Cupcakes

I've been toying with an idea for my nieces for Christmas. I'm going to try to knit them a "bakery." My mom did something similar for me when I was little. She put together a store for me by opening cans upside down for months. I don't exactly remember how she set it all up, but I do remember loving it. There are so many patterns for knit "food" around that I think I can knit up enough stuff to make up a wonderful imaginary bakery. I'm going to knit a couple more cupcakes from BeeKnit's pattern; donuts from Kat Knit's pattern; slices of pie from Pie Knit's pattern; and slices of cakes from Bitter Sweet's pattern. I also found a bunch of really cute patterns for biscuits and cakes on Jean Greenhowe's free patternlink on her site. I don't plan to mention my plan to my sister even, and I've drafted Russ to figure out how to make some trays for everything to be displayed on.


I finished one of Paige's Tyrolian stockings. It looks darling on Paige's foot, and I'm ready to start the second one right away. No second socks syndrome for me!

Gidget says that pink stockings are lovely.

Loving Flowers

Those of you who have been reading my blog for a while (all two of you, LOL) know that I wrote my master's thesis on the ubiquity of food in ethnic literature. I explored all kinds of purposes for food, but the one that stood out was that food is a way of handing down a culture, even when one has to adapt to a new culture in other ways, ie. learning a new language, etc. My ancestors came from Denmark, and while I don't cook a lot of Danish food, I do know quite a bit about it and do cook it occasionally besides during the holidays. Food is a way for me to connect to my past and to create memories for my children.That's a long segway to the point of my post today. I thnk that knitting and gardening fall into a similar category as food in the memory department. I don't have a huge history, family-wise, with knitting. My aunt taught me, but I've done most of my knitting in isolation--as in no one else was knitting with me--not as in being alone. I still like the connections I feel with women who knit before me. You know, like Ma in Little House on the Prairie.

Now gardening, that's another story. A love of gardening runs in my family. My parents love gardening. My grandparents loved gardening. I have many pleasant memories of going to my grandparents' ranch and seeing all of the pretty flowers that my grandparents had blooming in their garden. My grandmother usually had hydrangeas growing near her front door, and she liked to remind me of how when I was really little I had fallen from the steps into them. I told her, "I fell in the 'flowders.'" She thought that was so funny. I also remember my grandmother having lots of johnny-jump-ups in her garden. They may not be a very elegant flower, but they are my favorite; and I have been disappointed lately to see them appearing less and less in nurseries. This year I bought two seed packets of them, and all I ended up with is this one plant. I check on "him" daily to see how he is doing, and he is often a little ragged. I notice a big bite out of one of the petals this morning.

Another unglamorous flower that I grow every year are poppies (Yikes I hope the grammar police aren't close by!) Actually I just let them reseed all over my front yard. I still remember a little poem that my mom taught me when I was in kindergarten. I think I brought a little bouquet of poppies to school for show and tell and recited this poem.
Poppies, golden poppies, blooming in the sun.
Closing up at evening when the day is done.
Pride of California, flower of our state,
Blooming from the mountains to the Golden Gate.


As you can see, I tend toward easy-to-grow type flowers. I live in an area that gets less than ten inches of rain a year, so I have to baby even hardy flowers. Growing geraniums may not take much skill, but I am especially happy with this geranium (I know..it's probably not technically a geranium.) My mom had this one growing outside her back door, and I just loved the varigated leaves. I took a little slip last summer, put it in some water near the kitchen sink, and waited for the roots to show up. Nothing! Finallly, I was ready to just throw it out, and I decided that I'd just put it in some dirt. I ended up with this. The flowers aren't anything special, but I'm so happy that it's flourishing. I'm so happy that I can have a piece of my mom's lush Northern California garden here in dry Central California.


Oh, I did do a little knitting this week. I'm making progress on my Tyroliean stockings. I've made a few mistakes, and quite a bit of unraveling and reknitting; but I'm pleased with them. I'm just hoping that I have enough yarn. I usually have so much left of Lornas Lace yarn when I knit regular socks that I thought I'd have enough. I may have to buy two more skeins of pink to knit the second sock. I don't think a different dye lot would matter for a different sock. We'll see, I guess.

Gearing Up for Summer

I never knit very much during the summer. It's funny because all year I try to grab moments to knit, often knitting at 6:00 in the morning, watching the clock until the last second I can put off getting ready for work. Fortunately, my three minute commute makes that about 6:55 a.m.. As an amateur phychologist, I'm pretty sure that the reason I crave knitting during the school year is that it represents free time, and I don't usually feel like I have enough of that, even though I have much more than I used to have. During the summer, I usually have at least a month where I have nothing to do but relax and occasionally clean the bathrooms if we're home; and relax and go out to eat if we're traveling somewhere; so while I still enjoy knitting, I'll often go weeks without picking anything up to knit. Another reason I don't knit as much during the summer is the HEAT! We're having our first taste of it today. It's supposed to be 88 degrees, and we're worn out after working in the yard for just a couple of hours. What will we do when it hits 100?

Socks, even wool ones, aren't' too bad to knit when it's hot, but I don't feel too inspired to do that usually. This year, I think I'd better change that, since I just spent a bunch of money on sock yarn. The light purple yarn is from the Hill Country Yarns Sock Club. I received it several weeks ago, but that didn't deter me from ordering more Lorna Laces purple sock yarn from the Loopy Ewe. Yes, those are two different shades of purple. One is called "blackberry" and the other is "grapevine." I swear they looked like they were different on the website. Don't get me wrong, I still love them, but they are basically the same color. This fact did not surprise my daughter, who likes to point out that when I like an item of clothing, say a blouse or shirt, that I'll buy two, three, sometimes four different colors of it. She thinks this is ridiculous....I don't.

I also bought some pretty maroon yarn from J Knits I thought that color was really pretty, but the main reason I bought it was that its called "Indiana," and my sister lives in Indiana. Guess what she's getting for Christmas again...socks!

For a long time I didn't know what the word "frog" meant, but I'm quite familiar with it now! I frog a lot. That would explain why I don't have a lot to show for the week since I posted last. I did start Paige a pair of Tyrollian stockings from the Fall 2007 IK. I can't remember the name of this yarn, but, of course, it's Lorna's Laces. I just love the way her yarn feels. The pattern looks kind of complicated, but it's very easy, and I'm enjoying it. They're knee socks, which would look horendous on me, but Paige is blessed with her dad's skinny ankles. her feet aren't so beautiful, but her legs are...yet another reason that her father and I keep close tabs on her and more specifically on her associates. She makes pretty good choices, but it doesn't hurt to know that your parents will be checking on you regularly...it can be a bummer
having your mom teach at your high school, except for when you need lunch money or to have someone rush home to get your team uniform, or you need to have your fieldtrip form signed ten minutes before the bus is leaving...or when you just need a little hug!

This has nothing to do with knitting, but here's Paige and her date for prom. They are going to an nice restaurant in Bakersfield for dinner with eight other couples and then they will go to the Prom back here in Taft They wil then stand around and occassionally dance. You may read about kids spending hundreds of dollars on Prom. Paige borrowed her dress and asked us for thrity dollars, just in case. That seems pretty good to me....except for the fact that the boys are paying for a Hummer limosine to take them to dinner. So, I guess I don't get to look at popular culture with too much distain since we seem to beright in the middle of it, at least tonight.

Hearst Castle

I finished my citrine socklets last Friday. I had several hours of uninterupted knitting...it was on a school bus, but it still wasn't the same as regular work. I also knit for a little while while looking out at the ocean since I just happened to have my socklets in my coat pocket.

Every year, one of my fellow teachers and I take our shared honors students on a trip to Heart Castle. It takes about two hours to get there We let the student walk around the town of Cambria for a while before we go up to the castle to see the IMAX movie about how great William Randoph Hearst...I'm not convinced, but I get that he wasn't totally evil either. We take the evening tour of the castle, which highlights the best features of the four daytime tours. It really is incredible. I've probably been to the castle twenty times or more, and it still is awesome to me.

Success!

I did it! I finally got my short rows right for my citrine socks. I truly think that I made at least ten attempts with those socks. I'd completely given up and then I was looking at Moon Tea's blog, and what do you know, she'd just knit some herself. She told me to just take it slow, and that I could do it. I "rested" a few more days, and then gave it a try. Yay! I'm very happy and will cast on my second sock tonight. The toe is especially interesting to me. It was done in short rows too. You use Kitchern'ers Stitch to finish them off. I've never been able to memorize how to do Kitchner's Stitch, but I discovered a helpful "mantra' in a a little reference book I got from the Loopy Ewe. It seems so easy now. I don't know why I did't think of something like that myself.

"knitoff/purl on, purl off/knit on"

I gave my little "pink" rabbit to my cousin's little girl on Easter Sunday. My cousin has four children, teaches school, and is a generally busy person, but guess what I received in the mail on Tuesday? A thank you note from her little girl. They had to have written it on Sunday night!

I already have another bunny finished. "She" started out as a boy since I knit her with blue pants, but I love making the dresses, so she's a girl. She's going to be yet another gift for a co-worker's baby. Keep those babies coming. I need an excuse to knit bunnies. I laughed when I read one of Marit's recent posts because she had knit a cute, little teddy bear and one of her kids had called her childish for doing it. Sounds like my kids. They just don't see the point of a mother of teens knitting little toys.

I had planned to start posting some of my favorite recipes on my blog, but since I wasn't doing much cooking until now, I've been "recipeless." We barbequed almost everyday during Spring Break. I grilled fish to make fish tacos, chicken to make chicken salad, and eggplant to make...baba ghanoush. My son is not an adventuresome eater, but the rest of my family is. We love Greek food, and I make hummus all of the time. Baba ghanoush is a lot like hummus. My daughter's friends love it although I didn't immediately share with them that its main ingredient was eggplant.



Baba Ghanoush (from Cook's Illustrated Best International Recipe Cookbook)

2 pounds eggplant (about 2 large globes)
2 tablespoons tahini
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 small garlic clove, minced
salt and pepper
1 tablesppon olive oil
2 tablespoon fresh parsley

Poke each eggplant all over with a fork. Grill eggplant on high until the skin darkens and wrinkles on all sides, about 25 minutes. Remove eggplant from flame, and let cool for 5 minutes. Cut eggplant open and scoop contents into a colander and letthe pulp drain for about three minutes. Spoon pulp into a food processor.

Add tahini, lemon juice, garlic,1/2 tsp. salt, and1/4 tsp. pepper. Process until mixture has a course, chunky texture. Chill for 45 to 60 minutes. To serve, use a spoon to make a trough in the center of the dip and spoon the olive oil into it. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Our neighbors went to Hawaii for Spring Break; my running partner and her husband went skiing in Banff; another friend rode his motorcycle to Arizona. with some friends, but I still think we had the best Spring Break of them all though. What did we do? Absolutely nothing. That's not exactly true. We doggysat one of Rowdy's puppies for the weekend; Russ built a new fence; my kids faithfully went to swim practice everyday; and I knit Easter stuff.

"There is nothing like
staying at home for real comfort."     -- Jane Austen


I found a pattern on The Purl Bee for Easter eggs knit in the round, but I never got around to trying it. I still might. They're so cherrful.

Ten Times Still Wasn't the Charm

So...it seems that I have taken another month-long break from blogging... but not from knitting. In fact, it was knitting itself that precipitated my break. I love last year's Interweave Knits Holiday Gifts, and I've had plans to knit many of the patterns in there, especially the sock patterns. Last month I decided to give the citrine socks a try. I was slightly intimidated when I discovered that it calls for a short-row heal. I've been perfectly happy knitting "regular" heals with no real problems,so I wasn't excited about venturing beyond my comfort zone. I began with my typical approach of not paying close enough attention and had to restart several times, but the pattern itself wasn't the problem. It is very easy....until you get to the heal. I just couldn't get it. I unravelled the entire sock at least five times, hoping that I'd have better luck each time. Finally, I kind of started understanding the process, but I still kept getting a hole in the gusset. Awwwwww! I finally gave up...not forever, but for now. Somehow that experience just made me disinterested in blogging. I didn't even want to check on all of my cyber friends who were probably happily knitting hole-less" heals. I know Tracy was because her socks are always beautiful, and she likes those short-rows!

I did have success with another bunny. I was a little too excited about getting finished and notice from my picture that she really needs to have her dress pressed, but otherwise I'm very happy with her. I knit her with the rest of the angora yarn that I used for the little boy rabbit in my last post. I didn't quite have enough, but I just made her look like she had on some pantaloons and ended up with about a yard of yarn left. I wasn't even nervous...well maybe just a little. I still use the Easter bunny pattern that I bought from Barbara Prime at Fuzzy Thoughts I've altered it some, knitting the head, body, and part of the legs in the round; and shortening the body. I'm not even pretending that I'm making the pattern my own.
I readily admit that I'm totally copying Julie's style. She's in a class by herself as far as I'm concerned. t is fun to have something so unique to give as a baby gift, and I've had a load of co-workers having babies lately. The Easter egg is from Julie's free pattern. I'm not completely happy with it. Maybe I need to get some styrofoam inserts as she suggests.

I have eight days of freedom before me, so I should get a lot of knitting done! We're thinking of making some short trips, maybe taking a boat trip to one of the islands off the coast near Santa Barbara. Should be FUN.

Musings about Being Forty-Five

Last night I was putting away a magazine that my husband had left on the floor and happened to notice a thought-provoking essay. I'm too lazy to go check for sure, but I think the it was entitled, "It's All Downhil from Here." The jist of the essay was that your body and brain start falling apart after age twenty. At first, I thought the essay's tone was going to be funny, but it was actually depressing overall. Then today, I was driving home from work, and NPR had a story about how most people are less happy in their forties. Since I am smack dab (I think that's the first time I've ever written the words "smack dab.") in the middle of my forties, I decided to ponder that whether I think it really sucks getting older.

I think that I have felt more comfortable in my skin as I've gotten older, but my forties have been quite stressful-- not unhappy, just exhausting. I've always struggled between being a devoted parent and working, but as my children have gotten older, I've let work wear me out more than I allowed it to when I was younger. You'd think I would know better. I'm not a workaholic. I don't even like working that much, but I have spent too much time working during my forties, especially teaching night classes. Getting my Master's degree was satisfiying but also pretty much all consuming for four years. Even when I wasn't working on it, I was feeling guilty that I wasn't. I also used to run close to twenty-five miles a week all through my thirties. It's seemed like too much to me for the last couple of years though.

After saying that I think I've figured out the secret to being happy when you're in your forties. It's to slow down on things that wear you out. I have been a lot happier recently than I've been for a long time, and it's because I've definitely had more leisure time in just the last couple of months. For the last year or so I was running less because I was either sick or exhasuted. Now I'm intentionally running less, I'm finished with writing difficult papers, and I don't intend to teach another night class. I've made time to do the things I like to do. I've cooked lots of good dinners, gone on walks with my husband, and actually enjoyed going to my kids' sporting events since I wasn't fitting them between lots of other obligations, and I've had time to KNIT...
And that's all I want to say about that!


I like knitting stuff for myself, but it's fun to feel like I have the time to knit little gifts too. My husband mentioned the other day how cute he thought our neice's little son, who got to see when he was back visiting his father before he died, was. He was saying that he'd like to get him a little gift for Easter. I thought, "Well, I can knit him a little rabbit." I notice that his legs are a little too short, but I think he's pretty sweet. He's knit from a skein of angora I bought at Threads in Lincoln, Nebraska for under five dollars. I knit his sweater from some Rowan cotton that I bought from Woodland Woolworks to knit some Easter eggs from a pattern that Julie has posted on her blog.

Beagles

I don't follow dog shows at all, but, of course, it would have been difficult this week not to hear that a beagle won the Westminster Dog Show. I don't understand how they choose, but I agree with their choice this year. Beagles are great...to cuddle with...

and protect you...

and to sleep with you...

and to read with you...

even though they sometimes drool on my new pink, Crate and Barrel pillow...

...invade the kitty's space...

... chew on new shoe laces.




...and worst of all, steal yarn and try to entice older, more sedate beagles into participating in their shenanigans.

Baby Booties

I have been meaning to knit Saartje's booties for a long time, but typical of me, I've waited until I had to hurry and knit them. I have a baby shower to go to after work tomorrow, and I just finished the second bootie this evening. The recipient is a quilter, so I think she'll be happy to receive something handmade. That's always a dilemma for me. I don't give too many handknit items to people outside of my family. I have two reasons; selfishly, it takes a lot of time; and selfconsciously, I'm not sure I knit nicely enough to be giving my creations away. I can be a little careless when I knit. But I think these botties are suitable as a gift, and I'm also giving her a darling book.

It's a really easy pattern and hardly uses any yarn at all. I used some leftover Lorna Laces, which may not have been the best choice since it's wool. Saarje used Rowan cotton, which would have made it less stretchy. I knit the first bootie in no time at all, but I had trouble with the second one. I went to a a knit group meeting on Saturday afternoon, and discovered that I had counted wrong after I got home. I'm not used to talking to people while I knit I guess. Then last night I must have started and re-started at least five times. I have concentration issues. I'm pretty happy with them though. They look very cute but kind of big...I mean for a baby.



I have to add one sad litle story. I stayed up late last Thursday night to knit Kai's second think wool sock so that he could wear it skiing on Friday. He had been fighting a cold, but I thought he would be OK. IWhat a bad mom! He came home with a fever and said that he went down the hill about three times and spent the rest of the time on the bus sleeping. Poor guy!! He's doing better now although he also missed a church trip to Universal Studios on Saturday, so he was quite bummed. All the work on those socks, and I'm pretty sure that his dad accidentally put them in the regular wash. He won't own up to it, but I also can't find them anywhere. Very suspicious. I also knit him a stocking cap. the picture is a little goofy, but I'm proud of the way the design turned out. I

Nemesis Knitting

Do other people have skeins of yarn lying around that cause them angst or at least a little discomfort. I've had several skeins of red ragg wool in my stash for over twenty years, and everytime I would run across them I'd feel a little prick of guilt. The labels were lost long ago, but I have a memory of there being "Germantown" on the labels. I looked "Germantown" up, and it no longer even exists. I bought this red yarn over twenty years ago in the little Sierra Nevada foothill town of Sutter Creek, California. Knitting was not the "thing" back then, so I was quite excited to find a yarn store. Yikes! If I remember right, the yarn wa displayed in plastic bags. Russ and I went on a little Christmas trip the first year that we were teaching and actually had some money. Ragg wool sweaters were popular then, and I suppose I thought I'd knit Russ one. I never did though, and as the years went gone by, I became more and more annoyed with myself for not doing something with that yarn. I just couldn't figure out what to do with it.

I finally have found a good use for it! I knit my brother-in-law a hat, which I made Russ and Kai model for me; and I am also knitting Kai some socks with the rest. It's worsted weight, which is way thicker than the yarn called for in any of my "old stand-by" patterns, so I just "guestimated," casting on 44 stitches and knitting a 2x2 rib. Kai is going on a school ski trip on Friday, and he has no wool socks. Last year, his feet were freezing, but there is no way the cold will get in this time. Yay! Good-bye red wool.

I may as well admit that the red hat for my brother-in-law is a Christmas present. I have had all of my sister's family's Christmas gifts done for weeks, but they too have just been sitting there, not taking themselves to the post office. I am quite proud of them, so I will present a few more pic of them before I actually send them this afternoon.

I've knit tons of these hats lately, using the hat pattern in Weekend Knitting. The ear flaps are just added to a basic hat knit in the round. I like it, but I'm ready to try the Thorpe Hat that A Friend to Knit With posted on her blog last month. She has some really cute pictures of her kids and their hats.