Next project in the queue

At the market on Saturday morning I hummed and hawed over a selection of skeins of pure wool at the Lismore Sheep Farm Wool Shop table. After fondling the wool trying to decide what project I could take-on to justify buying a skein or two, I found a Honeycomb Mittens kit. Perfect! The colours in the kit weren't quite what I was looking for, so the Lismore guy let me pick my own colours, and here's what I chose - Teal Heather (left) and Green Tweed (right). It's taken me all week to muster up the determination to tackle winding the skeins into balls. I've decided this is my least favourite task involved with knitting. I'd like to enjoy it - I really would. But I don't. And this is why....I picked the wrong end to start my ball and the whole thing fell apart into this giant mess. It took me nearly 2 hours to sort it out (in front of the TV and with much needed breaks from the sheer frustration of untangling wool!). In the end, I conquered the tangles and ended up with a much-too-tightly wound ball. Fortunately the second ball went much better. I picked the right end, and it was wound while I watched the new episode of Lost. The second ball was much bigger, meaning it was a little less tightly wound. I'm a little concerned now that this pattern might be too complex for my skill level, but I've wanted to learn how to knit in the round (on multiple needles) for awhile now. So, I might as well start.

And now is as good a time as any! I've finished the baby sweater, and have made quite a bit of progress on the Chevron (I've got about a third of the length I want). It's about time I start a new project.

What makes me really pleased is that these two (very affordable) balls should knit up 2 pairs of mittens. That means I can knit a practice pair for me, and the second pair to set aside to give as a gift for Christmas (perhaps). I'm working on my goal to make more Christmas gifts this year, and to get started early (particularly if I'm knitting gifts!).

Let them eat pie!

Yes, yes! I know. I still haven't taken in my laptop. I'm procrastinating.

But I have important things to share...like pie.

At the risk of copying those who have blogged before me about pie, let me just say that my intention wasn't to be a copycat. Sometime before Christmas I bought premade frozen pie shells with the idea of making a filling for them and serve them to dinner guests. So, when I learned that I was hosting dinner for my folks and my grandparents, I decided this would be the way to go.

I decided on a banana cream filling because I had lots of ripe bananas and all the ingredients, and because it didn't require a top crust. It wasn't until I took the pie crust from the box and tried to slip it into my glass plate did I realise that the 9" crust wasn't fitting my 9" plate - how disappointing!! Right then and there I decided I'd make my own crust, filling and meringue from scratch.

I started with the pastry, but learned very quickly into the process, that I had no idea what I was doing! This is, basically, the first time I've attempted pie pastry without supervision and it failed miserably. My lifeline when it comes to baking is usually to call my mother or my grandmother, but since the pie was supposed to be a surprise (sort of) for both of them, I decided to call Charlotte instead. And really, in a baking crisis, Charlotte is the one you want to talk to! She tried to troubleshoot, and when that didn't work, she deemed the crust a loss (and the pastry recipe a dud!) and suggested the alternative - a graham cracker crust.

Perfect! A graham cracker crust it is. The filling was easy though a bit labour intensive. Apparently there are a gazillion ways to make a banana cream filling. I chose the recipe from my Purity Flour Cookbook - an old-fashioned stove-top method that involves scalding milk and stirring lots until the vanilla cream mixture thickens. I actually enjoyed the process.And the rest of the pie went smoothly! I was surprised at how easy the meringue was. I thought for sure it wouldn't work, but it did! And the result was a very pleasant surprise for me, and for my dinner guests.

...And two pieces left !

Chick Lit

I've been on a bit of a "chick lit" kick lately. Since the Fall I've read a number of books that tell the story of strong female characters.








As it turns out, three of the books focussed on the lives of women who were midwives. It was interesting to read these books together and to compare and contrast the role of the midwife in three different cultures and historical contexts: a rural Nova Scotia village ca. 1915 in The Birth House ; a nomadic tribe of Israel ca. 1850 BC in The Red Tent; and a trival village in Sierra Leone, ca. 1757 in The Book of Negroes. Folk/tribal traditions, the art of learning from an experienced and respected matriarch and rites of passage are all common themes when it comes to midwifery in these books. There are also common underlying themes of 'leaving' and 'returning' which reflect more than just a change of perspective, but also a definition of self identity.

The only book that didn't fit this theme was Imperial Woman. This book was quite the opposite, about a woman who rose from a concubine to the Empress of China by her skills and wisdom and her unrelenting drive for power. Of the four books, this one took me the longest to read because it's written in a very different style. The language is not emotive, but instead describes in a matter-of-fact way the events that unfold throughout the novel. And there's a lot of repetition of events which makes the book sometimes tedious to get through. I found it difficult to sympathise with Tz'u Hsi, the Empress, because she was so hard-hearted and so consumed by her greed for power and control. But yet the culture and the history reflected in the plot (the transition from a China rejecting Western influences, to a China that embraces Western influences) are fascinating and well worth the read. I should also mention that Pearl S. Buck is a Nobel Prize winner, which automatically makes her worthy to read, right!? :)

I heartily recommend all 4 books! So stop reading this blog, and go read one!

EDO Mondays

Okay, so I haven't taken my laptop in yet, but I will. It's been working enough this week to allow me time to get my files organised and transferred.

It was a productive week of getting organised - my time, my papers, my finances, etc. Of course, I couldn't have done all that I did without my "earned day off" on Monday (hereafter known as EDO Monday). EDO Mondays happen every third Monday and they are earned by working an extra half hour the rest of my workdays. Don't get me wrong, I love my job and I'm neither bored, nor overworked. So EDOs are not so much a break from work, as they are an opportunity to maximize a time for errands.

EDO Monday # 1 occurred just before my trip to Toronto, so I spent most of it running around, packing and doing laundry.

EDO Monday # 2 was spent doing other things - checking off items on my "To Do" list that I've been putting off for a little while. I looked after some finances, paid my bills for the month, made some personal/business calls, scheduled maintenance for my car, made a lasagna, and finally (after a lot of searching!) found a family doctor. I also finished knitting the baby sweater (pictures to come after I sew the seams and weave in the loose ends), and finished reading The Book of Negroes (more on this later).

Overall, it was a fantastic weekend, and a very productive week. I'm looking forward to the next EDO Monday already!

Giving up!

For better or for worse, my not-so-faithful Toshiba laptop has finally actually given up. Many of my long-suffering friends put up with my whining for a good year over my tempermental laptop which would frequently overheat and shut off without warning. It was a pain, and a frustration, but I endured because I really couldn't do without the convenience of internet, my computer files, etc. at home.

And then, miraculously, my computer problems were solved over the summer! Little did I know that the reason my laptop was overheating was because it was dusty. Apparently, Toshiba expects it's customers to buy cans of compressed air and dust their laptops regularly. Though this may seem obvious to some, I had an IBM Thinkpad for 5 years without once having to dust it. So, needing to perform regular maintenance on a MUCH newer generation of laptops just seemed ludicrious to me. Of course, what also seems ludicrious is the design flaw which should've been a red flag when I was purchasing the laptop in the first place -- the fan of the laptop is on the bottom....so if you actually have your laptop in your lap, the fan is blocked and the computer overheats. Makes sense right?? Stupid Toshiba!

Anyway, just recently my laptop has been exhibiting a different problem. It's been tempermental about accepting the power adapter. This means if I move my laptop slightly the power source will shift from the adapter to the battery (which has a 10 minute lifespan), and no matter how many times I try to replug the adapter, the computer won't recognize that it's plugged in. Fortunately, if I hold my nose just right, and twist the adapter just-so, the power will be connected and I have a functioning laptop until this happens again.

Needless to say, this can't last. I've got to send in my laptop for repair. So, while the computer is working, I've been transferring files to my external harddrive, trying to figure out way to backup my emails and other data (because there's always the possibility of losing information when they're working on the computer), and generally trying to clean up my personal information so I'm not putting myself in a vulnerable spot.

This latest issue with my laptop has probably occurred at the best time - during Lent. I had toyed with the idea of giving up the internet altogether, but to be honest, I use it for such handy things - checking the highway conditions, recipes, knitting help, more recipes, store hours, flyers, etc. - that it just didn't seem practical to give up the interenet entirely. Which is why I focussed on the big time-waster like facebook (and Ravelry). But, I think the timing of my laptop's temporary demise is challenging me to take it one-step further. Live without the convenience of the internet for awhile.

So be it.

I'm giving myself the weekend to clean up everything and transfer what I need/don't want others to access etc. And will take the laptop in for repair on Monday. Thankfully, it's still under the extended warranty I purchased with the laptop so I don't have to worry about the cost; and I'm pretty sure the problem isn't so significant that I'm looking at a huge time-delay. Futureshop assures me that it should take about 10-14 business days to ship it to Toronto, fix it, and ship it back.

In the meantime, there won't be much blogging in the days to come, unless I break my policy of no-blogging from work. We'll see. If I have something significant to share, I may.

Making progress!

It's been awhile since I've posted a knitting update. So here you go:

I've been juggling two projects - the Chevron scarf and the baby sweater - and making some progress on each.
My priority is the baby sweater because I want it done well before the baby is born, and because I also want to try to knit something else to go with it (baby booties and a toy). I pick up the Chevron when I'm frustrated with the sweater - a dropped stitch, or a lost stitch, or a technique I don't know how to tackle (anyone know how to increase on a purl row??).

Tonight I started and finished a sleeve. I'm hoping I can be finished the sweater in a week or so.
My biggest challenge with both projects is the counting! For some reason I have to count, recount and recount again. Hopefully my counting skills (or concentration skills) will improve over time and practice.

I've also been adding to my stash. During my visit to Toronto, Charlotte and I checked out a couple lovely wool shops. I restrained myself from spending a lot, but didn't want to leave empty handed either. Of course, it didn't help that I went into the shops without any projects in mind so I didn't have anything to shop for. All I could do was fondle the yarn and ooh and aah over the beautiful eye-catching colours. I came away with only 4 balls of wool that were very reasonably priced. Yay me! Millie approves.See! My stash is building. This is about half of it. The other half is tucked away out of sight.

And since I'm talking about knitting, I might as well tell you I've finally been invited into Ravelry. I signed up on Jan. 26, and it took 10 days of waiting before I got (and accepted!) the invitation. Yes, I was getting antsy and made many visits to the impatient alpaca to see where I was in the queue.
And I'd like to say the wait was worth it, but unfortunately for me, I've decided that Ravelry is classed in the same group with Facebook - a high potential to be a monumental time-sucker. So I've decided to add it to my Lenten sacrifice. No Facebook or Ravelry for me for 39 days.

When Easter comes I will feast upon all Ravelry has to offer!
(I realise I'm allowed to cheat on Sundays, so I may take a peak to see what it's all about then - we'll see.)

For those of you unfamiliar to Ravelry, it's a social network for those who knit and crochet. You can find photos and patterns and forums for asking questions; you can add friends just like on Facebook and you can log your own projects (works in progress, finished objects or those in the queue), you can keep an inventory of your stash and see what other people are doing with their stash. I've been warned it's highly addictive, and fascinating, and engrossing......which is why I'm staying away from it for the remainder of Lent.

More time to put towards other things .... which are in the works as I type (again, more on this later!).

Preparing for Lent

Last night I celebrated Shrove Tuesday by making crepes. This tradition goes way back, though typically it's pancakes, not crepes, that are made. The idea is to use up rich foods like eggs, milk and sugar before Lenten fasting. Crepes are made from the same ingredients as pancakes, just thinner, and I had been craving them since being served delicious crepes on my last morning in Toronto! I had a few ingredients that I figured would work nicely for savory crepes - tomatoes, parsley, mushrooms and cheese.

But you know, in the end, I preferred the delicious crepes with lemon and sugar. The crepes are lighter and zingy and taste so good!
And so Lenten fasting begins. Though this year I'm not actually giving up any tasty treats; I've decided to give up facebook instead. Facebook a huge time-sucker for me, and honestly I know I can be doing other things. So, I'm refocussing the time spent on Facebook on more quality things, like giving my time to my community (more on this later), getting involved in a church community, and other things.

Lent is supposed to be a time of sacrifice, remembrance, reflection and devotion. It's because of the significance behind the act of sacrifice (giving up something you enjoy, and giving up of yourself) that I choose to practice Lent, and not because of church tradition. This may be obvious to those who know that I grew up in the Baptist church, a denomination that doesn't practice Lent.

I'm not sure if I should admit this or not but so far giving up Facebook hasn't been that hard. It's really just been about breaking the habit, and not wasting my time being nosy ;).

Good friends & Good Food - Part 2

Another weekend full of good friends and good food. How lucky can one girl get!!?!
This time it was my turn to be hospitable. I have to admit, I was quite looking forward to this. I enjoy cooking, but find I don't go to much trouble just for myself. It's definitely more fun to cook for friends or family.

I had been giving my menu for tonight a great deal of thought and decided on a Morrocan/Italian blend. Not for any particular reason except that they were dishes I wanted to make.

The main course was Morrocan chicken and rice, served with garlic bread, steamed green beans, and a cucumber, tomato and parsley salad. And for dessert ...Authentic Italian Tiramisu! (as authentic as you can get in NS anyway!) I've been wanting to make Tiramisu again since my first botched attempt awhile ago, but hadn't gotten around to it. Well, today I did.
So here's what I learned about making Tiramisu.

1. The cookie ladyfingers work just as well as the cakey ladyfingers (which you can't find in Halifax - I know, I tried!).
   
2. The marscapone gets very lumpy when you add the eggs, etc. to it, but a little persistence and steady beating with an electric mixer pays off.
3. Though the marscapone mix seems really eggy, once it's refridgerated and set for a few hours, it's not at all eggy!
   
4. 500 mL of marscapone can make A LOT of Tiramisu. Look for a smaller container next time. I have another Tiramisu to make with all the left overs, and NOBODY needs 2! Tiramisus! 250 mL would work just as well, unless you're aiming to make dessert for a crowd.
   

After dinner, we settled into a game - Settlers of Catan. If you've never played this game, let me tell you, it's a lot of fun. It's a little like risk, but without the time commitment. A normal game, when you're not learning how to play, takes roughly an hour. A game involves some strategy, some luck, and a whole lot of trading. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys strategy games, and to those who don't typically enjoy strategy games!