Tag Archives: porch

bibimbap on the dock.

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This post starts and ends at M.’s house — which is a good thing, because lately her cooking has been way more inspired than mine. (I’m pretty thankful that she invites me over to enjoy it with her.)

Bibimbap on M.’s dock.

Bibimbap at sunset.

Sunset.

Supermoon.

Recap. No, really. I read about this somewhere in the blogosphere and bought three (two for me, one as a gift) immediately. I’ve got one on a mason jar I’ve been using as a water bottle, and the other one has been capping everything from salad dressing to deliciously portable green drink. I can’t wait until they are available for wide mouth mason jars.

Savory popcorn to accompany last week’s grading. (I haven’t made anything to go with this weekend’s final round.)

And these: smoked salmon blinis with dill and creme fraiche. At M.’s house, clearly. I did help, by bringing the yeast and by manning the griddle. These were a wonderful way to start Monday.

(For those of you playing along, you’re right: I’m a week behind. My grades are due tomorrow morning, and then I’ll be working to get my blog closer to real time.)

 

porch dinner season.

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These blossoms downtown can only mean one thing: porch dinner season has begun.

I asked D how he wanted to celebrate his birthday. The answer? Dumplings. So last night, he, T, and their charming child, W, came over with Coltrane to splash paws and hands in the lake, enjoy a beer on the dock, and eat dinner (and drink sake) on the porch.

A good time was had by all.

And after they headed home to put W to bed, I snapped this picture of the sunset. I know it is supposed to cool down a bit this week, but even so, I’m super thankful for this burst of sunshine and warmth. I think a lot of us needed it.

I finished the first sleeve of Kerrera, and I’m onto working the sleeve cap of the second. I shortened the sleeve length and ripped back a couple of rows of the double garter stitch cuff to get the right length.

And while I worked on that, Boh continued to refine his lounging skills. Nice work, sweet dog.

saturday.

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I took yesterday off. Like, completely off. And I’m pretty sure it was the first day in a REALLY long time that I did that. (I’m pretty sure I even did a little bit of work every day that I was out of town for my best friend’s wedding.) Back to yesterday. What did I do?

Well, I was lazy. And so was Boh. All morning. And then I went to pick spinach at my summer/winter farm’s open house. And on the way home, Boh and I spontaneously stopped for a quick walk along the rim of a nearby gorge.

So beautiful. And Boh was so excited. Then, I cast on a new knitting project with yarn recently released from a WIP, and learned a new-to-me cast on — the tubular cast on. By the time I cast on all 180 stitches of Lilac Wine, a simple cowl in 1×1 rib, I had gotten the hang of it. And then I made a quart of cold-brew tea and took the tea and my knitting out to the porch.

Except you can’t see any knitting in that picture, so here’s a shot from this morning of my progress so far:

The yarn is Fleece Artist Merino 2/6 in Nova Scotia (I think…that’s how long it has been since I first wound up this yarn and cast on a Milkweed shawl). I’m knitting it on 7s, and the ribbing was almost too loose at first, but now that I’m a couple inches in, I think I really like the drape I’m getting at this gauge. (I’m also expecting it to bloom a little bit when I block it.) This pattern seems like a really nice way to enjoy variegated yarn. Also, a great way to always have some easy knitting handy, which is part of why I cast on. My dear friends D and T (the folks with Coltrane, my favorite greyhound) invited me over for dessert, port, bourbon, and a movie last night — which meant that I needed movie knitting. All of my projects seemed be at spots requiring my full attention — or at least more than movie-watching attention — so I needed dto start something new. When I got to their house, this happened:

In fact, the second I turned off the car, this cat was on the hood, and it was a bit of a challenge to get myself out of the car without the cat coming in. (This cat belongs to a neighbor.) It then proceeded to settle itself right on top of the sunroof, so I snapped this picture.

Boh and I hope you’re having a great weekend. We have plans for a sunset walk and a drink on the dock with a friend. I’m doing some work today, but aiming for the kind of balance that actually makes it feel like the first weekend of spring break.

friday again.

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Oops. I snapped lots of blog-worthy photos this week, but didn’t find the time to actually upload or post. Maybe this whole pictures-from-last-week thing is my default blogging rhythm this semester? Anyway, here’s what I’ve got:

Egg, avocado, sriracha, and cheese on toast.

Beans, greens, and reading. (This was a super delicious, energy-boosting meal heavily modified from a recipe in one of Heidi’s Super Natural  cookbooks — I swapped kale for dandelion greens, and butter beans for chickpeas.)

Coffee and oatmeal with bananas, peanut butter, and agave syrup. Breakfast of champions.

Some sock knitting, almost to the heel flap. (And a sleeping pup.)

Sunset on the lake. Stunning. Daylight savings meant that I got home early enough to snap this photo.

Striped baby hat number 2. This one went to my cousin’s daughter, on the occasion of her baptism this weekend. I hope it fits!

The first bloom in my yard. I moved here in May, so I’m still discovering what’s in the yard. Hooray for spring flowers! (Anybody know what this is?)

Sushi. A lot of it. A group of my favorite grad-school friends have been getting together to watch The Bachelor and offer some analysis — which is fascinating and a lot of fun because it is so different from what we work on. And since weekends are filled with work, it feels super indulgent to set aside some time on Monday night for something like this. The sushi was to celebrate the finale. (And we were definitely ready for it to be over!)

My sweet dog, sunbathing on the porch. Which is totally what I feel like doing. Yesterday the weather was glorious, and I was able to enjoy the sunshine on my way to the post office, and then as I did all of the errands I’ve been putting off for a couple of weeks. I mailed my last grant application of the season, and today marks the start of spring break — which doesn’t mean I’m taking a break, exactly, but means I get to shift my focus from my teaching to my writing, and that I get to focus on one thing instead of seven. Or something. I’m planning to take it easy this morning, and then get some writing done this afternoon. Hooray — and happy Friday to you.

pictures from last week.

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I did it again: I uploaded and formatted photos last week with the intention to post. And then I didn’t. So I’m doing it now. (What’s sort of fun about this is that I can’t remember what I took pictures of last week, so this will be a bit of a surprise for me, too.)

Oooh! I finished a sock — the first of the pair I’m knitting out of Plucky Knitter yarn in the touch of mink colorway. This sock is on the snug side, but I’m hoping it will loosen up a bit with wear.

Knits in action: my first eternity scarf. Still holding my coffee mug. I’m guessing this is from Monday or Wednesday, which are my early-to-campus mornings.

Research! I’ve been really good these last two weeks about blocking off several 3-hour chunks of time to look at the materials I gathered on all of my late summer and early fall research trips. I really need to start writing soon, as I’m giving a paper in April. I’ve been telling myself that I have to begin this when I get back from the wedding I’m in this weekend.

It’s official. I’m obsessed with the carrot-miso soup Deb posted about earlier this winter, except instead of drizzling it with toasted sesame oil, I’ve been lacing mine with sriracha. So good. Why have you not made some of this yet?

Boh lounging in the sunshine on the porch. Is it really February?

Inspired by Boh, I spent some time working on the porch.

I managed to snap a picture of the train going by. Can you see it?

Thursday morning omelette: spinach and cheddar, drizzled with sriracha. Yum.

I love these wrinkles.

Procrasti-knitting? I finished the first sock and cast on the second, instead of just buckling down and finishing the wedding shawl. I can tell you this now because the shawl is currently soaking, and soon will be blocking on the dining room table. Time to go pin it out. Stay tuned for more photos!

sunset and sweet stripes.

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On Tuesday afternoon, the last day of January, it was easily in the mid-fifties here. And on my enclosed porch, it was a warm and cozy seventy degrees, due to a handful of hours of direct sun. I put on my flip-flops, brought my teaching prep to the big yellow table, and enjoyed my view of the lake. And when it got too dark for actual work, I just sat and took in the sunset. (And snapped a few pictures of it for you.)

It was a lovely way to say goodbye to January.

And here are the sweet stripes I made mention of: a basic baby hat, modeled on one of the many awesome hat patterns in cosy‘s book, Knit One, Embellish Two. I knit this with grey Cascade 220 and some super soft undyed mystery yarn that I think was left over from something my friend M.’s mom was making. I did more subtraction to turn a child’s hat into a baby hat, and I’m hoping it fits the wee one in question, born on Sunday morning. It went into the mail on Monday, so I’m counting on it arriving today. (I may also be counting on the new parents, one of whom is at least aware of this blog, being too busy to find this sort-of-spoiler alert.) This was so much fun to make that I’ve cast on another. I’m sure I can find a baby to put it on.

I’m reaching back to Monday morning (excuse the artificial light) for this knits-in-action shot of my Idlewood. This is the first time I’ve worn it this year, and I love it just as much as I did when I finished knitting it. I even put it back on as a cozy layer as I was walking out the door to yoga on Monday night, and when it was time for savasana, I pulled the huge cowl up over my head for deep relaxation. I may need to make another. Or at least put it on to help me with today’s tasks: a grant application, a student recommendation letter, and maybe, hopefully, some time spent going through my research.

in the kitchen/on the porch.

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My winter farm share started last week, which means the fridge is bursting with tasty root vegetables. Also, my friend M. is moving away (which is very sad). She’s emptying her kitchen, so on Saturday night she came over for soup, biscuits, and some Boh cuddling. And all that provided some kitchen motivation for me. So on Saturday afternoon I made veggie stock (using the recipe in the back of the first 101 cookbooks cookbook as a rough guide), and then I set to making potato leek soup, or to be more precise, the leek and potato soup from Alice Waters’ cookbook, The Art of Simple Food. (Great book.)

Leeks softening in butter on the stove. Yum.

And while the soup simmered, I took some pictures of the sunset from the porch. So beautiful. And then  M. and I had a lovely evening.

Yesterday, I managed to get my phone-camera out fast enough to catch Boh in action, playing a game with his ring toy. He was sort of trying to throw it to himself, but not always succeeding because he was tilting his head back. Funny to watch.

And then, last night, after a batch of kale chips to tide me over, I made this — Deb’s crispy potato roast. (Public service announcement: potato peelers are for potatoes, not for pointer fingers. I’m fine, and the potatoes were worth it.) I might have eaten ALL of this for dinner. That’s how good it was. (M — thanks for the potatoes!)

I’m gearing up for one last research trip this week, so we have plans to take a mid-morning walk with our friend R., who will be hanging out Boh at the lake while I’m gone. It looks like it is going to be a beautiful day. (More knitting soon. Really.)

speed/altitude.

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Last night I attended my first roller derby bout — fast and super fun.

I also spun up two bobbins of SCF corriedale in the Altitude colorway yesterday.

Boh lounged on the couch.

He also lounged on “his” rug. My parents brought this from my grandmother’s house — she made this decades ago, and even dyed the wool herself! Boh clearly approves.


Here’s a glimpse of the other side of the living room, now that I’m more settled. More soon!

cauldrons and cosmos.

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Or, more spinning.

This is the second skein of cauldron/Rhinebeck, pre-soak.


And here it is, hanging to dry. (This strikes me as a temporary fix, as it probably isn’t a good idea to hang things on heating pipes when the heat is actually on…)

Boh and I spent more time on the porch yesterday: he surveyed the scene, ears twitching at every squirrel and chipmunk he spotted, while I picked out more fiber to spin. I managed to spin up both bobbins of Cosmopolitan, a Southern Cross Fibre Club organic merino.

Here’s the first bobbin. I’m aiming for a light dk-ish 2-ply that preserves the color progression. I split the fiber lengthwise, and weighed the two parts to make sure I was in the range of equal bobbins. The test will be whether my spinning is consistent enough. This felt really good in my fingers, but I am noticing that there is a bit of all those “getting back on the bike/horse/whatever” feelings, since it has been several months since I spent any serious time at my wheel. This morning my right thumb is a little sore from gripping the fiber too tightly. Part of my summer routine will be to get back into a comfortable rhythm with my spinning. And pretty soon I’m going to have to find that rhythm with my academic work, too. (I’m guessing I won’t have to readjust to avoid a death grip on the books I’m reading…)

I’ll probably post a whole cluster of photos once I feel like I’m mostly settled here, but today I’ll share this shot of the guest room. My mom is bringing me her old sewing machine, and I’m planning to put that in the corner underneath the windows. I like the idea of finding ways to use this room and enjoy it, even when I don’t have guests!

I snapped this picture of Boh right after I got out of bed — much later than usual — this morning. I’m still feeling a bit under the weather, and I’m hoping another day of porch spinning and lazing about the house will help me to shake this combination of head cold/seasonal allergies that’s had me feeling less than 100% this week. Sweet, sweet dog. Somebody has earned a stroll in the woods behind our house today.

kitchen playtime.

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My allergies have really knocked me down today, so all I’ve got for you is a series of photos from my dinner prep (and enjoyment) last night. First, I made a mess in the kitchen. (And by mess, I mean Farro with Green Onion Sauce, Toasted Walnuts, and Asparagus, from Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Cooking. I subbed brown rice for farro and lemon juice for the zest, and tried to stick to her instructions.) The outcome? A delicious, satisfying sunset meal (pictured above).

Happy weekend!