My weekend:

Friday night, I had five organic lemons and about half a quart of vodka. I was going to make limoncello–until I read the recipe again and realized I needed 160 proof vodka (or “grain alcohol,” which I think is Martha Stewart Living‘s polite term for Everclear). My Absolut is only 80 proof, so we’ll see what it turns into. All the floating bits of organic lemon peel look like some odd Victorian science experiment.

After that, I had five naked little lemons. So I juiced them and made a tart Saturday afternoon. It’s like a French lemon meringue pie, sans meringue.


In between the fun with lemons, I knitted two presents for the office mates: No, they’re not failed hats; they’re going to be cosmetic bags. They got felted (shrunk) in my parents’ washer, but were too damp to photograph.


On Sunday, I fought other crafty types in the impossibly narrow aisles of the JoAnn Fabric and Craft Supercenter, looking for zippers for the not-a-hat felted cosmetic bags. Then I raided the parents’ yard for tree branches and set up my Christmas tree back at the apartment:


It’s not the best picture, but I’m happy with the overall effect. My roommate hinted that adding some greenery would improve it, but I like the look–somewhere between Charlie Brown and something crazy and Victorian. (Crazy Victorian again–it’s a theme!)

Other things I did this weekend that didn’t get a photo: Worked on more (secret) Christmas presents; worked on a knitted garland (with pom-poms!) for the office; cleaned the house; did laundry; fell down in the icy apartment parking lot twice; got a new battery in the Focus, courtesy of my clever dad; and listened to Palestrina’s Missa Papae Marcelli repeatedly.