for mark

my FBiL* is obviously concerned about my long term career prospects. he commented yesterday that i am jeopardizing my vegetarian food blogger career by not taking photos of my delicious breakfasts.

i am pretty sure i am not going to switch from one low paying, high commitment job to another.... especially when my pictorial skills (and cooking skills!) are not near my two current favs.... 101 cookbooks and bittersweet.

but i will share a few pictures because i actually cooked (for real!) last night. above we have a mixed greens salad with avocado, blackberries, and blue cheese dressing.

to the right we have my "mac and cheese". it is composed of organic whole wheat penne pasta, tomatoes, and a cheese sauce composed of four cheeses and vegetable broth. the whole mixture is topped off with italian style breadcrumbs and a sprinkling of oregano.

delicious!

*FBiL = Fake Brother-in-Law

ghostbusters!

those who were alive and able to have a proper appreciation of the 1980s will notice straightaway that my latest project is the color of Slimer.

hot, huh?



Cross-Stitch Scarf
designed by Margaret Halas
published in 101 Designer One-Skein Wonders

knit in Manos del Uruguay (1 skein "Citric" 100% kettle dyed wool) from my stash on size US 10 1/2 bamboo needles.

started: december 16, 2007
finished: december 19, 2007

i love this yarn. i love this pattern. i can't wait to knit with manos again or to knit this scarf again in a variegated color as pictured in the book!

the pattern is very very simple, and the results (especially in a variegated yarn) look like you did a lot more work than you actually did. i made one slight modification to the pattern because the simplicity had one drawback.

this stitch is in the stockinette family, so the ends curl a bit where you cast on or bind off. to stop it, i worked one row of single crochet and one row of reverse single crochet (crab stitch to knitters) on each end. it helped a lot.

it is in the sink soaking for a good blocking right now. i think a thick and thin yarn like manos needs a good blocking to have nice selvage edges. i can't wait for this to dry so i can wear it!

ooh. and look! a rare kittything without her glasses photo. collect them all!

oh, bother

look! new and improved kittything! with spaces!

yes, that is correct. i have a working keyboard. a friend hooked me up because he couldn't stand 1. me whining about it. or 2. reading any of my electronic communications. the typos are hard enough to work through.

it has been one of those weeks... for a a while now. let us have a list.

1. this weekend my keyboard mysteriously broke without consulting me or giving visible signs of its distress.
2. whilst washing my face saturday night, i accidentally ripped out my nose stud. nice. work. genius. you paid someone to put metal in your face, the least you could do is remember it is there. (to be fair, it is so natural i just forget about it.)
3. i lost said nose stud for about 36 hours.
4. i burnt the heck out of my elbow sunday. yes.... my elbow. don't ask.
5. friday i was unceremoniously screamed at by a store owner for attempting to use my credit card for a $4.99 transaction (he later told me there was a $5 min.) and when i corrected the problem by just buying another diet coke (transaction now $5.67) he got even more angry!
6. i'm really poor. i hate waiting for the freelance gig paychecks to come in. they always seem to be 3 days after you want them.

all this leads me to my favourite song.

I'm just a little black rain cloud
hovering under the honey tree,
Only a little black rain cloud,
pay no attention to little me.

Everyone knows that a rain cloud
never eats honey, no, not a nip.
I'm just floating around over the ground,
wondering where I will drip.

thanks, poohbear.
i'm right there with ya buddy.

lest i seem all frowns and rain drops, let's do a good list.

1. my show is going very well. i like the cast, and i am having a good time with the director.
2. new keyboard.
3. while at the above mentioned show's tech i got a lot of knitting done. i have a baby sweater i just need to sew up! 90% knit at the theatre! go me.
4. i finished the first sleeve of my gathered pullover. i love the Ultra Alpaca. the color ("pea soup mix"!!) rocks.
5. i made a fantastic dinner tonight entirely unplanned and comprised of things found willy-nilly in my kitchen. it even had three different foods rather than a single all purpose dish!

to elaborate....

i made baked sweet potatoes, corn bread, and an awesome "throw in" soup. it was made from veggie broth, red bell peppers, collard greens, butternut squash stuffed ravioli, lots of fresh garlic, and assorted herbs. it rocked.

i wish i had taken a picture of the soup because the color was lovely. oh, and knitting pictures soon!



image from Discovery Education. you rock the schoolhouse!

swoon!

so i thought the little skull ring i posted about a few days ago was cool....

(and it still is!)

and then the same jeweler posted The Big Skull Ring. you need to click the picture of the person wearing it to really "get" the scale. they say they make it any size.... i think they don't mean for 5.5, however.

but i can dream.

i can also dream of one day being as awesome as wendy. not only does she have an adorable cat, knits like a genius, and is a good knitwear designer to boot.... now she is freaking making challah! and that makes me want to cry a little.

i have an extreme weakness for challah.
and it makes no sense! i didn't grow up with it. no one in my family makes it (that i can recall) and i honestly cannot say when i first had it, but boy hoo! i was hooked.

i can eat an entire loaf.

by myself.

in one sitting.

and if it has been around for a day or so and gets turned into french toast, hold on to your hat. i will eat the french toast until i am full. and then i will have one more piece. and if it is a small "one more" piece, i might have to go back again. then i feel sick, but i don't mind because it is that freaking good.

not really, but sometimes.

every so often i sit and wish i was a man. never for any good reason, and i certainly am happy to be a gal (even with everything that comes along with that).

this week i found 3 reasons why it is great to be a guy.... or at least a woman who is bigger than me (i'm around 5'5" and almost a buck 25).

1. wingtips with skull design in the toe. i love! sadly, with this one i would need to be both a man and a rich one at that if i wanted to wear these babies.

2. Jodi Greene's sweater design Durrow.... entirely drool worthy and an impossible (well, more like just improbable) dream since the smallest size is almost 8 inches bigger than me. i may need to work on converting my father to sweater wearing. but look at those cabled sleeves! ah, me!

3. Rowan's newest beautiful offering... Knitting for Him: 27 Classic Projects to Keep Him Warm. there is argyle in this book that breaks my heart and cardigans that makes me want to cry with jealously. when BossLady asked me if the book is really that good, i told her it is good enough to make me reconsider my anti-marriage position. (or again with the retraining of my father to be a sweater wearer.)

these things plus the ability to open jars and not get cat-called on the street... ahh, perchance to dream!