Wednesday, October 28, 2020
Craft On: Beta Knitting Anyone?
The slipper is the way I want it, I am editing the pattern to go to my editor, and I am hoping to have a beta pattern ready in a little over a week or so. Are you interested in knitting one of these, or a whole pair? Please let me know.
I will also have a beta knit for a headband that matches Mozarab, if you are interested in that. That pattern is ready for you to knit any time, too.
I am just about through West From Home, and it is interesting to see San Francisco through Laura Ingalls Wilder's eyes. Especially as I spent a lot of time there as a kid and know most of the places she visited. The kids and I are about two thirds of the way through Mrs. Piggle Wiggle's Farm, and really enjoying it.
Linking to Unraveled Wednesday.
If you would like to receive updates and early notice of new patterns, beta knitting opportunities, and great discounts (plus pictures of new yarns, new tools, fun places, neat hints, book ideas, recipes and more) each month, please subscribe to 1,001 Knits. My best, and sometimes my only, discounts go to my subscribers.
Labels: Beta Knitting, Books, Design, Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Knitting, Patterns, WIP, Yarn Along
Sunday, October 25, 2020
Menu Plan: October 25 - 31
I am going to have to go back and re-enter some 70 photo sources on the blog for this year, as Instagram has changed their policy on hotlinking and will not allow images to be linked on other pages as of this past Thursday or Friday. If you use that feature on Ravelry, note that it will no longer be possible there, either.
Anyway, we are in the depths of winter here now. We have already had temperatures in the teens at our house, and we have the whole garden either harvested, pulled up and stored in more insulated outbuildings, or covered with plastic to see if we can give them a couple more weeks (plants that are underground). Tomorrow morning is likely to be in single digits at our house. It is miserable. Winter here lasts about six months. I'm trying not to be so sad, but it is hard. We have some good meals planned for the week, though, and we don't have too much to do away from home. Now that we have three other drivers in the house, I am no longer obligated to drive people to their activities, either. It is times like this that I wish I could do some form of semi-hibernation. I am already so cold, and cannot even face the cold that is coming. Please pray.
- Sunday
Breakfast: Vegetable Hash, Fried Eggs, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
Dinner: Cheeseburgers with Sliced Tomatoes, Grilled Peppers and Onions, French Fries with Béarnaise Sauce, Leftover Cake - Monday
Breakfast: Egg Muffin Sandwiches with Cheese, Sliced Pears, Milk and Coffee
Dinner: Slow Cooked Chicken and Chickpeas, Herbed Cous Cous, Chopped Salad with Pomegranate Pips - Tuesday
Breakfast: Slow Cooker Rice Pudding with Coconut and Craisins, Milk and Coffee
Dinner: Kofta bil Bayd*, Duqqus, Loubiyeh bi Zeit, Arabic Spiced Roasted Squash Slices - Wednesday - Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles
Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast with Honey, Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
Dinner: Falafel, Khoubz Araby, Duqqus, Sliced Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Onions, Kalamata Olives - Thursday
Breakfast: Steel Cut Oats with Cinnamon Sugar, Chopped Apples and Raisins, Milk and Coffee
Dinner: Baked Pasta and Tomato Pepper Sauce, Béchamel, and Topped with Feta, Fruit Salad - Friday
Breakfast: Tomato Toast, Fruit Plate, Tea with Honey
Dinner: Tacos de Papa with Avocado Relish, Quick and Dirty Mexican Rice, Sliced Watermelon - Saturday
Breakfast: Leftover Tacos, Fried Eggs, Sausages, Avocado Relish, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
Dinner: Roasted Hot Dogs, Tomato Salad, Bloodshot Eye Devilled Eggs, Candy
Labels: Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Homesteading, Menu Plans, Quarantine, Tales from the Kitchen
Wednesday, October 21, 2020
Craft On: Qibli is Back in the Game
The slipper is still not finished, but is looking more the way I wanted it to, so I count that as a success. Now that the pick up rate is correct and the chart is more centered, I am hoping to have the pattern at my editor's in a week or so, and ready for you to beta knit them, if you want a chance to try these before they are available for sale.
Also, in case you missed it, Mozarab is now avilable on Knit Picks! I am so proud that they chose this design for their Serendipity: Luxury Knits collection, and pleased to be included with so many other wonderful designers.
My reading is still all over the place and I have been really distracted with work and pain (I managed to hurt my foot without knowing at all how, but it has been hurting for almost two weeks now). I picked up West From Home, which has been a fun read, and the children and I finished reading Mrs. Piggle Wiggle's Magic.
Linking to Keep Calm and Craft On and Unraveled Wednesday.
If you would like to receive updates and early notice of new patterns, beta knitting opportunities, and great discounts (plus pictures of new yarns, new tools, fun places, neat hints, book ideas, recipes and more) each month, please subscribe to 1,001 Knits. My best, and sometimes my only, discounts go to my subscribers.
Labels: Beta Knitting, Books, Design, Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Knitting, Patterns, WIP, Yarn Along
Sunday, October 18, 2020
Menu Plan: October 18 - 24
The real freezes have finally come. We are harvesting the last of our garden, and hoping to keep the cole crops going under plastic for a couple more weeks. Those beautiful eggplant up there produced even when our other eggplant struggled with our weird, and late and short summer this year.
We get to have our homeschool co-op potluck this week, and I am so excited. It is wonderful to have something else that approaches normal. Our godson's birthday is today, and I am trying to remember him in prayer more, and actually just to keep in touch more. We are not as good at that as we wish we were. I think I will invoke Saint Luke a little more to help all of us.
Speaking of prayer, I managed to either bruise my foot or sprain a tendon in it without realizing it, and it has been a week and a half of relative pain. If I stay on top of it with ibuprofen and tylenol, it is better, but I am not as good at that as I should be, and I just don't have a life that is conducive to staying off my foot. So, please keep me in your prayers - at least that I will remember to take the pain medication.
- Sunday - Feast of Saint Luke the Evangelist
Breakfast: Leftover Scalloped Potatoes and Fried Eggs, Leftover Pastries, Milk and Coffee
Dinner: Sausage, Roasted Pepper, Red Onion, Artichoke Heart, Olive and Feta Pizzas, Apple Pie - Monday
Breakfast: Zucchini Bread*, Sliced Melon, Milk and Coffee
Dinner: Rotini with Fresh Eggplant, Pepper, Tomato and Onion Sauce, Grapes - Tuesday
Breakfast: Peach Kefir, Toast, Sliced Melon, Grapes, Milk and Coffee
Dinner: Loco Moco*, Steam Sautéed Zucchini and Onions, Marinated Cucumbers and Onions, Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Watermelon - Wednesday
Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast with Honey, Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
Dinner: Baked Potatoes, Broccoli Cheese Sauce, Sour Cream, Salsa, Scallions, Pomegranates - Thursday
Breakfast: Steel Cut Oats with Cinnamon Sugar, Chopped Apples and Raisins, Milk and Coffee
Dinner: Sticky Asian Meatballs with Vegetable Ramen, Fruit Salad - Friday - Feast of Saint James of Jerusalem
Breakfast: Home Fries, Fried Eggs, Toast, Tea with Honey
Dinner: Puerto Rican Beans and Rice, Roasted Vegetable Flatbread - Saturday
Breakfast: Pancakes with Maple Syrup, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
Dinner: Manicotti with Squash and Sage, Tomato Sauce, Broiled Italian Sausages, Pepper and Tomato Salad, German Chocolate Cake
Labels: Birthday, Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Homesteading, Menu Plans, Quarantine, Tales from the Kitchen
Wednesday, October 14, 2020
Craft On: Mozarab
I really wanted to have a finished slipper to share with you this week, but life has been a bit overwhelming and exhausting lately. However, I do have a wonderful announcement, in that this hat pattern above, is now available on Knit Picks! I am so proud to be included in this lovely collection, and happy to be able to share it with you after NINE months of having to keep it a secret. This turban styled hat was inspired by the confluence of styles from Cordoba, Spain, under Moorish occupation between the 9th and 11th centuries. The Mozarabs were the Spaniards who adopted the culture and styles of the Moors. In fact, there are still Mozarab churches in Spain, with the liturgy in their language. The hat is knit, beginning with the band, and then picked up for the crown and decreases. It is sized from infant to extra large adult.
I'm not getting much reading finished, or done at all. We did finish Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and started Mrs. Piggle Wiggle's Magic.
Linking to Yarn Along, Keep Calm and Craft On, and Unraveled Wednesday.
If you would like to receive updates and early notice of new patterns, beta knitting opportunities, and great discounts (plus pictures of new yarns, new tools, fun places, neat hints, book ideas, recipes and more) each month, please subscribe to 1,001 Knits. My best, and sometimes my only, discounts go to my subscribers.
Labels: Books, Design, FOs, Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Knitting, Patterns, Yarn Along
Sunday, October 11, 2020
Menu Plan: October 11 - 17
Rich was able to go on his cousins' weekend again this year, which is great, but we are both glad to have him back home. I know it seems a little silly, but we miss each other so much when we are apart, and we try not to spend much time apart. We even miss each other when he is at work. I'm so glad that this year nothing significant seemed to break. Last year when he went away, we had a dangerous brake job that cost nearly $1000 the day he left, our washing machine broke, and something else went wrong that I cannot even remember. Anyway, now that he is back, he is going to finish off those vegetables up there to make them into his special hot sauce. He took a couple more days off so he could rest from his trip and we could do some things around the property, as well as take a day with a family we have missed very much during this shut down.
My surprise for him on his return was to make some Key Lime Pies, which he loves, using the macadamia nut flour I found at the Grocery Outlet and some dessicated coconut with butter and sugar for the crust. The Grocery Outlet also had bags of key limes, so I picked them up, as he had recently been talking about that pie. He has a surprise for me, too, but hasn't told me what it is yet. I had planned a more extensive dinner, but our fridge is so full of leftovers that I am going to just serve that for dinner, and we will celebrate with the dessert.
Our garden has been producing for us, finally, but we are going to start to have freezing nights every night at our house starting Wednesday night. So, Rich has the boys putting up a frame and plastic cover over the plants that are still ripening and producing to extend their life for us before the hard freezes come. Between the garden, our CSA (which will be delivering for the next three weeks), and the generous farmers where the boys go to help, we are inundated in good food and are enjoying sharing with others and putting up the food (like Rich's hot sauce) for winter and spring.
- Sunday
Breakfast: Swedish Cardamom Twists, Sausages, Sliced Apples, Milk and Coffee
Dinner: Leftovers, Key Lime Pie with Coconut Macadamia Crust and Chantilly Cream - Monday
Breakfast: Shakshouka, Toast, Milk and Coffee
Dinner: Lamb Harira, Shabboura*, Middle Eastern Chopped Salad, Sliced Watermelon - Tuesday - Feast of Saint Edward the Confessor
Breakfast: Steel Cut Oats with Saffron-Orange Flower Water Syrup, Apples and Dried Cherries, Milk and Coffee
Dinner: Leftovers, Key Lime Pie - Wednesday
Breakfast: Slow Cooker Rice Pudding with Pears and Craisins, Tea with Honey
Dinner: Tuna Casserole, Tomato Salad, Sliced Watermelon - Thursday
Breakfast: German Apple Pancake, Milk and Coffee
Dinner: Hot Dogs, Pan Roasted Summer Squash, Sliced Tomatoes, Sliced Melon - Friday
Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast with Honey, Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
Dinner: Penne with Tomato and Eggplant Sauce, Fruit Plate - Saturday
Breakfast: Pancakes with Maple Syrup, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
Dinner: Meatloaf, Scalloped Potatoes, Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Cranberry Pear Tart with Almond Cream
Labels: Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Homesteading, Menu Plans, Quarantine, Tales from the Kitchen
Sunday, October 04, 2020
Menu Plan: October 4 - 10
It is our last birthday of the birthday season this year. While Amira's, technically, was outside of this infernal restricted time, her party was to be held during that time, so even hers has been on restriction. All ten birthdays on restriction, with no end in sight. Alexander has a birthday this week (there he is all the way to the left in that photo). While he is still trying to find a job in his field (do you know of any aviation mechanic positions opening up with UPS, an FBO, an airline, test flights, anything?), glory to God in His saints, he has a job locally which provides some experience with a supervisor and a pay check. Please keep him and Dominic in your prayers that they would find steady work. Dominic is trying to make money to transfer to a university to study film, or conversely, get an internship with Metanoia Films or the Irwin Brothers or another film company like that. If you have leads for that, he would be in your debt.
Our schedule has been rough. Re-entry into "normal" work and school has been a challenge, so a lot of the things I wanted to make have ended up pushed off the list to another day. I will be trying to make the basbousa again this week, and to get the final recipe to you.
- Sunday - Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi
Breakfast: Cinnamon Rolls, Fried Eggs, Grapefruit Halves, Coffee and Milk
Dinner: Lasagna with Meat Sauce, Chopped Salad, Garlic Bread, Dessert Bars - Monday
Breakfast: Leftover Cinnamon Rolls, Sliced Cantaloupe, Milk and Coffee
Dinner: Stir Fried Vegetables, Chicken and Lemongrass Potstickers, Rice, Kale and Broccoli Salad with Sesame Dressing - Tuesday
Breakfast: Egg and Cheese Biscuit Sandwiches, Grapefruit Halves, Milk and Coffee
Dinner: Porchetta, Roasted Rutabagas, Squash and Onions, Italian Bread, Basbousa - Wednesday
Breakfast: Steel Cut Oats with Saffron-Orange Flower Water Syrup, Apples and Raisins, Tea with Honey
Dinner: Salmon Cakes, Sautéed Peppers, Summer Squash, Chard and Onions, Blistered, Salted Padron Peppers, Baked Potatoes, Fruit Plate - Thursday
Breakfast: Scrambled Egg and Cheese Burritos with Sour Cream, Sliced Watermelon, Milk and Coffee
Dinner: Macaroni and Cheese with Bacon, Roasted Squash, Autumnal Chocolate Cake - Friday
Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast with Honey, Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
Dinner: Egg Curry with Vegetables, Garlic Rice, Fruit Salad - Saturday
Breakfast: Dutch Baby Pancake, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
Dinner: Japanese Chicken Drumsticks, Rice, Sesame Green Beans, Cranberry Pear Tart with Almond Cream
Labels: Birthday, Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Governor Inslee Needs a Frozen Fish to the Forehead, Homemaking, Homesteading, Menu Plans, Quarantine, Tales from the Kitchen
