Books & wine & needles

It is hard to come home to an empty house after even the best days at work.  It's dark and cold and there is no one to relate the tales of your day to.  Now this is not something that I often experience as I have what may be the world's best roommates, but it's a holiday and they are off celebrating.  Every now and then, though, having the place to yourself can be a bit of a treat.  I drew a bath, and poured some wine, played some George Winston, and settled in with a book by my new favorite author, Michael Perry.  The books he writes are slice-of-life, comments on the nature of things, great stories from work kind of books.  They are the non-fiction, auto-biographical ramblings of a man in love with over-thinking simple life moments in the best ways.  There is something renewing about reading his thoughts on midwestern winters, paint stripper, and balding.

Next, I tuned into hulu for some bad TV and picked up the knitting (and another glass of wine). I have made great progress on the sweater-vest of doom.  The back is complete and 

I am up to the v-neck split of the front.  As I watched TV, I knit up the left side and was approximately three inches from the shoulder.  Now the great thing about knitting tipsy, is that the time flies.  The bad thing is the confusing directions that rely heavily on counting, and multiples of seven plus two, become extra confusing.  The really great thing about knitting tipsy, is that when you realize you have to rip out an hour and a half's work because it said every-other row, seven times, not every seventh row twice, you don't really care, because it was still really fun. 

I just realized as I reached the end of this post, that I have a gallon of wine brewing in my basement that I haven't tended in months.  Look forward to that next time!

Oh the knitting...

I have a problem of a fibrous nature.  I love the patterns, and the colors, and the process, but, my friends, this knitting thing never ends.  And it's not just the knitting.  Oh no, it's the knitting, and the weaving, and the sewing.  I have confess to a case of fiber ADD. I am in love 

with the scarf I strung on a hand-me-down loom three months ago.  I found it last week shoved into a corner when I had to dig out the electric meter for the city utility-man.  I was so excited to try knitting an argyle pattern.  I made it though the solid color bottom band and hid it under my bed for a year.  I shudder to think of it.  I promised my guy a sweater vest to keep him warm this winter.  It'll work great if he's ok with cold shoulders.  I promised a friend fingerless mittens to get him through a cold fall.  I need new scrubs for work and ambitiously bought a pattern and fabric, thinking I would practice my sewing skills whenever I need a break from the knitting.  Oh boy.

It's mid-November and I am behind, but I am not daunted.  The fabric has been shipped off to my mother who has not only whipped me up the original brown pair, but has purchased enough

 additional fabric to make a veritable army of uniforms.  I will be burgundy, and polka dotted, and I even promise to wear the disconcerting "Christmas Print" with good cheer and gratitude.

 The gloves, I am proud to say, are complete, and will soon be heading to the Northern lands in the capable hands of our neighborhood postal worker.  The woven scarf has returned to it's corner to wait for someone at work to pass on the local snuffle and sideline me for

 a couple of days. But the vest.  Oh the vest.  I'm trying, I really am, but to my knitting friends out there, never commit to knitting someone something on size two needles unless you really mean it.  I mean really mean it.  I'm getting there, but Happy Birthday turned into Merry Christmas, and if I don't get my fingers flying, we'll be looking at a blessed Purim.

On the bright side though, this knitting thing never ends!  I have so many patterns and requests and new things to try.  It's nice to be able to make things people actually want.  It's nice to feel productive while I watch TV. Honestly, it's nice to just feel the needles in my hands, with their cool metal, and soothing clicking.  And, should I run out of ambition, there is always the argyle monster hiding under my bed to scare me back to work.

Lessons

Things I learned Wednesday:

1) If the first leg of an early-in-the-season bike ride of the season makes you feel like a rockstar, and like you're totally in shape, there is a tailwind, and you will pay for it on the ride home.

2) Buy a spare tire intertube and an on-frame pump.  Carry them when you go out for a ride.

3) 70º rain is wonderful.

4) Bike cleats are hard to walk in.

5) Cement is hard on feet fresh from winter boots.  Also, even baby thistles have spines.

6) Daffodils will always be my favorite flower.

7) Old people are relentless in their quest for a weed-free lawn.

8) Construction crews are fun to watch.

9) Life is what you make of it.

Book Voice

Forewarning: this has no relevance to any homegrown or handmade endeavors.

I have recently come to appreciate audiobooks.  I particularly enjoy audiobooks as a way to get though

 some of the wordier classics.  Somehow, hearing it out loud makes complicated phrases clearer, and pretentious turns of tongue endearing.  So, I present for your enjoyment, Librivox. Librivox is a collection of recordings done by volunteers of books that have reached their copyright and passed into the public domain.  If you are looking for a way to stimulate your mind while walking to campus, or help wading though War and Peace, or a way to occupy your thoughts while working on a mindless project, I encourage you to try it out.

Of Oats and Apricots

I tried my hand at making my own granola.  This has many benefits:  (1) It's cheap, oats don't cost much.  (2) I can included all of my favorite things (like dried apricots) and leave out those that ruin my store bought granola bars (like pecans). I, sort of, followed the directions laid out here. 

The starting line up:

You've got oats for the basic substance, wheat germ to add fiber and protein, peanuts & sunflower seeds for protein and flavor, apricots & raisins for sweetness and vitamins, and honey to glue it all together.  Not pictured: vanilla, brown sugar, and butter.

The first step is to mix your oats, nuts, and seeds together, then toast them.  I used two cups of oats and 1/2 to 1 cup of the other ingredients, depending on how much I had and how much I liked the flavor.  I crushed the peanuts by putting them in a plastic bag and rolling a ceramic bowl over them for awhile.  I didn't want whole peanut chunks, but that's a personal preference. I also added 1/2 cup of fiber cereal because I had it. Stir this all together and spread it out on a cookie sheet (or the largest pan you have) with sides.  Place it in a 400ºF oven, stirring frequently.  Make sure you watch it so it doesn't burn.  When it looks nicely browned, turn you oven off and combine the toasted mixture with your dried fruit.

The next step is to cook up your glue. I found that 1/2 cup of Honey, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 4 T of butter was about right.  You can also throw some vanilla in if it sounds tasty to you.  Cook this on medium

to medium low in a saucepan, stirring constantly.  You want the mixture to boil.  The longer it boils, the harder the resulting sugar substance will be.  Perhaps I will do a future post on the Chemistry/Physics of candy making, but what you need to know now is that it really only needs to boil, and then you can remove it from the heat.  Pour this mixture 1/3 at a time over your other combined ingredients, stirring in between pours.  You want to make sure you coat everything, or your bars will fall apart.

Transfer your mixture to a casserole dish lined with plastic wrap or waxed paper that overhangs the sides of the dish.  You need to compress the bars now, before they cool.  Make sure the top is covered with waxed paper or plastic wrap as well, and press down hard, either with you hands, or some other implement.  I found that bread pans worked well, but you can do this however you like.

When the granola is cool, pull it out of the pan and cut it into bar sized pieces.  You can wrap these individually in plastic wrap or plastic baggies, or you can store them together separated by waxed paper in a container.

Things that I did wrong while making these bars:

(1) I burned my oat mixture, oops.

(2) I overcooked my sugar glue, and my bars could break a tooth.

However, I look forward to trying this again.  I'm excited about all the possible variations.  I could incorporate dried banana, or butterscotch chips.  I could add cinnamon and nutmeg with dried apple pieces.  I could substitute maple syrup, molasses, or sorghum for the honey.  The possibilities are bountiful.  I could go tropical with coconut and pineapple.  I am excited for granola bar flavor options that go beyond chocolate chip and oats & honey.  Let me know if you try this recipe out, and if you find some magical ingredient combination.  Happy eating!

The Apocalypse is coming...

...or so I hope.  Wouldn't it be thrilling?  When the Zombies ravage the landscape, I will be prepared to live in comfort.  I want you to live in comfort as well.  To that end I will detail my exploits in knitting, cooking, and the like here, at Absurd Ambitions! While this may not fully prepare me for the destruction of the human race, I expect it will be fun.  Also, cost effective.  Turns out learning to do things yourself is cheap.