My Bit of Earth

More Knitting For Good Reasons

A few weeks ago I was perusing a newly discovered blog, My Happy Little Life.  The author, Kelly, posted:

"for each year i rack up in age, i want to organize a drive to help impoverished mothers-to-be with their "birth-days". this year i turned 32, and so i'd like to put together 32 newborn kits to distribute to mothers and newborns in need." 

And then,

"in places where women are bringing home their babies wrapped in newspapers, without hygienic means of changing and washing them (please, just imagine yourself in that situation for a moment), there are some basic items that really help . . . ."

Honestly, that's where she got me.  Because I think we all have moments like that, where you really put yourself in another person's shoes and just have to help.  (Of the recent pictures of the Haitian earthquake, the one that disturbed me the most was the one of the Haitian president's residence.  Think about it--if the White House was in that kind of shape, how bad off would the rest of us be?  My fingers flew to the Red Cross website.)

Recognizing that Kelly was feeling that same impulse to help, I really wanted to help her meet her goal of assembling 32 newborn kits.  Among the items needed?  Baby booties.

It so happened that I had a few pairs of those "in stock", and had yarn and time to knit even a few more.

The patterns are (starting top left and going clockwise)...easy knitted booties...magic slippers...angora baby booties...bsj inspired booties...and another pair of magic slippers.

Yay for booties for good!

I Believe This Might Be Soul Food

Not having grown up a southern girl, and being a person who has (snobbishly, foolishly) disdained southern cooking, I don't know if I'm qualified to judge.  But I think this might be soul food.

How can I tell with my limited experience, you ask?  Well, because it warms my soul.

The bottom layer is polenta (OK, grits).  I use Heather's  ratio of 6 1/2 cups water to 1 2/3 cups polenta, and cook it over medium heat--stirring constantly--until a wooden spoon will stand up in it.  About halfway through, I toss in whatever herbs I have on hand.  You can't go wrong with the Scarborough Fair combo--parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.  A handful of Parmesan cheese tossed in at the end will not be amiss, either.  (Oh, and if there is leftover, pour it into a loaf pan and refrigerate.  It will solidify, and you can then cut it into slices to broil or fry the next day.)

The green stuff is kale.  (Although sometimes when they're available I do use actual collard greens.)  I've been on a huge kale kick this winter.  It goes with everything, and I never seem to get bored with it, even though I always end up cooking it the same way--wilted and braised with onions and garlic. 

And then, a poached or fried egg to top everything off and add a smidge of protein.

I think this is winter's answer to July tomatoes.  Soul food, indeed!

Moe Speaks: Sleep Training

A few weeks ago, Dad carried my basket upstairs at bedtime and plunked me into it.  I generally like my basket so I was willing to be cooperative for a minute....that was my first mistake.

Then I hopped out of my basket to get into bed, and Mom went, "Eh, eh" in that way that means bad things.  

Do you know I think they were expecting me to sleep all night in my basket?

 

The status quo is I'm humoring them by at least starting the night in the basket, but once they go to sleep they can't yell at me for crawling into my nice, warm, big bed.  I have their best interests at heart really--how will they stay toasty without me?

Knitting for Peace

What you have to understand about Sweet Husband and I is that, if you were to witness an argument between us, you'd think you were watching a Jane Austen movie.  

"You have offended me deeply Sweet Husband."  

"I apologize, but you have wounded me as well."

OK, actually, we're not that bad, but we are very polite fighters.  Comes with having long fuses, I think--we're just not built to be shouters.

But anyway, the other night we were having just such a polite disagreement.  I was knitting--perhaps a bit vexedly--as we were chatting, when Sweet Husband looked down and out-of-the-blue (possibly to placate me?) said, "Maybe I should learn to knit?"

"Would you really like to learn?"

"Um, sure."

Well, what would you have done?  I handed him some needles and a ball of cotton, and completely forgot whatever we were arguing about.  What can I say?  He knows how to distract me.

While it shouldn't have surprised me, Sweet Husband was a quick learner.  Working with your hands all day is evidentially a plus when it comes to knitting.  And he is certainly more coordinated than I was as a baby knitter.  

Additionally, I think that from now on I will start all knitting instruction with a washcloth.  It's big enough to play with the pattern a bit, but small enough to be finished quickly.  Also, with only 30 stitches on the needles, it's much easier to  fix the inevitable, "What the *&^$ did I just do?"

Lastly, well, how can you not love a guy who knits?

What I Did While I Was Away

Worked.  Glorious, unapologetic productivity.  It's a good drug.  I can really understand how people become workaholics, as there is definitely a high that comes with crossing things off your to-do list.

Knitted.  More about that (and pictures) later this week, but I actually ran out of row counters at one point and started using my hand.

Taught someone else to knit.  Again, more about that later, but suffice to say it wasn't Moe or Porter.

Saw Ira Glass.  As in, Ira Glass of This American Life.  You know, I think if I had gone the journalism route (and I did consider it) he would have my dream job--i.e. going around and investigating interesting stories and people in an "every day" sort of way.  And even for a little ol' blogger like me he had some very instructive things to say about the way to tell a story properly.  If he's near you sometime, go listen to him talk--he's fabulous.

Took pictures.  Of an awesome local band called The Latenight Callers.  I haven't edited the shots yet, but as far as just-out-of-the-camera stuff goes, I'm really psyched.  

Watched the snow fall.  Winter just won't quit around here.  I'm OK with that for another week or so, but come March I want to start tackling some outside projects that just can't be done with snow and frozen ground.  Weather gods, please make this your last snowy hurrah, OK? 

A Break for a Legal Binge

I have a binge personality, I know it.  I can't eat one girl scout cookie, I must have the box. I can't just start a hobby, I must read every book I can get my hands on, buy all the tools, and otherwise dive head-first into the deep end.  I can't just have one set of Harry Potter books, I must have five sets and different languages and....are you getting the picture?

Binging gets a bad rap, but it can be a force for good too--it can be awfully enjoyable and even productive to sit down and focus on one thing for as long as you want to.  So, as long as my binges are healthy, I try to just roll with them.  If I want to spend the weekend sitting on the couch marathon-knitting, why not?  If I'm into a book and I don't have anything pressing the next day I'll sit up all night to finish it.  If I want an artichoke every day for lunch, well, they're only in season for a few months anyway, so what's the harm?

And right now, my fingers and brain are twitching like mad to be working on...work.  

I know, funny right?  But all of a sudden I have this burning desire to just buckle down and churn out some legal briefs and other little law-related projects.  Sitting up all night, researching, reading, writing--I'm almost a little nostalgic for law school.  (Which is crazy talk, but there you go....)

And I'm going to just go with this binge, because, well, there's plenty of work to be done and I've got to do it sometime, so why not?

The only downside is that the law stuff does not make for good picture taking or blogging (at least, not blogging in this space, more on that later if it materializes).  That being the case, I'm going to take a little time off from here.  Just a week or so should do the trick I think--talk to y'all again then!

Things my Grandma Did That I Used To Think Were Silly

Isn't it funny how a few years changes your perspective on things?  My grandma did all these things when I was growing up, and my cousins and I thought she was so goofy.  Now?  Not so much.  In fact, I find myself doing and repeating some of the exact same things....

1. Saving aluminum foil.  Really, she would take the foil off of, say, a vegetable side dish, flatten it out, wipe it off, and fold it up neatly in a drawer to use again later.  

I don't actually do this.  (Not for lack of trying, but the foil always rips on me--I guess they don't make it like they used to.)  I do save and reuse glass jars and zip-top baggies though. 

2. Taking pictures.  My grandma is a picture taker.  Every year at Christmas and Easter and whenever else the family would get together, we would have a ritual lining up "in front of the fireplace" for a family picture or two...or ten!  

Me...well, you guys read this blog so you are all too aware of my picture taking problem.

3. Buying things secondhand.  My grandma volunteered at a thrift store for years, and as such, always had boxes of clothes set aside for me when I would visit her.  I'm told it's a Midwest thing, but even in my upper elementary school years "name brands" were the rage at my school, so thrift store clothes--no matter how cute--did not impress me.  I always pretended to love it all because I loved her, of course, but often the clothes ended up right back in the donation bin.  

Now I dream of having someone who gets "first picks" to set aside all the cute clothes in my size--I mean, wouldn't that be awesome?

4. The brusha-brusha song and dance.  In order to get us to brush our teeth at night, my grandma (and sometimes even grandpa too) would sing the brusha-brusha song.  It varied a bit by grandchild for rhyming purposes, but my version went something like, "Brusha-brusha pan, Brusha Meryl Brianne..." repeated over and over again with a sort of Elvis hip-and-head shake.  When I was five, it was hilarious.  When I was twelve, less so.  

Now that I'm old enough not to be self-conscious about such things, the brusha-brusha song occasionally slips into my bedtime routine.  The first time I did it with Sweet Husband in the room, he was very bemused.  Silly, yes--but that's the point!

5. Taking naps.  I fully believe my grandma has taken an afternoon nap every single day of her life.  When my cousins and I were little, we had to take naps also.  When we got a little bit older napping wasn't required, but our parents put the fear-of-god into us about being quiet while my grandma took hers.

My daily napping spot isn't quite as cozy as Grandma's.  It's typically with my head propped up against a window during my evening commute.  (Don't worry, I don't sleep and drive.)  All the same though, I always feel so much better--about my day, about my evening, about my life--when I get just that little half-hour snooze in.

(The pictures are two of my favorite shots of my grandma.  The first was taken when she was a teenager.  The second was taken by me when I was a teenager.)

Bread Like No Other

In addition to bad-ass breakfasts, Sweet Husband has also been learning to make bread.  

At first I was a little skeptical.  We have two fabulous bakeries in Lawrence that aren't overly expensive, and I really didn't believe we could get comparable results at home.  But I kept quiet, largely because Sweet Husband was obviously having so much fun, and I've quickly been converted.

Although he says he's still playing with it all a bit, I'm convinced he's found our keeper--the crunchiest-crackliest-chewiest-lightest-easiest bread you'll ever bake.  (And a big, huge, bear hug to Ms. Kathy Flake for passing the recipe on!)

The great thing about this recipe is that the dough can stay in the fridge for up to a week, actually gets better with age, and it makes about three small loaves of bread.  That means Sweet Husband can mix up a batch of dough over the weekend, and easily break off a hunk to bake as needed through the week.  The smaller loaves mean the bread gets eaten more quickly and is always fresh and yummy!

Valentine's Sacks

For my girlies for Valentine's Day--a little sack o'goodies from my favorite little goodie store, Au Marche. 

The sacks were knitted by moi, with a pattern from One More Skein: 30 Quick Projects to Knit and some "dishcloth cotton".  (Full details on my Ravelry page.)

The insides are filled with, oh, all sorts of smelly and tasty things--a bit of chocolate and candy, a square of lavender, some pretty smelling soap, some yummy lip gloss....all tied up with a spare bit of ribbon and love!

Trying is...a Bit Trying

So, on the...well, I guess more personal side of things, Sweet Husband and I are trying to have a kiddo.

Only for a few months now, so we're still definitely having more fun than not (yes, that's a euphemism for "lots of strategically timed sex"), but nonetheless, a few things I'd like to get off my chest....

1.  I'm honestly a little surprised that it's taking this long.  Conventional wisdom (read: teh internets) says you should try for a year before you start worrying that something is wrong.  However, I come from a line of pretty darned fertile women, and have spent much of the past ten years petrified of getting pregnant before we were ready for it.  I assumed that without the magic birth control pill to protect me, it would be a matter of seconds.  I feel tricked and a little silly at all the times I--apparently needlessly--freaked out.

2.  It is so weird not to know what's going on inside your own body.  Like, seriously, I should know if there's something growing in my uterus.  Little lights should start flashing or a text message alert should start beeping or...just something.  The not knowing makes me nutty.  My freaking straightening iron has a "ready" light for goodness sakes--is it too much to ask for my lady parts to come similarly equipped?

3.  For as much as I thought it was a pain in the ass, I cannot wait to get back on birth control.  I never realized quite how much it kept me leveled out on the hormones.  This achy, weepy, bitchy, angry person that comes out once a month needs to go back to the depths from whence she came.  Moe and Porter are kind of afraid of her, and--although he's a saint--I don't think Sweet Husband's very fond of her either.

4.  But hey, you know what, if all else fails, there's always this option:

(Picture c/o Marilyn Jane / CC BY 2.0.)

Or even this one:

(Picture c/o Kendrick / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.)

And those aren't so bad, right?  ;)

A Hat Fit For A Baby Brother

I don't often blog about my baby brother.  He's right smack-dab between Sweet Sister and I in age (seven years younger than me, ten years older than her), and actually sort of the typical middle odd-child-out, despite the big age gaps between all of us.  Sweet Sister and I are both very artsy--although each in different ways--while Baby Brother is much more athletic.

Like brothers and sisters sometimes do, we could be very mean to each other growing-up.  I gave him three black eyes by the time he was in kindergarten (in my defense, two were accidental and the third time he told me to hit him).  He once pulled me across the kitchen floor by my hair (my scalp still hurts when I remember it).  

We weren't always such violent little thugs, of course--I still have the book that I read to him before bed every night for six months once, complete with voices and sound effects.  But suffice to say, although I always loved him--and would have defended him to the death to any one outside the family, and vise-versa--it took us both getting a bit older before we really grew to like each other.

But, now that we're all grown-up, I must admit that it's very nice to have a brother.  He tends to just show-up in Lawrence at the most fun times, always with some story of adventure to tell.  He taught me how to play beer pong.  He introduced me to Dave Mathews, and always burns me a copy of his new CDs.  He's fearless when lighting fireworks.  He helps move my furniture....and he's really become a guy that I'm pretty proud of.

And since I have such a nice brother, and today is his birthday, I decided that he needed something Meryl-made.  And since there are only so many knitted things a college-aged boy will wear, I thought, perhaps, a simple hat was in order.

The pattern is Stephanie Nicole's "A Hat Fit For a Boyfriend" and it's knitted in alpaca.  (Full details.)  I was a little worried that it looked floppy as I was knitting it, but was actually very pleased once I had Sweet Husband try it on for photographing.

Happy Birthday Baby Brother!

Living Without TV

OK, don't panic--we have do have a TV (the appliance).  But for about the past six months we've been living without TV (the activity).

Let me 'splain.

At the old house, we had free cable.  Don't worry, we didn't steal it.  We actually once told the cable company they might want to come shut it off, but they just never did.  

We debated whether or not we'd get cable for the new house, but were so busy dealing with home improvement all summer that it just never got done.  And by the time fall came around, we'd already been without it for three months, so it was like, "Wonder how long we can go?"

Turns out, quite awhile.  We watch a movie on Netflix once a week or so, and catch our favorite shows (mostly Grey's Anatomy and Burn Notice) on Hulu.  But we're honestly probably down to less than three or four hours per week.  The TV is never just on for background noise, and, actually, we don't even have an antenna hooked up, so unless you purposefully put a movie in, it's just static.

I really don't miss it.  I get a lot more done without it, and at this point I'm so used to the quiet that I think having the TV blaring at me all the time would be annoying.  Plus, I find that because I do have to actively seek out things to watch, I end up watching things that actually matter to me rather than just whatever happens to be on.  (We watched The Garden the other night--an awesome documentary, although the ending just sucked!)

Also, I read the book Living Without the Screen not very long ago, and the statistics on brain activity while watching TV are a little scary--in summary your brain is more active when you're sleeping than it is watching TV.  (I additionally thought it was funny how this issue throws together both very liberal families ["We don't want our kids trained to be consumers"] and very conservative families ["We don't want our kids seeing smut"].  Really, if you're interested in the subject at all, or even just a social science nerd in general, you should go check out this book.)

But, all being said, there are some definite social implications to living without TV.  

For example, you will never notice how much people talk about TV until you stop watching regularly.  That doesn't mean you get left out of conversations though.  Most of the time someone in the room is always willing--or actually thrilled--to catch you up if it's necessary that you know what's going on on a TV show in order for you to get the point of their story. 

A bit more awkward are people's reactions when you outright admit that you don't watch TV anymore.  It's almost like it doesn't compute--I mean, everybody watches TV all the time, right?  What's wrong with you?  Why don't you watch TV?

Of course, it does make some things impossible.  Although we've figured out that we can watch KU basketball on ESPN online or listen to it on the radio, I don't think we'll talk our friends into coming over for that for March Madness.  Then again, after last year, I'm not sure we're allowed to host tournament parties anyway (the 'Hawks lost when everyone came to our house, bad juju, can't do it again) so that's not truly an issue.

One thing that really is becoming an issue is that sometimes it feels like we've just swapped the internet for our TV.  (Says the girl who's blogging, sitting next to her husband checking his Facebook.)  We're in negotiations for lessening that as well--limiting the internet to an hour a night?  a whole night with no internet a few times a week?--but it's been difficult to find a compromise because, a) while I'd be perfectly happy to sit and knit and chat all night, Sweet Husband has no similarly portable hobby, and b) while I'm near a computer all day at work (and thus have access to newspapers and the like) Sweet Husband is not, and feels understandably out of the loop without some time to find out what's going on in the world.  

It's definitely a situation in progress, but I think that figuratively tossing out the TV has been, on the whole, a really great thing for us.  

Is anyone else living without, or with limited TV?  If so, how's it going for you?  If not, have you ever thought about it?

(Picture c/o narisa / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.)

Bright, Like the Sunshine

For the past month or so, every tiny shaft of sunlight has felt like a blessing.  From a little before Christmas to almost the very end of January we had almost solid grey cloud cover. 

I'd gotten so used to it, in fact, that the first day the sun really came out, I stared out my window at work for an hour trying to figure out why it looked so "weird" outside.  It was only when a co-worker popped in and said, "Hey, did you notice the sun is out?" that I finally realized the difference!

Perhaps because of the dreariness though, I keep finding myself curling up with bright things inside.

Exhibit A: 

I found this lady last week at our local flea market (delightfully on sale at half-price!).  It's a windmill pattern, and it's just perfectly worn in all the right places.  It might become a picnic blanket this summer, but for now it's the perfect size for couch snuggling.

Exhibit B: 

A big basket of Noro Matsuri.  This is the first time I've ever splurged on Noro, and I'm so happy I did.  I think I'm going to use it to make a bright, sunny little blanket.

Exhibit C:

 

A Destroyed Cowl made in lemony shade of Cascade 220.  I knitted most of this while playing games with family at Christmas time.  It looks a little complicated, but actually it's just straight knitting.  Then when you get to the last row, you unravel a few stitches on each end, which made it more interesting in a "what's going to happen?" kind of way.  The only tricksey part is the kitchener stitch join at the end.  Mine didn't end up completely seamless as it was supposed to be.  I'm also not completely happy with the way it lays (listen to me whine about it), but doubled up around my neck it is at least very warm.

The Chickens Are Coming! The Chickens Are Coming!

 

The big (ship) day is March 29th, which means the babies should be here by April 1st!

I was able to get one of each of four of the breeds that I picked out.  I had to substitute the Blue Wyandotte for a Gold Wyandotte (pictured in chick-form above) because the blues weren't going to be available until May, and I didn't want to wait.

And now, I need some help.

My plan all along has been to name the chickens according to some kind of theme.  I think it's realistic to expect that we may lose one, or have to re-home one, or decide we want more next year, etc., so I want something flexible enough to allow for additions/substitutions/deletions.  

At first I was thinking about a "Queens of England" theme, but so many of them had the same names.  Now I'm considering "First Ladies of the United States", which I like a lot.  They seem to have good, old-fashioned-y chicken names (Martha, Abigail, Mary, Eleanor, and so on), and there are plenty to choose from.  

If I don't find anything I like better, I'll go with that, but I'm wondering if any of you all--my creative readers!--have suggestions?

(Picture c/o cafemama/CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.)

Sweet Husband Speaks: Bad-Ass Biscuits and Gravy

Every so often Sweet Husband says, "I should start a breakfast blog."  I always agree wholeheartedly.  The man is one-hundred percent in charge of weekend breakfasts at our house, and is very good at experimenting and perfecting recipes until they're perfect.  (I've resigned myself to being the principal taste-tester...it's a rough job!)  We've even gotten so far as to give this hypothetical blog a name, "The Bad-Ass Breakfast Blog". 

But, alas, Sweet Husband does not necessarily enjoy blogging on a regular schedule, and so the BABB has not been realized.  Meanwhile, yesterday morning--after a particularly nice round of biscuits and gravy--I said, "I'm going to blog about this recipe, it's awesome."

S.H.: "You know, maybe I should get co-author rights on your blog?"

Me: "Um, if you want to be a co-author, you have to write mister."

S.H.: "Well, I could do that...every once in awhile."

Now how could I turn that down?  Especially when he was plying me with gravy?

Without further ado....I give you Sweet Husband!

*****

My favorite type of food is breakfast food, so over the years I've spent time perfecting it. After many attempts at biscuits, I finally stumbled on to this recipe.  My reason for settling on this recipe over others is the quick and simple procedure for mixing in the fat.  Other recipes want you to cut the fat in with your fingers without getting it too hot.  This never seems to work for me--I always end up with big clumps of fat, or over working the mixture to the point that my biscuits don't rise.  This recipe solves that problem by having you melt the butter and pour it into cold buttermilk, stirring to break it up into tiny pieces.  This is freaking genius!

 

So, now I have what I consider to be the perfect biscuits.  But what about toppings?

Yes, there are jams and jellies, but everyone knows that the ultimate biscuit topping is gravy.

Mmmm gravy....Some call it "food of the gods".   Some give it it's own food group.  Whatever you want to call it, it's amazing.  

My gravy is very simple--no real measuring, so these are just estimates.  This weekend it went as follows:

• 1/2 pound of hot Italian sausage
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 heaping tablespoons of flour
• 1 quart of milk
• 1 tablespoon Herbs de Provence
• Salt and pepper

I start by cooking my sausage in a skillet until it's cooked through, and then I break it up into small pieces.  Next, I pour in the olive oil.  (I add extra fat because the sausage I use is very lean.  If you have a lot of grease in the pan skip this step.)  Next, I add a couple of heaping tablespoons of flour into the pan, and stir it all together until all of the oil is absorbed and the sausage is coated in the flour/oil mixture.  At this point the pan should look pretty dry, and you shouldn't see any freestanding oil. 

Let that cook for a minute or two, then pour in the milk.  Keep the pan over medium heat, and stir constantly until the gravy starts to thicken and bubble.  If it doesn't seem thick enough let it cook down a little, and remember that it will thicken as it cools as well.  

Once it's thick enough, you can start adding your seasonings.  I used about a tablespoon of Herbs de Provence and a teaspoon of salt or more.  Measuring is for baking not making gravy! If you're using a milder sausage you might want to put in some pepper too.  

Now break out those fresh biscuits and slather them in some bad-ass gravy!