The Club Nobody Wants to Belong To...

Do you know what I'd want for my birthday? What would be the absolute best gift? It would be for the doctors to say to my sister, "This is treatable, and you'll be fine."

I'm not sure that's going to happen. We were supposed to get together last weekend, and we were told, "Nope." She hasn't answered a single text of mine. 

Don't they look pretty? Pretty evil...cancer cells under an electron microscope. Makes them look almost like works of art. I'm not sure if these are what's in my sister's body. 

All we know right now is that her cancer is "rare" and "aggressive." BIL wants to take her for a second opinion. A relative has offered to fly them to Mayo Clinic (about a 45-minute flight as opposed to a 10-hour drive). My sister is said to be considering it, and I would agree, if she was asking me. Even if the news is the same, a second opinion in this kind of situation is something that I think is valid. 

The plan is to visit at some point, but I'm not sure when. She's scuttled a few visits already, and what's troubling is that I'm not sure we have a lot of time. 

It's not a situation I've ever wanted to manage, but in several instances in my adulthood, I've had to be the "Angel of Death" and tell people the absolute worst news. I don't like being in that situation, and I'm hoping that I don't have to. I just don't know. 

The Kitchen...

So, one of the best tools to have in your kitchen? A ruler. A standard, plastic ruler. I've used it when I've made Japanese Milk Bread. I've used it time and again to re-measure a pan. I've used it for tons of things. It's so helpful, and we don't often think of it. 

I've seen fancy measuring devices like silicone sheets you roll dough on, the board scrapers (only about 6" of length there, and I don't often feel like adding!), those strips you put on either side of our rolling pin... Nothing beats a 50-cent plastic ruler. 

Easy to clean, easy to use. Comes in lots of colors! So technically, you could have a green one for pastries, and a red one for meats? Why not? 

Made chicken soup the other night; and I added some dried seaweed to it. Aside from the mineral benefits and a bit of salt, it added a nice crunch to the top of the soup. It also adds a nice green bit to a soup that can be kind of "beige." 

I used a standard recipe: dice up a chicken breast and saute till lightly browned, and remove it from the pan. Then saute some chopped carrot, stir around on med-hi heat for about 5 minutes, add chopped celery, stir another 5 minutes. Cover your pan and lower your heat. Stir occasionally for another 6-7 minutes. Then, remove lid, add chopped leeks and a couple cloves of garlic (diced) and stir that around for a few minutes, just so the garlic gets golden. (NOTE: Nothing worse than burned garlic!).

In the meantime, have a soup pot ready, with about 6 cups of water in it. Add a Knorr Veggie cube for every 2 cups of water, and start it boiling. Add your meat & veg. Add some fresh ground pepper, add a bit of thyme, maybe some marjoram if you have it. Parsley, for sure, either fresh or dried. Let it come to a gentle boil, then add half a package of No-Yolks egg noodles, bring back to a boil and let it cook for however long the noodle bag says - about 6-9 minutes. 

There you go. Easy soup. 

The Knitting...

Still working on the blue striped sock. Told my yoga class that I had to rip the other one, and there was one student who said, "Wow, that would fit MY foot!" We all laughed. I think she might've been serious. 

I guess if I was ambitious enough, I'd have them all trace their feet and measure their shins. But I'm not that ambitious. Washcloths, maybe. Not socks. 

As you can see from the picture here, I'm using a silicone blister bandage. It lasts for about 3-4 days, and keeps me from puncturing my index finger, which is my "pusher" finger. It works better than just about anything I've found. And it's not obnoxious-looking! So I can wear it for a few days, and it doesn't get grimy. 

And as I pulled out my knitting to settle in with episodes of "A Place to Call Home," I did...just about what I do every couple times I knit socks. I pulled out the WRONG needle. 

No picture of the ACTUAL incident -- I was busy stuffing the live stitches back on the needle. Thankfully, the wool was "grippy" enough to not drop down a bunch of rows! It happens regularly enough that I don't freak out (as much) but I still react kind of quickly so as to not lose the stitches. 

As you can see, the top needle was the one I planned to pull out to start knitting. But...I pulled out the bottom one. 

I can tell you the first time it happened. I was working on a sock in a gorgeous fall-like colorway, from Lorna's Laces. That yarn? Stunningly smooth. Not grippy. And thus the downfall. As the NEEDLE slipped out of the stitches (this time, I didn't pull the needle out - it FELL out!), the little buggers droped as I was watching them. PLINK, PLINK, PLINK...(at least that's the sound that they make in my head, rather a gleeful sound, as as my heart makes a sound like THUNK, THUNK, THUNK...while it drops faster than those stitches do) By the way, I frogged that entire sock, stuffed the yarn into a bag and put it in time-out for a while. 

Funny thing happened at the oral surgeon's office. I had to go get some paperwork to drop off to my dentist, and it was a bit of a wait. Apparently, they couldn't find something...so I sat there knitting. After a while, one of the techs said, "Oh, look, knitting!" and I commented that I was also wearing hand-knitted socks. This tech literally lifted my pant leg (I was in the chair already), and petted my sock... I was a tad taken aback. Nobody has ever asked to pet my socks. 

All the girls at the front desk then wanted to see the socks I was wearing, as well as the ones I was knitting. That was probably the most fun trip to the oral surgeon ever!  The picture to the right is the pair I was wearing and the ones I'm knitting. 

Incidentally, the pair I'm wearing in this picture to the right? They're about 5 - 7 years old. Opal yarn. Wears like iron. Now, I just wish they'd come out with some variegated, like they used to. I love the self-patterning, but I'd like to get back to the variegated like these pink + green ones. Sometimes, you don't want a lot going on. You just want a plain sock that's sort of mindless. I mean, obviously, the blue stripe is mindless - I'm just knitting and letting the yarn do the work. But with a variegated yarn that changes colors every so often, it just seems simpler. 

I bought myself a birthday gift... Yarn. Of course. I bought Expression Fiber Arts North DK and I'm making the Gofleidio shrug/sweater/cardigan pattern. I'm not sure what you'd call it, but I know that I can knit it, and that I'll enjoy wearing it. It's been years since I've knit a sweater. 

So I changed up the colorway a bit. I kept the grey tones: Penguin, Midnight Snowfall, Peaceful Hush... But I changed out the pinks. Instead, I did Enchanted North (dark blue), Wintering North (medium blue) and Solstice North (yellow). Yeah, I don't normally wear yellow, but that as a "pop" with the greys and blues? I thought it would spark it a bit. I've always liked grey with yellow, and blue with yellow. So hopefully, that will work out in this garment. 

Random Picture...

Well, it's January. And strangely enough, we've had an insane amount of ice. Including sub-zero temperatures, so that the icy-melt stuff doesn't work. 

We live where there are alleys. You drive up the alley to get to your respective parking area and then you drive down the alley to get out to the street. Very few houses have front-loaded driveways in our neighborhood. It's older, the streets are narrower, and there's just not a lot of front-yard space. The houses are long, rather than wide. 

So it was pretty nasty getting into and out of the alleys for a few days. Mind you, the sparkly layer of ice on the snow, the glassy finish on the sidewalks -- beautiful. And so incredibly dangerous. Even trying to use Yak-Trax, people were sliding all funny. Folks walking their dogs cut straight through yards, because it was safer than trying to walk on either the sidewalk or the road. Nobody minded; it's easier to pick someone up off your lawn than off a sidewalk so slick that you'd never gain footing. 

Finally, after almost a week, it began to melt. Thankfully. I'm a big fan of winter, but ice? I don't bounce like I used to. 

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I Habe a Cowd...

As I sit here watching the leaves blow off the front maple tree, "The Good Earth" is on the television, and I'm brewing my "umpteenth" cup of tea, as well as diffusing Young Living Essential Oils "Raven" blend. Hubby says it smells like menthol rub - it does, but not a lot. Just enough.  I've got a cold. Now, it's been brewing for a few days, so it's no surprise. It's just better to stay home from church (and the peace sign/hugs) when one has been up coughing in the night. 

Watching Paul Muni and Luise Ranier play Chinese characters...Nothing like Hollywood cultural appropriation. Looks like Chinese folks were extras. Nice of them. 

Anyway. I got someone to sub for my Yin class just so I don't cough my way through that. I'll be at work Monday, but I may as well give myself another day (was home yesterday, too). I swear, I'm normally healthy as a horse, but I'm not sure why I've been smacked with this mess. 

At least I'm pottering around the house. Though I did go out yesterday for a haircut and -- finally - a pedicure. I've only been trying to plan that for 6 or 7 months. Yeah, I know - real "First World" issues. But because of my insane schedule, I usually don't schedule them. I rely on the ability to get a last-minute appointment at my favorite place. Second-favorite, but quickly becoming first on the list if the other place doesn't get its act together and finish its remodel!

This is an OPI color, called "Teal the Cows Come Home." It matches my flip-flops, and looks more blue in the bottle. More teal on the toes. I usually buy the ones I want and bring them. I don't know why, but it just makes me feel better knowing that I'm the only one who's used that particular bottle. I've never had a problem, but I know people who have, and I don't want to start having any issues. Of course, I go to a regular salon and they're pretty strict on their sanitation protocols, but still - you never know. And I'd rather be safe than sorry. Don't need an infection to slow me down --- when I've got a cold that'll do the same thing!

Knitting...

I'm doing Christmas hats; I was just thinking that perhaps I should have made a blue one for Kid #1 - he loves red, but his coat is blue. Maybe I'll just make two of them and let them figure out which one each one wants. 

It's coming along - about another row, I think, then starting the purl ridges. The remainder of the red yarn will be stuck into the "Prayer Patch" bag and we'll do more squares - a nice Episcopal red!

I stuck the "October" cross stitch banner on the front door. Inside, though! This is a Lizzie Kate design, done in the hand-dyed floss. I created the pillow out of my own head; the backside is a Halloween-orange and the ribbon is orange gross-grain. I have a few more of these. One of these days, I should do the other ones - for the holidays. 

I haven't really made any progress on the Monkey sock; I've been pushing to get the hats done. The socks are for me, so we can wait on those. 

I should pick up the Grapevine Lace scarf; it's almost done. It would be nice to have it done for when the weather finally settles into the cold. I'll see how much I can get done with the red hat; maybe switch off with that before I start the other hat. 

The Latest Shooting...

I'd like to think we could go a month without a shooting. But we can't. And that maniac in Washington doesn't think he's to blame. 


Let's see. 

"Fake news."
"Fake media."
"I'd bail you out if you hit him." 
"He can body slam you."
"Lock her up!"

Get the picture? In his latest rally (because, you know, there's nothing else he's got to do), he thought about moderating his hate-speech, but his rabid hordes shouted "NO" -- so he didn't. 

Kid #2 made this stencil for me a year ago. I don't even remember which shooting. A school, I think. It's amazing that it's still relevant, isn't it?

Maybe it's not so amazing. 

I'm voting in the November 6th election. Everyone needs to. Someone needs to temper the baser instincts of humanity in this country. It's got to be us. 

Reading This...

I asked a friend of mine about how one learns more in regard to church. I've only been an Episcopalian about 5 or 6 years. And honestly, I know a lot more about the Catholic church, having been born & raised in that religion. So I've just kind of picked up stuff as I've seen it. But I'd like to know more. She recommended this book. I've been reading it, and it's cool - I understand more of what we do and why we do it. 

She loaned me her copy, and then I bought one of my own. I found that I wanted to underline and highlight! Not that I'd do it in her copy, of course. 

And I'm reading a Kinsey Millhone book (Sue Grafton's Alphabet Series): "W for Wasted." Sue Grafton died recently, and she almost got to "Z" - her last book is "Y" and her family said that she didn't leave any outline or manuscript. 

I'm actually hoping they do NOT find anything - or they do NOT hire a ghost writer to complete the series. They did that for VC Andrews, and I'm sorry; it's crap. 

Sometimes, the stories just have to die with the authors. I loved her writing (Grafton's I' mean). And now she's gone. And that's why "the alphabet ends in Y..."

Random Picture...

While home sick, you may notice all kinds of things. I noticed that the neighbor's car just about matched the leaves on my tree. Which have thinned considerably, given this morning's wind. It's cloudy and the wind is blowing. A great day to stay inside and make chicken soup. Hopefully, we have enough garlic. Maybe I'll add orzo and grab some carrots out of the garden in between the raindrops. And if I'm really lucky, I'll have some mushrooms and leeks frozen. Or even chopped kale. I'll take it. 

I like to make soup when it's real "fall" weather. And when I feel like crap. It not only makes the house smell good, but it feels good as well. And it gives me stuff to eat for lunches. I freeze it in portion-controlled containers and take it in a thermos (no microwave at work). 

The other night, I did a chicken and quinoa dish in the Instant Pot. I have to branch out...one of these days! I know you can do a lot with it; I just never think about it till it's just about time to eat. It's not that quick - still takes about 10 minutes to prep, 5 - 10 to get up to pressure and then however long it takes to cook. So "instant" is relative. It's quicker than baking, in many cases, and quicker than using a crock pot. 

Either way. Soup. Yum! What's your favorite cold-weather, turning-fall recipe? Share, please!