Merry Christmas

Hope everyone had a fantastic time - we're doing nothing, which is great and next week we're going to Chicago. 

I did a whole bunch of Christmas knitting which I'm finishing up on now. This is for my sister in law in NH who is great to knit for because she's tiny (so it's quick and everything looks grat on her) and she appreciative and she knits. I'm excited to be done with this soon so I can block and send it and pick out a project for the trip. I'm thinking of Kaffe Fassetts circles vest to use up some sock odds and ends. 

Last soccer game of the season today

The little one just got back from a school field trip, so I made breakfast

And the cat attacked him

And we have a little friend in our beds

And now we have our last game and after party (yay), then maybe we'll go see Thor. I should be able to finish Larry's socks and get started on a shawl. 

Morning run walk

Ran 5, walking another 4-5 while the spouse runs 13. Ouch. 

Here's my street at sunrise...

Health stuff

So, I realize that I sort of glossed over the phrase "health issues" kind of fast. I'm not into personal oversharing on this blog, but I'd like to get more specific here in case it helps anyone else. 

In September I had a laparoscopic myomectomy to remove benign uterine fibroids. Very minor procedure, went great, I was up and around in 24 hours and running again in 3 days, my doctor was great.  So why do I want to share?  

Because I think too many women my age don't take the symptoms of these things seriously enough or complain soon enough. I can't tell you how many peers I mentioned this to who said "it happens, it's just your age" "menopause sure stinks". But no, you can (and should) do better. If you experience changes in how your body behaves - major back pain, passing lots of clots, bleeding through multiple sanitary products - talk to a doctor. If you get a well intentioned brush off, get a referral and see another doctor. Fibroids are common and rarely life threatening, but some aren't benign or it could be something far more serious, like endometrial or cervical cancer. Time can mean a lot if you're dealing with cancer and even if it's just fibroids, anemia is no joke for someone facing menopause. 

So people, here's my PSA: floss, go to doctor, be an informed patient, and listen to your body. Going into your 40's/50's does mean its normal to feel like the victim in a Wes Craven film two weeks a month. 

Long time

Well, I have projects to post, but what with one thing and another (2 jobs, some health issues) I kind of got waylaid. 

So, until I can get some snaps of my Xmas knitting , here's my recipe of the week - "meatloaf that people who don't like meatloaf will like" (I should explain I was a horrible eater as a kid and feared mixed foods like meatloaf, soup etc. I don't remember my poor mother trying to  feed me meatloaf, but I'm sure I would have been a total pain about it):

Loaf:

1 shallot minced

2 gloves garlic minced

1 tab butter

1 teas ea salt and pepper 

1 lb 90% lean ground beef

1 cup panko

6-7 crushed ritz/club crackers

1 tab sour cream

1/2 can tomato paste

1 egg

1 teas worstershire sauce

Glaze:

1/4 cup Marsala 

3 tab ketchup

1/2 can tomato paste

1 teas worstershire sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar (you can cut this down or out if you're not cooking for kids)

Equipment:

Sheet pan

Parchment paper

Preheat oven 375

Sauté first 3 ingredients for 3-5 minutes at medium low

Mix all remaining ingredients with sautéed shallot mixture, form into a loaf about 2-3 in deep on parchment covered sheet pan. 

Bake for 35 min. Meanwhile ...

Simmer all glaze ingredients together on medium low heat for 20 min, stirring intermittently, then turn off heat and allow to sit.

Remove loaf from oven, spread with glaze, return to oven for 10-15 minutes. 

Rest 5 minutes before cutting. Internal temp should hit 160 degrees. 

Good morning

Finally, a grey weekend with no big plans.   So I'm working on socks (pictures later) and, thanks to our trip to Utah, making these http://prudentbaby.com/2011/06/entertaining-food/liege-waffle-recipe-2/ for breakfast. 

I'm also watching hummingbirds. My son took 

this picture. They show up 3 and 4 at a time and they  fights lot

Who knew something so cute was so scrappy?

Yeah, it's been a long time

Sorry, I've tried to post some this summer, but things keep happening - files won't load, time, you know. 

2 news items, the little one is 12 today. Not little anymore.  So that's nice. Also, a great friend and the person who taught me to spin died last week.  I wasn't in touch as much as I wanted to be and I miss her, but she was sick for some time so I'm glad she's not in pain anymore.  

So, I've done a bunch of stuff, to try and catch up here. 

These are cake, Dahlia cardigan, Moab socks, Firey Furnace, Arches NP, Mt Timpanogos 

Washing day, final blocking

I was afraid the waistcoat would be huge, but looks okay for my quick try on pre-blocking. If I did it again, I'd do more waist shaping.   The other 2 just needed a wash. 

Fixing those steeks and sleepy kitty

Arrrrggggghhhh

Nope. Not a pirate. Realized I misplaced the steeks in this thing which I've already ripped out 4 times. I think I'm going to see if I can just pull down the affected areas. Otherwise, perhaps the universe thinks Kauni and I aren't meant for each other.

Not a bad day

Indoor trampoline park, bbq for dinner then a walk at Kennesaw and feeding llamas.

Some better pictures of Featherweight

Finishing thing, darn it

So, I'm drying my featherweight out on the lawn (lace weight yarn plus Georgia sun equals record drying times) and now I'm thinking about what to do/ finish next.
I'm still not happy with my Kauni, so I think I'm going to rip again and make the Trellis Waistcoat (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/trellis-waistcoat). And in a way I like that idea better because Kauni rainbow in a sweater is a lot of color and perhaps I'd wear a vest more.
I also made a mistake in my Daliha (http://www.ravelry.com/projects/stringtheory2pt0/dahlia-cardigan) so I need to redo that as well.

Finishing a sweater and

Starting a quilt.
I have to sew the neck onto the body of my Featherweight in lace tonal Deep Waters, which I finished today when I was at a conference.
I also replaced our toilet seats. Surprisingly satisfying.

First coat ....

And some company from my cat - who, though I suspect he understands cold fusion and tries to tell us about it, doesn't have enough sense not to lick the drop cloth.

Day off

I haven't done this in a while, but I have day off. I'm waiting for the termite inspection man, so goodbye wallpaper border I never liked on my dining room.

Before ....

Wow, a long time

After ally claims I was only going to do fun, colorful stuff this year, I decided toile my mother in law a sweater in tasteful linen blend. And I kept messing up the gauge, so the whole thing had to be knit twice.
Here it is pre-blocking, it's in the dryer now ....

Better pics coming soon

But Galileo is great for this pattern!

Finishing things again

First of the 2013 colorful things - finished while hanging out with the young while he took a bath and we listened to Spotify

No excuse now.

Well, I finished those writers and they're drying now. So back to Vitamin D. Which is fine really. I've been flirting with a gross sore throat all week and it feels like its finally settling in.

Updates

Well, color is a good thing, but as I was nearing the end of the body on Vitamin D I realized I'd messed up the increases so I needed to pull out all the short rows (and if you've knit this one you know how much knitting that is). But I did it because its lovely and needs to be done right and Galileo is so nice to knit. Here's some progress on Kauni (yes, it's going to be a cardigan) and some mitts I've been doing.