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Tuesday, February 25, 2025

Craft On: Socks for Giants and Small Sweaters (and a Sale!)

No new finishes on my projects this week, though I have finished two books. I'm working on an adult men's size 10.5 foot pair of slipper socks. They are huge! I keep making Rich try them on, because I am sure they are too big.

Also, I am nearly finished with the body on Amelia's sweater. This weekend should be the end of that, and I hope the beginning of the sleeves. I may cast on a tiny pair of socks for Madelyn, too.

This past weekend, I was able to take a trip with a sit and stitch friend down to Hermiston for a new fiber festival. We didn't take any classes, but we did shop and talk with the other knitters and crocheters there. It was super fun, and we even ran into some friends from our local yarn shop who drove down, too.

For the past several years, I have been super strict about buying yarn. However, both souvenir yarn and fiber festivals are my major exceptions. So, you can see that I enjoyed that this past weekend. There are even two more skeins coming my way, because the dyer had sold out of the color I was looking for, and she is sending them to me!

One more thing! In honor of Malabrigo March, between now and the end of the day March 5, 2025 (PST), all of my individually sold patterns are 25% off with the coupon code malmarch25 on both PayHip and Ravelry. However, if you choose one of the 16 patterns (search on Ravelry or look at the bundle on PayHip) I have designed specifically using Malabrigo yarn, and use the code malmarch30, you will receive 30% off of those!

I have finished Baked Alaska and the kids and I finished Pride and Prejudice. We are watching the 1995 miniseries, the best film version, in my opinion. Even with more missing from the story than the 1980s one, and some of the changes in order and perspective. It captures the spirit of the story better, and is still believable as that period of time. The actors in the execrable 2000s film were never believable as their characters. They were always the actors. We need to decide on our next book, and I will return to my other reading, as well. I think there is a good chance I can read a little in The Dress Doctor tonight, at least.


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.

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Any time you click on a book link, it gives me the opportunity to earn a few cents for our family.

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Sunday, February 23, 2025

Menu Plan: Sexagesima

It is now Sexagesima Sunday, which just means sixty and refers to the fact that we are within about 60 days of the end of the feast. It is with excitement that we greet Lent, however, even if it is a challenge. This year, especially, as we fast and celebrate East and West together, gives another dimension to the joy of the struggle.

I wrote this last year, but neither Rich nor I grew up with this pattern of fasting and feasting (though with my Muslim upbringing, it was more familiar to me - just with one month of fasting, rather than three seasons of it and a biweekly observance), but now we cannot imagine our lives without it. What is foreign to us now is the idea that our every day, week, month, year, would not be marked by a remembrance of the events in Christ's life. Even though all of us are aware that doing so is not the norm for most Americans, or people in the West, it is always a surprise to the kids when they find that people are eating meat on a Wednesday or Friday, or when they wish someone a Merry Christmas or Happy Easter the day after the feast and have someone answer that it is over. It is a poverty that they don't mark the time this way, and for all the challenges the fasting and feasting can bring, it is such a gift to us, that we can make even what we put in our mouths part of our devotion and worship of God. It imbues meal times, weekly scheduling, all of it, with the spiritual. It is hard and good - perhaps more good because it is sometimes hard.

It is like the Old Testament admonitions in Exodus and Joshua to do something specifically so your children will ask why and what it means. Talking about Wednesdays, Fridays, Advent and Lent, and why we eat differently then, brings the conversations up about Jesus, His betrayal, His Crucifixion, His Incarnation, His Resurrection. It makes every moment of our lives tied to the life of the Church and the life of Christ. In truth, I am sad for Christians who don't do this out of a mistaken aversion to following rules.

Again, the Lenten "rule" is for each of us and not something to advertise or hammer over someone else's head. It isn't a sin to neglect the fast, so much as it is a pity. It means we won't be so prepared. My hope is that our menu plans and the recipes I share help others get ideas and perhaps be encouraged in their struggle. Above all, I pray that you take advantage of these exercises God grants us through His Church.

This past week, things were moved around a bit, so I shifted the lengua tacos to this week. We are still eating much from our freezers, and trying to use up more meat and dairy so we won't have that much left out of our freezers by next week. We are running out of time to eat our dairy and egg and other treats.

We are finally warming up again here, by which I mean that it is now in the 40s during the day. I'll take it. As we will be home this year, we can have our doughnut night again next week, after skipping it last year, which brings everyone great joy.

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up on Saturday.

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Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Craft On: All But the Ends

I finished Rich's mitten, and all I have left to do on the knitting part of these is to weave in ends and block. All, I say. The pattern is still mostly in scrawls, so that is my next task.

Rich has the house and kids all himself this Saturday, as I am heading out on a trip to a new fiber festival in our area. One of my friends from my sit and stitch and her daughter and I will be driving down for the day and seeing what there is to see and shopping. I anticipate quite a lot of knitting time for Amelia's sweater, in the car and while we are there, too. Although I do plan on purchasing yarn there, I'm going to try to keep in mind what I actually use the most of while shopping, which should restrain me a bit.

Between then and now I will be writing up this pattern to get it to my technical editor, and also finishing another design, for men, that I've been knitting for a friend of ours. I thought it would be a great freebie for my newsletter subscribers, since the one I intended for this year is taking me a bit longer than anticipated. It is a pair of toe up, thick, men's boot or slipper socks with a heel that works in both directions, and some interest on the cuff. It will be available in four sizes, from men's small to extra-large, and can be knit quickly, which is a plus when making men's items! If you are interested in getting this pattern for free, exclusively through next year, please sign up for my newsletter with the link below. If you already subscribe, you will see a note about this soon.

After finishing these projects, I will likely still be working on Nafas (and will just shift that to next year's newsletter bonus), and plan on starting a tiny pair of socks for Madelyn, and two projects for Malabrigo March. One is a design, that I have had on my mind for a long time, and the other is a jacket I have also wanted to make in forever. The hat will be in Arroyo in Matisse Blue and Sunset, and the jacket will be in Rios in Aniversario, a particularly magenta version. The jacket is definitely for me, but I am not sure if I will keep the hat or offer it as a gift.

Except for a couple paragraphs, I haven't even read out of Baked Alaska. We are nearly finished with Pride and Prejudice, though.


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.

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Any time you click on a book link, it gives me the opportunity to earn a few cents for our family.

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Sunday, February 16, 2025

Menu Plan: Septuagesima

This is Septuagesima Sunday, the 70th day before the final day of the Paschal Octave. We are now in the countdown to Lent, Holy Week, and the Paschal feast.

Jerome said something this past week which I hadn't thought about before, that perhaps because he had grown up with the pattern of fasting and feasting of the Church year, that he didn't find the Lenten fast as challenging, it was more like a long Wednesday. There is something to that, though it is the spiritual exercise that is the hardest part. The food is a tool, not the point of what we do.

Even though the "rule" is for each of us and not something to advertise or hammer over someone else's head, I share our meal plans and how we eat to help others get ideas and perhaps be encouraged when the struggle is too difficult. If you already keep the fast, I hope you can grow in it even more, and if you don't, I pray that you take advantage of these exercises God grants us through His Church. In the intervening weeks, we are scaling back the celebratory foods, meat and dairy, and getting ready for the fast. We are using what we have in our freezers and pantry, for the most part, too, so we will have room for all the feasting foods at the end of the fast.

Our church family is really taking care of us and they are providing the dinner for Sunday, which is a huge gift to me. Usually, I do not get much rest on a Sunday, and this permits me to do so. This week also has a tiny break in it, and we are taking it. It's been frigid and a bit difficult time here, and I need the respite - I think we all do. We are supposed to warm up to the 40s this week, and I cannot be more grateful for it. Spring cannot come soon enough for me.

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up on Saturday.

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Saturday, February 15, 2025

Recipe Round Up: Tartar Sauce and Cocktail Sauce

Tartar Sauce

Tartar sauce is so easy to make, and is really so much better than the gloppy stuff you get in a jar. If you make this, you will likely never go back to the premade version.

1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
1 cup finely chopped dill pickles
1/4 cup finely minced shallot or red onion
1/4 cup chopped capers
1/4 cup fresh dill, minced
1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
4 cloves garlic, minced
juice of one lemon
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
salt and pepper, to taste

Mix all of this in a bowl or a jar, and serve.

Cocktail Sauce

Again, this is so simple, and really delicious.

1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup prepared horseradish
2 cloves garlic, minced
juice of one lemon
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
salt, to taste

Mix in a bowl or jar, and serve.

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Wednesday, February 12, 2025

Craft On: Unfinished Business

Please remind me that I will not remember what my scribbles and cross outs meant the next time I want to put off writing a pattern in my template. I have spent nearly two weeks on something that should have taken two or three days, and on top of that, I still have to decipher the pattern into intelligible English for others to use. But, the knitting is nearly finished, and I do love the project. Since Rich is my normal photographer, we have to figure out how we are going to take modeled shots of this mitten trio. Any suggestions?

Rich asked if I thought I would have these finished and blocked by our Valentine's date. It's slightly possible, but unlikely. However, I would love to be able to wear them out as we walk, and I love that he was looking forward to that.

So, I haven't read much in The Dress Doctor at all. We ended up with a rather challenging, busy, going everywhere kind of week. This hasn't been great for my read a real book at night plan. I finished Très Lèches and started the next one in the series, Baked Alaska. I have a kind of morbid curiosity with these books. We are more than halfway though Pride and Prejudice, and it is delightful sharing the humor and revelation with my kids. I do not think I will read Lady Susan to them, though if they want to read it, that will be their choice.


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.

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Any time you click on a book link, it gives me the opportunity to earn a few cents for our family.

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Sunday, February 09, 2025

Menu Plan: February 9 - 15

We are in a brief respite of ordinary time - no major fasts or feasts. We are approaching Lent, in about a month, but for now are living in what is the normal, quotidian, routine. There is a little feast for Saint Valentine in the west this week, but as it is a Friday and Rich and I don't want to bother with breaking the fast or fitting in with the crowds, we think we will go out on a different day instead. There is a new Indian restaurant in town, and aside from wanting to try it, anyway (we've heard excellent things about the food there), we want to give as many immigrant and minority businesses our money right now.

This week's menu is making use of our freezer supplies, pantry stash, as well as the produce we have found on sale. There is a lot going on this week, and we had to switch this Saturday's dinner with last Saturday's, because the kids are making it. There's a certain aptness to serving German Sausage and a Middle Eastern Cake on that day. At least, in our house, there is.

This is one of the coldest weeks of the year, and we are getting through it as best we can. I am rooting for the spring and sunshine with all my might.

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up on Saturday.

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Wednesday, February 05, 2025

Craft On: Moving Right Along

I made quite a bit of progress on Amelia's sweater this weekend. It has been set aside until this upcoming weekend, while I work on Nafas and Basbousa during the week. The socks are still only in the cast on phase. This scarf is taking me a longer time to make than I anticipated. In some ways, this is fitting. Nafas means self in Arabic, but it comes with a sense of dignity and honor. I am meditating on that sense as I knit. There are a lot of interesting parts to this design, but most of it is relatively meditative and allows deep thought. Oh, and don't be fooled by that picture. That is a 40 inch needle with about 400 stitches on it, all bunched.

I have finished You Are Peter and wanted to get into another non-fiction book. I have a lot to say about this little book, and I think I will give a further review or summary later. Today, I am starting with The Dress Doctor, written largely by one of my favorite designers, Edith Head. I'm trying to do reading from real, physical books at night. I also started the next in my most recent mystery series, Très Lèches. We are about a third of the way though Pride and Prejudice, which goes at such a quick pace because of all the humor in 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.

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Any time you click on a book link, it gives me the opportunity to earn a few cents for our family.

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Sunday, February 02, 2025

Menu Plan: Feast of the Purification and the Presentation

Today is the last feast of the Infancy Narrative of the Incarnation. It is the feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Presentation of the Infant Jesus in the Temple. It is the close of the Christmas season. From now on, all of our feasts and fasts will have to do with His adult life or glorified life in the heavens. It is the day that the Blessed Mother would have come back to be ritually cleansed from childbirth and brought back into the life of corporate worship, and the day that Jesus would be presented and "bought back" as the first born son who opened the womb. This practice is preserved in the Church today, through the service of the Churching of Women (which is still found in all Anglican traditions, as well). In the East, both Orthodox and Catholic, it is the teaching for women to rest at home with their babies for the first 40 days, to heal, to care for their babies, and to be served. On the 40th day, they are brought back into the church for prayers and blessings, and it is common to perform the baptism for the baby that day.

It is the day of the prophecies of both Saints Anna and Simeon, and so is also called the Meeting of Our Lord in the Temple. It is a fitting conclusion to the Nativity season. We do not have the words of Saint Anna, only that she spoke of Him to all were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. Clearly, she knew who Jesus was. I love how they both recognized the Lord immediately on seeing Him.

The Church teaches us that Saint Simeon was a scribe, and that in his work as a scribe he attempted to "correct" the Isaiah passage which prophecies of the virgin birth, since no person could be born that way. In the moment that he tried to scrape out the word virgin and change it to wife, he noticed that his hand was being held back by an angel. That angel whispered to him that he, himself, would see its fulfillment before he died. Saint Simeon spent the rest of his life waiting to see this fulfillment. Because of this, we have not only Saint Simeon's words of prophecy, but we pray his prayer every night at evening prayer:

Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word! For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people, a light to enlighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel.

This year, we have a bit of time between the end of Christmas and the beginning of the countdown to Lent. There are two weeks before Septuagesima! This gives us a bit of time to have normal time before the fast begins. I must admit that I am looking forward to that time of fasting, though. It is always a time of growth, though sometimes not in the direction I thought it would be.

Again, I thank you for your prayers and ask for yours. We have had a lot of friends lose their fathers in the past two weeks. It is that time of our life. Having lost Rich's father over 12 years ago, we know the sorrow they are enduring, and we do not look forward to losing the rest of our parents. It's been a sobering time because of that. Please pray for us, but also pray for our extended family.

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up on Saturday.

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Saturday, February 01, 2025

Recipe Round Up: Lengua Tacos

Now, listen, I know "weird" meats are a thing for people, but these are delicious. I never advise lying to people about what you are feeding them, but encourage folks to have an open mind because tongue, heart, and cheek meat are just muscle. They are inexpensive and delicious. Right now, inexpensive meat is a great thing. Also, beef tongue makes the best corned beef and pastrami, if you are into making your own charcuterie. This is how much I make for our family, which even smaller than it was, is still larger than most families, so you may want to cut this in half. Or not, and put the leftovers in the freezer for a night when you want tacos and don't have time. You can leave out the hot peppers if you don't like them, but they are tasty and don't add a lot of heat. Conversely, you could use a pepper like a poblano or two Anaheims, rather than jalapeños or serranos. I like to serve these with ranchero beans or black beans or refried beans, and salsa rice or Mexican rice. We like to serve fruit with most meals, so some sliced oranges or pineapple chunks (fresh or canned or thawed from frozen) or mandarin oranges or mango cubes. If you want to be really fancy, you can make Strawberry Mango Salad (which is really like dessert).

2 beef tongues
1 onion, peeled and cut into four pieces
6 cloves of garlic
2 hot peppers, stems removed
generous amount of salt and pepper
finely chopped onion, to serve
finely chopped cilantro, to serve
diced avocado, to serve
salsa or pico de gallo, to serve
crema, to serve
limes, quartered, to serve

Place the onion, garlic, and peppers in the bottom of the crockpot and place the beef tongues over the top. Season generously with salt and pepper, and cook it on high for 4 to 5 hours.

Remove the beef tongues to a cutting board. Peel off the skin and discard (or feed your poultry), chop it all up put the meat back in the pot with the garlic and onions and peppers. Stir everything around a bit to get the juices and the onions mixed up, and tear up the peppers if you have them in there.

Serve with any of the toppings you like. Shredded cabbage is more authentic than salad greens or lettuce, but use what you have. Enjoy!

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