Shop away

I thought I was cool. I thought I was hip and with it. I was sure of my style and confident in my clothing choices. That is until I went shopping with my teenage daughter. I am so not hip. I am so not with it. I am so out of touch with "style" I might as well be getting dressed on the moon!

This is when I realized how "old" I am - I don't care! I am content with my boring t-shirts and lame jeans. I'm stunned that the stores have succeeded in convincing shoppers that they should wear at least two t-shirts at a time, if not three or more. Why spend $15 on a top for an outfit when you can spend $30? or $45?

Watching my daughter fret and fuss over trying to find the perfect undershirt brought me back to those horrific days when I cared so much about fitting in and having my peers judge me as worthy based on my clothing.

Of course I still want to look good. I want to be stylish and maximize my assets (ala What not to Wear) but I feel happily free to wear what I want regardless of what's on the mannequins.

On the knitting front - I'm working on a pair of socks. I'm a little concerned that they may be too big. I've measured and checked guage carefully, but they seem a little on the loose side. The problem is I need to knit more to see if they really are too big, but I knit every row with just a bit of dread that I may end up frogging it.

Good fast recipe

I've got a great recipe for busy cooks: It's a stir fry that takes less than 30 minutes.

Ingredients:
Rice (enough for your family)
3 chicken breasts cut into 1 inch pieces
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1/4 cup tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon pancake syrup

Olive oil

Sauce (mix together):
1 tablespoon corn starch (mix with a small amount of cold water to form paste)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar (could substitute Sherry)
1/2 cup of soy sauce
2 tablespoons pancake syrup
1 bag of frozen veggies

Boil rice
Meanwhile:
toss chicen with garlic, soy sauce and maple syrup in a zip lock bag (or just mix altogether in a bowl)
This can be done ahead of time and left in the frig to marinate.

Put Heat wok (or large frying pan) over heat briefly. Add olive oil.
Add chicken and sautee until cooked through.
Add vegetables and 2 tablespoons water
Cover to steam veggies for 3-4 minutes
When vegetables are thawed or nearly so, add sauce
Cook until sauce thickens
Serve over rice

The sweetness of the syrup is a nice contrast to the saltiness of the soy sauce.
I was really happy about how quickly this comes together.

Don't try this at home:
A recipe I found on the web suggested cooking spaghetti noodles in the spaghetti sauce. Maybe this works for some people, but I found it made a huge mess and didn't taste right. It could be that the sauce got burned while we were waiting for the noodles to get soft enough.

Dancing back to reality

I am posting yet two more pics of Paris - these are nearly my favorites because they are of the fountain at St. Michael (pronounced San Michelle) which is where I would suggest we would all meet up if we could organize a great gathering in the City of Lights. It's around the corner from Notre Dame and in not too far from Luxumbourg Gardens, which is a large peaceful park in the shadow of what was once a palace. There is a large pond there and parents rent sail boats for their children to float. They guide them by pushing them along with a stick. The boatman is almost as popular as the icecream truck!

And then, just as I was finally getting to know the city and understand how to use the metro, it was time to return to my other adventure. I came back just in time for dance recital frenzy.

I was a dance mother newbie this year - so innocent, so ignorant to the complicated ways of the dance world. I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I signed her up for lessons. I knew there would be a show, but I had no idea how truly complex the whole thing is. At the beginning, they said she needed two pairs of shoes (tap and ballet) - that should have been my first clue. Then she needed to have a black leotard and pink tights. Not a pink leotard. Not nude tights. I dutifully complied, remaining clueless. Then there was the deposit for a costume. Okay, I expected that. Then the real bill came in - all that for a skimpy bit of lycra? That I could have made myself? (Never mind, I don't want to make 20 so everyone will have one) Just when I thought it was safe, we were told we needed yet another costume for the ballet number. Then special tights. Then black shoes, not the beige ones used for class. (Thankfully, we were allowed to paint them).

After all that, I thought we were set, but no, there were tickets to buy for the show. Then you also have to have flowers for after the show. And don't forget the concession stand! Whew.

One last thing, you have to arrive an hour and a half before the show and be available during the show for costume changes.

At the end of the day, my little dancer was thrilled to be on stage. She was as cute as could be. And it was one of those bonding experiences that we hear so much about. That's what it's all about, right?

My little peanut is the last one on the right as you look at the photo. I'm not sure that she's ready to go pro just yet.

Les chiens de Paris

Most people who go to Paris rave about the artwork or the impressive churches or the fine food. Moi? I went gaga over the dogs - they are everywhere - taking themselves out for a walk, hanging out at the sidewalk cafes and playing in the parks. Only once did I hear one yip and never did they squabble with each other on the street. If I were a dog, I'd certainly like to be a Parisian one.

Plus Paris

The shoe-less foot and the dog are statues in the Musee D'Orsay. I was led to believe that this was a museum that could be toured in three hours. I was mislead by a long shot. We were there for seven, although at least two of that was spent eating. This is the city of the never ending meals. They go on and on and on. Not like home where food is cooked in 30 minutes and gone in 10! It's nice on one hand, but I have a lot of city to see in a very short time. The panoramic of the city was taken from the balcony of the museum- it is of Sacre Coeur - a ginormous church that overlooks the city. The flowers were taken in the Tuilerie Garden - a very calm oasis in a very energetic city.

The church is Sacre Coeur close up. We stayed until after dark, which is when most of the tourists go home and many of the locals come out to play. On this night, there were two young men twirling flaming batons to (American) music. That's the abstract fire works photo. Interestingly there are no open bottle laws here, which as you can imagine makes picnics much more interesting.

The fountain is in front of the Louvre. I must save that for another trip, but my mom and cousin managed to see all but two wings in one day, which I understand is an amazing accomplishment.

Also in this lot is the Arc D'Triomph at night. I really wish I had a tripod, but I'm glad that I didn't have to carry one around all day since we have been walking from early in the day until late, late, late at night. Which is why this commentary doesn't match the pictures.

Thank you for all your well wishes. I have been telling my cousin all about my great knitting friends. Today she said, ever so non-chalantly, where would one learn to knit? Maybe a convert?

Paris is everything I had hoped it would be. The city is ancient and vibrant. I find the challenge of finding my way around in a city I don't know speaking a language I barely know to be exhilerating. The top picture is us at the fountain of St. Michael, which all Parisians in the know meet up. Notice the finished Clapotis - it's been a great wrap for the chilly mornings and evenings and easy to carry around during the warm days. The next is of the windows in Notre Dame. The next is of my traveling companions trying to figure out where we are going. Then they are all smiles when they've got it.

What does France look like?

We arrived and I am pleased to learn for myself that France really does exist. Of course, I had little doubt, but there is something significant about seeing it for myself.

We arrived at 1p.m. with only a vague idea of how to get into the city. How about the train? 47 euros later, we had a pass for 5 days that we really had no clue how to use. Mom got through but we figured out later that was fluke because she wasn't doing it right. I got stuck in a little glass box. You go in and then you are supposed to put your ticket through and go out. It's not that hard - once you know what you're doing. After that was the adventure of navigating the train system with way too many bags. I met a sweet French girl , 6, who was very amused by the whole situation. We really did look rather silly.

Upon arrival, we immediatley went out to start soaking up all the great atmosphere. We're staying very near the Arc de Triomph, so we walked the Champs Elysee. I am amazed at how lively the city is even late at night.

On a call home, my 6yo asked "What does Paris look like?" Her answer is up above.

Singing me to Paris

I'm in the airport on my way to Paris at last! With the ever extending to do list that varied from packing to buying a new camera bag to returning a long-overdue library book, I was beginning to wonder if I'd make this far. The highlight was in the last 30 minutes before we were to leave for the airport and I was hemming the pants I wanted to wear while my husband packed my camera bag and my hyper 15 yo burst into the bedroom with two hyper but well meaning friends who proceeded to seranade me. Beautiful voices although I couldn't quite concentrate. And then just as we were going to leave the 2yo had a melt down because she couldn't find her sunglasses. I have to think that was more about my leaving but still traumatic. I'm assured that she quickly recovered. Time to board! More soon, I hope.
Bien tot

C'est finis

I'll be honest, when I first saw the Clapotis pattern I wondered about going through all the effort to knit stitches that would be intentionally dropped. It just seemed like an awful lot of extra work. But my friend Allison invited me to join the better late than never KAL and I do so love group knitting. Besides, I had this lovely wool from Australia that had been waiting for a great pattern.

Now that I've finished my first Clapotis, I freely admit that I'm a convert. The pattern is interesting enough to keep your attention and yet allows you to carry on a conversation. Dropping the stitches is fun and you get to do it every few rows, which offers a nice little reward. And the results are fabulous. It's wavy and bouncy and drapes just so. I made it a little wider than the original pattern and a little longer. I would have liked it to be a little longer still, but not enough to undo hours and hours of work.

The photos were taken by the just turned 6yo at the beach just down the street from our house. Having grown up in the midwest, I am continually amazed and thrilled to live so close to the ocean. The picture shows two of "five sisters" breakers that I assume help preserve the main beach. This whole area floods when a storm is coming and it's high tide. One year it was so extreme, there were lobsters floating on the streets! Our neighbors had some great meals that night.

We went straight from our fabulous photo shoot to the Salon for summer 'dos. The 6 yo loves it because she can play video games but the 2yo getting the just second hair cut of her short life wasn't so sure she liked the idea. She was pleased with the results. I think she will be even happier that it won't get so many tangles- she sees a brush and starts running away.

The big question is what to knit next? hmmmmm.....

I went shopping today for some clothes for my upcoming trip - I encountered a shrug very much like what I was thinking of knitting. First I was a little demoralized because I know how many hours it would have taken me to make it and there it was on sale for just $20 - the yarn would cost me more! Then I tried it on - I'm not so sure I'm the shrug type. I suppose it's better to find that out now rather than after I've spent said hours. I also saw a darling, intricate lace and cable sweater that looks very much like one I've been thinking of knitting in a lovely shade of light blue. Hmmm. I'd know before hours click and clacking if or not it would fit. I could even pass it off as my own work - not that I would ever do that! Sadly, I found no comfortable, fashionable shoes - which I can't knit no matter how much time I have!

Big Smiles from across the Atlantic

Having decided to embrace my magazine collection with new found enthusiasm, I received two more to add to it - these are from my good blogging friend, Anna, who live outside of Paris and whom I expecting to meet in person next month, when I travel to her country. She included this gorgeous cherry red mohair lace weight yarn that my youngest two instantly "claimed." They each grabbed a skein and ran from the room laughing gleefully. I asked the 2 yo what she would want if I decided that to make her something. Without hesitation, she announced, "a pillow." Who can blame her? It would be nice to lay your head on that yummy softness.

I'm not sure that my three years plus of French have actually equipped me to follow the patterns, but I think I could puzzle it out given what I know about knitting patterns. There are many in these two that would tempt me. One interesting thing I noted is that several patterns have the "wrong" side out. I also recently learned that the designer of the Clapotis, who was living in France when she designed it, intended for it to be worn with the reverse stockinette stitch side out, which is how it's shown in the Knitty.com pic of it. Maybe it just coincidence, maybe it's a trend across the sea. I'll ask when I get there :)

Can you tell I'm excited? I have a 6yo birthday party to plan first and a lot of logistics to handle to ensure things run smoothly while I'm away but whether or not I find just the right pair of shoes, I'm going. I'm going to pack up my guide books - including the ones that Janice so generously shared with me after her trip to paris, bid a tearful farewell to my children and head out into a great adventure. I will return with great memories, a new lease on life and deep insights that will make me a better parent and partner. At least I'll have some good pictures and more yarn.

I confess that I'm nervous too. I'm worried about speaking the language and not getting lost. I'm worried about how things will go here while I'm gone. I'm worried I'll never want to come back (hah, hah - just kidding dh) Really, no sense worrying. It will be fine and I'll finally have a stamp in my brand new passport.

Organize Schmorganize

In my ongoing, never-ending quest for organization, I listened to the gurus of order and serenity and decided I should go through and weed out my unloved, unused knitting and other creative endeavor magazines. Let them bless someone else, I thought bravely, diving into the pile. How many sweaters can one realistically knit in a life time, especially considering that I haven't knit one in the last two years despite having the yarn and patterns? I've managed this before - letting go of an entire collection of home decorating magazines once and gifting a two-foot pile of sewing magazines to my neighbor. No problem, I thought. I'll only keep the magazines with a pattern that I might really knit sometime in the next year or two, or maybe the next decade or two. I should have realized I was in trouble when after having gone through five magazines, I hadn't found one that had nothing I wanted to see again. They all

had a bunch of patterns I will absolutely never want to make. They had some that aren't on my list now, but who knows and they all had at least a couple that I really would like to make if I had the time and the yarn. One might say I wasted valuable knitting time pouring through old magazines. On the other hand, I was able to reacquaint myself with some projects that I had been interested in. The only problem is I still don't have any more time to get to them than I did before! I can see why people rent storage lockers - much easier than letting go. In the end, I've decided to put the magazines in my "I love it and it makes me happy," pile. While it's true, I will likely not knit more than a small percentage (if that) of the patterns in them, I enjoy seeing the possibilities and they do all contain bits and pieces of inspiration.

And here is one more argument in favor of keeping - I just found an article about knitting with boucle, including a pattern I might actually use - in a Threads Magazine from September of 1994 bought long, long before I ever dreamed I'd take up knitting. Who knows what other article might be significant to me in five years?

Are these just the arguments of delusional hoarder?

All I want for Christmas

We get so excited when the teeth first show up and now we get even more excited when they fall out! The only problem is this - it seems the tooth fairy has an issue with math. She leaves one kid $10 and another (who happens to be mine) just gets $1. You can imagine the debates this unfair situation spawns in the car pool on the way to school. That debate is followed by another, equally lively, on the best way to remove a loose tooth - twist and turn, wiggle with tongue, tie a string to a door handle and slam the door. I haven't done a scientific study, but I'll bet the chosen method say more than a little about the personality of the kid employing it. Mine is more of a patient let it happen when it happens type. Maybe that's because she knows she's only going to get $1 anyway!

plastic surgery?

I explained the whole Barbie clothes not fitting thing to dh (although he probably cares even less than the 2.75 yo, I feel a need to share all the gory details of the day), he said, "So do you think she got a boob job?" Great. It's not bad enough my teens are hounding me about piercing their bodies until they can't get through a metal detector, now I have to worry about the dolls sneaking out and getting work done!

Barbie on a diet?

I had planned to make clothes to fit the Barbies my 2.75 yo inherited from her 5 yo sister. But then I discovered that for just $10, we could get an entire wardrobe with enough outfits plus a spare for all the dolls. I decided my time would be better spent knitting. Like a true girl, the 2 yo could hardly wait to get the new clothes on the dolls. I have been playing with Barbies my whole life, so you can imagine my surprise to find that the outfit doesn't fit! Perhaps something is wrong with the pattern. That couldn't be it - they've been making these clothes for decades, it's not like the dimensions have changed. Or have they? Has Barbie gained weight? A few too many cookies at the tea party? A little too much cake while sitting around the pool? Has it come to this, must even Barbie go on a diet?

Seriously, how hard is it to make clothes that fit the doll? It's not like they haven't had a lot of practice.

Maybe it was intentional. Maybe in this era of rising gas costs and recession Mattel is trying to reduce its use of fabric. "Just trim an eighth of an inch off the tops, the kids will never notice," the factory manager says. I'm sure they've shortened the skirts by at least a quarter of an inch too. "They'll just figure it's the fashion," the bean counters say.

Of course this bothers me more than the 2.75 yo - she's just happy the dolls are dressed so they can ride around in the back of her dump truck.

Me? I guess I better start hunting for teeny tiny patterns...

yarn connections

My mom called this weekend from Arizona where she was visiting my cousin.
"You should be here," she said. "There's a spinning and fiber show at the hotel where I'm staying."

My first thought, having just been watching Knitty, was that she was talking about a television show. As I realized that she what she meant - a giant room filled with yarn and knitters and spinners and all things knitterly - I became insanely jealous. No need, she's got me covered.

"Do you need anything?" she said.

What an opening. Do I need anything?

Define need. Do I have an abundance of yarn awaiting the right project? Well, yes. Am I currently working on no fewer than four projects? Well, yes. Do I need anything? Well, since she brought it up... I am interested in knitting socks and I did just finish a pair. Besides, the yarn harlot once said something about sock yarn not counting in stash building. I also figured sock yarn should be easy - any color is fine, self striping, verigated, self-patterning - doesn't matter. Wool, cotton, soy? Why not? And there's little guessing about how much is needed - just ask for enough to make two pair of average adult socks. Here is just one more reason for me to conquer socks - sock yarn might just be the perfect gift.

Mom later called to ask if I needed a book to go with the sock yarn. In an act of selfless momliness, she even handed the phone to the saleslady so she could describe the books to me and help figure out if there was one without which I couldn't live. I think we may have ended up with Sensational Sock Knitting, which has fives stars with 71 reviews at Amazon.

On a side note, I've been working to turn mom into a knitter long distance, but I have a ways to go, apparently. When I asked about what yarn she might by for herself, she said, "Oh, I don't need any yarn, I have a whole table full at home." Oh mom, so much to learn. :)

Thank you Jess

A wee tiny package arrived today from Maryland containing a wee tiny sock. How much fun is this? More than 250 wee tiny socks flying around the world - what an image. Mine is from Jess Noyes, I worked with a Jesse Noyes, but it's not the same person since that Jesse was a guy.

The colorway Jess chose is just perfect. It's Cherry Hill's Wild Cherry. Now I want to knit with this yarn.

The big socks are mine from the Italian Clown yarn - knit two at a time, toe up on the magic loop. Even on size ones I found my knitting to be a bit loose! Two at a time sounds much trickier than it really is. Although I will admit that at least twice I knit a bit on the second sock with the yarn from the first and had to tink. The astute observer will notice that the stripes don't quite match. I couldn't find a matching spot on the yarn and decided it didn't matter. Now I want more sock yarn.

But first, onto the Clapotis....

Wee Tiny Sock

It's quick, it's fun and it's so gosh darned cute - how can one resist knitting at least one if not many of these wee tiny socks? This one is winging its way to Pennsylvania to my downstream swap pal. The yarn is tofutsie - it's from a sample given to me by Allison, who I met through the International Tote Exchange. At the time, I thought it was pretty but hadn't get gotten the sock bug and wasn't really interested in knitting with teeny tiny needles. I tucked it away for just in case. This was the perfect project. I love the way the tofutsie felt on the needles. It produces a very soft sock. I'm not sure how it would wear, not having anyone around with a foot so tiny.

I knitted it from the toe up using the magic loop. It features a short row heel, a technique I am finally beginning to understand. I've always gotten the concept but had problems understanding the execution. I'm still getting holes, despite knitting the wraps. Hopefully, those will disappear as I do this more. The cuff is a mock cable stitch that I discovered for a baby hat (pictured a few posts back) It's easy and it looks so cool:

It's over 5 stitches - the set up is k3, p2

row 1: sl1st, k2, psso, p2

row 2: k1,yo,k1,p2

rows 3 and 4: k3, p2

It took about 3/4 of a Harry Potter Movie (the second to the last one)

The swap is a display of simplicity - knit a tiny sock and send it to someone. Meet two new people.

DH's reaction was, "You knitters are weird." But this is from a man who chases dead birds around the rain forest.

Does anyone have any experience with knitting shrugs? I was never interested before but suddenly have a yen for one - I'm thinking something a little intricate to highlight the plain beige yarn dm (dear mom) brought me from China - but not something so complicated that I can't watch an episode of say Men in Trees.

The Race to Save the World's Rarest Bird

In the 1970s, a group of students doing research in an unexplored rain forest on a steep mountain on Maui discovered a delightful small bird with a black mask. At first, few believed it could possibly be an unidentified species. It seemed so unlikely that it had never before encountered humans. As it turned out, there was no known record of this tiny bird from the finch family. It was named the Po'ouli.

Just three decades after being discovered, they are all gone. The last known Po'ouli died in captivity just a few short years ago in the midst of a heroic, heart breaking attempt to save the species from extinction.

A newly released book, The Race to Save the World's Rarest Bird: The Discovery and Death of the Po'ouli, tells the dramatic story of this bird's life, how it came to Hawaii, why it was in endangered and why rescue attempts ultimately failed. It is also a window into the challenges of the Endangered Species Act and the future of other endangered species.

Dh wrote the book and I couldn't be more excited. He found out about the bird when there will just three left. At the time, he had returned to graduate school to study biology after years as a political and business reporter. The bird was gone by the time he first proposed writing a book about it. This is a lifelong dream for him and I couldn't be more proud. It's been a long road for him as he has spent hours gathering tons of information and finding just the right words to make the story come alive. For me, it's been a lot of late nights and weekends holding down the fort and dealing on my own with our 5c. I'll admit that I'm biased, but still I think the book is great. There are descriptions of the rain forest that make you feel as if you are walking through it. Even the geography lesson on how Hawaii came to be is interesting.

If you know anyone interested in birds, Hawaii or endangered species policy, please spread the word.

The Year of Socks

I have determined that this is the year I will conquer my lingering fear of socks. I have made them successfully, but for some reason, I have sock-block in my head. As with writer's block, I think the only way to get over it is to just do it. So, I've found this exchange on Danielle's site to give me an added boost:

the sign-up deadline in Thursday. MeanwhieI've also got a pair of big girl socks on the magic loop -yes, a pair. Two at a time. I feel a little like I'm walking a tight rope, except that it isn't really that hard - yet. I haven't gotten to the short row heels.