Whoopsie Daisy...

Wow, it's been awhile since I posted...  Like, a long while.

Well, no time like the present I guess.

I have been working hard to get through my bucket list, but many distractions have come up along the way.  First, the bucket list update:

- Go horseback riding Done.  @jclarkey and I had a great time at the Horseshoe J Dude Ranch, and I hope to go back in the fall when the leaves start to change.


- Go on a portage Done.  Our trip to Algonquin was fabulous.  I have to admit, after the first portage I was thinking something like "Whose %#*$ing idea was this?!?!  I am never doing this again!! %*&$#!!" But it really was worth it, and I look forward to doing it again.

- Catch a big fish (but if you don't, make up a story about one).  Still working on this...

- Go golfing (not on the Wii).  Not done...

- Take a piano lesson.  Not done...

- Finish Auburn Like Anne Sweater (seriously!).  Ahem... Getting there...

- Finish at least one other knit/crochet WIP ...

- Sew something  ...

- Read something for the love of it and do so without guilt. Done.  I've read a few books this summer, but the most enjoyable was my re-reading of "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime," by Mark Haddon.  It's about the 3rd time I've read it and I love it every time.

- Wear sunscreen. I've been wearing sunscreen, but this is obviously a continuing effort.  I must report, spray-on sunscreen has really come a long way!  I used it on our camping trip, and it really covers well without leaving "missed" spots.

As for the distractions that have been coming up -- it's been a busy summer!  @jclarkey and I put an offer on a house, put ours on the market, accepted an offer on our house, and then the whole deal fell apart...  That was interesting.  Our house is still on the market.  We'll see what happens there.

We also had to say goodbye to a dear friend.  Gordon, our cat, passed away.  @jclarkey wrote a lovely farewell blog post, and I will write one as well.

Also, my sister is in Ontario for July!  It's been great having her home, but also busy as she is expecting so we're having all kinds of showers and family get-togethers.  Tonight we're going to Labatt's brewery and she's our DD.  *smirk*

I think that's pretty much it for the exciting stuff.  I'll try to update more regularly in the coming weeks!

Summer of George and a Bucket List

I  have to thank - patsearle for inspiring this post.  Check out his blog to see his Summer Bucket List.

I also have a decade specific bucket list (things to do before I turn 30), but so far I've been pretty negligent of it. For that reason I hope to start at least one of those things this summer.  I have also included some things I know I'll be doing, but they're on here just the same.

Summer Bucket List 2010
- Go horseback riding
- Go on a portage
- Catch a big fish (but if you don't, make up a story about one)
- Go golfing (not on the Wii)
- Take a piano lesson
- Finish Auburn Like Anne Sweater (seriously!)
- Finish at least one other knit/crochet WIP
- Sew something
- Read something for the love of it and do so without guilt
- Wear sunscreen

Last year Jason decided summer 2009 would be his "Summer of George".  Strangely, it did end up being the summer of George, but not perhaps in the way Jason expected.  I think George had a good time though.

George's Cake

George as George

Manny the dog as George with @jclarkey and @kclarke5

Really though, I see no reason why every summer can't be great, memorable, exciting, awesome, adventurous, and all the things that would make it "George".

Obscure Hobbies Done Right

When I was in high school there was a small group of guys who were very skilled when it came to making funny noises.  I think back then we called it beat-boxing -- almost 10 years later I'm wondering if that's an out of date terminology.  My drama teacher theorized boys were good at that kind of thing because they made sound effects when they were little kids -- you know, playing with trains, planes & automobiles.  I played with Barbies and Playmobil, so it would follow that I am good at manipulating people.  I don't know if that's true, but I do know one thing I'm not good at: drama... and beat-boxing.

Mike went to my high school and he is very good at both.

Smart Food

Every once in a while @jclarkey and I get it together and plan our meals out wisely.  Last night, for instance, we had steak salad with tomato, red pepper and goat cheese.  Today for lunch I had a similar salad (sans steak) and tonight for dinner we had steak, tomato, red pepper & goat cheese pizza.  It was delicious -- and there's still lots of lettuce, tomato, some steak and a bit of goat cheese left!  It was a giant steak.  I'll also be having steak pizza for lunch tomorrow :)

We're not always so clever, but when it works out it's great.

In my opinion, chicken is the perfect food for going a long way.  A roasting chicken is a perfect Sunday night meal.  You can cook it slowly all day, filling your home with mouth-watering chicken aromas.  I usually like to make the chicken breasts the first meal.  That evening I'll separate the thighs and drumsticks, and remove any other meat I can manage.  The legs will be the following night's dinner and the other bits will go into a chicken salad sandwich.  What comes next is my absolute favourite part of cooking chicken -- making the stock.

Throw the rest of the chicken remnants and bones into a stock pot along with your choice of herbs, vegetables and spices.  My faves include garlic, onion, bay leaves, carrots and celery.  For the best flavour, I recommend leaving the skin on the garlic and onions and cutting them into large chunks.  I would suggest never adding salt to your stock -- odds are you'll add salt to your soup or whatever other dish you end up making with your stock.  There's really no need to add salt to stock.  The last time I made stock I also decided to add an apple and it ended up being a wise choice.  You can't really taste the apple, but there's a slight hint of it in the aroma.  You'll want to simmer your stock for a considerable length of time -- this is another one that can go all day and fill your house with wonderful smells.  When it's done just filter out the bones and vegetation and strain your stock into freezable containers.  Make sure you strain it well!  Chicken bones and bay leaves make especially dangerous choking hazards.  One chicken should produce about 10 cups of stock.


If you're not digging the chicken salad sandwich idea, throw the chicken bits into a few cups of stock, ramp up your spices (@jclarkey adds a dry soup mix called Cock Soup Mix.  I wish I was joking -- that's really what it's called) and viola, chicken soup.  For a real masterpiece add homemade noodles about 5 minutes before your soup is done.

Planning ahead to eat smart home cooked like this is not only healthy and delicious, it can save a lot of money.  A $15 chicken or steak might seem like a lot at the grocery store, but if you can make it cover 3 or 4 or more meals it's a pretty good deal!

Aaaand, for a well-rounded blog post, here's a picture of my adorable dog:

Absent Minded Gardening

There are pros and cons to being an absent minded gardener, and today I was witness to both.

Cons:

The over-ordering of seeds.  Every year I order seeds, either forgetting what I had in stock, or forgetting where I left my stock.

Here we see more varieties of lettuce than any one person could really need.

And here we see the seeds the mice got when I forgot them in the garden shed over winter... my bad.

I also end up with a lot of trial and error lessons.  For  instance -- I cut back the rosemary in the fall and it isn't growing back.  With the lavender, however, I cut two back and left two.  The two I cut are growing back, but not the ones I left alone.  Next year I'll cut the lavender and leave the rosemary.

Pros:

There are some benefits to being so forgetful.  Last year I forgot to pull the arugula before it went to seed.  And this year:

I may have an abundance of arugula.  Always a pleasant surprise!

When it comes right down to it it doesn't really matter what I remember or neglect.  Something always grows out there and it's usually something tasty.  If enough of it grows it may even have a positive impact on our grocery bill -- if not, it's at least a few interesting side dishes we wouldn't have otherwise.  And there's always the satisfaction of growing something good in my own back yard.

And let's not forget the sheer joy of getting outside from time to time.  I thought about doing several loads of laundry today, but spent most of the afternoon in the backyard instead.

Look, a pea I planted a few weeks ago!  I can hardly WAIT to shell and eat some raw peas.  Mmmm!

As long as I have the foresight to do a few things right, and the humour to laugh at what I don't, my garden will always be a joy and a success.

Sidenote:  While gardening today I separated some forget-me-nots, a few lilac cuttings and some alliums.  Anyone want them?

A Present

I have been wanting a certain knitting accessory for awhile now, and while ogling cute puppies on kijiji the other day, I decided to run a search and see if I could find a used one locally.  I found one!!  And it was cheap!  And since my birthday is only a few weeks away, I decided it was a must-have.  


Ladies and gentlemen,
My yarn ball winder:





It helps me turn a skein of yarn into a nice, neat ball, or "cake". This 
is necessary because knitting from a skein is virtually impossible.  
Your yarn tangles up, and it's just generally a bad scene. I've been 
hand-winding my own balls (more balls than cakes -- I don't have 
great technique), but it takes about an hour to do just one. With my
new toy I can do it in a few minutes. I LOVE it!!

In other news, I am an itchy beast all of a sudden.  Wednesday night when I was getting ready for bed, I complained to Jason that one of our pets must have fleas because I was covered in itchy bites (I react pretty strongly to both fleas and mosquitos).  He took one look and said, "Nope, you've got HIVES!"


Egad, I've never had hives before and now I'm on hive-tastic day three.  I likely should have had my doc check me out today, but I was busy (hey, I've got a life you know!).  If they're still around by Monday I'll give him a call.  They were at their worst last night -- my hands were so swollen I was unable to continue my video game, and knitting would have been out of the question.  I think I even had one under my thumb nail!


As for what might have caused my plight, I'm absolutely dumbfounded.  The only thing I can think of is that I must have a new Spring/pollen/spore-type allergy, as I've heard Spring allergies are supposed to be quite severe this year.


This experience does give me a new appreciation for how Jason must feel when he gets hives.  His hives are not caused by an allergy and can last anywhere from a few months to more than a year.  It's ridiculous, and I can only imagine how frustrated and uncomfortable he must be.


My itchies are less prominent today, and I might be able to do some knitting.  My sweater is coming along nicely, but I am itching (har-har) to take it off the needles and try it on!

Brrrr and a Book Review

Oh man is it cold/windy/gross out this afternoon!  Mondays and Tuesdays are my "walk home" days because @jclarkey needs the car those afternoons.  Some days I'll try to mooch a ride home if I'm not sure about the weather/lazy, but today I thought I'd tough it out.  What a mistake!  I am frozen and may have to resort to hot chocolate for a proper thaw.  Add a book and/or some knitting to the mix, and that sounds like a swell afternoon!

I must admit, I've really put knitting on the  back burner lately.  I had been neglecting my "must read" pile for some time though, and I really had to pick it back up.

Back at Christmas time I treated myself to a copy of Too Much Happiness, by Alice Munro.  I'm a big fan of Canadian literature, but for some reason had never read anything by Munro before this.  I'm a fan. Too Much Happiness is a series of short stories that are none too happy, but ring true to life.  Most of them have at least a touch of melancholy to them, but not all.  The first story (Dimensions) in particular sticks out as one that illicits an emotional response.  It's about a woman trying to recover from the mental anguish caused by her estranged husband, who is also criminally insane.  I wasn't sure if I wanted to throw up or cry when I read it (I managed not to do either), but couldn't help but compare the main character's situation with various heart-wrenching news stories I've read in the last few months.  I also quite enjoy the fact that the stories all take place in SW Ontario.  London, Wingham, Clinton, Toronto and other local references are made throughout the book.  It makes me feel more connected to the stories somehow - like maybe I've seen or driven by the exact spot the author is referencing.  Maybe I've even met the main character.  I've still got a few stories to go, but I would recommend it to anyone who appreciates the genre.

I finished my Capelet Swing Cardi about a week ago, but neglected to share photos.  I have one, but it's not perhaps the greatest representation.  I'll try to get more the next time I wear it.

I'm going to just relax for the rest of the afternoon, as I've got a BUSY week ahead.  I can't honestly say I can see myself posting again until the weekend, or possibly next week.  That's what happens when you make yourself a long weekend - lot's of work to come back to!