Public Service Announcement

People, do not, I repeat, DO NOT buy store-bought, jarred hot fudge ever again. Seriously. Prince Charming and I ended a lovely New Year's Eve dinner (stayed in but got dressed up anyway) with sundaes, topped with the following Yummiest Sundae Sauce Ever:

(found through epicurious.com, originally appearing in Bon Appetit, December 2000)

Put a half a cup of water, a cup of sugar, and a half a cup of unsweeted cocoa powder in a small pot. Whisk constantly over medium-high heat until the consistency changes from liquid to slightly thicker than liquid, wherein bubbles formed from the heat of the oven move more slowly, and the whole thing more closely resembles molten goo. At this point, add 4 tablespoons of peanut butter (could probably get away with lower fat stuff, but probably not the natural, need-to-stir-it kind, though that would be good to try and even better if it works, from a wholesome foods, fewer chemicals standpoint) and keep whisking over medium heat for a couple more minutes. Remove from heat, allow to cool enough so as not to burn the roof of your mouth. That's it. Simple and amazingly delicious.

Now that I've fulfilled my civic duty in spreading chocolately goodness throughout the land, I've also got a pictorial knitting update. First, proof that I've been working on Francis Revisited:


I've actually gotten very nearly to the bottom hem by now, but the pictures I took that captured the progress in its entirety didn't really do the yarn justice. This one's prettier.

I also finished a scarfy version of Clapotis this morning. It's destined to be gifted, even though it's pretty and silky soft and so lovely I've decided I'll need to make one for myself before long, my aversion to knitting non-sweaters notwithstanding. (I also made a miniature Clapotis to be gifted to a person who is age- and height-appropriate for it, but didn't take any pictures. If the recipient likes it and will stand still for more than two seconds in front of a camera, perhaps a photograph will be forthcoming.) Anyway, the adult-sized Clapotis, scarf-style (better color accuracy in the second photo):





Thermal hasn't been touched in weeks. I also knit up a fluffy-soft scarf in some random mohair blend, resulting in a piece that looks a lot more labor intensive than it really was. Will probably be given as a belated holiday gift. More sweater knitting is on tap for 2009, that's for sure. Right now, though, that sundae sauce is calling my name...

on the bandwagon

Let's add one more post to the sea of year-end re-caps crowding the interwebs right now, shall we?

2008 was an interesting year. In January, I set several goals for myself, with varying degrees of success.

To review:

1. Begin and complete renovation of the Rustic Attic
Yup, the attic itself is completely renovated. The stairs leading to the attic are another story and they need to be painted, but the attic is finished. Yay.

2. Decide on and implement new look for the kitchen
Hmm. Nothing's been decided for sure (so, obviously, not implemented either), but I'm thinking of using a striking, rich blue on some of the walls. I'd also like to have one wall in black chalkboard paint, and I think there's a way to make that look really awesome with a rich blue, but also a way to make that look really horrible. The one thing I'm pretty sure of for now is taht any big overhaul-type renovation is a ways down the road, and that a spuce-up coat of paint is on the table for a sooner timeframe.

3. Purge house of unnecessary clutter (or at least reduce said clutter)
I got rid of a few bags of stuff over the Thanksgiving weekend (aren't you proud of me?!), but that's about it. There's still a lot more storage space in my house to sift through. Much of what's there can easily be removed; it's just a matter of setting aside the time to do it.

4. Get a knitting pattern published
This didn't happen. I have one garment that I designed and finished, and one that I'm currently designing as I knit it, but I haven't written up (or started to write up) a pattern for either of them. I did, however, knit a whole bunch of sweaters in 2008. Not the 12 in as many months that I'd hoped, but almost. The scarfy gift knitting derailed my progress on my final sweater, chosen for its purported speed of knitting. Oh well. Stay tuned for a post (with pictures!) on how that and the other current projects are going.

5. Be able to run a 5k again (am signed up for one in March), then improve my time (will sign up for at least one over the summer
Another item that's gone unaccomplished. I will say, however, that over the past month or so, I've gotten back in the habit of at least getting myself to the gym more often than not, which in my mind is at least half the battle. My running abilities aren't where they once were (and they were never in an impressive place, to be sure), but I'm making incremental improvements in the continuing effort to ignore the internal voice reminding me to stop running when I get bored just because I can. And the goal for 2009 remains the same, even to the extent that I've again signed up for the very same 5k in March.

4. Cook and eat real dinners, even if I'm eating by myself (heavy emphasis on soups and vegetables)
Aha! I am cooking real dinners, even though I'm not often eating by myself anymore and thus didn't have to conquer that cook-for-just-yourself issue. Regardless, the point is that I'm eating better food (where "better" = healthier, tastier, and so forth) and being more conscious of what I'm consuming. Usually.

5. Have a rockin' vegetable garden
The garden went pretty well this year. I was able to harvest some food, and I'm looking forward to using some of the mistakes I learned from to ensure that next year's garden will be even better. Particularly important are to plan better, add more space, use tomato cages, and be extra patient when waiting for the danger of frost to pass.

6. Figure out what the heck to do with the decorative garden beds around the house
I started this! I gave away a few hostas that were taking up space in front of the house, and in their places planted a bunch of tulip bulbs. Will have to wait until spring to see if they fill up enough visual space, or if I need to add something else.

7. Bust out the sewing machine and use up some of my languishing fabric
Technically, yes, I did this. I did indeed use the sewing machine, and I did indeed use up some fabric, but the end result was by no means usable. I don't think there will be any sewing in my near future, and certainly not until I de-clutter enough to have a place in my house allocated to it.

8. Decide on and pursue a volunteering opportunity
Well, yes. I did a little bit of political volunteering, and a brief (read: six hour) stint with the local Habitat branch. It was fun, I'm glad I did it, but the personalities I dealt with didn't leave me super excited to sign up for another day. I'm debating how much I want to incorporate it into 2009.

9. Start up an IRA again; look into other investment approaches
No IRA, although I have until April of 2009 to make a contribution for 2008. I also became eligible for my employer's 401(k) plan, so I've been contributing a lot to that. Need to assess for 2009 whether it would be better to keep throwing large overpayments toward my student loans, mortgage, etc, or whether I should focus on building up my account balances.

10. Update blog consistently and hopefully more interestingly
More consistently, for sure (ignoring, if you will, the last few weeks). More interestingly, I hope so!

Lest you take my dismal rate of success above as an indication that nothing much happened this year, I present to you...

Other Big Changes and Occurrences in 2009 (said is booming, movie-announcer voice, of course):

- Suffered near-daily headaches. Had eyes examined; got prescription for glasses. Got super-cute glasses that I love. Warily noticed that headaches returned several months later.

- Bought a lawn mower! An electric corded model. Managed to prevent rioting among my neighbors in reaction to vastly overgrown eyesore of a yard. (Also bought a charcoal chimney - these things are the best! - so as to more easily cook food on the grill in my not-unkempt yard.)

- Went on a *real* vacation. Three time zones away. Via air travel. Saw touristy things, ate nice food, went dancing.

- Met the most wonderful man, who, luckily, thinks I'm the most wonderful woman (not to be confused with Wonder Woman).

It was a good, good year.


... Will jump on the Goals for 2009 bandwagon in the coming days!

Obligatory "Wow, it's snowy!" Post

So it snowed a lot yesterday. There was lots of shoveling this morning, and I got to work a couple hours late. Halfway through the afternoon, I didn't feel well, so I packed up some work and went home. When I pulled onto my street and up to my house, though, I found that the 15+ feet of snow we got, plus, apparently, ALL of the snow from my street, stood between me and my warm, cozy house. Couldn't park in the driveway. Couldn't even get to a shovel without walking through a snowbank the height of half of a car window. As I climbed through it, I was, quite literally, up to my ass in snow. Yes, I live in a snowy part of the country, but it isn't even Christmas! For crying out loud.

Anyway, yes, here's a shot of the monstrosity.


Cross your fingers for melty weather for me, if you please.

Not-quite-, but almost-, Insta-Sweater

So I've finally cast on for the Francis Revisited sweater I've posted about relentlessly for weeks. Over the course of the weekend, I've gotten to the decrease rows for the waist shaping (it's a top-down raglan, for those of you not already familiar with the pattern). And in fact, it would be going even faster if I was following the directions precisely. Which is to say, the yarn and needles I'm using are giving me somewhat finer gauge than is called for (4.25 stitches/inch, rather than 3.25), so I'm knitting about 25 percent more stitches than I would have had to, were I capable of following directions to a T. While I'm pleased with the finer gauge -- and the greater certainty that I won't need to layer the finished product over another shirt in order to wear it appropriately -- I should probably state for the record that the modification is more accurately related to the fact that I'm using the largest circular needles I own, and this is the gauge I got, so this is the gauge I'm using. Buying new needles would have caused a delay, and I'm impatient like that. But also, finer gauge = wearable sweater without layering. Yes.

So anyway, at the pace I'm going, I should have this thing done by the end of December. Which, I *think*, will mean that I'll have accomplished my goal of knitting twelve sweaters in 2008. I'll have to count again to make sure. If I'm one short, though, I'm totally blaming Thermal, the (wonderful, cute) tiny-gauge sweater that's half done at this point, but which has already taken up about eleventy trillion Francises worth of knitting effort.

Happy Sigh

As the lovely Brenda pointed out, the busy upcoming weekend I posted about last week had the potential to be wonderful, and indeed it was.

The awesome boyfriend and I - with electricity restored to our respective houses after last week's ice storm, hooray! - went to the restaurants that comprised our first dinner date (which, admittedly, was a few months ago... but it's never too early for nostalgia, right?). First was sushi (miso soup. yummmm. albacore and avocado roll. yummmm.), then a cute little dessert bar a couple blocks away. On the prior date, we each had a mug of the most potent, rich, and wonderful hot chocolate that has ever graced the earth with its presence, I'm sure of it. This time, though, I opted for tea, so as not to overpower my half of the slice of cappuccino cheesecake (oh. my. gawd. so so so good.) that we split. And THEN, we went to catch a local band at a free live show. I'd heard of them, caught part of a song or two on the radio, but hadn't really paid attention too closely - but wow, people, Sidecar Radio (might come back and add a link later, might not) is flippin' awesome! They're talented folks. Seriously. Check 'em out.

The weekend also involved the awesome boyfriend's birthday, so much cooking ensued. Dinner was:

- steamed spinach with honey/dijon/balsamic dressing
- pork (are they still pork chops if they're boneless?) with onions and a balsamic apricot glaze
- butternut squash ravioli (made with wonton wrappers, not real pasta dough!) with a bechamel cream sauce
- bottle of wine we'd had at a restaurant a while back that was really, really good (found it for his birthday as a surprise)
- spice cake decorated with lemony frosting

Phew! A lot of effort there, but it was fun. I'm planning to use the rest of the bechamel with a bunch of veggies to do some sort of primavera thing over wheat pasta, and I need some ideas on how to use up the remaining wonton wrappers in a recipe that doesn't involve frying.

(In the meantime, though, while I'm on the topic of cooking, the plan for tonight's dinner is my self-created cannelini and kale stew concoction. Here's the recipe just for the heck of it:

- lots of kale, cut into inch-ish pieces (enough to fill a stock pot when raw)
- chicken broth, one or two cans (could also use veggie broth to make this vegan)
- cannelini beans, one or two cans, drained somewhat but not meticulously
- coupla tablespoons of some sort of tomato product - paste, sauce, canned crushed, depending on what you have on hand or as leftovers to use up
- garlic powder to taste
- cumin to taste (but seriously, use quite a bit)
- rice vinegar, several generous splashes

Kale goes in the pot, chicken broth gets poured in, lid goes on, heat goes on, maybe medium heat.... When the kale is all wilty, everything else goes in and it simmers for maybe ten minutes. Super simple and super tasty. I like to add an extra splash of the rice vinegar to my bowlful upon serving, but to each his or her own.)

Anyway, so the really great weekend. The awesome boyfriend and I also went to a hopelessly adorable, quaint, New Englandy farm to choose and cut down a Christmas tree. The place was out in "the country" in terms of ambience, but thankfully was only about 20 minutes away. Perfect! The tree is up now, and all lit and decorated and wonderful, which is great, except that I want it to be Christmas right now!

So yes, it was a really fantastic weekend. Happy sigh. The yarn I ordered *still* hasn't arrived, and the tracking number and shipping history *still* indicates that it was delivered on Saturday, but at least the company has offered to re-send the order via complimentary express shipping. Well, I should think so. :) If it arrives in time, I miiiiight cast on for the Francis Revisited sweater I posted about, in the hopes of having it ready to wear to holiday gatherings, but we'll see.

This concludes today's loquacious rambling. Carry on.

Impatient

So that yarn order that's being shipped? That was projected to arrive on Thursday? The FedEx tracking page shifted it to Friday, then Saturday. And according to the status log, my yarn has been hangin' out at the FedEx facility in Northborough, Massachusetts for the past three days. That's just great. I mean, thankfully, this isn't destined for holiday gifting, and goodness knows I've got enough yarn and projects to keep me busy until, oh, 2012, but I want the new yarn, already! Much pouting and stomping of feet.

Honestly, though, immaturity aside, there's no point in being upset about the yarn delay, because I won't have time to use it even remotely soon. Today after work, there's a gathering with Mr. Terrific (he's not really a "New" Guy anymore so the acronym doesn't really work, and I shall henceforth be using any and all silly, random, complimentary monikers for him) and some of his friends. Tomorrow after work is the annual Family Tree Decoration Fest & Singalong (yes, really). Saturday, we've got assorted errands and house projects and holiday prep and and and, followed by a date night involving dinner out and catching some live music. Sunday's plan invovles more of the holiday/errand craziness, tree acquisition and decorating chez Monsieur Terrific, and probably lots of mug-fulls of cocoa and cider and the like. Mmmm. Annnnd a birthday dinner for Senor Terrific (details omitted for element of surprise purposes). He's chosen spice cake, so add "bake and decorate a spice cake" in there somewhere, although that'll be fun, too.

Oh, also, trips to the gym. Yes. And sleeping. So, really, no time to knit with new yarn, anyway (she said begrudgingly).

Harumph/Hooray

Harumph:

- an order of yarn I placed on Monday apparently didn't get shipped until late last night, and its projected arrival date isn't until Thursday of next week

- upon realizing that my version of Thermal is probably a little bit too roomy, I ripped back about a week's worth of work, which may or may not actually solve the problem


Hooray:

- went to the gym this morning

- have a new recipe to try out tomorrow that I'm super excited about

- have several ideas for holiday gifting, am filled with generalized holiday spirit and joy

- despite above issues, can knit to my heart's content over my four day weekend


:)