Month: October 2014

Getting Fired up; Amazon Fire TV

Aynaria 3 Comments

Amazon FireTVI told my daughter when the Amazon Fire TV came down in price I would purchase it for our home.

Early this morning, while surfing on my iPad, I noticed that the price had dropped by $15, so it is now $84! After some deliberation, I purchased the Amazon Fire TV and requested next day delivery.

This is an item, that I’ve been watching since it was released on April 2, 2014. And while I wanted to make the leap then, as with any purchase, I researched and came away with a lot of knowledge and knowing that I’d eventually purchase the item. I must say that I’m looking forward to watching a variety of things on the Amazon Fire TV; movies, pretty much anything history related, documentaries, tutorials. To be honest, we rarely watch the regular shows since it has so much junk! I’m not kidding when I say weeks and sometimes months go by without us watching regular TV. However, we do occasionally watch videos.

Since I’m an Amazon Prime member, there are literally thousands of videos that are already freely included with the subscription.  Up until now, we’ve been watching streaming movies onto my iPad. Watching streaming content on our mounted 70″ flat screen TV will be the prefect way to unwind… when my daughter and me aren’t outdoors or doing something creative.

Tomorrow evening, we’ll get the popcorn started, I’ll pull out my knitting needles or loom, and we’ll settle down and watch something on the Amazon Fire TV. The set up seems to be a breeze, so we should be enjoy watching streaming videos sooner rather than later! I’m looking forward to the experience.

 

Fermenting Adventures: SCOBY formation

Aynaria 6 Comments

I finally had a chance to take a few pictures of my fermenting brew.

Kombucha_5 10.14.14
Fermenting Kombucha – SCOBY formation

See that pinkish film on top? That’s a SCOBY! I could not get a good shot. It’s actually translucent and had bubbles surrounding it. This is a good sign. I must say that I’m thrilled that soon I’ll be making my own fermented Kombucha. This is the batch that is only Kombucha.

Kombucha_4 10.14.14
Kombucha – SCOBY Formation
Kombucha_3 10.14.14
Three Kombucha’s all in a row patiently forming SCOBY’s

In the above two photos you’ll see the kombucha that I added Black tea and sugar. It’s not growing a SCOBY as quickly as the Kombucha only and I’m perfectly fine with that. I do believe I’ll post on a Kombucha forum that I frequent about the first picture to see if I should let it go a bit longer or start making a batch of Kombucha by doing a second ferment.

I really do love the GT brand, but would much prefer making it myself. With the fizz, it reminds me a of a natural soda, but of course it’s much healthier since it’s chock full of probiotics and has very little sugar. I must say, that I can’t wait to taste and see how I enjoy my homemade kombucha.

 

Should I purchase or wait…

Aynaria 4 Comments
Reliable blind hemmer machine
Reliable – Blind hemming machine

I’m torn about the blind hemming machine. I’ve been watching the Reliable Blind Hemming machine for quite some time and I’ve found a really good deal on that.

However, I’m torn… I’m unsure if I should purchase it now or wait and see if it comes down a bit more after the Thanksgiving holidays? The thing is, I do have articles of clothing/sheets that would definitely benefit from this machine now. The clothing I could do by hand and it would take me anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. However some of the draperies would take several hours to do by hand.

I’m starting to do more commissioned work so this would definitely come in handy. Decisions, decisions…

Weaving: Stores that sell weaving yarn

Aynaria 4 Comments

The cooler weather is quickly approaching which means that I’ll be starting my newest creative release (weaving) soon.

While I do have a nice yarn stash, the majority of that has already been earmarked for various knitting projects. Of course that means I need to purchase an appropriate amount of yarn for making my hand woven cloth.

Last year, I stumbled upon a few…

  1. Halcyon Yarn
  2. Webs
  3. The Woolery
  4. Yarn Barn

The Woolerly is the only one I’ve tried and the others were recommended to me by other weavers.  I’m seriously thinking about making enough cloth to make a haute couture jacket for myself. I know the type of fiber I’d love to use so now it’s a matter of making that happen.

The added bonus is that the cloth would work perfectly with the The Savile Row class that I’m taking by Andew Ramroop!

 

Fermenting Adventures: Two more batches

Aynaria 4 Comments

Yesterday, I made another batch of my kombucha. Instead of just using the kombucha to coax out a SCOBY I added seven (7) cups of black tea and 1/2 cup of pure cane sugar. It’ll be interesting to see which batch does a better job of making a SCOBY.

Kombucha SCOBY_1 10.06.14
Fermenting kombucha to create a SCOBY

I’ve included a picture of my first kombucha brew. This one is pure kombucha. Lord willing, this weekend, I’ll post a few more pictures and update the progress.

 

 

The great outdoors… here we come!

Aynaria 4 Comments

Tomorrow, my daughter and her sixth grade class we’ll be on a camping trip; it’s part of their outdoor learning adventures. You know, taking the class outdoors? I’m all for this type of learning and it’s something that a few of my teachers did regularly when I was in grade school.

Today, after work/school, we’ll be going down the checklist, making last minute preparations before the big day tomorrow. My daughter has three bags packed for three days!  She clearly does not need that many bags so I’ll consolidate and cast aside the items she really does not need. Can you tell I’m looking forward to that task? 😉