and it’s july.

Posted on July 11, 2015 by barefootrooster

I always forget how intense summer session courses can be. Three weeks of daily discussion sections have gone by in a flash, and it’s July. Yesterday I took my first swim in the lake. And Boh and I have two more weeks here in the lake house, and in our sweet small town, before we move on to our next adventure. Here are a few snippets from the last few weeks:

A porch pancake breakfast with friends who came to visit for the holiday weekend.

We had a dinner party! And a galette! (Tomato, corn, zucchini, scallions, and parmesan.)

Dick: The Game. (A Moby-Dick themed version of Cards Against Humanity. Yes, we are nerds, and proud of it.)

This face.

These falls.

These flowers, in between where I park my car and where our summer course was held. I’d turn the corner each morning and just breathe them in.

Packing. I started with the knitting books — I didn’t realize I have so many! The box pile is slowly growing, and the movers will be here in just under two weeks…

August?

Posted on August 3, 2014 by barefootrooster

Whoa. Can we hit pause, please? This summer is moving far too quickly for me. I’m not really knitting (though I’ve got another one of those colorblock bias blankets on the needles), but I’m not ready to be done with this space, so here’s a handful of images from the last several weeks. As you can see, Boh is hard at work. (I am too, though those photos aren’t anywhere near as thrilling.) Hope you’re having a wonderful summer!

Boh and I went to the Berkshires for a writing retreat. Here we are taking an afternoon hike along a section of the Appalachian Trail.

And here we are looking out across the Berkshires from the top of Mt. Greylock.

A local lap around a manmade lake on campus.

Sweet dog with his favorite bone.

Farm flowers and pancakes.

Out for a hike.

More farm flowers.

A view from a bridge over the inlet that leads to the lake.

“Working.”

I’m dog-sitting for a friend for a few weeks, so we’ve doubled the number of dogs here. These two play hard and then collapse on the couch like this. So sweet.

This was our first day together. Lots of cuddling, not so much working.

Maybe I’ll have some knitting to share next time?!

saep lai.

Posted on August 29, 2012 by barefootrooster

That means “delicious” in Lao, and that’s exactly how I feel about last weekend. A dear friend came to visit (long-time readers may remember him from this post), and it was the perfect way to re-acquaint myself with home after my month on the road and the whirlwind that is the beginning of the semester.

D. arrived on Friday, after a long bus ride. I took him straight to a Lao feast, complete (though you can’t see it here) with Beer Lao I picked up from our local beverage store. Tam mak heung, nem khiaow, khao niaow, and a red curry fish dish with a Lao name I can’t remember. Saep lai.

On Saturday morning I made pancakes and we ate them on the porch!

And then we went to the farmers’ market and on a short walk to these waterfalls (seen here in D.’s hipster-view).

On Saturday night, I made a tomato tart with goat cheese and about a quart of farm cherry tomatoes. (This is the one with the dijon mustard slathered on the inside of the crust.) That salad is all farm veggies, too: red peppers, grated beets, carrots, cherry tomatoes, and lettuce. D. brought a growler of a delicious amber brew from his home.

On Sunday morning, we drove to a neighboring lake to go out for a fabulous brunch on the deck. Cheesy grits in homemade sausage gravy, corn beef hash with poached eggs in a dijon hollandaise, rosemary potatoes…so good. Then we visited a distillery and tasted brandies, bourbons, gin, and rye. I was too busy enjoying myself to remember to take any pictures there.

And then it was time for D. to catch his bus home. It was a full (and tasty) weekend!

I enjoyed another glass of beer from the growler D. brought, and prepped Monday morning’s class.

I also ate these roasted vegetables. The eggplant was particularly delicious, and a nice way to conclude a fantastic weekend. I also started another pinwheel blanket (also a wedding present). Pictures of that soon!

more agnes.

Posted on September 11, 2011 by barefootrooster

Getting ready to bind off the body stitches this morning.

Bound off! I added 2.5 inches to the length, below the pockets, so that this would hit me just below where most of my pants sit on my hips. I’m both stunned and pleased that my back-of-the-pattern math seemed to yield a sweater that fits me well! (I’m a little anxious about the blocking — it might just get steam-blocked due to shower-proximity rather than a full out soak, as I don’t want it to grow too much.)

We’re trying things with the cone off today. So far, Boh has been mostly good about not licking his still-healing scar.

And then I made pancakes. These are a little grey/blue because of the blackberries in the batter, and they were delicious. I made a whole batch, and just finished off the rest for “lunch.” I didn’t even add any syrup to these — the berries were enough. (So good — the first from the farm this season!)

Here’s one more dark hallway shot of the first sleeve in progress. So far, my math guesstimating is working out well. I’m trying to be good about writing down how I’m adjusting the pattern so I can make the right sleeve match the left.

Time to put down the knitting for awhile — friends of ours (two-legged and four-legged friends) are on their way to hang out and take a walk along the path in the backyard. And the sun is out. A new week has begun.

first lake house pancakes.

Posted on May 20, 2011 by barefootrooster

The occasion? A pretty lady came to visit and brought maple cream. We spread that on these raspberry pancakes (raspberries I picked at the farm in September), added some plain yogurt, and ate them on the porch.

Boh was very happy to see P. He particularly loves snuggling with her — something he’ll miss once she’s on the west coast. (We were her first stop on her westward journey.) Speaking of journeying, I’m currently visiting college friends (and their very sweet children) while doing some research in an archive that just happens to be where they live. Boh is hosting Ethel Louise at the lake house. More soon!

pancakes, pears, and a pumpkin.

Posted on October 27, 2010 by barefootrooster

(Okay, it was a red kabocha squash. Also known as a Japanese pumpkin. I made the alliterative choice.)

Cranberry pancakes for lunch. (Fresh cranberries, from my favorite little farm/market hybrid.)

Red kabocha squash, stuffed with a mixture of local sausage, kale, onions, mushrooms and rice, and topped with some shredded jack cheese.

A double batch of pear crisp, made with pears from the tree in D and T’s yard. I’m warming this up for breakfast.

And there’s this guy. Leg up in hopes of a belly rub. Sometimes he just lays like that.

No knitting to share, folks. Despite deadlines of the knitting variety fast approaching, the work pile won out yesterday. Grading, reading, corresponding with students — the productive hours disappear. Hoping to find time to curl up with my needles today.

pancakes and procrastination.

Posted on July 22, 2010 by barefootrooster

My friend T. and I picked a few pounds of blueberries on Tuesday afternoon, which meant that on Wednesday, I made pancakes for breakfast and lunch.

Boh has continued his efforts to take over the couch at every opportunity.

And I have directed all of my powers of procrastination into my hemlock ring blanket. I’m sure I’ll be able to get back on track once I’ve exhausted the episodes of Arrested Development available on Netflix. (I’m halfway through Season 2.)

I’m still reading, just nowhere near as quickly or effectively as I’d like. Note to self: get on that.

pancakes/eggers.

Posted on May 4, 2010 by barefootrooster

A lazy Saturday brunch.

This evening’s activities: prepping for my final sections, snuggling with Boh.

Boh responds unfavorably to my attempts at photo composition.

I’m itching to spend some time with my knitting needles and my wheel. A few more days filled to bursting with meetings and final class sessions, and then I’ll have big enough chunks of time to warrant focusing on my end-of-semester writing, which will likely require some dedicated time for thinking (read: knitting/spinning).

flowers and a wurm.

Posted on April 28, 2010 by barefootrooster

And pancakes. For dinner.

I managed to knit a few rows on my wurm hat while at a lecture on Springsteen on Monday afternoon. I realize it doesn’t look like I’ve made any progress, but it felt good to have this project in my hands again. I could listen to Thunder Road over and over (oh wait, I do), and my week is certainly better than it would have been because I was able to listen to Bruce, blaring loud, in a rather stuffy lecture hall. (Roy Orbison’s singin’ for the lonely/hey that’s me and I want you only.)