A Fuego Lento: Life on the Mississippi

Christmas is almost here

2011-12-18T13:00:00.003-06:00

We went to a local restaurant last weekend to have brunch with Santa.

Elias was not sure how he felt about meeting Santa.

Sabela is four months old today. It's been a very interesting year, but we're glad she's here with us, making life more exciting than ever.

Blogging again?

2011-02-15T20:16:00.004-06:00

I'm thinking about it. Life is so hectic these days.

Here is Elías's room. It was covered in flowered wallpaper with a dark green carpet, but I prefer the hardwood floors that were under the rug and the bright yellow walls. I made the shades- it is a very easy project that can be done in an afternoon. I have some other things I'd like to do in here, but it is a nice size for a little guy and his toys and books.

Active Baby

2010-07-27T15:09:00.012-05:00

Summer provides lots of opportunities for keeping busy. There is:

all the yard work
summer concerts (though the food and beverages are sometimes more interesting than the entertainment)finding new ways to use familiar objects and exploring your town on wheels or by foot

Seafood Linguine

2010-07-26T11:38:00.008-05:00

I made seafood linguine recently. I consulted a couple of recipe books and then did a little of my own thing. It was really easy and FAST and amazingly delicious.

After putting the water for the pasta to boil, I started sautéing some onion and some garlic in olive oil. When the onions were translucent, I added in some parsley, salt, pepper, white wine, chicken broth, and saffron. I let that cook for a minute or so and then added in a couple of chopped tomatoes. After cooking them for a few minutes, I added in scallops, shrimp, and clams.I cooked it all until the clams opened and the shrimp were pink. I then added in some more parsley.Tossing the whole thing with the linguine and adding some Parmesan cheese, we were ready to indulge.Elías really liked it :)

Birthday

2010-07-25T00:54:00.006-05:00

Elías celebrated his first birthday on June 4th. Instead of a cake we had whoopie pies.He got a piece of one, and ate it so fast that this is all I got to document it.I made him a shirt with a one on it, and I also made a fabric banner that I hope will decorate many more birthdays for years to come. My idea for the shirt is that I will do one each year until he is twelve, and then make them into a quilt. It's hard to believe that a whole year (and then some!) has gone by already. He has brought such joy and happiness into our lives, he really is a blessing. I am looking forward to the coming year as he masters walking, running, and climbing, and continues to learn how to communicate with us. It will be a year of discovery, I am sure.

Walking

2010-07-03T09:56:00.001-05:00

Father's Day

2010-07-02T23:07:00.007-05:00

Father's Day was a lovely day. We went out to brunch, took the bikes down to Steamboat Days, and then Juan played soccer as usual in the afternoon.
I had hoped to get Elías on the carousel, but I never have any cash on me, and Juan thought he did but when he went to open his wallet, he realized that E had emptied his wallet out earlier that morning (a new favorite activity). So, no ride for us. We had to bike back home so Juan could get to soccer. His present, by the way, came early this year in the form of a new bike, which he has taken all the way to WI on several trips already.Elías still enjoyed all the sights, sounds, and smells of the fair, and the weather couldn't have been more perfect.

Crayons Rock!

2010-07-01T09:53:00.003-05:00

Mama Hoot can whip you up some amazing items for your little one. She has recently opened a shop on Etsy, and happily does custom orders for everything from tee shirts, dresses, and diaper bags to shopping cart covers. She is also selling crayon rolls and crayon buckets, and is doing a give-away right now for either a roll or a bucket, per the winner's choice. I encourage you to head over there and check out the goodies available.

Here is the giveaway official info:
This Giveaway is open to residents of the United States and APO/FPO addresses. The giveaway will end on Wednesday, July 7th at 11:59pm PST. Each entry is assigned a # and the winning # will be drawn by random.org and announced on this blog as well as emailed.

Recent Knitting

2010-06-30T11:26:00.007-05:00

I have slowly been working my way through my yarn stash for about a year and a half now. I am not one to buy yarn just because I like it; I need to have a project in mind for it. Thus, my stash has never reached out-of-control proportions. However, sometimes I get yarn for something and lose interest in the pattern or realize the yarn and pattern don't jive, or end up not needing that last ball after all. I also get yarn here and there from people and don't immediately have something in mind forit.

I had the cardinal hoodie in my Ravelry queue for about a year and one day in Marchsuddenly realized that I had enough yarn in my stash to make it. So, I began a project that took me until about a week ago. This spring I was very busy with the dissertation, so rarely gave myself time for knitting. It really is a pretty quick project. And it felt so good to use up that yarn for something so nice. That's the best part about working from your stash: the surprises that arise when you get the perfect combo of pattern and yarn- without having to spend any money!
Alternately, it is also thrilling to buy new yarn here and there to get new color and texture into your collection and anticipate the project you want to use it for. My neighbors recently had a baby, and they are big into giraffes. So, when I bought Susan B. Anderson's Itty-bitty Toys, I knew one of the first projects I would be doing.Susan's patterns are always full of tiny details that really make her projects special.
This giraffe has an embroidered face, a pom pom mane, tail, and horns (Do giraffes have horns? What are those things on their heads?)
And spots, of course!

Sunflower Chicken

2010-06-28T20:00:00.006-05:00

We visited Lawrence, KS at the end of May, and the first meal I had in town was at the Free State Brewery. I got the Sunflower Chicken. It was so good, I had to give it a go at home. Here's what I did.

1. Take two boneless, skinless chicken breasts and marinate them for an hour in buttermilk, sesame oil, and soy sauce. (I used buttermilk because I had extra on hand).
2. Mix 3/4 cup each of barley, brown rice, and wheatberries into 7 cups of water, bring to a boil and then simmer for 45 min to an hour.
3. In a saucepan, mix a cup of sherry with a tablespoon of miso, boil on medium-high until liquid is reduced to 1/2 cup, then add it to the simmering grains.
4. Once sherry/miso reduction has been added to the simmering grains, chop up your veggies. I went with the following, adding more than the restaurant had.One package of shitaki mushrooms (8oz?); a handful each of chard (with veins and leaves), napa cabbage, and baby bok choy; three carrots, cut match-stick size; snow peapods; 1 red pepper, three cloves of garlic and an inch or so of fresh ginger.
5. With about 15-20 minutes left of the grains cooking, I heated up a couple of tablespoons of canola oil and threw in the carrots. After a minute or so, I added the greens, garlic, and ginger. Another minute or so I added the red pepper, snow peas, and mushrooms. Cook until desired tenderness, then get the veggies out, reserving as much oil as possible.
6. You can add a little more oil if you think it is necessary, heat it up and then add the marinated chicken breats, cut into inch-sized pieces. Brown them and cook through.
7. Mix the veggies, chicken, and grains all together, adding in 1/4 cup or so of roasted, unsalted sunflower seeds.
Enjoy! I served my sunflower chicken with homemade rhubarb lemonade, but a nice wheat beer is good, too.

First Mother's Day

2010-06-14T19:06:00.004-05:00

We went big for my first mother's day. I got a necklace, brunch, a book, and a massage. It was a really nice day.

The Long Haul is Over

2010-06-11T10:40:00.009-05:00

Well, it's finally done. I successfully defended my dissertation on May 18th. I won't get my diploma until January and can't walk until next May, but the important thing is that all the writing is done and all the paperwork turned in. I can officially sign my name with Ph.D. on the end of it, if I want to.

So, we're home for the summer and I think I will have time to resurrect this blog. There's lots to catch up on. Our trip to Maine and Spain over the winter break, another trip to Maine last month, E's one-year birthday, our trip to Lawrence, KS...

Stay tuned! There's lots to see coming up!

My parents came down to Boston for the day to attend my defense. Meridith watched Elías during the process.Then we met up with Julian and Kira to celebrate with pizza and margaritas.I got a beautiful bouquet of flowers and some sparkling cider by the river.

Thanksgiving

2010-01-30T15:20:00.008-06:00

Thanksgiving was a lot of fun. We had visitors from Maine and Boston come to celebrate with us. This house just seems cozier when it's full of people.We had lots of good food over the course of the week. In fact, so much so that we had a lot of pie and ice cream to finish off when everyone went home.

Everyone got a chance to hang out with Elías. Bebe and Elías took a nap together.Bumpa and Elías got a walk in.
And Aunt Meridith and Uncle Eben got lots of play time.Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, too!

Four Months and then Some

2009-10-11T12:17:00.009-05:00

I should have made this post a week ago, but a this rate I'm just happy to get anything out within the correct month. Elías turned 4 months old on the 4th of October and at his check up the next day he weighed 18 lbs 2oz, putting him in the 97th percentile. His height was 28", which wasn't even on the chart, and his head has grown into the 75th percentile- but I can't remember that one, maybe 17"?
The same weekend he completed four months, we spent a night in the cities, where he had his first pub experience. We got to visit with his new friend Indira, who is only a couple weeks older than he. They were very excited to meet each other.I think these photos may turn out to be indicative of their relationship when they're about 15 or so.Hey, Indira, how's it going? Wanna hang out?Will someone please get this annoying creature out of my face?

(And I thought Elías had kissable cheeks:)
It was so fun to see everyone. We look forward to doing it again soon, either back in the cities or in Winona.

Here is Elías modeling his hand knit stroller outfit

So, the latest developmental advances involve sitting for longer periods before leaning too much to one side, grabbing everything and anything in sight and within reach and going right to the mouth, rolling from back to front and front to back, and emitting a high-pitch screech whenever we want to be picked up. Mommy's not so thrilled with the last one, but who can resist the little arms held out that accompany it?

I've leave you with a sweet stroller photo.

Last Days of Summer

2009-09-28T19:51:00.011-05:00

As the wind has officially blown in fall and finally brought in cooler temps, I am glad we enjoyed the last days of summer to the fullest. Every Saturday for the past month or so, we have been going to the farmers' market and then having coffee and something sweet at my favorite place in town, the Blue Heron. Elías usually falls asleep in the carrier as we walk around the market, and therefore actually gives me some reading time at the cafe.
We have been walking almost everyday. He often gets a walk with his dad in the morning and another with me in the afternoon/evening. Mobi comes, too, of course.The garden has given us a bounty of veggies and herbs, so the weekends are also about making tomato sauces and pesto and cookies (not from the garden, but necessary to get through the week :) We had a potluck yesterday to mingle with the other community gardeners and sample treats. I brought strawberry rhubarb cobbler from my backyard. Yup, the whole thing was just growing there ;)These pictures remind me that I'm getting a sorely-needed haircut tomorrow.

Three Months Already!

2009-09-12T22:29:00.009-05:00

So, I've been a bit behind on the blogging. I've been putting some pictures up on Facebook, and I just created a Shutterfly site that will have a ton of videos and photos, but I think you need an invite to access it. Let me know if you want an invite. I made it pretty much for family, since I don't think anyone else is THAT interested in the minutia ofElías's every move.

We had a great summer and with the baby and a new house, I'd say probably one of the most interesting ever. Starting up classes a couple of weeks ago was challenging, but has been working out for the most part. I am teaching in the mornings and Juan in the afternoons. Elías has already doubled his birth weight, and is showing other signs of being a happy, healthy baby. He is very good natured and sweet, so he's a lot of fun to be around. It's hard to want to do anything but hug and kiss him and see him smile (which is why I haven't been blogging). We go on walks almost every day, and these pictures here are my favs from various recent outtings. He's usually in a carrier, actually, but those days I can't get a picture since he's too close. He does like the stroller now, and the car seat usually, so we are more mobile than at the start of the summer.He was taking the paci for a while, but has started rejecting it more in these past few days.
I will try to be more regular here, though I can't make any promises that it'll be as often as before. Thanks for sticking around in spite the infrequency!

Lovely Morning

2009-07-22T09:37:00.008-05:00

I though I'd share with you my really good morning. First off, I left these two zonked out.As I left our room, I came across this on the stairway:"Good morning. Take a cookie if you'ed like one."I did, which is why there is only one left. The blue bit is a sour patch kid- there was one for me, too, but the sugar content with the cookie was enough and I gave it to Julian.

As I continued down the stairs, this is what was waiting for me.There is some major rockin out going on in our living room :)

I have since gotten Julian and I breakfast, made Juan coffee, took a shower, put in a load of laundry and folded and put away some clothes from the previous loads. AND I still have time to post this!

I hope your day is as good as mine is promising to be!

Summer in Winona

2009-07-12T00:13:00.012-05:00

I haven't been updating the blogs because I rarely get two hands free, and it takes too long to type with one. Elías is growing a ton, but still prefers to be held, which limits my ability to do a lot of what I would otherwise. Juan has been busy keeping Julian entertained. So, the two little guys are keeping us on our toes.

In addition to two growing boys, Juan has been nurturing our garden produce. Here are the first things we harvested. From seed to table- pretty cool. Julian spent the last two weeks at soccer camp. For two hours a day he got to practice his moves and play with other kids his age. It was fun to see him in action.
The days are passing quickly and yet leisurely at the same time. My mom and aunt were here visiting at the end of June, and that visit seemed to just fly by. Here they are on the green of WSU listening to Celtic music straight from Ireland. It was a part of the month-long Great River Shakespeare Festival held yearly here in town. This event was part of the Prelude on the Green series held each weekend before the evening performances.
Our group was the envy of the other attendees, due to the amazing spread created by Sue. Doesn't it just make your mouth water? I have one more drool-worthy photo for today. The 4th of July project Julian and I tackled last week.
He is completely responsible for the decoration as well as most of the ingredient insertion. Great job, no? And the cake was super delicious- it is, of course, a Barefoot Contessa recipe. Vanilla cake with cream cheese vanilla frosting. It didn't have a chance.

Baby Knits

2009-06-11T13:05:00.005-05:00

Here are the other baby projects I finished before Elías came.

The first is from Jil Eaton's Pipsqueak Knits. It's called criss cross, and yes, the buttons are supposed to be asymmetrical. Next to it is the orange ball Kate knit.These are called Blu, from the new Mason Dixon book. I have certainly had my embroidery skills challenged with these baby projects!They are knit from Rowan's Denim yarn, so shrink and fade just like real jeans. (Shrinkage is factored into the pattern).

Elías is not impressed with his stroller

2009-06-09T23:40:00.006-05:00

Wait a second, this isn't where I fell asleep...What the heck is this thing???GET ME OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I put the birth story on my other blog, for those who are interested. Yay hypnobirthing!!

Knitted Items

2009-05-24T08:41:00.012-05:00

I kept forgetting to take photos of the cute baby clothes I got from the shower. (They'd be cuter on him, anyway). In addition to organizing and hosting the whole event, Kate and Sue both made figlet some adorable baby items.

Kate made figlet a couple of things, one of which I have a picture of now. It's the sweetest, tiniest little newborn vest I've ever seen, and it's even knit with my favorite yarn, Rowan's Felted Tweed. I love, love, love it!She also made him a ball that looks like an orange, I'll include a picture of that in the next round of knitted photos, probably later today.

Sue made figlet an outfit, with adjustable cardigan, booties, and bunny hat, which everyone just squealed over. Here's a detail of the bunny's face.I can't wait to see him in these precious items!

I have been good about restricting my knitting to evenings only, once I'm done writing and such. A few weeks ago, the hospital let go one of the two midwives, due to budget reasons. Even though she was not my primary caregiver, I saw them both equally and depending who was on call, she could have been there for figlet's birth. I was very upset about this decision, and wanted to make her a gift to say thank you for all her care throughout my pregnancy. I had hoped to get it done to give her at my last appointment with her, but classes were still in, so it just couldn't happen. I have it blocking on the porch right now. It's a lace cowl that is a bit out of season at this point, but will be nice for fall, I hope.I also finally finished the embroidery for figlet's stroller blanket.I have been slowly chipping away at the lace scarf using the yarn I bought in New Orleans. I'm not in a rush to finish it, so it only gets worked on occasionally. But I am on the second ball, so I know I'm half-way through.I actually have a couple of other things, too, but forgot to get a picture of them. Hopefully I can do that today and get those up later.

Baby Fun Weekend!!

2009-05-15T07:21:00.017-05:00

Two weeks ago, week 36, was very exciting in the baby department. Friday we headed up to the cities to take Julian to the airport early Saturday morning and after a day (mostly) window shopping at Ikea and the Mall of America, we had dinner with our friends Silvia and Thamizh in Uptown. Silvia is due any day now, so we are anxiously awaiting the big news. It's funny how much the photo perspective changes the appearance of a belly bump, so I have to include three pictures to really show the big picture.

Sunday my very generous friends threw me a baby shower. Several people later commented to me what a great shower it was, so I think it's safe to say that we all had fun.

We got lots of books, as well as clothes, toys, blankets and other necessities. It was a wonderful variety of gifts that really have us ready for his arrival.

Another great thing about the shower was getting us into "baby mode." Classes had just ended and we needed to start thinking about what we had left to get and do. I think we have the perfect amount of things for figlet- just enough, and not too many of anything. There are a couple of things we are still waiting for by mail that are due to arrive by his EDD, but if he comes first, we'll be ok without them.

Today is my 38 week appointment, so I will probably be posting my progress (if any) on the baby blog for those who are interested.

Wapasha's Prairie Community Gardens

2009-04-30T08:14:00.010-05:00

Between days of rain, we have had some really lovely weather here. Tuesday evening was another garden workday. I went from a one-hour yoga class to two hours in the garden and thought I would be sorer than I was yesterday. I've included some photos of everyone working hard. The garden is in a beautiful spot next to the big lake, and that rock you see on the bluff is Sugarloaf- one of Winona's landmarks. Before the native Americans were driven away, this area was known as Wapasha's Prairie. When we signed up for the plot, we were asked to submit name suggestions. This was Juan's suggestion and it won the vote, so he is very proud of this. To the left of the photo is Winona Community Hosital, where figlet will be born within the next month or so. This area was absolutely nothing a few weeks ago, so we've come a long way quickly in spite of the rainy days.Everyone worked hard that evening.It was a fun evening, and we went home, scrubbed up and happily fell into bed.

Busy Weekend

2009-04-19T20:40:00.011-05:00

Julian arrived on Friday morning, so we have been busy all weekend with non-stop activities. I'm kind of looking forward to work tomorrow to get back to a somewhat normal routine! I was able to write that morning while Juan went to pick him up and bring him back from the cities, and I escaped today for a couple of hours with the result that I have about 5 pages left to revise on my second chapter. I had hoped to finish it completely this weekend, but I am very close and hope tomorrow I can get it done.

Juan has been very busy nesting these past couple of weeks. He converted his office into a room for Julian. It is small, but very cheerful and I think he appreciates having his own space. He'll be coming back in June for the summer, and then we'll probably be moving into our own place, so this decorating energy is in lieu of the nursery for now. Figlet will just sleep with us in our room the first few months, anyway. Here's the latest stash-busting baby project. Juan got me Chic Knits for Stylish Babies for Christmas, and this was one of the first patterns to catch my eye, though I didn't have a color scheme in mind at first. These yarns were in my stash and were all the same weight- and I really like them together. It is not blocked in this photo, so looks a little wonky, but at least you get an idea of it. The open part on the side is a zipper- in case it's hard to tell from the photo.
Friday we went to the pool, so this week's belly pic is a glaring white me (some of that is the sun coming in from the window, though I think I am actually reflecting off the rays :). Meridith got me this suit, and I love it. It is still covering my belly well and is super comfy. After swimming we celebrated the beautiful spring day (it got into the 70s) by having a cook out and bonfire with some friends by the river. Saturday, we celebrated Earth Day at a couple of venues around town that had activities set up for kids of all ages. Here is Juan and Julian showing off their Latin hip moves ;) Today we spent a rainy afternoon working in the community garden. We bought a plot (16'x16') and are very excited to be a part of this new community project over the summer. But more on that in another post.

More finished objects

2009-04-13T22:59:00.007-05:00

It's been a busy couple of weeks, so the blogging and crafting has been a bit slow, but I have a couple of finished projects to show. Remember the stroller jacket started on xams vacation? I finally finished the embroidered detail, sewed in a zipper and the sherpa fleece. As you may notice, I also knit up some coordinating mittens, too. The bib producing continues. When I was in the fabric store a couple of weeks ago to get zippers and the fleece for the stroller jacket, I spotted this fabric. It reminded me of figlet's grandfather-to-be, who is a big fishing enthusiast, so I had to get it.
On one side we have the flies, and on the other all the fish they caught ;)Here's the latest belly pic.

Baby Blog

2009-04-05T21:48:00.002-05:00

I created another blog to jot down all the info I've been accumulating during pregnancy. So far, the entries have centered around my wish list of dream items that I've come across, but it also gives me some space to organize all the links that were crowding out my bookmarks list. There's a fun little poll all you moms can take about pregnancy at the bottom of the right-hand corner, so check it out and participate!

Week 31 already?

2009-03-28T08:51:00.009-05:00

Here's my 31 week belly (half head and fuzzy photo, of course- thanks Juan :) showing off my latest sweater. This is one I started in Virginia last summer, had some issues, ripped it all out and started again this winter. It was a long process, but I finally finished. I got the buttons in the mail this week and promptly sewed them on and have already worn it three times. It is really comfy and the style is obviously preggo-friendly. I'll have to snag a photo of the buttons and show them to you in another post- they are hand-cast pewter and I LOVE them.I also finished a hat for Julian and sent that off the other day. Here's Juan modeling it, and here's Julian. For the uninitiated, it's a Pokeball style- a Pokemon thing.At least I'm told he's under there :) Yes, it was a little big, but he was having fun with it, and can actually wear it, too. Even though it doesn't look like it here.I leave you today with the last bit of Manchego cheese Juan brought from Spain a couple months ago. This picture was taken not even a week after he got back. It had been a whole circle, and the two of us polished it off in DAYS. It started quite the cheese obsession in our house- sharp cheddar, mostly, on Melba toasts. Such a great late-night snack. yummm...

Week 30!!!

2009-03-21T10:09:00.008-05:00

I am down to 10 weeks or so, or 70 days as I prefer to think of it because it makes it sound like I have more time to get everything taken care of before Figlet's arrival. Here's last week's belly shot, and I doubt there's much difference between then and now. I've been lucky enough to still be able to wear a lot of my pre-pregnancy clothes, so I haven't been stuck in a five-outfit rut yet. I'm hoping I can keep up the variety at least until classes are out, and then I don't care- I'll just wear the same three dresses all the time.Things are going well these days. My blood sugar levels have been in check (even with an occasional cookie or mini-cupcake here and there ;), and the nice weather has finally gotten me off the treadmill and outside again. I have another appointment on Wednesday (I'm down from every four weeks to every two now), and I'll be curious about my weight. At my last appointment, the midwife told me I hadn't gained any weight (though my belly measured four inches bigger- tell me how that works!) and then a couple days later the dietitian told me that according to her numbers, I had actually lost a couple of pounds. No one is concerned at this point, but this GD diet has me eating so healthy, I allow myself a sweet here and there for some extra calories.I had something going on every night this week, so I didn't get much knitting done. Though I did have time in the afternoons to write. This sweater I actually did a couple of months ago and was going to add buttons but have since decided that it doesn't need them. I don't think Figlet will wear it for a while, but I'm building up my baby knitted stock for when I don't have time/energy to knit for him. This was a stash-busting project.I did finish my Feb Lady Cardi, using up the absolute last drop of yarn. I had wanted the sleeves to be 3/4 length, a little past the elbow, but didn't have enough. And that's why it took so long. I did the first one how I wanted, then started the second only to realize there wasn't enough, had to go back and rip out the first and try again (after figuring out where in the lace pattern I had settled). So, it took several attempts and several evenings, because I only had about a hour before I crashed into bed. Anyway, it is now done and waiting for the buttons to arrive from my Etsy order. I went with pewter ones for this garment. This was also significant because it was my last adult sweater's worth of yarn in the stash. Here's the finished Pilot Cap I got from the new Mason Dixon knitting book. It was a fun, quick knit with dreamy Koigu had-painted yarn.This is now where I spend most of my afternoons. It's such a lovely sun-filled spot with lots of room to spread out my papers and books. And I can move to the daybed if I need to change positions. You'll also notice my birthing/exercise ball, which I often use instead of a chair because it feels much better on your pelvis and back and makes you maintain good posture (great for abs).Mobi really likes it out here, too.

Rick Steves Rocks

2009-03-19T21:33:00.002-05:00

When I was a wee junior in college and traveling around Europe on a shoestring budget, I brought along Rick Steves. His travel philosophy had a huge impact on my own during those impressionable years, and a recent article in Salon.com reveals that we are still in tune regarding our worldview. He's such a dorky (according to Salon, Mister Rogers) type guy, I forgot how savvy he really is. Of course, it makes sense if you consider how much time he spends with people in other countries.

Spring is right around the corner!

2009-03-18T14:54:00.003-05:00

I will probably have this feeling many times before the MN weather really decides to cooperate, but this week we have been blessed with gorgeous spring weather: sunny days in the 50s-high 60s. This weekend we did some moving things around, and I've moved my D work to the porch. I have a huge desk and a couple of chair options there, and the plants and Mobi have been keeping me company, soaking up the sun.

I also know spring is coming because some of my favorite knitting pattern resources have come out with their spring 2009 issue.

Twist Collective always has some irresistible pattern options and great articles. There is a whole baby section in this issue, and I even found the pattern I've been looking for. I got some yarn in New Orleans to make myself a spring scarf, but couldn't find the appropriate pattern until I saw Cherry Fizz.

Knitty's issue is also up. There's nothing I'll be knitting right away, but I do like two baby/kiddo patterns. Flock, and Steggie is a future Elías possibility.

Popknits has a project to make your Easter more fiberly festive, if you're looking for something like that.

So, I've got to finish up my current projects and get some spring ones on those needles!

New Orleans and Back

2009-03-11T15:15:00.021-05:00

The days were long and sunny in NOLA, and we enjoyed just walking around and seeing the sights. Since Mardi Gras had only been the week before, the city was still decorated for a party.
Beads were everywhere- under your feet, hanging from trees, lamp posts, and power lines.Many homes and businesses were likewise decorated with the Mardi Gras colors of purple, green, and gold.Here's Juan contemplating the self-decoration possibilities at the French Market.We were disappointed that the farmers' market was still not up and running at this time due to Katrina, but it appears that it will be back very soon.

Juan found a street in the French quarter that used to be named for a town very close to Vigo, where his family lives now. In fact, its where we go sailing with his brother when we're there in the summer.We got a kick at being at the other end of the Mississippi.And were happy just to have some green back in our lives for a few days.On our way back, we stopped in Winona, Mississippi to see what they had going on. I can't say it was much, but it was fun to drive around another small little town on the rail line, if not the Mississippi River.With the long car rides, I got quite a bit of knitting done. My February Lady Sweater now just needs her sleeves completed and some snazzy buttons added.
Figlet's blanket to match his jacket is also on its way to completion. I've got one more side to the cable border and some more embroidered circles to do.After only looking at these two projects for a week, I was anxious to start something new once we were home, so I picked another figlet project- a sweet little pilot cap from the new Mason Dixon Knitting book. Since this picture, I've finished the hat and just need to do the i-cord ties. The wool was my first experience with Koigu yarn, and I'm happy I love it, because I got him some more while in NOLA.We'll miss out little cottage, but the time away was a wonderful change to relax and rejuvenate for the second half of the semester.

On the Road

2009-03-02T21:13:00.016-06:00

Starting Friday, we followed Route 61 from Winona down to New Orleans. Most of our documentation has been done with video, but I haven't downloaded that footage yet.

We started early in Winona with 13 degrees and made our way through farm country in Wisconsin and Iowa. We spent the night in St. Louis, where we visited the arch and checked out the view of the Mississippi from this part of the country.We then walked through the Soulard farmer's market where all manner of interesting things were on sale that you don't see up north.We did a bit of a tour to see the universities, and grabbed lunch at the loop neighborhood before heading out of town and on to Memphis.The temps had gotten up to 33 degrees, so 20 higher than when we started, but we were expecting them to be closer to 50 by this time. We had even more of a surprise when we got caught in a snowstorm in Arkansas that continued all the way to Memphis. Since they were not equipped to deal with that kind of weather, the roads were awful, and it was a very harrowing ride. We had planned to go out that night, as it was Saturday, but when we finally made it to the hotel, we just grabbed some food and crashed. The next morning, we explored Memphis before moving on. Sun Studio is "the most famous recording studio in the world." Of course, Elvis recorded here, as did many of other famous musicians.Here are some photos from a very quiet Beale St. on Sunday morning.
Yesterday we took 61 from Memphis all the way through Mississippi and down into Louisiana and to...da da dah! New Orleans! Yeah! Through snow and sleet and freezing temperatures, we will have a spring break, dang it! Today in New Orleans was sunny and a balmy (to us) 50 degrees. Tomorrow will get up to 60, and considering the plan was simply to get somewhere warm, we are happy.

Spring is around the corner!

2009-02-25T20:34:00.014-06:00

Here's week 26's pic. My husband is definitely camera-challenged grrrr.... guess he was looking at my belly because half my head is cut off. Tomorrow is the last day before break. I also have two appointments tomorrow related to the GD, so I will find out what I can and can't eat and the details on how to manage this. But in overall, no complaints. Still feeling good!

We have been getting some peeks at spring yesterday and today. (Let's ignore for now the fact that another snow storm is coming tomorrow). Yesterday we took advantage of the sunshine and relatively warmer weather and all went for a walk. It felt great.I've been so burned out in the evenings that all I can manage is straight up knitting, so figlet's baby blanket is cruising right along. I have three of the four squares done- just the green and white striped one left. Then I'll have the cabled border and the circle embroidery left. That project and my Feb Lady Sweater will be traveling down to New Orleans with us.
I haven't done any sewing since Juan got back, but here are some bibs I whipped up that week. I still need to add the snaps.
Remember the white and green stroller jacket I started over xmas break? (It coordinates with the blanket I'm working on now.) I still need to add the sherpa fleece lining and the zipper, but I've finished the knitting part and most of the embroidery.The hood has such a cute detail.This has been a fun project that I work on between bigger projects.

Mittens

2009-02-23T22:12:00.010-06:00

Meridith and Eben both got mittens for Christmas. Meridith's gift I actually picked up last April as a kit from Fleece Artist when we were at the Yarnover event in Minneapolis. She has a raspberry colored vest, and the colors in the yarn and fleece made me think of that. The kit came with the materials needed to make a pair of thrummed mittens, which is a fun process for the knitter with warm results for the recipient.The little nubs of color you see in the mitten are the thrums, which is just fleece on the other side. So, the idea is that the inside layer of fleece will eventually mat together and form another layer of warmth. Here's a shot of the mitten guts:I then had the brilliant idea of making a similar style hat for Eben, but couldn't find a thrummed hat pattern. So, I decided to embark on my own knitted design adventure. I was about done on it, when I gave the hat for Juan to try on. Do you remember Super Mario Brothers, the Nintendo game or Saturday morning cartoon? With those little mushrooms with red or green caps with white polka dots? Well... let's just say the hat was green with white thrums and I had made it way too big. The fleece on the inside made it stiffly keep the mushroom-cap shape. I would have taken a picture, but I was laughing too hard. So on to plan B. Flip-top mittens from Handknit Holidays.I added a snap so they wouldn't flop when flipped. So, it's warm hands for everyone this winter!

I'm a rare one

2009-02-23T21:51:00.002-06:00

Pregnancy has certainly been a learning experience. I have always been very healthy- heck, I don't have a single cavity for Pete's sake! No major hospital dramas or past health histories. Nothing except less-than-perfect vision and a need for braces due to a destructive thumb-sucking habit. Well, since getting pregnant the learning has certainly increased.

First, I found out I have a weird type of blood that is basically a mutant positive protein- none of the midwives and nurses had any idea what was going on and had to call in a doctor to explain it to them and me. Hence, I'll be getting the Rhogam shot in a couple of weeks because my goofy positive protein acts like a negative blood type.

Now, I've been told that I have gestational diabetes. Despite the fact that I exercise regularly and have a well-balanced, healthy diet. There is nothing I could do to prevent it, which is supposed to make me feel better about pricking my finger four times a day. I can't say it does.

On a more positive note, Juan and I are looking forward to our upcoming vacation. We're following the Mississippi River down to New Orleans, stopping in St. Louis and Memphis along the way. We're staying in a B&B down there, in our own little cottage with a porch and courtyard. I cannot wait for the change in scene and am especially looking forward to the abundance of seafood awaiting us!

Winter Knitting

2009-02-09T16:11:00.005-06:00

Baby update: Figlet is fine and doing well. At the last ultrasound they couldn't see the fourth heart chamber, but my midwife said all the reports she received that week said the same thing, so we weren't worried. If fact, we were happy to get to see him again, and all the chambers were there and working away.

In these cold, dark nights before bed there is little else to do than knit. Between Christmas knitting and the drive home, I finished my version of Norah Gaughn's Tilted Duster. I was going to make it cropped when I bought the yarn last year, but considering my recent Juliet is cropped, I decided to make it a full-length cardigan. It somehow looks dwarfed next to the 23-week belly, though.The last sweater's-worth of yarn in my stash is for a February Lady Sweater. I purchased the yarn in VA this summer and ended up frogging the yoke I had done then because I couldn't remember where I had left off, and I didn't like my button holes. I have since re-done the yoke and button holes, but have yet to take a pic. You can see the color I'm using here, though. It's a deep eggplant. The yarn is Mission Falls 1824 superwash wool, and I really like the texture and color. It's been great to work with so far.

Figlet's first knitted item is a sleeper from Jil Eaton's new baby book. I used Nature spun wool in sage with light blue accents. The stitch was new to me; it's called bird's eye and gives the garment a nice texture.

The little mitten hands can't be seen well here because at this point I had not sewed them on yet. The largest size the pattern came in was 6 months, so I hope it still fits him for his first winter.

Week 24

2009-02-06T09:31:00.009-06:00

First and foremost due to popular demand by relatives and friends, here's the most recent, hot-off-the-presses belly pic:The stress at work continues to suck up way too much time, but the big D is progressing in spite of it all, and my only salvation is getting home and being crafty. So, without further ado, here are my recently finished and current projects:
Sewing has recently taken up some time, as it yields quicker results than knitting, and right now I need to feel productive in all facets of life. So, figlet gets his first mommmy-made bib:I still need to add the snaps and iron it, but you get the idea. This is exactly like the ones I made for Graham, Jack, and Ella, and I finally got to do one for my baby!

The applique craze is alive and well at the FIG house. Last month, I got to spend an evening at Kate's house with a bunch of other folks appliqueing the night away. She had this cute hippo fabric that I cut up and used to populate a onesie.She also had this little Boston Terrier swatch that she gave me, knowing I'm partial to the breed :) So, Mobi gets to star in her own onesie:
My other sewing project will take up a bit more time, but here is the beginning of it:
Sorry to post and run, but we're off to see figlet in another ultrasound! I'll be posting again this weekend with knitting updates.

Semi-update

2009-01-31T14:30:00.004-06:00

Several folks have commented on my lack of baby-update posts. Well, we are going through quite a big upheaval at work right now, and things have just been a little too *ahem* exciting lately. Which has given me less chance to focus on my two babies: figlet and the big D (dissertation, of course). When I finally get home at night and have finished dinner and the dishes, I have about an hour of knitting before crashing into bed. So, I do have some show and tell coming up as soon as I can snap some photos. In the meantime, here a pic of Amy and Steve's little G in his custom-made turtle tee. Such an adorable model, no? And if you have a few minutes, check out this little report from MPR on two of my favorite local business to support: The Bookshelf, where occasional splurges on knitting tomes just spontaneously occur, and The Blue Heron, my second and preferred office. I used to be in the habit of frequenting here every Friday, until this semester from hell started, but I still get some bench time here fairly regularly. In one of the photos you'll even see Michael, one of my fellow travelers on the South America trip this past summer. From the first above link, you can either read or listen to the report as it appeared on MPR this past week. It's about how they've coped with a downturning economy to come out ahead.

I also promise to include a belly photo in the next entry, since I finally unmistakably look pregnant now. I had my first random "When are you due?" today at the sandwich shop, so I'm looking obviously pregnant enough for strangers to ask me, and not just possibly like I had too much beer and cookies over the holidays.

Applique Madness

2009-01-14T21:58:00.010-06:00

The applique fever continues. Meridith and I worked on some over break, and even Eben got into the action. I was hoping the others would, too, but there was a lot going on those days.

I made a turtle for Graham, Amy and Steve's baby, but I can't find the photo I thought I took of it. I liked it so much I wanted to do one for my baby, too. Well, he's going to get two turtles because I just couldn't stop. I have big plans to embroider the second one with a dragonfly in the upper corner so he's looking at something. Meridith spent a ton of time of both of hers, and it shows. Aren't they just gorgeous?Eben went with a theme close to all of our hearts- a canoe, red, of course! They both spent so much time and effort on these, I can guarantee that even if figlet doesn't appreciate them much, his parents will!

The last one I worked on in Maine will be saved for a rainy day ;)So, here they are. The foundation, if you will, of figlet's earliest wardrobe.

Big Baby News

2009-01-11T09:00:00.007-06:00

This is the most recent belly pic taken, from a week ago, so at 19 weeks.Friday was a BIG day, starting with early in the morning when we went to get the anatomy scan (ie ultrasound). Figlet is healthy and everything looked good. They check that the heart has all four chambers, measure the brain and check the fluid levels there (increased fluid could indicate an opening in the spinal cord), measure the femur bones, and check the amnioic fluid levels (which indicate if the baby's kidney's are working properly). All looked good! We even confirmed there were five toes on the little foot we saw. Keep in mind, this is a picture of a glossy picture, but hopefully you get the idea.

So, after doing all the measurements and calculations, we checked to see if figlet would reveal himself- and he did! Although his legs had been curled up when we started the ultrasound, by then, he had stretched them out. The technician said that she was 99% sure that we could start buying boys clothes. (Obviously they can never be 100% until the baby comes out). Here are a couple more shots of pictures. Here you can see his profile- his head is on the right and his body on the left with a little hand resting on it. The black spot in the body is his heart.
He must have known we were watching, because he started moving his arm up and down and opening and closing his mouth, as if he was trying to put his hand in it. Or was just saying "hi."Pretty cool, huh?

To celebrate the big news we went across the street to Target to buy something to commemorate the occasion. We ended up getting a really cute pair of Winnie the Pooh shoes that aren't even necessarily "boy" shoes, though getting the picture from the Target website just now, I see that they are considered boy shoes because the girls' are pink.We also had a lovely surprise- the jogging stroller that we wanted to get was deeply discounted! Obviously, we snatched that up. For those who are interested, we got the Baby Trend jogger because it can fit with the Baby Trend car seat we want to get, so I can start walking as soon as I feel like it after figlet is born. It's black and grey with red accents, so a nice gender-neutral and not too baby-ish palette.

The day just kept getting better. I was to get a prenatal massage for my birthday, and called to schedule that afternoon and she said she could see me in a couple of hours! My back has been really sore from... sitting in the car for two days?...doing yoga after a two-week hiatus?...standing in the kitchen for three hours after said yoga session?... I don't know, but Lisa really made me feel better. It was an awesome massage, and I will be sure to go back in a month or so.

THEN I got a call from Meridith to find out that she and Eben got engaged! Yay! We were very excited to hear their great news, and look forward to hearing how the wedding plans progress. Congratulations to you both!

Baby Knitting in Progress

2009-01-04T18:29:00.008-06:00

So, we are hoping to find out the gender of figlet on Friday. Between Christmas knitting, other babies knitting, and not knowing who I am knitting for, I have waited until now. There were two projects I've been itching to knit, so those have both begun. A month or so ago my parents sent me a signed copy of Jill Eaton's new knitting book for babies, Pipsqueak Knits, and this was Juan's favorite project from it. It doesn't look like much now, but it will be a sleep sack for next fall.My other project was inspired by the package from Buenos Aires that was waiting for me when I got to Maine. Alejandra and I did a knitting exchange. I sent her the newest Mason Dixon Knitting book, and she sent me this gorgeous pile of wool and a book on breastfeeding. Both were such thoughtful selections, and I just had to start reading the book and knitting that wool up right away.
I know near-white wool is impractical for a baby, but it's sooo beautiful. I'll be putting a lining in, so until I find the fabric I want, I can't really progress. The sleeves and hood with be picked up and knit from here, and it's easier to measure without them. I bought a skein of Cascade 220 Heathers for the green trim, and the embroidered circles that will come later.

Cooper and Mobi

2009-01-02T11:02:00.009-06:00

We have had a new member of the family around the house this year. This is Mini Cooper, my parents' Goldendoodle puppy. He is 8 months old and recently came to live in Scarborough. He is a very sweet, mellow dog who has probably been a bit overwhelmed to be in a new home with so many people and creatures. He's not used to being around kids, or a chinchilla, or an insane dog such as Mobi. I think he will be very happy to see us all go in a couple of days.
Mobi herself has had some adjusting to do, as she is used to being the queen bee of the house. While usually a submissive dog, with Cooper being so laid back, Mobi has found her attitude and doesn't like Cooper getting attention without her. As you can see here, Mobi is always close by, watching to see what he is up to. During Cooper's first bath, I believe she enjoyed watching someone else getting soaked for a changed. The only reason she is not in the middle of things here is probably because she was afraid she was next. Otherwise, not much can go on between Cooper and a human without Mobi in on the action. Getting some portraits of Cooper was more of a challenge than usual.Cooper, we're glad you're here. Sorry about the crazy creature we've subjected you to these weeks.

Knitting for the New Year

2009-01-01T11:17:00.012-06:00

I have been knitting way more than I've been showing, so in honor of the first day of 2009, I will be catching you up on many of the items I've knit between October and December. Some are gifts and the rest use up yarn from the stash. I'll start with a couple of projects that were done a long time ago and just never got snapped. First up, Eunny Jag's Endpaper Mitts using a couple of balls from the stash. The light blue is the same sock yarn I've used for a couple of things now and it just never seems to end. The maroon is a secret-pal gift that lost its tag a while ago. It's merino handwash I believe. This was a fun project that took much less time than you would think with the colorwork and thin yarn. And they are so handy- no pun intended-because you can use them in cooler places while typing, knitting, writing. I LOVE fingerless gloves and I really like the pattern of these.Next up is the Juliet Cardi from Zephyr Style. The yarn was a gift from Gaby when I was visiting Buenos Aires this summer.The raspberry is a perfect color for me, though I inexplicably didn't own anything in it until now. And it came with the sweetest wooden buttons that worked perfectly for the pattern. I used up all but the smallest bit of yarn for this, so I feel like it all combined to create a wonderful serendipity. This photo was taken today, incidentally, a day short of 19 weeks along.

Now, the gifts.
My dad got a Koolhaas hat by Jared Flood make with Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran yarn, a combo of silk, cashmere, and merino.He has chosen to roll the bottom sailor-style. That's the beauty of this versatile hat.Mama finally got her own pair of Log Cabin Socks from Handknit Holidays. (Last year's most popular gift on my list). As for all the other socks in this pattern, I used Brown Sheep Superwash in a nice cornflower blue.

I've saved the cutest photos for last. Everyone in my family has the same xmas stocking pattern, knit by my great-grandmother 20-30 years ago. This year, I made Julian one, though the brilliant yarn selection we have in Winona meant I could only find worsted weight, making a much bigger sock than the rest of them. But hey, isn't everything bigger these days than they used to be?

Figlet

2008-12-31T07:30:00.002-06:00

The website, Make me babies, allows you to post a picture of yourself with someone else- including celebs- to see what a baby would look like between the two of you. Here's figlet:

Polar Express

2008-12-29T21:28:00.004-06:00

The Monday before Christmas Julian and my parents took a ride on the Polar Express. It took them from Portland to the North Pole, and along the way they sipped hot chocolate, ate cookies, and listened to the story while looking at the Christmas lights out the window. When they got to the North Pole, Juian met Santa, who gave him a silver bell, just like in the story.
While he knew that it wasn't really Santa and the North Pole, he had a good time singing Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, and proudly showed us his bell when we got home that night.

You are witnessing the start of an obession

2008-12-02T20:18:00.004-06:00

As I mentioned in my last post, I haven't done a lot of baby knitting for the figlet yet because it's xmas season and all that. And I have yet to post my fall knitting that aren't surprise gifts, but I do have something else to show today. It's my newest obsession. I've recently gotten into applique. I think I was inspired by adorable onesies for sale on Etsy, and thought, "I could so do that myself."

I have lots of cute ideas for adorable gender-neutral designs and so I can be busy creating all winter break! Here's the first one ever using some scrap yarn I had laying around. I sketched out an idea of what I wanted to do to get a visual, then made little templates for each shape from index cards, since I'm not working with a lot of fabric here. After cutting out the shapes in fabric with the templates and attaching them via fuseable interfacing to a onesie, I used a zig-zag stitch on my machine in a coordinating color to secure the pieces and to add some fun visual interest. I then added more detail, texture, and color by embroidering in leaf veins and the stem.

The whole thing took an evening and was so much fun to create. I can't wait to do more! The lighting is awful, but these days I'm not home much during daylight hours, so this is the best I could do for now.A pea pod for a sweet pea. :)

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend!

2008-11-29T09:55:00.003-06:00

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving with lots of family, friends, and food. It is my favorite holiday, and though we couldn't spend it with the family this year, we did go over to our friends' house and have a great time. We also had another gathering of more people last night at another house, so I've been eating well the past few days.

It was an extra-special holiday this year, as will be Christmas, since it is the last year that we will be without our little figlet (on the outside, that is). Juan and I are expecting to meet him or her at the end of May, and of course are very excited. I've been restraining myself in terms of knitting, since there are lots of holiday gifts to finish as well as left-over projects from last winter's yarn that have been queued up for almost a year now. It is all non-washable wool, so I can't re-appropriate for baby items, but I will probably buy a new supply of baby-friendly yarn out East. Plus, I want to know first if I'm knitting for a girl or boy, though I know there are plenty of gender-neutral colors and patterns out there.

I just noticed that Knit Collective has come out with their Winter 2008 issue. This is an on-line magazine that's free to read the articles, and then you buy the individual patterns that you like from the designer herself. This issue had some adorable coats in it. I especially love Sylvi and Heroine. Kate Gilbert's Sweet Pea Coat is reminiscent of the Drops Eskimo jacket that I knit two of last year, one for Meredith and one for me, but it includes the added feature I wish the Eskimo Jacket had: pockets!

I plan on taking pictures of more recently knitted items this weekend, and will probably post them later today or tomorrow.

HUGE Fall Update Post

2008-11-24T17:30:00.016-06:00

I know, I know. Things have been hectic and crazier than usual this semester as I diligently worked on my dissertation, taught full time, and tried to get in a good amount of exercising before winter hits and the work-out mojo goes down the tubes.

So, please forgive and thanks for still checking in and not giving up on my little place in cyberspace. Here are some of the highlights from the last few months.
First up, knitting. Juan's cousin over in Spain had a baby last month, and they got this little set for their endeavor:
The hat and coat patterns are from Debbie Bliss, Simply Baby, and are called the pompon beret and Matinee Coat, respectively. The pink yarn is Lily Chan Gramercy superwash wool, while the brown is di.Ve' Zenith, also superwash.The booties pattern can be found here and is addictive. You've been warned. Yarn is the same as above.

Our friends Kate and Eric just adopted their son from Ethiopia, and he got a striped sweater from Itty Bitty Nursery. And he looks adorable in it.
Mobi got eaten by a lobster on HalloweenNow, a Juan update. My husband got to spend a fun few days out in Long Beach, CA for a set of back-to-back conferences.Doesn't he look pleased with himself for scoring some free sunshine? I've mentioned in past years that the historical society here in Winona does a cemetery walk every fall. This year they honored WSU's sesquicentennial anniversary by featuring some folks from the university's past. Juan volunteered as a tour guide, so he led a group of us around to the different sites where the historical figures told us about their lives. Doesn't he look dapper in his "historical" outfit? One of the people telling us about his life.Here is my friend Shari and another lady as former WSU teachersIt was a gorgeous fall day

The Minnesota State Fair

2008-09-30T14:19:00.020-05:00

Juan and I finally attended this 10-day long event that spans from the last weekend in August to Labor Day. This is the biggest state fair I have ever been to and some strange things were seen by all (And I don't mean just the people watching, though that was an education unto itself). Here are some of the highlights:

The first place we went was the Miracle of Life Tent, where pregnant animals could give birth at any moment. We didn't catch a live birth, but we saw some pretty new little animals.Mama and lambsBrand-new piglets. They were so new, their umbilical cord was still hanging from their little tummies. They are a couple hours old, and have to be in this contraption for a while so mom doesn't roll over and kill them all. Some actually fell asleep while nursing.

There were tons of people there, as you can see from the scene behind Juan. A big thing about the MN State Fair is all the unusual food you can find, much of which is on the end of a stick. The hot food items this year were chocolate dipped bacon and something involving pickle juice, though I never saw where one could obtain either. Not that I was searching too hard. Any hoo, he had to try a stick food, hence a corn dog. By the end of the day, though, he had graduated on to more serious fair food: an even bigger corn dog!I had a fabulous sparkling apple cider float with cinnamon ice cream, as well as vanilla John Deere ice cream made from those machines there.We also had cheese curds, which were amazingly tasty. I must have had something else, but I don't remember. I know I wanted roasted corn on the cob, but the line was too long and we were tired by then.

Another odd state fair tradition is the practice of carving the beauty contest winners' heads from a block of butter and then keeping them on display in a rotating cooler thing. Minnesotans are weird.

There were lots of the traditional state fair displays with perfect produce and such.
The pumpkin sign reads: "Do not dig your nails into it. It IS real."

We had a great time at the fair, and I hope to go back next year. They had an art tent, crafts, food, local yarn (I resisted!), tons of displays on any subject you can imagine, and the dog tent even had little puppies to pet, including a sleepy Boston Terrier. A couple of other late-summer activties we've been up to: I've been baking and cooking when I can. Here is a berry tart I made after a trip to the farmer's market last month:
And here's Juan with one of his most recent catches. He caught a bass the other day, too, that made for a really good dinner.

Busting the Stash

2008-09-21T20:34:00.012-05:00

One of the many Internet knitting terms that is popular these days is "stash busting." In other words, using the yarn in your stash to make a project. You can either decide to use a yarn and then find a project for it (how I often work), or the more common method is wanting to knit something and then finding yarn in your collection that you can use. Many people have an appropriate angst about their stash, because they often compulsively buy yarn just because they like it, without any plan at the time for its use (ultimate consumer ill, in my opinion). Although I only buy yarn with a project in mind, I nevertheless have a small stash. Most of my stash is leftover yarn from projects or yarn people have given me.

When I saw this pattern in Interweave Knits, I realized I could use some black cotton that I had gotten free with a Rowan subscription. I had done the bottom part of both and the fingers of one side before realizing that they were going to be waaaaay too big for me. So, I had to frog it all and fiddle around with them until I figured out the right number of stitches to fit me. And I'm still not thrilled with the results, but I was sick of them at that point and decided that was enough time spent on them. They'll do for riding around in the vino in fall and spring, which was the intention anyway.Cute button detail.
I finally found a project for the mercerized cotton I've been playing with for three years now. It's been so many potential projects, but finally came to be a tank top, also from Interweave Knits.I modified the pattern a bit so that the lace panel is much smaller and therefore doesn't require something under it. I also knit the front and back smaller and then inserted a lace panel up both sides, which I think is cute. Here's a close-up of the lace insert on the side.I still have three skeins of this yarn left. I used up some of the leftovers from the tank and the gloves to make these booties. I had bought two sets of black buttons for the gloves, and used the other ones for these here.The booties are more like shoes in terms of size, and they are not for anyone in particular, I had just seen so many on Ravelry and loved the design, and had the extra yarn, so made them.My other stash-busting project featured here tonight is the sweater I had planned to bring to Latin America before I decided to bring something old, just in case.I bought the grey yarns, but the rest are from leftovers from gift projects. It's Helga from Rowan 36. I can't wait to be able to wear it. Wait, yes I can- there'll be plenty of winter for that!

Update

2008-09-18T12:34:00.002-05:00

So, it all went well. It was a pretty packed room, but mostly students as Margaret had her whole class go and students from other classes came for extra credit, many of whom I knew. So I felt better with such a high student/adult ratio. Though then I was worried they were bored to tears. The recording turned out to only be audio, so the wardrobe issue was nil (I ended up wearing my green polo-style sweater, one of my first handknits- in case you were wondering). I guess the president had wanted to hear the talk and couldn't go, so I think she'll be the only one to hear it, which also made me feel better.

I later asked Juan if it was obvious that I was nervous, and he said it was, because I read straight from the paper, which is true. By the middle-end I completely forgot to look up, and the irony is, by then I wasn't nervous anymore! I think my knee was shaking a bit at first (of course I was wearing a skirt, and they had me stand at a podium), but I think in general it was fine. A few people came up and asked more questions, and one man asked me to send him a copy of it because it was so interesting.

Thank you to you all who wished me luck and sent positive vibes- it worked! I was surprised to have so many readers after being gone so long. I promise I'll be better about updating from now on.

YIKES

2008-09-16T20:54:00.002-05:00

As it has been almost a month, I figure I'd better provide an explanation as to my absence. These past four weeks of classes have been intense. Not so much for the classes, since I only have two different topics between the four classes I'm teaching, and I've taught both before, but because of the other work I have on top of them.

First, there's a little matter of a dissertation. I've given myself the goal of "finishing" a chapter a month this semester, to use next semester to revise and hopefully defend by the end. (I'm ambitious, but at this point, the tunnel needs some light somewhere).

But in addition to the dissertation writing, I have also been working on a presentation I am giving tomorrow at school. It's on teachers from our university, back at the end of the 19th century, who went to Argentina to help start/develop Normal Schools there. It's at one in the afternoon, so this lecture series is not usually super packed, but people have been telling me all week that they saw in the paper that I'm speaking tomorrow (it's just a basic write-up with the topic, place, and time- they do it for each one of the series, but STILL, that means people might actually come to this thing!) And it's been a looooooooong time since I've spoken in public in this way- reading a paper I wrote. I've never been particularly bothered by speaking in public, especially if I have everything written out, but I've never done so in a "professor" capacity. Juan tells me I do it everyday, but I don't- I never read lectures to my classes, and anyway it's not to my peers. I'm not a historian, so I guess I'm a little more concerned about the post-talk questions and someone asking something that completely throws me for a loop.

Last night I dreamt that I got there 10 minutes before I was scheduled to speak and realized that I was missing some pages. So, I went back to my office to get them, and by the time I got back five minutes past the hour, everyone had left. So, all that hard work I've been putting in for the past month was all for naught. Needless to say, I didn't really sleep the rest of the night. THEN I get to my office this morning, and there's an email saying that the president of the university wants them to record my talk, but that it's up to me, and they won't if I don't want to. But, what non-tenured faculty is going to say no to the president's request? So, now I've really had to give some thought to what I'm going to wear, because it's going to be taped for all posterity.

If you happen to read this before 1 pm (central time) on Wednesday, send some positive thoughts my way. And if it's after, hope that I am finally going to get some decent sleep.

Iguazu Falls, Argentina

2008-08-21T22:18:00.019-05:00

We will now fly from Buenos Aires to Iguazu, Argentina. The national park of Iguazu Falls is located in the province of Misiones, in the northeastern part of Argentina, next to Brazil and Paraguay. When we got off the plane the heat and humidity immediately made you feel like you were stuck inside a wet blanket. So, I was happy.

As I did with Buenos Aires, I will start with the countryside and then do a separate post about the people we met there. If you want to know more about Iguazu Falls, you can read about them at Wikipedia, or your reference source of choice. They are so amazing because they are spread out and allow for lots of multiple, up-close views. They are much, much larger than Niagra Falls, incidentally. This is one of the first views of the first section. There is also a path on top of these falls that take you to its mouth, or "La boca del diablo." Here's what part of that looks like:
And here's a video, which captures the experience a little better:

The other section is equally awe-inspiring and gorgeous.Here I am with our fearless leaders, Jen and Steph. A volunteer firefighter from Missouri took the picture for us.After checking out the lower sections, we took a little boat to an island where we had lunch and cooled off a little bit. We then hiked up a long flight of stairs to get even more views from different angles before heading back to the main land and hiking the upper portion.In addition to the beautiful scenery, we got a glimpse of some fun fauna native to the area. We'll start with the bird, for my mom.There were also these guys, coatís, that are in the lemur family.

This little guy wanted me to share my lunch with him.

We also saw lots of funny little rodents of some sort, and a HUGE spider that was possibly deadly, according to some man standing near us. In the park also live jaguars and ocelots, though we obviously didn't see any.This is a beautiful park and totally do-able in a day. Lots of people do it one day and then the Brazilian side the next. Americans, however, need a $100 visa to get into Brazil, though I hear that you can possibly get out of it here, if you want to try to risk it.

Buenos Aires, The People

2008-08-01T07:14:00.017-05:00

After a little delay, I am back to complete my Buenos Aires entry. As I mentioned, the most important part of my trip was the people. First, after two years, I finally got to meet in person my former secret knitting pal, Alejandra. She sweetly agreed to help me on my quest to locate some of the most important places for the writers I’m working with, and took me to la Recoleta (the cemetery I posted about previously). One of the places that was especially difficult to find was the former home of Victoria Ocampo. Situated amongst large thoroughfares and tiny cul-de-sacs, it took us a few spins around the block to locate its exact position. When Ocampo had it built in the modernist style in the 1930s, she scandalized the very well-to-do, traditional neighborhood, and people would walk by just to point and gawk at its “ugliness.” We wandered inside and found it to be a cultural center and bookstore. After a few different owners, some things had changed, but the general layout remained fairly intact. It was a luminous and spacious home, with simple lines and lots of white (which was how Ocampo had preferred it to be).The next day we met up with Gaby, another blogger friend, and drove out to San Isidro, a gorgeous neighborhood on the water that was once considered to be well outside the city. This is where Ocampo’s grandfather had built their family vacation home, in a style much more in keeping with that of the day. Too bad I didn't get a clear shot of it. After touring the home and grounds, we had coffee on the terrace. And, of course, did a bit of knitting.
It was so great to finally meet Alejandra and Gaby, and to spend a couple of lovely days with them. In addition to all her help with my project, Alejandra gave me a book that wonderfully fit in with my travels, Atlas, by Jorge Luis Borges and his wife María Kodama. He accompanied her photographs with thoughts inspired by his travels. Gaby also gave me some wonderful presents that I have not had a chance to take a picture of yet, but I’ll describe them: two skeins of the most gorgeous raspberry bulky yarn, two sets of leather buttons in teal and raspberry, and a shawl pin in the same color. I also got some delicacies of the best combination ever: chocolate and dulce de leche. Once again, I cannot thank either enough for everything, and I look forward to our next reunion, wherever that may be.

Our guide, Jen, had spent a summer teaching in Buenos Aires, and organized a reunion with some of her former English students and our group, so they could all practice the language they were studying. We met up in the hip part of town, Palermo Hollywood, as it is informally called nowadays for all the movie filmings and starlets that frequent the bars and restaurants. We also met up with Gabriella, another friend of Jen, who took us to eat at a very local, very neighborhood club, where the food is cheap and plentiful (and deliciously out of this world). I ordered my favorite BsAs dish, homemade pasta, and also got to play with the sifón for a while.
One of our last days in Buenos Aires was spent in an extremely poor neighborhood far from the center. Working with the volunteer organization L.I.F.E., we organized a birthday party for all the kids in the neighborhood that had a birthday in May.Although the students were a bit shy at first, the exuberance and friendliness of the kids was contagious, and soon everyone was either playing with balloons, at soccer, or hide-and-go-seek.

The party was held in a building that served at once as church, training center, and meeting place to help train or rehabilitate those who needed the help. It was also the home of Jenny, the woman to the left, who was in charge of most of the programs held there.That huge empty building in the back was once a state hospital that now serves as home to countless families and individuals.The kids loved our cameras, and begged us to let them take pictures of each other.

Although we were only there for less than a week, I think the students were able to get a sense of the complexities that such a large city naturally contains. They saw the tourist sights, spent a few days living with families, and saw a part of the city that even many of its inhabitants have never seen. Many later said that afternoon with the children remained one of the most memorable days of the trip for them.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

2008-07-23T09:18:00.018-05:00

This was my third visit to Buenos Aires, and I was so excited to spend a few days here because it is one of my favorite cities in the world. It is also an important place for my dissertation, as I am writing about two authors who lived here during the first half of the 20th century: Victoria Ocampo and Norah Lange. I love the mix of old and modern elegance, the bohemian spirit, the melancholy of its music and literature, and especially how you can be at a bookstore crowded with people at one in the morning.

Let's start our journey to some of the places and things that you would definitely see as a tourist in this lovely, hectic city.
George Bush has the White House (though not for much longer!), and Argentina has the Pink House. And a woman President at the moment, though a good many people are not happy with her right now. (And no, there is no correlation between her sex and the color).Buenos Aires is situated at the mouth of el Río de la Plata, which in Spanish means "river of silver" because it was believed to have run through fertile areas for mining silver. The English translated the name as the River Plate (a common word back in the day for silver). It is brown because of the sediment having traveled from deep in the heart of South America to spill out into the Atlantic. In reality, the river is the largest estuary in the world, being the place where the Uruguay and Paraná rivers converge.The buses in Buenos Aires are what we would call in the States, vintage. Each one is painted different colors with lots of personality. Borges, a resident, once wrote about the painted carts he would see in his youth on the streets of city. I think the buses have filled that role nowadays. The Recoleta Cemetery has been called the city of angels, because it really feels like a city, only much quieter. However, like a city, some of the mausoleums are better taken care of than others, and I was shocked to see broken windows, partially opened coffins and garbage-strewn floors in some of them. For the most part, though, they are in fairly good shape to immaculate, as these belong to some of the most important people in the history of the country. Evita's grave was definitely the most popular with the tourists. (Sorry no pic)San Telmo is a bohemian neighborhood with a famous market on Sundays. There are lots of cafés here, as well as antique stores selling anything you can image. Lately, some more hip, artsy botiques have moved in, too. I loved just wandering the streets and peeking in the windows.
These glass bottles are called sifones. You fill them with still water, press the metal lever and out comes bubbly water! I love sparkling water, so I appreciate their use, but they are also gorgeous items that I would love to have decorating my kitchen. Next time, I am DEFINITELY bringing some home with me. (I say that every trip, but this time I mean it).These are mates, gourds that you fill with hierba mate, a tea-like herb that is similar to green tea in taste and health benefits. Unlike green tea, though, you sip this through a metal straw called a bombilla. Passing the mate is a social activity that inevitably happens whenever you are with Argentines and Uruguayans.Everyone associates Buenos Aires with tango. And yes, you can see men and women on the most tourist-populated streets all decked out and dancing, but I actually didn't get a picture of any. Nor did I go to La Boca, this time, as seeing it once was plenty. I'm much more interested in how the real people dance, and we went to a milonga one night where we could watch, though some of us got dragged up to dance, too. I thought someone took a picture with my camera, but I couldn't find any pics, so if I come across some later, I'll post them. I remember another occasion when I was in a shopping mall and they had a space cleared so people could dance, which was cool to see as they were mostly older couples there. Here, a group plays tango music for the tourists shopping in the market.I hope you have enjoyed our walking tour of the city. My next entry will cover my favorite part of Buenos Aires, the people.

Traveling and knitting

2008-07-20T08:43:00.014-05:00

Summers don't see a whole lot of knitting compared to the fall and winter months, but I have gotten a couple of projects done and a couple others started. I'm still on my use-what-you've-got kick, trying to whittle down the stash a bit. So, I brought two leftover yarns and an incomplete project with me on my trip to make things that could and needed to be used.

I started with the Rowan Tapestry yarn that had been part of my mom's plaid xmas scarf. I guessed that there would be enough to make some Fetchings. I even gambled that I'd have enough to make finger holes, since the Fetching pattern has you bind off at the knuckles. And wouldn't you know, I had JUST enough yarn. I think there was a three-inch piece left when I was done. The yarn isn't great for gloves, as it pills A LOT, but the more I used them the less that seemed to be a problem. Somewhere in the Andes between Argentina and Chile, I also whipped up a Koolhaas hat using the charcoal grey Cash Iroha that went into Juan's Central Square hat a few months ago. This came just in time, as we spent three days driving through the Bolivian desert. I took a pic of the hat during my knits photoshoot:But then I remembered that I would have some trip shots with the hat on, and thought it would be fun to post those, as I haven't gotten around to doing that yet.This is in front of la Laguna Verde. There are tons of colored lagoons in the desert, of such varying colors as white, green, blue, and most spectacularly, red. The wind here was brutal and the temps got down to below 0 night, so I had my hat on for three days straight. Since I even slept with it on, it got very stretched out by the end of the trip. A run through the dyer last night took care of that problem.Here we've stopped at a refugio (shelter) for lunch. During this part of the trip, we had a cook with us who prepared amazingly delicious meals.
Another thing about Bolivia was the altitude (which contributed to the cold temperatures). Even though I took medication and was spared the raging headache my travel companions suffered, I still noticed the altitude in my face, especially my jaw. It would get all tingly and almost numb at times. Some of us also acquired a cough that wouldn't go away, and which I later learned was a symptom of the heights.In order to cure all these ailments, the locals use coca leaves. While it is the basis of cocaine, the leaves themselves only provide positive effects of reduced nausea, alleviation of headaches and other side effects of altitude sickness, and increased energy, which feels like a caffeine kick. You can chew the leaves, stick them to your temple with a little spit, or soak them in hot water and drink the resulting tea. We did all of the above. You can also buy candies in various forms that have similar effects with better taste. The toffees were my favorite. The taste of the leaves/tea are similar to Sencha green tea or hierba mate.

My other travel-related knitting project was the cowgirl socks I started back in January to wear with my birthday boots. It was a toe-up, custom pattern combined with the jay walker pattern, and I had lost the calculations. I took it along thinking I would be forced to finish it, but just wasn't into it. So, I tried a couple of other things and was convinced that this would be another dead-end yarn I just couldn't work with. Then I went surfing in Lima. And discovered that night the Morning Surf Scarf I had admired in Ravelry was available for free and in varying gauges. And I cast on. And it was magic. Everything came together, the yarn, the colors, the pattern, the context. So, I now present to you, my Lima Surf Scarf:The yarn, by the way, is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport superwash.

Winona

2008-07-17T08:03:00.002-05:00

I was checking out what I've been missing this summer in Winona, and came across this cute little promotional video for the town. Funny, they show all the seasons but the one we know best: winter. Just follow the link if you want to learn more about the place we call home:

Video

Old Orchard Beach

2008-07-08T15:22:00.016-05:00

Yesterday was another day spent by the seaside. We headed over to OOB for some sun and fun. First off was Pirate's Cove mini-golf. Julian donned the t-shirt I got him from there last year, when he was still living in Germany and we had no idea he would be soon living a couple of hours from here.Golfing pirates arrgggNext we strolled along the pier and couldn't resist getting some pier fries in all their greasy glory.They are hand-cut, and must be accompanied by lots of vinegar, salt, and ketchup. Julian also got some cotton candy, and I tried funnel cake for the first time. So, I think we managed to cover all the food groups in the end. This oceanside town is a hot vacation destination for French Canadians, especially, so there is lots of bilingual signage, arcades, tattoo parlors, fast-food and ice cream counters, bars, and a plethora of cheesy stores.In high school, once in a while after work we'd drive the couple miles from Salty Bay Seafood Take-Out (my place of employment) to here for some jumbo pizza slices and pier fries, watching the cars and motorcycles cruise the strip and marveling at the incredibly short cut-off jean shorts the Qubecoise men would sport. I'm pleased to report that there wasn't a single pair of cut-offs in sight yesterday.We did see this nice sexist sign, though, at the amusement park.

Creature comforts

2008-07-07T13:28:00.013-05:00

Many conversations on the trip centered around things we missed from home, especially in the food realm. I have to say that I ate amazingly well the whole time, much better than expected, so I didn't really have any one thing that I was dying to eat once back in the States. I did miss preparing my own food in my own kitchen, but that will have to wait another month or so yet. I did prepare dinner for everyone the other night, and fell back on an old standby, pesto pasta with grilled chicken. Always yummy.

The past few days have been filled with getting outside as much as possible. We took Mobi for a walk along a local trail here in Scarborough that goes through woods, a golf course, and the salt-water marsh.We have also been spending time with the Sponsellers. Being a gorgeous sunny day, we hit the beach first. Even though in typical Maine fashion it was foggy on the water, we all had a great time.Amy and GrahamThe boys

Dinner was at the lovely home that Amy and Steve have worked really hard to get this beautiful. The brick walkway is the latest addition that Steve has been completing, and a nice compliment to Amy's gorgeous flowers.The food was delish And the company even better
Thanks guys, we all had fun!

I have missed this face SOOO much

2008-07-03T15:27:00.003-05:00

I know she was being taken care of to the point of spoiling, but I still believe my puppy is glad for us to be reunited again.
We've been running around all day, enjoying the lovely summer weather. I'm also working on uploading and organizing all my photos from the trip. There are A LOT, and looking at them, it's just starting to hit me what an amazing experience it really was. (Though you're all probably getting sick of me talking/writing about it).

Virginia

2008-07-01T12:25:00.003-05:00

When I arrived at the Minneapolis airport at 11:00 pm last week I had about seven hours before I hopped on another plane to Virginia. Needless to say, I felt I had roughed it enough, so I had reserved a hotel room a very short shuttle ride away, where a hot shower and real bed with fluffy pills were waiting for me.

In spite of all my previous travels abroad, I still felt "reverse culture shock" when I got back. In fact, I think I'm still getting over it now. It just felt so weird to be in familiar surroundings, with everyone speaking English. One of the students had mentioned something similar in Miami- she was so used to not understanding the signs around her that when she saw them at the airport she thought to herself: "I wonder what an escalator [insert Spanish accent] is". I also really missed the group. They were so positive and fun, and I really had a great time traveling with them all.

In Virginia Juan was waiting for me with a bouquet of yellow roses (my favorite, though I don't think he knew that, we'll give him credit anyway). We spent the first couple of days in Charlottesville, VA, a small well-to-do university town. Again, it felt weird to be in a nice hotel surrounded by posh restaurants and shops with everyone all dressed up. It seemed like a Disney version of life compared to where I've spent the past month and a half.

We spent the next night in Lynchburg, which was a bit more "real." We stumbled upon a weekly summer tradition, "Friday cheer." There were people of all ages there, and a really good cover band that played everything from country to hip hop. They had almost everyone dancing by the end of the evening, which was a lot of fun.

The last couple days of our little get-away were spent at the Wintergreen Resort in the Blue Ridge Mountains. While it was yet again a Disney version of life, it did me good to just relax and take it easy for a while. I got through two really good books this past week: Turpentine and Mirror, Mirror. The first is a tale of the Wild West, which I enjoyed immensely. (Honestly, I think because it was written by a woman). The second was a revision of Snow White, by Gregory Maguire, of Wicked fame.

Now we're here in Boston until tomorrow when I can finally see my dog again!!

Last post in South America

2008-06-23T17:09:00.004-05:00

Today's a bittersweet day in Lima. We're heading out tonight- well, the flight leaves at 6 am tomorrow morning, so we're off to the airport at 2:30. The plan is to have dinner, go to Maria's house and then to a jazz club until 1:30 or so and then get our stuff at the hostel and jump in a van to the airport. Since about half of us were up until 3:30 last night, it shouldn't be too hard to stay awake.

Some of the surfing guys took us out on the town last night- eleven of us crammed into an old woodie and toured the city. Lima is a huge place, and the only local transport options are taxi or buses and vans called combis that are usually extremely crowded- we've had to sit on each others' laps at times to fit us all in with the rest of the riders. Therefore, it's hard to really get a feel for the city because you can't walk from one neighborhood to the next. So, it was great to have our own private tour van, even if it was as crowded as the public option. The guys were a lot of fun, too, and the students always appreciate the opportunity to meet the locals.

I love how Lima is on the coast, and even though the winters here are overcast, the temps have been decent. I spent the day checking out Barranco, the "Greenwich Village of Lima". I feel, however, that I have a lot more to explore here in terms of the neighborhoods and the food. It's been a great introduction, though, and certainly whet my appetite for more visits.

Surfing Update

2008-06-21T20:31:00.002-05:00

The water wasn't as cold as I had been dreading, though it wasn't really warm either. The ocean was choppier than they had hoped today, so we got quite the initiation into the sport. But the most exciting part was our teacher: I forgot to mention this morning that our teacher was none other than the seven-time national surfing champion of Peru, Magoo de la Rosa, who also was 2007's ISA's World Masters Champion. We all feel like we have been battered by the ocean today, but most of us got up at least once, which left us with a good feeling. Laura, the only one of the group who had never been in any ocean ever actually had the winning wave-catch of the day- she looked like a total pro. It was a really fun, exhausting day. The students just prepared dinner, so I'm off to chow!

Lima, Peru

2008-06-21T12:11:00.005-05:00

We've reached our final destination before heading back. At the moment we're waiting for a van to come pick us up and take us to the beach for surfing lessons. It's winter here, so while I am looking forward to the experience, not so much the cold water that surely awaits. The other day in Huacahina we got a sort-of pratice session with sandboarding in the dunes. There was a wild buggy ride, too. It's a cute little oasis town with some great food right next to Ica, another small town. The hostel had a pool, and the weather was actually hot and sunny, so we had a proper couple days of recuperation from the Machu Picchu hike.

Yesterday, Maria (Whose blog you can read at the right), a friend of Jen, our guide, took us to some private showrooms for local clothing designers- young girls who are just starting up here in Lima. We got some really cute stuff for super great prices, and it was a lot of fun to get in a little retail therapy. Last night we went to a salsa place with a live band, and I had a lot of fun watching all the really good dancers.

I really like Lima, and wish we were going to be here more time, but not if it meant going home later. I think everyone's ready to get back at this point. It's been a great trip with a really fun group.

Back in Cusco

2008-06-16T10:06:00.002-05:00

We all made it back from the 5-day trek to Machu Picchu. It was especially hard for a few people who were suffering from major stomach issues, but everyone made it through. (Even if they had to ride a mule at times). Thankfully, I´ve been feeling well and though it was a challenging few days, I´m glad I did it. The biggest surprise is after climbing the mountain to get to Machu Picchu and finding a huge line of people who had riden the bus up to the top, who come up to me but Christy Ortega, my friend and former co-worker from Cadiz two summers ago! It was crazy because I haven´t had internet, so I didn´t get her blog message that she was around, so it was a total shock for me, but it was great to see her and meet her guy, Elliot.

Machu Picchu was amazing, and the journey to get there made us appreciate it all the more. We arrived at the top in time to see the sun come up over the mountains. I´m still taking it all in, so I´ll leave it at that for the moment.

We´re back in Cusco for the day. We´ll be taking an overnight bus to Ica this evening and will be in Ica for a couple of days, where it should be warmer (and maybe have a hot shower? I haven´t had a decent one since Argentina). I don´t know if I´ll have internet there, but on the 19th we head to Lima, Peru, the last stop of the trip. I´m still having a great time, but I will also be happy to head back and see my husband on our anniversary. So, my next writing place will probably be in Lima. Have a great week until then!

Cusco, Peru

2008-06-10T20:22:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow we are up at 3:45 am to start our treck to Machu Picchu. We have to take a 3-hour bus ride, eat breakfast, and then the walking begins. The first night we´ll be camping at the base of a glacier mountain, and it will probably be a near-death experience for me, as it is supposed to be our coldest night of the trip. The next day is the hardest climbing-wise, as it is four hours straight up to 4,700 meters at the highest point. The following three days will be warmer and easier in comparison, so we just have to get through the first night and second day and things will be good. The plan is to be the first ones to Machu Picchu on the fifth day, which means getting up at 5 or so, I believe. I´m really excited for this!

Yesterday we did a 6-hour hike in the hills outside of Cusco to aclimate to the height and the physical exertion. It felt great to get out and walk all day, though the altitude knocks the wind out of you as soon as you start to go uphill.

The city of Cusco is a good size- it reminds me a lot of Caceres, Spain and I recently found out why. Pizarro, who conquered the city from the Incas, had the main plaza built to look like the one in Trujillo, his home town and a hop skip and jump from Caceres. We visited the market today for some goodies to take home and then treated outsevles to a 1-hour massage for $7. I´m heading back to the hostel to pack and get some sleep. After feeling a bit under the weather yesterday, I´m back to feeling 100% and ready for this next undertaking!

Some photos from Argentina

2008-06-09T10:02:00.003-05:00

I`ve had a minute to check out some blogs, and Gaby`s blog has a couple of photos of our afternoon in Villa Ocampo (Hadas y Flores- it`s on the right sidebar).

I`m almost up to an hour, so I have to close this session. A quick apology regarding all the mis-spellings and typos in these entries- time is short and I imagine you get the gist, even if things aren`t perfect.

I`ll write more about Peru later today or tomorrow.

Bolivia

2008-06-08T17:54:00.002-05:00

I´m back in civilization for a while! Whew! It´s been an eye-opening past couple of weeks. We eneded up spending three days in the desert, mostly in Bolivia, rather than Chile. The bus ride through the Andes from Argentina to Chile was amazing, and surprisingly not scary (I had visions of curvy dirt roads with steep drop offs- those came later, in Bolivia ;) I loved San Pêdro de Atacama, a tiny town in the middle of the desert with the best food EVER. I had Quinoa with sweet tomatoes and mushrooms, and most places were open-roofed with at least one or two fire pits scattered around the local. Everyone was wearing their llama hats and the ambiance was cozy. I´d love to go back there with Juan and just spend a week trying all the great restaurants and doing fun desert activities during the day, like sandboarding, geyser and salt flat visiting, bouldering, etc.

We then spent three days traveling via 4X4 jeep through the Bolivian desert. It was not what I had expected at all. First of all, it was soooo cold!! Although the sun was shining, the altitude was so high and the winds were just ferocious... But in spite of the cold, we all got into our siwmsuits and jumped into some natural hot springs one day while waiting for lunch to be prepared. I was quite proud of myself, considering how adverse I am to the cold... That first night, everyone but me had an awful headache from the altitude, and several people even got sick. I had started taking my altitude pills that day, and they obviously worked! Some other highlights of the desert: gorgeous lagoons in shades of green, blue, red, and white. (The colors are due to the mineral content). Contrasting with the color of the lagoons were the pink and white flamingoes that migrate there in winter from Chile. We also visted the Salt flats of Uyuni, which is an enormous white desert of salt that stretchs for miles. In the middle, there is a funky island full of cacti- a very surreal scene. The other unexpected aspect of desert travel was the constant shaking- rather than the fine, smooth sand you imagine in the Sahara, for example, it was rough and made for a very shaky ride. That, coupled with the worst bus ride ever from Uyuni to La Paz, really shook us all up- after four days of constant shaking and rocking in a vehicle, you felt like your brain had surely leaked out your ear.

While La Paz was some of the students´ favorite city we´ve visited, I was ready to get to the pampas, in the northeastern part of the country. However, things got a little complicated due to some local referendums that made traveling by plane (our original intention) impossible. So, it was back on a Bolivian bus for 18 hours through the Andes. Let me sumarize this experience by saying that there is no lighting, heat, or bathrooms on the bus, and stops are almost nonexistant. Add to this the fact that almost all the roads in Bolivia are not paved and you have constant shaking (not helping the no-bathroom situation). Oh, and the curvy road only wide enough for one vehicle, even though there is constant two-way traffic. So, every few feet the bus would have to stop as close to the edge as possible to let a truck or car by. And, no, there are not guardrails. I wasn´t super worried because the driver went really slowly, but I did breathe a sigh of relief when we arrived in one piece to Rurrenabanque, our jumping-off point for the pampas.

The pampas of Bolivia reminded me of the bayou outside of New Orleans my family visited a few years ago. After a three-hour jeep ride down yet another non-paved road, we got into a boat (finally! no more jostling around!) and saw tons of alligtors, crocodiles, caimans, a huge variety of birds and cranes, the largest rodent in the world, called the capavera, I believe, which I actually found quite cute. We spent a couple of nights in a camp by the side of the river and went anaconda hunting (we just observed, not to eat) and swam with the pink river dolphins (though most of us who went in were more proud of the fact that they were also croco-infested waters). We also fished for pirahanas and got the eat them for lunch. I caught three really small ones, so I threw them back, but there was still enough for everyone to have a fish at lunch. There wasn´t much meat on them, actually. The highlight for me was on the way back, down the dirt road again, we saw the strangest figure in the middle of the road- it looked from far away like a small man crawling slowly across the road, but it was a sloth!!!! We wanted the other jeep behind us to see it, so the guide picked it up so it wouldn´t crawl away, and a couple of us took turns holding it while we waited for the other group, who turned out to have a flat tire. It was the coolest experience ever- he looked like he was smiling the whole time and he just moved his arms around a bit, ever so slowly. It really hit home how vulnerable they are- he had no defense at all to protect himself against us, and luckily we weren´t out to hurt him.

The last stop in Bolivia was Lake Titicaca. By then, all the constant cold and rough travels had worn me out and I was exahusted. A couple of us had to take a day just to sleep- I literally had no energy left at all. I had lao spicked up an annoying cough i´m still trying to get rid of. But the next day I felt great, and we did a 6-hour hike around the Island of the Sun, believed to be the birthplace of the Inca civilization. It was my favorite part of Bolivia- I loved the island and the lake was just gorgeous. My foot was totally fine, by the way.

We arrived here in Cuzco, Peru at midnight last night. I´ll save that for another entry, though.

Salta, Argentina

2008-05-27T04:19:00.003-05:00

Heading off to the bus stop to go across the Andes and into Chile-we´re headed to the Atacama Desert. Salta is in the Northwestern part of Argentina, and reminds me of Utah with it´s mixture of green shrubs and red rocks. White water rafting, zip lining, and wine tasting have been the activities the past few days. Ok, taxi is here!

Iguazu Falls and Misiones

2008-05-24T21:47:00.002-05:00

We´ve spent the past few days in the northeast corner of Argentina, next to Paraguay and Brazil, at Iguazu. We spent a day in Iguazu Falls National Park, which are the widest waterfalls in the world and are absolutely gorgeous. Since they are within a national park, the surroundings are almost completely undeveopled and natural.

The next day, we went to a Guaraní community near Misiones. We prepared lunch and an afternoon snack for them, and got to play with the kids and talk to some of the people who spoke Spanish. The Guaranís are the indigenous peoples of that region, and talking to one of their leaders I learned that their way of life has changed dramatically in the past 15 or 20 years. Typically a nomadic community, they would hunt and fish, moving around as needed. They have since been confined to a type of reservation, where there is little to no game available and one of the largest dams in Latin America has dried up their fishing rivers. He told me that they have been struggling to adapt to a completely different way of life, and he has been working to get the government to give them more resources. I was glad to have the opportunity to meet them all and learn about another aspect of Argentine culture you don´t hear much about in the States.

Upon returning from Misiones, we hopped on a bus, and almost 30 hours later arrived here in Salta. Today we hiked the highest peak over town. Tomorrow is zip lining and white water rafting.

Last Day in Buenos Aires

2008-05-19T20:35:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow we´re taking a plane to Iguazu Falls, in the Northeastern part of Argentina, right next to Brazil. They are the largest waterfalls in the world, and the weather promises to keep being hot and humid (which is fine by me!) I´ve had a great time, but I´m ready to get out of the city and into nature.

The trip has been fantastic so far. We have an amazing group of students who are all ready and willing to step out of their comfort zones and use their Spanish (or learn it if they don´t already know any), talk to people, hop on a bus or the subte (the metro here) and go where ever, eat organs and intestines- these guys are up for anything. And the best part, they are so open and willing to learn and observe, and are very much on the ball. We don´t have to worry about them flaking out on the meeting time or place- they are just a wonderful group. They are a lot of fun and are doing great. They´ve been staying with families for the past few days, and we meet periodically to do cultural things. Today we went to an extremely poor neighborhood with a volunteer organization to throw the May birthdays a party. The kids were so cute and outgoing, and everyone had a lot of fun. It was also a sobering experience to see another part of the city that most porteños don´t even see.

I´ve been able to get a TON done regarding my dissertation research, and I got to meet Gaby and Alejandra, two blog friends who are "divinas," as they say in Spanish. They patiently took me to some out-of-the-way places I wanted to see, and gave me some lovely gifts, and we had a wonderful afternoon tea on the veranda of a gorgeous house that belonged to Victoria Ocampo, one of my writers. I wish I could publish photos of all these great experiences, but perhaps later on in the trip. Mil gracias y fue un placer, chicas. Hasta la próxima, que sea Winona o BsAs. :)

We´re Here!

2008-05-15T16:04:00.001-05:00

Just a quick note to say that we arrived safely and without any major issues. My ankle is healing nicely, and as long as I treat it well, I suppose that it will continue to do so. I miss my husband and puppy dog, but the weather is great and tomorrow I´m meeting up with a couple of friends, which I will share later on. So far so good. Hope all is well with you, too.

You've got to be kidding me

2008-05-12T09:08:00.004-05:00

So, yesterday I was finally doing the hand-washables that had been slowly stacking up on our spare bed, because it was finally sunny out and I could put them on the porch to dry. I was walking down the stairs with a laundry basket of heavy, wet sweaters and so I couldn't see where I was going. I thought I had reached the bottom, when in reality I had a step or two to go. Down I go, basket and all, twisting my foot in a very unnatural way. Juan was in the living room and got to witness the whole thing. As I was writhing around the floor howling in pain, all he kept saying was "Vanessa!! Ohmigod!! Two Days!!!"

That's because I'm scheduled to head up to the Cities on Wednesday for the big adventure trip. You know, the one where we do all kinds of extreme sports and 3-5 day hiking expeditions. At the moment I can't even walk.

Granted, I surely aggravated it (a bit) yesterday. After a couple of minutes of intense pain that was mostly mental panic as I contemplated the possibilities of what this ridiculous situation could mean, after icing and elevating and calming down, it felt almost fine. There was no swelling, bruising, or bones sticking out at weird angles. So I put on supportive hiking boots, went to Target to get the rest of my trip supplies, came home and spent an hour making dinner, and then felt so great I decided to take Mobi for a walk. You see, I was determined to ignore the whole thing and go on with my life as usual. Bad idea. 40 minutes walking and a hot bath later, I was in major pain. Meridith asked me if I was trying to cripple myself for life. Juan was convinced that I was trying to sabotage my trip. Nope, unfortunately I'm just stupid. I have never in my life broken, sprained, or twisted anything.

So, after wrapping the foot/ankle area and icing it again; after a fitful, painful night of sleep; today I am staying off it completely. I learned my lesson, I swear. Of course, I have a hundred things I need to get done, all of which involve my being mobile and upright, but I going to have faith that tomorrow it'll be all good and I can do it all then. The hopeful bit is that as long as I can walk unassisted and pain-free, I'll have a couple of weeks before the major excursions start to keep healing.

So, please, send healing vibes of radiance my way- and focus them on my right foot.

Cooking and knitting

2008-05-09T06:52:00.010-05:00

Now that classes are over and we've been on a more random schedule of meetings and workshops, I've had a chance to get some projects done. And a little bit of cooking.
The other day I grilled Barefoot's Asian Grilled Salmon, which has a complexity that belies its really basic pantry ingredients. That was served on a bed of greens with sauteed Brussel sprouts and fresh squeezed lemonade. You can see in the background the pine nut shortbread cookies that are great for dessert or with afternoon tea. I also did one of my favorite dishes: baked beans with a side salad and New England Brown Bread, which is what you see here. It is bread that is actually cooked in a coffee can. You simmer the can in a water bath until the bread is done. It is chock full of good-for-you grains and the molasses makes it sweet and moist. Though it's best while still warm and slathered with butter (what bread isn't), I also like it toasted with butter and jam for breakfast. Oh, by the way, I went super authentic and added turkey frank rounds to the baked beans- yum!

On the knitting front, I've been working to use up leftover yarn from Christmas, and after making five different pairs of the Log Cabin socks for others, I wanted my own pair of warm handknit socks. Since I was using leftovers, I knew I wouldn't have enough to make the Log Cabins for me, so using my One Skein book by Leigh Radford, I whipped up the cabled footies in a couple of nights using Lamb's Pride Superwash in Lichen and Finches. Mobi likes leaning up against them while chewing on her bones.I didn't have any feltable stash yarn, so I had to buy a skein to make a case for my new camera. I got Malabrigo, because I had heard so much about it. I made it fairly bigger than wanted so I could felt it down nice and tight, and I think it took two wash and dry cycles for it to get to this size.
My big project of the moment is a fair-isle sweater that I'm thinking about taking with me to South America- finished or not. Most of the yarn is leftovers, but I had to order the three skeins of dark grey Peace Fleece for the body. Although the motif is not done here in the photo, I've actually completed the back and am about here on the front. The pattern is Helga, from Rowan 36.I should have the front done today, as I'll have a couple hours in the car on the way to a workshop in Rochester, but getting both sleeves done before Wednesday will be a challenge, as I'm still writing as much of chapter two as I can before leaving. It's two hours to the airport and then a really long flight, so no matter what I could have it done before touching down in Buenos Aires. I'm just not sure I want to take the bulk at all. We'll see...

I'm Knitting Blue

2008-04-30T11:39:00.011-05:00

I'm actually almost out of my "blue" period, but I haven't posted my knitting in a while, so I'm a little behind. All this yarn has since been knit or is in the process of being knit.

First, after knitting Meridith her Eskimo jacket, (named for the yarn the pattern calls for), I had to start mine. After much debate about the type of yarn and color I wanted to use, I settled on a tweedy Worsted Peace Fleece in Kamchatka Seamoss- it's the yarn in the lower right-hand corner (a sea green named after a peninsula on the Bering Strait). I had also considered a black or eggplant jacket in a wool/silk combo, which would have given it a whole different feel, but in the end settled for more casual and bright. I love Peace Fleece because it is yarn with a cause. Here's a blurb from their webpage about the company and its mission:
"The Peace Fleece office is a barn on a sheep farm in Maine. Peter Hagerty and his wife Marty Tracy started buying wool from the Soviet Union back in 1985 in hopes that through trade they could help diffuse the threat of nuclear war. Since then they have worked with shepherds in Russia, Kyrgyzia, Israel and the West Bank, as well as in Montana, Ohio, Texas and Maine. By working with people who tend livestock every day, they hope to find a common ground that slowly leads to mutual understanding and economic interdependence. After twenty-one years, their goals remain the same."

And I love the yarn because it is tweedy and of solid construction, and just what I would expect yarn should be. The buttons are sliced and dyed nuts- I bought them at Purl Diva in Brunswick, ME.

The middle yarn was also purchased at Purl Diva, and is Lorna's Laces Shepard Sport. I had wanted to make socks for my cowgirl boots, and blue seemed like a good color. I had really hoped this yarn wouldn't pool, but it did and I didn't like the effect, so I ended up knitting the Jaywalker pattern which is turning out nicely. I've combined it with a toe-up custom-fit pattern. Problem is, I'm not a fan of knitting socks on tiny needles, so this project has been languishing in my basket since January. And it's only the first one. But I'll be taking it on my trip, and will either force myself to knit them both, or frog this one and make a chevron scarf instead. You can see a ton of these scarves on Flickr.

The front left and back skein were knit up to make this:It's from Stephanie Jepel's Fitted Knits book. The navy is Ultra Alpaca purchased last summer at Central Yarn Shop in Portland, ME. I was going to use it for Julian's sweater until I found something closer to his favorite color in a washable wool. The blue/green yarn is from another Maine company, The Fiber Company, purchased at Knit Wit in the Old Port. I fell in love with this yarn when I saw it, and even more so when I touched it. Never before have I felt such yarn lust. I had to have it. But I don't just buy yarn, without a project in mind, how would I know how much I needed? So, I thought of my navy yarn and the shrug pattern and promptly purchased two skeins. I'm happy to say I used up all of the Ultra Alpaca skein and both of the Terra skeins in this project. No leftovers!

I have since moved on to other colors. After the yarn binging in Maine over the holidays, all my current projects involve using up stash yarn. I will share these soon.

Sigma Delta Pi

2008-04-24T07:30:00.005-05:00

One of our students started up a chapter of Sigma Delta Pi, the Spanish National Honor Society, on campus last year. Juan and I are the co-advisors to the group. They took over running the Spanish and Latin American Film Series and do a lot of community service in Winona and the surrounding area. They are the best and the brightest of our Spanish majors and a really great group of young people. To celebrate the end of a great first year as a chapter, we headed to the best Mexican restaurant in town, Tequilas.Ian and Carrie didn't fit into the other picture. These are our graduates with their honor cords.
The red and white shirt is our official club shirt for this year. We look like a soccer team ready to play when we go out as a group wearing them.This is Carrie, the one who made the club possible and served as President our first year. I had her in my classes since way back in beginning Spanish, and it's been amazing to watch her grow and become this confident, world-savvy young woman. She was in one of the groups I accompanied to Spain, and she then went on to spend a summer in Argentina. She'll be starting a Masters program this fall in New Mexico in Intercultural communication and even though we'll miss her here, I can't wait to see where life takes her and what she does with it.

Winding Down and Winding Up

2008-04-21T08:25:00.009-05:00

It's the last week of classes! And my finals are all on Monday and Tuesday of next week. So, while I'm winding down on that front, I am busy planning three classes I will be teaching in May-June. These will be more like independent studies, as we're going on the road. In a few weeks I'll be leaving for South America. We're doing a 40-day trip with 11 students, 1 teacher (me), and two guides. Here's our itinerary, more or less:
One week in Buenos Aires, Argentina
A few days each at Iguazu Falls and Salta (where we'll be white water rafting)
A jeep tour and sand boarding in the Atacama desert in Chile
Visiting the salt flats in Uyuni, Bolivia
Hiking around Lake Titicaca
A 5-day hike on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu
A three-day hike through the rainforest
Surfing off the coast of Peru
A few days in Lima before heading home
(These pics are from Jen's trip last year- she's one of our guides.)

Meanwhile, I've been trying to complete another dissertation chapter and get in shape for this adventure. I'm also trying to figure out when Juan and I are actually going to see each other this summer- we both have a lot of things going on on different continents, and our schedules don't seem to coincide much! :( :( :(

I'm one in a 1,000

2008-04-17T07:43:00.006-05:00

Knitters, that is. Franklin Habit, of The Panopticon blog has been working on a project to photograph 1,000 knitters. He started it as simply a way to combine two of his favorite loves (photography and knitting, of course). It's looking now like it may end up being a book once completed. After having missed the opportunity several different times to participate, I was happy to see he would be present at the Yarnover event in Minneapolis this past weekend, and quickly signed up myself and my travel companions, Sue and Kate, for a sitting.

I was star struck. Franklin's blog is hilarious, especially with the escapades of Dolores, the sheep that lives with him and wrecks havoc on his yarn and alcohol supply. So, after he got my photo, I had to get one with him. Then the three of us hit the vendor stalls. I have to say, I am very proud of myself and managed to not go overboard nor lose sight of my very low budget I had set for myself. I have so many projects already queued, I didn't need any yarn at all. But I had hoped for a little token souvenir from a local company. Well, I couldn't find anything that fit all my criteria on the local front, but I did get a head start on Christmas. Though that unfortunately means you can't see what I got until, oh, December 25th at the earliest. But it's cool. Really cool.

Here are Sue and Kate checking out these gorgeous baby sweater kits that we all drooled over. And then decided $60 and up was a bit much to spend on someone who would only be able to wear the item for a matter of months.Since we were all so well-behaved, we didn't have to drive around Minneapolis sitting on piles of yarn or fighting over who had to ride the roof. But then we got to Crafty Planet. (You know, since we were in town and all...) And the resolve melted a little. But who can blame us, with such a dearth of funky, good quality fabric purveyors in our area? I bought a needle felting kit which I will post about in a separate entry, and these fabrics: But I'm not telling what they're for, yet.

Waiting Patiently for Spring

2008-04-15T10:48:00.005-05:00

We've had some more snowfall since it turned officially Spring here in north of the northern hemisphere. We are on our penultimate week of the semester, so I've been swamped with grading, advising, and more grading. I've also given myself to to end of the semester to finish another chapter, (this will be #2), so I've been working on that.

These flowers were a gift from my Aunt Diane and Uncle John for my birthday. They came as bulbs in a beautiful Nantucket basket and they grow and bloom when you add water. I wanted to wait until it was spring-ish weather to make sure they had lots of light and also to make it feel more spring-like in the house. It worked. They grew a couple of feet in a week and have been filling the house with their beautiful scent.

It's been nice enough to bike to work, which has been great and Mobi and I have been able to frequent the lake path quite a bit, too. I hope you are having a wonderful spring, as well!

The Eskimo Jacket

2008-04-14T08:25:00.005-05:00

Well, it's only April. Seems like a good time to finally show you Meridith's Eskimo Jacket. In all fairness, I didn't get the pictures until about a month ago. And there hasn't been much blogging time, if you hadn't noticed. I think I will be able to catch up a bit this week, though, so stay tuned! And once again my computer or blogger doesn't let me post this facing the right way.
So, Meridith's jacket was knit with the bulky version in Knit Picks Cadena, if I recall correctly. It's a 50% merino 50% llama blend. I liked the dark buttons because they make it match with both brown and black. Since it was in bulky, I didn't make button holes because there was enough space between the stitches and this way she could adjust to her tastes.
For a good time, check out her new blog, Fur, Food, and Foolishness.
I don't have a full-length shot of my Eskimo Jacket. I did mine in the Aran-weight version with Peace Fleece, my new favorite yarn because it's tweedy wool in gorgeous colors and the company is from Maine and trades with international cooperatives to promote world peace. These buttons are made from dyed nuts, I'm told.

Happy Spring!

2008-03-22T07:17:00.012-05:00

Here in Winona we celebrated the first day of Spring with 6-8 inches of snow. *sigh* Mobi and I did get out for a walk before the ground was covered again, and she was quite happy to be running around. Juan and I forgo Valentine's Day in favor of the first day of spring. Our celebrating usually consists of eating good food and going to the local bookstore to get each other a book. I got him A Thousand Splendid Suns, since he loved the Kite Runner, and he got me The Monsters of Templeton. I'm going to try to read it before bed when I'm too tired to work on the dissertation.

I decided to go for an Asian-style dinner because I wanted fresh food that would remind us that spring is not too far away. We started off with edamame dumplings. I recorded the process on our new camera:
I mixed edamame with cumin, fresh lemon juice, and sesame oil in the food processor until smooth.Then I placed a teaspoon of the mixture on the middle of wonton wrappers, then brushed water on the sides to help them stick together.After browning and then steaming them (taking all of three minutes the whole process), they were reading for dipping in the soy sauce, honey and green onion dip.The main course was glass noodle salad with shrimp and chicken in a spicy mint sauce over red lettuce leaves.For dessert, I went with a traditional tapioca pudding. I wished I had the green pearls they use in Thai restaurants!

Long aside:
Organizing my cooking magazines two weekends ago, I came across a series of how to make pudding from the August 2006 Cooking Light issue. I immediately made chocolate pudding. This week it's the tapioca and for next week I have my sights set on mocha. I am usually an ice cream freak, but I'm liking pudding as a winter, ahem, spring, substitute.

Happy Spring!

Funnies

2008-03-19T07:44:00.005-05:00

I was reading the paper yesterday and two comics struck me as particularly funny. The first is obviously knitters' humor. And the second is just completely my sense of humor. (Click on the picture to enlarge it)

Babies in sweaters!

2008-03-13T07:46:00.004-05:00

WARNING: Major Cuteness Ahead!
Recognize these? Of course, first I see the adorable babies, but then I notice all my mistakes and imperfections in the sweaters, then I go back to the babies..awwww- but you can just stay focused on the sweet little faces.
Graham was so inspired by his sweater that he just had to shake a maraca. (Yeah, I do that, too, when I finish a sweater)
Ella strikes a pose, while Jack wants to stop sitting still already and go play!

The Funky Leaf Pullover: Completed

2008-03-02T14:55:00.007-06:00

I just finished a really fun project that is unlike anything I own. It's a pullover knit from side-to-side and then the ribbed bottom and collar are picked up afterwards. The pattern is Iceland, from the Rowan 42 magazine. It didn't have a collar originally, but I had plenty of yarn and I thought it suited the look better. I can wear it up or as a cowl. Here are some shots with the neck up:I keep looking down because I want to make sure I'm not covering the buttons. There are three on each side.Here you can see the collar in cowl style, with the buttons very visible.I want to focus on the buttons a minute because they are very special to me. I was searching Etsy.com for some original wooden buttons when I came across Woodturner's storefront. I was excited to see he makes custom buttons by hand and even happier when I realized he is more or less across the river from me in WI. He offers a variety of button styles in different woods, and he even made the holes of mine bigger than normal to accommodate yarn instead of thread. He made them the exact size needed for my project in the wood and style I requested, and when they came, they were accompanied by a hand-written note (in beautiful penmanship, by the way) telling me where the wood had been harvested and the process he used to make the buttons. He even included an extra one in case one got lost! It was such a fun, easy experience that I will definitely be contacting him anytime I need wooden buttons for a project. He also has other gorgeous hand-turned objects in his store, like bottle stoppers, wooden jewelry, an amazing birdhouse ornament, and a wand (for those Harry Potter fans?)After carefully picking out the pattern and the right yarn, and then knitting it to my size and style, it's just that much more special to also have these unique, handmade buttons to complete the piece.

A Prairie Home Companion: Winona, MN TONITE

2008-02-23T13:41:00.003-06:00

Listen in, folks. A Prairie Home Companion will be broadcast live tonight from Winona State's auditorium. And we will be in the audience. Yay!!

Warm Heads Are Good

2008-02-23T13:29:00.004-06:00

I really, really wanted to knit Juan a hat in brioche stitch. But I could not, for the life of me, do it. I searched the web for days, found video instructions on Youtube, consulted all my books, and ended up throwing the yarn and needles across the room. That's when I decided that winter would eventually be over before I figured it out and Juan's poor head would remain bare. So, I decided to knit him Center Square. The doubled yarn pattern was a bit childish, so I adapted the pattern for single Aran yarn. The grey yarn is Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran and the black is from a Japanese company. Between the two, they are a combo of cashmere, silk, and merino wool. No itchy yarn for Mr. Juan. When I told him I needed a pic with the hat, he directed his own photoshoot with the Mac cam. So, here it is:

More gifts to showcase

2008-02-21T07:56:00.009-06:00

I was thinking I was almost done with the Christmas showcase (considering it's the end of February, I'd say it's about time). I am still waiting on Meridith to give me a picture of her in her swing jacket, but I haven't posted Julian's presents yet either.

I started a sweater for him this past summer, using his favorite shade of blue. I knit the Sherwood pattern from Knitty.com. The only modification I made was to do ribbed sleeves, rather than continue the cable pattern there, too. I ran out of yarn and so it sat around for a while until I ordered more. (This is where the "haha I never have to use math again" victory dance on graduation has come back to bite me in the butt). When I washed it, the yarn got really soft and the sweater got wider as the ribs expanded. This also stretched out the neck too much, so I had to sew it together at the ends to avoid the flashdance look, which just doesn't work with a 7 year old boy. All in all, I like the pattern and how it turned out. I was pleasantly surprised at how soft the yarn got, as the itchy factor was a concern. It was Nashua Creative Focus Superwash wool, by the way. Of course, with Mr. Julian there is no way I'm going to get a still shot of him in the sweater.The sweater doubles as a floor mop. It's very versatile like that.Vanessa, I'm too busy playing with the cats to pose for your silly pictures.Aha! Got one when he wasn't looking :)

I also made a present for Julian for Christmas. As he is deep into the pirate obsession phase, I knew who I would be knitting it for when I saw the We Call Them Pirates hat pattern on Ravelry. This is a super fun hat to make and not nearly as hard as it looks.A close up of the skull and crossbones.

The Knitting Saga Returns: The Case of the Purple Yarn

2008-02-12T08:17:00.000-06:00

I don't currently have a way to take digital pictures- our camera is on its last leg of life and on the last trip out East somehow we lost the cord to connect it to the computer... so, all I have is the internal camera of my computer. Which is why I have not been doing knitting updates, as they are more fun with pictures. But I do have some pictures for you, nevertheless, because I am resourceful like that. I hit a streak of knitting bad luck upon returning to Winona, but it seems to have turned now and I can once again talk about knitting without throwing yarn and needles across the room. A warning for non-knitting fans, this is a heavily yarn-centered post, so you might want to just skim the photos and be done. For those who do knit, you might have a similar story and be able to sympathize.

I ordered some yarn from Webs soon after Christmas during their blowout sale. One of the yarns I purchased was Classic Elite's Alaska yarn (50% alpaca 50% wool), which came in 25 yard balls. For those who don't knit, yarn usually comes in at least 60-something yard balls, while some come in 200-something yards. It usually depends on the thickness of the yarn- the thicker the yarn, the less the yardage, because they are usually 50g or 100g balls. So, in order to knit a particular project, I needed 13 balls of this 50g-25yd yarn. The project was a sort of last-minute, "oh they have a free pattern online for it and there's going to be a KAL in ravelry, I should make it because the yarn's so cheap," sort of affair. Thing is, I didn't do the math. My sister did, because she was going to make one, too. In the same color. It's the Best Friend Cardigan from Twinkle's Big City Knits. And she figured out the yardage in this yarn for a small, which is what I usually knit. But I often lengthen the sleeves and sometimes the waist, too. And since this pattern called for bobbles, which take up a lot of yarn, I figured I would have enough extra to lengthen it. It would be close, but do-able. I would have bought an extra ball or two, but there were only 26 balls left and since we both wanted the same color, I could only get the 13. So I did. And then I looked at the measurements. A small was supposed to be 28" around at the chest. Yes, the chest, not the waist. That's when I knew this would be interesting.

When it arrived, Mobi confirmed for me that it was soft and nap-worthy.The sweater knit up very quickly, and I did get an extra inch or so for waist length, because there was no way I was going to have a cropped bulky sweater. Ok, that was fine. Then I got to the sleeves. Using every last possible scrap of yarn left, I knit the sleeves as long as I could, several inches longer than the pattern called for. I was sure I would have enough length. Then I sewed them on. And they were a good two inches, maybe three, shorter than I would want. I thought maybe I could make them stretch, so I wore it one day to work to try it out, without buttons because I hadn't bought any yet. And I came to the conclusion that it just wouldn't work. On a thick, warm sweater I need sleeves that cover my wrists.Now, at this point I was faced with a decision. I could order more yarn, because even though the Alaska was long sold out, they were still selling Aspen, the same yarn but in 50yard balls. I would therefore spend another $20 on yarn and still need to buy huge buttons, which probably were going to run me another $15 at least. Or, I could frog the whole thing and make what I had really been wanted to do since I got the Rowan 42 magazine, which was the Alpine Shrug.
Surely 13 balls of this could make something that didn't even have sleeves. And that would save me all the extra money to finish this cardigan and the money I would have used to buy yarn to make this shrug. So, that's what I did. I frogged and frogged and frogged and then knit and knit and knit, and then ran out of yarn. Before the shrug was done. I had just received an email from Webs giving me a coupon for free shipping, and I knew what I had to do. So, $20 and 2 skeins later I had enough yarn to do one more repeat, which still wasn't enough, according to the pattern. It was certainly big enough, however, once I got it sewn up. Almost too big. I wore it around town this weekend and I swear it stretched out. Juan called it my turtle sweater because it really looks like a turtle shell. But it's so big, the bottom petal can't be seen, it's just folded underneath. And no, I didn't do gauge. Because it was a shrug and the yarn called for #19 needles, and I just figured it would work. I swear this yarn had led me to so many bad decisions, I'm starting to think it's cursed. So, I am going to have to adjust this somehow if I am going to wear it. I could reknit the whole thing on #17s, or I could try mildly felting it. While I'm really really tempted to try the felting, if I screw it up, there's no hope for the yarn's recovery.
Anyone who is still reading this had experience with alpaca/wool yarn and felting? What do you think? Is it worth a shot or a really bad idea? Any suggestions, ideas, sound advice would be welcome. Because I have a $70 shrug I'm not thrilled with right now. I'm actually considering re-doing the Best Friend Cardi now that I know I'd have enough yarn to finish it. This is the state of my head right now people.

PS This is not the only knitting drama around here lately, but I'll save the other one for the next post.

I got a haircut

2008-02-04T07:11:00.000-06:00

Sometimes it's the Little Things

2008-02-01T14:39:00.000-06:00

I walked out of the house today in a wool sweater and down vest with fingerless gloves and no hat. The temperature was 15 degrees F. Thing is, it seemed balmy out there. And it was, compared to the 10 degrees below zero that greeted me on the way to work the other day. Now, I'm normally a person who overdresses for the weather. So I couldn't believe what the thermometer said when I got in the car. Could I actually, possibly, finally be toughening up and facing my Northern-born fate? Nah. Second time I left the house this morning, I put on my long down coat and my wool hat.

Frozen Weekend and Neck Warmers

2008-01-28T08:04:00.000-06:00

This weekend Winona held its 3rd Annual Frozen River Film Festival. Juan and I started the weekend off appropriately by snowshoeing on the river, going into the backwaters that we usually canoe through. While we did see some animals tracks skittering across the ice, the only wild life that revealed itself to us was a beaver who promptly disappeared into a hole in the ice. brrrr!!! The films we saw were really thought-provoking, touching, and sometimes a little scary. The theme of the film festival is environmental awareness. Some of the memorable films we saw included a couple on local and organic farming, followed by a panel of local farmers. You can see Fridays at the Farm here, which was my favorite. The Dalai Lama Renaissance was a very insightful film about a group of leading American intellectuals who met with the Dalai Lama to solve the world's problems, only to learn that the process must begin with the individual.

Continuing on with the Christmas gift showcase, here are the two "neckwarmers" I made. The first one I designed for my friend Lisa. I used the same stitch pattern from My So-Called Scarf, holding Berroco Ultra Alpaca doubled. I used two heavy silver horns at an angle and didn't make button holes so she could adjust how she wears it. Meridith is modeling it here.A close-up of the silver horn buttons.
My mom's present took the longest- I actually had to give it to her half done and then work on it madly the rest of the week to finish it. The pattern is from Rowan 42 and is called the Tapestry Scarf. The yarns I used were Rowan Kidsilk Haze, Rowan 4-ply soft, and Rowan Tapestry. It creates a plaid pattern and is actually warmer than it looks, since the yarns are all wool, silk, mohair, and soybean. Yes, soybean (the Tapestry yarn) And again, my "rotate picture" is not working *sigh* Just crane your neck, I guess.

Beer and babies

2008-01-24T08:31:00.000-06:00

This is an ad I came across while doing research this summer in turn-of-the-century literary magazines from Buenos Aires. (If you click on it, you can see it better, I think) It's for a Guinness-like beer and the rhyme goes:
¿Por qué puede criar esos mellizos
tan sanos y rollizos?
Pues porque mientras dura su lactancia
toma nuestra cerveza en abundancia.

Roughly translated as:
Why is she able able to raise these twins
to be so healthy and plump?
Well, it's because while she breast feeds
she drinks our beer abundantly.

Itty Bitty Sweaters

2008-01-23T08:12:00.000-06:00

Today's feature of the Christmas showcase is.... baby sweaters! Since my friends have become quite fecund this past year, I had the opportunity to make my favorite project item in miniature, times three. For Jai's little guy Jack, I made the Placket Neck Sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I really wanted to make it striped, but I didn't know how much yarn I had and if it would be enough. Turns out, it was! (just barely)
I managed to get the stripes to line up with the sleeves/body all the way around.Here's my favorite part...the buttons are coordinating hippos.So cute or what?
For his sister Ella, I made the Avita pattern from Paloma's website. Such a fun, easy pattern. I was bummed I didn't have enough yarn for the ties, but I think it's still cute. This was knit with Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino yarn and is soooo soft. I can't get this picture to rotate correctly- grrr For Amy's little guy Graham, I went with Kate Gilbert's Baby Pea Pod cardigan. The pictures are awful- they do not show the color well at all. It's a bright green, much happier than it appears here. The lace panel by the button band forms little pea pods- for a little sweet pea.The neck band, sleeve cuffs and waist have a cute detailed leaf design, too. These buttons are made of a reddish natural wood, and go nicely with the nature-themed pattern. I'm hoping to receive pictures of the babies in their new duds, which would be so much better than seeing them all here just flat.
(hint, hint ladies :)

Snow

2008-01-21T15:53:00.000-06:00

There's a lot of it here, and it keeps coming down. The temperatures have been hovering around zero for the past few days, too, so we are really in the middle of winter now. Although the urge is to hibernate surrounded by yarn and living off life-sustaining hot chocolate, I've been trying to stay active. Friday before the really chilly weather (I think it was a balmy 15 degrees or so), Juan and I went snowshoeing on some nearby trails. Saturday I did the treadmill and Sunday was my favorite yoga class. Today it was back to the gym this morning and I even left myself time to do the sauna/hot tub circuit. I haven't been knitting much because I'm exhausted from all the Christmas knitting. I did the math, and I made 10 gifts in three months. It was a lot of fun, and I'm glad I did, but I'll have to space them out next time.

Speaking of knitted gifts, now that they are all gifted and complete, I can showcase what has kept me busy for the past few months. You've already seen the prayer shawl and clapotis. Today I'm going to show you the Log Cabin Socks from Handknit Holidays. I first decided to knit these for my dad, but they were so much fun to knit that I decided they would be great for my sister's boyfriend, Eben, too. This is a really great pattern and the finished product is amazing! They are so comfortable and cozy, it's hard to take them off. For both pairs I used Brown Sheep Superwash wool because I really like how it knits up, washes, and holds cable texture. The colors are beautiful, too. They have lots of depth and complexity. I am a big, big fan of this yarn now.Papa's color is called "Lichen" and has greens, blues, greys, and browns.Eben's sock color is "Peacock," which is navy blue with flecks of fuschia and greens. I tried to get a shot of these colors in the sun:
Next knitted gift featured: Baby Sweaters!!! Stay tuned....

Home Sweet Home

2008-01-17T16:50:00.000-06:00

We are finally back in Winona after a non-stop 21 hour drive between snow storms. I am just finishing up my first work day back (hours clocked: 10), and we now have a four-day weekend to settle in and get used to the idea of teaching again. My course load this semester is going to be easy: I've taught all my courses before and only have two preps. Which means, no excuses, the dissertation MUST get written.

Here's a corner of my kitchen. The apron hanging on the wall is one I made before break uninterrupted while watching Gone With the Wind. The red and orange checked cloth is a towel hanging from its towel loop. Isn't it adorable? The pattern is from Amy Butler's book In Stitches

We're all happy to be home and not living out of a suitcase (and Mobi is once again the center of her universe).

The Clapotis

2008-01-11T10:07:00.001-06:00

If you are an Internet knitter (and you know who you are!), you no doubt are familiar with the Clapotis. You may have even knit one (or two, or three, or....)

This shawal/scarf from Kate Gilbert, available for free on Knitty.com, has been very popular in the blogosphere for the past couple of years. So, when I was trying to figure out what I wanted to knit as a gift for my friend Rosine, this chic, multi-faceted, French-inspired pattern was the perfect fit. Finding yarn was not so easy. I finally settled on some while visiting Oklahoma City, though I immediately began questioning my choice. I'm not used to such colorful yarn, and I found it hard to reconcile my eyes to the variety. (Even though this is really not that colorful compared to some out there). In the end, she says she really loved it and the colorway was perfect and she was taking it with her to Paris over the winter break. I hope it's true, because I am STILL not sure how I feel about this yarn. It's Fiesta Yarn's Ballet, and with 50% superfine alpaca and 50% tencel, the feel was amazingly soft and warm with a nice subtle sheen to it.

The thing is, I'm not thrilled with the brown bits marking the transitions from the pink and green, since there is also black in it, and mixing those two is just against my style religion. And the color dispersement was inconsistent with this pattern, at least, resulting in some striping and some pooling of color at other points. Here's a shot where this discrepancy is notable: (That big gaping hole smack in the middle of the picture was taken care of, by the way). But all that counts is that she likes it and she at least said she does. The pattern does create a fabulous texture:And the dropped stitches look really cool and make this look harder to knit than it was.
Seeing as I gave this to her right before she jetted off to Paris, I only have photos of me in it for the moment.

Tis the Season to Make Whoopie

2008-01-08T13:00:00.000-06:00

PIES!!!!! (If you're on a New Year diet, just keep one for yourself and share the love with friends and neighbors)
Here's how. You'll need:
To make six CAKES
2 cups of flour
1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk

To make the FILLING
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon of salt
2 1/2 cups of Marshmallow Fluff

1. For the CAKES: Adjust racks to upper-middle and lower-middle position and set oven to 350. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
2. With an electric mixer at med speed, beat butter and brown sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg until incorporated, then beat in the vanilla. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture and the buttermilk in two batches.
3. Using a 1/3 cup measure, scoop six mounds of batter onto each baking sheet, spacing the mounds about 3 inches apart. Bake until the cakes spring back when pressed, 15 to 18 minutes, switching halfway through baking. Cool the cakes completely on the baking sheets, at least 1 hour.
4. For the FILLING: With an electric mixer at med speed, beat the butter and confectioners' sugar together until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and salt. Beat in the Fluff until incorporated. Refrigerate the filling until slightly firm, about 30 minutes. (Can be refrigerated for up to 2 days).
5 Dollop 1/3 cup of the filling on the center of the flat side of six of the cakes. Top with the flat side of remaining six cakes and gently press until the filling spreads to the edge of the cake. (Whoopie pies can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days)

This is a new version I tried from the book I gave my mom for her birthday: America's Best Lost Recipes from America's Test Kitchen. It's on page 199. The thing to know about this recipe is that it calls for butter in the frosting rather than Crisco. So if you want to go traditional, go Crisco. If you just want rich, delicious goodness, this will do.

Holiday Baking

2008-01-06T15:17:00.000-06:00

We started the baking season off right away with a cake for Julian's 7th birthday.It's a fire truck, complete with oreo wheels and a pretzel ladder. After doing a batch of the obligatory almond spritz cookies, I went for savory with some super-easy cheese puffs for munching. (Like my new apron?)A close up. Here's me at my birthday lunch wearing the hat Julian thoughtfully made for me: "So, when can I eat one of these cupcakes here taunting me?"

SURPRISE!

2008-01-04T09:28:00.000-06:00

That's what I heard the other day when I walked in the door still a little sniffly from having just watched Juno. I thought we had already celebrated my 30th birthday earlier that day with a fabulous feast of lobster rolls, pesto pasta, and red velvet cupcakes. But no, there was more! Thanks for the awesome surprise guys- it was great to see everyone from both celebrations and talk to those who couldn't make it. It was, indeed, a memorable day.

Tapas Party

2007-12-10T00:16:00.000-06:00

You have to be careful about giving out oral invites to a tapas party, because people always end up hearing "topless" instead. And while I'm not one to stifle anyone's self-expression, that just doesn't seem to fit here in Lake Woebegone land. So, no, we did not have that kind of party. But we did have the most people ever over for dinner a few weeks ago. We were a total of lucky 13, and while there were lots of other people we wanted to invite, we decided to keep the numbers to what we had for plates and wine glasses. I ended up having to buy extra forks as it was. Everyone already knew each other and could entertain themselves, which was one less stress-inducement for me. We had a lot of fun and I think we used every serving-related wedding present in the house. One of our friends couldn't stop talking about all the great serving ware- his wife said he never pays attention to that sort of thing. So, thanks everyone who contributed to our evening's success! Here's the pre-party, cold tapas spread: Here it is at another angle with mood lighting:We loosened everyone up with plenty of sangría and just had a ton of food. See how many different kinds of tapas you can spot in the photos. This was right after the most stressful weeks of the semester, so it was really healthy for us to concentrate on something else for a couple of days and to see people we hadn't seen for weeks and weeks. I meant to take pictures at the party, but I was just having too much fun.