plumber’s crack? that’s a paddlin’.

Hooray, there’s no more crime happening in Flint, MI; aka “the 3rd most violent city in America”! At least that’s what I infer from the fact that Flint Police Chief David Dicks has issued these handy cards to his troops, instructing them to issue tickets, fines, and jail sentences to people (and by “people”, I assume we mean “inner-city black males”) for the heinous crime of wearing baggy pants:

So, I guess sales of butt cleavage undies aren’t going to be taking off any time soon in Flint.

bento #43: salmon mousse & refrigerator pickles

Top:

• Boiled egg.
• Salmon mousse with Ritz crackers.

Bottom:

• Homemade sweet & spicy pickle chips with onions.
• Baby carrots.

Lid:

• Iced raisin cookies.

Not shown:

• Whole apple, because as I was leaving for work I remembered that a) there was no fruit in this lunch, and b) I’d bought a bunch of apples on Friday.

Sweet & spicy refrigerator pickles:

1. Mix 2 lbs. thinly sliced cucmbers and one thinly sliced yellow onion in a large glass baking dish.
2. In a saucepan, mix 1 1/2 cups white vinegar, 3/4 cup sugar, 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds, 1/2 teaspoon celery seeds, 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper, 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and 4 crushed garlic cloves. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to medium-high and simmer until all the sugar is dissolved.
3. Pour over the cucumbers and onion, and let sit out until room temp. Transfer to an airtight container and allow to brine in the refrigerator for at least 4 days. Will keep for about a month, refrigerated.

Salmon mousse/paté:

1. Drain and remove the bones from a 14.5 oz. can of salmon, and flake.
2. Place in a large mixing bowl with 16 oz. Neufchâtel cheese, 2 tbsp. lemon juice, 2 tsp. horseradish, 4 tsp. grated yellow onion, and 2 tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley. Mix it all together with a mixer.
3. If you’re serving this to company, a good way to serve it is to chill it until firm, then form into 2 or 3 balls, and roll them in finely chopped walnuts or pecans.

variegated floss cross stitch sampler & 2 small projects

All done! I really wish photos did this justice, the cloth is actually a deep tan color that contrasts really lovely with the bright, rich colors. And the floss itself is much more vibrant that it appears in photos.

The spots are just water from being sprayed with a mister.

And this is a just a little sachet I whipped up Saturday afternoon, stuffed with dried lavender. I did another autumn-themed one too, but I don’t have any stuffing left so I didn’t bother to finish it.

And this is a little something I started Sunday evening. It’s really more of an exercise than a serious project. This is a stitch called Bargello, sometimes called Florentine. This is actually a needlepoint pattern, but Bargello can also be used in embroidery, so I’m doing it on linen even-weave. Like I said, it’s not a serious project; I just really like the stitch and want to practice it, and see what it looks like when you fill a large area in with it.