Mission:Impossible

In case you didn't get enough yesterday, here are more kitty pictures. These are from when we first brought them home. They were supposedly full grown and about 2 years old. But they grew. A lot. People are perplexed when we call Mirando "Little Guy" but he really WAS a small cat. You can also see how in early photos his coloration is only at his points. So, here you go. Humans included for scale.





Knitting: My friend Holly asked me to make a cardigan for her daughter Lily (my husband's god-daughter) for her six-month picture next week. What a fun challenge! I don't have One Skein yet, so I'm making up a baby bolero as I go along, using Rowan Cashsoft 4-Ply leftover from her christening shawl, and a yarn over pattern as an accent. I got the back almost up to the armholes done last night. I'll post progress photos tomorrow. All other knitting is on hold :) Every time I hear the phrase "Baby Bolero", I think "Baby Beluga", and the yarn is a cream color, so I'm calling this Baby Beluga Bolero and will post the pattern if it turns out well.

Reading: I finished Gish Jen's The Love Wife last night. It was a wonderful book. I also highly recommend her novels Mona in the Promised Land and Typical American. The premise of The Love Wife is the marriage of Carnegie to Janie Bailey, a woman his Chinese-born mother calls Blondie. They have two adopted daughters and one late-life-surprise son. Mama Wong's dying wish is for Lan, a distant relative of Carnegie's, to come help raise the children so they will be more Chinese. Blondie is convinced that Mama Wong intends Lan as the wife she'd really wanted for Carnegie. Lan, a survivor of the Cultural Revolution, struggles with her nostalgic love of China and all things Chinese versus the opportunity of America. The daughters struggle with their own identities as adopted children, and Carnegie's relationship with Mama Wong only becomes more conflicted with her death. What does it mean to be adopted? What does it mean to be Chinese, or American? What does it mean to be a Bailey, or a Wong, or both?

Writing: Still on chapter 5. About 21,000 words.

Cooking: Last night, I made Winter Squash Stew with Pinto Beans and Corn from Cooking Light. I tinkered with a few things, but it was wonderful. I planned to make rice to go with it, but you don't want to know what was in the rice, which once we get a new bag will be kept in the most airtight container ever invented. Ew. Anyway, I already had sauteed onion, bell pepper, carrot, and celery in the pot with the four cups of water needed for the rice when we discovered the rice was unusable, so I chucked in 3/4 cup of barley instead. It turned out quite well and was a nice match for the Squash Stew.