desert blooming

A,

It must be spring time for Arizona.  The desert is in bloom.  You know how sometimes you'll see a picture of the desert and it can look pretty beautiful?  This is one of those times.  

 

Except that most of the flowering plants are landscaped plants around here, and our "real" desert is still the boring ugly desert that it normally is.

 

There are some parts of Arizona that are lovely, but we don't live in one of those microclimates.

 

However, I do have to say that our neighborhood has some lovely desert flowers going on.

I wish I had a better idea what all of these were.  I am slowly learning what types of plants are what, but for the most part, I have no idea.

By the way, I got a new camera.

Isn't it amazing?

K

progress report

A,
Hi, how are things? Did you hear we might have a college group reunion?  I just got done talking with Sarah and we decided that I should skype in.  Since I'm not, you know, in Iowa.

In the world of knitting, I have been working mostly on my secret project.  I'm onto the second ball of yarn now, and my project only has 26 rows left.  Yay!  I'm making so much progress.

The mice have been neglected.  I'm working on the body of the last mouse (the knight in shining armor), but I've been stuck on that same spot for at least a week now.

And that snake thing?  No progress.  It's just hanging around, hissing at me for leaving it unfinished.

I've been knitting a bit less lately.  First, there was the tri trip.  I was the designated driver, and the length of car ride tended to coincide well with a certain someone's nap time.  Which meant I didn't have a whole lot of down time outside of the car to work on things.

And secondly, I've been spending my free time on the computer doing chemistry tutoring.  Which has been great!  I didn't even realize how much I missed chemistry.  Plus tutoring.  I've missed that also.  This is seriously the perfect part-time job to have with a little one.  All I need to do is wait for nap time and then log in.  Although, I haven't gotten a pay check yet.  The web site was a bit convoluted about their algorithm for paying tutors, so we'll see if it's worth it or not.

How are things in the life of Amy?  I hope you are doing well.  You should share some projects!  I want to know how those birds are turning out.

K

PS.  There's a wet suit hanging in our garage and every time I see it out of the corner of my eye, I get freaked out that there's a person in there.

tri trip

A,
We had a weekend of fun in Phoenix and Tucson these past few days. James competed in the Marquee triathlon (olympic distance). It was his first time using a wetsuit and also using his new tri bike plus all the fancy gear that he has accumulated this last year.

Do I have pictures? No! I am so bad at taking pictures! I do have video, from which I might be able to eek out a still frame, but the cord for the camera is in the room where little M is sleeping. I don't think I should risk waking her. I'm so bad at this.

So each time that we go up to Phoenix for a tri we end up eating at PF Chang's. Last year we had a super friendly waiter that we remembered, and this year we had him again! Only I didn't recognize him at first because he grew all this facial hair and looked like that guy from Batman. Actually, yes. He looked exactly like him.


There you go! There's your picture! Anyway, the fun part was that he remembered us too, and even remembered where had sat the last time. I took that as evidence that he really did remember us and wasn't just placating us when we asked him if he was our waiter from last year.

I'm pretty impressed by people who have that kind of recall. I am the exact opposite. I saw this girl once on campus, and I kept thinking that I knew her from somewhere. It was bugging me, because I had this nagging feeling that I should know who she was. And finally I realized that she was my student from a semester ago. One semester ago! And it's not like I have hundreds of students at a time. There's at most 50. Not two months ago, I had known her by name. And then suddenly I could barely recognize her. There's no way I could go into the service industry. I'm just horrible at that sort of thing.

Okay. I braved the nursery and got the camera cord. Let's see if I can get a picture out of this for you. I mean, I could just put the video up, but then you would have to listen to my silly narration. Okay, there! A blurry picture of James in his alien helmet:

Pretty spiffy, huh? And it took way too much time for me to figure out how to convert a video to a blurry picture, so I think I'm done for now. Next time I'll take the camera out.

K

PS. Happy tax day to you.

some thoughts on science and inspiration

Happy Easter Amy!

When I was in elementary school we had a day of fun every year called "high interest day" where you could sign up to take classes that would teach you to speak a different language, learn to juggle, weave a basket, etc. I never signed up for the chemistry session, but I remember learning after the fact that it was the coolest class ever. Apparently, there were explosions and polymers and color-changing experiments. Everyone got to bring back some slime that they created, probably made with borax and glue. Science was pretty cool that day.

I had a student last year who probably wouldn't have gone to college if it wasn't for his high school physics teacher. I had him in a general chemistry class, but he was planning on signing up for physics classes next year and eventually majoring in the subject. High school physics really made a difference for him.

I foresaw a problem, though. He wasn't very good at math. And his chemistry-related logical reasoning skills were a little slow. I may have counseled him to consider another discipline.

And that really cool chemistry high interest day? It was exciting and cool and memorable. But it wasn't really science. Because science isn't just following a procedure or blowing something up. Some people might think that they are doing science by making a fun polymer. That may be an application of science, but without any type of inquiry or explanation of the phenomenon, I don't really think it can be considered science.

If we want our children to aspire to become scientists, I think we do need to include some of those fun days of play. And it helps to have inspiring teachers who encourage us to apply for college and who show us how much fun science can be. But I think we also need to teach children to think like a scientist would think; to pose questions, to interpret information, and to problem solve. I also think it's important to help aspiring scientists to embrace academic rigor, at the same time that we encourage, inspire, and promote a love of the discipline. I saw too many students who thought they wanted to go into science or medicine as first-year students, but who did not have the academic skills to follow-through.

Inspiration is great. It's important. It's essential. But we also need to know what a discipline is really like in order to follow through. In knitting, I may be inspired to start a project. But if I have just started to knit and do not have the basics down, I probably won't be able to manage something with cables or color or shaping.

I may be inspired to become a chemist, but if I don't know what that discipline entails, or what work is required of me, I doubt I will go very far.

Clearly there has to be some balance, because science instructors have an equal capacity to suck all the joy and creativity and mystery out of science. But I wanted to share my musings. I think there is a misunderstanding among some people as to what constitutes science. I like to think that science is more about doing and thinking than about listing facts.

What do you think?

K

PS. We have now broken half of our kitchen chairs. I feel like there should be a recall on this furniture.

book of stories

A,
I am really enjoying making toys right now. They are so much fun! And I wanted to share one more thing that can be done with these knitted toys.

Shutterly recently sent me a coupon for a free photo book, and I used the opportunity to make a picture book for little M. I took pictures of Tweet and Twiddle from around our neighborhood and put together a story.

The book turned out really well, and I am sure that M will enjoy reading about her birdlets' valiant quest to find their lost mother. She might be a little young still to understand the literary significance of this work, but I think she's already enjoying it on a baby level:

This was so easy to put together! I think it would make a great gift for a child, regardless of whether or not it followed the story of knitted toys or store-bought toys. The photo books start at $13, and shutterfly frequently has sales for these kinds of items (in fact, they have a sale going on right now). That's not too expensive, and it's a lovely way to create a home-made book.

K

you don't have to be an aging hippie

A,
I have been reading for a while about how sprouted grains are supposed to have great health benefits, but I never really pursued the topic. I kept finding bits and pieces of information about them, but never any recipes or directions. And I didn't pay much attention to these pronouncements of health anyway, since I don't have a grain mill.

But! I was reading in this cookbook about how to prepare sprouted wheat with just some water, a little bit of time, and a food processor. It won't make flour, but it can still be used in a loaf of bread. And as the book informed me, I don't have to be an aging hippie to sprout my own grains.

So here's how it works. You take some wheat berries and soak them in water overnight.


Then, you rinse them thoroughly in a colander, put them back in the jar (this time on its side) and let them sit on the counter for 8-12 more hours. You repeat this rinsing and resting process for 1-2 days or until the sprouts are about 1/4 inch long.


At this point, I believe you could dry the grains and then put them through your grain mill. But because that's not an option for me, all I did was add a little water to the wheat and process it all in a food processor. Then this milky-white concoction can be added to your bread dough.

For anyone who might be interested, here is the bread recipe that I used:
6.4 oz (1 1/2C) white flour
6 oz (1C) whole wheat flour
1.75 oz (1/4 C) wheat berries (which expands to make about 3/4 C of sprouted wheat berries)
5.4 oz (2/3 C) water (you will mix this in with the wheat berries when you process them)
3 oz (1/4 C) honey
1 oz (2 Tbsp) butter or oil
1 oz (2 Tbsp) orange juice
2 tsp yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt

You should knead the dough, give it a first rise before shaping the loaf, and then a second, final rise. This will bake for about 40 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Tent with foil halfway through, as the honey will make the loaf brown quickly. This will make one loaf of bread (though it can be doubled to make two, as shown below).


In the category of soft, spongy sandwich loaves, I found this to be delicously soft, spongy, and sandwichy. I couldn't quite pick out the flavor of the sprouted wheat, but then again, this loaf had a lot of extras in it, what with the butter and honey and all. I would like to try making a simpler loaf so that I can actually taste the sprouted wheat.


So there you have it! Sprouted wheat. And bread. And deliciousness.

K

PS. Has Kris done any sprouted grains? I'm curious since I know he's a big bread person.

PPS. I wish I understood the chemistry of this. I really haven't researched sprouted grains (and maybe I should to answer my questions), but I am wondering how the extra nutrients (zinc and iron and vitamins and what-not) appear after being sprouted. Where do they come from? Surely they don't come from the water or air. . . So is it just a re-arrangement of atoms in the seeds that form the nutritional goodness? I am curious. Maybe a rearrangement of atoms put these nutrients in a form that is more digestible to us?

PPPS. Okay. This is just a side-note, but for plants in general, the majority of mass that is accumulated by a growing plant does come from the air. It's from the carbon in the carbon dioxide. I thought I would share that since I would assume most people wouldn't know that. And because I think it is rather interesting.

one more stripe left

A,
Actually, I lied. I have a third project going. (Well, a fourth if you count the socks in my closet that have been socking around for years without being worked on, but that project doesn't quite count because I've totally placed it out of my mind.) The third project is a snake: the green and purple striped snake. It just won't go away. And it's freaking me out.


I know it would take all of five minutes to fix up the tail (well, a tad longer), but for some reason I just haven't finished it. And it's lurking around, making me anxious, because I hate having things hanging over my head.

You see, I have decided that the perfect number of knitting projects to work on at one time is two. Any more that that, and one of them tends to get ignored. Yes, two is the best number. Two, because it's nice to have something a little bit mindless to work on and also another something that is a bit more complicated. Two, because it's nice to switch off between projects when you need a diversion. And two, because any more than that, and I feel like I can't keep up with everything.

I really need to finish that snake. I just have one more stripe left.

K

PS. I am sure you would disagree with me about this post. I suppose not everyone likes a finite number of projects at one time, but for me, that's the way life is. I hate having things hanging over my head.

PPS. I got a touch of sunburn the other day. Our Arizona summer is warming up already.

update on projects

A,
Here is an update on my knitting projects. There are two of them, in fact, and both are quite enjoyable to work on. I have been concentrating most of my efforts on the secret project. This is the yarn I have left from my first ball of yarn:


I still have about two more skeins to go, so I am approximately a third of the way done.

Secondly, the mice are coming along well. I have been working on these sporadically, but they have promise of turning out adorably. Here is the mom mouse with her two little mouselings:

I'm going to do the rest assembly-line style, so I have just the bodies done for the friar, queen, and princess (below). I took this picture yesterday, and I have since finished all three bodies:


(Actually, last night, I was just going to knit a tad while starting the first episode of Downton Abbey. I really wasn't going to stay up that late, but it was so interesting that I had to keep watching, and therefore keep knitting, and that's when I finished the princess body. Thanks for the TV recommendation!)

So that is the progress I have been making. I'm aiming for seven mouselings (well, plus the two babies above). Toys are so much fun to make!

K

PS. What have you been up to?

let's do better

A,
Keeping up a knitting blog is hard! I don't feel like I knit quickly enough to warrant frequent posting. And then the blog either languishes, or I start posting about random topics that have nothing to do with knitting (like cheese or the neighbors that I like to spy on). Plus I'm working on a secret project now, which means it is not easily blogable (though I will share a picture of the pretty yarn with you).


I'm going to work on this. I'm going to do better!

The number of posts that we make keep trickling down each year. But I think it's plausible that we could reverse that trend. I think it's a manageable task, considering that we're both done with school (go us!). And also, we need only three more posts after this one to overtake our numbers from last year. We can totally do that! Three more! Let's do it!

You should come back more often. When I saw you earlier this month, you had so many beautiful projects with you. And you told me that you designed some of them! I think you need to share more knitting stories. I want to keep learning from you and I am sure our lovely readers would be inspired by your creativity.

So here's the plan. I'm going to post more frequently. The end.

K

PS. Sorry to say, but it doesn't look like ATF is going to pick any of us up. But then again, you have a brand new residency to look forward to. So I think it's okay.

nostalgic

A,
When I was back at the parents' house a couple of weeks ago, I had some time to dig through closets, reminisce about old times and haul back some objects. It was good to see all that stuff again.

I'm pretty good at throwing stuff out, decluttering and the like. But there are a few things that I like to hold onto. I've got a little file folder with play programs or orchestra bills, notes from friends, or drawings. My life mementos.

You know how people will say, the best time of your life is during high school? Or maybe instead they'll say that about college? I don't know if that's true, and I prefer to think that it's not (I like to think that life will just keep getting better), but I had a good time during those years. And most of my mementos come from that timespan also. I don't add to my little file folder as frequently as I used to.

Anyway, what I really wanted to talk about was yarn. My mom used to have this giant plastic bag filled with wool yarn when I was growing up. She had some wool sweaters she had knit as well. And I don't know, but I'm pretty sure that most if not all of these projects came from the same brand of yarn.

A while ago, I was visiting a yarn store, and I noticed some yarn. I recognized it immediately. I knew the smell, and I knew the feel of it. And when I looked at the tag, I saw that it was from Maine (where we used to live, and where my mom picked up knitting). I bought a skein, because I was feeling nostalgic, and because I had never seen that yarn before anywhere, except in my mom's knitting bag.

So, I guess I can be nostalgic about yarn as well. Maybe after I make something with it, I will slip the tag off, cut a length of yarn, and add these to my little file folder. It's nice to have a safe place to store mementos and reminisce about the past.

K

hat success!

A,
I know that hats aren't generally considered to be a big deal, but I seem to have difficulty with them. I haven't had very many success stories, so I am happy to boast of my recent hat accomplishment:


I think the success has a lot to do with the fact that this has absolutely no shaping involved. But that's okay! It fits! Hooray!


K

PS. Apparently you cannot vote for the republican primaries in Arizona if you are an independent. That makes sense, but I am confused, because for the last primary, I thought they just asked me whether I wanted the republican or democrat ballot. Oh well.

PPS. Babies have enormous heads.

perspectives

A,
Sometimes when you're performing in a play, you get so close to the script that you forget what parts of it are funny. Then opening night comes along, the audience laughs at something, and you have the chance to see the play anew, in the eyes of the audience. I always found this to be immensely gratifying.

Sometimes with knitting, too, you get to be so close to it that you forget the inherent magic. It's sometimes too easy to forget that a piece of yarn plus a million tiny stitches can be put together to make something beautiful. It can be simple, but it is still a fascinating journey.

A few months ago, I was working on making a snake. It was a pretty easy project for me, and I wasn't giving it much thought, attention, or love. And then a five-year-old girl reminded me that even this simple project can hold a lot of magic. She was enamored; with the snake, with the knitting, with it all. It was a good reminder to appreciate even those simple knitting projects and to remember that things don't have to be over-the-top to be appreciated.


On the flip side, it's sometimes surprising what doesn't get appreciated. When I was rehearsing for The Marriage of Bette and Boo, there was one scene that we could never get through without laughing. The guy who played Bette's dad resorted to putting on an ipod so that he could drown out the dialogue and keep himself from laughing.

But then opening night came and no one laughed at the scene. That dead silence was sobering and dried up any urge we had to laugh over our lines.

On the knitting side of things, I was once making mittens. And these were (in my opinion) amazing mittens. I think they were my favorite project. They were cabley and complicated and required charts. I was knitting them in the airport, when a man started talking to me about them. Then he asked me if I had just learned how to knit. And he asked it in such a way as to imply that this must be a simple, nonchalant, throw-away project. And I wanted to say, no! Look at these! These are cabley and complicated and require charts! These are beautiful and there is no way that I just learned how to knit. Why don't you see this knitting in the same way that I do?

It's interesting to me that people can have such different perspectives; on theatre, knitting, and life in general. I like to think that knitting can tell a different story to each person who sees it, and I think I will try to focus on those stories that bring the most joy and magic back into my life.

Sometimes we forget that the simplest of things are the most beautiful.

Love,
K

PS. I think you should make some natural nativity. Those patterns do look amazing, but so far, I have found them to be pretty simple in design.

PPS. I look forward to seeing your bird creations.

Branching out

Hey K, Medieval Mice! Oh goodness. So cute. Alan Dart's knitting, for the most part, seems almost unattainable to me because it always looks so amazing. I started looking through all his patterns and I now have a deep desire to make Natural Nativity. I've been on a bit of a spinning jag recently. Yesterday when Kris was out to game night, which I don't go to, I was sorting through a box of extra "stuff" we had sitting in our mini-hallway when all of a sudden I found a piece of white cotton cloth. I have no idea where it was or what I had been planning to do with it. However, I know what I did do last night.

Oh yeah, look at those colors!   There were, I estimate 3-4 yards of fabric, so I ripped it into shorter quarter-half yards and looked up how to dye cotton.  Strangely enough, I own Procion dyes for cotton, even though I have never dyed cotton before.  Yes.  I own probably about 20 colors.

Don't they look pretty drying next the window?  I should make a tutorial on how I did this for people like me who are scared to dye cotton, because it was even easier than dying wool.  I dyed it in ziplock baggies.

 I'm pretty much in love.  Do you need some fabric dyed for a quilt?

 

I actually do have a project in mind for these.  I borrowed my mom's sewing machine.  Abagail Glassenberg is a true fiber artist who makes gorgeous softies.  I adore her birds, which may be about the ultimate for me in sewn creations. She somewhat recently published a book called "the Artful Bird," from which I have yet to create anything since I have had a lack of time and sewing machine.  Oh little birds, here we come!

In addition, I started a secret project today that combined chemistry with art.  Better living, here we come!

I'll let you know how it goes.  

Oh, also! About a week ago I tried weaving again.  I remembered I don't like weaving, so you don't get pictures of that.  It's sitting in a pile in a corner.  I wove about an inch before I stopped.

A

be prepared

A,
Thrummed mittens are being sent to the other side of the world.

And now I am working on projects for future future needs.

First, there is a secret Christmas project for one of our blog readers. I started eleven months early! There is no way I won't finish this in time.

And if you thought that was working ahead of time, my second project is even more forward-thinking. This project won't be ready to give for at least a couple of years. Mainly because of the small pieces that might pose a choking hazard for little M.

I am making a small army of medieval mice for Myra. Clothes-wearing, anthropomorphized, miniature mice with lots of itsy bitsy pieces. And baby mice heads the size of peas.

The good news is that because these won't be suitable to gift for quite a while, I have a long time before I even have to think about weaving in all those ends, assembling limbs, or stuffing bodies. Now all I have to do is knit.

I'd like to say that I'm picking projects this far ahead of time because I am incredibly on top of life and am always prepared. The truth is that I just like to pick out the projects that look fun and then find a reason to knit them. Adorable toy mice look like fun projects to knit, and if I have to hold onto them for a while before M gets to them, that just means I get to play with them first.

K

taking risks

A,
This is what happens when you leave your neurotic dog alone by herself:


I've been kenneling Malina when we're out because it's slipper season, and last year she demolished my slippers (I didn't realize my yarn was at risk as well). I've been diligent in kenneling her, but I think James was a little more optimistic. He left her out last night.

I can't be too upset at James, because the night before that, I inadvertently threw his wallet in the trash (you can imagine how long it took before we thought to check there). Besides, he detangled the yarn for me this morning.

This is a project for my friend Martha who is living in Finland right now. I thought her hands might be cold, and plus I think I promised her something woolly and hand-knit a while ago when she was considering moving to a cold wintery location. Thus, thrummed mittens. And bonus! I still had my pattern from four years ago. As long as the dogs don't get into this again, I should be able to finish them before Finland's long winter ends.


I don't know exactly what Martha is doing in Finland, but I'm pretty impressed by her. Since I moved to Arizona, she has visited three different continents and lived in five different countries. She's become a world traveler while I've been hanging around this same place. Yet I know that I wouldn't have the courage to travel to all those different places, especially not by myself. When it comes down to it, I'm not particularly brave. Even though I ended up on the other side of the country, I still miss the midwest, and I would be happy to move back. I think when it comes down to it, I am impressed by her because she represents something that I am not, but yet something that a part of me wishes I could be. How cool to travel the world! I am happy that she has the opportunity to travel, learn languages, and make interesting memories.


Me, I am not a risk-taker. I mean, I don't even gamble with leaving the dog out of her kennel! James is the one who took that chance, because he sees the possibility for good in our dogs. And it's a good thing that he does. If it wasn't for him, I would have taken Dutch to the pound, and we never would have gotten to know what he was like, beneath his abused and frightened outer layer.

James is the one who would like to travel the world. Maybe it is good that we are matched up, because we balance each other out. Also, it's easier to take risks when you're not doing it alone.

I know it's not on the same scale, but I likely would not have taken the same knitting risks if I hadn't met you. You were, after all, the one who introduced me to thrummed mittens. I think we knit pretty well together. It's easier to take knitting risks when you're not doing it alone.

K

P.S. I tried to match the colors of the mittens with Finland's colors. It's not an exact match, but I like it.

PPS. Malina has such enormous separation anxiety that she will wait for James by the kitchen window the entire time that he is on a bike ride. And sometimes the length of these bike rides approach two hours. Though she may be neurotic, she is still pretty loyal.

magical transformation of shawl into scarf

A,
I've been working on things, albeit slowly. I'm ready to wash and block some lace, which is always an exciting step. This project turned itself into a scarf, because the border wasn't matching up properly, and I decided that it would be easier to leave it out altogether than to figure out what was wrong with my ability to evenly pick up stitches. I would have probably ended up wearing it as a scarf anyway, so it's no big deal.

Here's the first edge I tried, which didn't quite work out:


Here's the project wallowing in washy goodness:


And here's the project about to reach full scarf-potential:


When little M came, I was about at the point where I needed to start the edging for this project. Which meant that I needed to think about things and learn a new chart and pick up stitches (which I apparently failed at). That was difficult because it took a fair amount of concentration, and also because M takes up a lot of my free-arm time. So I was thinking about the future of my knitting post-baby, and thinking maybe I should stick to the mundane. I'm going to reign it in a little.** But then, I was also thinking about my mom.

She said she put down sewing and picked up knitting once Brent and I were born. Most of the knitting that she did was done during an age at which I was too young to remember anything. But the fruits of her knitting were still around during my childhood, and what I remember are lovely and sometimes intricate sweaters, with cables and bobbles and loveliness. I'm pretty hopeful that if she could knit prolifically, I can continue to stitch away as well.

K

**I need to keep reminding myself that this is not the type of project for which I have time or inclination right now.

PS. I heard my new neighbors fighting yesterday. And then a door slam. And then their truck driving angrily off. . . Oh well.

Neighbors

Dr. A,
Happy Thanksgiving, Happy Graduation, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year's! I guess I haven't posted in a while.

We had some interesting neighbors for a while. They were the first neighbors we've had who left their windows open. Which meant, well, I got a little snoopy. I mean, it was hard not to, because their default voices were loud. It was difficult to make out actual words, but their tone was frequently sarcastic or angry. This made James sad, because he didn't like to hear dysfunctional families, though I am ashamed to say that I reveled in the drama. Then, they put their house back up for rent just a couple of months after they moved in. I wondered if there was any drama involved in that decision, but I will probably never know.

Our new neighbors just moved in about a week ago. They're from Wisconsin. By the way, in case you were unaware, Wisconsin is code for awesome. I have high hopes for this couple.

What I wanted to say was that, even though I enjoyed snooping on my neighbors and trying to overhear their conversations, I am glad that I am not in their position. I am thankful to have a loving and supportive husband, and a beautiful, brand-new little girl. I know it doesn't work out like that for everyone, and so I am all the more thankful. I wish us both new years full of functional family life and much joy.

Love,
K

PS. Check out little M's awesome fashion sense. Aren't her socks adorable?

PPS. I know you were thinking about short-term jobs for the semester. Even though it's likely not practical, I feel I would be amiss if I did not recommend applying for the job of astronaut. Or, you know, since you were interested in tutoring, I might recommend online tutoring as well.