those dreaded sweaters-one down!

Well, I did it. I machine sewed this sweater together and so far I see no ill effects. Actually it came out much nicer than when I do it by hand. So, thank you ladies who encouraged me to throw caution to the wind and do it. It was quick, it was easy and it fits great.

I had some leftover yarn so while watching a few episodes of Pippi Longstocking with my girls I knitted up a whole slew of flowers. The idea is from Louisa Harding's Knitting in the Details. She put the flowers on one side of the sweater only, but since I made so many I decided to use them all. I just have to find the proper buttons for this one. In the mean time I have begun sewing up sweater #2 from the dreaded pile.

Treasure Hunting

I have been trying to curb my thrift store browsing now that my daughters are loving to thrift as much as I do. I just can't handle anymore dust mite stuffed animals. When we have a legitimate reason, we go. Last Saturday we were on the hunt for brown hobbit pants.  My older daughter is assembling a Bilbo costume and before I buy fabric and start making from scratch I like to see what can be salvaged. We did find the perfect hobbit pants. They just happen to be 7 times too big, but I can work with that.

 I also came away with these little klompen. Stamped on the bottom it says, "made in Holland". I went to Holland many years ago and I regret not buying a pair while there. I even went to a tiny shop where a man was hand carving them. There were shoes of every size lining the shelves and it smelled wonderful. Now I have these little ones to remind me of Holland even though I bought them right here.

I also found this adorable tiny food scale. The actual width of this thing is less than two inches.  For 99 cents how could I resist? I thought it was a child's toy from the 50's. When I got it home my daughter informed me that it said "Official Weight Watchers Scale". That just added more kitsch to it, I like it even more. And it really works!

Ahh, the skirt. Sure there is snow on the ground and it is freezing here. But, as soon as I spied this skirt I thought "barefoot-summer-fairy-skirt". I grabbed it. Besides the gold threading throughout, it is hand embroidered with copper metal wire and glass beads so it really sparkles. Conjures up images of soft moss under feet and plenty of sunshine.

 I really should have stopped here but...

I didn't, AND I broke my own rule. My daughter quickly brought my own words to my attention...

"NO more dust mite stuffed animals!"

 I felt it needed rescuing. I just couldn't leave it in that jumble of brightly colored plush madness. Though I do really like it, I hope it will be worth all the aggravation it will cause in my future. I will be forced to hold my tongue when my daughters fall in love with thrift store animals. How can I enforce a law that I can't keep myself?

The Almost Sweaters

Today was a day made for books, tea and knitting. The snow was gently falling, the girls were busily occupied reading and making things. I began pairing up yarns with patterns. Then I saw it. The dreaded pile. Those three almost sweaters, just lying there begging to be made into proper sweaters. Ugh.

I love to knit. It's relaxing, it's fun. Even more fun is the excitement of planning and playing with the colors.  For me, sewing sweaters together is not fun. It is work. 100% chore. Today I decided that I will finish at least one of these sweaters before I start a new one. I am toying with the idea of running them up on the sewing machine. I know it is unorthodox for hand knits but I really, really dislike doing it the "right" way. I will let you know how it works out. Then I might just start some socks. At least with socks when they're done, they're done!

Christmas and the Vitamix

I have been hemming and hawing for years about getting the Vitamix blender. Each year I talk about it's virtues, and there are many! I say I want it, then as Christmas draws nearer I chicken out and say I definitely do not want the Vitamix! I guess I feel like if it is not a necessity I just can't justify the price. Last year my in-laws even wanted to chip in with my husband to get it for me. That was great, but then I chickened out once again. Well, this Christmas my husband didn't listen to my "I really don't NEED it", "It's just too expensive" kind of talk. He surprised me with the Vitamix under the tree on Christmas morn. He said, "It's for the health of the family", knowing that I would feel better spending that money on "the family". Of course I was thrilled, shocked, and yes, a wee bit nervous that it wouldn't be all I hyped it up to be. But it is. It really IS worth it. Within the first three days I made: pizza dough, sorbet, ice cream, dressings, soup, coffee drinks, waffles (the best I've ever made!), salsa and gluten free bean cookies. I don't think I could have gotten the beans that pureed in a regular blender. Since then I have made much more. I use it every day, usually twice. I stored away my food processor and gave away my juicer.

Do you like those cute kokeshi dolls? They are actually measuring cups! A gift from a friend, the heads and bodies each a different size standard dry measuring cup. So cute!

Pumpkin Lattes and things like that

Pumpkin Latte. Just the name itself conjures up images of all that is good about fall. Autumn perfection.  Many of my lady friends have a very serious relationship with the Pumpkin latte. They just love it, some say it's an addiction. In the company of a lovely friend or two I have too succumbed to it's charms. The first sip almost delivers the happy feeling that the name conveys. But, sadly when taking tepid gulps from the bottom half of the cup I feel kind of let down. Maybe it has something to do with that fake pumpkin, too sweet syrupy stuff that sinks to the bottom. After just such a moment I determined not to drink another. Unless I made it myself. I did it, and it has all the promises of an autumn day. Without the lousy feeling afterward. If you too are interested in a healthier Pumpkin latte here is what I did:

Made a cup of my favorite coffee. I use a hand drip funnel or coffee press.

Heated up some milk with pumpkin puree (whisk together). About one tablespoon pumpkin per cup.

Sweeten coffee with sweetener of choice. I use stevia and maple syrup combination.

Pour the milk/pumpkin mixture over the sweetened coffee, the whisking froths up the milk nicely.

Grate or sprinkle on some cinnamon.

There you have it. Aside from the obvious benefits of it being natural, you can customize it for your own taste. Your coffee, your sugars, your milk (almond is good too), you can add on cardamon, vanilla, chocolate....you get the idea.

I have been putting pumpkin into anything I can get away with it lately. Here is the pumpkin smoothy, which is a big hit. My girls love it. Actually they really like all of my pumpkin concoctions. I don't know of any other healthy vegetable type that is so easily accepted in their sweets. The smoothies were made from almond milk, banana, pumpkin puree, vanilla extract and again that stevia/maple syrup combo.

Little pumpkin cakes for tea with milk chocolate icing. Sure they have chocolate on top, but I consider them a fairly healthy sweet. They are made with whole wheat and no fat (oil). They get all their moistness from the pumpkin puree. Another winner all around.

Have you noticed how as you scroll down the foods are progressing toward the more decadent? Being home bound for days after Hurricane Sandy was all the excuse I needed to make pumpkin donuts. Maybe not the healthiest thing on the planet, but compared to store bought donuts they're not so bad. The benefits of whole wheat flour and pumpkin again. A spoonful of a maple syrup and sugar glaze goes a long way in flavor so you only need a small amount of sugar in the dough. Yes, they are fried. That's because I like them better than baked and donuts don't just happen every day.

I cook

I found something out about myself as hurricane Sandy blew. I realized that when something scary or unknown happens, I cook. As the hurricane started to really kick in, I began making soup. As I was cooking it brought back a strong memory of 9/11. That day was scary, I had absolutely no idea what was happening. I starting making soup. My thinking was that if my husband did make it home he might bring people with him. People who can't get to their homes, or whose homes are now gone. A big pot of soup can sit patiently for a very long time, waiting to be a comfort. On 9/11, it was lentil. For Sandy it was split pea.

 I am not one who sits around fretting. I have to keep things moving forward, trying in any small way to aid the situation. It was interesting that during Sandy one thing that gave me peace was knowing that I had a pretty good store of food. If we lost power (amazingly we didn't this time) I was set for a while to feed my family and whoever else may need a place to stay. I do love my gas stove, when we lose power I can cook. The kettle is always ready for tea! I have these jars of ginger peach jam that I made a couple of months ago after a day of peach picking. Friends of mine who just got their power back today were able to have a warm bed and do some laundry at my house. I was low on maple syrup for breakfast pancakes, so I opened up one of my jams.  It gave me a tiny glimpse into how the pioneer women and the Native American women must have felt as winter approached. Sure things would get tough, the cold winds would blow, but knowing that they at least could provide food to their families would make the unknown much less frightening. There is a certain peace that comes with being prepared and it allows you to be a help to others.

Hanging the Cheese

My family thinks it quite comical when I say, "It's time to hang the cheese". My husband is the first one to enter the kitchen in the morning and when he sees the cheese he says it makes him laugh. He says it reminds him of me and it is funny. The cheese in this case is cheese made from goat yogurt. I started doing this a few months ago and now it has become a staple food around here. Especially for breakfast.  I stopped buying goat cheese and cream cheese. Instead a 32 oz. tub of goat yogurt makes a whole lot of cheese for the money. Just plop the whole container out on a tea towel lined with paper towel, gather it tightly and hang it. I hang mine overnight. If you find it's too wet, just hang it some more. You can flavor it with any herbs and spices you like. I can't really say I make cheese, it makes itself.

This is my everyday breakfast. I eat the cheese with olives and arugula. When I run out of breakfast cheese, it's time to hang more. Of course this is accompanied by a strong cup (or pot) of English tea.

I fancied up the lowly cheese when I had my friend, Dierdre over for tea recently. I made a sandwich of rosemary/grape foccacia with beets and the cheese.