Setting up a new bakery

Kana here.  I'm still not sure whose idea this was to set up a bakery.  We don't really have enough of anything, which means I'm the one baking.  Because after the last three incidents with food, potions, and the swapping of some vital ingredients, Lily has been banned from the kitchen.

Not that it stops her...

"Where do you want these cookies?"

"Wait, those aren't done yet!  They need something extra!"
"NO THEY DON'T!"

"Now they're magical snacks.  They'll turn whatever you're wearing
into a ball gown!"
"Lily, not actually helping here..."

"I am not actually involved in any of this.
This is so above my pay grade."

Newbery Book Reviews: Little House on the Prarie

Nora here.  We're fairly certain that this set of books really needs no introduction as they seem to have been required reading for any history-loving female between the ages of 8 and 12 for at least 5 decades, and closer to 8.  However, it still took us quite some time to convince the human to make us a set for ourselves.

There's many editions, but we decided to go with the 1950s reprints with the Garth Williams illustrations as opposed to the original 1930s books.  The one book that is missing is 'The First Four Years', which is more of an add-on than part of the core series written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (and ghost-written by Rose Wilder Lane).  Perhaps our next book should be a doll edition of 'Pioneer Girl'.

Alas, the human couldn't find the full dust jacket illustrations, so we're stuck with simple hardcovers.

But the books all have the correct illustrations next to the correct text.  The human found the illustrations by searching auction sites, and then finding the right ones.  There was a stack of human-sized Little House books that she was comparing ours to while she was making them.

And the bonus book this week:

Little House in the Big Woods

Instructions

Weekend Baking

Kana here.  Trying out some new furniture in our lovely apartment.  Instead of the craft/study, we've set up a nice little living room and parlor instead.  We'll need to hold a garage sale soon for all the little things we keep accumulating.  The cat is back, along with its friend, the lynx hiding under the windowseat.  It's also been here for nearly forever.

Doing homework

Nothing like a windowseat for reading

A new stash of Jane Austen novels

The human went on a book-making binge a little bit ago in between making tons of stuff for the Harry Potter craft show in December, and as usual, the photography fell behind the crafting.  We now have 5 Jane Austen novels in our collection (Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Mansfield Park, and Northanger Abbey).  No, the human hasn't read all of them.  They're on her list.

Get off the table, cat.

Time to try out the new cookbook.

Meanwhile, someone let Lily in the kitchen again.  And Cauthrien and Anora are helping.  This does not bode well.  Namely because Lily thinks cooking is just like potions-making (and sadly, she's not too far off) and doesn't quite care about the difference between potion ingredients and baking ingredients.

Berries, eggs, and what else do we need?

I'll get the milk and butter.

Maybe we made too many cupcakes?

The cookies are not for you, cat.

Halloween Alchemy

Kana here.  It's time for more hilarity with me and Lily!

So the human's be frantically prepping for a Harry Potter themed craft fair in December (which means the human sized bookshelves now have doll-sized chocolate frogs and pumpkin pasties and wands everywhere.  And potions.  And potion ingredients.  Enough that we finally set up a little alchemy and potions show of our own.  We've got a workstation, a desk for doing all the paperwork that comes with running a shop, and lots and lots of shelves for potions.

Total number of individual little bottles in our shop:  about 300

It all started with this little shelf the human found on the side of the street for free.  It's supposed to be a wall display cabinet, and it has nice iron scrollwork on the door and sides.  And it's perfect for the massive number of potion ingredients.

Lily, being Lily, did not label anything.  So only she knows what everything is, and what goes with anything else without being a hazard.  Thank you, Lily.

We also got a new rather large mortar and pestle set (it's the Outlander Megamini kit from Amazon).  Pretty sure the human thought it was going to be smaller than it is.  We us it anyways.

More potions.  And bottles of sparkly fairy dust.  And racks of ingredients.  All the potions can be worn as charms.  We should make more.  Or rather, Lily and the human should.  I'm just going to watch the hilarity.  The last time they made potions, they stripped the finish off the new kitchen counters.  Oops.

The cabinet of completed potions.  Also unlabeled.  Just...uh...don't touch anything?  Some of the ones on the bottom might be poisonous.  (No, I don't know which book Lily is using to brew these.  Neither does anyone else.)

We also got new portraits taken in the shop, and I think these are our favorites so far.  We'll start our potions business after I make Lily label everything.  I swear.

A typical morning

Lily:  Don't read the comments.
Kana:  WHAT IS THIS EVEN
Shep:  You read the comments on instagram again, didn't you?

 Kana here.  The new apartment does not actually make anyone behave any better.  But it does make us seem marginally more civilized.  You can barely see it, but Shep has a mug of tea and giant cupcake for breakfast.  I have fruit, a danish, and coffee.  Lily probably ate something she hid in her lab.  It's really hard to actually pull her out of the lab.

A peaceful breakfast at the counter...

Meanwhile, Cauth and Nora are being super domestic.  Cauth might be the only one of us who can actually cook.  I know Shep and I can't really.  And Lily brews potions.  Which is not the same thing as cooking, no matter what she claims.  The cat is a stray that's been hanging around us for ages now.  I guess it's adopted us or something.

until someone steals the bacon...

And as usual, Sam and Nellie would like to pretend that the rest of us don't exist...at least in the mornings.  It does get a little hectic around here.

Samantha:  We are going to sit at the table like proper ladies...

Samantha at the Eastern States Expo

 Here we are at the Eastern States Exposition, or locally, the Big E.  Because New England is too small to have a state fair for each state, so it's all combined into one.

First stop:  the butter sculpture

Butter is, in fact, delicious

Animatronic milk, however, is creepy

Cows are kind of cute though

Decorative gourd season is the best season.

Giant creepy vegetable

Giant non-creepy gourds

 Giant gourds, on the other hand, are the best things ever.  The best in show was also a new fair record at 1770lb.  Which is only 600lb less than a Clydesdale, for comparison.

 A break for a snack, and then onto the Avenue of States, where each New England state has a building to show off cool things and try to encourage tourism.

Massachusetts:  we live here.

RI: Thinks it has regions.  All three blocks of it

Vermont:  cheese and maple sugar

The maple candy machine in action

So many caramel apples...

Connecticut: We swear it's more than an NY suburb

But you have taffy...

...and LEGOs, so it's cool

Snack break #2!

 There was an adorable plaza of historical buildings (with house tours) and all the old-timey handicrafts.  Alas, it was too dark to take pictures of the building interiors.

 We stopped at the handicrafts and sewing building to look at all the quilts and needlework and crochet.  And doll clothes, only to discover that there were no competitive doll clothes contests here.  

 That is, in fact, no moon.  But it's an awesome quilt that makes me wish the human would pick up quilting as a hobby.  Or maybe yarnwork so we can have BB-8 to go with our R2 unit.

Last stop at the midway, where we also stumbled into watching the parade.

PONIES!   ....I mean...CLYDESDALES!