Yep, back to the drawing board for my afghan border.

I got about 3/4 through my skein of yarn last night and only had about 8″ of border … which means there was no way on earth that 18 skeins was going to make it all the way around the afghan.

So, I’ve picked a cable pattern (reluctantly giving up my lovingly made chart), and, well, we’ll see.

I was asked to show a picture of my carrot cake so, here you go … along with this little carrot cake fan who showed up last night. (I suspect Mom knows something about this.)

Hey, remember the WB tv show called “Jack and Bobby,” that told the story of a boy who would grow up to be President? It only got one season, has never been on DVD … both things together are a crime. Well, I just found out that you can watch the episodes at thewb.com. Now, I haven’t watched all 22 of them, and it’s true that the series occasionally drifted a little too far into the “teen soap” direction, but when it was good, it was very, very good. And thank heaven they had enough of a chance to kind of sum things up in the final episode. SUCH a good show, and one of those “I can’t believe it got cancelled” ones.

Today, of course, is the start of Daylight Savings Time. My father is thrilled, Mom and I have been griping all day about too little sleep, and Chappy’s just confused as to why we’re doing everything an hour early all day. Got up an hour earlier than usual, had breakfast an hour earlier, went for a walk an hour earlier … you get the idea. I’m dreading tomorrow morning–it’s about the hardest Monday morning of the year … as if Mondays weren’t bad enough, it’s going to feel like I’m getting up an hour early. As if I didn’t have enough trouble dragging myself out of bed!

I saw this article in the new issue of Bon Appetit–talking about this “new” version of the string bag, made from “green” Hemp, with extra-strong seams at the sides …

Which is all good, of course. But my jaw dropped when I saw the price. Now, I know that not everyone is a knitter, and I know that we all deserve fair pay for hours of work, and good, organic hemp yarn isn’t cheap. But. $75? For a string shopping bag?

Maybe I should start selling mine… (grin)

The recipe for the cake, if you’re interested, is the Spicy Carrot Muffin recipe from the Fresh Start Cookbook … just, you know, baked in layer pans and with frosting added. (Thanks to NikChick for doing the typing.)

SPICY CARROT MUFFINS

From Julie Rosso’s Fresh Start cookbook.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspooin baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 egg
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Two 2 1/2-ounce jars baby food strained carrots
1 tablespoon minced orange zest
4 ounces unsweetened crushed pineapple, with juice
3/4 cup loosely packed shredded coconut
3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar (optional)BR>

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly spray 18 standard-sized muffin tins with vegetable oil spray.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Add the oil, applesauce, egg, buttermilk, vanilla, strained carrots, orange zest, and crushed pineapple with juice. Mix well. Stir in the coconut.

Fill the muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake for 5 minutes, reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F. and bake for about 20 minutes longer, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Turn the muffins out on to a wire rack. Serve warm or cooled and sprinkle lightly with confectioners’ sugar, if desired. Store in an airtight container.

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