buttercupia

The further I go, the behinder I get.

2012-01-30T09:50:00.000-05:00

First things first. Nobody guessed the correct answer for my contest back before Christmas. Here was the mysterious photo-

And what is it, you may ask? It's the inside of this-

-a parking garage on Smithfield street in Pittsburgh. There's a convenience store on the bottom floor, and when you go into the store, you pass beneath the roundabout. If you look up, you see the inside of the spiral that the cars go up, concrete walls and skylights on top. It does look rather like the inside of a salt shaker.

Congratulations to Brea for winning the random number draw-she got this lovely skein of merino/silk, spun on a spindle, about 200 yards of squooshy, colorful fun.

Things have been pretty hectic otherwise. Very busy. As I posted last time, my older daughter has finished the work she needed to do and is once again in touch. It's a process, but I love that she is back and every time I talk to her on the phone, text with her, or see her, it's very happy-making.

Last week was my 51st birthday. We went to the Japanese steakhouse nearby and I got the ridiculous birthday thing.

Despite technical difficulties, it ended up being a lot of fun.

This is a light, non-challenging sort of post. I have deep thoughts, but I am not indulging them to any great extent at the moment since 2011 was so emotionally fraught. I need fluff, and fun, and bright colors, and happiness. There is plenty of time for serious business. Maybe february.

In knitting, I've been busy. January first, I cast on a very challenging project, "In The Pink", a winged shawl with interesting construction and a very challenging pattern. I'm actually almost done. My Ravelry project page is here. I took these photos on Friday, but I've made a lot more progress since then.

See the "feathers" along the edge? There are 86 altogether. I have done 70. So I plan to finish today, making it in less than a month. I didn't expect to get it done so fast but I've been project-monogamous except for socks on the bus. I'm looking forward to doing some spinning after I'm done with this.

My younger daughter gave me a terrific gift for my birthday-she organized and cleaned the craft/library/dog room. It was a chaotic mess, things strewn all over. It was like something out of "Hoarders". It's now neat and organized and clean and I could actually go in there and sew or spin if I wanted. Amazing.

More soon, hopefully. For now, I have a knitting project to finish.

Truer Words Were Never Spoken

2011-12-26T22:09:00.001-05:00

Like Bob says, sometimes the best gifts don't cost a cent.

Both my wonderful daughters in my living room, just a couple of hours ago. Not much more to say about it, except that a huge, huge weight is off my shoulders. I'm incredibly happy about that.

The most what? time of the year

2011-12-22T19:46:00.000-05:00

Meet Etran Finatawa.

I found this music through Google Music, which has some awesome features. There was a track from this musician in a bunch of free world music I was able to download. I liked it so much, I sought out more. It relaxes me. Something about it resonates. Maybe I have Wodaabe ancestors way back, I don't know. Southern Italy, northern Africa, who knows.

Almost ready for Holiday Extravaganza 2011 NOW with half the offspring. I am so bitter and sad and just depressed about this. I'm not gonna pretend, this shit hurts. But I'll get through it. Bob is awesome and I can talk to him about it any time, Anna is helping by talking me through things. I'll just be glad when it's over. Add to it that I'm not fully over the cold I had a couple of weeks ago and the antibiotics I'm taking for the resulting sinus infection are making me nauseated, and it's a good time to be had by all.

I finished the other skein I was spinning and upon reflection, they don't really match that well, color wise or texturally. So I have two wee skeins that I have no idea what to do with. This one is under 300 yards as well. It's pretty and soft, though.

I haven't had the wheel out in so long I wonder if I'll still be able to use it. Partly space considerations, partly time. I am on the last couple of inches of my final holiday knitting project though, so maybe I'll have time to sit with my wheel soon. I plan on taking a couple of days off in January just because I need a damn vacation.

Made a tea cosy. It was long overdue. I have been drinking a lot of tea lately and I get sick of the second cup being stone cold. It works perfectly. Could have made it a little bigger.

I also made some needle-felted coasters. These are a gift for a relative. I think they look kinda primitive but I guess there's nothing really wrong with that.

Bob and I are keeping the gifts low key this year between us. Financial reasons and stress reasons. He is hard to shop for and I know I'm not easy either, mostly because he always wants me to say GET ME THIS and I prefer to be surprised.

I continue to learn the Macbook. My biggest frustration at this point is dealing with Comcast Backup because it will NOT finish backing up my files and it continues to show my vault space as incorrect. I had to get a utility to detect duplicate files because some kind of weird nesting shit happened and I ended up with most of my photos and PDFs being duplicate and triplicate and I was able to remove close to 75G of unnecessary stuff from my hard drive. The tech help hasn't been much help and I think as soon as the new year comes and I get a few paychecks under my belt, I'm going to ditch them and go with a different service. (Recommendations welcome) The other thing is when I go to work I keep trying to scroll the wrong way and use my finger on my mouse to swipe things. Oops. Doesn't work. I really like the computer though.

Not much else to say. I have a lot of thoughts running around in my head but there's not much time right now to sit down and get them in order. I do have one more thing-I am inspired to do a giveaway.

BUTTERCUP'S FIRST BLOGULAR GIVEAWAY!

This is going to be easier for local folks, but I'll send a random skein of handspun yarn to the first person who can tell me what this is.

Have fun, and if you roll that way, have a happy holiday. I'll try to post next week sometime.

Ny Quil Dreams

2011-12-07T19:21:00.001-05:00

Fitful vivid dreams all night. Some continuity, but disjointed as these things are.

The one I remember most, we are talking about music. Our cousin is there and I confess to him that I like the occasional indulgence of pop music.

She smiles at me and says, Mom, don't you know it's all part of your rock and roll lifestyle. She smiles at me again, so warm and with so much love that it breaks something in me, and I ask her, can I please have a hug? Please? She starts moving towards me and the alarm goes off.

Plop Plop Fizz Fizz, oh, what a relief it is.

2011-12-05T14:35:00.001-05:00

I've been stricken with a dreadful cold out of nowhere, so this will be quick.

Finally got a picture of the babies in the sweaters I made them-presenting Lincoln and Roscoe.

I am not sure which is which.

I have just over a pair and a half of socks to complete in just under three weeks. Should not be a problem. I guess it helps that I'm knitting for one less person. Sigh.

Also, shopping is done. Other than the last minute filler crap that goes into the stockings, I got everything. Again, probably made easier by one less person to shop for. Again, sigh. But I was being stupid thinking up to the last minute there would be some sort of reconciliation. At this point, I have not seen my daughter in almost a year and there is no reason to imagine that will change. The things I've already bought her, I will probably donate to a women's shelter.

Trying not to spin too much because I need to finish the socks. But I did do this skein of merino/silk. Bad cell phone picture, all I have for now. I am not up to doing an outdoor photo session. Maybe over the weekend. Two ounces, almost 300 yards, spun on the Fibership. There is more blue than it appears.

I'm doing a similar silk/merino in a complimentary colorway and thinking of combining them in a project. Since there's not enough for a decent sized project on their own.

Naptime, possibly. I might get a load in the wash first, though.

All in the attitude.

2011-12-01T19:27:00.001-05:00

I recently changed my facebook profile picture to this.

I don’t know how old I was here. I’m thinking maybe second grade. I got my first glasses in second grade. (I’ll have to ask my mother to be sure. ) Some things can be deduced from this photo, though.

This child is proud of herself. This child has very little doubt about how awesome she is. This child has not yet learned that her worth is tied up in her body size, in her ability to be one of the popular kids, in how she dresses. She is calmly positive, confident in her intelligence. She knows she is loved and dammit, she knows she’s CUTE. Because she is. I mean, look at that face. How cute is that?

The lessons about pride being a sin have not yet sunk in. How evil it is to think too much of yourself has not yet been implanted in this young brain. This soul still has joy in just learning, moving, being. This soul doesn’t yet know she’s not nearly as good as she thinks she is.

Movement is still fun. Playing is still just playing. Food is just food; something (usually delicious) that is fuel for the body and spirit. She hasn’t yet learned to look in the mirror and hate what she sees.

There’s not much sense lamenting what was and how things should have been. It is what it is, and I am, much like Popeye, who I am. I like this picture, though, because I like to remind myself that somewhere inside, this awesome adorable kid is still having a lot of fun.

Trans-Holiday Express

2011-11-27T16:52:00.001-05:00

More crafting, and a holiday update.

Remember last post with the tragic felting accident? I did make somewhat of a replacement, though it's not nearly as nice, not as soft or as long, it does have other advantages, though, like how fast it was to knit, and how gorgeous the colors are.

The pattern can be found on Ravelry as Summer Flies, I did have to do some adaptations due to the amount of yarn I had-not quite enough. I made the final lace section smaller, did a yarn over increase for the ruffle, and made the ruffle shorter, though it was exactly as long as it could be because I only had about 2 yards of yarn left after binding off.

The yarn is handspun BFL from Play At Life fiber arts on Etsy. The colorway is "Twinkle Lights", and it started life as a black alternating with bright splashes of color. The spun result was quite different and not what I expected. I chain-plied the single to preserve the color runs, and I'm glad I did. You can see the roving and the resultant yarn here.

I finished spinning the BFL from Briar Rose Fibers, and got a whopping 867 yards. That may be my highest yardage from BFL ever, I got more yardage from some Corgi Hill Farm batts and also a merino/silk blend, but BFL tends to be more dense and so you tend to get less yardage. I'm quite pleased with it, but I seem to have been on quite the mauve/pink kick lately and that must be rectified, as soon as I finish spinning this pink and etc roving I'm working on now. I have an electric blue/green from CHF queued next. In the meantime, here's this.

Knitting a couple of pair of socks for the holidays but I remain uninspired. I am sure it will return in time. Until then, I will spin. I did do a stash toss today as planned and found that I have room in my storage bins and my cedar chest so I am making a dent in the stash by spinning. It looks like in the past year I have used more than I've bought. Between that and the small destash I did earlier in the year and the class I taught at the RG where I gave away about 3 lbs of fiber, I've definitely decreased my stash.

We had a lovely thanksgiving at my mom's house and somehow I was not a complete wreck, just a partial one. Progress, I guess, or I'm learning to hide it better.

Until next time...

I still do crafts, by the way

2011-11-19T18:28:00.007-05:00

My last several posts have been non-craft related so I guess I need to change that. I'm certainly not knitting at the pace I was last year (or the year before, or the year before that), don't seem to be motivated or have my heart in it, but I am knitting some things and spinning some others.

Bob's nephew and niece had twin boys back at the end of August. (Yes, that makes me a great-aunt. Yikes. ) They were tiny little things and stayed in the hospital a while, but they're home now and doing wonderfully. So I sent them a pair of sweaters made from handspun.

The pattern is Baby Sophisticate from Ravelry. The yarn is handspun worsted weight two ply from Enchanted Knoll superwash lambswool roving. I love the nice bright blue/green for the wee redheaded babies and can't wait to see photos of them wearing the sweaters at some point, if they fit. I hope they fit.

My current spinning project is a fiber I got at Rhinebeck, from Briar Rose fibers, a gorgeous BFL that I am actually almost finished spinning on my Dyakcraft Fibership, so the next photos you see of this will hopefully be a completed skein.

I also did some spinning on the spindle I got at Rhinebeck, it is a lovely little tool and I'm sure I'll get tons of use out of it. It spins a nice fine single with little difficulty.

I'm working on the usual holiday socks, at least. My relatives may get store-bought gifts or photographs this year, and hopefully that will be fine. If not, nothing I can do about it.

I have a cautionary tale too. Remember my Fruit Slice shawl? The one made from handspun BFL/Silk that I loved so much and wore constantly, whenever possible, the one piece of visible hand knitting I chose to take to Rhinebeck to represent me, my very favorite neck thing even more than my giant orange lace shawl, even more than my gradient yellow to purple batwing thing, even more than my Gaga Hair thing? Remember that?

Yeah, the one with the ruffle.

It went through the laundry. I totally missed that it was mixed in with some sweaters I threw downstairs. It is a felted, tiny, mess. I am distraught.

The only thing to do is start a replacement. So I've done so and hopefully will have pictures soon. But the moral of the story is CHECK YOUR LAUNDRY FOR HANDKNITS. Always.

Things are pretty ok otherwise. I'm fighting back the vertigo and working like a machine due to our ridiculous workload, but at least it makes the days go. The darkness is getting me down as usual but only a month until the light starts to come back, so there's that. I continue to get to know the macbook and my biggest frustration is that I can't get to my pictures, which are on the other computer, and I haven't had a chance to take them to the apple store for the big transfer. I tried to get my files transferred from my backup program but I can't seem to make it work. No doubt something I'm doing wrong here. It makes me nervous to think those thousands of photos are all hanging there, where I can't get them. My life in pictures. My photos might not be valuable to anyone else but to me they are my purest artistic expression and mean more to me than any amount of knitting ever will. So while they're not with me, I am ill at ease.

Bob and Anna are both working at the same store tonight at their inventory jobs, I am alone with my thoughts and the macbook and my knitting and the cats and dogs and a bunch of lovely stuffed acorn squash that just came out of the oven, so I'm going to go get dinner. Recipe later if it's good.

Coming to Grips

2011-11-14T10:58:00.002-05:00

I had a revelation last night. It might have been a dream that did it, or just the constant drumbeat in my head of what is and isn't in my life and how I want things to be and if that actually matters.

I don't necessarily think it's selfish of me to want my children to be a part of my life. I love them. I love them more than anything or anybody. I would die for either of them, no question.

Sometimes you have to face a reality that really hurts. No matter how much you want to go on holding out hope that everything will be ok, that someday normalcy will return, that the phone is going to ring or there will be an email or a knock on the door and there will be tears and hugging and that the relationship, in some form, will resume. You want to believe that somehow, everything will be better, that there will be healing.

Sometimes, though, you have to realize, and especially as a parent, that what you want is not as important as what is best for your child, and that further, what you think is best is irrelevant. That may be the hardest part about being a parent, knowing that you can be (and often are) wrong. If my daughter has determined that the best thing for her is to not have her family in her life, to not have me in her life, then I have to accept that. Because if I really and truly want what is best for her then she has to decide what that is. Much like the whole "don't you want grandchildren" thing I hear all the time, I am not qualified to tell anyone else how to live their life. No matter how much it hurts.

At some point I'll come out of this shadow I've been living in. This may be an important step in that, it may not be. I will always and eternally love my daughters and I will never close the door on either of them, but I have to accept that a decision they make is none of my business and let it go.

The apple doesn't fall far

2011-11-13T19:21:00.003-05:00

The last few weeks I've been increasingly frustrated with my computer, a Sony Vaio that I purchased the year we got married, 2005. Last year, it had such a major crash that my good friend Dave, who has been working with computers since there were personal computers, in both a professional and fun capacity, had never seen anything like it. I got reformatted, recovered my files from Comcast Secure Backup and Share, and started with a clean slate. But the creeping malaise had started again. Despite multiple virus scans, adware sweeps, invocations, chants, and tearful fits, it kept getting worse. So I did something I never thought in a million years I'd ever do.

I bought a Mac.

A 15 inch Macbook Pro, to be exact. It's very pretty and shiny, and it makes me feel like someone who doesn't quite know what she's doing, like everything is just a bit off, just a bit to the left or something. Since I'm not stupid, I am frustrated. But I will get used to it, in time, and I bought the year subscription to the thing where you can go to the apple store and get help or lessons or anything.

It's not that I dislike the products. I've never had anything to base a like or dislike on. I was not fond of the slightly superior commercials, the expense of the products (for what? a name?) or the smugness of Mac adherents, or as I called them, the iBetterThanYou set. (I also really hated that stupid little lower case i in front of everything)

I won't say I'm an instant devotee, but considering this computer cost me only a bit more than my very first computer (also a Sony Vaio back in the mid to late 90s) that had 8 gigs compared to the 500 in this one, and that it is expected to have a considerably longer life, and that it is purportedly impervious to viruses and has other neat safeguards against a degrading operating system, and that it's shiny and light and small and works, so far, so very very well, it's a good start to what might be a happy ongoing relationship.

Just don't ask me to turn in my Android phone yet.

Why we read books (and what to do about it): A rare book review

2011-10-29T13:21:00.008-04:00

I just finished this book and it was very thought-provoking, so I'm going to jot a few of these thoughts down.

Why We Get Fat (And what to do about it) by Gary Taubes

The book is a well-researched, highly scientific look at obesity, weight gain and loss, the science thereof, and years of misguided notions about weight and how to lose it. I had mixed reactions to reading it, and mixed reactions to the conclusions Taubes draws.

The first half of the book is solid. The writing is engaging, the facts are footnoted within an inch of their lives, and the conclusions drawn are pretty valid. Conventional wisdom about obesity is wrong. "Biology, not physics" is the title of Book One, and it thoroughly explains why "Calories in, Calories out" is meaningless. Taubes analyzes historical trends in treating obesity and how we got to today's conclusions that dietary fat is bad and carbohydrates are preferred as an energy source over fat. If you're looking for good evidence and research on why and how we get fat and the mechanism of research and how conventional wisdom becomes conventional, book one is a doozy and well worth reading.

Book Two, "Adiposity 101", starts off strong. Taubes explains, exhaustively, how insulin works and what the connection is between hormone balance and "excess" body fat. He turns the "But thermodynamics!" argument on its head and shows how biology and hormones work to conserve fat in the body depending on hormone levels. Fat mechanics, how, when, and why the body uses fat stores for energy and how, when, and why fat is stored is explained in great depth and in words a non-biologist can easily understand. He explains sugar metabolism, how it works to sequester fat in the body, and the difference between various types of sugar and how they're metabolized. It's a bit overwhelming, truthfully. But interesting.

I have two basic problems with the book.

First of all, Taubes, with all his critique of conventional wisdom and current medical science in regards to obesity, treats obesity and overweight as a pathology and something to be fought throughout the book. He blames the "obesity epidemic" (and yes, he uses that phrase constantly, to my great irritation) on the food pyramid of the 90s being grounded on carbohydrates, and the avoidance of fat to the inclusion of extra carbs in weight loss dieting and nutritional science. He states over and over that "everybody knows" dietary fat is bad and so avoidance of dietary fat to the inclusion of extra carbs is what caused a surge in obesity. I don't actually disagree with this conclusion, to a point.

He doesn't mention, not even once, that the BMI definitions changed in 1998 to make tens of millions of people "obese" who were merely "overweight" the day before, and tens of millions "overweight" who were previously "normal".

This was the point in the book when my skeptical eyebrow started going up.

My second problem with the book is that while he strikes down fallacies and false conclusions right and left when they suit his purposes, he draws false conclusions and makes deductive leaps over factual grand canyons when doing THAT suits him. For instance, the end of the second part of the book turns into a giant Atkins diet promotion. He states how our caveman ancestors ate high fat, low carb, high protein diets and they were all thin. How do we know there were no fat cave people? We don't. There probably were. But Taubes trots this out as "everyone knows" our hunter-gatherer ancestors were all skinny and fit. He doesn't mention that paleolithic man had an average lifespan of about 30 years, until the dawn of agriculture, when lifespan increased, likely due to caloric security.

http://anthro.palomar.edu/homo2/mod_homo_5.htm

Taubes promotes, heavily, a high protein, high fat, very low carbohydrate, very low sugar diet. He also concludes that following a diet different from what your ancestral forebears followed will make you sick. He uses "not many fat Japanese" and "no fat Inuit until the white man gave them flour and sugar" as examples. But the Japanese don't eat a low carb, high protein diet, typically. So his deductive leap just crashed into the Snake River Gorge like Evel Knievel.

The end of Book Two is basically a extended advertisement for Atkins. (It even includes, in an appendix, a streamlined diet plan that is nearly identical to Atkins plans.) His basis for this? A comparison study over a year that drew the following conclusions: Atkins followers lost 9.9 pounds, traditional diet plan followers lost 5.5 pounds, Ornish diet followers 5.3, and Zone diet 3.3. The chart includes figures for LDL, Triglycerides, HDL, and BP as well, all numbers slightly favoring Atkins excepting triglycerides which strongly favored Atkins.

Ten pounds. In a year. With almost zero carbohydrates.

And those carbohydrate cravings that Atkins dieters often cannot get past? Taubes recommends that you simply stay strong and resist, and it will get easier over time. Seriously. Even though he states unequivocally in part one that putting fat people on weight loss diets results in a "biological imperative" to resist exercise and constant, intense hunger that he states cannot be ignored. Yet he suggests that a similar imperative to eat some carbohydrate, for crying out loud, can be easily conditioned out of the body and mind.

See what I mean about the double-standard thing? Only when it suits him.

Taubes also goes on at some length about how exercise is bad for people trying to lose weight. I don't even know where to start with that. Exercise is good for people who are able-bodied enough to do it, independent of weight. Exercise reduces blood pressure, strengthens hearts and lungs, and improves your mood due to the release of endorphins. Weight has nothing to do with it, but Taubes actually says if one is trying to lose weight, one should not exercise too much.

There is no mention of the fact that thin people also get diabetes, high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, heart disease, and cancer. There is no talk about health parameters outside of weight, how one can improve one's health without trying to lose weight, through healthy eating and exercise. There are scare tactics and weasel words aplenty about how we're all dying of obesity and killing our kids, too, with the bread and sugar and not eating enough fatty meat and berries and leafy green veggies like our caveman gramps did, even though grandparents were pretty much a rarity before farming came along 30,000 years ago.

I'm all for challenging conventional wisdom about nutrition and what makes us fat and if that is in fact an inherently bad thing, and I'm all for challenging assumptions about what makes us healthy or unhealthy, but I am pretty much opposed to ignoring things when it suits you then making deductive leaps that defy any kind of logical gravity when that suits you too. And that's where this book loses me.

I did learn a lot about biology and the science of hormonal regulation of fat and weight, and I do plan to try to reduce the number of carbs and sugar I eat, although I already ate very few refined carbohydrates. When I ask myself would I rather be healthy or thin, the answer is a resounding "Healthy". My lack of gall bladder determines how much fat I can eat and I already pursue full-fat milk, yogurt, cheese, etc even though you can't find full fat yogurt anywhere any more. So Taubes' stripped-down Atkins plan wouldn't work for me on any number of levels.

Sadly, Taubes falls down in this book in the same places most diet books do, the conflation of thin with healthy and with body fat as an absolute liability and evil, and the pursuit and attaining of thinness as the ultimate goal. He mourns the fact that even zero carbs will not be sufficient for some of us tragic fatties to attain thinness. It's unfortunate, because the book is interesting and contains some compelling science. A shame that Taubes had to taint the science by prescribing a diet plan along with it.

Taking the easy way out, now

2011-10-19T14:56:00.002-04:00

We made our day trip to Rhinebeck NY for the sheep and wool festival. It was everything I'd heard and then some.

Anna and I took off from Pittsburgh at 2 AM on Sunday. The weather was clear and cool and we made decent time. By the time we started north on I81, the sun was coming up and the scenery was gorgeous.

By the time we hit the New York State Thruway, less than an hour from Rhinebeck, I was as excited as a child going to a disney park for the first time. The Catskills loomed in the distance and the fall colors were bright and beautiful.

I have a new favorite bridge.

It cost a dollar to cross the Hudson river on the funkiest bridge in existence, and worth every penny.

Just across the bridge, we knew we were headed in the right direction.

There were sheep and llamas and alpacas everywhere. We got there around 1030, just in time to see the llama (and alpaca) parade.

We visited the exhibits barn and I had to take a photo of the prize-winning needle felted piece.

We toured the three big vendor buildings near where we were to meet up with some folks from Ravelry. We managed to not buy everything in sight on the first pass, which was a good thing, because the dozens and dozens of vendors there were nothing compared to the shopping further back in the fairgrounds.

But most importantly, at 1230 we met some people from Facebook, and from the Rubberneckers group on Ravelry.

I took lots of pictures and will link to the slideshow below, but here is my favorite shot, my very dear friend Terri who I got to meet for the first time, and Genny, who came all the way from New Zealand!

There were TONS of handknits of all colors and types and taste levels. This was hands down the best one of the day.

We visited the sheep barns and saw lots of fun sheep and goats. The voices on those critters-hilarious. Some were very loud, some were just too cool to bother with us, some were shy, and some were quite friendly.

Anna fell in love.

I'm not sure how I feel about having a llama for a son-in-law, but at least they make good guard animals.

By 230, it was time to get some lunch so we headed back up to the place we'd been before to see if the fried artichoke line was any smaller. It was. I got the Artichoke French and Anna got the fried artichokes. Both were delish. And we got to visit some more with Terri and Lisa and Kim and Danielle and Elizabeth.

They left, and once I dried my tears, we wandered over to watch the frisbee dogs in action.

One last trip through the food barn to get some nuts, and we hit the road.

The trip back was not as calm and uneventful as the trip up. We were both very tired and it started to rain when we hit Pennsylvania again. But we made it back in one piece, just after 2 AM. 24 hours, 814 miles. Next time, we stay for the weekend.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

2011-10-19T12:16:00.003-04:00

I've never been a big fan of squash, but this ended up being very tasty. A little savory, a little sweet, a lot delicious.

Ingredients

Butternut squash-five pounds or so (You can also use buttercup squash, pumpkin, acorn squash, whatever fall/winter squash you like or have on hand)
2-4 oz bacon
medium sized sweet onion
2-3 carrots, cut into generous chunks.
2 cups vegetable stock-low salt or salt free is best.
2 cups pinot grigio
1 cup cream, half and half, or whole milk
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
ginger
cinnamon

Directions

Heat oven to 350. Cut squash into large pieces to prepare to roast. (I cut it right down the middle, then cut those pieces lengthwise. You don't need to peel it unless you're masochistic.)

Place squash pieces skin side down in roasting pan. Place whole peeled onion in the pan with the squash. Brush everything with olive oil and sprinkle with ginger and cinnamon-not too much. Roast for approx 40 minutes or until cooked.

While the squash is roasting, cut the bacon into 1/2 inch strips or so and saute' in the butter. Add carrots. Cover and cook on medium heat until the carrots start to get soft. Add the wine and vegetable stock. Cover and simmer until the squash is cooked and cooled enough to handle.

Scoop squash out of skins. Add squash and onion to the broth. Stir, add a little water if needed for consistency, cover and simmer approx 30 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. You might need a little salt, you might not.

Add a cup of milk, cream, or half and half, and puree with an immersion blender, hand mixer, or whisk. You may add more milk to taste if you wish.

Serve with crumbled bacon or chives on top.

Mustard Greens with Bacon and Carrots

2011-10-11T19:16:00.003-04:00

I made this dish for dinner tonight and wanted to write it down so I'd remember!

Ingredients
Pound of fresh, cleaned mustard greens
4 slices lean bacon, cut into small pieces
One carrot, sliced
Two shallots, sliced thin
Low-salt vegetable broth
White wine
Honey

I used my saucier, but you can use any saute' pan with a lid. It should be deep enough to hold the greens.

Saute' bacon with shallots until it begins to crisp. Add carrots, cover, cook for a few minutes until the carrots start to get soft.

Add 1/4 cup white wine and deglaze bottom of pan.

Add 1/4 cup vegetable broth, add greens, and cover

Allow greens to cook until just about done, then add a tablespoon of honey. Mix well into liquid, cover and cook until done.

Serve with crusty bread so you can sop up all the yummy juice!

You don't think like I think, you don't joke like I joke

2011-10-10T19:50:00.003-04:00

Haven't had much to say, not much going on.

We went to a members only event at the conservatory, the photo above is from there. I'm knitting socks, but I'll never get as much knitting done as I'd like before the holidays. I've taken too much time off from it. Just can't get into it this year. It's almost like something is bothering me. Hm. What could that be.

My younger daughter and I are going to the New York Sheep and Wool festival next Sunday. Taking a day trip. She would not let me make any excuses for not going, and she said she'd help me drive. Maybe I'll find christmas presents there.

We've been getting some groceries from Penn's Corner Farm alliance, I highly recommend it for anyone local. The prices are reasonable, the products are great, and you're supporting local farmers. We don't get a CSA, it's more than we could use, but the farmstand ordering system works well for us.

I'm off because I cooked like a fool today and need to sit and chill now. If you want to make my recipe for stuffed eggplant, chopped sun dried tomatoes are a nice addition to it, and you can make it vegetarian by eliminating the pancetta. Look on the sidebar and click "recipes".

Hopefully lots of photos from Rhinebeck, New York next week. For now, this one I took at Frick Park a few weeks ago, when we took Lily.

No cure for the summertime blues

2011-09-15T20:36:00.003-04:00

My world seems so small lately. Life is going by on the outside, while I stand still trying to grab at little pieces as they fly past. I'm not fast enough.

The dreams continue. I wake up with a glimmer of hope that quickly fades. I see small black cars or dark-haired young women on bicycles and I hope for a moment that it's her, that's she's going to come up to me and give me a hug and everything will once again be ok. I feel foolish. But from time to time I daydream that my daughter is back in my life and we're laughing together or having lunch or she's asking me for advice, something she never did much of anyway. Then I snap back into reality.

It's bittersweet because having my younger daughter living here with us is very much a good thing. We enjoy her company and she is a motivating force on me. But I miss her sister so very, very much.

Recently, a friend from work, a young woman, lost her husband. I don't know the circumstances, just that one day he was alive, and the next day he was dead. I can't imagine what that must feel like, but it fills my heart with sadness and with longing for those I love and for one I fear I have lost forever. Any moment, things could change. You could go on a wonderful vacation for your anniversary, and be a widow the next week. How are such things possible? You must treasure what you have every moment because it could end, any moment.

So I keep hoping, because it's all I know how to do. I've always hoped, even when all logic defied it. I've almost always been disappointed in the result, but that doesn't change my nature. I will keep noticing slight dark haired women on bicycles and shadowy profiles in small black cars and I will keep dissolving into daydream, because for now, that's all I've got.

Been a long time since I did the stroll

2011-08-08T18:22:00.005-04:00

Buttercupia has been a busy place lately. So not much blogging.

The craft related things have slowed down due to busy times. My younger daughter has moved back home to PA and into our house while she gets her future sorted out. It's nice to have her here, both local and in the house, she's a good person and does a lot to help me out. In lieu of rent, she claims, but I think she'd do it anyway.

She brought her classroom bunnies with her.

The upward extension happened since they arrived, it's really quite awesome for them.

We're bringing in vegetables.

No photos of the three large zucchini we've brought in and eaten voraciously so far. More to come I am sure. The eggplant, green beans, and onions are a washout but the tomatoes, zukes, and bell peppers are doing well. Part of the problem is the zucchini is just taking over the whole plot.

I spun all Corgi Hill Farm fiber for the Tour de Fleece.

From the top left, 917 yards Merino/Bombyx silk, 725 yards BFL/Tussah silk, 825 yards Polwarth.

I ended up winning a prize, from Anna Marie at Corgi Hill, three gorgeous braids of fiber from her shop.

I was surprised and delighted to win. And such a generous prize! Really amazing.

As always, I enjoyed the tour and the personal challenges I set for myself. It's been too hot to knit so I'd have been spinning anyway, maybe just not in that quantity, considering there was a lot going on at the same time what with Anna (my daughter) moving back in.

This is one of the things she has done so far.

The whole hillside was previously choked with weeds and overgrown grass. We even went out and got a new weed whacker so we can keep up with it now. It looks so nice!

I have still not heard anything from older daughter, other than a second hand hello, which I suppose is better than nothing at all. I miss her so much, and my heart is still broken that she is not in my life at present. I hope beyond hope that I'll see her soon.

We got a new bed. It has been life-changing.

It's a Serta "iComfort" memory foam bed. It sleeps cool because it has a gel component to the foam. I can't tell you what a difference it makes to sleep soundly and without waking up every hour or so because something hurts or has fallen asleep or is cramping up. We've only had it a little over a week but it's wonderful so far. And it has a 25 year warranty, 15 of which is for full replacement.

And Figment loves it.

Lily got a new bed, too.

She was unsure about it at first but lately she just curls up in it and sacks out. We got it for her because we took the carpet out of our room prior to getting the bed-good move, because it was disgusting and full of dust and animal hair. That alone is, I believe, part of why we're sleeping better, along with the cushy luxury of the new bed.

Biscuit is happy to have his mom home, I think.

Finally, I got some more old photos scanned but not nearly close to all yet. My favorite of this batch is this one.

Probably why my older daughter is not speaking to me. Instead of preventing her from closing her fingers in the door, I just kept taking pictures.

Homemade Immersion Blender Mayonnaise

2011-07-04T14:10:00.006-04:00

To make delicious fresh homemade mayonnaise with your immersion blender, you will need the following-

One egg, cage free organic and as fresh as possible
One tablespoon fresh or high-quality bottled lemon juice
One teaspoon (or slightly more to taste) white vinegar
Half teaspoon (or slightly more to taste) dijon mustard
Salt to taste
less than 1/4 cup olive oil
About a cup of vegetable, sunflower, or other oil that has very little taste by itself
A tall glass or good plastic container that is a little bigger around the bottom than your immersion blender. (Mine had such a container included, with measurements on it. Very convenient.)

Very important-everything must be at room temperature!

Break the whole egg into the container. Add the lemon, vinegar, olive oil, and mustard. Add about 1/4 cup olive oil, or until your container measures 1/2 cup.

Add 1 cup light oil.

Carefully place the blender into the container, all the way to the bottom. Turn it on for ten seconds, not moving it at all. After ten seconds have passed, move the blender slowly up and down in the container until mayo is completely blended. Don't over-blend! Add salt, more lemon or vinegar, or mustard to taste. Cover and refrigerate. Lasts a week or two if you keep it refrigerated.

Yields about a cup and a half of the best mayonnaise you've ever had. Seriously, you'll never buy it in a store again.

You can use white balsamic vinegar in place of regular white if you like it a little snappier. Blend with a higher proportion of olive oil for more flavor. Add garlic, herbs, chilies, whatever you want for that gourmet aioli experience you keep reading about. It's awesome, try it. Mayo's not scary to make if you have an immersion blender and a source for good fresh farm eggs!

But I guess I'm already there

2011-06-13T10:24:00.004-04:00

Midsummer already. Where does the time go?

Not a lot going on here. Younger daughter is considering moving back to the area, which I would love, but is not decided yet. I'm trying not to freak out and become psychomom about it but I really miss her and I truly believe she has a thousand times more opportunity here than in Tennessee. Plus, Tennessee is getting really scary lately with the whole war on women thing.

Anyway, in my opinion, home is always better.

Although where would I be if Bob thought that way?

Speaking of Bob, our garden is doing well.

The zucchini is already about four times bigger than that photo.

I finished the May Mystery shawl.

The beads look nice, I think.

One huge difference I've noticed this year with the rain then the heat, is our flowers are going completely wild growing out of control. Especially the roses.

Four huge blooms at once on the "Love and Peace" rose, which usually only gets one bloom at a time.

The daylilies are going to be prodigious this year too. Sadly, the weeds are most prodigious of all.

Bob and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary last weekend. He gave me a lovely bracelet with amethyst and silver. I didn't get him anything because I opted to be incredibly selfish and buy myself a Nook e-reader that I'd been saving up for. I did buy a lot of really nice groceries, so I wasn't totally selfish. I really never know what to get him, though. I feel more and more guilty about it as time goes on, which accomplishes exactly nothing.

The weekend prior to our anniversary, we went out on a Groupon date. I had purchased two tickets for the price of one on a Gateway Clipper cruse, a discount for dinner at an Indian restaurant, and discounted frozen yogurt. It was a decent cheap date. The Indian food was not so great and the service was even worse. But the cruise was awesome as was the yogurt, so it worked out.

These little girls were just too adorable.

The perspective of the city from on the water is always interesting.

This giant herd of catfish hangs out under the "No Fishing" sign at the Gateway Clipper dock, begging for popcorn and being more social than I've ever seen fish being.

Literally begging.

So that was a nice day.

In medical news, I finally got my support stockings so I can wrap up the bad leg in compression and stop the damage to my skin and stuff. I got them Friday, after three full days I can already see a considerable difference. I should never have waited so long. It feels so much better. And since I don't give a shit what it looks like, the only thing I won't wear it with is shorter dresses.

Also, I got put on low dose progesterone to try to regulate some of the unpleasant menopausal type things that I've been experiencing. No results yet on that but it hasn't been a week so we shall see.

All in all, things are ok. Not awesome, but not horrible. We're surviving. Bob is working way too hard, I'm stressed out over the coming Mensa RG, but all in all, we're ok, and sometimes that's all you can ask for.

Edited to add-last week, I got my 75,000th blog visitor. Said visitor was from Loveland, Colorado, and arrived via the Daily Knitter website, checking out my scrappy mitts with flounce pattern. Happy Knitting, knitter from Loveland! And thanks to my small but mighty readership for putting up with me.

Followup

2011-06-02T18:58:00.001-04:00

Today, this arrived in my inbox.

Dear J,

Thank you for your comments regarding the Hornitos® Tequila television commercial.

While this commercial went through a multi-stage review process and was tested extensively with male and female consumers prior to launch, we acknowledge your concerns and want you to know that Hornitos Tequila is removing the advertisement from our media buy.

Throughout the ad’s creative development, we were in no way suggesting or condoning any kind of inappropriate or illegal behavior.

We thank you again for taking the time to contact us and certainly value your feedback.

Sincerely,

Paula K. Erickson

Vice President, Global Communications & Public Relations

You could have knocked me over with a feather. Way to go, Sauza, and thank you.

Happier Days

2011-05-30T21:09:00.001-04:00

05302011_81, a photo by mensabuttercup on Flickr.

I miss this little girl so much. I miss her even though I know she's way bigger than this now. I miss her even though she's all grown up with her own concerns and her own problems to solve and her own life to live. I'm beginning to lose hope that we'll ever be part of each others' lives again. I want to tell her it's all okay, that I don't want there to be this space between us any more, that whatever it is, we'll work it out.

I just miss her and want to help her, or just to talk to her. Or just to give her a hug, if she needs one.

Speaking up

2011-05-09T12:00:00.002-04:00

This commercial airing on Versus during the Stanley Cup Playoffs makes me feel sick to my stomach.

http://www.commercialpedia.com/2011/04/hornitos-tequila-brotherly-love.html

Essentially, the twin brother is all set to rape his brother's girlfriend. This is seen as a good thing.

I sent the following to Sauza on their "contact us" link.
http://dev.wearepixel.com/sauzatequila/contact.html

"Your advertisement for Hornitos tequila condoning rape (the twin brothers ad) has convinced me that I will never buy another product manufactured by Sauza. It's a shame, because you all make some very good tequila, but the implication that this man can rape his brother's girlfriend (she can't consent, because she thinks he is someone else, lack of consent equals rape) is so incredibly repellent that you'll never get another dime from me. Shame on you for contributing to rape culture in such a disgusting way."

(Sauza is the parent company of Hornitos, the Hornitos website has a contact us link but when you click it, nothing happens.)

Please speak up against this kind of "edgy" advertising. We can end rape culture, but it takes all of us to do it. Let companies know this sort of thing will not be tolerated.

Sharing the goodness

2011-05-02T16:45:00.003-04:00

I've been using groupon a bit lately, it's a good way to save money and still get to go out for dinner and stuff, which we've had to curtail recently. This gets us the occasional cheap date. I have a couple for gateway clipper cruises sitting in my groupon account waiting for good weather and time, and I've got one for coffee or tea waiting for me to get a chance to the appropriate store. I nice thing about it is they're usually good for six months or so. You can stockpile a few and when you feel like a treat, go to your groupon account and there they are. Increasingly, merchants are letting you use them via your smartphone, which is a cool use of tech, too.

I had a bad experience with one merchant, out of state, obviously not considering the number of people who would buy the deal, which was $35 for $70 worth of organic meat. I placed an order for over $150 worth of food. It took forever to get the order, more than six weeks, and when it arrived, it was incomplete. They did not communicate well and some of the staff were rude and unhelpful. I called Groupon today and they immediately refunded my original purchase price of $35 with no argument whatsoever. It was nice to be able to walk away from the experience with at least some satisfaction. So I recommend them. If you want to try Groupon, and want to help me out too, I get a ten dollar credit if you buy one using this link,

http://www.groupon.com/r/uu22619728

Easter came and went. Younger daughter came into town for the weekend, bringing her classroom guinea pig, Miss Piggy.

Very cute critter. I loved her little mohawk, and she made the cutest noises.

They went back to Tennessee way too fast.

Not much else going on. I spun all the yarn for the knitalong I mentioned previously, probably 1400 yards or so of fingering weight in a lovely variable mauve color. My "plying wheel", my Babe fiberstarter, broke a treadle, so I had to go through all kinds of nonsense getting the yarn plied as I only have three bobbins for the Kromski wheel and they were all taken up with singles. Ended up making a HUGE plying ball and went from there. Not ideal, but at least it's done.

Bob is working late today and tomorrow so I'm kinda on my own here for a bit. Miss Lily and I are chilling out together and watching TV. I hurt my hands spinning too much over the weekend so I'm not really doing much, a little knitting, some laundry, making ham and bean soup. A good way to spend Monday.

'Cause your eyes, they light the night

2011-04-28T20:47:00.002-04:00

Phoebe Snow died this week. She was a singer, a unique, unpretentious, pure vocalist. Nobody sounded like her. Nobody could sound like her. Her voice could not be mistaken for anyone else, and the first note was recognizable as hers, every time.

Phoebe Snow got big on the radio when I was in that place in life between childhood and adulthood, a good kid who wanted to be bad, a bad kid who couldn't figure out how to be good. Finding and fighting the wild girl inside, sometimes letting her win. All these years later, I can't hear her voice without remembering the poignancy of those years, without feeling a little bit of that thrill and that sting again.

I had lost track of her. I knew, vaguely, that she was still around, still making music in small ways. Her life was all about her daughter Valerie, born severely brain damaged. Phoebe chose to care for her child at home and not put her in an institution. This made her career as a musician much less than it would have been, had she chosen another way. I doubt she regretted it. Valerie died in 2007.

From time to time I'd hear her voice in a commercial or in the background of a movie or television show and I'd get that chill and that memory of the potential of my life rolling out in front of me, the future bright and exciting and scary. A flash of the mistakes I made and regretted, and the mistakes I made but was never sorry for making.

There is no voice so evocative, so capable of bringing it all back like hers. Not for me. Her voice was like her, not beautiful, not flashy, not glamorous, but complicated and important and one of a kind and so, so, so much more than met the ear. Ever try to imitate her? It's nearly impossible.

Phoebe had a stroke last year, and had been in a coma since. It's nice to think that she's with her daughter again. And that she has, of course, no regrets.

Throw out the hardware, let's do it right.

2011-04-16T21:00:00.002-04:00

Another week or so has come and gone here in Buttercupia. Things go on. Younger daughter will be making the trip in after all, arriving late Friday and leaving Sunday after family dinner. I'll take it, it's better than nothing. She's hoping to get here for a week or so sometime this year, hopefully while we have decent weather, though in Pittsburgh, you never know when that will be. We've been between snow and freezing temperatures and torrential rain and 80 degree heat this past week and a half.

Tiziana is starting another knit-a-long on Ravelry for a new shawl design. I have enough warning ahead that I'm spinning yarn for this one. Out of this fiber.

I'm doing a three ply fingering weight and since the pattern will require under 800 yards of yarn, I should have enough left over for a pair of socks.

Not sure if I ever posted this but I did get pictures of the last knit along shawl when I wore it to the opera.

The tickets were a gift from my mom to us and the opera was Turandot, my favorite opera, despite the many many wrongnesses of the story from a feminist viewpoint. The production from Pittsburgh opera was outstanding and the voices were excellent. As always, the show was a standout for the chorus, and our chorus did us proud. One of the sopranos is a woman I sang with in high school, every time I go to the opera and see her name in the program and see her on stage, I have another opportunity to browbeat myself for screwing up my future, back in my past. Just part of what makes my life fun.

I saw a nurse-practitioner at the Midwife center for a "menopausal issues" checkup earlier this week. It was about the best-case scenario for me for that sort of thing as I have not had my bits checked in over 15 years. They were very nice, listened, were gentle and explained everything. I felt very out of place but they put me at ease pretty much. I was only moderately panicked by the time the actual exam took place and it was over fast. I'm going for a mammogram and a Very Special Sonogram next week, to make sure there is nothing untoward going on before we decide what course of action to take regarding my hormonal dysfunction. I am also getting a blood test to make sure my thyroid is all there and working, since I have family history and symptoms.

We managed to keep the wolves from the door this week with my destash sale and juggling some bills. Bob has found a second job with one of those companies that does inventory in stores after they close, so once he starts getting paid for that, that should also help. I've also paid off two credit union loans in the past month, so my paycheck will get a small amount bigger. Not for long, if the governor has his way, he wants to take back our last raise. The wolves are away for now, at least, though the despair is never far.

Speaking of despair, still no word from daughter #1. I continue to have dreams about her. I really wish that would stop.

I've made a project of photographing old family photos to preserve them electronically. I have a huge bag of them from my mom's collection that I need to go through. I think it's better than scanning, because I can get a higher resolution with my camera, plus use the photo editing program on the high-res images to make them sharper and better. I have some doozies so far.

That's my grandmother, possibly at her wedding. She looks just like my mother, and just like my older daughter.

My favorite ever photo of the girls.

and the moment I knew my older daughter was an artist.

Quick Hit-A bit of a destash

2011-04-09T12:35:00.002-04:00

Those of you who know me know that I regard my yarn and fiber stash as an investment against times I may not be able to buy yarn and fiber. That being said, sometimes, things get so lean you have make sacrifices. So I'm having a small destash. If you're on Ravelry, you can find it here.

I may add more to it in the coming days. There are some lovely yarns and fibers there, and all include US shipping.

Think twice, that's my only advice

2011-04-04T15:26:00.002-04:00

I spent some time this weekend doing a cheater digital conversion of some of my old photos and I found some bittersweet gems, let me tell you. My kids were some cute little ones. (of course) Younger daughter asked me if I had any old photos of them I could email her, so that's where this all started. I have more, I just have to dig them out and have appropriate weather to take them outside and photograph them. Not today, today is apocalyptic rain and thunderstorms and fit for nothing but ducks and future gardens.

Speaking of future gardens, we went to the Phipps spring flower show this past weekend. Might as well use the membership because we're on a very tight budget from here on out.

As always, the orchids were some of my favorites. There weren't as many daffodils as I expected.

Here's a couple of favorites in case you don't want to sit through the whole slide show.

I really dig the Longfellows.

These colors, ahhh. So pretty.

LOVED these.

And of course, buttercups.

My leg was completely stiff by the time we got home, leaving me in misery and woe for the remainder of the evening. It's still not right, and no matter what I do it doesn't seem to get any better. Very, very frustrating. I feel like things ought to at least be getting somewhat easier but they're not and I'm still totally dead from mid-calf down or so at the end of a work day.

Every part of my life seems to be tinged with sadness any more. I don't know how to change that. I am not sure it can until the situation changes. Probably not a good idea but I did send my older daughter a text message over the weekend letting her know that I miss her and I hope she is well and that I love her. Of course there was no response.

Still knitting, I'm concentrating hard on a cardigan out of lace weight yarn. It's boring, miles and miles of stockinette, but should look good when it's done.

One spinning project I'm concentrating on right now-a BFL/silk blend on my favorite spindle.

It's also a gradient dye job so I carefully split the whole length of the roving in half so I can keep the change consistent, like I did before in the purple to yellow yarn.

One of the spinning groups on Ravelry is having a spin along in April and I want to spin some cashmere for that-I have a two ounce bag of cashmere roving and a two ounce bag of cashmere/silk roving. I thought one ply of each would make a nice yarn. So I'll probably do that too.

Mostly I feel like I'm in a holding pattern and waiting, waiting, waiting. I need to get past this and move along into life more but how. How. My thinking goes circular and I can't get answers to any of my questions, or I only get answers that are mine so are probably not true.

Yellow moon on the rise

2011-03-20T22:07:00.003-04:00

Last night's supermoon, not a very good photo, but the best I could do with the sorry-ass tripod I have and not being so great on the manual settings on my camera.

I haven't blogged in almost a month. Where does the time go? Things have not changed much, other than the snow has mostly melted and the shy little flowers are starting to poke heads out of the ground.

There are buds everywhere on bushes and trees.

Spring seems poised just beneath the surface, ready to leap out.

I've finished a couple of knitting projects. First, the Blooming Garden shawl.

I really enjoyed the process of getting the clues week by week and watching the pattern unfold. It was quite challenging but quite rewarding as well.

The pattern, as I mentioned before, was brilliantly written and Tiziana was right there for support and encouragement the whole time, so to her I say Brava, and Grazie!

I also finished the Blue Skies pullover.

And I really, really like it.

I like it so much I'm willing to post a rare photo of myself wearing it because I think it's just that awesome.

I did make some modifications. I'm not sure the designer had actual test knitters in the largest sizes because if I'd done what the pattern said, it would have been open way, way, way lower than I wanted it to be. So I closed the front sooner than the pattern said. I also did the neckline edging as a seed stitch band that matched the edging on the sleeves and bottom. Much better. than the crocheted edging that, judging from what I read on several Ravelry projects, did not lay flat anyway.

So I started another sweater, this time a cardigan.

Doesn't look like much yet but it'll be awesome if it's big enough. It's laceweight yarn on larger needles so I'm hoping it'll be nice and light and floaty.

In spinning, I finished spinning the Corgi Hill Farm batts.

I ended up with a personal record, almost 800 yards of lace weight yarn. No idea what I'm going to do with it yet, for now I'm happy to have finished it. I did the singles on a spindle then plied on the wheel. Considering I started this project on christmas day, it's been rather long term.

The new spinning project is a BFL/tussah silk blend, also from Corgi Hill, on the same spindle, roughly the same weight. I have some of Cosymakes' falkland that I want to spin to a poofy bulky yarn soon too, though.

Won't that make something neat for a little boy?

Personally, things are pretty unchanged. I have new glasses coming. My leg is STILL not right from when I fell in December, and I'm doing battle with an ulcer on the back of it to boot. Not fun. If it doesn't heal soon I'm going to have to go to the doctor. I've been walking more as the weather improves, though, so hopefully the forced circulation from walking will help the healing process. I hate having this half-dead leg, making everything more complicated. Suppose it beats the alternative.

Still no word from my daughter. Every time I think the pain can't get any worse, it does. I thought I saw her driving down our road yesterday, when we were on our way home from dinner. I got almost happy because I thought maybe she came by and left a note, or called, or emailed, or something. But nothing. I continue to have dreams about her. The whole situation is very sad.

Lily is still adjusting well to being an only dog. It's fun watching her personality change as she gets used to her changed role.

Bob's been able to get her out more often so she's starting to lose her winter pudge.

Not her silly, though.

And while you're at it, take yourself back too.

2011-02-25T17:38:00.002-05:00

One of the more unpleasant side effects of gall bladder removal is the abject refusal of your digestive system to behave in a normal and predictable fashion. I've managed to get to work one day out of four this week as a result.

Bob took me to the Melting Pot for a late Valentine's Day dinner on Sunday evening. It was nice, and we had a coupon. We're old people who use coupons to go out to dinner now. The cheese was amazingly good. I took this picture of Bob, which came out surprisingly well considering it was a cell phone picture in a very dark restaurant.

A friend said he looks like Marlon Brando at the end of Apocalypse Now. I said instead of "The Horror... The Horror..." it would be "The Gouda... The Gouda...." Bob loves it and says it's one of the best photos ever taken of him. I guess it just goes to show you. All the fussing I do with the digital SLR and I get a shot like this from my cell phone.

I finished the fruit slice shawl and I love it.

It's quite difficult to capture the whole thing in a photo when it's raining and sleeting outside so you'll just have to take my word that it's a big elongated semi-circle with a ruffle on the bottom. It drapes very nicely and is warm and soft.

As to how I made it, I started with a semi-circle shawl pattern, the Garden Pond shawl on Ravelry. I changed a few things to get the shape I wanted and to leave out the bigger lace mesh sections. I only did six rows of lace mesh each time, and I made the lace two rows sooner then four rows sooner on the last two lace sections. When I was as big as I wanted it, I KFB'd across the whole thing, did about six more rows in stockinette stitch to make a ruffle, then bound off on the wrong side using the purl two together, slip to left needle, purl two together etc. bindoff. I didn't block it hard, just soaked it, rinsed it, and hung it to dry from the middle. It didn't need much blocking.

I'm also working on a mystery shawl knitalong. It's a lot of fun, more than I expected. We're on the third clue. Each week, we get a new clue so we don't know what it's going to look like until it's done.

That's mine through the second clue. I didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I have, but the designer, Tiziana, is brilliant and her pattern makes a lot of sense. I'm given to understand that isn't always the case in these things. And it's a win-win. We get a great pattern for free, and she gets a metric crapload of test knitters. Her other designs are gorgeous, too. And challenging. I like challenging.

I'm still working on this sweater.

I am on the sleeves now, but unfortunately, I bound off the bottom too soon, so I'm going to have to pick out the bindoff and add another repeat of the edging to make it long enough. It's not bad as is, but it could be better, and I want it better. I am just distracted by the shiny lace and spinning and etc lately. And by my general dithering and scatterbrain.

Still no word from my daughter. I honestly try to avoid thinking about it too much but it's very difficult. Being a parent is hard. Apparently, so is being one of my children. I miss them both so much.

Lily is adjusting to being an only dog. She's a lot less nervous, strangely, but it does make sense considering the dog pack mentality-we had a sick pack member, and it caused her some stress. Now that pack member is gone, so she's a lot more relaxed. She's also learning to be more assertive about being taken out to pee. It's a learning curve for all of us.

She does have the cutest little butt ever.

You better know what you're fighting for

2011-02-14T16:34:00.003-05:00

Bob and I went to Phipps Conservatory yesterday for Valentine's day. It was nice. He's being very patient and understanding while I negotiate this endless emotional labyrinth and remain trapped, disconsolate.

I continue to knit and spin. I made socks for our friend Dave, who fixed my computer not too long ago. I'm making a sweater and two shawls and another pair of socks. I recently spun some lovely bluefaced leicester.

Here's a circular shawl I'm working on in handspun BFL/silk. This yarn was spun on my Turkish spindle, and I like the way it's knitting up better than I liked it in the skein.

One of the other projects I'm working on is a mystery knit-a-long. This is what it looks like through the first clue.

Really, in a lot of ways I feel like I'm on hold, like I'm going through the motions. Bob says I'm probably depressed, and he's probably right. This winter has not been kind. My knee is still not right, either. The doctor said it would heal slowly because of the prior damage to that leg and I was prepared for that, but it's been almost two months since my fall and I'm still seriously not even close to being able to go back to dance class. It's frustrating. And it's just ugly outside today, raining, snow melting, revealing a huge amount of dog poo in the yard. And the mailbox fell off the post, and I can't figure out how to get it to stay on. And on and on and on.

My thoughts are disconnected and I am blogging in the same way. I'm sorry to inflict this on my small but mighty readership. I will endeavor to do better in the future.

Here is the best photo from yesterday.

And here's Bob coming across the street-he had to go investigate a nearby statue.

It was a clear, crisp day out. Great weather for an outing to the tropics.

A ladder to the stars

2011-01-24T16:45:00.008-05:00

Dylan's story starts before we ever knew him.

When my kids were small but old enough to take some responsibility, we got a puppy. This puppy was Max, the World's Most Amazing Corgi. Max was intelligent, mannerly, eager to please, playful, and sweet. He would smother you with kisses and fetch a ball or frisbee or stick a hundred times. He would go out in the morning to pee and come right back in when he was done. He became my heart dog, my constant companion, and the thing that kept me from losing my mind a few times, if truth be told.

Max at around six months old

Max was with us only seven years. He died far too young and left a huge void, and that was when Dylan came into the picture.

Dylan the day we brought him home.

Dylan was found roaming the streets in Eastlake, Ohio. He was of unknown origin, untrained, about eleven pounds overweight, non-affectionate, constantly ravenous, and quite ill-behaved. We had to search him down several times before we got on the learning curve that he needed to be taken out on a leash, not just let out to pee. He roamed the neighborhood and it's a wonder he didn't get run over before we figured it out, even though it only took us a couple of days to get with the program.

We could not leave anything out. No food. No cat food. No cat litter. He would eat it. Dylan once ate a five pound bag of science diet cat food that belonged to a pair of cats we were fostering. He got sick. Sick as a dog, proverbially, to the point I wondered if we were going to lose him from the diarrhea, but he recovered in time and did not learn his lesson. He ate a whole loaf of bread. Pizza out of people's plates placed inadvisedly on laps. Bob's coat. The couch, before we figured out he needed to be in a crate when nobody was home with him. My change purse, including some of the money that was in it. Bob's wallet. Several bras.

Dylan was not playful. We bought him toys over and over but he had no interest. He did enjoy going for walks and when we went to the dog park, he adored playing with other dogs, especially big black dogs for some reason.

With sufficient exercise and by controlling his access to food, we got Dylan down to a reasonable weight for a corgi, though he was still far bigger than most at 33-34 pounds. He always had a strange gait, and I often wondered about his breeding or background. There was never a way to find out, though. He was a beautiful dog, with a tremendous outer coat and absolutely beautiful corgi eyes.

He could melt you with a look, but I had corgi experience, my heart was hardened to him. Well, mostly.

Dylan copies an internet meme

When Bob moved in with us, Dylan adopted him. One night, we were laying in bed talking, and Dylan (who usually slept on the bed until we got wise and forbade it) crawled up between us and put his chin on Bob's chest, and gave me such a look, a look that seemed to say "thank you for getting me a man! I've always wanted one!"

Bob was devoted to Dylan. He cleaned up after his accidents, forgave him for eating his clothing and wallet and coat and food, and took him out for walks. He made excuses for him, brushed him, and had more patience with him than most people would. Dylan was absolutely loyal to Bob and loved him completely.

From 20070722194921

When we bought our house in 2004, we loved sitting under the apple tree out back. It quickly became one of Dylan's favorite places too, especially once he figured out he could eat the apples that fell to the ground.

Dr Bob, our vet, said they wouldn't hurt him as long as he didn't have any digestive upset from them, and if there's one thing this dog seldom had, it was digestive upset. Other than the cat food incident, he had an ironclad stomach.

Not long after we bought the house, we got a foster dog in, Miss Lily. Lily was a tiny corgi girl who had a hard life as a brood bitch in a puppy mill. Dylan fell in love with her, as did we, and they became great friends and close companions and playmates.

Needless to say, she did not remain a foster dog for long, and we have not tried the foster parent thing since, because we know how it will go!

About a year and a half ago, we noticed his strange gait getting worse. At times he would trip over his back feet. We took him to the vet, who did x-rays. They were negative, and further testing would most likely not shown anything treatable, as to the best of my knowledge, he was at least 11 years old. Operating on him would have been risky and probably non-productive, and we did not have thousands of dollars to spend on MRIs and CAT scans when it probably would not have told us anything we could do anything about. Our vet recommended rest and a course of steroids, in case it was something simple and possibly treatable. There was no result from that course. We took a planned vacation to Pigeon Forge TN to see my daughter who lives in that area, taking the dogs with us. It was testament to Bob's devotion that he carried Dylan up and down the stairs of our cabin, every time he had to go out, and there were a lot of stairs.

We got a wheelchair courtesy of CorgiAid's excellent loaner program. Dylan enjoyed it during the warmer weather, as it gave him a chance to exercise more and also get around the house to his apples again.

It was very much a short-term solution, though. We knew that all along.

The last couple of weeks, we had some snow and the weather has gotten very cold. Dylan had become increasingly incontinent, and was starting to fall over with some regularity, as well as having some mental confusion. He would bark, high pitched, over and over again, to go out, then do nothing when he was taken out. He would start barking for no reason and with no resolution that could be found. His eyes took on a glazed, checked-out look. We knew it was time.

He left us very peacefully and very calmly. We imagine he is free of his confusion and pain, and chasing some big black dogs in an apple orchard somewhere.

We'll miss you, buddy. Say Hi to Max for me, ok?

Tracks in the snow

2011-01-22T16:29:00.001-05:00

01222011_11
Originally uploaded by mensabuttercup

This has been a surreal winter so far. I would rather have the snow and chaos of last year than the pain of this one. Ideally, I'd rather have neither, of course.

Some things remain constant. I am loved by a wonderful man who makes my life so much easier. I have two fabulous daughters who I love more than anything. And I am never bored. Things could be worse.

Before, During, and After

2011-01-15T10:56:00.003-05:00

Two + years ago when I came home from the rehab place, the bathroom started falling apart. Tiles were falling off around the tub. Bob tried to fix it, but due to the nature of the walls (plaster and lath) and the water damage, it was not possible. Preliminary research indicated this was going to cost more money than we could afford to spend any time soon. We put up plastic bags and duct tape and hoped for the best.

This year, my mom gave us a wonderful christmas gift. She paid for Bathfitters to come out and fix the tub/shower area.

Here's the before.

All the tiles were loose and it was impossible to clean them. Every time I tried wiping them down, more fell off. Not only was it disturbing, it was disgusting. Gross. Made showering a very unpleasant experience.

We knew something had to give when the tiles around the fixtures started to go but again, we still couldn't afford it.

You can see how all the surrounding tiles are loose. This is common, from what I'm told. Once one goes, they all start to go. The integrity is lost once the tiles loosen and it's only a matter of time.

Another thing I didn't know. Typically in houses this age, a shower was not a normal thing to have. Most showers were retrofitted. The tiling was not done with waterproofing in mind, beyond what a tub bath would need. So when they are used for showering, it's inevitable that you'll start losing the tiles because the wall behind is not waterproof and the steam works a slow, steady damage to the plaster.

So Rich from Bathfitters showed up on Wednesday morning, bright and early. He worked diligently through the day. We were told this would be a two day job because of the wall repairs that were needed. No problem. I took one day, Bob took the second day. The dogs supervised Rich very carefully.

After day one, we had this.

Bob tells me the dogs supervised Rich just as diligently the following day. When I came home on Thursday, we had a "new" tub and shower.

It's a huge relief. I took my first shower in it last night, and it was amazing. So nice to actually relax instead of being grossed out and ashamed and worried about doing further damage. Everything is neat, clean, and caulked tight. I may have to invest in some bubble bath now.

Thanks to my wonderful mother for this gift, and to Bathfitter Pittsburgh for the terrific job. Rich was neat, punctual, polite, and considerate. He also cleaned up after himself amazingly well. There was zero debris or mess left behind. If you use them, be sure to tell them I sent you.

What makes the world go 'round?

2011-01-12T14:50:00.002-05:00

I keep starting to blog and then stopping again. There's nothing I can write that seems important enough or worth the trouble. Part of that is because really, my life is pretty darned boring. Another part of it is that my heart is broken.

My 26 year old daughter has cut off all communication with me and my family. I think she still talks to her sister. She says she has issues to work out and she doesn't want anyone to call or text or email her until she says she's ready. I have been alternating between denial and sorrow and rage and grief and anger and despair over it. This happened the week before christmas, the night before I had my fall and hurt my knee again. I think the fall was a nice distraction. I keep dreaming about her and I'm also worried about her, and about what this is doing to my mother, and then I get into the angry thing again, and then I start crying, so I am really trying not to think about it too much, but damn, it's hard. She said in her email (yes, email. She broke up with her family via email) that she didn't intend for it to be permanent but that she had some things to work through. Well, now we all have some things to work through, don't we?

Anyway. I'm still knitting. Still spinning. Still cooking decent stuff, still taking pictures, still walking and talking and trying to live. Nothing is broken or torn in my knee according to the doctor and the x-ray so that's good, but it still hurts. My new doctor is actually turning out to be pretty awesome so far, so my worry was in vain. She said the big-ass lump is bursitis and will go away in time, that I should rest and take pain meds as needed until that happens.

I guess the same thing applies to my heart.

Airing of Grievances

2010-12-23T12:43:00.002-05:00

I'm not really a festivus person but the title seemed appropriate as I sit here wrapping christmas presents, listening to my sample of the White Stripes to decide if I actually like them as much as I think I do, and trying my hardest to ignore the SOS signals coming from my leg. I had a fall last weekend and banged up my bad knee pretty badly in the driveway and I have had no time to get to the doctor as well as no time off I could take. So it has to wait. I am off today, though, because that was a planned absence because holiday festivities were to take place here tomorrow morning, but now that isn't going to happen either. Whatever. I'm trying to make the best of it, but damn, it's not easy.

Younger daughter is in from Tennessee. She arrived last night. I have really missed her. I mean, a lot. I wish she'd move back here. I understand why she wants to stay there.

To add annoyance to injury, I broke off a big hunk of one of my molars on Monday, and no, I can't get to the dentist either, until at least the week after next. I'm using that wax they make for braces so the jagged tooth doesn't slice up my tongue any worse than it has to.

I was planning to pile up all the handknits and take a group photo, but I didn't get to do that, and I'm still working on Bob's socks. If I apply myself tonight and tomorrow, I should be able to finish them. Now the rest of it is wrapped. I'll finish this post with a retrospective.

If I can make it through the next two weeks without landing in the hospital for any reason I'll be very happy.

It is my fondest wish that everyone have the best possible holiday and face 2011 with a bright face and hopeful feelings. Love to all.

2010-12-15T13:57:00.001-05:00

Testing, testing. This post is only a test. If this post had contained actual blogging content, you would not have been bored to tears with it.

Plugging along

2010-12-12T10:52:00.001-05:00

11292010_07
Originally uploaded by mensabuttercup

Two and a half pair of socks done. One more sock and I'm there. Oh, and I need to finish Bob's. And possibly finish the ones I started for my daughter's roommates in Tennessee. And possibly make something for my step-cousin. But after one more sock, the pressure's off and I can do what I want.

Maybe I'll spin something. :)

PSA-What I am is what I am

2010-12-06T15:01:00.004-05:00

And what I am not is Mrs Bob.

Don't get me wrong. I love my husband dearly, and am delighted to have taken his last name, mostly because in the time I've known him, he's done more for me in more ways than the father I never knew who saddled me with a name I know nothing about, a name that belongs to strangers.

But... When I get a piece of mail addressed to Mr and Mrs Bob, I get angry. It's the erasure of my identity as a person in that casual address, as if I am an adjunct to Bob and have no meaning or purpose without him. This is very much not the case. Bob and I love each other very much and are very much a couple, but we are not a single unit.

Women have been expected to disappear into how men define them for most of civilized history. I refuse this. Men are not compelled to discard their first or last names. Nor are they compelled to declare their marital status in their form of address, why should women have to do so? I am Ms Jamie, not Mrs. Bob. I will not be defined by any societal mannerism that diminishes me.

I took Bob's name because it was a way for me to both honor him and shed a name that that came to mean very little to me once my grandmother passed away. My father brought me nothing but pain and emotional damage. He ruined my ability to trust people, ruined my capacity for interacting with men in a healthy manner for most of my life, and ruined any chance of a normal, healthy relationship with his family. In fact, I feel his behavior robbed me of half my family. I was happy to get rid of his name and take the name of a man who loves and respects me, who would never abandon me, who treats me like a valuable part of his life and not like an unfortunate accident who should not exist.

(Plus, Bob's name only has one syllable, and I've always wanted a name with one syllable.)

So, if you're sending me a card this year, do me a favor, and address it to the people who live here, Bob and Jamie Fritz. It signifies that you acknowledge me as a person, and not just an extension of an admittedly wonderful man.

Thanks.

Savory Sweet Potatoes with Bacon Crumb Topping

2010-12-05T11:21:00.004-05:00

This is an easy recipe I came up with when trying to do something different with sweet potatoes for thanksgiving.

Quantities of everything are pretty much to your taste. Mine served 12 people, but it was in the context of a thanksgiving feast where the table was groaning from the load of delicious foods.

Ingredients
5 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed. (approx 4-5 pounds)
Reserved sweet potato peels (try to get a good number of long, reasonably straight peel pieces, as you are going to cook these.)
1/2 pound thin sliced good quality bacon
Two medium sized shallots
Heavy cream or half and half
Ginger, ground
Honey
Sea Salt

Scrub the potatoes well before peeling as you are going to use the peels in the crumb topping. Boil cubed sweet potatoes until they are a good consistency to mash.

While the potatoes are cooking, cook the bacon. Cook it nice and crisp, then place on paper towels to drain. Reserve the bacon fat.
Place a layer of potato skins into the bacon fat and cook until crisp, turning halfway through. Drain on paper towel with bacon. Do this two more times for three pansful of crispy potato skins.
Slice shallots very thin and cook in bacon fat until just crisp, being careful not to burn. Drain on paper towel with bacon and skins.

Place the bacon, the potato skins, and the shallots into a bowl and crumble together with your hands or a pestle. Set aside.

Mash the sweet potatoes using a hand masher, a ricer, or a mixer, to your preferred consistency. Add cream or half and half to taste. Add sea salt, ginger, and honey to taste. Since sweet potatoes vary greatly in sweetness depending on variety and season, you really have to taste them to get them flavored the right way. You want a nice hint of sweet and salt without it being overpoweringly sweet. We're not making candied yams here!

Spread the potatoes in a deep casserole dish or baker. Sprinkle crumbled mixture on top.

You may now reserve the dish for as long as you need to, I made mine the morning of thanksgiving and baked it uncovered for about 20 minutes before mealtime. It was delicious.

2/3 of the way

2010-12-04T22:52:00.001-05:00

PB208854
Originally uploaded by mensabuttercup

I'm proud to report that two of the three yarns pictured there have been made into a pair of socks, and the third one is well begun. That leaves one and a half socks for Bob, finishing a couple of scarves, and something for my cousin, probably another scarf. I have three weeks. I feel much better about this now than I did a couple of weeks ago.

Leaving Light Up Night

2010-11-27T21:15:00.001-05:00

11192010_56
Originally uploaded by mensabuttercup

I took this photo of the Transportation Center with my cell phone last weekend leaving downtown. It was a lovely crisp late fall evening and people were streaming into downtown Pittsburgh while I was streaming out.

I'm happy to report one of the three skeins of sock yarn has been dispensed with, the second is well-started, and I have a plan for the cousin and the father in law who need gifts. All is well. I have almost a month, after all!

Daunting

2010-11-20T14:06:00.001-05:00

PB208853
Originally uploaded by mensabuttercup

Three big cakes of sock yarn. Three pair of socks that need to be done by December 24th. I have chosen the patterns, wound up the yarn, cracked my knuckles, put "eye of the tiger" on the stereo, and am staring down a large glass of raw eggs, all in an effort to procrastinate further.

Stay tuned!

A week's work

2010-11-13T23:00:00.001-05:00

PB138827
Originally uploaded by mensabuttercup

1282 yards of sportweight three ply and 189 yards of laceweight two ply. This is the Bluefaced Leicester wool I dyed a few weeks ago. I've been shirking my holiday knitting and spinning it up in the evenings. It took me about a week, and for a pound of fine yarn, that's not too bad. I have enough to make myself a sweater or tee. And it's soft and beautiful. I could not be more pleased with it!

You make the best of what's still around

2010-11-07T08:44:00.006-05:00

So I had a severe computer crash last weekend. There was some sort of power problem that caused the surge protector to kick off, and when I turned the computer back on, there was a BSOF. (Black Screen of Futility) I attempted to start in regular, safe, last known, etc but no dice. Nothing would work. Fortunately we have a very dear friend who enjoys (he claims!) fixing computers and figuring out weird problems like this. I am proud to say that Dave said he's heard of crashes like this, but he's never seen one in the wild. It's not often that you get to show something completely new to someone who has been working with computers since personal computing began.
At any rate, buying that online backup program from Comcast ended up being a very good idea because I did not lose the thousands of photographs, knitting patterns, musical files, and so on that I had when my hard drive got wiped out. All is restored now, except my email which has shuffled off this mortal coil for good. Still no idea what happened to the computer or why, only that there was no hardware failure.

So anyway. This week is our "Moveiniversary". Veterans' Day 2002 is when Bob took a huge chance and loaded up his Accord with all his belongings and moved to a new city and a new home to be with someone he'd only met two months previously. I took a huge chance having a strange man with no job move into my home with my daughters and me. Over the years, I'd learned not to trust my instincts where men were concerned, and with reason. After talking to the aforementioned Dave, who knew Bob from Mensa, I decided to give my instincts one more go. It was probably the best decision I ever made.

Here's Bob and Dave together at our wedding. Dave served as best man since he was partially responsible for us getting together in the first place.

My best friend Melissa was our matron (though she insisted on Maid) of honor because she was my best friend, and because she saw a picture of Bob before he moved in and said he had the kindest eyes she ever saw. She was given to hyperbole, but in this case I don't think she was exaggerating.

So I'm knitting and spinning and getting busy being one of santa's elves in my fibery workshop and enjoying it for the most part. I have three and a half pair of socks to knit and three scarves to finish in the next six weeks or so. And I still haven't decided on anything for my father in law. No pressure though, right? The hard parts are over.

We're going to see Omara Portuondo tonight to celebrate. And we're having dinner in the restaurant that is in the first floor of the building where I work. There are good reasons for this.

All done!

2010-10-24T10:18:00.001-04:00

PA238778
Originally uploaded by mensabuttercup

Surprisingly, I'm not really in love with it yet. Maybe it will grow on me, or maybe it'll end up a gift.

I'm not making any hasty decisions in any case. Follow the photo for more photos!

Bob went to Columbus for the weekend so I've been listening to a lot of music, watching the dogs, and cleaning a bit. It's a little depressing how messy the house was but it's better now, except for the craft room, which needs an intervention. And Anna's old room, which is starting to turn into Dump Stuff Central, which I do not like. Maybe a project for next weekend.

Work in progress

2010-10-18T15:04:00.001-04:00

PA188749
Originally uploaded by mensabuttercup

Working on this simple lace shawl in handspun yarn. It's a two ply heavy laceweight handspun. The roving was a gorgeous graduated braid running from yellow into purple and I managed to split it in half lengthwise to preserve the color change during spinning. I wanted a simple lace project for it, so I'm doing a crescent-shaped feather and fan shawl that, although I'm a little behind on holiday knitting, is probably going to be mine.

There's nothing wrong with being a little selfish now and then. And I have a couple of months to go. Right?

Color my world

2010-10-16T15:52:00.002-04:00

I'm mad I can't go to Rhinebeck this year so I went through my fiber stash and found some undyed fiber to play with. I have a sample pack of Jaquard acid dyes and some white vinegar and a pot that I can dedicate to dyeing so why not.

Into the pot...

The first one was actually purple and red and blue. I am not sure what the fiber is but I suspect it's merino. It was not marked, which tells me I got it in a destash and didn't pay too much for it, so it was a good one to begin with.

It came out like this.

Not bad, eh?

Emboldened by my success, I moved on to a bag I knew was in fact Merino. That is the one pictured in the pot above.

Even better! I think this one may be my favorite.

I'm well known to be a sucker for blues and greens, though.

The final pot of the day was some Bluefaced Leicester.

Varying blues over a very pale lilac.

Everything is out drying in the fall sunshine. I don't think anything is felted beyond redemption, and all in all it was a good experience, something I'll do again in the right weather and with enough vinegar.

I know I've been away for a good long while. I had some trouble with my glasses, that kept me from doing more on the computer than absolutely needed, but that's been mostly resolved. I still need new glasses, but I can see again, thanks to Armour Etch and it's handy removal of my incredibly crazed anti-glare coating.

Then there was the RG. A great success and lots of fun. With some tweaking, next year will be even better.

All along I've been knitting and spinning and falling in love with spindles all over again. I blame Abby Franquemont, and her amazing book, Respect the Spindle. Here's a few of my most recent acquisitions.

A turkish by Valkyrie, currently spinning up a lovely BFL/Silk blend.

a Bosworth Mini in Zebrawood that I am still getting to know.

Gorgeous custom turned French style spindle from Gripping Yarn.

A reproduction Victorian spindle by Spanish Peacock.

a Tiny Turkish from Threads Through Time spinning some amazing mulberry silk.

Just so you can tell what's meant by "tiny"...

and finally, a Fibership from Dyakcraft.

It's hard to say but I think that one is my favorite-it really spins like a dream and is so pretty. A tiny flick and it goes and goes.

Believe it or not, I still have a couple on my list, mainly a Tibetan spindle, and a Russian and a Rose from Gripping Yarn. They're all different and all wonderful in their own ways, and if any of them suffer from disuse, they're quite easy to destash on Ravelry in the spindle groups.

And of course, knitting. I'm working on a few holiday gifts, have finished quite a few, and need to get on socks in earnest.

I'll close with this odd yard ornament we saw on the way home one day. Can't tell what it is from as far away as we were but I can tell what it looked like from there. Yikes.

Right round like a record.

2010-08-22T15:47:00.002-04:00

Just a quick update-y post. I'm pretty busy getting ready for the RG and also, I've kinda re-fallen in love with spindle spinning so I've not been doing a lot of typing in my free time in any case.

I have been doing a fair amount of spinning and knitting. I finished a Citron (from knitty) from the handspun Falkland I did for the Tour de Fleece. I really can't decide if I like it or not and I'm seriously considering putting it in the silent auction at the RG... or would, if I thought I'd raise anywhere close to what it's worth in bids.

Still, I'm sort of hoping it will grow on me in time. I might donate it to the Wildlife Center's fall fundraiser, that's another idea, and they tend to get more money for their stuff. Or I'll give it to someone for Christmas. I have a person in mind, just not terribly sure she wears colors like this.

We've got so many apples and it's so sad that they're all wormy.

Dylan does do his best trying to eat them, but he can't eat them all.

I got Anna's pictures from europe in a set here on Flickr-the kid's a good photographer. Must take after her mother.

It sounds like it was not a perfect trip, but still, an experience they enjoyed and will remember forever. They went to Paris, Barcelona, Rome, Assisi, and Florence. We dogsat, and helped with going over to play with the birds while she was gone.

We have some amazing garden spiders hanging out this year.

That's a male and female of the same species hanging out on the web. I don't know if there was romance involved. Possibly. I don't see an egg sac on her web yet but I don't know how long that really takes.

I'm dealing with the hearing loss. I won't lie, it's really bothering me. A friend from work said that he hates how it makes you feel, when you ask people to repeat themselves over and over and eventually you just stop doing that because you get tired of doing it, and then you just miss everything. It's sad and a little scary. I also found out that the type of hearing loss I have (low-frequency) will require the most expensive type of hearing aids if I opt to get them. Which is not good news, let me tell you. I'm not sure how we're going to manage that. We shall see, though.

A new friend is this Turkish spindle, which I got from a person destashing it on Ravelry.

It was an excellent bargain and also spins very well. I'm getting much better at spindle spinning since I've been doing more reading on it, being more mindful in execution, and appreciating it for what it is, a valid and valuable method of producing yarn, just as good, if not better, than spinning wheels depending on what you're looking to produce. Plus, for the price of a spinning wheel, you can get a whole bucket full of high-quality spindles, so, bonus! It's actually a rather frugal pursuit in the long run. (this is the part where my husband shakes his head sadly and says to himself "she's rationalizing again".)

Dylan is still with us-the vet says he is not suffering and he has not actually lost any weight, in fact, he's gained a couple of pounds. He's gotten atrophied in the back end, but apparently is gaining muscle in the front end from pulling himself around. We're to bring him back when he gets bad enough that we feel it's time. So he's hanging in. He has days he doesn't want to walk in the cart, and his incontinence is getting worse gradually, but we can deal with that for now.

I don't think I posted this one earlier-

Another Annis shawl/scarf. I think I need to make four more of them and I'm done.

So, life goes on. I may not get another chance to post until after Labor Day weekend, but I will if I can.

I hear you knocking but you can't come in

2010-08-05T20:32:00.004-04:00

So, apparently, I have Meniere's Disease. I'm having an MRI on Monday to rule out a tumor, but according to the ENT specialist, it is classic Meniere's, all the symptoms line up just so and the hearing loss is just the latest thing that goes along with the progression of the disease.

It's not the worst thing ever. Tons of people live out long and fulfilling lives with Meniere's. I'll eventually lose my hearing. Maybe just in one ear. Maybe not completely. It's already at 60% on the left side, with nothing below 71 decibels. I can get a hearing aid. So it's not that really. It's just that this is another thing on top of everything else that is like a giant big huge pile of cosmic poop on my head that is making me sad and angry and taking away everything I value in my life little by little. And making my world smaller and smaller. I hate being the annoying old woman who goes "HUH? WHAT? CAN YOU REPEAT THAT PLEASE". I hate the tinnitus. I hate the vertigo and I hate the effects of the anti-vertigo medicine. I hate this.

I understand it's what Van Gogh had, though, so at least I'm in good company.

In happier news, my Quitmeter just went over $10,000. That's money I have not spent on cigarettes since I quit smoking four and a half years ago. So yay.

I want to ride it where I like.

2010-07-26T15:51:00.004-04:00

The past three weeks have been hectic, for a few reasons.

First, the Tour de Fleece, the yearly companion event to the Tour de France, where spinners around the world spin their wheels and spindles making yarn every day of the bike race that inspired it. I was really productive this year.

The colors are more accurate in this photo, but it's blurry.

Chain-plied sock yarn, 433 yards of merino wool

650 yards of two ply laceweight corriedale.

910+ yards of fingering weight falkland

and 1100+ yards of laceweight wensleydale.

I really pushed myself hard this year and actually had another 4 oz of the corriedale to spin that I did not finish.

So knitting has been generally on hold but I did finish this.

and started another one of the same. I'm also working on socks of course, but they're unphotographed as yet.

The other thing is that my mom took my kids on vacation to europe for two weeks, and we're dogsitting.

My sister Mini, a 13 year old, blind, insulin-dependent diabetic and

my sister Polly, an emotionally needy powderpuff chinese crested who stays right by my side all the time, to the point I've been calling her "polly pocket".

Dylan, our Wheelydog, is getting really bad. He's losing weight, often doesn't want to go outside even in the cart, and is spending most of his time sleeping and being short-tempered with the other dogs, even Lily. We have an appointment for their regular annual vet visit next weekend and if the vet says he's suffering, we will do what we need to do. I don't think he's very happy. Poor thing.

Lily's fine. She's getting pudgy from lack of exercise, something to which I can certainly relate. I would like to find something I can do that I will continue doing that I won't come to resent, and I prefer something weight-training related. Any other exercise, besides swimming, always feels like punishment to me. I have issues. We've had a big heat wave lately and it's making me so tired and lethargic, and having four dogs in the bedroom at night along with us is not helping me get any rest. Ugh.

I also have an appointment next Monday to see why I can't hear out of one ear. I thought it was the usual allergy/congestion related stuff but it hasn't gone away, and the doctor wants me to see a specialist.

So that's about all I have for now. Lots on my mind, but limited time and energy. And this house is a mess, yarn and spinning fiber everywhere!

What's so funny 'bout peace, love, and little donuts?

2010-07-05T16:01:00.006-04:00

My bus goes by this restaurant every morning, and recently, they started carrying "Peace, Love and Little Donuts", by a local company, operating out of Pittsburgh's Strip District. So one morning, I stopped in and got some.

They were good, not great, but decent. I decided to google the company and see if they had a facebook page or any more information on who they are. Here's the logo, by the way.

(logo from http://www.peaceloveandlittledonuts.com/)

They use a whole "tie dye" theme thing along with the psychedelic-type font and the color scheme reminiscent of hippies, Heads Together, and Woodstock.

Note the tag-"Feed Your Inner Hippie". What sort of person do you think would run a business like that? Where, for instance, do you think he'd fall on the "tolerance for differing lifestyles" spectrum?

You'd be wrong.

The first article I found was this.
Post Gazette-Owner's Opinions can affect the bottom line

The owner is an open homophobe, right-wing zealot, religious fundamentalist, and zero tolerance (except for taking your money of course) of politically liberal and personally counterculture.

Which is fine, actually. Because he has a right to feel how he feels. But to appropriate the symbolism of a movement that espoused tolerance, love, acceptance, progressive politics, and peace for your own financial gain? Tastes pretty bad to me. I won't go there again. In fact, I literally felt sick to my stomach, having eaten some of the donuts and given some of my liberal, aging hippie, birkenstock-wearing, gay-loving, leftist dollars to this deceitful, angry man.

There's direct quotes from the owner's blog (since taken down) here.

Homophobic Donuts and Free Speech

My money does not need to go to a person who diametrically opposes everything I find decent and just. I just feel bad for the people who have to work for him. I'll cheerfully continue getting my baked goods fix at Dozen, just down the street, a lovely little locally owned bakery, delicious cupcakes and more, incidentally owned by a gay couple. It may cost a little more, but it doesn't leave the bitter taste of hatred in your mouth.

Quick update

2010-06-28T22:35:00.002-04:00

Still having trouble keeping up with the blog for some reason. I think there are many reasons, or excuses if you want to call them that.

I'm having trouble with my eyes. My glasses are overdue but my insurance only pays for a pair every 2 years (or pays their paltry contribution to what a pair costs) and my two years isn't up until November. Being on the computer gives me eye strain and I'm really trying to avoid that. Plus, working all day on the computer, doing pretty intensive data entry, makes it less than appealing to spend more time on the computer at home. Plus my computer is getting more erratic by the day, to the point that I actually bought backup space online so I didn't lose all my photos in the inevitable meltdown when it happens.

So. I've been knitting...

spinning...

knitting some more...

seeing fireworks...

tasting wine...

(at Kavic Winery, highly recommended. Good stuff)

and cooking, and sleeping, and working, and surviving. And taking photos.

Hopefully, more soon, but I can't promise anything.

Tangy Bulgur Salad

2010-06-26T09:58:00.004-04:00

I made up this recipe on the fly. I wanted to try bulgur wheat and didn't want a hot dish in our 85 degree summer, plus the thought of crunchy bok choy and lemon juice and olive oil and fresh tomatoes in combination was pretty appealing.

1 cup uncooked bulgur wheat
1-2 cups chopped bok choy
1 medium shallot, sliced thin.
1/2 cup crimini mushrooms, sliced
1 large tomato or equivalent, diced
1 can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed (optional, but gives the dish a nice protein kick for vegetarians.)
Olive oil
Lemon juice
Balsamic vinegar (white)
Sea or Kosher Salt
Black Pepper

Cook bulgur wheat by bringing to a boil in two cups of water then simmering covered until done. Set aside to cool.
In a small saute' pan, coat bottom with olive oil, add bok choy, mushrooms, and shallot. Cook until bok choy is wilted but still crunchy.

At this point you can set everything in the refrigerator to cool off and walk away for an hour or so. I made the mistake of combining everything while it was still warm and it got a little mushy, as you can see in the photo below. Still tasted good, but not so aesthetically pleasing.

Once ingredients have cooled, mix everything together, adding more olive oil as needed. Add tomatoes and kidney beans, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and white balsamic to taste. Toss everything together and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Tasty, hearty, healthy, and easy to make ahead. Just not so photogenic.

I want to tell you just how much I love you

2010-06-12T12:51:00.003-04:00

Finished my Honeybee Stole and a quick Annis, both from handspun.

It ended up being about seven feet long. I haven't done an official measurement yet but it's a big MFer.

There are a ton more pictures of both shawls on flickr-see the link on the sidebar.

My next project is another Annis out of the alpaca I spun for last year's Tour de Fleece. And I have a spinning project in the works, with this.

I split it evenly down the length (no idea how I did that, total luck as the weight is only off by one gram) and I'm going to spin as fine as possible then chain ply it and knit socks out of it, one going from yellow to purple and the other from purple to yellow. I love that combination.

In other news, Dylan got his wheelchair and is learning how to use it. We're also learning how to get him in it so it's right. It's a learning curve for all of us.

Here's a video of Dylan before the cart. It's kinda sad. Hence the cheerful music.

And here he is in the wheelchair, doing much better.

He was going to try to roll on the ground and we were all "NOOOOO".

Sorry for the jerky video, it was on my cell phone while I was walking. He really likes the cart.

Bob and I went to Fallingwater on our anniversary weekend, which was last weekend. Loved it. Haven't been there since I was a kid and it's awesome.

Of course while we were down there, we had to stop by Ohiopyle and see Cucumber Falls. It made me depressed that I couldn't go down the hill and walk around closer to the water, though.

By the time we got there I was done in, physically. It was a good day, though, topped off by a great dinner at La Cucina Dolce, a place I've been wanting to try.

Bob had trout with mussels and clams

and I had gnocchi.

The food overall was delicious. The beans and greens appetizer was outstanding. The crabcake appetizer was good, but pretty small for the price. The gnocchi dish I had would have been improved by not having some very assertive green olives battling the pancetta in the sauce for taste domination-I'd recommend they use a milder olive or a milder meat but it was really, really good. The service was good and we got a reservation a half hour ahead of our arrival so that was nice.

That's about it. It's hot and steamy in Pittsburgh this week and I'm broke, so no arts festival yet again this year. Maybe next time.

Beets with wilted greens

2010-06-06T13:35:00.005-04:00

I love making this beet dish and everyone who has tried it loves it too!

When you select your fresh beets, make sure you get ones with good greens attached. Make sure the greens are free of holes and in good condition.

Beets with Wilted Greens

1 bunch fresh beets (Golden beets make this a particularly attractive dish)
One shallot, sliced thin.
Balsamic vinegar
Olive Oil
Fresh Ginger (optional)
Sea Salt
Black Pepper
Skillet or Saute Pan with a lid that fits.

Remove greens from beets and set aside in water. Scrub beets well and cube. Add enough olive oil to a skillet to cover the bottom and add beets and shallot. Toss and saute', adding salt, ginger, and pepper to taste. Cover until done. Add balsamic vinegar to taste when beets are almost completely cooked. (If you're using golden beets, I recommend white balsamic but it probably doesn't make that much difference.)

Making sure your greens are very clean, remove stems and cut leaves into bite-sized pieces. Rinse and drain well. Add to pan with beets and cover. Leave on medium heat until greens wilt. Toss once or twice then remove from heat and serve.

Shown here using Golden Beets

Coconut-Ginger Cream Pie

2010-06-06T13:29:00.003-04:00

Last weekend, friends invited us to a thai-inspired cookout for Memorial Day (US). I wanted to bring a dessert with a twist, so I made this traditional pie with an updated flavor combination. It was delicious!

Coconut Ginger Cream Pie (with optional pineapple)

Crust:
Approx 7 oz Trader Joe’s Triple Ginger gingersnaps
1 stick butter, softened

Process gingersnaps in food processor until all crumbs. Add butter and process until mixed. Remove and press into 9 inch pie plate, being sure to go all the way up the side. Bake in a 350F oven for ten minutes, remove from oven and cool.

Filling:
3 large eggs
3 cups half and half
1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup coconut
2 tsp fresh grated ginger
2 Tbsp candied ginger, diced
1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine half and half, eggs, flour, and sugar in a medium saucepan and on medium heat, bring to a low boil, stirring almost continuously with a wire whisk. As it starts to thicken, stir more.
Remove from heat, add coconut, ginger, and vanilla and stir. Pour into pre-baked crust. Chill.

If desired, once pie is chilled, layer chopped fresh or drained canned crushed pineapple on top then top with whipped cream. Garnish with toasted coconut and mint leaves if desired. Chill and eat.

I stablized the whipped cream using this method-
2 cups whipping cream
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
1 packet Knox unflavored gelatine
1/4 cup water

Sprinkle gelatine on water and bring to a boil in the microwave. Mix well and put in the refrigerator to cool.

Beat whipping cream with sugar until it starts to stiffen. Add COLD gelatin (Make sure it's cold but still liquid) and beat until stiff peaks form.

Must See

2010-05-26T12:11:00.002-04:00

Janelle Monae is gaining popularity, and if this live performance on Letterman is any indication, she's going to be a huge, huge superstar.

I'm listening to her "Archandroid" CD now and it is blowing me away. And I don't say that lightly. Between her and Lady Gaga, I think there is hope for women in popular music yet.

Beyond fierce. And not a bit of lip synch.

It reminds me of the places we used to go

2010-05-22T12:28:00.002-04:00

Just some photos. We've got a late spring flower explosion going on.

Columbines-magical.

Giant freaking peonies.

Sage

Yarrow. Actual colors, no manipulation.

Roses and yarrow.

(and weeds, ok?)

Iris

After having punked out for two or three years, it looks like our irises are coming back. I don't understand it, but I'll take it.

Wegelia. I cut this bush down practically to the ground about every other year and it comes right back.

It's already to a size that bears watching.

That's about it for now. I'm back into the last section of the honeybee stole and hoping this is for real this time. This time next week, we might have finished object pictures.

Hope to have a more substantive post soon.

Love!

2010-05-18T05:14:00.001-04:00

I LOVE this awesome commercial. Love seeing a fat person who is not a punch line. Go, Safe Auto!

Jive Turkey

2010-05-17T16:41:00.000-04:00

We've been invaded this week.

This fine fellow was right up in the window all weekend ordering me to put out more birdseed.

Handsome bird, total bad-ass.

Yesterday, I was spending some time laying in the hammock reading a book, and I heard a weird "CHUFF! CHUFF!" noise. I turned my head and there were three big tom turkeys not ten feet from the hammock, at the edge of the woods, taking turns fanning out their tails and doing the CHUFF thing sinking their heads into big ol' puffed out chest feathers. They were strutting around while one hen pecked around in the grass ignoring them. I never wished for a video camera so much. It was hilarious.

I do a lot of thinking about gender and gender traits as performance and choice and taught behavior rather than inbred behavior. I think in the world we live in now, it's way more optional to perform the gender you were born with. One reason I'm so fascinated with drag queens and gay culture. I think it goes back to feeling a need to be a total bad-ass myself, much like that turkey, in order to survive. Being a weightlifter and someone who is mechanically inclined and very physically strong and able to fix stuff yet being a mostly heterosexual woman and certainly cisgender, I think it very interesting how people choose to use and subvert gender roles.

I would be happy to live in a world where the role of gender was up to the person and not up to a general societal judgment. Where certain qualities were not assigned to gender but were taken on by individuals as things that are right for them, like fashion sense or mechanical aptitude. Where the designation of masculinity and femininity did not trail along so much baggage with them, where they were more choice than obligation.

There was a good mini-doc on Logo this week called "the butch factor". A host of qualities given to be indicative of what a "real man" is or does included things like being honorable, or being reliable, or being honest. Why are these given as masculine traits? Because all the women I knew growing up were also honorable, reliable, and honest. As well as tough. And this is where I learned it. And this is why I'm sometimes perceived as mannish or intimidating. If those things, which are good human traits, are masculine, then does that leave dishonor, duplicity, and flakiness as feminine traits? Or am I being too dualistic? Because that's what we've got here, a world (in the west, at least) steeped in dualism and black-and-white thinking, in everything from politics to gender roles to food choices to art and everything in between.

Am I making any sense? Black and white dualism helps nobody and seems to hurt a lot of people.

I'm moving right along on the honeybee stole, and I'm also making socks from a skein of the legendary Wollmeise yarn. And I've got two spindle spinning projects and a wheel spinning project going so I'm busy, craft wise. I'm keeping up with the 365 project too. I've got too many to post individually, so here's the slideshow to date.

And a couple of highlights.

Come with me, my love, to the sea, the sea of love.

2010-05-15T10:11:00.008-04:00

Most of my knitting attention over the last month and a half has been devoted to one project, the honeybee stole by Anne Hanson. I've had my traveling socks of course and I do have another pair cast on and I also have a complicated sock barely started but mostly, it's been this.

I had several false starts. The needle size was all wrong.

Because the pattern was written for laceweight yarn and I was knitting with a somewhat variable fingering weight, I needed to upsize obviously but it took me a few tries because of my inexperience with lace to determine where exactly I should be in terms of gauge etc. So three different starts until I settled on size 8 needles.

Then there were the mistakes. Thankfully I did not have to rip back to ground zero with any of them but I did have to tink back almost 20 rows once, in the car, while we were on vacation. (the vacation itself may be another post but basically we went to Pigeon Forge TN to see my younger daughter. It was an adventure.)

So things were going well. I had a few scares when I picked up the center stitches to continue from the middle to the other side but after agonizing over it for a few days and much careful laying out and aligning and looking I determined it'd be ok after blocking. Not in a delusional "oh, that giant glaring mistake will block out" way but in a realistic way.

This shawl has three sections. You knit all three sections twice. You start in the middle, do the honeycomb bit, do the swarm bit, do the hive bit, do the edging and cast off, then pick up the middle from your provisional cast-on and repeat.

I was on the last 2 (out of 10) repeats on the last section on the second side when I decided to take the stole to a spin night at a local yarn store for show and tell.

I guess there's really something wrong with my eyes, or the light in my living room, because I had several opportunities to see where the problem was, and I did not see it. Can you see it?

No? How about now?

Now?

That really needs a dramatic "DUN DUN DUN" sound effect.

All I can figure is I did a lot of this knitting during hockey games and I simply did not see it at the time. Plus, we use CFL bulbs and maybe I didn't have quite enough light when I was knitting.

How did it get into the yarn? Well, one of my bobbins had one ply of the pink and orange sock yarn I spun not long ago and I guess I just went ahead and plied that off with the new yarn without noticing at the time. You think I'd at least notice the texture of merino vs border leicester, but no.

So I considered my options, but I knew what was going to happen. Dyeing it might work but I would always know. Ignoring it was not a good idea because, seriously? A big pink stripe? No. I came home from work last night, stuck a long circular needle into the section just below the second swarm section, and frogged it. (there were some knitting errors in the first repeat of the second swarm section that I could have ignored, but I figured in for a penny, in for a pound etc.) I picked up the stitches without further drama and got the offending pink yarn out and got moving on it. I got a repeat done last night while listening to "My Dinner with Andre" which was a movie for which I was definitely not in the mood.

I just didn't want it to suck. And hopefully, now it won't.

It was really embarrasing, though, to pull that out of my knitting bag at the LYS and have everyone going OOH and AAH and then seeing that stripe and the EWW and the UGH (not from them, from me) and the feeling of utter FAIL that happened at that moment.

I hope to start blogging again more but who knows. I'm chairing the Mensa gathering here again and I think I'm going to be pretty busy with that as well as work wearing me out what with this new project I'm on etc. So I can't make any promises.

In the meantime, here's some flowers.

I aint dead

2010-05-11T22:00:00.001-04:00

I promise.

Hopefully I'll have the gumption to post something before much longer. In the meantime, have some fun with Leslie and the Lys.

Writing in a winter wonderland

2010-02-15T18:16:00.003-05:00

What follows is a piece I did for our local Mensa newsletter. What follows that are my 365 photos since I last posted.

Writing in a Winter Wonderland

Day One, February 5th, isn't that bad. I was home from work with a stomach flu but I hadn't intended to go to work anyway. I have a bad leg and a lot of difficulty walking even in good weather so giving the called-for 9 or so inches of snow a miss seemed like a good idea. My husband Bob stays home as well. He is my gallant knight, protecting me from the storm and nursing me back to health at the same time. I indulge in it. I make a big pot of Pasta e Fagiole for dinner. That evening, we watch the snow fall and huddle in together, hoping the power won't go out. The next morning, we wake up to something amazing.

Day Two, February 6th, is kind of fun. I'm finished with my stomach flu, and spend a lot of time going from window to window taking pictures and marveling at the transformed landscape. We find we've lost a good half of our apple tree, but it fell straight down and did not hit the house. And considering the amount of snow, there is nothing we can do about it anyway. It is bright and beautiful outside with everything dead quiet. The birds that usually frequent our feeders are nowhere in sight. No cars on the road. No traffic noise other than the occasional snow plow. Quick checks on the family find my mother with no power or heat but safe for the moment, and my daughter stuck at a friend's house across town, but also safe. Once it stops snowing, Bob measures the snowfall at 23 inches. He starts shoveling the driveway, and that's when we realize this isn't going to be as much of a party as we hoped. The snow is heavy and wet and deep. A shovel is futile. But wonder of wonders, our next-door neighbor's son has a snow blower and is willing to do our long, steep driveway for a reasonable price. Bob still has to unearth the cars, dig out a bigger place for our Corgis to go potty outside, and dig a path to the trash can. My main fear is my Mom's power, and once it comes back on, we have few worries. She and her 2 dogs and 7 birds will not freeze. I figure out a recipe for stuffed acorn squash off the top of my head. It's good.

Day Three is Super Bowl Sunday. Bob had a brief skirmish with the stomach flu the night before but is feeling much better. The snow has stopped. The cable TV is finally back to normal, after being pixilated all day Saturday. We never lost our power, and the water warnings are finished. The snow reaches as high as the picture window in the dining room. It is awesome to behold, and a little frightening. Ice forms along the edges of the roof with huge icicles hanging down from the gutters and the awnings. We breathe a sigh of relief anyway, eat a nice homemade spinach quiche, and enjoy watching the Saints win their first championship. The dogs are starting to get restless, but the streets in Penn Hills are clean and we could leave if we wanted. We are fine, it's a fun adventure being snowed in and we are safe and warm. It's a little bit romantic. I may have made homemade puff pastry, and hot chocolate with hand-whipped cream, I don't quite remember.

Day Four, Monday, Bob goes to work. I do not, as I work a four day schedule with Mondays off. I decide to take advantage of the clean driveway and the need to start my car anyway, and I go to the grocery store. In retrospect, that was the official end to the prosaic snowbound experience. My first clue to the fun to follow is the parking lot. It is plowed, but people are parked all willy-nilly anyway. I have a handicapped placard, and I have to squeeze into a parking space with cars on either side parked at strange angles. There are very few shopping carts available but I get one. My shopping is purely recreational; we don't really need any groceries, but there were a few things we're running low on and I need to get out of the house. I have the opportunity to observe people who are normally kind and considerate acting like the end of the world is nigh, and this was after the storm had ended! General rudeness, pushing and shoving, impatience, and grabbing random items off the shelf are all common. There is a line at the dairy section. The eggs are gone. This is what the snowpocalypse brings; you can't make omelets any more and your normally mild-mannered neighbors turn into wanna-be brides at Filene's annual wedding dress sale. I make it home safely, a bit lighter in the wallet but heavier in fresh fruit and insight into human behavior. I put out birdseed, which quickly transforms our front window into HD entertainment for the cats. That night's dinner is baby back ribs with mashed potatoes. Baked, as we are out of propane for the grill and the grill is covered with snow, in any case.

Day Five, Tuesday, I go to work. There are warnings of more snow. The bus is late, and has three times the usual number of passengers. The sidewalks downtown are treacherous and truly frightening for someone who walks with a cane. I ask to leave early, and shorten my work day by two hours, getting home just before the next wave hits. When I leave the mall Park and Ride to go home, the roads are wet as is our driveway. By the time Bob arrives home some two hours later, he barely gets his normally maneuverable car into the driveway. Any coming up the hill is out of the question. And the snow is barely getting started. We want to cry. Instead, we watch a movie, eat leftovers, and fret. Late that evening, I get word that work is cancelled, and Bob decides to give his job a miss as well since things are rapidly going from bad to worse outside.

Day Six, Wednesday. Still snowing. The icicles have grown to epic proportions, and I fear for our front awning. Nothing to be done about it, though. The ice dam is seven to eight inches thick and frozen solid. We watch another movie, do some cleaning, sort through some files, try to stay out of each other's way. The bloom is off the rose in terms of the romantic snowed in experience, for sure. Bob reads and I read, then knit, then read again. I've never been so glad to have hobbies. I make a truly epic chili for dinner while Bob attempts to shovel the driveway again. Another six inches of snow. The official tally is 29.6 inches for the region. At Chez Fritz, we got 30 even. Hurrah, we're above average! I decide to take a vacation day and stay home until Friday. No choice but to go in on Friday, as I have work that must be done. More fretting. More knitting. The garbage is starting to accumulate and Bob and I might just be getting a little short with each other. It's a stressful situation. I do some yoga. The Penguins win, and we are safe and warm and well-fed, so there's nothing to complain about, what with City residents dealing with unplowed streets and 20,000 people still without electricity. We're lucky, and we know it.

Day Seven, Thursday. I call work and let them know not to expect me. Bob left the shovel at the end of the driveway when he got stuck trying to leave for work, so I walk down to get it. I feel like Scott of the Antarctic in my docksiders and skirt and cane. I slog through knee high snowdrifts trying to see if there's any mail. There isn't. I've had enough of creative cooking. I've had enough of knitting. I decide to do a little spinning, and make some yarn to match an ongoing knitting project in case I need some more. I watch a lot of On Demand programs. I've seen every episode of Hoarders, Worst Cooks, Iron Chef America, and Ru Paul's Drag Race. I'm bored. I've taken the same pictures over and over again. I try for different angles on the icicles. I try to use my camera to convey my sense of imprisonment. That fails too. I pet my cat and he purrs, loudly, then rushes off to see what's on HD Bird Window. I call the neighbor to see if he'll do the driveway so my dear husband doesn't have to work half the night finishing the job. It's money well-spent. I take a photo of the check just for fun. I am careful to obscure the account and routing numbers, just in case it makes it into my "Project 365 " set on Flickr. Pot roast for dinner. It's done snowing for a while.

365 Photos

2/7, "Wounded". The damage to the apple tree in the aftermath of the first storm.

2/8, "No Grain for Good Birds or Bad"

2/9, "Imprisoned"

2/10, "Bite Me". What to do with leftover puff pastry. They had cream cheese and half had pears, the other half had apricots.

2/11, "Nor Iron Bars a Cage".

2/12, "You Can't See Me". Biscuit attempting to hide under my desk.

2/13, "A Less Than Eternal Flame", from our dinner at the Lamplighter restaurant in honor of our friend Dave's birthday.

If I take the day off tomorrow, I may do an actual blog entry then. I'm getting tired of burning all my vacation time on this crap, though. Sheesh.

It's winter and I'm wondering where I am

2010-02-06T12:10:00.005-05:00

Took a week off without intending to. I still don't have much to say, not that that's any different, but the 365 thing is still happening so there's that. I was off Friday because I was hurling my guts out all night Thursday but it was just as well, because the snowstorm of epic doom happened starting Friday afternoon and I would not have wanted to try driving around in it at all.

We measured 23 inches of snow a little while ago, and I think it's stopped now. Hopefully the road crews can get out and also all the people with no power can get their power back, like my mom and her 7 birds who need heat. We're ok, we had a few flickers but other than pixelated cable and a slightly slower internet connection, no problem.

Another big piece of the apple tree came down and the way it looks out there now, there's going to be no dealing with it for at least a week or so-there's just too much snow. It's a huge piece of tree though and we're glad it didn't hit the house. The snow likely brought it straight down whereas wind would have taken it off at an angle. Not good in any case.

I can't tell you how weird it is to sit here typing looking at snow out the back window that were I sitting outside instead of in, would be up to my shoulders.

365 photos since last we met.

1/26, taken on my birthday "the roar of the greasepaint". My mom and Bob at Casbah, a dimly lit restaurant where we had my birthday dinner.

1/27, "Pocket full of moon dust", another cell phone shot, of the moon with a ring around it.

1/28, "Memory of daylight", cell phone photo.

1/29, "Urban Excess". Who runs a fountain in the winter in Pittsburgh anyway?

1/30 "slush stalagmites". I couldn't really express how gross these were but it was unusual.

1/31 "Outside looking in", from our Mensa Post-Holiday party.

2/1, "Escape"

2/2, "Industry"

2/3, "Some Drama", a skein of Sundara Yarn. Some knitters will understand the title, it's gorgeous yarn though and has obviously earned its reputation as a thing of beauty.

2/4, "The circle of wipe". I never promised all my photos would be good or in good taste.

2/5 "Sickbed".

And 2/6, "We are not alone"

The aforementioned party was nice. I was having a major blood sugar crash when I got there and was not fit for human consumption but improved after some food. I should really know better by now. I scored this gorgeous box in the gift swap.

shown here with a pound of handspun border leicester. I finished spinning that up last week-it was lovely.

I'm rather impressed that I managed to match it to the two skeins I did several months ago. Same weight, same look, same twist, same everything.

I've got 2 pair of socks on the needles right now but nothing worth showing.

Just because you can't have too many "corgis in the snow" photos.

First you pillage, then you burn

2010-01-26T06:54:00.003-05:00

Here I am at not even 7:00AM on my birthday, awake for who knows what reason as I am not working today. I do have to call in yet to make sure my supervisor got my email, but I'm 90% sure there will be no problem. Not that 10% is not enough to keep me from going back to sleep when I wake up at my regular time.

Entering into my last year of being in my 40s, it's weird. Really. Mentally, emotionally, I don't feel like I'm even in my 40s yet. Physically, I feel like I'm getting there, but certainly not "almost 50", and that's mostly due to my leg being jacked up. I am sure I'd be much more spry if I had full mobility.

Saturday, our wonderful friends Shirley and Dave invited us over for a dinner in honor of my birthday. It was very touching-it's been a very long time since I had a friend who was willing to do something like that for me. Especially since we learned when we got there that their beloved kitty had passed away unexpectedly the day before and they were both pretty upset about it. In spite of that, a good time was had by all and the food was amazing.

Wonderfully cooked rib roast, potatoes, and greens. With chocolate cheesecake for dessert. And some pretty great wines.

I'm being taken out to dinner tonight at Casbah, a restaurant that is part of the Big Burrito group here (local nice restaurant un-chain) and I'm looking forward to it. Also, my daughter is going to stop by on her way home from class today and I haven't seen her since we were at her place for dinner so that will be nice. My mom is going to dinner with us. We will have to use all our powers to prevent her from grabbing the check. Sigh. Moms.

Just opened my present from Bob, and he got me an awesome set of knives, ones that were on my wish list, the OXO Good Grips knives. Fantastic! I have been working with one half-decent knife for ten years, it'll be nice to have the proper tools for the job.

In case you've been curious about the outcome of the BRESMA orphanage situation, here's a good recap from the PG. I am not sure how to feel about it. As I said to a friend on facebook, On one hand I'm very glad the kids are ok. On the other hand, wow, they twisted a lot of arms and bent a lot of rules. On the gripping hand, imperialism. It all bothers me but as a mom, concern for the kids' lives comes first. It's confusing. I can only hope that the kids stay in touch with their cultural heritage because it's certain that Haiti is going to be troubled with this for a long time, and there will at least be a diaspora of children, if not everyone, because of this. It's good to know, though, that mountains could be moved, a teaspoon at a time, to get those kids safe.

It was also a triumph of social networking, with local mega-popular blog That's Church taking a lead role in getting the word out both via her blog and twitter. The family of the women in charge of the orphanage worked with the blog owner to make her the point person on the social networking end, getting information and requests for specific help out, and passing along the only reliable news as it became available. A wonderful thing all in all, though Virginia from That's Church took a lot of heat from some people for being less than forthcoming with info at the family's request. All I can say is if I ever need to be rescued, I hope I get someone like her on my side-it was amazing to watch.

I'm knitting two pair of socks, neither of which have photos that are worthy of being shared at this point. Yesterday, I decided to treat myself to some spinning as well. I'm finishing the orange Border Leicester that I got in Waynesburg back last spring.

The 365 project goes on. Here's this week's photos.

"Fruit", one of the hats I made for the orphans. The hats are going to be donated to I dunno, probably Catholic Charities because they get a lot of refugees.

I did two photos for 1/20,

"Keyed Up"
and

"Keyed In", both shenanigans with cell phone pics and my wimpy photo editing program.

"Look Up, It's All Around You", 1/21, the day the bus broke down at the end of the busway and we had to walk from there into town. This is the dome of the rotunda in front of the old Pennsylvania Railroad station, now luxury apartments and offices. One of my favorite buildings in town.

"Urban Decay" for 1/22. Another cell phone picture.

"This is not as beautiful as love", 1/23. Bob brought me roses on Friday.

"Vines" for 1/24, detail of the top of a hat I made for my elder daughter's roommate.

And finally, "Fierce", from 1/25, a detail of my favorite tee shirt in the world. I love my sumo wrestler. He makes me feel invincible.

That's about it!

Orzo in cream sauce with capers

2010-01-24T21:00:00.002-05:00

Sorry, I missed taking a picture of this yummy side dish, but it was too good not to post.

Ingredients
8 oz dry Orzo
3 Tbsp butter
One shallot, sliced thin
1/4 cup white wine
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 to 1/3 cup capers, drained.
Salt and pepper to taste.

Cook orzo in a medium saucepan to two minutes less than package instructions. At the same time, melt butter in small saucepan. Once the foam subsides, add the shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until they just start to brown. Add wine and bring to boil. Add cream. Add fresh ground pepper. Bring to just before boiling then turn heat down to a high simmer and allow to cook while you finish the orzo, whisking frequently but not continuously. Watch that it does not boil over.

Drain orzo, put back in saucepan, add cream sauce, stir in. Leave on low heat until most of the liquid is absorbed. Add capers just before serving and add salt if needed.

Enjoy!

Stuffed eggplant

2010-01-20T19:34:00.002-05:00

Ingredients

One large eggplant
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
4 cloves Garlic, peeled and sliced
Two small yellow onions, chopped
Five medium Crimini mushrooms, washed and sliced
Tbsp butter
4 oz pancetta, cubed
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan, Pecorino Romano, Asiago or similar
2 tbsp capers
One egg or two egg whites
1/2 cup dry white wine

Preheat oven to 375
Slice eggplant in half lengthwise and score the inner meat with a knife, getting to about 1/2 inch from the skin but not piercing it.
Baste eggplant halves with olive oil, place skin side down in baking pan that has the bottom lightly coated with olive oil. Salt and pepper lightly. Bake for approx 20 minutes or until the cuts separate and the meat begins to soften. Remove from oven, but leave the oven on.

While the eggplant bakes, melt butter in a saute' pan. Add garlic and onions and cook until just browning. Add pancetta. Stir and cook for a few minutes. Add mushrooms. Stir, cover, and cook until mushrooms shrink by about half. Remove cover, add wine. Stir well, boil down until the liquid is starting to thicken.

With a spoon, scrape the meat from the eggplant halves, leaving a thick layer of meat against the skin. Add the meat to the pan with the other ingredients, and stir together, simmering about five minutes and blending the eggplant in.

In a bowl, combine the bread crumbs and cheese. Add the capers and the contents of the saute' pan and stir together. Beat egg and stir in. Spoon into eggplant halves and return to oven. Bake about 10-15 minutes until tops browned and sizzling. Remove from oven and let sit a few minutes before serving.

I don't belong here, I don't belong there

2010-01-18T22:07:00.003-05:00

Title courtesy of the amazing Nina Simone and her song Missisippi Goddamn.

I really don't have much to say. Like many people here in Pittsburgh and around the world, I'm waiting for news on the BRESMA orphans and my heart is breaking for Haiti and the Haitian people. This is a tragedy of the highest order. People are dying who should be okay, now. Dying from disease and infection and grief. All I know how to do is to donate money and make baby hats. And I can't donate any more money right now. But i don't have pictures of the hats yet. Maybe later in the week.

Donate here, please. If you can.
http://www.centeroflife.net/haiti/index.html
All the money will go to the orphans' needs when they arrive here. And they'll have a lot of needs.

One of the things that did surprise me though it probably should not have is that Mary Beth Buchanan, a crony of GWBush, talked out of her ass about getting the kids back here, like she could just take it upon herself to swoop into Haiti and remove all the kids. She got a lot of people's hopes up and then they were dashed when we learned she was really not as far into the process as she thought.

At this point, there's a plane on the ground in Haiti from Pittsburgh with medical goods, food, water, doctors, etc. The intention is to bring 61 kids and the McMutrie sisters back to Pittsburgh. I hope that is the case but I'll believe it when I see them here.

But I'm hopeful enough that I'm still knitting hats, at any rate.

I did have some cooking adventures this week, including a foray into beef in pastry which went pretty well considering it was the wrong type of meat, whole wheat instead of white flour, and I did the mushroom pate wrong. It would not win any prizes on Food Network, but it was a worthy step on my way up the culinary ladder.

The rolled out pastry with the mushroom pate on it.

Sizzling away.

Today, I made my first Hollandaise sauce and served it with poached mahi mahi, risotto, and veggies.

It made a nice plate. I'll tell you what, I am doing hollandaise in the food processor from now on, that whipping the egg yolks by hand and trying to pour butter in at the same time is overrated.

Here's this week's 365 photos.

"Shine", taken at my daughter's house when she made us dinner on Tuesday.

"Am I Blue?" before cutting my nails down a little later in the week. Cell phone picture.

"Landing Strip". Another cell phone picture, before the snow melted.

"Flick Er", a last minute snap when I realized I'd almost forgotten to take a photo that day.

"Ginger the Manatee" was a twofer with "Ginger the Dinosaur" on Saturday.

"Privilege", Sunday's dinner, the aforementioned beef in pastry. Reminding myself how very fortunate we are.

"Monday Off". Loving the light in our house, as usual.

Still holding on

2010-01-16T00:23:00.002-05:00

http://thatschurch.com/

Latest on the orphanage situation. I am so worried for them. They were on CNN tonight and those women are so brave and keeping such a cheerful strong face on for the kids, but you can tell there's so much fear underneath.

If you are in a position to help, please do so. The kids will need warm clothing when they get here. They'll need hats. I'm knitting hats. It keeps me from sitting here sniffling and tearing up watching CNN and hoping for good news.

Last year, when the brother of these two women shared their story at work and invited us to a fundraiser (to which I didn't go, and wish I had), I thought there was something amazing about them. Readers of this blog know that I am about as agnostic as a big ol' heathen can get, but I admire so much when someone has that kind of love in their heart. No worries if they want to attribute it to deity, it goes to a good place and it saves lives.

So I'm knitting hats. If you want to knit some hats, I'm sure they'd be welcomed. Drop me a note here or in email (jlongstreth at comcast dot net) and I'll make sure they get to a child's head when they arrive here.

Because no chance is too small

2010-01-13T19:53:00.003-05:00

There is an urgent situation in Haiti, obviously, but this is extra urgent. Jamie and Ali McMutrie run the BRESMA orphanage in Port Au Prince. They need to get babies evacuated, as soon as possible. Just in case some person with a private jet or the resources to hire one is reading this blog-(like I said, no chance is too small) please read this.

http://thatschurch.com/2010/01/13/its-getting-real-bad/

A quote from a quick borrowed blackberry message that breaks my heart-

“Our housé is falling b two also. Adoptions stoppéd five yrs at least. We are living in yard no food water bank stores phone mostly. Only idéa is if u no anyoné important who can give réfugee status to all thé bresma u.s. kids. We trùly cant keep babys alive water contaminated. This is our only hope -
only private planes allowed. We know its cràzy but can évryone come togethér and find a person to help us like obama? Thé kids r almost américan and will have homes. We try to call all day and cant. Sending this from a strangers blackberry.”

Please spread the word. These young ladies do amazing work finding homes for children in dire need under normal circumstances. Now it's truly a life and death situation for them.

Four years

2010-01-11T14:03:00.002-05:00

It's been four years today since I quit smoking. I don't have a lot to say-it's still not gone from my character but it continues to get easier. I will say that it's been a good decision overall and one I will never regret.

My crafting mojo is stuck right now. I've made several false starts over the weekend on various projects and none have taken off properly. There's a pair of boot socks showing promise. We shall see.

My co-worker's baby needs a new sweater, as all babies do, and since Cosy was kind enough to come up with such a clever pattern as the baby eggplant, the least I could do was to knit it.

This was also part of my 365 photos, but not this shot.

The weather has sucked big time the past week. Days when it has not snowed have been few and they've been bitterly cold, like yesterday and today. As pretty as it is, I've very much had enough of winter.

Saturday night was dinner with Mensans. We met at the Green Forest restaurant, just down the road from home. Meat on skewers, in large quantities, a fabulous salad/seafood bar, and dessert.

The pineapple sorbet tasted like I was sitting on the beach in Hawaii, eating a pineapple with my bare hands while the juice ran down my chin and all over my shirt. It was incredible. Worth every penny. Green Forest is a good once-a-year restaurant. Ok, maybe twice a year. Any more than that is too much. But I recommend it highly.

This is the end result of the scarf I was working on last week.

It came out disappointingly short. I still like it, but I would like it more were it much longer and squishier.

This week's 365 project photos.

"Corgiluv"

"Inside/Out"

"Alien landscape. Rescue needed."

"Baby Eggplants need warmth too"

"Icicles on every damn thing"

and

"The view from the dentist's chair". Literally. I took this after my teeth cleaning today. It's a little more scenic in the summer, but there's a lot of birds and basically nice to see instead of four sterile walls. Each chair has a bay window like that.

There will be a recipe forthcoming for potato-bacon soup. I made some on Friday when I was home for a snow day. (the snow day turned out to be a good call. I would not have fared well out in the elements that day.) It was awesome, and I want to make it again. Our neighbor across the vacant lot, Rob, came over and cleaned out our driveway on Saturday with his mower/plow dealie, so we sent the half of the soup that I'd put aside home with him in thanks for his work. Poor Bob has been like whatshisface pushing that boulder up the hill. Sisyphus? Is that the dude? The snow has not given him a break and I'm really not up to shoveling. I went outside to take some pictures while it was coming down on Friday, and ended up falling. I was ok (still sore) but it was pretty scary to realize I was down in the snow and unsure about getting up again. Needless to say it all worked out and I am not much worse for wear. Nor is my camera, which landed in a snowbank.

Until next time.

In with the new

2010-01-04T15:33:00.003-05:00

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I posted here. My apologies-it's been a bit of a hectic month what with the holidays and so on.

Today is a dual birthday-Bob and my mother both. So this will not be a long entry, as I am busy cooking a lovely dinner and trying to get the house organized enough to have my mom over for dinner. I also made a cake, and can prove it.

I put some sprinkles on top, too.

All the crazy holiday crafting got done in plenty of time, and was all well-received. I put puffy paint on the bottoms of the slippers to make them non-skid, and that was fun as well. I did different patterns and even some words, but did not take photos. The hats all fit, at least as far as I can tell, and overall it seemed folks were pleased with their gifts.

Bob loved his present.

That's the Beatles boxed set, all digitally remastered. It sounds wonderful. His reaction was priceless-he just kept saying "holy crap!" My mom was laughing. It was fun. She liked her GPS unit, and the kids got money and stuffed animals and books and were happy with them too.

Anna was only in for the weekend. Hated to see her go so soon but she'll be back.

The weather has been crap around here.

Pretty, but crap. I hate snow more than ever and I am terrified of falling. But this too shall pass.

I got some awesome gifts. My mom got me a sewing machine and carrying case for it. My daughter got me a stick blender and a cookbook (Julia Child!) along with some original art that she made for me and a CD and knitting book I wanted. And Bob got me two cookbooks, one of which was the same one Lena got me so we returned it and got a food processor instead, which arrived today.

I'm excited about all the cooking related gifts because I have felt for a while now that although I'm a good cook with good fundamentals, I am ready to bring it up a level and the gifts I got will help me do that. The techniques I've read in the Julia Child book have started making a difference already! I feel like I can become the cook I always wanted to be now. It's kind of exciting.

In knitting, I've been knitting. I've also spun some yarn-I got fiber at Handmade Arcade when I went there shopping and one bit of it was calling out to me. Just some handdyed farm wool.

And as soon as I finished spinning it, it demanded to be knit, so I'm making myself Stephanie Pearl McPhee's One Row Scarf. So far, so good.

I wish I could write more but there are a million things to do before my mom gets here and if I get started, I won't be able to stop. I do need to blog more often-perhaps I can accomplish that in the new year.

One thing I will be doing is a Photo 365 project with a group from Ravelry-the idea is to take one photo (at least) a day for 365 days, so here are mine, so far. I have a set on flickr with them as well. I started on the first of the year.

Project 365 Photos this week-

"Self-Portrait with Bird and Bad Judgment"

"Assorted Craft"

"Still Life with Ginger and Brioschi"

"Late Morning Light"

Here comes the sun king

2009-12-07T22:41:00.002-05:00

Well, in a couple of weeks, anyway.

Just a drive-by post. A couple of pictures. May post later in the week, but I had a bit of a busy day today.

First up, Laburnum Creamsicles.

I'm actually almost done with these-I've turned the second heel and am working my way up the leg. I was hoping they'd be done in time to wear tomorrow but unless I forego a lot of sleep tonight, that's not going to happen. The yarn is handspun, fiber I got from the Waynesburg sheep and wool festival back in the spring. I love it-it's so smooshy and soft. The pattern is Laburnum from Schurch's Sensational Knitted Socks, and I did them toe-up with the magic cast-on and the fake flap-and-gusset heel, which I have figured out but-good and need to write up better instructions on. I never seem to get around to correcting my old patterns, though. It's a problem.

Anyway.

I finished all the slippers today. All the buttons sewn on, all blocked, all washed and drying and almost ready for their puffy paint on the soles.

That's a hell of a lot of slippers.

I think these are my favorite. At least, they're my favorite buttons.

This weekend is Handmade Arcade. I look forward to it, I love going there and taking photos and seeing all the people. I got an early entry pass this year for the first time so I won't have to deal with so many crowds to shop. yay!

Work tomorrow. Work sucks. I don't want to think about it.

The days will start getting longer soon. Yule is only about two weeks away now.

I do pretty well 'til after sundown

2009-11-30T16:48:00.007-05:00

Damn seasons anyway. I think I need to move somewhere equatorial to avoid turning into a fire-eyed demon during the early winter.

Thanksgiving was nice, I didn't really take any pictures. I took some with my cell phone, but even though I brought the good camera, I never took it out of my purse. It seemed pointless, because every Thanksgiving brings similar photos, similar poses.

One thing that was different was this.

I brought two vegetable dishes. One was ordinary broccoli/cauliflower with garlic butter. This was a savory butternut squash bread pudding, recipe here. It was epic, and delicious. Also, the butternut squash was a revelation-delicious and sweet without the icky fibrousness of pumpkin.

Ok, this photo was also a little different.

But overall...

The weekend also went by way too fast and I had all this grand ambition for things to accomplish and I accomplished not much at all. Not even extra sleep.

I did take some photos of accumulated giftmas presents.

A chair full of slippers. They need buttons, blocking, and ends woven in.

Hathenge one

And two. Some of them need the odd end woven in but for the most part, they're done.

I had to take a break from knitting last week and do some spinning. I spun the wonderful BFL fiber that I got in a Ravelry swap from Lisa.

It hasn't been bathed yet, but it's about 700 yards of sportweight.

I also finished one sock, of the ones that started off being entrelac and a gift, and ended up stockinette and for me.

They did not look right as entrelac. Ugh.

Other than that, there's not been much. The weather has been unseasonably good, as evidenced by the chair-o-wet-socks this weekend.

And the neighborhood doves congregated to drive the cats mad. Figment and Biddy, in a rare moment of fellowship, sat in the back window together, making cute kitty noises at the birds. I didn't get a picture, as the moment didn't last long enough.

I'm craving citrus like crazy. It must be the time of year. There was about a month's worth of sinus woe for me but it seems to have passed, at least for now.

Reading is going well. I read Andrea Dworkin's "Right Wing Women" which was very interesting. Also read the Stephen King short stories, "Just After Sunset" which were mostly very good. The last one, though. Yuck. Not enjoyable at all. Offal, one might even say. HAR HAR HAR. Also reading "Triste Tropiques" by Claude Levi-Strauss, about his work in Brazil and the Amazon. Best written anthropology ever.

This may be the best thing ever.

And finally, if you're a relative or friend looking for ideas for gifts, I have a link to my amazon wish list over on the sidebar. Don't feel compelled, but there it is.

Until next time!

Scrappy Mitts with Flounce

2009-11-16T12:58:00.003-05:00

Scrappy Mitts with Flounce
by Jamie Longstreth Fritz

This easy pattern happened because I wanted something for me made out of this special handspun yarn. I had used most of the skein making two pair of slippers, and there was just enough left (50G) for a pair of fingerless mitts.

Materials needed:
50G interesting yarn in a DK weight. The more colorful the better. You can also use scraps of handspun in similar weights.
US size 6 needles (Long circular for magic loop, DPNs, or two circs) or size needed to get gauge.
Size F crochet hook
Yarn needle to sew in ends

Gauge-2 inches = 11 stitches in stockinette stitch. Row gauge is less important as you will decide when they're long enough for you.

First, the Flounce.
Cast on 40 stitches and divide to work in the round. I used a long tail cast-on, if you don't want the join to show, you might want to use a provisional cast-on.
1-4 Work 4 rows in 3x2 rib. (K3, P2)
5. K2, YO, K1, YO, K2, repeat to end of round.
Rows 6, 8 10 Knit around
7. K2, YO, K3, YO, K2, repeat to end
9. K2, YO, K5, YO, K2, repeat to end.
10. Knit around
Bind off loosely.

Body of Mitts
Pick up and knit 40 stitches along cast-on edge of flounce, dividing to knit in round. If you used a provisional cast-on, pick up the 40 stitches and undo the provisional stitches.

Work in stockinette stitch (knit every row) until length desired to reach thumb. As pictured, 3 1/2 inches were worked between the flounce and the thumb hole.

K2, BO 5, knit to end. When you reach the bound off stitches, cast on (using thumb cast-on) 5 stitches and continue until mitt is as long as you want it. As shown, 2 1/2 inches were knit between the thumb and the bound off edge.

Bind off loosely.

Thumb
Pick up and knit 14 stitches in the thumbhole. Work in stockinette stitch in the round until of sufficient length for your thumb. Bind off loosely. (Very loosely!)

Finishing
Single crochet one row around top of mitts and bottom of flounce. Sew in ends, block, and wear!

I have large hands, so if you need to make these smaller, use a smaller needle size, or just cast on less stitches. Really, it doesn't get much easier than this.

My mind, it does not belong to me

2009-11-11T18:12:00.003-05:00

My Grandmother, Frances Fusco Sneed, in her WAC uniform. Veteran's Day is always a day I remember her.

I'm going to try for a regular update thing. We've had a busy few weeks plus I've been sick, and am sick again, so cover your nose and mouth while reading this blog entry just in case I have swine flu. I wouldn't want to be an agent of the porkocalypse.

A couple of weeks ago, for Halloween, we went to visit friends in central PA and indulge in some visiting and foods and some year-end ritual and some hot tubbing, which by the way, was miraculous for my leg. I made good stuff to take up and share and took photos.

Homemade pepperoni bread. It amazed me that every recipe I found for pepperoni bread said "take frozen bread dough and ..." Why? Bread dough is so easy. I made my own Italian bread dough and rolled pepperoni and provolone into it and it was awesome.

I also made gingersnap cake starting from a mix and added cranberries and crumbled triple gingersnaps to the top.

Both were delicious. I wish I had time to bake more, as I really enjoy it.

We went to the park the next day with the dogs, and I took lots of photos. It was a glorious late-fall day and it resulted in a photo set, here in convenient slideshow format for your indulgence or not.

Still knitting, still making the same things. Also making a pair of mitts for me out of leftover yarn from the slippers I've been making.

I imagine I'll write up a pattern for the mitts. They're easy enough, but I haven't done a pattern in a while so I'll post this one. Once I'm finished.

Biscuit is weird. Still.

And Bob still knows it.

Deer in our yard, one morning. Cell phone picture so not great.

And the building caddy-corner from my office, first thing in the morning when it's dark out.

One of the Steelers lives there, and it's also where the Social Security office is.

It's kind of fun to let photos pile up on my cell phone, because sometimes I forget what all is there and when I go to unload them, I get some surprises.

This is the bridge between our two buildings at work. I call this Meatfunk Alley, because the exhaust fan from a Gyro place blows into it and it stinks. I haven't had a gyro since I've been working there.

This was our food, the night we went to Braddock's restaurant, the night we went to the Opera.

And this was in the window of Prantl's Bakery downtown, just before Halloween.

Poor Lily had to have 12 teeth taken out. She has had dental problems all along-probably a combination of bad genetics and poor nutrition as a puppy and while she was being bred. The first night home from the vet and we put a blanket in her corner for her to lay on. Dylan had to share the blanket, but the picture looks like he's laying there to keep an eye on her.

I think that's about it. I've got a lot of serious posts bumping around in my brain, but I can't seem to find the time to write them out. This is becoming a problem.

Hallows

2009-10-31T12:08:00.002-04:00

The origins of the end-of-October seasonal holiday are those of last harvest. It's not a moon or sun phase holiday. It's not a religious observance in the strongest sense of the word. My interpretation/observance may be different from others. That's what you get here in Buttercupia.

So all year long, we've been growing things and creating things and putting things by, knowing that the dark of the year is coming. Back in August, we had a good harvest that took us through to here. Now we go back out into the fields to see what else we can come up with to eat and to nervously assess if we have enough. This concept works in both a literal and a spiritual sense. What have we wrought in our lives over the prior months? What yield did we take from our gardens, metaphorically and actually? What did we accomplish? Do we have enough, and is anything going to go to waste?

So we get together. Those who have more pass it along to those who have perhaps been less productive or less fortunate. (That lives on in children going from door to door begging candy.) Feasts are given with the bounty that we can't preserve. We finish the work of clearing the last grain and fruit and squash out of the fields and putting it into a form that will sustain us. Canning, drying, freezing. I've been in a bit of a "cook and freeze" kick this past week or two and I think the season explains it.

In the "olden days", people had a good reason to be nervous about this time of year. The growing season was at an end. All the grain and veg and fruit they were going to get was in the pantry now, and had to last a while. There weren't any grocery stores. Empires nervously calculated if there was enough winter wheat put by to make bread for the populace. Sometime it wasn't, and sometimes wars and revolutions happened as a result. So yeah, people get a little nervous. Customs arise out of necessity and ritual arises out of custom. That's how we become civilized.

So this year I look into the freezer and into the craft room and into the cupboards and into my heart and figure out if I've done enough to survive, to take us through the coming dark and into the spring, into the light. This is a tough time of year for me, personally. Family angst, bare branches, cold mornings, ache in my bones and joints that tell me I'm running out of reserves and I have to take more care. Dreams of my youth that tell me I'm older now and I'd better watch I don't run out.

I think it's been a good year. We have a full freezer, a nicely-stocked pantry. We're not going to go hungry, despite my fruit and vegetable anxiety. Inside, I've grown too. I'm trying to be more tolerant and understanding, while learning about my place in the world and figuring out what brought me here. Figuring out what will move me forward, keep me growing as a person and as a citizen of the planet and the human race. It's not always easy. In some things, like empathy and outrage and words, I have extra. In other things, like tolerance and understanding, I may need to go from door to door and collect a little extra from my neighbors. It's a process.

I know we'll survive until Spring, though. I know that Yule will find us rejoicing at our survival and prosperity as we share those special bits of bounty that we hid for the darkest times. I know my work, both public and private, both for pay and for joy, will continue to develop and I will continue to strive for a sense of pride in work, and maybe sometimes I'll find it.

May the last harvest find you all prosperous and happy.

Potato Leek Soup

2009-10-26T14:33:00.002-04:00

My own version, started with Emeril's recipe and moved on from there.

About five pounds of young white potatoes, sliced thin or diced.
Three large leeks, cleaned and chopped
One large sweet onion
Half pound pancetta, cubed
Half a stick of butter
A pint of heavy cream
Most of a bottle of dry white wine
4 cups vegetable stock
Garlic to taste

2 tsp Rosemary
3 Bay Leaves
Tablespoon dried parsley
Fresh ground pepper to taste
Salt to taste if needed

In large soup pot, combine onion, garlic, pancetta, and butter. Cook over medium heat until the onions are soft and the pancetta is cooked. Add the leeks, stir to coat with oil. Add potatoes, wine and stock, and seasonings. Bring to boil, cover and simmer until potatoes are tender.

Mash potatoes in the pot. I used a hand masher, you could use an immersion blender if you like. Add the heavy cream, stir, and simmer until cooked to taste.

If you're into puree type soups, you can run the whole thing through a food processor when it's done but I like chunkier soups, plus I don't have a food processor.

Also, I cleaned the potatoes really well and left the skins on. I like the nutrient boost from the skins, but if you're a purist, you'll want to peel them.

Pictures later, maybe.

Move me on to any black square

2009-10-21T18:59:00.003-04:00

It's been a while since I posted here and really no excuse-just busy. Two weeks ago, my younger daughter Anna was here. Last week, I had a cold. And this week, well, no reason in particular, I just felt overwhelmed.

I've been knitting like a mad thing. Am currently on the seventh hat and have four pair of "Mama Janes" knitted. They still need finishing. I'm down to 1.5 pair of socks to get done before the dread winter holiday so I don't think I'll be rushed this year.

I mentioned Anna was in town a couple of weeks ago-she was in for a wedding and we had a nice but very brief visit.

We had dinner on Sunday at my mom's house with some other family and of course the wonderful sister reunion of the two of them. I know how much they miss each other, and I'm glad Anna has a better car now-maybe she will be able to visit more.

We went to Idlewild the following week. We haven't been since the week after we got married, and it was a really nice time. Here's a slideshow, but I'll pull out some favorites.

It was their "HallowBoo" event and not all the rides were open, but there were lots of people (and kids) and I did ride a few rides. My leg held out better than I expected, too. Some favorites from the train ride...

It's really unworldly beautiful up there.

They had some funny/seasonal stuff set up in the woods.

But the scariest thing I saw all day was in Storybook Forest.

F...E...A... hmmm, what letter could be missing???

Not all was scary though.

Truly, one of my favorite places.

A few random crafting photos and I'll close. I'm overtired, overwrought, overworked, and have a lot on my mind.

(this yarn is handspun BFL and like knitting puppy kisses. It's amazing. Best yarn I ever made.)

(Angee from Cookie A's Sock Innovation book. A gift)

(My "alaria" pattern [see sidebar] in Fibranatura Yummy.)

Handspun cashmere neckwarmer.

Oh, and check out this awesome basket I won at the Western PA Wildlife Center's Harvest Festival.

(plus a gift card for a local restaurant)

It's been an interesting and busy few weeks, but nothing momentous or earth-shattering, just highly unmotivated to write or thinking "I'll write later" and it doesn't happen. I need to stop doing that.

This dance ain't for everybody

2009-09-28T21:32:00.003-04:00

I'm having a case of doldrums this week, so I'm just going to put up some photos of hats and move on.

We had pointless "training" at work Wednesday through Friday so I got a lot of knitting done. Two hats and one pair of slippers. I've already cast on another hat, and am also working on a cowl out of handspun cashmere and two pair of socks, but nothing fascinatingly photographic there.

Pittsburgh survived the G20 mostly unscathed. Some of the police over-reacted a bit, and some of the "protesters" (who I think weren't actually protesters but just bored college students) acted up but for the most part, no problems.

Bob and I went to the opera on Saturday. Eugene Onegin, which is in Russian, so my mom didn't want to go, so we went. It was pretty good, some of the singers were amazing, and we had a nice dinner beforehand at this terrific downtown restaurant called Braddock's, inside the Renaissance Hotel. The food was superb from top to bottom, the service impeccable, the atmosphere lush and understated, and the prices reasonable. I can't recommend it enough. I have some photos on my cell phone that I will post hopefully within the next couple of days. Seriously, though, if you're looking for a nice place to eat out downtown, this place is great. I got the hanger steak and it was incredible. They also know how to do frites, which a lot of places don't.

I think part of my doldrums is due to the weather changing to chilly and autumnal. Fall used to be my favorite season but now that the years are flying by for me, I don't like it so much anymore.

Although I do love a good apple cider.

Almost forgot-here's the raku thing I painted last week.

It didn't come out nearly as awesome as my vision for it was but hey, it's still pretty.

Well I wonder wonder who wrote the book?

2009-09-21T18:32:00.003-04:00

I've been an industrious little knitter lately.

Two hats.

One pair of Mary Janes (that still need finishing)

A third hat and a second pair of MJs cast on as well. I'm determined not to get bogged down in seasonal knits this year.

I am not sure I posted a photo of the border leicester I spun a couple of weeks ago, but I dragged it outside to take some snaps of it. I may have photographed it on the wheel but not in the skein.

It's really lovely, I think. It's got slubby bits, as the bats had a few neps and short cuts, it's loosely plied, and I think it'll make a lovely lace shawl or stole at some point.

Took a couple of architectural pictures at the East End Food Co-Op's art market that came out in an interesting way.

My daughter was there doing a raku demonstration. It was awesome.

I painted the glaze on a piece of ceramic and they fired it and did the raku thing with the shredded paper. It was cool. It's a pretty little pot-I'll probably take it to work to keep pens in or something. Bob took this of me painting it.

It really didn't come out like I expected but it's pretty anyway.

We went to a wedding on Saturday, good friends of ours from Mensa, and the groom was Bob's best man when we got married. It was a nice day and a beautiful ceremony.

They're so cute!

This week will be strange at work as we are not going to be there from Wednesday through Friday due to the G20 thing. Our office is a block from the Convention Center and that whole area will be closed off. We're being sent offsite for "training", so I will hopefully get a lot more knitting done. I think they just don't want to pay us to stay home because I doubt we'll do much actual learning. You've got to love working for the gub'mint.

There hasn't been a whole lot else, other than I foolishly stepped up and volunteered to be the chairperson for the Western PA Mensa Regional Gathering again. Nobody else was going to come forward, or worse, someone incompetent and/or malicious would have. So I did. It's going to be a challenge but I think it'll be good. We've already got the hotel contract, that's the biggest stress after getting enough room nights booked so I figured what the heck. We'll see how it goes.

I'll close with some random photos I took at the wedding-they had a gorgeous site called Robin Hill Park with an old Georgian mansion and gardens and etc. Until I blog again!

(I know this one is a huge mistake but I actually ended up liking the rainbow effect of the glare.)

And this one is my favorite.

Bewitched, bothered and bewildered

2009-09-16T20:13:00.003-04:00

Just a quick drive-by recipe. Sorry for the lack of posting on Monday, I ended up working instead of being off as usual and I could not get it together sufficiently to blog. I did knit a hat.

Almost embarrassingly easy one skein hat pattern that I found via the Livejournal knitting community. I'll be making several of these for various relatives.

Monday, when I was supposed to be blogging and ended up working and shopping instead, I bought a bunch of vegetables and wanted to eat some of them. It is a coolish evening and I thought a nice fresh soup would be just the thing. So was born "3B Soup". The three B's being Beef, Broccoli, and Bok Choy.

I think the key to this is really the soup base. I made a lot of greens over the summer (and will continue to do so as long as they're available) and when I make greens, I tend to have a lot of broth left over. Broth from greens makes a wonderful soup base, full of flavor and so hearty. I freeze it and use it later, either in more greens, or in soup, like I did today. If you don't have homemade vegetable soup base in your fridge, you can use any type of vegetable broth.

Ingredients
1 1/2 quarts vegetable broth
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
One medium rutabaga, cubed
One good-sized stalk of bok choy, chunked
Two broccoli "trees", chunked
Three small to medium carrots, chunked
One sweet onion, sliced or chunked
As much garlic as you want
Salt and pepper to taste
(You can cut up the veggies any way you like, but it always looks and eats better if you keep the pieces a consistent size. In other words, don't dice the carrots tiny and have big hunks of broccoli floating around. I like to leave veggies like broccoli and cauliflower in large chunks because they can overcook so easily.)

Place ground beef in frying pan on medium and break up well. Put broth in soup pot on medium heat,add rutabaga and carrots, and garlic, cover. When the beef gets going well, add the onion to the beef and brown them together. Drain well. Add bok choy and broccoli to broth, put drained meat and onion on top, cover and bring to a boil. Stir well and turn down to simmer covered for about 30 minutes or until rutabaga is cooked.

You can substitute potatoes for the rutabaga, or do an East Asian version with a splash of soy or teriyaki sauce, water chestnuts, and bamboo shoots. You can use cubed beef, chicken, or pork in place of the ground beef too, I used it because it was what I had thawed out.

It looks good and tastes great!

Thanks to the I.L.G. we're paying our way

2009-09-07T19:10:00.005-04:00

"Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if Labor had not first existed. Labor is superior to capital, and deserves much the higher consideration." --Abraham Lincoln

Happy Labor Day to all my fellow wage-slaves out there. Today will be a mixed bag of sorts because I have no direction and no capability for cohesive thought at the moment to get a thinky post together.

First up, strangely enough, a recipe. I made this yesterday and we proclaimed it good.

Sauteed pork in pesto wine sauce

Approx 1.5 pounds of cubed pork. I used center cut rib chops, boneless, and cubed them.
Two cups of dry white wine (always use wine you'd drink, none of that cooking wine, eww)
Two tablespoons pesto
Olive oil
Frozen asparagus, thawed and cut into one-inch pieces
One cup sliced mushrooms of choice
Fresh garlic to taste
Large sweet onion
Black pepper
Flour for dredging, seasoned with salt and pepper if desired
Half to 3/4 pound of pasta of choice.

On medium-high heat in a deep skillet or wok, sautee onion, mushroom, and garlic cloves in olive oil until browned and tender. While that's cooking, dredge cubed pork in flour.

Remove onion, garlic, and mushrooms from olive oil and put the cubed pork in the pan, adding oil if needed. Cook until brown on both sides. Put the OGM mix back in and stir. Add the wine and bring to a near boil. Add pesto, fresh black pepper to taste, and asparagus. Stir to mix pesto well with sauce and cover, reducing to a simmer while you cook the pasta.

Serve over pasta. You're done! It's good.

I made that yesterday after we came back from Frick Park, where we went with the dogs to enjoy the gorgeous weather, which was perfect for a long walk in the park. I really pushed myself hard, I have not walked on trails since before the accident and parts of these trails were steep and hard going, and some had steps. I made it ok, though. Worn out but OK. My leg wasn't talking to me last night but it's ok today, so we'll have to do that more often.

I took some random pictures, here's some highlights.

We walked up to the corner ice cream shop after and had a cone. It was a nice day.

Dylan (the larger corgi, the one with the V on his head) is having some problems. He's getting older and he's starting to have back trouble in that he's losing control of his back legs sometimes. The vet put him on a course of steroids which seemed to help but just a little. If that doesn't work, options are limited as surgery is horribly expensive and not guaranteed to work IF it's a disc problem. It also might be a disease called Degenerative Myleopathy, corgis are prone to it and it's pretty much incurable and can't really even be treated. It causes paralysis starting from the back legs and is always fatal, but it's painless. Much of the time when you see a corgi using a cart, it's because they have DM. So we'll see what happens and make sure he has the best quality of life we can give him in any case.

We have grasshoppers infesting our lamb's ears plants.

Quite the little colony going there.

In crafting, I have two pair of socks in progress and can only show photos of one.

These are "Angee" from the Cookie A book. They're probably going to be for my mom.

Also spinning the orange Border Leicester from the Waynesburg sheep and fiber thing. This is working out to a nice laceweight two-ply, though I have no idea what I'm going to do with it yet.

It's very creamsicle when spun up.

Maybe a thinky post later in the week. Until then... look for the union label!

drive by video

2009-09-01T22:30:00.002-04:00

This is one of the funniest things I've ever seen. I kid you not.

Is there an echo in here?

2009-08-31T19:43:00.002-04:00

Here are the last two yarns I spun, posed with the last two yarns I acquired commercially.

Alpha B yarns in Beach Glass, my handspun chain plied merino/silk. Not quite the same, but familiar enough in color scheme to match in a project. Likewise here.

Turtle Cove in Who Killed Tangerine and my handspun sportweight sock.

Curious, isn't it?

I finished the fan lace socks. Love 'em, as well I should since it'll be the last pair of "me" socks before I get done with the dread holiday crafting.

I will likely debut these tomorrow. I've started on undisclosed project #1A and will post pictures after the fact. My children are entirely too nosy.

With a sinking feeling, I got a good look at the raglan tee I was doing and I think it's too small. I put the sleeve stitches on holders, then took a good look at the width and I don't think it's big enough. I'm not sure if I'm going to keep going, rip altogether, rip back to the raglans and keep increasing, or toss the whole works in the trash. Honestly, it's gorgeous yarn and I cannot understand why I'm having so much trouble sticking to a project with it.

Anyway.

We went to the Shadyside Arts Festival over the weekend. I did not enjoy it very much. The way it was set up completely obscured Shadyside as a neighborhood, and made it a blinding, pointless succession of white canopies. There was no live music, save a dude on steel drums trying to sell CDs.

Not much in the way of food and beverages either, and what there was, was expensive. There was quite a bit of interesting art to look at, though.

This was an oil painting done from the winning play of the Super Bowl, and signed by the players involved. According to a sign inside, the original was auctioned off for over $10,000 to benefit the Mel Blount foundation. Good cause. The gallery (Maser Galleries) is a permanent fixture in Shadyside, though, and has been for years. They have a lot of very nice paintings, photographs, and prints.

I adored this piece from a festival artist.

She had a number of other pieces involving yarn that were equally gorgeous. I liked them much more than her abstract pieces.

I think that's the shop dog. Awesome pose, though.

These glass pieces were very cool, as were the large metal sculptures.

The heads of the large metal animals moved.

And I am sure that this chaps the ass of every wealthy resident of Shadyside, right on the main street in the business district.

Almost artistic in its own way, eh?

I may have ranted about this before but Shadyside has changed, and not for the better. When I was much younger, in High School and just after, I hung out in Shadyside a lot. It was a very cool neighborhood, Pittsburgh's biggest known Gay community, and there was a lot of ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic diversity. The shops reflected that diversity. Now it's not like that, it's an overpriced hipster enclave where many people tend to operate under the assumption that 1)their poo does not smell bad, and 2) they are the only people on the planet.

(please don't think I mean this of all residents, I don't, but there is a certain element there of white, entitled, very well off, that treats anyone they perceive as beneath them with total disdain. I mean. I had a woman expect me and my cane to walk off the street to get out of her way. She looked dead at me and just kept coming, so I stopped dead. And made some choice comments, after she had to walk around my poor, fat, crippled ass complaining the whole time. Ha.)

It's really a shame because it's a beautiful place with an awesome 2 business districts and some very arty cool people and interesting houses.

I think part of the problem is that houses within a few blocks of the main drags tend to be very, very expensive (half a million or more) for Pittsburgh, and that does not lend itself to much in the way of diversity. There certainly aren't many students living in Shadyside now, like there were back in the day, and there aren't any jazz bars that I can see, which was something I really enjoyed. But it's not like I support their lifestyle in any way, or they care what I think, so it's all good. Just disappointing.

A couple more random photos and I'll be on my way. I have laundry to put away and sleep to get-I did not get much last night and I expect this to be a long week at work.

End of an era

2009-08-26T18:53:00.002-04:00

With the death of Senator Edward Kennedy last night, a chapter in American politics comes to an end.

Everyone saw Ted's flaws. He was the only one around long enough to show them. His mistakes were endlessly scrutinized and believe me, in some ugly corners of the Internet, are being breathlessly and joyfully rehashed today. The good grace to allow the man to grow cold in his coffin apparently does not exist.

Joe, John, Bobby, Ted. The princes of what passed for American royalty, what families like the Bushes try to emulate and fail, what conservatives decry and progressives despair to ever see again. People with faults and flaws and humanity, with love and pain and hope in their hearts. People who tried to do the right thing as often as they could, on balance.

Ted Kennedy has always been around in my life. He was a flawed man, but a political giant. He fought tirelessly for the downtrodden, for equal rights for all, for health care, for peace.

From Jezebel

Gender Equity: Kennedy saw the Senate of the Equal Rights Amendment in 1972, which aimed to make men and women equal in the constitution. He reintroduced the legislation again this congressional session, but it has yet to make it into the constitution.

Kennnedy championed Title IX of the Civil Rights Act in 1972, which prevented educational institutions from discriminating against women (afterward, colleges and universities integrated, paving the way for women like Sonia Sotomayor and Hillary Clinton to attend Ivy League institutions), as well as requiring equitable athletic opportunities.

Civil Rights: Kennedy saw the passage of the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1988 as committee chairman, which strengthened the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Afterward, then-executive director of the Leadership Council on Civil Rights Ralph Neas said, "Now you see what happens when you have a civil rights champion in charge of the committee."

He was also chief sponsor on the Civil Rights Act of 1991, which addressed intentional discrimination and harassment in the workplace. He was also a key sponsor of legislation by the same name in 2008, which sought to restore civil rights protections stripped by Supreme Court rulings in recent years (like the Lilly Ledbetter case).

Pay Equity: Kennedy worked on the Fair Pay Restoration Act, which sought to restore the rights of women to sue with each discriminatory paycheck, overturning the Supreme Court ruling in Ledbetter v. Goodyear.

Voting Rights: Kennedy worked on the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which allowed equal access to voting as part of the Civil Rights movement. He also worked to add amendments in 1982 that expanded voting access to Native Americans, Latinos, and others who required language assistance.

Affirmative Action: Kennedy helped defeat legislation that would have ended federal affirmative action in 1998 and joined his colleagues in the Senate in filing a brief urging the Supreme Court to uphold affirmative action in 2003.

And from Shakesville.

Teddy's legacy, then, is complicated. A man of privilege, who used it cynically for his own benefit. A man of privilege, who used it generously to try to change the world. And maybe to salve his own conscience. Even as he believed fervently in the genuine rightness of his endeavors—and certainly would have, even if there wasn't a scale to balance.

(Both links are very much worth reading-far better than I do here.)

My hope is that his legacy of compassion and fairness will continue in his name, and that the world will never forget that the most flawed of them ended up the most productive. Was his work a gesture of atonement or was it just what he felt was right? We'll never know and it doesn't matter. The world is a more just place because of him, and a far, far poorer place without him.

Maybe Dog is trying to tell you something

2009-08-24T21:32:00.005-04:00

The title comes from our corgi girl Miss Lily changing the channel earlier to the 700 club. The Color Purple is one of my favorite movies, and even a big old heathen like me can appreciate a scene like this.

This has been a sort of laid back week. Trying to confront and tame some old financial issues that are holding me back and making my phone ring way more than it should. Trying to keep the old blood sugar under control. Everything status quo if I can get it that way. So far, so good. My only issue has been a big toe that is rather numb and that worries me a bit but it's on the foot of the bad leg, so it doesn't bother me as much as it would on the good leg. I expect nerve issues in the bad leg.

I went to an afternoon Tea on Saturday with some women from the Mensa group. We met at the Purple Rose Tea Room. What a lovely experience! It was my first formal tea sort of thing and I really enjoyed it. The tea room is great, it's an old tailor shop and they have some really interesting and beautiful things around the place, including some vintage handmade lace.

Here's Dana and her Mom, the proprietors.

Sorry, Dana's Mom, I'm crap with names.

(this fiber arts person wants to get some crochet thread and repair this table cloth.)

Here's our group having tea and conversation.

And my lovely friend Pearl at the other end of the table.

Anyway, I hope we can do this again, it was fun. I highly recommend the place too, the tea and the food was amazing. Especially the signature tea, Purple Rose, a black tea with violet essence and rose petals. I took a tin of that home with me and have been drinking it ever since.

This was the only morsel left on the table when we finished.

In fibery stuff, I'm still working on the socks, having turned the heel and working up the cuff. I imagine they'll be done by the end of the week. The raglan tee is moving along. I'm doing my best to guess when to put the sleeves on waste yarn and continue with the body-don't think I'm quite there yet.

Socks really have me spoiled. I have so little patience for larger projects any more.

Today, I'm spinning the merino/silk blend that I got at the Pgh Knit/Crochet fest last Feb.

I'm doing it fine intending to Navajo-ply to preserve the color runs and also to avoid the muddy look that happens far too often with handpainted roving.

In last month's Cookie A knitalong on Ravelry, when I was so frustrated by not getting my pictures posted on time, I actually won a prize! I posted in the "always a bridesmaid" thread there and got picked randomly for this gorgeous sock yarn.

It's from AlphaBYarn on Etsy, and wow, is it ever gorgeous, and a very generous skein at 480 yards.

Check out her shop, the semi-solids are so rich-looking and once I'm solvent again (and have room in my sock yarn stash bin) I'll definitely be getting more.

Well, that's all I got for now. Like I said, trying to maintain status quo and not run out of teaspoons.

Brown paper packages tied up with string

2009-08-17T18:04:00.004-04:00

Back to craft and other fun stuff after a minute here.

I got an anonymous comment on my last post. I want to address some points this person raised.

"As a woman who is a SAHM by choice I was not offended at all by the ads. My husband and I have been married for 30 yrs and have learned that the secret to a great marriage is laughter."

First of all, let me commend you for being a stay-at-home mom. It's hard work that is generally thankless and unpaid. I applaud women who are willing and able to do this work. Now. The point of my whole post was not the airing of a personal offense to the content, it was a concern with an organization that seems to confuse humor with untrue, harmful stereotypes that hurt both men and women. Yes, I agree completely that a great marriage needs laughter to succeed, but ideally, your spouse should not be the butt of your jokes.

"Just because a woman does not work outside the home and does not generate an income does not mean she lives with a man who keeps her locked up. Care to share your secret for a happy marriage and successful parenting? Do you really think if a man makes a joke about his wife and her shopping that they can not have a successful, equitable relationship?"

I think that a marriage where a man treats his wife like a child who cannot be trusted around shiny objects is destined for marriage hell and eventual failure, yes. As to my "secret" for a happy marriage, I'm not the one getting the 1.5 million plus a year for this schlock, but I'd say it starts with mutual respect and trust and sharing of resources. And actual humor. Not making your wife the butt of your rib-elbowing jokes with your homies.

"Do you also assume that if a man hints that most of his income is spent on his children that he wishes he would have had a vasectomy? Have you never seen the t-shirts saying.. " My child and my money go to ----- university? What parent has not made a comment like that?"

My issue was not a one-off comment or the occasional joke, it was the place of this attitude in the whole series of ads that push stereotypes and unhappiness (as well as penury) as a natural result of marriage and childbearing. It's all about the context, dude.

"I was pleased to read that the ads were written by women .. women who in my view have a sense of humor."

If those ads were indeed written by women, I'll eat my hat. And in my view, they're about as funny as a minstrel show.

At any rate, onward and upward.

We went to the National Aviary, located here in Pittsburgh, on Sunday. It was really cool-I haven't been there since the kids were little. Here's a slideshow. (click through for individual photos or to embiggen)

In crafting news, gads, I haven't posted any crafting stuff in a couple of weeks. I'm knitting on a basic top-down raglan tee for myself, in the round, kinda making it up as I go along. It's got a garter stitch collar and placket like the little baby sweater I made a little while ago but the scale is so much bigger there's really not much comparison otherwise. Hopefully this is something I can actually finish.

I did finish Cosy's Baby Belle sweater. IT IS SO ADORABLE. It almost makes me want a grandchild. ALMOST. No, not really. But it is cute. It makes me wish for a baby girl I can give it to.

I love those little buttons-my mom and I went through her button box and found the perfect match. Both yarns are handspun. The pattern calls for a third yarn for the button bands but I thought that might have been too much considering the variegation in both the main yarn and the trim.

So cute. I love the ruffle.

Last weekend I could not figure out what I wanted to knit. It turned out what I wanted was to spin, so I spun this orange sport-sock. It's thicker than I wanted, but the yardage is good-about 350 yards.

I'm really going through an orange/yellow phase lately.

Also got the first fan lace sock done and started on the second.

The yarn really is terrific, the stitch definition in that riot of colors is way better than I expected. They look like a bowl of fruity pebbles.

Well, I'm cooking a rather elaborate Monday dinner and the rutabaga is calling so I must be off. I'll try to post later in the week if I can.

Relationship Notes from a Bus Ride

2009-08-12T20:07:00.005-04:00

(I hope to have fiber content soon, my camera and my computer are having issues speaking to each other and my printer, the backup "unloading dock" for the camera card, is dead dead dead.)

There's a new organization in town called TWOgetherPgh. They're supposed to be "... a coalition of like-minded agencies and individuals who believe in the strengthening of marriages." They have hired the World's Least Clever cartoonist to do ads for them. These ads are all over the buses I ride. This is their story. (dun dun dun DAH)

This is the first one I saw. I kinda sat there the whole time looking at it going "Seriously? Seriously?????"

(In case you can't see it, it's two poorly-drawn guys with two poorly drawn women who look very unhappy in the background. And also, the one woman's neck is kinda frightening. Man A is saying to Man B "I always hold her hand at the mall. If I let go, she'll shop" Har, har har. That's a real knee-slapper there buddy. )

"Oh how I hate thee, let me count the ways."

1) Woman as willful, uncontrolled child who can't be trusted. Also, no agency. No ability or desire to make decisions for herself, dude is probably a total control freak who won't "let" her work outside the home and gives her an "allowance".

2) Shopaholic stereoptype. She'll just shop and shop and shop and shop and shop and keep shopping until we have no more room in our house and Clean House will have to come by and do a yard sale and we'll get yelled at by Neicy Nash and it'll be FOOLISHNESS.

2) I have to hold her hand! Otherwise she'll....spend MY MONEY. That I earned! Not hers! She has no money of her own and if she does, she has no right to spend it as she sees fit! I hold the purse strings in this family and boy howdy do I ever hold them tight. None of that shopping for you!

Why isn't she allowed to shop? Does he lock her in the house so she can't leave while he's off at work? Doesn't he trust her? And this is relationship ADVICE? (More on that later.) This is a sure-fire path to disaster, treating your spouse and partner that way. MARRIAGE FAIL dead ahead.

Ok, second ad.

(Dude to other dude, brandishing wallet.."Being a dad means carrying pictures where your money used to be.")

Dude #2 probably went right out and got a vasectomy. This comes across as some kind of "parenthood as deprivation" thing. It's not, really. I would have been poor with or without my kids, with the kids I was rich in other ways. This one also reinforces the "Dad as sole provider/spender/bacon-bringer" stereotype which is so much no longer true. I think more Dads would have pictures of their urban assault SUVs and vulgar-assed McMansions if they REALLY wanted to carry pictures of what makes them poor. Plus, maybe if dude let his wife out of the house now and then to SHOP she'd find a job and they wouldn't BE so poor. Right.

I really hate the direction these ads go in.

Here's the third one that I managed to snap.

(Woman on exercise bike says to other woman "there's somebody for everyone, mine just got lost and won't ask for directions")

OH HAR HAR HAR. HAR DE FREAKING HAR.

That's so funny. Men don't ask for directions! Therefore, men can't find us. Therefore WE SHALL BE LONELY AND SAD FOREVER BECAUSE WE LIVE FOR BEING FOUND BY THE MENZ. Sorry. This one pisses me off more than I realized.

Now, I am not sure if these are "WRONG WAY TO DO RELATIONSHIPS" ads but they really don't come across that way. There are others that I've seen that I don't have pictures of that are equally or even MORE problematic. A harried mother on the phone with a friend saying that "if the kids are alive when he gets home I've done my job" (!), a woman saying her life is just like a fairy tale and she's the wicked stepmother, and a priest or minister saying to a pair AT THE ALTAR that they have no idea what they're getting into.

This group is getting 8.3 million dollars over a five year period in federal funding.

Yes, it's a "faith-based program".

Yes, that makes me hate it even more.

How many shelters could be funded for 8.3 million dollars? How much day care could you provide for needy families for that kind of money? I'll give you a clue. A LOT.

I wrote them back when I saw the first ad. It took them almost three weeks to get back to me. Here's the email exchange. (Names redacted)

From: Buttercup
Sent: Thursday, July 09, 2009 12:13 PM
To: 'xxx@TWOgetherPGH.org'
Subject: Bus ads

I have to admit, I’m a little bit horrified by the one “cartoon” I saw on the bus yesterday. In it, a man confides to another man about his wife. “of course I hold her hand in the mall, otherwise she’ll shop.”

I hope this cartoon is subtly saying that this is the wrong way to go about an adult, responsible, mutually respectful relationship. I’m sure you’re aware that men who treat their wives like children who can’t be trusted around shiny objects are pretty much doomed to relationship failure, in the long or short term. Such behavior is dysfunctional and infantilizing to say nothing of disrespectful of the partnership that a successful marriage implies.

I hope you’ll consider discontinuing use of that particular “cartoon”, as it sends a very disturbing and wrong-headed message.

Buttercup

The reply:

From: xxxx@twogetherpgh.org
Sent: Monday, July 27, 2009 11:56 AM
To: Buttercup
Cc: axxx@TWOgetherPGH.org
Subject: RE: Bus ads

Buttercup

Thank you for your email. Please see the following message from Terry Mann, the Project Director for TWOgether Pittsburgh:

Regards,

Ann L. Bxxxxxxxxx, Assistant to the Project Director

(Forwarded attachment. Dude can't use email himself? J)

Thank you for taking the time to contact us. While it is never our desire to offend anyone intentionally we recognize that there are times when marketing to tens of thousands of individuals that this is going to occur.

The ad you referenced is one of 14 different ads that were designed by our ad agency. They were distributed with my full approval. The ads were designed, written and conceptualized by professional women, so I am sure no intention to offend was in mind. When dealing with comedy, caricature and generalization is how you make impact. While the overwhelming majority of our responses have been extremely positive, we are very sorry you were offended; it was never our intention, and I am sorry for any undue stress it has caused you.

If you desire you can write me a letter at the address below and I will forward it to our ad agency.

Terry Mxxx

Just before my head exploded, I sent this.

From: buttercup
Sent: Tuesday, July 28, 2009 7:24 AM
To: 'xxx@twogetherpgh.org'
Subject: RE: Bus ads

Ann (and Terry)

It’s not a matter of being offended. It’s a matter of projecting the wrong message about what makes a successful, equitable relationship. I’m not offended, I’m concerned for the couples you’re encouraging to see this sort of controlling, abusive behavior as “normal.”

Buttercup

Haven't heard back since, and I'm not really surprised.

Thoughts?