Snow

Oh dear-it’s supposed to snow tomorrow in our area.  I’m sure someone is excited about it, but I can’t imagine why.  Yes, it’s warmed up since our snow week (WEEK!!!) in January, and it probably won’t last, but still… .  The thing is-we just don’t get a lot of it in the lowlands, and most people don’t know how to handle it.  Roads are plowed, but the snow is packed and slippery.  No one wants to shovel their sidewalks (thank-you General Chainsaw), and the way people drive in it is, well, not great.  During our “big snow”  the local paper announced that it “lifted spirits” and was “good for the economy.”  What?

Several businesses on my route were closed for an entire week, school was out as well, and a lot of people had to close early to get home safely.  I know of one person that was paid for the duration, but I think that is the exception rather than the norm.  Some parents must have had to stay home with the kids.  There were far less people out shopping and spending money.  So how is it good?  Skiing and snowboarding?  That makes sense,

Maybe I’m just bitter.  Having to drive this thing in the snow is not fun.

I get the kids and snow.  No school, rolling around in it, snowball fights, snowmen-we’re brought up to be excited about it.  It must be fun for a parent to take their child out to play in it for the first time.  It’s been romanticized by Norman Rockwell and Currier and Ives.  But as an adult (childless at that), it’s all doom and gloom for me.  I have to do the same amount of work in the same amount of time, get up earlier to get there on time, and have little or no energy to enjoy it.  Bore, bore, bore.

There now;  I’ve said my piece.  It comes and goes, and life goes on.  If someone in the midwest reads this (hi Jess), you can consider it comedy writing.  I’ll leave you with this photo-one moment when I had to pause an appreciate the beauty.

UFO’s

No, not flying saucers. UFO’s in the knitty world are unfinished objects. Let’s face it-some people have more discipline than others. I’m incredibly disciplined in my professional life, but the knitter in me is all over the map. Some projects I race through, while others sit around for awhile. This little ballet sweater is a prime example. It’s actually been finished for months and only needed to be washed and have buttons sewn on. I just couldn’t find the right buttons! I finally chose these from my grandmother’s button collection;and here’s a picture of the sweater-made for the little dancer. It was fun to make-a Knitting Pure and Simple, top-down sweater pattern. It was just the stress of choosing buttons. I had a vision of sparkle, but these are good.  Here’s a picture of Sarah modeling it-it’s all the rage at dance class.

This one is a little embarassing-it’s for me; made out of Spincycle Shades of Earth bfl handspun (blue faced leicester-a breed of sheep). It’s been around for a few years, and now only needs the cuffs finished. It would be perfect for this weather. I should just finish it, right? Not going to happen-I’ve got more important projects!

Slav spaghetti

Happy New Year! Resolutions? Of course! Well, maybe. Plenty of time for that later!

The Slav spaghetti last night was amazing-as good as I remember, but my adult palate was able to pick out individual tastes and textures. Here’s Ardie’s recepie:

Slav Sgetti
1-grind: 3 onions, 1 green pepper, parsley, 4 garlic cloves, 3 celery stalks, then add to 1/2 lb pork sausage and brown. Then add and
2-brown 1 lb chicken, 1 lb chuck, 1 1/2 lbs hamburger, and 1 lb mushrooms. Then add 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 can tomato paste, 1 can tomato sauce, allspice, cloves, salt, pepper, and 1 cup of red wine.
bake all in oven at 350 till it bubbles, pour over spaghetti and serve with salad and french bread. Serves 8 to 10.

I love that the directions are a little vague. Ground chicken? No, it was cut into smallish cubes, as was the chuck. How much spice and what sized cans of tomatoes? It’s just a matter of taste, isn’t it? I find the more I make family recepies, the less I need to measure things out. Enjoy, and thanks to Mary and Ray for a great New Year’s meal!

Knitknight

What’s a knitknight? It’s actually a clever play on words. This blog was a gift from the Bf-the shield painting, name, execution-everything was a complete surprise gift on Christmas (he had help and guidance from Maryanne and Nate). I hadn’t really planned on starting a blog, and I probably wouldn’t have thought of the name. I like it.

I suppose knitting is noble. Knights are all about good deeds, right? I’ve done my fair share like most knitters, but the thing is-I can’t blog about just my knitting. I’ve followed blogs (and stopped following them) based on content. I’ll try to be balanced, and maybe a little interesting. And I won’t vent.

It’s New Year’s Eve and we’re going to dinner at family friends. Mary is making Slav spaghetti for the first time in 15 or 20 years. I remember her making this when I was young, and have recently asked for the recepie. It’s kind of complicated and takes some time to make, and should be a real treat. The question is, have I built it up to be something more than it is? I have a very good memory in general, and can see very vivid images from my childhood, but what about taste? Sometimes things are better off left in the past. I’ll let you know.

I Am Born

Charles Dickens started David Copperfield with this heading, and it’s all I can think of to start my blogging life with. I’m here without clear intention, using a name I never would have thought of and probably wouldn’t have chosen, yet I’m anxious to get started with little changes. See you again soon.

When In Rome

Baby Sweater

sc’arf

beverage sleeve

red longshoreman’s cap