So, this morning, after making blueberry pancakes for Dad’s Father’s Day breakfast, I made bread dough.

I used leftover rice from dinner the other night, sesame seeds, wheat germ, and a dash of molasses and vegetable oil, in addition to the usual flour, yeast, salt, and milk.

The finished loaf came out pretty well, if I do say so myself. Isn’t that a wonderful use of leftover rice?

I actually made three loaves, but only baked one of them. The other two are in the refrigerator, waiting to be baked later in the week.

It came out very nicely, and tasted great with a little butter while it was still warm from the oven. I haven’t made this recipe in ages, but there’s something about the rice and sesame seeds that makes it toast into wonderful, crisp toast. (Because, really, what’s the point of toast if it’s not crisp?) In fact, it’s one of the few times I really like peanut butter, because this bread, toasted, with peanut butter melting into it? Yummmmmm.

Oh, and Bonus Points to Carrie for correctly spotting the detour my weekend reading took. Because, yes, since last night I have read The Black Stallion, The Black Stallion Returns, Son of the Black Stallion, Black Stallion and Satan, The Black Stallion’s Filly, and The Black Stallion Revolts. Hey, they’re children’s books, they’re supposed to be fast reads. And still pretty entertaining in that wide-eyed, 1940s boy’s adventure story kind of way–the kind written with lots of action and lots of exclamation points, but which is still just fun. They’re mirrors of their time, but they’re entertaining, and I haven’t read them in years. In fact, the only one that shows up on my reading list is the original Black Stallion book, which I last read on August 4, 1997.

Really, between the Black Stallion jag this weekend and the Little House books two weeks ago, my reading list for the month is looking very healthy!

Hey, Mom pointed out this blog to me–written by a Border Collie named Fenway. Chappy’s a little jealous that he has a blog of his very own, but I think he’s really just as happy to let me do most of the writing. It’s not like he doesn’t guest-post here and on Mom’s blog from time to time, right? And in the meantime, he gets to snooze while I do all the work. (He’s a smart boy!)

• Tags: Baking, General, Reading • Permalink:Bread // 2 Comments »

First things first–for our Sleeve Watch update, you can see that they are moving along nicely. When I try this on (well, try on ONE sleeve, anyway), it comes just past my elbow, which is fine. Any length from here is perfectly satisfactory. I might even deliberately opt for 3/4 sleeves anyway, just to make this sweater that little bit more versatile.

In terms of yarn–I’ve got this much left. I’m not exactly sure how much is in there, and the center of the ball is pretty hollow, so … we’ll see what that translates to (grin).

Here’s a better idea of the scale of that collapsing ball of yarn.

I did some baking today, too. I finally got to try out a recipe from one of the cookbooks I won from Marsha in April.

I’ve been drooling over this carrot cake recipe in the Fresh Start cookbook. Actually, it could be either muffins OR cake, and I opted for cake. I used my Baker’s Edge pan, which I love, but which made frosting it rather challenging (grin). Worth it, though, because this was a YUMMY recipe, and I didn’t even need to grate any carrots for it–it uses baby food, strained carrots instead. Nifty, huh?

Dad and Chappy approved.

Mom and I turned our extra “MV Fiber Farm” pin into a refrigerator magnet, too. And I dusted and thoroughly-vacuumed my bedroom. And did laundry. And took Chappy for a nice, medium-sized walk. And have been working my way through the Little House series, and feeling all the while that, compared to the hard-working pioneers, I am a lazy, lazy person (grin). Which, really, compared to them, I AM (bigger grin).

• Tags: Baking, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Sleeve-Watch // 6 Comments »

Mmmm… Applesauce Cake. One of the family-favorite recipes, and requested this morning by Mom. The recipe is from the “Joy of Cooking” cookbook I’ve had since the mid-80s and is so tasty–especially if you’ve got some whipped cream or vanilla ice cream handy.

It’s really pretty photogenic, too. Not to mention tasty.

Anyway, it’s Mother’s Day today, so I did what I could to make Mom’s day a good one. She wanted one of her blueberry scones for breakfast, but I made coffee to go along with it, as well as waffles for Dad and me. The four of us went for a nice, long walk while the sun was still shining. I made pot roast for supper. She and I sat in the living room together and sewed (Mom) and knitted (me). And, of course, cake for dessert. Nice day, I thought.

It’s not much of a picture, because of all the curling and such, but look! The body is finished and hemmed. It’s still curling which I expect will be taken care of when I block it when it’s finished, but, otherwise, woohoo! I decided to knit the buttonbands next … I can always stop to make the sleeves shorter if it seems I’m running out of yarn, but I want to be sure to have enough yarn for the button bands. And, besides, that will make it look neater, right? (grin). So, in this picture, I’ve picked up the band for the left front, so that’s got yarn attached and … as I say, it’s not a perfect picture, but I’m very happy with the way the knitting is coming along.

Oh, and speaking of pictures?

This photo from the current Bon Appetit magazine just struck me as so cool. It marked the section of pasta recipes, and … so nifty. All I can think is that they carefully dipped strands of dried spaghetti into boiling water so that only the bottom half was cooked, and then … put it on a light box? Something, anyway, to get them back-lit, but the curly, interwoven swirls at the bottom and the straight lines at the top. Just, such a cool photo.

[Read more →]

• Tags: Baking, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Mom’s Day // 7 Comments »

Here’s some irony for you. I made a point of bringing home a couple of these lovely grocery/tote bags, but when I went to the store this morning? They were still sitting at home, so I had to use those plastic, store bags anyway.

See, I’ll tell you exactly what the problem is. I don’t want to empty this bag. I don’t want to put away the yarn. I don’t want to put on the t-shirt. I don’t want to put the bags in the car, ready for a trip to the grocery store. No. Because that will mean that the MV Fiber Festival is really over. And as much as I want to play with that yarn, admire my postcards, and be environmentally-responsible and use these bags for trips to the store … as long as they’re all sitting in this cute little tote and not put nicely away, it still feels like the fiber festival is recent. Fresh. Somehow still going on. The minute I break up the “set,” it’s over, like when you do the laundry after a trip. Once the clean clothes are put away and the suitcase has been stacked in the guest room, that’s it. You’re home. It’s done.

I know. I need to accept reality. But … last week at this time, I was on Martha’s Vineyard, and now I’m not! (Sniffle.)
It doesn’t help that it hasn’t been nearly as nice a Saturday today as LAST Saturday. Sure, the rain they were forecasting held off, after just a sprinkle last night. And it was a nice, 63 degrees. No complaints, really. Except that Mom has now caught Dad’s cold. That means that she opted to stay home this morning, instead of doing the usual, Saturday morning outing for coffee, so I went out on my own.

I went to Best Buy to look at the camera I’ve been thinking about. The Nikon D40 Digital SLR which I’ve heard such good things about. I know, I know. The last thing I should be doing right now is spending money on a new camera, not when the money situation is so awful. But … I can actually justify this. (No, really!) I’ve told you about the problems I’m having with my S2 IS, and I’m just not happy enough with the camera to want to pay to get it fixed–especially when I can’t clearly define the problem. Nor do I want to “upgrade” to a reconditioned model of a later version of the same camera for $165. However, this Nikon is going for about $460 at Amazon, which is a great price for DSLR. And then, I have an Amazon.com visa card and for whatever reason, have been hoarding my “reward” gift certificates for months and, with the gift card my sister gave me for Christmas, I’ve got $250 in certificates. Which means I can get this camera for about $210 in cash–well worth the additional $45 over getting a reconditioned Canon S3. And, besides, there’s that handy tax rebate from the US government coming. Why be entirely practical and use it to buy something necessary, like, say, gasoline for the car?

(Hey, incidentally, may I point your attention to the Amazon link to the right? If you ever need to buy something from Amazon.com and you link from here, I’ll get a commission. Not a big one, perhaps, but something! And with money as bad as it is, every bit helps, and if you’re going to buy something anyway….)

So, anyhow, I looked at the Nikon and I looked at the comparably-priced Canon Digital Rebel XT which was also nice. I even have a 35mm film version of a Canon Rebel that could share the same lenses, but … okay, maybe this seems silly … but the XT uses a compact flash memory card, and both my current cameras and my computer use SD cards. Which means that I can just pop the card into the computer to copy pictures–no need to hook up the camera. That convenience is wonderful. As is the fact that I already own several appropriately-sized memory cards. So, really, I’m leaning toward the Nikon. And it was good to see it in person, too, feel it in my hands. Nice camera. (And then, I suppose there’s always a chance that I could win a D60….but I’m not holding my breath!)

After that I went to the bookstore (I had a coupon and used it to buy ONE book, on using Photoshop for digital photos, and just looking through it, I’ve got to tell you, the tips are great.) I bumped into a very nice woman, named Pam, who was browsing in the magazine section when I came by. I mentioned that I was looking for a specific magazine that my Mom had asked me to pick up because a friend told her it had an article about the MV Fiber Farm. We chatted a bit as I flipped through the magazine, looking for it, and she told me that she subscribed to it, and that if I lived nearby, she’d be willing to take a look through the last issue to see if it was in there. Turns out, she lives about 2 miles from here. In fact, almost midway between me and Kim. I don’t really expect that I’ll hear from her (though, Hi, Pam! if you stopped by), but wasn’t that nice of her to offer?

Then, just as I was getting into the car, my phone rang. It was Dad. “When are you coming home? I’m starving to death.” Um, huh? Turns out I had told my poor, sick Mother that I would stop at the store for her to pick up milk and juice and a few other things, and at the top of the list she gave me, it said, “Lunch.” I had assumed that was a reminder to me that I needed to get something for my own lunch–Dad usually eats PB&J or grilled cheese. But, no. She meant lunch for him, too, and he managed to wait all the way to 12:02 before he picked up the phone to call me (grin).

So, I left the bookstore, drove to the grocery store. Grabbed a cart (that was conveniently in the middle of my parking space so that I had to get out of the car to move it anyway), and then zoomed around the store, assembling four (plastic) bags’ worth of groceries. I paid and loaded up the car and was just wheeling my cart to the space designated to shopping carts, when another woman who had just gotten out of her car smiled and said she’d take it. I recommended it to her as being an excellent cart, with no wobbly wheels, and then got in my car and drove home. All in 32 minutes from the time Dad called. (Really, I’m much more efficient in a grocery store than I ever am in a bookstore.)

In my whirlwind tour of the grocery store, I picked up some strawberry and rhubarb to make a treat for Dad. My Eating Well magazine came last week and it had a recipe for Strawberry-Rhubarb strudel. Well, I’ve never made strudel before, but it sounded interesting. Of course, I couldn’t remember what the recipe called for except the fruit and filo dough, but I did my best. I tried their Lemon-Poppyseed cake, too, which was quite tasty. (And, really, should go quite well with the sauce that I turned the extra strawberries and rhubarb into.)

I took Chappy for a walk, too, and all-in-all, it wasn’t until about 3:30 that I had a chance to sit down and relax, and I didn’t even turn my computer on until about 5:30 and then, just as I was about to start writing this blog entry … my server went down. Eep! Apparently they crashed last night and had some residual effects today. I’m glad the problem is fixed, though, and that it wasn’t something on my end because, really, I don’t think I’ve got the energy to deal with that tonight.

As I say, it’s been a full day. Because, on top of all the things I just told you? I had to rip out some of my sweater–pretty much everything I’ve done in the last week. (Note to self: Be grateful you didn’t have time to work on your sweater on MV last weekend.) The button bands weren’t working the way I’d hoped, so I had to tear back to where they began. Not awful, really, but still, I never like having to frog.

And now, I really need to get to bed. I told Dad I’d make him waffles in the morning to go with that strawberry-rhubarb sauce … if, that is, he didn’t want to eat the strudel instead! (grin)

• Tags: Baking, General, Knitting/Spinning, Martha's Vineyard • Permalink:Ups and Downs // 14 Comments »

The other day, Elvis showed his skills at cleaning out peanut butter containers. Now, Chappy’s nose isn’t long enough to reach the bottom of a PB jar, but he wouldn’t want you to think that he doesn’t take recycling seriously.

First, there’s the milk carton. I’ve mentioned before that, once empty of milk, they make excellent toys. We rinse them, let them dry, and then I put his morning vitamin in it, set it on the rug in the middle of the hallway (while he Sits on the rug by the door) and then give him the go ahead and he charges down the hallway to tackle it. After which it becomes one of his favorite toys–the vitamin makes a fun rattle (before it finally falls out), the handle gives him something handy to carry it with, it crunches nicely into a shape he can fit in his mouth, and it skitters so nicely across the floor that it’s great fun to chase. Great invention, those milk cartons.

And then there are the cream cheese containers. We prefer our cream cheese to be easily spreadable and so get ours in these bright, pink plastic containers. Of course, once they’re empty, they need to be recycled, but all those sticky bits of cream cheese need to be cleaned out first. So, again, Chappy helps out. I put his vitamin in here, too (because why not make vitamins fun?). Since cream cheese–even tiny amounts–on an empty stomach sometimes makes him spit up on the floor, I usually add some kibble, too. (You know that he doesn’t normally eat kibble–I make my own food for my boy–but it is handy to have around for toys and emergencies. We use Innova brand. In case you were wondering.)

Anyway, once the cream cheese container is ready to go, with its lid back on, Chappy goes and sits in the corner of the kitchen. I haven’t taught him to close his eyes, but from this spot, he can’t see anything but the kitchen cabinets, so it’s close enough. And while he’s sitting….

…I hide the container. This is getting harder and harder because by now, he knows where all the possible downstairs hiding places are.

As soon as he gets permission, though, off he goes. He almost always follows the same route, trotting through each room with his nose busily trying to find the container. The better hiding places can keep him searching for 5-10 minutes…

…but usually he finds it fairly quickly–on the first or second lap around the house.

Then, the fun part–getting it open so he can get in to all the yummy, creamy, crunchy goodness inside. (If you look really carefully, you can see him licking his lips in this picture.)

I did try to get a picture of him happily cleaning out the inside, but he’d nudged it under the dining room table by then and that kind of made anything like a decent camera angle impossible. He’s really good at getting inside these, though. He lays the container on its side and then uses his nose to press the sides, near the lid, to break the seal. No wasting time trying to pull the lid off from the top, oh no. This way, the lid will pop off on its own and out pours a delectable pile of cream cheese-flavored kibble. Mmmm.

In other recycling, I’m trying a new recipe today. I’ve had this Oatmeal Cake recipe for about 18 years now, but in the current issue of Cooks Illustrated, they have an updated version–including putting it under the broiler to carmelize the topping. I don’t know if I’m going to like it more than the other one–I mean, we’ve been together for quite some time–but it seemed worth a shot. Besides, I’ve never broiled a cake before….

The verdict? Very tasty, as all the C.I. recipes almost always are. But do I like it better than the recipe I’ve been using for the last couple of decades? Well … I don’t know that I’d go that far! The crispy, broiled texture on the top sure is tasty, though.

I have some other leftovers to recycle, too. Some leftover singles of that pretty, pretty blue roving. Which is great. I’ll ply these together and then have some accent yarn to go with my sweater. I don’t know how much (yet), or what I’ll do with it, but . . . yum!

Because, of course, bobbin #2 is done! It just needs to be skeined, washed, and dried and it will be ready to go. Since the first bobbin had something like 500 yds, though, I’m thinking that I’ve got a little time to play with, here. No rush.

Because, yes, my knitting bag is no longer empty. Phew!

• Tags: Baking, Chappy, Family, Finished Spinning, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Recycling // 9 Comments »

Mom and I went out for coffee this morning at the new SmartWorld coffee shop that just opened up in town. The interesting part is that it moved into the space that Starbucks had been in for years. Starbucks–which has been gone since December–is moving. Do you see that grey-bricked corner location in the currently-being-updated shopping plaza directly across the street? Yep. That’s going to the be the new Starbucks. I suppose the two competing coffee shops could technically be closer, but, um … not by much!

What I’m really curious about is–down at the end of that shopping plaza–what used to be the Key Foods grocery store now has a big hole. Not just in the facade, which is being updated (something about 30 years overdue), but that gaping hole? It goes all the way through to the back of the building. I’m just dying to know what they’re doing! The rest of the plaza is just getting a face lift, but that one section is getting major reconstruction surgery, but why? Nobody knows what that store is going to be, either. We’ve heard that it might be a Walgreens, but I’ve also heard that that deal fell through, so who knows? It’s interesting to watch though.

While we were having our coffee, I worked on my wrist-warmers. The yarn is the Aspen color, merino-tencel from Spunky from a few months ago and I just love it. Soft, pretty, gorgeous colors. Blue and golden-brown is one of my very favorite color combinations.

Afterwards, we stopped at the grocery store for some last-minute things for Easter dinner tomorrow. While we were there, we bumped into our next-door neighbor in the refrigerated-food section, and when we got to the check-out line, we saw our next-door neighbors from the other side. That’s certainly the first time that ever happened. I mean, really, what are the odds? And then … we were buying some strawberries for dessert and as I lifted the container out of the grocery cart … it opened. Strawberries went everywhere–onto the check-out conveyor belt, on the floor, in the shopping cart. Everywhere! I ran back to get another container while Mom dealt with the, um, overflow, with the help of a store employee with a broom who was actually finished sweeping them up by the time I got back. I’ve certainly never had that happen before. If anything, those containers are usually hard to open!

Of course, I needed something to go WITH those berries, so I baked this afternoon, too. Everything went fine until the cake was in the oven, because that was when it overflowed the pan. The cake itself didn’t burn, but we still had a nice, smoky smell wafting around the kitchen. In fact, when I opened the oven to put in the coffee cake for tomorrow’s breakfast, there was a whole cloud of smoke in there. I just hope it didn’t flavor the cake. Smoke is an excellent flavor for bacon or ham, but not really ideal for cake, you know?

Other than that? We took Chappy out for a walk, and I spent much of the day curled up with Harry Potter. I’ve been re-reading the series and … honestly, I’m pretty proud of myself … this is the first time I’ve read the Deathly Hallows since it came out in July. Considering how much I love to re-read books, that shows admirable self-restraint, you know. Especially when you consider I put it aside for two hours tonight–just as I got to the end–so Mom and I could watch Enchanted. (And now I have the “That’s How You’ll Know” song in my head–good thing I like it.)

My Vogue Knitting came today, and this sweater caught my eye. You know that I need another project for when my Flutter-Sleeve cardi is done, and that’s going to be any day now. I finished the second button band tonight and now need to block the pieces, sew the shoulder seams, and then knit the sleeve cuffs … and then, it will be pretty much done, except for the side seams and the buttons. But, obviously, that’s not exactly going to take me forever, so I need another knitting project, soon! I never actually wear lace sweaters, though, but this one sure is pretty. I haven’t actually looked at the yarn requirements, but I AM still looking for a pattern to go with that Sublime yarn I got last July. (And, jeepers, I can’t believe that was the last time I bought a sweater’s worth of yarn!)

And, this shrug? I have no need for it myself, but oh, what a beautiful wedding accessory. The way the pattern meets at the back with a knitted rose, and those renaissance lace cuffs? Such a pretty, romantic piece. There’s another picture here. If I were getting married, this is definitely a shrug I would consider.

Okay, I’ve got to go find out if Harry can save the world or not…. (grin)

• Tags: Baking, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Saturday // 13 Comments »

So, first, you make oatmeal cookie dough and spread it in the pan. Then you make brownie batter….

… and pour that over the top.

 

When baked, you get a two-layer cookie with oatmeal and brownie intermingling in the most mouth-watering way. The idea is inspired by the FatWitch breakfast brownies, but the recipe is my own. Or, well, really, they’re the recipes that came on the boxes, but putting them together was my idea. The Baker’s Chocolate brownie recipe is still my favorite, and the oatmeal cookie part was adapted from the oatmeal-raisin cookie recipe on the Quaker Oatmeal container. (No raisins, no cinnamon, but otherwise the same.)

It makes for a really thick cookie (which my Dad insists on calling “cake,” sigh), which is why I baked it in my Edge Pan. I didn’t trust it to bake evenly in a regular, rectangular pan … although, really, it probably would have been fine. And, besides, I LOVE my Edge pan! Everyone should have one (grin).

This, plus making pot roast, is basically how I filled my day. (The pot roast? Browned in the pan, and then cooked in a combination of beef stock, red wine, and a splash of tomato sauce, since we were out of tomato paste; seasoned with a bay leaf, parsley, Worchestershire sauce, a dash of allspice, a little minced onion, and salt and pepper. Yum.)

Our house smells good today!

There was some spinning, too…. And, of course, some reading. (Yes, I finished Fool’s Errand, which I started yesterday afternoon, and am now onto yet another book.) We got Chappy out for a walk, too–at least it was sunny today.

Which at least helped the agony of Daylight Saving Time. Sure, I got to sleep later than usual because it was Sunday, but it still felt like I was getting up an hour early (and tomorrow is going to be agony). And then, the sun was glaring in my eyes when I tried to sit with Chappy this morning . . . it didn’t get bearable until after lunch. And when I came upstairs to check my email around 3:30/4:00, the sun was angled just so coming in my bedroom window, so that it was glaring in my eyes. Sigh. And I can already tell you that it’s going to be in my eyes when I head downstairs after my shower, too, which is going to make reading, knitting, and watching television challenging until the sunsets. (Because we have a very loose-weave drape on our sliding doors, and it does NOT block the sun.)

I tell you, Daylight Saving Time is like having jetlag without having the fun of a vacation, first.

• Tags: Baking, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Jetlag // 10 Comments »

Beautiful, sunny, blue sky, with sparkly trees to boot.

Homemade coffee cake for tomorrow’s breakfast.

Homemade Grandma Cake just because we needed something to celebrate.

A sad, battered tree. (Stupid Woodpeckers.)

…Which is the right-half of this “V”. And, luckily, is the half that leans away from the house.

A well-romped backyard. (The “double” tree at the very left edge of the picture is the one being attacked.)

Chappy, examining his yard, and deciding whether it still looks rompable. (Because, you understand, once it gets crusty on top, it’s not nearly so pleasant to the paw!)

A chipmunk, venturing out into the snow.

A manuscript, ready to go out into the cold, cruel world. (Send it good luck vibes, please!)

The taxes I didn’t get around to doing because I was too busy baking things in the kitchen.

And, an FO for Mom! She’s been working on this counted cross-stitch since April 2006.

• Tags: Baking, Family, General, Sky • Permalink:Serene Sunday // 12 Comments »

Refreshingly, I had the day off today–still a rarity for President’s Day for my company–but it was nice to have a Monday where I didn’t have to go to work. (Chappy, in particulary, was very happy about that, but we’re agreed that tomorrow is going to be hard.)

Anyway, I started my day off with some homemade crumb cake that I baked yesterday. I’ve made this once before (last Easter), and it was just as good as I remember . . . although the powdered sugar on top is still one of my favorite parts. (When I was little, I’d eat all the sugar off the top with a wet finger. Disgusting in retrospect, but it sure tasted good at the time.) The recipe is from Cook’s Illustrated, and while it’s a little bit of effort, it’s worth it. The link, mind you, goes to Crumb Cake MUFFINS, but looks the same to me except for the pan. The original recipe calls for baking it in a parchment-paper-lined square pan, but I made mine in a Springform pan instead.

Speaking of Cook’s . . . anyone interested in their cocoa mix comparison?

Otherwise? It’s been a pretty quiet day with some interesting weather. It rained a lot last night, and when I woke up this morning, the trees looked so nifty . . . the branches of the birch trees in the back were drying out, but the trunks were still soaked and dark. I thought it was such an intriguing juxtaposition, I took a picture through my bedroom window. And then, it was 61 degrees this morning. In New Jersey. In February. Practically unheard of. Mom and I took Chappy out for a walk around 11:30, when it was wet underfoot but otherwise just lovely, with hints of blue up in the sky . . . Came home, had lunch then . . . it was raining. And windy. Then the sun came back out. Now it’s raining again . . . all in all, an indecisive day so far as the weather is concerned.

I didn’t actually do very much with my day, other than that. Mostly sat and read on the couch with Chappy. (You’ll be pleased to know that I’ve already passed my “books-read” count from last month. I told you that was abnormally low!)

Really, considering the long weekend, I’ve gotten remarkably little accomplished. At least I’ve relaxed a little, though, huh?

Oh, and the Martha’s Vineyard Fiber Farm Shearing Day I’ve mentioned? The date has been set for April 19th. So if any of you are close enough to be able to go, go! It’s open to everyone, not just shareholders. And, if you haven’t been to the Flickr page lately, well, go take a look at the adorable new faces they’ve got! So much cuteness….

• Tags: Baking, Family, General, Martha's Vineyard • Permalink:Pressing // 5 Comments »

It was a dreary weather day today. It actually started with a smattering of snow and then turned into a misty rain for pretty much the whole day. Very blah.

The bright part, though was that I spent time with my friend Cindy. We saw her briefly last week, but that was just for a few minutes. Today was much more satisfying. For one thing, we went shoe-shopping, which is never a bad thing. Especially when you have a coupon for $20 off and you find a fabulous pair of Franco Sarto ankle boots in the clearance section. (The Mary Janes are by Naturalizer.) And the funny part? While back in the clearance section, I found the exact shoes I was wearing. The same ones I bought at Nordstroms two and a half years ago. Same model, same color, same size . . . but I, um, purposely did not look too carefully at the price.

Oh. And it’s possible I had a coupon at the bookstore, too.

After we were done shopping, we came back to the house to entertain Chappy. Well, that, and I had baking to do. We’re doing the family celebration of Mom’s birthday tomorrow, and of course, there has to be dessert! I made the same mini ice-cream cakes as I did for the last two years. Crumbled chocolate cake–which, of course, I had to bake first, raspberry syrup, and vanilla ice cream. But then, while I was mixing that up, we kind of agreed that brownies sounded good, and since the oven was on anyway . . . I made some brownies, too. Of course, I had planned on sending some home with Cindy, but I forgot. So those are actually in the freezer. Dad’s sulking a little bit because the baking was all chocolate and he doesn’t like chocolate, but, well, it’s Mom’s birthday, right?

Anyway, Chappy was glad I was home, and thrilled to have a guest to entertain. (You know how he is.) Mom and I watched the old movie, Working Girl–the only movie I actually like Melanie Griffith in–and all in all, it’s been a good day. Except, you know, for the now-pouring rain.

Two links for you:

One, the Barilla Celebrity Italian Cookbook. Not only is the download free, but for every copy downloaded between now and February 29th, they’re donating $1 to the Second Harvest food drive.

Two, the first Martha’s Vineyard Fiber Farm lamb of the season has arrived, and she’s just adorable. Click here to see pictures.

• Tags: Baking, Family, General • Permalink:Soggy // 7 Comments »

• Tags: Baking, Chappy, Family, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Waiting Wednesday // 13 Comments »

Today was all about family. My sister, brother-in-law, niece, and nephew all came down for dinner, cake and general “birthdaying.”

We had a really nice visit, even if Mom and I still aren’t feeling up to par . . . the last bit of this cold is hard to kick! In fact, I was a little feverish this afternoon. (Although, I suppose that could have been all the excitement!)

My friend Cindy, who I’ve technically known since high school, also came over for dessert–which was enjoyed by all. (This was the famous “Grandma Cake,” made to my grandmother’s recipe. I’ve never met anyone who didn’t like this cake–especially the frosting.)

Cindy was also nice enough to take a family photo for us. (She volunteed, really, we didn’t ASK her to!)

She’s done this before, though, in 2003–also on a day she came over for my birthday. We’re all a little older, and in the case of my niece and nephew, taller. My niece is leaning on the ottoman in this picture, but trust me, she’s the tallest female in the family, just recently passed by her brother . . .

See the older photo?

Yep. I’m definitely feeling older!

• Tags: Baking, Family, Friends • Permalink:Family // 20 Comments »

It’s official–the November Calendar challenge/meme is now officially a contest. I still haven’t had a chance to go through my stash to figure out the prize, but yes, there will be one. And can I just say how much I’m enjoying this?? Cheryl certainly has a good picture this month. And the Knitter’s calendar has cropped up four times so far, too, which isn’t the least bit surprising, really…. This is FUN!

  Chappy looked like this when Mom and I left the house this morning. I don’t think he was particularly happy about our going out without him. (I mean, he’s not smiling at all, and he’s practically got his arms folded. Not a happy camper!) We explained that Starbucks doesn’t allow dogs, but . . . he wasn’t happy about it.

  I stopped at my favorite spot to take a Saturday Sky picture for you. And then, yes, Mom and I went to Starbucks and sat and talked, well, mostly about me. Well, what Mom was doing 40 years ago (on bedrest, but that her Dad took her to a doctor’s appointment “this” morning where the doctor told her that if the baby was born before December, it would only have about an 80% chance to live . . . which means that two days from now, when she went into labor, she was frantic–for more reasons than one!)

  After all that reminiscing, we felt it was only right that we go visit Susan. I told you about her last year, but for those of you who weren’t around, she was my identical twin, but she didn’t stick around for very long. This is the cemetary where she’s buried, but we don’t know exactly where–she doesn’t have a gravestone (my Dad had other things on his mind at the time, understandably!), and her plot number doesn’t appear on any of the gravestone maps . . . I tell myself that she probably wants it that way. Anyway, I know she’s over along that wall somewhere . . .

  I had a real surprise when we got home though . . . flowers! I literally cannot remember the last time someone sent me flowers. These are from my aunt, which is an even greater surprise. They are really lovely.

  I even took another Sky picture with them . . .

  Which reminded me . . . I’d done a picture from our front yard two weeks in a row . . . what would THAT picture look like today?

  I also baked a cake. And worked my way through my huge pile of magazines. (It was all of two magazines as of yesterday morning, but it exploded to six in the last 24 hours.)

Still no sign of my Gem . . . maybe Monday!

• Tags: Baking, Family, General, Sky • Permalink:Definitely a Contest // 15 Comments »

  It’s been a wet, rainy day today . . . but I haven’t been lazy! First, I made an apple-crumb pie. The filling is basic apple, sugar, spices and some dried cranberries. The topping is brown sugar, nuts, oatmeal, and butter. I didn’t measure anything except the sugar I put in the pie filling, and just kept my fingers crossed. I had a piece a couple hours ago, still warm, and it came out delicious. (All other portions will be cold because Dad likes his pie chilled . . .which is fine with me . . . but still, that one piece, warm, with some whipped cream? Mmmmm.)

But then, I got down to serious work. Lining/Fixing my bag.

  I trimmed the long handle, sewed it down, and turned the excess into a strap for closing. Then I started piecing together the lining, thinking it through as I went.

  I had told you about the bag’s structural problems, remember? About how the metal frame at the top was just too heavy for the bag to support? Well, I ordered some craft wire from Mister Art, to give just a little heft to the lining.

  See? As I sewed the pieces of the lining together, I made channels to slide the wire and rods into. Four around the rectangular base, and then four up the four corners of the bag.

  And so, the bag now has a lining (the perfect color, too, don’t you think?) and it has enough support to stand up, which it didn’t before. Really, my favorite part about this style of bag is that it opens wide and stays open–it’s perfect for knitting out of.

  Really, I’m so happy. So what if the sewing isn’t perfect?? (grin) I still did everything I needed to do–and am proud of myself for figuring out how to get the channels in there for the wire, adding in some pockets. And it fits, too! (grin)

Now, the one thing left? I need a button or a snap or something to close the flap over the front. And I was thinking a felted flower, made out of the original blue would look lovely. Now, I just need to find a pattern for one . . . and a snap. Or maybe velcro? Something to hold it closed. But really, that doesn’t seem all that difficult at this point.

  Chappy found the whole process rather boring. But at least his favorite spot is in the dining room–the same room that I was doing the sewing.

  Oh, and not only did my craft wire come JUST at the right time today (right after I’d put the sewing machine and such away, and had about 15 minutes to relax)–but I got my order from Amazon, too. A copy of Knit 2 Together by Tracey Ullman and Meg Clark, and Spin to Knit by Shannon Okey (anyone who could handle that interview with Dolores deserves to have her book bought). Also Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior by Temple Gradin, which is supposed to be fascinating.

All in all, today may not have been a walk in the park, but it’s been interesting!

Now, I wonder if I can find a good closure for this bag before Rhinebeck . . . because, wouldn’t this make a great purse for that?

Oh, and the other bonus for today? I saw my sister for about half an hour. She stopped by after her dentist visit–THAT made Chappy really happy!

Hey . . . I just checked my Stats and guess how many comments I have right this second? 4,500. Wow! I can’t even think the last time I checked and saw a zero, forget about a “big” number like that… I feel badly . . . maybe I should have held a contest for that number comment, but I didn’t realize it was coming. Would a retro-active prize make any sense? Or should I watch for when i’m approaching 5,000?

Oh, and Mom has a cold . . . I told her she’d better keep her germs to herself–I refuse to be sick for Rhinebeck!

• Tags: Baking, General, Knitting/Spinning, Reading, Weather • Permalink:Rainy Day // 20 Comments »

This was ALL the yarn I had left in my skein.

Just barely enough to thread onto a needle to weave the ends in.

Granted, I have another, untouched skein (one in each color, in fact), but you understand . . . it’s the principle of the thing. Having to blend a new skein of yarn solely for the purposes of binding off the sleeve? That’s just wrong. Wrongwrongwrong. On so many levels.

But, you realize what this means, right?

Yep. My sweater is done.

You’ll have to forgive the mediocre picture, but this way you can see the nifty diamond shape the sleeves make when worn. They have a strange little “pouch” to them when lying flat . . . which, I admit, I would have avoided if I had known ahead of time. But I consider the downward diagonal to be a serendipitous occurence. I like the sleeves.

The colors look pretty accurate, too–the green looks green and not yellow, so that’s a plus.

I like the way this came out. I like the stripes (Shelley’s idea, originally), and I like that I staggered them in different thicknesses instead of doing regular stripes. I like the 5×2 rib that I opted to do the body in–it adds a little heft to the fabric, without making it too clingy. It was also interesting enough to knit that it didn’t feel as endless as stockinette stitch sometimes does. I shaped the shoulders and the sleeves with shortrows . . . I suppose I could have used a little more shaping at the shoulder, but, then, they mostly look odd in this picture because of the ribbing on the sleeves.

The reason the sleeves look so strange in when it’s unworn is that I knitted them in 2×2 ribbing, mostly because when I picked up all the stitches around the armhole, it wasn’t divisible by 7. It’s a tghter rib than 5×2, so the sleeves “gather in” more than the fabric of the body does, although worn, they fit and “match” just fine.

The specs again, such as they are: knitted in Karabella Aurora8/Aurora Melange yarn, in my very own design.

---

It’s been a lovely family day, here. Lots of silliness and laughter–and playing. Chappy’s toys were very popular (as was he). Even my sister got in on the game–a goal-scoring game where she tried to get the soft frisbee past my nephew into the dining room, and he tried to get it past her into the living room. Chappy mostly stayed on the outskirts of the game, but every now and again, he would jump in to grab the toy (it is HIS, after all). At one point, he saved the toy and pranced around with it in his mouth, head held high, tail going a mile a minute, just clearly so darn pleased with himself.

Really, they were all very entertaining.

The food was good, too. Mom broiled some chicken which came out nice and juicy and very tasty. I made potato salad, which is always a hit with my family. (Personally, I only like potato salad when it’s freshly made, and really only like my own, and once or twice a year is plenty. But even mine, once it’s passed 24 hours or so . . . blech.) I also made two desserts–an end-of-summer one and a beginning-of-fall one.

The summer dessert (illustrated here) is a frozen lemon pie. Now, the inspiration for this came from my 1999 trip to London, when my friend and I ate at one specific pub and had a dessert that tasted like–and had the texture of–a frozen lemon meringue pie. Delicious. (In fact, we made a point of eating at that pub twice, just so we could get the pie again.) I’ve wanted to recreatre it ever since, but had no idea how to get that meringue-like texture in an ice cream. But then, the cookbook I got last month had a recipe for lemon-curd ice cream AND one for a caramel semifreddo which got its texture from beaten eggs, rather than air churned into the mixture as it freezes. Hmmm . . . . So, I made a crust out of crushed ginger snaps, made the lemon curd ice cream, and then made the semifreddo with a couple of adjustments. (No caramel, and instead of using two eggs used the 4 egg whites left over from the lemon curd.) The result? Almost perfect. I poured the lemon curd ice cream base directly into the pie shell instead of churning it in the ice cream maker first, and so it ended up with big ice crystals–not as creamy as it should have been, but still . . . the flavor was great, the idea worked, and so far as my memory serves, it’s darn close to the original. (Granted, it’s 7 years since I tasted the original, but . . . maybe that’s not a bad thing, huh?)

Oh, and the other dessert was an applesauce cake–the recipe from the Joy of Cooking, and which has been a family favorite for about twenty years now. And which remains about the ONLY way I like raisins at all.

  Lastly, take a look at the picture they gave my mother. The drawing was done by my niece–that’s her in the front, and Ocean Park on Martha’s Vineyard in the background. The frame was assembled as kind of a family project. Isn’t it wonderful? I can knit and all just fine, but I cannot draw a jot . . . gotta admire this kind of talent . . .

Okay . . . very tired now. It’s been a full day (grin). And, oh, you should see poor Chappy . . . he’s doing his rug imitation–as flat out on the floor as a dog possibly can be. Happy, but exhausted!

• Tags: Baking, Family, Finished Knitting, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Photo Finish // 16 Comments »

  Well, here’s my second installment of Sundara’s Petals Collection sock club. A very pretty purpley-blue with hints of rose, “Hydrangea” yarn. Really lovely! The picture of the actual yarn is far too dark (rain and dark skies ALL day), but the colors in the picture of the picture of the finished sock is pretty accurate.

And the pattern that came with the socks is lovely, too, but I’m already thinking about converting it to a toe-up sock. I knitted the last pair cuff-down as written, but I really prefer toe-up, you know? By a lot.

Of course, you would think this was perfect timing, since I only just finished my last pair of socks, but here’s my dilemma. I’ve had a sock pattern idea in my head for a month or two now, and was determined to do that next, but now that this has come, I want to do this sock, too. What’s a girl to do? Well, really, I think I’ll do my own idea first, see how that works out. I’m sure the pretty hydrangea yarn won’t mind waiting just a little longer, right?

I have done some spinning this afternoon, though. I pulled out the cashmere/silk that Kathy my Yarn Aboard spinning pal sent me, and then pulled out my never-before-used high-speed flyer for my wheel and started spinning, concentrating on spinning as finely and evenly as I could. I want to stretch this gorgeous stuff as far as I can, and so am shooting for 2-ply laceweight when all is said and done. It’s really just so, so pretty!

And then there’s the sleeves to my sweater. I started one last night,
but had barely picked up the stitches around the armhole, when I had to
stop to think some more . . . so, that’s . . . brewing, too. Full of
knitting ideas, but with no real knitting progress to show you.

It’s been a quiet Saturday. Dad got a call this morning that the golf course was closed due to rain, so he’s been (sulking) around the house. Mom and I opted not to go out at all, not even for coffee, and I’ve spent the bulk of my day reading. But not JUST reading. I also baked bread for the first time in months. Three loaves of it, one of which we’ve all sampled and judged it to be good. As usual, I didn’t use an actual recipe, just kind of flung things into the mixer bowl while the yeast was proofing. In this case, there’s oatmeal, cornmeal, molasses, walnut oil, dried cherries, milk, some yogurt . . . It’s good to know I haven’t lost my touch–it’s delicious.

At the moment, my parents are out–they decided to wile away some rainy-Saturday time by going to the movies and left about 3:30 for a 4:00 showing of “Little Miss Sunshine.”

At 4:10, the phone rang.

“Well, we left the movies.”
“What? Why?”
“Well, we were in the wrong theater.”
(Naturally I assumed that meant that they drove to the wrong multiplex, had perhaps looked at the wrong listing in the newspaper, but no . . . )
“We went in and got our seats and by the time we realized we were in the wrong theater and went to the right one, there weren’t any seats left.”

This is particularly funny because my father’s always teasing my mother about wanting to leave so early to go to the movies, because she wants to get good seats, but according to him, the theaters are never actually crowded. And as they left the house at 3:30, he was grumbling (in a teasing way) about how they really could wait longer before leaving . . . And apparently the theater they WERE in only had about 5 people, and so he was teasing her even more about how “crowded” it was . . . except, it turns out that the theater they should have been in was crowded after all, but they were too late, even though they left the house in plenty of time. Ah, the irony!

According to the phone call, they were heading over to Applebee’s for something to eat, and then would be coming home. Now, we eat early in my family anyway. 5:00 is not the least bit unusual, which is fine by me–it just makes the evenings longer and better for relaxing. But 4:10? That’s too early even for me–especially considering I’d had tea and homemade bread at around 2:00. This leaves me with a bit of a dilemma. When my parents are out for dinner, I always make it a point not to start cooking my own dinner until they leave, and of being done, with the kitchen clean, by the time they get back. There’s something uncomfortable, I think, about eating dinner in front of people who haven’t eaten yet–and I always feel rushed if I’m still eating when they get home. Usually, we have no trouble timing these things . . . but tonight? This is going to be a problem I did go into the kitchen, I did know what I had planned to cook, but when I opened the vegetable drawer . . . it was just way too early to be cooking dinner! So, I ate a few mouthfuls of some leftover chicken chow mein, and now fully expect to be starving by 7:00, by which time it will be far too late to make a meal. (In my family, anyway.)

Oh well, at least I’ll have bread!

Oh, and did you hear? There’s a winner for the Wings of the Moth shawl race already. In less than two days. Wow.

I don’t have a Saturday Sky picture today–it’s been raining all day, and really, there’s really no sky worth photographing from my window, so let me refer you to some of the pretty Sky pictures I took on Martha’s Vineyard in May, instead. They’re really much nicer to look at.

• Tags: Baking, Family, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Petals // 6 Comments »

I know it doesn’t look like much, but this is what I’ve spent most of my knitting time on this weekend.

Right now, it’s true, it’s basically just a tube . . . but it’s going to grow into a sweater. Or a vest. Something, for sure, with short or no sleeves, because I don’t have enough yarn for long sleeves, which is fine, because I didn’t want them anyway.

I tossed in a skein of yarn so you can get an idea of the scale . . . another couple inches and I’ll be ready to break for the armscrye.

Really, except for some sock knitting at Starbucks yesterday, all my knitting time this weekend has gone to this. I think part of the fun is deciding where to put the stripes. I was going to do regular, measured stripes, but Mom and I both thought that random would be more fun. Not truly random, of course, because I have a disproportionate number of skeins, but still . . . you get the idea.

It’s coming out so pretty . . . it’s a shame I can”t quite get the colors to photograph accurately. But the fabric? With the Karabella Aurora 8 plus the springiness of the 5×2 rib . . . it’s just . . . great.

One of these nights I’ll pull out my thesaurus and remind myself of some other, better, lesser-used superlatives like “striking,” “keen,” “awesome,” “meritorious” or “smashing.” You know, something a little snazzier than “It’s so pretty!”. It’s not that I don’t have the vocabulary, or that I think you folks wouldn’t recognize a word such as “prodigious” or whatever, because clearly you are all wise and wonderful people, just . . . I don’t know, really. Is it a cultural thing where you just don’t show off, even something as simple as vocabularly and correct grammatical structure? Is it wanting to fit in, talk like everyone else who’s not an English professor? Or just that these simple words like “good,” and “pretty” are just that? Simple. Straight-forward. Solid, Anglo-Saxon, strong words . . . not fancy like the Latin-based ones?

Although the case could be argued that “pretty” and “nice” have been so overused that any strength they originally had has been diluted, leaving them insipid, weak shadows of their former selves . . . but really? Isn’t that a sad thing to think about any word? Can’t you just picture them, sitting in their recliners, their canes and walkers nearby, reminiscing about the days when they WERE the words to use? The strong, active, cut-to-the-chase words that everyone wanted to voice? “I wasn’t always just ‘Nice,’ you know, I used to mean all sorts of things! Wanton. Coy. Punctilious. Well-bred. Now I’m just a worn-out old catch-phrase.” When, no doubt, the word “Gay” says, “You think you’ve got problems? I used to mean happy and merry, and now I’m a political land-mine. Woo hoo. Hurray for me. I remember when I was just a nice word . . . oh, sorry, buddy,” as the word “Nice” winces, “I didn’t mean you.” All while “Like” is sitting in the corner, twitching . . .

Well, anyway (two other words that probably have some issues to work out), it’s been a pretty quiet weekend. Lots of reading. Lots of knitting. We got out for walks each day (Chappy was thrilled). I baked a banana cake this morning and still can’t find a vanilla frosting recipe that tastes like anything other than pure sugar. I made pot roast for dinner, did some really light cleaning (okay, almost none). Sat out on the deck where I got two new mosquito bites to go with the three from last week (which have finally stopped itching, so clearly it’s time for some new ones). (Don’t get me started on mosquitoes. I hate them.) Trimmed some fur on the bottom of Chappy’s feet so he’ll hopefully stop sliding so much on the floors. Did NOT get around to setting up the new wireless router. Did NOT get a chance to take apart my Woolee Winder and clean it (hence, it’s still sitting, unused). But all in all, a good weekend.

Really, it was quite nice.

• Tags: Baking, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:A Nice Post // 11 Comments »

I thought I’d be different and take my Saturday Sky picture from indoors today.

You know, to be different. Unique. Special. Stand out from the crowd.

(crickets)

Okay, I admit that I was just too lazy to go downstairs and go outside and do this properly. But I plead extenuating circumstances.

First, there’s the cold. Now, I am not complaining about this cold (much) because it really could be much, much worse. I’m sneezing and blowing my nose a lot more often than usual, and I’m more tired than is normal for me, but mostly, I feel pretty okay. Not great, by any means, but you know, not miserable.

Second, we’re celebrating Chappy’s birthday tomorrow. His actual b’day isn’t until Friday, but we always do the family-thing over Fourth of July weekend. Not a full-blown party, or anything. We don’t do paper hats and balloons and all that, much as we love Chappy. But we DO take advantage of a reason to get everyone together and eat cake . . . and maybe get Chappy a new toy or two (grin).

Anyway, tomorrow’s the day. So this morning, Mom and I went to the grocery store to buy things for tomorrow’s dinner (pot roast and baked potatoes). We stopped and bought some wine to add to the pot roast (Gallo, Liz!). Stopped and got some coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts and brought it back home, where we sat and drank and recouped our strength. Then I went in the kitchen and started baking.

I made a batch of “Grandma” cupcakes. (Yellow cake, chocolate frosting, made to my Grandmother’s incomparable recipe. As in, they’re so good, we still call the cake “Grandma Cake” even 20 years after she’s been gone.) And then I made a batch of brownie cupcakes with peanut butter frosting that I got off of somebody’s blog not too long ago, but can’t, at the moment, remember whose.

Oh yes, I also gave Mr. Birthday Dog a bath so he’ll be extra fluffy and soft and adorable for his admirers tomorrow. And cooked my dinner. And went around taking my “N” pictures, too. And finished my first book for the month during the rest-and-tea-or-coffee breaks scattered throughout the day. So really, I’m a little tired. All this on top of a cold, you know!

So, while I admit that the sky picture is a bit of a cop-out, at least I tried! You can’t say I’ve been really lazy today.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go blow my nose….

• Tags: Baking, Chappy, Family, General, Sky • Permalink:Preparations // 2 Comments »

Tomorrow is the family celebration of Mom’s birthday. (Her actual birthday was Tuesday.) Tonight, she, Dad, and I are are going out for dinner, and tomorrow, my sister and her family are coming for dinner and cake. We like to stretch out birthdays here!)

Anyway, so naturally, she needed cake!

Mom’s first and favorite cake is ice cream cake. Now, there’s nothing wrong with the kind that places like Carvel make–mostly just ice cream with some chocolate crunchy stuff, decorated like a sheet cake–if you like that kind of thing. But I like best to make my own.

Usually, I’ll make one “big” cake. A layer of chocolate cake baked in a springform pan, topped with raspberry syrup and a gallon of vanilla ice cream. But, while delicious, that’s messy to serve and hard to cut, and my tendons have been working hard on the Olympics this week. And besides, I’ve been having asthma issues lately, and don’t need any more dairy products than are absolutely necessary.

So, I made little individual ones. I baked the chocolate cake, and then crumbled it into the bottom of these little serving dishes. Poured on some Knotts Blackberry syrup (the best brand I’ve found in a supermarket that tastes more like fruit than like sugar). And then topped each with a couple scoops of ice cream. Well, except for one (mine), which only has a little ice cream.

These, I sprinkled with some rainbow sprinkles (also known as jimmies), and put a cherry on top. (I put two on Mom’s, since she’s the birthday girl and has a little extra ice cream.) And they’re resting comfortably in the freezer.

And, the best part? They’re going to be so easy to serve tomorrow! Although, getting a birthday candle in there for Mom to blow out could be a little challenging. There’s one for everybody, plus one spare, since the birthday girl also deserves to have seconds. The rule in our house is that the final piece of any birthday cake belongs to the birthday-person . . . although Chappy generally gets to lick the dish.

I really had plans on doing things like cleaning today. It’s in the upper 20s and sunny and windy outside, so just a little on the chilly side for a walk. And my room desperately needs to be vacuumed–especially under the furniture.

But really, I’ve been reading, and just finished my second book of the weekend. (Brick Lane by Monica Ali and The Cotton Queen by Pamela Morsi). I thought the Olympics were going to make this a particularly light reading month, but I seem to be right on track.

See?

(Does anybody else hear a brass fanfare?)

• Tags: Baking, Family, General, Knitting/Spinning, Reading • Permalink:Eight Days A Week // 17 Comments »

I don’t have that much to tell you tonight, really. I admit it freely. Because, you see, I’ve been busy since I got home tonight.

First, I had to bake a cake. My aunt and cousin are coming to visit tomorrow, the first time I’ll have seen them since my uncle died in April. Mom’s going to make a pot roast (a nice, easy meal that tastes good, looks impressive, and is yet not difficult) but, naturally, we had to have dessert to offer them.

I thought about a “Grandma Cake,” the family tradition, the one everyone thinks of first when you say “cake.” (That’s my Grandmother’s recipe, yellow butter cake, chocolate frosting, classic yet unique.) But we had that for my birthday, we’re having it again in two weeks for Dad’s, so . . . I made a Pecan Cake, instead. (Edited to add the recipe, below.) This is my own creation, and is inspired by those cookies-of-many-names. Russian Tea Cakes. Mexican Wedding Cakes. (My sister’s family calls them Pecan Presents, because my nephew couldn’t say “crescents” when he was little.) Basically, those rich little nut cookies–round or crescent-shaped–rolled in powdered sugar. You know the ones I mean. Now, picture that as a cake. Pecan cake with fluffy white frosting. That’s what I made.

  But of course, this was after a full day at work. So I was kind of tired to begin with. And then we had a late (for us) supper tonight because Mom went into New York to see “Peter Pan” with my sister and niece. (Oh yeah, I cooked supper, too–ours as well as a potful of food for Chappy. And I balanced my checkbook, too.) By the time I’d showered and finished frosting the cake, I wasn’t up to large amounts of knitting . . . though I did get some done. Here’s a look into my knitting bag as of right now. Top left is the completed back to my sweater. Top right is the Jaywalker sock. Across the middle is the pattern for the sweater in its shiny protective cover. At the bottom is the start of the left front of the sweater–I’m on row 16 out of about 70.

While knitting, Mom and I watched the pilot of Remington Steele. She gave me season 2 on DVD for Christmas, not realizing that I didn’t have season 1 yet. So I bought a copy of that–because, well, you have to start at the beginning! I used to love that show. I wanted to be Laura Holt–loved her hair, her hats, her clothes. Her VW Rabbit convertible (before they were Cabrios). Her loft. Her posture, her way of holding herself, of talking. And then, of course, Pierce Brosnan as Remington Steele . . . delectable combination. I think this was one of the first TV shows that Mom let me stay up past 10:00 for when I was in high school. We’re obviously on a 1980s TV roll, because last night we watched a perfectly hilarious episode of Due South . . .anyone else enjoy that show, too? With the Canadian Mountie trying to make his way in Chicago?

  But really, what I want to do is get back to my book. Volume Three of “Fitzwilliam Darcy, A Gentleman.” by Pamela Aidan. This is the last of a trilogy that tells the story of “Pride & Prejudice” from Mr. Darcy’s point of view, and really, does a great job with it. “Pride & Prejudice” is one of my all-time favorite books (I think I mentioned that last month, just before I went to see the movie), and this is one of the few “sequels” I’ve read that is even close to the original. Oh, the author may not be as good as Jane Austen, but she does a fine job looking at the events from Mr. Darcy’s point of view . . . even if the side-trip in the second book (between his leaving Bingley in London and going to Rosings) is kind of unnecessary, adding a bunch of characters I didn’t think were at all necessary. One of the “cute” touches? While doing his Christmas shopping for his sister, he picks up a copy of a new book by an anonymous author . . . called “Sense and Sensibility.” (Yeah, I know.)

Anyway. It’s good, and I’ve been looking forward to reading this one for months–ever since finishing the second, actually–so . . . um . . . I think this entry is long enough for tonight. Bye!

Oh, one more thing–if you haven’t yet, be sure to go vote for your favorite Knitting blog. (I’m not on the list, so it’s okay for me to encourage you over there.)

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• Tags: Baking, Family, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Busy // 5 Comments »

I’ve got absolutely nothing for a creative title tonight. So, I’ll just dive right into the Content for you.

You’ll be glad to know that Chappy’s checked out my bag and thoroughly approves. The green looks good in this picture, but the purple is just a little on the bright side–but really, the colors are pretty good. Have I mentioned how much I like this bag?? (grin)

Right now, there’s only one tassel per side. I’m still trying to figure out what to do about that weight/balance thing. I tried taking the grommets off to move them last night, couldn’t pry them off [with my fingernails]. And while I love the look of two tassels, I do think the bag itself looks better with just one per side . . . unless I want to disassemble the tassels and make them smaller . . . which would be challenging (keeping the ends even) but theoretically possible . . . just . . . not today.

I did have some Stash Acquisition, though. Eight skeins of Cascade 220 in color #4009/Aporto, which in real life, is just the color I hoped it would be–not quite so bright as in this flash photo, and a little darker than on the Webs page. A nice, medium-blue with flecks of green . . . ah, my old school colors. This will be for my Perfect Sweater, when there is such a pattern

There’s also some Blue Sky Alpaca & Silk in there because I couldn’t resist, and my, is it ever beautiful in person! Three skeins of a lovely light brown, too rich to be “beige” (color #25) and one skein of a coppery, rusty orange-brown (#26) for an accent. I’m picturing some kind of shawl.

You’ll note that Chappy approves of this purchase as well.

I got some work done on my sock this afternoon. I went for a checkup and worked on it while waiting. (You’ll be pleased to know that my blood pressure is excellent, at 120 over 70, and my heart is beating perfectly at 81 beats per minute.)

Afterward, I came home and made a batch of Cheese Drops (see extended post for recipe) for the office Christmas party on Thursday. We’re supposed to bring cookies, but I figure everyone’s going to be bringing sweet stuff, so I’m bringing savory–cheddar cheese, butter, flour, pecans, caraway seeds, cayenne pepper, salt–dropped by spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet. They really taste good (think Cheese Nips, only BETTER), but oh lord, do they smell just wonderful!! I’ll have to hide them away, though, to keep people here from nibbling on them–I need enough to get to bring to the office, you know?

Edited to add: I almost forgot! Beth finished her Tannenbaum hat. Is it wrong that I’m so excited about seeing proof that somebody really liked my pattern?? This is a first for me–and her hat looks absolutely great. She even knitted in some jingle bells!

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• Tags: Baking, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:I’ve Got Nothing // 4 Comments »

Whatever you want to call it, Stollen pretty much takes up two d