What's for dinner?

My favorite thing to make for dinner is reservations. My second favorite thing is Chinese take-out. Mr. Gadget and I went to the local Chinese restaurant last night. It's so close, we can actually just slide down the hill if the snow conditions are just right. They weren't, so we drove, and we ordered enough so there would be plenty left over for dinner tonight.

Cooking is not my favorite thing. I do it mostly because we have to eat. I don't venture out and try new recipes very often. I find baking more fun, but I realize we can't eat cookies and pies on a regular basis. There are a few things I cook that are favorites of the kids, and I've tried to write them down in books for each of them. Tech Guy likes my burritos, and Big City Girl is fond of my chicken parmesan. Then there's the cheesecake, and the brownies with Snickers bars. And don't forget the chocolate chip cookies.

A while back, I started making chef dolls from my basic beanbag recipe, I mean pattern.
I originally made them in white fabric, but then I heard back from a customer that they were getting dirty quickly, what with their sitting in the kitchen and all. That's when I started making them out of various food prints.

I may have mentioned this one before. She was purchased by a fellow crafter at a show I was doing. This lady was selling chocolates and her display table was decorated in brown and red. She ran down to my table before the show opened and grabbed up this doll. "I have to have her!" she demanded. And who was I to argue? A crafter is pretty sure a show is going to be a good one when things start to sell before the doors open.

This guy has been sitting around for a while. His outfit has a wine-bottle print, and it might be a bit too much. I haven't made a chef doll in a while, but if I do another one I'll change a few things. I'll look for smaller prints for one thing. And I'll do the shoes differently, and I'll make the hands smaller and with needle-sculpted fingers. I'll probably paint the face on and make it a little more detailed. Like with most things, dollmaking improves with practice.

So the weather warmed up today, and I did a little tidying up in the treehouse. I can finally see a work surface. I hate to admit it, but I had a couple of those tiny pumpkins on the windowsill. They were looking a little sad and moldy I'm afraid. I doubt that at my age I could have explained them away as a science project. It reminded me of when TG and BCG were teenagers and would take cups of hot chocolate and various other food and drink items up to their rooms. What fun it was months later for a mom to discover, and then have to dispose of, these ever-so-prolific gardens of delight. After that, I never again felt guilty about the few times I had forgotten my tooth fairy duties....