What expands your world more than you ever imagined? Knitting, yes. Spinning, definitely. Blogging, totally. Anne Nahm linked this one. Can't stop watching the concept of the song and lyrics singing what is happening in the comic.
And yes, I have taken on a challenge. The Concept2 rower people are sponsoring their 10th Thanksgiving to Christmas rowing challenge. Row 100,000 meters in 29 days, and they will donate $.02/kilometer to a food charity of your choice.
It is HARD. Thirty minutes gets me to 5000+ meters. External motivation is the attraction, something bigger than me (heh) that will force the physical activity and make it happen. The holiday season is no friend to diets or exercise. I'm hoping the habit forms, and that the results will encourage more exercising after the challenge ends.
1. Leonardo DaVinci. I am sure that he is evidence of time travel. He went back from another era, and got stuck. That is the only way to explain his prescient sketches of submarines, helicopters, and more.
2. Gianlorenzo Bernini. The price of dinner with me (!) would be for him to whip up something fast in clay. Anything.
3. Julius Caesar. I want to converse about art, music, power, and underestimating one's enemies.
4. Kate Hepburn. She would be the live wire of the party, competing only with my next guest.
5. Julia Child. Although it would be intimidating to cook for her, I do think she would forgive my gaffes. She would be lively, indeed.
6. Charlemagne. The founder of the Carolingian empire, this man knew how to conquer. He would talk about what how he did it, and lament all that he left undone. His ego would be almost beyond toleration.
7. Sean Connery. Really, do I have to explain this one?
8. Einstein. Have to keep Mr. E entertained.
9. China Mieville. He is one of my favorite authors. His worlds are bleak, postapocalyptic, unsympathetic, textured. His best creations aren't even human. Go read about slakemoths.
10. William Shakespeare. Sometimes I cannot bear the mysteries that history has left behind. I want to know WHO he was! He was clearly brilliant, educated, Machiavellian, perceptive, thoughtful. I actually think he and Mr. DaVinci would take over the party.
A local farm market was swarmed today at the opening bell. I was there, raking in my share.
The countdown has begun. A list was made Wednesday last. First shopping occurred today. Auxiliary Wh0le F00ds visitation planned for Sunday, take duck out of freezer on Monday, pick up turkey on Tuesday, finish vegetable acquisition Tuesday. Mop up shopping trip on Wednesday, praying for no need of same. (Crowds. Those crowds. Ai yi yi please anything but CROWDS.)
Good planning, old habits, lots of lists, and good sous-chefs will make the day a success. It is easier than knitting sweaters.
I did not recognize that my row gauge was off until I looked at the body of the sweater, checked how many more rows I had left, and measured. One-half stitch per inch turns out to be two inches in an already 17 1/2" sweater body from the point where the sleeves are attached. I THINK that if I stop now, attach the sleeves, and just continue the front in pattern, I'll be okay. I read the pattern. I reread the pattern. I closed my eyes and tried to picture the progression. I opened my eyes, looked at the schematic, looked at the model in the sweater. Mr. E doesn't care where the points of the diamonds fall. Married how many years and I still can't tell if he is being honest or if he is being kind. I entreat him to be honest, and I get the same answer.
292 stitches. (Actually 293, but I think I can get rid of that extra one without incident, or tell-tale bloodshed.) I'm definitely putting a life line in this puppy. There clearly are torpedoes to damn here, so let's proceed full speed ahead regardless.
Casual knitting at Star$$. We are busy creatures in this suburban forest, gathering knits and yarn against the coming winter.
Casual posting of handspun. I have fallen out of the habit of posting all that comes off my wheel. Some is not worthy of inspection. Others fall into storage boxes before their moments on stage. Pat inspires me to think of knitting with it. No, that is not true. I often think of knitting with handspun; she inspires me to DO it. This is PumpkinMama's BFL top, 4 oz of Dusk and 4 oz of Majestic, one ply of each for a 2 ply DK weight yarn.
The pig theme continues. From acorns, to acorn-finished jamon, to a refrigerated display case at La Boqueria in Barcelona. Don't just say *ewwwwwwwwwww*. This is a different culture in full boast. I would love to try my hand at slow-barbecued suckling pig someday. Put that one on the bucket list.
1. Speak French. My in-laws would love this. I would love this. It had to happen by age 4 or so. I would even compromise on now, and have an accent.
2. Knit faster. See last Tuesday's post on Ten Things I Want to Knit Now.
3. Ski since the age of 3. This seems to be all about Time Machines. Oh well.
4. Play piano flawlessly.
5. Lose 8 pounds. I suppose I know how to do this, but I don't think I KNOW how to do this all that well.
6. Get rid of voles from my garden forever.
7. Get rid of clutter, and finish my To Do list.
8. Read minds. I would only do good things with this. Mostly.
9. Freeze time. I don't think I would do anything good with this at all. The world should be happy I cannot do this.
10. Foresee the future. That would be a mixed blessing, indeed.
Another picture from La Boqueria in Barcelona. Full circle. The jamon iberico pictured is a carnivore's heaven on earth. It is silky, sweet, smooth, satisfying, lush food. The pigs were fed a diet of acorns (bellota) to finish the meat. Yet another reason to not hate the oak tree.
Mr. E and I are making dinner. It will be a multi-course, multi-wine affair.
There will be no hors d'oeuvres. I am an iconoclast, perhaps, in believing that only spoils the appetite. We will start with carefully poured Pol Roger Reserve Champagne. (Does that get a big -c- or a little -c-? I'm not sure.) Pacing starts early so that the bubbles don't float too quickly to the brain.
First course: Swiss chard tart with goat cheese, currants, and pine nuts. This recipe is from Sunday Suppers at Lucques. The chef is Suzanne Goin. What Julie did with Julia's book, I will do with Suzanne's. Ms. Goin makes elegant home cooking with seasonal ingredients pleasingly accessible. I've made the warm wild mushroom salad with soft herbs/pecorino and hazelnuts. Superb! Duck braised in Banyuls with turnip/parsnip gratin and prunes was delectable. The 100% success rate motivated the
Main course: Herb-roasted rack of lamb. I'm substituting her flageolet gratin with braised fingerling potates with fennel, sweet onion and green olives. Mr. E and I will try the gratin on our own during a lazy weekend to make sure it works, before we try it on guests.
There will be the obligatory cheese course. Two of the guests expect it. Mr. E loves his cheese.
Dessert is a tart with cranberries, caramel, and sliced almonds. Rather than a whole big tart, the recipe calls for six little ones made in tart rings. (City Bakery in NYC was run by Maury Rubin. His tarts were famous. Jeffrey Steingarten mentioned him and his book several years ago in one of his columns. Our local cookbook store had three of the little books left. Now, they are out of print, and ridiculously expensive. I am rarely tapped into any happening pipeline because of the computer unfriendliness of my job. I got this one, and it is better than having six skeins of Wollmeise.)
The wines:
2004 Jadis, Sauvignon Blanc, Alphonse Mellot with the savory tart 1989 Cos d'Estournel with the lamb 2006 Anaperenna, Shiraz/Cabernet, Ben Glaetzer if we run out of 1998 Remezieres, Cuvee Emilie, Cote Rotie
Must go prep the fingerlings, fennel and onion. Yes, Claudia, this is why I like November.
The swiss chard tart includes a base of puff pastry, with chili de arbol infused oil. I remember the pepper market in Barcelona at the Boqueria. Every tourist who walks through the entry takes this picture. One cannot do otherwise.
The acorn crop has been prodigious across parts of New England. It is a mast year. Our squirrels and chipmunks will have a fat winter. I routinely curse the oaks: crummy leaf color, late leaf drop, plagues of acorns, and sprouting oak seedlings everywhere each year. This article gives more perspective. I will curse softer, maybe less often.
Yesterday was the possible. Today is the probable.
Grant Park pullover, churning along. I am plugging my ears, and closing my eyes to the moment when I add the sleeves to the total stitch count. LALALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU!
Monsieur Le Coopworth, nee Baritone is being plyed. The twist was months dormant. I plyed two samples (differing treadle numbers), washed them, evaluated them. I used Etherply to figure out which bobbins to group together to end up with four skeins of uniform yarn. Those are the LeClerc storage bobbins that save the derrieres of lazy spinners who don't ply everything immediately. Judith plys without tensioning on her lazy kate. Life is too short and death is too long to wrestle with the tangles when I do that.
My knitting soul is filled with unrest. After summer ends, after Rhinebeck, fiber passion flares. I must knit this and that and that and this.
I take a deep breath. It doesn't help.
1. Jo by Perl Grey. Just before Rhinebeck, I purchased the yarn for this from Chris (Briar Rose). I got two size triple L bumps, Abundance Corriedale. An oversized sweater with a variegated colorway would look so good on me.
2. Jadis. I have the yarn from Foxfire in colorway Juniper. I look good in simple knits. Margene wore hers last winter. I kept wanting to touch her sleeve. But I promised Mr. E a sweater first.
3. Terrazzo. Yes, more Foxfire yarn. I think the colorway is Aster. I LOVE those front cables. The neck is elegant without strangling, suffocating, or roasting the wearer.
4. A Starmore. Deanna's handprepped, handspun, hand-dyed St. Brigid stopped traffic at Rhinebeck. I could not take my eyes off her masterpiece. I am quite willing to let the Hebrideans prep, spin and dye my yarn for me. I just want to knit it. That, or Irish Moss. I'm not picky.
6. Pueblo stole. I'm tall enough for this. I love the colors. (Let me repeat that. I love the colors.)
7. Selbuvottir mittens. I can't even narrow down which ones yet. They are exquisite.
8. Feather Duster shawl. Susan is a genius. I can see this pattern cascading down my back. It will make me stand up straighter for a change. It will be transforming. I know this.
9. Shetland Triangle. I watched Manise knit hers, then found the perfect yarn for it. Seasilk in SaltSpray. Oh dear.
10. Jared mittens #1, Jared mittens #2, Hyrna H, Kiwassa shawl, Haavisto mittens, Galileo mittens, Chevron Love mittens, mink/cashmere neckwarmer, Knitspot's Ivy Vines neckwarmer, and on.
However. I have resolved to finish several things first. Mr. E's Grant Park pullover is a fun pleasure. I'm watching the pattern develop. I'm halfway to the axillae. (Armscyes sounds so FOREIGN to me.) I must finish the Straker vest. Leilani cardigan. My Kusha variation for my MIL. LeafLace shawl. A tassle for my long finished Ivy cap.
I think I'll just slink off into my knitnook now. Thank you for your time and your attention.
What do I do if I'm not knitting?
Well, there is sleep. Work seems to take up time, also. The iPhone is beginning to contribute to time waste. I giggled uncontrollably in the waiting room of the bone-density clinic when I discovered this one. I had to stop playing because I feared I looked like a lunatic. How can you not love something named SheepStacker? It is not as easy as it looks. The music is great. You will need an iPhone, or an on-line version of the game to hear it. Baaaaaaaaaaa-a.
