Head for the Hills

I don't know about you, but I'm preparing for locusts, I mean what's left??

It was so balmy here on Friday, I nearly crashed the car when I saw not one but two cherry blossoms in full bloom! Even my birds are molting.


On Friday, this was the temperature here in Northern New Jersey


Along with the weird weather, I've been feeling really strange, artistically so. Remember that Noro bag I just finished? I put it on my head, just to see -





I discovered that Noro isn't as scratchy after it is felted. So I decided to make another one for a hat. I don't like making ordinary hats so stay tuned, I'm going to try to do something weird with this.

The weekend was chock full with basketball games. I got to finish another project from the Sally Melville book



This is Jen's Poncho that I made for a 2 year old. I still have some projects to finish that have to find their way to Italy (my sister-in-law's new daughter) and a few bags for other family members from Brooklyn to Hawaii.

Stash Resolutions

No this isn't a laundry list of resolutions. It's a wish and a game plan to do more of something I adore - to use the delicious and coveted yarn stash I've hoarded over the years (some of it is 10 years old) and to cook from my favorite cookbooks - from cover to cover. Why will I be successful? Because I've resisted the gargantuan yarn sale at Webs!

Have you ever cooked or knitted from a book, cover to cover?? I've never done either. In the case of my knitting, I hold onto yarn waiting for the most perfect pattern or I buy a pattern book and hold onto that waiting for the most perfect yarn that is better than what the pattern calls for. Don't ask me why. I guess it must have something to do with delayed gratification or just plain dumb procrastination. With cookbooks, I don't want to waste a good recipe on everyday eating (???), I would reserve it in my mind for a dinner party or special occasion. Spell it with me D-U-M-B!!!

My plan, and I'm having fun already on this 3rd day of the year, is to pick 2 books - one knit book and one cook book. Start making stuff from cover to cover - random order is ok. With the knitting, I'll only select yarns from my stash.

What have I done so far? Well it's only been 3 days but...

From my cookbook stash -

I adore this book. I've owned it for over 10 years. I have a greased up, dogged-eared version that I use when I cook and I have that one just for reading. I've made many, many things in it but I've only scratched the surface. There are recipes for perfume even, and cough medicine and lots and lots of great southern cuisine. One of my favorites is what I call funeral pound cake.
No, no this isn't a macabre story. We all go to funerals, right? Stay with me now. If you've ever attended a funeral for a fond old aunty or uncle, most of the time they have old friends right?Trust me, this won't get strange. Well, those 'old' friends have great 'old' recipes and they bring the most delicious foods to the repast. Like you, at most funerals, I've been too overcome with grief to appreciate anything. But, for the times I've gone to support a friend or a distant relative, well, I do notice the food. Almost always there'd be poundcake. Well, just like with my silly cannoli search, I also had a funeral pound cake search. No I do not need a life, this is part of life. To enjoy and appreciate all things sensual including ya taste buds. You don't have to eat the entire portion of something and end up looking like my boy Chef Prudhomme, but tasting is good, if I could I'd taste just about anything.

There are over 100 years of recipes in Spoon Bread and Strawberry Wine starting from pre-reconstruction times when there were just a handful of years when black people had many high hopes. There are stories of how some of the authors' families were run out of town by the Klan and as long as they kept their life and limb, they kept on cooking and creating great food for their families in celebration of their survival. I guarantee that whatever your ethnic background, you'll adore this book (I know I sound like those kids on Reading Rainbow). You may even start your own project of collecting recipes from friends and family and document the circumstances around how you acquired the ingredients.

Tonight for dinner I'm going to grill outdoors and make barbecue ribs. There is a wonderful tangy sauce in the book. Why am I grilling outdoors in the middle of a Jersey winter? Two reasons. First today it is 60 degrees and 2nd, this happened last night while making dinner:


I forgot to pierce the baking potatoes before putting them in the oven and THEY EXPLODED!! I'm hoping some fairy gnome or someone comes over and volunteers to clean it out. It's bad enough she's just a Susy Bake Oven, now she's all a mess...

From My Knitting book stash -
I like the photographs in Sally Melville's books. You all know about her Einstein Coat, I've never made it, I'm going to now. I have made several of the Jen's Ponchos. I'm doing another one now for my 2 year old niece -

The scarf featured on the cover I made for my son last year but he has since lost it :(

Finally, this is one hold over from last year. It's the Noro bag I started at the DMV.

Martin - DMV Blues - Ms.Geri Fight

Just for Iris, 'cause she had to ask!

Friday!

First, Happy New Year to everyone! I hope that you all had a pleasant holiday week.

About my adventure to the Motor Vehicle Department. As it turned out, I wasn't the only last minute Annie showing up on the last possible day of the year -

That's the line! It snaked around inside and spilled out about 10 people deep outside!

And, I wasn't the only one frustrated with all of the new regulations about proving one's identity. A friendly Jersey truck driver cussed out a very heavily accented eastern european clerk because she advised him that his old (and still valid) drivers license and his passport wasn't enough identification... I felt like I was in a Martin rerun!

I only had to go home once to get more papers. After a few hours and this start to a Noro bag to show for the time, I paid my $33 bucks and came away with a new, digitized and probably micro chipped license!

Later that night, I was off to the city to see what eyes are partly for

Holiday flicks

You all know I was half joking with my previous post, right? Just to prove that I'm not a holiday grinch, here are some Christmas day pictures.

All in all, we had a bunch of fun.

And other distractions...

I whipped up my holiday eggnog. The only 2nd best thing to do with a dozen eggs and and jug of cream.

That's my 20+ year old Cuisinart. I bought it for myself as a wedding present. While everything else from that early period of my life has broken down or gone missing, that sucka still works!

I use the spirits only to kill off any traces of salmonella... Honestly!

Got some knitting done too

I made a bunch of these wrist thingys for little girls who lose gloves. I told them that they could add a bit of bling to their outfits just by pulling on a couple of these (another fine way to use up the muppet fur!)

As many of my fellow knit bloggers have resolved, I too am knitting from my stash. I have some Noro odds and ends I made these with -

This shot is sort of an inside joke...

Coming up for air

Christmas was peaceful and without much confusion. This is the first year really I didn't have to sell sexual favors in order to get a power ranger toy or make some faustian deal in order to appease a beloved child who ends up playing with the box...

When your children are teenagers, they become easier to reason with. For example, what were the hottest teenage gadgets this Christmas? That's right, - Playstation 3 and that Wii thing. In order for any of my children to request big ticket items like this, I require that they embark on a small research project first, they must be able to answer the following:

Question 1: How much did said company make last year?
Question 2: How much does said CEO make (including stock options - if you don't know what a stock option is go to Question 3);
Question 3 - why do you need to make said CEO richer?

No, I am not being unreasonable. Besides, what could be better than a great book and an iPod (oh, speaking of stock options...)? Believe it or not, they agreed except for the 12 year old. With him, he needed a bit more convincing so I sent him this email.

Wii shipment problems, PS3 delayed again

By INQUIRER newsdesk: Monday 18 December 2006, 13:33

As previously reported by the INQ, Nintendo has offered to replace more than 3.2 million Wii remote straps after users have reported that the connecting cords broke too easily. You can check out the newer version at Nintendo's site, which allows a comparison between the newer straps and the thinner, older offerings. Users need to call customers services on 0870 60 60 247 or send an email to Nintendo, the strap can then be sent back, after which Nintendo will send a replacement.

Nintendo and Chart Track have confirmed that the Wii has become the fastest-selling videogames console ever within the UK, with 105,000 systems already sold. Similar record-breaking success was reported in our PAL-utilising cousins in Australia, where 32,901 Wii units were sold in the four days following the console's launch.

However, it seems Nintendo have also fallen foul to smaller than predicted launch day shipments, although not quite on the scale of Sony.

Gamasutra reports that although Nintendo has not stated a change in shipment plans, the company did retract a small part of an earlier press release which indicated that 600,000 Wii consoles had been sold in the Americas in just eight days. The main shipment figures aren't in dispute, but a sentence at the end of the press release stating "Despite spot shortages in some locations, well more than a million Wii systems will be available in the United States by the end of the year", was later retracted.

The conclusion formed by Gamasutra is that Nintendo is no longer confident of being able to ship the original figures promised this year, and this is supported by the European launch of the console last week which saw less stock then expected being delivered - apparently many pre-orders weren't fulfilled due to Nintendo not shipping the previously promised quantities.

PS3
Bad bad news came for European Sony fans from site CVG this week.

Sony's head of Worldwide Studios Phil Harrison recently told Official PlayStation Magazine that he wouldn't like to make any definitive statements about the March roll-out for PS3.

CVG also claimed that a source has spoken of a PS3 delay as far back as September 2007, pointing at further component shortages.

Fortunately SCEE boss David Reeves specifically told GamesIndustry.biz: "We're still on schedule to launch PS3 in March throughout the PAL territories. All speculation otherwise is without foundation." - Don't expect the rumours to stop anytime soon though.
___________________________

No, I don't think I was being unreasonable. Try it one year.

Anyway, for his Christmas gift, he received 2 Wii controllers and this note from Santa:

Dear Jonathan,

When Nintendo get's their act together and can drop ship some Wiis to the North Pole without me having to ask Mrs. Claus to sell sexual favors and maybe if you play your cards right, your mom will hook you up when Game Stop gets their shipment. In the meantime, here are a coupla controllers just in case you get lucky.

on a different note...

I'm desperately soliciting the blogasphere for a collective mind meld. On Friday, December 29, I report to my local Motor Vehicle Agency to get my driver's license renewed. I've checked their website and learned that I must get one of those digitized versions and therefore I cannot do this by mail and must report in person. I am advised to bring sufficient forms of ID. Their suggested documents list makes me very nervous. Because I've left this very important business to the last possible day of the year before it expires, I've decided to be over prepared. Here's what I'll be bringing:

A. every legal document that has ever been sent to me
B. a pint of blood (for DNA purposes)
C. a urine sample (for infectious disease elimination)
D. video testimonials from my pastor and his wife
E. a letter of recommendation from my local librarian representative from the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Wish me luck!

Peace Greetings

Cafe Press

... and Love to All

Did somebody say Cannoli?

Oh, and by the way, the winner to my cannoli contest was my very own local cafe and bakery...

No, I wasn't being partial. And, just to see if they still got it going on...

DELICIOUS

So What's So Weird???

Stephanie over on Sharky Purl tagged me for the Weird Things Meme. This thing has been going around blog world and, so far, I've concluded that Arleta has us all beat, but you decide...

THE RULES:Each player of this game starts with the "6 weird things about you." People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as stated in this rule clearly.

In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave a comment that says that "you are tagged" in their comments and tell them to read your blog.

Ok, here it goes -

1. 12 years ago, I had an affair with Ebay but we broke up after I was tricked into winning a $50 dollar bid for a 8x10 photocopy of a blackman in a WWII navy uniform (it seemed unique at the time).

2. I cry over road kill

3. I can't throw away books and I 'rescue' books that have been thrown away

4. I once conducted a secret, and private, contest for the best cannoli. I went all over New Jersey, the Bronx and Brooklyn. There were plenty of weird stares too from reluctant wise-guys restauranteurs, who no doubt wondered, "what's this black chick doing here?" I won't disclose how many I actually ate (FOGETABOUTIT), I'll let your imagination cause you to drool.

5. When I was 15, I smuggled myself into a hotel that the Jackson 5 was staying in. Joe Jackson, the Jackson's father, called my father to come and get me. He was really pissed. My dad would have killed me on sight except he was invited to the Jackson's presidential suite to hear all about how much money Motown paid for security and how it was I was able to get into Michael's room... Yea, y'all guessed right, nothing happened :(

6. I get headaches when I shop for unessential stuff (the 'not being poor anymore' guilt is a mofo!)

Ok, so who are my victims? LaVerna, Ina, Nik, Sherry, Dawn and Risa.

Holiday WIPs (Works in Progress)

Well, with all of my holiday knitting, I didn't get to complete my holiday shawl. I thought I'd wear this to see Alvin Ailey but it won't get done in time, maybe for one of the after holiday parties I've been invited to. I bought the wool at Rhinebeck back in October.

Basketball season has started for 2 of my boys. That's nearly 8 hours of basketball per week! The opening game was Tuesday night and I finished off one project and started on another. Can you imagine the amount of guiltless knitting I'll get to do twice a week on that schedule!

Tomorrow, Friday, the 15 year old is going to a girl's sweet 16 party, she plays basketball too. Me and my clever self thought that school colors fingerless mitts would make a cute gift. Whatcha think?

Yup, that's muppet fur on the bottem (formerly known as novelty yarn, come on, admit it, y'all still have loads of this stuff too). I now call it muppet fur because of Felicia's funny button!

What's Monday morning like for you???

Mine started at 5:45 am. Hubby was preparing to leave for work and I reminded him that he had to pay his driver's license restoration fee. What's that? Well if you live in the New York City metropolitan area, you are used to taxes - double digit real estate taxes, income taxes (yes plural), sales tax (7%), school fees (activities tax), and my favorite the indubitable driving privileges tax. What's that? Well they are overtime meter tickets, seat belt tickets, and irritated trooper tickets (see Back to Reality). Anyways, my hubby got an overtime meter ticket ($8) and somehow it fell into the ticket black hole and his license was suspended. This strange quirk in the New Jersey motor vehicle laws has provided me the privilege of adding him to my already overburdened chauffeur duties.

I found out last week that if I just paid the $100 bucks online his license would be restored and he'll be able to drive again. So, this morning at 5:45, I'm on the computer and plugging in the already over burdened credit card.

At 6 am starts the really hard stuff - waking up the children on Monday morning for school. Let me tell you, this is not for the squeamish. There's the drama around who gets to use the bathroom first (there are 2 other bathrooms located on the first floor but I guess that's too far to walk early in the morning...)

Then there's the - did you wash my uniform questions and did you remember to fill out this form and that form and can you write a check for this activity and of course lunch money.

Finally, everyone is dressed and now starts the eating drama. I make scrambled cheese eggs, ham and biscuits. Not a big deal - the biscuits are easy with just a couple of cups of flour, butter, baking powder, salt and milk. They are brown in under 15 minutes in a 450 oven.

The drama -

"Did you put ham on my eggs." Says the 17 year old, 4 year veteran vegetarian.

"Why would I put ham on your eggs?" Says the 47 year old, too tired for this crap at 6:45 in the morning Mom.

"Well I have to ask, you always put ham on Andrew's sandwich." Says same teenager.

"I am fully aware that you are a vegetarian, and I always, never, put meat on your sandwiches - 4 years now." Says I.

"I have to ask, because maybe you'll forget one day." Says the same extremist vegetarian.

"Trust me, before I forget to put ham on your eggs, I'll first forget to wake up at 5:45 to get YOU up for school and make YOU a hot breakfast before you go to school." Says I, growing more tired.

"Why is everyone so irritated? It's Christmas, why does everyone have a bad attitude?"

I'm thinking that I should write Chomsky and ask him if he'll ever do a book entitled, Manufacturing Teenager Dissent.

On the Knitting Front

My holiday knitting is coming along. I've made 5 sets of Fetching mittens, here's the last two that I finished this weekend.


The thing about these that are special is that I knitted them with some yarn from my stash that has got to be at least 10 years old! Yes I have vintage stash stuff, sad right? It is a Tahki yarn named Sable, an angora and merino blend. They are heavenly soft. On one pair I did a Noro trim just for variety.

The other item I finished was a Manos scarf done in mistake rib stitch. Oh and that's my brand new mug from my Knitter's Coffee Swap buddy, LaVerna.


The final thing I want to show you is this beret I have to finish for the hubby. He picked out this kit himself so I guess that means he'll wear it.

Lost in translation...

Camille - Ta Douleur

I don't know what she's saying but I think I've had this dream once!

Idiosyncratic or...

ADHD (acronym for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder - for all of you foreigners out there who don't live in a society that sticks a disorder name on all of your weird character traits). I've discovered that I prefer knitting things that require two matching pairs, at the same time!

Crystal Palace Taos

You see I know me in all of my idiosyncratic, ADHD leaning weirdness. I know I would be the perfect victim of second pair syndrome (socksters call this second sock syndrome but since I CAN'T knit socks, I've created my own name). This is a condition that one suffers when one successfully FO'd (finished object) one part to a pair and never get around to doing the second. So far, I've finished 2 pairs of Fetching mitts this way and my psycho brain thinks I finished a pair at the same time!

By the way, thats ROOT BEER not bourbon.

Hey Mom, what's that smell???

Friday afternoon my former crip tonight son yells up to me, "hey mom, a package just came for you!" Oh, goodie, I was expecting my Knitters' Coffee Swap package to come and I got so excited about what LaVerna had sent me. Then he yells, "Hey Mom, what's that smell? It's coming from the basement!"

I'm thinking, ok, what's in my basement - laundry room, bathroom, furnace room, media room... Could be a sewer pipe? OMG, could it be gas?? I creep down the stairs and, regrettably, passed by my package from LaVerna. Then it hits me - THE MOST GOD AWFUL SMELL OOZED INTO MY NOSTRILS. I took a side glance at my birds to see if they were still alive, thinking that if it was gas or carbon monoxide, they'd be dead right? Then I remembered that carbon monoxide is odorless and none of the alarms in the house had gone off - that left gas or a sewer pipe. I didn't hear water, I didn't see water, then it couldn't be the sewer pipe (besides I've used up all of my plumbing debacles for the year already).

I decided not to take any more chances and I evacuated the house out into the 20 something degree temperature. I pull the car out of the garage and told my son to get in. I call the gas company and the furnace company. Inside 15 minutes (the way all first world countries ought to work, notwithstanding the dozen or so blackouts we've had so far this year), the gas company shows up. The guy is fisted with two meters and he creeps into the house. After 5 seconds he says, "Lady, you got a problem worse than gas." I'm thinking what #^%$$ could be worse than the possibility of my house blowing up?"






they are not cute in a cartoon

or in real life

The gas guy had a real laugh at my expense, meanwhile the smell is getting worse and I'm thinking that if I can get my yarn, my birds, my pictures, my books out of the house, I just might blow it up myself move out...

The furnace guy came and announced that something definitely tried to get in through the duct work that leads from the chimney to the furnace because part of the duct work was clawed out! I tell you people, I wanted to run right then and there but it was my house and all my stuff was in my house so I had to be brave and find the 'IT' myself.

Four or Five hours later I gave up the search. Wherever or whatever IT is, it's gonna have to wait till morning.

LaVerna's package was my only consolation to an otherwise crappy Friday night.

And what did she send me?














In addition to all of that great stuff, there were 3 bars of chocolate (better than prozac) and there was this other thing that was totally uncanny -


I put the soap in my pocket just in case the IT showed up...

Georgia O'Keeffe I'm Not

I adore her paintings. I can stand before one and lose myself in dreams of possiblities. What do you see when you see these?




The one above reminded me of a scene I watch grow each day as I do the dishes -

This time, when I saw this, rather than dream about the obvious, I was reminded of some super giant needles I bought at a yard sale. I got to thinking about colors and textures and I remembered that I had some super bulky mohair boucle that I bought at Rhinebeck -