Stasia's Place Of Grace

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

 

Thankful For...

My friend Nan. Today is her birthday - Happy Birthday, Nannette!

Look what bloomed for Nannette!

I know you like nature pics, Nan, so these are just for you!

Insect eggs (maybe? Anyone know?) beneath a burr oak leaf.

Wild grapes in the woods.

Apples ready for picking in the orchard.

A horse that lives at the farm behind us, with choke cherry trees in the foreground.

Wild grape leaves turning to red, with blooming goldenrod.

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Thankful For...

Comfort food. Homemade tuna salad on sourdough bread, and tomato soup with Penzey's Parisien Bonnes Herbs. Yum!

Whenever I have a grilled cheese or tuna salad sandwich, I have to have Campbell's tomato soup. It's just not the same without it - something left over in the back of my brain from my childhood. There is no wrath like mine if Chef Jeff accidentally buys generic, Progresso, or organic gourmet tomato soup - it must be Campbell's... though Chef Jeff draws the line at a grilled cheese made with Velveeta.

I knew someone who worked for the Post Office who frequently had to deliver mail addressed to a woman named Velveeta J–.

While you're at the Penzey's site you should order their free catalog. It's full of recipes and tips and full-color pics of their lovely spices. I'm not linking to the Velveeta site, if there is one, because I don't even want to know what they put in the stuff.

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Thankful For...

Finished objects. Another Leaf Cravat (see previous one here - I believe my colors for these are "Caribou" and "Tobacco", one skein per scarf), from Interweave Knits Winter 02/03, in Louet Gems Merino, and my Cat's Paw scarf (Cherry Tree Hill Suri Alpaca laceweight, "Indian Summer" colorway, one skein).

Paw Prints Closeup

I based the cat's paw scarf on the chart in "Lavish Lace"; their square scarf called for three skeins but I only had one, so I just did another horizontal repeat of the chart's 16 stitch motif, with a small garter-stitch border on each side and at the ends. My gauge was 7 sts./inch on size US 1 needles. I used metal needles and, in future, I would do something like this on size 2 Bryspuns instead - definitely!

Pre-blocked the scarf measured 33" by 9"; after a wet, natural blocking (no pins) it measures 42" by 8.5". The yarn is silky soft and not scratchy against bare skin, and I love that the colors didn't pool.

I'm pleased to say that these three scarves used up stash yarn.

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Thankful For...

Being well. Food poisoning is not fun... but at least it doesn't last as long as the flu. There is nothing as wonderful as saltines and mashed potatoes after a day of illness. I think it's because of "Zen eating" - as with the "French Women Don't Get Fat" diet, you are really, really focused on taking one tiny bite at a time. There's no TV to distract you, you're trying not to get crumbs in the bedsheets, and you're hoping the cracker is going to agree with you... it's just you and that saltine, and nothing tastes quite so good! (As with the soup mentioned above, my saltines have got to be Premium brand...)

I know I wanted to lose some weight, but this is not how I intended to do it!

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Thankful For...

Nice companies. Got the Norm Thompson catalog today, and they feature a little article about the Imperial Stock Ranch in Oregon. You may have seen their knitting patterns offered at your favorite yarn shops.

Click here to get a glimpse of their Columbia flock and Maremma guard dog, Babe, and then click here to see the cutest little lamb.

Then you have to click here to see the neatest slideshow about their ranch and practices and sheep and dogs. Beautiful photographs!

On page two of the print catalog there's some additional info about the ranch and the people who make the products Norm Thompson carries - it even mentions crocheting and a spinning wheel!

How cool to see a fiber business thrive in such a mainstream way.

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Thankful For...

Word to live by.

"...[B]y desiring what is perfectly good, even when we don't quite know what it is and cannot do what we would, we are part of the divine power against eveil – widening the skirts of light and making the struggle with darkness narrower."
~ Dorothea Brooke in "Middlemarch" by George Eliot

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I know I promised you pie and butter instructions but the place where those photos are is being changed. All I could do today was upload these pics to a temporary location so I'd have something to show you! They'll be here soon. In the meantime you can start looking for Concord grapes in the shops.

Go wish Nan a happy birthday!

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