Habits Revisited

It's been 7 weeks today since I hurt my shoulder. They said it would take 6 to 8 weeks to heal. They were right. Who'd a thunk it? I still have a twinge now and again when I move my arm in certain directions but other than that I'm really doing well. I've started doing some upper body strengthening and am now walking every day for half an hour with my neighbor. We take HRH with us so we're not out for speed yet as she walks at a snail's pace. I'm hoping in the next week to move our walking time to 7:00 so I can sneak out before Rachel and Larry are awake. My neighbor and I haven't decided yet what we'll do when the weather goes south but hopefully by then the habit of walking every day will be established and we'll keep moving. Hopefully.

Speaking of habits, I've been really terrible with my writing habit. I think it's time to reestablish my writing goals and just get writing. I will start writing every day again.

I've done a lot of knitting in the last few weeks. Some good, some I'm not going to talk about.

Remember the knitted purse? I finally sewed it up today and got it on a giant pickle jar blocking. It's a giant CLEAN pickle jar mind you. Inigo is inspecting my work. I put in a flexible blocking wire to give the points more definition. I have to make a drawstring and a lining and it's done. I hope it doesn't take me another two months to get to that. This is going to be a Channukah gift so I really do want to finish it before then.
I also finished one half of a pair of socks for a Channuka gift. I got the second one cast on before I got bit with Second Sock Syndrome. Phew...
I am making myself another bag. It's a French Market Bag, knitted then felted(fulled.) I'm making it with Noro Iro. It's not my first choice for this yarn as it's expensive and has silk in it that won't felt well but I've had the yarn in my stash for over a year, I don't have enough to make a garment for myself, and I love the colors. So I might as well use it and make something I'll love and use often, no? As for the silk not felting, I'm not too worried. The bag is knitting up into a nice tight fabric and will be pretty sturdy with only a little fulling. However what I didn't take into account is the size. It's going to be larger simply because it won't shrink as much during it's round in the washing machine. But that's okay, everyone needs a large bag in which to carry things.









AND after the success of my knitted purse, above, I decided to have a go at knitting a larger lace project. It's a Revontuli shawl. Yes, the link takes you to a blog in Finnish. Eat your hearts out Kim and Jason. Revontuli in Finnish means Northern Lights. I'm knitting this up with Noro Kureyon Sock. I still think it looks like cat vomit but other experienced lace knitters keep telling me that it looks like it's supposed to, just keep knitting. The blocking will cure everything they tell me. The jury is still out but I'll take that first step in faith, thank you Dr. MLK Jr. This too will probably end up as a Channukah gift as I can't ever see myself wearing it and with kids and cats in the house, using as a lap shawl and leaving it on the sofa is completely out.

Yakira

Size and Scope

I'm feeling much better now. A huge relatively pain free hug to all my well wishers. Thank you.

Having spent two weeks with only one functional arm, that being my left and me being right handed, and then another week and a half with fairly limited use of said right arm, I learned a few things. Some of the things I learned were akin to the lessons I learned when I was busy having babies and taking care of toddlers; prioritization, lowering expectations, dealing with what is and not what I want it to be. And some things I learned were new; prioritization, lowering expectations, dealing with what is and not what I want it to be, and it's not as bad as I think it is, really.

I call it the Shrinky Dink theory. As a child I would take that magical polystyrene sheet and color and cut and bake and watch it shrink about 35%. I would stare through the oven window and watch it go through bizarre contortions as it writhed on the cookie sheet. There was always this fear that it would fold over on itself and be ruined forever. And sometimes it would require a second baking with a metal spatula pressing down on it to remove the last of the wrinkles. Oh, the anticipation, the awe, the agony! Finally the contortions would stop. Our shrunken piece of plastic could be attached to the key ring, neclace or zipper pull for which is was destined.

And so, it's not as bad as I think it is, really. It only took me a few days to get the kitchen back to normal and the laundry caught up. A few minutes of straightening up and a good sweeping and everything was back to it's relatively neat normal.

During my convalesence I spent time going through my stash (yarn weighs next to nothing,) organizing my patterns (binder and page protectors, and some .pdf files on the computer,) and putting my queue of holiday gifts together on Ravelry. I was able to do some knitting provided I only moved my wrist. A good thing too because I needed those endorphins!

I also read some books that I had aquired and wanted to look at. One of them was a cookbook on canning and preserving food. This is a skill that I wanted to learn one day. I decided that this was the figurtive day. The local fruit stands are selling peaches, cherries, plums, apricots, blueberries, strawberries and every other summer fruit at very reasonable prices. June Cleaver I am not, but I made a yummy mango raspberry jam and a cherry orange marmalade, both of which went into jars and into a water bath yesterday. Tomorrow I am going to make apple pie filling and peach butter. I would publish pictures but my oldest took my camera to document the last week of summer camp and her horrible five year old male charges. Also on my list is cherry berry jam, the berries being blue and straw, and apple butter. Yum.

Well at least I'll have a default Channuka gift if I don't get my knitting done.

Yay me.

Ouch

Just an update. I probably won't be writing for a few days. In the spirit of no good deed goes unpunished, in the process of doing some volunteer work for Girl Scouts I did something to my shoulder. I either sprained it badly, tore the ligaments, or tore my rotator cuff in my right shoulder. The x-ray showed that there was nothing wrong with my bones so I need an MRI and have to see an orthopedic specialist. Meanwhile percocet is your friend.

Yakira

Harvest!

Nothing beats fresh green beans! We harvested about three times this. We were eating them right off the vine. These are the only three that made it into the kitchen.

Yummy scallions. This is the last of that patch. I will trim these and throw them in omelets or something. If I don't eat them first. I've got one more harvest from the loose leaf lettuce and I'll dig that bed up and plant beets and collard greens.

Our fist zucchini! There are two more green ones that will be ready in a day or two. There are also three yellow ones that will be ready in two or three days. The acorn and spaghetti squash vines have started flowering and I expect to see fruit growing on those vines soon.

Look how well two of the tomato plants are doing. One vine has at least 4 tomatoes and the other has 5 that I could see with plenty more flowers on both. Amazing how well they do when planted next to the compost pile.

My only real disappointment is my romaine lettuce. It is supposed to form heads. It didn't. They decided to bolt. I think they got too much sun, because it hasn't been that hot yet here in Baltimore. Next year I will plant the romaine in a shadier spot in the garden. Truth is it's not too late to try that now. I will have to think about that. Meanwhile I am going to dig them up, salvage the leaves that aren't too bitter and harvest the rest of the loose leaf lettuce next to them.
This week's recipe is Mushroom Barley Soup.

1lb white mushrooms, sliced
1lb baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1 large onion, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 C barley
8 C vegetable broth, I like Trader Joe's
2Tbs olive oil
2Tbs butter
Salt and pepper to taste

In large soup kettle or stock pot saute onions and garlic in olive oil and butter until clear. Add mushrooms and cook for about 10 minutes or until mushrooms are cooked through. Pour in broth, add carrots and barley. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally and season to taste. I like to add a pinch of fresh chopped dill right before serving.

Soup in the summer you say? Try it, it's refreshingly light. This recipe is good for the crock pot too. I would suggest sauteing the onions and mushrooms first though.

Heading to the basement now. If you don't hear from me tomorrow, send a search team.

Yakira

Playing Tourist

Okay, so maybe his parents don't think I'm certifiable. We had a blast, and I was having too much fun to drag my knitting out. The funny thing is I shlepped it with me, I had a sock and a scarf in my little canvas bag. I tucked my wallet, phone and keys inside and off we went. I didn't pull it out once. Weird, I know.

And yes, that is the Stellar Bamboo Lace Scarf on the right. I did a few more inches and had too many mistakes to keep going. I frogged it and started over. It's a quick and easy knit so I'm not worried about finishing it.

The left is a sock I started a month ago, almost finished it and then frogged it. It's my first attempt at a toe-up sock. I realized a few weeks later that I had made a mistake on the heel wraps. I couldn't understand why I had to YO while I was bringing the old YO and stitch pairs back into the sock. It didn't make sense to increase stitches while I was trying to decrease. Had I read the pattern all the way through... And so, I didn't follow the advice of another knitter. At any rate I kept going and almost got to the cuff (it was supposed to be a knee-high) when I realized that I had forgot to increase needle size (twice) in the lace pattern to accomodate my chunky calves. And neither of my older daughters have stick-like calves so I couldn't even give the finished socks to them.

Larry and I were watching some show about alternate and parallel universes on the History Channel when I started ripping the sock. He stared dumbfounded as I tucked the toe of the sock under my hip and started winding it back into a ball. I told him my alternate, and evil self made me do it. I just happen to agree with the advice of Grumperina and her five favorite techniques. As funny as it sounds, unabashed ripping can feel good. I know when I start that pattern again, or find a different pattern for that yarn that it will turn out better than expected.

So what did we do in the lovey city of Baltimore with Larry's folks? We wandered around Inner Harbor and then took the Water Taxi to Fort McHenry. For those of you who don't know Fort McHenry is where Francis Scott Key wrote the National Anthem.









We got lucky on our timing too. It was a fee free weekend and we could not have ordered better weather!





















I think the really exciting part was the fact that they had reenactors in the uniforms of soldiers of the war of 1812. I love that geeky kind of stuff. They even fired the cannons, well one anyway.














Only two of my kids came with us. After looking at the pictures the other three wish they had come too.

Yakira

Visitors From the Windy City

Larry's folks arrive today. We're picking them up at the airport this afternoon. So of course we spent the last two days cleaning like mad. Housework is not my forte. I keep telling Larry I want my own housecleaning slave. His response is, "Yeah, I'll get right on that." Then he tells me, "It's not that you're bad at housework, you're really good as a matter of fact. You just don't do it often enough." I'm still trying to sort that one out. Anyway, the first floor is neat and tidy, and the upstairs bathroom is clean. We will shut the bedrooms' and basement doors.

Which brings me to my next project, the basement. I've got a Bar Mitzvah coming up this fall and I need to have a place to put people. On top of that I just want my living room back. Right now it's the office, playroom and TV central. I've been in the house three years and the only thing I've used the basement for is storage. Which is a shame because it's a nice sized, finished room. There is this path from the stairs to the laundry room, which reminds me of my bedroom growing up. Nuff said.

My goal is to turn the basement into a nice place to hang out. I want to bring the computers down there and set up an office space. I want to bring the TV and video game stuff down there too. There is a large area covered in linoleum. I want to set that up for crafts. It would be nice to have a dedicated area in this house for crafts and sewing. It would also be nice to have a place to play boardgames. So, for the sake of accountability I am going to document my progress here.

I started this Reversible cable and eyelet scarf from Luxury One Skein Wonders. I am less than thrilled. Usually cables aren't reversible, but they make the cables out of a 1x1 rib. Rather clever I thought, but at least to my eyes, not quite what I thought it would be. Now you should know that I did not use the yarn they suggested so that could play into it, but I'm still not impressed. Just for grins I did a few more inches and two more cable twists. Meh. I frogged it.

Instead I started the Stellar Bamboo Lace Scarf, from the same book. Again, I'm not using the yarn called for, and I added an extra repeat in the lace pattern. I'm liking this a lot more.

I wanted these pictures horizontal. I've no clue why Blogger turned them vertical. Blech.

Okay, quick run to the grocery store and off to the airport. Rachel has a date with Bubby to go swimming this afternoon, she'll be here in a few minutes to pick HRH up. And this evening Larry's folks are taking us out to dinner.

Yakira

Knitting With Kittens

That's MY yarn. Do you see how they're looking at me??

They're on crack.


Here are some new pictures of the garden. It's growing wonderfully. I can't wait to harvest! I'm already planning next year's garden. I should write a book, Gardening with ADD, or Learn to Wait Darnit!




So here is my squash bed. Back row is yellow and green zucchini. Two center mounds are spaghetti squash and the front three mounds are acorn squash.

Here is the lettuce and onion bed. The Romaine is forming nice heads. We've already had at least four harvests of the leaf lettuce. It's almost expired. Once the leaf lettuce and scallions on the left are done I will plant beets on that side of the plot.



This is one of the items I made from the yarn I purchased from Wendy Bernard of Knit and Tonic when she was having her grand destashing sale. The Rowan Damask in colorway Molasses, oh lovely green and gold/brown is a rayon, linen, acrylic blend. It is a It's a shame it's discontinued, it's a lovely yarn to work with. I still have 8 complete balls to work with, about 920 yards. I could make a lovely shawl, or a scarf or two, or a shell/tank top.... What to do, what to do.

The pattern is from Knitting Little Luxuries. It's a pretty little drawstring purse. I have some pale teal silk I dyed a few years ago that I will use to line the purse. It's about 6"x9". It's also my first attempt at lace. Not too shabby I say.









I also made a bonnet for Eden, my friend's new baby. She is adorable, and I don't often say that about newborns. This is the first time I've ever crocheted anything other than granny squares. Yay me.

There are a bunch more items going on needles in the next few weeks. However, I'm in a quandary. I want to show off my work but some of what I'm knitting are going to be holiday gifts. So here is what I'm going to do, I'm going to show the items, and talk about them but I'm not going to say if it's a gift, and I'm certainly not going to say for whom I'm making it.

Now about the The Scarlet Letter contest. My pattern is lovely but I think I overestimated my willingness to knit a garment in fingering weight yarn. To the non-knitters who read this blog, I'm knitting angel hair pasta on toothpicks. I like the pattern I've designed so I'm going to keep it but use a heavier yarn. Meanwhile I'm going to start over with my TSL pattern. I think I will go for fingerless gloves instead of a full hood with short cape attached. There are still a few weeks left so we will see.

Yakira