December 1, 2008
The flight was surprisingly alright! Spice was pretty mellow, and slept through takeoff and landing. We had one bumpy bit where I took her to the bathroom with just a diaper and wipes for a change to discover that we would be needing a wardrobe change as well! Stepped out of the bathroom to find out that dinner service had just started and we were stranded for a while before I could get back our seats. Arrived at Heathrow and was waiting for the second bag to find out that someone else had walked off with it! Had to wait around for an hour until he was called and could come back to the airport with it - he looked very, very embarrassed. :-)
Totally abbreviated here because we had jet lag the first two days and have been sick since then. It’s been rough, because Spice has been sooo needy and I don’t get much time free other than showering and eating.. a bit like the early days a couple of months ago. It seems we’ve picked up the local flu and just have to get over it, but I’m tired and trying not to be disappointed at such an awful start to a vacation. Being sick with a sick baby, I’d rather be at home, but then again - if we hadn’t come, we probably wouldn’t be sick right now.. *sigh*
It’s cold and I left all my yarn at home. I couldn’t bring the projects I’d planned on and in an upset packing frenzy, left everything behind but my crochet hooks. I’m borrowing some leftover KnitPicks WotA from a shawl/throw I gave my aunt two Christmases ago and started on a sweater for Spice, but I just realized that it’s not wide enough to fit. So annoyed, as I’ve been finding scraps of time to get as far into it as I have and now I’ll have to rip it all out… bleah. Not a good week.
On the upside, I’m thinking of making a sweater dress instead. Here’s to silver linings…
November 13, 2008
This morning, I had fried eggs. They were lightly pan-fried and were served warm and alone on a small plate. Two were had with freshly ground sea salt and black pepper, and two were lightly dusted with Parmesan. I quietly ate them standing by the kitchen sink, looking out the window, in part to avoid the dog’s longing glances and the not-so-subtle licking of her lips.
I love eggs. I hated them as a child, but lately I can’t seem to get enough of them. The average egg has 5.5g of protein and is quick and easy to make in a variety of ways, no matter how much you hate eggs. As an old-world custom, my mother used to break a raw egg in a mug of warm milk and make me drink it to “fatten” me up. Sunday breakfasts always included eggs, so my choice at the time was scrambled and with a few drops of Tabasco and soy sauce on top. (For some reason, eggs with soy sauce always tastes like bacon.) Recently, I’ve found gently hardboiled eggs to be a treat - easy to cook in the morning and quickly snack on through the day. When I have more time, I prefer my eggs soft-cooked, as in liquid whites and runny yolks, served with freshly ground salt, pepper, and buttered toast ’soldiers’ to dip in. If you’re at all curious about the wonderful world of cooking eggs, I highly recommend Michel Roux’s Eggs.The recipes are to-die-for, even if a little floofy French gourmet.
Which brings me to another one-food-topic book that I love: Oysters by Rebecca Stott. For the oyster-lover, this is a must-read. Enough said.
Then, there are those of you who are fond of neither eggs nor oysters. A pity really, but I even have a food book recommendation for you. Salt: A History is a fascinating read into that humble staple that graces just about every kitchen table. If you don’t like salt, well then.. good luck with that. :-)
November 6, 2008
I’m getting my hair cut… short. It was starting to look awful postpartum, so I’ve gone from 10+ inches to a pixie bob! Pictures to come later!
November 1, 2008
EZ’s baby leggings turned out super-cute, but a bit too big for Spice right now. She just turned 4 months, and I’d guess they’ll fit her around 6 months.
These ones were knit up in Cascade 220, which is some kind of Peruvian wool. I doubt it’s merino, but regardless, I don’t think I’ll be using it for baby-things-against-the-skin anytime soon. It’s one of my favorite “workhorse” yarns and not terribly scratchy, but it’s just not as soft as I’d like for baby stuff. Spice was a little fussy in it, and call me twitchy, but I wonder if it was the wool.
I’ve started on another similar garment, this time in Berroco’s Ultra Alpaca. I really like that yarn, btw, as it’s sturdy, soft and not too pricey. I’m following the general idea of EZ’s leggings, but aiming for overalls. :-) No booties, straight leg with a cuff, etc. I’m almost to the legs, so I’ll try and post pictures as I go.
October 22, 2008
I had whipped most of these up to donate over a year ago for a time-specific cause and had a batch left over that never got sent in. My mother recently started a new job in a hospital with a NICU that could use preemie items, so I pulled these out and made a few more.
I don’t really follow a pattern, since I want variable sizes to fit newborns and preemies of all sizes. I use random yarns and hooks and play with making a 10-stitch straight swatch until I get a gauge I like.
Chain 3, and work 12 dc in the first stitch. Join with a slip stitch. You can continue to work in rounds, or work in a spiral. Work 2 dc in each stitch around until you have 28 stitches. (How you play with that number, 28, is the key to a larger or smaller hat.) Work a single dc in each stitch around until the hat is as long as you want. Finish off the round with a slip stitch, or if you’re working in a spiral, work a sc, then a slip stitch to end the spiral. Add a picot or shell stitch border for a more frilly effect.
On a side note, the road trip went horribly. My sister got into a massive argument on the way back on Sunday over me being overprotective because I pulled the sunshade cover over Spice’s carseat just in case her son threw something. Mind you, he bit my sister just 6 hours before. I told her to drop me off at the next fast food stop and had the spouse come pick me up. ::shudder:: What a lunatic.
October 18, 2008
I agreed to drive up to Salinas this weekend with my sister adn my nephew to visit my mother. She’ll be here in in an hour to pick me and Spice up.
I’m nervous about this for all sorts of reasons. First of all, my sister and I have been at each other’s throats for the past year, in a civil kind of way. We (violently) disagree on parenting, and why her son often displays such atrocious behavior like hitting and kicking. I also think she’s gotten terribly defensive and in general, we’re not quite good friends. In fact, if we weren’t blood, and that I have no other siblings and that neither of us talk to my father either, I’d have written her off long ago. I also worry about her son tossing a sippy cup or something at my baby’s head… no hard objects in the backseat.
In spite of all this, I agreed to a five-hour drive this weekend. The main reason is that while the spouse will be here, I’ll be away for the holidays and would like to see my mother before I go. I could drive up separately during the week, but I have a huge list of things to get done in the next month, from passports to pediatrician appointments and will need that time to get sorted. And maybe, just perhaps, being stuck in a car with my sister for 10 hours round-trip would help us come to an easier truce of some sort.
The spouse is highly doubtful of this, but has promised not to say “I told you so”. What a gem.
October 17, 2008
I got the spouse this Mylar balloon when he was in the hospital and it came home with us. I tend to throw out balloons when they deflate, but this one is still going!
The same thing happened with the spouse’s birthday balloon. Kinda makes it less special when they last forever.
October 16, 2008
crumble topping:
1/3 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon
fruit base:
1/4 cup of water or milk (optional)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
1-2 cups chopped fruits of your choice (apples, strawberries, etc.)
Preheat oven to 350 deg. If using milk/water and vanilla, add to fruit and mix well. Spread fruit in the bottom of a baking dish. Mix crumble topping ingredients together and scatter evenly on top of fruit. Bake for approx. 30 minutes.
This is a great way to use up slightly old or over-ripe fruit. I can clear through the many ancient apples in the fruit bowl by making this at least once a week. Since it’s so easy and fast, I can often ask the spouse if he’d like crumble for dessert while we’re serving dinner, and have it ready by the time dessert rolls around. He likes it with a little creme fraiche on top, but it’s equally good with vanilla ice cream.
October 16, 2008
I was inspired by Kitten’s awesome knee-high socks to finally try knitting a sock. I crocheted a pair a long time ago that turned out okay - neat, but a little strange. I really wanted to knit them for a little more drape. I have oodles of sock yarns and Charlene Schurch’s Sensational Knitted Socks, but was a little daunted to casually start a pair.
Turns out that worsted weight knitted socks are super fast. I was working on another pair of longies, using #6 dpns and as I quickly knitted up a leg, I realized it was almost sock-size. I had some merino superwash sock yarn in worsted weight, gifted to me two Christmases (sp?) ago by the spouse, so I gave it a whirl - fun!
I chose the 5-stitch toes-up pattern, since I was scared of running out of yarn. 100yds seems like soooo little. :-) The 5-stitch patterns in the book were a little bland, but the yarn-over cable pattern looked pretty.
I cast on late Tuesday night and finished up late last night, which was awesome and I used the EZ stretchy bind off, which worked great. I’m so happy with the results, and can’t wait to start the second one. I wound the skein last night and it’s ready to go today.
