2005
DECEMBER
27
What's
up Doc?
Say hello to the boots I have been wanting since I was 17 years old!
Don't
have much to report today, but I thought I would post of progress on the Midwest
Moonlight front. My friend and I are knitting this together and
since she got a head start she is almost done. She tells me she
is"angrily" finishing it - apparently it is a LONG and BORING knit.
DO I know how to pick 'em or what??
But golly...ain't she a beaut?
My big things right now are tofu and quinoa. Ever since I read Dr. Andrew Weil's Eight Weeks to Optimun Health I have been intriqued by it, so I decided to make a quickie version of his Quinoa Pudding. It is not "pudding" in the strictest sense of the word, more like a breakfast grain slop - like oatmeal.
There
are no measurements here. I feel that my creativity is stifled by measuring
cups and spoons. I also feel that clocks and deadlines hamper my artistic
abilities.
See also : showers, bathing.
Ok!
Quinoa "Pudding"
1 cup (thereabouts) quinoa
2 (give or take)cup water
1/2 cup apple juice
handful dried cranberries
scant handful chopped dried apricots
maple syrup
cinnamon
Bring water to a boil and toss in the quinoa, boil for a minute or so and
then reduce heat and cover. When the water has evaporated and quinoa
is all sloppish, stir in apple juice, maple syrup ( a big squirt), cinnamon
(2-3 generous shakes) and dried fruit (dried apples and/or raisins would probably
be great too). Put the cover back on for a few minutes til fruit
plumps up. And that's it!
I cook it the night before and then chill it; it makes a great ready made
breakfast in the winter time, all you have to do is heat it in the microwave,
add a splash of milk and you're done! I am guessing it keeps for
about a week, but I really have no clue.
Ok,
so I mentioned tofu also, right? At work I had this really wonderful
tofu salad (and I thought I HATED tofu! Turns out that there is more to tofu
than the mushy stuff that slooshes through your teeth in a cup of miso soup!)
So - I tried to re-create the dish at home, and I actually came very close...
I don't think anyone would ever be able to tell the difference. And
the best part?
Super, SUPER easy!
Easy
Peasy Tofu Salad
1 package extra firm tofu, drained
mayonnaise ( I use Veganaise, but whatever!)
scant handful almonds, chopped roughly
handful raisins
1 stalk celery, diced
curry powder
So first drain the tofu. I really had no idea what that meant ( I don't cook
with tofu - remember?) So here is my "duh I am totally clueless"
method. Line a colander with paper towels, remove tofu from package
and place in colander. Place some paper towels on top of tofu and then something
heavy ( I used the jar of mayo!) on top of that and let sit in fridge for
awhile. Basically just keep changing the towels til they are not sopping wet
anymore. If anyone knows of an easier way to do this, for god's sake
let me in on it!
Chop the tofu into cubes (however big you feel comfortable eating, that's
how I measure it), throw into a mixing bowl add the almonds, celery, raisins. Stir
in enough mayo to moisten. Give a few shakes of curry powder, a squire
ot lemon juice mix it all together, and that is it! It makes a great lunch
if you put on on some whole grain bread, add some lettuce and a pickle and
a cup of Roasted
Red Pepper & Tomato Soup. Enjoy!
DECEMBER 26
Look
for a few little changes here in the next few days...I need to create an archives
and add a links section. I forgot that I didn't even have one anymore!
Also, I created my first ever pattern! I need to tweak and adjust a
few parts, but I am quite proud of myself, and when I have fiddled with it
sufficiently I will put it up for all to have for free!
Prepare to BE AMAZED...AND POSSIBLY DEEPLY OFFENDED!!
Also,
I see that many people do year end "best of" lists. Hmm.
Well I am not so full of myself to think that anyone cares, but if I had to
choose some "best of" items they would be as follows:
(keep in mind, these were not things that were actually RELEASED this year,
merely discoveries I made or items recommended to me this year)
Best
Movie: Survive Style 5 +
runners up: Reefer Madness the musical, Stacy
Best Music: The
Decemberists
runners up: Kent, Emilie Autumn, Vienna
Teng
Best Book: The
Time Travller's Wife
runners up: Blackbird
House, Necklace
of Kisses
DECEMBER 25
Just got back from watching The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. I bawled and bawled. I got snot all over The Man, tears in my hair, I looked a mess when exiting the theatre, I am sure. I knew exactly what would happen and how it would all work out in the end, but in the watching of this film I was transported back to when I was 11 years old and I first read the book. It was a deeply amazing, enchanting, wondrous book with heros and villains and sacrifice and beauty and I devoured it from beginning to end. I am glad that I got to see this movie, it reminded me of being a little girl again - and on Christmas day that is a truly magickal feeling.
I am not sure this is a movie for everyone; adults may feel a bit silly watching a movie with talking animals (although for people who used to hear stories of animals being able to talk on Christmas eve, I think it is very appropriate!) But I think if your kids are fans of Harry Potter and they are interested in something older-school and similar then this is probably just the ticket.
Not exactly spoilers, but two of my favourite images from the movie: one, when Lucy is having tea with Mister Tumnus. I always loved Mr. Tumnus! He was so kind and gentle and I loved him for immediately befriending Lucy and of course immediately feeling so torn about what he felt was right and wrong about his "duty" to the queen. And something I wasn't quite expecting was enjoying the battle scene, not all of it, just when Peter was face to face with the White Witch. She was absolutely magnificent to watch in action. I was not expecting that at all.
Ok, enough about that - go see it!
So
that was the end of my Christmas day. As for the rest of it, we
got a bit of a late start. Coffee and unwrapping of gifts at noon at
brunch for two at one-ish.
Last year we had eggs Benedict on Christmas so I decided that once is enough
to start a tradition...it is, isn't it? This year along with it
I served home-fries ( home-made from scratch!) and pomegranate martinis (not
from a mix!) It lacked a dessert aspect so I think next year I will
either do some streusel topped something-or-other or perhaps the luscious
baked creme brulee challah bread recipe I found years ago but never made.
I
received some wonderful gifts from friends and family - a copy of Vogue
Knitting,
some delicious samples from Teany,
an adorable giftbox from
LUSH, and the granddaddy of all gifts ever, the Red
Octane Ignition Pad 3.0!!!
I am so excited I could wee myself!!
And however you choose to celebrate the holiday, have a wondrous, enchanted,
deeply magickal day!
DECEMBER 21 FREE AT LAST, FREE AT LAST!
Whew! If
I never see another cookie again I will be so very happy.
I always say that though. I think I secretly like the sweet, sugary
pressure.
Last two additions:
Not
pictures are the second batch of oatmeal raisin cookies that I made - except,
heh, I ran out of raisins. Soooo...I substituted cranberries and
added some ghiradelli white chocolate pieces and they came out phenomenally.
The stars of the bunch? The sugar cookies (no pun intended, or maybe
it was!)
I use a fool-proof sugar cookie recipe that comes out perfectly every single time.
The jammy thumbprint cookies are pretty good too, but I will wait to see what
the maiLman and my co-workers say before I consider them a success or not.
The sleeper hit of the bunch are the Chez Panisse Gingersnaps, but truthfully,
I think they will go unappreciated since they probably will not be to everyone's
liking.
They are an unusual shape and they aren't too sweet, but man, are they addictive.
I underbaked them just a little the second time around because there really
was a fine line between done and BURNT.
Ok!
So, when I arrive home this evening and can relax and watch a movie and not
worry about jumping up every 13 minutes to check the oven.
Here are a few of the other things I have been working on...
The
most beautiful gift arrived in the mail the other day from my very thoughtful
sister - she knew how I coveted this little cup from Anthropologie (since
I can afford nothing else from there) and so she picked it out for me and
sent it my way...
Today is the winter solstice! How time flies...I still have my altar set up for Samhain...I am very lazy. Tonight I will maybe fix it up and do something small to honor the day. I had been invited to see a re-enactment of Bran the Blessed's Beheading ( I am sure this has something to do with Yule and Solstice and what-have-you, but I'll be damned if I know EXACTLY what) - but the kicker is it was done entirely with SOCK PUPPETS! Man, oh man, what an evening of entertainment that would have been.
Last but not least, MY BOSS JUST GAVE ME A $350 BONUS! WHOO HOO!!!!
DECEMBER 19
Ok,
this here is some major procrastinating, but I thought I might put up some
pictures of my holiday goodies thus far;
( I am avoiding going to the post office, arrrgh)
I
sure hope Santa is going to bring me this:
Yes,
I realise I am almost 30 years old and that this is a video game for teen-agers,
but so what? It is good exercise and it is fun. I always say that if
40 year old women in Japan can carry Hello Kitty purses than I can certainly
indulge in some DDR in my own home! What one has to do with the other
I do not know, but it makes sense in my head.
I would also like a pair of these, but I don't want to push my luck...
On
the knitting front - 2 gifts done, 2 gifts almost there and one gift I will
owe and IOU on. Is that tacky? And worse - is it wrong to
wish the holidays over so that I CAN KNIT THINGS FOR ME AGAIN??? Actually
that is not true, after Christmas I am starting early on knitted gifts for
next year!!
DECEMBER 13
It is crunch time here at casa de man, woman and cat! Always around the 2nd week of December it hits me, "hey stupid! there are only XX amount of days left! you have to get started- NOW!!" That usually involves exhausting amounts of midnight til 3am baking (why? i don't know? possibly because it takes me AT LEAST two hours to THINK about doing something, so when i finally DO start, it's the middle of the night already?)
SO this year it's double crunch time, since I am making most of my gifts. I am developing callouses on my fingersand atrhritic joints from frenzied knitting and my sleep-deprived hallucinations are involving lots of sugar and butter and ...coloured sprinkles.
Oooh sprinkles...pretty...
This
years roster:
cranberry
shortbread
chez
panisse gingersnaps
-these burn SO easily. could be good if they did not taste
like ashes/soot
oatmeal raisin cookies
maple
lace cookies
mexican
chocolate cookies
-these are not so great, v. plain and dry, thinking of sandwiching
some "creme"
between them or coating them in dark chocolate and
drizzling them with white
cinnamon
sugar palmiers
At
least that means that the oven will constantly be on for the next few weeks.
Which is good, considering the weather is like this:
Those
are actual chunks of ice floating in that river. I know, no big deal
to you hardened souls with icewater in your veins. But to a girl from
down south?
Whose fingertips turn blue when it dips below 60? That's some crazy
shit!
DECEMBER 9
My sister used to have this little comic that she had cut out of somewhere, it had a man holding his cat at arm's length and was removing him from the toilet tank. The cat had on a scuba mask and flippers and the man was saying something like "It's okay Fluffy, you can come out now - the landlord is gone!"
If you are a pet owner in a place that does not allow pets but you have one anyway (who, you???) then I am sure that you can identify. Well, I can too.
This
past week we panicked because the landlord wanted to stop by and repair some
ceiling tiles and replace and shutter and I won't say he wanted to spray for
bugs because that would mean that we have them. And anyone familiar
with my cleaning methods KNOWS that is an impossibility. Impossible
I tell you! Those crumbs under the stove haven't been there for
two years, honest!!
Yeah. So. Anyway. Where to put Inkers? To Petsmart for a bath? No, that
is $38 and they need proof of rabies and don't ask me where that is. With
a neighbor? No, they are Russian on one side and there is a slight language
barrier and on the other side is a drug dealer and a child molester. And
I bet you think I am lying but I am totally not. So my wonderful co-worker
took the princess in for the day, thank goodness. But what an
ordeal. And the worst part?
He's coming back in a month so now we have to do this all over again!
DECEMBER 2
I have whatever the opposite of "startitis" is. I have about 10 projects going, about 10 in queue and about...0 ...finished items. Planning the piece, plotting out what sort of yarn, deciding the perfect recipient (usually me) - hey, I am a natural at this part of it! But, actually working on it dilligently without being distracted by the next thing? Yeah....I need to work on that.
So, as I mentioned before I have two things finished (but I can't show pictures, that will ruin the surprise!). And I actually designed my own companion pieces to one of the things! I know, I know, very vague, but I can't say more?
So...on
the needles now (all for me, I think):
sesame
french market bag
clapotis
In
queue:
easy v-neck
irish hiking scarf
midwest moonlight
kittyville hat
either this
capelet or this
one
Hopefully, I can finish at least one thing from those lists...
DECEMBER 1
Why is it the waiting for the vacation always takes 2 million years and the vacation time itself is like 2 nanoseconds? I think it has something to do with quantum physics and the space-time continuum. And flux capacitators. Well...it could!
It
was, of course, a lovely trip. I loved seeing my grandparents and my
mother (even if she did trick me into running errands for her!) I got
to spend a few days in Orlando with my darling sister and a day with my best
girlfriend and I shopped and ate and slept ALOT. I read quite a bit and finished
some knitting too. As a matter of fact, I now have two-and-a half
Xmas gifts done! Go me!
There is a new LUSH store in the Florida mall! And we visited it the very
same hour it opened it's doors! Had I know I would have brought alot more
money (ha - where would it have come from? i have no clue.) But I did
make sure to pick up my
favourite facial soap ever. It looks awful, but it cleans without
drying and I love the way it smells. SO - anyone who ever wants to be a peach
and surprise me with a gift - well, your best bet is practically in your backyard...go
to LUSH and I will love you forever!
Also
went to Anthropologie...everything there was deliciously swoon-worthy and
so so so out of my price range (my price range is $.01 - $10.00, people) .
Since I obviously cannot afford any of their skirts or jackets or sweaters
- and why should i buy I sweater if I can make it for thrice the hassel and
10 times the cost, right? - I will settle for one of these
beautiful mugs. I just want something pretty and special and I think one
of those fits the bill nicely. I really cannot see myself wearing any of those
outfits anyway, I would sort of feel like a big fraud. I am more of a tee
shirt and velour pants kind of girl - HAHA.
Anyway, here are some foodie pics from my trip:
The
first picture is pretty self explanatory if you know me. The second
is a vegetarian wrap sandwich from The White Wolf Cafe, this awesome little
restaurant that was converted from an antique gallery (if my story is correct?)
Even better than the hummus, sprout, onion, tomato, aoli and avocado stuffed
sammich? The corn chowder - IT WAS TO DIE FOR. Now I am no food critic, and
I am certainly not a gourmand/gastronome/whatever you want to call them, so
I could not tell you what favours stood out or why it was so damn good.
But it was. damn good. just take my word for it.
Not pictured is the pork burrito I got from this little Mexican place called
Garibaldi's. To me that sounds vaguely Italian, but my ethnic background is
as white-bread as it gets, so what do I know. Now I know some of you
believe that pork is the Devil's Meat, but I say pooh-pooh to that. VIVA LA
PORK!
I think what truly made the meal so astounding was the strawberry margarita
that I guzzled along with it. 2 of 'em, *hic*! No, just kidding,
I mean the company was what made the food taste so good!
Alll in all, a wonderful and fattening trip. And now I am back just in time for holiday baking! Let the cookie and fudge diet begin!
NOVEMBER 21
My main concern about going away this week - other than the terrifying prospect of driving to Newark - was the question of whether or not I can fly with my knitting. Apparently I can.
I am so excited by the prospect of seeing my family and being in FL for awhile, but at the same time I am a little bit sad...I might be missing the first snow of the season!
I
have been livin la vida low carb for the past week (quick way to lose five
pounds!) and since I am not weighing myself, that's pretty silly, right? Well
my jeans are a little bit looser around the thighs and butt (which is no great
feat, let me tell you what) so it must be working. I am really REALLY
sick of eggs for breakfast though.
But - it's been surprisingly easy to stick to. Could be the fact that everything
on the plan is a million calories each. Hmm...maybe?
Ok,
time to go catch my 4 OCLOCK IN THE FRIGGIN MORNING FLIGHT
...back in a week (^_^)
NOVEMBER 13
I did not knit these but I cannot recommnend them highly enough. When it is too cold to type, or knit or do anything that requires any amount of dexterity but your fingers may be too frozen to co-operate, these babies are the coolest:
I even slept with them on last night!
Ok,
so I keep hearing about this damn Choxie (chocolate with moxie!) everytime
I turn on the television and see a target commercial so tonight I stopped
by my local target just to see what the hubbub is all about. Curiously enough,
there is not a even a mention of this stuff on their site. Are they
embarassed by it or something?
Let's find out.
At
the top is their truffle sampler, which contains among other things, a champagne
truffle, a chai truffle and a tiramisu truffle. The verdict? Well,
not being a milk chocolate fan (er...why did I bother, right?) I thought they
were on the disappointing side of just-ok. The outside shell was sort
of waxy and sweet and the fillings were creamy and ...just-ok. Couldn't
taste the champagne, the tirimisu was sort of a generic mocha and the chai
tasted vaguely of pumpkin pie.
Which brings me to my next theory. I don't think anyone actually KNOWS
if they like pumpkin pie. All you can really taste is the "pumpkin
pie spices" which constist, I think, primarily of cinnamon, clove and
nutmeg. So, do you really even know what pumpkin tastes like? Probably
like squash or zucchini. And you never see anyone eating a zucchini pie do
you? But I bet if you mashed it up with a lot of butter and "pumpkin
pie spice you would!
But anyway, chai is not supposed to taste like pumpkin pie. It's alittle
more exotic, less nutmeg (like, NONE)and more cardamom and ginger and maybe
some anise or black pepper even.
The other two in the picture? One is a toffee-ginger milk chocolate
bar and the other is an "aztec" chocolate bar featuring cinnamon
and red chiles!
I will report more later after I have done about 50 hours of DDR
to burn off the 30 seconds and 500 calories worth of choxie.
Just doesn't seem fair, does it?
NOVEMBER 11
First
things first! Happy 100th birthday, big B!
Heh heh heh heh.
Secondly:
a surprise and a failure, guess which is which...
The scarf is a gift for someoneX to wear to Harry Potter Opening Night; it is not the scarf from the first movie with the big blocky striping, but instead the classier pattern from POA, seen here .
The
other thing my model is wearing? It is a bell
sleeved shrug, which was super easy to knit (although all that stockinette
takes a long damn time) but at the end? When I had to seam up the sleeves
an equal distance both sides and the remaining space left in the middle is
where my back is supposed to go? And I only had five inches? In the middle?
FOR MY BACK? Yes, I think it is safe to say I Did Something Wrong. I was flummoxed
until I sat myself down and realised I used a different needle than what was
called for, different yarn and I did not swatch.
I am brilliant. And if you substitute "an idiot" for "brilliant",
then we are probably on the same page.
Up next? Midwest Moonlight .
NOVEMBER 7 2005
I have been having technical
issues of an unbelievable sort. Unknown and unbelievable and un-I don't know
what else. V. v. frustrating. My site will
not be updated quite as soon as expected. I will be suprised if I'll even
be able to get this piddly update up!
Halloween came and went rather uneventfully. I did get to make my punkin cookies, pumpkin bread, rice krispie-pumpkins and my rather dubious pumpkin blondies (sorry they were so dry, the recipe is something I pretty much came up with on my own since I couldn't find exactly what I had in mind elsewhere...)
Had
a friend over for a night of bad (read: excruciatingly horrible) movies, alcohol,
cookie baking, pumpkin carving and knitting. Nothing like drunk ladies with
knitting needles! Ha ha, I jest. It seems like we downed alot of The Booze,
but we must have been stuffed with too much The Food for it to be of any use.
Oh well, there is always next time!
But
let me back up...first we went to the YARN STORE. The local yarn
store not ten minutes from my house that I never even new existed until 2
weeks ago! And thankfully, too, because I could spend alot of money
in there...just so many gorgeous yarns...I serious wanted to just walk around
touching them. Yes, I just admitted to wanting to feel up yarn. I
am officially one of those fiber/textile perverts. I purchased 6 skeins of Noro Silk Garden so that I could join the never ending queue of ladies knitting the Clapotis
.
Here is an action shot of my pumpkin!
I
had actually written a little about how beautiful the autumn is and the changing
colours of the leaves and oh they look like tiny flaming embers of a dying
sun and la la laaa, but I think the internets ate it. It is just as well because
it probably sounded a bit floofy...but it really is beautiful in an almost
spiritual way.
And that is all I will say about it.
It
is crock pot weather! I love being able to dump a bunch of stuff into a pot
and then come home hours later to something that cooked itself up while I
was off doing other things! I feel guilty even calling it "cooking".
Or "dinner" for that matter.
Here is my super easy chili "recipe":
1
can kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 can corn
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 onion, chopped
2 peppers (I had 1 orange & 1 yellow, but whatever you have will work!)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 half jar mild salsa
various spices ( I used chili powder, red chile flakes, & adobe seasoning)
Throw all of it muckity muck into the pot, turn on low and cook 5 hours while
you are shopping/working/sleeping!
Serve with yellow rice or corn bread or throw it into a flour tortilla and
you have a spicy yummy meal :)
>>Back to Mangolassie<<
OCTOBER
17 2005
Made a baked apple last night, I think it could have cooked longer but since
I have never made this before I have no idea how it was supposed to turn out.
Mushy? Firm? I have no clue. But it was sort fo like biting into a regular,
uncooked Red delicious apple, only...with a knife and fork, because it was
hot.
Still, I guess it made a healthy snack for Desperate Housewives:
Went
to see a film with a friend on Friday...we saw the movie
Waiting, which, having known some people who worked in a restaurant, I
am afraid to say is probably a dead-on depiction of how things actually go.
I thought the movie was hilarious. But...that could have been
the company I was with, and the fact that I saw it in a theater with people
who also thought it was funny. The same thing happened with Harold
and Kumar, but then when I watched it at home with B I was like "what
the hell IS THIS???"
Also picked up some yarn for some SECRET PROJECTS...
OCTOBER
16 2005
I used to think breakfast was a big joke. "The most important
meal of the day?" I'd sneer with disdain, "pffft!" But
then again that was also the person who considered a bag of Twizzlers a substantial
meal.
I am a different person now! And believe it or not, breakfast is now my favourite meal of the day. I notice that I have more enrgy when I eat breakfast and I am less likely to make poor food choices throughout the day. Granted, these poor choices still inevitably occur, but less and less frequently. And thank god for that, because there is nothing more pathetic than a almost-30-year-old-woman having candy for breakfast.
So I thought I would list my favourite breakfasts for inspiration to those who would like to change the err of their breakfast-hatin' ways.
1. French
Meadow Bakery Women's Bread, toasted + Peanut butter + 1/2 banana
2. Mesa Sunrise waffle,
toasted + Peanut butter + preserves
3. 2 eggs, scrambled with salsa and cheddar cheese
4. 2 egg omelette with mushrooms, spinach and feta
5. cereals (I mix them all up in a big tupperware container)+ Rice Milk:
Kashi
Heart to Heart +
Honey
Rice Puffins +
Simply
Fiber (OMG 14g of fiber!!)
6. lemon yogurt + walnuts +fresh blueberries
7. oatmeal, cooked on the stove with walnuts, raisins, dried apples, cranberries,
and cinnamon thrown in to plump up while they cook, served with a splash or
rice milk
8. or sometimes if I am feeling decadent I toast and butter an everything bagel
and sandwich it with a fried egg, YUMM!
sometimes with juice, (Kagome
or a breakfast blend), sometimes with an english breakfast tea, or coffee.
There my sisters, now you have no reason to skip the most important meal of
the day. Unless of course you'd rather have M and Ms or a Kitkat or
something.
OCTOBER 13 2005
Today
I am going to talk about socks. I am currently having an affair with them.
Yes, I am fickle - last year I was madly in love with tee shirts. But socks?
Socks don't make me feel fat. Socks don't cling to the plump bits of flesh
that stick out from underneath my bra strap, socks don't ride up on my upper
arms because the cap sleeves are too small. Socks don't even have caps sleeves!
And what's more, socks don't shrink in the wash that much, unlike my favourite
tee shirt which started out skimming the tops of my hips but now hovers above
my belly button when I have to reach overhead for something.
My
socks love me unconditionally :)
Little do they know that next year I may have moved onto earrings or wristwatches,
but for right now, my socks and I, we're a match made in heaven.
Unfortunately these little obsessions also affect my wallet. Last year, I purchased over 30 tee shirts. NO LIE. Who needs that many tee shirts?? Well, maybe I do, since I work in such a casual environment. But socks? I am not even sure I have the funky shoe wardrobe to back up my funky socks. Not funky as in smell, mind you, but over the knee black and pink stripey kind of funk. I guess that would go with a pair of well worn Doc Martens or maybe some shiny patent leather platform mary janes -none of which I have. Well, regardless, I just placed my third order this fall at Sock Dreams.
I got quite a few things, but what I am really looking forward to are these:
Truth be told, I am still just a little tee shirt crazy. When I reach my weigh goal I am going to reward myself with a few, such as one from this fine fellow ( I already have half of them on the page anyway!) And of course one to support my current favourite group of musicians .
Yes,
this is basically just an "I want" list. But there's so much of
it, how else will I ever remember?? Also? Girls? Any of this stuff would
make great Xmas gifts.
OR BELATED BIRTHDAY GIFTS HINT HINT HINT.
OCTOBER 10 2005
Wow.
Lots and lots of rain. I wish it would never stop, except for the fact that
the river is threatening to overflow and seeing as how it's practically across
the street, I can't imagine that would be a good thing.
So! Finally some knitting weather! I am hoping to find some new projects to
cheer me up after the failure of the Voodoo wristwarmers. I have not
quite FAILED so much as gotten totally CONFUSED and am just too scared to
pick them up again.
Buttonholes are hard enough, but add knitting in the round and double pointed
needles, and well, that is just asking for trouble as far as I am concerned.
So, I am getting started on some xmas knitting ( I was starting to get embarassed
about all the knitting I do for myself, and subsequently, all the money on
spend on myself...)
First
up, the
Mimi VeryLong for a co-worker with pretty blue eyes, except
in this yarn and a pretty turqouise colour...
and next, "My So Called Scarf", in a unique colourway :
Saw a cute movie this week-end with above mentioned co-worker and ate some delicious eggplant rollatini and yummy wine beforehand. Also watched a crappy movie, but on the bright side, it did have a lovely soundtrack.
Weight
loss report says...at least I have not GAINED anything!
And that is all I have to say about that...
although I am making what looks like it will be a lovely soup tonight;
at the farmers market yesterday I picked up some leeks on a whim, and I thought
this recipe looked too
good not to try with them.
I alsways feel like I am getting away with something when I shop there. 3
pumpkins for $2?
Insane! I loaded up!
Have read so many good books lately...at the beginning of the year it was
one of my resolutions to keep a book/movie journal and record everything I
have read or watched with some notes/thoughts about each one. I have not kept
that up very well, but I do have to add Out (great, if a trifle unrealistic!),
Necklace
of Kisses (FLB is always good, ned to get this book for Mom), Sisterhood
of the Traveling Pants (not as fluffy as you would think!), The
Man who ate Everything (v. v. informative about random things you'd never think about!), Hogfather (Terry Prachett can do no wrong in my book; very [p]funny),
Closer (crap. utterly.),
Ringu (not as scary as the US version, but 1000 times better and truer to the book),
Session
9 ( i have no idea what i just watched), Last
House on the Left (worse than closer, but there's a porn star in it!), Ginger
Snaps (I really liked this, sorry The Man) and countless others.
Last thing: wait to see my order from Silver
Jewely Club! It should be in the mail today - I am not expecting much
(the piece is free, you just pay for the shipping), but if nothing else, they
will make nice little gifts I guess.
IF I HAVE TO.
OCTOBER 3 2005
Yay! Chilly weather has arrived! Unfortunately, that means it will soon be too cold for my early morning constitutional (hee! I am so pretentious!) And how sad, really. All summer long it has been too hot to walk, and then I only get in a few weeks worth and then it will be too cold!
Well,
walking, plus some evening exercise plus some caloric restriction plus (trying)
to make healthy food choices has yeilded a 6 lb weight loss in three weeks.
According to the scale this morning I lost nothing at all last week, but I
am not surprised, since I strayed quite a bit. I won't be upset though...at
the risk of sounding big headed and full of myself, I think this just give
me the incentive to work harder. I am not trying for miracles here, after
all. 2 lbs a week is reasonable and will put me right where I want
to be in about a month and a half's time, provided I work hard. So,
no shopping, except as a reward for a weight loss goal. There! If I state
it publicly, then I must follow through!
I found this last week and ordered it. I know - having a piece of jewelry will not make me any more or less spiritual and it certainly will not make me any more knowledgable about the path I have chosen....but..it's just so pretty!
In
knitting news, I am quite discouraged. I have been working on the same bag
for two months now, and along the way I have picked up quite a few techniques
- knitting in the round on circular needles, picking up stitches, and the
dreaded Kitchner stitch for grafting (which wasn't nearly all that bad). However,
I neglected to keep one very important piece of information in mind: in making
a felted project, it is probably pretty important that in order to felt, you
need 100% wool yarn.
Well, mine was only 20 %. The process of felting it is supposed to shrink
it up and sort of dissolve the stitiches and make it all fuzzy, and well...felted.
Before
throwing in the hot wash to felt:
(forgive the crappy photoshop job, the bag was on the carpet with was also
a muted colour and I wanted to be able to distinguisg the bag from the background)
After?
Well, there are no after pics. Because I was too mad. If anything, the
bag stretched out and got BIGGER and started UNRAVELING. Which is all
my own fault . For not paying attention to the yarn. BUT
ARGH.
I MEAN ARGH REALLY JUST REALLY WHAT THE HELL.
So
I threw it away and started a new new
project.
(except mine will not be those weird Freddy Kreuger colours, instead it will
be choclate brown and cornflower blue)
And that, my friends, is all the news that is fit to print.
SEPTEMBER 16 2005 **HAPPY MABON**
Not that I am really doing anything to celebrate, but at least I am acknowledging it, I suppose...
In the interest of keeping my feet happy, I bought these:
instead of these:
Let it be duly noted, however, that my feet actually wanted BOTH.
SEPTEMBER 16 2005
Have
not disappeared, just have been doing some re-structuring and renovating!But
I have goals and deadlines, so all will be restored to it's former glory (++)
as of Halloween evening!
It is devilishly hot still - where is fall?
I have got a pumpkin-chocolate chip poundcake to make!
And spiced pumpkin cranberry bars!
And punkin cookies!
Lots of autumnal goodies to make, yessirree :)
Currently
am doing the "prevention Magazine" diet with my co-worker.
Lots of veggies and fruits and fiber, oh my!
It does not really feel like I am on a diet and it is a wonderful excuse to
finally go to the farmers market and make tons of vegetarian recipes that
I have
had my eye on. I am thinking acorn squash stuffed with barley and mushrooms
this week and maybe some black bean burritos next week.
I am allowing myself a once a week splurge of a bagel and the occasional QUALITY
piece of dark chocolate. (Like the Lavender
Dagoba chocolate I had tonight!)
I have got about a gazillion ideas for xmas gifts, but in the meantime I have
made a few little things for myself:
AUGUST
14 2005
This week, in
brief:
-put in my notice at job #1 (bad for them, good for me)
-read Howl's
Moving Castle (good, but sad that it had to end!)
- totally ripped apart my french market bag (really bad but necesaary)
- said goodbye to a favourite co-worker at job #2 since she is leaving for
an internship (bad for me, good for her)
- finished recycled silk scarf
(click picture to see it modeled by my faithful Ms. Torso)
-found an awesome deal at Michaels on some scroll-y wall art
(the big thing that looks like a wheel, I already had the other two)
So every yin had it's yang and the goods and the bads sort of balanced each other out all week long! And although I was very sad to see my awesome co-worker leave, she has promised me that we will be watching Top Model every week, making trips to Great Adventure and visiting yarn stores and having emergency Stitch-n-Bitches!
Although
I will not be sad to see the last of summer (yesterday the heat index was
110° !) I am a little sad that I made my pretty altar up in anticipation
for summer and have not used it once. Here is a picture, at least for posterity's
sake :
(click to see larger version)
SEPTEMBER 6 2005
Well, it appears that I will be postponing my trip to the sunshine state until Thanksgiving, but really I am not so sad about it. I will of course miss seeing both of my sisters at once in fell swoop (so! convenient! ...for me, anyway!) But what I will not miss is the wretched August Heat. Plus - Thanksgiving with the Mawgs and the Bops? Definitely worth it.
Been
too tired this week to do much in the way of knitting, however I did receive
my recycled silk eBay steal. 10 skeins for $31! Unreal, right? Well
now I know why.
The stuff is full of lumpy irregularies and is very very KNOTTY. Regardless,
I am making a simple garter-stitch scarf out of it even though it is fighting
me every inch of the way.
Also received my peruvian highland wool yarn for my ribby
cardi:
No, I have not yet attempted to make a sweater...or anything with sleeves
or a neck yet, but it's as good a place as any to start. I hope...
(girls - recognise that blanket on the back of the chair??)
Lordy be! I can't wait for this weather to cool off! I want to bake!
In other news, I think I may quit my job.
Commuting + no raise = A BUNCH OF CRAP!
SEPTEMBER 1 2005
I
am slowly adding to my repertoire of "authentic" Italian dishes...
tonight it was meatballs!
(yes, everyone knows I hate meatballs. And spaghetti. But as I just read in
The
Man Who Ate Everything,
by Jeffrey Steingarten, we are omnivores -we are supposed to eat
everything and are not actually born with these preferences; we make them
up as we go along and most of the time our dislikes are not even based on
anything substantial!) SO in the interest of science and staying true
to my omnivorous roots I mastered the meatball this evening.
Here
it is, from the school of A Picture is worth a Thousand Words!
For you mathematicians, this is a 4,000 word essay!
Yes,I know Barbie. Math is hard.
So,
if you are keeping track - and I know I am - this is "authentic"
italian dish numero cinque:
1. eggplant parmigiano *
2. chicken marsala *
3. pasta dei frutti di mare*
4. pizza rustica*
5. MEATBALLS*
The funny thing?
I don't even LIKE italian food!!
*all
recipes courtesy of B.
JULY 30 2005
So
we have moved. Not, us as in B. and I, but "us" in the sense of
my job. Yup, now I actually have to ...commute. Urgh.
What an ugly word. Now I have a 40 minute drive every morning and every
night, and that is without traffic! But you know, me and half the world, right?
Now let's see if I can get the money that goes with the travel...
Stay tuned!
In the meantime, here are a few things that I am working on/have finished...
Herb:The Garden
(the mint is quite invasive, and unfortunately I have not yet planted rosemary,
but I am quite thrilled with the results thus far; up until now I have only
had plants in containers! Clockwise from the left it is chives, mint, thyme,
lavender and more chives.)
My faux-cabled dishcloth thing-gummy
(I got this pattern free from the Dishcloth
Boutique , but really can you USE it as a dishcloth?
I mean really? I think I will make a scarf or a quilt-square or something
with it instead.)
And finally the Hot Head ( pattern from Stitch and Bitch). The first one I made took me a week and it ended up too small. Ohh the perils of having a large melon-shaped head. Since I was in such a fervor to have a finished hat in my hands, the second one only took me two evenings. And? Hooray, it fits!
JULY 23 2005
Just wanted
to create a small place to record what I have done, what I am doing and what
I plan to do. Just to have something pretty to look at and play around
with in my spare time. Just so my 2 sisters and my 2 (?) friends and
who knows, maybe my dad can see what it is that I am up to.
Also a nice little place to make lists of the thing I want. And there is quite
a bit of that!
To date:
Since January I have knit 1 scarf, 1 kerchief, 2 hats (one is too small),
7 dishcloths and I am currently working on a bag. I think
it may be wrong side out. And possibly full of holes.
Details, details.
I have started beading, and made 4 or 5 bracelets and a few stitch markers.
I have completed 2 websites.
Before the end of the year I will:
- complete one sweater (ill-fitting does not count)
- design a necklace-bracelet-earring set
- read Pale Fire
-figure out my sewing machine and create a tiered skirt
That is all for now.
