Beet stew - yes, really

Today I came home from work and decided I needed to eat beets. I grabbed three beets, a summer squash and some basil and oregano from the garden and an onion from the fridge, and went to work. I sauteed the onion and beets (thinly sliced) in some coconut oil, then added some tomatoes that had been sitting on the counter for a week (we'd saved them from the chipmunks, but hadn't figured out what to make with them). I let that simmer for about 7 minutes, then added chopped summer squash and the herbs. 5 minutes later, I had a delicious sweet and earthy veggie stew! I added a sprinkle of feta to finish it, and I wished there was someone around I could have fed it to (DP hates beets).

In other news, I finished the cowl, which is drying on my new blocking squares (thanks DP!). Once I get pics, I think I'm going to toss it up for free on Ravelry. There can never be too many free patterns, right?

I started a tiny tea leaves for my niece using STR lightweight. I'm making the size for a 4 year old in sock yarn, so it should end up fitting a baby :) The color is little bunny foo foo, a melange of browns and pink, and it's so beautiful, I just like watching the colors as I knit.

I also joined another fiber club - the wheel of the seasons - and bought some batts from the Cupcake Fiber Factory. I asked a person on Ravelry how the batts spun up, and she gave such a glowing review that I had to try them. Since my experience with my home made batts, I'm willing to give spinning them another try. Hopefully this means that I'll have some good spinning fodder for the blog this winter.

Finally, I'm getting a cat! I know, I know: I'm allergic. But I found a breed of cat that has somewhat less of the protein I'm allergic to in its saliva, so we found a kitten who needs a home. We'll get her in November...I can't wait! My whole life, I've wanted a cat, and I'm finally getting one. DP is really excited too - I wouldn't have even tried this without making sure he was on board. He already has a name picked out for her.

Chunky banana bread?

That's what's in the oven right now. It's what you get when you're too lazy to find the potato masher. The batter tastes good, though.

I'm moving along on my cowl; I had a lot of time to work on it today, when I was waiting for tech support to convert my database. 2 1/2 hours! Now I'll be working on two machines in two different rooms until I finish the upgrades.

I found a gorgeous cardigan on Ravelry, but the pattern isn't out yet. I can't wait for it to come out - I think it would look good in the tweed I have running around...the tweed that's been knitted into about three cardigans so far!

Italian Chain?

I'm trying out a new-to-me ribbing: Italian chain ribbing. It looks great in the stitch dictionary picture, but we'll see how it looks actually knit up.

I'm about a quarter through the latest Song of Ice and Fire book, and I'm both happy and sad. Happy that I have it left to read, sad that I'll probably have to wait five years for the next book! It's kind of like Auel's Earth's Children series. If you come to it late, you have a backlog to read, and it makes the waiting less painful.

I think that it's chipmunks that have been eating my tomatoes - I overheard someone on the bus talking about chipmunks eating their tomatoes, and the signs point to the same MO. I'm not sure what to do about it...I don't really want to kill them, but I want to be able to eat at least some of the things I'm growing! I think those fiends must also be eating my green beans.

I have to ply up the three singles I spun for the Camelot-along, and then I'll have all my Gawain and the Greene Knight yarn ready. Instead of making up my own pattern, I may just make another Eva shawl. It's plain, but I wear it all the time.

Beet it

So, I love beets, but I haven't done much with them besides pickling and roasting. However, I have concocted an amazing beet soup twice, so it's not a fluke :)

I sliced beets into pennies, then sauteed them in coconut oil. When they're half done, I add the chopped beet greens and a bunch of basil (or dill), and cook that down until the greens are wilted. Then I top it up with beef broth and add about a teaspoon of black pepper. Simmer it until the beets are done, and you have a delicious - and blood red - soup that goes great with crackers or bread. Yum!

I'm currently up in the air about what I should be knitting. I have a shawl on the needles that's going slowly, so I think I may need to whip up something small just to keep my spirits up. I bought a skein of cormo/silk/alpaca from Foxfire Fibers with my last sheep shares box, so I may knit that into a cowl/neckwarmer. It's gorgeous yarn, so I have to do something worthwhile with it. I also need to knit another baby cardigan...I'm thinking of tiny tea leaves, but I'm not certain about it.

The babies wore the hats I made for them home from the hospital, and they seemed to be a hit. Cotton, while not my fave to work with, was just right for this application. Here's a pic, sans babies:



They worked up fast and were fun to knit.

The reason I need to knit a second cardigan is that I finished the first for one of the twins - the whirligig shrug. It knit up really well:



My sister thinks it's cute, which is all that matters!

The reading mitts also worked out:



They feel so nice to wear, I wish I could keep them.

The shawl is done, and DP thought it would work just right for a witch/wise woman:



I've been on a roll, which probably means a lull for a bit - with all the work coming up in the next few weeks, I probably won't have much time to think.

Nieces and knitting

My sister had her twins on the 19th - hooray! They're two little cuties, emphasis on little. We've been going over there every couple of days to help out, mainly by playing with my older niece so she doesn't feel left out.

I finished the fingerless gloves, and I wish that I didn't have to give them away. They're long enough on the arm to give you support, and not too long on the hand, so you can actually type or knit with them on.

I also finished the little shrug. It's just adorable! It's soaking now, but I should be able to get a picture of it tomorrow before it goes on it's merry way.

Now the only thing left to do is the godswood shawl. I've been trying to figure out exactly how I'm going to do this thing, and I'm still not sure. Now my plan is to work from the bottom point upwards, starting with brown and moving towards green. The question is still obscure or obvious? Should I actually make a tree looking thing, or should it be more subtle. I may go with obvious, at least to start. I only have 400 yards, so it's not like it will take all that long once I decide it.

Dang stress

When I'm stressed out, I carry the stress up in my shoulders and neck. Every few months, I get a stress attack, and basically can't turn my head to one side or another because everything is too tight.

Well, I got home from work yesterday and went to take a shower. When I tilted my head back to start washing the shampoo out of my hair - bang! Stress bomb. I now can't turn my head to the left or right, and my left shoulder is pretty much useless. It's been crazy the past few days, and my sister is going to have her twins any day now, so I know where my stress is coming from. The only thing is that there's nothing to be done about it except not get stressed out. Blah!

I'm working on a pair of fingerless gloves and a top for a little girl right now, but I don't know how much I'll be able to knit on them. Ditto for spinning. I need to get inspired again - I may take out my rubbermaid totes and spread the stash out to see what speaks to me. I have so many options - maybe that's part of the problem?

I also want to write up some of the patterns I have running around on scraps of paper. If nothing else, I'd be able to make them again!

In food news, DP has become more amenable to making things on the grill. He's a good griller, but he doesn't like to waste coals. However, he's become an artist with chicken, and this may be the chink in his armor. He fired up the grill for a single chicken breast yesterday! They are so delicious the way he makes them - just salt and pepper, nothing fancy, but you can barely wait for them to cool before you chomp them!

Who knows...maybe by tomorrow I'll have two more nieces!

Kummel, anyone?

I had a delicious drink last night - 1oz Kummel, 1oz vodka, topped up with tonic in a rocks glass. Marvelous!

The rug has been duly fulled and dried; now I need to dye it and put a binding on the edges. Sigh.

Chucked out the baby vest; it just wasn't working and wasn't any fun. What to do?

Got a present from Jake - Game of Thrones! I'm so excited to read it, you have no idea :)

I also got my period today, and am ultra depressed. Like I always say, I'm not going to kill myself, but I really want to.

Sigh.