Falling for Fall



I haven't had a chance to post lately, but that just means that we have been out having fun enjoying fall! Oh and knitting! Yep done some of that. Made a couple of knit pumpkins (see above) and a little shrug (pictures to come later this week). Currently I am finishing the sleeves on another sweater. : )

Although, amongst all this fun I did manage to throw my back out in a bad way. So I will keep this post short and show off a few pictures from Halloween. Enjoy!

My Princess and Skelly

As per annual tradition we took the kids trick-or-treating with Grandpa and Grandma to the local businesses that hand out candy to the little ones on Halloween morning (so much fun and craziness) and then we headed on over to Disneyland.

Princess Lorelai at her castle

Of course we had to formally introduce our princess to other royalty. Alas, her favorite princess Cinderella was a no show something about a late night dance the night before. We did get to meet Belle, Aurora, and Mulan though and they were quite nice indeed.

Our son, the pirate skeleton!

Kellen riding a seahorse at Disney's California Adventure

Lorelai riding a dolphin

Kellen feels right at home at the dia de la muerta display.

D and I

Now would it be my blog without yet another fall picture of my poms ready for harvest? No, I didn't think so either. : )

California Masala


Last week armed with The Everything Indian Cookbook, I whipped up my first homecooked Indian dinner. First let me say that "whipped up" really is not the best descriptor for the actual preparation and cooking that did occur. I began the process of making dinner at around two in the afternoon and didn't finish until just after seven at night. I did have some breaks to run a quick errand and take care of the kids, but the majority of that time I was preparing something. I now know why getting Indian food out is more expensive than some other options.

The Menu:
Mango Yogurt Drink (Aam Ki Lassi)
Chilled Soup (Thanda Shorba)
Simple Naan Bread (Saada Naan)
Stir-Fried Peas with Rice (Mattar Wale Chawal)
Chicken Curry (Murgh Tariwala)

I made my own spice mixes as well as the Hung Yogurt (Dahi) for the Mango Lassi.

Roasting spices.
I used Bay leaves from my garden, which made me quite happy. I always welcome the opportunity to cook with the herbs we are growing.
Making Warm Spice Mix (Garam Masala Powder) with my mortar and pestle (I just love that thing).
Mister of Spices.
Wee Mistress of Spices
This stuff will put hair on your chest just from the odor! Ginger-garlic paste (Adrak Lasan Ka Paste)

Naan Rising
Towards the end I was feeling tired and a bit overwhelmed by the amount left to do, so D kindly stepped in to become the official bread baker. Here is he rolling out and shaping the individual naan,
The Chef hard at work.

Kiya Hua! (done!)
My plating skills could use some work, but finally we got a chance to sit down and enjoy the fruits of our labor. Lorelai is looking forward to it, and clearly Kellen can not wait either.
Overall, it was a lot of work but also a lot of fun. It all tasted great if don't say so myself (although the curry could have used a bit more Bam! if you know what I mean). My kitchen smelled heavenly during the process and now I have some wonderful homemade spices to cook with. I also had a really nice experience at a local Indian grocery store ,India Bazaar, where I went to get whole cardamom pods. Definitely recommended if you are in the area and are in the need of spices at a great price.

Thanks for coming along on my culinary adventure!

Fun in the Sun Part 2

 

Ok, it's HOT. Now, I know I have said that before, but no really this time I mean it!
It's a blazing 115 degrees here and even the kids don't want to play outside. So, while staying cool in air conditioned splendor I put together this online photo album of our recent beach trip to Bolsa Chica State Beach (oh how I would love to be there right now).

Beach Trip 2007

We had a lot of fun and I am happy to be able share the pictures here. Enjoy!

Laced Up


I love corsets! Now, I know this might not be the case if I had to wear one ever single day, but because I don't I get to enjoy the romanticism of them. I even wore a corseted wedding gown when I got married. So, of course, I can't believe I actually knit a wearable corset, but lookie!

As soon as I saw the pattern I knew I had to try knitting it. I am actually quite happy with how it came out, which is a big relief considering how scared I was that it wouldn't fit me after it felted. For those who don't know what felting is... it is the process of matting together and compressing an animal fiber such as wool or fur. Sticking a nice wool sweater in the washing machine and having it come out teddy bear sized at the end (yes, I did do this by accident) is felting. Usually, that would be bad, but knitters use the process to make stuff that needs or wants a little more structural support. For example handbags and in this case the corset.

Here is a picture of the corset just after blocking before lacing.
Knit Corset!

I decided to add the optional ribbon that goes around the neck; should help to keep the girls up.
Specifics:
Pattern: (eh hem) Felt Up from the book Naughty Needles by Nikol Lohr
Yarn: Lion Brand Landscapes
Color: Rose Garden

For my next project I decided to hold off on my wool hat (Sunflower Tam), it's hard to feel completely motivated to knit with wool when it is so darn hot still. So onto the backburner that goes until either fall or winter. In it's place I have started the Nereides Shawl with the hopes of wearing it on a certain anniversary in October. It's a pretty pattern and a fun knit as well. I even took it along to the beach although I only knit very little. What was I thinking? : )

Fun in the Sun Part 1

Last weekend it was hot hot hot here so we loaded up the mother ship and took the kids to Grandma and Grandpa's house to go swimming. It was so refreshing and of course Mama took lots of pictures. Here are some of the best:

We had several "firsts" like the first time use of water wings.

Even though Kellen had fun learning to use his water wings he still decided that the easiest and most fun way to get around in the pool was riding
S.S. Daddy.

Speaking of boats, here is Lorelai manning her boat with oversized driving goggles.

Ok, so we bought these humongous youth sized water goggles for the kids by accident but they still had fun with them and they looked so funny errr cute in them.

First time jumping off a diving board is Lorelai our incredible fearless diving girl.

Even Madigan came along to hang out by the pool.

See you next time for some more fun in the sun!

Coming up next... pictures from our sorta annual friends beach trip, pictures of my finished knit corset (being blocked right now), and the first series in a new addition to my blog: Adventures with Jack!

Future Knitters!

The Week in Review


First off... knitting! My newest finished object is this pretty drop stitch tank. I like how it came out and it seems to fit nicely. Overall it was a fun knit, but all of those yarn overs did get a little tiring there at the end. Very happy to have it off the needles so that I can wear it and show it off here on the blog.

Pattern: Sleeveless Top from Knit Simple magazine Spring/Summer 2006
Yarn: Incredible (ribbon yarn) from Lion Brand
Color: Blue Shades

Here is a picture of the back:



and the stitches up close (the yarn really sparkles and shines in the sunlight, I love that about it):



Now, that I am finished with my tank top I am eager to cast-on for a new project. I have my sights set on two projects: this knitted corset from the book Naughty Needles by Nikol Lohr (I already ordered the yarn for this in a different colorway than is shown here).



and a nice hat pattern called Sunflower Tam from my newest knitting book Knitting Nature by Norah Gaughan (thank you so much EB) :)


I love ebay and I love the yarn deals you can get there! Here is some of the treasure trove I received this week. Lopi love, that there is my first wool all the way from Iceland to me! I haven't decided which color I am going to do my hat in, but the price was so good I had to get both burgandy and charcoal gray along with some other yarn to make something for Lorelai with.



Ok, now onto some non-knitting related stuff:



Last weekend we took the kids to their first ever movie theatre show, a matinee showing of Ratatouille. We were a little worried about how they would do and had a contingency plan in place in case things went south, but I am happy to say that everything went great. There was only one other mom in the theatre with, I believe, a three year old as well. The kids got a little antsy during parts later on, but were mullified with sitting on mama and dada's laps, popcorn, and a few handfuls of nerds candies. All in all a great time was had by all and we loved the movie. I am a food network junkie so an animated movie by Pixar all about cooking... c'est magnifique!



In other cooking/movie news... on Monday we had date night (this is where we usually watch a movie, plan some sort of dinner (often take-out) that ties in to what we will be seeing, and then snuggle up in bed and hope that the mama can stay awake throughout the whole thing). This week we saw The Mistress of Spices a movie from the novel of the same name by one of my favorite authors Chitra Divakaruni and, of course, ordered Indian food from a nearby restaurant. The movie was sweet and romantic and the food was soooo good, but kind of expensive. We did have some left overs that I was able to enjoy for lunch the next day but still eesh. So, the next day I hopped onto Amazon and bought myself a cookbook so I can learn how to cook Indian cuisine; now I have no grand thoughts that it will be anywhere near as good as the food we got, but it should be fun to experiment and at the very least I can blog about my mis-adventures with learning how to do it.


Speaking of food and cooking, Thursday the kids and I made our first ever homemade preserves using the raspberries and blackberries we picked at Riley's Farm. Mmmmm so good on a toasted english muffin. I will definitely experiment with some more jam making in the future.

Finally, I end this epic post with this serene picture of Lorelai and her unicorn.

A Berry Good Time
Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
This past weekend we headed to Riley's Farm (one of my very favorite places to take the kids). It was berry picking time and well I LOVE Blackberries; so off we went! Here is a photolog of our day:

The kids had a blast picking and eating and picking and eating and eating.

Berry basket complete with berry stained fingers.

Mama getting in on some berry picking.
Hey, check out that shirt! It's from The Laughing Clam, an excellent pub in Grants Pass, Oregon. If you are in that area you must eat there. The food is excellent and the service is wonderful. : )
Dada berry picking.

After two baskets had been filled to the brim with Blackberries and Raspberries we headed to the general store to stock up on a few fresh vegetables, a little old fashioned candy and soda pop (bottled of course).

Sweet Lorelai paying homage to one of my favorite tv shows while growing up.
Why it's Little House on the Prairie of course!

After we loaded up the car with all our goodies we headed off to see some animals. Lorelai was very much looking forward to seeing her favorite animal (horse). It was pretty much all she could talk about. I got a bit worried when the area where there are usually horses was empty. Lorelai started to get a little upset when she thought she couldn't see any, but then we spotted some movement in the distance across the dirt road. Horses, hurray!

This horse was very interested in saying hi.

Future Horse trainer!

A horse is a horse of course of course!

We did see other animals too... or shall I say they saw us.
Up close and personal, here we are getting checked out by a goat.

Shear me, spin me, knit me... you know you want to. But watch out I have teeth and I know how to use them!

Ok, Kellen and Mr. Goat... 1, 2, 3, say cheese.

Llama Love

After saying goodbye to all the wonderful animals on the farm we headed back home to enjoy the fruits of our labor.

Berries, Zucchini's, and Cucumbers oh my!

Let the berry eating commence.

They are berry good indeed.

Ok, officially out of berry puns I will end with a non-berry related finish of my newest knitting project off the needles:

We recently upgraded our cell phones which meant, of course, that it was time to knit a new phone cozy.

I designed this myself with the intention of using it as an opportunity to practice doing cables. A big reason why I wanted to learn to knit was so that I could one day make cabled aran sweaters. Now if I only lived in a climate that was well suited to wearing them; oh well why should that stop me? It will give me an excuse to travel to places cold enough to wear them!

I had a few bumps in the road while making this, mostly just underestimating how wide I needed to make it while taking into account how the cable would act on the finished piece (pulling the fabric in). After finishing it did fit my phone, but felt a bit too snug. So, I got practice in picking up stitches along both sides. I added 4 more rows of garter stitch on each side, which made it roomier for my phone. I added a button that I love (which was waiting for the perfect project) and a crocheted chain button closure.

The cable rib pattern I got from the stitch dictionary section of Cables Untangled. A wonderful gift last Christmas from two patrons of my art... Paul and Carol. Thank you so much guys!