The Knitting Doctor

Happy New Year!

I'd like to wish all of you a very Happy New Year! I''m posting my blackeyed pea recipe early, so those of you who haven't planned ahead can get out there and stock up before the stores close tonight. You absolutely must have BEP's on New Year's Day, or something really bad might happen.*

Lorette's BEP's

1 biggish onion, chopped
4-5 cloves of garlic, chopped
Celery, about 3/4 cup chopped
1-2 large carrots, chopped
1 Bell pepper, any color will do, chopped
Olive oil
Blackeyed peas, 1 pound bag, picked over and rinsed
1-14 ounce can of diced tomatoes, drained (use the juice if you like it more tomato-ey)
Chicken stock, canned
1 bottle of beer
Splash of worcestershire sauce
Ham hock or ham shank (shank is meatier)
Thyme & oregano, a couple of teaspoons each
Bay leaf
Dijon mustard, a teaspoon or two
Salt and pepper
Cayenne, to taste. I start with about 1/4 teaspoon, and generally add more.

Saute the onion, celery, carrot, and pepper in oil in a big pot. Add the garlic when the other veggies are soft, cook for a minute. Add the rinsed peas, the can of tomatoes, the beer, and enough water or chicken stock to cover by about an inch. I usually use the tomato liquid, too. Throw in the seasonings, except for the salt. Add the ham hock and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook until the peas are done, about 45-60 minutes or so. Add salt to taste towards the end of the cooking time. Keep an eye on it, and add more liquid if needed as the peas cook.

Pick the meat off the ham bone, if there is any, and add it to the peas. Serve with cooked rice.

My promised NY resolutions will be in the next post!

*I have no idea if this is true or not, but I'm not taking any chances.

Rainbow's End

Just a quick post to show you the latest photo. This was taken from my deck, and proves that the rainbow ends at my house.

Back From Vacation!

The blog vacation, that is. I hope everyone is having a great holiday! Christmas was busy around here, but fun-filled. John and I decided this year not to buy gifts for each other. Instead, we're keeping lists of little things we've always wanted to do together, like more walks in the woods, and more movie dates. The plan will be to choose things off the lists throughout the year instead of buying junk that we don't really need.

We had two big holiday parties at our house. One was our annual Winter Solstice party with neighborhood friends. We had a dozen fine people around our table for a huge prime rib dinner, with plenty of wine and laughs.

Here's how I plan and execute a huge meal for a dozen people:

Riley loving the whipped cream:

The table set for dinner:

And the aftermath:

 

The second event was with family, and we had another dozen for that set of meals. We did prime rib again for Christmas dinner, since it was such a hit the first time around. We have enough meat leftover to make one heck of a stew, which will be tonight. Nothing like using prime rib in stew instead of tough stew meat!

For some reason we did not get one single decent photo with all the kids and grandkids in it. A good time was had by all, though.

On the knitting front, I'm still working on the same projects. No photos, since I'm too lazy to take new pictures. True Blue, John's sweater, is getting bigger, and I'm almost at the underarms on the first half. The Peacock Shawl is slowly growing. The dog mittens are about halfway up the dog legs on the back of the first mittens, and Wicked Witch socks are proceeding.

I'm working on some New Year's resolutions, and will hopefully have those in my next post! Have a happy and safe New Year's holiday!

Ten On Tuesday

I know, I know. To my knowledge, I've never done one of these TOT things. By the time I get around to doing them, it would be Ten on Thursday, which I suppose would work. I couldn't resist an opportunity to list my ten favorite Christmas songs, though.

We have a subscription to Rhapsody, which allows us to listen to all the music we want for a flat monthly fee. Believe me, this is cheaper by far than when I was into buying albums. And this way, they have to put the albums away, not me. My holiday playlist currently has over 3500 songs on it. How to choose just ten?

1. Gesu Bambino, my current favorite version is by Ying Huang, who has just a heavenly voice.

2. Sleigh Ride, the Mitch Miller version, from the album Holiday Sing Along With Mitch. Corny, but very singable.

3. Jing A Ling Jing A Long, by the Andrews Sisters, on the album Sing & Swing. Very catchy tune, as only the sisters can do it. Ha ha! Ho ho!

4. In Dulci Jubilo, by just about anybody who sings it.

5. Blue Christmas, only the Elvis version. Anybody else is just an imposter.

6. Merry Christmas From The Family, by Robert Earl Keen. The version on his "Live" album is the best.

7. The Hallelujah Chorus from the Messiah, the Mormon Tabernacle version is my favorite.

8. Santa Baby, by Eartha Kitt. Again, anybody else singing this is just not doing it right.

9. Away In A Manger, currently I'm listening to a version by Richard Proulx and the Cathedral Singers.

10. O Holy Night, by the Irish Tenors. Or Il Divo. I'll take either one. Now that I think about it, pretty much anything by Il Divo would do. They could just stand there and I'd be happy. :-)

No links, you're on your own finding these!

Better Get Out Those Sunglasses!

Or,

Project Update

Since I have one less thing on the needles by finishing those Arctic Monkeys, I started two new things. The first is a pair of plain socks. Here's where you will need the sunglasses. This yarn is so bright, you don't need a pattern stitch.

This is Tempted Good Grrl sock yarn, in the color Wicked Witch. Even that photo doesn't do this stuff justice. I think it glows in the dark. I got mine here, and there's still some left. This will just be a plain sock, that same old pattern.

By the way, I did have another sock on the needles back in September, that orange Trekking stuff. This was in a burst of excitement over knitting something besides plain socks. I got so sick of the pattern that I ripped them out, in a fit of pique. I'll re-do the yarn eventually as a plain sock, but this skein just called to me when I opened the yarn box to find a new sock.

Next up is the second new project, Dog Mittens!

These are just the cutest things I've ever seen. They will be for my sweet dog-walking hubby. The pattern is by Jorid Linvik, and the Ravelry link is here. Here is her pattern shop. Of course, while I was shopping, I bought the Cat Mittens and the Talullah's Heart Mittens too. The yarn is Rauma Finullgarn, purchased from Nordic Fiber Arts. It figures, I get excited by patterned mittens and have absolutely no yarn in those fourteen boxes that would work. That's why the Stash Knit-Down counter moved.

Just as a warning, these are a little on the small side. As written, the pattern would probably fit a small woman's hand. I'm going up a needle size, and they will be snug on him, but should still fit. (Did I just say that out loud?) I also put a little longer cuff on them. If you want to make these in a larger size, you could go up to a bit heavier yarn.

I have gotten a little done on True Blue, though I haven't even looked at anything else since I got that mitten yarn. Here's a photo. I'm not saying anything about whether it's going to fit or not. At this point, I'm thinking that it would be easier to find a new man that the sweater would fit.*

The Peacock Shawl is still in the rotation, it's just taken a back seat for awhile. Maybe I'll show you a photo next time.

*Just kidding, dear. You know I wouldn't trade you in!

Arctic Circle Monkeys!

I'm not far enough into Version 4 of the True Blue sweater to tell for sure if the size is good this time, but I'm happy to report that the Beaverslide yarn is holding up well to all that ripping and reknitting. And I've decided to think of the whole thing as my economy knitting plan. I'm really getting my money's worth out of that yarn.

And I've finished something else!

New Socks! How Exciting!

Project Details:

Yarn: Three Irish Girls, Beckon Super Merino, from the Sock Yarnista Sock Club. The color is Arctic Circle, with plain black for toes, heels and cuffs.

Pattern: Monkey Socks, from Knitty, by Cookie A.

Needles: Celtic Swan Forge sterling silver needles, size 1.

For: Me

Started: September 4, 2008

Finished: December 1, 2008

Modifications: I changed the heel flap to a standard slip stitch flap, and the contrasting heel/toe/cuff option, otherwise, it's as written.

What I learned: I can too knit something besides plain socks. The pattern was fun to knit, though I still love that plain sock. And I love the Sock Yarnista. Her yarn is just fabulous. Go buy some!