Machine Knitting At Its Easiest

 Years ago I needed knitting machine to assist in a Relief Society knitting project. On a whim, (which turned out to be inspiration!) I went to the Freecycle website to see if anyone had one.  The very next morning a woman offered me her Bond Incredible Sweater Machine. I drove to Springfield for it. 

The machine was in its original box. It was in great condition.  It took me a while to figure out how to knit with it, but once the learning curve straightened out I was good to go.

When we went over for the wedding our son got out this "extra blanket" for us in case the wonderful 3-D quilt our daughter made for his wedding gift was not warm enough and we needed more blankets.  I had forgotten all about making it.

It was knit with wool yarn from Hilda Yates' Yarn Sale which she had for many years the weekend before Halloween.  She would fill the rooms in her beautiful farmhouse with huge piles of skeins of colorful yarn.  She has a flock of sheep and had sent the fleeces to Harmony, Maine to the Bartlettyarns mills to be spun and dyed then brought home to sell. She sold it at half the price you would need to spend in a yarn store.  Most years I went to the yarn sale, several times with Dear One who came along to encourage frugality and thrift, but that was pretty much a losing proposition.  He stayed in the kitchen where a wonderful spread of breakfast goodies was laid out.  Sometimes we brought scones or something else to add to the table.

The blanket was made by starting with one strip then adding on, connecting the strips as I went.

You can see the seam up the edge of the strips, even though it is horizontal in this picture.  It makes a nice sturdy connection between the pieces and is pleasantly noticeable if you are looking.

It is a nice wool blanket.  It makes me want to make another one when we get home from our mission.  There is still some Hilda Yates yarn in a yarn bin at home. At least there was when we left nearly two years ago...!

What We Did On Saturday

On Christmas our oldest grandchild, a girl, introduced us to her fiancé over Facetime.  We had met him several years ago when they graduated from high school.  They have been friends since seventh grade.  They both returned homes from missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the past year.

Early in January we received a call from son number one, the father of oldest grandchild, to say she had chosen a wedding date just five weeks away and was there any chance we could attend.  He would purchase the airplane tickets.  We communicated with our mission president who told us we should go, so we did.

Saturday was brutally cold with a wind blowing off the the Great Salt Lake all the way to Brigham City where the young couple was to be married in the temple there for time, and for all eternity, a sacred holy ordinance which is taken very seriously.

We waited outside the southwest door of the temple while the young couple changed from their white temple clothing into regular wedding gear.  People were standing around in blankets and chatting happily until the door opened and out they came.

The happy young couple.  Such a beautiful sight for all, and especially a grandmother who clearly her first grandchild's earliest days.  Some of those days were spent in the same household while dad and mom were fixing up an apartment in Vermont where son number one had taken his first big job.  Early mornings with 4-year-old granddaughter snuggling in bed with her grandparents are such sweet memories.

Here is son number one, wife, and daughters with new son-in-law:  a very happy family all bundled up against the cold and wind, except the bride who was warmed by her love and excitement.  It was such a joy to share the day with them.

Empty!

Finally, two months after we moved into this apartment the mountain of boxes in the living room is gone! 

This is the story:  my plan during hose two months was to go through each box and make sure there was nothing in any of them that I did not want to take home to Vermont.  I did get some of the boxes emptied but there were others I just did not get to.

Several nights ago was a bad sleep night:  woke up at 10:30, did a little work on the computer, did a little reading, went back to bed, got back up ten minutes later, and FINALLY I DID THE JOB!

By this time it was nearly 2:00 AM but I did it anyway.  I removed the security stick from the sliding glass door, unlocked the door, opened the door, opened the screen door, and reveled in the refreshing night air. I don't know what the temperature was but I considered dragging a chair out to sit there for a while then gave myself a quick slap and started moving the boxes.  Whole job--maybe 15 minutes!  Why did I wait so long?

There is nothing like an empty path between the living room and the dining table!  Plus, bonus,  now when I wake up in the early morning, I put on my headphones, push the lightning connector into my phone, go to my scripture-reading schedule, start listening, and get in 1,000 to 3,000 steps before breakfast...or if I am honest, before I go back to bed.  Did I mention EARLY morning? 

Some day maybe sleep will smooth out and I will sleep all night, every night. I hope.

Munchie Monday: Another Wedding Punch

At our granddaughter's wedding reception I helped our daughter with the punch.  It was a lime sherbet float punch. So tasty.

Ingredients
46-ounce cans of pineapple juice
2-liter bottles of 7-Up
Fresh limes


In a punchbowl, pour 1 can pineapple juice and the juice of two limes.  Stir with the ladle then pour in two 2-liter bottles of 7-Up and stir a little bit.

In a 9-ounce punch cup place one scoop (with a 1/4-1/3 cup portion scoop size) lime sherbet then, using the ladle, pour on top of the lime sherbet enough punch to come nearly to the top of the cup.  After a few seconds the lime sherbet will become a lime sherbet float.

Here is a picture of the punch that has been there for a while.  You can only see the lime sherbet that has begun to melt...along with lemon squares and brownies which was the treat rather than a wedding cake.  People seemed really happy with both the punch and the bar cookies.

Food Friday: Soups

You can tell that I am wearing down a bit...I have started buying ready-to-eat soup for Dear One.  It is soup he likes.  For the most part.  AND he is willing to heat it up in a mug and just enjoy it.

When I brought home the Cheese Tortellini soup he was really happy and heated it right up.

This is what was leftover in the mug.  He liked the cheese tortellini.  The vegetables in the bottom...well, not so much, but he did pretty well.  It left me free to eat roasted beets and roasted brussels sprouts and all-vegetable soup and whatever other vegan-y thing I was eating with no worry about disappointed spouse.

The Peacock's Tail!

This knitting project is done as much I can make it.  It really needs blocking but my blocking bars are in Vermont.

This shows how badly blocking is needed.  I do have to say that the cast-off was a bit strange to me, but I did it anything, thinking it would come out okay in the end. I am not so sure.  It is a crocheted bind off--chain 7, chain 3 stitches together.  It makes a more or less scalloped edging but rather strange without blocking.

We do not have a round table at the apartment so I went over to the church because I was sure I had seen some round tables.  This is a small round table, which is smaller than the cloth is meant for, and you can CLEARLY see the need for blocking in this picture.  As I am typing I am thinking that possibly I can do a semi-blocking.  There are sixteen tail feathers. I have at least that many pins so maybe I will give it a try.

Here is the tablecloth on a rectangular table which shows the lace to better advantage but still not right.  It gave me joy to knit this up and if it gets blocked to attractiveness, I will be even happier.

UPDATE:  Just as I was getting ready for bed the thought came to me that perhaps I could block the tail after all.  This is how it looks after wetting the cloth, spinning dry in the washer and pinning to the carpet.

Hopefully it will dry in a pretty situation!

Hummingbird!

The day we went over to pick up a sister missionary to take to her to the airport we saw a special sight.  Dear One was sitting in the car while I went to the door.  When I got back he pointed to the tree in front of the car.  There was a hummingbird roosting in the tree!!  So nice.

Can you find the bird?  Sort of like "Where's Waldo?"

Easy Watercolor Card, Step By Step

In the interest of learning to make a better watercolor card, I decided to make the card for Granddaughter T step by step, drying the card after each step to see what would happen.  It is not a great card, but it is much better than my usual, I think.  Much less muddy colors, in my opinion, which is a result of drying in between steps, the first time I have done this.

The first thing I did was to wet the paper with a 1-inch flat brush.

Next I put in the blue, then green background color.

Since I wanted some clouds in the sky, and since I had failed to bring paper towels to my desk, I scrunched up a Kleenex to make the clouds.  Not really successful. I won't use Kleenex again.  Also I will try to have the color a bit more even...having said that, I do love paper toweled clouds.

Using the 3/8" deer foot brush I dropped in the beginnings of some flowers.

Next I made some grasses and stems.  Not liking the green by itself, I added some lemon yellow and some yellow ochre.  The lemon yellow was supposed to give the impression of perhaps some other kind of low-lying floral entities.  Not sure that was successful.

Since the main flowers seemed a little naked, I found some similar colors to tap in some filler. and perhaps add more background.  At least, that was the idea.

When I showed the previous picture to Daughter M, she suggested maybe some birds or butterflies or something would be good. I liked the idea and went with birds.  I do think they were an improvement and added a more pleasing dimension to the picture.

When it came time to mount the painting on a card,  I went with a rather busy background card stock.  This is a Park Lane card stock.  I would love to find the actual manufacturer of the paper and see if I can order just the card stock that I like best instead of the multi-pack.  I LOVE their green background card stock. 

Munchie Monday: Quick and Easy Kale Chips!

Kale had been on my mind for a while but I did not really want cooked kale this time.  What to do, what to do...kale chips again.

This time I made kale chips in the microwave at the office.  That microwave is a heavy duty model,  I think. I don't know the wattage but it warms things up very fast.

How I made kale chips was to put the washed, dried, and ripped from the stems kale on a glass plate ready for the microwave. I had a can of the spray oil you use to avoid greasing pans with butter or whatever.  I sprayed a few squirts on the kale pieces then sprinkled on a little bit of salt then put the plate in the microwave for 2 minutes. When I pulled it out, I carefully flipped over the kale then sprayed lightly again, but no more salt.  I put the place of kale back in the microwave for 1 1/2 minutes.

It came out bright green and mostly crispy. I let it sit a minute, well, not true, I picked up a piece that was not quite crispy and ate it up.  Then another one, and another.  After about three I let it cool briefly then shared with the Vehicle Coordinator.  Dear One and the President's secretary were not really interested.

Pretty and pretty good.  I was sorry when it was gone.  So quick and easy.

Food Friday: Power Cookie Bites

When I was shopping at Winco in their bulk section, I saw some dried mango slices.  Right beside them was a packet of recipes.  The top one was for Power Cookies.  I am always looking for recipes without a lot of unhealthy-sounding ingredients.  This recipe had all the markings of a winner.  When I made it, I felt it was a good one.  Most cookies you can eat yourself sick on, but this one is satisfying with eating  only one cookie, especially if you eat tiny bites.

Power Cookie Bites

4 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
15 ounces cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pitted dates
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1/2 cup chopped mango
1/2 cup mini M and M's

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F . Grease cookie sheets or use a silpat mat or cover with parchment paper.  Grind the oats in a blender until resembling coarse flour.

In a medium bowl, mash the beans into a smooth paste.  Use a fork.  Stir in the white granulated sugar, brown sugar, and the vanilla until well blended.  Combine the ground oats, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon; blend into the bean mixture.  Stir in the dates, coconut, raisins, mangos, mini M and M's, and nuts.  Drop dough by heaping spoonfuls onto prepared cookie pan.

Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden.  Cool on pan for 5 minutes before moving to a cool rack to cool completely.

My oven took closer to 20 minutes to cook before they turned sort of golden. I really wanted to cook them longer to get a better color but thought they might be too dry, so I did not.

This is a close-up of the Power Cookie Bites.  After they were cool, I put them in a tightly-covered container.  In the morning they were almost chewy, which was something I appreciate in a cookie.  They had seemed a little dry right out of the oven.  I would make these again.

By the way, the M and M's were not in the original recipe but I thought they would add a bit of color to the cookies plus I am trying to use up as much food as we can before the end of our mission, which is now staring us in the face making us treasure every moment and every experience.

Another note: for an experiment I am going to go back to Winco and see if they have oat flour and use that for one batch of cookies.  I will need to blend up the 4 cups of old-fashioned oats and measure the resulting oat flour to see how much already-ground-oatmeal-into-flour so I will know how much to use.   I know not everyone has a blender.  Or a food processor, which I also think would work to grind the oatmeal.

I guess this means I will be making 2 more batches of these cookies....I only have 1/2 cup additional mangos from the last purchase so I will probably use up some Craisins or go heavier on the mini M and M's or add some mini chocolate chips.  Now we are getting into closer to not-so-healthy cookies, but in the interests of using up....

UPDATE:  If you don't have a blender or a high speed blender to grind the oatmeal into flour,  use 3 1/2 cups of oat flour that you can by already ground up.

Plant Perils!

We have a nice ivy (or something) plant in the office. I do not know the genealogy of the plant but it has been here as long as we have been here.  A year or so ago I bought some plant food because I wanted the occasional plant that I purchased to decorate the front counter to live long and prosper.  Well, Sister J was fabulous at caring for the plant.  IT was always shiny and chipper.

Two weeks ago I happened to look up when I went over to Sister C's computer for some reason.  This is what I saw:

The poor thing!  We rushed it over to the sink and filled it with water.  Now it is much happier.  Sister C (and her husband!) says she is a plant killer.  With her and me together, it will be a miracle if that plant does live long and prosper!  I hope our replacement missionaries are good plant people or that plant doesn't have a prayer of survival!

Surprising New Food!

Last week I got a bug for some roasted beets.  The only beets in the store had the greens still attached.  I bought them anyway.  Good idea!

After scrubbing the beets, preparing them for roasting, and putting them in the oven, I decided I would take off the red stems and throw them in the cast iron skillet along with a large sliced onion, a little bit of olive oil, and the beet leaves.  I stirred and cooked for a bit then put the cover on.

When I came back the onions, the beet leaves, and the red stems all seemed soft and possibly yummy.  After putting them in a bowl and tossing in a little coarse freshly ground pink Himalayan salt, this is what I had:

It really was SO GOOD!!  A huge surprise.  Even the red stems were good. I had figured they would be tough and unpleasant but no, they also were good.  Sometimes trying to use up everything turns out so well.  (I have had it go the other way, too, in fact, quite often, but this time was great.)  I think I will be buying beets again soon. 

And the roasted beets were also delicious.  Truly.

Tuesday Triumph

Over the weekend Dear One wanted a Dominos Pizza.

I had been working like fury to get something nice for refreshments for Senior Missionary Family Home Evening plus to make a pie for the Departing Dinner which is this week.  It turned out there was no pie pan that I could see here in the cupboards...though I did not look on the bottom shelf, come to think of it.  Maybe there was one there.

Well, anyway, Dear One wanted a Dominos pizza. I happened to know there was a Goodwill store almost next door to the Dominos...which place has so far driven me crazy every time I have gone there to buy or pick up a pizza...so, being the nice wifey that I try to be, I went along with the plan to get the pizza which I did NOT want to eat. He ordered the pizza online and we set off. I went in to pick up the pizza and brought it to him so he could get started eating it in the car. He wanted to drive me up the hill to Goodwill to look for a pie plate but I chose to walk.

There was a glass pie plate which I immediately picked up.  No cracks.  No nicks.  No tarry looking stuff on the bottom. $2.99.  I also found a silicon bundt pan for $1.99.

As I was checking out there was a girl there with an Instant Pot Duo 60 pot that she was thinking about.  She had the box open and was looking it over.  She pointed to a spot where she said there was no red button that was supposed to be there.  I showed her that there was not supposed to be a red button, that it was just the petcock or pressure valve or whatever it is called.  She decided she did not want it and gave it to the checkout clerk and said she changed her mind.  I paid for my items (which by now included a yarn project with lovely brown wool yarn plus two afghan instruction books) then asked if I could look at the Instant Pot.

After looking it over thoroughly, I got in line again and purchased it for $39.99!  SCORE!  Big time score.  Don't get me wrong, I love my little mini 3-quart Instant Pot but sometimes I really need the 6 quart size.  And now I have it for way under $100.  For a brand new, never used Instant Pot. Totally Tuesday Triumph.

Munchie Monday: Orange Pepper Soup

This new regimen recommends many non-starchy vegetables, plus some specific starchy ones.  The long list of non-starchy ones can be eaten raw or cooked.  I took one of their suggested recipes and made it my own.

Being winter, one of my favorite foods is soup.  I particularly like broth-y soups.  Often I just ladle out and drink the broth then add more water to make more broth.  The soup I just made for supper (so I would not be tempted to eat other stuff because supper was not instantly ready to eat when we arrived home) is Orange (Bell) Pepper Soup.

Orange Pepper Soup

1 Tablespoon avocado oil
1 large onion, roughly chopped--or diced, depending on your preference
2 Tablespoons chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon sea salt or Himalayan salt
4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
4 large orange peppers, washed, cored, and chopped
2 cans (14-15 ozs) diced tomatoes
2 Tablespoons dried parsley
1 1/2 Tablespoons dried basil

In large soup pot (a good size is 6-8 quarts) place the avocado oil over medium heat.  When it begins to shimmer add the onions, garlic, salt, and red pepper flakes.  Stir well then stir occasionally until the onions are translucent, more or less.

Add the vegetable broth and stir well.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the peppers are mostly tender.

Add the tomatoes, parsley, and basil and bring heat back up almost to boiling then reduce heat again and simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Get out your immersion blender after the soup has cooled 5 minutes, and puree the soup...then ladle into mugs and enjoy as much, and as often, as you like!

The one thing I did that I did not mention above is that I was not sure there was going to be enough broth to suit me so I added 1 cup water and 1 teaspoon dried chicken bouillon powder.  Also, when I poured in the diced tomatoes from the cans, I sloshed a little water into the cans and poured that into the soup, too.  No need to waste the good tomato business that was left in the cans and that we paid for...

Anyway,  this is really tasty.  I recommend it.  It might be as good for you as that old cabbage soup diet thing.  It certainly cannot hurt.

Food Friday: Funny thing, Not Funny Ha-Ha

Always interested in improving my health,  I started a new regimen which includes a protein shake for breakfast and lunch and a "sensible dinner".  Today is my fourth day.  Yesterday was halfway a disaster.

For the shakes, I prepare them both at once and put the second one in my trusty mason jar to put it in the refrigerator at the office.  The first two days this worked just fine.  Yesterday I decided to add blueberries to the shake, a perfectly acceptable thing to do, and a real boost in nutrition.

When it came time for lunch this is what I saw:

Half a jar of purple sludge.  I tried to eat it, telling myself it was pudding.  But.I.Just.Couldn't.  This was a bit of a problem since I was beginning to feel a little weak and wimpy.  So...what to do, what to do...Since I had to go pick up some items from the office and for Dear One, I also picked up some rice crackers, thinking they might get me through.  Plus I ate a basketful of carrots and celery sticks.

So, I guess I will go back to the plain protein shake for lunch.  Never mind the good blueberries.  The guy who sold me on the idea of this regimen said it was a pleasant-tasting shake.  This morning as I was drinking my shake I gave myself a LOT of positive self-talk:  "This is nice-tasting.  This is pleasant-tasting.  At least it is good for me. Or barring that, it is supposed to have a good effect on my health."  Did not really work that well so I just chugged it.

Snow, and What Happens Here

Where we are there is a little bit of snow on the ground.  You can see the ground through the snow.  When we got out to the parking lot of the apartment complex, we discovered it was almost completely filled with cars.

When we got to the office, the parking lot was completely empty!!! 

The Oregonians are just not able to handle snow.  Dear One learned that all the schools are closed.  I was thinking mildly judgmental thoughts, but then thought again and realized that with all the hills in Portland it really is not safe for many people to drive unless chains are a part of a car's accessories.  Every part of Portland seems filled with hills.

Wednesday Wonders: Snow on Spring Flowers!

For days the forecast has been for snow.  Dear One and I drove a missionary to the airport yesterday during the late morning.  There was wet snow falling as we drove through the city.  I was a nervous wreck just sitting there in the passenger seat.  We did get to the airport and back.  By the time we got back through the city and onto Route 26 heading west to the office there was no snow, and not even any rain.  The pavement was dry.  So nice.

This morning I was up early talking with my retiree representative to find out about the new prescription provider (big surprise yesterday: insurance coverage ended 12/31/2018!).  Dear One came into the living room and said, "The ground is white."  Well, isn't that a pretty pass...

When we were finally ready to leave the apartment I checked on our little spring flowers.  Here they are.  I hope they are not discouraged!

More Mission Paper Crafting

When mail comes to the office for missionaries who have been released we forward it along. I usually make an envelope but this time the mail was a magazine so I needed an envelope larger than I had paper to craft the envelope.  So I decorated a white one.

This was kind of fun to make.  It turns out I should have done ALL the decorating before I put the packing tape over the paper to keep it attached.  Next time...!  Every project I learn something so I called it a good day's work.😀

Munchie Monday: Hula Bites

Lenny Gale at the YouTube channel:  LifeIsNoYoke put out some great recipes recently. Ones that he thought would help with weight loss possibly.  He uses a Vitamix to make the recipes he posted since he is a Vitamix guy.  This one has been pretty popular around here.

Hula Bites

1/2 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup old-fashioned oatmeal
1/4 cup macadamia nuts
1/2 cup dried pineapple
8 pitted dates

Coconut for rolling the balls

Place the almonds, oatmeal, macadamia nuts, dried pineapple, and dates in the Vitamix and blend well.  Lenny says don't over-blend.  My second batch I under-blended (or else I left out the dates) and the mixture did not stick together very well so I pushed it into a pan.  That seemed fine until I tried to take them out.  Not so successful. 

To make them the proper way, take one tablespoon of the "dough" and roll into a ball then roll in coconut.  Actually, Lenny has you take a small piece of the dried pineapple and form the dough around the pineapple then roll in coconut.  Those look really good.  One of my test subjects said,
"Use the coconut."  I still have not found it.  I guess I will get some at the store.  That is sure to help the bag we already have to turn up.

Another hula batch is coming up very soon.  I will try quality control...in that I will try to follow the recipe better. I did not have macadamia nuts the first time.  Instead I used raw cashews.  They came out really well.  Since the macadamia nuts are so expensive, I may just continue with the cashews.

This silicon pan was meant to use when making millet loaf. I thought instead of making it in a loaf pan I would smush it into these wells then bake it.  My intention was that it would be exactly right for millet loaf sandwiches.  This hula bite project was the first time I have used the pan in the year since I bought it.  Oh well.

Food Friday: Purple Smoothie

When we went to Costco to get TurboTax software and medication, we happened to walk by the Vitamix demonstrator.  She had just made some Four Fruit Smoothie which I tasted and which was pretty good!  She asked if I had any questions and since I had recently had a problem with the attachment we chatted a bit.  She gave me some tips, one of which was that the cup needs to be securely screwed into the blade base, but not TOO tightly, in order for it to work.  I realized my problem had probably been not tightening enough.  Since she was so nice and asked if we had the 20-ounce cup to use with the extra base, we considered it.  When she told me the one cup was $23.00 I immediately picked one up!  When we had bought the Vitamix a year ago, to get the 20-ounce cup, we would have had to buy two, plus another seal adapter/blade assembly, which cost $100 which I could not justify.  Now, for $23.00, we could have the best of both worlds.

As soon as we got home Dear One walked over to Whole Foods Market, which he wanted to do anyway (to check out Amazon PickUp and Delivery), and where he bought a can of crushed pineapple so I could make my own version of the Four Fruit Smoothie.

This is my version.

In the 20-ounce cup place--

2 mandarin oranges/clementines that have been peeled and separated (the mandarins were not as sweet and juicy as the clementines we had purchased recently. Disappointing.)

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

1/3 cup crushed pineapple with the juice it came in

1/4 cup pomegranate juice

1/2 small banana, peeled and sliced

10 grams plant-based protein powder (which we had purchased when we bought the Vitamix Blend Scale last year)

Attach the blade unit to the cup, place on the Vitamix base, and blend for 45 seconds.  Any longer would warm it up.

Dear One thought this was pretty good.  I thought it was pretty much purple sludge, but would drink it in a pinch.

 For myself, when he had consumed his cup of smoothie I used the same cup to make my "green goo" that I have mentioned before.  It was what I ate for supper.  I noticed the calories on the two little packets of flavoring:  total calories 55.  Adding in a few raw almonds to the green goo (as I write this I remembered I did not put in the apple cider vinegar nor the flax seed meal. Oh, well. Next time). The almonds and the flax meal would take the calories up  higher, but not that many.  I went to bed more or less hungry, something I aspire to as often as I can.  Depending on the morning numbers (weight and blood glucose), I may make this much more regular.