keeping my head warm

I definitely enjoy knitting.  I just finished another project. This time a hat.
I've actually finished a few other things as well. This is my second hat, the first was a little small.  And I knitted a pair of gauntlets, or fingerless gloves, but I gave those to my sister before I had the chance to take a picture.

I did not think I would like knitting this much. I remember learning how to in middle school and it always looked awful.  My general tendency was to go too tight to the point of having my fingers cramp up.  And then I would try to make it more loose to compensate and end up with a lumpy mess.
But now I really enjoy it.  It keeps my hands busy which is always a good thing.

preparations...

Well, thanksgiving is fast approaching, so I spent the better part of today in the kitchen making the bagels Josh requested for our trip and chocolate covered pretzels to appease my father-in-law.
I rediscovered how much of a tedious process making chocolate covered pretzels is. I'm afraid I scorched the white chocolate just a little. And when you get to the bottom of the pan you are so ready to be done with it, but can't possibly waste that good chocolate, so you labor on till the very last of the chocolate is spread thin on a pretzel, and you are more than willing to give it another year before going through the whole process again.  And do it again I will, because it is so worth it.  Yummmmmy.

Happy Thanksgiving everybody and safe travels!

mounting day

Remember that puzzle Josh and I worked on so long and then finally finished a long time ago?  Today Josh finally out it up on the wall and I love it.  I really wasn't sure my idea was going to work, but with Josh's talent, determination, and some trial and error he managed to get it up on the wall. And it looks great. 


The picture makes it look small, but trust me, it's not.  3000 pieces, remember?
Also the little blue picture on the left is one I painted last weekend.  Have to get a decent picture of that too eventually...

fun with light

I was working on a new knitting project today, while Josh and I were watching a movie.  The room was rather dark but there was a small ray of light that landed right on my knitting.
Josh and I both noticed it, and while I kept knitting, he took some neat pictures.

Bread: from beginning to end

I made some bread yesterday. It was a Swedish Rye Bread that Josh really likes, so I thought I would document the making of it rater than just the result. I ended up with a lot more dishes than I normally would have but it was fun.


Today I will add the recipe, in case you would like to make this delicious bread yourself.
I only made one leaf, though the recipe I'll give you makes two.


1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup honey
3 tbsp melted butter
1 cup milk
1 cup water
1 1/4 cups rye flour
2 pkg active dry yeast (there are 2 1/4 tsp. yeast to a package)
5 cups bread flour
3 tbsp caraway seeds

In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, salt, molasses, honey, and melted butter

Dissolve the yeast in 2 tbsp lukewarm water with a pinch of sugar and set a side.  Meanwhile scald the milk and water. That just means heat it up on the stove till it nearly comes to a boil.

Add the milk gradually to the rye mixture, and let it cool to lukewarm. By that time the yeast will be nice and frothy. Add to the rye mixture.

Then knead in the bread flour and the caraway seeds.

And then wait.  The directions say to let it rise till doubles in size, but I feel like that would have taken all day. maybe you will have more luck.  i let it it for a while and then put it into a bread pan, and let it sit some more.  At that point, though it is not in the instructions, I sprinkled it with coarse sea salt, Josh really likes it that way.

Then its time to put it in the oven.  Make sure it is preheated to 250 degrees, and bake it for 90 minutes.  Then change the temperature to 300F and bake about 15 minutes more. The bottom should sound hollow when tapped if it is finished.

enjoy!

It's really good with soups of any kind, or fresh from the oven with butter on it.

picnic date

On Tuesday Josh came home with flowers and sparkling grape juice and asked me if I wanted to go on  picnic for dinner, and because it was such a nice day out I agreed.  I had taco bake, a casserole type dish on the menu, but rather than changing it to something else, I decided to make it anyway and bring it in a tupperware container for us.
While that was cooking Josh looked up various parks and decided where he wanted to go.
When he found a place and the food was ready, I decided to cut up an apple, and ended up with a cut up finger instead, which delayed us some, but Josh was really sweet about patching me up, all the wile berating me for not being more careful, and then we were off.
It probably took a good half hour to get to our destination, but it was worth it. We went up this hill, me with my throbbing finger and Josh with the food and camera, and it was beautiful.  All woodsy and just at sunset.  We found a picnic table where we ate and then did a little exploring.
All in all, a very fun day.

Complete!

I actually finished a project! As of about five minutes ago, the scarf I knitted for Josh is done.
Now I'm going to try knitting something a little more challenging...