Until I fling my manuscript, laptop, pens & pencils, and a few pairs of socks into a bag so I can run away from home for a week up to The Clearing for a writing workshop. See, you all think that The Clearing is this earnest, almost religious, retreat-like folk school where people go to pursue the arts and learn things in a non-competitive setting. What it really is is a hide-out for frazzled middle-aged women who need to run away to a place where the phones are turned off, there's no TV or internet, someone else cooks and cleans up, and all they have to do is take quiet walks in the woods, sit in a classroom with a beautiful view of the Bay and talk about writing with a passel of other women writers. Ahhh. I'll be packing a bit of knitting for the evenings but what I won't be packing is any kind of work--house or otherwise. Nine days, people, nine days. (nobody can see it but inside I'm doing the running-around-happy-dance that LC does)
Today I caught the sun just peeking over the trees in the park in the next block. I hoped for a colorful sunrise but this morning there weren't any clouds to catch the reds, only a pale yellow smear on the horizon, so I waited for the sun to just barely rise above the treetops and I snapped it.
I got Sudoku Almond #7 done last night after supper and then I cast on a Big Fat Hat using super bulky yarn and US 17 needles (they're fence posts when I'm not knitting with them--not really, but they kind of feel like it). I like a big yarn, big needle project as a "palate cleanser" when I'm on a long project like the Sudoku afghan. It gives me a quick shot of accomplishment, a feeling that I've finished something.
September 17--Rick Poley, Yellowstone NP. The long line of shaggy brown bison walked down the center of the road. It was late September and a few snowflakes drifted down to sparkle in their fur before melting. The line of bison was trailed by a line of SUVs and motor homes. No one swung out to pass because the oncoming traffic slowed onto the edge of the shoulder to give the bison the right of way and there was no room for passing. Blake and Marsha were in the first vehicle behind the bison. Marsha had her camera out and kept up a running commentary as they crept along. "I wish they'd turn so I could get a side or a head shot. I don't really think our family and friends want to see endless pictures of buffalo butts." Blake hummed and shrugged which could mean agreement. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to try to creep by them so I can take pictures,: Blake hummed again, this time with a firm shake of his head.
I wouldn't mind seeing a few buffalo butts today but I suspect there won't be any on the Mason Street bridge or anywhere else in the 4.4 miles between here and the dive shop. Time for showering and other work-related personal tidying up. But I'll eat my banana first because no one in their right mind eats a banana after they've brushed their teeth; you'd just have to brush them again to get the banana off. That's sticky stuff. Toodles.
--Barbara
No, we didn't have a marlin biting us, I made marlin for supper. I took a picture of it before I cooked it and meant to take a picture of the beautifulness of it before we ate it but, once again, my fork was faster than my camera. *sigh* You can kind of see how it turned out from these last few bites. Let me tell you how I fix fish, especially if you have cheap fish that smells like it's been around too long. (I made up this recipe years ago when all we could afford were those blocks of frozen cod that don't cost very much and taste very fishy if you don't cook them right. This turned out to be the right way to cook them.) I don't know why or how this works, DIL1 could probably tell me because she's a real, honest to goodness chef, but it works every time.
First thing, thaw the fish, rinse it in cold water and pat it try. Let it wait on a paper towel, looking pretty, until its turn in the frying pan. For 1/2# of fish (steaks or fillets, this works for either one) chop enough bell pepper (any color you have) to fill a 4 oz. Pyrex custard cup (everyone has those in their cupboard, right?), wedge-slice (from stem to root end which makes pretty crescents, I'm sure there's an official name for this but I don't know it) an onion to fill another custard cup. Either open and drain a small can (which would fill another custard cup) or slice enough fresh mushrooms to fill 2 custard cups. Measure 1 Tablespoon lemon juice and 1 Tablespoon white wine into a little prep dish. Heat 1 Tablespoon of your chosen oil (I used half toasted sesame and half coconut last night) in a 10" frying pan, saute peppers and onions, when they're about cooked, 5 minutes, add the mushrooms, stir to combine, cook another 2-3 minutes. Turn heat down to Low. Spread the sauteed veggies into a bed on the bottom of the frying pan, lay the fish steaks or fillets over the veggies, pour the lemon juice and wine over it, season the fish with a little fresh ground pepper and a dash of Kosher or sea salt. Clap the lid on the frying pan and simmer for 4 minutes for fillets or 6 minutes for steaks. Serve fish alongside 1/2 cup brown or white rice with veggies over top of all, and a lemon wedge. This is good with a simple steamed veggie like broccoli or cauliflower. **If you have 1 lb. of fish you just double everything but
the cooking time. You can also add any
herbs you like when you salt and pepper the fish but it's important to do the
seasoning last so the lemon juice and wine don't wash it off the fish.
The sky was pretty again this morning but the maple leaves are still changing color too fast. I was heartened to notice that there's another tree at the end of the block doing the same thing. And the apples reaching over the back fence look like they're about ready to be picked and turned into applesauce.
I got all the increase rows of Sudoku Almond #7 knitted last night so it'll be all decrease rows at work today.
September 16--Jagdish Agarwal, Palace of Winds, Jalpur. The red sunset turned the pale orange sandstone the color of flames and every window was a black void. Jana stood facing the building imagining it swarmed with workmen--stonemasons laying the blocks so precisely that hundreds of years later the mortar joints were still perfect, carpenters painstakingly sawing the intricate latticework for every window, and the tile men on their knees bent to the task of turning thousands of color tiles no bigger than a postage stamp into art for people to walk on. She marveled at the architect who designed the palace and the engineer who placed it on the site so that each breeze no matter how soft was caught and used to keep the rooms cool even in the heat of summer.
I've got a chiro appointment on my way to work. Yay. I love getting my bones rearranged, it feels so good.
--Barbara
On my way to the bank this morning I left a little bowl by the raspberries so I could pick on my way back. It was a good thing I put this half of them into the fridge before I handed the bowl to Durwood or the only proof of berries would have been a pink smear in the bottom of the bowl. That man loves his raspberries.
It was especially pretty this morning when I opened the curtains. It's in the 80s again but the humidity is barely above 50% so it's bearable to be outside. I'm ready for the cool days and cooler nights to start, especially when I go to The Clearing in ELEVEN DAYS. *ahem* Excuse the shouting but I am really looking forward to going.
It was passable quiet at work yesterday so I got Sudoku Almond #6 done but didn't cast on #7. I might have done some web surfing instead. *cough* But I didn't buy anything this time.
September 15--Fotowerks, Ltd., Extensive Washington, DC Stock. Iris walked up the dimly lit steps, her eyes on the statue of Lincoln spotlit from above. She felt as if she had been there before because of all the times she had seen the Memorial in movies, on TV, and on her money but this was her first time seeing it in person. The statue was a lot bigger than she imagined but she thought that President Lincoln looked friendly and caring as he gazed down at her. It kind of looked like a homeless person had climbed up on his lap or someone had thrown a bundle of rags up there. She didn't think the guards would allow that so she looked around for someone. It occurred to her that she was all alone in the dark and something wasn't right. She started to turn to leave when the solid body came up behind hers, strong hands held her waist, and a deep voice said, "Stay right here and you'll be fine." She tried to turn out of his grasp but he was too strong.
Eek. I'll bet you're glad when you see that I didn't have much to say some days. Sometimes I think I blabber on too long and boringly, wondering if anyone (besides Aunt B) is interested in my ramblings but so far no one has put a bag of flaming dog poo on my porch so I'll keep doing what I've been doing. 'Sokay? 'Sallright..
--Barbara
Last week LC picked out a doll when we were shopping and I decided that he needed someplace to lay his head so yesterday afternoon I dug through my fabric stash and sewed up a bed & blanket for him. (she wanted the blue baby, not the pink one, so we've got Austin Ronan; he's an all rubber, "drinks & wets" newborn Cabbage Patch but I'm not telling her that he'll do that; she'll figure that part out soon enough) I sewed the pillow to the bed and was going to sew the blanket to it too but left them separate for now. If I decide it'd be better for a small person like LC to have it all in one piece I can just seam them together down one side or across the bottom. I think it turned out darned cute.
I had Durwood take my picture wearing the Audrey Virgo Hat but should have turned sideways so you can see more hat and less me but I like the way it sits on the head. It isn't too tight to crush your hair or too lose to feel like it's sliding down over your eyes.
This is a horrifying sight. Also a sign that my maple tree isn't long for this world. It's leaves are turning and dropping like flies. Not good, not good at all. All the other trees on the street are nice and green and my tree is sickly yellow--it used to be the last one to turn and the most brilliantly colored, now look at it. Maybe it spent so much of its energy being fabulous that it burnt out too soon. I'll miss having a big shady tree there when it goes since it keeps the sun from heating the house too much in summer and lets it shine through the branches in the winter. *sigh*
I got a few more rows of Sudoku Almond #6 knitted before and after sewing. If it isn't busy at work today maybe I'll get it done and get #7 started.
September 14--Hi-Shots, World Cup Ski Jump, Oslo, Norway. "I hope there's an elevator," I said. Tom snorted. "Of course there's an elevator. Did you expect the skiers to climb a couple hundred steps with their skis and poles strapped to their backs?" He shook his head and I knew he was thinking that I'm a foolish woman. I resisted the urge to jab him in the ribs. His jacket was too padded for a jab to have much effect anyway.
I always have to stop to think about whether I want to write "affect" or "effect", do you? And half the time I think I get it wrong. Ah well, that's what dictionaries are for. Do people even have them or use them anymore or are all the rules out the window? I sound like an old curmudgeon but, dammit, a poor vocabulary makes people sound ignorant. To me anyway. I'm going to go shower my curmudgeonly self and go be crabby at work. Hey, don't knock it, at least I have a goal for the day, and I'm certain Durwood will be relieved.
--Barbara
Nights when I can't for the life of me fall asleep. I got home from knitting just before 9:30, visited with Durwood, did a bit of reading, and went to bed around 11-ish. I wrote my nightly prompt page, turned out the light, and my eyes kept springing open. Durwood got up for his first middle of the night cup of tea and half donut around 1:30 and I was still wide awake. I decided to just get up, dammit, and use the time. So I finished Sudoku Maize #9 and cast on and knit about 6 rows of Sudoku Almond #6. By then it was 3 o'clock and I was still feeling like I could stay up all night so I popped a Benedryl (which always makes me sleepy) and tried again. I guess it still took me close to half an hour to fall asleep.
Naturally today's the day Durwood and I meet his Census 2000 pals for breakfast at 9:30 and I fortunately woke up to whiz at 8:15 so I woke him up, we hurried into our duds and hotfooted it across town to arrive right on time. Whew. I feel like I could sleep but I'm afraid if I lay down now, I won't be able to sleep again tonight and I DO NOT want a repeat.
I gathered up all the Sudoku squares this morning and sorted out the ones that needed their tails woven in and took them to breakfast with me so that after I was done eating I could do that boring task while the talk flew around the table. I got all but four of them done there and finished the last ones when we got home. I laid out all the squares in the order of the upper left block of the puzzle solution and I think it's going to look good. From now on I'll weave in the tails as I knit the squares so I won't have 15 of them to do at once. Anything I can do to make me not push the project aside because I don't want to do the next step is a good thing.
My knitting friend KW just got back from 2 1/2 weeks in Iceland, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands. In Iceland they have yarn, good wool yarn, Lopi yarn in the grocery store. This is the yarn department IN A GROCERY STORE. Could you die? I might need to go there.
September 12--Tom Collicott, Fruits of Your Labors. It was very nice penmanship, even lines of script marched across the painting. Not Palmer method with its rounded vowels and soft-bellied Bs and Ds, more likely it was copperplate, the spiky script of the days when reading and writing were crafts not everyone pursued, when scribes plied their trade in markets and public houses scraping a living putting other men's words down on paper.
Then I closed my notebook, turned out the light, and didn't fall asleep for about four hours. Arrgh.
--Barbara
But first... it's sunny! I opened the curtains this morning and look! There's a big, yellow white ball in the sky shining its beneficence down upon us poor damp, rained on humans. Ahhh.
Sometimes when you want to "read" a book, you have to put away your iPod and Kindle and just go with the traditional. I had to do that the other day. Lala recommended a book, Fresh Water, which is a compilation of essays by women about living around the Great Lakes. The library only has it a copy of an actual, old-fashioned, paper book. Years ago when my rate of knitting ramped up but before I had any way of playing an audiobook Durwood gave me a book holder for Christmas. It's been a while since I used it but I knew where it was so I dug it out, put it into my knitting bag with the book, and set it up on the desk at work. It worked great, especially since I was knitting something fairly brainless so I could knit a few stitches without looking while reading a few paragraphs. Retro but totally workable.
What I was knitting on that day was the first half of Sudoku Maize #9, and last night at the BLKG meeting I got within one row of starting the decreases. That means I'll have four of the nine colors of blocks done when I bind off this square. The next two colors, Almond & Stone, need four squares knitted each, then it'll be knit eight each of the last three colors, Berry, Snow & Violet. I'm getting there.
I'm also five rounds from the end of the third pattern repeat on the Virgo Hat and then comes the crown decreases. I like the way this hat looks and I'm not minding knitting it with DK yarn, although I did find a big yarn, big needles hat pattern I plan to make as soon as this hat is done. Kind of a palate cleanser after knitting a whole, adult size hat with tiny-ish yarn and small-ish needles. Maybe I'll crank out a pair of mittens with bulky yarn too. In fact I should probably just have a small, quick to knit project as my second one since I want to focus on the Sudoku throw as my main project. I always have to have more than one project, it's my late-onset ADD (self-diagnosed). I can't do only one thing at a time.
After I got up this morning I stirred up some semolina bread dough. It smells good and yeast-y in the kitchen now, and it'll smell even better tomorrow when I bake up a loaf of it. Mmm, homemade bread.
Last night at knitting guild someone said she didn't knit socks because she hated knitting the second one. I asked why she felt she had to knit a second one and the people in the group that know me demanded that I show her and the newbies why I asked the question. So I did.
September 11--George Abe, New Venture. Ethan stood in front of the painting alongside two other men. They weren't together and none of them spoke but they stood in a row and first leaned to the left and then to the right, shrugged, and turned away. It had been like that since the exhibit had been hung. Large canvases with broken rainbows and flat cubes of buildings joined by flat planks of bridges, some with a solitary figure, others without a human seemed more confusing to the viewers than uplifting. Ethan wasn't a real art lover but he'd heard about the exhibit and its controversial art so he came to see for himself. At first he didn't like the paintings, he walked quickly past them, but he stopped when one of the tiny figures in a topcoat and fedora seemed to be looking out of the painting straight at him.
Aw, man, I knew I shouldn't have said anything, now the sun has been buried behind clouds. *sigh* And I can't figure out how to make Win 8.1 play a DVD. Can anybody help or do I need to go out and borrow a neighborhood 'tween? Except they're back in school, aren't they? Drat.
--Barbara
Until I fling my manuscript, laptop, pens & pencils, and a few pairs of socks into a bag so I can run away from home for a week up to The Clearing for a writing workshop. See, you all think that The Clearing is this earnest, almost religious, retreat-like folk school where people go to pursue the arts and learn things in a non-competitive setting. What it really is is a hide-out for frazzled middle-aged women who need to run away to a place where the phones are turned off, there's no TV or internet, someone else cooks and cleans up, and all they have to do is take quiet walks in the woods, sit in a classroom with a beautiful view of the Bay and talk about writing with a passel of other women writers. Ahhh. I'll be packing a bit of knitting for the evenings but what I won't be packing is any kind of work--house or otherwise. Nine days, people, nine days. (nobody can see it but inside I'm doing the running-around-happy-dance that LC does)
Today I caught the sun just peeking over the trees in the park in the next block. I hoped for a colorful sunrise but this morning there weren't any clouds to catch the reds, only a pale yellow smear on the horizon, so I waited for the sun to just barely rise above the treetops and I snapped it.
I got Sudoku Almond #7 done last night after supper and then I cast on a Big Fat Hat using super bulky yarn and US 17 needles (they're fence posts when I'm not knitting with them--not really, but they kind of feel like it). I like a big yarn, big needle project as a "palate cleanser" when I'm on a long project like the Sudoku afghan. It gives me a quick shot of accomplishment, a feeling that I've finished something.
