Neighborhood Treats

Careful, this stuff is addicting. Our neighborhood exchanges Christmas time treats and I make caramel corn, which is always well received. My addiction began many years ago at the Lloyd Center Karmelkorn Shoppe. While my mom and sister shopped, Dad and I would go to our "secret place"--the Karmelkorn Shoppe--and get the medium-sized box, then watch the ice skaters from the bridge over the ice rink. We would polish off the entire box and get rid of any evidence prior to rejoining the rest of the family. Our secret. Wonderful memories. My next significant experience with caramel corn occurred when I was student teaching at Stephenson Elementary School. One of the teachers brought a huge bowl of homemade caramel corn to the teacher workday/Christmas party, along with a stack of recipe cards because "everyone always asks." Now I could make the stuff myself, which was timely because the Karmelkorn Shoppe at the Lloyd Center was long gone. A quick google search now produces the same recipe (ah, the internet age) and I've discovered that adding a couple handfuls of pecans is the right thing to do.

Let It Snow

It's still snowing and I am still loving it. And I'm on vacation for two weeks. Can life get any better?

It was just a few months ago that goats were clearing this path through the blackberry vines.

Finished in the Nick of Time

I started this scarf forever ago and just finished it this week. I fell in love when I first saw the pattern for the Northern Lights Wrap in the Lion Brand Yarn catalog, but the kit was just under $100 (cheaper now!) and I couldn't justify paying that much for a scarf. Then I got the email from Smiley's Yarns announcing that Moonlight Mohair was on their Midnight Madness sale for 99 cents a skein. The pattern is a simple stockinette stitch with a garter stitch border. I slipped the last stitch on every row to tighten up the edge and that worked nicely. The yarn is Moonlight Mohair Northern Lights and Trellis Ocean, and is knit holding the two strands of yarn together on size 11 needles. The pattern calls for fringe, but I'm not a big fringe fan--too much zipper catching and nose tickling. The scarf is wonderfully soft, fuzzy, sparkly, warm and cozy.

Sugar Cookies: Iced vs. Frosted

I've always wanted to try icing sugar cookies. I want cookies that look like the ones on the cover of Family Circle or Good Housekeeping. When the boys were young, they loved to frost cookies and douse them with sprinkles. LOTS of sprinkles. They had a grand time but produced less than picture perfect results. Their interest in baking cookies with their mother has waned, however, so this year I set out to make The Perfect Sugar Cookie.

OK, well, at least I got that out of my system and can move on. First of all, "painting" icing on a cookie is time consuming. Especially considering that teenage boys can polish off a batch of cookies in a very short period of time. Second, icing just does not taste as good as frosting. Third, I admit ... I like sprinkles. And fourth, according to Ben, the iced sugar cookies look "fake". With Ben's encouragement, I abandoned the icing and whipped up some buttercream frosting. Ben says these are "real" cookies ... and I agree.

Warm and Cozy at Home

Is there anything better than a snow day ten days before Christmas? Although the College is open today (first day of finals!), I stayed home due to icy roads. I'm curled up on the couch, alternately knitting and reading my new book A Field Guide to Cookies (thanks, Sarah!). The camera is safely back from Seattle and I've already ventured out for a few shots.

Snow, Snow, Snow

It's snowing! In Portland! Not unheard of, but still cause for celebration. Peter just texted me from Seattle, wondering if school has been canceled tomorrow. A bit premature, but I understand. In my youth, I always prayed for a snow day even though I was often disappointed. Ben is miserable with the flu and disappointed because he is missing the robotics tournament AND can't even go outside to play in the snow.

This confluence of events--an out-of-town robotics tournament, the Third Annual Cookie Exchange, and snow--has convinced me that this household needs another camera. Of course, the camera went with the boys to the robotics tournament, so Anna graciously agreed to take pictures at the cookie exchange. But snow! At Christmas! Such a photo opportunity, and me stuck with my cell phone camera. Completely inadequate. And now that I think about it, the camera was my Christmas present, although I always have to go hunting for it when I want to use it. Hmmmm ... maybe I'll send a last minute note to Santa.

FSA in LV

Visiting the Las Vegas strip twice in one year is my definition of excessive. Actually, Las Vegas is my definition of excessive: Too much noise, too much light, too much smoke, and way too many people. Still, there were redeeming factors ... spending time with wonderful people like Anna and Sarah, seeing old friends and making new ones, and having time in the evenings to knit and read. The Federal Student Aid conference was just OK. I had anticipated lots of new information as a result of reauthorization, but it seems the feds are still making up the rules. And Secretary Margaret Spellings just makes me mad. Angry. Frustrated. Me, and a couple thousand other people. This Republican regime can't end quickly enough for me.

A Place For My Stuff

I finally have a (small) place for my knitting stuff. Ever since the treadmill arrived--in the newly christened fitness room--my knitting and sewing supplies have been banished to far off nooks and crannies. The sewing machine still sits on the dining room table, but my knitting now has a home.

Granted, the fabric and yarn stashes are still homeless, but the immediate clutter problem is solved. The cupboard was made by Rose City Furnishings (no Swedish particle board here!) to our specifications and, as always, they did a fabulous job. Not The Joinery fabulous, but the within-our-price-range fabulous.

A Traditional Thanksgiving at Home

We celebrated a traditional Thanksgiving yesterday, using Grandma's china and silver. I discovered that I do not have eight matching napkin rings. How'd that happen? I bought the tablecloth and napkins at Target last weekend on one of my just-passing-through excursions and almost bought some beaded napkin rings but decided that was too much of an indulgence. Should've gone for it.

We had all the traditional foods--turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and yams, broccoli salad, cranberry chutney--and the requisite ham, satisfying non-turkey-eaters Ben and Grandma. My sister and her family were all curious when I took pictures of my plate, but the boys quickly filled them in, with a bit of dramatic eye-rolling, on my blogging activities. In turn, I reminded them that I could just as easily post pictures of their eye-rolling faces and the conversation turned to which movie they last watched.

What's Keeping Me Warm, Part Two

I started this scarf back in February, put it away for the summer, and pulled it out a few weeks ago. I had just as much trouble ending it as I had starting it. The pattern was a chart and not only left lots of details to the imagination, but also had an error or two. On a decrease row near the end, I had one too few stitches at the end of the row. After frogging back a couple of rows twice, I allowed that maybe, possibly, the pattern was wrong. It occurred to me that The Best Knitting Book Ever had explained about lifelines, so I used the technique for the first time with great success. Admittedly, it was only a scarf and not difficult to frog, but still, I saw how useful this technique could be. Just take a spare piece of yarn and use a yarn needle to thread it through the row just knitted. Then knit on. And if you do end up frogging, you can easily pick up the stitches held by the spare yarn. I knit several rows several times, frogging back to my lifeline, until I figured out how to correct the error on the pattern.

What's Keeping Me Warm

This Project Runway pattern is great. My only regret is that the fabric I chose--a corduroy print-- does not highlight the details of the pattern. Instead of cuffs, the sleeves have delicate tucks to reduce the fabric at the wrist. The center front does not overlap but joins with bias cut loops sewn into the edge seam on one side to buttons on the opposite side. The raglan sleeves are roomy enough to accommodate a light weight sweater underneath without seeming too big with just a tee shirt. A solid corduroy or lightweight wool tweed would show off the details nicely.

Deciding that perhaps the cropped jacket look should be left to a younger generation, I tried this Butterick pattern with some 60" fabric I found on JoAnn's Red Tag shelf. The fabric, a silk/nylon blend, was $2.00/yard and I used some left-over velvet for the collar and pocket trim. Turns out, it's my favorite jacket so far. The back is the best part, with the inverted center back pleat.

Two things about this pattern, which limits fabric selection: the fabric must be 60" wide and fairly lightweight to accommodate the four layers produced by the inverted pleat and back flap.

I Heart Fall

Nancy's gate is one of my fall favorites,

along with our vine maples

and fall sunshine.

Another fall favorite is apple pie. I have made three in the past few weeks, one for Ben's birthday, one because Peter ate the birthday leftovers and Ben was more than a little annoyed, and one because Winco has local, new crop Jonagold apples for 78 cents a pound and who can resist that? I know, many people (and recipe books) swear that Granny Smith apples make the perfect apple pie, but I disagree. For years I sought to make the perfect apple pie with Granny Smith apples. No luck. The apples were always too hard, no matter how long I baked the pie or pre-cooked the apples, and too dry, no matter how much sugar or apple juice or syrup I added. I finally found a kindred spirit in Dean, who confirmed my suspicions: forgo the Granny Smith . Liberated, I started to experiment and found that Newton Pippin and Jonagold both make excellent pies. I also picked up the perfect pie plate at a garage sale. It's ceramic and the bottom crust browns perfectly.

While I prefer a two crust apple pie, the boys want a streusel topping with lots of brown sugar and cinnamon. No nutmeg. I also tried a new recipe for apple cinnamon ice cream, but I was not impressed. I'll have my apples and cinnamon in a pie, thank you.

Halloween Reflections

I'm feeling a bit sad this year: the boys have outgrown Halloween. We didn't carve a pumpkin, I didn't sew even one costume, and I'm certainly not walking around the neighborhood making sure they are protected from ... ghosts? I loved Halloween as a child and anxiously awaited the trick-or-treat experience. Although, in my time, the rules were different: 1) You had to wait until it was dark (we had our first trick-or-treater at 4:30 this afternoon); 2) You had to wait until after "the dinner hour" as it would be rude to interrupt anyone's dinner (I don't even get home from my lengthy commute until 6:00 pm, at the earliest). Life was different in the sixties, that's for sure.

For the kindergarten Halloween parade, Peter was Pikachu and best friend Nick was Ash.

The Pokemon years continued, Ben inheriting the Pikachu costume and Peter evolving to Charmander.

There were a few years where Harry Potter ruled.

We also went through the Star Wars years until Obi-Wan's and Anakin's lightsabers were confiscated after one too many reenactments of the duel on Mustafar.

My all time favorite was Peter's portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow. While at the WASFAA conference in Anaheim, Andrea and I went to Disneyland and I bought Peter a Jack Sparrow hat at the Pirates of the Caribbean shop. Peter then decided that he needed the rest of the costume. I was just going to make the shirt and vest, but the pattern for the coat was so cool. The pants, however, are still a UFO in my sewing basket.
Very fun times!

Fall Leaves

Our next door neighbor, Nancy, has a fabulous yard. And I love that Nancy's yard spills over into our yard. The fence between our properties is covered with a tangle of vines and ivies and the fall colors are simply lovely. The fence has a trellis along the top and the sun shines through the hanging vines, casting a yellow glow in the late afternoon.

Happy Birthday My Sweet Benjamin

Fourteen years ago, at 2:11 am, Ben was born. Always the cooperative child, he was born on his due date after a very brief--albeit intense-- labor. So brief, in fact, that the attending staff doctor insisted that there was no time for any intervention of the pain-relieving kind, i.e. drugs. I remember questioning that particular doctor's credentials at the time.

Like Peter, Ben has entered a major growth spurt in his 14th year and is currently 5'8 1/2" ... only 1/2 inch from being as tall as his mom. And I now join all parents in asking that rhetorical question, "Where did the time go?"

A Jacket for Under $10.00

I bought this pattern, Kwik Sew 3460, on last week's trip to Fabric Depot with Andrea. I did not plan to make it right away, having plenty of other projects to keep me occupied. But I was wandering though JoAnn's Columbus Day sale this weekend and spotted a shelf of 100% cotton fabric on sale for $2.50 a yard. I used five different cuts of coordinating fabric for this jacket. The sleeves are a bit too long, but the cuffs turn back nicely and the whole casual effect goes well with jeans.

Surprisingly, I often find fabrics I like in JoAnn's Red Tag collection. This week, the Red Tag fabrics were 50% off and I picked up several pieces of beautiful summer cotton for $2.00 a yard. My fabric stash is growing faster than my yarn stash these days.

Finally Finished!

I started this One Button Cardigan in July and no, I haven't been working on any other knitting projects. I'm just slow. And I have been addicted to sewing lately. I love this sweater. The pattern was very easy, knit in one piece until dividing for the armholes. I generally refuse to knit sweaters that are not knit in the round, mainly because I'm so bad at sewing knitted pieces together. I had a breakthrough, however, when I set in the sleeves of this sweater. The Best Knitting Book Ever-- aka When Bad Things Happen to Good Knitters--has a chapter on finishing. Even though I've studied other finishing techniques, I have never quite got it. I was skeptical when I read what seemed to be different instructions for joining reverse stockinette ... but I diligently followed the instructions and achieved near perfect results.

The edges are finished with an I-Cord stitch, making the edges so much nicer than a plain slipped stitch edge. The last six stitches needed to be graphed together, and I confess to having never mastered the Kitchener Stitch. So I brought the sweater with me on Friday night and Katy graciously graphed those last few stitches together while drinking beer at the Corner Saloon. I don't think that bar sees many knitters.

The Best Knitting Book Ever

I generally don't buy "how-to" knitting books. I know the exact location of every knitting book in our public library (and have met some interesting knitters while sitting between the stacks, studying cast on techniques). Also, knowing that I can google "double yarn over" and come up with not only detailed instructions, but invaluable advice on knitting vs. purling the second stitch gives me the confidence to spend my knitting budget on pattern rather than instruction books. But when I checked out When Bad Things Happen to Good Knitters by Marion Edmonds and Ahza Moore, I knew I had to have this book. For keeps. As the title implies, the book has lots of helpful recovery tips when a knitting project goes wrong. But there is so much more in this book! I found Chapter 2, The Secret Language of Knitting Patterns, to be particularly invaluable. I've been knitting for years (admittedly, self-taught) and I never figured out that a beginning/end of row increase/decrease should actually be worked two or three stitches into the row to avoid the stair-step phenomenon. This one tip will make sewing the sleeve seams on the One Button Cardigan much easier. Now I will have detailed instructions on increasing in a purl row at my fingertips (why can't I remember how to do that?). The size of this book is also perfect--about 5 x 5 inches--and tucks nicely into a knitting bag. Only $11.15 including shipping on e-bay ... a bargain.

Happy Birthday Peter

Sixteen years ago, minutes after 3 in the afternoon, Peter was born. Shortly before delivery, his heart stopped and he was delivered quickly via forceps, hence the bruises on his face. Today this baby boy is 6'2" but I still remember how it felt to hold him in my arms for the first time.

Aus Dem Vaterland

Ross is in Munich for Oktoberfest and emailed a picture with significance for me ... Ludwig Beck am Marienplatz. Only the best department store in the world. Ah, the memories. I spent lots of time--and Geld--there.

More Progress

Finally, significant progress is being made in Grandma's bathroom. Several contractors gave us varying opinions as to whether the shower pan was leaking ... or not. One insisted that it was not leaking and we should not mess with it. Another reasoned that it had to be leaking because the water was coming from somewhere. Grandma was taking a shower when the mold guys were under the house doing their thing and they confirmed that, indeed, the shower was leaking. I guess, by that time, the crawl space had dried out enough from the burst pipe that the shower leak could be identified. When the tile guys dismantled the shower, they found a seam in the shower pan right where the water damage is the most evident and pronounced the original shower design to be "funky". They suggested a different design, which included moving the drain and changing the slope of the shower. These guys have had some experience building handicapped showers; I am hoping they know their stuff.

Linen Swirl Sundress

I've worn the Linen Swirl Sundress several times, and have received many compliments. The New Look pattern only listed yardage requirements for 60" wide fabric so I was limited in fabric selection. I had originally planned to make it in a rayon batik, soft and flowing, but chose this embroidered linen from Fabric Depot. The bias cut fabric hangs and moves nicely, just as I had hoped. I'm thinking now that the slightly heavier fabric was a good choice for those reasons. I measured the pattern pieces and this pattern could be made using 45" fabric: no pattern piece is wider than 45 inches. I still need to figure out the exact 45" yardage requirement as I will definitely make this patten again. The neckline is perfect (modest) and the dress is very comfortable, yet stylish.

I also made a matching lined jacket using another pattern, heavily modified. I shortened the length to slightly above the waist, removed the overlap in the front since I didn't want any buttons, and cut the neckline to match the neckline of the dress. The sleeves are maybe a tad too long ... something that could be fixed, but I'm really off to other projects now.

Some Progress: New Laundry Room Floor

Some progress has been made in response to the water debacle. The leaking washer has been replaced with a high efficiency, front loading machine, which--of course--had to be accompanied by a matching dryer. I have discovered that the general population does not yet have high efficiency, front loading washers, as evidenced by the lack of HE laundry detergent at Winco Foods. The only place I've found the stuff is Costco; luckily the free and clear variety is available in the Kirkland brand. If I had to use Tide, I couldn't afford to wash more than two loads a week.

Best of all, the new floor has been installed in the laundry room. I love the vinyl. The same vinyl will go in Grandma's bathroom, once that room is dry (which, I'm thinking, may be never). Grandma didn't want to go along to look at vinyl, but as I was leaving, she said, "Think pink." I have not shopped for vinyl in 15 years and was surprised by what we found. Nowadays, most of the vinyl is designed to look like wood or stone or tile, and I don't like fake wood, stone, or tile. Cork was nice, but too high maintenance for a bathroom (although at least one college I know of thought it appropriate for a high traffic dining area). I found this pattern, loved the sample and hoped I would love it in a bigger space. I do. Some of the leaves are a very subtle pink, some are gray-blue, and the vines are a light, warm tan. It is also very textured. I'm most excited about the floor, Craig is most excited about the washer and dryer.

Another Kind of First

After months of playing Scrabulous (daily!) with Sarah, I have finally won a game. One game. Admittedly, the score was very close, but I won!

First Day of School, Second Child

Today was Ben's first day of school and he thought it was pretty stinking cool that he started a day after Peter. The boys are so different and up to now Ben has not experienced any bias as the result of having a high maintenance brother who precedes him. Up to now. When Ben told me one of his teachers had singled him out to find fault with everything he did, I knew exactly which teacher had done so. There has only been one teacher who never discovered Peter's finer qualities and, consequently, Peter continued to torment said teacher throughout the year. We discussed the situation, Peter reflected on some of his less endearing moments in the class, and Ben understands the challenges he will have in altering perceptions.

Like his brother, Ben was unwilling to have his picture taken and cited the same "not cool" excuse. This evening, in response to my query regarding his day, he offered that "they should find a less painful and antagonizing way to educate people." I think Ben's ready for college.


Eight years ago, Ben started kindergarten and, at the same time, I left my job of 15 years and started a new job in a different city. Consequently, I really don't have any warm, fuzzy memories of Ben's first day of school. I only remember ... chaos.

First Day of School

Today was Peter's first day of school. It seems like just yesterday he was boarding that big yellow school bus bound for kindergarten. The 'cool bus, he would call it. Long before he started school, he would wait at the window in the morning, just to catch a glimpse of the bus. Tim gave him his first set of Matchbox cars, which included a yellow school bus and he carried that bus around forever. Not long ago, I finally cleaned out the toy drawers and took bins of Matchbox cars to the Goodwill, but I tucked that yellow school bus into my nightstand drawer.

Today, there were no school buses for Peter. Today, he drove himself to school and on the way I gave him the 'be thoughtful, be kind, be respectful' advice that I always give him on the first day of school. "Yep," was the response, but I also got a good-natured grin.

And today, there were no pictures. Because that would not be cool.

And today, there are braces on those teeth.

And today, ten years later, he's still a pretty sweet boy.