The Flickr Game

Saw this on a blog today and thought it looked like a bit of fun. For a challenge, try to guess my answers from the photos. Some are easy, but a few maybe not so easy. For the curious. I will post the answers tomorrow.

The concept:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

The Questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name.



1. Corinne!, 2. Go ahead, lick the sauce. You know you want to., 3. 51, 4. reflexion • dijon, burgundy • 2008, 5. Dorian Gray (The Immortal), 6. icetea, 7. Up Or Down, 8. Grandma's Famous Cheesecake, 9. Noche de luna llena - Full moon night, 10. Street sellers, 11. Complex Simplicity, 12. FairyMoss2

Garden Sweet Garden

My garden, which actually is a grouping of various sized flower pots on the small patio outside my back door, is an important part of my house in the warmer months. I love coming home and being greeted by the assorted pots of various blooms with herbs tucked amongst them.

I rent my home, and though there is a large yard, the soil is pretty crappy. If I had my way, and revamping the entire yard was option, it would be a wonderful oasis. For now, I stick to container gardening.

I usually stick to flowers, with some of my favourite herbs and the occasional cherry tomato plant or pot full of salad greens. I have tried growing veggies in containers, never seems to work for me.

Every year I try to come up with a colour palate. I usually come up with a basic guide and then I wind up going into total impulse buy mode and totally go off track. However, it seems no matter the planned theme, my first purchases of the season are always violas or pansies, and bacopa. This year was no different. Purple & white pansies, and white bacopa. This year there was my usual bridal wreath bacopa and the new large bacopa with the quarter sized flowers. I love them.

Placement is always a bit of an issue, and I sometimes wind up moving plants several times before I am totally happy with the way things fit together.

I am having a harder time this year. I have a basic colour plan, whites, creams, purples, blues. My problem, choosing the plants. Often, when I shop for plants, I swear they jump right off the table and cry out for me to take them home, and I usually do. They're not talking this year.

No worries though. I have not lost faith, and am confident that my little garden will soon be gorgeous and welcoming. Then I can do another of my favourite things and amuse myself taking photos of the pretty blooms.

What's in a Name?

Before beginning this blog experience I pondered it for several months. There were so many questions. Did I have enough to say? Would people actually want to read it? What should it be about? What should it be called? After all it was going to be my online home.

Back then knitting seemed the way to go. It was something I loved, something I knew enough about, and something that I am proud to be involved with. It never occurred to me to to have a food blog. Yes, cooking and baking are things I do, things I love and things I happily share with my family and friends. But cooking is something everyone has to do, isn't it?

Since then I have learned that not everyone cooks, not everyone thinks pie is easy as pie. Not everyone enjoys making their bread from scratch rather than using a bread maker. I never thought (and still don't think) of any of my culinary products as overly special. Heck I think me using the word "culinary" sounds pretentious. I'm just a simple girl who likes to make, share and enjoy simple food. But people, at least many of the people I know, are always remarking on the food items I create. People even remember me for it. I go to a party at my friend Kim's, someone says "You're the one who made those rosemary potatoes, those were delicious." Yes, I made the potatoes, and I brought them to Kim's b-day party two years ago.

I digress, the point I was trying to make is, was I wrong when I named this blog? When I look back at my posts more of them seem to be related to food than anything else. I know there is always the option of having a second blog, which many people do. I barely keep up this one sometimes, me having two is out of the question.

A while back I talked here about the overt foodiness of this blog and through Freudian slip or just plain typo. Several times I accidentally typed "Moonlit Knitchen" and ever since have wondered if this blog should be re-named. What do you think? Does the name really matter? Is it a bad thing for a knitting blog to have more food posts than knitting ones?

Don't get me wrong, I still love to knit, and do it all the time. But I cook more than I knit, probably due to the fact that my daughters find food tastier that knitted goods.

I'm rambling, I'll stop now.

Melting...

Holy runny frosting! It is so hot and humid here baking is out of the question. In fact, just about everything that involves movement and or is not done sitting in front of the open freezer, is out of the question.

My first quiz of the June NaBloPoMo. It sort of even relates to home.

You Should Live in a Small City

You are definitely an urban person, but not any old city will do. You want a city that matches you well. For you, big cities lack individuality. You prefer a smaller city with lots of personality, local culture, and history.

Where Should You Live?

Seeing Spots

Previously I mentioned that my dream kitchen involves a "side of funky". This would most likely be in the form of cute Asian inspired accessories (which Tall Child refers to as Kawaii) , kitschy roosters or leopard print.

Maybe it's due to being a teen in the Eighties, but I have a soft spot for leopard print. At least once a week, I search in vain for a ceramic, leopard print rooster. I do already have a leopard print broom, but was unable to find the matching dust pan. I am determined that Kitchen Aid should have a stand mixer in leopard print and I truly think that Tupperware should introduce leopard print. I have even browsed for leopard print contact paper to line the inside of my cupboards.

In case you're worried, I don't plan to go leopard crazy. But I like key pieces, especially where you don't expect them, example... leopard print, ceramic rooster.

Nifty Fifty.

Celebrate good times come on! Let's celebrate!

No, I'm not 50, though I do have a b-day fast approaching. This is my 50th post of 2008. I feel so, um, like a blogging slacker accomplished. I plan to keep on going. Who knows, I may even reach the 100 mark. Now that would be a surprise, and might take another month or two of NaBloPoMo.

Seeing as I rambled on a little yesterday, I will keep this short and simple.

Rose Coloured Range

Yesterday I mentioned my dream kitchen. This is something I have planned out in my head for years. For whatever reason, most of the ideas never quite make it out of my head and into the actual kitchen. The plan has changed as I have changed, I went through my Cow/Country Kitchen phase. I even have a couple of ceramic cows, and some country heart dishes to prove it.

I think part of the reason some of my ideas never come to life is that I am often decisionally challenged. There are days where I want a cute and funky kitchen full of colour, and there are days when I want something simple, sleek, and Ikea inspired. However, most of the time, I want something that's English cottage with a side of funky.

For several years now I have dreamt of an Aga. I'm really not even sure of where I saw my first one, it was probably in a magazine. No matter, it was love at first sight. I watch Escape to the Country in hopes of catching a glimpse of one. I remember the episode of the Naked Chef, where Jamie was cooking at Jay Kay's place more for the Aga than the food, though Jay is cute. I have even been known to watch Practical Magic just to drool over the Aga in that fabulous kitchen.

This past January, while shopping for a dryer, I had my very first up close and personal experience with an Aga. Now mind you, it wasn't the traditional model, it was a dual fuel rage top model, but it was still one of the most gorgeous things I have ever seen. Some people drool over cars, me I guess it's appliances. In my defense, it was shiny and red.

One of the coolest things about Agas, in my opinion, is that they come in so many fabulous colours. I have it narrowed down to two choices, when I finally win the lotto and can afford one, it will either be claret, or black. I know those may seem a little boring to some when I could have turquoise, or aubergine, but those are the two colours I know I could live with long term. I'm leaning towards the claret. Oh and the combination of my dreams.. a two oven gas range, with a dual fuel companion range, like the one below.