I keep wanting to post about my Yarn Challenge, but I wanted to have swatch photos to show, and I wanted the lucky winner to have her yarn and other treats already. But at this point, I just have to announce the winner since Little Miss Lilah has not felt that I need to finish my swatching :)
The Winner Is...
String Bean for Tussie Mussie!
I was having trouble getting gauge with the 4Ply, which is a very skinny yarn (a technical term I learned from Knit the Knits (whom I hope will someday publish a glossary of technical knitting terms). On the recommended size 4, I was getting 26 stitches to 4 inches instead of 22. That's just as well, really, as I would have had to buy a couple more size 4 circs to do the sweater. So I'm trying size 5 needles, and my backup plan is to double the yarn and try size 5 or 6. I dimly recall some formula where if you double the yarn, you don't need double the yardage, just 1.3 or 1.4 or 1.7 of it? At 1.7, I would be really pushing the limits of the amount of 4Ply I have, but if it's less, I think I can do it. This yarn is always on eBay, anyway. I haven't decided about the nosegay pattern. I think it's cute, but my sanity may demand an unembellished sweater.
String Bean will receive some lovely yarn and something from my oven, hopefully by tomorrow, unless the Postal Service decides to lose it or something. I don't want to post exactly what, so it will be a surprise for her.
Thank you so much to everyone for your suggestions! And, thank you, Tim! Tim was the recipient of one of my Manly Hats (pattern at left) when he moved to the Arctic tundra. I mean, Canada.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Monday, October 08, 2007
The Days of Our Lives
(The following is fictionalized autobiography. No Cheerios were harmed in the writing of this piece. If the style seems weird, go read Bridget Jones' Diary.)
Sunday: V. unhappy. House is disaster area. Need a better schedule to resolve chaos. Imagine! No more Cheerios underfoot. No more piles of whatever on the dining room table. No more wincing at the state of the bathroom mirrors. House will resemble Martha Stewart magazine spread.
Monday: laundry
Tuesday: bathrooms
Wednesday: dusting and sweeping
Thursday: vacuuming and mopping
Friday: general decluttering
Saturday: make up day
Sunday: off
There! Will have plenty of time for all housework. Am v. pleased with organizational skills.
Monday: Cheerios on floor: 11.5 (v. bad) Laundry complete! V. pleased. Am domestic goddess. Dreamily picture sparkling, gorgeous home, free from chaos, Cheerios, and clutter. Will plan dinner party to show off stunning home and goddessness.
Tuesday: Cheerios on floor: 18 (v. v. bad) Bathrooms cleaned: 1 (v. bad) Had to abandon master bathroom midway, shutting door to keep baby and cats from hazardous chemicals left on all surfaces until baby napped, whereupon wiped everything clean quickly without inhaling.. V. disappointed, but remain hopeful. Remember Sunday is available as make-up day. Am still domestic goddess, but must remember Martha Stewart has legions of servants to keep things sparkly. Must not be discouraged by more real-world situation. Realize have not plucked eyebrows in recent memory. Do so to avoid frighteniing dinner guests and overshadowing gorgeousness of house, Must add weekly beauty masque and home pedicure to schedule.
Wednesday: Cheerios on floor: 22 (v. bad, but improvement) Grocery shopping done! V. pleased, except forgot several things and will have to return tomorrow. Realize forgot to put grocery shopping on schedule. Must not be discouraged by minor setback. Will be amazing domestic goddess by next week, with exfoliated feet and clean floors.
Thursday: Cheerios on floor: 32 (v. horrifying) Grocery shopping done again! Total bathrooms cleaned: 2 (improvement) V. pleased. Making up for early week problems already. Rather discouraged that large tasks for Wed. and Thurs. not completed. Must stay focused and positive and remember the weekend is coming. Remember that becoming domestic goddess not easy. V. disturbed to find Cheerio in living room. Perhaps they are breeding? Resolve to look into Cheerio reproduction or migration.
Friday: Cheerios on floor: 22 (v. good) Total bathrooms cleaned: 2.5 (excellent) V. concerned has taken most of week to accomplish Tuesday task. Wikipedia and Martha Stewart website unhelpful on Cheerio breeding issue. Accused (unjustly) of mumbling, "Bleeping Martha Stewart."
Saturday: Cheerios on floor: 12 (v. encouraging) Dusting finished (not counting books in bookshelves)! Will clean floors after errand to mall to find pajamas that fit. V. pleased to have lost weight, but pajamas now resemble circus tent. Spend two hours installing larger carseat as baby has discovered how to extract and eat stuffing of small carseat. V. concerned about polyester consumption. Locate lovely, fitting pajamas in fourth store, only to realize have forgotten special credit card with bonuses. Return with no pajamas (v. bad, so disorganized) but with baby ingesting no polyester (v. good).
Sunday: Cheerios on floor: 0 (v. exciting! success!) While on floor during Cheerio eradication, notice oatmeal spot on curtain. Follow logical trajectory from high chair to find oatneal crusted on wall. Am not domestic goddess, but unpaid CSI technician. Perhaps can feed baby out on porch in future, then use garden hose for cleanup? Return to purchase non-tent-like pajamas with bonus credit card. V. pleased. Place baby in high chair and sweep floor while performing riveting singing/dancing act, to great applause. Am clearly v. talented. Perhaps will perform at dinner party. Go to Target to purchase plastic dropcloth to place under high chair. Wonderful, beloved, amazing husband has vacuumed during outing. Manage to finish floor cleaning before collapsing in exhaustion. Am domestic goddess at last! Not excited about starting over tomorrow, however...
Knitting: I will announce the winner of the contest as soon as I have swatch pictures to put up, later in the week. You guys are awesome! Fantastic ideas all around!
Reading: Wow, this is going to be a long one. It looks impressive, but most of these are below my grade level. I read the four Peggy Parish books in a couple of hours.
Mr. Darcy's Diary by Amanda Grange: This was surprisingly enjoyable. Quite fluffy, but fun. It's really superfluous, since you can tell in Pride and Prejudice what Darcy was thinking most of the time, but if you're a P&P fan, this might be worth picking up. I zipped through it pretty quickly, and really liked it. There are some conversations with Bingley and comments on Caroline that are entertaining, and we see a bit more of his relationship with Georgiana. And of course, we find out what happened when Darcy went after the eloping couple. Grange has also written Mr. Knightley's Diary, which I will have to pick up!
Molly Moon, Micky Minus, and the Mind Machine by Georgia Byng: This is the fourth in the series about a plucky heroine who discovers she has amazing powers. These are very cute, over-the-top adventures, beginning with Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism.
Key to the Treasure, Pirate Island Adventure, Clues in the Woods, and The Haunted House by Peggy Parish: Four of the six Liza, Bill & Jed mysteries. I've gotten nostalgic about childhood books, and sometimes I have only a dim memory of a book I loved as a kid, without remembering the author, the plot, or the character names. This makes it hard to search for a book! For this one, all I remembered was that there was a "treasure key" or "key to treasure" or something in the title and it had codes in it. Pretty quickly found Key to the Treasure, and I had completely forgotten it was the first in a series. These are good natured adventure-mysteries that are neither too adventurous nor very mysterious. These are really cute, wholesome mysteries. There are no video games or television shows, and the kids play outside and volunteer to do the dinner dishes without being asked, but they're not disgustingly sweet. They carp at each other like real siblings. I wasn't sure if they would still appeal to kids, or if they would be too dated, but they were recently re-released, maybe because people like me who loved them as kids are now having children themselves.
Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg by Gail Carson Levine: This was a fun fairy tale set in Never Land. Prilla, a new fairy, hasn't yet found her talent. Meanwhile, trouble is brewing for the Never fairies. There's not much suspense that Prilla's yet-unknown talent will play a key role in solving the trouble in Never Land, but the story is cute and the illustrations lovely.
Writing: None at all. Sigh. For Christmas, I want time to write. And a desk. That's all.
Cooking: I don't think I mentioned that I made sourdough starters, which is just as well really. I missed a day of feeding and the whole wheat one came over all moldy and the bread flour one smelled like one of Lilah's more horrifying diapers. I wasn't that committed, I guess, as I hadn't named them. I found a different technique I may try. It may have been the awful humidity around here lately, or it might be entirely my fault. At any rate, I was bummed, as I was looking forward to some sourdough bread.
I made Pad Thai. Sort of. Let's call it, Not Very Authentic But Fairly Tasty Pad Thai from Allison's House of Vaguely Ethnic Cuisine. I started out with the intention of making authentic Pad Thai by the delightful Pim, and shopping, equipment, and time issues foiled my plan. I have no doubt whatsoever that Pim's method is better than the makeshift method and ingredients I used. But I had already had two bean sprout purchases go bad while I tried to find the time and energy to make Pad Thai, and I decided to just do what I could and see how it turned out. The changes I ended up making were legion: 1. I couldn't find Light Soy Sauce (not low-sodium, but "thin" soy sauce" so I used 1/3 cup of regular. 2. I actually found tamarind, but when I opened the box, instead of a nice, soakable block, I found a bunch of pod things. When I broke them open, there was sticky stuff that I had no idea what to do with, so I gave up on that and used 1/2 cup lime juice. 3. I used 1/3 cup turbinado sugar instead of palm sugar. 4. I couldn't find garlic chives and got regular. 5. I didn't have a wok, so I used my chef's pan. 6. I needed to cook it all at once, so I stir-fried tofu and garlic, removed it to a bowl, cooked eggs and added them to the tofu, then stir-fried 14 oz. of dried rice noodle (soaked in boiling water), added sauce and beansprouts, stirred in tofu and egg, then added chives. Matt and I agreed it wasn't restaurant quality, but it was actually pretty good. Someday, I'll find an Asian market and try Pim's method.
I made extremely healthy muffins for a neighbor who can't have dairy and is chemically sensitive. She looked after our cats while we were in Michigan, and it seemed like a good thank you idea. I actually liked them quite a bit. They do taste 'healthy' and Matt didn't even want to try them (he said diplomatically that he wouldn't appreciate them the way I would) as he's not fond of whole wheat baked goods (except bread). In case you feel you're not getting enough fiber in your diet, here's the recipe for a dozen muffins. They freeze well, then you can defrost one in the morning for breakfast.
Apple muffins (chemically sensitive version)
12 muffins
Note: Next time, I will nix the topping, add two teaspoons of cinnamon to the batter, and sprinkle the tops with turbinado sugar. I haven't tested it this way yet, though.
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup applesauce
3/4 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
2 cups apples, peeled and chopped
1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
Combine all dry ingredients and set aside. In a large bowl, mix oil, applesauce, and honey. Blend in vanilla and egg. Gradually mix in dry ingredients until well-blended. Stir in nuts and apples. Pour into 12 muffin cups sprayed with canola oil. Spread topping over batter. Bake at 325 for approximately 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Topping:
2 Tbl canola oil
2 Tbl whole wheat flour
2 Tbl turbinado (raw) sugar
1 Tbl cinnamon
Mix all topping ingredients.
Sunday: V. unhappy. House is disaster area. Need a better schedule to resolve chaos. Imagine! No more Cheerios underfoot. No more piles of whatever on the dining room table. No more wincing at the state of the bathroom mirrors. House will resemble Martha Stewart magazine spread.
Monday: laundry
Tuesday: bathrooms
Wednesday: dusting and sweeping
Thursday: vacuuming and mopping
Friday: general decluttering
Saturday: make up day
Sunday: off
There! Will have plenty of time for all housework. Am v. pleased with organizational skills.
Monday: Cheerios on floor: 11.5 (v. bad) Laundry complete! V. pleased. Am domestic goddess. Dreamily picture sparkling, gorgeous home, free from chaos, Cheerios, and clutter. Will plan dinner party to show off stunning home and goddessness.
Tuesday: Cheerios on floor: 18 (v. v. bad) Bathrooms cleaned: 1 (v. bad) Had to abandon master bathroom midway, shutting door to keep baby and cats from hazardous chemicals left on all surfaces until baby napped, whereupon wiped everything clean quickly without inhaling.. V. disappointed, but remain hopeful. Remember Sunday is available as make-up day. Am still domestic goddess, but must remember Martha Stewart has legions of servants to keep things sparkly. Must not be discouraged by more real-world situation. Realize have not plucked eyebrows in recent memory. Do so to avoid frighteniing dinner guests and overshadowing gorgeousness of house, Must add weekly beauty masque and home pedicure to schedule.
Wednesday: Cheerios on floor: 22 (v. bad, but improvement) Grocery shopping done! V. pleased, except forgot several things and will have to return tomorrow. Realize forgot to put grocery shopping on schedule. Must not be discouraged by minor setback. Will be amazing domestic goddess by next week, with exfoliated feet and clean floors.
Thursday: Cheerios on floor: 32 (v. horrifying) Grocery shopping done again! Total bathrooms cleaned: 2 (improvement) V. pleased. Making up for early week problems already. Rather discouraged that large tasks for Wed. and Thurs. not completed. Must stay focused and positive and remember the weekend is coming. Remember that becoming domestic goddess not easy. V. disturbed to find Cheerio in living room. Perhaps they are breeding? Resolve to look into Cheerio reproduction or migration.
Friday: Cheerios on floor: 22 (v. good) Total bathrooms cleaned: 2.5 (excellent) V. concerned has taken most of week to accomplish Tuesday task. Wikipedia and Martha Stewart website unhelpful on Cheerio breeding issue. Accused (unjustly) of mumbling, "Bleeping Martha Stewart."
Saturday: Cheerios on floor: 12 (v. encouraging) Dusting finished (not counting books in bookshelves)! Will clean floors after errand to mall to find pajamas that fit. V. pleased to have lost weight, but pajamas now resemble circus tent. Spend two hours installing larger carseat as baby has discovered how to extract and eat stuffing of small carseat. V. concerned about polyester consumption. Locate lovely, fitting pajamas in fourth store, only to realize have forgotten special credit card with bonuses. Return with no pajamas (v. bad, so disorganized) but with baby ingesting no polyester (v. good).
Sunday: Cheerios on floor: 0 (v. exciting! success!) While on floor during Cheerio eradication, notice oatmeal spot on curtain. Follow logical trajectory from high chair to find oatneal crusted on wall. Am not domestic goddess, but unpaid CSI technician. Perhaps can feed baby out on porch in future, then use garden hose for cleanup? Return to purchase non-tent-like pajamas with bonus credit card. V. pleased. Place baby in high chair and sweep floor while performing riveting singing/dancing act, to great applause. Am clearly v. talented. Perhaps will perform at dinner party. Go to Target to purchase plastic dropcloth to place under high chair. Wonderful, beloved, amazing husband has vacuumed during outing. Manage to finish floor cleaning before collapsing in exhaustion. Am domestic goddess at last! Not excited about starting over tomorrow, however...
Knitting: I will announce the winner of the contest as soon as I have swatch pictures to put up, later in the week. You guys are awesome! Fantastic ideas all around!
Reading: Wow, this is going to be a long one. It looks impressive, but most of these are below my grade level. I read the four Peggy Parish books in a couple of hours.
Mr. Darcy's Diary by Amanda Grange: This was surprisingly enjoyable. Quite fluffy, but fun. It's really superfluous, since you can tell in Pride and Prejudice what Darcy was thinking most of the time, but if you're a P&P fan, this might be worth picking up. I zipped through it pretty quickly, and really liked it. There are some conversations with Bingley and comments on Caroline that are entertaining, and we see a bit more of his relationship with Georgiana. And of course, we find out what happened when Darcy went after the eloping couple. Grange has also written Mr. Knightley's Diary, which I will have to pick up!
Molly Moon, Micky Minus, and the Mind Machine by Georgia Byng: This is the fourth in the series about a plucky heroine who discovers she has amazing powers. These are very cute, over-the-top adventures, beginning with Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism.
Key to the Treasure, Pirate Island Adventure, Clues in the Woods, and The Haunted House by Peggy Parish: Four of the six Liza, Bill & Jed mysteries. I've gotten nostalgic about childhood books, and sometimes I have only a dim memory of a book I loved as a kid, without remembering the author, the plot, or the character names. This makes it hard to search for a book! For this one, all I remembered was that there was a "treasure key" or "key to treasure" or something in the title and it had codes in it. Pretty quickly found Key to the Treasure, and I had completely forgotten it was the first in a series. These are good natured adventure-mysteries that are neither too adventurous nor very mysterious. These are really cute, wholesome mysteries. There are no video games or television shows, and the kids play outside and volunteer to do the dinner dishes without being asked, but they're not disgustingly sweet. They carp at each other like real siblings. I wasn't sure if they would still appeal to kids, or if they would be too dated, but they were recently re-released, maybe because people like me who loved them as kids are now having children themselves.
Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg by Gail Carson Levine: This was a fun fairy tale set in Never Land. Prilla, a new fairy, hasn't yet found her talent. Meanwhile, trouble is brewing for the Never fairies. There's not much suspense that Prilla's yet-unknown talent will play a key role in solving the trouble in Never Land, but the story is cute and the illustrations lovely.
Writing: None at all. Sigh. For Christmas, I want time to write. And a desk. That's all.
Cooking: I don't think I mentioned that I made sourdough starters, which is just as well really. I missed a day of feeding and the whole wheat one came over all moldy and the bread flour one smelled like one of Lilah's more horrifying diapers. I wasn't that committed, I guess, as I hadn't named them. I found a different technique I may try. It may have been the awful humidity around here lately, or it might be entirely my fault. At any rate, I was bummed, as I was looking forward to some sourdough bread.
I made Pad Thai. Sort of. Let's call it, Not Very Authentic But Fairly Tasty Pad Thai from Allison's House of Vaguely Ethnic Cuisine. I started out with the intention of making authentic Pad Thai by the delightful Pim, and shopping, equipment, and time issues foiled my plan. I have no doubt whatsoever that Pim's method is better than the makeshift method and ingredients I used. But I had already had two bean sprout purchases go bad while I tried to find the time and energy to make Pad Thai, and I decided to just do what I could and see how it turned out. The changes I ended up making were legion: 1. I couldn't find Light Soy Sauce (not low-sodium, but "thin" soy sauce" so I used 1/3 cup of regular. 2. I actually found tamarind, but when I opened the box, instead of a nice, soakable block, I found a bunch of pod things. When I broke them open, there was sticky stuff that I had no idea what to do with, so I gave up on that and used 1/2 cup lime juice. 3. I used 1/3 cup turbinado sugar instead of palm sugar. 4. I couldn't find garlic chives and got regular. 5. I didn't have a wok, so I used my chef's pan. 6. I needed to cook it all at once, so I stir-fried tofu and garlic, removed it to a bowl, cooked eggs and added them to the tofu, then stir-fried 14 oz. of dried rice noodle (soaked in boiling water), added sauce and beansprouts, stirred in tofu and egg, then added chives. Matt and I agreed it wasn't restaurant quality, but it was actually pretty good. Someday, I'll find an Asian market and try Pim's method.
I made extremely healthy muffins for a neighbor who can't have dairy and is chemically sensitive. She looked after our cats while we were in Michigan, and it seemed like a good thank you idea. I actually liked them quite a bit. They do taste 'healthy' and Matt didn't even want to try them (he said diplomatically that he wouldn't appreciate them the way I would) as he's not fond of whole wheat baked goods (except bread). In case you feel you're not getting enough fiber in your diet, here's the recipe for a dozen muffins. They freeze well, then you can defrost one in the morning for breakfast.
Apple muffins (chemically sensitive version)
12 muffins
Note: Next time, I will nix the topping, add two teaspoons of cinnamon to the batter, and sprinkle the tops with turbinado sugar. I haven't tested it this way yet, though.
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup applesauce
3/4 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
2 cups apples, peeled and chopped
1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
Combine all dry ingredients and set aside. In a large bowl, mix oil, applesauce, and honey. Blend in vanilla and egg. Gradually mix in dry ingredients until well-blended. Stir in nuts and apples. Pour into 12 muffin cups sprayed with canola oil. Spread topping over batter. Bake at 325 for approximately 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Topping:
2 Tbl canola oil
2 Tbl whole wheat flour
2 Tbl turbinado (raw) sugar
1 Tbl cinnamon
Mix all topping ingredients.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Post #200! Fun Challenges! Exciting Prizes!
This is my 200th post, if Blogger's calculations are correct. Which...it's Blogger, after all, so who knows? And I am a desperate knitter in need of a project I actually have the time to do, and in possession of more yarn than I have time to knit with, and with no time to look for the perfect project. And I'm still on the ravelry wait list. That's where you come in! I am going to list some yarns in my stash, and if someone comes up with a project that tickles my fancy, that person will win a lovely prize from my stash! Am I keeping the prize secret to increase suspense, or because I have not had time to dig through the stash to decide what I want to send? Who knows? More than one project=more than one winner! There might even be baked goods in your prize package. Pass this on to anyone you know who could use a little yarn and has great ideas. The rules (which I'm making up as I go along):
The Great 200th Post Yarn Competition
1. It needs to be a more do-able project than my Irish Diamond Shawl, which should be just about any project out there.
2. No cables. I don't have time to learn them.
3. No cat sweaters. I don't have the body armor I'd need to put them on the cats.
4. Patterns from my books or patterns I list, free internet patterns, or low-cost downloadable internet patterns are okay. I can't have to buy a new book. Unless it's a REALLY good book I should have anyway. And probably the library has it. So, no restrictions there, I guess. What a waste of a rule! I won't bother listing my patterns and books, then.
5. No outside yarn, but combining yarns I already have is fair, and doubling is fine.
6. No limit on the number of entries!
General guidelines: I'd sort of like to make something for myself or Lilah. It can be a sweater, a felted bag, a pillow or blanket, a tea cozy, whatever. I'd like it to be a medium project (not something tiny like a washcloth). Or a bunch of small projects I can give away at Christmas. What I really would like to do is a sweater for me, but I can't see that I have a yarn that works with a pattern I know about. Maybe the 4-ply doubled? Obviously, anything goes here, just about.
Okay, here are the yarns:
1. Blue Skies Alpaca Silk (sport weight, 292 yards, color blush)
2. Cascade 220 (worsted, 880 yards, color blue-green)
3. Cascade 220 (worsted, 880 yards, color light grey)
4. Euroflax Linen (fingering, 270 yards, color light green)
5. Rowanspun 4-ply (fingering, 972 yards, color Turkish (purply-blue))
6. Rowanspun 4-ply (fingering, 1320 yards, color Siren (red))
7. Pakucho Organic Cotton (worsted, 400 yards, color Chocolate)
8. Knitpicks Shine (sport, 440 yards, color Sky)
9. Knitpicks Shine (sport, 160 yards, color Cream)
10. Rowanspun DK (DK, 876 yards, color Mist (mottled blue-grey))
11. Peruvian Collection Baby Silk (fingering, 700 yards, color lavender)
12. Peruvian Collection Baby Silk (fingering, 1800 yards, color purple)
13. Blackwater Abbey (worsted wool, 440 yards, color Haw (red))
14. Brooks Farm Four Play (worsted silk/wool, 540 yards, color Poppies (like neopolitan ice cream))
15. I have assorted scraps of feltable stuff in a bag under the bed.
Submit your entries before the deadline of "whenever I feel I have enough and decide to choose a project"! Good luck!
Edited to add: When you comment with an entry, mention your favorite kinds of yarn (color, weight, fiber content) just in case. Don't worry...I won't send anyone Fun Fur!
The Great 200th Post Yarn Competition
1. It needs to be a more do-able project than my Irish Diamond Shawl, which should be just about any project out there.
2. No cables. I don't have time to learn them.
3. No cat sweaters. I don't have the body armor I'd need to put them on the cats.
4. Patterns from my books or patterns I list, free internet patterns, or low-cost downloadable internet patterns are okay. I can't have to buy a new book. Unless it's a REALLY good book I should have anyway. And probably the library has it. So, no restrictions there, I guess. What a waste of a rule! I won't bother listing my patterns and books, then.
5. No outside yarn, but combining yarns I already have is fair, and doubling is fine.
6. No limit on the number of entries!
General guidelines: I'd sort of like to make something for myself or Lilah. It can be a sweater, a felted bag, a pillow or blanket, a tea cozy, whatever. I'd like it to be a medium project (not something tiny like a washcloth). Or a bunch of small projects I can give away at Christmas. What I really would like to do is a sweater for me, but I can't see that I have a yarn that works with a pattern I know about. Maybe the 4-ply doubled? Obviously, anything goes here, just about.
Okay, here are the yarns:
1. Blue Skies Alpaca Silk (sport weight, 292 yards, color blush)
2. Cascade 220 (worsted, 880 yards, color blue-green)
3. Cascade 220 (worsted, 880 yards, color light grey)
4. Euroflax Linen (fingering, 270 yards, color light green)
5. Rowanspun 4-ply (fingering, 972 yards, color Turkish (purply-blue))
6. Rowanspun 4-ply (fingering, 1320 yards, color Siren (red))
7. Pakucho Organic Cotton (worsted, 400 yards, color Chocolate)
8. Knitpicks Shine (sport, 440 yards, color Sky)
9. Knitpicks Shine (sport, 160 yards, color Cream)
10. Rowanspun DK (DK, 876 yards, color Mist (mottled blue-grey))
11. Peruvian Collection Baby Silk (fingering, 700 yards, color lavender)
12. Peruvian Collection Baby Silk (fingering, 1800 yards, color purple)
13. Blackwater Abbey (worsted wool, 440 yards, color Haw (red))
14. Brooks Farm Four Play (worsted silk/wool, 540 yards, color Poppies (like neopolitan ice cream))
15. I have assorted scraps of feltable stuff in a bag under the bed.
Submit your entries before the deadline of "whenever I feel I have enough and decide to choose a project"! Good luck!
Edited to add: When you comment with an entry, mention your favorite kinds of yarn (color, weight, fiber content) just in case. Don't worry...I won't send anyone Fun Fur!
Phew!
We had ANOTHER trip out of town, this one to Michigan. I missed a week posting because these days, it takes us a week to gear up for a trip and another to recover! This was a trip well worth preparing for, though, as my brother-in-law got married! Lilah obviously wanted to see them get married, as she was quiet but alert throughout the ceremony, then fell asleep almost immediately afterwards. It was lovely, and so nice to see so much of Matt's family.
Regarding my last post: those of you on the edge of your seats will be happy to hear that Geronimo has been forgiven and that all laundry came clean. Rachel, you are SO right. I am very lucky that he missed the suitcase itself. He only hit machine-washable clothes. Tim, since I was laughing two minutes later, you are not a jerk at all :) It was pretty funny, actually. I loved everyone's cat pee stories. Nice to know I'm not the only one. As my little brother once told my mom, after being chastised for regaling us with several stories, "But Mom, pee stories are always crowd-pleasers!" Indeed.
Rachel also gets a "heh heh" for her comments on Jack :)
Knitting: Not much. Travel used to mean lots of knitting on planes and in cars, but these days, I'm rarely optimistic enough to bring it along. See more on this in my next post.
Writing: Not at all. A bit of frenzied note-taking on changes I want to make to the plot.
Reading: I finished Sweet Revenge by Diane Mott Davidson, and quite enjoyed it. Fun cozy mysteries. I also read The Tale of Holly How, #2 in Susan Wittig Albert's Beatrix Potter mysteries, and Death at Bishop's Keep, the first in the Robin Paige series (Robin Paige is really Susan Wittig Albert and her husband). Bother series are charming and engaging, and I will be reading more. I am currently reading The Boggart by Susan Cooper while I wait for more Robin Paige books to arrive from bn.com.
Cooking: Not a whole lot. I made Pasta With White Beans, Greens, and Lemon from September's Cooking Light. It was delicious. Matt loved it, too. The "greens" are really arugula or spinach, nothing off-putting as the title suggests. (Matt is never enthused when I make something with "greens" or "root vegetables" and such.) I have plans to make Pad See Ew and Pad Thai in the near future. Matt's less excited about the Pad See Ew since it has broccoli as a main ingredient. Actually, Chinese broccoli, which Dekalb County Farmers Market has, but it's way expensive, so I'm making do with regular broccoli. Dekalb County Farmers Market is a fantastic place, but it's really the opposite of a farmer's market. It's a big giant store with produce from all over the world (this is where you find the weird vegetables called for in your Indian cookbook, for example), dry goods, dairy, deli, everything really. Maybe it started out as a farmer's market and just changed over time. Anyway, it has great produce and all the Thai, Indian, etc. ingredients I can't find elsewhere (tamarind, anyone?). They also have the good vanilla extract, the one Williams-Sonoma sells for $19, for $10. I would have photos up, but one of the many rules posted at the door is NO PHOTOGRAPHY. They're a little weird with all the rules, like you can't bring your own little basket to shop with, and you have to check all bags. I hope I don't get blacklisted just by writing about it.
I also made my own interpretation of Pina Colada Muffins from Sweet Revenge. They were excellent. Really different, refreshing, and yummy. I adapted them to be non-dairy and also added some juice for extra flavor. In future, I will try either soaking the coconut in rum as well or adding 1/3 cup rum to replace part of the soy milk to make them a bit less dry (though they weren't horribly dry, just could have been more moist.) Here's my version:
Pina Colada Muffins
Adapted from Sweet Revenge by Diane Mott Davidson
About 13 ounces dried pineapple
1 1/2 cups dark rum
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups canola oil
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
juice of one orange, plus enough soy milk to make 2 cups liquid
2 tsp vanilla extract
zest of one orange
1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut
Place pineapple in a small saucepan and cover with rum. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat and cool about 30 minutes. Drain, reserving the yummy pineapple flavored rum for later. Pat pineapple dry. Reserve 24 nice-looking chunks, then roughly chop the rest. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350. Coat 24 muffin cups with cooking spray (and hit the tops of the pans, too). Line with paper liners if you like that sort of thing. Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together canola oil, sugar, eggs, juice, soy milk, vanilla, and zest until well combined. Slowly add flour mixture, coconut, and pineapple. Divide among 24 muffin cups (about 1/2 cup each). Bake for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.
Regarding my last post: those of you on the edge of your seats will be happy to hear that Geronimo has been forgiven and that all laundry came clean. Rachel, you are SO right. I am very lucky that he missed the suitcase itself. He only hit machine-washable clothes. Tim, since I was laughing two minutes later, you are not a jerk at all :) It was pretty funny, actually. I loved everyone's cat pee stories. Nice to know I'm not the only one. As my little brother once told my mom, after being chastised for regaling us with several stories, "But Mom, pee stories are always crowd-pleasers!" Indeed.
Rachel also gets a "heh heh" for her comments on Jack :)
Knitting: Not much. Travel used to mean lots of knitting on planes and in cars, but these days, I'm rarely optimistic enough to bring it along. See more on this in my next post.
Writing: Not at all. A bit of frenzied note-taking on changes I want to make to the plot.
Reading: I finished Sweet Revenge by Diane Mott Davidson, and quite enjoyed it. Fun cozy mysteries. I also read The Tale of Holly How, #2 in Susan Wittig Albert's Beatrix Potter mysteries, and Death at Bishop's Keep, the first in the Robin Paige series (Robin Paige is really Susan Wittig Albert and her husband). Bother series are charming and engaging, and I will be reading more. I am currently reading The Boggart by Susan Cooper while I wait for more Robin Paige books to arrive from bn.com.
Cooking: Not a whole lot. I made Pasta With White Beans, Greens, and Lemon from September's Cooking Light. It was delicious. Matt loved it, too. The "greens" are really arugula or spinach, nothing off-putting as the title suggests. (Matt is never enthused when I make something with "greens" or "root vegetables" and such.) I have plans to make Pad See Ew and Pad Thai in the near future. Matt's less excited about the Pad See Ew since it has broccoli as a main ingredient. Actually, Chinese broccoli, which Dekalb County Farmers Market has, but it's way expensive, so I'm making do with regular broccoli. Dekalb County Farmers Market is a fantastic place, but it's really the opposite of a farmer's market. It's a big giant store with produce from all over the world (this is where you find the weird vegetables called for in your Indian cookbook, for example), dry goods, dairy, deli, everything really. Maybe it started out as a farmer's market and just changed over time. Anyway, it has great produce and all the Thai, Indian, etc. ingredients I can't find elsewhere (tamarind, anyone?). They also have the good vanilla extract, the one Williams-Sonoma sells for $19, for $10. I would have photos up, but one of the many rules posted at the door is NO PHOTOGRAPHY. They're a little weird with all the rules, like you can't bring your own little basket to shop with, and you have to check all bags. I hope I don't get blacklisted just by writing about it.
I also made my own interpretation of Pina Colada Muffins from Sweet Revenge. They were excellent. Really different, refreshing, and yummy. I adapted them to be non-dairy and also added some juice for extra flavor. In future, I will try either soaking the coconut in rum as well or adding 1/3 cup rum to replace part of the soy milk to make them a bit less dry (though they weren't horribly dry, just could have been more moist.) Here's my version:
Pina Colada Muffins
Adapted from Sweet Revenge by Diane Mott Davidson
About 13 ounces dried pineapple
1 1/2 cups dark rum
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups canola oil
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
juice of one orange, plus enough soy milk to make 2 cups liquid
2 tsp vanilla extract
zest of one orange
1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut
Place pineapple in a small saucepan and cover with rum. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat and cool about 30 minutes. Drain, reserving the yummy pineapple flavored rum for later. Pat pineapple dry. Reserve 24 nice-looking chunks, then roughly chop the rest. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350. Coat 24 muffin cups with cooking spray (and hit the tops of the pans, too). Line with paper liners if you like that sort of thing. Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together canola oil, sugar, eggs, juice, soy milk, vanilla, and zest until well combined. Slowly add flour mixture, coconut, and pineapple. Divide among 24 muffin cups (about 1/2 cup each). Bake for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Wanted
For Inappropriate Urination and Destruction of Private Property.
Wanted: Only Alive (Pending Results of Laundry)
What Matt heard this morning as I got dressed in the other room: "What the---? Oh my god! OH MY GOD! How could you--? What the--? WHERE ARE YOU, YOU BIG ORANGE FREAK????"
Geronimo is on my List. And I don't mean my Happy Sunshine List. I hadn't finished unpacking all the way from our California trip. I know that's lame. But there's been a lot to do and I've just been pulling clothes out of my suitcase, left open in our bedroom, figuring I'd eventually get it so close to empty that it would be quick to finish. Well. Early this morning, Geronimo was being noisy while we were trying to get Lilah back to sleep, so we shut him in the bedroom. We're talking 20 minutes, here, not extended inhumane incarceration. And he apparently felt this was a pee-able offense. So now I have a load of my clothes in the laundry. Thank goodness he picked that side instead of the side where my Irish Diamond Shawl was. Actually, I've already forgiven him. He has a history of inappropriate peeing (we had this box lined with a towel that the guys loved to nap in until one day....well, you know where this story is going) and I should have unpacked. The open suitcase with clothes in it is just too much like his idea of a litterbox to leave out like that.
So that's the fun stuff going on around here...
Lilah is crawling really, really well now. She crawls best when there's a cat to crawl toward. Here she is in California, meeting my brother's cat, Jack. Check out his laser beam eyes. Every picture of him seems to have those. He must have superpowers or something.
Between Lilah's crawling and numerous house projects, BUSY is the four-letter word of choice around here, so I have to apologize AGAIN for falling behind on my blog-reading. I'm looking forward to getting caught up soon. I'm so busy that I missed the Emory Alumnae knitting circle last night, which I had really been looking forward to. I'll have to make it next time.
Knitting: Not a stitch since I finished the bolero. Can you believe that? Knitting is usually something I do while watching tv, and I have watched almost none at all in a week. Too much else going on. I have Irish Diamond out so I can do a row here and there, but I need to go through the stash and pick another quick project. I've been thinking of starting something for Lilah for when she's bigger, like a sweater in size 4 or so, so there's no pressure to finish.
Reading: The Penguin Who Knew Too Much (or is it Too Little? I don't have the book with me) by Donna Andrews: This is the latest Meg Langslow mystery, and I thought it was fun, fun, fun. I love these. They're such a pleasure to read. The first is Murder With Peacocks if you're interested. Meg's kooky family ends up embroiled in another murder (you couldn't pay me enough to visit them, since someone always ends up dead) and Andrews's writing is enjoyable and the characters are like old friends by now.
I'm working on Diane Mott Davidson's Sweet Revenge, and enjoying it with reservations. I like Goldy, but there are things that are irritating, both in the series as a whole, and in this book in particular. I think her husband is sometimes condescending, and Goldy, despite her protestations to the contrary, is seriously nosy, often for no good reason I can see. Her son is less annoying in this one, at least so far. But the characters are fun, the cooking is fun, and while the mystery seems a bit obvious, I could be completely wrong about the solution. The first in the series is Catering to Nobody.
Writing: Not at all.
Cooking; I made hummus, baba ghanosh, and (for the first time) foul moudammas! I made two kinds, actually. This recipe right here and this one and both were lovely. The second is my favorite, as it is closest to the one served at a Madison restaurant we loved. (If you still live there, it's King of Falafel, yum.) I also made Pear Ginger Muffins, based on a recipe in, of all things, Starbucks Passion for Coffee cookbook. I made a bunch of changes, and next time, I think I'll try it with fresh ginger.
Pear-Ginger Muffins
12 oz. crystallized ginger, finely chopped*
2 pounds pears, peeled, cored, and roughly chopped
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cardamon
4 eggs
1 1/3 cup sugar
1 cup milk (I used soy milk)
2 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup canola oil
1. Preheat oven to 400 and spray 24 muffin cups with cooking spray.
2. Mix together dry ingredients.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine wet ingredients. Slowly add dry ingredients, including ginger. Stir in pears.
4. Divide batter among 24 muffin cups. Bake for 20 minutes. Cool slightly in the tins, then transfer to wire racks.
*I decided to finely chop my crystallized ginger in the Cuisinart. This was stupid, but ended up working. First, crystallized ginger is like gummi bears, so it turns into a big, sticky mass in the Cuisinart. Uh oh. I salvaged it by adding 1/2 cup of the flour from the recipe and pulsing until it looked finely chopped and the flour had made the ginger separate.
Wanted: Only Alive (Pending Results of Laundry)
What Matt heard this morning as I got dressed in the other room: "What the---? Oh my god! OH MY GOD! How could you--? What the--? WHERE ARE YOU, YOU BIG ORANGE FREAK????"
Geronimo is on my List. And I don't mean my Happy Sunshine List. I hadn't finished unpacking all the way from our California trip. I know that's lame. But there's been a lot to do and I've just been pulling clothes out of my suitcase, left open in our bedroom, figuring I'd eventually get it so close to empty that it would be quick to finish. Well. Early this morning, Geronimo was being noisy while we were trying to get Lilah back to sleep, so we shut him in the bedroom. We're talking 20 minutes, here, not extended inhumane incarceration. And he apparently felt this was a pee-able offense. So now I have a load of my clothes in the laundry. Thank goodness he picked that side instead of the side where my Irish Diamond Shawl was. Actually, I've already forgiven him. He has a history of inappropriate peeing (we had this box lined with a towel that the guys loved to nap in until one day....well, you know where this story is going) and I should have unpacked. The open suitcase with clothes in it is just too much like his idea of a litterbox to leave out like that.
So that's the fun stuff going on around here...
Lilah is crawling really, really well now. She crawls best when there's a cat to crawl toward. Here she is in California, meeting my brother's cat, Jack. Check out his laser beam eyes. Every picture of him seems to have those. He must have superpowers or something.
Between Lilah's crawling and numerous house projects, BUSY is the four-letter word of choice around here, so I have to apologize AGAIN for falling behind on my blog-reading. I'm looking forward to getting caught up soon. I'm so busy that I missed the Emory Alumnae knitting circle last night, which I had really been looking forward to. I'll have to make it next time.
Knitting: Not a stitch since I finished the bolero. Can you believe that? Knitting is usually something I do while watching tv, and I have watched almost none at all in a week. Too much else going on. I have Irish Diamond out so I can do a row here and there, but I need to go through the stash and pick another quick project. I've been thinking of starting something for Lilah for when she's bigger, like a sweater in size 4 or so, so there's no pressure to finish.
Reading: The Penguin Who Knew Too Much (or is it Too Little? I don't have the book with me) by Donna Andrews: This is the latest Meg Langslow mystery, and I thought it was fun, fun, fun. I love these. They're such a pleasure to read. The first is Murder With Peacocks if you're interested. Meg's kooky family ends up embroiled in another murder (you couldn't pay me enough to visit them, since someone always ends up dead) and Andrews's writing is enjoyable and the characters are like old friends by now.
I'm working on Diane Mott Davidson's Sweet Revenge, and enjoying it with reservations. I like Goldy, but there are things that are irritating, both in the series as a whole, and in this book in particular. I think her husband is sometimes condescending, and Goldy, despite her protestations to the contrary, is seriously nosy, often for no good reason I can see. Her son is less annoying in this one, at least so far. But the characters are fun, the cooking is fun, and while the mystery seems a bit obvious, I could be completely wrong about the solution. The first in the series is Catering to Nobody.
Writing: Not at all.
Cooking; I made hummus, baba ghanosh, and (for the first time) foul moudammas! I made two kinds, actually. This recipe right here and this one and both were lovely. The second is my favorite, as it is closest to the one served at a Madison restaurant we loved. (If you still live there, it's King of Falafel, yum.) I also made Pear Ginger Muffins, based on a recipe in, of all things, Starbucks Passion for Coffee cookbook. I made a bunch of changes, and next time, I think I'll try it with fresh ginger.
Pear-Ginger Muffins
12 oz. crystallized ginger, finely chopped*
2 pounds pears, peeled, cored, and roughly chopped
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cardamon
4 eggs
1 1/3 cup sugar
1 cup milk (I used soy milk)
2 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup canola oil
1. Preheat oven to 400 and spray 24 muffin cups with cooking spray.
2. Mix together dry ingredients.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine wet ingredients. Slowly add dry ingredients, including ginger. Stir in pears.
4. Divide batter among 24 muffin cups. Bake for 20 minutes. Cool slightly in the tins, then transfer to wire racks.
*I decided to finely chop my crystallized ginger in the Cuisinart. This was stupid, but ended up working. First, crystallized ginger is like gummi bears, so it turns into a big, sticky mass in the Cuisinart. Uh oh. I salvaged it by adding 1/2 cup of the flour from the recipe and pulsing until it looked finely chopped and the flour had made the ginger separate.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
I finished something!
I had been posting every Wednesday, just by coincidence, but I missed last week because Lilah and I were in California visiting my parents. We had a wonderful time. It turns out that Lilah loves the swimming pool, and we did lots of family visiting. She's now a handful on the plane, though, really squirmy, easily bored, and often cranky. The guy next to us had two cocktails and it was an 11:00 a.m. flight.
Knitting: Frustrated by my lack of obvious progress on Irish Diamond Shawl, I decided on a quick project I found on Frog in Knots, thinking a shrug would be a nice, quick knit in a worsted weight cotton. I happened to have some worsted weight cotton and a need for a quick project, but shrugs are not flattering for my particular frame. String Bean popped into my head, since she had recently made Lilah a darling hat. And I had myself a project! Modeled pictures are right here.
Here's a detail shot:
Details:
Pattern - Ribbed Lace Bolero (Hey, it's a bolero, not a shrug like I've been saying for weeks. Can someone tell me the difference?)
Needles - Size 8 for ribbing, Size 10.5 for lace
Yarn - Pakucho Organic Cotton in Avocado, just over three skeins
Good things:
1. I love, love, love the Russian Join. It's easier than I thought it would be, and it looks very neat. Beats the heck out of the alternatives (except for the spit splice for wool).
2. This was a fun knit. The lace pattern was simple but fun, shaping nonexistent, finishing easy peasy.
3. I re-mastered the long-tail cast on, which I never use, and I learned the sewn bind-off, which is nice and flexible looking.
4. I love Pakucho Organic Cotton.
5. I've never cabled before, and I quickly learned cabling without a cable needle, which is used on the row before the ribbing starts again to make it look symmetrical. I think I did okay.
Things I would do differently next time:
1. I always agonize over when precisely I've reached the required length. I had a scant three inches of ribbing, and I should have gone on a bit more. I think even 3 1/2 inches would make a nice collar. I tend to obsess that I might be knitting too long, when I almost always short it instead.
2. I don't think my mattress stitch is that neat. I think I was doing it right but I think it's a bit wonky. I might just need practice, and maybe I need to check my knitting books to make sure I'm not missing something.
3. I sent it off, all excited, right after blocking, forgetting to sew down the collar! D'oh! Sorry, String Bean!
Reading: Vacation means lots of reading!
The Science of Harry Potter: If you're a big nerd like me, this is a fun read. The title is a little misleading. It's more like A Survey of Modern Science Using Harry Potter as a Springboard.
Inkspell by Cornelia Funke: I have a big complaint about this, the second Inkworld book by Cornelia Funke: I have to wait a year for the third! This book was excellent, but not a quick read. Apparently, it wasn't a planned sequel, which makes sense. Inkheart had kind of wrapped everything up, but there was plenty left to explore and Inkspell explores it well, and ends on a huge cliffhanger. If you enjoyed the first (which I certainly recommend reading if you haven't), you'll probably enjoy this one as well. But wait until next summer or so to read it, because Inkdeath comes out in September 2008. I believe these are being made into films. I sort of wonder if that's what made her decide to write sequels. The love of books, the sense of adventure, and the well-imagined world that made the first book so enjoyable are all present here.
Knit One. Kill Two by Maggie Sefton:The editing is atrocious (numerous typos include "doe" instead of "does"), and the author is fond of more exciting dialogue tags (people are always "declaring," "enthusing," and (I have no idea what this even means) "tweaking" their lines, which is really annoying, and worse, often used incorrectly. The same weird tag is often used multiple times, including "tweaked" twice within a page.) The heroine takes an instant and somewhat bizarre dislike to a guy in the story, telegraphing that he's destined to be a love interest in future books, and the reasoning is thin (he has the same height and hair color as her ex-boyfriend). All that said, there was something likeable about the heroine and the book in general. Kelly learns to knit as she and the knitting circle work through the clues to the real killer, and that's sort of fun (although who on earth ties knots in their knitting? Deliberately?). There's a recipe for cinnamon rolls at the end, but I already have two excellent ones and I'm not sure I buy lemon cream cheese frosting on cinnamon rolls. The two knitting patterns are on huge needles, as befits Kelly's extreme beginner status (although, I never liked those and started on 8s), so I won't be doing those any time soon. Does anyone look good in a tank top knit on size 15 needles? Maybe a total twig who needs to look a little more plump. Despite the annoying things about this book, I sort of liked the town and the knitting shop, and I think I might pick up the next one to see if the series gets better.
In Deep Voodoo by Stephanie Bond: This is mystery/romance and a fun, quick summer read. The heroine is really dumb. I don't think she's meant to be portrayed that way, but I found myself muttering, "What are you thinking, Penny?" about 97 times during the book. Penny's ex-husband, who lives in her painstakingly restored Victorian house with his new bimbo (who paints Penny's pride and joy pink, of all things), dies, stabbed through the heart, shortly after Penny stabs a voodoo doll at her divorce party. Penny's stupidity is annoying, and her love interest implausible, but something about this book was fun, so I'll probably pick up the next one. I think the fun is in the town of Mojo, Louisiana and its colorful inhabitants.
I have a ton of books to read right now. I have new mysteries from Rita Mae Brown, Diane Mott Davidson, and Donna Andrews. I want to read the Dark Is Rising sequence by Susan Cooper again before they ruin it with the movie. On the juvenile fiction front, I also have several Eva Ibbotsen books (I've loved all of hers I've read), Dragonrider by Cornelia Funke, and a few Harry Potter knockoffs I thought I'd try.
Writing: Not a thing.
Cooking: Traveling. I did consult with my dad on grilling tofu. It was excellent. KnitPastis, I'd love to come over and cook! You just have to hold the baby :)
Knitting: Frustrated by my lack of obvious progress on Irish Diamond Shawl, I decided on a quick project I found on Frog in Knots, thinking a shrug would be a nice, quick knit in a worsted weight cotton. I happened to have some worsted weight cotton and a need for a quick project, but shrugs are not flattering for my particular frame. String Bean popped into my head, since she had recently made Lilah a darling hat. And I had myself a project! Modeled pictures are right here.
Here's a detail shot:
Details:
Pattern - Ribbed Lace Bolero (Hey, it's a bolero, not a shrug like I've been saying for weeks. Can someone tell me the difference?)
Needles - Size 8 for ribbing, Size 10.5 for lace
Yarn - Pakucho Organic Cotton in Avocado, just over three skeins
Good things:
1. I love, love, love the Russian Join. It's easier than I thought it would be, and it looks very neat. Beats the heck out of the alternatives (except for the spit splice for wool).
2. This was a fun knit. The lace pattern was simple but fun, shaping nonexistent, finishing easy peasy.
3. I re-mastered the long-tail cast on, which I never use, and I learned the sewn bind-off, which is nice and flexible looking.
4. I love Pakucho Organic Cotton.
5. I've never cabled before, and I quickly learned cabling without a cable needle, which is used on the row before the ribbing starts again to make it look symmetrical. I think I did okay.
Things I would do differently next time:
1. I always agonize over when precisely I've reached the required length. I had a scant three inches of ribbing, and I should have gone on a bit more. I think even 3 1/2 inches would make a nice collar. I tend to obsess that I might be knitting too long, when I almost always short it instead.
2. I don't think my mattress stitch is that neat. I think I was doing it right but I think it's a bit wonky. I might just need practice, and maybe I need to check my knitting books to make sure I'm not missing something.
3. I sent it off, all excited, right after blocking, forgetting to sew down the collar! D'oh! Sorry, String Bean!
Reading: Vacation means lots of reading!
The Science of Harry Potter: If you're a big nerd like me, this is a fun read. The title is a little misleading. It's more like A Survey of Modern Science Using Harry Potter as a Springboard.
Inkspell by Cornelia Funke: I have a big complaint about this, the second Inkworld book by Cornelia Funke: I have to wait a year for the third! This book was excellent, but not a quick read. Apparently, it wasn't a planned sequel, which makes sense. Inkheart had kind of wrapped everything up, but there was plenty left to explore and Inkspell explores it well, and ends on a huge cliffhanger. If you enjoyed the first (which I certainly recommend reading if you haven't), you'll probably enjoy this one as well. But wait until next summer or so to read it, because Inkdeath comes out in September 2008. I believe these are being made into films. I sort of wonder if that's what made her decide to write sequels. The love of books, the sense of adventure, and the well-imagined world that made the first book so enjoyable are all present here.
Knit One. Kill Two by Maggie Sefton:The editing is atrocious (numerous typos include "doe" instead of "does"), and the author is fond of more exciting dialogue tags (people are always "declaring," "enthusing," and (I have no idea what this even means) "tweaking" their lines, which is really annoying, and worse, often used incorrectly. The same weird tag is often used multiple times, including "tweaked" twice within a page.) The heroine takes an instant and somewhat bizarre dislike to a guy in the story, telegraphing that he's destined to be a love interest in future books, and the reasoning is thin (he has the same height and hair color as her ex-boyfriend). All that said, there was something likeable about the heroine and the book in general. Kelly learns to knit as she and the knitting circle work through the clues to the real killer, and that's sort of fun (although who on earth ties knots in their knitting? Deliberately?). There's a recipe for cinnamon rolls at the end, but I already have two excellent ones and I'm not sure I buy lemon cream cheese frosting on cinnamon rolls. The two knitting patterns are on huge needles, as befits Kelly's extreme beginner status (although, I never liked those and started on 8s), so I won't be doing those any time soon. Does anyone look good in a tank top knit on size 15 needles? Maybe a total twig who needs to look a little more plump. Despite the annoying things about this book, I sort of liked the town and the knitting shop, and I think I might pick up the next one to see if the series gets better.
In Deep Voodoo by Stephanie Bond: This is mystery/romance and a fun, quick summer read. The heroine is really dumb. I don't think she's meant to be portrayed that way, but I found myself muttering, "What are you thinking, Penny?" about 97 times during the book. Penny's ex-husband, who lives in her painstakingly restored Victorian house with his new bimbo (who paints Penny's pride and joy pink, of all things), dies, stabbed through the heart, shortly after Penny stabs a voodoo doll at her divorce party. Penny's stupidity is annoying, and her love interest implausible, but something about this book was fun, so I'll probably pick up the next one. I think the fun is in the town of Mojo, Louisiana and its colorful inhabitants.
I have a ton of books to read right now. I have new mysteries from Rita Mae Brown, Diane Mott Davidson, and Donna Andrews. I want to read the Dark Is Rising sequence by Susan Cooper again before they ruin it with the movie. On the juvenile fiction front, I also have several Eva Ibbotsen books (I've loved all of hers I've read), Dragonrider by Cornelia Funke, and a few Harry Potter knockoffs I thought I'd try.
Writing: Not a thing.
Cooking: Traveling. I did consult with my dad on grilling tofu. It was excellent. KnitPastis, I'd love to come over and cook! You just have to hold the baby :)
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Everyday Adventures!
Every day, something new comes up around here. Sometimes good, sometimes not so good. Like The Bug That Must Not Be Named that freaked me out after midnight last night. I got up to read in the living room and I noticed Geronimo behaving strangely. He was staring at something in the corner, and I thought, "Oh please no." And there it was, freakishly long antennae waving, stupid long legs looking yucky, shudder, shudder, shudder. Ew. I actually said, "Come on, Geronimo, you're a big guy. You can take it." He looked up at me dubiously, as if to say, "I know it moves, but I can't tell if it's prey or not. And it doesn't look tasty. And how do you kill it, anyway?" and continued to watch it in a vaguely perplexed manner. So I did what any modern woman would do. I went and woke up my husband. I know, feminists everywhere are cringing, but I just can't stand the things. I get the heebie-jeebies just typing the name. (Like the arachnophobic Joey said on Friends, regarding a caged tarantula, "Is it on me? I feel like it's on me.") I trap and release spiders with no problem at all, but these things. Ugh. Welcome to the South. We've already had to deal with fire ant eradication in our yard, mosquitoes in our neighborhood carry West Nile, and now this! Excuse me while I go call the exterminator, or possibly a contractor to construct a protective bubble around the house.
On a happier note, here are the guys, enjoying the stairs. Geronimo is laying on a large catnip-stuffed rat.
Lilah loves the stairs, too. There's nothing funnier than being at one end of the stairs with someone else at the other!
The home decorating continues. We hated our first living room window attempt, then we got a new valance, new rod, and Matt came up with the idea of gathering the curtain in the middle instead of pulling it back on the sides. Isn't it neat?
Knitting: Still working on the shrug. I can't resist showing my first attempt at a Russian Join. I think it worked well. It's on the edge, in any case, and not that visible, I don't think. I found a lovely tutorial right here that helped me out (this is the technique blog attached to The Boy Who Knits).
It's kind of blurry. My camera did not want to do this close-up at all. I'm darn close to halfway done with the shrug! Woo!
Reading: I'm nearly done with The Science of Harry Potter. It's a lot of fun. If you're not interested in science, though, it's probably too dry for you. It's more a survey of natural and social sciences in the context of Harry Potter than an explanation of magic.
I thought I'd mention some of our favorite books for Lilah, since I mostly talk about *my* reading. Unless otherwise noted, they're all board books. Obviously, we're big book people, as the list below just addresses some of her (and our) favorites. I've recently been doing what Matt calls "a dramatic reading" of Going On A Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury that, despite the story's length, keeps Lilah riveted. It takes a lot of energy, though.
Charles Fuge - Sometimes I Like To Curl Up In A Ball introduces Little Wombat and his animal friends. Charming rhymes, gorgeous pictures of animals. Unfortunately, the follow-up Little Wombat books just aren't as good. The illustrations are still wonderful, but the stories are less compelling. I Know A Rhino is absolutely darling. It's imaginative, beautifully drawn, and nicely rhymed. It's about a little girl who makes up stories about her stuffed animals. My Dad is a rarity--a book about a dad instead of a mom. I got this for Matt for his first Father's Day. It's fairly simple, a story about a bear bragging about his dad, but it's sweet and his drawings can't be beat.
Annie Kubler - Her illustrated versions of songs are just adorable, and some of Lilah's favorites are Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star (which uses animals and people from all the continents and can prompt fun discussions about cultures and where different animals live with older toddlers), The Wheels on the Bus (the bus takes children, a magician, a clown, and others to a birthday party in the illustrations for an extra dimension), and Row, Row, Row Your Boat (which adds a couple of really cute verses to round out the short song and features babies in the illustrations, which Lilah loves).
Eric Hill - Lilah loves the lift-the-flap spot books, Spot Goes To The Farm, Where's Spot?, Spot Bakes a Cake. These are classics for a reason.
Barney Saltzberg - Peekaboo Kisses and Noisy Kisses are lots of fun for Lilah. She loves lift-the-flaps and feeling the different textures.
Karen Katz - Peek-a-Baby, Where Is Baby's Belly Button?, What Does Baby Say - more lift-the-flaps. Lilah likes the baby faces and she loves peek-a-boo.
Jane Yolen and Mark Teague - How Do Dinosaurs...? books. We discovered these through Kohl's Cares for Kids, the charitable organization of the department store. They periodically offer very inexpensive hardback books with accompanying stuffed animals, with proceeds going to health and education programs for kids. My mom (an elementary school principal) knew about these and ordered them for us. There are several board books available, too. Dinosaurs are much more pleasant and well-mannered than you probably thought! Cute rhymes, amazing dinosaur drawings that include the names of each type of dinosaur, and positive messages make these really fun. We have the three hardbacks, How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?, How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon, and How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food? We also have two of the board books, How Do Dinosaurs Learn Their Colors and How Do Dinosaurs Play With Their Friends? We like them all, and plan to get the others.
Sandra Boynton - We have pretty much all the Boynton books. They are fantastic. Cute rhymes, wonderful animal drawings, plus many with accompanying songs. A cost-effective way to get several is with two Boyton's Greatest Hits boxed sets through amazon (new for $15 for 4 books, and another (Big Box of Boynton) with 3 books for $13. Lilah loves music, so these are a big hit. Boynton has three musicals with books, and a fourth musical, Blue Moo, coming out this fall. We got them from my mom through Kohl's Cares for Kids. Rhinoceros Tap is the first. The songs with board books available are Horns To Toes and Barnyard Dance. We have lots of giggly fun with Tickle Time. All the songs are performed by the very talented Adam Bryant, so this one lacks the "Wow, that's Meryl Streep!" sort of fun on the later, star-studded musicals, but the songs are all enjoyable, and it doesn't really matter. Then comes Philadelphia Chickens. Songs with available board books are Snuggle Puppy, Pajama Time, and Belly Button (Round). Other highlights are Scott Bakula singing Pig Island and Laura Linney's very funny Please Can I Keep It?, but the whole CD is fun. The most recent is Dog Train. Our favorite songs on this one are the Kate Winslet-Weird Al Yankovic duet I Need A Nap, Penguin Lament sung by Five for Fighting's John Ondrasik (even my cool, 23-year-old brother brother loved these two), and Billy J. Kramer's three-episode Cow Planet saga, but again, we like the whole CD. Very non-annoying kids music. We put these on when Lilah's fussy and dance with her, or sing along with her board books. She loves music (as soon as we start playing music, she starts bopping in time with the beat, very cute), so it usually stops her fussing and often puts her to sleep if she's tired. Lilah's favorite Boynton board books are Your Personal Penguin (with a free download of the song performed by Davy Jones of the Monkees), Belly Button Book (a sister song is on Philadelphia Chickens), Pajama Time (song on Philadelphia Chickens), The Going To Bed Book, and Snuggle Puppy (song on Philadelphia Chickens). We were excited to see that Boynton has a bath book coming out soon.
Wow, that's a long list. I hope someone finds it interesting!
Writing - I've at least been jotting down ideas. I've hated my beginning for a while, and I may have figured out how to do it in a less lame way. The problem is finding time for a rewrite, which may be solved since we're visiting my parents for a week and a half, which means I have a lot more personal time.
Cooking - Nothing that exciting. Matt commutes almost an hour (sometimes more), so by the time he gets home from work, we throw something together or go out. I've been cooking like a madwoman on the weekends to create leftovers to eat during the week, and that's helping. We've moved our going-out-for-dinner from weekends to weekdays when we have less time for cooking.
Happy Anniversary to you, too, Yarnthrower!
On a happier note, here are the guys, enjoying the stairs. Geronimo is laying on a large catnip-stuffed rat.
Lilah loves the stairs, too. There's nothing funnier than being at one end of the stairs with someone else at the other!
The home decorating continues. We hated our first living room window attempt, then we got a new valance, new rod, and Matt came up with the idea of gathering the curtain in the middle instead of pulling it back on the sides. Isn't it neat?
Knitting: Still working on the shrug. I can't resist showing my first attempt at a Russian Join. I think it worked well. It's on the edge, in any case, and not that visible, I don't think. I found a lovely tutorial right here that helped me out (this is the technique blog attached to The Boy Who Knits).
It's kind of blurry. My camera did not want to do this close-up at all. I'm darn close to halfway done with the shrug! Woo!
Reading: I'm nearly done with The Science of Harry Potter. It's a lot of fun. If you're not interested in science, though, it's probably too dry for you. It's more a survey of natural and social sciences in the context of Harry Potter than an explanation of magic.
I thought I'd mention some of our favorite books for Lilah, since I mostly talk about *my* reading. Unless otherwise noted, they're all board books. Obviously, we're big book people, as the list below just addresses some of her (and our) favorites. I've recently been doing what Matt calls "a dramatic reading" of Going On A Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury that, despite the story's length, keeps Lilah riveted. It takes a lot of energy, though.
Charles Fuge - Sometimes I Like To Curl Up In A Ball introduces Little Wombat and his animal friends. Charming rhymes, gorgeous pictures of animals. Unfortunately, the follow-up Little Wombat books just aren't as good. The illustrations are still wonderful, but the stories are less compelling. I Know A Rhino is absolutely darling. It's imaginative, beautifully drawn, and nicely rhymed. It's about a little girl who makes up stories about her stuffed animals. My Dad is a rarity--a book about a dad instead of a mom. I got this for Matt for his first Father's Day. It's fairly simple, a story about a bear bragging about his dad, but it's sweet and his drawings can't be beat.
Annie Kubler - Her illustrated versions of songs are just adorable, and some of Lilah's favorites are Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star (which uses animals and people from all the continents and can prompt fun discussions about cultures and where different animals live with older toddlers), The Wheels on the Bus (the bus takes children, a magician, a clown, and others to a birthday party in the illustrations for an extra dimension), and Row, Row, Row Your Boat (which adds a couple of really cute verses to round out the short song and features babies in the illustrations, which Lilah loves).
Eric Hill - Lilah loves the lift-the-flap spot books, Spot Goes To The Farm, Where's Spot?, Spot Bakes a Cake. These are classics for a reason.
Barney Saltzberg - Peekaboo Kisses and Noisy Kisses are lots of fun for Lilah. She loves lift-the-flaps and feeling the different textures.
Karen Katz - Peek-a-Baby, Where Is Baby's Belly Button?, What Does Baby Say - more lift-the-flaps. Lilah likes the baby faces and she loves peek-a-boo.
Jane Yolen and Mark Teague - How Do Dinosaurs...? books. We discovered these through Kohl's Cares for Kids, the charitable organization of the department store. They periodically offer very inexpensive hardback books with accompanying stuffed animals, with proceeds going to health and education programs for kids. My mom (an elementary school principal) knew about these and ordered them for us. There are several board books available, too. Dinosaurs are much more pleasant and well-mannered than you probably thought! Cute rhymes, amazing dinosaur drawings that include the names of each type of dinosaur, and positive messages make these really fun. We have the three hardbacks, How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?, How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon, and How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food? We also have two of the board books, How Do Dinosaurs Learn Their Colors and How Do Dinosaurs Play With Their Friends? We like them all, and plan to get the others.
Sandra Boynton - We have pretty much all the Boynton books. They are fantastic. Cute rhymes, wonderful animal drawings, plus many with accompanying songs. A cost-effective way to get several is with two Boyton's Greatest Hits boxed sets through amazon (new for $15 for 4 books, and another (Big Box of Boynton) with 3 books for $13. Lilah loves music, so these are a big hit. Boynton has three musicals with books, and a fourth musical, Blue Moo, coming out this fall. We got them from my mom through Kohl's Cares for Kids. Rhinoceros Tap is the first. The songs with board books available are Horns To Toes and Barnyard Dance. We have lots of giggly fun with Tickle Time. All the songs are performed by the very talented Adam Bryant, so this one lacks the "Wow, that's Meryl Streep!" sort of fun on the later, star-studded musicals, but the songs are all enjoyable, and it doesn't really matter. Then comes Philadelphia Chickens. Songs with available board books are Snuggle Puppy, Pajama Time, and Belly Button (Round). Other highlights are Scott Bakula singing Pig Island and Laura Linney's very funny Please Can I Keep It?, but the whole CD is fun. The most recent is Dog Train. Our favorite songs on this one are the Kate Winslet-Weird Al Yankovic duet I Need A Nap, Penguin Lament sung by Five for Fighting's John Ondrasik (even my cool, 23-year-old brother brother loved these two), and Billy J. Kramer's three-episode Cow Planet saga, but again, we like the whole CD. Very non-annoying kids music. We put these on when Lilah's fussy and dance with her, or sing along with her board books. She loves music (as soon as we start playing music, she starts bopping in time with the beat, very cute), so it usually stops her fussing and often puts her to sleep if she's tired. Lilah's favorite Boynton board books are Your Personal Penguin (with a free download of the song performed by Davy Jones of the Monkees), Belly Button Book (a sister song is on Philadelphia Chickens), Pajama Time (song on Philadelphia Chickens), The Going To Bed Book, and Snuggle Puppy (song on Philadelphia Chickens). We were excited to see that Boynton has a bath book coming out soon.
Wow, that's a long list. I hope someone finds it interesting!
Writing - I've at least been jotting down ideas. I've hated my beginning for a while, and I may have figured out how to do it in a less lame way. The problem is finding time for a rewrite, which may be solved since we're visiting my parents for a week and a half, which means I have a lot more personal time.
Cooking - Nothing that exciting. Matt commutes almost an hour (sometimes more), so by the time he gets home from work, we throw something together or go out. I've been cooking like a madwoman on the weekends to create leftovers to eat during the week, and that's helping. We've moved our going-out-for-dinner from weekends to weekdays when we have less time for cooking.
Happy Anniversary to you, too, Yarnthrower!
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Home Sweet Home
Since I have no knitting progress photos to post, and I don't think I've posted pictures of our house, I thought I'd do that today. We're mostly unpacked, and slowly furnishing and decorating. It seems to take a really long time, maybe because of having a baby, maybe because we are not very good at making decisions.
The cats love our stairs:
Behind Geronimo, you can see the main color of our house paint. This is not a color we would have chosen. I'm not sure how well it shows up, but it's sort of a pale lemon-lime. Like a margarita, but not as fluorescent and a little more yellow. It's not hideous, but if it weren't for the two-story foyer (really just a yard by a yard spot between the front door and the stairs), we would have painted already. That's what happens when you buy a pre-owned home :) And it could be A LOT worse. This is just "not our color" instead of "so hideous we can't live with it." There are other weird things, too, like the IKEA lighting fixtures, which just aren't our style, but we've (and by "we", I mean "my dad when he visited") replaced three of these with ceiling fans, because there was only one ceiling fan in the house when we moved in, and this is Atlanta! It's hot! I have no idea how they lived without them, but it's much better now.
The guest bedroom and Lilah's room have long dormers, about 10 feet, which is like a hallway to the window. They really don't have a function, but I love them. My writing desk will go in the dormer in the guest room, and in Lilah's, we're going to get a toy chest and cushion for a window seat. Lilah's walls were already a nice butter yellow, go perfectly with the Pooh accessories we picked out, and don't need to be painted:
We're pretty darn happy with our bedroom. We got a bedroom set (our first real grown-up room furnishing), picked out curtains, and found linens. We love it. The wall color isn't really what we would have picked, but I think we've made it work well. Here's a corner that doesn't show the boxes that still need to be unpacked into drawers:
I have three boxes labeled Winter Clothes. Hahaha! Probably, I can just leave them in boxes in storage. They were necessary in Wisconsin, but not so much here.
ETA: (Boy, I had to edit a lot this time. I couldn't seem to remember everything I meant to post.) Happy anniversary to us. Matt and I celebrated 5 years of marriage on the 10th.
Knitting: The shrug is going really well! I love the Pakucho Organic Cotton and I have about 5 inches done (out of 19), so I have real progress. I am about to the point where I have to decide how to join the yarn. I was thinking the Russian Join might be too bulky in worsted weight in a lace pattern. I might have to actually swatch a couple of joins to see what's less obtrusive. Funny story: I had to relearn the long-tail cast-on for this project. I learned it once when I first started knitting, then I learned the cable cast-on and never did it again. You should have seen me. First, I ran out of yarn 2/3 of the way through, then I wound up with two feet of tail.
Reading: I re-read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and now it's Matt's turn. I'm reading The Science of Harry Potter (good eye, Rachel!). It's really interesting so far. I've read about different ways we might be able to make a broomstick fly, and I'm looking forward to the chapter on invisibility cloaks. It's written by a scientist who asked other scientists to sum up scientific principles on the theory that "magic" is just really, really advanced technology. Like how gravity used to be considered magic. It's very tongue-in-cheek, but does a great job of explaining things like the physics of flight and wormholes. So far, he hasn't come to the conclusion that we're capable of reproducing the magic of Harry's world, but he touches on the principles that might allow us to someday.
ETA: I finished Putting on the Dog by Cynthia Baxter. It really wasn't that good, and I don't feel I'm overly picky when it comes to cozy mysteries. The sleuth was nosy and wishy-washy. Her annoying boyfriend whined through the whole book. Jessica kept saying how great he was, but I never saw it. Although, she was really no prize either, insisting that she wanted to make it work with the boyfriend in one paragraph, and getting drunk and slow-dancing with a movie star alone in his mansion in the next. Then she'd get mad that the boyfriend was jealous. The solution was really telegraphed quite a bit, too, and I didn't care that much by the end. If I weren't so compulsive, I would have stopped halfway through.
I also read Halfway to Half Way by Suzann Ledbetter. The first in this series (mystery/romance) is South of Sanity, and these are cute. Hannah works at a retirement community that serves as home to some elderly busybodies who love to solve crimes. She's kind of their den mother. They're good-natured, funny, light reading, and I enjoyed this newest installment.
Writing: Not a thing.
Cooking: I made hummus, yum! And I've stir-fried and made pasta, but nothing too exciting.
StringBean, once I got the hat on Lilah, I started trying to turn it around, but she was having none of it! So there it is, backwards. And heh heh to "the thing that happened" etc. ETA: a non-backwards hat pic:
The cats love our stairs:
Behind Geronimo, you can see the main color of our house paint. This is not a color we would have chosen. I'm not sure how well it shows up, but it's sort of a pale lemon-lime. Like a margarita, but not as fluorescent and a little more yellow. It's not hideous, but if it weren't for the two-story foyer (really just a yard by a yard spot between the front door and the stairs), we would have painted already. That's what happens when you buy a pre-owned home :) And it could be A LOT worse. This is just "not our color" instead of "so hideous we can't live with it." There are other weird things, too, like the IKEA lighting fixtures, which just aren't our style, but we've (and by "we", I mean "my dad when he visited") replaced three of these with ceiling fans, because there was only one ceiling fan in the house when we moved in, and this is Atlanta! It's hot! I have no idea how they lived without them, but it's much better now.
The guest bedroom and Lilah's room have long dormers, about 10 feet, which is like a hallway to the window. They really don't have a function, but I love them. My writing desk will go in the dormer in the guest room, and in Lilah's, we're going to get a toy chest and cushion for a window seat. Lilah's walls were already a nice butter yellow, go perfectly with the Pooh accessories we picked out, and don't need to be painted:
We're pretty darn happy with our bedroom. We got a bedroom set (our first real grown-up room furnishing), picked out curtains, and found linens. We love it. The wall color isn't really what we would have picked, but I think we've made it work well. Here's a corner that doesn't show the boxes that still need to be unpacked into drawers:
I have three boxes labeled Winter Clothes. Hahaha! Probably, I can just leave them in boxes in storage. They were necessary in Wisconsin, but not so much here.
ETA: (Boy, I had to edit a lot this time. I couldn't seem to remember everything I meant to post.) Happy anniversary to us. Matt and I celebrated 5 years of marriage on the 10th.
Knitting: The shrug is going really well! I love the Pakucho Organic Cotton and I have about 5 inches done (out of 19), so I have real progress. I am about to the point where I have to decide how to join the yarn. I was thinking the Russian Join might be too bulky in worsted weight in a lace pattern. I might have to actually swatch a couple of joins to see what's less obtrusive. Funny story: I had to relearn the long-tail cast-on for this project. I learned it once when I first started knitting, then I learned the cable cast-on and never did it again. You should have seen me. First, I ran out of yarn 2/3 of the way through, then I wound up with two feet of tail.
Reading: I re-read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and now it's Matt's turn. I'm reading The Science of Harry Potter (good eye, Rachel!). It's really interesting so far. I've read about different ways we might be able to make a broomstick fly, and I'm looking forward to the chapter on invisibility cloaks. It's written by a scientist who asked other scientists to sum up scientific principles on the theory that "magic" is just really, really advanced technology. Like how gravity used to be considered magic. It's very tongue-in-cheek, but does a great job of explaining things like the physics of flight and wormholes. So far, he hasn't come to the conclusion that we're capable of reproducing the magic of Harry's world, but he touches on the principles that might allow us to someday.
ETA: I finished Putting on the Dog by Cynthia Baxter. It really wasn't that good, and I don't feel I'm overly picky when it comes to cozy mysteries. The sleuth was nosy and wishy-washy. Her annoying boyfriend whined through the whole book. Jessica kept saying how great he was, but I never saw it. Although, she was really no prize either, insisting that she wanted to make it work with the boyfriend in one paragraph, and getting drunk and slow-dancing with a movie star alone in his mansion in the next. Then she'd get mad that the boyfriend was jealous. The solution was really telegraphed quite a bit, too, and I didn't care that much by the end. If I weren't so compulsive, I would have stopped halfway through.
I also read Halfway to Half Way by Suzann Ledbetter. The first in this series (mystery/romance) is South of Sanity, and these are cute. Hannah works at a retirement community that serves as home to some elderly busybodies who love to solve crimes. She's kind of their den mother. They're good-natured, funny, light reading, and I enjoyed this newest installment.
Writing: Not a thing.
Cooking: I made hummus, yum! And I've stir-fried and made pasta, but nothing too exciting.
StringBean, once I got the hat on Lilah, I started trying to turn it around, but she was having none of it! So there it is, backwards. And heh heh to "the thing that happened" etc. ETA: a non-backwards hat pic:
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Fun for the whole family
Lilah and I finished grocery shopping and hit the post office on our way home, where we had a package! (Okay, that's atrocious grammar. You can't even tell whether the package was at home or at the post office. It was the latter.) It was from the lovely, wonderful String Bean and contained these goodies:
A hat and kitty doll for Lilah, toys for the guys, an awesome-sounding Harry Potter related book for me, and (not pictured, as they're cooling in the fridge) chocolate chip cookies and fudge. Wow! Thank you, String Bean. You made our day. I was too excited and didn't take pictures before unwrapping, which is a shame, because she did the cutest wrapping job. I tried to get a picture of Lilah wearing the hat. She was a moving target and not very cooperative, so I couldn't get it on right. This is actually the best one, if you can believe it, and it does not do justice to the cute hat.
Is Lilah thinking:
a) Hey, crazy lady, it's 96 degrees outside!
b) I'm in my high chair, now give me lunch.
c) Could you have put me in an outfit that goes LESS well with the hat?
I think all three, but it's hard to tell.
Knitting: I'm working on a shrug in Pakucho Organic Cotton. It's actually for String Bean, and I already told her that much because, well, I stink at keeping secrets. The worsted cotton is just the thing. I am making visible progress, it feels great, and I love the pattern so far. It's a perfect break from Irish Diamond. Just so I don't completely spoil any vestiges of surprise left, I'll wait to post progress shots until I've actually sent it.
Reading: I re-read Harry Potter and still loved it. Sure, there were things that bugged me, but overall, I was happy. Even better, Matt has decided to read it, so I won't have to ask him every day, "Are you REALLY not going to read it?" and lament that I can't say anything about the book (see above re: poor secret-keeping skills). He had said after finishing 6 that he was so mad about something that happened in the book (if you've read it, you know what it was) that he wouldn't read 7. He decided to reconsider, and I'm waiting for him to finish so I can talk about it. Incidentally, Rachel of Lickety Knit posted a link to her husband's blog. They did chapter-by-chapter commenting that was awesome. Plus, she has the US and UK versions of the books, so I'm not the only total dork who does (apologies, Rachel--you are clearly not a dork!). I am now reading a fluffy murder mystery to recover from all the Harry Potter. It's Putting on the Dog by I don't have the book with me so I've forgotten the author's name. It's not bad so far. The sleuth is a vet, and my main nitpick, besides that her boyfriend's a big whiner, is that she keeps leaving her dogs in her van and it's summer. And she always mentions that she's cracking the windows and leaving water, and she doesn't seem to be gone that long, but it still bugs me. DON'T LEAVE PETS OR CHILDREN IN THE CAR ON A HOT DAY, PEOPLE! Ahem.
Writing: Ha. I wish.
Cooking: Not at all, really. Too hot!
ETA: Lilah started stirring, so I hit publish quickly, and forgot a few things:
Stefaneener, I think the cooking spray method would be great for spanokopita. Yum, spanokopita. Do you have a good recipe for it?
Oh, and you guys all crack me up. Seriously.
A hat and kitty doll for Lilah, toys for the guys, an awesome-sounding Harry Potter related book for me, and (not pictured, as they're cooling in the fridge) chocolate chip cookies and fudge. Wow! Thank you, String Bean. You made our day. I was too excited and didn't take pictures before unwrapping, which is a shame, because she did the cutest wrapping job. I tried to get a picture of Lilah wearing the hat. She was a moving target and not very cooperative, so I couldn't get it on right. This is actually the best one, if you can believe it, and it does not do justice to the cute hat.
Is Lilah thinking:
a) Hey, crazy lady, it's 96 degrees outside!
b) I'm in my high chair, now give me lunch.
c) Could you have put me in an outfit that goes LESS well with the hat?
I think all three, but it's hard to tell.
Knitting: I'm working on a shrug in Pakucho Organic Cotton. It's actually for String Bean, and I already told her that much because, well, I stink at keeping secrets. The worsted cotton is just the thing. I am making visible progress, it feels great, and I love the pattern so far. It's a perfect break from Irish Diamond. Just so I don't completely spoil any vestiges of surprise left, I'll wait to post progress shots until I've actually sent it.
Reading: I re-read Harry Potter and still loved it. Sure, there were things that bugged me, but overall, I was happy. Even better, Matt has decided to read it, so I won't have to ask him every day, "Are you REALLY not going to read it?" and lament that I can't say anything about the book (see above re: poor secret-keeping skills). He had said after finishing 6 that he was so mad about something that happened in the book (if you've read it, you know what it was) that he wouldn't read 7. He decided to reconsider, and I'm waiting for him to finish so I can talk about it. Incidentally, Rachel of Lickety Knit posted a link to her husband's blog. They did chapter-by-chapter commenting that was awesome. Plus, she has the US and UK versions of the books, so I'm not the only total dork who does (apologies, Rachel--you are clearly not a dork!). I am now reading a fluffy murder mystery to recover from all the Harry Potter. It's Putting on the Dog by I don't have the book with me so I've forgotten the author's name. It's not bad so far. The sleuth is a vet, and my main nitpick, besides that her boyfriend's a big whiner, is that she keeps leaving her dogs in her van and it's summer. And she always mentions that she's cracking the windows and leaving water, and she doesn't seem to be gone that long, but it still bugs me. DON'T LEAVE PETS OR CHILDREN IN THE CAR ON A HOT DAY, PEOPLE! Ahem.
Writing: Ha. I wish.
Cooking: Not at all, really. Too hot!
ETA: Lilah started stirring, so I hit publish quickly, and forgot a few things:
Stefaneener, I think the cooking spray method would be great for spanokopita. Yum, spanokopita. Do you have a good recipe for it?
Oh, and you guys all crack me up. Seriously.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Higher Math
In honor of Lilah starting on Cheerios (actually a generic wheat-free version, since Cheerios contains wheat starch, which she's not supposed to have yet for allergy reasons), I present a word problem that illustrates the amazing powers of Baby Math:
I put 10 Cheerios on Lilah's high chair tray to give me time to clean up the kitchen. By the time I'm done, there are no Cheerios left on the tray. I have been watching her, and 2 Cheerios have actually made it into her mouth. I find 1 in the pocket of her bib, 3 on her seat, and 1 stuck to her cheek. How many Cheerios are on the floor?
You guessed 3, right? Ha! The answer is 7. I cannot explain this.
Anyway...
Knitting: I've now done 4 repeats of the lace pattern! This is out of 14, and the shawl is only about 4 inches long, so there's a long way to go. I have a shrug to start soon as an instant gratification project to raise morale. The slow growth of the Irish Diamond means I need a kick-start.
Writing: Still nothing to report here.
Reading: Ooh, lots!
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: I will not ruin anyone else's enjoyment by saying too much, but I loved it. I must read it again soon!
Thursday Next: First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde: I love these books! This one was excellent, and it's obvious at the end of the book that more sequels are coming. The first is The Eyre Affair, in case you're interested--I wouldn't jump into the series in a later book. I have to reread this one as well.
I also read a mystery novel called Crime Brulee by Nancy Fairbanks. It wasn't great. The protagonist was not all that sympathetic, and she was the best of the bunch. It was so promising, too. Maybe I'll try a later book and see if they get less tedious.
Cooking: I actually baked on a cool evening. I wanted to make pumpkin muffins with a random can of pumpkin in the pantry, and pumpkin chocolate chip sounded yummy. Anyway, the muffins were fantastic. They started as an adaptation of a random recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins that I'd found somewhere on the internet, but I subbed some whole wheat flour and added pecans (we ARE in Georgia, after all). I used my Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Chips (now they're labeled 60% Bittersweet or something, but they're the extra big ones). Substitute any other chocolate chip. If you want to make mini muffins, use mini chips and chopped pecans. At the last minute, I realized I had no cinnamon, which the recipe called for. Oops. I was afraid they'd need a bit more oomph, so on a whim, I subbed cardamon. Yum! Even better than with cinnamon, I think. I'd like to play with this a bit to make it lower in fat. I'm sure I could use less oil and add some applesauce or something. Anyway, here they are:
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pecan Muffins
4 eggs
1 can pumpkin (16 ounce)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup canola oil
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cardamon
1 tsp salt
1 12-oz bag Ghirardelli Bittersweet Chocolate Chips (or any other chips)
1 cup pecan pieces
Preheat oven to 350. Spray 24 muffin cups with nonstick spray or line with paper liners. Beat together eggs, pumpkin, vanill, and oil until smooth. Stir together dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add to the wet ingredients and stir until blended. Fold in chips and pecans. Divide evenly among muffin cups. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown (check for doneness with a toothpick). Makes 24.
A couple other recipes I've been meaning to post:
Marinara Sauce
1 TBL olive oil
6 cloves garlic
1 small onion, finely diced
1/4 cup red wine
28 oz. crushed tomatoes
1 carrot, finely grated
1/4 tsp chili flakes (more to taste)
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
Heat oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and onion, saute 2 minutes. Add wine, simmer 2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and simmer 20 minutes. Serve over pasta with parmesan or goat cheese.
Cheater's Non-Dairy Baklava
This is adapted from a Cooking Light recipe. I served this a couple of times before moving, and no one guessed it was a non-butter version. Traditional baklava uses melted butter brushed over each sheet of phyllo instead of cooking spray. It's a pain and also insanely fat-laden. But good. Resist the temptation to cut into bigger pieces. It's good, but if you eat too much, you WILL get sick!
Ingredients
Syrup:
1 1/2 cups wildflower honey
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 whole cloves
1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick
Filling:
1 lb. walnuts
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/8 teaspoon salt
Remaining ingredients:
Cooking spray
20 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed (I used Athenos brand)
1 tablespoon water
Preparation
To prepare syrup, combine honey, 1/2 cup water, juice, cloves, and cinnamon in a medium saucepan over low heat; stir until honey is completely dissolved (about 2 minutes). Increase heat to medium; cook, without stirring, until thick and syrupy, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat; keep warm. Remove solids with a slotted spoon; discard.
Preheat oven to 350°.
To prepare filling, combine all filling ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse until combined and walnuts are well-chopped.
Lightly coat a 13 x 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Working with 1 phyllo sheet at a time (cover remaining dough to prevent drying), place 1 phyllo sheet lengthwise in bottom of prepared pan, allowing end of sheet to extend over edges of dish; lightly coat with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with 4 phyllo sheets and cooking spray for a total of 5 layers. Sprinkle phyllo evenly with one-third of nut mixture. Repeat procedure with phyllo, cooking spray, and nut mixture 2 more times. Top last layer of nut mixture with remaining 5 sheets phyllo, each one lightly coated with cooking spray. Lightly coat top phyllo sheet with cooking spray; press baklava gently into pan. Sprinkle baklava surface with 1 tablespoon water.
Make 3 even lengthwise cuts and 7 even crosswise cuts to form 32 portions using a sharp knife. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until the phyllo is golden brown. Remove from oven. Drizzle honey mixture evenly over baklava. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Store covered at room temperature.
I put 10 Cheerios on Lilah's high chair tray to give me time to clean up the kitchen. By the time I'm done, there are no Cheerios left on the tray. I have been watching her, and 2 Cheerios have actually made it into her mouth. I find 1 in the pocket of her bib, 3 on her seat, and 1 stuck to her cheek. How many Cheerios are on the floor?
You guessed 3, right? Ha! The answer is 7. I cannot explain this.
Anyway...
Knitting: I've now done 4 repeats of the lace pattern! This is out of 14, and the shawl is only about 4 inches long, so there's a long way to go. I have a shrug to start soon as an instant gratification project to raise morale. The slow growth of the Irish Diamond means I need a kick-start.
Writing: Still nothing to report here.
Reading: Ooh, lots!
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: I will not ruin anyone else's enjoyment by saying too much, but I loved it. I must read it again soon!
Thursday Next: First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde: I love these books! This one was excellent, and it's obvious at the end of the book that more sequels are coming. The first is The Eyre Affair, in case you're interested--I wouldn't jump into the series in a later book. I have to reread this one as well.
I also read a mystery novel called Crime Brulee by Nancy Fairbanks. It wasn't great. The protagonist was not all that sympathetic, and she was the best of the bunch. It was so promising, too. Maybe I'll try a later book and see if they get less tedious.
Cooking: I actually baked on a cool evening. I wanted to make pumpkin muffins with a random can of pumpkin in the pantry, and pumpkin chocolate chip sounded yummy. Anyway, the muffins were fantastic. They started as an adaptation of a random recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins that I'd found somewhere on the internet, but I subbed some whole wheat flour and added pecans (we ARE in Georgia, after all). I used my Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Chips (now they're labeled 60% Bittersweet or something, but they're the extra big ones). Substitute any other chocolate chip. If you want to make mini muffins, use mini chips and chopped pecans. At the last minute, I realized I had no cinnamon, which the recipe called for. Oops. I was afraid they'd need a bit more oomph, so on a whim, I subbed cardamon. Yum! Even better than with cinnamon, I think. I'd like to play with this a bit to make it lower in fat. I'm sure I could use less oil and add some applesauce or something. Anyway, here they are:
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pecan Muffins
4 eggs
1 can pumpkin (16 ounce)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup canola oil
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cardamon
1 tsp salt
1 12-oz bag Ghirardelli Bittersweet Chocolate Chips (or any other chips)
1 cup pecan pieces
Preheat oven to 350. Spray 24 muffin cups with nonstick spray or line with paper liners. Beat together eggs, pumpkin, vanill, and oil until smooth. Stir together dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add to the wet ingredients and stir until blended. Fold in chips and pecans. Divide evenly among muffin cups. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown (check for doneness with a toothpick). Makes 24.
A couple other recipes I've been meaning to post:
Marinara Sauce
1 TBL olive oil
6 cloves garlic
1 small onion, finely diced
1/4 cup red wine
28 oz. crushed tomatoes
1 carrot, finely grated
1/4 tsp chili flakes (more to taste)
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
Heat oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and onion, saute 2 minutes. Add wine, simmer 2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and simmer 20 minutes. Serve over pasta with parmesan or goat cheese.
Cheater's Non-Dairy Baklava
This is adapted from a Cooking Light recipe. I served this a couple of times before moving, and no one guessed it was a non-butter version. Traditional baklava uses melted butter brushed over each sheet of phyllo instead of cooking spray. It's a pain and also insanely fat-laden. But good. Resist the temptation to cut into bigger pieces. It's good, but if you eat too much, you WILL get sick!
Ingredients
Syrup:
1 1/2 cups wildflower honey
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 whole cloves
1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick
Filling:
1 lb. walnuts
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/8 teaspoon salt
Remaining ingredients:
Cooking spray
20 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed (I used Athenos brand)
1 tablespoon water
Preparation
To prepare syrup, combine honey, 1/2 cup water, juice, cloves, and cinnamon in a medium saucepan over low heat; stir until honey is completely dissolved (about 2 minutes). Increase heat to medium; cook, without stirring, until thick and syrupy, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat; keep warm. Remove solids with a slotted spoon; discard.
Preheat oven to 350°.
To prepare filling, combine all filling ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse until combined and walnuts are well-chopped.
Lightly coat a 13 x 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Working with 1 phyllo sheet at a time (cover remaining dough to prevent drying), place 1 phyllo sheet lengthwise in bottom of prepared pan, allowing end of sheet to extend over edges of dish; lightly coat with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with 4 phyllo sheets and cooking spray for a total of 5 layers. Sprinkle phyllo evenly with one-third of nut mixture. Repeat procedure with phyllo, cooking spray, and nut mixture 2 more times. Top last layer of nut mixture with remaining 5 sheets phyllo, each one lightly coated with cooking spray. Lightly coat top phyllo sheet with cooking spray; press baklava gently into pan. Sprinkle baklava surface with 1 tablespoon water.
Make 3 even lengthwise cuts and 7 even crosswise cuts to form 32 portions using a sharp knife. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until the phyllo is golden brown. Remove from oven. Drizzle honey mixture evenly over baklava. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Store covered at room temperature.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Waiting for UPS!
Since I'll probably be using all my non-Lilah time over the next couple of days reading Harry Potter 7, I thought I'd post while waiting for UPS to bring my copy. Speaking of Lilah, thank you to everyone who pointed out that I neglected to post a photo! Here's an action shot, chasing after one of the cats in her walker. She loves this thing. Don't feel bad for the cats--they retreat up a couple of stairs and watch her curiously.
Besides Harry Potter anticipation, what else is going on? My mom was here for two weeks, so I got lots of boxes unpacked. The house still needs lots of help (hanging pictures, ugh), but it's pretty liveable now.
Knitting: Still plugging along on Irish Diamond. I still love the Zephyr Wool Silk, and I still like the pattern. It's just creeping along slowly since I can sometimes only manage a row or two in between unpacking, Lilah entertaining, and other commitments. So this is going to be pretty boring as a knitting blog for a while. Perhaps I'll pick a quickie project to bust out just for morale.
Reading: I read Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin, a YA novel. It was really quite extraordinary. It starts out with 15-year-old Liz waking up on a boat with no memory of how she got there. She soon discovers that she's dead and on her way to the afterlife. It's funny and poignant and just a wonderful read. It's a quick read, too, and I recommend it to anyone intrigued by the premise. I also read Antiques Roadkill by Barbara Allan, an okay mystery. I liked it quite a bit in some ways, but constant asides and parenthetical comments were tiresome, and the first-person narrator is strangely silent on some important autobiographical stuff that she just throws out there without comment, so she's not all that sympathetic. There's something there, though, so maybe the next one is better. I also read No Nest for the Wicket by Donna Andrews and laughed a lot. Her Meg Langslow mysteries are lots of fun. This one centers on the society ladies of Caerphilly playing eXtreme croquet, so it's pretty funny. The first in the series in Murder With Peacocks.
Writing: Nothing here due to unpacking. After I read Harry Potter, perhaps!
Cooking: Nothing too exciting. It's too hot, really, and it's been so busy.
Well, I hope my next post is more exciting than this one!
Besides Harry Potter anticipation, what else is going on? My mom was here for two weeks, so I got lots of boxes unpacked. The house still needs lots of help (hanging pictures, ugh), but it's pretty liveable now.
Knitting: Still plugging along on Irish Diamond. I still love the Zephyr Wool Silk, and I still like the pattern. It's just creeping along slowly since I can sometimes only manage a row or two in between unpacking, Lilah entertaining, and other commitments. So this is going to be pretty boring as a knitting blog for a while. Perhaps I'll pick a quickie project to bust out just for morale.
Reading: I read Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin, a YA novel. It was really quite extraordinary. It starts out with 15-year-old Liz waking up on a boat with no memory of how she got there. She soon discovers that she's dead and on her way to the afterlife. It's funny and poignant and just a wonderful read. It's a quick read, too, and I recommend it to anyone intrigued by the premise. I also read Antiques Roadkill by Barbara Allan, an okay mystery. I liked it quite a bit in some ways, but constant asides and parenthetical comments were tiresome, and the first-person narrator is strangely silent on some important autobiographical stuff that she just throws out there without comment, so she's not all that sympathetic. There's something there, though, so maybe the next one is better. I also read No Nest for the Wicket by Donna Andrews and laughed a lot. Her Meg Langslow mysteries are lots of fun. This one centers on the society ladies of Caerphilly playing eXtreme croquet, so it's pretty funny. The first in the series in Murder With Peacocks.
Writing: Nothing here due to unpacking. After I read Harry Potter, perhaps!
Cooking: Nothing too exciting. It's too hot, really, and it's been so busy.
Well, I hope my next post is more exciting than this one!
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Home again, home again
I can't believe I missed posting the entire month of June! Moving was a pretty big ordeal, but it's done now. Except for unpacking all the boxes piled around the house. The cats sort of enjoyed the moving process, at least the packing up part, as they continually had new hiding places and new exploration possibilities. Yes, that's Geronimo on top of a mattress stacked on its end. He climbed a tower of boxes and was happy as can be up there. And Mirando always loves boxes.
We got settled in a bit before the guys joined us, but they seemed to know pretty quickly that this was home. I'm sure the familiar furniture helps with that. They're very happy to be back with us, and they're finding favorite spots in the new house.
Getting internet access from BellSouth was quite the trial, but we are now happily wireless, so I can actually post and comment on blogs in between boxes to unpack! As usual (at least lately) I am way behind on my blog reading, and I'm looking forward to getting caught up now that we have some semblance of routine and normalcy around here!
Knitting: I've been working on the Irish Diamond Shawl from Folk Shawls. I love that book, and I've made several shawls from it already. I had a couple of setbacks (I've knit the collar part three times due to not paying enough attention), but now I'm on the second repeat of the first lace pattern. Here's a progress photo. It looks awful, as lace in progress often does. And black lace is really hard to photograph. But it's a nice knit so far, and I love the Zephyr Wool Silk, which has a nice hand and some good flexibility. Black is not the most fun to knit, to be honest, but I think the recipient will really like it. We'll see if it's done by Christmas. Hmmm. Could happen. String Bean pointed out that it can be fun to respond "black lace" when someone asks what I'm knitting, and it's true!
Reading: Oh, lots, but not much interesting. It's summer, and hot and humid, so I've mainly been re-reading Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels. Lame, I know, but a good break from packing. I have started Susan Wittig Albert's first "Cottage Tales" mystery, The Tale of Hilltop Farm. These are semi-biographical mysteries with Beatrix Potter as the sleuth. She had an interesting life, and the mystery is charming. I kind of stopped reading her China Bayles mysteries, but I had enjoyed them. Not sure why I stopped. I do enjoy her writing, and she clearly did lots of research on Beatrix Potter's life. She crams in maybe a few too many facts and trivia, but whatever. It's cute and charming and a perfect cozy mystery so far. I finished reading Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next books aloud to Lilah while nursing, and I can't wait for the next one near the end of the month. After reading the fourth, I had thought he was done with them, as he had tied up a lot of loose ends, but I'll really enjoy reading another. I love these books. The next one comes out a couple days after Harry Potter 7, so I'll have a great few days!
Writing: I've picked out a writing nook in the new house, and we're desk shopping soon. Unpacking has taken over much of my free time lately. I have had a few brainstorms that I've jotted in my notebook on changes I'd like to make, so at least I'm thinking about it.
Cooking: The kitchen boxes were the first I unpacked! I adore my new kitchen. Except for the lack of a gas stove :( But it has tons of storage space and more counter space and a cute island that fits two barstools. I've been cooking, just not anything to write home about.
We got settled in a bit before the guys joined us, but they seemed to know pretty quickly that this was home. I'm sure the familiar furniture helps with that. They're very happy to be back with us, and they're finding favorite spots in the new house.
Getting internet access from BellSouth was quite the trial, but we are now happily wireless, so I can actually post and comment on blogs in between boxes to unpack! As usual (at least lately) I am way behind on my blog reading, and I'm looking forward to getting caught up now that we have some semblance of routine and normalcy around here!
Knitting: I've been working on the Irish Diamond Shawl from Folk Shawls. I love that book, and I've made several shawls from it already. I had a couple of setbacks (I've knit the collar part three times due to not paying enough attention), but now I'm on the second repeat of the first lace pattern. Here's a progress photo. It looks awful, as lace in progress often does. And black lace is really hard to photograph. But it's a nice knit so far, and I love the Zephyr Wool Silk, which has a nice hand and some good flexibility. Black is not the most fun to knit, to be honest, but I think the recipient will really like it. We'll see if it's done by Christmas. Hmmm. Could happen. String Bean pointed out that it can be fun to respond "black lace" when someone asks what I'm knitting, and it's true!
Reading: Oh, lots, but not much interesting. It's summer, and hot and humid, so I've mainly been re-reading Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels. Lame, I know, but a good break from packing. I have started Susan Wittig Albert's first "Cottage Tales" mystery, The Tale of Hilltop Farm. These are semi-biographical mysteries with Beatrix Potter as the sleuth. She had an interesting life, and the mystery is charming. I kind of stopped reading her China Bayles mysteries, but I had enjoyed them. Not sure why I stopped. I do enjoy her writing, and she clearly did lots of research on Beatrix Potter's life. She crams in maybe a few too many facts and trivia, but whatever. It's cute and charming and a perfect cozy mystery so far. I finished reading Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next books aloud to Lilah while nursing, and I can't wait for the next one near the end of the month. After reading the fourth, I had thought he was done with them, as he had tied up a lot of loose ends, but I'll really enjoy reading another. I love these books. The next one comes out a couple days after Harry Potter 7, so I'll have a great few days!
Writing: I've picked out a writing nook in the new house, and we're desk shopping soon. Unpacking has taken over much of my free time lately. I have had a few brainstorms that I've jotted in my notebook on changes I'd like to make, so at least I'm thinking about it.
Cooking: The kitchen boxes were the first I unpacked! I adore my new kitchen. Except for the lack of a gas stove :( But it has tons of storage space and more counter space and a cute island that fits two barstools. I've been cooking, just not anything to write home about.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
And now with 100% more knitting content!
Okay, so The Whole Ball of Yarn(s) hasn't been so much about the knitting lately. I've been in a slump, with none of my projects really motivating me and with no time to dig through stash and patterns to find something that will. I ditched my current projects, took some time to frog my T-Twist to recoup the yarn for who knows what. But it's lovely yarn, and since I won't wear that top, it made sense to reclaim it. Then I went through my stash spreadsheet with some patterns around me and chose the Heavenly Camisole and Scarf from Knitter's Stash in Elann's Peruvian Baby Silk. I had a quantity of this to make Annie Modesitt's Corset Top, which I chickened out of wearing (I was up for knitting it, just not sure about wearing it, and it was a tough enough pattern that I'd want to wear it all the time). The color is orchid or something, but as my down-to-earth husband noted "Wow, that's purple. Do you have anything to go with it?" when I explained what I was making. Well, I don't have anything to go with it. I suppose I can find someone to gift it to, but most importantly, it seems fun to knit, and I like the yarn. So there. I'll rip it out at the end if I don't like it. It's knit bottom-up in the round, with the front in a leaf lace pattern and the back in stockinette. It's light and purple and pretty, and it's exactly the knitting I need right now. Of course, this is all I have so far:
I've also decided to do an Irish Diamond Shawl from Folk Shawls for a Christmas gift. After googling for a while, I decided to do as others have done and use a lace weight instead of a fingering weight. I'm using Jaggerspun Zephyr in black, and hoping it doesn't look like the recipient is in mourning or something. I showed my husband a few shawls from that book that I was deciding between, and he said of the Irish Diamond Shawl, "Cool, it looks like bat wings!" which, surprisingly, I failed to see as incentive to knit it. After I acknowledged that it did indeed look like bat wings (with accompanying eye roll), he said that it was also very pretty. I had been leaning that way anyway, so Irish Diamond it is. The bonus is that a cone of Zephyr is enough to make more than two lace shawls, so my next next project may be a black shawl for myself.
I find myself once again apologizing for being out of touch with the knitting blog world. It's a tricky time, with much traveling and house hunting and packing up/throwing out our stuff in preparation of moving. I can sometimes manage ten minutes a day on the internet with all this going on, so I'm just going to be slow for a while. Hopefully, once we've moved, I'll be more in touch.
Reading: I have read a lot since my last post, I think. I read Jane and the Ghosts of Netley and Jane and His Lordship's Legacy by Stephanie Barron, and loved them. I just don't get tired of the Jane Austen mysteries. I'm currently on Peter and the Shadow Thieves by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, the second of the Peter Pan prequels. I loved the first, and the second is very fun so far.
Writing: Shelved, I'm afraid, until moving is complete.
Cooking: Urgh. Too much traveling, not enough food in the house.
I've also decided to do an Irish Diamond Shawl from Folk Shawls for a Christmas gift. After googling for a while, I decided to do as others have done and use a lace weight instead of a fingering weight. I'm using Jaggerspun Zephyr in black, and hoping it doesn't look like the recipient is in mourning or something. I showed my husband a few shawls from that book that I was deciding between, and he said of the Irish Diamond Shawl, "Cool, it looks like bat wings!" which, surprisingly, I failed to see as incentive to knit it. After I acknowledged that it did indeed look like bat wings (with accompanying eye roll), he said that it was also very pretty. I had been leaning that way anyway, so Irish Diamond it is. The bonus is that a cone of Zephyr is enough to make more than two lace shawls, so my next next project may be a black shawl for myself.
I find myself once again apologizing for being out of touch with the knitting blog world. It's a tricky time, with much traveling and house hunting and packing up/throwing out our stuff in preparation of moving. I can sometimes manage ten minutes a day on the internet with all this going on, so I'm just going to be slow for a while. Hopefully, once we've moved, I'll be more in touch.
Reading: I have read a lot since my last post, I think. I read Jane and the Ghosts of Netley and Jane and His Lordship's Legacy by Stephanie Barron, and loved them. I just don't get tired of the Jane Austen mysteries. I'm currently on Peter and the Shadow Thieves by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, the second of the Peter Pan prequels. I loved the first, and the second is very fun so far.
Writing: Shelved, I'm afraid, until moving is complete.
Cooking: Urgh. Too much traveling, not enough food in the house.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Four Years of Kitty Fun: A Retrospective
April 17 is Kitty Day in our house, the anniversary of the day we brought our guys home from the Dane County Humane Society.
Our guys were brought in as a bonded pair, and they were a package deal. Matt and I had decided we wanted two adult cats, and we were delighted when we discovered they had pairs of kitty friends. We met several pairs on April 16.
The Humane Society staff were all very helpful and patient, and we came home the next day with Geronimo and Mirando.
Because Mirando is blind, the adoption counselor suggested we keep them in one room and let him get used to that for the night before introducing him slowly to the rest of the apartment. After about an hour, he had explored our bedroom and was ready to go out the door. Geronimo hid under the bed for a while, but eventually, both cats slept up on the bed with us.
We can't imagine our home without them!
Happy Fourth Kitty Day, guys!
Knitting: The sock just isn't doing it for me. I have to take some time to go through my stash and patterns and find something really perfect. Maybe I need a more summery knit to do as the weather finally gets warm. I will have to also go through the blogs I read and see what you guys are making. After seeing Rain's Simple Knitted Bodice I really want to make one! I hadn't liked the sample yarn--the photos never screamed "You must knit this pattern!" to me, but I love Rain's, and could see a light summery variation. The only problem is that I have no yarn for it. However, I do have some birthday money...any suggestions for yarn that would make this a nice summer layering piece?
Reading: I finished About A Boy by Nick Hornby, and really liked it. The film is a very good adaptation, and Hugh Grant is perfect casting in it. The ending is different, which bothers some people, but I feel both were good. Sometimes in a film, you need a different scene than the one that was written. It doesn't make the written one bad, just less suitable for film. At any rate, I've been quite enjoying Nick Hornby. I'm rereading the Thursday Next books by Jasper Fforde, some of my favorite books ever, because he's coming out with a new one in July! The first is The Eyre Affair, if you're looking for it, and I love these. They are so much fun, and really speak to my inner English/Literature Nerd. Lilah and I are reading Book 6 of Harry Potter aloud.
Writing: A bit of mapmaking and timeline work. I tend to be lazy about such details, but I really need to give myself some of this stuff so I don't have to keep going back and skimming 120 pages to figure out what street something should be on.
Cooking: It's been like Iron Chef: Tahini Battle over here lately. Except without anyone competing against me, I guess. I made the most amazing hummus, from a recipe that my dad cut out of my parents' local paper. It was a neat article that laid out how to achieve different elements, and ended with the best hummus recipe. It's very involved and kind of a pain, but wow. It is so good. This is on par with the hummus at our favorite Middle Eastern restaurant. I couldn't find it online, so I will reprint with credit to the author and hope no one cares. I actually multiplied this by 2.5 because that uses a pound of chickpeas and is the amount that I can cram into my cuisinart, and we can really go through hummus in this house. I don't have a mortar and pestle (an oversight that must be corrected), so I forced the garlic through a press and sort of mashed it with a spoon in a bowl. Follow the instructions carefully, down to the temperature of the chickpeas when you puree--the article goes into the science behind it, but I'm too lazy to type all that out, so take my word for it :)
Classic Hummus
From The Bakersfield Californian, March 3, 2007
1 cup dried chickpeas
1 1/2 tsp baking soda, divided
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 medium cloves garlic, mashed until smooth with a pinch of salt in a mortar and pestle
1/2 cup tahini
2 TBL extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for serving
The night before you make the hummus, place the chickpeas in a pot and cover with 4 cups cold water. Add 1 tsp of baking soda and stir gently. Cover pot and refrigerate overnight, about 12 hours.
Drain chickpeas and rinse well. Cover again with 4 cups cold water. Stir in remaining 1/2 tsp baking soda. Bring to a boil, uncovered, over medium-high heat. Immediately reduce to a gentle simmer. Cook, skimming the foam and stirring occasionally 45 minutes. Spoon out a few chickpeas and cut in half. If the center of the bean reveals a hard, white node of starch, continue cooking another 15-30 minutes. Cooked chickpeas should be uniformly yellow inside.
Drain the chickpeas, retaining cooking water. Let the beans and water cool to room temperature, then refrigerate both until well chilled, about 2 hours.
Place chickpeas in food processor. Add salt and lemon juice. Process until smooth and light in color. The puree should be thick, but not so thick it rides up on the processor blade. To thin the puree, add cooking liquid 1 TBL at a time until the puree moves freely.
Transfer the puree to a fine mesh sieve set over a bowl. With a rubber spatula, force the puree through the sieve. The skins of the chickpeas will be left behind in the sieve. Discard skins.
Rinse and dry the food processor bowl and blade. Return the pureed chickpeas to the processor bowl. With the blade running, add garlic and tahini. Scrape down sides once or twice and adjust salt and lemon to taste.
When the mixture is smooth, and again with the blade running, drizzle olive oil and process very well. If mixture is too thick, add cooking liquid 1 TBL at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
Serve drizzled with olive oil. Makes 3 cups.
I also made enough changes to Sesame Noodles With Broccoli from the April Cooking Light that I feel I can post my version.
Sesame Noodles With Broccoli
Sauce:
2 TBL tahini
2 TBL water
2 TBL rice wine vinegar
2 TBL low sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 TBL dark sesame oil
2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp salt
1 inch piece ginger, peeled and forced through a garlic press
2 cloves garlic, forced through a press
1 TBL chili garlic sauce
Noodles:
8 ounces soba noodles
12 oz. broccoli florets
1 red bell pepper, seeds and membranes removed, cut into strips
2 cups carrots, peeled and sliced
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 TBL sesame seeds, toasted
1/4 tsp salt
Combine all sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Stir with a whisk.
Cook soba noodles in a large pot of boiling water 4 minutes (or 2 minutes less than cooking time on package). Add broccoli, carrots, and red pepper. Cook 2 minutes. Drain and place in a serving bowl. Drizzle with sauce and remaining ingredients. Toss well. Serves 4.
Our guys were brought in as a bonded pair, and they were a package deal. Matt and I had decided we wanted two adult cats, and we were delighted when we discovered they had pairs of kitty friends. We met several pairs on April 16.
The Humane Society staff were all very helpful and patient, and we came home the next day with Geronimo and Mirando.
Because Mirando is blind, the adoption counselor suggested we keep them in one room and let him get used to that for the night before introducing him slowly to the rest of the apartment. After about an hour, he had explored our bedroom and was ready to go out the door. Geronimo hid under the bed for a while, but eventually, both cats slept up on the bed with us.
We can't imagine our home without them!
Happy Fourth Kitty Day, guys!
Knitting: The sock just isn't doing it for me. I have to take some time to go through my stash and patterns and find something really perfect. Maybe I need a more summery knit to do as the weather finally gets warm. I will have to also go through the blogs I read and see what you guys are making. After seeing Rain's Simple Knitted Bodice I really want to make one! I hadn't liked the sample yarn--the photos never screamed "You must knit this pattern!" to me, but I love Rain's, and could see a light summery variation. The only problem is that I have no yarn for it. However, I do have some birthday money...any suggestions for yarn that would make this a nice summer layering piece?
Reading: I finished About A Boy by Nick Hornby, and really liked it. The film is a very good adaptation, and Hugh Grant is perfect casting in it. The ending is different, which bothers some people, but I feel both were good. Sometimes in a film, you need a different scene than the one that was written. It doesn't make the written one bad, just less suitable for film. At any rate, I've been quite enjoying Nick Hornby. I'm rereading the Thursday Next books by Jasper Fforde, some of my favorite books ever, because he's coming out with a new one in July! The first is The Eyre Affair, if you're looking for it, and I love these. They are so much fun, and really speak to my inner English/Literature Nerd. Lilah and I are reading Book 6 of Harry Potter aloud.
Writing: A bit of mapmaking and timeline work. I tend to be lazy about such details, but I really need to give myself some of this stuff so I don't have to keep going back and skimming 120 pages to figure out what street something should be on.
Cooking: It's been like Iron Chef: Tahini Battle over here lately. Except without anyone competing against me, I guess. I made the most amazing hummus, from a recipe that my dad cut out of my parents' local paper. It was a neat article that laid out how to achieve different elements, and ended with the best hummus recipe. It's very involved and kind of a pain, but wow. It is so good. This is on par with the hummus at our favorite Middle Eastern restaurant. I couldn't find it online, so I will reprint with credit to the author and hope no one cares. I actually multiplied this by 2.5 because that uses a pound of chickpeas and is the amount that I can cram into my cuisinart, and we can really go through hummus in this house. I don't have a mortar and pestle (an oversight that must be corrected), so I forced the garlic through a press and sort of mashed it with a spoon in a bowl. Follow the instructions carefully, down to the temperature of the chickpeas when you puree--the article goes into the science behind it, but I'm too lazy to type all that out, so take my word for it :)
Classic Hummus
From The Bakersfield Californian, March 3, 2007
1 cup dried chickpeas
1 1/2 tsp baking soda, divided
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 medium cloves garlic, mashed until smooth with a pinch of salt in a mortar and pestle
1/2 cup tahini
2 TBL extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for serving
The night before you make the hummus, place the chickpeas in a pot and cover with 4 cups cold water. Add 1 tsp of baking soda and stir gently. Cover pot and refrigerate overnight, about 12 hours.
Drain chickpeas and rinse well. Cover again with 4 cups cold water. Stir in remaining 1/2 tsp baking soda. Bring to a boil, uncovered, over medium-high heat. Immediately reduce to a gentle simmer. Cook, skimming the foam and stirring occasionally 45 minutes. Spoon out a few chickpeas and cut in half. If the center of the bean reveals a hard, white node of starch, continue cooking another 15-30 minutes. Cooked chickpeas should be uniformly yellow inside.
Drain the chickpeas, retaining cooking water. Let the beans and water cool to room temperature, then refrigerate both until well chilled, about 2 hours.
Place chickpeas in food processor. Add salt and lemon juice. Process until smooth and light in color. The puree should be thick, but not so thick it rides up on the processor blade. To thin the puree, add cooking liquid 1 TBL at a time until the puree moves freely.
Transfer the puree to a fine mesh sieve set over a bowl. With a rubber spatula, force the puree through the sieve. The skins of the chickpeas will be left behind in the sieve. Discard skins.
Rinse and dry the food processor bowl and blade. Return the pureed chickpeas to the processor bowl. With the blade running, add garlic and tahini. Scrape down sides once or twice and adjust salt and lemon to taste.
When the mixture is smooth, and again with the blade running, drizzle olive oil and process very well. If mixture is too thick, add cooking liquid 1 TBL at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
Serve drizzled with olive oil. Makes 3 cups.
I also made enough changes to Sesame Noodles With Broccoli from the April Cooking Light that I feel I can post my version.
Sesame Noodles With Broccoli
Sauce:
2 TBL tahini
2 TBL water
2 TBL rice wine vinegar
2 TBL low sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 TBL dark sesame oil
2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp salt
1 inch piece ginger, peeled and forced through a garlic press
2 cloves garlic, forced through a press
1 TBL chili garlic sauce
Noodles:
8 ounces soba noodles
12 oz. broccoli florets
1 red bell pepper, seeds and membranes removed, cut into strips
2 cups carrots, peeled and sliced
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 TBL sesame seeds, toasted
1/4 tsp salt
Combine all sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Stir with a whisk.
Cook soba noodles in a large pot of boiling water 4 minutes (or 2 minutes less than cooking time on package). Add broccoli, carrots, and red pepper. Cook 2 minutes. Drain and place in a serving bowl. Drizzle with sauce and remaining ingredients. Toss well. Serves 4.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Darn That Groundhog
We are currently on Winter Storm Warning, and it is snowing sideways outside our window. What was that about an early spring, stupid groundhog???
Anyway...Thank you for all your suggestions, String Bean! I know there's a vendor at our farmer's market with sheep's milk cheese (though it's a bit of a dangerous stall since he also has yarn...)!
Thank you, everyone, for your comments on the bear suit! Changes I would make now that I have a baby:
1. Add feet. (Ooh, how cute would little bear feet with claws be)
2. And maybe attached mittens that could flip open.
3. Two words: Crotch snaps. Baby clothes that don't have these mystify me.
Knitting: Here is my sock progress on Hedera:
I can hear you all now: "Surely you've finished sock #1, and this is #2?" Er...no. I have just finished the twisted rib cuff and barely started the lace. Part of this is some indecision. I keep wondering if this yarn would rather be a scarf, or a baby sweater. But I want something for me, and I wouldn't wear these colors except on my feet, and they're cheery and fun, and they're mine! Mine, I tell you!
Partly it's because of this:
That fun little accessory is the result of deQuervain's Tenosynovitis. Most commonly seen in piano players, bricklayers, and...women with new babies. It's apparently overuse of the tendon from hauling the baby around! I ignored the increasingly painful twinge in my wrist for weeks before I went to the doctor. I finally went when I was unable to use scissors in the normal way because my range of motion was so limited. It doesn't hurt to knit with the brace off, but it's really awkward with the brace on, which makes me think I shouldn't be doing it. I'll ask when I start PT.
Reading: I finished A Charmed Death by Madelyn Alt, and it was resoundingly...okay. It was a fine, fairly well-written mystery, nothing special. I also read High Fidelity by Nick Hornby. If you've seen the John Cusack film, you've basically read the book, although it was fun to see how the movie moved the story from London to Chicago. It was quite enjoyable, and I'm reading his About A Boy now. Lilah and I are around page 500 of the fifth Harry Potter, well on track to finish before the 7th book comes out.
Writing: Finished current revisions, though I still hate my opening. Eventually, something will come to me. Now working on chapter 9. I also mapped out some things I need to work in, because I've decided the exact motive/method of the killer(s). I had known whodunit, but I figured out exactly why, how, and if anyone else was involved, which I think is fun. I also need to figure out a map of my town it's set in because I think I've contradicted myself somewhere.
Cooking: I made Gallo Pinto, a Costa Rican breakfast dish. We had this every morning while on our honeymoon there, and it's delightful. We found a vague recipe and this is my adaptation:
Gallo Pinto (Allison version)
1 pound dried black beans (You can substitute canned black beans, rinsed well in a colander and drained. You need 5 cups, which is about 3 small cans. Just skip steps 1 and 2.)
4 TBL olive oil, divided
2 small onions, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
4 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
2 cups white rice (I like Basmati a lot, but any white rice will do)
1/2 cup Salsa Lizano, or to taste (if you can't find this, there's really no substitute, but you can order it online right herewith free shipping)
1. Place the beans in a large pot and pick out any twigs or broken beans. Cover with cold water two inches above the surface of the beans. Soak overnight.
2. The next day, drain the beans in a colander and rinse well. Return to pot and cover with cold water two inches above the surface of the beans. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until beans are tender, but not mushy. This usually takes 45 minutes to an hour - check every 5-10 minutes after about 40 minutes of cooking. Drain and rinse. Set aside.
3. Heat 2 TBL oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add half the onion and half the garlic. Saute about 2 minutes, until onion is translucent. Add rice, saute 1 minute. Cover with 3 cups water, add 1 tsp salt (optional), and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand 10 minutes. Fluff gently.
4. Meanwhile, heat remaining 2 TBL oil over medium-high heat in a large saucepan. Add remaining onion and garlic; saute until onion is translucent. Add beans, tomatoes, and cilantro. Heat through.
5. Combine rice and beans. Stir in Salsa Lizano. Serve with sour cream and corn tortillas. Alternatively, scramble or fry eggs and serve alongside.
Serves a whole bunch as a side dish, or 8 as a main dish.
I'm trying a new hummus recipe, so I will post about that later (I'm in the middle of the process right now). I have high hopes for a good result, since the recipe is a HUGE pain. I made baba ghanosh already. For those of you who were wondering what would happen if you put an eggplant under the broiler and skipped the step where you prick it with a fork, here's your answer:
As my husband said, "Whoa, it shot its guts out!" True, true.
Anyway...Thank you for all your suggestions, String Bean! I know there's a vendor at our farmer's market with sheep's milk cheese (though it's a bit of a dangerous stall since he also has yarn...)!
Thank you, everyone, for your comments on the bear suit! Changes I would make now that I have a baby:
1. Add feet. (Ooh, how cute would little bear feet with claws be)
2. And maybe attached mittens that could flip open.
3. Two words: Crotch snaps. Baby clothes that don't have these mystify me.
Knitting: Here is my sock progress on Hedera:
I can hear you all now: "Surely you've finished sock #1, and this is #2?" Er...no. I have just finished the twisted rib cuff and barely started the lace. Part of this is some indecision. I keep wondering if this yarn would rather be a scarf, or a baby sweater. But I want something for me, and I wouldn't wear these colors except on my feet, and they're cheery and fun, and they're mine! Mine, I tell you!
Partly it's because of this:
That fun little accessory is the result of deQuervain's Tenosynovitis. Most commonly seen in piano players, bricklayers, and...women with new babies. It's apparently overuse of the tendon from hauling the baby around! I ignored the increasingly painful twinge in my wrist for weeks before I went to the doctor. I finally went when I was unable to use scissors in the normal way because my range of motion was so limited. It doesn't hurt to knit with the brace off, but it's really awkward with the brace on, which makes me think I shouldn't be doing it. I'll ask when I start PT.
Reading: I finished A Charmed Death by Madelyn Alt, and it was resoundingly...okay. It was a fine, fairly well-written mystery, nothing special. I also read High Fidelity by Nick Hornby. If you've seen the John Cusack film, you've basically read the book, although it was fun to see how the movie moved the story from London to Chicago. It was quite enjoyable, and I'm reading his About A Boy now. Lilah and I are around page 500 of the fifth Harry Potter, well on track to finish before the 7th book comes out.
Writing: Finished current revisions, though I still hate my opening. Eventually, something will come to me. Now working on chapter 9. I also mapped out some things I need to work in, because I've decided the exact motive/method of the killer(s). I had known whodunit, but I figured out exactly why, how, and if anyone else was involved, which I think is fun. I also need to figure out a map of my town it's set in because I think I've contradicted myself somewhere.
Cooking: I made Gallo Pinto, a Costa Rican breakfast dish. We had this every morning while on our honeymoon there, and it's delightful. We found a vague recipe and this is my adaptation:
Gallo Pinto (Allison version)
1 pound dried black beans (You can substitute canned black beans, rinsed well in a colander and drained. You need 5 cups, which is about 3 small cans. Just skip steps 1 and 2.)
4 TBL olive oil, divided
2 small onions, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
4 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
2 cups white rice (I like Basmati a lot, but any white rice will do)
1/2 cup Salsa Lizano, or to taste (if you can't find this, there's really no substitute, but you can order it online right herewith free shipping)
1. Place the beans in a large pot and pick out any twigs or broken beans. Cover with cold water two inches above the surface of the beans. Soak overnight.
2. The next day, drain the beans in a colander and rinse well. Return to pot and cover with cold water two inches above the surface of the beans. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until beans are tender, but not mushy. This usually takes 45 minutes to an hour - check every 5-10 minutes after about 40 minutes of cooking. Drain and rinse. Set aside.
3. Heat 2 TBL oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add half the onion and half the garlic. Saute about 2 minutes, until onion is translucent. Add rice, saute 1 minute. Cover with 3 cups water, add 1 tsp salt (optional), and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand 10 minutes. Fluff gently.
4. Meanwhile, heat remaining 2 TBL oil over medium-high heat in a large saucepan. Add remaining onion and garlic; saute until onion is translucent. Add beans, tomatoes, and cilantro. Heat through.
5. Combine rice and beans. Stir in Salsa Lizano. Serve with sour cream and corn tortillas. Alternatively, scramble or fry eggs and serve alongside.
Serves a whole bunch as a side dish, or 8 as a main dish.
I'm trying a new hummus recipe, so I will post about that later (I'm in the middle of the process right now). I have high hopes for a good result, since the recipe is a HUGE pain. I made baba ghanosh already. For those of you who were wondering what would happen if you put an eggplant under the broiler and skipped the step where you prick it with a fork, here's your answer:
As my husband said, "Whoa, it shot its guts out!" True, true.
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