Lovely Duckling

I've Moved!

2009-09-14T19:42:00.002-05:00

Although I'm not deleting this blog (I can't bear to lose the posts about Max), I have started a new one on Wordpress.

Please follow me over there, and comment freely!

wmcurella.wordpress.com

6 Months!!

2009-08-28T13:35:00.007-05:00

Six months ago, at a castle on a hill in a village in the French Alps, Flavio asked me to marry him. It's been a very L O N G six months. But it also marks the halfway point of our journey! (Because if he doesn't have his visa by February, I'm giving the finger to USCIS and moving to Italy.) It's taken half a year, but I'm finally starting to feel like a bride. Why? Because I started my registry! We're registered at Target, and although there aren't a ton of things we need (please, NO MUGS!!), we have found a few things that would be nice to have.

I think my mom is really getting into her role as mother-of-the-bride (and also mother-of-the-groom, because my brother is getting married in May!), because the day after I set up the registry, she went out and bought us two of the things on it. We have pots & pans now!! If you followed my flurry of tweets on Monday, then you know that while I have 31 mugs and 5 springform pans, I didn't have any cookware. What I didn't mention on Twitter was that this wasn't an accident--I've been looking for the perfect cookware for the past 5 years! Do you have any idea how hard it is to find stainless steel, copper-bottom cookware with glass lids at a reasonable price? I finally found two sets--in the same week, and both at Target, actually--one by Paula Deen, the other by T-Fal. I chose the Paula Deen set for 3 reasons: insulated handles, nonstick interiors on the skillets, and full-copper bottoms (the T-Fal just had weird copper squiggles). After inspecting (okay, playing with) them last night, I definitely made the right choice. They're heavy and solid and beautiful. And her story on the box--about designing stainless steel, copper-bottom cookware because that's what her mother used when she was growing up--made me cry, because it's exactly why I was looking for them.

Choosing the things for our registry (and sorting through the things we already have) has made this whole marriage thing so much more tangible to me. The past six months have been so difficult, especially being apart, and at times it's felt like the future is this unattainable dream that we just can't catch. But it's beginning to feel so real to me, like it's just around the corner, and after all of these hard months, we'll finally get the big payoff. We'll be together. Cooking dinner together with these pots and pans, sitting down to dinner at this table, drying the dishes with these towels, snuggling under this quilt. It's an amazing feeling.

My grandparents recently bought a new dining table, so they've given the old one to us!

The 8-qt. stockpot (foreground) and 10-in. skillet (background). Isn't the gleam of the copper so lovely? The 12-piece set also included 1-, 2-, and 3-qt. saucepans (with lids), an 8-in. skillet, a lid for the stockpot, and a couple of utensils. We've also registered for the matching 12-in. skillet and 3-qt. stack & steamer pot w/ insert.

Ok, so, I love the cookware. But this is my favorite gift so far! A 3.5-qt. porcelain enamel cast iron casserole dish (also from the Paula Deen collection). It's SO HEAVY! This will be great for baking mac & cheese. Yummm!! (A side note: the Paula Deen stuff is seriously great. Besides being beautiful and reasonably priced, the quality is amazing. Everything looks & feels so durable. I know I'll be using these things for years--maybe even the rest of my life.)

Coming Soon to a Breakfast Table Near Me!

2009-08-24T13:42:00.002-05:00

Playing around with our new (to us) table, taking stock of our kitchen equipment, & imagining A Very Ordinary Morning in the (Hopefully) Near Future.

at my place setting: orange spice tea, hand-painted tea bag holder from the Smithsonian's African Art Museum, "I Do" bridal mug, small bowl of grapes, "Seize the Day" breakfast plate with peach

at his place setting: a newspaper article about a robot exhibit at WSU's Ulrich Museum, cereal in a monster bowl w/ "Start Your Spoons" cereal spoon, cherry juice glass, St. Dalfour wild blueberry fruit spread, espresso cup & saucer w/ a tiny spoon

Lights! Camera! You get the idea...

2009-08-11T20:02:00.002-05:00

There are a hundred and one things that need to be either fixed or replaced in my house. Today we made one small step toward the ultimate goal of Fixing Everything. My grandparents hired an electrician, and last week we went out and bought 5 new light fixtures: a lantern-style porch light, 2 simple flushmounts for the bathroom, a glittery pendant for the dining room, and a cone-shaped mini-pendant for over the kitchen sink. The final effect is so lovely...the house looks so much more modern! Next up, we'll be replacing the old ceiling fans (three of which are broken).

The new lantern-style porch light. Omg, it works!!

One of the new bathroom flushmounts. This one is in the wall, over the sink; the other one is hanging from the ceiling.

The glittery pendant in the dining room. Click here for a picture of the old chandelier.

The mini-pendant over the kitchen sink. Click here for a closeup.

Love/Hate

2009-08-07T17:48:00.004-05:00

Things I Love:

food shopping, in general
but more specifically, when I find things I didn't know I always wanted
like cocoa roasted almonds
and meyer lemon sorbet
and I especially love sweet old men
who tell us about unadvertised deals on deli meat
and give us free baby swiss ♥

Things I Hate:

bookstores that change their layout
without any warning
and don't label the travel section
which is now with the money management section
like I need a reminder that I suck with money
I just want a vacation!
and I don't like people who aren't readers
especially when they're in bookstores
because they TALK
just go sit in the café and drink your $6 beverage

Also, I wish I'd been able to find a book that I wanted. I know I'm going to finish the one I'm reading pretty soon, and even though I have a bazillion unread books waiting to be consumed, I'm just not in those sorts of moods. Ideally, I'd like to read something else by Louise Shaffer, the author of the book I'm currently reading. But Borders didn't have any of her other books, and I'm not patient enough for Amazon. Maybe I can find something to kill time with until A Lion Among Men comes out in paperback on the 25th.

Sweet Sunday

2009-07-26T13:36:00.003-05:00

Sunday is my favorite day of the week. It has been for years...since high school, at least. It's such a sweet, quiet day. A wonderful day to be at home. To clean, or bake cookies, or read a book. A great day to listen to the radio. A day to be thoughtful. I hate that I work on Sundays now, especially in the morning. Today is the last Sunday of my leave of absence, and I'm really trying to get the most out of it. Sunday is "grocery day" in my family, so this morning I went to the market with my mom. I had a coupon for these lovely roses, which were already on sale, so I ended up getting them for half price. And they look so pretty in the vase my aunt gave me while I was recovering. ♥

After the surgery, I completely lost my appetite for a couple days (and I hadn't eaten at all for 2 days before the surgery). Now that my appetite has come back, I'm trying to be more mindful of what I eat. Avoiding cholesterol and fat, increasing fiber and water. It's definitely a work in progress, but actually a lot of greasy, salty foods that I used to like don't even appeal to me anymore. I've found that writing down what I eat and how much water I drink really helps me. I'm not counting calories or anything, but keeping a list has encouraged me to make more thoughtful choices. I feel really great. :)

Recovery

2009-07-21T22:53:00.002-05:00

calla lilies from Flavio...so much prettier in person!

It's been 9 days since my surgery, and I'm recovering really well. The pain is gone, my appetite has returned, and I haven't had any post-op complications. I'm still a little sad about missing my trip, but I've emailed the airline to try to get a credit for future travel.

One of the best side effects of my recovery has been the increase in my water intake. Initially, I was drinking lots of water because I needed fluids and nothing really appealed to me except water. Since then, it's become almost a habit to reach for my water jug whenever my mouth feels a little dry. And holy cow, I can't believe the effect it's had on my skin already! My face feels so soft and smooth.

I'd just like to say one more thing... My spirits have been so buoyed by all of the love I've felt from my family & friends this past week. Emails, phone calls, cards, flowers, and visits...they've all really touched my heart. Thank you. ♥

Sad Day

2009-07-13T13:56:00.001-05:00

Well, my trip to Italy has been canceled. Saturday morning, I woke up very sick, and yesterday I was having severe abdominal pains. I went to the ER and found out that I had gallstones. Last night I had my gallbladder removed. I'm back at home now and thankful that I have this 2-and-a-half week leave of absence from work to recuperate.

Tea Time!

2009-07-10T12:16:00.001-05:00

Grown Up

2009-07-05T13:17:00.004-05:00

This year was kind of a lame 4th of July. Xena got sick on Friday, and although she's feeling better now, she's been moping around the house all weekend. I'm not really sure what was wrong with her, but I suspect she got into something in the backyard that she turned out to be allergic to. Both of her eyes were swollen, which I treated with some eye drops from the vet (who said the swelling could've been from a bug bite or a bump on the head), and then she got very sick to her stomach. Anyway, whatever it was must've worked its way out of her system, because she's fine now. Still a little sleepy/mopey, but her appetite is back and she's been running around outside a little bit.

Last night I found a diary I kept for two weeks in April 2007. I realized just how much I feel like a completely different person from who I was then. Also yesterday, I realized that I actually like Adult Contemporary music now (and have no patience for the new "cool" Top 40 stuff). I guess I'm officially a Grown Up. I never really thought that I'd feel like an adult, and I don't remember there being one day in my life where the line was firmly drawn between childhood and adulthood, but looking back over the last two years of my life...well, the line is there. And I think it's been there for a while. And I'm not really sad about it.

In other news... leaving for Italy in 9 days. Bring on the kisses, the love, the ice cream, the 4-star hotel with free room service, The Balcony, the parties. ♥

Sorting

2009-06-27T10:49:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I finished reading the most wonderful book. If you like Venice, glass works, history, a little bit of mystery, and a little bit of romance, then I can't recommend anything more highly than The Glassblower of Murano by Marina Fiorato.

Other than that beautiful book, not much has been going on lately. I've been helping Flavio with part of his thesis project, and I've been working, and I've been cooking a little bit. Tonight I'm making spaghetti pomodoro again, and I picked up a bottle of Arbor Mist sangria zinfandel to go with it (I don't know if this is a good pairing or not--I really don't know anything about wine--but I like Arbor Mist, even if it is a bit too sweet to drink with dinner).

I'm going to spend the afternoon going through some of the stuff I have packed away in the garage. Even though I'm not moving out until November-ish, helping my grandparents move a couple weeks ago taught me that it's never too early to start packing. Especially since I have a lot of stuff, most of which I probably don't even need/want for my apartment. Also, this will be a good opportunity to take inventory of what we have, so we can start figuring out what we still need (before we register for wedding gifts).

P.S. Sorry for my lack of photos lately. My computer is basically out of memory, and I need to do something about that before my trip (2 and a half weeks!!!), or else y'all won't get any photos of that either.

P.P.S. So I really want to go to Èze. Like now. Well, not now, but in the off-season, when it's empty and cheap.

Bad Week Gone Good

2009-06-17T21:18:00.003-05:00

Well, it's been an interesting week. I spent Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday helping my grandparents pack, move, and settle into their new home. Although there was a lot more work to do than I had anticipated, and I learned way too many weird things about my grandparents, it felt good to do something nice for them.

Although the work wasn't completely done, my mom and I took today off to see a movie, eat at our favorite café, and do a little shopping. We saw My Life in Ruins, the new Nia Vardalos movie, which was absolutely wonderful. Sweet and funny with lovely scenery, exactly what we needed after a few hot & stressful days of moving. I had an amazing sandwich at Caffe Moderne ("The Roman": roast beef, provolone, parmesan, arugula, and a black pepper & rosemary mayo on multigrain bread), followed by an espresso and a dish of pistachio gelato (I also sampled the lemon-basil sorbetto). Before leaving the square, we stopped in at Lucinda's, where I bought a 16"x16" print of this lovely Kelly Rae Roberts piece.

And finally: today I booked my flight for next month's trip. Although I ended up spending $300+ more than I would've if I'd booked 2 weeks ago, and I have to leave Italy a day earlier than I'd planned, it feels good for this trip to actually be official now! Also today: Flavio booked our hotel room in Venice. We were originally planning to stay at 3749 Ponte Chiodo, the charming little B&B we stayed in last time. Unfortunately, it was only available for one night, and we wanted to stay for two. Then he found Hotel Priuli, a 4-star hotel close to Piazza San Marco!! We've booked the "Venice in Love 2009" package, which includes a free bottle of sparkling wine, free room service, a private motorboat to Murano, and lots of discounts at various shops & restaurants. Seriously?? I could die.

Oh! I almost forgot! I tried two new recipes today: Easy Cheese Danishes (for breakfast) and Roasted Shrimp Cocktail (for dinner), both from Ina Garten. Both recipes turned out perfectly, although I overfilled the danishes and the cocktail sauce was a bit spicy for me. I'll definitely be adding these recipes to my repetoire, and I want to play around with different fillings for the danishes. Sorry I can't share pictures...the lighting in the kitchen was bad when the danishes were done, and I was too impatient to grab my camera before tucking into the shrimp cocktail.

Now my hard-earned, heavenly day is coming to an end. I think I'll sleep well tonight. :)

Spaghetti Pomodoro

2009-06-09T18:49:00.002-05:00

Get your twirl on!

If you've ever ordered from an inexpensive tourist menu at a restaurant in Italy, you've probably had spaghetti pomodoro, spaghetti in a light tomato sauce. It's a common primo piatto, or first course. The first time I had it was in Venice, last November. I've never liked spaghetti sauce, so I was surprised to find that I really enjoyed this dish. I asked Flavio how to make it, and this was the recipe he gave me. Of course this is just a basic method; there are endless variations. Flavio likes to add mozzarella, black olives, and cherry tomatoes. I think I would really enjoy it with sautéed mushrooms.

Spaghetti Pomodoro - serves 4

olive oil
1/4 onion, chopped
28-oz. can peeled crushed tomatoes
basil (fresh is preffered, but dried is fine)
salt
spaghetti

Sautée onion in a little olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove onion, if desired. (The onion imparts a nice flavor to the olive oil. When I've had this dish in restaurants, the sauce has never had onion in it. I hate onion, so I remove it. Flavio would prefer to leave it in.) Add the crushed tomatoes and stir in basil and salt; cover. Stir occasionally (keeping the lid on the skillet between stirs). Let simmer for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, cook and drain spaghetti. Stir pasta into sauce and serve. Buon appetito!

Bella Monkey

2009-05-27T14:28:00.002-05:00

[ raveled. ]

I just finished knitting another monkey. Partly I wanted to figure out exactly what I'd done to make the last one (because I hadn't written anything down at the time), but also I wanted to make something pink and girly. Although I wish I'd done a better job embroidering the face (I just don't have the patience for it!), I'm pretty happy with how she turned out overall. And I love the way these photos came out!

Missing Italy

2009-05-22T19:59:00.003-05:00

Well, it's not official yet, but it looks like I'll be spending some time in Italy this summer. I'm definitely going for Flavio's graduation at the end of July, but I'm hoping that I can stretch this into a 2-week stay. If I can, we'll basically be having our "honeymoon" (even though the wedding won't be until November, maybe). I'm so excited!! This is all contingent on me being able to get a little leave of absence from work, but things have been so slow (and are only getting slower), I don't think that'll be too hard to swing.

I've been watching a lot of Passport to Europe with Samantha Brown on the Travel Channel, and just about every day they show a different city in Italy. It's filled me with a strange feeling I can't quite describe...something in between homesickness and the travel itch. I'm eager to be back in a place I love, but just as excited by the prospect of exploring new parts of that place. I want to go to Verona, visit the Casa di Giulietta and rub the statue's bronze boob for good luck, and ride a free bicycle through the streets while I take in the mix of Roman and Venetian architecture. I want to go back to Venice and eat four ice cream cones again. I want to travel to Bologna and take my first scooter ride and see if the mortadella tastes as good as the Oscar Mayer bologna I grew up eating.

And don't get me started on how jealous I am of Flavio right now. Tomorrow morning, he's hopping on a train and heading for the coast. He's just going to spend the day reading, sunbathing, and swimming in the Mediterranean. Then he'll spend the night camping on the beach. If I didn't love him so much, I think I might hate him a little bit. ♥

I'm Not Lion

2009-05-18T18:57:00.003-05:00

[ raveled. ]

This is Albert. Recently, Flavio requested a knitted monkey. I looked for patterns but couldn't find one I liked. I admit, I've been completely spoiled by Ysolda's neat, tidy, seamless!!! toy patterns. For this monkey, I used the Elijah pattern as a template, and then just modified it as needed to create a monkey-ish head and limbs. Unfortunately, I didn't write anything down as I was going along, so I can't give any tips for recreating this little guy.

I love you, sweetie. Albert will be in the mail tomorrow, along with your surprise!!!

Puddles

2009-05-06T10:47:00.002-05:00

It's been 9 days since my last post, and it's rained every single one of them. Poor Xena doesn't seem to know what to do, tip-toeing through the mud and muck. Although the sun is shining today, there are storms in the forecast pretty much every day for the next week. As long as it doesn't flood, however, I'm not going to complain about the rain. The farmers need it, right?

Other things that have happened in the past 9 days:

I finished some books. The count is at 22 now, which completely blows my mind. That's two more than I read in all of last year.
I've become kind of addicted to Twitter. Follow me!
Flavio helped me translate an Italian song, "Sincerità" by Arisa. Now I've got the album, and I can't wait to be able to translate them all.
I broke the dryer. FAIL.
24 hours later, and my clothes laid out on drying racks are still damp. Eff.

Ok, I guess that's all.

Rained In

2009-04-27T07:47:00.002-05:00

It rained buckets last night. Today, my car can't make it down the street due to flooding, so I'm effectively rained in. It's a bit like being snowed in, without the fun for Xena. She loves playing in the snow, but she hates rain. Around 2 o'clock this morning, she climbed into bed with me because of all the thunder and lightning.

I guess I'll be spending my day reading (almost done with #19!) and finishing up some immigration paperwork. I want to mail this stuff tomorrow, but if I still have to report for jury duty, I may not get it in the mail until Wednesday.

Lit.

2009-04-24T21:31:00.002-05:00

Is it possible to read too much? Believe it or not, I just finished my third book this week. A contemporary vampire mystery/romance, a fictionalized account of the Bosnian war, and a Depression-era whodunit. Although I have about a million books on the shelf that I've never read, I'm worried that I'll run out soon, at the rate I'm going.

My jury duty got postponed a week. I'm crossing my fingers that it will keep being postponed until I'm no longer on call, or even canceled altogether. My hopes aren't up too high, though. I guess it's one of those things you've just gotta do at some point. Civic duty and all that.

Not much knitting going on around here. Or cooking. Or anything else worthy of being photographed. Sorry folks. I've been too busy cleaning and reading and enjoying the beautiful weather. And catching up on the first four seasons of Lost, which Flavio's got me hooked on. I just started season 2 today.

Happy Spring

2009-04-15T17:33:00.003-05:00

Today was a pretty great day. The weather has finally decided to be beautiful (and, hopefully, stay beautiful). This morning I took Xena for her longest walk yet--about 3/4 of a mile. She's doing really great! She even sits down when we reach an intersection so I can check for traffic before crossing the street.

I spent a good chunk of the afternoon downtown with my mom, trying to figure out where I need to go and how I need to get there, because I've been summoned for jury duty next week. *sigh* Since we were in the area, we decided to go to Caffe Moderne (one of my favorite places) for a late lunch. I had an amazing smoked salmon & cucumber panini, a side salad of mixed spring greens, and a pomegranate Italian soda. Followed up by a hazelnut cappuccino and a dish of pistachio gelato. It was the perfect lunch.

Then I bought licorice and some beautiful roses. Great day. The end.

Black Beauty

2009-04-11T09:01:00.002-05:00

I'm teaching Xena how to walk on a leash. I thought this would be impossible, but it's actually proving to be pretty easy, especially now that she's got a harness. She doesn't pull the way Max did, and she's a lot better at ignoring other dogs than I thought she would be. The biggest problem I'm having, actually, is conquering her fears. Sometimes she gets a little skittish--I don't know if it's from a sound or a smell or what--and she just sits down in the middle of the street. Today I walked her to a nearby park, and she wouldn't go in. About half a block away, she tucked her tail between her legs. Of course I didn't force her, just turned around and walked back home together. I'll keep trying, though. I'm hoping that the more I walk her, the more comfortable and confident she'll get.

Harvey (and Friends!)

2009-04-10T12:21:00.003-05:00

[ raveled. ]

Last night I finally finished Harvey, the little white rabbit I started knitting back in September. As much as I love all of Ysolda's toy patterns, I hate picking up stitches on a stuffed thing, so I put off doing these ears for forever. Well, now he's done, just in time for Easter! It feels good to have another one in the "done" column.

Before:
After:
Coming soon: Pauline, Petrova, and Posy Fossil!!

Ysolda

2009-04-08T10:59:00.003-05:00

[ raveled. ]

Last night I finished Ysolda, and she turned out so darn cute, I couldn't wait to take pictures of her this morning. And the pictures I got turned out pretty cute too, and I couldn't wait to share them with the world. But arg, it was not to be! I don't know if it's my camera, my software, or my computer, but I had the hardest time uploading my pictures. I think it's my software, because it turns out that the photos actually did upload like three times, but they're not showing up in the software (but I can open them in, like, MS Paint). So, long story short, these images are unedited and will be replaced with bright, shiny edited pictures later when I've recouped enough patience to tackle the issue. edit: Okay, they're brighter now. But my computer still blows.

The doll--well, mostly her outfit--is modeled after a photo Ysolda posted on her blog several days ago. She's even wearing a miniature Icing Swirl beret! I was going to braid her hair, but I messed it up, so I just gave her short little pigtails, which I think I actually like better because you can really see her outfit this way.

Dear Whitney,

2009-04-05T12:52:00.003-05:00

We're quite lonely. Please finish knitting our friends.

Lots of love,

Ollie and Bambolina

Bambolina

2009-04-01T09:31:00.002-05:00

[ raveled. ]

I finished Bambolina's dress last night (including sewing a scallop-edged ribbon to the hem of her dress, like a little ruffle that's peeking out). I'm so happy with the way she turned out! I also knit a little mousie, but he still needs ears. And also also, I started another doll. They're just too fun! This one was inspired by an outfit Ysolda posted about in her blog last week. I'm even playing around with the idea of making a miniature Icing Swirl beret for her.

Little Surprise

2009-03-29T12:08:00.002-05:00

I'd forgotten that my print copy of Ysolda Teague's Whimsical Little Knits, which I pre-ordered back in...January?...was coming in the mail, so I was completely surprised to find it in my mailbox yesterday morning. Happily surprised! Even though I also received the PDFs for these patterns as she released them individually, there's something really nice about having a little book to hold. And what great timing, too! You see, we had a little blizzard here yesterday, and there's no way my little car could've even made it down my street, so I stayed home from work. Cozy in my pajamas, watching Twilight for the third time in a week, I started knitting the Poppy pattern. I didn't have enough yarn to do the whole body in the flesh-colored yarn, so I decided to knit her wearing a shirt under her jumper, and once I get to the legs, she'll be wearing some striped knee-socks. The flesh-colored yarn is leftover from my Brenta Beret, and it's kind of an olive-y flesh tone (like Flavio!), so I'm giving her black hair and calling her Bambolina (Italian for "little doll"). I love her already! ♥

A Unique Approach...

2009-03-24T10:45:00.004-05:00

The last ten days have been pretty uneventful. I read two more books (the Rosie Winter mysteries by Kathryn Miller Haines), finally saw Twilight, cooked some food, washed a lot of dishes, and actually thought out a pretty fantastic solution to my wedding woes.

We're getting married backwards.

I guess the normal sequence of events goes something like this: ceremony, reception, honeymoon. Well, we're going to do it in the opposite order. The honeymoon part is still pretty up in the air, but if it works out, we could be taking a little trip to Paris before having our reception at an agritourism farm in Italy. We've decided to do it at a farm (instead of a castle) because we want something very relaxed and cozy. My family won't be there, but this will be our opportunity to celebrate our marriage with his family and friends. We spent a little bit of time this morning Googling agritourism farms in Piedmont, and so far our favorite is La Cascina Rosengana. After the reception, we'll come back to the US and get married at the courthouse, with my parents (and hopefully his) as witnesses.

It's a unique approach, but it seems to be the best fit for our situation. This way we both get what we want: he gets a traditional reception in Italy with all of his family and friends, and I get a no-fuss ceremony with my parents (and hopefully a honeymoon in Europe). Now, obviously this solution doesn't lend itself well to wedding photography. But I've come up with a solution to that problem too! And it's so much cheaper than traditional wedding photography. I'm thinking that after we get married, maybe we can hire Gingeroot Studios for a portrait session. They do some really beautiful work, and a portrait session is *so much* cheaper than traditional wedding photography.

Two Weeks!

2009-03-14T16:45:00.002-05:00

I've been engaged for two weeks! I can't believe it's only been 14 days since I was in Annecy, having lunch on a park bench next to the cleanest lake in France, touring a castle-turned-museum, debating with Flavio how to properly pronounce gaufre while we stood in a long line to get one. It was the perfect day. Warm sun, cool mountain air, the funny French radio station, little French children laughing on a playground, tandem bicycles, ducks and pigeons. I miss it. I miss him.

Book Worm

2009-03-13T18:58:00.002-05:00

I just finished my 9th book of 2009! That's almost half of the total number of books I read in 2008 (20 in all). I'm not really sure how this has been accomplished. I mean, I don't really feel like I've been reading more often than I did last year. I have been reading better books, though. I mean, quicker books. The last three have been contemporary forensic thrillers, and I read all three in the past 2 and a half weeks. I'm taking a break from the genre, however. I have a stack of Kathy Reichs books, seven deep, waiting for me on the desk, but this last one (Déjà Dead) has given me nightmares and made sleeping through the night difficult. My cousin recently loaned a couple of books to me, The War Against Miss Winter and The Winter of Her Discontent, and I'm excited to dive back into mid-20th Century America. Well, the books weren't actually written then, but they're set in the time period, so it's close enough.

And I have plenty of other books on my reading list for the rest of the year! Here's a little peek at what will be keeping me busy:

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson
The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
A Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire
Little Men by Louisa May Alcott
Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers
Criminals by Margot Livesey
Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi

And, of course, lots others! Hopefully I can keep my current pace. Maybe I'll actually be able to finish the 50 Book Challenge this year?

Au Gratin Potatoes

2009-03-13T03:52:00.002-05:00

Wednesday night, I made these au gratin potatoes to go alongside a dinner of roast beef and carrots. This was my first time making au gratin potatoes from scratch. I'd been wanting to try it, then lo and behold, Cook's Country publishes a recipe in their latest issue. I love it when things work out like that! Plus, it gave me an excuse to buy a couple new pieces of kitchen equipment: a cheap mandolin slicer (which I love) and this Green Apple nonstick glass gratin dish. I like the gratin dish, but 'eco-friendly' nonstick coatings make me suspicious. Anyway, I may or may not keep the gratin dish...I really want this Emile Henry one.

Playing in the Kitchen

2009-03-08T17:33:00.004-05:00

Today I had an unexpected day off. I started my day with a trip to the grocery store, where I bought a lovely bouquet full of my favorite springtime colors. For me, my perfect idea of spring is full of drizzly days and old movies and French music and anything that smells vaguely like lavender.

I also found these cute dishtowels on sale. They remind me a bit of a pie plate my mom has, which has a recipe for apple pie inside. I think they'll look sweet in our kitchen, which is (so far) looking to be a mish-mash of cottagy things, flowery things, and a lot of Starbucks mugs.

For dinner tonight, we made taco salad. I had a craving for this while I was at work on Thursday, and the real thing didn't disappoint. I found this recipe for baked taco salad bowls (so easy!), but otherwise this didn't require much more effort than just making tacos (which we do almost weekly in my house).

My cousin Aubree's birthday is on Thursday, so today we made some cookies for her. I think I got more sprinkles on the table than on the cookies! I hope she likes them anyway!

So that was how I spent my unexpected day off. Later this week, on my real days off, I'm going to be playing with my new mandolin slicer to make au gratin potatoes!

Why are you reading this? Just say YES!!*

2009-03-04T11:07:00.003-06:00

Well, I'm back from Italy. It's bittersweet...I'm glad to be home, but it doesn't feel much like home without Flavio. But we'll be back together soon, and hopefully then it will finally be permanent. Anyway, on to the pictures!!

On Thursday, we spent the afternoon at Lake Como.

We took a funicular up the mountain to visit a little village called Brunate. Funiculars are...scary!! The views are spectacular, though. I wish it hadn't been so misty; I could've gotten much nicer photos.

On Saturday, we drove from Vercelli, Italy to Annecy, France. Most of the drive was through the beautiful Alps. This is the entrance to the Tunnel du Mont Blanc. The border between Italy and France is inside the tunnel.

In Annecy, we had lunch on a park bench beside the Lac d'Annecy. This is a view of the lake from the Pont des Amours ('Bridge of Love').

Mmm...buono! Annecy is full of creperies, some of which sell churros and waffles. They don't have waffles in Italy, so Flavio was really excited about having one!

After lunch, we walked up a hill to visit the museum at the Chateau d'Annecy, a restored 12th-century castle...

...where we got engaged!!!!

Yay engaged!!!!

The rest of the trip was pretty relaxing...walking around Vercelli, aperitivo with his friends, cooking, snuggling, playing with Pippo. You can see a few more pictures of our adventures here.

*=The ring box was inside a gift bag. After he proposed and I was putting the box back into the bag, I noticed some writing on the bag's tag. I figured it probably said 'I love you' or something, but no...it said, "Why are you reading this? Just say YES!!" Hahahahhahahahah!!

Stow Away

2009-02-23T13:57:00.002-06:00

My flight leaves in about 23 hours. I'm packing up my new suitcase (which, unfortunately, seems to hold less than I need it to), trying not to forget anything important. My beastly cold seems to have almost disappeared. And by almost, I mean that I can sort of taste food and I'm only blowing my nose about half as often now. Sigh. On the plus side, Mother Nature seems to have gotten the memo about my trip, and the weather is going to be absolutely lovely while I'm in Italy. It's even going to be 60 degrees in Annecy on Saturday! I'm really happy that we're spending so much time outside of Milan this time. It's not that I don't like Milan, but I've been sick for so long (today is Day 11) that my energy level is really low right now, and I think the fresh air of the country and the mountains will be really nice.

I still have to pack a pair of shoes, some pants, and ALL of my toiletries (including my hair straightener). There'll be some extra room in it on the way home, because right now Flavio's Christmas presents are packed in there. For some reason, he never got the package and it was returned to me a couple weeks ago.

Well, I'm off to get ready for work. It's unfortunate that, with everything I still need to do, I have to spend 8+ hours at work tonight. I guess I'll probably stay up all night and sleep on the plane. See you all in a week!

Ridic. Sick

2009-02-19T23:47:00.002-06:00

I'm on day 7 of a beastly cold. The first couple days, it was just a sore throat and a little cough, but I wanted to nip it in the bud (since I'm traveling soon), so I stayed home from work. Day 3, my throat didn't hurt as much, and I thought I was getting better, so I went to work. BIG MISTAKE!! There are about a hundred people sick at work, and it just made my cough worse. Monday was a holiday and Tuesday & Wednesday were my days off, so I figured all of that R&R would help me kick this thing. Not so much. :\ It's strange...I wake up feeling OK, but as the day progresses, I get completely worn out and I end up feeling worse. Anyway, I stayed home again tonight, but I absolutely have to go back to work tomorrow, whether I'm feeling better or not. I'm hoping that I'll be well by Saturday or Sunday. I caught this from my mom a couple days after she got sick, and she was feeling a lot better today.

On a happier note, I'm so excited about my trip! I started packing my suitcase this afternoon, and lately Flavio & I have been discussing our plans for each day. Lake Como and Annecy are definitely happening, and today there was a little bit of talk about taking an express train from Annecy to Paris. I would absolutely love to see Paris, but I don't know if we'll actually have time for it.

My lovely irises are beginning to wilt, but I can't bear to throw them away. I wish I had a flower press! Maybe I should dry them out?

In Bloom

2009-02-15T12:52:00.004-06:00

Well, the blue flowers opened up, and I was surprised to find that they weren't tulips at all! I love irises. In fact, I bought some the day I met Flavio. I'm not very good at arranging flowers, especially with this bouquet...I cut the tulips' stems too short, and they're getting lost among the irises. Still, it's such a beautiful bouquet, and it means so much to me. ♥

Brenta Beret

2009-02-13T16:23:00.003-06:00

[ raveled. ]

I knitted this hat to wear during my upcoming trip to Italy (T minus 11 days!!!). 'Brenta' is the name of the Metro stop in my sweetheart's neighborhood. As much as I've been hoping for an early spring in Milan, it doesn't look like it's going to happen, so this beret should keep me just warm enough. The pattern is Porom by Jared Flood, and the yarn is Sublime merino cashmere silk dk. This was a really quick, fun, easy thing to knit. The only mod I made was to use size 7 needles for the ribbing instead of size 6, because I don't have a size 6 circular...although actually, I'm really glad I used size 7 because I wouldn't have wanted the band any tighter. Quelle hat hair!

P.S. Yesterday I got the most beautiful surprise at my doorstep...two dozen of the prettiest tulips you've ever seen! I was so happy and surprised, I cried. Nobody's ever sent me flowers! And the card was just brilliant...'I love you every day more.' ♥

The blue ones haven't opened up yet, but I'll post another picture when they do.

He Beat Me!

2009-02-08T07:51:00.003-06:00

Last night, my younger brother asked his girlfriend to marry him, beating me to an engagement by about 3 weeks. Well, I'll beat him to marriage because I'm sure their wedding probably won't be until next year, whereas Flavio and I are itching to take our vows, like, yesterday.

Congratulations, Tyler & Jessica!!!

All You Need Is Love

2009-02-05T15:05:00.003-06:00

I saw these miniature carnations at the store today, and I thought they'd be a pretty way to wish my mom a happy Valentine's day. Although I usually don't like the red-pink-white color combination, I think this bouquet is pretty perfect. And we love the way carnations smell! So fresh and bright, compared to the heavy scent of roses.

The next week will be so beautiful here, even if we do get some rain. I wish it would last, but I'm crossing my fingers that at least we won't get any more snow. I'm ready for spring!

Ch-ch-ch-changes

2009-02-04T12:07:00.002-06:00

I'm working on a new knitting project now. No, I haven't finished my socks. I haven't even finished the instep decreases on the first sock. I don't know how it happened, but I lost my 5th size 1 dpn. One minute, it was in my hand, and the next minute, it was gone. I've looked everywhere, but I can't find it! And right now, I don't really have the money to go buy a new set (mostly because I know I won't make it out of the yarn store with just the needles). So I've started a new project! It's a little lace-edged cardigan for a baby girl. I'm trying to decide which buttons to use...leaning toward the silver ones with engraved hearts.

Yesterday I got about 10 or 11 inches chopped off my hair. I really wanted to look nice with long hair, but I didn't, and it was such a pain in the neck to take care of. Now it's back to the way it was my senior year of college, and although it's a bit shorter than what I really wanted, I love it. I think it'll be the perfect length by the time I'm in Italy (3 weeks!!!).

As for my 'big exciting secret news': I'm getting married! Well, we're not engaged yet, which is why I didn't want to share this news until I got back from Italy. But we've already started planning our wedding, which will be later this year. As I'm sure you can imagine, planning a trans-Atlantic wedding is a logistical nightmare. After abandoning several plans, we decided to have the wedding in Italy. Talk about 'big exciting'! Unfortunately, this plan is in limbo right now due to the terrible state of the economy (and the fact that my dad really doesn't understand how expensive weddings are!). So I'm a bit disappointed about it all, and of course I'm really excited to get married, but I'm not really excited about the wedding anymore.

Little Updates

2009-01-26T14:10:00.004-06:00

I'm trudging through these socks. Actually, it's a fun pattern, but it's really taking me forever. They're really pretty, though, so I'm determined to knit the second sock (if I ever finish the first one). Truthfully, I've been so preoccupied with other things lately, I haven't made much time for knitting.

As far as what the 'other things' are, I wish I could say, but it's just too early. It's killing me to not blog about it!

My cousin--whose baby shower was supposed to be yesterday--had her baby in the wee hours of Saturday morning. So the baby shower has been postponed, which means little Boo Boo is still sitting in a pretty gift bag, waiting to be delivered.

I'm trying really hard not to spend any money (despite just ordering 3 paperbacks from Amazon), which means I'm not buying yarn. I'm trying to knit from my stash, but my stash isn't very big (compared to other knitters!) and is mostly limited to sock yarn. I do have yarn to knit a couple lovely Ishbels, and some purple DK that was for a design project but will probably be used to knit some snuggly baby sweater.

After a couple of really beautiful days, the weather has turned bitterly cold (again). I can't wait until my trip...I leave 4 weeks from tomorrow!

Nothing Important Happening Here

2009-01-20T00:24:00.003-06:00

I sincerely apologize for having absolutely nothing worthwhile to post for the past week and a half. I've been really lazy! That burst of knitting fever seems to have tapered off a good bit. Since finishing Ollie, I've knitted one little bootee, which turned out too small to fit anything but a doll. Then I started a baby cardigan with some old stash yarn, but it's turning out too big and too scratchy, and the color looks more stodgy old lady than charming heirloom. Also I've got some big plans in the works which are actually consuming my every thought (and even invading my dreams), but I'm not quite ready to blog about them yet.

Tonight I bought my plane ticket for next month's trip to Italy. I still don't think it's really sunk in that I'm going. It's sort of like...didn't I just get back? I'm excited, though. Big, big things are happening!

P.S. My newest obsession? Schnoodles.

Ollie

2009-01-09T11:46:00.002-06:00

[ raveled. ]

I finished him around 6 o'clock this morning. I absolutely should not have stayed up so late, but around 5 (when I should have gone to bed, at the latest), all he needed was a face. Which I messed up the first time and had to do again. But now he's done, and I'm so happy with the way he turned out!

Winter Blues

2009-01-07T23:59:00.004-06:00

Do you know what I hate most about winter? It's not the freezing cold days, or the ice or the snow. It's not the lack of daylight. It's not the nights when I'm so cold I can't sleep, when I can't get warm unless I run my hands under steaming hot water for a full minute. No, it's days like today. Mild, sunny days that mimic early spring. We get a few--sometimes one a week--quickly followed by another cold snap. It's cruel! It's like showing a child a puppy and then taking it away.

Fortunately, January is passing quickly for me this year. I'm completely preoccupied with thoughts of my upcoming trip and all of the things I need to do to get ready for it. I'm crossing my fingers that the weather will be sunny and warm while I'm in Italy this time.

Knitting-wise, I'm speeding through another bear. This one's for me. I'm using O-Wool Balance, a 50/50 blend of organic cotton and wool, in a nice brown tweed. It's a worsted weight, so he's bigger than the last one, and I'm overstuffing him so that the body is firm, not squishy. I'm almost done with the second leg. Next up, I'll be knitting a pair of Saartje's Bootees. Not for anyone in particular; I just want to use up all of the extra Malabrigo I've got leftover from the socks I just finished. Today I bought some purple wooden buttons, which I think will look really nice next to the purple wool:

Last week I put in for a schedule change at work. Tomorrow I'll find out if I got it, and if I did, it'll start on Saturday. It's the kind of radical change I need to snap me out of the winter blues. Also I'm thinking about getting my hair cut like this again. Thoughts?

Baby Things

2009-01-06T07:58:00.002-06:00

[ raveled: boo boo. ]
[ raveled: a pea in the pod. ]

My cousin Brittany is having a baby. Not that I need an excuse to knit baby things, but it's nice to be knitting them for an actual baby, rather than the dream of the one I hope to have someday. After knitting three elephants and three & three-quarter rabbits (the last one is patiently waiting for some ears), I really wanted to knit something else. Enter Otto, an Ysolda pattern that's been in my queue forever. I wasn't that crazy about any of the colors of Cashsoft DK, which I normally use for stuffed animals, but I found a really beautiful icy blue shade of Babyboo. Although I got a bit frustrated with the way the Otto pattern was designed (the crotch gusset, especially), I'm pretty happy with the way he turned out.

I also knitted a baby-sized Koolhaas with Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in a cool pea green. I love, love, love this little hat. It only took about a day to knit, and I'm really happy with the way it turned out.

In other news, I'm going back to Italy at the end of February. Originally, Flavio was going to come here for Valentine's day, but we both decided it would be better for me to go there. We won't be able to spend Valentine's day together, unfortunately, but we will be spending our 1-year anniversy (Feb. 28th) together, and that means a lot more to me. I'm hoping to stay a little bit longer than I did during my last trip, and I think we'll be having a few little adventures while I'm there. Possibilities include Annecy, Turin, Lake Como, and the roof of the Duomo.

Gotham City Socks

2009-01-01T13:11:00.003-06:00

[ raveled. ]

This was a really fun pattern to knit. Simple, but never boring. And considering I did these on a pair of size 1 needles that I hate, this went very quickly. I think it's the fastest pair of socks I've ever done. And I love, love, love this Malabrigo sock yarn!

These socks fit really, really well. Most socks I've knitted tend to be too loose in the heel. I think the tighter gauge really helped with that here. And my favorite part? The cable on the side of the foot:

Great job on the pattern, Andrea! I hope it's not your last design! I'd love to see what other beautiful things you come up with.

2008: In Books

2008-12-31T16:22:00.003-06:00

These are the books I read in 2008. I didn't exactly have a goal in mind, but I'm happy that I completed twenty books this year. It's one more than my total from 2007, even if these books were shorter than many that I read last year. Genre-wise, 2008 was a bit of a mixed bag: scientific essays, short stories, grown-up fairy tales, children's lit, true crime, contemporary fiction, modern fantasy, British mystery, late 19th-century American literature, etc.

Dance for Two, by Alan Lightman
The Grass Harp, by Truman Capote
The Gun Seller, by Hugh Laurie
Franny and Zooey, by J.D. Salinger
The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger
The Dark Lantern, by Gerri Brightwell
Wicked, by Gregory Maguire
The Monster of Florence, by Douglas Preston with Mario Spezi
Son of a Witch, by Gregory Maguire
Breaking Dawn, by Stephenie Meyer
The Doctor's Wife, by Elizabeth Brundage
Blackbird House, by Alice Hoffman
The Sugar Queen, by Sarah Addison Allen
Practical Magic, by Alice Hoffman
Hallowe'en Party, by Agatha Christie
Sparkling Cyanide, by Agatha Christie
The Sittaford Mystery, by Agatha Christie
Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott
The Tales of Beedle the Bard, by J.K. Rowling
The Tale of Despereaux, by Kate DiCamillo

Don't Get It Twisted

2008-12-30T14:12:00.004-06:00

In case any of you were previously under the delusion that yours is the greatest LYS on the planet, I'd like to set the record straight, once and for all. Of course, I haven't actually been to very many yarn shops, and I have seen pictures of some really beautiful shops across the country and around the world, but I can't imagine any better than Twist. They have the friendliest people, the prettiest shop windows, and a really wonderful selection. Plus buttons! Oh, the buttons! If they carried Malabrigo sock yarn and had a Starbucks next door, "Twist Yarn Shop" might just be another name for heaven. Obviously, I'm still in the afterglow of buying woolly stuffs. And pretty excited about my free Twist tote bag.

I got the lime green Debbie Bliss cashmerino aran for a baby-sized Koolhaas and the ice blue Babyboo for my first-ever Otto (the black Babyboo is for the eyes & nose)--both for my cousin Brittany's coming attraction. And this beautiful tweedy brown O-Wool is for my second-ever Otto. The past couple of days I've been thinking about knitting a tweedy antique-y brown bear, and when I saw this O-Wool at Twist, I knew it was exactly what I needed.

And did I mention the buttons? I have no idea what I'll use these for, but buttons are my kryptonite, and these have now been tucked away into my button stash.

Now I'm off to finish my second sock so I can get started on the new projects!!

Interim

2008-12-28T12:29:00.003-06:00

Last night (well, around 5 o'clock this morning) I finished the first of my Heath's Socks. I usually have a hard time finding the motivation to knit the second sock, but I love this pattern and yarn, and I can't wait to wear the pair. Plus I've got some baby things to knit, and I'm trying really hard to finish one project before I move onto another one. And Ysolda published her pattern for Poppy, which I downloaded after work last night.

Since my last post, I've been printing & organizing my huge stockpile of knitting pattern PDFs. And enjoying a warm, rather balmy Friday (followed by a tornado watch, a huge thunderstorm, and snow). And watching 7 episodes of Criminal Minds in 24 hours. I also made an impulsive decision which may drastically change my daily habits and routine (for the better). It's been a while since I've had a good shake-up, and this one--if it comes to pass--will make January interesting for the first time in my entire life. Have I ever mentioned that I hate January? Well, winter in general, but December has Christmas and February has Valentine's Day (and a little bit of 'spring preview' weather and fashion). January is just long and cold and bleak. This year I'll deal with it by knitting furiously and sleeping plenty. And maybe, finally, making some friends.

Christmas Sweets

2008-12-22T01:31:00.003-06:00

from left to right:
peanut butter blossoms, swirled holiday snowball cookies, fantasy fudge, m&m shortbread, and sugar cookies

Merry Christmas!!

Strawberries!

2008-12-21T15:48:00.002-06:00

[ raveled. ]

In about a day and a half, I made 6 pretty little strawberries. Such a quick, easy, sweet little pattern! I used some Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed Organic Cotton, which I happened to have in red and green, that I knew I was never actually going to use, and I've still got tons of both colors left over. I'm not sure what to knit next...I'd like to go ahead and knit my stocking, just because I think I'll be really sick of Christmas this time next week, but I've also got a lovely skein of purple Malabrigo sock yarn coming in the mail tomorrow (for knitting Andrea's new pattern!). And then, of course, there are always more foods to knit...

Right now my kitchen is all topsy-turvy with butter, flour, and so much sugar. I don't know what possessed my mother to do it, but she's making fudge and four kinds of cookies in one afternoon!

Let It Snow Stocking (and presents too!)

2008-12-19T14:16:00.002-06:00

[ raveled. ]

I finished Flavio's Christmas stocking this afternoon. These stockings are really fast and fun to knit! I've still got one more to make (mine), but I'm going to take a break and knit some little strawberries first.

This morning I went to the post office to pick up my Christmas package from Flavio. I tried to wait until next week to open it, but I'm just so impatient! He always gives me such perfect presents, and this time was no exception. He sent me Italy!

And my favorite: the sweetest little rabbit, made from recycled yarn. I named him Muji, after the store where Flavio got him.

I also got a really lovely pair of pearl earrings from Flavio's mother. I can't wait to wear them, especially since I recently lost one of my little pink pearl earrings.

Pretty Petit Fours

2008-12-15T12:48:00.002-06:00

[ raveled. ]

As promised, today I bring you petit fours! This clever little pattern was written by Jennifer, from NuttyIrishmanKnits. Yay for local girls! It's a very quick knit...I made all four of these little cakes yesterday.

I don't have any children yet, but I hope that someday I do, and I love the idea of giving them knitted toys to play with. Especially things I've made myself. Besides being absolutely adorable, I know that these toys haven't been tainted with lead or other harmful substances. I've found some really cute patterns for knitted food on Ravelry, for everything from strawberries to ice cream cones to pizza!

O Tannenbaum Stocking

2008-12-14T23:00:00.003-06:00

[ raveled. ]

Last night I finished a Christmas stocking for my mom. Well, sort of. I still want to make a fabric liner for it and strengthen the hanging loop by sewing a ribbon to it, but I don't have a sewing machine and am not so keen on hand-sewing. I figure after I knit the stockings for myself and Flavio, maybe I can ask my grandmother to sew the linings for all three.

This stocking, one of the latest designs from Ysolda Teague, was knit with Manos Del Uruguay (in Jungle) and Berroco Peruvia (in Nougat). I used the tree motif for this stocking, and I'm going to try to find a green/red/ivory paisley print for the fabric lining. There were a couple of techniques in this pattern that were new to me--the figure-eight cast on, Japanese short row heel, and I-cord bind off--but Ysolda writes her patterns so clearly, and tutorials for all of these techniques can be easily found online, and in the end this was a very quick & easy project.

I'm taking a little break before knitting the other two stockings because the large needles (US 10) are very awkward to me, after using tiny dpns for so long. I spent today knitting a pretty little set of petit fours, using Jennifer's great (free!) pattern. But more about those tomorrow...

Marshmallow Mitts

2008-12-12T19:35:00.002-06:00

[ raveled. ]

After she fell in love with my Madeline Mitts, I decided to make a pair of Endpaper Mitts for my mom as a last-minute Christmas present. There are a couple of things you should know about me: 1) I'm terrible at knitting with a deadline, and 2) I'm terrible at knitting in pairs. I get distracted, burned out, bored, etc. And yet this is the third project in row that I've knitted a pair of something in a timely manner! I think part of it is that I'm just so happy to not be knitting little stuffed animals, and part of it is that two of those three projects were knitted for the two people I love the most in this world.

The colors of these mitts remind me of marshmallows floating in a steamy mug of hot cocoa, one of my favorite winter treats.

Next up, I'll be knitting Ysolda Teague's Last Minute Stockings, using all of that yummy woolly stuff I bought the other day!

Cold Hands, Warm Heart

2008-12-09T16:37:00.003-06:00

I'm snowed in! Well, iced in, actually. My car got stuck in the road, so my mom was going to drive me to work in her truck, but the roads were so slick we decided not to attempt it. I could lose my job over this, because we're supposed to have perfect attendance in December, but right now I don't care. All I care about is being safe inside my warm house, drinking cocoa full of marshmallows, and working on my mom's Endpaper Mitts.

Have You Any Wool?

2008-12-08T13:00:00.003-06:00

Berroco Peruvia (red, ivory, and blue) and Manos del Uruguay (green), wound into nests.

Last night while watching the first two Harry Potter movies, I wound up these four balls of wool with my nostepinne. Seriously folks, if you buy a lot of yarn in hanks but can't stand knitting from balls that roll around all over the place, consider buying a nostepinne. Personally, I love the handmade ones from Kari Welsh, but she's taking a break from making them right now and only has three left in her shop. Winding with a nostepinne takes longer than using a ballwinder & swift, but they're much cheaper and a heck of a lot easier to store. Plus, it's so tactile to wind yarn by hand...and what knitter doesn't love to touch their yarn?

Anyway, back to the yarn I bought yesterday. The red, ivory, and blue are all Berroco Peruvia, and the green is Manos del Uruguay. These are for Ysolda Teague's Last Minute Stockings. The red is for my stocking and the blue is for Flavio's. I wasn't really planning to knit a stocking for my mom, but I fell in love with that green Manos (one of the few hanks at Twist, which has stopped carrying Manos) and couldn't resist. The ivory is for the contrasting bits on all three stockings. I can't wait to knit these, but as I'm trying to concentrate on one project at a time these days, they'll have to wait until I finish the pair of Endpaper Mitts I'm knitting for my mom.

I've been a busy, busy knitter lately. It's nice to be knitting something other than toys and clothes for babies!

Snugglefeet

2008-12-06T13:02:00.003-06:00

[ raveled. ]

I finished Flavio's socks around 6 o'clock this morning. I'm glad, too, because I start my Christmas work schedule today, and knitting is probably going to be kicked to the back burner for a while. (Well, I say this, but I'm getting ready to start another pair of Endpaper Mitts tomorrow and hope to finish them by Christmas.) With Lang Jawoll Superwash sock yarn in black, I cast on 60 sts on size 2 (US) dpns, and worked in 2x2 rib for 8 inches. I held light blue yarn and black reinforcement thread together for the heels and toes. The 2x2 rib continues over the top of the foot. Very simple socks, but I hope they keep his feet cozy all winter long.

Things I Do While I Knit

2008-12-03T22:21:00.005-06:00

my new sock blockers from The Loopy Ewe

Today I got a set of sock blockers that I ordered from The Loopy Ewe. Yay!! Now I can block Flavio's socks (well, when I finish them). I love knitting things for him. I'm always thinking about him, of course, but even moreso when I'm knitting for him. I think about these socks keeping his feet warm while he's walking to the metro in the rain. I think about our future life together, knitting blankets for our home and toys for our babies. Yesterday I bought some Christmas-y fabrics to line the stockings I'm going to knit for our first Christmas together (next year).

Last night I watched a really wonderful movie while I was knitting: Ballet Shoes, based on the Noel Streatfeild novel of the same name. It's about three orphans growing up as sisters in the 1930s, each aspiring to do something great. It was a really lovely movie, and now I want to read the book. I've been really into children's literature lately...yesterday I bought The Tale of Despereaux, which I'm very excited to read after I finish Little Women. I think the movie looks so cute!

I've been on a real knitting kick lately. I'm sure it's the cold weather. Nothing warms me more than curling up in my big red chair with a little knitting project in my hands and a sweet little movie on the tube. Got any movie recommendations? Right now, I'm especially interested in film adaptations of children's literature and period dramas set in the late 18th- to early 20th-century (American or British).

Counting Blessings

2008-11-30T13:43:00.007-06:00

A lot of unfortunate things have happened in the past couple months. Not just to me, of course, and really I suppose I haven't had the worst of it. Although I've lost two pets, I haven't lost any of the people I love, and I'm in good health and fortunate not to have felt the effects of the financial crisis. I'm always cursing my bad luck, but I rarely stop to think about what good luck I've had. I have a really wonderful family that loves and supports me. I'm in love with the most amazing man I've ever met, who is so perfect for me, it's like I dreamed him up myself. And recently, I was able to travel to one of the most beautiful countries in the world, and I had an incredible time while I was there.

The end of the year always makes me feel reflective, and right now I'm reading Little Women, which has made me reflect on my blessings. Last night I read the chapter "Meg Goes to Vanity Fair," in which Meg travels with a couple of rich friends, dressing up and attending parties. Although initially vain and envious of her friends' fine things, in the end she realizes that the more she has, the more she wants, and she'd rather be poor, content, and loved.

Sometimes I feel like I get lost in everything that's going on around me. The world moves so fast, everything has to be done right now, everybody's always wanting more. Lori Ann recently wrote a post about anti-multitasking, and it got me thinking about slowing down. Concentrating on one thing at a time. Putting all of my love and energy into the little details of a project before moving on to another one.

So love and contentment will be my pursuits for the next year, being thankful for my blessings instead of dwelling on my misfortunes. My hope is that this inner peace will be reflected in my outer behavior. I've wasted entirely too much time being moody and sullen this year.

Comments

2008-11-29T11:27:00.003-06:00

I think I've fixed the comments on this blog, so they should work now. They're working for me, except when I choose 'OpenID' and type in my LiveJournal username. If this is the problem you've been having too, I've changed the comment settings to allow unregistered users to comment (as anonymous or with just their name). Try using this option to comment. If you see this post, please comment so I can test these settings to make sure they're working. Thank you!

And also, thank you for all of the sweet comments about my cat.

Madeline Mitts

2008-11-29T03:09:00.006-06:00

[ raveled. ]

I finished my Endpaper Mitts yesterday, just in time to wear them home from work tonight, during our first snow of the season. I wasn't entirely happy with the way the colors came out, but they're so warm and fit so well that I really don't care anymore. Next up (after I finish Flavio's socks, of course) I want to knit Heath's Socks, a beautiful new pattern written by my friend Andrea. I think I want to try Malabrigo, but I don't know much about it. Does anybody recommend/not recommend it?

P.S. I've named my mitts after my cat, Madeline, who was killed by my neighbor's dogs today. I'd had her for 12 years, half my life, and she loved to lay in my lap while I knitted. Whenever the world felt like it was falling apart around me, she was there for cuddles and comfort.

There's Always Room for Gratitude

2008-11-27T18:57:00.002-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I've had a really wonderful holiday weekend. Although I never got around to baking cookies, I have almost finished my second Endpaper Mitt, and I also finished one of Flavio's socks. I even did some Christmas shopping too!

My grandparents came over for dinner this afternoon. We had turkey, mashed potatoes & gravy, cornbread stuffing, hot rolls, cranberry sauce, a couple of relish trays, and two pies (dutch apple and pumpkin dream). I think my mom makes the very best pie crust on earth...so light and flaky, it just melts in your mouth.

I set up the Christmas tree around 3AM. I couldn't find my ornament hooks anywhere, so several ornaments have yet to be hung. It's pretty so far, though.

Now I'm watching a House marathon and finishing up my Endpaper Mitts!

New Oven Day!

2008-11-25T17:50:00.003-06:00

my mom peeking into the new oven!
merry christmas to us!

Our new oven was installed this morning. It's really beautiful and shiny, but it doesn't make the creak-and-bang sounds like the old one, and I know it's going to take me a while to adjust to buttons instead of knobs. Still...it's really lovely. We're breaking it in right now with a mushroom pizza, something we've been desperately missing for the past six weeks. I'm also eager to try out the puzzle-shaped cookie cutters I bought at Muji on my last day in Milan, along with a lot of other baked yumminess.

Other news:

I had a really bad day yesterday. And the exclamation point at the end of it was being pulled over by an officer from the sheriff's department, not fifty feet from my house at 1 AM. I'd never been pulled over before, and I knew I hadn't been speeding and had used my turn signal every time, so I really didn't know what was going on. Anyway, I guess the light above my license plate was burned out, and the guy was really nice about the whole thing, and I didn't get a ticket. Still, it was extremely frustrating (and a little humiliating) to be pulled over right in front of my neighbor's house, when all I wanted was to just get home.
I've been told by a couple of people that they're having trouble commenting on my blog. I don't know if this is a general Blogger glitch, or if it's an issue with my blog in particular. Is anyone else having trouble sending and/or receiving comments?
Be my Twitter friend!

Sneak Peek

2008-11-22T14:18:00.002-06:00

one down, one to go!
p.s. sorry about the bluriness...it's really hard to take a picture of your own arm!

I just finished the first in my pair of Endpaper Mitts. I thought the colors in the Noro would change more frequently, and at first I was disappointed because I was halfway through the thumb increases by the time I got something other than pinky-purple, but actually I really like the way this turned out. I'm not even going to try to match the other mitt's striping pattern to this one, so the two will be different colors. I think it'll be fun that way, right? Anyway, I'm really hoping to get the other one done by the end of my 3-day Thanksgiving "weekend" (Tue/Wed/Thu), but I'm also hoping to finish one of Flavio's socks, our oven will be installed Tuesday morning (and I've been going through baked goods withdrawl), and I've got a really thick book about fiancé & marriage visas to read. So we'll see what happens.

What Doesn't Kill Me Makes Me Stronger

2008-11-16T12:54:00.003-06:00

Sorry for my lack of blogging this past week. At first, I was having some trouble adjusting to being back in the US. I know, it sounds crazy since I was only gone for a week, but it seems to have been a pretty critical week in the States! Halloween, the election, and the start of the Christmas season (is it just me, or does this seem to start earlier every year?). This past week has also been plagued by several catastrophes, large and small. They're pretty personal, so I won't go into detail here, but the phrase, "what doesn't kill me makes me stronger," is pretty fitting, particularly when applied to my relationship with Flavio. I'm so eager for us to start our life together...I'm hoping that once we're living together, all of the chaos will end.

But I don't want to give you the impression that everything has been bad since I've been back! Actually, day-to-day life has been pretty good:

We bought a new oven!! It should (hopefully) be installed sometime later this week, but most definitely before Thanksgiving.
I finally got a new phone. I'm not in love with it, and unfortunately I had to get a new SIM card, so I don't have any of my pictures of Max or Flavio, but at least I can make phone calls now! :D
Flavio & I have decided where we want to live when he moves here in April. I've been having fun thinking about furniture arrangements and daydreaming about going for sunset walks on the hiking trails.
Driving home from work every night, my hands are always freezing. I've been shopping around for some fingerless gloves/mitts (I don't like gloves because I can't get a good grip on the steering wheel), but I didn't like any that I found. So I'm making my own! Last night I ordered some Louet Gems Fingering in charcoal and Noro Silk Garden Sock in S258 to make Eunny Jang's Endpaper Mitts. This will be my first time using Noro...I've heard a lot of negative things about Noro sock yarn (and I've felt it myself at Twist...it's awfully scratchy), but I'm hoping that the silk blend will be a little better.

With Christmas approaching, I won't be blogging much over the next six weeks. But in January, I'll be back with lots of things to share!

Italia è per gli innamorati!

2008-11-07T09:20:00.004-06:00

Lucky for you, I do kiss and tell! Italy was incredible. I've been home for about 36 hours, and I miss Italy already. Milan was a madhouse, but by the end of my trip I was getting used to the rain and the crazy traffic and the bumpy metro and the vendors shoving umbrellas in my face at every corner. These are easy things to deal with when you get to have a cream-filled brioche & espresso for breakfast and everywhere you look you see beautiful plants & flowers spilling over balconies and you walk past a gelaterie every 10 or 20 meters. As if that weren't enough, I also met a lot of really wonderful people.

Flavio's village, Vercelli, was really lovely. His family was so sweet and welcoming. We visited a street fair and Sant'Andrea (a 13th-century church in the city's center) and I had my first Italian gelato.

Then it was on to Venice! The train ride was cozy, and I got to see the sun rise over the hills. Venice was amazing. I ate four ice cream cones and we stayed at a beautiful bed & breakfast and we went to Murano and, oh, I can't even begin to tell you everything. Here are some pictures, but just believe me when I say that they don't do the city justice. If you ever have the opportunity to go to Venice, do it! I can't wait to go back someday.

Of course these aren't all of the photos I took during my trip! Although I took 300 photos, my computer is suffering from a severe memory drought, and I only managed to get about 56 photos transferred from my camera. See the rest of the photos I managed to upload here.

Arrivederci!

2008-10-28T03:09:00.004-05:00

My dad is picking me up to drive me to the airport in 4 and a half hours--shockingly soon! I'm trying to finish up some last-minute things...knitting the last ear of the last stuffed toy, doing a small load of laundry, packing up toiletries, writing down important information, searching through the house for any little things I desperately need but will probably forget, making sure my head is still attached, etc. My stomach has been in absolute knots for the past several days. I'm excited, of course, but I'm nervous about traveling. Nothing bad ever happens to me when I travel--my luggage has never gotten lost, I've never missed a flight or had one canceled (or even delayed), I've obviously never been in any sort of crash or anything like that. But I'm still a nervous nellie about traveling abroad by myself. One thing I'm doing to combat this is by not sleeping tonight--and I'm going to try really hard not to sleep during my flight from here to Atlanta--because I want to be able to sleep through most of my 9-hour flight to Milan. Besides making the flight pass quickly for me, this will also help to reduce my sense of jet-lag, since I'll be arriving in Milan on Wednesday morning.

In spite of my nervous complaining, I truly am looking forward to this trip. It's my first real vacation in over six years! I never dreamed that I'd actually be going to Italy for a whole week, much less to meet my future in-laws. I feel so fortunate to be taking this trip, and I can't wait to share lots of pictures and stories with you when I get back. Arrivederci!!

Six Days

2008-10-22T14:41:00.003-05:00

That's how much time I have left until my trip. It's not much, and I still have a ton of things to do before I leave...and yet I'm not really stressed out. Actually, I'm really excited. I need to get away from this place for a little while. I haven't been on a vacation in more than 6 years! And right now, especially, I feel the need to escape from my life. I keep seeing Max out of the corner of my eye, keep expecting him to be sleeping in his little bed when I wake up in the morning, keep expecting him to greet me at the door every time I come home.

I really love the little Willow Tree memory box I got for Max's collar, and I decided to get one for all of the little treasures I've been collecting with Flavio. Unfortunately, the first store I went to had Willow Tree figurines but none of the boxes, and the second store I went to didn't have the box I'd originally wanted. I didn't feel like driving to a third store to find exactly what I wanted, so I spent a little more money on one that was a little bit bigger. And, well, I'm really glad that I got this one because the few things I've collected so far have practically filled the box.

Also: a few days ago, I got a coupon from Helzberg in the mail. It was for a free pair of pink pearl earrings, no strings attached! I picked them up today, and they're really lovely.

I also bought a Hungarian phrasebook at Borders because Flavio & I are thinking about taking a little trip to Budapest, hopefully sometime next year. I've seen some pictures from other people's recent trips, and I've heard a lot of really good things about it (mostly that it's beautiful and cheaper than Vienna, which--along with Paris and St. Petersburg--is one of my dream cities to visit).

A Happier Post

2008-10-19T10:56:00.002-05:00

Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock (in the Sept. '08 limited edition Gone Fishin' colorway), wound into a 'nest' with my tropical passionwood nostepinne

Yesterday I received this beautiful nostepinne (nosty, for short) in the mail. I purchased it on Etsy from Kari Welsh, a lady in Michigan who hand-turns them on a lathe. She makes them in all sorts of beautiful colors, but this tropical passionwood nosty really caught my eye. A nostepinne is an old Scandinavian tool used to wind yarn into center-pull balls. This was my first attempt, and although my ball turned out more egg-shaped, it was really very easy and fun.

P.S. Of course I'm not over Max's death, but I've got to let him go. I can't wallow in sadness the way I have the past couple of days. It's not healthy, and it's not going to bring him back.

Surrender

2008-10-17T16:53:00.014-05:00

a memory box (called 'Hug') that I bought for Max's collar

Max passed away today. He had a transfusion last night, and the vet called this morning to ask if she could prescribe a medicine called ciclosporin. At first I agreed to a two-week trial, despite the medication's hefty price. A few hours later, I went to see him, and he didn't seem any better than he was before the transfusion. My mom and I discussed it with the vet, and we learned that he would've had to be on ciclosporin for at least six months...which would've cost roughly $1600, on top of his prednisone and office visits. And there would be no guarantee that any of this would work--in fact, one of the adverse effects of ciclosporin is that it can increase cell destruction. The vet said he would probably only live another four to six years, and during that time would probably have several relapses. That would be the best case scenario.

He looked so sad and sleepy and scared. I just couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't let him suffer through a two-week trial of a medicine that I knew I couldn't afford to keep him on for six months. Knowing that the outcome would almost certainly be death, I couldn't justify letting him hang on just so I could have more time with him. Thankfully, he went very peacefully. He just laid his head down and went to sleep.

"Max is a star now.
You can look at him forever."
-message from Flavio

Downhill...

2008-10-15T23:15:00.005-05:00

Max (on Tuesday), snuggled up with William (who has been very concerned about Max)

Max is getting worse. I feel so completely helpless because I don't know how he got sick, and there's really nothing I can do for him now. It's hard to anticipate his needs, like when he's thirsty or when he needs to potty, because he's too tired to alert me about these things. He hasn't made a single sound since Monday, and even then it was just a low growl to get the other animals to leave him alone. I had made an appointment to have his cell count rechecked on Friday, but today we rescheduled it for Thursday. I'm scared that if we wait until Friday, it could be too late.

I just don't know how to deal with this right now. I know maybe some people think it's silly to get so worked up about a dog, but he isn't just a dog to me. I love him so much. I don't want him to suffer, but I'm not ready to let him go yet. He's only 6 years old, and I've only had two years with him. It amazes me how he could deteriorate so quickly. Just last week he was running around the backyard, giving me hugs, begging for a bite of whatever anybody was eating. I have had no time to deal with this, to process what's happening to him. And nobody can tell me why this happened, which is so frustrating. If he gets better, how do I keep this from happening again? How does someone just suddenly get an autoimmune disease? How does someone go from totally fine to practically dead in just a matter of days?

[update]: We just got back from the vet, and as I suspected, he's worse. His red count has dropped a little bit, as well as his protein levels. Also, his temperature is below normal and he's showing some jaundice in his ears and gums. We don't have very many options at this point, so he's having a blood transfusion. Best case scenario, he starts getting better and the red cell destruction stops. Worst case scenario, the transfusion could actually speed up the process of cell destruction, and he'll die. It could be a day or it could be a week before we know what's going to happen. It's hard to be optimistic at this point.

Please Please Please

2008-10-13T16:15:00.003-05:00

Please pray (or meditate or make wishes or whatever) for my dog, Max. For the past several days, he's been very lethargic, won't eat much more than dirt, and has been losing weight as a consequence. Today we took him to the vet, thinking that this whole thing had gone on a little too long to be a simple tummy ache. It turns out he's severely anemic...his gums are practically white! Based on a simple test, they think his red blood cell percentage is only about 10%--it should be closer to 35%. If it drops much more, his brain and heart won't be receiving enough oxygen, and he could die. We won't know until the morning what his actual cell count is (and whether or not he'll need a blood transfusion). Until then, he's on a steroid and an antibiotic (the vet thinks it's probably an auto-immune disease), and I'm freaking out that the slightest stress will kill him.

So please, keep him in your thoughts tonight. <3

[update]: The vet called a few minutes ago, and it looks like it's probably auto-immune. His white cells are a little elevated, his red cells are at 10.8%, and his platelets are normal. He seems a little bit perkier since he's been on the steroids though, and he hasn't had any collapses or fainting spells--both good signs. He's got another appointment on Friday morning to check his cell count again. She said we need to be pretty aggressive with this over the next several days, to get his red count up, but for now she seemed optimistic since he doesn't appear to be getting worse.

Sky & Bud

2008-10-10T15:34:00.003-05:00

[ raveled: sky. ] and [ raveled: bud. ]

A couples months ago, I finished knitting an elephant for the newborn son of one of my sweetheart's colleagues. Then, I made an elephant and a bunny for my friend Sara's twins (who, I'm happy to report, were born healthy one week ago today). After Flavio showed the pictures of the toys to his colleague, she also asked for a bunny for her son, and then another colleague asked for an elephant and a bunny for her son too. I finished these two rabbits, Sky and Bud, a few weeks ago. I was planning to send all of the toys back to Italy with Flavio, but I had been so busy getting ready for him to come that I was unable to finish the second elephant. I also hadn't taken pictures of any of the toys. Well, I still haven't quite finished Sunny (the elephant), but I did manage to take some pictures of Sky & Bud this afternoon.

This fort reminds me a lot of the one my brother & I used to make as kids. We had an old quilt that we would throw over the dining room table and hide under. It was fabulous. My senior year of college, I made a fort in my dorm room using a bedsheet that I thumbtacked to the wall. Who doesn't love a good fort?

Moratorium on Cake

2008-10-09T14:22:00.004-05:00

my home's General Electric 1950s Automatic Oven (it's mustard yellow)

My poor old oven is on the fritz. It's probably just the heating element, which we've been told is pretty simple and inexpensive to replace. I'm hoping that we don't need to replace the whole oven, and not just because that's something we can't afford. As much as I complain about the oven sometimes (the calibration is way off, things go from 'golden' to 'black' in the blink of an eye, the light hasn't worked in years, etc.), I love the fact that it's original to the house! Other than the refrigerator and microwave, just about everything in the kitchen is 20+ years old. A new oven would look so strange and out-of-place. Also, I don't know how to bake in another oven!

A few months ago, my grandmother asked me to think of my favorite sounds. And one of them is the sound my oven makes when it's opened & closed. It's not a pretty sound...kind of a grating metal-on-metal, with a bit of a bang when it shuts. It reminds me of my childhood, coming home after school as my mom's pulling chocolate chip cookies out of the oven. Or any Thanksgiving. Or cinnamon rolls on a Sunday morning. I don't think I'm quite ready to let go of these memories yet.

In Digestion

2008-10-05T13:20:00.004-05:00

Clockwise, from the top: extra-sharp cheddar cheese, honey crisp apple, St. Dalfour organic peppermint tea, roasted pumpkin seeds, and sweet yeast diamond roll.

These are the things that have made up a large part of my diet recently. Fall always puts me in a bit of a rustic mood. Unfortunately, the pumpkin seeds are store-bought...I haven't gotten around to roasting my own yet. The sweet yeast roll is also from the store. I'd like to make my own at home, but I'm having trouble finding a recipe for them. Today I bought a jar of St. Dalfour black cherry fruit spread, so I'm planning to make some sort of breakfast pastry during my weekend. I can't recommend St. Dalfour highly enough...it's the best peppermint tea I've ever had, and their preserves are fruity and sweet (despite containing zero added sugar).

What things do you like to eat when the weather turns cool?

Sogni D'Oro

2008-10-03T15:21:00.006-05:00

This is a snapshot of my nightstand. I just finished reading Blackbird House last night when I got home from work. It was a wonderful story collection about the generations of inhabitants of a little farm on Cape Cod. There are beautiful themes running through all of the stories...sorrow, love as an anchor, ghosts. I'm looking forward to reading Alice Hoffman's other books (like The Ice Queen, a grown-up fairy tale about lightning strike survivors, which I'm starting tonight).

Flavio started reading Pinocchio to me when he was here. I got it on clearance when my local B&N was moving to another location, but unfortunately it's one of those abridged versions for children. When I'm in Italy (26 days!!), I plan to buy it in the original Italian. I'm hoping it will help me learn the language. Or it may just join my small collection of books in languages I can't read.

I bought Grimm's Fairy Tales when Flavio was here. It's not the complete collection (which I have in paperback, packed away somewhere in the garage), but it had such a pretty cover and one of those lovely little attached ribbon bookmarks. I'm a total sucker for those.

The lavender vanilla pillow mist from Bath & Body Works is one of my new favorite things. It makes my sheets smell so soft and sweet, like a baby. Behind that is the egyptian cotton scented candle I bought with Flavio back in March (he has one too, which he keeps in an espresso cup). The nasal decongestant has been my sweet relief each morning this week, as I've been waking up completely unable to breathe through my nose.

This afternoon I ordered some books from Amazon. As much as I love to buy them from a bookstore, they're so expensive! And they don't always have the books I'm looking for. Here are the books I've got coming:

Mirror Mirror by Gregory Maguire (a retelling of Snow White...I will probably save this for the plane ride to/from Italy)
Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi (the unabridged English translation)
The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen (I really loved Garden Spells but didn't know until today that she'd come out with a new book back in May!)
Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman (Blackbird House was so good, and I love this movie, so I think I'm really going to enjoy this book)

A Little Bit More Than So Much

2008-09-30T11:27:00.005-05:00

There's so much to say, I don't know where to begin...

I thought it would be easier to say goodbye this time because I know that I'll see him again in 4 weeks. But actually, it turned out to be much harder. I've grown so much more attached to him--fallen so much deeper in love with him--than I was 7 months ago. I think one of us will have to move within the next year. I think it will probably be me. Which really just puts more pressure on this trip of mine to Italy next month...as if there could be any more pressure on it!

The past week went by way too quickly. We had so much fun together...cooking and baking and kissing and laughing and reading stories and watching movies and walking around the city. I wish I could pick out my favorite moment, but it's impossible. Was it our tickle war? Was it when the waitress brought us juice in wine goblets and told us we were king & queen for the day? Was it listening to him do funny voices while he read Pinocchio to me? Was it him spinning me in the kitchen while we danced to a mixed CD full of silly love songs, like Dean Martin's "That's Amore"? I don't know...there are too many beautiful memories to choose from. It probably wasn't being swarmed by mosquitoes at the corn maze, although the sunset that night was one of the loveliest I've ever seen. I don't think it was my sister teasing us about holding hands while walking down a flight of stairs, but it might have been walking around the oldest part of the city together while the sun was coming up that morning. When we're together, the smallest things become these beautiful, magical moments that I know I'll treasure forever.

My bounty is as boundless as the sea,

My love as deep; the more I give to thee,
The more I have, for both are infinite.

-"Romeo and Juliet"-

Today's the Day

2008-09-23T16:49:00.002-05:00

I've been waiting six and a half very long months, and today I finally get to see my sweetheart again. Being in a long-distance relationship is probably the hardest thing I've ever done. Of course trust is important in all meaningful relationships, but I think it's especially vital to a long-distance one. Our current arrangement could never work if we didn't have that implicit faith in each other. Anyway, his plane touches down in about 3 hours, and I've been awake for about 28 hours now. There have been so many last-minute things to do! Although truthfully, most of them wouldn't have been "last-minute" if I hadn't put them off until the last minute. I'm just hoping, now that I'm almost done with everything I needed to do, that I don't fall asleep and forget to pick him up. That would be terrible!

So I won't be blogging for a while. I'd love to say that the minute he goes back to Italy, I'll blog about the week and post a billion pictures, but I'll probably be an emotional wreck and take a nap. And I have to work that night. So it could be a couple weeks before I put up a real post. Until then, I hope everyone has a wonderful last week of September!

A Note About Safety

2008-09-21T11:32:00.002-05:00

This is for everyone, but especially for the ladies...

First, some background information: I work at the post office. Because it's a federal building, even the parking lot is considered federal property and it's considered trespassing to drive through the lot if you're not an employee. The parking lot is fenced, and there are signs at the gates (which are always open, because we've got people working in the building 24/7). Also, the parking lot has slanted spaces, and we have a rule against pulling through spaces. I have a certain row that I always park in, and on days when we have a lot of mail, I might have to park close to the end of the row (pretty far away from the building).

Well, yesterday was one of those busy days, and when I turned down my row, it was pretty full. There was an old Isuzu SUV pulled through a space, and there was an empty space to the left of the vehicle (with another SUV parked on the other side of that space), and several empty spaces to the right of the vehicle. I wasn't really sure I had the mad parking skillz to park between two SUVs, so I decided to park on the right side of the Isuzu. I noticed that there was someone sitting inside the Isuzu, but I didn't really think anything of it because it's not unusual for people to sit in their cars talking on the phone before they go inside to clock in. So I went about my normal parking routine: turning off my a/c, shutting off the car, putting my keys away, etc. I happened to glance over at the guy in the Isuzu to see if it was anybody I recognized, and he was staring me straight in the eye. It made me feel very uncomfortable. I started to analyze the situation I was in: parked far away from the building, my driver's side right next to his driver's side, although there were a lot of cars in the lot there weren't any people...and this guy was staring at me with this creepy little half-smile on his face. So I turned my car back on and got the heck out of there. I found a space in my row that was very close to the building, and I hurried into the building to tell a supervisor. After she confronted him, he said he was looking for the gun show, and she said he appeared to be intoxicated. Personally I think he was making it up, but I guess I'll never know. I do know that in that situation, I felt very uncomfortable, and I think I made the right decision by following my instincts.

A few weeks ago, my stepmom gave me a copy of The Gift of Fear, by Gavin De Becker. At the time, I thought it was silly...I thought reading a book like that would just make me paranoid and more afraid and suspicious. Although I haven't read the book yet, I've flipped through it enough to get the basic message: follow your instincts. I don't know what that man's intentions were yesterday, but I know that I could have been the victim of a violent crime if I hadn't followed those instincts yesterday, if I hadn't been aware of my surroundings. So please, please, please follow your instincts. Be aware of your surroundings, especially if you're alone or in an unfamiliar place. It only takes a few seconds to look around and evaluate a situation, but it could save your life. If something seems 'wrong' or gives you a bad gut feeling, just go with it. Don't worry about seeming paranoid or prejudiced. The latter is especially hard for me...I feel guilty rolling up my windows or checking to make sure my doors are locked when I see someone of another race walking by my car. But it's never just because of their race...it's because of how they're dressed or how they're walking or because they're carrying a baseball bat or walking the streets at 2am. And as guilty as I feel about it, I'd rather be a little bit prejudiced than a whole lot dead. (By the way, the prejudice thing doesn't apply to yesterday...the man was a member of my own race, and I do have a rough idea of the statistics regarding violent crimes against women perpetrated by white men...I'm probably more suspicious of them than anybody else.)

Work In Progress

2008-09-13T04:42:00.002-05:00

That phrase is pretty fitting for my life these days--I seem to be in the middle of so many things, but nothing is ever done. Unfortunately, most of these projects have a common end date, September 23rd. Otherwise known as ten days from now. Crap.

In ten days, my sweetheart will be here. Between now and then, I need to do three months worth of laundry, organize all of my craft stuff (well, I don't really have time to organize anything...I just need to remove all of my fiber piles from the living room), get Max groomed, finish knitting two bunnies and an elephant, and make a dinner reservation for 17 people.

But in my spare time, I can't help flipping through my two new sock knitting books, 2-At-A-Time Socks and Sensational Knitted Socks, and the October issue of Country Living, plus working on a pair of socks for myself, my Moon River Socks (using Lisa Stichweh's Pillars pattern and Dream In Color Smooshy in Pansy Golightly):

Coming Attractions

2008-09-07T12:42:00.002-05:00

It's only the first week of September, but autumn is already starting to peak through. Typically we're plagued with an indian summer swelter through the middle of the month, but so far September has been blissfully cool. There are several little orange leaves peppering the driveway and (still green) yard. Starbucks has the pumpkin spice latte back on the menu. And, perhaps a final farewell to my childhood summers, we've had our swimming pool removed. There's a big crater in the backyard now, which the dogs are having a blast with.

Anyway, I'm thankful for autumn's early appearance, although I hope it's not the harbinger of an early winter. Last winter was brutal, and I'm hoping for a more mild one this year.

19/54*

2008-09-04T01:45:00.003-05:00

No knitting, baking, or otherwise crafty content for today. Instead, please indulge me in this post about my personal life.

In 19 days, my sweetheart will be visiting me for a whole week! I've been counting down the days for a couple of weeks now. I still have quite a lot of things to do before he gets here...mostly cleaning, but also organizing/finalizing our plans during his stay. When he was here six months ago (ugh, yes, it's been that long since I've seen him...I'm going crazy!), he met my parents and my younger brother. This time he'll be meeting my older siblings, my nieces & nephews, and my grandparents. We'll also be celebrating my birthday together, which will be magical for me. I have a longstanding history of disappointing birthdays, but nothing can ruin this one. Even if it rains and we're stuck at home all day, just spending my birthday together will make it perfect.

In 54* days, I'll be traveling to Italy to meet his family and friends for the first time. I'm so nervous! None of his family speaks any English, and my Italian is extremely limited, at best. I'm working on it, but it's not coming to me as easily as Spanish or even French (and I really struggled with French). I know a few words and phrases, but I can't form sentences, and spoken Italian just sounds like gobbledygook to me. Anyway, I'm trying not to focus on that part of my trip. Rather, I'm spending all of my time daydreaming about the little trip we'll be making to Venice! My piccolo has booked a room for us at 3749 Ponte Chiodo, a bed & breakfast in historic Venice. We'll also be making a little excursion to three of the islands in the lagoon: Murano, Burano, and Torcello.

Needless to say, I'm quite excited about my upcoming adventures, and I can't wait to share pictures with y'all. And there will be some crafty content tossed in along the way. My sweetheart has asked for a pair of socks, which I'll be knitting between his visit and mine, we're planning a trip to the local farmer's market while he's here (for operation: homemade applesauce), and we'll be baking some coconut cupcakes for my mother's birthday. Also, we may be visiting some yarn shops in Milan, and I'm hoping to knit a pair of socks for myself during my flights.

* = Although I'm leaving for Italy in 54 days (Oct. 28th), due to the length of my flight and the 7-hour time difference, I won't actually arrive in Italy until the 29th (55 days from now).

Sir Sprout + Lady Lavender

2008-08-31T11:32:00.004-05:00

The past week has been nonstop knitting, with very little sleep. Presently, it's 11:35am and I've yet to go to bed. This morning was a mad dash to finish Sir Sprout before meeting Sara and Debbie for breakfast at 8:30. Sir Sprout and Lady Lavender are gifts for Sara's soon-to-be-born twins, Brody and Lily. Of course before I could give them to her, I had to set up a little photo shoot, completely with miniature lemon cupcakes (with sprinkles!) on my colorful espresso saucers.

[ raveled: sir sprout. ]
[ raveled: lady lavender. ]

Feeling Sublime

2008-08-26T22:25:00.008-05:00

Before:
After:It had been a solid year since I'd gotten a hair cut (I've been trimming my bangs at home, which is fine when you're desperate, but doesn't actually look so great), and the last time had involved dyeing my hair dark brown and adding carmel-ish highlights (see the funky blonde patches in the 'before' photo?). My hair was, for me, incredibly damaged. Lots of split ends, tangles that would NOT comb out, and a lot of uncontrollable frizz. I visited my lovely hairdresser today, and she worked her beauty magic, trimming about an inch off the length and thinning out my hair (and evening up my mangled bangs). It's so shiny & silky now! Tomorrow I'm going to buy some rollers and experiment with curling my hair.

Also: today I went to my LYS and discovered that she's no longer carrying Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK! Oh nooooooo!! But she has added something new...Sublime Cashmere Merino Silk DK...and it's soooo yummy. Sometime in the next few months, I want to knit myself a bunny with one of the several lovely shades of pink she has in stock.

Also also: I stopped by Hobby Lobby to pick up some polyester fiberfill, and they had all of their Christmas stuff out! It was heaven. I found Drosselmeyer and Mouse King vintage-style mouth-blown glass ornaments to go with the Clara I got a few years ago. (My Clara ornament looks exactly like the one in that picture, and my Drosselmeyer and Mouse King are the same in style but different in color. They had the Nutcracker ornament too, but I didn't like it because to me it doesn't look much like the Nutcracker!) I'd really like to find a good Sugar Plum Fairy ornament someday. Hallmark has one this year, but it's really big and really expensive, although it does play "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy," which is quite lovely.

Giovanni's Squishy New Friend

2008-08-24T02:03:00.002-05:00

About a bazillion years ago, when dinosaurs and woolly mammoths roamed the earth, I started knitting this elephant. And last night, I finished it. It didn't really take me eons to knit this little bugger--only about a week, actually. But I became endlessly frustrated when trying to pick up stitches for the ears (I was really worried that they wouldn't be symmetrical), and I buried him in a knitting drawer, under thirty or forty half-finished socks. He probably would've remained there until the next ice age, but I guess I promised him to a little bambino named Giovanni. And he just couldn't make his trip across the sea without ears! So I faced my fears of asymmetry, and actually I think I was worried about nothing, because he looks pretty balanced to me. And even if he isn't, wonkiness is a bit cute anyway, I think. Oh, he's so Italian...already drinking espresso!

[ raveled. ]

In other knitting news, I've finished the first of my Unnecessary Distraction socks (the second probably won't be knit until October or November):

For those who wonder about these things, up next I'll be knitting Ysolda's Sophie and Otto, for my friend Sara's twins. I'm going to try to find some little plastic rattle thingies to put inside them. I'm thinking lime green for Otto and purple for Sophie...

The US State Department + Me = BFF

2008-08-17T03:53:00.004-05:00

I've re-prioritized some of my projects (in order to justify working on my unnecessary distraction), and my future living arrangement woes are back where they belong--in the future. My stress level has gone way down in the last few days, with the help of beautiful weather, fresh flowers, and a new CD from the Ditty Bops. Oh, and the arrival of my passport! For those who don't know, I just turned in my application on the 6th. Of August. What?! When I saw the envelope in the mail this morning, I thought that it was my application being returned because there was a problem with my photos or the fact that I spelled my mother's middle name wrong or something like that. I can't believe that they actually processed my application and mailed me an actual passport in just 10 days. My faith in the US government has been temporarily restored.

P.S. These are the greatest shoes of all time. All time. And I think I should get this bag to take as my carry-on when I go to Italy. It would also be pretty useful for the short trips we'll be taking during my visit (as opposed to lugging my suitcase around with me)...including a little trip to Venice!! And maybe Murano too. I'm pinching myself to make sure it's all really real. The only thing that could possibly make life any better is this cake.

Setting the World Record in Multi-Tasking

2008-08-13T00:48:00.004-05:00

Another week of very little to post. I've got a hundred billion projects in progress right now, which leaves little time for making food, much less taking & posting pictures of food. I'm trying to knit three blankets and two sweaters by the end of September (yes, I am this crazy...but at least these are all baby-sized things!), working on a super secret project for a guest post on the soon-to-launch Simple Makes (whose temporary home can be found here), reading (I finished two books last week), watching the Olympics (more about this in a minute), and totally, like, freaking out about where I'm going to be living in six months. This is all on top of working 40 hours a week. Needless to say, I have not been getting enough sleep.

Part of my lack of sleep is due to the Olympics, which I'm totally psyched about this year. It's been a long time since I've actually watched the Games. The last time I really watched them was maybe 2002, the Salt Lake City winter games. This was probably just because they were in the US, though, because I didn't watch the 2000 summer games in Sydney or the 1998 winter games in Nagano. No, the last time I was this absorbed in the competition was the summer of 1996, when they were in Atlanta. Typically I'm much more into the summer competition than the winter, although I did watch some of the snowboarding and skiing events in 2006 at Torino. And of course ice skating. No matter how bored I get with the other events, I always watch ice skating in winter and gymnastics in summer. Anyway, back to my original point: because of my work schedule, I miss out on the primetime showing of the events that I love (swimming and gymnastics). But the re-airing is always at the exact right point that I want to see when I get home at 2AM! So I stay up until 4AM, watching Michael Phelps win another gold and break another record, enduring the stumbles and falls of the men's and women's gymnastics teams. And by 4AM, I'm too pumped up from all of the nail-biting tension to go to sleep.

Oh, and did I mention that I'm in the process of cataloging my mother's expansive library? This is a Project with a capital P. She's got so many books, almost every surface of our dining room is covered with them. I've been at this for an hour, and I've barely made a dent.

Emma's Second

2008-08-06T08:06:00.002-05:00

Today I'm starting a new knitting project (shhh! don't tell my WIPs!). Last night, while messaging back & forth with my sister-in-law, I learned that my little niece Emma has lost her security. Well, her security blanket, that is. When Emma was born in the spring of 2003, shortly after I learned to knit, I made her a little blanket. Recently it seems to have fallen into a state of disrepair. So...it's time for a new blanket. It's such a simple construction, knit on the bias with eyelet increases and k2tog decreases forming a cozy garter-stitch square. And although the yarn, Lion Brand's Homespun, isn't my favorite...it's soft and easy to care for and, of course, what Emma has become so familiar with.

In completely unrelated news, this morning I was checking flights to Italy in late October, and I think the prices have actually gone down since the last time I checked! Since when does that ever happen?! Also, less than 36 hours after starting it, I'm more than halfway through Stephenie Meyer's Breaking Dawn. (This is truly a feat for me, as the book is over 700 pages long, I'm a slow reader, I've watched two movies, and I've slept twice!) I have to say, I certainly wasn't expecting the kind of plot this book has delivered, but obviously I'm liking it so far. But browsing the reviews on Amazon, I see that I may be in the minority.

Blueberry Crumb Bars

2008-08-03T14:55:00.003-05:00

Today I finally delivered on my nearly week-long promise to make the Blueberry Crumb Bars from Smitten Kitchen. Holy crap, why didn't I make these sooner?! The original recipe, from allrecipes.com, doesn't feature lemon...but truly, it's my favorite part of this recipe. I love the way fresh lemon makes my kitchen smell, and I also love the way the scent stays on my hands for hours afterward. Bonus? These really could not be easier to make unless they came from a boxed mix (and then they wouldn't taste nearly so wonderful!).
I went to the grocery store again this morning, when it wasn't so crowded, to really explore the new produce. Kumquats, lychees, four or five different kinds of bananas, baby pineapples, champagne grapes, rainbow chard, baby bok choy, Italian parsley (we really didn't have this before!), shallots (we didn't have these either!), white grapefruit, taro root, homegrown tomatoes, prickly pear, shiitake and chanterelle mushrooms...plus hummus and cannoli and fresh bagels and so many things! It's incredible.

Purple + Green

2008-08-01T16:24:00.005-05:00

Quickly, before I dash off to work...they've remodeled my neighborhood grocery store! Actually, the remodel isn't complete yet, but the expansion has been opened. There are so many more flowers in the floral department now, the produce department is HUGE (French green beans! hydroponic lettuce! mushrooms of all shapes & sizes!!), and there's a sushi bar! Oh, and TOFUTTI!!! I'm in heaven. Anyway...top row, L-R: dead carnations, hydrangea; bottom row, L-R: seaweed salad (my lunch), pompoms. I bought some lovely white snapdragons too, but of the four stems I bought, three turned out to have some sort of rot on the stems. It was slimy and pretty much gross.

Sweet Pea, etc.

2008-07-29T20:19:00.005-05:00

Oh my blog, I haven't been ignoring you. I've just had a lot of things in progress and very little finished, and therefore nothing much to post. I've been working on matching striped raglan sweaters for my friend Sara, who's having twins (a boy and a girl) in October, although I set them aside while I worked on Sweet Pea, my version of Ysolda Teague's Gretel beret. I should mention that I'm not really so crazy with how this hat turned out. The cables were tedious (in hindsight, maybe I should've tried learning how to do them without a cable needle, as the pattern recommends), and this yarn (Rowan Summer Tweed) has terrible stitch definition. And also reinforced my distaste for cotton-y yarns. Someday when all of my WIPs are finished (haha yeah right), I'd like to redo this pattern with a lovelier yarn...something woolly and smooth and solid-colored. Until then, on to Avalon: yesterday I received 15 balls of RYC Cashsoft DK in a lovely pale gray, for knitting Ysolda's Coraline. I'm trying to convince myself to finish the twins' sweaters before embarking on my own, but it's that sweet sort of temptation that's so hard to resist. Like ice cream or kisses.

[ raveled. ]

Otherwise, I've just been watching a lot of movies lately. Today I finally got around to seeing The Dark Knight, which was incredible. And last week I signed up for Netflix, so I've been spending a lot of time filling my queue with old movies (like the Thin Man series and anything with Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant, or Fred Astaire). If anybody has any movie recommendations, I'd love to hear them!

P.S. I shall be making these blueberry crumb bars quite soon...perhaps tomorrow! Rainy days are always good for baking, I think. And any day is good for blueberries.

Miss Adventure

2008-07-23T21:59:00.002-05:00

This hasn't been a very recuperative weekend for me. I did a lot of running around yesterday, and today I had lunch & went antiquing with my cousin (one of the coolest people on the planet, fyi) and also took my big girl to the vet. And through it all, I managed to miss out on seeing The Dark Knight, my one big definite Plan for the weekend. I also didn't buy yarn for Gretel--well, not at my LYS, anyway. I ended up buying some Rowan Summer Tweed online last night. But I did find lots of yummy Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK--8 balls, in fact--for a couple of new baby sweaters. My friend Sara is having twins--a boy and a girl--due in October. Last night I started on the boy's sweater, and I'll start on the girl's as soon as I get an extra pair of size 6 Clover bamboo needles (coming with my tweedy goodness on Friday). Here's a sneak peak of the stripe pattern (on the girl's sweater, the red & teal will be swapped out for pink & purple):

Tonight I'm going to sleep for 12 hours. Well, maybe not quite that long, but definitely a good long while.

Is This Pizza?

2008-07-22T13:25:00.002-05:00

Every time I make pizza, my sweetheart says the same thing: It looks nice, but it's not really pizza. Well, what else should I expect from an Italian? This time, however, I think I've come quite close to What Pizza Should Really Be. Sunday morning I was at the grocery store, dawdling in the pickle/olive aisle, and I spied with my little eye a jar of sundried tomatoes. Yum!! I instantly wanted to slap them onto the thin & crispy pizza crusts I'd found at Target a few days before. Anyway, so I backtracked to produce to pick up some fresh basil, and a couple days later...a pizza is born:

Now I'm off to my LYS to look for some Gretel-worthy yarn. Later this afternoon/tonight, I'm finally going to see The Dark Knight.

Little Stars

2008-07-22T08:09:00.002-05:00

Ysolda Teague is a genius. I'd love to kidnap her brain for a day to help me with the technical-schmechnical side of pattern design (I've got no problems with the abstract design process...it's the nitty-gritty nuts & bolts stuff that makes my head spin). Anyway, I'd been taking an extended vacation from knitting and crafting in general. Half-finished knitting and embroidery projects are piling up in my living room. An Ysolda beret was just what I needed to pull me out of my slump (although now all I want to do is find a yummy pink tweed for knitting Gretel).

So here's Stelline ("little stars" in Italian), my version of Ysolda's Estella. I used Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran in #137 Empire and Silkroad Aran Tweed in #118 Dusk, 1 ball of each.

[ raveled. ]

Holy crap, The China Syndrome is on AMC! I haven't seen this in like 6 or 7 years!!

The Lazy Blogger Strikes Again!

2008-07-20T09:09:00.003-05:00

This has been a torturous week so far. I feel like I'm being dragged through each day, kicking and screaming, wishing for the weekend to start Right Now. I'm having trouble sleeping, I've barely talked to my sweetheart, and work...ughhhhhhhhhh. So that's my excuse for not updating in the past few days. But coming up during my weekend: sundried tomato & basil pizza and a knitted hat. Maybe some other things too.

P.S. I'm on the hunt for a recipe for homemade applesauce (like from real apples and everything). So if you have one, please share!!

P.P.S. My nephew is turning sixteen on Tuesday, so I'm feeling really old. I remember when this kid was a baby and I used to push him around the house in a laundry basket (propped up by my stuffed animals, of course)!

Blueberry Crisp

2008-07-16T22:26:00.005-05:00

After my success with the apricot crisp last week, I decided to try it again...this time with blueberries. I love blueberries. Love. Love. And when I saw a lovely pint of them at the grocery store on Sunday, I knew I had to try this recipe ASAP. And what a success it was!

Original recipe at smitten kitchen. Substitute apricots with about 1.5-2 cups blueberries (I only used 1.5 cups because that's all my baking dish would hold...this would definitely be better with more blueberries, though, so if the dish you're using is slightly larger, use the whole 2 cups). Also, I used cinnamon instead of nutmeg because I don't have any nutmeg. And I omitted the almonds because...gross. Last but not least, 30-40 minutes in the oven is ridiculous. Mine was done after 13 minutes. I think in the future I may bake it longer, but at a lower temperature (like 350), because the blueberries didn't have enough time to break down and release their juices (this wasn't a problem with the apricot crisp because the apricots were in pieces to begin with). I served this for dessert, warm with whipped cream (or vanilla ice cream).

Mushroom Lasagna

2008-07-16T21:30:00.005-05:00

I've been trying to take better care of myself lately, head to toe (from using moisturizer on my face to wearing more supportive shoes on my feet). And a big part of this is eating better. To me, that doesn't necessarily imply eating healthier (although I'm trying to do that too)...it means to eat more natural foods with less processing and fewer unnatural ingredients (I'm not a big fan of artificial sweeteners, for example). So I'm trying to cook more. But nothing is more tiresome to me than a fussy recipe with lots of ingredients that I have to drive across town to find. That's why this lasagna is one of my favorite things to make. The most time-consuming part of this recipe is cutting up the mushrooms, but if you like big pieces of mushrooms you can totally skip it and have this whole thing done in 40 minutes (5 minutes for prep, 30 minutes in the oven, and 5 minutes to cool).

Mushroom Lasagna (serves 4-6, although my family of 3 managed to polish off the whole pan)

two 4-oz. (net drained weight) cans of pieces & stems mushrooms
two 10-oz. cans tomato sauce (use already seasoned sauce if you can find it, or add Italian seasoning)
4 oven-ready lasagna noodles
1 cup ricotta
3 cups mozzarella

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drain mushrooms and chop them into smaller pieces, if desired. In a bowl, stir together mushrooms and tomato sauce (and Italian seasoning, if using). Grease a 9x9 square baking dish. Spread a thin layer of mushroom sauce on the bottom of the pan. Place a layer of uncooked noodles on top of the sauce (for this size pan, this is 2 noodles). Spread approx. 1/4 cup ricotta on each noodle. Sprinkle approx. 1 cup mozzarella over the noodles/ricotta. Spoon half of the remaining mushroom sauce mixture over the cheese, making sure to cover the corners/edges (this helps to prevent the noodles from drying out). Place another layer of uncooked noodles over the sauce, spread with remaining ricotta, and sprinkle with another cup of mozzarella. Spoon remaining mushroom sauce over the cheese, and sprinkle with last cup of mozzarella. Place baking dish on a cookie sheet (in case it bubbles over in the oven) and bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes, or until cheese starts to bubble and turn golden. Let cool for a few minutes. Rejoice at your impending feast.

Notes: The first time I made this lasagna, I mixed 1 can of pieces & stems with 1 can of portabella pieces. I wanted to do that again, because the portabellas give it a little bit of a "beefy" flavor, but I couldn't find them. But the lasagna is still delicious with just pieces & stems. For the noodles, I like to use Archer Farms whole wheat oven-ready lasagna noodles. I like the texture & flavor of whole wheat pasta, although if you know someone who isn't a fan (like kids?), this isn't a bad recipe for trying it out. You really can't tell the difference. Also, if you have regular (not oven-ready) lasagna noodles on hand, go ahead and use them. Cooking them is an extra step, but it doesn't change any of the other steps in this recipe. If you have a pan with rounded corners (like mine), another way to avoid dry corners (and make the noodles fit pretty perfectly) is to just snap the corners off! For the ricotta, I recommend the whole milk kind because ricotta lowfat & part-skim are so flavorless. And if 3 cups of mozzarella sounds like a lot...it is! This lasagna is extremely cheesy. If you prefer your lasagna to be less cheesy, sprinkle less cheese in each layer (although it's important to keep the number & order of layers the same).

Light Up Your Face With Gladness

2008-07-15T09:58:00.000-05:00

Here's hoping that your day is as lovely as mine is shaping up to be!

New Shoe Day!

2008-07-12T14:45:00.000-05:00

For the past year or two, I've been wearing completely disposable ballet flats. And my feet have been crying out for supportive mercy. Well, I just couldn't take it anymore, so I went in search of good, cute shoes that weren't too expensive or too orthopedic-ish. I've been a bit in love with mary janes lately, and I didn't think that they'd be so hard to find, but really they kind of were. Anyway, I found two pairs that I liked, and they were delivered last night while I was at work. They're perfect!! Comfy, already perfectly broken in, and really cute. The top pair are the Sienna Mary Janes by Keen, and the bottom pair are the Carlisle Mary Janes by Born.

Coming up on Tuesday/Wednesday: I'm remaking the apricot crisp, this time with blueberries! And I'll also be making one of my most favoritest creations, mushroom lasagna. Holy moly.

Free-Form Pizza

2008-07-09T17:29:00.000-05:00

It's been a rainy sort of weekend.* Perfect for tinkering around in the kitchen or watching old movies while curled up in my big red chair with my old man blanket. Tonight for dinner I made my favorite pizza. Normally I take the easy way out and just buy a pre-made crust, but I really prefer the taste of homemade crust. I'm not so adventurous as to make it from scratch, though...I just use the Jiffy boxed mix. And I've never actually made this crust before (at least, not by myself), and anyway I guess I didn't really mix it very well because the dough was kind of lumpy. I got frustrated with trying to make it a perfect square or circle or something, so I gave up and made it free-form. Anyway, my mistakes turned out wonderful because the crust was soft & chewy on the inside, but had a great little crunch on the outside. I topped it with basil, garlic, & oregano tomato sauce, mozzarella, black olives, mushrooms, and sundried tomato & basil feta (in that order).

*My workweek is Thursday-Monday, so my "weekend" is Tuesday-Wednesday. It's pretty much terrific because everything is open without being crowded, there's decent stuff on tv, and my sweetheart doesn't work on Wednesdays either.