I thought I could cook

I am 53 years old. I thought I could cook. I even thought I was quite a good cook. Creative. Knowledgeable. Good technique. Well I saw something last week that totally made me change my mind. I am totally addicted to watching food programs on TV. Which totally tries the patience of my husband. Public TV has been showing some old shows of Julia Child whom I adore. My sister and I used to watch them when we were kids, not that we were that interested in cooking as kids, but we just loved watching Julia. And through the years I thought I had seen all of her series shows. Nope.

Last week our local public station aired several of her old shows on Saturday afternoon. One of them was the Omelet Show which I had never seen. It was an epiphany. I don't think I know anyone who knows the correct way to make an omelet! And they are delicious. I was a bit dubious as I do not like undercooked eggs and she says it takes only 30 seconds to make an omelet, but nope, perfect every time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWmvfUKwBrg

So check it out. You will never make an omelet incorrectly again.

A Sweet Smelling Story

This happens to be one of my very favorite pictures of Sophie and it seemed very apt for today’s tale. Eldest Son is a temporarily (he hopes) schedule wherein he has to be at work at ether 5 or 6 a.m, which means that he has to get up between 3 and 4 in the morning. IN THE MORNING. He is not a morning person. Several days ago he was sitting at the kitchen table eating his breakfast with the dogs keeping him company. (They adore it when anyone gets up at an ungodly hour. This is dog party time.) He got up from the table and Sophie walked over to the back door indicating that she would like to go outside. He said he thought she might just want to play and he was reluctant to let her out in case she barked. So he went about his business of getting ready, took a shower and went downstairs to his room to get his keys (a shirt, a book, something). What he found when he went downstairs was a line of dog poop from the stairs to his bedroom door. He cleaned it up and went to work fuming. Sidenote: I cannot recall a single “accident” from Sophie since she was a puppy.

When he came home and told us this stinky story, both BG and I laughed our asses off. She was telling him in no uncertain terms that when she went to the back door, she had to GO! Eldest Son thought it was some sort of retribution, but both BG and I explained to him that she does not have a vindictive bone in her body and we both thought it was a small stroke of brilliance to tell him in terms she hoped he would understand, that when she goes to the back door, she has to GO.

I also told Eldest Son that in future, he could a) just leave the door open and don’t worry about the neighbors or b) wake me up to deal with it, not the first 3 a.m. wake up I have had in my years as a mother.

I think everyone got their point across.

Orthopedic Nightmare

These are the braces that made it possible to walk like a human being and not a monkey. I was really despairing that I had traded pain for mobility as my body that has not had knee caps for 30 years was not happy with them. I have also had some additional PT, but I am convinced that these are the miracle workers.

I put in the pic of Dan and the girls just because they are cute!

I am still here.

Ok, I have not totally disappeared. And my new absolutely favorite charity web site is Warm Woolies. http://www.warmwoolies.org/index.html They donate knitted garments to children on Indian Reservations in this country and in countries like Mongolia, Afghanistan & Russia. All garments must be made of wool as it is the warmest and as all of us knitters know, it it the only fiber that retains it’s warmth even when wet. On the page of often-asked questions, one is: Do I need to use superwash wool? The answer is: No, these people do not have washing machines. Often, running water is an issue. They also will send you a box of wool that you promise to knit up and send back to them. All you have to pay is postage. It is great. Now I can knit forever, gauge is not real important, and I am doing something nice.

I already sent them several socks, a hat and a vest, I have this sweater and vest, as well as a pair of socks and another sweater that I am halfway done with. After that I will make more socks with the rest of the yarn they sent me. I love it. I realized after making several adult sweaters that I vastly prefer making little people sweaters, so this is perfect.

I will post a pic of me in my braces along with a PT update next time.

Bunnies & Charity Knitting

I was on a wild bunny kick for the past few weeks. I think it is because I was so intrigued with this pattern. You knit a square. Just a square of any size with any yarn and with a few stitches and some stuffing you can make a rabbit. These are just a few.

I was generally doodle around the computer last night and I found this great site that donates woolen knitted items around the world to children. The organization is Warm Woolies and their home page is http://www.warmwoolies.org/index.html. I used to knit for the Seaman’s Institute that donates knitted items to merchant sailors who are often from poor, warm countries and have not warm clothing. However, I like Warm Woolies because they donate children’s clothing around the world. They only accept garments made out of wool because they need WARMTH. On the page of often-asked questions, one is: Do I need to use superwash wool? The answer is: No, these people do not have washing machines. And it doesn’t matter that the socks are made of thick wool that may not fit in shoes, as these kids may not have shoes.

This is where I will now send my extra knitting.

German Twisted Cast On

I've conquered the German Twisted Cast On! I don't know how many times I watched videos on You Tube, but I finally got it. And, of course, it is as I thought it would be, I suddenly Got It! I can't wait to use it on my next pair of socks. Picture will follow in a day or so.

Thinking About Knitting

I was waiting in the car today at one of our stops on the way home from NYC and an orthapedic visit. (My knees are coming along fine and the important things are that I walk and do my hamstring stretches.) Since we live two states away now, when we take a trip to NY or NJ we tend to save up errands and have many stops along the way. I was sitting in the car at one stop and pulled out my travel knitting, always a baby sock. As I knit the slip/knit heel flap pattern with the fine, smooth bamboo needles, a feeling of total contentment came over me and I thought about how much I like knitting socks. I always have a couple of balls of yarn & a baby sock in some stage of doneness in my small car knitting bag. They are compact, easy to shove in my pocketbook, and I really think I could knit socks in my sleep, so it doesn’t’ matter where I left off, I can pick it up again after a quick glance. And of course with baby socks, I make up the color patterns as I go, so if I forget my original idea, another one will work as well.

The pictures above are my mom’s white lace shawl and a leaf pattern winter sweater for me. Check October 19, 2008 blog entry to see my strawberry pink shawl, the same pattern. Mom’s is about ¾ done. I have been alternating among socks, shawl and sweater for the past few months and it is an excellently diverse selection of knitting. If I get tired of cabling, I go to lace knitting. When I tire of the intricacies of lace knitting I move on to the fair isle sweater, when that gets too repetitive, on to the cable sock. I have been mostly concentrating on the sweater the past two weeks, I think I am ready for some lace.

My stash of sock yarn is sadly low and I am going to have to figure out how to afford some more in the near future. Hmmmm. Birthday and Christmas are past. Mother’s Day?

Cooking Adventures

How’s this for a cooking mistake? And a good fix. When I make quiche or spinach pie (or apple pie) I make my standard pie crust recipe from Joy of Cooking which makes two one crust pies or one two crust pie. I made quiche a month or two ago and my favorite spinach quiche recipe makes two one crust quiches. Yesterday I was making spanikopita. Instead of making little individual Filo dough pocket pies or turnovers, I just make one pie and usually use my pie crust, not Filo. I cooked the spinach, made the pie crust, rolled out the pie crust, & put it in two pie plates. I filled the pies and thought to myself, they look a little skimpy. About half way through the cooking, I checked the pies and thought, damn, they look really skimpy and the filling looks like it is going to dry out. I closed the oven door, started to walk away and then the light bulb came on over my head. I was supposed to make one two crust pie, not two one crust pies!

I thought about it a minute then took both pies out of the oven, scooped the filling out of one and into the other, then I cut the bottom crust away from the sides & slid it on top of the now full spinach pie. It came out just fine with a slightly sloppy looking crust. And it tasted great.

Not as memorable as the time I dropping the custard dish into the Kitchen Aid when it was on, but another one for the books.

It has been about 3 months since my last blog. During those 3 months I had bilateral knee replacements with the additional new wrinkle of new kneecaps. I have lived without kneecaps for over 30 years. When I went to my surgeon (who did the original surgery on my knees) and told him it was time for new knees, he looked at my file and said, ok, you need both, we’ll do both at the same time. And he told me that there was a new innovation in TKR, they would give me new knee caps too. This is such a new aspect of TKR that rehabilitates & doctors at the rehab (where I spent a week after a week in the hospital) had not seen it.

Enough about knees, suffice it to say I am still doing my exercises at home and getting around better, now mostly just using a cane. And I have been knitting.

To keep myself busy in the hospital and in rehab, I brought easy crossword puzzle books, a book on tape and an easy sock project, using two circular needles. Now I am a big fan of using 4 bamboo needles, its just so much fun and looks so cool, but as I also drop needles on the floor with great regularity, I decided the two circular needles was the way to go, as the only way to go as it would be pretty impossible to lose a needle. I bought some lovely purple yarn (contributed by my sister) before my surgery and I started a simple seaweed pattern sock. I got about halfway done the first sock when I came home and I promptly pulled it out and started a heart sock, which is one of my favorite patterns and I could concentrate by the time I got home. You can see that there are hearts & diamonds along the top. Finished the heart socks. Started a second pair called Aran Braid Sock with a double cable down the leg which transfers to a single cable down the foot. It is great fun to make as I love knitting cables and is a very classy looking sock when completed.

I will post my other two projects in a day or two. That’s all for now.