Happy New Year!

Pink mitts. Check.
MIL's shawl. Check. 
Fleece-lined slippers. Check.

It's a dreary day here in blogland. Actually, it's been a dreary week. Monday was rain. LOTS of rain. Today, the frost took over, but now, with the sun going down, as I sit by my window? It's chilly. It's 29 degrees but "feels like" 22.... Cold. 

My dad would say, "colder than a well-digger's belt buckle." Or something even more pithy... I've had enough tea to float a battleship, and I've given up. Just now, I'm bundling up and hoping to warm up. You'd think a hot flash would fix this, but somehow, when it gets cold, they disappear. That's not handy... 

Eventually, I'll warm up. I usually do. Sunshine, though. Sunshine would be nice. 

Here's a mug that Kid #2 gave me for Christmas. Posted it on Instagram, and I'm tellin' ya - it struck a chord. Lots of hearts for this one. 

With the RBG movie out now, it's particularly timely. And with her recent cancer surgery, everyone's offering to give her their lungs, wrap her in bubble wrap and basically donate their healthier, younger bodies to her. Heck, I'd donate mine. I may not be the healthiest person on the planet, but I'm a good 20 years younger than she is, and even with the heart issues, I'm good to go. 

I haven't exactly been sitting on my tush all day drinking tea. It only sounds like it, right? Today, I had a whole day off. A whole day to myself, mostly. I asked Hubby if he wanted to take the Christmas tree down, but the one on the dining room table is still up. My mom's/granny's ceramic tree has been removed to its place of safekeeping in the basement. It needs a new light, but it's so old we have to figure out what kind of bulb we can put in there. It may be that I won't be able to light it anymore, because it has no way to vent out the heat. Old-time ceramics, you see. 

So off and on, I've been dusting, trashing junk, and moving things around, trying for organization. As it is, this weekend, Hubby and I are tackling The Office (a/k/a The Pit of Despair). My plan is to get my laptop back into that room (right now, I'm in the middle of the living room), and work on doing some videos and Facebook lives. A friend of mine and I are going to do weekly gratitude meditations, and right now? The living room isn't ideal. 

Looks Like Dinner...

Yesterday, New Year's Eve, we didn't go out. We're not "going out" people. So Hubby made potato soup, and we bought some "bake your own" ciabatta rolls. Of course, we've got leftovers. Lots of them. Which is fine - because, again, crappy weather is soup weather. Tonight, we have a rustic loaf which we'll warm and have...soup. It's always better the second night anyway. 

And somehow, my stomach has gone on strike. 

I'm not sure why. The food poisoning and my antibiotic "purge" have both been long over. I'm taking the mega-expensive probiotic to repopulate my gut. 

But it's being very balky, and the GERD is flaring up like nobody's business. So I'm kind of not eating. It's working, sort of. I wish I could say I'm losing weight, but at this point, I'll settle for not being in pain when I'm ready to go to bed. 

There's nothing as disheartening as your stomach trying to crawl up your esophagus when you lay down to sleep. Disheartening and painful. Very painful. 

I've started exercising more frequently, which is good. I'm not trying to "beat myself up" but I'm trying to move more. Using a Bodyblade, which only takes about 3 minutes (if that) and your arms are feeling it. The squatting part isn't hard - but hey, I'm squatting in yoga all the time. Using my arm hula hoops. Working the upper body with that and lower body with yoga. 

Hopefully, I can keep the momentum. I'm going to try. 

Hubby's Got the Bug...

So here's an update of my orchid area. And boy-o-boy --- Hubby's now got the bug. He helped me repot a few of them and there you go. He's working on using an old 55-gallon aquarium of ours that's been sitting in the basement to make a terrarium for them. He rearranged the lights so that the table here gets a bit more sun (gloomy weather, right?). 

We joined the American Orchid Society and he's been perusing the back issues of their magazine. He's fascinated with all the many species and a bit bedazzled, if you want my opinion. We're going to go on a road trip to a local orchid specialist so he can take a look.

I really don't want more than what I have here, and I really don't want to get into the crazier species. Frankly, they freak me out! But I'm happy to have something we can do together. Just now, he was over at the "orchid altar" and looking to see who needs misting. It's so cute. 

The Knitting...

I've set aside the Diamond shawl. I'm committed to working on some singleton socks. I've gotta get their mates done. I'm over having Second Sock Syndrome. 

I've weighed the ball for the Diamond Smackdown. I'm still at a little over 3 oz, and the half-way point is about 2 oz. Remarkably, one ounce goes a long way. 

The first singleton I'm working on is the Green Traveling Sock. This one, the first sock has a bum star-toe (gotta work on that more...it used to be my favorite toe), and the foot is about 1/2 - 3/4" too short. I mean, it fits because it stretches, but it's not my fave. I don't know what I was thinking -- or what I was measuring...but it's a rookie mistake. 

I started it New Year's Eve. My usual pattern is to do an "exchange." 

When I've got all the stitches on the DPNs, I take the first stitch off the right-hand needle (technically, needle #4) and put it on Needle 1 (the left-hand needle). And switch that first stitch onto the 4th needle. It helps "close the gap." But it's a bit of a challenge sometimes. I usually take the #4 stitch last, because it's the last one cast on, so it's got a little flexibility. 

Then, 6 rows of knitting, to curl the end. Helps me get it over my high instep. Then the ribbing. 

Now, in all honesty, I despise ribbing. I just don't like K2, P2 -- or even worse, K1, P1. I can never get the tension right; I get ladders sometimes, in spite of tugging the first 2 stitches on each needle. And it's boring. 

You may ask, "isn't stockinette boring?" Well, yes, but no. Yes, because it's straight-up knitting. But no, because in about 7" total, I'm doing a heel flap, which is fun. And the heel turn comes next.


Which is magical. 

When I get there, I'll post some pics. 

Anyway, I got to thinking about it. 

Bored.

Bored. 

Bored...

But I need to flip that paradigm. I need to get my mind around it in another way. I need to change "boring" to "plugging through." 

So I thought, why not just take a quick break to blog, and then literally plow through the rest of the ribbing? Get it done with and move on. 

I normally do 15-16 rows of ribbing. And I have to make this one identical to the other one. Except I think I'll do the foot properly... So it's 16 rows of ribbing. I'm on row 4. It'll be done by the time the Dr. Who New Year's Day special is on. I know it. 

Yet another mug. I dug this one out of the other cabinet in the kitchen. I have 2 large snowman "latte" style mugs. One of them is really not a good mug; when you heat it in the microwave, it burns your hands to bits. 

This one isn't that one. It held my morning green tea matcha latte. I try to drink that as often as I can, and when I make mine, it's a lot less sweet than the stuff you get at Starbucks. 

That went down nicely. 

Knitting goals for 2019? Well, normally, I don't set goals. I used to, but then I got discouraged, so that took a lot of the fun out of it. When knitting becomes a "chore," it's not a hobby anymore. 

So here's What I'd Like to Happen in 2019 for my knitting. 

1. Finish the singleton socks.
2. Finish the February Lady Sweater.
3. Finish the Before and After peacock color scarf (there are 2 to this project) and figure out how to add beads to the ends. 
4. Finish Kid #2's afghan.
5. Learn cables.

That's it. We'll see how it goes. 

Random Picture...

I got the girls (well, 2 of them - the usual suspects) to wear New Year's hats. I had to whistle to get that Elkie Head Tilt. 

We tried to stay up, but I lasted till 11:30 p.m. Tippi slept with me, on the floor, though, and Hubby told me that at midnite there were fireworks for about 20 minutes. 

Well. Coulda fooled me... I heard a few of them. Got Quinn in her crate, gave them both "boom boom cookies" (dog cookies with CBD oil on them), had Kunzea in the diffuser. Tippi also slept through it, apparently. 

We had a quiet day today. Both are now zonked out next to me in the living room. 

I really wanted to stay up till midnight. I had it all planned. I had some cookies, a special tea I was going to enjoy. I even had a face mask I was going to treat myself to. 

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnd.... I got tired. 

Oh well. 

New Years came without me. It's ok. 

What did you do special to bring in the new year? Any plans? Let's chat!

And It Was Christmas...

So, lots happened. Kid #1 was here, now he's left to go back home. He left me this for Christmas. My yoga studio's logo in iron and steel... It's beautiful. I never thought it would be in 3-D. I had given him the logo a while ago, and was concerned that it would be an iron sign -- something the building where I rent wouldn't have allowed me to hang off the exterior and it's a storefront: drywall walls can't hold these things up!

But this? This is beautiful. Now I just have to figure out what to do with it. I mean, the studio floor is all classroom. I don't have a foyer, and I don't have a lot of room to display artwork. It wouldn't look good on top of the cubbies, because you'd lose the beauty of it. And Heaven help anyone it fell on... 

I'll think of something. I have time, what with the remainder of the holiday. 

The Last Baking...

Because I didn't have enough to do, I baked more. My mom requested "Nut cups." At least that's what I heard when she said, "I have a request, and I'd love nut cups." She swears she didn't and that she was going to make them. 

I made them. God's fiddliest cookie - for real. They make the Pineapple Crescents look like child's play.

There were 70 of them. What a pain in the rear end. I made over 200 of the Pineapple Crescents and it wasn't that bad. 

And then, because I had nothing else to do (can you read the sarcasm here? Because I'd hate to waste a good sarcasm...), I made 4-cheese crackers. These went to my friend "J" for Christmas. I thought she was going to serve them to her guests, but she stuck her nose into the box and stashed them. So I guess that's a good thing. 

It wasn't the "cheese puffs" recipe I've made before. I'm pretty sure that I'll find that card in about 2 weeks. But these crackers are actually quite good. I find that a 1/3 cup metal measuring cup does the flattening just fine. 

I used sharp cheddar, Asiago and a Kraft "Mexican blend." So, maybe 5 or 6 cheeses total, but I suppose you could use whatever you wanted. I'll do them again - they were that good. 

To the left here is an overall shot of all the choir cookie bags, plus the potica plates for our family's dinner. 

There were eleven bags, plus the big gift bag for the vicar and her wife. 

The potica was good; the one end was a little "doughy" but overall, it kept its moisture in the freezer. I think we'll have to make more for Easter, but we have time. 

Everyone loved the cookies; my mom got her own tray. This year, we put mine and Kid #2's cookies together on one tray. He wasn't initially jazzed about that, but it worked out well. He did CPS Butter Cookies, sugar sticks, and this cookie he called a "ganache roll up." It was fantastic; sadly for my waistline happily, he left me the remaining 8 or 9 of them in a bag. I still have most of them in the freezer, so I guess I'm good. 

Finished & Started...

I finished the Terribly Simple Shawl. It didn't block out quite the way I wanted, but I really like how it sits on my shoulders. I think the pattern was easy, and with a hand-painted yarn in a lighter colorway, that would also be quite stunning. As luck would have it, I have some lovely hand-painted yarn somewhere in my stash. 

It's nice to have one thing more finished this year. I'm not sure if I'm keeping this or if it'll be a gift at some point. Still contemplating that. I have at least one person in mind for this, if I decide to give it away. 

Here's what's started for 2019... One pair of plain vanilla socks on 9" circulars. This was already frogged by Christmas Eve, but I re-started that and I'm half-way through the ribbing. It'll be a plain leg, switch to DPNs for the heel flap and gusset, I think, then circulars for the foot till the toe decrease. Should be interesting, as this is the first time I'm trying the 9" circular method. The first few rows were a pain in the thumb; once a few rows were established, it eased up. 

These are going to be my "traveling socks project," and so I have no agenda for finishing them. Yarn is (of course) Opal, and colorway is Sunrise, Color 9445 and Lot 1732. Or the other way around. I can't read German. 

Now to find the needles for the green socks; because I have the yarn. And I have to find the other sock... I swear, 2019 will be the Year of Organizing My Knitting...

And I started this... It's the Diamond Smackdown shawl. On Ravelry. Bought it at Le Mouton Rouge Knittery, and bought the yarn there. 

MadTosh Merino Light Glitter. This looks pink in the picture, but it's really kind of a rose gold color. 

Knitting up much like Close to You, which means increasing the plain knitting along the right-hand side, and doing the diamond pattern on the left-hand side. 

I had a slight "pattern change" when I did the M1l (make one, left) wrong. I made some holes. In my opinion, it's a design element. I chose not to frog it. 

The MadTosh is really, REALLY squishy and the picture doesn't do the yarn justice. The sparkles are silver. The yarn has an ever-so-slight black halo to it, which adds a depth to the color. I'm already in love with the yarn and I'm thinking it's going to block like MadTosh usually does: like a dream. This is a bit more than the pattern calls for - it calls for 350 yards, and I have about 420 or so. I think I'll be able to make a few more diamonds. This is going to move along pretty quickly. I was bouncing between getting the ribbing on the sock done and this, but I think I'll be sticking to this for a while.

You knit till you have "half the yarn used up." So I had to weigh it. And then you start the decreases. I'm pretty sure this will be bigger than the specs, because of the extra yardage. 

What's For Dinner...

I was home today (took some time off from one of the jobs) and Hubby and I thought we'd use the Instant Pot. I sicced him on the internet to find a recipe, and he came up with a classic: Porcupine Meatballs!

I haven't had those in --- oh gosh --- maybe 20-25 years, if not more. My mom and granny used to make them as the stuffing for cabbage rolls: golubky in Polish or Hungarian - take your pick. 

We doubled the number of meatballs, and used our own homemade pizza sauce. So, one issue is we could've used more sauce! The recipe called for serving it with roasted potatoes, but I chose noodles. 

I should have just frozen the extra meatballs, but there you go. Live and learn. I'm still getting to know the ins and outs of the Instant Pot. 

For instance, "Instant" is extremely relative. The recipe said "25 minutes," but... Let's dissect this. Hubby made the meatballs. He ground up some round steak, because we like to do that. Less fat. 

Anyway, took him (after grinding) about 10 minutes to do the meatballs. The pizza sauce was already canned, so that time was eliminated. 

It took about 7-8 minutes to get the sauce simmering in the pot on the "saute" setting. Then you add the meatballs, set the pressure and let 'er rip... It took about 12 minutes to get the pot "up to steam." Then, 25 minutes of pressure cooking. Then 15 minutes to "naturally" decompress. About 2 minutes to flip the valve and along with all that, I was cooking the noodles. 

Basically, "instant" was about 45 - 50 minutes. So claims that "it cooks frozen chicken in 10 minutes," while they're technically correct, you're not necessarily going to have dinner on the table in 15 minutes. 

Just in case you believed the hype. 

It's a great appliance. But it's not as "instant" as you'd think. 

Random Christmas Pictures....

Gift bag from Kid #2 with a "Lit Wrap" -- an infinity cowl with Kurt Vonnegut's "Breakfast of Champions" on it. You're right - he gave me one early... But apparently, it was the wrong color, so they sent him another one, which was in purple. So I have two. 



























Church, 10:30 p.m. Vigil of Christmas Eve. It's a beautiful service. My guitar is there; I played "Silent Night," and "In the Bleak Midwinter" for that service. We had over 60 people, which for our church is pretty good! This was before we really got going. 








A hand-painted angel ornament from a friend. It's painted inside, in the Chinese fashion, and it's a beauty. I was really surprised; it's hard to tell by the picture, because of the reflection of the lights, but it's a very pretty pale green background, and she's got a lot of detail in her face and wings. Definitely an heirloom-quality piece. 












The girls at Christmas. This picture is Quinn - who's looking more like Tippi as she gets older. She's my snuggle bunny. 















Here's Tippi - my elder dog, my shadow, my therapy dog rock-star. She's a little bald around her neck - if she'd quit licking her back leg, she'd be out of the cone! We're going to have her checked for allergies - it's gotten worse as she's gotten older and I don't want to keep her in a cone for the rest of her years!














And here's Raisa, the goofball husky. She had to be bribed. The Elkhounds will smile on command, for the most part. Raisa demands tribute for the privilege of a photograph, unless I can catch her on the sly. 













So how was your holiday? Were you able to spend time with your loved ones? And were you able to have time for yourself? I hope so! 

Randomly, Before Christmas...

I am soooooooo far behind that I may see myself coming AND going. 

I just got my Christmas cards out. On the Solstice. Normally, they're out the first part of December, though I have been known to do New Year's cards when it's really a rough year. 

What's Done...

Christmas Ornaments 2018 are DONE. The ones that need to be mailed have been mailed. The remainder are ready to go for Christmas Eve. 

I will need to order more - I'm just a few short, and what I did was "organize" them into each kid. Each kid now has a bag of his or her ornaments. That's how I found that I was a few short. I thought I'd planned it out, but there you go. 

I've bookmarked the page for the plaster ornaments, because they're not available in town. I'll be tripping my fingers through that site after Christmas. Not that I expect a sale. Honestly, each one costs no more than $2.00. 

I don't like to think of these as "cheap gifts," though. I put a lot of time into them. The paint, glitter, finishing, etc. It's something. I'm not patting myself on the back, but I am going to recognize all of us who are Makers. 

We often don't get the recognition - and it's our own fault. "Oh, it wasn't much. I just made it."

Enough. Say it loud and proud because even though it's now "a thing" (thanks, Pinterest) for everyone to "make things," I'm talking about us non-Pinterest people who just kind of go about our lives and do things by hand because we love the process, love the end product, and want our families to know we care enough to do it for them. 


Next up? God's fiddliest cookies are done. 

I seriously do not know how many of these were in the two batches we did. I taught Kid #2 how to do these, but we ran into an unexpected dilemma in the making of the dough. I noticed it on Friday night (funny - this was actually LAST Friday). Hubby had purchased groceries, and I'd asked him to get me a couple tubs of cottage cheese. 

I wasn't specific enough. This recipe calls for FULL FAT cottage cheese, and my Granny preferred Dean's. 

He got me unsalted low-fat. Thank God that it was low-fat at least. Unsalted cottage cheese, by the way?

Nasty. 

Kid #2 said I should have called him and he'd have picked up the right stuff, but by then, I'd had one batch of dough done and I didn't want the discrepancy to be obvious. 

And it is obvious - to me, at least - that they're very different from last year. 

First off, the dough WAS HORRIBLE to work with. It was too stiff. Full-fat cottage cheese is more liquid; I think I could've added a splash of half-and-half to give it more fat, but I wasn't going to tinker with it this close to Christmas. They're not nearly as brown as last year's cookies. Again - fat. 

It's Christmas. Time to eat fat. It's ok. 

A few cookie trays have gone out already. 

Guitar teacher: Check. 

Eye doctor: Check.

Dentist: Check. 

My boss: Check. 

Yoga Students: Check.

Still getting rave reviews, and for what it's worth, the Brown Butter Salted Caramel cookies are a resounding "Yeah, baby!!" So I guess I'll keep them in the rotation. 

Funny enough, my yoga students left the M & M cookies. I appreciated the one student who wasn't shy about taking some home. That's why I brought them - the last class I was teaching for the week, I brought those gold + red gift bags and told them: divvy them up! 

Lights have been added. Hubby added colored LED lights to the lilac bushes. He was a bit frustrated with the lights (which he tested, and knew that they worked) crapping out on half the bush. So he added a couple more strings. 

I like it. They're still a little scraggly looking, but the bushes themselves are young yet. Only about 6 - 7 years old. He keeps them about 6' high and keeps the suckers trimmed off so that they're nicely shaped and give us a beautiful entry to the front yard. 


That, plus a wreath? That's about all we accomplished this year. At least on the outside. 

The tree is up. This is an early picture -- there are actually ornaments on it, and the presents are all around it. 

The Nativity set is up.  We have several variations and this is the one Hubby chose this year. 

I suspect it's the one he could most easily find... 

Oh, I actually wrapped packages!! And they don't (totally) look like a 5-year old did them look pretty good, if I do say so myself. You have to understand: Gift bags were made for people like me. I cannot usually wrap a box. 

I'm admitting it. Yes, I can knit socks and I can bake anything, and I can even knit lace, but I cannot wrap a box. But tonight, I managed. 

My Nightly Cuppa...

I love a cup of chamomile tea at night. It's a ritual and I enjoy it. But I was using mugs that were about 12 ounces. 

I have a 60-year old bladder. It's not appreciative of 12 ounces of ANY fluid right before bed. And it gets back at me by waking me at 2:30 or 3 a.m. Usually on the days I have to be up at 5 a.m. 

But as I rummaged around looking for something, I found my snowman mug. I got this about 20-ish years ago? It's about 8 ounces, which is perfect. 

I also am working on that expensive probiotic. In water. It seriously tastes like I'm drinking yeast. 

I have never drunk yeast, mind you. But the powder + water has a distinctly "yeast-ish" taste. Yum. 

All I have in my mind is "Those 950 billion bacteria are repopulating your gut..." so I may as well just chug the stuff down. As long as I do that by mid-afternoon, I won't be awakened by that either!

Things Left Undone...

I'm almost done with the Terribly Simple Shawl. If I can get it done and bound off by tomorrow, I will seriously wear it to my friend's yarn shop. I'll block it later!

I had a knot in the yarn, which bugs me. And it was by the Kfb - the knit front and back which makes the "lacy" edge. Not like I could hide it. 

It's acres and acres of garter stitch, and boy does that show you who's boss of your knitting. 

I have one stitch that's a little wonky, but I didn't notice it till I was about 8-ish rows past. Not frogging. 

Much like the Grapevine Lace scarf? I'll live with it. 

It seems more blue in this photo, but to me, the greens really pop. It's on a 24" circular, so I honestly have no idea how wide it's going to be when I'm done. 

I can tell you it's getting heavy. It should keep me nice and toasty. 

If we ever get winter. 

It's the Solstice today. And it's just barely below freezing. It's 31* outside to be exact. Winter hasn't hit us. 

Makes me think winter will be "left undone." Which worries me. 

Will it hit in March? Will it not hit at all? Has our climate reached a tipping point here in this weird "winterless bubble" that we've been in recently? This stuff keeps me awake all night. 

My Mom requested Pecan Tassies. Those are, at this moment, left undone. They will be done - probably Saturday night or Sunday. I've got to deliver them on Monday, so I'll be getting skippy on those tomorrow. 

Presents still to be wrapped. Not too many. Just have to get one batch put together. 

Random Picture...

All those cable channels and nothing on TV. So I hit up PBS. You can always find something. I understand one of the British channels has a burning Yule Log with Christmas music on. That may be our Tuesday thing. 

I went with Julia Child - the old half-hour programs. 

This is Julia whipping egg whites by hand. She's got a 10" copper bowl and a 5" whisk. I looked it up. A 10" copper bowl in the French style will set you back about $100. 

There's one at Home Depot for $27.00. I'm pretty sure it's not French. 

I have not found a whisk of the diameter she has - that's where the 5" comes from. There's a 24" whisk selling for about $30 on some restaurant supply website, but if you're going to beat egg whites by hand - and I've done it once or twice - you need a big bulb on the end of your whisk. It's not the length; it's the girth. 

She was huffing and puffing. But really? With the right equipment, it took about 90 seconds to get to soft peaks. 

What's on your list? What's been accomplished? What's left undone? 

And you know what? If it's undone and it's not going to cause immediate harm? It's ok to be undone. Christmas is going to happen whether you like it or not. Breathe into it. Enjoy the Solstice - it gets lighter from here on out. 

Reading & Risotto...

I totally forgot to give you the recipe for my Shrimp & Pea Risotto the other day. We got to talking... 

I made this the other day. 

Shrimp & Pea Risotto
4 c. water
2 Knorr Veggie cubes
1/4 t. salt
Black pepper to taste
Penzey's Tuscan Sunset Blend (about 1 tsp.)
1 c. frozen peas
1 c. chopped leeks or shallots
2 c. shrimp, cooked, cut into pieces
1 1/2 c. shredded cheese, divided*
2 c. Arborio rice
3 T. butter
1 T. bottled garlic
1/4 c. cream or half-and-half

Heat the 4 c. of water to boiling and add the Knorr cubes. Give it a stir and set aside.

In a heavy 3-qt. saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Turn the heat to medium, and add the leeks (or shallots), stirring and allowing them to cook till translucent. Don't brown them! 

Add the Arborio rice, and stir to coat with the butter. Add 1 c. (about) of the broth and stir, keeping the rice at a simmer, and stirring consistently (not necessary to keep stirring, but you do have to stir quite frequently). 

When the rice has absorbed about 90% of that water, add another cup or so. Keep stirring. Watch your heat; you don't want it to boil - just staying at simmer. 

Before you add the 3rd cup of water, add the salt, pepper, and Penzey's spices. Stir, and then add the garlic. 

Add the 3rd cup of water, keep stirring. This is a good time to meditate or talk on the phone with someone, but don't forget to keep stirring!

By now, you'll start to get a feel for how it's thickening up. Taste the rice; is it al dente - I mean, does it have a bit of chew, but tastes done? Probably not, but that's ok - you need to know what it tastes like at a couple of stages. 

Add the 4th cup of water when 90% of the prior cup is absorbed. See where we're going here? It's about letting the rice fatten up and absorb the water. 

You MAY need a 5th cup - it will depend upon your rice. If you do, heat up water (don't add cold!), and add it, about 1/2 cup at a time, at this point. 

Add the peas and stir around for a few minutes. Add the shrimp, stirring around. Add the cream, stirring around. Taste, and adjust seasonings now, but wait on salt (if you think it needs it). 

Add 1 c. of the shredded cheese and (yes, again) stir around, to get it all melty and lovely. 

One more stir, then top with the rest of the cheese. Let it sit for 3 minutes and serve. 

I like to add a bit of pepper to my dish, and the other night, we had fresh French bread.

This is really great the next day, heated up. For us, it serves about 6 people. 

Now, the asterisks... The cheese we use is a blend of a couple of them. I had Parmesan, Asiago, and Romano. You can use whatever you want, but please use REAL cheese, not the stuff in the green cardboard thingie. 

You can shake it up: use asparagus instead of peas. Use mushrooms instead of shrimp. 

Enjoy experimenting with it. 

Reading...

Still working on that Marilla of Green Gables book. It's really addictive, so I'm thinking I'll finish it this weekend, while waiting for cookies to be done. Kid #2 is coming over to make the Pineapple Crescents - I'm late, because I've already given out two trays... 

I'm also trying to find the birthday card I had for Kid #2. It was a good one, and I haven't been able to find it. I'd bought it months ago, when I saw it. Of course. 

And I think this weekend, I'll start the Christmas cards. 

Knitting...

The Terribly Simple is plodding along. It's going to be nice; and I'm happy that I'm plowing through to the finish, but I do wish it was done already. 

First off, I do want to wear it. 

Second off, I want to go back to socks. 

Not sure what I'll do next; finish a pair, probably. I need to get that moving because I want to start wearing some of the ones I have that are singles. 

Random Picture...

The tray for my guitar teacher. The plate for the eye doctor was already handed out. 

Let's see... 4 cookies of each type. Starting at top left, ginger snaps, brown butter salted caramel, white chocolate cranberry. 

Next row is date balls, chocolate shortbread (under the red bow) and oatmeal. 

Next row is potica, Snow on the Mountain and Lemon Cherry.

Next row is an errant date ball, filled cookies and fruity oatmeal. 

Last row is Jewish Honey Cookies, M & M cookies and chocolate chunk cookies. 

My guitar teacher was very happy. I got a thumbs-up on the brown butter salted caramel. And a thumbs-up on the chewy version of the Lemon Cherry cookies. 

Once I make the Pineapple Crescents, I'm done. Baking for Christmas 2018 will be officially over. Hubby forgot about the Apple Bread... I don't think my teacher noticed. 

What's on your baking list? My teacher said that he feels like my cookies are my own ministry. His granny did "the ministry of the potica." Bakers know what this means.