For awhile, I wasn't able to access blogger. Everytime I tried, it gave me an error message. But, tonight, it let me log on. Yay!
If I don't plan out meals in advance, I wind up running to the grocery store every single day. And feeding the kiddos a lot of junk food. I do have a subscription to a meal planning service, but I haven't been using it...bad mommy, I know. But, I printed out menus and recipes, the girls and I did a grocery trip, and supper is in the oven. Hallelujah!
Tuesday: White Bean and Ham Cassoulet, with steamed cauliflower and french bread
Wednesday: Sesame Chicken with sweet and sour sauce, over brown rice, with green beans
Thursday: Berry Delicious Pork Chops, baked sweet potatoes and corn
Friday: Baja Fish Tacos, with salad
Saturday: Crockpot Split Pea Soup with Sausage and crusty bread
Changes I made to supper tonight: I didn't have sage to put in it. I cooked it in my oven safe pan, instead of saute-ing and then moving to a 9x13 pan to bake in the oven. I've got to say, I'm sick, and it still looks yummy.
After we dropped Gloria off at preschool, Vicky and I walked over to the church for Mass. St. Casimir's, next-door to the preschool, has Mass on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, and I try to go when I'm not running around trying to finish my errand list. Church was normal, same-as-usual, until the end, when the priest asked those attending to help replace the missals in the pews with the new edition. Wow! It looked like an ant nest. (one that was kicked over, not a happy ant nest, that is) There were twenty or thirty people, and almost all of them were able to help. I did two pews worth myself, while Vicky sat in the pew with her book (the Catholic Bible Story lift-the-flap board book that a nice relative gave us a few years ago) watching in bemusement. It was fast, and it was nice, because everybody was smiling as they worked.
Nutella and o.j. isn't the most nutritious breakfast, but at 10:25, when I had 10 minutes for breakfast before I left to pick up Gloria from preschool, it was the fastest thing I could find. At least, I didn't eat Nutella straight from the jar. It went on to two slices of 100% whole wheat bread(storebought :( ) aside of my hardboiled egg.
I do need to find somethings that are fast and easy for me to eat in the morning, preferably things that can be eaten in the car. Make egg burritos in advance? Sausage links wrapped in pancakes? Maybe so.
First, the finished object (FO). I finished up on Little J's mittens. I wound up frogging (not abbreviation, but definitely a knitting term) and re-knitting the palm of the mittens two or three times, to make sure that I would have enough black for both mittens. The yarn is leftovers from the sweater I'm making for the boy.
When I'm actually knitting a project I don't read as much. Some, but not as much. But lately, I haven't had anything pressing on the needles (the amount of ends to work in on Little J's sweater is quite daunting) and I've wound up borrowing a few books from the library.
The one that's caused me to lose sleep, because I have to keep reading to find out what happens next, is a series by Brandon Sanderson, "The Mistborn Trilogy". The books are Mistborn, The Well of Ascension, and The Hero of Ages.
It's an epic quest to save the world. The story is set in an alien landscape, but there's hints that in the past it was more Earth-like. The magic is quite unique, with three different systems, that lead to some unique creatures. The non-human species, although mentioned in the first two books, are much more important in the last one.
It's excellent writing, and i loved the books. The author has a few other novels, including "The Alloy of Law", that I read a few weeks back. That one has the same magic system, but is a little more technologically advanced. Further into the future, I think.
I've finished them now, so, time for another trip to the library!
And I'm past the event horizon, too. The accumulated weight of my current knitting projects have sucked me in, and there's no end in sight.
Is there anything more depressing than the sight of millons of yarn ends to work in? I've finished knitting all the pieces for Little J's stripey sweater, so now I'm weaving in the ends (of all those d'mned stripes!) before I sewing it up, and then knit the collar. For which collar, I need a little bit of black, just 2 rows worth. I wish I would have realized that before I used the one and only ball of black yarn for a pair of mittens for Little J...I think I may have enough. Or, if I don't, there won't be any black on the collar, after all.
Poor Clessidra is languishing again. Stuck in a basket, waiting for me to measure her, and then sit down and think about what to do for the next stocking. So is my Print-of-the-Wave scarf, and that's been in time-out even longer than Clessidra. I tried casting on for the pair of mittens for me, but I decided I needed to start over, so there's not even a smidge of a beginning now, although I really really want to make those mittens (I told myself I can work on them seriously when the stripey sweater is done, done, done.)
And for car knitting, and wait-to-pick-up-kids-from-school-knitting, is a pair of mittens for Little J. Doesn't it seem a bit strange, I'm knitting mittens in the middle of the warmest winter we've had in a long time? And then, Christmas presents from the grandparents in Thailand came yesterday. They sent scarfs! lol! They're mostly handmade, and I think their aunt/cousin Yu made them. I guess they were worried the little kids would be cold....
The year is going by, and it's the first day of February. I don't want the days to go by so fast. Soon it will be the 28th, and Big J will be leaving on an airplane, to be stationed overseas. We're rushing around, trying to get ready, and I feel depressed and totally unprepared.
hmm. I think I'll finish up the mittens today. At least I'll complete something.
I cook almost every day to feed the family, but somethings are special. This week has been devoted to cooking projects. I knew in advance that it would be, and last weekend I planned my schedule, so that I would be able to do everything. Even for only two projects, I have to schedule arounn
The first project was to make marmalde from blood oranges that I found at the Commissary. I used the recipe from "Well Preserved, Small Batch Preserving for the New Cook" (in no way am I a 'new' cook, but it's a really good cookbook with a lot of useful recipes), and at almost the last minute, I added a cinnamon stick to add a little spice. I accidentally doubled the recipe, so it filled 12 pint jars.
I finished Little G's mittens (for non-ravlery users) off on Monday, and have been waiting for the right time to take pictures to show y'all. Now, as soon as my camera battery recharges (#@!$%!! It seems the battery doesn't like living in the cold car. Or, it's not holding a charge for very long...) I'll post it up for you.
Finished one project, on to another!
The teacher hat for Little J's teacher is finished. It wasn't a bad car project, although the three different balls of yarn tangled together in my bag. I'm glad it's done, and I am glad it actually looks right on a human head. She loves it, and was wearing it when we picked Little J up this afternoon.
And here is the next project that I cast on. Click here! We went to storytime on Wednesday, all the stories were about mittens. My favorite was one by Jan Brett...I think this one. Aaaanyway, Little G asked if she could have new mittens, like in the books. And, Wednesday night, when I couldn't sleep, I cast on for the mittens and was halfway through the first one. I know that I'm going to put a string on a pair, but I'm contemplating wether to make three for the set. They are my car project, now.
Little J's sweater is not a car project. Too many decreases, to make the sleeve look right, and I have to pay attention to my pattern. So, I work on that one at home. I finished one of the sleeves, measured what I would have to do to have the stripes line up the way I wanted, then I ripped back the sleeve cap. Serendipitously, I didn't have to redo the whole entire sleeve.
After I finish the sweater, the next project is for me! me, me, me...I want a new pair of mittens, and I have the yarn to do this pattern. Dark brown for the back ground, and a varigated green for the clover leafs. Pretty, no?
What is it about a clean floor that immediately causes small children to drag out all the toys in the room?? I had a fit of cleaning (I don't clean often, but having people visit is a great encouragement.) and within half an hour, there were toys all over the floor. At least it was a clean carpet...
Okay, finished project from a few days before...
I wanted to put up a pic of clessidra, so I fooled around with Big J's little computer and the webcam, until I came up with something..
Back from Branson! I picked up some souvenirs, but it seems that a cold was waiting at home for me. Oh well. sniffle, sniffle.
Branson was fun. It helped that we had sufficient computers along for almost every person to play with when we had down time in the hotel. Although one night I was caught up with knitting, and it was after 10 pm when Big J looked up and said "Shouldn't the kids be getting ready for bed?" Whoops!
What did we see? We watched the New Shanghai Acrobats (and I really think they, or a related group, toured through Leavenworth a little while back), visited the Titannic Museum, the Butterfly Palace, the Amazing Pet Show (pet and magician show, more like), and ate at a couple local places. (And we visited the local WalMart for cleaning supplies after I managed to drop an almost full cup of hot chocolate in the minivan...)
Knitting wise, I worked on Little J's sweater. It's coming along, although slowly. During the driving time (thank you Big J!), even with the mistakes I made and had to rip back or repair, I knitted the body up to the shoulders. I haven't started on the sleeves yet -- I think I'll need to order more yarn. I've plenty of the blue, but no more green.
I actually took along yarn for four different projects. That's right, for a four day trip, I thought I was going to run out of yarn-ness. Silly me, even if Branson doesn't have a yarn store, there's always walmart and dishcloth cotton. But, I did knit most of the other projects, too. I finished up the Clessidra stocking I've been working on since before Gloria was born. That is, I finished stocking number 1, out of the two neccessary if I'm ever going to wear them. And, I'm afraid that I might not, because it's a smidgen too big. :( Big J thinks I should wear them anyway, but I know that I won't. I hate having wrinkly, baggy socks, and that's just what would happen. That stocking isn't unraveled yet. I've told myself I'll give it a gentle wash, block it, and see how it fits then. (My personal prediction is that it will get larger. We will see.) If it doesn't, I have some ideas on how I can modify the pattern to get what I want.
The last knitting that I did, actually started on the way home, was a cat sweater for Princess. Don't look incredulous, she just had a haircut, and acts like she's cold. Well, okay, she snuggles in blankets all the time, but I can tell. Really! I finished it yesterday...
Isn't she cute?
