted like Cocoa Puffs. I haven't had Cocoa Puffs in years, but it is amazing the flavors that the brain remembers. Anyways, I followed both completely, I didn't alter the recipses like I do with everything else. I wasn't in the mood to deviate. Both turned out soft, and stayed soft, the next day. I decorated them both with icing, which I colored pink for the sugar cookies and reddish for the chocolate (and I added raspberry extract). Here's what I was working with:

Da tools.

Da dough, chillin'. I made a full batch of sugar, and a half batch of chocolate.

Da cookies, coolin'. I didn't get a shot of the chocolate ones cooling, though. Pretty, huh?

And just because I like close-ups.

Here's the finished products:

I just went all Jackson Pollack on the second and third batches. I got over 40 cookies, total. About 30 of those made it to work, and by the end of the day yesterday, 10 had survived. I don't expect there to be any left after today. I would say my best received cookies overall.