QoGS

Lately, I feel like the Queen of Granny Squares.

Living so far away, I really feel disconnected from family and friends.  I also love sending people things in the mail, ever since a special someone sent me cookies at a terrible time in my life last year.  Spreading joy through the US Postal Service is a great way to keep in touch with people I care about back in Pennsylvania.

Back in March during a visit with my Mother's family, my cousin Mark and his wife Heather announced their first baby would be born late this summer.  Having JUST learned how amazingly fun crochet is, I decided to set to work creating a blanket for baby!

The hardest part:  Heather doesn't want to know the gender of her baby.  She is decorating with a theme that would suit either a boy or a girl.  I find this very progressive and interesting, considering we live in a day and age when some women put so much stock in the gender of their child they do crazy things to achieve their coveted boy or girl.  I won't go into it, but I might decide to do the same as Heather if I'm ever (super accidentally) having a baby. On second thought, I'm not very good at waiting for news like that.

So this is what I came up with:

The pattern is:  Carseat Blanket by Mary Ellen Wells.  I used Acrylic yarns because babies are messy.
Caron One pound Makes up the blue border and various colorways of Vanna's Choice make up the centers. All in all, it cost a little more than $50 dollars for the yarn, but I had plently left over, and I'm making a hexagon afghan for myself with them.  I bought an extra shade for mine, a really girlie pink.

Its not even close to done, but here is the pattern: hexagon how-to.  Pics soon, it's going really fast, maybe it'll be done by Zach's birthday?

Ravelry project link.

Doin' America

So where have I been?  The answer isn't simple but I'll try to make it sound that way:  Asleep.  San Fransisco.  Walgreens.

Recently I received a diagnosis.  Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, or chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis.  Not surprising considering my Mom has similar thyroid problems, since she was my age.  I should have guessed.  The symptoms were pretty clear, and if you ever even sort of suspect you might have it, don't sleep for two years.  Go get a blood test. In the end, the worst part is that breakfast is sort of forever ruined for me.  I have to take a pill every morning, and then I can't eat.  For an HOUR after taking it!  And no calcium-rich products for 4 hours.  Goodbye cold cereal.

Actually I just took it now.  So I have an hour before I can eat.   And I'm going to post pictures from my recent trip to Northern California.

First of all, the West Coast has these guys.  They are mad lazy and smell bad.  Like most things in California.

Then there were big trees.  I drove through this one.  And yes, it is still alive.  Childhood dream realized.

The whole tree.  It costs $5 to drive through this piece.  And there's a tacky gift shop that has almost nothing to do with trees.

Our view from dinner.  Crab House, Pier 39, San Fransisco.

Haight-Ashbury.  They have a ton of murals there.  "Don't gain the world and lose your soul. Wisdom is better than silver & gold."

San Fransisco is known for its Chinatown, but I thought Japan town was better.  Less scary.  And exactly like Japan.  They even had an American Version of a Japanese 100 Yen store, except everything was $1.50.  Damn exchange rate.

Wine-tasting at Ravenswood in Sonoma, CA. 

Mt. Shasta on the way back.

Laziness pie.

Yesterday I decided to make a pie.  I think I was in a good mood because it was sunny and Zach and I had a day off together.  Sadly, none of those things were still true today.  And some bad kids gave me a cold.  Oops, I meant "some kids gave me a bad cold".

But at least I still have my pie...I have to say I'm getting great at all butter crusts.  I don't use shortening usually because it's supposed to be terrible for you.  Butter is real, etc.  I just think it tastes better, really.   I find after getting used to an all-butter crust, putting in shortening makes it super bland.  That being said, it's been a long time since my last pie, and I just looked up a random all-butter recipe as a refresher.  After I had made it, I realized it was for only one crust!  Crap.  It was 10:30, I had to get up for work, and I still wanted pie.

Dutch apple pie to the rescue!  Five stars, indeed.  I may never make a regular two-crust pie again.  I did cut way back on the nutmeg, though.  Because ew, nutmeg.  I think I shook the shaker once on top of 5 cups of apples just to say it was in there.  Why is it called Dutch Apple Pie anyway?  I'm guessing it has more to do with Pennsylvania Dutch and less to do with Netherlands Dutch.

I tend to bake pies on top of a cookie sheet in case they leak...

 I'm gonna need ideas for strawberry-rhubarb soon.  Sounds like a great summertime pie.

Look at me now, I'm gettin' cat furrr.

Me channeling Troy Polamalu's hair, with my best friend.

I've been thinking a lot about yesterday's post...I love Balloon, but I've never really written or posted anything about Furball here anywhere I'm pretty sure.  His Twitter is silent, but that's not really his style.  He's been the star of the show for as long as we've known him.  Furball's time with us began back in 2007.  Zach and I were just looking at cats on Craigslist...we weren't really considering actually getting a cat until we saw the listing.  Irwin, PA.  I knew that cat!  Furball used to belong to my stepsister, who decided to give up her cats whenever she had a baby.  I emailed right away. One of life's greatest treasures didn't cost me a cent (up front, anyway).

Furball is Balloon's exact opposite.  He's beautiful, but kinda dumb.  He's great at jumping.  He loves catnip.  He can run really fast.  He'll eat just about anything, including things that he shouldn't (like the time I'm pretty sure he got a hold of a bay leaf and threw up 14 times in a row). If curiosity killed any cat, it would be him.  He's so noisy; if he doesn't like something, he'll tell you right away. Furball is incredibly snuggly, friendly and (with people) social. He's everyone's favorite, and I've heard it more than once "He's really more like a dog than a cat".

We love him so much we spent a lot of money bringing him on our 2700-mile move. Best of all, I've had him so long, I didn't have to take any pictures for this post.  I have plenty I've been taking them for years, doing nothing with about 1000+ pictures of Furball just looking amazing.  Here are some of my favorites.

Kiss!

Nappy.

Gettin' tore up on some catnip I grew last summer.

Exacting swift punishment on a catnip-filled pillow.

He didn't really "get" the leash.

Not Furball.  Hey, Baby J what are you doin' on here?

Furball's always been there when I need him...and sometimes I'll find a long, white whisker just when I need some extra encouragement.

Happy Easter

Just so you know, this is going to be one of those boring posts about my cats.  I've been working a lot and cooking not so much. I've been seeing the doctor a lot because I have been having some health problems (which are simply annoying, time consuming, and not life-threatening so don't bother worrying).  I'll soon also have a preview of a pretty afghan I'm making for my cousin's new baby due in September...but that is not done or sent yet, and I don't want to ruin the surprise.

That being said, cats are furry little angels that help you get through any and all hard times (even if they do barf and poop more than I do.)

Balloon is a comedian.  She's also a genius.  She does amazing things like open doors (both push an pull, Furball can only figure out push, but don't tell him I said that). She's really funny. I watched her pull herself across the floor on her back 6 inches at a time the other day.  She hates any treats except for cheese and gobs of plain yogurt (and butter if she can get it), and she mostly doesn't understand cuddling or toys.  But there is one thing she can't resist - Ponytail holders.  The thicker the better, she always attacks them, carries them around in her mouth, and throws them down the hall, only to go bounding after them (awkwardly, as she is not the athlete Furball is).  So as an Easter present, I give you Balloon in all her velvety soft glory.

Moving in for the kill...

BITE!  An action shot...

Balloon and her "Easter" bunny.  

Balloon:  Hey!! He didn't bring me any treats!

Please don't hesitate to notice her marbled toes.  <3   Happy Easter, all!

Balloon wants you to follow her on Twitter!  @Balloon_the_cat doesn't tweet much when I'm working, though.

Food of the Month: Smoothies

Recently Zach and I bought a blender to make smoothies.  Its so easy, good for you, and cheap.  Breakfast, lunch or dinner.  Many blenders now come with portable drink containers that you can take with you wherever you go...This makes it easier to enjoy healthy foods on the go.

My favorite recipe currently:
Juice from 1 blood orange
Frozen Berry Mix
Almond Milk
Plain Yogurt(optional)
Ice
Honey

Blend that.  Zach would add a banana.  Indeed that would be tasty.

All things Vegetarian...

After a few months of meat-eating, I am trying to go vegetarian again.  I've been cooking up some tasty foods to make the switch easier.  Here are the dishes I've been making this week:

Hummus is an easy favorite.  I try always to make it with chick peas I cooked myself, but this process takes a long time.  Chick peas must be soaked for about 4 hours, then simmered for 2.  I made the hummus over two days using a pretty basic recipe:  Lemon juice and peel, tahini, chick peas, garlic, salt and pepper + some olive oil during blending.  The hummus on the left has added sun-dried tomatoes, and the hummus on the right has a roasted red pepper added to the mix before blending.

:( the kitty-cat is upside down in this shot.

Cheesy tomato bisque is another favorite that practically doesn't need a recipe.  Two cans of whole tomatoes, 1 cup of chopped onions, garlic powder, sugar, salt, pepper, and (quite a bit of) garlic powder.  To this I added cream cheese and small cubes of cheddar.  I used my immersion blender to make it smooth.  Rave reviews from Zach who enjoyed dipping pretzels in it.  Ms. T always makes breadsticks with this soup, but I didn't have time last night.  I'm going to try next time though!  I might also try adding some plain yogurt next time instead of all the cheese, as my stomach is a bit upset from all the unbridled dairy I've been consuming.

Finally, for dessert last night I had some of these:

What are they?  They happen to be the bloodiest blood oranges I've ever seen. I have to go back to the store today and get another bag, because they are fantastic.  They are dark red, almost brown, and they stain your fingers like maybe beets or blackberries.  They are a bit bitter, and they really remind me of this soda:

San Pelligrino Chinotto is a apertif (that means it's bitter!) soda that you can purchase in a lot of Italian grocery stores.  Most stores, if they carry San Pellegrino soda its usually only the orange and lemon flavors.  Its kind of good, but I don't know if I'd recommend other people try it unless they're pretty brave.

That's all for now.  I worked all last weekend, so the cookie of the week got put off.  Maybe i'll whip something up tonight.