Valentine's Day Treats

After a couple of weeks of a virus, absolutely no voice, and a nasty ear infection I seem to be about 95% normal (why do ears take so long to go back to normal???). Thankfully, I was at the tail end of it in time to create some crafty & yummy Valentine's treats. Here's the bag I made for Amanda's roomate (it really hangs vertically, it just doesn't seem to want to here...):



And their Valentine's zipper pouches (with added treats) and Valentine's cupcakes:

Happy Tummy

I don't know why I've felt compelled to cook so much the last two days. First it was Meyer Lemon Marmelade:



Then tonight it was Lentil Stew with Winter Vegetables (which includes all kinds of things like turnips, beets, butternut squash, dino kale, and Bucheron goat cheese...yum!):



and then chocolate vegan cupcakes with goji berries and blue vegan creamcheese frosting. Why blue? Because it matched the Happy Feet prize from the Cherrios box, of course:

Ranunculus

Aren't they beautiful? I got pink ones last week, but I like the peachy hues of these more (although I did succumb to pink tulips this week).

Brunch & BIP 2

Yesterday we celebrated my Dad's birthday with brunch at the Wente Vineyard in Livermore. Here we are with Dad modeling his birthday scarf:



And tonight I finished the knitting portion of my Sophie Bag, thanks to the marvelous Knitting Help site. Here it is before felting. I'll post the post-felted pics after my next trip to Mom & Dad's washing machine.

Rogue Cheese

My dinner tonight:



Spinach, roasted beets, Rogue Creamery Smokey Blue Cheese (we met the cheese maker at the market this morning), and Aunt Floore's Pecans. What's that last one? My friend Susie makes these pecans every year, it's her great aunt Floore's recipe. The last three years, a bunch of us have been getting together around Thanksgiving to roast a couple of batches. Suzie gets the pecans from Texas (where she grew up). I froze some of mine for later (like tonight!). Here's the recipe:

Susie'’s Pecans

2 pounds pecans
1 stick of butter
10-12 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1+ tsp chipotle sauce
salt to taste

1. Melt butter & add other seasonings except salt
2. Mix pecans & butter-sauce in a large bowl
3. Spread coated pecans in a single layer on 2 cookie sheets
4. Roast at 300° for 30 minutes
5. Spread on newsprint & sprinkle with salt
6. If desired, mix & re spread & sprinkle
7. Let cool before packaging

Pecan Source:
Vending Nut Company
2222 Montgomery Street
Fort Worth, TX 76107
(817) 737-3071.

The pecans are best during the fall harvest & freeze very well. Maybe this year I'll remember to bring my camera & take pictures of the roasting party.

BIP?

So, I've seen an abbreviation lately, WIP for Work In Progress. This is the BIP, Bag In Progress. I'm making a Sophie Bag. Well, actually this is a test run bag before I make the real deal for a birthday gift. Since I am having to teach myself several new skills (picking up stitches, i-cording, etc) I thought I should do a test bag for myself first and make sure I can do it right. Here's how it looks so far (I just picked up stiches around the bag bottom & started the circular knitting):

Finished at Last

Over a year ago, I started knitting a scarf for my Dad for his birthday (it's in January). It was looking great, but alas, two skeins later it was not long enough. Wouldn't you know it, the yarn was nowhere to be found. And I really mean nowhere. So the lovely folks at Noe Knit ordered a third skein for me. It took forever, but it finally arrived...after the birthday. So it went into the stack of projects to be finished...and stayed there...until tonight! Lo & behold, Dad's birthday scarf:

They're Back!

Tulips are my all time favorite flower, and on Saturday at the Ferry Building Farmer's Market, I found these:

Cashmere & Zucchini

I had the day off Monday, and managed to sit down and finish two hats (one had been waiting for a while, the other was a one-weekend project).



And check out the cool gift from my dad's garden. In case you can't read the scale, it says 2 pounds 10 1/4 ounces. That's one big zucchini.

Cat on High

The unpacking is basically done, and Mowgli has found a new home...



The path to this palace in the sky? Jump onto the stove, then the fridge, then to the top shelf.

Disney Madness

I took Amanda to Disneyland last week, as a graduation/off-to-college trip. We had a great time, especially since she'd never been before. Here we are in front of the Winnie-the-Pooh ride.



Prior to the Disney insanity, we camped in the Eastern Sierra, and spent some time checking out things like the Devil's Post Pile, Mono Lake, the Bristlecone Pine Forest, and Manzanar.

Knitting Dahlias

Inspired by the hat I'm knitting and the dahlias from my Dad's garden sitting on my fish tank...there would be a picture of them, but I'm in SF in my old apartment, while my camera is in my new place in Oakland along with 80% of my stuff. So instead here's a picture of Amanda washing her feet off in our new kitchen sink.