web-goddess

Hey family! Oprah’s Australian shows are going to air next week. They start on Tuesday the 18th for you guys in the U.S. Record them! Then come visit and we can show it to you in person. 🙂

Pressure cookin’
How excitement! We had some Amazon gift certificates from Christmas and decided to spend them on a kitchen gadget we’ve been lusting over: a pressure cooker. Last week we ordered the Fagor 9 Piece Pressure Canning Set from Amazon, and today it’s here! It’s got a 10L pressure cooker and all the bits you need to can (aside from jars). I can’t wait to get it home and try it out.

Resources to bookmark:

• MeFi questions about pressure cookers: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
• Serious Eats “Cooking Under Pressure” recipes
• Alton Brown’s Chicken and Dumplings, Pressure Cooker Chili
• MeFi questions about pressure canning: 1, 2, 3

I’m interested in the canning part of it, but we’ll need to get some jars first. Anybody know where I can get proper Mason jars? Does Bunnings carry them? (The fancy “House” store at Broadway has them but they’re like $7 each.)

Doll Clothes Pattern. Bookmarking for future sock monkey reference.

I am going to be following this Swing Dress Sew-Along with interest. The pattern is pretty and I think it would be flattering on me. Unfortunately most of my craft time for the next few months is booked for Easter Show knitting, but perhaps later in the year… (Any of my friends want to have a mini-sew-along with me?!)

“Why Chinese Mothers are Superior.” I’ve seen that article linked a few places lately, and it’s been pretty divisive. The Korean (as I expected) was in favour of that parenting style. Reactions on MetaFilter ranged from “this is child abuse” to outright envy. Truthfully, I think I fall more towards the envy end of the scale. This comment seemed especially relevant to me. My parents never pushed me to do anything. And while that was great – and I had a relatively happy childhood and turned out fine – I also never really learned to work hard at anything. The stuff I’m good at is the stuff that comes easily. I wonder what I could have accomplished if they’d made me stick with the stuff that was difficult. (I have a suspicion the Snook would probably say the same thing.)

Maybe that’s why I keep persevering with running, even though I suck at it. It’s the one thing I do that I’m not good at, and I need to feel like I’m working at something.