What's wrong with this picture?

Peter seems to think there is something missing.

I don't think that's what I ordered...

Didn't know Pampered Chef sold ferocious tabby cats...

Almost a disappointment

This year, the b/f decided he didn't really feel like cooking for Thanksgiving, and I must admit that the idea of cleaning up after wasn't thrilling me. So, the three of us (b/f, his father, and I) decided to go to Bevo Mill for our Thanksgiving feast. We have enjoyed the Bevo many times before: the German food and the Bavarian decor are great! We checked their menu; turkey, ham, roast beef, even turduken (which I was looking forward to trying); all the usual Thanksgiving trimmings, plus some German fare, like potato pancakes and red cabbage; and a dessert list to make your head swim. I made the reservations for 5:00, and started looking forward to Thanksgiving with red cabbage.

We arrived a little early, so we had to wait a short while for a table. No problem; gave us time to develop more appetite! Soon we were shown to a table, where we tossed our coats and headed for the buffet.

Where we found they were Out. Of. Turkey. They had the end of a ham left, and some fatty-looking roast beef. The turducken was long gone. Also no sweet potatoes, no potato pancakes. Our waiter told us they ran out of pumpkin pie around 1 in the afternoon. All pies were gone by 3. It took more than half an hour to get all this information, that essential food was gone and no more was coming.

What a disappointment! Not just in the lack of a Thanksgiving dinner, but in the management who left the panicked-looking wait staff to preside over a nearly-empty buffet table in the face of a lot of hungry diners. Or non-diners, as was the case for most. Including us.

We ditched that place, and went to Denny's. Gave up the idea of having a traditional dinner, and enjoyed their new Prime Rib Skillet (very tasty, I highly recommend). And you know what? It was OK. We spent some nice time together, and that's really what I want from holidays; quality time with family. After eating at Denny's, we went to the b/f's father's house for pie. He had, quite fortuitously, made a pumpkin pie that day, just because he had the makin's in the house. After we had the pie, I didn't even feel like I had been robbed of my Thanksgiving dinner. And we discovered that Peter likes pumpkin pie. (Don't worry, we only gave him the tiniest taste, to see if he would eat it. Sorry, didn't think to take my camera, so no pics).

So, Thanksgiving dinner was almost a disappointment. But it wasn't, because I was with people I love. And because there was pie.

Hilfy seems to approve of the M-D washcloth.

Worth it?

The b/f has decided it's time for an HD television. I'm all for it; no more letterbox format for movies! But first, we had to choose a new entertainment center since the old one won't hold the size TV we want. Which was a real chore, since neither one of us finds furniture shopping anything close to fun. But we finally found one that meets our needs, and it was delivered yesterday. Hilfy, of course, had to inspect it:







Since the old entertainment center was being moved, the b/f decided it was time to paint the wall behind it. Said wall had a couple of marks on it, which I found quite ignorable, but I went along with the plan. Of course, since that wall was being painted, the rest of the great room should be painted as well. And the foyer (even I found some of the marks in there hard to ignore). And the dining room, mainly because it connects to the great room. How did a new television morph into so much work?

Painting started yesterday and continued today, and there's more to do tomorrow. All I can say is, this better be one hell of a TV when it finally gets here.

No, Yitzhak...

thank you.

What a crock

The weather-guessers have been predicting nice weather this weekend; sunny and warm Saturday and Sunday, cooler and maybe some rain Monday. I figured, great, I'd play in the dirt on the sunny days, and maybe bake some cookies on Monday if it was cool enough. Hah!

This morning was cloudy and gloomy. I kept looking from the forecast to the sky; cloudy and getting cloudier. About a couple of hours after the rain started, the forecasts were updated to rain all weekend. &^%$#@!

Since the garden was out, we headed for the movies. Saw Prince Caspian; not bad, but not as good as the first one. If you're a Narnia fan, then I'd recommend seeing it. If you're not, well, it's still worth seeing, but maybe wait until it's on cable.

On the plus side, I did get a little knitting in. I finished one pair of socks for CIC:


Hand dyed Knit Picks WotA. Love those orange toes! I think they might actually glow in the dark.

I started another pair:


using some Cascade 220 I got in a swap a while back. I'm ready to start the toe, which is what the blue yarn is for. For some reason, I get such a kick out of contrast toes. Doesn't take much to amuse me, I guess.

For instance, sneaking up on cats for extreme closeups while they are trying to nap is a hoot.

Caution, thy name is Hilfy

Hilfy examines the great outdoors--from the safety of her doorway.

Workin' for a living

Man, I had forgotten how tiring it is to actually put in a full day at work. Cuts into the knitting time in more ways than one. First, I'm not knitting at work much any more. Second, when I sit down to relax of an evening, half the time I fall asleep. I find that I don't get much knitting done when I am asleep (although more than once, I still had the needles in my hands).

I can't just blame work for my sleepiness, though; some blame also goes to the vermin in the house. Like when Hilfy inexplicably stuck a paw into my armpit in the middle of the night. Somewhat startling, to say the least. Not to mention the nights that Yitzhak decides to yowl about how much she likes the swatch I gave her. The desire to vocalize this joy seems to occur around 2 a.m. I've taken to sleeping with that swatch under my pillow, to prevent her from enjoying it too much.

In spite of all this, however, I have managed to get a little knitting done. I have about half of a sleeve for my Weekend Sweater:




I like the drape of the yarn better this go-round; the size 4 needles are definitely an improvement. I'm going to take the sleeve off the needles before I go any further, and check my gauge. Once bitten, and all that.

I also have just over half of a pair of socks:



Of course, I tried on the one sock as soon as the ends were woven in; perfect fit! It's nice to get something right. Knitting socks can be a real morale-booster. Just one more reason why I love 'em.

I should probably wake her up. Show her what it feels like.

Hilfy likes to help

The b/f was running ethernet cable to the entertainment system. Hilfy, of course, had to help.

I've gone and done it now

I came home early Thursday (snow/ice/sleet made it advisable), so I had a quiet hour or two to myself. I got out my favorite sweater and measured it for the 4th time (at least); then I measured the parts of my Weekend Sweater once more; then I took a deep breath and joined the pieces together:

I've been waffling and dithering over measurements for weeks, but every time I would check, I kept getting the same results, so I decided it was time to move forward. I'm excited, and a bit nervous (kind of how I feel about the new job starting Monday). I'm really looking forward to completing this sweater. Not only do I want to find out if I figured correctly to get the fit I want, but I really like the feel of this yarn (KnitPicks' Telemark in Charcoal Heather). It's soft and springy, and I think it's going to be wonderful to wear. I'm so excited, I just want to spend the weekend on the couch, knitting away!

Hilfy inspects my work.

Hard to type like this...

...with a cat between me and the keyboard.

Last Time

This is the last time I'll have to twiddle my thumbs at work on the weekend because--drum roll, please--I got a new job! Someplace where I'll only have to work on the weekend if there is work that actually needs to be done on the weekend (what a concept). I start in two weeks. I'll be sorry to say goodbye to a lot of the people here, but I won't be sorry to leave behind some of the policies and rules they've come up with lately.

I'm celebrating with the cutest little bootie:



Sockpixie's Magic Slipper, made with unknown sock yarn given to me by Shelly Kang, when the Yarn Harlot encouraged everyone to bury her house with yarn. I've been looking for ideas on how to use all those little bits of lovely yarn, and this is an excellent method! It took me a few tries to get this right; I just couldn't seem to get the sole the right length so I could pick up the specified number of stitches. I found that if I start decreasing the sole when I have 21 ridges from the cast on edge (42 rows), I am able to pick up the right number of stitches. Or, at least, I think I will; I actually started decreasing after 22 ridges for this one, and I picked up 2 more stitches than planned (1 extra on each side). I didn't feel like ripping it out (again), so I just did one more decrease round. Works for me!

Hilfy pacing in front of the door this morning;
apparently, she thought she was coming to work with me.

Delish

Tried out the Retsel mill today; big improvement over the old one! With my old mill, I struggled to grind a cup of flour. With the Retsel, I ground about 3 cups and, while it was a bit of a workout, it still wasn't as much effort as 1 cup with the old one. I'm sold!

I used some of the flour to make muffins. I've made this recipe before (the whole wheat variation), and they're quite tasty. But in rummaging around in the frig I came across some applesauce I really should use up, so this is what I made:

Whole Wheat Applesauce Muffins
(makes 12 muffins)

2 Tbl oil
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup applesauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbl baking powder
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour

Beat the egg, then mix in oil, milk, applesauce, and brown sugar. Add the remaining ingredients and stir just until everything is moistened and well mixed (you don't want to overbeat muffins; they'll toughen up).

Pour into muffin tin (greased or lined with paper cups) or silicone muffin cups (as I did). Bake at 400 F for about 20 minutes.

I tried one as soon as they were cool enough (that's why there are only 11 in the pic), and boy, are they yummy! For the whole wheat flour, I used hard white wheat. I'd like to try soft wheat, if I can find it, and see how these would be with all whole wheat flour (instead half whole wheat, half white). I used chunky applesauce, so there are nice moist little bits of apple here and there. I meant to add cinnamon, but I forgot. Maybe I'll try that next time.

Yesterday I turned the heel on the CIC sock, but didn't do much more, because I was engrossed in a book. A while back, I was poking around Amazon.com, and saw a mention of a TV movie coming out soon with Tom Selleck playing a police chief named Jesse Stone. And, what's this? This isn't the first such movie? Tom Selleck has played this character before? How did I miss this? Who is this Jesse Stone character, anyway?

So, I learned there are several books featuring Jesse Stone, police chief of Paradise, Massachusetts. Sounded interesting, so I hit paperbackswap.com and snagged the first book in the series, Night Passage by Robert B. Parker. I am loving this book! Strong but flawed protagonist (as the best heroes are), suspense, intrigue...I'm really hooked. And the character seems tailor-made for Tom Selleck; before I was a quarter of the way into the book, I put Stone Cold (Tom's first Jesse Stone movie) on my NetFlix list. Can hardly wait to get it.

Can you guess whodunit, Hilfy? No, don't tell me, I want to find out on my own.

Worth the wait?

A couple of years ago, I bought a cheap grain mill, since I like freshly ground whole grain flour. I did a little research and bought one that most users liked. The first time I used it, it worked great. The second time, it seized up and I couldn't make that handle turn for nothing. The b/f examined it and said things like "out of round" and "metal galling". I didn't want to try to return it to the manufacturer (in Romania), so the b/f fixed it and it worked again, but it's harder to use than it should be.

Ever since, I have been dreaming of a good grain mill. I researched and read forums and reviews and descriptions of parts and designs. The fates seemed to be in my favor when I received my year-end bonus just after I discovered the mill I wanted was on sale. So, on Dec. 7, I ordered the Retsel Uni-Ark Special.

Since then I have been waiting. Yes, that's right, it's been eight weeks, and I'm still waiting. I started out being very patient, accumulating recipes I wanted to try, checking out local sources for whole grains (it's very hard to buy corn these days; perhaps it's all going into our fuel tanks?). But for the last three or four weeks, I have been increasingly antsy. I was about to just cancel the @#$%! order when, finally, they notified me it had been shipped. My mill was handed over to the P.O. on Wednesday, Jan. 23. Since it is coming Priority Mail, it should arrive today. There was a possibility it would be waiting on my porch when I got home Friday, but no such luck. Which is just as well, since I'm working today, and it would have been very hard to leave it behind after such prolonged anticipation.

So, I'm watching the clock hands crawl around the dial, bouncing in my seat hoping-hoping-hoping when I get home I'll have a new toy to play with quality tool for creating healthful foods. If it's not there, I'll probably just throw a tantrum.

I'm going to hide out until I know it's safe;
she's really getting way too excited about this.

More better

This cold is hanging on something fierce, but I am feeling a little better. I did manage to command enough brain power to graft the toe on the socks for CIC:

Lion Wool, Ocean Blues colorway, my usual toddler sock pattern. These make pair #4 in my personal Magic28 challenge to make 28 pair for charity. Luckily, I've set no deadline for myself!

I was going to pick up my Weekend Sweater and join up all the pieces, but as best as I can tell, I need a longer circular needle. I thought I bought a longer one, but I can't find it. It's about 50/50 which is faulty; my memory or my ability to find it. So, I'm ordering another needle; as soon as it gets here, I plan to really focus on finishing that sweater. It's cold, dammit, and I need more wool!

Speaking of cold, it's supposed to be brutally cold here today; temps are supposed to drop down to 8 freakin' degrees. I have become a total wimp when it comes to cold weather; I used to be OK as long as it stayed above 0. Now, I start kvetching when it gets below freezing. Anyway, my plans today involve staying inside, resting (to chase away this lousy cold), maybe watching a movie. If I get really ambitious, I might bake a little. Carbohydrates are very good for a cold.

Make room for me, kids; I'm joining you.

The perfect yarn

I am very slowly getting over the cold I got hit with last weekend. That's my excuse for sticking with super-simple knitting and ignoring the Weekend Sweater and the ILG socks.

I finished the socks for CIC, except for grafting one toe:

I made a washcloth (Chinese Waves), although it turned out smaller than I had planned (only about 7.5 inches square):

And I started another pair of mindless socks, since I finished the Wildfoote socks on New Year's Eve:

I'm using Lang Jawoll in a lovely cobalt and black marl. When I was looking through the stash, I was thinking how much I wished I had something like this in a sock yarn. And, lo and behold, there it was! I think I scored it on eBay sometime back. I think it's lovely when your stash gets big enough that you forget what's in there. Then you find nice surprises like this one.

"Oh Lord, she's come up with a justification for letting her stash grow beyond reckoning."

Hilfy's happy

Hilfy likes it when we receive packages in the mail. Especially if they contain crinkly paper.

Still recovering

We had a very nice visit with my family, and returned to St. Louis in time to take the b/f's father out for dinner on his birthday eve. His b-day is Dec. 25, and there never seem to be any restaurants open that day! On his birthday morn, we returned to his house bearing gifts, mostly edibles since he has decided at his age there doesn't seem much sense on spending money on durable goods. However, he got a new microwave, whether he wanted it or not. The old one was 25 years old, and the display was no longer legible. I must admit it was fun lugging in that big box, when he had been saying not to buy him anything.


After the whirl of traveling, wrapping and baking, I've been glad to relax a little bit the last few days! Still haven't picked up the Weekend Sweater yet. Part of the reason is that I want to re-measure all my sweaters to see if I need to add a bit more length to the body. Since this is an EZ pattern, such decisions are totally up to me, and since I don't have any sweaters that fit me exactly as I want this one to, there is a bit of guess-work involved. The rest of the reason I've been avoiding my sweater is because my brain still feels fried after all the planning and plotting to get everything accomplished in time. Whew!


Instead of sweater knitting, I've been enjoying mindless knitting on my Wildfoote sock #2; I'm about halfway through the foot:



I also started a pair of socks for CIC, based on the Little Sky booties from New Pathways for Sock Knitters. I sized them up to 32 stitches around, instead of 24. Not too sure how they are going to turn out; they seem rather big through the instep. I may end up frogging these:



But it has been nice to take it easy and not think too much. My brain is tired.

Yes, Yitzhak, you can relax now. We're home.

Home Alone

My Weekend Sweater is at an exciting point; it is nearly ready to have all its pieces joined together. But I'm visiting my family, and I didn't think it would make a good travel project, so it is languishing home alone.

Also home alone are the vermin, but not for lack of trying. First, Yitzhak tried to sneak into the suitcase:
Then, Hilfy tried to stow away:
Princess Daisy seemed to think such antics are beneath her:
I really hope they aren't trashing the house.

Cake and cold weather

Thursday was the b/f's birthday. We both took the day off work and lazed around all day, which I think is a fine way to celebrate. In the afternoon we went to his father's house, where there were presents:



and cake:



Even Peter had a little cake, although he wasn't allowed any of the chocolate icing:



We also took off Friday, since it seemed silly to go to work for one day before the weekend. So today is my third day off in a row, and I could seriously get used to this life. Especially since the weather has been ugly and cold and wet; I've been very happy to stay inside. I've been working on my Weekend Sweater; the body is ready for the sleeves to be added, so I've started one sleeve:



I plan for the sleeves to be my carry-around project for a while, to speed the project along a bit. With this cold weather, I seriously need another sweater or three. Times like this I wish I could knit faster. Because, really, I could use some more wool socks, too.