Mobi, I Think We're in Kansas Now

This morning, after a leisurely breakfast at First Watch, where we had crepes and cashew/blueberry pancakes, we headed down to the levy by the Kansas River. Walking a total of five miles, we were all a little lighter and more refreshed. People who live in a cold climate yearn for spring this time of year. The days are getting longer, so it is supposed that the temperatures will soon be rising, as well. We need this hope- and when it happens, when the temperatures actually do rise, we tend to overcompensate. College campuses suddenly swarm with topless guys playing frisbee and girls in bikinis shivering under the still-cool spring breeze. After months of being accosted by the weather every time we step outside, the tables are turned and now we are the ones who tap into the sun's energy, using every moment outside to the fullest. If you have to be inside while spring is blooming, a sense of urgency tugs at your conscience all day. You should be outside enjoying the day, since it could all abruptly end- the sun may go behind a cloud at any moment, a shower may descend, the sky could grow dark with night... any and all of these possibilities are highly likely during the spring months.
But nevertheless, I am ready, we are all ready, for spring's arrival. The barbed tail end of a mild winter reminded us of why people shudder when we say we live in Minnesota. I'm ready to emerge from hibernation and start being active again. As I was walking today, I could feel myself grow a little taller, my back straightening ever-so-slightly, as if shedding the huddled, defensive posture necessary to brace yourself against below-zero winds. I took in deep breathes of air and unzipped my coat. It felt great.

Winning Team

This weekend we attended the WSU NSIC Red Baron Men’s Basketball Classic Tournament and they won! They will be playing for the NCAA Championship next weekend. I'm not a big sports fan, but it is a lot of fun at the games, so I got out my purple Mardi-Gras beads, purple Docs, and WSU tee and brought all the school spirit I could muster. It was also an exciting game for them because they just tied for the all-time NCAA Division II record of 52 wins. Langston University of Oklahoma set the record with perfect seasons in 1943-44 and 1944-45 and by winning the first five games of the 1945-46 season. So, if the Winona State Warriors win on Saturday, they will have also set a new record. (Thanks to the WSU website for details and photos)

We got into Lawrence, Kansas a couple of hours ago. I will be taking some pictures and talking more about the town over the next few days we're here. Right now, we're off to have dinner at a Greek restaurant and then see Pan's Labyrinth. We left a Winona of 16 degrees to arrive to 69 degrees here in Kansas. It's not the Caribbean, but it's also not Minnesota.

My oh my, we have some snow!

Two days after a long winter storm finally tapered off, we are gearing up for another one starting tonight. This is a picture from campus, and here are some action shots of Juan clearing out a path to our door. As can be imagined, Mobi is not digging the weather right now. Before we got the snow cleared out, we couldn't remove her from the top step to do her *ehem* business.

Lots of snow means lots of knitting! I have three completed projects from the past week. First up, a hat from Rowan #36 that I already have in different yarn. This one is made from two yarns I had lying around my stash- one is Lamb's Pride wool and mohair, maybe? and the other is Rowan's Kid Classic, which also has wool and mohair in it. It is a very soft, very dense and warm hat. I just need to get a cute decorative button for the overlap. Maybe my spring break wanderings will put me in contact with the perfect one.

I also used up all of the wool yarn I had bought for my dad's fishing/cigar gloves. I made two ear bands, one is smaller than the other because I ran out of yarn. I literally used it all up! (That's a great feeling) The ribbing makes it elastic, so both should fit ok.


And now, for the unveiling of our vacation location: dum de dum....... Lawrence, Kansas !!!! I know, I know, Kansas? It's the home of KU and is a very cool college town with lots of great restaruants and an amazing yarn store (yay!)

When is Vacation, again?

Although my arm is no longer bothering me, I am still just plodding along, waiting for vacation to arrive (one more week!) We haven't yet determined what we are doing for it yet- lots of ideas, no actual plans. I won't even bother suggesting what we may do, because at this point it changes about every few hours. Let's just say, there better be some warmth and relaxation involved.

I finished a hat last night at one of my knitting groups- I'll post pictures soon. Even though Juan and I are both stressed and being pulled in ten directions at once right now, we're still trying to stay healthy and eat well. Cause once the food goes downhill, there's no telling where we'll end up. So this week's big dish is lentil soup from the original Barefoot Contessa Cookbook. I added spicy chicken sausage and some diced tomatoes, too.

The other veggies you see were put into goat cheese salad, and schezuan noodles, my substitute for lunch sandwiches, just to shake things up a bit. Both recipes are from the Contessa. She has really been working my kitchen lately.

Other thing getting me through the week: my TIVO is now filled with Anthony Bourdain, thanks to a travel channel No Reservations marathon this past Monday. Good food, good knits, and good travel tv entertainment- it'll have to do for now.

Update with recipes and whines

For some reason, I no longer have Internet connection at home, and I have been way too busy in the office to blog. On top of that, I woke up yesterday with such a sharp pain in my back that I hardly have any mobility in my right arm. I don't think it's serious- probably more like tangible effects of missing yoga for about a week, but I makes it hard to do much of anything. (Definitely NOT knitting) It's just a bummer since last week I was feeling all flu-y and now this. *sigh* Ok, whining over.

I am also trying to juggle my classes with working on my dissertation, so have been a hermit lately. Last weekend we went up to the cities to see Garrison Keillor in A Prairie Home Companion, which was incredible. Now we feel that much closer to the Minnesotans in our midst. We both sported me-made handknit sweaters to the show. Here's an action shot from the hotel:
Tomorrow is a Mardi Gras benefit gala for the Women's Resource Center. Dressing up, drinking wine and eating good food, dancing with a live band- I better get my act together and be ready for some fun!

We had some Mexican-themed dishes this week. First, a delicious dip inspired by my cooking whiz pal Amy. First Layer: mix a can of refried beans with salsa and spread into a dish/pan (Keep the wet/dry proportion pretty equal or the whole thing gets soggy) Second Layer: Homemade guacamole. I make mine with 2 avocados, half seeded tomato, half a bunch of cilantro, large garlic clove, juice from a lime, a jalapeno pepper w/ stem and seeds removed, I think that's it. Mix in a food processor to desired chunky/smoothness. Then spread on bean/salsa mixture. Third Layer: Sour Cream Fourth Layer: a mix of shredded cheeses, (I usually just use one of those blends from Kraft or Sargento or whatever). Top with diced green onions and cilantro. Juan likes this best as a light dinner. Especially good for sporting event viewing, if you're into that.

We also had Mexican Lasagna this week. I love this dish and even when we end up having it for three days in a a row, I am still disappointed when it's gone.

Ok, break over and back to work. Have a great weekend!

Felted Bowl and Joy

I finished my felted bowl over the weekend. At first, I didn't think it would ever get done, because I couldn't find size 15 double-pointed needles. But, I posted this dilemma on the Stashalong blog, and immediately Toni suggested I use the magic loop method. The circs I had were way too small for that, but I did have two pairs of 15 circs, and then remembered the technique I used to make the fishing/cigar gloves. Why this technique never occurred to me before, I do not know. So, I finished it up, threw it into the washing machine and after a couple of loads, it was the texture I wanted. This project is thanks to Secret Agent Sheep, my still mysterious Secret Pal 9.">


I have started working on Joy, from Rowan Vintage Style. It is my first bead project, so I am taking my time with it. My first challange was resetting the pattern for the beads in the back, as the one they had did not line up for my size. I managed to do all the math and figuring while watching the Daily Show and the Colbert Report, and TIVOing through the commercials. Yeah me :)

Rowan Spring/Summer 07 is Here!

The latest issue of Rowan (#41) was waiting for me when I got home yesterday. Quite apropos, considering I've been dreaming of some (any?) white Caribbean beach for the past few days. It was MINUS 14 degrees (yes, Fahrenheit) when we woke up this morning.

This issue follows a very familiar format- the first part displays cute, feminine girly sweaters, suitable for tea time or garden frolicking. Then there's the obligatory "exotic" section (this time taking Morocco and its North-African influence as inspiration), and then the "nautical" story, inspired by early 1950s Nantucket or some other such New England locale. *YAWN* It's the same format as last year's spring/summer issue, for crying out loud. And the editorial page was just as much a snore- the editor seems to be so bored with this magazine that she can't even get up enough energy to motive us to look through it. How much am I paying for this lackluster triteness??

The only two patterns that really got my wheels turning were both in the "exotic" section, though Tulip (above left) was also featured in Garden Party in a different yarn. I love the style of this wrap-around sweater, but I'm not sure about yarn. A solid color yarn would be more versatile, and I'm not that excited about the colors. Though I may like lava- I'd have to see it in person for be sure.

I am positive,however, that I will be making this:
Bonita is gorgeous and totally something I would wear, and I love the color they did it in, especially with the shell (blue of the sea, etc.) and it would look FABulous with white pants or jeans.

There are a couple of other patterns that could grow on me, like Azalea, Lydia, and the cotton placemats and coasters. On both the sweaters I would shorten the length of the ties, though.

Meanwhile, I've got lots of gifts and stash yarn to get through first. And three more months of wool weather,too, unfortunately.

Finished!!! Hourglass Sweater

As you may recall, I had a hard time with a very simple sweater pattern: the Hourglass Sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I was working on it in the car and couldn't find the stitch key in the book (it's there, just not at the beginning or end as I had expected), so I had to fudge the ssk, which I apparently did wrong, because the raglan sleeve decreases did not come out as planned. So I stuffed it in my knitting basket, promtly left town and then the country, and didn't look at it for a month and a half. Coming back to Winona mid-January, I decided I was ready to try again. So I frogged the whole top part, re-did the ssk stithces correctly, and Voila! My completed Hourglass Sweater: I used Katia Scotch Tweed yarn, which is 65% silk, 26% wool, and 9% rayon in the smallest size with size six needles. Since many people had problems with the boatneck stretching out, I did not follow directions and keep them live, but rather bound off and folded it over, as I had done for the bottom hem and sleeves. I've been wearing this all week, and the neck has so far kept it shape well. I've been wanting to knit a sweater like this for over a year- something I can just pull over my head that would be slouchy but still femenine and shapely. The yarn makes it a year-round weight, too, as those Minnesota and Maine summer nights can get chilly.

With temps falling to 10 below today, however, I have had to layer underneath. And what is it I'm wearing? The cutest tee shirt that Lisa gave me for my birthday the year before last. It says, "Knitting is Knotty" -super cute, right?

After a little hiatus, we've gone back to the weekend pizza nights. I had been using a dough recipe from Cooking Light magazine, but this time I tried Barefoot Contessa's mini pizza recipe from Parties!. It makes six individual-sized pizzas, which we really liked, since we could add whatever we wanted- lots of cheese and meat for Juan, tomatoes and basil for me.

Birthday food

Last week was Juan's birthday, so I took the opportunity to make a cake from my Barefoot Contessa at Home cookbook. It is a chocolate buttercream cake, but should be called mocha, since it has a hint of coffee in the cake and in the frosting. If you are generally suspicious about chocolate cake for its tendency to be dry, you have to try this recipe- it is so incredibly moist and delicious. In fact, it was so moist, it was hard to keep together when stacking them on my cake stand from the pan. I had to make this after work on Thursday, so with all the cooking and cooling, (and a dinner and movie interlude) I didn't finish it until after 10 pm (as you can see with the microwave clock as my witness in the background). I put raspberry preserves between the layers on the inside, and then frosted it with the buttercream. As you can see, I had a hard time frosting it- the cake kept sticking to the frosting, and I know it was cooled sufficiently, so it was really frustrating (also could have been partly due to the hour, too). It was ugly but delicious and went down well with some extra dry Barefoot Bubbly.

On Friday, I made what was going to be the birthday dinner. (We decided that it would be easier to do cake on Thursday and then go out for dinner). I enclosed salmon in foil with the leftover bubbly, parsley, lemon slices, salt, pepper, and olive oil and then made a traditional English parsley sauce to go on top with arugula underneath. We also had mushroom/carrot risotto and warm crusty bread. The parsley sauce added a slightly creamy texture that contrasted nicely with the crisp arugula.


UP NEXT: A finished Hourglass Sweater (I've been wearing it for a week- on and off, of course)

Secret Agent Sheep

It's time I finally gave my secret pal some props. She sent me this really cool package right before I left MN in December, inlcuding this "mystery ball:"
The idea was to unwind it to find what was within. She also sent me a pattern for felted bowls for which I could use the yarn. It was such a fun idea! I waited until I had the needles necessary until I unwound the ball and here are some of the goodies that were hidden within:
There are various Christmas-themed items, as you can see, and there was also the cutest stuffed cow that is now gracing our dashboard. I'll have to show a picture of all the great stitch markers she's given me, too. They are currently in use on a surprise project.

And here is the work-in-progress with this gorgeous Noro yarn: I'm hoping to finish it tomorrow. Isn't it soooo pretty?She also gave me the latest issue of Vogue Knitting and some beautiful sari yarn. I will post those pics another day.

Jane Eyre

Masterpiece Theater is currently doing a two-part series of Jane Eyre. This is one of my favorite books, and I had actually toyed with the idea of reading it for the 100th time just over winter break, but resisted and kept to my studies instead. Now I get the pleasure of watching the story in an excellent televised rendering of the book. The fact that this is the most de-lish version of Mr. Rochester ever portrayed (thank you Mr. Toby Stephens) is merely a bonus, I swear ;)

There is an interesting article on the life of Victorian governesses on the PBS website, too, if you're interested in learning more about women's options during that time period. A governess was often poorly paid and expected to provide for her own laundry, travel, medical care, appropriate dress, and retirement. "Despite the negatives, there were more applicants than there were positions because the only alternatives were marriage, domestic service, prostitution or the poor-house." She was expected to be an equal to her employers "in birth, manners, and education, but not worldly wealth." Her ambiguous position in a household often meant that she was alone most of the time she was not working, as she didn't fit in with her masters above her nor the servants below her.

Manly Knitting

Not this past November, but the previous one, I decided to make my dad golf club covers for his birthday. However, the pattern I used, from Hollywood Knits, come out nothing like the picture promised. After a web search didn't pull up anything better, I decided I would make my own, at this point, for Father's Day. I got the shape down in time, but had hoped to embroider the numbers on them. Unfortunately, I had never embroidered anything in my life. With the wedding and being in Spain all summer, I had hoped that I could get the embroidery done by his next birthday this past November. While I didn't meet that goal either, I finally finished them over winter break. Only a year over my original intention. That's a long time for three little golf club covers. (It's not a trick of the camera, they are each a different size to accommodate the various club sizes).
I used navy acrylic wool with green alpaca silk for the numbers. Pattern is my own invention.

Over winter break, he also asked if I could knit him and his friend some fingerless gloves for when they go fly fishing. I found the Cigar pattern in the Knitty.com archive. They knit up quickly, and by the time I had returned from Spain, I had all four almost done.
I used Patton's 100% worsted-weight wool in olive green, a good manly, outdoorsy color. I knit the medium size with size 6 needles (one higher than the pattern called for) since that's what I had, and increased in the fingers to make them a size large. I also saved the two full fingers to finish when I got back so I could do them made-to-measure. Results: they fit like a glove :)
Gloves with fly.

Granada, Spain

I am staying with a friend here in Granada who has the most gorgeous apartment with one of the best views in the world. I can confidently say that because walking out onto her balcony, you are looking up at the Alhambra. Granada was the last Moorish stronghold in Spain (after having been in the country since 711), and the Christians kicked them out of the peninsula, along with the entire Jewish population that did not convert to Christianity, in 1492. The Alhambra and its gardens, the Generalife, compose the fortress/palace of Granada. The exterior of the building belies the ornate decoration within, causing Washington Irving (I believe- and I probably paraphrase) to pronounce: "If you die not having seen Granada, you have not lived."
This is the view from my friend's apartment, looking both left and right. There is a narrow, one-way street that leads up the hill to the Alhambra, following the River Darro. To the left is a convent where cloistered nuns sell sweets through a revolving door so you never see them, and to the right are more apartments and a couple of former 16th century palaces turned into hotels. My pictures do not do the view justice.

Due to over seven hundred years of coexistence, much of it peaceful, between Moors, Jews, and Christians, Granada displays a unique synthesis of cultures. Tea houses abound, while churches that were built on top of mosques and temples still retain architectural elements of their former selves. The new mixes with the old, the east with the west, and everything is blended into a distinctly Spanish atmosphere.

I will leave Granada tomorrow morning to head back to Madrid. The students are in class today, their "Spanish families" having picked them up yesterday. My work here is done, and it's time to head back to Maine and then Minnesota. I leave you today with one of my favorite quotes from history. King Boabdil had lost the battle with the Christians and was being driven out of Granada and Spain. As he turns to look back at the gorgeous city his people has lost and will never see again, a tear rolls down his cheek. His mother, in scorn, tells him: "Do not cry like a woman for what you could not defend as a man."

More Vigo

Here I am in my birthday coat from Juan and my "EuroFab" haircut :) Behind me is a view of the outskirts of Vigo, and next to me is a Horreo. They are very typical of the Galician countryside and traditionally their purpose was to hold grain and foodstuffs. The stilts kept them off the ground so rodents couldn´t get to the contents inside.This is some sort of temple (to the gods of argiculture maybe?)or a bird feeder- i forget :) A little later, a cat found its way underneath to get out of the drizzle.
We celebrated New Years Eve at Juan's brother-in-law's mother's house (whew!) in a section of Vigo known as Cabral. It is typical in Spain, especially on the coast, to have seafood for New Years, so I was in heaven. In Spain, there are twelve bell tolls a few seconds apart, one for each month of the year, and you have to eat a grape for each toll. Keep in mind that seedless grapes are not common here, as they do not like genetically modified food, so you have to pop 12 pretty good sized uvas, as they are called, seeds and all, into your mouth in about a minute. I failed to do so, so my luck might be in danger this year, but I'll take my chances with bad luck over choaking to death before the year even starts. First New Year's as a married couple.

Vigo, Spain

In Vigo, celebrating the holidays mostly means entertaining the kids: three boys between the ages of 3 and 7. LOTS of energy and noise for a girl who is used to nights quietly knitting with her dog curled up in her lap :) So, on our night to babysit, I entertained them the way I knew best: making cookies!

First, we had a ceremony where they each received an apron and the title of "pequeño cocinero" (little chef).
Then, it was time to make the dough.
Once the cookies had baked, it was time for the most fun: decorating them!
They were like little works of art.

Amsterdam

Last week I had a layover in Amsterdam, with the whole day to explore the city. It is very easy to visit downtown if you have a few hours, as the train from the airport to the central station is only 15 minutes long, leaving every ten minutes or so. They have a tourist office right in the airport and also right outside the central station once you are downtown, so you can pick up a map and find out where you want to go. As I´d already been to the main museums last time I was there, I just went to the train station, bought my return ticket from the automatic machines, hopped on the train and found myself downtown less than half an hour later.
It was still early, about 9 o´clock, so the streets were deserted and none of the stores were open yet. I wandered around a bit, looking for a picturesque location to get a coffee and breakfast and somehow managed to stumble right into the red light district. Most of the neighborhood characters were still asleep from a late night, though, so trying to look as best as I could as if I knew where I was going, I got myself back to the main streets and finally to a place where a girl could get a coffee and croissant and watch the foot traffic outside. On a quest for a caffine pick-me-up, you have to be careful in Amsterdam as "Coffeeshop" has an entirely different conotation than it does in the States. I don´t know, maybe they do sell coffee there, too, but being alone and already woozy from the jet lag and lack of sleep, I didn´t really want to find out.
It was kind of hazardous walking around the city, as you have the cars in the road, the trams on their rails, also on the roads, the bikes in their lane, and then more cars on the sidewalks. No kidding. It was a miracle I didn´t get run over by something. Maybe Amsterdam is not the best city to visit when you are disoriented from travel and lack of sleep. :)
It was chilly all day- just above freezing, so after wandering around for a while, I went to the historic museum to learn more about the city. I always try to visit a museum about the city I´m visiting, as you can learn about its evolution and history, and they are usually fun- with diaramas of building layouts and examples of clothing and food throughout history. After that, I was pretty well beat, so I headed back to the airport.