Thursday, October 28, 2004
Thursday Has Been Postponed
Pass it on.
I am exhausted. I am procrastinating, sort of, I don't have enough time to do what I need to do, so I'm doing this instead. We woke up late. Tired. I didn't sleep well. We had to rush Alexander through his morning routine, Rich took him to school while I got the other kids fed and dressed. Rich had to get a costume for Dominic's Trunk or Treat at school, even though Dominic seems not to care about dressing up this year, but he needs a costume to participate. Even if we left early and he didn't do it, then he'd hear about it from the other kids in his class and feel left out. So. He is going as Clifford. I sliced up pepperoni for their class party (make your own pizzas), dumped the candy in a bowl to distribute to them, and cleaned out Dominic's trick or treat bucket. In order to do this this afternoon, either Rich had to go and pick up Alexander or I have to pick him up early and bring him with me. Alexander will be helping pass out candy, so I have even less time between driving sessions in which to get anything done today.
Then, there is the fact that blogger ate a perfectly good post I made yesterday about Reading Lolita in Tehran which I am now too tired and annoyed to try to recreate. I have about three weeks worth of unfolded laundry (it's clean!) to deal with, a dishwasher to unload, reload, run, unload and reload again, two bathrooms to clean, our room do deal with, clutter to unload and we haven't balanced our checkbook in almost two months.
This morning when we woke up we said we just needed a way to postpone Thursday, give us 12 hours or 24 hours and just start over at that point. So, call the radio stations, spread the word. Thursday has been postponed.
I am exhausted. I am procrastinating, sort of, I don't have enough time to do what I need to do, so I'm doing this instead. We woke up late. Tired. I didn't sleep well. We had to rush Alexander through his morning routine, Rich took him to school while I got the other kids fed and dressed. Rich had to get a costume for Dominic's Trunk or Treat at school, even though Dominic seems not to care about dressing up this year, but he needs a costume to participate. Even if we left early and he didn't do it, then he'd hear about it from the other kids in his class and feel left out. So. He is going as Clifford. I sliced up pepperoni for their class party (make your own pizzas), dumped the candy in a bowl to distribute to them, and cleaned out Dominic's trick or treat bucket. In order to do this this afternoon, either Rich had to go and pick up Alexander or I have to pick him up early and bring him with me. Alexander will be helping pass out candy, so I have even less time between driving sessions in which to get anything done today.
Then, there is the fact that blogger ate a perfectly good post I made yesterday about Reading Lolita in Tehran which I am now too tired and annoyed to try to recreate. I have about three weeks worth of unfolded laundry (it's clean!) to deal with, a dishwasher to unload, reload, run, unload and reload again, two bathrooms to clean, our room do deal with, clutter to unload and we haven't balanced our checkbook in almost two months.
This morning when we woke up we said we just needed a way to postpone Thursday, give us 12 hours or 24 hours and just start over at that point. So, call the radio stations, spread the word. Thursday has been postponed.
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
New Free Pattern
Just thought I'd let all four of you who read this know that I put up an extremely easy boa pattern on the free pattern site: Easy Peasy Boa
Also, since I have never mentioned it, Rich made the drawing of the veiled woman above the candle that I use in my title bar. It was folded up and sent to me in a letter while we were dating and living apart. However, living in Eugene and being in the rain a lot, it got wet on the crease, and so is smudged a bit. Rich wants to fix it, but I like it anyway.
Also, since I have never mentioned it, Rich made the drawing of the veiled woman above the candle that I use in my title bar. It was folded up and sent to me in a letter while we were dating and living apart. However, living in Eugene and being in the rain a lot, it got wet on the crease, and so is smudged a bit. Rich wants to fix it, but I like it anyway.
Labels: Design, Free Patterns, Knitting, Patterns
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
My Version of the Fudge Cupcakes
1 cup flour
1 cup cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup raspberry syrup
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons Chambord
1/3 cup milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line cupcake pans with 18 foil/paper cups.
Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Set aside
In microwave safe bowl, melt chocolate with 1/4 cup sugar and raspberry syrup. Whisk together to finish melting chocolate. Beat in butter and remaining sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix in Chambord.
Beginning and ending with flour mixture, alternately add flour and milk, mixing thoroughly between additions.
Fill cupcake cups 2/3 full and bake for 25-30 minutes.
FROSTING:
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups chocolate chips
2 tablespoons Chambord
Pour condensed milk into a microwave safe bowl and heat on high for about 2 minutes. Beat in chocolate chips to melt and stir in Chambord. Frost cupcakes.
1 cup cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup raspberry syrup
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons Chambord
1/3 cup milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line cupcake pans with 18 foil/paper cups.
Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Set aside
In microwave safe bowl, melt chocolate with 1/4 cup sugar and raspberry syrup. Whisk together to finish melting chocolate. Beat in butter and remaining sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix in Chambord.
Beginning and ending with flour mixture, alternately add flour and milk, mixing thoroughly between additions.
Fill cupcake cups 2/3 full and bake for 25-30 minutes.
FROSTING:
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups chocolate chips
2 tablespoons Chambord
Pour condensed milk into a microwave safe bowl and heat on high for about 2 minutes. Beat in chocolate chips to melt and stir in Chambord. Frost cupcakes.
Labels: Homemaking, Recipes, Tales from the Kitchen
Monday, October 25, 2004
BCE
I read someone's post to the knitlist last night which had a sig file and date using the modern term BCE. I have to say I find it odd, a little funny, that this convention is supposed to get rid of the idea that time is metered by the Incarnation of Christ, His intersection with our world and culture, when it doesn't actually change the dates that are CE and BCE, they are merely the secular words for Before Christ and Anno Domini. I find these semantic changes to be laughable, but also indicative of a world that wishes to erase all influence of God and religion, but does not know what to replace that with and so just renames all the God words with non-God words that don't change the meaning or focus of the "offensive" terminology, just give a superficial "good" feeling to wash in.
In other news, we have Alexander's school picture now. He is wearing the orange sweater I made for him and actually has a real smile in it. Rich scanned it in, and I'll post it soon.
Dominic's school picture gets taken this Wednesday, so we need to get a haircut in for him so he doesn't look like a muppet. Alexander also has a loose tooth, so we need to get on the ball for the tooth fairy bit pretty soon. We will be using the exchange rate I had as a kid, not the ridiculous amount kids seem to get now. With four kids close together, we don't want to be shelling out $50 a month on teeth.
I'm trucking right along on both the LIttle Boy Green and the Cross Your Heart. The gansey is in the car all the time, so I work on it while waiting for the boys at school, or while Rich drives us to church, or at Bible study and what not. Little Boy Green stays at home and gets worked on while I nurse, or get a little break time. Even though I get less time on it, the progress is about the same, because it is so much smaller than my gansey. My goal is to have Elijah's sweater finished by Christmas, and mine by Madrona in February.
Meanwhile, I am not doing much of anything on the Santa Sock, because even using smaller needles than they said, I think the fabric is too loose for a stocking. I will likely frog and start over with smaller needles, still, and the larger number of stitches I've been using. That is my computer knitting lately, and I haven't been doing much computer either.
In other news, we have Alexander's school picture now. He is wearing the orange sweater I made for him and actually has a real smile in it. Rich scanned it in, and I'll post it soon.
Dominic's school picture gets taken this Wednesday, so we need to get a haircut in for him so he doesn't look like a muppet. Alexander also has a loose tooth, so we need to get on the ball for the tooth fairy bit pretty soon. We will be using the exchange rate I had as a kid, not the ridiculous amount kids seem to get now. With four kids close together, we don't want to be shelling out $50 a month on teeth.
I'm trucking right along on both the LIttle Boy Green and the Cross Your Heart. The gansey is in the car all the time, so I work on it while waiting for the boys at school, or while Rich drives us to church, or at Bible study and what not. Little Boy Green stays at home and gets worked on while I nurse, or get a little break time. Even though I get less time on it, the progress is about the same, because it is so much smaller than my gansey. My goal is to have Elijah's sweater finished by Christmas, and mine by Madrona in February.
Meanwhile, I am not doing much of anything on the Santa Sock, because even using smaller needles than they said, I think the fabric is too loose for a stocking. I will likely frog and start over with smaller needles, still, and the larger number of stitches I've been using. That is my computer knitting lately, and I haven't been doing much computer either.
Labels: Knitting
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Knitting & Crocheting
Well, last night at our Bible study, I brought along my knitting. Amira is finally at a point where I don't need to be holding/nursing her every second, and she will go to other people or play on the floor quite nicely while we read and discuss. Anyway, our priest's wife, my dear friend Marthie, is a crocheter, and she pulled out her crocheting. She finished up hat number two that is just adorable. The ladies at my church are accomplished crocheters and seamstresses, and I can do neither. So, since they cannot knit and are interested, we're talking about doing a lesson swap, so we can all learn something new.
I am really excited about this possibility, because I love vintage clothing and have tons of vintage patterns and would love to make the gorgeous crocheted and sewn items that I see from the 30s, 40s and 50s. Speaking of which, I just bid on and won this on ebay. I can't wait to get it. There are a ton of great vintage clothes to be had for curvy women from the late 30s through the early 60s. After that, we start into the boyish figure styles, but the WWII and New Look were all made for women with my shape. The local vintage shop is pretty expensive, so I have to find things when I can and look for bargains. If I could make more of them, in the same style, that would save me the search as well as some of the money.
Anyway, I am almost to the main body on my Cross Your Heart Gansey. I've been moving slowly on it. I finished the edging and first cable pattern repeat on the Little Boy Green for Elijah and I haven't made much progress on the Santa Sock.
I am really excited about this possibility, because I love vintage clothing and have tons of vintage patterns and would love to make the gorgeous crocheted and sewn items that I see from the 30s, 40s and 50s. Speaking of which, I just bid on and won this on ebay. I can't wait to get it. There are a ton of great vintage clothes to be had for curvy women from the late 30s through the early 60s. After that, we start into the boyish figure styles, but the WWII and New Look were all made for women with my shape. The local vintage shop is pretty expensive, so I have to find things when I can and look for bargains. If I could make more of them, in the same style, that would save me the search as well as some of the money.
Anyway, I am almost to the main body on my Cross Your Heart Gansey. I've been moving slowly on it. I finished the edging and first cable pattern repeat on the Little Boy Green for Elijah and I haven't made much progress on the Santa Sock.
Labels: Knitting
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Progress
I have finally cast on for the front of Elijah's Little Boy Green Sweater. I haven't had a chance to get to the yarn store to replace the Addi needle, so I decided I'd live with it until I got this sweater finished, then have it exchanged.
I forgot to mention that for the blasted Santa Sock, I added about 30 stitches to get the cuff the size I wanted. It may have worked as written if I used the yarn they did, but since they didn't mention what that was, or what the gauge was, I won't know. Every time Dominic sees the stocking on the needles, he lights up with glee. "You knitted my stocking some more!" Every time I hear comments like that, hear the delight in the kids' voices, I am glad that I do most of my knitting for our home, even if it means that other people don't get much in the way of knit gifts from me anymore.
So far, only Alexander, Amira and I have sweaters, Dominic has a sunsuit I made him, all have hats/mittens/socks/gloves, Elijah has a blanket that's his, but that I now use at least as much as he does. I made the felted fish from Knitter's Stash for Alexander and Dominic a couple years ago, but now Elijah is old enough to want one, so I need to add that to the to do list. This sweater will be Elijah's first, and I have a sweater for Dominic that is about a quarter of the way finished. It will be added to my UFO space in my rotation of projects, when I have the stocking finished.
There are two sweaters that Rich really likes and that I want to make for him, along with a couple more pairs of socks. However, one sweater we still haven't found the right yarn for it. We thought we had, but it ended up being the wrong color. The other sweater, I know exactly which yarn would work, but I am short about 6 skeins and it is discontinued. If anyone knows of a taupey/beigey/creamy marled or tweedy yarn, worsted weight, in a soft cotton with some merino wool let me know. We liked Cotton Fleece, but it didn't come in the right color for what Rich was looking for, and Rich really liked the tweedy/marled look, not some kind of self striping or patterning yarn, nor a solid. We tried Cascade 220, which had a beigey marl, but the colors weren't right. So, if there is a superwash, soft wool, or a superwash/cotton blend, in that kind of color scheme, I have yet to find it.
Last night I tried the fudge cupcake recipe from the murder in my reading list. It was alright, but the chocolate was a little old, had bloomed and I think taken on some strange flavors in the cupboard. I think I know how I would change it, not only using fresher chocolate, and will post the new and improved recipe when I have it finished. I did change the frosting, as well, adding a couple tablespoons of Chambord to it for both flavor and consistency. I will be bringing the cupcakes tonight to Bible study, and the kids will gobble them up, I am sure. We're still working on our saint costume ideas for All Saints. Rich's is coming together, but I can't figure out what to do. He keeps suggesting female characters who were anything but saints! More like props. I may stick with Mary Magdalene. When Alexander was first born, I wanted to go as the Holy Family, the Virgin Mary, Baby Jesus and Joseph, now that we have three other children besides, that doesn't work quite so well.
I forgot to mention that for the blasted Santa Sock, I added about 30 stitches to get the cuff the size I wanted. It may have worked as written if I used the yarn they did, but since they didn't mention what that was, or what the gauge was, I won't know. Every time Dominic sees the stocking on the needles, he lights up with glee. "You knitted my stocking some more!" Every time I hear comments like that, hear the delight in the kids' voices, I am glad that I do most of my knitting for our home, even if it means that other people don't get much in the way of knit gifts from me anymore.
So far, only Alexander, Amira and I have sweaters, Dominic has a sunsuit I made him, all have hats/mittens/socks/gloves, Elijah has a blanket that's his, but that I now use at least as much as he does. I made the felted fish from Knitter's Stash for Alexander and Dominic a couple years ago, but now Elijah is old enough to want one, so I need to add that to the to do list. This sweater will be Elijah's first, and I have a sweater for Dominic that is about a quarter of the way finished. It will be added to my UFO space in my rotation of projects, when I have the stocking finished.
There are two sweaters that Rich really likes and that I want to make for him, along with a couple more pairs of socks. However, one sweater we still haven't found the right yarn for it. We thought we had, but it ended up being the wrong color. The other sweater, I know exactly which yarn would work, but I am short about 6 skeins and it is discontinued. If anyone knows of a taupey/beigey/creamy marled or tweedy yarn, worsted weight, in a soft cotton with some merino wool let me know. We liked Cotton Fleece, but it didn't come in the right color for what Rich was looking for, and Rich really liked the tweedy/marled look, not some kind of self striping or patterning yarn, nor a solid. We tried Cascade 220, which had a beigey marl, but the colors weren't right. So, if there is a superwash, soft wool, or a superwash/cotton blend, in that kind of color scheme, I have yet to find it.
Last night I tried the fudge cupcake recipe from the murder in my reading list. It was alright, but the chocolate was a little old, had bloomed and I think taken on some strange flavors in the cupboard. I think I know how I would change it, not only using fresher chocolate, and will post the new and improved recipe when I have it finished. I did change the frosting, as well, adding a couple tablespoons of Chambord to it for both flavor and consistency. I will be bringing the cupcakes tonight to Bible study, and the kids will gobble them up, I am sure. We're still working on our saint costume ideas for All Saints. Rich's is coming together, but I can't figure out what to do. He keeps suggesting female characters who were anything but saints! More like props. I may stick with Mary Magdalene. When Alexander was first born, I wanted to go as the Holy Family, the Virgin Mary, Baby Jesus and Joseph, now that we have three other children besides, that doesn't work quite so well.
Labels: Church Year, Knitting
Friday, October 15, 2004
Cute Kid Pictures
Dominic's preschool (Pre-_K_, he says) did their pumpkin patch trip this week. I took Elijah and Amira, too. Here are some pictures, none of Amira, she was in the snugli.
No knitting news today. I've been grocery shopping and driving kids to and from school all day. Laudate is meeting here tonight, and we're studying the life of Maria Goretti. Hers is a pretty gruesome martyrdom, so I'm praying for wisdom in how we present the information to the kids, as well as the words to convey the truth to them. It is daunting to be teaching these young minds, we are ever mindful of the greater responsibility on us and we try to lead them correctly.
No knitting news today. I've been grocery shopping and driving kids to and from school all day. Laudate is meeting here tonight, and we're studying the life of Maria Goretti. Hers is a pretty gruesome martyrdom, so I'm praying for wisdom in how we present the information to the kids, as well as the words to convey the truth to them. It is daunting to be teaching these young minds, we are ever mindful of the greater responsibility on us and we try to lead them correctly.
Thursday, October 14, 2004
New Photos
Tonight I will be posting pictures. I promise.
I have the bootees finished. I have a painted platter from the other night at the pottery place. Those photos will go here:
So, check back later...Okay, I decided that the bootees would just be listed in my FO list at the right. There should be a link to see them there.
I have a new project on needles, from a nearly useless pattern, that I'm modifying slightly to get what I need. If anyone attempts the Santa Sock from Knitters' website, note that they give no gauge and no yarn quantity. I bought tons more yarn than necessary, to hedge my bets, and I've added sts to the CO, because the 30 they listed would have been a teeny tiny sock for an elf. And not Santa, one of his little helpers.
Since we don't actually do Santa with our kids, I will call this a snowflake stocking. Since we do stockings on the Feast of St. Nicholas, it's not really a Christmas stocking. This is for Dominic, I made one for Rich when we were dating, he made one for me when we were first married, I made one for Alexander when he was two, so it's Dominic's turn. I may get to Elijah's and Amira's before we have another child. No, that isn't an announcement, but if you do the math, we should have our fifth child in May of 2006, based on the spacing pattern of the other children.
Today is the tenth anniversary of the night Rich took me home from a ballroom dance, our first kiss, and the day we count as our first "date." We will celebrate by balancing our checkbook, doing dishes and giving the kids baths. If anyone posts a comment asking about the romantic story of how we met, I will post it.
I'm not actually sure that anyone reads this blog. I know that at least two people have read it. I don't know if they still do. I will post my photos before midnight tonight. Let me know if you see them.
I have the bootees finished. I have a painted platter from the other night at the pottery place. Those photos will go here:
So, check back later...Okay, I decided that the bootees would just be listed in my FO list at the right. There should be a link to see them there.
I have a new project on needles, from a nearly useless pattern, that I'm modifying slightly to get what I need. If anyone attempts the Santa Sock from Knitters' website, note that they give no gauge and no yarn quantity. I bought tons more yarn than necessary, to hedge my bets, and I've added sts to the CO, because the 30 they listed would have been a teeny tiny sock for an elf. And not Santa, one of his little helpers.
Since we don't actually do Santa with our kids, I will call this a snowflake stocking. Since we do stockings on the Feast of St. Nicholas, it's not really a Christmas stocking. This is for Dominic, I made one for Rich when we were dating, he made one for me when we were first married, I made one for Alexander when he was two, so it's Dominic's turn. I may get to Elijah's and Amira's before we have another child. No, that isn't an announcement, but if you do the math, we should have our fifth child in May of 2006, based on the spacing pattern of the other children.
Today is the tenth anniversary of the night Rich took me home from a ballroom dance, our first kiss, and the day we count as our first "date." We will celebrate by balancing our checkbook, doing dishes and giving the kids baths. If anyone posts a comment asking about the romantic story of how we met, I will post it.
I'm not actually sure that anyone reads this blog. I know that at least two people have read it. I don't know if they still do. I will post my photos before midnight tonight. Let me know if you see them.
Labels: Knitting
Monday, October 11, 2004
Long Time No Speak
Well, I decided not to post the bootees photos, because one of them looks odd and it's still bugging me. So, I knit up another one yesterday, and will sew it up and felt it today.
Friday was Alexander's birthday, and we had a nice family party at night. Saturday, we had a party for his friends from school and church. I can't believe that we have a six year old now. I remember his birth, how little he was as a baby, and now he's this big boy. The years go quickly, and I know soon enough he will be grown up and going away to school or work and then getting married and having his own family. I look forward to those days, but I wish they wouldn't come so fast.
Anyway, the party was themed on the Arabian Nights, I was going to have a bit more complicated decor and party games, but we stuck with Arabic food and pin the tail on the camel. The kids seemed to have a good time, and it was only two hours, so we were able to recover and still have the rest of the day.
The kids' godparents came up for the weekend with their son, to bring something to Rich's work and celebrate with us and were great helps to us. All three went to work immediately, helping with dishes, laundry, yardwork, putting together stuff for the party, decorating and running errands. After the hectic last couple weeks, it was a needed service and we really appreciated it. I'm hoping to get back on track at home and have more knitting time.
Our church is having an All Saints' Party and we're dressing up as a favorite saint. I won't give away Rich's surprise, but I will probably come as Mary Magdalene, though Rich suggested I come as Salome. We've been teaching a series on young saints to our Laudate Group which is our church's youth group, and so they should have a few ideas from that for the party. It will be interesting to see what people choose.
We are very fortunate to have a church of incredible cooks. Even those who aren't that interested in cooking know where to shop, so the food is always good. We're having a potluck for the All Saints' feast, and had one for St. Francis as well. We joke that our congregation is growing, just in weight.
Oh, one more thing. Photobucket had some sort of problem so my images are missing, but I'm uploading them again.
Friday was Alexander's birthday, and we had a nice family party at night. Saturday, we had a party for his friends from school and church. I can't believe that we have a six year old now. I remember his birth, how little he was as a baby, and now he's this big boy. The years go quickly, and I know soon enough he will be grown up and going away to school or work and then getting married and having his own family. I look forward to those days, but I wish they wouldn't come so fast.
Anyway, the party was themed on the Arabian Nights, I was going to have a bit more complicated decor and party games, but we stuck with Arabic food and pin the tail on the camel. The kids seemed to have a good time, and it was only two hours, so we were able to recover and still have the rest of the day.
The kids' godparents came up for the weekend with their son, to bring something to Rich's work and celebrate with us and were great helps to us. All three went to work immediately, helping with dishes, laundry, yardwork, putting together stuff for the party, decorating and running errands. After the hectic last couple weeks, it was a needed service and we really appreciated it. I'm hoping to get back on track at home and have more knitting time.
Our church is having an All Saints' Party and we're dressing up as a favorite saint. I won't give away Rich's surprise, but I will probably come as Mary Magdalene, though Rich suggested I come as Salome. We've been teaching a series on young saints to our Laudate Group which is our church's youth group, and so they should have a few ideas from that for the party. It will be interesting to see what people choose.
We are very fortunate to have a church of incredible cooks. Even those who aren't that interested in cooking know where to shop, so the food is always good. We're having a potluck for the All Saints' feast, and had one for St. Francis as well. We joke that our congregation is growing, just in weight.
Oh, one more thing. Photobucket had some sort of problem so my images are missing, but I'm uploading them again.
Saturday, October 02, 2004
First St. Martha's Guild Meeting
We had our first meeting today, and it was lovely. Some knitting, some crocheting, lots of talking and praying. Lots of good food! I ended up not making either of the things I was planning, as Rich was out of town for three days, not unexpectedly, but not really planned either. He had a business conference that was initially vetoed by the company, then he was told to go ahead and go, so he went. So, I was busy with the four kids and decided I'd make a pear and ginger coffee cake instead when Rich got home.
I've finished the bootees and felted them, they did not fit Amira at all, even though her feet are tiny and I made them a bit bigger than the pattern. So, instead of making two pair and giving one away to our friends, this pair will go to them.
I made a little bit of progress on the front ribbing of the cross your heart, but not by much. I was talking too much. I will post pictures Monday.
I've finished the bootees and felted them, they did not fit Amira at all, even though her feet are tiny and I made them a bit bigger than the pattern. So, instead of making two pair and giving one away to our friends, this pair will go to them.
I made a little bit of progress on the front ribbing of the cross your heart, but not by much. I was talking too much. I will post pictures Monday.
Labels: Knitting
