Knit Think

The rumors are flyin'

...that I don't knit anymore because I never blog about it.

I say, au contraire! I knit darn near every day! But I'm still stuck in an endless cycle of "a few rows of this, a few rows of that." Sure, it makes me happy, and I don't mind how slow it all is, but it makes for lousy blog fodder.

However--something did spring off the needles this week:

Hypoteneuse, clearly needing ends woven in and a good blocking, but off the needles nonetheless.

Wouldn't you think that finally finishing something would inspire me to finish one of the gazillion other projects I have going? Why, no. I decided I needed to cast on this:

It's hard to see the detail, but it's very pretty. And I just happen to have some Lacey Lamb yarn, bought at Bella Lana, where they displayed the yarn next to the pattern. Gosh, what a revolutionary marketing plan.

Yeah, it was a good idea on my part. The pattern calls for one skein of the yarn, which was conveniently exactly as much as I bought. But it needs to be knit double-stranded. No problem. One end was right on the outside of the skein. The other was surely in the center.

Therein lies the problem. The other end was in there, all right. In a big tangled, snarled-up wad of laceweight yarn. I have the tangled pile down to about 1/3 of its original size after two evenings of careful detangling (and a glass of wine for jangled de-tangling nerves). I anticipate getting the rest accomplished in the next day or so, and then I will cast on. Because nothing will stop me now. From casting on, and then abandoning it for some other project.

Besides, I've also been awfully busy. I had a party. A knitting party.

I foolishly neglected to take pictures, because I was having way too much fun. However, the kind folks here and here took pictures. It was great fun, and all the people there are witnesses that I do indeed know how to knit! And make cranberry salsa (stay tuned for this week's Friday Food)!

I've also had to spend a great deal of time convincing this poor Kentucky woman that she really, really, really doesn't want to go for a walk when the wind chill is -30F.

Yes, I do feel terribly guilty. But she doesn't know any better. This is her first real winter. She'll learn. Gracie figured it out pretty quick.

Oh, and I have a huge work project, a copyediting/fact-checking on this:

Yup, that's a lot of work. For not a whole lot of money. But that's OK.

Because it's MY book. At the moment I'm quite sure it's the worst book ever written and am scared to start the editing process, but it must be done. And in case it's not the worst book ever written, feel free to drop by the nice folks at Amazon.   

Friday food

Yesterday was a great day. Best. Day. Ever.

Now, if you're wondering what a good day on Thursday has to do with food on Friday, hold on. I'm reporting it on Friday, so it counts (I make the rules, remember?), and anytime I report a good day, you can bet that food was either the star or at least had a significant supporting role.

So. I left home yesterday morning for a meeting. This was a good start. I like the people I'm working with, and it's a good project, so a meeting isn't a bad thing. But when I was almost there, the cell phone jingled (I have the theme song from The Sopranos as my ring tone: "Woke up this morning/got yourself a gun/Mama always said you'd be the/chosen one"). Turns out the other person is sick, so no meeting. No biggie. I can always find something else to do.

In fact, I realized I was awfully close to downtown Minneapolis. Where the Walker Art Center is. During the last week of the Frida Kahlo exhibition. Let's recap, shall we? I tried to go see it earlier in the fall and was prevented by a sick child, then another time by a policeman's funeral causing streets to be closed. I finally made it right before Christmas, during a period of bad weather, the day before I did a one-day roundtrip up north (five hours each way normally, and we hit a snowstorm on the way back) to pick up my parents for Christmas, so my experience trying to see Frida was fraught with danger and frustration. Yet here I was, right about the time the museum opened, with an unexpected chunk of free time on my hands.

Did I go? You bet. It wasn't even busy! I was shocked! Until I mentioned it to one of the guards, who pointed out that Thursday nights are free admission at the Walker, so they get really crowded after 5. There were even school groups there, but they were quiet and respectful. Heh. I'd say the kids I saw looked to be in the 5th or 6th grade age group; half looked utterly bored, and the other half looked like they were all going to have nightmares last night.

In any event, it was a splendid spur-of-the-moment occasion. I came out feeling all giddy and pleased. And with time to spare; what to do? Sure, I could go home and work. But this was found time. So I made a quick decision to check out Delmonico's, an Italian food shop in NE Minneapolis that Katie told me about.

Again, sorry about no camera. Delmonico's is a hoot. Itty-bitty--I think if you had more than 4 customers in there, you wouldn't be able to move. But oh my! The fun foods! Just look!

Mmmmm....pesto and portabello mushroom ravioli. Very yummy. I know because we had it for dinner last night. With a fresh loaf of sourdough bread:

And in future days, there's more pasta:

I live for pasta. I guess that's a blow to my Scandinavian heritage.

Delmonico's supplies dessert as well:

Chocolate raisins for me. Cola-flavored gummies for the kids. And that item in the middle? Chocolate bread. Meant, as the proprietor explained, to be heated and served with whipped cream. Which we will do tonight.

And cheese, and salami, and prosciutto...no, I didn't buy all of that. But I will when I go back. And I will go back.

So by that point, I'm a very happy camper. I'm driving home and remember that the grocery store had been on my to-do list, and there were a few things I needed that I couldn't get at Delmonico's. So I pull into the big Byerly's in St. Louis Park. And what do I find on display?

Root Beer Lady root beer! When I was up in Ely this summer, I visited the Dorothy Molter Museum. Fascinating place--the last person who was allowed to maintain a permanent residence in the Boundary Waters. After she died, her cabin was carefully reconstructed in Ely as a museum. She used to make homemade root beer to sell to visitors in the Boundary Waters, and now the museum sells a version of that root beer. It's fantastic--I bought a case, and it was quickly gone, and I'd told the kids, sorry, you'll have to wait until I go back to Ely. But no! Byerly's sells it now!

Sweet. What a great day. As I wander through the store, happily clutching my root beer, the cold weather makes me think about chili, and it makes me think about the Chicken Salsa Chili they serve at Cafe Latte. Boy, I'd like to be able to make that chili. Then I see this in the meat department:

Hmmm...think this book might have a chicken salsa chili recipe? Why, yes, it does. And oh--look--

It's the recipe from Cafe Latte. The one I love. In a book. Sold in a store where they sell all the ingredients to make the recipe.

Wow.

And I'm still not done! After school I took The Teen to his allergy shots, and he reminded me that I'd promised to take him to Barnes & Noble. Like that was a hardship for me. Anyway, we go to the store, and I spy a book I read over Christmas break. I checked it out from the library and loved it--thought I'd buy it when it comes out in paperback. It's not in paperback. But:

Yes, that is a 50% off sticker. Yes, I have a Barnes & Noble member card, so I got another 10%. Bringing it down to at least what it would be in paperback, if not less.

See why I was fairly floating yesterday? Heck--I'm still floating today.

Friday food

Hello, and welcome back to Knit Think's Friday Food! Today we have a very special edition of Friday Food!

Don't you hate it when TV shows have special editions?

Today's special edition takes you on a field trip. Or rather, would take you on a field trip if Ms. Knit Think had had her camera with her when she was out shopping yesterday. So instead of seeing where she shopped, you'll see what she bought.

Background: For the past two years I've worked two days a week in St. Paul, and the fastest route to the job was to go down 494 to West 7th. All these times of driving to and fro, I frequently noticed, but never stopped at, a little shop called Kiev Foods. Yesterday I decided, spur of the moment, to pay a visit.

What a fun place! It's not much to look at--but generally I'm very fond of places that aren't much to look at--but it's a treasure trove of food shopping fun. As you might guess from the name, it sells primarily Russian and Eastern European foods. Here's my haul:

Let's look more closely at some of these items.

Back row, left to right, Greek caviar spread; liver pate; and something called sprats pate. I have no idea what that is. And in front, a selection of smoked fish.

Back row, what I assume is soda pop. I can't read the label. But it has pretty pictures of fruit. In the front, a huge bag of dried bay leaves for $2.59.

Pickles! Wild strawberry preserves! Mini soup croutons!

These are little individual servings of flavored rye croutons. Back row, the left package is bacon; right is meat and horseradish; front left is lard and garlic; and front right is salmon and cheese.

The final piece of the shopping extravaganza came from the store's miniscule but lovely bakery department, where I picked up a few pieces of delightful looking baklava.

Too bad for you that we ate them all already, so you can't see how pretty they were. But pretty isn't what counts, after all, it's how they tasted; they tasted better than they looked.

Can't wait to try the lard and garlic croutons. Mmmm, lard.

Why I love January

Flandrau State Park

What I don't love about January, so far:

Being sick for a week. Good grief. I'm a grownup. Grownups aren't supposed to get sick like that.

Temperatures in the 40s? Ummm...it's January. In Minnesota.

Having not one, but both of my headlights go out on the same day. Or rather, on the same night.

But back to the love...bless the VW dealer that took one look at my nerve-wracked, back-road-driving-without-headlights when I drove in and, without an appointment, fixed the problem, and it was all under warranty. No ka-ching!

And there's this devilishly fun geography game: http://www.travelpod.com/traveler-iq?cbbb=fb97

Maybe more snow coming tonight! Feeling better! Homemade soup! Knitting like crazy!

So far, the month is balancing out toward the positive.