"Uh. Why would anyone choose to be homeless?" - Karen, Will and Grace I grabbed a the Dec/Jan issue of Budget Living last night and paging through it it seems to be a review of projects from a bunch of different places (vinyl record bowls, etched water glasses, marble magnets). Something which I know ReadyMade was criticised for over at Glitter. And they haven't left this magazine alone either. But instead of a defensive mob outcry I find a thoughtful discussion on the nature of craft, DIY, money and political beliefs. One of the points people are spinning off of is the description of the average Budget Living reader having a salary of $70K. I have to wonder if that should be amended with "if they happen to be living in Manhattan or LA". The figure comes from a bit of copy which seems to be targeted toward prospective advertisers, who are probably sitting in a deluxe apartment in the sky in Manhattan or LA. Otherwise it makes me feel about as good about myself as the article Troutgirl is talking about here (under "money money money mon-nay!"). She ran the numbers and came up with one "saving the equivalent of $31,200 a year with 8% returns" in order to come out with the scenario in the Fortune article. In Cleveland, where I lived most of my life, the average salary at a good job for someone my age would leave about $5,000 a year for one to live on after saving $31,200, before taxes. To the defense, Budget Living does list is as the "household" income of $70K, but it's that figure which seems to be inspiring a lot of talk. In a related note Budget Living has a little profile of Cleveland's Ohio City neighborhood and how great it is. It's true, the area is full of art galleries in old houses, trendy restaurants, cheap Victorian houses, and yes, good beer. But I wanted to relate this story: While still living in Cleveland Scott and I wandered into a restaurant while trying to find Johnny Mango's, we got a table outside in the back. Everything was superb, the food, the wine, the service. We had managed to get a pre-rush table at an in demand place without realizing it. But. Just on the other side of the fence was a drunk old man in a wife beater holding a beer standing in his driveway shouting at his dogs to stop barking. Lovely. And after all of that, I unabashedly adore the magazine.

knitty has come to my rescue again, thank you knitty! [I cannot go into more detail because it involves presents for certain family members, however I will be posting pictures after the holidays]

girlhacker has a guide to outlet sites, digs magazine has a piece on how to find the right gift for everybody, and pop culture junk mail tells us about this hairy cat soap

pamie relates to us her modern day tupperware party, and nicole talks about what it is like to be an army wife at The Morning News

instructions for making rock candy via crushworthy kiehl. I never noticed before but the exploratorium has an incredible cooking section on the site, which I should have noticed because the project maganger is Danette St. Onge of the wonderful food site Yum!

erica mulherin put up some great illustrated directions on making a felted snowman!

Women�s Fashion: Part III, Hats by Margaret Berry at The Morning News

Someone wrote asking about recipes for dough ornaments. My mom has lots of well preserved dough ornaments on our tree each year so I asked her. She sent back this, everything I ever wanted to know: I have several recipes, but haven't yet found the one for cinnamon, allspice and ginger dough that Aunt R used for little spice ornament miniatures for a small tree. I think all she did was add applesauce to the ground spice until it was the consistency of stiff pie crust dough, roll it out and cut it with cookie cutters (mini-sized ones). She poked a hole in the top to put a string and let air dry until completely stiff. I'll try this out this weekend and see if I can come up with actual measurements and drying time. Maybe the microwave would speed the process as well. This recipe doesn't require coating the ornament, but it should be stored in a dry place. Some folks make gingerbread dough extra stiff, cook it extra hard and treat it like a "baker's clay" for ornaments. It would need to be coated with shellac or varnish to keep out moisture. Following recipe is safe for kids, but they probably wouldn't eat it -- too salty! [ note: this never stopped me! ] This recipe was in the preschool cookbook that we parents put together at the cooperative preschool your brother attended [ note: my parent's were a bit hippish before I came along ] when he was 3 years old. I used it quite a bit for ornaments years ago, but haven't used it lately. I believe several of us parents submitted the same recipe, since it didn't have a name with it. Most of the recipes are credited to a family who turned them in. BAKER'S CLAY 4 cups flour 1 cup salt 1 1/2 cups water Mix and knead. If too stiff add water in small amounts until right consistency to work with. Shape into figurenes. Bake 1 hour in 300 degree oven or until hard. (Make sure oven temperature is accurate or use oven thermometer -- these will brown if too hot.) When cold, paint and decorate. (I used acrylic paints. Children can use tempera paints. You can also add paste food coloring to the dough.) To preserve, spray with fixative or shellac, or use colorless nail polish. Dough will keep moist in plastic bag until baked. I have found that these ornaments only last in dry conditions, even when coated well with varnish or shellac. It's difficult to get all the moisture out by baking unless they are thin. Thin ones can "warp" when baked. Allow to dry thoroughly after painting and before coating, as the dough may absorb moisture from the paint, and disintegrate from the inside out. Some that were given to me lasted several years, but when stored in the basement inside plastic bags started to disintegrate. If they're precious to you, store them where moisture can't get to them. I'd suggest -- If you want the ornaments to last "forever", invest in real clay that can be fired in a kiln, or use a plastic clay that can be dried in a home oven.