Category Archives: CSA veggies

monday morning.

Posted on by
2

It has been gently raining for the last several hours — maybe even all through the night, and I am sitting here with my first coffee cup of the day, listening to the different sounds of the drips on the driveway, the water hitting the branches of the pear tree by the window, the fat drops falling from the gutters in a different kind of rhythm, and I’m wishing that I didn’t have to go anywhere today.

We had a really nice weekend — a bit crazy busy in that both of our academic schedules had events and dinners and guests well into the weekend, but lovely in that we found time to hike in misty forests, pick our first bag of greens at the farm I joined, and discover a chili-cook off in the grocery store of a nearby town.

I failed to document these events with more than my mind’s eye, and I’ve been too busy to knit this week, so here are some snapshots of Monday morning.

sleepy-boh

egg-cartons

reading

greens-close-uo

breakfast and button bands.

Posted on by
2

grapefruit.jpg

Good morning! Thought I’d snap a picture of my colorful breakfast. This treat from my CSA box brightened the to do list reviewing/revising that needed to occur this morning.  I also managed to make some progress on my Brompton button band — one down! An evening of chicken soup, knitting, and movie-watching, combined with some a.m. quiet time today has produced this:

button-band.jpg

The button band is slightly shorter than the body of the cardigan. I want to keep making progress on this, so you heard it here: I will not delay seaming this button band even though seaming is still a bit scary to me. I will not delay seaming this button band even though seaming is still a bit scary to me. I will not delay seaming…

This is our first full week of glorious weather, and it is getting more and more difficult to be inside all day at the office. Weekend, please.

logic board, schmogic board.

Posted on by
3

My MacBook has returned victoriously, though you wouldn’t know it by the look on my dog’s face:

what.jpg

Seriously? Seriously. This dog is a comedian. Because I am so thrilled to have my computer back, please allow me to share an excessive amount of pictures of my weekend with you. Knitting content below, I promise, but first, to demonstrate how much I trust y’all, a funny Saturday morning picture:

spandex.jpg

The answer is “No” to all of the questions you are asking. (“Are you a speed skater?” “What about a super hero?” “Did you actually buy those?” They were a gift.) I went for a run on Friday with the dog, and wore these under my shorts for added protection from the gusty winds in the bosque. Saturday morning, pre-sunrise, the dog was begging to go outside, and I was awake, so I pulled these on to keep me warm. Upon returning inside, I realized how ridiculous I looked, and snapped this photo. Feel free to laugh out loud. I share this with you in part because I settled in with a cup of coffee, episodes of CraftLit and Cast On and some knitting deserving of some attention: my Fleece Artist Tiger Socks.

sock.jpg

See? Now you can enjoy my completed sock without being completely distracted by the glow of my electric blue spandex. Maybe I kept them on for the whole morning. I am really proud of this sock — the first of my second pair ever. There are still a few teeny mistakes here and there, but overall, the heel is solid, the stitches are tight and even, and I even kitchenered the toe! I was so excited about all of this that I immediately cast on for the second sock. I asked Mr. Claus for some long sock circs and a Magic Loop book, and I want to finish these before I hear those reindeer hoofs on my parents’ roof. (This is going to be a long post — I’ve only been blogging a short while, but I missed you this week.)

Onward to more knitting:

watermelon-garter-brim-hat-fo.jpg

I finished another garter brim hat — a bit too big for my small head on purpose. Not sure who this will go to, but I love this. My Thanksgiving host called this my “watermelon” hat, and I like the name.

lazy-dog-and-hat-wip.jpg

a-la-cosy.jpg

You may notice the style of this photo — consider it a tribute to cosy of cosymakes. The pattern is hers, and can be found on her blog for free here. I love the photos she takes of her hats, and thought that I would display the result of her scrap-happy celebration hat pattern in a similar way. Thanks, cosy! This hat is made of Cascade 220 and Jo Sharp Silk Road Aran Tweed scraps, and is destined to go to my brother — the brim yarn is leftover from the pair of Dashing I made for him.

mountains-from-volcanoes.jpg

Boh and I went for a hike in the rain this weekend — we were the only ones out wandering, and it was absolutely beautiful in that foggy, forlorn, expansive kind of way. The weather was the kind that makes you want to eat soup, and, inspired by this post by Amy at angry chicken, I modified a Moosewood recipe for curried spinach and pea soup to be a warm, soothing mixture featuring kale, potatoes and Thai chile paste.

bowl-of-soup.jpg

That’s all for now. I did even more knitting than I ‘ve posted here this weekend, and perhaps in the morning light, I’ll be able to take a few more pictures to share.

P.S. I’m sure you all already know about how fantastic the CraftLit and Cast On podcasts are (links above), and that I’m just a little late to the party, but on the off chance that you haven’t given these a listen, go download an episode. You won’t be disappointed.

weekend update

Posted on by
1

On Friday, my box of yarn from WEBS arrived. Full disclosure will come, all in good time. I am sleepy, even though my clock says it is not yet 10 PM, this rooster’s body says it is 11. A few pictures of the weekend, then.

base-camp.jpg

Yesterday, I was here. The leaves have fallen from the cottonwoods, but the air was crisp, and, though I love the place when it is bustling with activity, I value the chances I have to see it when it is still.

When I returned, I decided to honor the swatch gods, and comply.

swatches.jpg

Notice that I did not one, but two swatches: one on size 10.5s and one on 11s. The yarn is Araucania Nature Wool Chunky, in color olive — it is a bit brighter than I was expecting, but I’ve decided that it is perfect for me because I tend to wear muted solids, and this will brighten up my jeans and a button down or a long sleeve tee considerably. The gauge for the pattern (which, of course, calls for Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Chunky) is 14 st/20 rows over 4 inches. My first swatch, with the recommended needles, was 8 st/10 rows over 2 inches. I decided to see what would happen if I went up a needle size, to 11s: 7 st/9 rows over 2 inches. Both close, neither perfect. I decided to wash the swatches and leave them overnight: after a dunk in the sink, the swatch knit on smaller needles was 7.5 st/10 rows, whereas the larger needle swatch was in between 6 and 6.5 st. The yarn became considerably softer after washing, and I liked the drape of the smaller needle swatch better. Also, the sizing is S, M, L, with the M being 36-38. I am a 38, and debated making the next size up, so that 1 st over 4 inches may give me an extra inch of ease in the sweater, which should end up to be ideal.

Anyway, today, instead of doing the things on my list, I made a large recipe of pie crust, and baked a kitchen sink kind of pie, with all the fruit leftover from my CSA box: 2 big green pears, a pluot and a bright, shiny apple. The pie is delicious (eating while I type), and is a wonderful dessert to the roasted beets I ate for dinner. The 4 remaining pie crusts are in the freezer for next time.

pie.jpg

I also managed to turn those swatches into this:

back-of-bolero.jpg

I can’t believe how quickly this is coming along. I am very excited about this sweater, and I am working up the courage to seam that baby kimono I’ve been working on forever. I promise. I’ve told myself I need to seam that, as practice for finishing this one. Also, remind me: I need some longer circulars for picking up the ribbing on this sweater, when I get there.

Yawn! Time for bed. It was wonderful to wake to the sunrise at 6:10 this morning: a welcome change from waking to the alarm in the dark. The only bad part about “falling back” is that the sun will soon be setting before I even leave the office. I do love the cold; I just wish we could keep the sunshine.

garlic (and the weather allows me to debut a scarf)

Posted on by
Reply

I have a work share at my local farm. Last year at this time, I was rising before dawn once a week to schlep up to the fields in my work clothes to do things like weed winter lettuces, lay down and pick up drip irrigation tape, and plant garlic, all as the sun slowly rose above the mountains. Life was good. My work schedule makes a morning farm work share practically impossible this year, so I have the next best thing: a warehouse share. I spend a few hours each week restocking vegetables, sweeping up onion peels, making silly faces at the children who accompany their moms to veggie pick up — and, oh yes, volunteering to adopt veggies that don’t quite make the cut. Yesterday, I walked away with handfuls of loose cloves of elephant garlic.

garlic-2.jpg

Last night, I headed to a friend’s house for dinner, and brought a handful to share. We had a delicious Caesar salad — Papa Rooster’s own garlic-heavy recipe, actually, modified to include some scrumptious breaded calamari on top. Apologies — I ate it so quickly that it was gone by the time I remembered my camera.

In honor of the cold weather, please allow Boh to model a ribbed scarf I completed in April. I wore it yesterday, and it was ever so toasty. Details: Brown Sheep Top of the Lamb (2 skeins, I think). It wraps around my neck multiple times, which I absolutely love.

turquoise-ribbed-scarf.jpg