The salt dough ornaments have all been painted. I will need to search out twine for hanging them as the holes are too tiny for even the slimmest ribbons.
Four weeeks to Christmas - are you ready? Last year, we scaled down a bit on gifts, and I did alot of crafting, but I am afraid that my family is tiring of my 'making'. I really appreciated not having to step foot in a mall in December, not having to drive around parking lots for hours to find a parking space, not having to push past harried shoppers, not having to stand in checkout lines with impatient children, and so forth. Frankly I felt a little superior to all of those that simply picked something off the shelf and handed over cash. I spent weeks knitting, sewing, beading, baking, thrifting, and colouring. I don't know if that's the answer. I could support local businesses instead. I could buy gift cards that benefit non-profit organizations. I could give gifts of time. Make donations in lieu of gifts. Or scale down completely. Make new traditions and continue with old traditions. What do I want my children to remember about Christmas? I guess that's the question. In any case, their few gifts have been well-thought out and purchased, and I am making them each a gift. I'm keeping it simple.
Happy Sunday, my friends. We're off to spend good ol' quality time with family this afternoon - decorating the tree and sharing a meal. That's what I'm talking about.
N
29.11.09
27.11.09
Holy Cannoli
The November 2009 Daring Bakers Challenge was chosen and hosted by Lisa Michele of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. She chose the Italian Pastry, Cannolo (Cannoli is plural), using the cookbooks Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and The Sopranos Family Cookbook by Allen Rucker; recipes by Michelle Scicolone, as ingredient/direction guides. She added her own modifications/changes, so the recipe is not 100% verbatim from either book.
This was my very first time making cannoli. I've eaten them a few times, and my favourite by far was the Sicilian cannoli that Mr. T and I shared while standing on a street corner in Rome. It was crispy and the filling was rich, not too sweet, and had a nice cinnamon flavour.
I do loathe to deep fry at home. That's not to say that I don't love eating all things deep fried, I just don't like the large amount of oil that gets tossed out afterward, not to mention the smell in the house. Is it just me or does anyone else not like their homes to smell like food? This seems a little contradictory since home is where food should be made and enjoyed but while I'm cooking I'll close off all of the doors and open the windows in the kitchen, even if it's minus 30 degrees out.
Anyhow, I ended up using cannelloni shells as my cannoli forms since I had forgotten to go online to purchase some. I wrapped the cannelloni in foil so that the dough would not stick to them and it worked like a charm. My cannoli dough fried up and blistered like they were supposed to. I think the holes were bigger than I would have liked and took a lot of filling to fill them all but that's kind of ok since the filling tasted very good.
26.11.09
One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
I'm almost done Monkey #1. It just needs to be attached at the joints and some nipple-y little legs knit to the body as per the pattern. While this feels like progress and a head-start on xmas presents, I have had to rip the sweater I was knitting this week because I made a major boo-boo, and the yarn was too shiny for a Cowichan-style cardigan. I caught my tragic error while gazing at my published blog post. It occurred to me that the fairisle band around the mid-riff was insanely narrower than the cardigan on the cover of the magazine. And then the ah-ha moment came like a kick to the stomache. I had only knit half of the chart! These things happen for a reason 'cause I really should have ripped it back after an inch into the sweater - the yarn was simply not worthy of the pattern. I am positive that this is the universe's way of telling me to focus on the holiday gift-making first before I go off on some whim.
Happy Thursday, my friends! I must go catch up on yesterday's episode of Glee.
N
Happy Thursday, my friends! I must go catch up on yesterday's episode of Glee.
N
24.11.09
Salvaged by Wandering
I've dug out my Treeful of Starling cd, and I am unabashedly belting out my most favourite song; although one can not go wrong with any of them.
Happy Tuesday!
N
23.11.09
Ganomy Bologna
Thank you, everyone, for your 'get well' wishes. The littlest seems to be doing a wee bit better today. The hurling has been replaced with flushed cheeks and shortness of breath. That's probably her asthma kicking in. This is all excellent because I might have told everyone I came across today that she was on the mend - including yourselves as noted in the second sentence.
I was gifted some of this yarn from my sweet neighbour recently and decided to attempt the Ganomy Hat from Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitter's Almanac. It's cool, right? I wonder if you say it with a hard 'g' or a soft 'g'. Is it Gah-nomy or Jah-nomy? Either way, it's destined to be a snow-shovelling toque for Mr. J. He cares less what he looks like shovelling as long as he's warm. Ditto that for me. This was easy knitting at it's best. I see piles of Ganomys in my future. Ganomys for everyone!!
Happy Monday! Back to puffer duty.
N
N
22.11.09
Sweet Surrender
Then she woke up this morning complaining that her tummy hurt. She had half a bagel for breakfast. The bagel was promptly chuffed, and all liquids since. We've been to the doctor, and there's nothing to do but keep her hydrated with popsicles and ginger ale. Poor kid. So that's been our weekend. Doughy tea biscuits, crunchy split pea soup, watered-down coffee, and puke buckets. It's been a bust. But there's always next week. Please let there be edible meals that remain in our bellies.
N
19.11.09
Baby Shower
And those cupcakes were yummy.
N
18.11.09
French Press Slippers
P.S.
I told you I was knitting!
12.11.09
Connie the Cactus
As a side note, I have been doing some knitting (and felting) so N, you can stop worrying. I have not forgotten how to knit!
9.11.09
The Story of a Blanket
The end.
N
8.11.09
Late Afternoon at the Beach
It was too beautiful outside yesterday to spend the day inside, so we found ourselves on the beach. After sufficient romping around and splashing in the very cold water, we ate a mountain of french fries at Mackies and played several games of table hockey before heading home. I'm not sure how we are going to top that fun today. Cheers!
N
N
6.11.09
Friday Night Knitting Club of One
5.11.09
Brown
I'm digging the brown today. The kids are watching Ghostbusters much too loud, and I have soup simmering for a work gig.
N
4.11.09
Happy hookin'
2.11.09
Best Costume To Date
So the oldest went to work finding black garments, and then she made a list of what was still needed. I drove to the store with the list and managed very well to pick up each item even though last-minute Halloween shoppers were swarming the seasonal aisles. I returned home to sew some twill tape to the sides of the hat to tie in a bow under her chin while the oldest applied make-up and finished the transformation. Actually the cherry on top has to be the Converse high-top sneakers, but who's counting? A perfect team effort!
I'm always amazed that this little sprite is so filled to the brim with excitement with each holiday. In all of her 13 years, the oldest has never been thrilled to see Halloween arrive while the littlest counted down the days. No, really. Every single morning before I had time to pour the cereal, she noted the number of remaining days. She started this two weeks ago. And while I dreaded it, she begged her dad to bring up the decorations from the basement. She dusted off each skeleton and hung up each ghost and bat in the box. She found some tattoos and made me apply them all over her arm. She planned out all the candy and made special treat bags for her friends. It was insane. And it was contagious. Us adults and teenager couldn't help but smile and enjoy ourselves. Dang kid.
N