Excuse me.

Heeeeeyyyyyyy....

I know I said I'd post a blog entry when I got back from the folk festival, but I got busy as hell. Anyway, I won 2nd. I'm happy I placed, but it was disappointing not to win. The guy who did win had a band with him. It felt a little unfair, but what can you do? One of the judges came up to me afterwards and told me he'd been fighting for me to win and they were still arguing over the rightful winner. So.. that made me feel better. I'm hoping that even with 2nd, I'll be able to book some more shows. Fingers crossed!

I also did a show with some local hip hop artists this last week. It was fun, but we were really hurting for a crowd on a Thursday night. I wish it had been a Friday. Look at this awesome artwork, though!

And then a friend took this one of me at the show:

I played with some local musicians; they backed me up on guitar and hand drum. It was so great! I'd love to play with them again.

I think I mentioned the Color Run in another thread and how much fun that was. It WAS. Next 5k is December 1st. In the meantime, I've started Boot Camp. It's a challenge, but it makes me feel good, and I keep up with the workouts. I can't wait to get faster and build endurance.

So we Americans are celebrating Thanksgiving tomorrow, and I hope everyone is as excited as I am. I'm making 3 kinds of pie for the occasion. First, I'm making a pumpkin pie. Then one of my apple pies. And a lavender/rose cheesecake. I came up with a recipe, tried it out, modified it, and now I've got the "show off" pie in the oven right now. I tried the filling and almost died from happiness. It's a cheesecake for a goddamn fairy princess. I think it might end up being my birthday cake, and since I'm in February, I'll put strawberries and raspberries all on top in heart shapes. I'll post the recipe once I know for sure how this batch turned out. Or when it's my birthday. I made crusts for all the pies except the cheesecake... that got store-bought graham cracker crusts, but I do not feel guilty even a little.

So I figure I'll share something with you guys, since you've made it this far.

Pumpkin pie
I pretty much use Libby's recipe, it's pretty great. However!

• 15oz baked pumpkin (or a can of pumpkin puree, but fresh pumpkin omg)
• 12oz almond milk (I used Blue Diamond original)

^blend these two things together

• 1/2 cup Z Sweet sweetener (stevia)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp cardamom

^add these things to the mixture, add more to taste if it needs more

• 2 large eggs

^beat eggs separately and then add them to the mix, careful not to over-mix. You want a custard texture for your pie, not a whipped one, truuuuust me (I tried it last week and NO).

Pour the filling into a pie crust. Bake at 425F for 15 minutes, then bring the oven down to 350 and bake for another like... HOUR. Check on it after 50 minutes, but it probably won't be ready and you'll probably want to go to damn bed like me. Keep it going until a knife inserted into the center comes out mostly clean. Let 'em cool.

Pie.