One Link or Two?

Found this fun drawing site Bomomo on Paperback Writer. It's a nice freeform drawing tool, using a set of shapes you use as brushes. Here's one of my little efforts.

Another drawing site found on Paperback Writer is Mutapic. It's a lot more complicated, but very interesting. And this Tile Machine, also found on Paperback Writer, lets you make tiled images, useful for blog and website backgrounds.

Presurfer calls our attention to amazing sand sculptures and even more amazing pencil sculptures.

Neatorama looks at the stories behind our favorite movie theater snacks. Alas, no photo of my favorite, Sno-Caps (teeny non-pareils), so here's a couple of pics of them.

I do need to take some better pics of these delicious morsels. Sadly, they're not included in the stock of most NY theater concession counters and I have to get them in a store.

Feeling: blah



~~~o0o~~~Technorati Tags: links

The Three Non-Pareils

I've been under the weather, but wanted to get this comparison taste test posted. I ended up buying non-pareils from each of the three chocolate shops we visited in Vermont.

The first pictured, from the Village Chocolate Shoppe is very creamy and rich (I still have some), with a lot of chocolate to go with the candy dots on top. The bottom is curvy and the pieces are mostly round. My favorite of the three.

Vermont Confectionery is next in the photo. The non-pareils, which we've been enjoying at work, are round, with a bigger circumference than the other two. The chocolate is good and there's a nice chocolate to candy ratio. The bottoms are flat, making these seem mass produced rather than hand-dipped as the other two seem. I don't know how any of these were produced. This is a good, solid, dependable candy, but nothing special.

The Chocolate Barn's non-pareils, pictured to the right, are misshapen, giving them charm. Most are fairly oval, with a mound of chocolate topped with candy dots, similar to the Village Chocolate Shoppe's. They taste as good as the Chocolate Shoppe's, but aren't as creamy and rich on the tongue.

I love non-pareils and consider them a perfect chocolate candy, if you get them in dark chocolate with white candy dots. I'm sure the other combinations of chocolate and candy are good, too, but I don't eat them.

I wish I could've compared everything I like in the stores, at least for what chocolate candies they overlapped, but I gained enough weight on this mini-vacation!

Feeling: crappy


~~~o0o~~~Technorati Tags: chocolate

This is What Chocolate Heaven Looks Like

I wish I'd had time to try more local ice cream in Vermont, but time and the need to not gain a gazillion pounds conspired against me. I'd wanted an after dinner dessert at one chocolate place only to discovered they closed in the afternoon that day! The above is the amazing Double Chocolate with Fudge Swirl ice cream (they called this "one scoop") I got at the Vermont Confectionery. It was rich and creamy and oh so good.

Feeling: rushed


~~~o0o~~~Technorati Tags: chocolate

Quick Update from the Green Mountains State

Hubby and I took a quick weekend trip to Vermont. Took lots of photos. LOTS of photos! Some are chocolate related, so I'll be posting a bunch here as I get them uploaded and sorted.

Vermont is known for maple syrup and cheese, but it's also a good source of chocolate. There's the Vermont Confectionery in Colgate Park, the Village Chocolate Shop in Bennington, and the Chocolate Barn on Rte 7A heading north toward Manchester. I'd been in the Chocolate Barn in the '70s when it was relatively new. Chocolate was purchased, a nice sampling from each. The Vermont Village Confectionery had amazing homemade ice cream. I had double chocolate fudge swirl. Yum. Photo soon,

We had other yummy food, too. As for touristy things, we drove the Skyline Drive to the summit of Mt. Equinox (into massive fog!), went to the Robert Frost Stone House, took a quickie self-tour of Robert Lincoln's Summer House Hildene, and toured the Covered Bridge Museum as well as driving through 2 covered bridges. Vermont is one of my favorite places and it was nice to visit there again.

Feeling: happy


~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: vacation

Character Meme

I'm Loren Silvercloak!
Take The Fionavar Tapestry Character Test today!
Created with Rum and Monkey's Personality Test Generator.

You are Loren Silverclok, First Mage of Brennin.
Wise and knowledgeable, your friends value your advice. You know when to hold yourself back and when to take charge. You are slow to anger, but those who underestimate your strength do so at their peril. Oh, and you've got some snazzy threads.

A lot of questions for this one. I was hoping for a sexier result, but what the heck. ;)

Found this on Wil's blog, The Daily Snooze.

Feeling: hot



~~~o0o~~~Technorati Tags: questionnaires

Ummm... Pizza

You Are Extra Cheese

You are outgoing and friendly. You like to have a good time, and you'll indulge your desires. You are very comforting and understanding. Your friends know they can always turn to you for empathy. You are well adjusted and comfortable in your own skin. You know what you like, and you're not trying to impress anybody. You are good at finding what you love, and when you do, you aren't likely to change your ways.

What Pizza Topping Are You?

Blogthings: Free Quizzes for Everyone

It's been ages since I did one of these, and it's about pizza, so I had to do it. After chocolate, and burgers, pizza is the perfect food.

Feeling: tired




~~~o0o~~~Technorati Tags: quizzes

Ice Cream News: Is Nothing Safe?

Baskin-Robbins is retiring some flavors, including the classic French Vanilla. Now, I'm a major chocoholic, but I can appreciate the joys of good vanilla ice cream. If they can do this, is nothing sacred? Will they retire one of their iconic chocolate flavors next? True, Superfudge Truffle is joining French Vanilla in retirement, but I never tried that. I usually go for chocolate or for chocolate chip (vanilla with chocolate chips) with chocolate syrup poured on. Yum. But with French Vanilla going, I feel we're at the end of an era.

Feeling: sad


~~~o0o~~~Technorati Tags: ice cream

Street Menace

I'd thought the only things I had to watch out for while walking along the streets of my fair city was doggie poo and idiots yakking on cellphones. I was wrong. Now I have to watch out for people walking and texting at the same time! At least the people chatting on phones are looking ahead of them, even if they don't pay all that much attention to other people. It seems they mostly are keeping an eye out for their destination. But the texters? They might glance up from the teeny screen in their hands once or twice a block. This is a big city, with 8 million or so people -- more in tourist season -- and it seems as if half of those are on the sidewalk on any given day. What possesses someone to stroll along and text at the same time? How could they not notice they're not the only ones on the street? I have to conclude they don't care, and this in a neighborhood with a residence for blind people.

Feeling: annoyed



~~~o0o~~~Technorati Tags: pet peeves

Words to Live By

I normally find The Lockhorns comic strip (well, it's a one panel comic) fairly routine, and quite dull the last few years, but I read it out of habit and a few days ago, I was rewarded with this gem. Loretta, talking to her friend while eating candy, says: "I put 'Eat Chocolate' on my day's 'To Do' list... It gives me a sense of accomplishment."

I think I'll follow that advice!

Feeling: amused


~~~o0o~~~Technorati Tags: chocolate

I've Been a Bad Blogger

I'm still here. Really. I think the heat is melting my brain, though. And I've been having trouble getting back on track after vacation and jury duty. But I'm here, and life's pretty decent right now. Except for all the heat and humidity. 

Feeling: hot


~~~o0o~~~Technorati Tags: obligatory update

Some Unusual Fireworks

I love this YouTube fireworks video from PES. The other PES animations are wonderful, too.

Happy 4th!

Feeling: amused


~~~o0o~~~Technorati Tags: videos

Glad This Week is Over

It was a week of Mondays. There was some good. Wednesday night, hubby and I saw Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band in concert. Ringo and the group, which usually includes the inimitable Edgar Winter, was amazing as usual. He's done "Frankenstein" all three times we've seen the All-Starr Band. It's one of the truly classic instrumentals.

And now, here's a big Happy Independence Day! to my fellow Americans.

Happy July 4th from UglyDog, Peaco, and Wedgehead

Feeling: mellow


~~~o0o~~~Technorati Tags: concerts