Friday, December 30, 2011

Swarovski Crystal Pearl Sale

Happy New Year to You and Yours!

I'm re-doing my Swarovski Elements Crystal Pearls display and repackaging every last little pearl.

Hmmmmmmm. . .
The more I sell NOW, the fewer I'll have to repackage. I just hate undoing what has already been done! Soooo much easier to just start from scratch with a fresh new batch o' pearls!


Won't you help me?

So for just a couple of days, I'm taking 30% off all Swarovski Crystal Pearls


No minimum, aside from our standard $10 order minimum. You can do $10, easy-peasy! I know you can!

• Supplies are limited to stock on hand - no backorders! 
• This offer expires at midnight on January 1, 2012
     Wait . . . or is that midnight on January 2, 2012? 
     Ahhh, you know what I mean - you have until the end of January 1st.

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Street Barbers and Dentists

We're still on the streets of Kashgar in Western China.
There's a whole block of dentist's offices

and barbers set up right on the sidewalk.




Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Let's Make a Batch of Smoky Almonds!

Mmmmm, Smokehouse Almonds. Got a few minutes? Let's make our own.
Yeah, it's that easy.
Start by preheating the oven to 300°, and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Or you can spray it with nonstick cooking spray if you don't keep parchment paper on hand.

Break one egg white in a deep mixing bowl. You can save the leftover yolk to make, I dunno, Hollandaise Sauce or Lemon Curd or Custard.
Whisk it up till it's nice and foamy.
I have a thing for my old-fashioned, hand-crankin' egg beater, but you can use a whisk like a normal, modern human.

When you've got a good little foam going on, add a coupla teaspoons of Garlic Powder, a coupla teaspoons of Celery Salt, about 1/2 teaspoon of Kosher salt, and a tablespoon of Liquid Smoke.

Liquid Smoke . . . what a weird concept. What IS that stuff, anyway? It sounds so creepy and artificial - but in reality, the ingredients are Smoke and Water. That's it.

And for those of us without a smoker, which I imagine is most of us, it's what's we need to do the deed.


None of these measurements are set in stone - I usually add a little more of each ingredient because I like . . . more. More is good. Too much of everything is just enough.


Stir it up and throw in 3 cups of raw almonds.
Mixy-mixy-mixy.
Stir it all up until it's evenly coated with ooey-gooey goodness.
Spread them onto your cookie sheet and bake them for 30-40 minutes, giving them a loving stir-around every 10 minutes.

That's it! Easy-peasy, right?

Eat.
You're welcome.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

GingerDead Men!

6 pounds of Smoky Almonds

10 pounds of Sugared Cinnamon Pecans

and a coupla dozen GingerDead Men!

Early Winter Sunset

One evening last week . . .


. . . and the very next evening . . . 



The sky is on fire!