Protein and yarn
The past several days I've had this insatiable craving for protein! Friday night I made some yummy chicken sausage pizza using left of Trader Joe's Vodka Spaghetti sauce sans cheese, by the way, this is an excellent combinations. I picked at the sausage, and greedily snagged more sausage pieces to top off my slices. The next day I woke up craving eggs. As soon as I was conscious all I could think about was frying up some eggs over easy. That night I scarfed down some veggie and tofu stir fry, again, greedily taking a lot more tofu than veggies. Still not satisfied after the meal, I popped a chicken sausage into the microwave. Sunday morning I resisted having eggs again, so was left with only having coffee to read with the paper. The entire time all I wanted was a big juicy Red Mill Burger. I convinced my sweetie that we needed to go get some. We got the Phinney Ridge location at 11:30, a whole half hour before they opened. I was coaxed into strolling around the neighborhood until it opened. Good thing I gave in because we walked by Fiber Gallery, or is it Fiber Art Gallery? We perused the store for about ten minutes seeing what they offered in way of yarn. Lots of nice stuff: the usual Cascade, Brown Sheep supplies, and some other fancy stuff. They carried something called recycled silk from Tibet. The texture was like burlap, not smooth and sensual like silk at ll. The store is very spacious and bright, I like that. A good location with plenty of parking.
Okay, back to the meat (ha ha) of my story. We got back to the burger joint right at noon and alreay a line had formed. This queue extended out the front door: the burgers are that good. Hubby graciously volunteered to stand in line and do the ordering so I could snag one of the few in door tables. Twenty minutes later I had in front of me the Verde Burger, a grilled burger topped with roasted Anaheim peppers. I took my time to savor every bite because we try to limit our burger outings to once a month. It's taken us a while to go through the whole menu and I can recommend almost everything on the menu except for the veggie burger. Come on, it's a burger joint after all. Finally, I satisfied my weekend long craving. We went home and I took a long nap. Perfect weekend ending.
11.10.04
8.10.04
What a crock...
crockpot, that is. I just acquired a crockpot. It's all the rage these days. Well, at least in my neck of the woods. Bring back the seventies! This will save me lots of time during the week, which I can spend knitting. Throw in your ingredients, close the lid, turn it on, and go to work. What ingenuity! I want to test it out this weekend with a Beef Bourgogne recipe. I'm sure you've seen those "crockpot helpers" in stores, but really isn't the whole idea of crockpot cooking is that you leave it to slow cook for half the day? It sounds like an oxymoron to have a crockpot helper.
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The tartan sleeve needs a little bit of tweaking. It calls for knitting up to 19 1/2 inches before the sleeve cap shaping. Last time I checked, only monkeys had arms that long! And the cap is too short, it will need to be altered to fit the armhole. I plan put more rows in between the decreases. This should elongate the sleeve cap to fit the armhole. Usually my patience would wear thin with having to make alterations to the sleeves, and to the body pieces that I haven't mentioned before, but the stitches are so large it's not all that inconvenient to frog and reknit.
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What I did before I took knitting seriously.
I got to the point where I was experimenting with mixing my own glaze color. It's hard these days to keep up with two hobbies that are so time consuming. Throwing pottery, if you've never tried it, is very therapeutic. Focusing all your energy into centering the clay is a form of meditation. Mentally and physically you must toss everything out to concentrate solely on what is in front of you. On the other hand, pulling a handle can be quite embarrassing if you are doing it for the first time, or if your instructor is showing you how to do it...you just have to see to understand. I know, I know, I have a filthy mind.
crockpot, that is. I just acquired a crockpot. It's all the rage these days. Well, at least in my neck of the woods. Bring back the seventies! This will save me lots of time during the week, which I can spend knitting. Throw in your ingredients, close the lid, turn it on, and go to work. What ingenuity! I want to test it out this weekend with a Beef Bourgogne recipe. I'm sure you've seen those "crockpot helpers" in stores, but really isn't the whole idea of crockpot cooking is that you leave it to slow cook for half the day? It sounds like an oxymoron to have a crockpot helper.
The tartan sleeve needs a little bit of tweaking. It calls for knitting up to 19 1/2 inches before the sleeve cap shaping. Last time I checked, only monkeys had arms that long! And the cap is too short, it will need to be altered to fit the armhole. I plan put more rows in between the decreases. This should elongate the sleeve cap to fit the armhole. Usually my patience would wear thin with having to make alterations to the sleeves, and to the body pieces that I haven't mentioned before, but the stitches are so large it's not all that inconvenient to frog and reknit.
What I did before I took knitting seriously.
I got to the point where I was experimenting with mixing my own glaze color. It's hard these days to keep up with two hobbies that are so time consuming. Throwing pottery, if you've never tried it, is very therapeutic. Focusing all your energy into centering the clay is a form of meditation. Mentally and physically you must toss everything out to concentrate solely on what is in front of you. On the other hand, pulling a handle can be quite embarrassing if you are doing it for the first time, or if your instructor is showing you how to do it...you just have to see to understand. I know, I know, I have a filthy mind.
7.10.04
The instructions for the sleeves of the tartan jacket says to make the two exactly the same. Normally this is fine, but the vertical part of the tartan pattern is intentionally off center. When worn it will look different, as noted in the directions. I'm thinking of knitting the sleeves so that it will look symmetrical when worn. Since their is only one vertical color on the sleeve and it's the same color I don't think it would look bad at all. Why did she do this? I'm not following. With the two front pieces I see why she would design the vertical color combination differently. Hmmm?
6.10.04
Ich eine Fahrkarte wurde kaufen
I don't think that is the proper German grammar structure, but what do I know. I bought my ticket to Germany. Now I'll have to go no matter how my friend's employment situation shakes out. We've delayed the purchase all Summer and now I just bought it. She promises me that she will be there no matter what her situation. This is how it works: I hesitate on purchasing my ticket because she had a few potentials opportunities lined up, and as soon as I buy the ticket she gets an interview. After an initial call about a really good job right up her alley the potential employer promises to call back with answers to some of her questions. She waits for days and days and hear nothing from them but as soon as I confirm my flight, after waiting and waiting for her to hear something, she gets the call to interview later this week. I told her I should have bought the ticket earlier and way she wouldn't have had to wait so long to hear back! It'll be the Christmas Market in Bonn and New Year's celebration in Frankfurt!! Plus trips in between to visit her friends and family. Also, it's an opportunity to load up on giant size Milka bars, Ritter Sport, Kinder Surprise, and Haribo! Yeah, it's all about the candy.
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The other night I was too tired to prepare a real meal so I broke out the insta-soup to fill my stomach. Usually I don't buy this stuff because it is load with sodium, but this one had less than 10% of the daily value. Plus, the packaging touted that it has only 5.5 grams of carbs. Not that I'm into the whole low carb thing.
And this is why it's only 5.5 grams...ain't nothin' there.
Ha! This is the "vegetable" packet.
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Lookie, another piece done.
I don't think that is the proper German grammar structure, but what do I know. I bought my ticket to Germany. Now I'll have to go no matter how my friend's employment situation shakes out. We've delayed the purchase all Summer and now I just bought it. She promises me that she will be there no matter what her situation. This is how it works: I hesitate on purchasing my ticket because she had a few potentials opportunities lined up, and as soon as I buy the ticket she gets an interview. After an initial call about a really good job right up her alley the potential employer promises to call back with answers to some of her questions. She waits for days and days and hear nothing from them but as soon as I confirm my flight, after waiting and waiting for her to hear something, she gets the call to interview later this week. I told her I should have bought the ticket earlier and way she wouldn't have had to wait so long to hear back! It'll be the Christmas Market in Bonn and New Year's celebration in Frankfurt!! Plus trips in between to visit her friends and family. Also, it's an opportunity to load up on giant size Milka bars, Ritter Sport, Kinder Surprise, and Haribo! Yeah, it's all about the candy.
The other night I was too tired to prepare a real meal so I broke out the insta-soup to fill my stomach. Usually I don't buy this stuff because it is load with sodium, but this one had less than 10% of the daily value. Plus, the packaging touted that it has only 5.5 grams of carbs. Not that I'm into the whole low carb thing.
And this is why it's only 5.5 grams...ain't nothin' there.
Ha! This is the "vegetable" packet.
Lookie, another piece done.
4.10.04
Good Weekend
Haven't been able to say that in a while. Usually the weekends are pissed away by my indolence and lack of motivation. However, this weekend I got out and I spent money (spending money on oneself is always fun!!) like a good little conspicuous consumer that I am, and I made tons of progress on the tartan jacket. Also, I came to the conclusion that the Vittadini Eyelet Sweater is a complete failure. I can't fit into the sleeves/armholes; the pattern design is not the typical raglan sleeve design making it a little bit complicated to piece together. The sweater will have to be frogged and reworked completely, or I can just give up, but like they say third time is a charm.
Bad!*
Good!*
I spent more than several hours at the mall making myself feel better. Ponchos, ponchos, and more ponchos everywhere you look. You couldn't get away from them. And let's not forget about the capelets next to all those ponchos. Yes, it's been a while since I've been to the mall. At Nordstrom I saw this capelet that looks way too easy to make, so spending $88 for it is not justifiable! For my size I would say that it's 40" wide, knit in garter stitch for 10" or 12", then decrease every 3" or so inches, knit for another 2" or 3" and decrease at every 3" interval again, continue to knit an inch, and then do the rib knitting for 2" and cast off. Those mongo buttons are crotcheted, not sure if they are stuffed on the inside or not. I imagine ties, i-cords or satiny ribbons, would look just as nice.
The stairs regimen is going well, though I should be doing them more often during the week. My record is seven times up and down about 120 steps. Today I went up and down six times plus a few extra steps. I hate that dreaded feeling after work where you know you should go and exercise, but love that high you get after a good work out. It's a combination of exhaustion and euphoria. Exercise: good for what ails ya'.
Good news for some in the science world today. I suppose it's okay to have a bit of reflect glory even if the assocation is a very minor one. Hey, you can't rise to the top without a good foundation, and I consider myself part of that foundation. Good excuse to pop the champagne cork and throw a party.
*I take really shitty pictures. I only have myself to blame because my camera is very snazzy and has lots of fancy professional photog settings that I am not utilizing. Er, in other words, I don't know how to use my camera. The instruction manual is too dang thick to read through!
Haven't been able to say that in a while. Usually the weekends are pissed away by my indolence and lack of motivation. However, this weekend I got out and I spent money (spending money on oneself is always fun!!) like a good little conspicuous consumer that I am, and I made tons of progress on the tartan jacket. Also, I came to the conclusion that the Vittadini Eyelet Sweater is a complete failure. I can't fit into the sleeves/armholes; the pattern design is not the typical raglan sleeve design making it a little bit complicated to piece together. The sweater will have to be frogged and reworked completely, or I can just give up, but like they say third time is a charm.
Bad!*
Good!*
I spent more than several hours at the mall making myself feel better. Ponchos, ponchos, and more ponchos everywhere you look. You couldn't get away from them. And let's not forget about the capelets next to all those ponchos. Yes, it's been a while since I've been to the mall. At Nordstrom I saw this capelet that looks way too easy to make, so spending $88 for it is not justifiable! For my size I would say that it's 40" wide, knit in garter stitch for 10" or 12", then decrease every 3" or so inches, knit for another 2" or 3" and decrease at every 3" interval again, continue to knit an inch, and then do the rib knitting for 2" and cast off. Those mongo buttons are crotcheted, not sure if they are stuffed on the inside or not. I imagine ties, i-cords or satiny ribbons, would look just as nice.
The stairs regimen is going well, though I should be doing them more often during the week. My record is seven times up and down about 120 steps. Today I went up and down six times plus a few extra steps. I hate that dreaded feeling after work where you know you should go and exercise, but love that high you get after a good work out. It's a combination of exhaustion and euphoria. Exercise: good for what ails ya'.
Good news for some in the science world today. I suppose it's okay to have a bit of reflect glory even if the assocation is a very minor one. Hey, you can't rise to the top without a good foundation, and I consider myself part of that foundation. Good excuse to pop the champagne cork and throw a party.
*I take really shitty pictures. I only have myself to blame because my camera is very snazzy and has lots of fancy professional photog settings that I am not utilizing. Er, in other words, I don't know how to use my camera. The instruction manual is too dang thick to read through!
1.10.04
Letting off some steam
She's not mad, she's just letting off some steam. People have been waiting all week for this to happen. It's more like a sigh compared to two decades ago. I wasn't here when she blew her top. We missed it by six months. I think we were in Malaysia waiting to come here. My brother was here and he remembers that it was like a snow storm that covered the entire state. Schools were close; kids ran around outside as grey ashy flakes fell from the sky. They played in the stuff like it was snow.
She's not mad, she's just letting off some steam. People have been waiting all week for this to happen. It's more like a sigh compared to two decades ago. I wasn't here when she blew her top. We missed it by six months. I think we were in Malaysia waiting to come here. My brother was here and he remembers that it was like a snow storm that covered the entire state. Schools were close; kids ran around outside as grey ashy flakes fell from the sky. They played in the stuff like it was snow.