The past week had only a few small frustrations. This is remarkably better than previous weeks, which were fraught with many large annoyances. It turns out that I'm not thrilled with my bangs- they're cute, but mildly annoying. Luckily they'll be long enough to tuck behind my ear in a few weeks, and until then bobby pins keep them out of my eyes. There haven't been any major issues at work, but we have had a lot of visitors which is distracting. And it seems like everyone is doing their best to schmooze my coworker and I in an effort to convince us to move to Connecticut. I know they don't mean to, but they're stressing me out. It's a lot of pressure. Even without the schmooze, it's a lot.
When Scott wanted to move us out to Maryland, the decision wasn't as hard. Sure we'd be far from our family, but he had a great job offer and I had absolutely nothing going for me in Illinois. But now there's more at stake, since we have to consider Scott's career and our home (which hasn't exactly appreciated). Plus we like this area... I've really grown to love it (except the damn heat). I like the slightly slower pace of life, lax gun laws, history, and mild hillbilly flavor. I'm sure Connecticut has it's own charms, but I definitely get that "fish out of water" vibe.
Today I lightened that load a bit by doing a Tarot spread. I love Tarot. I don't think there's anything mystical or magical about it, but it works. You read into it what you need to hear. This time I read that for now I just need to relax and let things play out. And that's true- even if I knew the answer right now, it doesn't really make a difference. We're still going to be here in MD for at least another year, probably longer. Maybe during that time something will change that will make the decision obvious. Either way, there's no use killing myself with stress trying to figure it out now.
So let's switch over to lighter subjects, shall we? The cats freaking love their new perch. They climb right up the side to get to the top, and sleep there all the time. It was clearly money well spent. Sam is doing well, but he's getting to be a big boy. I think I'm going to need to start separating the cats during their dry food meals to make sure they're both eating their own portions. Spencer is also well, if just a bit arthritic. He needs a nail trim soon, and I have (admittedly high) hopes of Scott and I doing it ourselves. Perhaps if we involve hotdogs or bacon it will be possible. Poor Marlowe continues to be vexed by minor health issues. It seems he's going to be headed back to the vet this week with more allergies. He's been a little squinty, and seems to be itchy. He chewed the crap out of his leg, and is now sporting a bald spot. Hopefully this is something that can be solved with some sort of kitty Benadryl. Quick innerweb research tells me itchy cats are usually reacting to seasonal allergies or mold. I'm doubting it's mold in his case as our house isn't all that old and hasn't had any major water damage or anything like that. I could also swear that his bad days would coincide with mine, but I didn't keep records or anything so who knows. Can cats eat honey? That's what's been helping me- local honey. Hm, perhaps I'll ask the vet.
A new BBQ place, Rib City, opened up nearby. We finally tried it out, but were sort of disappointed. The food wasn't bad, but not amazing either. It felt a lot like eating at a Steak 'n Shake (you have a server, but you're eating on plastic plates)- sort of a middle ground between fast food and sit-down restaurant. The biggest turn off was our server, who was pretty obviously stoned out of her freaking mind and severely annoying. I'm pretty sure she would have been mildly annoying but tolerable, had she not been so very, very high; but holy effing crap... We probably should have said something, but with food it's always sketchy. You don't want anyone spitting in your food. Instead we'll vote with our wallets and stick with Famous Dave's for our mediocre BBQ needs.
I'm chugging along on the current sock project, but my mind has been elsewhere. We had a few days of cool weather, and it got me excited about cold-weather knits: hats, mittens, sweaters, etc. I'd like to make myself some fingerless mitts for driving, and regular mittens for whatever. Then there's the plethora of sweaters that I have yarn for, but haven't started; and maybe a couple hats. We're also trying to whittle down our unnecessary spending, and knitting from the stash will both save money by spending less on yarn, and by essentially expanding/replacing my wardrobe for free. Next time a hoodie wears out, I'm not allowing myself to buy another. It must be knit!
If I can remember, I'm going to do the biannual airing of the stash this week. As more and more stinkbugs sneak into the house, I wonder what other sort of critters are getting in without my knowledge. I don't like using mothballs, so I might make more scented sachet like I did last year. Or I'll cave and stick my lovely yarn in zip-lock bags. Hopefully bags aren't necessary, since my wool is in the closed cabinet- I wouldn't call it bug-proof, but it's at least bug-resistant. In any case, the task will be considerably more difficult with the cats around. The little yarn thieves are not to be trusted. I will attempt to distract them with crinkly paper, but if it doesn't work I'm sure you'll read about it next time.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Saturday, October 2, 2010
In Which I Never Learn
Wearing ponytails almost exclusively for the past year or so has really done a number on my hair. I think there may be additional things going on (crappy health, stress) that are contributing to that problem, but mostly I think it's the ponytails. I tried using only scrunchies, since they seemed to be more gentle, but I don't think it was helping. Since growing out my pixie cut, it's only been cut 1.5 times (the .5 was when I trimmed up the back myself when it was looking a bit mullet-esque). It was time for another cut to get rid of all the dead ends and the last of the dyed bits. I figured shoulder length should do it, but ultimately decided to go a bit shorter and toyed with the notion of bangs. Do I dare admit that what I wanted was a bob? I do. It was. Except no layers- I think that's where the stylists fuck me. They all seem to think layers will help, but they never do. I considered the fact that the cut I desired consisted of cutting one straight line, and decided that The Hair Cuttery would suffice. After all, even a shitty stylist should possess the scissory aptitude of a six year old, right?
Not so much, apparently.
It started out okay. I had brought a picture procured from the innerwebs to show the length I desired. I also pointed to the exact spot on my neck. I tried to be very clear, even though I probably wouldn't have cared if she was an inch off in either direction. I had brought a second picture to demonstrate the bangs I liked, but told her to leave that part out for now- I would prefer to decide at the end. She washed my hair and got to snipping.
Very quiet alarms sounded almost immediately. She was distracted. She had to walk away 3-4 times to help the receptionist with the register. She referred back to my picture and said, "Now this cut has very few layers, it's just a blunt cut..." "Yes!" I interjected, "I don't want any layers. Just straight across, please." She seemed dubious, but kept snipping away. About 3 minutes into the cut, she discovered during small talk that I was about a decade older than she thought. It's not uncommon, and most people are afraid they've offended me (they probably haven't), but this woman seemed sort of disturbed by it. As though I had somehow offended her. The alarms got louder. Our chit-chat grew awkward. Everything irked her: I've been married for 9 nears. My husband is a tattoo artist. I have a 16 year old stepdaughter, but don't really want babies. You'd think I was telling her how I like to punch kittens or throw rocks off overpasses. I chalked it up to personal differences, and let the conversation die. At that point she was ready to start blow drying my hair anyway.
As she dried, I noticed that one side was a little longer than the other. So did she, and she snipped off a little bit to even it out before blowing the ends under. I did not notice that she had overcompensated. At some point she said she had done something to the ends to "give it some movement." I wrongly assumed that she was talking about the little texturizing snippets I saw her making on the ends- THAT I would have been fine with. She finished blowing the ends under, but one side wanted to blow out instead of under. So she attempted to fix it with a flat iron. It didn't work. What it did do was make the ends of my hair L shaped. It seemed like she was having a long day, so I let it go thinking that at least the cut was even. She showed me the back, which looked fine blown under, and we were done. Wanting to just get out of there, I nixed the bangs, paid, and left.
I got home and went right up to the bathroom for a better look. I was, um, a little surprised. There were layers. They were only in back, and they made the back of my hair flip straight out- just like that loathsome bob I got back in 2008. What the fuck. Sometimes I think that maybe I never actually speak- I just hallucinate that I'm speaking. Because I vividly remembered saying, "No layers, just straight across." I turned my attention to my L shaped ends. That was an easy fix. I wet the ends so that I could re-dry them, and that's when I saw how uneven they were. The right was a solid 1/2" longer than the left in front. Remembering that she had cut my hair while it was parted in the center, but styled it parted on left, I thought that might be the cause. No dice. Moving my part simply moved the extra length to the other side. Fuuuuuck. This is why I don't get my hair cut very often.
My choices were further butchery at the hands of another stylist, or fix it myself. I opted to fix it myself. Using my dinky pair of hair scissors and a hand mirror, I did it. First I evened out the sides, then worked on the back. It turns out that she had also interpreted "straight across" as "slightly longer in the back," so eliminating the layers wasn't a problem. Once it was all cut, rinsed, and blow dried, I cut my bangs exactly how I wanted them- long and side swept. I did a surprisingly decent job. Here is the photographic evidence:
Hair I Wanted: (please show me where the layers are, because I can't see them)
Bangs I Wanted:
End Result:
I don't know what that lady's problem was, but I'm never going back to Hair Cuttery again, no matter how simple my needs. Next time I think I want to do something basic enough for them, I'll just do it myself to begin with and use the money to buy more yarn.
Not so much, apparently.
It started out okay. I had brought a picture procured from the innerwebs to show the length I desired. I also pointed to the exact spot on my neck. I tried to be very clear, even though I probably wouldn't have cared if she was an inch off in either direction. I had brought a second picture to demonstrate the bangs I liked, but told her to leave that part out for now- I would prefer to decide at the end. She washed my hair and got to snipping.
Very quiet alarms sounded almost immediately. She was distracted. She had to walk away 3-4 times to help the receptionist with the register. She referred back to my picture and said, "Now this cut has very few layers, it's just a blunt cut..." "Yes!" I interjected, "I don't want any layers. Just straight across, please." She seemed dubious, but kept snipping away. About 3 minutes into the cut, she discovered during small talk that I was about a decade older than she thought. It's not uncommon, and most people are afraid they've offended me (they probably haven't), but this woman seemed sort of disturbed by it. As though I had somehow offended her. The alarms got louder. Our chit-chat grew awkward. Everything irked her: I've been married for 9 nears. My husband is a tattoo artist. I have a 16 year old stepdaughter, but don't really want babies. You'd think I was telling her how I like to punch kittens or throw rocks off overpasses. I chalked it up to personal differences, and let the conversation die. At that point she was ready to start blow drying my hair anyway.
As she dried, I noticed that one side was a little longer than the other. So did she, and she snipped off a little bit to even it out before blowing the ends under. I did not notice that she had overcompensated. At some point she said she had done something to the ends to "give it some movement." I wrongly assumed that she was talking about the little texturizing snippets I saw her making on the ends- THAT I would have been fine with. She finished blowing the ends under, but one side wanted to blow out instead of under. So she attempted to fix it with a flat iron. It didn't work. What it did do was make the ends of my hair L shaped. It seemed like she was having a long day, so I let it go thinking that at least the cut was even. She showed me the back, which looked fine blown under, and we were done. Wanting to just get out of there, I nixed the bangs, paid, and left.
I got home and went right up to the bathroom for a better look. I was, um, a little surprised. There were layers. They were only in back, and they made the back of my hair flip straight out- just like that loathsome bob I got back in 2008. What the fuck. Sometimes I think that maybe I never actually speak- I just hallucinate that I'm speaking. Because I vividly remembered saying, "No layers, just straight across." I turned my attention to my L shaped ends. That was an easy fix. I wet the ends so that I could re-dry them, and that's when I saw how uneven they were. The right was a solid 1/2" longer than the left in front. Remembering that she had cut my hair while it was parted in the center, but styled it parted on left, I thought that might be the cause. No dice. Moving my part simply moved the extra length to the other side. Fuuuuuck. This is why I don't get my hair cut very often.
My choices were further butchery at the hands of another stylist, or fix it myself. I opted to fix it myself. Using my dinky pair of hair scissors and a hand mirror, I did it. First I evened out the sides, then worked on the back. It turns out that she had also interpreted "straight across" as "slightly longer in the back," so eliminating the layers wasn't a problem. Once it was all cut, rinsed, and blow dried, I cut my bangs exactly how I wanted them- long and side swept. I did a surprisingly decent job. Here is the photographic evidence:
Hair I Wanted: (please show me where the layers are, because I can't see them)
Bangs I Wanted:
End Result:
I don't know what that lady's problem was, but I'm never going back to Hair Cuttery again, no matter how simple my needs. Next time I think I want to do something basic enough for them, I'll just do it myself to begin with and use the money to buy more yarn.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Stupid Flying Time...
Last weekend Scott's Dad, stepmom, and aunt came for a visit to see Scott for his 40th birthday and to see DC. His aunt had never been here, so on their first day we went to the city. The rest of the long weekend was spent touring the greater DC area- dinners in Frederick, drives through the mountains, etc. It was nice to see the folks, and we were happy to see they're still doing well.
Work still drives me a little nutty, but it's been better since a new engineer-guy came along. I think he was hired to be an intermediary between the winders and our current boss, and to help out with fixing the machines and such. I love that he is not at all pushy or demanding- he's the sort of guy that would be good at teaching people to drive. I think having him around will spread out some of the stress we feel.
Not feeling like work is suffocating me has made me a little bit more productive this past week. I finally fixed our yellow accent wall by applying a faux finish to tone it down. No more McDonald's house! Hooray! Or, at least, partial Hooray... Scott isn't too thrilled with it, but he says he's okay with it. It's just a Mocha glaze sort of blotched on with a rag. I loves it, and I think it's nice for a small area. It's not something I'd want to see over an entire room. Here's a before (with Spencer) and after:
Poor Scott has another eyesore to deal with, in the form of a new kitty perch. The cats only had one small scratching post, and nowhere to climb, so when I saw this marked down at Petsmart I jumped on it:
They love it, and it keeps them from messing with the couch so much. They like having a new place to nap and climb, and it's conveniently located within curtain-destruction range. Plus they can keep an eye on whatever's going on at the dining room table. That seems to be important to them. I like that it has 3 scratching options: wood, sisal, and carpet, for all their scratching needs.
The cats and the dog also got a new water bowl this week. It turns out that Sam has a pretty intense attraction to his reflection on the side of the ceramic dish we had before. I kept waking up/coming home to the water bowl being 5 feet from it's normal location, and water all over the floor. Eventually I caught him... Sam would catch a reflection and pounce at the side of the dish, pushing it a few inches and causing the water to slosh over the side. He also had a weird fascination with sticking his feet under the plastic mat that the bowl was on. I never figured that part out. So anyway, Scott suggested this type of bowl, as it would probably be too heavy to move around. I wanted to get a fountain, but decided to try his idea first since it's way cheaper.
I also got a new mat- it's a bit sticky on the bottom, so it won't slide around, and it's absorbent (Sam also likes to stick his feet in the water before drinking, which can be bit messy). Both cats watch it fill when I clean it, so they like that it's "moving" water- I guess they see it as less stagnant? And it's matte on the outside, so there's no reflection. It hasn't budged since I put it down, and I haven't had to clean up any big puddles of water. As an added bonus, the cats really like when big bubbles form in the water jug. Or they're alarmed. It's hard to say.
On the knitting front, my mojo is coming back slowly but surely. I finished a pair of socks for my brother-in-law, and started a matching pair for his wife. I just need to wash them up and ship them out! His wife's pair will be a lovely sort of Spring green, which I hope will bring a little color into her otherwise soon-to-be-dreary Wisconsin Winter (where she has temporarily relocated from sunny California).
After that, I don't know what will be next. Maybe finish Ludivine? Maybe a sweater? Mittens? A scarf? Who knows! But whatever it is, it will be mine mine mine mine mine. Mine. I enjoy knitting for others, but sometimes I miss knitting for me.
Work still drives me a little nutty, but it's been better since a new engineer-guy came along. I think he was hired to be an intermediary between the winders and our current boss, and to help out with fixing the machines and such. I love that he is not at all pushy or demanding- he's the sort of guy that would be good at teaching people to drive. I think having him around will spread out some of the stress we feel.
Not feeling like work is suffocating me has made me a little bit more productive this past week. I finally fixed our yellow accent wall by applying a faux finish to tone it down. No more McDonald's house! Hooray! Or, at least, partial Hooray... Scott isn't too thrilled with it, but he says he's okay with it. It's just a Mocha glaze sort of blotched on with a rag. I loves it, and I think it's nice for a small area. It's not something I'd want to see over an entire room. Here's a before (with Spencer) and after:
Poor Scott has another eyesore to deal with, in the form of a new kitty perch. The cats only had one small scratching post, and nowhere to climb, so when I saw this marked down at Petsmart I jumped on it:
They love it, and it keeps them from messing with the couch so much. They like having a new place to nap and climb, and it's conveniently located within curtain-destruction range. Plus they can keep an eye on whatever's going on at the dining room table. That seems to be important to them. I like that it has 3 scratching options: wood, sisal, and carpet, for all their scratching needs.
The cats and the dog also got a new water bowl this week. It turns out that Sam has a pretty intense attraction to his reflection on the side of the ceramic dish we had before. I kept waking up/coming home to the water bowl being 5 feet from it's normal location, and water all over the floor. Eventually I caught him... Sam would catch a reflection and pounce at the side of the dish, pushing it a few inches and causing the water to slosh over the side. He also had a weird fascination with sticking his feet under the plastic mat that the bowl was on. I never figured that part out. So anyway, Scott suggested this type of bowl, as it would probably be too heavy to move around. I wanted to get a fountain, but decided to try his idea first since it's way cheaper.
I also got a new mat- it's a bit sticky on the bottom, so it won't slide around, and it's absorbent (Sam also likes to stick his feet in the water before drinking, which can be bit messy). Both cats watch it fill when I clean it, so they like that it's "moving" water- I guess they see it as less stagnant? And it's matte on the outside, so there's no reflection. It hasn't budged since I put it down, and I haven't had to clean up any big puddles of water. As an added bonus, the cats really like when big bubbles form in the water jug. Or they're alarmed. It's hard to say.
On the knitting front, my mojo is coming back slowly but surely. I finished a pair of socks for my brother-in-law, and started a matching pair for his wife. I just need to wash them up and ship them out! His wife's pair will be a lovely sort of Spring green, which I hope will bring a little color into her otherwise soon-to-be-dreary Wisconsin Winter (where she has temporarily relocated from sunny California).
After that, I don't know what will be next. Maybe finish Ludivine? Maybe a sweater? Mittens? A scarf? Who knows! But whatever it is, it will be mine mine mine mine mine. Mine. I enjoy knitting for others, but sometimes I miss knitting for me.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Special Birthday Dinner
Yesterday was Scott's 40th birthday. He didn't want to take the day off work, since it's Labor Day weekend (and therefore likely to be busy), but he'll have off several days next weekend when his Dad and step-mom are coming to visit. Still, I wanted to do something nice for him on his actual birthday... in the form of a huge meal. Normally, I'm not much of a cook... I tend to cook in the tradition of my mother, which means everything comes out of a box. Scott, however, grew up amongst Italians and the super awesome food that comes with them. Several years ago I had attempted to make meatballs and sauce from scratch, and it ended rather tragically with mushy meatballs and sauce that was edible but not great. I thought maybe I would try again for his birthday, going all out with sauce from scratch, meatballs, sausage, garlic bread, and a dessert.
I broke down my day into 4 Objectives: 1. Find recipes and make a shopping list 2. Do the shopping (for both Scott's gift and dinner) 3. Make the dessert 4. Make the sauce.
Objective 1. I saw that one of us (neither of us remember doing it) bookmarked a recipe for sauce online. It goes into great detail, and includes a recipe for the meatballs, and the same site has a recipe for garlic bread, too. I decided to go with it. For the dessert, I chose Coffee Cake- Literally from the Pioneer Woman website. I went through both recipes, noted what I'd need to pick up, and moved on to my Second Objective.
Objective 2. I asked Scott several times what he'd like for his birthday to no avail. His recent de-cluttering kick was rather inconveniently timed, it seemed. But like any good wife, I ignored his requests for "nothing" and "just to spend time with you," and went where I knew I couldn't fail: the knife store. Edgeworks is in downtown Frederick, and every time we're downtown we stop in. We've been talking about getting a nice Santoku knife for a while, but never got around to it. He really admired the Shuns, so that's what I got. It is an incredibly sexy knife, and makes our other knives look like crap by comparison.
My next stops included the liquor store for Chianti and the grocery store. The guy at the liquor store steered me toward a bottle of Chianti that he said was good (I don't drink wine, so I'm no good at picking them). The grocery store was, well, the grocery store. I'm sure you've seen them.
Objective 3. Back at home, I got to work on the dessert. It was about 2pm. I had to time all this out just right in order for it to be ready when Scott got home at 10:15, which could be tricky. Of course, being me, I would fine a way to throw a wrench or two in the works. Like when I was confident there were two cups each of flour and sugar in the canisters but it turned out to be slightly less in both cases, and resulted in my having to run back to the grocery store; and how I would have needed to go back anyways because I managed to forget to buy any pasta for dinner. Luckily, the dessert took less time to make than I planned for, and I got back on track. The coffee frosting is the best part of this cake. I just want to eat it by the spoonful, it's so good. I mean, coffee, sugar, butter, cream, salt... what's not to love? I had looked for a little tube of brown frosting (for the writing) at the store, but the closest I could get was chocolate frosting meant for brownies. It turns out that it's even better. Just check out that lettering...
And the coffee/chocolate combo is always a winner in my book. I couldn't really think of anything filthy to say. I know, I'm a little disappointed in me, too. But I didn't want to write anything mean, and everything I thought of just seemed a little tired. Cuntflap? Done it. Lewd stick figures? Check. Dick jokes? Played out. I just went with "goofy" instead. Blame my soul-sucking job for my lack of creativity. The cake is really good- it's dense, and reminded us a bit of carrot cake. I'm eating it right now. Mmmmmm...
Objective 4. This was the scary part. In preparation, I fed the pets, walked the dog, and put the cats in the bedroom upstairs. With the sauce needing to be stirred every three minutes, I couldn't take any chances with pet hijinks. I had cheated a little, and chopped the onion while the cake was baking. My biggest pitfall with cooking is that I don't know how to properly chop things, and tend to be overly systematic about it, which means that it takes me half an hour to mince an onion. I also did the dishes, peeled the garlic, opened the wine, and put the diced tomatoes through the blender (Scott doesn't like chunky sauce). By the time I was ready to start cooking, it was about 4:30.
The first two hours were brutal. The constant stirring really challenged my poor sense of time, but I somehow managed NOT to burn it. For the meatballs, I used my meatloaf recipe (which Scott had said would make great meatballs), but made a couple of changes to make them a bit more Italian- like subbing Chianti for the Worcestershire sauce. I did follow the recipe's directions for cooking them, but browned them in our cast iron skillet since we don't use non-stick cookware. I did not make the Braciole, but did throw in the package of Italian sausage. Around 9:30, it seemed like it was done, so I let the sauce rest as suggested while I jumped in the shower, let the cats out, and walked the dog again. At 10:00, I started the water for the pasta and got to work on the garlic bread.
The recipe for the garlic bread seemed a little involved, so I simplified it a bit. I cut two 5-6" lengths of Italian bread, and halved them. I spread on a mixture of softened butter (one stick), 4 cloves of pressed garlic, about a 1/4 tsp of garlic powder, and a couple tsp of Italian seasoning. Then I baked them for about 10 minutes at 350, and broiled them for about 5 minutes until they were nice and toasty.
Once the pasta was finished, we ate. A lot. It was a total success, worthy of my wonderful husband's birthday. I hope that he had a great birthday, and that there are at least another 40 left in him. He really is the best thing that ever happened to me, and I don't even want to think about what life would be like without him. I love you, Husband!
I broke down my day into 4 Objectives: 1. Find recipes and make a shopping list 2. Do the shopping (for both Scott's gift and dinner) 3. Make the dessert 4. Make the sauce.
Objective 1. I saw that one of us (neither of us remember doing it) bookmarked a recipe for sauce online. It goes into great detail, and includes a recipe for the meatballs, and the same site has a recipe for garlic bread, too. I decided to go with it. For the dessert, I chose Coffee Cake- Literally from the Pioneer Woman website. I went through both recipes, noted what I'd need to pick up, and moved on to my Second Objective.
Objective 2. I asked Scott several times what he'd like for his birthday to no avail. His recent de-cluttering kick was rather inconveniently timed, it seemed. But like any good wife, I ignored his requests for "nothing" and "just to spend time with you," and went where I knew I couldn't fail: the knife store. Edgeworks is in downtown Frederick, and every time we're downtown we stop in. We've been talking about getting a nice Santoku knife for a while, but never got around to it. He really admired the Shuns, so that's what I got. It is an incredibly sexy knife, and makes our other knives look like crap by comparison.
My next stops included the liquor store for Chianti and the grocery store. The guy at the liquor store steered me toward a bottle of Chianti that he said was good (I don't drink wine, so I'm no good at picking them). The grocery store was, well, the grocery store. I'm sure you've seen them.
Objective 3. Back at home, I got to work on the dessert. It was about 2pm. I had to time all this out just right in order for it to be ready when Scott got home at 10:15, which could be tricky. Of course, being me, I would fine a way to throw a wrench or two in the works. Like when I was confident there were two cups each of flour and sugar in the canisters but it turned out to be slightly less in both cases, and resulted in my having to run back to the grocery store; and how I would have needed to go back anyways because I managed to forget to buy any pasta for dinner. Luckily, the dessert took less time to make than I planned for, and I got back on track. The coffee frosting is the best part of this cake. I just want to eat it by the spoonful, it's so good. I mean, coffee, sugar, butter, cream, salt... what's not to love? I had looked for a little tube of brown frosting (for the writing) at the store, but the closest I could get was chocolate frosting meant for brownies. It turns out that it's even better. Just check out that lettering...
And the coffee/chocolate combo is always a winner in my book. I couldn't really think of anything filthy to say. I know, I'm a little disappointed in me, too. But I didn't want to write anything mean, and everything I thought of just seemed a little tired. Cuntflap? Done it. Lewd stick figures? Check. Dick jokes? Played out. I just went with "goofy" instead. Blame my soul-sucking job for my lack of creativity. The cake is really good- it's dense, and reminded us a bit of carrot cake. I'm eating it right now. Mmmmmm...
Objective 4. This was the scary part. In preparation, I fed the pets, walked the dog, and put the cats in the bedroom upstairs. With the sauce needing to be stirred every three minutes, I couldn't take any chances with pet hijinks. I had cheated a little, and chopped the onion while the cake was baking. My biggest pitfall with cooking is that I don't know how to properly chop things, and tend to be overly systematic about it, which means that it takes me half an hour to mince an onion. I also did the dishes, peeled the garlic, opened the wine, and put the diced tomatoes through the blender (Scott doesn't like chunky sauce). By the time I was ready to start cooking, it was about 4:30.
The first two hours were brutal. The constant stirring really challenged my poor sense of time, but I somehow managed NOT to burn it. For the meatballs, I used my meatloaf recipe (which Scott had said would make great meatballs), but made a couple of changes to make them a bit more Italian- like subbing Chianti for the Worcestershire sauce. I did follow the recipe's directions for cooking them, but browned them in our cast iron skillet since we don't use non-stick cookware. I did not make the Braciole, but did throw in the package of Italian sausage. Around 9:30, it seemed like it was done, so I let the sauce rest as suggested while I jumped in the shower, let the cats out, and walked the dog again. At 10:00, I started the water for the pasta and got to work on the garlic bread.
The recipe for the garlic bread seemed a little involved, so I simplified it a bit. I cut two 5-6" lengths of Italian bread, and halved them. I spread on a mixture of softened butter (one stick), 4 cloves of pressed garlic, about a 1/4 tsp of garlic powder, and a couple tsp of Italian seasoning. Then I baked them for about 10 minutes at 350, and broiled them for about 5 minutes until they were nice and toasty.
Once the pasta was finished, we ate. A lot. It was a total success, worthy of my wonderful husband's birthday. I hope that he had a great birthday, and that there are at least another 40 left in him. He really is the best thing that ever happened to me, and I don't even want to think about what life would be like without him. I love you, Husband!
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Ahhh, it was so nice to have some nice weather for a while! All of my knitting mojo came flooding back as soon as the temperature dropped below 85. I want to knit, but as usual, I'm more inspired to start new projects than finish those already in the works. I've got ideas for a couple of bags, and I want to do some mittens and scarves for this winter, and there are cardigans and pullovers and hats and socks and maybe a cozy for Scott's french press... You can see my conundrum.
Right now I am trying to stay up to date with the mystery shawl, and mostly succeeding. I think I'm halfway through Clue 5, and this Wednesday will bring Clue 7. That's not too far behind. I'm also chugging along on a pair of socks for my brother-in-law that are going well so far. I'm past the heels, so it shouldn't be too much longer before they're done. Then I'll start another pair for his wife, which will probably be more interesting (hooray lace!), and I love the light green color I picked for her.
Work was okay the past week. The new guy started, and he seems nice. Now we just have to see if he can wind. Next week we have some sort of audit going on, and I'm sure it will be a total nightmare. It's only two days long though, so that's what I keep repeating in my head. Two days. Just two days and then it's over.
I may have come up with a great idea for my knitty tattoo, but I can't tell you about it because I'll jinx it. I've had quite a few ideas, but the real trouble is where to put them. Scott is picky because he has to look at them all the time, and we both want them to be in flattering places. Plus I'm trying to consider future tattoos at the same time, though that might be futile. I'd like to do a sleeve and a big back piece, but I don't think Scott wants to do them. He seems much more keen on doing large pieces on other people, and I don't know if it's because he doesn't like the way it will look on me, or that he thinks I won't sit well for it, or what. Part of me thinks I could just save my pennies and have it done by someone else, but I don't want anyone else to do it. And I'm sure doing that would make Scott feel shitty- if he asked some other knitter to make him a pair of socks, it would probably bum me out. But if he asked the other knitter after asking me for several years and getting nowhere, would that then be okay? I don't know. It still feels like cheating to me. I think I'm just stuck, which is a little disappointing, but it's not the end of the world.
I did a phenomenal job cleaning out the closet in my knitty room last weekend. Scott has sold (or is selling) all his bikes and replaced them with one monster motorcycle (2008 BMW R1200GS). With only one bike, we won't need the storage space anymore, so everything in storage will be moving back in the house. This means reorganizing, and my closet was first on the list. I dropped off a big bag of yarn remnants at a local retirement home, and I have a small pile of things to drop off at Goodwill. Mostly the closet just needed to be rearranged to use the space more efficiently.
Once that was done, I had room to stick the Jeep's backseat in there. I find the backseat is a cumbersome pain in the ass, more than anything, and prefer to not have it in the Jeep. When it's in the normal position, there is hardly any storage space; and if you tumble it forward (to get the storage space), it forms a little wall behind the front seats. That makes it awkward for two adults to get into the front seats and put their bags into the back without beaning each other in the head. It's also loads easier to get the top up and down without it, and you can keep all the windows in back and still have room for groceries. All I had to do was get the sucker out of the Jeep and upstairs into the house. Which I did. Eventually.
It turns out that it's a lot easier to move the backseat about 15 feet into a ground-level storage space, than it is to get it up a full flight of stairs 30 feet away. And that just gets it into the house. Getting to the knitty closet means another set of stairs. Well, I managed to haul the backseat up to the front door, one step at a time, with only minor injuries (mostly a hand chewed up by a metal bracket). It stayed there overnight, and today I dragged it (literally) inside and upstairs to the knitty room. I don't think I pulled anything, and I have that super invincible feeling that comes from proving someone wrong (*coughScottcough*). Nyah!
Right now I am trying to stay up to date with the mystery shawl, and mostly succeeding. I think I'm halfway through Clue 5, and this Wednesday will bring Clue 7. That's not too far behind. I'm also chugging along on a pair of socks for my brother-in-law that are going well so far. I'm past the heels, so it shouldn't be too much longer before they're done. Then I'll start another pair for his wife, which will probably be more interesting (hooray lace!), and I love the light green color I picked for her.
Work was okay the past week. The new guy started, and he seems nice. Now we just have to see if he can wind. Next week we have some sort of audit going on, and I'm sure it will be a total nightmare. It's only two days long though, so that's what I keep repeating in my head. Two days. Just two days and then it's over.
I may have come up with a great idea for my knitty tattoo, but I can't tell you about it because I'll jinx it. I've had quite a few ideas, but the real trouble is where to put them. Scott is picky because he has to look at them all the time, and we both want them to be in flattering places. Plus I'm trying to consider future tattoos at the same time, though that might be futile. I'd like to do a sleeve and a big back piece, but I don't think Scott wants to do them. He seems much more keen on doing large pieces on other people, and I don't know if it's because he doesn't like the way it will look on me, or that he thinks I won't sit well for it, or what. Part of me thinks I could just save my pennies and have it done by someone else, but I don't want anyone else to do it. And I'm sure doing that would make Scott feel shitty- if he asked some other knitter to make him a pair of socks, it would probably bum me out. But if he asked the other knitter after asking me for several years and getting nowhere, would that then be okay? I don't know. It still feels like cheating to me. I think I'm just stuck, which is a little disappointing, but it's not the end of the world.
I did a phenomenal job cleaning out the closet in my knitty room last weekend. Scott has sold (or is selling) all his bikes and replaced them with one monster motorcycle (2008 BMW R1200GS). With only one bike, we won't need the storage space anymore, so everything in storage will be moving back in the house. This means reorganizing, and my closet was first on the list. I dropped off a big bag of yarn remnants at a local retirement home, and I have a small pile of things to drop off at Goodwill. Mostly the closet just needed to be rearranged to use the space more efficiently.
Once that was done, I had room to stick the Jeep's backseat in there. I find the backseat is a cumbersome pain in the ass, more than anything, and prefer to not have it in the Jeep. When it's in the normal position, there is hardly any storage space; and if you tumble it forward (to get the storage space), it forms a little wall behind the front seats. That makes it awkward for two adults to get into the front seats and put their bags into the back without beaning each other in the head. It's also loads easier to get the top up and down without it, and you can keep all the windows in back and still have room for groceries. All I had to do was get the sucker out of the Jeep and upstairs into the house. Which I did. Eventually.
It turns out that it's a lot easier to move the backseat about 15 feet into a ground-level storage space, than it is to get it up a full flight of stairs 30 feet away. And that just gets it into the house. Getting to the knitty closet means another set of stairs. Well, I managed to haul the backseat up to the front door, one step at a time, with only minor injuries (mostly a hand chewed up by a metal bracket). It stayed there overnight, and today I dragged it (literally) inside and upstairs to the knitty room. I don't think I pulled anything, and I have that super invincible feeling that comes from proving someone wrong (*coughScottcough*). Nyah!
Friday, August 13, 2010
Two Weeks
It's been an unusually eventful two weeks! It started two Fridays ago (July 30th), when I came home to find Marlowe limping about. We rushed to the vet to find out that it wasn't anything serious- probably a sprain or other soft tissue damage. Once kitty was loaded with painkillers and steroids, I made my way to Sewing With Jen At Sandy's. Jen from the local knitting meet-up showed a handful of us how to make these very cute and handy project bags. I loves them.
The next day was my friend Katie's baby shower, which was lovely. I especially liked the parts where I did not have to guess how many squares of toilet paper would wrap around her belly, and how most of the gifts were knit or otherwise handmade (all the guests were from her knitting groups). But let me tell you... that Rio group is freaking prolific. Downright intimidating, even. Part of me thinks I should start showing up there in hopes that their mad skillz can be transferred through some sort of osmosis, but part of me is much too afraid of failure. And most of me is too lazy to drive that far. Anyhoo, I made this for her from the softest cotton I have ever felt (Universal Yarns Cotton Supreme Batik in Watermelon Patch):
The work week was typical (dull yet frustrating), and then last weekend Cass came out for a visit. I drove out Saturday morning to pick her up at BWI, only to discover that she flew into Dulles. That was super. Chalk that up as another reason that I should not be allowed to procreate. An hour later, I collected her at the correct airport, and we made our way back to Frederick.
Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon we hung out while Scott was at work. We watched Netflix stuff, drove through my favorite creek, and sewed bags (I'm a sewer!). Sunday we had dinner (with Scott, off work by that time) at the Mediterranean place in town. Monday we all drove down to Skyline Drive in VA where we saw a black bear dart across the road! Sadly, we were too slow to get a picture of him. Then we went to Chick-Fil-A (Cass never had it before)(omg waffle fries!). Tuesday we hung out in Baltimore. We went through the National Aquarium, Cass had Maryland crab at J. Paul's, and we saw a big military ship in the harbour. It was a really great visit!
Wednesday, Scott dropped her at the (correct) airport, and I met up with him later at the tattoo shop. We finished my second rose- finally! And I think there are going to be discussions about what's next- probably the Husband Tattoo, possibly also a knitty sort of tattoo. Decisions, decisions...
On the way home, we stopped at Windy City Red Hots in Leesburg. We were skeptical, but you can, in fact, get decent Chicago food there! They are totally legit- according to their website, a couple from Chicago opened the place after not being able to find any Chicago food in the DC area. Scott and I agreed that the hot dogs are good, and Scott says the Italian Beef is good too- just be sure to order it with extra gravy. I think I'm going to try the chili cheese dog next time. We will probably eat there at least once a week until we move or die.
I've also been working on the Ludivine Mystery Knit-a-long. It's going well so far I think. I wasn't happy with the way I started it, so I ripped it and started again. The second time, I wanted the edge of the garter stitch bit to match the slipped-stitch edge of the shawl, so I slipped the first stitches on just that one side as I knit it. It's not perfect, but I think it looks neater.
So that's the past two weeks in a nutshell. Oh, and Marlowe is fine now, by the way. The poor little guy is like Bill the Cat- it seems like there's always something wrong with him!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
So Very Much
In the last post, I had dropped off my sewing machine for repairs. Well, that didn't go so great. The repair guy wanted $150 to fix it (understandable seeing as how he'd need to completely disassemble the machine), and that was a bit much for me. I said "Thanks, but no thanks," let him keep it, and bought a new one- for almost exactly $150. Practicality beats sentimentality every time at our house.
I bought a Brother CS6000i from Amazon, and finally tried it out today. I loves it. It features 60 stitches, a drop-in bobbin, and automatic buttonholes; and it came with almost every available accessory. This afternoon I pulled out some junk fabric and thread, and played around a bit. It was ridiculously easy to use. Apologies for the lack of contrast- I just grabbed the first thread I saw, and didn't think about photo quality. The sketchy bit in the center is a buttonhole.
I bought a Brother CS6000i from Amazon, and finally tried it out today. I loves it. It features 60 stitches, a drop-in bobbin, and automatic buttonholes; and it came with almost every available accessory. This afternoon I pulled out some junk fabric and thread, and played around a bit. It was ridiculously easy to use. Apologies for the lack of contrast- I just grabbed the first thread I saw, and didn't think about photo quality. The sketchy bit in the center is a buttonhole.
Two knit-nights ago, I learned about the Shalimar Yarns mystery knit-a-long... with mystery yarn! Naturally, I signed up and bought my mystery yarn kit. It arrived yesterday, and it is very lovely- I will refrain from saying anything else about it, to protect those who haven't seen it yet. Mystery!
Yesterday, my friend Maria and I had an awesome mini yarn crawl in Virginia. We first stopped at Needles in the Haymarket. It's a nice store, with a table to sit and knit at, and the ladies there were super friendly. Next we swung by Hunt Country Yarns in The Plains, where it took every ounce of self-restraint to not buy the qiviut or cashmere. Another nice store with a nice selection, and Maria and I agreed the The Plains is a super cute little town. Then it was back in the Jeep for a two hour trek to the next store on our list: the Massanutten Hookery.
Admittedly, we felt we had to visit the Massanutten Hookery mostly because it is called the Massanutten Hookery. I think we were both picturing a much larger shop, but the owner was nice and they had a decent selection for the space. It's part of Skyline Cafe and Art, so you can also browse jewelery, pottery, candles, and other things that may or may not have the Confederate flag emblazoned on them. The coffee at the cafe is awesome. At the Hookery, I got some hemp yarn from Plymouth Yarn called Grass. I really wish I had a shirt that said, "I bought Grass at the Massanutten Hookery."
Later, back in Frederick, I went solo to the big sale at Eleganza. I picked up some Shalimar Zoe Sock in two colors that seemed Christmasy to me. Maybe I'll stripe them together and make Christmas socks or a stocking.
And these four colors are going to become my new lunch bag. I'm thinking I'll do wide stripes with the yellow, blue and pink; then thin stripes of the green in between. I bought some bright green Pleather to line it with, and I think it'll be awesome.
Now the fun weekend is over, and I have to go back to work tomorrow. I hate work more and more with each day. I liked it better when I just did the same stupid thing every day, and the boss asked and answered all the questions. Now I have to think and do stuff and be challenged and it sucks. My hand and brain hurt from straining to figure out new patterns, people are always in the lab messing stuff up, and it keeps getting worse. I think I found that point where money ceases to buy happiness. Blargh. I keep wondering when we'll be able to move to Virginia so that I can quit my job to become a crazy survivalist housewife.
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