candy striping

Tonight I went to Logan's Candies to watch candy canes being made by hand. And, they passed out warm samples :).

these candy canes are made of corn syrup, sugar, peppermint flavor, starch and red color

the peppermint flavor is mixed in the white portion of the canes. the white color is created through this pulling process in which air is added into the mixture.

stripes are created

the canes are pulled, twisted, and rolled from a big slab

cut

bent

crocheting

I've picked up a new hobby. After meeting some ladies at their craft sale, I decided to join their crochet group that meets once a week just around the corner from my office. My brother asked if it is strange that they are a bunch of old ladies and I'm the only young person. I said, "That's why I like it."

My first project is a scarf, but since I don't want to work on it without supervision, I bought some practice yarn to work on my stitching and tension in between meetings. I ended up making another scarf with the practice yarn, so I guess that has become my first project. Anyway, crocheting has become very addicting and a better use of my time than playing Dr. Mario on Gameboy Advance.

eat, eat, eating

My bookclub met this past weekend. The book of choice was Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. It's a true account of the author's year-long journey through Italy, India, and Indonesia. In keeping with the theme, we ate ravioli, samosas, and Indonesian desserts, along with other foods. One girl said if we chronicled our journeys, the books would be titled Eat, Eat, Eat. The book we read was well-written, but I didn't like the author and couldn't wait for this trip (book) to be over.