Pizza Sauce and More...

 As the weather changes, thoughts turn to canning... Or at least they do in my house! We usually make our own pizza sauce, and we make our own jams and preserves. We tend to do them in batches - so we have supplies for a couple years at least. 

This time, it's pizza sauce. Though, in the search for jars in the basement, Hubby found two cases of old sauce - like embarassingly old. Which we pitched. Canned goods - home-canned, I mean - don't last forever, in spite of what we'd like to think. But luckily, the rings and the jars are reusable. The lids aren't - or at least for the canning part. I like to have a few used lids, so that if I'm using a canning jar to shake up some salad dressing or the like, I can have a spare lid or two around. I don't re-use them for hot water bath canning. 

So my recipe is simple: I cut tomatoes up and freeze them as we go through the season. I don't bother blanching them or anything, but I try to use home-grown, because I think that, for the most part, store-bought tomatoes taste like nothing. So I've also been known to scrounge from friends - "do you have tomatoes that you're not using?" And usually, I'm rewarded. 

I also buy organic peppers, mostly red and yellow, because they're more ripe (though it looks like a small bag of green peppers made their way into the sauce). Core them, cut into quarters and freeze them. I use home-grown leeks (if we're growing them), home-grown carrots, and home-grown celery. I roast garlic and squeeze the cloves into the sauce. This time, we didn't have leeks, so I used shallots, which I sauteed lightly. Add 4 Knorr Vegetable broth cubes (mostly because I don't have home-made veggie broth), salt, pepper, Italian seasoning. If you can get away with it (and I forgot this time!!), toss in some shredded zucchini for extra veggie power. Make it vegetarian/vegan by sauteeing everything in either olive or avocado oil. 

Herbs, you may ask? Okey-dokey.... Parsley, rosemary and basil -- again, from my garden. Lest you think I'm Martha Stewart, I'm a person who likes to grow herbs mainly because they're pretty. 

A bit of lemon zest, just because. And adjust as you go, because it may need more of something. Also add about a quart of water. This time, we had a HUGE pot. I mean, insanely huge, which Hubby bought because he thought it was a good idea. Well - it's so tall that I can't stir it without getting my tender bits too close to the hot pot! So he's really handling it all. I'm doing the recipe mainly from memory, as my tastebuds are still shot, thank you Covid. 

He ended up, on a trip to get some groceries, stopping by the local restaurant supply place to get an extra-long spatula to stir the pot because nothing I had was tall enough! When it's reduced down by about a third or so, we usually add 2-3 small cans of tomato paste. Then, turn on the stick blender and whiz till your preferred texture. 

You could, if you weren't making a Lake Michigan-sized batch, whiz it up in a blender - and of course, only fill the blender about half-way because hot sauce + a fuller blender container = an explosion that seriously causes burns as well as some amazing "sauce splatter patterns" on the various kitchen surfaces (ask me how I know this...). 

We think that, this time, we'll get over 40 pint jars (update: we got 50 pints!!!). That's a lot of sauce. The pot just keeps giving. I started calling it "Mary Poppins' Pot" but Hubby refers to it as 'The Loaves and Fishes" because the sauce Just. Keeps. Coming. 

In the next few weeks, we'll be doing jams/preserves. I'll have to see what we have in the freezer for berries. I know we at least have blueberries and strawberries. Hubby says we may have apples...in which case, I'll make some applesauce. Extra chunky, which I love with pork. Or over ice cream. It's all good!

The Spurtle Is Found...

Well, my great-granny wouldn't have called it a spurtle, because that's a Scottish term for the spoon they stir their oatmeal with. But it looks like a spurtle - it's her polenta spoon. For years, we thought it was lost. My mom has been doing her Swedish Death Cleaning - she'd been at it since before her hip replacement. Actually, since my sister died, my mom has been on that tack. It's kind of making me crazy because she's giving me stuff. I have no idea what to do with it, because my kids aren't going to want it. And I can't bear to toss it just yet. But I know it's a lost cause when I'm dead...to be honest, I'm just about the only one old enough to remember the people associated - and as well as remembering, CARING about them and the history behind some of these items and pictures. There's maybe ONE other person who would be interested, but that doesn't mean that anyone younger than me actually wants stuff.  Anyway - she gave me an apron of my granny's, and I do honestly wear her aprons because they're big. Great-granny was a substantial woman, and the aprons were nothing fru-fru...they were meant to cover her up when she was in the kitchen and those aprons meant business. 

Lo and behold -- wrapped in the apron was the Polenta Spoon...in reality, a wooden spoon which she had my grandpa (my mom's dad) carve down into a smooth stick. Because, in the Old Country, you used a stick to stir your polenta. 

To be honest? THIS thing will be something one of the kids will latch onto. Not the china or silverware or pictures. Now I have to grab a pan and make some polenta, especially with the weather getting cooler. And with the pizza sauce? Yummy! Or for breakfast, with butter and a touch of honey. 

The Knitting Continues...

I'm plugging away at the knitting, and for some reason, it's just dragging. On. And. On. And. On. It shouldn't be like that, but sometimes, knitting just is a tremendous drag. I have a few WIPs that I am not sure I want to complete; and I'm not sure I want to frog them either. It's a quandry for sure.  

I'm torn. I have start-itis, and I need another WIP (work in progress) like I need a hole in my head. But the socks aren't doing their usual magic. I feel like casting on another pair, but the singletons are mocking me from their project bags: "Finish ME for Pete's sake!!" and I should - that way, I actually get a PAIR that I can wear! 

I'm in knitting ennui. A slump, if you will. I hate slumps. 

I had wanted this tee (the pattern says it's a tee - I'm considering it an "overlay" to a tank top or long-sleeved tee) to be done so that I could wear it this summer, since it's linen. But all kinds of crap interfered with my knitting mojo and I'm actually forcing myself to work on it. That's never good, in my opinion, but it's sort of where I'm at right now. 

I got a lot of compliments on my Fluoromania socks when I finally decided that it was now cold enough to wear socks again and posted a picture of them on Facebook - that yarn that was all the rage a few years (or more) ago where the colorways were actual fluorescent blends in outrageous combos, such as flamingo pink and electric blue, and a vibrant tie-dye blend of violet, lime green, yellow, and magenta. I have one hank of this Regia yarn left and it's in chartreuse with lime green. I really, really want to whip up a pair of socks in this, just for the shock value alone. I kind of wish it was still "in" because these days? Who doesn't need shocking socks? 

Right now, none of my projects are "portable and mindless." Which is why socks are drawing me in again. I can just do a vanilla pattern and let the yarn do its thing. The "let the yarn work for you" thing is why I do a lot of vanilla (plain) socks. And when I do patterns, they're usually only on the leg, mostly because I don't like the feel of patterns across the top of my feet. It's just me; there are stunning sock patterns all the way down to the toe decreases, but if I'm knitting it, the pattern stops when I start the heel. 

Maybe if I can whip up a simple shawl, it'll take the edge off? Seriously, who am I kidding? 

The Thing is Now Legal...

Well, not like I was NOT legal, but this past weekend, I did an assistant teaching gig with my teacher, Linda, and I officially picked up my 500-hour certificate. So now, I'm good to go. I actually got confirmation a few weeks ago, so technically, I was "legally" a 500-hour teacher. And now, I've got the paper to prove it. 

I'm glad it's done. That, with the Prenatal Yoga certification, means I'm good for a while. I do have enough CEUs for a couple years! 

As yoga teachers, it's up to us to keep up with continuing education. Things change. When I first trained, in 2014, one of the cues for Trikonasana (Triangle) pose was "as you move your spine over your front leg, imagine your body pressed between two panes of glass." Well, first off, that's a horrible cue. Second, that actually takes your sacrum (lowest part of your spine) and jams it in bewteen the pelvic bones. 

AND - it assumes that every body is the same. That nobody has any issues in their spines, that everyone moves the same way. That all students look like cookie-cutter figures. Which is patently untrue, and it has been untrue for many years. 

After some years of studying biomechanics and the history of yoga-related injuries, we now know that you should let the top hip "roll over" a bit - so that your lower spine can move a bit... THAT is why you continue to train. You don't have to go nuts, but attending at least one workshop a year isn't a bad idea and it doesn't have to cost thousands of dollars. You can attend some great workshops for under $100, most of the time. 

And now that I'm 500-hour certified, I can actually teach workshops to other teachers. That's pretty cool!

Random Picture...

Every morning, Raisa greets me with her giant Kong bone. Usually by chucking it at me. Thankfully, she waits till I'm out of bed - when I'm in my chair, that's her cue. 

She thinks it's fun to tug and for me to toss it to her. She'll either catch it in mid-air, or I can sneak it past her and she's got to go find it. 

This is an endurance test for her and a reflex test for me: am I awake enough to not get smacked in the noggin with a slimy rubber bone? Most mornings, I'm actually good. Surprising, isn't it? 

She's quite an efficient "pitcher" and has only missed a couple of times. This picture was the result of one of her throws. 

Yes. Right on the arm of my chair. She's pretty cautious about going after the bone if it's near Hubby's orchids, near the TV, or near any of my stuff, so I'll give her credit. And this was right next to my arm. She waited patiently for me to take the shot and then I tossed it back at her. 

It's those little routines every morning that start your day out the right way...

Looking for yoga, but no studio near you? 

Join us on Zoom, especially for chair classes! Check us out on the web at www.just-breatheyoga.com

New in-person classes include Yoga with Gratitude & Grace with Mindy, Saturday Chair Yoga with Irene, and Finding Balance (starting soon) with Erika. And don't forget in-person Prenatal Yoga with Pat!

Want to know what would suit you best? Call/text (815) 546-2770 or email

info@just-breatheyoga.com

It's Been a Long, Strange Trip...

 Seriously, I started to write this in JUNE. And then I hit a wall. The wall consisted of a lot of things. Boss Lady's retirement and the attendant stuff, things happening in the family, delayed grief from my sister's death, busy-ness from a training I was in the midst of...a lot of things. 

But mostly I felt like there was a hole in my soul. Even with the monumental stuff going on in the world, I was just...numb. When Katanji Brown Jackson was sworn in as a Supreme Court Justice, I was excited. And numb. I didn't have words. 

When Roe was overturned, again: stunned. And numb. 

When Beto O'Rourke called out a protester, same thing. "About time" and...numb.

When TFG got that search warrant served on him...you'd think THAT might break through the fog, but it hasn't, really. 

I just feel bad that I haven't written and it's like I fell of the face of the earth. 

The Postcards...

So I've been venting some spleen with postcards. Actually, my studio is going to be a gathering place for folks writing postcards to voters for a particular candidate. I believe in the power of the postcard. 

We do so many emails, so many texts, so many phone calls...a postcard is something different. My friend "A" latched onto this, and I ended up sending a bunch. To the SCOTUS and to the idiots who don't support sensible gun legislation. And as thank-you notes to those who are actually legislating. Doing the job we elected them for. And reminding those who're slacking off. 

I'm absolutely not sure if it does anything but it makes me feel like it's SOMETHING. Especially in these times when we all feel so out of control on the whole ball of ugly that's happening in this country. 

I enjoy reminding Uncle Clarence that, while he's dumping "precedent," he'd best be careful: At one point in history, he would've been 3/5 of a person; he couldn't vote; and he and Ginni couldn't marry. Loving v. VA was only decided, after all, in 1967... 

I got my postcards from VistaPrint, but you could get them from anywhere - maybe you even have a stash of postcards that you picked up on your travels. You know nobody wants them, and if you're decluttering, why not use them? At least you'll be making your point. It's pretty therapeutic. 

The Knitting...

Well, there's some progress. I had to add another ball of yarn. And then the age-old question: "How do I do this so that it doesn't look clunky?" It's honestly easier to do when you're knitting with an appropriate-sized needle. Like, if I'm knitting socks, I'm using a size 1 or 2 needle, and the fabric is pretty stable. But with the Long Sands Tee, I'm knitting a linen yarn with slightly bigger needles, to make that "lacy" fabric, so I could do a couple of things:

I could knit double for a few stitches. I could end at a side seam so that I could just knit 1 or 2 stitches and "bury" the new join in the side. Or I could do a variation on a spit join. 

For the uninitiated, the spit join is usually used (in my experience, at least) when you want to join two balls of wool. Like, straight wool, not superwash, not mixed with any other fiber. The reason is, you take Yarn A and "unwind" about 1-2" of it, and do the same for Yarn B. Then, you spit in one hand, lay the yarns with the unwound ends overlapping, and rub your hands together to build some heat and "felt" the yarns together. It's remarkably strong. 

But with linen, it doesn't felt. So the variation I found was to unwind part of the end of Ball A and the same amount on Ball B. And braid them together. 

I went to The Google and looked for "ways to join yarn," and found this. The demo was on a worsted weight, so they used a paper clamp to secure the end. Of course, as you can see, all I needed was a paper CLIP... 

The only thing I don't like is that, because I'm using the larger needles to get the drape in the fabric, I can see where this is at. And of course, it's the front, toward the center. 

As a new skill, it's cool. But as an actual way of construction for my garment, I really wish I would have done it on the seam. I'll get a picture of it, and show it next time. 

The project is coming along nicely. It'll get set aside in September. My mom is (finally) having her hip replaced, and I'm "it." I will be taking her to the hospital, and I'm hoping she stays overnight to be observed. She's well into her 80s and honestly, if something happens, I'm skilled enough to dial 911. And that's about it. She should stay overnight, and I thought I had her convinced. But she's waffling. Don't get me wrong, all her marbles are there. But she thinks she's MY age...and she's not. There are benefits to her staying in the hospital overnight, including the fact that the elderly don't come out of anaesthesia easily. If she were to try to get up, and I wasn't right there, there would be a problem. If she was in the hospital, there would probably be an alarm and someone (or several nurses) would be able to deal with it so she wouldn't hurt herself. 

So my "surgery knitting" will be socks. The Kindle will be charged. It takes about 2 hours for the surgery, so I'll probably stay put. It's easier. This is where I miss my sister. She was "the person" for this stuff. I can take care of the other stuff, but medical things are out of my area. 

I Did a Thing...

I got an email from Amazon saying that, basically, my Kindle (3rd gen) would no longer be able to download books. Well, that kinda sucks. I didn't update it; no need to. It was working just fine. But what's a Kindle if you can't get books, right? 

You can see (a) the difference in size - the old one is on the right, and the new one is on the left; and (b) the difference in the brightness. The new one is much cleaner, and you can make the light more "warm" as you read in the evening, to cut down on the blue light. 

I was given a Fire (Gen 8), which is cool. I have a lovely case for it, and I have TWO games loaded: 2 versions of Solitaire. Yeah. Big gamer, that's me...

In that Amazon email there were two coupons, and I figured, "let's see how this works." I got the grand sum of FIVE BUCKS for my old Kindle, but with both coupons (and a $40 e-book credit!), I got a Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition for a grand total of $90. Which, Hubby says, was LESS than he paid for my Kindle Gen 3 lo those many years ago. Happy day!! I'm just getting used to the lack of a keyboard, and learning where things are. 

I loaded my $40 worth of books - it wasn't as many as you'd think, but I got some good ones. I don't necessarily like the way they organize them. My old one, I could dump "read" books into a file. This one, they have "read" across the book, but with the transfer of my books from the Kindle Gen 3, some of the "read" were transferred as "un-read." 

I also got a nice cover, Van Gogh's "Starry Night." I'd have loved a TARDIS one, and I may still look for that! I'll say that it fits in my purse better. And it has increased my reading time. I have a lot on my TBR (To Be Read) list, so putting a slight dent in that pile. 

The benefit of the Kindle as opposed to the Fire is the longer charge on the Kindle. But it's a piffle; both are nice. I can use books from either when I read them to my yoga class on Sunday nights. It takes up less room. And my bookshelves are already overflowing. 

So I'm happy with my 2 new "toys." I would like to do another game, but I can't decide what to do. I've looked at the word games (I do love Scrabble), but nothing has made me say, "Yeah, I can do that without it driving me nuts." And unfortunately, the Fire comes with ads. Which is incredibly annoying. 

I Did Another Thing...

My hair needed to be re-touched. Yes, I love my silver, but I'm not opposed to playing with a little Rose Gold every so often to shuzh it up a bit more. My stylist, a young woman, said to me recently, "How do you feel about rose gold + violet?" I figured the worst that could happen is that I didn't like it. 

I love it. I've gotten so many great compliments on it. I wasn't going to do it for the summer, because I thought I'd be able to go to the barn more. Well, they changed their parameters, and my hip was acting up (see below), and so I figured I'd give it a try. 

It's quite obvious in the sunshine. And I think it looks spectacular! Is it vanity? Yeah. But it's a little vanity. 

Yeah, my hip is aggravated. I had one cortisone shot that lasted about 3 months, maybe 4. I was disappointed, but the doctor seemed to think that was a good result. I guess all in all it was, considering that your hips never rest. You're either holding them in place sitting or they're supporting you even lying down and standing. 

So I had a second cortisone shot and it hurt like a bugger. Doc really hit The Spot there, and Hubby said that I levitated "about 3 feet off the table." It's been bothering me more, and that's my basic objection to cortisone shots: I tend to do stupid stuff because it doesn't hurt. It makes me feel like it was before I hurt myself. Or it hurts because I've been stuck at the computer too long. Or I slept funny. Or I stood up too long. It's a no-win situation. I'm looking at an experimental treatment, because they don't replace hips for a torn labrum. Thankfully. One of us in the family with a titanium hip is enough!

And I Did a FINAL Thing...

I finally finished (after 1 revision) my 500-hour teacher training thesis. I haven't heard back from this revision, but I'm hoping they like this version and I can check this one off my list. In the meantime, I completed an 85-hour Prenatal Yoga training, which I've wanted to do since 2014...At last it's done. 

In the meantime, I started a 20-hour prenatal training, and I'm going to finish that, mainly so I can get sequence ideas. It's always nice to get some inspiration. 

I've done the community (free) prenatal class and I have a student body of...one. The other one was 30+ weeks along, so she's near to term and probably not coming back. I'm hoping to get a community going, and I know it'll take some work, but it will be worth it. 

I also hired a teacher who's a triple-threat, sort of. She's a student of mine who did her training during Covid, and she's certified as an ASL interpreter, and is a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, so while her training was from a studio with a Christian bent, she is well-versed, and can do some nice classes. She also can appeal to the other population segments. 

We're also working with a local group to do trauma-informed yoga with sexual assault clients. Things are moving in a positive direction, and we're hoping to continue to grow. 

Random Picture...

Frog legs. Or "sploot." Whichever. We were at my mom's house and Buddy decided that he was going to relax. I can't resist frog legs. Or sploot, or whatever you want to call them. 

Quinn usually does frog legs, and Tippi used to. I haven't seen Raisa do them - but she has her own quirks. 

I appreciate when a dog can relax around me; frankly, it usually happens because I'm a dog person. Honestly, it also usually happens with cats. I guess I just have the "thing" that allows them to let themselves hang loose and mostly ignore me!

I will write about all the Big Important Things that have been happening. Just not right now. It's enough that I figured I'd land here and spend some time with you all. Thanks for being here. 

Just. So. Much...

There's just so much. Too much. Where to begin??

At first, I thought I'd blog when the "leak-that's-not-a-leak" broke with Justice Alito's "triumph" -- a decision which would render Roe v. Wade deader than Marley's ghost. 

Then, I thought I'd blog after the Brooklyn shooting. 

Then, Uvalde happened. 

With all that, stuff like the latest book I'm reading, my knitting and my garden seem so...quaint. Provincial, even. Stuff of fluff and nonsense. 

But maybe we need fluff and nonsense right now because the weight is there and it's getting heavier. 

So let's get to it, kids. What shall we tackle first? 

Let's go with Amy Coathanger Barrett's comment about the "domestic supply of infants," because it correlates pretty closely with school shootings. I guess we need a "domestic supply of infants," so that, if they manage to grow up and get to school, they'll be targets. 

Yes, I said what I said. Kids these days (and their teachers) are targets. Every parent, lately, especially in the Bible Belt (an irony that's almost laughable because there's nothing Biblical about them or their attitudes), seems to think that they can teach better than teachers. They know more than librarians, and they're more heavily armed than the cops. 

And still, kids die. 

And our government has neither the will nor the inclination to change any of that. 

I almost hesitate to say it, but this time, it feels a little different. I can't put my finger on it, but the reactions are different, in places where it just might finally matter. 

We can only hope. I wish I could provide you with a Grade-A, Twitter-worthy rant, but you know what? It's too heavy a load and I just can't right now. 

The Knitting...

The Long Sands Tee goes on. I had to decrease after the lace pattern to get to the correct amount of stitches, once I went down a needle size. And then it turns out I'm going to be doing dolman shaping, with some increases! Yikes. 

The linen yarn is interesting. I'm not sure how this thing is supposed to block out; it's the first "one piece" sweater I've ever knit, and I can see how it's going to be quite "draggy" -- I mean, as you wear it, the weight of the linen will make it hang differently. I saw one picture where it looked quite like a crop top, which isn't the effect I'm going for. I'm hoping it's like on the model, where it hits around the hips. 

I'm sort of -- well, not "sort of," but actually QUITE annoyed at the lack of support for this pattern. I've reached out to the Ravelry page, and I've put things out on social media and...crickets. Now, either I'm just being a dunce, or it's not a pattern that a lot of people have done. So I have no questions answered, and just a few pictures are on the pattern's Ravelry page. 

I've managed to place the markers for each side, and I'm doing the 1 1/2" of stockinette before the dolman increases. Then, the front and back get separated and we don't worry about them till later on. 

I try to read a pattern all the way through at least once, and then I start it. I used to just plow into the project, but that didn't work out so well. So I figured that I should probably do what everyone suggests: Read the blasted thing through first, so at least I have some idea of what I'm getting myself into!

Honestly, I thought I'd be farther along on this, but some things have been happening, so I haven't had the needles flying like they ought to be. 

The Yoga...

Yeah, I went ahead and signed up for an online Prenatal Yoga class. Yeah, I'm the oldest student in the class...we talk about birthing and thankfully, THAT hasn't changed. But some things I experienced in "the 'way back times" as we say? That's changed a bit. 

My hip, by the way, has NOT been cooperating. I am sorely tried by this hip. It's a balance between "moving to keep moving," and then "paying for moving." I may have to have a second cortisone shot, which I'm not looking forward to. 

And as long as we're here, I have to tell you that I'm having an ICM implanted. We joke that it's my "pet finder chip." It's an internal cardiac monitor - not a pacemaker or the like. It just monitors. I'm going to be laid up just temporarily - a few days. But then I'll be back to "normal" - whatever that is!

Anyway, the prenatal stuff should be completed by August, and we do move at quite a clip. It's an 85-hour program: weekend intensives, and lectures every Wednesday from now till July. 

I'm looking forward to teaching this population. It's something I've wanted to do for a long, long time. And it's about time - I don't want to regret not ever trying. 

The Garden...

The twirly-birds are INSANE this year. I'm not quite sure what's going on, and they're just nuts. The garden is quite a bit smaller. We're not doing carrots this year; it's the first year for asparagus, and we've got romaine, radishes, cucumbers and tomatoes. I've put in some parsley and some dill, but we have a ton of basil and rosemary in the freezer. 

This is the first year in about a decade that I haven't had a Rosemary plant. But I do have a new experiment: The Great Compost Project. Yes, kids, finally...my own compost bin. We shall see. 

A student gave me a small compost bin that she was no longer using. I thought about it for a while, and figured out where to put it. Let's just say there was a bit of a discussion about it, but my main thing is this: It's small enough for me to manage, and while I can't do the garden as easily as I would normally do, I can manage to fork over a bit of food scraps with the "brown matter" (shredded newspaper, coffee filters, some lawn clippings...). The bin isn't huge, and I'm not compelled to fill it. 

I know it will be at least a year, but it's something I can try. If it flops (draws critters or starts to stink), then I can just trash the whole thing. This is a nice netting contraption with a lid. I've staked it to the ground, which enables the worms and the "good bugs" to start working on the contents. 

I keep it moist, and flip it every couple of days. We'll see how this all works out. 

Maybe I'm totally naive, but I think at least it's my small bit to recycle and do my bit for the planet. Crazy? Yeah. But if it all works, then we get free fertilizer and we can help the ecosystem just a tiny bit. It's up to us to do what we can, right?

The bird feeders are back up; the hummingbird feeders are stocked, and the bird bath is back in action. We were on a "Do not" request from the state because of a strain of Avian Flu. It was mainy going after aquatic birds, but they weren't certain that it would affect songbirds, so they asked folks to not fill feeders for a while. The birds were grumpy. But everyone seems happy now. 

Random Picture...

Husky On Patrol. Raisa has decided that she's a part of the Neighborhood Watch. She rarely barks at anyone unless Quinn starts it first, and then it's her signature "song of her people." 

The neighbors across the street had a big "First Birthday" celebration yesterday so she was watching the cars park along the street. 

I promise I have more. I have at least one recipe to share with you, a post card project that you too can commit to do, and some more pictures. 

Just for now, though, I'm headed off to bed. My latest bedtime reading is "Wednesday The Rabbi Got Wet," by Harry Kemelman. I got it off a pile that my friend was "culling," and of course I decided to order the rest of the series on Kindle. My poor Kindle -- when I first got it, I thought, "I'll never fill this thing up" and now? I think I'm near capacity on it. 

More tomorrow. Rest well, everyone!

Resurrection...

There's a part in the Episcopal funeral rite which says "in sure and certain hope of the resurrection..." and the words themselves are beautiful and give much comfort to those who have lost a loved one. 

Well, Sunday? No resurrection in sight. 

I'm not talking about Jesus. I'm not talking about funerals, and I'm not talking about church. 

I'm talking about our nearly 30-year old upright freezer. In the basement. The one that "grew up" with the kids. Old Faithful. 

Hubby said to me, "I think the freezer door didn't close completely..." which isn't just a silly excuse; sometimes the door just doesn't close unless you really pay attention to it. 

Nope.

It was dying. No, there are no pictures of us in action; this one of the coolers is all you get... 

This was an "all hands" emergency, on Easter Sunday, to gather up our embarassingly large stash of coolers, and get it empty and unplugged. No hope of leaving it all till the morning, because we weren't sure it would even still be running and it was better to be safe with the food. 

We did keep putting off the "inventory" of what was in there, so I guess this was the freezer's hint that it was time. We'll do another purge (ugh - a package of beef liver from 2010??) when we get the new one. 

We found 3 turkey carcasses, several bags of buttercream frosting that I'd stashed in hopes of using them again (fat chance), and two large bags of chopped up tomatoes that I was looking for the last time we made sauce. I knew they were somewhere!

I guess it was decent timing, just wish that the "No Appliances Croaking on a Holiday" thing was in place. Isn't there a rule?

The Knitting...

So in order to liberate a few coolers, I did a little stash-arranging. As you might remember, my friend D gave me a large portion of her stash, as she's drifted away from knitting. When I brought the yarn home, I stashed it in coolers, in case there were "visitors." 

Not that D is prone to "visitors," but the yarn did live in her garage for a bit, so one never knows. It's a sensible precaution. Normally, I'd have bagged it all and tossed it in a freezer, but our freezers are all in use. Hubby sort of "assumed" the cookie freezer (which is a small one that we had only dedicated to cookies, just out of convenience). He promises that he'll relinquish that one and once again we can have a cookie freezer -- or maybe a "yarn freezer," just in case. 

I found some beautiful Liberty Wool, which was a project she started. That may be frogged. It's a bit hard for me to get my hands on Liberty Wool lately. I've done two pair of mitts with it, and I really liked them. Toasty, but not overbearing. So maybe a shawl? Yeah, I know - it seems that all I knit are shawls. OK, maybe, if there's enough there, a bolero? I have a nice pattern for one that fits well, and I can use one of my "crazy" buttons on it. Maybe it's a cross between a bolero and a vest? I don't know, but I did just wear it the other day over a light mock-neck long-sleeved t-shirt, and since I knitted it in cotton, I can carry it over to several seasons. 

And I found a DK-weight partial sweater front. I'll have to see what's what on that one. Luckily, it's a self-patterning "Icelandic" kind of thing. I'd never have courage to try one of those. What's interesting is that it's in a lovely colorway of dusty pink, grey and ivory - one of my favorite combos. D and I often have similar tastes in colorways. 

And speaking of this stash, I'm gonna have to finish up that Secret Project (I have about 2" to go and then I can block it). There's enough yarn in D's stash to keep me busy for several years. That doesn't even begin to dent MY stash. 

I will admit to being intimidated by the amount of yarn that's available to me in my own house. That sounds awfully "first world problem," doesn't it? So it's time to buckle down and knit it up. I can stash several baby blankets, and I'd really like to do a BSJ (baby surprise jacket) and perhaps use some of D's gift stash on an adult Surprise jacket. 

The Secret Project...

Like I said, I'm within sight of the finish line on this one. I'm thinking that perhaps the one side will be a bit longer after blocking. It's quite true about tension; I've gotten to this part of the project after my sister's death, having to deal with some other health problems and lots of stress...it all shows up in the knitting. I bought the fabric for the lining of the stockinette parts; I did end up with fleece. It just seems easier to assemble, the fleece is washable and won't need ironing, but will be thick enough to hold its shape. But not too thick. 

I promise I will show you when it's done. I'm actually getting more and more excited as I get closer to the finish. I'm thinking it'll be blocked by Monday and finished sometime next week, with the linings in place and all. 

Mostly, I'm going to be happy to have it done. It seems like, because of the advanced deadline, this is the only thing I've been working on. Seems like? Actually, it HAS been the only thing. And I'm kind of itching to dive into my newly acquired stash and see what it entails. 

The picture above is some lovely alpaca + silk. It's almost 1,500 yards, so there's a sweater or pullover in there somewhere. And there may be more of it in one of the bags. Heaven knows what was on D's mind.

The Yoga...

I did it. I finally jumped in on a prenatal training. The full thing: 85 hours. I've taken a few "what do do when a pregnant person walks into your class" workshops, but I do get a lot of calls for prenatal classes. (Hey, maybe there's yarn in D's stash that I could use to whip up baby hats for my soon-to-be students??)

So I'd been eyeballing a training, but it was up past Chicago. I wasn't interested in hiking up there weekly (or the weekend versions) 15 years ago, and I haven't changed my mind. It's also too costly now, because gas prices are up. It's too far to commute, so I'd have to get a hotel, there's meals... just too much cash. 

They ended up, in The Plague Times, expanding it to a hybrid model, so I don't have to go up there. All I have to do is park my butt in my own studio and attend virtually. Thank goodness!

I think this will help; I'm not kidding you when I tell you that The Plague did a number on our studio and it's going to be a hard slog to get ourselves back to where we were, and hopefully beyond. 

My goal is ongoing prenatal classes, workshops at least bi-monthly, if not monthly, a rope wall, and hopefully two more: a vinyasa class on Saturdays, and a class in Spanish. I do get that request, as well, and we don't have anyone who can do that right now. 

The Reading...

I'm on an Elizabeth George kick, and am continuing with the Inspector Lynley series. I know that people have issues regarding the casting of the characters in the TV series. I personally like Nathaniel Parker and Sharon Small in the roles. I didn't like the "dumpy" portrayal of Barbara in the books; Barbara is smart and a good cop. Yes temperamental, but that's part of the character that I like. I guess I identify with being a bit of a grump occasionally. 

I'm also reading "The Complete Surprise" by Cully Swansen, EZ's granddaughter. It's a dissection of the Baby Surprise and the multiple variations. 

What's scary is that "use your brain" wasn't just some catch-phrase. EZ's instructions are "scant," to be generous. I'm going to have to YouTube a few things. I like to read my knitting, but I'll admit: I like instructions. I admire the fact that she says that knitters have brains and can do it. I have brains. Just not sure I have the courage required! 

Random Picture...

I bought two small rolling pins from a Polish business, where they're donating proceeds to Ukraine refugee organizations. As you know, the Poles, having been in the position of being invaded many times in their own history, have stepped up to help Ukranians who are fleeing their country in the wake of the invasion by that absolute maniac. 

I can't wait to make butter cookies and shortbread with these. Of course, you use your regular rolling pin to roll out your dough, but you only make the batches about 7" wide. Then, one pass of one of these "patterning" rolling pins, lightly, and you're good to go with a cookie cutter. I mean, there's a little pressure, but not a lot. The mushroom-shaped brush is to clean it off after use. I have to look up whether I need to oil them before use. I know flouring won't be particularly useful, because you want as much of the detail as possible. 

I love to support small business operations, so here's a link for you, if you want to give a very unique gift: PastryMade - for what you're buying, it's really a cool idea for the baker in your life. 

Looking for yoga but not ready to come into a studio? 

We have Zoom options. 

Contact us at info@just-breatheyoga.com or text/call (815) 546-2770 to find the class that best suits you. 

If you're in the Will County, IL area, we're starting workshops again! Keep an eye on the website for the Chakra workshop, FACE YOGA (Yes, it's a thing!) and Upper Back Health workshop, as well as the Ocean of Devotion coming back soon. 

Private sessions (in-person or Zoom), small group classes (in-person or Zoom) and all our classes are open for drop-ins.