Getting ready

musings
So, today is the first Sunday of Advent. Unfortunately, the boiler at church decided to stop functioning in honor of the first Sunday of the liturgical year, so *my* morning did not go as planned. In Sunday School we would have talked about how the church gives us Advent as a way of getting ready for the mystery of Christmas--but it was too cold. We'll talk about that next Sunday.

But even without my kids to talk to, the fact remains that the first Sunday of Advent has arrived, which means it's time to get ready. We get so busy at this time of year that by the time Christmas rolls around, we've missed the mystery. We're not ready.

So, how do we get ready? I was thinking about this last night. With the kids, "getting ready" in the classroom involves sitting on the floor, being still, and focusing on the story. It means being open to wondering. It's a little bit different for grownups. Sometimes, getting ready can mean being still and focusing on the story, but I don't know that this particular method works for all of us all of the time...or even if it's enough. Maybe we need to look out as well as in when we get ready. Maybe we need to spend a Saturday at our local soup kitchen. Or at the animal shelter. Or with friends and family members who struggle at this time of year.

One of my favorite ways of getting ready is putting together gifts for the giving tree. Every year, our church gets a list of people--Adult Female, Teenage Boy, Girl 6-9, Baby Boy--and we put tags on the tree so we can go shop for people who may be struggling at this time. I started doing this on a whim maybe four years ago, about the time I picked up knitting again. My thought was that I could knit a hat (I was knitting lots of hats at the time) and put together a bag of goodies for a child and "help someone less fortunate." So I took my tag (I think it was for "Infant Girl" that year), went out and bought the fluffiest pink yarn I could find, and knit a rather cute (though very simple) hat. Then I knit matching booties. Then I went out and picked up onesies and socks and a book and some sort of baby toy. I think it took four weeks to put that gift together. And I probably spent more time shopping and thinking about Infant Girl than I did in putting together gifts for my family and friends.

But, you know what? That year, when Christmas rolled around, I was ready. More ready, anyway, then I recall being in previous years. I think that may have been the Christmas The Beloved and I opted out of getting a tree, and so nothing felt particularly Christmasy--until we were opening gifts and I wondered if Infant Girl and her family liked the hat/booties/book/whatever and hoped above all hope that they were having a nice holiday and that they were warm and safe and happy. And it struck me that maybe it was more appropriate to wonder about Infant Girl and her well-being than it was to lament my lack of a tree--and that maybe Infant Girl was a part of the mystery of Christmas in a way that my own stocking was not.

Anyway. Today I picked up two tags--there didn't seem to be many folks coming up to choose names this year, which doesn't seem fair to the people who are represented there. But, I've brought home Baby Boy and Baby Girl. And now, I can start to think about what to put together for them--what they may need and what they might like. It's actually a lot more difficult this year than it's been in the past--you see, The Beloved and I have been hoping to add our own Baby Boy or Baby Girl to the mix and it's turning out to be a bit more challenging than we originally thought it would be. But that doesn't mean that the Baby Boy and Baby Girl represented by the little tags in my pocketbook don't need something. And it doesn't even mean that I don't need to be the one to do it this year. Maybe this year it's more important than ever that I put my own worries and doubts and disappointments aside so that Baby Boy and Baby Girl have something special--just for them--on Christmas morning, and so that I can be ready--ready for the mystery, ready for the light, ready for the magic that comes with the mystery of Christmas.

So, when I said that no one gets handknits for Christmas this year, I guess I lied. There will be something handmade for Baby Boy and Baby Girl. I'm not quite sure what they will be, but I hope they will be loved and enjoyed come Christmas morning. And, if my own shrug doesn't get done, well, I'm sure Christmas will still come to our house just as it did the year we didn't have a tree.

What I Did With My Days Off

family
Yeah, I know it's not over yet. Exciting things could still happen in the next two days. But, I gotta tell you, I've got time to write right now and if it doesn't get done now, I can't guarantee it will happen before it's time to go back to work!

So, first up, some knitting. I've been working on the Alpaca Silk Shrug. The Alpaca & Silk Yarn from Blue Sky Alpacas is absolutely divine. Which is a good thing. Particularly since the miles and miles and miles of plain stockinette is becoming mind-numbing. There's not even any shaping to break up the monotony now that I'm past the first sleeve. Just 29 inches of knit the RS. Purl the WS. Repeat.

It's funny. I love knitting. So I thought, even if it's boring knitting I'll like it. This will be great for watching TV because I won't need to think too much. But, you know, I would just about kill for a yarn over. Or a cable somewhere. Even some shaping. Anything. I tell you, it's a good thing the yarn is so yummy, because I've still got miles to go before I sleep.

Alpaca Silk Shrug 5

Alpaca Silk Shrug 4

Alpaca Silk Shrug 2


Looks good, though, doesn't it? In spite of all my whinging? I have vain hopes that it will be finished in time for me to wear on Christmas Eve. Which means that no one gets handknit gifts this year. Whoops! And there's no way The Beloved's sweater will be done. Particularly since I haven't even started it yet. And we won't even talk about my Romantic Hand Knit. I knit a swatch for that one....but....

So, yeah. If you choose to knit a sweater (or a sweater-like garment) from sportweight yarn on US size 3 needles, consider it the knitting equivalent of a marathon. Even The Beloved has noticed the slow-going. I think his comment other than "What do you want me to say? It looks exactly the same as when you showed it to me yesterday!" was "That's going to take you forever with all those itty-bitty stitches. Think of the millions of loops!" He did, however, comment that I did good work, so I suppose he's being supportive in his own way.

Next up, the Great Day of Eating. I love Thanksgiving. I love all the tasty food. I love that no one cares how much you eat. And I love seeing my extended family. I mean, my mother and my aunt do family dinner every Sunday, so we see a lot of my family, anyway, but, well, they're fun. We got a call from my sister at 2:00--the traditional family eating time--and so we all got to sing grace together. (We sing the song "The Lord's Been Good to Me" from "Johnny Appleseed.") PFC Sibling (formerly known as Resident Sibling) said she was so happy to get to sing over the phone with us because that was not the grace the Chaplain used at their Thanksgiving Dinner at Basic.

Anyhow. I, personally, have a lot to be thankful for. Not just this weekend, but always. I am thankful for The Beloved, for my home, for my family and for the wonderful relationship I have with them, for my friends, who have got to be among the most awesome human beings on the planet. I'm thankful for my job and for The Beloved's job. I'm thankful that my cats appear to be in good health. I'm thankful that all of us are in good health. Though I can whinge with the best of them, I really have nothing to complain about. And, you know, I'm thankful for that, too.

Yesterday was my parent's 33rd wedding anniversary. So, The Beloved and I took them out for Day After Thanksgiving festivities. No, we did not go shopping. But we did go to Boston. We had dinner at the Silvertone Bar & Grill, which is just off of Tremont Street about a block past the Common. Dad had some of the best Jerk Chicken ever, Mom had Steak Tips, and The Beloved and I had a couple of tasty burgers. Then, we got into the holiday spirit with the help of the Brian Setzer Orchestra and their 6th Annual Holiday Tour. They were playing at The Orpheum. OK--so, if you EVER have the chance to see these guys play, GO. They are so. Much. Fun. Even The Beloved had fun. My parents had fun. Totally great show. They played arrangements of Christmas songs, they played Stray Cats tunes, they played swing tunes, they played rockabilly. Fun for all!

And now, well, those were my plans for the weekend. I should probably do some laundry so that The Beloved and I have clothes to wear to work next week. We're talking about going to see No Country for Old Men, but The Beloved, I think, has had enough people and would rather order Chinese takeout and build a fire in the fireplace. Both are tempting, I tell you.

As a final note, y'all who are doing NaBloPoMo, hats off! I have a hard time posting once a week. And you guys have been at it every day. Good for you! And those excellent posts--well, just one more thing to be thankful for.

Still here

work
Things have been quiet in these parts lately. Sorry for that. I'm still trying to get a handle on my new schedule.

Yes, I started my new job at EBSCO a week ago Monday. So far, so good. It's very different from any job I've held before. In just about every aspect. First, I don't have to deal with people. Since I'm still training, my Team Leader will come into my cube once or twice a day, or whenever I e-mail her with a problem--which, at this point, is still frequent because I don't know what the hell I'm doing. But otherwise, that's it.

I am, however, even without people, busy all day. Read article. Write abstract. Index. Repeat for 8 hours. It sounds like there isn't a lot of variety, but there really is. The periodicals are so different. I've worked on Health Magazine, New York Magazine, Kitchen Garden, Golf World, the Northerner (a paper out of northern Saskatchewan) and the Village Voice. Today I'll look at Education Week and Horticulture. So, essentially, I get paid to read and write all day. And on days when I have Golf World, it's work and it's hard and I hate golf and why do they have to use such goofy language and why isn't there a glossary somewhere--who knows this stuff anyway?! But New York was interesting, and the Village Voice has been a hoot. So, we'll see.

The best part of my job? For eight hours, EBSCO utterly owns my ass. I take a half-hour for lunch and that's it. No Bloglines, no personal e-mail, no Ravelry. But I don't take anything home with me. The other 16 hours are my own. Unfortunately, I'm dreaming about indexing, but that could be the cold medication. Yes, I've caught the obligatory it's-fall-and-I-don't-qualify-for-sick-time-yet cold, which has also put a damper on things.

Mostly, though, I'm just tired when I get home, and since I've looked at a computer screen all day, I haven't wanted to sit down and write. It will get better as I get used to it, but I need to build new routines for myself. Which is hard. Amazingly, the house hasn't fallen apart yet, and I"m still cooking breakfast, lunch and dinner for The Beloved and myself. Go me!

I've got to run--time to make the mandatory 7:30 trip through the Starbucks drive-through before heading down to work. But I promise to post this weekend if I'm not serving as the earthly vessel for the snot-monster from hell--I have knitting things happening!

Calamity

PVS.JPG


Sock #1 is done.

PVS-Foot.JPG


I ripped the toe out at least three times last night. The foot is still a teeny bit short, but it will do.

PVS-Picot.JPG


The picot is cute, isn't it?

I still love the colorway, but the yarn itself? Not so much. Ripping back was not bad, but God help you if you dropped a stitch. Picking stitches up after ripping wasn't exactly a walk in the park, either. I screwed up the Kitchnering of the toe, but the thought of picking it out, putting it back on the needles and trying again made me feel faint. And we didn't have any scotch for, er, fortification. So, there it stands.

And the sock already feels like it's felting. I'm a little bit worried about longevity--will they felt with the first wear? Or the first wash? Even if it's a hand wash? I'll keep you posted.

If I was a good girl, I would be casting on for sock #2 right now. But I don't know if I feel like it... I should also cast on for my knit-along which started November 1... We'll see. I may just do some nice, soothing stockinette work on the Alpaca Silk Shrug.

One last note on the sock du jour--I *heart* Ravelry. Even if I don't start in on sock #2 right away, I should be OK. Because I have a place to write all of my anal retentive, OCD notes on how many rows and stitches and whatnot so that sock #2 stands a fighting chance of matching sock #1.

On that happy note, I'm off to put lunches together for tomorrow and pick out something to wear. Tomorrow is the first day at the new job, which necessitated some shopping last week. I really need a new pair of shoes (I want a new pair of Danskos), but due to a much needed expensive repair to my car on Friday, that purchase won't happen until the first paycheck comes in. But I'll live till then. Maybe. I'm very nervous about wearing the wrong thing. In fact, as a way of proving my maturity, I have actually had a bit of an anxiety attack over a) not being cool b) not wearing the right thing and c) not having anyone to sit with at lunch. Yes, my friends, I have apparently been possessed by a high school girl. Somebody shoot me. But make sure I'm wearing my new wool slacks, OK?

Exercising my honorary Italian status

cooking
Several weeks ago, I made lasagna for The Beloved's 40th birthday--and apparently, it was fine enough to earn me "honorary Italian status" with the In-Laws (my Mother-in-Law is half Italian). The sauce I use is my own creation, and I didn't provide the recipe at the time because, to be honest, it's a handful of this and a little of that...which can be difficult to translate--particularly since one of the joys of this spaghetti sauce is that I can practically make it in my sleep, making it a wonderful low-stress dinner.

The back story: Spaghetti was probably the first meal I learned to cook. My mother never used sauce from a jar--she always made her own. Which was fine, since it was better than most tomato-based sauces we encountered at local Italian restaurants. (I freely admit bias here--Mom's sauce was good and I'd eaten it my whole life. It seems natural that I'd prefer that to most others.) When the time came for me to start helping in the kitchen (beyond clearing the table and washing the pans), pasta was quick, easy, relatively safe, and thus, the perfect starter meal.

Unfortunately, for my mother, I took to spaghetti (and the sauce) so well that I really never bothered to cook much else. It became a huge family joke that, "Saisquoi's cooking dinner? Oh--must be spaghetti!" And it was really only funny because it was true.

While I've considerably broadened my cooking horizons since then, I still love to make spaghetti sauce. The stuff out of the jar is always a disappointment, and, with very few exceptions, so are tomato-based sauces from most restaurants. My sauce may not be the be-all-end-all of spaghetti sauces (remember, I've been eating this in one form or another for about 30 years), but even my former college roommate (who wasn't a fan of tomato-based sauces at all) digs this stuff.

The recipe is a big one--The Beloved and I certainly do not eat this much in one sitting. But it freezes well. You can also halve it quite easily, which gives proportions for the recipe I used while growing up. It will feed a family of four or five quite easily, and should also allow for leftovers. I've given measurements (because a handful of this and a pinch of that never seems to translate well, as I've learned trying to figure out some of my mother's recipes over the phone)--but consider all seasonings "to taste." I like a spicy, flavorful sauce, so I can be heavy-handed with the seasonings. If you have finicky eaters, you may want to shoot low on the seasonings because the flavors will intensify as the sauce simmers. You can always add more if you desire; it's harder to correct if you've added too much (which I've done more than once).

A final note on ingredients: With very few exceptions, I use dried. Part of this is sheer laziness--I always have them on hand. The other, though, is that "this is how my mother made it." I'd guess that the dried herbs were a) cheaper when she was trying to budget and b) readily available at any time of year in New England. I honestly don't remember seeing fresh herbs in the supermarket--particularly during the winter--when I was a little girl. With the wine--you can take it or leave it. I like it. But The Beloved and I like to drink wine, so we usually have something that I can add. If you don't have any wine in the house and you don't drink, don't worry about it. If you're picking up a bottle of red to have with your Italian dinner, use a bit of that. Do not pick up anything called "cooking wine" and put it in your food. This isn't to say you should go out and buy a $25 bottle of wine to make spaghetti sauce, but a good rule of thumb is to avoid cooking with wine you wouldn't drink. My mother used to use my great-grandmother's homemade cherry wine. My father swears that her sauce hasn't been the same since Boba (my great-grandmother) died. Apparently it was sweet enough to cut the acidity in the tomatoes without needing to add sugar, but tart enough to give a nice "kick" to the sauce. If we ever get fruit-bearing cherry trees, I may have to try my hand at wine-making, if only for the sake of my spaghetti sauce. Enough, though. Time for cooking!

So, without further ado:

Here's what you'll need:
  • 1/2-1 TBS olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic (I used fresh, but you can also use the minced kind that comes in a jar. I've even used garlic powder if that's all I've got on hand.)
  • 1 sweet onion (Again--this is what I had on hand because The Beloved prefers sweet onion. You can also use a large yellow onion, or a white onion, or whatever you like.)
  • 2 lbs ground meat (I used 1 lb ground beef and 1 lb bulk Italian sweet sausage. You can use whatever you and your family like: beef, pork, turkey, whatever makes you happy.)
  • 2 28 oz. cans of tomato (I use crushed or ground--just be sure you're getting canned tomatoes and not tomato sauce.)
  • 1/2 can of water (approx. 14 oz.)
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. black pepper (fresh ground--to taste)
  • 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 TBS dried parsley flakes
  • 1-2 TBS dried oregano
  • 1-2 TBS dried basil
  • 1/4-1/3 C. red wine
  • 2 tsp. sugar
  • 2 dried bay leaves
Here's what you'll do:
  • Chop garlic and onion. Saute in olive oil in a large saucepan or stockpot until translucent or lightly browned. Remove from pan.
  • Brown meat in the same pan. I brown in 1 lb batches due to the size of my pan--but you can brown everything together if you have a larger pan if you prefer. Basically, though, you want to make sure you're browning the meat and not boiling it in oil and water. When the meat is browned, drain the fat, and then combine your browned meat and onions and garlic back in the pan.
  • Add canned tomatoes and mix well. Your mixture will be very thick. Using one of the now-empty tomato cans, add about 1/2 can of cold water. You can use more or less depending on what sort of consistency you want from your sauce. Mix well. Heat on low flame.
  • Add salt, black pepper and red pepper. Mix well.
  • Add parsley, oregano and basil. Mix well.
  • Add red wine and sugar. Mix well.
  • Toss in bay leaves and give one last stir. Have a taste of the sauce to see what you think. Remember, the flavor of the dried herbs will intensify as the sauce simmers--but if it's too bland for you, add more spices until you're happy with the result.
  • Cover and simmer. The longer you can simmer, the deeper and richer the flavor will be. However, for some of us, Time really is a magazine--if you can let it simmer for at least a half-hour, you should be OK.
And there you have it! Serve with spaghetti or your favorite pasta (I'm a huge fan of cheese ravioli), garlic bread, salad...whatever.

If you want a meatless sauce, just leave the meat out! Sometimes I like to add the red and black pepper flakes to the onions and garlic at the beginning. The toasted red pepper gives a slightly different flavor. I generally don't like to add salt until the tomatoes have gone in, as the kind I buy has some salt in there already. Read your labels--if you're using unsalted tomatoes, you can go ahead and add a little more salt. My family has some high blood pressure issues, so we tend to be a little careful regarding the amount of salt that goes into our food.

In any event, I hope that you and your family enjoy this as much as me and mine do. Buono appetit!

FO--Conwy

FO_Conwy

Conwy Socks from Knitting on the Road by Nancy Bush
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill "Supersock" yarn, River Run colorway
Purchased from: The Yarn and Fiber Company, Windham, NH
Needles: Knitpicks US Size 1.5/2.5 mm (5 6-inch DPNs)

It's about freakin' time, dontcha think? Yay! I finished them! And they're not bad. You may remember that Conwy #1 was the first full-sized sock I knit, but the pair got put on hold so I could participate in Summer of Socks 2007. Well, the pair is finally complete, and I'm happy to report that even with the length of time that sock #2 sat on deck, they're the same size. Thank God for OCD behavior and for counting pattern repeats, etc! Yippee!

FO_Conwy_2


The socks fit very well--I'm anxious to see how they wash and wear. The design uses a round toe (I think), and I'm not crazy about how it feels--I can feel the decreases in my toes and it's--weird. Not exactly uncomfortable, but not really thrilling me, either.

I'll likely do this pattern again, but may substitute a wide or flat toe when I get to that part, particularly if the socks are for me. The Beloved seems to dig these socks as well, but his feet are really wide and so I'd need to do some math and add some pattern repeats in there to get his size. And buy more sock yarn, just to be sure I had enough.

FO_Conwy_3


The Cherry Tree Hill yarn was fabulous and I will definitely be adding some more to the stash. Well, when I next have money for yarn, that is. With the Booty Club membership, I'm not exactly starving for sock yarn, and I just got the yarn for my November Knit-along. Plus there was the yarn I ordered from EBay last week. (What--it was sportweight sock yarn in a colorway I'm hoping will work for the Whitby Pattern from Knitting on the Road. Perfectly reasonable expenditure. Sort of.)

According to my baby book, you were the recipient of my very first smile. "Not just gas, but a real smile." Over the years, you received many, many more.

During the years you worked as a school nurse, we saw a steady stream of textbooks, notebooks and attendance books (excellent for playing school), as well as the occasional jump rope--you knew the ones with the plastic covers made the best sounds when they hit pavement, even though they hurt like hell if they got caught in your hair.

You let my sister and I play in your jewelry box, though I suspect you hid most of your rosaries from us when Madonna became famous.

We all teased you about the number of candles lit for any occasion--yet we always called if we were worried or hoping for something, as the Good Lord seemed to take special notice of the light and prayers you passed along.

And now, I'm off to light a candle for you. It seems the most appropriate thing I can do right now. You were a woman of faith, and would tell me that the end of our earthly journey is just the beginning of our eternal walk with God and reunion with those who went before.

Grandma, you were the first person I smiled at. And I just want you to know that I'll always be smiling at you.

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