As a note, I have a problem when I work in a very very very dull job. I tend to stop being able to think because I have too much time on my hands. It's really sad.

I saw a book today that includes as a location "the strangely-familiar Deja Vu club". I have totally decided I must own this book. MUST. *firmnod*

parsimonia brings teh_funnh:

At a time like this when global warming is on the rise, it behooves us all to find don our eye-patches and peg-legs, and to climb aboard our pirate ships and say "arr" to our friends. After all, global warming can be stopped, not by cutting back emissions and saving energy, but by increasing our Pirate ranks! I want my children to be taught in school that global warming was caused not by uncontrolled pollution but by the decline in Pirates.

Via morchades, inbetweenies is looking for magazines that aren't all for photo-shopping women into impossible standards.

Are there ANY magazines out there, online or in print, where size isn't an issue? I'm not necessarily talking about a magazine specifically for bigger girls, but one that is women in general, none of this fat-vs.-skinny. One that will have America Ferrera on the cover without taking off 30 pounds (if I were lesbian, she'd be one of my top fantasies - hell, she already is), or that will have Faith Hill without erasing her crow's feet, a natural indicator of age. Hell, fat is bad, age lines are bad, how about a fashion magazine on what's GOOD about people's bodies and focuses on fashion rather than "that last five pounds."

There are interesting links in the original post to some pretty horrific photo-shops and some discussion in the comments with suggestions. I haven't looked too closely at any of them yet, but I thought others might have a bit more time than I have today.

Via Pandagon, at Blog of the Moderate Left: The Patriarchy Is Bad For Everyone, which nicely expands on the whole Men Aren't Monsters Or Children thing that I've been thinking about a lot these past few weeks:

When we declare that men are beasts who want to roam and leave their children, we not only demean all of the men who love their families, love their children, and are perfectly capable of moral reasoning; we also put the onus on women to civilize men, to enforce the rules of the game, to keep men “in their place.” And when a man strays, it is not his fault (any more than a wolf is at fault for killing a deer). It is his wife’s fault. His nature is chaotic.

Similarly, when we declare that women are incapable of driving society forward, we not only shortchange the many brilliant women in the world, we also put the onus of innovation on men. We push men who would prefer to stay home out into the workforce. We ensure that men have to work, whether they want to or not, because our society’s advancement depends on it, and we can’t count on women to do so, because they simply don’t have it in them.

I've got nothing to add to that, being that I've talked about my thoughts on that a lot, but I'd like to hear yours.

Oh, and some brief explanations:

NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month. Write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. Read more at their site. I've entered every year since the second year they did it (I'm hardcore, yo), but I've so far failed every year.

NoNoNoNo is this thing the inimitable Raven started a few years back when she realised that she was too busy to write a 50,000 word novel, but being that a picture is worth 1000 words, she thought doing 50 pics in 25 days would count. Read more here. Her husband is the anonymous James that keeps commenting on various posts.

Which reminds me: Open ID allows people who don't have or want LJs to read flocked posts and vote in polls and stuff. Which I'm totally just putting out there for no reason.

NaNoPieMo is something I came up with last year when I was unemployed and crawling the walls. It didn't work as well as I wanted it to (30 days, 30 pies!), but I have a plan for this year that will make it much more effective. Namely, I'm gonna figure out who I'm giving pies away to *before* I bake them.

I went on a Wildflower Tour today. I took many photos. They'll be up tomorrow, I think.

I was going to write a big long post about diving, but diving didn't get me near a computer until after 10:30, and I'm tired.

I was going to finish responding to comments, too. [See above.]

Oh well - at least I can write a poll!

Poll #1051070 November Approaches... slowly
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 41

Are you doing NaNoWriMo this year?

Are you doing NoNoNoNo this year?

Should I take another stab at NaNoPieMo?

Check these if you want to be on the filter wherein I post many many things related to them, as opposed to posting very few things related to them (pls note existence of Open ID, friends without LJs)

Pie Number One today is Lemon Meringue. In order to put up photos, I'd have to get batteries for the camera, so no photos today.

The pie crust today wasn't as good as it's been in recent days, but it's still better than it was when I started out. I really just wasn't feeling like playing with it. Also, it had been in the back of my fridge, where things go to be covered in ice, and was fairly cold. I had to let it thaw before I could do anything with it, which I think may have done something to the consistency. It rolled out fine enough, but the edges were a bit weak. Ah well.

The pie itself was ... um... well, let's just say the last time I tried to make lemon meringue it ended in tears, and this was a better attempt, but still not what I want in my lemon meringue pie. I'll try again in another week or so, I suspect. padredon loves lemon meringue pie, but I find them a bit too sweet.

I blind baked this one, as people suggested, and the crust was great - flakey and crisp in the ways I wanted it to be! Things are definitely getting better.

The pie plate is "resting" right now, and I'll make another apple pie later in the day, I think.

I liked this pie in terms of the baking and everything, but I really need to work on the filling. Anyone else make Lemon Meringue and have any thoughts to share?

Today's pie was Pear Pie (second recipe) and it was yummy in a way that yummy is yummy. I probably should have added one or two more pears to the bunch, though, because there would have been even more pear-related goodness. So yummy.

I made extra dough and thus don't have to make dough tomorrow if I make a pie that only has a bottom crust. I'm kinda tempted to go that route, because making pie dough every day is hard on my pants. (See, I tend to wipe my hands off on my pants... And Edinburgh people? I mean my trousers, so stop being silly.)

Anyway, I noticed today that the amount of time it's taking me to roll out the pie crust is getting shorter, which is nice - it means I'm going into the "not needing to think about it so much" stage of the baking game. This is great! Again, the experiment is doing exactly what I want it to! It wasn't as good a pie crust as I might have liked, but I also rolled it out at 11 at night, so I take things as I can right now. And right now, that's meaning it's okay to make pie crust that isn't perfect as long as it's still better than before, which it totally is.

I took mforbes321's advice and used some rolled up tinfoil on the edges and the pie crust didn't get burned this time. YAY!

Question: (I'd post it to bakebakebake but I'm worried about looking spammy): Is there an easier way of telling if my pie crust is baked on the bottom? Everything looked good today but the bottom was a tad soggy instead of crisp. The outer edges were cooked fine, as was the filling, but yeah... soggy != good. *sigh*

Anyway, all in all, a good pie. padredon is happy, as he often is when pie is made for him.

( Pics behind the cut )

I'm probably not going to make a blueberry pie because blueberries are expensive and we don't have enough. I may make one in Edmonton, though, cuz they're cheaper there. I think padredon would like a lemon meringue. He keeps giving me hopeful looks and buying lemons. *grin* He is silly that way.

Pie = Good. Anna = Happy.

I'm so much happier with today's apple pie than anything else I've done since I started this. The crust turned out in one piece for the most part, and it smells heavenly. It's for bubosquared and the rest of the people in my game this evening, so I put a little star on it (cuz it's a space game, dont'cha know).

Basically, I had to roll out the pie crust twice for both the bottom and the top, but they seemed to work out okay despite that. I'm sure the proof will be in the tasting, so I'll know for certain tonight. :) Must remember to be a good person and bring knives and plates and forks for the boys. Can't let them try and eat pie without them. *smile*

But the suggestions I've been getting from bakebakebake have been working out great, and I'm getting more confident in using The Evil Oven That Is Eviller Than You Trust Me I Know. I could smell the pie was done and took it out, even though the timer had another 12 minutes on it. I'm *tired* of burnt edges on my pies.

The whole things is becoming easier to work with every day. I really think this experiment is going to do exactly what I want it to - make baking a pie something that's simple for me to do rather than stressful.

I think tonight I will make padredon a blueberry pie, if I can remember to get to the store that sells blueberries before it closes. (Stupid Scotland and its stupid early closing times.)

Things I'm Doing Differently:

1. Rolling out the dough a bit bigger.

2. Folding it in quarters before I try and move it into the pie plate.

3. Using a spatula (or a long-bladed knife today because my spatulas were both in the wash) to lift up the pie crust.

4. Re-rolling the pie crust instead of working with a crumbly mess.

5. Letting the bottom of the crust lie over the edge of the pie plate so I can fold it over the top crust and then use a fork to "edge" it.

I haven't changed the basic way I'm making the pie crust though. That seems to be working as I'm getting better at working *with* it.

( Pics behind the cut! )

They're not the best photos, sadly, but I think they get the point across.

I'm so much happier with this crust than the first one that I'm tempted to post it over to bakebakebake so everyone can see how I'm coming along.

I did actually make this pie last night. But man was I in a bad mood about the whole thing.

Not because I resented making the pie - hell mirax_girl can have a hundred cherry pies if she wants them. I was annoyed because I couldn't find the things I wanted to make a *proper* cherry pie. Fresh cherries. That, my dear, would be a cherry pie to write home about. This was merely adequate. I owe you a better pie. I think I sorted a way to make it a better pie, though, and I'll make you another one in a week or two.

Things seem to be coming better on some levels, though. The suggestions from bakebakebake have been outstanding in terms of getting the pie crust from one spot to another, and in making the pie crust not fall apart or break and that. I've started folding it in quarters and making sure that the bottom crust completely falls over the edge of the pie plate and then folding it over. It really helps.

But I had a lot of problems with the dough otherwise. I tried making it with the pastry cutter instead of by hand, and I think I just did too half-assed a job of it, you know? When I'm in a better mood with a bit more energy I'll try it that way again, with my whole attention.

I tried making a lattice-work with this pie, and made an "L" in the middle, for mirax_girl's first name. (Originally my thought was this would keep her boss from eating it. Then I remembered that his name started with an "L" too.)

( Pictures behind this purty cut )

The plan for tonight is another apple pie (bubosquared is a demanding wench, isn't she?) but probably with a different recipe. I'm waiting on the dough right now.

Day 2 of my A Pie A Day project.

Today's pie was Pumpkin Pie, for padredon. I had picked up a few more pumpkins earlier in the week for more pumpkin purée, so it was nice and fresh. Also, I substituted the pumpkin pie spice I had made up a few days ago for a different recipe instead of using the cinnamon and ginger in the recipe. I think it tasted much richer and more varied, and more like what I want pumpkin pie to taste like.

I did make a few mistakes. Because I have the Oven That Is More Evil Than You, I have a hard time judging baking times and it seems to vary between bakes. I think this should have baked a bit longer, maybe even just five minutes, but it *looked* done. Ah well. Still a tasty mix, and there was a duck on top. Can't go wrong with ducks.

I'm still working with the pie crust issue. bakebakebake gave me some suggestions that I'll try. Today I tried two different things: I made the butter cubes smaller than usual, and I used a spatula to loosen my crust a bit from the pastry mat before moving it. It still wasn't as in-one-piece as I want, but it was less of a problem. I think I'm not rolling the dough out enough, though. I may have to work on allowing more dough. They suggest in the recipe that you should have enough to form a "lip", which I never do... not because I don't have the extra dough, but it always seems to end up in a weird spot, if that makes sense. I may have to work on rolling it out with more patience in the future.

Not sure what I'm going to do for the pie tomorrow. I'm wanting to give it away to someone, but everyone who normally would take pie from me is out of town.

The ducky on top is cuz I like duckies.

( There are pics of the pie behind the cut )

Again, it tasted good. padredon seems happy enough, but he's all angsty today so it's hard to tell.

Well, I finally started my pie a day project.

( A Brief Explanation as to why I'm doing it... )

Today's pie was Apple Pie for bubosquared, who graciously hosted padredon and I for Robin Hood: The Historically Inaccurate Drinking Game. (I'd go into more details, but really, I'm quite happily pickled right now. It was a *great* episode for going "but... but... no!" during.) I ended up having to make the pie here and cart it over to her place because I ran over time and wouldn't have had the chance to bake it. I think that next time I'll *make* time, because as much as I love her, her oven is a bit on the hot side and the pie crust came out burned. Ah well. The inside was tasty.

The pie crust itself was easy to work with (I go with 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 cup cold butter, 2 tablespoons sugar) and rolled out nicely on my pastry mat, but I had problems with the transferring of the crust to the pie tin. I ended up pressing it really hard into the edge of the pie tin and, of course, it stuck there. I still can't make a decent edge. And the top crust was all franken-pie crust... it kept parts of it together with a bit of milk.

I put an elephant on top because we had coffee at The Elephant House, which is were JKR wrote the first Harry Potter book - just ask them.

I think it's more clear in the side-view photo what I mean when I say franken-crust.
( Pictures behind the cut, assuming I have this LJ picture gallery thingy working properly )

Ah well, it was good pie, and that's the important thing.

I think tomorrow will be just one crust of pie.