All those swaps update

I got my Dog Day's package in the mail from Sunny in Alaska the other day. She sent an awesome dishcloth, a pattern that I am excited to try with the bamboo yarn she sent, as well as Alaskan Snow soap, and other goodies. I will have a picture of all of it soon. (Hubband and DTY get home tonight or tomorrow, as does the camera, if DTE's wont cooperate for me today.)



Megan has received her Dog Day's box from me and has posted about it. I will give you a picture of the dishcloths by themselves. See, those Ball Bands just suck you right in. Just wait until you all see what I am doing with them next!




Mary received her HSKS2 and you can see all the goodies. Here is a picture of just the bag I sent. I used the Picket Fence" sock pattern that I sent her for the silver part of the bag, but kind of made the actual bag design up as I went along. I lined the whole thing with some silver lame I had left over from something for one of the kids from some time back.


Kathleen got her notions bag, but since she doesn't have a blog, she has asked me to post these for you all to see what else I sent besides the bag you have already gotten to look at.










There is a puzzle for her son, some biscotti and recipe for more, and postcards and a couple of magnets from where I live. The significance of the corn cob "thing" is that it is a water tower for the Seneca/Libby's vegetable canning facility here in town. It is a famous local landmark.

I did knit today and am about to give up

I worked on Dr. Who today and have just about decided that I am going to put the second one on a spare needle (or a piece of yarn if i decide I just have to have it empty)and only knit one at a time. This thing is 60 stitches by 1100 rows of garter stitch, with 53 color changes. Now, I can change colors and weave in my ends as I knit, that is no problem. This is going to take forever if I keep going at this rate of trying to do both of them at the same time! Did I mention that this is with Nature Spun Sport weight? The only one that really needs to be done by a particular time is DTY's. I can take it on the train with me if I'm not done when we leave, but I don't want to haul both of them along. The one for the friend can be done after I get back. There, that feels better.
It is a good thing I have another project to work on as well to trade back and forth when I start feeling like I want to pull my hair out! Plus it keeps making me want to go start something new and that just isn't an option yet. Silly rules we set for ourselves.
Can I just say I am very disappointed in some of the riders(no longer)in the Tour? Like another knitter wondered, would Zabriskie still be in if it hadn't been for dopers? I am also glad that Hubband isn't hearing any of the drama going on during the facts. He'll just have to learn it all after it is over and he has had a great mountain fix (lucky backpackers).
Now I am off to go move a scarf to a place to take a nap, or a short hibernation. Then i am going to work on the Tornado Scarf.

I got tagged today

Today I found out how much Bubbles likes reading my blog. She gave me one of these!


It's kind of like comments, you know folks are reading your blog.

I get to tag five people, but it is really six. I pick Kathleen for starters, but since she is blogless, she will just have to know she is "Rockin'" anyway. I promise, she is an awesome writer! She was the lucky (her words!) recipient of my zippers.
I also tag these five ladies (Because I am not sure what Jayhawk would do with one!)

Jen
Janis
Robyn
MeanBean
Midwest Knit Girl

Addendum to TdF knitting

I have gotten my sock to Yellow Jersey status!!! This is another one of those things that I am not entirely sure when I started it. I had one sock completely done and the other one had the heel flap done and it was time to turn the heel. Well, we don't know how long it languished in that condition as I found it a bout six to eight weeks ago in a box in my basement I will say that it is possible it was put there when we were moving to Rochester, but it might have been later. I know I bought the yarn in SLC, so it is a bit hard to say. The really cool thing about this finished one is that it is pretty close in gauge to the other one! I think that is cool because I am much more relaxed when I knit now, or at least I thought I was more worried then. Maybe not. I will leave you with this picture I took a while back, before the second one was done. I am sure you can all figure out what the second one looks like since the first one is there too.

On French cooking (well, sort of) and knitting

Instead of making Ratatouille for dinner, I wound up making Pain Perdu, which is Creole style French Toast. Since I had the bread to use up and today seemed silly make the casserole for just the two of us, the plan from yesterday changed. Plus I don't have a zucchini ready, but I will in about three days. So I will probably make it later this week for more cooking the French way.
I did some knitting today on my sock and on the Tornado Scarf. Best of all, I am all caught up on the laundry. The dryer seems to be working more efficiently than it has for some time. Probably has some to do with the motor (if it fell into the long, slow death category), and a whole lot to do with all the lint Hubband and DTE pulled out of the inside of the dryer case when they were working on it. I am sure the new (empty) dryer hose helps too. Hubband had felt bad about not being able to fix it, but I pointed out that he still saved us a lot in labor charges by doing the lint instead of the mechanic having to do it. He decided that was a good point.
I am off to knit some more, hopefully getting the sock off the needles, and I will leave you with a (modified) version of my Grandmother's Pain Perdu.

Pain Perdu
3 eggs, beaten 1 TBS Cornstarch
1 cup whole milk or half and half 1/4 t. nutmeg
1/4 cup brown sugar 1/4 to 1/2 t. cinnamon
2/3 to 3/4 cup white sugar sliced STALE bread of Baguette

Butter and Canola oil for frying

Mix together thoroughly the sugars, cornstarch, nutmeg and cinnamon, then mix into eggs. When well mixed, add milk and mix again. Heat equal parts butter and oil in a skillet over medium heat(the butter is for flavor, the oil is to raise the smoking point so you don't burn the sugars). Dip slices of bread in the egg/milk mixture, but don't get them soaking wet (part of the reason you want to use stale bread). Fry until golden brown, slightly crisp, and the sugar is caramelized. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with butter, real maple syrup, jam, or honey.

Zippery wonder

This is the bag I made for my spoilee in the INBS1 She was very impressed with the zippers; as most of you know, I was too. She doesn't have a personal blog, but said she will post a picture of the bag and other stuff in the box at the swap blog soon. The back side is the same fabric as the turtle pocket. I am so glad she liked it. She doesn't have a personal blog, but has promised to post a picture soon to swap's blog of the bag and all the other stuff included in the box.

Still no babysitting, but yes to dry clothes and TdF knitting

Can I just say that the sound of a working dryer is a really wonderful sound? Also how wonderful it is to be able to open the dryer door and find dry stuff inside? You can't take dry clothes for granted (apologies to MCC), or at least I won't for a couple of weeks.
On to Tour news. I worked on Dr. Who some last night, and then worked on the Tornado Scarf for a while today. That is a new project for the Whoduknit? group. The pictures of the finished project for July's book have to be posted by August 15, but that really means the 14th at the latest for me since that is the day we leave on the train. So, no monogamous knitting for me (but you all might have noticed that by now, huh?). This is a scarf of my own umm, "Making It Up As I Go Along" design. We'll see how it turns out. It might end up being frogged yet and started over. I almost started another project, but was able to restrain myself. I still have a few WIP's to go as well as real deadlines.
As to the race itself. I didn't have the heart to tell Hubband about the elimination of Dave Zabriskie when the campers called the other night before hitting the trail head. Dave and Hubband used to race together in Criterions in SLC some twelve plus years back. Well, they rode in the same class category, but Hubband has been known to say that Dave was "sandbagging" and was "moved" into the pro class instead of the top ammiture one. Levi also rode with them in those races, but he was already in the pro class. But he wasn't allowed to carry some things in the race that he always had with him in his seat bag when he was training. A self-protection device he added after being run down on the road by a car and having his bike stolen. Hubband will be happy to know he is still in. Have many of you noticed that in the last decade or so, the winner of the tour has had either a first or last name that starts with an "L" ("Lammond," "Lance"). I read on the net that some folks think that gives Levi an edge since he has both. Hopeful folks, they are.
French cooking may be happening tomorrow. I am thinking about making this for dinner. Only drawback is that I will have to eliminate the eggplant since DTE is highly allergic to it. she has been known to be in the grocery store with her college roommate and say, "Oh look! they are selling death for only $1.19 a pound to day." The really sad thing is that she likes it and was very disappointed when we realized that it was the eggplant causing hives in her mouth and throat within about two minutes or less after putting it in her mouth. Yeah, that's why she went to the doctor over spring break and got an EpiPen for her trip to Greece. Eggplant would be a food group there.

What I did (or didn't do) today

Today I got up at 7:30 am, after going to bed a 2:30 am (this does not work as well now as it did twenty or twenty-five years ago I will add). I had to be up so early to be at church at 8:15. After I was done there, I went to Super Target and bought this for less than $20! I was back home by 9:50 (cue picture of a bag of animal cookies and the new HP book).

Then I did this (cue picture of me feeding the dogs), and this (cue picture of me feeding the birds in the back yard), and this (cue picture of me playing on my computer for an hour or so). After that I did this (picture of me knitting a tornado scarf, but it isn't done yet) and this (picture of me putting dogs in and out of the house). Then I did this(a picture of talking to DTE) and this (picture of me eating blueberries and yogurt). Then I did other general stuff around the house, including this (cue picture of me washing dishes), this (a picture of me talking on the phone to DTY--that was fun), and then DTE did this (cue picture of her reading the new HP) and this (cue picture of her baking Key Lime Cheesecake Bars with animal cookies).
See all the things you miss out on when I don't do this (cue picture of me babysitting DTE's camera)? Maybe tomorrow babysitting will happen. If it does, I will try to restrain myself on pictures of dish washing and dog herding. I promise, it just isn't that exciting and you aren't missing much, no matter how cute Miss Sadie is (especially when she parks herself by the stove to watch me wash dishes).
I never made it to the laundry mat yesterday, but the repairman will be here Monday to put in the new motor!
Yesterday, however, I did make a loaf of "Almost No-Knead Bread" for recipe testing I do for a national cooking magazine. Now the instructions say, "...place a 6-8 quart heavy bottom Dutch oven on rack and preheat oven to 500 degrees." All fine and good, except I thought it said "flat-bottomed," which does make sense too. After all, they make these weird ones with ridges in the bottom. That would not be something you want to be baking bread dough on. Well, I can tell you a couple of things about this. One would be that the oil and who knows what on the outside of a cast iron Dutch oven (one that gets used outside with charcoal and camping) smokes a whole lot when it gets heated to 500 in the oven in the house. Two would be that our smoke alarm is very loud and annoying and Sadie does not like it at all. Three would be that legs on a cast iron Dutch oven make it really hard to use on an oven rack. The fourth thing I can say about this is that the bread is really good, but next time I think I am going to use a "heavy FLAT bottom cast aluminum Dutch oven." For what it is worth, DTE had the same thought about ridges inside when I told her about the flat bottom part. I am sure some of you out there are thinking , "Umm, Barbara, they make cast iron Dutch ovens without legs." I know that, I just don't happen to own one and I don't automatically think of my big cast aluminium pans as Dutch ovens, even though I know they are. The Lodge cast iron ones I own are the official pan of the state of Utah after all. (Well one of my two says so on the lid, but I can't show you that because I am not babysitting right now. Maybe tomorrow.) The last thing I can say about that adventure, in case you are wondering, is that Mr. Simon doen't care about smoke alarms and home made bread. He mostly cares about his walk, and if you say the word around him, I might just nominate you to take him at midnight.

What do I take with me today is the question

I have determined that I really can't wait until Monday to do laundry. The drawers are getting empty and the basket is overflowing (and that is just one of them). Plus if I wait until then, it will take me forever to get caught up. I would probably just be almost there when the two plus weeks x 2 of camping/backpacking stuff would show up. The dishes will be bad enough, though they always promise to do those. There will actually be an extra person arriving for two weeks just before Hubband and DTY get home. We get to have Mr. A come visit again! He is my "Baby Brother's" oldest son. (Please note that that my baby brother is two and a half years older than I am, but he is the baby of my brothers.) Any who, Mr. A is our annual summer visitor for a couple of weeks. The first year he came, I flew to CA to get him, and Baby Bro flew out here to retrieve him. Since then he has gotten to fly on "unaccompanied minor" status. We are all really excited to have him come visit, BTW. I digress from my less than exciting day however. Back to the laundry issue. I have to do laundry, so I have to go to the Laundry Mat. So that brings me to the question of what should I take with me to do while I wait for stuff to do its "get clean and dry thing"? Do I take Shiny, do I take a book, or do I take knitting? I am not currently reading anything that I am finding super engaging, but I have stuff that I am happy to keep reading. Well one of the books I haven't really gotten into yet and I stared it at two in the morning, so I shouldn't rush to anything about it yet. The other book I have been reading is something that I can easily put down (hence why I started a new novel while in the midst of a smallish one). Do I take knitting that is easy to carry along? Do I check to see if I have easy knitting that I can do while reading in case I can't make up my mind? Oh, the dilemma. I could spend more time wandering around figuring out what to take with me than I actually spend at the laundry mat. I just wish I had the option of playing pool while I did the laundry. (From the one review, I am guessing the owner has changed sometime in the last ten or twelve years. This place is located on a bus line/walking distance from the University area, so it has done well in the past as a business. I just haven't been there in at least one lifetime.)
On a more exciting note, I get to go to the post office today. I have books to send off to BB, Mr. A and Miss D (Baby Brother's wife). They are getting the first two books in a series that is every bit as good, if not better than the book the three of them will be fighting over this weekend. And a movie is coming out of the first one in December. I can't tell you what they are until they have the box in hand. I just hope it helps the problem of three people trying to all read the same book at the same time. Unless someone there just has the sense to read it out loud to everyone. They could take turns reading out loud after all. Because that (the one that comes out tomorrow) is not the book I have planned for reading to Mr. A this summer. I am also mailing off my Dog Days Dishcloth Swap box and my HSKS2 box. That one is a lot closer to the wire than I wanted, but the yarn I had ordered took longer to get to me than I had expected. Oh, well, all is good and off it goes today.

I am going to leave you all with these YouTube links DTE gave me. Apologies to all you avid Star Wars fans out there (and I know there is at least one:) ), but I hope it makes you laugh as much as I did. The second link is an apology to all you Queen fans, but I hope you also get a chuckle out of it. I will let everyone know, that I am a Queen and Star Wars Fan (perhaps not of the magnitude of Bubblesknits but we can't all be like that.) I guess I can listen to Shiny Queen while I read while knitting at the Mat.
(As an aside to some folks in my family who are still learning these things, click on the grey words and it should send you to the link referenced.)

The wonderful things Sandy sent for HSKS2

I got my Hogwarts Sock Kit Swap 2 from Sandy on Tuesday. There is a wonderful blue and silver felted bag, some Knitty patterns, chocolates, a second zipper bag, a candle, an owl charm,needles, TWO sets of stitch markers, and two skeins of super wash Merino dyed special for me by Sandy! I like how she used both the blue/silver and the blue/bronze options for the colors. One of the stitch markers is missing because DTE wanted to put it on her cell phone. Now, since I am guessing that most of the folks reading this don't actually know her, you don't realize how funny this is. She is not the type to put things on stuff, or decorate her cell phone. Her key ring has exactly one key on it, the one to the car she drives. When she uses my car, she takes just the key off, no door opening fobs for her. She isn't that crazy about cell phones either; as in before she left for college I don't think she had ever used more than TEN minutes in one month. When DTY started driving, DTE tried to give her phone away to her little sister; "It isn't my phone, it belongs to the car!" Being away at school has changed some of that, but I have noticed she hasn't used it much all summer while she has been home. Oh, when her phone broke in April and she needed a new one, she was pretty upset that she was going to have to have one with a camera. "Phones aren't cameras! Cameras aren't phones! Can't I just have a basic phone that makes calls and doesn't do a bunch of extra stuff?" I think the answer wound up being no, they don't really seem to come that way much any more. I guess she is kind of like her mom, I still have the same phone I started with when we got the family plan about five years ago.