inexplicable knitter tour '08

In case you hadn't heard, The Harlot THE. HARLOT. was in Indianapolis tonight. I went with muh knittas to Barnes & Noble (after a short crawl) to hear her witticisms in person. She is so good in print, but in person . . . she is so genuine, so real. And -so- funny!

The six of us enjoyed an evening of yarn fondling, yarn buying, yarn stitching and Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. It just don't get no better. I've got pictures to prove it.

Cami was knitting furiously. I can't wait to see how nice these socks turn out. Here's a picture just so she can complain about her manicure (or complete lack thereof as it were). But isn't the yarn pretty??

We were total groupies. Cami's idea. It was big fun. And hopefully, a little advertisement for the store.

A big shout out to Megynn at the end of the line. So good to see you!

And the Harlot herself with the sock that never ends.

book meme

From NeedleJunkie
She didn't tag me but I love this meme.

The Rules:
1. Pick up the nearest book of 123 (or more) pages.
2. Open the book to page 123 and find the 5th sentence.
3. Post the next 3 sentences.
4. Tag 5 people.

I had a bunch of books equal distance from me, this one was on top:
1. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers.
2. "He is unshaven and is wearing sandals and a poncho made from, one can be almost sure, hemp."
3."I do not want to talk to this man. I have talked to the man from the California Public Interest Research Group (CalPIRG). I have donated to the couple from the women's shelter, and to that little boy from the youth group, to the woman from the Green Party, the kids from the Boys Club, the pair of solemn teenagers from SANE/FREEZE."

And boy, if this little snipped doesn't want to make you run out and buy this book, nothing will!
I didn't finish reading it. I rarely do that. I will struggle along with a book, hoping it gets better sort of like Cami with her rock ballads.

And for the record? I love a good rock ballad. Hello! Stairway to Heaven? I Can't Tell You Why by Foreigner? What's not to love about a little Lynyrd Skynyrd slowin' it down for Free Bird? Sweet Melissa by the Allman Brothers? The list, my friend is long. I'll get you turned on to some great rock ballads. Wait and see.

Not tagging anyone. I hate that part of the whole meme thing. If you want to play along, great! Post the meme on your blog and tell the world melly sent you.

the best is yet to be

Tomorrow is my 22nd anniversary. To those of you who say, "You don't look old enough to be married 22 years." I say, thank you and I'm not.

22 years ago I got my mother's permission to marry like I was going on a field trip:

________ has my permission to marry_________.

I'm not even kidding.

It's been interesting. It's been good and it's been bad just like the rest of you married folks, I imagine. I like to joke and say I would have gotten less time for murder. It just makes people laugh and laugh. But I'm not really kidding. heh

So to commemorate this blessed day I created this photo montage for Ken. This and a banana cream pie are my gifts to him. Pie is the traditional gift for the 22nd year, or hadn't you heard?

Happy Anniversary, Ken. The best is yet to be.

volunteering

My days at the nursing home just keep getting better and better.

There's Ben who's face lights up when he sees my Sadie girl. I asked if he had dogs and his reply was, "Oh yes." When I asked what kind he said, "any kind." So sweet.

Then there's Johnny who is pretty young but riddled with CP. He sort of follows me around and keeps an eye out for certain residents who enjoy visiting with Sadie. He's just full of smiles.

Mrs. Smithson who came with her husband two years ago (he passed away last year) is a bit surly but comes out of her shell more and more each visit. Yesterday I got her talking about her kids and I almost couldn't get out of there. She was just dozing in her chair when I first got there but after talking to me she got out of her room and went visiting. Made me feel like I'd done something good for her.

Miss Rita doesn't remember Sadie from week to week but always exclaims, "Oh my, isn't that a pretty dog." She's always dressed to the nines with hair and makeup done, jewelry hanging everywhere. She's almost 90. :)

Mrs. Jones has Alzheimers, I'm afraid, but it's so good to watch her brow unfurl as I talk to her, calming her down, assuring her she's just where she should be. She always mentions her husband. Some things never fade no matter how ravaging a disease. That's good.

Joe in the snack shop knows just where to scratch Sadie to get her back leg going. I'm not sure if she likes it or not - it looks almost painful it feels so good. :)

Miss Tony is my favorite. She has such a sweet spirit and thanks me every time I come in for letting her pet Sadie. No, I want to say. Thank YOU.

It's some of the best stuff I've ever done. If you can find an hour, the return is SO good.

Thanks Cami. You know me so well.

five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes

i is for

The Indianapolis Museum of Art.

Justin and I spent the day at the museum enjoying the exhibts, laughing at some of the contemporary pieces and really talking about what we saw. Most enjoyable way to spend the day with the boy-child.

Here are some of my favorites. Click here for more pictures of our day.

movie review

I'm off to find two recent additions to my favorite movies list. Juno and Lars and the Real Girl were released yesterday on DVD. If you haven't seen either of these films, you are in for a treat. I've seen Juno half a dozen times already, it's that good and Lars . . . what a wonderfully sweet, quirky film! Read the plot summary from the internet movie database below or click the photo for the movie's website.

In this comedy, Lars Lindstrom is an awkwardly shy young man in a small northern town who finally brings home the girl of his dreams to his brother and sister-in-law's home. The only problem is that she's not real - she's a sex doll Lars ordered off the Internet. But sex is not what Lars has in mind, but rather a deep, meaningful relationship. His sister-in-law is worried for him, his brother thinks he's nuts, but eventually the entire town goes along with his delusion in support of this sweet natured boy that they've always loved.

Snipped from www.imdb.com

It's a good way to spend a few hours of your time. Honest. It will reinforce your faith in the human spirit. Albeit in a strange way.

Samples for Clementine's

Darling Mary Janes to go with the impossibly tiny hat. This is by far my favorite baby foot covering. So easy. And really nice knit up in the new organic cotton Cami has a ton of. Give her a call. She'll hook you up.

Click here for a free PDF copy of the pattern.

with a size reference so you can really see how tiny and sweet they are. :)

candied kumquats with vanilla bean ice cream

These are an interesting little fruit. The outer skin is orangey and sweet. The inner flesh is TART! Candied in this method, the fruit takes on an overall sweet, citrusy flavor. With the ice cream it tastes like a fancy orange, vanilla sherbet. YUM!

Candied Kumquats

1 cup sugar

1/2 pound kumquats

In a medium saucepan, bring the sugar and 2 cups water to a boil, stirring until dissolved. Add the kumquats, cover the fruit with a piece of parchment paper and a small plate or lid to keep them submerged.Simmer over low heat until the kumquats are translucent, about 25 minutes. Drain the fruit and reserve the syrup. Serve with cheese or ice cream. The syrup may also be reduced and drizzled on toast spread with butter. Makes 1/2 pound.
Adapted from "Sunday Suppers at Lucques," by Suzanne Goin.

the never ending sock?

Has come to an end!

There are so many mistakes in this thing, I've taken to calling it the 'Allah Sock'.

Praise Allah it's DONE! (sorry, mom!)

But darn if Ken doesn't have two legs. I'm thinking he's gonna want that second sock.

spring, spring, spring!

new cards for the old folks

forget the kumquats, dinner is served!

Pappardelle with Bolognese Sauce

This is serious good, folks. Easy, quick and GOOD. What more can we ask from an evening meal? I found the noodles at Trader Joe's. He's my new love. I call him TJ for short. Here's the recipe from the bag:

8 oz. Trader Joe's Egg Pappardelle
2 Tablespoons olive oil (I skipped the added oil)
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 cup onions, chopped
2 Tablespoons garlic, minced (I used only one. Two seemed like A LOT of garlic!)
1/2 cup red wine
2 cups marinara sauce (I used bottle Ragu, trying to convince Ken to try it)
salt & pepper to taste
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Brown hamburger in skillet, adding onions and garlic. Saute until onions are transparent. Drain fat and return mixture to pan. Add wine, marinara sauce and salt & pepper. Stir and simmer 10 - 15 minutes to marry flavors. (I cooked it for about an hour and a half - it reduced so nicely!) Meanwhile, cook pasta according to instructions. Drain well, add pasta to sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and enjoy! Don't try to feed it to your meat-and-potatoes husband though. It'll look like girl food to him and he won't like it. Trust me on this. More for the rest of us!

Oh yes, and please do drink the rest of the bottle of wine. It will make his rejection much easier to handle. ;)

behold, the kumquat

stay tuned to see what I come up with for these little lovelies.

cooking fool

I got this recipe years ago from FOODTV. I think it's a Bobby Flay recipe.
Ken likes dry ribs, I prefer saucy ribs.
This rub is awesome! Perfect for him just as it is and for mine I slather with sauce the last hour of cooking and then they're perfect for me!

This recipe makes enough to cover 3 - 4 slabs of ribs.

Dry Rub for Ribs

4 T paprika
2 T celery salt
2 T salt
2 T black pepper
2 T cumin
2 T packed brown sugar
1 T white sugar
1 T ground oregano
1 T lemon peel
2 t sage leaves or rosemary, crumbled
2 bay leaves, crumbled
1 t dry mustard

T = Tablespoon
t = teaspoon

mix all ingredients together and rub over both sides of ribs, letting sit for one hour before slow roasting at 250° for four hours.

I think Cami's going to make me start a separate food blog so she doesn't have to see all my domesticity. I think it makes her feel guilty. ;)

not the never-ending sock

This is Sara, my model. A porcelain doll I dug out of my closet because it was the only head in this house small enough to fit inside this teeny hat. At first I thought it was preemie sized but maybe I've just forgotten how tiny newborn coconuts are. :)



nicely decreased if I don't say so myself.
It's a sample for Clementine's. Booties to follow.

"easy there, Emeril."

For my aspiring gourmet dinner group tomorrow.

Peanut-curry chicken salad in wonton cups. I discovered Trader Joe's and found a really good mango, ginger chutney. Then it was off to the Asian Market for the green curry paste. I tell you - a shopping list for this gourmet cooking thing isn't one-stop shoppable. I guess that's half the fun! These are -so- freaking good! A perfect explosive mouthful of layered flavors and textures. Title of the post courtesy of Erin. :)

Wonton Wonders.

Ingredients:

12 wonton wrappers (3 by 3 1/2 inches), cut into quarters

Vegetable oil to brush on wontons, about 2 tablespoons

6 cups water

2 tsp kosher salt, divided

1 lb (3 medium) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, washed, patted dry

1/4 cup mango chutney

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons plain yogurt

3 tbl crunchy peanut butter

1 tbl fresh lime juice

1 1/2 tsp green curry paste

1/4 cup chopped green onions for garnish

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Method:

Place the wonton wrappers on a work surface and brush lightly with the oil. Mold the wontons, oiled side up, into the bottoms of miniature (1 inch) muffin tins. Bake until light brown, about five minutes. Remove from oven, let cool slightly and remove from the muffin tins. Cool on a wire rack. Place on a baking sheet and cover tightly with plastic wrap until ready to assemble.

In a medium saucepan, heat the water and 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt over medium heat. Just before the water comes to a boil, add the chicken and simmer until cooked through, about 12 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a paper towel-lined plate and pat dry. Cool the chicken slightly, then finely chop and season with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt.

In a medium bowl mix together the chutney, yogurt, peanut butter, lime juice and curry paste. Add the chicken and mix well. Refrigerate until slightly chilled.

To assemble, place 1 heaping teaspoon of the chicken mixture in each wonton cup and garnish with green onions. Serve at room temperature.

Cook's note: the wonton cups can be baked up to three days in advance and stored in an airtight container. The chicken mixture can be made up to a day in advance. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving. The wonton cups can be filled up to an hour in advance.

pachyderm porn

Ken asked boy-child if he wanted an elephant ear and he said, "From where?" "Your mom made them." "From what?!"

-lol-

It's like cinnamon toast, only better. Ken said mere mortals would have had to've been satisfied with a handful of cereal for a sweet snack but in THIS house momma works a little magic in the kitchen and we get fair fare.

I LOVE it!