My Favorite Kitchen Thing

The egg slicer is quickly becoming my favorite unitasker tool in the kitchen. I've owned one for years, but relegated to the back of a cabinet, it only comes out when I get a hankering for egg salad, which isn't very often.

During a visit to my sister's home in Montclair, NJ, she pulled out her egg slicer to use for cutting up strawberries. I zipped through two pints in a few minutes. What a great idea!

This morning I made a mushroom omelette for breakfast. As I pulled out a knife and cutting board, I remembered how easy it was to cut up the strawberries. Would it work for mushrooms? You bet. Easy peasy, no mess, even slices. Eureka! Now what else can I slice?

Quick projects

I've been fighting off a bad case of startitis for weeks now, and seeing finished projects on a few blogs coupled with a small project finish by a friend pushed me right over the edge. My friend sent me a pic of her mug cozy - so cute, useful, and quick! I decided right then to find a quick project and make it so I could have the satisfaction of finishing something. Easy, right? Just go on to Ravelry and pick out something.

Hold on now, not so fast. After about 5 minutes of browsing I thought to myself, "Self, don't get ahead of yourself. Let's be practical. Pick something based on your stash or your queue. Pick a small project that you've been wanting to make anyway. You must have something." So, I restarted my search and found the Nest Tote, added to my queue back in March 2010. I even ordered yarn from Knit Picks back in 2010 to make it. The pattern says it only takes "a few hours". Yes, I'm a slow knitter. Yes, it's not straight forward garter stitch. It will be fine!

So this weekend I've been working on a "small" project, this market bag, for 4 hours so far. Yes, I made a mistake once and had to tink back two rows but all I have to show for my time is 4 inches of knit mesh. I have to knit 24 inches of mesh. then sew together, then complete the handles. I've finally realized this project is not small at all.  I should have made the Infinity barrette from my queue, or maybe another dishcloth to go with one I made years ago. Or maybe I should be working on that darn knit-a-long shawl!

So much for the quick satisfaction of a weekend project. Maybe I'll weave in the ends on the first and only dishcloth I made 4 years ago this month (is it possible that I've been knitting for that long?) I've never used the dishcloth because of the ends. Maybe now I can use it - I've been thinking of switching from shower puff back to washcloth. This would be just the thing.

Craving tomatoes

Last week I signed up for a new campaign through BzzAgent. This one is for Ristorante Pizza by Dr. Oetker, the #1 frozen pizza in Italy. I will probably get a coupon to try the product free, and hopefully some coupons to pass on to friends. I love pizza but ordering delivery is both expensive and unhealthy. I always order too much and have greasy pizza in my apartment that I eat because I don't want to waste food and money. By buying frozen pizza I can cut down on the cost and also enjoy pizza in a healthier way by limiting how much pizza I eat and serving it with fresh vegetables. I've had a craving for tomatoes lately and have been eating tomatoes in everything - salsa, pasta with sauce, fresh tomatoes in salad, fresh tomatoes used in casserole, roasted, on sandwiches, yum! But I've been staying away from pizza because I don't want to order in and sabotage myself. I hope my Bzz Kit gets here soon!

Have ever mentioned that I'm a Bzz Agent? I get the chance to try out and review products for free. I usually even get some samples to pass out to my friends - it's a great program! The past few campaigns I have participated in are:

Burt's Bees Natural Skin Solutions for Sensitive Skin - loved it! This was for a new product line. I received two full size products, lots of samples and coupons. I've now started using the moisturizer as part of my routine

Fekkai Shampoo and Conditioner - I didn't like their product at all. I received two full size bottles - 1 each of shampoo and conditioner. I had samples but couldn't get any of my friends to try the product.

Werther's CaramelFest - New types of candies that I hadn't seen in stores. I received full sized bags of 3 kinds of candy, and coupons. I had a great time sharing these with friends and trying all the candies together as a taste test.

Rose Lace Stole Knit-a-long

On September 5, 2011 I started a knit-a-long project with my friend Donna for the Rose Lace Stole from Interweave Knits, Spring 2011. We ordered yarn from KnitPicks, messed about with gauge, and set out to knit.

Well, I had a few projects pop up in the fall and into winter. I knit the Pembroke Wrap as a gift for a friend, and a Christmas stocking for my brother-in-law.  I also revived Babette and have been making steady progress on squares. This was through the busy holiday stretch and a lot of overtime at work.

That means that the knit-a-long is moving quite slowly. The lace pattern of the central panels is pretty simple but very easy to screw up if you aren't paying close attention. I think I've finally got the hang of the pattern and good way of working it. I tend to complete 4 rows per knitting session regardless of knitting alone, in a group, before or after dinner, time spent, etc. Now I also check my work after each lace row to make sure I didn't goof it up. It's so much easier to fix the error when it's still on the top!  I'm now at row 60 of the 124 needed before I begin the bottom lace panel. With any luck, I'll knit a few nights a week on this project and get 10-15 rows done a week. At that pace I should be ready to do the complicated lace border by March 5th! Yes, I do sit and make all sorts of calculations about  when I might finish, move to the next step, change yarn balls, etc. What, that's normal isn't it??

BOOTS!!!

For years I've been trying to buy tall boots but my extra-large calves have held me back. I have ALWAYS had muscular calves, no matter what my weight, so finding boots has always been a disappointment. Most companies claim wide calf status when they make it about 16". I have a 19.5" calf, and it starts about halfway up. Pair after pair of boots have been ordered in vain only to find I can't zip them or pull them up.

I have just purchased my first pair of really nice knee boots (Land's End Diana Riding Boots, lined leather, yes they were on sale) because I found this great product that zips into the boot opening and voila, your boots fit! The Boot Band. How come I've never heard of these before? Apparently they were on the O List in O Magazine last Christmas, and they are mentioned this month in Woman's Day. I don't read either of those publications so I guess I missed out.

I just ordered a pair of the half calf elastic with leather border Boot Bands for myself, so now I can tell you about it! I have a feeling there's going to be a rush on these. I can't wait until they get here! I'll post a photo of me wearing my new boots with the insert when they arrive.

A Glitch in the System

I finished reading Frankenstein over the weekend and went to my Goodreads account to move it into the 'read' category and creep a little closer to my goal of 52 books in 52 weeks. I clicked on the goal counter and Goodreads says I am 2 books behind (4%). If I finish up the book I'm in the middle of and get French Milk read this week, I should be back on track. I clicked on the counter to see the titles I've read this year that make up the count. Something was strange as I scrolled down...


Is there a glitch in the page? I see two The Cat Who... books are posted twice. Please tell me it isn't so...
Somehow I had added two different editions of each book as read. Damn! So now I'm 4 books behind (8%) my goal and also need to read one a week to keep up.

While we were chatting about reading, goals, the fact that each of has a list of books that that is more than we could read in a lifetime, Susan said something very wise. “I’m a reader. I don’t have to prove it to myself that I am.” Hmmm. Who am I trying to prove it to? I feel like if I read at a minimum, 52 books in one year, than I will reach the upper echelon of acclaimed readers. I’m even reading a book about reading books, Tolstoy and the Purple Chair: My Year of Magical Reading by Nina Sankovitch. Yes, she writes about reading a book a day for a year. But this book is more about experiencing the profound loss of her sister to cancer.

If you are reading a book that you don't like, stop! Go and read something else you'll enjoy. Likewise for all the trashy TV and mind numbing movies. Go outside and look up at the sky.