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?