Festive Update

Christmas preparations are going swimmingly so far. I sent Robin to the post office with two big boxes of gifts for the relatives, which I always think is the hardest part - shopping, wrapping, finding the correct size box, packing, finding the tape, digging for addresses. Jack helped me wrap all the presents this year. I have one stocking still left to make, and 1.5 socks to knit. We are having pre-Christmas on Saturday with some friends who will be out of town for the holidays. Ham, here I come! My sister will be here tomorrow night, in time to bake more cookies and wrap more gifts and have light-saber duels with Jack while Mommy puts the finishing touches on Robin's Christmas shirt. Jack's vintage 1978 Millenium Falcon is stashed in the laundry room, waiting for me to buy a whole lot more wrapping paper. Three kinds of cookies have been baked.

So really, what more is there to do but sit in front of the fire, eat popcorn and read Twilight?

Silk Velvet Jacket

I was browsing around on Wists and saw this:

a 1930s Fortuny stenciled silk velvet short jacket. And I thought "That looks like something a pregnant woman could wear!"
So I searched Ebay for silk velvet and found 3 yards of a blue and pale gold print velvet for $15. Far more reasonable than the $12,000 that the Fortuny is going for.

The construction is simplicity itself, and I may, if I'm lucky, have it done in time for Christmas Day dinner!

Deck the Halls

We spent a busy weekend picking out our tree, decorating, making cookies and enjoying the snow. We also went to a great dinner party and had currywurst and spatzle with cheese, perhaps the perfect winter foods.
Homemade stockings for Jack and Robin. I'm still working on the rest.

Decorated white pine Christmas tree. I think it still needs a few more lights.

New red velvet curtains in the dining room keep us toasty while we're eating.


I made the browned-butter Spoon Cookies from Gourmet with a four fruit preserve filling. They are so delicious, but you must wait at least 24 hours before eating them. They turn into a melting buttery cookie with a toasty brown-butter flavor. Nest weekend: almond toffee and ambrosia macaroons.

Christmas Whirlwind

I'm so excited about Christmas this year. I sometimes feel, like everyone else who celebrates a family-centric holiday involving gifts, decorations, cooking and visitors, overwhelmed by Christmas. But not this year. First of all, we are staying home, and some of our family are coming to stay. This, to me, is the best kind of Christmas. We have a big house; it is no inconvenience to have guests. I like my own fireside best of all.

I have big plans for Christmas cooking, involving filet of beef and 5 kinds of Christmas cookies:
ambrosia macaroons
chocolate almond butter toffee
cut-out cookies
cinnamon pecan shortbread
brown butter cookies

Some of these will go to the cookie exchange.
The lights are up, the garland is on the mantlepiece, and the tree will be coming home soon. Christmas gift shopping is still looming, but I am looking forward to it.

Thanksgiving Thoughts

My main thought is: Thank God for mashed potatoes and gravy. We had the best Thanksgiving dinner I can ever remember, at Robin's brother's house in Tappan, NY. Turkey, the aforementioned potatoes and gravy, dressing, rolls and butter, homemade cranberry sauce, squash baked with nuts and pomegranate seeds, a salad of collards, lime juice and red peppers, and pie. Pumpkin, apple, cherry, and, my contribution, chocolate cream. There was wine, but I had sparkling cranberry-apple cider and Jack had milk. So, so delicious. I could eat it all over again right now.

New York was fun: we went to the circus, ate at a great place across from Lincoln Center (crab cakes and those thin Belgian frites, Jack had homemade shells and cheese, cheesecake for dessert) and made a trip to the Cloisters on a gorgeous sunny day and took a nice hike up through Fort Tyron Park. We took Rick and John out for dinner the last night we were there. It was an Italian place in North Yonkers, we had a cold antipasto with bread and olive oil, and then chicken with sausage, mussels fra diavolo, pork chops, homemade meatballs with penne & lobster ravioli.

Jack played with his cousins and wore himself out. He enjoyed his plane rides very much and seemed unfazed by New York in general, despite having left there when he was very small. I got a tremendous amount of reading done, mostly Dorothy Sayers, did absolutely no work, and came back with a great desire for a jasmine plant and a Meyer lemon tree.

Sewing and Knitting November

Now that I am in my second trimester, I am knitting and sewing a lot more. I am over my pregnancy-related yarn aversion and have a little more energy. Here's what I've finished this month:


Baby clothes hanging in the guest room closet. This will become the nursery at some point.

Baby kimono in blue flowered cotton, tied with grosgrain ribbon.

Baby kimono in embroidered white linen, tied with satin ribbon.

Branching Out scarf in a merino/silk blend. For my mom for Christmas.

Happiness

Well, it's snowing, I got a fat raise, and I bought a Toyota this weekend. With cash. All is well in the world.

I am feeling good lately. I am past my first trimester, and the constant sickness and exhaustion have pretty much gone. I paid off my student loan last month, 2 years early. I have the aforementioned Camry, and with its help have finally attained the speed limit on West Virginia highways. The weather is cold and snowy, perfect for snuggling under a down comforter, knitting, watching movies, and cooking and baking up a storm. And, of course, the biggest holiday present I could get, the election results on November 4th.

What I'm Knitting

I am working on another pair of socks, in Louet Gems Fingering by Cherry Tree Hill in Green Mountain Madness. This is such a gorgeous yarn that I am tempted to go buy more in any of the zillion gorgeous colors, even though it's $11 a skein at the yarn store. It is strong and ropy and soft and doesn't fuzz or pill at all.

I'm a little nervous today because my husband is going to look at a car I found. It's a 1998 Camry LE, the same car as my dad has, in that pretty pale champagne gold color. Oh dear, am I turning into my parents? I'm hoping we can get a good deal on our Jeep as a trade-in. The air conditioning in my Jeep Cherokee no longer works and it has various other problems stemming from an intermittant electrical short (read, impossible to locate or fix...) I would love to buy a new car but I have a deep-seated dislike of owing anyone money, so I only pay cash for my cars. Thus, they are used and old (previously loved), but mine and paid for. I love getting the car titles that say "No liens recorded".

Crazy Running Lady

I took myself to the park today for a run. Well, a run/walk. I haven't run in a while. I am pregnant, and I've had nausea for about 5 weeks, and then 2 miserable colds. A hideous, hacking cough has been hanging around for a few days now. I have sciatica and backache and I'm tired. All these things, to me, spell disaster unless I get on my feet again. With my first pregnancy, I ran for 38 weeks, and delivered at 39. Frankly, I don't know anyone else who has run that long into their pregnancy. Running with a 30 pound weight gain and a full bladder is not exactly fun. All the usual rewards of running don't apply. You don't lose weight, get faster or run farther. You don't even have a quicker, easier labor. You DO have a healthy heart and lungs, maintain a healthy gradual weight gain, sleep better at night, minimize swelling, backache, leg pains and digestive troubles. And you gain some control over a body which seems sometimes to belong to someone else.

Whirlwind Weekend

On Friday, Jack and I went to see the Pumpkin House, an old Victorian place decorated with thousands of carved pumpkins, complete with pumpkin orchestra and choir.

Saturday was gorgeous and warm, and we celebrated by waiting for an hour to vote. It's good to have it done with, though. We saw this sign at the courthouse, which made us giggle:

Jack and I also went to see Peter Pan at the theatre. Captain Hook and the alligator were his favorites.

Sunday I managed to do some knitting for the first time since becoming pregnant, and I finished these socks:

I started another pair, in Louet Gems by Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn in Green Mountain Madness. Jack and I went to see a friend run the Marshall University marathon.

My husband bought an electric chainsaw (so quiet - I love it!) and trimmed some limbs from a tree that was shading our garden. In the course of this, I was standing on the ladder to ensure he didn't fall over, and one of the limbs fell on my left shoulder. It's still a little sore today, but I think no permanent damage was done. He also raked, mowed the lawn, and bottled 56 bottles of honey-wheat beer. All in all, an extremely productive, enjoyable weekend.

Jack's Bistro

I have wanted a toy kitchen for Jack for a while now. I looked at the cute ones at Target, but neglected to buy. This year's model, unfortunately, has pink trim, and next year's is a rather garish bright blue. I considered making one from scratch in *all* my spare time. Then, as fate would have it, I went antique shopping last weekend and spotted the "Suzy Homemaker" oven you see in all its turquoise glory. It does something which only a toy made in the 50's before giant corporate lawsuits would do - it heats up. That's right. I have not plugged it in, so I don't know if that part still works. The oven was mine for $35, still in the original box. I made
Jack some felt chocolate chip cookies and put out his play food and fruit. I had a set of pots and pans that I played with when I was a little girl. They are miniature Revere Ware in stainless steel with copper bottoms (another toy I can't imagine being made today, simply because of the expense). The set has a frying pan, 2 saucepans with lids, a little tea kettle, a mixing bowl and a coffee pot with lid. The little shelves are from IKEA, as are some of the baking implements. The polka dot table and chairs were a birthday present and came from Babystyle. All in all, a fabulous and fabulously easy little restaurant for my little gourmet.

The Most Wonderful Sound

is one I haven't heard for many years. The clank and hiss of a hot water radiator on a cold winter's morning. Unless you live in a pre-war house, you will never hear this divine sound. My dorm at the University of Chicago was old, with transom doors and lovely wood paneling, and those radiators. I was 18 years old, living a life devoid of luxury, and the hiss of steam on a January Saturday, ushering in as it did a day of no classes, sleeping in, and strawberries for breakfast in the dining hall. To a young woman who lived on a pittance, who walked and biked everywhere she went, to whom a meal in a restaurant was a treat, it was such comfort. Now I live in a house with forced air heat, and it still wakes me up with its whoosh and creak, but it's not the same.

It's Not Fair

In honor of my passing the 10 week pregnancy mark and no longer wanting to puke every second, I have succumbed to seasonal allergies. It's October, pollen, lay off. But in between downing Claritin yesterday, I did manage to get a great deal of work done around my sorely neglected house. I put away all Jack's too-small and summer clothes so getting ready in the morning is not such a desperate rummage for something weather-appropriate that also fits. He's grown so much this year! I have to say, though, that Jack is excellent at getting ready in the morning. We can go from bed to car in 10 minutes, and that includes me washing my hair. We try to get going by 8:15 so he can eat his breakfast at daycare, and I sit with him while he eats, which is pleasant.

I also cleaned off the catch-all table in the dining room and replaced the burnt out bulbs in the outside front lights. Jack and I spent some time downstairs in the sewing room where he played and I finished 2 kimonos and a blouse for the baby (below).




It really feels great to be a part of the human race again and not a sick, nauseated wreak who just wants to lie down or eat or both.

Making me Happy Today

Among the many things making me happy today:

1. A lovely, perfectly formed 9-week baby with a healthy heartbeat.

2. The yam roll at Taste of Asia. Yam tempura, shitake mushroom and avocado. I know those of you in sushi-heavy cities might think this is silly, but this is West Virginia we're talking about and we do not take good sushi for granted. I also had a delicious spicy tuna roll with some crunch in it, and Jack stuffed himself with beef teriyaki and Thai spring rolls.

3. a glorious Indian summer three weeks into October.

4. Banana cake with coconut frosting



5. Light Showers from Lucia Johnson on Etsy. Purchased for the nursery and abovementioned healthy baby. To go with this cherry blossom print, taken by me here on campus 2 Mays ago. I framed it, but the glass was promptly broken by my husband, who has a knack for that sort of thing. So I need to make a trip to the handware store to get a new piece.

My Favorite Things

This week, I would like to praise

Honey Crisp apples - extremely good this year.
Gummy vitamins
Berry Rolaids
Perrier Lemon-Lime sparkling water

My doctor tells me I am 8 weeks and 4 days pregnant, which means morning sickness should end around October 18th. At which point I can clean the house, and perhaps knit again.

Knitted Bracelets - a bad idea

Really, no one wants a hand-knitted Christmas gift bad enough to want a knitted cuff bracelet. Is there any area where the spectrum from hideous to stylish is so broad as in knitting? I've seen items that look like something the cat dragged in, ate, and then threw up. And I've seen items I would gladly pay lots of money for in stores.

Fall Boots

I went to the store for Uggs, and came back with these:

Privo Luke boot in Sand. Ugg-like, but more streamlined, and in the most gorgeous soft buttery leather you can imagine. So ski lodge in Cortina d'Ampezzo - for the record, where The Pink Panther was filmed in 1963 and so glamorous.

If you wore them with this:

















Lands' End Angel down vest in Driftwood, with maybe some Prada ski pants and diamond studs, you'd simply have handsome Italian men throwing themselves at your feet.

And the reason I am writing this instead of lying on my couch trying not to throw up:
25mg B6 + 12 mg Unisom = morning sickness begone
Taken before bed, it works for 18 hours.

Who should pay?

I'm glad the House didn't pass the financial bailout. I don't want to pay for the gross negligence and financial stupidity of the mortgage companies who lent money to credit risks and homeowners who bought houses they couldn't afford. I don't see how it will affect me if the mortgage companies go out of business, and if these people lose their homes. They shouldn't own those homes, because they can't afford them.

When we were pre-approved for a mortgage almost three years ago, the bank gave us a figure of $200,000. I didn't have a job. My husband's salary was in the low 50's. And we had no down payment. So we were supposed to be able, according to the bank, to make a payment of $1500 + a month with a monthly income of $3,000 net per month. Half our income. I laughed. These were experts, trying to sell us a loan that they knew we could not pay without grave financial hardship.

Too many people did not make this calculation. They believed that the bank could not possibly be wrong. Banks are in the business of making money, and everything they tell you should be taken with the same grain of salt you would use if you were buying a car or a suit or groceries.

So how did it turn out for us? I got a job, we bought a house at less than the pre-approved amount, and we only spend what we have. Do you know how you do that? You don't use credit. I have a credit card. I use it to buy plane tickets for which we will be reiumbursed. That's it. No fancy dinners, no shoes, no Jaguars, no nothing. That's how we got a house in the first place, and that's how we keep it, month after month, for thirty years. I'm proud of my house. I love it. And I'm proud of myself and my husband, for paying every bill every month for 6 years so we could have it.

Sewing for Baby 2

Bonpoint make some gorgeous stuff, no doubt. But $200 for a baby dress is impractical. I would be afraid to put it on her, for one.

This one is cute, and would be super simple to sew - a few rectangles and some embroidery and you're done. They did it in wool, but a nice light cotton or linen would be pretty.



I love this cute little coat. Mccalls 5697 or Simplicity 6846 will make almost the exact same thing, but only in children's sizes. Burda 9944 is a close approximation for babies - just put buttons on where the ribbon ties are.

Paris, here we come

My husband is going to Paris the first week in December to sit on a PhD defense committee, and Jack and I have decided to tag along. I love to travel to places where there are people we know; we get hospitality and so much insider information. I have been thinking, though - Jack isn't going to go for three hour trips through the Louvre, or looking at picturesque monuments all day. In fact, I think the reason he wants to go is because I told him how good the croissants and ice cream are there. That's okay with me, I'm a big fan of croissants (and macarons, and pain au chocolat, and lemon tart, and chocolate mousse) myself. I have also been to Paris before and seen many lovely things, and this is Jack's first trip, so I am looking for some kid-friendly things to do. The hubbie will be at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, so I guess I'll start in that vicinity and work outwards (fortunately, Jack loves public transportation. He thought the electric buses in Vancouver were the last word in cool)

The museum is in the 5th arrondisement, on the Left Bank, close to the Seine, Notre Dame and the Luxembourg Gardens. The Jardin de Plantes, a botanical garden, is in front, along with a small zoo.

So:
E. Dehillerin (French kitchen shop)
Pierre Herme
Laduree
Berthillon (aforementioned ice cream)
Luxembourg Gardens
Jardin de Plantes & zoo
Montemartre (I missed it on my last trip)
Bonpoint (children's clothing boutique) outlet at 42 Rue de l'Universite
Louvre - 18 and under are free

Sewing for Baby

Four panels of redwork embroidery for a wall hanging for the nursery.

Baby clothing patterns

Print cottons for baby clothes

Kimono made from an antique linen pillowcase with a satin ribbon tie. From a pattern in Everything for Baby

Baby Mary Janes in natural linen and cotton gingham and floral print, pattern from For Sweet Baby

Closeup detail of button closure.

Crafty Purchases

Purchased today at AC Moore, which just revamped its yarn dept. Four different kinds of sock yarn! A huge clearance section with lots of nice stuff, not just the horrible furry novelty yarns.
3 skeins of Moda Dea Bamboo Wool in Chili Pepper Red to make a cabled cardigan for the little one on the way.

Paper Autumn Leaves, to string on twine and wind around the banister. A good craft for Jack and I tomorrow night.

feltworks felted wool balls, to use in a baby mobile with cloth birds and bugs. I got the idea from For Sweet Baby, a Japanese sewing book. I have no idea how to felt little balls of wool, though, so I was super excited to find them ready made.

Purchased at Target:

Dot crib sheet (middle) and dot dust ruffle (bottom) to match my crib bumper(top), handmade when I was pregnant with Jack.

Flickr Favorites

1. another corner, 2. Beautiful flowers, 3. Dresser Top, 4. B is for Bird, 5. Treeology art quilt 2/3, 6. Elephants Up Close, 7. Hellblaue Details, 8. kitchen close up, 9. mia's night light

Knitting for Baby

My newest niece, Emma Lucy, was born yesterday. I started this sweater for her back in April, and I put in an hour or so last night weaving in ends and adding silk ties. It's ready to go with a china cup and bowl set and a pair of little shoes. The pattern is Lion Brand Little Luxury Kimono, and the yarn is Sublime Cashmere Merino Silk DK in Nest Egg.

This scarf is for Audrey, the 8 month old baby of a friend. She tried to learn to knit, but was too busy, so I promised to make a scarf out of this pretty Elann Baby Silk (baby alpaca & silk) in Raspberry. The pattern is Irish Hiking Scarf, available for free on Ravelry. I'm completely in love with that velvet ribbon (Rose Pink, from M & J Trim in NYC, they mail order if you can't get there.)

Sewing World

I recently made a change in my sewing setup. It's in the basement, although it's nicer than that sounds since our basement is 1. finished, with a carpet and fireplace and 2. It has sliding glass doors out to the backyard. So it's a pretty nice big room down there. I used to have my sewing table next to the doors, and it felt creepy to have the black expanse of glass at night (I only have time to sew at night). Also, the room was too big. I felt lost in it.

I hung a curtain dividing the room in half. I moved my table over by the fireplace, put down a nice rug, set up the ironing board, and it's great. I went down last night and Monday night and sewed. I feel cozy instead of overwhelmed by the space. I still would love to have a light-filled attic studio with white curtains and a great view, but honestly, attics are hot in the summer and freezing in the winter, and our attic is unfinished at this point. I'm making do with what I've got, which is a lot, and I'm thankful for it.


The two projects I'm working on are:
Simplicity 4119

This is just about finished except for the hem, one side of the zipper and a portion of the inside lining. It will be nice for a summer wedding with a rose-colored pashmina and silver shoes.
Burda 9752

This blouse is about half done.

My Running Partner

This is Sally, my running buddy. She's a great coach. She only has one coaching phrase ("Come on!") and she uses it for everything. "Sally, I'm tired", I'll say. "Come on!", says Sally. "I'm old", "My knees hurt", and "I've just tripped over you" all elicit the same response. Actually, she does have one other coaching phrase ("Squirrel!"), but it's not all that much help.

She does tend to make detours for squirrels, deer, anyone she thinks might have food, cats, and interesting smells. Unfortunately, the places that don't have lots of squirrels tend to have lots of cats. That's not because the squirrels are smart and have high-fluffy-tailed it out of there, either, folks.

Vancouver BC travels - Oddments

We toured the gardens at Queen Elizabeth Park on 8/8/2008 - luckiest day in the Chinese calendar. LOTS of couples having their wedding photos taken that day. Here is a shot of an Indian couple posing for their photos. They had the most gorgeous wedding clothes ever. And he had a sword.

French bakery on Granville Island - divine macarons

Recycle, or you will be crushed by a Soviet satellite. On a Vancouver bus.

I didn't know you could buy that...

Groovy, dude, let's make a peace sign out of CDs.

It's 4-wheel drive, too. I'm not kidding.

Some wicked graffiti by the Science Center.

Lifeguard station at Spanish Banks

A helpful sign.

Possibly the most beautiful place on earth - Bowen Island, BC

Yaletown pier.