short, but oh so sweet

Hoorah and callay and all that jazz! I’ve conquered a crochet pattern that’s given me fits for well over two years now — the beautiful (but notoriously tricky to “get”) Serafina shawl. With the help of some kind crochet pals, and some sheer mule-headedness, I sat down tonight and refused to quit until I had mastered this pattern.

I seriously considered giving up and getting drunk instead, and I very rarely drink.

But… I did it! (You may strew rose petals in my path, or better yet, toss more yarn.) I worked 13 rows, using a horrible, scratchy, cheap-ass white yarn that I can’t believe I even had in my stash, and while the texture leaves much to be desired, the finished piece is a clear record of my success. I plan to store this piece in an envelope along with a spare copy of the clarified version of the pattern, so in future I can use it for reference. And now, I can start the pattern over again using some more attractive yarn. I have some green acrylic with pretty multi-coloured flecks all through it, which isn’t a particularly fancy yarn, but which will be fine for a first Serafina. Later, I’ll work it up using something scrumptious.

I’m very pleased and proud, as is obvious. Time to celebrate — I’ll go have some supper now (at 9:30 at night. Can you tell I was obsessing over this stupid thing?)

BTW, the cookies turned out great, and a good thing, too, as that’s probably the last batch of cookies I’ll bake til fall. The ice cream — I did mint choc. chip — was also a success, but I’d like it to be creamier next time. Will have to try a different recipe/method in a couple weeks, see if I can improve on this.

Ok, my stomach is growling, and food of *some* sort awaits, so I’ll close here.

D’oh! Cookies

I’m a doofus. I mentioned the cookies in the previous post, intending to add the recipe at the end of the post, but I forgot. Thought of it just as soon as I hit “publish.” Well, never too late!

WONDERFUL DROP SUGAR COOKIES

1 1/3 c. butter, softened
1 ½ c. sugar
2 ts. vanilla (or one ts Fiori di Sicilia, my favorite)
2 eggs, room temp.
8 ts. milk or half and half
3 ½ c. flour
1 Tb. baking powder
½ ts salt
sugar to top

Mix dough and drop by rounded spoonfuls onto parchment-lined cookie sheet, then sprinkle sugar on top. Bake at 375* for 10-12 minutes and let cool 1 minute on sheet before removing to racks. Makes about 3 ½ to 4 dozen. These are so tender and buttery! Soft cake-like cookies.

If you try ‘em, let me know how you like them.

beautiful day!

We have sunshine — hooray!

I have a couple loads of laundry out on the line right now. That’s one of the few things I actually enjoy doing, housework-wise. There’s something about hanging clothes outside, with the sunshine and the breeze and the sound of birds… it just pleases me. I also like making the bed, and doing my dishes by hand (although I hate having to put the dishes away.) Other than these few chores, and cooking or baking, I pretty much dislike housework intensely, and hence do too little of it. I think Sloth is my besetting sin, although I embrace most of them, to some degree. I’m also very fond of Lust.

I’m crocheting myself a cotton purse for the summer, and so far, it’s going well. I think I’ll make a shawl and a purse to send to my secret pal, too, since both those things have been turning out nicely for me of late. I also made some cute cotton mug mats recently, and may send along a few of those, as well. I’m enjoying getting to know her, very much. (This is the gal to whom I am a secret — the gal who is secret-to-me is also quite nice.)

We have no special plans for the holiday weekend, but that’s kinda pleasant. I like having long weekends where we all just hang out at home and relax. We’re planning to grill out a couple times, making extra each time so we can eat cold grilled chicken for snacks/lunches. I plan to make coleslaw, and we have lots of fresh fruit and plenty of veggies on hand, and Jeff is probably going to pick up corn chips. That, with suntea and homemade lemonade, sounds like all we need for the weekend. I expect I’ll spend much of my time kicking back with a book, my crochet, or watching old episodes of Deadwood or Buffy on dvd, while the guys blow things up on the computer.

On a friend’s blog, I just mentioned the recipe I have for the most delicious, tender, soft sugar cookies in the world, and now I have this urge to bake a batch of them for us to have as a treat this weekend. Impulse baking, my speciality. Oh, and I just realized that I’ve promised to make a batch of homemade ice cream, too, since the guys have been pissing and moaning for ages that we never make that. Eh, maybe getting corn chips is a bad idea, if we’re likely to be having cookies and ice cream this weekend, too. Ah well, wretched excess…

I got poked for blood earlier this week, and my PT/INR turned out to be a little low, so the doc increased my coumadin a bit. Probably due to an increase in green leafies — I always tend to eat lots and lots of broccoli and spinach during the spring and summer, and my meds need to be upped a bit to compensate. I eat greens in winter, too, but probably balance them more with root veggies like carrots and spuds and so on. So, spring and summer means we increase the old rat poison! Fun, fun, fun.

hello, SP!

Just wanted to post a quick “howdy” for my pal, who may be stopping by. She’s already sent me a postcard to let me know she’s thinking of me — this is one way for me to let her know that I’m thinking of her, as well.

I’ve started a shawl for myself, using a soft, thick yarn in a heathered grey-blue. I’m using the same pattern as that for my mom’s shawl, but since this one is being done in a thick yarn on a large hook, it’s working up much more quickly. I expect to have it finished by the end of the weekend. It will be too warm a shawl to wear for a few months yet, but should be perfect come fall, and the colour will be great with jeans as a casual cover-up. I love it!

I can’t post much here about my “other” secret pal, the one to whom I am a secret. Don’t want to give the game away, in case she stops by here at some point. But I’m giving some thought to what I can box up for her, and have some nice little gifts in mind. I want to make a few things for her, too, and have started the pleasurable task of rooting through my stash to see what kind of yarn I have to play with. I’m looking forward to getting to know her a bit better via emails and so on, and that’ll help make it easier to know what to make for her.

marvelous morels

A dear friend gave me the most scrumptious gift recently — a bag of morel mushrooms! I haven’t had any for years and years, never having been any good at finding them for myself, and not feeling quite flush enough to spend $20+ per pound for them. I was thrilled, needless to say. And Danny had *never* had them, so I was excited that he’d finally get the chance.

Only trouble was, what to do with them? The only way I’d ever eaten them as a kid was dipped in egg and rolled in cracker crumbs and then fried in a butter/oil combination. And they were terrific, of course. But I just didn’t feel like frying these up. So, I ended up chopping them up and cooking them in a little butter and olive oil, with chopped garlic, salt and pepper, and then adding cream and a pinch of nutmeg and cooking it down til it made a nice mushroom cream sauce. Very rich, and heavenly, with that unmistakable morel flavour and aroma. I served it on some German egg noodles (spaetzle.) Ooooh, what a treat! We’re all mushrooms nuts at our house, and this was just a wonderful meal for us.

I’ve come to the conclusion that the beautiful shawl I’ve been working on for my mom is doomed to be a butterfly wing scarf, unless I can find some compatible yarn to finish the bloody thing. I had no idea what I was doing when I started it, and now find that I am *way* short of yarn to finish it to shawl-like dimensions. Shit! Alas, the yarn I’m using isn’t anything I can duplicate, so I’ll have to shop around and try to get something that will complement the ginger colour and will work for a two-tone shawl. Anyone who reads this, please wish me luck.

On a happier crochet note, I’ve started work on a bedspread for my bed using some inexpensive Red Heart yarn that I absolutely love. It’s a variegated colourway in all my favorite shades! The colour is “Monet,” which just tells you what kinds of shades we’re talkin’ about, doesn’t it? I’m doing my own variation of this square — http://www.heartmadeblessings.org/patterns/BobbysSquare.asp — and I love the way it’s working up. I have some dark lilac/purple yarn (Red Heart “Orchid”) to complement the “Monet” and will use that for framing and joining the squares. So far, all I’m doing is making squares, which is the fun part. I may be less enthused when the time comes to start joining them!

Tonight we’ll be watching the season finale of “The Amazing Race,” after which I’ll be taking my crochet upstairs so I can curl up in bed and watch a couple episodes of “Firefly” on dvd while I stitch. Soon, I’ll be able to curl up with season two of “Deadwood” on dvd… ahhh, the dulcet sound of Ian McShane calling someone a cocksucker! I can hardly wait. And in July, just in time for my anniversary, we’ll be getting season one of the new Doctor Who on dvd. Am I totally spoiled or what?

what to do on a dreary day?

Bake bread, of course!

The weather is grey and gusty here, with a possibility of rain to add to the blusteriness of it all. A perfect day to get in some baking, at least in this house. And I know just what I’m going to bake! I bought a jar of artichoke hearts yesterday, and have a little shredded Parmesan on hand. So I’ve promised Danny I’ll make a focaccia this afternoon. I’ll pat the dough (whole wheat, today) out on a well-oiled pan, “dimple” it, and schmear on some garlic paste. Then I think I’ll sprinkle on the little bit of Parmesan, top with chopped artichokes and a combination of black and green olive slices, and sprinkle it with a little sea salt and probably some cracked pepper and a little rosemary. Bake and let cool. I have just a little heavy cream left after making a mushroom/tomato/cream ragout a few days ago, so I’ll be making some cream of carrot soup for supper (cooking the carrots in chicken broth I have leftover, with light seasonings, then using the stick blender to puree, and stirring in the touch of cream at the end.) I think it will be good with the focaccia for supper.

I’m making another attempt at *growing* something this summer. Wish me luck, will you? I don’t seem to have the knack, but I keep trying from time to time. In my mind, I see this big yard filled with things like a couple fruit trees, gooseberry bushes, a rhubarb patch, pole beans, zucchini and tomatoes and bell peppers and melons and a few pots of herbs. But with my track record, I’m starting small this summer, in hopes that maybe I’ll finally “get it.” I have one big pot set out with a couple tomato plants (one Roma, and one that bears into the fall) and a lovely pink geranium. In another huge pot I have 3 basil plants and 2 rosemary (my two favorite herbs for cooking.) I hope I don’t screw this up!

I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned on here the shawl I’m working on for my mom. It’s made with a very fine alpaca wool, in a sort of ginger colour. It’s a very fine yarn (must be DK, is that right? almost laceweight but not quite) and I’m using a quite small hook, so it’s working up rather slowly, but it’s a sheer joy to crochet. The pattern is very simple, too, which makes it an easy, mindless project to do while listening to music (Dougie Maclean, today) or watching tv. I’ll try to get a pic to post here later this evening.

I love days like this. I just noticed a strong gust blowing the flowering bush by the window here in the computer room, and I can see a little sparrow hunkered down on a brach, like a feathered ornament being tossed by the wind but staying firmly in place among the leaves. One of my favorite things about my bedroom is that the windows behind the headboard are just a porch roof away from the big old tree that is in front of our house, so on windy nights, Jeff and I can listen to the wind in the branches. It sounds like the sea. I love that.