I got the blue silk wound off the spindle this week, and onto the tube. And yesterday, I went with the girls in the Girl Scout troop to the Susan B. Anthony house. We got a brief tour and lecture on Susan B.'s life and work. I found it extremely fascinating that different aspects of her life and time struck different girls harder than others. Some of them fastened onto the ideas about dress reform, some were concerned with the right to vote. A couple of girls were unhappy with the idea that if they had worked, their money wouldn't have been their own. One was harping on the concept that women didn't get paid as much as men for the same job. Whoops - guess we're not done with that one yet.

I did get some spinning done while we had the discussions. The girls were given a discussion assignment in small groups. They were all leaning forward, busy working; I was leaning back, busy spinning. The group leader came around, watched me for a moment, then grinned and said "you aren't going to do the work for them?" I just laughed and said that they were bright girls. They didn't need more than a nudge from me to get off and running.
The grape hyacinths are up and going, without even a nudge from me. They're just opening up, and from a distance (i.e. from the kitchen window) they're just a faint blue cloud.

This spring is obviously going to be just like a high school English paper: write a five paragraph paper contrasting and comparing... The purple crocuses were first off the mark and are a little past it now, but the yellow ones and the tulips are enjoying the sun. Giant crocus and miniature tulips...
Definitely a lift to the spirits.

And then there were two skeins of Beast...
I got a lot of spinning done yesterday.

The weather has been ... different. It's been snowing, but the ground has been too warmed up to really have it stick for long periods. It's been sleeting. It's been slushing. It's been doing a weird combination of snowing combined with rain (large fat flakes of snow drifting down between pelting rain drops). It's been raining snow - huge clumps of snow pelting down with the force of rain. That was all yesterday.

Today it's raining. Just rain, nothing bizarre. The forecast is rain for the next few days, then warming up, sunny and bright, just in time for Saturday. What's up with that? Doesn't the weather know the proper order - sunny and bright all week when few can get out to enjoy it, then rain all weekend?

The falconcam in Rochester is back up and running again, at a new address. There was a new female falcon spotted in Rochester this winter, but when Mariah showed up from wherever she winters over, she chased the new gal off. Mariah and Kaver have 4 eggs this year and brooding is happening. Kaver apparently didn't think much of the weather yesterday and was willing to ignore his mate's opinion of the weather and of him.

One thing I did get some work done on while entertaining guests was my spindle. This is tussah silk, dyed blue by someone in my spinning guild. I think of it as denim blue - it has that multitudes of blues one finds in blue jeans. I have three spindlefuls waiting for plying, and about that much more to spin. I did finish the fourth bobbinful of pale beast while we watched the new Pink Panther movie. I don't think of myself as a Steve Allen fan, but I have enjoyed several of his movies. This was one of them.

The garden was sending up crocuses - they popped out of the ground, opened up in a shy way, then the weather turned colder and snowed. Two inches of snow was enough to mash some of them down, but they are doing their best to open up and spread a little cheer.
The purple ones were quickest off the mark, so they suffered the most damage in being squished, but some of the others are still just fine.

I still have company (different company) but a little bit of spinning is happening. Looks just like the last spinning, but I swear it's different.
And I dug out a stitchery project that has been on hold long enough. This is Catch the Wind, a Butternut Road pattern (Told in a Garden). I started it before we left Oregon, 3 years ago in January. It got packed up and left in storage for a while, then didn't get gotten back to because I was in the middle of other things. I knew I hadn't had all the colors I needed for it. I finally went and bought the rest. This represents the colors I did have (29 colors). I had to buy 17 colors more. MLI always has been noted for her wonderfully shaded pieces.
Addendum: The lace pattern was one of the ones from Barbara Walker II - I'll get the exact name when I don't have company (particularly a 5 yo nephew full of bounce) to distract me...

A while back I posted some pictures of the lace I was sending my mother to complete a project she was working on. Herewith is the picture of the finished item, lace at the bottom.

Well, this is the big weekend. The final practice was tonight, the grandparentses are all four here, the tickets are bought and the play is eagerly awaited. Tomorrow they will play selected scenes for groups of elementary school kids and then for their own school. Tomorrow night is Opening Night. Then comes the Saturday Matinee, followed by Closing Night, then the Cast Party Sunday morning is Tear Down. 10 weeks of practice, costuming, learning to apply make-up, set building, practicing with mikes, stage crew learning how to be stage crew, lighting crew ditto... All boils down three days, zillions of cheering relatives, 79 cow- and farmgirls and 20-something cow- and farmboys singing Oklahoma in tune on cue...

Needless to say there has been much housecleaning and the requisite homework happening here and not much else. Certainly no spinning. See you next week.

This... is a closeup (with flash) of this...
which is the beginnings of a beadlizard cabled rib scarf. I don't often knit two of the same thing, but it's a fun knit and the last time I did was a couple of years ago.

This is...

several things, actually. On the left is ... not an abandoned project, but shall we say - in hiatus. Silk and beautiful, but in hiatus. On the right we have the third pale beast bobbin. In the middle is the soon-to-be-dark beast bobbin, and supporting it all is a Ewesful Kate. Pine, I think, and just finished with wax. I use the Wood Beams on it every now and then. It's tensioned with fishing line and an Ashford spinning wheel spring, which I need a new one of since I sprung this one. It still works, it just looks funky.
Side view shows the sheep cut out - there's one on either side.
And here we have the fourth pale beast bobbin, in progress.

There has been no cooking of note at this house for some time (otherwise I promise I would have noted it). I'm about ready to make mushroom parmesan soup again. Other than that...

I seem to be full of ellipses today. Sorry about that. At least I promise not to sprinkle them through my writing like parmesan cheese over pizza.

It's a beautiful day - sunny, 42 degrees F, light dusting of snow on the ground, which will undoubtedly be gone by tomorrow with the rain and 60 degrees F we're expecting. The end of last week was rainy and 50 degrees F, yesterday was cloudy and 22 degrees F. Good weather for catching colds and we're passing one around.

Q&A

Grace asked some questions about my spinning:
1. How do I like my moosie? Very much. I particularly like it for spinning merino/silk. The moosie is smallish, but dense for its size. The silk content in the fiber makes the singles able to support quite a bit of weight for the cross section. The denseness of the whorl lends itself to spinning fast and for a long time. I've 2 oz of the merino silk my sister gave me for Christmas. I will be spinning it for a very long time.

2. Do I use a tensioned kate? Yes, I have a Ewesful Kate that I got some years ago from Jude Pilote. I have not been able to determine if she's still making them.

3. The blending I'm using? This is Beast. My understanding is that Beast was the odds and ends leftovers of roving from Brown Sheep. This would fit in with what I know about Brown Sheep yarn content. I had understood that Beast wasn't being made any more, but more of it seems to be showing up, so now I don't know. The various greys seem to be of a type - sort of Romney-ish - open crimp, doesn't felt too much. The dark black strikes me as being mohair - shiny, not much crimp, strong, and the longest fiber. The all white bits are shorter, easily felted (somewhat felted in places), and crimpy - I don't think merino, not exactly like the Targhee I've spun before, but something along those lines. This makes for a varied spinning experience. The grey stuff does a lovely long-draw. The black bits are ok on a long-draw. The white tends to be clumpy - sometimes it drafts long draw, sometimes it doesn't, and almost always ties a little knot here and there. I'm going with the "neps are character" theme here and not stressing too much except where the little knot winds up seriously impacting the cross section of the singles. I'd rather it didn't snap on me.
4. Am I going to overdye this? I think so. I'm not in the market for another grey shawl at the moment, so if it's going to be a shawl, I'll dye it. If it isn't - if I make a vest or something, I might leave it grey. I definitely love the depth of shade possible when overdyeing the greys like these.
This picture is of the three-ply yarn I just finished:
And this picture is the horseshoe lace trim on the Wool Peddlar's Shawl I'm finishing up. This was a previous batch of white/grey/black wool (not Beast, a mixed shade Corriedale fleece), overdyed with cherry.

Some spinning has taken place this week - dark and pale bobbins are done - to be closely followed by number 3.
The moosie has made progress with the merino/silk (mostly while waiting at music lessons)
But by far the greatest amount of time has been taken up by the costume for K. Oklahoma is the play this year, and she needed a calico dress. (never mind the cat, who was only doing her best to help, obviously). The dress is done, the blouse (not pictured) is done, and I can go back to spinning. And knitting. And whatevering, before class starts on Monday.
Housework, perhaps? Nah. We still have 3 weeks before the hordes arrive to observe their darling grandchild.

It's funny how you can jog along in a little rut and then suddenly pick your head up and go "hey - when did that happen". I find that this happens to me particularly with books. Being the bibliophile that I am, I have enough books that I can get in a rut of just re-reading the things I have with occasional jaunts to the library for supplementary material. Increasing those jaunts was the purpose of tackling the 50 book challenge - I'm not allowed to count the books I've read before. Consequently, the only books I expose to public view are the new ones. This accounts for the long period of time between additions to that list, NOT I assure you any lack of reading going on chez nous.

However, being in that rut means that I get hit with that jolt referred to above. A couple of days ago, I was at the bookstore and suddenly realized that on of my favorite SF authors, Spider Robinson, has escaped from my radar long enough that not only has he written a bunch of Callahan books I haven't read, it was long ago that they aren't on the current shelves and I'm going to have to order them. abebooks is my friend.

That was one jolt. The next was stumbling across the books by Michelle Sagara, Cast in Shadow and Cast in Courtlight. Very good reading - the first was a little difficult to get into, but worth pursuing. Blurb on the cover mentions her 14 or 15 prior books. Hmmm... never run across her before. In double checking her name at Amazon before I updated the Books Read list, I find that not only does Michelle Sagara pop up, but Michelle Sagara West does as well. Why does that ring bells? A search on Michelle West gives me the answer. Hunter's Oath, Hunter's Death - favorites on my shelves. The Sun Sword series - I started reading those and then got annoyed because it was going to be a multi book series with divagations in all directions. I bought and read the first two, set the third aside to wait for the whole series, and lost track of them. It turns out there are six altogether now, and probably well worth waiting for. I suppose that acquiring 3 more hefty books just before starting a new class is not the best idea in the world.

Whiteout

What is there about owning a white car that makes one want to drive in a whiteout with no headlights on? Of the 22 cars I passed on my way home from work, 7 had no headlights on. Six were white. Of the 15 cars I passed that had their headlights on - one was white.

Come on, people - unlike that polar bear, you don't even have a little black nose to show in the swirl of white!

What does one do with a bump of dark beast? Add two bumps of pale beast...

Spin...
Spin some more...

And yet some more to go - then three ply and see how much you get.

Thanks for the kind words about the blue-to-red with pink and purple thrown in. I don't know exactly what I'm doing with it yet. I'm thinking rectangular shawl, possibly in a waffle pattern. I want to preserve the color run from one end to the other.

Today looking out the window is picture postcard quality. The trees all have a light dusting of snow. The temp has been hovering just about and just below freezing. Just above, and everything drips. Just below, and all that dripped is now frozen.

Thursday, we're supposed to get rain during the day (33 degrees F), and rain during the night (31 degrees F). What are the odds that Friday will be a frozen rain day from school? I haven't mentioned that to the offspring - I don't want to hear them calculating those odds every 10 minutes until then.

I finished the last of the yarn from the dye experiment. I really like how it came out. Now to decide on a pattern...

This is one of those cases where washing the yarn after spinning makes a huge change.

I didn't get my closeup for the after shot as close as I should, but you can still see the difference it makes.

Six inches of snow on the ground plus 20 inches of new powder equals snow that's fun to go xcountry skiing, but also snow that requires paths for the dog to get out, and for me to fill the bird feeders.
The dog is enjoying the snow, although not too much at a time. The cat is trying to figure out what the heck is going on. He goes out (when he zips past us), slinks along the trenches, and then scurries back in. I keep sort of expecting him to try to jump onto the white "table", and I'm afraid he would rather consider that a disaster.

Perspective is a wonderful thing. I remember an episode from many years ago, when I first moved from Maryland to California (Bay Area). I'd been there about a month (this was in March) and I went into the group administrator's office just before lunch one day. She said "Oh no. It's raining - now I can't go run my errands." I rather looked at her as though she had two heads - can't go out because it's raining? It wasn't even raining hard, just a drizzle. If one couldn't go out because it was raining in MD, one wouldn't go anywhere in March.

I was reminded of that episode yesterday when I was talking with my mother (who is still in Md.) They were bracing themselves for 1-3 inches of snow. People were going to have to stay in, schools might close, they were going to get snow. At the point in time that I was talking with her, I was getting ready to go run my lunchtime errands. Here, it was drizzling snow, our daily forecast was for 1-3 inches, just like yesterday and the day before, and the day before that.

We, on the other hand, are currently bracing ourselves for the "first real winter storm of the season". Not just the daily 1-3 inches (we've had over 30 inches since mid January), but Real Snow - 12 inches or more. This may actually be enough to close school here for tomorrow, although we'll have to wait and see.

On the other hand, Oswego and Mexico and a few other towns on the shores of Lake Ontario have had more than 120 inches in the past two weeks. They've been getting 2 feet at a time, while we've been getting our 1-3 inches daily.

It's all a matter of perspective.

It's 9 degrees F at 9 pm. Wind chill is -21 F. K and S had school off today because the busses didn't have the right mix of diesel for the cold and ran erratically on Monday. Tomorrow, they're scheduled to be back at the grind, which is a good thing since I need to be back at my grind as well. Project 2 due Friday night.

I got the lace mailed off today and hope to have a picture of the finished product at some point. Possibly not until after it goes and sits for judging.

I'm getting some spinning done while I ponder programming questions, but knitting is just not happening at the moment. Maybe after Friday...

Also - if anyone has a clue as to how Blogger keeps track of email addy's for comments, please let me know. I've checked everything I can find to be able to get something but noreply-comment@... but that seems to be all I get. If it's something that individuals have to set on their end, I guess if people leave comments that have it set that way, I just won't be able to answer them directly.

5 inches of snow in 1.5 hours. J and S left for S's soccer and there was no snow. They tried to come home 1.5 hours later (eventually got here creeping along at 10 mph), and we had 5 inches of snow. K and I were peering at the house across the street, which did have a light on in our direction, and we couldn't see it. One of the stronger bands of lake effect snow we've seen since we've been here.

ETA: Hah! I finally found the right option to set to allow me to answer people directly when they leave comments as opposed to eventually saying something in the blog. I may regret setting the field that way for other reasons later, but I'm happy at the moment.

Spinning is coming along - this is the better part of the fourth skein. I haven't done any spinning in about four days, but maybe today. It's a nice way to sit and zone while I think about programming. This is the finished lace, all 16.5 inches of it. It needs to finish drying and then will head off to Gramma's house.
And this is my mindless knitting, soon to be "knitting I have to pay attention to, at least a little bit". Wool peddlar's shawl, done in handspun, and for the first umpteen rows, garter stitch with increases every other row. Unfortunately, it's now at the stage where we start adding the lace border so I have to pay at least some attention to it.

How can it get more cozy than a box that's too small in front of a warm fire?

So... How is it I can notice that this post is 101, but didn't have a clue that the last one was 100? The last time I noticed it was 96. Blank haze last week is definitely the word for it.

These are the first three skeins of the top I dyed . There will probably be five skeins total (minus the two dark ends which I took off and spun separately on the spindles). You can see the progression of colors from one skein to the next. I can't wait to see all of them. And then of course I get to figure out what I'm going to do with them. Next problem.


I've been involved with several joint projects with my family this winter. Sometimes it just works out that way. This is a lace border intended for the bottom of an embroidered and quilted wall hanging my mother is doing for my son. This is three repeats (24 row repeat); I think I'll need six repeats. Just about half done.
I've decided that these are just about the perfect needles for knitting cotton lace. Too bad I've only got one set, I don't remember buying them or using them before, and don't have clue what kind they are. Inox grey? I guess I'll have to go window shopping and figure out what they are.

It's snowing again. Having been mostly like spring for two weeks at the beginning of the month, we're finishing the month with a bang. We've had an inch or two of snow a day for about a week now and it's forecast to continue this way for the next week.

S has a snowfort mighty to behold - the sort of snowfort I would have killed to be able to make when I was his age in Maryland, which may get snow, but not the cold that lets it stay and stay. He still has no friends in the neighborhood to use it with him (they hurry from the schoolbus to their warm sofa to play their PS2 or gamecube, ignoring the delights of the outside. This differs from summer, because then their sofa is airconditioned.) but he has now acquired friends from a wider area who are deeply enthused and there have been at least two major snowball wars.

I finished the project that had me panicky - it was sent off Wed. at 11:45 pm, due at 11:59. I did notice that just over half the class was still logged in at 11:30. This is the closest I've cut any of my assignments and I really hate it. As I told J, I should have started panicking about that project about four days earlier and I'm starting on panicking about the next one today. This class is just a killer in the amount of complex detailed stuff expected in a short period of time. I've no idea how I'll get graded on that one.

There is knitting happening here, but only the mindless sort (peddlar's shawl - straight garter stitch for the first umpteen rows) and there is spinning, but I haven't had the oomph to get pictures taken. Yesterday I felt like I was waking up from a fever - the last few days are just a blur.

My classwork this quarter has me feeling a bit panicky at the moment. Lots of work and seemingly not much time.

Weekend cooking did happen

Mushroom Soup, modified from Mushroom Soup with Parmesan Cheese from Bernard Clayton's Soups and Stews

The local grocery had mushrooms; I had fun.

1.5 pounds mushrooms, rather evenly divided between Shitake, Golden Trumpet, Crimini and Oyster.
2 c thinly sliced scallions (including greens)
2 cloves chopped garlic
3 T olive oil
4 c beef stock (I used the "Culinary Beef Stock" which included the red wine)
2 T butter
3 T flour
3 egg yolks
1/2 c grated parmesan cheese
2 T parsley

Roughly chop the mushroom stems, thinly slice the mushroom caps. Heat pan to medium; add oil, mushroom stems, scallions and garlic. Sweat the vegetables, alternately covering and stirring frequently, for about 15 minutes. Puree mix in food processor (not a blender, you don't want a paste). Put back in pan with a little beef stock to keep from sticking. Add butter, stir til melted. Add flour, stir til thoroughly mixed. Add rest of stock. Stir and simmer for 2 minutes. Add salt/pepper to taste (I used about 1/2 tsp salt, 3/4 tsp black pepper). Add mushroom caps, simmer, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, thoroughly mix egg yolks, parsley and cheese in a separate bowl. Add gradually, stirring well. Serve immediately.

It was good the next day too.

Weekend cooking

I swear the best thing about having kids is when they show glimpses of the independent and self-sufficient people they someday will be most of the time. J and S are off on a skiing trip with the scouts, so K and I are home. K has been inquiring, with less and less patience, about when we could have seafood. No sooner did the car leave the drive than she was diving into the recipe box, hauling out the Roast Salmon (fish - not J) with Salsa (spicy - not S) card. A little to my surprise, my contribution to the meal ended at the grocery store. She was quite simply pleased with herself - I fixed it All By Myself with No Help. I basked in the knowledge that when she's on her own, she can feed herself well (assuming she can afford the ingredients).

Roast Salmon with Salsa
Green Beans Almondine
Key Lime Cloud

Roast Salmon with Salsa
1 clove garlic minced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
2 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp chili powder
2 plum tomatoes, chopped
1/2 tsp slt
1/2 tsp cumin
2-4 drops hot sauce (she used the chili sauce - the tobasco might have been better on second thought)
1-1/2 lb salmon fillet

Preheat oven to 400F. Place everything but the salmon in the food processor and chop until finely diced. Place salmon in large roasting pan, spoon salsa over top. Roast until flaky on outside but still pink inside, about 15 minutes. Serve warm

Key Lime Cloud

1/2 c cold water
2 (1/4 oz ) envelopes unflavored gelatin
3/4 c sugar
1-1/2 c boiling water
2 tsp key lime zest, divided
1/2 c key lime juice
1/2 tsp cardamom
4 pasteurized egg whites (she used the powdered, reconstituted kind).

Place cold water in large bowl, sprinkle gelatin over water. Let stand 5 minutes. Stir in sugar, mix well. Add boiling water; stir until completely disolved. Add half of the lime zest, all lime juice and cardamom. Let sit for 10-15 minutes.

Beat egg whites until stiff. Gradually add gelatin/sugar mixture. Beat until soft peaks form. Spoon into dishes. Sprinkle remaining zest across top of each serving. Chill about an hour.

This makes the most wonderful lime flavored gelatin with lime flavored meringue floating on top.

And best of all? I didn't lift a finger until it was time to do the dishes.

It's snowing. I can't find the camera. I've got to shovel the drive again. J did it once, but it's been snowing constantly ever since and there's another two inches to be removed. One offspring is home with the stomach bug.

/* delete a long rant about throwing up - you don't really want to read it */

In knitting news, I've finished knitting but not finished two more red scarves which need to get mailed soon. I've finished two hats, which have become J's and mine. I lost my hat since last year's wearing. I've been busy knitting hats for various causes, but I found myself eyeing hats in the store because, dammit, I NEED A HAT. Preferrably non-acrylic, because the wind here goes straight through acrylic as though it wasn't even on my head. I actually put my hand up one time to feel where my hat had blown off and the confounded thing was still there, not that my head could tell.

So. J and I now have fraternal hats (pictures coming soon, as soon as I find the camera). His has wool around the forehead and alpaca for the crown. He put it on inside and we were delayed a moment going out, and he whisked it off again - That's WARM - he says, and I nodded, Yep, that's why I gave it to you. Even with his hat and coat, he shivers when we take the dog for a walk and the wind is blowing feels-like 20 F. Not that night. And I didn't wind up with the muscles in my back all clenched up either.

This you may have seen before. It's a bump of Rosemary Falkland wool (Dunnose Head Farm), which I dyedup. It's been sitting for a while, waiting its turn at the spinning wheel, and waiting until I muddled through how I wanted to spin it. You must admit there's a bunch of different possibilities. I pinched off the solid ends and spun them on the spindle.

The rest of it, I've been spinning up working from one end to the other (blue to red) and then Navajo-plying it. (yes I know that they've come up with a PC name for it, but I always forget. Chain plying?) It's going to be interesting.

New Year

I made all my resolutions back in September. Most of them are perking along happily - one or two still to be implemented.

One goal I had this year - the 50 book challenge - almost got there. #48 - Sincerely, Andy Rooney by Andy Rooney. It might have been 50 had I not gotten sidetracked by Librarything. I've started cataloging my books there and this of course has lead to a great deal of re-reading. Counts as reading but not for the challenge, where I specifically was only counting new books.

I think I'll try again for the 50 books this year. At the least, it's a push to break out of my rut. I'm been feeling like I've been in a whole bunch of ruts and breaking out of any of them is a good thing.

In other news, the weather is being completely unlike itself. Still in the 40s and 50s, with the grass green, we are not yet suffering from an excess of white which is striking other areas. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Christmas has been interesting. We've seen just about everyone, gone just about everywhere, and eaten just about everything in sight. And a few things that were under wraps. We've left things everywhere, causing other people to have to scurry after us waving them wildly. It's almost time for a new year. whee!

And I've almost finished two hats.

** Edited to take the map out - it's too cumbersome. Cool, but cumbersome. Suffice it to say that I've visited all but 5: Alaska, Kansas, Montana, North Dakota, and Rhode Island. Hard to believe sometimes, but there you go. 48 years of traveling, and all that.

create your own visited states map

Sheri posted this one, so of course I had to run off and get my list of states made up. Can you tell I've taken innumerable trips cross country? Hawaii was a deliberate trip and Alaska will have to be also. Actually, at this point, I may have to make deliberate trips to get any of the rest of the ones I need for a full 50.

Jenna's post today is wonderful. Go check out her pattern - it's a riot!

Weekend cooking

I made chocolate chip cookies, which is part of my rut, so no recipes here (standard Hershey's recipe, using semisweet chips and almond slices) [I have the recipe memorized. Hush.]

I did spend some time looking for recipes for Buffalo Wings Sauce and finally decided to just go buy the stuff. Recipes for that are all over the map, or consist of "hot sauce" and nothing else. Since I don't eat Buffalo Wings, I have no real idea what sort of sauce I was looking to make.

I had a mental taste of what I wanted to make, but wasn't sure how to get from here to there. I went with a recipe I found for Buffalo Wings Chicken Dip and used bottled Anchor Bar Buffalo Wing Sauce in Original and Hotter. It worked. Not quite what I wanted, but it worked.

Buffalo Wings Chicken Dip
1 lb chicken breasts, simmered in water in the microwave for 15 minutes (til done), then shredded. Reserve water for chicken stock for some other recipe.
3 oz Buffalo Wing Sauce (up to 2 times that, depending on taste)
4 oz cream cheese
8 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded

Mix cream cheese and sauce together. Add chicken and stir thoroughly. Put in 8x8 dish, sprinkle mozzarella on top. Bake in oven (350F) until mozzarella is melted and lightly browning on top.

Serve in bowls beside Olive Waffles - each person spreads on waffles just before eating.

The Olive Waffles is what started this all off. From M. Katzen's Vegetable Heaven, I wanted the olive waffles with something besides sour cream or the other condiments she suggested.

Olive Waffles
4 eggs, divided
1.5 T olive oil
2 c flour
.5 c whole wheat flour
.75 c chopped Kalamata olives
2 c buttermilk
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder

Beat the egg yolks and olive oil together. Mix flours, baking soda and baking powder together. Add dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk until just wet. Stir in olives. Beat egg white to firm peaks, fold into batter. Bake in waffle iron.

I think this is a little light on oils, so I spritzed the irons with olive oil spray - my iron tends to stick, even though it is technically non-stick. Getting used every Saturday for years tends to do that to them, I guess.

I actually made two batches, one with the Original sauce and one with the Hotter. The one with the cast iron mouth complained the hotter wasn't hot enough and the one with the tender tummy complained that the Original was too hot. Can't win. We have just about half of it left over, so it's going on baked potatoes later this week.

I think I'll try it again with just shredded chicken and sauce - no cheeses. It was yummy, but a. we don't need all that cheese very often, and b. I think that would be closer to what I had my mouth mentally set for.

I can't do it. I just can't do it. I gave up many years ago on trying to do "Holiday Knitting". Or any other kind of "Holiday Needlework". The problem probably stems from the fact that I like to do large-ish pieces. Large ccs projects. Large items in knitting - shawls, sweater, blankets. These may not seem large to some people - after all if you sit down and do nothing else, you can whip them out in no time. Look at Miriam with her Icarus design - someone said she did one in 12 days. Look at me - 3 months later I finished it?

A common complaint (look anywhere in knitting blogland right now) is that projects get abandoned for the holiday knitting. Right - that would be me, setting aside some large project for something small. Then, after the holidays, do we jump right back at our abandoned project? Oh, no, something else pleases our eye or catches our attention and off we go. Then, some people (Juno for example) eventually go back to their abandoned projects. Sometimes that's me and sometimes it isn't.

A major problem that I have with unfinished projects is that if I leave them alone for a long enough time, my state-of-the-art advances to where I can't finish them. I have learned some new technique, some new ability, that I can't abandon because it is better, but which is totally incompatible with the old project. It's far better to start and then finish a project without running the risk of improving past it within the project. Consequently, I hate abandoning projects even for a while. I have too many projects that I can't let go of because they were seriously wanted, but which I can't finish because I can't get past my increased technique. I wouldn't hate the project if I had finished it and then moved up a notch; that would just be an acknowledgement that I had grown as a crafter. But I can't finish a project in what I now know is a lesser technique, even if I really wanted that project as a finished piece.

Consequently, I try not to abandon projects, even for holiday knitting. I still make things for people, if they want them. They get them when the pieces are done, regardless of the season. And for Christmas? A nice gift from King Arthur or Harry&David.

Weekend cooking

The cooking was very basic, but out of my rut, and definitely tasty. I started with a 4 pound boneless chuck roast. Brought it to room temperature, added Worcestershire sauce and Montreal steak seasoning. Oven at 550 F, then down to 350 F when the roast went in. 1.5 hours later, it was done for me, but a bit rare for the family. We have about 2/3 left for beef burritos later in the week.

A side dish of baby peas.

A side dish of banana fritters. This recipe originally came from the Pearl S. Buck Oriental Cookbook. I use 1/2 banana for each person and 1/2 banana more ,i.e. for my family of 4, I use 2.5 bananas. Unless of course the bananas are smaller or larger than usual, or I feel like more bananas, or...
1 T flour per banana, 1 tsp sugar per banana, a sprinkling of cinnamon or nutmeg.

Mash the bananas together, then stir in dry ingredients. Heat a nonstick skillet and melt 1 T butter. Drop spoonfuls of mix into the skillet (I like approximately 1 T at a time, but more is fine.) Brown on one side, flip and brown the other. Serve as is, or if you want to be fancy, sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Whine...

(you've been warned and I don't want to hear any complaints if you keep reading.)

I had a cold, then J had a cold, then S has a cold. K is waving all of us away from her and hiding in her room; she doesn't want to be next.

It snowed last night and some this morning. All lake effect snow - coming off of Lake Ontario. It was still snowing this morning and I saw that there was one single band of snow still coming off the lake - right over our town. We have a momentary burst of sun but I suppose it's time to go shovel the drive again.

The camera is not talking to the computer; I'm not sure why. It really doesn't matter as I seem to have hit a slump with the ending of Icarus. I have too many projects to start a new one, but none of the old ones immediately appeal. I'm tired of spinning silk, but I still have 3 oz to go. I started flicking corriedale fleece which is always fun, but not very pictureworthy. I'm almost finished with another red scarf, which is fun because I'm playing with different techniques and trying stuff out, but it isn't terribly in-process pictureworthy. I'll post a picture when I get it finished and the camera is willing to cooperate.

Mostly I have been playing with LibraryThing which may be the best thing yet for trying to get my books catalogued. It makes me happy.

Sombody's already pining for spring... Guess what I bought at spinning guild.
This is what happens when you pull your silk top apart just right after the heat has been turned on in the fall. You can't quite see it in the picture, but the little silk tendrils are in a hollow spheroid shape - lots of static electricity going on. Couldn't get a good picture of it, but right after they all lost contact with each other, the ends that are currently reaching toward each other were suddenly snapped back in cocoons around my hands.

And then we have an unwashed, unblocked, un-ends tucked in as of yet contribution to the red scarf project. Sort of a maroon-y burgundy red scarf. Twoxtwo rib all the way.

A meme I can get behind

Because it's all about a scientific experiment. Bloggers mention the experiment in their blogs (that would be here), beg others with blogs to participate (that would be you, in your blog), and ping technorati to register that fact.

He's tracing the path of the meme through the internet. He'll probably wind up like that child in England who requested the most postcards ever because he was terminally ill, wound up recovering and was still getting postcards 20 years later. The chain letter that would not die.

Wearing Icarus
The offspring, wearing the Icarus shawl. She's 5'3" and we took a generous tuck at the neckline when she put it on. Not a glamour shot, but if I wait for sunny days to take a pic, it may be a few at this time of year.

Icarus is Done Not just done, but done done. Washed, blocked, dry, ready for unpinning.
Pictures with the flash on a brown bedspread notwithstanding, this is burgundy colored, not brown.

I need blocking wires. Maybe on my Christmas list...

Icarus

The knitting is done. The casting off is done. The sewing in of end and washing and blocking? Not so much so. Tomorrow after we get home. Then pictures, I promise.

Well! The feed definitely isn't working. Blogger's help is somewhat less than helpful - "yes we know we have a problem and we haven't been able to figure it out so here's a work around". Unfortunately their instructions on how to put the work around in are not exactly complete, so it's going to take me a few days to resolve the problem.

Struggling down the homestretch of Icarus, I've got one row and the bindoff to do. Will I finish today? Possibly - I was banished from the kitchen as there was serious grandmother/granddaughter bonding going on over the turkey gravy and sweet potatoes, and I got a bunch done while watching the parade on tv, followed by the Dog Show. The Pyr should have won. Dinner, a brisk walk, a nap and a cold drink of ice water later and I'm ready to tackle Icarus again. But not blogger just yet. One knotty problem at a time.

Well. I've switched over to blogger in beta and I can't tell if the feed is working. It doesn't seem to me that it is. Any opinions, yes or no?

There's something about leaving my immediate family for a week and going off to help my extended family clean out a garage and tidy up part of a yard that doesn't lend itself to cooking intentionally. In fact, with the exception of setting out coldcuts for one meal, I did nothing that remotely resembled feeding anyone. We did have fun, for the most part. And the garage and yard look a lot better.

Home again, I've been picking up the reins in my own household. I was informed by S when I got home that I needed to hurry up and a. do some laundry and b. do some grocery shopping. I told him he looked neither hungry nor naked, but I have done both of those things.

Today's meal was soup and bread; a fitting meal in my opinion for a day which was overcast and gloomy, with fits of hard rain, up until sunset when the sky cleared off and let the setting sun shine through.

Healthy Sisters' Soup and Bean Works is a local group that teaches women with no business experience of any kind how to run a business of their own. They make darn good bean soup mixes. This one was Simone's Sumptuous Bean Soup . I soaked the beans overnight. I then put them in the crockpot with
1 7oz can of tomato sauce,
1 15 oz can of tomato chunks,
1/2 pound browned pork sausage,
1 pound browned ground beef,
the spices from the soup mix,
2 cups water and
3 cups vegetable bouillion.
This cooked on low all day and left a wonderful aroma. It made a wonderfully hearty almost stew.

This afternoon I put the ingredients for the bread in the bread maker (on dough setting).
Honey Whole Wheat Bread :
4 T butter
4 T honey (buckwheat for a dark rich flavor)
2 T wheat germ
1 C water
1 egg
1 1/2 c white whole wheat flour
1 3/4 c bread flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 T steelcut oats
1 T wheat gluten
2 T powdered buttermilk
1 T yeast

After the dough cycle ended, I let the dough rise again for 25 minutes in the bread pan and then baked at 350 F for 50 minutes.

Cooking with intention

Answer to previous question: Lemon Garlicious is sold at Wegman's groceries and its full name is Salamida's State Fair Lemon Garlicious. Salamida's sells at least two other marinades, but I don't care for those.

This time, it was for a potluck, so it's not a complete meal. However, the meat lover's lasagna must have been a hit since I didn't get to bring any leftovers home.

Meat Lover's Lasagna

1.3 pounds meatloaf mix (my grocery makes it 80%beef, 15% pork, 5% veal)
1 pound pork sausage (you can use turkey sausage)
1 package lasagna noodles
1 pound mozzarella cheese, grated
.25 pound provalone cheese, grated
.25 pound asiago cheese, grated
2 15 oz cans tomato sauce
1 15 oz can tomatoes
1 cup cottage cheese
2 tsp Penzey's Italian seasoning
1 can black olives, sliced (if you use presliced olives, use two of the little cans)

Heat the oven to 350 F. Put the tomatoes and the cottage cheese in the blender with the Italian seasoning and give it a whirl. Brown the meats, rinse and reserve. I like to layer the lasagna in the 13x9 pan in the following order: Lasagna, beef mix, blended tomato/cottage cheese, lasagna, half the mozzarella, olives, 1 can tomato sauce, lasagna, sausage, half the mozzarella, lasagna, 1 can tomato sauce, mixed remaining cheeses. Cover with foil and bake for 55 minutes, then uncover and bake for 5 or 10 minutes more til the cheese is lightly browned and bubbly.

Note: I don't pre-cook the lasagna noodles and I don't bother with the "no boil" noodles. It comes out fine.