A personal record, dear reader…THREE pies in one day!  Holy deliciousness.  I had a housewarming/graduation party last night with my lovely Trojan friends and dished up a Derby Pie, a Lemon Chess Pie, and a Pumpkin Pie.  Superyum.  The best piece may be the pumpkin I had for breakfast — pie for breakfast is divine – but all three were great.  I’m gonna bust out a piece of lemon in a bit.  The Derby won the pie race by a nose since there was none left.

Last night was my friends’ annual Fakesgiving — a nice, stress-free pre-holiday gathering of friends and locals.  My contribution was two pies.  I had never made either before and couldn’t really decide between them.  I figured one of them would have to be good, right?

The one on the left is a Quebec Maple Syrup Pie, courtesy of the Pie of the Month Club (I used the second recipe on the card).  The recipe was for an 8-inch pie but my pie plates are 10 inches, so the maple syrup filling was low in the shell and it looked pretty sad.  My friend Jamie (who is learning to make pies, yay!) and I decided to put the whipped cream right on top to fill it in, then, in a Martha moment, made a heart stencil and sprinkled nutmeg and cinnamon on top.  This one was a bit too sweet for me, but easy to make and other people liked it.  I probably won’t make this again any time soon as there are so many other pies to explore.

The second pie is a Bog Berry Pie (aka Cranberry Pie).  Ridiculously easy.  Also courtesy of the POTMC though the recipe isn’t on the site.  It was very tart and I liked this one a lot.  It would have been good with ice cream or even the whipped cream which I brought and forgot to use.

With the cold weather* and holidays approaching, pie season is upon us!  Looking forward to making quite a few more pies over the next few months.

*So I hear.  Today it was in the 60s and I found a violet blooming in the yard!  What the –?  Global warming?

Hello, friends, it’s been a while…

Six weeks ago, I went into overdrive trying to finish my dissertation in time to defend and graduate this semester.  Success!  You may now address me as dr. kleio’s belly!  (Or is it dr. kleio?…dr. belly?)

At the same time, an opportunity presented itself to move out of my old shabby apartment into some friends’ gorgeous Greek Revival house down the street.  In between writing, defending, packing, and moving, I am still teaching 250 students in four classes at two colleges.  Yikes!  I think you can understand why blogging dropped way down on my list of things to do!

The decision to move is a long story that involves me saving money, living on a better block in a nicer space, and helping out some friends in the meantime.  I couldn’t begin to list the ways that this space is better than my last, but look at the view from my front window.  Sweet!

Among its many delights is that it is even more spacious than my last place, so I have already started hosting monthly crafternoons with the local ladies.  Such a great way to spend some time together and find some inspiration.

My most recent project was curtains for the new kitchen but with Christmas just over a month away, it’s time to get serious!  With the dissertation finished (I still can’t believe it!!) and the semester winding down, I’m hoping to get back into a crafting and blogging groove.

I am feeling so full of joy and gratitude as I enter this new chapter of my life.  And so excited to see what comes next!

Another birthday crown, this one for a 2-year-old birthday friend.  Burgundy corduroy with felt applique, lined with cotton.  This was way too big for her head but worked quite nicely in combo with a birthday hat.

These are a snap to make and so sweet, but I need to work on the sizing.  One too small, the next too big….

I confess that when I see people with funky stickers on their laptops, I feel a little pang of jealousy even though my brain tells me that tricking out your laptop is the silliest thing in the world.  I couldn’t justify actually spending money on one of those cool laptop skins (which are surprisingly pricey) so I made my own with a little fabric and gel medium.

I don’t know how well this would hold up if I were putting it in and out of a bag every day, but I don’t actually travel with  my laptop very often.  (And there are plenty more scraps where these came from, so I can always reproduce it if it gets damaged.)

Nothing says “sewing dork” like hexies.