happy, merry, yummy

christmas has come and gone as it does, nicely. amira enjoyed all aspects of it, from cookie baking (look at how many sprinkles these candy cane cookies required!),and the candy canes on the tree, which she felt free to distribute to family and friends as they visited, to the inevitable consumption of sugary treats. it was wonderful to experience the holiday vicariously through a four year old's perspective. for her it was about opening presents,new dolls, and new art supplies .

luna kitty really enjoyed the wrapping paper, noche kitty wasn't as thrilled but i made him participate anyway. he's a good sport.

i waited until christmas day itself to make my contribution to the wonderful dinner we had at my mom and stepdad's place. thus, we arrived in our customary slightly tardy fashion. i spent my baking time thinking of several of my grandmothers, wearing an apron as gram edith would have strongly suggested, using my favorite stainless steel bowl i inherited from grandma lola, and making my grama hazel's signature dessert, apple slice. it is a dangerous dessert for me to be around, because i could easily eat a whole batch, if left alone with it for too long. here is the recipe, but i think next time i would use about half the amount of sugar and it would be even better.

Apple Slice

Pastry:

2 1/2 c flour

2 T. sugar

1 t. salt

1 c. butter (original calls for shortening)

1 egg yolk, beat in cup with enough milk to make 2/3 cup (reserve egg white for later)

mix and roll like pie crust,(roll 1/2 first) preferably on parchment paper or something you can use to transfer it to a cookie sheet with edges. slice 2 to 4 peeled apples thinly and spread over first half of pastry. top with 1 cup sugar(or less) mixed with 1 t. (or more) cinnamon. drizzle with 2 T melted butter with a few drops vanilla mixed in it. roll out other half of pastry, place on top, and seal edges.

beat egg white stiff with hand mixer, spread on top. bake at 350F for 40 minutes or more.

drizzle with glaze made with powdered sugar thinned with lemon juice. let cool a bit. enjoy!

birthday festivities begin the season

it's been one of those mornings that make schedules seem like a bad idea. if i had to actually be anywhere this morning, it wouldn't be a good thing, as amira and i are still not dressed for the day at eleven in the morning. that being the case, we have been somewhat productive, finishing making a christmas ornament and sorting out drawers and doing various little tasks. what was forecast to be a very cold day that was to top out at 15 F must be warming up, because there are drips from our roof as the snow on the roof melts. it is sunny, and that helps in every way for some of us light pigs. the days feel so short...but, only three or four more and the days start getting longer again!

last month we successfully celebrated amira's fourth birthday, that she had been talking about for months. she informed us shortly after her third birthday that the next one was her strawberry shortcake birthday. so, because we used the celebration she wanted so much as incentive for some major and needed milestones, we needed to make good on the reward. the adults enjoyed hanging out, the kids danced and played, we ate cake and amira was abundantly blessed and bestowed with gifts.

i hesitated to tell anybody luna the cat checked out the table for us before anybody arrived....is that bad?

we did make cupcakes for amira's preschool class for her actual birthDAY.

amira and i unpacked our christmas tree once thanksgiving was over.

i love that she enjoys the tree and baking so much. we made cookies, the first of the christmas baking. now begins the sugar fest...

whew! all is well

yesterday we had a close call. alan was moving one car ('41 buick, in need of restoration, for sale) to the store after having moved another ('66 chevelle station wagon, beautiful restoration nearly complete, not for sale) home to the garage. a friend was helping him, and another friend saw them and stopped by to help also. somehow the winch they were using to move the car off the trailer snapped and alan was hit hard in his right arm, near the inside bend of the elbow. his friend jake saw the winch piece coming and moved back and was barely hit on one hand. fortunately alan was wearing two long-sleeved shirts, but he wouldn't stop to look at how badly his arm was hurt, he just finished getting the car settled and the trailer and suburban home and parked. he called me and i was able to leave amira at mom and rex's house, where we happened to be at the time.

now, i am no doctor. nor a nurse. but i knew when i saw it that it was a deeper wound than i was willing to take responsibility for cleaning and bandaging. there wasn't much blood, and his fingers and arm worked normally, aside from the trauma of being smacked so hard, but peroxide and a bandage weren't going to do it this time, and we ended up at the emergency room with a long wait (the walk-in clinics being closed on a sunday evening) for alan to have it cleaned out, stitched, bandaged, and receive a tetanus shot.

i was very glad to have some knitting in the car (i try to always keep one project there) because waiting in an emergency room is much easier if you have something else to focus on and do.

it seems that it is only after the fact that the full implication sinks in. i am so glad it didn't hit him harder, in a worse place, or damage any tendons or nerves, etc. my mind can come up with all sorts of scenarios. we are truly blessed. even with the temporary challenges ahead like while alan tries to shave or button his sleeve, or do any number of things for which full use of his right arm would be helpful.

the rest of the weekend had been rather nice, and i will leave you with some photographic evidence:

amira only got out of her pj's on saturday to get into a fresh pair for bedtime. we had a great time with playdough, making birthday muffins and cutting out "cookies". it was huck's birthday (does anybody know huck? amira does...)...again! there was a very colorful playdough "taco". can we all just remember to take the time to play? all is well, we are so blessed.

abundance

here is what abundance looks like to my cats. both noche and luna love this feeling. "mmmm, mmm, there is nothing like it. we have lots and lots of the goods!... ahhhh. it is great when the food dishes are full, but the feeling of actually tapping into the mother lode is amazing...."

the curious thing is that even though they have two food dishes, exactly alike, the one on the left is the preferred bowl. it always is emptied first, and sometimes all that is needed is to switch the positions of the dishes, or pour from the one on the right to the emptied left-side bowl to make them comfortable with the food situation again. nutty! my guess is that we are as nutty as they are, and it is just easier to see it as it relates to somebody else. mmmhmmmm.



just by taking the opportunity to make mickey mouse ears and face on a pancake i somehow tap in to that feeling (abundance, not nuttiness necessarily)...there really is time to make this life fun!




my postings have been non-existent. nil. i'll offer no excuses.
however, i do have a few completed knitting projects to share:


clothing for a formerly bare bear,



the gelato bag is slightly smaller than needed for everyday use, but i like it....


three baby hats finally made their way to the babies i knitted them for...

this was for aurelia,
carter was the blueberry boy and little ruby was miss strawberry




which then inspired a strawberry hat for amira, as she insists that on november 26 she is having her strawberry birthday. let's cross our fingers and hope it fits...it's a surprise.




a toy carrot rattle (crochet, i formerly didn't know i could actually read a pattern...thankfully there is online help these days for those of us just learning.....)
i intend to try felting this, and see if it is possible without modifying the pattern first...


a cotton/linen hot pad...crocheted.




and then there are some projects currently in process:

one sock completed, ready to start sock #2, first pair on two circular needles.




one sock uncompleted, sleeping and waiting for me to be ready to attempt it again...note the weird band, it actually includes my first cables, imperfect but an attempt nonetheless!


another squashy bag, ready to felt, and a smaller one in process for amira.




another hot pad, i love this great easy pattern (thanks aunt lauree for showing me!)

and the checkerboard scarf i'm knitting from woolydaisy's gorgeous handdyed/handspun tropical fizz merino.



mmmm, mmmm, so nice to work on.

abundance, in things i want to knit, complete, begin, learn, write....that i've got! abundance of desire may be just as yummy as abundance of cat food is to the kitties. they may disagree, but i can see the value of having a long list of things i want to do in this life.

knitting in the garden...

on a hillside overlooking the river valley in the midst of our dry desert landscape here in wenatchee, an oasis of green draws the eye upward. the result of many years of work by the Ohme family, Ohme Gardens is very like a lush high alpine meadow, with rock paths, waterfalls and pools tucked among the evergreens, thick mats of thyme and sedum, wildflowers and the buzz of busy insects enjoying the rich variety. irrigation is a transformational thing, and this is a prime example of the wonders of irrigation. once a private family garden, at this time the garden is owned by the state, which is in the process of returning it to the county so that it will be eligible for state funding for improvements and upkeep. this past monday i was one of a small group of knitters who met with our sack lunches and projects to enjoy knitting in the garden. it was a windy day, and we took partial refuge in a great log framed covered picnic area that had been reserved for us. it was the first time i had been there in well over twenty years, and when i last saw it, it was with a different set of eyes, less informed and less appreciative of plants. for anybody who loves plants and rockwork, trees and water features, it is a treat for the senses.

and, incidentally, a beautiful place to knit!